ABC/Heidi GutmanFor the last few weeks, Billie Joe Armstrong has been very busy with his new project, The Longshot, releasing a full-length album, four EPs and announcing a tour. While the flurry of Longshot news has been exciting for fans of the Green Day frontman, some have been wondering if this new band is spelling the end of Armstrong's main gig. Speaking in an Instagram Story, captured by the fan site Green Day Authority, Armstrong definitively dismissed those thoughts. "Some of you are asking about Green Day, and if there's anything wrong or if I'm leaving or we're breaking up," Armstrong says. "The answer is no." With The Longshot, Armstrong explains that he's "having fun with my friends" and, as a musician, it's his job to play music. If you can't understand that, he wants you to know that you are a "f***ing whiner," and kindly asks you to "shut the f*** up." "I'm playing music because that's what I'm supposed to do," Armstrong says. "That's what people that play guitar and drums and bass and they sing, this is what we do." "So if you don't like it, then f*** off!" he continues. "If you do like it, come along, because it's a lot of fun." If you want to take the latter option, Armstrong and The Longshot launch a U.S. tour May 4 in Las Vegas. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: The recent defeat of Senate Bill 827, state Sen. Scott Wieners bill allowing 5-story buildings near transit hubs, was an enormous setback for Californias efforts to make housing more affordable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our state is now in a serious bind. The only way to make California housing widely affordable is to build a lot more of it. We could do this with Texas-style suburban sprawl Houston has boomed while remaining affordable but that would sacrifice the environment. The alternative is to add residential density to existing neighborhoods, near job centers and mass transit. California picked density over sprawl a decade ago, when it enacted SB375, a commendable law that requires local governments to plan for energy-efficient, transit-oriented development. Yet most city and county planners report that this planning mandate has had little to no impact on actions by their city. The defeat of Wieners bill and the so far meager impact of SB375 speak to a deeper truth: California is not going to achieve large-scale, high-density development near transit unless it can change the local politics of housing. In theory, the state might induce pro-housing political realignments with taxes and subsidies for example, reallocating property tax revenue to cities that allow dense housing near transit and starving those that dont. But the quick demise of SB827 suggests that serious penalties are not yet enactable, and subsidies would have to compete with many other General Fund priorities. We think California can bolster pro-housing forces at the local level without bringing down the hammer or breaking the bank. Consider these alternatives: 1. Leverage cap and trade to make the climate consequences of density more transparent and more tangible. The linchpin of Californias climate change regime is the states cap-and-trade program, which puts a statewide ceiling on greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources and requires emitters to buy allowances for their releases. California could strengthen pro-housing forces in city politics by folding local governments into the cap-and-trade program. The state would issue a formula estimating the per-dwelling climate impact of new developments, taking account of proximity to transit, size, materials and parking. When a local government permits new housing thats more climate-efficient than the typical new unit statewide, it would be rewarded with credits to sell in the cap-and-trade market. This would give pro-housing YIMBY activists a green cudgel to wield in local fights over development. Using the states formula, proponents could quantify the environmental benefits of each project near transit. Meanwhile, budget-minded city officials would have a fiscal incentive to upzone land near transit. The more transit-friendly development the city permits, the more allowances it would earn to sell in the greenhouse-gas market. 2. Reframe local debates with state reporting of housing potential along transit lines. Guardians of the status quo point out that San Francisco has increased its housing production in recent years. But the picture would look quite different if we compared current production to the citys potential for transit-friendly housing, rather than to the citys very modest output over the past few decades. Californias housing agency periodically estimates housing needs by region, using demographic projections. It should also estimate housing potential along mass-transit lines that is, the number of new units that developers could profitably build, given market demand and construction costs, if barriers to development were relaxed. YIMBYs could then pressure city officials to justify why theyre so far short of meeting demand for the transit-friendly housing that the city nominally prioritizes. 3. Let cities recapture the value they can create by upzoning and streamlined permitting. Opponents of Wieners bill called it a giveaway to developers. They had a point. Rezoning a lot from single-family use to five-story apartments increases its value tremendously. Why should the landowner keep all that profit? When local governments control rezoning, they can demand ancillary benefits such as affordable-housing units, infrastructure investments, and more. All this is standard fare and not just for major rezonings, but for individual projects under the highly discretionary permitting rules that prevail at the local level today. Yet project-by-project bargaining has major downsides. The uncertainties and delays, and the inefficient medium of exchange (in-kind benefits rather than money), contribute to the result we see all around us: an inadequate supply of new housing. Local officials surely understand this, but right now they have no way to profit from clear, nondiscretionary rules for development. To encourage development on lands near transit, California should allow cities to share directly in the property value created by upzoning and permitting reforms. Cities could be authorized to impose special assessments for upzoning or permit-streamlining on lands within a half-mile of transit recouping, say, 50 percent to 75 percent of the value added. The state law authorizing such value-recapture assessments would probably need to be approved by referendum vote. But once it is enacted, cities would have a fiscal incentive to supplant project-specific haggling with transparent, value-enhancing and development-enabling rules. Our states housing-affordability crisis was decades in the making, and these solutions wont work miracles overnight. But if state-mandated upzoning is off the table, and state-mandated planning is ineffectual, we had better start thinking about ways the state might intervene at the root, targeting the local politics of housing. Chris Elmendorf, Rick Frank and Darien Shanske are law professors at UC Davis School of Law. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/opinion. Victim after victim is sounding a harsh note that San Franciscos leaders should hear. Rape cases arent getting the handling they demand, allowing assailants to escape justice and leaving victims unheeded and alone. Its a situation that demands serious attention. A Chronicle investigation and searing testimony at City Hall are illuminating the difficulties women face in getting medical and legal help. The response too often is an official shrug, with evidence uncollected, skeptical police questioning or prosecutions slow walked to nothingness. The personal experiences of victims willing to speak publicly are painful to hear. In response, the city is promising results in the form of new policies and better training. Those pledges must be watched for genuine results. Though crime is generally down in the city, reported sex assault cases handled by San Francisco General Hospital are up by 21 percent from 2015 to 2017. Compounding the problem is another statistic showing that only 0.4 to 5.4 percent of rape cases are prosecuted nationally, according to a victims rights journal in 2012. The frustrating gap between assaults and prosecutions is troubling in the era of the #MeToo movement and in a city where a majority of the Board of Supervisors are women. But experts argue that rape cases can be challenging, especially when drugs and alcohol are a factor, a complication that often turns the focus on victims and not their attackers. Such obstacles cant be allowed to delay action. It is like everyone is standing around watching you drown, said Rachel Sutton, who was drugged and assaulted in 2014. Her case has languished with prosecutors. The city reaction must be meaningful and complete. Rape victims should be treated promptly at the first stopping point at San Francisco General, where initial tests can be crucial in collecting evidence. Police should be trained to draw out testimony in ways that arent dismissive. Prosecutors should push for criminal cases aggressively. Supervisor Hillary Ronen, visibly shaken by the public testimony, is promising to pursue the matter of the citys inadequate handling of rape cases. She and the rest of the citys leadership should follow through on the troubling inattention to a serious crime. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. In an essay published a couple of weeks ago about how to evaluate restaurants where the chef or owner has been charged with harassment, I was wavering on whether to include five important restaurants previously in the Top 100. Three remain and two were deleted. Here is my reasoning. As a reviewer I focus exclusively on the dining experience and those places that deliver a superior dining experience. To look beyond my experience at the table isnt fair to the staff who made the restaurant special, or to the dining public. What I can do is to give readers the information they need to decide whether to support a restaurant under a cloud of harassment allegations. Tosca Cafe had a long, distinguished history before it was bought and refurbished by April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman. Friedman has been accused of harassment associated with the Spotted Pig in New York, but he is not involved in the day-to day-operation of Tosca. The same chef, Josh Even, has been in the kitchen since it opened in 2013. Its his work, and that of the rest of the staff, that qualifies the restaurant for the Top 100. I also left in Bottega in Yountville and Coqueta in San Francisco, even though it has been reported that chef/owner Michael Chiarello has settled two law suits out of court in 2010 and 2016. As I reviewer I report on the overall experience, and on every visit to both restaurants the food, service and overall quality have consistently been excellent. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. I did drop Pizzaiolo and Boot & Shoe Service in Oakland, owned by Charlie Hallowell, from the list. Because of the magnitude of the ongoing situationit was reported last week that he is selling Boot & Shoe to employeesit felt as if there are too many unresolved questions to include those restaurants. Michael Bauer is The Chronicles restaurant critic. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Millions of tons of debris have been cleared in Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties following the devastation of Octobers wildfires, mostly the scorched remnants of lost homes, cars, toys and other possessions. But also found among the wreckage have been several long-buried American Indian artifacts, including charm stones and an obsidian arrowhead. Just how many relics have been found among the more than 2.2 million tons of fire debris that had been removed as of Tuesday, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, is not known. Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, and Clay Carithers, of the Army Corps of Engineers, confirmed that artifacts had been discovered. But precisely what may have been found and where is a closely held secret. When that stuff gets into the press, you ignite grave robbers, Sarris said. Weve had long battles with people and professional archaeologists who feel its their right to collect our heritage. Carithers echoed Sarris caution. He said that the Corps had a great deal of concern about amateur Indiana Joneses possibly digging into the debris. Fears of looting of the scene prompted local officials to set a curfew for after 6:45 p.m. in the evacuated part of Santa Rosa even as the fires still burned in October. Two men were arrested that month for carrying burglary tools and driving after the curfew. This isnt like a rampant thing, but I have been advised that people have been rummaging around in places that they shouldnt be, Carithers said. In Sarris view, and the view of the tribe, the artifacts should remain exactly where they were found: underground. Practically, the hope has been always when weve come across skeletal remains or artifacts, that they are reburied as close as possible to where they were found, Sarris said. We do the reburial within the area, and we generally dont tell people. That has a lot to do with our beliefs. The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria found themselves in a dispute with a group of archaeologists in 2014, following the discovery of a massive trove of artifacts in Larkspur. Archaeologists wanted to study and catalog the tools, human remains, musical instruments, spears and bear bones found at the site. Much to their chagrin, however, the tribe reburied the entire collection; the site was then paved over for a multimillion-dollar development. Sarris was angry, too. How would Jewish or Christian people feel if we wanted to dig up skeletal remains in a cemetery and study them? Nobody has that right, he told The Chronicle at the time. American Indian activists and others are involved in a similar battle in West Berkeley, where plans for the development of a parking lot would require unearthing a portion of the site of a former tribal shellmound. Representatives of three autonomous Ohlone family bands Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Himre-n-Ohlone, and Medina Family spent years negotiating with the developer over the size and configuration of the development, but most recently have stated their opposition to any development there, the only empty land remaining at the former shellmound site. Vincent Medina, a spokesman for the groups, said recently: Our sacred sites were never given up by our families not legally, nor in theory. They are not properties or parcel numbers that can be bought and sold. ... Where we draw the line is when you propose to dig up and desecrate the most sacred places where our ancestors are buried. So far, in the clearing of the fire debris in the North Bay, Sarris said, there hasnt been any friction. Members of the tribe monitor work anytime theres a major construction project in areas known to be sacred sites, he said. If tribal artifacts are found, contractors stop work to document and investigate to ensure they have removed everything, said Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers. The next steps are coordinated by the tribal monitors, archaeologists, the Army Corps of Engineers and others. Jelmer Eerkens, a professor of archaeology at UC Davis, said that California was one of the most populous areas in the world prior to contact with European settlers, and there are artifacts all over Sonoma County. California had one of the highest population densities in the world of Native Americans pre-contact, Eerkens said. He said that in recent years, the archaeological community has tried to do a better job at respecting tribes wishes. In general, archaeologists would like to curate and put artifacts in a museum, so that we can study them in the future, Eerkens said. But at the same time, were people and we understand that a lot of tribes find that problematic, so we try more and more to work with tribes in how we practice our profession. Sarris said the spiritual implications of reburial are important to the tribe. This is the genocide beneath our feet, he said, and weve been very aggressive about protecting our ancestors and what remains and should remain in the soil. Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney SACRAMENTO Joseph James DeAngelo hunched in his wheelchair, his 72-year-old body looking pale and feeble in an orange jumpsuit inside the courtroom. In a barely audible voice, the man police say was a prolific serial killer and rapist who terrorized California in the 1970s and 80s, spoke just briefly, his eyes hanging heavily, his wrists handcuffed to his wheelchair. The brief arraignment on Friday in a courtroom at the Sacramento County Jail gave the public its first look at the person accused in the Golden State Killer case since police revealed the stunning news of the suspects arrest Wednesday. DeAngelo looked confused at times as television and news cameras focused in on him. Is Joseph James DeAngelo your true and correct legal name? asked Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Sweet in the first-floor courtroom tucked inside the citys downtown jail. Yes, DeAngelo answered in a voice just above a whisper. DeAngelos court-appointed public defender, Diane Howard, at times placed her hand on her clients shoulder and appeared to try to help him understand what the judge was saying. Later, after the court proceeding, Howard said DeAngelo is depressed and fragile. There has been a media firestorm up in Sacramento, and it seems like he has already been convicted in the press, Howard said. DeAngelo, who sat stone-faced in the courtroom, said little else during the minutes-long proceeding other than to confirm that he wanted to be represented by a public defender. His weakened appearance took some by surprise, particularly since investigators who had tailed DeAngelo prior to his arrest described him as active. Neighbors described him as high-strung and always talking or yelling. DeAngelo is on suicide watch at the county jail, but not because he has exhibited any particularly behavior, said Sacramento County sheriffs Sgt. Shaun Hampton. Suicide watch indicates an inmate is being held in a private area of the jail where there is medical, psychiatric and other staff on hand. In this kind of situation and for a crime of this magnitude we do it for his safety and as a precaution, Hampton said. The courtroom was packed with reporters, victims and their families, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and people with no other reason to be there than sheer interest. Several, including Renee Voelker of Sacramento, said they came to see the boogeyman that haunted their communities brought to justice. Not everyone trying to get into Courtroom 61, on the ground floor of the Sacramento County Jail building in which DeAngelo is being held, made it inside. It was too full. After a follow-up court date was scheduled for May 14, he was wheeled out. He did not enter a plea to the two murder charges he faces in Sacramento County, which stem from the shooting deaths of a young couple near their Rancho Cordova home in 1978 as they walked their dog. That couple Mather Air Force Base Sgt. Brian Maggiore and Katie Maggiore were shot and killed seemingly at random, detectives said. Prosecutors in several other counties said they plan to file additional charges attributed to the suspect also called the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. The ex-police officer allegedly committed 12 murders and dozens of rapes some during the time he was a cop from 1976 to 1986. But it wasnt until a DNA profile was produced with evidence nearly 20 years ago that so many of the crimes were connected to one suspect. Prior to the ability to use DNA evidence, only some of the crimes had been linked by the suspects unusual method of toying with and torturing his victims and the calling card shoelace bindings he left behind. The long-sought capture of a suspect in the case came after detectives used DNA evidence found at a murder scene and plugged it into an open-sourced genealogy website to identify relatives. Investigators then narrowed the possible suspects based on the presumed age and geography of the suspect they were hunting. DeAngelo had been a police officer in Placer and Tulare counties at the time some of the crimes were committed. Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez The San Francisco Police Department tweeted before-and-after images of a homeless encampment raid in the Tenderloin Wednesday, leading many to wonder where the people living in tents moved. In one photo, a half-dozen tents are seen in a row along a sidewalk on Ellis Street. In the subsequent image, the same sidewalk is shown clear of the encampment and hosed down with water. On Twitter, SFPD touted the effort writing, "We tackled the 300 block of Ellis Street and the 400 block of Stevenson Street with @sfpublicworks this morning," Many in social media expressed concern over the raid and criticized and questioned SFPD's use of the word "tackle." "'Tackled'? Are you for real? These are residents of our city and members of our community and we're supposed to thank you for hosing them away?" asked @lipstick_denim. Twitter users also wondered whether people who lived in the tents were provided other housing or were offered services. "Where are these people now," Twitter user Cathy Reisenwitz asked. "So you made helpless and homeless citizens go somewhere else??? But where?? But did you actually help those in need??" Damon Oliver chimed in. "This is not something to brag about. What happened to the PEOPLE who you shoved away? What happened to the PEOPLE?" @JimYoull asked. Some also applauded SFPD in the comments for cleaning up the streets. SFGATE reached out to SFPD for comment on this specific operation and didn't hear back before publishing this story. The raids took place days after San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell vowed to clean up San Francisco's streets and unveiled a plan to increase spending on street cleaning. On Wednesday, the city sent out teams of cleaners, counselors and police to remove tent camps, in an effort focused on the Mission District and ordered by Farrell. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that people were given notice and many moved before the raid happened. Of the situation, Jeff Kositsky, told the Chronicle, "We always lead with our services, and we are doing consistent and loving outreach, but at some point we need to let people know that what they're doing by keeping tent camps on the sidewalk is not legal, safe or healthy." The arrest of the alleged Golden State Killer has drawn tremendous renewed attention to a book by Michelle McNamara, who investigated the case for years and died before the book was published. The comedian Patton Oswalt, who was married to McNamara, said it was great news that police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspect in murders and rapes that the journalist wrote about in her true crime book, Ill Be Gone in the Dark: One Womans Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. DeAngelo, 72, was to make a court appearance April 27 in Sacramento on charges related to at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes from 1976 to 1986. Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers on April 26, Oswalt said the arrest was like a beginning of this whole other chapter. ... Now it feels like this thing that she wanted so badly is done. On Twitter, Oswalt wrote, Goodnight, Michelle. You did good. You aimed a light and helped the hunters catch a monster. Ill Be Gone in the Dark, which came out in February, has jumped to No. 2 on Amazons bestseller list. Hardcover copies of the book are temporarily out of stock on Amazon. McNamara died in her sleep in April 2016. She gave the murderer the name Golden State Killer. Investigative journalist Billy Jensen and researcher Paul Haynes helped finish the book. While not crediting McNamara police said DNA evidence linked DeAngelo to the crimes authorities said they received tips as a result of the book. The writer Amber Tamblyn, on Twitter, wrote: This is one of the most stunning stories Ive read in a long time. And let it be said here and now: #MichelleMcNamara deserves a post-humous Pulitzer in journalism for this. Truly. Stephen King was among those to praise McNamaras book. What readers need to know what makes this book so special is that it deals with two obsessions, one light and one dark, he wrote in his blurb of the book. The Golden State Killer is the dark half; Michelle McNamaras is the light half. Its a journey into two minds, one sick and disordered, the other intelligent and determined. The Associated Press contributed to this report. John McMurtrie is The San Francisco Chronicles book editor. Email: jmcmurtrie@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @McMurtrieSF Sprint and T-Mobile are in advanced discussions about merging, and a deal could be announced as soon as this weekend, people briefed on the matter said Friday. Such a deal would complete one of the telecommunications industrys most anticipated transactions and would create the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with more than 127 million customers. Sprint and T-Mobile have tried to negotiate a merger twice before, though plans collapsed for different reasons: the first time in 2014 because of opposition from regulators in the Obama administration, the second last year because of disputes over control of the combined company. Analysts have argued and Sprint and T-Mobile have acknowledged that the companies must grow, and gain more resources at their disposal, to better compete against the industrys leaders, Verizon and AT&T. The two companies are still negotiating the final details, the people briefed on the talks said. They also warned that the talks could be delayed or even fall apart. Should the deal be completed, just three companies would dominate the U.S. market for cell phone service. Before that, Sprint and T-Mobile will first need regulatory approval. Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 2014, publicly announced then that he would not allow the number of national wireless carriers to shrink to three from four. The Justice Department made similar comments, saying consumers would be harmed without four options for mobile providers. The regulatory picture has grown hazier since the Trump administration took office, which may provide an opportunity for the companies. The current FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, criticized the previous administrations strict approach to competition in the wireless industry. I dont think any regulator who embraces regulatory humility and intellectual honesty about economics can say whether three or four or five is the optimal number, Pai said in a 2017 interview with Recode, referring to the number of carriers operating with any scale in the United States. The Justice Department, whose antitrust division is led by Makan Delrahim, has been hard to predict, analysts say. Delrahim is suing to block AT&Ts purchase of Time Warner, saying that the deal would hurt competition and lead to higher prices for consumers. A representative from Sprint declined to comment, as did FCC and Justice Department officials. T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 2014, when T-Mobile and Sprint tried, the government said forget about it. The government hasnt said that yet, said Blair Levin, a policy adviser for New Street research. Michael J. de la Merced is a New York Times writer. The day before his retirement, Paul Holes parked a white Ford Taurus outside the Citrus Heights home of James Joseph DeAngelo. At that time, neither he nor DeAngelo knew the latter would be arrested at the same house a month later, his DNA and other evidence allegedly connecting him to 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. It was the end of March, and Holes a longtime cold-case investigator for the Contra Costa County district attorneys office was a central member of a multiagency team that had narrowed down the list of suspects in the case of the East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer, to a handful of men. The team had taken a novel approach, running crime-scene DNA against consumer genealogical websites in a bid to find the killer or his relatives. Holes had been involved in the case for 24 years, and this was the closest investigators had ever been. Or maybe not. DeAngelo was the only man in the small group of suspects Holes visited. The day before he turned in his department firearm, something brought him to the modest one-story home of the 72-year-old ex-cop and grandfather. DeAngelos age and other traits seemed to fit, and his past locations appeared to correlate with the series of rapes and homicides across California, Holes said. At that point, literally, I was just curious, Holes said by phone Thursday, a day after authorities announced DeAngelo had been arrested and was being charged with murder in multiple counties. Where is this guy living? At that point, he was just one of several. Hes just a maybe. Holes wrestled with whether to knock on the door and ask DeAngelo, Can I get your DNA? But he didnt. He drove away and retired the next day. Now, Holes said, hes glad he sat in his car. Theres no telling what would have happened, and it turned out that knocking on the door wouldnt be necessary. Sacramento County sheriffs deputies began surveilling the home last week and were able to obtain two surreptitious samples from DeAngelo, meaning they waited for him to discard something perhaps a cup or bottle with his DNA on it, officials said. The first sample was too weak, Holes said, so investigators got another and tested it, finding a match to the killers DNA. It was an exhilarating peak for Holes in a chase that began in the 1990s, when he worked on the case in the early years of DNA evidence. Its been very frustrating. You have your moments of highs thinking you got the guy, and then you crash when the DNA evidence eliminates him, Holes said. The frustration just builds. To finally get to the point where you find the right guy, it is a very good feeling. The cold case was not only Holes most difficult it was his first. He began looking for the East Area Rapist in 1996. A year later, DNA evidence definitively linked three Contra Costa County rapes two in Danville and one in San Ramon to a serial killer and rapist who had started out in Sacramento County, though detectives had already made the connection based on the suspects methods, Holes said. He then sought to connect the crime spree in Northern California to similar attacks in Southern California. The use of DNA in forensics was in its infancy, and it took four years before investigators verified in 2001 that the rapes and killings were committed by the same person, Holes said. In 2016, law enforcement officers from around the state formed a task force to hunt for the East Area Rapist. Holes colleagues are now marveling that his dogged work finally paid off. But he declined to describe the critical break in the case how investigators used the genealogical websites to find DeAngelo. Those types of details Im not at liberty to comment on, he said. We were leveraging anything we could. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno What tastes better than ice cream? Free ice cream. Dessert fanatics who visit Ghirardelli Square on Monday, April 30, will be able to get a bowl of the sweet stuff when the company hands out complimentary sundaes. The promotional celebration was prompted by a recent deal between Ghirardelli and United Airlines, wherein the airline carrier agreed to carry the chocolate company's ice cream toppings on transcontinental flights. RELATED: $13M Ghirardelli Square listing offers 7 parking spots, in-home spa, 16-foot kitchen island RELATED: San Francisco Brewery Co. plots Ghirardelli Square project On Monday between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., guests who visit the Ghirardelli Square ice cream shop at 900 North Point Street will be able to claim 500 free sundaes or, presumably, as many as they can churn out in two hours. Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira. "It was called Holy City, but it was not exactly a model of Christian piety. It was, rather, a commune and tourist trap created in the 1920s by a white-supremacist huckster," stated an article that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006, when the property on which the former compound sat went on the market for eleven million dollars. It was then owned by three elderly investors who have owned the property since 1966. Holy City was run in the 1920s and 30s by William Riker, a former necktie salesman and palm reader who ran for governor four times, and corresponded with Adolf Hitler. Over the years, fire, a freeway that cut off the compound, and neglect reduced the city to a few derelict buildings. At one time, Riker's followers sold food, gas, haircuts and his "Perfect Divine Christian Way" beliefs. The old Chronicle building's past unfurled with the turning of each leaf in a photo album, whose existence was unknown to all but a few who work in the building. It was shared with me by Richard Geiger, a longtime Chronicle librarian. I've spent a good part of the last 23 years in the fine old San Francisco Chronicle building that sits at 5th and Mission streets. There's not a lot left from 1924. In April 1906, the only thing that existed on the site was rubble and ash, in the shadow of one of the city's only downtown survivors, the Old Mint building. When Richard, who knew of my love of the city's history, pulled out the old album, I was blown away by the images. As I rapidly approach retirement, I thought it befitting to wind up my column with an article about the place, since it's now home to more than just the Chronicle. The paper got its start in 1865, when the de Young brothers borrowed a $20 gold piece that had to be returned within the week. Fast forward to 1924, when M.H. de Young spent $1.75 million for the 5th and Mission location, and proudly hailed it as the "most modern newspaper plant on earth." The main entrance, which was at 925 Mission Street, had "groined stone Gothic vaults in the lobby, with walls of variegated marble and mosaic marble tiled floors." The 3rd floor was the heart of the building, and in many ways, still is. Most facets of publishing a newspaper from editorial to printing and preparing for distribution were done at this location, and can be seen in the rare cache of photos documenting a great newspaper era. Designed by the architectural firm Weeks and Day, there's not much left of the once Gothic style details inside the structure, due to nearly a century of modernization. In the my years here, I've worked in many parts of the building. Ironically, I now sit in the area where the paper's founder and publisher, M.H. de Young, once had an office. I recently learned from Dave Byers, the head of building services, that the room in the corner of the suite, below the iconic clock tower, was not M. H. de Young's office. It was his apartment! He lived in Hillsborough at that time, which in 1924 was not a short jaunt. I also learned that there were traces of the old pneumatic system in the basement, a pair of now defunct walk-in safes, and parts of the old terrazzo and marble floors. One of the stairways still has the original iron and oak railings, with marble wainscoting. The exterior, while very recognizable through the decades, was stripped of some of its ornamentation, possibly in the 1960s. The Gothic style, which originally covered the 11th to 16th century ecclesiastical builders of Europe, bears a lizard, birds and other creatures taken from nature. During the latter part of this era, Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type. And William Caxton put through the press the first books printed in the English language. So, it was fitting to depict sculptured scenes of the early days of printing. The details were designed by Charles P. Weeks, of Weeks and Day. In 1924, de Young had his office in the old Chronicle building on Market near Kearny Street disassembled and moved to the new Chronicle building (see photo #1 in the gallery). The woodwork in the 3rd floor lobby still matches that seen surrounding the fireplace in that photo. The photos, mostly taken by a photographer named Gabriel Moulin, are evocative of an era when newspapers lined doorsteps, and reporters wore vests and garters on their arms. They had cigarettes dangling from their lips as the newsroom chattered with current events, decades before the digital age. When the Chronicle building was new, the pneumatic system was used to communicate with other parts of the building. You'd insert a tube and send it to another department. Banks used them in their drive-throughs not that many years ago. One of the photos that amazed me showed two people on a "man lift." You would stand on a circular disk, hold on to a firehouse-like pole, then be transported to another floor. When I first started working here, in 1994, there was still a little barbershop. I learned from the article, published in 1924, that the new San Francisco Chronicle building featured a full-service barber shop. It had three barbers, a manicurist and porter service! It was located in the lobby. Almost unbelievably, Moulin Studios, which was founded by the photographer Gabriel Moulin in 1909, is still in business. Moulin moved to San Francisco with his family in 1884, and worked as an assistant to the city's leading photographer, I.W. Taber. He was only 12 years old. He finished school by taking classes at night. In 1906, Moulin was working with R.J. Waters & Co. On April 18 of that year, Moulin pleaded with Waters to move their archives to a safe place, due to the approaching fire, subsequent to the devastating earthquake. Waters didn't heed his warning, and all the archives were lost. Gabriel went to work independently, and took many photos of the ruins. The Moulin Studio archives contain more than 10,000 unique photographs, many never published or seen by the public. The last part of the slideshow shows some of the vestiges of the early days. I want to thank the many readers who have shared my passion for San Francisco's history. It's been quite a journey here at 5th and Mission streets. I started out in one of the tougher departments, customer service for circulation. I came from a background in crisis intervention. Boy, I had no idea that a wet or missed paper would rise to a greater challenge. But, I felt people's frustration, and put myself in their shoes. I was proud to help resolve any and all problems that our subscribers encountered. For nine years, I taught others in the department just how to do that. I was part of the inception of customer service moving into the next century, when it went digital. That opened the door to a position at SFGATE, a site that I love and admire. I've had many responsibilities in my years at the Gate. And, once in a while, I'd contribute an article about antiques, collectibles, and especially San Francisco's past. The readers ate it up, and that's where I wind down. Thank you Brandon Mercer and Bill Disbrow for the incredible opportunity. As of June 1, 2017, I'll be retiring. Bob Bragman is a producer for SFGATE. His writing reflects his love of the Bay Area, in addition to his passion for vintage pop culture, ephemera and vernacular photographs. To see more of his content, please click here. Michelangelo Antonioni once summed up his filmmaking philosophy in one sentence: Im looking for traces of feeling in men. In women, too. From Gabriele Ferzetti and Monica Vitti searching for their missing friend (and their own souls) along the Mediterranean in LAvventura to David Hemmings photographer who might have uncovered a murder within the emptiness of his images of Swingin 60s London in Blow-Up, to Jack Nicholsons TV news reporter who exchanges identities with a dead man (thus searching for his own) in The Passenger, Antonioni depicts people who find themselves trapped in a material, modern world, with meaning slowly slipping away even as they try desperately to find it. A true artist of the 20th century, Antonioni (1912-2007) will be celebrated at the Castro Theatre on Saturday, April 28, with new restorations of five of his films and an evening party. The daylong celebration is presented by Luce Cinecitta in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, the Consulate General of Italy and The Leonardo da Vinci Society, all organized by Cinema Italia of San Francisco. The day begins bright and early at 10:30 a.m. with LAvventura, a landmark film that changed the course of Antonionis career at age 48, after 20 years in the Italian film industry the last 10 as a director. And I do mean bright: LAvventura, soaked in the Mediterranean sun and screening in 35mm, is one of the most gorgeously shot black-and-white films, with intense compositions that emphasize distance, both physical and emotional, and detail: rocks, wooden doors, architecture, crashing ocean waves, faces. It is about Anna (Lea Massari) on a boating trip with her boyfriend Sandro (Ferzetti) and her best friend Claudia (Vitti, who stars in three of the five films Saturday). Suddenly, Anna disappears without a trace. Sandro and Claudia search for her. But as they search for her, these two unfinished souls become attracted to each other, and Anna becomes a distant thought. Federico Fellinis La Dolce Vita, also about emotional and moral emptiness in the material world, came out around the same time, and there was fierce debate on which film took the better approach. Fellinis film is so full of life and vigor (the title, after all, translates as The Sweet Life) before that emotional house of cards collapses, while the characters in LAvventura never seem to have tasted the sweetness. The titles translation, The Adventure, seems more like an ironic joke. LAvventura was the first of a thematic trilogy, followed by La Notte (not screening Saturday) and capped by LEclisse (The Eclipse), a film which demands to be seen on the Castro big screen as Antonioni pushes his own envelope both philosophically and visually. In this one, Vitti is a literary translator who breaks up with her lover she doesnt love him, and likely never did. On the rebound, she becomes smitten with a hotshot, handsome young stockbroker (Alain Delon), and they begin an affair that, as modern affairs often do, plays out during breaks between their hectic schedules. Its pretty obvious that, while they have fun, this is not a relationship thats built to last. The breakup is the last seven minutes of the film, a bold sequence that is perhaps the most discussed seven minutes of Antonionis career. The afternoon concludes with Red Desert (Il Deserto Rosso) Antonionis first film in color, muted to emphasize the drabness of its setting: polluted industrial landscapes that serve as the backdrop of the increasingly toxic Vitti, a neglected housewife of the manager of a petrochemical plant who begins an affair with a business associate of her husbands (Richard Harris). The affair, however, only accelerates her unraveling; it might be Vittis best performance. By this point, Antonioni was an international star. Hollywood took notice, and Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who had just gone international by producing David Leans Doctor Zhivago, and MGM signed Antonioni to a three-picture deal. The first, Blow-Up, was a megahit that influenced not only filmmaking, but also fashion and college campus debates, and it helped make Vanessa Redgrave a star. Hemmings fashion photographer Thomas is fabulously successful, available for parties and emotionally disconnected sex. His search for meaning begins when hes out shooting random photographs in a park, and focuses his lens on a interesting young couple kissing on the grass. The woman (Redgrave) spots the photographer and demands he hand over the film. He refuses, and when he develops the film, notices that the woman is looking worriedly at a figure obscured by trees, with an arm that appears to be holding a pistol. The next day, the photographer returns to the spot and finds a dead body, setting in motion a personal journey for Thomas, who tries to hide from reality by hitting clubs and drug-fueled parties. Herbie Hancock wrote the score, the Yardbirds make an appearance, and then there are these mimes appearing here and there during the film ... The tribute is capped by The Passenger, the last film in the MGM-Ponti deal (after Zabriskie Point, not screening here). David Locke, Nicholsons TV reporter, finds out the man he has switched identities with was a gunrunner for an African rebel group. Nonetheless, working off the dead mans appointment book, he keeps meetings in Munich and Barcelona and gets in deeper danger. All of Antonionis themes alienation and identity set against a harsh mixture of desolate rural landscapes and cramped city architecture are honed to perfection and capped in a bravura seven-minute closing sequence, done in one shot. Nicholson made this around the time of Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, yet his restrained, internal performance anticipates the pre-maniacal form of his character in The Shining; David Locke is Nicholson as would be imagined by Camus, a man as addicted to his imagined rootlessness as he is nonplussed. Note: A more extensive summer-long Antonioni series, which will include short films and documentaries as well as features, begins June 15 at the Berkeley Art Museums Pacific Film Archive (www.bampfa.org). G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen Homage to Michelangelo Antonioni: Saturday, April 28. LAvventura 10:30 a.m.; LEclisse 1:30 p.m.; Red Desert 4 p.m.; Blow-Up 6:30 p.m.; The Passenger 10 p.m. $12 per film before 6:30 p.m.; $14 per evening film; $25 for party (8 p.m.); $70 all day pass. Castro Theatre. 429 Castro St., S.F. (415) 621-6120. www.cinemaitaliasf.com PHOENIX As thousands of teachers and supporters gathered at the Arizona Capitol to protest inadequate public school funding for a second day Friday, Gov. Doug Ducey again skipped the chance to address them. Instead, the Republican governors public relations machine sent out links to a series of interviews the previous day with TV news reporters where Ducey pushed his plan to boost teacher pay by 20 percent by 2020, talking point by talking point. The scene was far different Friday in Denver, where several thousand teachers gathered for a second day to protest low education funding were greeted by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. He said he would work to have the state repay all of the approximately $1 billion borrowed from education during the recession. We see you. We hear you, said Hickenlooper, who wore a red checked shirt and spoke for less than five minutes. We are working with you, not just today. However, Hickenlooper didnt offer any funding above what has already been proposed for next year. Some teachers shouted over him, We want more, while others applauded his pledge. Ducey, who is seeking re-election this year, never showed up to address the 50,000 educators and supporters Thursday or the thousands who were at the Capitol on Friday. He has called the leaders of the grassroots group that organized the walkout with the Arizona Education Association politically motivated. Hes not listening, said Kelly Grant, a Mesa teacher. Theres five demands, there has been from the beginning. So we just want someone to sit down with our people, make some effort. Theyre not making an effort. Ducey has refused to meet with walkout leaders, instead inviting a handful of selected educators to meetings. Just two weeks ago, he was completely ignoring the demands of teachers who began protesting in early March, after educators in West Virginia went on strike and won big raises. Educators in Oklahoma and Kentucky followed. In a surprise move on April 12, Ducey tried to sideline the protests by announcing he had found a way to boost teacher pay by 9 percent this year, followed by 5 percent raises in 2019 and 2020. He also is counting a 1 percent raise he gave last year to come to the 20 percent figure. That would cost about $650 million a year by 2020 in a state that has consistently cut taxes as the governor moves to shrink government and enact more tax cuts. But teachers like Grant who have organized in a grassroots movement never seen before in the state are not bending. They want not only the 20 percent raise, but better pay for support staff, yearly teacher raises, a restoration of school funding to 2008 levels and no new tax cuts until the state per-pupil funding reaches the national average. Carrie Deahl, an English teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District, said she was disappointed that the governor and Legislature werent meeting with the organizers of the #RedforEd movement. Arizona teachers are among the lowers paid in the nation. Schools that educate the vast majority of the states 1.1 million public school students closed Thursday and Friday as teachers walked off the job. Bob Christie is an Associated Press writer. An evacuation order was lifted Friday in northwestern Wisconsin where a refinery plant explosion injured at least 11 people and sent billowing plumes of smoke into the air. Superior Mayor Jim Paine said all indications are that the refinery site was safe and stable, and that the air quality returned to normal. He lifted the order just before 6 a.m. Authorities said the fire at the Husky Energy oil refinery was extinguished late Thursday but the evacuation remained overnight for Superior, a city of about 27,000 residents that shares a Lake Superior shipping port with nearby Duluth, Minn. A tank of crude oil or asphalt exploded about 10 a.m. Thursday at the refinery, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of a 3-mile radius around the refinery, as well as a 10-mile corridor south of it where the smoke was heading. It was unclear how many people evacuated, but Paine said most of the city was affected. The refinery is in an industrial area, but theres a residential neighborhood within a mile to the northeast. The corridor downwind to the south of the refinery is sparsely populated. Schools in Superior and nearby Maple, Wis., canceled classes Friday as a precaution. Hospital officials said one of the injured was seriously hurt. No deaths were reported, and officials said all workers had been accounted for. Thick, black smoke that could be seen for miles poured from the refinery hours after the explosion. Refinery manager Kollin Schade said the smoke was from burning asphalt that was so hot firefighters were unable to attack the blaze. Emergency officials later said another tank had caught fire, too, though they didnt specify what was in it. A four-person team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board will investigate the blast. The board makes safety recommendations after serious chemical incidents. The fire was initially put out about 11:20 a.m. Thursday, but it reignited, prompting police to urge residents living within the evacuation area to leave. Police blocked roads into the area around the refinery. Three schools and St. Marys Hospital in Superior were evacuated as a precaution. A contractor who was inside the building told WDIO television that the explosion sounded like a sonic boom and that it happened when crews were working on shutting the plant down for repairs. Kara Tudor, 30, and Julia Johnson, 27, live a couple of miles from the refinery and were ordered to evacuate. They quickly scooped up their two dogs and three cats, grabbed their toothbrushes and drove to a friends house in Duluth, where they were watching the news for updates. Johnson, who was working from home at the time of the blast, said the windows shook. It felt like something had hit the house, like a vehicle or a branch from a tree, Johnson said. Our dogs started barking. It was a stressful moment. Oil smoke can contain a mix of noxious hydrocarbons and other chemicals with potential short- and long-term health effects . Husky Energy, based in Calgary, Alberta, bought the refinery from Calumet Specialty Products Partners of Indianapolis last year for more than $490 million. It is Wisconsins only refinery, and it produces gasoline, asphalt and other products. Amy Forliti and Jeff Baenen are Associated Press writers. NEW YORK President Trumps personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and the lawyers father-in-law have lent $26 million in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. Semyon Sam Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohens father-in-law, created Cannaboss LLC, based in Nevada, the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show. He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic), according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nev., that was obtained by the AP under the states public records law. Its not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 to finance his grow operation. Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohens hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Fla., as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman. Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cell phone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner. Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws. Jake Pearson and Stephen Braun are Associated Press writers. Multiple package bombs have exploded in the Austin area since March 2 and, with the city on edge, comparisons to the infamous Unabomber have been plentiful. But does Ted Kaczynski's nearly 20-year bombing campaign bear similarities to the Texas serial bomber? Here's our explainer of the Unabomber case and how it is and isn't similar to the Austin bombings: Who was the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski, born in Chicago in 1942, was an extraordinarily bright young man, earning a scholarship to Harvard when he was just 16 years old. Harvard was rough on Kaczynski, who struggled to fit in at his young age. (And then there are the mind-eroding experiments Kaczynski was reportedly subjected to during his Harvard years.) After completing both his master's and doctorate in mathematics, he was hired as an assistant math professor at UC Berkeley. At 25, he was the youngest to ever hold the position. But things quickly devolved for the math prodigy. According to students, he was a lackluster instructor, and he abruptly resigned in 1969, two years after taking the position. After a brief sojourn home, he moved to into a tiny, hand-built cabin in the woods outside Lincoln, Montana. Without electricity or running water, Kaczynski believed he could return to man's ideal state, free of the technology he believed was destroying the world. How did the Unabomber pick his targets? In line with his deep distrust of modernity, the Unabomber chose people he thought represented the perils of technology. He targeted engineering and computer science professors, computer store owners, airlines, and lobbyists, among others. Where did his nickname come from? In Nov. 1979, Kaczynski decided he needed to escalate. He sent one of his bombs via airmail, looking to destroy an airplane mid-flight. The bomb detonated in the cargo hold of American Airlines Flight 444, but it fortunately didn't function properly. Everyone survived, although some suffered smoke inhalation. Because airline bombing is a federal crime, the FBI then joined the hunt. His two previous bombings were both directed at Northwestern University, so the FBI created the acronym UNABOMB, which stood for "university and airline bomber." More for you 7 things we know about Austin-area bombings How many people were injured or killed by his bombs? The Unabomber sent 16 confirmed bombs that resulted in three fatalities and 23 injuries. The three deaths were Hugh Scrutton, a Sacramento computer store owner, Thomas J. Mosser, an ad executive in New Jersey, and Gilbert Brent Murray, a timber industry lobbyist in Sacramento. How does the "manifesto" play into story? In 1995, after nearly two decades of sending mail bombs undetected, Kaczynski made the mistake that would lead to his arrest: He sent letters to the media ordering them to publish his manifesto, "Industrial Society and Its Future." The 35,000-word treatise detailed what he saw as society's downfall since the Industrial Revolution. The Unabomber blamed the world's ills on the pervasiveness of technology. Only returning to "wild nature" could save humanity, he argued. After its publication, Kaczynski's brother, David, recognized the writing as his brother's. He tipped the FBI, which set the wheels in motion for Kaczynski's arrest on April 3, 1996 at his Montana cabin. Is Ted Kaczynski still alive? Yes. He was given eight life sentences without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to all charges in 1998. He's currently imprisoned at ADX Florence, a supermax prison in Colorado. So are the Texas bombs similar to Kaczynski's? Yes, in that they've primarily been bombs built into packages. But it's hard to conclusively draw any other parallels without knowing the Austin bomber's motives. Although the Unabomber's targets seemed random, Kaczynski had a clear internal methodology. Law enforcement initially speculated the Austin bomber might be targeting minorities the first victims were all either black or Hispanic but the next incident occurred in a primarily white neighborhood. There's also been an incredibly rapid escalation: Four bombs in less than a month. Kaczynski scattered 16 bombs over two decades. Also unlike the Unabomber, the Austin bomber utilizes a range of bombing techniques. Explosives triggered by trip wires and bombs set off by tilting the package have been linked to the bomber. Only one of the bombs was sent through the mail; the others were placed at residences. Two things the Austin bomber and Ted Kaczynski may have in common: According to researchers, most serial bombers possess "above-average intelligence" and an intense sense of rage. "[The Texas bomber is] learning. They're feeling more and more confident," Randall Rogan, who worked with the FBI on the Unabomber case, told the Associated Press. "There becomes a game of wits, who can outsmart the other." The man charged with being the Golden State Killer, who killed a dozen people and raped dozens of women in California decades ago, worked quietly for years in a supermarket warehouse. Save Mart spokeswoman Victoria Castro says Joseph DeAngelo worked at the distribution center in Roseville near Sacramento for 27 years before retiring last year. Castro says none of his workplace actions would have led the company to suspect him of a link to the crimes. DeAngelo, who's 72, was taken into custody Tuesday as he left his Sacramento-area home. Authorities say they suspect he's the man who terrorized people across the state with killings, rapes and burglaries in the 1970s and 1980s. So far, he's been charged with eight murders. ___ A California sheriff says a former police officer accused of being a serial killer and rapist was taken by surprise when deputies swooped in and arrested him as he stepped out of his home. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said deputies planned to arrest Joseph DeAngelo when he left his home on Tuesday rather than burst in or knock on the door of the suburban home. Jones said DeAngelo appeared surprised that he was being arrested in decades-old crimes and appeared to briefly contemplate some sort of plan. Jones said DeAngelo then told deputies he had a roast in the oven. Jones said DeAngelo was taken into custody without incident. ___ 5:30 p.m. A man accused of committing serial killings and rapes in the 1970s and '80s in California has been charged with four more counts of murder. Orange County prosecutors said Wednesday that Joseph James DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, was charged in the 1980 killings of Keith and Patrice Harrington in Dana Point. He's also charged with raping and killing 28-year-old Manuela Witthuhn in 1981 and 18-year-old Janelle Cruz in 1986. Police have said they believe DeAngelo is the so-called Golden State Killer who is suspected of committing at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California. DeAngelo was taken into custody Tuesday as he left his Sacramento-area home. He's been charged with eight murders. ___ 3:50 p.m. Comedian Patton Oswalt is crediting his late wife for her work in pursuit of the so-called Golden State Killer. In an Instagram video on Wednesday, Oswalt says: "You did it, Michelle." Michelle McNamara had made it her mission to find the person responsible for at least 12 murders and 50 rapes throughout California in the 1970s and 80s. McNamara died in her sleep at the age of 46 in April 2016 before she could finish the book she was writing about the case. Oswalt helped finish the book and it became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller. On Wednesday, authorities said a DNA match led them to arrest Joseph James DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, as a suspect. Police say the book had no information that "directly led to the apprehension." ___ 3:40 p.m. Neighbors say a man who authorities suspect of being a serial killer in the 1970s and '80s was prone to angry, profanity-filled outbursts if he couldn't find his keys or something else set him off. Natalia Bedes-Correnti said Wednesday that Joseph James DeAngelo never yelled at people but would be on "his driveway yelling and screaming, looking for his keys." Kevin Tapia, now 36, said when he was a teenager, DeAngelo falsely accused him of throwing things over their shared fence, prompting a heated exchange between DeAngelo and Tapia's father. Tapia says DeAngelo was a "weird guy" and kept to himself. DeAngelo has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the 1980 killings of a couple. An attacker known as the Golden State Killer or East Area Rapist is accused of at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California. ___ 1:25 p.m. California authorities say they studied the behavior of a man they suspect of being a serial killer in the 1970s and '80s and surprised him with arrest. Sacramento County Scott Jones told reporters that Joseph James DeAngelo was taken into custody without incident Wednesday as he left his Sacramento-area home. He was a former police officer in the city of Auburn. Jones said DeAngelo also was an officer in Exeter, in Southern California, from 1973 to 1976 "around the time of the Visalia Ransacker cases." That serial criminal was tied to burglaries and one killing. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert says DeAngelo's name hadn't been on authorities' radar before last week in connection with the "East Area Rapist" case. That serial killer is tied to at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California. ___ 12:55 p.m. A family member of a couple who were victims of a California serial killer decades ago said the arrest of a suspect has brought closure. Bruce Harrington, whose brother and sister-in-law were killed in 1980 in Orange County, told reporters Wednesday that it's time for victims' families to grieve and "bring closure to the anguish that we all suffered for the last 40 odd years." He cheered the work of law enforcement, who said they arrested Joseph James DeAngelo on Wednesday after DNA helped solve the case. Prosecutors say Harrington's brother, 24-year-old Keith Harrington and his wife, 27-year-old Patrice Harrington, were killed in 1980 in their home. DeAngelo has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the 1980 killings of a couple in Ventura County. An attacker who became known as the "East Area Rapist" is accused of at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California. ___ 12:45 p.m. California authorities say a man they suspect of being a serial killer tied to dozens of slayings and sexual assaults in the 1970s and '80s has been charged with murder. Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten told reporters Wednesday that his office charged Joseph James DeAngelo with two counts of first-degree murder in the 1980 killings of a couple. Totten says prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the former police officer. Authorities in Sacramento County also have arrested DeAngelo on suspicion of murder in the slayings of married couple Brian and Katie Maggiore in 1978. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert says DNA helped solve the case. The attacker who became known as the "East Area Rapist" is accused of at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across the state. ___ 12:35 p.m. California authorities say DNA in two 1978 killings in Sacramento led to the arrest of a man suspected of being a serial killer tied to dozens of slayings and sexual assaults in the 1970s and '80s. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert told reporters Wednesday that the DNA helped solve the case in the last six days. She said the "answer was always going to be in the DNA" and the connection came in the slayings of Brian and Katie Maggiore. Authorities say a serial killer committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across the state. The attacker became known as the "East Area Rapist." ___ 12:25 p.m. California authorities say the arrest of a suspected California serial killer who's accused of dozens of slayings and sexual assaults in the 1970s and '80s comes after tireless work. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert told reporters Wednesday that dozens of people committed their professional lives to the search and spent hundreds of hours seeking "justice for these victims and their families." Authorities say a serial killer committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across the state. The attacker became known as the "East Area Rapist." ___ 11:30 a.m. A law enforcement official has identified a suspected California serial killer as 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer. The official confirmed the identity on condition of anonymity before an official news conference planned for noon Wednesday. Sacramento County jail records show DeAngelo was arrested overnight on suspicion of two counts of murder cited in a Ventura County warrant. The FBI says it has a team gathering evidence at a Sacramento-area home linked to DeAngelo. Authorities say a serial killer committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across the state in the 1970s and 1980s. The attacker became known as the "East Area Rapist." __ This story has been corrected to say DeAngelo's age is 72, not 77. __ 11 a.m. A victim of a notorious Northern California serial killer and rapist says she's overjoyed after learning that police believe they've arrested the man responsible. Jane Carson-Sandler says she received an email Wednesday from a retired detective who worked on the case telling her they identified the man and have him in custody. She says she's ecstatic to have closure and to know her attacker is in jail. Carson-Sandler, who now lives near Hilton Head, South Carolina, was one of dozens of women raped by an elusive serial killer police say killed at least 12 people. She was attacked in her Citrus Heights, California, home in 1976. She and her three-year-old son were snuggled in bed together one morning after her husband left for work when the man broke into her house. She says she hopes she'll have the opportunity to face her attacker in person. She says she has a lot of questions for him. __ 9 a.m. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office plans to make a 'major announcement" in the case of an elusive serial killer they say committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California in the 1970s and 1980s. District Attorney's spokeswoman Shelly Orio says a news conference will be held Wednesday afternoon in Sacramento to make "a major announcement." FBI and California officials in 2016 renewed their search for the suspect dubbed the East Area Rapist and announced a $50,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. He's linked to more than 175 crimes in all between 1976 and 1986. A woman who was sexually assaulted by a man believed to be the East Area Rapist in 1976 and now lives in South Carolina tells The Island Packet newspaper Wednesday that she has been contacted by two detectives about an arrest. __ This story has been corrected to say DeAngelo's age is 72, not 77. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) More than two weeks of rallying outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice by the family of a homeless man killed by police in 2016 concluded this evening with a final plea for District Attorney George Gascon to press charges against the involved officers. The family of Luis Gongora Pat has been rallying outside the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St. since April 11 to hold Gascon accountable after he said he would make a charging decision within six to eight weeks during a Feb. 28th meeting with Gongora Pat's family. "It's very lamentable that we're here doing these rallies to demand that the District Attorney George Gascon keep his word. It's very lamentable that this man is Latino and he sought our support to win the position in a sanctuary city," Gongora Pat's cousin, Luis Poot Pat said in Spanish today outside the Hall of Justice. "Exactly eight weeks ago yesterday, we had a meeting with him," Poot Pat said. "Now we're waiting for him to bother to take on the time to do his job...stop covering up for killer police officers," he said. The family and their supporters concluded the two weeks of rallying with a 24-hour vigil that started Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., with each hour meant to represent the 24 people who have died at the hands of police in San Francisco since 2011, when Gascon was first elected into office. Coincidently, Wednesday would also have been Gongora Pat's 38th birthday. Gongora Pat's younger brother, Jose Gongora, has been very active in the quest for justice for his brother, rallying every Friday around noon for more than a year outside the Hall of Justice. During Wednesday's 24-hour vigil, Jose Gongora and a group of activist stayed posted outside the building the entire night. "For us it wasn't hard -- we're used to it all. We're Maya. We're strong and we don't fold easily," he said in Spanish. Even though the family hasn't heard from Gascon since the Feb. 28th meeting, Jose Gongora said he has no intentions of stopping his activism. "If it's possible I'll be here everyday, because Mr. Gascon hasn't given my brother justice and so somehow I'll find justice on my own. This is just the beginning," he said. Today, District Attorney's Office spokesman Alex Bastian said Gongora Pat's case remains under investigation. Gongora Pat, an indigenous Mayan man from the Mexican state of Yucatan, had lived in the U.S. for more than a decade but was living at a homeless encampment near the corner of 19th and Shotwell streets when he died. On April 7th, 2016, officers responded to the area after homeless outreach workers initially called police to report a man seen swinging a large kitchen knife, police said. Upon arrival, officers found him seated on a sidewalk with the knife in his hand. After ordering him in both English and Spanish to put the knife down, they fired beanbag rounds at him. Police said he then stood up and ran at the officers with the knife in his hand. Sgt. Nate Steger and Officer Michael Mellone both shot him and Gongora Pat later died at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, police said. The entire encounter lasted about 30 seconds. "If we rely on George Gascon's record of holding a 100 percent impunity rate, we shouldn't expect much from him," said Adriana Camarena, organizer and spokeswoman for Gongora Pat's family, referring to his lack of pressing charges against any of the officers involved in the 24 deaths at the hands of San Francisco police since he took office. "He paints himself as a progressive but his record says otherwise. So if he wants to remain relevant to this city, we're telling him that he could be a hero and not a coward," Camarena said. "You need accountability and you need serious consequences when police kill in a such a violent manner." In the meantime, Gongora Pat's family has filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit and is being represented by civil rights attorney Adante Pointer. The civil suit, however, won't be heard in federal court until May 2, 2019, according to Pointer. ### SANTA CLARA (BCN) Attorneys representing the city of Santa Clara and a group of Asian-American residents who filed a lawsuit alleging the city's election system dilutes the power of their votes presented closing arguments Thursday morning and now await a judge's ruling. Santa Clara voters Ladonna Yumori-Kaku, Michael Kaku, Wesley Kazuo Mukoyama, Umar Kamal and Herminio Hernando filed a complaint against the city in October after their attorney notified Santa Clara four times of how they believe the city's at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act. The basis of their attorney Robert Rubin's argument is that Santa Clara has denied the Asian-American community, estimated to comprise of about 20 percent of the city's voters, of its constitutional rights since not one Asian-American has been elected there since 1951. Threats of similar lawsuits have prompted other cities around the Bay Area and the rest of the state to change from at-large to district elections. Representatives of Santa Clara said they have been working for the last 18 months on a proposal to split the at-large system into two districts. The proposed district system, which the six-person Santa Clara City Council has placed on this June's ballot, would direct each district to elect three councilmembers at-large. The proposal will appear on the ballot as Measure A in Santa Clara. Rubin has written a letter against Measure A because he thinks it still constitutes an at-large system that would violate the CVRA. Rubin and his colleagues specifically name the City Council elections in 2012, 2014 and 2016 as examples of racial polarization because minority candidates lost to white candidates in each race. In the 2016 election, five Asian-American candidates ran for council seats and not a single one was elected. Steve Churchwell, the attorney representing Santa Clara, said it was troubling that the analysis by plaintiffs relied on the idea of "strategic voting," or voting together for a non-Asian candidate who may have a better chance at getting elected, because they could not be certain of each election's preferred candidate. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thomas, who presided over the liability phase of the trial in the Superior Courthouse in San Jose beginning Monday, ruled that for the sake of the impact this decision could make on Santa Clara's ballot measure, the attorneys should email their proposals to the court clerk, with no final brief, by noon Friday and he would make the decision after that. Muyokama, the first to file in the lawsuit and a Santa Clara resident of 44 years, said he felt compelled to be a part of suing the city because he has seen the same people rotate through positions like council seats and school board trustee positions. "I've seen people go from one office, to another office and back to the same one and it's just shifting chairs," Muyokama said. "If the city didn't think that the voting was racial, then why did they after eight years decide to have a ballot for two districts?" If Kuhnle sides with the residents, the trial will move into a remedy phase. Muyokama doesn't think that a two-district system being placed on the ballot is enough to bring in sufficient representation. "It's only trying to retain the power they have," the long-time local stated. "I continue to feel like this is an apartheid answer." Muyokama said that he would be happy with six districts, one for each council seat. ### 247-2132 SANTA CRUZ (BCN) Police on arrested a man in Santa Cruz in connection with an attempted sexual assault Wednesday. Daisuke Muro, 40, was arrested on suspicion of attempted sexual assault and attacking a police officer, according to police. On Wednesday around 7 p.m., officers responded to the area of Water and Knight streets and learned a woman had been walking when a man came up and grabbed her, police said. During the ensuing struggle, the man pulled the victim to the ground, began to rip her clothes and attempted to pull her pants off, police said. The woman started screaming, and people in the immediate area helped her escape, according to police. The suspect then allegedly stripped naked and started masturbating, police said. When a police officer arrived at the scene, Muro charged at the officer and tried to punch him, according to police. The officer, with the help of another witness, was able to pull Muro to the ground and take him into custody, police said. The victim suffered abrasions to her arms and legs and is working with a victim advocate, according to police. ANTIOCH (BCN) Police in Antioch are investigating a shooting that sent a man to the hospital Thursday. Officers with the Antioch Police Department responded Thursday at 4:35 p.m. to the 3500 block of Lovebird Way on a report of several gunshots heard in the area. As officers were responding to the scene, a 23-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds walked into a local hospital. The victim's injuries were not considered life threatening, according to police. Police said they do not have any suspect information at this time. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2411. ### BCN3) By Bay City News Service California Highway Patrol officials said a man was arrested in connection with a DUI collision Saturday night in San Mateo County that killed a 70-year-old woman from Los Gatos. The CHP received a call at 8:44 p.m. that multiple vehicles collided on eastbound state Highway 92 just west of Interstate Highway 280 near Belmont. According to CHP officials, a 2009, 2-door Mercedes was being driven west on Highway 92 while a 2003 Honda CR-V, 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix and 2003 Volvo SUV were being driven east on Highway 92. The Mercedes crossed over the double yellow lines into eastbound traffic where it collided with the left sides of the Honda and Pontiac and head on with the Volvo. CHP officials said the driver of the Mercedes, 34-year-old Los Gatos man Arsen Tarkovskiy, was allegedly intoxicated as he was driving. After the collisions, Tarkovskiy was pinned in the driver's seat and had to extricated by first responders. Tarkovskiy suffered major injuries and was taken to Stanford Hospital after being treated by paramedics at the collision site. CHP officials said the passenger in the Mercedes was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Volvo was taken to Stanford Hospital with minor injuries. The occupants of the Honda and the Pontiac were unhurt. CHP officials said Tarkovskiy was arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter. Anyone who saw the collision is asked to call Officer Juan Garcia at (650) 369-6261. BRUSSELS A day after he was sworn in as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo arrived at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday with some words his hosts eagerly wanted to hear as he started a four-day, four-nation trip that will include talks with top allies about Russian aggression and the Iran nuclear deal. President Trump has given European leaders reasons to question his support for NATO, but in a brief welcome ceremony with Jens Stoltenberg, the alliances secretary-general, Pompeo emphasized that his presence should be taken as an endorsement. I was sworn in yesterday afternoon, I hopped straight on a plane and came straight here, Pompeo said. Theres good reason for that. The work thats being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important, and this mission means a lot to the United States of America. Trump has frequently been critical of NATO, and his expressions of support appeared to be made grudgingly: He reaffirmed the United States commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which requires that it defend any NATO members that are attacked, only after having first pointedly refused to do so. Pompeo is now the United States top diplomat, but he was recently the head of the CIA. He was also once a tank commander in Europe dedicated to deterring Russian aggression, and his visit comes with the Russian threat looming large on the Continent. In the past four years, Russia has annexed Crimea, intervened in Ukraine, interfered in the U.S. presidential election and supported the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The poisoning in Britain of a former Russian spy has been widely attributed to Moscow, galvanizing much of Europe, and Pompeo is in Brussels to support NATOs efforts to prepare for worse. Pompeo, however, will also reiterate Trumps frequent complaints that some NATO members are not spending enough on their own defense, and the alliance will discuss its unsuccessful efforts to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan. The secretary of state will fly Saturday to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he will meet King Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. On Sunday, he will travel to Israel, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he will then go to Amman, Jordan, for talks with King Abdullah II. He is scheduled to return home Monday. The trip comes two weeks before Trumps self-imposed deadline of May 12 to decide whether to remain in the Iran nuclear agreement, which imposes curbs on Tehrans nuclear ambitions. Pompeo owes his job in part to the fact that his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, supported the nuclear accord, which put him at odds with Trump. Pompeo spoke about the deal in derisive terms when he was a congressman from Kansas, and he once said the answer to the Iranian nuclear program was 2,000 bombing sorties. Pompeo struck a more moderate tone during his confirmation hearings, saying he would work to preserve the accord. Gardiner Harris is a New York Times writer. 1 Staged videos: Britain and France denounced on Thursday as a stunt and an obscene masquerade a move by Russia to produce Syrian witnesses who Moscow says were filmed in staged videos in the aftermath of a reported chemical weapons attack. Russian officials brought the purported witnesses for a briefing Thursday at The Hague headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The development is seen as an effort by Russia to discredit widespread reports of an April 7 suspected chemical weapon attack in the town of Douma near the Syrian capital, Damascus, that killed more than 40 people. The West has blamed the attack on President Bashar Assads government. Syria and Russia deny the claims. 2 Mass graves: Mass graves that authorities say could contain more than 2,000 bodies have been discovered in Rwanda nearly a quarter-century after the countrys genocide, and further graves are being sought nearby. The new discovery is being called the most significant in a long time in this East African nation that is still recovering from the 1994 killings of more than 800,000 people. The discovery of the graves in Gasabo district came just days after Rwanda marked 24 years since the mass killings of ethnic Tutsi and moderate ethnic Hutus. WASHINGTON This time, there were fewer hugs. President Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday for a visit of less than three hours. He greeted Merkel outside the West Wing with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek, a traditional welcome but far short of the bountiful display of personal warmth that was seen earlier in the week when he played host to French President Emmanuel Macron for a lavish three-day state visit. Trump, in brief remarks alongside Merkel in the Oval Office, called her an extraordinary woman, congratulated her on her recent re-election and disputed any idea that their rapport was frosty. We have a really great relationship. We actually have had a great relationship from the beginning, Trump said. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Merkels message was similar to Macrons that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. In a joint news conference Friday afternoon, it was apparent that despite the back-to-back visits, Trumps divisions with Europe are still substantial. Trump is widely expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear accord next month, despite pleas from Macron earlier this week and Merkel Friday. Merkel used her meeting with Trump to try to paper over the differences, calling the Obama-era agreement a first step toward curtailing and containing Irans regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Trump has said he was open to new negotiations with Iran, but has not said whether he would heed European calls for the U.S. to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Irans nuclear efforts, while those talks are under way. His decision is expected by May 12. On trade, Merkel said there was little progress on seeking permanent exemptions for the EU from Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs. The decision lies with the president, she said. Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting its defense spending obligations to NATO, saying, it is essential that our NATO allies increase their financial contribution, to the pact. Merkel said Germanys latest budget will take defense spending to 1.3 percent of GDP. She acknowledged thats far short of the 2 percent goal but said Germany is still aiming for that over time. Anti-American sentiment has been growing again in Germany since Trumps election, with mainstream media regularly portraying the U.S. president as a threat to the world. Jonathan Lemire is an Associated Press writer. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Celebrity financial adviser Sam Hendersons planning outfit Henderson Maxwell has been recommended to face a criminal charge for making a misleading statement in an official document. Senior counsel assisting the banking royal commission Rowena Orr said it was open to the royal commission to find that Henderson Maxwell be charged with an offence under Section 952 E (1) of the Corporations Act. Henderson Maxwell chief executive Sam Henderson Credit:AAP The royal commission heard during the week that Henderson Maxwells financial services guide included errors, including not mentioning that Mr Henderson owned a stake in the company that provided administration services to Henderson Maxwell. Mr Henderson had told the commission that the guide did not disclose his part-ownership in Maxwell Henderson used because it was not material. The guide also said Mr Henderson had a Masters in Commerce when he did not. Mr Henderson told the commission that while he started his Masters, he never finished it. Ms Orr said it was also open to the commission to find Mr Henderson may have breached the Corporations Act by giving client Donna McKenna, a Fair Work Commissioner, poor advice and advice the put his interests over his clients. One of Australia's biggest planning outfits Dover Financial, whose boss Terry McMaster collapsed in the witness box on Thursday, has also engaged in possible misconduct, Ms Orr said. The royal commission heard on Thursday, Dover had employed several planners who had been terminated by other financial institutions for misconduct despite warnings and allows its 400-plus planners conduct self audits including those who had failed audits at their prior employer for appropriate advice rather than having a separate team to do so. Ms Orr also said that it was open to Commissioner Hayne to find that Dover may have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by making all of its planners and clients agreed to the Dover Client Protection Policy that drastically limited the rights of clients and removed all responsibility of Dover. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for all current regulators to be sacked in favour of "more vigilant" people, and Reserve Bank board member Ian Harper - a member of the 1997 Wallis Inquiry, which set out ASIC's current form and functions - said he regretted not leaving the job of financial consumer protection with the consumer watchdog, all those years ago. "There has been a breakdown somewhere," former Labor MP Bernie Ripoll, who led the parliamentary inquiry into the Storm Financial collapse that led to the Future of Financial Advice Reforms, told Fairfax Media this week. Mr Ripoll says the regulator "ought to be reviewing itself right now". "The regulator itself must examine itself as to why all of this misconduct was allowed to happen under their watch." James Shipton is the new boss of ASIC Credit:Alex Ellinghausen ASIC has a new chairman, James Shipton, at the helm, and a long list of reforms either mooted, promised or in the process of being rolled out. It has a new funding model. It has been promised new phone tapping and search warrant powers, and beefed up corporate and civil penalties to wield. Product intervention powers, which would allow it to bar or remove from sale dodgy and dangerous financial products, are on the table. A new deputy chair, Daniel Crennan, QC, has been hired to give it some enforcement teeth. Will these measures finally be enough to fix ASIC? Treading lightly Loading ASIC as we know it is a product of the late 1990s, a time when the nation's pool of superannuation riches was poised for massive growth, non-banks were wading into the world of financial products and services, and the big banks - soon to subsume the likes of MLC and Colonial Mutual - were cranking up their new strategy of flogging financial advice and products through their vast branch networks, otherwise known as vertical integration. The Wallis Inquiry, commissioned by the Howard government in 1996, was charged with setting a new regulatory approach to this burgeoning, increasingly complex market. Wallis pushed for a "light touch" approach to regulation, emphasising disclosure of information about the risks and rewards of products, over enforcement and intervention. Post-Wallis, the Howard government took the old Australian Securities Commission, with its oversight of corporations law and securities, and cobbled on the "investments" arm by handing it consumer protection in financial products and services, including financial advice. The new ASIC went about applying the light-touch, disclosure-based method of corporate supervision to the business of policing its new consumer beat - with devastating results. Professor Pamela Hanrahan Credit:Dominic Lorrimer This was the first big mistake, says UNSW corporate law expert Pamela Hanrahan, a former ASIC regional commissioner who worked at the regulator from 2008 to 2011. Prof Hanrahan, who is an advisor to the royal commission, describes this as the "oranges and apples" problem - with ASIC trying to transplant the "ambulance at the bottom of the cliff" approach of securities and markets regulation to the retail investor space. Noone really explained light touch regulation approach to the Australian public, which expected - and believed that it had - an active regulator policing this beat. The financial services licensing regime, introduced in 2001, only reinforced this impression. Alex Erskine, ASIC's chief economist from 2007 to 2013, says the Wallis Inquiry was blind to the now-obvious and inherent conflicts of interest thrown up by vertical integration. Putting ASIC in charge of this space, he argues, was worse than having no regulator at all. It gave consumers false confidence. By the end of the decade, the shortcomings of this approach were clear. A long list of retail investor-focused disasters had blown up, including the likes of Westpoint, Trio, Storm Financial, Great Southern, Timbercorp and Opes Prime - combined, these and other disasters impacted 80,000 people and cost $4 billion. Emmanuel and Julie Cassimatis of Storm Financial. Credit:Glenn Hunt A few years later, Fairfax Media investigations led by Adele Ferguson exposed fraud, forgery and misconduct inside the Commonwealth Bank's financial planning businesses - conduct that was driven by a frenzied, sales-based culture that put profits before people. More revelations followed from Macquarie Group, National Australia Bank and others. A landmark 2014 parliamentary inquiry sparked by the CBA scandal found it was a "toothless tiger", too slow to act, lacking in transparency and too trusting of the big end of town. "ASIC don't think like a consumer protection regulator," Prof Hanrahan says, arguing Australia needs a dedicated financial consumer protection agency - either within ASIC, the ACCC or separate from them both. Regulation by negotiation Another part of the answer lies with ASIC itself, which - in the words of that landmark parliamentary inquiry - has been "timid" and "hesitant" to take on big institutions, especially in enforcing laws through the courts, preferring the cheaper, quicker and less risky approach of negotiated settlements. ASIC came under the blowtorch from a government-commissioned capability review spearheaded by the Productivity Commission's Karen Chester. Credit:Jessica Hromas The Productivity Commission's Karen Chester led a capability review of ASIC in 2016, which flayed its culture as defensive, inward-looking and risk averse, and pointed to its reluctance to pursue litigation in untested areas of law. The banking scandals have thrown the spotlight on ASIC's use of enforceable undertakings, which may impose conditions on a financial services licence but avoid any any admission of wrong-doing. Nationals senator John Williams points to ASIC's decision in 2006 not to take AMP to court over a scandal in which it was caught switching consumers from low-fee industry funds into its own super products, choosing instead to impose an EU on the company. More than a decade later, in the wake of AMP's admissions in the royal commission about its "fees for no service" scandal, Senator Williams asks: "Did that EU change AMP's culture?" Research by Melbourne University's Ian Ramsay and Miranda Webster shows that most of ASIC's enforcement actions between 2011 and 2016 - about 70 per cent - were, in fact, criminal. But when its actions in small business compliance are taken out, ASIC's reliance on non-criminal outcomes becomes clear, with almost half of all actions administrative - such as bannings and licence actions - and another 20 per cent involving enforceable undertakings. Court actions, as Prof Ramsay points out, involve higher costs, longer timeframes and more uncertainty. But the other side of the equation is deterrence - sending a "sufficiently strong message to the regulated community". Under Tony D'Aloisio, chairman from 2007 to 2011, ASIC pursued high profile litigation in the Centro and James Hardie cases - which it won - and against Andrew Forrest and Fortescue Metals Group, which it ultimately lost. Since then, Prof Hanrahan believes ASIC has "lost confidence, or lost faith" in using the courts to enforce the law, in part because of the risk involved. "Maybe that's legitimate, but they lost sight of the fact that there's also community expectations around punishing people who behave badly," she says. "If you walk away from that you get a lot of distrust in the community about the system. You lose sight of the fact that enforcement also has a role to play in community confidence." It goes to what Ms Orr referred to at the royal commission on Friday as "the value of public denunciation". Tough cop? But the story of ASIC is also the story of successive governments, and how they have dealt with the regulator in the face of their own economic and political challenges. For Kevin Rudd, shoring up confidence in Australia's financial system as the GFC hit in 2008, ASIC was a "world class" institution. For Scott Morrison, as he argued against a royal commission in 2016, ASIC was a "tough cop on the beat". But the Rudd government - while boosting ASIC's funding during the GFC - snipped at its budget with efficiency dividends. These were later dwarfed by the Abbott government's much-decried 2014 plan to strip ASIC of $120.1 million over five years. The Turnbull government reinstated the cut funds, and put in place a new industry funding model for ASIC, which will finance the regulator with levies on those it regulates. The new regime, which launched on July 1 last year, carries risks - including that ASIC, already often accused of being too close to the big companies it regulates - may feel more beholden to those who now fund it. Treasurer Scott Morrison has insisted ASIC is a tough cop. Credit:AAP But the government says it will make the regulator stronger. ASIC's duties have increased over time. After the newly-created financial services licensing regime in 2001, it was handed the newly-unified national consumer credit regime in 2010, and took over market supervision from the Australian Securities Exchange the same year. "ASIC is unique across the world - there is no other regulator that has ASIC's broad range of Loading responsibilities," says Prof Ramsay. ASIC does some good work, he says, but the range and increase in its responsibilities "is a major challenge for them". Another issue is the legislative cogs and wheels creaking away behind the scenes - especially in the case of the financial services licence regime. Prof Hanrahan says this legislation is poor quality, full of granularity and "trivial detail". The shortcomings of these laws were carefully explored by Ms Orr on Friday, as she questioned Ms Macaulay. Reformation Last week, Mr Morrison unveiled the government's response to the findings of an enforcement review taskforce (to which both Prof Ramsay and Prof Hanrahan were expert advisors), revealing the government would move to boost ASIC's power to refuse, revoke or cancel financial services and credit licences. More headline-grabbing was the news that, under the government's plan, civil and criminal penalties would be hiked up, and the government would give ASIC phone tapping and search warrant powers, plus the ability to clawback illegally gained profits from corporate malfeasors. Mr Shipton's immediate predecessor, Greg Medcraft, had pushed for such measures. But then, as now, many argue the bigger problem is ASIC's willingness to use the tools it already has. Loading More changes are underway. The government has released draft laws proposing new product intervention powers for ASIC. And sitting before parliament are draft corporate whistleblower protection laws which - although criticised for not going far enough - may boost the number of valuable tip-offs to the corporate regulator. However, the government is yet to move on whistleblower rewards, a measure that has re-energised the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which had earned a post-GFC reputation for being too soft on the big end of town, and too afraid to pursue high-ranking company officials. Since starting at ASIC on February 1, Mr Shipton has kept a relatively low profile, and declined a request for an interview with Fairfax Media this week. One big question is what sort of culture Mr Shipton will preside over during his time leading ASIC. Will ASIC actually use its new powers? Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer has declared the bank's loan book is "fundamentally sound," suggesting a report that wiped billions off the major banks' market value this week may not have considered the "full context" of the data it quoted. The response to an explosive UBS report comes as investors are bracing for a softer performance from three of country's four major banks at their upcoming results, despite expectations their combined half-year profits will top $10 billion. Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer has sought to dampen concerns about the bank's home loan book. Credit:Louie Douvis Shares in the country's biggest banks were dumped on Thursday by skittish investors over concerns about poor lending practices, after UBS analyst Jonathan Mott moved to a "sell" recommendation pn Westpac, citing internal data released to the Hayne royal commission. Mr Mott's analysis, based on a sample of 420 home loans, raised "questions regarding the quality" of Westpac's $400 billion in mortgages, Mr Mott said. That she will not survive her full term at the helm of AMP is a given but how and when she stage manages the exit unclear. "She has done her reputation already. People dont want to be associated with Catherine. There is no way trying to stay on the board would be worthwhile," says a supporter who still holds her in high regard. Others are not so generous. One who has shared a board with Brenner has a different take: "There is an air of superiority about her and a sense of entitlement - like someone from the ruling class. I am not surprised she hasnt stepped down from the AMP board." Another board member who worked with Brenner thinks she will hang on as long as possible. "She wont leave gracefully because the non executive director role is what dominates her professional career," the board member says. "She is taking a long time to announce her departure because she sees her entire professional life collapsing very quickly." Not just her ethics but her judgement and ability are being openly questioned. A fellow member of the from Brenner's time on the Takeovers Panel, recalled: "I cant remember anything she said of any significance." Another director describes an eye for detail but little nose for commerce. "(She is) good at crossing the Ts and dotting the Is. She reads every word of the documents before the board and picks up spelling mistakes just to make sure you know she has read it. She is not a business person and I dont know if I would put her in charge of the corner store. She sees herself as the David Gonski of her gender." This is a reference to Brenner's artful networking and skillful employment of corporate mentors - most particularly ANZ chairman David Gonski - but also former chairman of Boral, the late Ken Moss, and former AMP director, Richard Grellman. Despite her fairly ordinary beginnings - a graduate from Jetty High School in Coffs Harbour - Brenner studied law at Macquarie University, and after a stint at law firm Phillips Fox moved into investment banking at ABN Amro. But it was her marriage to well-connected urologist, Phillip Brenner that gave her entree to Sydneys rarified wealthy elite power circle. Philip Brenner, a former boyfriend of the late Kerry Packers only daughter Gretel is also the nephew of legendary property developer, rich lister, Robert Whyte who himself was a longtime close friend of Packer. Phillips sister Maxine Brenner - also a well known company director and former lawyer - is married to entrepreneur and founder of failed OneTel, Jodee Rich. How power duo Catherine and Phillip, now fare in the ruthless eastern suburbs social pecking order is unclear. In 2015 Phillip Brenner had his medical practitioners authority to supply, possess or issue prescriptions for addictive drugs withdrawn by NSW authorities. Soon after he hung up his stethoscope and began a second career as a property developer. It was through Whyte that Catherine Brenner met an early corporate mentor, Richard Grellman, a high profile insolvency guru from KPMG who later become a prized member of the club of top-tier corporate directors and a director of AMP. Brenner served her board apprenticeships on a couple of smaller boards in which Grellman also served - including biotech hopeful, Cyrosite and Centennial Coal and Trafalgar Group. Centennial Coal, was no resources giant but boasted Ken Moss as its chairman - a far bigger fish in the director pool. Brenner joined the Boral board in 2010. But Brenners Queenmaker was undoubtedly ANZ chairman, David Gonksi - a man whose influence in corporate, government and the arts in Australia is almost unmatched. "Gonksi is very important to her and thinks highly of her - its a strong relationship," says one of Brenners friends. As chairman of Coca Cola Amatil board, Gonski appointed Brenner as a director and their paths intersect at an array of additional institutions from the Art Gallery of NSW, to charitable organisation Adara. Brenner still sits on the Coca Cola board and chairman Ilana Atlas was willing to say publicly this week she retained confidence in Brenner. She is not responsible for the culture that exists within AMP - this has taken decades to develop - but she has made several crucial mistakes in her near-two year stint as chairman. The most startling of these was allegedly being complicit in AMPs alleged cover up of a fee-for-no-service scandal involving the production of a so-called independent report by the law firm Clayton Utz. Many shareholders already smarting from the destruction of their investment in Myer - at 36 on Friday the stock has fallen by half in the past year and by 91 per cent since its 2009 float - and will need some convincing before they approve a new three- to five-year battle plan. And no one will be more sceptical than Myer's largest shareholder - Solomon Lew's Premier Investments, which has been wagging war against the department store. While the Lew camp has mostly focused its criticism on Myer's board during its year-long insurrection, King will likely be preparing himself to also become a target of Lew's missiles if the billionaire veteran retailer is not impressed with his turnaround plan. Analysts have questioned if Myer's balance sheet can sustain a turnaround action. Credit:Wayne Taylor And with Lew intending to call a shareholder meeting to have Myers current board kicked-out, King could soon be answering to a different board to the one that hired him. Gifford says his "good friend" has got what it takes to take on the "tough gig". Not that this will be immediately obvious to shareholders. For a businessman with a three-decade career in Britain, King flies, almost mysteriously, under the radar. "Have you met him?" asks Tony Shiret, an analyst at Whitman Howard, who has encountered King several times. "He's got a face for radio," he jokes, assuring that he knows King well enough to make such a quip. He's "physically unimposing - not an in-your-face sort of bloke," says Shiret. "I get the impression he just gets on with it." Brand building King's media-shy strategy (he did not respond to Fairfax Media's attempts to contact him) means Hounsell's statement that King led the successful transformation at Frasers until its sale to Chinese interests in 2014 has been largely accepted by the Australian media. But under King, Frasers never turned a profit. But in his last year as CEO, chairman Don McCarthy said the company recorded another new level of sales and gross profit for the year". Loading Gifford says the private consortium owners and their typical private equity approach were to blame for Frasers never profiting during he and Kings time, as they saddled the company with debt. Shiret agrees. "I would expect that in a more normal financing structure (ie much less debt) they would have turned a profit." Gifford says other measures are testament to Kings achievements. When he came in he introduced a whole new plan, at the time Frasers had no website, he introduced the website which generated 300 million ($550 million) of sales, says Gifford. Kings plan for Frasers was threefold: online, increasing house brands and refurbishing stores, funded through millions of pounds in levies raised from a long-list of about 100 suppliers, which wasnt initially well received. But we did get there by explaining to suppliers that if they had better counters this would mean more sales for everyone, so we did it collaboratively, says Gifford. It was a business that was in decline and John turned it around. King will join Myer just as Solomon Lew is moving to have its board rolled. Credit:Jesse Marlow Kings drive to build Frasers' own brands is something he is likely to bring to Myer. House brands not only provide a point of differentiation for customers choosing between walking into David Jones or Myer but also sell at much higher margins. In 2014 these labels included Kenneth Cole New York, Linea, Episode and Bilba, sales of which had been increasing year-on-year since 2011 (albeit to just 15 per cent of sales) reaching a record high margin of 54 per cent. This compared to margins of 24 per cent for concession (major brands which operate their own mini-store inside a department store) sales which made up more than half of Frasers' overall sales in the same year. Hands on Kings ambition for Frasers was to drive house brand sales to the point where they would make up a quarter of overall sales with a margin of 55 per cent or higher. Stephanie Crawley, who worked as a buyer with King at Frasers says his hands-on approach was crucial to driving growth in sales of house brands. "We developed multiple own brands across the whole business and throughout every category of product." She says as a smaller purchaser, King would travel to factories to convince suppliers that they were a worthwhile customer and to gain an understanding of the product and its production. "John has a good eye for product and a complete and rounded view of production. Shiret can attest: "If you were wearing a polo shirt he would tell you 'youve spent twice as much and weve got one thats just as good and half the price'". Kings love for fashion retailing continued after his departure from Frasers and the UK for Fort Lauderdale, Miami where he has lived with his American wife Shannon of 12 years. Its like a fireside chat, everybody feels included and hes very good at listening. Stuart Page There he has invested in several start-ups, including a sportswear line, Raging Bull, established by the former rugby prop Phil Vickery. King loves rugby and supports the London Irish and Irish national teams, according to friend and associate Stuart Page, a former DFAT official who now runs a secure cyber communications start-up based out of London. Page has worked with King professionally and philanthropically, both raising funds for For Rangers, a group protecting rangers and wildlife against poachers in South Africa. Page says King is a "very humble man" who considers himself a better executor of ideas rather than the generator and is thus a keen collaborator. "He likes to have people from different parts of the business around the roundtable, its like a fireside chat, everybody feels included and hes very good at listening and feeling out what the ideas are and then guiding those." Crawley and Gifford are also full of praise. Hes a tremendously nice guy, says Gifford. Crawley says King is not a micro-manager but steps in where needed, listens but is also decisive. "As a board, we used to have a fair few heated debates but in the end we were one and always were, one team who supported each other. "I think one of the great skills John has is to be able to manage often strong personalities with differing views but to get everyone to come together as a united front in the end." Shiret is more restrained, describing King as a "pretty decent" and "competent retailer" who was good at balancing more affordable offerings with the trophy buys. Surprise package "When he went on to Fraser he was reasonably successful, he did some decent things and really established the reputation. "I wouldnt say King's been unsuccessful anywhere," he says. "He's a bit of a surprise package to people who meet him, I think they underestimate him," says Shiret. Crawley says King will set a cracking pace once he reaches Australia. "He is fast, he will expect his team to be on board and have the right attitude from day one," she says. "He will already have done a load of work and formed initial views...he doesnt suffer fools and is super sharp, so he will take everyone as he finds them and form his own opinions." Crawley is confident King's style will work in Australia. "He is very down to earth and doesnt have an overinflated opinion of himself like so many other corporate CEOs do, so its refreshing to work with someone normal." A Malaysian investor who acquired an ABeckett Street property on an eyebrow-raising 1.5 per cent yield in 2015 has leased it to global Chinese restaurant chain Orient Hot Pot at double its previous rent. Orient Hot Pot will open at 55-59 ABeckett Street, a 300-square-metre building previously occupied by Jaycar Electronics, paying $400,000 a year. The cost of fitting out the space, which has never housed hospitality, is coming from the landlord who paid $9.8 million for the property. Orient Hot Pot has taken out a lease at 55-59 ABeckett Street. It is deep in a band of new apartment towers strung between the Victoria Market and RMIT University, taking advantage of both the citys population increase and ever-burgeoning student numbers. Property developer Stockland has sold its Highlands neighbourhood shopping centre on Melbournes northern outskirts to a local investor for about $43 million, part of a larger $300 divestment of retail town centres it plans for this year. The Woolworths-anchored mall in Stocklands Highlands community in Craigieburn is one of the first neighbourhood centres to transact this year, underpinning several years of strong results in the sector. Stockland sold its Highlands shopping centre in Melbourne. Food-anchored, neighbourhood shopping centres have been in high demand with investors because of their resilience to the scourge of online shopping. Along with larger, catchment dominant malls, they are seen as defensive assets with sustainable income and reliable returns. A Tigerair spokeswoman said its performance had been negatively affected recently by weather, "unscheduled engineering requirements" and its fleet transition program. The bureau defines a flight as being "on time" if it lands at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. A flight is considered cancelled if it is pulled out of service within seven days of its scheduled departure. While touching down late, or not arriving at all, can ruin holiday plans and become costly if connecting flights or accommodation need to be re-booked, there are no defined rules dictating how or if airlines compensate their passengers for delays or cancellations. David Adams, a solicitor specialising in aviation law at Shine Lawyers, said that unlike jurisdictions which had fixed compensation schemes in place, an airlines terms and conditions were generally the be all and end all of what customers are entitled to. They typically contract to get you from point A to point B but the timeframe to do that and the way they do that isnt governed at all, he said. The provision of food or accommodation was entirely at their discretion, he said. Mr Adams said that while he had successfully pursued compensation claims for clients who had lost significant potential earnings by missing a lucrative job interview or contract negotiation, those examples were in the minority. If its a missing connection, we normally tell the potential client that unfortunately, the laws ruthless sometimes and its just not worth trying to bring a claim, Mr Adams said. Calls for compensation Stefanie Menezes, a spokeswoman for the consumer group CHOICE, said Australian airlines had been "flying below the radar" on consumer protection for years. She said CHOICE was calling for the implementation of a fixed compensation scheme similar to those in place in the European Union, where passengers arriving more than three hours late because of an airline's fault receive compensation of between 250 ($400) and 600 ($964), depending on the length of the flight. There are no rules around what compensation airlines have to offer. In New Zealand, consumers are entitled to claim compensation if the delay is the airlines fault. Customers can claim back what they paid for missed connecting flight or tickets to events they missed, up to 10 times the value of the airfare. "Compensation should be fair and standardised, no matter what airline youre on or what the customer service agent decides you deserve on the day," Mrs Menezes said. "Airlines should take responsibility for their own mistakes instead of making passengers pay for a delay." CHOICE has been critical of the industry-funded Airline Customer Advocate which last year failed to resolve 48 per cent of complaints it received in 2016 and called for the establishment of an independent airline ombudsman. But the airlines said a fixed compensation scheme was not necessary. A spokeswoman for the Virgin Australia Group said the industry was highly competitive and it was "in the interests of airlines to look after customers in order to keep them coming back". A Qantas spokesman said that its long-term on-time arrival rate of about 90 per cent, in comparison to the US and UK "where they have a compensation scheme [and] the industry norm is as low as 70 per cent"". Loading Qantas conditions of carriage only say that if it significantly changes or cancels a flight for reasons within its control it will offer a refund, re-book customers on the next available service, pay for food and refreshments, and pay for accommodation where necessary. The national carrier offers refunds for flights delayed by more than five hours. For events outside of its control, Qantas will use reasonable endeavours to re-book on the next available flight, or offer a refund. It also boils down to the regulator. If the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was perceived as stronger and less collaborative, fear would overtake greed. In 2014 the then head of ASIC, Greg Medcraft, said Australia was a paradise for white-collar crime. He was right. What he didnt say was ASIC was partly responsible for the cesspit of misconduct. It is human nature to push the boundaries. Without a feared regulator, people with questionable ethics will push the line. If jail or stiff penalties are perceived as a real threat, fear will often outweigh greed. In other words, people will more likely think twice before lying, cheating and covering up. There are many good people inside ASIC, who are there for the right reasons, but they have been stymied. If ASIC hasnt been all that it could be, the blame must also surely lay at the door of our political masters, who have stripped the regulator of funding over the years, only to restore it for the cynical purpose of grabbing headlines and attempting to avoid a royal commission. In real monetary terms how much has ASICs budget gone up? Little if any when its ballooning responsibilities are factored into the equation. Treasurer Scott Morrison has insisted ASIC is a tough cop. Credit:AAP Treasurer Scott Morrison described ASIC as the tough cop on the beat as an excuse not to hold a royal commission. He should hang his head in shame. So should the Minister for Financial Services Kelly ODwyer, who received a Capability Review into ASIC by the Productivity Commission with some constructive recommendations for structural change. Instead of making meaningful change, she went for the headlines: more resources, more powers. But as the royal commission has found, ASIC has a lot of powers, it just doesnt use them. It could take civil or criminal actions, cancel licences but most often it prefers a softer, more collaborative approach. Louise Macaulay from ASIC conceded the regulator doesnt ban enough financial planners who have done the wrong thing and said it takes up to two years to issue a banning order. She said it rarely cancels or suspends a licence, preferring enforceable undertakings. Lets hope having a mirror held up to it, it will see that it has fallen short of community expectations. Orr raised the question after hearing the testimony of ASIC whether the existing regulatory culture contributed to the occurrence of misconduct in financial advice and what changes might exist to reduce wrongdoing. It is a question that needs to be asked. The royal commission has shone a light into the dark recesses of the financial advice side of the sector that some of us knew were there. Loading In two short weeks it has shown systemic wrongdoing and statutory breaches of the law in financial advice. It has shown that despite customers paying top dollar for services, all too often internal systems were a mess, creating a systemic risk of planners not acting in their clients best interests. It found companies that only allow clients to invest in in-house platforms create a "systemic risk" they will receive bad advice and become vulnerable to "inertia". Since Quadrant's investment Rockpool has launched 15 new venues and is on track to launch a further 15-20 over the next 12 months. The high cost of Rockpool's restaurant opening spree is reflected in the group's annual reports which show a loss of $20 million in 2016 and a loss of $29 million in 2017. There have also been closures with Rockpool shutting the doors on Fratelli Fresh in Potts Point in Sydney, its Sake Jr restaurants and a Burger Project in shopping centre Melbourne Central. Perry's flagship restaurant, the original Rockpool restaurant which was renamed Eleven Bridge, was closed by Perry and taken on by Rockpool and rebranded again as Jade Temple. Efficiencies of scale But Quadrant chairman Chris Hadley says Rockpool is trading well and above budget. He is forecasting revenue of $325 million and profit on an operating costs basis of $40 million for this financial year. Revenue doubled from $105 million on June 30, 2016 to $216 million on June 30, 2017. Private equity has a reputation for stripping the costs out of businesses and running them hard but Hadley says he is more focused on consolidation. Jonathon Pearce, Justin Ryan, Alex Eady, Chris Hadley and Marcus Darville from Quadrant Private Equity. Credit:Daniel Munoz "I don't think we strip costs, we take out costs by creating a scale group just so you get efficiencies," he says. "We have invested over $250 million building the group and have another $30 million in balance sheet capacity for further investment." Perry says he is happy to have private equity on board and he was tired of constantly having to look for funds. Perry has been lauded as one of Australia's top chefs since he first took over at Barrenjoey restaurant in 1982. He opened Rockpool in 1989 going on to scoop Australia's top accolade of three chefs hats, the pony tailed chef has also published numerous cookbooks and has a long-standing relationship with Qantas creating menus for the airline since 1997. "Capital is an issue for every business, most definitely getting it and holding onto it," Perry says. "Banks will give you an umbrella and as soon as it rains, take it away. We were continually raising money and paying loans back and that sort of thing. You talk to any small business operator, you have to put your life on the line every single day." Perry and Pash are enthusiastic about the benefits of running a restaurant conglomerate. Rockpool's head office of 70 people provides support for all the restaurants in the group including marketing, technology systems and a centralised reservations platform. "Where we see the best investment is procurement in terms of suppliers," says Pash. "We go through 50,000 hectolitres of beer a year, $35 million in red wine and $30 million in cocktails and obviously our protein numbers are sizeable." However, one synergy that isn't in place is central kitchen facilities with Perry saying it works best for each individual restaurant to have production in-house. Avoiding McDonald's and Wagamamas Perry and Pash are cognisant that they must maintain Rockpool's reputation for quality even while churning out burger outlets and beer halls. "How do you avoid being a McDonald's or a Wagamamas?," Perry says. "It gets back to that people question ... it is great to think big but they need to think small - they lock into their customers and their community and really work hard at being relevant." Despite the focus on people, Rockpool has suffered from key staff departing such as chef Phil Wood who left Eleven Bridge when Perry closed it. The relationship between Perry and Pash has also come under scrutiny. American chief executive Pash has worked in hospitality since he was 14 and worked his way up to managing $2 billion real estate investment trust NorREIT by the age of 30. One industry insider describes the relationship between the pair as "toxic" and Hadley concedes there were "some initial creative differences" between Perry and Pash. However, when this is put to them, the pair maintain it was just a case of getting to know each other at the start. "We work together really well and we are very keen to see the fruition of Rockpool Dining Group as being one of the real power houses not just here in Australia but really in world," Perry says. Chef Neil Perry says he was sick of looking for funding. Credit:Wolter Peeters While large restaurant groups across multiple formats like Darden Restaurants in the United States have succeed overseas, what Rockpool is doing is unique in Australia. "It's definitely challenging," Pash says. "The labour percentage and the high rental rates make it challenging compared to other markets." Looking for an exit Next on the agenda for Rockpool is overseas expansion with an opening in Los Angeles or Singapore but looming over the restaurant group's future is Quadrant's exit from the business either through a sale or initial public offering. "The reality is our owner's typical hold of a business is two to three years," Pash says. "So their hold is typically of a pretty short duration." Loading Last year Pash told Fairfax Media Rockpool planned to be a $1 billion listed company by the end of 2018 and a a two, three, four-billion dollar company over the next five to 10 years. Asked if this was overly optimistic Pash says "we are still on course for that but we have always targeted 2021 to get to that number". While rumours have circulated that Quadrant is trying to offload Rockpool, Hadley denies this and says it is "totally focused on opening a significant pipeline of new restaurants". An artist's impression of the new Powerhouse museum to be built in Parramatta The ''net cost to government'' for the redevelopment plans would be $645 million, according to a government briefing paper, a figure expected to be predicated on the sale and redevelopment of at least part of the Ultimo site and the new riverside location given the project's scale. Following Cabinet sign-off Thursday and despite opposition from within her own backbench, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce today a new-purpose built museum said to be the largest in NSW and a rival to the London Science Museum and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. A new Broadway-style theatre and fashion and design museum will be built in Ultimo and Australia's largest planetarium in Parramatta as the state government defied its critics to push ahead with controversial plans to move the Powerhouse Museum to western Sydney. A residential tower as tall as 50 storeys is thought to be possible on the same site as the new museum at Parramatta with retail, bars and cafes spilling out to a riverside plaza. But a portion of the museum's collection will be kept for exhibition in a design and fashion museum at the Ultimo site. The Opposition today seized on the scattering of the Powerhouse collection as confirmation that the Berejiklian government had backed down on its promise of total relocation. The Parramatta museum is to include 18,000 square metres of exhibition and public spaces, more than the 15,708sq m in Ultimo. Exhibition halls will host international travelling exhibitions and there will be dedicated play and learning spaces devoted to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. An international design competition is to be held for the site at the end of this year with works to commence in 2019 and the new museum to open its doors in 2023. The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences's other satellite centre, the Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill, is to be expanded and upgraded to provide labs, workshops and facilities to support conservation and collections management and built to ''exacting international standards for temperature and humidity control''. Colin Peasley first danced the part of Baron Zeta in the Australian Ballet's ground-breaking production of The Merry Widow in 1975. Nearly 43 years later, Peasley is set once more to don the Baron's brocaded velvet jacket and reprise his much-loved role in the company's latest revival of the work. Colin Peasley as Baron Zeta (centre) with Dimity Azoury and Brett Simon. Credit:Nick Moir And this is despite the fact he "retired" from the Australian Ballet in 2012. "But I didn't tell them I wasn't actually going to leave," he said. "They thought they had got rid of me but they haven't! Like many Australians who came of age in the surf in the 1970s and 1980s, I was as much in love with surfing's spirit of rebellion and the escape it offered from my safe suburban upbringing, as I was with the thrill of riding the waves. To surf was to reject all that was solid and predictable and embrace the edgy and unknown. When I returned to surfing as a mature woman after a 15-year break, it struck me that for all surf culture's obsession with big-wave hunting and the quest for new frontiers, the oceanic and the domestic did not have to be mutually exclusive. Freed from the machismo of seafaring mythology with its imperial ambitions of "ruling the waves", surfing allows for a new conception of adventure and heroism in which you don't have to go "in far" in order to go "out deep", to quote the poet Robert Frost. It is possible to commune with the sublime and still be home in time for tea. In the film adaptation of Tim Winton's acclaimed novel Breath, directed by Simon Baker, the young protagonist, Pikelet, finds himself growing up too fast when he is lured into what Winton calls the "gladiatorial realm" of big-wave surfing and extreme sex. Through this painful getting of wisdom, he comes to the insight earlier than most of us that you don't have to turn your back on the ordinary in order to do something as extraordinary as dancing across the face of a wave. Although faithful to the book in many respects, the film offers a more optimistic take on Pikelet's ability to come through his loss of innocence without being destroyed by it. In the novel, Pikelet is left emotionally and psychologically crippled by his teenage encounter with hippy surf guru, Sando, and his wife, Eva (Elizabeth Debicki) an ex-champion freestyle skier who initiates him into the world of grown-up sex. In flight from the responsibilities of adulthood, the couple exploit their mystique and their influence over Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and his mate, Loonie (Ben Spence), as they seek to recapture the intense highs of the glory days of their youth. You don't have to be a tree-hugging greenie to understand the importance of forests for life on Earth: as giant vacuum cleaners for sucking up carbon dioxide, as store houses for myriad ecosystems. But increasing evidence points to them having a more subtle effect as barometers of our mental well-being. With humans becoming more divorced from nature than ever, particularly with our addiction to screen technologies, there may be a long-term cost to our mental health. Walking among trees has been found to have positive effects on immunity, blood pressure and stress levels. Credit:Getty Images In his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, American journalist Richard Louv coined the term "nature-deficit disorder" to describe humanity's growing separation from nature. "Much of society no longer sees time spent in the natural world as enrichment," bemoans Louv, who has toured Australia speaking about this issue. "Technology now dominates almost every aspect of our lives. This is not, in itself, the enemy, but our lack of balance is lethal." Exposure to the natural world is especially important for children, he notes. "Studies strongly suggest that time in nature can help reduce the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, calm kids and help them focus. Schools with nature-learning areas appear to help children do better academically. There are some indications that natural play spaces can reduce bullying and be a buffer to child obesity." In case you're thinking this is eco babble, visit Japan. In 1982, the Japanese forestry ministry promoted the concept of shinrin-yoku ("absorbing the forest atmosphere") to describe how walking among the trees enhanced health and contentment. After an eight-year study, scientists concluded that it showed positive effects on immunity, blood pressure and cortisol levels. Construction has begun on the first stage of a cross-border residential development set to deliver about 6500 new homes in the ACT. Stage one of the Ginninderry project, which is a 60:40 joint venture between the ACT government and Corkhill Brothers subsidiary Riverview Developments, includes 350 homes powered solely by electricity. ACT Housing Minister Yvette Berry, Suburban Land Agency CEO John Deitz, Corkhill Brothers co-owner Brian Corkhill, Riverview Developments managing director David Maxwell and Green Building Council of Australia CEO Romilly Madew at a sod turning ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Ginninderry housing development. Credit:Karleen Minney Riverview Developments managing director David Maxwell said most of the stage one sections, in the new north-west Canberra suburb of Strathnairn, had already been sold. "The civil works will be finished in about March or April next year, then the house builders will move in on the land," Mr Maxwell said. In response to the first question, while Australias strategic environment may not have changed much over the last two years, perhaps our understanding of the nature of the future threat has developed significantly. After all, the 2009 Defence White Paper canvassed the possibility that in the future Australia could confront a great power adversary without US support. That scenario, regarded by some as rather fanciful at the time, is now almost commonplace among defence analysts. One key question, therefore, is whether the government should develop an independent strategy to address the contingency that Australia might be drawn into a high-level conflict with a major power without being able to rely on the military support of the United States. The second question then is how well the current $50 billion acquisition programme for the FSM would fit within the capability requirement derived from such a strategy, noting that the need for submarines would increase disproportionately if we were defending Australia independently. The acquisition of new military capability should be derived from the governments defence strategy, which in turn depends on the level and nature of the threat confronting Australia. Herein lies the first problem; other than reliance on the United States under ANZUS, it is not clear that Australia has a well-defined defence strategy. Indeed, the ADFs force structure is primarily designed for coalition warfare rather than for the independent defence of Australia. Almost two years since the government selected the French company Naval Group to design Australias future submarine (FSM), it is timely to review that decision in the light of Australias evolving strategic challenges. It is becoming clear, for example, that in contesting regional leadership with the US, one of Chinas strategic objectives is to be able to enforce a policy of anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) against the US Navy, specifically its carrier battle groups, in the South China Sea. Emerging technologies in land-based ballistic and hypersonic missiles will make surface battle groups a threatened species in future conflicts. In the medium term, Chinas A2/AD strategy could also extend into the Indo-Pacific region more broadly by the establishment of one or more forward bases. In response to this challenge, particularly under America First, it is possible that the US would decide that its future national interest would be best served by retiring to Hawaii and, by default, ceding leadership in the Indo-Pacific to China. This would have profound implications for Australias foreign and defence policies. Given the rapid increase in its defence budget, China might be able to present a credible threat in our region by the mid-2020s. This is not to say that China has any intention of attacking Australia and it is overwhelmingly in both countries interests to maintain a harmonious relationship. But wars can happen by default; were there to be a conflict over Taiwan, for example, who knows where that would end. Australia should develop, with some urgency, a strategy to defend itself in a conflict with a great power. This cannot be achieved overnight. Australia is a big, remote country and, as Japan discovered in 1942, it is difficult to invade. Submarines are the classic means by which a weaker power can level the playing field and prosecute asymmetric warfare in its defence. Yet Australia has a very long coastline to defend and currently operates only six submarines of the Collins class, which are on the verge of obsolescence. This allows for a maximum of two ageing submarines to be in their areas of operations (AOs) at any time. Because their base is far distant from these AOs, they also face a major disadvantage with about 30 days of a 55-day patrol spent in transit. In defending Australia, how would the submarine force operate? Current doctrine is for Australian submarines both to loiter outside naval bases in order to attack warships and submarines, and also to patrol the choke points in the Indonesian archipelago to prevent hostile forces from penetrating Australian waters. Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery will visit the flood-ravaged NSW town of Maitland on Monday. Major-General Jeffery will offer support to emergency workers and people affected by the storms during a brief early morning visit, a statement from Government House said. "My wife Marlena and I have been following news reports of the severe storms in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle regions and have been saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life and extensive damage to property," he said in the statement. "On behalf of all Australians I extend my deepest sympathy to the families of those who died and wish to acknowledge the work of the various emergency service personnel and others involved in rescuing and supporting those in need. "Our prayers and thoughts are with the Hunter Valley and Newcastle communities at this difficult time." What we want to do is be generous and kind and Christian, he told me. We've got facility with our various agencies to draw down money when necessary. Without alarm, the man who was until Easter Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn told me the compensation costs would only increase. So big has been the impact of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that one denomination, Anglican, in this part of Australia the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn has paid out four million dollars to victims over the past three years. Stuart Robinson is in no doubt that a national redress scheme is essential, but says its just one approach. Parallel to that, we will be working with people for whom that won't work, he says. A one size fits all approach is not the best - there have to be different entry points for people to be cared for. We are working with individuals in a way that is victim-centred. We are saying, We are pleased that you have come forward, your story grieves us. How might we work with you in addressing your needs now and into the future? Its a refreshing and, for some, a surprising response. The Royal Commission took up at least a third of Robinsons time as bishop which lasted almost a decade (from January 2009 to the end of March this year when he retired). It took a personal toll. Over a cuppa in his unusually small office in Civic, Robinson described sobering moments. I remember a man sitting in this office who'd flown over from another state. He had not shared with his wife what had happened. With tears pouring down his face, he shared a horrendous story and my response was to say, I believe you and I will care for you. He said: 'that's all I need, the fact you have heard me and believe me. That's all I was looking for'. That man has been restored to a community of faith, and they are offering him counselling and care. A former Newington College teacher has been granted bail after he was arrested and charged with sharing child abuse material online. Reinier Jessurun, 52, who worked at the college's Stanmore campus, was arrested on April 10 after an investigation by Australian Federal Police and was refused bail. Police allege he "adopted an online persona which he used to share child exploitation images online". He was charged with using a carriage service to transmit child pornography material and possessing child abuse material. In an emailed statement to students and alumni of the college, acting headmaster David Roberts said the allegations did not involve Newington students. A teenage girl is dead after the car she was learning to drive and another vehicle collided in Sydney's north-west. Shortly before 5pm on Friday, the L plater's Suzuki Swift and a Ford Falcon sedan collided at the intersection of Old Northern Road and Cockatoo Place in Glenorie. The L Plate driver died at the scene. The teenage driver died at the scene. Her supervisor, a man believed to be in his 50s, was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition with multiple injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing, but is not believed to have been injured. Auliaputra, a 25-year-old Indonesian national studying for a degree in internet technology, was convicted of filming a person in a private act without consent , after he failed to front Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday to answer the charge. A University of Wollongong student who hid a camera inside a sponge in order to film his female flatmates while they showered has requested privacy as his case is dealt with by the courts. Police documents tendered to the court said the three flatmates were at the CBD unit they shared with Auliaputra the night of October 28 last year when one of them noticed a green flashing light coming from a yellow sponge on the floor of the bathroom. Upon inspection, the women found a small camera with an SD card, which had been inserted into a slit in the sponge. A power cord extending out of the camera led to a battery pack hidden under the vanity. Auliaputra admitted he threw the cameras SD card off the balcony before police arrived. Credit:Sylvia Liber The women called Auliaputra, who arrived at the unit 30 minutes later. They all agreed to view the contents of the SD card, but then decided to wait for police to arrive first. The card went missing before police arrived. A warrant for Auliaputras arrest was issue when he didnt appear at court on Tuesday. On Thursday he handed himself in to police, explaining he had confused the dates and attempted to attend court on Anzac Day. Hospital parking stress in Brisbanes north is set to ease with the state government to borrow money for a multi-storey car park. Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles said the state would fund and build a car park at the Prince Charles Hospital. There are currently two car parks at the Prince Charles Hospital. Credit:Tony Moore There has been concern raised for some time and local member Anthony Lynham has been a passionate advocate not just for more car parking spaces here at the hospital but for the state to invest in it directly, he said. Two independently operated public car parks are now available at the hospital. A $300,000 fine issued to Crown for poker machine tampering at the casino is a "drop in the ocean" that critics say will fail to act as a deterrent. The action by the Victorian gambling regulator relates to a trial last year, when betting options on machines were disabled so only minimum and maximum betting options were available. But one critic described the sanction as a "flea bite" for Crown when set against its Melbourne casino's annual poker machine revenue, estimated to be about $750 million. The Turnbull government credits Donald Trumps unpredictable approach to North Korea for triggering a historic meeting of the rogue regimes leader Kim Jong-un with his South Korean counterpart, kickstarting denuclearisation talks that were unthinkable just months ago. After months of high tension and years in which a frustrated world has failed to rein in the hermit dynasty of North Korean leaders, Mr Kim made history on Friday by crossing the demilitarised zone for a handshake and talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. But in an interview with Fairfax Media, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop warned North Korea would not give up its weapons program lightly and had a poor record of honouring agreements. However Ms Bishop noted the combination of economic sanctions and the threat of military action had succeeded in bringing Mr Kim to the summit table. They may pay more money than you would think is reasonable at the moment, but they will make that money back in the future, when, for example, the road has to be expanded. Three Sydney road projects have been approved after negotiations conducted from this position. In 2009, the former Labor government agreed to grant Transurban the right to toll the M2 for another four years, plus an almost 8 per cent toll increase, in return for a $500 million widening. In 2011, the Coalition government agreed to a deal that allowed the owner of the M5 West motorway, in which Transurban has a half stake, to widen that road, in return for another 3.3 years of tolling rights, and an increase in truck tolls. A spokesman for Transurban points out that such projects could have been delivered by any owner. Transurban's only point of difference is that we have shown a desire to continuously improve and upgrade the assets as the need arises, he says. The third instance is NorthConnex which was initiated by Transurban, the first and only toll road so far to be initiated under the Coalition governments unsolicited proposal framework. Under this deal, $810 million of the cost of the $3 billion road comes from the state and federal governments. The rest of the funding largely comes from Transurbans right to levy tolls for longer on its existing roads 11-year extensions to the M7 and Lane Cove Tunnel tolls as well as higher truck tolls, and the right to toll NorthConnex. From a value-for-money perspective, the states auditor-general gave the NorthConnex transaction a clean bill of health. But that established operators are initiating projects is intensifying interest in the WestConnex sale. If Transurban and its consortium which includes AustralianSuper, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board win the sale, would they not then be in prime position to claim other road projects spun off WestConnex? These represent another $23 billion-odd series of works: the so-called Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link to the Northern Beaches, and F6 extension to southern Sydney, plus potentially the right to toll the Sydney Harbour Tunnel on a reconfigured deal. There arent that many road projects in Sydney, says one infrastructure advisor. If Transurban wins WestConnex, they have effectively locked up the east coast tollway market. Its a fear that has attracted the attention of the competition regulator. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says there has been concern expressed that, if Transurban buys WestConnex, it will get the inside running on other projects, particularly those self-initiated projects which are being increasingly accepted by governments. Sims is running an inquiry into whether to give clearance to a Transurban bid, or require a statement of issues outlining concerns about a potential acquisition. The latter would delay an outcome by two months. The Berejiklian government's desire to complete the WestConnex sale within the next four months is a departure from the original plans. When WestConnex was first conceived, the plan was to sell three stages sequentially. Importantly, the sales were to occur once the volume of vehicles using the roads was known. The updated business case for WestConnex in late 2015 states that maintaining full ownership of [stage two] during construction is expected to maximise the return to the state on eventual sale. Under those plans, money raised from selling early stages would pay for the construction of latter. This [latest] process was never ever put forward in the original business case. It indicates that this would be a sub-optimal outcome, says Labors transport spokeswoman Jodi McKay. Much of the construction of WestConnex is still a long way from completion. Credit:Nick Moir The decision to fast-track the sale of a 51 per cent stake in the entire project in one swoop means the government is forcing the bidders to finalise their price based, to a large extent, on traffic forecasts. While it will lower the governments exposure to construction risks and traffic failing to meet forecasts, the bidders will factor that into what they are willing to pay. In order to get it away, the government might have to accept a discount on government traffic figures or accept higher rates of return [for the buyer], says Martin Locke, an adjunct professor at Sydney University and former investment banker and infrastructure adviser. The sale price is perhaps going to be lower than what it might otherwise have been under the governments original base-case scenario of a later sale. In return for that, government is reducing its risk. A NSW Treasury spokesman says the sales process means WestConnex can be built sooner. And on Friday, the government approved the third and final stage of the project, despite the fact that final plans for the Rozelle interchange are yet to be completed. For bidders, there are potentially other motivations at play. The prospect of being included in any future re-organisation of road tolls in Sydney is a further reason for companies to pitch for a stake in the new roads. If Transurban purchased WestConnex, Macquarie analysts wrote to clients last year, it could be strategically important. What will the impact of driverless vehicles be on Sydney roads? If Transurban owns the majority of them, it is sure to be part of that discussion. Similarly, Transurbans knowledge of the citys congestion issues will allow it to pre-empt traffic challenges in conjunction with government, without loss of value. The same foot-in-the-door considerations are no doubt being mulled over by Transurbans competitor bidders such as a consortium spearheaded by funds manager IFM Investors. Because it has no power to change the tolls it charges, or even change the design of the roads it manages, Transurban has denied it is a monopoly. And though Transurban has pulled off three successful negotiations for new or expanded road projects in Sydney, it has also missed out on others. Transurban has previously disclosed that three formal unsolicited proposals were rejected by the state government between 2013 and 2015. These proposals were to duplicate the existing M5 East a project now taking place as part of WestConnex to take over the tolling services for WestConnex, and to lower the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel tolls to ease traffic while a light rail line is built in the heart of Sydney. Government sources say another Transurban proposal a motorway to the northern beaches was rejected in 2015, though Transurban denies having made such an unsolicited proposal. Either way, for those more sanguine about the companys reach, that so many of its proposals have been rejected suggests that the number of kilometres it controls does not directly equate to control of the political process. Indeed, there are some that could see a benefit from one company owning so many toll concessions. The way Sydneys roads are tolled is, by any objective measure, unfair and arbitrary. A motorist driving to the central business district from the citys north-west suburbs might have to pay three tolls, while someone driving from the south-west might with the cash-back scheme on the M5 not pay at all. Transurban CEO Scott Charlton has declared he will not overpay for WestConnex. Credit:Pat Scala There are fairness arguments, therefore, for consolidating the way in which tolls are charged in Sydney. If you've only got one major player, or two major players, thats not complex at all, says Charles Casuscelli, a former head of the NSW Transport Management Centre. With Transurban part of the bidding for WestConnex, chief executive Scott Charlton declined to be interviewed for this story. But the silver-haired Texan, who counts one of his first jobs as designing laser-guidance systems for smart bombs, has spent the past few years positioning himself as a thought-leader on future urban transport options. What should governments do when more fuel-efficient vehicles erode petrol excise revenue? Should governments not consider a more holistic view of road tolling charging people according to the time of day they drive, or whether they use congested routes? These are all issues on which Transurban and Charlton have shown a willingness to engage. A spokesman for the company, meanwhile, lists the investments it has made in back-office technology, and intelligent transport systems which help manage the network more efficiently. These bring technology from the roadside to the control room, which helps drive efficiency of how the roads flow, he says. Charlton has made clear he will not overpay for WestConnex. His company has been willing over the years to wait patiently on the sidelines before pouncing on distressed assets. More than a quarter of the toll roads in Australia that Transurban controls have been acquired out of receivership, for half the construction costs footed by the previous owners. Loading While the original investors in those toll roads lost their shirts, Transurban has benefited handsomely from snapping them up at fire-sale prices. And there are unknowns about the WestConnex project that complicate the bidding. One uncertainty is the traffic that will or wont eventually pass through the tunnels linking the M4 and M5, which make up stage three of the project. It is inherently difficult to forecast traffic for tunnels; the initial commercial failure of the Cross City and Lane Cove tunnels are evidence of that. In addition, construction of the $1.5 billion underground interchange for WestConnex at Rozelle promises to be hugely challenging. Also difficult will be how WestConnex links to the promised motorway link known as the Sydney Gateway from Kingsford Smith Airport at Mascot to St Peters. Bidders will also be wondering how the state will manage two conflicting post-sale roles: as a holder of 49 per cent of Sydney Motorway Corporation the corporation that owns and operates WestConnex and the entity that has granted the tolling rights. Firstly, that exposes the government to a conflict of interest and, secondly, if youre the private sector looking to buy into Sydney Motorway Corporation, what level of involvement do you want the government to have? Martin Locke says. If the project is experiencing some sort of difficulty, are you comfortable having the government rep sitting at your board table taking notes? In the case of Lachlan Macquaries early tolls, not everyone in the colony submitted to them. When a new Supreme Court judge arrived in Sydney in 1815, that judge Jeffrey Hart Bent was so offended by the tolls that he started to argue they represented an illegal tax unsupported by legislation. What followed was a flurry of correspondence between London and Sydney. Shocked onlookers filmed the dramatic arrest on mobile phones, as police apprehended the man who allegedly claimed to have a gun on a tram and threatened to shoot everyone on board. Police with their guns drawn stopped a tram and surrounded the man on Collins Street. Credit:Fulvio Cusumano/YouTube The busy intersection of Collins and Elizabeth streets went into lockdown as police with their guns drawn stopped the 109 tram about 12.45pm. Heavily armed police have surrounded a man who threatened to shoot people on a tram in Melbourne's CBD. Witnesses said they feared for their lives and dialled triple zero after the man was heard yelling abuse. Police made the dramatic arrest on Collins Street. Credit:Fulvio Cusumano/YouTube The man was arrested at the tram stop. Officers searched the man, but did not find a weapon. The man, aged in his mid 30s, is expected to undergo a mental health check. One witness said he had just finished his lunch break and was walking along Elizabeth Street when he heard a female police officer screaming Get down on the ground!" In Barack Obama's case in 2009, the rationale was weaker still: he had not even been in office a year and had achieved virtually nothing for the cause of peace during that time. But he was a symbol of hope to centre-Left types around the world, who could not yet imagine the anarchy he would bring to Libya or the ceaseless wars he would wage with drones. The Nobel Committee has something of a fetish for awarding the Peace Prize to centre-Left American politicians, regardless of merit. At least former president Jimmy Carter had involved himself in decades of peace initiatives, however futile most proved to be, when he received the prize in 2002. Former vice president Al Gore, on the other hand, won the prize for his celebrity endorsement of climate-change doom-mongering. This year's prize should go to an American leader who has earned it, for once: Donald Trump. But will the Nobel Committee free itself from its ideological straitjacket to give it to him? President Trump is everything that Obama was not. He is a man of the Right, not the Left. He is brash and intensely disliked by much of world opinion, especially elite opinion. Obama had a soft touch and was loved almost as greatly as Trump is despised. Yet the only thing that should matter is what Trump has achieved, in contrast to what Obama did not. If President Trump succeeds in negotiating an end to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's nuclear provocations, he will have defused the most dangerous crisis the world faces at present. There is even a chance that Trump will help bring a non-violent conclusion to a war that has officially lasted 67 years. The North and South never came to a formal peace agreement in the Korean War and to this day have only an armistice to underwrite the ceasefire. Yet now Seoul and Pyongyang have begun moving toward treaty talks as part of the wider effort to resolve the nuclear impasse, with the South's President Moon Jae-in to meet Kim for a historic summit today. An American president first won the Peace Prize in 1906, when Theodore Roosevelt received it for brokering peace in the Russo-Japanese War. What Trump is poised to accomplish on the Korean peninsula would be a far greater triumph of diplomacy. That will be so even if the result is something less than what the Trump administration has called for in its maximal demands: the denuclearisation of North Korea. Kim is unlikely to give up his weapons in any scenario, but world peace will be well served if he simply stops further nuclear and ballistic tests and agrees to a non-proliferation framework. That should certainly be good enough for the Nobel Committee. But the contrast between Trump and Obama suggests why it might not be. Obama came to power promising to pursue peace the Left-wing way, through humility and understanding. His demeanour counted for more than his record, which in 2009 was practically nonexistent. President Trump has used tough language and the threat of violence to change the calculus of war and peace in Korea. The method as much as the man may be unpalatable to the panel. London: Australia's outgoing High Commissioner Alexander Downer says Brexit will damage the EU, which is in denial over its mishandling of immigration. Speaking to Fairfax Media from Australia House in his last few hours in the job, a candid Downer singled out the European institutions for criticism and said they needed to shoulder much of the blame for the Brexit result. Describing the EU's handling of immigration as "chaotic" and its management of the eurozone during the Cypriot financial crisis as causing "catastrophic harm" he said it was Europe and not Britain that had the most to lose from Brexit. Outgoing High Commissioner to London Alexander Downer Credit:AAP "The European Union institutions don't admit it but I think it's clear that [Brexit's] going to substantially weaken Europe," Downer said. Sacramento: The break that authorities said led them to the man accused of being the Golden State Killer came when they linked DNA evidence from the slayings to genetic information contained on a consumer genealogical website, authorities said on Thursday. Investigators knew the killer only through a string of DNA recorded in several of the dozen murder scenes. Shaun Hampton, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, said officials had struggled for years to figure out to whom that DNA belonged. Recently, they tapped genealogical databases that the public uses to search for relatives and ancestors, he said. Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that information from those websites dramatically reduced the size of their search. Eventually they narrowed the investigation to several families listed in the database, with a pool of about 100 men who fitted the age profile of the killer, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But forensic psychiatrists, criminal profilers and homicide detectives who pursue cold cases say that assumption is more myth than reality. With the arrest on Tuesday of Joseph James DeAngelo , 72, who has been charged so far with eight counts of murder, more than 30 years had passed since the last episode in the series. That long period of quiescence seems to fly in the face of the popular belief that serial rapists and killers are incapable of stopping. The Golden State Killer's barrage of rapes and murders began in a gold mining area east of Sacramento in 1976. By 1986, it seemed to have stopped. "These are not acts that a person is compelled to do," said J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. "They are intentional and predatory. There is choice, capacity and opportunity that is exercised." Any number of factors can contribute to a dormant stretch. An extensive 2008 study on serial murder for the FBI's National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime found that killers may quiet down when they find other outlets for their emotions. The study mentioned Dennis Rader, known as the BTK Killer, who murdered 10 people from 1974 to 1991, but had no other victims before being apprehended in 2005. "During interviews conducted by law enforcement, Rader admitted to engaging in autoerotic activities as a substitute for his killings," the report said. Sacramento police announced the arrested of Joesph James DeAngelo this week. Credit:AP Other killers might have changed behaviour after moving away from the original epicentre of activity. Ted Bundy mutilated and murdered perhaps more than 30 young women in the 1970s. Yet there were stretches along his peripatetic travels when he was not associated with murders in those areas. The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote - one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee subjected to a roll call nomination since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56. Then the new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea. Washington: Mike Pompeo has taken over as America's top diplomat after being confirmed by the US Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The State Department said no secretary of state had ever travelled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo's confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in. He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was "proud" to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the US State Department, said he was "delighted" to serve as America's top diplomat. "I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away," Pompeo said. Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralised after a tumultuous first year of President Donald Trump's administration, gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, "Hi, I'm Mike." Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, is expected to guide Trump's foreign policy farther to the right than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil boss fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled. Others were in the room, but no one "acted like anything wrong was happening", she told the magazine, adding that she was humiliated. Linda Vester at NBC in 1998. Credit:https://www.alamy.com "He was the most powerful man at the network, and I was the most junior person," she said. One day in January 1994, Vester told The Washington Post, she remembered being in New York on assignment, staying at the Essex House, the regular hotel for NBC staff. As she was preparing to return to Washington, she received a top line message from Brokaw, the managing editor and anchor of NBC Nightly News. Top lines were short internal messages within NBCs system that allowed staff to communicate easily with one another. At the time, Brokaw was the networks biggest star. Vester said he asked her where she was staying and what she was doing that night. I replied that I had checked out of my hotel and was going to catch the last shuttle back to DC before the coming snowstorm, she said. Brokaw wrote back that that wasnt a good idea, Vester said. My gut told me his intentions were not good, she wrote in her diary later that night, and which she supplied to the Post. So she called her best friend and mentor at the network, a producer in the Washington bureau, who corroborated to the Post the principal aspects of Vesters account. Vester said Brokaw wrote that it would be better for Vester to stay in New York. They could have a drink. According to her diary, Vester, at a loss, replied, I only drink milk and cookies." In an interview, she said: It was the only thing I could think of at the time, hoping the reference to milk and cookies would make him realise I was 30 years his junior and not interested." In her diary she wrote that her final note to Brokaw was, There is nothing I would like more than a good chat - a great talk with someone I admire. But if appearances are a concern ... thats valid. Vester said, I was trying to suggest that if he was worried that what he was suggesting might look wrong, it was wrong. Tom Brokaw in 1985. Credit:AP Vesters friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she signed a non-disclosure agreement when she left NBC, urged Vester to sign off quickly from the system to limit further communication. As the snow began, she missed the last shuttle, stranding her in New York. She returned to Essex House and updated her whereabouts. In her diary entries, made about 3am after the encounter, she wrote, Once in my room . . . I received three phone calls. One from a friend, another from a source; the third was Tom Brokaw. He said to order milk and cookies and he was coming over. Vester said she was terrified that, if she refused to meet him, my career at NBC would be over before it even got going". She called her producer friend, who agreed to stay on the phone with her. Soon, Vester heard a knock on the door. The friend in Washington told Vester to call her back in 30 minutes or she would alert the front desk to come to her room. Vester said she opened the door, and Brokaw walked past her and sat on the sofa in her suite. Brokaw has a distinctly different recollection of the evening. He remembered being invited over to Vesters room that evening, a characterisation that Vester rejects, as does the friend who was on the phone with her that night. What do you want from me? Vester said she asked him. She recalled him looking at her with mild exasperation. An affair of more than passing affection, Brokaw told her. But youre married, she said. And Im Catholic. Then Brokaw patted the sofa next to him, she said, while she sat down on the opposite end of the couch. She brought up a sexual harassment case that had been uncovered at NBC just recently, to try to signal that she was not interested in what she felt was about to happen. Brokaw leaned over, pressed his index finger to my lips and said, This is our compact, she wrote in her diary at the time. My insides shook. I went completely cold. Then, very quickly, Vester said later in an interview, Brokaw put his hand behind her neck and gripped her head. Now let me show you how to give a real kiss, he said, in Vesters recollection, and jerked her head towards him. She remembers tensing her neck muscles and using all her strength to wriggle free and stand up. She wrote, I said 'Tom . . . I dont want to do that with you.' Brokaw sat silent for a few minutes, then finally said, I think I should go. Vester nodded vigorously. The next day, Vester said, she and Brokaw spoke, and he tried to make the interaction seem consensual. Vester didnt agree. Later, she met another friend who corroborated in an interview that Vester was rattled by the episode and disappointed in what had happened, given her respect for Brokaw. A second incident unfolded in London more than a year later, Vester said. She saw no way to extract herself from being in Brokaws company because she feared alienating the anchor, she said, but again warded off his advances. Linda has shown incredible courage and conviction coming forward to share the details of her experiences working at NBC, said her attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld. She does so at her own expense and peril. She wants nothing for herself. Vester, who later worked at Fox News and left the business, said she had no intention of filing a legal claim against Brokaw or NBC. A second woman, a former production assistant at NBC News who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Brokaw stopped her in the hallway just as she arrived for work. It happened in the mid-1990s, and she was wearing her winter coat. He beckoned her into a small enclave to the side of the hallway. The production assistant, then 24, had been looking for a more permanent role as a researcher on one of NBCs shows. He took her hands in his and commented on how cold they were, the woman recently recalled. He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, How is your job search going? She looked up at the man she had habitually called Mr Brokaw and mumbled a reply, she said. Then he said, in her recollection, Why dont you come into my office after the show and lets talk about it. She said the implication of his invitation was clear, and that he was inviting her to his office for more than advice. She never went to his office and left the network shortly after the incident. Like Vester, she did not report it. NBC News, which has also come under fire for its handling of staff complaints against former Today show host Matt Lauer, did not respond to requests for comment. Vester could not be reached for comment. Brokaw anchored NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He has since served as a special correspondent. Brasilia: Thousands of Brazil's indigenous people - many wearing feathered headdresses, traditional grass skirts and body paint - have marched through the capital to protest what they say is an unprecedented governmental assault on their rights and lands. A lane in a central thoroughfare was painted red to mark the "trail of blood" of violence against the country's original inhabitants. Brazilian indigenous people paint a road to depict the blood of those killed in the struggle for their lands. Credit:AP Some groups danced through the streets singing, beating drums and shaking maracas. In front of the Justice Ministry, a handful of people lay down on a Brazilian flag and a sign that read, "End of the indigenous genocide." Every April, members of indigenous groups descend on Brasilia to press their concerns in the halls of power. But leaders say their situation has become more precarious since President Michel Temer took office in 2016 and began instituting what they call a systematic rollback of indigenous rights and protections. GoldMining to Acquire Additional Gold Claims Contiguous with Yellowknife Gold Project Posted by Publisher Internet GoldMining Inc. (the \Company\ or \GoldMining\) (TSX-V: GOLD; OTCQX: GLDLF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the \Agreement\) with an arm\-\-s length vendor (the \Vendor\) to indirectly acquire the Narrow Lake property (\Narrow Lake\ or the \Property\).? The Property includes the N1 and N2 claims, which cover a total area of 618 hectares and are contiguous with the southern boundary of the Company\-\-s Nicholas Lake-Ormsby property, one of the four properties that comprise the Yellowknife Gold Project (\YGP\).? With this latest acquisition, the YGP will have an expanded total area of 12,120 hectares upon closing. The YGP has been the subject of substantial drilling, underground development, metallurgical testwork and historic gold production from the high-grade Discovery Mine, which the Company acquired in July 2017. Agreement Pursuant to the Agreement, GoldMining will pay $50,000 cash and issue $38,000 in common shares of GoldMining (\GOLD Shares\) on closing and an additional $100,000 in cash or GOLD Shares, at the Company\-\-s discretion, on the first anniversary of the closing date, in consideration for the Property.? The number of GOLD Shares issuable shall be based on the volume-weighted average price of GOLD Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the \TSX-V\) for the ten trading days immediately prior to the date of such payment. ?GoldMining granted the Vendor a 1% net smelter royalty with respect to the N1 and N2 claims upon commercial production. ?The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among other things, receipt of requisite approvals.? The parties currently expect closing to occur by the end of May 2018.? Narrow Lake Narrow Lake was part of the Morris Lake Project that was explored by Viking Gold Exploration Inc. from 2009 to 2010.? Exploration programs included geological mapping, rock and lake sediment geochemistry, geophysics (ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys) and shallow diamond drilling (2,539 metres in 12 holes), which identified several conductors on strike with the Ormsby gold deposit.? The Property has potential for both, bulk mineable gold mineralization as outlined at the Ormsby deposit, located approximately 300 metres to the northeast, and high-grade gold mineralization, as mined from underground at the Discovery Mine located 3 kilometres to the northeast. ?The Ormsby deposit was the focus of extensive exploration by previous operators, including surface and underground drilling (120,760 metres), underground development (1,579 metres), bulk sampling and metallurgical testwork.? The Discovery Mine was in operation from 1949 to 1968 with estimated production of one million ounces of gold.? Reference to historical production at the Discovery Mine is for informational purposes only and is not indicative of the Company?s potential future results at the YGP.? Future exploration programs would be designed to examine the potential for these styles of mineralization on the YGP and at Narrow Lake. Shares for Debt The Company has, through a subsidiary, entered into a debt settlement agreement and will issue 34,188 GOLD Shares in satisfaction of $40,000 of debt owed by the subsidiary to an arm\-\-s length creditor, at a deemed price of $1.17 per GOLD Share.? Such GOLD Shares will be subject to a four month and one day hold period from the date of issuance.? The transaction will be completed on or about the date hereof upon receipt of TSX-V approval. Qualified Person Paulo Pereira, President of GoldMining Inc. has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. ?Mr. Pereira holds a Bachelor degree in Geology from Universidade do Amazonas in Brazil, is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and is a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. About GoldMining Inc. GoldMining is a public mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold assets in the Americas.? Through its disciplined acquisition strategy, GoldMining now controls a diversified portfolio of resource-stage gold and gold-copper projects in Canada, U.S.A., Brazil, Colombia and Peru.? Additionally, GoldMining owns a 75% interest in the Rea Uranium Project, located in the Western Athabasca Basin of Alberta, Canada. Forward-looking Statements This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of GoldMining with respect to its business and future events, including expectations and future plans respecting the completion of the acquisition of the Property and its projects. ?Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which GoldMining operates, including that the acquisition of the Property will complete as contemplated and that the conditions under the Agreement will be satisfied. ?Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: that the parties may not satisfy all of the conditions under the Agreement, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with GoldMining?s expectations, accidents, equipment breakdowns, title and permitting matters, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on its projects, and that GoldMining may not be able to confirm historical exploration results. ?These risks, as well as others, including those set forth in GoldMining?s filings with Canadian securities regulators, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. ?Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. ?There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward looking information, will prove to be accurate. ?GoldMining does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Rain showers this morning with numerous thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. High 81F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Saturn's moon Titan, shown here in an artist rendering is loaded with liquid methane and shrouded by heavy clouds. Might it support life? New evidence raises the possibility, but scientists say it's more likely the findings involve non-biological processes. The Fermi Paradox seeks to answer the question of where the aliens are. Given that our star and Earth are part of a young planetary system compared to the rest of the universe and that interstellar travel might be fairly easy to achieve the theory says that Earth should have been visited by aliens already. As the story goes, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, most famous for creating the first nuclear reactor, came up with the theory with a casual lunchtime remark in 1950. The implications, however, have had extraterrestrial researchers scratching their heads in the decades since. "Fermi realized that any civilization with a modest amount of rocket technology and an immodest amount of imperial incentive could rapidly colonize the entire galaxy," the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in Mountain View, California, said on its website. "Within ten million years, every star system could be brought under the wing of empire. Ten million years may sound long, but in fact it's quite short compared with the age of the galaxy, which is roughly ten thousand million years. Colonization of the Milky Way should be a quick exercise." Fermi reportedly made the initial remark, but he died in 1954. Publication fell to other people, such as Michael Hart, who wrote an article titled "An Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth" in the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Quarterly Journal in 1975. (Some say this is the first such paper to explore the Fermi paradox, although this claim is a bit hard to prove.) "We observe that no intelligent beings from outer space are now present on Earth," Hart wrote in the abstract. "It is suggested that this fact can best be explained by the hypothesis that there are no other advanced civilizations in our galaxy." He noted, however, that more research in biochemistry, planetary formation and atmospheres was needed to better narrow down the answer. While Hart was more of the opinion that we were the only advanced civilization in the galaxy (he argued that in Earth's history, somebody could have visited us already unless they started their journey less than two million years ago), he outlined four arguments exploring the paradox: 1) Aliens never came because of a physical difficulty "that makes space travel infeasible," which could be related to astronomy, biology or engineering. 2) Aliens chose never to come to Earth. 3) Advanced civilizations arose too recently for aliens to reach us. 4) Aliens have visited Earth in the past, but we have not observed them. The argument has been challenged on many grounds. "Maybe star travel is not feasible, or maybe nobody chooses to colonize the galaxy, or maybe we were visited long ago and the evidence is buried with the dinosaurs but the idea has become entrenched in thinking about alien civilizations," wrote Fermi paradox researcher Robert H. Gray in a 2016 Scientific American blog post. Frank Tipler, a professor of physics at Tulane University, followed up on the argument in 1980 with a paper titled "Extraterrestrial intelligent beings do not exist," also published in the RAS Quarterly Journal. The bulk of his paper dealt with how to get resources for interstellar travel, which he suggested could be achieved by having some kind of self-replicating artificial intelligence moving from star system to star system and create copies using materials there. Since these beings aren't on Earth, Tipler argued we are likely the only intelligence out there. He also said that those who believe in extraterrestrial intelligence are similar those who think about UFOs, because both camps believe "we are going to be saved from ourselves by some miraculous interstellar intervention." Today, the topic of extraterrestrial intelligence is a popular one, with several papers appearing every year from different researchers. It's also been fueled by the discovery of exoplanets. Plentiful planets The universe is incredibly vast and old. One estimate says the universe spans 92 billion light-years in diameter (while growing faster and faster). Separate measurements indicate it is about 13.82 billion years old. At first blush, this would give alien civilizations plenty of time to propagate, but then they would have a cosmic distance barrier to cross before getting too far into space. Fermi first formed his theory long before scientists found planets outside of our solar system. There are now more than 3,000 confirmed planets, with more being found frequently. The sheer number of planets that we have found outside of our solar system indicates that life could be plentiful. Over time, with more advanced telescopes, scientists will be able to probe the chemical compositions of their atmospheres. The eventual goal is to understand how often rocky planets form in the habitable regions of their stars, which is traditionally defined as the zone in which water can exist on the surface. Habitability, however, isn't just about water. Other factors must be considered, such as how active the star is, and what is the composition of the planet's atmosphere. A November 2013 study using data from the Kepler Space Telescope suggested that one in five sun-like stars has an Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable region of its star. That zone is not necessarily an indication of life, as other factors, such as the planet's atmosphere, come into play. Further, "life" could encompass anything from bacteria to starship-sailing extraterrestrials. A few months later, Kepler scientists released a "planet bonanza" of 715 newly discovered worlds, pioneering a new technique called "verification by multiplicity." The theory essentially postulates that a star that appears to have multiple objects crossing its face or tugging at it would have planets, as opposed to stars. (A multiple star system at such close proximity would destabilize over time, the technique postulates.) Using this will accelerate the pace of exoplanet discovery, NASA said in 2014. Researchers previously focused on red dwarf stars as a possible host for habitable planets, but as the years of study continued, limitations arose. It was exciting to find nearby planets such as Proxima Centauri b and the seven rocky planets of TRAPPIST-1 in the regions of their stars where liquid water could exist on the planets' surface. The trouble is, red dwarfs are volatile and could send several forms of life-killing radiation towards the surface. More study is required to better understand these stars. More exoplanet-hunting spacecraft are coming online in the next few years. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched successfully in April 2018 to study nearby stars. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, expected to launch in 2020, will examine planets for the chemical makeup of their atmospheres. The European Space Agency's PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is expected to launch in 2026. And larger ground-based observatories are also being envisioned, such as the European Extremely Large Telescope that should see first light around 2024. Our understanding of astrobiology (life in the universe) is just at a beginning, however. One challenge is these exoplanets are so far away that it is next to impossible for us to send a probe out to look at them. Another obstacle is even within our own solar system, we haven't eliminated all the possible locations for life. We know from looking at Earth that microbes can survive in extreme temperatures and environments, giving rise to theories that we could find microbe-like life on Mars, the icy Jovian moon Europa, or perhaps Saturn's Enceladus or Titan. All of this together means that even within our own Milky Way Galaxy the equivalent of the cosmic neighborhood there should be many Earth-size planets in habitable zones that could host life. But what are the odds of these worlds having starfarers in their bounds? [Countdown: 13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens] Life: plentiful, or rare? The odds of intelligent life are estimated in the Drake Equation, which seeks to figure out the number of civilizations in the Milky Way that seek to communicate with each other. In the words of SETI, the equation written as: N = R* fp ne fl fi fc L has the following variables: N = The number of civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy whose electromagnetic emissions are detectable. R* = The rate of formation of stars suitable for the development of intelligent life. fp = The fraction of those stars with planetary systems. ne = The number of planets, per solar system, with an environment suitable for life. fl = The fraction of suitable planets on which life actually appears. fi = The fraction of life bearing planets on which intelligent life emerges. fc = The fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space. L = The length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space. None of these values are known with any certainty right now, which makes predictions difficult for astrobiologists and extraterrestrial communicators alike. There is another possibility that would dampen the search for radio signals or alien spacecraft, however: that there is no life in the universe besides our own. While SETI's Frank Drake and others suggested there could be 10,000 civilizations seeking communications in the galaxy, a 2011 study later published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested that Earth could be a rare bird among planets. It took at least 3.5 billion years for intelligent life to evolve, the theory by Princeton University researchers David Spiegel and Edwin Turner said, which indicates it takes a lot of time and luck for this to happen. Other explanations for the Fermi paradox include extraterrestrials "spying" on Earth, ignoring it altogether, visiting it before civilization arose, or visiting it in a way that we can't detect. Recent Fermi paradox discussion While the Fermi Paradox question has baffled scientists for decades, there are some new insights that could help researchers better understand why aliens have been so hard to find. In 2015, a study looked at the likelihood of a world evolving with a habitable environment, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler Space Telescope. It suggests Earth was an early bloomer. Even though the study excluded intelligent life, the study suggests that our planet's birth came very early in the universe's history. When Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago, the study said, only "8 percent of the potentially habitable planets that will ever form in the universe existed." In other words, most of the material available to form habitable planets is still around giving lots of time for alien civilizations to form. Or perhaps life may be too fragile to survive for long. A 2016 study suggests that the early part of a rocky planet's history can be very conducive to life, as life could emerge after about 500 million years after the planet cools down and water is available. However, after that point the planet's climate could easily wipe life out. Look at Venus (which has a runaway greenhouse effect) or Mars (which lost most of its atmosphere to space). The study was led by Aditya Chopra, who was then with the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. In 2017, Space.com republished a RealClearScience article with 12 reasons why we cannot find aliens, ranging from intelligent life self-destructing to nobody being willing to transmit their whereabouts. You can now decorate your desk or wall with the prominent features of the moon and Mars thanks to NASA spacecraft data and a Smithsonian partnership. Master Replicas Group has introduced its first two "Space Terrains," scale models of the moon's Tycho crater and the Olympus Mons volcano on Mars. Each ten-inch (24.4-cm) cast-resin square is based on the information from NASA's Lunar or Mars reconnaissance orbiters (LRO or MRO). "[We] combine NASA [laser] scan data with high resolution imagery of the lunar [or Martian] surface," states Stephen Dymszo, CEO and co-founder of Master Replicas Group, in a video describing how the Space Terrains are created. "Each complete file is then output on a $250,000 Stratasys machine with a resolution down to 16 microns. This results in a master pattern that showcases a staggering amount of detail in an area of less than a square foot." [Wow! Moon's Young Crater Seen in Close-Up View (Photo)] The hand-finished moon and Mars terrains, which Master Replicas Group markets under its Smithsonian license, are available for $90 each. 'Stolen' from the Air and Space Dymszo had the idea to make miniature planetary terrains while visiting the Smithsonian in Washington, DC a couple of years ago. "We went to the Smithsonian and were taking a tour. They had a very large representation of a lunar crater there. It is huge and incredible," Dymszo recalled in an interview with collectSPACE. "I was with our graphics manager, Karl, and told him, 'You know, if somebody did this in a smaller size, it would be really cool. I would like to have one of these on my desk.'" Fortunately, Dymszo would soon be in a position to be that "somebody." At a previous incarnation of Master Replicas, Dymszo had proposed a line of aerospace collectibles to go along with the sci-fi prop replicas they were then known for offering. So when Master Replicas Group re-launched and sat down with the Smithsonian, Dymszo knew what he wanted to create. "When we got the Smithsonian's license, we proposed this idea for representations of topographical details," he said. "They asked, 'Where did you get the idea?' and we replied, 'We totally stole it from you from the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum!' A scale 'Odyssey' It was another of licensed property that drove the choice of one of the moon's brightest craters as the first terrain. "We came up with about 20 different features we could do, but decided that the first should be Tycho only because we also have the license with Warner Bros. for '2001: A Space Odyssey,'" said Dymszo. The Stanley Kubrick science fiction film, released 50 years ago this month, features Tycho crater as the spot where one of the monoliths is found buried below the lunar surface. Dymszo chose Mons Olympus, the largest volcano in all of the solar system, as the second of the company's terrains, but replicated it at a different scale than Tycho. The lunar crater is sized such that 1 inch equals 7.6 miles (2.5 cm to 12 kilometers). Every inch of the Martian mountain's model represents about 60 miles (96.5 km). "Olympus Mons would be the size of your room if it was to scale to Tycho," explained Dymszo. "Also, as noted on the base plaque, we did a three-times magnification on the Z-axis on Mons Olympus, because when you use the actual scan data and output it, it is a pancake." Master Replicas Group Space Terrains are mounted so they can be hung on the wall or displayed as desktop models. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com) On the horizon Master Replicas Group's third terrain will be a triptych. "The next one is going to Valles Marineris, which will be in three sections," said Dymszo, in reference to the system of canyons on the Red Planet. "They'll be removable from the base, so you will be able to put all three sections together and recreate the entire escarpment on Mars." The company is also looking at creating Copernicus crater on the moon, as well as another lunar location to coincide with an upcoming milestone. "Just like the 50th anniversary of '2001: A Space Odyssey' is this year, as we start hitting the 50th anniversaries of the Apollo landings, we have products planned around them," said Dymszo. The landing site models, based on LRO data, will include a painted overlay of the equipment on the moon. And like all of the Master Replicas Group Space Terrains, will include a QR code on its base plate pointing to more details about the site, its geography and history. Watch a video about Master Replicas Group Space Terrains at collectSPACE. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2018 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. The House bill would give the Office of Space Commerce the ability to oversee "non-traditional" commercial space activities, like satellite servicing, not licensed today by other agencies. WASHINGTON The House of Representatives approved legislation April 24 that would reform commercial remote sensing regulation and create a licensing regime for "non-traditional" commercial space activities. The House approved on a voice vote H.R. 2809, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act, after about 25 minutes of debate on the House floor during which no members spoke in opposition to the bill. The bill, which cleared the House Science Committee last June, is intended to both streamline the existing regulations for licensing of commercial remote sensing systems and provide a minimalistic licensing system for other commercial space activities not already regulated by other agencies in order to comply with the "authorization and continuing supervision" requirements of the Outer Space Treaty. "Today we give space exploration a booster rocket in the form of H.R. 2809," Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, said on the House floor. The bill, he claimed, removed uncertainty regarding who would regulate emerging commercial space applications, ranging from satellite servicing to lunar landers, that don't clearly fall into areas already overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which today license launches, satellite communications and commercial remote sensing, respectively. [In Pictures: The Rockets and Spaceships of SpaceX] "This uncertainty has cramped capital formation and innovation, and has driven American companies overseas," he argued. "The Space Commerce Act remedies this situation by establishing a new, novel legal and policy framework that unleashes American free enterprise and business, assures conformity with Outer Space Treaty obligations and guarantees that the U.S. will lead the world in commercial space activities throughout the 21st century." The bill gives the Office of Space Commerce within the Department of Commerce the authority to issue "certifications" for space objects not otherwise licensed by the FAA or the FCC. Companies would provide basic information about their spacecraft, including an attestation that it is not a weapon of mass destruction, and the office would have 90 days to review the application. The bill also reforms commercial remote sensing regulations, moving licensing of those spacecraft from NOAA's Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs office to the Office of Space Commerce. It requires a 90-day review of license applications, versus the 120 days under current regulations, with automatic approval of applications should the office not make a determination at the end of that 90-day period. While NOAA has, in recent years, worked to decrease the average commercial remote sensing licensing review time, companies have complained about long delays on individual applications and a lack of insight into the license review process, issues the bill seeks to address. The bill "ensures U.S. industry receives a timely and transparent determination on applications," said Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the House space subcommittee. Concerns about the ability of national security agencies to weigh in on remote sensing applications led to some changes in the bill after its markup last June. One provision added to the bill allows the president to extend the 90-day review period for such applications by 60 days "to further evaluate the national security implications of the application," provided the president notifies relevant congressional committees. The bill allows for only one such 60-day extension. "Since the markup, I was pleased to see additions to the bill which ensure the proper balance with the defense community to ensure the Department of Defense has the proper input into remote sensing applications," said Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) during the debate on the House floor. While the bill easily cleared the House, its future is less certain. The Senate has been working on its own commercial space bill, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate space subcommittee. That bill is not expected to be identical in scope or content to the House bill. The National Space Council also approved a set of recommendations for commercial space regulation at its Feb. 21 meeting. While they include changes similar to that in the House bill, like consolidating regulation within the Office of Space Commerce and giving that office oversight of non-traditional commercial space activities, it also calls on the department to develop its own legislative proposal for enacting those changes. "There are elements of the existing legislation on the Hill that the administration is supportive of," said James Uthmeier, senior advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, during an April 3 meeting of NOAA's Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing. "There are things with that proposed legislation that pretty much everybody in this room would admit needs some work." Some House members, while backing this bill, said they hoped to see changes in it should it works its way through the Senate. "There are several aspects of H.R. 2809 that deserve further discussion," said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), ranking member of the space subcommittee. Those aspects, he said, include adequate reviews by government agencies of license applications and adherence to planetary protection guidelines by commercial ventures where relevant. Bera and Perlmutter also wanted to review whether the Office of Space Commerce, which has only a few staff members, was the right home for the licensing authority granted in the bill. "I hope this discussion continues and we reach a consensus as we continue through the legislative process with the Senate," Perlmutter said. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. The Cotton Sustainability Challenge, sponsored by CASIS and Target, will explore cotton efficiency and sustainability on the International Space Station. Three new projects to improve the efficiency and sustainability of cotton farming on Earth will soon head to space. On Tuesday (April 24), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) announced the selection of three projects, short-listed in a competition known as the Cotton Sustainability Challenge, that will operate on the International Space Station (ISS). Each project will receive in-orbit access to the ISS National Laboratory and to hardware-implementation assistance through a collaboration between CASIS and NASA, according to a statement from CASIS. In addition, each project will receive up to $1 million in grant funding, courtesy of Target Corp. [NASA Eyeing 'Chain Mail' Fabric for Use in Space] One of the concepts, helmed by Upstream, a California-based public benefit corporation, will employ a customizable and scalable "machine learning platform" to monitor and analyze ISS remote sensory imagery relating to cotton agriculture in real time. Doing so will allow the firm to expand the capabilities of its "Best Management Practice Assessment and Real-Time Monitoring" platform, which Upstream said will help reduce the water footprint of Target's manufacturing supply chain. Another project, led by Christopher Saski, director of the Genomics and Computational Biology Laboratory at Clemson University in South Carolina, seeks to use genetic sequencing to examine the gene expression and other features of three different cotton cultivars grown in the absence of gravity. Gaining new insight into plant growth and regeneration could help us grow cotton that requires fewer resources, Saski said. Roots play a leading role in University of WisconsinMadison botany professor Simon Gilroy's concept, which will study how the AVP1 gene, which researchers think leads to a larger root system, allows cotton plants to yield more fiber in the face of high salt levels and drought. Since root formation is typically a response to gravity, the ISS National Lab will provide a "unique opportunity" to suss out not only the factors that promote root development but also the influence of root architecture on cotton's resilience, adaptability and ability to capture heat-trapping carbon emissions that are contributing to global warming, , according to the statement. The ultimate goal of the Cotton Sustainability Challenge is to generate solutions for growing cotton on an increasingly thirsty planet. Cotton cultivation requires access to water and other natural resources that are increasingly at risk due to overexploitation and climate change, Cynthia Bouthot, director of commercial innovation and strategic partnerships at CASIS, said in the statement. Take one of today's most popular items of clothing, for example. The production of a single cotton T-shirt requires more than 700 gallons (2,700 liters) of water and about 5 ounces (142 grams) of pesticides, according to the World Wildlife Fund. As such, the nonprofit said it hopes that research aboard the National Lab will lead to new ways of easing cotton farming's burden on the environment. "Bringing awareness to cotton sustainability is a powerful opportunity to showcase the unique research facets of the International Space Station," Bouthot said. "We look forward to working alongside Target and our selected researchers as they prepare to send innovative research to our orbiting laboratory." Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The distribution of dark matter in the galaxy cluster Abell 3827 appears as blue contour lines in this photo by the Hubble Space Telescope. White holes, which are theoretically the exact opposites of black holes, could constitute a major portion of the mysterious dark matter that's thought to make up most of the matter in the universe, a new study finds. And some of these bizarre white holes may even predate the Big Bang, the researchers said. Black holes possess gravitational pulls so powerful that not even light, the fastest thing in the universe, can escape them. The invisible spherical boundary surrounding the core of a black hole that marks its point of no return is known as its event horizon. [Images: Black Holes of the Universe] A black hole is one prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Another is known as a white hole, which is like a black hole in reverse: Whereas nothing can escape from a black hole's event horizon, nothing can enter a white hole's event horizon. Previous research has suggested that black holes and white holes are connected, with matter and energy falling into a black hole potentially emerging from a white hole either somewhere else in the cosmos or in another universe entirely. In 2014, Carlo Rovelli, a theoretical physicist at Aix-Marseille University in France, and his colleagues suggested that black holes and white holes might be connected in another way: When black holes die, they could become white holes. In the 1970s, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking calculated that all black holes should evaporate mass by emitting radiation. Black holes that lose more mass than they gain are expected to shrink and ultimately vanish. However, Rovelli and his colleagues suggested that shrinking black holes could not disappear if the fabric of space and time were quantum that is, made of indivisible quantities known as quanta. Space-time is quantum in research that seeks to unite general relativity, which can explain the nature of gravity, with quantum mechanics, which can describe the behavior of all the known particles, into a single theory that can explain all the forces of the universe. In the 2014 study, Rovelli and his team suggested that, once a black hole evaporated to a degree where it could not shrink any further because space-time could not be squeezed into anything smaller, the dying black hole would then rebound to form a white hole. "We stumbled onto the fact that a black hole becomes a white hole at the end of its evaporation," Rovelli told Space.com. Black holes nowadays are thought to form when massive stars die in giant explosions known as supernovas, which compress their corpses into the infinitely dense points known as singularities at the hearts of black holes. Rovelli and his colleagues previously estimated that it would take a black hole with a mass equal to that of the sun about a quadrillion times the current age of the universe to convert into a white hole. [Supernova Photos: Great Images of Star Explosions] However, prior work in the 1960s and 1970s suggested that black holes also could have originated within a second after the Big Bang, due to random fluctuations of density in the hot, rapidly expanding newborn universe. Areas where these fluctuations concentrated matter together could have collapsed to form black holes. These so-called primordial black holes would be much smaller than stellar-mass black holes, and could have died to form white holes within the lifetime of the universe, Rovelli and his colleagues noted. Even white holes with microscopic diameters could still be quite massive, just as black holes smaller than a sand grain can weigh more than the moon. Now, Rovelli and study co-author Francesca Vidotto, of the University of the Basque Country in Spain, suggest that these microscopic white holes could make up dark matter. Although dark matter is thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the universe, scientists do not know what it's made of. As its name suggests, dark matter is invisible; it does not emit, reflect or even block light. As a result, dark matter can currently be tracked only through its gravitational effects on normal matter, such as that making up stars and galaxies. The nature of dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in science. The local density of dark matter, as suggested by the motion of stars near the sun, is about 1 percent the mass of the sun per cubic parsec, which is about 34.7 cubic light-years. To account for this density with white holes, the scientists calculated that one tiny white hole much smaller than a proton and about a millionth of a gram, which is equal to about the mass of "half an inch of a human hair," Rovelli said is needed per 2,400 cubic miles (10,000 cubic kilometers). These white holes would not emit any radiation, and because they are far smaller than a wavelength of light, they would be invisible. If a proton did happen to impact one of these white holes, the white hole "would simply bounce away," Rovelli said. "They cannot swallow anything." If a black hole were to encounter one of these white holes, the result would be a single larger black hole, he added. As if the idea of invisible, microscopic white holes from the dawn of time were not wild enough, Rovelli and Vidotto further suggested that some white holes in this universe might actually predate the Big Bang. Future research will explore how such white holes from a previous universe might help to explain why time flows only forward in this current universe and not also in reverse, he said. Rovelli and Vidotto detailed their findings online April 11 in a paper submitted to the Gravity Research Foundation's annual contest for essays on gravitation. Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on Space.com. A new report by NASA's inspector general warned that development of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser poses the "greatest technical and schedule risks" to the overall commercial cargo program. WASHINGTON NASA will pay more money for less cargo delivered to the International Space Station under a set of follow-on commercial cargo contracts awarded in 2016, according to a report by the agency's inspector general. The report, released April 26 by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG), also flagged a number of issues with all three companies that received Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contracts, from one company's reliance on a single, unproven spacecraft to use of foreign hardware by another. Under the existing CRS contracts awarded in 2008, Orbital ATK and SpaceX will deliver an estimated 93,800 kilograms of cargo to the ISS over 31 missions for a total cost of $5.93 billion. With the CRS-2 contracts, those two companies and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) will transport 87,900 kilograms to the station on 21 missions for a projected cost of $6.31 billion. On a per-kilogram basis, cargo transported to the ISS on CRS-2 missions will cost 14 percent more than that under the ongoing CRS contract. The report identified several reasons for the increased CRS-2 costs. One is an increase in per-kilogram costs for SpaceX missions by 50 percent. That increase, the company told OIG, is due to modifications of the Dragon spacecraft's interior to accommodate additional cargo, longer missions and accelerated cargo loading and unloading, including quicker access to cargo after the spacecraft returns to Earth. The report noted that volume restrictions on the current Dragon spacecraft have often limited the total cargo mass each mission can take, such that Dragon missions have been averaging only 1,569 kilograms of pressurized cargo, compared to 2,723 kilograms per Cygnus flight. NASA officials told OIG that those averages have been improving throughout the course of the CRS contracts "due to packing efficiencies and other cargo integration improvements." A second factor in the higher CRS-2 costs is linked to NASA's decision to pick three companies rather than two. Using three companies, OIG said, increases overall integration costs, but reduces the opportunities for volume discounts by spreading missions across three providers. NASA argued that having a third company provided additional redundancy, including having two companies SNC and SpaceX able to return cargo from the station. A third factor was the large amount spent on integration costs for the CRS-2 vehicles to date: about $700 million, similar to what NASA spent on the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program that developed the initial Orbital ATK and SpaceX cargo systems, but without funding launch vehicle development or test flights. OIG said NASA missed an opportunity for savings by taking advantage of overlaps between technical requirements for SpaceX Dragon 2 cargo missions and those for crewed missions being funded by a separate commercial crew contract. The OIG report flagged specifically $4.4 million in CRS-2 integration costs paid to SNC to work on a version of its Dream Chaser spacecraft that can dock with the ISS, even though initial missions of the spacecraft will instead be berthed using the station's robotic arm. "Given the inherent risk of an unproven spacecraft and lack of demonstration flight, we believe NASA should have deferred Sierra Nevada's docking integration costs until after its first successful CRS-2 mission," the report stated. The report also raised more general risk issues with SNC's Dream Chaser. "The development, first launch, and safe return of the Dream Chaser are the greatest technical and schedule risks under the CRS-2 contract," the report stated, noting that, for now, the company plans to build only a single Dream Chaser spacecraft, flying it up to 15 times. "Sierra Nevada's plan to build a single Dream Chaser spacecraft for CRS-2 missions is a single point-of-failure that represents substantial technical and schedule risks for the ISS Program," it argued, concluding that even if SNC built a second vehicle in the event of a mishap involving the first, it would likely not be ready in time to meet the company's CRS-2 contractual requirements. For SpaceX, the OIG report raised questions about software development issues with the Dragon spacecraft, citing a February 2017 incident where an "uncertified software tool" caused an abort during the spacecraft's approach to the ISS, delaying its arrival by a day. "Because SpaceX continuously makes changes to its launch vehicle and spacecraft, the company has had more difficulty following industry standard systems engineering principles," the report stated. Orbital ATK's reliance on Russian-built RD-181 engines to power the first stage of its Antares rocket also poses a risk, the report said, because federal waivers allowing the company to do business with Russia for ISS activities currently run only through the end of 2020. The company said it plans to buy enough RD-181 engines to handle the first four launches under its CRS-2 contract and is also studying the use of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and its own OmegA rocket, both under development, for launching future Cygnus missions. The OIG report said that NASA can reduce its costs on the CRS-2 contract somewhat by flying multiple missions in a year by the same contractor, potentially saving $300 million over the CRS-2 contract. It also said that SNC could lower its per-mission costs by launching on a vehicle other than the ULA's Atlas 5. Company officials said last week that they are, in fact, considering other launch options for later Dream Chaser missions. Despite those issues, the report concluded that the CRS and CRS-2 contracts "are positive steps" in establishing reliable cargo transportation needed to support operations of the ISS. It also noted a side benefit to the COTS and CRS efforts: prices for ULA's Atlas 5 that NASA paid for missions under its Launch Services Program dropped by about $20 million after SpaceX's Falcon 9, developed during the COTS effort, was eligible to complete for those NASA missions in 2013. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. This week had Carrie, Saul and the rest of the team on Russian soil. Now that the family portion of Carries arc is finished, it gives way to a lot more action packed episodes, just like this one. Once again, Homeland delivered. While the beginning of this episode seemed to be more focused on setting the pace and the storyline for the finale, the second half of All In took quite an interesting and intense turn. Its in this episode that President Keane is finally voted out of office, and its up to the Vice President to take her place. Its a surprise for her, but for the rest of us watching, after being the witnesses of her firing the majority of her cabinet, not so much. Im still on the fence about her. In other news, how daft can someone actually be? Even after Paley and Janet learn the truth about Simone, they continue to push the narrative they so desperately want to believe. Its too late for them to back down now, without looking like total dimwits, I get that, but its so hard to fall behind their way of thinking. I also have a hard time understanding why Paley believes Keane at one point, then doesnt, then does again. Whats with all the yo-yo-ing? How am I supposed to know? Ive been here, walking around in circles for the past 6 months. -Dar I am not all over the place now. Im here, and I am all in. And I need you to say yes.-Carrie All In also saw the return of Dar Adal, all by his lonesome in the yard, currently serving his sentence for last seasons offences. Paley paid him a visit in the hopes of having a better understanding of what is going on in Sauls head. It was great continuity for the show to have him included, and it makes incredible sense that the Senator would have gone to him for insight. He really does know Saul pretty well, and his understanding of the situation was spot on. Dar agrees to give Paley his help in exchange for possibility of freedom. Is that really in the cards for him? I have a hard time believing that. Still, I would love to see more of him, he has always been one of this characters that you never really know on which foot he stands, and that makes for some compelling storylines. Who wants him back on this show?Janet, Senator Paleys chief of staff,, went to break the weak link within Sauls operation. Clint caved, he caved way too easily. Like, really too easily. Doesnt Saul have higher standards when it comes to choosing who he works with? I know that we were meant to see him as young and naive, I could almost picture his mother coming down with a plate of cookies for him and his friend, but come on. Janet was hardly threatening.Upon learning of the teams plan, Paley shares a few words with the Russian ambassador, and there goes Sauls plan A. The team gets ambushed while trying to get to Simone.This doesnt mean its over for Carrie. She gave up too much to be there, and shes not going back home before having exhausted every option. They go for another strategy. They decide to pin their Russian counterparts against one another. If the Russian can cause Mayhem on American soil, then Americans can certainly do the same on Russian soil, and that is definitely what happens in this weeks episode. Their own tricks were used on them, including the Twitter bots. Yakushin was told to get Simone, so that is what he is does, and he is not shy about using violence to do so.A masked Carrie enters the chaotic hotel where Simon is kept. When the access card she steals does work, Max directs her to a window ledge that she must climb onto to get to Simones room. Its their only choice. It was a tense moment, but one with a false sense of danger, because they wouldnt have the balls to kill Carrie. Still, it was a great scene. Then, Carrie convinces Simone to go back with them, and it was great because thats what Carries good at. She manages to convince Simone that Yevgeny will turn on her, but I am not convinced he would have. Carrie wasnt the best at caring for her daughter, but that, she can do.I loved the switch up between Carrie and Simone. It had me going there, and it definitely had Yevgeny beat. Quick review today because weve got two episodes to cover back-to-back! Nathan asks Mike to get the firm to make an investment in the clinic since their funds are shaky. Quick reminder that the same actor that plays Nate on NCIS: LA plays Nathan on Suits. I guess he just looks like a Nate. Mike decides - yet again - that he needs to pour all of his time and effort into a big case the clinic is facing. After he gets the blessing from Donna to put his attention into the case, hes approached in the lobby by a guy whos building a firm on the west coast and wants Mike as a partner.He appeals to Mikes bleeding heart, saying that the lawyer will inevitably have to leave Specter & Litt when he is forced to defend the indefensible. Im looking to make a firm that takes on the big guys without relying on funding, he says. He wants Mike to run the place, and Rachel Zane can be right by his side. Mike has 48 hours to make up his mind. Well. Thats literally Mikes definition of a dream come true.Mike tells his fiancee about the pitch, and she gently suggests that shed probably be on board. In the meantime, he should focus on winning this case for the clinic - fighting on behalf of children with lead poisoning - because she doesnt want their future children to live in a world where something like this can happen.In the room, Mike pushes the lawyer representing the party responsible for the lead poisoning, much to Nates horror. Mike pulls a Harvey and says if they just wait a day, the guy will come back with more money. Turns out the gamble didnt pay off as Nate informs Mike that all of their angel investors pulled their funding, effectively shutting down the clinic.Turns out the guy pitching Mike his dream job was the one who got the donors to pull their money - it was all a ploy. But the idea was still a good one, Mike insists, and tells Nate they should drop their non-profit status so they can keep running. Nate says it would take half a million to foot the bill of the entire firm.Fortunately, Donna hears about this and solves the problem - she and Louis anonymously donate half a million dollars to get the clinic on solid ground. "You've been doing the right thing ever since you got here, Louis says. The world could use a lot more people like you.Well I mean, he was definitely a fraud and practicing law without a license for a pretty long time. Its kinda the entire concept of the show. But I get what hes saying.On the Harvey side of things, he and Donna seem to be on good terms and their flirty banter is back to normal. But business as usual doesnt last long when good ole Stanley Gordon shows up to drop a lawsuit on Specter & Litt on behalf of all former partners. He claims that when Mike went to jail, they all instantly became damaged goods. Oh, good grief. These guys will sue anyone about anything.They have a statement from someone claiming that her life was ruined by the firm, and it is (drumroll please.) Scotty! Wearing significantly more makeup than she wears on Timeless, Scottys role in the lawsuit is completely ignored as she immediately starts talking about her relationship with Harvey.She reminds the lawyer that they had sort of decided that they would get back together once he figured his life out. But when she delicately inquires as to Donnas presence in his life, shes wise enough (unlike Paula,) to nod sagely and back away, saving herself heartache.Harvey, Louis, and Mike start putting some pieces together - all the former partners want to get back in the company and then vote to merge with Robert Zane. Thats pretty sneaky. When Harvey confronts the man, hes blindsided. He had no idea, his partners had conspired the whole thing and were going to stab him in the back. You better get your house in order, because now I have to protect mine, Harvey instructs.Time for another cameo! Jessica shows up at the office to ask Harvey for help. And by ask, I mean put a lot of pressure on him. They revoked her license to practice law in Chicago and are actively trying to run her out of town. "I'm going to war with the people who took my license, she says. I don't need the top guy, I need the best partner I've ever had, and I need him to have my back.And its not just Harvey whos going to have her back - its going to be the whole dream team. Mike, Rachel, Donna, Louis, and Harvey all agree: Theyre going to do whatever is necessary to help Jessica. Amazon is justifying Prime's 20 percent price hike, to $119 a year, by saying it is more a valuable service than when the fee last rose four years ago. "The value of Prime to customers has never been greater," Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, said in a Thursday earnings call with analysts, when the company announced the May increase. "There [are] all kinds of new features that we've continually added to the Prime program. It's much different than it was in 2014, and this is a reflection of that." But, among Amazon's 100 million Prime members, some may be cash-strapped customers. Others might not feel a more expensive Prime is worth it. (Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, also owns The Washington Post.) For those shopping around for a better Prime deal, here are some alternatives. 1. Share with a friend or family member. Amazon Prime users can share their memberships with one other adult through the company's Household feature, which allows family members and roommates to tap into a number of Prime benefits, including Prime Photos and album sharing, streaming videos and free books through Amazon First Reads. But there's a catch: Users must agree to share payment methods, including credit cards and gift cards. Each Household account can accommodate two adults, as well as four teenagers and four children. 2. Head back to school. Students with an .edu email address are eligible for a half-price student membership for up to four years. Prime Student will cost $59 beginning next month (up from the current $49) and includes special discounts on items such as snacks and school supplies. Students can also sign up for a free six-month trial. 3. Pay by the month. In addition to the annual program, Amazon offers a monthly membership for those who don't need - or want - Prime year-round. Monthly memberships will continue to cost $12.99 (that's $156 a year), while students pay $6.49 (or $78 a year). 4. Pick and choose what you want. Want to stream movies, but don't care about free shipping on orders less than $25? Then you might consider paying $8.99 a month (or about $108 a year) for Prime Video. 5. See if you qualify for discounted rates. Shoppers who receive certain types of government assistance, including Medicaid, may qualify for a discounted rate of $5.99 per month, or $72 a year, which will not increase as part of the overall hike. To check eligibility, you can upload a photo of your Medicaid or EBT card, which is given to recipients of programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Amazon notes on its website that funds on EBT cards cannot be used to pay for Prime memberships. 6. Shop somewhere else instead. Walmart and Target - among Amazon's largest rivals - now offer free two-day shipping on orders over $35. (Amazon's current threshold for free shipping is orders over $25.) Nordstrom, Apple and Neiman Marcus, meanwhile, ship all orders gratis. Need something now? Google Express offers free same-day delivery on a number of items from stores such as Costco, PetSmart and Lowe's. A growing list of retailers also offer unlimited free shipping for an annual rate. (Think Prime on a smaller scale.) A $10 Sephora Flash membership, for example, gets you free shipping on a year's worth of beauty products, while a similar pilot program at Bed Bath & Beyond costs $29. STAMFORD A Greenwich attorney has been added to the legal team representing Stephanie Clifford, the pornographic film star also known as Stormy Daniels, in her federal suit against President Donald Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen. Catherine Keenan was appointed local counsel and filed her appearance Thursday on behalf of Cliffords lawyer, Newport Beach, Calif. attorney Michael Avenatti, according to court documents sent to the Stamford Advocate from the Greenwich law offices of Philip Russell, where Keenan has practiced since 2012. Clifford, who was paid $130,000 in hush money by Cohen to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006, has sued Cohen in hopes of throwing out the confidentiality agreement that prevents her from talking about the affair. Clifford is also suing Cohen for defamation. Keenan, a Quinnipiac University School of Law graduate, practices in the areas of civil and commercial litigation. Keenan is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York as well as the Southern District of New York, where the case against Cohen was filed. Early last week the FBI raided Cohens office, hotel room, seizing records related to several cases, including payments to Clifford. Keenan said that Clifford is concerned that some of those papers may contain privileged communications between her and her former attorney Keith Davidson, who helped work out the hush payment with Cohen. The purpose of our involvement ... is not to challenge the governments raid of Cohens documents, but rather to ensure that Cliffords attorney-client-privileged and highly sensitive documents are not improperly disclosed, tampered with or destroyed and that they be turned over to her for her use, Keenan said during a telephone interview Friday afternoon. Keenan, 43, said she has worked on big cases before in the Southern District, but not on a case with such national interest. Keenan said she has not yet met Clifford and has spoken with Avenatti a couple of times. Russell, who knows Avenatti, made the connection for her. Keenan said that because Avenatti has not been admitted to practice law in the Southern District of New York, she will be filing motions for him and working with the government with respect to the potential disclosure and protection of Cliffords communications with her former attorney. This is a very worthy cause. Everybody has a right to have their privileged communications stay that way and it is important to ensure that right is protected, she said. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Emilie Munson HARTFORD Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law Friday landmark legislation that allows undocumented immigrants to get state financial aid at Connecticuts colleges and universities. The battle we are in over DACA has sought to punish children, said Malloy. Its a toxic environment in which to exist and I hope the message to the world is that there is another way. HARTFORD Some 2,400 workers who care for the disabled are planning to strike on May 7 two days before the end of the legislative session in order to pressure lawmakers into approving a new contract that would award them their first raises in years. The move squeezes Democrats and Republicans who are already struggling to negotiate a fiscal year 2019 budget in the last week and a half left in the session. A new contract is a must have, said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, on Thursday, and he expressed confidence that lawmakers would approve it. But Republicans are frustrated that after asking for weeks, they have not seen the new contracts for these workers yet, said Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, on Friday. We have only received two out of the nine contracts, he said. How can you make any decision with only half the information? On April 20, the state Office of Policy and Management sent legislative leaders with a proposal that would raise the wage for workers to $14.75 and provide a 5 percent raise for workers currently earning more than $14.25 effective January 1, 2019. The proposal will cost the state $22.8 million, according to the Office of Policy and Management, because these employees who work in privatized group homes are paid through the Department of Social Services budget. Their work is partially funded by federal Medicaid grants. These workers previously planned a strike in April, but delayed it at the request of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, to give legislators time to consider the new contract. OPM Secretary Ben Barnes called the news of the revived strike disheartening and blamed Senate Republicans for not accepting his cost-effective proposal sooner. This leaves the families and supporters of our most vulnerable developmentally disabled citizens in a state of distress and concern for the future of these critical arrangements, he said. Moreover, the providers themselves are left with no choice but to begin costly strike preparations. Some of these workers are employed by agencies with group homes and programs in Bridgeport, Trumbull and Monroe. When privatized group homes and programs are shuttering and workers are forced to work 80 hours a week just to make ends meet, something has to change, said Jennifer Schneider, spokesperson for these workers union, SEIU 1199. emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson HARTFORD The path to grabbing the Democratic nomination for governor became a little easier for Ned Lamont on Friday when Jonathan Harris, a former state senator and head of the state Democratic party, dropped out, endorsing the Greenwich cable executive. Harris, standing next to Lamont, told reporters in the Capitol he wanted to bring the party together at a time when Gov. Dannel P. Malloys low approval rating is seen as dragging down the partys chances in the fall elections. It was a tough decision but the right decision, said the 54-year-old lawyer, a former mayor of West Hartford who was most recently commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection. The state is at a turning point right now. We need to make real change, real progress, and Ive just concluded that it was in the best interest of the state and the best interest of the party that I step back from the race. Harris, on the campaign trail for months, said that while he thought his candidacy had the potential to divide the party, he became more convinced that Lamont, 64, should ultimately be the partys candidate and the next governor. He understands how an innovative economy is crucial to us moving forward, Harris said. I cannot be prouder than to have Jonathan Harriss endorsement, Lamont said. As he says, weve traveled the state a lot for the last four months. Ive had a chance to know him a lot better, as well as a chance to know all the other candidates, so its a very considered judgment that Jonathan makes when he endorses me. and were going to working together in the future. Both Lamont and Harris said there was no deal made for other offices should Lamont win, or candidacies when the 1,998 Democratic delegates meet in Hartford the weekend of May 18 for the statewide nominating convention. With Harriss campaign suspended and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin out of the race for the nomination, remaining candidates for the endorsement include Susan Bysiewicz of Middletown, a former secretary of the state who served in the state House of Representatives; Sean Connolly of Hebron, former state Veterans Affairs commissioner in his first campaign for elective office, and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who is hampered by a criminal record and exclusion from the states public-finance program. Guy Smith of Greenwich has decided to bypass the convention, amid charges that it is rigged for Lamont. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT WASHINGTON - Speaker Paul Ryan's decision to force the resignation of the House chaplain angered lawmakers of both parties Friday, prompting calls for explanations and investigations as the ouster threatened to spark a political and theological firestorm. Ryan told House Republicans at a closed-door meeting on Friday morning that he had received complaints about the Rev. Patrick Conroy centering on his pastoral style and believed replacing the Catholic priest was in the best interest of the institution, according to participants. He said the dismissal was not motivated by Conroy's political views or a prayer that the Jesuit gave in November on the House floor when the chamber was debating a tax bill. "May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans," he said, in an invocation that some interpreted as a political statement. Ryan's assurances did little to assuage concerns of Democrats and a number of Catholic Republicans who were close to Conroy. Absent a more fulsome explanation, several lawmakers speculated that his dismissal reflected anti-Catholic sentiment among evangelical conservatives. All told, Conroy's dismissal in the middle of a two-year term has triggered a moment of unusual discord in a House already beset by nasty partisan fights - mystifying observers who found it hard to fathom why Ryan, who is Catholic, would seek Conroy's resignation in the middle of the congressional session. "I'm not aware of any discontent or any criticism, and to be the first House chaplain removed in the history of Congress in the middle of the term raises serious questions, and I think we deserve more of an explanation of why," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who asked Ryan in the GOP meeting Friday to detail the reasons for his decision. "Paul said it was solely because he was not giving good service to the members. Again, I never heard that before." During House business Friday, Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., rose on the floor, backed by dozens of members, and read a resolution praising Conroy and calling for an official investigation of Conroy's dismissal. Crowley, the Democratic Caucus chairman, said the "circumstances behind this resignation compromise the integrity and dignity of the House" and asked that a six-member bipartisan select committee be formed to "investigate the motivations and actions" of the speaker. The Republican-led House then voted mostly along party lines to quash the request. Two Republicans, Reps. Tom Reed, N.Y., and Patrick Meehan, Pa., stood with Crowley as he spoke and voted with the Democrats. Another three GOP lawmakers, Reps. David Joyce, Ohio, Thomas Rooney, Fla., and Scott Taylor, Va., voted present. Several of Ryan's GOP colleagues came to his defense after the closed-door meeting, which preceded the floor session. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., said Ryan told members that his decision was not political but rather "that there were concerns expressed to him, the speaker, from a large number of members that their pastoral needs were not being met by Father Conroy." Others were dismayed at the uproar the ouster has created. "This is an unforced error that I hope doesn't lead to other unforced errors," said Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill. Conroy submitted a letter of resignation on April 16, but a public announcement made that day by Ryan's office left the impression that the resignation was voluntary. The text of Conroy's resignation letter, which was widely circulated for the first time on Thursday, made clear he resigned at Ryan's request. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., a Methodist minister who has been asked to participate in the search for a new chaplain, said Ryan's chief of staff told him that concerns about Conroy's pastoral care were behind the ouster. But Cleaver called that an "excuse,"and suggested frictions between Conroy and conservative evangelical members could be to blame: "That is a fact. I don't think that is some kind of an unreasonable way of diagnosing what has happened." "This is ugly," Cleaver added. "There's only division coming out of this. Not anything positive." In a statement Friday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noted that Conroy had been elected to a two-year term by the entire body. "His abrupt, unjust dismissal is hard to understand and impossible to support," Pelosi said. In a subsequent interview, Pelosi explained that she had repeatedly told Ryan that it was not a good idea to push Conroy out in several discussions the two had over the past couple of months. "I said no," she said. "They said that's what they wanted to do." She said she thought Ryan would drop the issue when he announced on April 11 that he would retire at the end of this year. But five days after his own retirement announcement, Ryan announced that Conroy would step down effective May 24. As chaplain, Conroy's public role is to offer the opening prayer each day the House is in session. But his private role is to serve as pastoral counsel to the entire community on the House side of the Capitol. In an interview with the New York Times, Conroy said he did not know whether politics was behind his departure, but he pointed to the prayer he recited on the House floor on Nov. 6, when Congress was debating tax overhaul legislation. About a week later, Conroy told the Times, he heard from the speaker's office. "A staffer came down and said, 'We are upset with this prayer; you are getting too political,'" he said. Shortly after, when he saw Ryan himself, Conroy said the speaker told him, "Padre, you just got to stay out of politics." Ryan made no mention of the reasons behind Conroy's ouster in an April 16 announcement in which he called him "a great source of strength and support to our community" and said the priest is "deeply admired by members and staff." Conroy is just the second Catholic priest to serve as House chaplain, following the Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin, who was chosen for the post in 2000 after a months-long protest by Catholic lawmakers. In late 1999, a bipartisan committee had recommended a different priest for the post, but the Republican leaders at the time chose a Presbyterian minister instead. After a protracted fight, Coughlin was chosen, making history as the first Catholic chaplain. Coughlin served until 2011, when then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, chose Conroy to succeed him. Boehner, Pelosi and Ryan are all Catholic. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security and brought Conroy along on a congressional trip to the Middle East, said he was "a little blindsided" by the dismissal. "He's been a good chaplain to me," McCaul said. "Perhaps some people thought, you know, Jesuits sometimes lean a little bit on the liberal side - I'm accepting of that. I think, perhaps, with other members, that was an issue." Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., - who, like McCaul, is Catholic - said he saw two theories behind the dismissal. One is the tax prayer, he said, "which makes them look silly." "Then there's a dark theory," he added. "That there's a crowd that doesn't like urban, Catholic Jesuits who have a broad-minded approach to things, and they want to replace him." Sensitivities began to escalate as lawmakers talked about the type of replacement needed for Conroy, who is set to leave May 24. Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., a leader of the House conservative bloc, on Thursday suggested someone "that has adult children, that kind of can connect with the bulk" of lawmakers and the problems they face with children who "made some bad decisions" or a spouse upset about the legislative schedule. "Having someone who's walked in those shoes, I think, allows you to immediately relate a little bit more than others," Walker told reporters. That outraged some Catholics, who felt Walker was eliminating Catholic priests from consideration because of their vows of celibacy. "Evidently that would mean that no Catholic priest ever apply again to be a chaplain of the House of Representatives, if that's a standard," said Crowley, a Catholic who had two uncles who were priests. On Friday, Walker said that he did not consider celibacy a disqualification for a chaplain. The next chaplain, he said, should be someone who has "tended a flock" and "has the instincts to go to someone who is hurting, not just waiting for someone to come to them." - - - The Washington Post's Erica Werner, Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report. MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Every day now, flag-waving crowds taunt a man who has ruled them for more than a decade, a man who does not allow protests. Daniel Ortega, a 72-year-old Marxist guerrilla famed for his Cold War duels with Washington, held near total power in recent years, decorating the capital with billboards in his honor. Now protesters march down streets tagged with fresh graffiti reading: "Get out Ortega" and "Death to Daniel." The most momentous upheaval in this Central American country in nearly 40 years is underway, a change that is shaking one of the last towering figures from a generation of Latin American leftist revolutionaries who became rulers. The Castros no longer hold the presidency of Cuba; Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has died; and now, in Nicaragua, Ortega and his Sandinista movement could be facing the end of their era. "There is a dictatorship in this country and we want freedom," said Diana Lopez, a 26-year-old piano teacher who stood in a swirl of waving Nicaraguan flags in a traffic circle at a protest on Wednesday night. After several terrifying days of violence and mass unrest that left at least 38 people dead, the uprising in Nicaragua has entered a calmer but potentially more significant phase, with pro-democracy protesters allowed to march and a group of students, business leaders and Catholic clergy preparing to negotiate with Ortega to roll back the repressive measures of recent years. The nationwide outburst has become the biggest challenge ever to Ortega, who led a 1979 revolution against a right-wing dictator and a subsequent war against U.S.-backed rebels, and is now in his third consecutive term as president. "The people lost their fear," said Mykel Monterrey, a Catholic priest who lives next to a university that students have occupied and patrol with slingshots, homemade mortar tubes and metal rods. "They are no longer afraid to express themselves." The uprising was sparked by a seemingly pedestrian issue, a reform of the social-security system. As word of the protests spread across social networks and cellphones, Ortega's government sought to punish the demonstrators pouring into the streets. Chaotic scenes broke out as police shot into crowds in downtown Managua. Masked gunmen apparently affiliated with the government set fire to a dissident radio station. Police and assailants entered the Metropolitan Cathedral grounds and fired on hundreds of students huddled inside. The government blocked independent news channels from broadcasting, and reporters for state-run media resigned on air. Widespread looting broke out. And then the government blinked. On Sunday, Ortega called off the social-security reform. By Tuesday, many students who had been taken prisoner were freed - some barefoot and bruised, their heads shaved, recounting stories of beatings and torn-out fingernails. Police and their allies - white T-shirted pro-government Sandinista Youth and the motorcycle-riding "turbas" - seemed to melt away, allowing protests to proceed unchallenged. Ortega has said he is willing to have dialogue. Many who lived through the chaos feel they have crossed a threshold. "We got hit by a lightning bolt," said Anibal Toruno, director of Radio Dario in the country's second-largest city, Leon. The station was torched on Friday but is now broadcasting clandestinely. "Nicaragua will never be the same." The storm had been brewing for a long time. Ortega and his fellow Sandinista guerrillas overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979, and he led Nicaragua until 1990. He recaptured the presidency in 2006. Ortega had moderated some of his views over the years, becoming more business-minded and open to foreign investment. His security apparatus prevented the type of rampant crime and gang violence that have devastated neighboring Honduras and El Salvador. In recent years, the economy grew and government spending for the poor boosted his popularity. But as he consolidated power, authoritarian tendencies became more pronounced. The congress and Supreme Electoral Council are widely seen as loyal to him. Changes to the constitution in 2014 eliminated term limits. He won the past two elections amid accusations of fraud. The Supreme Court blocked a leading opposition candidate from participating in the 2016 election. Ortega, his wife Rosario Murillo - who is vice president - and their relatives have faced accusations of enriching themselves with government funds. His relationship with the business community has soured as more decisions get made essentially by decree. The world has changed around Ortega, as well. Once buoyed by Venezuelan petrodollars, Nicaragua can no longer count on that lifeline as Venezuela's economy has collapsed. Students became enraged earlier this month at the government's slow response to a forest fire in Indio Maiz, a biological reserve in southeastern Nicaragua. The subsequent decision to reform the social security system, requiring workers to pay more and receive less upon retirement, added fuel to the discontent. "The break was really with the social security," said Jose Adan Aguerri, president of Cosep, the country's main business organization, which organized one of the biggest protest marches and has called for dialogue. "What's happening now is a situation that nobody saw coming - the way that the security forces were used and the amount of lives lost." The White House on Tuesday said in a statement that "the repugnant political violence by police and pro-government thugs against the people of Nicaragua" has "shocked the democratic international community." Nicaraguans were shocked by the government's harsh reaction to the demonstrations. On April 18, for example, pensioners in the town of Leon who were protesting the reform got roughed up by authorities, images that spread on the news and social media. On Friday evening, Toruno and several members of his radio station staff were in their studio in Leon when truckloads of masked men carrying AK-47s and sacks of explosives burst through the front door and doused the office with gasoline, according to several people who were there. When the men shot into the gas, the fireball engulfed at least two of the attackers, who later died, the witnesses said. As the building burned, neighbors broke down the doors and helped the staff escape largely unscathed. "The plan was to kill us all," Toruno said. Among those killed in the demonstrations was Moroni Lopez, a 22-year-old English student and former Mormon missionary. He had joined the protests after watching footage of police roughing up protesters. "He saw this video on the news and he said, 'Look what they are doing to the elderly,' " his mother, Alba Garcia Vargas, recalled. "He was so enraged that he went to help." Lopez lived in Ciudad Sandino, an area on the outskirts of Managua renamed after the Sandinista revolutionaries came to power. "Let's get going," Lopez texted his neighbor and friend, Erick Espinoza, on Thursday, urging him to join the protest. "Loco," replied Espinoza, 20, "we're a minority here" - reflecting his worries that the Sandinista Youth would crack down. "It doesn't matter," Lopez wrote. "More will join us." In cellphone videos taken of a large protest on Friday, Lopez can be seen walking with a large crowd in Managua chanting "Daniel! Somoza! You are the same thing." After the protest march came under fire from police, Lopez joined protesters in a human chain that passed bricks to a group of students who had barricaded themselves near the National Engineering University. At some point in the melee, a bullet struck him and pierced his lung, according to his death certificate. His mother learned of his death when a woman who had been standing next to Lopez called her, using his cellphone. "He wanted to help out as a volunteer," said his father, Jose Gabriel Lopez. "The police surrounded them." - - - The Washington Post's Ismael Lopez Ocampo and Sarah Kinosian contributed to this report. T he joy of drinking wine is well-documented but, more recently, its the beauty benefits of wine that have caught peoples attention. French skincare brand Caudalie is well known for using all parts of the grape in its products and has several dedicated ranges to the wonder stuff. Their Premier Cru Serum, made from Resveratrol, Viniferine, Polyphenols, which all come from grapes, is one of their bestsellers. But, bar a few highly rated creams and serums imported from Europe - where they've long been wise to the restorative properties of the vines - the UK has been slow in realising the benefits of the mighty grape. Now, though, our first wine spa has opened at Ella di Rocco on Londons Fulham Road. Anna Brilli, the spas director, said: Wine baths and treatments are common in the wine regions of Italy and as such we wanted to bring this experience to London and share the benefits with the UK. Were really excited about introducing the concept of wine therapy and look forward to welcoming everyone in due course. So, with no great hardship, we accepted an invitation to try out the spa's new menu of wine-based treatments. Ella Di Rocco 's Wine Therapy The space Step off the busy Fulham Road and walk the stairs down into the small, yet plush, Tuscan-inspired low lit spa with bottle green walls, gold taps and wine everywhere. The spa has two large cask-shaped bath tubs and two massage beds, so youll have the place to yourself unless you decide to bring a friend. Dark, quiet and opulent, the spa is a cosy retreat with a fabulously Italian dolce vita feel. The treatment The first thing you need to know is that, yes, you will be able to drink wine while you have your treatments. Praise be. Theres not a fresh mint tea in sight but, instead, youll be presented with a large glass of your favourite varietal. So far, so excellent. Once youve de-clothed and robed up, the process kicks off with a fragrant and detoxifying foot bath filled with hot water, rose petals, Himalayan salts, fresh mint and lemons. Sip your wine and feel the world slip away. Next, is a purifying Goretti body scrub. Made with corn flour and red vine leaves. An invigorating treatment designed to slough away dead skin cells so your skin is prepped, ready for the piece de resistance: the red wine bath. Created with hot water, Sangiovese, Merlot and Cilegiolo wine, mixed with a concentrate of virgin grape juice, which the spa the therapist explained has antioxidant, slimming, revitalizing and skin softening properties. Plus, it turns out, a bath full of wine makes for one hell of an Instagram post. The wine spa experience rounds off with a half an hour full body massage. You can choose the type of massage you want - Thai, deep tissue, lymphatic, hot stone, Swedish but all are performed using grape seed extract and grape seed oil. Inside London's first wine spa, Ella di Rocco / Ella di Rocco Verdict All in all, it's a very comforting experience; a little like sitting in a bath full of steaming mulled wine. The red wine tub was stiflingly hot after a while, but the therapist will check on you periodically to make sure youre ok. It has to be that temperature, I was told, in order for pores to open and toxins to be released. The body scrub was bliss and the massage was soothing. With only half an hour for the massage, it won't really work out any real tension but this experience isn't about that. It's about the pure decadence and fabulousness of bathing in wine. Youll leave feeling Super relaxed and a little tipsy! Details M ark Derry could be posing for the front cover of The Caterer magazine. Sitting in a window at his Brasserie Blanc behind the National Theatre, dappled in sunlight, the restaurants tycoon is surrounded by elegant menus in white and gold. Various kitchen types bustle around as he bats them questions: which starters are selling best, mate? Can I see the new wine guide, my love? What do you think of these prices, chef? A hive of gastromanagement. Its not always this manic, he apologises. The chain he founded with Michelin-starred Raymond Blanc is just launching its spring menu. For a group with 36 restaurants making freshly prepared dishes for perhaps 300 people at a sitting, creating dishes that will work perfectly every time is a major task. Beginning to end, it takes nine months, he says, brandishing a clutch of the new food listings. The top one has the letters GFDF gold embossed at the top. Gluten Free, Dairy Free, he explains. And here, he adds, waving another, is our vegan menu. Did you know vegans cant drink organic wine? The growers use cattle shit as fertiliser which makes it a no-no. Confusing. He talks soft and slow, his accent an infusion of Hereford, Scotland and Manchester, picked up following his fathers peripatetic career in the drinks trade. The Manc twang just about wins out against the others, reflecting a lifetime obsessively following Manchester City. Reserved when you first meet him, get to know him and you soon work out hes just laid-back, figuring you out. Derrys career in leisure has ranged from selling Bollinger in Manhattan to managing the Nineties turnaround of TGI Fridays, to the UK-wide roll-out of Loch Fyne restaurants. Currently, as well as bossing Brasserie Blanc, hes chairman of the Be At One cocktail bars and tapas mini-chain Camino. As the travails of Jamies Italian, Byron and others have shown lately, times are hard for the restaurant trade. Derry has a list of reasons why: too much competition, business rates, red tape, Brexit. But, at the end of the day, tough times separate the men from the boys, he smiles. As he begins to elaborate, beautiful samples from the new menu start to arrive a fish soup to put many a Marseilles bistro to shame; a delicate spring pea salad; black rice with cod fillet; a rich, squid ink risotto. Then the highlight; lamb tagine with silky meat exquisitely infused with Moroccan spices. Hardly traditional French, I say, dousing the tagines heat on my palate with a gulp of water. That, it seems, is part of the strategy to keep the High Street wolf from Blancs door. French food can be very... Derry pauses, seeking an inoffensive word, subtle, in flavour. Thats fine, but people these days also want more spicy options. So we sat down with Raymond, talked about this and said: Where have you been, what have you tried that you genuinely like? Dishes like this are the result. Its not a wholesale flambe of the previous strategy, more a light seasoning, but one that should bring more customers through the door. Another slight shift will be a plan to change the perception that, with Raymond Blanc involved, the place must be Michelin-star pricey. In fact, its seven quid for a starter and 15 for a main; not McDonalds, but hardly Le Manoir aux QuatSaisons Blancs famous nosebag either. Expect a marketing campaign soon. One of the main problems facing restaurants seeking new customers is the recent proliferation of rivals. As shops have gone bust, councils have granted food and drink licences and encouraged in the foodies. Backed by private equity millions, restaurant chains have rushed to take them up on the offer. But amid wobbling consumer confidence, restaurants are now finding there arent enough punters. Taking a theoretical example of a typical city centre restaurant, Derry gives a consomme clear explanation of the industrys strained economics: The first 15 grand a week of turnover you make no profit. It all goes into the rent, the gas, the electric, the employees. At 30-a-head that means serving 500 customers before you make a penny. After that 15 grand, you make quite a lot because your fixed costs are covered and all youve got to pay for is your food, credit card charges, napkins and stuff. If your sales get up to 20 grand, you should make around two grand profit 100,000 a year. But its all coming from that top 5000 of turnover. Now, lose 5% of your customers spending and youve lost 1000 from that top 5000; thats half your profit gone. Lose a bit more and very quickly youre making big losses. And that, he concludes, is why all these restaurants are in trouble now. Private equity houses, he says, know they have to build the chain quickly so they can sell it (or exit in the jargon) for a profit in four or five years. Open another site making 100,000-a-year and you know at the exit thats another 1 million on the price. That puts huge pressure on operators to take chances and keep opening. Derrys chains are all private equity owned, but he says his backers arent crazy enough to want an exit in these markets. Blanc is backed by Core Capital, Be At One by Piper and Camino by the Business Growth Fund. Blanc is expanding, but at a simmer. Derry is putting it into pubs and hotels where they have little competition. The Marriott at Manchester Airport will be the next to have the Blanc treatment. This may be Derrys main job, but mention Be At One, and his beady eyes really light up. Amazing business, he says. It was set up by three former TGI Fridays bartenders: We all worked there when I had hair, he grins, pointing at his baldilocks crop. Camino has had a bumpier ride. Theyve made a couple of mistakes on sites but the model is good. Theyve got a really enthusiastic management team who love their food. So its a little bit slow but it will get there. I wonder if he shouts at his team when things go wrong you know, like chefs do. Yeah, Im quite a big fan of getting cross. I encourage others to as well. Get it off your chest early. Let everyone have their point of view, shake hands and go have a pint. You dont want someone sitting there thinking youre a dick for two months without saying anything. Has he ever had a ruckus with Raymond? We have our moments, but he is a really lovely fella. A really charming, hard-working man. I wonder how, why, Derry does it, running three businesses in this tough climate. After all, the 58-year-old doesnt need the money having sold Loch Fyne to Greene King just before the financial crisis for 68 million. (The brewer is now trying to sell it for a fraction of that, but Derrys not going to bid.) Perhaps its because he realises how much fun hes having compared with his early days. After A-Levels, he went to the Shetlands to put up fences on farms. Brrr. He then returned to the mainland to run grim off-licences in the rough east end of Glasgow. Understandably, he decided to do something safer. What did he choose? Roughnecking on oil rigs. For three-and-a-half years. What does all that solitude and bleak grey sea do to a blokes psyche, I wonder.Its a world away from his life now, steeped in hustle-bustle hospitality, with two teenage daughters at home in Barnes and a wife, Sara, whose dinner party fare so impressed Blanc he awarded her an honorary Michelin star. Derry reflects. I dunno. We were just all tougher back then. But I must say, despite all this, he motions to the restaurant hubbub, I do like my own company. If the familys away Im happy to just sit on the couch and watch telly. He forks his last piece of cod into his mouth and rubs his round belly, as he ponders what hes said. Then, snapping from his reverie, he sits up and smacks his lips: Ahh, bloody lovely that. A fter years of mismanagement and botched investigations, David Green arrived to kick the Serious Fraud Office into shape. In his six years as director, the former barrister drove it to prosecute the biggest cases, rather than duck them as previous regimes had done. He turned a dysfunctional organisation into an investigation and prosecution force more feared and respected by business than it has ever been. Under him, the agency launched the only cases that have been brought against City traders stemming from the financial crisis. He persuaded the Government to invest more in the SFOs paltry budget, proving its worth by extracting hundreds of millions of pounds in fines from the likes of Rolls-Royce and Tesco. It was from this position of strength that he, and the legal profession, successfully fought Theresa Mays misguided efforts last year to roll the organisation into the National Crime Agency the mini-FBI she created as Home Secretary. They pointed out that putting white collar crime into the NCA along with terrorism, people-smuggling and drug cartels, would inevitably push it down the priorities list. At last, having struggled for years to hire and retain good lawyers and investigators, the SFOs tails were up. No longer. Today, reports are swirling that the Government has hired as Greens successor a woman who, less than a year ago, was a lone voice backing Mays plans to disband the organisation. To quote Lisa Osofsky: Mrs May has made a calculation here on how to spend limited resources, and get the biggest bang for her buck she wants to show in a post-Brexit world that Britain is a safe place to do business. Doubtless that didnt harm her efforts to get the job, but it makes her wholly unsuitable for it. The SFO needs at its helm a champion who will highlight its strengths, not an apologist for Mays obsession with scrapping it. As Jonathan Pickworth, partner at White & Case puts it: This brings uncertainty to an organisation finally proving itself effective. And when you get that sort of uncertainty, it will inevitably harm recruitment and retention of the best people. Mays latest efforts to kill off the SFO werent the first. She tried when she was Home Secretary and Dominic Grieve was Attorney General responsible for the SFO. Grieve fought her and persuaded David Cameron that Mays plan was barmy. His successor, Jeremy Wright, has until now seemed to agree with him. However, fighting May on this issue now shes PM is a far harder task than it was for Grieve. Inter-departmental battles are survivable. Take on the PM and youre committing career suicide. If Wright proceeds with this appointment, he will have saved his job, but sacrificed Britains crime fighting capabilities. Wilf Walsh, chief executive of Carpetright, said yesterday: "Addressing our legacy property issues to reduce our fixed costs to sustainable levels is critical to securing Carpetright's recovery." "Receipt of creditor approval for the CVA proposal will enable us to take tough but necessary action to establish a right-sized estate of stores on economic rents, which is essential to restoring our profitability. S outh Korean television viewers were in for a surprise during live coverage of the meeting between their president Moon Jae-in and North Koreas Kim Jong-un. They heard the young North Korean leader speaking spontaneously for the first time. Previously all they had seen were carefully staged denunciations in soundbites from North Korean state television. The voice was firm, relaxed and confident, of somebody who seemed to know his own mind, far from the crazy person he has been described as, a former South Korean army commander told the BBC. So far, so normal. The sunny words about looking to the future, the tree-planting, are the easy part. Despite todays agreement to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons, achieving that with full inspection and also a definitive peace treaty will be very hard. Kim Jong Un steps into history at South Korea summit Some progress was necessary for the next major summit on Korea, with Donald Trump on the other side of the table, in just over a month. It is quite possible, given recent tweet mood music from Washington, that this may not go ahead. We know that the encounter between the Korean leaders has been meticulously planned, down to the menu for the concluding banquet tonight. Not so, by all accounts, the preparations for the encounter between Trump and the Young Leader. This is a huge gamble for the North Korean leadership, because both nuclear arms and claims outstanding from the Korean War have been fundamental to the Kim dynasty. They are the reason they claim and maintain power. Southward bound: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walks towards South Koreas president Moon Jae-in today at the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries at Panmunjom / Getty Images The first Kim, the present leaders grandfather Kim Il-sung, went to war in 1950 to claim the south for his vision of personalised Marxist-Leninist rule. That claim still lingers in North Korea. But if there is a peace treaty, opening the borders to trade and reuniting families, on whose terms would it be executed? Too much liberalism would undermine Kims family business, which has prevailed in the north for 70 years. The imbalance between north and south today is staggering. The population of the north is roughly half that of the south, 25.4 million to 51.4 million. The south is one of the richest industrial nations, and ranks third in the world for per capita earnings, at $41,175 a year. More than one million North Koreans are under arms, with another eight million liable for reserve duty, which is a huge strain on the state. The GDP is $40 billion a year, to $2.127 trillion for the south. The dire economic conditions, potential famine, the bite of sanctions, may have driven Kim to seek dialogue with the south. A famine plus imminent economic collapse led to the first of only two previous meetings between the leaderships, in 2000 the second in 2007 barely got off the ground. T he vote for Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and the surge of anti-establishment political parties in Europe have made clear that voters in the wealthy world are angry with government. But weve also seen dramatic displays of mass public fury in the Arab Spring countries of North Africa, in Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. Globalisation has shifted jobs on an historic scale. It has created middle classes in countries that have never had them, fuelling rising expectations that governments are ill equipped to satisfy. Technological changes in how we work and how information is shared have fuelled public fear of change. The result is an us versus them world in politics and the media that amplifies public outrage while doing nothing to make things better. To rebuild relationships with citizens, policy-makers must again rewrite the social contract that binds citizens to their governments. Yet history teaches us that governments rarely distinguish themselves in the areas of creative thinking and bold experimentation. For this reason, partnerships with the private sector will be critical for success even in countries where citizens traditionally look to government for the answer to every question. First, education must become a lifelong process. Recent studies show that access to early education is a critical component in preparing children to adapt to a faster-changing world. Where national governments fail, local governments can offer affordable early education. But education must extend far beyond youth. The increasing speed of technological change means workers must learn new skills quickly and often. The next generation of workers will shift jobs, and even industries, much more often than before. The US firm AT&T has broken new ground in worker education and retraining by connecting employees to a database that shows them where jobs are available in other parts of the company and which skills are required to fill them. Education is an even larger challenge in poor countries. Canadian Tariq Fancy, founder of the non-profit Rumie Initiative, provides children who live in areas with limited or no access to education with tablets preloaded with textbooks and lessons. In the process, he has shown how crowdsourcing technology can help people in the Arctic Circle use computers to help Syrian refugees living in camps in Turkey get an education. Second, governments must consider new ideas on taxation. In some industries the automated workplace will have many fewer people in it. To incentivise job creation, governments could tax corporations based on their revenue rather than the number of workers they employ. Or, to encourage innovations that raise standards of living, governments could impose higher tax rates on income earned from rents than from those earned through new inventions. Third, how to extend social protections to the so-called gig economy? Half of all jobs created in Europe between 2010 and 2016 were based on temporary contracts, and governments will have to adapt. As people working in temporary or part-time jobs as Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts, or part-time workers in any fieldstruggle, governments, citizens and companies must find new ways to help them save and invest. Then theres the controversial idea of guaranteed basic income. Some of the unemployed refuse to look for part-time work because the salaries on offer are less appealing than the benefits they must give up to take those jobs. They remain on the dole. They pay little or no taxes. Their services are provided almost entirely by the state. Many governments are now experimenting with a small-scale guaranteed income. The payments are not enough to live well but sufficient to survive, with cheques that keep coming even when they take a job. In this way, people can take part-time or freelance work to contribute to society, generate growth, pay taxes and provide for themselves and others. ''Policy-makers must again rewrite the social contract that binds citizens to their governments'' Can this idea work? Friedrich Hayek, an economist revered by many for his belief in individual freedom and minimal government, wrote: I have always said that I am in favour of a minimum income for every person in the country. He described the idea not as a socialist handout but as a certain minimum income for everyone... a sort of floor below which nobody need fall even when he is unable to provide for himself. Its impossible to know whether these ideas are viable until real experiments produce real results. The private sector can help where government cant. AOL boss Steve Case and author JD Vance have created a fund called Rise of the Rest to invest in US communities hard hit by globalisation. In San Francisco, companies such as Facebook, Airbnb, Salesforce and others are helping to finance affordable housing. Facebook, Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm, Ericsson, MediaTek and Opera Software have formed Internet.org, a project designed to provide low-cost internet access to parts of the world plagued with poor infrastructure. There is plenty of innovation coming from the developing world. More than 100,000 Kenyans have since signed up for M Tiba, a health wallet available on mobile devices that allows users to save for healthcare. Mockery of Donald Trump and complaints over the complexities of Brexit wont solve these problems. Indeed, they obscure our view of the urgent need to take up the challenges voter anger has revealed. We must acknowledge that top-down solutions too often fail, as weve seen with Finlands recently acknowledged failure to make a basic-income system work. Yet, we still must find and develop the innovations that can help limit the human damage as we set aside an us versus them worldview and advance from the old world to the new. D ESPITE European efforts to protect the Iran nuclear deal agreed in 2015, its fate remains uncertain. President Trump has until May 12 to determine if the US will stand by or withdraw from the agreement a decision that could ignite or prevent yet another crisis in the Middle East. Notwithstanding Iranian compliance with the terms of the agreement, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Trump has called it the worst deal ever. He condemns it for not addressing Tehrans ballistic missile programme, for not curbing Irans regional involvement beyond its borders, and for not making adequate provision for Irans nuclear activities beyond the scope of the deal. During his visit to Washington this week, President Macron argued that if the US renews its commitment to the deal, its European allies will be in a strong position to pursue a follow-up agreement on the outstanding issues. A US withdrawal would have far-reaching consequences. It is likely that we would see unnecessary transatlantic tension, a weakening of European leverage in negotiating further with Iran, the wider spread of regional violence and the resumption of Irans nuclear programme. These are all lose-lose outcomes for the UK, the EU, the US and the Middle East. Dr Sanam Vakil Associate fellow, Chatham House EDITOR'S REPLY Dear Sanam It is still unclear which way Trump is going to jump on the nuclear deal with Iran. Renewal offers the prospect of further development of arrangements with Iran by the European powers. Moreover, the IAEA, as you point out, has found no egregious breach of the agreement. The downside is a cascade of new tensions and confrontations arising from the breakdown of JCPOA. Israels hawkish defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has also been visiting Washington, full of dire predictions. If Iran threatens Israel from Syria, or anywhere else, he has said his forces will strike Tehran and every Iranian site in Syria. This would be a situation America would find hard to handle. It could mark the beginning of a new nuclear arms race, across the Middle East. For Trump this shouldnt be a matter of his own ego. He denounced the JCPOA as the worst deal ever but he does not seem to understand what it really means. He should stay his Twitter finger, and think again. Robert Fox, Defence Editor We must not lose Camberwell Old Cemeterys woodland Where would we be without trees? Well, one local wild woodland could soon be stripped of its entire 10 acres of trees all of which will be replaced by row upon row of gravestones. This is the proposed fate awaiting glorious Camberwell Old Cemetery in East Dulwich if exhumations are conducted for fresh burial plots. In a nutshell, protecting trees can help to protect us from climate change and from the air pollution that is killing an estimated extra 10,000 Londoners a year as well as from flooding. Protecting Camberwell Old Cemeterys woodland would safeguard a rich diversity of mammals, birds and insects. The clearing out of burial grounds for financial gain can never be worth the loss of natural woodland. After all, thats priceless. John Repsch My family are split on Zionism In 1961 I went to Israel with Dror, a Zionist youth group, to work on a kibbutz and tour Israel. It was an eye-opening experience. Talking to my Israeli uncle and discussing politics with kibbutzniks I came to the conclusion that I did not accept that we Jews were entitled to a homeland if it meant expropriating someone elses land. Returning home, I studied more about Zionism. This served only to reinforce my anti-Zionist views. Some members of my family are ardent Zionists; some are less enthusastic. We respect one anothers views and do what we can to promote peace in Israel/Palestine. I left the Labour Party in 2005 over its policy to promote academies. Had I stayed in the party, would I be considered anti-Semitic because of my anti-Zionist stance? Anthony Stoll TSB and handling computer upgrades WhilE I am, thankfully, not a TSB customer, I fail to see why, when computer system upgrades are undertaken, it is necessary to close down the service to customers. Surely the banks have built in a redundancy procedure so that one version of the system can be upgraded and thoroughly tested while leaving an existing version available for access. Once the upgraded version is ready, the second version can then be upgraded. As a former IT manager, I understand that no matter how much testing is undertaken, the process can go awry. It is therefore a prerequisite to have a thoroughly tested-out plan to cover such an eventuality something that seems to have been sadly lacking in this case. Trevor Jordan Donating to a childrens hospital We ARE delighted that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge named Evelina London Childrens Hospital as their chosen charity for anyone wishing to make a donation to mark the birth of their third baby [Hospitals get boost from royal birth, April 25]. We have been proud to welcome their royal highnesses to Evelina London three times in the past 15 months. Their warmth and sense of connection with our children and families left a deep impression. When it comes to our wardrobe we all have that one soft spot - and so do the royals. Kate Middleton favours a coat dress, The Queen loves a colourful twinset, and bride-to-be Meghan Markle definitely has a penchant for handbags. Since her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017, Meghan has made numerous public appearances, giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from her royal wardrobe. And we think it's fair to say that her Kensington closet is going to be filled to the brim with lustworthy handbags - even it does break royal protocol. It's customary for royals to exclusively sport clutch bags, but Meghan continues to break royal etiquette, rarely using the design, instead opting for shoulder bags, handles and even more casually crossbody designs. People. Fashion. Power. Delivered weekly. Email Sign up Sign up I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice {{message}} {{permutiveUid}} {{message}} From shining a spotlight on affordable independent brands (the cheapest costing just 171) to aspirational luxury labels such as Gucci and Prada, here's your definitive guide to Meghan Markles handbag collection: Leather Clutch by Prada, 1,823 Getty Images As fate would have it, the smallest bag Meghan has sported is actually the most expensive. For her first official evening event with Prince Harry, Meghan broke royal protocol by wearing a very sleek Alexander McQueen suit. She accessorised with a 1,823 Prada clutch and Manolo Blahnik heels, by far one of Meghan's most luxe looks to date. Ghianda Leather Shoulder Bag by Altuzarra, 1,160 Chris Jackson/Getty Images For a day trip to Birmingham on International Women's Day, Meghan stepped out in a J Crew navy coat and Alexander Wang trousers. Her handbag was equally as expensive, as she finished off the look with a coordinating 1,160 blue shoulder bag by Altuzzara. Zodiac clutch by Naeem Khan, 1,067 Getty Images For the Queen's star-studded 92nd birthday concert, Meghan fittingly accessorised with a zodiac designed clutch that was adorned with Swarovski crystals. The glitzy bag being from a limited edition collection by Naeem Khan. Shop it here The Pixie Leather & Suede Bag by Chloe, 1,055 Getty Images Breaking tradition, Meghan was the first fiancee to attend the Christmas Day service at Sandringham with the Royal Family in 2017. For the special occasion, the 36-year-old wore a tan coat and coordinating accessories that included a designer Chloe handbag. Shop it here J Box Clutch by Jimmy Choo, 721 Getty Images To attend the Anzac Day Service at Westminster Abbey, Meghan sported a sombre black ensemble by Emilia Wickstead, a Philip Treacy hat and simple black clutch by Jimmy Choo. Mini Classico Bag by Roland Mouret, 695 PA Wire/PA Images To celebrate the upcoming Invictus Games in Sydney, Meghan and Harry attended a reception at the Australian High Commission. Meghan accessorised her floral Self-Portrait dress with a modern, structured shoulder bag by her designer friend, Roland Mouret. Shop it here Dionysus Velvet Mini Bag by Gucci, 625 Getty Images Meghan proved just how fashion-forward she is when she rocked up to the reception for Womens Empowerment carrying a Gucci Dionysus bag. The recognisable bag has become a firm favourite with the fashion set and definitely showed off Meghans trendy side. Getty Images Proving her love for the item, she recycled and restyled the Gucci bag a few days later for the Dawn Service to commemorate Anzac Day. Shop it here Small Darley Bag by Mulberry, 550 AFP/Getty Images With months to go before her wedding, Meghan joined Prince Harry and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Commonwealth Day Service wearing an all-white ensemble. Opting for one of Kates trusty favourites, she finished off the look with a small clutch by British brand Mulberry. Shop it here The Mini Tote by Strathberry, 455 AFP/Getty Images For her first official visit with Prince Harry, Meghan sported a rich hued bag by a relatively unknown designer, Strathberry. The brand was one of the first to feel the full wrath of the Meghan Effect, with the bag selling out immediately. Shop it here East-West Mini Tote by Strathberry, 395 Getty Images She then wore the brand once again for her first official visit to Scotland. The royal-to-be fittingly paired a tartan Burberry coat with one of the Edinburgh-based brand's small bottle green designs, which she casually wore across her body. Shop it here The Mini Venice by DeMellier London, 295 Chris Jackson/Getty Images For her first official visit to Wales, Meghan added a pop of colour to her all-black look with yet another forest green bag, this time by British brand, DeMellier. The stylish number costing only 295. Shop it here The Oyster Silk Clutch by Wilbur & Gussie, 205 Getty Images To the Memorial Service of Stephen Lawrence a clutch bag made a rare appearance. Meghan chose a sleek, pale pink design by London brand, Wilbur & Gussie, which retails for 205. Shop it here The Bloomsbury bag by Charlotte Elizabeth, 175 Getty Images The bag Meghan wore for her trip to Belfast gave a nod towards her royal future. The trendy tan number was made by Charlotte Elizabeth, a British designer who is supported by The Princes Trust, a youth charity founded by the Prince of Wales in 1976. It is also one of Meghans most affordable accessories, ringing in at 175. Shop it here Avalon Zip Top Crossbody by Oroton, 171 Getty Images And finally, the bargain(ish) bag. Meghan wore a striped monochrome dress and coordinating bag for the Commonwealth Youth Forum in April. Once again shining a spotlight on an independent designer, Meghan chose to accessorise with a minimal striped bag by Australian designer, Oroton. The perfect summer bag was Meghans most affordable to date, retailing for 171. M ost musicians make changes when they begin work on a new album, whether its getting a new producer, better instruments, a new bandmate or more inspiring workspace. As he started on a follow-up to his Mercury Prize-nominated 2013 release, Immunity, Jon Hopkins decided to upgrade his brain. Following two years of touring that breakthrough album, then composing the score for Benedict Cumberbatchs performance as Hamlet at the Barbican, he was burned out. First he moved from Hackney to LA for a year, where he learned transcendental meditation. Its not hard, you dont have to force anything. You just have to be in a chair and not bothered for 20 minutes, the electronic producer from Wimbledon, 38, explains. But when you come out of it theres this period which increases in length the longer you do it of expanded consciousness. Colours appear more vivid, sounds appear deeper. You can tap into that and write music in that space. Its very inspiring. But thats not all. In early 2017 he travelled to the outskirts of Amsterdam to a psychedelic experience weekend, where he took a powerful dose of the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, in legal circumstances carefully monitored by facilitators. He had taken them before, but as a naughty teenager. Theres a big difference between recreational use and the way these things were treated very by our ancestors, he tells me. The six-hour trip affected him profoundly. It was a very deep communion with myself. I remember staring at my hand and seeing all these little dots of light and colour running through my veins. It was like I could see the life force. I thought: My God, Im a human! Ive got a body, isnt it amazing?. We meet in the scruffy studio he rents in Bow. The communal space above his basement music room is a jumble of bits and bobs, including a portrait of David Lynch painted for him by an old girlfriend, a beautiful old filing cabinet which also appears on the cover of the Honest Words EP, which he made with his occasional collaborator King Creosote, and a large plaque commemorating nine million copies sold of the Coldplay album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Having been introduced to the band by another of his on-off collaborators, Brian Eno, Hopkins also worked on their Mylo Xyloto album, where he is credited on the sleeve with light and magic. Coldplays song Midnight, on the follow-up, Ghost Stories, began with an old piece of music that he wrote. A large wooden carving of a mushroom sits by the window, but Hopkins is far from the foggy-headed hippy you might expect from all this psychedelic talk. Hes got a broadcasters speaking voice and a smart side-parting, and makes me a cup of tea without becoming freaked by the shininess of the spoon. He says he went to Amsterdam to increase his wider wellbeing rather than in search of inspiration, but it couldnt help but influence him. Ive spent a while now with Singularity, his fifth solo album, which is out in a fortnight. It is indeed a trip. It shifts from aggressive, hammering techno to ambient piano music and back, ending with the same sound of a vibrating piano string with which it began. It also incorporates the noise of thunder, a calling scops owl and the choir London Voices, whose wordless sounds are filtered until they resemble the vibrations of a bell. Its intense, beautiful and the most ambitous collection he has created. Hopkins recommends listening to the whole thing in one sitting rather than dipping into your favourites on Spotify. Most people probably wont and thats fine. Thats why I have singles. But the whole thing is much more powerful in sequence. Id add that listening on good headphones while on the move adds to a feeling that anything is possible musically. On the way to meet him Im fascinated by a low rumbling noise that drifts over one of the quieter tracks. Then I realise its a plane passing overhead. Award winner: Hopkins claimed the Mercury Music Prize in 2013 / Getty Images I ask him if, just as a songwriter might spend a long time crafting their lyrics, he can know what an instrumental track is about. I have some ideas, he says. The overall story. Its definitely a sort of microcosm of the psychedelic experience. I wanted it to be a full circle, but with the last track as the polar opposite of the first. Singularity also sees him playing with sound just for the challenge, pushing what is doable with computer music. One of the main ideas on the record was to have sounds that morph into things you dont expect. I love starting a track in one place and not knowing where its going to end up. Theres a ridiculous amount of layering in these songs. You could make a whole album out of the sounds in one song. Hopkins has given much of his career over to working for others, from time spent in his late teens as a member of Imogen Heaps band, to work with Coldplay and on Brian Enos 2010 album Small Craft on a Milk Sea, to soundtracks for Hamlet and the Kevin Macdonald film How I Live Now. Diamond Mine, his 2011 album with King Creosote, earned the first of two Mercury nominations. Before beginning Singularity, however, he knocked out two minor pieces of collaborative work production on the London Grammar song Big Picture and a remix of Disclosures Magnets. Whenever Ive improved, gone up a level in sound-making, its been because Ive done an album, he says. When you sit there doing a film score for three months theres no time to experiment. But when Im doing this Ill spend six weeks working on one sound if I want to. Nothing competes with the buzz of making your own record. In this case, theres not much that competes with the buzz of hearing it, too. Minds will be blown in May no drugs required. I t's a sunny Saturday afternoon on Javastraat in Amsterdam Oost (East) and the street is bustling. Women in colourful headscarves push prams, stopping to pick up loaves of flatbread at Turkish bakeries and pluck through oranges at local fruit stands. Nearby, hip young Amsterdammers chill with lattes at the De Jonge Admiraal cafe and sip pints on the terrace of bathhouse-turned-restaurant Badhuis. And on this warm day everyone is queuing up for a scoop of artisanal ice cream at IJs van Oost. What you wont see are tourists; Oost is (for now) blessedly free of the hordes of sightseers, inexperienced cyclists and drunken revellers who regularly flood the streets of the city centre. At Italian hotspot Bar Gallizia, chef-owner Tom Gallizia is gearing up for a busy evening. I fell in love with this street in 2014, he says he opened the restaurant the following year. Its a multicultural neighbourhood that really feels like a village; theres a great mix of old stores and new places, and entrepreneurs who want to be a part of this small-town energy. A microcosm of modern Amsterdam, Javastraat and the Oost district in general is a melting pot of cultures, a blend of traditional and trendy. Here, edgy concept stores rub shoulders with jumbled import-export shops, and craft cocktail bars sit next to kebab joints. Oost is cool, undoubtedly though it lacks the charm of the city centre. Instead of cobbled streets, pretty canals and gabled houses, youll find low-slung brick buildings and some admittedly unattractive modern architecture. Built in the 19th century for the working class, and later settled by Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese immigrants, the formerly gritty area has seen huge changes in the past five years, as Amsterdammers priced out of the Canal Ring head outwards. People. Fashion. Power. Delivered weekly. Email Sign up Sign up I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice {{message}} {{permutiveUid}} {{message}} Among the first to cater to this hipster influx was 3wo Group, whose collection of 10 trendy drinking and dining establishments dot the Oost neighbourhood around Indische Buurt and Oosterpark. They include boisterous late-night cocktail spot Bar Bukowski and brunch favourite Louie Louie, across from the 19th-century ethnographic museum, the Tropenmuseum. First ever London to Amsterdam train Boutique hotels have also sprouted up: a historic orphanage turned hostel was renovated last September and christened Hotel Arena; four-star rooms go for 300 and up. Far more affordable is Generator Amsterdam, a poshtel with design-led en-suite rooms, as well as dorms housed in a former university building. Northeast of Oosterpark is the rapidly evolving Oostelijke Eilanden. Its most famous landmark is Brouwerij t IJ, a brewery next to a windmill. Head around the corner to Czaar Peterstraat, once a haven for squatters, prostitutes and addicts but now lined with local boutiques selling everything from gourmet peanut butter at De Pindakaaswinkel to local designer labels at CP113. Czaar Peterstraat is also home to beloved Amsterdam purveyors such as Fromagerie Abraham Kef and De Bierkoning The Beer King with 400 types of speciality brews. Mac Mae Whisky stocks independent labels from Sweden, Japan and Ireland, as well as the Netherlands; the shopkeepers pour generous samples too. Amsterdam Roest A short walk away, on an industrial waterfront, sits the funky Amsterdam Roest, a ruin pub inside a converted warehouse with its own man-made beach. A goateed dad sips a beer and watches his sons play. A decade ago this area used to be really dangerous, he says. Im glad its changed, but I hope it doesnt change too much. Details: Amsterdam Eurostar goes direct to Amsterdam from St Pancras, and back via Brussels, from 100 return. Generator Amsterdam has doubles from 75, room only. A City worker who posted pictures of an intern on porn websites in a "perverted campaign" against her is facing jail. Davide Buccheri, 25, carried out "a calculated and malicious" harassment campaign over seven months against the woman while working at M&G investment firm. He took photos from her social media accounts and uploaded them alongside pornographic images after she rejected his romantic advances. Buccheri, of Bologna, Italy, then reported the images to the firm's Human Resources department to try and stop the woman from being offered a permanent job. He was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday of harassment between September 2016 and May 2017 and taken into custody before sentencing on Tuesday. District Judge Richard Blake warned Buccheri that a custodial sentence is "almost inevitable". He described him as "manipulative" and said he had become "infatuated" and "obsessed" with his victim and "set about to destroy her". "You conducted a quite wicked, calculated campaign against this young woman," he said. "It is shameful that I have not heard in evidence one expression of regret from you about what this young woman suffered. "She is going to have to live the rest of her professional life with the potential for the snigger by the water cooler or in the lift as she goes by. "She doesn't deserve that, this young woman did absolutely nothing to bring about your disgraceful behaviour. "You conducted a perverted campaign against her." Judge Blake continued: "She did nothing to further or encourage that delusion with you and nothing to encourage your intentions, she clearly felt embarrassed by them." He said that the victim, who was a university student at the time, was an intelligent young woman at the start of her career with "every reason to be excited about the future". Buccheri admitted he was "romantically interested" in the victim but denied uploading the photos of her and said he was only looking at the images because he was concerned about the reputation of the company. Aimee Emby from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This was a sustained campaign of harassment against a young woman beginning her career in the financial services industry. "Not only did Buccheri's actions cause this victim considerable distress and anxiety, his denial of guilt forced her to relive her ordeal. "I hope this conviction provides the victim with some measure of comfort and gives other victims of harassment the confidence to come forward." Detective Inspector Gary Robinson, City of London Police cyber crime unit, described the offence as "cruel and vindictive". "Many perpetrators believe they will not get caught when committing crimes from the safety of their own home online," he added. T he head of a criminal network who modelled himself on Don Corleone in The Godfather has been jailed for conspiring to supply guns and class A drugs to London gangs. Oluwatobi Sunmonu, 26, sold an assassins kit to gangs by exploiting a loophole in the law which allowed him to buy working guns legally online. Sunmonu, who claimed to be a qualified accountant, bought antique guns from bona fide dealers and then manufactured home-made ammunition that turned them into lethal weapons. Among the guns seized by police were a Colt Model 1877 Thunderer revolver, the preferred weapon of Billy the Kid, a Colt single-shot Derringer and a Russian Makarov self-loading pistol. Today, a Home Office spokesman said it was proposing to tighten laws so that antique weapons which were still dangerous needed to be licensed. Sunmonu, of Woolwich, was jailed for nine years and three months at Harrow crown court after admitting eight charges of firearms and ammunition conspiracy offences and two offences of intent to supply class A drugs. A gun recovered by police investigating Oluwatobi Sunmonu / Met Police Today, it can be revealed that Sunmonu modelled himself on fictional and real-life gangsters, including Don Corleone. When police raided a hotel room in Queensway they found four 1,900 Louis Vuitton holdalls containing six guns, a silencer, 152,000 of heroin and cocaine and a fake driving licence in the name of Thomas Corleoni. Detectives from the Trident gangs team also found images of Tony Soprano from The Sopranos on Sunmonus laptop and references to US gangster John Gotti. Detectives recovered a number of guns / Met Police In a safe in his rented flat in Woolwich, officers found a book called The Supreme Team, detailing the activities of a violent Eighties New York cocaine syndicate. Detectives said he used the book as a self-help guide on how to run a gang and often referred to his organisation as the supreme team. Police said Sunmonu was a Svengali-type character who preyed on vulnerable young girls and exploited them to pack and store drugs and guns before he distributed them to London gangs. Girlfriend: Toni Ferry / Met Police His girlfriend Toni Ferry, 23, of Islington, was convicted of similar charges after a two-week trial and jailed for 13 years. Another gang member Iyisha Levine, 29, of Notting Hill, was convicted of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and jailed for five years. Officers found that several firearms had been delivered to Ferrys home in Islington and that she and Levine would often stay in hotel rooms for days, preparing and packaging drugs, and the team paid 28,000 to rent a room at the Queens Hotel for several months. Detectives seized six guns in the hotel raid, including a silencer, but suspect as many as seven more could be in the hands of London gangs. A man who bit off part of a police officers ear and stamped on his head on Halloween has been jailed. Shayhon Francis, 23, faces seven years behind bars after being convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent at Inner London Crown Court. He attacked a lone male police officer after being stopped for a routine search in Tulse Hill, south London. Francis head-butted the officer within seconds of being stopped before biting him and stamping on his head as he lay on the ground. P assengers fled in terror as a person was assaulted on the platform of a busy Tube station in London. Forensic officers were seen at Marble Arch station after the incident on Friday afternoon. Terrified witnesses said they heard screaming from the Central line platform as people fled the scene. Footage showed police officers combing the scene for information as the station was shut for several hours after the incident. Police presence: Officers at the scene in Marble Arch / Twitter/@atifnadzir One witness, named only as Abi, 31, told GetWestLondon: "It was incredibly scary, it really was terrifying - Ive lived in London 11 years and never seen anything like this before. I was on the westbound train which pulled into Marble Arch. "The doors opened and pretty soon after there was loads of screaming coming from the other platform and lots of people ran away from the commotion. "I couldnt hear anything there was so much screaming and the alarm went off on the train, which I assume is because someone had pulled it." Police confirmed one man had been detained but did not provide further details on the victim's condition. A British Transport Police spokesman said: "Officers were called at 3.10pm today after reports of an assault at Marble Arch Underground station. "Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene. "A man has been detained as part of our investigation into the incident." Marble Arch station reopened shortly before 6pm, Transport for London said. T wo men have been injured after they were hit by a car outside a mosque. West Midlands Police said they have not ruled out the potential that the incident on Ettington Road in Aston, Birmingham, could be terror-related. The men, who are both in their twenties, were struck at 2.15pm on Friday and officers were called after reports that both had been hurt. One victim was said to have suffered a head injury and the other has been described as walking wounded, the force said. Police are trying to trace the identity of the person driving the car, which is believed to be silver. "It was like something out of a movie and it was really, really shocking." Community activist Desmond Jaddoo urged local people not to speculate about the motive for the incident, amid rumours that it may be linked to a dispute between groups of youths. He said: "It's concerning what's happened today. Two young men have been injured quite badly and it's caused a lot of tension within the local community at present...Clearly there is a need for calm. "The police need to be allowed to conduct their investigations and personally I would urge anyone who knows anything about what has happened to contact the police." Detective Inspector Greg Evans, of the force's CID, said: "The investigation is at an early stage and we're still trying to establish exactly what has happened. "At this time we have not ruled in or out the potential that this could be terror-related but we're keeping an open mind until we have investigated further. "I'd really like to hear from anyone who has any information or CCTV of the incident or who may have dash cam footage." K ensington and Chelsea council has been forced to apologise after residents were encouraged to pray at Grenfell memorials with a fake nun who sent hoax anthrax letters to Nick Clegg and has been convicted of religious harassment. A council newsletter urged residents affected by the tragedy to pray and reflect with Sister Ruth despite her having sent envelopes marked with swastikas and containing white powder to parliamentary figures in 2012. The article was published in the weekly online newsletter Grenfell Support News. It suggested people could join the 77-year-old at the Curve community centre where she provides spiritual guidance and support to local residents on a daily basis. But the council was forced to backtrack after her background emerged. Critics also hit out at the council for failing to carry out effective vetting checks. A council spokesman said: This was an error, we apologise, and we have already removed the article. The person in question is not an approved or accredited volunteer or employee. The spokesman said all Curve staff underwent criminal record checks. Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures 1 /37 Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures A blaze rages through Grenfell Tower block in Notting Hill Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Exhausted firefighter rest on steps of houses after ours of tackling the blaze Alex Lentati Jeremy Selwyn Residents wave frantically at a window during the blaze Nigel Howard Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A police officer helps to evacuate a local resident from close to the scene of a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London Reuters Debris and ash surrounding Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer road Jeremy Selwyn A fleet of ambulances at the scene ready to deal with the injured AFP/Getty Images A firefighter rests during the battle against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Firefighters prepare to enter the building to tackle the flames EPA Nigel Howard Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Flames engulf the tower block in Notting Hill AFP/Getty Images This shocking image shows flames engulfing the 27 storey tower Jeremy Selwyn Police and Emergency services at the scene of a major fire in Notting Hill after a block of flats Grenfell Tower is engulfed in flames Nigel Howard A person peers out of a window from the building on fire in London AP Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises from the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Aw omen react followign the blaze at Grenfell Tower Alex Lentati Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Jeremy Selwyn A water jet douses the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block seen through a fence in North Kensington EPA Young children wear protective face masks near the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Two men hug within the security cordon as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire AFP/Getty Images A man (circled) looks from a window as smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower PA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Firefighters on the scene at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road early this morning Alex Lentati A view of debris from the Grenfell Tower fire covering a football pitch EPA Aerial view of the closed of Westway follwing a the fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer Road. Jeremy Selwyn Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images A local resident is carried to receive some medical aid at a community centre close to a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA The Catholic Church has previously said it has no knowledge of Sister Ruth whose real name is Ruth Augustus or the order to which she claims to belong. In 2012 she was convicted of sending six envelopes containing white powder to politicians including then deputy prime minister Mr Clegg. One addressed to him had devil worshipping, sex with 30 plus women and your poor Catholic wife written on it. Another was to Baroness Scotland, and had a swastika and two crosses on it, and stop this evil devil worshipping.The substance in the envelopes was non-hazardous, but she was given a two-year community order by the Old Bailey requiring her to be treated for mental health problems, including a persistent delusional disorder. The leaflet that was sent to residents In 2006 she was convicted of religious harassment after shouting at women in burkhas: You are probably terrorists. Augustus, who was handing out leaflets in Oxford Street, told police officers they should go back to Iraq and have their heads chopped off, Westminster magistrates were told. Since the Grenfell tragedy, she has frequently been seen at the Curve, where volunteers help those hit by the tragedy which killed 71 people. She also gave an interview to the BBC in the Grenfell aftermath, saying she had been counselling families of victims. Some residents are now demanding the council be stripped of its responsibilities at the Curve. T he body of a 47-year-old man was allegedly run over by up to 300 Piccadilly line trains after Tube workers mistook it for a fox. It is believed the body of the man, from Maidstone, remained on the tracks in a tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square for around 14 hours before police identified it as human. TfL said its thoughts were with the family of the man involved but that it was unable to comment further pending the conclusion of an inquest. A service stopped in the tunnel around 11.30am on December 28 last year after a trip switch was activated, according to the Sun. A manager went to investigate but believed he had spotted nothing but the remains of a fox on tracks, a source told the newspaper. Police identified the body as human 14 hours later / PA Wire/PA Images The source said the manager had advised controllers at Earls Court that the carcass was that of an animal. No foxes have been found killed or otherwise seen in the centre of the Piccadilly Line tunnels for over 15 years, the source said. But British Transport Police were called at 1.42am the next day and identified the body as human. CCTV later revealed a person had been filmed entering the tunnel at Holborn, the Sun reported. According to the newspaper some 26 trains an hour would have passed through the tunnel in the 14 hours after the initial service was stopped. A BTP spokesman said: "We were called at 1.42am on December 29 to reports that a body had been found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations. "A 47-year-old man from Maidstone was declared dead at the scene. "The death was not believed to be suspicious and so a file was prepared for the coroner." A TfL spokesman told the Standard: Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who was found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations on December 29 2017. S adiq Khans plans to ban traffic from Oxford Street has been dealt a huge blow after Westminster council rejected them as unacceptable. The Mayor wants to start pedestrianising Europes busiest shopping destination from late this year, starting with an 800-metre section at the western end from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street, near Marble Arch. But many residents in Marylebone, Fitzrovia and Mayfair are concerned that diverted buses, cabs and delivery vans will create gridlock on nearby roads. Westminsters cabinet member for Oxford Street, Daniel Astaire, has now told officials to stop working on the pedestrianisation plan. At a full council meeting last week Mr Astaire said: TfL and the Mayor are the main proponents of the changes to the street, but it belongs to the council and the decision rests with us. An image of TfLs plans which Westminster council now says are unacceptable I have informed them much to some surprise that detailed work on a scheme is to be stopped. They had even wanted to appoint an artist to design street concept art, but I have stopped this too. At present there is no scheme nor a proposal which is acceptable to the council. He said Westminster could only back a plan that addressed the concerns of residents. Mr Astaire warned that any legal move by TfL to take control of what has been described as Europes most polluted street could take four years. In his manifesto for the 2016 mayoral election Mr Khan said he would: Restore Londons air quality to legal and safe levels, with action to make travel greener and pedestrianise Oxford Street, while protecting the green belt. We asked people in London what they think about plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street When the Mayor then launched his proposals for Oxford Street in November he was accompanied by Westminsters deputy leader Robert Davis, suggesting support from the council. Mr Davis has stepped aside from his role while he is investigated over claims that he received more than 514 gifts and hospitality. TfL bosses initially claimed that the most recent round of consultation between 6 November and 3 January revealed 64 per cent outright or partial support for pedestrianisation. However, it later emerged that many responses from residents had not been recorded because TfL had given out an incorrect email address. The deadline for responses was extended to April 6. Mr Astaire, who steps down next week, said the overwhelming majority of Westminsters residents and businesses were against the plans. Local Conservatives are under pressure from three candidates standing for the single-issue Campaign Against Pedestrianisation of Oxford Street party in next Thursdays council election. Westminster Conservative leaders are worried that CAPOS could draw enough votes away from the Tories to allow Labour to win West End, Marylebone High Street and Bryanston and Dorset Square wards. The Tory candidate for Bryanston and Dorset Square ward, Eoghain Murphy, said in a tweet this week: Only the Conservatives will protect residents interests against the Labour Mayors plans. Dont waste your vote! L ady Gabriella Windsors former boyfriend, the novelist Aatish Taseer, has written about their three-year relationship for Vanity Fair, describing it as surreal and a louche past life that, he claims, included taking drugs and skinny-dipping in the Royal Palaces. I was almost a member of the British royal family, Taseer writes. In the early 2000s, I dated Ella Windsor, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Prince Michael was first cousin to the Queen and married to the unpopular Princess Michael, whom the British press had labelled Princess Pushy. For three surreal years, Ella and I hung about Kensington Palace; we swam naked in the Queens pool in Buckingham Palace; we did MDMA in Windsor Castle; and we had scrapes with the British press. His claims, in Junes Vanity Fair, are unverified by the Royal Household, with Buckingham Palace offering no comment on behalf of Lady Gabriella at the time we went to press. But a friend of hers counters that they are fiction. Aatish is a novelist, the source says, he has an active imagination. Taseer was born in Britain but studied at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He works as a journalist and has written books including The Temple-Goers, Noon and The Way Things Were. He says his relationship with Lady Ella made news at the time because as a university student he was in charge of promoting peer sexual health and that headlines included: Princess Pushy Delighted Over Her Daughters Romance With Indias Captain Condom. (The Londoner found one from 2006 that called him Captain Condom, but no record of the exact wording he claims was published). Taseer adds: There were schlosses, and boats, and stag shoots in Scotland. The cosy crowned heads of small Eastern European countries cooked us lamb chops late at night and told us tales of Nazis and communists. It was a wonderful way to spend ones twenties. Now Glenda stands up for Shakespeare Suffers no fools: Glenda Jackson (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) / Dave Benett/Getty Images Glenda Jackson, actress and former Labour MP, was interviewed by Charles McNulty of the LA Times. He asked if in King Lear, Jacksons political and artistic commitments merged, and quoted, Oh, I have taken too little care of this! when Lear acknowledges neglecting the poor. I didnt write the line, said Jackson. Why do you dismiss Shakespeare? Im not, McNulty replied. I just wrote this long essay on the play for an academic journal. Jackson glowered: Youre the people I avoid like the plague. - Comedian Helen Lederer is limbering up her comedy routine for this years Edinburgh Festival. Its called Sex, #MeToo and Nuance. I was talking about this stuff 30 years ago, she tells me. Back then the joke was: What is foreplay? My response was: I dont know, I blinked. - Richard Dennen, Tatlers revolutionary new editor, is redefining posh. First he decrees it is not chic to have a waste-paper basket in the office (rubbish is instead piled on an assistants desk). Second, he has killed off the aristo adage that ostentation is vulgar. To prove it he wears a leather jacket with one word on the back: Money Alaia lives again in first London store and in memories from Naomi Campbell Remembrance: Siobhan Bell, Greatness Dex, Naomi Campbell, and guest (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) / Dave Benett/Getty Images Friends of the late fashion designer Azzedine Alaia gathered at 139 Bond Street for the opening of Maison Alaias first London flagship store last night. Most wore black in homage to Alaia: he loved the shade. Naomi Campbell co-hosted the celebration of the work and life of her Papa she spent her teens in Paris with Alaia, which gave her access to the best wardrobe in the world. I would sneak out through the window to go to clubs dressed in clothes from the boutique, she remembers. He would find me, in the middle of the dancefloor, fix my outfit so that it looked how it was supposed to and drag me back home... I definitely lived a very blessed journey with Azzedine. Model Edie Campbell, shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, British Vogue editor Edward Enninful and publishing director Vanessa Kingori were among those who came to pay their respects to the man who died last November. SW1A Recovering: James Brokenshire (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images) / Getty Images James Brokenshire, the former Northern Ireland Secretary, led an emotional Commons debate last night as he recovers from lung cancer. Brokenshire, above, is now campaigning with the Roy Castle Lung Foundation to end stigma around the disease. He said the biggest shock was the kindness and warmth from so many people, including social media messages saying look Im not a Tory but I want to see you fully recovered. - Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is not necessarily known for his diplomacy but there is one country where he can always expect a warm reception. Hungarian Ambassador Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky tells me he met Johnson back when he was at The Spectator. I was the editor of this small little Right-wing magazine, he says. When I came back as ambassador he remembered me. He recently came to visit Hungary during our elections, you didnt report it here but it meant a lot to us. Nobel turns Ishiguro into party pooper Invitation frenzy: Kazuo Ishiguro (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) / Getty Images Kazuo Ishiguro, above, author of Remains of the Day, won the Nobel Prize for literature last autumn, so how has it changed his life? Ive tried to not let it change anything, he told us at last nights Sunday Times EFG Short Story Awards. The main difference is that I have to spend every day turning down invitations. You just wont believe the number of invitations, even now, from all round the world every kind of invitation, social invitations, invitations to conferences, invitations to write introductions, sign petitions for things I know nothing about. Sigh. We know how he feels. Quote of the day It wouldnt be in the best interests of the country A Labour activist has been expelled from the party after launching a verbal attack on MP Ruth Smeeth at the launch of a party report into anti-Semitism. Ms Smeeth said she was relieved that the "ordeal" was over almost two years after Marc Wadsworth launched a verbal attack on her. His expulsion followed a hearing by Labour's disciplinary body which found his behaviour had been "grossly detrimental to the party". A Labour Party spokesman said: "The National Constitutional Committee (NCC) of the Labour Party has found that two charges of a breach of the Labour Party's rule 2.1.8 by Marc Wadsworth have been proven. "The NCC consequently determined that the sanction for this breach of Labour Party rules will be expulsion from membership." Stoke-on-Trent North MP Ms Smeeth said: "Abuse, bullying and intimidation have no place in our movement, as today's announcement has proven. "I hope that this decision represents the first step towards a return to the values of decency and respect throughout the Labour Party." Mr Wadsworth, who runs Momentum Black Connexions, had accused the MP of "working hand in hand" with The Daily Telegraph during a tirade at the launch of the Chakrabarti report in 2016. Labour MPs Ruth Smeeth (second left), is escorted by colleagues Luciana Berger (centre) and Jess Philllips (second right) to the Labour party disciplinary hearing for Marc Wadsworth in London / PA Mr Wadsworth said in a statement: "I have been overwhelmed by the support I've received by many, many people, including those who have contributed thousands of pounds to my Crowdjustice campaign to pay lawyers. "I deplore anti-Semitism, anti-black racism, Islamophobia and all forms of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination that I have campaigned against all my political life and will continue to do so. Marc Wadsworth: The black community will rise up "With my brilliant legal team, who won the arguments hands down, I will be looking at all my options to legally challenge the decision." Dozens of Labour MPs had marched in support of Jewish colleague Ms Smeeth as she prepared to give evidence at Mr Wadsworth's disciplinary hearing this week. Ahead of the hearing, Mr Wadsworth told reporters: "I'm confident, as I'm not guilty. Based on the facts, this hearing, if it's fair, I will be exonerated. "I'm totally and utterly opposed to anti-Semitism, to all forms of bigotry, including anti-black racism and Islamophobia." The decision on Mr Wadsworth came as Ken Livingstone - who is currently suspended from Labour over remarks linking Adolf Hitler and Zionism - said rows over anti-Semitism in the party are a "complete diversion". Mr Livingstone told LBC: "I'm not discussing anti-Semitism until after the election is all out the way because it is a complete diversion. "We had this last year in the run-up to the local elections then. We had it two years ago in the run-up to the election of Sadiq Khan. "It didn't damage us at the last two local elections but it is a complete diversion. "Every Labour MP should just be focused now on getting out the Labour vote and winning council seats." Mr Livingstone avoided expulsion in April at a disciplinary hearing into his conduct but was suspended for a further year. One of the flashpoints at a failed meeting between Jeremy Corbyn and Jewish leaders over anti-Semitism in Labour was the party's handling of the former MP's case. The attempt to smooth relations with the community backfired for the Labour leader as leaders of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) accused him of failing to back his words with action. But Unite union leader Len McCluskey voiced "disgust" at backbench Labour critics of Mr Corbyn, raising the prospect that those who have attacked him over issues such as anti-Semitism could face mandatory reselection. Gillian Merron, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a former Labour MP, said the meeting with Mr Corbyn "did not go as well as hoped" but there had been "positive movement" in recent days. Writing on the LabourList website, she said it was concerning when Labour MPs "show support to people who have been barred for anti-Semitism, as this suggests that what they are accused of is a small matter". In a message to Mr Corbyn, she said: "If he is to show his seriousness about tackling this problem, Jeremy cannot continue to engage with anyone, Jewish or not, who seeks to obstruct efforts to tackle the problem." Labour said 90 current cases of anti-Semitism are under investigation, making up around 0.02% of Labour's membership of around 500,000. Over the past three years, a total of 300 complaints have been made over anti-Semitism, around half of which had led to people being expelled from or leaving the party. F ormer Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney has been interviewed under caution by police over allegations that she broke official spending limits, the Standard can reveal. Detectives who carried out extensive interviews concluded there were discrepancies with the [spending] return submitted which is a criminal offence. The Special Enquiry Team at Scotland Yard sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service. However, the CPS ruled that there was no evidence to show the breach was deliberate and the police closed the case. The allegations related to spending in the 2016 Richmond Park by-election, when Ms Olney beat Zac Goldsmith. He won the seat back last year. In a letter to Mr Goldsmith, Detective Inspector Gail Granville wrote: In this particular case the CPS advised that it would not be in the public interest to charge either Mrs Olney or her agent with a criminal offence as there was no evidence to suggest a dishonest mens rea [intention], albeit there were discrepancies with the return submitted which is a criminal offence. Ms Olney strongly denies that she or her campaign team set out to break any rules. A Lib Dem spokesman said police have confirmed there will be no further action. Resident Stuart Coster, who compared the Lib Dems record of spending with activity he recorded on the ground, estimated a 5,157-15,414 overspend. He said: Its very disappointing that after all the evidence I submitted, the case is not being taken further. D onald Trump will visit London despite the threat of mass protests, his ambassador to Britain revealed today. Woody Johnson said the US president was very thick-skinned as he dismissed reports Mr Trump would avoid the capital on his July 13 trip to the UK, during which he is expected to meet both the Queen and Theresa May. Mr Johnson told LBC: Hell definitely be coming to London. We welcome him. Were so happy to have him. He added: He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians. Trump visit to UK confirmed Most politicians dont weigh it out the way he does and so he is going to get a lot of criticism for that as people interpret where he is taking everything. But I think in the end, people are starting to, even now, realise that where he is going is a good direction. The move raises the prospect of an increased police presence on the capitals streets as the outspoken and unpredictable president faces protests from critics who have pledged a carnival of resistance. In one early sign of the challenges in dealing with the Trump administration, Number 10 had hoped to co-ordinate releasing details of the trip, but the presidents press secretary Sarah Sanders slipped out the information first during a take your child to work day at the White House. President Donald Trump's first year in office - in pictures 1 /40 President Donald Trump's first year in office - in pictures U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington Reuters 20 January 2017 President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump are greeted by President Barack Obama and his wife first lady Michelle Obama, upon arriving at the White House in Washington, DC. before being sworn in as the nation's 45th president during an inaugural ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Getty Images 20 January 2017 President Barack Obama greets President Elect Donald Trump on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty Images 20 January 2017 Attendees line the Mall as they watch ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump on Inauguration Day in Washington, DC Getty Images 20 January 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump sings to the song "My Way" while dancing with first lady Melania Trump during the inaugural Liberty Ball at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC Getty Images 21 January 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer makes a statement to members of the media at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. This was Spicer's first press conference as Press Secretary where he spoke about the media's reporting on the inauguration's crowd size Getty Images 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump congratulates Senior Counselor to the President Stephen Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC AFP 22 January 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during an Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC Getty Images 27 January 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May with U.S. President Donald Trump walk along The Colonnade at The White House Getty Images 09 February 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House February 9, 2017 in Washington, DC. Prior to signing the three executive orders, Trump participated in the swearing in ceremony for new Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) along with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L) and Sessions's wife Mary (2nd R) Getty Images 19 February 2017 Muslim women protest against US President Donald Trump on in Chicago, Illinois AFP/Getty Images 27 February 2017 Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway checks her phone after taking a photo as U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders of historically black universities and colleges pose for a group photo in the Oval Office of the White House before a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence in Washington, DC AFP/Getty Images 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ivanka Trump talk before a meeting with US President Donald Trump and business leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC AFP/Getty Images 23 March 2017 U.S. President Donald J. Trump gets in the driver's seat of an 18-wheeler while meeting with truck drivers and trucking CEOs on the South Portico prior to their meeting to discuss health care at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 March 2017. The House of Representatives has yet to vote on the Republican-crafted American Health Care Act, that would replace the Affordable Care Act, as it remained unclear whether Republicans had enough votes to overcome opposition from Democrats and those within their own party. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO EPA 17 April 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks from the Truman Balcony with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump during the 139th Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 04 May 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump (C) speaks while flanked by House Republicans after they passed legislation aimed at repealing and replacing ObamaCare, during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC. The House bill would still need to pass the Senate before being signed into law Getty Images 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's Old City AFP/Getty Images 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks along with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump during a private audience at the Vatican AFP/Getty Images 26 May 2017 European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pose for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily on May 26, 2017 in Taormina, Italy. Leaders of the G7 group of nations, which includes the Unted States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy, as well as the European Union, are meeting at Taormina from May 26-27 Getty Images 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, AFP/Getty Images 25 July 2017 Incoming White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci talks with reporters during 'Regional Media Day' at the White House July 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. Conservative media outlets were invited to set up temporary studios on the north side of the West Wing so to interview White House officials and members of President Donald Trump's cabinet Getty Images 28 July 2017 Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) leaves the the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol after voting on the GOP 'Skinny Repeal' health care bill on July 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. Three Senate Republicans voted no to block a stripped-down, or 'Skinny Repeal,' version of Obamacare reform Getty Images 22 August 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump looks up toward the Solar Eclipse while joined by his wife first lady Melania Trump on the Truman Balcony at the White House on August 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Millions of people have flocked to areas of the U.S. that are in the "path of totality" in order to experience a total solar eclipse Getty Images 22 August 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. An earlier statement by the president that he was considering a pardon for Joe Arpaio,, the former sheriff of Maricopa County who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a court order in a case involving racial profiling, has angered Latinos and immigrant rights advocates Getty Images 15 September 2017 11-year-old Frank "FX" Giaccio (L) gets a pat on the back from U.S. President Donald Trump (C) while mowing the grass in the Rose Garden of the White House September 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Giaccio, from Falls Church, Virginia, who runs a business called FX Mowing, wrote a letter to Trump expressing admiration for Trump's business background and offered to mow the White House grass Getty Images 03 October 2017 President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Muniz Air National Guard Base for a visit after Hurricane Maria hit the island in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The President has been criticized by some that say the governments response has been inadequate Getty Images 11 October 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for photographs after Trudeau's arrival at the White House in Washington, DC. The United States, Canada and Mexico engaged in renegotiating the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement Getty Images 23 October 2017 Seven of U.S. President Donald Trump's eight border wall prototypes are shown near completion along U.S.- Mexico border near San Diego, California Reuters 30 October 2017 Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort gets into his car after leaving federal court, October 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election Getty Images 06 November 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump pours fish food out as Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks on while they were feeding carps before their working lunch at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan Reuters 09 November 2017 China's President Xi Jinping (L) and US President Donald Trump review Chinese honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing AFP/Getty Images 21 November 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, their son Barron, National Turkey Federation Chairman Carl Wittenburg and his family and members of the Draper County, Minnesota, 4-H chapater pose for photographs after Trump pardoned, Drumstick, the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC. Following the presidential pardon, the 40-pound White Holland breed which was raised by Wittenburg in Minnesota, will then reside at his new home, 'Gobbler's Rest,' at Virginia Tech Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 30 November 2017 President Donald Trump and the first lady Melania Trump attend the 95th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting held by the National Park Service at the White House Ellipse in Washington, D.C. The Beach Boys, Wynonna, The Texas Tenors, Craig Campbell were among the artists who provided the entertainment Getty Images 01 December 2017 Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to President Donald Trump, leaves following his plea hearing at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Flynn with one count of making a false statement to the FBI Getty Images 06 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump signs a proclaimation that the U.S. government will formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel after signing the document in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House December 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. In keeping with a campaign promise, Trump said the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem sometime in the next few years. No other country has its embassy in Jerusalem Getty Images 14 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump cuts a symbolic piece of red tape during an event at the White House promoting the administration's efforts to decrease federal regulations in Washington, DC. The administration has vowed to remove two regulations for every single regulation added in an effort to reduce the amount of bureaucratic "red tape" Getty Images 18 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump pauses during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. The president was expected to outline a new strategy for U.S. foreign policy through the release of the periodic National Security Strategy, a document that aims to outline major national security concerns and the administration's plans to deal with them Getty Images 20 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Republican lawmakers, celebrates Congress passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House on December 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. The tax bill is the first major legislative victory for the GOP-controlled Congress and Trump since he took office almost one year ago Getty Images 22 December 2017 A Palestinian protester throws a stone during clashes with Israeli forces near the Huwara checkpoint south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as protests continue in the region amid anger over US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as its capital AFP/Getty Images 12 January 2018 US President Donald Trump shakes hands with White House Physician Rear Admiral Dr. Ronny Jackson, following his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland AFP/Getty Images Mrs May said: I am looking forward to welcoming President Trump to the United Kingdom for a working visit on July 13. Downing Street said further details would be set out in due course. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has clashed with the president over the response to the London Bridge terror attack, said: (Mr Trump will) ... no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear. Plans for a working visit to the UK this year were announced when Mr Trump met Mrs May at Davos in January. It will follow a Nato summit which the president is due to attend in Brussels. 'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands 1 /13 'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump walk along the White House Colonnade PA British Prime Minister Theresa May laughs during a news conference with President Donald Trump AP Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office PA President Donald Trump reaches out to shake hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May with US President Donald Trump during their joint press conference PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump by a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the Oval Office PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer posted this photo on Twitter. PA Mr Trump cancelled a planned trip to London to open the new US embassy in Vauxhall earlier this year, complaining the move to an off location south of the Thames had been a bad deal. A full state visit which would involve lavish ceremonies and a stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace has been put off indefinitely, though Number 10 insists the invitation stands. Asked if the president wants to meet the Queen, Mr Johnson said: Everybody wants to meet the Queen. He knows the value added of the royal family and what they bring to the table is enormous. Sir Christopher Meyer, a former British Ambassador to the United States, suggested the trip could mirror the working visit of George W Bush in 2001, which included a visit to Chequers and Buckingham Palace all taking place within 24 hours. The answer to avoiding demonstrators is to use helicopters, he told Radio 4s Today programme. B abybel consumers have been getting creative with the red wax that contains the tasty snack cheese. The wax wrappers have been transformed into sculptures of everything from landmarks, celebrities, flowers and even jewellery such as bracelets and rings. Imaginative Babybel fans have been sharing their artistic creations on social media in a viral thread. Northumbria Police posted an image of a wax policeman arresting a robber on their official Twitter page. A tweet posted with the image read: This is #amazing!! A very talented gent in our community of #arthurshill crafted this out of the red wax skins on #babybell cheese. It is proudly on display in the office of our West End police office #communitypolicing. Someone tweeted comedian Richard Ayoade with an uncanny red waxwork of his face and the words: "@RichardAyoade your likeness in Babybel wax form. I was home sick from work..." One person ate so much Babybel that they could turn the leftover wax into a large red candle. Another cheese-lover shared snaps of the red wax being made into an elegant chain bracelet, while someone else offered rose-shaped Babybel sculptures to his girlfriend instead of real flowers in an unconventional romantic gesture. He tweeted Babybel stating: my girlfriend asked me to fold her a Duplo rose and I told her that it's fake and made a Babybel rose instead... We should do a commercial together. Some creatives got particularly technical with their creations, with one person sculpting Golden Gate Bridge out of the red wax. D onald Trump will meet the Queen when he visits Britain but he will largely avoid London amid fears of mass protests, according to reports. The US Presidents long-delayed and controversial trip to the UK will take place on July 13, and will be working visit rather than a full-blown state occasion. While the exact details of the trip remain under discussion, Mr Trump is also set to meet the Queen, the Daily Telegraph reported. Protesters demonstrate against Donald Trump's Muslim ban in London in 2017 / PA Wire/PA Images But they are expected to meet at Chequers, the Prime Minister's country house, rather than in the capital. Within hours of the announcement, more than 80,000 people signalled their interest in an online Facebook event titled "Stop Trump's visit". The US President is expected to meet the Queen when he visits Britain, but not in London / AFP/Getty Images London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Twitter: "If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear. "He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear." Anti-Trump protests 1 /19 Anti-Trump protests Protesters burn trash on the road at K Street Northwest outside the offices of The Washington Post REUTERS Seattle Police officers dressed in protective gear stand outside Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus AP A group of demonstrators protest against the inauguration of US President Donald J. Trump in Mexico City, Mexico EPA A protester is treated after being pepper sprayed by police at the University of Washington REUTERS Protesters outside the offices of The Washington Post REUTERS Police deploy a chemical irritant and flash bang grenades at the intersection of Southwest Morrison and 5th Avenue as a crowd marches through the streets of Portland AP Protesters march through downtown Athens, Georgia AP Police fire smoke grenades to disperse protesters in Washington DC AP A police officer holds zipties to restrain people during the protest AFP/Getty Images A line of protesters confronts police AP Smoke bombs were hurled at police officers during protests on the parade route AP Police prepare to launch concussion and pepper grenades during clashes with protesters in downtown Washington AP Lines of police officers fill Pennsylvania Avenue in preparation for the inaugural parade EPA Police officers provide security as they wait for the Presidential Inauguration Parade AFP/Getty Images A demonstrator is arrested by police AFP/Getty Images Police officers pepper spray a group of protesters AFP/Getty Images A police officer carrying pepper spray is pictured during a protest before the parade AFP/Getty Images Heavily armoured police officers stand guard on the parade route AFP/Getty Images Police officers fire pepper spray at protesters AP Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said word of the visit was "fantastic news" that he was making the trip "at last" and it would be the "greatest visit ever". Other planned visits to Britain by Mr Trump were postponed amid warnings he would be greeted by huge protests in London. He cancelled a visit to the UK to open the new American embassy, criticising its move from Grosvenor Square in the prestigious Mayfair district of central London to an "off location" at Nine Elms, south of the Thames. The president blamed the cost of the new embassy and its location south of the River Thames, saying it was a "bad deal". Anti-Trump protest at the new US Embassy Plans for a working visit to the UK in 2018 were announced when Mr Trump met Mrs May at Davos in January. The July 13 date follows the Nato summit which the president is due to attend in Brussels on the previous days. Donald Trump held Theresa May's hand during her visit to the White House / EPA Even Mr Trump's supporters have urged him to stay away from London in an effort to avoid mass demonstrations. The letter to Mr Trump was signed by the heads of conservative thinktanks the Bow Group, Bruges Group, Parliament Street and the Freedom Association, as well as the chairman of Republicans Overseas Scotland and a contributor to ThinkScotland. They told the president the political and media establishment in London was "far out of touch" with the feelings of ordinary people outside the capital, many of whom "strongly support" his leadership. "Your ancestral homeland of Scotland represents a powerful bond between you and Britain, and given the nature of the climate in London, it is a superior destination," they said. "As you know, the Royal Estate of Balmoral Castle sits in Scotland's Cairgorms National Park, thus allowing you to make a full state visit as the guest of the Her Majesty the Queen. Anti-Trump protest outside Downing Street - London Live "Scotland and the North of England also offer a variety of locations where you would be able to speak directly to ordinary British people and witness the true level of support that exists for you and the special relationship between the US and the UK." A lucky grandmother who bet Prince Louis would be named after her new grandson raked in 4,500 after his moniker was announced four days after his birth. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge named their third child after the Duke of Edinburghs uncle, Lord Mountbatten, taking bookies and their customers by surprise. But some savvy betters won big after the Palace announced that the youngest royal, who was born at the Lindo Wing at St Marys Hospital, Paddington, on Monday, was named Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge. One punter from Horsham, Sussex, saw her 250 bet on Louis at 18/1 bring in 4,500 after using her grandson's name as inspiration. Alice Gordon's new grandson Louis was born the day after the new Prince. She said: "I thought Id go for a cheeky bet as perhaps my Louis would bring some luck. "And here I am, 4500 richer; the money though, Im going to put aside for my grandson. Another lucky punter won 3,000 on the name Louis after after taking a risk and putting 200 on odds of 120/1 this morning, a Betfair spokeswoman said. Katie Baylis said: At 6am this morning the name Louis was at 120/1, so a ten pound bet at that time would have netted you 1200. Those odds kept shortening throughout the morning and by 9am Louis was at 60/1, at 10.30 30/1 and just 15 minutes later was at 9/1. By 11am when the name was announced it was as short as 1/100 and we had had 12k bet on Louis this morning alone. The biggest winning bet on the name Louis was 3k win by a punter who put 200 on yesterday when the odds were at 16/1." Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures 1 /23 Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William leave the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital with their new baby boy Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London John Stillwell/PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (not pictured) and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA Wellwishers await the departure of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge with their newborn son from the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge show their newly-born son, their third child, to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA Princess Charlotte of Cambridge turns to wave at the media as she is lead in with her brother Prince George of Cambridge by their father Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing Getty Images Town Crier Tony Appleton announces that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy outside the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London AP A notice is placed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London to formally announce the birth of a baby boy to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Mary's Hospita PA Prince William waves as he leaves the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospita AP The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son leave the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA A waxwork of Queen Elizabeth II sits in a black London taxi as it drives past the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in central London following the news that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy AFP/Getty Images A general view of the BT Tower as it announces the birth of the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge's newborn son Getty Images Paddy Power also paid a winner from London a substantial amount of money. Spokesman Lee Price said: Paddy Power paid a 2,500 winner from west London. The odds moved a lot, and fast, but Louis was far from our most popular selection. Anticipation over the name was high among Brits after the longest wait for a Royal baby name in years. Prince George and Princess Charlottes names were announced two days after their births in 2013 and 2015. Grant Harrold, a former butler to Princes Charles, William and Harry, told the Standard: Louis may not have been an obvious choice in the minds of the great British public as they will assume its a French title. His father Prince William has Louis and Arthur in his name. As and when he is king, he could opt to have one of those names as his title. For the little Prince Louis who will unlikely be king it is a very fitting royal name." E mergency medics today told how they took refuge in their ambulance when they were attacked by a patient. More than 10,000 of life-saving equipment, including a defibrillator, was wrecked when the woman went on an alcohol-fuelled rampage. Paramedic Kathryn Shelley and technician Harry Turner had been trying to help Sarah Ahmed after she was found unconscious in an alleyway off Green Lanes in Harringay. Ahmed regained consciousness and started verbally abusing the medics. She threw their medical kitbag and tried to assault them, forcing the pair to retreat to their vehicle and call police. She then smashed their kit. Mr Turner, 25, said: Its quite common for patients to be aggressive if theyve been drinking or taking drugs, but Ive never experienced this level of intimidation. She was so drunk, she couldnt stand. I reached out to support her but she started threatening me. I backed off but she threw our kitbag at me. It does shake you up, and its not fair that we should have to fear violence when we are out trying to help people. Ahmed, 35, of Holloway, pleaded guilty at Thames magistrates court on April 13 to the offence last April. She received a suspended eight-week prison sentence, was fined 115 and ordered to attend a drug and alcohol treatment centre. The ambulance had to be taken off the road for several hours to be restocked and details given to police. Details of the incident emerged today as MPs debated the Assaults on Emergency Workers Bill. The Bill, proposed by Labours Chris Bryant, has government support, and seeks to double to 12 months the maximum sentence for attacks on 999 crews. It will make physical and sexual assaults on crews an aggravating factor in assault cases. Mr Bryant said: Week after week emergency workers and particularly our paramedics and ambulance workers are subject to sickening sexual assaults by people who think they are a soft target. An attack on an emergency worker is, in a sense, an attack on all of us, because theyre simply trying to save other peoples lives. " Post abortion trauma" is a "fabricated condition" used by pro-life campaigners to "undermine services available to women", experts have said. An article published by the Australian website Mamamia last week, which has since been removed, stated that women can experience prolonged mental trauma after going through an abortion . The article claimed that the disorder had been concealed from the public and said that the mental effects of a termination can be equivalent to post traumatic stress disorder. But Clare Murphy, a spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said that post abortion trauma is a completely fabricated condition. She continued: It is a term used by those who are opposed to abortion to undermine the services that are available to women. Ms Murphy went on to explain that there has been extensive research into the mental impact of abortion. It [research] has found that it doesnt impact on a womans mental health any more than an unwanted pregnancy does, she said. Pro-choice demonstrators gather outside the Marie Stopes clinic on Mattock Lane / PA Ms Murphy pointed out that this did not mean that some women who terminate a pregnancy don't regret their decision. If you ask the majority of women how they feel after an abortion, they will mostly say relieved. That doesnt mean that some women dont regret their decision like they might regret any other difficult decision in their life. Clearly most women dont want to be in the situation at all and most are grateful that they have the choice in this country," she said. The Turnaway Study, conducted by Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) a collaborative research group at the University of California, followed almost 1,000 women from 2008 to 2010 to determine the mental effect an abortion can have on an individual. Researchers followed women who had unwanted pregnancies who were seeking an abortion. It compared the women who successfully terminated their pregnancies with women who sought an abortion but were turned away due to how far into the pregnancy they were. Anti-abortion protests banned outside London clinic The study found that abortion does not increase a womans risk of experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression or anxiety. It also revealed that those who are denied an abortion initially have higher levels of anxiety than women offered a termination. Earlier this month the UK's first ever abortion clinic safe zone was unanimously voted in by a west London council. Ealing Council passed the landmark vote on April 10 after women in the borough complained about intimidation by protesters. On April 23 a buffer zone was put in place around a Marie Stopes clinic preventing anti-abortion or pro-choice campaigners from standing within 100m (330 ft) of the facility. Anyone caught breaching the buffer zone could face prosecution and a fine, the council said. The buffer zone has been introduced for three years with a review to be held after six months. Friday marks 50 years since abortion was made legal in the UK. T he Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today ended days of speculation by revealing the name of their new baby son as Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge. William and Kate's third child was born on Monday, St George's Day, weighing in at 8lb 7oz. The couple showed off their new son to adoring crowds for the first time on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary's hospital, Paddington, hours after the birth. But they kept the world waiting for four days before announcing the name they had chosen for their newborn son. The name is clearly in honour of Lord Louis Mountbatten who both Prince Philip and Prince Charles regarded as a great mentor. Charles often referred to the war hero - murdered by the IRA - as his honorary grandfather." Mountbatten counselled Charles on a great many things, most famously his love life. It was also Mountbatten who had arranged the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Dartmouth Royal Naval College on 22 July 1939. Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures 1 /23 Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William leave the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital with their new baby boy Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London John Stillwell/PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (not pictured) and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA Wellwishers await the departure of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge with their newborn son from the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge show their newly-born son, their third child, to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA Princess Charlotte of Cambridge turns to wave at the media as she is lead in with her brother Prince George of Cambridge by their father Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing Getty Images Town Crier Tony Appleton announces that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy outside the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London AP A notice is placed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London to formally announce the birth of a baby boy to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Mary's Hospita PA Prince William waves as he leaves the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospita AP The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son leave the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA A waxwork of Queen Elizabeth II sits in a black London taxi as it drives past the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in central London following the news that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy AFP/Getty Images A general view of the BT Tower as it announces the birth of the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge's newborn son Getty Images Included in these plans were Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, who were to be entertained by his nephew, Cadet Prince Philip of Greece while their parents toured the college. It was the first meeting of the then 13-year old Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. The bookies said the name Louis sat way back in 10th place in terms of bets placed - being as big as 20/1 following the birth. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their newborn son / PA Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Prince Louis has caught both bookies and punters by surprise. With it being one of Prince George's middle names fans didnt see it as an obvious front runner for Kate and Wills second son." It looks like we made the right decision to keep betting open until the very end for royal punters, rather than suspending the market or paying out early due to the rumour mill going into overdrive, as we so often saw over the last few days. Bookies made Albert the new favourite name for the Royal baby after a web page on the official family website sent the public into a frenzy on Thursday night. Post-baby glow: the Duchess of Cambridge with her new baby Prince / Jeremy Selwyn Some bookies even closed name betting on William and Kates second son on Thursday night, with a Coral spokesman stating: "We are expecting to discover the outcome tomorrow and at the moment Prince Albert looks likely." The message Access denied and You are not authorised to access this page appeared when trying to access the web address www.royal.uk/prince-albert. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Family Album - In pictures 1 /53 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Family Album - In pictures Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, (2R) and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, (L) and their three children Prince Louis of Cambridge (2L), Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (C) and Prince George of Cambridge (R) posing for a photograph at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in the Autumn of 2018 Matt Porteous via AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images Prince George's first birthday AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, in a photograph taken late October 2015 at Kensington Palace in London. PA Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for photographs in the State Apartments of St James Palace on November 16, 2010 in London, England. After much speculation, Clarence House today announced the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton Getty Images TRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge smile following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge drive from Buckingham Palace in a decorated sports car on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leaving the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London, with their newborn son Prince George of Cambridge on July 23rd, 2013 Jeremy Selwyn Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they sit with their son Prince George in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire surrounded by Tilly the retriever (a Middleton family pet), and Lupo the cocker spaniel, the couple's only dog in their first five years of marriage PA Prince George, at Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, ahead of the christening of the then three month-old Prince by the Archbishop of Canterbury PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge reacts as their son Prince George of Cambridge bites a small present that was given to him at the enclosure of an Australian animal called a Bilby, which has been named after the young Prince, during a visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo on April 20, 2014 in Sydney, Australia Getty Images Prince George sits for his official Christmas picture in a courtyard at Kensington Palace in late November of 2014 in London, England HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart the Lindo Wing with their newborn daughter at St Mary's Hospital on May 2, 2015 in London, England John Stillwell/PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart the Lindo Wing with their newborn daughter at St Mary's Hospital on May 2, 2015 in London, England Getty Images Prince George looking at his sister Princess Charlotte as she was pushed to church by the Duchess of Cambridge in a vintage 1950s Millson pram once used by the Queen Elizabeth II for her children, during Princess Charlotte's christening at St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, Norfolk PA Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The photograph was taken by the Duchess in mid-May at Anmer Hall in Norfolk HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is pushed in her silver cross pram as she leaves the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate after her Christening on July 5, 2015 in King's Lynn, England Getty Images Prince George gives his little sister Princess Charlotte a kiss HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George attend the Gigaset Charity Polo Match with Prince George of Cambridge at Beaufort Polo Club on June 14, 2015 in Tetbury, England Getty Images Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge arrive at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on July 5, 2015 in King's Lynn, England Getty Images Prince George on his first day at the Westacre Montessori nursery school near Sandringham HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Prince George of Cambridge looks at his sister Princess Charlotte of Cambridge in her pram as he leaves the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge Getty Images Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, with their children, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, enjoy a short private skiing break on March 3, 2016 in the French Alps, France Getty Images Princess Charlotte of Cambridge plays with a teddy as she is seen at Anmer Hall HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge holds her daughter Princess Charlotte and strokes her son, Prince George's head as they stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircrafts by the Royal Air Force, in London on June 11, 2016. AFP/Getty Images The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duchess of Cambridge holding Princess Charlotte, Prince George and The Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2017 PA A family picture at Pippa Middleton's wedding. Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte at a children's party for Military families at Government House in Victoria during the Royal Tour of Canada PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte leave from Victoria Harbour to board a sea-plane on the final day of their Royal Tour of Canada on October 1, 2016 in Victoria, Canada Getty Images William, The Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte visit Canada Mark Large/Daily Mail Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive at a children's party at Government House in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Reuters Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2017 Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Princess Charlotte and Prince George after the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews at St Mark's Church Getty Images Prince George (centre) stands with other page boys and flower girls following the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews, as they leave St Mark's church in Englefield, Berkshire PA Prince George who celebrates his fourth birthday Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge depart from Hamburg airport on the last day of their official visit to Poland and Germany on July 21, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge aka Kate Middleton show their newly-born son, their third child, Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge carries his newly-born son, Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge from the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Prince William arrives at Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital with Prince George and Princess Charlotte to meet new baby brother. Jeremy Selwyn Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing where Kate had just given birth to Prince Louis in London Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle PA Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Britain's Prince George of Cambridge hold hands with their father, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge is carried by Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge on their arrival for his christening service at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, London on July 9, 2018 AFP/Getty Images Princess Charlotte playing as her father, the Duke of Cambridge, takes part in the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at the Beaufort Polo Club, Downfarm House, Westonbirt, Tetbury PA Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah Phillips, Prince George of Cambridge and Isla Phillips watch the flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour on June 9, 2018 in London Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after attending the St Patrick's Day parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, where they presented shamrock to officers and guardsmen of 1st Battalion the Irish Guards PA The Duchess of Cambridge (L) smiles as she and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrrive for the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle AFP/Getty Images Prince Louis pictured in the garden of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Norfolk home earlier this month HRH The Duchess of Cambridge An emerged photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 2019 Christmas card PA Royal visit to The Palladium PA Prince Louis, photographed by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at Kensington Palace PA Media Others said it was actually just a page set up for those looking for information on Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert. It prompted a number of Betfair punters to put their money on the moniker. William and Kate proudly introduced their baby son to the world on Monday following his safe arrival. Lord Louis Mountbatten - In pictures 1 /11 Lord Louis Mountbatten - In pictures 1965 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900 -1979) at the Ministry of Defence, London, after his retirement from the office of Chief of the Defence Staff Getty Images 1923 Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten attend the wedding of his sister, Lady Louise Mountbatten to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden at the Chapel Royal, St Jame's Palace, London PA 1922 Lord Louis Mountbatten and Edwina Ashley (later Lady Mountbatten) in India, during the visit of The Prince of Wales PA 1956 Lord Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900 - 1979), Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, on naval exercises at Malta and Gibraltar Getty Images circa 1970 Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900 - 1979), British naval commander and statesman Getty Images 1959 Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who took over as Chief of the Defence Staff, sits at his desk at the Ministry of Defence. He replaces Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Dickson PA 1957 Earl Mountbatten of Burma of shakes hands with English footballer Johnny Haynes as he goes down the line of the English team which includes Stanley Matthews PA 1947 Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), takes the salute from the Governor General's bodyguard at Viceroy House in New Delhi, as he takes up his position as Viceroy of India Getty Images 1948 Lord Louis Mountbatten (1990 - 1979), 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India and overseer of the partition of India into India and Pakistan Getty Images 1946 Lord Louis Mountbatten speaking at the Royal Marines Association Ball at the Lyceum Ballroom in London PA 1904 Louis Francis Victor Albert Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and Admiral of Fleet, as a young boy in a sailor suit Getty Images Then William told reporters that they would "very soon" to hear the name chosen for the little boy. He jokingly hinted that the newborn may be called Alexander during his public engagement at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday to attend the Anzac Day commemorations. Both Prince George and Princess Charlottes names were announced two days after their arrivals. Kensington Palace announced the baby's name on Friday morning. "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles," Kensington Palace said in a statement. "The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge." A history of naming Royal babiesWhen William arrived in 1982, his parents the Prince and Princess of Wales waited seven days before deciding on and announcing his chosen forenames. Diana was thought to have preferred names such as Sebastian and Oliver, while Charles was reportedly holding out for Albert. When the names were finally revealed as William Arthur Philip Louis it ended a week of intense speculation. Experts correctly predicted Louis would be among the names in honour of the Prince of Wales's late great-uncle Lord Mountbatten, as well as Philip in a nod to the Duke of Edinburgh. Buckingham Palace revealed at the time that the name William would not be shortened in any way and the duke himself has since insisted he is never known as "Wills". Out of courtesy, the Queen has to be told what has been decided before a name is announced. Prince Harry's name was announced much more quickly than his brother's after he was born in September 1984, with the palace confirming it on the day he left hospital and saying that although he was called Henry, he would be known as Harry. When Princess Beatrice was born in 1988, it was two weeks before her name was known. Her sister's little known name Princess Eugenie took people by surprise in 1990. It was the second name of one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters. The Prince of Wales's name remained a mystery to the wider world for a month and was only declared ahead of his christening in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace in December 1948. When the Queen's first great-grandchild Savannah Phillips was born in December 2010, her name was first disclosed at a church service at the royal estate of Sandringham, Norfolk, attended by the royal family. T he man who helped upgrade Professor Stephen Hawking's iconic voice says "it died with him". The world-famous physicist died at his home in Cambridge in March at the age of 76. Peter Benie, a Cambridge University officer, told the BBC: "One of the most recognisable voices on the planet is Stephen Hawkings. "Shortly before he died, Stephen approved and used a new version of his iconic voice that precisely replicated it. Scientist Stephen Hawking - In pictures 1 /32 Scientist Stephen Hawking - In pictures Nelson Mandela talks to Prof Hawking in Johannesburg in 2008 AFP/Getty Images Prof Hawking and his second wife Elaine Mason attend the international bookfair in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2005 Getty Images Prof Hawking gives a lecture at the Bloomfield Museum of Science in Jerusalem in 2006 AFP/Getty Images Prof Hawking, his daughter Lucy and French physicist Christophe Galfard in 2007 AFP/Getty Images Stephen Hawking with his son Robert in 1967 Collect Stephen Hawking with his wife Stephen Hawking with wife Jane and their children Professor Stephen Hawking at his marriage ceremony to his former nurse Elaine Mason in 1995 PA Stephen Hawking nd Nobel Prize winner Dorothy Hodgkin with their portraits unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in London PA A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking Amazon Then-president Barack Obama presents Prof Hawking the Medal Freedom in 2009 Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets Prof Hawking at St James's Palace in 2014 Getty Images Professor Stephen Hawking and Eddie Redmayne attends the UK Premiere of "The Theory Of Everything" at Odeon Leicester Square Getty Images George Osborne and Stephen Hawking attend the London Evening Standard's '1000: London's Most Influential People' at The Francis Crick Institute Stephen Hawking in The Simpsons Fox Stephen Hawking with David Beckham Professor Stephen Hawking unveils a scientific formula to predict the chances of England succeeding in the World Cup in Cambridge ill Gates (L), accompanied by University Vice-Chancellor Professor Alec Broers meets Professor Stephen Hawking on a visit to Cambridge University REUTERS Stephen Hawking floats on a zero-gravity jet in 2007 AP Pope Benedict XVI greets British professor Stephen Hawking during a meeting of science academics at the Vatican in 2008 Reuters Prof Hawking on a visit to Cape Finestre, Spain, in 2008 AFP/Getty Images Professor Stephen Hawking in Futurama Stephen Hawking played himself in multiple episodes of 'The Big Bang Theory' Hawking : World leaders and scientists pay tribute to famous physicist PA Prof Hawking pictured in London in 2014 AFP/Getty Images British physicist Stephen Hawking sits in the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games August 29, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS) David Walliams, Professor Stephen Hawking and Catherine Tate for Red Nose Day 2015 Rex Features Stephen Hawking with Jane Wilde and guests attend the EE British Academy Film Awards at The Royal Opera House in 2015 Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones presenting the Award for Special Visual Effects at the EE BAFTA British Academy Film Award 2015 Rex Features Pope Francis greets physicist Stephen Hawking during an audience with participants at a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican in 2016 AP Professor Stephen Hawking presenting winners Oxford's Balliol College (right) with the winning trophy after their victory by 190 points to 140 over Wolfson College Cambridge (left) in 2017 PA Professor Stephen Hawking is presented with his illuminated Freedom scroll by the Chamberlain of the City of London Peter Kane as he receives the Honorary Freedom of the City of London during a ceremony at the Guildhall, London in 2017 AP "I was part of the team that developed this updated version by mirroring the original hardware." Mr Benie said the original hardware used to produce Prof Hawking's distinctive voice needed replacing after 30 years. Stephen Hawkings best quotes and pearls of wisdom "Stephen remained steadfastly loyal to what had become his authentic voice...He didnt want it changed in any way. "Im proud to be part of the team that preserved his voice. The voice is part of his identity - you wouldnt use it for someone else - so effectively the voice died with him." The couple's third child, who was born on Monday April 23 at 11.01am, weighing 8lb 7oz, will be known as Prince Louis, Kensington Palace announced after a four-day wait. The Palace said in a short statement: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. "The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge." It is believed to be a nod to the Prince of Wales's great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA. Lord Louis Mountbatten - In pictures 1 /11 Lord Louis Mountbatten - In pictures 1965 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900 -1979) at the Ministry of Defence, London, after his retirement from the office of Chief of the Defence Staff Getty Images 1923 Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten attend the wedding of his sister, Lady Louise Mountbatten to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden at the Chapel Royal, St Jame's Palace, London PA 1922 Lord Louis Mountbatten and Edwina Ashley (later Lady Mountbatten) in India, during the visit of The Prince of Wales PA 1956 Lord Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900 - 1979), Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, on naval exercises at Malta and Gibraltar Getty Images circa 1970 Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900 - 1979), British naval commander and statesman Getty Images 1959 Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who took over as Chief of the Defence Staff, sits at his desk at the Ministry of Defence. He replaces Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Dickson PA 1957 Earl Mountbatten of Burma of shakes hands with English footballer Johnny Haynes as he goes down the line of the English team which includes Stanley Matthews PA 1947 Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), takes the salute from the Governor General's bodyguard at Viceroy House in New Delhi, as he takes up his position as Viceroy of India Getty Images 1948 Lord Louis Mountbatten (1990 - 1979), 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India and overseer of the partition of India into India and Pakistan Getty Images 1946 Lord Louis Mountbatten speaking at the Royal Marines Association Ball at the Lyceum Ballroom in London PA 1904 Louis Francis Victor Albert Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and Admiral of Fleet, as a young boy in a sailor suit Getty Images But who was Louis Mountbatten, the apparent inspiration behind the new prince's name? What is his royal connection? Louis was the first name of the Prince of Wales' beloved great-uncle Lord Mountbatten. Prince Louis: The royal babys name has been announced Mountbatten was also the Duke of Edinburgh's uncle and the brother of Philip's mother Princess Alice. He was a second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II. Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures 1 /23 Louis, the new Royal baby - in pictures The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William leave the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital with their new baby boy Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London John Stillwell/PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (not pictured) and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London PA Wellwishers await the departure of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge with their newborn son from the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge show their newly-born son, their third child, to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital PA Princess Charlotte of Cambridge turns to wave at the media as she is lead in with her brother Prince George of Cambridge by their father Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing Getty Images Town Crier Tony Appleton announces that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy outside the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London AP A notice is placed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London to formally announce the birth of a baby boy to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Mary's Hospita PA Prince William waves as he leaves the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospita AP The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son leave the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington PA A waxwork of Queen Elizabeth II sits in a black London taxi as it drives past the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in central London following the news that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy AFP/Getty Images A general view of the BT Tower as it announces the birth of the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge's newborn son Getty Images Mountbatten was regarded as a great mentor by Prince Philip and Prince Charles. Charles often referred to the war hero - murdered by the IRA - as his honorary grandfather." Mountbatten counselled Charles on a great many things, most famously his love life. It was also Mountbatten who had arranged the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Dartmouth Royal Naval College on 22 July 1939. Included in these plans were Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, who were to be entertained by his nephew, Cadet Prince Philip of Greece while their parents toured the college. It was the first meeting of the then 13-year old Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. What did he do? During the Second World War, he was Supreme Allied Commander of the South East Asia Command from 1943 to 1946. He was also the very last Viceroy of India in 1947 before independence and served as the first Governor-General of independent India until 1948. Lord Mountbatten pictured in 1977 / PA After that he held posts including First Sea Lord until 1965, chief of the Defence staff, and chairman of the Nato Military Committee. He was the longest serving professional head in the British Armed Forces to date. How did he pass away? Tragically Lord Mountbatten, known as "Uncle Dickie" to Prince Charles, was killed in 1979 along with his grandson Nicholas in a car bomb planted by the IRA. The radio-controlled explosive device was placed in his fishing boat, Shadow V, in Mullaghmore, a small seaside village in County Sligo, Ireland. When he was just a few hundred yards from the shore on a trip to go lobster-potting and tuna-fishing, the bomb went off. Fishermen pulled Mountbatten from the water and tried desperately to save him but he died from his injuries. The IRA claimed responsibility for the assassination which also killed his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, a 15-year-old crew member Paul Maxwell and Doreen, Lady Brabourne, whose son was married to Mountbatten's eldest daughter. T orrential downpours are set to batter parts of London over the weekend forcing the Met Office to issue a yellow alert for rain across a huge swathe of the south east. Brits face a washout with gale force winds and plunging temperatures predicted to set in later today. Forecasters have issued a yellow weather warning for rain from Sunday evening until midnight on Monday for parts of London and the South East and parts of East Anglia . As much as 70mm of rain is expected to fall between 9pm on Saturday and midnight on Monday in some places. Motorists have been warned of floods on parts of busy roads and dangerous conditions due to the rain. Downpours will be accompanied by gale force northerly winds and forecasters have even said that there could be the potential for some snow on areas of higher ground as temperatures fall. Hot Weather: April 2018 - In pictures 1 /27 Hot Weather: April 2018 - In pictures People sit in St James Park on a sunny day in London EPA People relax in the sunshine beside the River Thames in Richmond upon Thames Reuters Jade Newsome nd Kate Whitfied from London, enjoy the hot weather on Richmond riverside PA People sit on deckchairs on a sunny day in London EPA Hercules the Blackpool horse cools down in the sea with rider Tyrone, on what is believed to be the hottest day of the year so far PA People punt along the River Cam in Cambridge PA A group of friends kick a ball in Greenwich Park as London has clear blue skies and temperatures rise Getty Images People relax in the sunshine on Primrose Hill Reuters A woman reads a book in the sun at Green Park in London PA Sunshine on Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn People enjoy the hot weather in St. James's Par PA Glorious sunshine in central London Alex Lentati People enjoy the hot weather in St James's Park, London PA A couple enjoy the sun at Green Park in London PA Runners enjoy a warm morning in St James's Park Alex Lentati Londoners enjoy a sunny view from Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A couple enjoy the warm weather at Green Park in London PA St James's Park dazzles in the sunshine Alex Lentati Londoners bask in soaring temperatures Jeremy Selwyn The sun rises over London Jeremy Selwyn Emma Peleshok enjoys the flowers in St James's Park Alex Lentati Members of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery ride out in front of Buckingham Palace en route to Green Park for the 53 Gun Salute which will mark the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. PA Horse Guard's Parade pictured in the sunshine Alex Lentati Long awaited warm weather pleased Londoners Alex Lentati The mercury could hit 28C today Alex Lentati Sunrise at Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn PA This miserable weather may come as a shock for Londoners who were enjoying the hottest day in April for 70 years last week when temperatures soared to 29C. Londoners can expect outbreaks of rain as early as Friday morning, forecaster Luke Miall told the Standard. Much of the day will be characterised by rain, he said. It wont be particularly inspiring as we are coming to the end of April. Moving into Saturday it will be a damp start in the capital with rain easing up into lighter showers expected to persist throughout the day. Mr Miall said that temperatures will peak at 12C on Friday, but by Sunday the mercury will struggle to reach 7C. Elsewhere in the country it will be brighter and clearer in the north west of England and the west of Scotland with some frost expected in the morning. On Sunday more rain is expected as temperatures continue to fall across the country. Heading into next week Mr Miall said: Temperatures are expected to fall to 8C in south east and central England, which is well below normal for this time of year. K im Jong-Un has made history after entering South Korea for unprecedented peace talks with President Moon Jae-In. Kim became the first ever North Korean leader to step foot in the South since the end of the Korean War 65 years ago as he crossed the military border today. South Korean President Moon was pictured greeting his visitor on the border line at 9.30am, local time, before the crucial talks got underway. In a historic moment, Kim and Moon shook hands in both the north and south of the country before heading to Peace House, where the summit is being held. The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake on the border / AP Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They shook hands with the border line between them. In an unscripted moment, Kim also encouraged Moon to step briefly into the North and they were pictured hand-in-hand with their backs turned to the cameras. They then returned to the southern side. It is the first time a North Korean leader has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone since the Korean War ended in 1953. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimetres separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Beyond the carefully choreographed greeting, however, it is still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in talks on the nuclear issue, which has bedevilled US and South Korean officials for decades. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. North Korea claims it has already risen to that level. North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in 1 /18 North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone REUTERS North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) to cross the military demarcation line Getty Images North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the border line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Reuters Kim walks with Moon at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP The two leaders meet at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend the inter-Korean summit Reuters Kim Jong Un (2nd L) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (L) attend a farewell ceremony with Moon Jae-in (2R) and his wife Kim Jung-sook (R) AFP/Getty Images Ri Sol Ju (L), wife of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Jung-sook AFP/Getty Images The couple's toast at a farewell dinner at the end of the summit AFP/Getty Images The official dinner at the end of their historic summit AFP/Getty Images An image of flowers is beamed onto the Peace House where the summit had taken place during a closing ceremony AFP/Getty Images Kyu Cho, 27, reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A woman reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A man walks past a newspaper featuring a front page story about the summit AFP/Getty Images Kim and Moon in their talks vowed to have more meetings, according to Moon's spokesman, Yoon Young-chan, with Kim joking that he would make sure not to interrupt Moon's sleep anymore, a reference to the North's drumbeat of early morning missile tests last year. Kim also referred to a South Korean island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said he would visit Seoul's presidential Blue House if invited. The two leaders meet at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea / EPA Earlier, both leaders smiled broadly as Moon grasped Kim's hand and led him along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where schoolchildren gave Kim flowers and an honour guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of "Hail to the Chief." The leaders also met members of each country's respective delegations, the North's including Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong, who is joining the pair for the talks. North Korea's official KCNA news agency said earlier that Kim left Pyongyang for the "historical" summit in which he would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." It comes in advance of a planned summit in several weeks between Kim and US president Donald Trump. Mr Trump said the US and North Korea were having good discussions after Kim signalled he could scale back his nuclear programme. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend the inter-Korean summit (REUTERS) / Reuters The US president has previously dismissed Kim as Little Rocket Man, but softened his rhetoric ahead of a planned summit between the two leaders in May or June. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) takes hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) to cross the military demarcation line / Getty Images The White House issued statement on the Moon-Kim meeting. It read: On the occasion of Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-ins historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, we wish the Korean people well. We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. The United States appreciates the close coordination with our ally, the Republic of Korea, and looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks." A British teenager who died after falling from an apartment in Majorca has been named. Police in Spain believe Scottish woman Natalie Cormack, 19, had lost her keys when she returned home and attempted to climb from one balcony to another. The Guardia Civil in Palma confirmed the teenager, who worked in a bar in the resort of Magaluf, died following an incident in the area on Friday morning. A spokesman said: "She had come home from work and did not have her keys to get into her flat. "She fell from quite a height as she tried to get in another way. We are investigating." Earlier this month the 19-year-old wrote on Facebook: "Having the best time of my life out here in maga with the best people." Friends posted tributes to Ms Cormack across social media while the Foreign Office said it is in contact with her family. I t was a moment broadcast live by TV stations in every nation... with one glaring exception. Millions watched as Kim Jong-un stepped over the border in South Korea to greet Moon Jae-in. But North Koreas state broadcaster KCTV did not feature it, says North Korea Tech. Major broadcasters from Washington to Beijing beamed images live allowing millions to watch Mr Kim as he made the historic trip south. North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in 1 /18 North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone REUTERS North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) to cross the military demarcation line Getty Images North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the border line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Reuters Kim walks with Moon at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP The two leaders meet at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend the inter-Korean summit Reuters Kim Jong Un (2nd L) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (L) attend a farewell ceremony with Moon Jae-in (2R) and his wife Kim Jung-sook (R) AFP/Getty Images Ri Sol Ju (L), wife of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Jung-sook AFP/Getty Images The couple's toast at a farewell dinner at the end of the summit AFP/Getty Images The official dinner at the end of their historic summit AFP/Getty Images An image of flowers is beamed onto the Peace House where the summit had taken place during a closing ceremony AFP/Getty Images Kyu Cho, 27, reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A woman reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A man walks past a newspaper featuring a front page story about the summit AFP/Getty Images CNN captioned the broadcast historic North-South Korea summit underway, while the BBC said Kim Jong-un arrives for talks. Live coverage was also put out by KBS, NHK, Arirang TV, CCTV 4, YTN and SBS. The exception, naturally, was North Koreas own state broadcaster KCTV, according to North Korea Tech which monitors broadcasts from California. The leaders meet at the historic summit / AP Coverage of the inter-Korean summit is news everywhere except North Korea, said Martyn Williams. Kim became the first ever North Korean leader to step foot in the South since the end of the Korean War 65 years ago as he crossed the military border. South Korean President Moon was pictured greeting his visitor on the border line at 9.30am, local time, before the crucial talks got underway. Boris Johnson 'encouraged' by Korean summit The leaders have agreed to completely rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons. The pair made the landmark agreement at the first peace talks held in South Korea for 65 years. The pair failed to provide any specific measures on denuclearization in a joint statement made after talks on Friday. C aroline Flack has mocked boyfriend Andrew Brady's new hair colour, branding him a Tesco value Eminem." The 38-year-old Love Island presenter poked fun at the 27-year-olds new blonde aesthetic. Posting a picture of Brady on her Instagram story, she wrote: Getting a flight with Tesco value Eminem". Former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Brady went on to share his own picture, insisting that blondes have more fun. Eminem: Flack mocked her other half / @carolineflack Instagram It appears that Flacks friend Sam Campbell of Bleach London and her sister Lou Teasdale dyed Bradys hair in two stages to bury his dark locks. The bleach-blonde colour is expected to brighten even more over time. Blonde: Brady joked that "blondes have more fun" / AP The couple briefly split last month, however have since rekindled their romance. A source told the Sun at the time: Caroline and Andrew have worked things out away from the spotlight. Shes heard what hes had to say and believes the relationship is worth another go. Theres just something about him that she thinks is worth holding on to. Happy: Andrew Brady and Caroline Flack / Instagram/ Andrew Brady Flack has arisen speculation that she has Bradys initials tattooed on her wrist, which reportedly happened within six weeks of the celebrity duo dating. She debuted the inking earlier this month when she picked up the Celebrity Influencer of the Year at the Cosmopolitan Influencer Awards. S teve Irwins family were joined by a four-metre snake as the late conservationist was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wife Terri and children Bindi and Robert accepted the honour last night, more than 11 years after the Australian wildlife expert died at the age of 44 in a stingray attack. They were joined on Hollywood Boulevard by a green anaconda, which slithered towards the photographers causing them to recoil no doubt bringing to mind Irwins catchphrase Crikey!. His son, 14, controlled the snake, named Angela, in a fashion reminiscent of his father. Steve Irwin honoured posthumously on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 1 /4 Steve Irwin honoured posthumously on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP Bindi, 19, was in tears as she said: We try to continue dads legacy each and every day and we want to make sure everything he lived and died for continues on into the future. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that this would become a reality, and this is such an honour as a family. T he Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have finally announced the name of their third child and fans are asking if they were inspired by an X Factor judge. The royal couple revealed they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles, who will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge, four days after Kate Middleton gave birth. Louis Walshs name was soon bandied about as Twitter users shared memes and pictures of the music manager, claiming he will be thrilled to learn he inspired the Princes name. One user tweeted: Cant believe William and Kate named the royal baby after Louis Walsh. Royal arrival: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their third child, Prince Louis / PA Another wrote: Louis Walsh is ovet the moon as Prince is named after him. A third joked: Apparently the Duchess has always been a big @TheXFactor fan and so has named the baby Prince as a Homage to Louis Walsh! #royalbaby #royalbabyname. But One Direction fans were convinced the royal couple were inspired by Louis Tomlinson, with many declaring the United Kingdom now has two princes named Louis. Others were close to tears on realising how both Tomlinson and the new Prince have sisters called Charlotte. Others joked that the new royal had been named after Louis Theroux and Jungle Book character King Louis, but the name is clearly in honour of Lord Louis Mountbatten. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ended days of speculation on Friday when they revealed the name of their newborn, who was born at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital on St George's Day, weighing 8lb 7oz. Prince Louis: The royal babys name has been announced Kensington Palace announced the name in a statement that read: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. Arthur had been the bookmakers favourite before Albert had its odds slashed after a page royal spotters believed had been reserved for a Prince Albert on the familys official site showed the message Access denied. M ission Impossible star Tom Cruise stunned audiences with raw footage of his latest skydiving stunt at CinemaCon on Wednesday. Promoting the upcoming Mission Impossible movie in Las Vegas, Cruise and the films director explained how they were able to shoot the death-defying stunt at over 25,000 feet. Discussing how they wanted to excite fans of the action series worth over $2.7 billion, the director Christopher McQuarrie said: We had to decide how much we could do that is physically possible without killing Tom. Performing the stunt with co-star Henry Cavill, the high-altitude jump required Cruise to have an oxygen tank as well as specially-designed safety equipment that was tested by the Royal Air Force beforehand. Action Star Tom Cruise poses with his Pioneer of the Year award at CinemaCon / Getty Images In order to film the challenging scene, Cruise donned a helmet with its own lights installed while a cameraman jumped backwards out of the plane before him to capture the footage. The innovative action scene, which was shot in the United Arab Emirates, unsurprisingly required a lot of practice with the crew building what they claim is the worlds largest wind tunnel. It took a year to figure this sequence out, Cruise told the crowd of cinema-goers before the unedited footage was shown. The star later confirmed that he performed over 106 jumps to get three usable takes. These were then be stitched together in post-production along with a lightning-storm that plays a key role in the plot. The stars of Mission Impossible on stage at CinemaCon / Splash News Known for performing all of his own stunts, Cruise broke his ankle on set of the upcoming film when jumping between two buildings in 2017. In a behind-the-scenes clip that aired on BBCs Graham Norton show earlier this year, audiences saw the daredevil stars injury in gruesome detail. On stage at CinemaCon, co-star Simon Pegg joked: It is a daily stress going to work with him, because you don't know if you are going to see him tomorrow. M att Cardle has revealed he is strangely thankful for the pain of going to a dark place as he battled addiction and checked into rehab. Cardle, who won The X Factor in 2010, opened up about his experience and how it helped him to create his new album Time To Be Alive. Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on Friday, he said: I was running away and thats what got me at the end of the day. I didnt want to do that again [a heartbreak album]. My fans dont want to hear about that anymore []. Im weirdly glad of the fact that I went to that dark place. Behind a lot of artists, behind so much art is struggle and pain. Im strangely thankful for that pain to be able to pour it back into that album. He continued: Thats why Time To Be Alive is called Time To Be Alive. Its from being through rehab and talking about everything and realising you cant run from the things that hurt you have to face up to life. Star: Matt Cardle rose to fame on The X Factor / Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images Cardle opened up about self-medicating and said he couldnt pinpoint one specific trigger for his downward spiral, instead he put it down to a culmination of everything including stresses of fame. The 35-year-old said: I wouldnt be here if it wasnt for everything thats happened. I dont regret a thing. Theres no shame in any of it. It was just my journey; this is just the next stage of it. Back with Sony as well. To land back in the Sony family is just incredible, so thank you guys for having me back. Lorraine airs weekdays at 8.30am on ITV N ext time youre at Kings Cross station, take a moment to think about this. Just yards from where youre standing, the worlds most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology is being developed by a London company called DeepMind. You might assume that when it comes to AI, like lots of other new technologies, its Silicon Valley or Israel thats out in front. The truth is that something incredibly special is happening in our city right now. Today London is the global powerhouse of AI the fiendishly difficult task of getting software and machines to perform tasks that require human intelligence to do. The reason this is such an important area of technology is that experts believe it could transform entire industries, much like the internet has done and might have a big impact on the way we work. So it really matters that were leading the way. The benefits for our city in terms of growth, high-paid new jobs and investment could be huge. To understand why the AI revolution is being spearheaded here, we need to look at the story of DeepMind, which was founded in London in 2010. I first met the DeepMind team in 2013, in their first offices close to Russell Square. Theyd chosen that location to be close to the brain science expertise of University College London in Bloomsbury and research prowess of the Wellcome Trust on Euston Road. London's AI hot list ASI Date Science Marylebone-based ASI Data Science wants to bring AI to everyone. Run by nanotechnology expert Marc Warner, the company empowers organisations to become more data-driven by providing software, skills and advisory solutions that generate business value. Some 70 per cent of its team have PhDs and it has worked with the likes of easyJet and the BBC. In 2016 it raised 1.5 million in investment with the backing of Skype founding engineer Jaan Tallinn The founders of DeepMind believed that theyd have an edge over their rivals if they could take the most up-to-date analysis of how human brains work, and use it to design intelligent computer programmes. As one of the companys co-founders, Demis Hassabis, puts it: You can harness insights from neuroscience to make software that can learn more quickly and effectively and overcome some of the obstacles that had been holding back progress in AI for years. Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google Deepmind at their office in Russell Square, central London / Matt Writtle It turns out London is a much better place to do this than Silicon Valley because San Francisco is totally dominated by the technology industry. Our city is the total opposite the centre of more industries than any other metropolis, from media and politics to fashion and advertising. And because so much innovation happens when different fields collide, it gives London a decisive advantage. A good example is the way we have a massive financial services sector in the City, right next to the digital cluster in East Londons Tech City. As a result of these two spheres bumping into each other, were way ahead of the West Coast or Berlin in fintech a valuable new field thats changing how the banking system works. For DeepMind, working in this interdisciplinary way was hugely effective by combining neuroscience with computing, the team were able to leap ahead of everyone else. Londons AI hot list Moonshot CVE A social enterprise specialising in data-driven innovation in response to extremism and community violence. It was founded in 2015 by Ross Frenett, who has experience in tech solutions for the private sector, and Vidhya Ramalingam, who previously spent a decade engaging with extremists, building new partnerships with activists, and advancing policy design. Rather than a top-down approach, it works as a for-profit but independent organisation that intervenes in the process of radicalisation itself. Within a few years of starting, they wowed the tech community by showing how their software could teach itself to play video games even if it wasnt taught how just like a human child can. And they generated newspaper headlines around the planet by developing a computer program that could beat the No 1-ranked player at Go a Chinese board game that has far more potential outcomes than chess, making it an extremely tough challenge for machines to crack. In fact, DeepMind was so far ahead of the rest that Google felt compelled to buy the firm for 400 million. What often happens when a US company buys a British business is the senior team is made to relocate to America. But because Demis and his DeepMind colleagues were sure being in London gave them an edge over their competitors, they insisted they had to stay here, not move to California. As Demis puts it: Being in London brings a set of benefits that give us an advantage which is really helpful when youre working on something this important. DeepMind arent the only AI company flourishing thanks to the diversity of disciplines and industries in this city. Look at ASI another outstanding artificial intelligence start-up. Because London has three times more corporate headquarters than any other European city, ASI is reaping the rewards of being in close proximity to multinational businesses. Its using its AI expertise to address the biggest challenges faced across a breadth of multinational companies in London like construction, transport, retail and energy. And unlike San Francisco, which is thousands of miles away from the central US government in Washington DC, AI companies in London are in the same place as Whitehall departments. London's AI hot list GTN Run by a skilled team of quantum physicists, machine-learning experts and chemists using AI to develop new medicines and drugs. Again, this gives rise to collaborations that couldnt happen elsewhere. ASI is working with the Home Office to use its technology to spot terrorist material online, while other London AI companies like Moonshot CVE are also working with the civil service to help tackle extremism online. What connects all these examples is the fact that the structure and character of London a place where so many different people and industries come together is highly conducive to innovation, including in AI. The challenge today is building on that leadership and not blowing it. As weve seen so many times in UK history, amazing new scientific breakthroughs often happen here, but very rarely do we capitalise on it. Unfortunately were at risk of repeating that pattern. Just look at how the Government is closing the door to international talent, which is fundamental to Londons strength in AI. Ministers are trying to reduce the number of skilled workers coming to the UK by almost 70 per cent which will do untold damage to this emerging industry, and many other sectors. Unless we remain open to the brightest and best, we havent got a chance of remaining an AI powerhouse. So if London is going to stay ahead, this has to change. The good news is that our Mayor Sadiq Khan recently announced that hes going to be launching his own AI strategy to ensure we build on the success of DeepMind and other pioneering London companies. London AI hot list BenevolentAI A leading AI company in Kings Cross with a focus in health and drug development. It was founded in 2013 by Ken Mulvany after he sold his successful biotech business Proximagen. The company operates two distinct business units: BenevolentBio, which applies BenevolentAIs technology in human health, and BenevolentTech, developing an advanced AI platform that helps scientists make new discoveries. It is now valued at $2 billion after bagging $115 million from investors. This is definitely one of those issues thats too important to let slip. Thanks to the amazing diversity of industries in our city, as well as our openness to foreign talent, the AI revolution has sprung up in London creating new avenues for jobs, investment and innovation. Our city really is the world leader in AI but it wont stay that way unless we play our cards right. Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe Ex-Minister of Public Finance Sebastian Vladescu is facing criminal proceedings initiated against him by DNA (National Anti-Corruption Directorate) for two counts of bribery and influence peddling, on an ongoing basis. "After completing the legal and constitutional requirements concerning criminal proceedings initiated against persons who held a ministerial office at the time of the crimes, and after obtaining the approval of the Romanian President, the prosecutors from the DNA - Section for combating corruption-related acts, has launched criminal proceedings against suspect Sebastian Vladescu, who was holding the office of Minister of Public Finance at the time of the crimes, for allegedly taking bribery (two counts) and influence peddling, on an ongoing basis," informs a release of the DNA on Friday remitted to AGERPRES. Sebastian Vladescu has been notified about his capacity as a suspect and the charges, according to the provisions of article 307 of the Criminal Procedure Code," informs the DNA. In remarks after President Klaus Iohannis's announcement that he requests the resignation of PM Dancila, Senate Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu argued that as the body competent for giving the PM and the government the vote of confidence, Parliament is the only competent to withdraw it as well. "As regards both the capacity to lead the government and the necessary political support, the only competent to give a verdict is Parliament. Parliament exercises control over the Executive, Parliament vests the Prime Minister and the government with confidence, and is the only empowered to withdraw it. The President has nothing to do with this. I think Mr. President is not well aware of the constitutional responsibilities of his office because yesterday I heard a completely ungrounded statement - and I would refrain from offensive epithets - I only want to give the President a heads-up that the Premier never needs a mandate to go on a foreign visit. Viorica Dancila speaks on behalf of the government and obviously, on behalf of Romania, the President is not the only voice who speaks on behalf of the country," Tariceanu told Antena 3 private broadcaster. He added that the head of state may ask for the Prime Minister's resignation just as any disgruntled citizen, but that this does not throw any more weight in the balance because the President has no prerogatives in this respect.The Senate Chairman said that Viorica Dancila is a highly engaged and responsible PM."I saw the government doing a very serious job, in PM Dancila I saw a highly involved and responsible Prime Minister, never prone to taking things superficially, on the contrary, she deeply ponders, weighs in and decides on matters, it's obvious that she has experience with the European Parliament, which is an important asset. It seems to me that Mrs. Dancila's designation as PM was an inspired choice. I have full confidence in her, I throw my full support behind her," Tariceanu said.The ALDE leader considers President Iohannis has seriously misassesed his move when he spoke about PM Dancila's needing a mandate for an official visit to Israel."No further than last evening, when I saw the President's statements on the alleged mandate, I discussed with several colleagues, the Social Democrat Chairman included; we swapped opinions on this subject, and we all agreed that the President makes a serious error of appreciation when he attempts to look what he really is not. The President is not competent for controlling the PM and I tell you this also based on my four-year experience as head of government with a far from comfortable President, we all know Traian Basescu, but not even he did not dare to say that I went on a foreign visit without a mandate," Tariceanu added.President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that he is withdrawing confidence from PM Viorica Dancila arguing that the office of PM is too large a hat for her and publicly asked for her resignation. A new study by renowned French economist Thomas Piketty in his expertise of social inequality can be invoked to explain the ongoing obsession of the US Democratic party with Russia and its alleged interference in the 2016 American presidential election. Piketty has concluded that the historic rise of social inequality in Western states over several decades is correlated with the political collapse of leftwing parties which traditionally had professed to represent the interests of the working-class population. In particular, it is this historic political failure of the Democrats in the US which explains their obsession with doggedly attacking Russia over the last presidential election, as indicated by the latest lawsuit launched by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) against Russia, Trump and Wikileaks. The 2016 presidential victory of Republican outsider Donald Trump over Democrat rival Hillary Clinton came as a shock to the American political establishment. Rather than facing up to real socio-economic reasons for the Democratic partys historic failure at the polls, its leadership has ever since been seeking to make Russia and its alleged collusion with Donald Trump a scapegoat. In a review published by the Worldwide Socialist Web Site of his latest study, Piketty traces a turning-point to the 1960-70s, when nominally leftwing parties in the US, Britain and France abandoned the political cause to challenge capitalist power. From then on, the Democrats in the US, Britains Labour and the Socialists in France, all became political tools of the ruling elite. In the US, this outcome is clearly seen with the Democrats being patronized by Wall Street, big business and giant media combines, as well as the secret intelligence apparatus of FBI, CIA and NSA. Western states have long-forfeited any pretense at being democracies, and are in practice oligarchies, says Piketty. The competing political parties are competing only for acceptance by the ruling elite. The traditional differentiation of leftwing and rightwing is thus rendered meaningless. The collapse of the traditional leftwing party in the US, the Democrats, in terms of representing the working class, or blue-collar workers, has fueled the explosion of inequality, Piketty contends. Arguably, all capitalist societies are prone to witnessing expanding inequality over time. But the expansion in the rich-poor gap has dramatically accelerated in all Western states because there are no longer political parties defending the interests of workers and the low-income marginalized. A policy of taxing the rich and progressive taxation has become tantamount to a thought-crime. The Democratic party in the US has perhaps most egregiously abandoned its duty to advance the economic interests of the working population, which has manifest in the dire implosion of social conditions for the majority in US society. A handful of multibillionaires now own as much combined wealth as the bottom half of the American population some 160 million people. The same can be said for Britain, especially under the New Labour party of Tony Blair and subsequently Gordon Brown. Jeremy Corbyn has, to his credit, begun to reorient Labour back to working-class representation. In France, the Socialist party followed the same trajectory of betraying its core voter base to ingratiate itself with big business and finance capital. A factor in why ex-banker Emmanuel Macron got elected last year. This historical perspective on the demise of the Democrats in the US is crucial to understanding why the party lost the 2016 election to Trump. As Piketty concludes, working-class voters became disillusioned with the Democrats due to decades of betrayal of their interests and the partys sell-out to the oligarchy. This is why voters turned en masse to outsider Trump in desperation for a champion to advocate for their interests. Cruelly, the election of Trump seems to be bringing only more misery and inequality for the American working class. Nevertheless, the historic betrayal of the Democrat party of its traditional voters in the fight against capitalist exploitation is the key to why Trump got elected. This retreat from the fight for social and economic justice by other leftwing parties also explains the rise of nationalist, anti-immigrant populism across Europe. Still, in the face of this historic reality, the Democratic leadership, along with supportive sections of the US media and intelligence apparatus, have relentlessly accused the Russian state of colluding with the election campaign of Republican President Donald Trump and the Wikileaks whistleblower site to undermine American democracy. The alleged affair, known as Russiagate, has run out of credibility from lack of evidence despite nearly two years of constant media allegations and the grandiose allusion to the infamous Watergate scandal that ousted Richard Nixon in 1974. In an attempt to give the deadbeat narrative new life, the Democratic National Committee last week launched a lawsuit in which the Russian government, the Trump campaign and Wikileaks are named as defendants, accused of discrediting the Democratic party and stealing the 2016 election. In announcing the lawsuit, DNC chairman Tom Perez stated: During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trumps campaign. This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for the president of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency. The DNCs explanation for why it lost the 2016 election has continually resorted to fantasy about Russian collusion. The party is in stunning denial about why it has lost the support of many ordinary Americans. Rather than coming to terms with its own historic betrayal of American citizens and rather than possibly reinventing itself as a party dedicated to fighting for workers interests against oligarchic oppression the Democratic leadership is seeking to evade responsibility by blaming Russia. It continues to choose Wall Streets patronage over workers interests. That means the Democratic party is in a dead-end. It is in denial about the historic fight for social justice and genuine democracy. But moreover, in addition, the party is using Russia as a dangerous distraction from its inherent political problems. US-Russian relations are being driven to a precipice of war from allegations that Moscow has launched an all-out assault on American democracy. Despicably, the Democrats have not only deserted American citizens over the decades in their sell-out to capitalism and the oligarchy; now, to cover their shameful tracks of betrayal, the Democrats are pushing international relations to an hysterical fever pitch of war with Russia on the back of their obsession with scapegoating Moscow. On May 6, Lebanon will hold its first parliamentary election since 2009 to usher in a system of proportional representation. To be sure, it is a small country, but the event will have a very significant effect on the shape of the Middle Easts political and military landscape. Will there be a power shift? Its hard to predict, but the election will be watched closely by many Middle Eastern actors, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. The pro-Iranian, anti-Israeli, and anti-American Hezbollah is a rising force, militarily and politically. That group has a good chance of sweeping the election, picking up seats, and turning the balance in its favor, which would send jitters across Israel and provoke deep concern among those who oppose Tehran. The EU realizes that if Syrian refugees leave Lebanon because of instability caused by the election results, their destination will be the European Continent. Some experts believe a war between Israel and Hezbollah is almost inevitable. Its just a matter of time. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that a direct clash between Israel and Hezbollah would be a truly nightmarish scenario. That Shia Muslim group has roughly 150,000 missiles and rockets of various ranges in its inventory and boasts a fighting force of about 50,000 soldiers, counting the reservists. A Hezbollah force estimated to be 10,000 strong is operating in southern Syria near the border with Israel. The Jerusalem Post writes that according to experts estimates as many as 1,500 to 2,000 rockets could be fired into Israel daily during the next war, compared with only about 130-180 that the country received each day during the Second Lebanon War. In December 2017, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz threatened to bomb Lebanon back to the stone age if the countrys government did not prevent Hezbollah from setting up Iranian rocket platforms. Israel has its own reasons to be primed for a wider conflict in the region. Meanwhile, it is erecting a border wall with Lebanon. Beirut says that several sections cross into its territory, constituting an assault on Lebanons national sovereignty. In February, US and Israeli troops held an exercise to practice for a potential war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. In March, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) honed its skills in preparation for waging battles on multiple fronts. On April 9, the Israeli Air Forces launched a strike on the T-4 Airbase near Palmyra in central Syria where Iranian military personnel were stationed. Iranians suffered casualties and vowed to respond. Its impossible to strike Hezbollah in Syria without hitting Iranian forces, turning any Israeli-Hezbollah clash into an Israeli-Iranian war, which will inevitably draw in other actors, sparking a wider conflict. The unsettled maritime dispute over the natural gas deposits in the Mediterranean has greatly heightened tensions, as the boundaries of the "Levantine Basin" often cross underneath the disputed borders between rival nations. The waters under contention are a triangular area of sea measuring around 330 square miles. The last thing Israel and the other countries of the anti-Iranian axis want is for those gas deposits to enrich Lebanon, with Hezbollah getting a large share of the wealth. A potential conflict between US-supported Israel and Lebanon would no doubt spill over into Syria, where Hezbollah is seen by Israel as a threat, prompting air strikes that would be delivered from time to time in order to disrupt its communications and take out its assets. The forces opposing the Syrian government and Iran will intensify their efforts to turn the tide of the war they are losing. It is unlikely that any relevant actors will stay idle. US President Trump is widely expected to decertify the Iran deal next month. The deadline is May 12. This will certainly add fuel to the fire. Its hard to imagine American forces in Syria idly watching the fight if an Israeli-Iranian conflict should spark. There are other signs the US is preparing for war there. The idea of deploying a large Arab force in Syria has been recently floated. Qatar is being coerced into sending its forces. Something is clearly being cooked up. A conflict in Lebanon that would spill over into Syria and then other countries in the Middle East is fraught with potentially dire consequences. The only actor that can prevent a worst-case scenario is Russia, a country with enormous regional clout that has a presence in Lebanon as well as in Syria. It has a military agreement in effect with Beirut and enjoys a special relationship with the Lebanese President Michel Aoun. Russia is the dominant power in Syria that controls both the skies as well as large swaths of land in the de-escalation zones. Unlike the other powers involved, it has good working relations with Israel, Iran, Hezbollah, and the Syrian government, making it a perfect mediator the sole actor fit for the job. Otherwise, May will go down in history as the month a major war shook the Middle East. This week saw an horrendous massacre of up to 50 women and children at a wedding party in Yemen, carried out by the US, British and French-backed Saudi air force. Two wedding halls in Hajjah Province were obliterated in the air strikes. Body parts were strewn among the debris in a hellish scene. Among the carnage, a little boy was found by civilian rescuers clinging desperately to the body of his dead father. He refused to let go of his fathers bloodied corpse, clinging to the hope that his parent was still alive. There was hardly any coverage of the slaughter in Western news media. Yet the incident was nothing other than a massacre of civilians by Saudi warplanes, armed and fueled by the US, Britain and France. A war crime. Abominably, the Hajjah bombing was just one of many such war crimes committed by the Western-backed Saudi regime on Yemen over the past three years. Contrast that Western media indifference to Yemens suffering with the saturated coverage given to an unverifiable, and as it turns out, fabricated incident in Syria over an alleged chemical-weapons attack in Douma on April 7. Videos of dubious provenance were played over and over on Western media purporting to show children suffering from chemical exposure in Syria. Strangely, the pitiful scene of the Yemeni wedding hall massacre and the little boy among the carnage gained negligible Western media coverage. A week after the Douma incident, on April 14, after much hysterical condemnation of the Syrian government and its Russia ally, US President Donald Trump and his British and French counterparts ordered a barrage of missile strikes on Syria in what was supposed to be revenge for the alleged atrocity in Douma. Trump, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron made anguished statements about human suffering in Syria. On Yemen, they say nothing. This week, Russian authorities facilitated testimonies by families from Douma at the Hague headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. British and American officials decried it as Russian theatrics without even bothering to listen to the testimonies. Children who had previously appeared in dubious videos released by the militants in Douma, testified that they were orchestrated unwittingly for a propaganda video on April 7 purporting to show chemical weapons had been used. It turns out that no chemical weapons were used. Medics in Douma confirmed that too. The Douma incident was undoubtedly a false flag. There was no chemical-weapons attack. It was a brazen fiction amplified by Western media. Shamefully, Western media this week have blatantly dropped the Douma story probably in light of the evidence emerging about the false flag. But based on that stunt, the US, France and Britain launched over 100 missiles on Syria. The US-led air strikes were based on a lie. The strikes were therefore a grave violation of international law. A war crime. The Western media in their reckless, hysterical coverage of the Douma incident alleging a chemical-weapon attack thus stand accused of complicity in the subsequent criminal US-led air strikes. But where is the Western media coverage and outcry over a real atrocity which happened this week in Yemen? Like many other real atrocities that have occurred in Yemen from Western-backed Saudi air strikes, the Western media act as conduits for covering up the crimes by omitting to report on the horror. Another distorted priority in Western media was the massive coverage given to an incident this week in Toronto where some deranged individual killed 10 pedestrians with a van. A terrible crime in Toronto no doubt. But nothing on the scale of dozens of women and children being butchered in Yemen by US, British and French-backed Saudi warplanes. The near-complete absence of reporting on the barbarity inflicted in Yemen with the support of Western governments is an example of how Western media operate like propaganda services. No wonder that Western governments get away with such crimes in Yemen and elsewhere when the news media in those countries are shamefully derelict in reporting on the crimes of Western governments, and holding the latter to account. To accuse Western media of being derelict is perhaps too generous a criticism. They are in fact complicit in war crimes by their deliberate distortion and omission. Their complicity is compounded by their arrogance in proclaiming to be independent, professional journalism. It is sickening when Western media outlets continually boast about their excellence in journalism. Celebrity self-inflated journalists like Christiane Amanpour at CNN or Stephen Sackur at the BBC talk about digging for truth and understanding and hard talking. Why isnt Amanpour digging for truth and understanding in the blood-soaked rubble of Yemen; why isnt Sackur hard-talking to Western foreign ministers about their crimes in Yemen and Syria, like he rudely tried to do recently with Russias Sergei Lavrov? They dont because they are vastly overpaid propaganda artists in the service of imperial power. These people, like the news organizations they work for, are vile charlatans. The Western media are propaganda cleaners for their criminal governments. This weeks distortion about a false flag in Syria and the horror in Yemen is the proof. The American campaign against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq and Syria continues, especially the intelligence collection and air strikes. American forces in Iraq work with their Iraqi counterparts to search for and attack remaining ISIL personnel and a lot of this action is taking place close to the Syrian border. There are several air strikes a day (in Iraq and Syria) and these are often against major targets. ISIL no longer controls any territory in Iraq but Syria is another matter with several remote areas in Syria known to be under ISIL control. The Americans work their own intelligence sources to find and attack targets. After that some data is shared with the Iraqi government (not too dependable), the SDF Kurds in Syria (more reliable) and some Western allies. The West has not given up on Iraq but is being cautious. NATO nations are increasing the number of military trainers and advisors being sent to Iraq. Most of these will work with Kurdish forces but a growing number will try to work with Iraqi forces. Iraqi special operations forces have a good relationship with the NATO advisors but the bulk of the Iraqi military, especially the pro-Iran PMF groups are less receptive to Western military help. Iraqi officials admit that the Americans are justified increasing security around their bases to deal with Iranian threats. These come in the form of continued calls by Iran-backed PMF militia leaders to drive all American forces out of Iraq using force if necessary. The problem is that most Iraqis want the Americans to stay because of Iranian attempts at domination and the continued ISIL threat. Meanwhile, the American government has implied that it will pull its U.S. troops out Syria and leave it to Arab states in the region to take over. No Arabs are willing to step up and do this and the Americans are making it clear that the United States cannot be taken for granted and most Americans back that attitude. Iraqi leaders, including the current prime minister, are admitting that the withdrawal of all U.S. troops in 2011 was a mistake they do not want to repeat. While pro-Iranian PMF leaders are still calling for violence against American forces they agreed to hold off until after the May 12th national elections (which will indicate how much popular support the pro-Iran groups have.) The results of those elections will send a message, but no one is sure what the message will be. It will definitely be anti-corruption. Shia religious leaders are urging their followers to vote against any politician, especially local ones, who are seeking re-election but have not accomplished anything in the past. In many Shia majority areas, especially in the south (Basra), the voters are fed up with electing Shia politicians who do nothing to improve the lives of those who elected them. Shia religious leaders are getting a lot of attention for their no votes for ineffective politicians. That includes politicians who claim to be pro-Iran, anti-Iran, secular or whatever. If they did not deliver (and that is easy to measure) do not vote for them again. This has got a lot of popular (for other reasons) politicians worried because most have not improved the lives of their constituents. At best they have made excuses and promised change in the future. The religious leaders point out that this has not worked. The Turkish Threat Turkey continues its operations against the PKK (Kurdish separatists) in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq. This year the Turkish attacks (usually via airstrikes) in northern (Kurdish controlled) Iraq have left 10-20 dead a month, at least until April. The Turks are usually pretty careful about hitting only PKK targets and the PKK do not try and use local Kurdish civilians as human shields. So it is rare for civilians to be hurt by these attacks although it has happened at least once so far in 2018. Until recently about 80 percent of the operations against the PKK (and their Syrian PYD associates) took place in eastern Turkey and northwest Syria. But for the last few weeks Turkish operations in northwest Syria have been stalled and operations, especially airstrikes, have increased against PKK in northern Iraq and just across the border in southeast Turkey. That has led to more complaints from Iraqi Kurds living in the remote areas where the PKK operate that the increased Turkish airstrikes have hit targets close to Kurdish towns and villages and this has caused 5-10 civilians killed or wounded each week of the increased airstrikes. Currently, Turkey has openly said that it will pursue PKK and PYD Kurds into Syria or Iraq without asking permission from the governments of either country. This annoys the Iraqi government but at the moment it is considered preferable not to oppose the Turks. In some cases, Iraqi borders are officially open for some groups and vice versa. Such is the case with Iraqi forces chasing ISIL forces into Jordan. That can work the other way around but there is a lot more ISIL action on the Iraqi side of the border and the two countries have agreed to share intel on ISIL activities in their territory and tolerate cross border operations. There is still no Assad government control on the Syrian side of the border. That degree of control is coming but currently, independent factions (SDF in northern Syria, Iranian mercenaries further south) more or less control the Syrian side. But the Assads can still grant permission to Iraqi forces to cross the border when it comes to dealing with mutual foes like ISIL. Consequences In Kirkuk ISIL leaders and propagandists make no secret of the fact that they consider Kirkuk province, which was under Kurdish control from mid-2014 until October 2017, a major opportunity for ISIL. The Iraqi government had long been deadlocked in their disputes with the Kurds over control of Kirkuk province. The Kurds gained control in late 2014 because the Kurds had troops who could stop ISIL and keep them out of Kirkuk while the Iraqi government didnt until, with Kurdish help, ISIL was driven from Mosul and most of the Iraqi territory ISIL had held since mid-2014. Encouraged by Iran, and growing corruption and political divisions in Kurdish controlled northern Iraq in October 2017 the Iraqi government launched a surprise attack on Kurdish forces in Kirkuk province. The Kurds, noting that some of their politicians had suddenly sided with Iran and the Iraqi government over this issue, withdrew from Kirkuk without much of a fight. As expected the Iraqis could not deal with ISIL threats as effectively as the Kurds had and Kirkuk province has become a major operating area for over a dozen ISIL gangs who are terrorizing the population and making a lot of money from kidnapping and other criminal activities. Iraqi leaders admit that the October 2017 attack that drove Kurdish forces from Kirkuk province and other areas of the north (except in the autonomous, since the early 1990s, Kurdish provinces) has created less security in areas taken over by Iraqi forces. This admission comes as Iraqi and Kurdish forces have increasingly worked together to find and eliminate ISIL forces now trying to use the formerly Kurdish territory as a base area. That cooperation is not as effective as the Kurds being back in charge of all security. The American advisors working with the Kurds and some Iraqi army units encourage cooperation. But it isnt enough as the Iranian controlled PMF (Popular Mobilization Force) forces will not cooperate. The situation in Kirkuk is seen as a defeat for Iran, which saw to it that pro-Iran PMF led the October 2017 offensive and now dominate the occupation force in the north. The PMF is not as effective as the Kurds and ISIL quickly took advantage of that. Now ISIL groups are operating freely in rural parts of Kirkuk province, something they were unable to do for years while the Kurds controlled the province. The main problem with the PMF is that its members are less well trained and disciplined than soldiers and police while also being more loyal to their tribe and religious faction than they are to the Iraqi state. Most (about 65 percent) of PMF members belong to 66 Shia militias. Most of these are political. That is, they were formed with the assistance of a Shia political party. Half the Shia militias have some degree of loyalty to Iranian Shia clerics or Iran itself. Some of these militias openly back killing American soldiers and defying the Iraqi government over issues involving Iran. About a quarter of the PMF force is Sunni, organized into about 40 militias. These tend to be territorial and loyal to a particular tribe. The Sunni militias, like the other minority ones (mainly about a dozen Turkmen, Christian and Yazidi) are mainly interested in protecting their people. Another problem with PMF is a greater incidence of corruption and resistance to government efforts to eliminate or limit the corrupt practices. Making the PMF part of the military in March was an attempt to impose some control but it did not work and now the PMF have access to more cash and weapons. Another side effect of Kurds losing control of Kirkuk province is non-Kurd groups in Kirkuk are now demanding that the Kurds release most of the 5,000 people Kurdish forces arrested and imprisoned over the last 14 years. The actual number of prisoners is not known because of these men were actually killed during battles with Kurdish security forces or died while in captivity. These prisoners are one reason there was a lot less Islamic terrorist violence in Kurdish controlled territory and the Kurds are not inclined to let these prisoners go as it is obvious that many of them would return to Islamic terrorism. The Kurds have offered to send their forces back into Kirkuk province but the Iraqi government, and especially Iran, is not willing to accept defeat and hand security control back to the Kurds. A Diplomatic Tank Purchase Iraq has made deals to buy weapons from a wide range of countries, often for reasons other than military. Usually, its because it is easier to solicit bribes. But another reason is diplomatic or obtaining military tech or agreements to help Iraq rebuild its weapons industries. Iran has offered to get involved with that. Russia has offered help as well, in order to access to a wide variety of modern weapons. Iraq has ordered billions of dollars worth of weapons from Russia, especially since mid-2014 when ISIL grabbed Mosul and much more. One of the recent purchases was the 73 Russian T-90 tanks ordered in mid-2017. The first 36 arrived in February. The rest are supposed to arrive by the end of April. This could be timely because the Americans have cut off support for Iraqi M1 tanks until Iraq can get two M1s back from a pro-Iran PMF group. With politicians distracted by the approaching (May 12) national elections nothing is being done to retrieve the missing M1s and the T-90s may become the majority of operational Iraqi Army tanks as more and more M1s are sidelined with maintenance issues that can only be handled by the now absent American tech support people. The T-90 is one of many upgraded T-72s available on the market. Until 2003 the Iraqi Army operated hundreds of older T-72s, which proved no competition for the American M-1. The T-90 has been produced in large quantities since the 1990s but not for Russia. It is mostly an export item. The T-90 was a late 1980s project that was to incorporate T-80 features into many upgrades of the T-72. Originally it was designated the T-72BU but when Russia finally began production in 1993 it was renamed the T-90. That succeeded in making the tank an export success with most (nearly 90 percent) of those produced going to export customers. In fact India and Algeria each have more T-90s in service than Russia. Worse Russia has quietly put over a third of its 550 newly built T-90s into reserve. While the T-90 was loudly proclaimed to be the next big thing the Russian army preferred the refurbished T-72s in the form of the T-72B3. These proved to be cheaper and more reliable than T-90s, something that got little publicity. While all the upgrades (new engine, gun, fire control and protection) made it nearly as expensive as the T-90 it was preferred by the troops and the older officers quietly agreed that it was a better tank than the new T-90/T-72BUs. This apparently has something to do with the design of the T-72BU (trying to merge T-80 elements into the T-72 design) and the decline in manufacturing quality in Russian the defense industry after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Since the T-72B3 was introduced in 2013 it has been produced in far greater numbers than any other tank and that continues. Especially telling was how T-90s began to be taken out of service (and put in reserve) as soon as enough T-72B3s became available. At the same time, the most popular Russian tank for export customers is the T-72B (a B3 with fewer of the upgrades) and these cost nearly two million each but can be delivered in a few months after the contract is signed. The T-72B3 has been so popular with Russian troops that the government is giving it more publicity in the state-controlled mass media. The Iraqis dont really care about the superiority of the T-72B3 because the T-90s are easier to obtain, do the job (usually fighting irregulars) and have large profits built in that allow for generous bribes to Iraqi officials who approve the purchase orders. April 26, 2018: Iraq offered eleven areas for oil and gas exploration to foreign firms. This was a typical auction and none of the major oil companies, especially the Western ones, made bids. The major Russian and Chinese firms also declined. All considered eleven areas too risky to invest in. In some cases, the areas were much fought over and still contained a lot of unexploded bombs and shells. Some areas in the north were suffering from growing ISIL violence while other areas were near the Iranian border and the chance of the Americans reviving sanctions on Iran made those areas unattractive for oil exploration. The main problem here is that the major oil companies are expected to invest billions of dollars and send in hundreds of the technical people to explore for oil and gas and then build wells and pipelines to make it all profitable. None of the major companies were willing to take on the degree of risk involved, especially not in a nation as corrupt and violence prone as Iraq. April 25, 2018: The government agreed to pay for the recruitment, equipping, training and maintenance of 2,400 additional Sunni Arab tribal militiamen in Anbar province. These militiamen will be organized into four Rapid Intervention Regiments of about 600 men each and will be used to reinforce local militias in areas where ISIL shows up and attempts to set up bases. These four units will answer to the national government. April 24, 2018: Iran is openly pressuring the Iraqi government to stop taxing Iranian goods exported to Iraq and instead tax similar goods coming from Saudi Arabia. The problem is that many Iraqis feel more comfortable increasing trade with Saudi Arabia, which does not seek to control Iraq like Iran does. April 22, 2018: For the first time since October 2017 ISIL issued an official statement via the Internet. This one informed members and supporters of what the new ISIL strategy was. No surprises in that as the message repeated the call for ISIL members to return home, if possible, and organize terror attacks there. The primary ISIL targets are the apostate governments of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Gaza (Hamas) and the West Bank (Fatah). In addition, the Taliban of Afghanistan is the main target in Afghanistan because the local ISIL branch competes with the Taliban to control drug smuggling routes that provide large amounts of cash that ISIL in Afghanistan needs to survive. ISIL considers itself strongest in Iraq and Syria where there are still a lot of Sunni Arabs who feel oppressed by the local government (in both cases governments dominated by Shia Arabs). ISIL also declared victory over the Americans because the United States has announced (more than once) that it is leaving Iraq and Syria once ISIL is eliminated. ISIL interprets that to mean the Americans are declaring victory and running away no matter how many ISIL are still active in Iraq and Syria. The main ISIL message is that once ISIL has overthrown the apostate governments in the Middle East it will go after Israel. So for the moment, ISIL is admitting that Israel is not worth the effort (without saying carrying out attacks in Israel has proved to be nearly impossible). ISIL leaders have already quietly told local ISIL groups to concentrate on fundraising and recruiting by carrying out operations that terrorize and raise money. That means lots of kidnapping, extortion, drug smuggling and grand larceny. ISIL managed to get as much as half a billion dollars out of Syria and Iraq before they lost control of their caliphate in late 2017. The money is being sought both in the West and in Middle Eastern countries with increased vigor. After close encounters with ISIL more Middle Eastern nations are willing to go after local financial corruption that helped manage ISIL finances during the ISIL occupation of eastern Syria and a third of Iraq from 2014 to 2017. In Iraq, it was discovered that a lot of Iraqis with technical and financial skills worked with and for ISIL during the occupation. The defeat of ISIL included the capture of many documents detailing this collusion and who was involved. Some of those involved were arrested and provided more details. There is no longer any doubt about how savage ISIL is against anyone who does not support them and for once ISIL is dealing with a lot more Arabs who actively oppose ISIL and are not so easily bribed or intimidated. Yet there is still a minority of Sunni Moslems willing to join ISIL and do the dirty work of trying to conquer the world for their version of Islam. So the thousand year old internal struggle between violent Islamic conservatives and the more moderate majority continues. April 20, 2018: In the northwest (Nineveh province) Iraqi troops stationed west of Mosul at the Syrian border were attacked by a large group of ISIL gunmen. The attack was repulsed and 18 ISIL men were killed. Iraqi troops on the border have to be particularly careful at night because large groups of ISIL gunmen try to sneak across the border (going either way) and are ready to fight their way through if necessary. In this case, the Iraqi troops were ready when ISIL launched what they thought was a surprise attack. This part of the Syrian border is most heavily used by remaining ISIL forces, some of them based in Syria less than ten kilometers from the border. Iraqi troops have orders to shoot anyone who tries to cross the border illegally at night. Despite the active defense of the border ISIL continues to cross the in both directions and tolerating the losses. Apparently, most of the crossings are not detected because ISIL personnel are arrested in Mosul who report they crossed the border several times recently. Iraq resumed paying Kuwait reparations for damage done to Kuwait oil fields during the 1990-91 occupation. Payments had been resumed earlier but were suspended in 2014 because of the ISIL invasion and the consequent cash shortage the Iraqi government experienced. If Iraq continues making payments it should be finished paying the debt by 2021. April 19, 2018: In the northeast (Diyala province) an Iraqi airstrike killed a known ISIL leader and an associate. An examination of the building hit by the airstrike revealed that this was an ISIL base for controlling smaller groups of ISIL members throughout the province. Iraqi warplanes carried out airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria in coordination with the Assad government. These airstrikes continue but Iraq refuses to allow any ground forces (especially pro-Iran PMF units) to enter Syria. .April 18, 2018: Iran and Iraq signed an agreement whereby Iran will assist Iraq in rebuilding its military industries and production facilities. April 15, 2018: In Baghdad Shia followers of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr demonstrated against the United States because of the recent American led missile strikes on Syrian chemical warfare facilities. The day before the Iraqi government criticized the attacks on the Assad government chemical warfare operations. The Iraqi government argued that the American led attacks could lead to an increase in Islamic terrorist activity. April 10, 2018: In the north (Kirkuk province) ISIL attacked two remote villages, took control and announced via the speaker systems in local mosques (used to call Moslems to prayer five times a day) ISIL was going to maintain control for as long as they could and anyone who disagreed with that should leave while they could. These temporary takeovers are becoming more frequent even though none of them last long. The ISIL occupiers come with escape plans already in place and vacate quickly when security forces approach. April 9, 2018: In the north (Kirkuk province) troops patrolling outside Kirkuk city encountered a group of armed men and opened fire. One of those killed turned out to be Abu Walid al Checheni, the ISIL leader in charge of organizing terror attacks in the province. Kirkuk province has become a battleground between the security forces and the scattered, but substantial, ISIL forces still in the province. In the last month, the security forces have found and killed several hundred ISIL men but many more remain. In the west (Anbar province) security forces obtained intel about a large force of ISIL men crossing the border from Syria at night. The ambush was a success and the entire ISIL force (65 gunmen) was killed. Because of the risk that some of the Islamic terrorists might be wearing explosive vests, or simply being armed and suicidal, the best policy is to keep shooting, especially at night, until you are certain they are all dead and then check out the bodies carefully when the sun comes up. When that was done it was discovered and at least six of the dead were not Arab and efforts were underway to identify where the foreign Islamic terrorists were from. April 2, 2018: In March 104 civilians and policemen died due to Islamic terrorist violence. This is up a bit from the 91 killed during February and 19 percent of the dead were police. About a third of the deaths occurred in Baghdad. Terror related civilian deaths in Iraq were higher in January (115 dead). Most (78 percent) of the January deaths occurred in Baghdad. The increased casualties are disappointing because the deaths hit a new low (69) in December 2017. With 35 percent of the deaths in Baghdad, an old pattern continued. In October when 114 civilians were killed. Most (63 percent) of this violence was equally split between Baghdad (long a Sunni Islamic terrorist target) and Anbar province. The government has still not resumed reporting casualties among the security forces (military and militias). Civilian deaths were higher (at 196) in September and declined steadily for most of 2017. During the last three months, most of the civilian deaths occurred because the victims were near an unexpected suicide bomber attack. Soldiers and police usually can spot and stop suicide bombers but this often means the suicide bomber will set off his explosives before he can be shot dead or captured alive. At that point, the bomber is often near civilians who became the casualties instead of the security forces. The government says the January Anbar casualty data will be released once all the data can be collected. With the decline in Islamic terror related deaths other forms of violence are now getting more, long overdue, attention. At the top of the list is tribal feuds. Tribal politics has long been a major factor in Iraqi society, especially the largely Sunni tribes of Anbar and the six major Shia tribes of Basra (the southern province). Former National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, who developed differences with PPP, and her husband and firebrand former PPP leader Zulfiqar Mirza are likely to join Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf soon. The joining could be a major setback for the PPP in District Badin of the province, where the Mirza family had a stronghold and had given tough times to their former party during the last held union council elections. Source privy to contacts between the Mirza family and PTI chairman Imran Khan said that the matters between them are resolved and they would announce their joining in the next visit of PTI Chairman Imran Khan to Sindh province. It is pertinent to mention here that PTI chairman would be visiting the Sindh province next month. The sources further said that Imran Khan and Mirza had met each other in Karachi few days back and discussed the matters needed to be sorted out including Mirza familys role in PTIs Sindh politics.Fehmida Mirza Profile: Fehmida Mirza was the first woman to be elected the Speaker of the National Assembly on 19 March 2008 and belongs to an influential political family of Sindh. She joined PPP in 1997 and was since then elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan for four times consecutively in 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2013 from Badin constituency. She developed differences with the party three years back when the PPP led-Sindh government tried to arrest Zulfiqar Mirza from his residence in Badin and although did not officially left the party but developed serious differences. Zulfiqar Mirza: Zulfiqar Mirza was a trusted lieutenant of former President Asif Ali Zardari since they both acquired education from Cadet College Petaro in the late 1960s. He was assigned the portfolio of Jails and prisons, as well as the portfolio of Senior Minister for Works, Services and Forest in the Sindh cabinet during different PPP provincial government tenures. He remained a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, and a member of the PPP Central Executive Committee, and Vice President of PPP (Sindh) till 28, August 2011. He left the party in 2011 after developing differences with party leadership over action against Lyari Aman Committee and its kingpin Uzair Baloch, whom Mirza called his child. Mirza, however said that he had only raised the voice over the rampant corruption in different departments of the province and against the disgraceful demand of MQM regarding the dissection of Sindh, the motherland. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail briefed the cabinet about the federal budget, which afterwards unanimously approved the budget. It also approved the Finance Bill 2018-19. The National Assembly has been summoned to meet at 4:30 pm for presentation of the federal budget. The incumbent PML-N government is going to set a precedent for presenting six consecutive budgets during the five years of its democratic tenure from 2013-2018. The budget will lend focus on improving economic growth, maintaining fiscal discipline, reducing non-development expenditures and boosting exports besides providing relief to the masses, promoting investment for job creation, treading the peoples friendly policies for over arching socio-economic prosperity. All major opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have announced to lodge a strong protest during the presentation of the federal budget. The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah while addressing the Budget Session chastized the ruling PML-N for trampling upon Nawaz Sharif'sslogan demanding respect for the vote by disrespecting it themselves. He was criticizing the appointment of Miftah Ismail who is not an elected representative as the Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs. Shah said that Rana Afzal a member of the ruling party was available and qualified for the post of finance minister but the party chose to appoint Ismail instead. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also critical of Miftahs appointment, stressing that the government was setting a bad example by having someone present the budget who was not an elected official. Responding to the opposition's criticism Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi responded that It was the cabinets decision for Miftah Ismail to present the budget and there is nothing unconstitutional in that. The opposition parties then walked-out of the assembly in protest against the government's decision Earlier speaking about the budget for fiscal year 2018-19 which the government is set to present today, the opposition leader said, The government should not present a budget for more than four months. The opposition will accept a budget of four months, he added stating that the government has started a new tradition of presenting the budget for the whole year. Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that political opponents have done nothing except wasting nations time. In a statement, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have disappointed the people with the negative politics. Nation has been fed up by the destructive politics of opposition, he added. Punjab CM asserted that PML-N is still a famous party in the country as it always gives first priority to the national interest. He said that the time has come to take action against those involved in hindering countrys development. He said that PTI had tried to stop metro bus and orange line train projects. The minister further assured his presence whenever National Accountability Bureau (NAB) calls him, saying that he has put his health on stake to change the system. We have saved nations money worth 100 billion by unveiling corruption, he continued. Shehbaz Sharif told that the Punjab province is now having several hospitals but the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has failed to form a single medical center for the people in five years. Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif said that the Supreme Court (SC) will dispense justice to former foreign minister Khawaja Asif. Kh Asif in a precious asset of the PML-N and we are standing by him in testing time, tweeted the chief minister following the disqualification of Khawaja Asif by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The German Foreign Ministry vehemently opposed calling Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish state on Friday in a written reply to a question from a member of parliament. When asked by MP Petr Bystron, from the populist far-Right party Alternative for Germany, What is the name of the capital of Israel (please only answer with location name)? Niels Annen, a State Minister in the Foreign Ministry, declined to name Jerusalem. Annen dodged the question and said: As a matter of principle, every state has the right to determine a city within its territory to be its capital. Bystron is the foreign policy spokesman for the Alternative for Germany. The Jerusalem Post obtained a copy of the letter in which Annen denied Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Annen, a member of the Social Democratic Party, wrote in the letter to Bystron that Israel declared in 1980 in its Basic Law that Jerusalem is the completed and united capital city of the Jewish state. He said Germany along with the international community does not recognize Israels absorption of Jerusalem into its territory after the 1967 Six Day War. Annen cited the United Nations General Assembly resolution 478 from 1980 that said Jerusalem as Israels capital is a violation of international law. Annen wrote that Federal government is of the view that the status of Jerusalem, just like other final status issues, can only be clarified in negotiations. He added that the German government supports the European Councils conclusions that the Israelis and Palestinians must find in negotiations a solution for Jerusalem as the future capital of both states. Andreas Nahles, then General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, declared in 2012 that the party has shared values and common goals with the Palestinian Fatah party. The Social Democratic Partys former foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel termed Israel an apartheid regime. Gabriel said last week that he regretted using the pejorative phrase and would not repeat it. The US and EU designated terrorist organizations praised Gabriel in January for slamming Israel. The SPDs Willy Brandt headquarters in Berlin held a Breaking the Silence exhibit in 2012 where former German foreign minister Steinmeier praised the groups work. Breaking the Silence uses anonymous sources to defame the IDF, according to critics in Israel. Steinmeier, who is currently the German president, has met with six left-wing NGOs, including Terrestrial Jerusalem, BTselem, Breaking the Silence and Machsom Watch. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon have held their historic summit at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone. During the Friday summit, the first between the two Koreas' leader in more than a decade, Kim was accompanied by his sister and confidante, Kim Yo-jong, and the 90-year-old nominal head of the North Korean state, Kim Yong-nam. During the meeting, the South Korean president expressed hope for achievement of a "bold agreement." "I hope we engage in frank talks and reach a bold agreement so that we may give a big gift to the whole Korean people and the people who want peace," Moon said. According to South Korean officials, the two countries are expected to release a joint statement late on Friday, possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration, which could elaborate on issues, including denuclearization, peace, and promotion of bilateral ties. Before the summit, Kim stopped to sign a guest book in South Korea's Peace House. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in the book in Korean. Earlier, in their first encounter at the demarcation line, the north Korean leader invited the South president to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, and then the two leaders entered South Korea. Later, the South Korean president officially welcomed Kim into the South as the two heads of states were smiling and holding hands. Walking on a red carpet, Kim and moon were met by a South Korean honor guard as traditional music was played. Panmunjom, the world's last Cold War frontier, was designated as the venue of meeting for officials from the North and South after the Korean war ended in a truce in 1953. Neither North nor South Korea have jurisdiction over Panmunjom and the UN Command administers the village which sits inside the heavily mined four-kilometer Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that serves as the de facto border between the two Koreas. The planned meeting will bring the South Korean president Moon and the North Korean leader together, with Kim crossing a military demarcation line to the South for the first time and becoming the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended 65 years ago. South Korean sources said official dialog between Kim and Moon would begin at 0130 GMT at the Peace House in Pan-mun-jom in Panmunjom, an hour after the North Korean leader is scheduled to cross the border at 0030 GMT. The Norths military nuclear and missile programs will be high on the agenda. But it is unlikely that the meeting will produce any outcome beyond a thaw in the relations, which had been tense until January this year. According to North Korea's official KCNA news agency, Kim will "open-heartedly discuss... all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." After the end of the first session of the talks, the two leaders will have lunch separately and then hold a tree-planting ceremony in the afternoon, according to the Souths presidential chief of staff. Im Jong-seok, the Souths presidential chief of staff, said a pine tree would be planted on the demarcation line to symbolize peace and prosperity, with the use of soil from Mount Paektu in North Korea and Mount Halla in South Korea. Kim and Moon will sign an agreement and issue a joint statement at the end of talks, according to Im. The North Korean leader said last week that he was ready to suspend the countrys nuclear and missile tests and close a nuclear test site as North Korea has already achieved adequate progress in the nuclear and missile programs. North Korea says its weapons are defensive in nature and a necessary deterrent against potential hostility by the United States and its regional allies, including South Korea. The two Koreas began mending fences in January, when Kim said he would be interested in talks being held between officials from the two countries. A series of overtures ensued. A possible meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump is also reportedly being planned for sometime in May or June. However, Trump told Fox News by telephone on Thursday that it remained unclear whether he would meet with Kim. "It could be that I walk out quickly - with respect - but ... it could be that maybe the meeting does not even take place," he said. "Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet." Meanwhile, the White House released two photos of a meeting between Kim and then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo in North Korea over the Easter weekend. This was Kim's first known meeting with a US official, during which they discussed the planned summit with Trump. The diplomatic initiatives are part of efforts to reduce tensions surrounding North Koreas nuclear and weapons program, which began after Pyongyang sent a delegation of its athletes to South Korea for the Winter Olympics earlier this year. It then allowed representatives from South Korea to travel to the North and plan the summit between the leaders of the two countries. Later, North Korea's leader announced the intention to hold talks with the US president. Washington and Pyongyang have no diplomatic relations. The US has imposed many rounds of sanctions on North Korea, has substantial military presence near the country, and numerously threatened to invade it. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula were running high in 2017. Trumps threats last year prompted North Korea to carry out its most powerful nuclear test to date and launch intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States But Kim expressed sudden interest in the resolution of disagreements with the South on New Years Day, and a series of overtures began. Angie Warren-Clark Labour MP Recently our Labour-NZ First government released the draft Government Position Statement (GPS) on Land Transport. To help best inform Local Government Leaders on how the GPS will benefit and work in our region, I organised for the Minister of Transport, Phil Twyford, and the Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, to visit Tauranga to speak about the GPS. It was great to hear how the GPS sees massive funding increases; for example Local Road upgrade funding increased by 43 per cent, regional roads see a 96 per cent increase, and Road Safety sees an 81 per cent increase, amongst others. On a more sombre note, this week at the Mount Maunganui Cenotaph I had the honour of attending the ANZAC Day Ceremony. As the bugle call rang out over the incoming waves, I was reminded of Axel Gordon Hultquist, who was Labour MP for Bay of Plenty from 1935-1941. No less than one month after New Zealand entered World War II, Hultquist enlisted and went into camp. He went overseas with the Third Echelon as a Second-Lieutenant, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He took part in fighting in Greece, where he was amongst the last to be evacuated. After this he went to Crete, where he died in service. ANZAC day will always be a poignant reminder of those lost in battle, both overseas like Crete, and on local battlefields, like at Gate Pa in 1846 where over 100 lost their lives. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Bay of Plenty You will be operating the Roller and also required to help out the team hands on. You will be working near Bayfair for a... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Tauranga residents will have a chance to experience the world from their own backyard this weekend. Through a series of free workshops, dancers from throughout the community are letting locals experience dance through a variety of styles from around the world. Merwan and his partner Saskia are some of many hosting a workshop. Bay Salsa have organized free workshops so the community can see the different styles of dance that are on offer in Tauranga, says Merwan. Its all part of an event called International Dance Day. Theres five different dance styles on offer so this is a taster of all of those styles. People will get a snippet of the music and the movements. You can only do so much within an hour but we think its enough time for people to get a feel for the different dance styles. The pair teach kizomba, which is a partnered dance that originates from Angola in Africa. After travelling and being at a dance festival in Europe, it became a passion of mine and Ive been doing it ever since. We teach a class every week at Otumoetai College and we travel and teach overseas as well. He says the dance is growing in popularity. Theres a lot of people who are interested in partnered dance. Its something that caters to all age groups, it bridges all different walks of life, everyone gets amongst it and its a nice mix of people. Kizomba is 100 per cent lead and follow, in the sense that we dont have a set rubric or a pattern we have to follow. We are 100 per cent about musicality. The lead will always depict the movement, the tempo and the style that he will be doing, and their partner will always follow this. When people experience kizomba for the first time we often get feedback where people say they have experienced a connection overload. Merwan says all are welcome to attend the workshop. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the benefits of meeting new people and learning a new skill. Bay Salsa, Dance Factory Bachata, Salsa Auga Cuban Salsa and Dance Factory Zouk also join the lineup of those offering workshops. The workshops are being hosted at Bay Salsa at 162 Durham Street in Tauranga on Saturday from 10am-3.30pm. For more information and a timetable of when each workshop is running see the event page on Facebook. Canada Urged To Introduce Digital Tax Nexus Rules by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 27 April 2018 The Canadian Parliament's international trade committee has recommended that the federal Government tax products supplied to Canadian consumers by online platforms. The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade has tabled a report entitled "E-Commerce: Certain Trade-Related Priorities of Canada's Firms." The Committee said that the Government should "apply sales taxes on tangible and intangible products that are sold in Canada and by foreign sellers, including when such sales occur using an e-commerce platform." The Committee's report contained references to a number of comments by witnesses on the taxation of e-commerce. For instance, Canadians for Tax Fairness told the Committee that foreign firms "have been exempted from paying taxes by the Canada Revenue Agency because they have no physical presence," putting Canadian firms at a disadvantage. The Canadian Union of Public Employees argued that the Government should require foreign companies that have Canadian sales to "pay their fair share in taxes." Fashion firm La Maison Simons Inc suggested that sales taxes be levied at the point of consumption on tangible and intangible products. Canadians for Tax Fairness called for value-added taxes to be paid in the country where a sale occurs, regardless of whether an e-commerce platform is used. Regarding the de minimis threshold the amount above which goods imported into the country are assessed for duties and taxes eBay Canada said that the threshold should be increased. It argued that the current CAD20 (USD15.52) threshold negatively affects the ability of SMEs "to access low-value international supply chains" and "does not support what the Canadian consumer wants: fairness and choice." Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters called the threshold "ridiculously low" and Startup Canada said that increasing the threshold would enhance the competitiveness of the country's companies. The Committee also recommended that Canada work with other countries to ensure that "online sales, and the profits earned by firms making such sales, are taxed in the country where the products are consumed and where the economic activities that created the income occur." It said these efforts should be consistent with the recommendations made as part of the OECD's BEPS project. EU Seeks To Prevent BEPS With New Company Law Rules by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 27 April 2018 The European Commission has announced new company law rules to, on the one hand, make it easier for companies to merge, divide, or transfer from one member state to another, but, on the other, prevent abusive tax avoidance and profit shifting. Introducing the new EU company law reforms on April 25, 2018, the European Commission said: "The European economy needs a framework that allows companies to easily operate in the Single Market, including when they grow and restructure across borders to adapt to changing market conditions. In the Single Market based on the principle of free establishment, companies must be able to merge, divide, or transfer their registered seat from one member state to another ("conversion") without having to go through liquidation and losing their legal personality, as recognized by the Court of Justice in its Polbud ruling of October 2017 [discussed below]." "However, it is equally important to ensure that these possibilities are not abused. The proposal therefore sets up strong safeguards to protect the rights and interests of employees, shareholders, and creditors, and to prevent these procedures being used to set up artificial arrangements, including those aimed at obtaining undue tax advantages. The initiative introduces common EU procedures for cross-border conversions and divisions and it updates existing rules on cross-border mergers." The Commission explained that the reforms respond to a risk that cross-border conversions and divisions could be misused to set up fictitious structures for abusive ends, such as tax avoidance or undermining workers' rights. "The proposals contain strong safeguards to prevent this risk materializing in the future," the Commission said. Adding: "A crucial element of the conversion and division procedures is therefore that the member state of departure of the company will have to prohibit operations that constitute an artificial arrangement aimed at obtaining undue tax advantages or undermining the legal or contractual rights of employees, creditors, or shareholders." "In medium and large companies where this analysis may be more complex, an independent expert will be involved in providing the factual elements for the assessment by the authority of the member state of departure. The expert report would need to take into account the following: the characteristics of the establishment in the destination member state, including the intent, the sector, the investment, the net turnover and profit or loss, number of employees, the composition of the balance sheet, the tax residence, the assets and their location, the habitual place of work of the employees and of specific groups of employees, the place where social contributions are due, and the commercial risks assumed by the converted company in the destination member state and the departure member state." In the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in the case of Polbud (C-106/16), the Court clarified that based on the principle of free establishment, the member state of departure must allow for cross-border conversions, and that it cannot require the transfer of the "real seat" of the company (i.e. the head office, as opposed to merely the "registered seat.") However, the destination member state may require the real seat on its territory if this forms part of its incorporation requirements. In response to the ruling, the Commission said: "As the Court has stated, it is for the EU legislator to provide for a procedure for cross-border conversions. Moreover, the legal framework clarified by the Polbud judgment needs to be complemented by adequate safeguards with a view to protecting the rights of employees, shareholders, and creditors, as well as preventing abusive use of the cross-border procedure in order to set up artificial arrangements, in particular aiming at obtaining undue tax advantages." Presently, there are currently only 17 member states that provide a fully online procedure for registering companies. Under the new rules, in all member states, companies will be able to register, set up new branches or file documents to the business register online. The Commission considers that going digital makes the process of setting up a business more efficient and cost effective. The proposal sets out common procedures at the EU level on how a company can move from one EU country to another, merge, or divide into two or more new entities across borders. In line with the landmark judgment from the European Court of Justice, companies will be able to move their seat from one member state to another following a simplified procedure. The new rules are part of the Commission's push for a fairer Single Market. They complement recent initiatives to strengthen the rules on posted workers and the fight against tax evasion and fraud as well as the Commission's proposal on a European Labour Authority. At the same time, the new rules will enable businesses to move or reorganize without unnecessary legal complexities and at a lower cost throughout the Single Market. The Commission estimates cost savings for companies of EUR12,000 (USD14,600) to EUR19,000 per operation and a total of EUR176m to EUR280 million over five years. Hong Kong To Ensure ITVF Tax Break For Offshore Investors by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong 27 April 2018 Hong Kong's Government has published a draft law preserving the profits tax exemption for offshore venture capital funds who participate in the island's new Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF). The ITVF was set up by Hong Kong's Government in 2017 with the aim of encouraging more private investment in Hong Kong's innovation and technology start-ups. Under the ITVF, the Government will co-invest with selected venture capital funds in local innovation and technology start-ups at an overall ratio of about 1:2. The draft law has been prompted by concerns from offshore venture capital funds that co-investing with the Government under the ITVF scheme could result in the loss of profits tax exemption status. Loss of this status could potentially mean a fund becoming liable to tax in Hong Kong on investment profits, whether arising within or outside Hong Kong, thereby acting as a disincentive to participating in the ITVF. The draft law, Inland Revenue Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 16) Notice 2018, is scheduled to be debated in Hong Kong's Parliament on May 2, 2018, and the intended start date is June 22, 2018. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. In its full-year financial results for 2017, Sony revealed that it had sold 76.1 million PlayStation 4 consoles since its launch in 2013. 19 million of these came in the last fiscal year, but sales are beginning to slow. In the 2016 fiscal year, Sony sold 20 million PS4s. After selling 19 million in 2017, the company expects to shift another 16 million during the current financial year, which ends in March 2019all of which indicates that sales have peaked and are now declining. What that also means, however, is that the console looks set to overtake the PlayStation 3s lifetime sales of just over 80 million units sometime this year. Sony is unlikely to be too concerned by this, as the companys PlayStation business continues to grow. Its Game & Network Services segment brought in 17.8 percent more revenue compared to the previous year, reaching sales of $17.7 billion, while operating income also increased, up 30.8 percent to $1.6 billion. Sony forecasts a decrease in revenue this year due to falling hardware sales but predicts a 7 percent increase in profit thanks to more people buying games and taking out PlayStation Plus subscriptions. Even with fewer people buying PlayStation 4s, selling 16 million units this year would still put it above the Nintendo Switch, which saw 15.05 million units sold in 2017. With the PlayStation 4s sales on a downward trajectory, the big question now is when well see the PlayStation 5. Dev kits are reportedly already in the hands of developers, and rumored specs have leaked online, but it will likely be a couple more years before the next-gen console arrives. The border had been closed since February 2019, due to threats to undermine Venezuelan territorial integrity. | Read More Despite seeing jaw-droppingly bad advice from financial planners, the corporate watchdog has never taken action against a financial institution for neglecting its duty to act in best interest of clients or for failing to report a breach to the regulator. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's reluctance to use its powers to punish rogue financial advisers was the focus of the royal commission on Friday where it was also revealed it only investigates fewer than half of dodgy planners. ASIC's Louise Macaulay at the royal commission on Friday. It comes days after the federal government said it planned to beef up the powers of the corporate watchdog. The royal commission heard that AMP misled the Australian Securities and Investments Commission 20 times about its lack of issues with fees for no service. Ms Orr said it was open to the royal commission to find AMP had made material breaches under 1308 (4) and 1308 (5), which both carry criminal penalties. Companies can be fined as much as $210,000 for each breach. She added that AMP may have breached its duty to provide fair, honest and efficient services when failing to move customers out of its platforms. In a statement AMP said it acknowledged the seriousness of the submissions and would review them "closely" before responding next week. It noted that Commssioner Kenneth Hayne would have AMP's full submissions, including one to be made next week, before making any findings. Ms Orr also invited Commissioner Hayne to find that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia had breached its financial licence provisions, the Corporations Act by not reporting its fees for no service issues to ASIC for two years. The law requires all licence holders to report significant breaches to the regulator in 10 days. These breaches included CBA charging dead clients fees for services. CBA, referred to by the royal commission as the gold medallist of fees for no service, has so far confessed to charging tens of thousands of clients $119 million in fees for services they did not receive. Ms Orr said CBA's lack of breach reporting was a result of the size of the bank's planning arms. It is open to the Commissioner to find that a reason for CBA's failure to give timely notice of a breach to ASIC may be a consequence of the manner in which CBAs practice for considering whether to notify a breach takes into account the size of CBAs advice licensees, Ms Orr said. "Each of the CBA advice licensees have many clients, exponentially more than the number of clients than a small independent operator would have," Ms Orr said. Ms Orr said that the evidence suggest that if an authorised planner under CBAs Count licence, for example, made a significant breach of the law it would not be treated as a significant breach at the level of Count rather than just the individual. Therefore, the size of CBA may reduce the likelihood that ASIC receives timely notice under section 912D of risks to members of the public who are dealing with CBA or its subsidiary licensees," Ms Orr said. Section 912D of the Corporations Act relates to breach reporting by financial services licencees. Ms Orr also said it would be open for the commission to find that the Commonwealth Banks Colonial First State had breached the Corporations Act for charging investment platform fees inappropriately. The Age, Spectrum. Artist Bill Henson at Heronswood Dromana. Pic Simon Schluter 1 September 2017. Credit:Simon Schluter The photograph I'm standing before was taken in the late European summer of 2009, on the island of Capri, where Henson loves to scramble across cliffs and mountains, and while it documents a landscape, it's the "spirit of place", the memory of the feelings conjured by that spectacular scene that Henson seeks to recreate. "After the taking comes the making," says Henson, who shoots film, produces "old-fashioned contact proof sheets", and works from negatives that he scans into a computer and "modulates" using various software programs. "You change it to be more true to the experience as it becomes a part of you and your history, and this applies to the Paris Opera, same thing," he says. Henson did, in fact, shoot the expectant faces of a Parisian audience in the Salle Favart of the Theatre National de l'Opera-Comique in 1990, but the results, although technically astute, lacked the thrill of ambiguity. They had, Henson says, "a slight air of reportage". "I needed to make the images less real, to make them stranger, more wooden, to introduce the unreality, and that's why I then restaged them here in Melbourne, using the material I shot in Paris as a guide." Henson has long been interested in liminal states, things on the cusp, blurred points of existence; adolescence, twilight, the space between truth and artifice, dream and reality. Photography also occupies that edge, perched between its status as evidentiary truth and its ability to be suggestive and abstract. "I suppose the reason I keep making photographs after all these years, despite being constantly asked to work on films and do all this other stuff, is because photography still strikes me as the most profoundly contradictory of mediums," he says. Henson is one of Australia's finest photographers, and certainly the most polarising. His 40-year career was punctured by the tabloid frenzy whipped up in 2008 over his image of a pubescent girl, her budding breasts and gentle curves backlit against black. Threatened with child pornography, he was never charged; the Classification Board declared the work "mild" and rated it PG. The controversy was a low point in Australia's cultural history, but many never doubted him. I wonder, though, whether Henson could imagine producing and showing the image of that 12-year-old girl today, in the heat of the #MeToo movement? "Oh, of course," Henson says, noting that the photograph was shown on comedian Hannah Gadsby's art series, Nakedy Nudes, which screened on the ABC last month. "No one's an island, but the reason the centre of that storm was very, very, calm, was because I knew perfectly well what my relationship with my models was." Henson had his first solo exhibition, aged 19, at the National Gallery of Victoria, and his most recent at the NGV last year, for the Festival of Photography. He is now 62, and with his bald pate, greying beard and moustache he seems both regal and monkish, like a face from the past, the Middle Ages, perhaps. Looking at him, I recall what his long-time partner Louise Hearman said upon winning the Doug Moran National portrait prize in 2014 with her painting of Henson: "He's a good subject and I love the way the light falls on his head. I do like bald heads and he's a very interesting person." He is as erudite as my friend anticipated, his conversation peppered with references to classical composers, poets, authors, filmmakers, artists. "I joke sometimes that I'm a fan of unpopular culture," Henson says. "It's not because I'm a Luddite or I've got a particular dislike of contemporary culture or contemporary technology it's just that we are bombarded in a constant and fairly pronounced way by popular culture in all its manifestations and so what's interesting is the stillness and the silence that comes from past cultures. "For contemplation you need two things, you need stillness and silence, and that's where objects get their power from, their stillness and silence." Henson considers himself foremost a maker of "objects"; those objects just happen to be photographs and he gives careful attention to their ultimate scale, shape and texture. I note that all of the nudes in his new exhibition are male, and again I wonder whether that's in response to the current climate, whether the image of a naked young female might be too fraught. "It's just a simple consequence of the fact that I've been working with a couple of male models for the last six or seven years and they're terrific," Henson says. One of the works is especially haunting, and I read it as a reference to Michelangelo's Pieta, the famed marble sculpture of Mary cradling the crucified Jesus in her lap. Henson reminds me that this nurturing pose is found throughout art history, and not just in Western culture and Christian iconography. His version pictures a young man holding another young man and gazing tenderly upon his lifeless form. The choice seems pointed, like a plea for compassion towards men, or even for the artist himself. Henson says the work is partly about trying to "help men feel more". Has he recovered from the viciousness of 2008? We're sincerely hoping the door didn't smack Ita Buttrose on the backside on the way out, but barely had she left the set of Studio 10 when it was announced that two new panellists were joining the line-up of Ten's struggling morning show. To the surprise of absolutely no one, comedian Denise Scott and showbiz reporter Angela Bishop have joined the cast of regulars. Bishop will become a full-time member of the panel of four, alongside Sarah Harris and Joe Hildebrand, with Scott alternating, week-on and week-off, with Denise Drysdale. That, at least, should make it easy for everyone else; "Denise" will work just fine regardless of which of the two is sitting in the fourth chair. "At home in Lafayette, Indiana, a young man yelled at me to move my fat black ass while I was crossing a grocery store parking lot to my car," she wrote. "It was the last straw." Throughout the essay, Gay wrote of her fear that someone would find out she had decided to have weight loss surgery, after previously writing in Hunger of her contempt for the practice after attending an intake seminar with her father more than a decade earlier. Loading Upon waking up from her surgery, she recounted a nurse recognising her and remarking that she was a fan of her books. "Please don't tell the internet I'm here," Gay recalled saying. "I worried that people would think I betrayed fat positivity, something I do very much believe in even if I cant always believe in it for myself," she explained. "I worried that everyone who responded so generously to my memoir, Hunger, would feel betrayed. I worried I would be seen as betraying myself. I worried I would be seen as taking the easy way out, even though nothing about any of this has been easy, not one thing. I worried." Losing weight and saving money are still top of the nation's New Year's resolution list but many people are embracing a new challenge this year waste reduction. The ABC's War on Waste brought the issue vividly to life, inspiring many to change their ways if they just knew where to start. It doesn't help that the waste-free lifestyle is often associated with expensive organic bulk food stores or articles about people who can fit all their rubbish for the entire year in a tiny jar. It may seem like you can only achieve this if you have cash to spare and hours on hand to make your own soap. But others argue that waste-free living actually saves money. What's the truth of it? Hannah Thiem, 21, from Camperdown in Sydney, has been trying to reduce her waste for the past three years with varying success. About this time of year the news is always full of leaks from the federal budget. It can resemble a movie trailer in slow motion all the good bits presented in abbreviated form, with no observable plot to link them. This year has followed the pattern and, with the Prime Minister out of the country for much of the week, Treasurer Scott Morrison has been generous with his information. But if Mr Morrison had hoped this would raise his profile or that of the government, he will probably be feeling disappointed. Treasurer Scott Morrison has been generous with his information. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen His voice has been almost drowned out by the explosions from the banking royal commission, which he and his colleagues spent much of the past two years trying to stymie. The commission is a serious political problem, which even now the government still struggles to manage. Australians have become used to politicians running a mile rather than court controversy. Of late, the Turnbull government has been regularly proving them wrong; it has shown astonishing courage in staying loyal to a lost cause. This is no heroic rearguard action, however. The cause they have been defending the interests of the banks has also been exposed as utterly worthless. Yesterday the counsel assisting the royal commission, Rowena Orr, QC, recommended criminal charges against AMP and the celebrity financial adviser Sam Hendersons planning outfit. Who knows what else the commission may find? Last weekend, Financial Services Minister Kelly ODwyer was still stonewalling on ABC television when asked if she would apologise for opposing the inquiry. Yesterday she buckled, saying she was wrong to have opposed it. For the sake of its survival, the government must change its attitude to the royal commission. Its unquestioning loyalty to the banks and finance houses has been entirely misplaced and persisting in it has made it look stupid. A man in the grip of ice addiction used family ties to a Wollongong doctor's clinic to dupe Medicare into financing his hidden $500-a-week drug habit, eventually siphoning $65,656.95 from the public purse. Daniel Mulquin duped Medicare into financing his drug habit, siphoning over $65,000 from the public purse. Daniel Patrick Mulquins mother Linda Mulquin sobbed from the public gallery of Wollongong Local Court on Thursday as her son was jailed for four months and ordered to repay the money. Mrs Mulquin, a receptionist at the Smith Street clinic of her psychiatrist brother, Dr Anthony Durrell, believed her son was struggling with mental illness when she arranged for him to visit the clinic to assist her with odd jobs, as a way of keeping him occupied. But Mulquin, 31, used his position to illegally access the Medicare Easyclaim system, which is used to process patient and bulk bill claims via the eftpos network. Lapping it up: Pam Bonanno takes her Staffordshire terrier Violet through her paces at Aquapaws pool for dogs. Credit:Jason South For some dog owners its no longer enough to take their pet for a walk in the park. Pools just for dogs are springing up around Melbourne, where your pooch can go for an aquatic workout. Clients of the Aquapaws canine rehabilitation and fitness centre at Somerville, south-east of Melbourne, come from as far as Geelong, Bairnsdale and Heidelberg to swim laps in its heated pool. Aquapaws Jo Woolley said owners of up to 30 dogs a day from 40 kilogram rottweilers to poodles are booking the 12-metre pool. Entry is $12.50 for 30 minutes, plus $10 for a DIY wash and dry. She once hosted a pool party for 40 miniature dachshunds. A man has been jailed for two years for locking a woman in a room and repeatedly assaulting her, until she managed to escape after six days. But taking into account time already served in custody, he is likely to be released from jail in about 100 days. Steven Guy imprisoned the victim at his Lilydale home in February 2016 after taking the drug "ice" and used scissors and knives to hold the door closed. The 37-year-old punched and kicked her and poured urine over her head, only allowing her out of the room to use the toilet. Guy was having psychotic delusions throughout, stemming from undiagnosed schizophrenia. Melbourne lord mayoral candidate Ken Ong was the sole director of a childcare business convicted last year of failing to keep children safe after a child twice escaped from a Point Cook centre. The connection of the former City of Melbourne councillor and Liberal Party member to the prosecution of Future Kids Child Care last year has not been made public before and comes weeks after he announced his run for Town Hall. Ken Ong. Credit:Josh Robenstone On two separate occasions, a child under the care of Future Kids Child Care in Point Cook was found by members of the public outside the centre, including once near a building site. It's believed the child escaped from the playground. Enforcement records from the Victorian Department of Education and Training show the child care centres owner, a company called Future Kids Pty Ltd, failed to notify authorities of the incidents as required and provided misleading information. A teenager is fighting for her life after an allegedly stolen ute she was driving ran a red light and slammed into a pole in Melbourne's outer-west, police say. The girl, 16, is believed to have been driving the white Holden ute north on Station Road, Deer Park about 1.50am on Saturday, when she drove through a red light at Billingham Road and narrowly missed a white sedan. The teenage driver is in a critical condition. Credit:Rob Gunstone She then struck a power pole after losing control of the car and was taken to hospital where she remained in a serious condition on Saturday night. She was the only person in the car. Ambulance Victoria said the teenager had injuries to her upper and lower body. Hayley and her three siblings were in their fathers care in country western Victoria when he split up with their mother in late 2011. Department of Health and Human Services disability worker Danuta Mayshak told the inquest John had engaged with support services and appeared to be coping with caring for all four children. When I came first time came and saw [John] with the girls, they were beautifully dressed, they were clean. Hayley looked beautiful ... everything looks good. The body language of the kids is fantastic, she said. But all four children were moved into their mothers care in early 2012 and from there, department workers and support services with Anglicare struggled to get Hayleys mother to accept help, though a visit to the home in August 2012 raised no concerns. All five reports to child protection from late December 2011 raised various allegations against both parents including neglect and physical abuse, but it was the two final reports made in 2013 that were of critical importance, the inquest heard. Doctors at the Royal Childrens Hospital saw Hayley in December 2012, and she appeared to be well, but after that despite the two further reports no one in authority saw her again. The system had lost sight of Hayleys needs, I would say, child protection practice leader Peter Clout told the inquest. Child protection passed the fourth report, made in April 2013, to a service called Child FIRST. The Anglicare-run service takes non-urgent reports from child protection and contacts carers over the phone to find out what services they need. On the phone to Child FIRST, Hayleys mother became unusually emotional, saying she was stressed and overwhelmed and finally ready to be supported. It took two months before her cry for help was allocated to a support worker. Even then, no one went to the home. DHHS lawyer Judy Benson said Child FIRST should have notified child protection. It took far too long in circumstances where it was abundantly plain that the mother was needing and wanting family services, Ms Benson told the inquest. Yes, it is a voluntary arrangement [for parents to accept services], but if there is a lack of engagement, the matter should have been referred back to child protection. But Anglicare lawyer Rachel Ellyard said the referral from child protection was never classified as critical and the demand for Child FIRSTs services at that time was immense. She said two appointments made with Hayleys mother were both cancelled once by her and once by a Child FIRST worker who was sick. It didnt raise for workers at that time, that mum was avoiding ... each reason for a cancellation or delay was an appropriate one, Ms Ellyard said. The final report came in July 2013. It sparked a child protection investigation within 24 hours, but when a worker went to the home, there was a For Sale sign out the front. Hayleys mother had moved. Child protection were able to contact her over the phone and a new appointment was made to visit the new home on August 7. On August 1, Hayley died. No one, Coroner Spanos said, had crossed the threshold into the family home to witness the degradation of Hayleys health. I cant imagine a more vulnerable child, the coroner said. Just not seeing children, just not crossing that threshold, it seems to me that system is something less than protecting children. DHHS and Anglicare told the inquest they changed their systems because of Hayleys death. Both had created new "flags" that would push forward high-risk cases such as Hayleys, forcing workers to contact families sooner and, crucially, arranging home visits. A DHHS spokesperson told The Age the department could not comment on individual cases. The death of a child is always a deeply tragic experience for the family, friends and the community and our sympathies are with Hayleys family at this difficult time," he said. The department works continuously to improve its policies and practices for all clients. John, speaking outside court, said he still dreams about Hayley. I wake up all the time. I can hear her calling for me and I cant get to her, he said. The challenge is stark. No nation that has openly tested a nuclear device has ever surrendered its arsenal, and North Korea has conducted six underground explosions, each more powerful than the last, and has test-fired missiles that can reach the mainland United States. But Trump and Kim have both already defied conventional wisdom about what is possible. If they meet in June most likely in Singapore, according to US and South Korean officials it would be the first direct encounter between the leaders of the two nations, as well as a chance to test the argument that making progress with North Korea in the nuclear standoff requires starting at the top. Moon hopes to emerge from Friday's summit meeting with a formal but vague denuclearisation commitment from Kim and perhaps a path to negotiating a peace treaty or a plan to reduce military tensions. Some have suggested a pullback of troops from the Demilitarised Zone between the North and South is possible. Loading But Moon has acknowledged that there is a limit to what the two Koreas can agree on without US involvement. "Peace on the Korean Peninsula cannot be achieved by agreements between South and North Korea alone," he said in March. "It has to have American endorsement." One measure of success will be whether Moon can persuade Kim to set a timetable for denuclearisation in his talks with Trump. Some who have tried and failed to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program worry that Trump, having threatened the North with nuclear annihilation, has now swung too far to the other side and may be too eager to make a deal. Having derided Kim previously as "Little Rocket Man," Trump described the North Korean leader as "very honourable" this week. "I find it impossible to believe that Kim is prepared to give up what his father and his grandfather bequeathed to him," said Gary Samore, a veteran of negotiations with North Korea as the top arms control aide in the Clinton and Obama administrations. A man hangs a ribbon carrying messages wishing the reunification and peace of the two Koreas on the wire fence near the border. Credit:AP But he added that Kim "may now calculate he has enough of a nuclear arsenal" and so can afford to put more on the table than in the past. One possibility that causes consternation in the region is that Trump will settle for dismantling North Korea's small fleet of intercontinental ballistic missiles, eliminating its ability to strike the United States but leaving South Korea and Japan vulnerable. "It would be the 'America First' way," Samore said, referring to Trump's campaign slogan. If scepticism is rampant in Washington, the Moon administration is somewhat more optimistic. To South Korean policymakers, Kim's recent decisions suggest that he is willing to trade his nuclear arsenal for economic growth, which the young leader may see as necessary to preserving his rule for decades. Four North Korean soldiers and four South Korean soldiers stand at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone. Credit:AP They also argue Trump's threats of military action have proved more effective at changing Kim's calculations than anticipated. South Korean officials say they have spent far more time and energy coordinating with the Trump administration before the Friday summit meeting than with the North Koreans, an effort complicated by the White House shake-up that included the departure of Trump's former national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, and secretary of state Rex Tillerson. The focus on Washington also reflects concern about McMaster's successor, John Bolton, who joined the administration after arguing for military strikes to destroy North Korea's nuclear arsenal, ridiculing South Korean leaders as "putty in North Korea's hands," and calling North Koreans "the biggest con men in the world." Though Moon and Trump have outlined different approaches to negotiating with North Korea, they agree on the need to avoid the pitfalls that doomed previous rounds of talks. Loading One area of consensus is an attempt to more clearly establish the talks' desired outcome from the outset, giving all parties greater incentive to move forward. Previous negotiations were open-ended, without specific goals that everyone agreed on. South Korea and the United States also want to push the North to accept a timetable that would move quickly from the suspension of weapons tests which it announced last week to the dismantlement of its nuclear program. Some in the Trump administration have argued for completion in six months, but that may be an opening negotiating position given the challenges involved. Bolton has occasionally cited the example of Libya, which shipped most of its nuclear equipment to a US weapons lab in Tennessee over the course of several weeks in late 2003. But much of that equipment was still in crates; there was little to dismantle. Iran took a bit more than six months to take apart much of its program and ship 97 percent of its nuclear material from the country. But, like Libya, it had not yet built nuclear weapons. North Korea is believed to have 20 to 60 such weapons US intelligence agencies cannot agree on the number in addition to a vast infrastructure of fuel production and weapons manufacturing facilities, much of it hidden in the mountains or underground. Samore argued that the North should be asked to hand over an inventory that the United States and its allies could compare with intelligence reports and seek to verify. That process would offer a first sign of whether Kim is coming clean, but could take years to complete. Kim has also endorsed "phased, synchronised steps" toward denuclearisation. But White House officials have repeatedly rejected the incremental approach, saying past administrations have tried it without success. There have been hints of friction between the Trump administration and Moon's team over the issue, with local news outlets in South Korea reporting that Bolton had pressed Seoul "not to move too far ahead" in its talks with Kim. A senior aide to Moon firmly denied the reports. But Im Jong-seok, Moon's chief of staff, said economic cooperation would not be covered in any deal resulting from Friday's summit meeting because sanctions remained in place. "In reality," Im said, "a major change in direction in diplomacy is difficult to make without American tolerance and agreement." Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size What were you doing in the year 2000? The graduating students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida were not watching Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics. They were busy being born. In February this year, they saw 17 of their peers and teachers shot and killed on school grounds with a legally acquired semi-automatic rifle. In March, they organised an international protest, March for Our Lives, in which more than 1.2 million people took to the streets advocating for sensible gun laws; lately, they've been receiving admissions information from universities about where they're going next, and, hopefully, passing their driving tests. High school massacre survivor Emma Gonzalezs impassioned speeches have helped drive a mood for gun reform in the US. Credit:Getty Images You've probably seen some of the students speak, and been amazed along with the rest of the world by their eloquence in grief. At the Washington DC march, framed by the outline of the Capitol building, year 12 student David Hogg called on fellow first-time voters to turn out for the mid-term elections this November, and warned politicians funded by the National Rifle Association to "get your resumes ready". Three weeks later, Hogg turned 18. On Twitter that day, sandwiched between messages urging Congress to vote on universal background checks, he posted a photo with the caption, "First look of me as an adult." Hogg is wearing a pair of sunglasses upside down; a friend holds up two balloons. Hogg has already done what former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and millions of dollars could not. He has found a way to effectively combat the vitriol of an increasingly extremist American right wing. When Fox News host Laura Ingraham jeered at Hogg on Twitter for not getting into his first choice of university courses, he replied with a list of Ingraham's top advertisers, calling on his followers to contact them. Johnson & Johnson, Expedia, Nestle and at least 21 other advertisers have since pulled commercials. Advertisement Ingraham then took a week off, which Fox said was pre-planned. Perhaps most extraordinarily of all, she apologised for "any upset or hurt my tweet caused [Hogg] or any of the brave victims of Parkland". Political discourse in the US has reached lows not seen since, well, the country went to war with itself, so a Fox News host held accountable for basic levels of civility is a very big deal. Yet it's selling the Parkland students short to suggest that their success is merely rhetorical. Their real-life achievements are already massive, beginning with a discernable shift in public opinion. Support for the NRA is down to 37 per cent, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. Incredibly, this is the first time since 2000 that the organisation has been viewed more negatively than positively. Support for gun regulations 68 per cent in a Politico survey is also at an all-time high. There are even signs of progress politically. Florida, a bastion of soft gun policies, has passed a bill that bans bump stocks (attachments that enable semi-automatic rifles to fire faster), imposes a waiting period before purchase, raises the minimum age to buy a weapon from 18 to 21 and allows the police to take guns from the mentally disturbed. What's more, the state's Republican governor Rick Scott signed it. In addition to calling for specific changes, the Parkland students have reframed a debate which many believed was irrevocably stymied after the Newtown massacre in 2012, when 20 six- and seven-year-olds were killed in their Connecticut classroom with a semi-automatic rifle. "They took the mantle of 'personal protection' from the gun lobby, while reframing the larger gun debate along generational lines," wrote Charlotte Alter in a March Time cover story titled, "The School Shooting Generation Has Had Enough." Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said in the same story, "What's different here is that the children who are impacted are older. They are able to give voice in a way that could not happen before." It was Emma Gonzalez, at her speech in Fort Lauderdale in February, who articulated the indisputable sense that a great generation is rising. "Maybe the adults have gotten used to saying, 'It is what it is,' " she said. "It's time to start doing something. We're going to be the kids you read about in the textbooks." Emma Gonzalez, in yellow, with fellow Parkland student activists, from left: Alex Wind, Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin and David Hogg, at a New York gala celebrating Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world last Tuesday. Advertisement The Parkland kids are among the first leaders of Generation Z. Its members are born from 1997 on, according to the Pew Research Centre, the pre-eminent American think tank on social demographics, which recently released a report on the group it prefers to call "post-Millennials". There are 60 million of them in the US. They outnumber Gen Y, or Millennials (1981-96), by nearly one million, and were raised by Generation X (1965-80), rather than Baby Boomers (1946-64). Why think in terms of generations at all? Because some of these young people are already succeeding at bringing about change where Millennials did not. "Generations are a lens through which to understand societal change" is how the Pew Report puts it. Is it possible that the particular social, political, economic and technological context in which the Parkland students and others grew up helped create a particularly fertile environment for political action? Morley Winograd, a researcher at the University of Southern California, thinks so. In The Washington Post recently, Winograd contrasted the response at Parkland with what is regarded as the original school shooting, at Colorado's Columbine High in 1999. "[Millennials] endured backpack examinations and metal detectors as they entered school. Here comes the generation that says, 'Okay, we got all that, we're used to living in the same world as you are, but we're not satisfied with that.'" Winograd argues that post-Millennials already show signs they are an adaptive generation. "When adaptive groups come of age, they take the problems that were brought to light by their predecessors and try to work them out." Millennials were a disruptive generation: think of Facebook, Snapchat, and all the other startups which have, in the course of ostensibly improving our daily lives, caused upheaval and havoc. Gen Z, Winograd writes, is here to fix things. Another difference between the two adjacent generations could be their level of engagement with traditional politics. Although Millennials in the US are now as large a political force as Baby Boomers, with both making up roughly 31 per cent of the electorate, in the 2012 and 2016 elections 18- to 29-year-olds made up just 20 per cent of voters. That's half the share of the Baby Boomer bloc, and the lowest voter turnout of any age group. The Parkland student leaders, meanwhile, have stated their main goal is to register as many teenagers as they can before November's mid-term elections. My generation was shaped by change and uncertainty. I do not have much memory of a sustained time of stabilityWe take nothing for granted. Kelsy Hillesheim, 22 Yet it's early days; even a definitive name for this generation is elusive. A recent New York Times article solicited suggestions from the public, with many revolving around this group's connectivity. Social psychologist Jean Twenge, for instance, coined iGen. Nods to Gen Zers' nascent political activism included Generation Fix-It and The Cleaner-Uppers. The Times's favourite was the Delta Generation. Kelsy Hillesheim, a 22-year-old from New York, wrote: "Delta is used to denote change and uncertainty in mathematics and the sciences, and my generation was shaped by change and uncertainty. I do not have much memory of a sustained time of stability We take nothing for granted." Advertisement This is one thing we can say with confidence about American Gen Zers: they have had their eyes open from the beginning. Consider that while Millennials grew up in the booming 1990s, they came of age around 2001, coinciding with the most devastating attack on the US since Pearl Harbor. Theirs is a story of innocence lost. Post-Millennials, meanwhile, never knew anything different than their country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which in turn sharpened the broader views of political parties and contributed to the polarisation which led to the election of Donald Trump, the first American president most will encounter when they turn 18. In Australia, the situation is a little more complicated, and the data sets fewer. Here is what we know: there are 4.6 million post-Millennials. They are one in 20 Australian workers. (That figure will rise to 32 per cent by 2027.) They are the most formally educated generation ever, with one in two attaining a university degree compared with one in three Millennials, which was the previous record. They are also the most technologically savvy, and the most globally mobile. To 17-year-old Macinley Butson, the first Australian to win the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair, social media is a force for progress. Credit:Wolter Peeters Those are their strengths. What have been the structural challenges faced by post-Millennials? Although the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis didn't hit Australia as hard as the US, our recovery has been slow. Average household incomes have stopped growing; unemployment is still relatively high. "There's just generally a climate of less economic optimism," says Roger Wilkins, a research fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. "That's going to impact young people who were roughly two to 12 when the financial crisis hit." Then there's the influence of their parents Gen Xers who have done their job quite differently to Baby Boomers. "There's a return to more structured parenting, rather than the free-range parenting approach popularised by the Boomers," says Mark McCrindle, a Sydney-based futurist. Strongly shaped by their individualistic, self-reliant parents, McCrindle says post-Millennials display risk-averse tendencies. "They play by the rules." In Australia, the proportion of teenagers trying alcohol plummeted to just 18 per cent in 2016, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. US studies show they are less likely to go out, to date, to engage in sexual activity, and to get their driver's licence. That conservatism extends to how Gen Zers are planning their futures. "We're talking about an order of magnitude worse situation, but there could be an analogy drawn with Depression-era children who were known as being quite frugal," says Wilkins. He points to the political instability seen in Australia since the GFC a phenomenon he sees as causally connected. "There may be a sense that the world is not an entirely safe and predictable place." Perhaps that's why this generation is already showing signs of rejecting traditional notions of success. ("Bugger prestige," is how a 22-year-old colleague put it to me.) This is a generation that can expect to have 17 jobs, five careers and 15 homes over a lifetime. Born with little to no safety net and deprived of the old-fashioned upward ladder of adulthood, it's little wonder that, according to Millennial Branding, a demographics research firm, 72 per cent of high school Gen Zers want to strike out on their own as entrepreneurs. Advertisement Morgan Hipworth, a 17-year-old in Melbourne, has done exactly that. In addition to taking his final year of high school, Hipworth runs his own doughnut shop, Bistro Morgan, open since December 2016. He started at age eight in his family's garage, baking banana bread during his school holidays. "Next thing I know I am supplying all the brownies, cookies and tarts for a local cafe," Hipworth says. "My thinking was, 'How good would it be to turn something I love into a business?' When we talk, I'm struck by Hipworth's seriousness. The usual adolescent rites of passage are seen as obstructions. "I've had school hanging over my head for five or six years now," he tells me. "It's been a hard slog, like having a job you hate and counting down the days until you get to leave it. I can't wait to get full time into the business." He has no immediate plans for university. "I'm a real believer that you don't need a piece of paper to do something. If you have the confidence and belief, you can really go to the next level." Morgan Hipworth, 17, runs his own doughnut shop. Credit:Joe Armao Perphaps I shouldn't be so surprised. "Older people underestimate young people and that's been true forever," says Justin Wolfers, an Australian-American economics professor at the University of Michigan. (He's also a Gen X parent of two.) "We've extended our notion of childhood so much. An earlier generation of 18-year-olds were being sent to Vietnam to fight and now we see the 17-year-old Parkland students holding a press conference and we marvel at their courage." Just as older generations tend to sell younger ones short, they are also prone to alarmism. One facet of Gen Z life that has provoked much hand-wringing is its constant connectedness. The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest post-Millennials were 10. As a consequence, internet access at all times is assumed. Pew estimates that a quarter of 13- to 19-year-olds are online "almost constantly". Jean Twenge, the inventor of the iGeneration label, points out that two out of three US teenagers has an iPhone. From this, she postulates that "iGen is a less confident, more uncertain, more anxious generation than Millennials were at the same age. That may be at least partially due to their adolescence spent on smartphones." In a widely circulated Atlantic magazine article from last year, Twenge asked, "Have smartphones destroyed a generation?" She cited data showing that rates of depression increased suddenly after 2012, when smartphone usage surpassed 50 per cent of Americans. "Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed," she wrote. "Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones." As with all generational generalising, this is worth brining with a healthy amount of salt, not least because Gen Z is an unusually difficult group of people about which to make sweeping statements. In the US, post-Millennials will be the country's most diverse generation ever, with Hispanic, African-American, Asian and multiracial individuals making up 47 per cent of teenagers. Advertisement Washington: Russia ran an information warfare campaign to disrupt the 2016 US presidential election, but there is no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow, Republicans on a congressional panel said in a report released on Friday. The findings of majority Republicans on the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee were immediately challenged by minority Democrats following a year of rancorous disputes on a panel whose role is to oversee intelligence agencies in a spirit of bipartisanship. Republicans, over Democratic objections, voted in March to end the committee's investigation of election meddling. The 253-page report was seized on by Trump, a Republican, who posted its conclusions on Twitter and repeated his view that the Russian investigation is "A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!" despite probes by a US special counsel and other congressional committees that are still open. This Broadway season includes a few plays whose running times clock in well beyond the usual average of two hours. Angels in America runs roughly seven and a half, and the two parts of the recently opened Harry Potter and the Cursed Child total over five. By comparison, a new production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, directed by George C. Wolfe, offers a somewhat abridged four-hour version of the play. While that's still long by today's standards, under Wolfe's brisk direction, the superb cast headed by Denzel Washington in the role of Hickey makes this Iceman not only engaging and fast-moving but also knee-slappingly funny. First performed on Broadway in 1946, Iceman's length and dark, soul-crushing themes of alcoholism and shattered dreams proved a bit much for audiences. With well over a dozen roles, the play revolves less around plot than around individual characters and their chronic delusions. It takes place in Harry Hope's dreary downtown New York saloon (Santo Loquasto designed the various incarnations of the bar, with its elaborate upstairs walkway), where middle-aged men from all walks of life, as well as a couple of prostitutes, gather to nurse their pipe dreams while they ladle whiskey down their throats. Chief among them is the bar's "foolosopher" and ex-anarchist Larry Slade. He and the others are waiting for the arrival of the hardware salesman Theodore Hickman, known as Hickey, who pops in every year to treat the gang of dreamers to an all-expense-paid bender. Denzel Washington as Hickey and David Morse as Larry Slade in a scene from The Iceman Cometh. ( Julieta Cervantes) One morning in 1912, just before Harry's birthday party, Hickey arrives in a dapper three-piece suit (costumes meticulously tailored to each character by Ann Roth), but he is not the man they expected. "You'll have to excuse me, boys and girls," he says, "but I'm off the stuff." The stunned crowd doesn't know what to make of the new Hickey, who makes it known that he has come to save them from their pipe dreams. Hickey doesn't mean to be a wet blanket, though, and he encourages everyone to drink up at Harry's party. He does win over some converts, who make tentative plans to lay off the sauce. He does not, however, win over the disillusioned Larry and the young Don Parritt, who turned his own anarchist mother over to the authorities. Crushed by the guilt of betrayal, Don begins to find life unbearable. So does Hickey, who has a devastating secret that threatens to undermine his message of salvation. O'Neill spent many hours in bars like Harry Hope's listening to derelict dreamers, and some of them made it into Iceman. Fortunately, Wolfe has mined O'Neill's portrayals of them for laughs, without which Iceman can be a lethally dull and depressing affair. Washington is sure to be the main draw for many theatergoers, and he fits the bill well as the "savior" Hickey, entering with a long, smiling swagger to proclaim his gospel of redemption in Harry Hope's birthday party scene brilliantly staged by Wolfe as a mock Last Supper. As Washington's Hickey smiles Christ-like over the proceedings, he, unlike the others, conspicuously wears a watch. We learn why when Washington sits center stage (illuminated by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer's dramatic lighting) and delivers Hickey's final speech directly to the audience in a performance tinged with pathos and horror. False prophets fall, and this one knows he's out of time. Hickey (Denzel Washington) presides over the birthday party of Harry Hope (Colm Meaney) in The Iceman Cometh. ( Julieta Cervantes) Though Washington gets top billing, Wolfe has thankfully approached this play as a grand ensemble piece that offers all its actors the chance to illuminate their characters' quirky personalities and delusions. David Morse plays Larry, a man who has abandoned all hope of affecting positive change in the world, with a stolid resignation in one of the production's less engaging performances, despite his ferocious scenes with Washington and Austin Butler as the guilt-ridden Don. But Bill Irwin is a riot as Ed Mosher, a former circus man who dexterously sneaks shots of whiskey without Harry noticing, along with Frank Wood, who plays the British infantry captain Cecil Lewis with comical indignation. Colm Meaney's Harry barks and snaps like an abused animal trapped in a cage; his attempt to leave the bar, after sequestering himself there for 20 years following his wife's death, uncomfortably blends humor and pity. The same is true of Neal Huff as Harvard dropout Willie Oban, whose wild, uncombed coif (designed by Mia M. Neal) deserves an award. Michael Potts stands out for his powerful performance as the black, erstwhile entrepreneur Joe Mott, who shouts down his white abusers bartender and pimp Rocky Pioggi (a tough-talking Danny McCarthy) and bartender Chuck Morello (a slick, gangster-like Danny Mastrogiorgio) with fiery invective that resonates today. Reg Rogers gives ironic urgency to Jimmy Tomorrow, the play's embodiment of perpetual procrastination, and Clark Middleton, despite an accent that renders much of his dialogue unintelligible (Dan Moses Schreier's less-than-optimal sound design doesn't help), gets consistent laughs with his portrayal of the babbling ex-anarchist Hugo Kalmar. Nina Grollman and Carolyn Braver also pepper the stage with campy flourishes as Margie and Pearl, two prostitutes who refuse to acknowledge their profession. This ensemble brings Iceman to life in a way that illuminates the play's bleak worldview without getting bogged down by it. O'Neill may have been predisposed to focus on the tragic side of the human condition, but this production illustrates how he saw humor as a way to plow through life's myriad miseries and disappointments. "In spite of my scars, I'm tickled to death with life!" he once said. "I wouldn't 'go out' and miss the rest of the play for anything." Even at four hours, you won't want to miss this one, either. For two decades, the multi-Oscar-winning actor Glenda Jackson gave up her chosen profession in favor of an equally difficult and invigorating one. She was the British Parliament's Labour party representative for the districts of Hampstead and Kilburn from 1997-2015, before retiring to once again return to the theater. Now making her first Broadway appearance in decades with Three Tall Women, we're flashing back to one of Jackson's more vociferous speeches before the House of Commons, proving that she can hold the floor no matter what the stage. In What Cities Do Used Car Buyers Buy The Oldest Cars? SEE ALSO: Vehicle Brand Research and Buyers Guides, Used Car Reviews, Side By Side By Side By Side Spec Comparisons and Prices 1997-2017 By Jenn Jones Special to The Auto Channel Lending Tree Across the country people are looking to buy used vehicles and skip out on ever-increasing new car prices. But how used is too used? April 26th, 2018; In a new study of used cars sales, LendingTree analyzed auto loan offers for borrowers in the top 50 U.S. metros (based on population). We were curious to see the average age of used cars financed in each metro, as well as which makes of used cars were most popular. We discovered the national average age of a used car people sought to finance was six years old. But some parts of the country prefer older used cars more than others. In this study, well cover: <a href=#><img alt=Dashboard 1 src=https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;RC&#47;RCQDWMSK4&#47;1_rss.png style=border: none /></a> Places where car buyers purchase the oldest used cars Portland, Ore. Portlanders sought the oldest cars in the U.S. Vehicles at least 7.45 years on average were what people sought to finance. Portlanders sought the oldest cars in the U.S. Vehicles at least 7.45 years on average were what people sought to finance. Salt Lake City ranked second among cities where people sought older used cars. Car buyers in Salt Lake City sought loans for cars aged a bit over 7 years. ranked second among cities where people sought older used cars. Car buyers in Salt Lake City sought loans for cars aged a bit over 7 years. Seattle , which is less than a three-hour drive away from Portland, ranked third nationally for seeking to buy the oldest cars, with an average car age of just under 7 years. , which is less than a three-hour drive away from Portland, ranked third nationally for seeking to buy the oldest cars, with an average car age of just under 7 years. Midwest . The heartland of the U.S. largely sought older used cars, with cities from Denver to Milwaukee financing cars 6.34 years or older. . The heartland of the U.S. largely sought older used cars, with cities from Denver to Milwaukee financing cars 6.34 years or older. East Coast outliers. Two cities in Virginia were the only cities on the East Coast that sought out older used cars. Virginia Beach ranked fourth and the commonwealths capital, Richmond, ranked fifth with people in both cities seeking cars aged 6.78 and 6.52 years old, respectively. Places where car buyers want newer used cars Florida drivers really prefer newer used models. Miami car buyers wanted used cars under the 5-year-old mark, purchasing used cars with an average age of 4.76 years. Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa, meanwhile, followed suit, with the average age not exceeding 5.86 years. drivers really prefer newer used models. Miami car buyers wanted used cars under the 5-year-old mark, purchasing used cars with an average age of 4.76 years. Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa, meanwhile, followed suit, with the average age not exceeding 5.86 years. Texas . Texas has three of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., and all of them, including the capital Austin, have an appetite for younger vehicles, according to our study. Houston ranked as the second in the country for drivers seeking younger used cars, with an average age of 5.08 years. . Texas has three of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., and all of them, including the capital Austin, have an appetite for younger vehicles, according to our study. Houston ranked as the second in the country for drivers seeking younger used cars, with an average age of 5.08 years. New Orleans ranked third among metros seeking newer used vehicles. The average age of the desired used car in New Orleans is 5.33 years. ranked third among metros seeking newer used vehicles. The average age of the desired used car in New Orleans is 5.33 years. East Coast. New York City is also a large market for newer used cars. People sought loans for cars with an average age of 5.40 years, placing the Big Apple fifth on our list. It sits in a chain of major cities that also like newer used cars from Washington D.C. to Boston, which ranked ninth and tenth respectively. Chevy is the most popular make among people buying used vehicles Chevrolet was by far the most popular brand for used cars overall. Out of the top 50 metros, it was the most popular brand in 31. Nissan was the second-most popular overall, being favored in 10 out of the 50 metros. For cities that favor the oldest used cars, the most popular car brands were largely American. In 17 out of the top 25 cities seeking older used cars, Chevrolet retained its spot as the most sought-after brand. Ford, however, claimed the top spot in Portland, Ore., where people buy the oldest used cars in the nation. Only six out of the top 25 cities buying older used cars favored foreign brands, with Nissan claiming five and Toyota claiming one metro. For cities that favor the newest used cars, foreign brands came more into play. Chevy still claimed over half of the cities, 14 out of the 25. Drivers in Miami, the city that favors the newest used cars, chose Chevy most often, as did Dallas and New Orleans, which ranked third and fourth respectively. Houston, which ranked second, and San Francisco at No. 8 choose Toyota. For the rest, five favored Nissan, three favored Honda and one favored Ford. Does it pay to buy older used cars? The pros: Getting an older used car means you avoid overpaying for an asset (the car) that will simply depreciate in value over time. A new car can lose a substantial share of its value in the first few years of ownership alone. The savings you get on the sales price of an older used car could outweigh the repair costs for it depending on the vehicle. The cons: Buying used comes with its disadvantages. For starters, repair costs could be higher with a used vehicle as the car wears down and the warranty runs out. Your common bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage only lasts three years from the day the car was first purchased, depending on the brand. Tips on purchasing a used car Shop around to compare prices. Once you know your budget and decided on whether to buy a new or used car, check out online sites like Carfax.com, AutoTrader and Edmunds. They let you sort through inventory by price, age, mileage, location and more. Sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace dont have as many search filter options but feature mostly private sellers. The pro of buying from a private seller is that the price is lower than those at dealerships. The con is that private sellers dont have to meet standard state laws that businesses do regarding inspections, disclosures and the warranty of merchantability. Dont buy a car without test-driving it. Whether you go to a dealership or find one from a private seller, test-drive the car and listen to see if the brakes are good, the lights work the whole shebang. Request to take it to an independent mechanic. By having an independent mechanic take a look at it, youll know if the transmission will drop out of the vehicle in 50 miles or not. The mechanic can give you an unbiased report on whether the vehicle is in good shape. Check the maintenance log if its available. You want a car thats been maintained well. High mileage on a vehicle is not always a death toll for your wallet in repair costs, if the car has been serviced regularly. Low mileage is not always what its cracked up to be. Lack of use can cause rubber and plastic parts, like valve covers, to crack and break, so check the timing between maintenance, not just the miles. Often the Carfax report will have the vehicle service record, but you can also ask for a copy from a dealership. Ask the dealer for a copy of the Carfax report, which is considered the top standard in vehicle history reporting, and check for any vehicle recalls with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by entering the VIN. If the dealer isnt willing to provide a Carfax report, thats a red flag; you might want to look elsewhere. If youre buying from a private seller, you can purchase a Carfax report yourself for $39.99. For more information, you can see this article on how to buy a used car in 10 simple steps. How to finance a used car Never just accept what a dealer tells you is a good financing deal. Know the type of rate you can get before you kick some tires and take a test-drive. Check out if your bank or credit union offers used auto loans. If youre already a member and in good standing with them, you could qualify for a rate discount on the loan with them. You can shop around online for an auto loan before you know the exact car you want. This way youll get an idea of whats available to you. Some banks offer pre-approval programs. If you already know the exact car you want, thats even better. You can go into the dealership knowing you have a financing offer ready, and you can ask the dealership to try and beat the offer. You can check out this guide to getting your wheels for more information on financing and the current auto loan rates to give you an idea of the APR you may qualify for based on your credit score. Methodology Vehicle makes were counted and vehicle age was averaged across metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from the model years reported on query forms submitted by LendingTree customers seeking loans for used vehicle purchases. The data set was limited to queries submitted in 2017 for cars and light trucks with model years less than 2017. The analysis was limited to the 50 largest MSAs by population. Eleven months after a fire destroyed its largest student residence, Providence University College has detailed a new coed dormitory that will take its place. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/4/2018 (1256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Eleven months after a fire destroyed its largest student residence, Providence University College has detailed a new coed dormitory that will take its place. "We really feel that this is not just beds. This is actually a space where students learn from each other," said Marlin Reimer, associate vice-president for student life and chair of the redevelopment committee that guided the design of the new building, provisionally known as the Living and Learning Centre. During the planning process, the committee examined student residences on other campuses and identified the type of community it wanted the dorm to foster, Reimer said. The college plans to break ground in August or September in anticipation of a fall 2019 opening. Construction will be overseen by Steinbach-based Three Way Builders. In a release, Providence said its board of governors approved a $4 million increase to the institutions ongoing Impact 2020 capital campaign, and Reimer said insurance funds will also be utilized. The three-storey, 30,000-sq-ft. dorm will house up to 130 students, slightly more than the capacity of Bergen Hall, constructed in 1984. "If resources were unlimited, we would build even more spaces," Reimer said. While total enrollment has trended upward in recent years, the portion of students who choose to live in-residence has remained consistent at 55 to 60 percent, he noted. The buildings ground level will house communal spaces including a kitchen, lounge, and prayer rooms, plus two apartments for staff or faculty. "A lot of the programming in this building will be driven by connection with staff and faculty at Providence," Reimer said. While Bergen Hall was a mens residence, Reimer explained Providence "wanted to give both male and female students the opportunity to be part of this living and learning community." Thus, male students will occupy the second floor, and female students the third floor, with swipe cards restricting access. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Room furnishings will be sparse but comfortable, with amenities concentrated in shared spaces to encourage socializing. "Weve really focused on driving community with this building, (and) deterring isolation," Remier said. Sited slightly east of Bergen Hall with a south exposure overlooking the Rat River, the building will tie into the campuss biomass generator, a boiler fuelled by wood pellets. "Were trying to move it a little bit closer to the rest of our residence buildings to create more of a residential community," Reimer said. With four wings of equal length extending in each direction, the dorm will resemble a cross when viewed from above by aviation majors. Each "pod" will house 14 to 16 students, an ideal peer group size according to Reimer, "rather than just having 60 people in one long hallway." Donald Trump attempting to hold his wife Melanias hand. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images One afternoon in the semi-distant past, I gave my fiance an ultimatum: He needed to get over his aversion to hand-holding or well, there wasnt really an or. That was it. I was cranky. We were still a few blocks from home. Begrudgingly, he let me thread my fingers through his and kept walking. And it was fine? No, actually, it was worse than fine. Almost immediately, I was acutely aware of all the two-handed things I could no longer do: fix my ponytail, uncap the water bottle in my purse. My hand got sweaty. Every so often, our arm-swing rhythm would get out of sync with our steps, and Id have to do a little half-skip to reset. Id spent so long with a man who resisted any attempts at hand-holding that it had never really occurred to me that I might not like it, either. I was thinking about that earlier this week, when everyone on the internet did a collective squirm over Donald Trump trying and failing and trying and failing to grab Melanias hand, and then sort of painfully, awkwardly succeeding (?). He managed to hold on, at any rate. (If you missed this one, well, its nothing that hasnt happened before.) Even when both of the hands in question belong to two people who feel genuine affection towards one another, though, hand-holding it a surprisingly polarizing activity. Over at Quartz, writer Jenni Avins used the presidents latest hand-holding debacle to declare that adult handholding is the worst. Her argument: palms almost always feel too clammy or too rough or otherwise gross; theres always that angsty feeling of trying to figure out when its gone on long enough; its an uncomfortable way to walk. And yeah, fine, I agree with her now. Im not a hand-holder. But arriving here made me oddly sad, the kind of sadness that comes with realizing that something you like about yourself isnt really true. I want to be a hand-holder. I want it in the same way that I want to be a person who likes watching sports, or finds George Clooney attractive, because both seem to be experiences that have brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. And its lonely being on the outside, especially when the experience in question is such a quietly lovely one. Holding hands is the one form of PDA that you can almost always pull off without being obnoxious, and the only one that retains its sweetness across the entire human lifespan. Teens, friends, your parents, your grandparents: all people you dont want to watch make out, all cute walking around with their fingers laced together. Its akin to the first time you sleep over at someones place without actually sleeping with them an act steeped in intimacy because of, not in spite of, the fact that its sexless. Psychology research, too, classifies it as A Good Thing. In a pair of studies published in the past year, one in the journal Scientific Reports and the other in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, couples who held hands saw their heartbeats, breathing rates, and brain waves sync up, a phenomenon the authors described as interpersonal physiological coupling. And in a similar 2006 study of straight married couples in the journal Psychological Science, women receiving light electric shocks felt less negative emotion when their husbands held their hands during the process. We found that holding the hand of really anyone, it made your brain work a little less hard in coping, psychologist James Coan, lead author of the 2006 paper and now a professor at the University of Virginia, told the New York Times shortly before the research was published. Holding an anonymous researchers hand, though, didnt have as strong of a soothing effect: With spouse hand-holding you also stop looking for other signs of danger and you start feeling more secure. That sounds so nice. The whole thing seems so nice to be able to think of this gesture first and foremost as emotionally empowering, rather than physically limiting. And to have a brain and a palm and a partner that would cooperate. Perhaps, Avins wrote of the Trumps-holding-hands incident, its time to acknowledge a new norm: Some of us just really dont want to hold hands. This is very true. Some of us, though, also just really want to be on the other team. California Just Got a Significant Update on Calexit Heres What It Means The so-called Calexit plan to split California from the rest of the United States got a second chance. On Monday, April 23, the California Secretary of States Office announced that a secession ballot proposal got the green light to gather signatures, CNBC reported. A similar effort by Calexit backers failed last year after it was discovered that the initiatives leader, Louis J. Marinelli, had been living in Russia. Issue after issue, from immigration to agriculture, from taxation to banking, and on a host of other issues, it is clear that California and the United States have irreconcilable differences and it is time for a divorce, the campaigns website says, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. We shall now begin circulating the petition forms for that divorce. Theyre trying to get a referendum in 2020 to ask whether California should become an independent country, in the form of a republic. If that answer is a yes, there would be a vote in 2021 to make the Calexit a reality. A supermajority of states would then need to approve the split. We realize it may seem like a long time to wait, Marinelli was quoted by The Times of San Diego saying. But we need time to have a serious dialogue with the people of California about why they should support the independence referendum by voting yes. The voters need to make an informed decision when they go to the polls to determine Californias political future. Analysts told CNBC that the effort is a long shot. Theyll be a lot of notoriety, there will be a lot of publicity but I think in practical terms its going to fizzle out, Seth Kaplowitz, a finance lecturer at San Diego State University, told the broadcaster. It would be ridiculous to secede from the union. Whats more, there have been more than 200 attempts throughout the history of California to split, according to CNBC. Marcus Ruiz Evans, one of the leaders of the Yes California, told the broadcaster that if there was a Calexit, it would eliminate bureaucracy and cut down on taxes. Kaplowitz, however, said that he doesnt think that a California nation would help business. Everybody is leaving California because theyre overtaxed by the state, he said. Businesses are leaving, people are moving to Washington state and Texas and the other states that dont have [an] income tax. There is also an effort spearheaded by Tim Draper, a billionaire from Silicon Valley, to divide California into three states. His plan would create a Northern California state that includes San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Sacramento and northern portions of the Central Valley. Then, it would entail a Southern California state with San Diego as well as Inland Empire counties and parts of the states southern Central Valley. Another state would take the name California and include Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and several counties along the Pacific coast. All this is basically saying is that were really not one statewere so large and we really have three different personalities, said Kaplowitz, touching on Drapers initiative, CNBC reported. Therefore, each personality should be its own state. The reality is that you can say that about virtually any state. Recommended video: I Was a Communist Slave Then national security adviser General Michael Flynn at a daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Feb. 1, 2017. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) FBI Agents Didnt Believe Trump Ex-Adviser Lied, But He Still Pleaded Guilty to Lying: House Report FBI agents who last year interviewed then-national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn didnt believe he lied to them, according to a report by the House intelligence committee. [T]he Federal Bureau of Investigation agents did not detect any deception during Flynns interview, states the heavily redacted report (pdf), released on April 27. Flynn was visited by FBI agents on or around Jan. 24, 2017, and agreed to talk to them. Its not clear what the agents asked, but, based on court documents (pdf), it involved Flynns contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and may have included whether Flynn asked for any favors from the Russian government. Flynn did make at least two requests, the documents show: He asked Russia not to escalate the situation after then-President Barack Obama imposed additional sanctions on Russia; and he asked Russia to vote against or delay the vote on Egypts resolution to the U.N. Security Council regarding Israeli settlements. Flynn, however, acknowledged he lied to the agents about making the two requests, in a Nov. 30 guilty plea. While it may seem contradictory for Flynn to plead guilty to lying when the House report suggests he didnt lie, or at least didnt intentionally deceive, there may have been another factor influencing his decision. Flynn ran a consulting firm with his son that was involved in lobbying, ordered by companies linked to the Turkish government. He shut down the firm in November 2016. Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is tasked with probing allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was looking into Flynns lobbying work, NBC News reported, citing anonymous sources, in November 2017. Theres no sign the lobbying had a connection to Russian interference. But the Mueller team was putting pressure on Flynn, the article stated, threatening that his son may be implicated, too. If the elder Flynn is willing to cooperate with investigators in order to help his son, anonymous sources told NBC, it could also change his own fate, potentially limiting any legal consequences. Later that month, Flynn entered his plea. No charges were brought against his son. Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13, 2017, saying Flynn misinformed Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about a phone call he had with the Russian ambassador in December 2016. The president was very concerned that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at the time. Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President-Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology, Flynn wrote in his resignation letter. Flynn was an early supporter of then-presidential candidate Trump. Flynn had retired in 2014 after serving as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama. A registered Democrat, Flynn has been critical of the Obama administration and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Jasper Fakkert contributed to this report. Recommended Video: President Trumps Weekly Address on April 27, 2018 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 22, 2017. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) House Intel Committee Releases Final Russia ReportNo Collusion Found The House Intelligence Committee released the final report on its Russia investigation on Friday which concluded that the yearlong probe found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government. President Donald Trump celebrated the reports release and pointed out one of the key findings: that the Clinton campaign paid for opposition research obtained from Russia. Wow! A total Witch Hunt! Trump wrote on Twitter. MUST END NOW! The 243-page document is the follow up to last months release of the committees summary findings. The report included significant redactions, so the committee may release more information as its members press the intelligence community (IC) for the redactions to be cleared. I am extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions made by the IC. Many of the redactions include information that is publicly available, such as witness names and information previously declassified, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, the leader of the investigation said in a statement. When we started this investigation, we set out to give the American people the answers to the questions theyve been asking and we promised to be as transparent as possible in our final report, he added. I dont believe the information were releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the ICs many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months. Last months report on the summary findings of the investigation found no proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Among other findings, the investigators determined that the anti-Trump dossier compiled by a British ex-spy and paid for by Hillary Clinton formed the core of the warrant application to surveil the Trump campaign, despite containing a battery of unverified claims. Several officials who signed off on the warrant application have been referred for criminal investigation by 11 congressmen last week. Former FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente are facing charges of investigative misconduct and depriving the Trump campaign staffer who was surveilled of his rights. The report also found that leaks of classified information alleging Russias intentions to elect Trump intensified after Trump was elected. The leaks damaged national security and endangered lives according to the summary. The report singled out Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in the section on leaks and said that he provided inconsistent information about his contacts with the media. Clapper now works for CNN. Recommended video: Memoir of a Communist Slave Acting ICE Director Tom Homan in front of MS-13 gang-related photos during a press briefing at the White House on July 27, 2017. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) ICE Responds to NY Governors False and Offensive Accusations New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is grandstanding over immigration enforcement, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director Tom Homan. Homan said Cuomos comments about ICE, in a cease and desist letter he sent to the agency on April 25, were inaccurate and an insult. Cuomo claims that recent enforcement actions by ICE agents in New York raise significant legal and public safety concerns and called the conduct of ICE agents involved in recent arrests egregious and unconstitutional. The letter demands the immediate stop of ICEs reckless and unconstitutional enforcement actions, or else Cuomo will take legal action. ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan called the governors comments inaccurate and an insult. ICE cannot and will not cease and desist from fulfilling our agencys congressionally mandated mission of enforcing federal law, Homan said in a statement on April 25. In his letter, Cuomo brought up the arrest of Marcial DeLeon-Aguilar, an illegal alien from Guatemala, who has been deported three times and has felony criminal convictions for both reckless aggravated assault and illegal re-entry, according to ICE records. DeLeon-Aguilar was arrested on the dairy farm where he was working in Rome, New York, on April 18. Cuomo accuses the arresting ICE agents of unconstitutional behavior, saying the agents entered private land without a warrant, did not identify themselves, and assaulted DeLeon-Aguilar. The court document, however, paints a different picture. It says the ICE agents entered a publicly accessible door by the farms milking parlor to find the owner of the farm. The agents spotted DeLeon-Aguilar, identified themselves as ICE officers, and asked to speak with his employer. At this time, DeLeon-Aguilar attempted to flee, at which time he was physically restrained by [an agent], the criminal complaint reads. Homan defended his agents, saying they acted professionally and within their legal authority under federal immigration law. ICE will continue to protect New York communities against public safety and national security threats, and it is false and offensive for the governor to say otherwise, he said. An official at ICE confirmed that all arrests for immigration violations would at least have an administrative warrant. Political Move Jessica Vaughan, director of policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, said Cuomos actions are shocking. He seems to be in complete denial of the need for immigration enforcement, the benefits it provides, and even the facts of the cases that he is objecting to, Vaughan said. She said DeLeon-Aguilar is a felon and should be a priority for ICE. The governor is showing no regard for the rule of law, or for the legal immigration process, or for the people who are harmed by our failure to control illegal immigration. Vaughan said Cuomos move looks political, because he is being challenged for reelection by someone who is even more anti-borders and anti-immigration enforcement than he is. Cuomos main opponent in the Sept. 13 primary is Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon. Hes trying to cover his left flank on immigration with this emotional reaction to perfectly legitimate ICE operations, Vaughan said. Hes going after the vote of immigrants who have become citizens, but hes also trying to gain the support of all the activist groups that do all the legwork in campaignslike the unions and the advocacy groupsbecause theyre the ones that go through the neighborhoods knocking on doors, giving out literature, telling people to vote for him. And they tend to be very much anti-enforcement. Vaughan said she thinks Cuomo is miscalculating and risks alienating the Democrats who would like to see immigration laws enforced. Immigrant Versus Illegal Immigrant Vaughan said Cuomos conflation of immigrant and illegal immigrant is a common tactic to blur the distinction between the twoto suggest that any action against an illegal immigrant is an action against the concept of immigration. The reason they do that is because most people have no problem with legal immigrants. [Its] appealing to peoples positive feelings about immigrants in general and our tradition of immigration, she said. Executive Order Cuomo also issued an executive order that prohibits ICE arrests in state facilities and prohibits state agencies from inquiring about immigration status. ICE is already barred from most jails in New York. The agency used to have a work space at Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York City. However, several years ago, as New York City increased its sanctuary policies, ICE was kicked out. Suffolk County and Nassau Countytwo counties with a serious MS-13 gang problemhave the closest working relationship with ICE. Homan said ICE has arrested nearly 5,000 criminal aliens in New York since Sept. 2016. Many of these arrests were conducted at large in the community, which ICE is increasingly forced to do due to sanctuary policies in the state that prevent us from taking custody of criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, he said. The governor supports these policies at the expense of the safety of the very same communities he took an oath to protect. Cuomo also touted an extra $10 million in the fiscal year 2019 budget that will go toward providing illegal immigrants free legal support. Marcial DeLeon-Aguilars History of Deportation Jan. 16, 2008: Ordered removed by immigration judge. Feb. 7, 2008: Deported from New Orleans Aug. 18, 2010: Arrested by Border Patrol near Lukeville, Arizona, and issued a notice to reinstate prior order June 1, 2011: Pleaded guilty to re-entry, under the alias of Jesus Adrian Bonilla-Lopez June 17, 2011: Deported from Phoenix with a warning Dec. 27, 2013: Arrested by Border Patrol near Roma, Texas, and issued a notice to reinstate prior order Jan. 3, 2014: Deported from Brownsville, Texas, with a warning Images of Secretary Pompeos Secret Meeting With Kim Jong Un Released The White House has released pictures of Mike Pompeo meeting with North Korean communist dictator Kim Jong Un over the Easter weekend. Pompeo visited North Korea secretly in his role as the director of the CIA. President Donald Trump has since appointed Pompeo the State Secretary. The Senate has confirmed the pick on Thursday, April 26. He wasnt supposed to meet with Kim Jong Un, but he did, Trump told Fox & Friends over the phone on Thursday. Adding that the Kim regime arranged the meeting while Pompeo was there. We have incredible pictures of the two talking and meeting, which Id love to release, Trump said. If we can, Ill do that. Actually, its not a bad idea. Two images were released later that day. Trump said the two spend over an hour together and got along. They spoke and he [Pompeo] also spoke with his counterparts in North Korea. They had a great meeting. He then left, Trump said. It was very, very secretvery, very quiet. Kim is set to cross his countrys heavily militarized border with South Korea on Friday for the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, as the old foes seek to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the Norths nuclear weapons program. The summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in will set the stage for Kim to meet with President Donald Trump in late May or early June in what will be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Just months ago, Trump responded in kind to Kims threats and insults as North Koreas rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. South Koreas Moon will personally greet Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m., making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. The two will be escorted by South Korean honor guards to an official welcoming ceremony before beginning official dialogue at 10:30 a.m. at Peace House, a South Korean building inside the border truce village of Panmunjom. In a dramatic gesture just days before the summit, Kim announced North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But skepticism remains about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has spent decades developing. South Korea hopes the North Korean leader on Friday will directly confirm his will for complete denuclearization of the peninsula. The two neighbors expect to release a joint statement late on Fridaypossibly called the Panmunjom Declarationthat could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. Lingering Hostilities Impoverished North Korea and the prosperous democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, which is backed by China and Russia. Trump said he was considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with Kim, although, once again, he added that it remained unclear whether the meeting will occur. Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim in May or June, but he has warned several times that the meeting could be called off if he did not think it could deliver the desired results. It could be that I walk out quicklywith respectbut it could be that maybe the meeting doesnt even take place, he said. Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet. Fridays inter-Korean summit will be the third ever after two former South Korean leaders, Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007, met with Kim Jong Uns late father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang. The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile long, 2.5-mile wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. With heavily armed soldiers and propaganda broadcasts blasted over loudspeakers from both sides, the DMZ has long been a symbol of hostilities on the divided peninsula. South Korea switched off its propaganda broadcasts on Monday to set a positive tone ahead of the summit, and South Korean residents living near the border said the North Korean broadcasts had also appeared to stop on Tuesday. South and North Korea are in discussions about a peace agreement that could officially end the state of war, an effort Trump said has his blessing if Pyongyang agrees to give up its nuclear arsenal. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands, and walking to the Peace House for their summit talks, will be broadcast live. The summit includes a dinner where Swiss fried potato rosti, as well as chocolates, macarons, and gruyere cheesecakes will be served as a homage to Kims childhood spent in Switzerland. Prelude to Trump Summit Moon took office in May pledging to restore ties with the North and has called for dialogue. After dozens of missile launches last year, Kim embarked on a diplomatic offensive at the beginning of the year. Kim sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February before Trump stunned the world by agreeing to meet Kim to discuss denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Yet the history of failed nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang has made some U.S. officials skeptical of Kims true intentions and suspicious of his recent overtures as more of a bid to win relief from wide-ranging U.N. sanctions and to divide Washington and its allies. There is also concern that North Korea could insist on taking incremental steps in return for simultaneous incentives from Washington, the kind of phased approach that U.S. officials have rejected. Unlike two previous inter-Korean summits, joint economic projects are not expected to be discussed, South Korean officials said. U.N. sanctions imposed since North Koreas first nuclear test in 2006 and expanded over the past decade deny North Korea a considerable amount of international trade. Reuters contributed to this report. Recommended video: Memoir of a Communist Slave Let the Real Investigations Begin The American people need to know the truth about the actual conspiracy and corruption Rumor has it that special counsel Robert Mueller is winding down his Russia probe. If true, this is great news for America. President Donald Trump will be totally vindicated. The Russia collusion myth was manufactured by the Democrats to topple Trump. Their bloodless coup failed, but extensive damage has been done. Trumps reputation has been impaired by the Russia collusion lies, and his agenda has been bogged down by the Mueller investigation. He has been viewed with suspicion by many Democrats, and America has been bitterly divided, just as the Russian meddlers wished. When Muellers pretend investigation fades away, real investigations into government corruption and conspiracies against Trump should begin. To restore the confidence of the American people in the federal government, here are three real cases that the Department of Justice should investigate immediately. The first case is the unauthorized private email server of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The whole investigation was fraught with irregularities. For example, when the FBI interviewed Clinton in July 2016, she was not asked to take an oath to tell the truth. The FBI identified 13 electronic devices potentially used by Clinton to send emails from her private email server, but the bureau was not able to recover any of them because they were all destroyed by Clintons aides with hammers. Strangely, no one was charged for destroying evidence. Whats more, disgraced former FBI Director James Comey was found to have drafted a statement exonerating Clinton two or three months before the FBI interviewed her and other key witnesses. The Department of Justice under Lynch pretended that it accepted the FBIs recommendation and hoped that the case had been swept under the rug. But it was clearly botched by the FBI. The bureaus job is to gather facts and to verify the evidence. It was simply not Comeys call to give Clinton a get-out-of-jail-free card, as he did at the July 2016 press conference in which he announced she would not be prosecuted. The second case is the Uranium One scandal. Uranium One was a Canadian uranium mining firm that was acquired in 2013 by a Russian state-owned company. According to The Hill, the FBI and DOJ had evidence of wrongdoing by the Russian company as early as 2009, but Congress and the rest of the administration were not informed of the illegal schemes until years later. If that criminal conspiracy had been known, the deal would likely not have gone through. At least five people related to the Russian company have been indicted and a few convicted. The FBI and DOJ, however, tried their best to make sure that the cases did not see the light of day. An FBI informant, William Campbell, who helped the DOJ win convictions in 2015, was gagged by the Obama DOJ for no obvious reason. (The gag was recently lifted by the DOJ under Jeff Sessions.) Campbell was also coerced by the DOJ to abandon a lawsuit that would have made the case more widely known during the 2016 presidential election, according to the Hill. What did the FBI and DOJ under Obama try to hide? The American people are owed an explanation. The third case, probably the most important one, is whether there existed a conspiracy against Trump in the Obama administration. There is evidence that such a conspiracy indeed existed and was executed by officials under Obama. Former CIA Director John Brennan denied he knew who commissioned the infamous Steele dossier and claimed the CIA never relied on the opposition research document in front of Congress. But evidence indicates that Brennan was among the first senior Obama officials to promulgate the dossier and could have driven the FBI to start the Russian collusion investigation. If American citizens are incidentally caught in surveillance of foreign targets, their identities are usually redacted as required by law. This did not present any difficulty for Obama officials Susan Rice, Samantha Power, and Ben Rhodes. They simply requested that the identities be revealed. Power, Obamas U.N. ambassador, averaged more than one request for every working day in 2016. Unless Power is a secret CIA agent, she did not have any apparent official need to request unmasking. Then there is the Steele dossier bought and paid for by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clintons campaign. A smear document, it was miraculously admitted as genuine intelligence and used to justify wiretaps against Trumps associates and possibly Trump himself. Did Obama know all of this? When did he know? Was there coordination between Obama and the Clinton campaign in setting up the Russian collusion witch hunt? Only a thorough investigation will tell. There could be a fourth case. In 2016, the DNC alleged the organizations email servers were hacked by Russia-backed hackers whose purpose was to assist then-Republican candidate Trump. The DNC, however, repeatedly rejected the FBIs requests to examine the hacked servers. As a result, those who hacked the DNC, what purposes were served by the hacking, and what was stolen are shrouded in mystery. Now the email servers may come back into the spotlight, thanks to the DNC. In a lawsuit filed on April 20, the DNC claimed the Trump campaign, Russia, and WikiLeaks colluded to win the 2016 election. Suppose the suit survives the motions of dismissal. The Trump campaign will almost surely use discovery to force the DNC to produce the servers for examination. Is this something the DNC really wants? Or were the servers destroyed by hammers before the lawsuit was filed? We shall see. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. U.S. President Barack Obama (R) makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) looks at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Sept. 12, 2012. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Obama Official Tried to Terminate Clinton Foundation Probe During 2016 Election, Report Says A high-ranking official at the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama attempted to shut down the FBI investigation on the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was running for president in 2016, according to a report by the Justice Departments Office of Inspector General. The revelation is part of a report on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe that led to his firing in March. McCabe told investigators that on Aug. 12, 2016, he received a call from the principal associate deputy attorney general, who expressed concerns about FBI agents taking overt steps in the Clinton Foundation investigation during the presidential campaign. Are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation? McCabe fired back. McCabe described the conversation as very dramatic and told the inspector generals office that he never had a similar confrontation in his entire FBI career. Are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation? Andrew McCabe, former deputy director, FBI Although he is not named in the OIG report, Matthew Axelrod was the principal associate deputy attorney general at the time. Axelrod was fired along with his boss, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office. Axelrod was one of DOJs highest-ranking officials and a member of the senior leadership team, according to his profile at the Linklaters law firm, where he is a partner. Matt also took the lead in advising on crisis management within DOJ, working closely with the White House, Congress, the FBI, and the media on DOJs most sensitive and high-profile matters, the profile says. McCabe authorized a leak to The Wall Street Journal about his conversation with Axelrod. In the resulting article, Axelrod was described as being very pissed off when asking why the FBI was still chasing a matter the department considered dormant. When McCabe asked if he is being told to shut down the investigation, Axelrod replied, Of course not. The two senior FBI officials whom McCabe authorized to leak to the Journal were Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. Text messages sent between Strzok and Page revealed that they were extremely biased against Trump. Strzok was the top investigator in the Clinton email case and was later part of the special counsel probe into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Strzok was removed when the texts became public. On April 18, 11 congressmen referred McCabes case to the FBI and DOJ for criminal investigation. The lawmakers say that there is evidence that McCabe lied to his boss and investigators about the leak. McCabes boss at the time, former FBI Director James Comey, is himself under investigation for leaking classified information to The New York Times via a friend. Recommended Video: President Donald Trumps Weekly Address, April 13, 2018 Mike Pompeo testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on "Worldwide Threats" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., Feb. 13, 2018. (Reuters/Leah Millis/File Photo) New US Secretary of State Pompeo Arrives in Brussels to Meet NATO Allies BRUSSELSA day after being sworn in as the new U.S. Secretary of State, former CIA director Mike Pompeo landed in Brussels for talks with key allies in Europe on heightened Russian aggression and ways to strengthen the NATO military alliance. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a loyal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump. Even before his confirmation on Thursday, Pompeo was already involved in U.S. diplomacy, although it will be his first meeting at NATO, an organisation founded on collective defence against the threat from the former Soviet Union. The meeting, a preview to the leaders summit in July, will discuss Russias aggression in Ukraine, Georgia and in Syria, as well as plans for increasing security along Europes southern frontier, a State Department official told reporters. Pompeo will also press members of the alliance to increase their military budgets to meet a target of 2 percent of economic output on defence every year by 2024, the official said. Trump sent Pompeo to North Korea three weeks ago to meet the isolated countrys leader, Kim Jong Un, ahead of a summit with the U.S. president to address Pyongyangs nuclear programme. JUST RELEASED: Photos of Secretary of State Pompeo in North Korea. Secretary Pompeo will do an excellent job helping President Trump lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/pQ0P8hbMTN The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2018 Visiting the Middle East As he left Washington on Thursday, the State Department said Pompeo would also visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend. He will have to quickly address a wide array of pressing international issues, including long conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, as well as Russian assertiveness. Washington is also working with European allies France, Germany, and Britain on toughening a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, an issue Pompeo is expected to discuss while in Brussels. Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing he will discuss the Iran nuclear accord and Irans regional influence in places like Yemen and Syria when he visits the Middle East. On his first stop in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Pompeo will meet Saudi King Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. In Jerusalem, he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in Jordan hold talks with King Abdullah. Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo. Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. None of the Republicans voted no. Pompeos supporters said he did well during 15 months leading the CIA, and said the United States badly needed a leader at the State Department. He has said that among his first tasks would be to fill the many positions at the State Department left vacant under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who was Trumps first secretary of state. By Lesley Wroughton Recommended video: Media Tries to Implicate Trump in Syria Chemical Attack South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talk during the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, in this still frame taken from video, South Korea April 27, 2018. (Host Broadcaster via Reuters TV) North, South Korea Agree to Goal of Complete Denuclearization SEOULThe leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration on Friday agreeing to work for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish permanent and solid peace on the peninsula. The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease hostile acts, turn their fortified border into a peace zone, and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. The leaders of the two Koreas began their historic meeting with a handshake at the heavily fortified military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning. South Koreas Moon Jae-in greeted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the DMZ and was invited by Kim to step into North Korea, which Moon accepted with a smile, reported Yonhap. Both leaders then stepped into South Korea, making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. Fridays summit sets the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June, in what would be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. Moon was also seen leaving the presidential office in a bulletproof sedan. He stopped briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House. Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion from the south. Unending Hostilities Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. On Thursday, Trump said he was considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with Kim, although once again he added that it remained unclear whether the meeting will occur. It could be that I walk out quickly with respect but it could be that maybe the meeting doesnt even take place, he told Fox News by telephone. Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet. The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeos meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kims first known meeting with a U.S. official. Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. (photos from previously confirmed Easter weekend trip) pic.twitter.com/o4RNDKVmah Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) April 26, 2018 The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarized Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, were broadcasted live. By Christine Kim and Josh Smith Recommended video: Memoir of a Communist Slave Police Searching for Arrested Man who Escaped from Bronx Hospital Police are looking for a 27-year-old man who escaped from a hospital after being arrested on Wednesday, April 25. He escaped from St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx around 6:30 a.m. with handcuffs attached to one hand, police said. The suspect, Kevin Taylor, was taken to the Belmont hospital last night after complaining of pain while in custody, police sources told Pix 11. He was released from handcuffs after asking to use the bathroom, and when he was done, he pushed past officers and fled. Taylor was in custody on charges related to the possession of weapons, narcotics, and resisting arrest. He had 40 prior arrests, including bail jumping, aggravated harassment, burglary, robbery, attempted escape, and criminal mischief, NBC New York reports. Police were looking in the backyards of houses in the area of Bassford Avenue and East 184th Street for the suspect, according to ABC 7. He was last seen wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and black ripped jeans. WANTED: Escaped Prisoner from St. Barnabas Hospital Kevin Taylor. Male, Black, 511, 210 Lbs, 27-years-old was last seen wearing black jeans and a green sweater. He was originally arrested for Criminal Possession of a firearm in the confines of the @NYPD48Pct in the #Bronx pic.twitter.com/2pDW7uXBjb NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 27, 2018 Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Kim Jong Uns Limo Seen Swarming with Security Guards North Korean dictator Kim Jong Uns limousine was spotted surrounded by jogging security guards as he left for lunch after the first round of talks at the inter-Korean summit. He was in Seoul, South Korea, to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for sincere, candid talks on denuclearisation, according to media reports. The two parties, according to NBC News, said they would cease all hostile acts and to transform the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone. Moon said that he would visit Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, in the fall. South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, read a statement from the two, as reported by the New York Times. I came here to put an end to the history of confrontation, Kim also said. They met in the border village of Panmunjom. President Donald Trump tweeted that only time will tell if it leads to the end of nuclear and missile testing. The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place, he wrote. Trump elaborated on Friday, April 27, in the Oval Office of the White House. I dont think hes playing, said Trump of Kim, while adding that his presidential predecessors handled the North Korean threat poorly. The United States has been played beautifully, like a fiddle, because you had a different kind of a leader, Trump said, according to the Times. Were not going to be played, OK? Were going to hopefully make a deal; if we dont, thats fine. Kim Jong-un being received by South Korean Honor Guards is one of the most significant photos you will see. This image will be studied by your children in history textbooks. pic.twitter.com/2oBvbxnhkp Stephen Krzeminski (@SteveKrzeminski) April 27, 2018 But even as the Koreas agreed on a common goal of a nuclear-free peninsula, they stopped short of spelling out exactly what that meant or how it might come about. The Trump administration defines denuclearization as Kim giving up his nuclear weapons, something he has been unwilling to do. North Korea has historically demanded the United States withdraw its troops and remove its nuclear umbrella of support for the South. The declaration by Kim and Moon is breathtaking in its scope and ambition, David Albright, who is the head of of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, told the Times via email. But how to achieve all the goals laid out in the document, given the current situation? Reuters contributed to this report. Recommended video: I Was a Communist Slave A section of the Pyongyang to Kaesong highway, where a recent deadly bus crash led to the deaths of 32 Chinese tourists, taken on November 30, 2016. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) The Mystery Behind the North Korean Bus Crash After a deadly bus crash in North Korea on April 22 killed 32 Chinese tourists, Chinese state media has kept mum about details. The list of victims has yet to be published. Meanwhile, posts about the crash on social media have been deleted by internet censors. On the day of the crash, the Twitter account of the Chinese regimes state broadcaster posted about a tour bus that had fallen off a bridge, killing more than 30 people, but later deleted the message. Netizens have revealed that the tourists were part of a tour group organized by a Chinese Maoist far-left website called Utopia. Under a tour company called Star Fire, the website regularly hosts tours to areas of significance in communist history, such as Vladimir Lenins hometown in Russia and Karl Marxs former residence in England, according to a Voice of America (VOA) interview with Maoist scholar Shi Manan, who has gone on several tours with the group. In a post on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform, an account belonging to Star Fire announced that to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the war to resist the United States and assist North Koreathe Chinese regimes name for the Korean Warand promote its grand spirit, the company would organize a red tour from April 18 to 24. The tour would visit Pyongyang, the capital; Kumgangsan, a special tourist region; Sanggamryong, a mountain pass that was the site of a Korean War battle depicted in a well-known Chinese propaganda film; and other cities, for a cost of 5,990 yuan ($945). On April 25, a far-left professor of Chinese language at Peking University, Kong Qingdong, posted on Weibo, Chinas equivalent of Twitter, that he had confirmed his fellow far-left colleagues had died in the bus crash while on a Star Fire tour. Kongs post was soon deleted. Another netizen, with the username Mr. Scholar, said he learned that his friend, Diao Weiming, the chief editor of the Maoist website, had died in the bus crash. In the same VOA interview, Shi also mentioned another bus crash victim: the father of a producer who has directed several documentaries about Chinese Communist Party dictator Mao Zedong for Chinas state broadcaster, CCTV. For the North Korean regime, tourism from China is one of its few remaining sources of income amid international sanctions that have stifled its economy. Meanwhile, far-left ideology continues to thrive among some circles in China. The Star Fire tour group visited the location of a widely watched Chinese propaganda film, Shangganling (the Chinese name for Sanggamryong), that was filled with anti-American sentiment and song lyrics. The Utopia website and its far-left ideologues are also a minor political problem for the current regime, as the Party has sought to distinguish its current policies from its turbulent and violent past under Mao. Maoists have seen a resurgence in the political sphere of Chongqing, the western Chinese city once ruled by Bo Xilai, the disgraced former party secretary of Chongqing who had promoted Maoist ideology. Back in 2012, when Bo was first sacked and investigated by the Partys anti-corruption agency, the Utopia website sent out a statement to Western media in his defense, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The website called Bos downfall a case of political injustice and criticized the Chinese authorities, claiming they fabricated allegations against him. Bo was part of an opposition faction loyal to former Party leader Jiang Zemin and sought to undermine current Chinese leader Xi Jinpings accession to the Partys top position. Since Bos case, Xi has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign to purge political enemies in the Jiang faction. The Utopia website was shut down by Chinese authorities in April 2012, but was later revived. Wen Pu contributed to this report. Recommended Video: How Doctors in China Turn into Murderers The Wests Syria Predicament Peace will carry a heavy price As the situation in Syria has evolved, it appears the only way to end the killing is to allow the government in Damascus to regain control of the countryas bad as it may seem. This could also be an acceptable solution for the Kurds, as long as the Syrian government concedes sufficient autonomy to them. The Syrian population has suffered terribly in this war and desperately needs peace. A half million Syrians have been killed, while millions more have lost their homes or been forced to flee the country. Russian and Iranian support has allowed President Bashar al-Assad to first resist the ISIS terrorist group and then r econquer most of the country from various rebel groups. Most of these rebels were radical and violent, too, fighting among themselves almost as much as against the government. They have shown no eagerness to negotiate a peace that would deprive their warlords, who are often little more than bandits, of power. Nonetheless, the recent airstrikes against Assad were justified as retaliation for the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assads forces against the rebels in Douma, especially if it discourages the regime from using toxic gas again. The use of chemical weapons is banned globally, although many countries still produce or stockpile such material. The Assad regime pledged two years ago that it would destroy its entire chemical arsenal. International inspections appeared to indicate that this was done. Unfortunately, a chemical attack against rebel-held territory took place, and the French intelligence service declared it had obtained proof that the Syrian government was responsible. Attacking rebel-held territory with chemical weapons is a cruel, terrible way to shorten the war. It remains unacceptable, even when its purpose is to end the fighting. That is why the three Western powers intervened, and they would be justified in doing so again in the future under similar conditions. The Price of Peace A victory by the Damascus government, however, might bring a peace of sorts to the country. But it will also increase enormously the influence in the region of its sponsors, Iran and Russia. Iran will be able to extend its influence along the Shia belt from Iraq into Syria and southern Lebanon, where its proxy Hezbollah has its home base. Tehran would also gain access to the Mediterranean. This is perceived in Israel as an existential threat. But the interests of the United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are also disturbed by such Iranian expansion, and they have every reason to try to contain it. Moscow becoming dominant in Syria is against Western interests, but it is also a direct threat to Turkey in the southeastern and eastern Mediterranean. Moscow is already Ankaras potential political rival in the Black Sea area, the Caucasus and the Balkans. Equally problematic to Ankara could be a more autonomous Kurdish area in northern Syria, backed by Damascus and enjoying indirect support from Moscow. The terrible truth is that for the United States, Israel, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, geopolitically, peace in Syria while maintaining the Assad regime is detrimental. However, in the existing constellation, peace can only be achieved with Syrias present government. Prince Michael of Liechtenstein is the executive chairman of trust company Industrie- und Finanzkontor, and founder and chairman of Geopolitical Intelligence Services. This article was originally published by GIS Reports Online. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on May 11, 2017. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) Top Obama Intelligence Adviser Leaked to CNN and Lied About It to Congress Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was the source of a major leak to CNN, and he lied about it to Congress, President Donald Trump, and the public, according to a report by the House intelligence committee released on April 27. The leak to CNN resulted in the publication of the infamous dossier on Trump, which, in turn, became the foundation of the narrative that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. The committee concluded, after a yearlong investigation, that no collusion occurred. CNN used Clappers leak as the source for an article published on Jan. 10, 2017, that disclosed that Trump and President Barack Obama had been briefed on the details of the dossier assembled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy. Prior to Clappers leak, the dossier had circulated among government officials and journalists but was not published, as the claims within could not be verified. Clappers leak about the briefing gave CNN the news hook it needed to report on the dossier. Hours after CNNs story, BuzzFeed published the entire dossier. When the House intelligence committee initially questioned Clapper about the leak, he denied discuss[ing] the dossier or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists. But in subsequent testimony, Clapper admitted to discussing the dossier with CNN reporter Jake Tapper and that he might have spoken to other journalists about the topic, according to the report. The Committee assesses that leaks to CNN about the dossier were especially significant, since CNNs report that a two-page synopsis of the report was given to President Obama and Trump was the proximate cause of BuzzFeed News decision to publish the dossier for the first time, the report states. The day after the CNN article was published, Clapper issued a statement about his call with Trump in which he expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press and emphasized that I do not believe the leaks came from within the [Intelligence Community]. As director of national intelligence, Clapper was the head of the Intelligence Community. Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee paid opposition-research firm Fusion GPS through a law firm to compile the dossier. Fusion GPS hired Steele, who in turn used second- and thirdhand sources close to the Kremlin for the material. Fusion GPS also received money from Russia while Steele worked on the dossier. That dossier was then used by the FBI as the core of a warrant application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Trump-campaign volunteer Carter Page. Four of the top Obama administration officials involved in signing off on the warrant application were referred for criminal investigation by 11 congressmen on April 18. Former FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente are facing charges related to investigative misconduct and to depriving Page of his rights. After Clappers testimony to the House intelligence committee, he joined CNN as a national security analyst, in August. Recommended Video: President Trumps Weekly Address on April 27, 2018 President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the White House Oval Office in Washington, U.S., April 27, 2018. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) Trump and Merkel Meet Over Iran and Trade WASHINGTONGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump put on a display of warmth and friendship during a White House meeting on Friday despite differences over trade and Iran that have sparked tensions between the two allies. After their last White House meeting drew attention when the two leaders did not shake hands in the Oval Office, Trump made a point of doing just that, twice, while congratulating the German chancellor on her election win. We have a really great relationship, and we actually have had a great relationship right from the beginning, but some people didnt understand that, Trump said, calling Merkel a very extraordinary woman. Merkel acknowledged that it took a while to form a government after heavy election losses to parties who benefited from the backlash against her policy of letting hundreds of thousands of refugees to settle in Germany. She said it was important to her to make her first trip out of Europe since establishing her administration to Washington. Merkel acknowledged that Trump was likely to pull out of the multinational Iran nuclear deal. The Iran deal, looming U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum products, a planned Russian gas pipeline running under the Baltic Sea to Germany, and Berlins military spending are issues that divide Merkel and Trump and likely to come up at their working lunch. When asked if Germany was doing enough to reach a NATO target for member countries to spend 2 percent of economic output on defense annually, new U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference in Brussels: No (Germany) should meet the goals that they agreed to thats the expectation, not only for Germany but for everyone. Were hopeful that at the NATO summit that every NATO partner will deliver a credible plan to achieve that goal. Trump said he did not expect to come to an agreement on Iran during their meeting. I think well be talking about Iran probably, but I dont necessarily expect it one way or the other, he said. Well be having discussions on Iran, well be having discussions on trade. French President Emmanuel Macron made the European position on the Iran nuclear deal clear ahead of Merkels visit. On Wednesday, he called on the United States not to abandon the Iran deal as Western envoys said Britain, France, and Germany were nearing an agreement on a package they hope could persuade Trump to save the pact. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to revive U.S. sanctions on Iran. Ahead of Merkels trip, German officials said they expected U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum products to kick in on May 1, when an exemption expires. But they said Germany would try to negotiate a broad package including other industries. I think the chancellor would prefer a broad dialogue with the Americans. The government is open to extending the package to other duties and trade barriers, one official said. In Washington, a White House official said the United States would press Germany about trade deficits that pose risks to global economic stability, and would like to remove barriers to trade so that we can level the playing field. We want to work with Berlin on global unfair trading practices because those are impacting our economies in equal measure, he said. (Additional reporting by Paul Carrel and Andrea Shalal in Berlin and Lesley Wroughton and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Writing by Jeff Mason and Paul Carrel; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Alistair Bell) Recommended Video: President Trumps Weekly Address on April 27, 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters) Trump Praises Talks Between North, South Korean Leaders, Welcomes End of War Promise A cautiously optimistic President Donald Trump has commended talks between leaders of North and South Korea that resulted in a slew of promising announcements hinting at a thaw in relations between the two countries. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! he said on Twitter on Friday, April 27. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 In a historic move, the Souths president, Moon Jae-in, and the Norths communist dictator, Kim Jong Un, announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War and seek an agreement on permanent and solid peace. Until then, the war will be still technically only on hold by an armistice. The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun, the two stated. Trump welcomed the announcement while highlighting the role of the United States in the process that led to it. KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! he wrote on Friday. KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 The leaders of North and South Korea embraced on Friday after pledging to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, on a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. The declaration included promises to pursue phased arms reduction, to cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone, and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the United States. Moon agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, they said. Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone. Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last years barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of war. Their meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in what would be a historic first meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries. China, North Koreas main ally, welcomed the leaders statement and said it was willing to keep playing a proactive role in promoting political solutions. Trump gave credit to Chinese leader Xi Jinping for helping to bring the North to the table. Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea, Trump tweeted Friday. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Trump has put great emphasis on solving the growing threat on North Koreas nuclear arms program and managed to mount unprecedented pressure on the communist dictatorship through intensifying sanctions and the credible threat of military action. After North Koreas bout of nuclear and missile tests last year peppered with threats and insults, to which Trump responded in kind, the North finally agreed, in January, to the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years. I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks, I want to show my gratitude, Moon told reporters at his New Years news conference. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure. The North also agreed to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics. Part of the large delegation was Kims sister, who met with Moon and invited him to visit Pyongyang for a summit. Moon did not immediately agree and sent envoys instead. The envoys, in turn, delivered news that Kim is willing to discuss abandoning the nuclear weapons program. That, in turn, opened the doors to talks with the United States, now planned for late May or early June, as Trump maintained a firm stance that the communist regime must agree to include abandoning its nuclear weapons program as part of any discussion. Global markets were lifted by hopes for an end to conflict on the Korean peninsula. Shares in Seoul briefly rose more than 1 percent to a one-month high and Japans Nikkei share average also gained. As part of efforts to reduce tension, the two sides agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops along the border, and allow Korean families divided by the border to meet. Eyes on Trump Summit Days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But there has been skepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has developed for decades. Everything will not be resolved in the blink of an eye, said Kim Young Hee, a North Korean defector-turned-economist at the Korea Development Bank. Kim Jong Un has put the ball in the U.S. court. He declared denuclearization, and promised to halt nuclear tests, she said. That tells us he wants the United States to guarantee the safety of his regime in return for denuclearization. It is not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared hopes for peace. Two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the Norths weapons program or improve relations in a lasting way. We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today, Kim said after the agreement was signed. Step Across the Line Earlier, Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands. In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person, Kim said, wearing his customary black Mao suit. A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history, Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the Souths Peace House before talks began. During a private meeting in the morning, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, a senior presidential official said. Moon and Kim released their joint declaration before a dinner banquet. Later, with their wives, they watched a music performance and held hands as they watched a montage of photos from their summit set to a K-pop song that included the words be a family again. After farewells, Kim was driven back to North Korea. The United States said earlier it was hopeful talks on peace and prosperity would make progress and it looked forward to discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in coming weeks. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The war pitted the South, U.N., and U.S. forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. Trump said on Thursday he was considering several dates and venues for the upcoming talks. Epoch Times staff member Ivan Pentchoukov and Reuters contributed to this article. Recommended Video: Huge Rights Protest in Beijing Commemorated Across Canada BIHAC, BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA: (FILES) UN commander in Bosnia, Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose (L), and the commander of the Fifth Corps, General Atif Dudakovic, stand outside Fifth Corps headquarters in Bihac 28 Dec. 1994 before their meeting. (Photo credit should read Kurt SCHORK/AFP/Getty Images) Wartime Bosnian Muslim Commander Arrested on Warcrimes Charges SARAJEVOPolice arrested Bosnian Muslim wartime commander Atif Dudakovic and 11 senior members of his Corps on Friday on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity during Bosnias 1992-95 war. The arrests were ordered as part of a long running major investigation into wartime abuses, the state prosecutors office said in a statement. Those detained are suspected of killing several hundred Bosnian Serb civilians and prisoners of war in 1995, it said. The Dudakovic investigation includes interviews with more than 100 witnesses, video footage, wartime documentation and evidence from exhumations, it added. Dudakovic has previously dismissed the accusations as politically motivated and said the video footage was fabricated. The charges also include offences allegedly committed in 1994 against Muslims led by renegade leader Fikret Abdic. He set up a breakaway province around the western town of Velika Kladusa when he broke ranks with the Sarajevo government which turned into Muslim-versus-Muslim fighting. By Maja Zuvela Recommended Video: Lost World War I Submarine Found 103 Years Later A woman selects apples while shopping in the produce section at Whole Foods January 13, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images) Where Does Economic Demand Come From? Modern theory puts the cart before the horse Every modern microeconomic textbook starts with the demand curve, and even the media and politicians talk about aggregate demand following this analogy. This is strange, as to demand a good, one needs to first have another good, so where does the purchasing power generating this famed demand come from? Of course, demand for products and services is a real thing, but the way standard textbooks explain it is nonsensical. What demand means in the textbook version of economics is a willingness to buy various quantities of Product X at various prices, nothing more. The Law of Demand is then introduced to explain that the higher the price of a product, the lower the quantity that will be purchased. This is not bad as a rule of thumb, though it is less than a universal law. But what makes the demand theory really problematic is that the context of this willingness is not specified. Classical economics, on the other hand, started with production rather than demand. Logically, this makes more sense. You cannot have products to buy until something is already produced. Furthermore, you cannot have buying power if you do not have a job or some other income that ultimately comes from what is produced. Production First Therefore, willingness to demand things must depend first on the income of everyone in an economy, which is itself a function of what and how much is collectively produced. Until I know my income, the products available, and their prices, how can I form any concrete ideas about what I might be willing to buy? But since modern economics uses the demand curve plus the supply curve to determine prices, the demand curve for everything must exist logically prior to the determination of price. One of the founders of modern economics, Leon Walras, understood that this was a problem, but did not find a good solution. So he imagined a magical market system wherein it would be possible to find equilibrium prices even before considering production and income. He just assumed that a set of products somehow exist, owned by sellers, without any prices attached. In his theory, all consumers have money to buy things that they got from somewhere unrelated to any ongoing process of production. In the middle of this illogical mess stands a single auctioneer with infinite time on his hands. He calls out a list of prices for each good, sort of like the way Adam named all the creatures in the Bible. There are, of course, a lot of prices, so it takes a long time to do this even once. When he is done, all of the potential consumers and suppliers, who naturally remember all the millions of prices just called out, state how much of each thing they will demand and supply at that set of prices, given their predetermined assets. The auctioneer then tallies up the result and sees whether there is any excess supply or demand for anything. Likely there is, since his price list was arbitrary. If there was excess demand for something, he raises the price. If there was excess supply, he lowers it. Then the process repeats. It keeps repeating until all the prices are perfect and there is no excess supply demand. Who knows how many thousands of iterations would be required. Only after the entire process has established these perfect prices does the auctioneer give the green light for actual trading of products to commence. Walras was not a very practical man. The much simpler idea from classical economic theory is that products enter the market with prices already attached because producers simply tally up their costs of production and add a margin for profit. They may subsequently adjust their price or production levels up or down according to the results of their selling effort. This entirely reasonable and practical way of understanding prices is rejected by economists for the simple reason that it implies that producers, not consumers, have the power to set the quantity produced and the price. Flaws in Methodology Modern economics prefers to tell the story backward, starting with all-powerful consumers. This is not all too surprising in our debt-driven and consumption-focused culture. But there are not just ideological reasons for why modern economics refuses to tell the story in a sensible way. There are methodological objectives, too. I believe Walras and other founders of economics wanted to create a mathematical theory of price determination, which is one reason they wanted to ignore the producers power over price. There is another very important reason. The Three Golden Pillarsthat free market economies must be stable, efficient, and faircannot be proven unless all trades occur at free-market prices that exactly maintain equilibrium between the quantity consumers are willing to demand and the quantity suppliers are willing to supply. Thats a tall order; take away any piece and the entire enterprise collapses. No wonder theorists like Walras conjured up such bizarre stories. Returning to the demand curve for a single Product X, how can we even imagine that I can form a willingness to demand some quantity of Product X if I do not already know both my budget and the prices of everything else? Imagine I inherit $1,000. I can choose how much of it to spend on shoes. Depending on the price of shoes, I will buy more or fewer of them. But whether I buy more or fewer shoes will also depend on all the other products I might buy instead and their specific prices. If I do not know these things, how is it sensible to imagine I have formed a very specific willingness to buy a certain number of shoes at each possible price of shoes? If the prices of everything else are already determined, then the prices of the inputs for making shoes are also known, so the only issue on pricing shoes would be the size of the shoemakers profit margin. Since in modern economic theory the small producer isnt allowed to make economic profit, the price of shoes must already be determined, independent of consumer willingness to demand shoes, by the cost of the inputs used to produce them. With that, were right back in the world of classical economics that economists try so hard to escape. This entire process of reasoning is hopelessly circular, convoluted, and illogical, and the reason economists keep selling the theory of consumer sovereignty rather than the more obvious and plausible producer power is their knack for mathematics and their pro-consumption ideology. James H. Nolt is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute and author of International Political Economy: The Business of War and Peace. This article was first published by the World Policy Institute. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Dark smoke rises from Husky Energy oil refinery following an explosion in Superior, Wisconsin on Apr. 26, 2018. (REUTERS/Robert King/Duluth News Tribune) Wisconsin City Lifts Evacuation Order After Refinery Explosion Milwaukee, WITens of thousands of residents of a northern Wisconsin city were cleared to return to their homes on Friday, the day after a blast at a Husky Energy Inc refinery injured at least 15 people, a local official said. Investigators searched for the cause of the massive Thursday morning explosion at the refinery, capable of processing up to 38,000 barrels of oil a day, which shook the city of Superior, Wisconsin, home to about 27,000 people. All indications are that the refinery site is safe and stable and the air quality is clean and normal, Superior Mayor Jim Paine said in a Facebook posting, noting that the evacuation order was lifted as of 6 a.m. local time (1100 GMT). Welcome home. At least 15 people were injured, local media reported, and at least 10 people one seriously injured were taken to area hospitals, said a spokeswoman for Essentia Health-St. Marys Medical Center, which operates hospitals in Superior and nearby Duluth, Minnesota. What ignited the blast was not clear. After an initial blaze was extinguished, a storage tank was punctured, and a second fire erupted, Husky Energy spokesman Mel Duvall said. Another tank caught fire at 3:15 p.m., a local ABC affiliate reported, citing Douglas County authorities. Our focus in the days ahead will turn to the investigation and understanding the root cause of the incident, Husky Energy said in a late Thursday Twitter post. Thick black smoke billowed from the facility and hung over Superior throughout the day on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands to flee homes and businesses. Friday classes were canceled in Superior and nearby Maple school districts. There were no reports of fatalities, and all of the refinerys workers have been accounted for, Husky Energys Duvall said. The refinery had additional workers on site preparing for a plant-wide overhaul when the blast occurred, he said. It produces asphalt, gasoline, diesel and heavy fuel oils, largely using heavy crude oil imported from Canada. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has sent a four-person team to investigate. The non-regulatory federal agency investigates serious chemical accidents such as refinery fires. Husky purchased the refinery from Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP last year. By Brendan OBrien Recommended Video: Man Saves Bunny From Flames in California It's only one of four known to exist and one of those went missing after it was stolen by masked gun-wielding robbers in 1967. A small gold coin originally thought to be a fake was authenticated in April by experts as an 1854 California Gold Rush coin, one of 268 struck at the San Francisco Mint that year. This extremely rare find is worth millions. "It's like finding an original Picasso at a garage sale. It's the discovery of a lifetime," said Mark Salzberg, the chairman of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), a Sarasota, Fl.-based coin authentication company that identified the treasure. The U.S. $5 denomination gold coin, known as a Half Eagle, is owned by a New England man who wishes to remain anonymous. He showed the coin to several dealers at a recent coin show and they quickly deemed it a forgery. Borris Tavrovsky, a co-owner of Oxbridge Coins in San Francisco, isn't surprised that it was incorrectly identified at first. "These counterfeits are getting more common," Tavrovsky says. "And they're getting better." Then one dealer suggested taking the coin to NGC, a third-party service providing authentication, and their team went to great lengths to assess the coin. They started by making sure the coin wasn't the one stolen from the Florida mansion of the chemical company heir Willis H. DuPont in 1967. The thieves made off with a motherlode $50,000 in cash and DuPont's fabled collection of 7,000 coins, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported. Some of these stolen treasures have popped up over the years, but the 1854 Gold Rush coin has remained lost. "That was one of the first things we did make sure this wasn't the stolen coin," says Rick Montgomery, president of NGC. "We were able to make a visual comparison against the 1967 catalog. In our comparison it did not match that coin." Montgomery says they also contacted the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., which has one of the four coins in its collection, and requested high-resolution images for comparison. Finally, they compared the coin with the one owned by the Pogue Family, who own a private collection worth millions. "We knew instinctively and intuitively the coin was real," Montgomery says. "But knowing the unlikelihood that a coin like this could be found in this era, we had to do our due diligence." Montgomery says NGC's price indicates the 164-year-old coin is worth about $3 million. Tavrovsky adds that based on past sales of Gold Rush-era coins, he assumes it's worth $3-$4 million. "I think he's going to be quite rich," says Tavrovsky. "I can see why he wants to remain a mystery man. Some people who win the lottery don't want to reveal their identity for fear those cousins start badgering you." EDITORS NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named the president of NGC as Robert Montgomery. His name is Rick Montgomery. CreditRiskMonitor estimates the risk of a company going bankrupt within 12 months based on several streams of data. According to Retail Dive, the service uses that data to assign a proprietary rating, called a "FRISK" score that weighs the probability of bankruptcy. A FRISK score of one indicates a 9.99% to 50 % chance of bankruptcy within 12 months, and a score of two corresponds with a 4% to 9.99% chance of bankruptcy. NORWALK Students at Tracey Elementary School pondered what life would be like without trees. Without trees, they learned they would have less fresh air to breathe, less shade on a summers hot day and one less partner to make the world a better place. Trees are our natural partners in helping us protect our planet. They can help us save the world, Andrew Strauss, president of Norwalk Tree Alliance, told them at their Arbor Day assembly Friday afternoon. What can you do to help trees as our natural partners? Strauss answered his own question, suggesting to the students that they could start by planting the white spruce tree seedling they were given to take home. With the right care, the tree could grow 150 feet or more and live up to 200 years, he said. The school planted a tree of its own that day, with the help of several students. Theres an old Chinese saying: When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. When is the next best time? Now, Strauss said. Arbor Day started in Nebraska in 1872 and is celebrated on the last Friday in April, with the simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting, as told by fourth-grader Sara Luma. This is more important today than ever, she told her schoolmates, reading from a prepared speech. Holidays look to the past. Arbor Day proposes for the future. The school also heard about the importance of Arbor Day from Mayor Harry Rilling, an alum of Tracey School. The day is not only important to Tracey School but to all of Norwalk, he said, since the city has been designated a Tree City USA for 14 years. This means the city has consistently met four core standards: sound urban forestry management, maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, and spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day. Were very, very proud of the fact that we plant trees and were very environmentally conscious, Rilling said, before reading the citys proclamation of Arbor Day. The celebration also included reading a of poetry, a presentation of song and the unveiling of winners for the schools poster contest in each grade level. Some posters depicted the beauty of trees while others showed ways society is harming them. Fifth-grader Jeffrey Sacalxot spent two days working on his poster, carefully crafting an image of people removing trees so they could use the land to build a city showing what people do when they think trees have no value, he said. He was glad his poster was chosen and that he could help plant the tree on school grounds with his fellow poster winners. Itll be a part of tree history, Sacalxot said. The other poster winners were Sofia Kiriakidis, Gianna Walsh, Joel Williams, Samantha Bautista, Lindsay Tacuri and Natalie Erfe. All of their posters will be on display at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Norwalk, where they each won a free overnight stay. The Norwalk Tree Allliance has been celebrating Arbor Day every year since 2004, selecting a school to host its annual tree planting. The celebration first started at Marvin School and has continued at different schools in the district. skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim NORWALK Dozens of educators and support staff were honored for their service to Norwalk Public Schools and their commitment to their students Thursday night. Their dedication to enriching students lives ranged from bringing a truck delivery of 40,000 free books to the district to directing a play in both Spanish and English. Such efforts exemplify the best of what the district does, Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski said at the districts second annual Excellence in Education Awards. This is a wonderful event, and as you know we have many events, Adamowski said. But this is certainly a favorite of mine because it just makes us all realize the human capital that we have at our school systems, the power of individual efforts and going the extra mile in doing things for students in small and important ways to move our school system forward and to create life opportunities for students. In addition to teacher honorees, educational support staff members also were honored for the first time including the posthumous recognition of paraprofessionals Ann Marie Dustin and Nancy Denman, who died earlier this school year. Dustin joined the district in 2008 as an intervention aide at Ponus Ridge Middle School and was respected and valued by many for her nurturing personality. Denman was a longtime special education paraprofessional at Wolfpit Elementary School known for going above and beyond. Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Mary Yordon commended this years honorees for raising the bar and closing the achievement gap in the district. I celebrate our honorees. It takes so much work to raise our children, it takes supportive networks and being here tonight, we are really celebrating that network, she said. The night also included a special presentation of the Distinguished Friend of Education Award, the highest annual honor that the Connecticut Association of Schools has awarded to people outside of the education field since 1983. Nathan Hale Middle School Principal Albert Sackey nominated Barbara Dalio for the award, in recognition of her long-standing support of education in Norwalk through her philanthropic work as the co-founder and director of the Dalio Foundation. Dalio leads the foundations efforts to strengthen public education in the state, supporting more than 1,000 projects through a partnership with DonorsChoose.org and founding CT Opportunity Project and Connecticut RISE Network to help students realize and achieve their full potential. So far, the foundations support for these initiatives exceeds $144 million. Since my time in Norwalk and at Nathan Hale Middle School, Mrs. Dalio has been a part of our school family as well as every school family in our district, Sackey said. She made it clear that she was not just a funder but also a partner with us, ensuring that our children were getting the supports and experiences they needed to be successful. She has contributed in so many different ways to our schools, district, and communities throughout the state of Connecticut and New York. Dalio began her work nearly a decade ago, visiting schools across the state and working directly with students and teachers. The first school she got involved in was Briggs High School in Norwalk, she said. I went several times a week for a few years and I learned a lot. I was interested, really, into the children that are in the most need of help and I was so impressed. The teachers were so caring, inspiring and made a really big difference on young peoples lives, Dalio said. So I took that experience and broadened it across Connecticut, and through the Dalio Foundation we have worked with different districts and many amazing educators and leaders. The annual Excellence in Educational Awards is a combined effort involving the Norwalk Education Foundation, the Norwalk Federation of Teachers and Norwalk Public Schools. Norwalk Education Foundation President Marge Costa presented awards this year. skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim EDWARDSVILLE The mayors of Glen Carbon and Edwardsville delivered positive messages about growth at the Annual Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce Mayors' Breakfast held Thursday morning. Speaking before a large crowd of regional business leaders in the Leclaire Room at the N.O. Nelson Complex, Glen Carbon Mayor Rob Jackstadt and Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton discussed past successes and future plans for grown in the area. Patton, who spoke first, announced the city will discuss reductions in permit fees for builders. That should ease the complaints that "Edwardsville is an expensive place to build," he said. "Property tax and permit fees, this has been brought to my attention by home builders as well as other developers and investors," Patton said. "When you see our permit fees, what you've heard is Edwardsville is expensive to develop but much of the fees are due to the expansion of the sewer plant." Patton said when the sewer plant was expanded more than 20 years ago, past city council members decided to increase the sewer tap-on fees to help pay off the millions of dollars that were borrowed to build the sewer plant. Sewer tap-on fees are $6,160 for construction within the city limits and $7,560 for buildings outside the city limits. "The attitude of the board at that time was 'we are expanding this for more capacity for new development so the tap-on fee for new development fees are going to be high,'" Patton said. While the tap-on fees have been high, Patton said rates have been kept low for home and business owners, but now is the time to look at lowering tap on fees. "We are going to take to our aldermanic committee consideration for the reduction of our sewer tap-on fee," Patton said. "Maybe $1,500 to $2,000 lower. The success of the city's investments over the past couple of years have us ahead of our bond payments so this gives us good financial ground to go back and look at our permit fees. This will make us more competitive with other municipalities in the area." Another win discussed by Patton was the possibility of removing the School Impact Fee charged to developers. Both Jackstadt and Patton were vocal supporters of the school districts Proposition E ballot measure and said much of the success in the community is a direct result of the success of the school district. With the passing of the tax referendum, Patton said, "the school district's finances will be" straightened up over the next three to four years. "As a result of the passing of Prop E, we think we can do away with the school impact fee. The removal of the impact fee will be going in front of our boards to consider putting a moratorium on the collection of the impact fees," Patton said. "So the reduction in the sewer tap-on fee and the impact fee should be welcome news to those involved in any construction projects." Jackstadt, who also listed the accomplishments of the past as well as projects for the future, said the village of Glen Carbon is also striving to remain competitive in attracting developers. "I certainly support a review of all of our fees to remain competitive and would support the moratorium on the school impact fee," he said. Jackstadt said the creation of the impact fee was done during a time of growth. "You have to go back in time to 2005 when we had unprecedented growth in our residential community. Tax payers were begging for relief and we were trying to help the school district by implementing the impact fee," he said. "We tried it for over 10 years but the reality is that residential growth slowed and as a result of that the fee didn't generate the type of fees that would provide a material benefit to District 7." Like Patton, Jackstadt stressed the point that property taxes in Glen Carbon and Edwardsville, are competitive when compared with neighboring communities. "We all have friends who live in neighboring communities and we hear, 'your taxes are so high,'" Jackstadt said. "Our property taxes and our property tax levy are extremely competitive and have been consistent and steady over the past years." Jackstadt said the tax rate and the tax levy amount have been consistent over the last 10 years and due to the increasing EAV, he sees a steady tax rate into the future. Jackstadt also highlighted the increase in sales tax in Glen Carbon over the last 10 years. "We have seen an increase of 4.1 percent in sales tax receipts since last fiscal year and over the past 10 years have seen and increase in 60.1 percent," Jackstadt said. "This growth is attributed to an increase in commercial property and is vital to keeping property taxes low." Jackstadt listed various capital improvement projects coming to the village including the reconstruction of Old Troy Road and projects within the Glen Carbon TIF District. "We are going to be starting and completing improvement projects in our TIF District which is the Cottonwood area," Jackstadt said. He said once the improvements are completed, which include storm water and resurfacing, the village will move to close the TIF by the end of 2018. "Once the improvements are made the property will be placed back on the tax rolls," Jackstadt said. "Once closed and made available for the 2018 tax levy, approximately $13.9 million in incremental EAV will be available to the school district, the Glen Carbon Fire Protection District and the Glen Carbon Library District." Jackstadt, who has addressed the Chamber at the breakfast for the past 13 years, said he was grateful for the chance to speak to the business community. He stressed the importance of having a strong private sector regional economy and emphasized that what is "good for Edwardsville is good for Glen Carbon and what is good for Glen Carbon is good for Edwardsville." "We must keep in mind that what is good for the region is good for both Edwardsville and Glen Carbon," he said. "We respect capitalism and know the importance of having informed private sector job creators that are each and every one of you here. "One reason I believe Mayor Patton and I are here is to facilitate that open discussion between business and public officials to foster collaboration that is good for the entire region." Guwahati, April 27 : A group of nine organisations including the All Tiwa Students Union, the Koch-Rajbongshi Students Union, Tiwa National Solidarity Forum, the Chutiya Jati Sanmilan had enforced a 12-hour Central Assam shutdown on Friday in protest against non-inclusion of tribal MLA Ramakanta Deuri in Sarbananda Sonowal-led Assam government that was expanded on Thursday, which witnessed sporadic violence in various parts. The bandh was effective in various parts in Central Assams Morigaon district and adjoining districts Nagaon and Kamrup (Metro) also. The shutdown from 5 am on Friday had evoked total response in various parts of Morigaon district and also hit normal life in Nagaon, Kamrup (Metro) districts. Several violence incidents have been reported during the bandh in Morigaon district, police said. According to the reports, protesters had burned a few vehicles and pelting stones and damaged several vehicles in various parts of the Central Assam district despite tight security arrangements. Meanwhile, police has arrested one person for his alleged involvement in the violence. Shops, business establishments, government and non-government offices remained shut down and vehicles strayed off on road. On the other hand, BJP MLA Ramakanta Deuri said that, he had earlier served as the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Tiwa Autonomous Council and he had contested in the assembly polls after resigning the CEM post. Deuri further alleged that, his name was not included in the ministers list because of the politics made by Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain. Guwahati, April 27 : Over 75 percent voters turn out has been recorded in the by-poll of the Williamnagar assembly seat in Meghalayas East Garo Hills district, officials said. The voting for by-poll in the Williamnagar Assembly seat began from 7 am today with amid tight security arrangements. Altogether 9 candidates are in fray. The election for the Williamnagar seat was postponed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma, who was died in an IED explosion triggered by the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants near Sawilgre village, about 14 km from Samanda block in East Garo Hills on February 18, days before the February 27 assembly polls in Meghalaya. Over 32,300 registered voters will decide the fate of the nine candidates and voting will end at 4 pm in all of the 58 polling stations. The ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) has fielded former MLA Marcuis N Marak, while NCP has fielded Krenila R Marak, wife of Jonathone N Sangma who died in an IED attack on February 18 last. Apart from NPP and NCP, Congress has fielded Deborah C Marak as its candidate, who served as a minister in the previous Mukul Sangma-led government. There is no report of any untoward incident happened during polls. NCP candidate Krinila R Marak became one of the 5 early voters to receive a medal while she cast her vote at Greenyard school polling station. Kathmandu, Nepal: The government has recommended to the President Bidya Devi Bhandari to call the House session from May 6 at 4 pm. A cabinet meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Friday decided to recommend President Bhandari to call the Budget session of the Parliament. Constitutionally, President has to call the session in recommendation of the cabinet. The meeting also decided to appoint Joint Government Attorney Rama Devi Parajuli as the member of Foreign Employment Tribunal (FET). Similarly, the meeting also decided to publish the notice on the national gazette regarding the jurisdiction of the Integrated Check Post at Birgunj customs, which was come into practice since April 7. The newly built Check Point was funded by the government of India and that was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during Olis state visit to India on April 7. CALGARY Her first two kids were mostly in cloth diapers, but when Lindsay Gallimore had twins, she couldnt keep up with the laundry anymore. Much to her chagrin, the Calgary mom found herself relying more and more on disposable diapers. With the twins, Id say in a 24-hour period, they probably use at least 20 diapers between the two of them, Gallimore told StarMetro. (My kids) are in cloth diapers most of the time, but it was bugging me that I was still throwing away disposables. More than four million disposable diapers are discarded in Canada every day, according to Environment Canada, and it takes hundreds of years for them to break down. (Disposables were invented in 1946.) Last year, the City of Calgary introduced a green bin program, allowing residents to turn things such as lawn clippings or pet waste into compost. But the elastics, tabs and other non-compostable materials in disposable diapers cant go in the green bins, leaving nappies to be tossed into the garbage. Being able to put things like Kitty Litter and your food waste in (green bins), I think people are likely seeing a lot less waste in their garbage bin, Gallimore said. Except for the diapers. It all adds up to a massive amount of waste being sent to landfills, something Calgary-based startup Soiled Diapers is hoping to change. The company will pick up your used diapers no matter the brand, size or smell and compost them, as well as deliver new ones from an eco-friendly brand. There are a number of places that (make) specific diapers that are compostable if you purchase their diapers, theyll compost them but were the first one to do brand-blind diaper composting in North America, said Mark Arishenkoff, one of two dads behind the company. Arishenkoff met his business partner, Kyle MacQuarrie, when they both went back to university in 2010. For their final project, they were asked to create a business on paper that would be viable to start in Calgary, and when they found out companies in the U.K. and New Zealand were already composting used disposable diapers, they knew they had something worth pursuing. Between the two of us, we have eight kids weve done a lot of diapers in our time and we both knew the guilt that was associated with disposable diapers, but we knew the inconvenience and hardship it was to use cloth diapers, Arishenkoff said. This put us smack dab in the middle: the eco-friendliness of cloth and the convenience of a disposable. The two are now raising capital to purchase a machine that will handle the composting. Until then, theyre freezing the diapers they collect about two tonnes so far, Arishenkoff said, which is the same amount the machine will be able to process in a single day. Because were just in the startup phase, we dont have a subscription base to afford a huge facility, so weve just been storing the diapers, Arishenkoff said. As soon as weve secured a location for the warehouse, the machine will be shipped over. Even after being processed, some of the most popular diaper brands will leave behind small flecks of plastic, which Arishenkoff said they plan to screen off and send for further processing. Even though its a relatively new idea, knowing their kids poop will reach its full organic potential as compost gives parents like Gallimore who avoids bringing single-use items into her household wherever possible peace of mind. Theres a million reasons why not every family can use cloth, but you cant deny that every family who has a baby, for at least the first two to three years, is going to use literally thousands of diapers, and that footprint is huge, she said. I think theres more and more families who are conscious of that waste and would love a solution. EC Elizabeth Cameron is a Calgary-based reporter covering Indigenous affairs, drugs and health. Follow her on Twitter: @e_s_cameron Read more about: EDMONTON A local law firm has filed a $15-million class action lawsuit against a Hutterite meat shop believed to be linked to an outbreak of E. coli in the Edmonton area. James H. Brown & Associates filed a Court of Queens Bench claim Thursday against The Meat Shop at Pine Haven on behalf of the people who suffered damages as a result of buying or consuming pork products that may have been contaminated by E. coli, according to a statement issued by the firm. The claim seeks compensation for physical injury, mental anguish, medical expenses, lost wages or employment income, as well as a refund for the cost of purchasing the recalled product, according to the statement. Alberta Health Services issued a statement Wednesday linking certain pork products sold by The Meat Shop at Pine Haven Colony a Hutterite business located near Wetaskiwin, Alta. to an ongoing outbreak of E. coli O157: H7. The predominant symptom associated with the strain identified in the Edmonton outbreak is diarrhea, which may be bloody. In more severe cases, hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure, can develop. Rick Mallett, the class action team leader at James H. Brown & Associates, says a resident hospitalized for E. coli after consuming pork reached out to the law firm to explore legal options and they agreed to take on the case. Its a form of E. coli that has significant health effects associated with it, he said. Since the original outbreak was reported in March, there have been 37 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli, including 11 patients who have needed hospital care, and one person who has died likely due to the infection, say health officials. With the number of people that have been involved, theres likely to be some people that continue to have some long-term effects, said Mallett. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has been updating its website as the investigation expands. Consumers should not consume and distributors, retailers and food service establishments, such as hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, should not sell or use the recalled products, CFIA said on its website. The affected pork products, supplied by The Meat Shop at Pine Haven, may have been transformed into raw muscle meat cuts, ground pork, sausages, and raw ready-to-eat products. On Thursday, AHS expanded its investigation of the E. coli outbreak to products sold by Camrose County-based Irvings Farm Fresh and K&K Foodliner, which is a European-style deli and grocery store located near Whyte Avenue and 99 Street. Both businesses told StarMetro that they have issued recalls and are co-operating with AHS and the CFIA. The recall was expanded Friday to include certain pork products sold at other Edmonton businesses, including Acme Meat Market and Real Meal Deals, according to the CFIA website. The Meat Shop at Pine Haven issued a statement on its Facebook page Thursday announcing it was co-ordinating with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Meat Shop has been participating in the Alberta E. coli investigation. With the help of Alberta Agriculture and the CFIA, the plant is continuing further production, said the statement. The Meat Shop has voluntarily initiated the recall of raw pork products produced between the dates of Feb. 19-April 24. Mallett said the ongoing outbreak of E. coli poses significant public health concerns and the lawsuit gives people who have suffered economic loss due to the recall and physical injury an opportunity for compensation. The Meat Shop at Pine Haven could not be reached for comment. Allegations filed in a statement of claim have not yet been proven in court. Read more about: EDMONTONThe law firm that pulled a donation to the University of Alberta after the school announced an honorary degree for David Suzuki said its giving the money straight to students instead. On Thursday, the University of Alberta Students Union issued a statement that it would be working with Moodys Gartner, a tax law firm, to channel the remaining $40,000 of the firms $100,000 gift to students on campus. The money originally supported a moot law team in the universitys law faculty. But since the students union primarily supports undergraduates, the cohort that pays dues, details are unclear as to which students will benefit from the gift and how. Were still working with Moodys to figure out exactly how they wish for their gift to impact students, said Marina Banister, president of the union. But theyve been very generous to say that they want it to have a big impact on all students at the University of Alberta. On Tuesday, the Calgary office of Moodys Gartner wrote a letter to the universitys president and chancellor saying that it would end its financial support for the universitys law school. The letter criticized the university for honouring Suzuki, an environmentalist and broadcaster who has used his platform to condemn the oil industry, one of Albertas economic drivers. Our firm believes it is crucial to support those who act in a way that consistently encourages and emboldens Albertas economic development, driving us towards future success, the letter read. Recognizing the consequences for students, Kim Moody, director of Moodys Gartners Canadian tax advisory, said the firm had been looking for ways to support students since it decided to cancel the donation to the universitys law school. It was a decision that we made at the same time, he said. Behind the scenes, we were working on trying to find a solution that we can live with to have those dollars redirected that are outside of the purview of the University of Alberta. Were hopeful that we can direct some of those funds to the law students. In addition to funding, the firm also allowed for a student assistant position under a professor researching tax law. Unfortunately, we probably cant directly donate our dollars to that, Moody added, Thats under the purview of the University of Alberta, and we want nothing to do with the University of Alberta. On the question of whether the students union supported the universitys decision to grant Suzuki an honorary degree, Banister said the membership was divided. She added real concern was the effect the controversy might have on student experience. We want to make sure, she said, the student educational experience at the University of Alberta is always top notch regardless of the decisions that the senior administration make. Read more about: It was nearly a superhero feat for Toronto artist James Raiz ahead of Fridays opening of Avengers: Infinity War. In only a month, he had to draw a towering mural and capture the entire creative process on video for an international, in-theatre Avengers: Infinity War art installation. And he did it all in the basement of his home, where he lives with his wife and three children. I pretty much had the camera going 24 hours a day, no sleep, Raiz, 39, said in a phone interview. In the end it turned out to be around 250 hours of work crammed into that month. A lot of work to put it together, for sure. I didnt leave the house for about a month. Measuring roughly five metres wide and five metres high, the installation has two sides and is in Scotiabank Theatre Toronto as well as cinemas in China and the U.S. One side has screens showing him drawing the entire piece. The other is a mural representing characters in each of the 18 Marvel Cinematic Universe films. You cant do this project without being a fan, Raiz said. To put all that work in a matter of a month, unless the money is insane, its really hard to do. Raiz grew up in Brampton, Ont., and thought he would become a doctor, until he realized art was his passion. My mom was like, Cant you just do that on the weekends, after surgery? he recalled with a laugh. So I made I deal with my mom: Let me go to school for this, and if I cant find a job after Ill get back into medicine. Twenty years later, hes still working as a professional artist, focusing on comic-book characters that have a realistic, cinematic feel. His YouTube channel, TheBoxOfficeArtist, has more than 66,000 followers. Raiz was commissioned to do the Avengers: Infinity War installation after creating a major Star Wars mural for his YouTube channel that got the attention of Marvel president Kevin Feige. It was also praised on social media by some Star Wars cast members, including Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew and Ian McDiarmid. Raiz started the Avengers installation with hand drawings, using pen and ink on bristol board. He then scanned the images and coloured them digitally. They were really supportive in whatever I wanted to do, Raiz said of Disney. I would say this whole piece is almost completely my vision. One of the biggest challenges was trying to nail the facial features of the actors. I found that drawing Scarlett Johanssons face was a bit of a challenge for me, especially because I drew it small, he said. Then there was the extreme pressure of putting his work out there for fervent Avengers fans around the world. There are going to be people online who are going to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb, he said with a laugh. Its always a worry but at the same time, Im just happy that I got this opportunity to draw something like this for Marvel. If this is the last piece I ever do, Im happy. To be able to touch every single movie, doing a big mural like this what could possibly top this at this point? The shocking refugee crisis in Syria and beyond has inspired these new reads. The Boy on the Beach, Tima Kurdi The Vancouver author is the aunt of Alan Kurdi, the toddler whose body was photographed on a Turkish shore and became a flashpoint in the effort to help millions of dislocated Syrians. Alan was 27 months when he drowned with his mother, Rehanna, and older brother, Ghalib, while crossing in a rickety dinghy to safe haven on the Greek island of Gos, four km away; father and husband Abdullah was the sole survivor. This heartfelt memoir takes us deep into the large Kurdi family, before and since Alans death. The Map of Salt and Stars, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar In their home in Manhattan, Baba captivated his daughter, Nour, with the story of Rawiya, a girl in the 12th century who disguised herself as a boy and became an apprentice to the Muslim mapmaker il-Idrisi; together, they charted the length and breadth of the ancient world. When her father dies in 2011, Nour, her mother and sister return to their Syrian homeland. But life in Homs soon turns deadly and they must pull up stakes and relocate once more. Thus, Nour finds herself travelling the same route across the Mid-East and Africa as her hero Rawiya had 800 years before. A Dangerous Crossing, Ausma Zehanat Khan This is the fourth thriller featuring Inspector Esa Khattak and Sergeant Rachel Getty, operatives with the Toronto-based Community Policing Section, serving Canadas most vulnerable communities. This time out, the duo must travel to a Greek island where a humanitarian group is fast-tracking Syrian refugees to Canadian soil. The young woman who heads up this NGO with her brother is missing, and Greek police want to talk to her about a double murder of a French Interpol agent and a young Syrian man. Human rights, terrorism and international law are the hallmarks of this unusual series. Quicksilver War: Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict, William Harris The catastrophic conflict in Syria and Iraq doesnt lend itself to easy analysis. But William Harris, a politics prof at the University of New Zealand, is a knowledgeable guide to Syria and Iraq, the Fertile Crescent. Quicksilver War, says Harris, refers to a shape-shifting pattern of interlinked conflict, with various interests working together and apart: the Syrian regime against rebel factions; the rebels fighting one another; jihadists out to vanquish almost everyone; Sunnis against Shia; Kurds against Arabs and Turks. Harris returns repeatedly to the one actor most responsible: Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, impresario of the firestorm. The Displaced: Refugee Writers On Refugee Lives, edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen Syria is the current focus for the worlds refugee crisis, but this collection of 18 essays takes the longer view of displacement with reflections on relocation from writers who left persecution and conflict in such former and current war zones as Germany, Hungary, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Ethiopia and more. The collection is edited and introduced by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the Pulitzer-winning author of The Sympathizer, who left Vietnam at the age of 4 in 1975. Read more about: The President of the Andean Parliament, Fernando Meza, reiterated his institutions support for Moroccos territorial integrity and announced that the Andean Parliament is going to publish in May a recommendation backing the efforts made by Morocco for the settlement of the artificial Sahara conflict. At a meeting in Rabat Wednesday with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Habib El Malki, the Chilean parliamentarian Fernando Meza said his visit to Morocco is a message of solidarity and consideration from the Andean Parliament. Morocco and the Andean countries share the same values, he added, noting that the constitutional monarchy in Morocco is a model to follow in terms of democracy and human rights and its experience is worth following by Latin American countries. For his part, Habib El Malki voiced appreciation for the Andean Parliaments position on the Sahara issue, as well as for Chiles stand on this issue, welcoming the strong ties uniting the two countries. The lower house of the Moroccan parliament has an observer status in the Andean Parliament, which musters 25 deputies, five from each of its member countries, namely Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In another development, the Colombian government reaffirmed that it has frozen, for several years now, its recognition of the so-called Sahrawi republic SADR. This came in a clarification published by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday (April 24) about the presence in Bogota of Mujtar Leboihi Emboirik, who claims to be a Sahrawi ambassador on mission in Colombia. The SADR has neither a diplomatic representation nor an ambassador accredited to the Colombian government, Said the Foreign Ministry. In 2017, the Colombian Senate and House of Representatives reaffirmed that only a negotiated political solution preserving the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco is capable of promoting peace and stability in this region. Patients crammed in hallways on stretchers for up to 12 hours. Paramedics tied up for entire shifts in the emergency department with those patients, unable to respond to calls. Physicians working in corridors, on benches and in family rooms. This week, StarMetro Halifax spoke with those people, in addition to a nurses union leader and a public health care advocate, about the overcrowding crisis at the Halifax Infirmarys emergency department. In our final instalment of Code Crisis, we ask Nova Scotias health minister, Randy Delorey, to weigh in on the concerns and how the provincial Liberal government is addressing the issue. HALIFAXRandy Delorey says emergency department volumes and ongoing overcrowding does concern him, but the provincial government is doing its best to address it. Anywhere we have a challenge in our health-care system, we want to do our best to identify and improve, said Delorey, who serves as health and wellness minister in the Liberal government of Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. When asked if hed describe the situation outlined by frontline health care professionals and patients as a crisis, he chose his words carefully, preferring to use the term challenges. We know that there are challenges in our health-care system. Thats why we really prioritized it as part of our platform in the spring of 2017, he said. Its why weve really focused on this area in our budget, investing and working with our physicians to come up with a new compensation program and some new programs and initiatives to try to attach patients to primary care providers. Delorey did echo the sentiments of those whove added their voices to our Code Crisis series. He agreed the issue is very complex and there are no quick fixes, and he pointed to many of the same problems outlined by patients, paramedics, nurses and doctors. He said an aging demographic and a provincewide shortage of family physicians are just a few pieces of a very complicated puzzle. But he believes addressing the family-physician shortage and patient access to primary care is one of the best ways to start turning things around. On the primary-care side of thingsthere are a number of things were trying to do to improve that across the province, not any one single thing, he said. Read more: Halifax emergency department physician says overcrowding at a tipping point Inside the quagmire that is the Halifax emergency department Stress of Halifax Infirmary ER crowding taking a toll on staff: union Twice as many calls, lines down the hall: Halifax paramedic says current emergency department situation has surpassed a crisis In February, the province created a new immigration stream to help attract more international doctors and specialists to Nova Scotia. A separate program announced on April 6 will make it easier for internationally trained physicians without reciprocal license agreements to come to Nova Scotia and get certified and licensed to practice here. Delorey said the first group of candidates is expected to begin practice ready assessments in early 2019. In March, the department of health and wellness announced the addition of 39 health professionals to collaborative practice teams in 17 communities across the province. The addition of nurse practitioners, family practice nurses, social workers and a physiotherapist are seen as ways to help more Nova Scotians access primary care. Then on April 17, the department changed its physician incentive programs in an attempt to encourage more doctors to choose to practice in the province. They did this by removing geographic restrictions for the provinces tuition relief program, the family medicine bursary and the debt assistance plan to support recruitment of family doctors to urban communities. The programs were previously only available for doctors in rural areas. The province also made all three programs available to those working in full-time, part-time and temporary positions. Delorey said addressing the family-physician shortage will help because, given that emergency-department patients are seen according to need, many of those who end up waiting the longest have ailments that could have been seen by a primary-care provider. By addressing and focusing on our primary-care access side of the health-care system, we do recognize and anticipate that this will help us on the emergency room side as well ... and thats why weve been so focused on working with our partners and getting those initiatives off the ground. Delorey said the ministry is having ongoing conversations with the Nova Scotia Health Authority about short- and medium-term solutions that could help address patient flow in emergency departments. When asked what he would consider reasonable access to emergency health care for Nova Scotians, Delorey said its complicated and it varies. Its a simple question to ask, but a much more complex one to answer because the variables do change," he said. The goal there is obviously the most urgent care, that's why someonethat may be displaying a stroke or heart attack symptoms, well very clearly they would move through the system even if they show up later than other people, he explained. Someone with a broken arm, for example, would not go in necessarily before someone with those ... life-threatening conditions. Throughout our Code Crisis series, increasing the number of available long-term care beds was brought up as another potential solution to emergency department overcrowding. The physician and the paramedic we interviewed for our series pointed to older patients with more complex health needs filling hospital beds as a key weakness in the system. Such patients cant be discharged back home, but need long-term care. With nowhere to go, they must remain in hospital occupying a bed someone in emergency could benefit from until a long-term care space is found. Delorey said since 2013, there has been a 50 per cent reduction in the long-term care waiting list. That means if someone is on that list, theyre waiting 50 per cent less time for placement compared to five years ago. At the same time, the ministry is doing demographic analysis to understand what future long-term care needs will be and identify what additional investments may be necessary, he said. Keeping elderly Nova Scotians in their homes as long as possible also helps free up beds in hospitals and long-term care facilities, Delorey said, adding thats why the provincial government has invested between $65 and $75 million into additional home-care programming. Nova Scotians have articulated to us that (home) is where they want to stay as long as they can, but in order to do that they do need to have the supports in place, he said. Critics say the provincial government isnt investing enough in health care across the board, something Delorey said isnt true. He said hes committed to ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders to find the best solutions and determine where money is best spent. We've invested millions of dollars more into health care in areas like mental health, home care, as well as primary-care services, he said. I think you would see across the country that better health care is not always defined by throwing more money at it. You need to make sure that where you are investing the money are the right areas that are going to provide results ... And that's what we're trying to prioritize. Identify those opportunities and invest in them." This week, StarMetro Halifax heard from many voices on the frontlines about the overcrowding crisis at the Halifax Infirmarys emergency department. Heres a recap: Day One: A patient who waited more than 12 hours in a crammed hallway Day Two: A Halifax emergency department physician who says the situation is at a tipping point Day Three: A Halifax paramedic says weve surpassed a crisis Day Four: President of the union representing Halifax Infirmarys nurses and a health advocate say system is busting at the seams Read more about: SPRUCE GROVE, Alta.Police say an Edmonton-area man faces sex charges involving two of his daughters and unrelated child pornography offences. Alberta Internet Child Exploitation unit investigators say the 32-year-old suspect was arrested earlier this month in Spruce Grove. Police say two toddlers are receiving support from a child protection centre. The man has been charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching. He also faces child pornography charges that do not involve his two girls. The man cant be named to protect the identities of the children. Our number 1 focus was on the safety of these children and ending the abuse, Det. Brian Cross said in a release Thursday. We were able to make an arrest within 48 hours of receiving the case referral. Read more about: HALIFAX A lawyer who represents a young Halifax man alleged to have breached a Nova Scotia government freedom-of-information website says hes optimistic police and prosecutors will accept the case is too weak to continue. David Fraser, a privacy lawyer who is leading the 19-year-olds defence, said Thursday that after meeting with the youth, hes further convinced he was merely downloading information he believed to be in the public realm. Fraser said the youth unknowingly gathered some personal information last month that the province should have taken basic steps to protect. Im optimistic that based on all the publicly available information ... theres nothing to suggest a fraudulent or malevolent intent. Thats an essential element of the offence in the Criminal Code ... and I dont see that there, he said. The lawyer said hes hopeful that police will reach the same conclusion, as they attempt to determine from their investigation if there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a crime was committed. To date, police have said they briefly arrested the man and alleged unauthorized use of a computer, a rarely used provision of the Criminal Code. The young man was given a notice to appear in court on June 12, though no formal charges have been laid yet. Read more: Internal services clear police of blame after Nova Scotia freedom-of-information site breached Possible class action lawsuit after Freedom of Information web breach in Nova Scotia Congress lack of tech-knowledge keeps it weak against Silicon Valley The Criminal Code provision says the hackers actions would have to occur fraudulently and without the person having a legal right to access the site, in order for a conviction and a penalty of up to a decade in jail. Fraser said the youth and his family are in a state of anxiety as a criminal investigation continues into its third week. I think quite naturally they want it to be over. Its a significant shadow thats looming. You have a young person at the beginning of his life. To have this happen is a significant shock, he said. And to put it behind him is I think a natural desire. However, Fraser said the family has been heartened by an outpouring of public support thats included an online fundraising campaign thats swiftly raised over $10,000 towards a goal of $50,000 to cover legal costs. The campaign is titled Nova Scotia freedom of information travesty legal defence. Premier Stephen McNeil initially referred to the alleged breach as stealing, as his government faced opposition criticism for its alleged failure to ensure sensitive information on the site was properly protected with passwords and firewalls. He and his government have since backed away from similar strong language, saying only that the ministry of Internal Services took appropriate measures by handing the matter to police. Meanwhile, the provinces privacy commissioner is investigating whether the province broke its own privacy regulations with a lack of protection of the website. The auditor general has also been called in by the province to look at the breach. About 700 people were affected by the breach of the 7,000 documents accessed between March 3 and March 5, according to the province. Many of the documents are files theyve applied for under freedom-of-information requests. In an interview with the CBC, the young mans family members were critical of the April 11 police search of their home, saying 15 officers were involved and the house was left in disarray. Police have said the family can complain to the police and ultimately to the provinces police complaints commission if procedures werent followed. Details about the rationale for the search have been sealed by the courts. Meanwhile, Chris Hansen, a spokeswoman for the prosecution service, said in an interview that she cant confirm if the Crown has been providing consultation to the police. In New Brunswick, Quebec and British Columbia, charges must be pre-approved by the Crown. However, in Nova Scotia police may choose to consult with the Crown and can decide to lay charges on their own. Hansen said it is only after charges are sworn by police that the Crown would review the police evidence. At that point, prosecutors have a much higher standard than police in order to proceed. They employ a two-step test, first assessing if there is a reasonable prospect of a conviction based on the evidence, and then whether it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution. Follow (at)mtuttoncporg on Twitter. MONTREALA man who allegedly drugged seniors in their homes with laced chocolates and then robbed them was arraigned Thursday on 18 charges, including several of assault. The Crown opposed Hamid Chekakris release and a date for a bail hearing will be determined Friday. Many of the charges state Chekakri, who appeared by video conference, administered or caused to be administered a stupefying or overpowering drug, matter or thing. The charge sheet says there are five alleged victims. Police allege the Algerian national, who also faces robbery and break-and-enter charges, would arrive at the home of seniors who were looking to sell their property and then express an interest in buying it. Authorities have previously said the alleged victims described Chekakri, 47, as a kind, charming suspect who would gain the trust of the elderly homeowner with his manner. In each case, upon concluding a fake transaction to buy the home, the suspect would allegedly offer the victim a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine and insist they eat it as tradition. After ingesting the candy, the alleged victims would fall asleep for several hours and realize after waking up they had been robbed. The alleged crimes took place in Montreal between last Dec. 12 and 23. Chekakri was arrested in Atlanta on March 31 by the U.S. Marshals Service and had been held in Georgia pending his extradition to Canada. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement the Algerian national was detained after arriving on a flight from Costa Rica. He was held after U.S. authorities confirmed active warrants on assault and burglary charges in Montreal. Chekakris home address in court documents is listed in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. Montreal police detectives escorted him back to Canada on Wednesday. Police have said theyve linked the same suspect to at least six alleged victims in different parts of Montreal and Ottawa as well as three failed attempts in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que. Authorities have said they believe there could be more victims and have urged people to come forward. Montreal La Presse reported a few weeks ago there may also be victims elsewhere in the world. Pride Toronto has applied for $135,000 in grants to help repair the LGBTQ communitys fractured relationship with police and tackle institutional discrimination. The organization has requested $75,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and $60,000 from TD Bank, a long-time sponsor of annual Pride festivities, to fund the project Policing Queer Communities of Colour, according to Pride Torontos Ontario OTF Foundation grant application obtained by the Star through a freedom of information request. Funding from TD Bank, through its community program, is contingent on Pride Toronto receiving the grant from OTF, a provincial agency, said executive director Olivia Nuamah. If successful, Pride Toronto will form a community-led working group tasked with developing local initiatives and making recommendations to Toronto Police Service to address heteronormative biases, the application said. We want to address the institutional and systemic barriers that lead to LGBTQ communities of colour experiencing the most negative outcomes from their interactions with the criminal justice system, said the application. This would be the first time Pride Toronto is undertaking a social policy initiative to help LGBTQ communities improve relations with police, Nuamah told the Star. She said she expects to hear in July if OTF has approved the application. We really are trying to implement real solutions so we have answers to the problems raised by the community. We are doing the thing we do best getting people together to facilitate conversations, she said. In the past, community groups and police have led initiatives to address LGBTQ issues, but these ended when participating organizations changed leadership, the application said. This project would take place over five years, involve numerous organizations and focus on gathering much-needed evidence on how police biases harm LGBTQ communities of colour an underresearched area, Pride Toronto said in its application. Toronto police, which recently withdrew its application to march in this years Pride parade, said it already has been working with community organizations, and will continue to do so. Toronto police are happy to work with anyone who comes to the table to address issues between police and LGBTQ communities, including communities of colour, said spokesperson Meaghan Gray, noting police hadnt seen the final grant application so could not comment specifically. York University professor Carl James, who is not involved in the grant application process, said the success of the project would be contingent on Toronto polices willingness to change, take initiative and not simply wait for Pride Toronto to come up with solutions. I look to police for their commitment to unpack police culture, what it represents and to start understanding the racial ways they approach communities, said James, whose research focuses on racism, equity and social justice. Pride Toronto began the application process last fall, prompted by Black Lives Matter protesting police involvement in the 2016 parade because of mistrust and anti-black police violence, its application said. It held several town hall meetings where participants spoke passionately about the bullying and harassment they suffer in their communities ... and the lack of support they felt in reporting it, said Pride Toronto in a draft report to OTF. Pride Torontos application said it was also influenced by two other events in 2017 Toronto District School Board removing police from its schools because of the unsettling affect it had on students of colour and the police service board setting up an anti-racism committee following the 2015 police shooting of Andrew Loku. Pride Toronto filed its application before alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur was arrested Jan. 18, Nuamah said. Police have since laid eight first-degree murder charges against McArthur. The majority of the victims were from the LGBTQ community, belonged to ethnic minorities and were reported missing to police years before. These recent revelations solidifies the importance of a collaborative, long-term project, said Nuamah. The last time Pride Toronto received OTF funding was for World Pride 2014. Last year it ran a $500,000 spending deficit. This year it expects to double its Pride festival revenue to almost $5 million and has applied to other grants to help cover its operating costs. Clarification - May 7, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that said if Ontario Trillium Foundation approves the project, Pride Toronto can apply again in a few years for up to $500,000 per year for up to five years. In fact, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is no longer accepting applications for the funding stream that included funding for $500,000 per year for up to five years. As well, according to OTF, the length of time between applications depends on the various investment streams to which the organization applies. All organizations are subject to the One application Per Cycle Policy. People in Torontos Korean community say they are devastated by the van rampage on Yonge St., a heavily Korean neighbourhood, but in the face of tragedy they are staying strong and coming together to help friends and families of victims. Its definitely a really difficult time for the community, and its very unfortunate, but at the same time, I think the Korean community really stayed strong together, said Shine Jiyoun Chung, the executive director of KWCA Family and Social Service, a non-profit organization that provides services to the citys Korean community. I think Korean people are really concerned, because the Korean community is one of the main presences in the (area). Read more: Sunny spring day turns to unforgettable tragedy as van driver kills 10 and injures 14 Renuka Amarasingha remembered as a generous, devoted mother This was all Eddie. His passion was in the kitchen Koreans make up 1.5 per cent of Torontos population, according to Statistics Canada, but make up more than 13 per cent in the strip of Yonge St. from Finch Ave. to Sheppard Ave. where on Monday a white van hit pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 14. South Koreans foreign affairs ministry said in a statement there are a total of five Korean citizens among the victims, two deaths and three seriously injured. The statement did not identify any of the victims. The Star has since confirmed Sohe Chung, a 22-year-old student at the University of Toronto, died in the incident. Many people in the Korean community attended the memorial for the victims at Olive Square on Thursday. It was so hard for me to come out today, I just want to give my prayers to the victims and their families, said Sandy Park, who lives and works near Yonge and Finch. This is pretty much the area Ive always grown up in, said James Ahn, who also attended the memorial. Its so devastating because I always thought this area was safe. Melissa Jung said she was across the street from the van rampage when it happened. I was on the other side of the street, where I never am, at lunch time, so I feel blessed, she said. She was touched by the love and diversity she witnessed at the memorial. This is the most heartbreaking thing Ive ever seen happen to our neighbourhood, said Stan Cho, a candidate in the Ontario PC party in the Willowdale riding. My entire family lives there, I grew up there, my campaign office is there, my business office is there, its my home. Cho said the Korean community is tight-knit. Its hard to find even one degree of separation between us, he said. Its almost certain were going to know some of the people who were impacted by this. Peter Yi, a pastor at Young Nak Presbyterian Church, said many of his parishioners are from the Yonge and Finch area. Weve been dealing with this the way the rest of the city has been dealing with it, personally grieving he said. Were grieving as a church community. On Friday, a vigil will be held at Mel Lastman Square hosted by the Korean Canadian Cultural Association. Will Cho, a spokesperson at the KCCA, said the rampage hit us hard as a community. His organization will provide translation and transportation services for families of the victims, along with lodging, since some family members will be flying into Canada. In the aftermath of the rampage, he said the community is focused on unity and healing. This is where we take over and show that were united, not just as the Korean community, but all communities, to show support, he said. We do stand behind them for whatever support they need. On Sunday, Renuka Amarasingha was ringing in the Sri Lankan New Year with her only son at a Buddhist temple. But the feeling of festivity would be short-lived. Amarasingha, 45, was struck and killed one day later. She (was) a very kind and generous lady. She devoted her time for the child, said Ahangama Rathanasiri Thero, president and chief monk at the Toronto Mahavihara Buddhist Meditation Centre in Scarborough. She made the effort to raise that child in a good manner. Representatives from the temple met on Tuesday night to co-ordinate fundraising efforts for her son, and are planning her funeral, he said. They will be unable to repatriate her body back to Sri Lanka, where she has a mother, sister and brother, he said, adding he expects family members may come to visit instead. Read more: Whats next for Diyon? Friends and family deal with shock of single mothers death in Toronto rampage Munir Najjar will be remembered for his good heart Sunny spring day turns to unforgettable tragedy as van driver kills 10 and injures 14 Right now, her son is staying with family friends at the home where Amarasingha had rented the basement apartment. Friends are very helpful to her because shes good, shes kind, he said. They are very concerned about the child. The Lotus Youth Council at the temple is organizing a GoFundMe fundraiser for her 6-year-old son, Diyon. As of Thursday evening, the page had raised nearly $250,000. Messages to Diyon poured in from dozens of donors. Diyon, my condolences on the tragic and senseless death of your dear mother. Nothing can replace her, said Laurie Graham in a post. As a mom, I know with all my heart that her greatest wish was for you to achieve your dreams and make a good future for yourself. Amarasingha worked at the Toronto District School Board as a nutrition services staff member as of 2015. She was an adult student at the board prior to that, the board confirmed. She recently worked her first day at Earl Haig Secondary School, said director of education John Malloy in a statement. We are reaching out to her loved ones to support them in any way possible. On behalf of Trustees, we extend our sincere condolences to Renukas family and friends. This is a difficult time for the students and staff that knew her and we will continue to provide support to them in the days and weeks ahead, said chair Robin Pilkey in a statement. Mondays van rampage on Yonge St. has brought into sharp focus an ongoing conversation in Toronto about vehicles, pedestrians and the public areas where they cross paths. Within hours of the incident, in which 10 people were killed and another 14 injured, the city placed concrete barriers in front of Union Station. As much as that was a practical measure, it was also symbolic, acknowledging the vulnerability of anyone on foot in a city where cars and people so often share the same physical spaces. That presumably temporary measure has led to a debate about the future of Toronto's streets. Those who advocate for a more livable city say we should be thinking beyond physical barriers, and considering practical and creative ways to keep pedestrians safe with measures that dont compromise Torontos identity as an open-hearted and welcoming city. Read more: Lessons from abroad for a grieving Toronto Weve lost loved ones and our sense of security, but I think it would be a mistake to think we can protect ourselves from danger by putting up barricades everywhere, said lawyer Albert Koehl, a Toronto road safety advocate. We lose again if our reaction to this tragedy is turning our city into a place we dont want to live. For years, people like Michael Black have been recommending the city adopt less intrusive measures like reducing speed limits, adding bike lanes and flower planters, placing bollards strategically, installing benches and planting trees along sidewalks to make Toronto both safer and more walkable in areas including the stretch of Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch Aves. where the attack took place. I dont want (the city) to say this was a one-off, there was nothing we could do. Oh, I would object to that, said Black, co-founder of Walk Toronto. The city has yet to implement a plan that says safety trumps convenience and is very behind the times in terms of street design, Black said, adding the same measures that would protect cyclists and pedestrians from accidental crashes would also provide them shelter from intentional acts of violence. The citys Vision Zero Road Safety Plan has identified this section of Yonge St. as a priority for improvements and the Transform Yonge plan which was deferred by council in March would have added protected bike lanes and widened sidewalks. The citys dragging its feet on Vision Zero implementation and its speed-reduction efforts are not broad enough and not being enforced, said Koehl. Every day, some 55,000 vehicles travel along six lanes of Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch, according to the city, a volume that has councillors referring to it as a mini-highway. But lowering speed limits or narrowing lanes would only help so much in cases where someone has the intention to harm, said Councillor Mike Layton. Can we anticipate that someone could so boldly and without regard for anyone take whatever steps necessary to inflect that kind of harm? Im not sure we can anticipate every horrific act, or regular measures would deter such a thing, Layton said. That said, Layton does believe the van attack will inform councils decisions on road improvements in the future. I think this horrific act will be a reality check of what can happen when people use vehicles as weapons and how damaging they can become, Layton said. Other councillors declined to speak this week about opportunities the city has missed to improve pedestrian safety, citing concerns about politicizing the issue so soon after such a tragic event. Meanwhile, the barriers at Union Station along Front St. are temporary, said city spokesperson Wynna Brown, but planning is well underway to permanently increase security in the area. In late March, police limited vehicle access to the Rogers Centre and Air Canada Centre. At the time, Mayor John Tory said the move was not in response to an increased security threat. This week, Torys director of communications said Toronto will not let Mondays heinous act threaten or change our free and open society. A 25-year-old who plowed a van into a crowded Toronto sidewalk was ordered held Tuesday on 10 counts of murder 13 of attempted murder. (The Associated Press) Toronto and cities around the world have always had to grapple with the threat of attacks like Mondays and the need to strike a balance between ... public safety and accessible cities, said Don Peat. When a driver plowed a pickup truck down a crowded Manhattan bike path last October, killing eight and injuring 11, New York City wrestled with how to physically respond. The Department of Transportation and NYPD temporarily installed numerous concrete blocks and jersey barriers at several sensitive locations and are in the process of constructing bollards, said city spokesperson Seth Stein. More importantly, the attack sparked a conversation about New York Citys streets and parks and accelerated existing road safety projects, said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a local advocacy group. Last week, for example, New Yorks mayor announced Central Park will soon be closed to cars and trucks. Theres a more widespread realization its inherently problematic to have vehicles operate in such close proximity to high volumes of pedestrians and cyclists. Even when someone is not trying to cause intentional harm, the mere physics involved really requires there to be sensible restrictions in place, Steely White said. In the face of violence, that city has attempted to bolster its public spaces. We must remember theyre the bedrock of democracy, Steely White said. The lesson is we have to do more to celebrate public space as we move to protect it. One person who shares that sentiment is Willowdale resident Lily Cheng, who is organizing an event this weekend to reclaim Yonge St. and its public spaces. Cheng, her husband and two children live minutes away from where Mondays attack occurred. She had lunch at a nearby sushi restaurant with her husband, soaking up the spring sun, shortly before the van struck. We have been deeply shaken by events. Our sense of safety, our sense of this is my neighbourhood has really been taken away, Cheng said. Walking along a nearly empty Yonge St. the next day which was mostly closed to cars between Sheppard and Finch Aves. she felt solemn and heavy-hearted, but determined. Now, shes planning a walk to take back our street before Sunday evenings interfaith vigil at Mel Lastman Square. We will come together, arm in arm, to symbolize we are a community, this is our street, Cheng said. We wont let fear steal away our neighbourhood. Fire crews battled a three-alarm fire that broke out in Corktown Thursday night. The fire started around 8:30 p.m. in a two-story townhouse at Queen St. E. and Sumach St. There was heavy smoke and flames as three aerial ladders, 20 trucks and 70 firefighters came to the scene. The blaze has spread to buildings on either side, but Toronto fire said they have been evacuated and there is no indication that anyone is still in the buildings. Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg told reporters at the scene that a firefighter injured his leg after falling down a staircase. Capt. Adrian Ratushniak told the Star that the firefighter went back to work after he was treated by paramedics at the scene. No other injuries were reported. With this size of a fire involving multiple buildings were going to be remaining on scene because there might still be hot spots and then investigators have to go in and determine the cause, said Ratushniak. Crews took a defensive attack to the fire since it was not safe for firefighters to enter the buildings. It was not known how many businesses or residents have been affected. Pegg tweeted just before midnight that the fire was under control. Investigators have been called to the scene to determine the cause and origin of the blaze. Queen St. was closed in both directions from Power St. to River St. for the investigation but it has since reopened. A crowd of hundreds of mourners, illuminated by the warm flicker of candlelight, gathered to remember and pray for the 10 killed and 14 injured in the Yonge St. van rampage earlier this week. The packed multi-denominational prayer service was held at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in North York Thursday evening. The church, which seats 750, was full. Too often, were isolated, and, too often, we suffer in silence, said Rev. Matthew Sams of Willowdale Presbyterian Church, in an interview after the service. Its really important to come together and to be strengthened. Read more: Sunny spring day turns to unforgettable tragedy as van driver kills 10 and injures 14 Dorothy Sewell was the best grandma anyone could ever ask for Anne Marie left an undeniable mark on this world Speaking to the crowd, Sams spoke of hope and healing, while acknowledging that what happened isnt normal, isnt right. He said some of us will never live the same way. I know people who were there when it happened, Sams told the Star. And, for them, theyre bruised spiritually, emotionally. They may never be the same, but theyll learn to live in a new way. And I think this is one of those steps along the way: learning to live in a new way. The service began with a poignant moment of silence, punctuated by 10 rings of a bell in honour of the 10 lives lost. Mourners clutched thin white candles, their voices blending together in the opening hymn, O Lord, Hear my Prayer! On a table at the front of the sanctuary, 10 lit candles marked the lives lost. A sign taped underneath read #TorontoStrong and love for all, hatred for none. The mood was jovial. With bagpipe music occasionally playing in the background, community members gathered around a laneway near Norwood Park to honour a respected figure who has spent decades helping out those less fortunate. Gene Domagala was the man of the hour. When he arrived to the laneway renaming ceremony, held on Saturday, April 21, the local historian, whos often been dubbed as the Mayor of the Beach, greeted everyone locals, politicians, friends, former colleagues and family members some he said he hasnt seen in years. I didn't realize there'd be so many people that I know, said Domagala, talking to Metroland after the ceremony. Its good to see the community came out. I was overwhelmed. Community Centre 55 organized the effort to rename the laneway located parallel of Swanwick Ave. between Enderby and Norwood Rds. a formal process they initiated last summer and completed about six months after. The centres executive director, Debbie Visconti, said it was an opportunity for them to recognize all the work that Domagala has done and have something more permanent that people would see. Were grateful for Gene helping us every day. I hope people realize how much work he does in the community, Visconti said. Bob Murdoch, the centres former executive director, who has worked with Domagala in a professional capacity for 31 years, echoed the sentiment. He is untethered in his desire to assist people. He's relentless, omnipresent, compassionate, devoted to the welfare of others, never compensated or remunerated for his work and gets his satisfaction from service, Murdoch wrote. Read more: As shops in the Beach close, Danforth East businesses prosper Police investigate after Beach landmark tagged with anti-Semitic, anti-Black graffiti Christmas lights event in the Beach to twinkle on despite increased fees Another Centre 55 fixture, Nancy Culver, said Domagala taught her a lot about work ethic and caring for the community. Hes probably one of the most selfless people you will ever meet. He just works almost probably seven days week for the community, Culver said. Domagala says hes grateful for the recognition, thanking everyone he has worked with, including those who have passed on." He hopes people such as the late Glenn Cochrane and Suzanne Beard two out of the many names he mentioned will get similar recognition for doing the same good work. The volunteer-extraordinaire said that not everybody in the Beach is a millionaire. "Everybody helps out each other. This is just the way the city is, he said. Canada is a country of volunteers. I take my hat off to all the people, the volunteers here in the east end, especially, and thank them very, very much. As to whats next, Domagala says he has no plans to retire from his volunteering work. When I'm in my casket that's when Ill slow down, he joked. On March 26, Munir Najjar and his wife, Lillian, locked up their house in Amman, Jordan, and gave his neighbours of 18 years the keys. Keep an eye on the house, Najjar told them, while I visit my kids in Canada. The 85-year-old retired man was a friendly face everyone knew in his Amman neighbourhood, his neighbours Jalil Twal and Nuhad Matalka told the Star in a phone call from Jordan. Every day, theyd open their front door and hed be there, smiling, ready to share a conversation or lend them a hand. Hes a very nice man. He helped everybody, Matalka said. Twal said Najjar was clever and kind. On Monday, Najjar was killed in a van crash alongside nine other pedestrians in the Yonge and Finch area. That morning, he was just out for a walk to Starbucks, Twal said. He was an active man in excellent health, Twal added, who liked walking. He walked better than me and Im 73 years old, Matalka said, laughing. Najjar was visiting his son Omar, daughter Haneen, and three grandsons in Toronto. Theyre a happy family, Jalil said. In the days before Najjar was killed, the couple were enjoying their vacation. They had visited the Aga Khan and had celebrated Easter with ice cream at Unionville. In their Facebook photos, Munir and Lillian Najjar are always side by side, smiling. In what would become one of the last photos they took together, Lillian has her arm wrapped around her husband as they stand in front of a window overlooking a snow-covered suburb. He was a good man, said a relative, who wished to remain anonymous. A man of peace, a good heart who lived to see his son and daughter get the best education. He was a positive man. He certainly did not need to leave this way, but he will be remembered for his good heart. In Jordan, the news of his death came through television. First, his neighbours and relatives heard about the van crash in Toronto. Then, they heard the shocking news their friend had been killed. Everyone here is crying, Matalka said. It is a tragedy ... he was a great, great man. Relatives told the Star the Najjar family is waiting for the coroners office to formally identify him. On Wednesday, the Jordanian Embassy in Ottawa released a statement saying they were working with Canadian authorities to help and assist the family. We are missing him, Twal said, lamenting that Najjar wouldve been home in three weeks. Thats what he told us. I dont know how to live without my beloved neighbour, Matalka said. What else can I say? I just want to cry. He just went to visit his children. He is coming back to Jordan dead. Parents are shaken after a vehicle went through a fence on the property of a school about a few blocks east from Yonge St., close to where Monday afternoons van rampage occurred. Police were called on Thursday around 2 p.m. to McKee Public School at Yonge St. and Church Ave. where the vehicle almost hit the portable on the west side of the schools property. All students and staff were safe and accounted for inside the building, said school principal Jeanette Lang in an email to parents that was sent to let them know what had happened. The incident was alarming to parents, particularly in light of the van tragedy that occurred only a few blocks away on Monday, said parent Ali Youssefi. His sons Grade 5 class is usually in the portable that was almost hit, though he said students were not there at the time of the collision. Everybody was kind of shaken up, he said. Imagine if theyd hit the portable. Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said police attended the scene and that the elderly female driver was shaken but not injured. Douglas-Cook said it no charges were laid. Lang said that the Toronto District School Board assessed the damages to the fence. Repairs were completed later that day. McKee, located in one of the most high-density areas of the city where schools cant meet the demand for spaces, has four portables to cope with overflow. Local politicians and parents have been clamouring for solutions to the overcrowded schools and Youssefi, co-chair of McKees parent council, said the incident on Thursday is one more reason that children should not be in portable classrooms. Correction - April 30, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version to remove a speculative statement from a Toronto Police officer. Theres a picture of Eddie Kang holding his own birthday cake, a caramel lava confection, sitting in the centre of a brand new, stainless steel work station. In front, staff have placed candles to light his way to heaven, they said and water for him to drink on the way. Surrounding the memorial is an ever-growing display of flowers left by coworkers and friends. The tribute is in the basement below the dining room at Copacabana restaurant, a Brazilian steak house on Adelaide St. W. where Kang spent most of his time working and building a reputation as a talented up-and-coming chef. Except for the candlelit memorial, this basement is dark. This is where Kang, 45, was supposed to lead the launch of a new, affiliated restaurant called Casa Fuego that will combine Argentinian cuisine with Peruvian influences. For the past eight months Kang had spent hours tinkering with recipes at that workstation, dreaming up dishes that would be on the new menu. This was his station, Milan Kalkan, the Copacabana general manager said Wednesday evening, on a tour of the now empty restaurant, which is slated to open, with Kangs dishes in about a month. This was all Eddie. His passion was in the kitchen. The photo of Kang holding his cake was one of the last pictures his adoring staff have of him. It was taken in March. Kang was killed Monday when a van mounted the sidewalks along Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch Aves. Staff at the restaurant are reeling from his loss, both distraught and angry. The outgoing Kang, who they described as a generous father figure, had no known family in the city, they said. We were like brothers, Gary Smith, 33, said of Kang. He was the most selfless person I have ever met. Everybody looked up to him. Smith, who described Kang as having the best sense of humour and always in a good mood, said they spent nearly all their working days together, from kitchen preparation in the early mornings to going out socially after work with a close-knit group from the restaurant. When the friends parted ways each night, Kang would express his love to them, often using the word amore. Sometimes he brought them gifts or gave them neck massages during tense kitchen moments. He was always thinking about other people, Smith said. Armando Sandovalzo, 30, a cook who also worked closely with Eddie, said he has been hit hard by the news. I am angry. He was a super innocent guy, he said. He just had a passion for working, reading books. He was a teacher for us. Sandovalzo said he and the staff at Copacabana found out that Eddie was among Mondays injured that afternoon when another chef at the restaurant got a call on his cellphone. It was from a woman who saw Eddie get hit by the van and rushed to help, Sandovalzo said, adding that the woman called the restaurant from Eddies cellphone. Sandovalzo rushed to the Yonge St. scene, he said, and saw what he thought was his friends body, but couldnt get close to it because police had set up a barrier. Other Copacabana staff rushed to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to try and identify their friend. The Star has not yet been able to find or talk to any of Kangs family members. Staff members said they believe Kang had a wife who works out of the country and is on her way to Toronto. The last time Kangs wife was in town, staff said, was earlier this year for a visit. The couple had dinner at Copacabana before going on vacation in Cancun. Copacabana staffer Karla Lopez helped set up the vigil and, in the dining room upstairs, a more subtle symbol of their grief a single white flower in the middle of a bouquet of red roses. Were really suffering because of this news, she said. Kyle Echakowitzs heart sank upon hearing the news. This weeks van rampage on Yonge St. and reports the man allegedly behind the carnage has a form of autism called Asperger syndrome, sent Echakowitzs mind racing back to 2012 when another autistic man shot 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. It feels like a bit of a repeat of Sandy Hook. And now its here. And very close to home, said Echakowitz, 20, who was also diagnosed with Aspergers and uses the term autistic. Back then, like today, Echakowitz, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns they and them, spoke to reporters about autism, a complex, neurobiological disorder that affects communication and social interaction. I had to plead with non-autistic folks that were not a violent group of people, which is a very awkward thing for a 15-year-old kid to do, Echakowitz said. When you grow up autistic, you dont really get a chance to be a kid. You have to be more mature by default. Because otherwise, the entire community gets misrepresented. And you get blamed for it, Echakowitz added. This week, its not just people on the spectrum Echakowitz is defending. Echakowitz and Alek Minassian also went to the same high school, Thornlea Secondary, where they were classmates in a special education class for students with autism spectrum disorder. (Aspergers, was dropped as a subcategory of the disorder in 2013 and is now defined as autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.) Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, is facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 10 people, and attempted murder charges for 13 others injured in the attack. A 20-year old Thornhill resident on the autism spectrum who attended a special education class for autistic students at Thornlea Secondary School where Alek Minassian was also a student. Echakowitz was in Grade 9 in 2011 when Minassian was in Grade 12. The class, called learning strategies was a welcome refuge for kids on the spectrum, Echakowitz recalled, adding autistic behaviours, including arm flapping and other repetitive movements, were understood for what they are: self-calming and focusing strategies. We see in the media . . (non-autistic) classmates of Alek making some comments that really show just how much misconception there is around autism and what it means to be autistic. Those are the kinds of things that we do to regulate ourselves and help us cope with our environments, said Echakowitz who is in the social service worker program at Seneca College and hopes to work with autistic children in the school system. When people on the spectrum become overstimulated and overwhelmed, they can have meltdowns and can appear enraged, Echakowitz said. But what Minassian is alleged to have done on Monday, appears to have been thought-out in advance, Echakowitz noted. Meltdowns are not premeditated. There have been reports Minassian may have identified as an incel, or involuntarily celibate, which refer to men who are frustrated by their inability to find romantic relationships or sex. But online incel communities are dominated by misogynistic hatred and Echakowitz is troubled by the possibility Minassian may have been involved with them. In a press conference this week, police acknowledged a cryptic message was posted on Minassians Facebook page shortly before his arrest in the hit-and-run spree, referring to an incel rebellion and U.S. mass murderer Elliot Rodger. But if Minassian was involved with incel, it is more likely this community targeted him, Echakowitz said. When it comes to violence, autistics, like all people with disabilities, are more likely to be the victims rather than the perpetrators, Echakowitz added. I think its going to be very important to hear what (Minassian) has to say in court . . . because too often when these things happen we dont get that story right, Echakowitz said. Parents of children on the autism spectrum are also worried about Minassians diagnosis and the stigma it casts on a community already vulnerable to attack and misunderstanding. Laura Kirby-McIntosh, who has two children with autism, including an 18-year-old who attends Thornlea Secondary School and is in the same autism class Minassian attended, said this weeks events have been a kick in the stomach. There is horror and sorrow for the victims, but also fear, she said. Read more: Sunny spring day turns to unforgettable tragedy as van driver kills 10 and injures 14 Van attack prompts debate about increasing safety without sacrificing livability Lessons from abroad for a grieving Toronto People in the community are asking themselves if they have to defend (an alleged) mass murderer to protect autistic people, she said. Were worried about people connecting dots that shouldnt be connected when there is no diagnostic link between autism and violence or autism and extremism, added Kirby-McIntosh, vice-president of the Ontario Autism Coalition. Im processing as a parent and as an observer that people on the spectrum may be more vulnerable to extremist ideas if they are not carefully supervised, she added. Sometimes our kids seem to have a magnetic attraction to computers. Its a worry. Technology and the internet present a whole new set of challenges for people living with autism, said Dr. Kevin Stoddart of the Redpath Centre, a private clinic that provides mental health services for adults with autism and neurodevelopmental conditions. Many are vulnerable. Many are isolated and lonely and are looking for community of some kind. But they may not be a good judge of the quality of the community or the actors in that community, Stoddart said in an interview. I worry about people on the spectrum getting drawn into (online) communities that are not helpful and are not healthy from a mental health standpoint, he added. Isolation, black-and-white thinking and difficulty with social nuance all make people on the autism spectrum vulnerable, Stoddart said. Social Justice Reporter Laurie Monsebraaten talk about the importance of reporting on events that associate crime with autism and how her interview with Kyle Echakowitz, who was in the same special ed class for kids with autism at Thornlea Secondary School as Alek Minnasian, provided more clarity on the issue at hand for readers. People may attribute mental health issues to autism incorrectly. And that often means the mental health issues arent treated, he said. To address the problem, Stoddart helped form the Ontario Working Group on Mental Health and Adults with ASD in 2014 to bring psychiatrists and other mental health providers together with autism experts to share expertise with a view to better serving this vulnerable group. Obviously this is a devastating development, he said about the violence on Yonge St. And maybe it points to specific treatment that we need to think about for people who are prone to rage, and explosive, highly destructive kinds of behaviours like this. So many people are suffering who have been directly and indirectly involved in this. Stoddart added. Were all very heartbroken. With files from Jennifer Yang Less than 48 hours after a white van wreaked carnage on Yonge St., Sgt. Dave Ouellette returned to quietly pay his respects to the dead. I think the easiest thing to say is none of us will ever be the same, he said, as rain plunked down on the Olive Square memorial near Yonge St. and Finch Ave. I cant even describe it by words. Its described by tears, more than words. On Monday, Ouellette was among the first in an enormous team of officers to respond to the rampage that killed 10 and injured 16. On Wednesday, standing at the memorial, passersby approached him to say hello, to say thank you, or to shake his hand. Sir, a young man said, thank you very much for being there for us. Read more: 10 people dead, 14 injured: Officials have identified all 10 victims killed in the Yonge St. van rampage When that first call came through, Ouellete sped from Leslie St. and Finch Ave. He arrived to chaos, and the sounds of screaming. Officers from Toronto polices 32 and 33 division arrived at the sprawling scene to help whoever they could. You start putting things together by little bits of information to start, and then when officers first start arriving, and calls for help from other officers, we start to realize its more than just an accident. The story, Ouellette said, is not about any one officer, but about the city and the first responders as a whole. There is no individual hero in all of this, he told the Star, just a magnificent group of human beings from the three arms of the emergency services. A lot of that, in his view, came down to training. We have great leaders in our organization; we have great specialized units in our organization, but that front line, those uniformed officers and the communications, the dispatch involved, those 9-1-1 operators, they are the gem that makes this work. As he talked to the Star, Ouellette at times fought back tears, his eyes shadowed by a uniform cap. Being at the memorial where he laid a small token down amid flowers was therapeutic, he said. Monday had been gruelling for him, and the other first responders. Twenty. Twenty hours, he said. Hearing thank yous echo across Toronto meant a lot, he said. It reminds us why we do what we do. That there is a calling, and we swore an oath, and moments like that shine away moments that dont. In his 20 years, he added, the force had come a long way with peer support and managing stress from tough days on the job. Im proud to be part of the city of Toronto. No where else would you find so much unity, from different cultures, from different ways of life, different walks of life all understanding that a bad day doesnt define us. Rocky Kim has seen the smiles and handshakes between North Korean dictators and foreign government leaders before, and every time, he has been disappointed when nothing changes. So the Toronto businessman shook his head looking at photos of North Koreas Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in warm embrace Friday after the third inter-Korea peace summit in which the two men signalled an intention to end hostilities between their neighbouring countries. This is just ridiculous, says Kim, who sought asylum in Canada from Pyongyang in 2007. This is just a show. They have done it so many times, but nothing has changed. This is just another attempt for Kim Jong Un to buy time to extend his regimes lifespan. While Kim has his doubt about the peace declaration, others in Canadas 200,000-strong Korean community are cautiously optimistic that the agreement which includes a promise of regular meetings between the two leaders as well as a permanent communication office on the border and the reunification of families will pave a way for real peace in the peninsula, which has been divided since 1948. This is historic, said Tina Park, an expert on inter-Korean relationships and executive director of the Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect at the University of Toronto. They both pledged for peace on the peninsula and North Korea agreed to denuclearization. This is beyond all diplomatic gestures. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in ended their talks with a warm embrace and a pledge to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. They also say there will be talks to formally end the Korean War. (The Associated Press) Park said she understands why some Koreans remain skeptical, but she senses that this time is different: Kim is different than his father (previous leader Kim Jong Il). He has the aspiration to modernize the North Korean economy. He is smarter and younger, and was able to have a very candid discussion with Moon. They now have the framework and must hash out the timeline and details of implementation. Its going to be a long, complex process. Toronto lawyer Jack Kim sees the declaration as a good sign. Six months ago, no one would have thought we would be here today, said Kim, who heads HanVoice, a Toronto-based non-profit for North Korean human rights and refugees. Still, he knows the stakes are high and is wary of the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Some in the Korean-Canadian community, he says, are fearful that Pyongyang is just using the talks as a stalling tactic to develop better weapons. Rocky Kim is one of those. Hes upset, he says, because foreign leaders are buying into Kim Jong Uns ruse. They are so naive. Things are the same under Kim Jong Un, his father and his grandfather. It is the system. They just repeat the cycle every time. Read more about: A Quebec man who led a double life has been found guilty of two counts of perjury after a Toronto judge found he lied on stock exchange forms when he claimed he had no other identity or criminal record. Robert Vanier submitted sworn documents indicating he had only been known by that name and that he had no criminal convictions, Ontario Superior Court Justice Julie Thorburn said in French reading from her 14-page ruling in court Friday. Vanier was in fact born Carl Gagnon in Quebec, lived a good part of his adult life under that name, and has been convicted of more than 60 crimes, Thorburn said. His convictions, stretching back to 1984, are for offences ranging from bigamy to fraud, impersonation and theft. He ended up in a witness protection program in Quebec after testifying against members of the Hells Angels. He changed his name to Robert Vanier. After reversing his decision not to call a defence, Vanier argued he lied on the forms due to an officially induced error. He told the judge police in Quebec said it was OK to use Robert Vanier on the documents without acknowledging his previous identity or criminal record. He has been representing him assisted by a publicly-paid-for lawyer known as an amicus curiae (friend of the court). The judge found Vaniers credibility lacking and rejected his defence. Crown attorney Mike Kelly asked that Vanier be remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing June 8. But Thorburn declined to grant the order saying he has come to court throughout the trial. Asked to surrender his passport, Vanier told court he doesnt have one. Kelly declined to comment on the verdict or on what punishment he will seek. The maximum penalty for a perjury conviction is a term of imprisonment not exceeding 14 years. Nothing nothing ... Bull----, said Vanier, declining to comment further as he marched down the courthouse hallway wearing a trench coat and pulling a small trolley suitcase. Vanier said he planned to appeal, but refused to say on what grounds. You see when it comes. He faces a retrial on a charge of filing a false prospectus to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) thats set to begin Sept. 12. According to the OSC, the prospectus inaccurately indicated his company, Onco Petroleum, had more than $20 million available for development of its oil and gas resources. After Onco began trading as a public company in November 2007, the stock plunged and investors in Quebec and London, Ont., lost in excess of $30 million, the RCMP said at the time of his arrest in 2013. The two perjury charges relate to misrepresentations on personal information forms submitted to the TSX and CNQ stock exchanges about Onco, which he launched in London, Ont. During final arguments, Kelly told court Vanier had a strong reason to lie because if regulators discovered he was once a career criminal they would never have allowed his company to sell shares in the public market. Investors who lost money were livid when they discovered his true identity through a series of articles in the London Free Press. Read more about: University of Toronto student Sohe Chung was among those killed in Mondays van attack, friends have confirmed. Shes an amazing friend and everyone did love her. Everyone is absolutely in shock, said high school friend Cora Cianni, who posted a memorial to Chung on Facebook. There wasnt a single person who didnt get along with her. She was an amazing, well-rounded person. Chung worked at the luxury retailer Holt Renfrew, according to a LinkedIn account identified by a close friend as being authentic. Born in 1995, Chung studied molecular biology at the University of Toronto, where she was a member of the universitys Korean Students Association. The association posted on its Facebook page Wednesday that the van attack has affected one of our own student members. A vigil is planned at Mel Lastman Square on Friday evening. Although we wont understand what the affected victims family members are going through, we will be putting together a gathering in hopes to unite the community. We encourage you to attend, said the message, originally written in Korean. The University of Toronto posted a message from president Meric Gertler, saying We are deeply saddened that a member of our community has died as a result of this terrible incident. We mourn the loss of our student and want those affected to know that they have the support of the university, he said in the message. In addition to those who are directly affected, we know that many at U of T are hurting. We encourage those in need of assistance to seek help through the services available to them on campus, as well as in the wider community. High school friend Cianni said Chungs friends and family are grieving and are asking for privacy. A memorial has sprung up along the stretch of Yonge Street in Toronto where Mondays deadly van attack occurred. One resident who lives near Yonge and Finch says the area is usually very safe. (The Canadian Press) Friends remember Chung as a sweet, sincere person who loved fashion and was fiercely loyal to her friends. I remember her being a genuine, kind person, said Gabby Prieto, who worked with Chung at Sketchers in the Eaton Centre around 2014. She was so caring and kind. She was a great person to work with. Jodi Yeung said Chung was part of her close circle of friends at Loretto Abbey Catholic high school near Yonge St. and Wilson Ave. Shes kind of shy but when you get to know her she is really funny, Yeung said. She was super sweet. Eight women. Two men. The youngest was just 22 years old, the oldest 94. Most were from Toronto or surrounding area, two were foreign nationals. All were simply going about their days Monday just before 1:30 p.m. when a rented white Ryder van came barreling down Yonge St. south of Finch, ending their lives. Five days after accused murderer Alek Minassian allegedly commandered the van with lethal force, Toronto police and Ontarios chief coroner released the names of those killed, following a careful and time-consuming process of identification. The victims were: Renuka Amarasingha, 45; Geraldine Brady, 83; Andrea Bradden, 33; Sohe Chung, 22; Anne Marie DAmico, 30; Betty Forsyth, 94; Chul Min Eddie Kang, 45; Ji-Hun Kim, 22; Munir Najjar, 85; and Dorothy Sewell, 80. Identifying the bodies had been the prime task since Mondays rampage. Coroners used scientific means such as dental records to ensure they were 100 per cent correct in their identification, Dr. Dirk Huyer, chief coroner for Ontario, told reporters at news conference Friday. Minassian, 25, is facing 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. Three more charges of attempted murder are pending, after the police discovered new injured victims not originally counted, including a 21-year old male and a 67-year-old female. Insp. Bryan Bott, head of the Toronto police homicide squad, said more than 100 witnesses have been interviewed and reams of photo and video evidence had come in from witness and businesses. As they review video evidence, investigators will examine whether it appears as though Minassian was deliberately targeting women. Although police have said there is no evidence of that, eight out of 10 of those killed were women. Police have not released any information about possible motive, but are probing the cryptic Facebook message attributed to Minassian moments before he allegedly began striking pedestrians. That post, attributed to Minassian, references incel, which refers to an online community of the involuntarily celibate. This includes men who feel frustrated by their inability to find romantic relationships or sex, and these forums often feature misogynistic rhetoric. The post also mentions Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old California man who killed six people in 2014, shortly after posting a video ranting about his sexual frustration and the women who rejected him. Bott said Friday that the RCMP was helping with the search of Minassians online activity, and said all avenues will be explored, including any possible link to the incel community. Where that investigation goes, its too early to tell, Bott said. Some of those killed in Mondays rampage had already been identified by the Star and other media, while a few of the names released Friday had not been previously known. Two were foreign nationals Najjar was from Jordan visiting family; Kim was a student from Korea. Bradden was from Woodbridge, Ont. The remaining seven were from Toronto. Andrea Bradden, 33, was a member of a Slovenian Roman Catholic Church in Etobicoke. Co-workers said she filled a room with laughter. A tribute blog posted by Gartner Canada, a research and advisory company with an office located on Yonge St. between Finch and Sheppard Aves., described a bright, vibrant woman before it was taken down earlier this week. Andreas joyful energy brought smiles, happiness and laughter to everyone who was privileged to work with her and call her a friend, Alex Falkingham, a company vice-president, wrote. She had the uncanny ability to make any room she walked into a more positive place, with laughter filling the room. When Andrea smiled, everyone smiled with her. Andrea, a sign placed at the Olive Square memorial on Yonge St. read Friday, Pocivaj v miru. The message, Slovenian for rest in peace, was signed by the Simon Gregorcic Club, a cultural association named for a 19th-century Slovenian poet. Also laying at the Olive Square memorial was a handwritten note addressed to Kim, calling her truly a kind friend with a great personality. Im so sad you had to leave us this way, the note, written in Korean characters, read. The time we spent together was so nice. Im here hoping you went to a good place. Geraldine Brady, 83, was the most caring and honest person Ive ever met, said Feanny Xu, who met Brady 14 years ago through the direct-marketing company Avon. She was still driving and actively delivering Avon orders, said Xu. Brady had been selling for the company for the past 45 years, Xu said. Hairstylist Pat Fortini said he was in total shock when he learned of the death of his client for the past 15 years earlier this week. She was a lovely lady, said Fortini, who said he saw her last Friday for her weekly appointment she wore her hair in a bob, he said. As she was leaving, Fortini said they bid each other farewell saying, See you next week! God willing, he said Brady responded. At Fridays update on the investigation, Bott provided more details about the deadly route the van took down Yonge, starting one block north of Finch at Hendon Ave. Heading south, it then struck the southwest corner curb of Yonge and Churchill Ave. before entering back onto the road and continuing on the southbound lanes. It then mounted the southwest curb of Yonge and Park Home Ave., before continuing south on the sidewalk and making a right turn in the laneway between 4980 and 4950 Yonge St. It continued west and made a left on Beecroft Rd., then contined south through the intersection of Sheppard Ave W. The van then made a left at Bogart Ave. and mounted the southwest curb, travelling south along sidewalk, then making a right on Yonge and continuing south on the sidewalk before turning right on Poyntz Ave. and heading west on the sidewalk before stopping about 50 metres west of Yonge. In a video posted online Monday, the driver appears to ditch the vehicle and has a standoff with a police officer on Poyntz, yelling shoot me in the head and claiming to have a gun in his pocket. He was arrested soon after by Const. Ken Lam, 42, who was widely praised for his calm takedown of Minassian. Since Mondays rampage, two people have been released from hospital and 12 patients remain in hospital, police said. The #TorontoStrong Fund has raised more than $1.5 million as of Friday evening, following the tragic events on Yonge St. earlier this week. A white van mounted the sidewalk on Yonge near Finch Ave., and drove down the major street, deliberately hitting pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16 on Monday afternoon. In the wake of the tragedy, people across the city and the country have been looking for ways to heal and move forward, and help others to do the same. Read more: 10 people dead, 14 injured: Sohe Chung the latest victim of the Yonge St. van rampage identified Hundreds pack vigil in North York church to mourn victims of van rampage Were not a violent group of people: Ex-classmate of Alek Minassian speaks out about autism The fund, which is named after the hashtag widely used online as the city reeled from news of the van rampage, was set up by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Foundation. Mayor John Tory announced the fund on Tuesday at a news conference at Toronto police headquarters. The current goal is $2 million. Readers can donate to the fund here. Donations can now also be made by texting Toronto to 80100. After texting 80100, donors will receive a text asking them to indicate the amount they wish to donate, as well as a confirmation text. The website for the fund explains the money will be divided up in tiers, with priority given to immediate crisis support for survivors, families and witnesses. That support will be provided through Victim Services, whose crisis counsellors and volunteers do everything from providing emotional support, to covering practical concerns such as dog-walking, calling employers, mobilizing support systems or getting food while a family member is grieving or sitting vigil at the bedside of a wounded loved one. Were really there to make sure that nobody is suffering alone, said executive director Bonnie Levine. Then funds will be given to organizations and charities that address the aftermath and ripple effect on the city. A memorial has sprung up along the stretch of Yonge Street in Toronto where Mondays deadly van attack occurred. One resident who lives near Yonge and Finch says the area is usually very safe. (The Canadian Press) A number of corporations have joined in donating to the fund. Torstar Corporation, which owns the Toronto Star, donated $10,000 on behalf of its media outlets. This tragic incident has demonstrated the pain that can be inflicted on our city and our residents, the website reads. But it has also revealed Torontos strength, our compassion and our resilience. First responders fought to keep victims alive and protect bystanders from further violence. Civilians comforted and supported the victims even as they witnessed unspeakable horror. Hospital staff worked around the clock to save lives and heal physical and emotional injuries. Lets lean on each other in these difficult times and show that we are all #TorontoStrong. On Sunday at 7 p.m. there will be a #TorontoStrong vigil in Mel Lastman Square to remember the victims of the attack. TVO journalist Steve Paikin has been cleared of an allegation that he made an inappropriate sexual comment to a Toronto mayoral candidate during a business lunch in 2010. An independent third-party investigation commissioned by TVO to examine allegations by Sarah Thomson has been completed, TVO chief executive officer Lisa de Wilde said in a written statement released Friday. The investigator found that the allegations were not substantiated and Mr. Paikin did not violate TVO policies. As such, the investigation is now closed. TVO is proud of the work of Steve Paikin, who has been at the centre of TVOs journalism for more than 25 years. On Twitter, Paikin, a married father of four, expressed relief that the ordeal was over. While the last 11 weeks have been pretty difficult, Im relieved to read this report, the veteran broadcaster tweeted. My deepest thanks to all who believed me, he said. Thomson had alleged that Paikin had sexually propositioned her during a 2010 lunch. In an email to the Star, Thomson said she never wanted to go public with her allegations, and stands by them despite the report. I went to great lengths when I wrote about my #metoo story to make sure that even the media would not be able to identify (Paikin), Thomson wrote Friday, referring to the allegation she posted on her website Feb. 2. She said she feels TVO did not respect her privacy, and that the publicity around her allegations created a huge public shaming of me. In early February, Paikin posted a statement to Facebook, denying Thomsons allegations. The 27-page report, by Rachel Turnpenney of the law firm Turnpenney Milne LLP, was written after interviews with 21 witnesses over 11 weeks. It calls Thomson a complex complainant. At times, the investigator had some serious concerns with Thomsons approach to the investigation, the report says. The investigator learned that Thomson was contacting potential witnesses in what appeared to be either a fishing expedition to secure other potential complainants against Paikin or to garner support for her recollection. Thomson also demonstrated a tendency to suggest to witnesses a version of events (in line with her own perspective) prior to their interviews with the investigator. That said, Thomson ultimately presented in a forthright and unguarded manner. ...There is little doubt that Thomson genuinely believes that Paikin made a sexual advance and/or sexually proposition her at the 2010 Grano lunch, but her version of events was not substantiated, the report continues. Ultimately, the investigator did not accept Thomsons assertion that Paikin, a seasoned journalist with an immense knowledge of politicians, would have conducted himself as alleged. Specifically, the investigator found it implausible that Paikin would flagrantly ask Thomson, in a public place, to sleep with him or have sex with him (or words to that effect) in the presence of Thomsons team member. The investigator said the team member who attended the lunch gave inconsistent evidence and could not remember sending an email to Thomson afterwards discussing the alleged incident. Thomson also alleged Paikin had made follow-up comments to her in 2012 at a Liberal Party event regarding his 2010 proposition, but the report says the date and location of the event was unclear, she did not provide any expense records, and a witness she directed the investigator to wasnt sure if he ever met Paikin. Thomson is the chief executive officer and publisher of Womens Post, an online publication for women in business. She ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010, MPP in 2011, and again municipally in 2014. Her complaint also alleged that after she rebuffed Paikin in 2010, he prevented her from appearing on his current affairs show, The Agenda. However, Thomson did appear on the show in 2011. Thomson told the Star that when TVO went public with her allegations, it caused enough publicity and was big enough to scare other witnesses into hiding. However, numerous people whod worked or volunteered on Thomsons 2010 mayoral campaign told the Star they werent aware of Paikin making an inappropriate sexual comment to her during that time. Thomsons lawyer, Saba Ahmad, said we are disappointed that TVOs investigator did not give sufficient weight to the email written and sent on the day of the lunch in question by the witness who was at the lunch. His contemporaneous recollection of the days events are the best evidence of what actually occurred. LONDONProsecutors have dropped charges against two Canadian pilots accused of preparing to fly a commercial aircraft while under the influence of alcohol after their blood samples were mistakenly destroyed at a Scottish prison. Prosecutors say there will be no further action against Imran Syed, 39, and Jean-Francois Perreault, 41, who were arrested July 18, 2016, before they were to pilot an Air Transat flight from Glasgow to Toronto. Authorities say Syed, from Toronto, allegedly had 49 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Perreault, from Ontario, allegedly had 32 milligrams. Both men denied the charges. The flight eventually took off with a different crew the next morning after about 250 passengers spent the night at hotels. "We are working with Police Scotland to ensure there are proper processes and guidance in place covering the retention and storage of samples when an accused person is remanded in custody," prosecutors said. Air Transat had suspended the pilots but they will be reinstated because they have been "declared innocent," the airline said. "We will be meeting with them in the next few days to plan their reinstatement since there is no charge against them and we have no evidence that they have broken any law nor our internal rules," the airline said. "They will need to undergo retraining and requalification as per applicable legislation, and we will put in place measures to ensure that their behaviour is exemplary." WASHINGTONBipartisan legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller now lies in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to advance it. McConnell has said the bill is unnecessary and he wont let it reach the Senate floor. But the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee added to the pressure on McConnell by voting for the measure and saying McConnell should change his mind. While my constitutional concerns remain, I believe this bill should be considered by the full Senate, said Sen. Chuck Grassley. Read more: Trump says he wont be involved in Muellers Russia probe, but could change his mind Trump admits for first time that Michael Cohen represented him in Stormy Daniels case Trump denies report saying he wanted to fire Mueller in December Republicans have split on the issue amid U.S. President Donald Trumps repeated criticism of Muellers Russia investigation. That break was apparent Thursday as four Republicans joined Democrats in the 14-7 vote to pass the legislation from committee. For now, the move is largely symbolic, given McConnells opposition, but it shows the complexity of Republican support for Trump when it comes to the presidents attacks on Mueller. Nearly all GOP senators say Trump shouldnt fire Mueller. But Republicans who support the legislation say its necessary to guard against presidential interference by giving Congress more oversight power. Two Republicans and two Democrats introduced the bill this month as Trump ramped up criticism of Mueller, who is investigating potential ties between Russia and Trumps 2016 campaign as well as possible obstruction of justice by the president. Trump appeared to suggest Thursday he has no intention of trying to fire Mueller, for now. But he left open the possibility he could change his mind. I am very disappointed in my Justice Department. But because of the fact that its going on, and I think youll understand this, I have decided that I wont be involved, Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox & Friends. I may change my mind at some point, because whats going on is a disgrace. The legislation would give any special counsel a 10-day window to seek expedited judicial review of a firing and would put into law existing Justice Department regulations that a special counsel can only be fired for good cause. The four lawmakers who wrote the legislation GOP Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrats Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey hoped committee approval would give them more time to find enough support in the full Senate. After the vote, the committees top Democrat stepped up that effort. The American people must know the truth, and this bill should now be brought before the full Senate for debate and a vote, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said in a statement. With most Democrats on board, the bipartisan group had worked this week to gather additional Republican votes. That included negotiating with Grassley, who floated an amendment that included increased reporting to Congress by the special counsel. Democrats initially opposed that, saying it could undermine the investigation if the special counsel had to reveal too much to Congress during the investigation. But the two sides reached a compromise. The revised amendment would require that notification after the investigation was done, along with a report detailing the investigations findings and explanations of any charges. It would require notification if a special counsel were removed. Republicans who supported the bill could be at risk of angering Trump and some of his supporters they represent. Grassley, Graham, Tillis and Sen. Jeff Flake joined Democrats to advance the bill. In opposing the bill, Utah GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch said it was unconstitutional and unnecessary because Trump already knows that he would face political ruin if he fired Mueller. Firing Mueller would cause a firestorm and bring the administrations agenda to a halt. It could even result in impeachment, Hatch said. But Tillis said the bill was necessary to protect not just Mueller but future special counsels, and he said Congress should leave constitutional questions for the Supreme Court to decide. White House aides have said Trump doesnt intend to fire either Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Muellers investigation. But White House legislative director Marc Short said last weekend that he couldnt rule it out in the long term because its not known how far off this investigation is going to veer. Read more about: PARISPolice in Europe, the United States and Canada have seized servers and data from Daesh propaganda outlets in a multi-country operation aimed at tracking down radicals and crimping the groups ability to spread its violent message. The two-day operation was the culmination of efforts started in late 2015, after co-ordinated Daesh attacks that killed 130 people in Paris, according to a statement from European police agency Europol. Police notably targeted the Daesh-branded Aamaq news agency, as well as al-Bayan radio, and Halumu and Nasher news sites. Read more: Taliban attacks in Afghanistan kill 14 troops, policemen: officials Suicide bomber kills 57 at Afghanistan voter centre in attack claimed by Daesh Syrians in Raqqa afraid, angry and frustrated as they try to rebuild 6 months after Daeshs ouster Aamaq spreads information online in at least nine languages and has been used to claim Daesh was behind attacks in multiple countries, from the 2016 nightclub attack in Florida to a deadly supermarket hostage-taking in southern France last month. The operation was led by Belgian prosecutors and also involved authorities in the U.S., Canada, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Romania. While Europol said the operation punched a big hole in the capability of [Daesh] to spread propaganda online and radicalize young people in Europe, it didnt shut down the propaganda altogether. For example, Nasher continued to share Daesh statements and Aamaq reports Friday through channels on encrypted messaging network Telegram. The Daesh group has used sophisticated and ever-changing communications tools to spread its apocalyptic message to disillusioned Muslims living in the West, to persuade them to reject Western ideals of pluralism and tolerance. High-quality videos, complete with thrumming beats and slick editing techniques, have unlimited reach thanks to social networks. Extremists with gentle American accents narrate radio broadcasts aimed at U.S. internet users. European authorities involved in the operation Wednesday and Thursday said it showed the importance of international co-operation in fighting online radicalization, which has helped fuel deadly attacks in multiple countries in Europe and the U.S. It aimed to destabilize this apparatus by seizing and dismantling servers used to diffuse [Daesh] propaganda and to identify and arrest its administrators, the Belgian public prosecutors office said. Two prior international police operations, notably targeting Aamaqs mobile app and web infrastructure, paved the way for this weeks raids. One led by Spains Civil Guard that seized servers in Panama allowed authorities to identify radicals in 133 countries via their interaction with Daesh propaganda, according to Europol and a Civil Guard statement. The operation came as more than 70 countries vowed to bolster efforts to stop financing for Daesh and Al Qaeda. Participants at an international conference in Paris on Thursday promised to improve international co-ordination and transparency of money flows. Read more about: WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump is renewing his attacks on James Comey, the FBI director he fired last year, accusing him of lying about Trumps trip to Moscow in 2013 that has received fresh scrutiny. Early Friday, Trump accused Comey in a tweet of leaking classified information. Hes either very sick or very dumb, Trump tweeted. On Thursday, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee approved a measure that would safeguard special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired. The move came shortly after Trump, in a television interview, blasted the Justice Department, which oversees the special counsels investigation. Read more: Trump says he wont be involved in Muellers Russia probe, but could change his mind Trump says he doesnt think his lawyer Michael Cohen will flip on him In Comey memos, Trump talks of jailed journalists and Russian hookers I am very disappointed in my Justice Department. But because of the fact that its going on, and I think youll understand this, I have decided that I wont be involved, the president said in a telephone interview with Fox & Friends. But then he added: I may change my mind at some point, because whats going on is a disgrace. The Mueller legislation approved by the Senate panel may be largely symbolic, since Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wont bring it up for a full Senate vote. But it shows there are limits to Republican support for Trump when it comes to the presidents attacks on the special counsels probe. Four Republicans joined Democrats in a 14-7 committee vote to approve the measure. Nearly all GOP senators say Trump shouldnt fire Mueller. And Republicans who support the legislation say its necessary to guard against presidential interference by giving Congress more oversight power. While my constitutional concerns remain, I believe this bill should be considered by the full Senate, said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the committee, adding to pressure on McConnell. Trump has increased his criticism of the Russia investigation since the FBIs raids on the office and hotel room being used by Michael Cohen, a Trump personal attorney who is under federal criminal investigation in New York for unspecified business dealings. Trump again called the investigation a witch hunt and insisted there was no collusion with Russia. Much of his vitriol in his TV remarks was directed at Comey. He laced into the former FBI director as a leaker and a liar. He disputed Comeys claim that Trump told him he did not spend the night in Moscow during his 2013 trip to attend the Miss Universe pageant. He said I didnt stay there a night. Of course I stayed there, Trump said. I stayed there a very short period of time but of course I stayed. Former FBI Director James Comey blasts U.S. President Donald Trump as unethical and untethered to truth and his leadership of the country as transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty. (The Associated Press) Comey last year created a series of contemporaneous memos some classified, some not to document his interactions with Trump. He wrote in the memos that Trump repeatedly brought up allegations contained in an unverified document that explored ties between Trumps orbit and Russia. Among the most salacious details was a report that Trump consorted with prostitutes overnight on that trip, a claim Trump has denied. Comey wrote in the memos that Trump told him that hed never stayed the night in Moscow. Flight records and social media posts from that week indicate that Trump did spend at least one night in Russia. Comey said on a CNN program that aired Wednesday watched by Trump that he was always concerned when someone lied to the FBI, particularly if it was about something that an agent never asked about, as he said was the case with Trump. It tends to reflect consciousness of guilt as we would say in law enforcement, Comey said. He added: If they bring things up you didnt ask about, and if they bring it up and make a false statement about it, thats its not definitive, but it certainly makes you very concerned about what might be going on there. Trump denied having that conversation with Comey. You look at the corruption at the top of the FBI. Its a disgrace, Trump said. And our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from, but at some point I wont. He also suggested Comey leaked classified information in the memos. Comey has denied that allegation. He has acknowledged that the Justice Departments inspector general, who has been investigating FBI actions during the Hillary Clinton email probe, was examining whether Comey complied with FBI policy in how he produced and stored the memos. He said that inquiry is not looking at whether he mishandled classified information, because thats frivolous. The bottom line is, I see no credible claim by any serious person that that violated the law, he said on CNN. A conscious effort by Trump to mislead the FBI director could lend weight to the allegation, contained in the private research dossier compiled by a former British spy in 2016, that Trump engaged in compromising activity during the trip that exposed him to potential Russian blackmail. The Mueller probe has already led to the indictments of several former Trump campaign officials, including onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is charged with engaging in conspiracy and money laundering. Trump, who recently added former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to his legal team, has not committed to sitting for an interview with Muellers investigators. Read more about: NEW YORKU.S. President Donald Trumps personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and his father-in-law have lent $26 million (U.S.) in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Semyon Sam Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohens father-in-law, created Nevada-based Cannaboss LLC the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show. He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic), according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nevada, that was obtained by the AP under the states public records law. Read more: Trump admits for first time that Michael Cohen represented him in Stormy Daniels case Trump says he doesnt think his lawyer Michael Cohen will flip on him Trumps lawyer reveals in court Fox News host Sean Hannity is also a client Its not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 to finance his grow operation. Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohens hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Florida, as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman. Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cellphone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner. News of Shtayners ties to the medical marijuana industry comes as the Trump administration finds itself somewhat split on marijuana policy. Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws. Marijuana use is fully legal in Nevada, seven other states and Washington, D.C., and 38 states allow medicinal or other limited uses. It was not clear why Shtayner has decided to move out of taxis and into the grow business. But the rapid rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft has disrupted the taxi industry, and Shtayner is among a handful of prominent taxi owners who face lawsuits from creditors who once lent liberally to medallion owners. The value of medallions the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display have dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece in New York just a few years ago to nearly half those amounts today. The subsequent drop has left many taxi medallion owners over-leveraged. One former Cohen business partner, who managed Cohens taxis for years, is accused in a lawsuit by creditors of hiding his assets in financial disclosures to his bank including a luxury apartment in a Trump skyscraper. Another former cab manager of Cohens has declared bankruptcy and is facing criminal charges from state prosecutors in New York, who accuse him of pocketing nearly $5 million in taxes. The business relationship among Cohen, Shusterman and Shtayner stretches back years. Property records in New York show that Shtayner and Shusterman were among the investors in an upper Manhattan taxi garage and auto repair shop in the 1990s. Last August, Shusterman lent at least $12 million against properties owned by Shtayner, his wife or their companies, Chicago real estate records show. In a second series of four transactions in March, Shusterman lent the Shtayners or their companies an additional $8 million. Four of the loans were made to Shtayners wife, Yasya, and four others were directed to two Chicago taxi companies she manages, according to corporate documents. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported those transactions. Cohen has been involved in the New York City yellow cab industry since the 1990s. He has a fleet of 22 cabs in Chicago and, along with his wife and father-in-law, has owned some 30 medallions in New York after initially going into business with his father-in-law, records show. Shusterman who, like Shtayner, started as a cab driver after emigrating from Ukraine pleaded guilty in 1993 to federal money-laundering charges in a tax-evasion case involving cab drivers and a Brooklyn accountant. Shtayners Chicago cab empire has grown rapidly, though records show that 99 of his medallions are in foreclosure and 15 have some sort of violation. Forty-nine have already been taken over by the city for failure to pay taxes and fees. Although Shtayner has been sued by creditors, operates a taxi business in a harrowing time for his industry and is borrowing heavily in non-traditional loans, the city of Henderson concluded that he is adequately liquid financially. The citys business operation division found that Shtayner and his business partner, a Las Vegas-based steel and aluminum provider, each had liquid assets that exceed the states requirement that they be able to free up to $250,000 within 30 days if needed, according to the records obtained by the AP. Read more about: WASHINGTONA federal judge in Washington on Friday threw out a civil lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman that sought to challenge the authority of the special counsel in the Russia investigation. The decision was a blow to Paul Manaforts defence against numerous charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller and a rejection of his use of a civil case to attack his criminal prosecution. It was the first of Manaforts challenges to Muellers authority. He has made similar arguments in moving to dismiss the two criminal cases against him. In her 24-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who also presides in one of Manaforts criminal cases, rejected his request for an order protecting him from future prosecutions by Muellers team. Read more: Trump says he wont be involved in Muellers Russia probe, but could change his mind Many people have said you should fire Mueller, Trump says after FBI raid on his lawyers office Trumps lawyer floated idea of pardons to Flynn and Manafort, a possible attempt to sway their co-operation with Russia probe A civil case is not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future, Jackson wrote, saying that it was well-established law that a court shouldnt use its powers in a civil case to interfere in a criminal investigation when a defendant has the ability to challenge the prosecution in a criminal case. Jackson stressed, though, that her order in the civil case does not address the pending motions in Manaforts criminal cases and should not be read as expressing any opinion about the merits of those arguments. Jackson said she will issue a separate order in the criminal case in which she presides at a later date. Joshua Stueve, a spokesperson for Mueller, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Manafort didnt immediately have comment on the ruling. Manafort faces two criminal cases that include charges of money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud, tax evasion and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. None of the charges relate to allegations of Russian election interference and possible co-ordination with Trump associates, the main thrust of Muellers public appointment order. Manaforts attorneys, Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle, had pointed to that fact in arguing that Mueller had exceeded his authority by bringing charges unrelated to Russia or the Trump campaign. Initially, Manafort had asking Jackson to throw out all charges against him and nullify Muellers appointment order in total. But in an April 4 hearing, Downing told Jackson that he was dropping the bulk of the civil challenge, asking her just to nullify a paragraph in Muellers appointment order that he believed was overly broad. They also asked Jackson to issue an order protecting Manafort from future prosecutions by Mueller. The Justice Department had moved for dismissal of the lawsuit, largely on grounds that allowing a judge in a civil case to dictate the scope of a criminal investigation would be a violation of separation of powers. Daniel Schwei of the Justice Departments civil division argued that previous precedent should guide the judge to throw out the suit. This is a collateral civil challenge attacking a criminal prosecution, Schwei told the judge. Manaforts civil lawsuit did not address a recently released memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that appears to undercut his argument that Mueller didnt have the authority to prosecute him. The August 2017 memo shows Rosenstein specifically authorized the special counsel to investigate Manafort for his political consulting work in Ukraine on behalf of the government and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The memo, which had not been previously released publicly, also revealed that Mueller was empowered to investigate whether Manafort committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials to interfere with the presidential election. The portions of the memo were made public in a court filing that responded to Manaforts motion to dismiss his criminal case in Washington, which is also before Jackson. That motion and a similar one in Manaforts criminal case in Virginia are still pending. Read more about: The white panel van that stole 10 lives, shattered bodies, broke hearts and stunned a city this week did one more thing besides. It turned over a rock and revealed something very, very ugly. Am I the only person whos never heard of Incel? one Torontonian asked another. Far from it. To many, the existence of a sub-culture of women-hating, self-loathing young men convening online to wallow in self-pity and contemplate violent revenge was the after-shock of one of this citys worst days. Alek Minassian, 25, an itinerant techie in the way of his generation, charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 14 counts of attempted murder, reportedly posted a cryptic manifesto on Facebook just before unleashing his rage on Yonge St. The Incel Rebellion has already begun! he wrote. We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger! Incel. Short for involuntarily celibate, a cyber clubhouse for those feeling rejected by women. Chads and Stacys. The much-resented men and women who get dates, couple, make lives together. Elliot Rodger. An American mass murderer and misogynist who killed himself after a shooting rampage in California in May, 2014. In that one bilious blurb can be found an extreme expression of a toxin coursing through modern culture. That is the inability of men to cope with a changing world and the arrival of women at a semblance of social and economic equality. When did the creation of this species of seething, stunted, emotionally deformed men begin? Doubtless, they burn figurative crosses in recalling the invention of the birth-control pill and its liberating effects after the 1950s. Betty Friedan would be an arch-enemy for publishing, in 1963, The Feminine Mystique, with its clarion call to women that there was more to life than perfection of the domestic arts. But the metastasizing took off with the revolution in technology, its impact on the economy, and the devastation in manufacturing. Something seismic shifted in the economy and culture, Hannah Rosin wrote five years ago in her book The End of Men: And the Rise of Women. The industries hardest hit were predominantly male and often identified in construction, manufacturing, resource extraction with a macho strain of maleness. The ordained male role as breadwinner, man of the house, head of the family fell under relentless threat, Rosin wrote. And the hardest news for men was that women, for the first time in history, had in many ways surpassed them. Both sexes were going to have to adjust to an entirely new way of working and living and even falling in love, she said. That adjustment has left too many men baffled and bereft. They could move more quickly into new roles now open to them college graduate, nurse, teacher, full-time father but for some reason, they hesitate, Rosin wrote. Personality tests over the decades show men tiptoeing into new territory, while women race into theirs. Technology brought another change to those most challenged by the new world order. It delivered ubiquitous pornography and a depiction of sex lives known to few actual humans. It offered the kindred in resentment a chance to create mutual support groups of rage. And it provided the ability to traffic anonymously in revenge fantasies. Its hard to deny that the emotional fallout of this rapid, role-shifting change has seeped into the open, even into the mainstream. Female reporters doing their job in public spaces across the continent routinely have men scream f--- her right in the p----! at them. Some considered it extreme that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought the reasonable goal of a gender-balanced federal cabinet when he took office in 2015. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, like almost all female political leaders, is savaged anonymously in the ugliest and most violent ways. Donald Trump, while campaigning to be president of the United States, essentially stalked rival Hillary Clinton during a TV debate, looming over her from behind as she fielded questions. He frequently made misogynistic comments mocking menstruation, grading women on their appearance, boasting of sexual assault. He won the election. In her book Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution, Laurie Penny had bad news for the lost boys of Incel and other such festering hidey-holes. Change driven by women and the LGBTQ community in the quest for social justice isnt done yet. Further change will require more ambition than we have hitherto been permitted, Penny wrote. Further change will require us to speak what is unspoken, to refuse to accept the world as it is. It will require us to ask big, challenging questions about the nature of work and love, sex and politics, and to be prepared for the answers to be different from what we had expected. That movement could use the support of everyone in naming and calling to account misogyny in all its forms wherever it is found. And never more urgently than this week. How airports propel our economies, Opinion, April 21 Columnist Richard Florida praises the economic benefits generated by airports, specifically Pearson International in this case. His somewhat fantastical economic projections are all very nice but what he fails to mention is the environmental impact of air travel. It has been estimated that planes cause more global warming than all the cars on the planet. Per-passenger-mile numbers are even more dramatic: Flying is 50 times worse than driving. In my opinion, the negative economic affects of global warming far outweigh the positive effects that Mr. Florida predicts for the GTA and its environs. As he travels around emphasizing the economic effects of airports, perhaps he should consider going by car, not by plane. David Evans, Toronto Read more about: It is not just pipelines that Canada has a hard time getting done. Putting money where the countrys mouth is on climate change is turning out to be at least as hard. This week, two provinces turned to the courts to challenge core elements of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus plan to reconcile Canadas energy ambitions with its climate-change obligations. As previously announced, the government of British Columbia is asking that provinces top court to clarify whether it has the constitutional authority to regulate the amount of bitumen oil that transits through its territory. Read more: Saskatchewan government seeks Court of Appeal ruling on federal carbon tax Saskatchewan stands pat against carbon tax after meeting with Trudeau Just watch me: New Saskatchewan premier vows to fight federal carbon tax The answer will not be forthcoming for a while and certainly not in time for the May 31 deadline set by Kinder Morgan the parent company of the Trans Mountain pipeline to fish or cut bait on its expansion. A favourable court ruling for B.C. could have consequences for the profitability of all future interprovincial pipelines, starting with the Trans Mountain expansion. In the immediate future, the move by the provinces minority NDP government means that project will likely not go ahead without an injection of public funds. If he loses the court battle, Premier John Horgan says he will consider the pipeline matter closed. But that might only happen once the province has exhausted all its legal recourses. If the case makes its way to the Supreme Court, this debate could stretch beyond the next B.C. election. The government of Saskatchewan has also gone to its top court to challenge the authority of the federal government, in this case the matter of Trudeaus plan to impose a carbon tax on provinces that fail to take steps to meet the carbon-pricing threshold set by Ottawa. That too could be a prelude to a larger legal battle. In Ontario and Alberta, the Conservative opposition parties support Saskatchewans move. If elected to power later this spring and next year, Doug Ford and Jason Kenney have both said they would fight Trudeaus carbon-pricing policy in court. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is planning to campaign next year on a promise to repeal the Liberal climate-change framework. For all the drama surrounding the battle to stop the Trans Mountain project, the political forces aligning against Trudeaus climate-change strategy are no less consequential. They are also just as uncompromising in their stance as the anti-pipeline foes, whose intractable opposition to the Trans Mountain project they so vehemently denounce. As he set out the terms of his provinces carbon tax challenge on Wednesday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe argued that the provinces are not subsidiaries of the federal government. The recent Supreme Court beer ruling has demonstrated that contention has a constitutional foundation. But the irony that Saskatchewan is invoking the same federalism principle to fight Trudeaus carbon tax as B.C. is in its challenge to the federally backed pipeline is apparently lost on Moe and his federal and provincial allies. Trudeau came to power touting a two-pronged approach to energy and climate change. His government would put in place a national framework for carbon pricing and make a start towards meeting Canadas international obligations to reduce greenhouse gases. But it would also have the back of the fossil fuel industry as it sought to expand its reach to markets. Two-and-a-half years later, few of the current protagonists in the debate have bought into Trudeaus proposed compromise. For the most part, they have sidestepped it. Notwithstanding the prime ministers carbon-pricing initiatives, climate change activists in B.C. and elsewhere and their like-minded Indigenous allies are not about to give a social license to pipeline projects. In the larger picture, opposition to the Trans Mountain expansion is more deeply rooted in concerns over the increased risk of oil spills at sea than in the projects contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions. On the other side of the debate, the Conservative opposition to Trudeaus carbon-pricing policy is not tied to the obstacles standing in the way of the Trans Mountain expansion. If those obstacles were miraculously removed tomorrow, Scheer, Ford, Kenney and Moe would not blink an eye in their battle against a federal carbon tax. For Trudeau, winning the pipeline battle would not translate into winning the carbon-pricing war. It would only impose on his government an even greater obligation to ensure its carbon-pricing plan is equally implemented. The prime minister has said he will see the Trans Mountain project done, even if that means forcing the hand of B.C.s government and losing support in BC before next years federal election. By all indications, Trudeau will have to show the same determination if he is to ensure his national climate change framework becomes a reality in every province again, at some potentially considerable risk to his partys electoral fortunes. Chantal Hebert is a columnist based in Ottawa covering politics. Follow her on Twitter: @ChantalHbert Read more about: History was made on Friday by the leaders of North and South Korea in their first summit in more than a decade. It has received massive international attention, with an estimated 3,000 journalists accredited to cover it. But in the end, in spite of the drama, it may very well be remembered as no more than a historical footnote and dress rehearsal for the momentous meeting still to come. It will be the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Koreas Kim Jong Un tentatively planned for early June, if it ever happens, that truly matters. Whether it succeeds or fails may reshape the future of the Korean Peninsula, and perhaps Asia itself, for decades to come. Read more: North and South Korea leaders agree on denuclearization, but avoid specifics North Korea wants meeting as soon as possible, Trump says Donald Trump says North Korea agreed to denuclearize. It hasnt Incredibly, after years of stubborn impasse and bitter acrimony, the entire Korean conflict seems once again to be in play. Will it result in a breakthrough over the issue of North Koreas nuclear threats? Might the Korean War, halted in 1953 by an armistice rather than a negotiated agreement, finally come to a formal end? And could the two Koreas, like the two Germanys after the fall of the Berlin Wall, make the extraordinary first moves toward reunification? Thats the hopeful but likely naive framing of what may be going on. A more realistic response is to answer a regretful no to all of the above. What is more probable, sadly, is that this sudden flurry of diplomatic activity will create unachievable expectations that will lead to nothing. And that, dangerously, may lead to war. Trump has already revealed his thinking. Last weekend, he angrily rejected suggestions he has already given concessions to Kim with nothing in return. In a message on Twitter, he wrote: Wow, we havent given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World) In fact, North Koreas Kim has done no such thing. In exchange for the prestige of meeting for the first time with a U.S. president, he has only agreed to discuss the potential elimination of nuclear weapons. And that is actually a familiar North Korean position, always defined disingenuously as including Americas nuclear umbrella protecting South Korea. Most observers believe this crucial disagreement over what genuine denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula really means is fraught with danger. Trump himself has fostered that notion. He has told advisers he can convince Kim in person a highly unbelievable boast and has a simple remedy if it doesnt work: If the meeting when Im there isnt fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting. That possibility of a dramatic Trump walkout from such a high-stakes summit terrifies Americas allies in Asia and would be seen as a pretext for a potentially catastrophic U.S. military strike against North Korea. No longer is this notion so far-fetched. Trump has ditched his relatively moderate foreign policy advisers and has replaced them with two hawks who have frequently talked about the need for regime change in North Korea. John Bolton, Trumps new national security adviser, helped orchestrate the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has called for a military strike against Iran and has supported pre-emptive military strikes against North Korea. And Mike Pompeo, Trumps incoming secretary of state and current CIA director, said in 2017: If Kim Jong Un should vanish, given the history of the CIA, Im just not going to talk about it. Someone might think there was a coincidence. We should keep all of this in our minds as we marvel at the expressions of camaraderie and good will coming out of Fridays summit between the two Korean leaders. With Trump still to go on stage, the cliffhanger episode of this high-wire Asian reality show hasnt even begun yet. Tony Burman is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at tony.burman@gmail.com Read more about: Social media is often and justifiably vilified as a vehicle of abuse, a many-headed monster of racist, misogynistic, homophobic and other discriminatory proportions. This week though, there were reasons to appreciate its other side, for its digital disruptiveness that also translated into social disruption of a good kind. A day before a Toronto police officer showed the world how to take down an alleged rampaging killer alive, three Alabama police officers threw a Black woman named Chikesia Clemons on the floor of a Waffle House, straddled her, suggested they were going to break her arm and exposed her breasts. Thanks to smartphones, this violation was captured on video. Thanks to social media the video was widely shared. Not that it fazed either the Waffle House or the Alabama Police, who said their respective staff behaviour was appropriate. The womans mother said Clemons had asked to speak to a manager after being told there was a charge for plastic cutlery to go with her food when police were called. The authorities said Clemons and her friends were behaving in a drunken and disorderly manner, refusing to throw away their alcohol. Quite by coincidence, at around the same time a white gunman who killed four people of colour with an assault rifle at a Waffle House near Nashville, Tenn., was arrested without incident. Read more: Alabama cops defend violent arrest of black woman at Waffle House Opinion | Shree Paradkar: After van rampage, Toronto must go beyond momentary compassion Opinion | Vicky Mochama: Black women denied happy, healthy motherhood Theres nothing new either about restaurant racism or racist violence inflicted on Black bodies. And while digital evidence hasnt helped Clemons get justice, it is making it harder to dismiss racist incidents as lies, backing racism-deniers into a corner, leaving them foolishly, desperately grasping at straws: What did she do? as in, whats the slightest bit of imperfection in the victim on which to pin the brutality? Again, its getting embarrassingly easy on social media to point out the hypocrisy of this argument. With video, of course. If the Nashville gunman example wasnt enough, there was footage from police dash cam video captured Tuesday in Tenafly, N.J. A white woman is seen and heard attempting to pull rank on the officers: Im here as a friend of the mayor, yelling expletives, shut the f-- up, belittling them, You cant put a sentence together. She lived to tell the tale. She wasnt even touched. Thanks to the videos though, she did lose her prestigious job as commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It gets deliciously better she was also the agencys ethics chair. Social media has enabled long-silent voices to speak their truths, to make it uncomfortable for those who have sailed through and benefited from the oppression of others. When Toronto was struck with horror and tragedy earlier this week, and Islamophobes and xenophobes tried to wrest the narrative of the van attack on social media, what was heartening were the voices of Torontonians who were sickened by it. Jonathan Goldsbie of Canadaland published an eye-opening expose of How the far right spun the Toronto van attack as Islamic terrorism and Andray Domise evocatively damned in Macleans the irresponsibility of speculating journalists. In other hopeful news: Yet another attempt to give the neo-Nazi Faith Goldy a platform this time at the University of Waterloo failed when the cost of security became unaffordable for the organizers. Thank goodness for these university students channelling their energetic idealism into defining the values they would stand for. Where in the past, such efforts would get scant publicity, having to jump through hoops to make it to newsroom radars they are now accessible on our screens. Waterloos Indigenous Students Association launched a petition to their leaders to not go ahead with the speech. The universitys Faculty Association created a GoFundMe campaign to support campus diversity. We want people who are marginalized by these events to know we support them, Bryan Tolson, the association president, wrote in a blog. Word spread. It raised more than $12,000. Based on events this week its fair to say that the painstaking, thankless labour of equality advocates holding discriminatory systems, institutions, people and behaviour to account is getting through. Canadians who are capable of holding some discomfort are listening. Its not soon enough. Its nowhere near the rate it should be. But this week, we or at least I need to see the glass at least a third full. A Halifax indie rock band named In-Flight Safety pulled out of a Nova Scotia music festival for its lack of diversity, or as frontman John Mullane tweeted, I found myself apologizing to close friends for another all-male (not to mention nearly all-white) lineup. Apologizing isnt enough. VICTORIAPayment for blood and plasma would be prohibited in British Columbia under legislation introduced Thursday. There are no clinics in B.C. that pay people for blood or plasma and the legislation is meant to prevent any from opening. Health Minister Adrian Dix says people who voluntary donate blood through Canadian Blood Services help save lives. Similar laws exist in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec but the B.C. Health Ministry says private organizations elsewhere in Canada pay donors for plasma and sell it on the global market. Dr. Graham D. Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, says hes pleased to see British Columbias support for the national blood-supply system. The Health Ministry says people who violate the law would be fined up to $10,000 for a first offence, and companies would pay $100,000 for a first offence and $500,000 for each subsequent contravention of the law. Read more about: VANCOUVER Too many Canadian adults aren't getting vaccinated for contagious diseases, putting populations at risk for outbreaks of the flu and whooping cough, according to a new report. Researchers from the C.D. Howe Institute found that vaccination rates for communicable diseases among adults in Canada were much lower than recommended targets. Adults between the ages of 18 and 65 had a vaccination rate of less eight per cent per cent for whooping cough and 44 per cent for influenza, though health officials recommend the whole population get those vaccines. There is the chance that with a large portion of society not covered, it could become a public health burden, said Rosalie Wyonch, who leads the health policy research program at the C.D. Howe Institute. The burden of disease on society has shifted from children to adults. Medical experts are concerned about low immunization rates for contagious diseases, because it decreases overall herd immunity and increases risk to children and seniors, who have higher rates of mortality for those diseases. For adult immunizations, you are trying to prevent illness in the more vulnerable populations, like people older than 65. The primary outbreaks we see are influenza, which has higher morbidity and mortality rates, said Marcus Lem, a senior medical adviser at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. While immunizations for children are at high levels due to vaccination programs in schools and at regular medical checkups, researchers say there is a lack of awareness and education about vaccines for adults. Adults may or may not be aware they are supposed to get an upgrade, said Wyonch, referring to the whooping cough and tetanus vaccine combination, which requires an adult booster to remain effective. The report also identified an availability bias in vaccinations, where people gauge their risk based on how aware of something they are. Since disease prevention through vaccines has been successful so far, many people believe they are not truly at risk of getting sick. One way of fighting those beliefs is by simply by making vaccines more available, said Wyonch. People would be more likely to get vaccinated if they could get it while there getting their groceries, or by stopping by the pharmacy on the way home. Read more about: VANCOUVER Councillor Andrea Reimer will try for a third time to compel her colleagues to reveal who their consulting clients are, a move her political rivals say specifically targets them. The way it works right now, if I work for Ballet BC I have to disclose that source of income, said Reimer, a Vision Vancouver councillor, using the dance organization as a fictitious example. However, if I have a consultancy and my only client is Ballet BC, I dont have to disclose that I only have to disclose my consultancy firm. Under the current rules, Reimer said, there is a risk that elected officials could obscure a direct financial benefit through a consultancy. Reimers motion is scheduled to come before council on May 1. She previously brought a similar motion forward in November; in response, all four Non-Partisan Association councillors walked out, stating they couldnt take part in the debate because they didnt know whether or not they were in a conflict of interest. Thats because all four councillors Melissa De Genova, George Affleck, Elizabeth Ball and Hector Bremner own or work for consultancies. De Genova lists Eventure Holdings as an income source on her financial disclosure form. Affleck is the owner of Curve Communications, a marketing and communications firm. Ball is co-owner of Eos Lightmedia, a lighting design company. And Bremner is vice-president of public affairs at PACE Group, a public relations and lobbying firm. Affleck said he believes current conflict of interest rules are already clear: councillors are required to declare when they could financially benefit from a decision and recuse themselves if necessary, and they have to identify which client is the cause of the conflict. So Im not sure what her intention is with this motion, more than to be a nuisance motion targeted at specific councillors, Affleck said. But Reimer said a recent conflict of interest complaint against Bremner highlights why there needs to be tougher disclosure rules. She believes more stringent rules would help bolster public confidence in the political system. In the past this wasnt much of an issue because we didnt have councillors who were consultants, but were now in a position where four out of 10 of us have external employment as consultants of one kind or another, she said. That seems to me that its a pretty significant issue if 40 per cent of your council has obscured financial interests. Affleck pointed out that Geoff Meggs, a Vision Vancouver councillor from 2008 to 2017 who is now chief of staff to Premier John Horgan, also owned a communications consulting firm during his time in office. Affleck said he hasnt yet decided whether hell recuse himself when Reimers motion comes up at council. StarMetro asked De Genova and Bremner for comment (Ball is recovering from surgery, according to Affleck), but did not receive a response by press time. Reimers motion asks council to approve sending the request to the Union of B.C. Municipalities for consideration during the next UBCM meeting in September; it would then go to the province if adopted by the UBCM. As to why Reimer chose that more roundabout route rather than sending the request directly to the minister of housing and municipal affairs, Reimer said shes been advised to seek input from other elected officials throughout B.C. first to see if they share her concern. Neither Reimer nor Affleck are seeking re-election. B.C.s next municipal election takes place on October 20. Jen St. Denis is a Vancouver-based reporter covering affordability and city hall. Follow her on Twitter: @jenstden Read more about: VANCOUVERA new analysis out of SFU prioritizes womens sexual pleasure and unmet needs in HIV research, a sharp contrast to previous work where prevention has dominated the discussion. Allison Carter, health science researcher with Simon Fraser University, compiled several studies together and presented her findings on Thursday, at the 27th Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS in Vancouver. She said more than 16,000 women in Canada are living with the disease. Women living with HIV are often viewed as having no right to a sex life, Carter said. Consequently, there is very little research around sexual health and data beyond prevention. Women who are diagnosed with HIV are often given pamphlets on how to use condoms, but if they are on treatment that suppresses the virus count, they have no risk of transmitting to their partners, Carter said. Yet this fact is not understood in society, she said. And biomedicine alone will not erase the complicated social challenges women face, such as stigma, lack of awareness and criminal nature of the disease. That stigma can result in feelings of isolation, fear and anxiety in seeking health care services, social rejection and an increased risk of violence, said Nicole Pasquino, clinical practice director for the non-profit Options for Sexual Health. Preventing transmission is the main argument for criminal prosecution of people who dont disclose to their partners that they are HIV-positive. But in 2014, nearly 80 Canadian experts endorsed a statement saying that chance is low to zero and poor knowledge has contributed to overly broad use of criminal charges, according to a report by Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange. That culture of fear fosters widespread harassment and prosecution against women, Carter explained, noting her research found 80 per cent of women living with the disease experienced violence. Weve positioned HIV as dangerous, dirty, contagious and, in some cases, illegal, which creates opportunities for people to discriminate and hurt women. But women living with HIV can, in fact, have sexually satisfying lives, Carter said. Half of women tested for her study reported sex is an important part of their lives. And those with more education and better physical health reported greater incidences of sex. Of the women in relationships, 75 per cent were with partners who are HIV negative and those relationships were linked to increased physical and emotional well-being. The results show it is possible for women living with HIV to find partners who are accepting, Carter said. But she also found that women who were older and experiencing violence in their lives reported less interest in sex. Dispelling the myth that sex is not important for women with HIV was Carters motivation to do the research. But she also discovered another problematic myth not having sex is abnormal and in the very least, unfulfilling. Ultimately, Carter said, its up to a the woman to decide what is personally satisfying. We need to be talking about sexuality with women beyond behavioural activities, she said, and into the emotional aspects and their identity as sexual beings. Melanie Green is a Vancouver-based reporter covering food culture and policy. Follow her on Twitter: @mdgmedia Read more about: VANCOUVER The B.C. government will move to stop political parties from accepting corporate and union donations for party operations, a restriction expected to be in effect for upcoming municipal elections in October. The move to amend the legislation follows statements Greg Baker, president of the Non-Partisan Association, made to The Globe and Mail last week: While other civic parties said they would not accept any corporate or union donations, Baker said the NPA would accept those kinds of donations for the operations side of the party as allowed by the legislation. B.C.s anything-goes political donation rules, which were looser than most other North American jurisdictions, came under intense scrutiny in the lead-up to the last provincial election. The new NDP government introduced legislation in September 2017 that banned union and corporate donations and capped individual donations at $1,200. But parties could continue to raise unlimited funds as long as it went into administration, not campaigning. Vision Vancouver, the centre-left party that has held power in Vancouver for a decade, called on the provincial government to amend the legislation after Bakers comments were published. Vision has in the past been a fundraising machine: in the 2014 election, the party raised $2.9 million and spent $3.4 million $1 million more than the NPA spent. Selina Robinson, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, said she was disappointed that some parties are looking for ways to bring big money back into local politics. That prompted the NPA, in turn, to ask for retraction of those comments from the minister, which, Baker wrote, represent a serious mis-characterization of our organization. In a statement Friday, Robinson said operational and election expenses are hard to distinguish during an election year. This is a targeted change, to ensure elector organizations understand operational expenses will now be treated as election expenses in an election year. Baker said he was waiting to see more details on the legislation change before commenting. In a Nov. 20 letter to Robinson, three Vancouver councillors outlined several problems with the original campaign finance law. Adriane Carr (Vancouver Greens), Andrea Reimer (Vision Vancouver) and George Affleck (NPA) didnt mention the operations funding issue in their letter. Instead, they warned that municipalities would now have to spend more to inform voters about elections, and requested that donors to municipal campaigns get the same tax deductions as those who donate to federal and provincial politics. The councillors were also concerned that political parties who run more candidates would not be able to raise more funds, because under the new legislation, individual donors can donate $1,200 to either a candidate or an electoral organization, but not both. But their biggest concern was that third parties fall outside of the legislation: advocacy groups can spend as much as they like on advertising, polling and get-out-the-vote campaigns. In response to the letter sent by the councillors, Robinson wrote that those concerns had not come up during consultations with the Union of B.C. Municipalities, and she pointed out that third parties have to disclose their activities and are bound by spending limits. In an April 26 interview with StarMetro, Affleck said he believes that an alliance of independents could theoretically raise more money than a political party (or electoral organization, as parties are called in the municipal system). He and other NPA members have insinuated that two independent candidates council candidate Sarah Blyth and mayoral hopeful Shauna Sylvester are somehow allied with Vision because of their past associations with that party, calling them white label candidates. Its a theory Blyth was quick to dismiss. Theyre taking a fine-tooth comb through the rules to see how they can exploit them, she shot back, and theyre thinking others are doing the same. Jen St. Denis is a Vancouver-based reporter covering affordability and city hall. Follow her on Twitter: @jenstden Read more about: GODFREY A chance to recognize several hundred of the best and brightest graduating seniors from local high schools filled the Riverbend Arena with parents, teachers, administrators and business leaders for the 30th annual Silver Medallion Academic Excellence Awards Banquet, held Thursday at Lewis and Clark College. Its tremendous to get this many great students together and honor them, said Alton High School Principal Michael Bellm. We think its a wonderful event, said Edwardsville School District Superintendent Lynda Andre Its a very, very nice way to recognize students who are high academic achievers. We dont have enough opportunities to do that, so were very pleased. She also said it gives them a chance to let people know where they will go after graduation. It gives them a chance to shine, she said. The event honors the top 8 percent of students from 21 local high schools, and also honors a teacher and scholastic athletes of the year. A total of 211 students were listed, including AHS senior Anya Jones. I am very excited to receive this award, she said. It basically symbolizes all the hard work weve put in these last four years. And I think that being able to have something that represents that is very exciting and something that will always be remembered. Her mother, DeeDee Jones, said she was so proud of her daughter. Its a culmination of a life-long commitment to excellence, as well as perseverance and dedication, she said. It also embodies family values and community support, teacher support and encouragement, all the things that make us a great community. I consider myself blessed to be her mom, Jones said. The idea behind the program is to honor high academic achievers. When this was started in 1989 the thought process was there were all kinds of banquets to recognize student athletes, said long-time emcee Jim Shrader, publisher of The Telegraph. There was really nothing in place that recognized scholarships. The students, if they were not valedictorian or salutatorian, there was nothing. By recognizing the top 8 percent they were able to go a little deeper in recognizing students. He also noted that one of the people he gave a Silver Medallion to more than 25 years ago, Melissa Erker, now plays a major role in the program. Erker, director of government and community affairs at the Wood River Refinery, is a Civic Memorial High School graduate and received a silver medallion in 1991. She made dinner introductions as part of the program, taking the place of refinery Manager Jerry Knoyle, who was unable to attend. What I think is so amazing is we have an opportunity to recognize this talent, she said before the ceremony. We really celebrate them and encourage them to come back to the community. I hope these students here think about that, she added. They have lots of aspirations and dreams, and we have lots of room for them here to do things too. Kent Scheffel, vice president of enrollment services at LCCC, said the program is important to the college. We view it as a great event because we work so closely with the high schools, he said. Its good for the students, its good for the parents and its good for the community, so were glad to be involved. He also acknowledged it gave them a chance to show off the community college to a large number of prospective students. We just like this one because it gives a chance to really recognize the students and gives them the opportunity to let people know where theyre going and what they plan to major in. You really get to see the best and the brightest. Many students said they were excited to participate. It took a lot of hard work and determination to get here, said AHS senor Taylor Lambert, who plans to attend college at the University of Missouri. Doing well in school really means a lot to me. I think its really great they get together and show how much they respect the students who put forth the effort to keep their grades like that, said Parker Allen, an Edwardsville High School senior being honored that night. Like others, he said it was not easy getting there. Its definitely a lot of work, he said. To be in the top 8 percent you have to take honors level classes and advanced classes, thats a lot of work. I think its an amazing opportunity and a great honor, said Kennison Adams, an EHS senior. Im really excited to be here. Its just really neat to see how many kids have worked so hard, and Im excited were going to celebrate that. She plans to attend the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Adams added that it took A lot of hours of studying and homework and projects, just trying to stay on top of it all. Its been worth it. Im very honored to be here and Im glad I get to share this with my classmates, she said. Civic Memorial English and psychology teacher Christiann Wiest was honored as the Teacher of the Year. Retiring Bunker Hill Superintendent Dr. Victor Buehler was also honored. Civic Memorials Kameron Denney won the male scholar athlete award, with Carlinvilles Taylor Wills winning the female scholar athlete award. Participating schools included Alton, Bethel Christian, Brussels, Bunker Hill, Calhoun, Carlinville, Carrollton, Civic Memorial, East Alton-Wood River, Edwardsville, Gillespie, Greenfield, Jersey Community, Marquette Catholic, Metro-East Lutheran, Mississippi Valley Christian, Mount Olive, North Greene, Roxana, Southwestern and Staunton high schools. In addition to The Telegraph, sponsors were Olin Corp., Phillips 66, Global Brass and Copper Inc., Lewis and Clark Community College, Phillips 66 and 1st MidAmerica Credit Union. The Teacher of the Year Award was sponsored by Liberty Bank, and the Scholastic Athlete of the Year Awards were sponsored by Carrollton Bank. Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447. Trinity Medical School students offered chance to return home Social Share STUDENTS of the Trinity Medical Sciences University have been afforded the opportunity to return to their home countries and complete their Spring term online. The University said they are committed to the health and safety of their students, faculty, and the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Our campus remains open and fully staffed for those students who choose to remain on the island of St Vincent. In doing so, there will be no change to current employment status, pay, or benefits for those members of our Trinity Family, a release from the University said. While the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains low, this continues to be a rapidly evolving situation. Trinitys commitment to the health and well-being of our community is paramount. We are carefully monitoring the current situation in order to ensure the continued safety of our community, both in St Vincent and the Grenadines and globally, said Dr Francis Purcell, Provost and Dean, Trinity School of Medicine. As we continue to monitor this current situation, along with all health professionals and organizations around the world, we will remain committed to providing our students, faculty, and the communities we serve with the tools, resources, and support to best navigate this current global health crisis. LITCHFIELD There appears to be no apparent relationship between skeletal remains found near Lake Lou Yaeger, and the case of missing Macoupin County woman Denita Hedden, authorities said at a press conference Thursday. The remains were discovered by a utility worker Wednesday afternoon, approximately 100 yards away from the lake shoreline in Litchfield. At approximately 9 a.m. Thursday a number of investigators from multiple agencies searched the area where the remains were found to locate any additional items of concern. Police had initially searched and secured the area Wednesday night. Illinois State Police Trooper Heath Bryan previously said the Litchfield Police Department contacted ISP Zone 6 Investigations at about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday after finding skeletal remains.The race, sex, or age of the remains are still unknown. Hedden, of Royal Lakes, a village roughly 25 miles from the lake where the body was found, has been missing since Jan. 28 after being seen last at Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri. Earlier this month, Macoupin County Sheriff Shawn Kahl said he believed foul play was involved. We feel like weve got a pretty good case at this point in time, and a suspect, and we feel like this is a murder investigation a homicide, he said at the time. All items recovered have been sent to ISP for further analysis. The investigation remains open, and efforts will continue. ALTON Some 38 people, mostly women, lined the steps and front of the YWCA building Thursday, simultaneously reading a pledge to work to eliminate racism in Alton. I pledge to look deeply and continuously in my heart and in my mind to identify all signs and vestiges of racism; to rebuke the use of racist language and behavior toward others; to root out such racism in my daily life and in my encounters with persons I know and with strangers I do not know; and to expand my consciousness to be more aware and sensitive to my use of overt and subtle expressions of racism and racial stereotypes, the group read as one, with the pledge continuing at length. The public recitation outside the facility, 304 E. Third St. with some participants holding signs saying, We stand against racism, and Black Lives Matter, and orange flyers with, I stand against racism was part of the YWCAs annual participation in the national organizations campaign, Stand Against Racism mission that began Thursday and runs through Sunday. Make sure the signs are visible when people drive by, urged Sonya Porter, president-elect of the YWCA board of directors. After the group of blacks and whites made their pledge, Mayor Brant Walker read a framed proclamation, saying Stand Against Racism is to: build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities. Beginning in New Jersey, the effort quickly grew to have a national presence by 2010, when an additional 80 YWCAs across the nation took a stand. In 2015, 152 YWCAs, along with 650 community organizations across 44 states plus the District of Columbia, joined in the Stand Against Racism, Walkers proclamation says. He then called April 26 through April 29, YWCA Stand Against Racism Weekend in the city of Alton. Among those in attendance was Chief Jason Jake Simmons and Deputy Chief Terry Buhs of the Alton Police Department; City Council Coordinator/Chief of Staff Kimberly Clark; and Rachelle Aud Crowe, Democratic candidate for State Senate, District 56. After the short event, YWCA Executive Director Dorothy Hummel told the group, Im really delighted to see you come out here and I am hoping you will work with us in the future. She said she invited her board members and people throughout the community to attend. The YWCA then held a round-table discussion. The idea is to talk about how racism affects us and how to take steps to eliminate racism in the local community, Hummel said. Porter, who also is the Alton School Districts director of human resources, called the event wonderful, and said how she is happy to learn the community supports efforts to eliminate racism. She said some businesses along Broadway have put up Stand Against Racism banners and posters, with employees and customers signing the message to show their support of the effort. Ashlyn Green, an Alton High junior and member of the YWCA board and Racial Justice Committee, said she was involved in related activities at school, including promoting use of the hashtag: #westandagainstracism. Its really important I stay involved in the community as someone who wants to go to college, she said. The Y is reaching out to the youth as well as adults. Other schools, including Alton Middle School, also held related activities, she said. Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller ALTON A man thrown from his motorcycle after a crash was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries Thursday. The Wood River Police Department was dispatched at 4:21 p.m. to Illinois Route 255 near Illinois 111, in reference to a motorcycle crash. Once on scene police determined the crash involved one motorcycle and its male driver. The Bharatiya Janata Party has admitted that it has fielded thousands of independent candidates in West Bengal Panchayat elections to evade the obstacles of Trinamool Congress in filing nominations. BJP West Bengal president Dilip Ghosh said that in thousands of seats, where the party alleged it could not file nominations because of resistance from Trinamool Congress workers, it would urge people to cast their votes in favour of their independent candidates. Out of 44,000 seats, there have been around 10,800 independence candidates, a sharp rise of 100 percent from last time. Ghosh said it was the plan of the BJP to field independent candidates. Our candidates were beaten up and thousands of them are in hospitals. We're left with no other options but to field independent candidates. Many of those independent candidates are our candidates, said Ghosh. Instead of the three-phases elections declared earlier, the West Bengal Election Commission on Thursday announced a single-phase election on May 14. The commission announced the new dates after both BJP and CPI(M) moved the Calcutta High Court for the extension of the last date of filing nomination. However, the opposition parties ridiculed the commission's fresh decision to hold elections in around 70,000 booths on a single day while the number of police strength in West Bengal is not more than 40,000. So most of the seats will be without policemen. Those unguarded booths will be guarded by the Trinamool Congress workers, said Ghosh. The CPI(M) has again approached the high court against this. Rabin Deb, a central committee member of the party, has urged the court to instruct the commission to give enough security to every booth. The case would be taken up on Monday. Deb said, If booths are not guarded properly, what is the point of holding election? If police could not give enough security, central police force should be brought in. Meanwhile, the left-backed employees union has moved the high court seeking protection during Panchayat election duty. That case would also be slated for arguments next week. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval to the acquisition proposals of the armed forces valued at over Rs 3,687 crore. According to ministry officials, giving a boost to indigenisation and in realisation of India's growing technological prowess, the DAC approved procurement of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) designed and developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) worth Rs 524 crore. "The system includes a third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the NAG, along with the Missile Carrier Vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night. This will give a quantum boost to the Army's capability against enemy armour," said an official. The DAC also approved procurement of 13 127mm calibre guns for the Navy. These guns will be fitted on-board new construction ships for undertaking surface engagements including Naval Gunfire Support Operations.The guns will enable naval ships to provide fire support and engagement of targets on the land. These guns have a range of 24 kilometres, which could be extended further by using Extended Range Gun Munitions (ERGM). "These guns, a long outstanding requirement of the Navy would be procured from BAE Systems of the United States of America under the categorisation of Buy (Global) at an approximate cost of over Rs 3,000 crore," defence ministery official added. The DAC also reviewed the progress of the DRDO programme to develop indigenous Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Congress and other opposition parties should end the fixation they have with the judiciary, and not deliberately create controversies by undermining the independence of judiciary. Said Naqvi to THE WEEK, "The Congress should end the fixation it has with the Supreme Court these days. It should put an end to all the nonsensical controversies it has created since the past few weeks. My advice to the Congress leaders is that without enough knowledge, they should not intervene in anything." Naqvi said there was nothing wrong in the Centre returning the collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice K.M. Joseph. "It is a very normal practice. It is the prerogative of the government to decide on such matters. The Congress leaders have the habit of questioning the credibility of every constitutional authority when they are not in power. In the past, they have questioned the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Such an attitude on their part is dangerous for democracy." After the government cleared the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court and kept on hold the decision on Justice Joseph, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said there was nothing wrong if the government wants the collegium to reconsider the recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph to the Supreme Court. CJI Misra did not stay the warrant of appointment of Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court. Malhotra, 61, was sworn in as a Judge on April 27 by Misra in the presence of top judges. She is now the 25th judge of the apex court. Malhotra is the seventh woman judge in the Supreme Court. The other female judges of the apex court were M. Fathima Beevi, Sujata Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Mishra, Ranjana Desai. Justice R. Banumathi is a sitting judge in the apex court. Of the 25 sitting judges in the apex court, six, including the CJI, are set to retire this year. Malhotra is the first woman advocate to be directly appointed as judge in the apex court. She was designated senior advocate by the top court in 2007. Malhotra will retire in March 2021. Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who is also an advocate, was critical of the Centres decision to return the recommendation of the collegium. He said, Is the Modi government above the law. What is holding up Justice Josephs appointment? His state, or his religion or his judgement in the Uttarakhand case? Born in Kochi, Kerala, Joseph became a judge in Kerala High Court in 2004. After ten years, in 2014, he became the ninth chief justice of Uttarakhand. Justice Joseph is remembered for rejecting the imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand in 2016. If he remains in high court, Joseph will retire in June 2020. But, if becomes the judge of the Supreme Court, he will retire only in June 2023. In the collegium system of appointing judges, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and four other senior-most judges of the court decide on the appointments. Once the collegium recommends a candidate, the President, after consulting the prime minister and the law minister, either accepts the candidate or returns it back to the collegium for review. But, if the collegium still suggests the same candidate, the President has no choice but to accept it. Said K.V. Thomas, Congress MP, to THE WEEK, Justice Joseph is a well-respected judge in the country. His father was a famous judge of the Supreme Court (Justice K.K. Mathew). This government is slowly killing all the constitutional bodies. First they killed the Planning Commission, and then Parliament. Now they are killing judiciary and the media. Like judiciary, there is so much pressure being put on journalists to report only what the government wants them to report. The funds-starved Congress party in Madhya Pradesh has appointed 71-year-old senior leader Kamal Nath as its new state chief along with four working presidents just seven months ahead of the assembly elections. The appointment of businessman-politician Kamal Nath along with Jyotiraditya Scindia as campaign committee president is replication of the Gujarat model where Congress fought the assembly polls last year on a similar pattern. Through the appointment of four working presidents from different regions and castes, the party has tried to create a balance among the various factions, but the young party workers are not enthused. The four working presidents include Bala Bacchan (Adivasi) from Nimad region, Surendra Cahoudhry (scheduled caste) from Bundelkhand region, Jitu Patwari (bachward caste) from Malwa region and Ramniwas Rawat (backward caste) from Chambal region. Scindia, who was a front-runner for the post of state party chief, has been accommodated as the campaign committee chief. Scindia held the same post during 2013 poll also. Out of power for almost fifteen years, Congress is expecting to form government in Madhya Pradesh anticipating an anti-incumbency wave against Shivraj Singh-led BJP government. However, the choice of Kamal Nath against Shivraj Singh who has already created a pro-poor image has actually made BJP leaders happy. The age of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath and his inaccessible style of politics has not gone down well with the masses, particularly the youth, said Akshay Hunka, chief of Berozgar Sena, an unemployed youth organisation. Immediately after his appointment, Kamal Nath said that he is there to expose the misrule of BJP and ruled out any factionalism in Congress. However, none of the Congress leaders, except outgoing Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Arun Yadav and leader of opposition Ajay Singh, came out to congratulate Kamal Nath publicly on his appointment. A regular twitter user, Scindia was conspicuously quiet on his micro-blogging platform on Thursday. Interestingly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh, BJP state president Rakesh Singh and BJP Rajya Sabha member Prabhat Jha were quick to welcome the new Congress chief. Born in Kanpur and a native of Kolkata, Kamal Nath is an outsider to the politics of Madhya Pradesh. He was introduced to the people of Chhindwara, his Lok Sabha constituency from where he won nine times, in 1977 by none other than Sanjay Gandhi. Kamal Nath, reportedly close to Gandhi family, was a classmate of Sanjay Gandhi in Doon school, Dehradun. He served in various ministries in the Union government under prime ministers P.V. Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. Owner of a slew of business firms including aviation and hotel chain, Kamal Nath is famous for his personal fleet of flying machines. Currently he owns two jet aircraft and two helicopters. According to sources, the immense resources of Kamal Nathhis declared worth in Loksabha affidavit is Rs 187 crorewas a major reason why party chose to make the 71-year-old leader to the coveted post. The state unit of Congress was facing severe resource crunch for last few years. It was even unable to pay salaries to its regular employees at times. The faction-ridden Congress party in the state was a major challenge to party high command, with a number of influential leaders back-biting each other. The decision to appoint Kamal Nath is evidently to stop the infighting as party expects that the seniority of the former Union minister will make others fall in line. The appointment of Kamal Nath as PCC chief might also signify the return of Digvijay Singh, the former chief minister. Digvijay is a close associate of Kamal Nath. He was lobbying openly in favour of Kamal Nath and demanding that the high command make Kamal Nath as the chief minister candidate. With this appointment, AICC chief Rahul Gandhi has tried to address several issues faced by the state Congress unit, but it seems that he failed to gauge the mood of the people who have rejected these senior leaders time and again during the last 15 years. In a state where more than 25 per cent of votersaround two croresare below the age of 30 years, the ignorance of the aspiration of young people may prove dearly for Congress, said psephology expert Arun Pandey. Pandey says, Most of the surveys based on the mood of the voters in MP point towards the disappointment of people with the BJP government, but when it comes to the faces of Congress leaders they turn non-committal. The factor of Jyotiraditya Scindia becoming a symbol of aspirational politics in the state cannot be ignored. The image of Kamal Nath as a money-bag politician in the new age of social-media driven politics against the pro-poor image of chief minister Shivraj Singh will change the entire narrative of forthcoming polls, says Pawan Deolia, a journalist-turned-social media expert. Kamal Nath is likely to take charge on May 1 in Bhopal. He has a bungalow in Bhopal which has been lying unoccupied for last 25 years. The wooing has begun. And the whole world is watching. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping openly courted each other on Friday as they met at the Hublei provincial museum, watched a dance and then went off to talk with interpreters. The two-day-long informal summit in Wuhanwhere the leaders will walk by a river, go for a boat ride and share their views over a cup of teais a chance for the two to take time out from the structured format of meetings, to rediscover their understanding. While it might look a lot like couples therapy, the optics of the summit might help bring the temperatures down in both countries. The Indian and Chinese leaders may not be able to resolve all the issues in this get-away, but Modi and Xi have certainly proved that the two can talk'' even after a dispute. Trust is the aim of the informal summit. And both sides seem to be clear that this is one area that needs to be addressed. Although the relationship between the two militaries still faces some difficulties, we are willing to use the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries as guidance to deepen our understanding, enhance mutual trust, properly settle differences and continue to accumulate the positive energy of the healthy and stable development of the relationship between the two armed forces,'' spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defence Col. Wu Qian has been quoted as saying. In the course of the two days, the leaders will meet six times. There will be a dinner hosted by Xi on Friday. On Saturday morning, Modi and Xi will meet again, bright and early, and walk by the East Lake. Post the stroll, there will be an hour-long boat ride, followed by lunch. Almost the perfect date itinerary, the need for such interaction has been felt on both sides. The proposal came about on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Xiamenthe first time that President Xi and Modi met post the Doklam incident. There was a suggestion that there could be a possible meeting between the two on the sidelines of upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, but it was decided that more time was needed for the two leaders to talk. It is very unusual for both sides,'' said former ambassador to China Ashok Kanta, who now heads the Institute of Chinese Studies. It is a special gesture for the PM as he goes back for the SCO in six weeks. It is unusual for the Chinese too. Months of quiet diplomacy has gone into ensuring that the Wuhan summit came about. Forbidding senior officials from attending the Thank You India events held to mark 60 years of the Tibetan government in exile was a signal by the Modi government that India was keen to show it could be trusted by Beijing. It was in stark contrast to the almost brazen attitude of India to the Dalai Lamas visit to Arunachal Pradesh that had sparked off the Doklam impasse. There has been a flurry of meetings between India and China this yeara sort of softening of positions. On Sunday, the day External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced this informal meeting, the Dalai Lama, at a public lecture in the capital to mark the 60th anniversary of his exile, said Tibet can remain a part of China, if Beijing guarantees the regions culture and autonomy. While this position is not new, the repetition of it publicly is no coincidence and is likely to be promoted. The structure of the talksfor India, it is the first time such a format is being explored with Chinawas still being hammered out even as late as Tuesday. The question is whether the banks of the Yangzte will be more favourable to love between Modi and Xi than the banks of the Sabarmati. Sir Louis renounced US citizenship in Feb. 1994 Social Share He who digs a pit, shall fall in it Straker by LYF COMPTON HE WHO DIGS A PIT, shall fall in it, said Sir Louis Straker yesterday, as he finally made public, documents showing that he renounced his American citizenship before becoming an active member of Parliament over 24 years ago. The display of documents came on Thursday, April 26 during an exclusive interview with SEARCHLIGHT, and 573 days after Sir Louis was given seven days by lawyer Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, acting on behalf of the New Democratic Party (NDP), to show documents that prove he is not a citizen of the United States. Sitting in his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sir Louis commented, If they dug a pit for me, they dug it for the Leader of the Opposition, he has the same problem. If they think they have dug a pit for me, they have really dug a pit for themselves, Sir Louis said chuckling. Sir Louiss documents include a United States of America (USA) Certificate of Loss of Nationality and show that he renounced his American citizenship on February 1, 1994. He was elected to the Parliament of this country for the first time on February 21, 1994. I expatriated myself on that same day, February 1st, 1994, that I went to the Embassy, stated Sir Louis while noting that only a few persons in the Cabinet of Ministers have seen the documents that he showed to SEARCHLIGHT. When asked why he took so long to make the documents public, Sir Louis laughed and responded, let them (the NDP) palard. You know when you are armed with the truth and when you know what you know, people can go on talking as much as they want to talk, people can go talking for much as they want. Let them talk because you know what you have. He said a couple years ago, when questioned about his US citizenship, he told another media house that it was a non-issue, but persons still insisted he was lying. 573 days now I waiting for them to put to me to the High Court, said Straker, referring to a letter written on September 30, 2016 by lawyer Kay Bacchus-Baptiste in which she gave Sir Louis seven days to prove he was not a US citizen. I represent along with a team of lawyers including overseas counsel Mr Ben Exeter candidate in the Central Leeward election and various persons entitled to vote in the said Central Leeward elections. My clients have instructed to me to request your resignation within seven days or produce proof of date of any renounciation (sic) of your US citizenship, failing which a high court action will commenced (sic) to hear and determine the question, part of Bacchus-Baptistes 2016 letter said. They called a press conference down in Layou on the issue. I couldnt past here (in front the Financial Complex) for some of their supporters who would shout When you going to give up your citizenship? and if I happen to walk under there (the Electoral Office), said Sir Louis. He noted that there was even a letter signed by a group of residents of the Central Leeward constituency asking for his documents, but during every election campaign, he told his supporters and the people in Central Leeward that everything was fine. I talked to a lawyer and the lawyer said dont bother with them because if they are alleging, it is a fundamental principle of the law of evidence that he who alleges must prove, which is why I did not feel obligated to come forward, Sir Louis explained. I have decided to do it now and not before, because I did not want Kay Bacchus to think that she was putting pressure on me and I had to answer in response to her. I gave her almost 600 days for her to prove what she was saying because she said she had the evidence. He added that some have commented that his name is still on the voters list in the United States, but if that is so, it is not because of any fault of his. Sir Louis said he is aware that some may say the documents presented to SEARCHLIGHT are fake, but they bear the seal of the Department of State of the United States. The seal is original, and they are going to be so ashamed that they are going to say the documents could be fake. They going to say they finally flush me out, but it couldnt be, because I gave them 600 days, almost two years for them to prove. They say they had the evidence, so if you had the evidence you should go to court with it. Why didnt they go to court? Last Tuesday, in a letter to the editor of SEARCHLIGHT, pharmacist and social commentator Matthew Thomas questioned the constitutionality of the tenure in Parliament of Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for the Northern Grenadines Dr Godwin Friday, who is a citizen of Canada, which is a Commonwealth country. Although Section 25 of the Constitution of St Vincent and the Grenadines says a Commonwealth citizen of age 21 years and upwards is qualified to be elected as a representative, Section 26 (a) states that No person shall be qualified to be elected or appointed as a Representative or Senator if he is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state. Thomas questioned Fridays eligibility to sit in Parliament on the basis of Section 26(a). I point out by our Constitution, that if you hold dual citizenship, youre not eligible, if this second citizenship is by your own act, you cant be a representative, Thomas opined on Monday. The Canadian Oath of Citizenship reads: I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfi l my duties as a Canadian citizen. A local Constitutional expert agrees with Thomas. It makes a lot of sense in that it brings into question, Dr Fridays tenure as a member of Parliament, a position he has held since 2001. It seems to me that Section 25 is subject to Section 26, which means that the contents of Section 26 take precedence over those of Section 25, the lawyer said. It is a serious thing because it may be a breach of the Constitution, [Dr Friday] being born in St Vincent and migrating to Canada as an adult could only have obtained Canadian citizenship by pledging his allegiance to that country. It seems to me that if he gained Canadian citizenship as a child he would have been helped by Section 25, but as it stands there is some merit in Matthews article, the legal expert added. Anyone who is determined by the High Court to have taken up a seat in Parliament when he or she was not qualified to do so, may be subject to a fine. (please see story on page 3) SIR LOUIS STRAKER (left), going through documents with Editor of the SEARCHLIGHT Clare Keizer at his office on Thursday. When asked why he took so long to make the documents public, Sir Louis laughed and responded, let them (the NDP) palard. Indrani Mukerjea, the key accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has sought divorce from her husband Peter Mukerjea. Indrani (46), lodged in Byculla Women's Jail, has served Peter, a co-accused in the case, a legal notice for divorce on the grounds that their marriage had "irretrievably broken down." The notice also seeks an amicable financial settlement from Peter before April 30, so that the procedure to dissolve the marriage can be initiated. She sent the notice by courier to Peter on April 25 through her lawyer. The 64-year-old former media baron is lodged in Arthur Road Jail. Both the prisons are located in Central Mumbai. "My client states that your marriage is now irretrievably broken down and there is no chance of a reconciliation. This fact has been acknowledged by you as well," reads the notice. Indrani was arrested in August 2015 and Peter a few months later. Both are facing trial in the murder case of Sheena Bora (24), Indrani's daughter from a previous relationship. Bora was abducted and killed in April 2012, allegedly by Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai in a conspiracy with Peter, police have said. Her body was dumped in a forest in the adjoining Raigad district. The killing came to light in August 2015 after Rai, arrested in another case, spilled the beans, they have said. Rai later turned approver (prosecution witness) in the case. The CBI, which took over the case from Mumbai Police, has claimed a financial dispute led to the killing. The 17th plenary of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) revolved around TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrshekar Raos Delhi dream. The day-long plenary, held in Kompally in Hyderabad, was attended by more than 10,000 party workers and leaders. As expected, senior party leaders passed and approved a resolution, empowering Rao to play an active role in the national politics through a federal front. Amidst cheers and slogans from the party cadre, Rao spoke for an hour in the morning session, allotting a good part of the one-hour speech to talk about the need for change at the centre. He said his statement, made a month ago, about the need for a third front had created tremors at national level. Blaming the Congress and the BJP for the sad state of affairs in the country, he said both the parties are in jitters ever since a federal front contesting the 2019 elections became a possibility. He said he had the same will to change the direction of the country as he had for a separate Telangana state. He touched upon the water wars of the country to drive home the point. There is 70,000 TMC water in this country and 40 crore acres of cultivable land. There is enough water in this country to take care of the drinking, domestic and agricultural needs. He said a lot of water disputes are not being settled by the Centre governmentlike Cauveryonly for political gains, and also due to inefficient administration. Rao then shared the slogan of the federal frontHar acre main pani, har kheth main pani, har kisan ko pani." In six-seven years, we will provide water to the 40 crore acre land under agriculture, he said. Rao, once again, drew parallels with China and Singapore on the infrastructure front. He said the rail and road connectivity and handling of goods at ports were not on par with the two Asian countries, and added that Chinas GDP had surpassed Indias even though it was the other way round a few decades ago. He further said the BJP and the Congress governments had failed to stop the deaths of soldiers in Kashmir. With an aim to bring in reforms for decentralisation of power, he said he will tour the country for the next two to three months to unite the regional parties. TRS supporters from more than 20 countries attended the plenary. The party collected around Rs 20.4 crore, contributed by the party MLAs, MPs and loyalists, which will added to party fund. Smiling and holding hands, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries on Friday in the first summit for the two Koreas in over a decade. The meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and easing tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump. Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 am (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. The two were handed flowers by a South Korean boy and girl, residents of a village situated in the demilitarised zone. Walking on a red carpet rolled out for the two heads of state, the pair were met by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music. Kim wore glasses and his trademark black Mao suit, while the rest of the North Korean delegation appeared in military uniforms or Western attire. Kim stopped to sign a guest book in the South's Peace House before the two leaders met for a private discussion. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in the book, dating and signing the entry. Moon and Kim are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom. The United States is hopeful talks between Kim and Moon will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit. The White House also said it looks forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. Earlier Friday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula. "Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. Moon travelled to the meeting in a large motorcade, stopping briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House. Hundreds of demonstrators were seen gathering in downtown Seoul from early morning to protest or support the summit. Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against US invasion. The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. Unending hostilities Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a US official. The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, were broadcast live. Besides capturing the two leaders' candid interactions, the live feed broadcast a few hiccups, including when a key photo op blocked was blocked by a photographer's backside. Reuters The parents of US college student Otto Warmbier sued North Korea on Thursday over their sons death in 2017 following his release from captivity there, according to the lawsuit which said their son was brutally tortured and murdered. The wrongful-death suit was filed in US District Court at a diplomatically delicate time, weeks ahead of an expected meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. Otto was taken hostage, kept as a prisoner for political purposes, used as a pawn and singled out for exceptionally harsh and brutal treatment by Kim Jong Un, his father Fred Warmbier said in a statement. Warmbier, from Wyoming, Ohio, died at age 22 after being imprisoned in North Korea from January 2016 until he was returned to the United States in June 2017 in a coma. He died a few days later, and an Ohio coroner said the cause was lack of oxygen and blood to the brain. North Korea blamed botulism and ingestion of a sleeping pill and dismissed torture claims. The coroner who examined Warmbier said he found no sign of botulism, adding there was no evidence of trauma to Warmbiers teeth or of broken bones. The suit by Fred Warmbier and his wife, Cindy, seeks unspecified damages for personal injury. A representative of the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York was not immediately available to comment. Richard Cullen, a family attorney, declined to comment about the suit beyond Fred Warmbiers statement. We extend our condolences to the Warmbier family. Out of respect for the Warmbier family, we have no further comment, a US State Department official said. Otto Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was travelling in North Korea with a tour group, and was arrested at Pyongyang airport as he was about to leave. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his hotel, North Korea state media said. The filing says Warmbier falsely confessed to invented charges that he was acting as a spy connected to the Central Intelligence Agency. North Korea and the United States have no formal diplomatic ties and almost no commercial ties due to years of international sanctions imposed on the reclusive state for its nuclear arms and missile programs that have drawn frequent UN condemnation. Stewart Baker, a former assistant secretary of homeland security, said North Korea had immunity from lawsuits as a sovereign nation but still might be sued because of its US designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. But its almost impossible to collect any judgement that might be awarded. So its doubtful NK will feel sufficiently threatened by the lawsuit to upset the talks. And after all, he (Kim) can settle claims against NK in any US-NK agreement, Baker said by email. -Reuters US President Donald Trump distanced himself from his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Thursday, hours before a judge ruled that documents seized from Cohen by the FBI should be reviewed by an independent court-appointed official. The appointment of former judge Barbara Jones as a special master, to review the documents and decide which ones prosecutors should be allowed to see, was essentially a compromise that both prosecutors and Cohens lawyers had said they would be open to, even though that option was not their first choice. The FBI raided Cohens office and home on April 9, infuriating Trump. Prosecutors said they had been investigating the lawyer for months, largely over his business dealings rather than his legal work. Once they receive the documents from Jones, prosecutors could use them in their case. It is not clear if those documents pertain to Trumps business dealings. But earlier on Thursday in an interview with Fox News, Trump said Cohen had handled only a tiny, tiny little fraction of his overall legal work. He said the investigation doesnt have to do with me and theyre looking at something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business. Trump, who has said little publicly about an adult-film star who says she was paid to stay silent about a one-night stand she had with Trump in 2006, also confirmed for the first time that Cohen had represented him in this crazy Stormy Daniels deal. Trump and Cohen have sought to limit which of the seized documents prosecutors could see, citing attorney-client privilege. The prosecutors initially said the documents should be reviewed by lawyers within their own office, who would be walled off from the main prosecution team. Cohen argued that his lawyers should get a first look. US District Judge Kimba Wood instead decided at an hour-long hearing on Thursday to opt to ask a special master to see the documents first. The prosecutors have begun to turn all of the seized materials over to Jones, who will review them to determine what is protected by attorney-client privilege. Lawyers for Cohen and Trump will be able to review in tandem, so they can object to Jones decisions if they disagree, the judge said. The parties are due back in court to check in on the progress on May 24. Without setting a specific deadline, Wood indicated she may intervene if it were going too slowly. Jones has served in a similar role in a number of other matters. In 2016, she was appointed the independent review officer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hear corruption charges at the labour union, and has overseen corporate compliance cases. Prosecutors have said they do not believe the papers are likely to contain many privileged documents related to Trump. In a court filing on Thursday morning, they cited Trumps comment that Cohen handled only a small part of his legal work. Cohen has admitted paying $130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, before the 2016 election to secure her silence about having sex with Trump, which he denies. Cohen said the payment was legal, and Daniels has sued to end her nondisclosure agreement. Prosecutors are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, possible campaign law violations linked to the payment to Daniels, and perhaps other matters related to Trumps presidential campaign, a person familiar with the probe has said. The investigation stemmed in part from Special Counsel Robert Muellers inquiry into possible collusion between Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, something that Trump has repeatedly denied. -Reuters The US Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trumps secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views. Pompeo is already deeply involved in diplomacy. Trump sent him to North Korea three weeks ago to meet with the countrys leader, Kim Jong Un, ahead of a summit with the US president to address Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Moments after Pompeo was sworn in, the State Department said he would visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend after attending a NATO meeting on Friday in Brussels. Pompeo picked those three Middle East stops because of all that is going on, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. Iran is likely to be on the agenda on the Middle East leg of his trip. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers. Pompeo is to meet with Saudi King Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an Jordanian King Abdullah, Nauert said. Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo, who had faced resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for hawkishness and past harsh statements about homosexuality and Islam. Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. No Republican voted no. Pompeo will be forced to quickly address a wide array of other international challenges, including long conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Chinese expansionism in Asia and Russian assertiveness. Washington is working with European allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the possibility of toughening the nuclear agreement with Iran. CIA record Pompeos supporters said he did well during 15 months leading the CIA, and said the country badly needed a leader at the State Department. Staffing at State was slashed and many positions left unfilled under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who was Trumps first secretary of state. Trump, who abruptly fired Tillerson last month, welcomed Pompeos confirmation, saying in a statement, Having a patriot of Mikes immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history. Pompeo, who became one of Trumps closest advisers while at the CIA, faced stiff opposition from Democrats, who worried he might be too closely aligned with the president. While in Congress, Pompeo opposed the Iran nuclear accord. He once suggested the answer to Tehrans nuclear programmewhich Iran has always said was for peaceful means onlywas 2,000 bombing sorties. Senator Ben Cardin, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that attitude, and Pompeos backing for Washingtons withdrawal from the nuclear agreement if it cannot be changed, were among reasons he opposed him. Thats not diplomacy, and thats certainly not working with our European allies, Cardin said. Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing he was open to fixing, rather than blowing apart, the pact, which the West believes is essential to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump picked the CIAs deputy director, Gina Haspel, to replace Pompeo as head of the spy agency. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman to hold the post. Pompeo had avoided being the first nominee for secretary of state ever rejected by the Foreign Relations Committee only when Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had vowed to oppose him, shifted position minutes before the panel voted on Monday. None of the 10 Democrats on the 21-member committee supported him. The vote for Pompeo was almost the same as for Tillerson, who was approved by 56-43, then an unusually close margin for a cabinet position. -Reuters Iranian auteur Majid Majidi has a penchant for telling stories of common people who may otherwise be ignored. It is his endearing love for human relationships and life that we see in his previous films like The Song of Sparrows and Children of Heaven. In his latest outing, Beyond the Clouds, Majidi is back at capturing life as it iswith all its dichotomies. Beyond The Clouds, for which he left the confines of Iran and explored Mumbai for the first time, unravels life lessons told through the journey of two orphaned siblings. Twenty-something Amir (Ishaan Khatter), orphaned at a young age, is caught in a situation where he needs money to get his elder sister Tara (Malavika Mohanan), out of jail. Tara has ended up in jail after hitting Akshi (Gautam Ghose), a middle-aged man from Dhobi Ghat, where she also works, who tried to force himself on her. Amir is desperate enough to go beyond drug-peddlinghis regular source of income. How far will he go? Like most of his earlier films, Majidis lead protagonists are poor. They fight a battle everyday to live a life of comfort, while struggling to get away from the darkness that engulfs them. Majidi, however, is a master at keeping the plot light even when dealing with the graveness of life. He throws in a bunch of kids into the lives of the siblings. Tara engages herself with a prison inmates soncaring for the five-year-old whose mother (Tannistha Chatterjee) is battling ill health. Amir's state, on the contrary, is more complex. He has to save Akshi for him to be able to prove his sister's innocence. He is in a constant flux; and ends up taking care of Akshis familyan old mother and two daughters, while Akshi battles it out in the hospital. While trying to rescue each other, the siblings end up finding themselves. For a debutant actor, Khattar shows immense courage and a range of emotions as he plays Amir, who is a playful young guy burdened with the realities of life. Malavika Mohanans character, for most part, is intense and she has delivered a more or less convincing performance. Considering international filmmakers' fascination for the slums of Mumbai, Majidi has managed to stop this one from turning into another Slumdog Millionaire. Beyond glorifying slum lanes, cramped houses and poverty, Majidi chooses to focuses on the love between family members and emotional conflicts. Anil Mehtas slick cinematography perfectly captures the crime-nests and landscapes of far-flung areas of Mumbai. A.R. Rahmans music, especially a prominent background score with the sounds of tabla during a chase scene, is a constant reminder that you are watching a film made in India. Majidi, like always, has created a story that tugs at your heartstrings. Film: Beyond The Clouds Director: Majid Majidi Actors: Ishaan Khatter, Malavika Mohanan Rating: 3.5/5 If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). The following companies are subsidiares of Eastman Chemical: BP - Aviation Turbine Oil Business, CP Films Vertriebs GmbH, Commonwealth Laminating & Coating (Hong Kong) Limited, Commonwealth Laminating & Coating Inc, Crown Operations International LLC, Dynaloy, Eastman Administracion S.A. de C.V., Eastman Chemical (Barbados) SRL, Eastman Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., Eastman Chemical (China) Co. 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The company offers food packaging, films, labels, counter-service packaging, foodservice disposables, take-out food packaging, first aid products, point of purchase displays, stationery, bags, and cleaning and hygiene supplies to grocery stores, supermarkets, retail chains, convenience stores, food wholesalers, ethnic grocers, and organic food outlets. It also provides food packaging, napkins, disposable tableware, food service disposables, guest amenities, light and heavy catering equipment, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, caterers, the leisure sector, and food processors and packers; and footwear, gloves, safety helmets, workwear, harness equipment, tools, safety signs, traffic management, and ancillary site equipment, as well as ear, eye, respiratory, and face protection products to customers in the industrial and construction markets. In addition, the company offers cleaning systems, floorcare items, hand cleansing products, hygiene paper, janitorial products, cleaning machines, mops, polishes, and protective clothing and washroom chemicals to facilities management companies, contract cleaners, and other industrial and healthcare customers; and counter service packaging, point of purchase display items, stationery, and cleaning and hygiene products to department stores, boutiques, office supply companies, retail chains, and home improvement chains. Further, it provides gloves, aprons, bandages, facemasks, gowns, headwear, mattress covers, overshoes, procedure packs, tapes, wipes, incontinence products, and swabs to the healthcare sector, including hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, and doctors' surgeries and clinics; and various products to government and education establishments. Bunzl plc was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More 8 hours ago Biden tells GOP to 'get out of the way' on debt limit WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Monday urged Republican senators to get out of the way and let Democrats suspend the nations debt limit, hoping to keep the U.S. government from bumping dangerously Read Article American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Premier African Minerals Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, evaluation, development, and investment of natural resource properties on the African continent. The company explores for tungsten, lithium, tantalum, fluorspar, xenotime, zinc, nickel, uranium, gold, specialty minerals, limestone, potash and limestone, and rare earth metals. It holds interests in various properties located in Zimbabwe, Togo, Benin, and Mozambique. The company was formerly known as G&B African Resources Limited and changed its name to Premier African Minerals Limited in April 2012. Premier African Minerals Limited was founded in 2007 and is based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Read More LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE engages in the manufacture of luxury goods. It operates through the following business segments: Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry, Selective Retailing, and Other Activities & Eliminations. The Wines & Spirits segment produces and sells high quality champagne wines and sparkling wines. It also distributes vodka and white liquor. The Fashion & Leather Goods segment engages in the manufacture of luggage items, bags, accessories, shoes and clothes. The Perfumes & Cosmetics segment engages in the production and distribution of make-up, perfume and skin care products. The Watches & Jewelry segment manufactures luxury watches and accessories form men and women. It specializes in the field of chronographs and ultimate precision. The Selective Retailing segment is organized to promote an environment that is appropriate to the image and status of the luxury brands. It engages in the sale of luxury products to international travelers and on board cruise ships. This segment also manages beauty stores that combine direct access and customer assistance to customers. The Other Activities & Eliminations segment i Read More Bureau of Justice Statistics reports 2016 declines in number incarcerated and subject to community supervision in United States | Main | "Death Qualification in Black and White: Racialized Decision Making and DeathQualified Juries" April 27, 2018 Senator Chuck Grassley makes full-throated case for Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act Senate Judiciary Chair Charles Grassley is continuing to pitch his desired approach to statutory criminal justice reform in the form of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act that passed out of his committee earlier this year. Today his pitching efforts include this lengthy new Fox News commentary under the headline "Sentencing reform bill will fight crime." I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts: In the 1980s, with our nation facing an influx of drug crimes, Congress passed into law stiff penalties targeting all levels of offenders. The goal was to deter crime through harsh sentences. While well-intentioned, these policies came with a cost. Over time, prisons began to fill up with offenders of all stripes. Lower-level, nonviolent drug offenders were locked up alongside career criminal masterminds. Lengthy mandatory minimum sentences offered little flexibility for judges to take individual circumstances into account and left scant prospects for rehabilitation. Taxpayers shell out more than $7 billion annually roughly 25 percent of the entire Justice Department budget just to house the ballooning federal prison population, almost half of which is serving time for drug crimes. These policies have been in place for more than three decades now, and yet we are facing a new wave of drug crimes this time with crowded prisons syphoning scarce resources away from other law enforcement priorities. Its clear that the policies of the 1980s need a fresh look. We need a more strategic approach to drug sentencing that focuses law enforcement resources on violent career criminals and drug kingpins instead of non-violent, lower level offenders. That is why I worked with several of my colleagues in the Senate to craft the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. This legislation is the product of years of thoughtful bipartisan deliberations and has earned the support of lawmakers, advocates and experts from across the political spectrum. The bill is tough on crime and focuses law enforcement efforts on the worst criminals. But it also promotes fairness in sentencing, especially for lower-level, nonviolent offenders. Similar reforms at the state level have reduced crime, closed prisons and cut taxpayer costs. This bill strengthens important crime-fighting tools and aids in the fight against the opioid epidemic. It preserves cooperation incentives to help law enforcement take down serious criminals, and stiffens penalties for violent felons. The legislation adds new mandatory sentences for federal domestic violence crimes and weapons trafficking to terrorists. And it supports the fight against the opioid epidemic through enhanced penalties for traffickers of the deadly drug fentanyl.... Mandatory minimum penalties would be preserved to ensure that criminals face clear consequences for their actions. But penalties would be lowered under the bill for lower-level, nonviolent offenders to give judges additional discretion at sentencing. Judges would still be free to impose stiff criminal penalties, but they could also take into account individual circumstances to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. This approach would prevent prisons from being overcrowded with lower-level, nonviolent criminals serving unnecessarily long sentences. In the interest of fairness, the bill would make these reforms available to some inmates who have already been sentenced under harsh mandatory minimum laws. Under the bill, an inmate with a minimal criminal history could request that a judge review his or her case to determine if the sentence should be reduced. Notably, violent and career criminals would not qualify for this relief.... The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. This frees up resources to pay for the prison reform programs that the Trump administration supports. These programs are designed to reduce recidivism and help prisoners return to the workforce. Savings from our bill could also be used to support law enforcement efforts to fight the opioid epidemic and go after major drug importers and distributers. Without sentencing reform, Congress would have to appropriate additional funds for these programs, potentially adding to our growing budget deficit, projected to be more than $1 trillion by 2020. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act has united policymakers across the political spectrum. It is co-sponsored by more than a quarter of the Senate, evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats. The bill is also backed by a diverse array of groups including FreedomWorks, the American Conservative Union, Prison Fellowship, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, and Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration a group of more than 200 respected law enforcement officials from around the country. No other proposal enjoys the same level of bipartisan support. The notion that Congress can enact meaningful criminal justice reform by focusing solely on the back-end of the process without addressing the underlying disparities in prison sentencing is naive and unproductive. There will never be enough funding for back-end prison reform programs as long as there is a steady stream of new inmates with lengthy sentences disproportionate to their crimes. Instead of keeping lower-level, nonviolent inmates in prisons longer for no good reason, we must work to ensure that our limited resources are used to go after our worst criminals and to prevent inmates from committing new crimes when they leave prison.... The bill proves that Congress can be tough on crime while enacting reasonable and responsible public policy. And, importantly, in an increasingly polarized political environment, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act is the only proposal that has the votes necessary to become law. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and my colleagues in the Senate and House on the important issue of criminal justice reform. I am so very pleased to see Senator Grassley continuing to work hard to secure passage of the SRCA. As I have reported in the past, various Senators have indicated that that are perhaps as many as 70 to 80 votes in support of this bill in the Senate. If Senator Grassley can convince Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell to allow a floor vote on the SRCA, it would seem nearly certain to pass. Perhaps we should try to start a campaign like #LetThemVoteonSRCA. A few of many prior related posts: UPDATE : I just noticed that Fox News also has this competing commentary from Ron Hosko, a former assistant director of the FBI, headlined "Cutting federal prison terms would endanger communities and reward criminals." Here is an excerpt: The Grassley legislation would make our communities less safe by returning still more convicted criminals from federal prisons to the streets sooner. In addition, the Grassley bill would tie up hundreds of federal prosecutors, who would be forced to deal with sentencing reduction motions filed by prisoners seeking early release. This means the prosecutors would have less time to handle new cases involving dangerous criminals. The Grassley bill would reduce federal prison sentences not only for non-violent, low-level drug offenders but serious drug traffickers, members of violent drug cartels and people convicted of firearms crimes. In addition, Grassleys bill ignores the reality that strong federal sentencing guidelines have another valuable byproduct squeezing cooperation from reticent criminals so they will testify against other criminals, while incentivizing them to plead guilty to lesser offenses to get shorter prison terms.... While much has been made of the harshness of federal minimum mandatory sentences and their impact on reform and on families, Bureau of Prisons records show that half of federal prisoners are serving sentences of 10 years or less. Only about 16 percent are serving sentences of 20 years or more.... Grassleys legislation is both poorly timed and ill-advised. Its little more than a rehashed jailbreak bill that should be permanently scrapped, taking with it the mistaken notion that federal prisons remain filled with low level, non-violent drug offenders. The good senator from Iowa would do better for all Americans by drafting legislation that empowers validated methodologies shown to steer the willing away from prison while building the opportunity, skill sets and individual tools needed to make released convicts more crime resistant. April 27, 2018 at 09:01 AM | Permalink Comments About 15 years ago I talked to a farmer from the part of Iowa where Grassley lives and he said "Tough on crime is popular but it costs too much and adjustments will have to be made." Adjustments were made at state and county levels but gridlock at the federal level has delayed adjustments by about 15 years. Posted by: John Neff | Apr 27, 2018 9:29:12 AM That's the confounding thing. Texas is almost a vanguard in the prison and justice reform movement and is as full of the new, extra-stupid brand of conservatives as any place you want to pick and there's no electoral penalty. Caveat: I am a Texan and lean conservative except on most social issues, primarily out of disgust for the the extra-stupid brand of conservatives prioritize social issues over fiscal ones. Federal lawmakers have gotten addicted to using crime, which is none of their damn business to begin with, to curry favor with extra stupid elements of the electorate. It's not like Democrats are going to use it against them, for crying out loud. Posted by: Fat Bastard | Apr 27, 2018 1:13:39 PM Post a comment SACRAMENTO Investigators broke open the long-stagnant case of the prolific serial killer and rapist known as the Golden State Killer by mining DNA profiles collected by genealogical websites used by individuals to trace family heritage, the Sacramento County district attorneys office said Thursday. Law enforcement had long had a DNA profile of the suspected killer, which helped them connect murders and rapes across the state to the same unidentified man. But, the DNA profile did not match any contained in criminal databases that are used by law enforcement throughout the U.S. to link crimes to suspects. The explosion in recent years of DNA heritage websites such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com provided investigators with another tool, although both of those companies said Thursday they were not involved in this case. The genealogical sites, which were not revealed, linked the suspects DNA profile to a likely family member, two sources familiar with the case told The Chronicle, allowing investigators to build a pool of suspects and then narrow it down. They obtained a court order to compel the site to work with them, one of the sources said. Ultimately, detectives said they got what they had long awaited a DNA match to Joseph James DeAngelo, an ex-cop living in Citrus Heights (Sacramento County). They followed him and collected an item he had discarded that they say contained his DNA. DNA experts said the use of genealogical websites is a controversial and unorthodox method to solving crimes, one that could pose ethical questions if it involves a commercial company where users have an expectation of privacy. There are also publicly available databases online that offer anyone the ability to upload and view DNA results to learn more about their family tree. Investigators had been hesitant to reveal how they came to identify DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer or East Area Rapist, whose reign of terror included 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. The Sacramento County district attorneys office confirmed that the use of genealogical websites narrowed their pool of suspects after news outlets, including The Chronicle, reported the method. Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones said a task force trying to solve the heinous crimes turned to very innovative and emerging DNA technology that gave us a universe to look in. DeAngelo had not been on detectives radar previously. Its possible, said New York University law Professor Erin Murphy, an expert in forensic evidence, that detectives might have been reluctant to tell the public how they identified a suspect because they know people are uneasy about the use of genealogical websites as crime-fighting tools. If a company turned over DNA information, Murphy said that would not be unprecedented, but also not without problems. There could be huge ethical issues there, Murphy said. One of the biggest genealogical companies, Ancestry.com, said the company has had no contact with law enforcement in the DeAngelo case. The companys policy is to provide information only when compelled by court order or warrant, a spokeswoman said. The company has received one search warrant in its history demanding that it identify a person based on a DNA sample. In that 2014 case, police searched a public DNA database owned by Ancestry.com using DNA collected at a homicide scene in Idaho and found a profile that matched 35 of 36 genetic markers, leading to the possibility that a family member of that person was their suspect. While the DNA profile was public, the name of the person who uploaded it was not, leading police to obtain a warrant for the identity. In that case, police hit another dead end, ultimately clearing a man they suspected and saying that his family members were also not involved. A spokesman for 23andMe, a genetic testing firm based in Mountain View, said the company was not contacted in the DeAngelo case. Its possible, Murphy said, that detectives used various publicly searchable genealogical websites, which she said eases privacy or ethical questions. Detectives could have focused on the Y-STR part of the male Y chromosome that is handed down paternally to find a relative or find a likely last name, Murphy said. Combine that narrowed list with the likely age of a suspect and geography, and that could give you a smaller list of names, Murphy said. Forensic DNA expert and biologist Greg Hampikian said genealogical websites have been used in missing-person cases, but mining them for criminal suspects is a novel approach that had yet to be successful. Its been tried, but this is the first time its been successful, and its on a gigantic case, said Hampikian, who consulted on the 2014 case in Idaho using information from Ancestry.com. This is fantastic. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Others said the privacy concerns raised by the case are weighty. Most testing companies dont explicitly say in their privacy policy or terms of service that theyll hand over customer information if police departments seek it. But they may not have a choice if ordered by a court to do so, experts said. A few (ancestry sites) will say, Well protect your privacy in so far as we can go unless the courts intervene, said Sheldon Krimsky, a professor at Tufts University who has written about bioethics and privacy, including a 2017 report on consumer privacy and DNA. Most say, Well do our best. The use of a genealogical site is different from traditional familial searches using DNA like the one that unmasked the Grim Sleeper. In that case, police linked Lonnie Franklin Jr. to the killings of 10 people over 25 years using a DNA sample from his son, whose genetic profile had been uploaded into a database of known criminals. The familial search process, the way its designed and the way it works, it gives you a father, son or full sibling, said Rockne Harmon, a consultant to numerous law enforcement agencies on cold cases and a former Alameda County prosecutor. California expanded its use of familial DNA 10 years ago, when then-Attorney General Jerry Brown allowed law enforcement agencies to receive notification when a partial DNA match not just a full DNA match was made in a case, which allowed detectives to link crimes through relatives. Familial searches are designed to produce only a close male relative, Harmon said, which usually results in one suspect, like in the case of the Grim Sleeper. It either picks out the right person or no one, Harmon said. Familiar searching has become far more commonplace, and its not as big of a deal anymore. Thats not the process law enforcement officers were describing when they unmasked their suspect Wednesday at a news conference outside the Sacramento district attorneys crime lab. There, they described a flurry of activity over the past week as they closed in on DeAngelo. DeAngelos name was known to investigators at least a month ago. Paul Holes, a cold-case investigator for the Contra Costa County district attorneys office, said the list of potential suspects had been narrowed to roughly five men DeAngelo among them. Still, DeAngelo wasnt at the top of that list, Holes said, until DNA ruled out some of the other men. Sacramento County sheriffs deputies began surveilling DeAngelos home and were able to obtain two surreptitious samples from him meaning they waited for him to discard something with his DNA on it. Investigators got one sample a week before his arrest, but it was too weak, Holes said. They went back and tested a second sample, which investigators said was a 100 percent match. DeAngelo was then arrested. According to Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, he was very surprised. Chronicle staff writer Cat Ho contributed to this report. Melody Gutierrez and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez, @JennaJourno When it comes to local culture Micheileen J. Treadwell is omnivorous. "I enjoy the arts tremendously," she says, "especially the ballet and orchestra. I'm pretty selective on what performances I go to." Treadwell may be discerning when it comes to individual shows, but a quick examination of her involvement as an arts patron shows an unusually wide and generous embrace. She is currently on the boards of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the Albany Symphony, the SPAC Action Council, Albany Center Gallery and the Arts Center of the Capital Region. She's also had board tenures with Capital Roots, the Children's Museum of Science and Technology, and Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, not to mention a few non-arts charities. As a salute to Treadwell's decades of involvement in the community, the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall is honoring her at its gala on Saturday, May 5, at Wolferts Roost Country Club in Albany. "A good board member is willing to raise money, attend meetings, support the mission and attend all events," says Treadwell. "I specialize in events." The Music Hall's tradition of an annual fundraising gala owes its start to Treadwell. The year was 1987 and Micheileen and her husband Charles were new to the area. At a cocktail party they met Paul and Alane Hohenberg who were recounting the struggles going on to keep the Music Hall afloat. "I said, 'Let's have a gala,'" recalls Treadwell. Plans soon got underway, but the initial outing wasn't exactly warm and inviting. According to Treadwell the venue was the Troy Atrium and it was a frigid February night. Great gusts of icy wind swept through the place every time the double doors opened wide. "It was freezing and embarrassing," recalls Treadwell, adding that the food was "a formulaic chicken dinner." To top it all off, she showed up with her leg in a cast, having recently sustained an accident on the ski slopes at Killington. Nevertheless, the event was a financial success and a tradition was established. "I love galas. I love to get dressed up," says Treadwell. "People don't get dressed up the way they used to. I miss those days." Describing herself as "crafty," she for many years made her own clothing and admits that her large wardrobe includes an array of long gowns. In the spirit of Treadwell's elegant tastes, this year's gala is named the Gossamer Gala. Treadwell may enjoy stylist affairs, but she's adamant that the arts are for everyone. "I want to support organizations that will make the arts available to a variety of people and that are not elitist," she says. "Micheileen's always thinking of new creative ways we can reach audiences," says David Alan Miller of the ASO. "She listens really broadly to all kinds of music and seems to love a great cross section. I love those kinds of listeners." Treadwell was one of the instigators of the first ASO bike ride, which will take place Sunday afternoon June 3, the final day of the annual American Music Festival. Five years ago, she underwrote an ASO subscription concert as a memorial to her husband who died at age 66 of blood cancer. Chas, as he was known, was heavily involved in the local community theater scene, which, combined with Micheileen's many activities, made the Treadwells a power couple in the arts community. The pair met in 1983 through their common profession of university administration. Micheileen, a Buffalo native, holds two master's degrees from Fordham and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Columbia. She was director of admissions and financial aid at Marymount College in Tarrytown, when she met Chas who worked for the state Education Department. "I thought he was the handsomest man in financial aid," recalls Treadwell. In 1985 the couple married and Micheileen moved to the Capital Region where Chas was already getting established. They purchased a handsome Colonial home on Troy's East Side and Micheileen landed a job at the University at Albany, serving for 12 years as director of admissions. The couple's son Michael was born on the Fourth of July in 1988. "He was our firecracker baby," say Treadwell. For the last 20 years she has maintained a small practice as a personal financial adviser. "Micheileen is a very intelligent woman, never afraid to ask the hard questions, that's what I admire about her," says Martha A. Nielsen, a longtime friend and fellow member of the Music Hall board for the last 20 years. "A lot of people just show up and nod their heads. Somebody needs to keep everybody on their toes." When Jon Elbaum moved to Troy about eight years ago to become executive director of the Music Hall, he was grateful for Micheileen's institutional memory. More Information If you go The Gossamer Ball A benefit for the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in honor of Micheleen J. Treadwell When: 6 p.m. Saturday, May 5 Where: Wolferts Roost Country Club, 120 Van Rensselaer Blvd., Albany Tickets: $150 and up. Call 518- 273-8945 for more information. See More Collapse "She cares passionately about the Music Hall," says Elbaum, "and she has served in good times and tougher times, as we've weathered some storms." Asked to assess the state of the local arts scene, Treadwell says that there are more venues than ever, all competing for largely the same audience. And consequently there are more fundraisers than there used to be. "I get so many invitations," says Treadwell. "When we started out, there were not so many galas and it was a novelty." The renewed vitality of downtown Troy is one positive trend that Treadwell hopes boosts the fortunes of the Music Hall. "You go to restaurants and there are young people there having a good time," she says. "When I tell people I'm from Troy, I no longer get snide remarks." Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy. A Nashville woman enthralled Twitter users with the story of her son's surprise birth in Turkey, where she says she used YouTube videos to help deliver her son alone in her hotel room. Tia Freeman, 22, gave birth to her son last month while in Istanbul, Turkey, during a 17-hour layover on a trip to Germany. Freeman, in a series of tweets, explained that she unexpectedly learned she was pregnant in her third trimester, but went ahead with a planned trip on March 7. While on the 14-hour flight, Freeman said that she began experiencing cramps and suspected she had food poisoning following a meal on the plane. While in the customs line for Turkey, Freeman wrote, "I'm literally gripping the railing trying to make it through the lines. At this point I feel like I'm about to pass out. I'm sweating. I feel like I have to vomit." At this point, Freeman says, she realized she might be in labor. She was determined to make it to her hotel room, and when she did, she began searching for birthing videos on YouTube. "There is no way in the world I'm not in labor because I can barely standup at this point," Freeman wrote. "So I'm in a foreign country, where no one speaks english, I don't know this country's emergency number, [and] I have no clue what to do." "So in true millennial form I decided to @Youtube it," Freeman wrote in her next tweet. "If no one else had my back the Internet would! So here my a-- is in my hotel room all by my lonesome learning how to deliver my own baby." Freeman filled up a bath for her #WaterBirth, grabbed a towel "to bite down on," picked one of the suggested birthing positions from the Internet and used a timer on her phone to track the time between contractions. Freeman pushed about five or six times, "before a baby popped out." Freeman then once again turned to the Internet to figure out how to cut the umbilical cord. Sterilizing some shoelaces in boiling water to act as clamps, Freeman used a knife to cut the cord. Freeman then cleaned up the bathroom, breastfed the baby and went to sleep, deciding to head back to the airport the next morning to figure out, well, what she needs to do to leave Turkey with her newborn. Customs understandably had questions. The "police, a doctor [and] a nurse (to check the baby [and] me to see if I actually gave birth) and the airline higher ups" were all called in, Freeman wrote. "I was bombarded with questions (naturally) but finally I proved that I wasn't a trafficker." The local media caught wind of the story and arrived at the airport, and Freeman and her baby named Xavier Ata Freeman made the news. Freeman and the baby were taken to the hospital nearly 24 hours after Xavier was born, the Independent reported. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. When asked why she didn't initially go to a hospital, Freeman told the news outlet, "Not many people spoke English that I encountered at first. ... I didn't know what the country's emergency number was and I didn't know how my insurance would work overseas so I just decided to DIY it." Freeman added that the experience taught her "so much" and that she learned to be "resourceful and calm under pressure." "I'm thankful that everything went well and I was able to deliver a healthy baby," Freeman told the Independent. "I know everyone isn't always so fortunate but I appreciate the experience and hopefully he'll think it's an amazing story when he's older!" Xavier received his birth certificate and passport from the U.S. consulate, and Turkish Airlines paid for mother and son to stay another two weeks in Istanbul before the two returned home to Nashville, where she works as a computer specialist for the U.S. Air Force. Freeman shared the story with her Twitter followers Tuesday. Since then, her story has been shared over 9,000 times and received more than 20,000 likes. The entire story, told by Freeman in her own words, expletives and gifs, can be read here. GALWAY Multiple police officers who have worked for the tiny Galway village police department are scheduled to be arrested next week following a two-year investigation by the state attorney general's office. People briefed on the case, but not authorized to comment publicly, said the attorney general's investigation was spurred by allegations made by two former Galway police officers both of whom joined the department after retiring from other police agencies about widespread misconduct and illegal activity on the small force, including the falsification of documents that certified their officers had received required training. Through the years, the Galway department has mostly been a landing spot for officers who retired from other agencies and took a job there to keep their police certification active, which allows them to carry a handgun and a badge. Under state law, an officer's certification expires four years after their last police job. The Galway police force has also been a training ground for those who joined the part-time force to become certified as a police officer, so that other departments would be more likely to offer them full-time positions. The officers must pay their own training academy costs and purchase their own weapons, because the village doesn't have budget for that. The Galway department, at its peak, has employed roughly 10 part-time officers who sporadically patrol a village that's less than a square half-mile and has only about 200 residents. There is no police station and the department's headquarters is a rented office on the second floor of a small law firm in the heart of the village. The rented office is also used by the village board for its monthly meetings. On most days, the two patrol cars owned by the village sit unused in the parking lot of a recreation complex where the local school district's school buses are parked. "The only thing were trying to accomplish here is to keep the speeding down," said Mayor William Hyde, who on Friday said he was "aware of an ongoing situation" but had not been provided any information about pending arrests. The mayor said he could not recall the department's annual budget. But some officers are paid only a few hundred dollars a year, sources said. The former officers who made the allegations are Fred Scheidt, who was a State Police sergeant, and Richard Schoonmaker Sr., who retired as a sergeant from the Troy Police Department in 2009, according to two people briefed on the investigation. The attorney general's probe has examined allegations that police officers in Galway had destroyed evidence in criminal cases, that one officer unlawfully possessed fully-automatic weapons, and that others illegally voided traffic tickets that carried potential fines worth tens of thousands of dollars, and accessed a state criminal database for unlawful reasons. Another accusation was that a police officer systematically used a mobile-data terminal to get information about drivers from their license plates such as outstanding warrants or suspended licenses before finding a reason to pull them over and make an arrest. But the sources said the attorney general's criminal charges, which are expected to be filed next week, will be narrowly focused on allegations that supervisors in the department, including longtime Chief Leslie R. Klein, sanctioned the filing of official forms with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services that falsely stated police officers had completed mandated training courses when they had not. Some of the officers whose training credentials were falsified have taken jobs at other police agencies, including the Watervliet Arsenal, Saratoga County Sheriff's Department and the Albany Police Department. Klein, 72, whose other job is working as a janitor for the Broadalbin-Perth school district, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Mark E. LaViolette, 49, a former Schenectady police officer who is a Galway police sergeant and works full-time as Schenectady County's director of emergency management, also did not respond to calls seeking comment. Another Galway police sergeant, David Goodwin, also did not respond to a request for comment. Investigators with the attorney general's office were able to obtain time-and-attendance records for both Klein and LaViolette from their other jobs, and compared those records with certification forms that stated when they had allegedly conducted training of Galway officers. Scheidt retired from the State Police in 2009. He went to work for the Galway police force in 2013 and submitted a letter of resignation about two years later in which he said his decision to leave was a result of the misconduct he said was occurring in the department. The letter was sent to the mayor and the police chief. Scheidt and Schoonmaker declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. In a related federal lawsuit filed last year by Schoonmaker, who was hired by the small department in June 2013, he said he became aware of "illegal and/or improper practices" after Klein promoted him to a captain's position in 2014. Schoonmaker, a Rensselaer County resident, said he reported his concerns to Klein who responded by demoting him to patrolman rather than taking any action, according to the lawsuit. His claim seeks $800,000 in damages and was filed against Klein and the village. In the federal lawsuit, Schoonmaker said he contacted an official at the state attorney general's office about two years ago and the agency opened an investigation. He claims Klein fired him in March 2016 after the chief became aware of the attorney general's involvement. A spokesperson for the attorney general's office declined comment. blyons@timesunion.com 518-454-5547 @brendan_lyonstu Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier Two new restaurants and a record store are on the way, and a cheese shop, and a clothing retailer are already calling the downtown street home. COLONIE As members of the New York states major teachers union are gathering for their annual convention, Assembly Democrats have proposed a bill that would end mandatory test-based teacher evaluations. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, who chairs the education committee, says that state-created tests shall not be required to be utilized in any manner to determine a teacher or principal evaluation. It has become increasingly clear that standardized tests do not fully account for the diversity of our student populations, Assembly Democratic Majority Speaker Carl Heastie said Thursday in a statement about the bill. New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta said his union welcomed the news. Were thrilled, he said. This has been a dark cloud over our state for years and now we see the lifting of the cloud. The use of student test results as a tool for teacher evaluations has been controversial and fiercely opposed by teachers unions as well as some parents who worry about the amount of time their children have to spend on test-taking. Teachers four years ago went into open revolt after the state Board of Regents and Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a system in which 50 percent of teacher performance evaluations could be tied to their students' standardized test scores. The tests in question were math and English Language Arts exams given in grades 3-8 as well as the high school Regents exams. Those are the state-created tests that would no longer be mandatory evaluation tools under the Assemblys bill. Teachers whose students scored particularly poorly on these exams could have lost their tenure. That proposal was a stark contrast to the traditional evaluation system, which put a lot of stake in classroom observations and gave local districts lots of leeway. The uproar eventually led to a turnover in the states educational leadership with a new education commissioner and Regents chancellor. And the entire concept of tying teacher evaluations to test scores was put under a moratorium until 2020. Pallotta noted that Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose relations with NSYUT appear to have improved since the moratorium, has been talking with Assembly Democrats about the bill. And he expressed confidence that the Republican-led Senate would support measure as well. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. We know most senators are very attuned to what goes on in their local districts and were going to be pressing very hard to get the message out, said Pallotta. News of the bill came hours after Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, called for repeal of the entire evaluation system known as the Annual Professional Performance Review, or APPR. The Assembly bill essentially does that, however, since the APPR is based heavily on mandatory testing tied to teacher evaluations. In that respect, the Assembly and governor could be out-flanking Nixon, who has criticized Cuomo over school funding issues as well as testing. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518-454-5758 @RickKarlinTU One of the easiest way to prevent the opioid epidemic from spreading further is reducing access to prescription drugs. As part of that effort, local and state law enforcement are teaming up with the Drug Enforcement Administration for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. And ahead of that effort, the state Senate passed two bills in support of that and other drug take back efforts. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 28, anyone can drop off their unwanted or unused prescription drugs with no questions asked at locations throughout the country. The only restriction on the drop-offs is that the collection containers cannot accept needles or illegal drugs. We dont want needles, only because of safety reasons, said Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Zon. We dont care what type of medication it is, the important thing is getting it out of the medicine cabinet. The DEA doesnt have information on the amount of drugs turned in by type. Once the drugs are turned over to the DEA they are incinerated, Zon said. The last take back in October brought in over 10,500 pounds of drugs in the Albany/Plattsburgh area, according to the DEA. When the Guilderland police began a drop-off program a few years ago they saw an immediate response, said Lt. Eric Batchelder. The first year they collected over 800 pounds of unwanted medications. We found it was very successful, he said. EXTRA Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends. And many opioid addicts begin their addictions by abusing prescription drugs. Thats where it starts with kids and adults, said Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Zurlo said the county will have four drop-off locations on Saturday, in addition to the 24/7 location at the sheriffs office in Ballston Spa. A bill passed by the state Senate would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to cover the cost of all take-back programs as well as requiring chain pharmacies and mail-order pharmacies to provide consumers with collection options including drop boxes and prepaid mail-back envelopes. A second bill would mandate the State state departments of Health and Environmental Conservation to create a searchable online listing of all prescription drug disposal sites, events, and other disposal options for consumers in the state. This legislation not only helps address the opioid epidemic, it makes sure all medications are properly disposed of and do not contaminate our water supplies, said state Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Nassau, one of the bills sponsors. The DEA began the program after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration warned about the dangers of flushing unwanted medications or throwing them out. The biannual push has set records each time its happened the past few years. The last drop off in October 2017 brought in 912,305 pounds of prescription drugs across the country. That was a 12,000 more pounds than the April 2017 drop-off. For a full list of local drop-off locations go to timesunion.com/opioids or call the DEA's Registration Call Center at 1-800-882-9539. Washington Mary Daly has heard the criticism: That the tough-on-drugs approach favored by the Trump administration is cruel, ineffective and a return to the failed policies of the 1980s. She's not buying it. "We need to use tough prosecutions if we are going to get our way out of this epidemic," said Daly, a longtime federal drug prosecutor recently tapped to oversee the Justice Department's ambitious efforts to attack America's opioid abuse crisis. "We don't ignore the need for prevention and treatment efforts, but the notion that tough enforcement is the wrong approach is wrong." Daly, who prosecuted gang members and drug traffickers for 13 years in New York and Virginia, said her work has given her a close-up look at the drug problem. President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have made combatting the opioid epidemic a cornerstone of the crime-fighting agenda they both share. Trump has encouraged the use of the death penalty against traffickers when possible, a request Sessions then codified in a directive to federal prosecutors. Daly wasn't responsible for that policy, but her selection aligns with the tough approach. She said she supports Sessions' undoing of an Obama-era policy that aimed to show more leniency to lower-level drug offenders. And she favors strict enforcement to rein in the epidemic that saw a record 42,000 opioid related overdose deaths in 2016. The daughter of William Barr, who was attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, Daly was responsible for some of the biggest and most complex international drug trafficking cases in the Eastern District of Virginia, maintaining a heavy case load even as supervisor of the narcotics unit, said James L. Trump, a fellow prosecutor who worked alongside her there. She brought a quiet confidence to the courtroom, and a desire for fairness and consistency, he said. "She believed that adherence to the law and consistency with the law would bring about just results," said Trump, who has no relation to the president. "If there was a philosophy, it is what I find in most good prosecutors which is that the law is the law, whether our personal beliefs are different in terms of sentencing policy doesn't really matter." In her new role, much of Daly's focus will be on fentanyl, the deadly painkiller fueling the crisis. Under her watch, the Justice Department is going after dealers who use the anonymity of the internet to peddle fentanyl from overseas into American homes, pharmacies and doctors who recklessly overprescribe pain pills, as well as the kind of major traffickers Daly prosecuted in the field. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "We have a unique drug on the table in fentanyl. Very small quantities can kill people," Daly said, adding that the deadly narcotic is showing up in cocaine and other less lethal drugs. "We do have to recalibrate a bit in terms of how we're addressing the fentanyl threat and that may mean looking at people who are supplying lower quantities." Both conservative and liberal critics fear such a philosophy could mark a return to the policies of the 1970s and 80s that unduly affected minority communities and flooded prisons by ensnaring mid- to low-level dealers. "It's deadly, I get that, but that's why we need to treat it in a really thoughtful way," said Mark Holden, general counsel for the conservative Koch network. The left-leaning Brennan Center said the department's focus should be on major traffickers. But it also pointed to efforts to target opioid manufacturers and distributors, which Daly also oversees, as a positive step. Already under Daly's watch, the Justice Department has thrown its weight behind local officials in hundreds of lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers. Prevention and treatment are also part of the department's larger strategy, with prosecutors recommending treatment as part of a sentence and grant money devoted to programs. "I would argue they go hand-in-hand," Daly said. "Oftentimes enforcement provides a good intervention in someone's life to get them into treatment in a way that nothing else does." Washington Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, yet another Trump administration official with his job on the line over ethical concerns, took heat from lawmakers Thursday over his profligate spending and lobbyist ties and tried to divert responsibility to underlings. The EPA administrator said "twisted" allegations against him were meant to undermine the administration's anti-regulatory agenda, and he denied knowing details of some of the extraordinary spending done on his behalf at the agency. The public grilling at back-to-back House hearings, called formally to consider EPA's budget, came as support has appeared to erode for Pruitt among fellow Republicans after revelations about unusual security spending, first-class flights, a sweetheart condo lease and more. Even Republicans who heartily support Pruitt's policy agenda said his apparent lapses had to be scrutinized. Democrats excoriated him. "You are unfit to hold public office," said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey. "You've become the poster child for the abuse of public trust," said Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland. Although some Republicans rallied around Pruitt, reviews were mixed. Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois, chairman of the first panel that questioned Pruitt, said afterward the EPA chief was "a little vague," adding, "It's never a good idea to blame your staff in public." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Asked whether Pruitt should resign, he said that's not his call and suggested that's up to President Donald Trump. Pruitt gave clipped, bureaucratic answers to questions on the many financial allegations against him, relaxing when Republicans on the panel gave him openings to expand on his policy steps at EPA. Mocking Pruitt's opponents, Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said that as far as the EPA chief's critics were concerned, "I think the greatest sin you've done is you've actually done what President Trump ran on." Trump has stood by his EPA chief, but behind closed doors, White House officials concede Pruitt's job is in serious jeopardy. Pruitt has faced a steady trickle of revelations involving pricey trips in first-class seats and unusual security spending, including a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls. He also demanded 24-hour-a-day protection from armed officers, resulting in a 20-member security detail that blew through overtime budgets and racked up expenses approaching $3 million. The EPA chief acknowledged under sharp questioning that he, in fact, knew something about huge pay raises given to two women on his staff at least one of them a friend after insisting weeks ago that he didn't approve the raises. After that initial denial, documents showed EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson signed off on the raises and indicated he had Pruitt's consent. New York State Police An Amsterdam man faces felony charges after, State Police said, he stole $8,000 wroth of copper from a local business. Troopers said Edward P. Ruggerio took the metal from Power and Composite Technologies, a company located in the town of Amsterdam. ALBANY Hes been out of office for a year and four months, but President Barack Obama still has a strong presence in New York, especially through a program he started in 2014 to help young men of color overcome the obstacles they face when it comes to academic and other forms of success. In fact, New York remains the sole state nationwide to fund the My Brothers Keeper program on the statewide level. Other states have MBK programs in their local communities, but the Empire State allocates about $18 million annually to help with grants and other expenses in operating the program. While MBK's national leadership shifted in 2017 from the White House to the Obama Foundation, it has grown in New York with 21 communities, including Albany, participating. More and more schools are talking about the opportunities and the work they are doing with My Brothers Keeper, state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said Friday during a statewide gathering of participants, which included teachers, mentors and high school-aged young black and Hispanic men. One sign that MBK is growing: several Native American communities in western New York are now participating as well. And starting this year, MBK includes a Fellows Program where high school students are selected and groomed to be future leaders a job that requires MBK participants mentoring kids who may just be a few years younger than themselves. Watching out for one another, as well as taking responsibility for oneself, is one of the movements underpinnings. That was clear during Fridays meeting, hosted by the state Education Department at the Empire State Plaza convention center. They can relate to you. They can identify with you, said the day's keynote speaker, Baruti Kafele, referring to younger students who may look up to MBK participants. While MBK may be just four years old, parts of the movement have roots in the early 20th century. A teacher and principal-turned education speaker and writer, Kafele, said he got off to a rough start in his hometown of East Orange, N.J., taking five years to barely get through high school and drifting for a few years after that. I had no dream. I had no ambition, Kafele said. More for you Regional winners for My Brother's Keeper program Finally, while in college he read a book that changed his outlook. The Mis-Education of the Negro, written in 1933 by Carter G. Woodson, argued that African Americans, rather than getting educated in the schools, were being culturally indoctrinated to be dependent and to see themselves as inferior. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The book was a game changer, he said. After a career in education, Kafele said he gained enough confidence to strike out on his own as a speaker and writer. I had a profound belief in myself, he said. Youve got to believe in yourself and youve got to protect your belief. For Albany High School participants, such belief helps them visualize themselves in college. MBK has gotten them more involved in the affairs of their school. Albany MBK participants Darryl White, Nasir Curry and Jalen Rainey are on a Superintendents Roundtable where they talk regularly with Superintendent Kaweedah Adams. The program has also helped pay for college tours for these high school students who are looking at schools ranging from historically black colleges to SUNY campuses such as Buffalo. Another plus: the ability to explore career options by meeting adults in a variety of fields. I think this will help me find what I want to do, White said. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU ALBANY - A surprise retirement announcement by Halfmoon Republican Kathy Marchione has Republicans and Democrats rethinking how to win her state Senate seat in November. Now that it's an open seat, Columbia County Republican Committee Chair Greg Fingar believes the race for the 43rd Senate District will be a real competition. Republicans have about a 6,000-voter enrollment edge over Democrats in the district, which includes Columbia County and parts of Saratoga, Washington and Rensselaer counties. "In today's political climate, I don't take anything for granted," Fingar said. "At the end of the day, though, I think we can hold on to the seat." As to the identity of the nominee, he said, "I have no idea who it will be yet." Multiple political operatives identified Saratoga County Clerk Craig Hayner, former Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott Johnson and Nassau Town Supervisor David Fleming as potential candidates. Hayner was described as an "exceptional candidate" for the seat by Saratoga County Republican Committee Chair Carl Zeilman. He stressed that Hayner hadn't spoken to him about running. In 2012, Marchione announced her primary challenge to incumbent Roy McDonald at the ice cream shop run by Hayner's family in Halfmoon. The next year he announced his candidacy to succeed Marchione as county clerk. Johnson is an attractive candidate for the seat because he has the means to help finance his campaign and could potentially do better than other Republicans in the liberal-leaning Saratoga Springs. Republicans from Rensselaer County argued that the state Senate candidate should come from there because the county is more moderate and someone with ties to the area, like Fleming, could do well. Fingar said the goal of the committees is to coalesce behind one candidate before the petitioning process begins on June 5. "I don't think it will go to primary, I really don't," he said. Rensselaer County political operative Rich Crist stressed the importance of the county Republican committees working together. "We're going to have to function as a team in what could be a challenging environment," he said. The biggest potential name Democrats could field, Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, isn't in the mix, according to Columbia County Democratic Committee Chair Keith Kanaga. He spoke with Barrett after Marchione's announcement and told him she's not running. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Columbia County Democrat Koethi Zan, who previously formed a campaign committee to challenge Marchione, is in the exploratory phase. "She, along with everybody else, is looking at the whole thing and trying to figure out what the next step is," Kanaga said. Rensselaer County Democratic Committee Chair Michael Monescalchi said it's possible other candidates may emerge given the late retirement from Marchione. Marchione's retirement announcement at the annual Saratoga County Republican Committee endorsement meeting on Wednesday night caught the approximately 300 committee members off guard, according to Zeilman. He spoke with Marchione a few days before the announcement and she explained her desire to let local supporters know during the annual endorsement meeting. Fingar said he wasn't shocked by Marchione's decision to retire, but acknowledged it was a surprise. "I didn't know she was thinking along those lines," he said. In a statement, Marchione cited family obligations as the rationale for her retirement, but Saratoga County Democratic Committee Chair Todd Kerner believes the results of the recent special elections, including a large state Senate win by Democrats in Westchester County on Tuesday influenced the decision. David.Lombardo@timesunio.com - 518.454.5427 - @Poozer87 SARATOGA SPRINGS A 33-year-old Saratoga Springs man was arrested Wednesday and charged with receiving child pornography following an FBI investigation. A complaint filed against Benjamin J. Varieur alleges that in March he used an encrypted messaging application on his phone to receive child pornography over the Internet, according to U.S. Attorney Grant Jaquith and Vadim Thomas, FBI special agent in charge. Varieur made an initial appearance in Albany before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian Hummel, who ordered him detained pending further proceedings. If convicted on all charges, Varieur faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least five years and up to life. SCHAGHTICOKE - Even with a state ruling and a court decision against them, the operators of Liberty Ridge Farm may have found a way to avoid having same-sex weddings there after all. The Schaghticoke tourist farm and wedding venue was in the headlines in 2014 when the state Division of Human Rights ruled that operators Robert and Cynthia Gifford couldnt discriminate against same-sex couples who wanted to get married there. Now, though, the farm notes on its website that it donates a portion of its profits to the Family Research Council, a Washington, D.C.-based group that opposes same-sex marriage and believes that homosexual conduct is wrong. At Liberty Ridge Farm, our deeply held religious belief is that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and the Farm is operated with the purpose of strengthening and promoting marriage. In furtherance of this purpose and to honor and promote our moral and religious beliefs, we donate a portion of our business proceeds to organizations that promote strong marriages such as the Family Research Council, its online statement reads. The patronage of all potential clients for all services offered is welcome regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability or marital status. All couples legally permitted to marry in the state of New York are welcome to hold their wedding at Liberty Ridge Farm. We serve everyone equally. Liberty Ridge also has a number of agritourism attractions ranging from animals to corn mazes and pumpkin patches, and hosts field trips for local schools. Other businesses nationwide have also made it clear that, while they realize they must accommodate same-sex couples, they continue to work against these weddings on the legal and political fronts. Its kind of a reverse boycott, Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, said of the disclaimer. Ive seen it pop up in other states. They have since come up with a way to stay true to their values and their faith, said James Trainor, a lawyer with Cutler, Trainor & Cutler in Malta, who represented the Giffords before the Human Rights Division. McGuire, whose organization opposes same sex-marriage, said hes seen similar statements on websites of cake and photography shops that have a large wedding clientele. The New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs in the original case, is crying foul. "Of course business owners have the right express themselves, but the law specifically prohibits businesses from posting messages that a customer would be unwelcome based on their sexual orientation," NYCLU lawyer Bobby Hogdson said in an email. "The statement on Liberty Ridge Farm's website sends the message that same-sex couples are less welcome, and may push people away from doing business there." The NYCLU isn't planning any immediate legal action, however. Neither the Giffords nor the Family Research Council returned calls on Thursday. The Liberty Ridge case started when Cynthia Gifford told an Albany couple, Jennie and Melissa McCarthy, that they wouldn't accommodate the women's wedding due to their religious objections to same-sex marriage. Melissa McCarthy complained to the Human Rights Division which, after a hearing, ruled that the Giffords had to accommodate same-sex weddings. The Giffords were also hit with a $13,000 fine. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The Giffords fought the division's decision in state court but lost, going as far as the appellate division. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry. Currently, those lined up on both sides of the issue are awaiting a Supreme Court decision, which could come as early as June, on the case of a Denver-area baker who, due to his religious beliefs, refused to bake a cake for a same-sex marriage. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that Jack Phillips, operator of the Masterpiece Cake Shop, was violating the rights of the two men who wanted a wedding cake. Phillips went to civil court, arguing that the decision infringed on his First Amendment rights of free speech and religion. The decision in the case, which was argued before the Supreme Court in 2017, should have a bearing on all these issues, said McGuire. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU The April 25 event aimed to update the press and European seafood importers on measures Vietnam is taking to combat IUU fishing, a problem on which the European Commission (EC) issued a yellow card warning to Vietnam last September. Nguyen Thi Trang Nhung, Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Vietnam has obtained positive outcomes in the issue. The most important outcome is the Law on Fisheries, approved on November 21, 2017, which details IUU fishing activities and stipulates strict punishments compared to administrative penalties for violations in other fields. Efforts of the whole political system of Vietnam have resulted in observable advances in the certification of seafood origin and control of fishing boats activities, she added. As the yellow card could affect the prestige and trade of Vietnamese seafood in the European and global markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and businesses have also made every effort to cooperate with authorised agencies and with one another to fight IUU fishing over the last six months. Le Hang, a representative of VASEP, said the association has regularly updated the list of fisheries businesses committing to IUU fishing prevention on its website in both English and Vietnamese, thus showing Vietnamese firms consensus and determination to EU importers and managerial agencies. She noted that after the EU issued the yellow card warning, seafood exports to this market have declined as importers have become more cautious and worried that tightened examination of imports could take them more cost and time. Nguyen Xuan Nam, Chairman of the board of directors of the Hai Vuong Co. Ltd, told Vietnam News Agency that the EU is a very important market and some of his companys clients have expressed concern about the risk of a red card, which can lead to a trade ban on fishery products, after the yellow card. His company has actively informed its clients about Vietnams solutions to soon lift the yellow card and avoid red card. Brian Cullinane, purchasing director at Pan Euro Foods an Irish company that has imported Vietnamese aquatic products for five years, said the EUs yellow card warning is a relatively new issue and almost hasnt affected the market much, but the situation could worsen in the next two or three years if Vietnam failed to lift the yellow card. On April 20, Vietnam submitted a report on its efforts to address IUU fishing to the EC. The EU is set to send a delegation to Vietnam between May 15 and 25 to assess local IUU fishing prevention. Vietnamplus The All-Ireland Restaurant Awards 2018 will be taking place on May 14th at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road. This will be the 10th anniversary since the beginning of the prestigious annual awards ceremony which is the largest and most coveted in the Irish hospitality industry. Since its beginning in 2009 the event has grown significantly in both attendee numbers and award categories with its reach now spanning to each region on the isle of Ireland. County winners from each of the 16 categories have already been announced at our four regional awards which took place recently in Leinster, Munster, Connaught and Ulster. These establishments are now in line to compete for Regional and All-Ireland titles in their respective categories. In addition to the 16 categories already present in the Regional Awards, there will be the addition of four national awards presented during the event on May 14th. These national awards are for Best Seafood Experience, Best Digital Marketing, Best Private Dining and Club and Best Cocktail Experience. Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association commented: The Irish Restaurant Awards are an opportunity for local businesses to receive much-needed recognition of their hard work and commitment to excellence. These establishments drive tourism both locally and on a national scale, making Ireland a desirable destination for global travellers. The Irish Restaurant Awards prides itself on celebrating the very best in local produce, flawless customer care and unrivalled dining experiences to anywhere in the world. We wish all our county winners and those nominated in our national categories the best of luck on May 14th. Tipperary businesses progressing to the All-Ireland Finals are as follows: Due to overwhelming demand, an extra date has been added to Feile Classical next September. Over 10,000 music fans logged onto Ticketmaster this morning to nab a seat to the eagerly awaited revival of the 90's festival. The Saturday concert sold out within minutes after going on sale at 9am, leading organisers to announce a second date for September 21st. Feile favourites The Stunning, Hothouse Flowers, An Emotional Fish, Something Happens, The 4 of Us, The Frank & Walters plus a line-up of special guests will take to the stage with the Irish Chamber Orchestra over two nights this September. Tickets for the Friday September 21st gig will go on sale at 10am on Saturday from Ticketmaster. Pic: On hand to help launch the 90's festival comeback on Tuesday morning was musician Jerry Fish, John Devane, County Chairman, Con Hogan, Semple Stadium Chairman, Aoife Kelly, Tim Floyd, County Board secretary and Tom Dunne, curator However in a far cry from the Feile days of yesteryear, the 2018 version will have a more grown up feel with bespoke gin and Prosecco bars, gourmet food stalls and most importantly, a fully seated concert. Tipperary TD and Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Food and Horticulture, Jackie Cahill has said that the State should consider making changes to VAT rules to ease the burden on farmers affected by the fodder crisis. There is a lot that can be done by the State to ease the burden on farmers. VAT on plastics and materials used in the production of fodder and silage should be removed for a period of 12 months, he told a meeting of the Parliamentary Party. The 23 per cent VAT rate on silage wrap and silage harvesting should be waived for 2018. This can and would make a major difference. We cannot blame the Minister or the Government for the bad weather but we can blame them for the shoddy and poor response that has let a shortage turn into a crisis, he said. Deputy Cahill also called for any VAT rebates owed to farmers to be paid as quickly as possible. Giving farmers access to their own money is key. There are a number of farmers that are owed VAT rebates by the Revenue Commissioners. I honestly believe that one of the best things the State could do would be to ensure that any monies owed to farmers are paid out immediately. Deputy Cahill siad that many farmers had come to me and it was clear that they ertr under severe pressure. I am very concerned for their mental health and wellbeing and the poor response from the Government in terms of putting in place solutions to the fodder crisis have made things worse for them and their families, he said. Meanwhile, IFA president Joe Healy has called for a doubling of the fodder import subsidy from 60 to 120 per bale, and a doubling of the 20,000-tonne limit to help bring in more fodder. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Recently, 24 Cashel Community School students and staff displayed huge community effort when they participated in a charity leg wax for Bothar. Local beauticians Fiona Flanagan, Sarah Hallissey and Megan Lonergan arrived with their hot wax to a room full of anxious students and teachers! The leg wax provided lots of laughter and a few squeals too as fellow students observed with glee. Teachers Brendan Ryan, John Ed OConnor, Des OConnor and Colm Lees donated their legs much to the delight of students. Sponsorship cards are still being retuned but to date the students have raised 353 from this leg wax, a fantastic response to this great cause. This combined with the student Christmas dinner means over 700 has been raised. This money has helped the students reach their goal this year which was to send a cow to Rwanda to transform the livelihood of a receiving family. The students were very proactive this year in their fundraising and now can be very proud of their achievements. A special word of thanks was given on the day to the local beauticians who gave of their time so generously. The students will be in Leaving Cert when their cow is ready to fly to Rwanda they hope to see the cow before it flies out and mark the day in a special way. This Social Justice project which was started in the TY Religion classes this year shows that everybody can make a difference and contribute to those who are struggling in developing countries. The wireless industry could change dramatically in the coming days. (Image credit: Roman Tiraspolsky/Shutterstock) Sprint and T-Mobile have cleared some hurdles in their negotiations and could announce plans to merge as early as next week, Reuters is reporting. The sides reportedly need to come to an agreement on a few more sticking points, including how they would own voting rights on the shareholder level. T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom is also trying to finalize its debt plans to finalize the deal, according to the report. A subsequent report today (April 27) from CNBC says the proposed deal, valued at $26 billion, is likely to be announced by Sunday. Regulators would still need to sign off on the merger, though. A merger between Sprint and T-Mobile wouldn't be all that surprising. While T-Mobile has done well as the industry's "Un-Carrier," doing things that the larger carriers do not, it's yet to break into the top two firmly controlled by AT&T and Verizon. Sprint, meanwhile, has been floundering with no signs of catching up. By combining the two companies in one, Sprint and T-Mobile could be far more effective in the broader wireless industry. A merger between the companies would create a carrier network with more than 127 million customers. It would also make it easier for the companies to double down on 5G networks and catch up to AT&T and Verizon on that front. Still, there are some hurdles. Sprint and T-Mobile are owned in large part by giant corporations in SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom, respectively. How well those companies will work together is anyone's guess. And if there's some turmoil in that relationship, that could directly impact the average customer. MORE: Who Has Best Unlimited Data Plans: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint & or T-Mobile? It's also worth noting that the companies use two different network types to provide their services. So, while they could stand to increase their size and influence in the marketplace, there might not be as many cost-savings opportunities as they might hope. Regardless, a merger between the two seems to make sense. AT&T and Verizon are dominating the U.S. wireless market, and despite some strong competition from T-Mobile, haven't really seen any impact on their subscriber numbers and bottom lines. By combining, T-Mobile and Sprint can make the marketplace a three-horse race and provide a far more compelling alternative to the incumbents. For Verizon and AT&T customers, the move could also force the carriers to think twice about promotions and pricing. And that could ultimately translate to customers getting access to better and more attractive offers and network plans. But before all that can happen, a deal actually needs to be in place. Sprint and T-Mobile reportedly had merger discussions in November before the talks ultimately fell apart. Now that they're back at the table, they once again need to sign a deal and clear all the regulatory hurdles that will decide whether a deal is approved. It's also unknown who would lead the combined companies, though John Legere, T-Mobile's current CEO, seems like a good fit. For their parts, neither T-Mobile nor Sprint has commented on the report. Editors' Note: Updated at 4:55 p.m. ET with another report on the merger's likelihood. Mike Schroepfer, Facebook CTO UKs Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, chaired by Damian Collins (who is a member of Parliament), demanded that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg be present for questioning in regards to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The call came after the committee interviewed Facebooks Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Mike Schroepfer, who, apparently, fell short on the majority of the questions the committee asked. UK Vs U.S. Cambridge Analytica Hearings In the previous two U.S. hearings, American lawmakers could hardly ask two or three questions before their time ran out. Zuckerbergs response time was also included in the 4-5 minutes the politicians got, which means the responses were typically quite canned and not very elaborated, while the lawmakers didnt have much room for follow-up questions. In the UK hearings on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, things have been different. The media committee members have been able to ask however many questions they liked of the witnesses, they could follow-up on any questions, and they didnt typically allow the witnesses to get away with short canned answers, especially if they felt the responses werent good enough. From the three main hearings so far, to which Cristopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica scandal whistleblower, and Aleksandr Kogan, the University of Cambridge professor, were also invited, Facebooks CTO was probably grilled the most, getting multiple follow-up questions each time. Facebook Didnt Read Kogans ToS Facebook has said before, and its CTO re-iterated, that the company asked for written confirmation that Cambridge Analytica deleted the data it got from users in 2014. However, the UK committee pointed out that Facebook failed to notify both users and authorities, such as the Information Commissioner Office (ICO), that the breach happened. During this conversation between Schroepfer and the UK lawmakers, Schroepfer also said the company asks third-party developers to have a proper Terms of Service (ToS). However, Schroepfer noted that no one at Facebook had read the ToS for the app built by Kogan, even though the company was collaborating with him on other academic projects at the time. This is quite ironic considering that whenever someone points out that Facebook is collecting too much data, or data that users arent expecting the company to collect, Facebook keeps coming back to the fact that the users agreed to share that data with Facebook when they clicked Continue on a ToS the company knows the users will never read. Facebook Will Look Into Palantirs Use Of Facebook Data Palantir, a relatively secretive company that builds digital surveillance tools for the U.S. government and was co-founded by Facebook board member Peter Thiel, has been accused of using Cambridge Analyticas harvested data, too. One of its top executives has also been accused of working directly with Cambridge Analytica, which Palantir confirmed. When Zuckerberg apologized for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he assured everyone that the company would investigate and audit any other company that may have been abusing its policies or harvesting data the way Cambridge Analytica did. Weve asked Facebook whether or not it will investigate Palantir, too, after the accusations against Palantir came out, but we received no reply at the time. Facebooks CTO seems to have been a little more responsive to the UK lawmakers similar question, saying that many people have raised that concern about Palantir, and that Facebook also plans to review Palantirs practices. Well be waiting for the results of that investigation and keep you updated. Majority Of Facebook CTOs Answers Unsatisfactory The UK media committee Chairman, Collins, said the majority of Schroepfers responses about Facebooks policies and how it protects user data against companies such as Cambridge Analytica were unsatisfactory. Therefore, he's asked Zuckerberg to present himself before the committee on May 24, just before Zuckerberg will also face questions from the European Parliament: Mr Schroepfer, Mark Zuckerbergs right hand man whom we were assured could represent his views, today failed to answer many specific and detailed questions about Facebooks business practices. We will be asking him to respond in writing to the committee on these points; however, we are mindful that it took a global reputational crisis and three months for the company to follow up on questions we put to them in Washington D.C. on February 8th.We believe that, given the large number of outstanding questions for Facebook to answer, Mark Zuckerberg should still appear in front of the Committee. We note, in particular, reports that he intends to travel to Europe in May to give evidence to the European Parliament, and will request that he appears in front of the DCMS Committee before the 24th May. Collins also made it clear that this is not just another request (Zuckerberg declined the previous invitation). If Zuckerberg fails to comply, the committee will issue a formal summons for him, which means the next time Zuckerberg will visit the UK, he will be obligated to come before the UK committee, by law. The Lamborghini Urus has been a resounding success for Lamborghini, so much so that the company would be forgiven if its suddenly getting a little trigger-happy in following that up with a smaller SUV. Porsche did it with the Macan. Bentley is reportedly doing it with the Bentayga. Whats stopping Lamborghini? As it turns out, Lamborghini is stopping Lamborghini. The Italian automaker has no plans to add another SUV to complement the Urus, saying that it would rather keep the brands exclusivity than capitalizing on the Urus success. The Italian automaker believes that the Urus already occupies a sweet spot in the lineup, and doing anything to disrupt that wouldnt be in the companys best interests. Lamborghini Chief Technical Officer Maurizio Reggiani made the proclamation in a conversation with Drive at the Urus international media launch in Rome, Italy. According to Reggiani, the Italian automaker believes that the Urus already occupies a sweet spot in the lineup, and doing anything to disrupt that wouldnt be in the companys best interests. At the end, it is all about brand positioning, and you can go too far down and dilute the position that we are the pinnacle of the car business, he said. Theres a point to be made in Reggianis comments because Lamborghini isnt in the same position as Porsche. The latter is far more mainstream in its volume, and having a complement to the Cayenne SUV makes a lot of sense given its position in the industry. Bentleys reported interest in a smaller Bentayga is a little more curious, but if it thinks its going to be a big sales hit, then it should at least look into the possibility of building one. A smaller crossover to slot below the Urus may sound interesting, but its not something that Lamborghini is considering given that it already went on a limb with the Urus itself. Lambo, though, isnt interested in any of that. Its perfectly fine having the Urus and only the Urus as its SUV, and instead of growing vertically by expanding into different crossovers and SUV models, its going to do so horizontally in the form of different versions of the SUV. Its not a bad plan because Lamborghini is one of the few automakers in the world that legitimately has to worry about diluting its brand for the sake of beefing up its sales volume. At some point, stretching itself too thin is going to run counter to its identity. A smaller crossover to slot below the Urus may sound interesting, but its not something that Lamborghini is considering given that it already went on a limb with the Urus itself. Then again, never say never. Lamborghini did say in the past that it had no plans of building an SUV. Look how that turned out. References Read our full review on the 2019 Lamborghini Urus. Read more Lamborghini news. The world of fast sedans is about to get a whole lot quicker, as the Cat Badge is gearing up to release its highly impressive XE SV Project 8. With production set to kick off this summer, this limited-run street-legal track terror is framed as a Porsche GT3 with four doors. Steel yourself for the most powerful factory Jaguar road car ever created The Full Story The Project 8 looks to be the one of the most extreme street-legal performance machine Jag has ever produced. Just last year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Jag dropped the 562-horsepower bomb that is the XE SV Project 8. Built by hand in-house by Jags go-faster division, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), the Project 8 looks to be the one of the most extreme street-legal performance machine Jag has ever produced. Interestingly, the Brits are calling it a Porsche GT3 with four seats, which is a mighty big claim, if you ask us. Backing the claim is a Ring time of 7 minutes, 21 seconds, which is slower than Stuttgarts run of 7 minutes, 12 seconds in the 991.2 911 GT3 last May. That said, Jag says the most recent round of improvements should chip some time off the top. Indeed, no expense was spared and no compromise was made in the creation of this outrageous sedan. It brings tons of unique content and features to play, with a host of top-tier motorsport tech throughout. Outside is a plethora of carbon fiber body panels, with just a few aluminum carryovers from the standard model. Highlights include massively flared wheel arches, an adjustable rear wing, a rear diffuser element, and a flat underbody. The front splitter will also extend outwards while in track mode, with further adjustability offered in the rear. All told, the sedan makes nearly 269 pounds of downforce at 186 mph. All told, the sedan makes nearly 269 pounds of downforce at 186 mph. Getting it going is 562 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque from a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8, which routes to all four wheels via an eight-speed Quickshift transmission. Top speed is rated at 200 mph, while the 0-to-60 mph run is done in 3.4 seconds. New engine mounts keep the drivetrain tight, while the suspension gets new uprights, plus new upper arms for greater adjustability. Further adjustability can be made to the ride height and camber. Final details include ceramic wheel bearings and large 15.7-inch carbon ceramic brakes. Making it stick is Michelins Pilot Sport Cup 2 tire compound, which is wrapped around 20-inch forged wheels. Those who really want every tenth possible are encouraged to get theirs with the optional Track Pack, which adds two carbon bucket seats in front, while also deleting the rear seats in favor of a roll cage and adding extra stiffness-making carbon components in the trunk. All told, the Track Pack shaves 27 pounds and improves torsional rigidity by 27 percent. The Track Pack shaves 27 pounds and improves torsional rigidity by 27 percent. In the year since its debut at Goodwood, Jag has been busy adding final touches to the machine. The good thing about building only 300 cars, all hand-made, is that you can keep developing the car right up to the start of production, said Project 8 Vehicle Dynamics Manager, David Pook. And weve done just that. The springs have got stiffer and so have the engine mounts. The suspension arm bushes have changed. The brakes have been refined for the exact pedal feel and performance we want. This has all been done to make the car even more responsive and to handle even better. Jag also adjusted the engine software to keep the powerplant as efficient and powerful as possible. Its certainly even faster, better handling and more responsive than it was six months ago, Pook added. Whats more, this is the first Jag to come with a Track Mode, which sets the spec for the drivetrain, stability control, throttle response, steering system, and dampers, making everything tighter and sharper for apex duty. Each example of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 will be hand-built at the SVO Technical Center in Coventry. Each will carry a price tag of $187,500. If youre still clamoring for more on this impressive four-door, make sure to check out the development video below: References Read our full review on the 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8. Read our full review on the 2018 Jaguar 911 GT3. Read more Jaguar news. Porsche Finally Gives the Mission E a Production Name Its going to be called the "Taycan" as an homage to the horse on the German automakers emblem Treehugger and our third-party partners use cookies and process personal data like unique identifiers based on your consent to store and/or access information on a device, display personalized ads and for content measurement, audience insight, and product development. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Treehugger.com, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, click below. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. List of Partners (vendors) Neonicotinoids, the worlds most widely used insecticides, will be banned for use in fields within six months. So this is crazy, but when you douse fields with strong chemicals designed to kill insects, bees get sick and die too. Isn't that strange? With so many pesticides being used in big agriculture, is it any wonder that our beleaguered pollinators have been dying at such an alarming rate? But now the bees in the European Union are getting a much deserved break, thanks to a ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations. Neonicotinoids are nerve agents that are great at killing and harming insects, including bees; they've been shown to damage memory and reduce queen numbers, among other deleterious imapcts. The ban will be enacted by the end of the year, after which these dastardly pesticides will only be allowed in closed greenhouses. As Damian Carrington at The Guardian reports, the EU banned the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops that attract bees, such as oil seed rape, in 2013. But further legislation came about after a major report was published by the EUs scientific risk assessors. The research found that the pesticides taint soil and water, which leads to the contamination of wildflowers and later crops. Thus, any outside use at all leads to a high risk to both honeybees and wild bees. A recent study has gone so far as to find contamination by neonicotinoids on honey samples from around the world. While pesticide makers and some agriculture groups say that the measure is overly cautious and productivity could suffer; others were quick to dismiss those concerns. The ban received great vocal support, inspiring nearly 5 million signatures on a petition at the activism and campaign site, Avaaz. "We call on you to immediately ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides," notes the petition. "The catastrophic demise of bee colonies could put our whole food chain in danger. If you act urgently with precaution now, we could save bees from extinction." The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our 100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood, UK environment secretary Michael Gove told the Guardian. I believe this justifies further restrictions on their use. We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk. Meanwhile, the United States EPA is considering an application by agrochemical giant Syngenta to dramatically escalate the use of the harmful neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam. If approved, notes The Center for Biological Diversity, the application would allow the highly toxic pesticide to be sprayed directly on 165 million acres of wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, alfalfa, rice and potato. IN ITS second pandemic budget, the Government will focus on agriculture and diversification and will seek more private sector engagement in the economy. In an interview with the Sunday Express on Friday, HERE are two terms you dont see often in the same sentence: menstruation and mental health. Yet, it is a topic worth discussing, says womens counselling psychologist Oraine Ramoo. Hormones can have an effect on a womans moods and emotions and can even impact the quality of ones life. Do you have a news tip? Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you. More here -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. You have an early flight. Why not stay closer to SJO? You need to be at the airport 3 hrs before anyway. You seem to think 2 hrs would be enough. The airlines recommend 3 hrs. We once encountered a gigantic security line at SJO, low season, mid week, mid morning, we hardly made it to our flight, were the last ones to board. We had started 4 (!) hrs ahead, at a hotel 10-15 min drive away from SJO, but there was an accident on the Rd., the traffic was backed up, so we could not leave toward the airport till 3.5 hrs before our flight. We ended up at SJO over 3 hrs before the flight anyway, but then encountered the security line like we had never seen before anywhere. It was not like that on other trips to CR, but it did happen, so IMHO, the Qn is, how important it is for you not to miss your plane? Edited: 3 years ago Snorkeling is just not a good reason to visit Cosata Rica. We have snorkeled at Cano Island, Samara and the Caribbean coast and tried but given up in several other beach towns, and frankly none of it compares to the reef off Mexico and Belize. Now swimmable beaches and nature are much easier to find. July is rainy season so be prepared for a little rain whereever you go. If you are flying into Liberia, the best swimmable beaches are Samara and beaches from Playa Conchal north - Brasilito, Potrero, Flamingo, Danta, Hermosa and the Papagayo peninsula. Samara is one of my favorite beach towns because its right on the water, easily walkable and small enough not to be full of franchise restaurants. It also has beautiful beaches to explore nearby. Take a look at and to see if this area appeals to you. If you're flying into San Jose look at Manuel Antonio and Uvita, 1 hour to the south, or the Caribbean coast south of Puerto Viejo. The Caribbean coast has the advantage of beaches, rainforest and wildlife in close proximity and a low volume of tourists but July is a rainy month. See to figure out if this area appeals to you. If you want swimming pools and AC I'd give it a pass. Also be aware it's a 4.5-5 hour drive from SJO. Manuel Antonio by contrast is a favorite of 1st time visitors. Think rainforest meeting golden beaches with the added benefit of swimming pools, AC, lots of excursions and restaurants and only a 3 hour drive from SJO. It is a much more expensive area however. I am planning a 7 day trip to Costa Rica in June and very concerned about zika virus. I understand that I am the only one who has to make a decision. However i would really appreciate if anyone who traveled there could tell me what the mosquito situation is like there. Is there any way to find out how many/which infected areas there are currently? How many people were actually infected with zika? Are mosquito repellent guaranteed to prevent mosquito bites? Thanks a lot in advance. Re: Has Vietnam changed in the last 5 years? 12. Re: Has Vietnam changed in the last 5 years? -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This post has been removed at the author's request. The author may repost if desired. Posts on the Tripadvisor forums may be edited for a short period of time. Once the edit period has expired, authors may update their posts by removing and reposting them. To read more about editing your posts, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/help/how_to_edit_your_posts I will travel to Japan with husband and 2 young kids (8 and 1,5 yo) this coming July. The plan is we will start with tokyo for 6 nights (travel in a group of best friends), then Kyoto 4 nights, then back to Tokyo for 2 nights. I am thinking to choose mystays premier hotel between Omori, Hamamatsucho or Akasaka. We will be without group of friends on the last 3 days in Tokyo and have not made any plan yet. Please suggest which area is better for sightseeing and visit with kids. Our flight back home will be midnight (Haneda International). Thank you in advance! How do I get from the airport (JFK, LGA, or EWR) to Manhattan? What To Do During Layovers? Vacation Apartment Rentals Violate NYC Laws Hotels: Kitchenettes and kitchens in 100+ Manhattan Hotels Hotels: Two queen beds plus a kitchen/kitchenette Hotels: Guests under 21 years old (but at least 18) Hotels: Which ones charge an additional Resort or Facilities Fee Hotels: When is the best time to go for cheaper rates? What are the Must-See's and Must-Do's? How Do I Ride the Subway (UPDATED)? Tips, Hint and Suggestions for First Timers SCAMS to avoid in NYC What Will the Weather Be Like During My Trip? Any Good Websites for Researching My Trip? How Safe is New York? Where to Eat in NYC Where to eat in NYC - Part 2 Celiac in the City? (gluten free) Which Area Should I Stay In? Is There Cheaper Lodging Outside Manhattan? How Much Do I Tip People? Are the New York Pass, Explorer Pass or CityPass worth it? How Do I Hail a Taxi? Public restrooms/toilets. Where do you go when you GOTTA GO? Where are the best areas for shopping? How do I find Discount Tickets for Broadway Shows? Events for Halloween 2019 in NYC Thanksgiving 2019 in NYC: What to Do & Where to Eat Christmastime in NYC 2020: Dates for the Trees-Windows-Markets-Ice Skating+MORE! Christmas Day 2019 in NYC: What to Do & Where to Eat What Should I Do on New Year's Eve? How Will I Survive the Cold Weather? Where are the Farmers Markets and Street Fairs? What is there to see and do near WTC/SOL/Brooklyn Bridge/SI ferry? What should I know about visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum? What Is There to See and Do in Brooklyn? How Do I Get to the Brooklyn Bridge? What Is There to See and Do in Queens? Exploring neighborhoods - where should I go and what should I see? Which is the best? ESB or TOTR or OWO? Which are the significant churches in Manhattan? Hidden Gems in the city - not so touristy How do I get from NYC to the Meadowlands and back? I'm Getting Married in NYC...what do I need to do? Should I Buy Knock-Off Purses? What to Do with Kids and How to Do It? What should we do at night -- especially with kids or under 21's? Places to eat (and drink) with a view Where is the Old FAQ? Trip Reports: Families with Young Kids - Add yours! Trip Reports: Groups of Friends - Add yours! Trip Reports: Couples - Add yours! Trip Reports: Families with Teenagers - Add yours! Trip Reports: Solo Travelers - Add yours! Trip Reports: Families of Adults - Add yours! Well, first, what is "sth"? "But we don't want to take them on Rooftopbars or sth." I wouldn't discount rooftop bars. You can find spaces where no one else is present and take shots that way -- unless you are looking to take shots from 20 feet away or so. Timing is important, too. The Peninsula has a rooftop bar called Salon de Ning which might suit. Try to go at a time when it's emptier -- like when it first opens. The rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum could be a candidate -- again, go when it first opens. You might want to try Bar 65 at Rockefeller Center. They have a dress code and mixed cocktails are expensive -- just a head's up. - Uhuru said he will work with Raila to institute special committee to cater for heroes' welfare - He raised concern Kenyans have a habit of not appreciating sacrifices made by heroes - The president said citizens need to learn to appreciate heroes when they are still alive President Uhuru Kenyatta said he will work with Opposition leader Raila Odinga to form a special committee to take care of veteran Kenyan politicians and other national heroes. Uhuru said this when addressing mourners at the memorial ceremony of veteran politician Kenneth Matiba at Ihura Stadium Muranga County on Thursday, April 26. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Mwanawe mmiliki wa Royal Media Services - SK Macharia - afariki kwenye ajali The president expressed concern saying many Kenyans who have made immense contributions to the countrys transformation and have put Kenya on the world map through great deeds of patriotism have not been neglected. President Uhuru Kenyatta with opposition leader Raila Odinga. READ ALSO: Late Matibas cremation to be an invites only affair - family I concur with many speakers who have spoken today, as a country we have developed a bad habit of failing to honour individuals who have contributed to national development in many great ways. For so long we have been pouring out praises on these people in their funerals, said Uhuru. Uhuru said Kenyans must learn to honour people who made great sacrifices to achieve heroic accolades for the country when they are still alive in order to motivate and inspire the young generation. We need to stop praising people and appreciating their good deeds when they are no longer here. I am determined to turn things around by forming a committee with my big brother Raila to ensure our heroes feel appreciated by the State, he stated. READ ALSO: The late Kenneth Matiba was not a multiparty democracy hero - TUKO.co.ke explains He explained the committee will be tasked with identifying persons from different spheres who played and continue to play significant roles in making Kenya a great nation and formulate a reward plan to cater for their welfare. President Uhuru Kenyatta said he will work with Raila Odinga to form committee to honour kenyan heroes' welfare. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/ Facebook. Many leaders who spoke at the mass including Raila and Deputy President William Ruto said Matiba was among many Kenyan heroes acknowledged after their deaths, urging the president to consider reversing the trend. READ ALSO: Radio Maisha's Mwende Macharia narrates how J Blessing dumped her even after meeting the parents We have adopted a bad habit of forgetting the good deeds done to us by our compatriots. We have only come out to eulogize them enthusiastically yet we never cared for them when they were still alive, said Ruto. Matiba died before the State paid him about KSh 2 billion he was awarded by the court for atrocities he was caused by the government. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Willy Paul Interview for Tuko Buzz: Willy Paul Reveals it All | Tuko TV Source: Breaking News - The advocate noted tMt Kenya politicians are underrating Ruto's power and strength - It's believed several Uhuru allies are against a Ruto presidency after 2022 - The senior counsel however notes Ruto has immense connection and money to vie for the seat - There are also fears the Raila-Uhuru handshake spells doom for Ruto's presidential ambitions Vocal lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi on Thursday, April 26, claimed Deputy President William Ruto has the impetus and financial might to take on anyone standing on his way. He warned those who were hell-bent on dimming Ruto's presidential ambitions to brave themselves for a wavy storm in 2022 since the man is brutally abrasive. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka Taking a subtle swipe at the Mt Kenya politicians, the advocate noted some leaders were underrating Ruto's power and strength. Ahmednasir warned those hell-bent on dimming Ruto's lights to brave themselves for a raging storm in 2022 since the man is brutally abrassive. Photo: Ahmednasir Abdullahi/Twitter. READ ALSO: William Ruto has every reason to worry after Uhuru, Raila handshake - Koigi Wamwere "A serious political storm is brewing in Kenya and I think they are terribly underestimating the strength, war chest and determination of the man they all want to cut down to size," he tweeted. After the 2007 post election violence, Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta were separately charged with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in Hague. It was this shared predicament that brought the two together when their cases were dropped for lack of sufficient evidence. The duo paired up to floor ODM's Raila Odinga in the 2013 poll. READ ALSO: Rutos ambitious quest for power should worry Kenyans - Koigi Wa Wamwere The Uhuru and Ruto paired up to floor ODM's Raila Odinga in the 2013 poll. Photo: PSCU. READ ALSO: Ruto not fit to be president and I will not vote for him - Koigi wa Wamwere It is widely believed the two Jubilee leaders signed a pre-election pact that guarantees Ruto a presidential ticket, but already he is receiving strong opposition from Uhuru's Mt Kenya backyard. For instance, veteran politician and activist Koigi wa Wamwere has constantly cautioned Kenyans to be wary of Ruto because he thinks the deputy president is too ambitious and hungry for power. Ruto in the recent past has been seen as a lone ranger after announcing his interest to capture power in 2022 presidential election. He has been meeting section of leaders drawn from various counties in what looks like he is setting the ball rolling. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Top-4 Inspiring And Lovely Families of Powerful Kenyan Politicians - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - The president dismissed leaders from both political divide opposed to his peace pact with Raila - Uhuru noted those who were against the peace pact loved commotion - Heated debate arose over what the Harambee House deal entailed - Kenyans were left even more confused when Raila held surprise meetings with Jubilee leaders and former presidents President Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to clear the air over his deal with his bitter political rival Raila Odinga to quell the heightened tension across the country. The historic handshake between the two leaders at Harambee House on on March 9, 2018, has continued to be viewed as a deal to lock out Deputy President William Ruto from the 2022 presidential race. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka As the debate raged on, Uhuru reprimanded politicians from both his ruling party and those from the opposition NASA who are are opposed to the deal saying they were enemies of progress who only thrived in confusion and commotion. Addressing mourners at the memorial service of the late Kenneth Matiba in Muranga County on Thursday, April 26, Uhuru noted he was aware some people from his party were not happy with the handshake. Uhuru noted he was aware of the discomfort with the peace pact from both of their camps. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/ Facebook. READ ALSO: Raila Odinga meets retired president Daniel Moi days after famous handshake with Uhuru I know there are many who were not pleased with what we did. We know, were hearing noise from here and there both from my side and his [Railas] side and that is the truth, because they (those opposed to the handshake) thrive on commotion, said Uhuru. He defended the deal explaining that unity was more important for democracy to succceed. READ ALSO: My pact with Raila was never about 2022 But we decided that we do not want those who thrive on commotion, we want those who will thrive in peace and prosperity, that is the direction we wish and desire for our people. In order to entrench democracy, we must entrench unity. So that even when we differ, we differ on the basis of ideas; not ethnicity, not religion, he added. READ ALSO: Uhuru, Ruto, Raila to tour Western Kenya for the first time after historic handshake To drive the point home, Uhuru reiterated the historic handshake at Harambee House had nothing to do with 2022 presidential election. Prior reports by TUKO.co.ke indicated Uhuru was addressing a gathering at Chatham House, London when he said his handshake deal with Raila was to bring Kenyans together. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. ALSO WATCH: Kenneth Matiba's Final journey in Murang'a on TUKO TV Source: Tuko - The lobby wants Wakahiu prosecuted for hiding important information about the adverts - The adverts going by the name GOK delivers were released ahead of the 2017 General Election - Wakahiu is the secretary in the Presidents Delivery Unit (PDU) Katiba Institute has written to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requesting him to initiate charges against Andrew Wakahiu, the Secretary to Presidents Delivery Unit (PDU). The Civil Society Organisation wants Wakahiu prosecuted for refusing to avail important information concerning President Uhuru Kenyattas adverts commonly known as #GOKDelivers ahead of last years general election. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka In a letter dated April 26 and seen by TUKO.co.ke, the lobby's Executive Director Waikwa Wanyoike told the DPP numerous efforts seeking for the information have borne no fruits prompting the request for prosecution. Katiba Institute wants the DPP to open charges against President's Delivery Unit for refusing to avail information. Photo: Katiba Institute/Facebook On August 7, 2017 we made a freedom of information request to Andrew Wakahiu in his capacity as the secretary of PDU requesting to access content on advertisements the unit carried concerning achievements made by the government between May 28 and August 17, 2017 but he refused to avail it, read the letter seen by TUKO.co.ke. Waikwa indicates they filed a petition at the High Court to compel Wakahiu, Head of Public Service and State Houses Chief of Staff Joseph Kinyua and Head of Presidential Delivery Unit Nzioka Waita to provide the information. READ ALSO: Uhuru, Raila to form committee to address Kenyan heroes welfare On November 8, 2017, the court ruled in favour of Katiba Institute and ordered Wakahiu and the two representatives of PDU to provide the information sought as required by Article 35 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The Civil Society Organisation wanted to access information about advertisements associated to President Uhuru Kenyatta's #GOKDelivers campaign. Photo: President Uhuru Kenyatta/ Facebook. Source: Facebook The organisation states in the letter PDU and Wakahiu failed to honour the courts decision despite their lawyer being present when the ruling was given and filing a notice of appeal over the decision on November 10, 2017. Katiba Institute explained to the DPP that failure to provide information by a public officer is an offense in which one is liable to a fine of KSh 50,000 or three months in jail Wakahiu is the secretary of PDU as highlighted on the www.delivery.go.ke website and is liable for this offense. Even worse, he has disobeyed a court order and we require your office to initiate prosecution against him, read the letter. READ ALSO: Uhuru slam those opposed to handshake between him and Raila Katiba institute has given Director of Public prosecutions 14 days to respond. Photo: Katiba Institute/ Facebook The Institute indicated it will commence private prosecutions against Wakahiu if the ODPP fails to respond within 14 days. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Stanley Njindo Matiba's final journey - on TUKO TV Source: Tuko - John Macharia was an accomplished businessman just like his father - He is credited with introducing insurance premium financing in Kenya - He also built one of the most successful Public Service Vehicle underwriters, Directline Assurance Limited - John died on Thursday, April 26, following a road accident Media magnate and tycoon SK Macharia's son died after he was involved in a tragic road accident on Thursday evening, April 26, on the Southern Bypass. John Macharia was pronounced dead by doctors at Karen hospital where he had been rushed following the incident. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens TUKO.co.ke established John was an accomplished businessman, an attribute he might have inherited from his father. READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka SK Macharia's son, John, who was killed in a tragic road accident was an accomplished entrepreneur. Photo: Mosoku Geoffrey/ Facebook READ ALSO: Mother-In-Law actor Mustafa unveils all grown daughter who looks exactly like him John is credited with introducing insurance premium financing in Kenya. He was the founder of Triple A Capital Ltd. He also, built one of the most successful Public Service Vehicle underwriters, Directline Assurance Limited. READ ALSO: Brave man risks it all at late Matiba's memorial by breaching security to hand Uhuru a note John was involved in a nasty road accident along the Southern Bypass. Photo: Mosoku Geoffrey/ Facebook He served as an executive director at Directline Assurance Limited until his demise. He was also the executive director at Harbour Capital with over 20 years experience in the financial services sector. The deceased was a degree holder from Trent University Ontario, Canada in Economics and Computer Science. READ ALSO: Sad tale of Tana River mum who shares husband with her daughter His girlfriend, however, who had accompanied him escaped unscathed. Two years ago, the young Macharia was involved in yet another road accident near Museum Hill, Nairobi after he rammed his new Porsche worth KSh30 million into a Prado that was ahead of him. Macharia demise occurred barely two years after he was involved in yet another accident at Museum Hill, Nairobi. Police arrested him for drink driving and was charged before a Nairobi traffic court after he refused to be subjected to an alcoblow test by traffic police officers. He pleaded guilty through his lawyer Ian Maina. Maina said his client was remorseful for his actions and would not repeat the offence. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Stanley Njindo Matiba's final journey | TUKO TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Rapper Rick Ross arrived in the country ready to entertain his fans at Carnivore restaurant - The rapper is known for his massive hits such as Hustlin - Rozay will perform alongside local acts such as Nyashinski and Khaligraph American rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross has finally arrived in Nairobi to headline the much-anticipated NRG Wave concert set for Saturday, April 28. Rozay, as he is popularly known, and his team touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Friday, April 27, morning ready to rock bosses who have been waiting for him eagerly. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier, the event will be held at the Carnivore, Nairobi and will see local acts such as Khaligraph, Nyashinski and Fena Gitu perform alongside the world-famous rapper. READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka Rick Ross lands in Kenya for the NRG Wave concert. Photo: NRG Radio/Instagram READ ALSO: American rapper and entrepreneur, Rick Ross, set to perform in Kenya and TUKO.co.ke has the details The NRG Wave concert has been the talk of town for the past few weeks with many entertainment enthusiasts terming it a major milestone in showbiz. Rick Ross arrived in Kenya on Friday, April 27. Photo: Mwalimu Rachael/Twitter The event had earlier on been marred by a cloud of controversy with critics claiming it was an empty hype aiming at giving the organisers some mileage. Others even said the rapper wouldn't show up, not to mention the murmurs surrounding the entrance fees. READ ALSO: Mother-In-Law actor Mustafa unveils all grown daughter who looks exactly like him American rapper Rick Ross to thrill hip hop lovers at NRG Wave concert to be held at Carnivore. Photo: NRG Radio/Instagram READ ALSO: 16 luscious photos of KTN's screen gem Mayonde who has blown everyone with her unrivaled beauty Quite a multitude claimed the charges (VIP - KSh 9,000, Normal 3,000) were exorbitant and even went ahead to release a list of diva demands alleged to have been made by Rozay. The noises were finally shut down by the rapper himself and the organisers who sent out official statements to confirm Rick Ross's attendance and dilute the diva demands claims. With him already in the country, hip hop lovers and his fans are assured of an electric performance from the rapper. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Willy Paul Interview for Tuko Buzz: Willy Paul Reveals it All | Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Wangeci's love for Uhuru drove her to defy her family's request to name her son after their kin - She was rescued by a pastor who later organised for her accommodation and welfare - Her desire to meet the president was fulfilled when Uhuru visited Karatina while campaigning in 2017 Although many people believe names given to children influence who they become, the family of Veronica Wangeci Mwaniki does not approve of this belief. Her love and affection for President Uhuru Kenyatta is enough for Wangeci to give her own life for the sake of the Head of State, a move that has left her friends and relatives conclude she is crazy. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka Wangeci's love for President Uhuru Kenyatta saw her husband abandon her for naming their son after the president. Photo: Edwin Ochieng/ TUKO Narrating her ordeal in an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, Wangeci said things got worse when God answered her prayer by blessing her with a baby boy. She named him Uhuru Kenyatta. "If its is required for one person to give up their lives for the sake of Uhuru, I will give up my own life. I love that guy, I love him," narrated Wangeci as sobbed uncontrallably. READ ALSO: Brave man risks it all at late Matiba's memorial by breaching security to hand Uhuru a note She was also rejected by her parents for refusing to change her son's name. Photo: Edwin Ochieng/ Facebook Coincidentally she delivered her only son on the same date Uhuru was born, April 26. These added to her desire of naming her son after the man she loves so much. Despite her husband's demand to name the little boy after his father, Wangeci named him Uhuru Kenyatta Wangeci. The man walked out on her for this. She has no regrets either. READ ALSO: Meet man claiming to be Jeff Koinages long lost son Coincidentally Wangeci delivered her only son on the same date Uhuru was born, April 26. Photo: Edwin Ochieng/ TUKO Through well wishers' contributions, she moved back to her parents home in Karatina where she was well received. Months later, her mother turned against her demanding she changes her son's name since the name Uhuru Kenyatta did not belong to their community. Things got worse back at her maternal home and the mother of one had to seek the intervention of the area chief. READ ALSO: Photos: Cries of help as half of Garissa town is submerged in floodwaters following heavy rains Wangeci now lives a lonely but happy life with her son. Photo: Edwin Ochieng/ TUKO She was later introduced to a pastor by one of the locals who organised for her accomadation and well being. Her desire to meet the president was fulfilled during the electioneering perid of 2017 when Uhuru visited Karatina and he was introduced to her. She now leads a lonely but happy life with her son and does not regret defying her family's demand to change his name. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. ALSO WATCH: Rejected for naming son Uhuru Kenyatta | Untold stories Tuko TV- On Tuko TV Source: Tuko Kenya - Kenyans on Social Media claimed organisers of the NRG Wave concert flew in a 'fake' Rick Ross - Quite a multitude expected to see a well-built Rozay - Rick Ross showed up looking all lean and not as most Kenyans are used to see him on TV - Kenyans created a series of hilarious social media posts and memes to prove he was not the real Rick Ross Celebrated American rapper Rick Ross on Friday, April 27, landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ready to entertain revelers at the highly publicised NRG Wave concert. As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier, the well-built rapper is scheduled to perform at the concert set for Saturday, April 28, at the Carnivore, Nairobi alongside local acts such as Fena Gitu and Nyashinski. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens Rozay's Kenyan fans had been waiting for the star eagerly so that they can finally fulfill their dreams of meeting the star. READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka Kenyans think they were given a raw deal. Photo: Capital XTRA Kenyans accuse organisers of NRG Wave concert of bringing a fake Rick Ross. Photo: Brand New HipHop READ ALSO: American rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross set to arrive in Kenya tomorrow ahead of much anticipated show However, his arrival in the country was received with mixed reactions by Kenyans with many claiming he was not the real Rick Ross. According to throngs of music lovers and social media users, the organisers of the event flew in a 'fake' Rick Ross since what they saw was not what they expected. Kenyans go ham on NRG Wave organisers, claim they flew in fake Rozay. Photo: NRG Radio/Instagram Rick Ross arrived in the country on Friday, April 27. Photo: NRG Radio/Instagram READ ALSO: Mother-In-Law actor Mustafa unveils all grown daughter who looks exactly like him It should be noted that Kenyans have always known the rapper as a well-built individual with a body similar to a huge water tank. However, the Rick Ross who arrived in the country seemed quite lean and totally different from what Kenyans are accustomed to seeing on TV. READ ALSO: 16 luscious photos of KTN's screen gem Mayonde who has blown everyone with her unrivaled beauty This, countless Kenyans made public in a series of hilarious Social Media posts and memes seen by TUKO.co.ke online. TUKO.co.ke understands that the rapper is as real as he is only that he cut down his weight after falling ill and workouts. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Willy Paul Interview for Tuko Buzz: Willy Paul Reveals it All | Tuko TV Source: Tuko - Sonko is accused of flying the national flag on his cars against the law - The movement wants the DPP to charge Sonko for breaking the law - Governors lost a court case in which they wanted to mount flags on their official cars Bunge la Mwananchi, a social movement organisation in Kenya has accused Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of abusing the national flag by mounting it on his cars. The movement alleges Sonko has been using the Kenyan flag against the law despite his status as a custodian of the law and want him to be held accountable for his misconduct. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happen READ ALSO: Video inayoonyesha nyakati za mwisho mwisho za mwanawe SK Macharia kabla ya ajali yaibuka The group further accused Sonko of bewildering Kenyans with his involvement in acts of impunity and breaking of the law. Bunge la Mwananchi wants Nairobi governor Mike Sonko arrested for abusing Kenya's flag. Photo Mike Sonko/Facebook "Many Kenyans are gravely concerned with the misuse and abuse of the national flag on the official and private cars of the official starred here, reads a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by the association," the lobby said. In the letter dated April 27, Bunge La Mwananchi explained that Sonko has been mounting the national flag on at least three cars in his convoy which is against the laws of the land. READ ALSO: Kenyans who insult others on Social Media to pay KSh 5 million fine if Uhuru signs new Bill into law The group says Sonko's acts are a clear abuse of the law and legal action needs to be taken against him. Governor Mike Sonko has been accused of abusing Kenya's flag. Photo: Mike Sonko/Facebook. "Section 4A (1) and (2) of the national flag, emblems and names prohibits mounting of the national flag on a vehicle by any person who is not the President of that State,Kenyan diplomat on duty outside the country or speaker of the national assembly," added the association in the letter," the complaint says. Henry Namiti Shitanda, on behalf of the association, wants the DPP to order investigations against the flamboyant governor lest he personally initiates criminal proceedings against Sonko. READ ALSO: Kenyans pay huge power bills because of lazy Kenya Power staff - energy CS, Charles Keter Governor Mike Sonko has been allegedly mounting the national flag on his private and official cars. Photo: Mike Sonko/Facebook. Kenyan governors had been embroiled in a row with the presidency over flying of national flags on their vehicles, explaining they were equals of the president at the county level. In 2015 though, they lost a case they had filed in the High Court seeking to be allowed to fly national flags on their vehicles. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. ALSO WATCH: Kenneth Matiba's Final journey in Murang'a on TUKO TV Source: Tuko - The students accused Mwingi KMTC administration of discrimination - Several female students dressed in hijabs were barred from accessing the school - They revealed a new deputy principal issued a new dress code barring them from wearing hijabs The Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Mwingi has been put on the spot after several students complained of harassment and prejudice over their dress code. The female Muslim students protested after being denied entry into the facility wearing hijabs. According to reports by the Daily Nation on Friday, April 27, the students said the controversial issue over their dress code started two months ago. READ ALSO: Like father, like son - SK Macharia's son was a seasoned entrepreneur The female Muslim students protested against being denied entry into the facility wearing hijabs. Photo: Nation This is after a new deputy principal ordered them to drop their hijabs when in class. Our female students have not been able to attend school for the last three days as the management has directed the gatekeeper not to allow them [to enter] in their hijabs, said Abdullahi Hassan, a male student. Hassan also claimed male Muslim students have been as well subjected to discrimination at the school gate during security searches. READ ALSO: My mother, husband abandoned me for naming baby Uhuru Kenyatta - Nyeri mum narrates ordeal The students appealed to the KMTC Board to intervene since their female colleagues have not been allowed access to the facility for three days. Philip Kaloki, KMTC Board chairman, directed the school management to allow the students to enter the school as they seek to resolve the matter. Kaloki promised pay the medical college a visit next week to meet with the management over the issue. The matter was later absolved. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. ALSO WATCH: Rejected for naming son Uhuru Kenyatta | Untold stories Tuko TV- On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke The opposition UNC is urging the population to stand up and fight for their rights. During this morning's weekly press briefing, one opposition Senator and an opposition member of the house highlighted issues of mandatory vaccination and the PSC fiasco. Seventy Ukrainian border guards have been killed as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of establishment of the border guard service of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Seventy courageous Ukrainian border guards, the faithful sons of Ukraine, have been killed in fierce battles with the Russian invaders," the Head of State said. The President noted that 825 border guards had been awarded state decorations for their courage and heroism, one of them had been awarded the Star of Hero of Ukraine. The State Border Guard Service has many functions and tasks, the main of which is to participate in defending the eastern borders of Ukraine from the Russian aggression, Poroshenko stressed. ol Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded and other two servicemen were injured in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day. Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson Maksym Prauta said this at a press briefing on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "As a result of enemy shelling, three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded and other two were injured. One soldier is in critical condition, and the state of health of other four servicepersons is good, he said. Prauta added that Russian-backed militants launched 52 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in Donbas over the past day. ish The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine plans to use a part of the Chornobyl exclusion zone for industrial purposes. The corresponding draft law was elaborated by the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry of Ukraine and the Chornobyl zone administration. "We want this territory to become not only a place for innovation. It should be also available for industrial use and make money for Ukraine. Im talking about a ten-kilometer part of the exclusion zone. We suggest turning it into a territory for special industrial use. Our bill is pending approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. I expect that it will be approved by both the government and the parliament in the near future. In fact, this is yet another step towards investors who are ready to work in the exclusion zone," Ecology and Natural Resources Minister of Ukraine Ostap Semerak said, the Government portal reports. In addition, Ukraine is open for continuing investments in the construction of more powerful solar power plants in the Chornobyl zone, the minister noted. ol The EU is extremely interested in providing assistance to Ukraine and it is ready to cooperate in implementing programs on decentralization, energy saving and energy efficiency, vocational education, assistance to IDPs, cultural exchange. Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said this during a meeting with Chairman of Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration Kostiantyn Bryl, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "The EU is extremely interested in providing assistance for the implementation of reforms, in particular, decentralization. We pay great attention to the energy efficiency sector, in which the EU is ready to invest about 100 million euros. We are also developing a program worth about 50 million euros to support internally displaced persons to help them get not only housing but also jobs. If Zaporizhzhia region is interested, I am ready to help and tell you how to get the money. Another important direction, which is being prepared for implementation in Ukraine, is support for the reform of vocational education. At present, this project is being developed jointly with Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Lilia Hrynevych. I believe that Zaporizhzhia as an industrial city will also be interested in this direction," Mingarelli stressed. He said that he had come to Zaporizhzhia region in order to establish contact with local authorities, because there is no permanent representation of the EU in Zaporizhzhia region. Within the framework of the visit, Mingarelli also met with Mayor of Zaporizhzhia Volodymyr Buriak and leaders of the united territorial community. ish The 2nd Business Forum of the Ukrainian Diaspora "Global Business Diplomacy: Ukrainian Dimension" will take place in Kyiv on May 17-18. This was informed by the press service of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "On May 17-18, 2018, the 2nd Business Forum of the Ukrainian Diaspora "Global Business Diplomacy: Ukrainian Dimension" will take place in Kyiv at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (33, st. Velyka Zhytomyrska) under the slogan "Ukrainians of the World - for Ukraine"," the statement reads. The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to unite proactive Ukrainian businessmen abroad and creates a communication platform for the promotion of the Ukrainian brands and goods in foreign markets through horizontal business communications. The main tasks of the FORUM: - to form an attractive business reputation of Ukraine in the world; - to promote positive changes in the business climate in Ukraine; - to create an extraterritorial community of proactive businessmen of Ukrainian descent in order to promote Ukraine's economic interests in world markets through public business diplomacy; - to create the platform for business communication - "Friends of Ukraine" of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian origin - with the purpose of realization of international business projects, exchange of business information and competencies; - to create a network of "sales agents and regional experts" - representatives of the Ukrainian CCI, who are Ukrainian businesspeople, with the aim of promoting Ukrainian brands and goods on foreign markets; - to conclude and implement the provisions of the "Global Economic Charter of the Ukrainian Business". Ticket price: 1 (one) day 80 $; 2 (two) days 120 $. In case of any questions, please contact Mr. Hennadii Boldyr (International Cooperation Directorate): +38 044 461-98-07, bgn-ier@ucci.org.ua The United States Department of State (DOS) notes that Russian-backed forces in Donbas have intensified artillery attacks on positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and it calls on Russia to stop its aggression. Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert reported this on Twitter. "22 Ukrainian soldiers wounded in last 48 hours in eastern Ukraine - highest number since July. Russia-led forces have intensified artillery attacks on Ukrainians defending their country. Russia must end its aggression and fully implement the Minsk agreements," she wrote. 22 Ukrainian soldiers wounded in last 48 hours in eastern Ukraine - highest number since July. Russia-led forces have intensified artillery attacks on Ukrainians defending their country. #Russia must end its aggression and fully implement the Minsk agreements. Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) 26 2018 . As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian-backed militants launched 52 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in Donbas over the past day. ish The United States is committed to continuing cooperation with Ukrainian and international partners to improve the living conditions of people living in the regions affected by the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion in 1986. U.S. Charge dAffaires to the OSCE Harry Kamian said this during the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We look forward to continuing our work with the Ukrainian Government and our international partners to improve the lives of the Ukrainian people living there and those affected across Ukraine and Belarus," the American diplomat stressed. Recalling the 32nd anniversary of the disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the US representative noted the progress in completing the construction of a new confinement structure for the destroyed reactor. "The structure is designed to protect the surrounding environment for the next one hundred years and allow for the safe clean-up of Chornobyl," the U.S. Charge dAffaires to the OSCE said. ol President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko hopes that the members of the Parliament will support the bill on criminal liability for illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border. The President stated this at a meeting with the border guards on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of establishment of the border guard service of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The lawmakers now discuss the initiatives on introduction and return of criminal liability for illegal border crossing, which was so imprudently canceled several years ago. I believe there will be the required majority to pass the law as soon as possible," Poroshenko noted. "Strong border is a key element of our independence and an important element of the enhanced national security system of the state," the President said. ol Growing strength and capacity of the Ukrainian army is a weighty argument in favor of full membership of Ukraine in the North Atlantic Alliance. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of establishment of the border guard service of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Our strength is a weighty argument in favor of our full membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. We knock on their door not empty-handed," the Head of State said. As he recalled, it became known last week that the Armed Forces of Ukraine was ranked in the list of the world's most powerful armies, according to Global Firepower. Ukraine ranks eighth [in the all-European ranking] and first among non-NATO members, Poroshenko noted. ol Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says that holding a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the highest level within the framework of the Alliance summit in July depends only on Kyiv. He said this in Brussels on Friday, answering the questions of Ukrainian journalists, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "I told the Secretary General that the Ukraine-NATO meeting at the summit depended only on Ukraine," the Hungarian foreign minister said. As reported, the foreign ministers of the NATO member states will discuss the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine on Friday. At the same time, Hungary has blocked the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the ministerial level for the third time already because of the discontent with the language article of the Ukrainian law on education. In February, Budapest blocked the second NATO ministerial meeting. The Hungarian government explained that in such a way it put pressure on Ukraine, demanding to revise the language article of the education law. ol Results of a nationwide referendum are binding. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) has designated that the law on national referenda, which was passed during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency, is unconstitutional. CCU judges confirmed at their meeting on April 26 that the law on the all-Ukrainian referendum does not comply with the Fundamental Law, the Constitution of Ukraine, a CCU source told an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoHow Russia tried to legitimize illegal election in Crimea - Hromadske International Vasyl Lemak was a rapporteur on this constitutional case. He reported on the CCU decision on his Facebook page on Friday morning, but later his post became inaccessible. UNIAN memo. The law on national referenda was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on November 6, 2012, under the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. The law provides that a subject of a referendum may be the following issues: the approval of a new wording of the Constitution of Ukraine, amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, cancellation, loss of validity or invalidation of a law on amendments to the Constitution (constitutional referendum); change of the territory of Ukraine (ratification referendum); the adoption or repeal of a law or amendments to the current law (legislative referendum); any other issue except for those outlawed by the Constitution of Ukraine (general referendum). The results of the referendum in Ukraine are binding. In the opinion of experts, the procedure introduced by the law for the adoption of a new Constitution and the procedure for amending the Fundamental Law do not comply with constitutional provisions. In June 2013, the Venice Commission assessed Ukraine's law on national referenda at the request of Chairman of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Andres Herkel. The Venice Commission concluded that incorporating amendments to the Constitution or the introduction of a new Constitution in the agenda of a referendum could violate constitutional stability and legitimacy in Ukraine. In addition, the commission opined that the law on the referendum does not fully comply with international standards regarding what issues that can be brought to a referendum on a popular initiative. Also, the Venice Commission noted a number of technical inconsistencies in the law on the all-Ukrainian referendum. After Yanukovych fled Ukraine in 2014, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, proposed repealing this law. A respective draft law tabled by members of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction, noted that some provisions of the law not only fail to meet the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine, but also organizationally make it impossible to exercise democracy. After the adoption by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of a resolution of April 24, there was some confusion with terms. In Ukraine, for the most part, the media claimed that the PACE had officially recognized the occupation of Donbas by Russia. However, in the document, certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are referred to as "territories under effective control of the Russian authorities." However, this is not the same concept. The notion of "territories under effective control" implies that these particular territories are under the protection of or under control of another state or organization. Occupation is a quite different term. "Under control" means that a certain agreement between the parties can be reached or that a voluntary transfer of the territory under the control of a third State or the United Nations may occur, and that the management over the territory in question will not be carried out by the State to which the territory belongs. For example, at one time this was the case with Kosovo. Occupation implies fundamentally different situation and legal norms. First of all, this means that the territory is illegally occupied by foreign troops. For example, Turkey occupied Northern Cyprus. This is an international crime and a violation of international law. Accordingly, when Ukraine recognized certain areas of Donbas as an occupied territory, it meant that the occupier was responsible for the human rights situation in this territory. Also, the occupier shall not violate political rights, including the right of the population to remain citizens of Ukraine. The occupier shall not force the population of the occupied territory to perform military service, that is, the local population cannot be drafted to the armed forces of the occupying country, because it is also a violation of international law, for which responsibility arises. That is, the population of the occupied territory is a servile population that is under the authority of the occupier. Therefore, the occupying country is responsible for the livelihood of this population. At the same time, the occupying country can establish its administration, which, as a rule, is a military administration. If we recognize certain areas of Donbas an occupied territory, this means that Ukraine at any time has the right to return this territory and liberate it from the occupier. Thus, if we define these territories as occupied, and not as "under effective control," this means that we can regain them. If we introduce a peacekeeping mission to Donbas, elections will take place there, and a "legitimate" power will be established in those territories (it is clear that the "legitimate power" in these territories will be Russian). And if in Ukraine another president comes to power - not a peacekeeper, but a warmonger, he can do the same as Russian has once done with Chechnya, when they prepared their armed forces and, two years later, launched an offensive on Chechnya, setting up their authorities there. Maybe we will have such a president who will plan to regain this territory or liberate it from occupation. At the same time, we will have full right to return these territories if they are recognized as occupied. But if it is recognized that the territory is "under effective control," we lose such right. However, the fact that PACE changed the status of Donbas from the "territory beyond Ukraine's control" to the "territory under the effective control of Russia" is a big advantage for Ukraine anyway. Remember how long the Ukrainian authorities were not willing to officially recognize Russia as an aggressor state. And only four years into the war, in the so-called "law on the reintegration of Donbas," Russia was named an aggressor. But it has purely been named, without defining what responsibility it carries for its aggression. There are no signs of aggression in the law, which calls into question the definition of these events. Therefore, the West has been asking Ukraine to prove that there are Russian troops in Donbas. Although what are we to prove here? But our western partners are still asking for this because it was not legally laid down in the Ukrainian legislation. Only when the International Court of Justice acknowledged that there was Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine did we dare legislate the act of aggression on the part of Russia. Besides, this wasn't done immediately. Therefore, this PACE decision is a very positive one for the Ukrainian authorities: our current leaders must be forced to recognize reality because they seem to not be very interested in it. They seem to have agreed that this territory might be controlled by Russia; they'll be saying that they will liberate them politically and diplomatically, that the OSCE will fulfill the functions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and restore control over the border, and then hand the territory to Ukraine. It's just that the Ukrainian authorities don't really want to do this. If the occupation of Donbas is truly recognized, then the decision will open to us international law - the right to wage war. And then, in spite of the Minsk agreements, we will have the right to use the armed forces. Minsk agreements are a model for resolving an internal conflict. But if we are talking about the occupied territories, then this is a recognition that we have no internal conflict, but an interstate one, that is, a Russian-Ukrainian war. And here the Minsk agreements stop working. Recognition in Ukraine of the occupation of certain areas of Donbas will lead to a rethinking of the entire situation in Donbas by the international community Such Recognition in Ukraine of the occupation of certain areas of Donbas will lead to a rethinking by the international community of the entire situation in Donbas and Russian-Ukrainian relations, to the realization of the real state of affairs. In particular, of the fact that there is an ongoing war, that it is necessary to change the instruments of influence on Russia as an aggressor, instead of perceiving it as an intermediary in the process of resolving the conflict. Today, sanctions against the Russian Federation have been introduced for helping separatists. But in the international community has no legal reason to admit that there are no separatists or terrorists in Donbas. Ukraine has itself muddied the water for the international community, insisting for several years that there are terrorists in Donbas. In fact, there are Russian troops there: 1st and 2nd Army Corps, shelling positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and being part of the Russian troops. If the occupation of the Donbas is truly recognized, there will be a completely different context for resolving the conflict. Then Russia will be recognized as an aggressor that is occupying part of the territory of Ukraine, and, therefore, the international community should perceive it as an aggressor, not as an intermediary in the settlement of this conflict. Hryhoriy Perepelytsia is a Professor at the Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko National University, an expert on international politics, PhD in Political Sciences Moscow's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk suggests the date and formula for the exchange should be determined at the next meeting May 4. Prospects arise of another major exchange of prisoners in Donbas in the near future, according to Boris Gryzlov, a Russian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group for Donbas settlement in Minsk. Gryzlov said that on May 4, the next meeting of the contact group will take place, RIA Novosti reported. "We are mulling a possibility of an "all at all" swap, but it is clear that this will be a step-by-step exchange. It's difficult to make it "all for all." The lists are being verified," Gryzlov said. Read alsoGerashchenko urges MEPs to intensify pressure on Russia to implement Minsk accords, release hostages"I think that in the near future, there will be another opportunity for a major exchange," he stressed. Gryzlov noted that the main thing is to stick to a single coefficient. He also claimed that Ukraine has in custody five times more detainees than there are hostages held by pro-Russian militants in the occupied areas on Donbas. As UNIAN reported earlier, December 27, 2017, a massive prisoner exchange was carried out between the parties to the conflict in Donbass. The Ukrainian government handed over 233 persons at the militants's request, while 73 Ukrainians were freed from captivity in the occupied areas and returned to the government-controlled territory. Another woman who was released chose to return to her family that remained in the occupied city of Donetsk. According to Ukraine's Representative to NATO, Kyiv is doing its utmost to make sure that the meeting is held. Head of Ukraine's Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Vadym Prystaiko, says that the decision to hold the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission within the framework of the Alliance summit in Brussels this July depends on Hungary and all of the Allies. The comments came as Prystaiko spoke with Ukrainian journalists in Brussels today, following a statement by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto that the holding of the meeting depends on Ukraine, an UNIAN correspondent reports. On April 27, NATO Headquarters hosts a meeting of the Alliance's foreign ministers. Hungary has once again blocked the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission over its row with Ukraine on the new education law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada. Prystaiko said, "We are ready, and the president is ready to come in July to attend the summit." Read alsoBlocking of NATO-Ukraine Commission by Hungary annoys both Kyiv and Alliance - Prystaiko"As far as we understand, there is still no invitation to the Ukraine-NATO Commission meeting, and here the decision depends on Hungary and the whole Alliance." According to the Ambassador, the Ukrainian side is doing everything to ensure that the event is held. "We are interested in this. We do all necessary steps to this end. Our serious problem is how they are being perceived by the Hungarian side. I am concerned about Hungary fetishizing this process, bringing it to the point of absurdity, collecting arguments that go beyond the language legislation," he stressed. Read alsoRussia's growing influence on Hungary "threat to EU" - deputy ministerPrystaiko notes that the Ukraine-NATO Commission is "an important format for us." "If NATO, for various reasons, in particular, because of Hungary's position, cannot invite [Ukraine] to the Ukraine-NATO Commission, we will look for other options to hold meetings and deliver our message," the Ambassador added. As UNIAN reported earlier, in April Hungary for the third time blocked the Ukraine-NATO Commission meeting at the ministerial level. Read alsoHungary unhappy with Ukraine's plans to sanction dual nationalityEarlier, in March, Szijjarto demanded that Ukraine amend the law on education and postpone its implementation until 2023, otherwise he said Budapest would be blocking all meetings important for Ukraine at the European Union and NATO levels. In particular, he noted that Hungary would block the holding of the Ukraine-NATO Commission meeting at the ministerial level in April, as well as in July. Kyiv and Budapest should try to find a solution as soon as possible, emphasizes the NATO secretary general. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calls on Hungary and Ukraine to resolve the existing dispute as soon as possible to ensure that a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission is held within the framework of the NATO summit in Brussels scheduled for July. "We discussed different issues including also the possibility of having a NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting at the Summit. It's well known that there are some differences between Hungary and Ukraine which have made it not possible to have a meeting at the ministerial level but we are still urging Ukraine and Hungary to try to find a solution to the differences as quickly as possible," he said Friday, speaking at a press conference in Brussels following a Foreign Ministers' summit and commenting on his Thursday talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Stoltenberg noted that "Hungary is a highly-valued Ally" that "contributes to NATO collective defense," adding that Ukraine is a "partner" of NATO and a "victim of Russian aggression." As UNIAN reported earlier, in March, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto demanded that Ukraine amend its newly-adopted education law, which he deems a threat to a Hungarian minority living in Ukraine, and postpone its implementation until 2023, otherwise Budapest will block meetings important for Ukraine at the level of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Head of Ukraine's Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Vadym Prystaiko, says that the decision to hold the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission within the framework of the Alliance summit in Brussels this July depends on Hungary and all of the Allies. The comments came as Prystaiko spoke with Ukrainian journalists in Brussels today, following a statement by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto that the holding of the meeting depends on Ukraine Prystaiko stressed: "We are ready, and the president is ready to come in July to attend the summit." Russian-led forces use proscribed 120mm mortars to shell Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine. Five Ukrainian soldiers were wounded amid 52 enemy attacks in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in the past day. "Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action, another two sustained combat-related injuries," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations reported on Facebook on Friday morning. Read alsoRussian-led forces widely use proscribed arms in Donbas, 11 Ukraine soldiers wounded in past day "The occupation forces used 120mm mortars, which are banned by the Minsk agreements, as well as cannons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers and small arms to attack the defenders of the village of Novotroitske in the Donetsk sector," the HQ said. Also 120mm and 82mm mortars and large-caliber machine guns were used to fire at Ukrainian positions near the village of Lebedynske, while 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns were used to attack the villages of Verkhniotoretske, Pisky, the town of Krasnohorivka and Butivka coal mine. The enemy repeatedly resorted to grenade launchers of various systems and small arms outside the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka and the villages of Vodiane and Kamianka. "The defenders of Butivka coal mine were attacked by infantry fighting vehicles. [The enemy opened] fire from large-caliber machine guns at the defenders of the villages of Nevelske, Talakivka and Opytne, from small arms at those who are defending the villages of Lomakyne, Lebedynske, Shyrokyne, Hnutove, Pyshchevyk, and Opytne. Areas outside the village of Novomykhailivka and the town of Maryinka were under sniper fire," the HQ said. "In the Luhansk sector, the occupation forces used proscribed 120mm mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-tank rifles to shell our fortifications near the village of Zaitseve," it said. The enemy used 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems, machine guns and small arms, to open fire at the defenders of the town of Zolote. Ukraine is working to strengthen its defense capabilities. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has warned that the Armed Forces of Russia are ready for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at any time. "In the Global Firepower rating, the Russian army ranks second by military strength, being inferior to the United States only," he said at an official event on the 100th anniversary of the Border Service of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday. "For us, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are an army of an aggressor that annexed Crimea, occupied part of Donbas and is always ready for the full-scale invasion of the holy Ukrainian land." Read alsoPoroshenko: Ukraine's army ranks eighth in Europe in terms of military strength "That is why there is huge work ahead of us to strengthen the defense capabilities of our state," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, Poroshenko announced that Ukraine's army was eighth among 33 European powers ranked by military strength, according to Global Firepower. In the overall 2018 Military Strength Ranking of 136 nations, Ukraine stands 29th. The world's top three armies are those of the United States, Russia, and China. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The government Friday proposed several relief measures for developing agriculture sector in the country and announced uniform general sales tax on all fertilizers. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :The government Friday proposed several relief measures for developing agriculture sector in the country and announced uniform general sales tax on all fertilizers. It has announced uniform General Sales Tax (GST) at the rate of 3 percent on all fertilizers, which would eliminate distortion in tax regime, further reduce fertilizer prices and promote use of balanced nutrient. The government also proposed to reduce GST on agriculture machinery from current 7 percent to 5 percent, where as concessions in taxes and duties were being proposed for dairy livestock sectors. In Budget 2018-19, the government has also proposed for setting up an agriculture research support fund with an initial allocation of Rs 5 billion, which would provide financial grants for research and development of modern plant and seed verities for achieving higher crop yield. Besides, the government has also proposed establishing the agriculture technology fund fir indigenization of agriculture technology with an initial allocation of Rs 5 billion. The government has also decided to revamp all the research organizations and was working on plane to restructuring and revamping of research organization and institutions to make them world class state of the art platform for research and development. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Speakers at a two-day International conference held at the University of Sargodha (UoS) conducted a crucial debate on 'Peace Education for Sustainable Development'. SARGODHA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) ::Speakers at a two-day International conference held at the University of Sargodha (UoS) conducted a crucial debate on 'Peace Education for Sustainable Development'. The conference was organised by the Department of Education, while the main objective of the conference was to sensitise the learners about the problems arising at global level and to play a positive and effective part through peace education. Nearly one hundred international and national research scholars shared their research studies regarding peace education, including Dr Maria Binti Salih, Dr Norizah Mustamil, Dr Murizah Kassim and Dr Rozita Abdul Mutalib from Malaysia, Dr Yanki Hartijasti from Indonesia, Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah, Dr Nabi Bux Jumani and Dr Samina Malik from Pakistan and many young research scholars. Dr Norizah Mustamil from the University of Malaya shared her experiences on 'Corporate Culture and Ethical Leadership: Creating and Sustaining Ethical Behaviour at Workplace'. Earlier, Vice Chancellor University of Sargodha, Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad welcomed the distinguish guests. The Assistant Professor of Urology LUMHS, Professor Dr. Jay Pal Paryani informed that chronic kidney disease, a common medical problem, is estimated to affect significant number of population in the country where one out of three in the age group of 40 plus citizens is inflicted with one or the other kidney problem. HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :The Assistant Professor of Urology LUMHS, Professor Dr. Jay Pal Paryani informed that chronic kidney disease, a common medical problem, is estimated to affect significant number of population in the country where one out of three in the age group of 40 plus citizens is inflicted with one or the other kidney problem. Talking to APP here on Friday, Professor Jay Pal Paryani said available studies identify diabetes and high blood pressure as the two commonest causes of chronic kidney disease. He called for widespread screening of those sections of society that are at risk of kidney disease, emphasizing that it is essential to create awareness among physicians as well as the public. He said studies have shown that early detection and treatment can delay and possibly prevent kidney failure in most patients. He also referred to varied treatments available for the problem and specially mentioned of endoscopy which is used to treat stones in the urethra and urinary bladder. Dr. Jay pointed out delay in diagnosis always proved fatal in the case of kidney diseases. He said there are two types of kidney diseases, acute and chronic. He said that acute diseases appear suddenly but are generally short lived and reversible if treated promptly. He highlighted the existing and rapidly rising burden of chronic kidney disease in the country, and emphasized the need for aggressive screening for the presence of kidney disease by simple blood and urine test of men and women with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, aged 50 years or over, as well as those with family history of kidney disease. He said the chronic kidney disease is a worldwide public health problem. There is an increasing incidence and prevalence of patients with kidney failure requiring replacement therapy, he said and added there is an even higher prevalence of patients in earlier stages of Chronic Renal Disease, with adverse outcomes such as kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Patients at earlier stages of kidney disease can be detected through laboratory testing and their treatment is effective in slowing the progression to kidney failure and reducing cardiovascular events, he added. Professor Dr. Jay Pal said the structured and well resourced Primary prevention programs based on reducing the risk factors for chronic kidney disease could make a big difference. He further said patients should be encouraged to give up smoking and to lose weight. Secondary prevention depends on control of blood pressure, he said and added that guidelines also recommend strict control of diabetes may benefit patients with chronic kidney disease. Professor Jay Pal Paryani has said the key to prevention or delay of severe kidney disease is early detection and aggressive intervention, while there's still time to slow down the progression to kidney failure. Medical care with early intervention can change the course of chronic kidney disease and help prevent the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant, he added. He advised treating and preventing urinary infection, increasing fluid intake, decreasing protein intake and eating in moderation. AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan has called upon the democratic institutions and human rights bodies of United Kingdom to play their proactive role for ending the violations of human rights in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir. MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) , :AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan has called upon the democratic institutions and human rights bodies of United Kingdom to play their proactive role for ending the violations of human rights in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Prime Minister made these remarks while speaking as chief guest at a symposium on Kashmir at House of Commons, lower house of the British Parliament in London Friday, says a message received here Friday night. "Being one of the basic parties to the Kashmir issue back during the division of the sub continent in 1947, Britain is morally bound to play its due role to get resolved the global Kashmir issue through its due and effective intervention," he remarked. Under the spirit of Partition Plan Jammu and Kashmir being Muslim majority state should have been part of Pakistan but unfortunately India trampled the rules of game and occupied the Muslim majority state with military might. Making ill-intention of India vis-a-vis Kashmir a target of his scathing criticism, AJK PM alleged that genocide of Kashmiris was aimed to change demography of the state by turning majority of Muslim in Kashmir into a minority. Terming British Parliament a mother of democratic institutions all over the world, he urged the members of British parliament to support legitimate struggle of Kashmiri people for their democratic right of self determination. The prime minister also asked the parliamentarian to initiate a debate on Kashmir in the parliament as peaceful settlement of Kashmir issue is key to lasting peace in South Asia. Kashmiris, he said striving for their right to decide their future, which was guaranteed to them by global community under UN Security Council's resolutions. Referring to persistent firing from across the Line of Control, prime minister Haider said Indian army not only violating cease fire agreement by also brazenly breaching international laws by targeting hospitals, ambulances and school going children. He said recently a school van carrying female students was brazenly targeted by Indian at Line of Control. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The DMC- South has completed all the arrangements to facilitate the people on the occasion of holy night, Shab-e-Barat. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :The DMC- South has completed all the arrangements to facilitate the people on the occasion of holy night, Shab-e-Barat. The administration has performed cleaning and lighting arrangements in the surroundings of graveyards, mosques and Imam Bargahs in the district South, said a statement on Friday. The cutting and cleaning of bushes on the routes leading to the graveyards was also being performed. Chairman DMC- South Malik Muhammad Fayyaz along with officials concerned also reviewed the arrangements for Shab-e-Barat during visits to different areas of South. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Ms.Marriyum Aurangzeb addressing the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Youth Cultural Fair under the auspices of Lok Virsa (Folk Heritage) here Friday said that democracy and creative expressions had profound relationship and the absence of democracy in the country for 30 to 35 years had silenced the arts and artists which also adversely affected the culture of the country. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Ms.Marriyum Aurangzeb addressing the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Youth Cultural Fair under the auspices of Lok Virsa (Folk Heritage) here Friday said that democracy and creative expressions had profound relationship and the absence of democracy in the country for 30 to 35 years had silenced the arts and artists which also adversely affected the culture of the country. The minister said that Pakistan was a trustee of one of the greatest cultural heritage. She said that immediately after assuming the responsibility as minister in charge of the Ministry of Information she initiated efforts for revival of culture and the film industry and had been able to give the country its first ever film and cultural policy, which would also be included in the federal budget for the year 2018-19. Marriyum said that film was the only medium which could be effectively utilized to portray Pakistan in a positive light at the global level. She said that Pakistani films would soon be screened in the Chinese cinemas .She said that similarly that content would also make its way the countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey Egypt and other countries. Marriyum told the audience that during the '60s and '70s Pakistan film industry was ranked as the third largest and vibrant entity in the world. She said that Pakistan was presently confronted with a culture of intolerance adding that until and unless a culture of respecting differing opinions did not take root in the society it would be hard to come together as one nation. She said that culture and cultural heritage was the identity of Pakistanis all over the world. Marriyum observed that the foreign film content also badly affected our culture. She said that the entire nation and the valiant armed forces had given sacrifices of their children in the fight against terrorism and lit the lights of peace with their blood due to which Pakistan was now being acknowledged as peaceful country. She said that Pakistani culture and cultural heritage were staging a comeback and the cultural activities had also been revived in the country due to democracy. The minister said that the strengthening of state institution invariably added to the prestige of the country. She said that though learning English was essential in the modern competitive world and it had importance of its own but people should always feel proud of their own language. Marriyum reiterated that when a nation lost pride on its cultural heritage and had disconnect with the national language it could neither march forward nor earn respect of the other nations. The minister said that there was an imperative need to ensure connectivity of the youth and children with their culture and language. She said that the media and parents had a vital role to play in that regard. She said that the Youth Cultural Fair would help in strengthening national solidarity. Marriyum said that the participation of the girls and boys clad in their traditional attires was a welcome sign and she was very pleased to see that adding that such folk fairs were absolutely essential for connecting the children with their language and culture. The minister appreciated the holding of the culture fair by the Folk Heritage (Lok Virsa) and termed it a positive step. Marriyum observed that estrangement with language led to estrangement with culture. The minister welcomed the young artists who had come from all over the country to show case their artistic skills and also watched their performances. The ceremony was largely attended by the officials of the ministry of information and its attached departments, school children, teachers and people belonging to arts and cultural industries. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday increased the seat of National Assembly from Kurram Agency from one to two. The commission made this decision after hearing the appeals on preliminary delimitation from Kurram Agency. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday increased the seat of National Assembly from Kurram Agency from one to two. The commission made this decision after hearing the appeals on preliminary delimitation from Kurram Agency. The seats will be adjusted in existing 12 seats of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The commission had started hearing objections on delimitation of constituencies-2018 from April 4. The process of hearing the objections will take place till the end of this month. The commission had received objections on delimitation of the Constituencies throughout the country. The ECP had established a facilitation centre at its secretariat for submission of objections and facilitating the people regarding the initial delimitation of national and provincial assemblies. Five teams had been constituted to receive the objections pertaining to all four provinces, federation and FATA. The commission had also launched the details of objections on proposed delimitation of the constituencies 2018 along with proposed maps by the petitioners on its website for public convenience and transparency. This facility will be helpful to all stakeholders to understand and get informed about current status and ongoing activities regarding delimitation of constituencies, the ECP said. The ECP will continue hearing objections related to the new delimitation of constituencies for the upcoming general election on next working day. (@FahadShabbir) Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman Friday said government is planning to replicate Information and Communications Technology(ICT) for girls programme in all provinces of the country to expand knowledge based economy ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman Friday said government is planning to replicate Information and Communications Technology(ICT) for girls programme in all provinces of the country to expand knowledge based economy. While addressing the 'Taking Stock and Moving Forward' conference organized by ministry of IT in collaboration with Pakistan Software Export board (PSEB), Ignite National Technology Fund and Universal Service Fund (USF) minister said, "we are endeavored to provide our woman and girls greater access to education, economic resources, skill development and employment opportunities". Minister said, Ministry of IT has started projects for Baluchistan worth Rs 26 billion to provide the 3g service to the people of province to connect the unconnected. In the history of IT of Pakistan this to biggest investment, that is for Balochistan, which aim to target hundreds of villages to connect with 3G service, she added. Anusha said, the project would cover Awaran, Jhal Jao and Mashkai tehsils/sub-tehsils of Awaran district and Bela, Lakhra, Liari, Uthal, Dureji, Hub, Sonmiani and Kanraj of Lasbel district, he added. She said, due to the provision of 3G services in Baluchistan, other services like careem would be started in Baluchistan which is a great achievement of Ministry of Information Technology. Ministry has taken Balochistan as a priority to provide telecom services and these services will include the provision of both voice and data facilities under 3G licenses. Anusha Rehman described the DigiSkills program as an important part of Information Technology initiative of the government. She said the program would create online employment opportunities to enable youth to earn 200 to 300 Dollars per month. She said with the help of this program, youth from across the country will provide services across the globe. She said, The telecom sector is the most important one for speedy development particularly for rural areas. 1.5% of telecom licensed companies contribute to the country's revenue through the USF. Among the telecom operators of Pakistan, Ufone was able to win the most from the 12 projects. Ufone has been awarded projects worth Rs. 14.2 billion in various cities of the province which includes Sibi, Kalat, Khuzdar, Chagai, Awaran, Kharan-Washuk and Dera Bugti districts. Government is making all out efforts to introduce 5G technology in Pakistan by 2020 to bring it at par with Developed economies in term of technology advancements. Naveed Ahmed, Chairman PTA.Dr. Daniel Ritz, President ptcl.Henry Wang, CEO China mobile Pakistan zong).Mr. Rashid Khan, CEO PTML (Ufone). Yusuf Hussain, CEO, Ignite, Ministry officials also attended the event. FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2018 ) ::Vice Chancellor University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Prof Dr Iqbal Zafar has said that the targets of cutting down poverty rate and increase in per acre yield can be achieved only by applying modern production techniques. He was talking to a 7-member delegation from African countries who visited University of Agriculture Faisalabad here Friday. The VC said that 60 percent population of Pakistan relies on agriculture sector and introduction of modern production techniques is imperative in this sector to stand with developed states. He said that numbers of research projects are continued at University of Agriculture in collaboration with universities and research institutes of the world. The VC said that different countries would have to take measures to meet ever increasing needs of food and eliminate poverty in the world. He said that over 50 students from African countries are enrolled in the university which is an honour for the varsity. APP/asf/ia/zqr Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chaired a meeting of the House Business Advisory Committee in the Parliament House to discuss the agenda for the Budget Session of the National Assembly, today. Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018) : Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chaired a meeting of the House Business Advisory Committee in the Parliament House to discuss the agenda for the Budget Session of the National Assembly, today. The Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq welcomed the members who participated in the last meeting of the House Business Committee. It was also decided that current session of the National Assembly will be remained continued till 15th May, 2018. It was decided that general discussion on the Budget will continue from April 2, 2018 and Minister for Finance will wind up the general discussion on the Budget followed by discussion on appropriation in respect of charged expenditure 2018-2019 on April 10, 2018. It was decided in the meeting that discussion on charged expenditure will be taken place on 11th May 2018 while voting and discussion on cut motions and demand for grants in respect of voted expenditure 2018-2019 would be taken up on 12th and 14th May, 2018. It was further decided that the consideration and passage of Finance Bill, 2018 will take place on May 14, 2018 and discussion on supplementary demands for grants and appropriation 2018-19 in respect of charged and voted expenditure and laying of schedule of authorized expenditure 2018-2019 would take place on 15th May, 2018. It was also agreed that the sittings of the National Assembly will also be held on Saturday. The Committee was informed that the question hour and other non-legislative business will remain suspended during the Budget Session. The meeting was attended by Sheikh Aftab Ahmed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, MNAs Ch. Muhammad Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, Dr. Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari, Sheikh Salahuddin, Maulana Muhamad Khan Sherani, Nasir Khan and Sahibzada Tariq Ullah. (@FahadShabbir) The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat met the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka on April 25, 2018 and spoke about "Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan". Colombo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018) : The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat met the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka on April 25, 2018 and spoke about "Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan". The High Commissioner Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are linked by strong bonds of culture and history. He underscored that Sri Lanka was the first country to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan in 2005, which shows importance of economic relationship between the two countries. Bilateral trade between two countries has grown substantially since signing of FTA, he added. He further highlighted that Pakistan has very large domestic market with nearly 210 Million population and the overall volume of Pakistan economy is 400 Billion USD. He added that Pakistan's huge consumer base market makes it an attractive investment destination for different industries. The High Commissioner thanked the National Chamber for arranging the seminar that shows its keenness to promote bilateral trade between the both countries. He was of the view that with the conducive environment and immense opportunities, which Pakistan offers, Sri Lankan products and services would find receptive customers in Pakistan as Sri Lanka has a very friendly image in the eyes of Pakistani people. He said that both countries have the potential to increase the trade volume and stressed the need to carve out ways and means to exploit the available potential. He also emphasized to exchange more trade delegations between both countries which will help to understand either country's market. At the conclusion of the programme, a question-answer session was also held and various issues such as bilateral trade, business visa, etc. were came under discussion. He assured the participants that Pakistan High Commission in Colombo will extend all possible facilitation to Sri Lankan businesses in promoting their commercial ties with Pakistani counterparts. INP/LK/AJ ============= SAARC CCI HQ building to be beacon of peace, symbol of prosperity and progress: Ruwan ISLAMABAD, April 27 (INP): President SAARC Chamber Ruwan Edirisinghe, Friday said state of the art 10-storey building of chamber headquarters in Islamabad costing rupees one billion after completion, will be a symbol of peace, beacon of prosperity, progress, an effective catalyst for SAARC's rescue and resuscitation besides inculcating the spirit of trust with its neighbours, showing solidarity, and forging with them a habit of cooperation. Chairing a high level meeting of the building committee here he said SAARC CCI headquarters will also provide a platform to communities of the region for coming together and discussing the prospects of doing business together," says a press release issued here today. He said it is the top priority of the SAARC CCI agenda that all due efforts would be initiated to forge good relations with all SAARC member states and for this, we have to commit to and accelerate our efforts towards forging closer bilateral and regional partnerships and economic integration within the subcontinent and beyond. He is much sanguine about the future of the SAARC CCI and said we will have to underwrite the creation of regional public goods for South Asians to integrate sitting here from chamber permanent headquarter. We can utilize this capacious building for launching pad of optimal utilization of the region's natural resources, building regional infrastructure, creating connectivity within the region and with the world with energy grids, cross-border transport networks, coastal shipping, air links, roads, railways and waterways, besides flood and other natural disaster mitigation and prevention measures. It can implement trade facilitation measures, thereby lowering transaction costs and generating greater regional investment and employment. Mr Ruwan said South Asian cooperation faces multiple challenges as this constitutes the world's second least developed region after Sub-Saharan Africa and its per capita GDP, in terms of purchasing power parity, is three times below the global average while it has more poor people than the rest of the world. Despite this, he said, SAARC region holds immense trade and investment potential and to actualize that potential special focus and effort is required for regional integration. He said SAARC member countries must focus on removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and must work for enhancing B2B interaction to boost trade. Earlier, Chairman Building Committee VP SAARC chamber Pakistan chapter Iftikhar Ali Malik apprising the participants about the progress said that 95 per cent structure of the building has been completed under the supervision of high profile internationally accredited architects and designers. He said that the government of Pakistan and magnates have contributed 80 per cent of the total of the cost of the project valued at rupees one billion. He hoped that it will be completed before the end of current Calendar. He said Vice Chairman Building Committee Zubair Ahmad Malik is personally supervising the completion of the building while Secretary General Ms Hina Saeed and Deputy Secretary General Zulfiqar Ali Butt with staff visit the project on regular basis to ensure timely execution of the project without compromising quality of the construction and standard of material. Ruwan appreciated the efforts of Iftikhar Ali Malik and Zubair Ahmad Malik for judicious use of the funds for the project and also lauded the landmark contribution of Government of Pakistan for lion share in the project. Present Assemblies have jurisdiction to approve country's budget for next financial year. President Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Anwar ul Haq Pannu said this while talking to APP here Friday. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Present Assemblies have jurisdiction to approve country's budget for next financial year. President Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Anwar ul Haq Pannu said this while talking to APP here Friday. Pannu who is also former justice of Lahore High Court further said that there is no legal lacuna in it."There is no constitutional or legal hurdle in approving budget for next year by present assemblies",he said. To a question, he said that general election should be held on time and accountability should not be used as a tool to delay the elections. "The slogan of first accountability then elections had been used to delay elections since Zia ul Haq to Pervez Musharraf regimes which was a wrong precedent", he said. "Someone who holds other accountable should himself also go through the process of accountability first", he said. He said that every one should respect the courts and judiciary.The courts should also pay attention towards quick disposal of cases,he said. He said that judicial reforms should be made a continuous process. LHCBA President further said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has authority to view legislation made by the Parliament in accordance to with the constitutional limits,adding that this authority should be used with utmost care. Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has approved various development schemes in a board meeting held here on Friday which was chaired by Station Commander/President RCB, Brig. Shahzad Tanveer. RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has approved various development schemes in a board meeting held here on Friday which was chaired by Station Commander/President RCB, Brig. Shahzad Tanveer. According to RCB spokesman, Cantonment Executive Officer, Sabtain Raza, Vice President RCB, Malik Munir Ahmed, elected and nominated members were present on the occasion. The meeting discussed various agenda items including monthly income, expenses, property tax and water charges recovery and approved medical treatment bills of RCB employees and their family members, extension in the contract period of temporary employees including doctors and teachers, two property transfer cases, 90 residential and 17 commercial building plans, several development and water supply projects. The meeting imposed a ban on new water connections for new residential colonies in RCB areas and illegal sale of water of tube wells. The spokesman said, the board meeting also approved various other projects to facilitate the area residents. A meeting of the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association (SLPFTIA) was held at the High Commission of Pakistan, Colombo on Thursday. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :A meeting of the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association (SLPFTIA) was held at the High Commission of Pakistan, Colombo on Thursday. The meeting was attended by the outgoing executive committee members of SLPFTIA and former presidents and secretary generals of the Association, a message received here from Colombo Friday said. High Commissioner of Pakistan Dr Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, who chaired the meeting, thanked the members of the outgoing management particularly its president. He lauded the contribution of the Association towards Pakistan and its people through adopting various gestures, particularly presentation of corneas. During the meeting, he also thanked all the former Presidents, Secretary Generals and members of the Association for attending the meeting. As the current Executive Committee had completed its tenure, it was decided by the participants of the meeting to establish an Interim Committee to run the affairs of the Association leading to next Annual General Meeting thereafter. It was also decided that the Interim Committee would comprise the former Presidents of the Association General (R) Srilal Weerasooriya, Dr. Lakshman Weerasena, Mrs. Faleela Jurangpathy and Dr. A.A. Mohammad Haroon. They will be assisted by Mrs. Fathima Razik Cader as Secretary General, Dr. Mrs. Yasmeen Fazli as Secretary to the Committee and Rizwi Ismail as Treasurer. QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2018 ) :Pakistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Haji Wali Muhammad hailed the Federal budget 2018-19 and termed it balance and people friendly. He said the government had allocated huge amount for agricultural, business and other sectors including health and education for providing relief to public. Haji Wali said government had succeeded in presenting a people friendly budget within the available resources, adding by taking solid steps government had tried to provide relief to the industrialists and trader community. Anjuman Tajiran Balochistan president Abdul Raheem Kakar said the government had presented best possible budget that will help in boosting the national economy and trade activities. He said huge funds had been allocated for functioning of Gwadar port under China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) project that would boost opportunities of trade activities besides increasing jobs. Balohcistan Truck Association president Haji Noor Muhammad Shawani said the government had presented an historic, progressive and business friendly budget for the year 2018-19 which would take the country towards developments. APP/arb (@ChaudhryMAli88) Belarus has detained an independent journalist after he attempted to enter the country from Ukraine, investigators said on Friday. Minsk, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Belarus has detained an independent journalist after he attempted to enter the country from Ukraine, investigators said on Friday. Dzmitry Halko, who has written for various media including opposition website Belarussky Partizan, was detained on April 22 and accused of attacking a policeman, the Investigative Committee that probes serious crimes said. Belarus is ranked 155th out of 180 in this year's Reporters Without Borders world press freedom index. Halko, 38, was working as a fixer for The Times, the British newspaper reported. He also previously freelanced for the Kyiv Post, the publication wrote on Twitter, regularly covering the frontline in the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Halko had lived in Ukraine since last year but opted to return to Belarus for a visit. President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus, which shares borders with the European Union, with an iron fist since 1994. Last year, during a visit to Minsk, police came to the door of his flat to check on loud music and investigators allege that he attacked a policeman. He wrote on Facebook that he only took the policeman's arm and believed the incident was linked to his professional activities. He could face up to six years in jail if found guilty. Halko's father Nikolaj, also a former independent journalist, told AFP that Halko was now being held in a Minsk detention centre after spending several days jailed in a small town near the border. "My son worked with opposition media, therefore we cannot rule out a political factor in this case," Halko senior said. Guatemala's former police chief Erwin Sperisen was slapped with a 15-year prison sentence on Friday after being reconvicted for the deaths of seven inmates in his home country. Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2018 ) :Guatemala's former police chief Erwin Sperisen was slapped with a 15-year prison sentence on Friday after being reconvicted for the deaths of seven inmates in his home country. Sperisen, who holds dual Swiss and Guatemalan citizenship, had been sentenced to life by a Geneva court in 2014 over his role in the deaths of 10 prisoners. But the Swiss Federal Tribunal set aside the conviction last year, saying the Geneva court relied on faulty evidence and did not give Sperisen's lawyers sufficient opportunity to confront his accusers. Prosecutors in the canton of Geneva retried the case this month. The court on Friday found him guilty of complicity in the murders of seven people in Pavon jail in September 2006. He was however cleared in a separate case involving the alleged summary executions of three prisoners who had escaped from El Infiernito jail in 2005. Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2018 ) :Twelve tuareg, including children and elderly people, were killed in clashes on the Mali border with Niger, sources said Friday, a day after the incident. Unrest between jihadists and two Tuareg-led armed groups is common in the region. Sixteen gunmen appeared on motorbikes outside the town of Anderamboukane and "opened fire on civilians" Thursday, according to statements from the Tuareg groups, the pro-government Gatia and MSA. "Among the victims are young children and elderly people," they added. A Mali official source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the death toll to AFP. An MSA patrol gave chase to the assailants, saying it had placed four "out of harm's way" while losing a fighter of their own in capturing equipment and motorbikes from the attackers. Sources from the UN's MINUSMA peacekeeping operation said on April 12 they had received "very serious" information that "summary executions of at least 95 people" had occurred during anti-jihadist operations in the northeastern Menaka region carried out by "a coalition of armed groups" including Gatia and MSA. Both groups denied a claim they dubbed "scandalous and outrageous." France intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help government forces drive al Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the north. But large tracts of the country remain lawless despite a peace accord signed with ethnic Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the militants. The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops has concluded its Easter plenary assembly with a call to the nations President, Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, to cement their truce with meaningful changes to the electoral system, republican constitution and to put an end to partisan and tribal divisions that polarise the country. By Fr. Paul Samasumo -Vatican City Kenya emerging from a divisive election In a pastoral statement made available to Vatican News and signed by Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Philip Anyolo said that the country was emerging from a presidential election that had divided the people and shattered the economy. As a Country, we have just come from an uncertain and tough election period that almost divided the nation, with a shattered economy and a section of the population left wounded during political violence. There are those who lost their lives and property to the post-election violence. Many more are still traumatised by what they went through and remain bitter and hence in need of healing and reconciliation, Bishop Anyolo said. An unexpected truce Kenyas 2017 presidential election between the Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) leader, Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta left the country reeling and tottering on the verge of a repeat of 2007 post-election violence. Reports of the 2007 post-election violence vary, but in all, more than 1,200 Kenyans were reported killed; thousands more injured; over 300,000 people displaced and around 42,000 houses and businesses looted or destroyed. On 9 March, this year, an unexpected truce between Kenyatta and Raila caught many of their supporters off guard. Raila supporters had vowed never to accept the 2017 election results. Earlier in January, thousands of Raila supporters defied authorities and participated in a mock swearing-in of Raila as president of the people. Now the followers of both leaders are struggling to come to terms with the Kenyatta Raila truce. Some NASA hardliners want Raila to abandon the peace agreement with Uhuru. Kenyas Catholic Bishops have now weighed in with a pastoral statement calling for far-reaching changes beyond the handshakes. Bishops are praying for a united country While we dont know all the details of their discussion (Uhuru-Raila), we note that their coming together was, and will continue to be good for the Country. We see this as a step forward in the right direction, and we call upon them to speed up the process of real, meaningful and lasting reconciliation. We hope to see greater commitment beyond the handshake. We have been praying all along for a united country, where every persons dignity is respected and where all have equal opportunities irrespective of where they come from. It is our hope, and that of all Kenyans that this meeting will herald a new era of reconciliation, dialogue, peace, stability and prosperity, the Bishops pastoral statement reads in part. The Bishops call for changes to the constitution and the electoral system. They urge politicians to give devolution and county governments a chance. They decry corruption, tribalism and nepotism rampant in many counties. Kenya's National Police Service The National Police Service is singled out by the Bishops as one of the institutions that continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. They urge the countrys police to operate professionally and ethically. Pope Francis with Asia Bibi's husband and daughter to his right, at a meeting in the Vatican on 24 February, 2018. (Vatican Media) Asia Bibi had called on Christians to pray and fast with her on April 27, after hearing her death sentence appeal would re-open in Pakistans Supreme Court. By Robin Gomes Christian Churches and groups in Pakistan have responded to the call of death row Christian woman, Asia Bibi, to join her in a special day of prayer and fasting on Friday for her release. Her appeal was conveyed by her family that visited her recently and by the Renaissance Education Foundation in Lahore that supports her family and bears her legal costs. In perhaps Pakistans most famous blasphemy case, Asia Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 for insulting Muhammad, an allegation she denies. Pakistan's Supreme Court adjourned her death sentence appeal on October 13, 2016, after one of the 3 judges recused himself from the case. Hope! Asia Bibis hope revived after hearing her lawyer Saiful Malook declare that the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court Saqib Nisar would soon establish the date for the next hearing before the Supreme Court. Asia Bibi thus called on Christians all over the world to pray and fast with her on April 27. Solidarity Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore spoke to the Vaticans Fides news agency saying the Churchs hope and heart would be with her on April 27, united in a special day of prayer and fasting Asia Bibi, praying to God for her freedom and peace." To know more about the response to the call of Asia Bibi for the April 27 prayer and fasting, Vatican News spoke to Cecil Shane Chaudhry the executive director of the National Commission of Justice and Peace (NCJP), of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference (PCBC). Speaking from Lahore, Chaudhry noted that Archbishop Shaw was among those who spread Asia Bibis call to all in Pakistan. Chaudhry confirmed that the Catholic parishes in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation were observing a fast and praying with her. Chaudhry said he was aware that even other Christian denominations, such as the Church of Pakistan and the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, had joined the campaign and prayed that justice be served in the right way so that Asia Bibi may be acquitted, and she can be re-united with her family as soon as possible. Response from all Christians The Pakistan Bishops Council and numerous parishes, including the lay Catholic movement Jesus Youth Pakistan, had declared their participation in the prayer and fasting initiative. Bishop Khadim Bhutto, chairman of the Pakistan Bishops Council, that includes some 40 bishops of several Protestant Churches, movements and fellowships, spoke to Fides, expressing their solidarity with Asia Bibi, who, he said, has suffered far too long. Bishop Bhutto also called for speedy justice for other innocent persons languishing in jail like her. Blasphemy laws Asia Bibi has been detained since 2009 on false charges of blasphemy reported by Muslim women and an Imam, following an argument over sharing a bowl of water with fellow workers in a field. In November 2010 she was given the death sentence by the lower court in Nanka district and four years later the verdict was confirmed by Lahore High Court. She imprisoned in the Multan female prison. Insulting the Prophet Muhammad in Pakistan is a crime punishable by death, while offending the Koran, Islam holy book, incurs life imprisonment. The blasphemy laws remain an extremely sensitive issue in the predominantly Muslim nation where Christians form just 1.6% of the population. These laws have drawn intense criticism even within the country. Rights organizations say the laws are often misused to settle personal scores, and many of their victims are also Muslims. Popes During a special event organized in Rome on 24 February to express solidarity for those persecuted for their faith across the world, Pope Francis had a private meeting with Asia Bibis husband and their youngest daughter Eisham. Earlier in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI had added his voice to international calls for the release Asia Bibi. The Holy Sees Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations speaks at two high level UN meetings in New York calling on them to increase peacebuilding efforts and to seek peace in Syria. By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp The Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, addressed participants in the High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which took place on April 24-25, 2018. The Archbishop presented five priorities on behalf of the Holy See. Increase peacebuilding efforts The Archbishop stated that the United Nations can and should recommit itself to, and scale up, its peacebuilding efforts. Unified and broad action, effective transitional strategies, analysis, better and more coherent synergy, and constant adjustment were among his recommendations. Preventive diplomacy Identifying beforehand the presence of factors, such as corruption, that destabilize nations would lead toward preventive diplomacy. Where potential conflicts are foreseen, the international community should focus on institutional and capacity building, the Archbishop said. Address arms trafficking Archbishop Auza called the end of both the trafficking of arms and the illicit funding behind it to be essential elements to sustaining peace. He added that former combatants can be invited to become a part of a peaceful solution through demobilization and reintegration strategies. Involving all sectors of society Lasting peace can only be attained when all sectors of society are involved. The Archbishop specifically mentioned women whom he said must play an active role along the entire spectrum of conflict prevention and resolution. He reinforced this priority saying, The participation of all citizens in peacebuilding helps lead to inclusive agreements and lasting peace and stability. Justice and accountability Unless justice and accountability are seriously addressed, successful transition from conflict to peace is not attainable. Justice and legal accountability are essential vectors of reconciliation, not its opposite, Archbishop Auza said. In the absence of prosecution and punishment at the local level, he said that the International Criminal Court must play its full role. Conflicts in the Middle East In a separate address to the Security Council Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East on April 26, Archbishop Auza addressed the ongoing conflicts in that region. Syria Archbishop Auza reiterated Pope Francis appeal to negotiation in Syria as the only way that can bring about peace and not death and destruction. It is the UN Security Council, he said, that is the key actor ensuring that all efforts to end the conflict in Syria are guided by international law. Yemen He concurred with the Secretary Generals definition of the war in Yemen as a stupid war, calling it the worlds largest humanitarian, entirely man-made catastrophe. He called on the international community to give much greater attention to this conflict, where civilians are paying a huge price in a senseless war that has been overshadowed by other conflicts in the region. Israel and Palestine Calling for a renewed commitment for completely violence-free peace talks leading toward a Two-State solution, the Archbishop reiterated the Holy Sees position. He stated that it is the only viable way of fulfilling the aspirations for peaceful co-existence among Israelis and Palestinians alike. Regarding Jerusalem, he stated that the Holy See sees it as an obligation of all Nations to respect the historical status quo of the Holy City. On April 18, Amelie van Tass and Thommy Ten visited House of Tape at Harrahs Las Vegas. The mentalist duo, better known as The Clairvoyants, watched Tape Face perform. The three performers were all on Season 11 of Americas Got Talent. Sam Wills, creator and performer of Tape Face, opened House of Tape at Harrahs Las Vegas in mid-March. The Clairvoyants are in the midst of an international 2018 tour. Amelie and I have been so busy on tour but it was great seeing Tape Face again, said Thommy Ten. Its always fun to see where everyone is at now since Americas Got Talent. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the village of Panmunjom, the historic site where the Korean War armistice was signed in 1953, for the start of talks between the two countries. This is the third inter-Korean summit, but it's the first time that a leader from the communist North entered the democratic South. South Korea held a welcoming ceremony for the North Korean leader, including a military honor guard review. Show more Show less Amnesty International says the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey has resulted in mass arrests and dismissals, and the silencing of human rights defenders through threats, harassment and imprisonment. Ankara says it is cracking down on terrorists. As Henry Ridgwell reports, opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fear elections called for June will increase his powers. A report from Amnesty International accuses Turkey of conducting a sustained, escalating crackdown that has left swaths of society in a state of constant fear. The report, Weathering the Storm: Defending Human Rights in Turkey's Climate of Fear, says the state of emergency, imposed in July 2016 after a coup attempt, has resulted in mass arrests and dismissals and the silencing of human rights defenders through threats, harassment and imprisonment. Amnesty says Turkey's free media are among those on the front line of the battle for human rights. "At any one time since the coup attempt in Turkey, there's been no less than 120 media workers and journalists in prison," Amnesty's Turkey campaigner, Milena Buyum, told VOA. "Anti-terrorism laws are being used to silence journalists and kill off independent journalism in Turkey." Journalists sentenced Recent trials have targeted one of the last remaining independent newspapers, Cumhuriyet. Its chairman, Akin Atalay, is among 13 journalists handed multiple sentences for "aiding and abetting terror organizations." All have been released pending appeal. "I am currently free, but it is not over. This protest, these guardians of justice, have one more member now, but others will join. We will become a big crowd," Atalay told reporters at a demonstration following his release Thursday. He had spent 500 days behind bars. Turkey's state of emergency was renewed for a seventh time several days ago. "It's just simply giving carte blanche to the government and the authorities to implement draconian measures that limit rights of pretty much everybody," Buyum said. She added that much of Turkey's once vibrant civil society has been silenced. Public gatherings have been banned; more than 100,000 people have faced criminal investigations, 50,000 have been imprisoned pending trial; and more than 107,000 public sector employees have been fired. Several Amnesty International workers are among the human rights activists behind bars. Twitter post purs probe More than 800 people were detained for expressing opposition to the recent Turkish military offensive in Afrin, Syria. One activist, Ali Erol, faces a criminal investigation for "terrorist propaganda" over a Twitter post of an olive branch next to anti-war hashtags. "Human rights defenders need our support and solidarity. They need states with influence on Turkey to speak out," Buyum said. Amnesty's report follows strong criticism from the United Nations and the European Union over the state of human rights in Turkey. The government has repeatedly said its actions are vital to target what it calls terrorist organizations and those working against the Turkish state. It blames a U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, for the 2016 coup attempt a charge he has denied. Opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fear that the snap elections called for this June will hand him even greater executive powers and that the crackdown could worsen. German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the White House Friday for a one-day working meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The meeting follows a three-day state visit to the United States by French President Emmanuel Macon. The back-to-back visits to Washington are seen as a joint effort to persuade President Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and to grant permanent exemption of the steel and aluminum tariffs to EU member countries. While Trump and Macrons so-called "bromance" was on full display during Macrons visit, Trumps relationship with Merkel is unquestionably cooler. It is widely reported that during their inaugural meeting in March 2017, Trump appeared to withhold a handshake with Merkel, and the two leaders did not speak for five months until a phone call on March 1. Where Emmanuel Macron is much more successful at charming President Trump, Angela Merkel doesnt really make the charm offensive a priority, and works instead on the basis of principle, common values, and shared interests, said Erik Jones, director of European and Eurasian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA he expected Merkel to take a more confrontational and adversarial approach toward the Trump administration than the French president. The Germans have been a lot more critical of Trumps foreign and economic policies, and I think Angela Merkel is likely to be adopting a harder line than Macron on certain issues, but shell also be keen to make an effort to save the Iran nuclear deal, he said. It would be interesting to see the degree to which Merkel and Macron put forth the same proposals with regard to strengthening the Iran nuclear deal, he added. Heather Conley, the Europe program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told reporters the visits by the two European leaders this week will be dubbed the save the Iran nuclear agreement trip. During his visit, Macron repeatedly urged Trump and the U.S. Congress not to walk away from the 2015 deal the six major powers the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China made with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions that hobbled its economy. Trump has called the agreement crafted under the previous Obama administration the worst deal ever negotiated." He contends Iran would quickly achieve nuclear capability at the end of the 10-year agreement and often assails its current military activities in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. Trump again called the deal insane and ridiculous during Macrons visit, but gave no indication as to whether he will pull the U.S. out of the agreement. Macron, however, told reporters at the end of his Washington visit that he believes Trump will withdraw from the deal, despite Macron's appeals for the U.S. to continue to honor the pact. "My view is ... that he will get rid of this deal on his own, for domestic reasons," said Macron, who did not cite specific reasons for his prediction. Trans-Atlantic trade Trans-Atlantic trade will be another crucial issue during Merkels visit. Jeff Rathke, deputy director of the Europe program at the CSIS, said this issue is particularly crucial for Germany. Germany is the largest EU economy. It is a trade-driven economy, Rathke said. "I would highlight that the European Union is poised to retaliate if the United States does not extend the exemption on aluminum and steel tariffs, so there is a bit of a threat there of reaction." Rathke pointed out Germany has the same concerns as the United States regarding Chinas trade practices and economic role. The question is whether they can put aside the relatively less important trans-Atlantic trade disagreements and focus on addressing those much larger and longer term issues he noted. Other issues expected to be discussed during the bilateral meeting include the importance of the NATO alliance and the way forward in Syria. Johns Hopkins University professor Erik Jones said he doesnt think the Europeans have high expectations of changing Trumps mind on these issues at the end of Merkels visit. If they get an extension of the waiver on U.S. sanctions, thats a big deliverable; if they were to get a formal commitment to extend the exemptions on steel tariffs, that would be a deliverable; if they were to get a firm commitment on a potential to restart Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks; that would be a deliverable as well, he said. I dont think they are bringing a big bag to carry these things home with." "I think they are going to bring a very small folder and hope theyve got at least something in it when they leave at the end of the day, he predicted. Participants at the Cannes Film Festival will be given fliers warning "Proper Behavior Required" as part of an anti-sexual harassment campaign at the May 8-19 event. The top women's rights official for the French government announced Friday that she reached a deal with Cannes organizers for the campaign. It will include written warnings urging appropriate behavior and a hotline for victims and witnesses to report abuse. Secretary of State for Women's Affairs Marlene Schiappa noted that Cannes is one of the places where disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped and harassed women. Schiappa's office says the French government is urging other upcoming festivals and events to join the effort. Film festivals have been soul-searching since the Weinstein scandal, rewriting codes of conduct and redoubling gender equality efforts. For some people, makeup isnt just about the latest shade of lipstick or eye shadow. Its about empowerment. Just ask the fans at Beautycon, a recent two-day event in New York that showcased more than 100 makeup and beauty brands, along with speaker panels featuring social media stars whose expertise is all things beauty. At Beautycon, the spotlight wasnt on supermodels or fashion editors, but everyday people who have used social media to upend the industry. With online fans numbering in the millions, these Instagram and YouTube influencers are charting a path into a once exclusive field and forcing insiders to rethink conventional notions of beauty. I figured out a way to express myself through social media and through my platform and just share my individuality, said Irene Kim, a Korean-American social media influencer who spoke on a panel, Niche is the New Norm. Beauty is limitless, Kim said. Its whatever you want to do and how you want to express yourself. Mecca Iman is a makeup enthusiast who agrees. Its deeper than just, how it looks, its how you feel, she said. Democratization of beauty Theres no longer a publisher whos dictating what is beauty or what does health and well-being mean, said Moj Mahdara, CEO of Beautycon Media. Now you have a generation of young people who are creators creating that dialogue for a consumer, but that consumer is really their friend their friend, their fan, its a two-way conversation. Iman teared up during a meet-and-greet session with social media star Raye Boyce. Boyce, whos better known by her online handle, ItsMyRayeRaye, posts instructional makeup and beauty videos on YouTube and currently has 1.8 million subscribers. Shes just so relatable and so cool and then the makeup that she does, I learn from her. I learn so much from her, Iman said. Major brands take note Boyce recently partnered with CoverGirl to promote the companys cosmetics on her social media channels. She was also given the opportunity to visit the research and development labs of Coty, the parent company of CoverGirl and other consumer beauty brands like Clairol, Rimmel and Max Factor. I feel like them listening to us, theyre trying to understand the space, Boyce said. Nabela Noor, a beauty influencer with 749,000 Instagram followers and counting, has partnered with companies like Sally Hansen, Benefit and e.l.f. Cosmetics. The reason why I wanted to do what Im doing is because I wasnt seeing anyone else like me, said the plus-sized, Muslim Bangladeshi-American. I wasnt seeing myself represented on television, in the media. I thought, if Im not seeing it happen, Im going to make it happen for myself, she added. By being online and being myself and being proud of who I am, Ive been able to help people feel good about themselves, she said. Tokyo Stylez, originally from Nebraska, calls himself one of the others or an alien. The flamboyant hairstylist started posting his wig creations on Instagram, and now works with artists like Nicki Minaj, Beyonce and Rihanna. People really support what I do, they trust my vision, they trust my judgment on things. So if I say, Go do this they really go do it, which is amazing, said Tokyo, who also commands upward of $900 per person for all-day workshops where he teaches his hair techniques. I just do me, and it works for me, he said. Beauty from the inside out Self-acceptance is a key theme for the demographic that marketers have dubbed Generation Z, the post-millennial group born in the mid-90s to mid-2000s who are well-versed with consumer technology. A section of Beautycon entitled B-Well focused on health and well-being, with vendors hawking probiotic beverages, vitamins and healthy snacks. Beauty is both inside and out, and how you treat your insides and your mental health and your physical health and your spirituality is all a part of how you foster beauty, Mahdara said. I think the industries around health and well-being and beauty are colliding into one and will be a very big movement moving forward. Nigerian forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram militants in the northeast city of Maiduguri on Thursday, the military said in a statement, the second such clash in a month. Blasts and gunfire were heard earlier by residents in the city which is the capital of Borno, the state worst hit by the insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the northeast which has killed more than 30,000 people since 2009. President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in 2015 vowing to end the insurgency, has made it a priority to improve security in Africas most populous country. The issue has become politically charged in the run-up to an election next year which Buhari said he wants to contest. Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have in the late hours of today, Thursday 26 April 2018, successful repelled Boko Haram terrorist incursion in the outskirt of Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri, the military said in an emailed statement. Boko Haram militants attempted to enter Maiduguri earlier this month, fighting soldiers in an attack in which at least 15 people were killed and 83 injured. In the course of fighting the latest attack, the military said troops had been supported by the air force, police and other security agencies. Witnesses had reported a heavy military presence and crowded streets as people attempted to flee to safety. The general public and residents who fled the area earlier were urged to return home, the military statement said. The government has been saying since December 2015 that the jihadist group has been defeated but high profile attacks in the last few months including the kidnap of 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi and a strike in the town of Rann that killed three aid workers has shown the jihadists remain active. Nigeria's government last month said it was in talks with Boko Haram, which split into two main factions in 2016, with the aim of securing a permanent ceasefire. The government has not disclosed which elements of Boko Haram it is in discussions with and it was also not clear which faction carried out the latest attack. Host Carol Castiel sits down for a wide-ranging interview with U.S. Congressman Brad Schneider, a Democrat from the state of Illinois and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Schneider reacts to French President Emmanuel Macrons address to a joint session of Congress. He also weighs in on President Trumps travel ban currently under debate at the Supreme Court, DACA, gun safety legislation and the ongoing investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Taiwan can turn a failed bid to join the World Health Organization's annual assembly in its favor this year by generating moral support in its struggle against political rival China, experts say. Diplomatic allies of Taiwan asked the United Nations organization this month to let it join the 71st World Health Assembly as an observer after being turned down last year. WHO members set policies and approve a budget at the annual assembly. But Taiwan is widely expected to miss its bid this year for the May 21-26 event because Chinas diplomatic allies dominate the WHO. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, not as a state with rights to join international bodies. Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 as China came on board. A failed effort to observe the World Health Assembly would still give Taiwan limelight overseas for drawing attention to its billions of dollars worth of medical charity an argument the government in Taipei uses to push its bid analysts say. The bid, failed or otherwise, would also make China and the WHO look more interested in politics than health, they add. The WHO, such a global organization, its sometimes too political in its actions, and I think whether in Europe or in Japan, whether governments or legislators, theyll all consider that this is bad, said Wang Bi-sheng, secretary-general of the Taiwan Medical Association in Taipei. So, on the other hand, theyll pay attention to us and wonder why [the WHO] wont let us go as observers, so theyre willing to speak for us. International attention Legislators from the United States, German diplomats in Taipei and officials in the tiny African nation of Swaziland, for example, have already voiced support. The U.S. Congress unanimously backs Taiwans bid, said Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Taiwan advocacy group Formosan Association for Public Affairs. China let Taiwan observe from 2009 to 2016 as Taiwans president at the time accepted Beijings idea that that each side belongs to a single China. Todays president, Tsai Ing-wen, rejects that idea. Taiwan normally touts healthcare achievements when it applies to the assembly, effectively reminding other countries of its ability to help. Taiwan gave medical aid to Haiti after an earthquake in 2010 and to Nigeria in 2014 for the fight against Ebola. The Taiwan Medical Association said April 18 the island has spent $6 billion on international health activities and aid, helping people in 80 countries. This packaging of medical achievements with the World Health Assembly bid draws support from most people in policy circles, said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence. Policymakers believe Chinas objections to Taiwan over dialogue conditions should not get in the way of its right to join the assembly, he said. China at the same time looks bad internationally for blocking Taiwan on political grounds, Wu said. If were thinking were brothers, China and Taiwan, then shouldnt the big brothers in China be concerned about these health issues in Taiwan, too? Wu asked. Taiwan must keep trying for World Health Assembly plus other U.N. agencies to test the boundaries, said Joanna Lei, chief executive officer of the Chunghua 21st Century think tank in Taiwan. Relations with China have fallen from cordial to strained since Tsai took office, but scholars say Beijing still hopes for an eventual dialogue. Securing domestic support Taiwanese people also pay attention to their governments health efforts and its international standing after a failed World Health Assembly effort, Wang said. They know China and Taiwan are struggling to get along, he said. But if Taiwan got into the World Health Assembly, he said, the public might see it as routine. Because were being squelched, how we are doing health-wise, people are asking this question, he said. So, the attention here is even greater. Beijing insists that China and Taiwan eventually unify, but opinion surveys in Taiwan find most citizens oppose that ambition. Taiwanese leaders usually make a series of public statements to back their bids for international agencies. Last year a Taiwan government-led group held events outside the assembly venue in Geneva. Taiwans health minister said in March his government would protest against organizations that suppress Taiwan. Some Taiwanese will eventually worry about wasting time and money if too many bids fail, Lei said. They might ask whether Tsais government should do more to get along with China, she said. Jason Hsu, a minority party lawmaker in Taipei, calls the annual campaign frivolous. We staged protests, we got our allies to speak up for us in the assembly, but to promote Taiwans image I dont think thats the only channel, Hsu said. If you talk about our medical contributions or our medical voluntary squad around the world, we could do much more stuff. Hundreds of Iranian Kurds have joined an anti-government rally in a northwestern border town in support of a general strike that has paralyzed the local economy for 12 days. Residents of Baneh who contacted VOA Persian via social media shared images of what they said were around 1,000 people peacefully demonstrating outside a local government building. WATCH: Demonstrators Chant Slogans Against Local Governor in Baneh The crowd chanted slogans demanding the removal of Banehs governor. Residents accuse him of not doing enough to press Tehran to end a blockade of border footpaths that they use to carry goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran for sale in their stores. A lack of manufacturing in Baneh and other parts of Irans Kurdistan province has impoverished the population. Many residents have tried to eke out a living by carrying Iraqi goods across the border as porters, also known locally as kolbars. Several Baneh residents said they attended a meeting Thursday with a visiting delegation of the central government in Tehran. They said Irans Deputy Industry Minister Mojtaba Khosrowtaj promised to consider reducing import taxes on local traders. But the attendees said they and other local delegates rejected the offers of the Tehran officials as too little. There were no immediate reports of the meeting in Iranian state media. WATCH: Iranian Kurdish Children Hold Protest Signs in Baneh At Thursdays rally, some men and boys held signs calling for the border footpaths to be re-opened and saying they have no money or food to eat. Shopkeepers throughout Baneh have kept their stores closed since April 15 in a prolonged general strike that is unprecedented in the region for its length. The strike has caused anxiety among some local residents who have struggled to buy and sell everyday goods. WATCH: General Strike in Baneh Stretches into 12th Day Irans official IRNA news agency quoted Banehs deputy governor Nejad Shahidi on April 15 as saying that the government blocked the footpaths at Iraqs request to bring order to border trade and preserve security in border areas. Many residents have rejected that explanation because of what they see as Tehrans deep influence over Iraqi affairs. This report was produced in collaboration with VOAs Persian Service. Michael Lipin contributed additional reporting from Washington Editor's note: With four people working on (im)migration stories every day, we still struggle to keep up with all of the relevant news. So, we wanted a way to keep you updated with the top immigration stories every week the ones that will affect you, our international readers, viewers and listeners most. We want you to know what's happening, why, and how it could impact your life, family or business. Travel ban 3.0 We didn't mean to, but we made a new mother cry outside the Supreme Court when we asked her what it was like to be pregnant, then have her first baby while her own mother is 10,000 km away in Iran and unable to be by her side. Dela is now 8 months old, plump-cheeked, quick to smile, and teething and her grandmother dispenses advice over text and Skype to help her growing family. Read and watch our story. What's next? The Supreme Court is expected to decide in June whether the Trump administration's third travel ban is constitutional. Opponents of the policy tell VOA that no matter what the outcome of the lawsuit, the president has already made clear his view on immigrants and it's not positive. Bonus: Meet the two Immigration Team reporters who were at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. One was inside, dry and warm. The other was outside, water-logged. Trump's TPS tally Nepalese nationals living in the United States are the latest to learn that thousands of their citizens will lose legal status next year, after the Trump administration canceled Temporary Protected Status for a fifth country since taking office. Caravan to El Norte: 'The ones that killed him now don't trust me' Meet some of the Central American travelers headed to the U.S. border to ask for asylum from violence, in Ramon Taylor's story from Mexicali. The top official for Homeland Security referred to the travelers as a security risk, and insisted that the department "is doing everything within our authorities to secure our borders and enforce the law." Now what? U.S. law allows people to seek asylum in the U.S., or at its border, if they have a "well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group." So, in theory, the caravan members should be able to claim asylum and have their cases reviewed. Expect more border reporting next week from Ramon Taylor and Arturo Martinez. Tennessee trauma A town that largely helped Donald Trump get elected to the presidency also raised $60,000 for the families of undocumented workers caught up in a workplace immigration raid. "Relationships change everything." Legal limbo: Some of the detainees were released and will have hearings in immigration court. Dozens more remain in custody. 'Crusades 2.0' Three men were convicted of plotting violence against Somali-Americans in "Crusades 2.0," by planning explosions at a housing complex in Kansas. An advocacy group identified a 15 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims in 2017, according to data they released this week. From South Sudanese 'Lost Boy' to Barista Sip on this story about Manyang Kher, who named his company after the geographic coordinates of the refugee camp where he sought safety. A judge has given the federal government 90 days to defend its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. If they don't, the program could begin functioning again. What we're keeping an eye on Following several immigration raids, New York's governor this week accused the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of "blatant disrespect" for the state's laws. ICE Director Thomas Homan responded that the governor was "grandstanding" and criticized his support for sanctuary policies. Will their feud escalate as tensions mount between federal law enforcement, and the outspoken leaders of some states like New York and California, over immigration issues? The leaders of India and China meet Friday amid tensions along their contested border and a rivalry for influence among their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping is to sit down with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the central city of Wuhan at the start of two days of talks between the heads of the worlds two most populous nations. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said Modi arrived after midnight in Wuhan. The leaders would review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, Kumar said in a tweet. China-India relations date back centuries but in recent decades have been characterized by competition for leadership in Asia. Some of the issues The countries fought a border war in 1962 and last year engaged in a 10-week standoff in the neighboring state of Bhutan. India has also been alarmed by Chinas moves to build strategic and economic ties with Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indias longtime rival Pakistan. China for its part resents Indias hosting of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and its control of territory Beijing says belongs to it. China claims some 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of territory in Indias northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas. Officials have met at least 20 times to discuss the competing border claims without making significant progress. Following the most protracted standoff in years, India last year agreed to pull back troops from the disputed Doklam Plateau high in the Himalayas, where Chinese troops had started constructing a road. Economic possibilities Despite such differences, Modi hopes China can help drive Indian economic growth ahead of national elections next year. However, his administration has been reluctant to engage with Beijings Belt and Road initiative linking its economies to those of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Modi will be traveling to China again in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Along with China and India, that group includes the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan. The sentencing of Indonesias infamous former Speaker of the House, Setya Novanto, is seen as a turning point in the fight against corruption in the 20-year-old democracy. This week, a Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Novanto to 15 years in jail for embezzlement, after a long pursuit by officials that saw the politician check himself into a hospital twice and be involved in a mysterious car crash. Novanto is one of the highest profile Indonesian politicians to be successfully prosecuted for graft. Novanto was convicted of heading a $170 million graft scheme that sought a 10 percent cut from a company that was contracted to manufacture electronic ID cards. That Novanto even showed up to his court dates in the e-KTP scandal was a sign that this case was different. Popularly known as Setnov, he had been linked to at least eight previous corruption cases in his two decades of political life, but never appeared in court until last year. The recent decision against [him] is really a new milestone for anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia, said Adnan Topan Husodo of Indonesia Corruption Watch, an NGO. He is a very slippery politician and his arrest is a testament to the power of the Corruption Eradication Commission. No more 'Mr. Teflon' The scale of Novantos scandals was larger than life, and his impunity seemed like to demonstrate how entrenched graft and corruption have become in the worlds third most-populous country. In 2015, for instance, he is alleged to have tried to extort $4 billion in shares from the Freeport mining company. Novanto resigned from his position as speaker, but then successfully argued that the case against him was based on inadmissible evidence, and was restored to his position in 2016. He resigned for good last November, throwing his political party Golkar into turmoil. Novanto is not the first party chairman to be arrested for graft, said Andreas Harsono, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch in Jakarta. The Prosperous Justice Party and Partai Demokrat have also experienced this. But Golkar, also the party of former military dictator Suharto, remains the main opposition to President Joko Widodos PDIP. So it is very significant, he said. It has been convincingly proven that Setya Novanto has committed corruption together with many others, said Judge Wanto, head of the Jakarta Corruption Court panel that sentenced him on Tuesday. He will be barred from public office for five years after completing his jail time. Speaking to reporters at another court appearance on Friday, Novanto would only say the word stress. To be honest, 15 years is not enough for what he did, said Adnan. But his efforts to spook the jury with his hospital visit and so on made it difficult to give him a longer sentence. I think it would be more fair if he had a life sentence. Resurgent KPK The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, is an independent body tasked with bringing egregious instances of political corruption to justice. Indonesias House of Representatives has long tried to weaken the commission with legislative measures. But after the Setnov decision, political will against KPK will weaken significantly, said Adnan. Indonesias democracy rating has suffered in recent years in the estimation of groups like Freedom House crackdowns on freedom of expression, pervasive corruption, and the rise of hardline religious-political forces. But the Novanto saga will likely be seen internationally as a victory for the rule of law. Indonesias corruption problems dont end with one man, said Harsono, but this is a good starting point. The Inter-Korean summit began Friday morning with a historic step as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the military demarcation line that has divided Korea for over 60 years. At the end, the leaders of the communist North and Democratic South embraced prior to announcing a joint declaration committing to denuclearization and peace. "Today, Chairman Kim Jong Un and I confirmed that the realization of the nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearization is our common goal," said President Moon Jae-in at a ceremony to announce what they are calling the Panmunjom declaration. The North Korean leader also endorsed the joint declaration as well as past inter-Korean agreements without elaborating or specifically acknowledging the agreed upon outcome to dismantle his country's threatening nuclear program. "We have decided to open this transitional phase of improvement in relations and development by thoroughly implementing the North-South Declarations and all the agreements that have already been adopted," said Kim. Historic crossing Kim is now the first North Korean leader to cross into South Korea. He was greeted by Moon, who waited on the South Korean side of the borderline in the village of Panmunjom, the historic site, where the Korean War armistice was signed in 1953. The two leaders smiled as they shook hands across the border. Kim then stepped over the cement boundary marker. Kim said he was, "excited to meet at this historic place" and later wondered "why it took so long" to get there. "It really has a strong emotional impact on me," said Kim about the warm welcome he received from the people of South Korea. President Moon welcomed Kim to the South and said he would like to one day visit North Korea. Laughing, the two together momentarily stepped over the border marker into the North's side of the demilitarized zone. The two leaders posed for pictures with an unsmiling Kim dressed in a communist Mao-style suit and a smiling Moon in western business attire. WATCH: Highlights from opening ceremony They also agreed to continue efforts to improve relations that had grown increasingly tense over the North's continued nuclear and missile tests, especially accelerated efforts in the last two years to develop nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability to target the U.S. mainland. "We declared together that there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and that a new era of peace has begun," said Moon. At the summit Moon and Kim conducted two rounds of meetings during the day, and the South Korean leader hosted a dinner that featured a variety of famous Korean dishes including Pyongyang-style cold noodles. Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju, and sister Kim Yo Jong Un joined the delegations for dinner with Moon and his wife, Kim Jung-sook. Diplomatic pivot This year, Kim pivoted to embrace diplomacy and agreed to engage in negotiations to end his country's nuclear program. Both President Moon's diplomatic outreach to the North, and U.S. President Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign, which imposed tough sanctions that block virtually all North Korean exports, and that emphasized the possible use of military force, are credited with compelling Kim to change his previous confrontational stance. The joint declaration "confirmed the common goal of realizing complete denuclearization, and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula." It also recognized as "meaningful and crucial," North Korea's recent unilateral concessions to suspend further nuclear and missile tests, and to close its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. However, some analysts have expressed skepticism that these measures are meaningful as they only freeze and not reduce the country's nuclear capabilities. There were also indications that perhaps more serious diplomatic progress was being made away from the official talks when Moon and Kim engaged in what seemed to be a very candid conversation without any staff or advisers present as they sat together for 30 minutes outside the conference hall in the afternoon. Television cameras recorded the meeting from a distance. Trump-Kim summit The declaration is meant to prepare the diplomatic ground for the upcoming Trump-Kim summit, expected to be held in May or June. South Korean officials have assured the Trump administration that Kim is prepared to commit to completely and verifiably dismantling his nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., sanctions relief, and developmental assistance. President Trump applauded the commitment to peace and denuclearization on Twitter, but added that "only time will tell" if the goals are achieved. While Trump has expressed optimism that a nuclear deal with North Korea can be reached, he has said he will walk out of the meeting if there are signs it "is not going to be fruitful." Given the unconventional nature of these summits, which come at the beginning and not the end of the negotiation process, and North Korea's past performance in breaking agreements, many remain skeptical that these high-level meetings will lead to real denuclearization progress. "The devil is in the details and as we have found in the past, in three separate sets of negotiations with North Korea, the devil is always in the details," said Victor Cha, a North Korea scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a Professor at Georgetown University in Washington. Peace treaty Moon and Kim also agreed to work on measures to improve cross-border security, restart family reunions, and work toward replacing the longstanding armistice ending the Korean War in 1953 with a permanent peace treaty, which would also require the approval of the U.S. and China as signatories to the truce. "I think there is room for North and South Korea to make progress on a peace settlement. That is fundamentally a Korean issue, including confidence building measures along the DMZ, [demilitarized zone], a declaration to end hostilities," said Gary Samore, a former White House arms control coordinator and director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. After their historic talks, the leaders and their wives attended a banquet, along with Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong. They raised a toast and were entertained by a variety of musical performances. Kim Jong Un bought Pyongyang-style cold noodles for the dinner, at the request of his South Korean counterpart. The starring role of the noodles led to long lines outside restaurants in South Korea's capital that were serving the dish. This was the third inter-Korean summit, but the first to take place in South Korea. The meetings in 2000 and 2007 were held in the North. Business came to a standstill in Malawi's commercial capital Friday, with the city's main road almost deserted and many shops and businesses temporarily closed, as hundreds of people marched against corruption and bad governance. The demonstrations, drawing thousands of people nationwide, were held one day before former president Joyce Banda returns home after spending the past four years in the U.S. Investigations into corruption during her administration are ongoing. The march in Blantyre was peaceful, despite fears of a repeat of the 2011 anti-government demonstration in which 20 protesters were shot dead. "I should commend our colleagues, our citizens, that we have really demonstrated peacefully and we believe nobody has been injured or [their rights] violated," said Masauko Thawe, coordinator for the Blantyre demonstrations. In a petition entitled "Time to Reclaim Our Destiny," organizers demanded that President Peter Mutharika reverse his appointment of Rodney Jose as the acting inspector general of police. Jose was implicated in the murder of university student Robert Chasowa in 2011. The protesters also demanded the government end ongoing power outages, stop attacks on albinos, and change the electoral system to elect the president by simple majority vote. Activists have given the president 90 days to respond to some of the issues, according to Thawe, but "we have other issues which are very pertinent which we require immediate response, we have given them 15 days to respond." Charles Mphembo of Blantyre District Council received the petition on behalf of the president. "I want to assure you, those who have brought it, that it is, indeed, received and it will reach the authorities at the right time today," Mphembo said. The demonstrations coincided with the planned return of Malawi's former president, Joyce Banda, on Saturday. Banda left the country in 2014 amid a $32 million corruption scandal known as Cashgate, in which several convicted suspects named Banda as a mastermind. Last year, police issued an arrest warrant to question Banda on the allegations. Speaking to VOA Friday, police spokesperson James Kadadzera would not say whether police will try to take Banda into custody. "All I can say in a single sentence is the warrant of arrest is still valid. I will stop there, that it is still valid," Kadadzera said. Banda's spokesperson, Andekuche Chanthuya, told VOA that the warrant for arrest does not scare Banda. "Dr. Joyce Banda is not afraid or intimidated by their announcement that their warrant of arrest is still valid because all Cashgate cases were investigated and prosecuted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau," Chanthuya said. "Now, the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau has made it clear that JB [Joyce Banda] is not linked to any Cashagate, whether as a beneficiary or as a masterminder." He says Banda has been abroad to conduct personal business, give speeches and run her foundation. Chanthunya said Banda will hold a political rally for her People's Party in her home district, Zomba. Discovery of a nearly 70-year-old map of the South China Sea could help Beijing support its claim in Asias biggest maritime sovereignty dispute, but it would face criticism abroad and fall outside the scope of international law, experts say. The 1951 map, as described in an article by five Chinese researchers, includes coordinates in the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea that offer Beijing a clearer-than-ever show of where its waters and islets lie, maritime scholars say. Today China uses a U-shaped nine-dash line that leaves spaces between those lines open to interpretation. Chinese officials have not so far used the map to change policy. They might be waiting to see what decision-makers elsewhere think, said Euan Graham, international security director with the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim all or parts of the sea thats prized for fisheries, oil and gas. China has irritated them all over the past decade by landfilling disputed islets for military use. International courts would probably reject the map as a legal tool, Graham said. Maps dont carry independent legal weight. You can submit as many maps as you like, but the map changes nothing as regards the legality of claim, he said. Its part of a broader campaign that China has long pursued, which is to build an evidential base amongst scholars that this is not a confected recent claim. A more vivid demarcation line The map, as described by the scholars in an undated 2018 Science China Press article, fills in gaps between nine thick lines that China uses now to describe the boundary around its disputed claims extending from Hong Kong to Borneo. Foreign scholars became aware of the article this month. It is an important historical map that clearly proves the U-boundary line is the border of Chinas territorial sea in the South China Sea, the article says. It may also be Chinas first map produced under Communist Party rule. China cites records extending back into dynastic times as support for its claim to more than 90 percent of the sea. If it adopted the map as a policymaking tool, that would mean China wants to end the ambiguity of its nine-dash line, Graham said. I think this just shows their determination to keep the South China Sea as a part of China, said Alex Chiang, international relations professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei. The nine-dash line caused has confusion over the past year as Vietnam, the most vocal among the other claimants, explored the sea for oil and gas. Awaiting reactions Officials in Beijing may be waiting for reactions from other countries before they decide how to use the map, said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. It could be nothing more than a scholarly curiosity, or it could be an attempt to put this idea out there as a trial balloon and see how the international community responds, Poling said. Suspicious reactions could make the matter disappear rather than become government policy, Graham said. But the Southeast Asian claimants, all militarily weaker than China, are unlikely to sound off, he said. China has offered those countries investment and economic aid to steady relations since 2016, when a world arbitration court rejected the legal basis for Chinese claims at the time. But Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines might eventually protest, Chiang said. China for its part wants to avoid conflict, he said, and look first for diplomatic solutions to sovereignty disputes. Questioned as a legal document Public opinion may decide the maps role in Chinese policymaking, as it cant stand up to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, scholars say. China would need to show occupation and continuous administration of waters inside the U-shaped line, said Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia-specialized emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Islets in the U-shaped line were largely uninhabitable in 1951. The 1951 map was neither appended to a treaty nor issued by the Chinese government, he added, further weakening its clout under international law. Chinas Communist government, in power for just two years then, had little international support rather than universal recognition, said Alan Chong, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Chinese scholars may lack understanding of international law as well, he said. Will this stand up in an international court of law? I have my doubts, Chong said. If this surfaced in an international court, the decision could go either way. It is not what you call incontrovertible proof, because in 1951 the Peoples Republic of China was not officially recognized by a lot of states. The fate of an American pastor on trial in Turkey was high on the agenda of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Brussels on Friday. The pastor, Andrew Brunson, has been detained in Turkey for 18 months and is on trial for terrorism and espionage, with prosecutors demanding a 35-year prison sentence. The case has contributed to U.S.-Turkish tensions. "Secretary Pompeo reiterated the concerns we have for U.S. citizens and consular staff detained in Turkey and especially Pastor Brunson," a U.S. official told State Department reporters. Pompeo met with Cavusoglu on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting. The U.S. official said the secretary of state echoed U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in urging the Turks to do everything in their power to ensure Brunson's release. Turkish authorities indicted Brunson last month for allegedly helping to arrange a July 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom says the indictment also charges Brunson, who has been a Christian pastor in Turkey for 23 years, of committing an act of terrorism by spreading the Christian faith in the predominately Muslim country. Brunson could face a life sentence if convicted. U.S. lawmakers, human rights groups and others say the charges against Brunson are fraudulent. In a tweet, the Turkish foreign minister wished Pompeo success in his new post and said the two discussed Syria, Iraq, the fight against terrorism, consular and other issues. Acting U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu discussed the situation in Syria and agreed on the value of U.S.-Turkish partnership in the region and of maintaining close communication. "Building upon prior discussions on Manbij, the two reaffirmed their support for the established bilateral process to find a common way forward," Nauert said in a statement. "They also discussed the United States' commitment to supporting Turkey's national security concerns." If the Twitter hashtag #SAT is any indication, the four-hour standardized Scholastic Aptitude Test mandatory for almost every U.S. college applicant is not beloved. Students and parents worldwide bemoan the test that most colleges use as a measurement for an applicants aptitude, abilities or intelligence. But one parent explores the lengths students and parents go to to score well on the SAT in the documentary The Test and the Art of Thinking, premiering April 27. Whats interesting is Carl Brigham, who created the SAT, later on wrote a number of articles debunking his original premise that these certain psychological quizzes had the authority that he originally thought, Michael Arlen Davis, the director of the film, told VOA. But it hasnt stopped, it never really stopped in its tracks the sort of notion of IQ. Students interviewed in the documentary discuss maintaining their sense of self-worth and asserting their own intelligence, despite how their IQ looks on paper in the form of SAT scores. For international students, who want to study in the United States but have not been exposed to the testing style of the SAT, the test score requirement for college applications can be even more daunting. I took the exam twice, Sohini Mukherjee, a high school student in West Bengal, India, told VOA. I would say my first score was very bad because I was completely laid back with my test and I didnt prepare as I should have done. After her first test, which she drove two hours to take, Mukherjee realized that she needed to study a lot more to familiarize herself with the format of the test. A number of SAT tutoring services have opened offices in various parts of the world to cater to these students. One such company is Think Tank learning - a company that boasts a money-back guarantee if you dont get into your desired Ivy League after a year of its courses, headquartered in L.A., but with bureaus in Shanghai and Beijing. Some tutors...have established overseas offices because they encounter students who have never seen anything like the SAT or the ACT. That tutoring is even more important if youre overseas then if youre in the U.S. because its style I think the tests almost have a certain language, a certain code, Davis said. But for students like Mukherjee, who lives two hours from her states capital, tutors are not an option, and she feels her regular studies do not prepare her for the skills required on the SAT. I had to self teach myself many concepts which were never ever taught by my teachers. So that is another challenging point of taking the SAT self teaching, she said. In the past decade or so, a number of colleges have declared themselves test-optional, meaning that applicants could choose whether or not to share test scores with potential schools depending on whether they felt they accurately represented them. By our calculation, we think there are somewhere in the 220 colleges and universities that are four year colleges, Davis said. Of the class of 2017, 1.8 million students worldwide took the SAT. The test remains a crucial element in most college applications, even though many students say they dont feel their scores accurately represent them. Davis said the goal of the documentary was not necessarily to do away with test score requirements for college applications, but to impart information on parents and students disheartened by their scores. So if youre a student and youre perplexed by this test and you dont do well on it or as well as youd like to, Davis said, you have a lot of company. Newly sworn in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is already on his first trip as the chief U.S. diplomat, headed first to a NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, and then to the Middle East. He boarded a plane just a couple of hours after his confirmation vote in the Senate. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more from Washington. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria demonstrated again on Wednesday in Abuja. A rally by the group Monday descended into violence, leading to dozens of arrests and injuries. The IMN is demanding the release of its leader, who has been in state custody since a deadly military crackdown on the group more than two years ago. IMN members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria have been gathering in the Nigerian capital every day since mid-January to protest. Each day, they repeat the same chant. Theyre calling for the release of the Shiite cleric Ibraheem Zakzaky, the founder and leader of the IMN. He and his wife have been detained since December 2015. Authorities have refused to comply with a 2016 court order to release them. IMNs spokesman Ibrahim Musa told VOA that Zakzaky had a minor stroke and is experiencing eye problems. He said the government has denied Zakzakys request to travel abroad for medical treatment. He is suffering a lot in detention," Musa said. "So I would believe that the federal government is just buying time probably for him to die in detention and that is why apart from the legal path we have taken, we resorted to protest so at least our voice can be heard by the world. The Nigerian government has repeatedly said that IMN breaks laws and incites unrest. Police have shut down IMN rallies this week. A protestor shared cell phone footage he shot Monday with VOA. The video shows police officers on horseback. Some of the officers grab the protestors by their arms. Protesters throw stones at armored tanks. IMN member Abdullahi Musa, 32, told us what he saw. They threw much tear gas and water cannon. Later on used live bullets on us and they shoot a lot of people," he said. "Yesterday, myself, I was injured. On my knee, they hit me with a stick. I have many, like three friends that were seriously injured by gunshots. Nigerian police have not responded to accusations that officers used live bullets. In a statement Monday, police said at least 115 people were arrested and 22 officers were injured. Amnesty International has been investigating the governments response to IMN since 2013. Isa Sanusi, the media officer of Amnestys Nigeria office, spoke to VOA. We call on the government to allow them their right to lawful protests and lawful assembly and freedom of expression so that they can be able to voice their grievances, voice their anger," said Isa. "They have been peaceful, and theyve never been a threat. We see no reason why the government would actually resort to the kind of excessive use of force against them as displayed in Abuja in the last two days. Nigerias Shiite minority says it has faced repression for decades, something IMN attributes to the centuries-old rift between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. The IMN does not recognize the authority of the federal government. Some Nigerian states have banned the IMN, describing its members as extremists and insurgents. Six out of nine of Zakzakys children have been killed in clashes with security forces in the past 20 years. In December 2015, soldiers attacked IMNs headquarters in the city of Zaria in northern Nigeria. More than 300 IMN supporters were killed. A Nigerian commission of inquiry investigated the incident and said it found evidence of mass graves in Zaria as well as the use of excessive force by the military. The spokesman for the IMN tells VOA the group will continue to demonstrate until Zakzaky is released. North Koreas main underground nuclear test site may be damaged and portions of it unusable, but analysts say that does not mean Pyongyang can no longer carry out nuclear tests at the facility or elsewhere. Late last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to halt nuclear and missile tests and to close its Punggye-ri facility. The site has been used for all six of the isolated countrys nuclear tests. In recent years, the stability of Mount Mantap at the site has increasingly been a concern because of the possibility of radiation leakage. And now news has surfaced regarding two new studies by Chinese seismologists that confirm those concerns. Study: Test site collapse According to media reports, scientists in China have found that following North Koreas latest nuclear test last year, a cavity inside Mount Mantap collapsed. One study said the breakdown of the mountain created a chimney that could allow radioactivity from the blast zone to rise into the air. A report in the Wall Street Journal this week said the study also warned that any further testing at the site with a similar yield could cause an environmental catastrophe. Another study that was published this month by several other Chinese scientists came to the same conclusion about the collapse of a cavity at the facility but did not say whether the site was still usable, the Wall Street Journal added. North Korean analysts say that even if the collapse of parts of the facility happened and if Mount Mantap is unusable, there are other mountains nearby and other tunnels. Many tunnels Joseph Bermudez, a North Korean expert with 38North, said the northern entrance at the Punggye-ri facility leads to a series of tunnels that branch off, which is how they have been able to host so many tests at the site. Obviously the tunnel that was used for each of the tests is no longer viable but it doesnt mean that there isnt another branch that the North Koreans could use, Bermudez said. At the site, there are three other entrances. One to the east that was apparently used for North Koreas first test, another to the south that has not been used and then a portal to the west, he added. Bermudez said that until last week there was excavation activity at the west portal and right before Kims announcement that the facility would be shut down all of the carts were pulled out and lined up in a neat row for satellite surveillance to pick up. This is a clear indication that theyre telling us, Hey, look, we are stopped, he said. As far as we can tell, North Koreas Punggye-ri facility is ready and capable of conducting another nuclear test anytime Kim Jong Un decides to do so. Other mountains James M. Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that even if North Korea cannot use Mount Mantap there are other mountains in the vicinity or elsewhere. The decision not to test is a political decision, it is not, I think one forced on North Korea for technical reasons, Acton said. This is neither a technically enforced decision nor is it a permanent decision. It would not be difficult to reverse. Some have suggested North Korea had little choice but to halt its tests because of mounting pressure from international sanctions and the geological structure of the test site. Kims announcement late last week to close the site, stop tests and focus on opening up the economy is a welcome shift, said professor Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies. But also one that should be approached carefully as the pledges do not amount to much. He (Kim) has not put much on the table, he has not said the existing nuclear stock or the longer range nuclear missiles that the North Koreans have are open to negotiations, Tsang said. Tsang said that Kims pledge to halt tests could be related to the condition of the facility, but also because the North does not have any plans to carry out tests for now, especially with U.S. intelligence agencies and others closely watching the facility. New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says no decision has been made on whether President Donald Trump will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, adding that negotiations are ongoing. At his first news conference in his new job, Pompeo said, Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal, he (President Trump) is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May. Pompeo spoke in Brussels at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, one day after he was sworn in. Pompeo said he had discussed the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, with his NATO counterparts. The top U.S. diplomat said this issue likely would be high on the agenda when he travels to the Middle East after leaving Brussels. Pompeo also fielded questions on countering Russian attacks on Western democracy, Ukraine, his visit to North Korea and morale at the State Department. Asked about a demoralized work force back in Washington, Pompeo said he had met with State Department officers at the NATO mission in Brussels. He said they may have been demoralized, but seemed in good spirits. They are hopeful that the State Department will get its swagger back, that we will be out doing the things that they came on board at the State Department to do, to be professional, to deliver American diplomacy around the world; that is my mission set. Pompeo indicated he would meet with State Department employees on Tuesday after returning to Washington. Asked about his recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pompeo declined to say if Kim is stable. Pompeo did say he believes Kim is serious about a planned summit with Trump. Pompeo congratulated the Republic of Korea and North Korea on a historic meeting, and the Korean peoples aspirations for peace and prosperity. Let there be no doubt, we would not be where we are today without President Trumps maximum pressure campaign, and the work that has been done all around the world to apply pressure to North Korea. Making his first trip hours after he was confirmed sent a strong signal of U.S. support to its NATO allies, Pompeo said: I hopped straight on a plane and came straight here, Pompeo told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. There's good reason for that. The work thats being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important and this mission means a lot to the United States of America. Pompeo said President Trump very much wanted me to get here. Stoltenberg and others leaders in Brussels say they appreciated Pompeos quick action to attend Fridays talks. I feel that thats a great expression of the importance of the alliance and the importance we attach to the alliance and I very much look forward to talking with you, on the need to adapt NATO to a more demanding security environment, the NATO secretary general told Pompeo. Stoltenberg added, Your valued and long experience will make you a perfect person to be the top diplomat of the United States. International leaders and foreign policy experts will likely observe Pompeo closely in his first weeks on the job to get a read on where the United States stands, as North Korea, Syria and Iran dominate headlines. Pompeo is said to be more hawkish on the Iranian government than his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who wanted the U.S. to stay in the Iran nuclear agreement. Tillerson was abruptly fired by Trump last month, just hours after returning from a trip to Africa. Trump said he and Pompeo are much more on the same wavelength on Iran and other issues. During his confirmation hearing, a number of Democratic senators expressed concern that Pompeo is too close to Trump, and may not stand up to Trump when the two disagree on policy. Republican lawmakers noted Pompeos close relationship to Trump will be a great asset on the world stage. Pompeo heads to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan after Fridays NATO meeting. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Brussels Friday, a day after the U.S. Senate approved his appointment. Russia will top the agenda, as will Western accusations that Moscow poisoned a former spy in Britain. Tensions further increased following Syria's alleged chemical weapons attack and the Western air strikes that followed. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Ukraine is pushing hard to build closer relations in line with its ambition of joining NATO. The Syrian civil war has been a catalyst for Russian-Turkish rapprochement, much to the concern of Turkeys NATO partners. This, coupled with Ankaras current strained relations with its traditional Western allies, is raising the prospect of a nonaligned Turkey. Foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Russia are meeting Saturday in Moscow under the auspices of the so-called Astana process that's aimed at resolving the Syrian civil war. Ahead of the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with new U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A myriad of differences continue to strain ties between the two NATO allies. Speaking to reporters, Cavusoglu dismissed a threat from some U.S. lawmakers that additional measures might be taken against Turkey in light of its prosecution of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism charges. Countermeasures I have openly told him [Pompeo] that sanctions should not be on the agenda," he said. "These would trigger countersteps from us that would not be in our interests, Cavusoglu said. Washington also threatened further sanctions over Ankaras planned purchase of Russias S-400 missile system. The S-400 sale is done," added Cavusoglu. "We can only talk about what we can do with the U.S. in the subsequent process." Washington has indicated sanctions could be triggered when the missiles are actually delivered to Turkey. Moscow has already announced it is working to bring forward the delivery date to next year, from the originally planned 2020. A picture of the Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents at an Ankara summit on Syria this month exemplified Western concerns of Turkeys eastern drift. But a top Turkish presidential adviser sought to put a different spin on the image. To me, that photo-op underlines the strategic importance of Turkey and shows its rise in foreign policy. This is not a shift of axis, international relations head Ayse Sozen Usluer said in an interview with the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper Friday. In the same interview, Usluer suggested critics of Ankaras Moscow rapprochement were trapped in the past. For the last 10 to 15 years in particular, Turkey has not felt the need to choose between the West and the East, or between the U.S. and Russia," he said. "Turkey no longer sees its foreign policy within the framework of the Cold War or East versus West alliances." Usluers comments coincided with pro-government media political commentators increasingly promoting the idea of a nonaligned Turkey. Pro-government commentators are saying India, Egypt, even Cyprus did this before. Why cant we do it now? said political commentator Semih Idiz of the Al-Monitor website. I dont see this as realistic," he said. Governments' policies "are determined by the geography they find themselves in. I dont think Turkey is in a situation or place in the world that it can be a nonaligned country." Challenging proposition Turkey borders Iran, Iraq and Syria, and for the nearly three decades, conflicts have raged along on its southern border. Analysts suggest pursuing an increasingly independent diplomatic role will be challenging. But Turkeys geography also gives it leverage. We call it balance-of-power policy, like in the 19th century. Turkey can play the mediation between the rival counties, said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankaras Middle East Technical University. But we can never abandon our international alliances. We have always had alliances with our allies. We were never alone, back to World War II and the Crimean War of the 19th century. The current situation may well suit Moscow. For Russia, the target is not to fully disrupt U.S.-Turkish relations, but to keep this relationship weak, said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served in Iraq and Washington. But given that Ankara and Moscow are on opposing sides in the Syrian civil war and remain regional rivals, Selcen suggested Turkey would have to eventually return to its Western allies. Anyone looking at the map, even with no knowledge of history, can come up with the conclusion, yes, Turkey should have rational relations with Moscow and Tehran, said Selcen. "But it cannot extend beyond a certain operational or tactical basis, given the long-term contradictory goals of those powers, especially in Syria." Palestinian officials said Israeli soldiers on Friday fatally shot three Palestinian protesters in Gaza as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along the border for a fifth consecutive week. Protesters gathered a few hundred meters from the Gaza Strips border fence with Israel, with some throwing stones and setting tires on fire. Witnesses said a smaller group approached the fence and tried to break through it, drawing Israeli fire of tear gas, rubber pellets and live rounds. The violence has become a weekly occurrence since the protests began in March. Israel has defended opening fire on the protesters, saying it is defending its sovereign border. Israel also accuses Hamas, which rules Gaza, of using the protesters as cover to carry out attacks. Hamas denies the charge. Palestinian health officials said that in addition to the three people killed Friday, more than 600 others were injured, including 138 hit by live fire. The violence came hours after the U.N. human rights chief criticized Israel for using excessive force against demonstrators. In a statement Friday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein called the loss of Palestinian lives over the past five weeks deplorable. The staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators not once, not twice, but repeatedly, he said. At least 41 protesters have been killed by Israeli live fire and more than 1,600 wounded in the weekly protests since March 30, according to Palestinian health officials. The demonstrations, set to end May 15, are designed to commemorate what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had to flee their land or were expelled during the war in 1948 that led to the creation of Israel. The demonstration is expected to end at the same time Washington plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has infuriated Palestinians, who have claimed the eastern section of the city as the capital of their future state. Key U.S. leaders are expressing a growing optimism that decades of hostility on the Korean Peninsula are closer than ever to coming to an end. I dont think hes playing, I dont think hes playing, U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House news conference, when asked about Fridays historic summit between North and South Korea. WATCH: Trump Optimistic About Pending Talks with North Korea Its never gone this far, Trump said, standing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trump added the U.S. will be setting up a meeting very shortly, but didnt specify a timeline, saying officials are considering two or three possible sites for his much-anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late May or early June. Earlier Friday, Kim became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea, when he crossed the border to shake the hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders agreed to work toward removing all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula and vowed to pursue talks that would bring a formal end to the Korean war. North Korea has in the past made similar commitments about its nuclear program, but failed to follow through. Asked whether Pyongyangs commitment is real this time, Trump said were not going to get played. This isnt like past administrations. We dont play games, said Trump, adding that previous administrations had been played like a fiddle. We will come up with a solution, and if we dont we will leave the room, he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also expressed hope Friday that talks with North Korea will bear fruit. I can tell you that we are optimistic right now that theres opportunity here that we have never enjoyed since 1950, Mattis said before a meeting at the Pentagon with the Polish defense minister. I don't have a crystal ball, he added. So, were going to have to see what they produce. The White House and the Pentagon see the diplomatic progress as the result of Washingtons maximum pressure campaign, which included heavy sanctions and frequent threats of military force. Trump had said he was prepared to totally destroy North Korea if necessary. Things have changed very rapidly from a few months ago you know, the name calling and a lot of other things, Trump said Friday. For now, the threats have faded. But its not clear how much North Korea is willing to offer at the talks or what it will demand in return. Nor is it clear how much the U.S. is willing to give. Mattis Friday did not rule out the possibility U.S. troops could come home from South Korea if a Seoul and Pyongyang are able to reach an agreement. Thats part of the issues well be discussing in the negotiations with our allies first and, of course, with North Korea, he told reporters. Right now we have to go along with the process, have the negotiations, not try to make preconditions or presumptions of how its going to go. On Friday, Moon and Kims statement said the two leaders confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free peninsula. After the meeting, Trump tweeted his support for the talks, saying good things are happening, but only time will tell! Fifteen minutes later, Trump tweeted: KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! I think the responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the president of the United States, Trump said alongside Merkel. I think I have a responsibility to see if I can do it. William Gallo contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump has commended the release of a report by the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee, saying it proves there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Questioned about it during a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said, We were honored. It was a great report. No collusion, which I knew anyway. He called the investigation a witch hunt, echoing a phrase he had tweeted earlier that morning, and added: If we can get along with Russia, thats a good thing, not a bad thing. But there has been nobody tougher on Russia than me. Trump was questioned about the 243-page report released Friday by the House Intelligence Committee. The report contained a large number of redactions and a conclusion that while the meddling by Russia was real, collusion with the Trump campaign was not. It called contacts between Russian officials and campaign aides ill-advised and said at least one person might have given answers in legal testimony that were incomplete. The Republicans on the committee said their report was based on interviews with 73 people and a review of more than 300,000 documents. But the committees ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, told reporters that the report exemplified the [Republican] majoritys fundamentally flawed approach to the investigation and the superficial and political nature of its conclusions. The report criticized intelligence officials, saying they leaked information before and after the election that installed Trump as president. It pointed out reports published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC and CNN as examples of dangerous leaks. Much of the information in the section on leaks was redacted, a fact that gave rise to criticism of the report itself. Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican who is chairman of the committee, told reporters that he hoped a more transparent version of the report could be released later. He indicated the redactions were not the doing of the committee, but instead of federal agencies vetting the report. He said the committee will convey our objections to the appropriate agencies and looks forward to publishing a less redacted version in the near future. A Democratic rebuttal of the report called its conclusions misleading and unsupported by the facts and the investigative record. It also faulted the congressional investigators for failing to interview key witnesses and issue subpoenas to get crucial information. Schiff accused the Republicans on the committee of adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses. The report included the caveat that other investigations, including that of special counsel Robert Mueller, might have access to facts that the committee could not obtain. In addition to the House Intelligence Committee and Mueller's probe, the Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating the matter. Standing alongside Germanys chancellor, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized on Friday that Iran would not be permitted to build a nuclear arsenal, even if a deal intended to prevent that scenario collapsed. Theyre not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it, Trump told reporters. Asked about possible actions, including use of force, that he could take if Iran restarted its nuclear weapons program, if the deal made in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was abandoned, the president replied: I dont talk about whether or not Id use military force. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, appearing with Trump at the news conference following their Friday meetings, described the JCPOA as anything but perfect, adding, It will not solve all the problems of Iran. She described it as one piece to limit Irans bad actions, while saying Berlin considered it of prime importance to contain threats from Iran as it exerts geopolitical influence in Syria, which has been racked by years of civil war. Merkel said her government would continue very close discussions with the United States as the president neared a decision on the Iranian nuclear accord, signed by Iran with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. The Trump administration is required to recertify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is complying with the deal. The next deadline is May 12. The U.S. president repeatedly has heaped scorn on the agreement, referring to it as a disgrace, stupid and the worst deal ever negotiated. Following a meeting Friday of foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), new U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in Brussels that absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the flaws of the deal, the U.S. president is unlikely to stay in that deal. Earlier in the week, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Washington that he did not believe he had been able to persuade Trump not to abandon the nuclear agreement. Asked by journalists whether he thought the U.S. president would walk away from the pact, Macron replied, That's my bet. Macron was seen by many as the foreign leader most likely to be able to change Trumps mind because of the warm relationship between the two. Trump on Friday greeted Merkel under the West Wing entry portico with a kiss on both cheeks and a handshake in the Oval Office, more affection than during Merkels initial White House visit 13 months ago when he appeared to refuse to shake her hand in the Oval Office. Merkels relationship with Trump remains icy, according to The Washington Post, quoting a person who was in the room when the president was with Macron on Tuesday when Trump reportedly said he was not looking forward to Merkel coming. According to Peter Rashish, senior fellow and director of the geoeconomics program at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, there was always going to be a division of labor between Macron and Merkel with Trump. Rashish, a former vice president for Europe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noted that while Macron is a gifted public performer, Merkel thrives in close-range, behind-the-scenes meetings. The cordial tone of the press conference suggests she was able to find a way to engage Trump in a way that could bear fruit further down the line. Alongside Trump, during several events Friday at the White House when reporters were in the room, Merkel remained mostly stone-faced. But there were a couple of flashes of puzzlement during their joint news conference when Trump made off-the-cuff remarks in his trademark fashion. Trump and Merkel acknowledged they discussed other difficult matters, including the level of funding for NATO and trade tariffs. We had an exchange of views, she said when asked about steel tariffs Trump is poised to impose on European exports. The decision lies with the president. While Trump emphasized the need to bring down the EU trade surplus with the United States, the president also said he wanted to deepen economic ties with Europe, which observers saw as something new. Merkel on Friday restated her interest in a U.S.-EU free-trade agreement. Put those two ideas together and you could imagine down the road the resumption of some version of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with a more Trumpian stamp, Rashish told VOA. A top U.S. official said Friday that NATO foreign ministers would refuse to "return to business as usual with Russia" until Moscow "withdraws forces and support for proxies in the Donbas, and returns control of Crimea to Ukraine." The unusually pointed demand, tweeted by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, coincided with newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's arrival in Brussels for Friday's ministerial meeting a powerful message to send to NATO allies for his first day on the job. "I hopped straight on a plane and came straight here," Pompeo told the ministerial. "There's good reason for that. The work that's being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important and this mission means a lot to the United States of America." Tweeting throughout the initial phase of the Brussels visit, Nauert reiterated those talking points, calling NATO "more relevant than any time since the Cold War," and that today's focus was squarely on "Russia's continued aggression and ability to threaten, coerce, undermine and invade its neighbors." She also tweeted that 22 Ukrainian soldiers had been wounded in last 48 hours in eastern Ukraine, the highest number since July, adding that "Russia-led forces have intensified artillery attacks on Ukrainians defending their country. Russia must end its aggression and fully implement the Minsk agreements." Neal Walker, chief of the U.N. humanitarian mission to Ukraine, told VOA's Ukrainian service that they were recording 40,000 cease-fire violations each month. "As you can imagine, this isn't really a cease-fire," he said. "This is a hot conflict that has a huge impact on people's lives." UN Says Enormous Humanitarian Funding Restraints in Ukraine NATO-Russia tension Analysts say Pompeo has good reason to hit the ground running, with increased tensions between NATO and Russia likely to top the agenda. Pompeo and the other NATO foreign ministers will most likely focus on how to counter Russian cyberattacks and other interference in Western democracies, as well as Moscow's role in protecting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. During his first year in office, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized alliance allies for not spending enough on defense, calling it unfair to taxpayers in the United States. The president, however, did reaffirm support for NATO while urging allies to pay their fair share. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and other leaders in Brussels said they appreciated Pompeo's quick action to attend Friday's talks. "I feel that that's a great expression of the importance of the alliance and the importance we attach to the alliance, and I very much look forward to talking with you, on the need to adapt NATO to a more demanding security environment," the secretary-general told Pompeo. As of publication time, Russia's Foreign Ministry had not yet responded to Nauert's tweets or Pompeo's visit with NATO ministers. This story originated in VOA's Ukrainian service. VOA's Cindy Saine contributed original reporting. The University of Virginia moved Friday to effectively ban the main organizer of last summer's white nationalist rally from its Charlottesville campus, saying students reported he had threatened and harassed them. The university issued a no-trespass warning to Jason Kessler on Thursday evening and was in the process of serving him with the warning, the university said in a statement Friday. "The warning was issued due to multiple reports from students that Mr. Kessler threatened them, targeted them through cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment, and targeted them based on protected characteristics," said that statement, which identified Kessler as a Charlottesville resident. UVA also said Kessler had "intentionally and purposefully misled" university police regarding a torchlight rally on campus that he helped organize on Aug. 11, the night before the larger event in downtown Charlottesville. Kessler, a UVA alumnus, denied the allegations. A right-wing blogger, Kessler saw his profile rise in the self-described "alt-right" community an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism as he publicized his fight to prevent the city from moving a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park. Hundreds of attendees and counterprotesters fought violently at the event he planned in part to protest the monument's removal. After authorities forced the crowd to disband, a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. A police helicopter that had been involved in monitoring the event later crashed, killing two troopers on board. Kessler been named in several lawsuits stemming from the event. He said in an interview Friday that he recently went to the university's law library to study up on defending himself in some of the lawsuits. He said he made two visits and was harassed while there. He denied that he did anything wrong and called the university's statement "defamatory." "I'm not going to go back onto campus until my attorneys have dealt with this," he said. A university spokesman didn't respond to a request for further details about how Kessler is alleged to have targeted students based on "protected characteristics." The migrant caravan that angered U.S. President Donald Trump has reached the US/Mexico border. Many are planning to request asylum. To help with their legal issues, another caravan has been heading south to the border to meet them a group of American lawyers and human rights activists. Angelina Bagdasaryan, with VOA's Russian Service, reports. Outraged Spaniards filled the streets across the country Thursday to march against what many considered to be the light punishment for five men charged with raping a teenage girl in 2016. The three-judge court in Pamplona sentenced the defendants to nine years in prison for the crime of sexual abuse, instead of the 22 years they could have gotten if convicted of rape. Protests against the verdict erupted in Pamplona and soon spread to other major cities, including Madrid and Barcelona. Marchers banged on pots and chanted "No means no" and "It's not abuse it's rape." "I am asking myself what is happening with the justice system in Spain and in the world," a female student from Madrid told reporters. "It is mind-blowing, what is happening here. This is a clear example that the masculine laws rule." The five defendants, who had dubbed themselves "The Pack," were accused of dragging the 18-year-old victim into a building in Pamplona, raping her and capturing their crime on smartphones. They were also accused of stealing the young woman's cellphone to stop her from calling for help. Under the Spanish criminal code, rape is classified as a violent crime, while sexual abuse means there was no violence. The defense argued the sex was consensual; prosecutors said it was not. In addition to prison time, the judges ordered the five men to pay the victim $61,000. Their lawyers can appeal. Some Zimbabweans and political observers say it is likely that President Emmerson Mnangagwa will win the forthcoming presidential election, to be held between July and August this year, as the countrys opposition is in disarray though they doubt that the southern African nation will hold a free, fair and credible election. The Zimbabweans, who were panelists at an event Thursday organized by the Global Press Institute hosted by the Newseum in Washington DC focusing on political issues in Zimbabwe, said they are convinced that Mnangagwa will romp to victory in the forthcoming presidential election. One of the panelists Linda Mujuru of Global Press Journal says the opposition is too weak to challenge Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa is likely to win because there is no strong opposition and there is so much confusion within the opposition parties such that Mnangagwa is the likely option for most people and is the one in power and they say that there is a lot of effort from Mnangagwa to change things. People are more receptive to that. She adds that Nelson Chamisa, who is currently locked in a battle with vice president Thokozani Khupe over the leadership of the MDC-T, once led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai, may lose the presidential poll even if he is attracting a large number of people at his election rallies. The thing is that with rallies there are people who are coming to see him talk about his political party and what he is promising people. But does that translate to a real vote and have those people registered to vote? Thats a question that needs to be answered and what we are seeing on the ground is that Mnangagwa is more organized and Chamisa has just come in after the death of Morgan Tsvangirai and we dont know that the people that are coming will vote for him. Her views were echoed by Wadzanai Mhute, a multimedia producer, author and reporter with the New York Times, who says the disjointed opposition is giving Mnangagwa a win on a silver platter. What I am seeing on the ground like with how he is more organized and also looking at all Zanu PF candidates have all been rolled out this week and all the primaries will be held this week and so we know who the candidates are and it looks like they know what they are doing whereas the MDC-T we dont know who the candidates are and there seems to be infighting ... The MDC-T led by Chamisa recently filed an urgent court application to stop Khupe from using the party name and logo, which was dismissed with costs by High Court judge Justice Francis Bere. Another court case is pending in which Khupe is challenging her withdrawal from parliament by the Chamisa group, which claims that she is no longer a member of the opposition party. Charles Mutuma, executive director of the United States-based Zimbabwe Diaspora for Democracy, says apart from this, it is likely that the opposition will be disadvantaged by lack of electoral reforms and related issues. Based on the electoral environment and electoral mechanisms the situation and the environment is heavily tilted in favor of the incumbent. So, the oppositions chances of winning are next to nothing if we do not address the unresolved issues of the government of national unity on the issue of security sector reforms, judiciary reforms and electoral reforms. He says Zimbabwe is heading for another disastrous election. We are heading towards a shameful election and once again a disputed election My justification is Deputy Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi ruling out the diaspora vote. It means the election wont be inclusive. Its not honoring the rights of Zimbabweans to vote according to Section 67 of the Constitution and when we look at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission its not impartial. Human rights lawyer Irene Petras says the opposition should unite if it wants to defeat Zanu PF in the forthcoming general elections. There is need to have a united force and there is need to have and a need to have an organized force in the opposition and there is need to invest heavily and ensure that people are registered to vote. Some nations like Britain are already attempting to strengthen relations with Zimbabwe following a fallout with former ruler Robert Mugabe, who was removed from power last year by Mnangagwa aided by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in what the former president has described as a military coup. Award-winning British journalist Paul Kenyon, host of the BBC Panorama program, says Mnangagwa is expected to win the election, which is expected to be almost free and fair. He knows that the world is watching. I think it will be subtle the manipulation but everyone I spoke to on the ground says is it conceivable that Mnangagwa wont win No its not conceivable he will win part of that is because the opposition is in, its not a lot of time to organize. They dont have the root there that they built up over generations, over decades where people have the, you know, they are not used to using opposition power, they are not used to exercising opposition power. They are not used to understanding how you go campaigning, putting those messages out there. All those things which are lost when you have an authoritarian regime of people like Mugabe. He says Britain will always relate well with nations creating democratic space for its citizens. I think the British will go to any country realistically saying we are changing the way we behave we are becoming more democratic. The British will go there and yes they will be looking for trade deals but they will also be interested in exercising some kind of diplomacy to make Zimbabwe come out of this a better place. The British and then President Mugabes government clashed in 2000 when the ruling party grabbed white-owned commercial farms under its land reform program widely condemned for causing a near-collapse of the agricultural sector. If you havn't done it yet,to get one of the fastest volcano news online: After a period of relative calm, a moderately powerful vulcanian explosion occurred from Shinmoedake's summit crater this morning at 03:42 local time. ... An explosive eruption occurred at Kirishima yesterday, but this time not from its recently active Shinmoedake, but neighboring Mount Io cone located on the Ebino Highland near the visitor center. ... Look up earthquakes in your country, region or state! Photos taken on our our tours. - volcano adventures, group photos, expedition and camp life, people and impressions. We travel to volcanic areas worldwide: from Greece and Italy, Iceland, to Hawai'i, Japan, Indonesia, Vanuatu. We even offer a Round-The-World tour to volcanoes. If you're interested in volcanoes, there are a number of excursions you should not miss if you're in the area: hike to the craters of Stromboli volcano, climb Etna volcano, get to know the unique volcanic history of Santorini - some examples of shorter (1-3 days) tours and excursions we offer. Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. Improved multilanguage support Tsunami alerts Faster responsiveness Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards Detailed quake stats Additional seismic data sources Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team.If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: International authors read under the stars at the Roman Forum. Letterature Festival Internazionale di Roma returns to the Basilica di Massenzio in the Roman Forum, taking place over numerous evenings from 7 June-3 July. The popular initiative celebrates the written word with a host of internationally acclaimed authors who are invited to write a text inspired by a chosen theme, which this year is The Right / The Reverse: The inexhaustible stream of words, composed especially for the event. Letterature: Festival Internazionale di Roma The 17th edition of the annual literature festival features a line-up of award-winning Italian and international authors who will read from their work, supported by actors and live music. The international aspect of the programme includes Margo Jefferson, Tara Westover, Glenn Cooper, Ayad Akhtar Michael Zadoorian from the US; Ayelet Gundar-Goshen from Israel; Paul B. Preciado from Spain; and Olivier Guez from France. Margo Jefferson Entry is free but tickets must be picked up before the readings begin, from 20.00, at a designated booth on Via dei Fori Imperiali. Tickets are provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and readings take place at 21.00, with access to the Basilica from 20.30. Olivier Guez A novelty this year is Letterature Off, taking place over five weekends, from 18 May until 23 June, in five city libraries. Based on the 2018 theme, this section of the festival will include a focus on women's writings as well as texts aimed at young people. Ayelet Gundar-Goshen Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. For the most part, federal officials historically have separated parents and children only when they were unsure whether they were related to one another. But The Post reported last year that stricter measures were being floated, and The Post last month told the story of a Salvadoran woman who was separated from her three children after crossing the border in December. They were reunited in March. The New York Times reported last week that according to data from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, hundreds of children have been taken from their parents at the border since October. Fourniers attorneys argued that Fourniers memories, which played key roles in the prosecutions case, were not reliable. One defense lawyer has said doubts will linger in the case even after the conviction and sentencing. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Statement on the Inter-Korean Summit 2018/04/27 The leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) held a successful meeting today. They reached important consensus and issued a joint declaration on improving inter-Korean relations, easing military tension on the Korean Peninsula and advancing the realization of denuclearization and long-term stability of the Peninsula. The positive outcomes of the summit are conducive to promoting reconciliation and cooperation between the two sides, upholding peace and stability on the Peninsula and advancing the political settlement process of the Peninsula issue. China welcomes it and extends its congratulations. The DPRK and the ROK belong to the same nation. China always supports the two sides in building up mutual trust and improving their relations through dialogue and consultation. This is in the interests of the two sides and the region, and in line with the shared aspiration of the international community. We hope and believe that the DPRK and the ROK will follow through on the consensus reached between the two leaders at this summit and continue to advance reconciliation and cooperation. We hope that the relevant parties will maintain the momentum for dialogue and work together to promote the denuclearization of the Peninsula and the political settlement process of the Peninsula issue. China stands ready to continue to play its positive role to this end. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on April 27, 2018 2018/04/27 At the invitation of the governments of the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, member of the Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee Yang Jiechi will pay official visits to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping from April 28 to 30. Comrade Yang Jiechi's upcoming official visits to Kuwait and the UAE as the Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping are important ones paid by the Chinese leadership to the Gulf region of the Middle East under the new circumstances. Kuwait was the first Gulf Arab state to establish diplomatic ties with China, and the UAE was the first Gulf Arab state to forge strategic partnership with China. Recent years have witnessed rapid development of China-Kuwait and China-UAE relations. China, Kuwait and the UAE share similar development philosophies and compatible foreign policies and our three countries understand and support each other on the issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. Kuwait was among the first countries to ink cooperation documents on the Belt and Road Initiative with China. Our two countries have complementary development strategies, and we have achieved notable cooperation outcomes in the areas of energy, trade, investment, financing, infrastructure-building and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. At the end of 2015, when his Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited China, President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders reached a series of important consensus with him, which charted the course for the development of China-UAE relations. Our two countries have achieved tangible cooperation outcomes in such areas as energy, trade and economy under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. During this visit, Special Envoy Yang Jiechi will meet respectively with Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the UAE Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and they will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest. China hopes that these important visits can help to further cement China-Kuwait and China-UAE traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust, elevate cooperation in various areas to a new level and move forward the China-Kuwait friendly and cooperative relations and China-UAE strategic partnership. Q: Today ROK President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit. What is your comment? A: We all saw the live-broadcast of this historic moment this morning when the DPRK and ROK leaders stepped across the military demarcation line at Panmunjom and shook hands. We applaud the historic step taken by the two leaders, commend their political resolve and courage in doing this, and sincerely hope that their meeting will achieve positive outcomes. As a Chinese poem goes, "brotherhood will survive all vicissitudes, and a smile is all we need to dissolve old grudges". We hope that the historic summit at Panmunjom will be taken as an opportunity for all to embark on a new journey towards lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. Q: The US Air Force said that B-52 bomber aircraft conducted missions in what they say was the vicinity of the South China Sea. Taiwan media report that they actually did fly over the South China Sea. The Defense Ministry made a response yesterday. Do you have more details about this? A: I would refer you to the Defense Ministry. Q: The spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 26 that the Russian side is seriously concerned about the statements made by the US and French leaders on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Russia sees no room for amendments or additions to the deal which is a balanced mechanism that takes into account the interests of all its participants. The destruction of this fragile balance of interests will lead to serious consequences for international security and the non-proliferation regime. She said Russia will continue to fulfill its obligations under the JCPOA as long as other participants remain committed to it. What is your comment? A: The JCPOA is a multilateral agreement reached by the P5+1, the EU and Iran through negotiations and endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. China believes that all relevant parties shall step up dialogue and coordination in response to the current circumstance facing the JCPOA so as to safeguard its sanctity and integrity. China would continue to maintain and implement the JCPOA with an objective, unbiased and responsible attitude. Q: According to media reports, US President Donald Trump's key economic advisers will accompany Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during his upcoming visit to China. Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence Kudlow, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro are among them. Can you confirm this information and give us any details? A: Regarding the US sending senior economic and trade officials to China for consultations on bilateral economic and trade issues, the spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce has made clear China's position. We have received the information that the US hopes to come to Beijing for consultations on trade issues, and we welcome that. We are willing to hold equal-footed consultations with the US side on the basis of mutual respect. As for the detailed information, I would refer you to the Ministry of Commerce. Q: The US Senate adopted a resolution on April 26, claiming that the responsibility for identifying a future 15th Dalai Lama rests solely with the officials of the 14th Dalai Lama's private office; any interference from the Chinese government in this religious activity is invalid. This is the first time that such a resolution was adopted by the US Senate. We know that the US State Department released its 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices days ago, laying accusations on China's human rights conditions including the issue of ethnic minorities. What is your comment? A: The adoption of this resolution by the US Senate is another proof of some American's habitual and inexplicable ignorance and arrogance. The reincarnation system for the Living Buddhas is unique to the Tibetan Buddhism, which has been in existence for several centuries with a complete set of religious rituals and historical conventions. The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama shall follow these religious rituals, historical conventions and Chinese laws and regulations. It is not to be dictated by anyone, let alone a foreign country that has nothing to do with this. Some US lawmakers and officials should have devoted themselves to serving their constituents. Regrettably, they seemed to deliberately choose to ignore their domestic issues while over-enthusiastically tending to other country's domestic affairs with all these finger-pointing and irresponsible remarks. You may have noted that the US has got a lot on its plate to deal with. According to the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2017 just released by the Information Office of the State Council, systematic racial discrimination in the US aggravates social split and exists in law enforcement and judicial organs. A report by the National Registry of Exonerations has confirmed that in murder cases, innocent blacks are about seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted than their white counterparts, and 12 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of drug crimes. For the same crime, the African male criminals get a 19.1% longer time behind bars than the white male criminals. Besides, ethnic minority people in the US are at a full disadvantage in employment and salary. Over a quarter of African families have zero or negative net assets. 42 percent of the surveyed Americans say they personally worry a great deal about race relations in the US and 58 percent say racism is a big problem in their society. We believe that the relevant people in the US shall first and foremost know their position well and get their house tidy and in order before uttering irresponsible accusations against other countries. The Regular Press Conference of the Foreign Ministry will be adjourned on April 30 (Monday) and May 1 (Tuesday) for the May Day holiday and resumed on May 2 (Wednesday). During the adjournment, journalists can raise questions to the Spokesperson's Office by fax or email. I wish you all a happy holiday! Dear Editor, I believe Samoa will enter a Golden Age of unity and prosperity if we apply faaSamoa principles to all aspects of government. This will require all citizens to participate in self-governing by following the discussions of a transparent parliament which will always seek the best for Samoa. I propose that a government department be urgently formed to consist of analysts who set out all arguments possible regarding political issues and print public discussion papers in both Samoan and English so that all citizens can be certain of the issues and a team of orators who analyse the issues or debate on radio or television for all Samoa to understand all issues most fully in both Samoan and English. This will counteract propaganda and sharpen the wits of the population. It will also preserve the best examples of oratory as role models for future generations. Parliament itself should sit for forty weeks on circuit so that matai of each village fono might participate in discussion and contribute worthy knowledge. This should be televised and will bring prosperity and satisfaction through participation and social interaction. All citizens might suggest topics for discussion by orators to ensure transparency. Samoa should work to returning all profits of governmental activity to its citizens after agreed and reasonable good governance costs are deducted. This division should be made by direct credit to each citizens account. Our Country should work toward replacing all taxes with dividends through proactive and successful business partnerships with organizations such as GDI. Surely all money from the WS. website should be shared among all Samoan citizens. Surely this is the Samoan way to leadership- to make a name by providing service to the community. If you know of a child who is cold, hungry or starving, then we as a people are failing at the most basic level. Surely all citizens should be fed and clothed from the economic wealth of Samoa. Why should a small party such as the H.R.P.P. control the unseen wealth of Samoa when our true societal strength has been in our willingness to share. Surely good governance is not happening when a P.M. tells a nation that it does not matter how many protest or disagree with him as he has friends in parliament who are more important and they have power. No matter how many sausage rolls and biscuits are given away at Good Governance celebrations by the Government, everyone knows that we are a banana republic if our leaders can abuse us so. How will they enjoy their wealth when our people are destroyed? How can we attend United Nations functions as a role model when our leaders are clearly destroying our society? They show no humility to man or God. They sit in silence as we ask them to explain. This is a sign that their time has passed. The Constitution requires a referendum before the Land law can be changed to remove the customary land rights of its citizens. If this is not done then the law cannot change. The Constitution requires two separate votes-one in parliament and a separate vote by each citizen before the Land Titles Registration Bill 2007 could be placed before the Head of State. If you know an M.P. personally or are a member of his family ask him or her why they are supporting the Land Titles Registration Act 2008 that educated, concerned and loyal Samoans say is the end time for the faaSamoa. We share with Israel the unique status of being dedicated to God. Israel would never allow its land to be taken by foreign powers. We must now as a nation cry out to God to deliver us from the evil times of suffering and sorrow foreshadowed by the Land Titles Registration Act 2008. What God has given - let no man take away. FSM Taua BA LLB The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. WESTPORT Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer announced this week the appointment of Anthony Buono as assistant superintendent of schools. We had a wide pool of talented individuals, and its really finding the right match, Palmer said at the Monday meeting of the Board of Education, at which his hiring was unanimously approved, effective July 1. Dr. Buono presented himself and impressed the series of committees who met with him that his goals, and what he brings forward, and his insightful thinking and visionary thinking is a really nice complement to our needs at this time. WESTPORT Gabriel Shermans book on the late Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes details several accounts of women who allege the media giant sexually harassed them. At the time of the books release in 2014, however, the story of abused women in Shermans book went largely unnoticed, even discredited by some outlets. Shermans book, The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News And Divided a Country, was subjected to an intense smear campaign by Ailes and other Fox executives and, in Shermans own word, was trashed in a 2014 review in the New York Times. Thats how power works, Sherman said. Sherman, 38, who grew up in Westport, but resides in New York City, said he didnt realize it would be a while for the public to catch up in regard to the sexual harassment doled out by Ailes. There were people who were helping this story come out. It just took longer than I imagined, Sherman said. In July 2016, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson became one of the people to help unearth the story when she filed a suit against Ailes, alleging he terminated her for refusing his sexual advances. Shortly after, Sherman reported in New York Magazine that Megyn Kelly said Ailes made unwanted sexual advances toward her when she was a young Fox correspondent. Two days later, Ailes left Fox News, but that didnt stop Sherman from writing another New York Magazine article reporting former Fox News booker Laurie Luhn said she was harassed by Ailes for more than 20 years. The week of Ailes demise corresponded with the July 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where Sherman was reporting for New York Magazine. At the convention, Sherman said women from Fox News came up to tell him they too were harassed by Ailes. By the time Sherman left Cleveland, the #Me Too revolution had begun. I just sat down on the plane, and I was a mixture of exhaustion and emotion and remember tears streaming down my face. Im not an emotional person, but I think the gravity of what had happened hit me and that was the time I realized this was so much bigger than I ever thought it was going to be, Sherman said. From the many allegations of sexual harassment against Ailes, Sherman said other reporters were inspired to look into the supposed open secret of sexual harassment in the workplace at the hands of powerful men. Hence the investigation into Harvey Weinstein, and several other men who perpetrated acts of sexual harassment in and out of work. Despite his reportings contribution to the #Me Too movement, Sherman said he never set out to uncover Ailes abuse of women; thats just where the story took him. If Shermans reporting on Ailes harassment represented any trend in his career, however, its Shermans dogged pursuit of truth. I used it as a form of motivation that the more people were attacking me, the more I felt there was a real story there. If Ailes wasnt hiding something, why would he be pushing back so hard?, Sherman said. Raised in Westport since the age of 6, Sherman attended Westport public schools through freshman year of high school, but finished the next three years of high school at the Holderness School in New Hampshire to be closer to the mountains were he was a competitive skier. A graduate of Middlebury College, Sherman didnt become seriously involved in journalism until a year out of college, when he worked as a freelance fact-checker for a magazine in New York and realized he wanted to be on the other side of the editing process and do the reporting himself. Sherman scored a job reporting on New York Citys most expensive real-estate deals for the New York Observer. One of the big characters on the real estate beat at the time was Donald Trump, who, Sherman said, was unlike other top real estate executives, in that you could call Trumps office and hed get on the phone with you right away and give you gossip. There was actually a rule at the paper that we couldnt quote him in articles because he was so overexposed at the time. To think this guy is now president still blows my mind, Sherman said. From the real estate beat, Sherman went on to cover media, first at the Observer and later for New York Magazine and now Vanity Fair, where he became a special correspondent following the 2016 election. Much of Shermans reporting on the media over the last 10 years has crossed into the realm of political journalism because he said media and politics are not mutually exclusive, especially in the Trump administration, which Sherman said runs like a media company in many ways. The chaos of reporting on the Trump administration is made easier by the presence of his wife of seven years and his 9-month-old daughter, Sherman said. Shes so wide-eyed and everything is new to her, and so I try to see the world through her eyes. The human experience is so much bigger than whatever moment were living in, so even if I have just been screamed at by the White House press office, Ill come home and look at her, and shes oblivious to it all. Its a nice break, Sherman said. svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1 The Westport Beautification Committee and Westport Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor a Cleanup Westport Day event as part of the Green Day celebration on Saturday. A letter has been sent to over 50 civic organizations and community groups asking for their help and cooperation in organizing the clean-up, said Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer A. Fava. The Cleanup Westport Day committees are requesting that town residents take time on that day to clean up litter along their street and any public space. Groups may specify the time and location of their cleanup efforts by calling the Parks and Recreation Department at 203-341-5091 prior to Saturday. Free trash bags will be available at the Recreation office, 260 Compo Road South. The town will collect the bagged garbage and debris from the adopted spots. Town students present at conference Displays of research and creativity filled the Student Center at Eastern Connecticut State University on April 13 for the annual CREATE conference. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the universitys premier undergraduate conference of the academic year. Among the presenters were Rebecca Cyr, of Westport, who majors in social work, and Gabriella Mikaiel, of Westport, who majors in communication. Cyr gave a poster presentation titled Examining The Relationship Between Discrimination & Self-Esteem Among College Students, while Mikaiel gave an oral presentation titled Marketing Biodegradable Plastic And Making A Cleaner World. CREATE featured more than 200 students of all majors who led oral and poster presentations, panel discussions, music and dance performances, art and photography exhibitions, as well as documentary viewings and new-media demonstrations. This conference really cements our slogan that Eastern offers a liberal arts education, practically applied, said Brian Oakley, conference co-chairman and professor of environmental earth science. Art historian Garland returns to Senior Center Noted art historian Fiona Garland will present a series of two lectures at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. On Friday at 1:30 p.m., the talk will feature Italian painter Caravaggio. On May 4 at 1:30 p.m., Garland will discuss Italian sculptor Bernini. The series is sponsored by the Friends of the Westport Center for Senior Activities. The term Baroque was first used by critics who saw 17th century art and architecture as a bizarre offshoot of the Renaissance, Garland said. Today, however, we clamor to see Caravaggios paintings and swoon in front of Berninis sculptures. Garland trained at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where she received a masters degree and was given a merit award for her dissertation. A resident of Westport, Garland has developed a series of different lectures for various groups in town. The Westport Center for Senior Activities is at 21 Imperial Ave. For information, call 203-341-5099. Westports music program honored Westport Public Schools has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the NAMM Foundation for the sixth year in a row. Recognized for its outstanding commitment to music education, Westport joins 527 districts across the country in receiving the prestigious award in 2018. Thomas Scavone, the supervisor of music education, said the award was well-earned this year. We are so fortunate to live in a town that recognizes and values the importance of the arts in education. It is gratifying that our community sees the arts as an educational requisite for a balanced, well-educated student. The designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the town answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Exhibit tells towns history over 300 years On April 16, the Westport Historical Society debuted The History of Westport in 100 Objects, a yearlong exhibit showcasing the history of the town over a few hundred years, from first settlement to the present. This yearlong project is a fun way for kids and adults to learn about the history of our wonderful town, said Ramin Ganeshram, executive director of the Historical Society. These objects and artifacts some of them hundreds of years old and many never before seen by the public will truly bring the past to life. A display case in Wheeler Houses front hall will change every two weeks. A mystery object will be on display with every case, and visitors may vote on its identity by ballot. A winner will be drawn from the correct answer and will receive an item from the gift shop. A passport/online check-in will make the exhibit more interactive for kids. After a certain number of visits to the exhibit, they will get scrip to make purchases at the gift store. After each case comes off display, its items will go up in a digital exhibit at westporthistory.org. Those with Westport artifacts to share should contact the WHS at 100Objects@westporthistory.org For information about WHS, call 203-222-1424 or go to westporthistory.org. STAMFORD Mayor David Martin greeted the second-to-last class of patrol officers being trained on body worn cameras at the police training academy Friday morning and told them he had high hopes for the program. By the end of the day almost all of the patrol divisions 160 officers will have cameras assigned to them and will be wearing them on the streets. Martin told the 20 officers at the Lathon Wider Community Center in Stamfords South End that the day after he heard former President Barack Obama announce federal grants would be available for municipalities to help pay the cost of the cameras, he was knocking on doors at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. to find out how to get them. When people are told they are being recorded on camera in most cases, the people calm down, he said. In most cases they know their behavior is out of bounds and when they know they are being recorded it makes for a safer environment for the police officer. Martin said he knew that cameras wouldnt solve all problems faced by police officers on duty and may actually create a few others, but he was optimistic that there will be clear gains with their use. I know you guys are in dangerous situations from time to time and I am hopeful that the cameras will give you an added degree of protection for your actions while you are in the street, he said. I can tell you that I belive many members of our community across the whole spectrum of different people will feel an enhanced degree of comfort that the proper use of the cameras will bring a truer description of what happened and it wont be just a he said, she said situation. Stamfords Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski also lauded the cameras for their potential to bring added safety to officers on the street. Jankowski said his research shows the cameras will improve transparency and accountability and lower the number of use-of-force incidents and civilian complaints against officers. There is a reduction in the number of civilian injuries and injuries of the officers themselves, Jankowski said. There are improvements in citizens behavior and deescalated confrontations between civilians and police and improved evidence collection with more accurate recollection for reporting documentation. Stamford NAACP President Jack Bryant said he was looking forward to the cameras being turned on. This is an effort to squash the naysayers when it comes to the relationships between the community and police officers. This is a great step, he told the officers. Training Division Capt. William Mullin said almost all patrol officers will complete the four-hour prep sessions by the end of Friday. A handful of traffic enforcement officers have been regularly wearing the cameras as part of a pilot program. Its a sign of the times. The men and women in the department are actually looking forward to it, Police Chief Jon Fontneau said. There are no grumblings. We are an open book and this will show our pages. Assistant Chief Tom Wuennemann, who spent time with the trainers this week, said the classes went smoothly. Mullin said the training sessions have prepared officers how to operate the cameras, upload the footage and understand the policies of use. Sgt. Kris Engstrand, president of the Stamford police union, said being required to wear the cameras is a knock to the integrity of his members, but he said they were otherwise looking forward to having them. Engstrand said body camera footage has vindicated officers around the country when complaints have been filed against them. He said there has been a growing change of mind in regards to the camera themselves. It seemed like everybody said, Lets put them on the cops because they are always doing something wrong and we want to see it, Engstrand said. But now, even the groups that were proclaiming that are now changing their tune and saying, We dont want cops to have them anymore, its an invasion of our privacy, because everything is recorded. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com More Information The seized snakes Forest cobra is at the top of the list of world's 15 most deadliest serpents. This snake can be highly dangerous due to the quantity of venom it can inject in a single bite and its aggressive nature when defending. Death can occur rapidly, within 30 to 120 minutes. The species is native to Africa. It is the largest of the cobra species with a total length (including tail) to 10 feet. King cobras can reach 18 feet in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. They will also flare out their iconic hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog. Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite-up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce-is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. The snakes can be found in India and Southwest Asia. Monocled cobra venom is one of the fastest acting snake venoms in the world. Its venom, which has different potency depending on where the snake is found, can cause death within an hour. The neurotoxins in its venom leads to drowsiness, neurological problems and muscle issues. A native of Southeast Asia, it has a maximum length of 7 feet. Gaboon vipers are venomous and their bite can be fatal. Gaboon vipers have the longest fangs of any venomous snake, and can reach 2 inches in length. Gaboon vipers are the largest vipers in Africa attaining weights of over 45 pounds and reaching lengths of more than six feet. The largest snakes have heads that can be nearly 6 inches across at their widest point. Egyptian banded Cobra venom affects the nervous system, stopping the nerve signals from being transmitted to the muscles and at later stages stopping those transmitted to the heart and lungs as well, causing death due to complete respiratory failure. The Egyptian cobra is one of the largest cobras of the African continent. The average total length (including tail) of this species is between three and six feet with a maximum total length of just under 10 feet. The most recognizable characteristics of this species are its head and hood. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the Egyptian Cobra or Asp and it represented the "fiery eye of Re, t was used as a symbol on the crown of the pharaohs. Tree vipers are poisonous snakes that use hollow fangs to penetrate prey and inject it with venom. The wound usually feels extremely painful, as if it had been branded with a hot iron, and the pain does not subside until about 24 hours after being bitten. Within a few minutes of being bitten, the surrounding flesh dies and turns black, highlighting the puncture wounds. These snakes are found throughout Asia, Africa and South America. Sources: SnakeFacts.com, reptilesmagazine.com, National Geographic, Wikipedia Commons We pride ourselves on having a diverse critical culture in Britain. Unlike in America, where the power of the New York Times critics can make or break a show, the range of views expressed across newspapers and websites in this country guarantees a range of opinion. My two star review of Absolute Hell, for example, can be set against many people's thumbs up. My love for The Writer, is balanced by the distaste of others. This is all very healthy. At its best, it should encourage vigorous and impassioned debate about what we see on our stages. It should give audiences a chance to make up their own minds, but not slavishly follow any one other person's view. This apparent richness, however, disguises serious problems. Ella Hickson has a pop at them in The Writer, when a 24 year-old woman responds to the statement "the critics liked it" with the barb "And in what other realm of life would a twenty-four year-old woman let a bunch of old white guys tell her what's good to do on a Friday night? Let alone what might defibrillate her soul." I came to recognise that the way I reacted to the work wasn't always the same as the way the critics did A fair point. But those old white men helped to get me interested in theatre and in dance. Growing up in Manchester and rarely getting to London, I read avidly about culture in books and newspapers, pieces written exclusively by blokes of a certain set of mind: Kenneth Tynan, Bernard Levin, Harold Hobson; John Percival, Clement Crisp. Later on, I avidly studied Michael Billington (still going strong) and my now retired former colleague Charles Spencer. I loved what they wrote and learnt from it. But as time went on, I came to recognise that the way I reacted to the work in front of my nose wasn't always the same as the way they did. The plays of women writers seemed under-valued; the plays of white men such as themselves over-praised. Works that rang a chord in my life, did not always chime with theirs. And if I felt that as a white woman, imagine how they read to a person of colour. It's not that you can't react to and enjoy a response that comes from a different place than you do, but just as it is right to see yourself reflected on a stage or a screen, then it also matters that you can read reactions based on similar backgrounds as well. Or indeed write about theatre, drawing on your own experience and values. Journalists are often not included in the debates that are improving diversity in other aspects of theatre These things are hard to write about, but necessary to address. One of the most dismaying things about the West End, is how rare it is given the multi-cultural nature of London to see black faces in the audience. The audience for Tina, for example, is overwhelmingly white, which made a point about her music (rock, mainstream) that I had never fully appreciated before. But I'd also have liked to hear a black critic write about how it made her feel, watching white people, watching a black woman being beaten up by a black man. That wasn't the main point about this essentially feelgood musical, but it was undoubtedly one raised. So how brilliant it is that the journalist Bridget Minamore, playwright Sabrina Mahfouz and arts producer Georgia Dodsworth have just launched The Critics of Colour Collective with the aim to make theatre more accessible by widening the pool of people who write about it. Minamore points out that critics and journalists are often not included in the debates that are improving diversity in other aspects of theatre. The collective, which launches with a free workshop on reviewing theatre on April 28, will be a place for writers to meet and discuss ideas, as well as an entry point for potential reviewers. The Critics of Colour Collective is a vital initiative It is a vital initiative because it seeks to address the widening of viewpoint that is so desperately needed in criticism today. Critics are an essential part of the theatre ecology; they cheer on talent, identify trends, provide a marker for those who can't go to the theatre about what is going on in the culture. But they are less powerful if they don't represent society as a whole. If all the world is a stage, then the men and women holding up a mirror to nature have to have the widest possible range of backgrounds and views on both sides of the footlights. If our theatre ecology is to grow and thrive and become fit for the future, different voices are crucial. Thomas Jefferson, who served as US Minister to France from 1785 to 1789, was a passionate lover of all things French. (His political enemy, Alexander Hamilton, loved the British.) According to a famous saying attributed to Jefferson, every man has two countries - his own and France. Though Jefferson never said this, in his autobiography he admitted that France was his second choice for a country to live in after his own. As the home of the Enlightenment and the Romantic Movement, France attracted intellectual and artistic pilgrims from all over Europe, Asia and the Americas. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries American students, tourists and expatriates, including many lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and trans* people, flocked to France for its history, its art, its literature and the freedoms that were often denied us back home. As a gay man who has lived in South Florida for most of his life, there have been several places that I called my home. One place that I never lived in, but nevertheless consider to be my second home, is Wilton Manors. And I am not the only one. To paraphrase Jeffersons apocryphal quote, every LGBT person in South Florida has two homes - their own and Wilton Manors. I visit the Island City several times a week, for business and for pleasure. Many of my friends live in Wilton Manors. My favorite watering holes are all on Wilton Drive: Hunters, where I often gather with my pals for Sunday tea dance; the Alibi, with its award-winning hamburgers; and Rumors Bar. Some of my favorite restaurants are also on the Drive: Shawn & Nicks Courtyard Cafe; Rosies Bar & Grill; and EAT, among others. I often attend events at the Pride Center on Equality Park, most notably the Centers weekly Coffee and Conversation; the Dolphin Democrats monthly meetings; and Congregation Etz Chaims Friday night services. I am even on a first-name basis with Mayor Gary Resnick and the City Commissioners. Though Wilton Manors housing is rather pricey, I often think of moving there, if only to save on gas. Someday, I might do so. Since the gay nineties, LGBT people have moved into the Island City and made it a queer Mecca. According to Wikipedia, the city is home to a sizable LGBT population as well as winter vacationers, who frequent its many nightclubs and gay-owned businesses along the main street, Wilton Drive; the 2010 U.S. Census reported that it is second only to Provincetown, Massachusetts in the proportion (15%) of gay couples relative to the total population. It contains a large Pride center, the World AIDS Museum and Educational Center, and a branch of the Stonewall National Museum & Archives, whose main facility is in neighboring Fort Lauderdale. The Mayor, Gary Resnick, refers on his official biography to his male partner. Wilton Manors web page (wiltonmanors.com) proudly proclaims its status as the Second Gayest City in America. Every year since 2011, South Florida Gay News (SFGN) chooses WilMa to be the Best City to Live In in its annual Best of issue. (I wrote most of the blurbs proclaiming that fact.) SFGN is a proud part of Wilton Manors LGBT community, with offices on Dixie Highway just a block south of Five Points. Wilton Manors has become the soul, hub, and the epicenter of gay life in South Florida, SFGN publisher Norm Kent wrote in the annual, SFGN-published Guide to Wilton Manors (now revised to cover all of South Florida), that what was once a farming community is now a growing urban village, driven and powered by many LGBT entrepreneurs Our community has bite, kick, and a bark. We are here, and we are heard. Every two weeks SFGN publishes a supplement, the Wilton Manors Gazette (WMG), which includes my friend Sal Torres hard-hitting commentary. If you are LGBT, live in South Florida, and have not yet visited your second home, you should do as soon as you can: You will find lots of wonder here. In the Island City, the rainbow shines every day. The bison might seem an unlikely subject for a musical composition, but for Eliot Britton, the mighty brown beast was a natural topic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/4/2018 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The bison might seem an unlikely subject for a musical composition, but for Eliot Britton, the mighty brown beast was a natural topic. "It was my favourite animal growing up," says the Manitoba-born composer, who co-directs the local Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival. "There was a period where I left Manitoba and I kept coming back and it was probably at the peak bison imagery in the mid-2000s, with MTS going hard with Morty (an animated mascot who appeared in the telecommunications companys ads) and theres all the bison branding around the University of Manitoba... I was working at the U of M for a year and started to see them everywhere furniture stores, cleaning services, transportation companies and you only really notice when you leave and come back." Britton, who is an assistant professor of composition and music technology and digital media at the University of Toronto, started collecting incongruous images of bison in an Instagram account. Soon his friends were also sending him pictures of logos and statues of the imposing ungulate, often made to look cute and harmless. "Then I got trapped in a bison herd when I was back-country camping," recalls Britton, who graduated from the U of M and earned his PhD in music history from McGill University in Montreal. "I remember thinking how hilarious peoples experience and cartoonish vision is of this animal compared to when they have you trapped and you cant get to your water source and youre crouching under a picnic table just waiting for them to go." That conflict between the bisons PR-friendly image and its status as a dangerous wild animal inspired Heirloom Bison Culture, a composition for orchestra and electronics that he presented at the Winnipeg New Music Festival in 2017. The Camerata Nova choir's RedRIver Song concert will have a strong Metis focus. (Supplied photo) Run, Freddy, Run!, the second instalment in Brittons bison series, will have its premiere as part of Camerata Novas season-ending concert, Red River Song, held Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Eglise Precieux-Sang (200 Kenny St.) He credits Facebook with providing part of the spark for the piece; its apt that a composer who mines the internet for his work should find inspiration via social-media algorithms. "So Facebook doesnt know where I live because I will not commit to a city, but Facebook absolutely knows that I like bison," says Britton. "So Facebook is working very hard in trying to serve up bison images, and the one that it did send, the one that is related to this piece, was a couple of news stories, first in French, then in English, from Lorette." Britton was immediately taken with the story of Freddy, the name townspeople have jokingly given a headstrong bison who will not stay in his enclosure. Visitors to the community, just southeast of Winnipeg, are encouraged to keep an eye out along Highway 405, and one enterprising soul has made hoodies featuring a bison logo and the words "Run, Freddy, Run." The news item also jogged Brittons memory about another wilful animal this one from a 1911 article in the New York Times about a Montana ranger who was killing off a group of bull bison that were obstinately refusing to be rounded up with the rest of their herd. These "outlaw" animals escaped being loaded on boxcars with 700 other animals headed to Alberta, where repopulation and conservation measures were underway; after 1890, it was believed there were no bison left in Canada. "I just thought it was so funny, the idea of this rebel bison, still at it after 100 years," Britton says. Eleven bison skulls outside Edward Darbeys taxidermy shop on Main Street, mid-1911. (L.B. Foote fonds / Archives of Manitoba) In a weird twist, some of the bison slain by that ranger (known as the Pablo Herd of Outlaw Buffalo) ended up at a Manitoba taxidermy shop and from there, the Manitoba Museum a fact that pops up in Brittons work. "The inspiration for this piece is pretty specific: the idea of time disparity and consistency; the idea of that news story from the New York Times in 1911 and then Run Freddy Run from 2018. I had this big time gap, so then in music, I thought, Im going to combine Renaissance choir, early music, with speech synthesis and then use an algorithm to mine text fragments from the intenet. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "So its all of these tiny strange text fragments, like Yknow, were really thinking Freddy should have his own webcam to let us know what hes up to or Um, yknow, I dont want to be insensitive, but all bison look the same. These little funny fragments, in French and English, get set in the style of (Renaissance polyphonic composer) Palestrina. And then there are bits that the speech synthesizers are giving the internet voice to, cause theres this old story and new story juxtaposed, and theres this twinge of nostalgia, where theres a fragment that talks about the bison heads that are left over from the last herd of wild bison that are somewhere in the museum." There will also be more concrete displays of nostalgia at Camerata Novas show. The concert from the local vocal group known for combining the ancient with the avant-garde is celebrating the music of Louis Riels Manitoba, with a strong Metis focus. Violinist/fiddler Claudine St-Arnault and fiddler Alexandre Tetrault, a descendent of Riel, will perform, along with traditional dancers Julien Beaudette-Loiselle and Marcus Merasty. The choir will perform songs about the buffalo hunt and the Battle of Seven Oaks by Metis fur trader and songwriter Pierre Falcon, and conductor Mel Brauns Ode to the Red River Cart, a suite of Metis songs. Brittons Run, Freddy, Run! is more cutting-edge than Old World, but the 35-year-old composer says theres a definite musical nod to his Metis roots. "Theres a fiddle player whos going to be bridging the gap between the vocal Renaissance parts and the speech synthesis parts, because the violin is neat in that it can sound like a speech synthesizer and a human," he says. "In the electronic part, theres a bunch of sampled fiddle material from my great-uncle, who was a Metis fiddle-maker." The concert will end with musicians, jiggers and audience all coming together for a big kitchen party featuring traditional songs. jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @dedaumier The Pallister government has said its committed to developing a strategy for economic growth and has paid Deloitte for a technical analysis. Now, a third-party task force has started the process of reaching out for input from the business community. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/4/2018 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Pallister government has said its committed to developing a strategy for economic growth and has paid Deloitte for a technical analysis. Now, a third-party task force has started the process of reaching out for input from the business community. On Thursday, about 75 invitees got together in Brandon to talk about what such a strategy might look like, what it means to them and why it is important. A second session is to be held today in Winnipeg with a larger crowd expected and another one is scheduled Monday in Thompson. The task force, co-chaired by former Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce CEO Dave Angus and, Payworks founder-CEO Barb Gamey, wants to make it clear what the areas of strength are in the provinces economy, then come up with ways to better monitor the results of government initiatives. The closed-door sessions are designed as a way for the business community to take ownership of the process instead of following a government edict that might leave some feeling left out. "There was very good discussion," Gamey said after the Brandon session. "There is genuine interest in the process and certainly an interest and an engagement in what the outcomes will be. This is not just the government dictating an economic growth strategy. It has to be embraced by everyone, certainly the business community." The public consultation process is an extension of the 116-page Deloitte report, released last month, that included suggestions on how to modernize the governments involvement in economic development. It identified several overlapping programs, poor interdepartmental co-ordination and a general lack of focus when it comes to economic development. The report stated bluntly: "The current backdrop of unco-ordinated economic development programs and initiatives is best explained by the governments lack of an overarching, integrated economic development strategy." Chuck Davidson, CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, will be moderating the Monday session in Thompson. He has been co-chairing an 18-month-long task force on economic development in the north. "From the business community perspective we have been asking for a provincial economic development strategy forever," he said. "When we are asked to be part of this we want to make sure it has legs. At the end of the day (the expectation is that) it is going to be successful in terms of increasing prosperity and economic development in the province." The chamber network has invited participants in this first round of discussions that are being held exclusively with business owners and operators. Subsequent sessions will be held with members of specific groups such as educational institutions, industry advocates and Indigenous groups. The Deloitte report recommended the creation of a dedicated arms-length economic development organization, that would confirm economic development goals and objectives, develop a provincewide strategy and expand the current program review to all economic development programs delivered by government. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Davidson said the goal is to achieve results that last longer than one governments term in office and that the provinces entire business community could get behind. "In the absence of that broader consultation we could not expect people to get behind something that they did not have the opportunity to have dialogue and input to," Gamey said. "We want to ensure our new economic growth strategy best meets the needs of Manitobans and our economy," Growth Enterprise and Trade minister Blaine Pedersen said in a prepared statement. "The views of business, industry, economic development agencies, stakeholder groups, and Indigenous businesses and organizations will be essential in developing this strategy." Those who cant attend sessions in person can submit ideas online at gov.mb.ca/egs. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca There will be another wait for Serena McKay's mother to learn the fate of the two girls who helped kill her daughter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2018 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. There will be another wait for Serena McKay's mother to learn the fate of the two girls who helped kill her daughter. Yet as Delores Daniels left the courtroom Thursday, surrounded by family and clutching a framed photo of her daughter, she was one step closer to learning how justice would be served for McKay's April 2017 murder. At the morning hearing, provincial court Judge Rocky Pollack delayed his expected sentencing decision on the first of two youths who pleaded guilty to McKay's killing. But he did make his decision on an unusual set of victim impact statements. Daniels was a "little disappointed" that Pollack delayed the sentencing decision until June, she said. But she also acknowledged that the specifics of the crime make it a precedent-setting case: "He has a lot to consider," she said. It's been just over a year since 19-year-old McKay's body was found in a yard on Sagkeeng First Nation. She had been brutally beaten and, unable to seek help or safety, died of hypothermia after being left outside in the cold. Two girls, one 16 and the other 17 at the time of the attack, were charged with McKay's killing. The older girl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; because she was a minor at the time of the assault, she cannot be named. The younger teen pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and will be sentenced later this summer. After the attack and to the community's horror, two graphic videos of the assault surfaced on social media. Both videos were taken on the 17-year-old's phone; they showed McKay battered and sobbing as the girls struck her. The videos flew across social media. Despite attempts to get them taken down, they remain online now. That grisly factor paved the way for an unusual inclusion in the Crown's push for a maximum youth sentence: a series of victim impact statements from folks who never knew McKay, but who felt trauma after seeing the video. In all, the Crown submitted 32 victim impact statements for the judge's consideration. Most came from McKay's relatives and family friends, who spoke of the ongoing grief and fear they endured in the wake of her murder. But there were also eight statements from people who had no direct connection to McKay. They included some statements from people as far afield as New York and Texas, who had watched the video and felt traumatized. Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky challenged those inclusions as ineligible under the criminal code's definitions. The courts, Brodsky argued, "cannot just create eligible writers of victim impact statements by seeing a video." On Thursday, Pollack ruled that all 24 statements from people who knew McKay would be included in his sentencing considerations: the breadth is "tantamount to a family impact statement, or a community impact statement," he said. But Pollack did not accept the eight statements from people who did not know McKay. Several of them contained material that was "clearly prejudicial," he said, and others did not apply directly to his sentencing consideration. After the hearing, Daniels said she thought Pollack should have considered those eight statements. "(Seeing that video) was tough on a lot of people," she said. "I had so many messages from people that were impacted... if there was some type of harm to them, it should have been considered." Now, Daniels will wait until June 4 to learn Pollack's decision. The youth maximum would include four years in custody and 18 months in a supervised setting, on top of pre-sentence custody. The defence has asked for one year in custody, followed by probation. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Earlier this week, the first youth apologized in court to McKay's family. In a brief and emotional statement, she described how the "nightmare" of that night still haunts her, and pledged never to touch a drop of alcohol again. Daniels couldn't hear that apology very well the girl spoke quietly but said no apology could ever be enough to make up for the loss of her daughter. She also said she thought the girls should have been facing adult sentences. As she stood surrounded by family and supporters, she spoke of how their close-knit family, along with a strong faith in God, has helped them face each day since McKay's death: one day, she said, she will see her daughter again. "It's been a really rough year," Daniels said. "I really miss my daughter. But I've been coping, I've been strong. "I just want the youth to know that they can't use violence like this, and they can't continue to do this to other peers. Whatever they're feeling spite or jealousy or whatever it is they can't do this to others. It's not acceptable." melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca The Manitoba Liberals formally nominated party Leader Dougald Lamont as their candidate in St. Boniface on Thursday evening, on the 30th anniversary of their greatest provincial triumph in recent memory. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2018 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Manitoba Liberals formally nominated party Leader Dougald Lamont as their candidate in St. Boniface on Thursday evening, on the 30th anniversary of their greatest provincial triumph in recent memory. And, the woman who led the party from one seat to an improbable 20 back then thinks history is about to repeat itself. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont and Sharon Carstairs celebrate Lamonts nomination Thursday evening at the old St. Boniface city hall. "I think this is the best opportunity (for a Liberal breakthrough) since 1988," Sharon Carstairs said before addressing an audience of more than 125, in a room that seats about half that, at the old St. Boniface city hall. The Liberals believe a victory by Lamont in the as-yet-to-be-called byelection could act as a springboard for the same heady days they enjoyed in the late 1980s when Carstairs became the first woman to lead the official Opposition in a Canadian legislative assembly. Lamont, who is fluently bilingual, alternated between French and English in his remarks after he was formally acclaimed as the partys candidate. He said hes spoken to numerous Manitobans who have grown weary of both the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives. "I can see the path to victory here in St. Boniface, and I can see the path to victory all across the province," he said to enthusiastic applause. Premier Brian Pallister has until July 31 to call a byelection in St. Boniface, which had been held by Greg Selinger since 1999. Carstairs said many constituents were not impressed that the former premier was pressured by his party to resign last month before he was willing to go. "While the citizens of Manitoba rejected Greg Selinger, the people of St. Boniface did not," she said. "The ruthlessness of the Tories that we may be seeing on budgetary matters is only matched by the ruthlessness of the NDP," she added. Liberals will be hoping that any lingering resentment at Selingers treatment by his own party transfers into support for Lamont, who won the Liberal leadership in a three-way contest last October. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. They will also hope Lamont can successfully position himself as a centrist who can steal votes from what has been since Carstairs time Manitobas two main parties. Labour unions and business people alike "want solutions, not squabbling," Lamont told the crowd. "They want action, not finger pointing and blame," he said. A recent Probe Research poll for the Winnipeg Free Press showed the Liberals have their work cut out for them. The poll pegged Liberal support at 19 per cent provincewide among decided voters and 25 per cent in Winnipeg. A byelection win would give the Grits four seats and official party status in the Manitoba legislature. With party status comes more funding for staff at the legislature and the ability to ask more questions in the house. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA Manitoba is asking Ottawa for about $7.9 million to compensate for the cost of housing and educating asylum seekers who crossed into Canada near Emerson. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/4/2018 (1256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitoba is asking Ottawa for about $7.9 million to compensate for the cost of housing and educating asylum seekers who crossed into Canada near Emerson. "In the interest of fairness, the federal government should be offsetting some of these costs, and that's what we've asked them to do," Premier Brian Pallister said in a Friday interview. As the Free Press reported Wednesday evening, the Manitoba government recently began tallying its costs one year after asking Ottawa to help. The federal government seems to be moving on that request only after Quebec made a similar demand. Pallister said that "some weeks ago," Ottawa asked his government last month "to supply a list of our expenditures," and that they touched on those categories. Ottawa previously had allocated just $30,000 beyond its usual responsibilities, for Emerson-area firefighters. Pallister raised the issue Thursday with federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, during meetings in Ottawa. Media reports suggest Quebec has asked for $146 million in support; if weighed by the number of asylum seekers, Manitoba could be requesting $7.9 million. Pallister said the request is "in that range," and that he expects between $5 million and $10 million. He expects an answer to that "very reasonable request" within days. Pallister said hes hoping Ottawa will go beyond federal responsibilities. The influx, he says, has diverted provincial funds for language training, Legal Aid, housing (including shelters) and skills development, which dont fall under federal purview. Ottawa does pay for all asylum claimants health-care costs, and the social transfer (for welfare and education) is given to provinces based on their population, including asylum seekers. The Immigration Department would not say Friday whether it will only compensate expenses in its jurisdiction that got picked up by provinces, or if it will go beyond that to help with the strain on provincial services. "We will continue to collaborate with all provinces to uphold our humanitarian commitments to ensure an orderly migration," Beatrice Fenelon wrote. Pallister said "fair treatment" dictates Ottawa replenish programs meant for those who immigrated or claimed asylum through regular means. "Some of the most vocal concerns have come from recent refugees and recent immigrants to Canada who say, Why are these folks able to jump the line?" the premier said. In March, 53 people crossed on foot into Canada to claim asylum status near Emerson, a steady rise since January but a far cry from the spike of 170 crossings recorded in March 2017. Pallister said that is still higher than any numbers recorded before 2016. "It's not dropping off entirely." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Clearly the federal governments inability to have the border protections that we needed [has] caused the problem, so there's a shared responsibility and we want to protect the integrity of the process," the premier said. This week, the mayor of Toronto said that city also needed financial support, because asylum seekers are taking up nearly half of the citys shelter beds. Pallister also heaped praise on Hussen, whom he said was enthusiastic about the provincial nominee program, which Manitoba uses more than any other province to select workers from abroad. The premier said Hussen believed other provinces could learn from Manitobas detailed system, which allots spaces based on economic priorities in lockstep with major industry groups. "We're very committed as a government to working with the fed government on encouraging immigration to Manitoba," Pallister said. "But we want to see respect for the process, too." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette is spearheading a cross-party effort to clamp down on human trafficking, which he argues has contributed to Indigenous women disappearing in the city. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2018 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette is spearheading a cross-party effort to clamp down on human trafficking, which he argues has contributed to Indigenous women disappearing in the city. "We need to find ways of actually dealing with this on a continuous basis," said Ouellette. The All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking launched Thursday, tying together at least 30 MPs and three Senators. Theyre trying to find ways new legislation and existing programs can undercut Canadian pimps. Police reports collected by Statistics Canada suggested there were 506 incidents of trafficking between 2009 and 2014, the vast majority of which involved moving and controlling people within Canada's borders. A 2012 survey of frontline groups identified 1,929 trafficked women and 943 trafficked girls. "There are many, competing issues, and you have to find a way as MPs, as parliamentarians, to cut through the noise [] and make sure that issue is front-and-centre," Ouellette said Thursday. Ouellette said he's had guidance from former Conservative MP Joy Smith, who has focused on trafficking issues since ending her term as MP for Kildonan-St. Paul in 2015. He said that Diane Redsky, head of Winnipegs Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, asked the group to focus on to look at 34 recommendations from a 2014 national task force on the issue, lead by the Canadian Womens Foundation. The Liberal MP was flanked by two cross-aisle co-chairs, Conservative MP Arnold Viersen, NDP MP Christine Moore as well as an Independent Senator Daniel Christmas. Moore said shes hoping the effort will be more successful than a parliamentary committee. "If members of all parties can agree on different solutions, there's a better chance the government will be able to move on this issue," she said. The Quebec MP said that in addition to Indigenous women, they might look at how French-speaking women are preyed upon by pimps, whom she said sell them for sex at double or triple the cost of an English-speaker. The other Manitobans who had signed up as of Thursday afternoon were Tory MP Ted Falk and Senator Marilou McPhedran. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The parliamentarians are first looking into "supply chain reporting," to find patterns in how people are trafficked. The group will focus on themes like how girls under the care of Child and Family Services end up involved in trafficking and prostitution. At the group's first meeting Thursday, University of British Columbia trafficking expert Nicole Barrett explained how people are trafficked across borders. UBCs International Justice and Human Rights Clinic will be supporting the group in its work. Later on, their group will look at how ever-changing technology influences trafficking. The group had not yet discussed the closure of Backpage.com, an American classified website that the U.S. Department of Justice helped shut down on April 6, after concerns it was being used to facilitate pimping of young girls. Winnipeg sex workers told the Free Press this week that they used the site as their main source of income, and argued that theyll have to engage in more risky ways of finding customers, such as walking the streets. Viersen said he personally supported the closure of the site, but that the caucus did not have a position on the matter. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca One of the most critical pieces of work for any society is that of how to socialize and integrate its young men. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 28/4/2018 (1256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion One of the most critical pieces of work for any society is that of how to socialize and integrate its young men. This is not an overstatement. Sociologists have long observed the connection between rising rates of disconnected youth and political instability; such demographic surges preceded many historical conflicts. After this weeks horror in Toronto, we are forced to grapple with that again. A man drove a van into crowds of pedestrians, killing 10 and wounding 14; authorities have released little about the suspects motives. Yet we have a clue, at least, to his cultural affiliations: in the minutes before the attack, the suspect made a Facebook post announcing his fealty to an online cadre of disillusioned men and a 2014 mass murderer. "The Incel Rebellion has already begun!" he wrote in a post confirmed by Facebook as authentic. "We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!" In the days since: a flurry of explainers, introducing these terms to mainstream culture. What is an incel? It means "involuntarily celibate." What do incels believe? Well, for starters, they despise women, especially popular "Stacys." Other columns will cover this material better. For now, Id like to reflect on what Ive seen. For years, I have spent long hours lingering on incel forums, submerged in their self-made worlds. They are not pleasant places: bitter, caustic, drenched in an overt and vicious misogyny that would make most folks nauseated. Many incel forum denizens have significant barriers to successful social interaction; in despair, they become attached to a world view that rejects most hopes for improvement. Once, my partner asked why I spent so much time immersed in their forums. Its because the movement was dangerous, I told him, and I wanted to understand it. He shook his head, accustomed by then to my fixations. Two months later, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger murdered six people and injured 14 others in a killing spree. He left behind a manifesto declaring a "war on women" who had, in his view, committed the sin of rejecting his affection. Then, as with now, the term "incel" splashed through the mainstream news. (It has, for reasons I dont understand, been put into more glaring focus this time around.) That spotlight eventually faded, but the forums remained. I never interacted with anyone on the forums: as a "femoid," a portmaneau which expresses incels general contempt for women, my input was explicitly unwanted. Yet I kept going back: reading, watching, absorbing. Flowers, notes and candles are piled high at a vigil on Yonge Street in Toronto, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Ten people were killed and 14 were injured in Monday's deadly attack in which a van struck pedestrians in northern Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Galit Rodan Over time, I became familiar with their patterns. Many incel forum denizens have significant barriers to successful social interaction; in despair, they become attached to a world view that rejects most hopes for improvement. The ideology, in short, is that the entirety of ones chances to attract women are based on appearance, and that short of plastic surgery, or a few other fixes one is doomed from birth to live life as a loveless "subhuman." With that world view, incels fixate on their perceived faults. They dissect their bodies to obsessive extents, lamenting the tilt of eyes or lips. (A typical post, on one forum: "Do I have recessed lateral orbital rims?") They fantasize about the wondrous lives they could have, if only they were a few inches taller or had a broader jaw. Were it not for those faults, they determine, they would have what they so deeply long for: dates, sex, love. Most hate women for denying them those things. But in time, you learn, they hate themselves even more. Buried amongst screeds about female villainy, there are cris des coeurs of a less pernicious and violent kind. Members write of longing for simpler acts of affection: a touch, a smile or just a goodmorning text. In bits and pieces, they describe lives awash in a lonely grey sameness, adrift without meaning. They wake in mid-afternoon, play video games until dawn, go to sleep and repeat. Alive, in the literal sense, but never living. To be sure, not all self-declared incels live this way; others describe social lives and successful careers, albeit ones that, for lack of romantic fulfilment, stretch out hollow. But many persist in the other, more desolate stasis. It is in those revelations where the foundation of hate is laid bare: rage built on a bedrock of utter despair. Because there, buried amongst screeds about female villainy, there are cris des coeurs of a less pernicious and violent kind. Members write of longing for simpler acts of affection: a touch, a smile or just a good-morning text. On one forum, a 20-year-old writes of an aching desire to dance with someone he loves. Another posts a photo of two hands, lightly intertwined on a lap, and a caption: "Daily reminder that you will NEVER get to experience this." What outside observers dont understand, they often lament, is these forums are the only spaces where they can vent and feel less alone in this endless longing. Yet even this is indivisible from the toxicity of the discussion. Participants, for instance, reinforce hopelessness to each other. If someone expresses a flicker of hope, or an opinion less vehemently contemptuous of women, it is widely chastised as a "cope" a self-deluding thought. In this milieu, suicide is widely seen as an understandable course of action. With some regularity, members announce their intention to take their own lives, either that very night or at some not-too-distant future date. Sean O'Keefe and his son Fionn, 16 months, bring flowers to a memorial on Yonge Street the day after a driver drove a rented van down sidewalks Monday afternoon, striking pedestrians in his path in Toronto, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Galit Rodan Theres no way to know how many follow through. It would be folly to think none of them do. The specific shape of the trigger will change, but the underlying pattern will remain: young men adrift from the society around them, hopeless, exploding with rage. That is where discussion about how to address their rage could start: by acknowledging that, at its core, it festers from a pain with which far more people can relate. We can look at that pain without condoning how it explodes. It is a minefield, for me, to locate empathy for these forums participants. For instance, I do not wish to obscure the fact that many would consider me, as with all women, to be something quite less than a fully realized human. And even if any given participant does not themselves champion violent fantasies about female enslavement, mass rape or murder, or contribute directly to the sites virulent racism, most generally tolerate those things. Still, they are human, flailing through the same churning culture as everyone else. Somehow, some emerged into adulthood already socially isolated and emotionally stunted; bereft of direction and almost totally disconnected. There is a lesson in this. In the wake of the Toronto attack, the most shameful behaviours came from the usual bigots, who without evidence both clung to and spread an insistence that it was an act of Islamist terrorism. As the facts settled, some admitted they were wrong; others simply drifted away from the story. Had they looked harder, they might have seen a shared thread between their assumption and what happened. That thread is this: not all violent extremism organizes the same way. Not all of it is even organized, as such. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. But all such extremism starts in fundamentally the same way: by preying on the pain of socially disconnected young men. All of it weaponizes that despair and frustration, pointing it in an outward direction, primed to harm. And it always, always, bears the same message: that hollowness inside you, that sense of unending loss, someone else did that to you. It is someone elses fault. You cant change it but you can make them pay. It will happen again; nothing we can do will fully prevent it. The specific shape of the trigger will change, but the underlying pattern will remain: young men adrift from the society around them, hopeless, exploding with rage. But we can look at what is broken, that some young men should enter adulthood so isolated, socially ill-equipped and disconnected. Start with two questions: Where does that break begin? And what will help it change? melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc. is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited. The fund is managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments Australia Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Australia. The fund makes its investments in firms operating across diversified sectors. It employs fundamental analysis with a bottom-up and top-down stock picking approach with focus on factors like growth prospects, competitive positions in domestic and export markets, technology, research and development, productivity, labor and raw material costs, profit margins, return on investment, capital resources, quality of management, and government regulation to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P ASX 200 Accumulation Index. It also uses proprietary research to create its portfolio. The Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund Inc. was previously known as The First Australia Fund, Inc. Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc. was formed in September 30, 1985 and is domiciled in the United States. Read More Acacia Mining plc, together with its subsidiaries, mines, processes, and sells gold in Africa. The company has three gold mines in north-west Tanzania, including Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi, and North Mara; and a portfolio of exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Mali. It also produces co-products, such as copper and silver. The company was formerly known as African Barrick Gold plc and changed its name to Acacia Mining plc in November 2014. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Acacia Mining plc is a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. Read More El Diablo Coffee, a Seattle institution almost two decades old, is being forced to leave their space and find a new home. The coffee shop, located in Seattles Queen Anne neighborhood, has been serving coffee to their community since 2000. Recently, the building theyve operated out of for the last 18 years changed hands, and theyve received notice that they need to vacate the premises by the end of the month. In response, theyve launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $75,000 in order to cover the gap and keep their workers employed as steadily as possible. Originally founded by Terri Sullivan, the shop was bought out by Jill Killen, who also owns Cloud City Coffee, in 2010; the original owners were looking to sell and found the ideal buyer in Killen, who was drawn to the space because of its community focus and friendly atmosphere. Over the course of Killens tenure there, shes put a lot of money into improvements, including converting storage space into a kitchen, adding a back patio, upgrading the restrooms, and working to fix the electrical, which is still not reliable. Ive put probably $50,000 into the space that I won't get backit stays with the space, she said. Over the last eight years, shes also had three different landlords, whom she described as absentee. They just want the space rented, then they sell the building. Rinse and repeat. Last year, Killen learned from the building manager that the building had changed hands. When she brought up a new lease agreement to the management company, she tried to negotiate as low a rise as possible due to the repairs she had had to make and some conditions that were still subpar. I said I didn't want to pay more without upgrades, said Killen. I was already at or above market rate, compared to buildings with new plumbing and new electric. The management company allegedly reported back to Killen that the new landlords agreed that the electric needed upgrading. I asked again for a lease, said Killen. I asked many times over the spring and summer. They said to hold tight, the electric problem was complicated. I wanted to do upgrades to my space and was waiting to hear back so I could start. Things were falling apart. The notice to vacate came on April 2nd, with a deadline of 11:59 pm on April 30th. The courier handed it to a barista and said this has to be hung in the window. My barista called me freaking out. Rent was paid. After calling the management company and her old landlord, she finally got ahold of the building manager. After four phone calls, Ben returned my call and said it was true and that this was the hardest part of his job. The landlord was doing improvements on the space and El Diablo was in the way. When Killen asked why the notice was so short, the building manager allegedly responded that he was only required to give 20 days. He said he didn't agree with how it was handled, but he was just a broker doing his job and didn't own the building. He said they wanted to move in a different direction. Neither the building manager nor Diablo Coffee's landlord have responded to Sprudge's repeated request for comment. So whats next for Killen and El Diablo? According to Killen, they just signed a lease on a space that used to house a Mexican restaurant. The shape of the new space, which includes a full-service kitchen and is about three times the size of the old space, will change their service model slightly, but Killen is resilient and ready to see potential changes as positives. We'll need an expeditor/delivery person and a system with table numbers, but it will allow us to do other things such as expand our menu, says Killen. We had run out of electric amperage and space in the old cafe. Many people left because of seating issues. So there's lots of positives. The obvious downside: The cost of moving is enormous. Between physically disconnecting and moving things we have to build counters, add floor drains, and more. Killen is particularly concerned about service disruptions for her staff. We just need money for the move. We weren't anticipating this. Shes hoping El Diablo has proven its value over time and that the community will continue to invest in their continued existence. I've come to love this neighborhood and our kind neighbors, Killen tells Sprudge. We've gained so much diversity and it makes me proud to come in and see a variety of clientele. The neighborhood has rallied around us in the past. Shes hopeful that both the local community and the larger coffee community will lend a hand to keep El Diablo operating. So far, the support has been strong: the campaign is trending on Kickstarter and has raised nearly $20,000 of its $75,000 goal. To help El Diablo manage the gap and keep their employees as secure as possible, you can donate here. RJ Joseph is a staff writer for Sprudge Media Network. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge. All photos by Neil Oney unless otherwise noted. Bechtle AG provides information technology services primarily in Europe. The company operates in two segments, IT System House & Managed Services, and IT E-Commerce. The IT System House & Managed Services segment offers IT strategy consulting, hardware and software selling, project planning and implementation, system integration, IT services, and training for IT operation. It provides applications for business intelligence, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, product life-cycle management, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing, product data management, enterprise content management, document management systems, artificial intelligence, and collaboration; and modern workplace solutions. This segment also offers data center, networking, security, consulting, managed, professional, financial, and remarketing services. The IT E-Commerce segment provides hardware and software products, and peripherals with a multi-brand portfolio that comprises approximately 40,000 products through an online shop and telesales. This segment also offers e-procurement services. The company also provides design, development, and implementation of software services. It serves customers in the fields of industry, trade, finance, and the public sector. Bechtle AG was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany. Read More Hannover RAck SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services worldwide. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance, and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment offers specialty lines comprising marine, aviation, facultative and direct business, credit, surety, and political risks reinsurance products; and treaty, catastrophe XL, and structured reinsurance, as well as insurance-linked securities. This segment also provides risk solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock businesses; aviation and space business; and marine and offshore energy business. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment offers group and individual credit life, enhanced annuities, group life and health, and Sharia-compliant Takaful reinsurance products. This segment also provides risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality and morbidity, as well as underwriting services. In addition, it offers various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and divestiture of non-core businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover RAckversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover RAck SE in March 2013. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Hanover, Germany. Hannover RAck SE is a subsidiary of Talanx AG. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Xerox: A B S Digital Limited, Acorn Business Machines (Holmfirth) Limited, Alloy Acquisitions Corp. LLC, Altodigital Networks, Altodigital Networks Limited, American Photocopy Equipment Company of Pittsburgh LLC, Amici, Arena Group, Arena Group Holdings Limited, Arena Group Limited, Arizona Office Technologies Inc., B 2 Business Systems Limited, Back2Business Limited, Bessemer Insurance Limited, Bessemer Trust Limited, Boise Office Equipment Inc., Bright Ceramic Technologies Inc., Bunch CareSolutions, Business Systems (North Wales) Limited, CPAS Systems, CREDITEX - Aluguer de Equipamentos S.A., CTX Business Solutions Inc., Capitol Office Solutions LLC, CareAR Holdings LLC, CareAR Inc., Carolina Office Systems Inc., Carr Business Systems Inc., Chicago Office Technology Group Inc., ComDoc Inc., Concept Group, Concept Group Limited, Connecticut Business Systems LLC, Consilience Software, Continua Limited, Continua Sanctum Limited, Conway Technology Group LLC, Copyrite Business Solutions (Holdings) Limited, Copyrite Business Solutions Limited, Copytrend Limited, Criterion IT Limited, Customer Value Group, Dahill Office Technology Corporation, Digitex, Digitex Canada Inc., Docucentric Holdings Limited, Document Systems, Eastern Managed Print Network LLC, Elan Marketing Inc., Electronic Systems Inc., Fovia (Innovation) Limited, G-Five Inc., GDP Technologies Inc., Global Imaging Systems, Global PR Corporation, Gyricon LLC, Healthy Communities Institute, Heritage Business Systems Inc., ITEC Group, Image Technology Specialists Inc., ImageQuest Inc., Imagetek Office Systems, Impika, Impika SAS, Inland Business Machines Inc., Institute for Research on Learning, Integrity One Technologies Inc., Intrepid Learning, Invoco Group, Irish Business Systems, LRI LLC, LaserNetworks, LaserNetworks Inc., Lateral Data, Learn Something, Lewan & Associates Inc., Limited Liability Company Xerox (C.I.S.), M & S Reprographics Limited, MRC Smart Technology Solutions Inc., MT Business Holdings Inc., MT Business Technologies Inc., MWB Copy Products Inc., Mail A Doc Limited, Merizon Group Incorporated, Michigan Office Solutions Inc., Minnesota Office Technology Group Inc., Mitral Systems Limited, Mr. Copy Inc., Nemo (AKS) Limited, NewField IT, NewField Information Technology LLC, NewField Information Technology Limited, Northeast Office Systems LLC, Osprey Business Systems Limited, PARC China Holdings Inc., Pacific Services and Development Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Platinum Digital Print Solutions Limited, Precision Copier Service Inc., Quality Business Systems Inc., Quilver Business Services Limited, R. K. Dixon Company, RRXH Limited, RRXIL Limited, RRXO Limited, RSA Medical, Rabbit Copiers Inc., Reflex Digital Solutions (UK) Limited, Reprographics Egypt Limited, Saxon Business Systems Inc., Smart Data Consulting, SoCal Office Technologies Inc., Stem Networks Limited, Stewart Business Systems LLC, Stewart of Alabama Inc., StrataCare, Talegen Holdings Inc., Tektronix - color printing, Text Comm Limited (in receivership), The Xerox (UK) Trust, The Xerox Foundation, Time Business Systems Limited, Triton Business Finance Limited, Una-Stem Limited, Veenman B.V., Veenman Financial Services B.V., WDS, WaterWare Internet Services, XC Asia LLC, XC Global Trading B.V., XC Trading Hong Kong Limited, XC Trading Japan G.K., XC Trading Korea YH, XC Trading Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., XC Trading Shenzhen Co. Ltd., XC Trading Singapore Pte Ltd., XEROX CZECH REPUBLIC s r.o., XESystems Foreign Sales Corporation, XFS Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, XHC Acquisition Corp., XMPie, XMPie Inc., XMPie Ltd., XRI Limited, XRO Limited, Xerox (Europe) Limited, Xerox (Ireland) Limited, Xerox (Nederland) BV, Xerox (Romania) Echipmante Si Servici S.A., Xerox (UK) Limited, Xerox (Ukraine) Ltd LLC, Xerox A/S, Xerox AG, Xerox AS, Xerox Argentina Industrial y Comercial S.A., Xerox Austria GmbH, Xerox Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Equipment Limited, Xerox Business Services Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Solutions Inc., Xerox Business Solutions Southeast LLC, Xerox Buro Araclari Servis ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti, Xerox Canada Inc., Xerox Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada N.S. ULC, Xerox Capital (Europe) Limited, Xerox Capital LLC, Xerox Computer Services Limited, Xerox Comercio e Industria Ltda, Xerox Corporation, Xerox DNHC LLC, Xerox Dienstleistungsgesellschaft GmbH, Xerox Distributor Operations Limited, Xerox Egypt S.A.E., Xerox Equipment Limited, Xerox Equipment UK Limited, Xerox Espana S.A.U., Xerox Exports Limited, Xerox Finance AG, Xerox Finance Leasing S.A.E., Xerox Finance Limited, Xerox Financial Services B.V., Xerox Financial Services Belux NV, Xerox Financial Services Canada Ltd., Xerox Financial Services Danmark A/S, Xerox Financial Services Finland Oy, Xerox Financial Services LLC, Xerox Financial Services Norway AS, Xerox Financial Services SAS, Xerox Financial Services Sverige AB, Xerox Foreign Holdings LLC, Xerox Foreign Sales Corporation, Xerox GmbH, Xerox Health Care LLC, Xerox Hellas AEE, Xerox Holding Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Holdings (Ireland) Limited, Xerox Holdings Inc., Xerox Hungary Trading Limited, Xerox IBS Limited, Xerox IBS NI Limited, Xerox India Limited, Xerox International Joint Marketing Inc., Xerox Investments Europe B.V., Xerox Israel Ltd., Xerox Italia Rental Services Srl, Xerox Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Xerox Latinamerican Holdings Inc., Xerox Leasing Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Leasing GmbH, Xerox Limited, Xerox Luxembourg SA, Xerox Mailing Systems Limited, Xerox Manufacturing (Nederland) B.V., Xerox Maroc S.A., Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Xerox Middle East Investments (Bermuda) Limited, Xerox N.V., Xerox Overseas Holdings Limited, Xerox Overseas Inc., Xerox Oy, Xerox Pensions Limited, Xerox Polska Sp. z o. o, Xerox Portugal Equipamentos de Escritorio Limitada, Xerox Products Limited, Xerox Products UK Limited, Xerox Professional Services Limited, Xerox Realty Corporation, Xerox Renting S.A.U., Xerox Reprographische Services GmbH, Xerox S.A.S., Xerox S.p.A., Xerox Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, Xerox Servicios Compartidos Guatemala y Compani Limitada, Xerox Servicos e Participacoes Ltda, Xerox Shared Services Romania SRL, Xerox Sverige AB, Xerox Technology Services India LLP, Xerox Technology Services SAS, Xerox Telebusiness GmbH, Xerox Trading Enterprises Limited, Xerox Trinidad Limited, Xerox UK Holdings Limited, Xerox XHB Limited, Xerox XIB Limited, Xerox Xf Holdings (Ireland) DAC, Xerox de Chile S.A., Xerox del Ecuador S.A., Xerox del Peru S.A., Zeno Office Solutions, Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Zoom Imaging Solutions Inc., and inVentiv Patient Access Solutions. Daimler AG, together its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures passenger cars, trucks, vans, and buses in Germany and internationally. It operates through Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, Daimler Trucks and Buses, and Daimler Mobility segments. The Mercedes-Benz Cars segment offers premium and luxury vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz brand, including the Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, and Mercedes-EQ brands; small cars under the smart brand name; and ecosystem of Mercedes-Benz under the Mercedes me brand, as well as vans and related services under the Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner brands. Daimler Trucks and Buses segment offers its trucks and special vehicles under the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Western Star, FUSO, and BharatBenz brands; and buses under the Mercedes-Benz, Setra, Thomas Built Buses, and FU brands, as well as bus chassis. The Daimler Mobility segment provides financing and leasing packages for end-customers and dealers; and automotive insurance brokerage, banking, investment, and fleet management services under the Athlon brand. It also sells vehicle related spare parts and accessories. Daimler AG was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany Read More Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Read More Coffee is adept at crossing borders. From the coffee we drink to the machines we brew it on, this is one of the most international substances known to man. That's part of the funthe global connectivity, and the endless possibilities and outcomes contained therein. In late March 2018, our partners at Royal Coffee Inc. held their first-ever international outreach event series in Japan. This four-part event series was titled Green Coffee Movement, and hosted by Royal GM Richard Sandlin in Tokyo, Osaka, and Gunma. Sandlin is helping spearhead the company's ongoing growth in Japan, with an eye towards more events and future expansion. In this way Royal joins an ongoing effort at cultural and business exchange between Japan and the United States, which has roots going back many years. On the American side, brewing products by Japanese brands like Hario, Kalita, and Takahiro have long been popular choices for brewing in the cafe and at home; beautiful cold drip towers and siphons made by brands like Oji and Yama continue to draw oohs and ahhs in American cafes; and Japanese entrepreneurs like Hiroshi Sawada and Hidenori Izaki have opened popular cafes and remain in-demand consultants. Meanwhile there are a growing number of American coffee brands branching out to Tokyo and beyond, including a growing number of proprietary cafes from Blue Bottle; a wildly busy Verve location at Shinjuku Station; and a dedicated wholesale partnership for Stumptown at Paddler's Coffee, now with multiple locations in Tokyo. Into this milieu steps Royal, with Sandlin as a not-so-secret weapon. He's lived previously in Japan; his spouse was born in Sendai; he speaks the language fluently, and has even contributed writing on Japan's coffee scene to this website. This showed at Royal's recent event series, attended by a relaxed mix of roasters, baristas, industry notables and coffee lovers, with whom Sandlin chatted with casually in Japanese. The Tokyo event was held at FabCafe, and Sandlin treated the crowd to a crash course on Royal's services as a green coffee importer, including the company's detailed record keeping on every facet of inventory. This information, as per Sandlin, helps inform Royals customers before, during, and after their purchasing of the beans. Joining Sandlin at the event was the microroasting brand Ikawa, and the application MineDrip. These two were introduced once Royal's presentation was completed, after which the group broke out into a series of stations focused on Ikawa's sample roasting prowess, a comparative tasting area, and a demo station for MineDrip. The evening in Tokyo closed with a cupping, featuring a half-dozen current offerings from Royal's catalogue, available to potential customers in Tokyo. What followed was an open exchange of flavor perceptions, as much a chance to mingle as it was a formal evaluation. The Tokyo coffee scene, though deeply international, is also quite close knit, and during events like this one you see the familiarity and camaraderie that is happily part of coffee life here. Its not just people in the same industry at the same event, going because they feel obligated, but people with the same love and passion for coffee. Into this steps Royal Coffee of Oakland; it's a lovely fit. Craig Atkinson is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo. This is Craig Atkinson's first feature for Sprudge Media Network. Disclosure: Royal Coffee Inc. is an advertising partner on Sprudge Media Network. Wall Street analysts have given Hertz Global a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Hertz Global wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Trot Insider has learned that representatives for trainer Rene Allard filed an appeal to Ontario's Horse Racing Appeal Panel this week regarding a recent ruling on a Class I positive test. On March 31, 2017 the horse One Too Many, trained by Allard, was identified from a certificate of positive analysis as having obtained a Class I positive test for codeine and morphine from a race at Woodbine Racetrack on March 18, 2017. The AGCO made its official ruling regarding this positive test on April 19, 2018, fining Allard $5,000 and levying a one-year suspension effective May 5, 2018. Legal counsel for Allard issued the following statement regarding the ruling on April 20. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: RE: AGCO Rulings SB 49476 and SB 49477 I am legal counsel for Rene Allard in his appeal of the above-captioned Rulings wherein a 1 year suspension, 2 year probation, and $5000 fine were issued by AGCO Judges for a purported 2017 positive test for codeine and morphine. The Rulings were issued last night. An immediate stay has been requested. A residue sample was performed by a CPMA approved laboratory. The residue test yielded no presence of codeine and 19.9 ng/ml of morphine. A hair test was performed and yielded neither morphine nor codeine. This supports the high probability of environmental contamination or error on the part of the original laboratory. Accordingly, we will seek to be before the Horse Racing Appeal Panel in order to contest this unfair and premature disposition. We are confident in a favourable outcome. Yours very truly, Jennifer Friedman The hearing for Allard's request for a stay will take place on Tuesday, May 1. A date for the appeal hearing has yet to be set. The Bank of New York Mellon pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.57%. The Bank of New York Mellon has been increasing its dividend for 12 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of The Bank of New York Mellon is 33.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Bank of New York Mellon will have a dividend payout ratio of 29.44% next year. This indicates that The Bank of New York Mellon will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. View The Bank of New York Mellon's dividend history. Wall Street analysts have given CGI Group a "Buy" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but CGI Group wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Read More Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Read More W&M, Richard Bland gearing up for Promise Scholars debut Promise Scholars: Iyabo Osiapem, senior lecturer of Africana studies and linguistics, will teach a COLL 100 course on How Rastafari Changed the World this fall. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Graves Award winner Bev Sher was awarded the Thomas Graves, Jr. Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching during Commencement 2017. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Promise Scholars The program will provide William & Mary courses and faculty at Richard Bland, scholarship funds, guaranteed housing, peer-to-peer support and mentorship to high-achieving, low-income students who have committed to transferring to W&M. Photo by Robin Deutsch Photo - of - Hide Caption William & Mary has selected the faculty members who will guide a cohort of Richard Bland College students through their first year of the Promise Scholars program and beyond. Teaching the inaugural year will be Iyabo Osiapem, senior lecturer of Africana studies and linguistics. She will teach a COLL 100 course in How Rastafari Changed the World this fall. Bev Sher, senior lecturer of chemistry and the universitys chief health professions advisor, will teach a COLL 150 course titled Emerging Diseases next spring. They will be followed by four more professors two each in 2019-20 and in 2020-21. The formation of the program was announced in December by W&M President Taylor Reveley and Richard Bland President Debbie Sydow. First-year, in-state students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants will receive a $2,000 merit scholarship from William & Mary in their second year at Richard Bland and receive guaranteed housing designated for Promise Scholars to foster community and peer-to-peer support. Beginning this fall, Richard Bland also will begin awarding a new scholarship of the same amount to first-year students selected for the program. Following Osiapem and Sher in 2019-20 will be Annie Blazer, assistant professor of religious studies. She will teach a COLL 100 course titled Religion, Race and Gentrification that fall. Chemistry Professor Randy Coleman will teach a spring COLL 150 class on The Chemistry of Emotion and Behavior. And in 2020-21 Sociology Professor Kay Jenkins will teach a fall COLL 100 course titled Self-Help and Therapeutic Culture, followed in the spring by Senior Lecturer in Psychological Sciences Meghan Millers COLL 150 course titled Body Image in Children and Adolescents. Students in COLL 100 courses investigate the significant concepts, beliefs and creative visions, theories and discoveries that have shaped our understanding of the world. They become more adept at presenting and defending their ideas in ways that go beyond writing. Students in COLL 150 courses learn methods of scholarly research and practice and strengthen their writing skills. All W&M professors will travel to Richard Bland twice weekly to teach and will mentor the students once they arrive at William & Mary and through Commencement. Richard Bland is in the process of finishing its selection of the initial cohort. These people are incredibly great teachers and mentors, and excellent researchers, too, said Dean of Undergraduate Studies Janice Zeman, who made the selections. They really have a heart for transfer students and bringing them along by being sympathetic but holding them to William & Mary standards. This is the standard, theyll tell them, and this is how I can help you meet that standard. Once the scholars transfer to William & Mary, they will receive annual $3,500 scholarships to offset student loans during their last two years. The scholarships will be in addition to any financial aid for which the students qualify, which will equate to a no-loan, all-grant financial aid package, enabling these students to finish their degrees at William & Mary without student debt. The scholars also will be guaranteed on-campus housing their junior year. Sometimes, with transfer students, theres something called first semester transfer shock, Zeman said. They have in their mind what it is going to be like. They may be awesome students at a two-year college and they will be awesome students here, too but there may be an initial gap. We thought wed help them bridge that divide by sending our instructors there to teach the first two COLL classes. Theyll have a cohort, other students just like them, as opposed to talking their COLL 150 on campus, where they may be the only transfer student in the class. That mission is a major reason both faculty members applied for this opportunity. Osiapem learned about the relationship between the university and Richard Bland when she served on the search committee that brought in Katherine A. Rowe as W&Ms 28th president. Having advised transfer students from Richard Bland in the past, she also was keenly aware that the transition comes with challenges. Students often dont know what to expect from William & Mary classes, and I get the sense that they feel lost once they arrive, she said. So, when I saw that we were starting a formal program that will help in the transition, I really wanted to be a part of it. Osiapems course begins with the cultural, political and social ramifications of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, she said, moving to discussion on what that meant for the Caribbean and, specifically, Jamaica. Black people in the diaspora have created communities to heal the trauma of the slave trade, and Rastafari grew from that need, she said. And now, it has traveled throughout the world. Sher has worked with transfer students for many years in her role as the universitys premedical advisor, she said. A decade ago, she was part of a short-lived effort to provide a freshman seminar equivalent for incoming transfer students, the University Seminars. She taught several sections of Emerging Diseases during that period as well. We talk about the emergence of new diseases, such as AIDS, as well as the re-emergence of old diseases in new, worrisome forms, such as multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, she said. We discuss the biology of the pathogens as well as the responses of the societies that they afflict. Students are introduced to the scientific literature in the field, and each of them presents a recent scientific journal article (many from the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases) to the class; they also write a 15-page library research paper on a topic of interest to them. Sher calls it good fun. "Im glad to have the opportunity to do something like (the University Seminar program) again, she said. This is a special place, and I want students to get the most out of their time here. Osiapem called mentoring part of the job at W&M, and said, Were good at it. Student success is often related to the type of mentorship (they) receive, she explained. As a black woman in the academy, I have found the mentoring that Ive received invaluable and I hope to do the same for my students. Im particularly interested in helping Richard Bland students as they become part of the Tribe. Australia Calls World to Pray & Fast for USA 30 April - 3 May 2018 Contact: James Condon, 61-478-301-468; Sue Tinworth 61-418-389-419; Warwick Marsh 61-418-225-212 UNANDERRA, Australia, April 27, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- For the sixth year in a row, Australia is calling the nations of the world to join with them to pray and fast for four days for the United States of America, from 30 April 3 May 2018. May 3 is America's National Day of Prayer. The theme is "Pray for America - UNITY" Ephesians 4:3. www.nationaldayofprayer.org April 30 is America's National Day of Repentance. www.dayofrepentance1.org Promo YouTube Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B5nFcDBMOA Facebook Video President Reagan renewed the call for a National Day of Prayer in 1982 and said, "The first National Day of Prayer was proclaimed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. As thousands gathered in prayer in places of worship and encampments throughout the new land, the dispersed colonists found a new spirit of UNITY and resolve in this remarkable expression of public faith." Commissioner James Condon, a member of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting team, said, "God has done remarkable things in America since we began to pray and fast, but God can do greater things yet! We in Australia believe it is our turn to stand in the gap for the nation of America and pray for revival and transformation for the USA through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Whilst America has a new administration, the need for a new National Awakening has never been more apparent." Sue Tinworth, a member of the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team, talking about the history of prayer in the USA said, "President Abraham Lincoln, on 30 April 1863 called for a Day of 'Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting' at a time of great national crisis. This is a great encouragement to us today. Unfortunately, America is again in a dangerous predicament because it has forgotten God. Sadly the situation in Australia is very similar." Ps Warwick Marsh, also from the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team said, "America and Australia need revival and reformation, as does the whole world. We all need more of God. We invite you and the nations of the world to join with us in four days of prayer and fasting for the USA." National Day of Prayer & Fasting. www.nationaldayofprayer.org.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/nationaldayofprayerandfasting The World Socialist Web Site spoke with striking Arizona teachers today at a march on the state capitol that drew approximately 75,000 people. Teachers rejected the efforts to divide them from school support staff, and called for a united struggle with teachers across the country. Susan, a seventh grade mathematics teacher for an online charter school in Arizona, called for the strike to be expanded. Its one thing for states to do individual protests, but if we did this on a national level, wed have a greater success rate. Susan described the critical role played by school support staff. Theres a lot of things we do because we dont have support staff, she said. I probably work 100 hours per week, between grading, lesson planning and administrative tasks, not to mention actually being in a classroom, and calling 150 families each week. When I first started seven years ago, I had support staff, she added. I worked sometimes less than 40 hours a week. I want there to be funding in our budget so teachers dont have to keep doing everything themselves. I live by myself and I barely make ends meet, said Ashley, a fourth-grade teacher in the Cartwright school district. Were here to fund our schools and get higher pay for teachers. Ashley described the impact of decades of funding cuts on the conditions in her school. Our books are all torn up, and its been years since we got our materials replaced, she said. Our toilets are horrible. The bathrooms for the kids are disgusting. When it rains, the roof leaks at the end of the building. Ashley explained that the strike by West Virginia teachers, who initially rebelled against the efforts by the unions to shut down the strike mid-way through, had inspired the expanding wave of teacher walkouts. They started it all. They got us confident enough to go out. I mean I was scared, at first. They got us out and fighting, for ourselves and for our students. Referring to todays planned walkout by teachers in neighboring Colorado, Ashley added, A friend of mine is in Colorado now. Theyre doing this tomorrow and theyre threatened with being fired. Thats real bravery right there. The conditions there are about the same as here. Lucy LiBosha, a mathematics teacher at Catalina High School in Tucson, denounced Republican governor Doug Duceys offer of a 20 percent wage increase, which provides nothing for school employees and provides no additional funding to make up the more than $1 billion that has been cut from the budget over the past decade. Its divisive, Lucy said. It only addresses teachers and gives nothing to support staff. A divided, fragmented, 20 percent raise for teachers is not reasonable, and could drive a wedge between us. Students march at the demonstration in Arizona Many students also attended the demonstration to support their teachers. Isabella, a high school student, said, Its affected us personally. Were part of our schools drama club and theres very little funding for the fine arts program and our school in general. We see the lack of funding in the materials in our science classroom, and we have very old textbooks. Her classmate, Zoe, added, Were out here to support a movement thats bigger than ourselves. Dr. Lisa Castenita, who teaches second grade in the Cartwright school district, said, This is a human rights issue. All of our children, nationwide, deserve the best possible education. Education is the great equalizer. Lisa Castenita We have a lot of people making decisions for us that have no idea what we do on a daily basis, Lisa said. They, like [Education Secretary Betsy] DeVos, come from the privileged upper class. Why should I listen to her make decisions about things I do on a daily basis, or about my students, who live in abject poverty? I think not! I think I know better for my students than her. You get other teachers angry, on a roll like this, and theyll all tell you the same thing. Lisa added: The issue is per-pupil funding, teacher pay, a lot of other outside circumstance that we dont have control over. Its not our students performance. Therein lies the propaganda thats spread by our government. They want people to believe that its the teachers fault, and it is not our fault. Their kids dont go to public education, they go to private schools, Lisa said. They only give the appearance that they care. One of our rights as American citizens is to reformat our government. We need a reboot. I think theres a lot of corruption on all sides, not just the Democrats and not just the Republicans. North Korean head Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, along with senior ministers, are meeting today in the Peace House building that sits astride the border that has divided the peninsula since an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953. The highly-choreographed event, much of which is being broadcast live across South Korea, has been prepared well in advance. It is taking place on the US demand that North Korea agree to denuclearisation, or the dismantling of its small arsenal of nuclear weapons. The two leaders are also discussing a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War and the improvement of South-North economic relations. The North Korean regime has announced the suspension of nuclear and missile testing, but given no indication whether it will agree to denuclearisation. If it does, it will most likely insist on a process that takes place over a protracted period. The Trump administration has claimed that the talks are the outcome of the bellicose stance it has taken toward North Korea, including Trumps threats to destroy the country with fire and fury and harsh economic sanctions. Reports indicate that Chinas collaboration in imposing the sanctions has severely affected the North Korean economy, collapsing its exports by over 90 percent and worsening the acute social crisis afflicting its 25 million people. On the proviso that todays meeting results in steps toward North Koreas denuclearisation, Trump has indicated that he will meet with Kim in May or June. Incoming secretary of state and current CIA director Mike Pompeo made a secret trip to North Korea over Easter for preliminary discussions. After revealing Pompeos visit, Trump continued to boast about the possibility of a deal. This suggests that the North Korean regime has agreed in principle to meet the terms dictated by Washington. Moons administration exploited todays event to the hilt, promoting itself as the government that is delivering South Korea from the danger of a catastrophic war and advancing the cause of Korean re-unification. Kim Jong-un is playing his specified role in the diplomatic pantomime, vowing his regimes commitment to peace and goodwill on the Korean Peninsula and posing as required for the media. In exchange, Washington and Seoul will have to give the North Korean ruling clique and military apparatus an assurance that it can remain in power and retain its wealth and privileges. However, similar assurances by US imperialism have been cast aside on more than one occasion in the past. Any concrete development toward a rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula on US-dictated terms will be viewed with immense concern in Beijing. Formally, North Korea is a Chinese ally. Since 1953, it has functioned as a militarised buffer between Chinas northern borders and the substantial US forces based in South Korea and Japan. The decades-long objective of major factions of both the American and South Korean ruling classes has been to incorporate North Korea into the US sphere of influence. Since the early 1990s, the tactical conflicts in Washington have centred on whether that aim should be achieved through war and regime-change or a deal with the existing ruling clique. The worst scenario for Beijing would be if the North Korean regime performed a diplomatic somersault and, in exchange for self-preservation and substantial financial rewards, transformed itself into a garrison state serving American and South Korean interests. While it is far too early to draw any definitive conclusions, the possibility of such an outcome cannot be excluded. US imperialism is seeking to dramatically undermine Chinas strategic and military position. It does not haveand never hasany genuine concern about human rights in North Korea. Its only real worry is that Pyongyangs possession of a small nuclear arsenal has vastly complicated the use of force to bring North Korea under US sway. The South Korean capitalist class talks continually about reunification, but what the dominant factions have in mind is the 1990s Sunshine Policy. The North Korean dictatorship would remain intact, but open up much of the north to transnational investment and exploitation. The border would remain sealed to the vast mass of North Koreans, who would be offered up as brutally repressed cheap labour for corporations from South Korea and elsewhere. The South Korean working class would pay the price in the form of job destruction or demands to accept cuts to their wages and working conditions to remain competitive against northern workers. Of greatest concern to Beijing is that such a reunification could lead to the North Korean regime essentially being incorporated into the US-South Korea alliance. Any guarantee by Washington that its military forces would not move north would be worthless under conditions of rising strategic and economic competition and conflict. The American ruling elite would potentially even accept North Korea keeping some of its nuclear weapons if its missiles were aimed in the direction of China. The main consequence of any US rapprochement with Pyongyang will be to bring great power rivalries to the fore. Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, would be just as alarmed as China at such developments. It can be safely assumed that Beijing and Moscow are both carrying out intrigues with factions of the North Korean regime to try to protect their interests. The other power that views the current events as a setback is Japan. The Japanese ruling class has utilised the purported threat from North Korea as the primary pretext for its systematic campaign to bolster its military force and remove constitutional limitations on their use. The Trump administration blindsided Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government with its shift from military threats to a diplomatic embrace of Kim. US imperialisms preparations for sharper tensions in North East Asia are reflected in the Trump administrations decision to nominate Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of US Pacific Command (PACOM), as its ambassador to South Korea. Harris had been nominated as the US ambassador to Australia and was expected to be confirmed in that position this week. Instead, Pompeo reportedly petitioned Trump to have the admirals assignment shifted to the more strategically significant post in Seoul. Harris has been among the most outspoken anti-China figures in the US military. His mission will be to shore up the resolve of the South Korean government and armed forces if the talks with North Korea break down and the Trump administration lurches back to a policy of war. If relations proceed to a Trump-Kim summit and further agreements, Harris will be at the centre of ongoing talks with Pyongyang and the efforts to enlist North Korea into the US confrontation with China. The author also recommends: Trumps secret diplomacy with North Korea [19 April 2018] Trump and Abe meet amid war and domestic crisis [18 April 2018] German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet President Donald Trump today in Washington for a working meeting and a lunch amid growing political and economic tensions between Germany and the United States. Two questions stand in the foreground: The future of the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump has sought to revoke, and Berlin wants to maintain, and a threat of trade war if the US imposes punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe on May 1 as planned. If there is no sensible, lasting solution in the trade dispute and the nuclear conflict with Iran flares up with new intensity, then the European-American relationship will be shaken by severe turbulence, commented the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday. Merkels working visit was preceded by a pompous, three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, which the German media reported with a mixture of mistrust and hope. Some suspected that Macron was using his personal relationship with Trump to become the dominant foreign policy figure in Europe, pushing Germany back into a foreign policy niche while the big boys agree things among themselves (Der Spiegel). Others praised Macrons genuflection toward Trump as a clever tactic for getting a vain American president to make concessions. Peter Beyer, who is responsible for cooperation with the US in the German Foreign Ministry, told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger that there were common goals and a coordinated approach by Macron and Merkel, even if they play different roles. The two could work very well in tandem. But Macron did not achieve anything. Although he promisedin a proposal agreed with Germany, the United Kingdom, and the US State Departmentto renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran and continue to militarily support the US wars in the Middle East, Trump was unwilling to commit to abiding by the Iran Treaty. Although the US president had not made a final decision, he did not believe that Trump would keep to the treaty, Macron said before his return flight. On Thursday, shortly before Merkels departure to the United States, it was said from German government circles that the decision about punitive tariffs had already been made in Washington. From May 1, steel imports from the European Union would be taxed at 25 percent and aluminum at 10 percent. Above all, German business fears serious consequences. In 2017, European exports of steel and aluminum to the US totaled 6 billion, of which 1.7 billion was accounted for by German steel exports. The EUs plans to impose trade countermeasures threatens a widening trade war. With a total annual volume of 112 billion, the US was the most important export market for German products last year, just ahead of France and well ahead of China with 86 billion. The US also holds a top spot in German foreign investment, amounting to $225 billion in 2015. In particular, German car companies fear the escalation of the trade war between the US and China. For example, BMW sells about one-fifth of the cars it produces in the US to China. The same applies to Daimler. In view of these conflicts, it is expected the meeting between Merkel and Trump will be tense. It is expected that Trump will demand compensatory measures in return for concessions. For example, Spiegel Online reports that the official in the State Department responsible for Europe, Wess Mitchell, traveled to Berlin a few days ago and filed a kind of warning. Trump would bring a halt to the German-Russian pipeline project Nord Stream 2 and demand a faster increase in German military spending towards NATOs target of 2 percent of GDP. Trumps new security adviser, John Bolton, has also advised Berlin that the increase in Germanys NATO contribution is particularly important for Trump. Although the grand coalition has agreed on a massive military upgrade program and wants to nearly double defence spending in the coming years, military spending still stands at 1.21 percent of GDP despite an increase of 9 billion. Berlin does not want to abandon the Nord Stream pipeline because otherwise it sees the security of Germanys energy supplies being endangered. How the conversation between Trump and Merkel will ultimately unfold cannot be predicted in light of the conflicts in the US government and the unpredictability of the Trump administration. But it is clear that the growing tensions between Washington and Berlin are not simply the result of personal whims. Their cause lies in the deep crisis of world capitalism and the struggle of the imperialist powers for the re-division of the world. The US has sought to defend its global hegemony by offsetting its economic decline with military force. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Washington has conducted an almost unending series of wars. In doing so, the US increasingly has the rising economic power of China and the second-largest nuclear power, Russia, in its sights. The new US National Defense Strategy, which was unveiled in January, no longer focuses on the war on terror but on great-power competition. This poses a dilemma for German imperialism. It can no longer pursue its global business in the shadow of the US. Should it subordinate itself to the US in the fight against Russia and China? Should it rely on a European great power policy, independent of the US and under German hegemony? Or should it move closer towards China or Russia? The dispute over these issues runs through Germanys parties and government. All camps agree that Germany must return to militarism, massively increase military spending and even wage war, in order not to stand on the sidelines in the struggle for the re-division of the world. For example, the cover story of the last edition of newsweekly Der Spiegel accuses the German government of foreign policy failure: How should a country defend the West, which must first engage in long debates in the Bundestag [parliament] before it can set a single soldier marching? In a guest contribution for the Suddeutsche Zeitung, Constanze Stelzenmuller, who works for the Brookings Institution in Washington, demands the German government finally take more responsibility in line with its increased power in the world in order to re-establish our relationship with America, which remains indispensable, as one of equals, as promised four years ago. Opel auto workers in Germany are experiencing the same problems as workers all over the world, with corporate management demanding massive cuts in jobs and wages, combined with a drastic deterioration of working conditions. For its part, Germanys largest union, IG Metall, and its works councils are working closely with management to sabotage any serious resistance. The union plays off one factory and location against another, threatens workers who oppose cuts and helps to organise redundancies and social cuts. Last Tuesday, the shareholder meeting of PSA took place near Paris. The French group, which also includes the auto brands Peugeot, Citroen and DS, took over Opel last summer in an attempt to counter the dominance of Volkswagen in the European car market. The acquisition was associated with a radical austerity plan involving cuts of 1.7 billion per annum. PSA boss Carlos Tavares told shareholders that restructuring negotiations for Germanys Opel plants would drag on for some weeks because IG Metall needed more time to do its work. Do not be surprised, there will be some backlash, Tavares declared. This is part of what has to be done to bring this company back on track to profits. The companys talks with IG Metall are already well advanced. Tavares noted that in the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Hungary and Austria, deals had already been reached with trade unions. PSA shareholders rewarded him for his radical re-organization course with a special bonus of 1 million. Parallel to the shareholders meeting in France, IG Metall organised a protest action at the Opel plant in Eisenach. At the union rally, works council and union officials loudly criticised Tavares and the new Opel boss, Michael Lohscheller, accusing them of blackmail. At the same time, they emphasised that there was no alternative to the Pace recovery plan they had agreed with Tavares, which involved attacks on jobs and wages. According to the Pace plan, only the planned savings could reduce labour costs and increase competitiveness. The union thereby supports job cuts. All it demands is that such cuts be implemented in a socially acceptable manner. Everyone knows what this means. Redundancies are to be organised in a manner that allows resistance on the part of workers to be controlled and suppressed. In fact, the planned halving of the workforce at Eisenach (current workforce of 1,790) is the first step to closing the factory completely. This is made clear by the withdrawal from the factory of the companys Adam and Corsa models. Job cuts are also planned at the concerns factories in Russelsheim and Kaiserslautern: By the end of this year 4,000 jobs are to go out of a total of 18,600, and half of the 7,700 jobs at the Russelsheim development centre are due to be axed by 2020. In December 2017 and January of this year contracts for several hundred temporary workers were terminated. Short-time working has been taking place since January, and the executive and works council have launched an aggressive programme of redundancy payments linked to partial and early retirement. In addition, Opel has terminated many contracts with its 1,600 dealers throughout Europe. In addition, the PSA/Opel management is calling for massive wage cuts. The last agreed wage increase will not to be paid until further notice, and Christmas, holiday pay and any additional allowances are to be either decreased or cut entirely. This is a pre-condition for any new investment at existing plants. The unions have already approved massive cuts in other European plants. In France, the PSA group currently employs about 26,000 workers in four major auto plants: Sochaux (10,500), Mulhouse (7,500), Poissy near Paris (4,500) and Rennes (4,000). In cooperation with the unions, older workers with job protection contracts have been dismissed in large numbers and replaced by temporary workers, many of whom earn less than half the wages of those who have lost their jobs. At the British Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton, an extensive flexibilisation of working hours plus drastic increases in workloads have been agreed. Unions in Poland, Hungary and Austria also agreed to significantly worse working conditions. Now the trade unions of these countries, which are closely linked to IG Metall on a European and works council level, are accusing the German union of a lack of solidarity because it is not enforcing the cuts in German plants quickly enough! The auto unions in Spain, France and the UK have sharply criticised IG Metalls unwillingness to agree to the cuts demanded, according to Europe-autonews.com. The stance taken by IGM has led to significant tensions between the European trade unions. The magazine cites an official of the British Unite union, who declared that workers in Luton were dismayed by the failure of their German colleagues to make sacrifices similar to their own in order to ensure the companys profitability. IG Metalls unwillingness to approve the required measures undermines trade union solidarity, the British union argues. A representative of the French Force Ouvriere union also said: The French unions will not allow their workers to bear the main burden of a third competitiveness plan. The role of the unions could hardly be clearer. When they speak of solidarity, they do not mean the mobilisation of workers in all factories against the attacks mounted by the company, but rather cooperation between union officials and management in implementing attacks on jobs and wages. At the same time, the criticisms of IG Metall are completely unjustified. Along with Unite in the UK or Force Ouvriere (FO) in France, the German union works closely with the company executive, Even prior to the acquisition of Opel by PSA, IGM had engaged in intensive discussions with the company, envisaging the gradual closure of entire plants, such as the one in Eisenach, which has its own long history and tradition. Similar conspiratorial collaboration between the unions and management already led to the closure of an Opel plant in Amsterdam nine years ago, and the decommissioning of the Opel factory in Bochum five years ago. IG Metall itself worked on the closure plans and advised management on how best to prevent serious resistance. Today it uses its apparatus to divide workers in Europe and play them off against each other. The unions regard job cuts, part time hours, wage cuts and plant closures as restructuring measures required to reduce overcapacity and make the European car industry more competitive. In reality, auto workers are being forced to pay for the crisis of the capitalist profit system. Along with auto companies, other corporations are imposing the crisis on the working class, reversing the rights and gains won by generations of workers. Following the reintroduction of capitalism in Eastern Europe and China, starvation wages in these countries were systematically used to reduce labour costs in the rest of the world. In the US, the Obama administration restructured the auto industry years ago, destroying tens of thousands of jobs, annulling pension rights and cutting entry wages by half. Now the same process is underway in Europe. At the same time, economic and military conflicts between the major powers are growing. The unions respond by closing ranks even more intensely with their own governments and supporting their policies of military rearmament. In this situation, the defence of jobs, wages and social rights is crucial and requires a break with the unions. Workers who seriously want to defend jobs must join forces and found independent workers committees to prepare and lead resistance to layoffs and plant closures, and establish contact with workers at other plants and locations. They must organise strikes, protests and factory occupations completely independently of the unions. The defence of jobs must become the starting point for a broad political mobilisation based on a revolutionary socialist programme. The enrichment of an insatiable tiny elite at the expense of the livelihood of millions of workers is the clearest evidence of the failure of the capitalist systemand not just in Germany. In the United States, three billionairesJeff Bezos (Amazon), Bill Gates (Microsoft) and investor Warren Buffettcontrol the same wealth as the poorest half of the American population. In Germany there are 114 billionaires. Under these circumstances, anyone who claims it is possible to defend jobs and at the same time defend capitalism, as do the unions, the SPD and the Left Party, is lying to workers. Jobs can be defended only on the basis of a socialist programme that places the expropriation of the banks and major concerns at its centre. Former Congressman and CIA Director Mike Pompeo was confirmed Thursday afternoon by the US Senate to be secretary of state. The former Army tank commander, a supporter of torture and unlimited domestic spying, will now hold the top position in the Trump cabinet, as well as being fourth in line of succession to the presidency. The installation of Pompeo as head of the State Department in place of Rex Tillerson follows President Trumps replacement of Gen. H. R. McMaster with former Bush administration official and Iraq War conspirator John Bolton as national security adviser. Both Pompeo and Bolton have called for war against Iran and North Korea. They form a new foreign policy team that is even more reckless than the preceding one. Their installation signals an accelerated drive to a wider war in the Middle East and military conflict with Russia and China. Pompeo embodies the link between imperialist war-mongering and political repression within the United States. He has defended waterboarding and the Bush administrations CIA torture program. In a speech last year be called WikiLeaks a non-state hostile intelligence service. He has called for the trial and execution of whistleblower Edward Snowden and advocates an expansion of the National Security Agencys illegal mass surveillance program. Pompeo was immediately sworn in by ultra-right Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The new secretary of state boarded a plane to fly overnight to Brussels, where he will represent the US government at a NATO foreign ministers conference. This assemblage will discuss actions against Russia over the false charges of poisoning a former British double agent, Sergei Skripal, as well as Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime was the target of US, French and British missile strikes earlier this month. Russia and Syria are only two of a series of impending confrontations in which Pompeo will play a central role: On May 12, President Trump is expected to formally disavow the Iran nuclear agreement, putting the US on a collision course both with Iran and the five other countries that signed the deal, to which Iran has scrupulously adhered. On May 14, the State Department, which Pompeo now heads, will officially transfer the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a deliberate provocation against the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza, which regards East Jerusalem as its historical capital. On May 20, Venezuela holds its presidential election. The State Department is expected to denounce the predicted victory of incumbent Nicholas Maduro and declare the election fraudulent, setting the stage for economic sanctions or even a boycott of Venezuelas oil exports by the US, its largest customer. In late May or early June, Trump is to hold the summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which was prepared by Pompeos secret visit to Pyongyang earlier this month. In the event that the summit is called off, or breaks up without progress, the US government will accelerate its plans for a military strike against North Korean missile and nuclear test sites or an attack against the regime as a whole. The Senate approved Pompeos nomination by a vote of 57-42, with six Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats supporting him. But the role of the Democrats was far more important than these numbers might suggest. Without the support of Democrats at key moments, Pompeos confirmation was in serious question. After his appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 12, where he adopted the posture of a moderate, foreswearing his past record of warmongering against Iran and North Korea, Senate vote counters found that his nomination was in danger of being defeated. With Republicans holding only a narrow 51-49 margin and Senator John McCain absent due to brain cancer, libertarian Rand Paul of Kentucky threatened to tip the balance against Pompeo, declaring he would oppose the CIA director because of his well-publicized defense of torture. If Paul joined 49 Democrats in opposing Pompeo, the nomination would fail by a vote of 50-49. At this critical point, on Friday, April 20, Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota announced that she would support Pompeos nomination as secretary of state, thus assuring the 50 votes needed for confirmation. On Monday, April 23, two more right-wing Democrats, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, followed suit. With the nomination assured, Rand Paul dropped his token opposition and announced that he too would vote to confirm. Pompeo actually won a slightly larger majority than his predecessor Tillerson, who was confirmed by a margin of 56 to 43. While Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, made public displays of opposition to Pompeo and voted against his confirmation, this was a cynical political charade. Schumer and Cardin actually agree with Pompeo on some of his most inflammatory positions, like tearing up the Iran nuclear agreement. More fundamentally, the Democrats support the militaristic foreign policy posture of the Trump administration, criticizing it only from the right, as insufficiently belligerent toward Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. That has been the driving force of Democratic support to the investigation into bogus charges of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, being carried out by special counsel Robert Mueller. Privately, the Democrats welcomed the nomination of Pompeo, a notorious hawk on US policy towards Russia. This was spelled out in an editorial April 12 by the Washington Post, one of the main voices of the Democratic wing of the US political establishment, which has spearheaded the anti-Russia campaign against the Trump White House. The Post editorial, headlined Confirm Mike Pompeo, noted that the nominee was tough on Russia, saying conflicts with it were caused by Russias bad behavior Mr. Pompeo acknowledged that sanctions against Vladimir Putins regime had been inadequate and promised to reset deterrence. An accompanying commentary by Post editorial board member Josh Rogin hailed Pompeos statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he declared, The actions of this administration make clear that President Trumps national security strategy, rightfully, has identified Russia as a danger to our country. Rogin pointed to Pompeos prepared remarks to the committee, in which he said there should be an increased US commitment to Syria. The failed state of Syria poses a mounting threat to human rights, national security, and regional stabilityand it deserves an increasingly severe response, Pompeo said. Two days later, Trump ordered a US missile strike on the Syrian regime. The elevation of this warmonger and enemy of democratic rights only confirms that both parties of the American ruling class are committed to censorship, the criminalization of political dissent and a reckless escalation of US military operations all over the world, which brings with it the increasing danger of a new world war employing nuclear weapons. Yet another anti-China media witch hunt was instigated in Australia this week, just after parliaments security committee received briefings from the US military and intelligence agencies in Washington on alleged Chinese interference in the Asia-Pacific region. Led by the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), media outlets raised an outcry against a government grant to a gas producer with alleged links to Chinas ruling party. On March 28, Resources Minister Matt Canavan had announced grants of $6 million each to four gas explorers, including Westside Corporation, as part of a Gas Acceleration Program, which the government claims will boost domestic gas supplies and put downward pressure on soaring prices. Westside is part of the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group, which a Northern Territory government awarded a 99-year lease on Darwin Port in 2015. This sparked a major furore, and a review of Australias foreign acquisition law. US President Barak Obama publicly rebuked Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, complaining that US authorities were not consulted about the transaction. A Landbridge spokesman this week again rejected media allegations that the company acts as an arm of the Chinese government, insisting it is a private company, and not state-owned. The group has previously denied its founder and chairman, billionaire Ye Cheng, is a member of the Communist Party. This did not stop the scare campaign, with a prominent part being played by Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings, whose government-financed think tank has close links to the Australian and US security agencies. Jennings told the ABC that Landbridge was really acting as an arm of the Chinese government when it made foreign investment decisions. There is reach back to the Chinese Communist Party and to the Chinese intelligence apparatus, and thats something that we should be concerned about, he said. These unsubstantiated accusations from intelligence sources are part of an escalating series of anti-China allegations, including that Beijing plans to build a military base in Vanuatu, is financing white elephant infrastructure projects in South Pacific states to entrap them in debt, and intends to take over Australia. Intensive efforts are being made to poison public opinion against China, and Chinese people, in preparation for Australian participation in any US war against China. The Trump administrations National Defence Strategy, adopted in January, openly accuses China of seeking to displace the US in order to achieve global pre-eminence. Continuing pressure is being applied by the US political, military and intelligence apparatus on Canberra to ensure there is no wavering from the line up against China, which is Australian capitalisms largest export market. The latest controversy over Landbridge erupted within days of Pentagon, CIA and FBI officials briefing members of the Australian parliaments Joint Intelligence and Security Committee on what the Australian called growing concerns over Chinese interference in the region. Speaking from the US, a senior member of the committee, Penny Wong, the Labor Partys shadow foreign affairs minister, told the ABC on April 17: A key focus of the visit is foreign influence, and obviously we have legislation that is being considered by the committee in Australia. It is now almost six months since the Turnbull government introduced a five-bill legislative package that targets alleged Chinese interference in Australian political and commercial life. In tabling the bills last December, Turnbull cited disturbing intelligence reports about Chinas activities. On April 19, Wong confirmed the briefings on Sky News and emphasised Labors bipartisan support for the bills, despite strong objections by China, as well as considerable domestic civil liberties concern. Safeguarding Australias sovereignty is above politics, Wong declared. She reiterated Labors support for the appropriate set of laws to seek to prevent foreign interference in our political processes. Wong made her comments when asked to respond to a public complaint by Chinas ambassador to Canberra, Cheng Jingye, who said systematic irresponsible negative remarks regarding China had adversely affected bilateral relations. The parliamentary committee, which consists of six Coalition and five Labor members, is due to hand down a report on the two main foreign interference bills, which the government is currently slightly amending. These bills will overturn many basic democratic rights by criminalising much anti-war political activity or campaigns that have any international connection. Unprecedented new foreign interference offences will be created, for example, with prison terms of up to 20 years for working with a foreign or international organisation to influence a political or governmental process. The bills also impose far-reaching surveillance over political groups, via intrusive registration regimes, and contain a range of new or expanded offences, such as treachery, involving up to life imprisonment, for activity regarded as a threat to any Australian war-related activities. Last month, the committee already signed off unanimously on another of the bills, which will transfer responsibility for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the countrys domestic spy agency, to the new super-department of Home Affairs, which now also controls the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Border Force. This bill, now expected to be pushed through parliament on a bipartisan basis next month, will concentrate immense power in the hands of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, including to authorise secret ASIO operations. Before the legislation has even passed, the Australian reported this week that a new high-level counter-espionage unit has been created within the Home Affairs department to link ASIO, the AFP, the military and other agencies in operations against alleged foreign spies and interference. A senior ASIO officer has been appointed to head the cross-agency unit. The security and intelligence agencies, which have been handed vast resources and powers since 2001 under the pretext of combating terrorism, are now shifting their central focus to preparing for war, which also means suppressing anti-war opposition. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Mystery Businessman Who Gave Famous Atheist a Bible Discovered Contact: Jen Thompson, jthompson@livingwaters.com LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- In 2009, well-known magician and outspoken atheist Penn Jillette made a YouTube clip about a businessman who gave him a Bible, praising the man's evangelistic effort. It was so remarkable that several prominent ministries such as Focus on the Family and Answers in Genesis wrote about it. According to the Baptist Press, on the clip the famous atheist spoke about a man who approached him after a performance: "He was really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible. And I've always said that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all," Jillette said. "If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward...How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" Jillette went on to stress the man's character: "He cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible...I'll tell you, he was a very, very, very good man, and that's really important...that was a really good man who gave me that book." For years people have wondered who that businessman was, and what he said that so impressed Penn Jillettean atheist so hardened against God that he made videos of himself contemptuously throwing and kicking Bibles. Christian filmmaker Ray Comfort now knows the answer. When he first saw the video, Comfort remarked, "I was so moved by his sentiment that I longed to speak with him and thank him for making that clip. Years later, through a number of unusual circumstances, God worked it out that I got my heart's desire." Then during a recent interview on a Las Vegas radio show, Comfort was surprised to discover that the host was that businessman. "The inside story of his encounter with Penn, and what he actually gave him, was so compelling," Comfort explained, "that we immediately filmed the man sharing the incredible story and included it in our new moviewhich 'coincidentally' already mentioned that encounter. It's amazing how God put all the pieces together." The filmmaker added, "In Penn's video, the heartfelt statements of an atheist have motivated countless Christians to share their faith. In the same way, God used other atheists to get the gospel to millions and even proclaim it themselves. We're excited to tell these inspiring stories in 'The Fool: Never Fear Looking Foolish Again.'" (See the trailer here) A free prescreening of "The Fool" is available to churches across the US, months before its public release later this year. For details of how your church can freely show the film, go to www.TheFoolForChrist.com. For interviews with Ray Comfort, contact Jen Thompson: jthompson@livingwaters.com Taking the lead on the issue of cybersecurity, the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Mastercard today held the Andhra Pradesh Cybersecurity Summit at Fintech Valley, Vizag. The summit provided an unparalleled platform for top cybersecurity experts to share strategies and solutions to combat the growing cyber threats in India and globally. This summit is a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Mastercard to implement the best practices on cybersecurity. The summit convened more than 450 delegates, representing regulatory and law enforcement agencies, think-tanks, start-ups, consultancies, academia, and technology & cybersecurity companies. Mr J. A. Chowdary, Special Chief Secretary & IT Advisor to the Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh; and Mr Ravi Aurora, Executive Director, Community Relations and Public Policy, Mastercard kicked off the summit with welcome remarks. Mr. Nara Lokesh, Minister for IT, Andhra Pradesh delivered the opening keynote address, highlighting the state governments vision to create a safe and secure cyber ecosystem. He also felicitated the winners of Cyberthon, Indias largest cybersecurity hackathon organized by the Government of Andhra Pradesh from April 4 to April 25. While in-depth discussion on national impact of cybersecurity were led by Mr. Sanjay Bahl, Director-General, CERT-In, Rebecca Ledingham, Vice President, Security Decisioning and Products, Mastercard added a global perspective on emergent cyber threats that impact individuals, organisations and nations. During a panel discussion on smart cities and IoT, Ms. Rama Vedashree, CEO, Data Security Council of India stressed on the significance of big data, advanced analytics and other innovations to ensure safety and security of smart cities. The attendees also had the opportunity to gain practical understanding through applied cybersecurity solution demonstrations. Speaking at the summit, Mr. Nara Lokesh, Minister of Information and Technology, Andhra Pradesh, said, Andhra Pradesh has been a pioneer in implementing digital solutions for delivery of public services and creating a global fintech ecosystem. Therefore, cybersecurity for individuals and businesses is a high priority for the Government of Andhra Pradesh. We believe that the Andhra Pradesh Cybersecurity Summit, in partnership with Mastercard, was an important step towards implementing the best practices in the field of cybersecurity in the state. Ravi Aurora, Executive Director, Community Relations and Public Policy, Mastercard, said, Safety and security has always been at the forefront of Mastercards agenda. We feel that this summit has played a pivotal role in building awareness about cybersecurity. We are thankful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for providing us the opportunity to work together through the Andhra Pradesh Cybersecurity Summit and share learnings that help prevent digital fraud and protect businesses and individuals. We believe that this summit will go a long way towards the creation of a digitally-empowered cashless society. Safety and security is a fundamental building block of everything Mastercard does. The companys network is designed to ensure that every person, every payment, and every device is protected. Mastercard uses its digital technologies and security protocols to make payments simpler, faster, and safer for both consumers and merchants. Mastercard has dedicated more than USD 1 billion to reinforce product design and multiple layers of security. Samsung mobile phones are widely sold Smartphones. They are equipped with hundreds of impressive features that make it the first choice for buyers. However, Most of the buyers are not interested in features other than camera so that they can take beautiful and high-quality photos. But, there is a storage limit beyond which you cannot save photos otherwise you will have to remove some other data to make space for them. No matter how much storage space you have, still sometimes you need to delete photos from your Samsung mobile. Moreover, if you are selling it then it becomes even more crucial to erase the photos. However, whether you want to delete them for this reason or any other reason you should know how to do that. In this short guide, you will learn 3 different and effective ways to erase all the unnecessary photos from your device. These ways are effective on other devices as well so dont worry about the methods to be specific as they are general and common for all devices. Method 1- Delete Samsung photos from gallery By default, the pictures you shot from your devices camera are stored in the gallery of mobile. The gallery is the space where all your screenshots, pictures, and saved images will get space. Deleting, copying or editing them can be easily done here. So, the first method is to manually delete them. Go to a gallery, search for the photo you want to erase, click on delete option and its gone. However, the picture is still on your device and recovery software can easily trace it. So, if you want to delete them forever, switch to another method. Method 2 Delete photos from Samsung by usingSafewiper Safewiper for Android is one complete solution for all your need. Which ensures that the operation you perform using its help cannot be recovered. Therefore, this is the best and highly useful method. You need to perform the following steps to use the software. Here, we will guide you about effective software that can perform multiple tasks. Step1 Installs and run this data eraser software on your device. Connect Samsung device to the computer. Setp2 Chooses to erase all data and it will erase the existing photos. Let the program scan the device. Setp3 The program will arrange the files category wise. Choose all the photos and click check box. Select delete and all your photos are erased forever. Simply deleting the photos is not enough. If you have already deleted the photos before downloading the software then delete them permanently using this software. Choose erase deleted data, let is scan and erase. Carefully select the data otherwise you may end up deleting your useful data. Method3 Delete Samsung photos with factory Reset This method will permanently delete all your photos from gallery. Go to settings and then select security. Click on a encrypt phone and then wait for a while. It will take some time be patient. Once done just go back to settings, tap on back up and reset and then click on factory data reset. Check the box erase phone data or choose remove from memory card. Click on reset phone. Its done. Conclusion There are 3 methods that can be used to delete your photos for your Samsung , and all i know any recovery tools can used to recover deleted data back , you can test it after you delete data from Samsung , Yesterday , i have used the Safewiper to delete photos and text messages from my Samsung and i have used the recovery tool to scan my phone , these deleted data can not be found , this means that these deleted photos has been deleted from my Samsung completely , as well as listen to my friend , the Safewiper also works well for other phone user , including Song , Htc, Lg ,Huawei and iPhone , A effective method or tool can save a lot of trouble and time for user , you can get what you want from here:https://www.safewiper.com/ @Technuter.com News Service Diamond and Silk Tell Congress Theyve Never Been Paid by President Trump, Campaign Filing Says Otherwise Pro-Trump commentators Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson better known as Diamond and Silk testified to Congress on Thursday theyd never been paid by the president but campaign filings prove otherwise. A $1,274 payment to Diamond and Silk for field consulting appears on a Federal Election Commission filing for President Trump, as The Hills Will Sommer quickly pointed out. Diamond and Silk are claiming in their House hearing right now that they've never been paid by the Trump campaign. But the Trump campaign FEC filing disagrees! https://t.co/Fu6VrmXm66pic.twitter.com/S2iJI3IX8I Will Sommer (@willsommer) April 26, 2018 Also Read:Facebook Crushes Wall Street Expectations, Reports $12 Billion in Q1 Revenue But when pressed on their claim theyd never been paid by the president, the sisters insisted the payment was strictly to cover airline expenses. We are familiar with that particular lie, we can see that you do look at fake news, said Silk. Weve never been paid by the Trump campaign, added Diamond. The sisters have made a name for themselves as outspoken fans of Trump before and after his 2016 election win, racking up more than 1.5 million Facebook followers in the process. Their testimony to the House Judiciary Committee at times mirrored their passionate videos, which routinely pull in several hundred thousand views. Also Read:'Silicon Valley': Zach Woods on Tech Culture and the Time He Didn't Recognize Elon Musk (Video) Diamond and Silk were in Washington, D.C. to weigh in on censorship in social media. Facebook along with other social media sites have taken aggressive actions to silence conservative voices such as ourselves by deliberately restricting and weaponizing our page with algorithms that censored and suppress our free speech, said the sisters in their prepared remarks. Story continues Video: Mark Zuckerberg Addresses Diamond and Silk Censorship But the issue of whether or not they were paid by President Trump flared up more than once. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic representative from New York, asked Diamond and Silk if they were aware they were subject to perjury. Jeffries then pushed the duo on the presidents supposed recommendation they make money off of their support for his campaign. Also Read:White Nationalist Richard Spencer Was Booted From Facebook He urged us to monetize our platform, said Diamond. You as an African-American are not going to make us feel guilty because we are going to get out here and take advantage of these platforms and monetize just like everybody else does. You can watch the full House hearing below: Related stories from TheWrap: Facebook Crushes Wall Street Expectations, Reports $12 Billion in Q1 Revenue Facebook Earnings Preview: Three Things to Watch After Cambridge Analytica Scandal Facebook Finally Reveals How It Bans Content Bill Cosbys guilty verdict was met with a collective exhale on Thursday as the once-revered comedians long fall from grace culminated in a conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Finally some justice for Bill Cosbys victims. May they find a little #peace today, director Elizabeth Banks tweeted, using the hashtag #GUILTY after the verdict came down. In a fitting end to Sexual Assault Awareness month, Bill Cosby was found guilty today, wrote Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. Thinking of all the women he traumatized over the past 50 years. As a survivor myself, I know that pain never fully goes away. But I hope that his victims finally feel some semblance of peace. Also Read: Bill Cosby Found Guilty in Andrea Constand Sexual Assault Retrial Cosby was found guilty by a Pennsylvania jury on Thursday. He was accused by former Temple University employee Andrea Constand of molesting her in 2004 at his home outside of Philadelphia. The trial was Cosbys second on charges stemming from Constands accusations. The previous trial ended in a mistrial last July, when the jury failed to reach a verdict after five days of deliberations. It follows years of accusations of assault against Cosby, culminating in an bold New Yorker cover story featuring the faces and stories of 35 of his accusers. Whats next?My defamation case on behalf of Janice Dickinson against Bill Cosby, which weve been fighting and WINNING for 3+ years, goes on, wrote celebrity lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents Dickinson, one of the other accusers who testified against Cosby in his re-trial last week. Mr. Cosby, Im looking forward to taking your deposition. Also Read: Bill Cosby Scandal Timeline: From First Accusation to Verdict (Photos) ACCOUNTABILITY. This is the only way things will change. https://t.co/BzCBX0Zdh7 terrycrews (@terrycrews) April 26, 2018 Finally some justice for Bill Cosbys victims. May they find a little #peace today. #GUILTY Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks) April 26, 2018 The Cosby conviction is a resonant reminder that power and influence come with significant responsibility, and must never, ever be abused in an evolved society. Hopefully this is only the first step forward. Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) April 26, 2018 Wishing Bill Cosby a long life! ????Joshua Malina???? (@JoshMalina) April 26, 2018 YES!!!! Bill Cosby Convicted of Sexual Assault by Jury https://t.co/HagOF4aEAW Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) April 26, 2018 In our culture women are speaking out more & more, but the Cosby trial reminds us that male advocacy is still vital. @hannibalburess spoke truth to the disgrace of Cosbys behavior & that perspective mattered. Ana Gasteyer (@AnaGasteyer) April 26, 2018 So many years have been packed into this week. No more please, brain hurts. christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 26, 2018 With Bill Cosbys guilty verdict I hope these women find some peace and that all those who have not been able to find justice in other instances with other men have hope that they too will be heard. Zero tolerance of sexual harassment. #TimesUp https://t.co/5MHTsbp2Bz Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) April 26, 2018 Just because you're rich and powerful doesn't mean another persons body is automatically available for sex. Consent must be given.#BillCosby Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) April 26, 2018 I wonder how long its going to take Trump to announce hes going to pardon Bill Cosby. Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) April 26, 2018 The state of America is this- Even with dozens of accusers we were all afraid Bill Cosby would walk. Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) April 26, 2018 Whelp there goes my Cosby Show reboot. Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) April 26, 2018 In a fitting end to Sexual Assault Awareness month, Bill Cosby was found guilty today. Thinking of all the women he traumatized over the past 50 years. As a survivor myself, I know that pain never fully goes away. But I hope that his victims finally feel some semblance of peace. Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) April 26, 2018 Yesterday Golden State Killer was arrested. Today Bill Cosby is found guilty. Tomorrow Gene Simmons will drown or get electrocuted. Paul Rust (@paulrust) April 26, 2018 I wonder how long its going to take Trump to announce hes going to pardon Bill Cosby. Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) April 26, 2018 What's next? My defamation case on behalf of Janice Dickinson against Bill Cosby, which we've been fighting and WINNING for 3+ years, goes on. Mr. Cosby, I'm looking forward to taking your deposition. Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) April 26, 2018 Related stories from TheWrap: Story continues Bill Cosby Found Guilty in Andrea Constand Sexual Assault Retrial Bill Cosby Retrial Jury Has a Question About Its Questions Bill Cosby Retrial: Jury's First Question in Deliberations Is a Doozy Despite being released from prison on Tuesday, Meek Mill is still not allowed to leave Philadelphia. According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a judge ordered Meek not to leave the county while out on bail. "This Court ORDERS that Defendant reside in Philadelphia County, be supervised by the Philadelphia County Adult Probation and Parole Department, and shall report to the Philadelphia County Adult Probation and Parole Department within 24 hours of the date of this Order, the document reads. With an upcoming evidentiary hearing on June 18, Meek would need to petition the court in order to leave the county if he so chooses. Meek served six months in prison for a probation violation. His ordeal has been fraught with claims that the legal system was biased in their handling of his case and sentencing, particularly after Meek's arresting officer was found to have been involved in a number of corruption and false testimony scandals. In a statement provided to Complex, Meek's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, had this to say: "When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered Judge Brinkley to immediately release Meek on bail, it stated that the conditions of bail should be similar or identical to the conditions that existed when he was on probation prior to August 1, 2017. At that time, Meek resided in Montgomery County, as he does now, which is where we believe his bail should be supervised from. So far, it looks like Meek is comfortable in his hometown, having gone to a Philadelphia 76ers playoff game shortly after his release. But don't expect Meek to champagne and campaign for much longer. The rapper has pledged to use his platform to advocate for criminal justice reform. This is an important moment, he told NBC's Lester Holt in his first interview since being released. This is a very important moment." More from Complex Photo credit: Getty Images From Esquire Listen to me, Frankenstein. You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man! -Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818. This is the most remarkable thing ever said to a President of the United States: We could talk all day but looks like you have a million things to do. Brian Kilmeade is one of the co-hosts of the Fox News Channels morning show, Three Dolts on a Divan. The president* watches this show every day because what else does he have to do, right? It was one of the Fox shows that created him as a viable national political figure, and one of the few shows anywhere completely committed to sustaining him as such. On Thursday morning, he called in, and, over the next several minutes, had what can be gently called an episode. In no particular order, he threatened to bring the Justice Department under his personal control; praised his magnificent performance in office; defended his nominee to run the VA even though said nominee already had pulled his name from consideration; threw Michael Cohen overboard; admitted he had spent that fateful night in Moscow at the Miss Universe pageant; ranted about the crimes of James Comey, the perfidy of Jon Tester, and the rank dishonesty of the media; and explained to the nation that Abraham Lincoln had been a Republican, which, people dont realize. And then Kilmeade cut him off. Photo credit: Getty Images Has a president ever been cut off of an interview before? The president is not the author of a cookbook or a movie star pitching a movie. Interviews with the president end when the president wants them to. And what self-respecting newsman would bail out a president who so clearly was headed full speed off to the far suburbs of Crazytown? Apparently, Brian Kilmeade. (By the way, one of the charges leveled against Dr. Ronny Jackson was that he dispensed various prescription meds as though they were M&Ms. One of these was modafinil, which Jackson allegedly doled out as a quick pick-me-up to various White House officials during long and exhausting overseas trips. Considering that the president* went about five minutes with the Fox morning crew before he came to a comma, Im wondering if Jackson left the key to the medicine cabinet behind. Im not saying, but Im just saying) Story continues Photo credit: Getty Images On Wednesday, when Senator Rand Paul took a dive on the nomination of Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State, some folks around the Capitol were wondering why Paul would stand up to Mitch McConnell, who could do his career as a senator some serious damage, but always fold like the cheap suit he is any time the eye of Sauron from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue turns in his direction. I dont think Paul is atypical in this regard. It is true that the fact that the Republicans have gone AWOL on standing up to the president* has a lot to do with the fact that theyre getting an awful lot of the policies for which theyve been slavering for 40 years, to say nothing of planting larval wingnuts all over the federal judicial system. (McConnell at this point looks like Lucy at the chocolate plant, trying to get as many of these critters confirmed as he can before Beggars Day arrives in November.) But I think theres more to it than that. Photo credit: Getty Images All of these guys can deal with the possibility of political defeat, even with the possibility of political destruction. Its something they live with every day of their lives-Hell, they have to start raising money for the reelect about 11 minutes after the polls close. This is a familiar peril to them. But, as was demonstrated in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, what this particular president* can hold over their heads is an existential personal threat. Beating them for the nomination was a byproduct. He destroyed them as public people and, possibly, as private people as well. Dont you think Chris Christie, or Marco Rubio, or Ted Cruz are aware of how easily he turned them as people into objects of public ridicule? Dont you think other Republicans took note of this? Do you think he knows any other way? Answer the last question first. Photo credit: Getty Images On the electric Twitter machine Thursday morning, historian Heather Cox Richardson hipped us to an inexact, but interesting, historical parallel to our current moment. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson was running out of friends. Lincoln Republicans distrusted him because he was a Democrat from the South, and because he was coddling the formerly treasonous, and also because he was sockless drunk about half the time. Frustrated with his rejection by what we would today call the establishment, Johnson decided to hit the road prior to the that years midterm elections and take his case to The People. This did not go well. Johnson barnstormed the country, deep in his cups much of time. On what he called his swing around the circle," Johnson blindly lashed out at his many enemies, real and imagined, in a fashion that one historian has called ill-tempered, semi-insane, and thoroughly undignified. One of his main campaign planks was to suggest that the states refuse to ratify the 14th Amendment. He accused the Lincoln Republicans of fomenting violence among the newly enfranchised African-American citizens. He even blamed Republicans-and black people-for the white supremacist rebellion in New Orleans. There was a catastrophic appearance in Cleveland when Johnson was heckled and began raving back in response. Of the swing around the circle, The New York Heraldconcluded: It is mortifying to see a man occupying the lofty position of President of the United States descend from that position and join issue with those who are dragging their garments in the muddy gutters of political vituperation. They hadnt seen anything yet. Video: Accusations Against White House Doctor Ronny Jackson Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. You Might Also Like A Brooklyn teacher was arrested on Wednesday following allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old male student, police said. Andre Braddy -- an eighth-grade math teacher at PS 235 in East Flatbush -- allegedly had multiple sexual encounters with a student in a school bathroom, police told ABC New York station WABC. A Brooklyn teacher was arrested and faces allegations of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. (WABC) The accusations surfaced after the student notified his parents, who contacted the police. The boy said the encounters had been happening for at least a month, according to WABC. Braddy, 34, faces charges of sex abuse, engaging in a criminal sex act and committing an act in a manner injurious to a child. He didnt seem to want to face the cameras. Teacher charged with having sexual relationship with 14 year old student. pic.twitter.com/q1w0TJfSHe Jim Dolan (@jimdolan7) April 25, 2018 Braddy has been suspended with pay. The New York City Department of Education called the allegations "deeply disturbing" and said Braddy would not be allowed contact with students during the investigation. "These deeply disturbing allegations have no place in our schools and he was immediately removed from the school," the department told WABC in a statement. "He will remain away from students pending the outcome of the investigation and we will pursue his removal from payroll as soon as legally possible." Braddy has taught eighth-grade math and advanced Algebra at the school since 2015. It was not clear if he had obtained an attorney as of Thursday morning. Photo credit: Rebecca Smeyne | Instagram From Cosmopolitan Amy Chozick has been reporting on Hillary Clinton for more than a decade as a reporter at the New York Times. The two presidential campaigns she covered were so intense that she considered freezing her eggs to preserve her fertility until after the 2016 election was over. In the aftermath of the groundbreaking election, Chozick wrote a book about her experiences following Hillary through her greatest victories and toughest losses. Now an author and a new mom, she spoke with Cosmopolitan.com about the most stunning moments she witnessed on the campaign trail. You kind of stumbled onto the Hillary beat on the first campaign. What was the first thing you learned covering her 2008 campaign? I came [to the 2008 presidential campaign] from being a foreign correspondent in Tokyo, and coming to Iowa to cover the caucuses was like an almost equally foreign experience to me. I definitely had impressions of Hillary and I found her to be this really inspiring figure. But I didn't know anything about the process or how her press apparatus would work. When I got to Iowa, everything was new. [I noticed that] everyone's hooking up on these campaigns! You know? And people were like, yeah, that's what you do in a campaign. So I wrote about it. Yeah, you write about the secret hookups where the secret service guys just sneak into reporters hotel rooms - that was nuts! It was funny. When you look at the men to choose from, you're like, all these reporters with bad posture who are as sleep-deprived as I am? And you can't hook up with someone on the staff because that would be really bad. It made perfect sense that the Secret Service guys would sneak into reporters hotel rooms. There's so much to write about when you're with her campaign all the time. How did you decide what to cover? It was hard. With Hillary in particular, because she was so famous, finding new stories, telling people things they didn't know about her was something I really tried to do, [during both the 2008 and 2016 elections]. I spent a lot of time in Arkansas. I wrote about how long I spent courting the woman who drove her to Arkansas to marry Bill Clinton. I just try to find the fresh perspective, like, 'What can we tell voters about this woman who everyone thinks that they know?'. And on the other hand, you're competing with all these other journalists. There's a mentality, like you don't want to get scooped on Hillary choosing John Podesta to be her campaign chair. Story continues What was a story you did that you thought really showed a new side of her? One of my favorite stories ran during the primaries around Christmas [2015]. It was about when Hillary went undercover in Alabama in 1974 to investigate segregation. There was a private academy where she went undercover and pretended to be a mother enrolling her son and she went through this whole like, kind of role-playing thing with the administrators and then said, 'Is this going to be a segregated school? Can you promise me?' and they did. Obviously that was illegal after the Supreme Court decision, so she was working for Marianne Wright Edelman and went back to file paperwork on this school. It didn't end up closing or losing its tax exempt status, but to me that so quintessentially Hillary. It was really brave in those days to do that. But that's so Hillary. She identified a problem, she went to investigate and then she tried to change the law. I think that that's sort of how her activism has always shown itself. On her 2008 campaign, you write that Hillary seemed much more comfortable with reporters than she was 8 years later. What's your favorite "showing her real self" story from the '08 campaign? She came back on Valentine's Day and felt really bad about keeping us away from our significant others so she called a bunch of our boyfriends, girlfriends, fiances, to say sorry. It was a very genuine thing to do. I also remember she was like taking shots at the inn or something and everyone's like, 'Oh, she's just pandering!' and I was like, 'No, she really knocked those shots back!' She was having fun and liked to drink and would. She definitely would come back on the plane with like, a very tall glass of very bad wine. It was like, you know, on more than one occasion. So, that was fun. And then I think about when she cried in the diner in New Hampshire. Women get exhausted and beat down and you just want to cry. It became such a big moment but I remember sitting a few feet from her in the diner and my editor was like, 'Is she faking? Can you tell?' I'm like, 'No, she's not faking, she just came in third place in Iowa when she thought she was gonna win!' You know, she was exhausted! There were so many stories like that from 2008. Something that struck me in your book was how seemingly sexist Hillary's press team, who were mostly men, were towards you and other female reporters during the 2016 campaign. Was that surprising to you? I think they tortured men too, but there did feel like there was this bullying, you've got a target on your back, sort of gendered thing happening with the press team. There were a lot of times when Hillary was picking up a lot of awards from women's groups and going all over New York and California giving speeches. She would give advice to young women and I would find myself applying that advice to dealing with her own press apparatus. Some of her lines of wisdom about like women being tough and picking yourself up and I'm like, 'Wait, I'm applying, this to your own press team!' One of the things that's interesting about Hillary is she does like to have men around protecting her. And that comes from all the storms that she's been through. She really values that kind of loyalty. I call it "Hillary's Court of Flattering Men": these kind of witty guys who can be very tough at times. One thing you talk about is how she was flirty with men, which, probably most of America doesn't think of her that way. Shes flirty. I mean, it's so funny. These lesbian conspiracies couldn't be more wrong! She does have girl friends, it's not like she doesn't like women or isn't around women, but at the State Department she really gravitated towards a lot of the generals and really got along with a lot of these men. On the campaign, she had a good rapport with a lot of the male reporters. I read about how she was very flirty with David Muir at ABC. She's always talking about how she married a man more attractive than she is. I don't really agree with that, but it was something she said often. She was very proud of that. She likes men hanging around I guess. Who doesn't? It's true. But another interesting side of her you wrote about is what you call "Saint Hillary," that religious side of her. Can you explain that? I think a lot of people would be surprised by how religious she is. You strip away all the politics, all the public perception, she really is in her heart a Methodist and rooted in the social gospel. I think when you become a politician, if you talk about religion too much you're pandering or something. And it was so personal to her, that she didn't really even talk about it that much. We went to church with her almost every Sunday. In 1993, she was going through moving to the White House and the Whitewater investigation and health care was a mess and it was like this really brutal adjustment for her, and also her father was dying in a hospital in Little Rock. But she committed to giving this speech in Austin that she couldn't get out of. And she gave this speech that was very new age-y, it weaves in religion, it talks about people being driven to find meaning in their lives as a community. It's definitely not what you would expect from a First Lady, but it's fascinating and I think really genuine and I think a glimpse into what she really believes. So flash forward a few months later, the Times magazine does a big story, they put her on the front cover in a white suit and it says, "Saint Hillary" and it's a pretty mocking profile of her. It makes her seem really sanctimonious. And it was just like, ridiculed all over the place. She was very scarred from that experience. She didn't wear white for years in photoshoots. And she really stopped talking that way. She hid that part of herself, and in 2016 you finally you saw like a little peek of it when she would talk about how the country needs more love and kindness. She came up with that and it was sort of like her little glimpse of Saint Hillary. On the topic of her faith, you and Maggie Haberman recently broke a story about allegations that Hillary's 2008 faith adviser, Burns Strider, had sexually harassed a young woman, and that Hillary protected him. Why did that only come out now? This is something we investigated during the campaign and so I knew about it, but I think in order to get it to the level of sourcing necessary to put it in the New York Times, it took a while. And I also think that, with Harvey Weinstein, and the subsequent #MeToo movement, in which every industry had people coming forward, I think it made people who are very protective of Hillary very reluctant to talk. After more people started talking, we had a chance to circle back and say, 'Hey, he's still working in Democratic politics and people should know this,' and sources were more convinced that they should talk to us. It just took a lot of chipping away. It's not like we were sitting on it, we just couldn't nail it down. Photo credit: Rebecca Smeyne By 2016, Hillary had a mostly female press corps, and you write that she told aides that she knew women reporters would be harder on her, which I found really interesting. Looking back, do you think that was the case? I don't think so. We had an obligation to cover [Hillary] the way we would any other candidate. You also grappled a lot with thinking she hated you during the campaign. Why does that bother you so much? It's complicated. On one hand, the people we cover aren't supposed to write us and send us flowers. It's supposed to be, at times, combative. But that said, I spent all my time [awake] - and asleep - dreaming about this woman! I gave up all this, my whole life to cover her and see her become president. So it did weigh on me that she hated me. But I don't think I could have done my job for the Times and somehow have her love me. But still, you know? It kind of beats you down. I mean, at times I don't blame her, I would've hated me too after some of those stories. I definitely had mixed feelings about how aggressively everyone covered those emails. And certainly, I write about stories I could've done a better job at. Like getting followed to the bathroom at CGI, I probably could've skipped that story. And that story made Hillary really hate me. It was like a blog post. I think people don't realize in retrospect there's a lot of, 'You didn't cover Hillary's policies!' but I wrote about every one of her major policy plans, it's just those stories didn't get much attention. So I say most stories were neutral. There were the few ones that were negative and then there were a lot of positive ones. Another source of hostility was from Bernie Bros online. I was surprised by the volume of harassment and threats you got. Now that we're in the Trump era people forget how toxic that primary was. But there was certainly a huge volume of online bullying. This is the irony right? Hillary's press guys are mad at me, I think she hates me, at the same time the Bernie Bros are beating me up because they think that I'm trying to get Hillary elected, you know? It's like, both sides are pissed off. But yeah, the Bros were like a nonstop drumbeat throughout the campaign. They either thought we were ignoring Bernie or we were colluding with the DNC or we were giving Hillary too much positive coverage. I never felt physically threatened. It was just more like psychologically, every time you look at Twitter it's like getting punched in the face repeatedly. Certainly you had to be careful at the convention or when you're at protests or things like that. From Bernie Bros to Trump, the 2016 election was largely characterized by misogyny. How did you see that sexism evolve over the course of your three years covering it? I don't think I anticipated how difficult it would be, how much misogyny we would see. And I don't think a lot of people on her campaign team did either. They thought, 'We elected Obama, we've broken the racial barrier' and I think the Bros sort of started that. And then it was just such a remarkable turn of events. The first woman nominee is running against the first Republican nominee to be caught on tape bragging about sexual assault. The contrast between the candidates could not have been more different. Before the election, I always said I don't really think about my gender or Hillary's. I'm a reporter and she's a candidate. But you could not get through 2016 without constantly being reminded, both of her gender and the women who cover her. We all got bullied by the Bros. You write that the whole female press corps was emotional right after Hillary lost, not to see her lose but because a woman had come so close and not succeeded. Yeah, I think [Hillarys] loss just sort of highlighted things in your own life and your own career. Whether you're in your office and the unprepared, bombastic guy got the raise when you were more prepared. I think a lot of women saw the dynamic that happened on election night in their own life in some small way. I went home to Texas for a couple weeks after the election and I had a lot of emotions about, did I become the elite media and miss how other parts of the country were feeling? I had so many mixed emotions, and so [writing a book] in a way was kind of great in that it was cathartic and therapeutic, and I fought through a lot of those feelings on the page. Inadvertent rope line photo bomb... A post shared by amychozick (@amychozick) on Jan 4, 2016 at 2:41pm PST Do you have any regrets about your coverage of her, looking back? There's just frustration, because her friends would say, 'If only people saw the real Hillary, the warm, witty, fun, Hillary.' If she didn't show that to the press, how could we communicate that to voters? That was a constant frustration of, 'Well I want to see that Hillary so that I can communicate that Hillary to voters, but she very rarely showed that side of herself. I think there was a lot of caution and a lot of overthinking things. I mean, the most appealing version of Hillary we've seen in years was her walking her dog in the woods with no makeup on in her Lululemons. And there were people in her campaign who suggested, 'Why don't you just go to a diner in Chappaqua in your sweatpants and no makeup, or little makeup?' And she and Huma would always shoot it down. Hindsight's 20/20, but I wish that we'd been able to see that side. If you could have a sit down with Hillary now, what would you ask her? I would just kind of honestly ask her about this relationship that has mostly been in my head, you know? For years. I want to know how I let her down, what I could have done better, why she never saw a gray area. It was like, you wrote one negative story and you're an enemy. And then I'd write a positive story and it didn't matter. I'd want to get back to her "Politics as Meaning" speech and I'd want to ask her about whether the country still has the crisis of meaning, and why she stopped talking that way. The Saint Hillary way. I think she'd have some really interesting thoughts on it if she was just comfortable going to that Saint Hillary place. Photo credit: . Amy Chozick's book, Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling, is available now. BUY IT HERE Follow Rebecca on Twitter. You Might Also Like Sharam Diniz is a 27-year-old model born in Angola, Africa who now lives in New York City. She's walked the Victoria's Secret runway, starred in Tom Ford and Chanel campaigns, and is set to launch her own hair extensions line, Sharam Hair, this summer. After years of chemically treating her hair, she recently decided to shave it all off. Here, she tells Samantha Sasso why she wishes she'd done it even sooner. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. I started relaxing my hair when I was five years old. The texture of my natural hair was so painful to manage that I remember crying every single time someone would try to braid it. One day, my auntie who had her own hair salon at the time in Angola told my mother, Listen, maybe the easier thing to do is relax her hair. I always wanted long, straight hair and I could never have it. When I looked at covers of magazines when I young, I didn't ever see a Black girl rocking an Afro, so I became obsessed with the hair I saw on TV and in music videos and magazines. I wondered why I didnt have that. But after 15 years of treating my hair with aggressive chemicals, it lost its life, so I took a break from relaxers and started wearing wigs. That felt amazing. My first experience with the power of wigs came from my mother, who was a flight attendant. Growing up in Angola, there werent many products around to treat or style natural hair in the best way possible, so when my mother would come back from places like Paris, she would bring me amazing products, including wigs. I would try them on at home, playing with all different styles wavy, curly, straight, bangs. Growing up, I always wanted to be an actress and I found the wigs to be a way of playing different characters. I would just be in front of the mirror pretending that I was acting with someone else and the reflection in the mirror was my co-star. I never liked having the same style for too long; I would get bored. If I didnt have my braids, I would go to the salon every single weekend and I still do looking for something new. Story continues Photographed by Christina Buscarino; Courtesy of Brandsway Creative. I was 17 when I entered a modeling competition and ended up winning. Soon after, I moved to Portugal Im half-Portuguese because I knew the fashion industry in Europe was more developed than in Angola. I signed with my first agency, which put me in all the main markets: Milan, Paris, London, and later New York. The first thing my agent at the time told me was that I was beautiful, but needed to straighten my hair. I had an Afro, and although it was a weave, it was labeled as "too commercial" at the time. To land high-fashion, editorial jobs, I needed straight hair. I didnt really understand why, but because I already had so much experience with changing my hair often, I was okay with it. After a couple years, I moved to New York and started getting tired of straightening it. I would go to the salon to put a weave in and it would take a whole day. I couldn't have any appointments or meetings booked because it would take at least eight hours to braid or relax my hair. Then, once I found Brazilian blowouts one way to straighten my hair without damaging the curl I would have to wash, then dry, then braid, then sew in the weave. It was a lot. By then, I was done with it all. Photographed by Christina Buscarino; Courtesy of Brandsway Creative. Shaving all my hair off has been something Ive been thinking about for a long time. Seeing so many beautiful and bold women, like Maria Borges and Lupita Nyongo, rocking their natural texture and forcing the industry to accept what natural beauty is made the decision easier. It felt like the time for me to make a change. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone of long, feminine hair and from what people were always expecting to see me as. I can be edgy. I can be masculine. Weve been brainwashed to think that being feminine means having long, straight hair. No, you can see the beauty of a person with short hair, too. It's a movement now. I had a lot of fears about cutting it all off I had all the fears. How would it affect my career? Would I lose jobs? Would my agent drop me? It was my decision to make, but it still took me five months to actually take the risk and do it. But I wanted to make the cut different, too there are so many models now with short, natural hair so I dyed it pink. Now, I know I'll never, ever, complain about braiding my hair again, because bleaching your hair is painful. I had to do it three times before dyeing it pink! Now, it's like I have a whole new lease on life. Everything looks different! Not just my hair, but my makeup, too. After I cut it, I wore pink eyeshadow for the first time to Beautycon in New York and the reaction was so positive. Women with short hair were coming up to me, complimenting mine. The reaction on social media and walking around the streets just confirms I made a great decision, and even my agents at One Management, who I was most worried about, love it. I feel like Im on a wave. If I had known before it wouldve been this good, I wouldve cut it much sooner. Read these stories next: The Real Reason Taraji P. Henson Chopped Off All Her Hair The Haircut I Never Thought I'd Get 8 Spring Looks That Celebrate The Beauty Of Natural Hair Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? This Is What Kim Kardashian's Naked Body Looks Like As A Perfume The 5 Colors Everyone Will Be Wearing This Summer Hollywood's Favorite Makeup Trick Is Not What You'd Expect At least nine teenagers were killed and one is missing after a flash flood interrupted their hiking trip in southern Israel near the Dead Sea on Thursday. The group of 25 young people had been on a trip organized by Bnei Zion, a pre-military academy in Israel, the New York Times reported. They were hiking in the Nahal Tzafit riverbed, which is typically extremely dry. However, heavy rainfall over the last two days flooded the area. Police, volunteers and military teams set out searching for the missing student but the search was suspended as night fell, according to Reuters. The remaining 15 students from the group were rescued, and two of them were treated for hypothermia, according to the Times. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a terrible disaster in a statement on Twitter and praised the first responders. We are all praying for better news, he added. Police said they would open an investigation into the incident to understand why the group proceeded with their hike in such intense weather conditions, the Times reported. A spokeswoman for the police said the group may have ignored official warnings that the area was not safe due to the rainstorms. Stockholm (AFP) - "Mamma Mia! Here we go again": Sweden's legendary disco group ABBA announced on Friday that they have reunited to record two new songs, 35 years after their last single, sparking joy and surprise among fans. "We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did," the group said in a statement after repeatedly vowing they would never reunite. The new songs "I Still Have Faith In You" and "Don't Shut Me Down" were recorded last summer, the band's manager Gorel Hanser told TT news agency. The quartet split up in 1982 after dominating the disco scene for more than a decade with hits like "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Super Trouper". "It was like time had stood still and that we only had been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!" members Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson added. The group, which sold more than 400 million albums, have not sung together publicly since 1986. "I think it's going to sound pretty much like their last songs from 1982, with quite a mild tempo, not like 'Voulez-Vous' or 'Gimme Gimme Gimme'," Carl Magnus Palm, who has written several books about the group, told AFP. "Frida's and Agnetha's voices are the same, so it won't be a huge difference," he said. Palm said he was stunned by Friday's announcement. "I'm as surprised as everyone else.... They've always been so adamant that they weren't going to make new music." The news came as Sweden mourned the death of another of its music sensations, Avicii, one of the world's most successful DJs whose real name was Tim Bergling. He was found dead a week ago in Oman where he had been on holiday with friends. - 'Come of age' - Story continues Computerised avatars are to perform "I Still Have Faith In You" in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC to be broadcast in December, the group said. "We have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good." Bjorn, 73, was married to Agnetha, 68, and Benny, 71, was married to Anni-Frid, 72. The group dominated the 1970s disco scene with their glitzy costumes, kitsch dance routines and catchy melodies. They first found global fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with "Waterloo". While they have appeared in public together on rare occasions, they have never reunited to perform as a group, and have vowed that won't ever happen. "There is simply no motivation to regroup. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were," Ulvaeus said in a 2008 interview. Friday's announcement elicited as much joy as shock among observers. Richard Skold, a 46-year-old ABBA fan who works at a Stockholm book store, jumped up with surprise after hearing the news. "This is the craziest thing I've heard! I never thought this would happen. And the fact that they're all still alive is fantastic!" he told AFP. "BREAKING: ABBA have reformed. This may be bigger than Korea," British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan tweeted, referring to Friday's historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in. - 'The same wonderful chemistry'- The group's manager Gorel Hanser told TT that hearing the four record the two new songs was "just like in the ABBA days". "It was the same wonderful chemistry. It was as if time had stood still," Hanser said. "Everyone got into their role and sang, and sang and sang," she said, adding the band was not planning to tour together in real life. Their popularity has continued to grow over the years, with the 1999 hit musical "Mamma Mia" and the 2008 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep bringing their music to a whole new generation of fans. ABBA's music also featured prominently in two cult Australian films, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Muriel's Wedding", both released in 1994. In 2013, the world's first museum dedicated to ABBA opened in Stockholm, offering visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the foursome with a little help from modern technology. BERLIN (Reuters) - Airbus and Dassault Aviation have signed an initial agreement to cooperate on Europe's Future Air Combat System (FCAS) even though the two are rivals and have not yet said which one of them would lead the project. Airbus builds the Eurofighter, while Dassault has the Rafale jet. The new fighter jet project, as part of the FCAS, will eventually replace the current generation of Eurofighter and Rafale fighter aircraft by around 2035-2040. "We are still competitors, so it was not a given to sit here and say we can do it together," Airbus Defence and Space CEO Dirk Hoke told reporters at a briefing alongside the CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier. There has been speculation Dassault would seek to lead the project, but the two companies did give any details on this on Wednesday when they announced the partnership at the Berlin air show. Trappier said they would decide who had the best skills and competencies to lead each part of the project, which is set to include a fighter jet, unmanned aerial vehicles, connectivity and secure communications. "The role on both sides is to find the right compromises. If we play egos we will end up with a project that won't be successful," Hoke said. They are now awaiting details from the French and German governments on the exact requirements for the program. Germany and France have agreed on the central requirements for a new fighter jet to replace Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale warplanes beginning in 2040, and officials from the two countries will sign an outline document on the sidelines of the show, military sources said on Tuesday. SOVEREIGNTY Airbus and Dassault decided to team up to ensure that Europe retains control over its future weapons systems, Dassault's Trappier said. "I don't feel that if other European countries buy off the shelf American products that you contribute to strategic autonomy," Trappier said. Story continues Opening the air show in between heavy rain showers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the event, hosted with France as a partner, was a symbol of the close cooperation between the two countries. Whether the French and German governments decide to involve Britain in future projects would likely depend on the conditions around its exit from the European Union, Airbus' Hoke said. France is working with Britain on an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, but that project has not yet progressed as expected. "It was supposed to go up to the extent of joint demonstrator. For some reason this has not yet been decided," Trappier said. He said the Franco-German cooperation was different, with it being for a larger system, including a manned fighter, whereas the Franco-British project was for an unmanned aircraft. Airbus and Dassault said it was important for France and Germany to launch an initial joint study this year so they could get demonstrators of the technology done for 2025. Trappier said the fighter jet would not be a copy of the U.S. F-35 fighter, but would be more ambitious. Hoke said if Germany decided to buy the F-35 to replace its Tornados, that would mean the FCAS would no longer be feasible. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Jane Merriman) Supporters of toddler Alfie Evans call for life-support treatment to be given to the struggling toddler (PA) Alfie Evans, the toddler at the centre a heartbreaking life-support treatment dispute, is reportedly struggling. Court of Appeal judges are currently analysing the most recent stage of the life or death row over the 23-month-old boy at a hearing in London. Alfies parents Tom Evans and Kate James, both in their early 20s and from Liverpool, launched an appeal following a ruling by a High Court judge late on Tuesday. A lawyer representing the couple said Alfie was struggling. During a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester Mr Justice Hayden decided that Alfie should not be allowed to leave Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in Liverpool in order to travel to a hospital in Rome. Life-support treatment being provided to Alfie by doctors was withdrawn on Monday evening. Brain-damaged toddler Alfie Evans cuddles his mother Kate James at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool (Alfies Army Official via AP) The parents of Alfie Evans, who have launched a third legal bid (PA) The toddler confounded medical specialists expectations and defied predictions by continuing to breathe, according to his father. Appeals have been made on Alfies Army Facebook page for ventilation equipment to be brought to the hospital. Alfies aunt Sarah Evans wrote: Please continue to pray Alfie is still fighting. Supporters were later seen running into the hospital entrance with what appeared to be medical equipment. Despite already losing two legal battles, in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights, they remain defiant in the bid to give their young son another chance at life. In February, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that doctors at Alder Hey could stop treating Alfie against the wishes of his parents following hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London and Liverpool. Police guard the entrance to the Liverpool hospital (PA) Specialists at Alder Hey said life-support treatment should stop and the judge said he accepted medical evidence showing that further treatment was futile. Flying Alfie to a foreign hospital would be wrong and pointless, Mr Justice Hayden said, and Court of Appeal judges upheld the decision. Supreme Court justices and ECHR judges refused to intervene. Story continues MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO The James couple then said that their son Alfie was being wrongly detained, a claim that was dismissed by Mr Justice Hayden. Appeal judges have upheld Mr Justice Haydens decision and Supreme Court justices and ECHR judges said they would not intervene. Mr Justice Hayden then finalised plans for withdrawing treatment, which will allow Alfies life to end. Judicial heads announced earlier this week that Sir Andrew would take over from Sir James Munby, who is retiring, as the most senior family court judge in England and Wales in a few months time. An Italian embassy representative was in court, according to a barrister representing Alfies father. Paul Diamond said an air ambulance was on standby at the request of the Pope, adding: My general conversation with Mr Evans is save my boy. Mr Diamond said: He would leave no stone unturned He is clutching at straws. An American Airlines passenger traveling with her husband and two young children discovered a dead rat in her suitcase after the airline lost her suitcase for five days. The whole trip with American Airlines was a bit of a nightmare and the rat in the bag was, for lack of better words, the cherry on top!" 36-year-old Merry Cannon told Australian site news.com.au. The Arkansas woman said her family was initially going to fly out from Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 5, but their flight was canceled because of a broken windshield. Subsequently, the family missed a connection to Chicago and were rebooked on a different flight, which then sat in the runway for an hour. The airline upgraded their seats because of "all the trouble," Cannon told news.com.au. Trending: When Will Chernobyl Be Livable? Facts on the Anniversary of the Soviet Nuclear Disaster As a result, the Cannons missed a portion of their trip to Europe, skipping a planned visit to Germany. They flew into Brussels and then rented a car and drove to Lille, France. In addition to the itinerary changes, the family's luggage was lost for five days. When it was returned, it had a stench that Cannon initially thought resulted from her bag sitting wet on the runway for those few days. AA flight Robert Alexander/Getty Images Don't miss: What Is Pansexuality? Janelle Monae Told Us About Her Sexuality in 2010, but No One Noticed When I grabbed the clothes is when I saw the rat. I have never screamed and cried so much in my life. I ran inside and began scrubbing my hands and arms. I had touched the things in this bag because American Airlines told me to just wash everything," Cannon told the outlet. Cannon called the airline and was told her claim would be rushed in two to three days. Cannon then contacted the U.S. Department of Health. A health inspector reportedly told Cannon, "The biggest concern would be the plague." Story continues She was eventually given $1,600 for her troubles, which is the maximum international payout. "My bag and its belongings totaled $3,217. To me thats crazy that international has a payout that is about half as much as domestic, Cannon told the outlet. Most popular: Corey Lewandowski Is Allegedly Offering Phone Calls With Trump As He Looks for Lobbying Work in Serbia, Politician Claims American Airlines apologized and said they were not "aware of any similar issues of a rat making its way into a checked bag before," the airline told Newsweek in a statement. "While we are unable to determine if the issue occurred in the United States or overseas, we did apologize to the customer, and they were compensated earlier this month," the statement said, confirming that the payout totaled approximately $1,600. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Herculano Coroado LUANDA (Reuters) - The most powerful body in Angola's ruling MPLA party said on Friday it had approved the candidacy of state president Joao Lourenco to become head of the party, replacing his predecessor as head of state Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The move coincided with an announcement by Angola's $5 billion sovereign wealth fund that it was sacking Swiss-based Quantum Global as its asset manager because it was concerned about the way its capital was being invested. Both developments will further cement the political grip of Lourenco, who has taken action against dos Santos' allies and removed family members from key positions while pledging to root out endemic corruption and clean up public finances in Africa's No. 2 crude producer. Dos Santos' son Jose was formerly head of the fund but has since been removed by Lourenco, who has also overseen the sacking of his daughter Isabel as head of state oil company Sonangol. Lourenco took over as state president in September last year when dos Santos stepped down after almost four decades in power, but the latter remained head of the MPLA, which has ruled Angola since it won independence from Portugal in 1975. The MPLA's politburo, the highest-ranking organ in the former Marxist party that was aligned to Moscow during the Cold War, said in a statement that it had "approved the candidacy of Comrade Joao Lourenco, currently Vice-President, to the position of MPLA President." The next MPLA president will be formally appointed at a party congress in September. Dos Santos' position as head of the party was widely regarded as an attempt to maintain control of the state but Lourenco has shown he is in charge. The action against Quantum Global follows this pattern as the new administration seeks to weed out the influence of dos Sanstos' appointees in a bid to woo investors and key lenders. Angola's sovereign wealth fund FSDEA said in a statement that it had "great concerns about Quantum Globals approach to investment of the FSDEA funds." "As a consequence of investigations through leading international global consultants and advisers, FSDEA is taking steps to remove Quantum as its asset manager," it added. Quantum Global said all Angola's money under its management was accounted for and that the dispute was a contractual issue. QG was appointed in 2012, with most investments made in 2015. Friday's announcement comes just weeks after Mauritius froze bank accounts and suspended business licenses linked to QG Investments Africa Management following a visit by Angolan officials. QG Investments Africa Management, which said it was cooperating with authorities in Mauritius, is run by Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, QG founder and group chairman and a business partner of dos Santos' son. Quantum Global has demanded that Mauritius authorities explain their decision to suspend its business licenses on the Indian Ocean island nation. (Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Richard Balmforth) There was a cheeriness redolent of a family reunion when the leaders of North and South Korea met for denuclearization talks at the peninsulas demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Friday, shaking hands across the frontier before Kim Jong Un made history by stepping over the raised concrete slab marking the border to become his dynastic regimes first ever leader to visit the South. Then Kim, a portly vision of black in a Mao-style suit and horn-rimmed glasses, invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to hop back across to North Korea, the land from where his refugee parents fled to the South on an U.N. supply ship during the 1950-53 Korean War. The two leaders then crossed once again to the South, hand-in-hand, before sitting down to negotiations at the DMZs Peace House, emerging in the twilight to declare that conflict was over and both would work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun, said a joint statement signed following the talks. Kim Jong Un said the Koreas are linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately. For Moon, reaching this point has been a lifelong ambition. He helped broker the last summit between the leaders of North and South, 11 years ago, when he was chief of staff to then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. Now Moon has the top job and is charged with persuading Kim to give up his nuclear weapons and a hawkish Donald Trump administration to invest the time and energy needed to ink a deal acceptable to all parties. A White House statement expressed hope that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula, and that Trump was looking forward to meeting Kim himself in coming weeks. South Korean delegation including President Moon Jae-in and North Korean delegation including Leader Kim Jong Un sit down for the Inter-Korean Summit at the Peace House on April 27, 2018. As expected, the summit was meticulously choreographed and full of symbolism. An honor guard of Korean soldiers in bright traditional war robes welcomed the leaders, during which Kim appeared slightly uneasy, panting heavily. But he appeared in fine fettle once the leaders and their traveling delegations seven from South Korea; nine from the North, including Kims influential sister sat down for discussions on chairs marked with a map of a united Korea. Kim even ribbed Moon about North Korean noodles being popular in the South. He also said he was willing to go to [South Koreas Presidential] Blue House at any time if invited, according to Moons spokesman. Story continues But if the symbolism was laid on a little thick, it was perhaps because substantive outcomes were limited. Both sides agreed to high level military talks next month, to resume reunions of families separated by the Korean War and for Moon to visit Pyongyang in the autumn. But North Korea is subject to strict new U.N. sanctions following its escalating missile and nuclear tests, meaning Moon alone has little power to offer economic inducements. Even a formal end to the Korean War, which Moon and Kim announced Friday, rings hollow unless the U.S. was also party. (The nations technically remain at war as an armistice rather than peace treaty was signed.) The two leaders said they will work towards signing a peace treaty this year on the 65th anniversary of the armistice July 27 which was originally signed between North Korea, China and the U.S. And no specifics were revealed for exactly how denuclearization would occur. Read more: What Kim Jong Un Really Wants From President Trump Serious discussion about denuclearization is simply impossible because this is not so much an issue of South Korea, but rather an issue of the United States, Andrei Lankov, professor of Korean studies at Seouls Kookmin University, told South Koreas Arirang TV. South Korea should push the United States towards accepting a compromise. Before the summit, Kim had already promised to end missile launches and dismantle his Punggye-ri nuclear testing site. During discussions Friday, he joked to Moon that he would not interrupt your early morning sleep anymore, referring to his typically daybreak weapons tests. Moon and Kim appeared to be genuinely connecting; they enjoyed a lengthy chat while sitting alone on a blue footbridge following a tree-planting ceremony, with nearby microphones only picking up the tweeting birds of the surrounds. But few believe North Korea will truly dispense of its nuclear arsenal after decades spent honing it. Late last year, the regime tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICMB) it claims could strike anywhere in the continental U.S. Lets take denuclearization off the table isnt going to happen, says Christopher Green, a senior researcher on the Korean Peninsula for the International Crisis Group. But North Korea may be attempting to make a serious change of direction whilst also retaining a nuclear weapon. While the lives of the 25 million ordinary North Koreas are largely irrelevant for Kim, he does rely on the backing of 2 million-odd elites, who mainly live in Pyongyang and are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the direction of the nation, according to South Korean intelligence. Theyre not sure that the state will survive, but more than that they dont feel like their children have too many opportunities for the future, says Green. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's entry in a guestbook at the Peace House in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. The writing reads Satisfying Trump enough to ease the sanctions and allow North Korea to prosper will not be easy. While China and the U.S. agreed last year that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be complete, verifiable and irreversible, North Korea likely has a different interpretation one to revolve around decreasing the saliency of nuclear and missile tests in its diplomacy, rather than the complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament desired by the West, writes Karl Dewey, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense analyst for Janes by IHS Markit. Kims announcement of the dismantlement of Punggye-ri has been tempered by reports from Chinese geologists that it had already collapsed, possibly resulting in significant radiation poisoning. At any rate, its closure could simply mean North Korean engineers are satisfied with the design of their nuclear devices and thus no longer need to test, or that a second facility could be set up were further refinement required. Read more: What Would Korean Reunification Look Like? Five Glaring Problems to Overcome The challenge facing Moon is to keep the Trump administration engaged, even if the goalposts shift significantly from total disarmament. Trumps hawkish new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton have repeatedly insisted that military options remain on the table, despite the utter devastation that could be wrought on South Korea and Japan by Pyongyangs conventional, chemical and nuclear retaliation. Low-hanging fruit maybe for Kim to return the three Americans his regime currently holds captive, thus providing Trump with a small but ego-boosting victory. Still, Lankov worries that the Trump-Kim summit might not happen or might end in disaster, because there is always a possibility that at the last moment President Trump will listen to some of his advisers who will tell him nothing but full and immediate nuclear denuclearization is acceptable. Moon entertaining Kim was the easy part. Keeping Trump ameliorable and on message at the next summit is when the true work will begin. By Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Margarita Antidze YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia will get a new prime minister next week after nearly two weeks of street protests, with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, who has led the demonstrations, emerging as the protesters' unequivocal favorite. Although the demonstrations have been peaceful, the upheaval has threatened to destabilize Armenia, an ally of Russia, in a volatile region riven by Armenia's decades-long, low-level conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. Moscow has two military bases in the ex-Soviet republic, and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Karen Karapetyan, the acting prime minister, on Thursday and made it clear Moscow was watching and did not want mob rule. "It was emphasized that resolving the political crisis in Armenia must take place exclusively through legal means in the framework of the current constitution," the Kremlin said. Its statement also appeared to suggest that Putin wanted the next prime minister to come from the ruling party, which has been the focus of popular anger, saying he thought the crisis needed to be addressed on the basis of what he said were legitimate parliamentary elections in 2017. That appeared to conflict with the demands of protesters who have said they want Pashinyan to be the new interim prime minister and for him to organize fresh parliamentary elections. Protest leader Pashinyan said that results of 2017 election could not be regarded as legitimate. "It's a misunderstanding," Pashinyan told reporters commenting on Putin's statement. "I think it's a wrong interpretation as Russia as well as other countries does not intervene in Armenia's internal affairs." The situation in Armenia is awkward for the Russian leadership. It has kept a tight lid on protests in its own country, but is now watching as demonstrations in a close ally are forcing the ruling Armenian elite to make concessions, setting a regional precedent it is unlikely to welcome. The demonstrations, driven by public anger over perceived political cronyism and corruption, looked to have peaked on Monday when Serzh Sarksyan, a close Putin ally, quit as prime minister, a post he had held for just six days after serving for a decade as president. Demonstrators have made clear they view the whole system as tainted after Sarksyan's sought to shift power to the office of premier from that of president. They want a sweeping political reconfiguration before ending their protests, which continued on Thursday. In a further sign of growing Russian interest in the crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow on Thursday with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian, while Armenia's acting vice premier, Armen Gevorkyan, met Russian presidential administration officials. Pashinyan said on Wednesday he had received assurances from Russian officials that Moscow would not intervene in the crisis. Earlier this week, Pashinyan ruled out challenging the presence of Russian military bases in Armenia or its membership in Russia-led military and economic alliances. 'A PEOPLE'S PRIME MINISTER' Armenia's ruling elite has been scrambling to try to appease the protesters for days. The parliamentary speaker said on Thursday parliament would elect a new interim prime minister on May 1. Pashinyan, a former journalist turned lawmaker who has been instrumental in organizing the protests, has demanded the job. "We expect that all forces in the parliament will recognize the people's victory .... Either I will be elected as prime minister or there will be no prime minister elected in Armenia," Pashinyan told protesters gathered in Republic square in central Yerevan. He offered to meet acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Friday. Pashinyan, if elected, wants to reform the electoral system to ensure it is fair before holding new parliamentary elections. "We will have a people's prime minister and after the election a people's government and parliament," said Anna Agababyan, a 38-year-old teacher who was protesting in Yerevan, the capital, on Thursday, holding a small national flag. Armen Sarkissian, the president, on Thursday hailed what he called "a new page" in Armenia's history and called on lawmakers to help forge a new country while respecting the constitution. Pashinyan and his allies have been busy trying to build support for him with the ruling Republican Party and other parties in parliament where Pashinyan, before the protests, was part of a small opposition bloc with no chance of power. (Writing by Andrew Osborn and Margarita Antidze,; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Peter Graff) Moscow (AFP) - The Kremlin is famous for its hatred of "colour revolutions" but Armenian protests present no danger to Moscow because the rallies eschew anti-Russian slogans and Yerevan is hugely dependent on Moscow's military and economic aid. Over the past days Moscow has conspicuously sought to distance itself from a political crisis in Armenia which saw the country's leader Serzh Sarkisian ousted this week from his new post of prime minister after serving a decade as president. Even on Thursday, as top Russian officials led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed Armenian officials for talks in Moscow, the Kremlin insisted that the crisis remained the South Caucasus country's domestic affair. Analysts said that no matter who eventually comes to power in Armenia, he will maintain close ties to Russia. "The Russian leadership proceeds from the fact that Armenia will stay with Russia under any political regime," Konstantin Kalachev, head of the Political Expert Group think tank in Moscow, told AFP. "Armenia's key problem is a security problem, the threat of major war with Azerbaijan," he said, adding that Armenia would be closely tethered to Russia until a territorial dispute over Nagorny Karabakh was solved. "And it will never be solved," he added. Azerbaijan and Armenia have for decades been locked in a bitter dispute over Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway statelet with an Armenian ethnic majority that is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Frequent exchanges of fire along Karabakh's volatile frontline has been a persistent problem and the risk that Azerbaijan could use the crisis in Armenia to its advantage has not been lost on politicians in Yerevan and Moscow. - In Russia's orbit - The Russian foreign ministry pointedly said Lavrov and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandyan discussed Karabakh on Thursday. Last year, ex-Soviet Armenia signed a partnership agreement with the European Union, aiming to strengthen ties with the Western bloc, but it remains firmly in Russia's orbit. Story continues It is one of Moscow's closest allies and is a member of Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Armenia hosts a Russian military base in Gyumri and Russian border guards patrol the South Caucasus country's border with Turkey and Iran. Armenia's economic dependence on investment, aid and gas imports from Russia is equally strong. The country's opposition says some 290,000 people have left the country over the past decade, many of them for Russia. "The protests were not about East versus West, or Russia versus EU," said Maximilien Lambertson, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "The driving factors were deep-seated domestic features: popular distrust of Sarkisian and the government coupled with dissatisfaction at stagnant living standards." Protests in Armenia stand in stark contrast to rallies in Ukraine in 2013-2014 and Georgia in 2003 which brought pro-Western governments to power and shredded ties with Moscow. Russian television -- which critics accuse of selective news coverage to suit the Kremlin agenda -- covered "acts of civil disobedience" in Armenia, with Moscow praising the Armenian opposition and authorities for "keeping respect for each other." "Armenia, Russia is always with you," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. While holding talks with the Armenian authorities in Moscow, Russian officials also met with protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. - 'Not a rejection of Russia' - Both Kremlin-friendly and Western observers said they did not expect the Armenian crisis to have wide-ranging geopolitical repercussions. "No one is using anti-Russian slogans," Kremlin-friendly political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko told AFP, so Moscow "is not inclined to shoot from the hip." Thomas de Waal, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the protests "are decidedly not a rejection of Russia." "Sometimes," he wrote in Foreign Policy, "government-toppling protests are just government-toppling protests." In Moscow, opposition supporters praised the protest movement in Armenia, with Putin's bete noire Alexei Navalny pointedly saying it was days of sustained protests that forced Sarkisian out. Some Armenian demonstrators described Sarkisian's political transition as "pulling a Putin", a reference to the manoeuvres of Kremlin leader, who also switched between the roles of prime minister and president. But observers in Russia said any such comparisons were inappropriate, with Putin remaining popular after winning a fourth Kremlin term with a record vote in March. "It's unlikely that the events in Armenia will inspire anyone," said Minchenko. Yerevan (AFP) - Armenia's top official was in Moscow for talks on Thursday, his office said, as a political crisis deepened with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan appearing resolute to force the ruling party in the ex-Soviet republic to cede power. Armenian acting Vice Premier Armen Gevorkyan's apparent move to secure support from the Kremlin came as protesters in the capital Yerevan took to the streets for a fresh day of rallies. They want the ruling Republican Party to hand power after the country's former president Serzh Sarkisian, 63, stood down Monday from his new post of prime minister following mass demonstrations. Observers have warned the crisis could destabilise the Moscow-allied nation which has been involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. Russia has a military base in Armenia and President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday urged restraint when he spoke by phone to Armenian President Armen Sarkisian, who is no relation to Serzh Sarkisian and is a ceremonial figurehead. Putin called for "all political forces in this country to show restraint and responsibility" in order to end the crisis as soon as possible, the Kremlin said. The opposition has staged nearly two weeks of protests, forcing Sarkisian to quit as prime minister. The Russian embassy in Yerevan said Wednesday that its officials had met with Pashinyan. "The Russian side called on the organisers of the opposition protests and rallies to have a constructive dialogue with the current authorities and other political forces," it said. Protesters Thursday planned to block traffic in Yerevan and rally throughout the day, responding to Pashinyan's call to pressure the ruling party. - Threat to 'surround parliament' - "The Republican Party has to capitulate before the people," Pashinyan told large crowds in Yerevan's central Republic Square on Wednesday evening. The 42-year-old accuses the authorities of wanting to nominate a Republican Party candidate for prime minister and has warned that the opposition could boycott snap parliamentary elections. Story continues "In case the Republican party dares to nominate a candidate, the people will immediately surround the parliament," Pashinyan said. He has insisted the new premier must be a "people's candidate" and not a member of Sarkisian's party, and told reporters he was himself willing to lead. Talks between the protest leader and acting government head Karen Karapetyan to discuss a "peaceful" transfer of power were cancelled this week. "Karen Karapetyan has to unconditionally and immediately recognise the victory of our revolution and to give up ambitions to become a head of state," Pashinyan told the rally, which dispersed peacefully, late on Wednesday. The Yelk opposition bloc has said it would nominate Pashinyan for prime minister. But a lawmaker from the bloc, Edmon Marukyan of the Bright Armenia party, said on Wednesday Pashinyan was 13 votes short of a majority. A candidate would need 53 votes to get elected. YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that the opposition would probably boycott any snap parliamentary election unless parliament made him the interim prime minister next week. Parliament is due to choose a new interim premier next week and Pashinyan has said he is the only legitimate choice for the job even though he is not a member of the ruling party which has a majority of seats in parliament. Armenian politicians have spoken of holding a snap parliamentary election once a new interim premier is in place. A close Russian ally, Armenia is in the middle of a political crisis after two weeks of anti-government protests that led to the resignation of Serzh Sarksyan as prime minister on Monday. Pashinyan, at a news conference on Friday, also called for a two-day moratorium on protests in the capital Yerevan, but insisted that demonstrations take place in other cities during that time. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan in Yerevan and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn) By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) - The "peace village" of Panmunjom, with its cluster of distinctive bright blue buildings and chequered history of defections, tension and murder, is an apt choice for the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will greet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday not far from the building where the armistice that halted the Korean War was signed in 1953, before talks begin in a nearby hall. "Panmunjom is an emblem of the national division," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. "It's significant that the two leaders will hold a summit where the armistice was concluded, to turn the decades-long order of armistice into that of peace." Panmunjom has seen a spate of dramatic diplomatic and military incidents over the years, as well as dozens of rounds of government, military and humanitarian talks since 1971, when the two Koreas opened their first hotline and liaison offices. Most infamously, axe-wielding North Korean soldiers in the Joint Security Area in 1976 murdered two American soldiers who were cutting down a poplar tree to secure a clear view. As a conscript in the South's special forces, Moon was part of the joint mission with the United States to remove the tree in a show of force three days after the attack, though he was not on the scene. "For the first time since the Korean War, the DEFCON alert system was heightened to a quasi-state of war," Moon wrote in his 2011 memoir. "Fortunately the operation was accomplished safely as North Korea didn't respond to our tree-cutting work, and all of us were given a piece of wood as a badge, for overcoming a national crisis." On Friday, Moon and Kim will plant a pine tree on the military demarcation line (MDL) using soil and water from both countries to symbolize "peace and prosperity," Moon's chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, said on Thursday. BUFFER Located 60km (37 miles) from Seoul and 210km (130 miles) from Pyongyang, the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom is an 800-metre-wide and 400-metre-long zone. On each side of the MDL, the two Koreas have their own liaison offices and conference halls, including the South's Peace House where Moon and Kim will hold talks. Under a separate 1953 deal, the United Nations Command and the North Korean military are allowed to dispatch no more than 35 troops to the JSA, and each of them can only possess one pistol or non-automatic rifle. North and South Korea line the demilitarized zone, a 2km-wide buffer on each side of the MDL with razor wire, heavy armaments and tank traps. Vast swaths of the area has been no man's land for more than 60 years, but part of it offers an eerie mix of military installations and tourist attractions. Visitors can gawk at bullet holes marking the site where a North Korean soldier staged a dramatic defection in Panmunjom in November, under fire from his former comrades. According to the U.N. command, more than 105,000 tourists visited the JSA from the South in 2017, while nearly 30,000 visited from the North. HOSTILITIES Moon and Kim are expected to discuss a peace regime to replace the armistice during the summit, which would include an end to hostilities along the border, according to Moon's national security advisor. The two Koreas have agreed to cease hostilities in many agreements since 1992, only to see one side or another restart antagonisms as relations deteriorated over the North's nuclear and missile programs. On Monday, the South halted propaganda broadcasts it blares across the border in a bid to set a positive tone ahead of the summit. The broadcasts chiefly consist of K-pop music, defector interviews and radio shows lampooning North Korean leaders, targeting North Korean soldiers and residents in the border areas. Many defectors, including the soldier who fled via the JSA in November, have said the broadcasts helped them better understand the South and decide to escape. The North's border broadcasts have "notably" died down since the South went off the air but it was difficult to know if it was intentional, a South Korean military official said. "Demilitarising" the 250km-long DMZ could also mean the removal of guard posts and landmines. Seoul officials estimate the North operates about 160 guard posts, and the South has 60. A senior defense ministry official said a joint operation is "not impossible" as the two militaries worked together to withdraw some guard posts in the early 2000s. "If we can discuss that, it's going to be a meaningful first step" to demilitarize the zone, the official told reporters. The DMZ is also littered with landmines planted over the decades - as many as 970,000 in the southern part of the DMZ alone, according to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, a Geneva-based civic group. Reducing the military presence along the border is a key part of South Korea's plan to reduce tensions and eventually ink a peace deal with the North, Moon Chung-in, a special advisor to Moon for foreign affairs and security, said on Thursday. "What President Moon has in mind is how to demilitarize the demilitarized zone. Because now we have a demilitarized zone that is heavily militarized. It's nonsensical." (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Ju-min Park, Josh Smith and Christine Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) Supporters of President Donald Trumps travel ban are probably hoping Solicitor General Noel Francisco is a better attorney than he is a geographer. On Wednesday, during his closing arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court, Francisco claimed Trump had adopted a more moderate stance since his campaign by deciding to ban travelers from some Muslim-majority nations rather than all Muslims, as he had proposed previously. [Trump] made it crystal clear on September 25th that he had no intention of imposing the Muslim ban, Francisco argued. He has made crystal clear that Muslims in this country are great Americans, and there are many, many Muslims countries who love this country, and he has praised Islam as one of the great countries of the world. Thats right. Francisco called Islam, the worlds fastest-growing religion, one of the great countries of the world. You can hear his verbal blunder below. Meanwhile, opponents of the ban felt the goof perfectly represented the Trump administrations tone-deaf approach toward Islam. Abed Ayoub, a policy director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee who was in the courtroom when Francisco made the comment, said he wasnt shocked by the hiccup. Its not surprising, Ayoub told the New York Daily News. The way this administration, the way this President has spoken about Muslim countries has been very problematic and that goes all the way back to the campaign. Also not surprising was the reaction Franciscos comments inspired on Twitter. Really ..."Islam is a great country" How fcking ignorant can you be, this was what Trump Regime sent to argue.... #nomuslimbanever Omy - Joy Reid's Cyber Security Guy (@bassomar_omy) April 25, 2018 The attorney arguing on behalf of Trumps #MuslimBan just closed out his argument by saying Islam is a great country. How do these ignorant people get these jobs? Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) April 25, 2018 The United States Supreme Court is currently debating Trumps Muslim ban. The government attorney arguing in defense of the ban just closed by saying Islam is a great country. Were doomed. Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) April 25, 2018 A GREAT COUNTRY??? Wow...You're at the Supreme Court of the Untied States and you clearly articulate how ignorant, stupid or otherwise you are in just five words..."Islam is a great country." One wonders if they've all come out from under the rock, or are there still some left? https://t.co/3Ht7enrSkw JCrockett (@JCrockett623) April 25, 2018 When an attorney *arguing in front of SCOTUS* says Islam, a religion with 1.6+ billion followers across the world, is "a great country," you know there are basic literacy issues and this person should be the last one to argue the merits of a #MuslimBan. Namira Islam (@namirari) April 25, 2018 Verbal blunders notwithstanding, it appears that the conservative members of the court signaled they are likely to uphold the ban. Story continues H/T RawStory Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. US President Donald Trump waits ahead a working session on the first day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7, 2017 Tourists walk past a graffiti by street artist Lushsux, depicting US President Donald Trump kissing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drawn on the controversial Israeli separation barrier separating the West Bank town of Bethlehem from Jerusalem, on October 29, 2017. A man takes a picture of a mural by English street artist Bambi depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May dancing with US President Donald Trump in London on February 22, 2017. A man takes pictures of a graffiti of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Barcelona on June 7, 2016. A mural of U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'shotgunning' a marijuana joint is seen on March 17, 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania. A visitor looks at a painting representing US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin made by Nepalese artist Sunil Sidgel at the India Art Fair in New Delhi on January 2, 2017. A collage shows Pope Francis kissing US President Donald Trump with a caption by Italian artist TvBoy reading in English and Italian 'The Good forgives the Evil' in tiny letters along Francis belt, on May 11, 2017 near Castel Sant'Angelo in central Rome. Mural depicting US President Donald Trump is seen on a wall as part of Mural Festival in the village of Staro Zhelezare, Bulgaria, Wednesday 26 July 2017. View of a graffiti painted against US President Donald Trump in Mexico City on June 27, 2017. This photo taken on December 24, 2016 shows a giant chicken sculpture outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi province. A Chinese shopping mall is ringing in the year of the cock with a giant sculpture of a chicken that looks like US president-elect Donald Trump. Picture of a graffiti against US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump painted by an unknown artist on the embankment of the Bravo River on the border with the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico, on June 28, 2016. Detail of the mural paint made by Mexican artist Luis Sotelo called 'We are migrants not criminals' (Somos migrantes no delincuentes) in Tonatico, Mexico, on 25 June 2016. The mural is part of the cultural movement 'Stop Trump'. A man cycles past graffiti condemning US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on a street in Surabaya, Indonesia's east Java on October 17, 2016. A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. A mural lampooning US President Donald Trump in Dublin's Temple Bar by artist ADW. A mural of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is painted on April 14, 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia. The text reads 'Kosovo is Serbia'. A woman runs along a towpath near graffiti depicting U.S. President Donald Trump on a canal bridge in east London, Britain, February 18, 2017. A Donald Trump mural covers a building in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on October 27, 2016. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. (WASHINGTON) Millions of families living in federally subsidized public housing would pay more for rent under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. The proposal would have to be approved by Congress, where it could touch off a debate over how best to support some of the countrys poorest and most vulnerable families. Democrats will likely put up fierce resistance and some members of the Republican majority will be reluctant to embrace it ahead of midterm elections in the fall. Dubbed the Make Affordable Housing Work Act, the plan would raise the rent paid by public housing residents to 35% from 30% of household income and eliminate all deductions that could lower that number. These rents would now be evaluated every three years instead of annually. Elderly and disabled tenants, who constitute more than half of the 4.7 million public housing families, would be exempted. Carson said the changes are necessary to bring more money into the system and revamp an antiquated model. The way we calculate the level of assistance to our families is archaic and has perverse consequences, like discouraging these residents from earning more income, Carson said in an interview with The Associated Press. Its clear from a budget perspective and from a human standpoint that this is not sustainable. But tenants rights advocates are already up in arms. Jack Cooper, executive director of the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, called the proposal a war on low-income people. Cooper said he understands how the concept appeals to Carson, whom he called a bootstrap guy. A retired neurosurgeon, Carson grew up in poverty in Boston and Detroit, although he never lived in public housing. He has long promoted the idea that too much government support creates a culture of dependency among the recipients. During a 2016 speech at his alma mater, Yale University, Carson said: Government should not keep people in a dependent state. It should be used as a springboard, and not as a hammock. But Cooper said that instead of encouraging greater self-sufficiency, the likely effect will be to force families into homelessness. He said the nationwide average annual income for public housing residents was $12,000 and many families simply wont be able to keep up with the additional expenses. Were talking about keeping a roof over people who cant afford the market, he said. Theyre devastating folks that are already in dire straits. Bill Cosby was found guilty Thursday on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his home in 2004. Constand is one of dozens of women who have leveled similar accusations against the comedian. Cosby, who is 80, faces a maximum of 30 years in state prison. The verdict prompted an expletive-laden outburst from Cosby in the Montgomery County, Pa., court house on Thursday, as he called District Attorney Kevin Steele an ahole. The three counts each carry a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison. But will Cosby go to jail? It still remains to be seen how much time Cosby, will actually be sentenced to serve, and whether he could serve those sentences at the same time. Thats going to be a big point of contention here stacking the sentences or asking them to be served concurrently, said Jason Antoine, a criminal defense attorney who was previously an assistant district attorney in Pennsylvanias Berks and Chester counties, which border Montgomery County. Sentencing guidelines in Pennsylvania recommend 22 to 36 months as a sentence for aggravated indecent assault, but judges have the authority to issue shorter or longer sentences depending on the circumstances of each case. Antoine thinks Cosby will be sentenced to 22 months or a year if the defense teams does a great job predicting that a longer, stacked sentence is unlikely because of Cosbys age. But Michael Skinner, a former assistant district attorney in Chester County, thinks the sentence will be more severe. You can realistically expect that hes probably going to get three years, if not more, Skinner said. Probably more because this is a high-profile case, and there are probably more aggravating circumstances than mitigating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances could include Cosbys use of an intoxicant or his uncharged conduct, such as the dozens of similar accusations of sexual assault against him. Mitigating circumstances could include the fact that Cosby does not have a prior criminal record. Story continues Skinner predicts that Cosby could be sentenced to three or four years per count, adding up to eight to 12 years in total if he is forced to serve them consecutively. Cosbys attorneys have already said they plan to appeal the verdict. After Cosby is sentenced, his attorneys could apply for bail while awaiting an appeal, which would allow Cosby to stay out of prison under certain conditions until the appeals process is complete. In a typical criminal case, Antoine said, that request would be denied, and the defendant would begin their prison sentence while the appeal moves forward. But even a short prison sentence could bring some relief to the women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault in incidents spanning decades. Im just so thrilled hes likely going to spend some time in jail. I dont even care if its only a short sentence, Cosby accuser Sunni Welles told the New York Daily News on Thursday. He just needs to go to jail. Comedian Bill Cosby has been found guilty on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania, and could face a hefty prison sentence of up to 30 years for the 2004 crime. Cosby was convicted unanimously after his retrial, which allowed prosecutors to bring a much greater berth of evidence and testimony against the man once seen as the American ideal of a father. His first trial ended mistrial last year when jurors could not agree on his culpability in June. Cosby has faced dozens of sexual misconduct allegations in the past, spanning decades of alleged assaults against women. The charges brought against him in the case decided Thursday stem from accusations by one woman, Andrea Constand, 45, who came forward to say that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his home in January of 2004 while she was an employee of Philadelphias Temple University. The comedian, who is 80, faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence for each conviction, and a fine up to $25,000. It is unclear at this point whether he will be given a 30-year-sentence, however, and experts say that it is likely that Mr Cosby would be able to argue successfully that the charges should be combined for sentencing purposes as they all cover the same incident and encounter, according to ABC News. Even so, the comedian is likely to be in prison until he is at least 85-years-old, if the judge follows state sentencing guidelines. Immediately after the verdict was handed down, prosecutors argued to the judge that Cosbys $1m bail should be revoked because he has, essentially, unlimited wealth and a private plane at his disposal. Cosby, angered at the implication that he would flee following his sentencing, shouted across the courtroom at the time. Doesnt matter that I have a plane, you a**hole! he shouted. The judge denied the request. Mr Cosbys sentencing trial will occur within 90 days. Related Video: Bill Cosby Lashes Out in Court After Guilty Verdict Story continues Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. Years ago, true-crime author Michelle McNamara became obsessed with the Golden State Killer. She began writing a book that laid out the chilling details of the cold case that haunted California in the 70s and 80s amid her search for clues about the man who allegedly raped more than 50 women and murdered at least 12 people. McNamara never lived to finish the book, Ill Be Gone In the Dark, or get it published after she suddenly died in 2016. But that didnt stop her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, from finishing her final book and posthumously publishing it. McNamaras book quickly became a New York Times best-seller in April and HBO acquired the rights to Ill Be Gone In The Dark with the intent to develop a docu-series based on it. But on Wednesday, Ill Be Gone In the Dark shot up to the top of Amazons best-seller list and overnight, the online retailer was sold out of all of its copies. So what sparked the sudden interest in McNamaras tale of the Golden State Killer? California authorities announced a new development in the decades-old cold case the suspected serial killer, who was identified as Joseph James DeAngelo, had been found. DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, was arrested and is awaiting a court appearance to face charges for the list of allegations against him. You did good. You aimed a light and helped the hunter catch a monster, Oswalt tweeted shortly after the Golden State Killer announcement had been made. Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones said at a news conference Wednesday that McNamaras book did not specifically lead to any new information about the Golden State Killer, but the books release undeniably helped keep the unsolved case in the national public consciousness. Story continues But Oswalt said on social media he thinks his deceased wifes hard work played a crucial role in helping the killer be brought to be justice. Since Wednesdays announcement, Oswalt has been retweeting many peoples comments about her dedication to the cold case. Oswalt even said hed like to meet the Golden State Killer face to face, not to gloat or gawk, but to get answers to questions McNamara wanted to ask him. President Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House for a seemingly frosty meeting. (Photo: Getty Images) German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid President Trump a three-hour visit thats being called weird and uncomfortable. On Friday, Merkel flew to the White House to discuss NATO, trade, and terrorism and to participate in a joint press conference with the president, which he kicked off by defending their friendship. We have a really great relationship we have actually had a great relationship right from the beginning but some people didnt understand that, said Trump. But we understand that and thats whats important. Very extraordinary woman. However, as the conference unfolded, social media was struck by their vibe, which contrasted with that between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. On Monday, the first couple welcomed their French counterparts with a ceremonious display ahead of Fridays state dinner that included a private helicopter ride, a 21-gun salute, and lots of affectionate ribbing. Watching the presser with Merkel and Trump, I'm struck w how defiant and angry his body language is She's looks uncomfortable. #freemerkel Barbara Townsend (@bltyoga) April 27, 2018 Trump's body language with Angela Merkel is always weird because he doesn't know how to interact with women without insulting or sexually assaulting them. OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) April 27, 2018 Merkel has twice made a what-are-you-talking-about face when Trump tries to connect domestic politics with Germany. Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 27, 2018 merkel doesnt seem to be amused by Trump, at all. not digging this jerusalem story Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 27, 2018 Trump trying and failing to crack a smile out of Merkel is a mood. pic.twitter.com/A8hk0d8tbQ David Mack (@davidmackau) April 27, 2018 Watching @realDonaldTrump shower himself with praise, I wish we could see a thought box over Merkels head. David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) April 27, 2018 The vibe between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was off. (Photo: Getty Images) According to Susan Constantine, a body-language expert who trains law enforcement and the Department of Defense, public perception of a strained relationship is spot-on. Take for example, when they shake hands at the podium, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The presidents palm is facing upward, which is a position of weakness and he looks embarrassed by Merkels dominant placement of her hand. Story continues Both Trump and Merkels facial expressions also convey strife: Merkel looks smug she knows she has the upper power in this moment while Trump avoids eye contact and presses his lips together in frustration. President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel may not have the best chemistry. (Photo: Getty Images) When they take turns speaking, their tension is no less obvious. The president seems to be feeling a combination of disappointment, anger, and disgust, says Constantine. The corners of his mouth are turned down and he appears deep in thought. Merkel, on the other hand, is flippant and dismissive by looking away from him. President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a joint press conference many called uncomfortable. (Photo: Getty Images) Throughout the meeting, Trump regains the upper hand. When the president holds the podium, hes stretched out as if hes spreading his wings and his shoulders are wide, two signs of confidence, she notes, adding that Merkel seems irritated by his posture. By her pursed lips and puffed cheeks, shes holding in her words but shes ready to blow. President Trump and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel have a reportedly chilly friendship. (Photo: Getty Images) Finally, says Constantine, Trump appears patronizing toward Merkel, by patting her hand during a separate handshake while he avoids eye contact. She appears dubious over the state of their relationship and her heart isnt in the handshake, says Constantine. Her hand is limp in his while he pulls her close. According to CNN, the tension between Trump and Merkel stems because the president repeatedly bashed Merkel on the campaign trail and accused her of ruining Germany, citing the nations policies allowing refugees into the nation. Making matters worse, during a March 2017 when reporters asked the two leaders to shake hands, Trump didnt comply. They want to have a handshake, Merkel nudged Trump, who didnt respond. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The body of a Palestinian scientist assassinated in Malaysia was returned to his native Gaza Strip on Thursday, Hamas said, after his family accused Israel of killing him. Fadi al-Batsh was a member of Islamist group Hamas, which rules Gaza, and was said to be a rocket-making expert. He was shot dead in a hail of bullets by motorbike-riding attackers as he walked to a Kuala Lumpur mosque for dawn prayers Saturday morning. Family and friends of the 35-year-old have accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of carrying out the killing but the Jewish state has denied the claims. His body was taken across the border between Gaza and Egypt on Thursday ahead of his funeral. Separately in Gaza Thursday, a few thousand people attended the funeral of a Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli fire during protests and clashes. Ahmed Abu Hussein, a correspondent for the local Shaab Radio channel, succumbed to his wounds Wednesday nearly two weeks after being shot in northern Gaza. Those at the funeral chanted slogans calling for media freedom to be respected. The Israeli army has said its is looking into the circumstances of the death. Abu Hussein was the second journalist to be killed since protests and clashes broke out on the Gaza-Israel border on March 30. His death brought the toll of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli fire since March 30 to 41. No Israelis have been injured. The deaths have led to calls for an independent investigation from UN chief Antonio Guterres, the European Union and others but these have been rejected by Israel. Israel says it only opens fire when necessary to stop damage to the fence, infiltrations and attacks. By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday that good progress has been made at the NAFTA trade talks on the key issue of auto rules, though the threat of proposed U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs coming into force next week clouded the mood. Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo met for a second straight day in a push to seal a quick deal on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement. "There is a very strong, very committed, good-faith effort for all three parties to work 24/7 on this and to try and reach an agreement," Freeland told reporters after talks with Lighthizer. The bulk of talks focused on rules of origin governing what percentage of a car needs to be built in the NAFTA region in order to be sold tariff-free within North America, she said. "I think we made some good progress. We're very much working on a set of proposals based on the creative ideas the U.S. came up with in March and I think there was good constructive progress," she added. The ministers are expected to meet again on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump's negotiators initially demanded that North American-built vehicles contain 85 percent content made in NAFTA countries by value, up from 62.5 percent now. But industry officials say that has been cut to 75 percent, with certain components coming from areas that pay higher wages. The U.S. trade representative was still pushing its proposal for wage standards for certain auto parts, a person briefed on the talks told Reuters. This plan would set the overall regional content requirement for autos at 75 percent, but would provide more credit toward reaching that goal for final assembly and manufacturing of certain high value parts like engines in higher wage areas paying around $15 an hour, the source said. Some lower-value parts and materials would qualify for 70 percent and 65 percent regional thresholds, the source added. The plan aims to preserve high-value production in the United States and Canada and put upward pressure on auto industry wages in Mexico. TARIFF, SUNSET OBSTACLES Freeland said Canada remained opposed to the U.S. idea of introducing a "sunset clause" that would allow one of the three NAFTA members to quit the pact after five years. "Our view is that this is absolutely unnecessary," she said, noting that NAFTA already contained a withdrawal mechanism. Stakeholders argue that putting such a clause in place would create uncertainty for investments. Mexico's negotiators are also unhappy about having to deal with the steel tariff threat in parallel with the NAFTA negotiations, a Mexican source said. The sunset clause likewise remained a sticking point, the source added. Freeland reiterated Canada's opposition to the proposed U.S. steel and aluminum duties. Trump unveiled the tariffs in March but suspended them for Canada and Mexico until May 1, citing the wish to see progress at the NAFTA talks. "Canada's position has been clear from the outset and that is that Canada expects to have a full and permanent exemption from any quotas or tariffs," Freeland said. Separately, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, who attended some of the most recent NAFTA talks, said late on Wednesday that she would "probably" be flying back to Washington on Thursday. Although the Trump administration has been pressing for a quick deal, several major topics remain to be settled. (Reporting by David Lawder; Additional reporting by Dave Graham and David Ljunggren; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler) China's new missile is being called the "Guam killer" because it could attack a U.S. military base in the Pacific Ocean with a nuclear weapon. Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said the DF-26 intermediate range ballistic missile was now in service and could carry conventional and nuclear warheads to attack targets at land or sea. It has a range of up to 4,000 kilometers, or 2,500 miles, meaning it could hit important U.S. installations on the island of Guam, or other military bases in the region. Wu said China would not launch a nuclear strike against an opponent unless it was an act of defense, the Associated Press reported. This is the first time the DF-26 missile has been operational. China previously showed it off during a 2015 military parade marking the 70th anniversary of World War II ending. Trending: 3-year-old Run Over and Killed by Lawnmower After Falling From Father's Lap The big reveal this week is the latest sign that China is working to upgrade its massive military with new fighter planes, aircraft carriers and advanced missiles amid growing tensions in the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea. "Chinas military modernization is targeting capabilities with the potential to degrade core U.S. military-technological advantages," a Defense Department report warned Congress last year. "The DF-26, which debuted publicly last year, is capable of conducting intermediate precision strikes against ground targets that could include U.S. bases on Guam." Roughly 7,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. The island is also home to four nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. Don't miss: 10 Teenagers Drown in Israel Flash Flood During School Hike U.S. leaders aren't the only ones concerned about China's military growth. China's air force held this week what it called "combat military drills" exercises near democratic Taiwan with reconnaissance planes and H-6K bombers. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office, said the Peoples Liberation Army was sending an extremely clear message. Story continues We have the resolute will, full confidence and sufficient ability to foil any form of Taiwan independence separatist plots and moves and to defend the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity, Ma said. If Taiwan independence forces continue to do as they please, we will take further steps, he added. Most popular: Arbor Day 2018 Facts: The Oldest Tree in the World, How Forests Improve Human Health This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Andrea Hopkins OTTAWA (Reuters) - A nonbinding motion by Canada's Senate calling for an end to Chinese actions in the disputed South China Sea is irresponsible and will "stir up troubles," a Chinese embassy spokesman said on Wednesday. The Senate, whose members are not elected, passed the measure on Tuesday condemning China's "hostile behavior" in the South China Sea, complicating efforts by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to improve relations with China. China's construction of islands and military facilities in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion in trade passes annually, has sparked concerns that Beijing is seeking to restrict free movement and extend its strategic reach. Canadian Conservative Senator Thanh Hai Ngo, who sponsored the motion, said he wants Trudeau's Liberal government to take a lead role in urging all parties in the dispute to recognize international laws and cease all activities that would escalate the dispute. "The government cannot afford to ignore the emerging realities of the South China Sea disputes. It must take an active role supporting its diplomatic allies," Ngo said in a statement. A spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland did not comment directly on the Senate motion, but said Canada remained concerned by regional tensions associated with disputes in the South China Sea. "It is essential that all states in the region exercise restraint and avoid coercion and actions that will escalate tensions," the spokesman, Adam Austen, said in an email. The motion passed Canada's upper house of parliament 43-28, with six abstentions. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa said in a statement that Ngo was trying to "stir up troubles" in a situation that has been calm. "This is irresponsible. His purpose is nothing but casting shadows over the China-Canada relations which develop smoothly currently," the embassy said. China has repeatedly defended the work, saying it has every right to build on what it considers inherent Chinese territory and that it is building public facilities, like weather stations and typhoon harbors. The motion was opposed by a group of independent senators who said it was already out of date when it was introduced two years ago and runs contrary to Canada's interests in Asia. Senators are appointed on the advice of the prime minister and can serve until 75. Opinion polls consistently show voters would like to see the Senate abolished or reformed. (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by David Gregorio and Scott Malone) HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's ZTE Corp, the subject of U.S. sanctions imposed last week, posted a 39 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Friday due to improved sales in its telecom equipment and consumer businesses. January-March profit reached 1.69 billion yuan ($267 million) from 1.2 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier, ZTE said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange. ZTE's latest figure represents the highest first quarter net profit on record. However, the outlook for ZTE is overshadowed by the United States banning American companies from selling it components for seven years, saying the Chinese firm had broken a settlement agreement with repeated false statements. ZTE said the move threatened its survival. ZTE, China's second-biggest telecom equipment maker after Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, postponed its earnings release from last week as it studied the impact of the U.S. ban. The ban also led to a suspension in trading of ZTE's mainland- and Hong Kong-listed shares, which is still in effect. ($1 = 6.3358 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Alexander Smith) Washington (AFP) - US, Canadian and Mexican trade ministers will meet again May 7 trying to finalize an agreement to revamp their 24-year-old free trade pact, officials confirmed on Friday. US President Donald Trump triggered renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement last year after labeling it a "disaster" that has destroyed US jobs. He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory deal is not reached. "Technical talks will continue in coming days, remotely and in person," according to a statement from the Mexican delegation. "The ministers will resume the process May 7." Ministers and other officials have been meeting throughout the month to clear the way for a deal before the political and legislative calendars in the three countries derail the process. Also hanging over the talks is a May 1 deadline when steep US import tariffs on steel and aluminum are set to take effect. Mexico and Canada were granted temporary exemptions from the tariffs but those expire Tuesday. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland met in Washington this week to try to break the deadlock on unresolve issues. Canada and Mexico have balked at American demands to raise US content requirements in auto-manufacturing, scrap a dispute resolution mechanism and implement a five-year "sunset" clause that would allow a party to exit the pact after five years. The location of the next round of talks has not yet been decided, a Canadian official said. A USTR spokesperson said the officials had a "productive week" with discussion on issues like rules of origin. The negotiators are under pressure to reach a deal before elections make signing a new accord politically difficult. Canadians will vote in provincial elections in June, while the Mexican presidential ballot is on July 1 and the US has midterm legislative elections in November. Trump's threats to exit NAFTA have unnerved US industry and members of his own Republican party who say the country has benefited from the pact. By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Friday announced a deal with state legislative leaders to raise teachers' pay 20 percent by 2020, as educators stayed away from classrooms a second straight day in a spreading revolt over salaries and school funding. In a joint statement with Arizona Senate President Steve Yarbrough and House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, Ducey said the deal would also restore funding for schools that were cut in the last recession. The funds would be "flexible dollars for superintendents to use for support staff pay increases, update antiquated curriculum and improve school infrastructure - without raising taxes," the statement said. The legislature would work through the weekend "to introduce a budget early next week and pass it shortly thereafter," the statement said. Representatives for teachers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arizona educators were joined in protests by teachers in Colorado over the same issues, but little progress was made there on Friday. The walkouts are part of a wave of actions by teachers in states that have some of the lowest per-student spending in the county. A nearly two-week strike in Oklahoma ended earlier this month with a pay rise for teachers. Ducey, a Republican, had earlier offered a cumulative 20 percent pay rise by 2020 and pledged $371 million over the next five years for school infrastructure, curriculum, school buses and technology. But he had not secured an agreement with the legislature on those promises until Friday's deal. Arizona teachers have been demanding a 20 percent increase in salaries, a return of education funding to 2008 levels and a freeze on tax cuts until the education budget reaches the national average. (Education funding 2008 thru 2015: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Iumbck) (U.S. Teacher Salaries in 2017 https://tmsnrt.rs/2IsvlGa) FROZEN SINCE RECESSION Teachers in Colorado and Arizona donned red T-shirts and rallied for a second day on Friday in the swelling teachers' movement. Story continues Waving placards such as "Teachers Just Want To Have Fund$," thousands of Colorado educators descended on the state capitol building in Denver to demand the booming state cough up hundreds of millions of dollars a year in school spending frozen since the recession. "We have educators working two or three jobs to make ends meet," said Kerrie Dallman, head of the Colorado Education Association, a statewide federation of teachers' unions organizing the two-day walkout. In Arizona, teachers are among the lowest paid in the country. The protests have been spurred by activism in Republican-controlled states like West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma that brought increases in pay and budgets. Arizona's historic state-wide strike has closed public schools serving more than 800,000 students. In Colorado, at least 600,000 students were not in class on Friday. The conservative Goldwater Institute sent letters to Arizona school districts warning them that the group may sue if classrooms remain closed in an "illegal strike." In Denver, protesting educators cheered as Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper told them he knew they were underpaid. However, they booed after he laid out a school spending proposal that was short of their demands. "They've been telling us they value us, and we're underpaid since 2009," said one demonstrator, who asked not to be named. Colorado lawmakers have offered schools the biggest budget increase since the recession. Teachers want the state to repay funding withheld under its strict budget laws since 2009, address a 3,000-teacher shortage and adequately staff schools with counselors, social workers and special educators. (Reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix and Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Writing by Bill Tarrant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers have detected the early stages of a colossal cosmic collision, observing a pile-up of 14 galaxies 90 percent of the way across the observable universe in a discovery that upends assumptions about the early history of the cosmos. Researchers said on Wednesday the galactic mega-merger observed 12.4 billion light-years away from Earth occurred 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang that gave rise to the universe. Astronomers call the object a galactic protocluster, a precursor to the type of enormous galaxy clusters that are the largest-known objects in today's universe. It marked the first time scientists observed the birth of a galaxy cluster, with at least 14 galaxies crammed into an area only about four times the size of our average-sized Milky Way galaxy. A protocluster as massive as the one observed here, designated as SPT2349-56, should not have existed at that time, according to current notions of the early universe. Scientists had figured this could not happen until several billion of years later. "We were staggered by the implications," said astrophysicist Scott Chapman of Dalhousie University in Canada. "Yes, conventional wisdom was that clusters take a lot longer to build up and assemble. SPT2349 shows us it happened much more rapidly and explosively than simulations or theory suggested." Galaxy clusters can have thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity that can boast total masses a quadrillion larger than our sun, with immense amounts of the enigmatic material called dark matter, gigantic black holes and super-heated gas. SPT2349's mass is about 10 trillion times larger than our sun. The galaxies within SPT2349 were producing stars at a remarkable clip, up to a thousand times the Milky Way's star-formation rate. In observing objects so distant, astronomers are peering back in history because of the length of time light takes to travel. SPT2349-56 appeared when the universe was about a tenth its current age. "This result is exciting as it allows us to directly study the formation of a massive galaxy cluster in the early universe," Yale University astronomer Tim Miller added. The researchers, who studied SPT2349 using land-based telescopes in Chile, said it most likely has snowballed in size since 12.4 billion years ago and could be among the largest structures in the cosmos today. The research was published in the journal Nature. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler) Yerevan (AFP) - Armenia's acting head of government Karen Karapetyan on Friday rebuffed talks proposed by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, further escalating tensions after two weeks of protests. Karapetyan's refusal to negotiate came after he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday. Pashinyan, who has been leading the mass anti-government protests, defiantly declared himself the only suitable candidate for prime minister in the Moscow-allied country. Armenia was plunged into crisis over the fate of veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian, who finally quit on Monday after a decade in power. Pashinyan has issued an ultimatum to the authorities, saying he should be elected prime minister in a vote by lawmakers on May 1. But a spokesman for Karapetyan dismissed Pashinyan's demands. "The acting prime minister believes that negotiations where one side dictates the agenda and the other cannot do so, cannot be considered negotiations," the spokesman said Friday. Instead, Pashinyan should discuss ways to tackle the crisis together with all political forces, the spokesman quoted Karapetyan as saying. Deputy speaker of parliament, Eduard Sharmazanov, called Pashinyan's demand to negotiate with the ruling party in front of the press "absurd", saying this would play into the hands of Yerevan's foes Azerbaijan and Turkey. "Not only will protesters and the opposition be watching, but also (Azerbaijani president) Aliyev and (Turkish president) Erdogan," Sharmazanov said. - 'Total disarray' - Pashinyan accused Sarkisian's ruling Republican Party of seeking to increase the turmoil and urged his supporters to stage new rallies to pile pressure on Karapetyan. "The fact that Karen Karapetyan refused to negotiate means that the Republican Party is in total disarray," Pashinyan told reporters on Friday. "The question is, does the Republican Party want to settle the crisis or not?" he said, suggesting the ruling elites could not conduct free and fair elections. Story continues "We should have a guarantee that an election will be really free, really transparent, really democratic," he said in English, wearing his trademark camouflage T-shirt. He earlier told supporters he needed to become the next leader to oversee snap parliamentary elections and clean up the political system. "If I am not elected prime minister, then Armenia will not have a prime minister at all," the 42-year-old former newspaper editor said. The crisis erupted over Sarkisian's election as prime minister by parliament last week after a decade as president. He resigned on Monday on the 11th day of the protests. The opposition has accused Sarkisian's party of clinging onto power after he failed to tackle widespread poverty, corruption and influential oligarchs close to the authorities. But the ruling party has a majority of seats in parliament and Pashinyan does not have enough support from lawmakers to get elected. - 'Elites must go' - Pashinyan has called a halt to protests in Yerevan to give demonstrators some rest after two weeks of nearly non-stop rallies, saying people should return to the streets on Sunday. But on Friday he headed a column of cars carrying hundreds of his supporters from Yerevan to Gyumri, the second largest city north of the capital where he planned to hold a rally later Friday. The city also hosts a Russian military base. An AFP reporter travelling with the protest leader said villagers on the way gave Pashinyan a hero's welcome, offering him traditional bread and salt as well as fresh fruit. Another rally is planned for Saturday in the third largest city of Vanadzor. A previous attempt at talks between the opposition leader and the acting prime minister collapsed earlier this week. Observers have warned the crisis could destabilise the South Caucasus nation, which is involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. A number of top Armenian officials held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials in Moscow on Thursday. Putin has stressed the importance of the May 1 vote, the Kremlin said after his phone talks with Karapetyan. Analysts said the situation in Armenia was hugely unpredictable. "It's impossible to tell if the country will come out of this chaos on May 1," analyst Ervand Bozoyan said, adding that frantic negotiations were under way among political parties. Another analyst Stepan Safaryan said that while the core of the Republican Party has no intention of backing down, it was possible that some of its lawmakers would vote for Pashinyan. Senators say Koch-linked figures are driving environmental policy, as resumes obtained by the Guardian and Documented show ties between staffers and network David Koch, above, along with his brother Charles, have created or funded a network of dozens of groups. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Democratic senators are demanding information about what they call the Koch brothers infiltration of the Trump administration, charging that Koch-linked personnel have secured key federal jobs and are determining US environmental and public health policy. The senators including Sheldon Whitehouse, Edward Markey, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tom Udall, Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren sent letters to eight government bodies and the White House requesting information related to efforts by Charles and David Koch, Koch Industries, and the numerous groups they fund to influence decisions. The Koch network includes advocacy groups and thinktanks funded by the billionaire brothers that tend to advance a stridently conservative agenda, including promoting energy extraction within the US and the sloughing off of regulations. Resumes obtained through public records requests by the Guardian and Documented, a government watchdog group, show the close links between high-ranking federal staffers and the Koch network. I think right now its the most powerful political force in the United States, Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said in an interview. If you dont believe that deregulation is good and that pollution ought not to be checked and that billionaires ought to be able to pull strings secretly in government, this ought to be a pretty high priority. The Democrats have identified nine Koch-affiliated staff at the Department of the Interior, for example, which oversees more than 400m acres of federal public land that certain Koch operatives have long thought should be handed over to states and exploited. They include the principal deputy solicitor, Daniel Jorjani, whose resume gives a sense of how he may respond to matters before the interior department. Jorjani was previously a director at the Charles Koch Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute and also worked at the Koch-supported Freedom Partners. Story continues The CV notes that when he worked in the interior department of George W Bush, his job as the project manager of a 105-person climate change task force entailed limiting damage from climate change alarmists. In the current administration, Jorjani has been linked to efforts to permit mining near the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota and also to rescind protections for migrating birds. The CV of Doug Domenech, a top interior appointee responsible for territories including American Samoa and Guam, meanwhile, is forthright about his work at the Koch-linked Texas Public Policy Foundation. He was head of the Fueling Freedom project, where his job, he writes, was managing national, grassroots legislative effort related to opposing electric power plant emissions regulations. According to its website, the Fueling Freedom projects goal was to explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels. In one op-ed, a Foundation director observed that gasoline-powered cars often carry expectant women to hospitals. Another high-ranking interior staffer hired under Trump, Tim Williams, says in his resume that when he worked at the Koch-funded advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, the overarching mission was persuading public officials to embrace an agenda of economic freedom. When the administration announced that it was shrinking two national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, which are under the purview of Williams current employer, his former employer was jubilant, saying it marked the end of an era of executive overreach. Koch Industries and various Koch-linked organizations did not respond to requests for comment, but their views are reflected in a Koch document published by the Intercept in which the network celebrates its victories under Trump. In the first eleven months of President Trumps administration, the White House and Congress have closely followed the Networks Roadmap to Repeal, wrote the documents authors, referring to a three-step strategy to undo the legacy of Barack Obama that includes rescinding his executive orders and defunding his initiatives. We have seen progress on many regulatory priorities this Network has championed for years. In the report, the network claims partial credit without explaining its role for high-profile wins such as the announced repeal of the clean power plan, which aimed to reduce carbon emissions from power plants; the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline; and the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. It also says it notched less visible, but still consequential, rollbacks, such as overturning a rule intended to provide safeguards for waterways affected by coalmining. A late-2017 report by the not-for-profit group Public Citizen suggested that 44 Trump administration officials had close ties to the Kochs, including Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt was recently defended against charges of ethical lapses by several Koch groups. Another is Vice-President Mike Pence, about whom Steve Bannon has said: Im concerned hed be a president that the Kochs would own. Since the incoming Trump administration really had a dearth of public policy expertise on most issues, the Kochs and their policy groups have provided some of the key people, said Alan Zibel, who wrote the report. Contact the reporter: alastair.gee@theguardian.com The key that allowed police to catch the Golden State Killer decades after his notorious spree of rapes and murders turned out to be a consumer genealogy website. Police said Thursday that they used DNA from crime scenes and referenced it against an online genealogy database, according to the New York Times. This led investigators to relatives of Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspect who police arrested on Tuesday. Officials found someone who was the right age and lived near Sacramento, where the attacks started in the 1970s. They then obtained DNA samples that DeAngelo had left in a public place, according to the Times, and confirmed that his DNA matched more than 10 murders across California. Police followed up by obtaining another DNA sample that also matched the profile. Prominent home DNA testing companies such as 23andMe told the newspaper that they were not involved in helping police identify the killer. Genetic testing has become more accessible in recent years, as companies have marketed at-home kits that allow people to scan their genes from a spit sample. The versions aimed at consumers dont typically sequence all base pairs of a persons DNA, instead focusing on specific sections with strong information. This is why they often reveal information about where someone is from but cannot test for all medical conditions. Many questions remain about the Golden State Killer, also sometimes known as the East Area Rapist. Sacramento County District Attorneys Office told the Los Angeles Times that more details about the DNA would be discussed during a court hearing on Friday. The historic meeting between the North and South Korean leaders has been carefully watched - Korea Summit Press via Bestimage North Korea hailed a "new era of peace" on Saturday in its first comments on the historic summit between Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The inter-Korean summit was a "historic meeting" that paved the way for the start of a new era, said Pyongyang's state media, which had stayed silent as the developments unfolded on Friday. The official KCNA news agency said it was a "historic meeting that has opened a new era for national reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity", and carried the text of the leaders' Panmunjom Declaration in full. In typically colourful language, KCNA reported that the leaders exchanged "honest and heartfelt talks" at a summit that "was a realisation of the supreme leader's blazing love for the nation and unyielding will for self-reliance." The state propaganda arm said Kim's "immortal achievement will be brightly engraved in the history of the Korean nation's unification." Rocket man: How Kim Jong-un emerged from his father's shadow to silence the doubters Saturday's edition of North Korea's Rodong Sinmun, meanwhile, featured four pages dedicated to the summit. The regime's reaction comes after Donald Trump hailed the outcome as better than anyone could have ever imagined, while other world leaders struck a note of more cautious optimism. BREAKING: North Korean main state newspaper publishes Saturday edition: Commitment to denuclearization carried on p. 3, in declaration text Kim pictured hugging Moon Includes pictures of leaders on both sides of DMZ 4 of 6 pages dedicated to summit More to come! pic.twitter.com/cnvnSDNQee NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) April 28, 2018 The meeting, during which Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South, has been seen by leaders in the region as a stepping stone to more significant developments in the future. Story continues Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed on a raft of measures on Friday, including a commitment to sign a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War by the end of the year and to achieve the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula. Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, was clear that Kim must follow up his promising rhetoric with concrete action. Mr Abe said he "strongly" hoped Pyongyang would take clear steps towards its pledge to scrap its nuclear weapons programme. "I will keep a close watch on North Korea's future conduct," Mr Abe told reporters. Hong Joon-pyo, head of South Korea's opposition Liberty Party, denounced the summit as a "show camouflaged as peace". The historic meeting between the North and South Korean leaders has been carefully watched The Chinese government, North Korea's biggest ally, said it welcomed moves to promote reconciliation between the two sides and extends its congratulation. Beijing stressed that it was ready to play its positive role in the peace efforts, a comment that appeared to underline Chinas desire to be involved in any multi-party discussions on the future of the region. In contrast to the cautious optimism of his counterparts, the US president hailed the moment as a "great thing for the world" - and trumpeted his own role in the process. "When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility," Mr Trump said. "They said there were two alternatives: let them have what they have or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible." Mr Trump stressed that his "good friend" Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, had been "extremely helpful" in bringing the two sides to the table. "Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process," Mr Trump tweeted. Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 The president said he would be meeting with Kim in the "very shortly", with a summit anticipated in May or early June, but insisted he was "not going to be played" by the North Korean leader. "Relationships are building and building strongly" between the US and North Korea, Mr Trump said at the White House. "This will be a great thing for the world," he said. Mr Trump refused to say whether he had spoken to Kim directly, but said the location of their meeting had been narrowed down to two potential sites. "Things have changed very radically from a few months ago. You know, the name calling and a lot of other things," Mr Trump said. The two leaders have publicly traded insults, with Mr Trump referring to Kim as "little rocket man" and "short and fat", while Kim has called the president a "dotard". The US president went on to claim the responsibility for easing tensions on the Korean peninsula should not have been left to him. "This should have been handled a long time ago, not now...but we will handle it," he said. "It's certainly something that I hope I can do for the world." He added: "I think I have a responsibility to see if I can do it. And if I can't do it, it will be a very tough time for a lot of countries and a lot of people." However European allies were more muted in their responses. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said he welcomed the announcement but stressed "there are still many questions to be answered". Thousands of South Korean Buddhists have a prayer service wishing for a successful Inter-Korean Summit Credit: Woohae Cho /Getty This historic summit is not the end in itself," Mr Johnson said. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to strictly enforce existing sanctions until such time that North Korea turns its commitments into concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Nato's chief echoed Mr Johnson, insisting that international sanctions against North Korea "should remain in place until we see a real change". Jens Stoltenberg said the meeting marked "a very important first step" which was the result of international pressure and tough economic sanctions. "There is a long way to go before we see a full resolution to the crisis," he added. The Kremlin has also applauded the breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, describing the outcome of the talks as good news. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said Germany would "continue to be vigilant" on the North Koreans' actions. A revved up President Donald Trump called in to Fox & Friends this morning to wish his personal attorney Michael Cohen well in taking the Fifth, but insisted the FBI raid on Cohen had nothing to do with him. In a rollicking exchange, Trump complimented Kanye West on his great taste, and praised CNNs Anderson Cooper for his town-hall questioning of Leakin Liar James Comey. To the chagrin, presumably, of his attorneys, Trump spoke at length about the FBI raid on Cohen. Michael is a businessman, hes got a business, he also practices law. Probably the big thing is his business, Trump explained. Theyre looking into things having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business, I can tell you. Trump insisted Cohen handles only a tiny little fraction of his legal dealing, like this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, and from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. Trump said he hoped Cohen is in great shape, reiterating, I have been told Im not involved. Trump dodged a question as to whether he wants to talk to special counsel Robert Mueller who is leading the probe into Russian election meddling, instead launching into another tirade against the FBI. Comey is a leaker and a liar; hes been leaking for years, Trump said in his stream-of-consciousness phoner. He continued to insist the information in the memo Comey wrote about their first meeting and then gave to a friend to leak, in substance, to The New York Times, was totally classified and the leak illegal. Trump also denied he told Comey he had not spent the night in Moscow while there for the Miss Universe Pageant, as Comey wrote. Of course I stayed there a very short period of time. I never said I left immediately. And he does these memos and then goes on Fake News CNN, Trump complained. Story continues He is guilty of crime sand if we had a Justice Department doing their job Comey would be punished, Trump argued. When reminded hes in charge of that department, Trump shot back, Because of the fact they have this witch hunt going on against the President of the United States, Ive taken the position and maybe Ill change I will not be involved with the Justice Department and will wait until its all over. Asked about his previous days Twitter exchange with Kanye West, Trump simpered hes got good taste and applauded West for sticking to his guns. Trump said if he held a rally in Washington D.C. the city would be flooded with millions of supporters. He also accused CBS, NBC and ABC of trying to suppress the vote. And he said he did not have time to go out and buy a birthday present for First Lady Melania Trump, but gave her a card and flowers, praising her for pulling off so well his first state dinner. It was hard to keep up. Trump was coy about arrangements to meet with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, saying he had incredible pictures of CIA chief/Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo meeting with Kim which he said lasted about an hour. Trump patted himself on the back for taking the relationship from very nasty, with Little Rocket Man and My Buttons Bigger Than His Button to the upcoming meeting. But, he reiterated he will walk out quickly with respect if the meeting does not go well for the U.S. Trump again blasted Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd for suggesting hes made concessions to get the meeting. I havent given up anything! Trump bellowed. Theyve given up testing, research and gave it up before we even asked! That seemed to trigger another screed against Fox News competitors, despite F&F hosts best efforts to move away from naming competitors on air. They told Trump they recommend he watch less of them. I dont watch NBC any more. Theyre as bad as CNN! And, by the way, I made them a fortune with The Apprentice, the President of the United States complained of his coverage on NBC. You would think these guys would treat me great! Trump insisted he does not watch any of the news networks hes branded Fake, saying that doing so keeps him on the ball and keeps his sanity. And it works very well, Trump said, then immediately spoke at length about CNNs town hall with Comey. I will say this, Anderson Cooper was surprisingly tough; he did a good job. Related stories White House Doc Ronny Jackson Pulls VA Secretary Nom; Donald Trump Blames Democrats Stephen Colbert Congratulates Donald Trump On Securing Kanye West Endorsement Donald Trump And Kanye West Having Twitter Bromance; White House Ducks Invitation Question President Donald Trump has been quick to take credit for a historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea and a joint pledge to bring an end to the decade-long war on the peninsula. Following in those footsteps, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has reacted with mockery to the suggestion that others may also be, at least in part, responsible. On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the demarcation line to meet his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in. A few hours later, Donald Trump Jr. quoted a CNN tweet that read Meet Kim Jong Uns sister, widely seen as instrumental in making the summit happen, adding a trio of crying laughing emojis and the words I love you guys. Trending: Titus ONeil Makes Memorable Entrance in WWEs Greatest Royal Rumble ___ I love you guys. https://t.co/xAGFAeP3Xc Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 27, 2018 Don't miss: Who Dies In Avengers: Infinity War? A List Of Survivors [SPOILERS] The president had earlier wasted no time in suggesting that he was responsible for the summit. "When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility," the president said Friday during a gathering with U.S. athletes who took part in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. "They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible. Trump did share some of the credit around on Friday, tweeting his appreciation for Chinas leader Xi Jinping Most popular: Ellen Burstyn on House of Tomorrow, Bad Horror Movies and Why #MeToo Is 'the Biggest Thing Thats Happened in My Life' Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea, he wrote. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Story continues Trump is far from alone in suggesting that he is the one who deserves most appreciation for the talks. "Clearly, credit goes to President Trump," South Koreas Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told CNN Thursday. "He's been determined to come to grips with this from day one." But others have played significant roles as well. Moon was elected as leader of South Korea last year vowing to focus on opening diplomatic channels once again with the North. And, as for Kim Jong Uns sister, Kim Yo Jong, she was not just the only woman among the delegates at Fridays historic summit but it was the 30-year-old who became the first member of North Koreas ruling family to visit the South since the Korean War when she traveled to the Winter Olympics to deliver a letter from her brother in February. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The two leaders will hold bilateral talks in the UK - PA President Donald Trump will meet the Queen and go to Chequers when he visits Britain in July but largely avoid London amid fears of mass protests. The US leaders long-delayed trip will take place on July 13 but last just 24 hours, including talks with Theresa May and an overnight stay. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said the news was fantastic but senior Labour figures warned that critics will not hold their tongues during the trip. The White House press secretary let slip the date on Thursday in a press conference for journalists children to mark Americas Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Mr Trump is understood to have personally approved the visit after weeks of careful negotiations between his staff, Number 10 and the UK embassy in Washington. The visit triggered renewed fears of mass protests one of the reasons Mr Trump has delayed coming to Britain for so long according to US and UK sources. It also offers a chance for Mrs May to improve her personal relationship with the US president, which figures close to both leaders privately acknowledge is not especially warm. Delighted that President @realDonaldTrump will visit the UK on 13 July and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister May. Kim Darroch (@KimDarroch) April 26, 2018 Emmanuel Macrons three-day state visitto America this week, where the French and US leaders heralded a new special relationship, has cast the May-Trump relationship in a harsh light. Friday July 13 has been chosen as the date because Mr Trump, who is known not to enjoy long-distance travel, is in Brussels for a Nato meeting on July 11 and 12. A Downing Street spokesman said: He will hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister during his visit. Further details will be set out in due course. Story continues The trip will not be the full state visit offered to Mr Trump just days after his inauguration, for which a date has yet to be set. Mrs May was the first foreign leader to visit the US president Credit: AFP While the exact details of the trip remain under discussion, Mr Trump is set to meet the Queen. He has repeatedly said how much his Scottish mother admired Her Majesty. He is also expected to hold talks with Mrs May at Chequers, her countryside residence. UK aides believe that pomp and ceremony will help foster a warmer relationship with the US president. Mr Trump is expected largely to avoid the capital, however, in a move that would minimise his exposure to the protests that are expected. Sadiq Khan, Labours London Mayor, said on Thursday: If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear. He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear. In brief | Donald Trump on the UK The pair have previously clashed publicly, with Mr Trump tweeting criticism of Mr Khans comments after the London Bridge terror attack. It is also thought that Mr Trump could attend a rally outside London to raise money for the armed forces. Mr Trump will not be invited to address both Houses of Parliament - an honour that has been accorded to previous US presidents - because of opposition from John Bercow, the Commons speaker. Last November Mr Bercow said that addressing the Commons was "an earned honour and in my view he (Trump) has not earned that honour". A spokesman for the Speakers Office told The Daily Telegraph: Mr Speakers views on this subject are a matter of public record. In any case, no request to address both Houses of Parliament has been received. Mr Trump unexpectedly pulled out of a working visit in February to open the new US embassy in London, saying he was not a big fan of the deal Barack Obama struck for the building. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron's 'special relationship' However US and UK sources have suggested concerns over protests in London and continued hostility to a visit from the Labour leadership was a bigger reason for the cancellation. Mr Johnson tweeted: FANTASTIC news that President Donald Trump will at last come to Britain on 13 July. Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the GREATest visit ever. FANTASTIC news that President @realdonaldtrump will at last come to Britain on 13 July. Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the GREATest visit ever. Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 26, 2018 There are concerns in Government that Mrs May's clashes with Mr Trump have helped Emmanuel Macron, the French President, develop a closer relationship with the US President. A Cabinet source said: "There is genuine concern that Theresa May has mishandled the special relationship and allowed Emmanuel Macron to get ahead of us. We are trying to play catch up." Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, told The Daily Telegraph: "One of the reasons that we are way behind the French is because we have got senior Labour figures who want to have mass street protests in London. "We shot ourselves in the foot with Sadiq Khan and sent a message that the President is not welcome here." Luanda (AFP) - Angola's former long-time president Jose Eduardo dos Santos is to stand down as head of the ruling MPLA party, officials said Friday, underlining the country's historic transfer of power. Joao Lourenco, who succeeded dos Santos as president last year, will also replace him as party leader in September, the MPLA said in a statement. Dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years before stepping aside in favour of Lourenco. But dos Santos -- who has been dogged by reports of ill health -- had remained as MPLA leader and was expected to retain significant influence over Lourenco's government. The party's executive said in a statement that it "approved of the candidacy of Comrade Joao Lourenco as president of the MPLA" and that it would hold a special congress in September. Lourenco, an MPLA veteran and previously a loyal minister under dos Santos, has surprised many observers by acting against state corruption and nepotism since taking over. Jose Filomeno dos Santos, the son of the former president, has been charged after allegedly syphoning off $1.5 billion when he ran the oil-rich country's sovereign wealth fund until he was sacked in January. Filomeno's half-sister Isabel dos Santos was also sacked from her job as head of state oil giant Sonangol and is now facing a graft probe. Exposing friction at the top of Angolan politics, Isabel has alleged that her family are victims of a witch hunt at the hands of the country's new leader. This week, President Lourenco fired his army forces' chief of staff and his head of intelligence over corruption allegations in a deepening purge of senior figures linked with graft. Scores of other government officials and management of state-owned companies have also been removed. During the country's oil boom, dos Santos was accused of corruption and enriching a small elite, including his own family, while millions of Angolans remained in dire poverty. Story continues At a meeting of the ruling party's central committee in March, Dos Santos said he could stay on as party leader until 2019. According to a member of the committee, there were fierce exchanges between old-guard supporters of Dos Santos and members aligned to Lourenco who wanted him named party leader promptly. Dos Santos became Angolan president and head of the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in 1979. The country was engulfed by civil war between 1975 and 2002. BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci has struck a plea deal with federal investigators, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday, raising the stakes in a corruption scandal engulfing high-ranking politicians and prominent businessmen. Representatives for Palocci, federal police and federal prosecutors did not respond to requests for comment. The plea deal was first reported by the O Globo newspaper. Palocci served as finance minister under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is serving time for taking bribes, and as chief of staff under Lula's successor Dilma Rousseff. He served as a key adviser to both leaders during their campaigns. Palocci was arrested in September 2016 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and money laundering. Prosecutors said he ran a bribery scheme that funnelled illegal money used for campaigns into Lula's Workers Party. A plea deal would reduce his prison sentence, though it was not immediately clear by how much. Lawyers for Palocci have said he has already told prosecutors that Lula accepted bribes from construction firm Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL], which is at the centre of Brazil's sweeping political graft investigations. The firm and other companies have said they paid billions of dollars in bribes to politicians and executives of state-run companies in exchange for winning contracts. Lula, who insists he will run again for the presidency and widely leads all polls ahead of October's election, was jailed earlier this month for a corruption conviction that was upheld on appeal. He faces six other graft trials. (Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski in Brasilia; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Tom Brown) New York (AFP) - Melania Trump took Washington by storm with her bold fashion choices this week -- now, the model-turned-first lady is a permanent fixture for tourists in New York, complete with her signature pose, lips pursed and eyes slightly squinting. The work was introduced by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who hailed his ex-boss's wife, known for her low-profile public persona, as a "very caring and graceful person" who is often underestimated. "She really has her finger on the pulse of what's going on politically, what's going on in the media, and is able to really offer sage advice," added Spicer, who left his job last July. Rumors have long swirled over the health of the first couple's marriage, particulary since allegations by a former adult film actress and an ex-Playboy model that they had relationships with Trump after he married Melania in 2005. Spicer downplayed the notion of a lasting rift. "I'm sure they have their moments like any couple does, but she is a great supportive spouse," he said, adding: "I think there is a genuine love and concern and that's what's the most important." Pressed for further anecdotes from his six months in the Trump White House, Spicer instead plugged his forthcoming book, "The Briefing," which is set to be published in July. It will be the latest in a rapid succession of political tell-alls after former FBI chief James Comey's "A Higher Loyalty" and journalist Michael Wolff's explosive "Fire and Fury," which has sold more than two million copies since its publication in January. The Melania Trump wax work, which stands in a faux Oval Office next to her husband, will leave New York on May 31 for the Madam Tussauds museum in the capital Washington. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) In a comprehensive letter to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) obtained by Yahoo Finance, SEC Chair Jay Clayton gave shareholder advocates causes for both relief and concern about whether the agency will make it harder for investors to sue public companies. Clayton clarified how the agency would handle whether corporations would be allowed to IPO with arbitration clauses preventing shareholders from suing the company in court long considered a standard part of shareholder rights. In the letter, Clayton notes that both he and the SECs Division of Corporate Finance believe that the decision about whether a public company can prevent its shareholders from suing in the case of fraud should be decided by the full Commission in a measured and deliberative manner, instead of just by the Division of Corporate Finance or another party. Clayton stressed multiple times that this issue is not a priority for me, but laid out how the issue would come up. If we are presented with this issue in the context of a registered IPO of a US company, I would expect that any decision would involve Commission action (and not be made through delegated authority) and that the Commission would give the issue full consideration in a measured and deliberative manner. Such a review would take into account various considerations, including developments in applicable law and any other relevant considerations. In July, SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar encouraged companies to ask us for relief to put in mandatory arbitration into their charter, as it would prompt a review. In her letter to Clayton, Rep. Maloney had echoed the concerns of shareholder and consumer advocates that the decision would be made by delegated officials in a less-than-public and open forum, and that a decision to allow forced arbitration would be bad. Maloney told Yahoo Finance she was pleased that Clayton wrote a detailed response, but was still very disappointed that he has not committed to opposing the use of forced arbitration should it come up for a Commission vote. Story continues Allowing companies to use forced arbitration clauses would devastate investor confidence in our markets, and would prevent shareholders from holding the next Enron or WorldCom accountable in court, she told Yahoo Finance in a statement. Some consumer and shareholder advocates, however, see a silver lining in Claytons comments. From the process perspective, its extremely good news, said F. Paul Bland, executive director at Public Justice. Shareholder and consumer advocates, Bland said, had been concerned the issue may have been decided by staff in the night. After getting the Maloney letter he has committed to a public process. I think that is really good news, he said. Despite the commitment to the public process, Clayton offered no further insight into his views on allowing forced arbitration clauses for IPOs, reiterating that its up for debate. I have not formed a definitive view on whether or not mandatory arbitration for shareholder disputes is appropriate in the context of an IPO for a U.S. company, Clayton wrote. Uncharted territory Traditionally, the SEC has not permitted forced arbitration clauses in IPOs, citing the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. When the Carlyle group attempted to put one in 2012, the company found itself faced with a public relations battle and a questioning SEC and decided to drop the clause. Attempts have also been made to enact forced arbitration clauses for shareholders after IPOs. In 2012, the SEC told Gannett Co. that there is some basis that its forced arbitration proposal violates securities laws, and to remove the proposal. Still, nothing has explicitly barred forced arbitration provisions from IPOs, Clayton wrote. State laws generally provide the parameters for companies to establish their corporate governance through their organizational documents, he wrote. Many experts agree with him, even ones who do not like forced arbitration for shareholders. Its a question of state law, said Edward Rock, the director of NYU Law Schools Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance. The SEC should not get involved and its not an appropriate issue for them to get involved with. In Rocks view, the SECs mode of regulation is disclosure, not making substantive regulations. Those should be done by states like Delaware, where many large corporations are domiciled, to make laws. Dual-class stock and SNAP Shareholder rights have been a contested area over the past few years due to multi-class stocks, often from tech companies, designed to insulate corporations from the short-term minds of shareholders. The issue hit a head in 2017 when Snap (SNAP) IPOed without offering voting stock, which led to outcry from investors and hurt the companys chances of being listed on indexes. With Snap, there was huge pushback, and it hasnt done very well, which will make subsequent unicorns cautious about adopting that extreme dual-class structure, Rock said. Now the debate has shifted away from dual-class to whether we should prohibit them to list on exchanges or what sorts of limits on dual structures both allow founders and insiders a period of time. Rock noted that in the past theres been pressure from the Council of Institutional Investors to exclude dual-class stocks from indexes but even that has moderated, with BlackRock saying last week to let them in so investors arent left out. But this could be different when the right to sue in a court is on the table, not just the right to vote on company matters. Institutional investors will be a factor In a recent letter from the Council of Institutional Investors to the SEC, the Councils general counsel denounced forced arbitration for shareholders: our membership strongly opposes the introduction of forced arbitration clauses between U.S. public companies and investors. The Councils letter highlights the headwinds that a company would face should it move forward with an arbitration agreement. But the question of why could come up too, as Bland noted. I believe any corporation who is considering an IPO or other securities document that would ban investors from bringing class action runs an enormous reputational risk, he said. If a company takes that step, what their communicating with investors is: we think we can take away your rights if we lie or defraud you. And I suspect that if investors understand thats what companies are saying, that will harm the company substantially. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: FinanceTips[at]oath[.com]. By Martyn Herman STEVENAGE, England (Reuters) - The European Space Agency's mission to search for life on Mars has reached an important milestone with its six-wheeled surface rover prototype ready for its "shake and bake". Built by Airbus Defence and Space just north of London in Stevenage, Britain's unlikely "Space City", the so-called Structural Thermal Model is being packed off to Toulouse, France, for a raft of tests to ensure the real ExoMars rover handles anything the red planet can throw at it. If the 2020 mission goes to plan it would be Europes first rover on Mars, following several successful NASA landings. Europe's last attempt to land a rover vehicle on the surface of Mars ended in disappointment in 2016 when Schiaparelli span out of control and slammed into the red sand. The ESA rover will be more sophisticated though, featuring a two-meter exploration drill and an autonomous navigation system. "That's the most exciting thing that hasn't been done before, we've got a huge two meter drill so it can go into the crust which is where we think life would be if it was still surviving," ExoMars Delivery Manager Abbie Hutty told Reuters. "At the surface the radiation is extreme and conditions too hostile. Down below different layers of rock, maybe in a fissure where there may be water deposits could be a nice place for life to still be surviving." Hutty will keep a close eye on the prototype tests in Toulouse where the launch from a Russian rocket will be simulated as well as the massive temperature variations it will endure 54 million km away on Mars. Data sent back from the ESA's Mars Express satellite are helping scientists choose the most suitable landing site. The ExoMars Rover's autonomous navigation, which will enable it to steer itself rather than wait 24 minutes for instructions from Earth, has been undergoing testing at Airbus's Mars Yard. The Stevenage center has a mock-up of the planet's surface complete with specially dried sand, boulders and Mars-like light intensity, if not the radiation. Its six "wafer wheels" made of thin strips of metal and unique suspension system means it can scale rocks and roll across the sandy landscape. "The cool thing about the wheels is that they are fully metallic and give us the traction and grip of a rubber wheel without taking anything organic from earth. They will be able climb over rocks and also dig through deep sand," Hutty said. Once testing is completed in France, work will begin on building the finished rover as well as a twin that will stay in Stevenage. (Editing by Patrick Johnston and Jon Boyle) The House intelligence committee's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), claimed to have stepped back from the investigation. Democrats said he continued to run interference. (Photo: Joshua Roberts / Reuters) WASHINGTON The Republican-controlled House intelligence committee released its final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election Friday morning, arguing it found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trumps campaign and Moscow, and prompting immediate recriminations from Democrats. Citing interviews, reviews of documents and other investigative steps, the 253-page document states that the Committee did not find any evidence of collusion, conspiracy, or coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians. While the Committee found that several of the contacts between Trump associates and Russians or their proxies, including Wikileaks were ill-advised, the Committee did not determine that Trump or anyone associated with him assisted Russias active measures campaign, the report says. The reports authors attempt to equate the actions of the Trump and Clinton campaigns in terms of helping the Russian meddling, faulting both for poor judgment and ill-considered actions. When, for instance, they criticize Trump campaign links to WikiLeaks and a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians who claimed to have damaging information on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, they try to balance that out with criticism of Clinton associates who paid former British spy Christopher Steele to investigate Trump-Russia links, noting that Steele appears to have communicated with Russian government sources. The document also bashes Obama administration officials for failing to alert the Trump campaign to counterintelligence investigations during election season, particularly of pro-Russia Trump adviser Carter Page. And the report attempts to rebut the widespread view that Trump and his associates were deliberately going easy on Russia. It contends that a Trump-driven change in the Republican Party platform to remove an endorsement of arming Ukraine in its yearslong conflict with Russian-backed separatists actually led to a stronger U.S. policy on the crisis. As for efforts to create a secret channel between Moscow and the Trump team after the election, it says they dont show secret dealings, but instead prove the two sides did not have significant contact before Trumps victory. Story continues Additionally, the report calls for Congress to consider repealing the Logan Act, a law barring unauthorized contact between Americans and foreign governments in disputes with the U.S. that Trump critics say the presidents associates may have violated. Begun in a bipartisan fashion after the U.S. intelligence community publicly accused Russia of intervening in the election to help Trump, the House intelligence committees investigation devolved into mudslinging as the panels chairmain, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), sought to shift its focus to alleged Obama administration misdeeds. Nunes grew close to the White House and continued to drive important decisions about how the panel conducted its work even after he publicly committed to taking a step back. Trump praised the document on Twitter soon after it was released, highlighting the Clinton mention and lobbing an attack at other ongoing investigations of potential collusion with Russia. Two Senate committees are still looking into the issue, as is special counsel Robert Mueller at the Justice Department. Democrats slammed the report. The House intelligence committees top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), issued a statement calling its findings superficial and political. He criticized how the Republican line changed over time citing the way GOP members first disputed the intelligence communitys claim that Moscow wanted to help Trump and hurt Clinton, and then avoided making that case in their final product. Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate or even see, when in plain sight evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses, Schiff said. He cited pro-Trump postings by Russian-run social media accounts and the Russian-linked released of hacked materials from Democrats. Republicans did not allow the panel to interview all witnesses it sought to before formally ending the probe last month, he added. Schiff said the Democratic minority on the panel is continuing to investigate and received new materials from a witness just this week. Democrats also issued their own 98-page document rebutting several pro-Trump arguments in the majority-controlled report. They noted defects like its downplaying of the role of George Papadopoulos, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of Muellers inquiry. The Republican report says Papadopoulos made minor contributions and often acted on his own without the official backing of the Trump campaign. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who previously worked on the Trump campaign, testified that he pushed back pretty sharply when Papadopoulos said he could engage with Russia on behalf of the campaign, the report adds. Some material in the majority report sheds new light on how Trump associates say they were assessing the Russian interference as it became clearer in 2016. It says the decision to use material from WikiLeaks was the subject of debate within the campaign. I remember making a decision that it [a trove of hacked emails] was in the public domain, and it would be silly not to use it, Sessions told the House panel. So I used it, although I could understand somebody else not wanting to. And it addresses what has become one of the presidents personal fixations: the charge, made in Steeles dossier, that he paid Russian prostitutes during a Moscow trip in 2013. The Committee found no evidence to support these allegations, the report says. Much of the report is redacted, including, notably, the number of Trump associates that law enforcement began investigating during the election. In a statement after the release, Nunes expressed the GOPs unhappiness about those cuts which were likely demanded by national security officials and said the panel will issue a less redacted version in the near future. This story has been updated with additional details about report and a Democratic rebuttal. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Four mass graves believed to date back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda have been discovered in the east African country, the BBC reports. More than 200 bodies have been disinterred from the sites, which were found in the the Gasabo district near the Rwandan capital of Kigali. The exercise is ongoing as we have identified four mass graves and we are yet to start exhuming three others, the information we have is that many people were dumped in these mass graves, Theogene Kabagambire, a local officer for Rwandan genocide survivors group Ibuka, told local newspaper News Day. He added that workers are searching for a fifth grave site. Approximately 3,000 residents of the district went missing following massacres that occurred during the 1994 genocide, when some 800,000 people, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, were killed by ethnic majority Hutu militias over 100 days. Local residents in Gasabo believe the mass graves could contain all of the missing victims bodies, according to the BBC. But the location of the site, which was reportedly identified to workers by a local woman, has raised questions about how long its existence has been known to local residents. Many of those convicted of perpetrating atrocities during the genocide have now been released, but they are doing little to reveal the whereabouts of our loved ones, Kabagambire said. By Fred Greaves SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California investigators tracked down the man they suspect is the Golden State Killer by comparing crime scene DNA to information on genealogy websites consumers use to trace their ancestry, a prosecutor said on Thursday. Former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested on Tuesday outside the Sacramento-area home where he has lived for at least two decades, not far from the site of the first of eight murders he is charged with committing 40 years ago. DeAngelo, described by neighbors as an oddball and loner known to fly into occasional fits of solitary rage, is suspected of 12 slayings in all. He also is accused of committing 45 rapes and scores of home invasions in a crime spree that spanned 10 years and 10 California counties during the 1970s and 1980s. Announcing his arrest on Wednesday, authorities said DeAngelo's name had never surfaced as a suspect prior to last week, when a DNA match was made. Officials initially did not disclose how their investigation led to DeAngelo, whose DNA had never previously been collected. But on Thursday, Steve Grippi, chief deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, said detectives narrowed their search by using genetic information available through commercial genealogy websites furnishing personal family histories to consumers who send DNA samples in for analysis. Confirming details first reported by the Sacramento Bee newspaper, Grippi said investigators compared DNA samples left by the perpetrator at a crime scene to genetic profiles on the ancestry sites, looking for similarities. He did not address whether the websites volunteered the information or were subject to a search warrant or subpoena. Detectives followed the family trees of close matches, seeking blood relatives who fit a rough profile of the killer. The process produced a lead a week ago, pointing to DeAngelo based on his age and whereabouts at the time of the attacks, Grippi said. Story continues Investigators found DeAngelo, placed him under surveillance and obtained his DNA from a discarded object, finding a match to a crime scene sample. A second, more decisive sample was collected from him days later and came back positive on Monday. Authorities have not disclosed the relative whose DNA helped solve the case. DeAngelo is known to have at least two adult children. DeAngelo is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Sacramento on Friday, facing two counts of murder. On Thursday, sheriff's detectives and FBI agents spent hours combing through his modest single-story house in Citrus Heights, a Sacramento suburb, and probing the backyard with poles for signs of digging. Red marker flags were visible in an embankment at the rear of the yard, enclosed by a tall wooden fence. "Those are fairly standard search techniques," said Lieutenant Paul Belli, a homicide detective for the sheriff's department. "There's no reason to believe there are bodies buried back there." Among the items of evidence collected from the house were computers and firearms, he said. Investigators also sought articles of clothing that might help tie the suspect to particular crimes, such as ski masks or gloves worn during the attacks, or jewelry, driver's licenses and other personal effects taken from victims, apparently as keepsakes or trophies, Belli said. Belli said he doubted additional victims would emerge because exhaustive DNA database searches had turned up no further matches. Neighbor Paul Sanchietti, 58, said he was left "bone-chilled" by news that DeAngelo, who lived four houses away, had been arrested as a suspected serial killer. In the 20 years they lived as neighbors, Sanchietti said he could recount speaking just a few words with DeAngelo on two occasions, once when they pushed a stalled car out of the middle of the street. "It just felt like he wanted to be left alone," Sanchietti said of his neighbor, who he said had a reputation in the community for loud, angry outbursts. "He would be outside in his driveway working on his car or something, and he would go into these rally loud tirades, Sanchietti told Reuters, adding that he nevertheless was unaware of DeAngelo ever running afoul of law enforcement. (Reporting in Sacramento by Fred Greaves. Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry) Former President George H.W. Bush will remain at Houston Methodist Hospital through the weekend to continue his recovery, according the latest health update from Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath. The 41st president was hospitalized on April 22 after contracting an infection that spread to his blood, one day after the funeral of his wife Barbara Bush, who died April 17. He was in intensive care until April 25 and is now recovering in a regular patient room. McGrath tweeted Friday that , Bush is in excellent spirits, and is looking forward to resuming his schedule and going to Maine next month. Fmr President @GeorgeHWBush will remain in @MethodistHosp through the weekend to continue his recovery and regaining strength. 41 is in excellent spirits, and is looking forward to resuming his schedule and going to Maine next month. Jim McGrath (@jgm41) April 27, 2018 It was so touching to our family to feel that love. @JennaBushHager talks about laying her grandmother, Barbara Bush, to rest and updates us on her grandfather, George H.W. Bush pic.twitter.com/xfl4veTLp5 TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 27, 2018 Speaking on NBCs Today show Friday morning, Jenna Bush said her grandfather was doing great. Hes goal-orientated and he wants to get to Maine. We think hes going to be going there, she added. Hes sad, but hes doing well. Last time was talked to him he was eating barbecue! On Wednesday, during an appearance at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Jeb Bush had said his father would be leaving the hospital today. The former Florida Gov. described his as father stronger than an ox and the greatest man alive. Genetic material shared on an "open-source" genealogy website helped investigators narrow in on the man they say is the Golden State Killer. After matching crime scene DNA to genetic material from a relative of Joseph James DeAngelo who was registered on a genealogy site, police zeroed in on the 72-year-old ex-cop, who was arrested Tuesday at his Citrus Heights home, the Sacramento District Attorneys office confirmed first to the Sacramento Bee and The New York Times. Though DeAngelos arrest came just five days after he first became an official suspect, authorities had long been working through online family trees that appeared to match DNA samples from crimes connected to who was then referred to as the East Area Rapist, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi told The Bee. After DeAngelo came into focus, it was learned that he had lived in areas where the attacks occurred and was in the right age range, Grippi said. DeAngelo was put under surveillance and his DNA was taken from something he discarded, officials said. It came back a match to DNA found at murder scenes in Ventura and Orange counties, authorities said. But investigators said they wanted to be even more certain, and a second sample was ordered to be tested. It too came back a match, officials said. "The second sample was astronomical evidence that it was him," Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert told the Bee. There were a whole lot of 'holy s***!' moments." Authorities determined it would be best to arrest DeAngelo outside of his home and moved quickly to take him into custody. DeAngelo was arrested outside his home Tuesday afternoon. He was booked into Sacramento County Jail on two charges of murder in the killings of Katie and Brian Maggiore, who were gunned down while walking their dog in Rancho Cordova in February 1978. Investigators said they found a cache of firearms inside DeAngelos home. "He is a very dangerous man, and he had an arsenal of guns at his home," Paul Holes, a newly retired investigator with the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office, told The Mercury News. Story continues Holes, who officially retired three weeks before DeAngelo's arrest, had been on the Golden State Killer case for 24 years. "This has always been my one big case that I was spending most of my time on," Holes said. "It was maybe a year ago when I realized that all the investigative strategies that I and others had employed just wasnt cutting it, and trying to figure out how can we leverage the DNA technology." Authorities announced DeAngelos arrest on National DNA Day, which Schubert called "fitting." "We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento, she said Wednesday. It was not immediately clear what DNA service lead police to suspect DeAngelo. AncestryDNA, Vitagene, MyHeritage and 23andMe all have denied they provided any customer information to law enforcement officials. The Golden State Killer is believed to have been responsible for at least 12 murders, 51 rapes and 120 home burglaries that occurred in at least 10 different counties in California in the 1970s and 80s. At the start of his crime spree, testing to collect and identify DNA evidence had not yet been developed. But in 2001, technology advances made it possible to prove the man dubbed the East Area Rapist was the same offender as the Original Night Stalker, now known as the Golden State Killer. Crimes connected to who was then referred to as the Visalia Ransacker was also determined to be committed by the same person. "The magnitude of this case demanded that it be solved, Schubert told reporters on Wednesday. The answer was and always was going to be, in the DNA." RELATED STORIES Cold Cases That Were Solved After Years of Unanswered Questions Golden State Suspect Was Hiding in Plain Sight Before Arrest, Cops Say Golden State Killer Case: Surviving Victim Reacts to Arrest of Suspect Related Articles: As investigators made an arrest in the Golden State Killer case Wednesday, those close to the woman who made it her mission to identify the suspect who cops said terrorized California for more than a decade, paid tribute to the dogged writer who was unable to see her life's work realized. Michelle McNamara was three-quarters of the way done with her book, "Ill Be Gone in the Dark," when she died in April 2016. At just 46 years old, the true crime writer had an undiagnosed heart condition and had taken a mix of prescription drugs, including Adderall, the pain narcotic fentanyl and the anti-anxiety medicine Xanax. She died in her sleep, leaving behind her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, their daughter, Alice, then 7, and a years worth of research, interviews and writing on the uncaught serial killer and rapist she dubbed the Golden State Killer. Known by many monikers, including the East Area Rapist, the Visalia Ransacker, the Original Night Stalker and the Diamond Knot Killer, McNamara believed the man responsible for at least 12 murders, 51 rapes and 120 home burglaries needed a label that fully encapsulated the terror that gripped the entire state of California in the 1970s and 80s. After McNamaras death, Oswalt enlisted the help of her friends Billy Jensen, an investigative journalist who focuses on unsolved murders and missing persons, and researcher Paul Haynes to complete the book. "Ill Be Gone in the Dark: One Womans Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer" was released in February and reached the No. 1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list last month. It has also been acquired by HBO with plans to adapt it as a docuseries. Then, just days after the second anniversary of McNamaras passing, police announced they had found their man. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested at his Sacramento home Tuesday on a warrant stemming from two of the murders perpetrated by the Golden State Killer. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday. Story continues On Wednesday, officials said DeAngelo, a former police officer, is the Golden State Killer and said DNA evidence ties him to the crimes. "You did it, Michelle, Oswalt proudly proclaimed in an Instagram video Wednesday. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said that while his office had been asked countless times in the past 24 hours if McNamaras book helped solve the case, "The answer is no." "It kept interest in tips coming in," Jones said. Other than that, there was no information extracted from that book that directly led to the apprehension." But those familiar with McNamara and her work said that interest was a key part in seeing this case solved. "Even though the cops are never going to say it, your book helped get this thing closed, Oswalt posted to his late wife on Twitter. Oswalt discussed his wifes work during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Myers early Thursday, saying, "Her book and the article that led to the book really amped up all the interest in the case and really put a lot of focus on this. "Not to discredit the work that the police and the lab technicians did, but... it was her dream," he added. "She always said, 'I dont care about credit, I want to know that hes in jail.' And now hes caught. The bracelets are on, and it feels like this thing that she wanted so badly is now done." Police closed in on DeAngelo five days before his arrest. They watched his movements at his home for several days and collected a DNA sample from something DeAngelo discarded in that time. He had not been considered a suspect previously, police said. Though his name was not among those McNamara considered during her own investigation, the impact her work had on the case was evident, Billy Jensen told CBS News. "Just the fact that they said the book didn't help but then said, 'We've got the Golden State Killer,' it's a bit contradictory," Jensen said. After DeAngelos DNA came back a match to that of the Golden State Killer, police waited until he walked outside his home to arrest him, Sheriff Jones said. "He was very surprised by that," Jones said. "It looked as though he might have been searching his mind to execute a particular plan he may have had in mind... but he was not given the opportunity. It happened almost instantly and he was taken into custody without incident at all." During his interview with Seth Myers, Oswalt read a letter that McNamara had written to the Golden State Killer. The message, titled "A Letter to an Old Man," was used as the Afterword in her book. "One day soon, youll hear a car pull up to your curb, an engine cut out," McNamara wrote. "Youll hear footsteps coming up your front walk. Like they did for Edward Wayne Edwards, 29 years after he killed Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, in Sullivan, Wisconsin. Like they did for Kenneth Lee Hicks, 30 years after he killed Lori Billingsley, in Aloha, Oregon. "The doorbell rings," McNamara continued. "No side gates are left open. You're long past leaping over a fence. Take one of your hyper, gulping breaths. Clench your teeth. Inch timidly toward the insistent bell. This is how it ends for you. 'Youll be silent forever and Ill be gone in the dark,' you threatened a victim once. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light." RELATED STORIES Worst Serial Killers in U.S. History America's Youngest Killers Unsolved Murders That Have Stumped Detectives for Decades Related Articles: At first they called him the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker, the Night Predator. Not even the dogs barked when he slipped into houses and back yards. Victims would be woken by a masked man shining a flashlight in their faces, ordering them to obey or die. Make one move, he told one victim, And youll be silent forever, and Ill be gone in the dark. The haunting phrase, Ill be gone in the dark formed the title of a book by the author Michelle McNamara published two months ago. She called the suspect the Golden State Killer, after his California area of operations. So obsessed had she become by her determination to catch him that some said the stress contributed her death from an undiagnosed heart condition, aged 46, in 2016. It was perhaps no surprise that her posthumously published book became a bestseller. Because it was grim testament to the fact that despite being hunted for nearly half a century, after committing at least 12 murders and 45 rapes between the years of 1976 and 1986, the Golden State Killer was still at large. He was, they said, Californias most prolific uncaught serial killer. Until now. On Tuesday, inquiries led police to a suburban house with an immaculately tended lawn in Citrus Heights, Sacramento County, California, to an inhabitant regarded by his neighbours as a nice old grandpa. By Wednesday morning Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, had been charged with two counts of murder in northern California and four counts of murder in Orange County, in the southern part of the state. If the prosecution can prove that the nice old grandpa DeAngelo is also the Golden State Killer, the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker and possibly the Visalia Ransacker, it will finally resolve a mystery that has tormented, not to say tortured, Californian law enforcers for 42 years. As was clear from the possibly prematurely triumphant statement of Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas. On Thursday, way before any trial verdict definitively established guilt or innocence, Mr Rackauckas declared: Hes been called the East Side Rapist. Hes been called the Visalia Ransacker, the Original Night Stalker and the Golden State Killer. Today, its our pleasure to call him defendant Story continues They first became aware of whoever it was that committed the crimes in the summer of 1976. According to McNamaras book, at 5am on 18 June 1976, police received a call from a 23-year-old woman in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento. She was speaking into a telephone as best she could while lying on the floor with her hands bound so tightly behind her back that she had lost the blood circulation in them. The masked man had attacked her in her bed, pressing a four-inch knife against her head and telling her: If you make one move or sound, Ill stick this knife in you. He bound, gagged and raped her, without once removing his gloves. Over the next six months, it is believed, the East Area Rapist struck at a rate of more than one sex attack a month. By the end of the year he had forced, or attempted to force himself on eight women. Jane Carson-Sandler was one of them. At 6.30am on 5 October 1976 the then 30-year-old nursing student and air force reservist was sitting up in bed at her home in Citrus Heights, Sacramento. Her Air Force officer husband had just left for work. Her three-year-old son was sleeping next to her. She saw a light outside, then heard someone running towards the bedroom. The masked man shone a flashlight in her eyes and hissed through clenched teeth: Shut up, shut up, shut up or Ill kill you. As he did so he scraped a butchers knife across her chest, leaving behind drops of blood. The attacker blindfolded, gagged and bound both Ms Carson-Sandler and her son. He picked the three-year-old boy up and either took him to another room or placed him on the floor. When he started untying her ankles, Ms Carson-Sandler knew he was going to rape her. In 2014 she found the courage to write a book, Frozen in Fear, about her ordeal and how it affected her. Just last month Ms Carson-Sandler retold her story to the Island Packet newspaper in the hope that it would help bring the rapist to justice. She told how after he raped her, the attacker returned her son to the bed with the words: If you move, Im going to come back and kill you. Leaving the terrified pair in bed, he went into the kitchen, opened the fridge and rattled pots and pants, for all the world as if he was cooking himself something to eat. Then he returned to give Ms Carson-Sandler a parting message: You looked really good in the Officers Club. The attacks continued: two in January 1977, two in February, two in March. Certain patterns seemed to be developing. The rapist would always threaten his victims through clenched teeth, as if trying to disguise his voice. As the Officers Club remark to Ms Carson-Sandler indicated, he seemed to stalk his victims before striking, even breaking into their homes days or weeks before the attack itself. After the attack he might ransack the house, taking souvenirs, notably coins and jewellery. He might spend hours in the residence, even, as he appears to have done with Ms Carson-Sandler, cooking himself meals. Sometimes the rapist left souvenirs taken from one victim at the home of another. Eventually, he stopped confining himself to lone women and started attacking homes where men were present too. He would tie both the man and the woman up. Then he would pile dishes on the mans back. If he heard plates crash to the floor while he raped the woman, he warned, he would kill them both. His victims ranged in age from 13 to 41. And as he continued to attack and continued to escape justice, Sacramento County found itself living in fear of the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker. He inspired vigilante-like patrols, attracted the attention of network news, caused safety lock sales to quadruple, pushed the countys eastern suburbs to burn floodlights through the night and propelled hundreds of housewives into pistol training, the Sacramento Bee recalled in 1981. This one man prompted what is believed to have been the most intense manhunt in the countys history. If for some law enforcers the hunt for the Golden State Killer has become personal over the years, thats because they remember how it affected their childhood. It all changed, said Sacramento County district attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who was 12 when the East Area Rapist first started to terrorise her community. The memories are very vivid. You can ask anyone who grew up here. Everyone has a story. And as news of the serial rapist spread from California to the whole of the US, the man himself appears to have turned murderous. In May 1977 it was reported that the rapist told one victim he would kill two people if he saw stories about his attack on her. It is believed that eight months and nine attacks later, he made good on his promise. On 2 February 1978 newlyweds Brian and Katie Maggiore were walking their dog in Rancho Cordova. It is suspected that they came across the East Area Rapist. He is thought to have chased them down and shot them dead. It is possible, however, that this was not the first time the East Area Rapist had killed. Some suspect that, as his skill at entering homes suggested, he had begun as a prolific burglar before graduating to sex crimes. Between 1973 and 1976, Californias San Joaquin Valley had been plagued by a burglar known as the Visalia Ransacker. On 11 September 1975, a man strongly believed to have been the ransacker was nearly caught by journalism professor Claude Snelling, 45. Awoken by noises in the middle of the night, Mr Snelling went to investigate and was confronted by a masked intruder in the process of trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter Beth. The intruder fled, but not before firing two shots that killed Mr Snelling. Today many believe the Visalia Ransacker and the East Area Rapist to have been one and the same. And if the killing of Mr Snelling was not premeditated, it appears that other murders were and that the attackers area of operations had shifted from north to south California. In 1979 the police in northern California were relieved to note a precipitous drop in the number of sex attacks they were having to deal with. But in southern California, a murder spree seemed to be starting. There were nine killings in Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties between October 1979 and August 1981, and they were savage not shootings, bludgeonings. Like the one on Cockleshell Drive. On Thursday 21 August 1980 Roger Harrington opened the door of his home in Cockleshell Drive, Irvine, and found a scene of horror. His medical student son Keith, 24, had been staying at the property with his wife Patti, 27. Mr Harrington senior found the couple dead in their nightclothes under a re-made bed. Keith had been killed by a blow to the bed. Patti appeared to have been subjected to a frenzied attack. The bedding around her was drenched in blood. DNA would eventually link the nine killings to each other, and to the rapes in northern California. The attacks, though, petered out. After a rape and murder in Orange County in 1986, the Golden State Killer appears to have stopped. He faded from the immediate concerns of law enforcement. Perhaps he thought he had got away with it. But in 2016, 40 years after this serial rapist and serial murderer first struck and affected some of their childhoods, law enforcers decided they were going to stop at nothing to catch him. In the words of Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, a new investigative team was formed and given virtually unlimited resources and freedom to track down their man. But for two years, they slogged away, seemingly to no avail. And then, the investigators said, the breakthrough came at light speed in the space of six days. So far, they have been relatively guarded about what led them to suspect DeAngelo. Mr Jones said detectives with dogged determination were able to get a sample of DNA from something DeAngelo discarded, but the sheriff would not say what that item was. It is understood that the genetic material was not a clear match, but there were enough similarities for investigators to return for more and they said they were able to get a conclusive match. The suspects biography, as pieced together by news reporters, also seems to suggest that DeAngelo might have been in the relevant places at the right time. And it offers a potentially chilling revelation. When the East Area Rapist first started to terrorise southern California, DeAngelo was one of those tasked with catching him and protecting the public. He was a California cop. He worked for the Auburn police department between 1976 and 1979, and before that was a police officer in Exeter, in the San Joaquin Valley, from 1973 to 1976 at a time when the Visalia Ransacker was active in the area. The authorities are now said to be investigating whether Mr DeAngelo can be linked to any crimes committed when he was supposed to have been on duty. In 1979, the same year that a precipitous drop in south California sex attacks was noted, DeAngelo lost his job as a police officer. He was caught shoplifting a can of dog repellant and a hammer from a Pay N Save store in Citrus Heights. The authorities are now said to be considering the possibility that he was stealing the items to use them as tools in the crimes he is suspected of committing. DeAngelo is thought to have moved into the Citrus Heights house with the well tended lawn in 1983. By that time the Golden State Killers career of crime was almost over. To his neighbours,Joseph James DeAngelo seemed like a nice old grandpa (EPA) In Citrus Heights, DeAngelo, a US Navy veteran who had served in Vietnam, seems to have fitted in tolerably well. He built model planes, kept his house perfectly painted as well as his lawn well manicured. He is thought to have lived in the house with an adult daughter and a granddaughter. And in all the years that the Golden State Killer had been active, despite all the thousands of tips offered by the public, the name DeAngelo had never come onto law enforcements radar until last week. In response to repeated questions, Sheriff Jones was adamant that McNamaras recently published bestseller had not led them to the suspect. But the book had closed with many saw as an eerily prescient letter to an old man, about how she thought it would end. One day soon, she wrote, Youll hear a car pull up to your kerb, an engine cut out. Youll hear footsteps coming up your front walk The doorbell rings. This is how it ends for you. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light. In fact, said Sheriff Jones, there was no ring on the door for the suspect DeAngelo. Officers simply waited for him to walk out of his house. He was very surprised by that, Jones said. It looked as though he might have been searching his mind to execute a particular plan he may have had in mind ... but he was not given the opportunity. DeAngelo did tell the officers he had a roast in the oven, but they assured him there was no need for him to return to the house. They would take care of it. James Heckman, Oliver Hart, Thomas Sargent, and Angus Deaton talk before a UBS event. (Ethan Wolff-Mann/Yahoo Finance) At a UBS panel this week, Nobel prize laureates in economics spoke out about bitcoin, adding to the list of winners of the prestigious prize who have taken a negative view of the controversial cryptocurrency. When asked about their views on bitcoin, laureates James Heckman (2000), Thomas Sargent (2011), Angus Deaton (2015), and Oliver Hart (2016) laughed nervously and looked at each other as if the question was unappetizing, before Hart stepped up, musing Ill make it very easy for the others. The British-American, who won for his contributions to contract theory, said he was trying to understand it, but that its a struggle. Im skeptical about bitcoin, probably like the others, he said. I think [2011 Nobel laureate for economics] Chris[topher] Sims gave a talk and I think he said it should have a zero price, which is basically what I think. Tulips, interjected Heckman, referring to the speculation that drove tulip mania in 17th century Netherlands. Other Nobel laureates have taken a similarly dim view of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Last year Joseph Stiglitz (2001) said it should be outlawed and Robert Shiller (2013) said its such a wonderful story. If only it were true. Blockchain and smart contracts, Hart added, echoing many in the banking industry, has potential as a useful technology. (Blockchain is the underlying decentralized ledger technology on which bitcoin is built, and is used by some financial institutions and other companies to make transactions faster and cheaper.) These tools could prove to offer small positive effects such as automating thingswhich strikes me as saving a small transaction cost, he said. Does the world really need another speculative asset, said Deaton. A reporter asked whether it could be a better form of money, to which Deaton mused, its better if youre a criminal, I dont know why else. The only advantage as far as I can see is you can be a crook, he said. You dont want to leave any record. Its not an accident that people who demand ransoms demand them in bitcoin. Im not sure anyone else does. Maybe New York City schools? Story continues Deaton, Yahoo Finance confirmed, was citing this school, about which Yahoo Finance reported in December. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: FinanceTips[at]oath[.com]. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert at the CMA Awards in November 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Eric Henderson) Theres been quite a lot of talk about country superstar Miranda Lamberts love life lately. Even her ex-husband, Blake Shelton whos happily paired off with pop star Gwen Stefani is seemingly getting in on the gossip. Given all this, it might be difficult to remember back to a pre-2015 period when Lambert and Shelton were Nashville royalty as country musics most adorable couple. Their marriage was short only four years and nobody save themselves knows for sure what went wrong. To prove just how lovable and magnetic the two were and how shocking their split was back when it was first announced heres a look back at the famous duos most shining moments as lovebirds and partners. 2005: The duo met for the first time performing Youre the Reason God Made Oklahoma onstage during the CMT 100 Greatest Duets concert. Despite their unfamiliarity with each other, its easy to see the sparks fly between them. Shelton, who was married at the time, noted the discomfort and electricity of the moment during an interview with VH1s Behind the Music: I was a married guy, you know? Looking back on that, I was falling in love with her, right onstage. Both have maintained that the relationship didnt technically start until Sheltons divorce was finalized. 2010: Well, ol Blake finally got a brain! Lambert tweeted, with a picture showing off her five-carat engagement ring. The couple would marry one year later in Lamberts home state of Texas, throwing a moonshine-soaked, junk gypsy affair (details here) with the bride sporting cowboy boots and her mothers wedding gown. Lambert shows off the engagement ring Shelton gave her. (Photo: Miranda Lambert) They celebrated their honeymoon in the same rustic way, choosing a staycation at their Oklahoma ranch for three days, then finishing it off with several days in Cancun at Reba McEntires vacation home (McEntires ex-husband is Sheltons manager). 2011: Shelton and Lambert seal their marriage and their positions as countrys hottest couple by winning dual Male Vocalist and Female Vocalist of the Year trophies at the Country Music Association Awards in November. This was the second time the couple achieved this feat together, though their first as a married duo. (They repeated the wins the following year as well). Story continues Lambert and Shelton with vocalist of the year trophies they won at the 2011 CMA Awards. (Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic) 2012: Lambert releases the single Over You from her fourth album, Four the Record. The moody ballad is revealed to be a joint composition by herself and Shelton, and is about Sheltons experience of losing his older brother in a car accident. Although the story was Sheltons, Lambert recorded the song. Shelton felt unable to perform it himself because of the emotion behind it. The pair did perform the song together in 2013 on The Voice, as a tribute to victims of the Oklahoma tornado tragedy. Lambert would, four years later and post-divorce, memorably break down on stage at an Illinois concert while attempting to deliver the song. 2012: The couple appear before a televised audience of millions performing America the Beautiful to open Super Bowl XLVI in Indiana. Lambert, amusingly, sings into a pink microphone. 2014: By this point in time, Shelton and Lambert had racked up dozens of appearances at awards shows. But at this years annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Lambert attracted considerable attention for a recent weight loss, which she showed off in a slinky gown. Lambert and Shelton attend the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2014. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images) Shelton, who was co-hosting the event with Luke Bryan, gave a playful introduction to her performance of Automatic. This next performer and I have a lot in common. We share the same taste in songwriting, the same nomination for Entertainer of the Year, and the same bed. So you know Im not talking about Luke, he deadpanned. Lambert spoke glowingly of her husbands support for her health goals. I asked Blake, Dude, why didnt you tell me I got fat?' she related. He said, That would go over like a lead balloon. Its not my job to tell you youre fat. Its my job to tell you youre beautiful.' 2015: Shelton joined Lambert onstage in March in Wichita, Kan., to delight fans with a magnetic, even steamy, duet version of God Gave Me You. A few months later, their divorce is announced. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: San Francisco (AFP) - The head of Tesla's Autopilot project is leaving the carmarker, amid a US government probe into a fatal accident involving a vehicle using the semi-autonomous driving system. The executive, Jim Keller, is moving to chipmaking giant Intel, both companies said Thursday. Keller's departure adds to the challenges of the electric car giant's effort to craft self-driving technology. Keller's last day at Tesla was Wednesday, and he was the third Autopilot project head to leave in about two years. He oversaw low-voltage hardware, autopilot software, and "infotainment," according to Tesla. "We appreciate his contributions to Tesla and wish him the best," the auto firm said in a statement. Pete Bannon, whose background includes working on Apple computer chips, was named the new head of Autopilot hardware. Responsibility for Autopilot software was given to Tesla director of artificial intelligence Andrej Karpathy "Tesla is deeply committed to developing the most advanced silicon in the world and we plan to dramatically increase our investment in that area while building on the world-class leadership team we have in place," the company said. Keller next week will start his job as an Intel senior vice president leading silicon engineering, according to the chip maker. The move comes with US safety investigators probing a March 23 accident in which a Tesla Model X operating on Autopilot collided with a highway barrier near the town of Mountain View in California, catching fire before it was struck by two other cars. The driver, identified as a 38-year-old man, Wei Huang, later died in hospital. Tesla said this month it "withdrew" from a party agreement governing a National Transportation Safety Board probe. But the NTSB announced the "removal of Tesla," after the company disclosed information the agency said could taint the public understanding of what happened, in violation of the agreement. If youve experienced a migraine, you know that its way more than just a headache. And when a migraine hits during the holidays, it often means missing out on some family fun. Migraines can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours, and the symptoms can make doing everyday activities nearly impossible. In addition to intense throbbing pain on one side of the head, migraine sufferers can also experience nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. One of the most frustrating things about migraines is that we dont really know what causes them. Old theories suggested that changes in blood flow to the brain triggered symptoms. However, new research shows this may contribute to pain, but its not the source. Today, doctors predict that an imbalance in brain chemicals, like serotonin, could irritate a major pain pathway called the trigeminal nerve, resulting in a migraine. What we do know is that 36 million Americans live with migraines, and women are three times more likely to get them than men. One of the reasons women suffer more could be due to fluctuations in estrogen, especially during puberty, menstruation, and menopause. While there is no cure, there are some helpful treatment options to manage symptoms. According to Nidhi Modi, MD, from Lawrenceville Neurology Center in New Jersey, many migraine sufferers are originally misdiagnosed with things like sinus headaches. So, the first step is to track symptoms with an app or journal. As they start to track their headaches, theyll recognize what their triggers are and be able to minimize those and try to reduce their headache frequency, Modi tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Common triggers of a migraine include certain foods, alcohol, stress, changes in sleep patterns, and even the weather. Caffeine is a trigger for some, but it is also included in some medications that help treat migraines. By pinpointing what is causing discomfort, this can help decrease migraine frequency and intensity. Story continues Tracking can also help people to better predict when a migraine is coming. Around 30 percent of people go through a telltale aura stage before or during an attack. An aura is characterized by visual changes, including flashes of light, blind spots, and wavy zigzag vision. The next step is pain management. Most people start with acute or rescue therapy, which involves taking over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen. If those are unsuccessful, doctors can also prescribe triptans, a class of drugs used to settle down overactive pain nerves. Over-the-counter options can be helpful, but Modi warns that patients shouldnt use them more than two or three times a week. Instead, people with frequent migraines should talk to their physician and discuss some preventive care. This category of treatment often involves doctors prescribing medications that were developed for other reasons, but can be helpful in migraine relief. Some common options include seizure medication, antidepressants, and blood pressure medication. If you dont want to take a prescription, Modi suggests going another route: visiting a psychologist. They can sit with a therapist and do biofeedback or cognitive behavioral therapy, she says. We also have devices available that are placed on the head and provide stimulation and relief for headaches. Doctors are still learning more about what causes migraines, but there is promising research centered around a protein called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Researchers have found that high levels of this protein appear in the blood of those having a migraine attack. There are many medications pending FDA approval at the moment that target CGRP, notes Modi. So patients should definitely ask their neurologist about those. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Legendary investor Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B), doesnt want to be remembered for his investing acumen and massive fortune when he dies. Instead, the 87-year-old multibillionaire would rather be remembered as a teacher. That would be very flattering, I would feel, if that was on my tombstone, Buffett told Yahoo Finances Andy Serwer. Throughout his life, hes personally benefitted from teachers, many of whom he encountered outside of the classroom. I think teaching is an important activity, he said. And I enjoy it myself too. Earlier this year, Buffett hosted 220 students from 11 universities, including Stanford, UCLA, and Peking University in China. [They] can ask me anything they want. We dont just talk about investments and all, we talk about life. And, I enjoy it and the students seem to enjoy it. So, thats what I like to do. Students cheer the arrival of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Buffett added that theres nothing thats really complicated about his investment style. He has long argued that investors both small and large would be better off putting money in low-cost index funds like Vanguard S&P index fund. Ive just been at it a long time, he said of his investing. I mean, just look at it, if Id put that $114 in the S&P, Id have $400,000 now. At age 11, during the first quarter of 1942, Buffett purchased three shares of Cities Service with $114. The stock fell from $38.25 to $27. When the stock climbed back up to $45 per share Buffett sold his position. Eventually, the stock soared to $202 per share. Rather, if he had put that $114 into the S&P 500 at that time and reinvested the dividends, he would have made $400,000. Watch Warren Buffett LIVE at the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting exclusively on the Yahoo Finance app and desktop. Coverage begins May 5 at 9:45am ET. Set a reminder now! Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting will be held on May 5. Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter. It's a mystery why House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) fired the House chaplain. (Photo: Yuri Gripas / Reuters) WASHINGTON House Chaplain Patrick Conroy was suddenly forced out of his job last week by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and while its not clear why, Democratic lawmakers and Hill sources say it was driven by Ryans distaste for one of Conroys prayers about the GOPs tax bill. As first reported by The Hill, Conroy was clear in his resignation announcement that it wasnt his choice to go. It was Ryans. As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, reads Conroys letter to Ryan, dated April 15. Conroy, who has been the chaplain since 2011, will officially resign on May 24. The Hill reported that four different sources two Democrats and two Republicans said Conroy was told he had to quit or he would be fired. Theres been no reason given for why he was let go, but Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) tells HuffPost that his GOP colleagues have pointed him to a prayer that Conroy made on the House floor last fall amid the debate on the GOP tax bill. Heres that Nov. 6 prayer, in which Conroy wishes for no winners and losers under the legislation. As has been reported, the tax bill greatly benefits the rich over time. PRAYER The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, offered the following prayer: God of the universe, we give You thanks for giving us another day. Bless the Members of this assembly as they set upon the work of these hours, of these days. Help them to make wise decisions in a good manner and to carry their responsibilities steadily, with high hopes for a better future for our great Nation. As legislation on taxes continues to be debated this week and next, may all Members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great Nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle. May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans. May Your blessing, O God, be with them and with us all this day and every day to come, and may all we do be done for Your greater honor and glory. Amen. Story continues Connolly said Republican lawmakers told him Ryan was peeved because he read that prayer as a tilt to the Democrats because it implied criticisms of the tax cuts being more beneficial to the rich (which they are). I am informed reliably by my Republican friends about this, said the Virginia Democrat. They cite that as evidence as that being more political than hes comfortable with. Another Democratic source familiar with the situation said several lawmakers relayed to him that Ryans decision was driven by the prayer. The speakers office denied that Conroy was forced out over a specific prayer, but would not clarify if the chaplains prayers during the tax debate were related to his termination. The office also gave no reason for Conroys termination. The speaker consulted with the minority leader, but the decision was his, said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. He remains grateful for Father Conroys service. During their Thursday caucus meeting, Connolly said Democrats were stunned to learn Conroy had been forced out. The reaction quickly turned to outrage, he said, and that spurred him to write a letter to Ryan demanding details on why the chaplain was let go. He is starting to collect signatures for it, but its already got fellow Catholic Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) on it. Heres a copy: Connolly Letter by jen_bendery on Scribd Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.) told HuffPost that he talked to GOP lawmakers who were shocked to hear Conroy was forced out, too. Before Thursday, many in both parties thought Conroy had chosen to leave. I happen to know some Republican members not happy with this, he said. Keating said that he, too, heard that it may go back to Conroys prayer during the tax debate, but wasnt sure if that was true. Its mind-boggling if thats part of it, he said. The prayer is actually a call for fairness. Ultimately, nobody can say for sure why Ryan decided to fire the chaplain. But absent any information, Connolly said, it can lead to ugly guesses. Were all left to speculate this is political or bigoted or personal, he said. You cant do this in the dead of night without risking that. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The United States Justice Department is looking into whether Chinese technology company Huawei violated sanctions against Iran. Its unclear how far the investigation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, has progressed. However, there is a precedent if the DOJ finds Huawei guilty of violating those sanctions. Fellow Chinese phone company ZTE was ordered to pay $900 million after pleading guilty to violating sanctions against Iran. ZTE was also hit with a seven-year ban against buying U.S. materials, which is likely to hurt ZTEs global growth in coming years. Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including the applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU, a spokesperson from Huawei told Fortune in an email. Its not the first time Huawei has clashed with the U.S. government. The heads of the CIA, FBI and NSA warned consumers against purchasing Huawei phones due to security concerns in February. Congress also proposed blocking Huawei from government contracts and urged phone carriers to cut ties with the company due to national security concerns. The DOJ said it generally does not confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on the existence of investigations. UNSC team due today to visit Rohingya camps UNB, Dhaka : A high-profile delegation of the UN Security Council arrives here on Saturday afternoon to see the brutalities that the Rohingyas faced in Rakhine State and steps taken by the government of Bangladesh. UNSC President for April Gustavo Meza-Cuadra will lead the UNSC delegation, says an official. The UNSC team will go to Cox's Bazar on Saturday upon their arrival in Dhaka on the same day. They will stay in Cox's Bazar at night and will visit zero line along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and visit Rohingya camps in the district on Sunday to see first-hand the impacts of the Rohingya crisis. The delegation members are expected to return to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar on Sunday evening after witnessing the Rohingya situation on the ground. The delegation will leave for Naypyidaw on April 30 and go to Rakhine the next day. The UN Security Council is composed of 15 members with five permanent members, China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members. The delegation members are expected to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and top government officials on Monday morning before their departure, an official told UNB. The UNSC visit was originally scheduled for April 27-28. Britain's UN ambassador Karen Pierce, according to AP report, said the most important thing is that the body charged with maintaining international peace and security "can see for itself the situation on the ground in a very desperate case of alleged human rights violations and abuses and crimes against humanity." The United Nations has a major effort under way to help the refugees in Bangladesh, and Pierce said the council will be able to see it in operation and "take a view on the extent to which that impacts on regional security and stability." She said the council will also be able "to draw attention to what it considers are the most flagrant human rights abuses and violations, and what needs to be done next to help Myanmar develop as a modern political and economic entity, and to help create the conditions where the refugees can go home in safety and security and dignity." Earlier, Bangladesh urged the UN Security Council to visit Myanmar and Bangladesh to witness the humanitarian situation of the Rohingyas amid continuous influx of the refugees. Over 700,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, and the influx, though reduced in recent weeks, continues despite Myanmar's assurances of stopping violence in Rakhine. On April 6, Hasina invited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Bangladesh to see for himself the plight of Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh amid persecution in Myanmar. During the telephone conversation, she also sought UN cooperation in implementing the agreement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya repatriation. On April 19, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said the Myanmar military and other authorities must be held accountable for the "horrific and organised violence" against the Rohingyas. The US diplomat said their country would continue to focus on the issue with great importance. "We're also in discussions about what additional actions should take place ... the investigation is moving forward, and I think you'll find additional action in the days to come." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as his new special envoy on Myanmar. Burgener brings over 25 years of experience in diplomacy having served in various high-level government positions in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Until her appointment Burgener was the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Federal Republic of Germany since 2015, according to UN Information Office in Dhaka. From 2009 to 2015, she served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand and led efforts to mediate between the two sides in the violence that erupted in Thailand in 2010. Burgener has also served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, with rank of Ambassador, and Head of the International Law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law Division in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2009. Simultaneously she served as the Coordinator for Counterterrorism on Foreign Policy and as the Secretary General of the International Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission. Born in Meiringen, Switzerland in 1963, Burgener holds a law degree from the University of Zurich. Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric quoting their humanitarian colleagues said the situation in Rakhine remains extremely concerning. "There are continued reports of departures from northern Rakhine, and some reports of threats and extortion against Muslim communities," he said in a regular briefing at the UN headquarters on Thursday. The Spokesman said bulldozing of burned or abandoned villages remains evident, and the movement restrictions placed on Rohingya communities remain in place, including for those trapped in camps for the last six years in central Rakhine. "There is a population of around 500,000 Rohingya still living in Rakhine who face continued discrimination and nationalisation," he said. The UN Spokesman said severe restrictions on their freedom of movement persist, grossly restricting their access to health care, education and livelihoods. "Therefore, our humanitarian colleagues stress that refugees from Bangladesh cannot be expected to safely, voluntarily and sustainably return." He said the United Nations stands ready to work with the government of Myanmar in implementing the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission. Budapest (AFP) - Hungary is failing to do enough to identify potential victims of human trafficking in its "transit zones" for migrants and asylum seekers, a Council of Europe report said Friday. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, recently re-elected for a third straight term with a huge majority, has made stopping the entry of migrants and refugees a central plank of government policy. The report, based on a recent visit to the two facilities on the border with Serbia, said "the ability to detect potential victims of human trafficking... has worsened" as a result of tighter laws and measures on immigration and asylum. It was written by the Council's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), which oversees the implementation of the Council's convention against human trafficking. Staff in the transit zones could not explain procedures for identifying trafficking victims, the authors said. They said asylum seekers were detained in "cramped living quarters, surrounded by barbed wire" and under the surveillance of armed guards. GRETA also said it was "deeply concerned that children aged 14-17 years are particularly vulnerable because they are treated as adults". There were 79 cases of "collective expulsion" of irregular migrants to Serbia in less than two weeks alone in December 2017, it said. The Hungarian government rejected the description of the zones as "closed facilities", saying asylum seekers were "free to leave in the direction of Serbia at any time". The interior ministry also said reports of "collective expulsions" were "unfounded". In 2015, when more than one million people landed on Europe's shores, over 400,000 refugees and migrants crossed through Hungary, mostly en route to other countries. Last year the country received just 3,397 applications for asylum, of which just over a third were given either refugee or "subsidiary protection" status. By Susan Cornwell and James Oliphant OSAGE CITY, Kansas (Reuters) - Paul Davis has a simple formula for winning over President Donald Trump's supporters in his Kansas race for Congress: He talks about kitchen table issues, like prescription drug prices and farm tariffs. And he is in no hurry to announce hes a Democrat. Davis and other party moderates believe that neglected rural and working-class voters in Midwestern districts helped cost Democrats the 2016 election. Trump won, they note, with strong support from socially conservative voters in Midwestern states, including many who used to vote Democratic. Democrats, nationally, have not had a message or policies that have really connected with Midwestern voters, and thats why we have lost elections here in recent years," said Davis, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the House of Representatives in Kansas second district. Now Davis and other moderate Democrats are trying to woo those voters back, and the partys hopes in the November election could rest on their success. The battle for the House of Representatives is increasingly focused on places like Kansas second, which includes the state capital Topeka and the university town of Lawrence but also large wheat and soybean farms. Democrats will likely have to take some Republican-leaning districts like this one to recapture the house, and doing so will require winning over Trump voters Interviews with about 20 Democratic lawmakers, candidates, strategists and campaign volunteers found that a growing number of Democrats are trying to do just that. But calls to woo Trump supporters are not sitting well with some party loyalists. Liberals say the party needs to stick to its core values on issues such as abortion, immigration, gun control and gay rights. They say outreach to Trump voters risks wasting precious campaign resources needed to keep core supporters fired up and determined to vote in November. Avis Jones-DeWeever, an African-American activist, says that courting Trump supporters is like chasing fools gold and worries her party is obsessed with bringing them back into the fold. "It's a completely boneheaded strategy, she said. Its a waste of time, money and energy to try to convince the inconvincible. CULTURAL POPULARITY CONTEST Democratic Representative Cheri Bustos knows Trump country well. The president won in her northwestern Illinois district in 2016, but Bustos also cruised to victory there, the best showing nationwide by a Democrat in a district that went for Trump. Afterward, Bustos wrote a report detailing how Democrats can win in the U.S. heartland. She sent the 50-page paper to every Midwestern Democratic candidate, but it attracted little notice by party leaders until moderate Democrat Conor Lambs upset victory in a Pennsylvania special election in March. The day of Lambs election, Steny Hoyer, the Houses second-ranking Democrat, walked into a meeting of congressional candidates waving a copy of Bustos report. I urged them to read it, Hoyer said. The report suggests the party take a big tent approach and become more inclusive of candidates who personally oppose abortion or support gun rights, arguing that Democrats are losing the cultural popularity contest with rural voters. NARAL Pro-Choice America, a group that advocates for abortion rights, warns that ambiguity on the subject could upset the Democratic base. Equivocating on support for these issues will be felt among critical voters and sends a message that Democrats would allow fundamental human rights to be undermined just to win a race or two, said Ilyse Hogue, NARALs president. Quentin James, co-founder of The Collective PAC, which aims to elect more African-Americans to Congress, worries that courting white moderates will come at the expense of more liberal black candidates and says Democrats should not alter their message to chase after a relatively small pool of rural voters. But Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat campaigning for re-election this year, said progressive candidates have little hope of winning in states like his. You're not going to find a liberal Democrat that usually wins in those areas, he said. Its not going to happen. Representative Kurt Schrader of Oregon, co-chairman of the moderate House Blue Dog coalition's PAC, or political organization, agrees candidates should fit their districts. One size doesnt fit all for Democrats, he said. The Blue Dogs have partnered with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to identify and recruit candidates for the first time since 2006. WORKING WITH TRUMP Davis knows he is fighting an uphill battle. The Republican-leaning district in which he is running went for Trump by a margin of 19 percentage points in 2016. The districts current representative, Republican Lynn Jenkins, took 61% of the vote in 2016, but she is retiring, leaving an open seat that some analysts see as flippable by the right candidate. On a recent campaign outing, Davis generally did not tell voters in the district that he was a Democrat unless asked, and some of his campaign flyers did not mention his party. Instead, he talked about education or jobs, downplayed hot-button cultural issues and avoided Trump-bashing. He does not believe in banning any classes of guns, and has said he wont support Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats House leader if elected. Roaming the floor at a barbecue competition earlier this month, Davis pressed the flesh and chatted about the unseasonably cold weather - and his support for better education funding. He also handed out his card. It doesnt get you free fries or anything, he joked. Im sure the vast, vast majority of people in that room were Republicans, Davis, a former state representative, said after the event. I dont think I am going to be able to succeed if people dont see that I listen to their concerns. Davis supports abortion rights, but that is not at the heart of his message to voters. Instead, he talks about the suffering farm economy and how looming Chinese tariffs in response to Trumps protectionist push on trade could make things worse. He says, however, he could work with Trump if the president is doing things that I believe are good for Kansas and good for America. Kansas state Senator Steve Fitzgerald, one of several Republicans vying to win that partys primary in Kansas' second, doubts whether voters will be persuaded by Davis attempts to distinguish himself from the national Democratic Party. Hes running that way because thats the only way he could possibly win, Fitzgerald said. Hes not running as a Democrat. IM A DEMOCRAT In rural Kansas and other regions that backed Trump, the word Democrat is often a euphemism for out-of-touch, condescending coastal elites To retake the House, the party will have to battle that stereotype in key House races not just in Kansas, but in Iowa, Minnesota and other states in which older, white voters are likely to be a deciding factor. A Reuters analysis of nearly 40 competitive House races showed that more than two-thirds are at least 75 percent white, and about half voted for Trump. Davis knows that his party affiliation can be toxic. While going door-to-door in Topeka recently, he approached Jim Robinson, 56, who was pulling into his driveway in his truck. Davis handed Robinson a flyer, and Robinson immediately asked if Davis was a Republican. Im a Democrat, Davis said. Robinson handed him back his flyer. Okay, then, Im sorry Have a good day, sir. (This story corrects Schrader's title in 22nd paragraph.) (Reporting by Susan Cornwell and James Oliphant; Editing by Kieran Murray and Sue Horton) Washington (AFP) - Israel is not concerned by Russia's military presence in neighboring Syria because Moscow is a "pragmatic actor" with whom deals can be struck, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Washington on Friday. "What is important to understand is that the Russians, they are very pragmatic players," said Lieberman during a discussion on the alliance between Russia, Syria and Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "At the end of the day, they are reasonable guys, it's possible to close deals with them and we understand what is their interest," said Lieberman, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union. "Their interest is very different from our interest but we respect their priorities," he said. "We try to avoid direct frictions and tensions." The Russian military has an air base at Hmeimim, in the northwest of Syria and has maintained port facilities at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast in the west for several decades. But Lieberman said the expanded Russian presence in Syria was "not our business. We try only to protect our own security interests." Lieberman was talking three days after the Israeli news site Ynet published an interview in which he threatened to attack Russian S-300 anti-aircraft batteries that could be delivered to the Syrian military and used to target Israeli aircraft. In 2010, Moscow signed a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the delivery of S-300 batteries but Damascus has yet to take possession of the anti-aircraft systems, in large part due to Israeli pressure, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Even though Israel has insisted it will not get drawn into the Syrian civil war, it has carried out dozens of air strikes on regime positions and has targeted weapons convoys it says were coming from Iran and were destined for Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla organization that has frequently clashed with Israel. (Reuters) - Israel's envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that Iran had recruited at least 80,000 Shiite fighters which it was training at a base just over five miles from Damascus. Holding up a map, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Security Council that Iran had set up a training base just over five miles from Damascus. "What you can see here is Iran's central induction and recruitment center in Syria. There are over 80,000 Shia militants in Syria under Iranian control. It is at this base, just over five miles from Damascus, where they are trained to commit acts of terror in Syria and across the region," Danon said. (Writing by Ori Lewis) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead three protesters along the Gaza border on Friday, Gaza medics said, hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticized Israel for using "excessive force" against demonstrators. Israeli troops have killed 41 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,000 others since Gaza residents began staging protests along the border fence on March 30 to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The troops were holed up behind fortifications on their side of the 40km (25-mile) border fence and fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters at five locations on the Gazan side. Gaza medical officials said two protesters who were struck by bullets were in critical condition in hospital and 600 others were wounded. The Israeli military said 12,000-14,000 Gazans were participating in what it described as "riots," and that some had tried to breach the border into Israel. It said troops "had operated in accordance with the rules of engagement" to stop people crossing the border. The Gaza health ministry said 200 were wounded by gun fire, including a Palestinian journalist who was hit in the foot by a bullet. Dozens more, including four medics, were treated for gas inhalation, as Israeli forces showered the area with tear gas canisters from behind their fortifications in Israel. Protesters hurled stones and rolled burning tires toward the fence, and some attached cans of burning petrol to kites and flew them into Israeli territory. Others cleared away barbed wire coils which Israeli troops had placed in Gazan territory overnight in a bid to create a buffer zone between protesters and the fence. After dark, the Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets had struck six targets belonging to Hamas' naval force "in response to the terror activity and mass attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory earlier today." Hamas said two boats moored off the Gaza shore were hit, causing damage, but that no casualties were reported. The protests come at a time of growing frustration for Palestinians as prospects for an independent Palestinian state look poor. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for several years and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories have expanded. In a statement, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein called the loss of life deplorable and said a "staggering number" of injuries had been caused by live ammunition. Israel's foreign ministry had no immediate comment but the government has consistently said it is protecting its borders and that its troops are following rules of engagement. Israel's U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, told the Security Council on Thursday that Hamas in Gaza was responsible for Palestinian casualties and that it was using innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields. "The terrorists are hiding while allowing, even hoping, for their people to die. This is evil in its purest form," he said. Hamas denies the Israeli accusations. "Danon's comments are an attempt to escape responsibility and to cover up for the execution of unarmed children and people by occupation soldiers," said Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri. Named the 'Great March of Return', the protest action revives a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages which their families fled from, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948. Israel refuses any right of return, fearing that the country would lose its Jewish majority. More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal enclave. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border. (Writing by Ori Lewis, Editing by Richard Balmforth and Rosalba O'Brien) GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian during protests along the border with Gaza on Friday, local health officials said. The latest fatality brought to 39 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops since protests began on March 30 and which Palestinians hope will revive the right of refugees and their descendants to return to their lands inside what is now Israel. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Alison Williams) TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday Japan welcomed the summit between the leaders of North and South Korea as a positive step and he strongly expected Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards to carry out its promises. Japan would stay in close contact with the United States and South Korea over North Korea, Abe said, adding that Japan was "absolutely not" being left out of the denuclearisation process. The North and South Korean leaders said they would pursue trilateral meetings with the United States and that meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China were also possible. (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Robert Birsel) Hey, he gave it a whirl. Kanye West posted a private text message between him and John Legend to Twitter on Thursday. Buzzfeed confirmed that Legend, who is identified as JL, texted the Famous rapper, encouraging him to distance himself from President Donald Trump. So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the harm that Trumps policies cause, especially to people of color, Legend texted West. Dont let this be part of your legacy. West responded, claiming that Legend trying to control his opinion. Bringing up my fans and legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought, he wrote. Legend, then pleaded with West to consider how powerful his influence is. Think with empathy and context too, he wrote back. Legends text comes after the rapper posted a series of pro-Trump tweets Wednesday, which caught the presidents and the entire internets attention. You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought. KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018 Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018 Some find Wests support from Trump confusing, considering that in 2005 the artist slammed former President George W. Bush for not caring about black people during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Story continues Kanye doesnt care about black people. Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) April 25, 2018 Comedian Stephen Colbert weighed in on The Late Show with this message to West: You know what Kanye, you know what? Donald Trump is your brother, it is true, I am your brother too, and brother to brother, I just want to say: put the phone down. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. (Reuters) - Adult-film star Stormy Daniels' lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, will be put on pause for 90 days, the federal judge in the case ordered on Friday, saying that Cohen's constitutional rights could be endangered if the lawsuit proceeds while he is under criminal investigation. "The court finds that there is a large potential factual overlap between the civil and criminal proceedings that would heavily implicate Mr Cohen's Fifth Amendment rights," District Judge James Otero wrote in the order, referring to the Constitution's protection against self-incrimination. Cohen has admitted paying $130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to secure her silence about having sex with Trump, which he denies. Cohen said the payment was legal, and Daniels has sued to end her nondisclosure agreement. Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti promptly pledged to fight the stay, writing on Twitter he would file an immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, which could ultimately lead the Supreme Court to have to weigh in. Cohen said earlier this week he would invoke the fifth amendment and refuse to answer questions in the lawsuit after the FBI raided his home, office and hotel room two weeks ago. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that no individual can be "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." Daniels had countered that the lawsuit should proceed, with Cohen invoking the amendment only for specific questions that might lead to self-incrimination. But Otero wrote that approach could lead to Cohen not answering any questions, rendering a deposition useless. The stay is warranted "to determine that the scope and context of the FBI investigation and potential criminal proceedings will not substantially interfere with this action," Otero wrote. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Eric Beech and Rosalba O'Brien) Gazipur Jamaat Chief, 44 others held Staff Reporter : Police on Friday arrested 45 Jamaat-e-Islami men, including its Gazipur City Chief SM Sanaullah, just weeks ahead of the city corporation elections there. SM Sanaullah earlier filed nomination paper as an independent candidate to contest in the mayor elections to be held on May 15, but he later withdrew his candidature in support of the BNP's Hasan Uddin Sarker. Detective Branch (DB) of Police raided Swapnachura Resort at Pubail and picked up them at 7:30am and recovered some handmade bombs also, said our local correspondent quoting Harun-or-Rashid, Superintendent of Police, Gazipur. The police official suspected the Jamaat men to have gathered there to carry out subversive activities. They, however, tried to flee sensing the presence of the law enforcers. A plainclothe team of police recovered 15 crude bombs and 18 religiously inciting books from their possession. Meanwhile, Mayor candidate Hasan Uddin Sarkar condemned the arrest claiming that it was motivated. (NORRISTOWN, Pa.) Deliberating jurors in Bill Cosbys sexual assault case have asked their first question of the judge. The jury returned to a suburban Philadelphia courtroom less than two hours into its deliberations to ask for the legal definition of consent. Judge Steve ONeill said he wasnt able to answer it, telling jurors theyve already been given the definitions of the charges they are considering. Prosecutors say the 80-year-old comedian drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. His lawyers say Cosbys encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual. The defense says Constand falsely accused Cosby so she could file suit against him. Cosby paid Constand nearly $3.4 million in 2006. Cosbys first trial ended without a verdict after jurors deadlocked. The Associated Press doesnt typically identify people who say theyre victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done. Kate Middleton and Prince William pose outside the hospital with Prince Louis. (Photo: Getty Images) Prince William and Kate Middleton are appearing unrecognizable post-birth. And while its completely understandable for parents to look more tired and disheveled right after welcoming a new baby, thats not whats going on here. In fact, Kate and William are looking the opposite of exhausted on the cover of New Zealands Womans Day: fresh faced and creepily perfect. The magazine used a photo of the royal couple on the steps of the hospital. Kate is waving and holding her newborn son. In the original image, they both look pretty impressive considering they just spent hours delivering a baby. People are even comparing their much worse for wear post-baby appearances to the couples miraculous turnaround. But apparently Womans Day wasnt as impressed; on the cover, the image is heavily edited, to a point where the couple looks creepy. New Zealand TV host Hilary Barry noticed the discrepancies and posted side-by-sides of the original and the cover on social media. In the edited version, their skin tones and eyes are brightened, teeth are whitened, dark circles and spots removed. When the Duchess of Cambridge emerged on those famous hospital steps hours after giving birth, I was amazed. Yes, I know Posted by Hilary Barry on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Barry has a bone to pick with the magazine. When the Duchess of Cambridge emerged on those famous hospital steps hours after giving birth, I was amazed, she wrote on Facebook. Yes, I know she has a team of makeup artists, hairdressers and stylists but it is pretty extraordinary to look as composed and radiant after your bodys been through an ordeal like childbirth. Barry was one of the women who posted a photo of herself hours after birth to show the difference. I wasnt getting at the Duchess, I was just offering an alternative reality and, I would venture to say, a more common reality, she pointed out. Today I saw a social media post from a womens mag promoting its latest Royal Baby issue which hit the stands today. It left me shaking my head. Story continues Barry continued, What message is this sending to girls? That despite posing in front of the worlds cameras hours after giving birth looking immaculate, elegant and absolutely beautiful, the Duchess of Cambridge was still not quite good enough for the front cover of the mag? She also took to Twitter to express her distaste. You know the worlds gone completely mad when a mag has to photoshop one of the most photogenic couples in the world. This is mental, she wrote. Shes not the only one who is disgusted by the magazines audacity to publish this image and the message it sends that even naturally and a bit enhanced isnt good enough. Seems strange that Womans Day havent highlighted their natural persona but rather made them look plastic, someone commented on Barrys Facebook post. Disgusting that WD felt it was ok or appropriate to photoshop someone that was already beautiful, another lamented. Totally agree! She looked amazing without the need to airbrush! It seems very intrusive and unfair that she is expected to greet the world press at all! Others have expressed how this cemented their aversion to the magazine, and some pledged to stop buying it. Absolute shame on Womens Day, I will not buy their magazines for this reason, what is wrong with showing her as a human, there is no need to photoshop her image, she is beautiful, even hours after giving birth, someone wrote on Facebook. Never read that cr*p anyway, its only good for loo roll, echoed another. Womans Day is the worst at this and other mis informed stories, Stopped buying 2yrs ago because of it!! wrote a third. A male Twitter user even created a hashtag in response. Time to #boycottwomansdaymagazine. Pretty sure its the same woman who did this one: pic.twitter.com/tW1wLiKHQT Sea Spanker (@SeaSpanker) April 26, 2018 It's a fairly rough photoshop job too. "Leave it there?" "No, smooth the skin out Bit more. Bit more. A bit more A wee bit more" "Really?" "Yeah, trust me smooth it out a bit more." "Um" "Look they're still recognisable as human smooth the skin out more." "" Chris McKeen (@McKeenPhotos) April 26, 2018 Adding salt to the wound, it's a pretty bad Photoshop at that, all sorts of uncanny valley vibes from the androids the women's rag turned them into. Tahkyn (@TahkynZ) April 26, 2018 Others cant help but point out how much of a #PhotoshopFail this is, and we cant help but agree. If they were going to change it, they could have at least done so subtly, or just avoided making them look like paintings from a Paint and Pint class. Adding salt to the wound, its a pretty bad Photoshop at that, all sorts of uncanny valley vibes from the androids the womens rag turned them into, someone said in response to Barrys tweet [T]hey made them look AWFUL. Goodness, another person wrote. . they made them look AWFUL. Goodness The Blogtini (@TheBlogtini) April 26, 2018 The graphic designer that photoshopped this should get the sack. Not even like theyve gone just one step too far more like ten steps too far. Such a poor job, a Facebook user bluntly stated. This could be the same Photoshop offender who botched the Zaring familys photos and made their faces look like stencil drawings. This makes Kim Kardashians #PhotoshopFails look like works of art. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearisation of their divided peninsula at a historic summit laden with symbolism. The North's leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in embraced after signing what they called the Panmunjom Declaration, following a day that began with an emotional handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that splits their countries. The pair issued a statement confirming their "common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula". They agreed they would seek a permanent end to the Korean War this year, 65 years after hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Moon would visit Pyongyang in "the fall", the two leaders said, pledging to hold "regular meetings and direct telephone conversations". But Kim did not mention denuclearisation and analysts warned that while the summit was a good first step, similar promises had been made before and much remained to be done to resolve the issue of the North's atomic arsenal. In coming weeks, Kim is due to hold a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump -- who has demanded Pyongyang give up its weapons -- that will be crucial in shaping progress. Trump hailed the Korea summit as historic, but warned "only time will tell". He told reporters he would not be "played" by the North's leader at their upcoming meeting, with "two countries" now in the running to host the summit. Trump also implicitly claimed credit for the Korean meeting, tweeting: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" But he also offered a nod to his "good friend", Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had provided "great help". - 'Filled with emotion' - Story continues The Panmunjom Declaration capped an extraordinary day, unthinkable only months ago as the nuclear-armed North carried out a series of missile launches and its sixth atomic blast. Kim and Trump had traded personal insults and threats of war, sending tensions soaring before Moon seized on the Winter Olympics to broker dialogue, beginning a dizzying whirl of diplomacy that led to Friday's meeting in the Demilitarized Zone. Kim said he was "filled with emotion" after stepping over the concrete blocks that mark the border, making him the first Northern leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ceasefire in 1953. At his impromptu invitation, the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before beginning the summit, only the third of its kind. During another symbolic gesture, the two men took part in the ceremonial planting of a pine tree. It was a far cry from the last tree-related operation Moon was on duty for in the DMZ -- a monumental show of force after North Korean soldiers killed two US officers trying to prune a poplar in 1976, when he was a special forces soldier. - 'Heart-wrenching division' - The truce village of Panmunjom was the "symbol of heart-wrenching division", Kim said, but if it became "a symbol of peace, the North and South that have one blood, one language, one history and one culture, will return to becoming one". He pledged the two Koreas would ensure they did not "repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korea agreements... fizzled out after beginning". In the declaration, the two sides said they would seek meetings this year with the US and possibly China -- both parties to the 1953 ceasefire -- "with a view to declaring an end to the war, turning the armistice into a peace treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime". But agreeing a treaty to formally close the conflict will be complicated -- both Seoul and Pyongyang claim sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. The two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. - 'First step' - Moon welcomed the North's announcement of a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches as "very significant", calling it "an important step towards complete denuclearisation". But how much progress was made on the nuclear issue remained unclear. Pyongyang has always insisted it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against a US invasion, and is demanding still unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal, while Washington is pressing it to give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Affirming a commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was "not new", said MIT political science professor Vipin Narang, "historic summit notwithstanding". But he added: "Reaffirming it is better than not reaffirming it." Paul Haenle of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing said it was "really just the first step in broader diplomatic efforts". "Similar to a game of chess, this move opens up a series of possible developments but in many ways, the hard work really begins now." After an early dispatch saying Kim was heading for the summit, the North's state media offered no further coverage of events, even as the leaders' handshake was beamed around the world. But at a farewell ceremony, the two men watched images of their landmark encounter beamed onto the summit venue in a sound-and-light show, standing hand-in-hand for several minutes. sh-ckp-jhw-ric-slb/amz/it A federal judge dealt yet another blow to the White Houses efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which shields some 700,000 immigrants from deportation. In an order released on Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates said the Trump administrations decision to roll back the program was arbitrary and capricious because the Department failed adequately to explain its conclusion that the program was unlawful. As such, Judge Bates rescinded the Trump administrations decision, but gave the government 90 days to deliver a stronger case on why it believes the DACA program is unlawful. The judges decision leaves open the possibility that the program could be fully restored earlier rulings have made it so current recipients of DACA could renew their applications even after deadlines set by the Trump administration have passed. Under this ruling, if the government does not offer up a satisfactory explanation for why Trump discontinued DACA in 90 days, new applicants could be allowed to seek DACA protections, authorization that allows eligible immigrants to work and attend school without fear of deportation. What this means for the so-called Dreamers, though, is yet to be seen. Because the judge stayed the order for 90 days to give the government time to craft a stronger argument, nothing changes immediately. Bates order also does not effect the older court decisions that have made it so current enrollees are able to renew their DACA. The order could be great news for the thousands of people who would have been eligible for DACA had the program not ended. A major requirement for DACA eligibility is that the applicant be at least 15-years-old when they apply and according to the Center for American Progress, an estimated 23,000 young people turned 15-years-old after the Trump administration ended the program on Sept. 5, 2017. But by giving the government 90 days to tighten up its legal argument, the judge offered the Trump administration a bit of leeway. If the judge finds that the updated explanation is sufficient, it is possible that new applicants would still be unable to apply. Regardless, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was quick to denounce the judges decision, calling it good news for smuggling organizations and criminal networks and horrible news for our national security at Wednesdays press briefing. In the meantime, a real solution to the back-and-forth over DACA could come via Congressional intervention but that is highly unlikely. Several bipartisan solutions have been floated since last fall, but the President has rejected plans that do not align with his hard-line views on immigration. Nairobi (AFP) - A Kenyan movie due to become the first in the country's history to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival was banned by authorities on Friday for seeking to "promote lesbianism". The Kenya Film Classification Board announced the film "Rafiki" was being banned "due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law." In a statement, the board said the film "contains homosexual scenes that run counter to the law, the culture and the moral values of the Kenyan people." Ezekiel Mutua, the board's head and a self-described "fervent moral crusader", has previously sought to ban films, ads and cartoons he deems immoral, often on the grounds that they promote homosexuality. "Rafiki" -- meaning "friend" in Kiswahili -- is adapted from a story called "Jambula Tree" by Ugandan writer Monica Arac Nyeko. It tells the tale of two young women from different communities who fall in love. The story won the 2007 Caine Prize, which is awarded to African writers of a short story published in English. It is due to be premiered in the May 8-19 festival in the "Un Certain Regard" category, earmarked for films with unexpected or marginal themes by emerging directors. The film's Kenyan director, Wanuri Kahiu, said the decision was disappointing. "I am incredibly sorry to announce that our film 'Rafiki' has been banned in Kenya," she said. "We believe adult Kenyans are mature and discerning enough to watch local content but their right has been denied." Under British colonial-era laws homosexuality remains illegal in Kenya. In a televised interview last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta said homosexuality went against Kenyan society and culture. He dismissed gay rights as being "not of any major importance to the people and the Republic of Kenya." About a third of cancers could be prevented with lifestyle changes thats roughly a million cases of cancer in Europe each year. You might have thought that by now most people would be aware of what the lifestyle risks are, but youd be wrong. Our latest study, published in the European Journal of Cancer, shows that many people are still confused about risk factors, despite vast sums being spent on public health education campaigns. A sizeable minority of the public either fail to appreciate the significance of known risk factors or hold unfounded beliefs about possible causes, such as using mobile phones or being near overhead power lines. Author provided People need an accurate picture of cancer risks for them to make an informed decision about how they can protect their health. The thrust of the public health strategy to reduce the cancer burden is to encourage people to avoid or minimise the risks they face. That is undermined if there is confusion over those risks. Our study of 1,300 adults found high levels of misunderstanding about risk factors. Using data collected from the Attitudes and Beliefs About Cancer UK Survey in 2016, we set out to investigate peoples understanding of the causes of cancer and to identify if certain groups were more likely to have an inaccurate picture of cancer risks. Read more: Why most cancer isn't due to 'bad luck' Hypersensitive to cancer risk factors The results of our analysis surprised us. Overall, less than half of the questions people were asked about cancer risk factors were answered correctly. Some people had a good understanding of the established risks factors, but people with greater knowledge were also more likely to incorrectly endorse fictitious causes, such as electromagnetic frequencies and microwave ovens. We could not investigate why that was happening, but it suggests a hypersensitivity to risk factors: people were sensing dangers where they did not exist. This suggests people are failing to filter health messages that are being disseminated through their social networks and via media outlets. Story continues People were generally poor at identifying risk factors supported by scientific evidence. Four out of ten respondents didnt know that being overweight is linked with an increased risk of cancer. A similar proportion did not recognise the dangers of sunburn. And nearly three in four respondents (71%) didnt realise that having the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus affecting the skin and moist membranes and which can be spread by sexual contact, was linked with certain cancers, including cervical, oral and anal cancer. Not only were some people not aware of the established risks, others held beliefs about the cancer causes not supported by science. Almost half the respondents thought stress was a factor and a quarter blamed mobile phones. One in five believed that using a microwave oven was a risk factor. The research raises questions about the source of information for people. Read more: Can talcum powder really cause ovarian cancer? Public not keeping pace In line with previous research, people who were white and had spent longer in education were more likely to identify the actual causes of cancer. People who were younger and white were more likely to believe in unsubstantiated cancer risks. The findings support existing evidence that specific population groups are more likely to have a poorer understanding of cancer risks. Targeting health messages so they are accessible and comprehensible to everyone in society is key to addressing communication inequalities. This is important because science is developing an increasingly complex picture of the factors contributing to cancer. As the field makes progress, it is unlikely public knowledge will always keep pace, leaving important messages about health promotion unattended to. With people increasingly getting their news from social media sometimes from unreliable sources (so-called fake news) it will be crucial to monitor shifts in peoples beliefs about the causes of cancer and their lifestyle changes. The results of our study can be used as a benchmark for public understanding of cancer risk factors against which future changes can be measured. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The Conversation The study was funded by Cancer Research UK Lion Shahab is a HEFCE funded member of staff at University College London. He has received honoraria for talks, an unrestricted research grant and travel expenses to attend meetings and workshops from Pfizer and an honorarium to sit on advisory panel from Johnson&Johnson, both pharmaceutical companies that make smoking cessation products. He has acted as paid reviewer for grant awarding bodies and as a paid consultant for health care companies. Other research has been funded by the government (Department of Health), research councils and institutes (ESRC; NIHR) a community-interested company (National Centre for Smoking Cessation) and charitable sources (Cancer Research UK). He has never received personal fees or research funding of any kind from alcohol, electronic cigarette or tobacco companies. By Kole Casule SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia expects to secure a date soon to start membership talks with the European Union and will step up its efforts to implement the reforms needed to join, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Friday. Macedonia won its candidacy status in 2005, but the accession talks remain blocked by Greece due to a decades-long dispute about the name of the former Yugoslav republic. Since he took over last year, Zaev has stepped up efforts to resolve the dispute with Greece, which says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim over its northern region which has the same name. Greece is also blocking Macedonia's membership of NATO. "We have a concrete goal ahead of us. We have never been closer to receiving a date to open membership talks with the EU," Zaev said after meeting Donald Tusk, head of the European Council which groups the bloc's 28 national governments. "We are working to successfully solve the name issue. Solving this issue will open the doors to begin membership talks with the EU and to enter NATO." He said his administration would "double" its efforts to ensure that reforms are "more visible, concrete and efficient". Western governments see NATO and European Union membership for the Western Balkan countries as the best way to stabilize a region still recovering from armed conflicts in the 1990s. In its latest report on progress of the six Western Balkan countries, the European Commission gave a recommendation for Albania and Macedonia to start accession talks. All member states have to give the green light for negotiations to begin. But until the name issue is resolved, Greece is unlikely to give a green light to Macedonia's accession talks. Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov called on EU leaders to open membership talks while negotiations with Greece continue. "If it (resolving the name dispute with Greece) is placed as a condition (for talks to start) we are being deprived of our basic right to become European," Ivanov told journalists. Ivanov took part in a meeting on Friday of regional heads of states, including the presidents of Slovenia and Croatia, two fellow ex-Yugoslav republics that have already joined the EU. Tusk, who visited Macedonia as part of his Balkans tour, attended the meeting as well. Slovenian President Borut Pahor urged Balkan leaders to work hard to build good relations with their neighbors, a pre-condition for EU membership. Six countries in the western Balkans -- Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia -- are progressing toward membership, led by Serbia and Montenegro, which could join the bloc as soon as 2025. "Brussels cannot do everything. Part of the job has to be done by Western Balkan leaders," Pahor said. (Reporting by Kole Casule; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Gareth Jones and Catherine Evans) Govt forms probe body UNB, Dhaka : The government has formed a high-profile probe body to look into the attack on the Bangladesh High Commission in London on February 7. Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York Masud Bin Momen has been made head of the probe committee, a diplomatic source told UNB without elaborating the composition of the investigation committee. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in London Khondker M Talha has been withdrawn and asked to join the Foreign Affairs Ministry here before May 7. Another source said the government has not shown any reason behind the withdrawal of Talha who has been in London for nearly three years and eight months. He is expected to return to Dhaka on May 3. During the attack, Talha was acting Bangladesh High Commissioner in London. Leaders and activists of BNP attacked the staff of Bangladesh High Commission in London and ransacked its furniture which the government termed tantamount to an attack on Bangladesh. The High Commission came under sudden attack on February 7 afternoon ahead of the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Khaleda, also a former prime minister, was jailed for five years on February 8 after she was found guilty in the case. Police were there and the attack took place in presence of police. The Bangladesh High Commission in London in a statement had said the BNP activists and members of its wings forcibly entered the High Commission in the pretext of submitting a memorandum. They attacked the High Commission staff and vandalised assets of the mission. "Bangladesh High Commission in London represents Bangladesh in the UK. So, damaging High Commission's asset is like damaging state assets, and attack on the High Commission is tantamount to attack on Bangladesh," the High Commission had said in the statement read out by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at press conference here on February 8. Such destructive activities by the unruly demonstrators and their conducts tarnished Bangladesh's image abroad, the High Commission had said. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that he expected a "re-energized" effort against Islamic State militants in eastern Syria in the coming days. "You'll see a re-energized effort against the middle Euphrates River Valley in the days ahead and against the rest of the geographic caliphate," Mattis told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, referring to territory held by the group. U.S. airstrikes, troops and U.S.-backed Syrian militias have dealt heavy blows to Islamic State in Syria but the group still holds some areas and is widely expected to revert to guerrilla tactics if the last remnants of its once self-styled "caliphate" are captured. U.S. officials have said that in recent days they have seen fighters from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of militias in northern and eastern Syria dominated by the Kurdish YPG, returning to the middle Euphrates River Valley to fight against Islamic State. A Turkish offensive in Afrin against the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara regards as an extension of a Kurdish insurgency at home, led to an "operational pause" in the fight against Islamic State in eastern Syria in March. Mattis added that he was also expecting increased operations against Islamic State militants on the Iraqi side of the border and France had reinforced the fight against the militant group in Syria with special forces in the past two weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to withdraw American troops from Syria "relatively soon" but not before their mission is completed, adding that negotiations over the crisis there should be part of a larger deal regarding Iran. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Alistair Bell) Melania Trump celebrated her 48th birthday on Thursday. And although all her husband, President Trump, got her was a card and some flowers, it seems that her birthday week might still have been one of her best, allowing people to express their most favorable opinions of the first lady thus far. Starting with her solo appearance at former first lady Barbara Bushs memorial service, the current first lady began to loosen up among her presidential peers. Photographed alongside the Obamas, Clintons, and Bushes, Melania had quite the smile on her face, and even chuckled through an encounter with former President Barack Obama. Reactions from onlookers were mostly ones of pleasant surprise, mentioning that the former model looked the happiest she has since Trumps presidency began. And there was no shortage of memes that came as a result. Haven't seen Melania smile this much in years. She's happier with the Obamas at a funeral than she is with her husband in the White House pic.twitter.com/pz4WauDxjq Simply TC (@BienSur_JeTaime) April 22, 2018 Her trip to Texas was followed by a quick return to Washington, D.C., where preparations were taking place for the pair to host the administrations first state dinner, in honor of the official visit of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Melania took to Twitter to let people in on the planning process, which she had taken under her wing, and ended up receiving much praise for her stylistic choices both for the dinner and for her outfits at each event with the Macrons. The first ladys eye for beautiful fashion is hard to deny, and her days with the Macrons saw some of her most fabulous looks. From the $2,790 Givenchy black cape that she rocked when the couple arrived and the giant white hat that started a fast trend to the custom Chanel gown that she wore for the dinner itself, each outfit was carefully selected with French designers in mind. Story continues The first lady wore a gorgeous Givenchy cape for the French presidents arrival. (Photo: Getty Images) She donned a big white hat during the official welcoming ceremony. (Photo: Getty Images) Standing alongside her husband, Melania wore a custom Chanel gown for the state dinner. (Photo: Getty Images) The whirlwind week continued in Melanias favor, as she received an early birthday present of a wax figure in Madame Tussauds. On Wednesday, her figure joined President Trumps in a replica of the Oval Office, featuring Melanias perfectly curled hair and a cobalt-blue dress. People had mixed reactions, though, including those who said that her wax figure looked more like Sarah Jessica Parker or Ivanka Trump than it did Melania. However, most agreed that the first lady deserved to be immortalized in the New York City museum. Melanias wax figure was unveiled next to her husbands at Madame Tussauds in New York City. (Photo: Getty Images) Once it came time for Melanias birthday on Thursday, the president seemed unfazed while doing a phone interview on Fox & Friends. Saying that he hadnt had time to get his wife anything other than a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers, Trump also managed to make a small admission about Micheal Cohen representing him during the matter with Stormy Daniels. Through it all, people all over the world feel like they might have gotten a better look at who Melania Trump really is. And on her 48th birthday, many are wishing her nothing but the best. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Melania Trump is wearing another beloved belted shirtdress People are upset that Melania Trump hasnt appeared on a magazine cover since becoming first lady Fox News claims that Melania Trump is treated more harshly than Michelle Obama Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. By Jeff Mason and Andreas Rinke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump aired differences over trade and NATO on Friday at a White House meeting where they tried to put on a show of warmth and friendship despite tensions between the two allies. With Trump poised to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum soon that will impact European exports, Merkel said the decision is now in Trump's hands on whether to grant exemptions to European Union nations. "We had an exchange of views. The decision lies with the president," Merkel told a joint press conference after Trump complained about the U.S.-European trade imbalance, particularly in regards to automobiles. Merkel's quick trip came the same week as a three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, like Merkel, pressed Trump on trade and urged him to keep the United States in a multi-national nuclear deal with Iran. Neither leader appeared to make significant progress convincing Trump on either issue. Merkel said she could see negotiating a bilateral trade deal between the EU and the United States, saying the World Trade Organization has been unable to deliver multilateral agreements. Trump said he wanted a "reciprocal" trade relationship with Germany and other European nations and wanted Germany and other NATO allies to pay more for their common defense, an issue he has raised repeatedly. "We need a reciprocal relationship, which we don't have... We're working on it and we want to make it more fair and the chancellor wants to make it more fair," Trump said. After their last White House meeting drew attention when the two leaders did not shake hands in the Oval Office, Trump made a point of doing just that, twice, while congratulating the German chancellor on her recent election win. They exchanged kisses on the cheek when she first arrived at the White House. "We have a really great relationship, and we actually have had a great relationship right from the beginning, but some people didn't understand that," Trump said in the Oval Office, calling Merkel a "very extraordinary woman." MANY DIFFERENCES Merkel acknowledged that it took a while to form a government after heavy election losses to the far-right, but she said it was important to her to make her first trip out of Europe since establishing her administration to Washington. The cautious Merkel has not established a particularly strong personal rapport with the brash Trump, and the mood of her one-day working visit contrasted sharply with the tactile "bromance" between Trump and Macron. Chemistry aside, Merkel was careful to praise Trump's progress on North Korea while addressing some of his concerns point by point on defense spending, which she said Berlin was increasing, and German cars, many of which she noted were produced in the United States. On the Iran nuclear deal, Merkel said it was a first step that had helped reduce nuclear activities and better monitor them but added: "We Germans think its not enough to really ensure Iran takes on a role founded in reliability so more is necessary." Macron made the European position on the Iran nuclear deal clear ahead of Merkel's visit. On Wednesday, he called on the United States not to abandon the Iran deal as Western envoys said Britain, France and Germany were nearing agreeing a package they hope could persuade Trump to save the pact. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to revive U.S. sanctions on Iran. Doing so would be a serious blow to the nuclear deal, which many Western countries sees as essential for stopping Tehran developing a nuclear bomb. (Additional reporting by Michelle Martin, Paul Carrel, Andrea Shalal in Berlin, Lesley Wroughton and Robin Emmott in Brussels, Roberta Rampton and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Alistair Bell) Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to make little headway on high-stakes trade and security disagreements Friday, but avoided the public bickering that has plagued their year-old relationship. Merkel left the White House, seemingly unable to secure a promise from Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal or to provide a permanent European exemption to trade tariffs. Unless Trump acts by May 1, which is next Tuesday, tariffs on European steel and aluminum will kick into effect, likely followed by EU countermeasures that would spark a transatlantic trade war. "The president will decide. That is very clear," Merkel said, papering over differences during a joint press conference at the White House. "We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs of the negotiations and the respective assessments on where we stand on this. And the decision lies with the president." On the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump may scuttle on May 12, Merkel conceded it was "anything but perfect" but is worth holding on to nonetheless. Trump has demanded the "terrible" deal -- which gave Tehran sanctions relief in return for curbs on controversial nuclear activities -- be renegotiated, something Europeans see as unrealistic, dangerous and unnecessary. Merkel, like French President Emmanuel Macron who visited the White House earlier this week, tried to sell Trump on the idea of the deal being a stepping stone to a longer-term, broader agreement. "It will not solve all the problems with Iran. It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure," she said. Trump was as noncommittal as he was with Macron, giving no sense that he was ready to bend, or that he has an alternative plan. "They will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. Okay?" Trump said when asked about his own proposal, refusing to rule out military action. Story continues The White House has largely seen the deal through the prism of domestic politics and Trump's campaign promise to nix it. Despite lingering disagreements, Trump tempered his previously harsh criticism of low German defense spending, open immigration policies and export-focused trade. Hailing Merkel as an "extraordinary woman," Trump insisted "we must have a fair and reciprocal trading relationship with our friends and partners." "I'm committed to working with Chancellor Merkel to reduce barriers to United States exports, to remedy these trade imbalances, and deepen our economic ties." Trump also renewed his criticism of NATO, saying the transatlantic defense alliance was more useful for Europe than for the United States, but in less sharp terms than before. "NATO is wonderful but it helps Europe more than it helps us," he said, returning to a pet peeve. "Why are we paying a vast majority of the costs?" he complained. "We're working on those things. It's been unfair. And I don't blame the chancellor." - Make Germany heard again - The German leader's visit had been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of "fraternite" between Trump and Macron earlier this week. Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed -- in vain -- for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations, officials told AFP. Instead the chancellor got a one day, run-of-the-mill "working visit." But the trip got off to a surprisingly warm start, and the body language showed. The two leaders exchanged kisses on the cheek as Merkel emerged from her limousine at the White House. "We actually have had a great relationship right from the beginning but some people didn't understand that," Trump told reporters. "But we understand it, and that's what's important." When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host -- clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. The Trump era has seen a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run, successfully, for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven -- along with centrists claiming her as the new "leader of the free world" -- to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican-controlled Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Both Merkel and Trump welcomed his appointment. A Mexican rapper and YouTube star has admitted to dissolving the bodes of three missing students in acid, allegedly under orders from the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel. Christian Omar Palma Gutierrezalso known as QBAtold investigators he was the one who disposed of the bodies after they were murdered, AFP reported. Film students Salomon Aceves Gastelum, 25, Daniel Diaz, 20, and Marco Avalos, 20, were working on a project near a former hangout of the Nueva Plaza cartel in Guadalajara in the western state of Jalisco. New Generation members mistook them for members of the rival gang. When their car broke down on the highway, the trio were abducted by armed men in police uniforms. Trending: Sex Predator Hotline Set up at Cannes Film Festival Prosecutors believe the kidnappers beat Gastelum to death while attempting to question him, and then decided decided to kill the surviving two. The bodies were taken to another house and dumped in sulfuric acid to destroy evidence. Gutierrez is one of two people so far detained in connection with the murders. The rappers YouTube channel has more than 125,000 subscribers and his high-production music videos have millions of views. He told prosecutors he had been involved in three previous murders since being recruited to work for the cartel by a friend, around three months ago. Mexico students killed demo REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme Don't miss: PUBG Xbox One Miramar Test Server Extended - New Times Revealed Though his music videos show luxury cars and designer clothes, Gutierrez told police he was being paid just 3,000 pesos$159per week for his work for the cartel. Chief investigator Lizette Torres told AFP that Gutierrezs videos are forming part of the investigation. The productions depict fellow gang members in the poor neighborhoods of Guadalajara and are built around references to violence, drug use and weapons. Many of the videos show young men using drugs and brandishing firearms at the camera. Story continues Gutierrez and the second detained suspect will be charged with aggravated kidnapping. Police said they are still searching for at least five other suspects. More human remains found at the same sites as the missing students are also being analyzed, an official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. Most popular: How to Restart 'Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery': Reset Game on iOS and Android with These Instructions Almost 29,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2017; the countrys deadliest year some records began 20 years ago. Another 33,000 people are currently listed as missing. Much of the violence is down to Mexicos U.S.-backed ongoing war on drugs. The war was escalated with the deployment of the military in 2006 and fragmented established gangs, setting smaller groups against each other in a vicious competition for control of the drug business. The violence will be a key issue in the upcoming presidential election. Tarnished by the ongoing conflict, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Partyled by President Enrique Pena Nietois expected to lose. Politicians have become targets in the lead up to the election as cartels look to eliminate threats to their business and put their allies in office. At least 82 candidates or office-holders have been killed since the electoral season began in September 2017. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican state oil company Pemex returned to profit in the first quarter of the year, it reported Friday, but falling production continued to dog the firm. Pemex posted net profits of 113 billion pesos ($6.2 billion) from January to March, up 29 percent from the same period last year, and an improvement on its $18 billion loss in the last three months of 2017. It said its cost-cutting efforts over the past several years were paying off. "Operating, management, distribution and sales expenses remained stable, following the austerity and discipline policy on expenditure the... company has put in place," it said in a statement. Higher crude prices and a stronger peso gave the company a boost, it said. But production fell 6.3 percent, to 1.9 million barrels per day. Pemex, whose output peaked at 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004, has struggled for years with declining production. In 2014, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto enacted a landmark energy reform that reopened the oil and gas sector to foreign investors in a bid to kickstart production and boost the economy. Pemex generates about 16 percent of the Mexican state's revenue. The company lost $17.9 billion on the year in 2017. Hundreds of people across the United States have offered to open up their homes to the Central American asylum seekers traveling with the "migrant caravan" that President Donald Trump has been determined to stop from entering the country, organizers have told Newsweek. Jess Morales Rocketto, chairperson of We Belong Together, an immigration campaign launched by the National Domestic Worker Alliance, said as many as 200 people from several states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri and Virginia, are prepared to offer shelter in their homes. GettyImages-950418126 John Moore/Getty Trending: How to Restart 'Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery': Reset Game on iOS and Android with These Instructions The asylum seekers, who started their weeks-long journey from southern Mexico to the U.S. late last month, are currently in Tijuana. They are preparing to make their way to the U.S. border on Sunday, where they will make their asylum claims. Rocketto said she was "startled" by the outpouring of support from people across the U.S. who are "willing to open their homes to strangers." "It's been really heartening," Rocketto said. Grace Aheron, who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, said she plans to offer shelter in her home for "as long as it takes." These people who are coming are leaving behind such incredible circumstances of violence and fear and they are sacrificing so much, Aheron told Newsweek. It felt like the least we could do would be to give them a soft place to land. Aheron said that she felt it was important to give refugees proper hospitality in the U.S. and a safe place to be in light of all the rhetoric thats going around. She said much of that rhetoric was coming from the president, but added that while his administration has been a "canary in the coal mine... President Trump is not speaking into a vacuum." Story continues Living in Charlottesville, Aheron said she has watched anti-immigrant sentiments in the local community grow over the last two years. Don't miss: Kate and William Just Gave Their Baby A French Royal Name Read more: Migrant Caravan Set to Reach U.S. Border This Weekend, Despite Warnings Asylum Seekers Could Face Arrest Tensions in the Virginia city came to a head last August when a rally largely organized by white supremacists, protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park, turned deadly after a man rammed a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. "[Charlottesville] kind of feels like Ground Zero for white supremacy," Aheron said. "We've been trying to fight it on all fronts and welcoming these people here feels like a way to push back from people who want to have this white ethno-state... white supremacists, essentially." She said she wanted asylum seekers to know "what you are doing is an incredibly brave thing. I'm sorry that it is so hard and that people in my country are making it so hard." "I want you to know we are fighting for you on the other side and waiting with open arms for you once you get here. I wish there was more we could do," Aheron said. Rocketto said her campaign has been interviewing potential hosts and asylum seekers to ensure the "people that are opening their homes will be safe" and to "ensure the refugees will be safe as well." However, Aheron said her household is not not concerned "at all," adding that she lives in a Christian community home, where guests are welcomed all the time. Most popular: Video: Woman Orders Wendys Meal at Popeyes, Smashes Window When She Cant Have It "These people are leaving such incredible circumstances," she said. "I can't imagine what it must be like to risk so much and to leave home and leave the place where your family is, so we're ready to support and welcome these people for as long as it takes." As many as 130 asylum seekers are expected to start arriving at the U.S. border on Sunday. Many are fleeing from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in fear of threats from gangs, attacks on their families and political persecution. Hondurans, in particular, have left their country to escape the instability and violence that has followed the contested reelection of President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Read more: "Migrant Caravan Asylum Seekers Being 'Illegally' Turned Away at Border, Rights Group Says While the caravan is an annual event that typically takes place around Easter to raise awareness of the plight of asylum seekers, in previous years it has been largely symbolic, with most participants marching in Mexico, rather than making it all the way to the U.S. border. This year has been different, however, with participants determined to make the journey to the U.S. to claim asylum. While migrants do have the right to request asylum in the U.S., Trump has railed against the caravan, vowing to stop those traveling with it from entering the country. The group, which at one point swelled to include as many as 1,500 people, has dwindled in numbers after the U.S. leader repeatedly called for Mexican authorities to take action and break up the caravan and ordered thousands of National Guard troops to be sent the U.S.-Mexico border to monitor the situation. Migrants do have the right to request asylum in the U.S. and should not be turned away by border officials unless they fail to pass initial security screenings. However, Alex Mensing, a spokesperson for Pueblo Sin Fronterasthe immigration advocacy group that organized the caravantold Newsweek last Friday that a number of migrants who arrived at the border earlier this month were "illegally turned away by border officials" upon trying to request asylum. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said earlier this week that her agency would be monitoring the caravan and warned that the U.S. would prosecute anyone who tried to enter the country illegally, as well as anyone who tries to make a "false immigration claim." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Tijuana (Mexico) (AFP) - Olga Caballero and her four children set out from southern Mexico a month ago as part of a US-bound caravan that infuriated President Donald Trump. Now, having reached the border with the wealthy United States on Tuesday, this Honduran woman is asking the anti-immigrant Trump to show compassion and remember that he, too, is a father. Caballero and her children -- whose ages range from two to 16 -- spent the first night in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, as part of a caravan of 120 migrants including 50 minors who arrived on two buses. Since the so-called Viacrucis Migrante set out on March 25, or Palm Sunday, these poor and hearty Central Americans have crossed Mexico on foot, on trains and in buses. "My biggest fear was that I would fall asleep and one of my kids would fall from the train. Everybody was crowded up against a railing, and I sat up all night watching them," said Caballero, who is 35. The caravan is a tradition that dates back to 2010 and is designed to draw attention to the plight of destitute Central Americans crossing through Mexico to try to reach the US and the promise of a better life. This time, it set out with 1,000 people, but they have since dispersed, with some now traveling on their own. Irineo Mujica of the migrant rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders) that organized the procession said that some 600 of the original thousand remain grouped together. About half have begun filing papers to stay in Mexico and the other 300 plan to request asylum in the United States. Media coverage of the US-bound caravan triggered a flurry of furious tweets from Trump, who ordered thousands of National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border and called on Mexico to stop the migrants. He also linked the issue of migration to the signing of a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement. Late Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security warned the migrants against trying to enter the country illegally or filing false immigration claims, saying they will be arrested if they do. Story continues Mexico rejected pressure from Trump. It gave the migrants a one-month transit pass to decide if they want to seek refuge in Mexico, go back home or keep trudging toward the United States. Lisandro Guerrero, a Honduran traveling with his wife, decided to stay in Mexico even though he made it all the way to Tijuana on the border with the US. He will stay in Tijuana seeking work and at some point bring over his nine children. "If they do not want us there," he said of the United States, "why go? It is better to stay in Mexico which is welcoming us with open arms, thanks to God." - Compassion - Caballero had a message for Trump: "I would like him to put his hand on his heart, and I would ask if he has ever been a father. Because only a parent knows what it means to be ready to do absolutely anything for your children." She says she will ask the Americans for asylum because violence from street gangs in Honduras makes life impossible there. "That is why we are here. It is not that we covet another country," she said, her voice breaking with emotion. Among this group there are only about 20 men, including the Honduran Gualdin Omar, 20, who will also ask for asylum to escape the gangs, known in Spanish as "maras." "Because of the maras you cannot even go out on the street. No one leaves home," said this young farmer, who used to grow corn and beans. Omar says he is sure he will achieve the American dream, and challenged Trump: "I tell Donald Trump to get ready for when we get there." Upon their arrival at the border, the migrants were fed roast chicken, beans, rice and tortillas. Along the way, they found solidarity as people provided them with food and clothing. "The good thing is there have been lots of good people who supported us a lot," said Honduran Reina Garcia. Tristan Call, a member of People Without Borders who accompanied these travelers, said Mexicans responded to what he called Trump's "hatred" and bent over backwards to help the Central Americans. Quota reformists meet with MP Nanak Staff Reporter : Facing threats of agitation resuming from May, lawmaker and senior Awami League leader Jahangir Kabir Nanak has invited the quota reformists for talks to chalk out a solution. A 15-member delegation of Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad, the leading banner, went to Nanak's NAM Flat on Manik Mia Avenue around 9:00pm. "We have been invited over for talks and we are heading there," Rashed Khan, joint Convener of the platform, told media around 8:30pm. Earlier in April, the quota reform movement, demanding reducing the 56 per cent quota reservation in government service, spread like wildfire and spilled out to all corners of the country. WASHINGTON The Senate narrowly confirmed Mike Pompeo to be secretary of state on Thursday, clearing the path for him to take over as the top U.S. diplomat just as President Donald Trump faces high-risk moments on Iran and North Korea. Pompeo, the outgoing CIA director, secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee for the job since at least the Carter administration has received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trumps first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito swore Pompeo in Thursday afternoon at the Supreme Court. From there, Pompeo was expected to rush to Andrews Air Force Base, where an aircraft was waiting to whisk him to Europe for his first trip as secretary. Pompeo is expected to travel to Brussels before heading on to the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, is expected to guide Trumps foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department and diplomatic corps that is deeply demoralized after a tumultuous first year under Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled. The Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored President Donald Trumps growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. A long list of pressing issues awaits him including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trumps upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Previously confirmed by the Senate for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats. The Democrats included several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states, including Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent. Story continues In the run-up to Pompeos confirmation, his backers emphasized his resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump particularly on North Korea. Pompeo, as CIA director, traveled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for secretary of state. In the North Korean capital he met with leader Kim Jong Un ahead of the planned meeting with Trump, expected in late May or June. Hes the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts on North Korea, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed. Yet his opponents had warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the United States on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in North Korea. Pompeo will take the helm at the State Department ahead of Trumps expected decision on May 12 about whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on Tehran. Pompeo, a staunch Iran critic, has long deplored the 2015 nuclear accord, but has supported Trumps efforts to get European allies to strengthen restrictions on Iran. If theres no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal, Pompeo said in his confirmation hearing earlier this month. Ahead of his confirmation vote, the State Department was making contingency plans for Pompeo to travel to Brussels for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers immediately after his swearing-in, administration officials said. Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan was originally scheduled to take the trip starting Thursday but was expected to defer to Pompeo instead. From Brussels, Pompeo was expected to travel to the Middle East with stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan over the weekend and Monday, said the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the planning and spoke on condition of anonymity. In Brussels, Pompeo will keep up pressure on NATOs European members, particularly Germany, to boost their defense spending to 2 percent of their gross domestic product by 2024 as they pledged to do at an alliance summit in Wales in 2014, one senior official said. The official singled out Germany, the alliances largest and wealthiest European member, for not having plans to increase defense spending to more than 1.25 percent of GDP by 2021. Only six NATO allies currently meet the goal, and only nine allies have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024. That spending level, frequently incorrectly referred to by Trump as a contribution to NATO itself, is particularly important given the allies need to combat increased Russian aggression, the official said. In Riyadh, Jerusalem and Amman, the future of the Iran deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items. Pompeo will arrive in the region ahead of a series of events that could potentially plunge it into deeper disarray, including the Iran deal decision and the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Deeply opposed by the Palestinians, the opening of the Jerusalem embassy is expected only two days after the May 12 deadline on the Iran deal. May 12 is also the date for parliamentary elections in Iraq that will be held amid concerns that pro-Iranian candidates may win, giving Tehran further influence in Middle East. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. At just under 2 years old, British infant Alfie Evans has captured worldwide attention. Evans has an undiagnosed neurological condition that has caused him to have seizures and lose the ability to walk, talk and eat on his own. His parents want to take him home but the hospital wants to keep him there in palliative care. Its unclear what condition Alfie has, which has destroyed more than 70 percent of the white matter in his brain. Its possible that Alfie has an exceedingly rare condition called Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome, or MDDS. If so, he would only be the 17th person in the world to be diagnosed with the disease, International Business Times reported. Alfie_Evans_Protestors Anthony Devlin/Getty Images Trending: Can A Federal Jobs Guarantee Help Democrats Defeat Trump in 2020? An expert in childhood epilepsy has told a court that Alfie does not have any mitochondrial condition, according to U.K. news outlet Express. The expert, Helen Cross of Great Ormond Street Hospital, noted that an EEG scan showed no activity in Alfies brain, except for producing seizures. Still, many of Alfie's symptoms seem similar to ones that someone suffering from MDDS might have. Last year, at the same hospital, an infant named Charlie Grad was diagnosed with the condition and a similar controversy unfolded. Alfie is unlikely to have MDDS, which is actually a group of conditions that can affect cells in different ways. It starts with the mitochondria, known as the powerhouse of the cell. These organelles have their own DNA and they convert oxygen into Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP, which is integral to energy transfer in the cell. Don't miss: Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Interrogated by Masked Police with Machine Guns 1 Year after Ban Story continues According to Frontline Genomics, MDDS causes problems with the DNA in the mitochondria, making ATP production difficult. Someone without enough ATP may not have energy to move or talk much, and different organs in their body can deteriorate. Another form of MDDS primarily affects the brain. This one first appears in infancy and can cause delays in learning, epilepsy, abnormal movements, and loss of motor skills, creating symptoms similar to what Alfie is experiencing. Doctors took Alfie off of life support three days ago, and surprisingly, he is still breathing on his own. His father suggests that Alfie could live for months, possibly years if treated. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Its been a busy week for geopolitical meetings. While Western leaders convened in Washington and Korean leaders got together in the demilitarized zone, Indias Narendra Modi headed to the Wuhan province in China to talk with President Xi Jinping for a two-day informal summit beginning Friday. Its a meeting worth watching: As a new world order takes shape, these two countries go from peripheral players to central drivers. These five facts explain what you need to know. Rising Economies In 2000, China accounted for just 3.6 percent of the global economy; today its responsible for nearly 15 percent of the worlds economic output, and by 2032 its poised to surpass the U.S. to claim the worlds top spot. Its done so by harnessing the power of state-capitalism, intertwining its political power with its financial clout at a scale never seen in the global free market. India is still in the beginning stages of its economic ascent, but its unmistakably underwayover the next four years, the IMF projects the Indian economy will grow on average by nearly 8 percent annually. Modi has overseen a remarkable crackdown in corruption and bureaucracy in the worlds largest free-market democracy by population (1.32 billion people). He is also presiding over a much-needed modernization of the countrys infrastructure, and is shoring up its finances through an ambitious new goods and services tax. By 2027, India is expected to be the worlds third-largest economy behind only the US and China. Great Expectations Between 1990 and 2011, nearly 450 million Chinese were raised out of poverty. Over roughly the same time period (1994 to 2012), more than 130 million Indians escaped poverty, a 50 percent reduction in its poverty rate. For years, the consensus was that a rising middle-class would force Chinese leadership to reform its political system to accommodate an empowered citizenry that would demand more freedoms. That didnt happen, although to Beijings credit, Chinese leadership proactively began addressing concerns like corruption and air pollution before they reached crisis levels. The recent (and continuing) political turbulence in the West has also dulled the appeal of free-market democracy in the eyes of many. Story continues India is another story. Modi has failed to live up to his campaign promise to create 10 million new jobs a year; by some estimates, he hasnt even been able to hit 10 percent of that mark. Indias healthcare system also remains underwhelming, and its issues will become more pronounced as the economic fortunes of average citizens continue to rise. (The government has announced plans to dramatically expand basic health coverage, but doesnt have the resources to come close to fully delivering on those lofty promises.) Both these oversights have given Modis political opposition an opening ahead of Indian elections slated for spring 2019. Harnessing Technology Yet Indians are still bullish on the future70 percent of Indians today are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, up from 29 percent in 2013. Given the immense strides India has made in the last two decades, that optimism is understandable. However, while globalization has already begun roiling politics in the West, it has yet to do so in emerging markets. That moment of reckoning is coming. According to the World Bank, 69 percent of jobs in India today are at risk of automation in the dawning era of AI. And automation isnt just coming for India: 77 percent of jobs in China are also susceptible to the coming tech revolution. But China, maybe more than any other country in the world, is equipped to handle it. Beijing has shown time and again that it prizes social stability over economic gain, and given its unusual control over the entire Chinese economy, the country is positioned to ensure that mass-scale economic displacement remains carefully managed and in check. Free-market democracies, not so much. Growing Authoritarianism Given todays chaotic politics and the disruptive tech headwinds looming, the Chinese political model has never been more appealing. But that system comes at a costnamely a growing surveillance state, spanning from a national video network of 176 million cameras nationwide (with a plan to install 250+ million more by 2020) to a social credit system that aggregates aspects of persons historyfrom cheating on school exams to missing alimony payments to visiting problematic websitesinto a composite score to assess a persons trustworthiness. That in turn could determine what kind of doctors you can see, what dating websites you can join, or where youre allowed to travel. Such measures are fundamentally incompatible with liberal democracy, especially one like India where elections are regular and fiercely contested, speech is (mostly) free, and the courts are independent. That hasnt stopped Modi from trying to assert more control, proposing a law earlier this month to strip any journalist that disseminated fake news (as deemed by the government) of their credentials. (That law was pulled following publicly outcry.) Indias much-vaunted Aadhar biometric identification systemintended to help authorities cut down on benefits fraudwas voluntary when first rolled out but is now effectively mandatory to receive essential government services. It is now being challenged in courts, but there is also a growing sense among some in India that democracy doesnt bring the advantages it once dida sentiment largely fueled by Chinas meteoric rise. But while Modi may be willing to trade some of his citizens privacy for a more efficient government, its not clear that the Indian public agrees with him. The Best of Frenemies Which leads us to this weeks informal summit, one with no set agenda. Thats by designthe goal of this meeting is to help Xi and Modi keep things cordial between the two growing economic powers. And there have been more than enough flashpoints in recent months to make a meeting like this necessary: in the Maldives, in Sri Lanka, even in sleepy Bhutan. But maybe the most contentious issue has been Beijings pursuit of a $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) plan intended to tie the economic fortunes of 70+ countries to Beijing through infrastructure investments; part of that corridor runs through contested-Kashmir. Beijing even wants India to sign up for OBOR as well, but India pointedly refused again just days ahead of the meeting. The reality is that China today has supplanted Pakistan as Indias chief rival in Asiabut neither sees great value in escalating tensions further. That starts with the meeting this week. ATHENS (Reuters) - More refugees and migrants crossed into Greece over its land border with Turkey than came by sea in April, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, calling on the Greek authorities to improve reception facilities there. The agency said some 2,900 people arrived in Greece through the Evros river crossing so far this month, most of them Syrian and Iraqi families. That equals half the estimated arrivals for 2017 overall, the agency said. Nearly a million refugees and migrants crossed from Turkey to Greece's islands in 2015, but that route all but closed after the European Union and Ankara agreed a deal to stop the flow in March 2016. Under the deal, anyone who crosses to the Greek islands must qualify for asylum or face deportation to Turkey. The land border does not fall under the agreement. Arrivals from Evros, a fast-flowing river which divides Greece from Turkey in the far northeast, have picked up in recent months. At least eight people have died this year. UNHCR said the reception facility in the area was full beyond its 240-person capacity, including 120 unaccompanied and separated children. It said lack of space meant hundreds were being held in police detention facilities. "Conditions are dismal and services are limited," UNHCR said in a statement. Families in one facility were sleeping on the floor beside a row of cells. Among those held were pregnant women, very young children and people in need of medical care, it said. Greece's island camps remain severely overcrowded, in some cases holding twice the number of people they were built for. Greece's migration minister said arrivals there had also picked up since March. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, editing by Larry King) Brussels (AFP) - It was the venue for some of the most important and dramatic moments in NATO's history but on Friday the alliance bid farewell to its historic "Room 1" conference chamber. For 50 years NATO leaders, ministers and ambassadors have held their most important debates and taken their biggest decisions in the brown leather chairs of Room 1, buried in the alliance's crumbling old base on the outskirts of Brussels. Now NATO is moving to a brand new high-tech glass and steel headquarters, leaving behind a building steeped in Cold War history. Friday's meeting of foreign ministers was the last to be held in Room 1 and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg closed proceedings by symbolically banging an ornate wooden gavel donated by Iceland in the 1960s. "In Allied navies there is often a tradition of formally decommissioning warships. Today, we decommission this chamber," Stoltenberg said. "If they could speak, these walls would have many tales to tell." Room 1 was where NATO's Article 5 self-defence pact was invoked for the first and only time in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. It was also where allies decided to launch military interventions in the Balkans, Libya and Afghanistan. In 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, as the West fretted about what role a reunified Germany might play in Europe, then German chancellor Helmut Kohl jumped in his official car and raced to NATO headquarters. He spent three hours answering questions from ambassadors in Room 1, reassuring them that reunification would mean "a European Germany, not a German Europe". The new HQ's palatial conference room is equipped with the latest technology but it is unlikely to see a scene to match the poignancy and dedication of then-secretary general Manfred Woerner's appearance in 1994. Dying of cancer, Woerner chaired a meeting hooked up to a drip with doctors standing by him as he encouraged allies to back intervention in support of UN forces in Yugoslavia. Story continues But perhaps the old headquarters' most dramatic moment came not in Room 1 but in the larger Room 16 in 1991 as the old world order crumbled dizzyingly. "The Soviet ambassador asked if we could interrupt a meeting of the North Atlantic cooperation council so that he could go and take a call from Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin," a veteran NATO official recalled. "He came back about half an hour later and asked if the Soviet flag could be replaced by the Russian flag because he had just been informed that the Soviet Union had been dissolved." Lagos (AFP) - A pro-Iranian cleric who has been in Nigerian custody since clashes between troops and his followers in December 2015 is facing fresh criminal charges, according to court documents seen by AFP on Friday. Ibrahim Zakzaky and three other leaders of the Shiite Muslim Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) face eight criminal charges in the case filed on April 18 in the High Court of Justice of Kaduna State. Along with culpable homicide that is "punishable with death", Zakzaky is accused of unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace. According to court documents, his supporters were armed with dangerous weapons -- such as pistols, cutlasses and axes -- and killed a soldier. IMN spokesman Abdullahi Yola told AFP the charges were "absurd". "Why is it that the charges keep coming after keeping the Sheikh (Zakzaky) in an illegal detention for two and a half years?" he asked. Zakzaky has been in government custody since the bloody clash in the northern city of Zaria, despite court orders that he should be freed. Rights groups have accused Nigeria's military of killing more than 300 IMN supporters and burying them in mass graves during the 2015 confrontation, a charge they deny. Zakzaky has been at loggerheads with Nigeria's secular authorities for years because of his call for an Iranian-style Islamic revolution. Northern Nigeria is majority Sunni Muslim. Zakzaky, who is in his mid-60s and lost the sight in one eye in the 2015 clashes, made a rare public appearance in January to counter rumours he had died. He was seen at the offices of Nigeria's intelligence agency wearing a neck brace and walking with the aid of a stick. His supporters have held a series of protests in Nigeria's capital of Abuja in recent weeks to demand his release and have had a series of standoffs with police. That led to the arrest of over 100 IMN members. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's consort, Ri Sol Ju, will join her husband in South Korea for the inter-Korean summit dinner, South Korean officials have confirmed. Ri is expected to arrive at the border village of Panmunjom, where the talks are underway at the Peace House on the South Korean side, at around 6.15 p.m. local time (5.15. a.m. EST), just 15 minutes before the dinner is due to start, and will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook. Read more: Here's every little detail about the historic summit between North and South Korea Trending: What Is the Link Between Cannabis and Psychosis? | Opinion "The leaders and their wives will have a brief conversation at the Peace House and then attend the banquet, said South Korea's presidential senior secretary for public relations, Yoon Young-chan. 04_27_First_Lady Host Broadcaster/via Reuters TV Before the dinner, the two Korean leaders will have to announce and sign a joint declaration to mark the outcome of their first meetingthe third such high-level summit in Korean history. Don't miss: Crocodile vs Shark: Incredible Video Shows First Evidence of Predators Scavenging On Dead Whale Kim Jong Un crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) into South Korea earlier on Friday, marking the first time a North Korean leader has stepped on South Korean soil. GettyImages-951610938 Korea Summit Press Pool/Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP/Getty Images He was accompanied by a nine-person delegation including his sister Kim Yo Jong, the only woman sitting at the discussion table, who presented him with a pen so that he could sign the guestbook kept on the first floor of the Peace House. Story continues Most popular: Movie Theater Plays 'Hereditary' Horror Trailer Before 'Peter Rabbit,' Parents and Children Flee in Panic "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," his message read. Ri will become the first North Korean leader's wife to visit South Korea, although she had previously crossed the border as a 16-year-old teenager and a member of the North Korean cheerleading team sent to the 2005 Asian Games in Incheon. Ri was recently referred to in the North Korean state-run media with the official title of first lady for the first time, a departure from the usual title of "comrade" previously bestowed upon her. The title change marked both an attempt to modernize Kim's image as the leader of a responsible nation as well as underlining a larger role for his wife, who joined him on his first visit to a head of state in China last month. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek North Korean leader Kim Jong Un relied on his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to assist him at key moments of Friday's summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-In. While Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to walk across the border into South Korean soil, Kim Yo Jong had already made history becoming the first member of the regime's family to travel to South Korea's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February. Moon remembered those days when he met Kim Yo Jong again. First Vice Department Director Kim rose to stardom in South Korea, Moon said, referring to her title within the ruling party's Central Committee, according to a South Korean presidential media briefing. In the briefing, Kim Yo Jong is said to have blushed as Moon's remarks sparked a moment of hilarity. "Today, Chairman Kim and I are the main characters," Moon then added. 04_27_Kim_Yo_Jong_2 Pool/Getty Images Trending: Donald Trump Jr. Mocks CNN Story Crediting Kim Jong Uns Sister for North and South Korea Summit Kim Yo Jong, the only woman sitting at the discussion table, was left to play a supporting rolebut one that cemented her position as her brother's most trusted official. She was there when he and Moon posed for pictures with two young students from a school in the demilitarized zone border area, picking up the flowers they handed her brother. As the two leaders walked the red carpet towards the Peace House, Kim Yo Jong followed shortly behind them, carrying a dark bag and a briefcase. 04_27_Kim_Yo_Jong Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP/Getty Images Story continues Don't miss: Vegetarian Diet Benefits: Plant-Based Eating Could Prevent One in Three Early Deaths When Kim Jong Un needed to sign the guestbook in the South Korean Peace House, sitting at a table freshly cleaned by two North Korean aides, she promptly handed him a pen. She was also there to take notes, hand him documents from a folder and help him sign the Panmunjom Declaration the two leaders negotiated as the outcome of the talks, in which they commit to ending hostilities between the two countries. GettyImages-951610938 Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP/Getty Images Most popular: May 2018 Game Releases: All Games Coming This Month At the banquet concluding the dinner, Kim Yo Jong could finally relax as her sister-in-law Ri Sol Ju arrived from North Korea to sit by Kim Jong Un's side. When the North Korean leader stood to toast his South Korean hosts, it was Ri who handed him his speech from her document holder. When the youngest of the Kim siblings was promoted in October to the regime's top decision-making body, some experts said that it was because, as a woman, she did not threaten his leadership and she was someone he could trust. 04_27_KYJ Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters In her previous role in the propaganda department, Kim Yo Jong was instrumental in crafting her brother's look in the style of their grandfather and North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung. As her brother's right-hand woman, she continued to soften the regime's image, capturing local and international media attention during her time as North Korea's envoy to the Olympic opening ceremony and sparking numerous comparisons to President Donald Trump's special advisor Ivanka Trump, a juxtaposition the first daughter rejected as unfair in an interview to NBC News. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Chinese geologists say North Korea's main nuclear testing site has collapsed under the stress of five successive bomb tests. A mountain above the notorious facility has collapsed, a study found, rendering it unsafe for future testing and presenting a serious risk of radiation leaking. The paper's authors, Tian Dongdong, Yao Jiawen and Wen Lianxing, urged that authorities "continue to monitor any leakage of radioactive materials" in view of the "research finding that the North Korea nuclear test site at Mantapsan has collapsed". The findings follow an announcement by President Kim Jong Un that North Korea would cease activity on its weapons testing programme. The commitment to close the facility, made on Saturday, was welcomed by Donald Trump as "big progress", but Pyongyang has not suggested it will give up its nuclear ambitions entirely. It also comes days before a historic summit between North and South Korea, where they are set to discuss the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. The secretive state has taken what appear to be historic and unusual steps toward conciliation in recent weeks, telling the US directly that it is prepared to discuss denuclearisation. The peer-reviewed study carrying news of the collapse is by China's university of science and technology, and collected data after North Korea carried out its most powerful bomb test to date on 3 September. Such attempts have long been believed to have put the site at risk of collapse. Geologists believe the explosion, with a yield estimated at 100 kilotons of TNT, may have triggered an initial collapse toward the test centre followed by an "earthquake swarm" over several weeks. North Korean nuclear tests have been a cause for seismic concern in China before. The test site is less than 100km from the Chinese border and past radiation fears have prompted schools and offices to be evacuated. Kune Yull Suh, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University, has warned further tests could threaten volcanic eruption at Mount Paektu, on the North Korea-China border. Weak leadership can`t be good for friendship with India Editorial Desk : In response to an invitation by General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Ram Madhav, a 20-member delegation led by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader recently visited India. During their visit the delegation visited Indian Lokshova Bhaban after paying tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India, at Rajghat of Delhi. It was followed by a meeting with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Later they went to the new head quarter of BJP. Though the BJP President Amit Shah was not present there, the delegation had a meeting with other top leaders of the party. At night, they attended a dinner hosted by Ram Madhav. According to Indian media, the delegation went to Delhi to exchange views with BJP leaders only. It was not expected that, being invited by BJP, they would meet Congress or any other party leaders. The meeting of Obaidul Quader with Narendra Modi found great importance in Indian media. But there was no news in any newspaper about what was discussed in the meeting between the Awami League delegation and the leaders of BJP. Let's look into what the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi told the Awami League delegation. He repeated what the Indians usually say to Bangladesh. He said, "The relation that started since the Liberation War has been elevated to a unique height. This relation is time tested." However, much time has been elapsed without resolving the Teesta issue, which does not reflect the elevated relationship. The election is around the corner. If the Teesta Water agreement does not come into fruitition, it will be difficult for the people of Bangladesh to realize the greatness of Bangladesh-India friendship. The Indian Prime Minister is aware of it too. But it is not that much easy for him to remove the barrier for making the agreement. We know that the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banurjee and her Trinomool Congress are against the agreement. And perhaps, the Chief Minister of Orissa is also not in favor of it. So, the Indian intellectuals are in the opinion that decision should be taken after discussing with all concerning states through which Teesta flows. It means in order to give the share of water to Bangladesh the positive public opinion is a must for India. That is why, the Indian Central Government is making delay to work on resolving this issue. Let us hope for the best! Modi assured the delegation that they are trying to come up with a solution of Teesta Water 'as soon as possible'. About Rohingya issue he supports the role of Bangladesh and wishes its solution 'as soon as possible'. Diplomats are acutely aware of how much time can be elapsed using the parlance 'as soon as possible'. One can question, when India wants quick resolution of the Teesta Water Sharing problem and Rohingya Repatriation issue, why it is taking so much time solving these two issues. Does it mean that India is not able to convince the concerned authorities? Only India knows the answer. People of Bangladesh have no clear idea of what the Awami League delegation have achieved by visiting India. There is speculation that the election of Bangladesh will be held at the end of 2018. The election time is coming closer day by day. The rainy season is impending, and if the repatriation of Rohingya is delayed, humanitarian problems will be aggravated. Then it will be difficult to keep the public opinion in favour of the sitting government. If the BJP government of India wants to see the next government of Bangladesh to be formed based on public consensus, Awami League have to keep the public opinion in its favour by solving the old unsolved problems quickly. If public opinion is in favour of the government, the international community will be respectful, otherwise they will not. It is difficult to assume what Delhi would do or wishes to do to fulfil the need and expectation of Bangladesh. However, at the moment, India would want to establish business partnership in medical services, education, IT and banking sectors. But Bangladeshi entrepreneurs already have the capacity to invest in these sectors independently. It is not unexpected that joint venture might result in adverse reaction among physicians, teachers, IT professionals and bankers of Bangladesh, because 35,000 Indians are already working in these sectors. Joint venture investment will increase the number of Indian employees, which will trigger a negative reaction. Bangladesh needs to invest USD 32,000 cr for the construction of Roads, Railway, and Deep Sea Port. Besides, more investment is required in electricity and fuel sector. Because of geographical proximity, Bangladesh has the opportunity to export products to China, countries of the ASEAN region and 7 North-Eastern states of India. That is why, Bangladesh should invest in manufacturing sector. Bangladesh should welcome the initiative if India is willing to invest in manufacturing enterprises. Are they showing their interest at all? According to a report by FBCCI, Bangladesh exported products of USD 67 cr to India whereas imported products equivalent to USD 616 cr from India. It shows how crucial it is to invest in product manufacturing sector. The Indian Prime Minister has given assurance to AL delegation for being beside Bangladesh or in weal and woe. However, what indeed is reflected through the following speech of the Chairman of Dhaka Chamber, "Last year Bangladeshi businessmen had to go through a huge amount of loss because India imposed the antidumping vat for exporting jute and jute products from Bangladesh." We hope for a meaningful friendship not in words, but in deeds. India has to be realistic in looking into their interest and the meaningful interest of Bangladesh as well. Only then the bilateral relation will be strengthened. The leaders of North and South Korea concluded their first round of negotiations midway through talks on Friday after two hours of small talk, jokes and pledges to work together to bring long-term peace to the peninsula and make the world a safer place. Kim Jong-un, regarded last year as an international pariah after conducting his sixth nuclear test, promised a new beginning and hailed a new era of peace. South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged bold decisions that would be a great gift to humanity. When they broke for lunch a few hours later, the South said the two leaders had so far discussed "denuclearisation and a permanent peace" - but there were no further details. Their historic meeting began at 9.30am local time as Kim emerged from the Panmungak, the North's symbolic building 80m north of border, with a large entourage including his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, sweeping down the wide staircase to make his way to the Military Demarcation Line that separates the two countries, where President Moon Jae-in waited to greet him. Kim Jong-un holds historic summit with South Korean president - in pictures With wide grins, the two men shook hands as they met for the first time, and Kim became the first North Korean leader to cross over to the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone since the Korean War ended in 1953 . You have come to the South, when will I be able to come to the North? asked Mr Moon. Maybe now is the right time for you to enter North Korean territory? quipped Kim, and in an unscripted move, the two men held hands as the stepped back over the divide into the North. Korea summit | Read more The images, broadcast live around the world, were highly emotional for the divided Korean peninsula, which never formally ended the Korean War of 1950-53. In a vast press room a few miles from the location of the talks in Panmunjom, South Korean journalists gasped and applauded. Story continues The meeting of the two leaders was only the third in the history of the two nations, and it has raised hopes of finding an eventual solution to international tensions over Pyongyangs nuclear and missiles programmes. In a guestbook at the Peace House summit venue, Kim wrote: "A new history begins now - at the starting point of history and the era of peace." The reclusive Kim, 34, appeared nervous at first as he met Mr Moon and accompanied him along a red carpet to inspect an honour guard. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walk across the military demarcation line Credit: Koreas Summit But he later relaxed, quipping that he hoped Mr Moon would enjoy the cold noodles speciality he had brought from the North and promising that he would no longer interrupt the South Korean presidents sleep with early morning missile tests. Kim was "flooded with emotion", he told Mr Moon as their talks began in a grand meeting room in the Peace House in the village of Panmunjom on the southern size of the demilitarised border zone. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimeters separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. He urged candid and future-orientated talks. Im so filled with excitement because of the meeting at this historic site. And I was truly moved that you have come all the way to receive me at the Military Demarcation Line, he told President Moon. Kim Jong-un's message in the guest book: 'A new history begins now - at the starting point of history and the era of peace' Credit: Getty Mr Moon responded that It was your bold and courageous decision that has allowed us to come this far. After two hours of private talks, Kims security convoy left to take a lunchbreak in the North, with twelve guards jogging alongside his black Mercedes limousine. A spokesman from Seouls presidential office briefed reporters that their interactions had been amiable, with Kim expressing his admiration for the Souths high speed rail, and Mr Moon making Kim Yo-jong blush when he said she was now a celebrity. "The two leaders had a sincere and frank dialogue over the denuclearisation and the establishment of permanent peace of the Korean peninsula and development of inter-Korea ties," Yoon Young-chan, a spokesman added. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Credit: Reuters The meeting was also replete with grandiose statements of intent. We should value this opportunity so that the scars between the South and North could be healed, Kim was quoted as saying. The border line isnt that high; it will eventually be erased if a lot of people pass over it. But as the talks prepare to resume, little has been revealed of actual progress towards resolving one of the worlds most pressing security threats. 9:29AM Latest news Get the latest Telegraph coverage on the Korea summit here 8:15AM The picture that tells a thousand words There has been a lot of emphasis on the unscripted moment Kim took Mr Moon's hand and led him across the border to North Korea. The highly symbolic - and unplanned - moment is likely to have raised the blood pressure of security on both sides. But it made for this memorable picture. What a photo. This is actually the unscripted moment Kim encouraged Moon to step briefly into the North, the press pool were all on the South side, hence their backs are turned to the cameras. pic.twitter.com/pgOpydLmo4 Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) April 27, 2018 7:53AM Break in proceedings The summit will not officially resume until 4.30pm (8.30am GMT), a South Korean presidential spokesman has announced. It will begin with the ceremonial planting of a pine tree using soil and water from both countries, to symbolise "peace and prosperity, and the two leaders will then walk across a footbridge over the official border line. The next round of talks will be concluded with the signing of a joint declaration, the content of which is still being thrashed out. At 6.30pm (10.30am GMT), a lavish banquet attended by Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju and Mr Moon and his wife Kim Jung-sook will be preceded by a musical extravaganza featuring stringed instruments and songs from both North and South. The songs will include a rendition of From Seoul to Pyongyang, about the reunification of the peninsula. 6:59AM North and South 'discussed denuclearisation and permanent peace' After the first round of talks, Mr Moon's spokesman has revealed that the two leaders have discussed denuclearisation and a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. "The two leaders had a sincere and frank dialogue over the denuclearisation and the establishment of permanent peace of the Korean peninsula and development of inter-Korea ties," said Yoon Young-chan. The leaders are expected to continue negotiations after their break for lunch on their respective sides of the border, before they dine together at a banquet on the southern side later this evening. Mr Yoon has also confirmed that Kims wife, Ri Sol-ju, will come to Panmunjom at 6.15pm for the official banquet. We have more on the rise Ms Ri, from cheerleader to North Korea's 'first lady' here 6:26AM Activists burn North Korean flags South Korean conservative activists have set fire to North Korean flags during a rally against the summit talks between the leaders of the two Koreas, AP reports. Hundreds of activists gathered near the border village of Panmunjom to protest against the talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. They set on fire two paper North Korean flags with the images of Kim and his late father and grandfather. They also chanted slogans including "Step down, Moon Jae-in!" A conservative activist prepares to display partially burnt images of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung (L), Kim Jong Il Credit: AFP 5:41AM Honour guard outrage The decision to greet Kim Jong-un with an honour guard after he stepped across the border into South Korea has been condemned by conservatives, who have described it as a humiliation to service personnel who are protecting the nation. The honour guard was made up of representatives of the three branches of the military, army, navy and air force. Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, is a former member of the special forces and saluted as he inspected the guard. Mr Kim, however, looked straight ahead as he walked along the red carpet. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un (L) walks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) past a guard of honour Credit: AFP Conservatives began a petition on the website of the Blue House against the decision even before Mr Kim crossed the border, quickly attracting more than 1,000 signatures. The event will not enhance the morale of South Korean soldiers, one signatory said in a comment, according to The Korea Times. "The decision is a humiliation to 600,000 South Korean soldiers who serve their military duty to protect the South from possible attack by the regime. "It is absurd for the South Korean military to hold an honour guard for a third-generation dictator of the regime at a time when soldiers from the South carry out military operations to fight against North Korea", the poster added. 5:03AM Kim 'willing to go to the Blue House any time' Kim Jong-un and President Moon mixed small talk with grand statements about working together to make the world a better place in their introductory remarks, according to Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary of communication in the Souths presidential office. Mr Yoon confirmed that Mr Moons decision to step north of the border, while holding hands with Kim, had been entirely unplanned, and offered a read-out of their comments to each other, writes Nicola Smith. You have come to the South, when I will be able to come to the North? Mr Moon asked as he first shook hands with Kim across the ten centimetre high concrete block marking the Military Demarcation Line along the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suggests Mr Moon crosses into the North Credit: Bloomberg Maybe now is the right time for you to enter North Korean territory? quipped Kim, and Mr Moon stepped across. As they watched a short performance by a military guard, Kim added that he would like to see the full version, and would be willing to go to the Blue House any time, referring to the presidential palace in Seoul. The two leaders then took part in a spontaneous photo-op with their entire delegations before heading into the Peace House to talk about specially chosen paintings of South and North Korean scenery that depicted communication between both sides. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, shanks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom Credit: AP Kim thanked Mr Moon for the detailed thought that had been put into greeting him. The two leaders indulged in small talk about their journeys to the border, and Kim appeared to be relaxed after initially looking nervous as he cross the border on live TV. He teased Mr Moon about his sleeping habits, saying he had heard that he had a habit of waking up early. I will make sure that I wont wake you up early, he said, in a light-hearted reference to his notoriously early missile tests of the past. Taking a more serious tone, he commented on the suitability of their meeting place, which had been a place of conflict, adding that he hoped they could heal the pain of division. Improvements would come if we hold our hands together and deal with things together, he told Mr Moon. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Credit: AP Lets meet often and determine ourselves to never go back to the start. Lets create a better world for everyone, said Kim. We come here to put an end to confrontation. We are here together to come up with a good solution. The South Korean president expressed his hope that his government could keep up with the pace of diplomacy, and also his wish to see the Norths Mount Paektu some day. He offered his condolences about the train crash that killed dozens of Chinese tourists earlier this week, and also made Kims younger sister blush by telling her she was now a celebrity in the South. 4:40AM Details emerge of moment Moon crossed into North briefly Blue House spox on how that unscripted moment happened: Moon said to Kim, "When do I get to visit the North? And KJU said, why don't you just come over to the North side now?" And that's what led to them popping over to the North for a few moments. Elise Hu (@elisewho) April 27, 2018 4:06AM You have to be fit to be one of Kim's bodyguards Kim's security detail gets a work out as he leaves the Peace House after the first round of talks pic.twitter.com/T3jl5kSA3j Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 The Guard Command, the military unit tasked with ensuring the safety of the leadership, is an elite institution close to the centre of North Korean power - it provides the centrepiece display of the annual kimjongilia and kimilsungia flower festivals in Pyongyang to honour Kim's father and grandfather. Ri Yong-guk, a defector from the North who served on a security detail for Kim Jong-il, wrote in a 2013 memoir that as many as six different layers of security guards protected the leader on trips to the countryside to inspect military units, plants or farms. "It is one of the world's tightest security blankets through which even a single ant would find it hard to go," he wrote. 4:03AM Lunch break That's the morning session of talks over. Kim Jong-un is heading back across the border for lunch before returning for a second round of talks in the afternoon. First round of inter-Korean talks over. 12 bodyguards run alongside car carrying KIm Jong Un back to NKorea for a break. 2 leaders will meet again in the afternoon. pic.twitter.com/oQLyMpMpmQ Kim Gamel (@kimgamel) April 27, 2018 3:34AM Going home? A North Korean woman who claims to have mistakenly defected to South Korea in 2011 says she hopes the summit between the two nations leaders may enable her to return to Pyongyang before the end of the year, writes Julian Ryall. I was so nervous counting the days to the summit, Kim Ryon-hui said in an interview with The Korea Herald. I believe I will be able to go back to Pyongyang within this year, maybe in June. Is my anticipation too high? she asked. Ms Kim was a dressmaker in North Korea and has claimed that she was talked into travelling to South Korea by a Chinese smuggler who said she would be able to make a large amount of money in a short period of time and then return to the North. Under South Korean law, however, it is illegal for citizens to travel to the North and Ms Kims requests to be repatriated have all been refused. 3:25AM Kim's sister in the spotlight North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has given his younger sister a place at the negotiating table for the first North-South Korea summit in more than a decade. Kim Yo-jong has emerged as the most visible member of the regime after her brother - since she became the first member of the ruling North Korean family to travel to the South in early February for the Olympics. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, walks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his sister Kim Yo-jong Credit: AP She was in Kim's delegation as he walked across the line that divides the two Koreas on Friday morning and took a seat beside him as he started his first round of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The only other North Korean official present was former intelligence chief Kim Yong-chol, the top official in charge of relations with the South. Read more about Kim's sister 2:59AM North Koreans left in the dark If you're wondering whether North Koreans are glued to their screens watching these historic developments unfold ... they're not. North Korean state TV continuing to broadcast very different footage to the livestream in South Korea pic.twitter.com/isBNOmkaNh Chad O'Carroll (@chadocl) April 27, 2018 2:47AM 'I hope for ... bold agreement' South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Kim Jong-un that he hoped to see a "bold agreement" as they began their summit on Friday. "I hope we engage in frank talks and reach a bold agreement so that we may give a big gift to the whole Korean people and the people who want peace," Moon said. 2:36AM 'Candid talks for good results' Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-ins opening comments have been broadcast live from the meeting room at the Peace House where they will conduct talks, writes Nicola Smith. Kim spoke first, on the optimistic note that this is a starting point for us, I believe well make a new beginning. He urged candid talks for good results that would be future-orientated, adding, I hope we dont go back to square one. He also expressed hope that President Moon would enjoy the cold Pyongyang noodles that would be served at this evenings banquet. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attend the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Credit: Reuters President Moon replied that he felt really good about the day ahead but noted that we have a huge burden on our shoulders and huge expectations ahead. He praised Kim for his courageous and bold decision to come to the talks. Why dont we make bold and courageous decisions to amicably talk about peace, he said. 2:29AM 'Great expectations' Kim Jong-un has kicked off the talks expressing hope of some agreements. Kim Jong Un: "It has taken 11 years for this to happen. Walking here I wondered why it has taken so long. There are a lot of expectations, and I hope there can be agreements that fulfill those great expectations" pic.twitter.com/1dKmomJWN7 Joseph Kim (@josungkim) April 27, 2018 On a lighter note, he also joked about how far the cold noodles have had to come today. 2:25AM The surprise moment It almost all went to script - but watch closely. Kim Jong-un invites South Korea's Moon Jae-in onto the North Korean side for a photo. There are gasps and applause. Japanese media say that wasn't part of the plan. #interkoreansummit What other surprises are in store? @abcnewspic.twitter.com/WtYGxckPNy Jake Sturmer (@JakeSturmer) April 27, 2018 2:24AM Talks have begun As talks get under way, here's the scene inside the room. Sat to the left of Kim Jong-un is his sister, Kim Yo-jong. Screen on the press room goes live again as the talks begin in the Peace House pic.twitter.com/LroQUMVURL Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 2:18AM US hopeful ahead of talks The United States is hopeful the talks between the two Korean leaders will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity. In a statement, the White House said it looked forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of President Donald Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. On the occasion of Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-ins historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, we wish the Korean people well. We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. The United States appreciates the close coordination with our ally, the Republic of Korea, and looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks. 2:04AM 'A new history begins' Kim Jong-un has signed the guestbook with a message of peace, saying a "new history begins now ....the age of peace". " . , " pic.twitter.com/ozGCaz2NaT (@5910Duck) April 27, 2018 2:02AM Where's Kim Yo-jong? North Korean watchers have been pouring over the images emerging, scrutinising every detail. Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong stayed away from the spotlight, but stayed in the background. Kim Yo Jong is just wandering around #interkoreansummitpic.twitter.com/VjfY6OzSRl NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) April 27, 2018 She also handed the pen to Kim to sign the guestbook. Kim Jong-un takes a ceremonial pen from his sister, lets out a smoker's cough after a long walk, starts an inscription. pic.twitter.com/l5sYPu7Vuu Adam Cathcart (@adamcathcart) April 27, 2018 Some speculated that Kim Jong-un appeared nervous. Kim Jong Un looks a little nervous in some of these shots, seems to be breathing heavily. Chad O'Carroll (@chadocl) April 27, 2018 The two leaders also posed for photos beside a painting of the Bukhansan mountain in Seoul. Selfie time, beside a painting of the Bukhansan mountain in Seoul, in the Peace House in Panmunjom pic.twitter.com/tebiJUBacT Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 1:55AM Hopes high for summit Abraham M Denmark, director of the Asia programme at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in DC, says the summit could produce "an ambitious and very positive outcome". Both Moon & Kim are doing their best to appear friendly and open for this historic meeting. Expect an ambitious and very positive outcome, setting the stage for a critical summit between Kim and President Trump. https://t.co/bnwyjqhB8J Abraham M. Denmark (@AbeDenmark) April 27, 2018 After much pomp and fanfare, the two leaders appear to have gone into the room for talks. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a welcome ceremony at the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Credit: Reuters The two leaders take part in the red carpet ceremony at the DMZ Credit: Reuters 1:52AM Kim goes off script There has already one moment that was unplanned. After crossing into the South, Kim Jong-un invited Mr Moon Moon to cross back over the demarcation line to the North side to shake hands again - an unscripted moment in an otherwise highly choreographed display. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walk across the military demarcation line ahead of the inter-Korean summit Credit: Reuters 1:40AM View from the press room Nicola Smith, the Telegraph's Asia correspondent, is in the press room for the summit. History is made in Panmunjom as North and South Korean leaders greet each other for the first time pic.twitter.com/ypsWIFCYD9 Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 And they're off, the start of a long day of negotiations on the light topics of denuclearisation and ending the Korean War pic.twitter.com/wtFyPZKayi Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 View from the press room as the Korean leaders inspect a guard of honour pic.twitter.com/FyxD6GiGDW Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018 1:32AM The historic handshake Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in have finally met. The Korean leaders smiled broadly as Kim walked across the border and shook Mr Moon's hand. 1:29AM Kim Jong-un arrives at border 1:22AM 'Big gamble, huge stakes' It's hard to know what to expect from today in the way of results. But there's a sense among experts that we could see some real progress. Abraham Denmark, director of the Asia programme at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in DC, says it's "pretty exciting". "Possibility of fundamentally changing East Asia forever. Big gamble, huge stakes, happening right before our eyes." South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrives for the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, in this still frame taken from video Credit: Reuters 1:17AM Moon arrives South Korean television shows that President Moon Jae-in has arrived at Panmunjom. President Moon Jae In is arriving at Panmunjom for the #InterKoreanSummit#https://t.co/aVgnH1u0Hj JP (@agirlinthepark) April 27, 2018 1:08AM Red carpet awaits the leaders The scene has been set at the DMZ. There's the red carpet at Panmunjon, waiting both Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un for the #KoreaSummitpic.twitter.com/geZyAm32ta Martyn Williams (@martyn_williams) April 26, 2018 And for a more in depth look at the venue, have a read of this. Inside Panmunjom the DMZ truce village - Korea 1:01AM Leaders on their way to the border We're about half an away from Kim's arrival at the border. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has left Seoul's presidential palace for the high-stakes summit. Mr Moon briefly stepped out of his black limousine and cheerfully shook hands with hundreds of supporters who waved white South Korean flags and raised banners with messages including "Please Achieve Successful Denuclearization." Hundreds of members of the Korean Veterans Association arrived on buses from different parts of the nation hours earlier to send off Moon's motorcade. What is a mutual fund? Sam Rogers asked his financial literacy class. Tessa Sabin, an 11th grader at Riverton High School, offered a guess: Isnt it where you invest in something thats invested in multiple things? So that if one of them tanks, it doesnt affect you overall because your investment is spread around. Rogers throws a lollipop to her for answering correctly. This kind of question is normal in Utah high schools, where financial literacy is a core requirement to graduate. Five states in the U.S. earn an A grade from Champlain Colleges Center for Financial Literacy when it comes to teaching personal finance in high school, but only Utah has gotten an A+. I tell my students this is the most important class theyll ever take, Rogers said. The Center for Financial Literacy releases a national report card every two years, grading states on how they approach teaching personal finance to students. The Center for Financial Literacy produces a national report card that assigns grades to each state based on the approach to personal finance education. In order to earn an A, a state must mandate personal finance instruction be a requirement for graduation and the class must be a semester long. Nineteen states earn a B, which mandates personal finance as part of another required course (like a broader economics or civics class). Ten states, including California, and the District of Columbia receive an F, which is where a state has virtually no requirements for personal finance education in high school. (The Center for Financial Literacy produces the national report card that comes out every two years.) States that earn a C, D or F grade may have local school districts that require stronger personal finance education, but the study grades based on state-level policy. So what makes Utah different? Why isnt it a bigger deal for everyone? Spencer Cox, Utahs Lieutenant Governor, asked. It seems like such a no-brainer that we should be teaching something that is so important and so practical on so many levels to our students. All of the A states offer the equivalent of one-half year of a course exclusively dedicated to personal finance, but Utahs state board of education set standards for educators. All teachers who teach the course must be endorsed to teach personal finance. Story continues Its as important as math, reading, English, said Patricia Jones, a former Utah state senator who sponsored Senate Bill 40 in 2014, which strengthened Utahs approach to personal finance in high school. Much of our education system is designed to prepare us for careers in specific fields, but very few of them really help our kids learn how to live in relation to money, Jones said when speaking to the state senate in 2014. Our kids are certainly not getting the information because, oftentimes, their parents dont have the information. I think the challenge that we had also we didnt have a real strong curriculum, said former state representative Rich Cunningham, the bills floor sponsor in the state house. Now, its probably one of the strongest curriculums that we have that are actually teaching financial concepts. Teachers are required to educate students about broad concepts, like decision-making and goal-setting, but theyre also required to teach more complex things like credit scores, investing, retirement savings and how to navigate student loans. Its not easy, and Im not going to claim that every day these kids are engaged, said Rogers. I try to make the lectures short, but I also have them on laptops just about every day looking up information. Were playing the stock market game, and theyre learning how the stock market works. Rogers also brings in guest speakers, like financial planners, uses multimedia and interactive quiz games. Rogers even has students watch the film Confessions of a Shopaholic to talk about Becky Bloomwoods habits. What about student loan debt? Students are also taught the ins and outs of student loans, especially timely because most students taking the course are juniors or seniors and heading to college soon. Utahns tend to not want to rely on the federal government, like Pell grants, said Jones. Theres actually a push to have us take more advantage of those Pell grants. (Pell grants are need-based grants given by the federal government to students.) I tell them flat out student loans if you have to borrow money to go to school, that is an investment in yourself, but you have to be very, very careful. Rogers said. Student loans will offer you more money every year than what you actually need. That lesson seems to be received by students statewide, as Utah has the lowest average student loan debt in the nation. The average Utah student graduates college with $18,873 in student loan debt, compared with $37,172 nationally. Im ending my fourth year now, and I dont have any loans yet, said Kaitlin McLean, a fourth-year student at the University of Utah. I worked really, really hard in my school to get good grades to get good scholarships, and I picked a school that offered me the most in financial aid. And then after that point, when my financial aid started running out, I got jobs so Ive worked two or three jobs through college. Is it really that good? Some students, like Nick Whitworth, loved the class. Whitworth is studying to become a certified financial planner at Utah Valley University. The biggest thing I remember was the rule of 72, Whitworth said. (The rule of 72 is a simplified way to determine how long it will take an investment to double based on the rate of return.) I thought When I start making money, Im going to find a way to leverage this rule that I just learned. But some students arent fans. McLean attended high school in Utah, but said her high school finance teacher didnt really know the concepts she was teaching. I think what they were trying to teach us was really important and really valuable, McLean said. There definitely was a disconnect between what we were supposed to be learning and what our instructor knew. I think it became clear through the course that she also was not financially literate. McLean graduated high school before the Jones-Cunningham law passed, which strengthened already existing legislation that had been part of Utahs school curriculum since 2003. Before the 2014 legislation, teachers were pulled from many different areas of expertise to teach financial literacy: drivers education, geography, language. A farmer would be eligible to teach this class because he or she would be good in accounting their crops in the spring and the fall, said Cunningham. Cunningham told Yahoo Finance that flaw has been addressed. Teachers are trained and certified by the state to teach financial topics. They have semi-annual conferences that bring in teachers from each of the school districts, Cunningham said. They had instructors and people from all over the United States that teach financial economic literacy. Some students say that hasnt really helped, like Cici Iongi, a 2017 high school graduate. The lectures were just really bad, Iongi said. It was just like a PowerPoint, in the dark, for a whole hour-and-a-half. We never had homework; it was just a really easy class that you just got over with. But Sam Rogers said the endorsement process he went through to become certified was rigorous. You have to have a number of hours, both face to face and online, pretty much testing your knowledge of financial literacy, Rogers said. Those teachers are just coming in [who havent] taught a lot of financial literacy are actually going to start developing their own curriculum during that endorsement process. As financial concepts and norms change, the curriculum will change as well. When designing the legislation, Jones and Cunningham designed it to be revisited every three years to make sure students are being taught the most current information. The family of Otto Warmbier filed a lawsuit Thursday in a federal court against North Korea for the death of the 22-year-old U.S. college student, alleging that Kim Jong Uns dictatorial regime had brutally tortured and murdered their son when he was in custody. Warmbier died in June days after being returned to the United States in a coma. The North Korean regime never provided an explanation of what happened to him while he was in custody or how he ended up in a coma. He had been arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from a hotel while on a school trip in Pyongyang. After filing the lawsuit, Fred Warmbier issued a statement about his sons treatment in North Korea: "Otto was taken hostage, kept as a prisoner for political purposes, used as a pawn and singled out for exceptionally harsh and brutal treatment by Kim Jong Un. Kim and his regime have portrayed themselves as innocent while they intentionally destroyed our sons life. This lawsuit is another step in holding North Korea accountable for its barbaric treatment of Otto and our family." Trending: North Korea's Kim Jong Un Crosses the Border, Makes History In Meeting With South Korean President The lawsuit comes just weeks before President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss the countrys nuclear weapons program. It was also filed just one day before a high-profile inter-Korea summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim, which is widely viewed as an important precursor to upcoming talks between Trump and the North Korean leader. Some analysts have speculated that the timing of lawsuit could derail negotiations with North Korea by forcing the U.S. to take a harder line with Pyongyang. Trump has raised the issue of Warmbier's death on numerous occasions while discussing North Korea. He has also pledged to mention human rights violations in his meeting with Kim. Don't miss: Chinas New Guam Killer Missile Could Reach U.S. Military Bases Story continues Experts say the suit will call attention to North Koreas long history of human rights violations and its imprisonment of U.S. citizens, which are occasionally forgotten as the world focuses on Pyongyangs nuclear program. The suit filed by the Warmbier family, timed perfectly to coincide with the inter-Korean summit, clearly demonstrates that there is much more to the North Korea challenge than simply nuclear weapons, Harry Kazinias, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek. If Pyongyang wants to be treated like a normal state, it will have to act like one, and this lawsuit is a reminder of past crimes that cant so easily be washed away. Team Trump must ensure that as part of any possible agreement to hold a summit, all three Americans being held by North Korea are releasedand are in good healthbefore there can be a summit. If not, President Trump should not meet with Kim. Period, Kazinias added. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - The body of Fadi al-Batsh, a Palestinian lecturer claimed as a member by Hamas who was gunned down in Malaysia at the weekend, was repatriated to Gaza and buried on Thursday. Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and claimed Batsh as its "son", has accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of assassinating him. Israel's defense minister has said Batsh might have been killed in an internal Palestinian dispute. Malaysian authorities said two men on a high-powered motorcycle fired at least 14 shots at Batsh, an engineering lecturer, outside his Kuala Lumpur apartment building on Saturday, killing him on the spot. Malaysia's deputy prime minister said the two suspects were believed to be linked to a foreign intelligence service. Batsh's body was flown to Egypt, accompanied by his wife and son, and then taken by road to Gaza for a reception attended by members of all political factions and relatives, followed by burial in the northern Gaza Strip. "We hold the occupation (Israel) responsible for the killing and martyrdom of Fadi, the killers of scientists will not escape punishment," senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said as the body was received in Gaza. Policemen carried Batsh's coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, past an honor guard as family members wept. "The sinful hands that assassinated Batsh will be severed," Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political chief, said at the funeral rally. Hamas has confirmed Batsh was a member, but has not specified what role he had in the movement. Earlier, at least 1,000 Gazans joined relatives and friends at the funeral of local journalist Ahmed Abu Hussein, who was shot and wounded by Israeli troops while covering a protest along Gaza's border two weeks ago. Abu Hussein, 24, died of his wounds on Wednesday at an Israeli hospital where he had been moved for treatment. His body was returned to Gaza for burial. Abu Hussein was the second journalist killed by Israeli gunfire since the weekly Friday protests. Thirty-eight Palestinians have been killed in all since the protests began on March 30. The protesters are calling for a right of return of Palestinians refugees and their descendants to homes in what is now Israel. Israel's live-fire response has drawn international criticism. But it says its troops have been warning Gazans not to approach the border fence, and that it is doing what is necessary to stop the barrier from being damaged or breached. The Palestinians have said Israel, which has deployed army sharpshooters along the frontier, used "excessive force against unarmed protesters", Some protesters have hurled stones and rolled burning tires towards the fence. Hamas is designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist group. (Reporting by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Ori Lewis and Kevin Liffey) Court of Appeal blocks parents bid to take struggling baby abroad for treatment The parents of Alfie Evans, who has been at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute, have lost the latest round of a legal battle. Three Court of Appeal judges have dismissed another challenge by Tom Evans and Kate James, who are both in their early twenties and from Liverpool. The couple, who want Alfie to be cared for in a Rome hospital, appealed following a ruling made by a High Court judge late on Tuesday. But appeal judges on Wednesday dismissed their challenge following a hearing in London which the couple did not attend. The parents of Alfie Evans are appealing a High Court decision preventing the seriously ill boy from being taken abroad for treatment, lawyers have confirmed. Alfie Evans parents are set to appeal again (PA) A spokeswoman for the Christian Legal Centre, representing Alfies parents, said the case is due to be heard at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday afternoon. Lord Justice Mcfarland revealed Mr Evans has started pursuing private prosecutions against three doctors who he claims conspired to murder Alfie by withdrawing his life-support. The judge told Mr Evans lawyer: Your client purported to take out a private prosecution to have three named doctors charged with the criminal offence of conspiracy to murder. Those summonses were served on the doctors and I hear you say that there is no hostility to the NHS. There is no hostility but within that process there are tensions, Mr Diamond replied. Lord Justice Coulson added: There are rather more than tensions, adding the accusation related to the most serious possible offence. The judge went on: That simply doesnt square with there being no hostility to the NHS. As my children would say end of. Jason Coppel QC told the court that Alfies mother Kate James had said: Alfie is struggling and needs immediate intervention. Alfie Evans is said to be struggling Ms James is now being represented by a different barrister from Alfies father. Mr Coppel said: I have spoken to her directly. The purpose of the phone call was to say that Alfie was struggling and needed immediate intervention to ensure that he survives at least for the purposes of today and she asked me if I would pass that on to the court and ask that the court invite the hospital to take the appropriate steps. Story continues MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO On Tuesday Mr Justice Hayden ruled the boy may be allowed home from Alder Hey Childrens Hospital, but will not be allowed to go to Rome for further treatment. The 23-month-old confounded doctors expectations when he continued to live after life-support was withdrawn on Monday night, his father, Tom Evans, said. ABBA in 1974. (Phot: Michael Putland/Getty Images) Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad otherwise known as the original members of beloved pop-culture fixture ABBA delighted fans on Friday, April 27, by announcing that they had recorded two new songs, one set for release in December. #abbaofficial #abba A post shared by @ abbaofficial on Apr 27, 2018 at 4:11am PDT Its easy to see why music aficionados are all whipped up. ABBA split in 1982, and although the individual members have pursued their own creative projects over the decades, it just hasnt fed the publics insatiable hunger for a reunion. Interest in the band resurged in the mid-90s with inclusion of their songs in several popular movies (particularly 1994s Muriels Wedding) and reached a retro-appreciation pinnacle in 1999, when their music was adapted for the hit stage production Mamma Mia! But when exactly did ABBA return to a track that led them back to the studio and, thusly, to the news weve received this week? Heres a quick timeline of ABBAs past decade. 2008: Mamma Mia! sees adaptation into a serious star-power film starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. When attention naturally turns toward ABBA, Ulvaeus tells the Telegraph, We will never appear onstage again. There is simply no motivation to regroup. Money is not a factor, and we would like people to remember us as we were. (A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, opens July 20.) 2010: The group makes headlines for its decision to not reunite for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Andersson attended the ceremony, but Ulvaeus missed it due to a family event, and Faltskog as well because reportedly she doesnt like to fly. 2013: Faltskog confirms to the New York Times that an ABBA reunion is off the table, saying we are too old, and that there is no meaning to a regrouping. 2014: Speaking to the Guardian, Lyngstad left open the possibility that ABBA might one day record again. Its difficult to talk about this because then all the news stories will be: ABBA is going to record another song! she said. But as long as we can sing and play, then why not? I would love to, but its up to Bjorn and Benny. Story continues 2016: All four members of the group posed for their first photo together since 1982 at the opening of a Mamma Mia-themed theater restaurant in Sweden. They followed that in June of the same year with a performance at a private party celebrating the groups 50th anniversary. There they performed The Way Old Friends Do from their 1980 album, Super Trouper. They followed that in October (2016 was clearly a busy year) with an announcement that the foursome had teamed with American Idol creator Simon Fuller for a tour that would employ previously unimagined technology, including virtual reality basically translating to the use of computer-generated avatars of themselves. This project quickly became dubbed Abbatar and was targeted for 2018-19. 2017: According to ABBAs most recent social media post, the group decided it would be fun to reconvene in the recording studio; they did just that in summer of 17, resulting in the two songs we now have this week. ABBAs manager told a Swedish newspaper on Friday that there are no plans to record more songs, so it sounds as if this latest music will be more of a dabble in revisiting their past chemistry than anything else. Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment: Watch: The trailer for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - A dispute between Kuwait and the Philippines over reports of abuse of Philippine workers took a turn for the worse on Thursday with the Philippines expressing "great displeasure" about Kuwait's expulsion of its ambassador. The conflict has been simmering for three months, sparked by reports that several Filipino domestic workers had been driven to suicide by abuse at the hands of Kuwaiti employers. The two countries have been working on a pact to protect expatriate workers after the Philippines banned its workers from going to Kuwait. But on Wednesday, Kuwait ordered the Philippine ambassador to leave within a week and recalled its own envoy for consultations after the Philippine foreign secretary said the embassy was forced to "assist" Filipino workers who sought help as some situations were a matter of life and death. The Philippine foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the Kuwaiti ambassador to demand an explanation for Kuwait's action but was told the envoy, Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh, had left the country late on Wednesday. "The department served a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its strong surprise and great displeasure over the declaration of Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa as persona non grata," the ministry said in a statement. "These acts are inconsistent with the assurances and representations made by the Kuwaiti ambassador on the various concerns that were brought to his attention." Officials at Kuwait's embassy in Manila were not available for comment. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Manila would suspend talks on the labor pact until Kuwait clarifies its actions. "Now this is happening, why would I recommend that we sign the memorandum and lifting of the ban? (We were) hoping this will be clarified," Cayetano told reporters in Singapore, where he is attending a regional summit. Domestic helpers account for more than 65 percent of the more than 260,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, according to the Philippine foreign secretary. In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a ban on Filipinos going to Kuwait to work and called on workers already there to return home after the discovery of a domestic worker's body in a freezer in an abandoned home. The Philippines says it has protested about the detention of four of its nationals who were hired by its embassy in Kuwait to help with the "rescue" operation last Saturday, and the issue of arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel. Kuwait has not commented on that publicly. Foreign workers in many Gulf states are employed under a sponsorship system that gives employers the right to keep their passports and exercise full control over their stay. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long complained that Gulf states do not properly regulate working conditions for low-income domestic workers and laborers. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing By Nick Macfie) President Donald Trump called into Fox and Friends Thursday morning to talk about a range of topics from his visit with French President Emanuel Macron (we accomplished a lot, more than anyone knows) to Kanye Wests tweets, to his support for YouTubers Diamond and Silk (Diamond and Silk are warriors!). Trumps Fox and Friends interview, which took place on First Lady Melanias birthday (I got her a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers, Trump said), included vehement denials of any collusion with Russia and a glowing self-assessment of his time in office so far. Here also spoke about other topics, outlined below. On the Justice Department The president expressed displeasure with the Department of Justice. Im very disappointed in my justice department, he said. They have a witch hunt against the president of the United States going on. He noted that he has chosen to remain uninvolved with the department throughout the Russia investigation, but hinted that he may eventually intervene. I have taken the position and I dont have to take this position and maybe Ill change that I will not be involved with the Justice Department. Ill wait until this is over, Trump said. On his meeting with North Korea Trump criticized the Obama administration and former Secretary of State John Kerry for not handling tensions with North Korea sooner. This should have been settled long before I came into office, he said, calling Kerry the worst negotiator hes ever seen. But he noted that plans for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in May are going very well, with three or four dates and five locations in consideration for their summit. President Trump blamed partisan bias for the White House doctors decision to take himself out of the running for Veteran Affairs director. His nomination has been slowed by alleged misconduct, including liberally administering prescription drugs, creating a hostile work environment for subordinates, and being drunk on the job. Story continues Still, the president cited his military record and positive reviews from Obama and George W. Bush, calling the accusations against him false. Nobody has the experience to run the VA, he added. He would have done a great job. Trump also complained that many other appointees, including judges, are held up in the approval process in Congress. The Democrats are obstructionists, he said. Its a disgrace whats happening. The president said he did watch the interview with former FBI director James Comey on CNN Wednesday night. His performance, by the way, was horrible, Trump said. He blasted Comey as a criminal, calling him a leaker and a liar. He is guilty of crimes, the president said. I did a great thing for the American people by firing him. Trump questioned the accuracy of Comeys memos about his interactions with the president and also criticized former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe. You look at the corruption at the top of the FBI. Its a disgrace, he said. Its a horrible thing thats going on and yet Ive accomplished with all of this going on more than any president in the first year in our history. Even the enemies and the haters admit that, Trump said about the special counsel investigation. He questioned the biases of the people working on the case, noting that 13 are Democrats. He also insisted that the refusal by Democrats to turn DNC server information over to law enforcement made it more likely that Democrats were colluding with Russia. Theres no collusion with me and the Russians, he said. Nobodys been tougher to Russia than I am. You can ask President Putin about that. On Michael Cohen pleading the fifth This doesnt have to do with me, Michael is a businessman, the president said. I have nothing to do with his business. He emphasized the small role Cohen played in his own legal affairs. Just so you understand, I have many attorneys. So many attorneys you wouldnt even believe it, Trump said. He represented me on this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, and from what I can see he did absolutely nothing wrong. Wednesday, Kanye West tweeted his support for President Trump, who then thanked him on Twitter. Hes got good taste, the president said. I have known Kanye a little bit. Trump pointed to low unemployment numbers for women and minorities as proof that his administration is helping communities improve their economic circumstances, saying West recognizes the progress. Fox and Friends hosts noted that Chance the Rapper tweeted black people dont have to be democrats on Wednesday. Trump responded that he thinks the number of black voters in the Republican party will increase. On the 2018 midterms I think were going to do better than people think, the president said. Trump noted that the GOP won the special election in Arizona this week where the Democrats spent a fortune. On Fake News and the 2016 Election The president hit his favorite highlights in the interview with Fox and Friends, criticizing CNN and NBC, among others, as fake news, and bragging about his electoral college win. The electoral college is set up perfectly for the Democrats, he said, They should never lose the electoral college and they did. Trump repeated the claim that the Russia investigation is an effort by Democrats to save face after an embarrassing loss, citing the number of electoral votes he won. On how he would grade his time in office so far I would give myself an A+, Trump said. Nobody has done what Ive been able to do and Ive done it despite the fact that I have a phony cloud over my head that doesnt exist. He spoke about accomplishments like deregulation and the Republican tax bill, but mostly emphasized the challenges hes faced during his first year. Im fighting a battle against a horrible group of deep-seated people drain the swamp that are coming up with all sorts of phony charges against me and theyre not bringing up real charges against the other side, the president said. So we have a phony deal going on and its a cloud over my head. And Ive been able to really escape that cloud, because the message now everyone knows now its a fix, its a witch hunt. Prosecutors probing President Donald Trumps lawyer said they are prepared to use a neutral outsider to review documents seized this month from the home and office of Michael Cohen, an about-face from the governments initial plan to scrutinize the documents itself. In a five-page letter to the judge on Thursday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said they now recommend that retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas serve as the special master to weed out records that might be covered by the attorney-client privilege. They had previously asked that a separate team of prosecutors be permitted to review the documents first. We believe that using Judge Maas or another neutral retired former Magistrate Judge familiar with this electronic discovery process and with experience in ruling on issues of privilege will lead to an expeditious and fair review of the materials obtained through the judicially authorized search warrants, prosecutors said in a letter filed just hours before a court hearing scheduled for noon. Seeking to show that the special masters document review could move swiftly, the prosecutors quoted a Trump interview Thursday morning in which the president claimed on the Fox News program Fox & Friends that Cohen was responsible for only a tiny, tiny little fraction of his legal work. They also quoted another Cohen client, Fox News host Sean Hannity, who has said, Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. Click here for more on the team of prosecutors leading the case In the call-in interview with Fox & Friends, Trump began to distance himself from Cohen. I dont know his business, but this doesnt have to do with me, Trump said. Theyre looking into something having to to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business. Cohens lawyers have previously said he represented only three clients, including Trump and Hannity, since the start of 2017. As a result, prosecutors argued, the material seized from Cohen is unlikely to contain many privileged documents, in contrast to the initial claims by Cohens lawyers that they likely contained thousands, if not millions of such materials. Trumps interview on Thursday undermined the position that Cohen took in the criminal investigation, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said. Cohen is trying to portray himself to the judge in his criminal case as hes doing a lot of legal work, hes a lawyer, hes got multiple clients, Mariotti said in an interview. Trump is trying to make it sound like he didnt handle a lot of my legal work, which is what the government is saying. (WASHINGTON) President Donald Trump appears likely to win his travel ban case at the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy both signaled support for the travel policy in arguments Wednesday at the high court. The bans challengers almost certainly need one of those two justices if the court is to strike down the ban on travelers from several mostly Muslim countries. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the most aggressive questioner of Solicitor General Noel Francisco in his defense of the Trump policy, and the three other liberal justices also raised questions about it. The justices voted in December to allow the policy to take full effect pending their full consideration. Wednesday was the first time they took it up in open court. The Trump administration is asking the court to reverse lower court rulings that would strike down the ban. The Supreme Court is considering whether the president can indefinitely keep people out of the country based on nationality. It is also looking at whether the policy is aimed at excluding Muslims from the United States. A decision is expected by late June. Kennedy challenged lawyer Neal Katyal, representing the challengers, about whether the ban would be unending. He said the policys call for a report every six months indicates therell be a reassessment from time to time. His only question that seemed to favor the challengers came early in the arguments, when he asked Francisco whether Trumps campaign trail call to keep Muslims from entering the United States should be considered in evaluating the administrations ban. Francisco told the justices that they shouldnt look at Trumps campaign statements. Kennedy pressed on that point. Speaking of a hypothetical local candidate, he asked if what was said during the candidates campaign was irrelevant if on day two of his administration the candidate acted on those statements. Francisco held his ground saying the presidential oath of office marks a fundamental transformation. Story continues People waited in line for seats for days, and on Wednesday morning opponents of the ban demonstrated outside the court holding signs that read No Muslim Ban. Ever and Refugees Welcome, among other things. In another sign of heightened public interest, the court was taking the rare step of making an audio recording of the proceedings available just hours after the arguments. The last time the court did that was for gay marriage arguments in 2015. The travel ban is the first Trump policy to undergo a full-blown Supreme Court review. The justices are looking at the third version of a policy that Trump first rolled out a week after taking office, triggering chaos and protests across the U.S. as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. The first version was blocked by courts and withdrawn. Its replacement was allowed to take partial effect, but expired in September. The current version is indefinite and now applies to travelers from five countries with overwhelmingly Muslim populations Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also affects two non-Muslim countries, blocking travelers from North Korea and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. A sixth majority-Muslim country, Chad, was removed from the list this month after improving its identity-management and information sharing practices, Trump said in a proclamation. Trumps campaign pledge to shut down Muslims entry into the U.S., his presidential tweets about the travel ban and last falls retweets of inflammatory videos that stoked anti-Islam sentiment all preceded the justices questioning of Francisco, defending the ban, and Katyal, the former acting solicitor general under President Barack Obama. The administration has argued that courts have no role to play because the president has broad powers over immigration and national security, and foreigners have no right to enter the country. Francisco also has said in written arguments that Trumps September proclamation laying out the current policy comports with immigration law and does not violate the Constitution because it does not single out Muslims. The challengers, backed by a diverse array of supporting legal briefs, have said that Trump is flouting immigration law by trying to keep more than 150 million people, the vast majority of them Muslim, from entering the country. They also argue that his policy amounts to the Muslim ban that he called for as a candidate, violating the Constitutions prohibition against religious bias. The case is Trump v. Hawaii, 17-965. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will visit the United Kingdom on July 13 for a working visit with Prime Minister Theresa May, the White House said. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced the visit Thursday. A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed the scheduled talks. Trumps visit has been anticipated for more than a year, after May was the first foreign leader to be hosted by the president at the White House after his inauguration. Last year, May proclaimed the strength of the most special relationship between the two countries, and the government extended an invitation for a state visit as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II. But a full-blown state visit replete with golden carriages and pomp has been deferred amid the threat of huge anti-Trump protests. Trump canceled a planned visit to open the new U.S. Embassy in London earlier this year. Trump is not expected to meet with Queen Elizabeth or other members of the royal family during the working visit. Sanders announced the news during a briefing for the children of White House staffers and reporters in the press briefing room. When President Donald Trump phoned into Fox and Friends on Thursday morning, the conversation turned almost inevitably to his apparent bromance with hip-hop icon Kanye West, who the prior afternoon had delivered a string of affectionate tweets about the commander-in-chief. You dont have to agree with trump but the mob cant make me not love him, West wrote. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I get along with Kanye, Trump said on Fox and Friends. Kanye looks and he sees black unemployment at the lowest its been in the history of our country He sees that stuff and hes smart, and he says, you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did.' .@POTUS on Kanye West: Kanye looks and he sees black unemployment at the lowest its been in the history of our countryHe sees that stuff and hes smart. @foxandfriends pic.twitter.com/TNvp5AHRPm Fox News (@FoxNews) April 26, 2018 As Trump sees it, Wests affection for him is a microcosm of the black community in the U.S. on whole. Remember how I was going to get no black votes? Trump said. Well, I got a lot! I got a lot of support. I should have gotten much more. Except: not quite. According to data collected by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell, only 8% of African-American voters cast their ballots for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. On the flip side, 88% of black voters supported Hillary Clinton. In Trumps defense, he took a greater share of the black vote than did Mitt Romney in the 2012 election 6% to Barack Obamas 93% but whether less than one in ten voters constitutes a lot is debatable. President George W. Bush received 11% of the African-American vote in 2004. Story continues Only 9% now approve of Trumps job performance, according to a Gallup poll. They voted for me, Trump said. Crime is way down. The unemployment picture is the best its been for African-Americans. This is true. Per the Pew Research Center, violent crime rates in the U.S. declined in 2017 in line with the trend since it peaked in the 1990s. After briefly climbing earlier this year, black unemployment in March sat at 6.9%, the lowest in history. But the extent to which these figures are consequences of Trumps own policymaking is far from conclusive. Both statistics were falling for years before Trump came to Washington. Melania Trump turned 48 Thursday and all the first lady got from her billionaire husband was a card and flowers. "I didnt get her so much," the president admitted as he called in to "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning. "I got her a beautiful card. You know, Im very busy to be running out looking for presents. I got her a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers." The first ladys birthday came just two days after she helped plan her first state dinner at the White House. Trump came clean about the birthday gifts Thursday morning in a wild call to "Fox & Friends." There was also a stunning moment as he voiced support for his embattled lawyer Michael Cohen. He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me," Trump said. "And from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong." It was the first time he has uttered the name "Stormy Daniels" and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, was celebrating Thursday. I think it was exceptional for our case and disastrous for him, Avenatti said at a press conference Thursday. Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels speaks after a hearing on items seized from Michael Cohen: I think the pres. should appear on Fox and Friends every morning. That's what I think. I thought it was exceptional for our case and I thought it was disastrous for him." pic.twitter.com/SADuoSoUbc CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 26, 2018 It came as no surprise that Trump let his guard down on his favorite show. Inside Edition recently caught up with "Fox & Friends" co-host Ainsley Earhart, whose new memoir, "The Light Within Me," is out this week. "We've known him a long time," she said. "He used to come on our show every Monday before he ran for president, and we had a relationship with him. We're pretty comfortable with him." Story continues The president was in a better mood this afternoon as he goofed around with dozens of kids in the oval office on Take Your Kid to Work Day. The bright-eyes youngsters are the children of the White House Press Corps and Trump couldn't resist a jab at their parents. "Look at how well behaved your parents are being," he said. "They aren't shouting!" The kids also took over the briefing room and had a sweet message for the first lady as they wished her a happy birthday. RELATED STORIES Melania Trump Raises Eyebrows With Wide-Brimmed Hat During State Visit Author of New White House Tell-All Claims Melania Walked Out on Trump Back in 1998 Melania Trump Is a 'Powerful Force' in White House, Explosive New Tell-All Claims Related Articles: By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's president called on the prime minister to resign on Friday after she endorsed a secret deal to move the country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, overstepping her powers on foreign policy. The head of state cannot dismiss the premier but President Klaus Iohannis' call could trigger a no-confidence vote, something Prime Minister Viorica Dancila should easily survive given her party's robust majority in parliament. "Mrs. Dancila is not coping with her position of prime minister of Romania and thus is turning the government into a liability for Romania. That is why I am calling publicly for her resignation," Iohannis said in a statement. Any decision on embassy relocation rests with the president, who said he was not consulted about that or the state visit Dancila paid to Israel this week along with the leader of her Social Democrat party, Liviu Dragnea. Dancila has said the memorandum she approved was confidential and could not be made public yet. Iohannis - who has the final say in foreign policy matters - said moving the embassy to Jerusalem, which is not widely recognized as Israel's capital due to competing sovereignty claims by the Palestinians, has said the move could break international law. "A secret document, a secret foreign policy memorandum, was discussed last week in the government. That was a big mistake," Iohannis said. "Because in foreign policy matters, if we are talking about secret documents, which obviously are sensitive otherwise they should not be secrets, the president should have been consulted, which did not happen," Iohannis added. Dancila has yet to comment on his call for her to resign. Romania would be the first EU country and one of very few countries in the world to relocate its embassy following U.S. President Donald Trump recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. The Romanian foreign ministry had said the memorandum was only the start of a wide consultation process and that it sought to identify the best way for Romania to position itself. It added Romania's position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian situation "has traditionally been a balanced one, including ... bilaterally recognizing the Palestinian state." Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "at least half a dozen" countries were considering moving their embassies to Jerusalem. The U.S. Embassy is due to relocate on May 14. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Ronny Jackson, the White House physician who served three presidents, has withdrawn his nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs following mounting allegations of professional misconduct. In a statement Thursday morning, Jackson described these allegations as completely false and fabricated. Unfortunately, because of how Washington works, these false allegations have become a distraction for this President and the important issue we must be addressing how we give the best care to our nations heroes. In an interview on Fox and Friends on Thursday morning, President Donald Trump blasted Democrats calling out Montana Sen. Jon Tester repeatedly for lodging allegations that he called unsubstantiated. He would have done a great job and theyre trying to destroy a guy, Trump said. Theres not proof of this. Theres no proof of this. Trump warned that Tester, who is in a tough reelection battle in November in deeply red Montana, is in for a reckoning at the polls. For him to be doing this to this man and this family, I think Jon Tester has a big price to pay in Montana, Trump said. Trump also said that it was his idea not Jacksons for his personal physician to run the governments second-largest agency. Trump emphasized that Jacksons experience was sufficient because nobody would be fully qualified to run the VA because of its massive scale. Story continues Jackson, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy who has worked as a doctor in the White House since 2006, faced pressure to withdraw his name from consideration in recent days facing allegations that he repeatedly drank on the job and overprescribed drugs like Ambien. He was so liberal in doling out these prescriptions, sources say, that he was nicknamed Candyman by colleagues. He also allegedly wrecked a government vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at a Secret Service going-away party. Jackson has denied the allegations. The allegations first appeared in a document compiled by Democrats on the Veterans Affairs Committee that was provided to media outlets. (Updates after Russian news conference) By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE, April 26 (Reuters) - Russia and Syria presented more than a dozen unharmed people from Ghouta, Syria, at the premises of the Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons on Thursday to support claims there was no chemical attack in the region this month. Britain dismissed the move as a theatrical "stunt", and said allied powers including France and the United States had boycotted the closed-door briefing. "The OPCW is not a theatre," Peter Wilson, Britain's envoy to the agency, said in a statement. "Russias decision to misuse it is yet another Russian attempt to undermine the OPCW's work, and in particular the work of its Fact Finding Mission investigating chemical weapons use in Syria." The OPCW is investigating the deaths of dozens of people in Douma, an enclave in Ghouta, on April 7 which the United States and its allies said was caused by chemical weapons, possibly a nerve agent, used by forces of the Russian-back government of President Bashar al-Assad. The suspected attacks led to air strikes by the United States, France and Britain against sites in Syria. Both Syria Russia have denied the accusation and said rebel forces staged the attacks. Russia and Syria on Thursday later brought some 15 Syrians to a news conference in the Hague who said they had not seen any evidence of chemical weapons being used in Ghouta. One child, identified by Syrian government-provided translaters as 11-year-old Hasan Diab from Ghouta, said he had been to a hospital after the attack. "They started pouring water on me in the hospital. I don't know why," he said. The boy resembled the child seen in a video widely shown on Western television stations after the alleged attack. Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands said the video was "staged" by the White Hemets, a Syrian aid group that receives funding from the U.S. and other Western governments. OPCW investigators on the spot visited a second site in Ghouta on Wednesday to take samples. Story continues France's Ambassador to the OPCW Philippe Lalliot called the display of Syrians in The Hague "obscene." "This ... does not come as a surprise from the Syrian government, which has massacred and gassed its own people for the last 7 years," he told Reuters. He said it was more surprising coming from Russia. "One cannot but wonder if the weaker (Syria) is not taking the stronger (Russia) on a path beyond its interests, if not its values." (Reporting by Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Richard Balmforth) Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia said its air defences on Friday intercepted a missile fired by Yemeni rebels, days after the insurgents' second-in-command was killed in an air raid by Riyadh and its allies. The ballistic missile, the latest in a series of similar attacks, was headed towards the kingdom's southern coastal city of Jizan, the official state news agency said. No casualties were reported. Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition in 2015 to battle the Huthi rebels in its southern neighbour and restore the internationally-recognised Yemeni government to power. The Huthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as well as much of Yemen's north and the key Hodeida port on the country's western coastline. Riyadh on Wednesday confirmed it was behind an air strike on the Yemeni capital that killed Saleh al-Sammad, president of the Huthis' Supreme Political Council, on April 19. The rebels will hold a public funeral for Sammad in Sanaa on Saturday. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen conflict, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Yemen now stands at the brink of famine. The alliance imposed a total blockade on Yemen's ports in November in retaliation for the rebel missile attacks. The blockade has since been partially lifted, but access to the impoverished country remains limited. Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, and Ben Kingsley at the Schindlers List 25th anniversary screening during the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26 in New York City. (Photo: Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP) Twenty-five years ago this summer, Steven Spielberg solidified his reputation as Hollywoods reigning blockbuster king with the release of a not-so-little movie called Jurassic Park. Packed with breathtaking set-pieces and groundbreaking visual effects, the movie spawned a franchise that continues to this day in the form of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which arrives in theaters on June 22. What few realized at the time that Spielbergs T. rex-size triumph was stomping through theaters is that its maker was in the process of radically transforming his career. In March 1993 while still putting the finishing touches on Jurassic Park the director called action on Schindlers List, a searing Holocaust-era drama starring Liam Neeson as German businessman Oskar Schindler, who is credited with saving thousands of Jews from Nazi concentration camps. Although Spielberg had previously tackled weighty subject matter in films like The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun, with its black-and-white cinematography and scenes of shocking violence, Schindlers List promised to look and feel unlike any movie he had made before. Any doubts that he was the right person to tell this story dissipated when the film opened in theaters in December, scoring critical acclaim and multiple Oscar victories, including statues for Best Director and Best Picture. Schindlers List marked a distinct turning point in Spielbergs filmography as well; while he still made time for the occasional CGI-driven spectacle like the recent Ready Player One his focus increasingly turned toward period dramas ranging from 1998s Saving Private Ryan to 2017s The Post. Since those films likely wouldnt have been possible without Schindlers List, the film understandably holds a special place in his heart. And the director very much wore his heart on his sleeve at a Q&A that followed a 25th anniversary screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Sharing the stage with cast members Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall, and Embeth Davidtz, Spielberg remarked with obvious emotion in his voice: I know I have never felt, since Schindlers List, the kind of pride and satisfaction and sense of real meaningful accomplishment. Story continues Here are five things we learned about the film from Spielberg and his collaborators. Steven Spielberg had to wait 10 years to make Schindlers List In an alternate universe, Schindlers List would have been Spielbergs follow-up to his classic 1982 family film, E.T. In the wake of that megahit, Spielberg recalled his mentor and patron at Universal Studios, Sid Sheinberg, passing along a New York Times review of a book called Schindlers Ark, by Thomas Keneally. He said, I have your next movie, and two hours later a messenger showed up with a cutout of the New York Times book section. I remember reading it, and even the review was dense. I got the book, and it took me a month to read it. I called Sid and said, I dont know how to tell this story, I just dont. And I didnt for a long time. A lot of other films had to happen first. Liam Neeson and Sir Ben Kingsley in Schindlers List. (Photo: Universal/Courtesy of Everett Collection) Its not like Spielberg ignored Schindlers story during that time; from 1982 to 1993, various drafts of the script were written until the director received a version penned by Steve Zaillian that reduced him and his wife, Kate Capshaw, to tears. We got to the end of the script, and Kate said, Youre making this movie right now, arent you? I said, Yeah, right now. But I was making Jurassic Park right now, that was the problem! After a whirlwind preproduction process, Spielberg and his cast were on location in Auschwitz by March. I had to go home about two or three times a week to get on a very crude satellite feed to Northern California, where ILM [Industrial Light and Magic] was in order to approve T. rex shots. It built a tremendous amount of resentment and anger that I had to go from [Schindlers List] to dinosaurs chasing jeeps. I was very grateful later in June, but until then, it was a burden because this was all I cared about. At the 25th anniversary screening of Schindlers List, Steven Spielberg recalls feeling resentment and anger at having to make the Holocaust drama and Jurassic Park simultaneously. (Photo: Getty Images) Liam Neeson repeatedly flubbed his first line The Irish actor was coming off an acclaimed Broadway run in Anna Christie where he met his future wife, Natasha Richardson (who died in 2009) when Spielberg cast him as Oskar Schindler. Steven wanted me to put on weight, and his office gave me protein powders, Neeson recalled. I tried to take it, but I was throwing up! Pints of Guinness in Poland did the work eventually. But Guinness wasnt enough to calm his nerves on his first day of shooting. We were at the gates of Auschwitz at 5 or 6 in the morning, and it was freezing cold. I was quite nervous and when I had to do my scene, I kept saying the line wrong. I said, I need this child to polish the inside of shell metal casings, and it should have been metal shell casings.' Ever the director, Spielberg issued his star one more correction onstage. It was 45-millimeter metal shell casings. He got it right eventually. Ben Kingsley once came out swinging Re-creating the Holocaust on location in Poland wasnt easy for anyone, but Neeson and Kingsley remembered the Polish and German cast and crew as well as the locals being exceptionally friendly and warm. Still, there were some unpleasant encounters with people who werent willing to let the past die. Spielberg recalled seeing freshly painted swastikas while driving to work some mornings. And then there was a time when Kingsley tangled with an anti-Semitic German businessman at a hotel bar. He walked across the bar with total impunity and asked Michael [Schneider, who played Juda Dresner] Are you a Jew? Michael, in shock, said yes, and [the man] mimed a noose around his neck and pulled it tight. And I stood up. Added Spielberg: You did more than stand up. Steven Spielberg directs Liam Neeson on the set of Schindlers List. (Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection) Spielberg was treated to personal standup routines from Robin Williams Being part of Schindlers List meant opening yourself up to trauma almost every day. There was trauma everywhere, and we captured the trauma, Spielberg said. There are whole sections of the film that go beyond anything Ive ever experienced before or seen anyone in front of the camera experience. As a way to avoid falling into abject despair, Spielberg came to rely on weekly phone calls from his good friend Robin Williams. Once a week, he called me on schedule and he would do 15 minutes of standup on the phone. And I would laugh hysterically because I had to release so much. The way Robin was on the telephone, he would always hang up on the loudest, best laugh youd give him. He never said goodbye; he just hung up! Robin Williams and Steven Spielberg during the American Museum of the Moving Image Honors Robin Williams gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. (Photo: Getty Images) The epilogue came to Spielberg in the middle of the night Schindlers List ends with footage of some of the surviving Schindlerjuden, or Schindlers Jews, laying stones on Schindlers grave in Jerusalem, accompanied by the actors who portray them or their loved ones in the film. Its a beautiful coda that, according to Spielberg, was a last-minute invention. Three quarters of the way through the film, I started to wake up in the middle of the night fearing that the people who see Schindlers List will not believe Schindlers List. Because Im known for films that arent like this. I got really worried and [this ending] suddenly came to me. That was never in the script; it was a desperate attempt from me to find validation from the survivor community itself and certify that what we had done was credible. While the sequence itself is somber, Neeson recalled that a decidedly nonfunereal spirit prevailed the previous evening. The night before the shoot, Steven went to bed early, because hes shooting the next day. So were we, but we had this amazing party and had quite a lot to drink. [People] were playing their violins and stuff. We all went to bed at 4:30! Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Washington (AFP) - The US Senate voted Thursday to approve former CIA director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state Thursday, after a bruising battle by Democrats against President Donald Trump's nominee. Pompeo, who earned Trump's confidence after a year at the CIA, was accused by Democrats as being too bellicose and harboring anti-Muslim and homophobic sentiments. But after barely getting the nomination past the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo was easily confirmed by the entire body in a vote of 57-42, with a handful of Democratic senators facing tough re-election battles voting in favor. The approval came in time for Pompeo to lead the US delegation to NATO foreign minister talks in Brussels this weekend and to arrange a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming months. Pompeo replaces Rex Tillerson, the former oil executive Trump fired in March after a year of tensions and turmoil in the State Department, where he alienated much of his staff and left the body deeply demoralized. But where Tillerson was seen as a voice for moderation in the Trump administration, Pompeo is viewed as a hawk who could combine with new White House National Security Advisor John Bolton to back more aggressive posturing by Trump on the world stage. Washington (AFP) - Former CIA director Mike Pompeo was sworn in as America's top diplomat Thursday after a bruising battle over his hardliner image, and immediately embarked on a mission to Europe and the Middle East with a strong declaration of support from President Donald Trump. Pompeo overcame stiff opposition in the Senate from Democrats who warned he would add fuel to Trump's aggressive foreign policy. But ultimately, the 54-year-old West Point graduate and former congressman beat back critics, easily winning Senate confirmation in a 57-42 vote. Just over one hour later, he was sworn in as secretary of state by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at the White House. The State Department immediately announced Pompeo would lead the US delegation to NATO foreign minister talks in Brussels on Friday, and follow that with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, stops chosen to reflect their "importance as key allies and partners in the region," the department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. - Trump: 'He has my trust' - "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history," Trump said in a statement. "He will always put the interests of America first. He has my trust. He has my support." After the swearing-in ceremony, Pompeo said he was "completely humbled by the responsibility" of his new post. "I'm looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away," he added. Pompeo replaces Rex Tillerson, the former oil executive Trump fired in March after a year of tensions with the White House over policy and turmoil in the State Department, where his cutbacks and aloofness alienated staff and left the body deeply demoralized. But where Tillerson was seen as a voice of moderation in the Trump administration, Pompeo is viewed as a hawk who could combine with new White House National Security Advisor John Bolton to back Trump's aggressive posturing on the world stage. Story continues - Promises diplomacy, 'swagger' - In a bruising fight against his appointment, Democrats accused Pompeo as too bellicose and harboring anti-Muslim and homophobic sentiments. During his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Pompeo rejected those accusations. He insisted his focus will be on diplomatic solutions to problems, while pledging to bring "swagger once again" to the State Department. "One of the many values of robust diplomacy is that it increases our chances of solving problems peacefully, without ever firing a shot," Pompeo said. - Secret North Korea trip - Thursday's move to the state department marks the high point so far in the career of the ambitious Pompeo, who some say has his eyes on the White House. He graduated first in his class at the elite US Military Academy at West Point, and later earned a law degree from Harvard. Pompeo served four terms as a Republican congressman from Kansas before Trump tapped him to head the Central Intelligence Agency last year. There, he promised a more "vicious" intelligence operation, making unapologetically menacing statements toward North Korea and Iran. He also earned Trump's ear in regular intelligence briefings at the White House, accommodating Trump's desire for simplified, visual presentations rather than detailed written assessments of the world's security dangers. Behind the scenes, he made numerous trips abroad to meet foreign political and security leaders, especially in the Middle East. He also took the lead in creating a dialogue with North Korea as Pyongyang demonstrated its theoretical ability to strike the United States with a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. In late March, Pompeo secretly traveled to Pyongyang, where he met with Kim to discuss what could become a historic summit between the two countries possibly as early as in May. The White House released pictures from their meeting Thursday, attesting to Pompeo's central role in relations with North Korea. That served to underscore that he could easily slip into the diplomatic driver's seat as soon as he was sworn in. US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said she was "pleased that he will be leading the delegation" to the NATO meeting. "His efforts to come to Brussels tonight shows America's commitment to NATO and our Allies and Partners," she said. The president has repeatedly attacked special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt." (Photo: Joshua Roberts / Reuters) WASHINGTON The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Thursday to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Donald Trump. The bill, which passed 14 to 7, would impose restrictions on the U.S. attorney generals ability to fire a special counsel. All the Democrats on the committee supported the measure. They were joined by four Republicans: Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the chairman. The vote sends a clear and bipartisan signal to the White House that at least some in Congress are prepared to act if Trump fires Mueller, who is leading an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links between the Russian government and Trumps campaign. But as pointed out by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who opposed the measure, there are no plans to give the bill a vote on the Senate floor or in the House, and Trump would never sign it. So for now, at least, the vote is little more than symbolic. Trump doesnt have the authority to fire Mueller himself, but he could direct Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to do it (since Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the case). In the meantime, the president has repeatedly and publicly harassed Mueller and questioned his probe, calling it a witch hunt, a total witch hunt and illegal. The bill, which has bipartisan authors, would mandate that a special counsel could be removed only by the attorney general or the most senior Senate-confirmed Justice Department official and could be removed only for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or other good cause. It would also require the attorney general to provide written notice specifying the reason for removal and would allow the special counsel to challenge his or her removal within 10 days. Most of Thursdays hearing centered on a debate about the constitutionality of Congress curbing certain executive powers. Grassley acknowledged that he had constitutional concerns with the bill, but emphasized that its clear that Congress has an oversight role to play when it comes to how the executive branch wields its power. Story continues Our constitutional system, premised as it is on the separation of powers, cannot function unless Congress exercises robust oversight over the executive branch, he said. The Supreme Court has recognized as much. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Christine Kim, Josh Smith and Roberta Rampton SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of North and South Korea pledged at a historic summit on Friday to work for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, but U.S. President Donald Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in produced a day of dramatic images and a sweeping declaration of goodwill. But it was short on specific commitments and failed to clear up the question of whether Pyongyang is really willing to give up nuclear missiles that now threaten the United States. Meeting at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that has divided the Koreas for more than six decades, Kim and Moon announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War, and establish a permanent peace agreement. In an event marked by smiles, handshakes and embraces, they also promised to pursue phased arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone and seek talks involving other countries, including the United States."The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun," the two sides said. But even as they agreed on a common goal of a "nuclear-free" peninsula, they stopped short of spelling out exactly what that meant or how it might come about. Speaking at a news conference in Washington with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump, who has raised expectations that his own planned meeting with Kim in coming weeks will deliver tangible results, expressed hope it would be productive. (Korea: a land divided - https://tmsnrt.rs/2KdXMcS) (A new dawn - http://tmsnrt.rs/2t8i6no) 'NOT REPEAT MISTAKES' But he added: "We will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations. Maximum pressure will continue until denuclearization occurs." Trump has said Kim must completely abandon his nuclear missile program and has credited his campaign of sanctions and military threats with bringing Kim to the negotiating table. Earlier he told reporters would not allow himself to be "played like a fiddle" by North Korea like past U.S. administrations. Many analysts say that while sanctions may be hurting North Korea, Kim may believe he has the upper hand and is unlikely to give up his full nuclear capability, considering it vital to the survival of his family dynasty. In past negotiations, North Korea has demanded the United States withdraw its troops and remove its "nuclear umbrella" of support for the South. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea. On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would seek to build trust with North Korea through confidence building measures, but deferred to diplomats questions about the future U.S. military presence under any peace treaty. Kim, widely regarded by many Americans and South Koreans as a brutal dictator, appeared to use the summit to soften his international image. He became the first North Korean leader since the Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with Moon over a concrete curb marking the border. Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together were a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test, which raised fears of war. U.S. intelligence officials said it had been an impressive charm offensive by Kim, but their view of him and their belief in his desire to keep his nuclear weapons had not changed. A U.S. administration official, who did not want to be identified, said Trump's aides were being briefed by South Korean officials and were looking for clarity on whether Kim made any meaningful commitment to nuclear disarmament. In a statement, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said any North Korea promises would be "met with reservation, vigilance, and verification." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who over the Easter weekend became the first U.S. official ever known to have met Kim, told a news conference after a NATO meeting in Brussels he believed Kim was serious about try reaching a deal. "The economic pressure that has been put in place by this global effort that President Trump has led has led him to believe that its in his best interest to come to the table and talk about denuclearization." The Kim-Moon meeting was meant in part to lay some of the groundwork for a Trump-Kim summit, which would be the first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Trump, who has exchanged nuclear threats and personal insults with Kim in the past year, said only time would tell, but he did not think Kim was "playing." "Its never gone this far. This enthusiasm for them wanting to make a deal ... We are going to hopefully make a deal." Trump said two countries were under consideration as the site for his meeting with Kim, which he has said could be in late May or early June. China, North Korea's main ally, welcomed Kim and Moon's statement and said it was willing to keep promoting political solutions. China is wary of being sidelined by a thaw between the two Koreas and by the Trump-Kim summit. Russia said it was ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea, including in railway transport and energy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the summit and said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps to carry out its promises. As part of efforts to reduce tensions, North and South Korea agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and allow divided families to meet. Days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But deep scepticism remains about Kim's intentions, and Daniel Russel, until recently the most senior U.S. diplomat for Asia, said that the joint declaration fell short of an explicit commitment to denuclearization. Jonathan Schanzer, an expert at Washington's Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said North Korea had made promises many times in the past. "The question now is whether Kim Jong Un is ready to deliver, or if this is a prelude to yet another deliberate effort to spurn the West," he said. Former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, Abraham Denmark, said that despite the warm images and friendly words, "there is still no trust and no clear way ahead." "We must remember: North Korea is still North Korea. Kim is still the same person he was when he purged potential rivals, imprisoned thousands of his people, and had his relatives killed. This was a hopeful moment, but extreme caution is well warranted." It is not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared hopes for peace. Two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt North Korea's weapons programs or improve relations in a lasting way. Kim alluded to past failures after the latest agreement was signed, saying: "We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today." Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang this year, the leaders said. FIRST ACROSS THE LINE Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands. In an unplanned moment of theater, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. "I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person," Kim said. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the South's Peace House before talks began. In a private session, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, a senior South Korean presidential official said. Moon and Kim continued their talks into a dinner banquet and later, with their wives, watched a music performance and held hands as they watched a montage of photos from their summit set to a K-pop song that included the words "be a family again." (Reporting by the Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps, Christine Kim and Josh Smith in Seoul and by Roberta Rampton in WASHINGTON; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick, Susan Heavey, Eric Beech, David Alexander, John Walcott, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Jeff Mason in WASHINGTON and Lesley Wroughton in BRUSSELS; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom; editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel, Frances Kerry and Cynthia Osterman) By Christine Kim, Josh Smith and Roberta Rampton SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of North and South Korea pledged at a historic summit on Friday to work for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, but U.S. President Donald Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in produced a day of dramatic images and a sweeping declaration of goodwill. But it was short on specific commitments and failed to clear up the question of whether Pyongyang is really willing to give up nuclear missiles that now threaten the United States. Meeting at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that has divided the Koreas for more than six decades, Kim and Moon announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War, and establish a permanent peace agreement. In an event marked by smiles, handshakes and embraces, they also promised to pursue phased arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone and seek talks involving other countries, including the United States."The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun," the two sides said. But even as they agreed on a common goal of a "nuclear-free" peninsula, they stopped short of spelling out exactly what that meant or how it might come about. Speaking at a news conference in Washington with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump, who has raised expectations that his own planned meeting with Kim in coming weeks will deliver tangible results, expressed hope it would be productive. 'NOT REPEAT MISTAKES' But he added: "We will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations. Maximum pressure will continue until denuclearization occurs." Story continues Trump has said Kim must completely abandon his nuclear missile programme and has credited his campaign of sanctions and military threats with bringing Kim to the negotiating table. Earlier he told reporters would not allow himself to be "played like a fiddle" by North Korea like past U.S. administrations. Many analysts say that while sanctions may be hurting North Korea, Kim may believe he has the upper hand and is unlikely to give up his full nuclear capability, considering it vital to the survival of his family dynasty. In past negotiations, North Korea has demanded the United States withdraw its troops and remove its "nuclear umbrella" of support for the South. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea. On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would seek to build trust with North Korea through confidence building measures, but deferred to diplomats questions about the future U.S. military presence under any peace treaty. Kim, widely regarded by many Americans and South Koreans as a brutal dictator, appeared to use the summit to soften his international image. He became the first North Korean leader since the Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with Moon over a concrete curb marking the border. Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together were a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test, which raised fears of war. U.S. intelligence officials said it had been an impressive charm offensive by Kim, but their view of him and their belief in his desire to keep his nuclear weapons had not changed. A U.S. administration official, who did not want to be identified, said Trump's aides were being briefed by South Korean officials and were looking for clarity on whether Kim made any meaningful commitment to nuclear disarmament. In a statement, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said any North Korea promises would be "met with reservation, vigilance, and verification." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who over the Easter weekend became the first U.S. official ever known to have met Kim, told a news conference after a NATO meeting in Brussels he believed Kim was serious about try reaching a deal. "The economic pressure that has been put in place by this global effort that President Trump has led has led him to believe that its in his best interest to come to the table and talk about denuclearization." The Kim-Moon meeting was meant in part to lay some of the groundwork for a Trump-Kim summit, which would be the first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Trump, who has exchanged nuclear threats and personal insults with Kim in the past year, said only time would tell, but he did not think Kim was "playing." "Its never gone this far. This enthusiasm for them wanting to make a deal ... We are going to hopefully make a deal." Trump said two countries were under consideration as the site for his meeting with Kim, which he has said could be in late May or early June. China, North Korea's main ally, welcomed Kim and Moon's statement and said it was willing to keep promoting political solutions. China is wary of being sidelined by a thaw between the two Koreas and by the Trump-Kim summit. Russia said it was ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea, including in railway transport and energy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the summit and said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps to carry out its promises. As part of efforts to reduce tensions, North and South Korea agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and allow divided families to meet. Days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But deep scepticism remains about Kim's intentions, and Daniel Russel, until recently the most senior U.S. diplomat for Asia, said that the joint declaration fell short of an explicit commitment to denuclearization. Jonathan Schanzer, an expert at Washington's Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said North Korea had made promises many times in the past. "The question now is whether Kim Jong Un is ready to deliver, or if this is a prelude to yet another deliberate effort to spurn the West," he said. Former U.S. assistant secretary of defence for East Asia, Abraham Denmark, said that despite the warm images and friendly words, "there is still no trust and no clear way ahead." "We must remember: North Korea is still North Korea. Kim is still the same person he was when he purged potential rivals, imprisoned thousands of his people, and had his relatives killed. This was a hopeful moment, but extreme caution is well warranted." It is not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared hopes for peace. Two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt North Korea's weapons programmes or improve relations in a lasting way. Kim alluded to past failures after the latest agreement was signed, saying: "We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today." Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang this year, the leaders said. FIRST ACROSS THE LINE Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands. In an unplanned moment of theatre, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. "I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person," Kim said. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the South's Peace House before talks began. In a private session, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, a senior South Korean presidential official said. Moon and Kim continued their talks into a dinner banquet and later, with their wives, watched a music performance and held hands as they watched a montage of photos from their summit set to a K-pop song that included the words "be a family again." (Reporting by the Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps, Christine Kim and Josh Smith in Seoul and by Roberta Rampton in WASHINGTON; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick, Susan Heavey, Eric Beech, David Alexander, John Walcott, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Jeff Mason in WASHINGTON and Lesley Wroughton in BRUSSELS; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom; editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel, Frances Kerry and Cynthia Osterman) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial team to advise on the governance of the North West province and the threats confronting the region, his office said on Thursday, a week after protests erupted in the region. Ramaphosa cut short a visit to a Commonwealth summit in Britain a day early last week to travel to North West, where crowds have been protesting against poor public services and demanding the resignation of the local government leader. "This development ... is a response to appeals by the people of the North West and a range of other concerned stakeholders that government should intervene," Ramaphosa's office said in a statement. Ramaphosa, who replaced Jacob Zuma as president in February, has staked his reputation on rooting out the corruption and mismanagement associated with Zuma's nine years in power. The team has been directed to assess the state of governance in North West Province and report to the cabinet on steps that could be taken. The team will also advise on potential threats facing the province. Crowds first took to the streets in and around the province's capital, Mahikeng, on April 18, calling for the resignation of the territory's premier, Supra Mahumapelo. As violence mounted, neighbouring Botswana shut some border crossings. Police fired tear gas at protesters who blocked roads, and South African media reported that cars were set alight and shops looted over two days of unrest. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Kevin Liffey, Larry King) Update, Friday, April 27, 1:24 pm ET: The San Jose Mercury News identified the genealogy website used by investigators as GEDmatch, a free, open-source service based in Florida. Think twice before you send companies your spit. A suspected serial killer was caught when investigators compared his DNA to samples collected by an ancestry website. SEE ALSO: Facebook's richer than ever, despite data privacy scandals Services like 23andMe and Ancestry have become popular by using DNA from users who want to learn more about their family history. But few people think the DNA samples they send in might be used by law enforcement. On Tuesday, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. was caught by police. He's allegedly the "Golden State Killer," the perpetrator of 45 rapes and 12 murders throughout the '70s and '80s. Obviously, if he's guilty, this guy should burn in the hottest of hells. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, though, the way he was caught does raise some privacy questions. Law enforcement compared a blood sample from the scene of a crime with DNA from one of DeAngelo's relatives, according to the Sacramento Bee. That's right. He wasn't even the one who used the ancestry website it was someone who was related to him. That means you don't even have to consent to have your DNA available to law enforcement. The Sacramento District Attorney's Office confirmed that the Bee's story was accurate, but wouldn't name the ancestry websites used by investigators to track down DeAngelo. "Its an ongoing investigation," Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi said in a statement provided to Mashable. "We have given you as much information as we can at this time. No further information on this subject will be provided." Spokespeople from 23andMe and Ancestry said the companies were not involved in the DeAngelo case. Story continues The former said it's "our policy to resist law enforcement inquiries to protect customer privacy." Ancestry said it "advocates for its members privacy and will not share any information with law enforcement unless compelled to by valid legal process." There are other genealogy websites out there that collect DNA, but 23andMe and Ancestry are the most visible of those services and they absolutely get requests from law enforcement for data. Both release transparency reports. 23andMe claims it has never shared genetic information with law enforcement. Ancestry says it hasn't over the last three years, but did share data in 2014 with investigators looking into the murder and rape of a woman in Idaho. Last year, Sen. Chuck Schumer called on the Federal Trade Commission to look into how companies that collect your DNA store and share your data. "Now, this is sensitive information," he said, "and what those companies can do with all that data, our sensitive and deepest information, your genetics, is not clear and in some cases not fair and not right." KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Two men suspected of gunning down a Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur were still in the country, police said on Wednesday, as they released a fresh image of one of the men. Two men on a high-powered motorcycle fired at least 14 shots at Fadi al-Batsh, an engineering lecturer, outside his apartment building on Saturday, killing him on the spot. A Kawasaki motorcycle was found abandoned near a lake about nine minutes from the scene, from which police were able to trace a photo of one of the suspects, Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun told reporters. The suspects were believed to have entered Malaysia sometime in late January, but it was not known what nationalities they were or where they had traveled from, said Mohamad Fuzi. "We believe the suspects are still in the country," he said. "We have yet to identify them, but we suspect that they used fake identification either when entering the country or when they were here." Authorities had originally released computer-generated photographs of the suspects, who witnesses described as well-built and light-skinned, possibly Middle Eastern or European. A new photo of one of the suspects shows a light-skinned man with dark, wavy hair and a prominent goatee. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Saturday the suspects were believed to be Europeans with links to a foreign intelligence agency. Hamas, an Islamist militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, have accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of assassinating Batsh, who they say was a member of their group. Israel dismissed the charge. Mohamad Fuzi said the killing appeared "very professionally done", but declined to comment on reports it was a Mossad operation or that it was carried out by trained assassins. Batsh was a lecturer at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, specializing in power engineering, according to the university. Batsh's body will be returned to Gaza via Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday evening, after a funeral ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Palestine's ambassador to Malaysia Anwar Al Agha told Reuters. Mossad has been accused of several high-profile killings involving Palestinians around the world, although Israel has consistently denied the accusations. (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Michael Perry) Geneva (AFP) - Guatemala's former police chief Erwin Sperisen was slapped with a 15-year prison sentence on Friday after being reconvicted for the deaths of seven inmates in his home country. Sperisen, who holds dual Swiss and Guatemalan citizenship, had been sentenced to life by a Geneva court in 2014 over his role in the deaths of 10 prisoners. But the Swiss Federal Tribunal set aside the conviction last year, saying the Geneva court relied on faulty evidence and did not give Sperisen's lawyers sufficient opportunity to confront his accusers. Prosecutors in the canton of Geneva retried the case this month. The court on Friday found him guilty of complicity in the murders of seven people in Pavon jail in September 2006. He was however cleared in a separate case involving the alleged summary executions of three prisoners who had escaped from El Infiernito jail in 2005. Sperisen resigned as Guatemala's police chief in 2007 and moved to Geneva, where his father Eduardo Sperisen-Yurt serves as Guatemala's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2008, several Swiss rights groups acting on behalf of Sperisen's alleged victims began lobbying for his arrest, under rules that allow Swiss citizens to be tried at home for crimes committed abroad. Beirut (AFP) - Syrian regime air strikes and shelling killed 17 civilians including seven children on Friday in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus, a Britain-based monitor said. Regime forces have pounded southern districts of the capital since April 19 to try to expel the Islamic State group from the area, after the jihadists refused to leave under an evacuation deal. That bombardment intensified on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as regime forces advanced against IS inside the districts. "Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes" in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajar al-Aswad, "after breaking through terrorist defences", state news agency SANA said. The advance "inflicted great human and material losses" on the jihadists, it said. Syrian state television said the army has seized control of buildings and a "network of trenches and tunnels" from IS in Hajar al-Aswad. In the adjacent neighbourhood of Qadam, two children were killed in "mortar rounds fired by terrorist groups", it said. The Observatory said pro-government forces took control of "buildings and streets in Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn". Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with IS fighters on Friday morning, the monitor said. Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmuk and the edges of Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning. IS has held parts of Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmuk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month. At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting in southern Damascus, the monitor said. The latest civilian deaths bring to 36 the number of non-fighters killed in regime bombardment in that same period, it said. Yarmuk and the surroundings are now IS's largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighbouring Iraq. Story continues The jihadists have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014. Yarmuk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees has said. President Bashar al-Assad's regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month. Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Los Angeles (AFP) - Scores of teachers in the western US states of Arizona and Colorado turned out Thursday to demand salary and budget increases, in the latest in a wave of similar efforts across the country. US media reported class was cancelled for 1.4 million schoolchildren as tens of thousands of teachers went on strike. Social media images showed hundreds of teachers wearing red t-shirts as part of the "Red for Ed" movement, launched by grass-roots group Arizona Educators United to highlight the lack of funding and basic supplies in schools. Arizona's Republican governor Doug Ducey appealed to Congress in a statement for a "deserved" 20 percent pay raise for the state's teachers. "Without a doubt, teachers are some of the biggest difference-makers in the lives of Arizona children. They need to be respected, and rewarded, for the work they do and Arizona can do better on this front," he said. Like Oklahoma, Arizona is a state where the education budget has been stripped to the bone in recent years -- with cuts totaling $1 million since 2008, according to Arizona Educators United. As for teachers' salaries, Arizona is at the bottom of the ladder -- with the average $47,660 salary coming in at $12,000 lower than the national average, according to a study by the National Education Association. Meanwhile in Colorado, teachers take home slightly more, earning $53,768 per year. Teachers in Oklahoma secured an average pay raise of $6,000 after 10 days of protests -- but only a portion of their funding demands were met. The demonstrators had been spurred into action by a previous strike in West Virginia that resulted in a five percent salary increase. The strikes have mainly taken place in Republican states where education has suffered at the hands of promised tax cuts, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis. Only Colorado is the exception. In the US, states and local authorities fund education, with the federal government only chipping in with subsidies for disabled children, for example. A Texas couple was charged with forced labor and enslavement of a 5-year-old girl from West Africa, who escaped 16 years later, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Federal charges were filed against Mohamed Toure, 57, and Denise Cros-Toure, 57, who also allegedly denied the young girl an education, among other opportunities, The Daily Beast reported. In 2000, the couple arranged for the young girl, who did not speak English, to travel from her village in Guinea, West Africa, to Southlake, Texas, so that she could work in their home, according to a DOJ press release. Trending: Molly Ringwald Praises Southwest Airlines for Saving Her Dads Life The victim was forced into labor for long hours without compensation, according to the DOJ, before escaping in 2016. The young girl allegedly had to cook, clean and do laundry, in addition to caring for the couple's five children. "These charges, sadly, represent the reality of labor trafficking in the United States," Jean Bruggeman, the executive director of Freedom Network USA, a national anti-trafficking organization, said in a statement to Newsweek. In the case of the Texas couple, Bruggeman said they took "advantage of the dependence and fear that immigrants feel." Don't miss: Autism Does Not Cause People to be More Violent | Opinion According to the DOJ, the Texas couple "isolated her from her family and others and emotionally and physically abused her." The girl was able to escape in part because of neighbors. Modern Slavery Mathew Chattle / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images More than 40 million people around the world are estimated to be modern slavery victims, according to the International Labor Organization, the UN agency that focuses on labor rights. The figure also includes 24.9 million in forced labor; the number is further broken down into 16 million people exploited in private sectors, such as domestic work. Story continues The Department of Justice did not immediately return Newsweek's requests for comment. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Guadalajara (Mexico) (AFP) - Close to 12,000 people took to the streets of Guadalajara on Thursday, calling for peace and justice for three film students who were brutally murdered in a crime that has shocked Mexico. Over a month after their disappearance, authorities confirmed Monday that Salomon Aceves Gastelum, 25, Daniel Diaz, 20, and Marco Avalos, 20, were kidnapped, tortured and killed by drug cartel members. Afterwards, their bodies were dissolved in acid. "The absurd war on drugs is taking our classmates and we will not allow it anymore," said Jesus Medina, a student leader from the University of Guadalajara. Many of the demonstrators also rejected the official version of events surrounding the students' deaths. "What they presented is based on indications -- there is not strong scientific evidence. There are many doubts," said Oscar Juarez. Meanwhile, there was horror following the confession of a YouTube star and rapper -- Christian Omar Palma Gutierrez, also known as "QBA" -- that he dissolved the students' bodies in acid. Gutierrez said he received 3,000 pesos ($159) a week to work for the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, one of the most powerful in Mexico. "People like that who no longer feel... they have forgotten what it is to be human. A total lack of values," student Jose Eduardo Gomez told AFP. Along with the students, who came from five local universities, teachers and relatives also marched shouting slogans and singing songs calling for peace. According to official figures, more than 200,000 people have been murdered and over 30,000 have disappeared since the government launched a controversial military offensive against organized crime in late 2006 -- although how many of those incidents were linked to gang activity is unknown. Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Three Palestinians were shot dead Friday as thousands demonstrated along the border between Gaza and Israel for a fifth consecutive week of rallies dubbed the Great March of Return. More than 300 other people were hospitalised for gunshot wounds and tear gas inhalation, Gaza's health ministry said. Forty-four Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli fire since major protests began on March 30, with hundreds more wounded. No Israelis have been hurt. Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948. Israel says that allowing the refugees in would mean the end of the Jewish state, and accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as a pretext for violence. The protest movement is officially independent but has the backing of Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008. On Friday protesters again gathered at five sites near the border fence, though numbers were down on previous weeks. Dozens of young men burned tyres and threw stones a few hundreds metres from the border, with Israeli soldiers occasionally firing tear gas and live ammunition. Two men, who were not identified by the Palestinian health ministry, were shot dead east of Gaza City, while a third, 29-year-old Abdul Salam al-Bakr, was killed along the border in southern Gaza. Three journalists were among those injured, the Gaza Centre for Media Freedom said. The Israeli army said in a statement around 10,000 Palestinians had taken part in "riots." "Attempts have been made to harm security infrastructure, roll burning tires, hurl rocks and fly kites with flaming objects attached to them." In response, it said, "troops have used riot dispersal means and have fired in accordance with the rules of engagement." Demonstrations are expected to spike again in the lead up to May 14, when the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Story continues The decision has infuriated Palestinians, who see the annexed eastern half of the holy city as the capital of their future state. Amnesty International on Friday called for an arms embargo of Israel over the use of live fire. "For four weeks the world has watched in horror as Israeli snipers and other soldiers, in full-protective gear and behind the fence, have attacked Palestinian protesters with live ammunition and tear gas," the human rights organisation said in a statement. Israel has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the deaths along Gaza's border, with the army saying its troops only use live ammunition as a last resort. Jerusalem (AFP) - Three people have been arrested in Israel in connection with the deaths of 10 young hikers in flash floods during a programme to prepare them for military service, police said Friday. The ten students, mostly aged 17 and 18, were caught up in floods while hiking in the Arabah desert in southern Israel following exceptionally heavy rainfall. They were part of a group of around 25 hikers taking part in the training. "Police questioned three staff members from the academy that organised the trip," Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement. Two remain in detention and the third is under house arrest, he added. The hike was organised by a Tel Aviv-based institute that offers a one-year programme for young people wishing to postpone their military service, compulsory in Israel, in order to strengthen themselves mentally and physically. The hikers were taking a break in the middle of the Nahal Tzafit Gorge when they were taken surprise by the rains, Israeli media reported. Flash floods can turn the picturesque gorge into an instant death trap, they said. Some speculated that organisers may have ignored weather warnings. Israeli media on Friday morning broadcast photos of the ten killed, nine girls and a boy, most of whose funerals are expected during the day. The arid Arabah desert is prone to flash floods. In Whatsapp communications before the hike, one of the teens warned conditions were dangerous. "I cannot believe I'm going on a trip in such weather," said the teen, who later died. "It doesn't make sense for us to go to a place where everything is flooding. It's tempting fate -- we're going to die." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted his condolences to the families on his Facebook page. Separately police in the area were searching for the missing driver of a truck that was caught in the floods after a road accident. On Wednesday a Bedouin teenager died in southern Israel, while east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl was found dead after being swept away. Hanoi (AFP) - When Tycoria Johnson told her family she was going to Vietnam to help recover the remains of an American killed there during the war, her mother was proud -- but anxious. Seventeen years earlier, Johnson's father died in a helicopter crash on a similar mission to find some of the 1,600 US servicemen and women killed in the Vietnam War whose bodies have still not been located. "The last time (my mother) had a family member here, he didn't come back, so she was kind of nervous," said 26-year-old Johnson, a radio frequency transmission systems technician stationed in Japan with the US Air Force. In an unlikely twist of fate, Johnson was assigned to help recover the remains of a Marine pilot whose plane crashed during a night mission in central Quang Ngai province in 1966. She spent weeks scouring the forest for bone shards or tooth fragments, learning a few words of Vietnamese, the same work her father, US Army Sergeant First Class Tommy Murphy, did before he died in 2001. He was among seven Americans and nine Vietnamese killed when their helicopter slammed into the side of a mountain in bad weather. Johnson said her trip was a chance for closure. "I feel like he didn't complete it, so I wanted to do that for him, to say that he finished the mission," Johnson told AFP, sitting near a framed photo of her father working on a dig site in Vietnam. Johnson was on the mission with the US agency in charge of recovering American remains around the world, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). It has been working in Vietnam for more than 30 years, before the former war foes established diplomatic ties in 1995. The agency was born out of a war-era effort by the wives of American POWs in Vietnam who demanded US leaders do more to get their imprisoned husbands home, many of whom were held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison in the capital of the Communist North. Now it focuses on returning bodies and has repatriated more than 1,000 American remains from the Vietnam War since 1973, including fallen soldiers found in neighbouring Laos, Cambodia and China, according to DPAA figures. Story continues Of the more than 1,600 still unaccounted for, about 1,200 are in Vietnam. That includes the pilot whose remains Johnson was looking for, though her team never found him. Instead she capped her mission at a stoic repatriation ceremony in Danang for three other soldiers whose remains found in Vietnam were placed in a box wrapped with an American flag to be shipped to the US state of Delaware for DNA testing. - Race against time - DPAA works around the world to recover US war missing. Those unaccounted for include 72,000 from World War II and 7,700 from the Korean War. A further 126 are listed as unaccounted for from the Cold War -- many of them aircrew who went missing during reconnaissance flights over or near former Soviet bloc countries. Its reach is broad: the agency has brought home remains from Papua New Guinea to China, Pearl Harbor and the former Soviet Union, and has even identified remains of soldiers handed over by North Korea decades ago. All the sites share a similar challenge, and Vietnam is no exception. "Time is our biggest enemy," DPAA director Kelly McKeague told AFP in Hanoi. "Because witnesses are ageing and dying it's important for us to accelerate the pace and scope." Many bodies are in remote jungle terrain or on land that is due to be paved over for shopping malls or apartment complexes in the fast-developing country. Plus, the acidic soil that eats away at bone erodes evidence for search teams to recover. McKeague said it's impossible to estimate how long it will take to bring back the remaining soldiers from the region, with only the "hard cases" remaining. Hundreds more are deemed non-recoverable. The number of unaccounted-for Americans pales compared to the estimated 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers still not found, as official efforts to recover them has dragged amid funding shortfalls and limited DNA testing. "We need support from the international community, including the American side," Le Thanh Tung, director of the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons, which works with DPAA to help recover American remains. "Cooperating with the US to search for American MIA remains in Vietnam is a way to mobilise US support to find Vietnamese martyrs," he told AFP. In the absence of a coordinated national effort to find the bodies of Vietnamese fighters, some families turn to psychics to lead them to suspected death sites, or dig so-called empty graves so they have a place to worship the dead. Johnson knows well the importance of having remains returned. Since her own father was repatriated and buried in Virginia, her family visits his grave a few times a year to lay flowers and give him updates on their lives. Sitting in the DPAA office in Hanoi, next to a war-era Budweiser beer can, aftershave bottle and machine guns unearthed from past digs, Johnson described the feeling of helping American families whose relatives have been missing for decades. "To know that we can help others feel complete, that's what makes this an amazing mission for me." By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts' top federal prosecutor defended a decision by immigration authorities to arrest a Chinese citizen at a courthouse this week after she was sentenced to probation, a move that outraged the judge overseeing her case. The judge had expressed concern that the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at court proceedings could scare off potential witnesses who faced immigration issues. Immigrant advocates have raised similar worries about courthouse arrests under Republican President Donald Trump, whose administration is taking a hard line in restricting immigration. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling in a statement late Thursday said the ICE agents who took Xinyan Wang, 27, into custody outside Boston's federal courthouse were "doing their jobs: enforcing federal law." "Their efforts to protect the public should be applauded, not criticized," said Lelling, a Trump appointee. The arrest occurred after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Wednesday sentenced Wang to 12 months of probation for using a fake Chinese passport to take a graduate school entrance exam for another Chinese national. "I see no reason for places of redress and justice to become places that people are afraid to show up," Talwani said. Michael Shea, the acting special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, expressed gratitude for Lelling's support. Shea said his agency's mission "may under certain circumstances require enforcement actions to be carried out in courthouse surroundings." In January, Wang pleaded guilty to charges she used a counterfeit Chinese passport and a bogus visa to pose as someone else to take a Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, in October. Wang was paid to take the GRE or the TOEFL, the English-language exam used to assess foreign applicants, five other times under assumed names, according to court papers. Story continues Wang was previously a graduate student at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, but after her adviser's laboratory's funding ran out, she enrolled in a community college to keep her student visa, according to her lawyer, Syrie Fried. She has said that Wang is now seeking asylum as she fears reprisal from the people who made the documents she used. Fried on Friday said Lelling's statement missed the point of Talwani's concern, namely that courthouse immigration arrests expose the court to people questioning its neutrality. "Instead the court becomes vulnerable to being perceived as assisting law enforcement in making arrests, because people generally come to the court only when they are under a legal compulsion to do so," Fried said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool) London (United Kingdom) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump will make a long-awaited visit to Britain on July 13, Downing Street announced on Thursday, his first since taking power in January last year. The visit had been repeatedly delayed amid a series of diplomatic spats and fears that it could be overshadowed by mass protests. "The President of the United States will visit the UK on 13 July," Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said in a statement, adding Trump would hold bilateral talks with the British leader. May controversially offered Trump a state visit -- which would involve meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace -- when she was the first foreign leader to visit him after entering the White House. The invitation provoked uproar in Britain, where the US president's "America First" agenda, including a proposed ban on immigration from a number of Muslim-majority countries, is unpopular. British lawmakers called on May to withdraw the offer, while protesters promised to turn out in record numbers. The July trip is set to be a working visit, with the US president expected at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, on July 11 and 12. Meanwhile the offer of a ceremonial state visit remains on the table, according to a Whitehall source. May has faced repeated calls to withdraw the state visit offer following diplomatic fallouts with the American leader, who has already visited several other European capitals. Relations turned particularly testy last November after Trump shared three inflammatory anti-Muslim videos posted by far-right group Britain First. The retweeting caused consternation in Britain and further calls to scrap any visit. When May condemned Trump for sharing the messages, he tweeted at her "don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom." Trump later made a rare apology, saying he did not know the group's background before sharing. Story continues The US leader was expected in the British capital for the opening of the new American embassy on the banks of the River Thames in a former industrial area that is being regenerated. But Trump again caused potential offence when he disparaged the neighbourhood and announced that he would not be coming to London. He cited the reason for the no-show as the decision to sell America's old embassy in Mayfair for "peanuts" and the new $1.2 billion site as in "an off location" for 1.2 billion dollars. "Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!" he tweeted. President Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday for a visit of less than three hours. He greeted Merkel outside the West Wing with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek, a traditional welcome but far short of the bountiful display of personal warmth that was seen earlier in the week when he played host to French President Emmanuel Macron for a lavish three-day state visit. Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump said Friday he may travel to Israel next month to open the new US embassy in Jerusalem after ordering the move in the face of widespread Palestinian anger. The Trump administration's announcement in February that it would shift the American embassy from Tel Aviv deepened anger across the Arab world, particularly among Palestinians who see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Trump had already broken with decades of US policy in December to announce Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, drawing near-global condemnation and sparking days of unrest in the Palestinian territories. Speaking in the White House, Trump said he had no regrets about the decision as he described nixing a $1 billion, 10-year plan to construct a brand new embassy in favor of a $300,000 to $400,000 makeover of part of an existing US consulate. "I may go. I'm very proud of it," Trump told reporters. "It is going to be beautiful. And it will be somewhat temporary, but it could be for many years," he said at a joint press conference with German leader Angela Merkel. While Israel regards Jerusalem as its "undisputed and undivided" capital, Palestinians say its status should only form part of a final peace agreement and the embassy move will wreck a two-state solution to the decades-old Middle East conflict. Palestinians also particularly object to the decision to open the embassy to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 -- a date that they call the Naqba, or "day of catastrophe." Until now, the US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv with a separate consulate general located in Jerusalem that represents US interests in the Palestinian territories. While previous US presidents had run for election promising to move the embassy to Jerusalem, none ever pursued the relocation once in office. Story continues While Trump's critics have warned that the embassy move will undermine Washington's ability to act as a mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians in negotiating any final peace agreement, Trump has brushed such talk aside. "The embassy in Jerusalem has been promised for many, many years by presidents," Trump said in Friday's press conference. "They all made campaign promises and they never had the courage to carry it out. I carried it out." - 'Never got to Trump' - While the United States will eventually move into a purpose-built embassy, its diplomats will initially operate out of the consulate in Jerusalem which is currently being upgraded. Trump said he had almost signed off on a proposal to build a new $1 billion embassy but baulked when he considered the cost. "The papers were put before me to sign an application for more than $1 billion to build an embassy," said Trump. "I had my name half signed, then I noticed the figure and I didn't. I never got to the word 'Trump'. I had 'Donald' signed but I never got to the word 'Trump'." The president said he then called the US ambassador in Israel, David Friedman, who said the cost of updating the consulate would only be $150,000. "He said I can build it for $150,000 -- the embassy. We have a building, we have the site. We already own the site, we own the building. "I can take a corner of the building and for $150,000, we can fix it up, make it beautiful, open our embassy. Instead of in 10 years from now we can open it up in three months. "And that's what we did. But I said, 'David, let's not go from $1 billion to $150,000. Let's go to $300,000, $400,000.' That's what we did. We will take a piece of the building. It is going to be beautiful. And it will be somewhat temporary but it could be for many years. "That's the way government works. They were going to spend $1 billion and we're going to spend much less than $500,000." While the embassy move has infuriated the Palestinians, it delighted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has said Trump will be forever regarded as a hero in the Jewish state's history books. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. President Donald Trump has a bright idea to get rid of the Electoral College, the body that effectively won him the 2016 election. Trump said he'd rather see the popular vote decide presidential elections since he believes it's "much easier to win," apparently forgetting that he lost the popular vote to opponent Hillary Clinton by some 2.9 million votes. Remember, we won the election," Trump said in an interview on Thursday with Fox & Friends. "And we won it easily. You know, a lot of people say Oh, it was close. And by the way, they also like to always talk about Electoral College. Well, its an election based on the Electoral College. I would rather have a popular election, but its a totally different campaign. Trending: Can A Federal Jobs Guarantee Help Democrats Defeat Trump in 2020? The Electoral College is different," he continued. "I would rather have the popular vote because it's, to me, it's much easier to win the popular vote." It's not the first time Trump has insisted that he would have simply run a different campaign if the election were based solely on the will of voters. In the immediate aftermath of the 2016 vote, Trump argued that he could have sailed to victory just as easily by targeting more populous states. "If the election were based on total popular vote I would have campaigned in N.Y., Florida and California and won even bigger and more easily," Trump tweeted at the time. "The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!" Don't miss: Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Interrogated by Masked Police with Machine Guns 1 Year after Ban Weeks later, he tweeted that he would have won the 2016 popular vote even if "you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." Trump was referring to a repeated and wholly unsubstantiated claim he has made that three to five million people voted illegally in the last election. Story continues In January, just after his inauguration, Trump told congressional leaders he wanted to abolish the Electoral College but was reportedly deterred by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who warned the president of the potential headache of conducting a national recount. There have been at least 700 attempts to reform or abolish the Electoral College system since its inception, albeit perhaps for reasons different from the president's. Most popular: Caylee Anthony: 10 Years After Disappearance, Investigators Still Seek Answers Calls to overthrow the systemwhich grants a group of electors chosen by each party the ability to decide presidential outcomeshave grown loudest in the wake of elections where the candidate who wins the popular vote fails to clinch the presidency, like in the 2000 George W. Bush-Al Gore election, or 2016's presidential contest. GettyImages-578546876 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images After Trump's victory, California Senator Barbara Boxer proposed legislation to get rid of the system. "This is the only office in the land where you can get more votes and still lose the presidency," Boxer said in a statement at the time. "The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately." Trump, apparently, agrees. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's usually divided opposition parties are trying to unite to maximise their chances of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after his surprise decision to hold early elections. Erdogan last week rocked the world of Turkish politics when he said there would be parliamentary and presidential polls on June 24, 2018, more than a year before the expected date of November 3, 2019. For the opposition, which was initially stumped by the announcement, these elections are a last chance to stop what they describe as Erdogan's authoritarianism. Following an intense referendum campaign in April 2017, Turks approved by a narrow margin changing Turkey's parliamentary system into an executive presidency giving the head of state expanded powers. The government insists the changes will ensure political stability, but opponents say it will lead to one-man rule. Less than a week after the early polls announcement, opposition parties began intense talks to figure out a strategy to stop Erdogan. In a surprise move of solidarity, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) helped the newest right-wing Iyi ("Good") Party at the weekend, boosting its numbers to form a parliamentary group and thereby allowed to run in the polls. "What we have done is a contribution to democracy, not just the Good Party," CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu said after the two parties' met again on Wednesday. With the opposition targeting Erdogan, rumours are rife over who could run against him. There has been fevered speculation that former president and co-founder of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Abdullah Gul might become a unity candidate -- though he has made no public comment on the rumours. - 'Only right-wing challenge' - Already in the presidential race is former interior minister and nationalist Meral Aksener who leads the Good Party. "Aksener is the only right-wing challenge to Erdogan... She has the ability to take a lot of his voters away," Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said. Story continues "She's a nationalist, she's a conservative, a practising Muslim," Cagaptay said. According to Berk Esen, assistant professor at the department of international relations at Bilkent University in Ankara, Aksener has begun to appeal to traditional Kurdish groups as well as nationalist CHP voters. But Cagaptay added that her biggest challenge would be trying to convince Kurdish nationalists that she can be their president as well. Aksener has held two meetings with CHP chief Kilicdaroglu as well as with the conservative Saadet "Felicity" Party leader Temel Karamollaoglu. Erdogan on Tuesday dismissed the opposition talks as an attempt to form "an anti-Erdogan alliance with behind-the-scenes bargaining". - 'Well-founded' Gul rumours - Esen said Gul rumours were "well-founded" as the Saadet Party has been "pushing" for his candidacy, adding that there was also some support from the CHP leadership. However, CHP officials have privately speculated about how popular Gul would be among their supporters because of his unwavering support for Erdogan in previous years. "Both the leftist and nationalist factions of the CHP are heavily opposed to Gul," Esen said, adding: "As for my personal view, I do not think that Gul can energise the opposition voters given his complacent attitude while he was president." Some prominent CHP members have clearly come out against Gul. "Enough... We're sick to death of this. The whole purpose is to create a debate inside the party and lower our morale. There has been no Gul on CHP's agenda, now there isn't and there won't be," CHP parliamentary group chairman Ozgur Ozel said on Wednesday. There is also scepticism over whether Gul will run since he has never before dared to challenge Erdogan. - Kurds left out - While the Gul rumours persist, one party appears to have been left out of opposition talks: the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). When Erdogan was first elected as president in August 2014, then HDP co-chief Selahattin Demirtas ran against him winning nearly 10 percent of the vote. But in November 2016, the charismatic Demirtas was imprisoned over alleged links to Kurdish militants, which he denies. The HDP says his detention is due to his strong opposition to the new system. Despite the difficulties, co-chair Sezai Temelli told the Hurriyet daily this week that Demirtas was among its potential candidates. Meanwhile opposition parties continue their talks, and Cagaptay cautioned that there was still time left for a lot to change. "Two months in Turkey is two centuries in any other political system," he added. Bamako (AFP) - Twelve tuareg, including children and elderly people, were killed in clashes on the Mali border with Niger, sources said Friday, a day after the incident. Unrest between jihadists and two Tuareg-led armed groups is common in the region. Sixteen gunmen appeared on motorbikes outside the town of Anderamboukane and "opened fire on civilians" Thursday, according to statements from the Tuareg groups, the pro-government Gatia and MSA. "Among the victims are young children and elderly people," they added. A Mali official source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the death toll to AFP. An MSA patrol gave chase to the assailants, saying it had placed four "out of harm's way" while losing a fighter of their own in capturing equipment and motorbikes from the attackers. Sources from the UN's MINUSMA peacekeeping operation said on April 12 they had received "very serious" information that "summary executions of at least 95 people" had occurred during anti-jihadist operations in the northeastern Menaka region carried out by "a coalition of armed groups" including Gatia and MSA. Both groups denied a claim they dubbed "scandalous and outrageous." France intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help government forces drive al Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the north. But large tracts of the country remain lawless despite a peace accord signed with ethnic Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday sparred over the role of social media platforms Facebook, Google and Twitter in filtering content after representatives of the tech companies skipped a hearing. Republicans repeatedly suggested at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Facebook Inc , Alphabet Inc's Google and Twitter Inc are censoring or blocking content from conservatives, a charge the companies denied. Lawmakers from both parties agreed tech companies must remove illegal content like fraud, piracy and sex trafficking but differed on whether they should remove objectionable content. Representative Robert Goodlatte, a Republican who chairs the committee, said he was "extremely disappointed" the companies did not testify. Goodlatte said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution "offers no clear protections for users when Facebook, Google, or Twitter limits their content in any way." Alphabet did not respond to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment, while Facebook said it would keep talking to Congress about "Facebooks strong commitment to being a platform for all voices and ideas." Goodlatte said "while these companies may have legal, economic, and ideological reasons to manage their content like a traditional media outlet, we must nevertheless weigh as a nation whether the standards they apply endanger our free and open society and its culture of freedom of expression." Representative Jerrold Nadler, top Democrat on the committee, said "the notion that social media companies are filtering out conservative voices is a hoax, a tired narrative of imagined victimhood." Nadler added "conservative commentary, including conspiracy theories of a conservative bent, regularly rank among the most far-reaching posts on Facebook and elsewhere." The hearing featured a pair of pro-Donald Trump sisters known as "Diamond and Silk." Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, testified about Twitter's decision to block her from advertising a campaign video the company called "inflammatory." Twitter reversed the decision. "We need to recognize that the global reach of these companies creates overwhelming pressure against free speech, and we need to do a much better job counteracting that pressure," Blackburn said. Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat, said the U.S. government should not follow authoritarian practices. "What makes America great is we get to say stuff and not have the government intervene," Lieu said. "This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing." Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, said "concerns about Facebooks potential slant are best addressed through other measures, starting with transparency and user empowerment. Ultimately, the best check on Facebooks power today is the threat of a new Facebook disrupting the companys dominance." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio) GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel must stop the excessive use of force by its security forces along the Gaza border and must hold to account those responsible for the many deaths and injuries sustained by Palestinians in the past month, the U.N. human rights chief said on Friday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement that in the past four weeks, 42 Palestinians had been killed and more than 5,500 wounded along the fence in Gaza, with no reports of Israeli casualties. "The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators not once, not twice, but repeatedly," Zeid said. Israel's Foreign Ministry said it did had no immediate comment on Zeid's statement. The government has said previously that it is doing what is necessary to stop the border fence being breached. International law permits the use of lethal force in cases of "extreme necessity", but it was hard to see how stones or Molotov cocktails thrown from a great distance at heavily protected security forces could constitute such a threat, Zeid said. The death toll includes 35 people killed during demonstrations as part of the "Great March of Return" - evoking a longtime call for refugees to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel -- and appear to have been unarmed and no imminent threat to Israeli security forces, the statement said. The deaths could constitute wilful killings in the context of an occupation, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Zeid said. Four children were shot dead by Israeli forces, three of them killed by a bullet to the head or neck, he said. Another 233 children were injured by live ammunition, some sustaining injuries causing lifelong disabilities including amputations. "It is difficult to see how children, even those throwing stones, can present a threat of imminent death or serious injury to heavily protected security force personnel," Zeid said. United Nations's warnings about excessive use of force appeared to have gone unheeded, with no change in Israeli tactics, and Israel only seemed to carry out serious investigations when there was independent video evidence, he said. Otherwise there was little or no effort to apply the rule of law. Zeid said he was extremely concerned that by the end of the day, and forthcoming Fridays, the traditional day of protest, more Palestinians would be killed, simply because they approached a fence while exercising their right to protest. "These trends call into question to what extent the ISFs rules of engagement, which are not public, are in line with international law, or at least to what degree the ISF abides by its own rules." (Reporting by Tom Miles, additional reporting by Stephane Farrell in Jerusalem, Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan) Defense Secretary James Mattis told senators on Thursday that the U.S. military is not preparing to withdraw from Syria and that the presence of American troops is vital for continued anti-ISIS operations. Speaking in front of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, Mattis seemed to contradict President Donald Trumps suggestions that American forces would soon withdraw from Syria, warning that the U.S. would regret abandoning the country too soon, the Washington Post reported. While hosting French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, Trump suggested U.S. troops would be coming home relatively soon. However, Mattis said Thursday that the U.S.-led coalition is engaged in an ongoing fight, and assured senators were going to expand it with more regional support. Trending: Student Snapchats Photo of Classmate with Racist Slur, Confederate Flag During Anti-Bullying Assembly Read More...Watch: ISIS 'Blooper Reel' Shows Fighters Falling Over and Failing at Martial Arts There are currently around 2,000 American soldiers in Syria acting as advisers to local forces and conducting special operations missions. Mattis said that even after ISIS is entirely destroyed the U.S. must be careful about full withdrawal. Im confident that we would probably regret it, Mattis explained, after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina compared the current situation to the American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011a decision that contributed to the rise of ISIS. James Mattis REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Don't miss: Attack on Titan Season 3 Premieres in July on Funimation, Trailer Released Mattis said U.S. forces are vital for training local Kurdish-led forces. Without American guidance, he said, ISIS or another group like it could re-emerge. Story continues The former Marine Corps general acknowledged the lull in operations against ISIS over the past few months. The lack of activity is mostly down to the Turkish assault on Kurdish positions in the northwest of Syria, requiring the redeployment of troops away from the ISIS frontlines. In the days ahead, you'll see a re-energized effort on remaining ISIS positions, Mattis said, including increased operations on the Iraq side of the border. Additional French special forces have been sent to join anti-ISIS forces, and Mattis said he hopes Americas Middle East allies will soon provide greater support. Most popular: Queen Elizabeth to Give Behind-the-Scenes Look at Royal Family Residences US army syria REUTERS/Rodi Said Around 1,000 ISIS fighters remain, confined to the Middle Euphrates River Valley along the Syria-Iraq border. On Tuesday, U.S. Army Colonel and Coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon told reporters that most of those are confined to two small townsHajin and Dashishawhich are surrounded by Kurdish forces. The area represents around two percent of the groups former so-called caliphate. Dillon refused to be drawn by questions on the effect of the Turkish offensive, but did say that Kurdish fighters are returning to the fight against ISIS. On April 17, Dillon told reporters that American forces were observing an ISIS resurgence on the western side of the Euphrates river in regime-controlled territory. He said ISIS fighters had successfully launched attacks on Russian-backed Syrian regime troops and retaken ground. Dillon said this trend was not being reflected in Kurdish-controlled areas. I was talking primarily areas that have been liberated by the pro-regime forces, backed by their Russian counterparts, he explained. There has been absolutely zero land that has been reclaimed by ISIS on the east side of the Euphrates River, he said, despite attempted ISIS assaults. The colonel also told reporters that the U.S.-led coalition was increasing the rate of airstrikes on ISIS targets across the region, and particularly in Syria This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Lesley Wroughton and Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Barely 12 hours after being sworn in as U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo went straight to NATO headquarters on Friday in what European allies saw as strong support for an institution that U.S. President Donald Trump once called obsolete. In a day of closed-door meetings with NATO foreign ministers, Pompeo appeared to charm European allies with tough talk on Russia and a more sure-footed approach than his predecessor Rex Tillerson, but he still carried Trump's familiar demand for higher defense spending. He also made no promises about whether his boss would stick to a 2015 accord to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, warning instead that Trump was still likely to pull out without major changes to a deal that Europeans insist cannot be reopened. "There's been no decision, so the team is working and I am sure we will have lots of conversations to deliver what the president has made clear," Pompeo told a news conference in which he said he discussed the Iran deal with counterparts. "Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the flaws of the deal, he is unlikely to stay in that deal," Pompeo said. Pompeo, who once suggested the answer to Tehran's nuclear program was 2,000 bombing sorties, said he expected to discuss the issue during the rest of his trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan. "MEET THE GOALS" In Brussels, Pompeo pressed allies to meet a NATO target of spending 2 percent of economic output, as well as 20 percent of that on military equipment, saying it would be a central part of an alliance summit on July 11-12 that Trump is set to attend. At a NATO summit in Wales in 2014, months after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, allies agreed to end years of defense cuts that left Europeans without vital capabilities, such as refueling airborne fighter bombers. But Trump has gone further, scolding European leaders in Brussels last year at NATO that certain allies owed "massive amounts of money" to the United States and NATO even though allied contributions are voluntary, with multiple budgets. Story continues NATO Europe's spending is rising again and Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been increasing its defense budget, which will see its spending quota rise to 1.3 percent next year. Asked if Germany was doing enough to reach the NATO 2 percent spending target, Pompeo said: "No ... (Germany) should meet the goals that they agreed to ... that's the expectation, not only for Germany but for everyone." "We're hopeful that at the NATO summit that every NATO partner will deliver a credible plan to achieve that goal." CONSENSUS ON RUSSIA Still, Pompeo was quick to praise NATO as "invaluable" just minutes after getting off his plane, in his first meeting of the day, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a sharp contrast to Trump's earlier rebuke of the alliance. "There's no more fitting destination for my first foreign trip," Pompeo later told reporters. Despite European confusion about Trump's foreign policy and his "America First" rhetoric, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said it was "impressive to come here one night after being inaugurated. It's an impressive start." Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a loyal supporter of Trump with hawkish views. But on Russia those views are largely shared by European allies because of Moscow's seizure of Crimea. NATO allies believe the alliance needs to respond to what the West says is the Kremlin's mix of not just the conventional military threat but covert and cyber warfare. The NATO foreign ministers meeting follows the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian agent in Britain, and Western air strikes against Russia-allied Syria, which the United States accused of a chemical attack in Douma on April 7. "When I was a young soldier, it was T72 tanks and T60 tanks rolling across the then East German plain. Today, it's different," he said, recalling the Cold War. "There were a lot of ideas, an enormous consensus of the risk those hybrid it poses to the West," he said of the NATO meeting. "There is a real commitment to work together to mitigate those risks and deter them," he said. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Robin Emmott; Editing by Toby Chopra, William Maclean) LONDON (Reuters) - Police said they were investigating whether an incident outside a mosque in Birmingham on Friday in which two men in their 20s were hit by a car was terrorism-related. One of the men was described as having a head injury, and the other as walking wounded, West Midlands Police said in a statement. The car failed to stop after the incident. "At this time we have not ruled in or out the potential that this could be terror-related but were keeping an open mind until we have investigated further," said Detective Inspector Greg Evans. "The investigation is at an early stage and were still trying to establish exactly what has happened," he added. The incident happened in the Aston area of the city on Friday afternoon. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by William James) United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Friday backed a US-drafted resolution that urges Morocco and the Polisario Front to prepare for talks on settling the decades-old conflict over Western Sahara. The council renewed for six months the mandate of a UN mission that has been monitoring a ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991 and spelled out steps for a return to negotiations. China, Russia and Ethiopia abstained, but the measure passed with support from all 12 other countries in the council. "The expectation is clear," US political coordinator Amy Tachco told the council after the vote. "It is time to see progress toward a political solution and after 27 years, to stop perpetuating the status quo." Morocco and the Polisario fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, but diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of UN-sponsored talks in 2008. The adoption followed a week of contentious negotiations during which Russia and Ethiopia complained that the proposed measure appeared to favor Morocco's stance. Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council that the resolution was "unbalanced," adding: "let's not decide in the place of the sides what the outcome will be" of a new round of talks. Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara and rejects the Polisario's insistence on an independence referendum. Tachco told the council that Morocco's autonomy proposal is "one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara to run their own affairs with peace and dignity." - Need for compromise - While the resolution does not set a timetable for relaunching talks, it stresses "the need to make progress toward a realistic, practicable and enduring political solution to the question of Western Sahara based on compromise." Story continues In a statement, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said that goal "identifies with the political solution advocated by Morocco." The MINURSO mission was extended until October instead of a full year, giving the council an opportunity to review the situation in six months and decide on next steps. "This is a turning point," said the Polisario's MINURSO coordinator Mhamed Khadad, who pointed to the six-month extension as a window given by the council for progress to be achieved. "We are ready to engage." The resolution renews a call for the Polisario to withdraw from Guerguerat, an area in a buffer zone in the southwest near the Mauritanian border, and to refrain from relocating offices to Bir Lahlou, in the northwest. Morocco's Ambassador Omar Hilale warned that if the Polisario "will not withdraw, there will be no political process." In a bid to quell tensions in the buffer zone, the council requested that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres step in to "interview the parties" to discuss the military agreements underpinning the ceasefire. Guterres last year appointed former German president and ex-International Monetary Fund director Horst Koehler to be his new envoy for Western Sahara with a mandate to restart negotiations. Koehler is expected to embark on a new regional tour soon to press for negotiations, which some diplomats say could happen later this year. In a message to Algeria, which has refused to engage in direct talks with Morocco over Western Sahara, the resolution called on the neighboring states to "increase their engagement in the negotiating process" -- an element praised by Morocco. "It is Algeria that arms and shelters the Polisario, it is Algeria that finances it, it is Algeria that oversees it and mobilizes all its diplomatic apparatus to counter the territorial integrity of the kingdom (of Morocco)," Bourita said. Morocco has long insisted that Algeria come to the table, but Algiers sees this as a ploy to sideline the Polisario and present the conflict as a regional one. In response to renewal of the MINURSO mandate, Algeria said it hoped this would encourage Morocco and the Polisario to resume talks "as soon as possible and without delay." The resolution "reaffirms once more... that there is no solution to this conflict except that which ensures the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination," foreign ministry spokesman Abdelaziz Benali Cherif said, according to the state news agency APS. The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario in 1976, is a full member of the African Union. The mostly desert territory has rich fishing grounds off its coast and may have untapped offshore oil deposits. Geneva (AFP) - UNAIDS has reopened a sexual assault investigation into a top official after a heavily criticised earlier probe cleared him of wrongdoing, a letter seen by AFP on Friday showed. Former UNAIDS deputy executive director Luiz Loures has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by Martina Brostrom, who is also an employee of the Geneva-based agency. The original investigation into the alleged 2015 assault, conducted by the World Health Organization's Office of Internal Oversight Services, exonerated Loures. The finding was condemned by legal experts and activists, including the campaign group Code Blue, which has brought public attention to the Loures case. A letter written by UNAIDS deputy executive director Joel Rehnstrom and sent to AFP by Code Blue said UNAIDS had decided to "suspend" the January finding clearing Loures. "I have been made aware of the views of the (UN) Secretary General (Antonio Guterres) that it would be in the interest of the organisation to re-open the investigation in light of additional allegations reported against Dr. Loures," the letter said. In recent weeks another former senior UNAIDS official, Malayah Harper, has also publicly accused Loures of sexual assault. Other women have anonymously made allegations against Loures to multiple media outlets. The UNAIDS letter said that the new probe will be conducted by a different body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services at UN headquarters in New York. Rehnstrom said that no one at UNAIDS "will be involved in making decisions in this case," in an apparent attempt to address a main criticism of the first inquiry. Campaigners said that the odds were stacked against Brostrom in the first probe, questioning whether an internal UNAIDS probe could credibly judge allegations against one the agency's longest-serving and most powerful executives. UNAIDS said the new probe will be judged by the head of the World Health Organization, whose body holds administrative oversight over UNAIDS. Story continues The Loures case has sparked a broader crisis at UNAIDS and put pressure on the overall head of the agency, Michel Sidibe. Sidibe has been accused of sheltering multiple men accused of serious wrongdoing. UNAIDS announced in February that Loures would leave the agency at the end of March. But UNAIDS spokeswoman Sophie Barton-Knott told AFP this week that Loures's term will in fact expire on Monday and that the prolongation occurred for "administrative reasons" linked to Loures's retirement age. Brussels (AFP) - New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took aim at Germany over its defence spending Friday, using his first NATO meeting to push President Donald Trump's call for allies to shoulder a bigger burden. As a meeting of alliance foreign ministers put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression", Pompeo hammered home one of Trump's oldest themes -- demanding that NATO members pay their way. Some allies, including Europe's economic powerhouse Germany, have been reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend two percent of GDP on defence by 2024. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and former CIA boss Pompeo carried a tough message to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked if Germany was doing enough to meet the target, Pompeo said bluntly: "No. They should meet the goals that they agreed to." "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfil their obligations on defence spending," Pompeo told reporters after the meeting. Pompeo's comments came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heading to the White House for talks with Trump. "NATO is wonderful, but it helps Europe more than it helps us," Trump said ahead of his meeting with the German leader. - 'Fulfilling our obligations' - His stark language contrasted with what Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said was a more diplomatic approach in the meeting itself. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As he arrived for the talks Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. Story continues He said Merkel's coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO." Away from the harsh words on funding there was agreement among foreign ministers on the need to find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Pompeo sought to ease lingering concerns about Trump's commitment to NATO, saying the alliance was "more indispensible than ever" due to Russia's "unacceptable" actions, from Georgia to Ukraine to political meddling. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. - 'Russian aggression' - Ministers discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATO's full summit on July 11 and 12. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. "We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one," Stoltenberg said. "When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever," he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Ministers also debated plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. Just hours after former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State, the White House released photographs of his visit to North Korea to meet Kim Jong Un. Pompeos visit to North Korea, which was first reported by the Washington Post and subsequently confirmed by President Donald Trump on Twitter, took place over Easter weekend before he had even begun his confirmation hearings for Secretary of State. Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping [POTUS] lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. (photos from previously confirmed Easter weekend trip), White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter Thursday. Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. (photos from previously confirmed Easter weekend trip) pic.twitter.com/o4RNDKVmah Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) April 26, 2018 The Post reported that Pompeo visited North Korea to lay the groundwork for a summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un. Should the meeting happen, Trump will be the first sitting American President to meet with the North Korean leader. The Senate confirmed Pompeo Wednesday as Secretary of State, but he almost did not make it out of the chambers foreign relations committee, where Pompeo was saved by a last minute change of heart from Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who decided to support his nomination. Trump nominated Pompeo last month after ousting his predecessor, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Trump had nominated Pompeo to serve as Director of the CIA after the Presidential election when he was still a congressman from Kansas. But, as TIMEs Charlie Campbell noted after the announcement of Pompeos nomination, his hawkish views are not necessarily aligned with advocating for diplomacy with North Korea. He has said a regime change in the country would be positive, and did not rule preemptive military action. Scott Pruitt faces a long list of questions about his behavior as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from reports that he lived in a condo tied to a lobbyist with business before the EPA to his luxury travel expenses. But you wouldnt know it listening to House Republicans question him during two appearances on Capitol Hill Thursday. With few exceptions, Republicans rallied behind the embattled cabinet official, praising Pruitt and pushing him to continue his deregulatory agenda. The greatest sin youve committed, if any, is youve actually done what President Trump ran on, won on and what hes commissioned you to do, said Rep. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who advised President Trump on energy issues during the campaign. Pruitts job remains in jeopardy. But the positive reception underscores his enduring popularity among conservative Republicansand helps explain why Pruitt may still hang on to his position, despite weeks of negative headlines that would have ended the tenure of most other high-profile administration officials. President Donald Trump recognizes that Pruitt maintains strong support from the conservative base. Chief of Staff John Kelly has long sought to oust Pruitt, administration officials say, but has not been able to convince the President that it is in his interest to do so. When pressed to fire Pruitt, Trump has replied that his base loves Scott Pruitt and considers the former Oklahoma attorney general a star, according to a senior White House official. To Trump, Pruitts actions at the EPA are among the reasons why Republicans are sticking with the President. Many supporters in deep red states have a particular distaste for EPA regulations like the Waters of the U.S. rule, which gives the federal government significant authority over many small bodies of water across the country. The Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era rule that sought to push states away from coal-fired power plants, has also drawn the ire of Trump supporters in coal-producing states like West Virginia and Wyoming. These issues, distant in the minds of many American city dwellers, are top-tier concerns in much of rural America. And Pruitt has launched an all-out effort to overturn those rules. Story continues Hes following through more than any member of the administration, says Tim Huelskamp, a former GOP representative from Kansas and the president of the conservative Heartland Institute. Pruitts double header before two House subcommittees Thursday was not without fireworks. Democrats offered blistering condemnation; Rep. Tony Cardenas of California said Pruitts behavior was an embarrassment, while Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland described Pruitt as a poster child for the abuse of public trust in the Trump administration. Rep. Anna Eshoo of California asked simply: Do you have any remorse? Many of the Democrats critiques went unanswered, while Pruitt deflected others with drab talking points. But at one point lawmakers caught Pruitt contradicting a claim he made in a Fox News interview earlier this month that he was not aware of significant pay raises offered to two of his staffers. On Thursday, Pruitt said he had been informed about the raisesjust not their size or that his staff had gone around the White House to offer them. With reporting by Philip Elliott/Washington Fridays inter-Korean summit is renewing hope that North and South Korea could enter a new era of engagement. But one group of South Koreans has historically been uncomfortable with the thought of getting cozier with the North: Conservative Christians. To make sense of that, understanding the peninsulas recent history is crucial. The three-way conversation between the South, North and the U.S. might finally be heading toward peace and renewal, but its also informed by a complicated post-war legacyone of military might, economic transformation and religious fervor, which has influenced how more conservative South Korean presidents have approached the North in the past. For decades after the Korean War, which ended in 1953, Christian missionaries from the U.S. put down roots across the South. As Korean Christians began to prosper, they formed a powerful and politically-conservative cohort that is closely allied with the U.S. and staunchly opposed a renewed relationship with the North. While this conservative political bloc would typically have been opposed to an Inter-Korean summit, U.S. President Donald Trumps sudden support for engagement complicates those feelings. As long as the U.S. is supporting this diplomatic outreach, a lot of the people on the right cant come out and oppose it openly. The one entity they trust in all of this is the U.S. government, says Peter Ward, a Seoul-based columnist at NK News and a former researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Despite that trust, he says they are no doubt worried about what lies ahead. A Giddying Transformation Over the last four decades, South Korea has moved from a poor, largely agrarian society to one of the worlds largest economies. Its capital city, Seoul, has made its name as one of the most populous, technologically advanced cities on the planet. Its a place where the subway is almost never late, where families live in smart houses and where school kids morph into flame-throwing superheroes at virtual reality cafes. Story continues That same transformation also means South Korea has become a nation of much division, simply because Koreans lived experiences vary so much by generation. While the elderly likely lived through the devastation of the Korean War 65 years ago, the young may see no evidence of the war at all. The dramatic social and political change over a short period of time means that many middle-aged South Koreans grew poor and witnessed the bloody, pro-democracy movement that ended South Korean dictatorship in 1987. Meanwhile, South Korean millennialsdespite the privileges of growing up in a developed, democratic societyare struggling with high costs of living and a newfound youth unemployment crisis. Read more: Our hands are already full. For young South Koreans, the inter-Korea summit is just another thing to worry about Today, South Koreas conservative Christianswho are typically older in age harbor political views that are closely tied to living through a war that painted North Korea as the enemy and the U.S. as a crucial ally. As one article in The Diplomat summarized it, Following the Korean War, South Koreans came to view the Americans as saviors, and the Americans religion, Christianity, as a source of strength and wealth. Having the talks at all is great. Its about time. But how will it end? I just hope South Korea doesnt get fooled by the North, said Kim Jung-pil, a 78-year-old Christian priest from Gwangju. South Korean people in general are very divided into two political sides: conservatives and the leftists. Among them, the conservatives are very concerned right now, while the leftists are optimistic. Not all Christians in Korea feel this wayin fact, many supply aid and religious materials Northbut conservative Christianity as a whole still tends to be aligned with anti-Pyongyang and pro-Washington ideology. As a result, they also tend to dislike President Moon Jae-in. After the impeachment of conservative former President Park Geun Hye in 2016, Moon represents a revival of the South Korean political leftand a reopened era of dialogue and cooperation with the North. [Conservative Christians] view on the Moon Jae-in government tends to be very critical, says C. Harrison Kim, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who studies socialism in East Asia and North Korea. They think he is just a puppet or just too pro-North, giving up everything for the sake of the North Korean leader. How Christianity Became Political In 1945, about 2% of South Koreans were Christian. Today, that proportion has risen to 27.6 percent, according to 2015 numbers from the Korean Statistical Information Service. Thats much higher than the 15.5 percent of Buddhists, despite the fact that the Korean peninsula has a much longer history with Buddhist, Shamanist and Confucianist thinking (more than half of the country has no affiliation). Christianity arrived to the Korean peninsula long before the 19th century, but its miraculous growth really started in the 20th century. Just 1 percent of the Korean population identified as Christian in 1900, but by the end of that century, proselytizing Christian missionariesparticularly from the United States built an estimated 293 schools and 40 universities on the Korean peninsula, including three of South Koreas most elite universities today. During brutal Japanese rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, many of Koreas most famous freedom fighters were Christian (as was the father of Kim Il Sung, North Koreas first leader). One could argue that this was the beginning of Christians notably entering a political circuit, but the true mainstream landmark was in 2008when Hyundai CEO and devout Protestant Lee Myung-bak was elected as president. Read more: What would Korean reunification look like? 5 glaring problems to overcome He represented not only the conservative party, but also the conservative Christians in South Korea. His church got incredibly wealthy and famous, and it was really a bizarre moment, says Kim, the University of Hawaii professor. The whole Christian landscape in South Korea became really dominated by the conservative right-wing sector. The most powerful and wealthy leaders in South Korea came to be associated with these churches. When Lee took office, he largely shut down the sunshine policy era of aid to North Korea, which his more liberal predecessorKim Dae-junghad started. But now, the political tides have turned in South Korea once again, and the leftist Moon is working hard to set a new tone with North Korea. And in a time when conservative former-presidents Park Geun Hye and Lee Myung-bak are both in jail for corruption, it doesnt appear as though conservative Christians will see an anti-engagement foreign policy anytime soon. I dont hear them talking about taking back political power, Kim said, But I do hear them being really concerned about Moon Jae-in. This story is part of a collaboration between The GroundTruth Project and USC Annenbergs Knight Program in Media and Religion, made possible with support from the Henry Luce Foundation. Yes, the decision belongs on the local level No, no one should be able to dictate whether people wear masks Vote View Results Every Israeli travelling abroad knows that no matter where you land, which remote island you end up on, or which distant country you choose to visit, youll always meet an Israeli who lives thereand usually more than one. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter But how many Israelis live outside Israel? The right answer is that no one really knows, and it depends on how the number is counted. According to figures compiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics, more than half a million Israelis went abroad from 1990 to 2015 and stayed there more than one year. While there is an accurate number (527,000), no one knows exactly what they are doing there and the figures dont distinguish between Israelis who emigrate for good, high-tech workers on a two-year relocation and discharged soldiers on a long post-military trip. During that period, about 230,000 Israelis returned to Israel after a long stay abroad. So its impossible to point at an exact number of Israelis living outside Israel, but we can definitely assume that there are hundreds of thousands of them. Financial reasons In the 1970s, the emigration debate became very emotional. Israeli emigrants were the leftovers of weaklings and were considered traitors. They had deserted a small country saddled with problems and security tensions in favor of the land of opportunity overseas. New York: Older and well-established (Photo: my9) Over the years, the discourse changed. As a result of the changing demography in Israel, the globalization and other variables, emigration is no longer perceived as a derogatory term, but as a legitimate option for people who wish to improve their lives. Most Israelis leave for financial reasons. They are classic emigrants who wish to improve their financial situation by improving their education and professional status, through relocations and economic opportunities. Reasons related to the security situation or to the local mentality have also been examined in the past but have turned out to be less significant than financial reasons. Its safe to say other circumstances that are sometimes presented by emigrants as their reason for leaving are pretty insignificant compared to the financial issue. The strong ones leave According to Prof. Karin Amit, head of the MA program for Immigration and Social Integration at the Ruppin Academic Center, the average educational and professional profile of Israelis who emigrate abroad is higher than the Israeli average. In other words, the stronger ones leave. According to research, emigration among the lower echelons of society is pretty low, and those who emigrate are usually people with family abroad or a specific opportunity. Why is there such a difference in the emigrants profile? Not everyone can get up and decide to emigrate. Only a person who believes in himself, and thinks he can succeed in a new and challenging environment and improve his financial situation, will go for it. Someone who is afraid or has language barriers would usually prefer to remain in the familiar place. Where do Israelis emigrate to? Most go to the United States. According to estimates, about 70 percent of Israeli immigrants travel to the US, and mainly to the big citiesNew York, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and others. The profile of Israelis who travel to the US is higher than the profile of Israelis who emigrate elsewhere, Prof. Amit adds. They are more educated and financially stronger. The inequality level in the US is high, and you get more rewards for strong skills, so its worthwhile for skilled people to emigrate there of all places. When you look at the profile of Israelis in the US today, you see more families and older emigrants compared to other destinations. The second most popular destination among Israeli emigrants is Western Europe, and mainly Berlin and London. According to Prof. Amit, more young people and young families are emigrating to Europe, sometimes without children yet. In this case too, its usually a financial consideration. They are young, educated people, they are more left-wing or have obtained a certain European passport. Since this is a relatively young emigration from the past few years, its hard to tell if they are going to stay there for long or eventually return to Israel, and we will have to monitor the numbers in the coming years. Berlins Renaissance One of the hottest destinations for the Israeli emigrant is, without a doubt, Berlin. According to Prof. Gad Yair, author of the book Love is not Praktish about Israelis in the German capital, the source of attraction is the ability to provide an experience which is the complete opposite of the Israeli one. There, you can be whoever you want to be. Its an experience of endless freedom. You have no family, no political or personal questions. Each person is a desert island. It creates a feeling of calm, relief and pleasantness. Not to mention the relatively low cost of living, the culture and the positive atmosphere, particularly towards the emigrants. Whats the average profile of Israelis in Berlin? Its a relatively young profile, mostly comprised of students or young people at the beginning of their career. Many of them study for different degrees or come to learn the language and stay in the city for a while. Most of them return to Israel eventually, and it may be right to say that living in the city is a sort of pause in ones life, and the majority dont see it as a final dwelling place. Many in Israel are surprised that young Israelis are attracted to Germany of all places. There is an attraction, mainly because of the characteristics we mentioned, but Israelis who live in the city experience a lot of associations to the Holocaustthe train, the snow, the memorial sites. Israelis who live in the city share a unique experience, because the past reemerges. Huge menorah lit in Berlin on Hanukkah (Photo: AP) Prof. Yair explains that most Israelis choose to come home, because the cultural gap is too big and they find it difficult to settle there for good. The Israelis will never be German, and their foreignness will always remain. Part of the difficulty has to do with the next generation: There isnt a single Israeli who wants to raise a German child, and thats bound to happen if you stay there and start a family. There is also something unsolved in an intimate relationship between Israelis and Germans. Its based on emotional baggage related to national dignity. The State of Israel is in bed with you too. Israelis carry an extremely strong national baggage, and its expressed in the relationship and surrounding the sexuality issue. How is this difference reflected? The German mainstream is very different from what we are used to. Israeliness creates a person who doesnt separate between thoughts and emotions, while in Germany there is a complete separation. In many situations, the German is purely rationalistic. Justice, justice, justice and no compassion. This encounter is very difficult for Israelis. Its reflected in a radical way in peoples love life and intimate relationships. The Germans lead a practical love life, and the Israelis are amazed by it. There are situations in Germany in which local couples separate but keep living in the same house and even sharing the same bed, because its the practical thing to do. These situations discourage Israelis from staying. Its hard to live in a country where the locals are so different from you. Former Soviet immigrants arrive and leave Another type of Israeli emigrants are people who made aliyah, stayed in Israel for a while and then moved onmainly immigrants from former Soviet countries who stopped in Israel and then took off to places like the US, Germany and Canada. According to estimates, about 20 percent of the 1.3 million immigrants who arrived in Israel from the former USSR moved on to other destinations. We have to understand that the emigration from the Soviet Union was the result of strong urges, and they soon created a phenomenon of leaving like a herd, says Prof. Amit. The bloc was dissolved, the uncertainty was high, and there was a feeling that you have to move on. For the Jews, who also suffered from anti-Semitism, the clear destination was Israel. But if other options opened up to them after a certain period, some chose to move on, while other Jews who decided to immigrate to other destinations to begin with. To cut ties or keep in touch? The world has changed and there is no doubt that the Israeli policy, which may be intertwined with the public atmosphere, is to keep in touch with the Israelis living abroad and strengthen their sense of Israeliness, even in other countries, rather than cut ties with them. In this context, there are local activities known as The Israeli House, and there seems to be a lot less criticism towards the move. On the contrary, there is an attempt to emphasize the advantagespro-Israel communities abroad and a connection with the second generation, which may come back to live here one day. On the other hand, the connection between Israelis abroad and the natural partnersthe Jewish communitiesisnt strong enough. According to Prof. Amit, most Israeli emigrants try to connect with local Israelis rather than with the Jewish communities. Most of them arent religious, and their Israeli descent is more dominant for their absorption than Judaism. They are more familiar with the Israeli than with the Jewish. They dont emigrate to certain places because of their well-established Jewish communities, but to places with strong Israeli communities." One of the victims of Thursdays Zafit Stream tragedy, in which ten youths died after being swept away by a flash flood, expressed anxiety about the potentially fatal consequences of an upcoming school trip, but her concerns were dismissed, according to texts she sent her friend before setting out on the trip. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday, a girl wrote her friend: Everything is yellow, disgusting. Her friend responded: I cannot believe that I am actually going out on this trip in this weather. It makes no sense to go to a place prone to flooding. It is tempting fate. We will die, I am serious. Rescue efforts ( ") X A third friend wrote: It is really strange that they are going ahead with the trip like this. A fourth friend tried to calm them: Stop exaggerating, I suppose they are rational and will take you somewhere else to sleep indoors. The girl who expressed apprehension about the trip was one of the victims of the flood. Moreover, texts that the students received before the trip reveal a sense of complacency despite the fact that the weather was known to be getting stormy in the south, including flooding. Do not worry, we are well prepared for the trip and the academy confirmed with the relevant sources. It will be fun and wet, a counselor wrote. Rescue workers (Photo: Reuters) She further wrote: In order to be prepared for any rain, add a few things to bring: a portable tent, a raincoat, a rain cover for your backpacks, a bag with a spare set of dry clothes in case its necessary. The original trip itinerary was supposed to be at Tze'elim Stream and in one of the texts the counselor wrote: Currently we are working on an itinerary that does not include descending to the riverbed, it will be safe. Another text said: As some of you may have noticed, some of the trip days will include rainy weather in the south, but the trip will of course proceed. (Photo: Chaim Horenstein) In Thursdays disaster, eight girls and a boy from a pre-Military academy lost their lives in the flood. Their families were notified. Another two were taken to the hospital with light injuries. Eleven more students were extricated safely and did not need hospitalization. Due to the darkness, the search for one girl who remains missing was called off. It is still unclear why the group went on a trip in the region, despite that the forecast indicated flooding in the area. The police opened an investigation into the circumstances of the disaster and are expected to investigate the head of the academy and other bodies in the education system. Three girls studying in the twelfth grade of the Maccabim-Re'ut High School were supposed to take part in a trip to Nahal Zafit that ended in tragedy, but eventually decided to cancel their participation because of a math test. The group bonding tour, which was accompanied by two counselors and a medic, started Wednesday and was supposed to continue until Friday. Yesterday the participants took part in activities in a variety of values and historical content. They started the morning with group activities and after eating together they set out for the area where the disaster occurred. After the extent of the disaster became known, an exchange of accusations began between the education and defense ministries. Despite the fact that most of the participants in the trip are 12th graders, the Education Ministry said that the permit was not brought to the ministry's situation room, and that it was not customary to take a pre-military program. After the disaster became known, the Education Ministry remained unaware that 12th graders also participated. The Defense Ministry strongly criticized the Education Ministry, casting the blame on it. According to the Mechina Law and its regulations, the Ministry of Education is the professional body responsible for approving the educational programs in the pre-military preparatory programs. The Ministry of Defense is not responsible for the curriculum, including trips, and the Ministry of Defense continues to monitor with great concern the severe disaster in the Arava. It is very unfortunate that on such a day, not only does the responsible body not take responsibility, but rather imposes it on another entity," it said. Israel's defense minister is denying that his country killed a Hamas-affiliated scientist who was gunned down last week in Malaysia. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Avigdor Lieberman told the Arabic news site Elaph that "we did not assassinate him." Fadi al-Batsh When asked in the interview on Thursday who killed Palestinian engineer Fadi al-Batsh, the minister retorted: "Ask James Bond ... maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies." Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer at a Malaysian university, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was on his way to a mosque on Saturday. Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, accuses Israel of assassinating al-Batsh. Defense Minister Lieberman (Photo: Avi Mualem) Palestinian websites have identified al-Batsh as a relative of a senior official in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Khaled Albatsh, who also accused the Israeli Mossad of carrying out the hit and demanded Malaysian authorities to conduct an urgent investigation to expose those responsible for the killing before they have a chance to flee the country. He is to be buried Friday at a ceremony led by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader. South Korean conservative activists have set fire to North Korean flags during a rally against the summit talks between the leaders of the two Koreas. Hundreds of activists gathered near the border village of Panmunjom on Friday to protest the talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. They set on fire two paper North Korean flags with the images of Kim and his late father and grandfather. They also chanted slogans including "Step down, Moon Jae-in!" No major violence has been reported. President Donald Trump says he "won't be involved" in the special counsel investigation into Russia election meddling, but adds he may change his mind. Trump said Thursday on "Fox & Friends" that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe "is a disgrace." Trump criticized federal agents for exercising search warrants on his lawyer Michael Cohen and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Trump says: "I have decided that I won't be involved. I may change my mind at some point, because what's going on is a disgrace." Ten Israeli teens who were killed on Thursdaynine girls and one boyafter they were swept away in a flash flood that rushed through the Zafit Stream in HaArava during a trip in south Israel have been identified. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter They include Ela Or from Maale Adumim, Romi Cohen from Moshav Maor, Yael Sadan from Jerusalem, Maayan Barhum from Jerusalem, Agam Levy from Moshav Herut, Gali Balelli from Givatayim, Shani Shamir from Shoham, Adi Raanan from Moshav Mikhmoret, Tzur Alfi from Mazkeret Batya, also in central Israel and Illan Bar Shalom from Rishon LeZion. Ten victims Search and rescue teams, police and IDF helicopters scrambled on Thursday afternoon to locate the group of teenagers as heavy rainfalls drenched the region, pulling from the treacherous streams nine teenagers, and rescuing 15. Close to midnight, a desperate search concluded after rescue crews discovered the last missing teenager, who was pronounced dead at the scene, bringing the total death toll to ten. The body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine to be identified. Ela Or The teenagers, from the Bnei Zion pre-military academy school, were on a two-day bonding trip to Zafit Stream in HaArava. Ela Or, 18, was a high school student from Maale Adumim. The city shares the sorrow of the family of the girls and the boy who were taken in a terrible tragedy in the south, a statement read by the Maale Adumim Municipality. We are all with the family. We also send our wishes for a speedy recovery for all those injured. Tzur Alafi A statement published by Elas high school said We are shocked at the death of our beloved student, Ela Or, in the terrible tragedy. Ela was a charming girl with big dreams, a student with values who was loved by her friends and teachers. Final body pulled from floods (: ) X Elas friends assembled outside her high school on Thursday night. We spoke on Sunday and she told me that she is going on a a trip which she didnt return from, said Liel Rahmani. She was so excited about it and she told me that she is so happy about her new chapter in the military academy. Ela always looked for the good. I was the pessimist and she was always the optimist. She always saw the good and that is what I will take from her. Shir Ezra and Noam Haim, also friends of Elas recalled her positive personality. She was a happy girl, witty, a beautiful girl who left school early to hike in the rivers and fountains just so she could get to know the land, they said. Yael Sadan Another friend who was supposed to join the pre-military academy, but who eventually decided not to, said how Ela had eagerly waited for the trip. She was the last kind of person to cancel a hike. On Tuesday I spoke to her and she laughed about not going to math class because she was going on the trip, the friend recalled. He school principal, Brenda Horowitz described Ela as one of the best students, a girl with a great mind who was always ready to help others. Ela combined a love for the land with love for Israel. Romi Cohen (Photo courtesy of the family) Tzur Alfi, 17, was accepted into the academy and was supposed to begin his studies there next year. He was a charming boy who was sporty. Just three weeks ago he starred in a stage performance, head of the Mazkeret Batya Regional Council Meir Dahan told Ynet. He was a boy with values, he was a humanist, cultured and wanted to be an educator. It is a small community here, where everyone knows each other. We are here with psychologist and social workers and with everything we need to give the children support, he added. We didnt want them to have to experience this at such a young age but they are doing. Illan Bar Shalom One of Tzurs friends, Gil, described him as a wonderful person one of the most value-filled people I knew. He always put himself last and gave to everyone. He always had a smile on his face and was one of the funniest people I knew. There was no one who didn't love him. We will miss him so much. He was loved so much here. There isnt anything bad to say about him. He was one of the best people I ever knew. Agam Levy Yael Sadan, who was selected to join the pre-military academy, completed her studies last year with distinction at the Jerusalem High School of Arts. She was a great girl, who smiled always with a sense of humor. She was a wonderful dancer, a talented choreographer and it was always fun to be around her, Yaels teacher said. Yael will be buried at 12:30pm at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul neighborhood. Gali Balelli Maayan Barhums school in Jerusalem invited anyone to visit and mourn her death together in this difficult moment for us all. City Mayor Nir Barkat also said that the entire city was mourning Maayans death. The disaster claimed the lives of Yael Sadan and Maayan Barhum. We are with the families and send our condolences and we are praying for those wounded, Barkat said. Maayan will be buried at 12:30pm at Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem. Adi Ra'anan The northern moshav of Maor also grieved over the loss of Romi Cohen, 17, who had two brothers aged 12 and 16. Romi enjoyed dancing and was active on her schools student council. She travelled to three US twice as part of a Jewish and Arab delegation sent by the Center for a Shared Society at Givat Haviva. Shani Shamir Romi was a distinguished student and dancing was extremely important to her. She was the salt of the earth and talented in every field that she touched. She was a distinguished student and a wonderful friend who always thought about others and wanted to contribute and was very sensitive, said a family friend. She was a good daughter, a good friend and a good sister. She was proud of her family and proud of the moshav, added Netta Asulin, another family friend. Maayan Barhum According to Asulin, Romis mother, Yael, warned her daughter about going on the trip. Romi, however, told her mother dont worry. Everything is ok. They changed the route and I am ok. It is hot and dry here. Pain and suffering also swept the moshav of Herut in central Israel after Agam Levys life was so prematurely snatched. Our hearts are broken and it is hard to digest the awful news that Agam has gone, said the moshavs secretary, Mika Zohar. The great pain in indescribable. This is a loved and wonderful family and now it is our job to support them in this difficult hour. Agam was supposed to begin studying next year at Bnei Zion. Her friends said she was excited ahead of the bonding trip. Her parents, Shiri and Shai, and her brothers, Ofek and Shaked, supported her decision to go on the hike. Rescue efforts (Photo: Reuters) Her friends also said that Agam excelled in her studies and loved learning about Israel and about physics. She was active in the moshavs Children of the Moshav group and always offered to help people in need, her friends said. She always looked for the good. This is a huge loss for us all, said one of her friends. Another one said he was struggling to come to terms with the news, describing Agam as always being a light for everything. She will be buried at 12:30pm at Lev HaSharon Cemetery in Tel Mond. Gali Balelli, 18, enrolled in the academy to increase her chances of being accepted to a more meaningful role in her compulsory military service and to contribute to society. She is survived by two brothers and her parents, Eyal and Ettie. Only good things could be said about Gali, a very special girl who was full of giving, her school principal said. We cannot think about going on without her, I dont know how. Omri, a friend of Galis remembered talking to her extensively about military service. There was a full month when she wasn't in school because she went to see many pre-military academies and I now ask myself why her.Our hearts are torn and we are in shock. It is terrible, Omri said. Shani Shamir, 18, was the daughter of a well-established family in Shoham. She will be buried at 3pm Beit Arif cemetery. US Ambassador Nikki Haley lashed out at Hamas Thursday, accusing the Palestinian movement of "using children as cannon fodder," following the deaths of dozens of people during the Gaza Strip protests. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Israeli forces have killed 41 Palestinians, including two journalists, since the protests began on March 30 near the Gaza-Israeli border fence. Nikki Haley lashes out at Hamas (Photo: AFP) "Anyone who truly cares about children in Gaza should insist that Hamas immediately stop using children as cannon fodder in its conflict with Israel," Haley told a UN Security Council meeting. Most of the Palestinians killed by Israel during the ongoing protests were shot by snipers on the border, while a few others were killed by Israeli artillery or air strikes. The Israeli army says its troops only open fire in self-defense or to stop protesters attempting to breach the barrier separating the territory from Israel. Haley denounced the use of civilians as human shields throughout the Middle East in her remarks to the council as it met to discuss the situation in the region and the violence in Gaza. "It's difficult to think of a more cowardly acteven for a terroristthan hiding behind innocent civilians," she said. Gaza border protests (Photo: EPA) The United Nations has called for an independent investigation of the violence in Gaza, where Israel has fought three wars since 2008. Addressing the council, UN envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov urged Israel to "minimize the use of live fire" and stressed that "lethal force should be used only as a last resort." Hamas and the protest leaders must, in turn, keep away from the fence and children should be particularly protected, he added. At least four children have been shot dead by Israeli live fire, said Mladenov. "Gaza is coming apart as we speak under the pressure of an explosive combination of negative humanitarian, security and political factors," the envoy said. The United States has twice blocked draft statements from the council expressing concern about the violence in Gaza. Polish officials on Thursday criticized the claim of a US congressman that a new Polish law glorifies Nazi collaborators and denies the Holocaust. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The charge was made by Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, one of two congressmen leading a bipartisan effort urging the US State Department to pressure Poland and Ukraine to combat state-sponsored anti-Semitism. File photo (: ) "Our government should be concerned with the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Ukraine and Poland. Both countries recently passed laws glorifying Nazi collaborators and denying the Holocaust," Khanna wrote Wednesday. In the Polish case, Khanna referred to a new law that makes it a crime to blame Poland for the Holocaust crimes of Nazi Germany. The law has sparked criticism in the US and particularly in Israel, where some fear its aim is to quash discussions about Polish anti-Semitic violence during the German occupation in World War II. However, even critics to date have not tried to argue that the law glorifies Nazism. Andrzej Pawluszek, an adviser to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Khanna's words were "irresponsible and shocking." Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Bartosz Cichocki retorted Wednesday on Twitter: "Sir, I would appreciate if you indicated a single law passed in my homeland Poland (recently or not), which glorifies Nazi collaborators and/or denies Holocaust." Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Cichocki (Photo: Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) In a separate post, he added: "Equally, I would love to learn what exactly your government did to combat (the) Holocaust after being requested to do so by the Polish government-in-exile." During Germany's occupation of Poland during the war, the Polish government-in-exile struggled to warn the world of the mass killing of Jewsa message that was largely ignored. The Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum also weighed in, saying "there is no law in Poland that would glorify collaborators of the German Nazis or that would deny the Holocaust." Attempts seeking comment from Khanna were made by phone and email, but no response was received. The Border Police arrested overnight Thursday two Palestinians residing in Hebron and Beit Jala at the Ein Yael crossing in the Jerusalem. A pipe bomb, knife and tens of thousands of shekels in checks and cash were found in their vehicle. British movie director Ken Loach accused Belgiums prime minister on Thursday of overlooking the flagrant breaches of international law by Israel as a response to the prime minister's criticism of awarding Loach with the honorary doctorate in light of his alleged anti-Semitic views. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Speaking after being awarded an honorary doctorate at one of Belgiums leading universities, Loach said he was shocked that Premier Charles Michel had chosen to criticize the institution for giving him the award. British movie director Ken Loach (Photo: Gettyimages) Now, hes a lawyer, Mr. Michel ... Did he I wonder, ask about the breaches of international law committed by Israel? Did he ask about the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands? said Loach, the 81-year-old director of 2016 Palme dOr winner I, Daniel Blake. Michel, 42, studied law at the Free University of Brussels and chided it on Wednesday for plans to award Loach an honorary doctorate. Loach denies accusations that his support for Palestinians is anti-Semitic. In a speech on Wednesday at Brussels Grand Synagogue to mark the 70th anniversary of Israels foundation, Michel said: No accommodation with anti-Semitism can be tolerated, whatever its form. And that also goes for my own alma mater. Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel (Photo: EPA) In a statement on Thursday, the European Jewish Congress called on the university to revoke its decision to honor Loach, saying he had constantly undermined efforts to combat anti-Semitism in the UK. The dispute in Belgium comes as the British Labour Party under left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, for whom Loach has been a vocal supporter, is battling allegations of anti-Semitism. President Reuven Rivlin expressed his sorrow on Friday about the death of 10 teens in southern Israel, caused by a flash flood during a school trip. "Great sorrow overwhelms the country this morning. We've lost amazing children, the elite of our youth. Full of promise and expectations, it breaks my heart," said Rivlin. "I send the grieving families my condolences and pray, together with all the nation, that they will know happier times," he lamented. "I ask to thank all the rescue teams, the IDF, the police forces and the volunteers for 24 hours of their tremendous efforts. I call on all Israel's citizens to tour the country only after making sure it is safe. Don't take any unnecessary risks," he concluded. Police arrested two members of staff from a pre-military academy overnight Thursday, including the principal Yuval Kahan, on suspicion of causing death by negligence of ten teenagers who were killed during a flash flood in south Israel during a trip, despite the hazardous weather warnings. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Be'er Sheva Magistrates Court extended Kahan's arrest the same afternoon by five days. One of the groups guides on the trip, 27-year-old, Aviv Bardichev, also had his arrest extended by five days. Another member of staff was also questioned about the oversights that led to the disaster but was released to house arrest. Ten teens from the Bnei Zion pre-military academy school were killed on Thursday while on a two-day bonding trip to Zafit Stream in HaArava. Fifteen were pulled from the floods to safety with only minor injuries. Two were lightly to moderately wounded. The group was suddenly swept away while walking in the middle of the stream when a massive flash flood engulfed them, a day after central and northern Israel was battered by a violent storm that claimed two lives, and weather forecast predicted more to come. Yuval Kahan According to the police, the suspects knew ahead of the trip about the potential flash floods but nevertheless decided to proceed with the hike, even as students themselves voiced concerns of the potentially fatal consequences. Bardichev is believed to have organized the route of the trip that took the students to the southern stream. Moreover, the initial rounds of questioning revealed contradictions in the versions given by the guide and Kahan regarding the trail that was approved. Aviv Bardichev Bardichevs attorney issued a statement after the courts decision, describing his client as an extremely scrupulous man who came (on the trip) due to his values. There is huge regret about what happened. At 12am (during the investigation) he didnt even understand why he needed legal advice and he said there are people who have died. I dont need to deal with this. Responding to the judges reasons for extending his remand, which he said were due to obstruction of the investigation, the attorney said this is not a person who obstructs the investigation but who helps the investigation. Everything he can do he will do for the investigation, unlike people who hide things behind the right to silence or other rights. Telling the court on his clients behalf that he had served in the academy for a number of years, the attorney added that Bardichev believes that he acted entirely responsibly. The ten teens who were killednine girls and one boyhave been identified and funerals began at 12:30pm. They include Ela Or from Maale Adumim, Romi Cohen from Moshav Maor, Yael Sadan from Jerusalem, Maayan Barhum from Jerusalem, Agam Levy from Moshav Herut, Gali Balelli from Givatayim, Shani Shamir from Shoham, Adi Raanan from Moshav Mikhmoret, Tzur Alfi from Mazkeret Batya, also in central Israel and Illan Bar Shalom from Rishon LeZion. The investigators are still waiting at the Ein Tamar moshav near where the incident took place, as authorities remove heavy machinery and clear the roads that were blocked due to the floods. The mother of one of the people who was lightly injured, Ron Hakim, said the staffers' arrests are not the family's top priority at the moment. Ron, she said is still unaware of the magnitude of the tragedy. "They changed the track's route several times. We blame ourselves for letting him go on this trip, but we didn't know he would be in that place," she said. "He didn't have any reception." Ten victims While the police continues to investigate the matter, various government offices quarreled among themselves about who is responsible for the pre-military academy school Despite the fact that most of the students who went on the trip were twelfth-graders, the Ministry of Education said that a request for the authorization of the trip was not brought before the Ministry's situation room. The Ministry of Education emphasized that pre-military academy school trips don't require its authorization, insisting that it was informed that twelfth-graders went on the trip only after the disaster happened. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embraced after pledging on Friday to work for the "complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," punctuating a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean war and seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace in its place. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (: ) X The declaration included promises to pursue phased military arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone, and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the United States. "The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun," the declaration said. In early tweets from Washington, President Donald Trump praised the meeting even as he raised questions about how long the positive diplomacy would last. "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!," he tweeted, adding in another: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the countries. Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. Their dramatic meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump in what would be the first ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang later this year, according to the declaration. As part of efforts to reduce tensions, the two sides agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops along the border, and allow Korean families divided by the border to meet. Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But there was widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against US invasion. It's not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared their hope for peace, and two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the North's weapons programmes or improve relations in a lasting way. "We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today," Kim said after the agreement was signed. FIRST ACROSS THE LINE Earlier, Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands. In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. "I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person," Kim said, wearing his customary black Mao suit. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the South's Peace House before talks began. Minutes before Kim entered Peace House, a North Korean security team conducted a sweep for explosives and listening devices, and sprayed what appeared to be disinfectant in the air, on the chairs, and on the guest book. The two leaders released their joint declaration before attending a dinner hosted by Moon. During a private meeting in the morning, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, the official said. UNENDING HOSTILITIES The United States is hopeful talks will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit. The White House also said it looks forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as the North made rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States. Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. The latest Korean summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes announced on Friday his plan to move his country's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Cartes didn't specify the exact date for the embassy's change in location, but he did say it would happen by the end of the government's term, which is drawing to a conclusion with the election of a new president. Cartes made the announcement during the celebratory event marking Israel's 70th Independence day, which was attended by Israel's Ambassador to Paraguay Ze'ev Harel and Paraguay's President elect Hugo Velazquez. It is unclear if the decision is coordinated with the president elect. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinians gathered for a protest at the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticized Israel for using "excessive force" against demonstrators there in recent weeks. Around 40 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at the border fence since a planned six-week protest began there on March 30, with no reports of Israeli casualties. The number of protesters usually swells to several thousands after Friday prayers. Palestinian medical officials said at least three youths were wounded by Israeli fire near tent camps along the Gaza-Israel border, as some demonstrators hurled stones and rolled burning tires toward the fence. Israel's foreign ministry had no immediate comment but the government has consistently said that it is protecting its borders and that its troops are following rules of engagement. Turkey will take steps together with the United States in Syria's Manbij region, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, following his meeting with new US Secretary State Mike Pompeo in Brussels. Cavusoglu made the comment to Turkish broadcasters after meeting with Pompeo, who went straight to NATO headquarters on Friday, barely 12 hours after being sworn into his job. Cavusoglu also said there was no French presence in Manbij and added Turkey could evaluate "good offers" for Patriot missiles or other air defence systems from allies. Palestinians converged on the Gaza border with Israel for a fifth round of weekly protests Friday, some throwing stones and burning tires and one breaching the border fence and subsequently shot dead, as a top UN official urged Israel to refrain from using excessive force against them. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said Israeli troops have not heeded warnings by the United Nations and others, repeatedly using lethal force against unarmed protesters over the past month. Meanwhile, heavy Israeli gunfire was heard at the border as the crowd broke away from a larger protest and moved toward the fence. Witnesses said at least three protesters broke through the fence and briefly entered Israel before running back. Gaza's Health Ministry said one was killed and three others wounded by Israeli gunfire while trying to breach the border, adding two others were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces. Palestinian protesters on Gaza border The IDF said its troops "thwarted" an attempted infiltration by Palestinian protesters. In a statement, the army said "hundreds of rioters" tried to burn the fence and infiltrate Israel. It says the crowd approached the fence and threw grenades, explosives, firebombs and rocks as they tried to set the fence on fire. It says troops opened fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement" and halted the crowd. Since the Gaza marches began, 35 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,500 wounded by Israeli soldiers firing from across the border fence, according to Gaza health officials. Among those killed were four minors, including a 14-year-old boy. The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators - not once, not twice, but repeatedly, the commissioner said. Protesters preparing kite to send burning across the border The marches, aimed in part at trying to break a decade-old border blockade, have been organized by Gazas militant Hamas rulers but have also been driven by widespread despair in the coastal territory of 2 million people. Since late March, thousands have demonstrated every Friday in five protest tent camps, each set up several hundred meters (yards) from the border fence. Smaller groups have moved toward the fence, throwing stones, burning tires or hurling firebombs. Israeli soldiers, including snipers taking cover behind sand berms, have fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and live rounds. On Friday afternoon, hundreds of protesters gathered at a tent camp east of Gaza City. Some burned tires and threw stones near the fence. Israeli troops fired intensive volleys of tear gas, some canisters landing 300 meters (yards) inside Gaza. A similar scene played out in another camp in southeastern Gaza. Gaza medical officials said two protesters who were struck by bullets were in critical condition in hospital and 600 others were wounded, but did not specify how many of them were hurt due to live fire. Wounded protesters return for fifth round of border riots Israels military has said troops are under orders to target instigators, but has also warned that anyone approaching or trying to damage the fence risks his life. Rights groups have said such open-fire rules are unlawful because they allow soldiers to use potentially lethal force in situations where their lives are not in danger. Israel says it has the right to defend its border, including nearby communities. It accuses Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israels destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of mass protests. Israeli officials have said that some of those protesting at the border over the past few weeks tried to damage the border fence or plant explosives along it. Others have hurled improvised explosives, firebombs, or flown kites attached to burning rags to set Israeli fields on fire on the other side of the fence. A group of Palestinian activists calling themselves the tires unit arrived Friday on a truck laden with old tires. A van with loudspeakers mounted on its top followed the truck with chants and applause. Tires were set on fire filling the air with thick smoke. With hooks and a long rope, the activists pulled at parts of the barbed wire adjacent to the border fence. Protesters armed with bolt cutters threaten to breach Gaza border fence The UN human rights commissioner said Friday that it is difficult to see how throwing stones, burning tires or even hurling firebombs from a distance at heavily protected security forces in defensive positions could be seen as life-threatening. Israel and Egypt imposed the Gaza blockade in 2007, in response to a violent takeover of the territory by Hamas, which had won Palestinian parliament elections a year earlier. The blockade has gutted Gazas economy, driving up unemployment and leaving two-thirds of young people without jobs. Gaza organizers say that in addition to compelling an end to the blockade, the marches are meant to press for the right of return of refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel. Two-thirds of Gaza residents are descendants of refugees. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 war over Israels creation, and march organizers see May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding, as a key target day. They have made conflicting statements about whether they plan a mass border breach at some point. US President Donald Trump says he'll make sure Iran does not use nuclear weapons, adding, "You can bank on it." Trump is speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The president was asked if he would use military force to reign in Iran's nuclear program, if the US drops out of the international nuclear deal with Iran. Trump says he won't discuss the use of military force, but he says: "They are not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it." The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed Friday night that the IAF attacked six terrorist targets belonging to the Hamas naval force in the Gaza Strip. The attack was carried out in response to the extensive infiltration attempts into Israeli territory earlier today, when a group of Palestinians, seemingly protesters, breached the Gaza border fence and entered Israel. Living Section Wellton, Arizona - Its play time for adults at the Wellton Library! On Friday, May 11th, 18th, and 25th, the Wellton Library is hosting Im Bored: Games Club at 11:00 a.m. Visit the library and enjoy different games every week. Bring a friend, or make a new one at the library! There is no charge to attend. The Wellton Library is located at 28790 San Jose Avenue in Wellton, AZ. For more information, call (928) 785-9575. Exercising your right to vote is very important. It is therefore in order that you have the your voter's cards and ensure that your registration details are verified. Did you misplace your voter's card just after the previous election? To actively participate in nation building choosing your leaders is key. We all wish our country the best and making sure that the leader's are efficient requires that we participate in general elections. Read on to know more. Source: Punch newspapers Ghana voters id card is a key document that each Ghanaian that is 18 or above and plans in voting in any Ghana national election, although those declared insane are disenfranchised. However, for Parliamentary candidates to get voters ID card registration in Ghana must be a Ghanaian citizens at least 21 years old, and either be resident in their constituency or have lived there for at least five of the ten years prior to the election. A good citizen should have Ghana national voters ID card this shows that you do care about your country and that whoever you chose to represent you follows the will of the people. Though, the primary purpose of voters id card Ghana is to improve accuracy, prevent multiple voting, prevent voter impersonation and prevent ballot stuffing. Who qualifies to be registered? There are three categories of people to the constitution of Ghana allows to register to vote which are as follows 1. All Ghanaian citizens (by birth, registration, or naturalization) currently resides in Ghana. 2. All Ghanaian citizens living abroad. 3. Foreign nationals legally/permanent residents in Ghana. Anyone in any of the three categories mentioned above also requires to have the qualities below. -A person who is a citizen of Ghana -A person who is 18 years of age or above -A person of sound mind Source: Myjoy online. com Biometric voter registration In the 2012 elections the Ghanaian electoral board decided that the easiest and most effective way to register voters would be through the use of Biometric kits . According to the HSB identification website who were the official suppliers of this biometric kits about 4000 BVR kits were bought to facilitate the exercise. According to Ghanaweb report, Ghana registered and verified approximately 13 million people for an election within 48 hours, breaking the world record previously held by India for 3.5 million people. Ghanas world record-breaking accomplishment comes after the country successfully completed an election using biometric voter verification and registration systems. The 2012 election marks Ghanas successful sixth election since returning to Constitutional rule in 1992. Biometric verification registration is difficult to implement, specification and procurement processes are lengthy, training of operators and data processing are complex and lengthy processes putting a lot of pressure on the EMB to produce the list in time. Most countries eventually fail to implement the biometric verification of the voter which renders the entire exercise questionable plus the shaky legal grounds on which these exercises often are often taken place open ample room for complaints. Source: Ghana news agency Today, biometric technology on election day has continued to advance, even beyond the function of verifying a voters identity. Todays Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) can also transmit the voter tally from each polling station to the electoral commission. A lot of people are wondering how can one get voters id cards download simple log onto the Macheki website to check if your name is included in the list of people who have been removed. For those who don't know what Machecki is don't worry we have you covered, it is an identification management and verification system designed by a team of young Ghanaians. But why go through that process on How to check voter id number in Ghana if you are registered as a voter and want to confirm that, send a text with your ID number to 6363. You will get details with your name, registration date, voting center, it doesnt matter where you are. This process is to save the electorate time and to give them a convenient and fast way of knowing whether their details captured on the voter roll are right or wrong. Source: Kasapa FM Listed below are the Steps to Follow When Applying for a Duplicate Voter ID Card A duplicate voter ID card is one of the most important documents issued by the government to its citizens Visit the electoral office nearest to your place of residence and collect a copy of Form EPIC. Which is the application form for duplicate voter ID card. Fill in the form with the relevant details such as name, address, voter ID card etc. Attach the required supporting documents and submit the form at the electoral office. On submission, you will receive a reference number that you can use to track the status of your application. Your application will be verified by the Electoral Officer and on successful verification, you will be issued with a duplicate voter ID card. You will be notified regarding your application being processed and can collect your card in person from the electoral office. Advantages of voter identification cards include the following: It's reliable form of identification It acknowledgment that voter is duly registered May include several identifying features, such as photograph, signature, fingerprints, Provide greater assurance voter is who he/she purports to be May be marked when voter has obtained ballot, and thereby prevent multiple voting Can be designed in response to low literacy rates Can be an effective form of identification where many voters have no fixed address Facilitates voting in areas where voter may not be known personally Can be issued along with material in a voter education campaign Source: Circumspecte Disadvantages of voter identification cards include the following: Cards can be very costly to produce, though cost varies significantly. The identification card can be lost or stolen, some voters will arrive at the voting station without their card. Procedures must be developed to respond to this situation. Cards must be produced with electricity and when the power is not available at the registration and card-issuing sites, a cold laminate can be used to seal the cards, or if necessary, no laminate at all. Cards must be updated periodically. Cards will wear out over time and the pictures on them will become dated. Thus, there is a need for a system of regular replacement. The election authority must have a reliable system of delivery of ID cards, in order to avoid any difficulties. List of polling stations in Ghana The Electoral Commission (EC) has released the final list of polling stations for the 2016 general elections. With a total of 28,992 centers across the country, the Ashanti Region has the most polling stations with 5,190 stations for electorates to cast their ballots while the Upper West Region has the least stations of 991. Below is the regional breakdown Final number of polling stations in each region Ashanti 5,190 Brong Ahafo 2,963 Central 2,482 Eastern 3,243 Greater Accra 4,762 Northern 2,688 Upper east 1,226 Upper West 991 Volta 2,506 Western 2,941 Total 28,992 Voting process step-by-step procedure A lot of people may not know this but a registered voter has to show up at their voting location with their identification card and an official will process their documents that they will present before voting. This implies without this documents you will not be allowed to proceed to the other steps where you are identified by the Biometric voters registration identification. The order of appearance is determined by the EC in an open vote before printing of ballots. A voter is expected to mark their ballot in secret behind a voting privacy screen. Let's be honest here a good citizen of any country should have a voters card number this shows that you do care about your country and that whoever you chose to represent you follows the will of the people. Though, the primary purpose of voters ID card Ghana is to improve accuracy, prevent multiple voting, prevent voter impersonation and prevent ballot stuffing Source: VOA News The voting process On the election one should to go to the polling station with correct documents, your voters id card sample and join the queue if there is any at that time you have arrived. A polling assistant will check your particulars in the name reference list. The officer will verify the voters ID card online verification with biometric machine to check if one is eligible to vote or he had applied for the card. One will be given a lot papers please be careful when checking if it has marks kindly call for an assistant but if there are no marks on it ensure it has a validating stamp. Make your way to the voting Booth and thumbprint correctly your choice of candidate. Cast your vote in the Presidential Ballot Box. Proceed to the next Polling Assistant for a Parliamentary Ballot paper. Proceed to the Voting Booth and thumb-print your of choice MP, cast your ballot in the parliamentary ballot paper. Cast your ballot in the parliamentary voting box and make sure, its in the right box or it will be rejected. After all that you are required to please leave the Polling Station but you can return at 5 pm for counting after voting is complete. Ghana voters ID card sample Ghana voters ID card sample is necessary for the election process one must be structured to ensure that only legitimately registered individuals vote and that everyone who appears at the polls to vote are in fact who they claim to be. Source: People.com With the use of Ghana voters id card registration reduces the problem of forgery, the card itself is a tear-off portion at the bottom of the registration form and contains the same pre-printed voter registration number as the form itself. It would be virtually impossible, therefore, to produce forged cards or steal blank cards since the name and identification number must appear on both the card and the voters list before anyone is allowed to vote. READ ALSO: Political history of Ghana in brief Simply checking the Voters ID card online verification Ghana is not enough, but the use of the cards are issued for the most part at the time of registration using a cold lamination process rather than one that requires electricity. Advantages of Biometric voter registration. Accurate records are also used to identify which forms were issued to which polling stations. And fingerprinting, both on the registration card and the detachable registration form, is an additional security measure implemented in Ghana. Biometric voters registration is Faster and build trust it helps the citizen to get results with hours instead of weeks. It increase engagement and turnout especially for others countries, with technology it will be a useful way of improving voter education and registration, to increase engagement and voter turnout. Increases accessibility for those who don't know Electronic voting is very good at making voting more accessible, meaning its easier for disabled people to vote independently. Electronic voting that is visibly secure it helps people see that our electronic voting system is completely secure. If anyone was able to hack into the system, there would be a discrepancy between the electronic count and the paper count. Biometric voters registration is auditable, transparent, secure and accurate- in Ghana automated elections mean that people can trust the results because it allows for a process that is so auditable, transparent and secure. Of course, electronic voting also helps reduce human error. Possible causes of BVR failure in Ghana Inadequate training skills-this occurs when the government didnt dedicate much time in training the employees oh how to operate a system and method to solve in case an error has occurs. Inadequate training of users might make the system look faulty therefore expert system analysts suggest that users be given proper training before an organization embraces a new system. Poor fit between organization and system-this occurs when majority of pooling station are in the rural area where accessing network and electricity is hard. Faulty hardware -this occurs when the kits are purchased and the government didn't bother to check them this will bring to tension in the country. Source: Daily mail Ghana usually hold their elections in November but in 2016 the government decided to postpone the date until December 7th 2016 where they elected a president Nana Akufo Addo of the opposition side New Patriotic party for the third time defeating John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress. The president is elected for four term by the people. Ghana has 275 constituencies. Each Constituency is represented by a Member of Parliament (MP). Ghanas parliament has the power to hold the other arms of government accountable, Parliament also approves government policies, for instance the Ghana government is obligated to put before parliament for ratification all international agreement before it enters into any such agreement. READ ALSO: How to write a manifesto for student election in Ghana Source: Yen.com.gh Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, commonly known as KNUST, is one of Ghana's most reputable institutes. It is known to offer some of the best programmes to its learners. KNUST distance learning masters programmes are one of the most sought-after options for part-time students. KNUST logo. Photo: @knust.gh Source: UGC KNUST distance learning masters programmes are convenient and reliable. Here is what you need to know about the institution's distance learning courses, application procedure, and requirements. KNUST distance learning masters programmes The school offers numerous distance learning master's programmes. The courses offered under the Institute of Distance Learning (IDL) include. Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CEMBA) MBA International Business MPhil Post-Harvest Technology MPhil/MSc Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation MPhil/MSc Industrial Finance and Investment MPhil/MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc Procurement and Supply Chain Management MPhil/MSc Business Consulting and Enterprise Risk Management MPhil/MSc Educational Innovation and Leadership Science Master of Education Degree (MEd) MPhil/MSc Actuarial Science MSc Applied Statistics MSc Geography and Sustainable Development MSc Accounting and Finance MSc Health Informatics MSc Information Technology MSc Project Management MSc Actuarial Science MSc Applied Statistics MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics MSc Food Quality Management MSc Development Management MSc Energy and Sustainable Management MSc Hospitality and Tourism Management MSc Strategic Management and Leadership MSc Corporate Governance and Strategic Leadership Master of Public Administration (MPA) MSc Insurance and Business Continuity MSc Agribusiness Management MSc Mechanical Engineering MSc Development Finance MSc Biotechnology MSc Cyber Security and Digital Forensics MSc Management and Human Resource Strategy MSc Environmental Resource Management MSc Marketing MSc Economics (ACCRA CENTRE ONLY) MPhil/MSc Forensic Science Professional Master of Engineering with Management (MEng) KNUST masters entry requirements KNUST main gate. Photo: @knust.gh Source: UGC For the above courses, you must meet the following minimum requirements: You should hold a good bachelors degree. It should be from a recognised institution. The degree must be in a related field to the master's course you are applying for. If you have a degree in an unrelated field, you may be considered if you have worked in the study area of the course you are want to take for more than 3 years. Some courses listed necessitate a two-year relevant industrial or research work experience. Preference will be given to applicants who have a first-class or second-class division. How to apply for KNUST distance learning masters programs The first step should be purchasing an e-voucher available in the following centres: Ecobank GCB Bank HFC Bank UniBank Fidelity Bank You will also need the following: A laptop, PC, or tablet Active internet connection A browser Academic certificates Follow the steps below to apply: Connect to the internet: Whichever connection you choose to use, make sure it is reliable. Open your browser: Use Google Chrome for the best user experience. Go to the application portal: Use the official address. Login to your account: Use the serial number and PIN in your e-voucher. Provide the needed details: You will be asked for your email, phone number, first name, sir name, and educational background. Check for errors and omissions: After you are done filling out your details and whatever course you are applying for, proofread your entries. Correct any mistakes. Print the application forms: Once you are done, download the documents to your local storage and print 2 copies. Submit your application: Post your forms to the Director IDL, KNUST, KUMASI. Attach your certificates and the required documents. KNUST Institute of Distance Learning contacts If you face any technical difficulties during the application or have questions, reach out via the following details: 1. General contacts Website: idl.knust.edu.gh idl.knust.edu.gh Phone 1: 0247274661 0247274661 Phone 2 : 0500482885 : 0500482885 Phone 3: 0501102650 2. Kumasi Physical location: The Office of the Director, Institute of Distance Learning, Casely-Hayford Building, KNUST Campus. Phone 1: 0204743271 0204743271 Phone 2: 0245077483 0245077483 Phone 3: 0509314350 0509314350 Phone 4: 0279857058 KNUST graduates. Photo: @knust.gh Source: Original 3. Accra Physical location : Old KNUST Guest House near ECOBANK Head Quarters; : Old KNUST Guest House near ECOBANK Head Quarters; Contact: Michael Michael Phone number: 0500482875 0500482875 Physical location 2 : KNUST Accra City Campus, Kwabenya : KNUST Accra City Campus, Kwabenya Contact : Luke : Luke Phone number: 0546924824. 4. Akuse Physical location: VRA Academy VRA Academy Contact: Alfred Okang Alfred Okang Phone number: 0208802435 5. Sunyani Physical location: The University of Energy and Natural Resources. The University of Energy and Natural Resources. Contact: Mr Alfred Appiah Mr Alfred Appiah Phone number: 0500482877 6. Techiman Physical location : BACCSOD Techiman Branch Office : BACCSOD Techiman Branch Office Contact: Mr Toura Mr Toura Phone number: 020 578 2024 7. Ho Physical location: Ho Technical University, Volta Region Contact: Mr Stephen Gbena Phone number: 050 048 2873 8. Takoradi Physical location : Sekondi-Takoradi City Campus, Kansawrodo : Sekondi-Takoradi City Campus, Kansawrodo Contact: Mr. E. Opintan-Baah Mr. E. Opintan-Baah Phone number: 0500482883 9. Koforidua Physical location : Ghana Highway Authority; : Ghana Highway Authority; Contact: Mrs Fidelia Teayo Akumiah Mrs Fidelia Teayo Akumiah Phone number: 0209377707 10. Tamale Physical location: Tamale Technical University Tamale Technical University Contact: Dr. Abubakari Abdul-Razak, Dr. Abubakari Abdul-Razak, Phone number: 0500482879 11. Bolgatanga Physical location : Bolga Secondary School : Bolga Secondary School Contact : Mr. Mukasa Zoogah, : Mr. Mukasa Zoogah, Phone 1 : 0500482880 : 0500482880 Phone 2: 0208288666 12. Wa Physical location: Jihann Training College Jihann Training College Contact: Mr Dominic Wanaa, Mr Dominic Wanaa, Phone number: 0500482878 13. Cape Coast Physical location: Cape Coast Tech University Cape Coast Tech University Contact: Mr K. A. Simpson Mr K. A. Simpson Phone number: 0500482882 KNUST distance learning masters programmes are a blessing to you especially if you are employed. You can study over the weekends when you are not working or in the evening. Yen.com.gh recently shared KNUST courses and their cut off points 2020/2021. The school boasts of having a panorama of beautiful post-modern buildings. KNUST courses are crafted towards the achievement of the directives and targets the government has put in place for higher education. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology admissions are highly competitive. You can, therefore, apply for the above KNUST courses if you meet their minimum requirements and cut off points. Source: Yen - The GFA announced on Saturday it has secured a sponsorship deal with Zylofon Media -The sponsorship by Zylofon Media is the biggest relief for Ghana FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi A Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Ghana Premier League side, Techiman Eleven Wonders, Takyi Arhin has revealed that the Zylofon Media sponsorship deal is worth $1milllion per annum. According to Mr Arhin, each premier league club is expected to bag $70,000. Details of the sponsorship package hasn't been declared yet, but Takyi Arhin says each club will be laughing to the bank to cash $35,000 as their portion from the Zylofon sponsorship money. Kwesi Appiah and CEO of Zylofon Media Nana Appiah Mensah READ ALSO: Gospel musician, Ernest Opoku allegedly forcing girlfriend to terminate pregnancy "The contract is almost done and each premier league club will receive $70,000 a year," Arhin confirmed to FOX FM in Kumasi. The Ghanaian league has never lacked major sponsors but have struggled to hook on to one since First Capital Plus Bank pulled out of their five years sponsorship deal with the GFA. Join YEN on Instagram to be always informed and entertained! The league was sponsorless for the whole of last season but the story will not be the same this season with the appearance of Zylofon Media. The Ghana Premier League will announce the full details of the sponsorship package next week. Watch the trending news on YEN.com.gh this week: READ ALSO: Shatta Wale incites violence on Facebook Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now. Source: Yen Famous Ghanaian music producer, Appiah Dankwa, aka Appietus has declared his intention to record over 100 young up-and-coming Ghanaian artistes who are struggling to produce their works due to financial constrains. According to the sound engineer, he is embarking on a new project to record, produce and groom 100 talented new artistes for free of charge. Music producer, Appiah Dankwa READ ALSO: Mother beats her daughter to death, buries her secretly In Browngh.com report, Appietus said he is going to select more than 100 talented 'underground artistes' across the ten regions of Ghana and screen them to 100, where he will personally mange the best five among them. "There are so many good musicians in Ghana but financial restrains have stalled their careers. That is why I'm embarking on this project and to give them the opportunity to do what they love best" he said READ ALSO: Police arrest Social Welfare officers for stealing and selling baby at a shocking price The sound engineer also added that he is ready with his team and will make his first stop at the Volta Region, but will need support from regional chapters of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), in order to make his initiative successful. Recording 100 songs is not easy because it takes a lot of creativity to be versatile. I have to make sure I don't repeat beats to make them boring and that is why I have given myself enough time to do a good job," he said. Appietus gained prominence in Ghana music industry from his signature "Appietus in the mix", after producing hit beats for some top Ghanaian musicians. He is a force to reckon with in the music industry as he has produced hit songs including 'Azonto Fiesta' by Sarkodie, 'Otoolege' by Ofori Amponsah, 'Obaa pa' by KK Fosu, 'yesi yesi' by 4X4 , 'Menseida' by Daddy Lumba and many others. Due to his enviable talent, versatility and hard work, he has received many awards both home and abroad. READ ALSO: Slim Buster to 'strike' Ghanaian gospel musician with 'deadly' court action Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook. Source: Yen - Akua Donkor says homosexuality will end under her administration - Ghana has been overwhelmed by various calls for gay rights - Gay rights in Ghana are highly controversial though laws don't exist The 2016 Presidential candidate of the Ghana Freedom Party, Akua Donkor, says the whole debate on homosexuality will end once she is elected as president of Ghana. Both the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and governing NPP have been caught in the debate on why homosexuality must be considered in Ghana. READ ALSO: Shatta Wale reportedly dating Bigail after breaking up with Sahtta Michy But Akua Donkor says her government has a new approach that will end the entire debate once and for all. "My government will end this gay thing, Our men will not sleep with men under my administration. NDC and NPP have failed us. They will run under my administration," she revealed in an interview with HITZ FM in Ghana while attending a funeral. Recently, former CEO of the Volta River Authority (VRA) under the Kufuor administration, Charles Wireko Brobbey also known as 'Tarzan' has argued that homosexuals need to be respected. On his Facebook post, the politician, and policy analyst argues that Ghanaians must 'support LGBT rights'. Tarzan believes that LGBT rights in Ghana must be upheld especially when these men and women are Ghanaians and also human beings. Some Ghanaians also engaged the politician on his views, questioning the morality of his argument. Meanwhile, the senior law lecturer at the Ghana School of Law is sad about what he terms the chance government is giving to the West to demand Ghana legalizes homosexuality. Lawyer Moses Foh Amoaning is particularly mad about the recent comments made by a UN official against the stance of the speaker of parliament when it comes to gay rights. I am sick and tired of this arrogant bigotry being thrown around by Europeans and because we ourselves are not thinking through these things, we allow them to insult us poke down upon us and to say anything they like even Ghanaians dont seem to appreciate what is happening. He revealed in an interview with Starr FM. It all happened when the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Prof. Philip Alston, says the speaker of parliament does not know what is happening in Ghana when it comes to homosexuality. The speaker of parliament had earlier revealed that homosexuality is not in Ghana and that it is a strange activity that will not be accepted in the country but the UN official says Ghana's speaker of parliament has no idea of what is happening in Ghana. According to the UN official, the number of gays and lesbians in Ghana is overwhelming and that enforcing gay rights could help safeguard the interests of the community. If you tell me that a man must sleep with a man so as to show his human rights for Ghana. I can assure you that our Parliament is a real micropause of the rule of Ghana. Ghanaians do not support gay rights and nobody is going to make any law that will support this kind of thing, he revealed to the media after the UN held a fact-finding visit to Ghana about human rights and administrative justice. The criticism closely follows the speech by the British prime minister, Theresa May, who has pledged UK's resolve to help Ghana and other African countries legalize homosexuality. Theresa May, during the Commonwealth Heads of State conference in London, revealed that Britain introduced anti-gay laws in Ghana and therefore is prepared to reverse these laws. In the midst of all these pressure, the seat of the presidency is still committed to keeping homosexuality illegal in Ghana. READ ALSO: After donating his kidney to save her life, lady plans evil against boyfriend In fact, the minister of information, Mustapha Hamid, has stated that government is not considering legalizing homosexuality in the next hundred years. But amidst the assurance by the government, it is very clear that the pressure to enforce gay laws is mounting. Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now. Source: Yen.com.gh Popular Ghanaian actor who is now a preacher, Majid Michel has advised Christians to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ as the Bible demands, instead of looking up to colleagues. According to Pastor Majid, Jesus in his commandment, as clearly stated in the scriptures demanded all Christian believers to follow him. Majid Michel is now a preacher READ ALSO: Appietus to 'power' 100 underground artistes for free In a recent Instagram post, the talented actor posted a photo of some Christian worshipers with the caption, Jesus didnt say follow Christians. He Said... FOLLOW ME!!. Majids Instagram message to his followers on Friday appears to have impacted many of his followers who are expressing good feelings about their walk with Jesus. However, there are some others who are calling on the actor to forget about his new religious life and return to his acting career in order to make more money. The award-winning Ghanaian actor surrounded his life to Jesus years back, and has since not looked back to the world. Though it is not clear if Majid Michel has any idea of setting up his own Church, he has been spotted sharing the word of God with other Christian fellowship across the country. READ ALSO: Mother beats her daughter to death, buries her secretly READ ALSO: Police arrest Social Welfare officers for stealing and selling baby at a shocking price Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook. Source: Yen - Shatta Wale on Thursday paid a courtesy call on British High Commissioner, Iain Walker - Shatta presented a t-shirt and a CD to Iain Walker - Iain Walker later posted on Twitter that he was thinking of swapping jobs with Shatta Wale Dancehall stalwart Shatta Wale has paid a courtesy call on the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Iain Walker, at his office in Accra. Accompanying Shatta Wale on the special visit on Thursday, 26th April 2018, were members of his management team. The meeting between Shatta Wale and Iain Walker, YEN.com.gh understands, was used to discuss matters concerning partnership for the development of the country together with stakeholders within the Creative Arts Industry. READ ALSO: PHOTOS: Meet the girl Shatta Wale is reportedly dating after Shatta Michy break up Also, at the meeting, Shatta Wale presented a branded Shatta Movement T-Shirt, and copies of a compilation of Shatta Wales songs on a compact disc to Iain Walker. Shatta Wale presents a Shatta Movement t-shirt and a CD to Iain Walker Following their meeting, the High Commissioner posted photos on Twitter with the caption, "thinking about a job swap. @shattawalegh." Shatta Wale responded saying "we should quickly do a job swap quickly....". Its safe to say that the law graduate from the University of Dundee, who is also UK Ambassador to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso, is the latest Shatta Movement recruit. READ ALSO: Kumawood actor reveals the real reason why Kwaku Manu was arrested Shatta Wale seems to easily befriend British High Commissioners. Iain Walker's predecessor, Jon Benjamin openly declared his love and support for Shatta Wale. Even after leaving Ghana, Jon Benjamin, whom Shatta Wale refers to as Shatta Jon, is still very much in contact with the Dancehall act. The two recently hanged out together when Shatta Wale visited London last year. Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on or Instagram now. Source: Yen Newspaper - FDA will be investigating claims of plastic fish at Mallan Market - There are fears on the market that these fishes are hard to notice - The FDA is cautioning the public to stay calm There are wide-grown fears at the Mallam market in Accra as both traders and customers fear there could be the sale of plastic fish in that market. This public fear has got the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) begin intense investigations over the matter though 'investigations conducted indicated that they were genuine fish and not plastic. READ ALSO: Throat Cancer Alert! Use your fingers instead of tongue for sexual pleasure Doctor advises So far, it has not been confirmed if indeed there is the existence of such fishes for sale on the market. The FDA has, therefore, advised the public to verify with the FDA before going ahead to circulate such information, since, many of such information has turned out to be false after investigations and rather create fear and panic. The authority in October temporarily declared the consumption of palm oil unsafe because it could not assure its safety. The FDA upon revelations that some samples of palm oil on the Ghanaian market were contaminated with carcinogenic Sudan 4 dye. The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, John Odame Darkwa told the media that people can now buy palm oil with confidence. The palm oil on our market is very safe and we should continue to patronize it, we assure Ghanaians that buy your palm oil with confidence; eat it with confidence because the FDA assures of its safety. READ ALSO: Use of vagina tightening gels on the rise in Ghana Moesha Boduong He also told the public that the 22 traders arrested for adulterating palm oil with the cancer causing chemical are being prosecuted. Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now. Source: Yen News Controversial dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale has given a clear indication that he is tired of living in Ghana and he is ready to relocate to neighboring Nigeria. Over the years, the Shatta Movement President has been widely criticized due to his actions and utterances on various platforms. Shatta Wale, dancehall artiste READ ALSO: Pastor Majid puts banging Ferrari on display but with coded message But, despite the attacks and criticisms on the personality of the self-acclaimed dancehall king, he has even proved his worst part to Ghanaians both home and abroad. However, Shatta Wale seems to have been given up due to the latest controversies surrounding his alleged break-up with his baby mama Shatta Michy and the popping up of his new mistress. Although it is not clear what will be Shatta Wales next move for the Ayoo hitmaker, it appears he has already given up after photos of his alleged new mistress got leaked on the internet. Shatta Wale in a twitter comment announced on Friday that he has suffered enough humiliation in Ghana, and he is therefore relocating to Wizkid's Nigeria. A taya for GH ade go stay Naija..ahhhba.!!!!, Shatta Wale who was clearly not happy twitted on Friday amid social media speculations about Shatta Michys replacement. READ ALSO: Pastor Majid Michel sends crucial message to all Christians Shatta Wale is currently out and promoting his latest single, Gringo which he recently recorded a video in the United States. READ ALSO: Appietus to 'power' 100 underground artistes for free Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook. Source: Yen - Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah says he earns 3,500 as salary - The Pentecost pastor says he is not part of preachers who want to enrich themselves - The outgoing chairman of the church of Pentecost has also spoken against gay rights Chairman of the Church of Pentecost in Ghana, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah has revealed the amount of money he takes home as his monthly salary. The pastor has revealed that he receives a salary of 3,500 including allowances. This revelation by the powerful man of God comes in the wake of the perception that most pastors in Ghana are into the ministry just to enrich themselves and fill their bank accounts. READ ALSO: Public scare of plastic fish ravages Mallam market in Accra "The motivation is the call of God...I love the ministry so much that I can do it without pay," Apostle Opoku Onyinah, revealed on Hard Truth. Apostle Opoku Onyinah draws to a close 10-year leadership of one of the fastest growing Pentecostal churches in the world. Earlier on, the pastor expressed his opposition to calls for gay rights to be respected in the country. According to him, comments by the British prime minister to help legalize homosexuality in Ghana is an insult to Ghanaians. For me, that is an insult to Ghanaians. Insult to the extent that they [are] trying to dictate to us [Ghanaians]. It is against the belief of Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists," he argued in an interview with Joy FM. The pastor revealed that the reasons why Ghana continues to receive such pressure from the West are clearly because the country is poor and still begging Western leaders for help. READ ALSO: Use of vagina tightening gels on the rise in Ghana Moesha Boduong Photos of Shatta Michy that Shatta Wale won't forget easily Apostle Onyinah believes government's 'Ghana beyond aid' agenda will go a long way to deal with this issue. Check out some of the trending news in Ghana in YEN.com.gh's video below: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now. Source: Yen.com.gh Kwadwo Nkansah 'Lil Win' is perhaps the biggest Kumawood star in Ghana today. The actor has established himself as the face of the local movie industry. Click here to get the latest news in Ghana. Lil Win He is one of the most sought-after actors in Ghana today and has appeared in scores of movies. He has appeared in several television adverts as well. Lil Win appeared in an MTN television, print and billboard advert Lil Win has also taken to music and has released a couple of songs. His music career was recently boosted by his nomination for an award at the 2018 VGMAs. Lil Win performs at Ghana Meets Naija Lil Win has earned loads of money from all these endeavours. He has bought himself some really cool cars, as he enjoys the fruits of his labour. One of the cars is a 2016 registered Toyota Camry vehicle. YEN.com.gh recently reported that Lil Win has bought a new yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro. The beautiful car which has already been licensed in Ghana has Weezy Empire written on the seats suggesting it is custom made. The car is estimated at $35,000. And it is one of his favourite cars. He had earlier built a massive eight-bedroom mansion for his mother. Lil Win and mum standing in front of a mansion he built for her READ ALSO: Yvonne Nelson and her daughter set social media on fire with their beach photo shoot The actor is believed to have invested in several businesses that generate money for him. Good luck to him in all his endeavours. Share your views on this with us in the comments section below. YEN.com.gh will publish tips, information or stories that you send to us? Let us feature your stories on YEN.com.gh now. We are on Facebook! READ ALSO: The real ages of Yaw Dabo, Joe Shortingo and other diminutive actors have just been revealed Source: Yen.com.gh A Vincentian lawyer in Brooklyn, New York says greatness can be achieved through community service. "We can empower our community through service. What, a remarkable way to become great!, said Kingstown-born Curlina Edwards in delivering the keynote address last week Saturday night at the 3rd Annual Dinner and Award Ceremony of the Vincentian group, Friends of Sion Hill, at the Friends of Crown Heights Educational Center in Brooklyn. "Theres no greater sense of purpose and satisfaction in life than serving and helping others, added Edwards, whose mother hails from Fitz-Hughes in Chateaubelair, and father from Spring Village both in North Leeward. "In order to empower our community, we must seek to understand what our communitys needs are; what are the issues facing our community; what impacts others most within our community; and what can we do, continued Edwards, who serves as the legal adviser for several Vincentian organizations in Brooklyn, and who sits on the executive boards of the Brooklyn-based groups, Chateaubelair Development Organization and the umbrella Vincentian group, Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations, U.S.A., Inc. Having assessed the Vincentian community in New York, Edwards highlighted a few areas that she said the community can work on. "We can empower our community by empowering others, said Edwards, an evangelist and director of the Fundraising and Events Committee at the Abundant Life Christian Church on Church Avenue in Brooklyn. "First, lets begin with the simple ways of impacting our community and empowering others changing our attitude and mindset, she added. "Ladies and Gentlemen, attitude is everything. The relationships that we build with people are everything. Hence, Edwards, who practises immigration law, said: "We need to learn how to motivate and inspire. "This means that we stop using Facebook or social media as a tool to criticize and bring others down. Stop the fighting! Stop the gossiping! Stop the divisions! Lets be positive! Lets smile! Lets express appreciation!, she urged. Edwards said stronger communities can be created if residents learn how to connect with each other, "and express genuine empathy for others. "It is not by tearing down that we empower communities, but by helping others to reach their highest potential, she said. "What impacts others most is our words, our attitudes, our behaviors and our choices. Edwards said not only must community members affect those around positively, but they must also serve by providing exemplary leadership. Referring to the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership Model, she said good leaders "model the way, stating that they set an example for others to follow. Reflecting on her own life, Edwards said she takes "great pleasure in serving in whatever capacity that I can. "I truly believe that I am a product of community empowerment, she said. She said she grew up in a poor family, had limited access to resources, did not have textbooks, "but a neighbor who I call my mother, took interest in me. "She ensured that after her eldest daughter completed her homework, I was given her books to complete my work, Edwards said. "It has not been an easy road for me. I have been knocked down, but yet I rise. "I continue to serve, she added. "Whether through giving, cooking, providing legal advice or evangelizing, I serve. At the end of my journey on earth, if I have changed one life, then I have accomplished a lot. Edwards, therefore, urged patrons to collaborate in creating an impact in the community. "We need to work together to empower our community, Edwards urged. "While it is good for individual organizations to contribute to work on specific goals and target specific areas, theres great potential in Vincentian organizations collaborating to create an impact locally, or to work on projects of national significance in SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines). "When we share ideas and pool our resources and talents together, we can accomplish so much more, she added. "More important, we can mobilize Vincentians in our communities to act. So, lets explore ways of collaborating on national projects that can benefit all Vincentians. "I call upon each of you tonight to rise up and strive to become great by serving, she appealed. "Be positive. Serve by exemplary leadership, with humility, gratitude and respect. Lets collaborate to create an impact of national significance. The cooperative spirit has existed among the people of Marriaqua.{ {more}} And this is made evident when one reflects on the founding, within the valley, of the Marriaqua Friendly Society (Bunpan), the Marriaqua Petroleum Cooperative Credit Union, the Marriaqua Cooperative Credit Union and about five banana cooperatives. With the demise of the banana industry, the banana cooperatives folded. the Petroleum Cooperative went under, and so too the Marriaqua Cooperative Credit Union. So, it was with a welcome air of relief that the Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union (KCCU) stepped in and merged with the now defunct MCCU in order that members not lose their investment. Speaking at the official opening of the KCCU Marriaqua Branch headquarters last Friday, President of KCCU, Cynthia Hope-Browne explained that in 2014, the MCCU began to lose its footing. There was a deficit in the cooperatives equity amounting to EC$1.7 million. But the credit union sector, along with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), passed a resolution that allowed for the assets and liabilities of the MCCU to be acquired by KCCU, and by September 2014, the merger was complete. Parliamentary Representative for the constituency, St Clair Jimmy Prince expressed gratitude on behalf of the people for the effort made by KCCU to save the investment of the people. "We look forward to the continuation of services and the additional services that the amalgamation would bring about, he said. The activity coincides with the KCCUs 60th anniversary. Frederick Stephenson, Minister with responsibility for co-operatives lauded those involved in making the sector what it is today. He explained that following the enactment of the revised Cooperative Act, a number of mergers took place. Today there are four credit unions, down from nine, he said. St Vincent and the Grenadines ranks in the top five in relation to the penetration rate for credit unions in the world and, according to Stephenson, he wanted to recognize the effort that the credit union movement made to the development of the country. Last Fridays activity also included congratulatory greetings from a number of sister credit unions, the FSA and Marriaqua community-based organizations. (DD) A representative group of members of the Kingstown Chorale rendering a song in appreciation of the assistance offered by the SJCK. For the past 20 years, the Kingstown Chorale has called the premises of the St Josephs Convent Kingstown (SJCK) home. Since 1997 and while the school was still under the stewardship of Sister Maureen Alexander, the ensemble began practising on the compound. This had come about shortly after Jeanne Horne, the current Musical Director of the Kingstown Chorale and retired Headmistress at the Girls High School, left office. Until then, the GHS was home as was a number of other venues in the 60 years that the chorale has been in existence. Last week Friday, the Kingstown Chorale handed over a piano to the SJCK. Rachel Haslam, member of the Chorale, explained that Sr Maureen gave the initial nod, giving consent for the use of the school grounds. "Unfortunately, the Kingstown Chorale does not have its own home, she said. Over time, she continued, the unit has performed locally, regionally and internationally and a portion of the proceeds from these performances was used to purchase the instrument. The donation was symbolic of the appreciation to the staff and students of the SJCK who, over the years, have welcomed the Chorale as one of its own, and to the people, this according to Haslam. "We owe a lot of gratitude to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, our fans, who continue to support us, so we say thank you, Haslam said. As part of the mornings presentation, students at the institution were treated to a number by the Chorale, with Director Horne providing accompaniment on the piano which was just gifted. (DD) ACSt Vincent and the Grenadines, like other countries in the region, is vulnerable to all types of natural disasters and other occurrences that have a negative impact on the economy. It is important, therefore, that we are prepared for any event. This was the main objective of a private-public sectors disaster management workshop organized by Tropical Shipping. The one-day workshop, held on April 24 at the National Insurance Services Conference Room in Kingstown, drew participation from a number of corporate partners and state agencies. Cedric McIntyre, Island Manager Tropical Shipping, in his address at the opening ceremony, posited that businesses played an important role in the recovery efforts, in the aftermath of a disaster, natural or otherwise. It is only when the business sector re-opens doors, that people are able to return to work and generate revenue to get the economy up and running. There is need, therefore, "for private and public sectors to develop disaster management solutions based on relationships of trust, open lines of communication, shared commitment and common concern for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, McIntyre said. He said that it was expected that the findings coming from the one-day exercise will inform consensus as to the way disaster management ought to be viewed. Minister of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, and Forestry Saboto Caesar said that the people of the region were seeing an evolution in what we perceive to be a natural disaster, with a particular fear for what could occur during the hurricane season. Of course, there were other threats such as earthquakes and volcanoes; however, according to Caesar, the activities of last year, and the intensity of storms mean that a new norm may have been established. He further explained that the issue of preparedness was relative, in that the people of Dominica and the US Virgin Islands, who have had the experience of a category 5 hurricane, have a different contextualization of the level of preparation needed, compared to SVG which has experienced only a category 1 hurricane, Tomas, in 2010. Building resilience was the focus across the region, said Anthony Regisford, Executive Director of the SVG Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and this has not escaped the local private sector which could not be distanced from what went on in the overall disaster management space. Workshop presentations were made by the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), the Hotel and Tourism Association and the Meteorological Services Office, among other agencies. (DD) Some of the equipment that comprised the recent gift from the Barrett Communications Australia, to the Rainbow Radio League. The Directorate of the Rainbow Radio League Inc. (RRL) is especially appreciative of a set of 6 HF/SSB radios, a gift from Barrett Communications Australia. This gift is tangible support for the RRL as it strives to build an effective High Frequency (HF) network for St. Vincent and the Grenadines a multi-island state. An RRL release of last week, said that two of the radios will be deployed in the Grenadines - namely Canouan and Bequia - with three others located on mainland St. Vincent. One of these is earmarked for use in the on-going Independence Secondary schools Radio Link-up started a few years ago. The gift also includes solar panels and antennas for field use. Radios from the previous gift received in 2015 were used to provide reliable communications in Dominica, October 2017, by a combined medical and communications responder team, following the devastation of that Caribbean island by category 4 hurricane Maria. See following link: http://www.barrettcommunications.com.au/news/first-responders-support-dominicas-rebuilding-after-hurricane-maria/ Over the next two months, all radios will be deployed and a simulation held to ensure that all radio operators are in a state of readiness for the 2018 hurricane season, which is predicted to produce at least 3 major storms and more than ten named systems. The RRL, in its statement, thanked the government for waiving all customs imposts on the equipment, and reaffirmed that the equipment will be available to the government during national emergencies, especially in times when all other forms of communications have been rendered inoperable. The RRL is also part of a regional network that provides emergency communications services following natural disasters. While in Dominica last year, the League was able to coordinate the arrival and distribution of vital medicines, food, water, and the arrival of medical personnel from the US. In some instances, they were able to facilitate a service that allowed locals to speak with relatives in other Caribbean islands, using HF/SSB radios,an exercise that signified the importance of this equipment. The RRL said that it "looks forward to a continuing fraternal friendship with our benefactors, Barrett Communications from Australia, and publicly thank them for a most useful gift. (Submitted by Donald De Riggs.) Venezuelans board a T&T Immigration Detention Centre bus that would take them to Piarco Airport for departure to their homeland. (Source: barbadostoday.com A Venezuelan woman who told the Trinidad Guardian that she was forced to flee from her home country in 2016 after she won a case and was subsequently kidnapped and almost killed, has expressed fear in the aftermath of the deportation of 82 of her fellow nationals. The unnamed woman said that she has her certificate and a "yellow-paper document from the T&T Immigration to be here, but is now afraid in the wake of Saturdays repatriation exercise. "The situation against Venezuelans here has worsened and I am afraid. Recently, I went to the beach and was taken by the police here but then they released me when they saw my documents, she said. "I just want the process to speed up here for us and for my people who are coming here for help. They should not be sent back to Venezuela because their lives are in danger. Another Venezuelan woman in T&T said because of the worsening situation in T&T with regard to Venezuelans being locked up by the police and handed over to the Immigration Officers to be placed at the Immigration Detention Centre or in prison, they have made contact with a non-governmental organisation in Venezuela who will be raising their issue and making the relevant reports to Amnesty International. "We strongly believe that with Amnesty Internationals intervention we will get the help that we desperately need, the woman said. The Trinidad Newsday of Tuesday 24th April, reported that it had spoken to one Elena Vega in Caracas, and she reported that the plane carrying the 82 deportees had landed safely in Caracas. Vega also reported that her husband, one of the deportess, was home and had trouble with the government when he landed, despite initial concerns. Julio had been held by the Immigration Division, despite having an active application with the UNHCR as an asylum seeker. His certificate was issued three days after his detention, but he was never released. Earlier this month, Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews told a select Joint Committee of Parliament that an estimated 2,000 Venezuelans have applied for asylum here in recent months. Gandhi-Andrews also told the Committee that in 2015, there were 29 male Venezuelan detainees, but one year later the figure had risen to 125, including 97 females. Last year, there were 45 men and 82 women. She said that on a weekly basis, between 150 and 200 Venezuelans come here by sea, some of them, illegally. (Source: T&T Guardian, T&T Newsday) Left: Catisha Pierre-Jack is currently on station bail. Right:Kay Bacchus-Baptiste had no objection to the seemingly protracted adjournment. Attorney Kay Bacchus-Baptiste is hoping that the Prosecution uses the period of a four-month adjournment to rethink its decision to charge her client Catisha Pierre-Jack with a cybercrime offence. The matter was slated to be heard at the Kingstown Magistrates Court on Tuesday, but Prosecutor Curlene Samuel requested, and was granted the adjournment on the ground that the Prosecution was not ready to proceed. Pierre-Jack, 29-year-old seamstress of Lower Questelles, has been charged on four counts of libel by electronic communication, allegedly committed on January 30 this year. In response to the Prosecutions application for the adjournment, Bacchus-Baptiste said she had no objections as she had not yet gotten a chance to interview witnesses for the defence, and she would like to have disclosure of all relevant material to the case, adding, "The Prosecution may benefit from an adjournment and see the light in this matter. Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett then adjourned the matter to August 28. Pierre-Jack is accused of posting libelous remarks on her Facebook page accusing her sister Crystal Pierre of abusing her (Crystal) daughter, trying to kill the girl with an icepick, using stolen documents to sell their mother Lauren Pierres house, and putting their mother to live on the street, as well as poisoning a pot of food to kill her family. Pierre-Jack had pleaded guilty when she initially appeared at the Kingstown Magistrates Court on February 12, but was allowed to change her plea to not guilty when she returned to Court on February 16. This was based on reports from Pierre-Jack and her lawyer, that she had pleaded guilty because the investigator Corporal Colin May prompted her to do so. Pierre-Jack is the first person to be charged under the Cybercrime Act 2016. Section 19(1) of the Act, under the heading, Libel By Electronic Communication, states that, "Any person who uses a computer system to unlawfully publish any defamatory matter concerning another person with intent to defame that person commits an offence. Section 19(2) states that, "A person who commits an offence under subsection (1), is liable on conviction to a fine of $50,000 or two years in prison, or both. Left:Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty Internationals Americas Director, directed her organizations grave concern in a letter to T&T Prime Minister. (morocoworldnews.com) Right:Volker Turk, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, called on Trinidad and Tobago to continue to abide by its international obligations as signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention. (Source: havanatimes.org) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Amnesty International have both expressed strong concern in relation to the deportation of 82 Venezuelans by the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The 82, including 29 women, were deported to their homeland last Saturday, April 21. Reports said that many of the 82 had made formal application for refugee status. Trinidads Ministry of National Security, in a statement, said the Venezuelans "were voluntarily repatriatedto the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with the assistance of the Ambassador of Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago, Her Excellency Coromoto Godoy. The statement also noted that all the 82 Venezuelan nationals had volunteered to be repatriated and were placed on an aircraft provided by the Venezuelan Government. The action (deportation) though, has attracted the attention of the UNHCR and Amnesty International. UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk on Monday, expressed deep regret over the deportations. He described sending back those who applied for refugee status as a "breach of international refugee law. He also said some of them were deported from T&T despite the UNHCRs request for access to them. "The forced return of this group is of great concern, Turk said, adding, "UNHCR calls on Trinidad and Tobago to continue to abide by its international obligations as signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention and other applicable international instruments that are incorporated into its official Refugee Policy, in particular the principle of non-return, known as non-refoulement, and Article 31 of the Convention which requests signatories not to impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, to people who are in need of international protection. Amnesty Meanwhile, Amnesty Internationals Americas Director Erika Guevara Rosas has written to the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley, criticising the way in which the Venezuelan nationals were repatriated to their home country. Rosas letter came one day after a non-governmental organisation in Venezuela said it was going to lodge an official report on behalf of the 82 Venezuelans who were repatriated and as international outcry over the act intensified. In the letter, Rosas requested information about the procedures followed by the T&T Government in carrying out the deportation. She suggested, contrary to the statement issued by the T&T Ministry of National Security, that the Venezuelans, based on information Amnesty had received, that they did not return to their homeland voluntarily. Rosas went further, saying that her organization had received information that the deportees were presented with papers to sign "in a language they do not understand, stating that they would return voluntarily. In her letter, Rosas reminded Dr. Rowley that "As part of the Convention relating to the Status of the Refugees (1951 Refugee Convention) and its Protocol (1967), Trinidad and Tobago is obliged to fully protect the rights of those in need of international protection. "To do otherwise implies a breach of international law, and it is regrettable that your Government has chosen to ignore its obligations in a way incompatible with international human rights standards. (Source: T&T Guardian, N.Y. Times) aRoland Ottley, a Vincentian immigration attorney in Brooklyn, New York, said that, had law suits not been filed, mass deportations would have already begun. Roland Ottley, a Vincentian immigration attorney in Brooklyn, New York, is lamenting the "terrific situation for 800, 000 undocumented, young Caribbean and other immigrants in the United States, who are dependent on the deferred action for early childhood arrivals, or DACA. "While both the Republicans and the Democrats say that these individuals should receive some kind of immigration relief, the circumstances are just so complicated that it prevents these two parties from reaching any kind of deal that would result in the passage of a law, said Chateaubelair-born Ottley in a VINCENTIAN interview. "That would give these young undocumented individuals the relief that they so desperately need. The DACA programme was instituted by US President Barack Obama, but has been rescinded by President Donald J. Trump. Several US district courts have, however, ruled Trumps rescinding of the policy as unconstitutional. The issue is now before the Appellate Court. Ottley noted that Trump "has been going back-and-forth and giving mixed signals about his intentions for the forward action, regretting that "the president has never committed to providing relief to these undocumented individuals. "Had it not been for several lawsuits that were filed to prevent the complete recession of the deferred action programme, there would have been the commencement of mass deportation as of March 5, 2018, said Ottley, referring to the deadline that Trump had given the US Congress to fix the issue or DACA recipients would be deported. He said many of those who would otherwise qualify for DACA are now unable to take advantage of this programme, "because they did not take advantage of it when the programme was still in full force and effect. "Now, only individuals who had applied prior to the termination date, or whose deferred action status was terminated at any time, can now renew their deferred action status, the immigration attorney said. He said Trump has been using DACA as a "negotiating tool to pressure lawmakers to pay for the wall along the Mexican border. But Ottley said, while DACA is a high priority for Democrats and some Republicans, "it appears as though politics is the main hinderance to the passage of a law to provide relief to these undocumented individuals. "It appears as though some Republicans do not want to pass a bill that would grant relief to those undocumented young individuals, because it would give even more momentum to Democrats, he said. "While many Americans are unable to determine why Congress is unable to pass a bill that would grant such relief, other Republicans may still be inclined not to grant such relief to individuals that are in the United States on an undocumented basis, regardless of their ages, he added. Ottley warned about the ominous disruption of families if DACA recipients are ultimately deported. The automotive and spare parts companies operating in global trade enabler DP Worlds flagship Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) in Dubai, UAE recorded business worth Dh 39.5 billion ($10.75 billion) in 2017. DP World, UAE Region recently held a forum for automotive companies to celebrate the close ties with the industry and to highlight the sectors position as a cornerstone of business growth in Jafza. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group chairman and chief executive officer, DP World, said: The encouraging performance of the sector underlines Dubais position as the preferred logistics and distribution centre for the automotive industry in the region which has been with us since the beginning. We recognise how the industry has been an integral part of our success story and thank all our customers for their continued trust in us. The vehicle and transport sector accounts for 11 per cent of Jafzas customers base and there are currently 546 automotive companies from 62 countries, employing around 8,200 people." Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone form an ideal Ro-Ro hub close to some of the world's largest emerging markets. Almost 1.1 million vehicles moved through the port in RoRo carriers and containers in 2017. Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO and managing director, DP World, UAE Region, and CEO of Jafza, said: Our integrated model of world class port and free zone at Jebel Ali is the most efficient in the region, supported by multimodal connectivity. Our flagship Jebel Ali Port is served by more than 180 shipping lines that offer over 80 services a week, making it the gateway to the UAE and wider GCC and connecting to a global network in 40 countries. The Customers Forum provides an opportunity for DP World, UAE Region and Jafza based companies to explore ways to improve efficiencies and enhance support services in challenging market conditions, he added. There is rising optimism for the UAEs automotive sector following two years of strong headwinds. According to BMI Research, a Fitch Group company, 2018 will see a 4 per cent growth in new vehicle sales in the UAE. BMI Researchs growth forecast for the Mena region is 7.3 per cent in 2018, led by commercial vehicle sales, while the GCC markets will return to positive growth of 2.9 per cent. A panel discussion was held during the forum on Automotive Supply Chain with Franz Redwitz, managing director of MAN Truck & Bus Middle East; Dr Nima Mehrdadi, managing director of Hella Middle East; Marc Pasquet, president of Michelin Africa India and Middle East Region and Tariq Mahmood, general manager of Cars 4U. The speakers expressed their optimism about the growth of the automotive sector locally and regionally under ambitious projects, especially in Saudi Arabia. Leading industry players including Honda, Nissan, Ford, Michelin, and Al Futtaim Logistics among others attended the forum. TradeArabia News Service Etihad Cargo and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC), one of the worlds leading conservation programmes, recently transported a shipment of more than 100 vulnerable Houbara bustards for release into their natural habitats. In the past three years, the partnership between the two organisations has led to the successful relocation and integration into the wild of more than 3,000 Houbara across the world. The venture, which is part of the Sheikh Khalifa Houbara Reintroduction Programme, began in 2014, when the two organisations signed a partnership agreement. In 2017 alone, more than 2,000 birds were transported safely to countries in Asia and North Africa, which have more hospitable environments, thereby increasing the birds long-term survival. The Houbara are bred in centres in Abu Dhabi managed by IFHC and then released into their natural habitat in countries across the world. IFHC has developed protocols based on ground breaking ecology on the breeding and release of the Houbara, and every release site is studied to ensure the birds have the optimal chance of survival. Justin Carr, vice president of Etihad Cargo, said: Our motto is From Abu Dhabi to the world and it is literally the case with our partnership with IFHC. It is an honour to be able to safely transport the Houbara to countries where they can thrive, and play a small part in Abu Dhabis project of restoring this iconic species in the wild. Etihad Cargo has a strong record of safely transporting animals around the world be it returning vulnerable or endangered species to their natural habitat or reuniting pets with their families. Commenting on the partnership, Mohammed Saleh Al Baidani, director-general of IFHC, said: The range of the Houbara stretches from Morocco to Mongolia, so it is critical that we are able to move the birds from Abu Dhabi to countries across the species range safely and securely. Etihad Cargo has proved itself in terms of destinations and security, and together we are helping restore the iconic Houbara to countries where it has been in historic decline. It is another example of how Abu Dhabi is leading the way, both in conservation and commerce. Abu Dhabis Houbara programme was initiated over 40 years ago by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, to restore sustainable wild populations of the species to the areas of the world where they were under threat of extinction. In that time, it has developed into the worlds leading Houbara conservation programme. Etihad Cargo receives the Houbara at the Live Animals facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The climate in the aircraft hold is adjusted to the ideal level to ensure the birds comfort during the flight. As is standard when transporting live animals, the Houbara are the last to be loaded onto the aircraft and the first to be offloaded. In 2016, Etihad Airways signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration, as a demonstration of support for the prevention of trade in illegal wildlife. The UAE is signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the airline provides the necessary support to help ensure that wildlife controlled under Cites is not carried unless the necessary paperwork is in order. While the transport of Houbara is usually prohibited under Cites, permission is granted on this occasion in support of an official conservation programme. - TradeArabia News Service Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) chief executive officer Tim Murray is a key speaker at CRUs 23rd World Aluminium Conference, currently being held in London, UK. The event which kicked off on April 23, will run until April 25, at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower. During the keynote panel on Primary Aluminium, Murray presented on Albas Line 6 Expansion Project Update describing it as Bahrains largest non-oil endeavour in its modern history, said a statement. Murray said: We are currently the fifth largest smelter in the world; I am proud to say that in CRU 2019, our company will be the worlds largest smelter with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million metric tonne per year. On the back of our resilience in 2017 and as we prepare in 2018 to finish from the construction of our project, I am confident that we will succeed in taking-off Line 6 Expansion Project into reality and deliver the First Hotel Metal on January 1, 2019, he added. CRUs World Aluminium Conference is an annual event that is widely recognised as one of the top industry events, which attracts influential delegates and key decision makers from the global aluminium industry. The event brings together over 200 delegates from around the world such as China, Europe, US, Middle East, India, Africa and Australasia, it stated. TradeArabia News Service In a major boost to Jordan's renewable energy sector, the government has officially commissioned the 105 MW Quweira Solar Power Plant, being funded by UAE-based Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). In a major boost to Jordan's renewable energy sector, the government has officially commissioned the Quweira Solar Power Plant, being funded by UAE-based Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). Senior officials of ADFD, a leading national entity for development aid, which provided Dh550 million ($150 million) worth of funding for the 105 MW renewable energy plant, today (April 26) attended the official commissioning of the plant. The project involved the installation of 328,320 photovoltaic panels that are expected to produce 227 GWh of solar power annually over a period of 20 years, enough to illuminate about 50,000 homes, said a statement from ADFD. Located in the southern part of Jordan, the 105 MW renewable energy project was inaugurated by Hani Fawzi Al Mulki, Prime Minister of Jordan in the presence of Saleh Kharabsheh, Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Adel Al Hosani, Director of the Operations Department at ADFD, Mubarak Al Ketbi, Consul General at the UAE Embassy in Jordan and several senior Jordanian officials. Speaking on the occasion, Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the director general, said "ADFD's involvement in the Quweira Solar Power Plant project is in line with its active assistance to Jordan with which the UAE enjoys time-tested bilateral ties." "Through financing several major development projects in Jordan, the Fund has ensured a positive impact on the lives of thousands of Jordanians and helped Jordans government to fulfil its socio-economic plans and development goals," he noted. In line with its focus on inclusive social and economic development across developing countries, ADFD has prioritised renewable energy as a catalyst for growth, enabling the provision of clean, reliable and affordable power that boosts incomes and enhances energy security, added Al Suwaidi. Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad N. Fakhoury praised the UAE and its leadership for the ongoing support to the Jordanian people and the countrys role in helping the Jordanian government achieve sustainable development. The minister also lauded ADFD for its efforts in financing and managing development grants, pointing out that its contribution has significantly increased the efficiency of the services provided to Jordanian citizens and advanced the economic development in the country. Stressing the importance of the Quweira Solar Power Plant, Fakhoury said this strategic project marks a milestone in adopting renewable energy in Jordan, in line with the Jordanian governments objective of generating 20 per cent of energy from renewables by early-2020. The scope of work included the provision of electrical switches, a medium voltage and signal cable system, transformers and all required equipment to connect the plant to the national power grid, said the ADFD statement. The support also covered civil construction works, roads and safety systems as well as overall project operation and management, it added.-TradeArabia News Service International airport operator Groupe Aeroports de Paris (ADP) has completed the acquisition of a controlling 51 per cent stake in Airport International Group (AIG), operator of Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. The announcement came during a press conference, which involved a tour of the airport, held at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA), in the presence of Jordanian Minister of Transport and Municipal Affairs Eng. Walid Masri; Muhannad Shehadeh, Jordanian Minister of State for Investment Affairs and chairman of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC); Groupe ADP chairman and CEO, Augustin de Romanet; ADP International chief international officer and the new chairman of Airport International Group, Fernando Echegaray; Airport International Group CEO, Kjeld Binger, and several representatives of the local and international media. Groupe ADP, which offers expertise in international airport investment and operation, with airports such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport among its enterprises, has owned a 9.5 per cent stake in Airport International Group via a subsidiary since 2007, when Airport International Group was awarded a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement to rehabilitate, expand and operate Queen Alia International Airport through an $850 million public-private partnership (PPP) plan. With this acquisition, Groupe ADP now owns 51 per cent, with the remaining shares distributed among Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments 32 per cent, Mena Airport Holding Ltd. 12.25 per cent and Edgo Investment Holdings Ltd. 4.75 per cent. Following the completion of the acquisition, Groupe ADP will be implementing strategies in the near future to further enhance the services and traveller experience offered at QAIA. Its top priorities will be integrating QAIA routes into Groupe ADPs broad network, managing extension and upgrading works and ensuring continuous advancement across all operations. On behalf of Groupe ADP, Romanet said: This new step is strategic for Groupe ADP as it serves to strengthen our ties with Jordan, and I extend my thanks to the Government of Jordan for its confidence and trust in us. Queen Alia International Airport is one of the best airports in the Middle East, and Groupe ADP, having already been a shareholder of Airport International Group through ADP International, has contributed to the superb performance and growth of the airport over the last 10 years. By acquiring control of Airport International Group, Groupe ADP will be able to fully spread its limitless know-how, expertise and offerings. Alongside our co-shareholders, Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments and Edgo Investment Holdings Ltd., we aim to reinforce the routes network, departing from Amman, and improve the quality of service for passengers and the performance of aeronautical and retail activities, for the benefit of all stakeholders. Lastly, a big part of our goal is to ensure sustainable and socially responsible operations and the continuous development of the infrastructure for the remaining duration of the concession. Binger said: In recent years, Jordan has been in the global spotlight, evoking the interest of foreign investors with its investment-friendly environment and policies, which in turn, contributes to the kingdoms economic growth. We are proud to be working with Groupe ADP, as they possess a repertoire of internationally acclaimed airports and worldwide experience in airport management. This step marks a pivotal moment in our journey with Queen Alia International Airport, as we aspire to build on the substantial success we have achieved thus far, and reach unprecedented levels of excellence and innovation in the years to come. - TradeArabia News Service Royal Jordanian's (RJ) loyalty programme members can now earn more miles when purchasing gourmet Mediterranean treats, cakes, pastries and chocolates through any of Zalatimo Sweets shops in Jordan or online. Zalatimo Sweets Company is t he latest loyalty membership partner to join RJ. Royal Plus members will earn 5 award miles for each JD1 ($1.4) spent at Zalatimo Sweets shops located in different areas in Amman. One can also earn miles while dining in at any of La Mirabelle branches in Amman or when shopping from Lausanne Chocolates. President/CEO Stefan Pichler said: Earning Miles has become so easy with our airline partners. Our customers can earn miles through their daily activities with our non-airline partners. And our latest partnership comes with one of the big and well-established names in high-quality gourmet products in Jordan, Zalatimo Sweets Company. We are keen to take our loyalty programme to the next level, by enhancing the members experience, strengthening the programs offerings and improving its benefits. Our aim is to further engage our members, drive loyalty, retention and acquisition of new members. Abdallah Zalatimo, CEO of Zalatimo Sweets Company, said: We look forward to our partnership with Royal Jordanian and are thankful for their confidence in us. Such partnerships will enhance the satisfaction of the clients of both companies and allow them to have extra benefits. In addition to Zalatimo Sweets, RJs Royal Plus programme partners with a number of local and international companies, including hotels, banks and financial institutions, car rentals and retailers. - TradeArabia News Service Hospitality chain Marriott International has announced the opening of a new AC Hotel in New York Times Square, marking the brand's debut in the city. The Midtown hotel melds an urban vibe with classic elements that hark back to the brands Spanish roots. The entrance lobby is 23 feet high with a large, open staircase to the lower level illuminated by a skylight shed roof. Its 290 guest rooms offer an oasis in the midst of the bustle of NYC with a sleek and classic modern style. With options like floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies, guests can enjoy unparalleled city views. AC Hotel New York Times Square features two food and beverage experiences. The beloved NYC restaurant Boqueria will bring its lively Spanish tapas and signature convivial spirit to 260 West 40th Street, adjacent to the new AC Hotel lobby. The restaurant features a location-specific breakfast menu, a large rotisserie, and time-honored favorites like Pan Con Tomate, Pulpo a la Plancha, and Paella de Mariscos from Catalan chef Marc Vidal. Castell, a year-round rooftop lounge will be open to guests and locals alike when it debuts in May 2018, serving up views of NYCs iconic skyline along with shareable plates, Happy Hour rituals and cocktails, including the brands signature Gin & Tonic. We are delighted to introduce New York City to the AC brands New Way to Hotel, said Corry Oakes, president/CEO of OTO Development, the Johnson Management company that developed and operates the new hotel. In addition to intriguing architectural details, local artwork in common spaces, and dynamic culinary options at Boqueria and Castell Lounge, what guests will truly appreciate is having space to breathe in this city that never sleeps. AC Hotel New York Times Square brings travellers the best of contemporary European architecture infused with the design-forward spirit of the NYC Fashion District, as interpreted by Helpern Architects. Visitors are drawn into the elegant, double-height lobby via a granite-paved plaza; as they enter through the pleated glass facade, they become immediately aware of the signature materials such as Venetian terrazzo, quarter-sawn dark walnut millwork, and the dark patina of statuary bronze that makes the whole area glow. The modern-day grand stair that wraps top to bottom of the lobby and the large, open well-lit space make for the perfect backdrop for the propertys impressive art installations. With the Spanish heritage of the AC Hotels by Marriott brand, our design-driven hotel brings new inspiration to the city, said Benjamin Britton, general manager of AC Hotel New York Times Square. We provide everything essential you need and nothing you dont creating a seamless, tranquil and frictionless experience for our guests, whether theyre traveling for business or leisure. The AC Hotel in Times Square has developed signature programming, with attention to detail at every step each one crafted to encourage guests to slow down in this hectic city. With elements such as lavender sachets at turndown (freshly made each day) to help promote better sleep, guests will feel taken care of but not fussed over. Other amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, 3,365-sq-ft of event space, and an AC Market featuring locally sourced items such as Hells Kitchen Hot Sauces. At AC Hotels, everything is done with intention while creating harmony we believe if we have time to make it, we have time to make it beautiful, said Benoit Racle, Global Brand Leader, AC Hotels by Marriott. We are so pleased to welcome AC Hotel New York Times Square to the AC Hotels family as our first New York City property, and to be able to offer visitors and locals in Manhattan a tranquil space in the heart of the city to relax, reflect and reset. The purposeful design of AC Hotel New York Times Square features a collection of artwork by a mix of local and well-known artists. Ranging from sculptures to abstract painting, these expressive pieces are visible in shared spaces to inspire guests during their stay one could almost call it a private art gallery. Guest room walls feature photography of New York Citys unique and iconic architecture such as Fulton Street Station and the Oculus. This new AC Hotel is perfectly positioned near the Garment District and only a half-block from the Times Square public transportation hub. The hotel is the first of two planned for the European-inspired AC Hotels by Marriott brand in Manhattan this year, with a second property expected to open in the Financial District later in 2018. - TradeArabia News Service Rwanda has launched the ultimate adventure 'bucket list, exclusively tailored for residents of the Middle East looking for fun and excitement. The getaway packages were announced by the Rwanda Development Board at the recently concluded Arabian Travel Market. Rwanda A land of remarkable hills Two Bucket List Rwanda packages are on offer including a luxury package that highlights a two-night stay in a luxury mountain lodge with one day mountain Gorilla trekking tour, helicopter transfers, two-night stay at a five-star hotel in the capital city Kigali, and complimentary private tour to Kigalis Artisan Shopping Centre and Kigali Museum. The second package is a three-night Long Weekend Getaway, including one night in a four-star resort in the Nyungwe Forest with Canopy Walk and Primates encounter, and two nights at a four-star Kigali hotel with complimentary private tour to Kigalis Artisan shopping Centre and Kigali Museum. Another rare tourist experience highlighted in the promotional packages as an optional tour is the possibility to take part in rural community service activities. The Rwandan national programme, known as Umuganda, means coming together in common purpose. It is held on the last Saturday of each month, from 8am to 11am. During this day, people across the country, aged 18 to 65, come together and contribute to the building of their country. The concept is related to the idea of solidarity and a communal sense of living, and all over the country one can see people participate in cleaning streets, cutting grass and trimming bushes along roads, or repairing public facilities and building houses for vulnerable people. A result of these activities is that Rwanda is one of cleanest countries in Africa. International tourists are also encouraged to join locals in this unique and fulfilling community experience, with special tours arranged for this purpose. Belise Kariza, chief tourism officer, Rwanda Development Board, said: We understand that the people residing in the Middle East are well travelled. From today its our mission to have Rwanda included in their travel bucket lists by offering something new, meaningful and inspirational coupled with a plethora of cultural, natural, and soft adventure experiences not to be enjoyed anywhere else. Rightly referred to as Remarkable Rwanda, Rwandas green and mountainous landscapes serve as an undiscovered destination for travel aficionados looking to uncover its secrets in an exclusive setting. The promotional travel packages not only include urban and rural cultural and gourmet experiences, but also opportunities to meet up close with Rwandas prolific and well protected primates including the rare gorillas in the mist. Hiding away in bamboo-covered slopes of the Virunga Mountains, it is estimated only 880 Mountain Gorillas remain in the world. Rwanda is one of only three countries where these critically endangered gorillas live. In addition to gorilla trekking, adventurers are also able to encounter three other species of primates when in Rwanda, including wild Chimpanzees, Black-and-white colobus monkeys, and the endangered Golden monkey. - TradeArabia News Service Emirates stand was buzzing at this years Arabian Travel Market (ATM), with over 18,000 visitors making their way to the stand to experience the airlines signature products and services. Visitors were also able to experience the new Boeing 777-300ER First Class Private Suite for the first time at ATM. In addition, the Emirates stand showcased the airlines recently launched products and service enhancements including latest Boeing 777 Business Class seat, the A380 OnBoard lounge, along with other iconic products such as the First Class Shower Spa and its generously-pitched Economy Class seats. UAE royal dignitaries and VIP guests visited the Emirates stand including HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah; Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department; Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; and Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Ghanaian minister of aviation. Over 125 meetings took place with industry trade partners and suppliers. Emirates also signed four agreements and memorandums of understanding with strategic partners to develop and enhance tourism traffic to destinations in its route network as well as its home of Dubai. ATM ran from April 22-25 and is the regions largest travel trade exhibition. - TradeArabia News Service Following its success in marketing the country as a top mice destination, the Saudi Exhibition & Convention Bureau has become a member of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and has invested in a much larger stand at IMEX in Frankfurt 2018 A total of 23 venues, event organisers and services companies from the kingdom will be partnering with the SECB for the event. In addition, the SECB has become a sponsor of the IMEX Policy Forum. Eng Tariq Al-Essa, CEO of the SECB, said: Becoming a member of the ICCA is testimony to our commitment to engaging in the meetings industry worldwide. This will enable us to utilise the expertise of the ICCA and enhance the meetings business of Saudi Arabia. The 23 partners on the stand will provide an excellent selection of the extensive range of over 500 first class hotels, convention and exhibition facilities available in the leading cities across the country. These venues are the culmination of significant investment by the kingdom in infrastructure that has transformed the meetings industry to welcome bigger business events. They are also supported and complemented by the establishment of the Saudi Academy for Event Management, opened in March 2017. Al-Essa said: As the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, IMEX in Frankfurt is an ideal opportunity for us to build on the strong interest and connections that we have created among influential meetings planners from around the world, especially within associations, to meet them and show them the many superb facilities that Saudi Arabia can offer. - TradeArabia News Service New Delhi, (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the rape and murder of a young girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir as it asked the accused to respond to the plea for the transfer of trial to Chandigarh. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra stayed the trial which was listed for Saturday in Kathua, saying it would hold a hearing on the plea for transfer of trial on May 7. The victims father has moved the top court seeking the transfer of trial from Kathua to Chandigarh. Support TwoCircles Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir government had opposed the transfer of the trial saying that the state had a different penal code Ranbir Penal Code and transfer of trial would pose inconvenience to the witnesses. Appearing for the victims father, senior counsel Indira Jaising, while seeking the transfer of trial to Chandigarh which she said was the next destination in proximity of Kathua, also urged the court to monitor the trial. She also told the court that except for the name, both Indian Penal Code and Ranbir Penal Code were same. The top court had on April 26 said that it would shift the Kathua gang-rape and murder trial out of Jammu and Kashmir at the slightest possibility of lack of a fair trial. Meanwhile, the Central government on Friday told the top court that it would extend whatever assistance was required from it. The Central government is a respondent in a related petition seeking transfer of investigation from the Jammu and Kashmir Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation, a plea opposed by the victims father. The apex court has been moved by two of the accused in the case, Sanji Ram and Vishal Jangotra, seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI. Lawyer Anjua Kapur too has moved a PIL seeking the transfer of investigation to CBI. 2018 in Azerbaijan was declared the Year of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), in connection with which international conferences, exhibitions are held and books are published. The first major event outside of Azerbaijan dedicated to the centenary of the ADR was held at the History Faculty of the Moscow State University. It was a scientific and practical plenary session titled 'Russian Revolution and History of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic: a look back a century later', whose participants discussed, in particular, the influence of the Russian Revolution on the development of Azerbaijani culture. Associate professor of the Department of History of the CIS countries of the Faculty of History of the Moscow State University Perikhanum Ragimova, speaking about the activities of the ADR aimed at the revival of the Azerbaijani statehood, said: "To realize the task, it was necessary to form a new generation in the spirit of preservation or development of national identity. Realization of all these tasks required the educational reform. All schools on the territory of Azerbaijan were nationalized. Nationalization included the introduction of the Azerbaijani language in national schools. Nevertheless, there were Russian schools, Armenian schools, and German schools on the territory of the ADR. They received the same attention, they were funded by the Azerbaijani government. But they had funding and staff problems. In a relatively short period, universities were opened, the Azerbaijani government adopted a resolution on the opening of the Pedagogical University, on the opening of the Baku University." Along with the changes in the sphere of education, there have been changes in the sphere of culture. "The repertoire of the Azerbaijani theaters has been changed, which was aimed at reviving the Azerbaijani identity. The troupes were created in the theaters, which consisted only of Muslims. The ADR existed until April 1920, but in a short period of its existence it was not directed towards nationalism, as in addition to the national Azerbaijani schools there were schools of national minorities in Azerbaijan, teaching in which was conducted in the Turkic as the language of instruction," the historian noted. Meanwhile, according to Ragimova, when the Soviet power was established on the territory of Azerbaijan, the language policy was changed, Russian as the language of instruction was introduced in schools. Later, the development of Azerbaijani culture continued - in the 1940s the film 'Arshin Mal Alan' was released, and in the 1970s and 1980s there was a rise of Azerbaijani cinema. Polad Bulbul oglu and Muslim Magomayev became widely known. "Magomayev made a great contribution to the development of the musical art of both Soviet Azerbaijan and post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Therefore, he was extremely popular. His first performance in Moscow was in 1963. He treated his country with piety," Ragimova said. Soviet power, despite the excesses in the sphere of national policy, leveling of linguistic and national borders, had provided valuable inputs to Azerbaijan's humanitarian sphere. "A lot of attention was paid to science as well. In 1934, a branch of the Academy of Sciences was opened in Azerbaijan. Literacy was raised, universities were built, theaters were opened," the historian said. Istanbul-based armored vehicle manufacturer BMC won the contract to mass produce Turkey's next-generation main battle tank (MBT), Altay. Following the bidding process the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) would now hold talks on the deal with BMC to mass produce and develop the battle tank, an SSM source said on condition of anonymity. Studies for a modern battle tank to serve the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) began at the end of the 1990s. The first stage focused on the production of foreign tanks in Turkey with local partners and searches in that direction continued until 2004. Turkish automobile giant Otokar won the bid to develop Altay prototypes using local resources and facilities. The company developed a number of prototypes, which successfully went through a series of tests. Starting off with 250 vehicles, the number will gradually be raised to 1,000; boosting Turkey's ground forces inventory to great extent. Meanwhile, the economic size of the project, spread over more than 20 years, is expected to reach $25 to $30 billion, Daily Sabah reported. The mass production phase of Altay will see the maximum contribution by a number of local producers, including BMC, ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, and the Machinery and Chemical Industry Institute (MKEK). Classified as a "Third Generation Advanced" tank, Altay will be equipped with state of the technology, capable of providing all kinds of tactical support for a 21st-century army. The tank is expected to become a critical element for the Turkish military in future thanks to its excellent mobility, superior firepower and durability. We do not elect a good, moral person with high reputation, but we choose the idea and I do not rule out that those fellow citizens who are dissatisfied with todays policy, maybe all of them want him to be the PM, but maybe not, Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan said in an interview to Shant TV, News.am reported. According to him, Nikol Pashinyan dictates his agenda during the talks. "We are speaking about democracy, pluralism, ability to listen to one another, tolerance, Constitution and a parliamentary country, but this is like a monopoly, monopoly of the political field," he said. According to him, we have to develop the political culture that one should listen to another. "Now our citizens gathered in one place say that this person is our Prime Minister, others gathered somewhere else say the Prime Minister is that one. How will we chose who the PM is? For that there is a platform where the PM must present his program. I think Mr. Pashinyan has his program of what kind of country he wants to build, what targets he will outline in terms of security, foreign relations, economic growth, social, justice and so on. Maybe they are dissatisfied with todays management, but if you give them an opportunity to choose between this or that person, his program and team, maybe its not Mr. Pashinyan. For that reason we say that the Constitution has regulated all that. Come to the National Assembly with your program, and if you have enough supporters you can become the Prime Minister. But I do not think we had wished to create a society where one could monopolize, saying I am the only Prime Minister, there is no other candidate, I dictate the agenda during the negotiations, you have no right to bring your agenda," Karapetyan noted. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during the meeting with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May in London that that the agenda of bilateral relations between the two countries is very wide and Baku and London are actively cooperating in various directions, namely, political, economic, energy, trade and investment spheres. President Aliyev noted that active work is being carried out to expand and diversify trade ties and there is great potential for that, the Azerbaijani presidents press service reported. The British PM, in turn, congratulated President Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election. She expressed gratification with the meeting with President Aliyev and stressed that this visit of the Azerbaijani president will create a good opportunity for discussing the issues in the field of economy, trade, energy and security. May stressed the importance of the agreement signed between Azerbaijanis state oil company SOCAR and BP in terms of expanding cooperation. She expressed gratitude for the participation and support rendered by Azerbaijan for peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. Iranian parliament members of Turkish origin signed a letter denouncing remarks by a senior advisor to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in which he called Azeris "Turkish-speaking Persians." The letter written by Nader Ghazipour and Hadi Bahadori, two deputies representing Urmia district, the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran, said that Ali Younesi, President Hassan Rouhani's special assistant for ethnic groups and religious minorities affairs, is hurting the country's security by ethnic discrimination. The deputies accused Younesi of insulting the Turkic society which speaks different dialects of the Turkish language and constitutes around 40% of the Iranian population. In an interview with Qanun newspaper, Younesi said Azeris were different than Turks and in fact, they were Persians who were speaking the Persian language and started speaking in Turkish only some 300 years ago. The letter, signed by 50 deputies of Turkish origin, said Azeri people's history and language is "as old as the history of humankind" and blamed Younesi of using racist language, that of the last Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi's administration, Daily Sabah reported. Roughly 30 million Azeri Turkmen and Qashqai people of Turkic origin are estimated to live in Iran, but their mother tongue is not officially recognized. The ethnic community has been seeking schools in their language and more government investment in their areas. First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group in the Senate of France, Senator Alain Houpert. Noting that Alain Houpert visits Baku as the head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group, Mehriban Aliyeva touched upon relations between the two countries and expressed her satisfaction with the very successful development of the Azerbaijani-French relations in all spheres. The First Vice-President of Azerbaijan said that successful cooperation in political, economic and other spheres has been established between Baku and Paris, noting that the Azerbaijani-French inter-parliamentary relations play an important role in strengthening of these relations. She also said that many events have been held in this regard over the recent years. Touching upon the economic relations, the First Vice-President noted the very successful cooperation in the energy sector, said that cooperation was also established in the fields of transport, agriculture, ecology and other spheres. She stressed the successful activity of many French companies in Azerbaijan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the existing deal with Iran was not sufficient to curb its nuclear program, while Tehrans influence must be contained, RT reported. We are of the opinion that the JCPOA is the first step that has contributed to slowing down their activities in this particular respect, that also established a better verification and monitoring process. But we also think, from the German perspective, that this is not sufficient in order to see the Iranian ambitions curbed and contained, Merkel said, adding that Tehrans geopolitical influence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq must be countered. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday touched upon Turkey-U.S. relations welcoming the recent close contact between the two NATO allies, Stoltenberg said in a news conference following the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, News.am reported citing Anadolu Agency. It was clearly stated during my visit in Ankara that there is now close contact between the United States and Turkey on how to move forward in a way which is as coordinated as possible to avoid any unnecessary problems in northern Syria, Stoltenberg said referring to his visit to the capital on April 16. On Turkeys purchase of the Russian air defense system, S-400, Stoltenberg said: It is a national decision by any NATO ally to decide what kind of equipment they acquire. What matters for NATO is of course the question of whether it's going to be integrated into the NATO air defense system. NATO chief said he also discussed with Turkish officials in Ankara about the U.S. statements on possible sanctions against Turkey. Turkish authorities have detained four suspected senior ISIS extremists in an operation in Turkey's city of Izmir. The suspects include the group's so-called "emir," or ruler, of Syria's Deir el-Zour, and its environs, Anadolu Agency said. It described the other three suspects as senior operatives within the extremist group. Hurriyet newspaper said the four were captured as part of a joint operation by Turkey's intelligence agency and police anti-terrorism units. The suspects were hiding among a group of Syrian refugees planning to cross into Europe, the newspaper reported. The four are being questioned by anti-terrorism police in Izmir. Armenian protests have no geopolitical context at all, they are not against Russia, it is purely domestic, opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan said following his meeting with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin. During the meeting, Russia promised not to interfere in the course of events in Armenia, while Pashinyan assured the Russian ambassador that there was no hint of anti-Russian sentiments in his movement. "This isnt a movement against Russia, or against the United States or the European Union or Iran or Georgia," Pashinyan said in an interview with Russias RBC newspaper published Thursday. "This is a movement against corruption, a movement against ineffective rule and its a purely domestic Armenian movement." The politician added that the sides discussed a lot of issues, particularly, the situation in Armenia and its further development. "We discussed how Russia can understand the situation and how Russia can help resolve this situation," News.am cited Pashinyan as saying. According to him, the sides also touched upon Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan said that he met with the republic's President Armen Sarkisyan and discussed the situation in the country with him, Pashinyan wrote on Facebook on Friday. "Yesterday evening I met with Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan. We discussed the situation in Armenia and possible ways to settle it. Mr Sarkisyan brought with him documents [confirming] that [he] had lost UKs citizenship in December 2011," TASS cited Pashinyan as saying. On April 23, Serzh Sargsyan resigned as the countrys prime minister under the pressure of the opposition. The election of the new cabinet of ministers is due on May 1. It will be held at the parliament as an open voting. The opposition demands Pashinyans election as the new head of government. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia agreed to an early parliamentary election, but considers the oppositions demand to elect its leader as prime minister as anti-constitutional. Russia will allow imports of tomatoes from all Turkish producers from May 1, not only those that were included in the list of earlier approved exporters, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) said. The agricultural watchdog considers it possible, under guarantees of the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, to allow imports of tomatoes from Turkey to the territory of Russia from May 1, 2018, without any restrictions on enterprises from production sited free from tomato moth, TASS reported. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and United Nations Under Secretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu have discussed a wide range of disarmament and non-proliferation issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "There was a thorough discussion of regional security issues, including the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Irans nuclear program, Syrias chemical weapons issues and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue," the statement reads. The parties also exchanged views on matters concerning arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. "Special attention was paid to factors affecting strategic stability, such as the deployment of global missile defenses, the implementation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and the New START treaty," TASS cited the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying. "The focus also was on prospects for continuing the nuclear disarmament process, strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), preventing an arms race in space and adopting the Russian-drafted International Convention on Countering Chemical and Biological Terrorism, presented at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva," the statement says, adding that the parties also "touched upon the situation surrounding the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), including the prospects of its entry into force." "The parties emphasized the importance of exchanging views, particularly given efforts to outline the UN secretary generals disarmament agenda," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed Friday's historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea as "encouraging", but warned that more challenges lay ahead, Times of India reported. "This is a first step, it is encouraging, but we have to realise there is still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us," Stoltenberg said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. In the letter, Trump noted that he "looks forward to working" with Ilham Aliyev on the "many areas of mutual interest for the American and Azerbaijani people." "Together we can make progress defeating terrorism, creating jobs, and improving Europes energy security,' US president expressed confidence. "Progress on fighting corruption and peacefully solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will help these efforts," he stressed. "Best wishes to you and the people of Azerbaijan," Trump concluded. The HCM City property sector has continued to attract a lot of foreign investment, especially via mergers & acquisitions. Photo cafeland.vn HCM CITY The HCM City property sector has continued to attract a lot of foreign investment, especially via mergers & acquisitions. Nguyen Hoai Nam, general director of Malaysias Berjaya Viet Nam, told au tu (Invesment) newspaper that his company had sold its two projects in the city to another investor. The Viet Nam Financial Centre (VFC) in District 10 and the Viet Nam International University Township (VIUT) in Hoc Mon District have register capital of US$930 million and $3.5 billion. We cannot disclose detail information because the two sides are on the discussion and all might finish soon, he said. The 7ha VFC, licensed in 2008, would have a five-star hotel, apartment and shopping mall. The 925ha VIUT was also licensed in 2008. It needs to build a university on 100ha, while the remaining can be used for commercial, amusement, and residential facilities. Nam said both projects face challenges and have thus been delayed. Following the sale, work will soon begin. Singapore-based Keppel Land announced that it is buying 40 per cent of the $1.2 billion Empire City in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area. The 14.6ha project received a licence in 2015 for building an 86-floor tower with luxury apartments, office space and a retail area. Besides property, science and technology services and tourism are attracting the most interest from foreign investors. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Finance has promised to study and report to the Government recommendations by the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Industry (VAMI) on policies to promote domestic automobile production. The promise was the ministrys first action in response to the associations series of proposals including a cut in special consumption tax on locally-produced parts, a reduction or exemption of import duties on materials used to produce parts and components as well as an extention to the duration of tax payment guarantees. The change in the special consumption tax on locally-produced parts could violate the World Trade Organisation commitment, according to experts from the finance ministry. Thus, it is necessary to review and evaluate the implementation of tax laws including special consumption tax and value-added tax. It will submit to the National Assembly amendments and supplements to the laws. A representative of Hyundai Thanh Cong Company was quoted by online newspaper plo.vn saying exemptions from special consumption tax for locally-produced auto parts have been applied in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia for a long time. This is to encourage their domestic auto industries to invest in parts and components production and to increase locally produced products. Chairman of the Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Company Tran Ba Duong said the exemption would not only facilitate localisation but also create more advantages to offer competitive prices and benefit customers. Related to the petition to reduce the import tax on materials for parts and component manufacturers, the ministry asked VAMI to provide details of materials that are not domestically available and must be imported. The ministry would co-ordinate with the relevant agencies to study the handling plan and report to the Government for consideration. Currently, the auto producers and manufacturers in Viet Nam have to pay material import tariffs of 15-25 per cent, which is one the reasons why auto production costs in the country are higher than those in Thailand and Indonesia, online newspaper plo.vn reported. As for the VAMIs proposal to extend the duration of tax payment guarantee, which is a maximum 30 days from the date of customs declaration, the ministry said it will consider amending the Law on Export and Import Duties. According to the latest statistics from the General Department of Customs, Viet Nam spent US$78.5 million on importing auto parts and components last week from April 13 to April 19. The imports from Japan were worth $20.9 million, from South Korea $15.7 million, from China $14.6 million, from Thailand $11.2 million and from Germany $6.5 million, respectively. The import of auto parts and components from the five markets occupied 88 per cent of the countrys total auto parts and components imports. VNS By Brian Spence Viet Nams Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 6.81 per cent in 2017, marking its highest growth rate in a decade. The country continues to storm ahead this year, with the economy growing by 7.38 per cent in the first quarter one of the fastest rates in Asia and total growth is expected to be in the region of 6.7-6.8 per cent (the former as targeted by the National Assembly) for the year. It could even hit 7.1 per cent, according to the Asian Development Bank. Looking ahead, the Vietnamese Government is seeking to maintain the countrys growth spurt until 2020, with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc having spoken of moves encouraging private companies which currently account for 43 per cent of GDP to grow and boosting investment into rural areas. Industry and construction are the engine rooms of this growth. Viet Nams competitiveness on wages, high labour productivity and a young population noted for a can-do attitude means it has proven particularly attractive as an offshored manufacturing hub. An electrified economy Having started out in labour-orientated manufacturing, Viet Nam has made huge progress with technology-intensive work, most notably electronics. Those with an outmoded perception of the country may be surprised to learn that Viet Nam is ranked 18th among the worlds fastest-growing electronic exporters (mainly of finished goods, rather than just components like other countries) and that high-tech products have contributed around a quarter of GDP for several years now. Smartphones are a huge part of this story, with Samsung factories being a case in point. Employing some 170,000 people, Samsung accounted for almost a quarter of Viet Nams total exports last year. But the boost the South Korean electronics giant has wrought for Viet Nam has been far reaching. As might be expected, its Thai Nguyen factory alongside its sister facility in Bac Ninh Province have transformed the fortunes of the locations in which they are based. Whole service economies have sprung up to feed, entertain and accommodate their workers and executives, along with whole networks of suppliers to the factories themselves, making these provinces among Viet Nams richest. Thus, growth begets growth. Outward-looking and open Samsung is just one example of how Viet Nam is welcoming foreign industry since the country first opened up to it in 2015, most notably entering a trade pact with South Korea. Since then, the country has rapidly become remarkably outward-looking and open to free trade, with a deal soon to be inked with the European Union and Viet Nam being a founding member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As savvy fund managers all over the world know, all this means that Viet Nam has a lot going for it as an investment prospect. Currently, investing in securities is looking very attractive indeed. Last year, the VN and HNX indexes soared by 48 per cent and 46 per cent respectively, with momentum still strong. Those picking real stock-market winners are said to have seen returns of up to 300 per cent - figures that have equity investment firms in the world over paying attention. Booming economic growth also naturally leads to big real estate opportunities, with investors both domestic and foreign piling in. Proactive on problem areas Of course, Viet Nam is not without its issues, but even here very positive moves are being made. Poverty levels have improved rapidly, but progress still needs to be made and youth unemployment can be high, particularly among graduates. Over-reliance on the caprices of foreign investment is not enough, while international funding is tapering off as the countrys economy grows. Dynamic, socially useful business, rather than charity, has to be prioritised alongside plugging the skills gap, and domestic entrepreneurship must be nurtured if growth is to be sustained. In response, the Vietnamese Government has set out ambitions of creating a vibrant start-up nation, with a million new enterprises being born by 2020. With social enterprise a big focus and strong government support (such as creating a special kind of legal form), Viet Nam has created one of the most progressive ecosystems for these types of businesses in Southeast Asia. With this assistance, over 1,000 social enterprises have sprung up in Viet Nam and most are now thriving as registered companies. Many other countries, even in the West, must look on jealously at such progressiveness. Vietnamese dynamism is evident in every aspect of the countrys economy and its merits extend far beyond merely having a young, cheap and plentiful supply of workers although that is clearly playing a great part. Challenges remain, not least the rise of global trade protectionism sparked by China and the US. I am not alone in being hugely optimistic, however. Viet Nam has a rapidly-expanding middle class with aspirations to a Western lifestyle and all around I can see them getting there at ever greater speed. There are a great many reasons why the smart money is staying on Viet Nams further growth. VNS * Brian Spence is Managing Partner of S&P Investments. He has over 35 years of experience in the UK financial services industry as an investment manager, financial planner, and M&A specialist. He is a regular contributor in the UK financial press and has a deep understanding of the financial services community. Brians column will reflect on all the challenges and opportunities within the Vietnamese market, bringing a fresh perspective to todays hottest issues. The columnists email address is brian@sandpinvestments.com. HCM CITY With increasing demand for credit and more people taking part in financial activities, a watchdog is required to protect consumers, a workshop on protection of finance consumers heard in HCM City on April 26. Le Thi Kim Xuan, head of the Viet Nam Banks Associations HCM City office, said financial inclusion is a global trend now. But it does not only mean enhancing access to credit but also protecting consumer rights and improving their finance literacy, she said. Many countries have implemented plans to enhance the publics knowledge of finance and set up a regulator to protect their rights, she said. Though Viet Nam adopted a law on consumer rights protection in 2010, which clearly states the responsibilities of relevant stakeholders in case of consumer complaints, violations remain common, she said. She blamed it on two major factors. Firstly, many consumers remain unaware of their rights due to lack of financial knowledge, and rarely read the contract carefully when borrowing money or signing up for any service, she said. Secondly, financial providers do not fully disclose information to consumers, who end up signing up for something they are not aware of, she said. Therefore, finance education is important and necessary to help consumers access formal financial markets and stay away from loan sharks. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the workshop, James Collan, a financial consumer protection consultant from the International Finance Corporation, said: Viet Nam is facing an increasing indicator of risks due to more citizen participation in financial services, increasing accessibility to credit and more services being offered. That is why a financial consumer protection framework should be put in place to mitigate financial risks and the potential for harm done to consumers, he said. One of the first principles of consumer protection is buyer beware, meaning consumers need to exercise caution and due diligence but given the level of sophistication, coercion and unethical market conduct displayed by a range of financial institutions nowadays, it is not sufficient to place the responsibility solely on the consumers, he said. There needs to be a central body to deal with consumer protection and to build a framework which includes adopting legislation and regulations, and developing education programmes [for consumers]. The central body would work to ensure consumers are informed about their obligations when borrowing money and help resolve disputes between them and financial institutions, he said. Its unreasonable to think that a consumer can take a financial institution to court and pay for the cost of that. You need an alternative method to resolve the dispute. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has given the go-ahead to PetroVietnams proposal of transferring the two gas-fuelled power plants Nhon Trach 3 and 4 to PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power). In an official letter dated April 23, the PM agreed to allow PV Power to replace PetroVietnam as the investor of the two thermal power plants. Late in March, PetroVietnam proposed the transfer plan which aimed to reduce capital pressure on the group so that it can focus on other major State-owned coal, oil and gas projects. The Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants were added in the Viet Nams Power Development Master Plan VII for the period of 2016-20, with vision to 2030. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) approved the construction of Nhon Trach power centre in September 2017 in Ong Keo Industrial Park in ong Nai Province, which is the transmission hub of the southern region comprising three key economic centres HCM City, ong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The two liquid natural gas-fuelled power plants have total capacity of 1,500MW with an estimated total investment of VN33.3 trillion (US$1.5 billion). They are set to be operational by 2020-21. Prior to the agreement, PV Power hinted at entering a joint venture with other investors, with mind to hold 51 per cent of total equity. However, according to MoIT, the establishment of a joint stock company could mean delayed construction, hindering the objective of providing power for the southern region. At present, PV Power is managing operations of Nhon Trach 1 and 2, so PV Power can use the existing infrastructure of these two power plants, such as temporary ports, oil tank depots, diesel oil (DO) tank systems, water systems, warehouses and office buildings, to reduce the investment cost for Nhon Trach 3 and 4. PV Power is the second largest electricity producer in Viet Nam, behind the Electricity of VIet Nam. PV Power has a charter capital of almost VN21.8 trillion (over $956 million), currently managing eight power plants nationwide with a total installed capacity of 4,208MW. By the end of 2017, PV Power supplied 150 billion kWh to the national grid. It reported a total revenue of over VN200 trillion, with a pre-tax profit of VN11 trillion, and contributed nearly VN10 trillion to the State budget. VNS HCM CITY Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VJC HOSE) has targeted a revenue of VN50.97 trillion (US$2.24 billion) and a profit of VN5.8 trillion ($254.4 million) in 2018. These figures represent the respective yearly increases of 20.5 per cent and 10 per cent. These goals were announced at Vietjets Annual General Shareholders Meeting held in HCM City on Thursday. During the meeting, the companys shareholders also approved an increase in the dividend payment of 2018 to 50 per cent. At the event, Luu uc Khanh, Vietjet managing director, said that the company had a successful year in all aspects in 2017. Vietjet received 17 aircrafts, including the first A321 Neo in South East Asia. By continually saving cost efficiently, for the time being, Vietjet is the airline that maintains its most efficient operating cost in the region, Khanh said. Meanwhile, indicators of operation safety, ground operation were the highest in the region. The technical reliability reached 99.66 per cent the highest level for the Airbus A320/321 fleet. In order to continue to expand domestic routes as well as the markets to North Asia region, till the end of 2017, Vietjet operated 38 domestic routes and 44 international routes connecting the cities of more than a half of the worlds population. Last year, the company operated 98,805 safe flights, transporting 17.11 million passengers an increase of 22 per cent over 2016 Khanh told shareholders. Together with an increase in the volume of flown international passengers and international charters, ancillary was up in proportion to the number of flights. Vietjet continued to have a good harvest in term of finance. As per Vietjets audited consolidated financial statements of 2017, its revenue stood at VN42.3 trillion, up 54 per cent year-on-year while after-tax profit reached over VN5 trillion, up 73 per cent. The earning per share reached VN11,356. Following positive business results, the companys Board of Directors got approval from the shareholders to increase the dividend payment of 2017 from 50 per cent to 60 per cent. Accordingly, the company advanced 30 per cent dividend payment in cash and will pay a cash dividend of 10 per cent on May 25. Vietjet will pay a dividend of 20 per cent by shares. With expansion and increasing frequency of international routes to Japan, India and Australia, Vietjet is heading to a multinational airline model with a global vision and competitive ability, the company said in a statement. VNS HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue has agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to exempt three airlines from import tax. These include Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Federal Express Corporation and Japan Airlines. Hue has assigned the Ministry of Finance to implement the proposal and has instructed the customs forces to supervise and closely control the import and use of duty-free goods of the three airlines to ensure that they are used for the right purposes and are consistent with the law. Under the direction of the Deputy PM, the import and use of duty-free goods by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited must be for the right purposes as described in Article 8 of the Agreement on Air Transport, signed between the Vietnamese Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, dated September 10, 1999. For the Federal Express Corporation, the goods must also be used for the right purposes as specified in Article 9 of the Air Transport Agreement, signed between Viet Nam and the United States on April 14, 2004. For Japan Airlines, goods must be used for the right purposes as stated in Article 5 of the Air Services Agreement between Viet Nam and Japan, signed on May 23, 1994. Earlier, the Deputy PM had also agreed to exempt the import tax for imported goods of Singapore Airlines. VNS BA RIA-VUNG TAU Foreign investors may increase their ownership rate at PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals Corporation (PVFCCo) to more than their previous ceiling rate of 49 per cent. The increase in foreign ownership ceiling rate was approved during PVFCCos annual general shareholders meeting (GSM) in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on April 26. According to the resolution passed at the meeting, foreign investors can buy more shares of PVFCCo, coded DPM, when the proportion of shares owned by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), State representative at the corporation, is reduced to less than 51 per cent. Currently, PetroVietnam owns 59.58 per cent of PVFCCos shares and foreigners hold nearly 40 per cent. However, in PVFCCos restructuring plan for the 2016-20 period, PetroVietnam plans to divest capital at its subsidiary to reduce its holding to below 51 per cent. To facilitate the search for strategic investors, shareholders of PVFCCo have agreed to an unlimited share of foreign investors. To implement this resolution, PVFCCo will have to cancel the registration of three industries in its business licence that are subject to restrictions on foreign ownership, including loading and unloading goods, road freight and inland waterways transport. The corporation will also not involve in electricity tranmission and distribution activities, but keep producing power. Removal and adjustment of these business registrations will be in line with the development policy and restructuring plan for the 2016-20 period to focus on the core business of producing and trading fertilisers, a PVFCCo representative said. According to inh Van Son, a member of PetroVietNams Board of Directors, the group is proceeding towards both equitisation and divestment of capital in its affiliates, and the next phase is to seek strategic shareholders for these enterprises to help them restructure successfully. Therefore, PetroVietnam will cooperate closely with PVFCCo and shareholders to accelerate the divestment plan. In terms of performance in 2017, PVFCCo General Director oan Van Nhuom said the corporations revenue in 2017 was close to VN8.2 trillion (US$362.8 million), fulfilling 106 per cent of the plan, while its pre-tax profit reached VN853 billion, or 101 per cent of the plan. Based on the above results, PVFCCo has proposed to pay a dividend of 20 per cent for 2017, including 10 per cent payment in advance and another 10 per cent to be paid after GSMs approval. In the first quarter of this year, the corporation earned a revenue of VN2.1 trillion and a pre-tax profit of VN219 billion, surpassing 13 per cent and 72 per cent of the quarterly plans, respectively. For the entire year, PVFCCo targets a pre-tax profit of VN442 billion and a dividend payout at 10 per cent. VNS HA NOI The domestic financial market has witnessed changes in key personnel in many banks at the 2018 annual general meeting (AGM) season. At its AGM on Thursday, Kien Long Bank elected the Board of Directors (BoD) and Supervisory Board (SB) for the new term, with Le Khac Gia Bao replacing Vo Quoc Thang as chairman of the bank. Born in 1979, Bao has more than 17 years of experience in the banking and auditing sectors and has been head of Kien Long Banks SB for five years. Thang said he had resigned from the position of the banks chairman to meet a regulation of the central bank. The revised Law on Credit Institutions, which was passed by the National Assembly and came into effect on January 15, 2018, prohibits bank leaders from taking up senior positions in other businesses. A day earlier, at ABBanks AGM, its chairman Vu Van Tien also decided to quit to become the chairman of Geleximco to meet the central banks regulation. Tien had served as ABBanks chairman for 15 years. ao Manh Khang, who has more than 15 years of experience in the banking industry, will replace Tien as ABBanks chairman. On April 20, Sacombanks AGM approved the resignation of board member Kieu Huu Dung as per his desire and elected CEO Nguyen uc Thach Diem as board member for the term 2017-21 while also appointing Nguyen Van Huynh as independent board member for 2017-21. Meanwhile, LienVietPostBanks AGM changed its BoD and SB for the new term 2018-23. The banks new chairman is its former deputy chairman, Nguyen inh Thang. Former chairman Nguyen uc Huong was earlier asked to leave the post due to health reasons. ACB also elected its BoD and SB for the new term. The central bank approved ACBs election of eight candidates as BoD for the new term of 2018-23. The candidates include Tran Hung Huy, Nguyen Thanh Long, Dominic Scriven, inh Thi Hoa, ang Thu Thuy, am Van Tuan, Hiep Van Vo (independent board member) and Huang Yuan Chiang (independent board member). ACB had originally announced a list of 11 nominees and self-nominees (of which ACB nominated 10 and the shareholders group, holding more than 10 per cent stake, nominated one), but the central bank did not approve the candidature of three nominees Nguyen Van Hoa, deputy CEO of ACB; o Minh Toan, CEO of ACB and Nguyen Duy Hung, nominated by the shareholders group and related to the banks former chairman, Nguyen uc Kien. It is predicted that senior personnel in the banking sector will continue to be changed in the near future as many bank leaders will have to choose between bank and business as per the central banks regulation. - VNS HA NOI In a letter sent from the battlefield to her mother in 1968, war martyr Vo Thi Tan wrote, Bombs can shake mountains, but they cant stir our will and hearts, my dear mother. Its one among many letters and diaries on display at an exhibition opened yesterday at the Viet Nam Military History Museum in Ha Noi. The exhibition, titled Letters and Diaries of Wartime, introduces 200 letters and diaries, with accompanying pictures, written in the resistance wars against the Americans and French. These documents will help people comprehend the depth of emotion, optimism, belief, and determination of the soldiers who overcame the hardships and sacrifices necessary for national independence, said museums director Nguyen Xuan Nang. The exhibition comprises two parts featuring letters and diaries sent during the wartime. Public display: Visitors at the exhibition of wartime letters and diaries. Photo qdnd.com It aims to educate the public, as well as to encourage members of the armed forces, especially the younger generation, to revisit the revolutions tradition, and reinforce patriotism, national pride and a determination to safeguard the country in a new era, he said. These letters were a means for the soldiers on the battlefield to exchange information and express emotion to their families and loved ones back home. Due to the devastation of the war, many letters couldnt be sent to the receivers. Sometimes, it took many years to deliver the letters. Many of them were old, worn out, and blurred upon being delivered. Most of the letters depict the hardships of the wartime, as well as a strong spirit to overcome the difficulties of war, and a constant hope to reunite with loved ones once the country was liberated, said Nang. The exhibition displayed handwritten diaries of soldiers on the front, some of which include sketches. In focus: A corner of the exhibition of the wartime letters and diaries. VNS Photo Minh Thu They are notes about life, fighting, studying, and thoughts of soldiers on the front or loved ones back home. These diaries are reliable historical sources about life, time, place, and the devastation of the war, said Nang. Nguyen Ba Hanh, a soldier from Military Zone 5, which protected the southern central region, wrote in his diary: The war can destroy everything except the peoples ideal, the desire for peace and the strong will of Ho Chi Minhs soldiers. Among the objects, the diary of war martyr Nguyen Van Nam (1952-72) is showcased to the public for the first time. US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter handed the diary to the then-Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh in 2015. Carter said the belongings of Nam had been lost for 43 years in the US. He said the US military had hoped the personal effects would be returned to the dead soldiers family, to soothe the hurt of the past. In this way, two peoples can look forward to a brighter future, he said. The exhibition will run until May 15 at the Viet Nam Military History Museum, located at 28A ien Bien Phu Street, Ha Noi. Its organised to celebrate the Reunification Day (April 30). VNS Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh meets with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Sydney on April 26 as part of her trip to attend the 2018 Global Summit of Women in the Australian city. VNA/VNS Photo Quang Hai SYDNEY Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh met with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Sydney on April 26 as part of her trip to attend the 2018 Global Summit of Women in the Australian city. Thinh said Viet Nam always treasures relations with Australia and seeks ways to strengthen them further; noting that the elevation of bilateral ties to a strategic partnership will create a foundation for relations to grow. She expressed her delight at trade and investment connections. Bilateral trade has grown by more than 7 per cent each year to nearly US$6.5 billion in 2017, and Australia now has 412 investment projects in Viet Nam with a total capital of $1.8 billion. Thinh praised Australias official development assistance to Viet Nam, particularly for the building of Cao Lanh Bridge in ong Thap Province, which will be completed this May as scheduled. The Vice President agreed to augment cooperation in education, tourism and people-to-people exchange, considering these fields to be the two countries strengths, to reinforce friendship and mutual understanding. She also affirmed that Viet Nam will work closely with Australia to implement the New Colombo Plan. Minister Bishop, who led the Australian delegation at the Global Summit of Women, said Australia was satisfied with the outcomes of the official visit to her country by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, as well as Viet Nams participation in the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, hosted by Australia for the first time last March. She said that Viet Nam is a priority in her countrys foreign policy. She also applauded increased exchanges of high-level delegations, asking the two sides to promote bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including a joint committee at the ministerial level. The official also spoke highly of the role of the Vietnamese community in Australias socio-economic development, noting that her country is always ready to cooperate to solve issues that could affect Viet Nam, as well as improve bilateral ties on the basis of Australias regulations and policies. With regard to the East Sea issue, Minister Bishop affirmed that Australia always attaches importance to the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in and over the East Sea, as well as the settlement of sea-related disputes based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The two sides agreed to continue working closely at regional and international forums. Thinh thanked Australia for supporting Viet Nam in APEC Year 2017, and its candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council. Also on April 26, Thinh received Governor of the Australian state of New South Wales David Hurley. She noted with satisfaction the cooperation between Vietnamese localities and New South Wales, especially in trade and investment. She said with its strength in industry, agriculture, finance and services, the state will become the leading locality in fostering ties with Viet Nam. Governor Hurley lauded Viet Nams attainments in ensuring gender equality, adding that the countrys participation in the Global Summit of Women not only affirms the development of Vietnamese women but also help inspire women in Australia and the world. He promised to create conditions for Vietnamese localities to seek and set up cooperative ties with New South Wales. He also agreed to cooperate strongly to ensure the Vietnamese community is united and contributes to the development of each country as well as Viet Nam-Australia relations. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attends the Viet Nam -Singapore Business Forum in Singapore on April 26. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat SINGAPORE Viet Nam and Singapore need to work for bigger strides in economic, trade and investment cooperation. That was the message from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 26 during an address to the Viet Nam -Singapore Business Forum. Speaking to around 700 delegates from both countries, the PM highlighted the practical foundation for the bilateral collaboration, which was laid by late Singaporean PM Lee Kuan Yew who supported the construction of the first Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the southern province of Binh Duong in 1992. Singapore now has more than 2,000 projects with a total investment capital of over US$43 billion in Viet Nam, and two-way trade has reached nearly $8.5 billion, PM Phuc said, adding that up to 280,000 Singaporean tourists visited the country each year. Viet Nam also has invested in nearly 100 projects valued at more than $200 million in Singapore. The numbers reflect improvements in Viet Nams investment environment, he said, citing a report released by the World Bank at the end of last year which ranked Viet Nams business climate at the 68th position among 190 countries surveyed, up 30 places since 2010. Viet Nam also claimed 55th place among 137 countries in the rankings of the World Economic Forum, the leader added. PM Phuc noted that Viet Nam is scaling up efforts to improve growth quality towards higher productivity and innovations, utilising opportunities generated by the fourth industrial revolution and harmoniously combine the domestic and foreign-invested sectors. He said the number of internet users in Viet Nam is 52 million or 54 per cent of its population, ranking fifth in Asia-Pacific. Up to 55 per cent of people are using smartphones, and the rate is expected to reach 80 per cent by 2020, the highest rate in the region, the PM said, urging Singaporean firms to notice this potential trend. Highlighting Viet Nams efforts to develop innovative start-ups, PM Phuc emphasised that the Vietnamese Government is committed to the best possible conditions for start-up initiatives and intellectual property (IP) rights protection within the framework of the the Law on Intellectual Property recently approved by the Vietnamese National Assembly, while fulfilling its commitments to protecting IP rights within the framework of free trade agreements (FTAs) to which Viet Nam is a signatory. In that spirit, he called on Singaporean partners to continue to share their experience and achievements in start-ups with Viet Nam. Speaking at the forum, President of the Singaporean Manufacturing Federation Douglas Foo said Viet Nam has become a destination of Asian manufacturers, thus opening up opportunities for Singaporean enterprises, especially those operating in civil electronics, garment-textile and food production, and logistics services. Many Singaporean companies have invested in seaports, logistics, housing, and urban and industrial park projects in Viet Nam, Douglas Foo said, stressing that thanks to the support of the Vietnamese Government, seven VSIPs have been established, becoming a symbol of the economic links between the two countries. He called on PM Phuc and the Vietnamese Government to continue to support Singaporean projects in Viet Nam. Singaporean Minister for National Development and Finance Lawrence Wong suggested Viet Nam and Singapore cooperate in energy, oil and gas, and smart city building, along with digital economy. VNS Viet Nam welcomed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterress reform initiatives with a view to fulfilling the UNs mission in peacekeeping and helping member states achieve development goals. Photo Kyodo NEW YORK Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of Viet Nams Permanent Mission to the United Nations, affirmed Viet Nams commitment to promoting peace and security in the region and the world during the UN General Assemblys High-level Meeting on Peace Building and Sustaining Peace, in New York on April 24 and 25. In her speech, Nga said amidst current complicated and uncertain challenges, the UN needs to take a comprehensive approach and put people in the position to prevent and deal with disputes in line with the UN Charter and international law, neither use nor threaten to use force, and respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country. Viet Nam welcomed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterress reform initiatives with a view to fulfilling the UNs mission in peacekeeping and helping member states achieve development goals, she said. The ambassador reiterated Viet Nams consistent policy of peacefully settling disputes, including the East Sea issue, in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and in respect of legal and diplomatic process towards achieving a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea. She revealed that Viet Nam is accelerating preparations for the launch of a level-2 field hospital in South Sudan. In his opening remarks, President of the UN General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak called on member states to give priority to preventing conflicts, building and maintaining peace, and upholding the UNs leadership in strengthening global peace and security, as well as promoting sustainable development and ensuring human rights. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted the need to support member states, especially those hit by conflicts, and called for brainpower, science-technology cooperation and the budgeting of resources to the UNs activities to prevent conflicts, maintain peace and deal with immigration and refugee crises. Participants emphasised the necessity to deal with root causes of conflicts and uphold the role of intermediaries, while encouraging the involvement of women and young people. They agreed to enhance the UNs leadership role and support the UN Secretary Generals reform initiatives to improve the efficiency of the organisations activities. They also agreed to increase collective efforts and partnerships, and pool necessary resources for peace maintenance and sustainable development. As scheduled, the UN General Assembly and Security Council will adopt a resolution on April 26, requesting the UN Secretary General to submit reports on the implementation of recommendations regarding peace building and maintenance. VNS SINGAPORE Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 26 held a meeting with scientists and intellectuals in Singapore to learn about their experience in applying advanced technologies in building a constructive government as part of his official visit to the country. The experts lauded the Vietnamese Governments and the PMs concern for the impacts of the fourth industrial revolution and emphasised the need to adopt cloud-based computing technology, artificial intelligence, big data and 3D technology in the fields of health, agriculture, industry, building of smart cities and e-government, and corporate governance. They suggested training the workforce to tap opportunities arising from the revolution, including issuing mechanisms to attract domestic and foreign scientists and intellects and enhancing training on automation, robotics and nano materials. In order to fuel innovation, the experts suggested the Vietnamese Government issue policies to connect innovation ideas with businesses to bring them to life. According to them, the world will use cloud-based computing technology and Internet-of-Things that will bring changes in many countries. With a young population and presence of the worlds major hi-tech groups in the country, it will be easier for Viet Nam to successfully apply new technologies, they said. PM Phuc, for his part, said Viet Nam is building a strategy on the implementation of the fourth industrial revolution and wished that experts would help Viet Nam adopt smart technologies in health care to offer cheaper and better services to patients. He said Viet Nam recommended three cities to join the ASEAN Network of Smart Cities proposed by Singapore, adding that he wants to continue listening to valuable experiences of Singaporean and Vietnamese intellectuals in national construction. The leader also committed all possible favourable conditions for Singaporean hi-tech firms to invest in Viet Nam and support Vietnamese start-ups. In the afternoon of the same day, PM Phuc visited the Government of Technology Agency of Singapore and studied Singapores plans to build a smart country and digital government. Meeting the Vietnamese embassys staff and Vietnamese nationals in the country, the PM briefed them about the outcomes of the talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, the meeting with President Halimah Yacob and working sessions and the signing of agreements with Singaporean agencies and businesses. He wished that young Vietnamese intellectuals in Singapore will partner with domestic and foreign partners to create collective power to bring the home country forward during the fourth industrial revolution. VNS Vietnamese Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh speaks at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney, Australia, on April 26. VNA/VNS Photo Quang Hai SYDNEY Vietnamese Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh has urged women to take the lead in fostering economic connectivity and international cooperation and equip themselves with new skills and knowledge so that they are not left behind in the digital era and the fourth industrial revolution. Vice President Thinh made the remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney, Australia, on April 26. She spoke highly of what the Global Summit of Women has done over the last three decades to promote the role of women in all spheres of life, particularly in economy, and to strengthen connectivity between women business leaders around the world. Thinh reiterated the importance of strengthening regional and global connectivity, saying it is an irreversible trend which has brought enormous opportunities to countries and businesses to fully tap their potential in the global value chain. She also mentioned Viet Nams contributions to creating shared values of the global economy, particularly through its initiatives within the framework of the APEC Year 2017. Women have played a key role in promoting global governance, inclusive and sustainable development and creating economies of shared values, the Vietnamese leader said. She highlighted Vietnamese womens contributions to the national economy as they make up 48 per cent of the workforce and about 25 per cent of CEOs or members of boards of directors in the country. Joining in regional and global connectivity has given Vietnamese women better access to sustainable development models as well as the worlds latest technologies and knowledge, Thinh noted. On the other hand, Vietnamese women are facing many difficulties, including access to loans and new skills to keep up with the rapid transformation of the global economy, she added. Thinh went on to emphasise that promoting gender equality and empowering women should always be a key pillar of the national policies and women should be provided with better conditions to get access to resources, to expand production and to do business. The 2018 Global Summit of Women is taking place from April 26-28 under the theme Women: Creating Economies of Shared Value. The event has gathered more than 1,200 delegates from over 65 countries and territories, including government leaders, CEOs and executive leaders, business leaders and entrepreneurs from all parts of the world. On the same day, the Vietnamese delegation participated in the Ministerial Roundtable on Public/Private Sector Partnerships Advancing Economic Opportunities for Women and Girls, Mayors Forum, and a session about Doing Business with Australia. The Vietnamese delegation also had a roundtable with Australia on gender equality, in which the two sides shared experiences in promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls, and discussed ways to encourage womens leadership in business. The Global Summit of Women has been held annually for over 27 years. It aims to expand womens economic opportunities globally through exchanges of working solutions and creative strategies forged by women leaders in different parts of the world. It is a business summit, whose business focus is womens advancement in the global economy. VNS HA NOI Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, wrapped up his official visit to Viet Nam on April 27. During the visit from April 23-27, the Sri Lankan parliament leader held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; paid a courtesy visit to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, Nguyen Phu Trong; received representatives from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and leaders of Ninh Binh Province; and attended the Sri Lanka Cultural Festival in Ha Noi. During talks and meetings, the two sides agreed to promote cooperation in several fields, including oil and gas, infrastructure, information and communication technology, textile-garment, leather-footwear, farm produce processing and distribution, renewable energy and aviation and maritime transport. They also agreed to push for aviation connection to facilitate trade and help both countries tap their tourism potential. Regarding defence ties, the two sides vowed to enhance collaboration in logistics, overcoming war consequences and the UN peacekeeping activities. The two sides also pledged to share information and experience and enhance capacity in preventing and fighting trans-national crime and terrorism. On legislative ties, the two sides shared the view that the two parliaments will maintain and increase the exchange of delegations at all levels for the sharing of information and experience in law making and supervision work, while boosting mutual support and coordination at regional and international forums, including the Inter-Parliament Union (IPU). The visit of the Sri Lankan parliament speaker ended with good outcomes, contributing to cementing and developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. VNS HCM CITY More than 270 businesses and households in HCM City have installed solar power panels on roofs with a total capacity of about 3,600KWp, according to the HCM City Power Corp under Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN HCM City). Of the figure, electricity from 245 solar power systems has been sold to the national electricity grid. Pham Quoc Bao, deputy general director of EVN HCM City, said the city has great potential to develop solar power systems connected to the grid, and that residents and enterprises should promote the use of solar power. The corporation has targeted a total installed solar power capacity of about 5MWp this year, he said. According to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, HCM City has the highest level of solar radiation in the country with about 300 sunny days each year. The average solar radiation is 1,581KWh/m2 per year, equivalent to 4.3KWh/m2 per day, in the city. The maximum potential of solar power from high-rise apartment buildings and other households could be up to 1,000MWp. This would help ensure power supply in the city, particularly during the dry season. The corporation has developed incentives to encourage residents and enterprises install solar power systems. The installation of a 1KWp solar power system on an area of about 8sq.m costs about VN22-30 million (US$966-1,318). A household only needs an area of 32sq.m to install a 4KWp solar power system instead of paying about VN1 million ($44) per month (excluding tax) for using a monthly average of about 500KWh of electricity. Solar power sales at the Electricity of Viet Nam took effect in October 2017. Accordingly, all output produced by solar power projects operating before June 30, 2019 will be purchased for VN2,086 (9.3 US cents) per KWh (excluding VAT) for 20 years. However, there are still some bottlenecks in purchasing solar power. For example, residents who sell electricity cannot issue value-added tax invoices. VNS Focusing on legislation and involvement of the public and private sectors are a driving force for attracting investment in transport projects, including the North-South Expressway project. Photo mt.gov.vn HA NOI Focusing on legislation and involvement of the public and private sectors are a driving force for attracting investment in transport projects, including the North-South Expressway project, said Transport Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc ong at a workshop wher World Bank experts and officials of related ministries discussed the implementation plan of the project. Speaking at the workshop on April 26, ong said that a key challenge in infrastructure development in Viet Nam is that the countrys public investment on infrastructure only meets 25 to 30 per cent of demand. The Vietnamese Government is now calling for the involvement of private companies in transport projects under public-private partnership. The North-South Expressway project has faced many challenges relating to inefficient and unsynchronised legal frameworks, and difficulties related to long-term credit. In particular, the law on public-private partnership investment has yet to be enforced, he said. Nguyen Danh Huy, general director of the transport ministrys Public Private Partnership Investment Project Management Department, said that there are currently about ten laws related to public-private partnership investment, but their content remains conflicted and overlapped. Achim Fock, acting country director of the World Bank Viet Nam, said that investment in high-quality expressways is an area where Viet Nam lags behind. The length of high-quality expressways per 1000sq.km is 2km for Viet Nam, compared to around 8km in India, and 13km in China. The North-South Expressway will connect Viet Nam much better, and will create a more integrated economy," he said, "This will increase competitiveness, and ultimately the prosperity of the country and its people." "Unlike traditional projects, the North-South Expressway requires the involvement of public-private sector cooperation, and commercial funding, he said. According to Ministry of Transport, the total investment needed for the North-South Expressway is US$5.3 billion. The State budget will allocate $2.42 billion, while the remaining $2.88 billion must be sourced from investors. The revenue cannot come from the public sector alone, especially given concerns on overall public debt, Achim Fock said, highlighting the significance of the share between public sector and private investors. He said that World Bank and other development partners can also bring experiences from elsewhere to help Viet Nam. The planned North-South Expressway will cover 2,109km in total, and stretch from the northern province of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau. According to research from domestic and international consultants, by 2020, the North-South corridor will serve 45.37 million passengers per year, and transport up to 62.27 million tonnes of cargo per year. The Vietnamese National Assembly and Government issued resolutions to offer policies to facilitate the plan. The Ministry of Science and Technology has submitted to the Government a draft law on public-private partnership investment. VNS HA NOI The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) has proposed amending the law on Vietnamese workers working abroad under contracts to give trade union organisations direct participation in protecting overseas labourers. The confederation made the proposal at a workshop held in Ha Noi on April 26 on trade unions role in supporting Vietnamese working overseas. Speaking at the event, Mai uc Chinh, deputy head of the confederation, said that besides values created for their families and themselves, overseas workers contributed for the socio-economic developments of both sending and receiving countries. In 2017, Viet Nam had nearly 140,000 workers abroad with existing labour contracts in which female workers accounted for 39.6 per cent, exceeding the target of 28.3 per cent. It is estimated there are more than US$2 billion in remittances sent to Viet Nam annually by overseas workers and interns. The reality, however, is not all sunshine and rainbows. Chinh said besides the gains, Vietnamese working abroad face many risks. Due to a lack of information, many had to pay high fees for intermediaries, or were deceived to work illegally. There are also cases of workers abused by employers. Therefore, the intervention of VGCL, according to Chinh, is important to ensure safety forVietnamese working overseas. VGCL suggested that the National Assembly would make amendments on the law of contract-based Vietnamese workers overseas in which the direct participation of VGCL in protecting Vietanese workers abroad would be added. The agency recently has provided workers with consultations, conducted awareness-raising workshops and organised training courses to improve capacity of trade unions officers. The cooperation with trade unions in South Korea and Malaysia, popular countries among Vietnamese labourers, is upheld to protect their fundamental rights and benefits. To support returned workers to reintegrate with the domestic labour market, VGCL asked the International Labour Organisation and the Asian Fund to help the confederation in conducting talks and signing memorandums of understanding on labour cooperation with other countries as well as providing financial as well as technical assistances. Delegates from labour federations in Thanh Hoa and Phu Tho provinces shared their views on the role of labour unions in helping workers before they leave for overseas jobs and after they return home. Many voiced the concern that many guest workers did not join labour unions, which is a major obstacle for the unions in protecting their rights and interests. According to the Vietnamese Department of Overseas Labour (DoLAB) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, in 2017, Taiwan was still the market receiving the largest number of overseas workers, almost 67,000. By November, 2017, there were about 200,000 Vietnamese workers working in Taiwan, accounting for 30 per cent of the economys overseas labour market. Japan, at the same time, witnessed the remarkable increase in Vietnamese workers with more than 54,000 people, including 23,530 females. Viet Nam also sent the largest number of interns to Japan with 150,000 people in the past 20 years. Besides traditional sectors including industry or services, some labour markets are seeking for workers in nursing and agriculture, creating more job opportunities for Vietnamese workers. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Algeria are among many other labour markets receiving a large number of Vietnamese working overseas in 2017. The growth showed Governmental agencies efforts in organising dialogues with about 280 labour-export enterprises to solve remaining challenges and improving the quality of Vietnamese workers sent abroad. VNS Local authorities confirmed that a battery powder-dyed mixture of discarded coffee, pebbles and ground stones recently found at a local business was mixed with pepper to increase its quantity. Photo baogiaothong.vn AK NONG Local authorities confirmed that a battery powder-dyed mixture of discarded coffee, pebbles and ground stones recently found at a local business was mixed with pepper to increase its quantity. The information was released on April 26 during a media briefing held by the Peoples Committee of Central Highlands province of ak Nong, the second one since local police caught a coffee manufacturer in ak Rlap Districts ak Wer Commune using black liquid to dye low-quality coffee grounds. A team of local environmental police and provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Developments Agriculture - Forestry - Fishery Management Division uncovered the illegal act during a check at the farm produce trading establishment owned by Nguyen Thi Thanh Loan between April 15 and 17, said Colonel Pham Thanh Binh from ak Nong Police. The black liquid made of water and powder extracted from dry batteries, was being used to blacken a mixture of discarded coffee beans and shells, and tiny pebbles of about 0.5-3mm in size. The mixture was then to be dried by machine before being packed for market, Binh told the press conference. At the scene, local police and relevant authorities seized nearly 21.3 tonnes of the mixture, 40 litres of the black liquid, 35 kilos of crushed batteries; and 192 kilos of battery caps, carbon rods and zinc cases. Based on the testimonies of offenders, gathered evidence and related documents, the ak Nong Investigative Police on Monday prosecuted and arrested five people involved to investigate the violations of regulations on food hygiene and safety in line with Penal Codes Article 317, Vietnam News Agency reported. They include the entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Thanh Loan, born 1975; Nguyen Xuan Bao, 1985; Phan Thi Dung, 1962; Le Thi Hong Tho, 1979; and Tran Van Tuan, 1976. All except Dung from southern Binh Duong Province were registered as living in ak Nong Province. Loan and Bao confessed that they produced the substandard coffee to sell to Tho and Tuan at VN9 million (US$395) per tonne, the quantity sold has totalled three tonnes so far. The latter resold the produce to Phan Thi Dung, director of Thao Dung Production Trading Ltd Co based in Binh Phuoc Provinces Loc Ninh District at a price of VN12 million ($527) per tonne. When ak Nong police inspected Thao Dung Companys warehouse they found nine tonnes of pepper had been mixed with part of the three tonnes of the mixture bought by the company. The remainder was mixed with lime, phosphate and pig dung and spread on rubber plantations for disposal. The mixture made by Loan and Bao had not been put up for sale in the market and had been seized by the local police, Vietnam News Agency reported. ak Nong Investigative Police are working with the Ministry of Public Security and Binh Phuoc Province Police to carry out further investigation into the case. VNS Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Commission for Mass Mobilisation, Truong Thi Mai speaks at a conference on April 27 to review 10 years of implementation of voluntary blood donation activities in Viet Nam. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn HA NOI Viet Nam has set a goal to increase the blood donation rate in the country to cover at least two per cent of the population by 2022 through voluntary donors. This was announced at a conference on April 27 to review 10 years of implementation of voluntary blood donation activities in Viet Nam. In the next five years, the country will continue to strengthen community awareness on the benefits of voluntary blood donation and safe blood transfusion and will plan to increase the number of donors step by step to ensure blood supply for patients. According to statistics of the health ministry, the health sector has collected more than 10,175,000 units of blood since the establishment of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Mobilisation 10 years ago to meet the blood demand for patients treatment and emergency cases. Attending the event, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Commission for Mass Mobilisation, Truong Thi Mai, called on the health sector, Red Cross, volunteers and community to step up efforts to mobilise more people to donate blood and improve the safety and quality of blood transfusion. Mai praised the contribution of the blood donation mobilisation movement, especially the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Mobilisation over the past 10 years. She, however, stressed the need to improve communication and renew blood donation forms. Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien speaks at the event. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn There is a need to continuously strengthen the capacity of medical facilities for safe blood transfusion and expand a good model of effective blood donation mobilisation nationwide, Mai said. I hope all State and private organisations, institutions and companies will participate in the voluntary blood donation movement and help save the lives of patients, contributing to the cause of public healthcare, Mai added. The movement of voluntary blood donation has been promoted strongly nationwide with the involvement of ministries, sectors, provinces and cities in the form of various blood donation camps, such as Xuan Hong (Red Spring), Hanh trinh o (Red Journey) and Chu nhat o (Red Sunday), said Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at the event. Increasing the blood supply has basically met the countrys demand for emergency and treatment and has helped save the lives of thousands of patients, Tien said. She said the country still faced many obstacles due to the increasing demand for blood, adding that information and communication on voluntary blood donation was not strong enough and that blood donors were mainly youths and students. Students of the Police Security Academy donated blood at the Xuan Hong (Red Spring) festival in Ha Noi on March 2018. VNS Photo Thanh Hai Tien further said the country lacked specialised staff for mobilising blood donation and that the capacity to preserve, produce and supply blood from blood centres to hospitals was limited. Many localities face a shortage of blood during summer and Lunar New Year (Tet), Tien said. According to the health ministry, the countrys total collected volume of blood has increased three times to nearly 1.5 million units in 2017, compared to 500,000 units in 2008. Blood donation from voluntary donors contributed 98 per cent of the total collected blood in 2017, compared to 71.6 per cent in 2008. The blood donation rate increased to cover nearly 1.6 per cent of the population in 2017, compared to 0.61 per cent in 2008. The haematology and blood transfusion medical system has been developed nationwide, while policies relating to blood donation and donors continue to be improved. Viet Nam currently has 3,363 blood donation clubs with 135,000 members, including clubs for rare blood groups and live blood banks, according to Tien. VNS HA NOI A nationwide labour inspection campaign was launched in Ha Noi on Friday by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). The year-long campaign focuses on labour safety in the mining sector and in construction material production. From now until the end of the year, it will inspect labour safety measures in at least 500 mining enterprises and construction material manufacturers in 63 provinces across the country. Inspectors from MOLISA will collaborate with leaders of provinces as well as with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Ministry of Construction to conduct the inspections. The campaign aims to reduce the number of fatal accidents due to mining activities from 19.5 per cent of total labour accidents in 2017 to 10-15 per cent this year, and the number of deaths from 18.2 per cent of total deaths in 2017 to below 10 per cent this year. Although the campaign was officially launched Friday, MOLISAs inspectors had started carrying out inspections since the beginning of this year, according to Nguyen Tien Tung, MOLISAs chief inspector. So far, the inspectors, together with leaders of localities, have conducted inspections on some 240 enterprises, he said, and expressed confidence that more than 500 enterprises would be inspected by the end of this year, exceeding the campaigns objective. Tung said he believed in the effectiveness of labour inspection campaigns since such a campaign had helped reduce the number of fatal accidents in the construction sector from 37 per cent to 20.8 per cent by the end of 2016 and to 19.7 per cent in 2017. It shows that inspection activities have had positive impacts on the construction sector for two years in a row, and we hope to do the same for the mining sector, Tung said. He called for support from the media in making the inspection results widely known to the public. Representatives from the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour also expressed their commitment to the campaign at the launch. In the past five years, Viet Nam has recorded an average of 6,000 labour-related accidents every year, killing 570 labourers and injuring some 6,000 others. Mineral mining is among the sectors with the highest risk of accidents and occupational diseases. VNS A sailing ship, coded HQ-286 and named Le Quy on, of the Viet Nam Peoples Navy with 116 crew members from the Viet Nam Naval Academy docked at Sihanoukville port in West Cambodia for a four-day official visit to the country between April 25 and 28. This is the second time the Viet Nam Peoples Navy has sent a ship to Cambodia for a friendly visit. The visit aims to further foster the traditional friendship, solidarity and mutual trust between the Viet Nam Peoples Army and the Cambodian Royal Army as well as the naval forces of the two countries in particular. VNA/VNS Photo Van Chau If youre a nature lover and favour adventure trips, the U Minh National Park (UMNP) in the Mekong Delta should be at the top of your destination list, especially if you live in southern Viet Nam. Tran Vinh Tuan, a 46-year-old visitor from HCM City, is so fond of the park that he comes every month or two. I can fish, breathe the fresh air, and listen to the singing of hundreds of birds, he said. Living and working in HCM City, I have to deal with air and noise pollution. But here, I always feel relaxed and recharged to go back to work the next day. The parks name U Minh, which refers to darkness, remains a mystery to some. It was so called because of the lack of sunlight caused by the density of trees. Even locals at times found it difficult to navigate. Separated by the rivers Trem and Cai Tau, the park has two major areas called U Minh Thuong (Upper Park) and U Minh Ha (Lower Park). The first is located in Kien Giang Provinces An Minh District, about 65km from Rach Gia City, and the latter is in Ca Mau Province, 25km from Ca Mau City. Greenery: Boats are designed to travel in special flooded forested areas where land travel is impossible. Photo hcmcgo.com Every year, thousands of people visit the park for various outdoor activities, including a climb up to a 24-metre high observatory where there is a panoramic view of the vast forests and waterways. U Minh Thuong, which covers 21,000 hectares, has a core area of 8,000 ha where many rare and endangered birds live. It contains a total of 187 bird species, 39 amphibian species and 34 fish species. Widely considered the Mekong Deltas richest region in terms of plant and animal life, with over 243 species of plants, U Minh Thuong has 32 mammalian species, including the hairy-nosed otter and fishing cat. U Minh Ha is also amazingly diverse, with more than 8,000 ha of indigo blue trees and a buffer zone of 25,000 ha that protects all flora and fauna. Wildlife: A bee nest in U Minh Ha. VNA/VNS Photo Duy Khuong In 2014, the park management began offering services for tourists, including fishing, and nature discovery and sightseeing trips. Accommodations and boat tours, as well as souvenirs for tourists, are all now available. Many tourists like to rent boats to travel on the parks interlacing canals or walk through forested areas, while others prefer fishing or, with the help of locals, spreading nets (with the help of locals) to catch fish that can later cook if they wish. In recent years, more tall towers have been built where visitors can look for rare animals and plants hidden in the forests. The park has around 60 kinds of freshwater and brackish-water fish, as well as wild boars, monkeys, weasels, snakes, turtles and pangolins, many of which are listed in the Red Book. Tourists are also allowed to grill, fry or boil food, or order cooked dishes at the park. The most popular are grilled freshwater fish, grilled snake with water lily, fried field mouse, and young lotus leaves. Other activities that are bit more adventurous include exploring the flooded indigo forests where people can fish, or trekking to the old barracks of the National Liberation Front armed forces. Untouched: The forest is located on a thick layer of peat, which causes the water to look black. VNS Photo Van Chau Another favourite activity in the indigo tree forest, especially for Vietnamese tourists, is a visit to the house of Uncle Ba Phi, a man famous for his folk stories and comedies loved by generations of local children. Tour guides tell interesting stories about Phis fictional giant pythons and crocodiles in the wild. To protect the environment, the government in recent years has allocated land and forested areas to local residents who make living by planting trees, fishing, trawling, and making wood products, among other activities. The residents of the area have a deep love for U Minh and take great care in preserving the area, according to authorities. The park is open year-round, but tourists should be aware that during March and April, when forest fires can break out more easily because of the dry weather, activities in the park are limited in scope and number. VNS ANMUNJOM/GOYANG, South Korea South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed sincere efforts to make progress at their bilateral summit Friday in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom, which Moon said now symbolises peace, instead of division. The historic summit began after the leaders met for the first time at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) inside the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone. "It is good to see you," Kim said to Moon, waiting just south of the MDL for their first-ever encounter that was quickly followed by a handshake. "I cannot stop my excitement as we meet here at such a historical place. Also, it is very moving that you, Mr. President, have come to Panmunjom, the demarcation line, to greet me," the North Korean leader said. Moon also sounded upbeat, saying they were facing a "historic moment." Kim surprised many by inviting Moon to briefly cross the inter-Korean border to the North Korean side, which officials from Seouls presidential office Cheong Wa Dae later said was not prearranged. The leaders official talks began at 10:15am, about 45 minutes after the North Korean leader crossed the MDL, becoming the first North Korean leader to do so at least since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The talks ended shortly before noon after what Moons chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan described as very friendly and candid discussions. The leaders jointly inspected a South Korean honour guard shortly after Kim crossed the inter-Korean border. South Koreas President Moon Jae-in (right) shakes hands with North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un (left) during the Inter-Korean summit. AFP Photo Moon told Kim that the latter could have been given a much better and more grand ceremony had he visited Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, according to Yoon. Kim said he would visit Cheong Wa Dae at any time if Moon invited him, the Cheong Wa Dae official told a press briefing. When the leaders opened their official talks at 10:15 am, about 15 minutes off their original schedule, Kim was the first to speak. "I say this before President Moon and many journalists here that I will hold good discussions with President Moon with a frank, sincere and honest attitude and make a good outcome," he said at the start of the meeting, televised live. Moon expressed his gratitude to Kim for agreeing to hold the summit. "The moment Chairman Kim crossed the Military Demarcation Line, Panmunjom became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division," he said, referring to Kim by his official title as the head of North Koreas state affairs commission. "I wish to again express my respect to Chairman Kim Jong-uns decision that made todays discussions possible," he added. The Moon-Kim meeting came amid thawing ties this year that followed the height of tension between the divided Koreas, which technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. North Korea staged nearly a dozen missile tests since Moon took office in May 2017, while also conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae In cross the inter-Korean border hand-in-hand at the border village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarised Zone on April 27. KYODO Fridays summit marked the third inter-Korean summit and the first to be held in South Korea. Kim stressed the need for an agreement that will not collapse. "I wish for it to be a chance for us to walk forward hand-in-hand while looking toward the future with a determination, instead of (summit) outcomes like those in the past that could not be implemented," he told Moon. The two Koreas had agreed to denuclearise their countries and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula in their two previous summits held in 2000 and 2007. The agreements from the earlier inter-Korean summits have apparently collapsed. "The worlds eyes and ears are directed toward this place, Panmunjom. The expectations of the people of both the South and the North, as well as our overseas citizens, are also very high," Moon said of the importance of progress at the meeting. "I wish our talks too will be held frankly, so we can reach an agreement and create a great present for our people and everyone else in the world who wishes for peace," he added. "I came to put an end to the history of confrontation and to resolve the issues that create problems in our relations together with the president," the North Korean leader was quoted as saying. "I have come to have confidence that a good day will certainly come," he added, according to Yoon. After the talks ended, Kim returned to his country where he will have lunch and rest before coming back to the South Korean side of Panmunjom for various events that include a friendship walk with the South Korean president. The leaders will also jointly plant a tree to mark their summit, which Moon has said he wishes to hold regularly. The soil will come from Mount Paektu, on the Norths border with China, and Mount Halla, on the Souths southern island of Jeju. It was not clear whether they will hold talks again in the afternoon before attending a welcome dinner set to be hosted by Moon. It was just now confirmed that Kims wife Ri Sol-ju would attend the dinner. The outcome of the summit was expected to be released later Friday. The White House said in a statement it hoped the summit would "achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula". Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. But Seoul played down expectations Thursday, saying the Norths technological advances with its nuclear and missile programmes meant any deal would be "fundamentally different in nature from denuclearisation agreements in 1990s and early 2000s". "Thats what makes this summit all the more difficult," the chief of the Souths presidential secretariat Im Jong-seok told reporters. Peace and denuclearisation Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. When Kim visited the Norths key backer Beijing last month in only his first foreign trip as leader, Chinas official Xinhua news agency cited him saying that the issue could be resolved, as long as Seoul and Washington take "progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace". In the past, North Korean support for denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula" has been code for the removal of US troops from the South and the end of its nuclear umbrella over its security ally -- prospects unthinkable in Washington. "The big issues we know are peace and denuclearisation," Yonsei University professor John Delury said. The two Koreas "can do a lot more on peace than on denuclearisation", he said, but the post-summit statement will give "a lot of chance to analyse every word, reading between the lines, look for things that are there and not there". Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles, adding it would dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. But it also said it had completed the development of its weapons and had no need for further tests. YONHAP/AFP CARACAS Venezuela and Panama on Thursday agreed to restore their respective ambassadors and reestablish air links as they sought to patch up a bitter diplomatic row, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday. "We have agreed to return ambassadors to Panama and Venezuela... and resume air links from tomorrow," Maduro told reporters after speaking by phone with his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela. A Panamanian government source confirmed the agreement. Maduro said the conversation with Varela was mediated by the Dominican Republics President Danilo Medina, who has also been facilitating talks between Venezuelas government and the opposition, which broke down in February. The diplomatic crisis erupted in late March when Panama said it had added a string of senior Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, to a list of individuals deemed at "high risk" of money laundering. On April 5, Maduros government promptly suspended economic ties with around 100 Panamanian businesses, including Copa Airlines, one of the main carriers linking Venezuela to the rest of the region. In a retaliatory move the same day, Panama ordered Venezuelas ambassador out and recalled its own envoy, as well as suspending flights. AFP MUHLDORF AM INN, Germany Germany will on Friday inaugurate a memorial at the long-forgotten site of a World War II Nazi concentration camp where forced labourers built an aircraft factory deep inside a Bavarian forest. At least 2,200 prisoners, many of them Hungarian Jews, died in the miserable conditions at the Muehldorfer Hart camp and were buried on-site in a mass grave. More than 70 years after the war ended, the state of Bavaria has finally put up a memorial of standing concrete slabs with photographs and text on the sites grim history. A concrete path has also been laid, leading visitors through the vast areas work camp to the mass grave. "I am satisfied that finally, after so many years, we can remember the suffering of these men and their deaths in the middle of the forest," said Franz Langstein, who heads the association "For Remembrance". The group has fought for 20 years for the memorial to be built, he said. "Why so long? Thats a difficult question," said Langstein. "I think it has to do with the fact that a certain generation needed time before looking back." 40 died each day Some 10,000 detainees were forced to work in "inhumane conditions" in the camp from the summer of 1944 until April 1945, according to Langstein. Their task was to construct a factory, including a concrete bunker, where the fighter jets which would be deployed for Adolf Hitlers planned "ultimate victory" were to be built but the plant was never finished. Conditions were so poor that "by the autumn of 1944, 10 to 20 people were dying each day... during winter, the number rose to 40 people," said Langstein by the newly inaugurated concrete panels that recount the history of the camp through witness accounts and images. "At the heart of this idyllic forest, we see what people are capable of doing to others, without any feeling and by telling themselves that anyway, these are just Jews," said Langstein, as birds chirped. Considered as an annex of the better known Dachau camp, the site was evacuated on April 28, 1945. After the war, a mass grave with the remains of 2,200 people was uncovered. Today, few traces of the concentration camp remain, and joggers or hikers pass through the woods with little knowledge of the sites gruesome history. Only partial ruins of the bunker, which was meant to have eight storeys, four of them underground, are still visible. And the trees at the site of the mass grave have all been chopped down. "These stories of persecuted minorities, Jewish or other minorities, they are everywhere in the history of mankind," said Langstein. "And this memorial is here to remind us, and to remind the coming generations, that we always have to stay on our guard." AFP Cosby Convicted for Aggravated Indecent Assault Advertisement By The Associated Press Apr. 26, 2018 | NORRISTOWN, PA By The Associated Press Apr. 26, 2018 | 12:57 PM | NORRISTOWN, PA Bill Cosby has been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. A jury outside Philadelphia convicted the "Cosby Show" star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges. Cosby was charged with violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. His lawyer called Constand a "con artist" who leveled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him. Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts. Dozens of women have come forward in recent years to say he drugged and assaulted them. Five of the other accusers testified against him at the retrial. (The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. 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17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) Apr 27, 2018 | By David A recent study has explored the effectiveness of using 3D printing technology as part of treatment for a heart condition. The studys lead author was Sergey Gurevich, MD, and Cardiovascular Fellow at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. His team made use of 3D printed heart models based on CT scans of patients who are undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement, in order to predict and prevent paravalvular leak (PVL). PVL is a relatively common issue that results from an ill-fitting valve, and has a huge impact on heart surgery-related mortality rates. (credit: Yael L. Maxwell, TCTMD) Each year, over five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease. TAVR is a surgical procedure that is used for patients classified as intermediate, high-risk, and inoperable. In cases where they have severe narrowing of their aortic valve, a prosthetic valve can be implanted and the damaged one is removed and replaced. Clinicians have been trying for years to improve the success rate of these procedures by preventing PVL, and a new approach that makes use of 3D printing technology looks to be a promising solution. (source: northshore.org) In the study, six patients who were undergoing TAVR for severe calcific aortic stenosis, and who were particularly at risk for PVL, had their pre-procedure CT (computed tomography) images analyzed. These CT scans were then sliced up ready for printing of physical 3D models. The surgeons then examined these replica heart models to evaluate their replacement valves. The valves were implanted directly into the 3D printed models to determine if it was a correct size and how the fit would be, and where the calcium deposits would be located. These models were then 3D scanned and evaluated further, with comparison to the real in-vivo implanted TAVR echocardiograms. The CT scans confirmed every prediction made based on the 3D printed model. The success of this study points the way forward for the same technique to be used more regularly in TAVR procedures, in order to personalize valve placement, size, and location, to stop leaks and lower calcium build up. (source: AHA Journals) "We are very encouraged to see such positive outcomes for the feasibility of 3D printing in patients with heart valve disease. These patients are at a high risk of developing a leak after TAVR, and anything we can do to identify and prevent these leaks from happening is certainly helpful," said Gurevich. "Like any other new technology, as 3D printing evolves, we hope to see an increase in accessibility and opportunity for the use of this technology to help improve patient care." The future of this research is bright, and it joins a growing body of successful studies where 3D printed surgical models have been used to improve the effectiveness of procedures. The technology is fast and affordable to use, and its detailed, accurate replication of individual anatomy allows surgeons to prevent, fix and foresee procedural errors. For this particular surgical field, the team are now starting to work with computational fluid dynamics systems in order to further optimize calculations. The study, "3D Printing and Computer Modeling to Predict Paravalvular Leak in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement", will be presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Scientific Sessions, April 25-28, 2018, in San Diego. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Shareholder Update - Indian Partner Visit Melbourne, April 27, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Environmental Clean Technologies Limited ( ASX:ESI ) (ECT or Company) is pleased to provide the following update on the forthcoming visit to Australia by its India Project partners NLC India Limited (NLC) and NMDC Limited (NMDC), in addition to updates on relevant supporting activities.Key points:- Indian partner visit dates changed to the week of 21 May to accommodate partners' travel plans- Target to complete project financial close by 30 June 2018 remains on track, including:o Intent to sign the Master Project Agreement (MPA) during May visito Completion of detailed sub-agreementso Indian government requirements- Coldry basic design package completeIndian Partner Visit - Week commencing 21 May 2018Further to the Company's announcement of 29 March 2018 confirming the visit dates for next week, there has been a recent shift in timing to accommodate an additional travel requirement by NMDC personnel.ECT India Chairman and Managing Director, Ashley Moore commented, "NMDC has other interests in Australia and sought to combine the two commitments. As such, in responding to an official invitation from ECT Chairman Glenn Fozard, NMDC has requested that the visit be scheduled for the week commencing 21 May."The Master Project Agreement (MPA), which the parties intend to formally sign during the visit, represents India's largest ever government-backed joint R&D Project with an Australian company; a milestone for both India and Australia in demonstrating positive support and bi-lateral benefit under the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperative Agreement (AICECA)."The Australian High Commission in India, together with Austrade and AusIndustry have provided invaluable advice, support and assistance to ECT over the past three years, garnering Indian Government support for the Project at cabinet level."Part of our planning for the visit has entailed seeking government meetings in recognition of the role they've played in supporting ECT in the development of our technologies and specifically in the formation of our project in India. Next week's Federal budget activity was proving problematic, limiting the availability of relevant Ministers, so the shift in visit dates has the additional benefit in allowing us to skip budget estimate activity next week, with the new timing to coincide with Parliamentary sitting dates. This may improve our chances of coordinating high-level meetings in Canberra to witness the MPA signing."The visit will also entail a tour of the Company's R&D facility northwest of Melbourne, official meetings with ECT Company Executives and Board members, and potential meetings with State and Local Government officials in Victoria, subject to availability.Master Project Agreement (MPA) remains on trackConsistent with previous announcements the parties remain on track to meet their mutually agreed target of reaching Project financial close by 30 June 2018.This entails:- Signing of the MPA- Completion and execution of detailed sub-agreements- Indian government requirementsThe Company will continue to provide updates should circumstances change.India Project - Basic DesignOn 23 March 2018, the Company announced the completion of the basic design package for the Matmor component of the India Project.The Company is pleased to advise the completion of the next milestone, the basic design package for the Coldry component.The completion of the Coldry basic design includes integration with the Matmor component, in addition to the broader site layout and allows the project to proceed to detailed design, ahead of fabrication, construction and commissioning, which is scheduled to take approximately 12 months following financial close.The India Project consists of an R&D phase (pictured above), followed (upon success) by a commercial phase. The aim of the R&D phase is to deliver a pilot scale demonstration of ECT's two leading technologies under development; 'Matmor' and 'Coldry'.Following commissioning, the integrated Coldry-Matmor pilot plant will execute a detailed test program to generate performance data, optimise operational parameters and inform the scale-up of the technologies.About ColdryWhen applied to lignite and some sub-bituminous coals, the Coldry beneficiation process produces a black coal equivalent (BCE) in the form of pellets. Coldry pellets have equal or superior energy value to many black coals and produce lower CO2 emissions than raw lignite.About MATMORThe MATMOR process has the potential to revolutionise primary iron making.MATMOR is a simple, low cost, low emission production technology, utilising the patented MATMOR retort, which enables the use of cheaper feedstocks to produce primary iron.About the India R&D ProjectThe India project is aimed at advancing the Company's Coldry and Matmor technologies to demonstration and pilot scale, respectively, on the path to commercial deployment.ECT has partnered with NLC India Limited and NMDC Limited to jointly fund and execute the project.NLC India Limited is India's national lignite authority, largest lignite miner and largest lignite-based electricity generator.NMDC Limited is India's national iron ore authority.To view figures, please visit:About Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ECT) is in the business of commercialising leading-edge coal and iron making technologies, which are capable of delivering financial and environmental benefits. We are focused on advancing a portfolio of technologies, which have significant market potential globally. ECT's business plan is to pragmatically commercialise these technologies and secure sustainable, profitable income streams through licencing and other commercial mechanisms. GOYANG, South Korea (AP) The leaders of North and South Korea vowed Friday to seek a nuclear-free peninsula and work toward a formal end to the Korean War this year, though their historic summit concluded with few specifics on how they will reach those ambitious goals. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in set aside a year that saw them seemingly on the verge of war. They grasped hands and strode together across the cracked concrete marking the Koreas border. The sight, inconceivable just months ago, may not erase their failure to provide any new measures on a nuclear standoff that has captivated and terrified millions, but it allowed the leaders to step forward toward the possibility of a cooperative future even as they acknowledged a fraught past and the widespread skepticism that, after decades of failed diplomacy, things will be any different this time. On the nuclear issue, the leaders merely repeated a previous vow to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, kicking one of the worlds most pressing issues down the road to a much-anticipated summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Still, the summit produced the spectacle of two men from nations with a deep and bitter history of acrimony grinning from ear to ear after Kim walked over the border to greet Moon, becoming the first leader of his nation to set foot on southern soil since the Korean War. Both leaders then briefly stepped together into the North and back to the South. The summit marks a surreal, whiplash swing in relations for the countries, from nuclear threats and missile tests to intimations of peace and cooperation. Perhaps the change is best illustrated by geography: Kim and Moons historic handshake and a later 30-minute conversation at a footbridge on the border occurred within walking distance of the spot where a North Korean soldier fled south in a hail of gunfire last year, and where North Korean soldiers killed two U.S. soldiers with axes in 1976. Standing next to Moon after the talks ended, Kim faced a wall of cameras beaming his image live to the world and declared that the Koreas are linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately. The leaders also vowed to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization, something theyve said before. The latest declaration between the Koreas, Kim said, should not repeat the unfortunate history of past inter-Korean agreements that only reached the starting line before becoming derailed. What happened Friday should be seen in the context of the last year when the United States, its ally South Korea and North Korea threatened and raged as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th centurys bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula thats still technically in a state of war. Trump tweeted Friday, KOREAN WAR TO END! and said the U.S. should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Both Koreas agreed to jointly push for talks this year with the U.S. and also potentially China to officially end the Korean War, which stopped with an armistice that never ended the war. Many will be judging the summit based on the weak nuclear language. North Koreas nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. The North, which has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium, claims it has already risen to that level. South Korean conservative politicians criticized the joint statement as letting North Korea off the hook by failing to secure a clear commitment on nuclear disarmament. Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo denounced the summit as a show camouflaged as peace. But the Koreas made inroads on a raft of other points of friction between them. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang, North Koreas capital, sometime in the autumn, and both leaders said theyd meet on a regular basis and exchange calls via a recently established hotline. They agreed to settle their disagreement over their western maritime border by designating it as a peace area and securing fishing activities for both countries. They said theyd open a permanent communication office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and resume temporary reunions of relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. I feel like Im firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity, Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimeters separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world. Kim acknowledged the widespread skepticism over their summit. We have reached big agreements before but were unable to fulfill them. ... There are skeptical views on whether the meeting today will yield meaningful results, Kim said. If we maintain a firm will and proceed forward hand in hand, it will be impossible at least for things to get worse than they are now. Kim, during their talks, joked that he would make sure not to interrupt Moons sleep anymore, a reference to the Norths drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year, according to Moons spokesman, Yoon Young-chan. Kim also referred to South Koreas Yeonpyeong Island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying its residents who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said hed visit Seouls presidential Blue House if invited. The historic greeting of the two leaders, which may be the images most remembered from the summit, was planned to the last detail, though the multiple border crossings may have been impromptu. As thousands of journalists, who were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly controlled pool reporters at the border, waited and watched, Moon stood near the Koreas dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They smiled broadly and shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after Kim did so, Moon said, You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across? Kim replied, Why dont we go across now? and then grasped Moons hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. Moon then led Kim along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave Kim flowers. An honor guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of Hail to the Chief. They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit took place, in front of a painting of South Koreas Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House and where dozens of North Korean commandos trying to assassinate the then-dictator in Seoul were killed in 1968. Kims sister, Kim Yo Jong, was by Kims side throughout the ceremony, handing him a pen to sign a guestbook, taking the schoolchildrens flowers from his hand and scribbling notes at the start of the talks with Moon. Expectations were generally low on the nuclear issue, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Koreas weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement, however, say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas tried Friday: Sit down and see whats possible. The White House said in a statement that it is hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. ... (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks. The report, Insurance-Linked Securities Q1 2018 Update, reveals that catastrophe bond issuance during Q1 stood at USD3.58 billion across 10 transactions a new record for first quarter issuance that easily surpassed the 2016 and 2017 issuance volumes of approximately USD2.2 billion. Repeat sponsors led the first quarter in terms of issuance volume, sponsoring USD2.28 billion of property catastrophe bonds. Meanwhile, maturing property catastrophe bonds totalled USD1.37 billion during the period which were not only easily replaced, but also significantly expanded, bringing the market to a new high of USD29.0 billion of catastrophe bonds on-risk as at March 31, 2018, of which USD27.3 billion were property transactions. The first quarter saw the ILS market expand into new areas both in terms of geography and perils covered. In February, a multi-country catastrophe bond was launched on behalf of the World Bank, providing coverage for Latin America through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) CAR program issuances. Meanwhile, the Sanders Re catastrophe bond on behalf of insurer Allstate comprised coverage that was consistent with a traditional reinsurance placement and included a unique structural feature, with coverage being both on a per-occurrence and annual aggregate basis, in two separate sections of a single class of notes. Paul Schultz, Chief Executive Officer of Aon Securities, said: The first quarter catastrophe bond issuance figure has set a positive tone for the remainder of 2018. Following the potential losses that could have been incurred from the series of 2017 natural disaster events, investors in this sector could easily have taken a wait-and-see approach. However, given the record levels of issuance seen during the first three months of the year, it is clear they are aware of the inherent value of ILS and are comfortable with the associated risks. During the first quarter of 2018, the Aon All Bond and U.S. Hurricane indices posted returns of 1.45 percent and -1.17 percent respectively. The negative return for the U.S. Hurricane index during the period was due to an increase in losses from Hurricane Irma for one of the bonds in the market. The Aon All Bond and U.S. Hurricane Bond indices produced gains of 1.81 percent and 1.56 percent respectively. The All Bond index outperformed all comparable benchmarks for the quarter, as all benchmarks suffered negative returns. Aon Securities forecasts around USD9bn in catastrophe bond issuance for 2018. To view the full Insurance-Linked Securities Q1 2018 Update, please follow the link below: For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser The Slow Rebirth of Mosul After ISIS In Mosul and on the Nineveh Plain "life is slowly returning to normal". Young university students, Christians and not "every day make the journey" that separates them from their lodgings in the towns of the plain to the university, in the east of the metropolis of northern Iraq to follow courses and lessons. This is what Fr. Paul Thabit Mekko tells AsiaNews, describing the "slow but joyful" work of rebirth of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain , less than a year after the former stronghold and capital of the Islamic State (IS, ex Isis) was retaken. "Even the economic and commercial activities - he adds - even though they are going through a thousand hardships and difficulties, are starting up again". After years of violence and terror perpetrated by the Daesh militias [Arabic acronym for IS], today "in the eastern sector of Mosul life is normal" and it is also "much easier to move within the western districts". "Even in the Nineveh Plain - continues Fr. Paul - we have returned to live the Easter holidays as in the past. Crowded churches, packed processions. In Karamles we used a large hall for mass, because the church is not ready yet ". From university halls to factories, from commercial activities to small businesses, the rebirth of the north of the country passes through the revival of "school and work". "Years of violence, war, terror - says the priest - have created a huge gap. Some of the people are back, but they are not as before, the activities are slow and need a qualitative leap. Of course - he observes - the Iraqi economy in general is experiencing difficulties, but here the problems are greater". The poor rainfall in recent months has thwarted a large part of the harvest and the farmers do not hide their concerns. "Much of the harvest -- Fr. Paul confirms -- is gone" and this too "has a reflection on the economic situation. Factories for building materials are still too few and the funds are insufficient, many construction sites are at a standstill. For a true revival of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain it is essential that all those who have fled in the past return. Rebirth can and must be founded on people ". With a view to reconstruction, today the United Arab Emirates (Eau) announced the allocation of 50 million dollars to contribute to the reconstruction of the great mosque of al-Nuri, destroyed by the men of the Caliphate. This is where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivered his famous speech and whichthe jihadists ravaged three years later, at the height of the Iraqi army offensive. What remains today of the structure are the base of the minaret and the dome with some columns. Meanwhile, the University of Mosul has resumed activities, welcoming Christian, Yazidi and Sabean students. After the bombs, the proclamations of the jihad and the repeated violations of human rights, today books, computers and students eager to build a future and participate actively in the revival of the country have returned. Each according to their own cultural, ethnic and religious tradition, to revive "that unique mosaic represented by Iraq" as defined by the Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael Sako. Today there are at least 3 thousand young students from the religious minorities attending the University of Mosul, where signs of damage are still visible. Of course, less than there were before the rise of the jihadist militiamen but still a first step towards a return to normality. "The university has fully resumed activities - confirms the Chaldean priest - and the students, including Christians, hosted by the Archdiocese of Kirkuk in recent years, have returned to class". Some of make the 90-kilometer-long journey from Kurdistan to Mosul every day, while others are housed in dormitories and centers set up by the Church in the small towns of Nineveh, including Qaraqosh and Karamles. Fr. Paul recalls: "At the beginning the students were afraid of going back to university, they were worried about their safety. We encouraged them and after coming back they experienced new happiness. Now the name of Mosul is no longer a source of terror, they feel like university students from all over the world, busy studying to build a future. And even if the structure is not yet completely adequate, the desire to be reborn is evident and even the danger of attacks seems to be a thing of the past ". "People - he concludes - want to go out, live, attend cultural activities ... they want to leave Daesh in the past". The Middle East-owned companys successful bid follows a public tender conducted by Zurich Airport. European Union and Swiss legislation requires airport and governmental authorities to open a bidding procedure for restricted airport operations activities every seven years.We are very pleased that Zurich Airport has found in us a reliable partner and has entrusted us to provide ground handling and cargo needs to our airline customers at the airport for another seven years. said Mark Bradley, chief executive for Europe at dnata.Zurich Airport represents the best of Switzerland precision, efficiency and uncompromising quality. We are committed to work hand in hand with all our airport partners to continue making Zurich Airport one of the best airports in the world.In Switzerland, dnata operates ground handling and cargo services in Zurich and Geneva airports. The company entered the Swiss ground handling market in 2007 when it acquired Jet Aviation Handling, whose roots in providing aviation services in Switzerland date back 50 years.Today, dnata employs over 1,300 people in Switzerland, handling more than 33,000 aircraft and over 95,000 tonnes of cargo at both airports annually. Leonardo and the Australian Ministry of Defence have agreed to establish a helicopter transmission repair and overhaul facility in Melbourne capable of servicing MRH Taipan, foreign NH90 and certain civil helicopter main gear boxes. Planned to be set up into an existing facility of Leonardo and to commence operation in mid-2020, the centre will employ at least 12 technical staff for 30 years or more. The first Australian Multi-Role Helicopter arriving in Australia in 2007 (Credit: Commonwealth of Australia) Australia's Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP today congratulated Leonardo and their local subsidiary, Leonardo Australia, for committing to the establishment of this strategically important regional centre of excellence. Establishing this repair and overhaul facility locally means less reliance on foreign support for our MRH Taipan helicopters, and the same for certain local civil helicopter operators, Minister Pyne said. The Turnbull government is investing, along with Leonardo, in a Defence capability enhancing facility whilst also creating new high skills employment opportunities. The Federal Government is investing around $16m in the facility. The investment will be repaid through reduced MRH Taipan sustainment costs over the remaining life of the helicopter fleet. A similar amount is also being provided by Leonardo. This project is a true win-win situation for both Defence and local Defence Industry. It creates more Defence Industry jobs in Victoria and will lead to greater helicopter availability for operations, Minister Pyne said. Acquired in 2006, the fleet of 47 MRH Taipan helicopters, a dedicated variant of the NH90 for the Australian armed forces for both land and maritime operations, will next year commence replacing Black Hawk in the 6th Aviation Regiment in Sydney, where they will gradually take over the role of aviation support to counter terrorism. Establishing a local repair and overhaul facility will contribute to greater helicopter availability for this critical national security mission. This latest step by Leonardo reflects a strong commitment to positioning the customer at the core of any activity undertaken by the Company, from design to through life cycle support. As the designer and manufacturer of transmission components and main gear boxes for all the NH90 helicopters of any customer worldwide, the opening of a dedicated MRO centre for the Australian fleet is also a strong recognition of Leonardos established expertise in support services on core and critical technologies. The president of one of Alabama's most distinctive companies has been elected to a two-year term on the Alabama Retail Association's Board of Directors. Mike Elkins, president of Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, will serve through 2019. Unclaimed Baggage Center has lured visitors to Scottsboro for years selling the contents of luggage that ended up uncollected on planes, buses, trains and trucks. Elkins, 51, became president of Unclaimed Baggage five years ago after serving for almost seven years as the Southeast vice president for H&R Block. He is a graduate of the University of North Alabama and completed Harvard Business School's Retail Forum for Senior Leaders in 2016. A Birmingham native who grew up in Brilliant, Elkins and his wife, Stephanie, live in Guntersville and have two adult children. This post was changed at 11:37 a.m. April 30 to correct the headline. Holidays can be a good reason to take a family trip, either to learn something about Alabama history, or just for fun, food or fireworks. AL.com File Photo/Mike Kittrell But where should you go? Here are some recommendations. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Martin Luther King Jr. Day In 1954, Martin Luther King moved to Montgomery, where he was pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. He led numerous Civil Rights campaigns while in Alabama, and the Civil Rights Memorial Center pays tribute to his work. In addition, you can visit the Dexter Parsonage Museum and the church. Runner-up: In Selma, you can cross the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge, where King led the Selma-to Montgomery March, and visit the National Voting Rights Museum. Don't Edit Courtesy of WQSB Groundhog Day Visit Albertville and watch the weather forecast by Sand Mountain Sam, a possum that stars in a Groundhog's Day promotional event hosted by the radio station 105.1 WQSB. In conjunction with Sand Mountain Sam's weather predictions, the station holds a Possum Queen contest; the chosen queen reads the annual proclamation from Sam. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Valentine's Day Celebrate Valentine's Day in two of Alabama's most romantic towns - Fairhope and Point Clear. Take an afternoon walk along Fairhope's quaint streets before heading to the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort and Spa in Point Clear, shown above, one of the state's oldest and most luxurious hotels. Enjoy a multi-course meal, champagne and a dinner show by The Detectives Mystery Dinner Theatre. Runner-up: Take your sweetie on the state's sweetest stroll - the Chocolate Walk in Athens. The event is held each year before Valentine's Day. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Fat Tuesday Where else would you spend Fat Tuesday but Mobile, home of the nation's first Mardi Gras celebration? Watch parades and catch some MoonPies and beads, take a stroll through Mardi Gras Park, or visit the Mobile Carnival Museum. There's no shortage of activities during Mardi Gras week. Don't Edit Don't Edit AL.com File Photo St. Patrick's Day Several Alabama towns host St. Patrick's Day parades, but none compare to the one in the City of Enterprise, known as the World's Smallest St. Patrick's Day Parade. Each year, one lucky resident gets to be the entire parade. Runners-up: Large parades are held in Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville. Don't Edit Source: Auburn University Easter Alabama has dozens of awe-inspiring cathedrals and churches for those who plan to celebrate Easter with religious services. Those looking for a little whimsy can visit the Jule Collins Smith Fine Arts Museum in Auburn, where an intriguing art installation draws plenty of visitors. Called "Self Portrait as Bunnies," the work by Alex Podesta features two figures dressed in bunny suits rising from a pond on museum grounds. The man in the bunny suits is the artist. Runner-up: You can also find a rabbit sculpture outside the Child Development Resource Center at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The statue of Peter Rabbit was sculpted by artist Frank Fleming. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Earth Day This event held in Fort Payne in one of Alabama's most scenic state parks includes hikes, crafts, live animal programs and more. Don't Edit Source: Pursell Farms Mother's Day Picturesque Pursell Farms in Sylacauga hosts an annual Mother's Day brunch that would impress any mother or grandmother. Pursell Farms offers a variety of accommodations, event venues, restaurants, golf course and spa. Runner-up: Take your mom on a cruise on the Harriott II, a riverboat docked in Montgomery. Don't Edit AP File Photo Memorial Day Memorial Day is the perfect holiday to head to the town of Tuskegee to celebrate the contributions of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Day Fly-in & Black Bikers Ride runs for three days each year. Enjoy music performances, historic tours and lots of children's activities throughout the weekend. Runner-up: Check out the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic in Decatur. Don't Edit Don't Edit Source: Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum Father's Day Hop aboard the Father's Day Limited at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. Dad can even ride in the locomotive with the engineer or in the caboose with the brakeman. Don't Edit AP File Photo Juneteenth June 19 is a day to celebrate the emancipation of the nation's enslaved people. Commemorate the day at the unique museum and memorial in Montgomery called the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the "Lynching Memorial." According to its website, it is "This nation's first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence." Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Fourth of July The Spirit of America Festival in Decatur is more than just a fireworks show. The event includes an awards program to honor five community members and philanthropic groups. Honors include the Audie Murphy Patriotism Award. The fireworks show is held at Point Mallard Park. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Labor Day Head to McCalla for the Labor Day Celebration and Moon Pie Eatin' Contest , where visitors can enter the state's largest Moon Pie-eating contest, and enjoy crafts and food at Tannehill Iron Works Historical State Park. Runner-up: Visit the world's only cemetery dedicated to coon dogs, the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard in Cherokee, for food, live music and a liar's contest. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo/Tamika Moore Oktoberfest The City of Cullman, founded by a German immigrant, celebrates Oktoberfest with eight days of events and activities. The festival includes traditional German music, food, dancing, a classic car show, arts and crafts, a Bratwurst-eating contest, the Burgermeister Ball and more. Don't Edit Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Halloween Hang out in Birmingham for some Halloween fun. Each October, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, once the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the world, turns into Sloss Fright Furnace, filled with spooky characters. At the historic Alabama Theatre, you can do the time warp and join the Rocky Horror Masquerade Ball. In nearby Leeds, visit the popular haunted attraction, the Atrox Factory. Don't Edit AL.com File Photo Thanksgiving Work off the turkey and dressing with some ice skating at an outdoor rink at the Museum of Art in downtown Huntsville. Then get in the Christmas spirit with a walking tour of the Galaxy of Lights, one of the state's largest light displays, at Huntsville Botanical Garden. Don't Edit Source: Grand Menorah Lighting Facebook page Hannakuh The Grand Menorah Lighting in Birmingham is hosted by the Levite Jewish Community Center and Chabad of Alabama. The event celebrates the festival of lights with music, games, balloons, cotton candy, latkes and doughnuts. Runners-up: Public Menorah lightings are also held in Mobile and Huntsville. Don't Edit Source: AlabamaTravel.com Christmas "Dickens Christmas, Y'all" in downtown Tuscumbia celebrates Victorian holiday traditions with carriage rides, snow machines, music, arts and crafts, and food vendors. Don't Edit Source: City of Andalusia Christmas Runner-up: Children will love Andalusia's Christmas in Candyland, featuring miniature cottages in a tiny village. Activities include snow machines, train rides, ice skating and tubing, and character visits. Don't Edit Don't Edit AL.com File Photo New Year's Eve Several cities have New Year's countdowns drops. Mobile's is the most famous with its MoonPie over Mobile celebration. Just before midnight, a giant lighted MoonPie replica slowly drops from the top of the RSA BankTrust building. Runner-up: Wetumpka, the city where a falling meteor created a 4.7-mile-diameter creator, hosts a countdown with a spinning light replicating a "falling meteor." Congressman Robert Aderholt said today he has "real concerns" about the effect of recently imposed tariffs on Canadian paper, which he said are raising costs on traditional newsprint. The U.S. Commerce Department earlier this year imposed anti-subsidy and anti-dumping tariffs on Canadian newsprint paper - the paper on which newspapers and directories, as well as other publications are printed - which are supplied by Canadian mills. As Seattle Weekly reports, the resulting increases in prices have pushed up newsprint costs for newspaper publishers by 20 percent to 30 percent. After labor costs, newsprint is the second largest cost for newspapers. Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said he supports President Donald Trump's efforts "to make our trade deals fairer to American employers and consumers." "For far too long, foreign countries have taken advantage of our markets, while keeping theirs closed to our products," Aderholt said. "That said, I have real concerns about tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper from Canada, as there are not enough domestic manufacturers to supply America's local newspaper publishers. This means that this tariff is just raising costs at the request of one business in Washington state." The business is question is NorPac, the North Pacific Paper Co., which filed a complaint about Canadian mills dumping paper in the U.S. NorPac was the only company to seek tariffs protection, and the American Forest and Paper Association opposed the move. Newspaper publishers have raised the issue that rising costs will hurt hometown newspapers in small cities hardest, at a time when falling revenue and subscription numbers have already done much damage. A 24-year-old Birmingham has been arrested on charges of trafficking cocaine and heroin. Tevaris Tate was taken into custody earlier this week and now is formally charged following the discovery of drugs and guns at a residence in the Valley Brook Apartments complex. Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the sheriff's office warrant detail went to the apartment in the 2900 block of Gallant Drove on Wednesday afternoon to arrest Tate for an outstanding warrant charging him with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Once deputies were inside the unit, they spotted marijuana in plain view and called narcotics investigators to the home to assist them. The narcotics investigators asked for, and were granted, consent to search the apartment. During the search they discovered 49 grams of cocaine, 20 grams of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, two handguns, and drug paraphernalia. One of the handguns had been reported stolen, Christian said. Brittany Odom Tate was arrested for the outstanding warrant and taken to the Jefferson County Jail. On Thursday, narcotics investigators obtained arrest warrants formally charging him with trafficking heroin, trafficking cocaine, first-degree unlawful possession of marijuana unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He remains in jail with bonds totaling $235,600. Also arrested at the scene was 28-year-old Brittany Odom. She was charged with receiving stolen property. She was released on bond pending court proceedings. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the capital murder conviction of a Birmingham man found guilty in the 2008 killing of his estranged girlfriend, who was also his first cousin. The decision was issued Friday, officials said. Jeffery Tyrone Riggs, 48, was convicted of capital murder in February 2015 for the 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne. Riggs was tried for capital murder twice after the appeals court granted Riggs a new trial in 2013 after he was sentenced to death in 2010. The appeals court stated Judge Jones should have included comments about the state's burden of proof on whether Riggs was provoked and killed Payne in the heat of passion, which applied to the lesser charge of provocation manslaughter. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Clyde Jones in November 2015 denied a request by Riggs' attorney to acquit Riggs or grant him a new trial. Riggs was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in April 2015. Payne was shot and killed on January 10, 2008. The couple had been in an on-again-off-again seven-year relationship and had a child together. Riggs, who was married at the time, had been accused of being angry that Payne was seeing another man. Evidence presented at the trial showed Riggs kicked in the back door of Payne's apartment, shot Payne in her bedroom and left the apartment the same way he entered. A coworker testified that Riggs left her several voice messages the morning of the murder saying that he was in trouble, had hurt someone and feared he might go to jail. Payne and Riggs also were first cousins who were both sexually abused as children, the defense attorneys had argued as a mitigating factor. "This older adult repeatedly forced Mr. Riggs and his female cousins, including the victim, Ms. Norber Payne, to engage in sexual acts," according to the memorandum from Assistant Jefferson County Public Defender Texys Morris. "These were Mr. Riggs' first sexual experiences. The aunt's boyfriend also showed pornography to Mr. Riggs and his cousins." Morris also argued among other things that Riggs, according to one expert, had an intellectual disability (formerly called mental retardation) and also he had no prior criminal record. A 45-year-old carnival worker killed when he fell from the "Ring of Fire" ride in Alexander City died helping someone else, and his co-workers are heartbroken by his death, authorities said Thursday. "From what I gathered, he was just really a good guy,'' said Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox. "These people who worked around him were really taking it hard." The accident happened Wednesday evening at the Kiwanis Club Fair opening at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex. The victim was a fair worker who was a native of the Republic of Belarus, Knox said, and authorities have no way of finding his family to notify him. For that reason, the coroner said, his name is not being released. The victim, Knox said, has been working in the carnival business in the U.S. for 20 years. He owned and operated a bungee jump, which was located right next to the "Ring of Fire" ride. As the fair was opening, the operator of the "Ring of Fire" ride noticed a wobbly wheel, which was about the size of a training wheel, Knox said. The maintenance man wasn't close by, so the victim offered to check it out. He "free climbed" the equipment, meaning he didn't have on a safety harness. Once the maintenance man arrived at the ride, the victim started his descent. At some point, he lost his grip and fell to the ground. Knox said they don't know exactly how far he fell because the witness accounts varied, but it was about 30 feet. The victim suffered blunt force trauma to the head. He was taken to Russell Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. Knox said the victim was known to talk to his mother in the Republic of Belaruse every couple of weeks. They don't believe he has family in the U.S. He lived in a camper while traveling the country to work the fairs and carnivals. The Alexander City fair is run by the Florida-based Primetime Amusements. Efforts to reach them for a statement on the worker's death weren't immediately successful, but Knox said they have an excellent safety record. "It's tragic,'' Knox said. "He was just a good-hearted person helping somebody else." A Honduran national living in Birmingham was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury on gun, drug and illegal re-entry charges. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. announced the four-count indictment again Carlos Alberto Juarez-Mendez. They said the 24-year-old was illegally in the U.S. on Feb. 10 after already having been deported from Texas three years ago. The indictment also charges Juarez-Mendez with two counts of illegally possessing a firearm - a Ruger 9mm pistol - on Feb. 10. One count charges that he possessed the pistol following a 2016 felony conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawfully possessing a controlled substance. The second gun count charges that Juarez-Mendez was an illegal alien possessing the pistol. The final count of the indictment charges that Juarez-Mendez illegally possessed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana on Feb. 10. "Convicted felons who are deported from the United States only to return to our homeland in possession of illegal firearms and illicit drugs will be prosecuted again, not simply deported," Town said. "DHS and my office will continue to aggressively pursue justice for any illegal aliens engaged in criminal activity." The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for being a convicted felon or an illegal alien in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for illegal possession of a controlled substance is one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. The grand jury also returned four other illegal re-entry indictments: A one-count indictment charges Byron Danilo Cristobal-Peche, 33, a Guatemalan national who was living in Florence, with being illegally in the United States on March 16 after having been deported in 2004 and twice in 2012. The removals followed a conviction for an aggravated felony, according to the indictment. The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry when a prior aggravated felony conviction exists is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A one-count indictment charges Jose Rafael Monzon-Sandoval, 48, Mexican national, who was living in Fairfield, with being in the United States illegally on Feb. 26 after having been deported in October 2016 following a conviction for an aggravated felony. Separate one-count indictments charge both Nereo Conseco-Santiage, 41, and James Brahin Reyes-Carbajal, 20, with illegally re-entering the United States after deportation. Conseco-Santiago was found in the country illegally on March 17, according to his indictment. He is a Mexican citizen who was living in Cullman. Conseco-Santiago had been deported to Mexico in March, September and November of 2013, according to his indictment. Reyes-Carbajal was found in the country illegally on April 6 in Jefferson County, according to his indictment. He is a Honduran citizen who was living in Birmingham. Reyes-Carbajal had been deported to Honduras in 2011 and 2015, according to his indictment. The driver of a vehicle that collided with a school bus in Helena Friday morning has died. Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans identified the victim as Leah Swenor. She was 22, and lived in Birmingham. The crash happened at 6:50 p.m. on Alabama 261 at Starkey Street, said Helena Police Chief Pete Folmar. Investigators learned that a Toyota Corolla traveling northbound had crossed the center line and collided with a Shelby County Board of Education bus that was southbound on 261. The chief said the school bus driver tried to avoid the oncoming car but was unable to do so. Swenor, the driver of the Toyota, was rushed to UAB Hospital and pronounced dead a short time after arriving in the emergency room. Schools spokeswoman Cindy Warner said the bus driver and two students were taken to a local hospital to be checked out, but more so as a precaution. None of them had any serious injuries. A Birmingham man accused in the shooting death of his ex-wife has been extradited to Alabama and now is formally charged in her killing. Dereck Jamaille Walker, 46, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Wednesday night. Jefferson County sheriff's officials confirmed Friday morning that warrants have been obtained charging him with capital murder in the April 16 shooting 45-year-old Habibba Moneque Walker. She died five days later. Jefferson County sheriff's deputies and rescue workers were dispatched just before 8 a.m. Monday, April 16, to a home in the 300 block of Trenton Street on a reported shooting. When they arrived, they found the victim suffering with a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation showed that the victim's ex-husband broke into the home where the victim lived with her children. Her 9-year-old twin boys saw their father coming in the window with a gun and fled to the neighbor's house. Two shots were heard a short time later. Dereck Walker then fled the scene in a silver Acura before deputies arrived. A day later - on Tuesday afternoon - he was pulled over in a traffic stop in Pensacola, confessed to the shooting and told lawmen they could find the gun in the glove box. Habibba Walker, who was mother to an older son in addition to the twins, was a nurse's assistant at the VA Hospital. Friends described her as an angel on earth who always put others before themselves. Christian said they found two domestic violence reports and a protection from abuse order from 2011, but said the couple later reconciled. In the petition for protection from abuse, Habibba Walker wrote that her husband had punched her, slapped her, made harassing telephone calls to her and threatened to kill her. Dereck Walker had to complete a domestic violence intervention program, which he did in 2012. His group leader noted that initially Dereck Walker was focused on his wife's behavior rather than taking responsibility for his own behavior, The group leader went on to say that Dereck Walker was able to identify more high-risk situations that he handled without violence. "He continues to have male privilege issues,'' he wrote, "but reports being able to walk away instead of allowing his emotions to control his behavior." In 2016, Dereck Walker wrote a letter to the court that read, "We are considering reconciling our differences. Our 7-year-old sons need their father daily. They are almost running over her and acting out in school. They always say how much they miss their father. "Also, every time you watch the news, the youth are acting as if they lost their minds. So I really need to be in my childrens' life daily and guide them in a more perfect direction. Please dismiss the protection order so we can raise our children properly. It has been over four years with no incident. I have learned much discipline and self-control and discipline skills from the classes your referred me to. Thanks for the help." The case was dismissed in October 2016. Christian said they reconciled, but then eventually divorced in December 2017. Dereck Walker is being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail. Two Republican candidates for Alabama attorney general called for more investigation and control of Facebook at a Huntsville forum Thursday night. "Facebook needs to be given lines, and we need to enforce those lines," Birmingham attorney Chess Bedsole said. "We expect you to tell us your policies. We want to know exactly what happened with the data in this situation," incumbent Attorney General Steve Marshall said. Marshall, Bedsole and former U.S. Attorney Alice Martin were discussing the collection of data on 50 million Facebook users by the political research firm Cambridge Analytica, which sold data to the Trump campaign in 2016. Facebook says it shares data with researchers, but a researcher improperly sold the data in question to Cambridge Analytica. Marshall said he has joined 41 other state attorneys general to demand "a look at (Facebook's) business model to make sure that their disclosures that are going to users adequately explain what can be disclosed to others and what can't." "If it comes as a surprise to you they're using facial recognition, I'm surprised," Martin said. She said Facebook is looking at pictures posted on its site "and tagging you .. to other folks." "It's not just Facebook, it's the Internet as a whole," Martin said. "When you go on Google, they are putting cookies on your computer to see what you're looking to buy and what you're researching. That is sold." Bedsole, who chaired Trump's Alabama campaign, said own his credit cards "were shut down 17 times during the course of the Trump campaign" by illegal hackers. He was targeted, Bedsole said, because he worked on the campaign and "because my name is unique and it is not John Smith." Bedsole said he has two daughters and doesn't allow either one on Facebook. "If you put a photo on there, they consider it theirs," he said of the social network. "The last time I posted photos on Facebook was 10 years ago. I do not recommend it to anybody." Martin said Internet privacy "is a big issue and it will be evolving." The issue "is new for me to know where I will stand on that," she said, "other than we will enforce the rights that are under the law. Most states do not have those laws in place." Bedsole, Marshall and Martin had been asked by the Tea Party forum moderator how they would "protect against ... abuse of personal data and insure the right to privacy for Alabamians online." Alabamians gobbled up $30 million in state income tax credits available under the Alabama Accountability Act by March 1 this year, a first in the program's history. In fact, this is only the third time the full amount of available tax credits have been reserved since 2013, when the program crashed onto Alabama's education scene in a late-night switcheroo in the halls of the statehouse during the legislative session. The Alabama Accountability Act, or AAA, in part created a tax credit scholarship program allowing low-income families to use donations made to a scholarship granting organization, or SGO, to pay tuition for their children to attend a private school or an out-of-district public school. Around 4,000 students have used tax credit scholarships for each of the past two school years. Lawmakers created an incentive for donors by allowing them to take dollar-for-dollar state tax credits for donations made to SGOs, amounting up to 50 percent of their total state income tax liability. While corporations have no limitations on the amount they can donate and claim a credit, individuals are capped at $50,000. So why the rush this year? Experts we talked with gave credit to the changes in federal tax law that limits the amount of state and local taxes, or SALT, that can be counted against a federal income tax return. "The new limitations on the SALT deduction were certainly a driving force for many Alabama taxpayers with large income and property tax bills," attorney Bruce Ely told AL.com. Ely is an attorney for the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund, one of the state's SGOs, and is an adjunct tax professor in the University of Alabama's Graduate Accounting program. Alabama Education Association's Susan Kennedy lobbies lawmakers and has been vocal about her organization's opposition to the AAA, seeing it as siphoning tax dollars for private schools that could go to public schools. Asked what topping out the tax credits so early this year might mean, Kennedy said, "I hope this is not an orchestrated effort to push for increasing the cap to take even more money out of public schools." A bill to expand the types of tax credits under the AAA but not raise the cap, sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, was rejected by the House during the 2017 legislative session. Critics of the program say giving Alabamians income tax credits means less money for the Education Trust Fund. Supporters of the program say children and parents need a way out of public schools where their children are struggling. For those looking to minimize the overall amount of taxes they pay, the donation to the SGO made good tax sense. Blogs written by Certified Public Accountants and tax attorneys were pushing the donations as part of a good tax planning strategy, and AL.com columnist Stewart Welch wrote about it, too. Here's a look at what grabbed Alabama taxpayer's attention. Under the new 2018 federal tax law: Assume the taxpayer owes Alabama $100,000 in state income taxes. Without donation to SGO: Gross federal income $500,000 Deduction for SALT 10,000 Total federal taxable income $490,000 Federal tax rate 37 percent Total federal taxes $181,300 With $50,000 donation to SGO: Gross federal income $500,000 Charitable deduction 50,000 Deduction for SALT 10,000 Total federal taxable income $440,000 Federal tax rate 37 percent Total federal taxes $162,800 Total savings on federal taxes is $18,500, or 37 percent of the value of the donation (which is also the percentage tax rate the taxpayer owes). At the state level, that $100,000 in Alabama income taxes is reduced dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000 which is what the donation was in this example. So a $50,000 donation to an SGO turned into a $68,500 in tax savings...a 37 percent rate of return on the donation. The donation counts as a charitable deduction at the federal level and a state income tax credit at the state level. Scholarships for Kids Executive Director Warren Callaway sees that as an "unintended positive consequence" of the federal tax law changing. Callaway said all of his SGO's 2018 donations came from individuals and over 50 percent were first-time donors to the SGO. Callaway has served as the head of Scholarships for Kids since 2015 and has seen their total donations grow from $8.9 million in the 2015-2016 school year to $10.8 million during the 2016-2017 school year. Scholarships for Kids donors have reserved around $15 million of the $30 million in Alabama income tax credits this year, he said. Lesley Searcy has been the Executive Director of the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund since October 2013. In years past, corporations have made up the larger portion of donated funds, Searcy said, but individuals have donated around 80 percent of the nearly $10 million they have raised so far in 2018. "Corporations that have supported us in the past were not in a position to make their contribution so early in the year," Searcy said. The two SGOs, Scholarships for Kids and the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund, raise the vast majority of the money used to claim tax credits according to reports on the Alabama Department of Revenue website. Reporting requirements were changed in 2015, requiring SGOs to file reports by academic year (July to June), while tax credits are counted January to December. For SGOs, getting the money earlier in the calendar year makes planning for awarding scholarships easier. There's one hitch, though: with donations capped at $30 million, there's little room to add more scholarship recipients. In the 2016-2017 school year, 4,092 students received scholarships, down from 4,132 the previous year. That's with donations maxed out. Students often require more scholarship funding as they grow older because tuition generally increases in the older grades, Scholarships for Kids Executive Director Warren Callaway said. Searcy said more than 22,000 children have been added to a waiting list since the program began in 2013. "The demand is there," she said, but there isn't enough money. The only way to give more scholarships with the cap in place, then, is to pay less tuition per student, Searcy said. She said she wants to place more children in public schools where the tuition is generally less for an out-of-district student. Her SGO has helped students gain access to both the Alabama School of Fine Arts and the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, she said. Parents come to her organization looking for a way out when their child struggles in their neighborhood public school. "The number one reason [parents cite], for 80 percent of the children, is school safety and bullying," she said. "For so many, public schools would be their first choice," she said, but it's up to public school officials to admit students who aren't in their district. "We would like to see public schools open their doors," Searcy said. Whether lawmakers try to expand the tax credit scholarship program remains to be seen, but changes to the law enacted in 2015 might reshape the program in a different way. The 2015 changes tightened requirements for participating schools to become accredited, seen as a way to ensure quality standards are in place at the school. Currently, 211 non-public schools are participating in the program, meaning they have agreed to follow certain guidelines, mostly administrative in nature, in exchange for receiving scholarship money from the SGOs. According to reports on the Alabama Department of Revenue website, only 165 of those schools currently enroll students using tax credit scholarships. Any schools that were participating in the scholarship program before June 9, 2015 and are not accredited must gain accreditation before June 9 of this year or they will be dropped from the participating list, according to the law. Revenue Deputy Commissioner Curtis Stewart said unaccredited schools were notified in writing of the impending deadline. Reports available on the Department of Revenue website show 64 of the 69 schools that are currently not accredited will have to meet that June deadline. The other five have three years from the date they joined the program to gain accreditation. There were 204 scholarship recipients in those 64 schools as of Dec. 31, 2017. Only 66 of those students are zoned to attend a "failing" public school, the student population the scholarships were originally designed to serve. A public school is labeled "failing" when the standardized test results of the students at the school fall in the bottom 6 percent of schools statewide. There are 75 schools currently on the "failing" public school list. Nearly 3,200 students are using scholarships to attend 99 accredited participating schools. Nineteen students are using scholarships to attend public schools. Note: This article was updated at 10 a.m. to correct Deputy Commissioner Curtis Stewart's title. It's been a few months since Serda Brewing officially opened, becoming Mobile's first operating craft brewery after a drought of nearly a decade. Since then, nothing has become old hat, and more breweries are moving toward openings of their own. "I would say the new paint smell has worn off," said Serda head brewer Todd Hicks on Thursday. "We're kind of settling into it, from grand opening to hey, we're open." "I think the newness is still there," said namesake John Serda. The latest development was that on Wednesday and Thursday, a team from Iron Heart Canning had set up a portable canning rig at Serda Brewing's Government Street location. Over the course of two days, the team canned tens of thousands of cans of two brews, the "Hook Line & Lager" pilsner and the "Tidewater" Vienna-style amber. Founding partner Tim Mahoney said that those had proven to be Serda Brewing's most popular styles so far, on site and on tap in other establishments. Gulf Distributing was scheduled to pick up 300 cases of each on Friday. They should be available almost immediately in select local stores, Mahoney said. Good places to look include Rouses, Greer's and Piggly Wiggly supermarkets as well as some Circle K stores and Cottage Hill Package, he said. Mahoney said Iron Heart will return for another round of canning in May, and Serda Brewing also has acquired a bottling line that it will be putting into action in the months ahead. Hicks said he's encouraged by the fact that at the brewery's taproom, four-beer sampler flights continue to be comprise than a third of sales. That's an indication that a lot of new people are still coming in to sample the offerings, he said. Meanwhile, at least three more downtown brewing operations are in various stages of construction: Haint Blue Brewing continues to construct its brewing operation and taproom in an old Crystal Ice building off the intersection of Washington Ave. and Canal Street, a few blocks south of Serda Brewing in the Church Street East district. Haint Blue has been having its beers contract-brewed for some time, and they continue to be available on tap in a number of area restaurants. Haint Blue also is available in bottles at outlets including Rouses, Greer's and Publix. Founder Keith Sherrill said this week that he's hoping to be open later this year "while it's still hot outside." Iron Hand Brewing, a brewpub that will occupy the old Waterfront Rescue Mission building on State Street in the DeTonti Square neighborhood on the north side of downtown, also continues to move forward. Partner Rebecca Williams said this week that the building's owners recently received a building permit for work to come. Meanwhile, she said, she and partner Ben Ross have been working on agreements with local artists, ordering fixtures, tweaking recipes and negotiating parking arrangements. An exact timeline isn't available, Williams said. Old Majestic Brewing has signed a lease for a lot at 656 St. Louis St., where it will erect a new historic home for its brewing operations and taproom. "It's an old cotton warehouse that was taken down in Mississippi," said partner Chad Marchand. Plans are being finalized for submission to the city in the near future, Marchand said, and an opening later this year isn't out of the question. He said the rapid development of the St. Louis St. corridor lends some energy to the project. "It's amazing," he said. "It's exciting to us to see the growth and be a part of it." The message from Birmingham's middle and high school students on Thursday night was clear: too many lives are lost to gun violence in our city and it must end. #NeverAgainBHM, held at Parker High School, was conceived in the days following the shooting death of Huffman High senior Courtlin Arrington on March 7. Justin Smith, a sophomore at Wenonah High School, said he saw how students at Wenonah were so affected by her death and it moved him to want to take action. "A lot of them knew Courtlin," he said. Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring had recently tapped Smith along with 27 other middle and high school students to serve on her advisory council, and students on the council planned the entire event from start to finish. The event brought out hundreds of residents along with elected officials to hear panelists discuss how gun violence affected them and what school officials and others plan to do to keep students safe. Naomi Wadler, the 11-year-old Virginia girl who made national news for her speech at Washington, D.C.'s March for Our Lives about how the deaths of young black girls were too often overlooked, opened the town hall by talking about the need for people to respect each other. "It's hard to aim a gun at someone you respect," Wadler said. On one panel, two Birmingham mothers shared the horror of learning their children had been innocent bystanders when they were shot and killed in separate incidents, their pain still fresh in the tears they cried. "To me, it happened yesterday, or a few minutes ago," Shunda Milhouse said about the 2002 shooting death of her 15-year-old daughter, April Jamerson. In the second panel, two Birmingham men who each served long prison terms spoke of the anguish they felt knowing the pain they caused families of those killed. Each said they took the wrong path, choosing drugs and guns as teenagers, ultimately landing in prison and implored those in attendance to tell someone if they see something bad happening. Herring, Wadler, Smith, and others formed the final panel to discuss keeping schools safe. Herring said school officials have increased the number of metal detectors, "but metal detectors alone will not solve the problem." In addition, Herring said, they have added alarms on doors leading to the outside, increased the presence of adult volunteers inside schools, and are doing active shooter drills. An anonymous tip line was added for students and community members to report activities that could pose threats, Troy Williams said. Williams is chief of operations for Birmingham City Schools. But Herring said the most powerful thing Birmingham City School employees need to do to keep students safe is to build relationships with students. "[Children] need to have trusting relationships with some adult in the building that if they see something, and they need to say something," Herring said, "that they have someone that they trust that they can say something to." The district is working to improve those relationships, she said. Smith said students who are causing gun violence need to make changes, too. "In order to change your surroundings, you have to start with yourself," he said. Jarvis Prewitt, a junior at Huffman High, agreed. "The only thing I would say to them is stop doing what you see others doing," Prewitt said. "Take the initiative yourself and start setting a better role model," adding, "Gun violence is not the way to go." Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring and Wenonah sophomore Justin Smith after the #NeverAgainBHM town hall at Parker High School on April 26, 2018. After the event, Smith said he was very happy with how the town hall went. "I think it went better than we expected it to go," Smith said, adding he was caught off-guard by the raw emotions on display. But, Smith said, "This is just the beginning. We have much more to come." Herring said she will unveil a strategic plan in June addressing what was discussed Thursday night. "These last 11 months have made me think really hard for what that [strategic plan] has to be." May 3 will mark one year on the job for Herring. Herring said she hopes parents and community members will help with whatever it takes to keep students safe and improve their futures. "This is a Herculean task, but we will have Herculean results if we do it right." Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Hightower released several medical records to AL.com on Friday along with a letter from his personal physician in Mobile, who stated that the 58-year-old state senator is in "excellent physical health." Hightower, 58, said he was releasing the health records to assure voters "that I can do this job." The disclosures included a colonoscopy that showed no abnormalities, a complete blood panel with no issues and normal cholesterol levels, a normal echocardiogram and a cardiac calcium score that put him at a "very low risk of developing atherosclerosis." "These tests did not indicate or raise any concerns about Mr. Hightower's health," wrote Hightower's primary care physician, Dr. Gamil S. Dawood of Hillcrest Urgent Care of Alabama in Mobile, in a letter dated Thursday. "In summary, Mr. Hightower is in excellent physical health." "Nobody has to worry about me having a health issue," he said. "I'm just making my personal situation transparent so that Alabamians know that there's not a health obstacle for me to serve them in the four years in a strong and vigorous manner." The records from the colonoscopy, performed in November 2016, showed that the Mobile senator was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 190 pounds, which put his body mass index at the lower range of overweight. Asked if he was demanding the other candidates in the race - Gov. Kay Ivey, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and evangelist Scott Dawson - meet his level of transparency, Hightower said he was "not trying to be against anybody" but said it would raise questions if they didn't. "When you have a CEO of a state and they're going to be a champion for the state, each of the candidates should be open about their health situation," he said, "and if they're not, we should ask: 'Why not?'" All of the Republican contenders are at least 50 years old, with Ivey being the oldest at 73. Ivey denied reports of health problems after the Alabama Political Reporter published a story claiming the then-lieutenant governor suffered stroke-like symptoms or a mini-stroke while in Colorado in 2015. The report also alleged a state trooper on Ivey's security detail was reassigned for not participating in a cover-up of Ivey's hospital stay - an allegation which Ivey's office also denied. Asked about her health in May 2017, shortly after APR's report, the governor said, "As far as I know, it's fine. Look at the schedule. We're not slowing down for anything. So I'm doing fine. I get a physical checkup every six months as most of us do. And all is well and I'm grateful that it is." A 1,326-pound great white shark who boasts his own social media following has been tracked near the Florida Panhandle this week in the Gulf of Mexico. Hilton, a 12.5-foot shark whose Twitter account detailing his exploits has 20,000 followers, appeared in the deep waters off Pensacola earlier this week. He was first tagged by OCEARCH, a shark research organization, in March 2017 off the coast of South Carolina and his journey has been monitored ever since, according to USA Today. Hilton generally stays along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, swimming as far north as Nova Scotia. He was pinged in the Atlantic east of Orlando on April 1, appearing in the Gulf west of Key West on April 13. This weeks' visit is the first time Hilton has been tracked to the Gulf of Mexico. "After spending nearly a year ranging up and down the Atlantic coast... Hilton... popped up in the Gulf of Mexico west of the Florida Keys 10 days ago," said Dr. Robert Hueter, OCEARCH Chief Science Advisor and Mote Marine Laboratory Senior Scientist. "Since then he's made his way toward the Florida panhandle, a famous fishing ground for sport fishermen. No doubt Hilton's doing a little fishing of his own, chowing down on the many fish of the canyon and shelf region there.' Hilton is a well-traveled shark. According to OCEARCH's data, he's traveled 9,929.312 miles since March 3, 2017. White Shark Hilton recently pinged in from the Gulf of Mexico, a location we haven't tracked him to before. We had Dr.... Posted by OCEARCH on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 You can see video of Hilton's tagging here. GOYANG, South Korea (AP) -- With a single step over a weathered, cracked slab of concrete, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history Friday by crossing over the world's most heavily armed border to greet his rival, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons. Kim then invited Moon to cross briefly north with him before they returned to the southern side. Those small steps must be seen in the context of the last year -- when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North seemed at times to be on the verge of nuclear war as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests -- but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century's bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that's still technically in a state of war. It was all smiles Friday as Moon grasped Kim's hand and led him along an blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children placed flowers around their necks and an honor guard stood at attention for inspection. Beyond the surface, however, it's still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue, which has bedeviled U.S. and South Korean officials for decades. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. North Korea claims it has already risen to that level. Kim's news agency said that the leader would "open-heartedly" discuss with Moon "all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula" in a "historic" summit. It's the first time one of the ruling Kim leaders has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone since the Korean War ended in 1953. The greeting of the two leaders was planned to the last detail. Thousands of journalists were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly-controlled pool reporters at the border. Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South; Kim invited Moon into the North, and they then took a ceremonial photo facing the North and then another photo facing the South. Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave them flowers. Kim and Moon then saluted an honor guard and military band, and Moon introduced Kim to South Korean government officials. Kim returned the favor with the North Korean officials accompanying him. They were to take a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit was to take place, in front of a painting of South Korea's Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion. Nuclear weapons will top the agenda, and Friday's summit will be the clearest sign yet of whether it's possible to peacefully negotiate those weapons away from a country that has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium. Expectations are generally low, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions -- giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas will try Friday: Sit down and see what's possible. Moon, a liberal whose election last year ended a decade of conservative rule in Seoul, will be looking to make some headway on the North's nuclear program in advance of a planned summit in several weeks between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim, the third member of his family to rule his nation with absolute power, is eager, both in this meeting and in the Trump talks, to talk about the nearly 30,000 heavily armed U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and the lack of a formal peace treaty ending the Korea War -- two factors, the North says, that make nuclear weapons necessary. North Korea may also be looking to use whatever happens in the talks with Moon to set up the Trump summit, which it may see as a way to legitimize its declared status as a nuclear power. One possible outcome Friday, aside from a rise in general goodwill between the countries, could be a proposal for a North Korean freeze of its weapons ahead of later denuclearization. Seoul and Washington will be pushing for any freeze to be accompanied by rigorous and unfettered outside inspections of the North's nuclear facilities, since past deals have crumbled because of North Korea's unwillingness to open up to snooping foreigners. South Korea, in announcing Thursday some details of the leaders' meeting, acknowledged that the most difficult sticking point between the Koreas has been North Korea's level of denuclearization commitment. Kim has reportedly said that he wouldn't need nuclear weapons if his government's security could be guaranteed and external threats were removed. Whatever the Koreas announce Friday, the spectacle of Kim being feted on South Korean soil will be something to behold. Kim and Moon will be enjoying each other's company in the jointly controlled village of Panmunjom near the spot where a defecting North Korean soldier recently fled south in a hail of bullets fired by his former comrades. By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Prince William and Duchess Kate have announced the name of their new baby. A statement from Kensington Palace said the little prince will be called Louis Arthur Charles. He will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge and is fifth in line for the English throne. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/4DUwsLv5JQ Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2018 The prince was born April 23 in London, the royal couple's third child and second son. Like other royal names, the moniker is steeped in history. Louis is one of Prince William's middle names and is a middle name of his oldest son, Prince George. According to Town and Country, the name Louis also pays tribute to the Prince Philip's uncle and Prince Charles's mentor, the late Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979. The name will be pronounced "Lew-ee" and not the more Americanized "Lewis." You can watch this clip from the royal wedding to see just how to pronounce the name. Arthur, a name steeped in British lore, was the middle name of Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI and both William and grandfather Prince Charles have it as a middle name. The third name, Charles, is in honor of the little prince's grandfather. The royal couple have two other children, Prince George Alexander Louis, 4, and Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, 2. A national boycott of Waffle House was the uniting theme during a heated and passionate town hall meeting of concerned citizens and NAACP officials in Saraland Thursday. More than 150 predominately black people attended the meeting at the Cedar Street Baptist Church to discuss and comment on the recent arrest of a black woman by three Saraland police officers late last week. NAACP David Smith led the open discussion among attendees, but not before the president of the Alabama NAACP Benard Simelton let rip about the double standards of policing in the United States and how badly Saraland police officers treated Chikesia Clemons when they wrestled her to the floor in the early hours of Sunday morning. "Look at the incident that happened at the Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, where a young man came in and killed four people," said Simelton. "And when the police finally arrested him he had a weapon and there was one report that said he pulled the weapon out of his backpack. You know as well as I do that if that individual had been African-American he would have never left there alive." "We are going backwards, not forwards," added Simelton of the Clemons Waffle House incident. Citizens stood up and told their own stories about experiences with Saarland officers, Waffle House and the current state of racism now and throughout U.S. history. One women that spoke said that African-American's need to keep their wallets in their pocket if corporations are to listen. "Hit them where it hurts," she said. The boycott idea comes after a Waffle House spokesperson said that the organization believed the force used by officers was justified. Saraland Police Department also said that it was standing by its officers during a press conference Monday. By Wednesday, a prominent civil rights attorney had come to Mobile to take on the case. At his press conference in downtown Mobile, he refuted the witness testimony obtained by the Saraland Police Department by presenting his own witness statements. He said that the arresting Saraland police officers "brutalized Clemons. Also at the meeting was Alabama House Representative Napoleon Bracy Jr., who said that he wanted a full national boycott of Waffle House but also called on African-Americans to meet their civil responsibilities in order to take back control of justice. He said that it was common among his constituents to avoid jury duty, thus taking away the chance for young black people to be tried by their actual peers. "How many people does it take have a hung jury?" he asked the audience. "One," they shouted back. Around 150 people came to the cedar street church in Saraland for an NAACP townhall meeting about the arrest Chikesia Clemons at a Waffle House Sunday. Clemons's altercation with officers become nationwide news after a cell phone video of the arrest made it on to social media. Officers are shown grabbing Clemson and taking her to the ground before an officer threatened to break her arm. Her breasts were also exposed during the tussle. She was ultimately charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Some at the town hall even said that Clemons should not have resisted arrest and let police officers do their jobs. This received some mild applause, especially from the few protestors that were welcomed into the church. In addition to calling for a boycott, which the NAACP did not back, some people said that the organization needed to change its mild-mannered approach to racial injustice. One woman read out the names of black people that had died at the hands of police officers and never received justice. And she criticized the response by elected officials. "We wonder why nothing is being done," she pondered. "In Tennessee a black man stopped a bad man with a gun with his bare hands." "To this day, your president hasn't said one world, so that tells the world that we're not even important to the president. Stephon Clark gets shot in the back 20 times, I ain't heard a word." She added: "I haven't seen the mayor of Mobile, the mayor of Baldwin County, the mayor of Saraland come out and say 'this is wrong. Close your eyes and imagine, white girl and three black men." Some attendees wanted to see more than just a Waffle House boycott. "Nick Saban will give one hell of a civil rights speech if pull all our kids out of these schools," said Leo Alexander, a former mayoral candidate in Washington DC. "And you better believe Saban will. That hits his bottom line." If the impressions of the first-day visitors to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery hold true, the memorial's designers achieved their intent of creating a compelling experience to spark awareness of the horrific legacy of lynching. Tom Perryman, a teacher at Greenhill School, a private school in Dallas, has followed the development of the memorial from afar but said that did not prepare him for the power of seeing it in person. "I had seen the museum in virtual form on the Internet for months and had been looking forward to getting here," Perryman said this afternoon. "But when you actually walk under the columns it's just breathtaking. "You can't imagine the feeling recognizing every one of those is a county where atrocities have happened in our country. This isn't far away. This is us. This is where we come from." A steady flow of people streamed through the six-acre memorial, which sits on a rise at the west end of downtown Montgomery. The Equal Justice Initiative, an advocacy legal organization in Montgomery, has researched and developed the project since 2010. The EJI also opened its associated Legacy Museum in Montgomery today. The museum explores the history of slavery and the forms of racial oppression that followed. At the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the main exhibit is 800 steel slabs, each representing a county where the Equal Justice Initiative documented a lynching. Each rust-colored, six-foot slab has an engraved list of lynching victims in that county and the date, although the names of some are unknown. Daina Ramey Berry, a professor of history and black studies at the University of Texas in Austin, said the memorial is a forceful reminder of people largely forgotten. "I thought it was a powerful representation of lives who have not always been recognized by a larger public," Berry said. "The families know their relatives were hung and lynched and murdered, burned. But now the larger American public has an opportunity to witness and to recognize their lives. I thought it was very powerful." Talitha LeFlouria, professor of African-American studies at the University of Virginia, toured the memorial with Berry. LeFlouria said the exhibit humanizes lynching victims. "They were mothers, they were fathers," LeFlouria said. "They were aunties, they were uncles. They were nieces, they were nephews. They were grandchildren. These are human beings. So I feel like in many ways this monument helps to shed light on the inhumanity of lynching while at the same time showing the humanity of the people who were indeed lynched." LeFlouria took note of the narrative panels in the memorial, which explain the pretext that mobs used to carry out some of the lynchings. Some were for the slightest alleged violation of a social code, such as knocking on the door of a white woman. "It's one thing to say that a person was lynched but it's very important to say why people were lynched and to show the sheer absurdity and inhumanity of this practice," LeFlouria said. Joann Richardson of Montgomery said she has read several books on lynching, including "Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America," which was published in 2000. Richardson said in the memorial today she found many names of lynching victims whose photographs are in that book. "I think it's very powerful," Richardson said after spending about two hours in the memorial. Perryman, the teacher from Dallas, said his students collected soil from the place where a black man named Allen Brooks was lynched in 1910. They sent it to EJI, which has included it in a collection at the Legacy Museum. Soil from lynching sites is displayed in jars labeled with the name of the victim, the date and the site. The soil collections are part of EJI's community remembrance project. "Where we collected the dirt from is 50 yards from the JFK assassination site, where thousands of people visit every day to see the story of President Kennedy's death," Perryman said. "And yet 50 yards away is where an African-American man was dragged out of a courtroom in 1910 and lynched. And no sign, no commemoration." Perryman, who teaches social justice, said he hopes to bring his students to Montgomery next year for a field trip. A large crowd turned out tonight for an opening ceremony for the memorial and the museum at the Montgomery civic center. The program featured a mix of speakers and musical performances. It also featured a recorded message from former President Barack Obama played on the large video screens in the civic center. Speakers at the event included U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, the longtime civil rights activist who was severely beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Bloody Sunday in 1965. EJI Executive Director Bryan Stevenson introduced what he called a "royalty" of civil rights leaders and activists. They included Lewis, Jesse Jackson, C.T. Vivian, Bernard Lafayette and Ruby Sales. Also on hand were civil rights attorney Fred Gray and two of the surviving plaintiffs Gray represented in the landmark case that ended segregation of the Montgomery bus system, Claudette Colbert and Mary Louise Smith. That was at the time of the bus boycott sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955. Grammy-winning musical artist Patti LaBelle closed the program with two songs, including "Over the Rainbow." Two days of panel discussions, the Peace and Justice Summit, are also being held at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center in conjunction with the openings. Former Vice President Al Gore will be one of the speakers on Friday. A Friday night concert at Montgomery's Riverwalk Amphitheater will include headline performers Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes, Usher, Dave Matthews, Common, the Roots, Gary Clark Jr., and Kirk Franklin. This story was updated at 7:29 p.m. on April 27 to add the name of the black man lynched in Dallas in 1910. Three Wilson School students were killed in a Thursday-night crash that injured two others. Three teens died in a Thursday-night wreck in Lauderdale County. Authorities have identified the fatality victims as 17-year-old Braden Turner, and 16-year-olds Coby Hines and Tyler Nelson. "It's just tragic," said Wilson Principal Gary Horton. "Words cannot describe it." The wreck happened around 10 p.m. on Lauderdale County Road 30 in St. Florian. The crash is being investigated by St. Florian police with assistance from Alabama state troopers. AL.com news partner WHNT News-19 is reporting that two 16-year-old Florence High School students suffered serious injuries in the crash. Horton told AL.com students are out of school today, but staff is available to talk or assist those who are grieving. Some of the students have gathered at local churches. School officials said Turner was in 11th grade, and Hines and Nelson were sophomores. Wilson School, on Alabama 17 in Florence, has around 1,300 students in Pre-K through 12th grade. Further details weren't immediately available. Updated at 10:36 a.m. to identify the victims. Sara Beth Sennett enjoys a lazy day at Alabama's sugar-white sand beaches more than anyone else. But with an energetic 4-year-old son, the Orange Beach mother is looking for other things to do. "We usually go to a basic beach with nothing," Sennett said. "But the fact there is a green field here and a play area, it's really nice." Sennett's son, Corbin, was running around the sandy playground that is a featured part of a $15 million makeover to the Gulf Shores public beachfront. A ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday officially unveiled the public park, which is the second phase of the overall project, that now anchors Alabama's most visible beach. The unveiling comes just one month before the start of the busy summer traveler season that fuels Alabama's $13.3 billion tourism industry. "This is the first major redo of what we've had in this area in well over 50 years," Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said. Said Lee Sentell, the state's director of tourism: "What people remember primarily as a parking lot at the south end of Highway 59 has been transformed into a pedestrian-friendly beach destination where families can play together close to the surf." Indeed, the changes are noticeable than what visitors have encountered before. The new park greets visitors to the main entry-point of the city's beach and includes green space, a 20-foot-wide beachfront boardwalk, shade structures, the playground and new landscaping featuring plenty of palm trees. "This project really showcases what we have here in Gulf Shores," said City Councilman Jason Dyken. "I believe this open space and what we have created here, that it will become a new city central area on the beach." The newly-unveiled portion is located in the most visible stretch of the city's public beach area, just west of the iconic Hangout restaurant at Alabama 59 and Beach Boulevard. The area is a hub for shopping, dining, festivals, and sightseeing attracting 350,000 visitors annually, for an annual estimated regional economic impact of more than $100 million. As city spokesman Grant Brown has said, "it's probably the most traveled place in the state." Dyken said the city's beachfront is poised to continue adding new development. In the works, he said, is a new full-service hotel and conference center that will be built across West Beach Boulevard from the newly-minted park. "It will be a jewel here on the coast," he said. Other future projects include more retail and residential development, and a parking deck. Meanwhile, there have been upgrades to West Beach Boulevard that include a center median, bike lane and wider sidewalks. The project, city officials have said, was aimed at improving pedestrian and cyclist access which had grown difficult in recent years as traffic congestion through the area has increased. "The main focus was improved access to the beach," Craft said. "As much as we aware of the economic return on investment, we are aware that our citizens need a safe and easy way to get to the beach." The project was split up into three phases. The first phase, completed about one year ago, includes new landscaping, expanded parking, renovated restrooms, new seating and shade structures and a new beach safety headquarters. The third and final phase will begin in the fall and will open in about one year. It will include the further extension of the beachfront boardwalk past the Phoenix All Suites condominiums. A new parking lot and a new beachside police station will be added. The entire project was first added in the city's Vision 2025 plan, approved in 2014. Plans to revitalize the beachfront date back more than 13 years after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina caused damage to the Gulf Coast. In recent years, the plans for a redesigned beachfront were discussed at town hall meetings, with the public providing insight on what they wanted to see at the beach. "This is really your plan that we have executed," said Councilman Phillip Harris. "We have a unique space here that is unparalleled anywhere on the Gulf Coast. This is your beach, and I hope you are all proud of this space as we are." Gulf Shores, along with Orange Beach, remain Alabama's top tourism draws. Summer visitors to Alabama's coast continue to be a main reason why the state continues with its record-breaking pace each year for tourism. The beaches draw 5 to 6 million people annually, and the number has only risen each year since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and oil spill nearly crippled coastal tourism. Craft, during his remarks, said the beach revitalization project faced obstacles from the oil spill and the economic downturn that occurred around the same time. But, he said, "we never lost sight of the vision and the value this place could create and the opportunities we have here." Scott Lloyd By Scott Lloyd, who has served as Assistant District Attorney in Cherokee and DeKalb Counties for the past 21 years. Even after 21 years of service as the Deputy District Attorney of DeKalb County, the most horrendous case I have ever seen is the murder of teenage child Lisa Ann Millican by Judith Ann Neelley. Shockingly, Neelley will be considered for parole next month. I am calling on all of my fellow citizens to write letters of objection to Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles before Neelley's hearing on May 23rd. Neelley was placed on death row for the 1982 rape, torture and murder of 15-year-old Lisa Ann Millican. Lisa Ann was kidnapped from a mall in Georgia, then taken to a motel in Scottsboro where she was raped and molested. Later, Neelley drove Lisa Ann to Little River Canyon in DeKalb County where Neelley shot her in the head and then tossed her body over the rim like a piece of garbage. But the most horrendous aspect of this case was that, prior to shooting Lisa Ann, Neelley injected her with Drano. Imagine the horrendous pain this child suffered as Drano circulated through her body. Judith Ann Neelley In 1999, then-Governor Fob James inexplicably commuted Neelley's sentence on his last day in office. Eventually, it was determined that Neelley would have to be given a parole hearing. But, that does not mean she has to be granted parole. The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles still can deny Neelley's application. The fact that Judith Ann Neelley is even being considered for parole threatens the safety our communities, and is a challenge to the rule of law. What kind of precedent would it set? Please don't misunderstand me. There are cases where parole may be justified, and there are certainly times that justice should be tempered with mercy. This, however is not one of those cases. As an Assistant DA, I know that the board truly considers letters of objection. I urge each citizen to write a brief letter to the board asking them not to grant parole for Judith Ann Neelley, the perpetrator of the most horrendous crime in the history of DeKalb County. Letters may be mailed to: Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles P.O. Box 302405 Montgomery, AL 36130-2405 I have not yet visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, but when I do, I expect to be awed and ashamed - partly for what our ancestors did and partly on behalf of humanity itself. I am not looking forward to the latter. That kind of shame cuts deep. I remember the first time I felt it: where we were, how I explained the feeling to our children, and what we decided we could do about it. We were at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute about 20 years ago - our first visit since its opening in 1992. It was, and I'm sure still is, an amazing place full of artifacts, stories, displays, videos and audios detailing the history and legacy of Jim Crow and how, through enormous pain and suffering, American blacks fought their way through and past it. It took more than an hour to work our way through the museum, and after we exited, none of us said anything for a minute or two. What was there to say, after methodically being confronted with stark evidence of hatred and its attendant evils? Then our daughter, who was probably 9 or 10, sighed loudly and said, "I feel pretty bad about being white." That broke the ice, and we were able to talk about what we'd seen and how and why such atrocities can happen, and also how racist attitudes can persist even when laws are in place to ensure people are treated equally regardless of race. (To add context, I wish that at the time I had remembered a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. when he received an honorary law degree in 1967 from the University of Newcastle: "It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me, and I think that is pretty important also.") The next time I felt that degree of shame on behalf of an entire people was in 2016, when my husband and I went to Ireland to visit, among many other villages and cities, the county from which my father's grandfather immigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s. County Roscommon is ground zero for the Irish potato famine, which the Irish call "An Gorta Mor" -- in Gaelic, "The Great Hunger." Well over a million Irish men, women and children died it in, and at least the same number left their homeland for other countries. I had heard stories from my father and his cousins, but until I visited the Irish National Famine Museum in County Roscommon, I had never appreciated what my great-grandfather and his parents and siblings had endured, much less understood the enormity of the famine or the causes of it. Yes, the famine was caused by a disease called potato blight, but it was profoundly exacerbated by the political, economic and social policies of the ruling British government. Historians argue over whether the famine meets the United Nations' definition of genocide -- most say it does not -- but its horrors are indisputable. When we emerged from touring the museum and its adjacent manor house, where visitors can learn about the lives of English landowners and their Irish servants and tenant farmers, we were awash in shame for the British people: for their government's cold-hearted policies, for their failure to relieve the suffering of those who were starving to death and for their callous indifference to the calamity that had befallen their fellow human beings. Nobody likes to feel ashamed, especially when they themselves have not committed the offense in question, but there are times when it is important to embrace shame - to allow it to burn you like a fire and engulf you like deep water - so that you can experience its curative properties. At the memorial in Montgomery, white people will reel from the confrontation with mob violence. Many will wonder whether some of their ancestors were in those mobs, cheering as black people were tortured and murdered. Black people will relive their families' lynching stories and confront the anger that the memorial evokes. Some will leave in fury or denial. Surely, though, most people will leave with a renewed understanding of the dark side of humanity and a commitment to denounce racism, hatred, violence and indifference - not only where it has occurred in history (Nazi Germany, famine-stricken Ireland, the villages of Rwanda, the jungles of Cambodia, the American South) but where it occurs today and will occur in the future. I expect to feel shame and other painful emotions when I make the trek to the lynching memorial in the coming weeks. But I hope to also feel a sense of redemption, too, in the knowledge that by immersing ourselves in what happened in the past, we are helping to make a better world for ourselves and our children. Frances Coleman is a freelance writer living in Baldwin County. Email her at fcoleman1953@gmail.com and "like" her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prfrances. In addition to their academics, ASU undergraduate students are encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities like research, community service, studying abroad or joining student organizations. Senior mathematics major Emily Vidal has done them all. Emily VidalA native of Pearland near Houston, Vidal also carries a double minor in biology and technical writing and is a member of the ASU Honors Program. Her high school grades meant she had her pick of the states top college and universities, but a pit stop to see family in San Angelo on the way to visit Texas Tech University changed everything. My uncle peer-pressured me into checking out ASU, Vidal said. I think he knew ASU would be a good fit for me. So I toured ASU and I loved it. ASU is the only school I applied to. And by taking advantage of her opportunities, Vidal has truly had the complete ASU experience. Research Many of Vidals activities outside the classroom have stemmed from her involvement in research. It all kicked off her sophomore year when she was accepted into a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) to conduct systems biology research dealing with immunological data at the University of Connecticut. At the end of the REU, Vidal had a completed research poster that she then presented at the Joint Mathematical Meetings in Atlanta, Texas Undergraduate Research Day in Austin, Great Plains Honors Council Conference in Beaumont and National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Atlanta. I got a lot of help from the Mathematics Department and the Honors Program, Vidal said. They guided me through the process of getting my materials ready and writing an abstract that would stand up to the level it needed to. The level was high enough that Vidal won Poster Awards at both the GPHC and NCHC conferences. Time Well Spent Public Service / Study Abroad Research also fed Vidals interest in public service, which in turn led to a once-in-a-lifetime trip abroad. While participating in a mathematics modeling competition, she was tasked with not only formulating equations to measure water flow scenarios at a dam in the Zambezi River basin in Zambia, Africa but also with constructing a budget for the project and measuring potential ecological impacts. I learned about the problems in that area and why they needed to fix that dam to prevent flooding and displacement of a lot of people, Vidal said. It planted a little seed in my mind, and then the opportunities in Colorado and Rwanda came along. The opportunity in Colorado was the Public Policy and International Affairs Institute hosted by the University of Colorado-Denver School of Public Affairs last summer. It was a great way for college students from all over the country to gather and see what is going on with public service right now, Vidal said. We did a lot of workshops and seminars, much of it dealing with the legalization of marijuana and the current opioid crisis. ASU has been wonderful to me. Ive met amazing people and I think my education is awesomeI preach ASU to anyone who will listen. Emily Vidal Barely a week after her trip to Colorado, Vidal was winging her way overseas to Africa for Global Youth Connects 2017 Rwanda Human Rights and Peacebuilding Education Program for Young Leaders. We learned about the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Vidal said. We got to meet government officials who are actively pushing for reforms, which was really cool. I also volunteered with a group called Esperance, which is the French word for hope. They are working with people who have a very tense past because of ethnic conflicts by trying to get the kids to play and work together to create a generation aimed at peace and reconciliation. Africa is so beautiful, she added. Rwanda is very hilly, so you can always see mountains, as well as lush greenery. But we were in the capital of Kigali, which is very industrialized with chrome and glass everywhere and new buildings going up all the time. So it was a strange but really cool juxtaposition of all the pretty scenery and this modern city. Student Organizations / Work In addition to the predictable Honors Student Association, Vidal is a member of the Technical Writing Club and Mathematical Association of America. She also won a 2016 Rammy Award from the Student Government Association for Best Female Student Leader and is listed in Whos Who Among Students at American Universities and Colleges. She has also worked her way through college, first as a tutor in the Math Lab and then as part of ASUs Community Development Initiatives (CDI). Surprisingly, there is a lot of use in public service for someone with my technical mathy background, Vidal said. In my job right now with CDI, Im doing statistical analysis and reporting on community health data concerning childrens wellness. So Im able to take my major and my minors and mash them all together with my love for public service and volunteer work. Emily got to try on a Hazmat suit during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control while attending the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Atlanta.Academics Membership in the Honors Program requires students to maintain academic excellence throughout their time at ASU. Vidal has certainly upheld her end of that bargain, regularly making the Deans List and earning membership in multiple honor societies: Pi Mu Epsilon national mathematics honor society Sigma Tau Delta national English honor society Alpha Chi national honor society for all majors Phi Kappa Phi national honor society for all majors In her limited spare time, Vidal enjoys Student Nights at the Stadium Lanes bowling alley and $5 Movie Nights at the Icon Theater. Scheduled to graduate in May, she is still deciding whether to start working right away or head straight to graduate school to reach her ultimate goal of earning a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in epidemiology. Epidemiology is kind of a mix of biostatistics, microbiology and disease tracking, Vidal said. So there is the flavor of math in there that started me on this path to begin with. Thats the endgame to get my masters degree, become an epidemiologist and work in public health. I Chose ASU Vidal put all her eggs in one basket when she only applied to ASU and doesnt regret it for a moment. ASU has been wonderful to me, Vidal said. Ive met amazing people and I think my education is awesome. Another reason Im prepared to move into the real world when I graduate is because of the Honors Program. It really is a game changer. And Im going to graduate debt-free, she added, which is the really big red bow on top of that nice present. I preach ASU to anyone who will listen. Posted on: April 27, 2018 8:41 AM An international charity that supports the work of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Consultative Council has announced a sponsorship scheme to enable bishops from poorer countries attend the Lambeth Conference in 2020. The Compass Rose Society announced that $1 million USD (approximately 724,000 GBP) will provide scholarships to bishops requiring financial aid to attend the decennial meeting, which will take place in Canterbury, Kent, between 24 July and 3 August 2020. The funding was agreed at a meeting of the Societys board of directors this month. The total cost per bishop to attend will be announced later this year when bookings open. I am very grateful for this extremely generous donation, the CEO of the Lambeth Conference Company, Phil George, said in response to the announcement. The Compass Rose Society has been wonderfully supportive of the Anglican Communion over the years and this is another example of that practical encouragement. My hope is to see every bishop from across the Communion coming to the Lambeth Conference in 2020 ready to play a full part. But we recognise that this will be a financial challenge for many. We dont want funding to be a barrier and so this sponsorship scheme is a significant step in making it more possible for a good number of bishops to attend. The board of the Compass Rose Society held their meeting in Edmonton, Alberta, at the invitation of Bishop Jane Alexander, who took the opportunity to introduce the boards members to her dioceses work with the indigenous people of the province of Alberta. The Lambeth Conference Scholarship will be one of the largest donations made by the Society since its formation in 1997. Since then, it has donated more than $10 million to support the mission of the Anglican Communion. Last November, the Society launched a new $10 million endowment fund to continue its support of the Anglican Consultative Council going forward. At this months meeting, the board began the search for a new president of the society. Its current president, Bishop Andrew Doyle of the US-based Episcopal Churchs Diocese of Texas, will stand down after the 2020 Lambeth Conference. The Societys 400 members are drawn primarily from the US, Canada, and Hong Kong. Its annual meeting this year will be held at Church House, Westminster, the London-headquarters of the Church of England, from 9-10 October. Posted on: April 27, 2018 10:45 AM A network of world mission-minded dioceses, churches, organisations, and individuals in the US-based Episcopal Church have attended a conference looking at global mission. The Global Mission Conference took place earlier this month. The keynote speaker was Monica Vega, a lay-woman who is currently working in the mountains of northwest Argentina. We go into mission to meet the other, where God is present, she said. Not because there are needy people, or to plant a church, or to teach; but we go to meet Jesus there. Thinking we are missionaries, we become disciples. We go to meet God, who is already present in the other. Vega works with another lay woman, Heidi Schmidt. For the past 30 years, their private vows for mission service have taken them to Kenya, South Africa, Brazil and now Argentina. Building on the conference theme, Mission Connects Us: God, World, Church, Schmidt asked attendees to weave three strands of yarn, representing God, the world and themselves. None of the three is at the centre all the time, she said, but God is in the midst of all three, holding them together. The conference took place at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. Its Center for Anglican Communion Studies (CACS) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The Revd Robert Heaney, CACS director, told the conference that Mission begins with God . . . and reconciliation is the heart of Gods mission. Without a theology of mission we perish, he said. The director for mission at the Anglican Communion, the Revd Canon John Kafwanka, also addressed the conference. Without partnership in mission we perish, he said, as he called for a renewed partnership model based on the apostle Pauls relationship with the Christians at Philippi. Such a partnership will be characterised by shared vision, diversity and interdependence, mutual accountability and respect, shared receiving and giving, and mutual listening and learning, he said. Participants discussed a number of mission-related issues, including cross-cultural pilgrimages, transformational mission, and the challenges faced by missionaries when they return home. The Episcopal Churchs director of Global Partnerships and Mission Personnel, the Revd David Copley, spoke of the importance of mission. We engage in mission because God created humanity in Gods image, he said. We engage globally because we are our brothers and sisters keepers: to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. We engage globally because we are called to love God and neighbour. For mutually transformative mission, we must engage in critical thinking, learn about our partners and their history, share our stories and hear the stories of our distant family. God has been there before us and will be with us in all our journeys. The Global Mission Conference meets every year; with every third meeting taking place outside the US. Next years conference will take place in the Dominican Republic between 3 and 5 April 2019. Further details are available on the Global Episcopal Mission Networks website: gemn.org. Labour kick out an alleged antisemite; Corbyn stays A mere 22 months after the incident, Marc Wadsworth has been expelled from the Labour Party. The Momentum activist made comments at an antisemitism event no, not a rally for Labour anti-semites, although Corbyns Labour could fill a large venue for that do; Wadsworth clashed with Jewish MP Ruth Smeeth at the launch of Labours inquiry into antisemitism. Youll recall that Labour invited Shami Chakrabarti to investigate the rampant Jew hatred in its ranks. She joined Labour, discovered a minority hateful or ignorant attitudes and behaviours and was made a Labour peer and shadow attorney general. What looked like a duck, walked like a duck and quacked like a duck was a dead ermine, said Shami admiring her new robes. But the Labour Partys Jew haters kept popping up. Being antisemitic in Labour was not rare at all. Things came to a bit of a head when something finally stuck to nuanced and slippery Jeremy Corbyn, who admired a massive public artwork, an artwork Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson called a horrible anti-Semitic mural. Corbyn wanted it kept on display. The local Labour mayor thought it revolting and ordered it to be painted over. Corbyn, who was at the launch of the partys antisemitism drive, was filmed on camera talking with Wadsworth at the event. Both deny being antisemitic. One paper stirred the pot, reporting: A video has since emerged showing the Labour leader laughing along with Mr Wadsworth as they exit the launch. Mr Wadsworth can be heard saying: You saw what happened. Mr Corbyn replies: Yeah, I did. Its here but theres very little to it. Leader meets fan might be the better description of the happening: Wadsworth denies any wrongdoing. He says today: I deplore anti-Semitism, anti-black racism, Islamophobia and all forms of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination that I have campaigned against all my political life and will continue to do so. With my brilliant legal team, who won the arguments hands down, I will be looking at all my options to legally challenge the decision. The Guardian outlines the case: Wadsworth came to prominence after he challenged Smeeth at the launch of Shami Chakrabatis inquiry into antisemitism in 2016, accusing her of working hand in hand with a Telegraph journalist. Smeeth has said she was reduced to tears by his remarks. Wadsworth, who was distributing flyers at the event, has said he did not know Smeeth was Jewish. The matter was heard by the National Constitutional Committee (NCC), Labours top disciplinary body. Says Labour: The NCC has found that two charges of a breach of the Labour partys rule 2.1.8 by Marc Wadsworth have been proven. The NCC consequently determined that the sanction for this breach of Labour party rules will be expulsion from membership. The rule states that no member of the Party shall engage in conduct which in the opinion of the NEC is prejudicial, or in any act which in the opinion of the NEC is grossly detrimental to the Party [including actions] might reasonably be seen to demonstrate hostility or prejudice based on age; disability; gender reassignment or identity; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; or sexual orientation racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or otherwise racist language, sentiments, stereotypes or actions, sexual harassment, bullying or any form of intimidation towards another person on the basis of a protected characteristic. Labour MPs, Chris Williamson and Clive Lewis gave character references for Wadsworth. Lewis said people do not get to be judge, jury and executioner when it comes to whos expelled or not. Go read a history book about what happens when an accusation equals evidence. Smeeth is pleased but makes no specific mention of antisemism: My statement on todays NCC decision: pic.twitter.com/EY7uyhjyh7 Ruth Smeeth MP (@RuthSmeeth) April 27, 2018 But is it over? Is it there? Ken Livingstone, currently suspended from Labour over remarks linking Adolf Hitler and Zionism, tells LBC today: Im not discussing anti-Semitism until after the election is all out the way because it is a complete diversion. We had this last year in the run-up to the local elections then. We had it two years ago in the run-up to the election of Sadiq Khan. It didnt damage us at the last two local elections but it is a complete diversion. Ian Austin on Ken Livingstone: Kick him out. pic.twitter.com/6qujGBoUV7 Ben (@Jamin2g) April 17, 2018 And on it goes in Corbyns Labour Anorak Posted: 27th, April 2018 | In: News, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rome, April 27 - Italy is "clearly improving in many sectors" but is not in line with its EU partners "especially in the South", ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. It said the Mezzogiorno was among the worst areas in the EU for unemployment, especially youth unemployment. There are more poor people in the south of Italy, ISTAT said Friday in the report on 2015-2016 but the "intensity" of poverty is more marked in the north (20.8%) than in the south (20.5%). Some 7.3 million Italians are in "grave economic hardship", ISTAT said. It said the quota rose to 12.1% in 2016, with the south triple the north. Life expectancy in the northern city of Trento is three years longer than that in the southern region of Campania, ISTAT also said. ISTAT also said that Italy is third last alongside Bulgaria in the EU for education spending, with 4.0% of GDP, compared to to the EU average of 4.9%. In another finding, the statistics agency said one out of four people in Sicily are in grave economic hardship, "really struggling to get by." Italy also has the highest share of the elderly in the population in Europe, ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. On January 1, 2017 there were 165.3 elderly people to 100 young people and 55.8 people of non working age to every 100 people of working age in Italy. The two indexes were significantly higher in central and northern regions, at 174.3 and 57.8 respectively. Italy came second to last in Europe for female employment in 2016, ahead only of Greece, ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. In that year Italy remained 13.7 percentage points below the European average for female employment and 9.4 percentage points below the average for employment overall. In other findings, ISTAT said the number of young people who abandon their studies in Italy was growing steadily year upon year. It also said the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) had dipped below 2.2 million but was still the highest in Europe. There were 16.3 divorces per 10,000 inhabitants in Italy in 2016, up from 13.6 the previous year, ISTAT said. The increase was due to the introduction of a new law allowing 'quickie divorce' in May 2015, the national statistics institute added. The marriage rate in Italy remained low with 3.2 marriages celebrated per 1,000 inhabitants, ahead only of Portugal and Slovenia. MADRID - Madrid's Teatro Real has signed a collaboration agreement with the Abu Dhabi Music Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) of the UAE to develop artistic exchanges between the two cultural bodies. The agreement, which is part of a plan for international expansion promoted by the opera house for its 200th anniversary, is the first one signed by the opera house with a body in the Gulf. Founded in 1996 by the patron of the arts Huda AlKhamis-Kanoo, ADMAF aims to promote music and the arts in general, as well as cultural exchanges with different countries and populations. Signing the agreement were Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of ADMAF and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival; and Mr. Gregorio Maranon, President of Teatro Real, in the presence of H.E. Hessa Abdullah Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to Spain, H.E. Jose Eugenio Salaraich, Former Spanish Ambassador to UAE and Ainhoa Grandes, President of MACBA Foundation. Italy improving but South remains behind, says ISTAT 7.3 mn Italians in grave economic hardship (ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 27 - Italy is "clearly improving in many sectors" but is not in line with its EU partners "especially in the South", ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. It said the Mezzogiorno was among the worst areas in the EU for unemployment, especially youth unemployment. There are more poor people in the south of Italy, ISTAT said Friday in the report on 2015-2016 but the "intensity" of poverty is more marked in the north (20.8%) than in the south (20.5%). Some 7.3 million Italians are in "grave economic hardship", ISTAT said. It said the quota rose to 12.1% in 2016, with the south triple the north. Life expectancy in the northern city of Trento is three years longer than that in the southern region of Campania, ISTAT also said. ISTAT also said that Italy is third last alongside Bulgaria in the EU for education spending, with 4.0% of GDP, compared to to the EU average of 4.9%. In another finding, the statistics agency said one out of four people in Sicily are in grave economic hardship, "really struggling to get by." Italy also has the highest share of the elderly in the population in Europe, ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. On January 1, 2017 there were 165.3 elderly people to 100 young people and 55.8 people of non working age to every 100 people of working age in Italy. The two indexes were significantly higher in central and northern regions, at 174.3 and 57.8 respectively. Italy came second to last in Europe for female employment in 2016, ahead only of Greece, ISTAT said in its 'Noi Italia' report Friday. In that year Italy remained 13.7 percentage points below the European average for female employment and 9.4 percentage points below the average for employment overall. In other findings, ISTAT said the number of young people who abandon their studies in Italy was growing steadily year upon year. It also said the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) had dipped below 2.2 million but was still the highest in Europe. There were 16.3 divorces per 10,000 inhabitants in Italy in 2016, up from 13.6 the previous year, ISTAT said. The increase was due to the introduction of a new law allowing 'quickie divorce' in May 2015, the national statistics institute added. The marriage rate in Italy remained low with 3.2 marriages celebrated per 1,000 inhabitants, ahead only of Portugal and Slovenia. (ANSAmed). GAZA - At least three Palestinians were killed on Friday in clashes with the Israeli army along the defensive barrier between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Reports were from local sources and Palestinian media, who quoted the Gaza health ministry. Over 350 people have been reported injured. One protestor died of wounds to his head while the other two died during the clashes. Meanwhile, an attempt by a dozens of Palestinians to tear down the border fence was blocked at the Karni border crossing between Gaza and Israeli territory, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. He added that the incident had occurred less than a kilometer from the closest Israeli village. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that Israel is using excessive force against the protestors, noting that in the clashes following the four previous Friday protests, some 42 demonstrators had been killed an 5,511 injured. Israel has repeatedly warned, including with flyers dropped over the Gaza Strip, not to approach the defense barrier and not to try to damage it or enter Israel. Similar initiatives will continue every Friday until May 15, the day on which Palestinians commemorate the 'Nakba', 'Catastrophe', of the birth of the state of Israel. French special forces have arrived in Syria, says Mattis Pentagon chief announces reenergized effort agains (ANSAmed) - Washington, April 27 - US defence secretary James Mattis on Thursday confirmed press reports that France has sent special operations forces to Syria to help boost US-led efforts against ISIS. "The French just reinforced us in Syria with special forces here in the last two weeks," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The French government has never itself confirmed the reports. During his recent visit to Washington President Emmanuel Macron said only that Paris had "decided to increase its contribution to the coalition and is totally involved in the fight against ISIS". Mattis also told senior lawmakers that the US would not be pulling out of Syria but would rather be continuing its fight against ISIS. "You'll see a reenergized effort," Mattis added. "You'll see increased operations on the Iraqi side of the border This is an ongoing fight right now." The defence secretary also appeared to confirm his opposition to Trump's plans to abandon Syria once ISIS has been defeated. Asked by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham if it was not risky to withdraw from the country in the absence of a political solution to the crisis he replied: "I am sure that we will probably regret it". The Pentagon chief also put the brakes on the president's intention of abandoning the Iran nuclear agreement, "I can assure you that no decision has been taken," he said. "Discussion is ongoing within the national security council and between those of us who are tasked with advising the president," he added.(ANSAmed) Haftar returns to Bengasi after Paris medical treatment I am in good health, army as stable as mountains, (ANSAmed) - Rome, April 27 - General Khalifa Haftar has returned to Bengasi after an absence of two weeks. Libyan TV al-Hadath showed the military strongman who controls much of eastern Libya descending from a plane from Cairo. He appeared to be in good health after receiving unspecified treatment in a Paris hospital. There had even been rumours concerning his death. "I am well, I am in good health the army is as stable as our green mountains, no wind can shake it" said Haftar in a short speech at the airport. He said he did not want to talk about the reasons for his medical treatment. (ANSAmed) Rabat - For the first time ever Moroccans have mobilised to boycott milk, water and petrol on grounds they have become too expensive. The protest began on internet on April 20 against petrol pumps managed by Afriquia, part of the Akwa group, Danone milk and Sidi Ali water owned by the group Holmarcom, with the stated aim of "defending Moroccans' purchasing power". Agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch is implicated directly in the protest as he owns the group Akwa. "Moroccan products are developing fast and the web will certainly not change this reality," said the liberal right-wing minister whose has an estimated personal fortune of 2.4 billion dollars. The case has even led to an interrogation in parliament amid suspicions that the majority Islamist party may have stirred up the protest. Meanwhile the boycott has led to a marked drop in the price of mineral water and it has also been announced that the price of milk will come down. Instead Akhannouch has said that there will be no change to the cost of petrol. Recently Cristal olive oil also became the target of the boycott. The protest comes ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when food prices typically peak. (ANSAmed) Cumhuriyet reporters at work after 'shock' terror conviction 'Only possible response,' anti-Erdogan journalists say (by Cristoforo Spinella) (ANSAmed) - Istanbul, April 27 - It is all smiles at the Cumhuriyet editorial office. This may seem a paradox just a few hours after the heavy sentences handed down against 14 of its journalists and administrators for "terrorism". However, there is hope at the oldest newspaper in Turkey and the one most exposed to Erdogan's threats against press freedom, since after 543 days the detained reporters and managers are finally together again, albeit under judicial control measures. And they are already working on the next edition. "Unfortunately we were expecting (the verdict), but we are continuing to do our jobs as always. It is the best possible response we can make," political correspondent Selin Gorguner told ANSA on the second floor of the tightly guarded editorial office in the heart of Istanbul. In front of his desk a sketch shows investigative journalist Ahmet Sik giving testimony during his trial. On Thursday evening he was convicted for allegedly supporting the coup-plotting network of Fethullah Gulen, who, however, he was among the first to denounce when he was still close to Erdogan, prior to 2013. He was arrested by Gulen's supporters, who had a strong influence on the judiciary at the time. "In a fascist system that is how it works, here justice is highly politicised. But sooner or later all this will come to an end," said Sik. "However in Turkey things change very quickly," he added, in view of the crucial early elections on June 24. They will be a watershed for the country, and probably also for Cumhuriyet. "This sentence aims to intimidate us. Erdogan does not tolerate opposition and will do everything possible to win on the first round. If the vote goes to a run-off I expect a new season of tension," said Bulent Mumay, who recently arrived at the paper from Hurriyet, the biggest opposition daily until a few weeks ago when it fell into the hands of a publisher close to Erdogan. Consequently, Cumhuriyet is one of the only remaining opposition papers, and is increasingly exposed. "We are waiting for the appeal, we are not giving up hope. And in the meantime we continue to do what we have always done: journalism," said bearded Emrah Kolukisa of the culture section. "The conviction is completely unfounded, there was no evidence against us," said renowned op-ed writer Kadri Gursel, the Turkish representative of the International Press Institute. "We were convicted merely for what we wrote. It is attack on journalism, on freedom of expression. And it is sad that now Turkey has this image globally." (ANSAmed) Italy pushing for Dublin Rules reform Joint effort with Cyprus, Malta, Greece and Spain (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, APRIL 27 - Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, and Spain will be teaming up to apply greater pressure in talks over reforms of the Dublin Rules. They are asking for less weight of migration flows to be placed on the shoulders of the first countries the migrants arrive in. Now that talks on the proposal by the Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU are beginning in earnest, the five countries sent their EU partner nations and the European Commission a document with a joint position in which they asked for the ''efforts of countries in the front line for the control of the EU's external borders, subject to migration pressure, and search and rescue activities at sea be recognized in the regulation'' and so that ''procedural weight will be alleviated''. In the thirteen points of the three-page document, there is a focus on the need to ''reduce the responsibility'' of the member state in which the migrant first entered to two years instead of the ten currently required by the proposal made by the Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU. ''Solidarity measures must have a positive, immediate impact,'' the first countries wrote, noting that ''some of the measures called for - such as resettlement and the 30,000-euro contribution in place of relocation of asylum seekers - would not help to alleviate, in the immediate future, the weight on the country of first entrance.'' Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Greece, and Spain would also like to extend the range of refugees that can be included in the relocation program. Perplexity was also expressed on the relocation mechanism of the Bulgarian proposal. While the five countries are pushing for an automatic, obligatory system, the revised draft calls for the possibility of the European Commission proposes to the Council to activate the solidarity mechanism only when faced with a flow of over 160% compared with the previous year. However, the system would become obligatory only with a one over 180%, so long as EU partners do not vote against it (ANSAmed). Rolls-Royce and Airbus have signed a collaboration agreement for the integration of Rolls-Royces UltraFan demonstrator for flight testing. The integration solutions demonstration will be co-funded by Clean Sky 2, the European Union research programme focused on developing technology to reduce emissions. UltraFan is a scalable jet engine design suitable for widebody or narrowbody aircraft and offers a 25% fuel efficiency improvement over the first-generation of Rolls-Royce Trent engine. One element of the UltraFan programme is planning for ground and flight tests, and to support this Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement with Airbus to provide both nacelle and engine/aircraft integration architecture and technology enablers. Flights will be carried out on a Rolls-Royce flying testbed. Airbus integration solutions will play an important part in achieving the overall fuel efficiency improvement of higher bypass ratio engines such as UltraFan, through innovative architecture and associated technologies. Andy Geer, Rolls-Royce, Chief Engineer and Head of Programme - UltraFan, said: This is another step forward in our UltraFan engine journey and it is great to have Airbus expertise to further strengthen our ability to deliver this important development programme. We remain very grateful to Clean Sky 2 for its continued recognition of the environmental benefits that UltraFan will bring. Axel Flaig, Airbus Head of Research and Technology Programme, said: This technology development programme with Rolls-Royce is a key project for Airbus to pave the airline customers towards the end of the next decade. We thank the Clean Sky 2 European funding programme for its strong support to this project which is a key contributor towards the ACARE environmental targets. UltraFan features a new engine core architecture and lean-burn combustion system which will contribute to improved fuel burn efficiency and lower emissions, along with a carbon titanium fan blade system and composite casing which reduce weight. The engine also introduces a geared design to deliver efficient power at high-bypass ratios. For Airbus, the project will enable it to fully integrate the overall powerplant system composed of engine, pylon and nacelle onto future long-range aircraft products, as well as facilitating scalability for future short-range aircraft. It will also build on Airbus expertise in advanced manufacturing technologies, such as high-deposition-rate additive manufacture, welded assembly and high production rate thermoplastics. The US Department of Defense has announced the award of a $240 million contract for Boeing to modernise Saudi Arabias fleet of five E-3A Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. The sole-source fixed-price-incentive-firm foreign military sales (FMS) acquisition contract, announced on October 16 last year, was placed by the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Robins AFB, Georgia. The Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAFs) pair of RE-3 signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft and eight KE-3A tankers are not included in the modernisation programme. The E-3 Sentry is a modified Boeing 707 with a rotating radome (rotodome) above the fuselage. The aircraft is designed for all-altitude and all-weather real-time surveillance of the battlespace, providing airborne early warning, and target detection and tracking capabilities, with integrated command and control and battle management functions. The aircraft is operational with the US Air Force, NATO, Britain, France and Saudi Arabia. The RSAF E-3A AWACS aircraft serve with the 18th Squadron, part of the 6th Wing based at Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, which provides early warning of potential airborne threats to Saudi Arabia and also manages friendly airborne assets. The E-3A upgrade will provide AWACS mission computing, navigation and communications upgrades, as well as the next generation in identification, friend or foe (IFF) system enhancements. The work will be performed at Boeings Oklahoma City facility and should be completed by February 28 2019. It includes upgrades and modifications to legacy US Air Force platforms and export aircraft, including the Boeing E-3A AWACS, the Northrop B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers. The RSAF E-3As were originally purchased in 1983 and delivered in 1986-87. The aircraft have been regularly modernised and upgraded to maintain interoperability with US and coalition forces, with Boeing and Alsalam only completing the radar system improvement programme in May 2017. That programme included a new radar computer, a radar control maintenance panel, and new software and hardware. The Royal Jordanian General Assembly held its AGM meetings on April 26 presided by RJ Board of directors chairman Said Darwazeh. Attending were Board of Directors members, RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler, the companies general controller, RJ accounts auditors Ernst and Young and some shareholders; the latter, in their entirety, own 92% of the company capital, which amounts to 246.4 million shares. The meeting discussed the Boards report on the 2017 financial results and the business perspectives for 2018, in addition to the auditors report, the budget, profits and losses. During the meeting the shareholders approved the increase of RJs authorised capital by 28.2 million shares to become 274.6 million shares. The additional capital increase will be offered through a private placement to the Governments Contributions Company at a par value of JD1/share with a discount of 610 fils/share, i.e. 390 fils/share. The amendments on the establishment contract and the bylaws of the company were also approved to reflect the mentioned capital increase. RJ Board of directors chairman Said Darwazeh explained that the 28.2 million share capital increase is part of a previously approved plan, assuring that this increase in capital will not lower the number of the shareholders' shares by any means, and the new capital will reflect positively on the airlines future and improve its financial situation. In his speech Darwazeh, presented the financial figures for 2017 and stressed that the company achieved positive results: the net profit before tax of JD468 thousand after a very weak first half year, might not be significant, but which reflects the effectiveness of the turnaround plan towards profitability implemented in the second half of 2017. This net profit is the first positive outcome of the 5-year turnaround plan implemented by RJ. He highlighted the significance of this result, when compared to the net losses incurred in the first six months of 2017, which amounted JD26.3 million due to commercial challenges and the decrease in ticket prices due to fierce competition, increased capacity in the regional markets and operating costs that grew by 3% because of the 28% rise in fuel prices which could not be compensated in the ticket prices. Darwazeh said that RJ is now moving in the right direction, and has a clear strategic plan for the next five years that is being implemented in a smart manner which enables a restructuring of the company and sustainable profits, just as expected by the shareholders. He stressed that the Board of Directors fully supports and trusts the President and the management team to make this transformation and translate RJ's business plan into reality. RJ is seeking to strengthen its contribution to the national economy and to connecting Jordan to the world, thus serving the kingdom and its citizens, and supporting tourism, trade, investment and exports. Darwazeh praised the governments support and keenness to reposition RJ, this national company, in a place befitting its position as the national carrier, under the guidance of the Royal Hashemite leadership. RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler explained how RJ was able to stage a strong recovery after a weak start in the fiscal year 2017. At the end of the first five months of last year, the airline had very weak revenues, which were on the verge of "dropping even further into the operating loss zone this year", but that the commercial performance recovered considerably and the load factor performance was significantly enhanced while stabilising the fares in the second half of the year. He said that the revenue management, the sales and marketing strategies were completely changed in order to attract new customers for the airline, and "that worked very well". So, the recovery in the second half of the year was the fruit of a strong revenue performance across the network, noting that the airline achieved a positive operating cash flow of JD22.8 million in 2017. He also stressed that the management is committed to delivering sustainable profitable results in the years to come, as well as a reliable product and customer experience for all passengers. He said that in the corporate brand of RJ: "We carry the most powerful and unifying symbol in Jordan: the Crown", which makes it" the ultimate obligation to take the company to a brighter future under the wise guidance and leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II. The Qatar National Library (QNL) in Doha, designed by OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture, was officially opened on April 16 by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and the CEO of the Qatar Foundation, Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al Thani, in the presence of multiple heads of state from the region and beyond. QNL encompasses the National Library, the Public Library, the University Library, and the Heritage Collection, which consists of valuable texts and manuscripts related to the Arab-Islamic civilization. The public library houses over a million books and space for thousands of readers over an area of 42,000 m2. The National Library is part of the Education City, a new academic campus which hosts satellite campuses from leading universities and institutions from around the world. Other OMA designed buildings on the new campus include the Qatar Foundation Headquarters and a new branch for the Research Institute. The library is conceived as a single room which houses both people and books. The edges of the building are lifted from the ground creating three aisles which accommodate the book collection and, at the same time, enclose a central triangular space. This configuration also allows the visitor to access the building at its center, rather than laboriously entering from the perimeter. The aisles are designed as a topography of shelving, interspersed with spaces for reading, socializing and browsing. The bookshelves are meant to be part of the building both in terms of materiality they are made of the same white marble as the floors and infrastructure they incorporate artificial lighting, ventilation, and the book return system. The heritage collection is placed at the center of the library in a six-meter-deep excavated-like space, cladded in beige travertine. The collection can also operate autonomously, directly accessible from the outside. Ellen Van Loon: Classically, libraries were vibrant spaces for the exchange of knowledge. With the immediate accessibility of information in the current era, the librarys role as public meeting space is more significant than ever. We pay tribute to the regions rich culture with the Heritage Library, excavated from the ground like an archeological site, holding historical and priceless Islamic texts for visitors to study and contemplate. Rem Koolhaas: We designed the space so you can see all the books in a panorama. You emerge immediately surrounded by literally every book all physically present, visible, and accessible, without any particular effort. The interior is so large its on an almost urban scale: it could contain an entire population, and also an entire population of books. Iyad Alsaka: The library is a testimony to Qatars significant regional role and influence in bridging knowledge, tolerance and greater dialogue within the region and to a global reach. QNL is an extraordinary public space in the region that will promote knowledge sharing, physically and digitally. Qatar National library is the latest expression of OMAs long-term interest in the library, which goes back to the competition for the National Library of France in 1989. Following the Seattle Central Library in the US and the Bibliotheque Alexis de Tocqueville in Caen, France, this is the third library built by OMA. The project was led by Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon, Iyad Alsaka, Vincent Kersten and Gary Owen. Official Press Release Madhuri has been inundated with film offers for sometime, but she has been picking her projects very carefully. Madhuri has been inundated with offers for films for sometime now, but she has been picking her projects very carefully. She has sprung into summer with multiple projects, and her fans are ecstatic. With her first Marathi film debut in the bag, she's all set to promote the film, which releases May 25th. Meanwhile, she is currently, simultaneously shooting for Indra Kumar's Total Dhamaal opposite Anil Kapoor and looking into her first production, 15th August (Marathi film). Amidst all these projects, she'll start shooting for the much anticipated Kalank today, where she'll be seen sharing screen space with Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt. Madhuri will be seen juggling 4 different projects simultaneously, which is not new for this veteran, who has earlier stated that she has shot for three different films in three shifts in one day. She most definitely is one of the busiest actresses in B town today and we can't wait to see her on the big screen again. Taking about 'Kalank', Madhuri says, "I am excited to start the shoot for Kalank today, it's my second association with Karan Johar after Bucket list and it's been a lovely journey so far. Can't wait to begin this one." Reportedly the shooting is for a special song with Alia Bhatt. A source told Filmfare, Madhuri and Alia will be doing a special dance number in Kalank together. It will be as exciting as Madhuri and Ranbirs Ghagra song in which the two starred together for the first time. The last time Madhuri danced with an actress was with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Devdas for the song Dola Re. Interestingly, Alia and Varun Dhawan danced on Madhuri Dixit's song 'Tamma Tamma' in their last release together, 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania'. The original song featured Sanjay Dutt with Madhuri, both of who are set to collaborate for 'Kalank'. '13 children are killed at an unmanned crossing. Bullet train scores over supervised level crossings,' Chidambaram tweeted. '77 hectares of forest land lost. Lives of 13 children lost. What is the gain? An elitist train in which 99 per cent of the population will never travel,' he said. (Photo: File | PTI) New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the Narendra Modi government on Friday for reportedly approving the diversion of 77 hectares of forest land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and said 99 per cent of India's population would not travel in the "elitist" train. Referring to 13 children being killed when their van was hit by a train at an unmanned crossing in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, Chidambaram said in a series of tweets that the decision to divert forest land reflected the priorities of the NDA government. "On the day when 77 hectares of forest land are diverted for Rs 1,08,000 crore bullet train, 13 children are killed at an unmanned crossing. Bullet train scores over supervised level crossings! Shows priorities of Modi government," Chidambaram tweeted. Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: 13 children dead, 8 others hurt as train hits school bus "77 hectares of forest land lost. Lives of 13 children lost. What is the gain? An elitist train in which 99 per cent of the population will never travel," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly given in-principle approval for the diversion of 77 hectares of forest land for the Rs 1.08 lakh crore bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The clearances have come with a rider that the remaining deficiencies on pending claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, in proposals submitted by Gujarat and Maharashtra, must be ironed out at the earliest. The two states have also been told to coordinate closely with the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) to speed up the project, the reports said. Gregory Taylor has been appointed as senior advisor to the company. The company's board, during its meeting on Friday, accepted the resignation of Aditya Ghosh, according to a regulatory filing. (Photo: AFP) New Delhi: In a surprise announcement, no-frills airline IndiGo on Friday said Aditya Ghosh would step down as its President and Whole Time Director while promoter Rahul Bhatia would become the interim CEO. Gregory Taylor has been appointed as senior advisor to the company. The company's board, during its meeting on Friday, accepted the resignation of Ghosh, according to a regulatory filing. His resignation as Whole Time Director is effective from April 26 while he would step down as President with effect from July 31. The board has appointed Bhatia as the Interim Chief Executive Officer and he would continue as a director. IndiGo is the country's largest domestic carrier with a market share of about 40 per cent. The incident happened during landing of the flight from New Delhi at Hubballi in north Karnataka on Thursday. Alleging 'intentional tampering' with aircraft, the Congress party had on Thursday demanded a probe into the 'suspicious and faulty performance' of the 10-seater Falcon 2000. (Photo: PTI) Mumbai: Aviation regulator DGCA has set up a two-member committee to probe the incident of technical snag in a chartered plane that was carrying Congress President Rahul Gandhi, a senior official said. The incident happened during landing of the flight from New Delhi at Hubballi in north Karnataka on Thursday. Alleging "intentional tampering" with aircraft, the Congress party had on Thursday demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the 10-seater Falcon 2000. "The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up a two member panel to investigate the incident. While one member is from the Directorate of Air Safety, the other member is from the Directorate of Airworthiness," a senior DGCA official said. The panel has been asked to submit its report in the next 2-3 weeks, the official added. As part of the probe, the official said the panel would call cockpit crew and also engineers for questioning about the incident. If required, the committee might also call the operations staff of the particular aircraft to gather details, the official said. On Thursday, a senior DGCA official had confirmed that the aircraft had suffered "technical snag". "According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and landed (the aircraft) safely," he had said, adding that shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. "For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official had said. In a letter to Karnataka State DGP Neelmani N Raju, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi had said the weather was normal. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...," the letter had said. Senior advocate Indu Malhotra was administered oath of office as SC judge by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. 61-year old Malhotra's name, cleared by the government, was one of the two recommended by the collegium to be elevated to the apex court bench. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Senior advocate Indu Malhotra was on Friday sworn in as Supreme Court judge, making her the first woman lawyer to enter the top judiciary directly. Malhotra was administered oath of office by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. 61-year old Malhotra's name, cleared by the government, was one of the two recommended by the collegium to be elevated to the apex court bench. The Centre earlier on Wednesday put on hold the elevation of Justice KM Joseph and cleared the appointment Indu Malhotra as a judge of the apex court. It also asked the apex court's collegium to reconsider its recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph. Read: Indu Malhotra will be first woman lawyer to be appointed as SC judge The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay a warrant on the appointment of Malhotra as an apex court judge and stated that it was not wrong on part of the Centre to have asked the apex court's collegium to reconsider its recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph. On January 22, the apex court collegium's file recommending the elevation of Justice Joseph and Indu Malhotra was sent to the Law Ministry. The Centre's move to hold the elevation of Justice KM Joseph and clear the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court has invited resentment from the Oppositon Congress and the legal fraternity. They believe the government is interfering in judicial appointments. Also Read: Govt right in sending Justice Joseph's name for reconsideration: CJI Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. Nalini is presently serving a life sentence in the Vellore Central Prison. (Photo: File) Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday rejected Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict S Nalini Sriharan's petition seeking a premature release. She is presently serving a life sentence in the Vellore Central Prison. A division bench of Justices K K Sasidharan and Justice R Subramanian passed the order while noting that the court cannot interfere in the matter since the issue has been already seized of by the Supreme Court. Nalini was arrested on June 14, 1991 in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May that year at nearby Sriperumbudur. In 1998, a special court for bomb blast cases at Poonamallee here convicted Nalini and 25 others, and sentenced them to death. In April 2000, the Tamil Nadu governor commuted the death sentence of Nalini to life sentence on the basis of the state government's recommendation and an appeal by former Congress president and Rajiv Gandhi's widow Sonia Gandhi. Nalini has spent more than 25 years in jail. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed. Rajiv Gandhi's assassination was perhaps the first case of suicide bombing which had claimed the life of a high-profile leader. Diana termed Tripura CM's remarks as 'hurtful' saying it exposes how Indians stigmatise brown skin when in fact they should be proud of it. Diana Hayden said she has been fighting the stereotypical mindset, which gives preference to 'light colour skin' since her childhood. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Diana Hayden has slammed Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for criticising her 1997 win at the Miss World pageant, saying it is "hurtful" as it exposes how Indians stigmatise the brown skin when in fact they should be proud of it. The actor said she has been fighting the stereotypical mindset, which gives preference to 'light colour skin' since her childhood. Hayden, in a statement headlined: 'That's some strong disapproval of me winning the Miss World title!' said it is ironical that she should be criticised for spreading "appreciation of our Indian brown exotic beauty". "It's a pity and shame that when you win the biggest and most respected beauty pageant in the world, you get criticised and put down as opposed to being appreciated and respected for bringing more accolades back home and further appreciation of our Indian brown exotic beauty. It's also hurtful," she said in a statement to news agency PTI. Deb, who had kicked up a storm by his "Internet in the Mahabharata era" remark, landed himself in a fresh controversy when he questioned the rationale behind Hayden's win 21 years ago. The BJP leader, however, said Aishwarya Rai, who won the Miss World crown in 1994, "represents the Indian women" in the true sense. He said he failed to understand the "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Hayden won the award. "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Hayden," Deb, who became the chief minister last month, said. Hayden said she understands why Deb compared her to Aishwarya and not to former Miss World Priyanka Chopra and recently crowned Manushi Chhillar. "It's obvious that our skin colour difference is on his mind as he's comparing me to Ash and not Priyanka or Manushi who currently holds the Miss World title, and very deservedly so! Shame on him as our beautiful, exotic brown colouring is to be proud of. I sure am!" she said. Hayden said it took her time to realise that her skin colour was beautiful despite facing such biases for being brown-skinned. "What is especially sad is the bigger issue here. Being brown skinned, I've had to fight (society's attitude and while growing up my own lack of self confidence because of my darker skin colour) the 'light skin is better' issue we have in India. "I felt so strongly about it that I turned down a fairness cream ad because it went against my belief. We are Indians and predominantly our skin colour is brown and we should be really proud of it and learn to appreciate it like it's appreciated around the world," she said. Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 225-member assembly. Gandhi, back in Karnataka for the seventh leg of his poll campaign, accused Modi of telling lies. (Photo: PTI/File) Bhatkal: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the graft issue, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused him of supporting mining baron Reddy brothers and changing CBI into "Central Bureau of Illegal Mining." Gandhi, back in Karnataka for the seventh leg of his poll campaign, accused Modi of telling "lies one after the other" and spreading anger, hate and added, "this man cannot take this country forward." The Congress president said Modi comes to Karnataka and says he is standing against corruption "when on his one side is Yeddyurappa (state unit BJP chief) who had been to jail and on the other side four ministers who had been to jail." "This time full team is also there, Reddy brothers and their entire team have got five tickets (to contest the assembly polls). As soon as they came out of jail Modiji gave a clean chit," Gandhi said. "Earlier CBI was called the Central Bureau of Investigation. Modiji has changed its name into Central Bureau of Illegal Mining. Then he comes here and says, he is against corruption," Gandhi said addressing a public meeting at Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district. He also asked the media to question Modi regarding "Central Bureau of Illegal Mining" and the Reddy brothers as to "why they were given tickets, why are they getting his support. But the press cannot ask him question. Modi only tells his Mann ki Baat..this is the truth." "Modi's aim is to give Karnataka's wealth into the hands of Reddy brothers, to give it to 5-10 rich people. Congress will never allow it to happen. Listen it is impossible," he said. Terming Modi's words as "hollow", Gandhi said the Prime Minister talked about "56 inch chest." "Modiji sat on a swing with China's President, then the Chinese President intruded his army into Doklam, 56 inch chest did not utter a word. Today he has gone to China in aeroplane." Referring to the incidents of rape, he said, "Modiji said Beti Bachao, Beti Padao, you see entire country Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Rajastan everywhere there are attacks on women and rapes are taking place." "Narendra Modi's party man in Uttar Pradesh indulges in rape and he does not utter a word. Earlier they used to say Beti Bachao, Beti Padao. Now they say Beti Bachao, they have forgotten Beti Padao...BJP se Bachao (save from BJP)." Earlier addressing a rally at Ankola, Gandhi termed the Karnataka polls a fight between two ideologies, saying, on one side, there was the Congress, while on the other, the BJP-RSS. "Support the Congress and we will work for the poor and needy," he added. Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi motivated the morale of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in the state. Continuing his tirade against the Congress, the Prime Minister alleged the party was responsible for tardy progress of state. He was accused the Congress of not focusing on development during their ongoing tenure in the Karnataka. "We know other political parties hesitate to talk on development because development can be quantified. This was unacceptable to those parties which only concentrated on division. We govern and also fight elections based only on development model," he said. With Karnataka set to go to polls next month, the saffron party is making all-out efforts to oust the Siddaramaiah dispensation from power in the only big state where the Congress governs. Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 225-member assembly. The results will be out on May 15. (With PTI inputs) However, the DGCA said it was a snag of the auto pilot mode and that it would examine the issue. Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka from today to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: A plane carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday developed a technical snag with the party demanding a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft before landing at the Hubballi airport in north Karnataka. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in New Delhi that it would examine the issue, while the police said they have registered a complaint. The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju. The letter said the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...," it said. "Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are requested to be addressed and investigated," the letter read. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. "Yes, we have received a complaint about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft," Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad Police said. She said, "We have registered a complaint under Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC." The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi, she said. The letter said multiple "unexplained" technical snags coupled with the failure of the auto pilot system raised serious issues of aviation safety and possible and intentional tampering with aircraft which endangered the life of its occupants. "A thorough examination of the structural and mechanical elements of the aircraft, the surrounding circumstances of the flight and the persons attached with maintenance of the aircraft is required in order to assess the incident," it said. The letter said a "clankish noise" was clearly audible from one side of the plane throughout the shuddering of the aircraft body. "It was learnt that the autopilot of the aircraft was not functioning," it said. The plane landed at the Hubbali airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt., according to the letter. "The crew was also apparently petrified and admitted that the flight was particularly frightening and uncommon," it said. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi landed safely... a serious accident was averted today." He said a complaint has been sumbitted to the DGP Karnataka asking him to look into all aspects of the "serious, horrific incident", including foul play if any. He said it was unprecedented that a flight carrying an SPG protectee would develop a snag. Gandhi maintained his composure and tried to calm the co-passengers down, he said. Another complaint has been filed with the DGCA, demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, Surjewala added. A senior DGCA official said, "The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely. "Shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official said. Citing the report from the Air Traffic Controller, a senior official at the Hubbali airport said the plane had landed safely. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. New Delhi: The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he will remember his innate duty of protecting Indias strategic interests by raising the Doklam issue with China that impacts national security. Taking to Twitter, Congress president Rahul Gandhi described the visit of the Prime Minister as having no agenda and mocked Mr Modi, saying, You look tense on the visit. However, extending his partys support for the summit, he told the Prime Minister that India wants to hear him talk in China about two crucial issues the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops last year and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through POK. Thats Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support, Mr Gandhi said in a tweet. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala also took a dig at the Prime Minister, saying that Mr Modi may not be able to show red eyes as he loftily promised, but will he show the courage and conviction to do plain-speaking on Doklam and defend Indias interests. Mr Surjewala said that India is facing an increasingly aggressive China which is trying to intrude into the chicken neck Siliguri corridor by building a new road through south of Doklam, and wondered why is the Modi government clueless and incapable of sending a strong message to China. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam area last year. The face-off ended through negotiations after 72 days. The CPEC, a part of Chinas ambitious development strategy of Belt and Road Initiative, runs through PoK and India opposes the controversial project. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. During the visit, the two leaders will have a series of one-on-one conversations on bilateral, global and regional issues. All services apart from emergency services have been hit as about 1,700 doctors go on strike. The doctors on strike are demanding that Dr Atul Kumar, chief of Rajendra Prasad Centre (RPC) for Ophthalmic Sciences, be suspended pending an inquiry. (Photo: File) New Delhi: About 1,700 resident doctors of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) decided to go on indefinite strike on Thursday evening because, they said, their complaint against a high-profile eye doctor at the premier hospital for physically assaulting a junior doctor was not being taken seriously. All services apart from emergency services have been hit due to the doctors strike. All routine surgeries have been cancelled. The doctors on strike are demanding that Dr Atul Kumar, chief of Rajendra Prasad Centre (RPC) for Ophthalmic Sciences, be suspended pending an inquiry. Dr Kumar allegedly slapped a senior resident doctor (name withheld on request) on Wednesday morning in front of patients and staff. The resident doctor has, in his written complaint to the AIIMS director, said that Dr Kumar arrived early for rounds and got upset with the junior doctors for not being ready with patients documents. He got very angry and started shouting My phone started ringing while he was scolding me so he tried to snatch my phone but I resisted. Then he slapped me, my spectacles fell off and I got blank for a minute (sic), he has written. The resident doctor left the eye centre and proceeded on previously sanctioned leave to his home in Nagpur. Dr Kumar, the resident doctor writes, apologised to him at least thrice saying he was like my father. Though he has accepted the apology, he has requested that he not be made to work with Dr Kumar. Members of Resident Doctors' Association, AIIMS sit in protest as part of their indefinite strike. (Photo: ANI) He will unnecessary put charges against me. He is treating the biggest ministers of the country and anyone can do anything to me. I am not worried about me but more worried about my family (sic), he has written in his complaint letter. AIIMS has instituted a five-member committee to inquire into the incident, but the resident doctors, who began protesting outside the director Dr Randeep Gulerias office on Thursday morning, are refusing to call off their strike. The immediate trigger for their strike may be the well-regarded ophthalmologist slapping a junior doctor in public view, but as the three letters of complaints from doctors to Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS director, indicate, the anger is old and runs deep. The letters one by Resident Doctors Association, one by doctors of RAC, and one by the victim list a litany of complaints against Dr Kumar. They accuse him of routinely harassing and misbehaving with female doctors, including making derogatory comments on their physical appearance. Listing other innumerable instances of mental and psychological harassment, they write of the regular threats he issues to fail doctors in exams, to not issue experience certificates and that he often does not allow residents to take leave, including for their own wedding, making senior residents to work without pay, sometimes for as long as five months. Dr Kumar has also, they write, blamed his own surgical failures on junior doctors. Because of the toxic, intimidating and negative environment created by him, they write that many RPC doctors have been admitted to the hospitals psychiatry ward. In the last two months alone around 15 resident doctors have been under treatment for depression, the complaint states. In their letters to Dr Guleria, they write that no one has dared to complain about him so far because he has created an atmosphere of fear and because he constantly threatens and intimidates junior doctors with his powerful political contacts. Dr Atul Kumar, a Padma Shri awardee who counts among his patients Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, presides over RPC, rated as one of the best eye hospitals in the country. The 50-year-old RPC, which sees about 1,500 patients on a daily basis, is under the national programme for control of blindness. Apart from guiding policy related to blindness and eye health, the centre has conducted over 17,000 corneal transplant surgeries till date, of which 1,285 were done last year. About 150 eye doctors at the centre report to him. The doctors told this newspaper that while the administration has agreed to an inquiry, it decided not to remove Dr Kumar from his post. How will they conduct an inquiry if he is still the chief of RPC Centre? His termination is our main demand, a resident doctor on strike said. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a doctor at the RPC said, There is no doubt that he mistreats his subordinates and residents My focus has always been to be in his blind spot He doesnt know you, he doesnt see you. Tum apna kam karo aur ghar jao Because he can be vindictive, he can target people If he knows I am talking to you like this today, tomorrow if hes in power, he may do something to harm me Not physically, not this thing, but mentally he might torture me, academically While one doctor spoke of having witnessed specific instances of sexual harassment at the RPC, other doctors said that they had heard of these allegations. Among the BJP leaders who hit out at the state CM included Union minister Babul Supriyo, Mukul Roy, Rupa Ganguly and Rahul Sinha. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly assesses the condition of a party worker affected by the West Bengal pre-panchayat poll violence during a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Alleging that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was killing democracy in the state by unleashing violence on its workers in the panchayat polls, a delegation of BJP leaders on Thursday met President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu and Union home minister Rajnath Singh to raise their concerns over such issues. The party accused the states ruling TMC and the police of colluding to stop Opposition candidates from filing their nominations for the panchayat polls. In their memorandum to the vice-president, the party said democracy in the state was reeling under the danger of complete breakdown of law and order in the state. The BJP also presented relatives of its workers, who were killed in the alleged violence and those injured, before the media, as its leaders accused the Trinamul Congress workers and the state police of colluding to stop opposition candidates from filing their nominations. Among the BJP leaders who hit out at the state CM included Union minister Babul Supriyo, Mukul Roy, Rupa Ganguly and Rahul Sinha. Mr Supriyo said that the state government was inching towards becoming a fit case for dismissal but insisted that the BJP would rather work to defeat the TMC in the polls. Mr Sinha said while there is a demand by other opposition parties in the state for the imposition of Presidents rule, the BJP do not want to make Ms Banerjee a martyr and would defeat her in elections. Mr Mukul Roy alleged that Ms Banerjee was a killer of democracy and claimed that five BJP workers had been killed in attacks allegedly by Trinamul Congress workers and hundreds injured. The party also played video clips of the alleged violence. As per the main accused's admission, the packaged meat was that of dead animals meant to be supplied to restaurants. The accused persons reportedly used to collect carcasses from different places in and around the city and its surrounding districts, and processed it before supplying it in packets to different restaurants. (Representational Image) Kolkata: Around 20 tonnes of rotten meat meant to be supplied to restaurants in and around the city, have been seized by the police from several areas in Kolkata and the neighbouring North 24 Parganas district. One thousand meat packets weighing 20 kg each were seized from a cold storage at Narkeldanga area of the city by the Kolkata police and Diamond Harbour police of South 24 Parganas district late on Thursday night following a tip-off, a senior official of the state police said. Raids were also conducted in places like Tangra in the city and Kankinara in North 24 Parganaas district. Nine persons, including one from Bihar, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in supplying meat of dead animals to different restaurants, the police official said. "While six persons were arrested last night, three others including the main accused, who is a resident of Bihar's Nawada district, were arrested this morning," Diamond Harbour police district Superintendent of Police Koteswara Rao Nalavath told PTI. "As per the main accused's admission and prima facie, the packaged meat was that of dead animals meant to be supplied to restaurants in these areas," he said. "We have arrested the entire gang involved in this crime. A couple of others who may be associated with the gang are absconding, but we will arrest them soon," Rao said. The state police is examining the seized meat, he said. Rao said that the accused persons reportedly used to collect carcasses from different places in and around the city and its surrounding districts, and processed it before supplying it in packets to different restaurants. "We are trying to find out to which restaurants they were supplying. That could lead us to a major breakthrough," he said. The matter came to light when two persons were arrested by the South 24 Parganas district police last week for their alleged involvement in supplying meat of dead animals to eateries. The two were nabbed by locals when they were carrying the meat carved from the carcasses left in a dumping ground in Budge Budge area in neighbouring South 24 Parganas district. Suhas Pednekar, principal of city-based Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, was appointed as the new Vice Chancellor on Friday. Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who is the Chancellor of all public universities in the state, handed over the letter of appointment to Dr Pednekar at Raj Bhavan on Friday. (Photo: Twitter) Mumbai: Principal of the city-based Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, Suhas Raghunath Pednekar, was appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai on Friday. Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who is Chancellor of all public universities in the state, made the appointment. The governor handed over the letter of appointment to Dr Pednekar at Raj Bhavan. Pednekar, a professor of chemistry, has been appointed as the VC for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, a Raj Bhavan statement issued here said. He succeeds Sanjay Deshmukh, who was removed from the post of VC of the university on October 24, 2017. Devanand Shinde, vice chancellor of Shivaji University in Kolhapur, was holding the additional charge of the post of vice chancellor since then. The governor had constituted a search committee under the chairmanship of Dr K Kasturirangan, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to recommend to him a panel of names suitable for the post. Shyam Lal Soni, director of National Institute of Technology, Pauri (Garhwal) Uttarakhand and Bhushan Gagrani, vice chairman and managing director of CIDCO were other members of the committee. The governor had removed Sanjay Deshmukh from the post of VC for his "gross negligence" which led to inordinate delay in the declaration of university's exam results. Deshmukh had been sent on forced leave by the governor in August 2017 after the former faced flak over the delay in results from students, opposition parties and the government. He was blamed for hastily implementing the new on-screen marking system that led to an unprecedented delay in declaration of results. Mr S. Jaishankar is reported to have said he was happy to join the Tata Group Indias most respected brand globally. Maharajakrishna Rasgotra, who was Indias foreign secretary from 1982 to 1985, records that in 1948, contrary to the popular perception, the wealthy Doon School wallahs preferred to join the domestic services, where they could keep an eye on their assets, and that the IFS boys were at a premium only amongst the urbanised, sophisticated girls of marriageable age and their even more pretentious socialite mothers! Things have changed considerably since then. Ambitious Indian girls and boys now routinely choose to work and live abroad, on their own steam, rather than as diplomatic baggage. But true to natures rule, when one door shuts, another inevitably opens. Losing out in the marriage market place is not compensated by being wooed post-retirement by the major Indian corporate groups. Just-retired foreign secretary S. Jaishankar has been picked up by the Tatas to head the groups overseas operations, reporting to Mr N. Chandrasekharan, the executive chair of the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of all Tata enterprises. The board already has two retired civil servants Ronen Sen, a retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador to Washington, and Vijay Singh, a retired IAS officer who had served as defence secretary. But unlike these directors, Mr S. Jaishankar will be more substantively involved, with a hands-on role as the head of a business vertical as its president. Descent from heaven is how Japanese business describes the practice of absorbing retiring senior bureaucrats, who have held key positions, to cushion them from a hard landing in the real world. Mr S. Jaishankar is reported to have said he was happy to join the Tata Group Indias most respected brand globally. Just this simple endorsement of the Tata business leadership, from a recently retired foreign secretary, who was selected personally (unusually) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, to replace a serving foreign secretary, Sujata Singh, is sufficient to justify the Rs 6 crores that he is speculated to be earning per year. As far as value for money in advertising goes, it cant get any better for the Tatas. Despite the 1991 liberalisation, Indian business has by and large continued to remain constrained at home by unnecessary red tape. Overseas, it is an orphan with little support from its home government. Blame our perverted colonial legacy for this. The British came to India to trade, profit, export and rule. They used every trick in their mercantilists book of free trade, including the selective use of state power and the law, to benefit British companies. But, in a classically hypocritical stance which incidentally appealed greatly to the convoluted sensibilities of upper-caste Indians, the average British officer feigned a horror of being in bed with business interests. The boxwallah was an inferior being as compared to his Army or civil service brethren, who were on a morally superior mission of civilising India. This red line between government and business, which Free India inherited, though always surreptitiously porous, has long since dissolved within Indias domestic service cadres except for odd cases of the most particular officers. The Foreign Service, however, has only recently taken to these new commercial roles, as the overseas business interests of private Indian corporates have expanded. This is a welcome outcome of liberalisation. Talk of being a market-led economy is hollow, unless the government works actively to grow the Indian private sector at home and abroad. At the most minimal level, this involves opening doors abroad for our businessmen. This is what retired Indian Administrative Service or revenue service officers having been doing for business interests at home. But opening doors is low-level stuff, albeit with high returns. More potentially transformative is the opportunity to develop an institutionalised public-private partnership, around the human resources required, by India to become an A-level international player. With 162 missions overseas, the Indian Foreign Service looks extremely stretched, with just 600-plus serving elite officers. Expanding the service using the existing generalist skills-based platform on which it is recruited and trained would be a costly mistake. It would be far better to add the human resources, specifically needed in the ministry and in the missions overseas, through multiple entry options lateral contracting, deputation from other services based on relevant skills and selective promotion from within. The origin of an exclusive service for external affairs, as opposed to a combined one for political and external matters lies, in the Government of India Act 1935. The idea at that time was racist. A separate political wing to deal with Asiatic powers namely the Indian princes (there was already a separate home department for police and security matters) and a foreign wing to deal with the European powers. Is it time now to end this farcical divide. India unlimited should have a seamless, internationally competitive and standards compliant architecture. inside out. An integrated, elite Indian Civil Service for the Government of India, consisting of no more than 3,000 officers, could be a targeted support mechanism. Selected meritocratically, at mid-career, with a minimum experience of 10 years, it would provide the specific position-based skills and expertise in formulating policy and representing India at technical negotiating fora in trade and intellectual property; fiscal management, including tax; economic development and technology; social protection; human development and human rights. A foreign secretary has boldly and transparently opted to step directly into an executive role in an Indian corporate entity. It could spark off a trend of more frequent interplay between public and private human resources. But till it becomes common to see retired foreign service officers jostling amongst the corporate crowd, it will be odd to see an Ambassador parked at Bombay House, the Mumbai headquarters of the global Tata empire, rather than at Birla Building in Kolkata, which owns the brand. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views. Moments after Pompeo was sworn in, the State Department said he would visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend after attending a NATO meeting on Friday in Brussels. (Photo: AP) Washington: The US Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trumps secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views. Pompeo is already deeply involved in diplomacy. Trump sent him to North Korea three weeks ago to meet with the countrys leader, Kim Jong Un, ahead of a summit with the US president to address Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Moments after Pompeo was sworn in, the State Department said he would visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend after attending a NATO meeting on Friday in Brussels. Pompeo picked those three Middle East stops because of all that is going on, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. Iran is likely to be on the agenda on the Middle East leg of his trip. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers. Pompeo is to meet with Saudi King Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah, Nauert said. Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo, who had faced resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for hawkishness and past harsh statements about homosexuality and Islam. Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. No Republican voted no. Pompeo will be forced to quickly address a wide array of other international challenges, including long conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Chinese expansionism in Asia and Russian assertiveness. Washington is working with European allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the possibility of toughening the nuclear agreement with Iran. CIA record Pompeos supporters said he did well during 15 months leading the CIA, and said the country badly needed a leader at the State Department. Staffing at State was slashed and many positions left unfilled under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who was Trumps first secretary of state. Trump, who abruptly fired Tillerson last month, welcomed Pompeos confirmation, saying in a statement, Having a patriot of Mikes immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history. Pompeo, who became one of Trumps closest advisers while at the CIA, faced stiff opposition from Democrats, who worried he might be too closely aligned with the president. While in Congress, Pompeo opposed the Iran nuclear accord. He once suggested the answer to Tehrans nuclear programme - which Iran has always said was for peaceful means only - was 2,000 bombing sorties. Senator Ben Cardin, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that attitude, and Pompeos backing for Washingtons withdrawal from the nuclear agreement if it cannot be changed, were among reasons he opposed him. Thats not diplomacy, and thats certainly not working with our European allies, Cardin said. Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing he was open to fixing, rather than blowing apart, the pact, which the West believes is essential to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump picked the CIAs deputy director, Gina Haspel, to replace Pompeo as head of the spy agency. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman to hold the post. Pompeo had avoided being the first nominee for secretary of state ever rejected by the Foreign Relations Committee only when Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had vowed to oppose him, shifted position minutes before the panel voted on Monday. None of the 10 Democrats on the 21-member committee supported him. The vote for Pompeo was almost the same as for Tillerson, who was approved by 56-43, then an unusually close margin for a cabinet position. The presidents statement will touch upon a memorandum of understanding between Kuwait and the Philippines centred on guarantees for 252,000 Filipinos working in the Gulf nation. The Church will send a priest to Kuwait to help migrants and provide them with pastoral assistance. Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce in the coming days the governments course of action on the diplomatic crisis caused by Kuwaits expulsion of Philippines Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa, two days ago, Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Friday. The latest development concerns the treatment of Filipino migrants in the Gulf State. Duterte, who arrived last night in Singapore for the 32nd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), discussed possible actions in a meeting with Bello, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Special Assistant to President Christopher "Bong" Go. The Labour Secretary said that Duterte's announcement will partly refer to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) currently under discussions between Kuwait and the Philippines. Both nations had previously tried to reach a deal in Manila, in the presence of the president, ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins on May 15. A few hours before Bello's declarations, Manila asked Kuwait City to explain the expulsion of his ambassador. The two nations are working on solving differences caused by the murder of a Filipina domestic worker whose body was found in the freezer of her employer in Kuwait at the start of this year. Talks suffered a sharp setback last week after the Filipino government released a video showing embassy staff helping Filipino workers flee from abusive employers (videos). The latter provoked a harsh reaction by Kuwait, which called it a violation of its sovereignty. As a result, Kuwait announced the expulsion of ambassador Renato Villa, the detention of four Filipino citizens hired by the Philippines embassy and the issuance of arrest warrants against three members of the embassys diplomatic staff. Earlier this month Duterte had announced plans to visit Kuwait to seal an agreement on workplace safety guarantees for the 252,000 Filipinos working in the Gulf nation. The proposed deal sets terms for holiday leaves, food and custody of passports. Some 10 million Filipinos work abroad, many in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Qatar. The money they remit back is a lifeline of the Philippine economy. In recent years, remittances saved the Philippines from financial crisis and remain one of the major sources of revenue for the national economy. According to the Philippines central bank, Filipinos abroad sent home at least 1,400 billion pesos (US$ 2.6 billion) between January and November last year. The Filipino Catholic Church has also been concerned about the situation of overseas Filipinos and their families, left in their native country. Mgr Ruperto Santos, president of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), expressed regrets over the renewed tensions with Kuwait. It is our prayers and hope that everything will be arranged peacefully in an amicably and diplomatically, the bishop said. Two days ago, the prelate announced that the Church was sending a priest to Kuwait to help Filipinos working in the Gulf State and provide them with pastoral care. To assist, be of service, and help our Filipino priests there in Kuwait for our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), our ECMI executive secretary will go there this May 1 to 31, the bishop said. The ECMI executive secretary is Fr Restituto Ogsimer who has been working with commission since 2015. Currently, there are three Filipino priests Fr Ruben Barrameda, and Franciscan Fathers Ramon Atanacio and Alfredo Nicua assigned to different churches in Kuwait: the Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait City, St Therese in Salmiya, and Our Lady of Arabia in Almadhi. They also celebrate Masses at the Philippine embassy and in shelter homes, hear confessions, and do counselling, said Bishop Santos. by Sumon Corraya The mother of ten died last year. Although she widowed young and lived in poverty, she was able to send all of her children to school. An outstanding woman, a loving and caring mother, for some who knew her, There is no other layperson except for her who deserves to become a saint". One woman claims that she was healed by Josephine. Gazipur (AsiaNews) Catholics in Bangladesh want to see the opening of the cause of canonisation of Josephine Corraya. The mother of ten, six of whom were consecrated to Christ, died last November at the age of 83. Everyone, both those who had the pleasure of knowing her and those who only heard about her, remembers her for her kindness, humility and great love for the Catholic Church. For thousands of Catholics, Josephine is an inspiration. Widowed when she was young, she lived in poverty, yet managed to give an education to all her children. Three of her sons became priests and daughters became nuns. In June 2016 she received the Ratnagarva Maa (Jewel Mother) Award from the speaker of the Bangladeshi parliament, for being an outstanding woman, a loving and caring mother who was able to raise her many children, ensuring that everyone got a good education. She is so well known and appreciated that many in the country have begun to ask for her intercession and are willing to testify in her beatification process. In many homes, her picture is placed next to those of Jesus and the Virgin (picture 3). Roza Gomes, 94, an elder in Josephines own village of Rangamatia (Gazipur), told AsiaNews that "She was my neighbour. I've never seen anything negative in her. She was an honest, kind and devoted woman. She had great faith and love for God, the neighbour added. Her character was clear and holy. Although she herself was in need, if a beggar knocked on her door, she would never let him go away empty-handed. I think that Josephine was a living saint. The Church must investigate her and declare her a saint." After her husband's death, Josephine continued to pass on her spiritual and moral teachings to her children. She encouraged the vocation of those who eventually chose to dedicate their lives to serving Christ. Last year, speaking with the AsiaNews correspondent, she said that her greatest wish as a child was to be a nun. In the end though, "It was my children who fulfilled my desire". The old woman spent the last years of her life in the convent in Bhadun parish where one of her daughters lives. "She was a pious woman, said Fr Parimal Ignatius Rozario, the local parish priest. She sacrificed so much in her life, giving her children to the Lord. She had great faith and was very active as a Catholic." China Gomes, a 32-year-old housewife mother of two daughters, remembers that "whenever I had a problem and went to her for advice, she told me to pray. She always kept a rosary in her hand and prayed." For Shipra Costa, "There is no other layperson except for her who deserves to become a saint". When "I came to the convent to be treated, I was introduced to Josephine. At that time, I was sick, but just before she died, she told me I would never be sick again." Now she says she has been healed for about six months and believes that her recovery is a miracle by Josephine. by Kamran Chaudhry The minority political parties launch the "election, not selection" campaign. Criticisms of the system for selecting candidates for minorities, which are chosen by Muslim parties. Lahore (AsiaNews) - Christians in Pakistan are afraid of not being adequately represented in the next general elections, which will take place on July 15, 2018. For this reason, some minority parties and movements have launched a campaign entitled "Election, not selection" and asked for an increase in seats reserved for religious minorities. The initiative was presented in Lahore on 21 April. The speakers criticized the current system of selection of candidates, which provides that Muslim political parties also choose the representatives of minority communities. About 3 million minority voters (including 1.32 million Christians) can only elect local representation in the national and provincial assemblies. Reserved seats are equal to slavery, said Sajid Ishaq Chairman Pakistan Interfaith League PIL, a Christian political party. "The selected representatives are busy pleasing the top leadership of political parties and have no roots in the community. Even the election reforms committee had no non-Muslim parliamentarians. Meet our demands if you are serious in protecting our rights." Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference made a similar demand last year after its Second Plenary Annual Meeting in November. "We feel that the current electoral system for minority candidates being appointed by political parties on reserved seats does not represent the community and so we urge the Government to create a just and fair system", they stated in a press release. In view of the general elections, the Electoral Commission has announced the distribution [of seats] for the districts, the agencies, the Tribal Areas administered at the federal level (Fata), the Territory of the capital Islamabad and the provincial assemblies. The breakdowns were allocated based on the results of the 2017 census. However, Christians complain that, to date, the numbers relating to non-Muslims have not yet been released. Out of a total of 342 seats in the National Assembly (Parliament), only 10 places are left for minorities. Ishaq points out that "since 1998 the population has grown by 63% [from more than 132 to over 207 million inhabitants, ed], but the seats reserved for minorities have remained unchanged". Samson Salamat, head of the Rwadari Tehreek Movement, asks the provincial governments to organize a conference of all the parties and start a process of consultation of minorities. "We need - he says - both long and short-term policies for the protection of minorities. Religious and social leaders must unite to coordinate efforts and raise thier voices." by Mathias Hariyadi In recent years, the countrys religious orders have seen a sharp decline in vocations. Priests, nuns, men and women religious were welcomed in the homes of the faithful in the provinces of West Kalimantan, Central Java and Yogyakarta, sharing the story of their vocation and some aspects of the life they dedicate to Christ. Jakarta (AsiaNews) In different parts of Indonesia, members of the local clergy have been involved in promoting the consecrated life among young people and families of Catholic communities through initiatives and activities that raise awareness. On 20-23 April, on the occasion of the week dedicated to the 55th World Day of Vocations, almost a hundred men and women religious, priests and nuns, from 23 local congregations, together with some diocesan seminarians, left their place of residence to spend some time with Catholics in the provinces of West Kalimantan, Central Java and Yogyakarta. In recent years, religious orders have seen a sharp drop in local vocations. Compared to the late 1980s, when the number of novices could reach 20 people, getting more than seven would be a great surprise right now. One of the main causes is Keluarga Berencana (KB), Indonesias birth-control programme, which was put in place under the late president Suharto (1967-1998). The Church has been working to reverse the trend and has identified a possible solution in "direct communication" and "personal meetings" with the faithful, which is in fact, what took place at the Holy Family parish in Kota Baru, Pontianak (West Kalimantan), at the initiative of the parish office for the family apostolate. On 22 April, local Catholic families welcomed 60 consecrated persons into their homes. The latter shared with them the story of their vocation and some aspects of life dedicated to Christ. The meetings (pictured), which were very successful among the participants, were followed by a festive Eucharistic celebration in the parish church. Fr Andreas Kurniawan (pictured), a Dominican priest and treasurer of the Archdiocese of Pontianak, "challenged" young people and children dressed like nuns and priests to follow their path. During his homily, the clergyman highlighted some of the challenges of modern society, explaining how "Gods voice is increasingly ignored and dominated by louder voices." "We are encouraged to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, through prayer and others, so that we can hear His delicate voice in our hearts," said Fr Andreas. West Kalimantan has four dioceses (Pontianak, Ketapang, Sintang, and Sanggau). Here Catholics make up a larger proportion of the population than in other provinces of Indonesian Borneo. However, the latest data show that in the Archdiocese of Pontianak, only 97 priests, 317 nuns and 48 men religious serve in 26 parishes the pastoral needs of some 683,000 local Catholics. In Klaten, in the province of Central Java, 19 nuns of the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph (DMJ) took part in a similar initiative on 20-22 April at the parish of St Theresia Jombor. Sr Alfonsa DMJ told AsiaNews that the three-day meeting ended with a Mass. The sisters carried out various activities (pictured), including "open-heart" meetings with the younger participants. In Yogyakarta, Brother Flavianus Ngardi MTB said that, to celebrate the 55th Week dedicated to Vocations, the parish of St Mary Assumpta Babarsari organised a solemn Mass, during which many consecrated persons spoke about their personal stories. "I was asked to talk about my story in lieu of the homily", said Br Flavianus. Like many Sisters and Brothers, one of the initial motivations that drove Brother Flavianus to the consecrated life was the "interesting and out of the ordinary" robes priests wore during religious services and public occasions. Some children dressed up as consecrated persons took part in the service (pictured). (Sr Maria Seba SIFC, Sr Alfonsa DMJ and Br Flavianus Ngardi MTB contributed to this article) by Bernard Moras* State-wide elections are scheduled for 12 May. In a message, the prelate calls upon our priests, religious and lay leaders to [. . .] combat the forces that seek to undermine the idea of India as an inclusive, pluralistic, secular society. Voters, he believes, are called to choose men and women of competence, conscience, character, compassion, concern and commitment. Bangalore (AsiaNews) The next elections in the State of Karnataka, which will take place on 12 May, "are of crucial importance not only to the peace and progress of the people of our State but also to the survival of the fundamental rights of all the citizens enshrined in our Constitution, writes Mgr Bernard Moras, archbishop emeritus of Bangalore, in a note sent to AsiaNews. Looking at the elections, he warns against the proliferation of fundamentalist organisations that, "masquerading under the garb of authentic nationalism are spreading the poisonous ideology of One Nation, One Religion, and One Culture, which is totally alien to the ethos of India. His reflection follows. Political Situation: Karnataka is heading towards elections to the Legislative Assembly which are of crucial importance not only to the peace and progress of the people of our State but also to the survival of the fundamental rights of all the citizens enshrined in our Constitution. Therefore, it is our national responsibility to ensure the preservation of the fundamental principles and rights that are under a subtle and systematic threats from fundamentalist organizations and authoritarian individuals who are pseudo-nationalists masquerading under the garb of authentic nationalism by spreading the poisonous ideology of One Nation, One Religion, and One Culture, which is totally alien to the ethos of India. By doing so, they are eventually heading towards the realization of their hidden agenda and are trying to devalue democratic traditions and downgrade democratic institutions. This cannot be tolerated, promoted and/or encouraged, and ought to be condemned at any cost! It is in this context we call upon our priests, religious and lay leaders to understand the dangerous tendencies in our national life and to mobilise our people to combat the forces that seek to undermine the idea of India as an inclusive, pluralistic, secular society based on the principles and values of respect for fundamental human rights to life, liberty and freedom of expression, equality, fraternity and right to profess, practice and propagate the religion of ones choice, equal respect for all religions and cultures and justice for all, especially the deprived, the disadvantaged and the dispossessed. Our people need to be conscientized on the dangerous situation presently prevailing in our country and are to be encouraged to exercise their franchise in large numbers. They are to be advised neither to succumb to the material inducements nor to the brainwashing tactics through the evil and false propaganda. All of us are to be carefully, wisely and prudently choose our representatives who should be persons adhered to the sacred principles of true democracy, genuine nationalism, authentic secularism and universal freedom, and by resolutely resisting the onslaught of forces which swear by One Nation, One Religion, One Culture and One Language and, at the same time, protesting against the pernicious practice of killing human beings for trivial matters and petty reasons. Kindly go all out to facilitate the process of our people obtaining their electoral identity cards, so that they may choose men and women of competence, conscience, character, compassion, concern and commitment to be their representatives. Therefore, we feel that it would be pertinent to consider what the CBCI has to say on this issue: "Understanding Authentic Nationalism and Constitutional Secularism - Any attempt to promote nationalism based on any one particular culture or religion is a dangerous position. It may lead to uniformity but never to genuine unity. Such misconceived efforts can only lead our nation on the path of self-annihilation. Mono-culturalism has never been and can never be the right answer to the quest for peace, progress and development, especially in a country like ours that has a rich diversity of culture, language, region, race and religion. Violence always recoils upon the violent sooner or later, For all who take the sword will perish by the sword (Mt 26: 52). We deplore the rising incidence of atrocities against women, killings, caste rivalries and communal violence which includes attacks on Christian institutions and communities. Therefore, let us follow the path of true nationalism that can lead our motherland to true peace, harmony, progress and prosperity. Authentic nationalism respects the human dignity of every citizen, regardless of ones economic status, culture, religion, region or language. We wish to urgently call all people of goodwill to uphold the rule of law guaranteed by our Indian Constitution. In a climate of violence, we make an appeal to all our fellow citizens to eschew mob culture and vigilantism in favour of peace. We appreciate and will collaborate with the Government in all its efforts to maintain law and order in our country, to ensure progress and development of all and the protection of the environment. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi has stated in clear terms that The world has enough for everyones need, but not enough of everyones greed. The Precious Gift of Human Life - The Christian community upholds the absolute and transcendent value of human life which is a precious gift of God. Therefore, an assault on human life can never be inspired by God nor justified because of the diverse beliefs and practices. Human life of every individual person in our beloved motherland needs to be valued and defended. *Bishop emeritus of Bangalore We need your help! Please help us improve our content by removing questions that are essentially the same and merging them into this question. Please tell us which questions below are the same as this one: (By BravissimoS/Shutterstock.com) (By BravissimoS/Shutterstock.com) The Czech Republic is the latest country to agree a new reciprocal work and holiday visa arrangement with Australia, taking the number to 24 worldwide.The agreement allows young people from both countries aged between 18 and 30, to apply to stay for one year and undertake short term work and study.'These arrangements strengthen the positive relationship between our countries and will further build economic and people to people links. The work and holiday programme gives young Australians and Czech Republic nationals the opportunity to apply for a unique cultural exchange experience,' said Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Alex Hawke.There will be an annual limit of 500 visas for Czech Republic nationals, who can apply from today. The same number of Australians can travel to the Czech Republic under the arrangement.Hawke also confirmed that travellers to Australia will benefit from some of the world's most advanced biometric collection, processing and matching services. A new Enterprise Biometric Identification Services (EBIS) system will allow the Department of Home Affairs to more accurately process and more effectively analyse biometric data from 100% of travellers.EBIS will also alert the Australian Border Force when intervention is needed and Hawke said that it will vastly improve Australia's biometric storage and processing capability by consolidating biometrics collected through visa and detention programmes with biometric data collected at the border through SmartGates.'Traveller numbers to Australia are due to increase from 40 to 50 million by 2020 and it is critical that we have technology that allows legitimate travellers to be efficiently processed while also ensuring individuals of concern are identified and disrupted,' he explained.'The EBIS system will significantly increase our biometric collection and storage capability, giving us an even stronger platform to identify and protect Australia from individuals who might wish to do us harm,' he pointed out.'It will also help us to identify and facilitate a more seamless travel experience for people who present no risk. This is a vital tool for our visa and citizenship services and it provides a significant boost to Australian security to deal with growing international traveller and migration numbers,' he added.The Department of Home Affairs has entered into a multiyear contract, valued at up to $44.2 million, with Unisys Australia Pty Limited to provide high volume, state of the art biometric services. Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today A few passing clouds. Expect widespread areas of smoke and haze, reducing visibility at times. Low around 65F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Expect widespread areas of smoke and haze, reducing visibility at times. Low around 65F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Lawyers disagreed Friday on an appropriate sentence for a man convicted of mailing fatal cyanide, with prosecutors portraying him as a calculated killer and the defense calling him a victim of his own mental illness. Sidney Kilmartin, 50, of Windham, Maine, was found guilty in 2016 of mailing injurious articles resulting in death and witness tampering. He was scheduled to be sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland, but statements from witnesses and lawyers did not conclude by close of business, and the case is expected to resume in May. Kilmartin faces a maximum of life in prison, but his defense attorney made the case that a fair sentence would range from zero to 20 years because of Kilmartin's history of mental illness and suicidal behavior. The attorney, Bruce Merrill of Portland, also cited the nature of the crime, in which Kilmartin assisted a suicidal man in taking his own life. Kilmartin was charged with advertising and mailing a substance he said was cyanide to several suicidal people. It was really Epsom salt. But investigators said he later sent the real thing to an Englishman, Andrew Denton of Hull, England, who used it to kill himself. Investigators said Kilmartin wanted to prevent Denton from reporting his fraud. Halsey Frank, the U.S. attorney for Maine, said in court that Kilmartin "toyed with these victims" in his false cyanide scams. "It wasn't just anyone, it was particularly vulnerable people. He sought them deliberately by advertising that he had deadly poison on a website dedicated to suicide," Frank said. "It indicates to me a maliciousness that is pretty extreme." Merrill painted a picture of Kilmartin's and Denton's correspondence as one of two men who both wanted to die. Kilmartin had once attempted to kill himself by overdosing on medication and drinking antifreeze, and depression and mental illness continued to follow him, Merrill said. Merrill also said it's wrong to assume Kilmartin was "in his mind at the time" he mailed the cyanide to Denton. "He thought he was helping Mr. Denton accomplish what he wanted to accomplish," Merrill said. "Not a premeditated, malicious act." Kilmartin, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, spoke only briefly during Friday's appearance while addressing the judge, John Woodcock. He told Woodcock he intends to address the court with a statement when his sentencing resumes next month. Kilmartin pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud but denied the charges of witness tampering and mailing injurious articles. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Florida officials who run the state park on Honeymoon Island are having a hard time finding qualified lifeguards to monitor the beach there this summer. Positions posted for 10 days, only 4 applicants All 4 applicants not qualified Interested in applying? Send resumes to Michael.Lang@dep.state.fl.us A spokesperson for the State Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees funding for the jobs, said despite having the positions posted for 10 days this month, there were only four responses and none of the applicants was qualified. People who visit the beach on Honeymoon Island regularly said the problem was concerning. If something happens, what do you do? said Chris Basak. Basak's wife, Jamie, agreed. Especially with the baby now," Jamie said. "I don't think I would have been as nervous when it was just us, but having her it's scary to come to the beach and know there's no lifeguards to have her back. God forbid if something happens. The state EPD is now looking to the Red Cross, YMCA and local governments in hopes of finding qualified applicants to fill the three positions. The original job posting for the positions, which have since expired, included the following: Ability to swim in an open water environment, follow verbal and written instructions; work independently with little supervision; communicate effectively verbally and in writing; prepare reports; establish and maintain effective working relationships with others; deal with visitor inquiries in a tactful, efficient and courteous manner; understand and apply rules, directives, policies, laws and regulations; work rotating shifts including holidays and weekends; maintain a valid Class E driver s license. Ability to work in hot humid environment. Skill in utilizing motor vehicles. Knowledge of lifesaving techniques, first aid and CPR for both infants and adults. Must possess the following certification: a) Possess a current CPR certificate, which includes adult, child and infant training. b) Possess a multi-media first aid card (Red Cross), to include blood-borne pathogen training. c) Possess a current Red Cross, YMCA or equivalent life-saving certificate for Open Water Lifeguards have the full responsibility of enrolling in a renewal course and must submit copies of the updated certificate. Lifeguards who allow their certifications to expire will be suspended without pay until the course is completed and a current certification is obtained. Certification should be consistent with work assignments. If you believe you may be a qualified applicant, send your resume to Michael.Lang@dep.state.fl.us. TAMPA, Fla. The federal government is proposing changes to subsidized housing that could lead to rent increases for low-income residents. New HUD proposals contain up to 5% increase Tenants could also lose vouchers, Section 8 support HUD insists changes are necessary to control federal housing budget Under federal guidelines, tenants in public housing units pay about 30 percent of their yearly income in rent. New proposals being considered by Housing and Urban Development or HUD would raise that to about 35 percent. Tenants could also lose vouchers and Section 8 support, making them responsible for the entire balance. "It don't sound good to me or anybody else," said Luis Sierra, a resident at the Bay Ceia apartment complex in South Tampa. "That's why we're living here, because it goes by income." The proposals would also allow local governments to set up work requirement for low-income tenants. HUD Secretary Ben Carson said the reforms are needed because federal housing budget costs continues to grow, and many people who currently qualify for public housing are unable to get it. This week on Political Connections Felon Voting Rights The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay which blocked an order to overhaul reinstating felon voter rights. Hundreds attended a march in Tallahassee this past week in protest of the decision. However, both sides say they were ultimately satisfied with the outcome. How is this possible? Our Capital Reporter Troy Kinsey joins Al Ruechel to explain; how this hot-button issue is expected to play out in this years fall senate race. In the running for Florida Governor Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine joins us for an exclusive one-on-one interview to talk about his big plans for the Sunshine State. The Democrat hopeful is talking taxes, pledging not to raise them. He explains his plan, but will it work for Florida? You decide! We also asked how Mr. Levine plans to take on a heavily conservative House and Senate. He shares his goals in merging the gap. Politifact: Truth-O-Meter Rating Were fact-checking a claim made by President Donald Trump, who said: "In many places, like California, the same person votes many times. You probably heard about that. They always like to say 'oh that's a conspiracy theory.' Not a conspiracy theory, folks. Millions and millions of people." How did his claim rate on Politifacts Truth-O-Meter? We have the answer. Find out this week on Political Connections, Sunday at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. exclusively on Spectrum Bay News 9. For Immediate Release, April 27, 2018 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914) 806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org Trump Administration Proposes Rollback of Offshore-drilling Safety Regulations Revisions Hit Blowout Preventer Rule Enacted After Deepwater Horizon Disaster WASHINGTON The Trump administration today moved to weaken another offshore drilling safety rule enacted after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history. Todays proposed changes to the safety rule known as the Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Rule were issued in response to President Trumps order to reduce regulations on fossil fuel companies. The move comes just months after the administration released an unprecedented plan to vastly expand offshore oil and gas drilling into all U.S. oceans. Workers and wildlife will pay a terrible price if these rollbacks are finalized. The next offshore oil disaster is inevitable, especially if the Trump administration keeps ignoring Deepwater Horizons lessons, said Kristen Monsell, ocean legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Regulations adopted after BPs catastrophic failures in the Gulf of Mexico werent strong enough to begin with. To rescind those rules is reckless beyond words. The Deepwater Horizon disaster which began on April 20, 2010 killed 11 oil workers and spewed more than 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf for nearly three months, killing thousands of marine mammals, sea turtles and birds. Federal investigators determined that a defective blowout preventer was one of the causes. Following Deepwater Horizon the Obama administration enacted a set of offshore-drilling safety rules, in consultation with the oil industry, and established the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to regulate offshore drilling. Bureau Director Scott Angelle, a Louisiana politician with deep ties to the oil industry, in December proposed to weaken another rule regarding production safety systems. Todays target, the well-control rule, focused on the standard for blowout preventers, devices used to monitor and seal oil and gas wells when operations go awry. The proposed changes would delete or amend several provisions of the rule, including eliminating the requirement that the Bureau certify the third parties that inspect offshore safety equipment and allowing industry more flexibility in their use of real-time monitoring of deepwater drilling operations. The Bureau announced the proposed changes on a call today and said it will send the proposed changes to the Federal Register today, to be published early next week. The Bureau will accept public comment on the proposed changes for 60 days. Risking peoples lives to increase oil-company profits is just immoral, Monsell said. Trump and Angelle dont seem to realize their job is to serve the public, not the oil industry. Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter for Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The DF-26 missile of China. BEIJING (PTI): China has commissioned a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile that can carry out precision strikes against land- and sea-based targets into the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force. The Dongfeng-26 (DF-26) has been commissioned into the PLA Rocket Force, China's Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a media briefing in Beijing on Thursday. The missile was completely developed by the Chinese and will serve for nuclear strikes in short notice and conventional precision strikes against targets on land and large- and medium-sized warships, Wu said. "China has not changed its defensive nuclear strategy nor the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons," he said. While there is no official announcement about the range of the missile, defence experts say it is capable of hitting US military installations on Guam, the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. China has a range of missiles which can be fired at short notice. The Dongfeng-21D land-based anti-ship ballistic missile described as a "carrier killer" and the Dongfeng-16G conventional missile designed for precision strikes against key enemy targets can be fired at short notice. Chinese fighters in the Tibetan region. An internet image NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Air Force Chief B S Dhanoa has said that China has been ramping up its aerial prowess in the Tibetan Autonomous Region bordering India and that the neighbouring country has a "credible mix" of multi-role fighter and strike aircraft. In an address at a think-tank, the Air Chief Marshal, while talking about requirement of his force, said it needs 42 squadrons of fighter jets to carry out "full spectrum of operations in all contingencies". At present, the IAF has only 31 squadrons of fighters. At the same time, he, however, said the IAF has the ability to fight a "short" and "swift" war whenever required. Talking about Pakistan sponsored terrorism, he said the repeated strikes by terror groups indicate that the Indian deterrence in the sub-conventional domain is not working and emphasised on the need to enhance such capabilities to ensure a behavioural change in Islamabad's approach. On situation along the border with China, he said, "Over the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in deployment of Chinese aircraft and aircrew in Tibetan Autonomous Region from other military regions." The comments came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for the central Chinese city of Wuhan for a two-day-long informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The IAF chief said the neighbouring country has a "credible mix" of multi-role fighter and strike aircraft. "The deployment of Sukhoi 27 and J-10 fleets for the continuous operations during the winter months affords them a credible all-round capability. Many years back they used to only occupy the air field in summers," he said in an address to a select gathering at Vivekananda Foundation. Elaborating on IAF's needs, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said the force needs 42 squadrons of fighter jets to carry out "full spectrum of operations in all contingencies". At present, the IAF has only 31 squadrons of fighter jets. Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa also junked the concept of theatre commands, saying it was not required. Taking a dig at the military establishment in Pakistan, the IAF Chief said in most countries the "state has an Army but in Pakistan the Army has a state." "Pakistan is a different kettle of a fish...I can't afford to put my children in Ivy league colleges and settle in London like many of their generals do," he said. He said India needs to work on deterrence on sub conventional domain to thwart terrorist attacks originating from Pakistan. In an apparent reference to the tensions between India and Pakistan after an attack on Indian Parliament in 2001, Dhanoa said the last time a behavioural change in Pakistan was affected in 2001 "when they were told that they should be ready to be bombed back to stone age and they changed their behaviour". "Hence we need to speak softly and carry a big stick," he said, On China bolstering its air defence in TAR, he noted that geography works against the Chinese Air Force there, adding it has an "inherent operational disadvantage" due to high altitude and very cold temperatures. "Modernisation plan of the PLAF (People Liberation Army Air Force) will ensure that more than 50 per cent of its fleet will comprise advanced multi-role combat aircraft," he said. The Air Chief Marshal said he recently told a Chinese Air Force official that the two sides should meet more frequently to avoid conflict. This month the Indian Air Force carried 'Gaganshakti 2018', an extensive drill on its borders. Dhanoa said despite this there was not a single airspace violation from both sides and the two air forces share a healthy relationship. He said there is a misconception that the Air Force does not need 42 squadrons. "We have government sanction of 42 squadrons. When they (adversaries) go to fourth generation aircraft, we need a fourth generation aircraft to counter them. You are not fighting against vacuum," he said. The S-400 air defence missile system. WASHINGTON (PTI): Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India the national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimated US$ 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers. "There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, we're going to paralyse ourselves," he said. "So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of state I'm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show it's in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians," Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. "In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense, he said. "At this moment, when we're in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations?" Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. "You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA," he said. "So, you're suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower soon-to-be-Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right?", Cotton asked. "That's correct. And there's other countries. Indonesia, for example is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going," Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the Indo-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers on Thursday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. "CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster," who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. "I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India," Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event. A file photo. WUHAN (PTI): The two-day informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping could stabilise ties between the two militaries, help maintain peace at the borders and settle differences, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has said. "It is the common expectation of both peoples to stabilise relations between the Chinese and Indian armed forces and maintain peace and tranquillity at the border areas," the military spokesman, Col. Wu Qian, told the media in Beijing on Thursday. Modi and Xi are due to hold a two-day informal summit in Wuhan starting from Friday during which the boundary issue as well as last year's standoff at Dokalam are expected to figure in their one-on-one talks to improve relations between the two countries. "Although the relations between the two militaries still face some difficulties and obstacles, we are willing to use the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries as guidance to deepen our understanding, enhance mutual trust, properly settle differences, and continue to accumulate the positive energy of the healthy and stable development of the relations between the two armed forces," Col. Wu said. He was replying to a question about the expectations from the Modi-Xi summit as well as the outcome of the meeting between Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Chinese counterpart General Wei Feng this week. Col Wu's comments were significant as President Xi is also the head of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the military. Regarded as the most powerful Chinese leader in recent times, Xi is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) which is the overall high command of the Chinese armed forces. Post-Dokalam standoff last year, the relations between two militaries were picking up. Sitharaman, who was in Beijing to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers' meeting, held talks with her Chinese counterpart Wei and discussed steps to improve relations between the two militaries. In her remarks, she had said differences should not be allowed to become disputes. LCA Tejas of India. NEW DELHI (PTI): Air Force Chief B S Dhanoa has said if Pakistan's fighter jet JF-17 is an aircraft of the present, then India's indigenously developed Tejas is the future. JF-17 is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by Pakistan and China. "There is a very good article in one of the aviation journals. He (the author) says JF-17 is not as technologically advanced as Tejas. So, he said JF-17 aircraft is of today because they have fielded much more squadrons than us, and Tejas is the aircraft of the future. It has much better systems. "It depends on how we equip it. I am sure we can come up with a better plane," Dhanoa said on Thursday in response to a question on which one is a better aircraft. Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was inducted into the Indian Air Force in July 2016. It was also pressed into service during the Air Force drill "Gaganshakti 2018" held this month. Asked whether there were issues regarding Tejas during the exercise, Dhanoa responded in the affirmative. He said this could be because of moving the jets from Bengaluru, which has a temperate climate, to hot desert during the operation. "But HAL got it up in less than six hours and thereafter, Tejas matched with other aircraft detail for detail," he said. Replying to another question on whether Tejas can be compared to Rafale, the Air Force Chief said every fighter jet has different capability. "If all the fighter (jets) of the Indian Air Force were high-end fighters then we have to be very rich. You got to have fighter jets which are high end and medium capability and low-end. So, Tejas comes in the medium capability aircraft (category)," he said. Dhanoa added that the Air Force is moving towards making the aircraft better. On Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet, Dhanoa said the IAF has not evinced any interest nor has it talked to anyone that is keen on this aircraft. Longbranch is a collaboration of Wild Turkeys creative director Matthew McConaughey and master distiller Eddie Russell. The company says it was inspired by McConaughey's Kentucky and Texas roots, this rare small-batch Kentucky bourbon is refined with Texas Mesquite and oak charcoals a unique method that deepens the flavor and complexity of the whiskey. This is the first time Wild Turkey has released a product that features a signature of someone other than the master distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell. McConaughey said in the companys press release, "Longbranch, in its simplest form, is an extended hand, inviting a friend into your family. So the branch that was extended to me from the Russells was a long one, one that reached from Kentucky to Texas and back again. I offered the Mesquite from my great state to add to their legendary Kentucky whiskey and together we made Longbranch." Although the bottle doesnt feature an age statement, the press release states that it contains 8 year old bourbon. This might because they wanted flexibility in the future to change the age of the bourbon depending on their supply without also changing the label. NOSE A very sweet bouquet of caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Nutmeg and oak flow throughout providing additional layering. Overall the aromas are bright and enjoyable and hard to dislike. Although the nose is overall mild in intensity, it still has a satisfying impact despite its 86 proof. palate Its creamy mouthfeel nicely compliments the bourbons sweeter notes of honey and orange. Spice is layered throughout and seasoned oak provides a sturdy base. Its well balanced and pleasant. finish A pop of heat followed by a mild dryness powers the finish. Caramel and spice trail off giving way to a hint of smoke on the backend that is gratifying but fleeting. Nicely constructed and a fitting end to this bourbon. uniqueness When Wild Turkey hired McConaughey [making him the highest paid creative director in the ad industry] they were most likely going to want to get the most out of the arrangement. They not only wanted to bank on McConaugheys name and have him write and star in their commercials, but they also wanted his help developing a new Wild Turkey expression with his name on it. Enter Longbranch. A new release typically needs a story and Wild Turkey is never one short on stories (e.g. Forgiven). You can read about Longbranchs extended story from the company's press release, but what really sets it apart from Wild Turkeys other products is its charcoal filtering. While certainly not revolutionary, the two step process, first with charcoal made from American white oak and then with charcoal made from Texas mesquite wood, is impactful on the final product. The smokiness isnt as heavy as say a Corsair whiskey, but Wild Turkey probably wasnt going for that either. Its a mild flavor alteration to their standard bourbon and when its combined with older stock (the current release contains 8 year bourbon) it produces a bourbon that gently offers something different. Its less fiery and spicy, more sweet and oaky with a hint of smoke that makes it come off as a bourbon that was made to please. Its 86 proof complements this idea as an easy-to-drink bourbon thats inoffensive in every way. value Longbranch squarely fits into an open spot in the companys portfolio. Proof-wise, its nestled between their 80 and 101 bourbons, with Russells and Rare Breed filling out the high proof range. Its $40 price fits between their $20 range 101 Bourbon and their $50 and creeping Russells line. The issue is with Rare Breed. Generally found in the $35 and 115 proof range, it conflicts with it. The obvious explanation for this is that Wild Turkey hopes Longbranch swings wide. Competing more with the Woodford Reserve and Basil Haydens of the world for mainstream reach, Longbranchs proof and flavor profile was crafted for such a task. It easily stands up to those bourbons in terms of quality and price. Longbranch will unfortunately never escape the question of whether it's worth the $15 premium over 101 Bourbon at 15 lower proof points. This type of question is always hard to answer and arguable unfair, but when you factor in Longbranchs age and altered Wild Turkey flavor profile, it offers enough to warrant its price. In fact, Im a bit surprised the company didnt price this closer to $50 based on its celebrity connection alone. overall This easy-to-enjoy, crafted-to-please bourbon offers just enough uniqueness for a wide audience at a fair price. UB Libraries opens new poetry award to college students across WNY James Maynard, curator of the Poetry Collection of the UB Libraries Speaking from my own background, this can be a life-changing experience, and one that, thanks to riverrun, we can now share with more graduate and undergraduate students in Western New York. BUFFALO, N.Y. The University at Buffalo Libraries and riverrun have established the riverrun Summer Research Program in the Poetry Collection, a new award that aims to advance the study of poetry in Western New York. The award will provide one Western New York college student with a $1,900 stipend to pursue research within the Poetry Collection of the UB Libraries, home to one of the worlds largest collections of 20th- and 21st-century poetry in English. Undergraduate and graduate students from all colleges and universities within eight Western New York counties are eligible to apply. The eight counties include: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming. Interested students should submit a cover letter and research proposal to Aaron Goldsman, PhD, assistant curator of the Poetry Collection of the UB Libraries, agoldsma@buffalo.edu. The deadline for submission is May 4. Applicants may learn more about the 2018 riverrun Summer Research Program in the Poetry Collection at library.buffalo.edu/pl/riverrun. For information about the Poetry Collection, visit library.buffalo.edu/pl. We hope this award benefits students in the area by giving them an opportunity to incorporate primary resources first and other bibliographically significant editions, small press publications, little magazines, manuscripts, etc. into their academic research, said James Maynard, PhD, curator of the Poetry Collection of the UB Libraries. Speaking from my own background, this can be a life-changing experience, and one that, thanks to riverrun, we can now share with more graduate and undergraduate students in Western New York. The Poetry Collection holds one of the worlds largest collections of poetry first editions, chapbooks, periodicals and broadsides, as well as more than 150 archive and manuscript collections from a wide range of poets, presses, magazines and organizations. riverrun is an educational organization that provides cultural, arts and social programming, especially those addressing Irish-American issues, to the Western New York community. The Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants and the Rainy Day Trust have formed a partnership to provide support in training, education and career development for young people in the industry. The two organisations are promoting the benefits of careers in merchanting or manufacturing and are keen to support those that may need financial support, help or direction in learning more and building their qualifications and experience. The Master of the WCoBM, Brian Blanchard, is particularly keen to promote training and education in his year and build awareness of the varied and exciting job opportunities in the industry. He said: Were excited and pleased to be working closely with the Rainy Day Trust. Together we will be able to reach out to young people looking to learn new skills and progress their careers, and provide the support they need to help them achieve their goals. We will be developing grants, bursaries and other similar initiatives that will open up opportunities for individuals to take advantage of apprenticeship programmes for example, or new training courses. Chief Executive of the Rainy Day Trust, Bryan Clover added: I believe prevention is better than cure. So if we can give young people the skills they need to get a permanent job and get them on the right career path from an early stage, they stand a better chance of success and progression, and less chance of being made redundant. "Working in partnership with the WCoBM helps fill an important gap. While the Trust has the means to develop and deliver the programmes and support to young people, we lack the network, which is where the WCoBMs help will make all the difference. The WCoBM and the Rainy Day Trust share the same core values, drive and ambition to help young people succeed in life. The Companys support will help us to reach different parts of the industry. And through our lean way of working, we make sure that as far as possible all donations received are used on the cause and not lost in admin work or similar. This is an important part of how our charity works. To find out more about how the WCoBM is supporting the industry, visit www.wcobm.co.uk and watch its new "Build A Career" video. For more information about the Rainy Day Trust, visit www.rainydaytrust.org.uk. The Builders Merchants Federation has launched its latest Regional Centre of Excellence at Keystone in Swadlincote. The growing network of BMF Regional Centres of Excellence is making training courses and regional meetings more accessible to BMF members around the country. The latest centre, based in Keystones office in Derbyshire, will serve BMF members in the East Midlands. John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: The centre was opened during our BMF East Midlands regional meeting. This is a fantastic centre that is well used by Keystones clients, and we are extremely grateful that they are opening it to our members too. We look forward to holding future meetings here, along with our own training courses for members in the region. Adrian Forbes, Group Sales Director of the Keystone Group, said: We are honoured to be associated with the BMF with two regional Centres of Excellence, and consider it a significant milestone in our progress and maturity as a business. We look forward to welcoming the BMF team and members to Swadlincote, and Cookstown, for many years to come. Luca Dal Monte is eyeing the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB sitting on the shop floor here at Dominicks European Car Repair. He has travelled from his home in Milan to promote his latest book, a biography of the cars namesake, Enzo Ferrari. The 954-page scholarly tome (over 1,000 pages in Italian) has received rave reviews in Italy since it came out in 2016, and has been optioned for an Italian mini-series. (According to Il Giornale, an Italian-language newspaper based in Milan, the book reads like a novel.) David Bull Publishing recently released an English-language version of the book Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics and the Making of an Automotive Empire in the United States. Dal Monte, an American-ophile who was the head of Ferraris North American press office from 2001 to 2005, wrote the book in Italian and translated it himself into English for an American audience. He met me here at this mecca for Italian cars and their admirers, outside New York City. Were going for a spirited drive through Westchester County in the limited production 12-cylinder automobile that hes presently admiring. The steel grey coupe is a fitting emblem with which to remember Ferrari the man, along with the business he founded almost 70 years ago. Like most Ferraris, the car is stunning and not cheap: It cost $14,000 when it was built more than 50 years ago about the most you could spend on a car at that time and might bring as much as $3.5 million from a collector today were it for sale, underscoring one reason Ferrari has been called the worlds most powerful luxury brand. The companys success owes everything to its founder, who was born in 1898, and had little formal education. He was inspired to become a racecar driver after seeing Felice Nazzaro win the 1908 Circuito di Bologna. But it wasnt until after World War II, at the age of 49, that he created his legendary car company. Ferrari is often remembered solely as cold and calculating, with his trademark trench coat and dark sunglasses. But Dal Monte wants readers to see the genius that Ferrari possessed. Yes, he was stubborn, but he was driven and determined to be successful. He used his charm and intelligence to get others to invest in him, said Dal Monte, who saw these qualities in Ferraris personal correspondence and his relationship with his sons, Alfredo Dino, who died in 1956 at the age of 24 from muscular dystrophy, and Piero, who was born out of wedlock to Ferraris longtime mistress, Lina Lardi. (Ferraris wife, Laura, suffered severe depression her entire life, and though he had affairs with other women, they remained married until she died in 1978. Ferrari never remarried and died in 1988.) In Italy, there was the pope and then there was Enzo, Dal Monte said as we drove north on New York Route 22, which hugs the states border with Connecticut and offers amazing views of the Kensico Reservoir. The GTBs V12 engine screams with sophisticated mellifluous authority as revs climb, but Dal Monte is used to speaking over mechanical commotion. When I was in middle school I became fascinated with Enzo. He remembers as a teenager in the late 1970s taking an hour-long train ride from his hometown, Cremona, to Modena early one morning with his brother, just to catch a glimpse of Ferrari having his morning shave at a barbershop. Ferrari stared out at them staring in at him, and smiled. Even then he was the Grand Old Man, not just of motor racing, but also of the country. You could hear him call in on some of the early TV automotive racing shows and discuss to the point of shouting with the talk show host in order to defend his cars and his drivers more the cars than the drivers, actually. What the book doesnt capture is the circuitous route Dal Monte took going from Cremona to wrangling reporters in America, the worlds largest market for Ferrari, or how he came to write this comprehensive book. Dal Monte said it all goes back to his second great love (after cars and Ferrari): all things American. When he was a senior in high school, he spent a year as an exchange student in Kentucky and later attended the University of Kentucky, majoring in United States history while writing for the student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. Its a tall order, but for now, the book stands as the definitive biography of one of the Automobile Ages most remarkable men. One thing Ferrari understood, Dal Monte concluded, was the value for a luxury brand of keeping its products scarce, or as Ferrari put it in December 1966: At the end of the year, we will have sold fewer cars than last year, but made more money. The ever-growing value of the car were streaking back down the parkway in underscores the point one Ferraris current caretakers would, Dal Monte said, do well to remember. 2018 The New York Times Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor He was followed by Anu Kumari and Sachin Gupta who conquered the second and third spot of the prestigious Civil Services exam. Candidates who appeared in the written examination last year can check the details and the respective results through the official site of UPSC at upsc.gov.in. Based on the results of the written part of exam held by the Union Public Service Commission in ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor From taxing products sold at duty-free shops to taxing of canteen services, Authorities of Advance Ruling (AARs) set up under the goods and services tax (GST) regime have given many important judgments. The problem is that businesses are unable to appeal against those verdicts if they wish to. For, the appellate bodies for this purpose are yet to be set up. As a result, some are contemplating an appeal to the high courts. An AAR is a mechanism under law to provide certainty and transparency to a taxpayer with respect to an issue which might cause a dispute with the tax ... Last week witnessed a battle royale between Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on which district would lay claim to be the real home of the Hapus (also called the Alphonso) mango. Truce was finally called, and both districts agreed to bury the hatchet, when The Patents Office convinced both of them to agree to jointly apply for the Alphonso GI (geographical indication) tag. As per the WIPO, a geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. So, if the patent application now goes through, ... Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard. Hyundai Motor said it will cancel $890 million worth of treasury shares, its first stock cancellation in 14 years - a plan that comes amid heavy shareholder pressure to improve returns, restructure and bounce back from dismal earnings. US activist hedge fund Elliott Management ramped up pressure on the South Korean automaker this week, calling for a holding company structure, a share cancellation as well as the addition of three independent board members. "Hyundai Motor seems to be trying to reach a compromise with Elliott by accepting part of its demands," said Kim ... The leaders of China and India meet in the city of Wuhan this week for an unusual summit. Indias prime minister and Chinas president wont have aides in the room; there will be no written notes and no joint statement afterwards. There will be, we are told, no agenda. In fact, there is an agenda - a sobering one for anyone counting on India to serve as a counterweight to China. Prime Minister Narendra Modis main goal for the summit is to get China to stop kicking sand in Indias face. The last thing he can afford as his country ... Commodity outlook by Bhavik Patel - Sr. Technical Analyst (Commodities), Tradebulls: Commodity Outlook: US Dollar index is at three and half month high. The main driver behind the rally is 10 Year US Treasury Yields hitting 3 percent mark for the first time in 4 years. It has made high of 3.03 and is now trading around 3.01. We believe the last line of defense for bears in US Dollar index is 91.65. Dollar Index has flirted with the high of 91 and it seems it may sustain above it. If it manages to break 91.65, we may see more short covering happening. Back to our currency, USDINR ... At least nine students were stabbed to death at a middle school in China's Shaanxi province. A male suspect has been detained, reported Xinhua. 12 students were injured at the incident that took place on Friday evening. According to local government, seven of the deceased were female and two were male. The injured have been rushed to the hospital for treatment. Further investigation is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led state government of "pocketing" the funds pumped into the state by the Centre. "Under the 13th Finance Commission, Karnataka got Rs. 88,583 crore, which was increased to Rs. 2, 19,506 crore under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. All the money sent by the Modi government has been pocketed by the Siddaramaiah government," Shah said while addressing a public rally at Koppal on Friday. Highlighting corruption prevalent in the state, Shah claimed that Karnataka under the Siddaramaiah government had become one with widespread farmer suicides, atrocities against women and unemployment. "The people of Karnataka do not have supply of electricity or enough jobs to sustain a livelihood, but their chief minister wears a watch worth Rs. 40 lakh. This indicates how much corruption the government is involved in," he said. Launching a scathing attack on the incumbent chief minister, Shah claimed that the former was 'running away' and looking for a safer seat to contest in the upcoming assembly polls. "The Congress is dependent on Siddaramaiah in this election. However, he himself is running away from the Chamundeshwari to the Badami assembly constituency to escape to a safer seat. The only achievements of the Siddaramaiah governement in the state have been rapid increase in corruption, rapes and farmer suicides. After all this, Rahul Gandhi still thinks Siddaramaiah will win the election for him. How can anyone who has run away from his own seat win elections for his party" he quipped. On the second day of his two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka, the BJP Chief is expected to address public rallies in three different regions. He is also expected to visit the Basawesawara Aikya Sthala in Kudala Sangama, and Siddhesvara Temple in Haveri district. Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect representatives to the 225-member state assembly. The results will be out on May 15. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Andhra Pradesh government and MasterCard, along with Fintech valley, held the Andhra Pradesh Cyber Security Summit in Visakhapatnam on Friday. State IT Minister, Nara Lokesh also participated in the summit, which provided a platform for top cyber security experts to share strategies and solutions to combat the growing cyber threat in India and globally. "We have 500 of the brightest minds of the world coming to Visakhapatnam. We believe cybersecurity will play a big role, not only in protecting the assets but also in creating jobs," Lokesh said. The summit was a part of the MoU between Andhra Pradesh government and MasterCard to implement the best practices for cybersecurity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched a fresh salvo on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre on Friday, saying the state would have developed much faster if the latter had cooperated. "Had Centre properly cooperated with us, we would have developed much faster. The Central Government is not cooperating, but it will not stop us from moving ahead," Naidu said at a press conference here. Referring to Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) exit from the ruling Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition at the Centre, Naidu said, "I waited for four years... I took the right decision at the right time." Naidu further said that his government fulfilled more than 95 percent of the promises made to the public and Andhra Pradesh remained on the top in the agricultural sector post the bifurcation. "We have fixed some targets- to be one of the top three states by 2023, to be the best state in India by 2029, and to be a global level state by 2050," he added. The TDP government has also set a target to make the state full of LED street lamps by October 2, Naidu said. He further enumerated several achievements of the state government in education and health sector, women safety, housing, eradicating corruption, and the like. "We created an ecosystem conducive for investments. If all MoUs come to realty, state will get 19 lakh crores investments and 40 lakh jobs," he said. Naidu also noted the government is focusing on food processing and reducing the cost of agriculture, in the coming days, and underlined the state government's efforts to strike a balance between development and welfare in the state. "Had center helped us much, we would have recovered much better from bifurcation problems," he reiterated. The TDP's major grievance with the Center is latter's failure to deliver on the promise of granting Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. On March 16, the ruling TDP reached a deadlock with BJP over this issue and ultimately quit the NDA coalition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading financial marketplace, BankBazaar, recently announced that it recorded 90 million visitors in the final quarter of FY18. With 400 million visits expected in FY19, the company is looking to make 800 new hires across its locations in the current financial year. BankBazaar saw 20X growth over the last few years and is well-positioned to take on the next wave of developments in the fintech industry. "India is ramping up to a paperless economy and BankBazaar is contributing significantly towards this goal. With customers demonstrating their readiness to adapt to new-age financial buying, FY 2018 has been a year where we grew more than 100 percent in multiple categories. With a sustainable increase in our customer count, BankBazaar's and revenues are also shooting up proportionately. We are confident that FY19 will yield better results and consolidate our position as the top player in the financial services sector," said Adhil Shetty, co-founder and CEO, BankBazaar. With this round of hiring, the company aims to beef up their engineering capabilities to deliver a holistic and seamless purchase experience. The majority of the hires would be for the technology and product domains, with almost 60 percent of them operating out of Chennai and a significant number based in Bengaluru. "The new hires will be working on extending the paperless, presence-less process pioneered by BankBazaar to newer products from a technology front, and implementing a customer-centric design to simplify the purchase process," Shetty added. BankBazaar hosts the widest range of financial products from over 85 of the biggest public and private sector banks, Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and insurance companies in India. It closed the last quarter (December-February) with 90 million visitors. The company raised USD 110 million through funding from investors such as Amazon, Experian, Fidelity Growth Partners, Mousse Partners, Sequoia Capital and Walden International. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The centre on Friday sought an extension of two weeks from Supreme Court, in order to frame a draft scheme for the formation Cauvery Management Board (CMB). The apex court had criticised the Centre for neither framing the scheme in six weeks as directed by it nor approaching the court prior to the March 31 deadline to convey if any difficulty arose. On April 9, the Supreme Court criticised the Centre and asked it to frame a draft scheme by May 3 for implementation of its February 16 judgment. Earlier, on Saturday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the state government is against the formation of Cauvery Management Board (CMB) as it is 'unconstitutional'. In his letter, he mentioned that the Supreme Court has not directed any mechanism towards the formation of the CMB. On February 16, a three-judge Supreme Court of India bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar pronounced the judgement on the Cauvery Water Dispute between the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry. The bench directed Karnataka to release 177.25 TMC of water, instead of the 192 TMC, to Tamil Nadu. The apex court will now hear any matter pertaining to Cauvery dispute on May 3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that China and India have set the pace for the economy for the last 1,600 years respectively. At the delegation-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at East Lake Guesthouse, Prime Minister Modi thanked the former for inviting him to Wuhan. Stressing on the importance of India to China, the Prime Minister said, "This is possibly for the first time that you have met a country's leader twice outside the capital, Beijing. This is a sign of the importance that you accord to India as a country." Underscoring the need to work together, Prime Minister Modi added, "We (India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40 percent of the population. This means trying to successfully get the rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us." He further said that such informal summits between India and China should happen often, adding that such summits should become a tradition between the two Asian giants. Inviting President Xi to hold a similar informal summit next year in India, Prime Minister Modi said, "I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy if, in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India." Later in the day, the two leaders will take a walk up to the Meiling Hall around the guesthouse. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held one-on-one talks after the former arrived at the Hubei province. Both the leaders discussed the historical past of both India and China as Prime Minister Modi highlighted his visit to Three Gorges Dam as Gujarat's Chief Minister. After that, President Xi took Prime Minister Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. The Hubei Provincial Museum, one of the most prominent museums in China, opened in 1954, and has a large amount of state-level historic and cultural relics. The ongoing historical bilateral summit between India and China is expected to thaw tensions between the two, rising due to the Doklam stand-off last year. Prime Minister Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Wuhan, will depart for India on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities in China are cracking down on Christians, taking steps ranging from demolition of churches, desecration of tombs, forbidding children from entering churches, threatening Catholics and denying government subsidies and pensions to church believers. Recent repression efforts have targetted both house and state-sanctioned churches through the harassment and detention of Christian believers, blocking entry to sites of worship, interrupting gatherings, dismantling crosses, demolishing churches, or disbanding congregations. According to a report published in asianews.it website, acts of persecution and violation of Christian edifices have been frequently reported from the central Chinese province of Henan. One report revealed that the tomb and plaque of a former bishop of Luoyang, Li Hongye, in central China, was desecrated and destroyed. The tomb was targeted because it had signs of his Episcopal office, claim Christian believers. A church in the village of Hutuo has also been destroyed recently. On April 1, in Zhengzhou, during a Easter Sunday mass, government representatives entered the church and removed children and young under the age of 18 on grounds that religious education to minors is prohibited. There is a view gaining ground that these acts of persecution and prohibition are in fact a promotion of new government regulations on religious activities that have come into effect from February this year. In its report, asianews.it says that the application of these regulations "is a litmus test to see if resistance is posed, and to study how to suffocate it. Later the regulations will be applied throughout the country, even in places where Catholics are a good percentage of the population, as in Hebei or Shanxi." Beijing, it claims, is taking action against both official and underground communities to prevent conversions to Christianity and the emergence of powerful religious renaissance in the country. At the Shangqiu Diocese in Henan, Catholic elders have been categorically told that if they encourage anybody in their community who is below 18 to convert to Christianity, their children with not be allowed to go to school and they will lose 60 Yuan as government subsidy. A Council for Foreign Relations (CFR) report published in March this year said, "China has witnessed a religious revival over the past four decades, in particular with a significant increase in Christian believers. The number of Chinese Protestants has grown by an average of 10 percent annually since 1979. By some estimates, China is on track to have the world's largest population of Christians by 2030." Article 36 of the Chinese constitution protects freedom of religion. Yet that protection is limited to so-called "normal religious activities," explicitly stating that "no one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the education system of the state." "Christians have faced growing repression in recent years. Over the past twenty-five years, China ranked tenth as a country where it is most difficult and dangerous to practice Christianity," according to Open Doors, a U.S.-based Christian non-profit that tracks the persecution of Christians worldwide. It further stated that repression campaigns in China ebb and flow. While traditionally house and underground churches faced the brunt of persecution, under President Xi Jinping's leadership, state-sanctioned churches have been targeted as well. According to the CFR report, the Communist Party of China (CCP) identifies religious groups as potential threats to national security, social harmony and core interests and religion in China remains inherently political. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The existence of the holy river Ganges in the ancient city of Varanasi is again at stake, experts confirmed on Friday. With water level dropping to a drastic low level, the river is drying up at a speeding pace. Experts have expressed concern accepting that several contributory factors have led to the doom of the river. In view of this plight of the Ganges, DM Varanasi has written a letter to the Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh to release water from Naraura dam or Kanpur Barrage. While speaking to ANI, Yogeshwar Ram Mishra, DM Varanasi said, "The water level of Ganga in Varanasi has gone down. We have requested to let off the water from Kanpur Dehat. The authorities have taken this in cognizance & they are doing what is needed." "The plight of the Ganga has left people disappointed even after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to cure the river," said Hira Nand Pandey, Purohit Dashashwamedh Ghat Varanasi. "Due to the shortage of water, Ganga's pollution has come to the surface. This season it has now remained less than 400 meters," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday arrived at the White House, as part of a one-day working trip. The trip comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron's recent visit. US President Donald Trump, while welcoming the German Chancellor said in a statement, "It's a great honour to have Chancellor Merkel, and you can rest assured she was going to win that election, and congratulations on winning. It was a great victory. We're working on a lot of different subjects, including trade, including NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), including military of all types, and we have a really great relationship. And we actually have had a great relationship right from the beginning, but some people didn't understand that. But we understand it, and that's what's important. But a very extraordinary woman. And it's an honour to have you at the White House," CNN reported. The German Chancellor had a one-on-one meeting with President Trump at the Oval Office, discussing issues of bilateral and global interests. She also discussed the Iran nuclear deal, Germany's military spending and the prospect of US. tariffs on European metals products with the US President, CNBC reported. A 90-minute lunch session is also scheduled between the German Chancellor and President Trump, followed by a joint press conference. On Tuesday, the US President threatened to leave the Iran deal, calling it "insane," while adding that "it should have never ever been made." The Iran nuclear deal was signed between six countries in 2015 - Iran, US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France and China for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations to the country's nuclear programme. This is Merkel's first trip to the US after assuming power as the German Chancellor for a record fourth time last month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Durishetty Anudeep, the topper of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination 2017 explained that his journey to crack the civil services examination was not an easy one. "This is my fifth attempt. I have failed thrice before, and the journey was not easy for me. However, I am now extremely happy with my achievement, and I am grateful to all the people who supported me through thick and thin," he told ANI. 28-year-old Anudeep, who has served as an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer for two years, bagged the first rank in the civil services examination, preliminary examination for which was conducted on June 18 last year. While the Telangana candidate topped the list, Anu Kumari from Sonipat came second, while Sachin Gupta stood third. Talking about her achievement, an elated Anu said ensuring the safety of women in the country would be her top priority. "My first preference is to be an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, as I would like to stay in India and serve the country. My top priority would be to tackle matters related to the safety of women in the country. I want all women across India to feel safe," she said. On a related note, 9, 57,590 candidates applied for the preliminary examination, out of which 4, 56, 625 candidates appeared. 13,366 candidates qualified for the Written (Main) Examination held in October - November 2017. Of them, 2568 candidates qualified for the Personality Test conducted in February - April 2018. The UPSC then recommended a total of 990 candidates, including 750 men and 240 women for appointment to various Services, including IAS, Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Global shipping and logistics conglomerate Transworld Group announced its digital transformation project, "Innovation in Motion", driven by Oracle India and KPIT Technologies. To this effect, Transworld Group signed an agreement with the two entities to help them develop an integrated platform. As part of this agreement, Oracle will provide the cloud-based platform that will improve operational efficiency across its shipping and logistics businesses and empower their employees to deliver heightened customer satisfaction to their customers and vendors. On the other hand, KPIT will be the implementation partner, having expertise in implementing Oracle solutions for decades for customers around the world, from diverse industries, including shipping and logistics. Through this project, Transworld Group will leverage technology-enabled solutions and customer connected e-platforms to provide real-time information, swift business process, and a digital customer interface. Additionally, the company will be incorporating new emerging technologies like blockchain, adaptive intelligence, and IoT. The platform will enable standardisation of all key business functions across all the group companies. These include finance, operations, procurement, supply chain and human resources, to eliminate manual intervention and introduce far advanced operational efficiencies. "The decision to partner with Oracle and KPIT has come after much deliberation. We want to digitally transform this industry with the intelligent use of technology that helps us not only to be more efficient, but also create more value for our shareholders, customers, and employees. We believe this can catalyse this transformation and is the way forward for our business," said Transworld Chairman Ramesh S Ramakrishnan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, on Friday are set to hold the historic inter-Korean Summit in Panmunjom, the truce village on the north-south border of the peninsula. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. (KST) as the North Korean leader will cross the demarcation line into the South Korean half of the DMZ to meet Moon Jae-in for talks, reported South Korean news agency Yonhap. Topics, on the agenda, most likely include denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a peace settlement and the improvement of inter-Korea relations, according to the reports. With this, Kim will become the first Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader to cross the border onto the South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two leaders will jointly inspect a South Korean honor guard as part of an official ceremony to welcome the North Korean leader. The official talks will begin at 10:30 a.m. The duo will attend an elaborate dinner, to be held around 6.30 p.m. local time, that will include symbolic dishes originating from both countries. It is the third inter-Korean summit, but the first to be held in South Korea. The summit is expected to set the stage for the first meeting between sitting US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in May or June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Governor of Maharashtra and Chancellor of Universities in the State, CH. Vidyasagar Rao appointed Dr Suhas Raghunath Pednekar as the Vice Chancellor of the Mumbai University at Raj Bhavan on Friday following the results fiasco. It has been a long wait of almost eight months since the previous VC, Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, was sacked on 24th October 2017. He will have to inherit the same faulty On Screen Marking (OSM) system that delayed results for months. The new VC is the professor of Chemistry and Principal of Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College. Dr Devanand Shinde, Vice-Chancellor of the Shivaji University, Kolhapur, was holding the additional charge of the post of Vice-Chancellor since then. The Governor had constituted a search committee under the chairmanship of Dr K. Kasturirangan, former chairman of ISRO, to shortlist names that were suitable for appointment of Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Capital Region (NCR) which was sparsely populated area some thirty years ago has got good population now. Rapid urbanisation, incredible employment options and non-availability of affordable land at Delhi have turned NCR one of the fastest-growing region for the affordable sector. The government push to the affordable housing segment has helped in the development of the segment. As per the "housing for all by 2022", the focus of affordable housing is transmitted to the partnership of public and private sectors. In such juncture, the private developers are poised to enter in this segment abundantly. "With the prevailing government schemes towards real estate sector, many states are seen to have come up with commendable affordable housing policies. The private realtors are welcoming the policies with a strong push providing a wide range of options to the end-users in the affordable housing sector," said Ssumit Berry, Managing Director, BDI Group. BDI Group is focusing on affordable housing by working in line with PMAY. They have their projects at Bhiwadi and Alwar. "The government awarded an infrastructure status to the affordable housing segment and the carpet area has also increased. This is encouraging the developers and will create more affordable supply as well as drive demand from genuine end-users," added Ssumit Berry. RERA whose main function is to bring transparency and accountability in the sector is helping in the development of affordable housing in the NCR. GST has simplified the tax system in the country, work in the same direction. "The government has announced few tax benefits in the form of GST to encourage more developers but the turnaround will be difficult without access to cheaper financial capital, cheaper land, faster permissions and buyer's incentive for buying an affordable home. These incentives will act as a catalyst bringing developers and end users in win-win situation," said Gaurav Mittal, MD, CHD Developers Ltd. NCR enjoys better connectivity with the neighbouring areas. The Delhi Metro, which already covers a large part of Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, is soon going to become a denser network. With coming of new lines, the Delhi Metro will move to farther areas in the NCR. The area offers better social infrastructure and conveniences in comparison to the neighbouring area. However, transaction volumes is improving day by day in NCR much, this will lead to an increase in the sale of affordable housing in the coming time. "Budget 2018 and the incentives announced have given a much-needed push to affordable housing. The establishment of a dedicated Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) will further support the objective of achieving the Modi government's ambitious "Housing for all by 2022" mission. NCR because of its employment options will always be at centre for affordable housing," said Yash Miglani, Managing Director, Migsun Group. The NCR is drawing the increased attention of the buyers and developers, so the future of NCR is bright for affordable houses. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North and South Korea on Friday agreed to sign a peace treaty formally later this year, ending the 65-year old war between the two countries. The Korean War between the two countries took place between 1950-53 which ended with a ceasefire and signing of an armistice agreement. Technically, both the countries are still at war since no peace treaty has been signed between them. In a joint declaration of the third inter-Korean summit at the Peace House here, the document formally called the 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula,' read, "The two leaders solemnly declare ... that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new era of peace has begun," CNN reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a statement, said that the two Koreas are one united people who should work together towards reunification. "We are not a people that should be confronting each other, we should be living in unity. We have long waited for this moment to happen. All of us," Kim said. "The road I have used today, I sincerely hope every South and North Korean citizen can use this road. We will be able to enjoy peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula without having to fear the war," he added. South Korean President Moon Jae-in also reiterated that a new era of peace has begun and there will not be any more war on the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders also agreed for denuclearisation of the peninsula. While Kim did not appear to mention denuclearisation in his speech, Moon said that the two sides wanted to achieve complete denuclearisation. "Chairman Kim Jong-un and I have agreed that complete denuclearisation will be achieved, and that is our common goal," President Moon added. The declaration on denuclearisation read, "South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea are very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula." Before the joint declaration, the two Korean leaders held a ceremonial tree-planting, wherein the two shovelled some soil onto a pine tree that was already in the ground before the leaders arrived. The tree dates back to 1953, the year the armistice agreement of the Korean War was signed. Kim used soil from a mountain on the southern island of Jeju while Moon used earth from Mount Paektu in the north to plant the tree. The two Korean leaders separately watered the tree with water from the other's territory respectively. The duo will attend an elaborate dinner, to be held around 6.30 p.m. local time, that will include symbolic dishes originating from both the Korean countries. This is the first time in 11 years that an inter-Korean summit is being held between the two Korean leaders. The summit is expected to set the stage for the first meeting between the United States President Donald Trump and Kim, either in May or June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intention to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Wuhan, China, for a two-day informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that is expected to give a new direction to bilateral ties. "It is not just China, we want to be friendly with every neighbouring country. Our Prime Minister has been doing everything he can so that our relationship with our neighbours become better," Singh said. Modi arrived in Wuhan on Friday for delegation-level talks with President Xi. The summit is expected to defuse tensions between India and China post the Doklam stand-off. Friday started off with both holding a one-on-one talks after which they visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Thereafter both held delegation-level talks, accompanied by six top officials each, at the East Lake Guesthouse, where President Xi is residing. The meeting, which was originally scheduled for half-an-hour, went on for more than two hours. At the meeting, Modi asserted that China and India have set the pace for the world economy over the last 1,600 years, while also stressing on the importance of India and China working together "to successfully get the world rid of many problems." The Chinese President later hosted a dinner for Prime Minister Modi, at which Chinese cuisine was served. Last year, a military stand-off in the Doklam region was resolved after 73 days. Both sides arrived at an understanding then to disengage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need for strengthening bilateral relations between India and China through his own version of "Panchsheel" or five-point agenda. At the delegation-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the East Lake Guesthouse here, Prime Minister Modi said through the "Panchsheel", the bolstering of bilateral relations between the two Asian giants will be based on - shared vision, strong relationship, shared resolve, better communication and shared thought process. "If we follow the path of Panchsheel, it will bring peace, stability and prosperity," the Prime Minister added. To this, President Xi said China was ready to cooperate and work with India to seek guidance, with the help of the five principles of Panchsheel, as proposed by Prime Minister Modi. In 1954, when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited China, he signed a peace treaty called "Panchsheel" with then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to respect each other's sovereignty. The original "Panchsheel" agreement stated the five principles as follows - mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, peaceful coexistence and equality and cooperation for mutual benefit. Stressing on the importance of India to China, Prime Minister Modi said, "This is possibly for the first time that you have met a country's leader twice outside the capital Beijing. This is a sign of the importance that you accord to India as a country." Underscoring the need to work together, Prime Minister Modi added, "We (India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40 percent of the population. This means trying to successfully get the rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us." He further said that such informal summits between India and China should happen more often, adding that they should become a tradition between the two Asian giants. Inviting President Xi to hold a similar informal summit next year in India, Prime Minister Modi said, "I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both countries. I'll be happy if, in 2019, we can have such an informal summit in India." Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held one-on-one talks after the former arrived in Wuhan. Both leaders discussed the historical past and civilisational ties of both India and China as Prime Minister Modi also recalled his visit to Three Gorges Dam when he was Gujarat's Chief Minister. After that, President Xi took Prime Minister Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. The Hubei Provincial Museum, one of the most prominent museums in China, opened in 1954, and has many state-level historic and cultural relics. The ongoing informal summit between India and China is expected to bring a thaw in tensions between the two nations, that had arisen due to the Doklam stand-off last year. Prime Minister Modi will depart for India on Saturday afternoon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented Chinese President Xi Jinping reprints of two paintings done by the celebrated Chinese painter Xu Beihong (1895-1953) during his stay at Santiniketan between 1939 and 1940, sources said. Titled "The Horse" and "Sparrows and Grass", these paintings are in the collection of the Visva Bharati University and their single reprints were especially commissioned by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) for presentation on the sidelines of the informal summit meeting between the two leaders at Wuhan. Sources further revealed that Xu Beihong came to Santiniketan and taught at the Kala Bhavana as its first visiting professor from China. During his stay, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore inaugurated an exhibition of more than 150 paintings of Beihong in December 1939. Prime Minister Modi arrived in Wuhan early on Friday and had one-on-one and delegation-level talks with President Xi. Both leaders also undertook a visit to an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Following delegation-level talks, the Chinese President hosted a dinner for the visiting Indian Prime Minister at which Chinese cuisine was served. Sources said that in a departure from protocol and in a unique gesture, the Chinese President saw off Prime Minister Modi after dinner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wuhan [China], April 27 (ANI): In his one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping drew a parallel between the Indus and Chinese civilizations, both of which sprawled around rivers. Prime Minister Modi said, "Both of our civilisations developed besides the rivers. There are several rivers in the nation. If We talk about the Mohenjo Daro and Harappa civilisations in India the entire development used to take place around them." Acknowledging Prime Minister Modi's first visit to Wuhan after holding the post, President Xi said, "We also understand that you are interested in Eastern and Western China. Wuhan is located in Central China that is why we are meeting here." President Xi further pointed out that Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, has emerged as a transportation hub and a key industrial base. Prime Minister Modi praised the speed and magnanimity at which China has developed itself as a nation. He highlighted his previous visit to the Hubei province in China as Gujarat's Chief Minister. "When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit this province. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed at which you constructed it and the scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour, spent a day at the dam." The two leaders are now scheduled to hold informal summit talks at East Lake guesthouse followed by a boat ride. The two-day visit by Prime Minister Modi to China is touted as an informal meeting between the leaders of the two Asian giants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A joint team of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a Portuguese with three kgs of cocaine at Chennai Airport on Friday. After receiving tip off, the NCB and DRI intercepted the man and recovered six packets of cocaine from his bag. "The passenger in his voluntary statement admitted his involvement in bringing the cocaine in this manner, which was given to him by an associate in Brazil to deliver at a hotel in Chennai," read the official release of DRI. The Portuguese has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act. Further investigation is in process. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested two Pro-Pakistan Kashmiri hackers from Punjab. The team also recovered laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices from their possession. One of the hackers identified as Shahid Malla is a second year student of B.Tech, from Baramulla while the other Adil Hussain Teli is a final year student of Bachelors of Computer Application (BCA), from Anantnag. Both were living in rented accommodations in Punjab's Rajpura, and were part of a hacking group called Team Hackers Third Eye. They have hacked more than 500 Indian websites as of now. They were also involved in educating and assisting Kashmiri youth to bypass government imposed social media ban, by use of virtual private network last year. Moreover, they were in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-India hackers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia and Japan on Friday welcomed the continued positive dialogue between North and South Korea, calling it as a promising move. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and said that Moscow always wanted the two Koreas to end hostilities and work together for ensuring a peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said in a statement, "This is very positive news. In this case, we positively regard the meeting itself between the two Koreas' leaders and the declared outcome of the negotiations," TASS agency reported. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also praised the success of the inter-Korean summit. However, he urged North Korea to take "concrete action" for achieving denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula. Earlier in the day, China applauded the political courage of the two Korean leaders, Kim Jong-un of North Korea and Moon Jae-in of South Korea, adding that the inter-Korean summit yielded positive results. The two Koreas have agreed to sign a peace treaty formally later this year, ending the 65-year old war between the two countries. The Korean War between the two countries took place between 1950-53, which ended with a ceasefire and signing of an armistice agreement. Technically, both the countries are still at war since no peace treaty has been signed between them. In a joint declaration of the third inter-Korean summit at the Peace House at Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the document formally called the 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula' read, "The two leaders solemnly declare that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new era of peace has begun," CNN reported. Kim, in a statement, said that the two Koreas were one united people who should work together towards reunification. Moon also reiterated that it marked the rise of "a new era of peace." This is the first time in 11 years that an inter-Korean summit is being held between the two Korean leaders. It is also the first-ever summit to be held in South Korea. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao warned the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of a 'Federal Front' which he said will 'replace the two.' Speaking at the 17th plenary session of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Rao said, "I warn the Congress and BJP leaders to be alert as the federal front is going to come." The chief minister further said that on 29 April he will meet DMK working president MK Stalin and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. "This country will see a new ruling in the coming months. We will break the foundation laid by Congress and BJP to rule the country. Better infrastructure, better ports, better highways, better airports and better railways will be developed in a wonderful way by us to the country," he said adding that a Maha Saba will be held in October. He further hit out at the the Congress and the BJP for 'mismanagements' in their governance, which he alleged was the primary reason behind China being so far ahead of India in terms of development. "There are 1.23 lakh kilometres of expressway in China but India is having only 2000 kilometres of expressway. This is all because of the ruling of Congress and BJP leaders. Even the tourism has fallen down. In the 1980s, the GDP of India was 180 billion dollars whereas China's GDP was 134 billion dollars. In 2016 India's GDP was 2465 while China's has grown up to 9504 billion dollars. China went into many sectors. The per capita income in 1968 of India was 340 dollars and China was 170 dollars but now the India per capita income is only 1861 dollars whereas China's is 6893 dollars," he said. "We have 70,000 tmc of water in the country but the people are not getting it, either for drinking or for farming. This is only because of the laziness of the Congress and BJP government who were ruling for decades. They are also enacting a drama in Karnataka. Why enact the Cauvery drama now? Water wars are because of the inefficiency of Central Governments. 'Water for every farmer and every acre' will be the motto of the front that will be formed," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Senator Lindsey Graham on Friday pitched for awarding a Nobel Peace Prize to United States President Donald Trump if he successfully negotiated the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. "Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change. We're not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize," Graham tweeted. "It wouldn't have happened without Trump," the Hill reported, citing the South Carolina Republican, as saying in an interview with Fox News. In an interview with Fox News, Graham noted that if the US President is able to secure a promise from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to denuclearise at a summit later this year, the president would deserve the coveted award once given to his predecessor in 2009. This is contrary to what the Senator have been saying in the past. Graham has previously called President Trump "a kook," "unfit for office" and a "political car wreck, according to the reports. This comes in the backdrop of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in ending their historic summit on Friday with a glimmer of hope and positivity in Panmunjom. To begin with, Kim became the first-ever North Korean leader to step on the South Korean soil, when he took a step at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the world's most heavily guarded border, separating the two countries. He then shook hands with Moon, which was the first-ever meeting between them after the Korean War ended in 1953. The inter-Korean summit was also unique as it was the first time in over a decade that it was being held. The previous two summits were held in 2000 and 2007 in Pyongyang. It was also the first time that the summit was being held in South Korea. The Korean War between the two countries took place between 1950-53, which ended with a ceasefire and signing of an armistice agreement. Technically, both the countries are still at war since no peace treaty has been signed between them. In a joint declaration after the talks, the two leaders officially inaugurated a document formally called the 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula.' The declaration read, "The two leaders solemnly declare that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new era of peace has begun," CNN reported. The two Koreas agreed to sign a peace treaty formally later this year, ending the six-decades-old war between the two countries. Moon also reiterated that it marked the rise of "a new era of peace." The South Korean President is also slated to visit Pyongyang later this year, according to a statement released by his presidential office. Many countries such as China, Russia and Japan and the United Nations (UN) have praised the outcome and positivity of the successful summit. They hoped for ending of hostilities and pressing for peace, denuclearisation and reconciliation of the Korean Peninsula. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Defence Ministry on Thursday expressed its willingness to stabilize Indo-China military ties on the sidelines of the on-going visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Wuhan city. China's state-owned Xinhua News Agency quoted China's Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Quian saying, "Stabilizing military relations between China and India and maintaining peace in the border areas are the shared aspirations of people from both countries." Wu further acknowledged the few hiccups in the bilateral relations of Indo-China as he continued to say that. "Despite some difficulties and obstacles in the bilateral military relationship, we are willing to deepen understanding, enhance mutual trust, properly handle differences." He reiterated the need for the stable development of military ties as he called upon the leaders of India and China to reach a consensus regarding their bilateral ties. Wu made these comments while addressing a press conference. Prime Minister Modi is currently on a two-day visit to China as part of which he is scheduled to hold 'informal talks' with China's President Xi Jinping. He arrived at Wuhan early on Friday (2200 hrs IST on Thursday). Later in evening, he will meet Xi at Hubei Provincial Museum. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian mobile manufacturing industry is expected to touch Rs 1,32,000 crore by end of 2018, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister, of Electronics & Information Technology said at an ASSOCHAM event. India manufactured about 110 million mobile phones in 2015-16 as compared to 60 million in 2014-15 showing a growth of over 90%. In value terms India's mobile manufacturing industry produced mobile phones worth Rs 54,000 crore in FY15-16 compared to Rs 18,900 crore in FY14-15. The same reached Rs 94,000 crore by end of 2017, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister, of Electronics & Information Technology. In terms of volume, in 2014 India produced 5 core mobile phone made locally in India which reached to 15 crore in 2015-16. In 2017 the Indian mobile manufacturing industry produced 22 million mobile phones. 'The industry would produce 50 million mobile phones by 2020,' said the minister. In terms of electronics manufacturing units, the minister said within three years, the industry added 120 such units. Two-third of these are mobile manufacturing units and there 54 such units in Noida alone. On top of that these industries employ 5 lakh people, he added. Mr Prasad further said that India has the world's third largest start-up community after US and England. He said that his ministry is working in mission mode to make India's digital sector $1 trillion economy in next five years and has potential to create 50 lakh to 70 lakh new jobs. 'We would like India to become a center of small product cyber security and we must look at how IT can help India become a big center of data analysis', said Mr Prasad. Union Electronic and IT Minister said BPO industry should move to small towns where overhead costs are less compared to big cities. About 48,000 seats have been planned with distribution across states and UTs based on population percentage. It excluded metro cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region, Pune and North Eastern states. He further said, about 86 new BPOs operating in 27 states excluding digitally rich areas. BPO centres have already come up in Patna and Muzaffarpur, while such centres would soon be opened in smaller cities like Ghazipur, Jahanabad and Gaya etc, he said. 'The government will give grant of Rs. 5 crore to start-ups doing innovation in the field of cyber security and healthcare", said Mr. Prasad. Mr. Prasad said today 250 hospitals across the country have been turned into e-hospitals and more than 2 crore of patients are taking benefits of the e-hospitals. eNAM has linked more than 500 market mandis with 70 lakhs of farmers negotiating their price, Union Electronic and IT Minister said. The Minister also mentioned the increasing adoption of the Umang (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) app, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app that enables secure cashless payments through mobile phones. Ms. Monica Magnusson, Vice President, IPR Policy and Communication at IPR & Licensing, Ericsson, said, It is heartening to see the growing interest among Indian start-ups in adding value to ICT innovation. Ericsson is committed to encouraging innovation in the country and as a first step we will mentor the winners by making them a part of Ericsson Garage. Ericsson Garage is our open innovation platform that will allow the winners to showcase their technology before a global network of partners, including investors. I want to thank the Hon'ble Minister for his push to encourage platforms that foster the spirit of innovation. Mr Sandeep Jajodia, President, ASSOCHAM said, the growth is the necessity but consistency and sustainability are the key for real growth. We need to look way ahead while setting up a business to counter the ever-changing market demand. A successful business creates jobs for many. So, it is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to look forward for a long term business potential by working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products & services driven technology for a sustainable impact on economic growth. Mr Manguirish Pai Raikar, Chairman, ASSOCHAM MSME Council, Start-up India is a vision and mission of our Hon'ble Prime Minister to encourage young Indians to opt for entrepreneurship and ensure future economic growth of the country. This mission will not only create entrepreneurs but will also play an important role in job creation, which is one of the major challenges we facing today. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The stock is quoting at Rs 999.35, up 2.46% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 43.26% in last one year as compared to a 14.9% spurt in NIFTY and a 14.53% spurt in the Nifty Energy. Reliance Industries Ltd gained for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 999.35, up 2.46% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.68% on the day, quoting at 10690.3. The Sensex is at 34968.21, up 0.73%. Reliance Industries Ltd has risen around 13.22% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Reliance Industries Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 6.29% in last one month and is currently quoting at 13824.85, up 1.6% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 84.42 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 57.06 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark May futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 998.3, up 1.93% on the day. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 43.26% in last one year as compared to a 14.9% spurt in NIFTY and a 14.53% spurt in the Nifty Energy index. The PE of the stock is 18.69 based on TTM earnings ending December 17. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police on Friday arrested two Kashmiri students from Punjab who were involved in hacking over 500 Indian websites, including those of the government, police said. The accused have been identified as Shahid Malla, a CSE student at Aryan Group of College in Punjab's Rajpura and Adil Hussain Teli, a BCA final year student at St. Soldiers Management and Technical Institute in Jalandhar. They are natives of Baramulla and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir. "Following a tip-off, Shahid Malla and Adil Hussain Teli were arrested on Friday when a team of Cyber Cell of Delhi Police raided their rented accommodation in Punjab," a senior police officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. "During investigation, it was found that their online activities were part of anti-national hacking group called 'Team Hackers Third Eye' which has hacked more than 500 Indian websites, including some government websites," the officer said. The officer said the accused were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed social media ban during April and May in 2017 by using VPN. "During investigation, they were found continuously in touch with several Pakistani-based anti-Indian hackers while hacking the websites and sharing the personal information of government websites with them. Some of them are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies," he added. "Through their seditious social media posts, Malla and Teli were found to be pro-Pakistan and anti-India," the officer said, adding that some laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, Internet dongles, memory devices and other instruments were recovered from their rooms. The officer said the team was trying to ascertain their further plan and also their source of money. "The probe in underway." --IANS sp/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite the 2019 general elections, almost 56 per cent of Indian business leaders are more interested in overseas dealmaking in the coming 12 months than they were in the past year, a survey said here on Friday. According to Baker McKenzie's Doing Business Globally survey, while only 11 per cent are less interested, almost 33 per cent of business leaders have the same level of interest. The survey said while Indian businesses are primarily looking for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities domestically (42 per cent), a quarter of respondents said the wider Asia Pacific region is their top target, with 16 per cent looking to North America. "This is something of a shift, as North America has until recently been a firm favourite for Indian companies looking to buy abroad, less so Asia Pacific," it noted. The views were gathered as part of the survey of Indian business leaders at events in Bengaluru and Mumbai where more than 200 of India's top business people were surveyed on their dealmaking sentiments as well as the impact technology was having on their decision making. "In fact, technology was clearly a key driver of India M&A deals abroad, with 38 per cent of Indian companies now saying that acquiring new tech and expertise was their number one reason for engaging in cross-border M&A," said the survey. Gary Seib, Baker McKenzie Asia Pacific Chair, said: "While this positivity around global dealmaking is great to see, it is particularly encouraging that India's ambitions are also shifting a little closer to home." "While Indian corporates have traditionally looked to the US and Europe for M&A opportunities, including buying up high status brands and industrial and financial companies, many now also see the value on offer in Asia Pacific, particularly as different markets incubate their own technologies, and supply chains across the region can be readily built," he added. Baker McKenzie also assessed recent initial public offering (IPO) trends amongst Indian companies and announced transactions likely to close in 2018, to provide a detailed picture of India's IPO market. "In fact, capital raised YTD (year-to-date) in 2018 is almost 400 per cent the amount raised in the same period in 2017. By mid-April last year, there were only 40 IPOs that raised $619 million, compared with more than $3 billion raised through 71 listings in 2018 so far," it said. The survey pointed out that if pipeline deals move forward for the rest of 2018, the total value of IPOs will be 34 per cent higher than the capital raised in 2017, although there is likely to be a slight drop in the number of deals completed. "There is a strong sentiment amongst the Indian clients we speak to that while reforms have taken time and there have been a few other hiccups, the business community is quite bullish on the direction of India," said Ashok Lalwani, Global Head of Baker McKenzie's India Practice. "While the election will throw up some uncertainty, this newfound confidence means Indian businesses will continue to seek out opportunities to grow, particularly through investments in new and complementary technologies," he said. The survey highlighted that all Indian exchanges are set to have their best performing year for seven years with $12.4 billion set to be raised in 68 IPOs through dual listings on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE). "...while listing solely on the BSE are set to raise almost $2.8 billion and those listing solely on the NSE are set to raise $487 million," it added. --IANS ppg/him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least seven students were stabbed to death and 12 injured in a knife attack outside a school in northern China on Friday, officials said. The knife-wielding man attacked the students near Mizhi County Number Three secondary school in Shaanxi province as they were heading home for the day. The suspect was taken into police custody, Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese police gave his surname as Zhao and said he was a former student of the school who took revenge because he was bullied when he studied there, according to a BBC report. Photos on social media showed several young students lying on the ground, surrounded by terrified onlookers. A local government statement said the attack happened at the school at around 6.10 p.m. China has seen several fatal knife attacks in recent years. A knifeman killed a woman and injured 12 others at a Beijing shopping centre in February. In July 2017, two people died and nine were injured by a knife-wielding man at a Wal-Mart supermarket in Shenzhen. The country executed three men in March 2015 after they were found guilty of a knife attack at Kunming station, where 29 people were hacked to death and over 100 others wounded. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Swedish pop group Abba is reuniting after their split 35 years ago with two new songs. One of the songs -- "I still have faith in you", is set for release in December. It will be part of a "Virtual Abba" experience in collaboration with "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller. It will premiere, via digital versions of band members Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, on NBC and ABC at the end of this year. There are no details as yet about the second song, reports variety.com. In a statement, the band wrote: "The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio." "So we did. And it was like time had stood still and that we only had been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience! We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good." Abba are one of the most popular musical artists in history, having sold hundreds of millions of albums worldwide since their formation in Sweden 1972. While songwriters Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus continued to work together (including a musical, "Chess", with lyricist Tim Rice in 1984), the four members did not appear together publicly onstage again until 2016. The virtual reality tour is scheduled to begin next year. --IANS nn/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US aerospace giant Boeing on Thursday was awarded a five-year contract worth $427 million for depot maintenance of the US Navy's F/A-18 jets. Under the "sole-source" contract, Boeing said it will provide consumable materials used for structural repair and modification of legacy F/A-18 Hornets at five US Navy and Marine Corps depots, Xinhua reported. Boeing unveils two programmes to repair the Navy's aging F/A-18 Hornets, including the extension of the Hornets' life from 6,000 hours to 10,000 hours. Rick Robinson, director of Boeing Global Supply Chain Services, said the contract will improve material availability and reduce cycle times on aircraft maintenance of the Navy's fighter jets. The US Navy wants to refresh its fleet of more than 560 F/A-18 jets to keep them flying well into the next decades. Boeing grabbed its latest defence contract only one day after it announced on Wednesday strong 2018 first-quarter profits of $23.4 billion that beat Wall Street expectations. Boeing delivered 184 commercial airplanes during the first quarter and earned $13.7 billion. It sold a record 763 aircraft last year. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistan court has sentenced a man to seven years in jail and fined him Rs 1.2 million in the country's first-ever conviction for child pornography. Sadat Amin was found guilty by the court in Lahore on Thursday of being part of a global child pornography racket spread across Sweden, Italy, the US and the UK, the Pakistani media reported. He was arrested in April 2017 by the Federal Investigation Agency from Pakistan's Sargodha city and over 650,000 pictures and videos related to child pornography were seized from his possession, the Express Tribune reported. Pakistan criminalised child pornography in 2016, making the offence punishable with seven years in prison and a hefty fine. The new amendment, titled Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2015, also criminalised child trafficking within the country. The country was rocked by a major paedophilia scandal in August 2015, when it was revealed that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from Hussain Khanwala village in Punjab province had been made and were being circulated. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on Friday told the Supreme Court that the Chief Justice of India is the "master of roster" and he has full power to allocate cases and to maintain discipline. Venugopal told a bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan that vesting case allocation with multi-member collegium instead of the Chief Justice would create multiple authority and result in "conflict and chaos". The Attorney General said if all the judges of the apex court or collegium decide the allocation, then "each judge would express preference" and the judicial system would "collapse". Citing many judgements to underline that the Chief Justice was the master of roster, he argued that if all judges or five-member collegium decide the allocation, "there will be conflict, there will be chaos if judges decide which case they should hear, which bench they should preside". The court earlier sought Venugopal's assistance on a plea by former Law Minister and senior counsel Shanti Bhuhan, seeking that the allocation of "important and sensitive cases" be done by the collegium of five senior-most judges or full court and not by the Chief Justice alone. The court reserved its verdict on the plea. Venugopal said that the allotment of cases is not an exercise which should be taken by multiple persons. "It is essential to be one person. If there has to be one person, it has to be Chief Justice. Chief Justice is the master of roster and he alone has the power." Collegium is different, it deals with appointment of judges, the Attorney General said, adding: "Collegium decides who should be selected for elevation (of judges), there is no personal involvement. Here (in allotment of cases), there is personal involvement, like who should be presided over the bench, who should be in two-bench, three-bench judges..." At the outset, senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Shanti Bhushan, said "sensitive cases" like those which directly touch upon the very "survival of democracy" should not be left to the discretion of the Chief Justice. "Fixing the matters and listing is very sensitive," he said, suggesting that to strengthen the institute, every matter should automatically, through computerised system, go to the concerned bench. "There should be no human intervention by anyone. Important and sensitive cases should not be left to individuals," Dave added. The advocate also asked what would be the purpose of computarised system if the CJI decides the allotment of cases and the apex court should decide a system to be followed to avoid any "possible arbitrariness". "Cherry picking of the matters is not good for this institute," Dave said while recounting the cases that came up before certain benches of the top court in recent months, and about which "everybody talking about it". "These are very sensitive matters, these have far reaching consequences that they can't be ignored. There is something grossly wrong," he contended. Justice Sikri, however, said in almost all the high courts, Public Interest Litigation (PIL) cases come before the Chief Justice. In his plea, Bhushan said the authority of the Chief Justice as a master of roster was not an "absolute, arbitrary, singular power" which may be exercised in his "sole discretion" and that the collective opinion of a collegium was much safer than the opinion of the Chief Justice alone. It contended that the master of roster "cannot be unguided and unbridled discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the... Chief Justice of India by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges". Any such power or its exercise, the PIL said "would result in a subversion of democracy and the rule of law as guaranteed under the Constitution's Article 14". --IANS gt/him/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has urged Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley not to shift the headquarters of National Insurance Company from the city as a part of proposed merger of public sector general insurance companies. In a communication to Jaitley, he also said any move to shift the insurance company's head office from the city will "strike a blow" to the emerging financial ecosystem in West Bengal and will "hurt the interest" of people of Bengal and eastern India at large. "After the announcement in this year's Union Budget of the merger of the three public sector insurance companies, I am apprehensive that the headquarters of the National Insurance Company Ltd might now be shifted away from Kolkata," he said in a letter. Mitra mentioned the insurance company with a turnover of Rs 16,472 crore and assets worth Rs 32,397 crore is the oldest general insurance company in India, located in Kolkata since its inception. According to him, the insurance company is building its head office in the newly developed financial hub in New Town, Kolkata. About 24 banks and financial institutions have taken spaces in this hub for building their offices and State Bank of India has built its largest training centre in the hub. "In this positive atmosphere of financial services, any move to shift the National Insurance Company Ltd headquarters from Kolkata will definitely strike a blow to this new financial ecosystem. I therefore, urge you not to move the National Insurance Company's headquarters from Kolkata," he said. --IANS bdc/vd A (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dubai welcomed a record 4.7 million foreign tourists in the first quarter this calendar signalling strong growth momentum for the economy, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) said in a statement on Friday. "Welcoming 4.7 million international overnight tourists from January-March 2018, the emirate posted a stable 2 per cent increase in traffic versus the same period last year," Dubai Tourism said. The department said it hopes to build on the strong base of 4.7 million visitors to accelerate momentum on the back of its strategic investments, partnerships and policy enablers that would collectively drive strong growth in 2018. "The first quarter of the year has yielded stable performance supporting strong growth for all adjacent sectors like hotels and airlines," said Dubai Tourism Director General Helal Saeed Almarri. The department said visitors from India increased by seven per cent to 617,000 and Russia posted a 106 per cent rise over the same quarter last year by delivering 259,000 tourists after visa-on-arrival facilities for Russian citizens began early last year. China also continued to leverage its visa-on-arrival status, delivering 258,000 Chinese visitors, up by 12 per cent. Europe made particularly strong contributions in the first three months of the year posting double-digit increases in most countries. Germany was up 13 per cent with 194,000 visitors, France up 17 per cent with 103,000 and Italy up 20 per cent with 80,000 visitors. In a record first appearance, Sweden featured among Dubai's top 20 source markets, delivering 42,000 visitors, up 9 per cent. "From a regional perspective, Western Europe retained pole position, contributing an unprecedented 23 per cent of overnight visitor volumes, ahead of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region and South Asia, both with 17 per cent shares," said the department. Dubai's tourism proposition is likely to rise further with more attractions and leisure destinations due to open later this year, it said. "As we move forward, the steadfast support we receive from our government, public and private sector partners is invaluable, and together we can look forward to delivering our Tourism Vision target of welcoming 20 million annual visitors by 2020," said Helal Saeed Almarri. At the end of March 2018, Dubai's growing hotel room inventory stood at 108,807 spread across 689 hotel and hotel apartment establishments. The average occupancy rate across all hotel and hotel apartment categories stood at 87 per cent. "These figures indicate that the city continues to present a hugely attractive investment opportunity for hoteliers and developers, with the sector successfully balancing demand and capacity to produce positive results," said Dubai Tourism. --IANS mgu/qd/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Dinesh Jajodia, chartered accountant-cum-tax consultant of a city-based Geodesic Ltd, in connection with its ongoing probe against the firm which was embroiled in a Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB) default case, an official said on Friday. Jajodia is accused of aiding laundering of tainted FCCB amounting to $125 million, the ED official said. FCCB is a type of convertible bond issued in a currency different than the issuer's domestic currency. Director and authorised signatory of various overseas companies situated in UAE, Hong Kong and British Virgin Islands, Jajodia was held from his residence in Mumbai. The 51-year-old was a practicing chartered accountant and tax consultant for Geodesic Ltd which had raised $125 million under FCCB for which overseas account of Citibank in London acted as a trustee. The utilisation of the funds was proposed as investment in foreign subsidiaries or new overseas acquisitions, the ED official said. It also said the amount was first credited in the overseas account (Citibank London) of Geodesic Ltd and thereafter transferred directly into the account of its overseas subsidiaries -- Mauritius-based Geodesic Holdings Ltd and Hongkong-based Geodesic Technology Solutions Ltd. "On maturity, Geodesic Ltd had failed to adhere to the commitment given to Citibank London for the repayment of the amount totalling to $157.06 million," the statement said. The investigation revealed that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to defraud the shareholders as well as FCCB holders (overseas investors) by creating a web of shell companies in various countries through fictitious dealings in order to receive wrongful gains. --IANS rak/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued show cause notice to Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali, who is accused of actively working as a conduit for foreign contributions to terrorist organisations in the state, an official said on Friday. The notice was issued under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). "Based on the intelligence input, an investigation under FEMA was initiated against Watali and it was emerged that he maintained Non Resident External and Non Resident Ordinary accounts by misdeclaring himself as Non-Resident Indian. "He later transmitted foreign remittances to the tune of Rs 6,293,711 during 2002-2003 to 2008-2009 in these accounts from overseas," an ED statement said. Further, Watali could not provide satisfactory answers as to the source of funds collected overseas and subsequent remittances to India, said the statement, adding adjudication proceedings under FEMA are in progress for the show cause notice. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had on August 17, 2017 arrested Watali here for being an active channel to receive foreign contributions from Pakistani establishment and terror organisations and remit them to Hurriyat leaders and secessionists in Jammu and Kashmirt. The NIA, in its chargesheet on January 18 against Watali and others, has mentioned that "some senior Pakistani Embassy officials" gave money to Hurriyat leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Shah, for carrying out terror attacks, orchestrating violence, stone pelting and other subversive and secessionist activities in Jammu and The NIA chargesheet named Watali as a conduit for transferring funds from Pakistan to Kashmiri separatists through business operations in Dubai. It said the money was also routed through fake and bogus companies floated in Dubai and remitted to the Hurriyat leaders in Jammu and LeT chief Hafiz Saeed -- blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack -- and Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin, both of who are now based in Pakistan, knew about "every transactions being pumped for terror acts in Jammu and Kashmir". The ED is also conducting investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Watali and others related to the terror funding of Jammu and based terrorist organisation. --IANS aks-rak/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook is a "morality-free zone" that bullies journalists and threatens academics, said a British MP, while probing a data breach controversy, the media reported. Conservative MP Julian Knight was grilling Facebook's Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer on Thursday over the Cambridge Analytica (CA) breach on Thursday, when he said this. Schroepfer was facing the British government inquiry over CA's data-mining scandal and the impact of fake news on the Brexit referendum. Facebook's reaction to the data scandal suggested a "pattern of behaviour" that included "bullying...threatening... and potentially impeding probe by lawful authorities", the Guardian quoted Knight as saying. Knight said the social network had tried to evade responsibility for the impact it was having on society. "...Facebook is a morality-free zone destructive to fundamental right of privacy," Knight was quoted as saying. "You (Facebook) aren't an innocent party wronged by the likes of Cambridge Analytica. You are the problem. Your company is the problem." Appearing before the US Congress earlier in April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the lawmakers that his own personal data was part of the 87 million users' that was "improperly shared" with the British political consultancy firm. Schroepfer replying to Knight on Thursday said that he would "respectfully disagree" with the latter's assessment. "You want us to say we're responsible, which we have on multiple occasions," Schroepfer added. The Chief Technology Officer also apologised for the way Facebook had handled inquiries from journalists working on the story. "I am sorry that journalists feel we are attempting to prevent the truth coming out." British MPs on the House of Commons' digital, culture, media and sport select committee have repeatedly requested an audience with Zuckerberg, as part of their inquiry into fake news. However, it did not happen. In a written testimony, Zuckerberg told US lawmakers that he was "responsible for" not preventing the social media platform from being used for harm -- fake news, foreign interference in elections and hate speech. "We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it and I'm responsible for what happens here," he said. His apology came after Facebook was embroiled in a widening scandal that the British data firm CA had improperly gathered detailed Facebook information on 87 million users, up from a previous estimate of more than 50 million. The Indian government has also sought clarifications from Cambridge Analytica, but the response it received was "unsatisfactory, cryptic and evasive". It has now set a deadline of May 10. --IANS rt/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said the proposed non-Congress, non-BJP Federal Front will trigger tremors in national Challenging both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President vowed to bring a qualitative change in the national Addressing over 13,000 delegates gathered at the TRS plenary here, he said the idea of the Front had already created ripples in the national capital. Holding the two national parties responsible for all the ills plaguing the nation even after 70 years of independence, he said the Federal Front would put the country on the path of speedy progress and prosperity through real cooperative federalism. Stating that the efforts to form the Front were gathering pace, he said Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav would visit Hyderabad soon. Rao announced he would meet DMK leader M.K. Stalin next month. The plenary unanimously adopted a resolution authorising the Chief Minister to take all necessary steps to form the Front. He has already met his West Bengal counterpart and Trinamool Congress supemo Mamata Banerjee, Janata Dal-Secular President H.D. Deve Gowda and some other leaders since mooting the idea of the Front last month. Rao alleged that both BJP and Congress were afraid of him because he was known for his determination. The TRS chief said he would work hard for the country's good just the way he strived to achieve Telangana state. "The BJP leaders are saying that the Front doesn't even have a tent. If that is so, why are you afraid?" he asked. Rao said the Front would prepare a plan to irrigate every acre of land in the country as it had sufficient water. "We will irrigate all 40 crore acres of land in the country in six to seven years." Stressing the need for decentralisation, he called for transferring subjects like agriculture, education, rural and urban development, drinking water and health to the state. "Why should the Centre keep subjects like laying roads in villages and paying wages under MNREGA?" he asked. The Centre, he said, should instead focus on key issues like diplomacy and to save the lives of Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. "China and other neighbouring countries are progressing very fast but we are not competing with them because of the weak leadership. We have all the resources, human power that is willing to work. What we are lacking is the strong and determined leadership," he added. --IANS ms/ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A protest meeting, called by local civil society groups and backed by the influential Roman Catholic Church in Goa, on Friday demanded scrapping of the decisions of the BJP-led coalition government to adopt a controversial land use plan. It also opposed creation of a series of planning of development authorities, which, according top the protesters, were aimed at selling large tracts of land to the real estate lobby and hospitality industry. The rally, which was also attended by representatives of opposition political parties, also released names of politicians from the Congress, the BJP as well as regional Goa Forward party, who, according to the speakers at the meeting, had benefited from illegal conversion of land, which was later sold to real estate companies and hospitality industry related firms. "We want the government to scrap the Regional Plan 2021 and the Planning and Development Authorities which are only promoting illegal conversion of land in rural Goa. There is no planning process involved in the land conversion," said activist Abhijit Prabhudessai at the meeting, which was attended by over 5,000 people. On Sunday, at services in churches across Goa, parish priests had urged Catholics as well as local residents to attend the meeting. The Regional Plan 2021 is the Town and Country Planning Ministry's visionary document, which is aimed at rationalising use of land in India's smallest state. Goa is already facing a land crunch for infrastructure as well as housing projects, with real estate prices shooting through the roof. The Planning and Development Authorities, which function under the Town and Country Planning Ministry, were initially aimed at ratifying land use plans for cities and urban areas and have been accused of corruption, during the reign of successive governments, headed by the Congress as well as the BJP. A slew of such Authorities set up by the incumbent government has triggered civil society protests across the state. --IANS maya/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has been summoned by a Special Investigation Team of the Goa Police Crime Branch which is probing a Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam. Congress MLA Kamat, along with then Principal Secretary Mines Rajiv Yaduvanshi, other bureaucrats and officials of top iron ore mining companies in the state have been accused of the scam unearthed by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission in 2007. Kamat has been asked to be presented before the SIT officer at the Crime Branch premise on Monday. The SIT was appointed by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. --IANS maya/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Google on Friday celebrated freedom fighter, women's rights activist, Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Mahadevi Varma with a doodle. On this date, in 1982, the Bharatiya Jnanpith honoured her with the prestigious award for her "outstanding contribution towards literature". Guest artist Sonali Zohra has designed the doodle that shows the transformative poet busy penning her thoughts into beautiful verses under a tree by the field on a breezy afternoon. Often referred to as 'modern Meera' for ushering in the era of romanticism in Hindi literature, Varma was born on March 26, 1907, in Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh into an orthodox family. Married at the tender age of nine in 1916, Varma remained at her parental home to continue her education at Crossthwaite Girls' School in Allahabad. The spirit of a writer was kindled by Varma's mother who inspired her daughter to write in Sanskrit and Hindi, according to Google. She penned her first verses in secret, while pursuing a master degree in Sanskrit. However, her roommate and friend, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan (a well-known poet) discovered her talent soon. Varma is revered as one of the foundational poets of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi literature, the Google blog said. Her poignant poetry and essays, mostly centred around her feminist outlook. In her biography "Mere Bachpan Ke Din" (My Childhood Days), Varma wrote that at a time when a girl child was considered a burden upon the family, she was very fortunate to be born into a liberal family. Her works appeared in magazines and books. Her collection of short stories "Sketches from My Past" portrays those women whom she encountered as the principal of an all-girls school. Though a firm supporter of women's rights, Varma also explored the topics of tradition and the past with great fondness, it added. Varma was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1956, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1979, and Padma Vibhushan in 1988. She passed away on September 11, 1987. --IANS in/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Christine Schraner Burgener, a Swiss diplomat with conflict resolution experience in Southeast Asia, as his special envoy for Myanmar. Since Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar left the position of Secretary-General's special adviser on Myanmar at the end of 2016 when Ban ki-Moon completed his term as UN head, the world body has not had a top-level pointsperson on Myanmar even as India's neighbour spiralled into a deepening ethnic conflict spawning a refugee crisis. Burgener's appointment was announced Thursday by Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, on the eve of the Security Council's visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh to study the Rohingya crisis. Guterres has been under pressure to appoint a special envoy and the General Assembly even passed a resolution in December urging him make the appointment. Burgener "led efforts to mediate between the two sides in the violence that erupted in Thailand in 2010" while she was the Swiss ambassador in Bangkok, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres said Thursday. More than 80 people were killed in 2010 in Thailand during two months of confrontation between the military and the opposition demanding elections. Burgener has a family connection to Myanmar: Her husband Christoph Burgener was Switzerland's ambassador to Myanmar while she was the envoy in Bangkok. A career diplomat, she is currently the Switzerland's envoy to Germany and Dujarric said she will join the UN full-time. The UN has had a contentious relationship with Myanmar, which has been criticised by the Security Council and the General Assembly as well officials for its treatment of the Rohingya minority. Over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state since August when attacks on security posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army was met with wholesale retribution by the Myanmar military and civilian vigilantes. Guterres has likened the conditions that led to the exodus of the Rohingyas to ethnic cleansing. In January, Myanmar blocked UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee from visiting the country to study the state of human rights. Asked about getting the military dominated government there to agree to Burgener's appointment, Dujarric said, "The authorities in Myanmar were consulted, as others in the region were." The UN withdrew its resident coordinator in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien of Canada, in October amid allegations she did not give priority to human rights issues. Knut Ostby of Norway was appointed to succeed her. Nambiar, who was a member of the Indian Foreign Service, served as Ban's chef de cabinet before his appointment as the special adviser on Myanmar. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS al/ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gujarat High Court on Friday ordered lie detection, Narco Analysis and Brain Mapping tests on three family members of a 7-year-old girl who, according to her family, was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assault by her teacher. The court order came after the lie detection and other tests were conducted on the accused, Sunilbhai Damor, which raised serious doubt regarding his involvement in the alleged crime. "Levelling allegations of sexual assault against any person is something very serious. Ultimately, there is no way the person can be compensated if such allegations are found to be false," Justice J.B. Pardiwala said. Justifying the need for the tests to be carried out on the applicants, the court said: "The first informant, her son and the mother of the victim, they all should be subjected to the three tests. Subjecting these three witnesses to scientific tests... will make the picture more clear...If any of the three offer any resistance in this regard then the same by itself will be an indication of their guilty conscience." In 2017, the grandmother of the girl had filed a police complaint alleging that she was sexually assaulted by the head teacher of Shahpur Municipal School. The police registered the case against Damor under various sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, Damor's lawyer said allegations against his client were false and that the child was tutored by her parents and family. The Gujarat High Court later asked the accused to undergo lie detection, Brain Mapping and Narco Analysis tests. "The reports of the three tests on the accused prima facie create a serious doubt regarding his involvement in the alleged crime. In fact, the report of the Narco Analysis as well as the report of the Brain Mapping test gives a clean chit to the accused. The two reports state in clear terms that the accused is innocent," the court observed. The allegations were also not substantiated by the statements of other girls in the class. Stating that the criminal court was guardian of not only the victims alone, Justice Pardiwala said: "While the courts protect a genuine victim, it is equally the duty of the court to ensure that an accused is punished only for the act which he has actually committed." While granting regular bail to the accused in the case, the court, however, said that the reports of the three tests by itself would not put an end to the trial and it would be open for the prosecution to lead appropriate evidence, both oral as well as documentary, for the purpose of establishing its case beyond the reasonable doubt. --IANS amc/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, for voting against the government during a confidence motion moved by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami last year. Dismissing the petition filed by DMK Whip R. Sakkrapani, the court said it could not interfere in the Assembly Speaker's domain. The court said it had the power of judicial review of decisions taken, but could not interfere in a matter where the Speaker had not taken a decision. It also referred to a case pending in the Supreme Court on a similar issue arising from Andhra Pradesh. The disqualification petition was filed against 11 AIADMK legislators for voting against the confidence motion on Chief Minister K. Palaniswami government on February 18, 2017, defying the party whip. At that time, Panneerselvam had rebelled against the party led by jailed leader V.K. Sasikala. Later, Panneerselvam merged his group with the one led by Palaniswami who sidelined Sasikala and her relative T.T.V. Dinakaran. The petition for disqualification was filed by Sakkarapani soon after Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal disqualified 18 legislators owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader Dinakaran. The legislators belonging to Dinakaran camp had also written to the Governor expressing their loss of confidence in Chief Minister Palaniswai and requested him to appoint a new Chief Minister. The case filed by the disqualified legislators against the Speaker's action is pending before the high court. As per the party position in Tamil Nadu assembly, the ruling AIADMK has 116 members followed by DMK-89, Congress-8, IUML-1, Independent-1, the Speaker and 18 vacant seats, totalling 234. Besides, there is one nominated member without voting right. On Friday, the court also dismissed another petition filed by DMK lawmaker J. Anbazhagan against the unveiling of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's portrait in the Assembly. Welcoming the two judgements , K. Pandiarajan, the Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, said the court's decision was validation of Tamil Nadu Speaker's decision. He said the opposition parties might be disappointed but it would give them clarity as to what kind of cases could be filed in the courts. Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said the two orders of the court on Friday was like having milk and fruit together. "It is a twin happy news. Justice has been done." --IANS vj/nir/mr/vsc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Drinking kefir -- a fermented probiotic milk known to help maintain the balance of good bacteria in the digestive system -- can have a positive effect on blood pressure by promoting communication between the gut and brain, a study conducted on rats has found. After nine weeks of kefir supplementation, the treated rats had lower levels of endotoxins -- toxic substances associated with disruption in the cells --, lower blood pressure and improved intestinal permeability when compared with the untreated group. In addition, kefir supplementation restored the natural balance of four different bacteria in the gut and of an enzyme in the brain essential for normal nervous system function, suggesting that the nervous and digestive systems work together to reduce hypertension, the results showed. "Our data suggests that kefir antihypertensive-associated mechanisms involve gut microbiota-brain axis communication during hypertension," said the researchers including Mirian Silva-Cutini, of Auburn University in Alabama, US. The findings will be presented at American Physiological Society's (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego. Previous research has shown that an imbalance in the gut's colony of bacteria (microbiota) may cause high blood pressure in some people. Similarly, probiotics -- live bacteria supplements that are beneficial to the digestive system -- have been found to lower blood pressure, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. For the study, the team studied three groups of rats -- treated, untreated and control -- to determine how kefir reduces high blood pressure (hypertension). --IANS rt/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb questioned the "beauty" of Diana Hayden, the former Miss World has slammed the thought that 'light skin is better', and said she is proud of her exotic brown skin colour. Deb reportedly said in Agartala on Thursday that international beauty contests were a farce as the results were all predetermined. He also said he failed to understand the "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Diana was crowned. "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden," Deb said. Diana is hurt. "That's some strong disapproval of me winning the Miss World title," Diana said in a statement. "With regards to me winning the Miss World, it's a pity and shame, that when you win the biggest and most respected beauty pageant in the world, you get criticised and put down as opposed to being appreciated and respected for bringing more accolades back home and further appreciation of our Indian brown exotic beauty. "It's also hurtful," she added. Pointing out at the bigger issue, Diana said: "Being brown skinned, I've had to fight the 'light skin is better' issue we have in India. I felt so strongly about it that I turned down a fairness cream ad because it went against my belief. We are Indians and predominantly our skin colour is brown and we should be really proud of it and learn to appreciate it like it's appreciated around the world. "It's obviously that our skin colour difference is on his mind as he is comparing me to Ash (Aishwarya) and not Priyanka (Priyanka Chopra) or Manushi (Manushi Chhillar) who currently holds the Miss World title, and very deservedly so. "Shame on him as our beautiful, exotic brown colouring is to be proud of. I sure am!" Celebrities from the film industry took a dig at Deb's comment. "Is Lara Dutta (Miss Universe 2000) an Indian beauty? (Just trying to confuse him)," tweeted film editor-director Shirish Kunder. Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted: "I condemn the irresponsible statements issued by Biplab Deb, the CM of Tripura on Diana Hayden. He should realise that it takes lots of hard work to be Miss World. He has not insulted Diana Hayden, but the entire women fraternity." --IANS dc-rb/sug/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seoul and Pyongyang on Friday agreed to work together to realise a "complete" denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula following a historic summit between the two countries' leaders that came after a gap of over a decade. The agreement was part of a joint declaration issued after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit earlier in the day at the truce border village of Panmunjom, reports Yonhap News Agency. "South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearisation," said the declaration signed by both the leaders. They shared the view that the recent steps that the North had taken were "very meaningful" and "important" for denuclearisation efforts and agreed to do their respective part in that matter, the declaration said. The two Koreas had earlier agreed to denuclearise their countries and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula in their two previous summits held in 2000 and 2007. The talks began at 10.15 a.m., about 45 minutes after Kim crossed the MDL, becoming the first North Korean leader to do so since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. "It is good to see you," Kim said to Moon, waiting just south of the MDL for their first-ever encounter that was quickly followed by a handshake. "I cannot stop my excitement as we meet here at such a historical place. Also, it is very moving that you, Mr. President, have come to Panmunjom, the demarcation line, to greet me," the North Korean leader said. Kim surprised many by inviting Moon to briefly cross the inter-Korean border to the North Korean side, which South Korean officials said was not pre-arranged. Moon expressed his gratitude to Kim for agreeing to hold the summit. "The moment Chairman Kim crossed the Military Demarcation Line, Panmunjom became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division. I wish to again express my respect to Chairman Kim Jong-un's decision that made today's discussions possible," the President said The summit came amid thawing ties this year that followed heightening tensions between the Koreas, Yonhap News Agency reported. Pyongyang staged nearly a dozen missile tests since Moon took office in May 2017, while also conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September. Friday's summit marked the third inter-Korean summit and the first to be held in South Korea. The leaders' talks ended shortly before noon. Kim returned to his country in a black limousine that crossed the inter-Korean border while surrounded by nearly a dozen North Korean guards. He will cross the inter-Korean border again later in the day for various events that will include a friendship walk with Moon. Moon will host a welcoming dinner later in the day for Kim and possibly his wife, Ri Sol-ju. --IANS ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The leaders of North and South Korea pledged on Friday to work towards a "common goal" of denuclearizing their peninsula and formally ending the Korean War by the end of this year, following a historic day of talks on the border that divided them for almost seven decades. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a joint declaration said that "there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun". The agreement was signed and issued after their bilateral summit earlier in the day at the truce border village of Panmunjom, inside the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone, Yonhap news agency reported. The US, Russia, China and Japan hailed the historic meeting and the commitments to peace signed by the North and South Korean leaders. The one-day summit started on an upbeat note with the leaders outlining efforts to make "good progress". "I cannot stop my excitement as we meet here at such a historical place. Also, it is very moving that you have come to Panmunjom to greet me," Kim told Moon shortly after the walking over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to the South Korean side of Panmunjom. Kim invited the South Korean President to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the pair stepped back into South Korea -- all the while holding hands. They planted a pine tree on the demarcation line in the demilitarized zone as a symbol of peace and prosperity. Kim became the first North Korean leader to have stepped on South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The Moon-Kim meeting was the third inter-Korean summit but the first to be held in South Korea. South and North Korea agreed to completely cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including land, air and sea. Both the leaders also agreed to push for disarmament "in a phased manner". Efforts to reduce military tension will include formally ending the Korean War by replacing the armistice with a peace treaty. The North Korean leader is already set to hold a bilateral summit with US President Donald Trump, who earlier said the first-ever US-North Korea summit will likely take place in May or early June. Moon and Kim also reached an agreement on a wide range of steps aimed at promoting peace between the divided Koreas and their people. A Red Cross dialogue will be held to discuss a resumption of reunions between families separated by the countries' division. The countries will also set up a new, joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong. Moon and Kim met again later in a welcome dinner hosted by the former. They were joined by their wives and 60 other officials and people from both countries. Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju, and Moon's wife, Kim Jung-sook, also held a brief meeting before the start of the dinner at Panmunjom. US President Donald Trump praised the agreements and tweeted: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The US... should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" But he also struck a note of caution. "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" The Kremlin welcomed the Koreas meeting and said it "positively regarded the results of the held negotiations". China called the summit "a historic occasion" and expressed hopes that it would create a new opportunity for stability on the Korean peninsula. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also praised the meeting, although he said he would continue to monitor the progress of the apparent rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition for early release filed by S. Nalini, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The court dismissed the petition citing a pending case in the Supreme Court. Nalini had sought premature release as she had completed more than 25 years in jail. In her petition, she said that under Article 161 of the Constitution the Governor had the power to pardon and release a prisoner. She petitioned the court to order the state government to release her. Nalini's petition was opposed by the Tamil Nadu government citing the case pending in the Supreme Court. Nalini was sentenced to death by a special court for her involvement in Gandhi's assassination at Sriperumbudur near Chennai on May 21, 1991. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after Sonia Gandhi, the former Prime Minister's widow, sought clemency -- for the sake of Nalini's daughter. Nalini, an Indian, had accompanied the Sri Lankan woman suicide bomber who blew up Rajiv Gandhi with concealed explosives. Nalini, who was a close friend of an LTTE operative known as Sriharan alias Murugan, another accused in the case, later gave birth to a girl in prison. --IANS vj/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Minority Commission member Afzal Chaudhary, sacked on Thursday by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was arrested here on Friday on charges of forgery and impersonation. Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna told the media that Chaudhary would at times "pull up" the officer and also District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari on telephone pretending to be former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha or Gujarat leader Shankarsinh Vaghela or Ashok Bhan, an MLA and son of former Uttar Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan. Once Chaudhary even impersonated Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, Krishna said. The police officer became suspicious and the calls were traced to Mumbai. "Once he spoke to me on telephone very rudely to get road rage accused Jan Mohd and Abid freed from police custody. The two had thrashed an UPSRTC conductor and driver." Similarly, District Magistrate Maheshwari was also told to settle a land dispute in Masuri area in favour of a retired officer. "Our investigation showed it was found that the accused Afzal used to impersonate different people to get illegal works done." On Thursday night, however, he was nabbed from near the BSNL office in Raj Nagar District Centre. A Mercedes car and a mobile phone and five SIMs were recovered from him. Also arrested was an accomplice, Krishna Kumar. "During sustained interrogation he revealed his identity as Afzal Chaudhary. A criminal case has been registered against him and his accomplice... A reward of Rs 5,000 has been awarded to the police team for their good work." --IANS sps/mr/nir/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of the crucial Chengannur bye-election, Kerala Congress (Mani) chief K.M. Mani on Friday tried to drive a wedge between the ruling Left allies, saying the CPI wants the CPI-M candidate to lose in the May 28 polls. The unexpected demise of sitting CPI-M legislator K.K. Ramachandran Nair in January 2016, has led to the bye-election, the date of which was announced late on Thursday. As the result could have a huge bearing on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls Chengannur is a must win for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as he completes two years in office. Mani's party has six legislators, and has a reasonable support base of around 5,000 votes and each vote counts. All the three rival fronts -- the Congress-led United Democratic Front, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left, have met Mani and sought his party's support for the upcoming polls. The only exception being the Communist Party of India, whose state secretary Kanam Rajendran, has made it very clear that Mani's vote was not needed, nor was the Left looking for a new ally. Asked about how his party members would vote in the May 28 polls, Mani said: "He (Rajendran) is trying to kill two birds with one stone. "As he has nothing to lose in the Chengannur bypoll, and it is the CPI-M candidate trying to retain the seat, Rajendran wants the CPI-M candidate to lose." "Very soon our party will meet and decide on what needs to be done in Chengannur," he added. Ever since Mani broke away from the Congress-led-UDF in 2016, the CPI-M who leads the Left ruling coalition has been extending an olive branch to Mani, but Rajendran has been against it. His adamant stand has not gone down well with the CPI-M. CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the media on Friday that no ally of the Left could make such a statement. Such decisions are taken only by the Left Democratic Front. "Rajendran cannot make such a statement as no ally can take such decisions. We want the vote of all in Chengannur to defeat both the Congress and the BJP," said Balakrishnan. CPI-M candidate Saji Cheriyan said: "I certainly want all votes, including that of Mani's party." Chengannur for close to three decades was a Congress citadel, until Nair broke it in 2016. In the 2016 assembly polls, Nair secured 52,880 votes while sitting two-time Congress legislator P.C. Vishnunath got 44,987 votes; BJP's P. Sreedharan Pillai came a close third with 42,682 votes. --IANS sg/in/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Friday said it has planned to restrict manufacture of oxytocin formulations for domestic use to the public sector only and has banned its import to check wide misuse of the hormone, which is harmful to animals and humans. "The regulations with regard to manufacture of oxytocin for domestic use will come into force on July 1, 2018. However, the ban on import takes place with immediate effect," a Health and Family Welfare Ministry statement said. Oxytocin is a hormone that causes increased contraction of the uterus during labour and stimulates ejection of milk into the ducts of the breasts. Its misuse is widespread in the dairy industry and is also used to increase the size of vegetables. The Central government regulated the manufacture of oxytocin under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. As per the regulations, manufacture of oxytocin formulations for domestic use will be by public sector undertakings or companies only. However, its manufacture for export purposes can be done by both public and private sector. All products will have to bear barcodes. The manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the part of the drug that produces its effect, of oxytocin will supply the API only to the public sector manufacturers in case of domestic use but also to private sector in case of export purpose, the ministry said. The makers of oxytocin formulations will directly supply to the registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector. "Oxytocin in any form or name will not be allowed to be sold through retail chemist," the ministry said. The makers can also supply oxytocin to Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) and Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlets. However, these outlets will further supply to public and private registered hospitals and clinics. The ministry said the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2016 had observed that there is large scale clandestine manufacture and sale of the drug oxytocin leading to its grave misuse, which is harmful to animals and humans. The court also suggested regulating its manufacture. The matter was considered by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board and recommended that oxytocin formulations for human use be regulated and restricted to prevent its misuse, which was accepted by the Central government, the statement said. --IANS mgu/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maoists on Friday issued a poster calling for death to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying he has failed the adivasis. An officer from Pazhayannur police station near here bordering Palakkad district said the poster was stuck at a workshop. It read: "Vijayan's head will be cut off." As the police could not register a case on its own, it moved the Wadakanchery Magisterial Court. A probe has begun. The poster was reportedly issued by the "Kerala chapter of Naxalbari". The contents of the poster touches upon the custodial torture and later death of a youth and the beating to death of an adivasi youth by a group of people near a forest area. S.R. Sreejit, 26, who was taken into police custody in connection with the suicide of a 52-year-old CPI-M sympathiser, died in a hospital on April 9 allegedly after he was beaten up in custody. In February, a mentally ill adivasi man, Madhu, died after he was assaulted by a mob in Palakkad district. The poster said that even the basic ration meant for the adivasis was not being distributed properly. Hence it was time to kill Vijayan. --IANS sg/in/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Women are more likely to accept marriage proposals from men with a stronger hand grip -- an established measure of health -- than those with weaker grips, finds a study. Grip strength has been linked to one's ability to cope independently and predicts the risk of cardiovascular diseases as well as mortality. "Our results hint that women may be favouring partners who signal strength and vigour when they marry," said Vegard Skirbekk, Professor at the Columbia University in New York City, US. "If longer-lived women marry healthier men, then both may avoid or defer the role of caregiver, while less healthy men remain unmarried and must look elsewhere for assistance," Skirbekk added. Grip strength is particularly important for older adults and has implications for a host of health risks -- for heart disease and fractures, physical mobility, the capacity to be socially active and healthy and to enjoy a good quality of life. At the same time, marriage confers many of these same benefits, the researchers said. For the study, published in the journal SSM-Population Health, the team examined 5,009 adults' relationship of marital status to grip strength. Handgrip strength was assessed using a vigorimeter, a device that asks participants to squeeze a rubber balloon. The researchers found greater numbers of unmarried men with low grip strength, reflecting societal trends that have increasingly de-emphasised the importance of marriage. "The fact that many men are alone with a weak grip -- a double burden for these men who lack both strength and a lack of support that comes from being married -- suggests that more attention needs to be given to this group, particularly given their relatively poor health," Skirbekk said. --IANS rt/nks/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for not standing up to what they speak. Gandhi here said unlike Modi, the Karnataka government-led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been successful in delivering 95 per cent of the promises made in the previous election manifesto. His remarks came during the release of the party's manifesto, which he described as 'Mann ki Baat' of the people of Karnataka. "The Prime Minister committed that everybody will get Rs 15 lakh in their accounts but not even a single rupee came. He guaranteed a corruption-free India but so many scams have happened under his rule, whether it is Rafael, or Amit Shah's son. "He also said that he would ensure that the farmers get the right price for their yield. Narendra Modi and the BJP don't stand up to what they say," Gandhi told a gathering on the occasion. Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party, he said the Congress' manifesto was released after consultations with every community while the BJP's manifesto will be prepared by the RSS. "When BJP releases its manifesto, three-four leaders will decide it. There will be hidden corruption in it. There will be the idea of Reddy brothers in it. It will be the manifesto of RSS," he said. The Congress President said that Modi likes to tell his "Mann Ki Baat" but the Congress' manifesto is the "Mann Ki Baat of the people of Karnataka". "We believe in the philosophy of Karnataka. We believe is Basavanna philosophy. The state won't have a future if every single person, every single community, every single district is not heard. "We have gone to the people of Karnataka and listened to what they want. Our manifesto is their 'Mann ki Baat'," he added. Present on the occasion, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka is the top job creating state in India and it has received the maximum investments. "We will continue in our efforts to build a 'Nava Karnataka'," he said. --IANS mg-umer/bns/in/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Less than a year after their two armies ended a tense stand-off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on Friday discussed ways to boost Sino-Indian ties as they opened a two-day informal "one of its kind" summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. After being welcomed by Xi with a warm and firm handshake at Hubei Provincial Museum, Modi had a one-on-one meeting with Xi and exchanged views on solidifying bilateral relations, Indian officials said. He also invited Xi to India in 2019. Modi was welcomed at the museum with an impressive cultural performance. "India and China cultural connect goes back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, yoga and other aspects of Indian culture," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar quoted Modi as saying. The Prime Minister said that people of India were proud that President Xi had gone out of his way to receive him twice away from Beijing, Kumar said. As Modi opened talks with Xi, the Indian leader said more such meetings were needed and invited Xi to India next year. "I am grateful for your invite and the welcome extended by you. This is perhaps the first time when you have received an Indian Prime Minister twice away from Beijing," Modi said. "This is a matter of pride for India as you yourself came to Wuhan to welcome me. "You rightly pointed out that leaders of the two countries which represent 40 percent of the world's population are meeting. This is just not an informal summit of two leaders but it has a historical context too." Modi said when he and Xi met informally in July in Hamburg, an informal summit was discussed. "You invited me to informal talks and created a positive environment. This has your personal contribution to this meet. "In the history of 2,000 years, the economies of India and China were the anchors of the world economy for 1,600 years. In these 1,600 years, Indian and Chinese economies together accounted for 50 percent of the world's economy." Xi took Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the museum. Modi arrived at the museum and shook Xi's hand for 30 seconds. Both leaders then took a tour of the site for around an hour. They saw an exhibition of fine relics from the Chinese civilization -- with special focus on the culture of Hubei. Modi and Xi also exchanged views on the relationship and communications between the ancient civilizations of China and India. They will hold another meeting later on Friday with delegations from both sides being present. This will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Chinese President. The talks between the two leaders will be more substantive on Saturday with a walk by the East Lake, a boat ride and discussion at the East Lake guesthouse, which was once Mao Zedong's private villa. India and China, who fought a brief war in 1962 and have a history of mutual distrust, nearly came to an armed conflict near their border in 2017, taking their ties to a new low. However, the rendezvous between Modi and Xi in the heart of China was a sign enough that the two countries were willing for a new start in their tense relationship. The meeting was an offshoot of Xi-Modi discussions just after the resolution of the Doklam crisis on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Xiamen in China. "It is an important meeting between both the leaders. Development is the most important topic for the leaders of these two countries," Long Xingchun, Director of the Centre for Indian Studies at China West Normal University, told IANS. "India can achieve its goal and become a global power in the world with the help of China. China is rich and stronger than India but we also have so many domestic problems to deal with. "The two countries need to prioritize development. Now, America's protectionist policy is not a good news for India and China," Long said. (Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com) --IANS gsh/soni/mr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping agreed that healthy bilateral ties were important for a better world as the two met in the Chinese city Wuhan to re-set the ties between India and China hit by last year's military face-off. On the opening day of the two-day summit, when the Chinese rolled out the red carpet for Modi, both the leaders said they would want more such informal meetings. Modi invited Xi to India in 2019. Modi and Xi, who will have more substantive talks on Saturday, said healthy Sino-Indian ties were imperative to maintain peace and stability in the world. India and China share a tense relationship owing to their 1962 war. Their ties touched a new low last year when their militaries were locked in a face-off near their disputed boundary. While they had a half hour one-on-one meet at the Hubei Provincial Museum, the planned 30-minute delegation level meeting stretched to two hours. "Our two countries have established a closed partnership. Our exchanges and cooperation have made positive progress. China and India have a combined population of 2.6 billion which has an enormous potential," Xi said. "As we meet, international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. "A good China-India relation is an important and positive factor for peace and stability in the world. "I believe in the future, we will meet in a format like this from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your Excellency," Xi added. Modi sounded equally positive. "I agree with your message for peace and stability in the world. India and China can play a big positive role for world peace and stability." "During the five-yearly Congress last year, you talked about the new era (of China). In India, I am talking about new India. This reflects our similar mindset. Your dream of China's new era and our attempt for a new India will benefit the world. "I think the closeness and mutual trust we have established will gradually give way for people-to-people contact and will be good for the bright future. "I am grateful for your invite and the welcome extended by you. This is perhaps the first time you have received an Indian Prime Minister twice away from Beijing," Modi said. "This is a matter of pride for India as you yourself came to Wuhan to welcome me. "This is just not an informal summit of two leaders but it has a historical context too." Modi was earlier welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. Xi and Modi shook hands for 30 seconds. Both leaders then took a tour of the site for around an hour. "India and China cultural connect goes back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, yoga and other aspects of Indian culture," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar quoted Modi as saying. "In the history of 2,000 years, the economies of India and China were the anchors of the world economy for 1,600 years. In these 1,600 years, Indian and Chinese economies together accounted for 50 percent of the world's economy." Xi took Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the museum. Modi presented Xi reprints of two paintings done by the celebrated Chinese painter Xu Beihong (1895-1953) during his stay in Shanti Niketan in 1939-40. Xu came to Shanti Niketan as the first visiting professor from China. Modi and Xi saw an exhibition of fine relics from the Chinese civilization. They also exchanged views on the relationship and communications between the ancient civilizations of China and India. On Saturday, Modi and Xi will walk by the East Lake, have a boat ride and hold discussions at the East Lake guesthouse. (Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com) --IANS gsh/soni/mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Chinese President Xi Jinping reprints of two works by celebrated Chinese painter Xu Beihong. Modi is in the Chinese central city of Wuhan to hold two-day talks with Xi. Xu came to Shanti Niketan as the first visiting professor from China. Titled the Horse, and Sparrows and Grass, the paintings were done by Xu during his stay at Shanti Niketan in 1939-1940. These paintings were in the collection of the Vishwa Bharti and their single reprints especially commissioned by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the informal summit. Rabindranath Tagore put an exhibition of 150 paintings by Xu in December 1939. --IANS gsh/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday opened their two-day informal talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Modi arrived at the Hubei Provincial Museum at around 3.30 p.m. and warmly shook Xi's hand for 30 seconds. Both leaders were to take a tour of the site for around an hour. Xi and Modi will hold another meeting at 6 p.m. with delegations from both sides being present. This will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Chinese President. The talks will be more substantive on Saturday with a walk by the East Lake, a boat ride and discussion at the East Lake guesthouse, which was once Mao Zedong's private villa. India and China, who fought a brief war in 1962 and have a history of mutual distrust, nearly came to an armed conflict near their border in 2017, taking their ties to a new low. However, the "one of its kind" rendezvous between Modi and Xi at the heart of China was a sign enough that the two countries were willing for a new start in their tense relationship. The meeting was an offshoot of Xi-Modi discussions just after the resolution of the Doklam crisis on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Xiamen in China. (Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com) --IANS gsh/soni/mr (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The University of Mumbai got a new Vice Chancellor on Friday when Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao announced the appointment of Suhas Raghunath Pednekar, Principal of Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, to the post which had been vacant for six months. The Governor handed over the letter of appointment for a five-year term to Pednekar at Raj Bhavan, ending the uncertainties and speculation over the vacant post. He succeeds Sanjay Deshmukh, who was sacked on October 24, 2017 for creating a mess in examination results which left the government, the academic community and students fuming. Indicating that he was serious about getting the country's premier university back on track, Pednekar said he was taking change "without any celebrations" and requested all well-wishers not to bring flowers or bouquets. "I want to get down to work immediately without celebrations or fanfare... However, if there are any suggestions, they are most welcome," he commented to a private Marathi TV channel. "I believe in direct action without any pressures... I have many challenges before me. The first priority it to ensure the timely schedule of the university examinations, which is a major task," Pednekar said. Expressing the hope that he would be able to work smoothly with everyone, he said the 160-year-old university has "a great tradition" and it would be his responsibility to take it further. He urged everyone to "cooperate by keeping aside differences". With a doctorate in Green Chemistry from the Stevens Institute of Technology in the US, Pednekar has a rich experience of nearly three decades as a chemistry teacher, professor, researcher, guide and principal. In 2012, he was conferred the Best Teacher Award of the Maharashtra government and Tata Chemicals Ltd awarded him the Best Chemistry Teacher honour. Besides having vast administrative experiences at various levels in the higher set-up, Pednekar is connected with major organisations like Indian Science Congress and Indian Chemical Society. The much-anticipated appointment comes six months after the former incumbent was removed from the post for the chaos in the declaration of examination results which severely dented the university's global image, reputation and credibility, besides hitting the careers of students. Pednekar took charge from Devanand Shinde, the Vice Chancellor of Shivaji University Kolhapur, who was entrusted the additional charge of the University of Mumbai. --IANS qn/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Bank of Myanmar will introduce quarter tical gold coins with new design to meet high demand, the state bank said on Friday. The portrait of late national hero and Father of the Nation of modern-day Myanmar General Aung San is engraved on the new coin, Xinhua news agency reported. His daughter is State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The Central Bank of Myanmar has been issuing quality tical, half tical and quarter tical gold coins since 1991 with images of a ploughing farmer and an elephant hauling a log being depicted on them. The new quarter tical gold coins could be bought at the prevailing gold rate of the day at the Myanmar Gems Enterprise sale centres in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, said the bank. --IANS in/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior officials of Britain's National Health Service (NHS) have condemned a decision by the British government to refuse visas to 100 Indian doctors. The Indians were denied visa after they were recruited as part of a long-running scheme in north-west England which supplies junior doctors to more than 30 NHS trusts. Such doctors have been coming to Britain from India to do their post-graduation courses at their own expense but they are also allowed to work and earn. Most of them return home after their courses unless they can find jobs in England. So it has been helping both parties. Sanjay Arya, an NHS boss in the northern English city of Leeds, says the British government's decision to deny visa to Indian doctors will only harm patients because employers like him will find it difficult to fill gaps in hospital doctor rotas. Jon Rouse, head of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said he was shocked by the rejection of visas to Indian doctors at a time of several shortages of medics at the NHS. The concerned NHS trusts have now written to the ministers in charge of health and home to urgently review the decision. Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said he had heard of another 400 cases of rejected visas since December but it's not clear how many of them are Indians. In Britain, there's a government-imposed cap on the number of visas that can be issued to skilled workers. This includes sectors ranging from health to IT and banking. Britain's Home Office, responsible for issuing visas, has argued that the cap is in the national interest. But the NHS bosses, who're already finding it difficult to retain and recruit doctors from the European Union because of the uncertainties over Brexit, disagree. Ironically, the latest row over visas to Indians coincides with a new exhibition in London to recognise the South Asian doctors' contribution to General Practice in Britain. The Royal College of General Practitionershas honoured a number of veteran GPs, including Dr Shiv Pandey, Dr K.S. Bhanumati and Dr Sri Venugopal. Traditionally India has provided the largest single group of doctors by a country to Britain. There are now about 26,000 doctors working in Britain who were qualified in India. Indian medics have been coming to Britain to work at the NHS even before India became independent. Many came between 1940 and 1980s. Children of some of these doctors also decided to follow their parents' profession. Currently there are 1,724 doctors in UK with the Indian surname "Patel" on the British General Medical Council's list of registered medical practitioners -- only slightly fewer than 1,750 with a common English surname "Smith". The row couldn't have come at a worse time for the British government. It's already been struggling for weeks to deal with the scandal of denial of citizenship or permanent residency status to the so-call Windrush generation, who came to the UK from Commonwealth countries between 1948 and 1971 to fill crucial gaps in the British job market. Although most of those affected are from the Caribbean countries, opposition politicians say there are likely to be at least some victims who came from India and other Commonwealth countries. (Naresh Kaushik is a senior journalist. He can be contacted at uknaresh@gmail.com) --IANS naresh/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) No complaint has been received from the pilot of an aircraft which reportedly developed a snag when Congress President Rahul Gandhi was flying in it on Thursday, said an airport official here on Friday. "Neither the pilot nor the air traffic control (ATC) complained to me about the snag," Hubballi airport Director Ahilya S. Kakodikar told reporters here. The director of the airport, which is managed by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI), also stressed that the aircraft had a safe landing. "It was a safe landing. In case of any abnormalities, the ATC would have recorded it," she said. The Congress on Thursday complained to the Karnataka Police that the Falcon 2000 aircraft in which Gandhi and four others flew to Hubballi, about 400km northwest of state capital Bengaluru, from Delhi suffered a snag mid-air. The complaint, addressed to the state's Director General Neelamani N. Raju, requested the state police chief to "ground" the aircraft at Hubballi and investigate the malfunction. Based on the complaint by Congress official Shakir Sanadi, the police in Hubballi lodged a First Information Report late on Thursday. Gandhi arrived here around 11.25 a.m. on Thursday on a two-day visit to the state to launch the party's campaign for the May 12 assembly elections. --IANS bha/fb/him/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan will send Buddhist relics to Sri Lanka on the occasion of Vesak to be celebrated on April 29, a statement from the Office of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister said here on Friday. The relics would be kept for public veneration at the Prime Minister's official residence from April 29 till May 3, Xinhua news reported citing the statement. Earlier, India also announced that it would send the sacred Buddhist relics to Sri Lanka in view of the Vesak celebration. Vesak is celebrated on April 29 by Buddhists in Sri Lanka to mark the birth, the enlightenment and the passing away of the Buddha. --IANS and/ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Miftah Ismail, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's adviser on finance and a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), took oath as the country's Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Friday. President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to Ismail during a ceremony attended by Cabinet members, party workers and senior officials, Dawn online reported. Following his ascension to the key job, Ismail relinquished his advisory role to Abbasi. His appointment came hours before he was scheduled to announce the 2018-19 budget of the federal government. Ismail's selection as the Finance Minister is a rarity since he is not an elected member of the Parliament. He succeeds Ishaq Dar, who has been in London for medical treatment since October. Dar was declared an absconder by the accountability court due to his failure to return to Pakistan and face the corruption cases against him. Ismail holds a Ph.D from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was Abbasi's special assistant on economic affairs before being promoted to the advisory role. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Anuj Sachdeva believes that two actors or people from any field can be friends as friendship has got nothing to do professions. Anuj will soon be seen in "The Reunion...Jab They Met Again", which is a 10-episode finite series from The Zoom Studios and will premiere on Zoom styled by Myntra on Saturday. It is about a group of friends from Bourbon High's class of 2008 who reunite after 10 years at a hill station where unresolved issues surface and play the party spoiler highlighting the fact that sometimes to look forward, it's important to rewind and see how far you have come. Asked if two actors can be friends, Anuj told IANS: "Two people can be friends. Professions really don't matter. I am friends with a few actors but I would have been friends with them had they not been actors also." "I am friends with a few TV actors like Gaurav Khanna, Hussain, Smriti Kalra, Mohit Malhotra and Angad Hasija. We do hang out as and when we get some free time. Gaurav and I love to play PS4 together. Mohit and I like to go out partying once in a way," he added. On his 'real' life childhood friends, he said: "I have a few college friends from Delhi who I am still quite close to. But I guess I really share a strong bond with a couple of friends whom I met later on in life." How have his real life experiences enabled him to easily connect with his character in the show "The Reunion....Jab They Met Again"? "I did take a few instances of my real life into the character, especially the part where my best friend keeps giving me lectures when I do something wrong and I keep telling her 'lecture mat do' (don't lecture me). "I actually used this line in the show. Other than that, the character was very fictional and not really something I would relate to or be in real life." --IANS nn/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India, along with many other countries, is concerned about the prospects of a global trade war breaking out after recent US protectionist measures and its possible disastrous consequences for national economies, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday. Addressing the first annual general meeting of International Business Congress (IBC) in India, Prabhu said it is to formulate a response to the threats being posed to the global trade order that India organised a mini-ministerial here in March of World Trade Organisation (WTO) members concerned about growing protectionist trends in the developed world and particularly in the US. "There is concern in India, like in other right-thinking countries, that this (protectionist measures) will be disastrous not only for global trade, but for national economies as well," he said. "It is in the face of these challenges that India took the lead to call a meeting of WTO countries on promoting global trade, which has been much appreciated. "The WTO DG (Director General) personally called me from Geneva to put on record the WTO's appreciation of India's contribution to promoting global trade at a time when influential members are questioning it," he added. US President Trump slapped import tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium last month, while China retaliated earlier in April by increasing tariffs by up to 25 per cent on 128 US products from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts. India has sought an exemption from the US tariffs along the lines the latter has allowed to the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Prabhu on Thursday urged the US to take "corrective actions" with regard to the latter's reported imminent plans to prohibit spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in America. Tightening of norms relating to eligibility for an H-1B visa for highly skilled workers are also on the anvil, as announced by the Trump administration. Spouses of H-1B workers in the US will no longer be able to seek employment or set up their own business, as per plans revealed to the US Senate by a senior administration official -- a move that could affect thousands of Indians. Following Trump's election on a protectionist platform, the US has announced stricter norms for issuing the H-1B and L1 visas. "The US is putting certain conditions on trade front which has created issues at both bilateral and multi-lateral levels. I think we need to put this behind as growth in global trade would benefit all," Prabhu had said. "Amidst the talk of trade deficits and other challenges, as long as there is no friendship deficit we will sort out those issues. American companies operating in India benefits both the nations and we must look at more opportunities that will be mutually beneficial to us." --IANS bc/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Friday laid foundation stone for 151 companies at the fourth groundbreaking ceremony of "Momentum Jharkhand" in Deoghar. These companies will invest Rs 2,700 crore in the state. Speaking after laying the foundation stone in Deoghar of Jharkhand, the Chief Minister said: "Jharkhand will become a developed state of the country by 2020-2021. In the next 10 years, it will be developed at par with the developed countries." The state government had taken several steps to end poverty and generate jobs, he said. The condition of Jharkhand had changed in the last two years as businesses were now investing in the state, he added. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jharkhand on May 24 or 25. Rs 50,000 crore will be invested in the state the day Prime Minister will be here," he said. Das said that the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stones for Sindri factory, Adanai ultra power plant in Godda, and for a plastic park and AIIMS in Deoghar. A number of state ministers, Lok Sabha MPs and legislators were present at the foundation stone laying ceremony. On Wednesday, Mines and Industries Secretary Sunil Barnawal had said that the Friday's investment of Rs 2,700-crore investment would create nearly 10,000 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs in the state. Through Momentum Jharkhand, Rs 8,800 crore had already been invested in the state, which would create around 60,000 direct and 1.75 lakh indirect jobs, he said. Jharkhand had organised "Momentum Jharkhand: Global Investors' Summit" in February 2017. The state had received investment proposals worth over Rs 3-lakh crore during the summit. --IANS ns/nir/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issues of Doklam and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying people of the country want to hear him talk on them. Gandhi referred to Modi's televised speech during talks with Xi Jinping and tweeted that the Prime Minister looked tense. He termed Modi's two-day visit for the informal summit meeting as 'No Agenda' China visit. "Saw live TV feed of your 'No Agenda' China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said. India has been opposed to CPEC, which will pass through Pakistan-administered Kashmir which is claimed by New Delhi. Earlier, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked the Modi government and said it was incapable of sending a strong message to China. In a series of tweets, Surjewala asked if Modi was going to confront China over the Doklam issue during his visit. "As Modiji 'hugs' his friend Xi Jinping, will he remember his innate duty to protect India's strategic interests and question China on occupation of Doklam? "India is facing increasingly aggressive China to intrude into the 'Chicken's Neck' - Siliguri Corridor - by building a new road through south of Doklam (Gateway to the North East), but why is Modi government clueless?" he asked. "Does the Prime Minister accept the failure of his Cabinet Ministers to confront China on creation of 'full-fledged Chinese Military Complex' in Doklam right up to 10m from Indian Army post, during their visit on April 20-24 as an abdication of their duty to the Nation?" Modi and Xi on Friday opened their two-day informal talks in the Chinese city of Wuhan. --IANS ps/nir/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Richa Chadha has wrapped up shooting for "Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai", which she describes as a "fantastic film". "I am extremely happy that I got to be a part of this fantastic film. I have had the rare opportunity of working with some of the best actors in the country at present who are alive. They are so accomplished. So many of them have already won national and international awards," Richa said in a statement. Richa was shooting for the political satire, directed by Anubhav Sinha, in Lucknow. The actress hopes to collaborate with the director again. "I just had so much fun on this. And I know for a fact that this will be a unique film that will be talked about for decades. The fact that the script is so good is why so many actors agreed to be a part of this. I have just loved every moment of my character and it gave me a rare opportunity to display my comedic side," she added. The film also stars Saurabh Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra and Kumud Mishra among many others. -*- Sanjay Mishra is an amazing co-star: Anshuman Jha Actor Anshuman Jha, who is sharing screen space with Sanjay Mishra in the upcoming film "Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain", says the veteran actor -- one of the "finest" -- is an amazing co-star. "There were so many instances and anecdotes we discussed and in some way or the other tried incorporating it in the film. He chuckled about how in his times expressing love was so different from now and I would keep him up to date on how things work today and especially the power of the internet," Anushman said. "Sanjayji, apart from being the finest actor in the country today, is the most amazing co-star one can have. Getting appreciation from an artiste like Sanjay ji is something I hold very special," he added. In the film, directed by Harish Vyas, Anshuman will be seen playing a character who tries to teach a 55-year-old man how to say "I Love You" in English. The film also stars Shivani Raghuvanshi, Ekavali Khanna and Pankaj Tripathi. -*- 'Dilbaro' left Soni Razdan emotional Actress Soni Razdan, who shares the frame with her daughter Alia Bhatt for the first time in "Raazi", says everyone was in tears while shooting the track "Dilbaro". Soni, who is married to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, on Friday morning shared a still from "Raazi". In the photograph, Alia is sporting a bridal look, while Soni, who essays her on-screen mother is seen walking behind her. "This song had us all crying while we were shooting it. We didn't need no glycerine. Mother daughter, bidai, dont go, 'Raazi'," she captioned the image. "Raazi" is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka's "Calling Sehmat", a novel inspired by the almost-unbelievable real-life story of a woman who Sikka named Sehmat, to protect her identity. Alia is playing Sehmat, a Kashmiri woman who marries a Pakistani officer with the intention to source out intelligence details and pass it on to Indian forces. Vicky Kaushal plays a Pakistani officer. "Raazi" is directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Karan Johar and Vineet Jain. It is scheduled to release on May 11. --IANS dc-aru/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of people in South Korea on Friday staged a protest against the historic summit at which leaders of North and South Korea met to discuss the possible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. About 25 people gathered at Imjingak Park in Paju, which is 9 km from the meeting place of Panmunjom, and waved banners criticising North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and the summit, Efe news reported. While waving South Korean and the US flags, the protesters also held up signs that read "Stop North Korea genocide", "It's time to bomb North Korea" and "We must raze China and North Korea and Iran! We are blood alliance!" among others. One man carried a model of a missile ridden by figures depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The group also chanted slogans denouncing the summit and banged on drums. Friday's summit was the first time since the Korean War that a North Korean leader set foot in South Korea. The meeting occurs amid an atmosphere of rapprochement between Pyongyang and Seoul, who technically remain at war. --IANS and/ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the rape and murder of a young girl in Kathua in Jammu and as it asked the accused to respond to the plea for the transfer of trial to Chandigarh. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra stayed the trial which was listed for Saturday in Kathua, saying it would hold a hearing on the plea for transfer of trial on May 7. The victim's father has moved the top court seeking the transfer of trial from Kathua to Chandigarh. Earlier, the Jammu and government had opposed the transfer of the trial saying that the state had a different penal code - Ranbir Penal Code - and transfer of trial would pose inconvenience to the witnesses. Appearing for the victim's father, senior counsel Indira Jaising, while seeking the transfer of trial to Chandigarh - which she said was the next destination in proximity of Kathua, also urged the court to monitor the trial. She also told the court that except for the name, both Indian Penal Code and Ranbir Penal Code were same. The top court had on April 26 said that it would shift the Kathua gang-rape and murder trial out of Jammu and at the "slightest possibility of lack of a fair trial". Meanwhile, the Central government on Friday told the top court that it would extend whatever assistance was required from it. The Central government is a respondent in a related petition seeking transfer of investigation from the Jammu and Kashmir Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation, a plea opposed by the victim's father. The apex court has been moved by two of the accused in the case, Sanji Ram and Vishal Jangotra, seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI. Lawyer Anjua Kapur too has moved a PIL seeking the transfer of investigation to CBI. --IANS pk/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muslim representatives on Friday urged the Supreme Court to refer the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue to a larger five-judge Constitution bench as the Hindu petitioner said the issue should be heard purely as a "property dispute". Appearing for main petitioner Mohammad Siddiqui, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran said considering the "seriousness and importance" attached to resolution of the dispute among the two largest religious communities in the country and their "feelings and sentiments" attached thereto to the case, the matter should be heard by a larger bench. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for other original plaintiff Gopal Singh Visharad, opposed this, saying the case should be dealt as a property dispute and the issue of political or religious sensitivities "cannot be a ground to refer the matter to a larger bench". Salve told a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer that political and religious sensitivities "should be left outside the Supreme Court gates". Salve contended that people have "moved away from 1992" (yjr December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid) and the court has to decide the case "strictly on law" as it's a simple property dispute case. As per the prevalent practices and traditions of the Supreme Court, the appeals against orders passed by a full bench of any high court have always come up for adjudication before a three-judge bench of the apex court, instead of a two-judge bench, Salve added. Appearing for the deity, Ram Lalla Virajman, senior advocate K. Parasaran also opposed the matter being heard by a Constitution bench. At the outset, advocate Ramachandaran said, the apex court on various occasion has transferred the important matters to Constitution bench and this case should too be heard by larger bench as it concerns issues which have a "grave public bearing". "The decision of the case has a vital bearing and impact on the social fabric of the county because tow major communities are involved." The present batch of matters "not only require interpretation of the Indian Constitution, but also relate to a nationally/considerably important subject matter" and as such the matters be referred to a larger bench" Ramachandran said. The arguments remained inconclusive and the court posted the matter on May 15 for further hearing. Earlier, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Siddiqui, picked holes in the 1994 top court's judgment which, in one of its paragraphs, said that mosques were not an integral part of religious practice of offering prayers. He said that the question to be decided by the court is "what is the meaning of mosque to the Muslims" and "do you take it as a gospel that a mosque is not essential to Muslims and Islam". The court has been hearing a batch of cross petitions challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict that had divided the disputed 2.77 acres site between the Nirmohi Akhara, the Lord Ram deity and the Sunni Waqf Board. The top court was moved by Siddiqui represented by his legal heirs, the Nirmohi Akhara, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, Bhagwan Shri Ram Virajman, All India Hindu Mahasabha's Swami Chakrapani, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the Akhil Bharatiya Sri Ramjanam Bhoomi Punardhar Samiti and others. --IANS gt/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday said that sensational news reporting to increase circulation or viewership will boomerang. Inaugurating the South India Summit 2018 here, Purohit said news cannot be manufactured. It should be factually correct based on factual position while the journalist is free to make his own interpretation. "It is possible that in the competition for increasing circulation or viewership some journalists indulge in sensational reporting with a view towards capturing a larger share," Purohit said. "But that, apart from being unethical, is also bound to boomerang after some time. The truth is like the shining sun and cannot be hidden away from the people," Purohit added. According to him, a passing cloud may cover the sun for a short period but the sun would come blazing with greater brilliance. According to him, press and the visual have to play a vital role in propelling South India further as an important contributor for the growth and development of the country. Pointing out the rapid urbanisation, better infrastructure and educated population, South India would be making huge strides in economic growth in the coming decades, Purohit said. Therefore, the industry was also poised for a "quantum leap", he added. --IANS vj/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A campaign to create positive awareness about Sikhs and the turban in the US has been named finalists for prestigious social awards in the "Multicultural Community Engagement" and "Social Activism" categories. The National Sikh Campaign's (NSC's) $1.3-million "We Are Sikhs" initiative was chosen as finalists in those categories for the Shorty Awards, which honour the best content creators and producers featured on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat and other social "Our aim was to change the hearts and minds of Americans across the country by presenting the Sikh values of equality, freedom and community service in understandable ways in order to remove stigmas surrounding Sikhism and reshape perceptions of Sikh Americans," said Rajwant Singh, a co-founder of NSC. Earlier in 2018, the "We Are Sikhs" campaign received the top 2018 PRWeek US award in the Public Cause category. --IANS abl/soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 10 million Syrians who have fled the countrys raging war have been told to lay claim to their homes by early May or risk forfeiting them to the state, the media reported on Friday. A property law announced this month has raised widespread fears that Syrian citizens who have opposed President Bashar al-Assad face permanent exile and that other people considered loyalists may be given access to their communities, reports the Guardian. With the majority of internally displaced and overseas refugees unable or unwilling to return to prove ownership of properties, analysts and exiles say the law, known as Article 10, and the tight timeframe surrounding it could serve as an instrument of demographic change and social engineering. It has drawn parallels with laws enacted in Lebanon after the civil war to seize land in central Beirut, and the absentee property law in Israel in 1950 that legalised seizures from Palestinians driven from their lands. The Syrian law empowers local administrations to re-register property ownership within their areas, a move that requires landowners to be present. "For millions of internally displaced and refugees, such proof (of ownership) will most likely be mission impossible," the Guardian quoted Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, as saying. "Many left without title deeds, some lived in informal settlements, therefore without legally recognised proof of ownership and for others - mainly refugees - going back to Syria to provide such proof is tantamount to a suicide mission." --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday said it has arrested a teacher for raping a minor student. Senior Superintendent of Police Syed Imtiyaz Hussain told IANS that the incident came to light when the alleged rapist took the girl to a hospital in Pattan town for medical termination of her pregnancy. "Doctors at the hospital got suspicious and contacted the father of the girl, who lodged an FIR with the police. The accused was immediately arrested," Hussain said. The girl is a Class 11 student and is 17 years and 10 months old. --IANS sq/in/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having "no agenda", but reminded him to raise the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops last year and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with the leadership there. Gandhi mocked Modi, saying "you look tense" on the visit. However extending his party's support, he told the prime minister that India wants to hear him talk about these crucial issues - Doklam and CPEC - with China. "Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through POK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said on Twitter. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam area last year. The face-off ended through negotiations after 72 days. The CPEC, a part of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India opposes the controversial project. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. During the visit, the two leaders will have a series of one-on-one conversations on bilateral, global and regional issues. Questioning the idea of a Congress-led political front at the national level, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday said the country will have to put an end to the 'by default politics' where Congress party gets power when people are angry with BJP and vice versa. "Both these parties ruled the country for over 60 years. What have we achieved under them? Nothing. Where is China, which was far behind India in 1947, now and where are we today? This alone will tell you how they failed the people of this country," Rao said at the ruling Telangana ... Police have arrested three people for allegedly smuggling 10 bovines in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, police said today. A police team intercepted two vehicles carrying the animals in Nowshera belt of the district today, a police officer said, adding the vehicles were seized and ten bovines rescued. The three bovine smugglers - Showkat Hussain, Mohammad Taj and Jamil - were arrested and a case was registered against them, the police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least four people were killed when Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked northeast Nigeria's biggest city, the emergency services said today, as residents returned home. Violence broke out on the outskirts of Maiduguri last night, with indications the jihadists were trying to reach the city's Giwa Barracks, where suspected militants are held. The attack -- and an announcement that 22 soldiers from a regional force have been killed in fighting this month -- again underlined the threat posed by the Islamist insurgents. Nigeria has repeatedly maintained the Islamic State group affiliate is a spent force and on the verge of defeat. In Maiduguri, Bashir Garga, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said: "There were innocent citizens, four of them, who died. "Very few people were injured and none of them seriously." Five suicide bombers also died trying to detonate their explosives, he added. The Borno state police gave a lower death toll of two, including a member of the civilian militia assisting the military with security against Boko Haram. "The victims and corpses have been evacuated to the state specialist hospital in Maiduguri," said police chief Damian Chukwu. "Normalcy has been restored in the area." Yesterday's attack, which was repelled with the arrival of troop reinforcements and air support, was a rare urban incursion by Boko Haram. Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram in northern Borno around the shores of Lake Chad, which forms the border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Troops from all four countries, and Nigeria's western neighbour Benin, have combined in a regional force to combat the cross-border threat from the group. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today slammed the Narendra Modi government for reportedly approving the diversion of 77 hectares of forest land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and said 99 per cent of India's population would not travel in the "elitist" train. Referring to 13 children being killed when their van was hit by a train at an unmanned crossing in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, Chidambaram said in a series of tweets that the decision to divert forest land reflected the priorities of the NDA government. "On the day when 77 hectares of forest land are diverted for Rs 1,08,000 crore bullet train, 13 children are killed at an unmanned crossing. Bullet train scores over supervised level crossings! Shows priorities of Modi government. "77 hectares of forest land lost. Lives of 13 children lost. What is the gain? An elitist train in which 99 per cent of the population will never travel," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly given in-principle approval for the diversion of 77 hectares of forest land for the Rs 1.08 lakh crore bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The clearances have come with a rider that the remaining deficiencies on pending claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, in proposals submitted by Gujarat and Maharashtra, must be ironed out at the earliest. The two states have also been told to coordinate closely with the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) to speed up the project, the reports said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has set an ambitious targets of 4,100 crore rupees towards capital expenditure on airport infrastructure during the ongoing fiscal and utilising 94 per cent of the total passenger carrying capacity. It will also undertake an airport service quality (ASQ) survey at its top 20 airports, the AAI said in a statement today. The survey will be carried out the Airports Council International, the global trade representative of the world's airport authorities. The targets have been elaborated in the annual performance contract for 2018-19 which the AAI signed with the civil aviation ministry today. The memorandum of understanding was signed between Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey and Chairman of the AAI Guruprasad Mohapatra, specifying various parameters and targets to be performed by the AAI during the year. The parameters and targets include all the major areas of the AAI, including finance, capacity utilisation, research and development, project implementation, human resource and cargo. "The AAI has undertaken an ambitious target of Rs. 4,100 crores towards capital expenditure on airport infrastructure development during 2018-19," the AAI statement said. It has also agreed to set a target to utilise 94 per cent of its total passenger capacity at its airports. The AAI has also agreed to carry out an HR audit at its airports in order to strengthen its human resource, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China yesterday to enquire about his safety after an aircraft carrying the Congress president developed a snag before landing at Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka, party sources said. Gandhi received the call around 2:30 PM, the sources added. The Congress chief is on a two-day visit to the state to canvass for his party for the May 12 assembly polls. "It was a private conversation between the two (over phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the prime minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine," a source told PTI. The plane carrying Gandhi and few more people from the national capital to Hubballi developed a technical snag yesterday, tilting heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state Director General of Police Neelmani N Raju. Vidyarthee was also travelling with Gandhi. The plane landed at the Hubballi airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt, according to the letter, which also said that "the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers". Vidyarthee also tweeted later about the incident, saying the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down. "Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation," Vidyarthee wrote on Twitter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is examining the issue, while the state police have registered a complaint. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister"Nara Lokesh today said the state government, which is"promoting digital technologies in a big way, is also giving equal importance to cyber security. The government had signed an MoU"with global payment provider Mastercard, to bring in the best practices in the field"of cyber security and also to promote financial technology in the state, with Visakhapatnam as the main centre, he told reporters here. "As we are implementing digital solutions for delivery of public services and creating the right eco-system for developing fintech in the state by introducing new technologies such as blockchain, cyber security is of utmost importance to us. Mastercard will assist us in the endeavour," he said. New technologies should be applied to the agriculture sector as well to find cost-effective solutions, Lokesh said after inaugurating a seminar on cyber security organised by the AP government and Mastercard. "Credit rating for farmers is one area we are working on to facilitate easy and timely credit to farmers," he added. """""Mastercard, executive director, Ravi Aurora, said his company had always given the highest importance to cyber security, "as it is the essential pre-requisite for ushering in a digital, cashless economy." "Protecting individuals and businesses from cyber attacks is our major concern and we have multiple layers of security to prevent such attacks," he added. """""IT advisor to the Andhra government, J A Chowdhary, also highlighted the need for a safe and secure cyber eco-system. On the occasion, winners of Cyberthon, a hackathon organised by the state government from April 4 to 25, were felicitated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arunachal Pradesh Textiles Minister Tamiyo Taga has urged the Centre to encourage textiles industry in the state, official sources said today. Taga requested Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani during a textiles ministers' meeting in New Delhi yesterday to set up hosiery and apparel manufacturing units in every district of Arunachal Pradesh. He also sought establishment of power looms, yarn dyeing processing units, raw material banks, silk spinning mills and crafts villages with modern wayside amenities in each district, besides a one-time grant of infrastructure development fund and a one-time fund for installment of improved technology inputs, an official release said here today. Taga apprised Irani of the pending schemes in the textile ministry which are assured but not yet approved. The union minister said that some schemes are drafted slowly due to new guidelines and rules but assured that all the schemes would be sanctioned soon, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today sought direct flights to Bangkok and Singapore from Guwahati to increase the state's connectivity with the East Asian countries. The chief minister was speaking at 'India Economic Summit 2018' at the Bombay Stock Exchange here. Also present on the stage was Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. "I want to request from this stage, direct flights to Asian countries like (capital of Thailand) Bangkok and Singapore from Guwahati. Because development is not possible without communication and connectivity. The Central government already is helping us in sectors like railways, roads and bridges. (Union Transport Minister) Nitin Gadkari has already sanctioned Rs 1 lakh crore for the infrastructure of North Eastern states, especially for communication infrastructure," Sonowal said. "From the time Narendra Modi became the prime minister, he has decided that every Central minister will visit the North East every 15 days. Not just visit, solve issues and complete the incomplete tasks of his department....No PM in the last 70 years has taken such strong steps for the North East," Sonowal said. The region was earlier plagued by law and order problems and corruption, and investors faced many hurdles, he said. "No work got done without money. When we took charge, we announced that Assam will be made a corruption-free, terrorism-free, pollution-free state. In the last few months a relentless approach has been taken against corruption, and 150 officials are in jail and many have been dismissed," he said. More than 22 countries and top business houses of India took part in the Global Investor Summit held in Assam recently, the chief minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hindu religious bodies today told the Supreme Court that the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya was purely a "property dispute" and the issue of political or religious senstivities cannot be a ground to refer the matter to a larger bench. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer was told by senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for original plaintiff Gopal Singh Visharad who was among the first to file a civil suit in the case way back in 1950, that there was no need to refer the matter to a larger bench since a three-judge bench was already seized of it. Salve said that as per the prevalent practices and traditions of the apex court, the appeals against orders passed by a full bench of any high court have always come up for adjudication before a three-judge bench of the top court, instead of a two-judge bench. Senior advocate K Parasaran, appearing for the deity, Ram Lalla Virajman, also supported Salve's arguments and said the matter should be heard by a three-judge bench only. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, appearing for the Muslim bodies and petitioner M Siddiq, said that looking at the sensitivities of the matter and its sheer importance, the case should be referred to a larger bench. The hearing remained inconclusive and would continue on May 15. The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total of 14 appeals filed against the high court judgement delivered in four civil suits. A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP National Secretary H Raja today said the Centre had sought more time in the Supreme Court over the Cauvery Management Board in view of delay by governments of Kerala and Karnataka to nominate their members. Speaking to reporters here, he said that the delay in constituting the CMB was not due to the coming assembly elections in Karnataka. Raja said that as per the directions of the Supreme Court, the board should comprise nine members, of which five will be from the Water Resources Ministry and one each from the riparian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry. However, there was a delay by Kerala and Karnataka in nominating their members, which resulted in the centre seeking further time of two weeks, the BJP leader said. The Supreme Court today agreed to next week hear the Centre's plea seeking two more weeks to finalise the draft Cauvery management scheme, saying discussions were being held at various levels, including the political executives. The Centre said the formalisation of a draft scheme was at an advanced stage and was likely to take approximately two more weeks to enable the government place the draft scheme before the court. On April 9, the Court had asked the Centre to frame a draft scheme and file it by May 3 for implementation of its judgement on distribution of water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states. On corruption, Raja said BJP was fighting corruption across the country and alleged that the Karnataka government was 'totally immersed' in it and the people would look into it (during the polls). Raja said nobody had been arrested so far in connection with the petrol bomb attack on BJP's district functionary C R Nandakumar and the bomb attack on party office some time ago and added that it was an indication of increasing violence against the party. "It has now now become a fashion to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and also Hindus," Raja said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the BJP will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on the issues of development and good governance. "Good governance and development will be the two issues of our party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Singh, who was on a visit to Harihar Dham here, told newspersons. Replying to a question on next month's by-election to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, Singh said he was confident about the BJP's victory. "We have full faith that we will win the Kairana by-election," he said. The by-election will take place on May 28. It was necessitated after BJP veteran Hukum Singh passed away in February. Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China, Singh said India wanted to have good relations with all its neighbours and not just China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several Bodo groups have protested here against the state government's alleged failure to hold further dialogue on the Bodoland issue and called for a five-day national highway blockade in the Bodoland areas from May 2. The All Bodo Student"s Union, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Progressive) and the People"s Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement have formed a Joint Movement Group to spearhead the agitation. They held a demonstration near the Deputy Commissioner's office here and submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Nrendra Modi through the deputy commissioner of Kokrajhar demanding immediate creation of a separate Bodoland and to expedite the process of dialogue on Bodoland issue at the political level on Wednesday. Some of the activists tonsured their heads and wore black badges during the demonstration. "It is a great disappointment to the Joint Movement Group that no talk has been held till date as was promised by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh," ABSU president Pramod Boro told reporters. Boro also said that they had called a five-day National Highway blockade in the Bodoland areas from May two in support of their demands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French first lady Brigitte Macron has heaped praise on her "fun" and "intelligent" American counterpart Melania Trump after her three-day visit to Washington. Speaking to Le Monde newspaper and RTL radio, Brigitte said she and "kind, charming, intelligent" Melania had bonded further this week after their first meeting in Paris last July. In Brigitte's telling, Melania in very different in private to in public, where the 48-year-old former model from Slovenia displays little emotion during appearances with her husband. "On the contrary she is really fun," Brigitte said, Le Monde reported in its Friday edition. "We have the same sense of humour, we laugh a lot together. "Everything is interpreted, over-interpreted. She's someone who has a strong personality but she makes an effort to hide it. She laughs very easily at everything, but she shows it less than I do," said Brigitte, who recently celebrated her 65th birthday. Macron's wife, his former drama teacher from high school who is 25 years older than him, said she was still adjusting to the constraints of life as France's first lady, but she was still able to find moments of freedom. "Melania can't do anything, she can't even open a window at the White House. She can't go outside. Every day, I go out in Paris," she said during the interview on Wednesday during the final day of the Macrons' US trip. Brigitte also played down her role as a fashion icon, with each of her outfits widely commented on during her trips abroad. She said the tailored outfits, which are usually provided by French fashion house Louis Vuitton, were a sort of "skin" that helped shield her from all of the attention. "I don't really have that many ideas about what to put on," she said, adding that Louis Vuitton artistic director Nicolas Ghesquiere was in charge of her wardrobe. As for her public responsibilities, she said she did her best not to be a "vase of flowers" in the background of her husband while abroad and joked about the need to respect the choreography of the US state visit. This often involved following stickers on the floor to her position during the ceremonies. "Can it be any other way? I don't know," she said. Brigitte insisted that only her clothes had changed, not her -- reinforcing her down-to-earth image which has made her a more popular figure than her husband, according to polls. "In my head, I'm Emmanuel Macron's wife, not the president's wife. I don't feel like a first lady even though I'm aware of my responsibilities," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today agreed to next week hear the Centre's plea seeking two more weeks to finalise the draft Cauvery management scheme, saying discussions were being held at various levels, including the political executives. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra said it will hear the matter on May 3, on a plea being mentioned by a counsel for Centre. The Centre in its plea said "the applicant states and submits that after the aforesaid order dated April 9, passed by the court, steps are being taken in right earnest in finalising the draft scheme to be placed before this court and for the said purpose detailed discussions are held at various levels with law officers, technical officers and administrative officers of the Government of India". It said "discussions are also on way between the political executives". The Centre said that the formalisation of a draft scheme was at an advanced stage and is likely to take approximately two more weeks to enable the government place the draft scheme before the court. It said that keeping the time schedule fixed by the court in mind, actions were being taken expeditiously. "However, any action taken in haste may frustrate the very object, intent and purpose of the judgement passed by the court and therefore it is not only desirable but in larger interest of justice that this court may be pleased to grant extension by two weeks, by permitting to place draft scheme before this court on or after May 16," the Centre said. The elections to the Karnataka assembly are slated on May 12 and counting of votes on May 15. On April 9, the apex court had asked the Centre to frame a draft scheme and file it by May 3 for implementation of its judgement on distribution of water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states. It had asked the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments to ensure that peace prevails till it finalises the Cauvery management scheme for implementation of its judgment on water distribution. The top court was however critical of the fact that despite a specific direction on the setting up of the scheme within six weeks, the Centre has been unable to do so. It had said the court had considered the award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) while deciding the water share of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry in its judgement. Concurring with the grievances of Tamil Nadu, it had said the entire judgment has to be complied with by all the stakeholders. It had said once the Centre places the draft scheme, which would also include Cauvery Water Management Board and Monitoring Authority, it would consider the grievances of all the stakeholder states. The apex court, in its verdict, had asked the Centre to formulate a scheme to ensure compliance of its 465-page judgement on the decades-old Cauvery dispute. It had modified the CWDT award of 2007 and made it clear that it will not be extending time for this on any ground. The top court had on February 16 raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's share, while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a "higher pedestal". With the apex court's verdict, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry would be annually entitled to 404.25 tmcft, 284.75 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of Cauvery water respectively out of the total of 740 tmcft. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Prem Singh Chandumajra today called for a review of the population criteria for allocation of resources to the states by the 15th finance commission. "The criteria of population adopted by the finance commission for finalising financial assistance to the states is loaded heavily against developed states like Punjab whose population is much less as against the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that have been late starter so far as developmental aspects are concerned. "The rate of growth of population too is comparatively much less. The needs of Punjab are different and hence the same criteria can't be applied to this state that is at a different level of development," Chandumajra said in a statement. Anandpur Sahib MP underlined that in a diverse country like India having glaring regional disparities, the Centre would have to take various other aspects into account rather than focussing mainly on population. The SAD senior vice-president said states like Punjab have already been "loser". Punjab was hit hard when the Centre decided to give special concessions to neighbouring hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir for industrial development, he claimed. "The 15th Finance commission dealt another blow by finalising devolution of resources on the basis of population. This situation would have to change as Punjab was already suffering from stagnation after reaching a plateau, especially in the farm sector," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging that the Chinese Community Party is expanding its authoritarianism abroad, and seeking to control narratives around the world, a top American lawmaker today warned of severe consequences if the US fails to confront it. "There are very real costs involved if we fail to confront China's pernicious authoritarianism at home and increasingly abroad," Senator Marco Rubio said during a Congressional hearing. China's Great Firewall, grave rights violations in ethnic minority regions, arrests of citizen journalists and rights lawyers and suppression of speech are the familiar markings of an authoritarian, one-party state, he alleged. "But to the extent that the same authoritarian impulses animate the Chinese government and Party's efforts abroad, including inside the United States, it directly threatens our most deeply held values and our national interests," Rubio said during the hearing organised by the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). He said a key element in the Chinese government's long arm efforts was focused on information technology and internet governance or sovereignty. "They assert national control of the internet and social media platforms not only in recent domestic cyber legislation and development plans but also at international gatherings. Additionally, there are growing examples of attempts by the Chinese government to guide, buy, or coerce political influence and control discussion of what they deem sensitive topics," Rubio said. During the hearing, Senator Steve Daines called out China for removing the restriction on sale of Bibles on Chinese e-commerce websites and pressed for increased religious freedom in that country. "The freedom to practice your religion without a fear of persecution is a human right that knows no borders. The Chinese government must be held accountable for its blatant infringement on individuals' religious freedom," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cocaine worth about Rs 2.40 crore was seized from a Portuguese national at the airport here, officials said today. Personnel from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Narcotics Control Bureau, acting on a tip-off, intercepted the foreigner upon his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday. A search revealed that he was carrying three kg of cocaine concealed in an electrical appliance, an official press release said. On interrogation, the accused said the drug was handed over to him by an associate in Brazil. The narcotic was meant for a person in Chennai, it said. The Portuguese national was arrested under the provisions of NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 1985 and later remanded to judicial custody, the release said. The officials did not disclose the identity of the arrested foreigner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil today alleged that the newly-published SSC textbooks in Maharashtra have India map without a part of Jammu and Kashmir and also a wrong picture of the national flag, even as the agency responsible for these books countered the claims. In his letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Vikhe Patil sought a probe and arrest of those guilty of this "error" in the Class 10 geography textbook published by the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research for the ensuing academic year. "In chapter 3, page 24, a map of India is published but it is very erroneous as a large part of Jammu and Kashmir is not shown within the borders of the country," said Vikhe-Patil, leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Similarly, in chapter 2 on page 9, a picture of the national flag has been published with wrong colour of the Ashoka Chakra, he alleged. Reacting to the allegations, the bureau director Sunil Magar said the colour of the Ashok Chakra as printed in the textbook is as per the flag code. "While printing a picture with four colours, there can be changes in the colour shades. It is due to technical limitations. This is mentioned on the first page of the textbook," Magar said in a statement. On alleged errors in the map of India with reference to Jammu and Kashmir, Magar said the image on page 24 is not the political map of India. "It is a digital elevation model to make the natural landscape of the Indian land mass clear. The design is helpful to students for solving questions for self-study," he said. The new syllabus was made available for review before publication of the textbook and former professor K U Sonavane had objected to it, Vikhe-Patil said in his letter. "Sonavane pointed out many mistakes including the wrong map and tricolour but his objections were ignored," he said. Vikhe-Patil demanded that the geography textbook be withdrawn and the mistakes be rectified after consultations with experts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accusing the Karnataka BJP of violating the model code of conduct, the Congress today approached the Election Commission over misleading and obnoxious advertisements published by the saffron party to malign the image of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. In its memorandum submitted to the poll body, the Congress also demanded action against members of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) for approving such scandalous advertisements. The party demanded that the EC ban the publication of such advertisements like it did in Bihar on November 4, 2015. A delegation of Congress general secretaries Mohan Prakash and Avinash Pandey, party leaders PL Punia, Vivek Tankha and Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev submitted the memorandum to the Election Commission. That the Karnataka BJP has made grave and vile allegations which are absolutely vague and baseless. These allegations are not based on any verified reports or statistics and broadcasted with an intent to malign the personal image of chief minister, read the Congress's memorandum. Such advertisements are not only misleading, but also amount to exercise of undue influence on unsuspecting and innocent voters, it said. The party said the MCMC ought to have disallowed the screening and publishing of such advertisements when these advertisements were sent for its scrutiny and approval. "The MCMC has failed in its duty to weed out such distasteful and obnoxious advertisements despite appropriate mechanisms of pre-certification and scrutiny of political advertisements being in place," the memorandum stated. If these were not submitted for approval, strict action should be taken not just against the Karnataka BJP, but also against television broadcasters and publishers of the newspapers where they have appeared, it demanded. According to the Congress, one of the advertisements alleged that the Siddaramaiah dispensation had turned Karnataka into hell, and that the state government was responsible for breaking up society, death of farmers and 'patriots'. A TV advertisement also makes explicit use of the chief minister's likeness and position by showing an actor sitting on a chair marked CM '. The actor is shown wearing a heavy gold watch and handing gifts to various individuals, the party added. The much-awaited Karnataka polls are slated for May 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) cost India about 2.54 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014-15, a new study commissioned by the Ministry has found. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan had released the study of Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (EDLDD) conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and commissioned by the ministry during the inaugural session of the four-day Asia Pacific Regional Workshop of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The workshop concluded today. Desertification is the process of fertile land becoming desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. "The report has highlighted that DLDD factors had cost India about 2.54 per cent of its GDP in 2014-15," an official statement released at the end of the workshop today said. Vardhan during the inaugural session had said that globally, drylands lose 23 hectares per minute to drought and desertification which translated into a loss of 20 million tonnes of potential foodgrain production in a year. The workshop had been jointly hosted by the Ministry and UNCCD Secretariat. Addressing the closing session, Union Environment Secretary C K Mishra said the workshop will enable country parties to participate effectively and efficiently in the UNCCD reporting process, to submit the national report in time and in particular for target 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). He added that the workshop has not only provided a diverse and multi-disciplinary knowledge-sharing platform addressing DLDD issues, but also an opportunity to bring all key stakeholders from Asia to India and discuss key aspects of reporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). Deputy Executive Secretary UNCCD Pradeep Monga highlighted the importance of addressing land degradation, desertification and drought for developing countries including India. He commended India for its leadership role in supporting the Convention and putting land agenda at the core of SDGs. Director General of Forests Siddhanta Das said the targets under the Convention can be achieved through carbon sequestration and preventing soil erosion by enriching forests. The four-day workshop (April 24-27) trained the participants in the use of an innovative land degradation monitoring tool by Conservation International, for the reporting process of UNCCD. "This can significantly increase access to large amounts of Earth observation data and make it available in a comprehensible form for decision-makers at national and state level, thereby contributing to achieving the objectives underlined in the Convention. The participants included delegates from about 40 Asia Pacific countries, as well as representatives from 12 Indian states affected by land degradation, scientists and researchers from scientific institutions of national importance and line-Ministries. The participants were trained in the use of the state-of-the-art tool called "Trends.Earth" developed by Conservation International, an NGO. "The loss of productivity in both natural and managed ecosystems has serious ramifications for food security and nutrition, water availability and employment. "Knowing where hotspots or problem areas are, is the first step ahead towards combating land degradation. With this data, policy-makers can prioritize areas for interventions to improve the livelihoods in rural communities that directly depend on healthy land," the statement added. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the only legally binding international agreement on land issues. The Convention promotes good land stewardship. Its 197 parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The end goal is to protect land from over-use and drought, so it can continue to provide food, water and energy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The DGCA has set up a two-member panel to probe the technical snag in a chartered plane carrying Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to Karnataka even as the Civil Aviation minister said appropriate action would be taken if anyone is found wanting after the opposition party alleged foul play. As the Congress described the incident as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play", party sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China yesterday to enquire about his safety. A Civil Aviation ministry official said it would be too premature to conclude any "intentional tampering" as alleged by the Congress. The incident happened during landing of the flight from New Delhi at Hubballi in north Karnataka yesterday. The Congress president was travelling to Karnataka as part of his poll campaign. Alleging "intentional tampering" with aircraft, the Congress party yesterday demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the 10-seater Falcon 2000. Police probing the technical snag are awaiting the arrival of technical experts to examine the problem and submit a report while a senior airport official maintained there was nothing "unusual" in the manner it landed in Hubbali. "The Directorate General of Civi Aviation (DGCA) has set up a two-member panel to investigate the incident. While one member is from the Directorate of Air Safety, the other member is from the Directorate of Airworthiness," a senior DGCA official told PTI. The panel has been asked to submit its report in the next 2-3 weeks, the official added. As part of the probe, the official said the panel would call cockpit crew and also engineers for questioning about the incident. If required, the committee might also call the operations staff of the particular aircraft to gather details, the official said. A senior DGCA official yesterday confirmed that the aircraft had suffered a "technical snag". "According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and landed (the aircraft) safely," he had said, adding that shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. "For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official had said. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said that as soon as he heard about the incident he directed the DGCA to conduct a detailed inquiry and to find out the cause of the snag. "If there is anything found wanting and whoever is responsible for it, we will take appropriate action," Prabhu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. In a letter to Karnataka State DGP Neelmani N Raju, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi said the weather was normal. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...," the letter had said. A senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said DGCA is already looking into the incident and it would probe all the angles as is done with any VIP aircraft involved in such incidents. "It would be premature to comment on anything now including the tampering theory and we would await the probe report," the official said. One of the officials in the Ministry referred to a statement of Hubballi airport director S K Ahalya having reported that the aircraft had a safe landing. The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju yesterday. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the incident as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". He claimed that an aircraft carrying a Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee developing such a snag was unprecedented. During the incident, the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down, Surjewala said. Another complaint was filed with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, he added. On a complaint filed by a close aide of Gandhi with state DGP Neelamani N Raju, an FIR has been registered under IPC sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), police said. "We are waiting for the experts from the DGCA to come aswe have no technical knowledge about the subject. "Based on their report, we will initiate further action," ACP North, Hubballi, H K Pathan, who is the Investigating Officer, said. The aeroplane stationed at the Hubballi airport would also be examined, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Police today arrested five people for allegedly shooting at a disc jockey for refusing to play songs of their choice at a wedding here. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Santosh Kumar Meena said in a statement that a police team apprehended Ravi (23), Sachin(19) and Joginder (27), Deepak (29) and his mother after raids at multiple locations in the city. The woman was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence. According to a complaint filed by DJ Bobby Singh, Ravi shot at him after he refused to play songs of his choice. Singh claimed that Deepak and Ravi took him to a nearby hospital and told doctors that the injury was caused by a screw. The police said they had recovered two country made pistols from the accused. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump today said that he does not think that North Korean leader Kim Jong un is playing, although previous administrations were "played like a fiddle" because the country had different leaders. Trump was responding to a series of questions from reporters on the historic summit meeting between North and South Korean leaders. "I don't think he's playing. No, I don't think he's playing. You know it's never gone like this, it's never gone this far. I don't think it's ever had this enthusiasm for somebody for them wanting to make a deal," Trump said. "I agree, the United States has been played beautifully, like a fiddle, because you had a different kind of a leader. We're not going to be played, OK? We're going to hopefully make a deal, if we don't, that's fine," he said. He praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for being extremely helpful. "Lot of very positive things happened over the last 24 hours," he said. "We're in total touch with both North Korea and South Korea. We'll be setting up a meeting very shortly. We have it broken down to probably two sites now, two or three sites, locations. And hopefully we're going to have great success, we'll see what happens," Trump said. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met today signing an agreement to end their war and denuclearise the Korean Peninsula. Vice President Mike Pence said the North Koreans coming to negotiations table without America giving any concession was a reflection that the intense pressure of sanctions was working. "Any talks, promises, and assurances from North Korea will be met with reservation, vigilance, and verification. Planning for the United States and North Korea Summit continues, but as we've said before the pressure campaign will continue unabated," Pence said. Top American lawmakers have welcomed the peace efforts between North and South Korea. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra today wrote to Union Minister Arun Jaitley urging him not to shift the headquarters of National Insurance Company from the city. "After the announcement of the merger of the three public sector insurance companies in the union budget this year I am apprehensive that the headquarters of the National Insurance Company Ltd might now be shifted away from Kolkata," Mitra wrote to the union finance minister. The National Insurance Company Ltd, based in the city for the last 111 years has assets worth Rs 32,397 crore and a turn over of Rs 16,472 crore, the letter mentioned. The insurance company is in fact already building a state-of-the-art head office in the newly developed financial hub in New Town to expand its business. "You will be happy to know that already 24 banks and financial institutions have taken space for building their offices in this new and upcoming financial hub," he said. The move to shift the company's headquarters would not only hurt the interest of the state's people also that of the people of the eastern part of the country. "I therefore, strongly urge you not to move the company headquarter from Kolkata," he said. As part of the divestment of public sector entities, the 2018-19 union budget had proposed to merge National Insurance Company, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company into one and subsequently list the new entity on the stock exchanges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Experts from India and Egypt have discussed here how emerging technologies in are creating new opportunities as well as challenges, and explored ways of mutual cooperation in the field. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) of the Embassy of India in Cairo organised a seminar on the 'Role of Emerging Technologies in Enhancing Teaching, Enabling Active Learning and Eradicating Illiteracy' here yesterday as part of the monthly seminar series of the MACIC Roundtable. During the seminar, speakers explored the areas of mutual cooperation in the field of for both the countries. They discussed how emerging technologies in are creating new fronts of opportunities as well as challenges. India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya discussed how to include the current and future technologies in the education system, and whether it should be done in separate programmes or subject in the curriculum or is it something to be integrated into the entire curriculum. Shukti Basu, High School Economics and Social Studies Teacher and children education expert from India, said that eduction has now become "student-led", where students are asked to research on their own and the teacher is more of a facilitator rather than a lecturer. "Now the whole generation has changed. It's a digital generation. They go online, get whatever information they want. So, it is very important for a teacher to catchup to the modern technology and has to be confident enough to deliver this confidence to the students because the students are smarter than us in using technology," she said. Professor Mohamed Alzayat, Assistant Professor of E-learning at Egyptian E-learning University and a pan Arab and universal lecturer of E-learning, said that India has gone way ahead in developing education using technology. India and Egypt share same issues and both countries can exchange a lot of knowledge together, he said. Professor Ahmed Daher, Lecturer at AAST and Minster of Education technology consultant, said that Indian companies are dominating the IT field, and that Egypt and India can cooperate in areas like data analytics and data science, which India excelled in. Asser Salama, Chairman of Easy Group, said India made amazing steps in the last 10 years in education development. "Indian universities are among the ranking of best universities all over the world. Indian students are GMs and CEOs in top companies all over the world. And we should learn from the Indian experience and this seminar can be a starting point for cooperation between the two countries," he said. India and Egypt both are your countries with more than 50 per cent of their population below the age of 25 and at the same time, both have a sizable illiterate population. India and Egypt have been trying to device innovative ways to achieve their objectives in a desired time-frame. However, there are a lot of areas where they can learn from each other's experiences, Salama said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A film screening at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on the contentious issue of 'love jihad' was disrupted by a few students' groups who alleged that the movie advocated communal venom and bigotry. The screening titled 'In the name of love - meloncholy of God's own country' was organised by the Global Indian Foundation and Vivekanand Vichar Manch of JNU. Members of the Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union (JNUSU) and Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) disrupted the screening, alleging that a hate campaign was being propagated in the guise of film screening. According to the organisers of the programme, the film focussed on religious conversion of girls in Kerala and the issue of love jihad. However, the students opposing the screening assembled at Sabarmati dhaba to protest against the hate propaganda in the name of love jihad. The students breached the security cordons and disrupted the screening by holding placards in front of the screen. 'Why is the ABVP/RSS hiding behind Vivekanand Vichar Manch? We won't let the RSS's venomous 'Love Jihad' myth be propagated," said a statement issued by the protesters. "No more Dhanyashree will die because of their hate campaign. No more Hadiya will be imprisoned because of their hate campaign. No girl from Meerut will be forced to suffer because she loved," it said. Minor scuffles also ensued between the protesters and ABVP members. Former JNUSU president Geeta Kumari said the movie spreading communal venom and bigotry has been screened by the Vivekananda Vichar Mach, a frontal organisation of the ABVP. "JNU students standing up for gender justice and against politics of hate in the name of Love Jihad protested against such politics. The peaceful demonstrators were showered with eggs and stones to create a situation of chaos," she said. "The JNUSU condemns these anti-social elements that have vitiated the university's atmosphere. It is reminiscent of Ramjas College where the ABVP beat up university students," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire broke out at a hosiery factory on Bahadur Ke Road here, but the 12 workers who were inside the facility managed to escape, the police said today. However, a boy, Surinder Kumar, who was sitting outside the premises of the factory, has told the police that his father Ram Ashish, who was on night duty, was missing. Police Commissioner S S Gill said, "We are considering the boy's complaint very seriously." Smoke was noticed emanating from the factory past last midnight, and then fire engulfed the two-storeyed building. According to police, 12 workers were inside the unit when the fire broke out, and all of them managed to come out of the factory. Twelve fire tenders of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation were pressed into service to douse the flames, a fire department official said. Additional Fire Officer of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Bhupinder Singh Sandhu said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, but it was believed to have been caused by an electric short circuit. Machinery, finished goods and raw material in the factory was gutted. Cracks appeared in walls of the factory building after the fire, police and fire department officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former MP Hema Gamang today resigned from the BJD, citing negligence by the ruling party towards her constituency as one of the main reasons behind the decision. Gamang, who is also the wife of former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang, said: "Mentally, I had quit the party long ago. Today, I just sent my papers to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik." Alleging that the party has ignored her requests and demands several times in the past, Gamang said she and her supporters were not allowed to meet Chief Minister Patnaik to discuss pressing issues in Laxmipur constituency. Asked if she was planning to join any other political outfit, Gamang said, "I have not decided about my next move now. I will think about it after holding a meeting with my well-wishers and supporters." Speculation is rife that the former MP might join the BJP, having met Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on April 15. Gamang had joined the BJD just before Assembly elections in 2014. She was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 on a Congress ticket. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump said the new Republican-run House Intelligence Committee report exonerated his campaign from colluding with Russia, insisting that nobody has been tougher on the country than him. Trump's remarks came during a joint media appearance with the visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "It was a great report, no collusion, which I knew anyway. No coordination, no nothing. It's a witch hunt, that's all it is. There was no collusion with Russia, you can believe this one," Trump said. He was referring to a House Intelligence Committee report. "There was -- she probably can't believe it, who can? But the report was very powerful, very strong. There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian people. As I've said many times before, I've always said there was no collusion, he said. Trump said no one has been as tough as him as the Russians. I've also said that there's been nobody tougher on Russia than me. With that all being said, if we can get along with Russia, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. But there has been nobody tougher on Russia than me. I was very honoured by the report, said the US President. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 34-year-old cleric of a madrasa at Ghaziabad, where a minor girl was allegedly raped by a juvenile after being kidnapped from east Delhi's Ghazipur, was arrested today. Ghulam Shahid was taken into custody as he was aware of the crime committed on the 10-year-old girl at the madrasa premises, the police said. A probe into the incident was transferred to the Crime Branch yesterday. The girl was rescued on April 22 from the madrasa by a Delhi Police team. The police were informed on April 21 by the girl's father that his daughter had gone missing after she went to market. Subsequently, the girl was rescued from the madrasa and the juvenile apprehended, the police said. The victim had recorded her statement in front of a magistrate on April 23. She said the juvenile had taken her to the madrasa to meet his friends. The girl's parents had also been demanding the arrest of the cleric as they alleged that the man was aware about the crime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of the World Day on June 5, the ministry has banned plastics in all protected areas around the country, thus declaring them "plastic free zones". It has directed states and Union territories to organise awareness campaigns to sensitise people about the issue. "@moefcc bans plastic in any form in all protected areas and declare them 'Plastic Free Zones' ahead of #WorldEnvironmentDay2018," Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted tonight. "Directs states & UTs to organise awareness campaigns to sensitise people. Protected areas in Bengal and Odisha are already plastic free zones," he said. India will host the World Environment Day this year. United Nations environment chief Erik Solheim was in the country recently wherein he signed a letter of intent on India hosting the World Environment Day. Elaborating about the move, environment secretary C K Mishra said all protected areas and forest reserves will be plastic free zones and it will be mandatorily enforced. "Non-recyclable plastics have been banned. Various steps will be taken so that plastic is not allowed inside the protected areas," he said. The official added that other alternatives to plastics would be provided gradually. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government today ordered a detailed inquiry into the plane incident involving Congress President Rahul Gandhi and said appropriate action would be taken in case anything was "found wanting". Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Gandhi just before leaving for China yesterday to enquire about his safety after an aircraft with the Congress leader on board developed a snag before landing at the Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka, a senior party leader said. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said, "As soon as I heard about this issue, I directed the DGCA to conduct a detailed inquiry and to find out the cause of it. "If there is anything found wanting and whoever is responsible for it, we will take appropriate action,"he said. Aviation regulator DGCA has set up a two-member committee to probe the technical snag in the chartered plane. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot termed the incident as "shocking" and "worrisome" and urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to investigate the matter thoroughly. "It is a very serious incident for us, but only time will tell if the complaint is taken seriously by the government as well," he told PTI. Surjewala said a complaint was submitted to the director general of police in Karnataka, urging him to look into all aspects of the "serious, horrific incident", including foul play, if any. He said that an aircraft carrying a Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee developing such a snag was unprecedented. During the incident, the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down, Surjewala said. Another complaint was filed with the DGCA, demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, he added. "The operator has reported the incident to us. According to the report, it was a snag in the auto-pilot mode. The pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely," a senior DGCA official said. "Shutdown of the auto-pilot (mode) is not uncommon. For a VIP flight, the DGCA examines it thoroughly. We shall do that in this case as well," the official told PTI. The Congress has demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft before it landed at the Hubballi airport. The state police has said they have registered a complaint in this regard. The plane had suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and its altitude had dipped steeply with a violent shudder at 10.45 AM, Kaushal Vidyarthi, a close aide of Gandhi, told Karnataka DGP Neelmani N Raju in a letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six people have been arrested by the Gurgaon Police for preventing Muslim men from offering "namaz" at a vacant plot in Wazirabad village here. Tension had gripped the village after the incident, a video of which has been doing the rounds of social media. According to the Gurgaon Police, around 500 Muslim men had gathered at the plot to offer Friday prayers a week ago. They offered "namaz" under police protection. "In view of the April 20 incident, we have deployed adequate policemen at the village to maintain the law and order situation," said Ravinder Kumar, the PRO of the Gurgaon police. A number of people, allegedly belonging to a Hindu group, can be seen shouting slogans in the video. They alleged that Muslim men wanted to grab the land where they offered namaz. Gautam Saini, the president of the Shiv Sena Gurgaon unit, said they would protest the arrest of the six men. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government to pay Rs two lakh as token compensation to a 71-year-old man for his 20-day long illegal detention at IBHAS, after his outburst during a court proceeding. Calling for a stop to the "indiscriminate use of mental health law" to punish people whose behaviour is found unacceptable, a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta apologised to the man, who is a heart patient, saying his case presented "a dismal failure of our system, which includes the police, the judiciary and the mental health professionals, to protect the fundamental rights of an individual". The court also pointed to the "disastrous consequences" that the abuse of the mental health law can have on the right to liberty, dignity and privacy. In the instant case, the man, Ram Kumar, who was on his own fighting a 10-year-long motor accident claim dispute, had on November 3 last year allegedly got into an altercation with the opposing side and used unparliamentary language during the proceedings. He was then sent to police custody to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar (BSA) Hospital for psychiatric evaluation on the orders of the Presiding Officer of the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT). Later in the day he was produced before a Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) who ordered that he be sent to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to be kept under observation for 24 hours. On November 5, 2017, his stay at IBHAS was extended by another 15 days by a duty magistrate. Kumar's "illegal detention" at IBHAS continued on the orders of a third MM till November 25, 2017 when his family filed a habeas corpus plea in the high court which ordered his immediate release, the bench noted in its 87 page decision. Referring to how the situation had unfolded in the case, the bench said the genesis of the entire problem was the case he was defending in person in the MACT for the last 10 years which "had obviously tested his limits". "Litigation fatigue had set in. Every day's wait for a litigant who has had to spend a decade defending a case is bound to aggravate his litigation neurosis," the court said which also noted that the annoyance caused to the presiding judge of the MACT was also not unexpected. "The judicial system is overburdened. Judges too are humans. Most of them are overworked. Their patience gets tested often, particularly by litigants in person who, in the process of navigating the legal maze on their own, disrupt the orderly functioning of the Court. However, being part of an imperfect judicial system, a judge must be prepared for an outburst, every now and then, from a disgruntled user of the system. "Where a person's behaviour disrupts the orderly proceedings in a court, and persuasion fails, the presiding judge can possibly requisition the security apparatus for assistance. At all times, the measures adopted will have to proportionate. The absolute minimum coercion ensuring the dignity of the person sought to be removed, consistent with the limits set by the law, should be deployed," the bench said, adding that recourse can also be taken to the Contempt of Courts Act. Instead to get the police to take such person into custody and take him away for medical examination, without any order to that effect, is not an option available in law, the high court said, adding that "indiscriminate use of a non-existent judicial power is bound to invite opprobrium and invalidation". The bench said that in the instant case the orders passed by the MMs as well as the decision of the mental health professionals of IBHAS to keep him confined there and the role of the police led to Kumar being subjected to "tremendous stress". "In short there was a cascade of violations that had a domino effect on respondent No.4 (Kumar) denuding him of his rights to life, liberty, dignity and privacy," the high court said while disposing of the habeas corpus plea moved by the man's son. While disposing of the matter, the bench expressed hope that "lessons would be learnt from the past failures" and a new beginning would be made under the new Mental Health Care Act (MHCA). "It is time to abandon the earlier approach of using the mental health law to control or punish people whose behaviour is unacceptable but to view it as an instrument that facilitates care and treatment of the mentally ill in need of it, consistent with their rights to life, liberty, dignity, privacy and autonomy. "The indiscriminate use of the mental health law has to stop. It is high time that we dismantled the penal custodial model of the mental health law," the bench said. It also directed that the original medical records of Kumar when he was in IBHAS be sent to the Medical Council of India (MCI) which shall examine it and if necessary, initiate appropriate action against the doctors who were involved in his wrongful detention. The high court said that this exercise shall be completed within 12 weeks. A direction was also issued to the MACT at Rohini where Kumar case's is pending to dispose of the matter positively within a period of six months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court today dismissed a petition by DMK seeking disqualification of Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and 10 other AIADMK MLAs for having voted against the Palaniswami government last year when they were in the rebel camp. A bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose dismissed the petition by DMK whip Sakkarapani, citing the pendency of a petition in the Supreme Court on the powers of court to issue directions to the Speaker of an assembly. The question whether a writ of mandamus can be issued to the Assembly Speaker was pending with the Supreme Court, which bars the high court from interfering in such actions of the Speaker, the bench said. It was also dismissing a petition by four disqualified MLAs loyal to AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to disqualify Panneerselvam and others as members of the assembly. The petitioners had contended that by voting against the trust motion these MLAs had violated the whip issued by the ruling party and hence attracted disqualification under the anti-defection law. Panneerselvam and other MLAs, who had then revolted against the AIADMK leadership, voted against the trust vote sought by Chief Minister K Palaniswami on February 18, 2017. Palaniswami eventually won the vote by a margin of 122-11 in the 234-member House. Panneerselvam had opposed the petition saying the whip was issued only to the 122 MLAs who were staying in a resort then and not to his erstwhile group. He was made deputy chief minister after the group and the other faction led by Palaniswami merged in August after sidelining jailed leader V K Sasikala and her nephew Dhinakaran. The Election Commission had later alloted the party symbol to Palaniswami-Panneerselvam led group, rejecting the claim of the faction led by Dhinakaran, who has recently formed the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). Incidentally, the high court on January 23 reserved orders on a petition challenging the disqualification of 18 MLAs loyal to Dhinakaran by Speaker P Dhanapal on September 18 last year. The Speaker had taken the decision on a petition by the Chief Government Whip urging him to disqualify the MLAs for "anti-party activities" following their revolt against the Chief Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today issued bailable warrants against over 15 candidates, who contested the 2017 DUSU polls, for failing to appear before it despite being served notice in connection with a PIL against defacement of public property. "They are not present despite direction. Bailable warrant issued," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said. It also directed the students/candidates to work with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to restore its defaced properties across the city after taking into consideration the DMRC's submission that about 76 locations metro properties have been found to be permanently defaced and restoring them would cost over Rs 16 lakh and take six months time. "Give us an action plan. Have a painting competition and let Delhi government use those paintings in restoring the defaced properties," the bench asked the students present before it. The court directed all the students to coordinate with the authorities concerned to propose relevant designs with a view to beautify the property restoring its aesthetic value. It also observed that in order to avert future destruction of public properties a public awareness campaign must be initiated by the Centre and the Delhi government. It also said the students must be informed about the penal consequences of facing punishment of 10 years for destruction of Delhi Metro properties and suggested that the idea "on the lines of ticker run by the media houses in rape cases which issues a warning of a fine in case of naming the rape victims". "Take all remedial and preventive measures with regard to defacement of metro property. DUSU to complete the exercise in two weeks. Please design posters, jingles etc for public awareness," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on May 17. The high court had on the last hearing warned the students of Delhi University that they may have to go to jail if they are found defacing public property ahead of the next elections for the varsity's student union, DUSU. The bench had said it cannot "tolerate" public property being "blatantly" defaced. It had also asked the candidates, who contested in the 2017 DUSU polls to evolve a mechanism for removing the existing defacements. The bench had also directed the Centre, the Delhi government, the Delhi Metro and other authorities to place before it a report on issues regarding publicity of applicable penal provisions for defacement of public property, as well as an action taken report before the next date of hearing on April 27. The observation and direction by the bench came during the hearing of a plea by advocate Prashant Manchanda, who has sought a complete ban on defacement of public properties by the DUSU poll candidates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court today rejected a plea seeking removal of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait from the state assembly. First bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose dismissed the petition filed by DMK MLA J Anbazhagan seeking removal of the portrait, unveiled on February 10 last. He had sought removal of the portrait on grounds that Jayalalithaa was found guilty on corruption charges. The bench observed that in the absence of any law prohibiting the display of portraits of a person convicted for corruption, "this court cannot interfere in the matter." The decision to unveil the portrait in the House was taken by Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. The petitioner had submitted that Jayalalithaa was convicted by a special court on graft charges. Later the same was set aside by the Karnataka High Court and on appeal the Supreme Court found all the accused guilty of the charges. In view of her demise, appeals against Jayalalithaa were treated as abated, the petitioner said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court today dismissed a petition by the opposition DMK seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, in a huge relief to the Palaniswami government which could have otherwise been reduced to a minority in the state Assembly. A bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose rejected the petition by DMK whip Sakkarapani, citing pendency of a petition in the Supreme Court on the powers of a court to issue directions to the Speaker of a state Assembly. The petitioner had sought disqualification of Panneerselvam and 10 others for having voted against the K Palaniswami government last year when they were in the rebel camp. The petitioner had contended that by voting against the trust motion these MLAs had violated the whip issued by the ruling party and hence attracted disqualification under the anti-defection law. Panneerselvam and other MLAs, who had then revolted against the AIADMK leadership, voted against the trust vote sought by Chief Minister K Palaniswami on February 18, 2017. Palaniswami eventually won the vote 122-11. Panneerselvam had opposed the petition saying the whip was issued only to the 122 MLAs who were then camping in a resort and not his erstwhile group. He was made deputy chief minister after the group and the faction led by Palaniswami merged in August after sidelining jailed leader V K Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dhinakaran. Their disqualification would have brought down the strength of the ruling AIADMK in the 235-member House to 105 from 116, excluding the Speaker and a nominated member. The opposition DMK with 89 MLAs, has the support of 8 lawmakers of the Congress and one of IUML. There combined strength stands at 98. There is one independent MLA and 18 seats are vacant. V K Sasikala's nephew Dhinakaran, who launched Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam recently and got elected to the Assembly from late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's R K Nagar seat, has been claiming that he had "sleeper cells" among the AIADMK MLAs who could pull down the government. The ruling party would have faced a tough situation in the event of its strength depleting following the disqualification of its 11 MLAs. The 18 MLAs loyal to Dhinakaran were disqualified by the Speaker after they met the state's then Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao seeking removal of Palaniswami as the chief minister, a day after the factions led by him and Panneerselvam announced a merger. The disqualified MLAs moved the Madras High Court challenging the Speaker's decision. The court reserved its judgement on January 23 and it is yet to be pronounced. The Election Commission had allotted the 'two leaves' AIADMK symbol to Palaniswami-Panneerselvam led group, rejecting the claim of the faction led by Dhinakaran of majority support in the party. Reacting to the judgment, Palaniswami said he was happy about the verdict. DMK working president M K Stalin said he had faith in the judiciary, but asserted his party's legal battle will continue in the Supreme Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Bikram Singh today hailed the announcement of Industrial Development Scheme by the Centre for new and existing industrial units engaged in manufacturing and service sector in the state. In a statement issued here, Singh said this would be effective from April 1, 2017to March 31, 2022 and all the units which have already commenced commercial production/ operation after April 1, 2017 can register under this scheme with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India, by September 30, 2018. The scheme will also be applicable to bio-technology and hydel power generation units with capacity up to 10 MW. The salient features of the scheme include central capital investment incentive for access to credit (CCIIAC) at the rate of 30 per cent of the investment in plant and machinery with maximum limit of Rs 5 crores. Besides, all eligible new and existing units are included in Fire Policy 'C' as per all India fire tariffs and would be eligible for reimbursement of 100 percent insurance premium on insurance of building and plant and machinery for a period of five years from the date of commencement of commercial production/operation. The minister said in addition to this, the state government has also decided to waive 2 per cent and 1 per cent fees collected earlier on rental charges from industrial units. Limits of unearned increase which was earlier charged at the rate of 50, 30 and 20 per cent have been substantially reduced to 20, 10 and 5 per cent respectively. He said the chief minister had also announced to give the incentive of partial reimbursement of SGST (State GST) as the incentives to industrial units pertaining to VAT/CST had ceased after enforcement of GST. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special radio broadcast in Hindi marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Hindi Shiksha Sangh of South Africa with Indians recalling the tribulations of their forebears in ensuring the survival of the language and their culture in the African country. The Academic Director of the Sangh, Professor Rambhajun Sitaram, outlined the history of the organisation on Radio Hindvani, the only radio station broadcasting exclusively in Hindi in South Africa. Scores of listeners shared memories, including recalling the trials and tribulations of their forebears in ensuring the survival of the language and culture of the thousands of Hindi-speaking migrants who came to South Africa from 1860 onwards as indentured labourers. Hopes of a prosperous new life promised to the migrants were dashed as they toiled seven days a week from sunrise to sunset in the fields for meagre wages and rations at the hands of abusive and exploitative white farmers. Despite this, pooling their few resources, the first settlers built temples and schools without government support, some of them are still in use today across the country. But their home languages, including Hindi, received scant attention until more than 80 years later when Pandit Nardev Vedalankar arrived from India in November 1947. Vedalankar, revered as the Father of Hindi in South Africa despite being of Gujarati origin, immediately recognised the need to unify a distraught Indian community beset with a mixture of African and Western practices amid their own cultural and religious practices. Coordinating efforts with the already established Arya Samaj and Sanathan Dharma, Vedalankar founded the Hindi Shiksha Sangh of South Africa on April 25, 1948. The stated objective of the organisation was to promote Hindi, irrespective of religious beliefs, among all South Africans, whether from India or elsewhere, irrespective of their religious beliefs or practices, with total respect for their traditions, beliefs and cultures. From humble beginnings in a rented flat in Durban, the Sangh today has an impressive headquarters building in the mainly Indian township of Chatsworth in Durban, as well as branches all over the country where volunteers teach Hindi to students of all ages. The Sangh offers Hindi studies from Bal Vihaar to Kovid and Hindi Shikshan Paditi (Hindi teacher training) programmes. In 2014, the Sangh co-hosted the 10th World Hindi Conference in Johannesburg, the first time the event took place on the African continent, attracting almost 1,000 participants from the Indian diaspora. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Activists of a Hindu outfit today barged into the residence of a cleric, allegedly involved in the abduction and rape of a minor here, and vandalised the property, police said. The minor girl was abducted from Gazipur area of Delhi and allegedly raped in Ghaziabad. Upon tracing the location through mobile call details, the Delhi Police had arrested the cleric on April 22 from a seminary of the Neelmani colony in Arthla area of Sahibabad here, police said. Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said today some activists of Hindu outfit Jai Shiv Sena reached the cleric's house and after breaking the lock they barged in. They damaged his fridge and other domestic items, he said. The outfit functionaries were demanding that the accused cleric be hanged till death. On being alerted, the police reached the spot and nabbed two persons, while 20 other activists of the outfit were booked. Additional police force has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana government today filed a review petition in the Supreme Court, challenging its recent order on the SC/ST Act, a spokesman said. "The state government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court to review the judgment given by the court on the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989," he said in a statement here. Notably, several organisations, with the support of some political parties, had called a nationwide bandh earlier this month in protest against the apex court order. The spokesman said the Centre had also filed a review petition on the issue "to safeguard the interests of the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes". "The state government has also filed a review petition in this regard through standing counsel B K Satija in the Supreme Court so that people belonging to these sections get relief," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New rules for female athletes with high natural testosterone levels could force two-time Olympic 800-meter champion Caster Semenya to stop running middle-distance races, and were denounced as racist by South Africa's ruling political party. The IAAF said yesterday that from Nov. 1 it will limit entry for all international events from 400 meters through the mile to women with testosterone levels below a specified level. Women with elevated testosterone must reduce their level for "six months (e.g., by use of hormonal contraceptives)" before being eligible to run, and maintain that lowered level. The African National Congress party said it supports Semenya in "yet another attempt ... to exclude and discriminate against her." "We call on government to challenge this grossly unfair, unjust and blatant racist attempt by the IAAF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and have these regulations set aside," the ANC said in a statement. The new rules could yet be challenged, including by Semenya, at sport's highest court in Lausanne, Switzerland. CAS already has ruled once against the IAAF in trying to impose rules on hyperandrogenism. IAAF president Sebastian Coe said it had "a responsibility to ensure a level playing field for athletes ... where success is determined by talent, dedication and hard work rather than other contributing factors." "Our evidence and data show that testosterone, either naturally produced or artificially inserted into the body, provides significant performance advantages in female athletes," Coe said in a statement. Semenya now faces taking daily medication or start racing at 5,000 meters. Without the rules, the 27-year-old South African would likely defend her 800 world title in Doha, Qatar, next year. She also took bronze in the 1,500 at the 2017 worlds in London. In 2011, the IAAF enacted a rule to force athletes with hyperandrogenism to artificially lower their testosterone levels to be eligible to compete. Two years earlier, Semenya clocked a 1-minute, 55-second time to win her first world title as a teenager in Berlin. While the previous rules were enforced, her season-best times were around 1:59 or slower. The previous rules were challenged at CAS by sprinter Dutee Chand of India and overturned before the 2016 Olympics. In Rio de Janeiro, Semenya retained her Olympic title, running 1:55.28. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the centuries old Sino-India ties, telling Chinese President Xi Jinping that the two countries have a "big opportunity" to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. During his delegation-level talks as part of an unprecedented informal summit with President Xi in the central Chinese city, Modi said such informal summits should become a tradition between the two countries. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. Modi said India and China have the responsibility to work for 40 per cent of the world population and the two sides have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. The summit in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. Modi recalled that during the 2000 years of history, India and China together provided momentum and strength to the world economy and dominated it for around 1600 years. "The two countries together constituted for about 50 per cent of the world economy and another 50 per cent was shared by rest of the world for 1600 years," the prime minister said. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. "I'm perhaps the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you have come out of the capital (Beijing) twice to receive me," Modi said, referring to his visit to Xi'an - the home town of President Xi in 2015. On his part, President Xi said the two countries have established closer partnership and made positive progress in recent years. "In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions," he said. "Our two countries have established closer partnership and cooperation. We have have made positive progress. India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. The influence of our two countries is steadily rising in the region and the world," Xi told Modi. Xi said he believes in future and the two leaders could meet in format like this from time to time. "I look forward to in-depth communication with your excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level," he said, ahead of their one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow at 10 a.m (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch, official sources here said. This is fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014. He is again due to visit China to take part in the SCO summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping began their two-day summit, an official status report here on India-China relations said a closer economic relationship is now part of bilateral ties. Economic ties between China and India have become closer in recent years, the report by state-run Xinhua agency said. The two economies are highly complementary and have good potential for increased cooperation, it said. The report pointed out that bilateral trade reached a record high of USD 84.4 billion last year, up 20.3 per cent from 2016, the fastest growth for five years. It said China has become the largest trading partner of India, with imports rising by more than 40 per cent in 2017. Bilateral trade in Q1 hit USD 22.1 billion, up 15.4 per cent year-on-year. Chinese and Indian businesses signed 101 trade agreements in March, with a total contract value of USD 2.4 billion, it said. The report said Chinese investment in India added up to more than USD 8 billion by the end of 2017, with India an important destination for infrastructure cooperation and investment. Indian investment in China has grown by an average of 18.5 per cent during the past three years, it said adding, Chinese smartphone brands are popular in India. It said Xiaomi has a market share of 27 per cent and shipped nearly 8.2 million units in Q4 of 2017. The report said China and India are home to over 35 per cent of the world's population and contribute about 20 per cent of global GDP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Hindu bodies fighting a legal battle to stake claim over the disputed site in Ayodhya today told the Supreme Court that it was purely a property dispute which should not be referred to a larger bench. The top court was told that the issue of "political or religious sensitivity" cannot be a ground to refer the matter to a larger bench and India has moved forward since the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer was told by senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for original plaintiff Gopal Singh Visharad who was among the first to file a civil suit in the case way back in 1950, that there was no need to refer the matter to a larger bench since a three-judge bench was already seized of it. "This country has moved forward from the event of 1992 and today we are left with purely a land dispute. The court will decide this on the evidence placed before it. This will be decided strictly in accordance with the law," Salve said. He questioned the manner in which senior advocates Rajeev Dhavan and Raju Ramachandran, appearing for petitioner M Siddiq, were projecting the case as "sensitive". Gopal Singh Visharad and M Siddiq, both original litigants in Ram Janambhoomi- Babri Masjid case, have died and are being represented through legal heirs. Ramachandaran had said the matter should be referred to a larger bench due to its "sheer importance". He had said that it had been dealt with by the full bench of the high court, not because of a substantial question of law, but due to the fact that it would have wide ramifications on the social fabric of the country. Earlier, the apex court had said it would decide on whether to refer to a larger bench the issue of reconsideration of the entire 1994 verdict dealing with the acquisition of the disputed land in Ayodhya or parts of it. However, Salve maintained that factors like "politically sensitive, religiously sensitive" should be kept out of the court room. "These (issues) are all those things which should be kept outside the gate of the court," he said, adding that the matter was a title suit which would be adjudicate on whether the property belongs to 'A' or 'B'. Referring to the apex court traditions and said if an order is passed by the full court of a high court, the appeal in the apex court would be heard by a three-judge bench. Salve referred to the 'triple talaq' case which was heard by a five-judge constitution bench, and said a larger bench had adjudicated the issue as it related to the important aspect of gender justice. Questioning the approach of Dhavan and Ramachandran in saying that this was a matter of "sheer importance", he said "the cases which were sent to a five-judge or seven-judge bench have raised very serious questions." Maintaining that the issue of constitutional importance were involved in those matters, he said the argument that there is a dispute between two community does not hold in this case, as it is "purely a property dispute". "When there is a substantial question of constitutional importance, then the larger bench can hear it," he said. Former Attorney General and senior advocate K Parasaran, appearing for the deity, Ram Lalla Virajman, supported Salve's arguments and said the matter should be heard by a three-judge bench only. He too said the court should not send the matter to a five-judge bench as several evidence and documents will be needed to be examined and the larger bench should not do it as it is a property dispute. "The five-judge constitution bench can only deal with a substantial question of law and not a property dispute, which is a civil matter. This is not a complicated or that sensitive matter which needs to be heard by a larger bench," he said. At the outset, Ramachandaran said the matter needed to be referred to a larger bench as it is matter of "sheer importance". He said that considering the importance of the matter, the arguments of the state government, a full bench of the high court had dealt with the matter. "This case in the high court was dealt by the full bench not because there was substantial question of law or there was conflict of opinion among judges, but only due to the sheer importance of the matter, the background and the parties involved", he said. He said the outcome of this case will have wide ramifications on the social fabric of the country as two major communities are involved in it. "This court is hearing a first appeal and when a case of such importance or magnitude in which the high court has constituted an extra-ordinary bench to adjudicate it, then a five-judge bench should hear it," Ramachandaran said, adding that only a larger bench can give the matter a "judicial quietus" by an authoritative pronouncement. The hearing on the matter remained inconclusive and would continue on May 15. The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total of 14 appeals filed against the high court judgement delivered in four civil suits. A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and deity Ram Lalla. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Mongolia share a unique partnership which is not of convenience but a relationship of "trust and spiritual strength", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said. Swaraj in her keynote speech at the 100th birth anniversary of the Venerable 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, said the spiritual connection through Buddhism provides strength to the relationship between the two countries. Kushok Bakula was not only an eminent Buddhist leader, but also the longest serving Ambassador of India to Mongolia. Kushok Bakula served as India's Ambassador to Mongolia from 1990 - 2000. He also served as a minister in Jammu and Kashmir. The event marked his contribution to the promotion of Buddhism in Mongolia and to the deepening of civilisational and spiritual bonds between the two countries. "India and Mongolia share a unique partnership. The spiritual connection through Buddhism provides strength to our relationship. It is not a partnership of convenience but a relationship of trust and spiritual strength," she said. Swaraj said in its engagement with Mongolia, India is revitalising Buddhism as a strong symbol of civilisational connection transcending into modern times. Swaraj, who arrived here yesterday on a two-day visit, is the first Indian foreign minister to visit the resource-rich country in 42 years. "In our own small way, we are trying to work with our Mongolian friends to protect and preserve our Buddhist heritage," she said. Mongolia is a predominantly Buddhist nation with over 50 per cent of its population following Buddhism. She said Buddhism is a great connector of civilisations since millenia. "Kushok Bakula had dedicated his life to the service of people. He is a highly revered figure in Mongolia. He was a proud embodiment of India's age-old Buddhist traditions and our message to the world of peace, amity and humanism," she said. Earlier, Swaraj and Mongolian Foreign Minister D Tsogtbaatar presided over the 6th Session of the Indian-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation and discussed economic cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, energy, services and IT. Swaraj said India sees Mongolia as a factor of stability in East Asia and believes that Mongolia's social and economic development is important for peace and prosperity in the region. She said India also encourage students from Mongolia to visit the country for further study and research in the field of Buddhist studies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, standing alongside President Donald Trump at the White House, said today that the existing international accord on Iran is not enough to curb the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions. The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed by Tehran and six world powers including Germany and the United States, is "a first step that has contributed to slowing down their activities in this particular respect," Merkel told reporters. "But we also think from a German perspective that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran's ambitions are curbed and contained." "Europe and the United States ought to be in lock step on this," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accusing Iran of fuelling bloodshed in the Middle East, President Donald Trump today said the US would not let "murderous regime" in Tehran acquire nuclear weapons. "We must ensure that this murderous regime does not even get close to a nuclear weapon, and that Iran ends its proliferation of dangerous missiles, and its support for terrorism. No matter where you go in the Middle East, wherever there's a problem, Iran is right there," he said. Trump was addressing a joint White House conference with the visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders had discussed the current situation in Iran and its alleged "destabilisng behavior". "In our meetings today, the Chancellor and I discussed Iran, the Iranian regime that fuels violence, bloodshed and chaos all across the Middle East," Trump said. He said it was not "appropriate" to talk on whether the US may consider the use of military force against Iran. "But, I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons; that, I can tell you. They're not going to be doing nuclear weapons, you can bank on it," Trump said. He said as the US-led international alliance is about to eradicates ISIS in Syria, it must be ensured that "Iran does not profit from this success". "To prevent this outcome, it is essential that our coalition and regional partners step up their financial and military contributions to the anti-ISIS efforts. Some of these countries are immensely wealthy; and they're going to start paying for it, and paying for this tremendous help that we've given them," the US President said. Merkel said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as a first step, has contributed to slowing down Iran's activities with regard to acquiring nuclear weapons. "But we also think, from a German point of perspective, that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran's ambitions are curbed and are contained. It is most important to see that Iran, after all is trying to insert a geopolitical influence in Syria, in Lebanon," she asserted. Merkel acknowledged that the Iranian nuclear deal is unlikely to resolve problems. "Obviously, this agreement is anything but perfect. It will not solve all the problems with Iran," she said. "It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure; and that when the United Kingdom, France and Germany work together with the American colleagues, this was brought about, and then we will now see what sort of decisions are made by American partners," Merkel said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CBI today opposed the discharge pleas of former Gujarat Police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. In its reply before the special CBI court here, the agency said it had sufficient evidence to establish the charges against the two. After taking the CBI's reply on record, judge J K Pandya adjourned the hearing to May 5. Vanzara has sought discharge from the case contending that the CBI's charge sheet was "concocted" and there is "no prosecutable material" against him. Vanzara, a former Deputy Inspector General of Ahmedabad Crime Branch, has also sought relief on the ground of parity with former in-charge DGP of Gujarat, P P Pandey, who was recently discharged from the case. There was no prima facie evidence to prove the conspiracy allegedly hatched at his chamber, as mentioned in the charge sheet, Vanzara's plea said. Amin, who was working under Vanzara when the alleged fake encounter took place, has raised multiple grounds, including that the CBI didn't follow the legal procedure while making certain accused persons prosecution witnesses or 'approvers'. Ishrat, a 19-year-old college girl from Mumbra near Mumbai, her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amzad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged encounter by Ahmedabad police on the outskirts of the city in June 2004. The police had claimed that these four were terrorists affiliated to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, while the CBI later said it was a fake encounter. The CBI's first charge sheet named seven Gujarat policemen including Pandey, Vanzara and Amin. Pandey was discharged while all others are out on bail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Income-Tax department has attached a property worth more than Rs 3 crore near Patna, suspected to be a benami asset held by RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family members who are facing investigation in a land-for-hotels scam. IT department officials have put an attachment notice on the said property in Sheikhpura locality of the state capital. "The notice of attachment was affixed on the property, estimated to be worth Rs 3.5 crore, in Sheikhpura locality yesterday," a senior IT department official told PTI today. The official said the property is in the name of a company, named Fairgrow Holding. He said a few members of the Lalu family were directors in the firm "till a few years ago". He said Lalu's sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap, besides daughters Ragini and Chanda, are no longer directors of the company. "However, notices sent to the company several times were not answered and no other claimant of the property came forward. It suggested the property was a benami holding". Prasad, a former Bihar chief minister, is currently serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases. Members of his family have been named in cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate and the IT department in connection with the land-for-hotels scam. The scam relates to tranfer of prime land properties to Prasad's family by a hotelier brothers of Patna in return for getting contract for running two Railway hotels in Ranchi and Puri when Prasad was the Railway Minister in UPA-I government. On one such land measuring 3 acre, Bihar's biggest mall is proposed. But the contruction was stopped and the land has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Saturday reinstated a dean and four chairpersons of different schools and centres of learning in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after they agreed to follow the mandatory attendance requirement of 75 per cent decided by the varsity's academic council. JNU had on March 14 replaced seven heads of the various schools and centres in the university for not following the mandatory attendance requirement a decision which the teachers challenged in the high court. Those reinstated are Kavita Singh (School of Arts and Aesthetics), Uday Kumar (Centre for English Studies, School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies), Dhir Sarangi (School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies), Pradip Kumar Datta (School of International Studies) and Sucheta Mahajan (School of Social Sciences). The decision came on the plea moved by the five of them. Justice Rekha Palli, while ordering their reinstatement, also issued notice to the university and sought its reply on their plea which also challenged the legality of the 75 per cent attendance requirement, besides their replacement as deans and chairpersons. The court will hear the matter next on May 11. The order came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the five petitioner teachers, said that the attendance requirement would be followed by them till the matter is finally decided. He also said that while agreeing to follow the attendance requirement, they have not given up their challenge to the legality of the procedure followed to bring the norms into effect. Central government standing counsel Monika Arora, appearing for JNU, told the court that the varsity has no objection to the reinstatement of the teachers as deans and chairpersons so long as they follow the attendance norms. She said the attendance norms were fixed according to the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. She said the 75 per cent attendance was made mandatory in the wake of the dropout rate among students and the professors complaining of consistent absence by students. The AC in its 144th meeting held on December 1 last year had made 75 per cent attendance mandatory for students. In total, JNU has 13 deans and 38 chairpersons, besides five chairpersons of special centres. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today rejected the bail plea of Yug Tuli, the co-owner of the Mojo's Bistro restaurant and an accused in the December, 2017 fire incident at the Kamala Mills compound here, in which 14 people were killed. Justice Ajey Gadkari dismissed Tuli's bail application and said he would pass a detailed order later. Tuli, who was arrested in mid-January, had approached the high court after his bail plea was rejected by the sessions court. In his plea, Tuli had claimed that the tragedy occurred due to the "mistake" of the staff at "1 Above", the other restaurant that was gutted in the blaze on the intervening night of December 28-29. His counsel Shirish Gupte argued that while as per the police inquiry, the fire did start at Mojo's Bistro, none of the guests at the restaurant was among the dead. Prosecution lawyer Prakash Shetty, however, opposed the bail plea and said there was gross negligence on the part of Tuli and all the other accused. Shetty told the court that as per the inquiry reports of the police as well as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the fire was caused by the flying embers emanating from a hookah being served illegally at Mojo's Bistro. Tuli claimed that he had no role in the day-to-day operations of the hookah parlour. A total of 14 persons have been arrested in the case and booked under various sections of the IPC, including those related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death by negligence. The accused include the owners of the Kamala Mills compound, Mojo Bistro and 1 Above and two BMC officials. On the fateful night, a massive fire had swept through the two resto-pubs at the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai, resulting in the death of 14 people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the Star India Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of US-based 21st Century Fox, on a plea by Kerala cable operator Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd (ASCL) against an order of telecom tribunal TDSAT on the rate to be paid to the former for showing its channels in southern India. Justice Rajiv Shakdher issued notice to Star India and sought its reply by May 3 on the cable operator's plea that it was being asked to pay a higher rate than its competitor Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL) for subscribing to Star channels. Appearing for ASCL, senior advocate Jayant Bhushan contended that the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had asked it to either pay a negotiated amount or the rate under the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO), which lays down the price and terms for providing signals to a cable operator. He said that ASCL's options were to either pay Rs 17.38 per subscriber per month under the agreement with Star or Rs 962 per subscriber per month under the RIO, while KCCL was paying only Rs 6 per subscriber per month. ASCL said that with a subscriber base of around 14 lakh, it was paying over Rs 2.5 crore per month while KCCL, having around 29 lakh subscribers, was paying only Rs 1.8 crore. The court remarked that someone with a larger subscriber base would get a better rate. ASCL, while agreeing with the court's view, said the difference in rates cannot be as wide as in the instant case and claimed it was being discriminated against as compared to KCCL. Star, represented by senior advocate Amit Sibal and advocate Saikrishna Rajgopal, denied the allegation of discrimination, saying that the RIO rate after discounts was Rs 30 per subscriber per month, which has been constant for the last two years, and not Rs 962 as claimed by ASCL. Sibal said that under the RIO, if a cable operator's number of subscribers increases or decreases, then Star's revenue would also go up or down. He said under its fixed fee plan, a lump sum is charged from a cable operator irrespective of its subscriber base. In the instant case, a lump sum fee was being charged from ASCL as well as KCCL, he added. However, the difference in amounts was because KCCL wanted signals only for 48 channels in one state - Kerala while ASCL wanted signals for 62 channels in four states - Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telengana. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kim Jong Un becomes the first North Korean leader to cross the military line into South Korea since the end of the Korean War. The leaders of North and South Korea set off on Friday towards the Demilitarised Zone that divides their countries for a historic summit, the highest-level encounter yet in a recent whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy. The meeting on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom - only the third of its kind since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War -- is intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. In the most detailed direct reference to the process by the North so far, the official KCNA news agency said Kim will "open-heartedly discuss... all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula". With helicopters buzzing overhead, South Korean President Moon Jae-in left his Blue House office in a convoy of more than a dozen vehicles along a road lined with well-wishers waving Korean flags. Before his departure, a smiling Moon stopped to greet supporters and thank police officers. Moon will greet Kim at the concrete blocks that mark the border between the two Koreas in the Demilitarised Zone to begin the rare occasion laden with symbolism. And when Kim steps over the line he will become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended 65 years ago. Kim Jong Un's decision to cross into world's most heavily armed bordered zones is a prospect that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago. The North's nuclear arsenal will be high on the agenda at the talks. Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them and has said his meeting with Kim will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. An alleged kingpin of a drug racket who tried to smuggle Ketamine to Malaysia has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau. An illegal lab near Bengaluru used for the manufacture of Ketamine, a veterinary anaesthetic abused as a party drug, has also been busted, the NCB said. Mohammed Sadiq Batcha, the alleged kingpin, was arrested at the airport yesterday just before he was to leave for Malaysia with his family, an official release from NCB, Zonal Director, Bruno A, said here. A city resident, Batcha's apprehension comes following the arrest of two other suspected members of the racket last month and seizure of 14.650 kg of Ketamine from them. Balamurugan P and Abdul Karim were arrested on March 22 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,for trying to smuggle over 14 kg of Ketamine to Malaysia. After the seizure of Ketamine from the duo, NCB sleuths seized 112 grams more of the drug and "many chemicals suspected to be used for the manufacture of Ketamine from a clandestine laboratory, which Balamurugan was operating at Attibelle, near Bengaluru on April 9," the release said. Ketamine is a veterinary anaesthetic drug included in the most restricted X schedule of drugs. Its illegal possession and trafficking is an offence punishable with imprisonment upto 20 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today arrested a man in Uri sector near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and seized 800 grams of brown sugar from him. Ahmad Teehkray was arrested from Jabla with the brown sugar which had been smuggled from Pakistan via the LoC, police said. "A case under section 8/20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against Teehkray and an investigation launched," a police spokesman said. "In the last few months, police has apprehended number of such drug smugglers from the area and some of them have also been booked under the Public Safety Act," he said. The spokesman said the police was determined to wipe out all gangs and modules smuggling drugs from Pakistan with active support of some elements from across the LoC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after the seizure of 20 tonne of rotten meat suspected to be of dead animals, meant for supply to restaurants in and around the city, the police today confiscated flesh of dead chicken from a farm at New Town near here. Police said the locals of a place near the airport area caught a person with the meat of dead chicken meant for supply to a restaurant. They informed the police and the person was arrested along with the restaurant owner. The whereabouts of the farm was known on interrogating the two men and the police raided it. The flesh of dead chicken was found in a freezer in the farm and was seized. Samples of it was sent for forensic examination to ascertain whether any other meat had been mixed with it, the police added. The West Bengal government has directed all police stations in the metropolis and the districts to keep watch on the sale of meat in their areas, officials said. Yesterday, around 20 tonnes of rotten meat suspected to be of dead animals which was meant to be supplied to restaurants in and around the city was seized by the police from several areas here and the neighbouring North 24 Parganas district. Nine persons including one from Bihar, were arrested since Wednesday night for their alleged involvement in supplying meat of dead animals to different restaurants, police said. Police are investigating from where the meat of dead animals was supplied. of dead chicken preserved in formalin for supply to city eateries had broken out in March and police had conducted raids at Baduria in North 24 Parganas, where 10,000 to 12,000 poultries are located. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had publicly pulled up senior government officers and held them responsible for laxity in dealing with the problem. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The condition of four of the 17 children injured in a milk tanker-school van collision near the Kanhaiya Nagar metro station yesterday is critical, the police said today. They are in the ICU of AIIMS. The driver of the milk tanker, Sanjeev (38), who has been arrested, told the police that he had consumed liquor at a wedding around 2 am. The police had said the alcohol content in his blood was found to be 195mg/100ml. He lost control of the vehicle as he was drunk, and the milk tanker rammed into the school van coming from the wrong side, said a senior police officer. The driver of the school van had his earphones on at the time of the incident, the police had said yesterday. The officer said the four students, who are in the ICU at AIIMS, suffered multiple fractures in the accident that claimed the life of a seven-year-old girl and injured 17 other students. Four children have been discharged and nine are undergoing treatment, but are out of danger. The city government had yesterday ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. The school van was carrying 18 children who were to be dropped at two schools in Keshav Puram -- Kendriya Vidyalaya and Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, No 1. It was hit by the other vehicle while taking a turn. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today seized eight mobile phones and nine sim cards from the possession of prisoners in district jail here, an official said. The seizure was made in a raid conducted by District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and SSP RK Bhardwaj at the district jail at Chowkghat in Cantt Police Station area today morning, the police said. "There were complaints that mobile phones were being used inside the jail premises for making ransom calls and other purposes," the district magistrate said. An FIR was registered against the guilty prisoners, the police said, adding an investigation is being carried out to find out how they got access to phones inside the jail premises. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today held "extensive and fruitful" meetings here on the first day of an unprecedented two-day informal summit to "solidify" the India-China relationship and exchanged views on how the two countries can work together for the benefit of their people and the world. The 'heart-to-heart' summit in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. Modi who arrived in the central Chinese city early today for the summit began talks soon after Xi received him with a warm shake hand and hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him at the Hubei Provincial Museum here. He was welcomed with a classical Chinese dance opera performance after which Xi took him around some of the most historic art collections and cultural relics of China's ancient civilisation. The museum walk scheduled for 20 minutes lasted over 40 minutes after which they began one-on-one talks. "Delighted to meet President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Our talks were extensive and fruitful. We deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues," Modi tweeted at the end of first day of talks. He also thanked President Xi for the "wonderful gesture of personally accompanying me in the Hubei Provincial Museum." Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders "exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship." Their one-on-one talks were followed by delegation-level interaction with six top officials each from both sides took part, giving an impression that some of the critical issues were on the table for discussion. The talks lasted for over two hours overshooting scheduled half an hour time, hinting the seriousness of the discussions, officials said. The talks between the two leaders on the first day ended with dinner diplomacy. Xi hosted a banquet in honour of Modi at the famous East lake. Xi in a gesture of warmth and friendship walked with Modi to the car to see him off. The summit was stated to be unique as the two leaders have no pressure and obligation to strike any agreements nor make big announcements but focus mainly on candid discussions on solutions to some of the vexed problems like the boundary question and other issues. Modi offered to host the next informal summit with Xi in India next year. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," he told Xi. Xi said they can meet in a format like this from time to time. Modi hailed the centuries old Sino-India ties and said India and China have the responsibility to work for 40 per cent of the world population and the two sides have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. He recalled that during the 2000 years of history, India and China together provided momentum and strength to the world economy and dominated it for around 1600 years. "The two countries together constituted for about 50 per cent of the world economy for 1600 years," the prime minister said. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. Xi emphasised the two sides should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from a strategic angle and ensure their relationship continue to move forward in a positive direction. "The friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like the Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever," China's state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying. "We see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi, who is in China on his fourth visit after he came to power in 2014. "China and India need to maintain a strong focus on national development, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, work together for our respective national revitalisation to build the stability, development, prosperity and make positive contributions for global peace and development," Xi said, adding that in the past five years China-India relations have maintained a good momentum. "India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. Our two countries' influence in the world and region is steadily on the rise, looking ahead we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi. "As we meet, the international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world," he added. Xi's comments assume significance as it came at a time when the US and other major economies have taken a number of protectionist measures. The Trump administration has recently announced hefty import tariffs on aluminium and steel besides about USD 50 billion worth of Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products to counter China's trade practices. India maintains that protectionism in all its forms should be rejected. Tomorrow, the two leaders will resume their one-on-one talks. They will begin their day with a walk around the East Lake and then go for a ride in a double decker boat and end their first-ever informal summit with a one-on-one lunch. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today held multiple meetings here as part of an unprecedented two-day informal summit to "solidify" the India-China relationship and exchanged views on how the two countries can work together for the benefit of their people and the world. The summit in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. Prime Minister Modi who arrived in the central Chinese city early today for the summit began talks soon after President Xi hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him at the Hubei Provincial Museum here. "The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Modi and Xi shook hands, posed for photographs and witnessed a cultural programme at the museum before heading for one-on-one talks. Later, they held delegation-level talks accompanied by six top officials from each side. Xi also hosted a banquet for Modi at the state guest house by the famous East Lake. During the talks, Modi offered to host the next informal summit with Xi in India next year. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. The Chinese president said he believes in future and they can meet in a format like this from time to time. "I believe in the future, we will meet in format like this, from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your Excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level," Xi said. Modi hailed the centuries old Sino-India ties and said the two sides have a "big opportunity" to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. He recalled that during the 2000 years of history, India and China together provided momentum and strength to the world economy and dominated it for around 1600 years. "The two countries together constituted for about 50 per cent of the world economy and another 50 per cent was shared by rest of the world for 1600 years," the prime minister said. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. "I'm perhaps the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you have come out of the capital (Beijing) twice to receive me," Modi said, referring to his visit to Xi'an - the home town of President Xi - in 2015. Xi told Modi that their meeting opens a new chapter for bilateral ties. He emphasised the two sides should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from a strategic angle and ensure their relationship continue to move forward in a positive direction. "The friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like the Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever," China's state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying. "We see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi, who is in China on his fourth visit after he came to power in 2014. "China and India need to maintain a strong focus on national development, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, work together for our respective national revitalisation to build the stability, development, prosperity and make positive contributions for global peace and development," Xi said, adding that in the past five years China-India relations have maintained a good momentum. He said the two countries have established closer partnership and their exchanges and cooperation have made positive progress. "India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. Our two countries' influence in the world and region is steadily on the rise, looking ahead we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi. "As we meet, the international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world," he added. Xi's comments assume significance as it came at a time when the US and other major economies have taken a number of protectionist measures. The Trump administration has recently announced hefty import tariffs on aluminium and steel besides about USD 50 billion worth of Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products to counter China's trade practices. India maintains that protectionism in all its forms should be rejected and favours an economic globalisation which is more open, inclusive and equitable. Modi and Xi also visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure at the museum. The two leaders will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. But this will be their "heart-to-heart" informal summit. There will be no agreement signed or a joint statement issued. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today met for an unprecedented informal summit here during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focussing on bilateral, global and regional issues. Prime Minister Modi who arrived here in the central Chinese city early today for the informal summit began their talks soon after President Xi hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him. Wuhan used to be the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Officials sources said the two leaders will hold a series of one-on-one talks after lunch at the Hubei Provincial Museum here which has a large number of state-level historic and cultural relics. The summit is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. They said Modi and Xi would focuss on global, regional and bilateral issues. The one-to-one discussions will be followed by talks between the two leaders accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow at 10 a.m (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch, official sources here said. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. But this will be their "heart-to-heart" informal summit. There will be no agreement signed or a joint statement issued. It is a summit, according to the officials, to forge consensus to resolve the issues with follow up actions by officials than announcing any agreements. This is something the leaders of the two countries have never tried so far, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Attorney General K K Venugopal today opposed the plea of former law minister Shanti Bhushan to strip the Chief Justice of India (CJI) of the exclusive power to allocate cases, telling the Supreme Court that any attempt to delegate it to other judges would lead to "chaos". Venugopal stressed the need for "unity" among the judges of the top court and said Bhushan's plea to vest the power to allocate cases to the five-member Collegium might lead to "conflict" among judges on who would hear which matter and multiplicity of authorities. The differences among Supreme Court judges over allocation of cases had surfaced at the January 12 presser by four senior most judges who had raised the issue and it entered the courtroom with the filing of Bhushan's plea challenging the CJI's power as the 'master of the roster'. The AG told a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the composition of benches and allocation of cases in the apex court was not an exercise which could be taken up by multiple persons and if one person has to decide it, then it has to be the CJI. If collegium or the full court is vested with this power, it "would be an unending exercise which may also result in unity of judges being not there. Unity of judges for dispensation of justice in the highest court is needed," Venugopal, who was earlier asked by the bench to assist in the matter, said. "It is essential that there should be one person doing this and if it has to be one person, then it has to be the CJI," he told the bench which reserved its order on the plea that has challenged the existing roster practice of allocation of cases by the CJI. Maintaining that the issue of allocation related to internal functioning of the Supreme Court, he said if the collegium or the full court was vested with this power, there might be a "conflict" among judges as to who would hear which matter. "According to me, it would lead to a chaos if there is multiplicity of judges involved in it", the Attorney General said and referred to a 2010 judgement of the apex court which had held that the CJI would decide on constitution of benches and which judge should hear which matter. Referring to another verdict, he argued that it was said in the judgement that if the judges were free to choose cases whatever they wanted to hear, the machinery of the court would collapse. Venugopal said the exercise of roster and allocation of cases was different from the process of selection of judges for the higher judiciary by the apex court collegium. "In case of appointment of judges, they (collegium) decide as to who should be selected for elevation. They (members of collegium) are not personally involved. But, here it is personal involvement," he said, adding "the CJI has a very onerous problem in making these decisions". During the hearing, senior counsel Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, questioned the manner in which some "sensitive cases" were allocated to particular benches in the court in contravention of the rules. Referring to the CJI being the "master of roster", Dave asked "does this give power to the CJI to fix roster and direct listing of matter before particular benches?". He referred to constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court Rules and said that there was "ambiguity" in the rules as to whether the CJI possesses power to frame roster. To this, the bench asked, "suppose the CJI has no such powers, then how will this court function". Dave said the Constitution framers had given the power to all judges of the Supreme Court to decide how the top court of the country would function. "Your lordships can sit together every year or every term of the year to decide how the roster should be and how matters should be allocated," he said, adding that the constitution of benches and fixing of the roster "is extremely sensitive today". He also said the petition and its prayer was to strengthen the court and was not directed against any individual. There should not be any "human intervention" in allocation of cases and matters should be allocated automatically through computers to the concerned court as per roster. "It is not that the CJI has unbridled power," he said, adding that if a system of rule was put in place, it should be followed and a transparent procedure should be there. When he raised the issue of listing of PILs before the CJI, the bench observed that even in high courts, PILs were listed before the chief justice and in many high courts, PILs were also listed before court number two. "There is no hard and fast rule (for listing of PILs)," Justice Sikri observed. At the fag end of hearing, Venugopal raised objection on the alleged aspersions cast on some judges in the PIL and termed it as "very wrong". In his PIL, Shanti Bhushan has stated that the "master of roster" cannot be an "unguided and unbridled" discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the CJI by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges. The petition assumes significance in light of the January 12 press conference where four senior most judges of the top court - Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - had said that situation in the top court was "not in order" and many "less than desirable" things have taken place. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The city is hosting a conference that will look at food from point of views of history, archaeology and sociology. Titled "ArchaeoBroma", the conference, to be held on May 5 and 6, is being touted as India's first-ever national meet on "food as culture". It will be organised by the India Study Centre Trust (INSTUCEN Trust) and the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (CEMS) of the University of Mumbai. "This is the first nationwide conference on the archaeology, anthropology and sociology of food," said Mugdha D Karnik, Director, CEMS and Managing Trustee, INSTUCEN Trust. Kurush Dalal, Assistant Professor, CEMS, said the meet will highlight the need to study food in a systematic and academic manner. "We should also study the culture reflected in food," he said. "Where art, architecture and literature are easily seen as the expression of a culture and its values, food is rarely seen as such, although it is central to the mundane as well as celebratory lives of people. "Food carries with it multiple associations of culture, including social privilege and deprivation, wealth and poverty, conservatism and liberality," according to a concept note prepared by Dalal and Raamesh Gowri Raghavan, an associate with the INSTUCEN Trust. Topics like concepts in food studies will focus on creating an academic framework for examining food from point of views of history, archaeology and sociology. Indian food practices related to cereals, pulses, meats and fats will also be discussed. Role played by tea and coffee in modern Indian culture is another topic to be deliberated at the seminar. Another section will examine the traditions of food selection, preparation and consumption among a group of communities " the Kolis, the Pathare Prabhus, the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, the East Indians and the Konkani Muslims, the organisers said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed today's historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea as "encouraging", but warned of more challenges ahead. "This is a first step, it is encouraging, but we have to realise there is still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us," Stoltenberg said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met the South's President Moon Jae-in and agreed to pursue permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of their divided peninsula. Stoltenberg said the landmark meeting had come about as a result of the intense political, diplomatic and economic pressure the international community had exerted on Pyongyang. "The most important thing today is to welcome the fact they have met, and even though there's a long way to go before we see a full resolution to the crisis and the problems we see on the Korean peninsula, I think this is a very important first step," the former Norwegian premier said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 32-year-old villager was killed, allegedly by Naxals who accused him of being a police informer, in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said today. "Kamlesh Kowasi, a native of Jangla village, was attacked with sharp-edged weapons and his body was found lying in a pool of blood near Matwada police camp on Jegur road today morning," Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, Mohit Garg told PTI. Garg said that a pamphlet lying near Kowasi's body stated that he was killed as he was a police informer. The official, however, denied that Kowasi was a police informer. Kowasi was working as a watchman at the house of a member of the local panchayat, the official said. He said that a police team had been rushed to the spot and efforts were on track down those who killed Kowasi, adding that there were no eye witnesses to the crime. On April 25, suspected Naxals had killed a 28-year-old sarpanch of Darbha village in Bijapur after accusing him of being a police informer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today agreed to hear on May 17 cross-petitions filed by Essar Steel bidders, NuMetal Ltd and ArcelorMittal India Ltd, challenging eligibility criteria. The NCLAT issued notices to a committee of Essar Steel creditors, the resolution professional running an auction of the company and the two bidders on the cross-petitions. While Russia's VTB Capital-backed NuMetal Ltd challenged a lower company court order allowing rival ArcelorMittal to clear bank dues of associate companies so that it can become eligible for the acquisition of Essar Steel, steel baron Laxmi Mittal-run firm wanted NuMetal to be disqualified. It also wanted an order of the Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal declaring it ineligible to bid for Essar Steel to be set aside. The cross-petitions were mentioned before a bench of NCLAT which issued notices, replies and rejoinders of which are to be filed within one week. The matter has been fixed for hearing on May 17. The NCLAT took up the petitions on a day when a panel of lenders to Essar Steel is slated to meet to decide on the fate of the first round of bids put in on February 12. NCLT, Ahmedabad had asked the lenders to not consider the second round of bids and instead look at the first round of bids where ArcelorMittal and NuMetal were in direct competition. In the petition, NuMetal said the Ahmedabad-bench of National Company Law Tribunal had disqualified ArcelorMittal India Pvt Ltd from bidding to acquire Essar Steel on grounds that it was a promoter company of firms that had defaulted on payment of bank loans. The NCLT had, however, "erred" in permitting ArcelorMittal India Ltd "to cure the ineligibility by making payment of the overdue amounts of Uttam Galva Steel Ltd and KSS Petron" within 30 days, it said. Allowing ArcelorMittal to clear dues after the government frame legislation, barring promoters who had defaulted on bank loans from bidding for companies that were being auctioned to recover unpaid loans, was not in accordance with the law, it contended. NuMetal sought setting aside and quashing of the NCLT order that directed the resolution professional (RP) conducting the auction and the committee of creditors of Essar Steel India Ltd to "reconsider the resolution plan submitted by Arcelor Mittal India Pvt Ltd and afford Arcelor Mittal India Ltd an opportunity to make payment of the over dues amount of Uttam Galva Steels Ltd and KSS Petron Pvt Ltd after the submission of the resolution plan for Essar Steel and cure the ineligibility". ArcelorMittal field two petitions stating that the NCLT, Ahmedabad had "wrongly" held that it stood disqualified by virtue of the provision of Sections 29A of the IBC which bar promoters of delinquent companies from bidding for stressed assets. It said the NCLT "overlooked" the fact that it had sold its shares in Uttam Galva Steel Ltd on February 7, days before the bids for Essar Steel was submitted on February 12. ArcelorMittal held that it had never held a seat on the board of the company and on its perusal, the stock exchanges removed its name as a promoter last month. On KSS Petron, it said it cannot be treated as a promoter as it neither had any board rights or any management rights. It "merely had an investment in the global parent of KSS Petron". "Laxmi Niwas Mittal had invested his personal funds through his trust in Fraseli (a Luxembourg entity) which invested into KSS Global BV, Netherlands entity, and at which level there was a shareholder's agreement with some minority rights protection at that level. Neither he or any entity connected with ArcelorMittal was considered to be a promoter of KSS Global," it stated. It went on to state that the creditors did not treat the firm as a promoter of KSS. ArcelorMittal wanted NuMetal bid be rejected because its backers include a company controlled by the son of a billionaire Essar Steel founder. Aurora Enterprises has since been bought out of the bidding group by JSW Steel Ltd. Essar Steel had a debt of Rs 49,000 crore and was referred to NCLT in June last year. Last week, the Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT had asked the lenders to reconsider the first bids submitted by NuMetal and ArcelorMittal on February 12. It rejected the second round of bids submitted as well as mining baron Anil Agarwal's Vedanta on April 2. It had also asked the RP and the lenders to give 30 days' time to these bidders to clear their defaulted accounts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have developed a smartphone video-based app that could be a more effective substitute for a daily in-person visit by a health care worker required for tuberculosis (TB) treatment. In the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University in the US described the app which provides video Directly Observed Therapy (video DOT). "We believe video DOT offers an alternative that appears to be as effective as an in-person daily visits by health care workers to assure compliance with drug treatment, but also empowers patients to manage their TB without added stress," says Samuel Holzman, a research fellow at the Johns Hopkins University. Tuberculosis requires measures to ensure that patients adhere to treatment. These recommendations include provisions for home or hospital based isolation or occasionally forced isolation for infectious individuals. The reason for these mandates, said Holzman, is the disease's virulence. Unlike the flu or the common cold, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes infectious tuberculosis, can hang in the air for extended periods when expelled by the coughs or saliva of patients, spreading to others across a room or through a building's ventilation. Many people with active TB also have relatively few symptoms, allowing the bacteria to spread before a diagnosis is made. To test the effectiveness of video DOT, the researchers conducted a pilot study utilizing the widely-available smartphone application developed by emocha Mobile Health in conjunction with Maunank Shah, and other clinician-scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As many as 28 adult TB patients being treated at three health departments in Maryland participated in the pilot study. These patients had their therapy monitored using the emocha video DOT application in lieu of in-person visits by a health care worker. The researchers found that patient adherence to treatment was about the same between the video DOT and in-person DOT, 94 per cent and 98 per cent respectively. The researchers found that the overall proportion of prescribed doses that were verified through observation was six per cent higher with video DOT compared to in-person DOT. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today said it received 17.5 lakh complaints from across the country in the last 25 years and the most from Uttar Pradesh. Of the total complaints the commission received since 1993, when NHRC was set up, 26,500 came from Gujarat, which is less as compared to many other states, NHRC's secretary general Ambuj Sharma said. "Out of the 17.5 lakh complaints of human rights violations since 1993, just 26,500 came from Gujarat, while the highest, that is nine lakh, was from Uttar Pradesh. It shows that complaints from Gujarat were less," he told reporters after the conclusion of the two-day open hearing session. Asked about Gujarat's human rights record, NHRC chairman Justice (retd) H L Dattu said the commission was "satisfied" with the state's performance. "By and large, we are satisfied with their work. We can certainly say that the human rights violation is not much in Gujarat. The state is very sensitive towards that issue and they do take steps whenever any violation take place," the former Chief Justice of India said. However, he said, there was still scope for improvement in some areas. During the two-day open hearing session held at the Gujarat Police Academy in Karai village near here, the NHRC took up 136 cases, mostly involving SC/ST victims. These cases came from various parts of Gujarat and the adjoining Union Territories and were separately heard by Justice Dattu and three NHRC members - Jyotika Kalra, D Murugesan and P C Ghose - yesterday, while some important cases were heard by the entire commission in a joint sitting today. Some of the important cases took up by the commission included child mortality, river pollution, children being forced to swim a river to attend school in Junagadh, deaths due to silicosis, allotment of land to Dalits and compensation to the kin of the victims of manual scavenging. While hearing the case of persons who died while cleaning manholes, Jyotika Kalra instructed the state government to provide free of cost mechanical devices to the 'safai kamdars', so that they don't have to enter the manholes. "We have learned that compensation of Rs 10 lakh, as directed by the Supreme Court in 2014, was paid to the kin of only 39 victims out of total 161 persons, who had died since 1993. The state Chief Secretary assured us that he will take up this matter," Kalra said. In the cases of non-allotment of land to Dalits by the government, Dattu instructed the officials concerned to take immediate steps and allot the land. The Commission also asked the Chief Secretary as well as the state DGP to work towards eliminating the practice of untouchability and caste-based discrimination. While taking up a case wherein students were forced to swim across a river to attend their school in Junagadh district, Dattu called the authorities concerned and took an undertaking from them about the construction of the bridge. "Notice was issued to the officials after we came across a report that students of a village have to swim across a river to reach their school. We have taken an undertaking from the officials that the bridge will be constructed in three months," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Odisha government has scrapped the Rs 636-crore gems, jewellery, lifestyle and luxury goods park which was to be set up by Gitanjali Infratech Ltd, an official said today. The development comes in the wake of the multi-crore PNB scam and there is no one from the company, owned by Mehul Choksi-run Gitanjali Group, with whom the state government can interact, he said. Diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi have been accused of perpetrating the country's biggest banking sector scam of around Rs 13,000 crore at Punjab National Bank. The state government in November last year accorded final approval to the detailed project reports of Gitanjali Infratech Ltd for setting up the park at Ramdaspur in Cuttack district, he said. A piece of land which had earlier been allotted to the Gitanjali Gems, for setting up a jewellery manufacturing unit also stands cancelled, he said. "The company seems to be in trouble and there is no one with whom we can speak to. Under the circumstances, the project cannot take off. Therefore, the project is now shelved," Principal Secretary (Industries), Sanjeev Chopra, told PTI. The gems, jewellery, lifestyle and luxury goods park had been proposed to be developed over 100 acres of land with an investment of Rs 636 crore. Regarding land for the project, Chopra said Gitanjali group had earlier been allotted 30 acres of land at Ramdaspur near Cuttack for a manufacturing unit to be set up in the name of Gitanjali Gems. Subsequently, the company applied for a private industrial park on an additional 70 acres land. However, land for the proposed private industrial park was yet to be allotted, he said. When the private industrial park was accorded approval, the group proposed to set up the entire project in the name of Gitanjali Infratech Ltd. It sought change of the allotment of 30 acres of land in the name of Gitanjali Infratech, said an official. After getting the application for transfer of the land in the name of Gitanjali Infratech, the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) had cancelled the allotment already made to Gitanjali Gems, he said. However, the trouble (scam) surfaced before the land could be allotted to Gitanjali Infratech and as of now the land allotment stands cancelled, Chopra said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India will have at least one industrial training institute (ITI) in every block by the end of this year , Skills Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. Our aim is to ensure one ITI in every block of the country by the end of 2018 and up-grade our skill institutions with new age skills which are market relevant, he said at the National Conference of State Ministers on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Emphasising on the need for strengthening institutional mechanisms for skill development at the state level and bringing in a more robust framework, Pradhan, who is also the oil minister, launched an array of initiatives. The workshop saw participation from more than 90 per cent of the states discussing the skills agenda. New courses for ITIs were launched for the youth to promote skills in emerging areas such Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Robotic Process Automation, Internet of Things, Robotics, Big Data Analytics and 3D Printing. A pact was signed between DGT (Directorate General Traning) and IT services industry body Nasscom for enabling Skill Development & Continuous learning for ITI trainees & trainers. The conference marked the launch of new Affiliation Norms 2018 restoring the primacy of State Govt in the Affiliation process. The norms aim at establishing high quality institutions for skill training in all parts of the country, especially the un-served blocks. To ensure transparency in the affiliation process, a Portal was launched at the event. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) commenced its partnership with Ministry of Home Affairs for "Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme for Left Wing Extremists". Under this, Left-Wing Extremists, who have surrendered, can take admission in an institute and given a stipend of Rs 6000 per month for a up to three years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistan government today hiked the country's defence spending by nearly 10 per cent as it presented an over Rs 5.6 trillion federal budget in parliament for the next financial year. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail presented the budget for the financial year 2018-19, which is the sixth consecutive budget of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Ismail said that total outlay of the budget is Rs 5,661 billion (5.6 trillion), 13 per cent higher than the previous. He said 6.2 per cent was the GDP target for 2018-19 against six per cent for the outgoing year, which could not be achieved as the government registered 5.8 per cent. The minister said the budget deficit for the upcoming year will be 4.9 per cent of GDP and the target net public debt to GDP ratio will be 63.2 per cent. He said the "defence budget has been increased from Rs 999 billion to Rs 1,100 billion for fiscal year 2018-19". The overall size of national development outlay for the next financial year is Rs 2,043 billion, with a foreign assistance component of Rs 339 billion. The size of the federal public sector development programme is Rs 1,030 billion, while that of provincial annual development plans is Rs 1,013 billion. He set a Rs 4,435 billon target for tax collection in the next fiscal year while announcing major tax relief for low income groups. The tax collection for outgoing fiscal was around Rs 3,900 billion. He said 12,230 MW of electricity was added to the national grid in the last five years. Talking about the expansion in the economy he said, "Due to high economic growth in the last five years, the size of the economy has increased unusually. It has risen from Rs 22,385 billion in 2013 to Rs 34,396 billion in 2018. The per capita income during this time has risen from Rs 129,005 to Rs 180,204". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track and kill Osama bin Laden has been moved by authorities from a prison in the country's northwest to an unknown safer location, an official and family member said today. Shakil Afridi has been languishing in a prison in the city of Peshawar for almost seven years after his fake vaccination programme helped US agents track and kill the Al-Qaeda leader. A top prison official in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the main town, told AFP that Afridi was moved by intelligence officials to the safer place late yesterday. When asked the reasons behind moving the doctor, the official told AFP, "I was informed in writing that they are moving him due to security reasons". Jamil Afridi, the doctor's brother, confirmed to AFP that he had been informed by government officials that "Shakil has been moved to a safer place". Afridi was sentenced to jail for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. Some US lawmakers said the case was revenge for his help in the search for the Al-Qaeda chief. Afridi, a former senior surgeon believed to be in his mid-50s, had been living in solitary confinement in a small room in Peshawar's Central Jail, his lawyer Qamar Nadim told AFP. In 2016, a US threat to cut aid to Pakistan saw a tribunal slice 10 years off his sentence -- but since then US pressure for his release has tapered off. US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Places of tourist interest and e-commerce websites were the two things most searched by passengers using the free Wi-Fi internet service at Konkan Railway stations, a senior official said today. He added that there were "hardly any reports" of people using the service to access porn on the internet. The Wi-Fi service, available at 28 stations on the route since it inauguration on May 21 last year, is a joint effort of Konkan Railway (KRCL) and broadband and internet service provider Joister, he added. "Since its launch, over 2.92 lakh users have registered with Joister Infoserve Pvt. Ltd and have been availing the free Wi-Fi service," the official said. "Passengers at Konkan Railway stations use the free Wi-Fi service to search for places in the Konkan belt that are worth visiting. This is followed by e-commerce portals. Websites connected with academics is also on the list of searches and so are employment sites," the official said. The list is the result of a joint internal study of the Wi-Fi service carried out by KRCL and Joister Infoserve, he said. "We hardly have any report of porn sites being watched using our Wi-Fi services," he said. Joister chairman and managing director, Nikunj Kampani, said that it was good to know that the service was proving helpful to passengers. "We aim to transform India into a digitally empowered economy. We want to work hand in hand to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of a digital India," he said. He added that the firm, which provides free Wi-Fi internet services to several police establishments in the state, was now planning to launch them in rural areas of Maharashtra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today said that if the Maharashtra government is unable to provide accommodation to people displaced following the demolition of their houses along the Tansa water pipeline, then it should pay them to find, on their own, a place to stay. The high court had earlier this month directed the state's chief secretary to identify a place in Mumbai, where these persons could be accommodated. The chief secretary, in his affidavit filed today, expressed inability to find a place for them. Irked by this, the court said if the government was finding itself in a problematic situation, then it should pay the project affected persons. "Since the government cannot find an immediate solution by way of accommodating these persons, the only order we can pass is to ask the government to pay an adequate amount to each person who has been displaced. This would enable these persons to find a place to stay in the city on their own," Justice A S Oka said. "We direct the chief secretary to consider this solution and file an affidavit," the court said, posting the matter for further hearing in July. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in compliance with a previous order of the high court, has been demolishing encroachments, including unauthorised residential and commercial structures, along the Tansa pipeline that runs across nine administrative wards of the city. Initially, the state government had decided to accommodate the displaced persons in suburban Mahul village. However, they refused to move there, citing high pollution levels due to nearby refineries. The people had relied on a observation made by the Mumbai bench of the National Green Tribunal in a related matter to this effect. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today directed newly appointed School Minister O P Soni to examine various pending demands of school teachers for their early resolution, an official release said. Assuring a delegation of teachers of his government's commitment to redress their demands, the chief minister asked Soni to have detailed discussions with representatives of various teachers' associations on issues concerning them, including the transfer policy, rationalization policy, release of salaries on time besides regularization of services of employees in various societies, the release said. He also asked School Secretary Krishan Kumar to take up with the Centre the issue of exemption of school teachers from non- duties, and delegate such duties to non-teaching staff so that the former could concentrate on education. The directives were issued by the chief minister while presiding over a meeting of 'Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha Punjab', the official statement said. Singh assured of his personal intervention with regard to the various pending issues concerning the teachers belonging to various categories. He promised to hold another meeting with the morcha representatives in June, after their preliminary meeting with the school education minister. The chief minister, however, expressed concern over the poor pass percentage in Class 10 state board results and urged the teachers to work hard with dedication and commitment to raise the bar. The government on its part was committed to improving the standards of education in the state by ensuring full strength of teachers, besides upgrading the infrastructure in the schools, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "treating judiciary" in the same way as he "treats" the AAP government, a day after the Centre turned down a Supreme Court collegium proposal to elevate Justice K M Joseph to the apex court. "PM is treating judiciary in the same manner as he treats Delhi govt (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted, apparently referring to the tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre over a host of issues, including transfer and posting of bureaucrats. Kejriwal has previously accused the Centre of "creating hurdles unsparingly" in the functioning of Delhi government. Speaking at an event to mark the third anniversary of the AAP government in Delhi in February, he said the Delhi government was struggling to get approval for its policies from Lt Governor Anil Baijal, an appointee of the central government. Yesterday, the central government returned to the Supreme Court collegium its recommendation to elevate Uttrakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court, asked it to reconsider the proposal. Along with Justice Joseph, the collegium had proposed senior advocate Indu Malhotra's name for elevation. Her name was accepted and she was administered the oath as a Supreme Court judge by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a fresh development in the death of Lithuanian tourist Liga Skromene, police today indicated that strangulation could be a reason for her death. "One reason could be manual strangulation. The rest of the reasons will be known only in the forensic report", City Police commissioner P Prakash told reporters here. Meanwhile, police have questioned several persons in connection with the crime. At least four persons are in police custody in connection with the death of the tourist, whose highly decomposed body was found on April 21 from deserted mangrove forest at nearby Kovalam. Fingerprint experts have also collected samples from a small boat found in the area. Yesterday, the DNA test had confirmed the decomposed body to be that of Liga. Police are awaiting the forensic report which will give an indication on the cause of her death. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran in a Facebook post, slammed the authorities of the Ayurveda resort at Pothencode for allowing Liga to leave for Kovalam on April 14 despite knowing she was suffering from acute depression. Liga had left for Kovalam on that day, following which she went missing. "The government and tourism department will take strong action against the resort", he said. "Each visitor coming to Kerala is our guest. Their security is our responsibility", he said. Yesterday the state government had handed over Rs five lakh solatium to Liga's sister. The highly decomposed body, with head severed, was recovered from Thiruvallam near Kovalam from a bushy isolated area near a mangrove forest on the banks of Karmana river on April 21. Liga's husband Andrews and sister Ilze and had identified the body by the clothes and hair and had demanded a high-level probe into the circumstances leading to her death. The Kerala police had set up a Special Investigation Team to probe her disappearance and also announced a reward of Rs two lakh to anyone providing information about the missing woman. The state government has also promised all help to the family to airlift Liga's body to their native place for the final rites. Thirty three-year-old Liga, who had come to Kerala for ayurvedic treatment for depression, went missing from Kovalam on March 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Polling in the Williamnagar Assembly seat in Meghalaya"s East Garo Hills district began on a peaceful note at 7 am today amid tight security arrangements, officials said. Polling for the seat was postponed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED attack on February 18, days before the February-27 Assembly election in the state. Women voters in Garo costumes were seen queueing up at various polling stations across the constituency since morning and shopkeepers are doing brisk business in the vicinity of polling booths. Altogether nine candidates are in the fray. Voting will end at 4 pm in all of the 58 polling stations, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told PTI. Four companies of central armed police forces have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the elections, the CEO said. There are over 32,000 registered voters in the constituency, of which 16,713 are male voters and 15,632 females, the CEO said. The ruling National Peoples Party has fielded former MLA Marcuis N Marak while Deborah C Marak is the Congress candidate. The NCP, whose candidate Jonathone S Sangma died in an IED attack on February 18, has fielded his wife Krenila Marak. The NPP, the BJP, the United Democratic Party and the NCP are all parts of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, bur are contesting independently in the poll. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ram Nath Kovind will arrive in Madhya Pradesh tomorrow on a two-day visit and will take part in various programmes in Sagar and Guna districts. The President will arrive here tomorrow morning at 10.10 am and will, later, leave for Sagar to take part in the 27th convocation ceremony of Dr. Hari Singh Gour Central University, an official release said today. He will also participate in the 620th Sant Kabir Prakatotsav Mahotsav being held in the university's auditorium, it added. The President will come back to Bhopal in the evening and stay overnight in the Raj Bhawan, the release stated. On April 29, the President will leave for Bamori in Guna district to take part in the Asanghathit Shramik Sammelan (unorganised sector labourers' meet) organised by the state government and then will leave for Guna to launch the Mini Smart City programme there, it said. On the occasion, he will also visit the residence of his elder brother, Ramswaroop Bharti, from 4 pm to 4.45 pm and later leave for Bhopal, from where he will go back to Delhi, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Priyanka Chopra says she had suffered from a knee injury while shooting for the third season of TV series "Quantico". The 35-year-old star, who reprises her role as FBI agent Alex Parrish, took to Twitter to reveal some tidbits about the ABC series ahead of its third installment premiere. "I actually hurt my knee filming this! I had to have a physiologist on set with me and my knee wrapped for the next 3 weeks #AlexIsBack #Quantico @QuanticoTV," Priyanka tweeted. The actor also said when the crew was shooting in Italy, they relished a lot of the country's finest, Tuscan wine. "While we were in Italy, I was the only actress from the main cast, so I would go out at night with the crew. We consumed a lot of Tuscan wine!" she wrote. Priyanka also took Italian lessons for the show. Besides "Quantico", the actor has Hollywood projects such as "A Kid Like Jake" and "Isn't It Romantic" in her kitty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Defence Ministry today approved military procurement worth Rs 3,687 crore which included acquiring anti-tank guided missile NAG for the Army and long-range guns for the Navy. The capital acquisition proposals were cleared at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The DAC approved procurement of thirteen 127 mm calibre guns for the Navy from BAE Systems of the United States at a cost of over Rs 3,000 crore, officials said. The NAG missile system, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will be procured for the Army at a cost of Rs 524 crore, officials said. The system includes a third generation anti-tank guided missile along with the missile carrier vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy enemy tanks during day and night. "This will give a quantum boost to the Army's capability against enemy armour," the Defence Ministry said. It said the thirteen 127 mm calibre guns for the Navy will be fitted on board the newly constructed ships and will enable naval vessels to provide fire support. "These guns have engagement range of 24 kilometres, which could be extended further by using Extended Range Gun Munitions (ERGM)," the ministry said. The ministry said the DAC also reviewed the progress of DRDO's programme to develop indigenous Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). In all, military procurement worth Rs 3,687 crore was approved, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his China visit, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said today he would remain silent on the Doklam issue during his talks with President Xi Jinping, and wondered where his '56 inch chest' has gone. He also slammed Modi over his "silence" on alleged corruption by BJP leaders, including its chief Amit Shah's son. " " " "I have heard that he (Modi) is visiting China. You just see, take it in writing from me. China's army is sitting in Doklam and he will not utter a word on Doklam in China, you just watch. "He (Modi) won't utter a word, this is 56 inch chest. Only hollow words, false promises," Gandhi, who is on a two-day election campaign tour of Karnataka, told a public rally here. The Congress president spoke of how Modi had hosted Xi in his home state Gujarat and the Chinese troops made an incursion into Indian territory. "In Gujarat, on the banks of a river, Narendra Modi ji"sits on a swing with the Chinese president. Chinese president goes"back home and puts Chinese army in Doklam. I don't know where his (Modi's) 56-inch chest had gone, Narendra Modi ji did not utter a word," he"said. Chinese soldiers had intruded into Indian territory in Chumar area of Ladakh in September 2014 during Xi's India visit. The Congress chief, who released the party's election" manifesto for the Assembly polls in Mangaluru earlier in the day, said, "Modi ji, wherever he goes, speaks his 'mann ki baat, but our manifesto is"not our mann ki baat...it is the mann ki baat of Karnataka's"youth, women and poor". He said the manifesto was not prepared by two or three Congress leaders in a closed room, and that people of every district and region were consulted. Verappa Moily, the manifesto committee chief, met" people across classes, farmers, youth and industry, he said, and claimed that 90 per cent of promises made in the manifesto ahead of the 2013 polls had been fulfilled. Invoking 12th century social reformer Basavanna who" taught people 'Nudidante nade' (practise what you preach), Gandhi said, "If there is no weight in what you speak, then there is no meaning." Gandhi said while the Congress' Siddaramaiah government fulfilled what it promised, the Modi dispensation did not honour commitments made by it. "Modi ji folds his hands in front of Basavanna's statue, garlands it, and then he gives eight tickets to Reddy brothers. He says he stands against corruption....but then he stands with Yeddyurappa (the BJP's chief ministerial nominee), who has spent time in jail, on one side, and four"MLAs who have savoured jail food on the other," he added. Targeting the prime minister over his "silence" on Amit Shah's son Jay Shah, whom he accused of "converting" Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in three months, Gandhi said, Modi claims to be the "chowkidar" (watchman) of the country, "but does not stop his friend from indulging in theft". Taking a jibe at the prime minister over BJP allotting party tickets to the Reddy brothers and their supporters, he said, "Modi ji likes changing names. Earlier it was"Planning Commission. He changed it to NITI Ayog. Now he has"changed the CBI's name to Central Bureau of Illegal mining. The influential Reddy brothers of Ballari were accused of involvement in illegal iron ore mining in several states, and two of them have been fielded by the BJP in the polls. "It (CBI) is an agency that gives clean chit to"Reddy brothers, it does whatever Modiji asks it to do. If you want theft to happen from Karnataka, Modi ji will get it done. Amit Shah and Modi ji will give them (Reddy"brothers and their men) eight tickets and then they will give"speeches that they are against corruption," he said. He alleged the Reddy brothers had looted Rs 33,000" crore from Karnataka by way of the mining scam. The Congress president also accused the prime minister of keeping quiet over atrocities against women. "Narendra Modi gave the slogan 'Beti Bachao, Beti" Padhao'. Now the slogan has changed, wherever you see parents" in India are trying to save their daughters from BJP leaders,""he said. Referring to the alleged involvement of an Uttar" Pradesh BJP MLA in a rape case, he said, "The new slogan is" only 'Beti Bachao, Beti Bachao' (save your daughters) from BJP leaders. Narendra Modi, the country's chowkidar, did not utter a word on their MLA indulging in rape." Gandhi said when a rape incident happened in Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister only said there should be no atrocities against women. "Modi ji, we know, but you do something about this, the whole country is burning, there are atrocities against Dalits,"minorities are being attacked, women are being attacked, and you are just watching," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rajasthan Congress today held a demonstration against rising fuel prices in Mansarover area here. Raising a slogan 'Car ho gayi bekaar', the party workers led by pradesh Congress committee secretary Suresh Mishra and Jaipur district Congress committee president Pratap Singh Khachariyawas pushed their cars and also got some of the vehicles pulled by camel carts. The crude oil prices are declining in the international market but the fuel price in India is on the rise. It is a burden on people. The government should rollback the prices, Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Reserve Bank of India today announced a slew of measures to raise exposure of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) in government securities, a move that will help in softening yields. The cap on aggregate FPI investments in any central government security, currently at 20 per cent, stands revised to 30 per cent of the outstanding stock of that security, the RBI said in a late night notification. "FPIs were required to invest in corporate bonds with a minimum residual maturity of three years. Henceforth, FPIs are permitted to invest in corporate bonds with minimum residual maturity of above one year, it said. It said the minimum residual maturity requirement for central government securities (G-secs) and State Development Loans (SDLs) stands withdrawn, subject to the condition that investment in securities with residual maturity below 1 year by an FPI under either category should not exceed, at any point of time, 20 per cent of the total investment of that FPI in that category. So far, FPIs were required to invest in government bonds with a minimum residual maturity of three years, it said. With Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) commencing online monitoring of utilisation of G-sec limits, it has been decided to discontinue the auction mechanism with effect from June 1, 2018, it said, adding that utilisation of FPI limits would be monitored online. Currently, FPIs are permitted to invest in G-secs till the limit utilization reaches 90 per cent, after which the auction mechanism is triggered for allocation of the remaining limit, it said. With regard to single or group investor-wise limit in corporate bonds, it said, investment by any FPI, including investments by related FPIs, should not exceed 50 per cent of any issue of a corporate bond. FPIs should not have an exposure of more than 20 per cent of its corporate bond portfolio to a single corporate including exposure to entities related to the corporate, it said. No FPI shall invest in partly paid instruments, it said, adding that these directions would be applicable with immediate effect. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph appears unfazed despite being at the centre of a raging debate over his eligibility for elevation as a judge of the Supreme court. A seasoned jurist known for his jovial nature in legal circles, Justice Kuttiyil Mathew Joseph upheld the dignity of his post, calmly going through the day's work yesterday even as the nation vigorously debated the rift between the judiciary and the government over the issue. The Centre has sent back for reconsideration the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium to elevate him. It accepted the recommendation on Justice Indu Malhotra, who took oath as a judge of the apex court today. While the television channels debated the issue, Justice Joseph held a full day's court yesterday. Sitting in a division bench, he spent most of the day hearing a case of employees of the state forest department claiming pension benefits from the Uttarakhand government. "He was in his usual jolly mood, disposing of cases with patience as he always does, advocate D S Patni who appeared in a case before Justice Joseph said. After the court wrapped up its business for the day, the judge continued with his daily routine of taking a leisurely walk in the evening on Mall Road. The Uttarakhand Chief Justice is often lost in the crowd of tourists in the lake town as he prefers to walk alone in the evenings, without the security cover he is entitled to. The 59-year-old judge is known for keeping his cool in the most adverse of circumstances. A couple of years back Justice Joseph had to be rushed to hospital in an air ambulance. As lawyers worried about his health, those close to him said Justice Joseph managed to maintain calm throughout the period. Justice Joseph headed the bench that quashed Narendra Modi government's decision to impose President's rule in the Congress-ruled state in 2016. The BJP government at the Centre, however, denies that not accepting the Collegium's recommendation on Justice Mathew had anything to do with that verdict. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The hearing in the Supreme Court on the plea against existing roster practice of allocation of cases by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) today saw Justice A K Sikri sharing his views on how in high courts, some judges express their "displeasure" when a particular matter is not given to them. "We have been in the high courts also. Many judges go to the chief justice and say give me this jurisdiction and this matter. Many express their displeasure that 'why I (judge) was not given this matter'," Justice Sikri observed. The remarks by Justice Sikri came after advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for the petitioner and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, referred to the submissions by Attorney General K K Venugopal about some judges' interest in hearing some cases. Venugopal said the petitioner's demand to vest the power to allocate cases to the five-member Collegium of the apex court, instead of the CJI, might lead to "conflict" among the judges as to who would hear which matter. He said if the Collegium was vested with this power, then the judges would express their views for themselves and might want to hear a particular matter. Venugopal also referred to controversial former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice C S Karnan, who was held guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to jail for six months by a seven-judge constitution bench of the top court. He said when Karnan was a judge in the high court, he used to tell the chief justice to give him bail matters. The apex court, which reserved its order on the plea, said the petition would be decided as per constitutional provisions. Advocate Prashant Bhushan told the court that there was no "practical difficulty" if the issue of allocation of cases was decided by the apex court Collegium or the full court, instead of the CJI alone. He said as per Venugopal's arguments, if the judges could have interest in hearing a particular matter, then the CJI might also have the same interest. "It would be safer if the Collegium decides this," he said. However, the bench observed that "practical difficulty is not an issue. We have to decide what the constitutional provisions say. Constitutional provisions will have to be looked into." During the hearing, the Attorney General said that somebody has to take a decision on the composition of benches and allocation of matters and it has to be the CJI. In his PIL, Shanti Bhushan has stated that the "master of roster" cannot be an "unguided and unbridled" discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the CJI by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges. The petition said the CJI's authority as the master of roster is "not an absolute, arbitrary, singular power that is vested in the chief justice alone and which may be exercised with his sole discretion". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today decided to hear next week the Centre's plea seeking review of its March 20 verdict on the SC/ST Act but made it clear that it would not entertain any other petition in the matter. Attorney General K K Venugopal mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Deepak Gupta and sought listing of the case. He told the bench that he had already filed his written submission. "The last line of your last order says that list the matter after written submission is filed. I have filed my written submission. Four states have also filed review petitions. Please give us a date," Venugopal told the bench. In his written submission filed in the apex court, the Attorney General has said that the verdict has "diluted" the stringent provisions of the Act, resulting in "great damage" to the country by causing anger and a sense of disharmony among the people. Justice Goel said the matter would be heard in the next week. "You tell us when it is convenient for you. It will have to be in the next week," the bench observed after which the matter was fixed for hearing on May 3. However, one of the advocates informed the bench that a number of petitions have already been filed in the case. "We are not entertaining any other petition," the bench said, adding, "it is the same issue. When the Attorney General is here, you all assist him". The Centre had moved the apex court on April 2 seeking review of its judgement by which safeguards were put on the provisions for immediate arrest under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, The government, in its review petition, has told the apex court that its judgement would violate Article 21 of the Constitution for the SC/ST communities and sought restoration of the provisions of the Act. The apex court had on March 20 said that on "several occasions", innocent citizens were being termed as accused and public servants deterred from performing their duties, which was never the intention of the legislature while enacting the SC/ST Act. Several states were rocked by wide spread violence and clashes following a 'Bharat Bandh' call given by several SC/ST organisations protesting the top court's March 20 order, that claimed eight lives. While hearing the Centre's review plea on April 3, the top court had asserted that "no provisions of SC/ST Act have been diluted" and clarified that additional safeguards had been put in place "to protect the fundamental rights" of innocents. It, however, had refused to keep the March 20 verdict in abeyance till it decided the Centre's review petition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The scars and bad memories of sexual abuse continue to haunt a child and are a hurdle in her emotional and psychological growth, a Delhi court has said while sending a man to jail for five years for molesting an eight-year-old in 2016. Additional Sessions Judge Seema Maini awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment to a factory worker MohanKumar, hailing from Nepal, along with a fine of Rs 20,000 and said he had outraged the girl's modesty, robbed her dignity and nipped her confidence. "Modesty is to a woman what fragrance is to flower. If you rob a flower of its fragrance, the flower loses its worth, so unto a woman. Outraging a woman's modesty, not just hurts her bodily self, but her whole persona and very existence. "Outraging a woman's modesty robs her of her dignity, nips her confidence and cripples her existence. This is what the convict is guilty of, and therefore the offence committed by him cannot be treated lightly, and he deserves no leniency," the judge said. It also asked the Delhi State Legal Services Authority to grant a compensation of Rs one lakh to the victim. "As the scars and bad memories, which have and shall continue to haunt the child and be a hurdle in her emotional and psychological growth, resorting to the provisions under section 33 (8) of POCSO Act, the victim is granted a further compensation of Rs one lakh only," the court said. According to the complaint filed by the girl's mother, on May 25, 2016, Kumar had caught hold of the girl's hand, dragged her to a corner near her house and tried to molest her. The complaint said that the girl's mother, on hearing her scream, came out of the house and apprehended the convict. Kumar, during the trial, claimed innocence and said he was being framed in the case due to some previous enmity. He also claimed in the court that he had merely asked for the phone in the girl's hand. However, the court rejected all his claims saying his statement has established his presence at the spot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sebi has sold two properties for nearly Rs 8 crore in the Pancard Clubs case, as part of markets regulator's efforts to recover investors' money. While the property located in Mumbai has been sold for Rs 2.73 crore, the one in Goa has been disposed of for Rs 5.26 crore, as per two separate Sebi orders. One Zohaib Ismailbhai Mansuri has bought the property located in Mumbai and three individuals -- Ramniwas L Agrawal, Vijay J Shevakarmani and Manohar Jathar -- have jointly picked up the property in Goa. With regard to the order involving the property situated in Mumbai, Sebi said the highest bidder (Mansuri) paid the full bid amount of Rs 2,72,70,000 including 1 per cent poundage fee within the time limit. Agrawal, Shevakarmani and Jathar have also jointly paid the bid amount of Rs 5,26,49,280 including the poundage fee. The regulator also noted that no application has been made for setting aside the sale of properties. Pancard Clubs had failed to comply with Sebi's direction in February 2016 ordering the company to refund over Rs 7,000 crore to investors, raised through illegal collective investment schemes (CIS). The firm had mobilised Rs 7,035 crore from 51,55,516 investors from 2002-03 to 2013-14. Subsequently, the markets regulator had initiated recovery proceedings in the case and attached the properties belonging to the firm and its directors. Since the entities failed to repay the dues, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had issued a notice of sale in February 2018 for selling their properties. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) plans to work with its Chinese counterpart on China's multi-billion dollar One Belt One Road Initiative (BRI), its newly-appointed chairman has said. "The SICCI will work very closely with the Chinese Chamber on the One Belt One Road Initiative for the benefit of its members," said Dr T Chandroo, the business group's newly-elected chairman, after holding its annual general meeting here yesterday. He said the SICCI will also help members benefit from international businesses through the Trans Pacific Partnership signed earlier this year. Leveraging on Singapore chairmanship of Asean 2018, we will partner with other chambers with a view to form working relations with them, said Chandroo, who is also chairman and chief executive officer of Modern Montessori International, a regional education institute with schools in India. He also listed out plans to help the SICCI members adopt fintech and innovation. "We plan to encourage members in the brick and mortar business to embrace e-commerce and digital media and increasingly internationalise themselves," he said. The SICCI, Chandroo said, will also continue to work on the development of small enterprises and increasing women participation in the business and corporate world. The Chamber will be tapping on more than 8,000 Indian-origin businesses in Singapore as new members, he said, adding the SICCI board aims to add 1,500 new members during 2018-2020. Chandroo, along with the new board, was elected on April 16, 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi has said he will put up his own candidates in the next Lok Sabha elections if his party allies with the Congress, which he accused of practising soft Hindutva. The leader issued the veiled threat in a letter addressed to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, calling the Congress opportunistic, "dhokhebaaz" (dishonest) and "andar se naram Hindutvawadi party," or a party which had a soft corner for Hindutva. "The responsibility of safeguarding secularism is not just ours," Azmi, who heads the party in Maharashtra, said in the April 25 letter. He complained that the Congress had backed the Shiv Sena rather than the SP for a place on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. "On April 19, during an election to a section of the BMC, the SP needed only one vote of the Congress. But their sole nagarsevak Vithal Lokare voted for the Shiv Sena, allegedly at the behest of Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam," he told PTI. The letter said if the SP allies with the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, he he will field his own candidates. But when questioned by PTI, Azmi refused to call this a "revolt", saying he will never resort to that. SP general secretary Rajendra Chaudhary said he has no information about any letter sent by Azmi to Akhilesh Yadav. Chaudhary also said that Yadav has no plans so far for campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka, though the party will field candidates on some assembly seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a strong message, the Indian Army today asked Pakistan military to stop supporting terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that it will continue to take all "retaliatory measures" foil Pakistan's evil designs. In a telephonic conversation, Indian Army's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Anil Chauhan told his Pakistani counterpart that the onus on bringing down tension along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir lies with Pakistan, Army officials said. The unscheduled interaction over the hot line took place this evening following a request by Pakistan, they said adding the Pakistani DGMO alleged that Indian security forces had resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC. "Indian Army DGMO emphatically stated that retaliatory firing by Indian troops has only been carried out in response to unabated support given by Pakistan Army to armed terrorists who infiltrate across the border and target Indian Army posts with heavy calibre weapons," the Army said. It said Lt Gen Chauhan further impressed conveyed to his Pakistan counterpart that support to terrorism by Pakistan Army was unacceptable and the Indian will continue to take all retaliatory measures. "The onus of de-escalation along the LoC rests with Pakistan Army provided they stop supporting terrorists and put an end to unprovoked ceasefire violations to abet infiltration," the Army said. The LoC in Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a spurt in ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops in the last few months and the Indian Army has been retaliating effectively to Pakistani actions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Principal of the city-based Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, Suhas Raghunath Pednekar, was today appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai. Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who is Chancellor of all public universities in the state, made the appointment. The governor handed over the letter of appointment to Dr Pednekar at Raj Bhavan here today. Pednekar, a professor of chemistry, has been appointed as the VC for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, a Raj Bhavan statement issued here said. He succeeds Sanjay Deshmukh, who was removed from the post of VC of the university on October 24 last year. Devanand Shinde, vice chancellor of Shivaji University in Kolhapur, was holding the additional charge of the post of vice chancellor since then. The governor had constituted a search committee under the chairmanship of Dr K Kasturirangan, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to recommend to him a panel of names suitable for the post. Shyam Lal Soni, director of National Institute of Technology, Pauri (Garhwal) Uttarakhand and Bhushan Gagrani, vice chairman and managing director of CIDCO were other members of the committee. The governor had removed Sanjay Deshmukh from the post of VC for his "gross negligence" which led to inordinate delay in the declaration of university's exam results. Deshmukh had been sent on forced leave by the governor in August last year after the former faced flak over the delay in results from students, opposition parties and the government. He was blamed for hastily implementing the new on-screen marking system that led to an unprecedented delay in declaration of results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Textiles Ministry has held discussions with state textile ministers on ways to boost the growth of handloom and handicraft sectors. "A meeting of state textiles ministers was held on 26th April here for taking comprehensive view on the schemes of Government of India for handloom and handicraft sectors," the Textiles Ministry said in a statement. Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani presided over the meeting with Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta and Secretary Textiles Anant Kumar Singh. Irani appealed to the state ministers and representatives to play a pivotal role in decision making for the growth of the textiles sector, it said. Underlining the need for all-round development of weavers and artisans, the minister requested officials at the Centre and the states to ensure that the benefits of all schemes reach the beneficiaries. She emphasized on the need for educating weavers and artisans and their families by encouraging them to enrol with NIOS and IGNOU through initiatives taken by the ministry. State ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were present at the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit today cautioned against "sensational reporting," saying it was not only unethical but could also 'boomerang.' Further, truth was like "the shining sun" which cannot be hidden away from the people, he said in his address at the South India Media Summit 2018 here. "It is possible that in the competition for increasing circulation or viewership some journalists indulge in sensational reporting with a view towards capturing a larger share. But that, apart from being unethical, is also bound to boomerang after some time," the governor said. Recalling that he was a journalist for about 40 years before being appointed Assam Governor a few years ago, Purohit said he knew the challenges faced by the press and the visual media were "huge." Circulation of newspapers had also picked up thanks to the improvement in literacy levels and the expansion of television coverage, he added. But there were 'hurdles' that had to be overcome, he said. "Firstly, it must be remembered that cannot be manufactured. should be factually correct based on factual position," he added. Purohit, who recently landed in a row and later apologised for patting on the cheek of a woman journalist in an apparent bid to avoid replying to a query at the end of a press meet, said truth was like the "shining sun." "The truth is like the shining sun and cannot be hidden away from people. While it is possible that the sun is covered by a passing cloud for a short period, it comes out blazing forth with greater brilliance when the clouds move away," he said. "Such is the power of truth. No wonder that Sathyameva Jayate is the gospel of Indian democracy," he added. Purohit said the press and visual media form an important pillar of the Indian democracy. He called for publicity material in media regarding availability of employment opportunities, and said the 'right' content being telecast in the form of drama and educational programmes will benefit viewers and provide the society with the right kind of 'principled values.' Propagation of political awareness will enable the people to play their roles as members of a democracy better, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following are the top stories from the northern region at 5 pm NEWDELHI LGD18 New Delhi: The Supreme Court today stayed till May 7 the trial in the Kathua gangrape and murder case, after being seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI. JAMMU DEL5 Jammu: Police investigating the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua say that Sanji Ram, one of the main accused, has told them during interrogation that he learnt about the rape four days after her abduction, and decided to have her killed because his son was also involved in the sexual assault. DEHRADUN DES9 Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UCPCR) today asked the state government to strengthen Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in all districts by providing them necessary infrastructure and basic facilities. Expected stories: Srinagar: A donkey has been given a hall ticket to appear for a recruitment examination for naib tehsildars in Jammu and Kashmir government. Shahjahanpur (UP): The district administration has stepped up security around the victim's house after the conviction of self-styled godman Asaram in a rape case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today set a target of achieving three-fold the growth rate of Mamata Banerjee ruled West Bengal in the next three years. Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress supremo, had downplayed the BJP's victory in neighbouring Tripura on March 3 saying there is nothing to rejoice in the win in a state having only about 26 lakh voters and two parliamentary seats. "The government would achieve three times the growth rate of Bengal in the next three years and prove to Mamata Banerjee that size of a state does not always matter," Deb said while addressing bureaucrats on the occasion of the Civil Services Day. The Trinamool Congress had ousted the 34-year-old Left Front government in West Bengal in 2011, while the BJP-IPFT coalition unseated the Manik Sarkar led Left Front ministry after 25 years. "Didi is Didi. She had said the BJP has done nothing special in Tripura.... But I feel a government is government at the end of the day, irrespective of the state's size," Deb said. He urged bureaucrats to join the task of developing Tripura into a model state by the next three years. "I do not want anyone seeing my government as small. As per the Constitution, the government of Tripura has the same power as that of West Bengal. I shall show her (Banerjee) that we can achieve three times growth rate by three years," the CM said. Though April 21 is observed as the Civil Service Day, its was observed in the state today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tripura government has decided to hand over to the CBI all 74 cases of chit fund scams which are now under investigation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), an official release said. The CBI had prayed before the Tripura High Court earlier this year to take over 11 cases out of the total 74 related to chit fund scams. The release said the state government has no objection if the CBI takes over the 11 cases for investigation, and, moreover, it has decided to handover the remaining 63 cases also to the central probe agency. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the Tripura High Court in 2015 to probe cases related to chit funds and non-banking financial companies. Head of the SIT and Inspector General of Police K V Srijesh said, "We have almost completed our investigation. Only seven-eight cases are pending. Now the state government has recommended all the cases to be taken up by the CBI. There is nothing much (to say) from our side." Former Social Welfare Minister Bijita Nath and ex-Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury were questioned by the CBI on Wednesday and yesterday respectively in the connection with the chit fund scam. Both the former ministers, now MLAs, said they were questioned as witnesses and the CBI gave in writing that they had cooperated with the agency during questioning. The BJP led government was formed in Tripura last month after the CPI(M)-led Left Front was ousted from power after 25 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It rained donations for the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti at its plenary today with over Rs 20 crore"being received"from"party leaders. Khammam Lok Sabha member P Srinivas Reddy topped the donors list by offering Rs two crore to the party. Reddy was originally elected on a YSR Congress ticket and later switched loyalties and joined the ruling party. TRS Lok Sabha members Malla Reddy and Konda Vishweshrwar Reddy, MLA Mari Janardhan Reddy, MLC Bhanu Prasad, former MP G Vivek and party leaders Marri Rajasekhar Reddy and Vijayender Reddy also donated one crore each, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said, revealing the financial position of the party. "Total donations we received today Rs 20.41 crore. Earlier we had balance of Rs 21.67 crore with the party. The total balance now in the party's account is Rs 42.08 crore.All these donations were received through cheques only," he said. The Chief Minister said this information would be sent to the Income Tax Department and also the Election Commission of India officially, While thanking all the donors, the Chief Minister said they seek donations from the public also. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump said today there were now only "two or three sites" under consideration for his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, down from five he mentioned just a day earlier. Trump, speaking as he welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House, said on Thursday that "five locations" were in the running, and "three or four dates." The meeting is expected in either May or early June, in the wake of Kim's historic meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump said today he is considering traveling to Israel next month to open the new US embassy, which he controversially ordered moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. "I may go. I'm very proud of it," he said at a White House press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as he described nixing a $1 billion, 10-year plan for a new structure in favour of a USD 300,000 to USD 400,000 makeover of part of an existing US installation. "It is going to be beautiful. And it will be somewhat temporary, but it could be for many years," he said. Trump's embassy shift to Jerusalem sparked deep anger across the Arab world, particularly among Palestinians, who see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump today again offered hints about the possible locations for his eagerly awaited meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, now saying "two countries" were in the running. "We're down to two countries as to a site, and we'll let you know what that site is," Trump told a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his side. Trump and Kim are expected to meet in the coming weeks, in the wake of Friday's historic talks between the North Korean leader and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking a free and fair trade with other countries with which the US has trade deficit, President Donald Trump today asked for reforms in international financial institutions, including the World Trade Organization, which has not treated America "well". "We must have a fair and reciprocal trading relationship with our friends and partners. We have a trade deficit in goods with the European Union of approximately, hard to believe, USD 151 billion a year, including a USD 50 billion annual trade deficit in autos and auto parts," he told reporters at a joint White House conference with the visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trump said he was committed to work with Merkel to reduce barriers for US exports to deepen economic ties between the two countries. He welcomed Merkel's partnership in promoting major reforms to international organisations, like the World Trade Organization, "which has not treated the United States well, to protect sovereignty and ensure fairness". Merkel said it was important to see that "very close" relations on trade exist between Germany and the European Union on the one hand and the United States on the other. "We want fair trade. We want a trade that is in line with the multilateral trading system of the WTO," she said. "For many, many years, the WTO has not been able to bring about international agreements. So bilateral agreements may well replace that, that's something that we, on behalf of the European Union, already have done and have negotiated with a number of countries over the past few years," Merkel said. She said the US and Germany have been able to reduce trade surplus between them. "Our trade surplus that is with the United States, but we still have a long way to go. But the United States, also due to the tax reform, again has become a very interesting place to invest for our companies," Merkel said. Trump insisted that there needs to be a "reciprocal relationship, which is not there". "The US right now has a trade deficit with the European Union of USD 151 billion. And the chancellor and I have discussed it today at length and we're working on it. We want to make it more fair and the chancellor wants to make it more fair," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two suspected "pro-Pakistan" Kashmiri hackers have been arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell from Punjab, a senior official said today. The two, who claimed to have hacked over 500 Indian websites, have been identified as Shahid Malla, 28, and Adil Hussain Teli, 20, said PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell). Acting on a specific input, the duo was arrested on the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in raids at two locations in Punjab, the officer said. "As per their online activities and initial findings, the two were part of anti-national hacking group called 'Team Hackers Third Eye', and claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed social media ban by use of VPN (virtual private network) during April-May 2017," he said. The duo was found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-Indian hackers. Some of those hackers are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies, Kushwah said. The duo was found to be "pro-Kashmiri terrorism and pro-Pakistan" as they had made anti-India and seditious posts, the DCP said. Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from them will be examined by the Delhi Police in detail to ascertain their role in anti-state activities. Malla is a second year B Tech student at a college in Rajpora, Punjab. He belongs to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir and was staying at a rented accommodation in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura. Teli is a final-year BCA student at an institute in Jalandhar, Punjab. He belongs to Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was staying in a rented accommodation in a colony in Jalandhar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two under-trial prisoners managed to escape from Bandikui sub-jail in Dausa district of Rajathan today, a police official said. Irshaad and Shabir, who were in judicial custody for a robbery case, climbed the 27-feet wall with the help of a rope and managed to escape in the morning, said Jaheer Abbas, the SHO of Bandikui police station. Police personnel have been deployed to trace the two prisoners, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) today staged a demonstration outside the UGC headquarters here, protesting a workshop being organised by the higher education regulator on granting autonomy to select colleges of the varsity. Senior DUTA office-bearers described the proposed scheme as a "dubious model of autonomy and privatisation" which "has nothing to do with academic freedom". The University Grants Commission (UGC) had today called the meeting with principals of 35 DU colleges to discuss the modalities through which "financial autonomy can be granted to these colleges to enable them to start self-financed courses and hike student fee to generate their own resources for expansion", DUTA president Rajib Ray said. "This dubious model of autonomy and privatisation has nothing to do with academic freedom and is borne out by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and UGC's shameful unwillingness to discuss the proposal with teachers' bodies," he claimed. Earlier, a DU professors collective too had opposed the workshop and termed it as being held in "gross violation" of the Delhi University Act. "Autonomy has resulted in a sharp decline in the academic quality in the erstwhile prestigious colleges like Ravenshaw in Cuttack and Presidency in Kolkata. "It also resulted in drastic rise in the cost of education, informalisation in faculty and staff appointments, adverse service conditions and pronounced commercialisation of courses and degree programmes," Ray said. The DUTA has appealed to college principals to resist the move and raise its concerns with the UGC. According to the UGC, the autonomous scheme would bring academic and operative freedom to the colleges, among other provisions. "The Autonomous Colleges scheme is a sinister strategy, on the part of the current government, to dismember the university and wash its hands off the responsibility of ensuring that the 4,500 vacant teaching positions are filled and the second tranche of OBC expansion posts is released so that a healthy student-teacher ratio can be maintained. "By giving administrative and financial autonomy to private trusts, it instead wishes to turn these prestigious DU colleges into teaching shops," Ray said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as his new special envoy on Myanmar. Until her appointment, Burgener was the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Germany since 2015. Burgener has over 25 years of experience in diplomacy having served in various high-level government positions in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. From 2009 to 2015, she served as Ambassador to Thailand and led efforts to mediate between the two sides in the violence that erupted in Thailand in 2010. Burgener has also served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, with rank of Ambassador, and Head of the International Law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law Division in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2009. Previously, veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar had served as the special adviser to the secretary-general on Myanmar, under Ban Ki-moon's tenure. The announcement of Burgener's appointment comes as the Security Council sends a mission to Iraq, Bangladesh, and Myanmar from April 26 to May 2. Peru, President of the Security Council for the month of April, Kuwait, and the United States of America will co-lead the visit to Iraq. Peru, Kuwait and the United Kingdom will co-lead the visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar. Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric had told reporters that the UN hopes the visits will help "refocus the attention of the international community on the plight of the Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh and the continuous need to fund the humanitarian operations. Since August 2017, nearly 700,000 minority Muslim Rohingyas have fled violence in Myanmar across the border into Bangaldesh's Cox's Bazar, joining several hundred thousand more that were already settled there in overcrowded camps. Guterres has said about 150,000 Rohingya refugees, who fled from Myanmar into crowded camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar are living in flood-prone areas and must be relocated ahead of the coming rainy season. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today applauded the "truly historic summit" between the leaders of North and South Korea and urged them to quickly turn their commitments into action. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed at their meeting in Panmunjom to pursue a permanent peace treaty and denuclearize the Korean peninsula. The UN chief "applauds today's truly historic summit," said a UN statement. Guterres "salutes the courage and leadership that resulted in the important commitments and agreed actions" and counts on the parties to "swiftly implement all agreed actions." "He looks forward to these gains being consolidated and advanced at the summit between the leaders of the United States and the DPRK expected to take place in the near future," it added, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. President Donald Trump hailed the "historic meeting" and said "good things" were happening on the peninsula. China's foreign ministry praised the leaders for their "courage" and said the summit created an opportunity to "further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey today participated in a cleanliness drive in Sarethi village of Faizabad district, a party spokesman said. Pandey said India's soul resides in its village. Hence, it is necessary to keep the villages clean. This will also help in improving the health of the people residing in the villages. "UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey today took part in a cleanliness drive and made people of the village aware about the importance of cleanliness," UP BJP spokesperson Alok Awasthi in a statement issued here said. The UP BJP chief also interacted with children at Sarethi primary school and told them about the importance of cleanliness, Awasthi said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to showcase Uttar Pradesh as an ideal investment destination, senior minister Sidharth Nath Singh will embark on a five-day visit to the US next week during which he is expected to hold parleys with top American companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Amazon. "The tour will start with a visit to Medtronic -- one of the largest health companies in the world. They have evinced interest in establishing cath labs in every district hospital of the state. "Meeting will also be held with officials of ride-hailer Uber, which is so far serving people in Lucknow and wants to expand to tier-2 cities in the state," Singh told PTI here today. He said that officials of Mastercard and Visa, which want to expand their footprint in UP, are likely to meet him. Adobe and Cisco also have plans for setting up facilities in the state, Singh said. "My San Francisco visit will be related mostly to health and information technology," he said. Singh, who holds the health portfolio and is also the state government's official spokesperson, said that on May 1 he will visit Stanford University and deliver a lecture on UP. Referring to his scheduled meeting with Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, Singh said the company wants to bring fighter aircraft to India. The UP cabinet minister is also likely to attend a meeting of the UP diaspora in New York on May 5. Singh also said he will be ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. "We also want to explore the possibility of setting up a financial hub/centre in the state, which will deal in banking and stock exchange activities," he said. Asked to comment on similar activities carried out by the previous SP government, Singh said, "The difference is that the BJP is a brand in itself and stands for governance and transparency. The law and order situation has improved in UP, and there is no corruption. The US investments in UP are being monitored by the PMO." The state is now known for fast-decision taking and ease of doing business, he asserted. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too will visit the US in the future, he said. A number of meetings with officials of different companies will take place on May 3 in Washington DC at the offices of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). A meeting with officials of the US government is also likely to take place on May 3 in Washington. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States' new top diplomat met his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of a NATO meeting today and warned Ankara against choosing a Russian air defence system. If Turkey goes ahead and deploys the Russian S-400 system, its radars and missile batteries will not be integrated with those of its NATO allies. And such a purchase could also be judged a breach of a 2017 US sanctions law designed to punish customers of Russia's arms and aerospace industries. Washington wants its NATO partners focused on threats from Russian hybrid warfare and on counterterrorism, and sees Ankara's decision as a mistake. On Friday, a day after he was sworn in as US secretary of state, former CIA boss Mike Pompeo raised the issue in talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. After their talks, a senior State Department official told reporters Pompeo reminded his opposite number Turkey could face sanctions if it bought the S-400. "He urged Cavusoglu to closely consider NATO interoperable systems," the official said, adding that the meeting had been cordial and workmanlike. "And there was also a shared desire to find a common way forward on air defence for Turkey," the official said, sounding optimistic. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States today urged China to respect the human rights and religious freedom of the people of Tibet. A resolution in this regard was passed by the US Senate, which among other issues, addresses the right of the Tibetan Buddhists to determine their own leadership, including the future 15th Dalai Lama, without any interference from the Chinese government. The resolution was introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. "We stand by the Tibetan people, who have long been our unwavering friends," Senator Leahy said. "We also stand by the rights of Tibetan Buddhists, not just in Tibet but around the world, who should be able to determine their own religious leadership in accordance with their inalienable right to religious freedom," he said. The US Senate unanimously affirmed its support for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination and protection of their distinct identity. It said the Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders should be determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist community. The Senate also commemorated the 59th anniversary of Tibet's 1959 uprising against the Chinese rule as "Tibetan Rights Day", and called on the US Secretary of State to implement fully the provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002. Congressmen Jim McGovern and Randy Hultgren have introduced a companion resolution in the House of Representatives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States today called on China to immediately release the 11th Panchen Lama, reportedly abducted by the Chinese authorities some two decades ago. "On April 25, we marked the birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who has not appeared in public since he was reportedly abducted two decades ago by the Chinese government at age six," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said. She said the US is concerned about "eliminating" the religious, linguistic, and cultural identity of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities. We are also concerned about the ongoing "destruction" of communities of worship, such as the Larung Gar and Yachen Gar monasteries, Nauert said. "We call on China to release Nyima immediately and to uphold its international commitments to promote religious freedom for all," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government today sought security forces from four to five neighbouring states to manage the panchayat elections that would be held on May 14 in a single phase. Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purkayastha, however, neither named the states nor mentioned the type of security forces being sought. "West Bengal Police have gained in strength and we are capable of ensuring adequate arrangements for the elections. But still, for full backup, we have sought additional forces from four to five states," Kar Purkayastha told reporters at the state secretariat today. The State Election Commission (SEC) that yesterday fixed May 14 as the date of panchayat polls, is now faced with the task of providing security to 58,467 polling booths spread across the state. In addition to around 46,000 personnel of the state police and 12,000 of the Kolkata Police, the state government would use close to 2,000 security personnel from the departments of excise, prison and forest in manning the booths, official sources said. Kar Purkayastha said the state was doing everything to put up adequate arrangements for the elections. "We will have armed coverage for every premises where the polling will be conducted. We want a peaceful election and for that we seek everybody's cooperation," he said. The panchayat election will be held in one phase on May 14 and any re-poll, if needed, will be held on May 16. The date of counting will be notified later. SEC Secretary Nilanjan Shandilya yesterday said the poll panel had requested the state government to make sufficient security arrangements to ensure a free and fair poll. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is on a mission to form a non-BJP non-Congress alternative, today said he would unite all regional parties in coming months to bring about "a qualitative change" in the country. "The way we created an earthquake and persuaded the country"s political system and realised Telangana state; in a similar way, we will unite the country, move like a bird and unite all regional parties in the coming two-three months to bring about a qualitative change in the country," he said. He was speaking at the 17th formation day Pleanary of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi here. A resolution was passed unanimously at the Plenary authorising Rao to take appropriate decisions on forming the proposed federal front. Rao, who has recently met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda as part of his move, said he would meet DMK working president M K Stalin on April 29. Stalin had two days ago "endorsed" Banerjee's efforts to bring together various parties against the BJP. Rao said Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav would come to Hyderabad to meet him on May 2. "We are speaking to many others," he added. In a sharp attack on the Congress and BJP, he said the two parties must explain why the country remained backward on various fronts as two parties had ruled the country for most of the period since independence. He said nature or God had given the country 70,000 TMC of water, yet neither the farmer gets water for irrigation nor drinking water was available. Sarcastically asking who gave this 'gift', he said "the Prime Minister of the day (Narendra Modi), also former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the presidents of the two national parties, Amit Shahji and Rahul Gandhiji, should answer this. Seventy years have passed and you have run government. Both of you ruled for 65 years." Rao claimed that the country remained backward in various areas, including ports, airports, roads, inland waterways and even life expectancy. Questioning why subjects like agriculture, health and rural roads remain with the Centre, he alleged that state governments had been reduced to worse than municipalities. Instead, the Centre should take care of issues like Kashmir where Pakistan was provoking every day and international diplomacy, Rao said. He claimed that his move to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative has rattled both the parties. "(Congress president) Rahul Gandhi says KCR is Narendra Modi"s agent. I did not understand. Have only Congress and BJP taken the contract to talk about national Others do not have the right?" he said. Rao also dared Telangana state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy to prove his claim that there were 150 rooms in his (Rao's) newly-built official residence. Rao, who is the president of TRS, said "a massive" public meeting would be organised either in October or November and 'others" would be invited for it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The White House today voiced hope that the historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will achieve progress towards a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Peninsula. The two leaders met after shaking hands over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries. The summit took place at Panmunjom, a small village located in the the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas. Kim is the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended 65 years ago. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: "On the occasion of Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in's historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, we wish the Korean people well". "We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula," she said as the two leaders met at Peace House in Panmunjom. "The United States appreciates the close coordination with our ally, the Republic of Korea, and looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks," Sanders said. The summit will pave the way for a much-anticipated meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump in the weeks to come. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he will remember his innate duty of protecting India's strategic interests by raising the Doklam issue with China that impacts national security. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala took a dig at the prime minister, saying Modi may not be able to show "red eyes" as he "loftily promised", but will he show the courage and conviction to do plain-speaking on Doklam and defend India's interests. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan, during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focusing on bilateral, global and regional issues. Modi, who arrived here in the central Chinese city early today for the informal summit, began talks soon after President Xi hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him. Surjewala said, "As Modi ji hugs his friend, President Xi Jinping, today in Wuhan, China, will he remember his innate duty to protect India's strategic interests and question China on occupation of Doklam impacting India's National Security?" "Does the PM accept the failure of his Cabinet ministers (defence and external affairs) to confront China on creation of a full-fledged Chinese military complex in Doklam right up to 10 metres from Indian Army post, during their visit from April 20 to 24, as an abdication of their duty to the nation?," he asked. Surjewala said India is facing an increasingly aggressive China which is trying intrude into the 'chicken neck' - Siliguri corridor - by building a new road through south of Doklam, and wondered why is the Modi government "clueless and incapable" to send a strong message to China. "Modi ji may not be able to show 'red eyes' as he loftily promised, but will he show the courage and conviction to do plain-speaking on Doklam and defend India's interests?," the Congress leader said. He said does the latest satellite imagery from Google maps on April 25, 2018 not show creation of additional structures by China a few meters away from Indian Army posts? "Has the prime minister and the defence ministry taken note of it? Will PM Modi take up the issue in the 'summit' with Chinese President today in Wuhan, China?," he asked. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit here today, during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focusing on bilateral, global and regional issues. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "The two leaders will review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspectives." Official sources said the two leaders will hold a series of one-on-one talks after lunch at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The summit is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body of a 42-year-old woman, who was married to a US-based NRI businessman last year, was found in a bathtub of a plush hotel here, police said today. A police spokesperson said Ritu died under mysterious circumstances in Room No 631 of the Taj Vivanta Hotel in Surajkand and her body was found in the bathtub. Ritu was married to Arun Kumar, a businessman based in New Jersey, the spokesperson said. Ritu's sisters said she married Arun on March 3 last year. It was her second marriage while Arun's third, they said. But since July/August last year, she was staying in India -- at times at hotels and at times with her brother or sisters. Police said the deceased has three sisters and one brother, who live in South Delhi. The police said they have secured the Room no 631, where the body was found, as they await the arrival of the husband of the deceased. A Forensic Science Laboratory team led by Dr Manisha inspected the crime scene. Officials from the Crime Branch also visited the site. Police said Ritu was staying in the hotel since April 22. On April 26, she instructed the reception that she should not be disturbed at all -- no waiter, no call forwarding, nothing. When her sisters dialled her number that day, she did not reply. Then they called up the hotel's reception but did not get any "satisfactory" reply from there either, they said. It is then that one of Ritu's sisters reached the hotel in the evening and got the room opened where she found her body in the bathtub. Police said they spoke with Ritu's husband and inquired if he suspected anybody to be behind the incident. Arun named nobody, according to the police. The body has been sent for postmortem at the BKH Hospital here and the investigation is underway, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid a debate over introducing death penalty for child rapists, a forum for women farmer rights activists has said the move will fall short in curbing incidents of rapes as the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the country has been weak. "Instead of strengthening the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee 2013, the central government has chosen to issue an ordinance, bypassing parliamentary procedures, to introduce death penalty in case of rapes of minors, further encouraging cycles of violence upon marginalised communities," the Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM) said in a statement. "While prosecuting perpetrators of sexual violence against women and children is already fraught with challenges in a patriarchal society, the endorsement of violent and exclusionary politics and laws by the present government further compounds these challenges and offers impunity to dominant groups," it said. The government had last week brought an ordinance to provide stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of rape of girls below 12 years, amid a nationwide outrage over sexual assault and murder of minors in Kathua and Surat, and the rape of a girl in Unnao. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Nina Chestney and Henning GloysteinLONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian thermal coal demand is defying its typical seasonal slowdown as well as the expanding use of renewables and natural gas, with prices holding not far off $100 a tonne despite the onset of the usual lull at this time of year.Benchmark Australian thermal coal prices are at $93.40 a tonne, their highest seasonal level in five years and $15 per tonne above the five-year average price.Coal's strength is also visible in the derivatives market, where API2 2018 coal futures are at around $83 a tonne, around 25 percent higher than ... By Polina Devitt and Dmitry ZhdannikovMOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - Russian metals giant Rusal will overhaul its board and management in hopes of persuading the United States to lift sanctions but it may be forced to halt aluminium exports for good if the plan fails, sources close to the company said.Washington this month imposed sanctions on billionaire Oleg Deripaska and several companies in which he is a large shareholder, including Rusal, in response to what the United States called Russia's "malign activities."Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that Rusal would soon ... By Anshuman DagaSINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore court blocked commodity trader Noble Group Ltd from holding its annual meeting of shareholders on Monday following legal action sought by dissident shareholder, Goldilocks Investment Co. Ltd.Friday's ruling is the latest skirmish between Noble and Goldilocks, Noble's third-largest shareholder, in the fight over Noble's restructuring plans with creditors, which will be put forward for shareholder approval a few weeks after the planned annual general meeting (AGM).Goldilocks sought to halt the AGM after Noble rejected its nominations for five ... By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday, with Brent on track for its third week of gains amid supply concerns should the United States reimpose sanctions on Iran.Brent crude futures fell 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $74.54 a barrel by 11:48 a.m. EDT (1548 GMT). This month, the global benchmark hit highs above $75, a level last seen in late 2014.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 30 cents to $67.89 a barrel, a 0.4 percent loss.Brent was on track for a weekly gain of about 0.7 percent, while WTI was set for a weekly loss of about 0.7 percent.U.S. ... North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) GOYANG, South Korea (AP) In a historic summit more striking for its extraordinary images than its substance, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in set aside a year that saw them seemingly on the verge of war, grasped hands and strode together Friday across the cracked concrete marking the Koreas border. The sight, inconceivable just months ago, may not erase their failure to provide any new measures on a nuclear standoff that has captivated and terrified millions, but it allowed the leaders to step forward toward the possibility of a cooperative future even as they acknowledged a fraught past and the widespread skepticism that, after decades of failed diplomacy, things will be any different this time. On the nuclear issue, the leaders merely repeated a previous vow to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, kicking one of the worlds most pressing issues down the road to a much-anticipated summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Still, the summit produced the spectacle of two men from nations with a deep and bitter history of acrimony grinning from ear to ear after Kim walked over the border to greet Moon, becoming the first leader of his nation to set foot on southern soil since the Korean War. Both leaders then briefly stepped together into the North and back to the South. The summit marks a surreal, whiplash swing in relations for the countries, from nuclear threats and missile tests to intimations of peace and cooperation. Perhaps the change is best illustrated by geography: Kim and Moons historic handshake and a later 30-minute conversation at a footbridge on the border occurred within walking distance of the spot where a North Korean soldier fled south in a hail of gunfire last year, and where North Korean soldiers axe-murdered two U.S. soldiers in 1976. Standing at a podium next to Moon after the talks ended, Kim faced a wall of cameras beaming his image live to the world and declared that the Koreas are linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately. The leaders also vowed to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization, something theyve said before. The latest declaration between the Koreas, Kim said, should not repeat the unfortunate history of past inter-Korean agreements that only reached the starting line before becoming derailed. What happened Friday should be seen in the context of the last year when the United States, its ally South Korea and North Korea threatened and raged as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th centurys bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula thats still technically in a state of war. Trump tweeted later Friday, KOREAN WAR TO END! and said the United States should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Both Koreas agreed to jointly push for talks this year with the United States and also potentially China to officially end the Korean War, which stopped with an armistice that never ended the war. Many will be judging the summit based on the weak nuclear language. North Koreas nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. The North, which has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium, claims it has already risen to that level. South Korean conservative politicians criticized the joint statement as letting North Korea off the hook by failing to secure a clear commitment on nuclear disarmament. Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo denounced the summit as a show camouflaged as peace. But the Koreas made inroads on a raft of other points of friction between them. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang, North Koreas capital, sometime in the autumn, and both leaders said theyd meet on a regular basis and exchange calls via a recently established hotline. They agreed to settle their disagreement over their western maritime border by designating it as a peace area and securing fishing activities for both countries. They said theyd open a permanent communication office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and resume temporary reunions of relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. I feel like Im firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity, Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimeters separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world. Kim acknowledged the widespread skepticism over their summit. We have reached big agreements before but were unable to fulfill them. There are skeptical views on whether the meeting today will yield meaningful results, Kim said. If we maintain a firm will and proceed forward hand in hand, it will be impossible at least for things to get worse than they are now. Kim, during their talks, joked that he would make sure not to interrupt Moons sleep anymore, a reference to the Norths drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year, according to Moons spokesman, Yoon Young-chan. Kim also referred to a South Korean island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said hed visit Seouls presidential Blue House if invited. The historic greeting of the two leaders, which may be the images most remembered from the summit, was planned to the last detail, though the multiple border crossings may have been impromptu. As thousands of journalists, who were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly controlled pool reporters at the border, waited and watched, Moon stood near the Koreas dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They smiled broadly and shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after Kim did so, Moon said, You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across? Kim replied, Why dont we go across now? and then grasped Moons hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. Moon then led Kim along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave Kim flowers. An honor guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of Hail to the Chief. They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit took place, in front of a painting of South Koreas Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion and where dozens of North Korean commandos trying to assassinate the then-dictator in Seoul were killed in 1968. Kims sister, Kim Yo Jong, was by Kims side throughout the ceremony, handing him a pen to sign a guestbook, taking the schoolchildrens flowers from his hand and scribbling notes at the start of the talks with Moon. Expectations were generally low on the nuclear issue, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Koreas weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement, however, say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas tried Friday: Sit down and see whats possible. The White House said in a statement that it is hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks. AP writers Kim Tong-hyung, Hyung-jin Kim and Eric Talmadge contributed to this report. Foster Klug, the APs bureau chief for South Korea, has covered the Koreas since 2005. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/apklug | BY Kim Shaw | TBWA\Melbourne has controversially won the South Australian Tourism Commission creative account, taking the business from long-term local incumbent KWP! The win has caused a storm in the SA ad industry, prompting the Adelaide Art & Design Club to email its members the following: The decision by the state government to award the multi-million dollar advertising account for the South Australian Tourism Commission to an interstate company is an absolute disgrace. More alarmingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. In its entirety, the SA government is the largest advertising client in the state. If taxpayers money continues to be sent east, it will adversely impact hundreds, if not thousands of livelihoods and supercharge the brain-drain. A yet to be named Melbourne agency was handed the jewel in the crown of South Australian government advertising accounts. You might remember how a local Adelaide advertising agency had the eyes of the world turned toward South Australia with globally lauded campaigns like Barossa. Be consumed. In their infinite wisdom, it appears the SATC has concluded only an interstate agency is now capable of such a feat. This of course, is utter nonsense. There are several highly capable, local companies that could have, and should have, been considered for such a lucrative account. It will be argued the successful agency will now open a local office, but renting office space and dropping a couple of people in it is little more than smoke than mirrors. The reality is, all the strategic and creative work will be done interstate and thats where the profits will go. Local companies have been invited to tender for the scraps from the Melbourne table, under the direction of the interstate agency. Aside from the advertising agency personnel directly affected, the domino effect will be felt by many in the creative services industry the AADC represents. Graphic designers, artists, photographers, videographers, editors, audio engineers, film crews, producers and actors are an example of just how many local jobs will be under threat, while Melbourne bank accounts are swollen by the tax dollars collected from these threatened workers, and every South Australian. Adding insult to injury, if losing the revenue and creative opportunity isnt enough, weve now become the laughing stock of the Australian advertising industry. The AADC, on behalf of its members, sponsors and the broader creative community it represents, will continue to fight this injustice and lobby for measures to be put in place to protect local jobs and stem the brain-drain. You can help, by sharing this release with colleagues and friends, by writing in protest to your local MP and encouraging your colleagues to do the same. And, if like us, you believe we need to grow and develop our industries instead of decimating them, become a member, committee member or sponsor to help your Club help you. The bigger our membership base, the louder our voice. Yours Sincerely, The AADC. | BY Ricki Green | Australian Gas Networks (AGN), with the help of CHE Proximity, has launched a new campaign that encourages Australians to love winter this year. Directed by FINCHs Jae Morrison, the campaign is led by three TVCs Cooking with Gas, Nup and House Pants. The series brings to life authentic and relatable scenarios around enjoying the great indoors this winter, with a focus on natural gas when its benefits are the strongest. Acting marketing manager of Australian Gas Networks, Chris Hewson, says the energy infrastructure category is traditionally dominated by rational and functional messaging, which AGN wanted to change. Says Hewson: We really wanted to flip this functional convention on its head and drive desire for Natural Gas through emotion when its most applicable, in winter. Group creative director at CHE Proximity, Glen Dickson, says the agencys approach to the campaign was to show Aussies that theres a bright side to the colder months. Says Dickson: Typically, Aussies yearn for beach and BBQ weather, but with this campaign Aussies might rethink their favourite season. AGNs Love Winter campaign launches this month across a variety of platforms nationally, including TV, out of home, online media, cinema and radio. Agency: CHE Proximity CCO: Ant White COO: Andrew Drougas Group Creative Director: Glen Dickson Creative Directors: Joe Hill / Garret Fitzgerald Head of Chep Films: Julie Duff Senior Broadcast Producer: Jenny Livingston Sound: Matt Thompson Head of Craft: Matt Allpass Designer: Callum McGregor Client Partner: Bryce Coombe Senior Account Director: Tom Blackburn Senior Account Manager: Hanna Scott Account Executive: Kyle Gradidge Senior Operations Manager: Pravina Kumar Production Company: FINCH Director: Jae Morrsion Exec Producer: Corey Esse Producer: Kate Merrin DOP: Matt Toll Prod Designer: Patrick Bennet Editor: Jo Scott @ The Butchery Flame / Online: Jon Holmes | BY Ricki Green | Paediatric medical research organisation Childrens Medical Research Institute (CMRI) has today launched its new-look Jeans for Genes campaign via March One that is a powerful call to action from children to fight with me, fight for me in the battle against genetic diseases. March One was appointed in January this year by Childrens Medical Research Institute (CMRI) to refresh the iconic fundraising campaign Jeans for Genes as it celebrates 25 years of uniting Australians in denim to find a cure for genetic diseases. Childrens Medical Research Institutes head of marketing and communications, Lorel Colgin, said this years Jeans for Genes campaign aims to remind Australia what its all about the one in 20 kids facing genetic diseases and other serious conditions and the need to find ways to prevent or cure genetic diseases to create a brighter future for all children. Says Colgin: Over the years Australians have forgotten that Jeans for Genes is about something more than wearing denim, so we needed to reconnect people to the cause. The latest campaign does that by representing children not as victims but inspired individuals who have incredible strength, even in the face of adversity. We hope this shift will connect and motivate Australians to join them in finding cures. March One has created a TVC that features four children dealing with genetic diseases including cancer, autism, cystic fibrosis and a metabolic disorder called LCHAD deficiency. Henry is a six-year-old with LCHAD deficiency, and his mum Jessica explains why she was happy for him to be involved: I really like the message its conveying, because I think kids are very resilient, and one thing Henry has shown me is that no matter all the things he goes through in life, he keeps on going. I really wanted to see that message shared. Creative director and owner of March One, Ben Coverdale, believes portraying kids as vulnerable or helpless is no longer appropriate. Says Coverdale: Today we see children giving TED talks, becoming entrepreneurs or activists, even creating businesses, so by representing children as needing to be saved is out of step with how we see them. The new campaign gives them a voice and represents children as capable little humans who simply need everyday Aussies to fight alongside them as they bravely battle genetic diseases. Quinn is just six years old and restricted to a wheelchair due to Mucolipidosis. His mum Sasha explains that the campaign is giving him back some power: Our children dont always have a voice to speak up for themselves, and when you have a campaign thats behind them saying, were a community that can get behind kids who cant speak for themselves and help them in any way we can, its comforting. Says Dana Elliott, brand marketing manager, CMRI: The launch of this campaign is an exciting time for CMRI. Through extensive market testing weve been able to create a campaign that connects to our target audience and communicates clearly that its the kids with genetic diseases who are at the centre of our research efforts here at CMRI. The new-look Jeans for Genes campaign is a multi- platform execution with the TVC airing across the MCN Network and radio ads across the ARN Network. The high impact ads will be appearing across key out-of-home sites nationally, leading digital platforms including Nine Digital, ARN Network, Bauer Media and in leading womens and lifestyle titles such as Australian Womens Weekly, Womans Day, Good Health, OK!, NW and Take Five as well as social. | BY Ricki Green | The AWARD committee has today announced a mini-creative summit to be held earlier in the day of AWARD Awards on May 25, in partnership with Facebook. Think:Long will be headed by Wieden + Kennedys co-chief creative officer Susan Hoffman, who joined the agency more than 30 years ago and is behind game-changing ads, including Nikes If You Let Me Play and Revolution and Old Spices The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. Event details Date: Friday 25th May 2018 Time: 10.00am to 2.00pm (includes lunch) Venue: Bay 20, Carriageworks Sydney For ticket information, visit the event page or call (02) 9925 7472. During her Australia visit, Hoffman will explore the concept of bravery and how to build brands over time a fitting topic for the advertising legend who began her career working on the Nike account as W+Ks eighth employee in 1985. Presented by AWARD and The Communications Council, Think:Long promises to deliver a powerful four-hour show and live debate addressing many of the industrys biggest issues. Says Mike Spirkovski, chair, AWARD: Our industry is more competitive than ever with brands, agencies and individuals struggling to stay relevant each day. This is compounded by speed to market, fragmented media-channels, shrinking budgets and an audience that has no time to consume the ordinary. This is fast creating an industry-wide anxiety thats forcing agencies and brands to lose focus on the long term, to the detriment of brand longevity and creativity. If you care about creativity and have concerns about the future you shouldnt miss Think:Long. Susan Hoffman will be joined by: Jonathan Kneebone from The Glue Society , celebrating 20 years of success Terry Savage only a month prior to his final year as executive chairman of Cannes Lions and an association lasting 33 years Ron Baker, who founded the VeraSage Institute over 18 years ago, and is one of the worlds leading experts on pricing services on value creation Says Tony Hale, CEO, The Communications Council: This is a brilliant initiative of the AWARD committee. The Think:Long creative summit leverages debate around critical industry initiatives at the same time as we celebrate the very best of the year. Panel moderator and Humdinger Sydney founder Al Crawford will question the speakers on the challenges facing creative leaders today, from building brands and trust over time, helping clients to have the courage to stick it out, the future of pricing models, and how creatives can build and sustain a long, successful career. | BY Ricki Green | Isobar Good Isobar Australias business division dedicated to societal impact work is inviting businesses across Australia to enter for the chance to take part in a free Design Jam, where they will collaborate with the team to workshop a business challenge that has the ability to make real social change. A Design Jam uses human centred design to explore the social impact challenge at hand, providing participants with the opportunity to experiment with concepts and prototypes that address their social impact challenge. Working with Isobar Good consultants in a full-day session, the participants will explore how the prototypes could be implemented and get a basic understanding of design thinking, with the ultimate goal of producing a concept that can be executed. The Design Jam forms part of Dentsu Aegis Networks One Day for Change, an annual initiative in which all staff across the Asia Pacific region, stop work to give back to the communities in which they live and work. How to enter For your unique chance to participate in the Isobar Good Design Jam, complete this form with the details of your business challenge, and how you feel you will benefit from participating in the day. Spots in the program are limited, so please submit your entry no later than 11 May 2018. | BY Kim Shaw | Cannes Lions has announced the 21 jury members set to judge the Pharma Lions and the Health & Wellness Lions awards at this years Cannes Lions. Sudler Sydney creative director Cherie Davies (left) has been picked to represent Australia on the Health & Wellness jury. Now in its fifth year, Lions Health recognises outstanding creative communications in the healthcare sector, with winners announced at an awards ceremony on Monday 18 June. Lions Health was created to promote the value of creativity in healthcare communications. Every year the health juries set the bar that little bit higher, and every year the industry rises to meet that challenge, says Louise Benson, Executive Festival Director of Lions Health. The work that wins at Lions Health shapes the year ahead in healthcare creativity, and this years intrepid group of jurors, each of them a leader in their field, are the best people to help set that creative agenda. Pharma Lions Jury Jury President Rich Levy, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Health, Global Shefali Srinivas, VP, Health Lead, Asia Pacific, WE Communications, APAC Patrick Ackmann, Executive Creative Director, WEFRA, Germany Oliver Caporn, Worldwide Creative Director, CDM London, Global Renata Florio, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy Health and Wellness, Global Lyndon Louis, Senior Creative Director, Havas Live Sorento, India Paola Figueroa, Creative VP, Made, Mexico John Scott, Creative Director, Ward6, Singapore Victoria McGee, Associate Creative Director, Langland, UK Carolyn ONeill, Chief Creative Officer, Centron NY, USA The Pharma Lions celebrate creative communications from pharmaceutical clients and services surrounding this highly-regulated industry through work that demonstrates ideas that inform and engage its health practitioners, patients and targeted consumers. Health & Wellness Lions Jury Jury President R.John Fidelino, Executive Creative Director, InterbrandHealth, Global Carol Ong, President, Bebebalm, Asia Cherie Davies, Creative Director, Sudler & Hennessey, Australia Bruno Abner Rebelo, Creative Director, McCann Health, Brazil Andre Hansen, Creative Director, Anthill Agency, Denmark Tom Richards, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Lynx, Europe Orla Burke, Partner, EMEA Healthcare co-Lead, FleishmanHillard, EMEA Alok Gadkar, General Manager & Executive Creative Director, The Classic Partnership, UAE Melissa de Lusignan, Group Creative Director, The Hive Group, UK Stephanie Berman, Former Partner & Chief Creative Officer, The Bloc, USA Collette Douaihy, EVP, Executive Creative Director, Digitas Health, USA | BY Lynchy | MullenLowe Singapore has launched a campaign with Unilevers OMO brand in Vietnam this month, revealing a startling truth about childrens screen habits in Southeast Asia. Reports from The Straits Times and BBC reveal that Southeast Asian children spend up to six hours a day on screens. This is more time spent on screens than playing outside, and this change is so subtle that nobody has realised it. To highlight the subtle shift that has occured between playtime and screen time, MullenLowe Singapore collaborated with Unilevers leading detergent brand in Vietnam, OMO, to make a subtle but meaningful change on its packaging: kids playing outdoors became kids on screens. The results were startling. Out of an average of 500 supermarket customers, no one had noticed the change on the OMO detergent packaging. The resounding message was representative of this unnoticed transformation from playtime to screen time in Southeast Asia. Anser Aly, Senior Regional Brand Development Manager, Unilever Asia, commented, With technology being so easily accessible, children have become so absorbed in the virtual world that they lose track of all the experiences the real world has to offer. This topic is highly relevant in the world we live in today and the idea starts right off from our product to the brand, delivering a simple yet powerful social message. For years, OMO has been encouraging families from all over the world to go outdoors and play, not just with their slogan, Dirt is good, but also through OMO products. The creative team at MullenLowe Singapore wanted the campaign to not just bring the idea to life, but to also spark conversations among households. Ang Sheng Jin, Executive Creative Director, MullenLowe Singapore, commented, What better way to make this problem tangible than by putting it right on the pack? We experimented to see if anyone would notice the children with screens, or if it would go just as unnoticed as it does in real life. Either way, wed be provoking an important a conversation. More COVID ICU patients coming to Island, Lower Mainland hospitals; 1,986 new B.C. cases on weekend People involved are going to get the absolute best care in the world, as they should, and health authorities in the south are supporting health authorities in the north, as they should, as we do as a province but I think its particularly important to understand the need to be vaccinated now." Adrian Dix news, crime A former Anglican priest was found guilty on Friday of raping a girl in a Canberra church. The jury took about a day to deliver its unanimous verdicts. It found the former priest John Phillip Aitchison, 67, guilty of a total five counts of rape and eight acts of indecency against the same teenage girl. The jury acquitted Aitchison of the remaining two counts on the indictment, being one act of indecency, and one of rape. Aitchison sat in the defendant's box with his legs crossed, hands clasped and eyes closed as the jury foreman delivered the jury verdicts one by one. Aitchison's sole supporter in the public gallery quietly cried. Following the verdicts, Justice Michael Elkaim granted a prosecution request to revoke Aitchison's bail, and the man was led from court in the custody of corrections officers. Prosecutors tendered his criminal history. The ACT Supreme Court trial heard graphic testimony from the woman who Aitchison abused repeatedly during the 1980s, when she was about 13 or 14. In one harrowing account, the woman said she was practicing her music in a Canberra church when she was ushered over by Aitchison. She said Aitchison told her if she prayed, God might let her see her dead dog, and then he raped her. He also raped her in a hall and committed an act of indecency on her in a pool. In his defence, Aitchison had argued he was homosexual. The trial heard from two men who said Aitchison abused them as boys, and their evidence was not challenged. But prosecutors said the evidence of the two boys showed Aitchison had a tendency to be attracted to young children he met through church or music and to act on it. Justice Elkaim thanked the jury for their service and said they were free to go. The case returns to court August 13 for sentence. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/a44188c8-1450-4fc8-9103-1a2d98468ab7/r0_50_1023_628_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, act-politics A media ban on advocates and organisers means festival goers will take part in Australias first pill testing trial on Sunday without key information and assurances. On Thursday night it was announced promoters for Canberras Groovin the Moo festival had agreed to the pill testing trial. But important questions about how this would work were left unanswered on Friday, such as exactly how the testing area and wider festival would be policed. However, late on Friday the ACT government did confirm that pills would be tested using an infrared spectrophotometer. It is not clear what will happen to someone caught with drugs outside the pill testing area, how big the amnesty zone will be, or whether festival goers will be drug tested at police checkpoints on the way home. The announcement came after intense pressure on festival organisers to allow drug testing to go ahead. On Friday ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the government did not make any concessions to organisers to convince them to let the trial occur, despite being given a list of demands early in the negotiations. "This is a significant milestone for harm reduction in drug policy, its really important to note that it doesn't in any way condone illicit drug use but it is an important harm minimisation measure to make sure people have information they wouldnt otherwise have so they can make better decisions about their own health," Ms Fitzharris said. Federal Labor MP Andrew Leigh said his colleagues were watching the trial closely although a spokesman for Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said pill testing was not Commonwealth policy and there were no plans to change that. "My Labor colleagues and I want these events to be fun, not fatal," Dr Leigh said. Chief Minister Andrew Barr was less enthusiastic when he appeared on ABC radio earlier on Friday morning. Its a trial so it will be what it will be, he said. I don't have a view ahead of it. Its not an issue Im particularly passionate about one way or the other, no, but Im happy for this process to proceed." ACT opposition legal affairs spokesman Jeremy Hanson said there were too many unanswered questions about the trial, including who would be legally responsible should an adverse reaction occur. He said he had spoken to frontline police who were "incredibly frustrated" with the government for supporting it. "They are horrified about whats happening because theyre out there trying to stop the drug trade, trying to stop drug dealers and trying to stop younger people from taking drugs, and this is sending exactly the opposite message," he said. Mr Hanson also said testing drugs would give festival goers the wrong impression it was safe to take if the pills if the checks found they were pure, and not cut with other substances. "What I fear is someone is going to take a tablet, thinking that its safe when it isn't and get very sick. If that happens it will be on this governments head," Mr Hanson said. Ms Fitzharris said the Canberra Liberals' position was "ill-informed" and people would be given information about their own liability. ACT Health said testing would be held in an enclosed facility next to first aid and ambulance services. Members of the STA-SAFE consortium responsible for conducting testing did not respond to requests for comment. One member said festival promoters Cattleyard Promotions had imposed a media ban, while Cattleyard funnelled questions back to ACT Health. ACT Policing said there would be a health precinct at Groovin the Moo, understood to be the area in which testing would be done, and that this area would not be targeted. ACT Policing will not actively target the health precinct or their users in line with well-established protocols with ACT Health facilities, a spokesman said. As a police force, we will continue to target and investigate the sale and supply of illicit drugs. Police have voiced support for pill testing and harm reduction strategies in the lead-up to Sundays event. Public Health Association chief executive Michael Moore congratulated the ACT government and police for forging ahead with the pill testing trial. I hear people saying this in some way condones drug use. The same arguments weve heard around needle and syringe programs, he said. Just as these programs have saved thousands of lives, I think that this intervention will also be one that does save lives. The evidence is clear. Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation president Dr Alex Wodak described the decision as a milestone, although remained sceptical about whether it would happen. Im aware that the ACT government says its going ahead. But I dont think we should count our chickens before they are hatched, he said. This area has got a terrible track record of last minute obstacles appearing from nowhere. My hopes have been dashed so often, that I try not to expect too much. Harm minimisation advocates have long pushed for pill testing at festivals, arguing it had been effective in protecting young people when implemented overseas. A letter co-signed by a suite of health experts and advocates sent to Cattleyard this month said allowing the trial would "potentially save lives". "Research shows that pill-testing helps young people avoid the dangers of unknown and contaminated drugs, and provides an opportunity for drugs to be disposed of before lives are put at risk," the letter said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/9f7617be-6b29-49f7-99bc-14a8c04bdcc7/r0_51_1024_630_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, act-politics Parents who have lost children to drugs are divided over a pill-testing trial planned for a Canberra music festival on Sunday. The STA-Safe consortium has been cleared to check illegal drugs at Groovin the Moo, in an Australian-first pilot that has the backing of the ACT government, ACT Policing, venue the University of Canberra, and festival organisers Cattleyard Promotions. But Tony Wood, whose daughter Anna Wood died three days after taking an ecstasy tablet at a dance party in 1995, said he was afraid the harm minimisation measure would not go far enough to protect festival goers. "They've been doing it overseas for years and kids are still dying over there," Mr Wood said. "All they can tell you is what's in the tablet, but drugs are idiosyncratic, you don't know how it will affect any one person, any one time. The thing Anna took was pure MDMA, it wasn't contaminated with anything else. I can't see what the good of this is going to be." Mr Wood was once a vocal campaigner against drugs, but has been quiet since the death of his wife 18 months ago. He has spent countless hours over the years counselling other mums and dads who've lost a child to drugs, either through addiction or death, and he doesn't want to see another family in that position. "It's been 23 years since Anna died. I've almost given up trying to save the world, it's almost too hard. I just hope everyone comes out safe and well," Mr Wood said. Adriana Buccianti, who began lobbying for pill testing after the death of her son Daniel at the Rainbow Serpent festival in Victoria in 2012, said she was "heartened" by news of the trial. The Victorian mother has amassed nearly 40,000 signatures on her change.org petition calling for drug checking services to be rolled out at music festivals across Australia. She believes had pill testing been available, her son would have used it and would not have overdosed. "If someone said to him this pill is 100 times stronger than anything you've ever taken, he would have said 'fine' and thrown it away. He didn't go there to come out in a body bag, he went there to have fun," Ms Buccianti said. Ms Buccianti said claims the trial would allow drug dealers to certify their product were designed to frighten people and "not rooted in any great truth really". "Prohibition doesn't work. We've done the dogs, we've done the police, we've done the 'don't take it'. We've arrived at a point where we need to do something different. One death is too many and we've had too many," she said. Family Drug Support chief executive Tony Trimingham, who lost his son to a heroin overdose, said he believed people would be safer as a result of the trial. "Dont get me wrong, Im not pro-drugs, I think that people should be very wary about anything they take and the safest thing to do is not to use drugs. However, we know as family members that is a bit of a pipe dream so its really important to us to keep them safe," Mr Trimingham said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/c40645d9-74d0-4c55-8329-d74dfc5905ef/r0_142_2642_1635_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and international students have inadvertently united in opposition to a senate inquiry's handling of proposed changes to Australia's citizenship laws. While airing different concerns, Senator Hanson and the Council of International Students Australia have slammed the use of survey generator SurveyMonkey to gather opinion on toughening the requirements for Australian citizenship. Each has questioned the validity of the poll, which asked people to provide their email address and name then vote "yes" or "no" on whether they supported Senator Hanson's proposed bill. The Queensland senator's proposed citizenship legislation is similar to that voted down in the senate last year but would increase the qualifying period of residence from four years to eight. The changes - which also include tougher English language requirements - would be retrospective. Senator Hanson on Friday claimed overseas social media accounts and websites were urging followers to vote "no" in the survey. She urged the committee to disregard the poll and instead called for a plebiscite on citizenship to coincide with the next federal election. "The whole process has been turned into a joke," she said. If the point of this poll was to gauge the public's opinion on citizenship reform, then it failed badly. Now we have to make sure it is done properly. CISA public relations officer Arjun Mathilakath Madathil told The Canberra Times there was no way to ensure people who participated in the survey lived in Australia. "Thus we don't believe that this survey shows the accurate sentiments of the Australians," he said. The committee was contacted on Friday but said it would not pre-empt what members would do with the poll. Committee chairman Ian Macdonald wrote to Senator Hanson on Thursday to explain SurveyMonkey was used to lessen the work of the secretariat as the previous citizenship survey had inspired "an unusually large response in submissions". He reminded her she had already been informed that SurveyMonkey would be used during the inquiry. "You are concerned about who might be responding to the poll but can I remind you that there is never any restriction on who makes submissions to senate inquiries and, in the normal course, every single submission has to be published unless the committee otherwise decides," Senator Macdonald wrote to Senator Hanson. "The committee believed that there would be a huge number of submissions, including from the groups of people you mention in your letter." Committee member and Greens immigration spokesman Nick McKim said he did not share the concerns of Senator Hanson nor CISA, emphasising that survey responses were not considered formal submissions but "one of a number of references for the committee to consider". "We know how the Australian people and the parliament feel because we rejected Peter Dutton's legislation that this is almost a carbon copy of and we know that Peter Dutton's bill received over 13,500 submissions to the senate inquiry that were almost universally negative," Senator McKim said. SurveyMonkey, which bills itself as "the world's most popular free online survey tool", was also used by the Senate Select Committee on Same Sex Marriage in 2016. Asked by The Canberra Times how many times SurveyMonkey had been used in senate inquiries, a Senate Department spokesman said: "At least twice, possibly more." On the integrity of the poll, the spokesman said: "Each SurveyMonkey respondent can only complete the online survey once from their browser and email address." He added: "The Senate Legal & Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently using SurveyMonkey as an alternative to form letters, petitions and short statements to allow members of the public to express their views on the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Commitments for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2018." SurveyMonkey has also been deployed in an ongoing inquiry into the efficacy of migration agents and education agents. A House of Representatives Department spokeswoman said the lower house had used SurveyMonkey "for many years". "Responses for surveys commissioned by Parliamentary Committees are not treated as formal submissions, but are used as reference material for Committee inquiries," she said. "The department has run SurveyMonkey surveys on behalf of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, the Petitions Committee, the Indigenous Affairs Committee, the Environment and Energy Committee and the Migration Committee during the 45th Parliament. "In addition, we also use the platform to ask for feedback on our seminar program and the About the House Newsletter." Both polls closed Friday. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/0ddcfc3c-4ce9-4a44-8277-eee4b0e95781/r0_253_4980_3067_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, act-politics Moves to hold Australias first pill testing trial are welcome but way behind the curve, public health advocates say. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, pill testing was taking place in the Netherlands as early as 1992, before the idea spread to other countries. Pill testing is a harm minimisation strategy, which tests illicit substances to identify the presence of toxic contaminants. The central idea of pill testing is that this information allows users to make better decisions about whether to take drugs or not. Family Drug Support chief executive Tony Trimingham described the proposal to offer pill testing at Canberras Groovin the Moo festival on Sunday as a no brainer. For many years Ive supported the idea, he said. Long before it was even remotely suggested in Australia it has been happening in Europe with no major problems. The pill testing concept has not been without controversy, and critics argue that it encourages the use of harmful and illegal substances. The territory government first gave STA-SAFE permission to test drugs at the Spilt Milk festival at Canberra's Commonwealth Park in November last year but the trial was shelved just weeks out from the event. While the promoter claimed it was a problem with paperwork, the local branch of the Liberal party was accused of "sabotaging" the trial by calling on their federal colleagues to intervene. Public Health Association chief executive Michael Moore said pill testing was a pragmatic measure. I do understand why people have doubts, he said. We would all prefer if young people didnt use illicit drugs. But thats not the reality. This is a pragmatic approach to an issue that does put lives in danger. Pill testing studies have been run in European countries such as Austria, Belgium, France and Germany. A covert pill testing trial in New Zealand in 2017 prompted then-Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne to call for the measure to be legalised. The science behind pill testing has become more sophisticated. Basic early tests with limited accuracy would dissolve substances in chemical reagents, causing a colour change that would indicate the presence of a particular contaminant. But other tests such as mass spectrometry have become more accessible and cheaper to run in recent years. Mass spectrometry uses a small scraping to provide high accuracy readings of the different substances contained in a pill and relative concentrations of these substances. ACT Health said pill testing at Groovin the Moo would be undertaken using a mobile laboratory. Services staff test a small sample of received pills, then interpret and provide the results with information about the risk of consuming the substances identified in the sample," a spokesman said. "The testing will be conducted by highly trained analysts using state-of-the-art equipment." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/b2a51cc8-03ce-41d5-991a-6215ec0909f8/r0_101_2000_1231_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg whats-on, music-theatre-arts There's something evil lurking among the pale grey gum trees outside Bywong Town. It's big, wielding an axe, and has the kind of face that's so disturbing you'll need to sleep with the lights on. For years. It's just one of the characters in The Furies, a horror movie currently being filmed on location at Bywong Town, an abandoned tourist attraction about 15km north of Canberra. The tiny township, purpose-built in the 1970s as a replica of the area's gold mining boom of the early 1900s, is an eerie backdrop for the new film, described as The Hunger Games meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre. About 60 cast and crew have been on location at Bywong Town for the past three weeks, shooting the $1.5m thriller - the first feature film to be shot in Canberra since Joe Cinque's Consolation in 2016. Written and directed by Melbourne-based Tony D'Aquino, The Furies started life in a Screen Canberra workshop. It was then picked up by The Film Distillery, a new Canberra-based film production studio whose aim is to "establish the ACT as a renowned producer of commercially successful movies". The Film Distillery helped to secure private investors for the film - all Canberra-based - and through its sustainability model will use the legal templates and workflows used in The Furies on future films. While a handful of Australias best behind-the-scenes film talent has been flown in to work on the horror flick, The Film Distillerys Rohan Taylor says the crew is mostly Canberran. The whole idea with The Film Distillery is, instead of having to head to other capital cities to work on movies, we bring the film industry to Canberra, Mr Taylor said. And rather than competing with Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland on the big budget films that come, we came up with the idea of low budget filmmaking. The entire sound crew, most of the camera operators and other assistants are all Canberrans, and were plugging local students and trainees in under experienced crew. Mr Taylor said The Film Distillerys vision includes shooting three to four movies in Canberra each year. Were keen to build a series of sound stages and once we do that we can shoot literally anything right here in the capital, he said. For Canberra CIT screen and media student Aaron Smith, spending each day on set splattering blood and carting fake silicon body parts around Bywong Town is a dream come true. Hes been working under the direction of Larry Van Duynhoven, a prosthetics specialist whose credits include supplying fake corpses for Mel Gibsons war drama film, Hacksaw Ridge. Just to be able to get out of bed in Canberra and step straight onto a movie set is awesome, Mr Smith, 26, said. Ive learnt how to cast all the wounds, mix up the blood and make gore. I love horror. Im seriously hoping The Film Distillery approach gets picked up and we get to do more and more of this in Canberra. The Furies stars former Neighbours actress Airlie Dodds and is due for release nationally in December. The film will be post-produced locally by Silversun Pictures, with Head of the ANU School of Music Professor Kenneth Lampl creating the score. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/68cc8d74-24e7-4c37-af3f-3505ad8abed7/r0_230_4256_2635_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Canberra's newest lakeside park - a $13 million, 18-month West Basin development - will be opened on Saturday. Henry Rolland Park will feature fitness equipment, a 150 metre lakeside boardwalk, picnic and barbecue facilities and lawn areas. From 10am to 4pm on Saturday, the Commonwealth Avenue park will also be home to live music, fitness classes, games and children's activities. Food and drink vendors will be onsite for the opening celebrations. Lakeside business Go Boats will run short trips around West Basin for a gold coin donation and Canberra Urban Adventures will run their kayak and bike hire services from the park. Descendants of Henry Rolland - an architect who supervised construction of parts of early Canberra - will attend the open day. The project was slightly delayed and over the original budget of $10 million. City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow said the park was "a challenging, complex project". "Once you start doing anything near water, building the concrete boardwalk, its always challenging, and in the middle of it a very wet period," he said. "As often happens with these large civil works that require work in water theres always inevitably going to be some delays. "I think it was important that we get it right and coinciding with school holidays well have the maximum opportunities for as many people to come down and experience the new park." The opening of Henry Rolland Park will mean parts of the lake circuit will be reopened to cyclists, joggers and walkers. Mr Snow said car access would remain under the bridge between Commonwealth Avenue and Commonwealth Park "in the short term". The design of stage two of the West Basin project has started with plans for an extension of the concrete boardwalk around Lake Burley Griffin's edge. Negotiations with the Commonwealth continue on the reclamation of the lake bed, Mr Snow said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/4d259eef-8ef4-4c50-b422-a08a8b82f8dd/r0_244_4500_2786_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news New classrooms and teachers will roll into the Franklin Early Childhood School next year as it expands its intake beyond year 2 to become a standard P-6 primary school by 2021. The $2.45 million expansion comes after a long-running push from parents in Canberra's fastest-growing region, where schools have begun to struggle with capacity. On Thursday, ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry announced Year 3 classes will begin from next year at the Franklin school. That means means students in Year 2 will be assured a place next year, becoming the first class to continue through to Year Six as part of the staged expansion. The development was a 2016 election promise but parents groups had previously criticised the delay in getting money set aside in the ACT budget. The Franklin school is already at capacity, Principal Julie Cooper said, with 312 students from pre-school up. "The birth rates within the Gungahlin area have changed [since the school opened in 2013]...and also there are so many more new suburbs around so of course, with the shifting sands of community, this is a response from my community to the politicians," she said. Ms Berry said the new expansion into Year 6 would retain the 'feel and culture" of the early childhood model that worked for the Frankin school's students. The Barr government had invested more than $270 million in Gungahlin school infrastructure over the past decade, she said, brushing off assertions schools in Canberra's north were "bursting at the seams". A spokeswoman for the Franklin Early Childhood School Parents and Citizens Association welcomed the news on Thursday. "My son is really excited he'll get to stay on and see all his friends all the way through primary school," she said. "We know a lot of families haven't been able to get into the school in the last [two] years so it's really exciting." Local member Meegan Fitzharris said she had been speaking with families for "some time" about the need to grow the school. A survey conducted by the parents' association late last year found more than 96 per cent of families supported the expansion. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/8aba9724-d977-48e9-9ee4-4f99e4ba73b1/r0_46_900_554_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Webb-Martin Law opens in Cape Coral Webb-Martin Law LLC, a family law and mediation firm, has opened in Cape Coral at 2804 Del Prado Blvd., S., unit 103. Owned by Jayne Webb-Martin, Esquire, the firm offers discounted initial consultations for all family law matters. Webb-Martin also offers introductory rates for divorce and family mediations, The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. t 5 p.m. For information or to make an appointment, call 239-333-0020. RSW?experiences record-breaking month for passenger traffic in March During March, 1,379,728 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to March 2017. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 10 percent from the same period last year. The traffic leader in March was Southwest Airlines with 297,668 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Delta Air Lines (268,505), American (168,995), Spirit (166,602) and JetBlue (136,670). Southwest Florida International Airport had 10,907 aircraft operations, an increase of 3.5 percent compared to March 2017. Page Field saw 8,415 operations, a 20.5 percent decrease from March 2017. In addition, nearly 3 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in March 2018. Southwest Florida International Airport served more than 8.8 million passengers in 2017 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction. For more information, visit www.flylcpa.com or Like Us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flyRSW. Miller to present marketing strategies to Goodwill MicroEnterprise students The gift of knowledge is the highest gift in the world. Jaimie Miller, APR, marketing director at CONRIC PR & Marketing, looks to gift Goodwills MicroEnterprise students with marketing knowledge during their training class in Cape Coral June 4. Goodwills MicroEnterprise program provides aspiring small business owners with the skills they need to succeed as entrepreneurs and become more independent. The program is designed to help individuals with low to moderate income levels and other disadvantages to start or stabilize their own businesses. As a part of the support system for these budding entrepreneurs, Goodwill provides a six-week training class covering topics that are essential to establishing and growing a stable business. During the marketing training, Miller will cover detailed components of a marketing plan, branding and messaging, guerilla marketing, implementation and evaluation. Miller is an accredited public relations professional with experience in marketing, advertising, public relations and special events in the medical, hospitality and publishing industries, and most recently in an agency role. For more information, call 239-690-9840 or visit ConricPR.com. Pushing the Envelope wins Award of Distinction Pushing the Envelope Inc., a local marketing communication firm, won an Award of Distinction at the Florida Public Relations Association Southwest Florida Chapter Image Awards ceremony earlier this month. This is the eleventh year in a row that the firm has been honored for outstanding communications campaigns. PTE won an Award of Distinction for its Hurricane Irma crisis communication work on behalf of The Dock at Crayton Cove, a staple Naples restaurant. An Award of Distinction recognizes an outstanding public relations program. The Florida Public Relations Associa-tion is a statewide organization designed to promote professional and ethical public relations through professional development and community involvement. For more information about the local chapter, please visit www.fpraswfl.org. Pushing the Envelope Inc. is a strategic marketing communication firm. Based in Fort Myers, the firm services clients both regionally and nationally. For more information, please call 239-221-2858, visit www.getpushing.com or email Info@GetPushing.com. Bucketts Wings & More to celebrate 30th anniversary Fort Myers residents have come to know Bucketts Wings & More as a neighborhood fixture for 30 years. This Memorial Day weekend, the restaurant will celebrate the landmark with events and specials spread across four days. Bucketts Wings & More opened its doors on Memorial Day weekend in 1988, when Jim & Marcia Anderson converted a previous Dinos Pizza into Bucketts as it is known today, with the simple concept of serving chicken wings & beer in buckets. Their hard work and affection for Southwest Florida endeared them to the neighborhood and established a relationship with the community that holds still to this day. Current owners Zach & Ainslie Walter are proud to continue and expand upon what the Andersons built. Bucketts Wings & More is located at 6301 South Pointe Blvd., and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For additional information about the restaurant, call 239-481-7311. Renowned psychic featured at two events in Cape Coral May 20 Locally renowned clairvoyant and medium Dr. Robert Allen Fahey will be returning to Southwest Florida in May to bring messages from the beyond in his popular Signs Psychic Demonstration Event and Public Psychic Gallery. Karma and Coconuts in Cape Coral will host a public gallery event Sunday, May 20, at 1 p.m. and is open to only 12 ticket holders. All attendees will receive a psychic reading from Fahey. Those attending will be engaged by Faheys opening remarks, then be ready to experience messages from the beyond. Tickets for this event are $120 per person and can be purchased at faheyevents.com A dinner and psychic demonstration at Anthonys on the BLVD in Cape Coral will also be held on May 20 at 5 p.m. and is open to the public. This will be Faheys 15th time at Anthonys on the BLVD. Doors open at 5 p.m. and show will start around 7 p.m. Tickets are $59 for VIP and $49 for audience and include dinner and the demonstration. They are available for purchase on faheyevents.com. To learn more about Dr. Fahey visit hellofromheaven.com To learn more about Anthonys on the BLVD visit Anthonysontheblvd.net For ticket information and prices visit faheyevents.com Verwest donates 1,148 pounds of food to Harry Chapin Food Bank Pediatric Dentistry of Florida, Dr. Tim Verwest, DMD collected 1,148 pounds of canned food donations for Touch-a-Truck Fort Myers 2018. All food collected will benefit the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida. Pediatric Dentistry of Florida, Dr. Tim Verwest, DMD & Associates are celebrating its 26th anniversary this year and provides a full complement of pediatric dental care to children throughout Southwest Florida. For more information, visit www.DrVerwest.com, or (239) 482-2722. Thomas and Wasson added to LOTUS Architecture team LOTUS Architecture recently to announce the addition of a new member to its team, Connie Thomas, as administrative assistant, and Danielle Wasson in the Interior Design Division. Thomas comes to Lotus with an extensive background as an administrator in the design and construction industry. Wasson assists with the development of interior designs, provides input on selections and helps to oversee the delivery and installation of clients design packages. With offices in Naples and Fort Myers, LOTUS maintains a staff of more than 25 creative and experienced design professionals. For additional information, contact Michael Sheeley, president LOTUS Architecture, at 239-482-2121 or mike@LOTUSarchitecture.com; or Don Stevenson, president LOTUS Architecture, at 239-304-3041 or don@LOTUSarchitecture.com Fort Myers Chambers WIB to present Summer Slump Business Boost program this Wednesday The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee will host its May networking meeting from 46 p.m., Wednesday, May 2, at Hello SWFL at 13099 South Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers, Florida 33907. This months WIB event will focus on getting through off-season with Summer Slump Business Boost while providing open networking for local professionals. Hello SWFL will provide insight into attracting new customers and avoiding common pitfalls that many businesses experience during the summer months. The non-profit spotlight this month will be the Goodwill Micro Enterprise Program. All business professionals are invited to attend. Admission is $10 for Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce (GFMCC) members and $20 for future GFMCC members. To register, call 239-332-3624 or visit www.fortmyers.org. Lee County Bar Association holds pro bono Law in the Mall event on Saturday The Lee County Bar Associations 24th annual Law in the Mall event will provide free legal advice Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., inside the Edison Mall, between entrances F and G near Dillards. The public is invited to stop by and request a face-to-face consultation with one of the on-site attorneys. No pre-qualification or pre-registration is necessary. The attorneys offer answers and direction on situations that fall within their practice areas, including divorce, probate, criminal law, bankruptcy, real estate, foreclosure and more. Attendees should bring any related paperwork. The event is one of numerous community programs the bar association will conduct during its Law Week, which is now in its 25th year. Law Week is an extension of Law Day observances nationwide that recognize the importance of the U.S. legal system and the judicial branch. Law Day was originally proposed by American Bar Association President Charles Rhyne, and it was officially established in 1958 by President Dwight Eisenhowers proclamation. The entire Law Week lineup is available at leebar.org. Attorneys who would like to participate in Law in the Mall should contact OHalloran at 239-334-7212 or ryan@ohalloranfamilylaw.com. The LCBA is grateful to the Edison Mall for continuing to welcome this important service to the community. The Lee County Bar Association, a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization, has served the citizens and legal community of Lee County since 1949 and has a current membership of almost 800. For more information, visit www.leebar.org or contact Executive Director Lisa Poulin at 239-334-0047 or lpoulin@leebar.org. Southwest Florida Chapter of FPRA announces 2018 Local Image Awards winners The Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association announced the winners of its Local Image Awards on April 19 at the iMAG History and Science Center in Fort Myers. The competition is conducted annually to recognize outstanding public relations programs in Southwest Florida during the last year, and to encourage and promote the development of public relations professionalism. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design. A Grand Image Award and an Image Award went to Priority Marketing for the Guadalupe Center 2017 Impact Report. Other awards presented included: Image Award: Jennifer J. Edwards, Heather Doane and Trish Robertson, APR for the 2017 High School Voter Registration Challenge; Kara Hado for GoEP2: Edgewater Drive Phase II Improvements; Albert Arguelles and Randy Mitchelson, APR for iPartnerMedia Digital Marketing Workshop for Kinetico Water Systems; Lee Health Strategic Communications and Public Relations Department for Take 5 Leadership Newsletter; Award of Distinction: CONRIC PR & Marketing for Cape Coral Community Foundation ENPYs; Rob Moher for Wildlife Injury Prevention Campaign; Pushing the Envelope Inc. for DOCK5 versus Hurricane Irma; Lee County Port Authority Communications and Marketing Team for FPRA In The Spotlight Southwest Florida Chapters 2017 Local Image; Judges Award: Jennifer J. Edwards, Heather Doane and Trish Robertson, APR for the 2017 High School Voter Registration Challenge. Established in 1938, FPRA is the oldest public relations organization in the country. FPRA is dedicated to developing public relations practitioners, who, through ethical and standardized practices, enhance the public relations profession in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. For additional information, please visit the Southwest Florida Chapter of FPRA website at www.fpraswfl.org. Ora Virginia Vessell took her place behind the piano in the corner of the Slater Road Baptist Church, as she has done for most of the last 50 years. Im ready, she said before they started to play a hymn during a celebration of her 90th birthday Sunday. The event featured lots of song and remembrances of her early life, which took her all over the country before she settled down in Southwest Florida in the early 1960s. Vessells memory may not always be what it once was, but she still gets around by foot, communicates well, and still plays the piano the way she has for the last 75 or so years very well. We wanted to celebrate what an old-fashioned saint she is and what shes done for North Fort Myers. She has always worked behind the scenes and we want to remember the lives shes touched, said current pastor Mark Leland. Her youngest son, Jim, spoke of his moms early life, with Virginia adding some anecdotes here and there, especially about her early life. Vessell grew up during the Great Depression. Her mom and dad didnt have much of anything and were it not through the grace of her aunt and uncle, she might not have made it at all. She went to boarding school and college, where she learned about structure, which she believes has been one of the secrets to her longevity. I never expected to live this long because my parents died in their 50s. I went to boarding schools from age 10 through college. They had curfews, three balanced meals a day, Virginia said. You went to bed and woke up and ate at certain times. I led a very structured life. They put her through school, including college at Bob Jones University, where she graduated and started teaching in the mountains of Kentucky, as well as Florida and Tennessee, during which time she earned her masters at Appalachian State in North Carolina. She soon met a pastor named Dale and married in 1958. After living in Kansas to start a church there, they moved to Southwest Florida in 1960 to start another church on Sanibel. The couple would have four children, one of whom is now deceased. She taught school in Sanibel before going over to teach fourth grade at Tropic Isles Elementary (where she taught Mike Greenwell) and Edison Park for many years before retiring in the late 1980s. The itch to teach not satisfied, she unretired and taught at Temple Baptist School and another one in Charlotte County for nearly another decade before retiring for good. Before that, her husband started Faith Baptist Church in 1968, first meeting in their home and at the Lions Club before moving into their permanent home, now Slater Road Baptist Church, in 1975. When her husband died in 2004, Vessell stepped away from being the preachers wife, though she continued to serve the church and God. Some people cant step down from that role. She had no problem stepping down. Her heart was in serving the Lord. Very few people live what they say, and she lived it, Leland said. Its not about her. Its about Him. Vessell, who spent two months with her son in California before a brief return here, will move to Virginia near her other son and an assisted living facility. Cape residents and boaters wanting to know more about a proposed mooring field in the Bimini Basin will have a second opportunity next week to not only see what is being considered but to offer input. City staff and its consulting team will meet with the public on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Chester Street Resource Center at 4816 Chester St. This will be an informal session to give residents the opportunity to provide more input to city staff and Stantec, the engineers on the project, as well as to obtain information to better understand how a mooring field works and how it could benefit the city. There will also be a presentation to the South Cape Community Redevelopment Agency board so it can provide input as well. It is the second of two scheduled meetings regarding the mooring field. The first was held April 3, where residents got to see the first renderings of the proposal. This meeting will take into account what was received from the initial meeting and present it to the group again, discussing where they are in the process and how it would go forward, said city spokesperson Connie Barron. Wyatt Daltrey, planning team coordinator, said the first meeting went very well, as those not normally in the know got a good lesson on mooring fields. The general public doesnt really know how they work and theres a lot of misinformation about them and what the city can do, Daltrey said. Its really wide open because unless you have a mooring field, there are no rules. Daltrey said they are developing a draft ordinance to bring to the Cape Coral City Council. However, there are steps involved, which will be brought up Tuesday. The ordinance sets the stage for the mooring field. Its us creating the rules and from there we go into action developing it, Daltrey said. The input is important. What do they want to see there? Benefits of these fields were discussed, including the prevention of derelict vessels, pollution control, habitat protection, basin management and oversight, increased revenues and tourism, navigational safety and efficiency in anchoring. Residents had their concerns, saying that pollution and traffic could actually increase as boaters would dump their bilge and waste in the water instead of having it pumped out, either with another vessel or dock. They were also concerned about length of stay, derelict boats and the size limits for boats. Daltrey said he hopes some people who have experience being on mooring fields come to the meeting for their perspective. The first one was attended by a harbormaster from Naples, who Daltrey said was very helpful. The city is anticipated to adopt a mooring field ordinance in June pertaining to boat anchoring in the Bimini Basin. Currently, under Florida law, and with no existing mooring field, there is no legal way to regulate boats anchoring within the basin. A mooring field would allow the city to regulate boat anchoring within the designated field once adopted and permitted through various agencies. The city council will hold hearings on the field on June 4 and June 11, where an ordinance will likely be voted on in time for the summer hiatus. The field would still have to pass on the state and federal level, an approval process that could take between 12 and 18 months. Its fiesta time as Southwest Floridas largest and best attended Hispanic heritage event is back with the annual Viva Cape Coral! Festival. On April 28 from 5 to 10 p.m., you can head downtown to the corner of Lafayette and Vincennes streets to get your fix of live music, food, and family-friendly fun. Organized by the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Atty. Jorge de la Mar, and sponsored by the new Latin music radio station, Playa 98.1, this event is free and open to the public. Other sponsors include Beasley Media group, B103.9, Sunstate Academy, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, CenturyLink, and Hurtado Cavanaugh, Attorneys at Law. Its a day to celebrate different cultures. There are not many Hispanic festivals in the area and we look forward to this event every year. People always ask me when the Viva Cape Coral! Festival is happening. Its a great tradition, and we love putting it on each and every year, said Southwest Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Veronica Culbertson. Were hoping to see a turn out of around 12,000 people; the numbers grow every year and we love to see people come out and have a great time. Were excited about the new location of the festival, and hope it can be our future home for the event. Were hoping to become the new Calle-Ocho(the largest hispanic festival in the country, held in Miami each year), added Culbertson. This year, musical performances will be headlined by international artists Frankie Negron and Charlie Cruz. Other live artists will include Heat Latin Jazz, Orquesta Classica, Orquesta Tropical Sound, Thaliana and a Zumba performance by Around the Clock Fitness. Were really filling the music schedule this year. Frankie and Charlie bring a great blend of modern and traditional Salsa music to the stage. We are so happy to have Frankie back with us again this year. Both artists are well known in the hispanic community and people love to dance to their music said Culbertson. Deejays and emcees from radio stations will also be present to hype up the crowd with souvenirs and contests. A staple each year is the diversity of food from many Hispanic cultures that will be available. Puerto Rican, Cuban, Peruvian, Venezuelan, and Central American are just some of the varieties folks can come and experience. Vendors come from all over Florida who specialize in festival atmospheres, and do a great job of supplying our many guests with delicious food, added Culbertson. There will be plenty for the kids to do as well, with an area designated for fun activities for youngsters. Inflatable slides, mechanical rides, games, ponies, and a rock climbing wall, will all be available for children to enjoy. Culbertson encourages people to be part of the festival, regardless of cultural background. Its a ton of fun. This is a great place to meet new people and bring all cultures together. It can be a learning experience. Everybody loves the food, everybody loves the music, its a great getaway from the stresses of every day life. Come and dance and have a great time plus, its free and all are welcome to celebrate. For more information about the Viva Cape Coral! Festival, you can visit vivacapecoral.com. In 2006-2007, the Florida State Legislature took .25 mil of your property taxes designated for public education capital expenditure and directed it into the General Revenue fund. This was done so that Florida would have a balanced budget as required by the Florida Constitution. This temporary fix worked so well, the State Legislature decided to take an additional .25 mil the following year funding which has never been returned to public education. That took the School District of Lee County from collecting $200 per $100,000 of property value to $150. This year, that equates to approximately $39 million. Coupled with the elimination of PECO (Public Education Capital Outlay) dollars provided by the state to fund new school construction, we receive a fraction of the money required to build and maintain our schools. Now dont be fooled, you are still paying the 2.0 tax millage, but 25 percent of that millage, is being used at the discretion of the State Legislature on things other than public education for which it was originally intended. Lee County is one of six growing counties in the state of Florida. We add between 1,500 and 2,000 students a year, the equivalent of one high school. We are over capacity in our East and South Zone schools and quickly getting there in the West Zone. Do you know what the other five growing counties have that we dont? A surtax. Your School Board chose a half-cent sales tax because the financial burden on taxpayers is low. For example, an average family of four would pay $64 in additional tax each year. That breaks down to just over $5 a month, or to put it in context, a Starbucks coffee. Between 25-35 percent of the tax will be paid by tourists; that is like getting items at a 30 percent discount. And finally, a sales tax generates more sustainable revenue than other options, including raising impact fees or property taxes, which is a move that is wildly unpopular throughout the state of Florida. This Board also feels the half-cent solution is far better than borrowing the money. While borrowing is a far easier solution, it is also far less responsible to the taxpayers of Lee County. Currently, the School District of Lee County pays $51.4 million in debt service. That is money going to a bank, rather than being reinvested in our childrens education. In addition, that number will more than triple if we have to borrow money to meet the classroom building needs that will be required in the next 10 years. We need a solution that provides us with a sustainable income source that will allow us to provide the necessary infrastructure, safety and security and technology upgrades without having to borrow money and shift the burden on future generations. The half-cent sales tax initiative is the very last item on the ballot this year but our children and community should be the first thought in every voters mind. When you go into the voting booth this November, I ask that you flip your ballot to the very end, making your first decision a positive one regarding the future of our community and our children. Please vote to support the Lee Schools half-cent sales tax initiative and put our children first on your ballot. Steven K. Teuber is a member of the Lee County School Board. He represents District 4, which includes Cape Coral. More than two dozen of Cape Corals top-tier high school seniors pulled up in their limousine and gathered at the Palmetto Pine Country Club on Thursday to receive one of the biggest honors a soon-to-be graduate can receive in this city. Students, dignitaries and sponsors gathered for the 36th annual Mayors Scholarship Fund awards banquet where, from among 60 applicants, 25 students earned $1,500 scholarships to help them further their education. Since its inception in 1982, more than $800,000 in scholarships have been awarded, thanks to the generosity of the many sponsors who make this program a reality. This is the culmination of a year of hard work and fundraising and a time to celebrate the successes of our students, said Mary Fischer, school board member and president of the scholarship fund. The kids bring a variety of talents and community service with them as well as academic success. The fund held numerous fundraisers, received donations from corporate and private benefactors, and held its annual Night at the Theater at the Cultural Park Theater to raise the $37,500 for the scholarships and other expenses this year. For the first time, the scholarship fund offered technical scholarships, which were requested by the business community for students who choose to learn a trade. Cape Coral High School led the way with eight recipients, with North Fort Myers a close second with six. Oasis Charter had four. Mayor Joe Coviello read a proclamation declaring Thursday to be Cape Coral Mayors Scholarship Fund Award Day. He had some words of wisdom for the students. Your hard work has just begun. Youve opened up the door to move on and be successful in whatever you decide to do, Coviello said. We hope that Cape Coral can create enough economic development so that if they do go off to college theyll come back. Dave Alexander was again the master of ceremonies as the students received their scholarships, along with the person or organization who sponsored it. The students were very happy to receive their scholarships which, for some, will be one of many they receive from now until graduation day on the scholarship tour. I feel extremely grateful to be benefitted by my own community where I have lived the past 18 years, said Krya Johnson of Cape Cora High School, who earned her fourth scholarship with this one. I was ecstatic and grateful to be in front of the community. Im honored to be a winner. I was surprised and taken aback a little when I learned a won, said Casey Pope of Cape Coral High, who will attend Florida State. I learned to sew this year and I really want to take up design and see where that takes me. Maxwell Slafer, of Cape Coral High, who gave the speech of thanks once the scholarships were handed out, said he was honored to get the scholarship because the service to his community has meant a lot to him. The time I spend giving back to the community is being paid back and thats wonderful, said Slafer, who will attend Middlebury College in Vermont. This is going to assist me as I work toward achieving what I want so I can continue to give back. This years recipients are: Cory Adams, Jocelyn Arroyo, Abigail Bryant, Caitlin Cantrell, Alyssa Childs, Anthony Jon DeNucci, Gabriella Ferra, Jasmine Galeano, Heidi Hassett, Diane Hernandez, John Hickel II, Kyra Johnson, Emily Jones, Tara Lea, Brianna Mason, Christiana Nelson, Nina Nguyen, Jorge Orozco, Galia Pino, Casey Pope, Christina Presmy, Max Slafer, Tuan Tran, Valeria Velazquez and Mallory Volz. In response to the letter "Lives before fruit", being the owner of the pest control company you are complaining about, we regret your experience with the spray. Yes we were at that residence two times this year, the first time was not a toxic poison it was a petroleum based dormant oil to control over wintering insects that are harmful to the fruit production. When we spray during the time of blossoming, we do not spray the trees that are in full bloom as we do not want to kill the bees that are out during pollination (or at any time). It is unfortunate that you were affected by the drift of the spray, we do apologize for that. The city of Kelowna has a registry that you can have your name put on and be notified the day before any spraying in your neighborhood takes place. You must not be on this list or you would have been notified. I would also like to address the hazmat type suit our sprayer was wearing. That statement is a little misleading, he was wearing red coveralls, the mask is a Work Safe BC requirement. As we were hired by your neighbor to spray his trees, if you want to be notified before we do any service, you can call the pest control companies and have them put you on their call list, we will be more than willing to give you heads up. Sandra Young Chelsea Powrie Two areas of the Okanagan have applied to become specifically recognized wine regions in order to localize their branding. "Currently the whole area in the interior is a Geographical Indication, or what other countries would call an appellation," said BC Wine Association general manager Scott Hennesen. "Currently we have one sub-GI, called Golden Mile Bench, and another submission in OK Falls just in the process of being completed in the next few days." Narmata Bench is hoping to join the fold. Hillside Winery winemaker Kathy Malone, along with representatives from Laughing Stock Vineyards, Upper Bench Estate Winery, Bench 1775 Winery and Terravista Vineyards, is involved with the committee that made a formal application to the BC Wine Authority Monday. "This has been probably 10 years in the making, we've been talking about it up and down the Naramata Bench," Malone said. They watched the Okanagan Falls wine community go through the process of applying, conducting soil studies, being vetted by the BCWA and now finally voting before making the decision to apply. Malone said that the Okanagan Valley has so many different growing conditions that it doesn't make sense to simply label all the wines as from the same region. "It's really important for wine drinkers to have [geographical information] available and understand how different growing conditions can impact their wine, it just makes it a lot more interesting," she said. The next step is for the BCWA to conduct interviews to ensure the support is there a tall order in this case, considering there are 181 vineyards and 31 wineries. "We make all the wineries and vineyards aware and then specifically talk to the people in the area and find out if anyone has any objections, and then we have a vote from the wineries and vineyards," Hennesen said. In Okanagan Falls, the final voting period concludes Monday, and Jack Meyer of Meyer Family Vineyards expects it to be a positive result. The Ministry of Agriculture will still need to approve, but if all goes well, Okanagan Falls will be the next official sub-GI in the Okanagan. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer Thousands will flock to Naramata this Saturday to bargain hunt and enjoy the atmosphere at the annual Naramata Yard Sale. Over 50 homes are participating, selling their wares on the lawns of their properties, as well as several community groups like the school PAC and the Old Age Pensioners Hall. "The amazing part is that it's about 10 per cent of the full-time occupied homes in Naramata, so a lot of folks join in on it and a couple thousand come from outside the area," said volunteer coordinator Craig Henderson. "It's a really festive atmosphere." Highlights include the PAC used clothing sale at the school gym, at which you can fill a shopping bag with clothes for $5, and Reverend Sandra Stickney's infamous "Sticky Stickney Buns," her own recipe for cinnamon buns which "sell like hotcakes" according to Henderson. He will be handing out maps of sale spots as people enter Naramata, and offered a hot tip to not just go to the houses in the main village. "Some of the best stuff can sometimes be found on those homes up on the hill," he said. Henderson has been coordinating the sale for six years now. "It's really grown over the last few years, it has been fun to facilitate that and allow people to declutter for spring cleanup as well as gather a bit of change in their pocket as a result." The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, but be sure to arrive early if you want the best finds. Following last year's Life as an MP column, I wanted to feature one of our local MLAs. It took a lot more work to co-ordinate than we had both hoped, but I finally made it down to Victoria last month. So here we go: Life as an MLA, featuring Norm Letnick Heres hoping by reading this column, watching the video, and checking some of the links, you get a better idea how the provincial government works. What is question period? As you will see in the video, it's the most public part of the provincial government and often where the new headlines are generated. Each question and story told is carefully considered by the opposition as they hold the government's feet to the fire, as Norm says. Who actually holds the power in government? This was something new for me. As Norm shows us the legislature, he specifically talks about government being the Premier and cabinet. Ive been mulling over the significance of that statement and it's actually quite profound. Why are the parties in the legislature separated by two sword lengths? Better safe than sorry as they say. Thanks, Norm, for being a gracious host. Appreciate your efforts in Victoria. If anyone wants to dig deeper, here are a number of links I wanted to include for you. Agenda (links, minutes, video, etc): https://www.leg.bc.ca//41s/3rd-session Committees: https://www.leg.bc.ca/parlia/committees Norm Letnick: https://www.leg.bc.ca//41/Letnick-Norm Bills in progress: https://www.leg.bc.ca//bills-with-hans BC Liberal Caucus: http://bcliberalcaucus.bc.ca/ (this is shown the first part of the video in this column). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: https://www.leg.bc.ca/ Lesson plan for teachers: https://www.leg.bc.ca//le/lesson-plans In the coming weeks, Ill share at least one and maybe two more videos from my trip to Victoria with Norm. Photo: Burger55 Facebook A beloved Penticton burger joint has been sold. Burger55 owner Chris Boehm announced on Facebook Thursday the business has been sold to West Kelowna couple Ron and Sheela Bee. I have a bucket of mixed emotions moving on from the business. There have been SO many ups and downs that most of you have been there to see and experience, he wrote I am happy to be moving on and comfortable leaving the business in the hands of a couple eager to keep this business alive. I am also saddened as there are so many memories, blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into this business. The business has been for sale for some time now. Founded in 2009, it grew out of the small building on Backstreet Blvd. now occupied by Tacos Del Norte into its larger space nearby at 52 Front St. It makes frequent appearances on lists of the top eats in the Okanagan and has become a Penticton icon for adventurous burgers with unique ingredients, appearing on Food Network Canadas You Gotta Eat Here in 2013. Ron has been a chef for 25+ years and has been eagerly and patiently waiting to get behind the counter to serve and cook for everyone, Boehm said. I am excited for Ron and Sheela to take over as I continue on to my next venture in life. The business will be closed on April 29-30 in advance of a reopening under Ron and Sheela on May 1. Thanks again everyone as this has been quite the life experience for 8+ years, Boehm said. Im going to miss it. Photo: Chad MacDonald A Penticton resident sprung into action when he heard about a large garbage pile in a forested area of upper Carmi. Chad MacDonald said he first heard of the mess on Tuesday when Ryan Aiken posted pictures of it on Facebook. MacDonald went to the site the next day, located just off Beaver Dell Road near the Garnet Fire Interpretative Site, and filled his truck with most of the items before taking them to the dump. Among the mess was clothes, electronics, a barbecue, needles, hair and a prescription container without a name, MacDonald said. Cameron Baughen, solid waste management coordinator with the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen, said the RDOS has been contacted recently of illegal dumping in that area but wasn't sure if this particular site was recorded. He said illegal dumping in the Carmi area and other forested areas near Penticton is a decades-old issue. "Often when we get in there, I can tell you most of the materials are free of charge at our landfill." He advised people who come across garbage piles to report them to the RDOS and to the province's Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline. The province is the primary group associated with dumping on Crown land, but Baughen said the RDOS can assist groups cleaning up garbage sites in many ways. "If people are able to do a cleanup, they can work with us and get free tipping fees... If there's any recyclables, we assist them in making sure that comes in. Garbage, bags, gloves, litter pickers, things like that we do assist," he said. "This service is not a large service for us... But if we can assist we often do." Many people commended MacDonald online for his actions to clean up most of the mess in upper Carmi. He advised anyone planning to pick up the rest of the garbage to be wary that there may still be needles mixed into the pile. Photo: The Canadian Press Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt takes his seat as he arrives to testify before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Lawmakers are harshly criticizing Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt for the ethics and spending scandals that have prompted bipartisan calls for his ouster. On the defensive, the EPA chief blamed "half truths" and "twisted" allegations, an effort to undermine the Trump administration's anti-regulatory agenda. The public grilling at a House hearing Thursday came as support has eroded for Pruitt among fellow Republicans after a nearly month of negative headlines about outsized security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease. Even Republicans who support Pruitt's policy agenda said his apparent lapses could not be ignored. Democrats excoriated him as the hearing opened. "You are unfit to hold public office," said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey. Rep. Paul Tonko said of the allegations, "the more we have learned, the worse they get," and told Pruitt he was "never fit for this job." President Donald Trump has continued to stand by his EPA chief, but behind closed doors, White House officials concede Pruitt's job is in serious jeopardy. In the last week, a growing list of Republican lawmakers has joined the chorus of Democrats calling for new investigations into Pruitt's actions. Pruitt only addressed the allegations in passing in his opening statement, acknowledging merely that "there's been a learning process," and adding, "Facts are facts, fiction is fiction." Pruitt faced back-to-back hearings Thursday, called formally to consider EPA's budget. Pruitt has faced a steady trickle of revelations involving pricey trips in first-class seats and unusual security spending, including a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls. He also demanded 24-hour-a-day protection from armed officers, resulting in a swollen, 20-member security detail that blew through overtime budgets and racked up expenses approaching $3 million. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said before the hearings that officials were "evaluating these concerns and we expect the EPA administrator to answer for them." Pruitt in the past has often sought to deflect questions about any missteps by blaming his subordinates. Photo: The Canadian Press Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, arrives at federal court for a conference regarding the FBI's seizure of his records, Thursday, April 26, 2018, in New York. President Donald Trump said Thursday that personal attorney Michael Cohen handles very little of his legal work, but did represent him in the "crazy Stormy Daniels deal," a rare presidential public reference to the porn star who claims she had sex with the president in 2006. Prosecutors in New York quickly claimed Trump's early-morning comments buttress their arguments that not much of the material that the FBI seized from Cohen's home, office and hotel should be protected by attorney-client privilege. Within two hours of Trump's interview, the prosecutors submitted papers in court citing Trump's comments. Trump's remarks prompted fresh questions about his relationship with Cohen in the tangle of legal dealings involving the president, his legal fixer and the porn star. And they served as just the latest demonstration of the potential legal risks for Trump when he makes off-the-cuff statements about the case in interviews and on Twitter. In a call-in interview with "Fox & Friends," Trump spoke about his relationship with Cohen, saying the lawyer handles "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his legal work, then added: "like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal he represented me. And, you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this which would have been a problem." Cohen paid Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 days before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. He now faces a series of legal actions, including an effort from Daniels to invalidate the nondisclosure deal. There's also a criminal investigation of Cohen in New York, which prompted the recent FBI raid. Trump has previously denied any knowledge of the payment. The White House has consistently denied the affair. Photo: The Canadian Press In this undated photo released by the FBI shows East Area Rapist Ski Masks in Sacramento, Calif. A California sheriff says a former police officer accused of being a serial killer and rapist was taken by surprise when deputies swooped in and arrested him as he stepped out of his home. Investigators who used a genealogical website to find the ex-policeman they believe is a shadowy serial killer and rapist who terrified California decades ago call the technique ground-breaking. But others say it raises troubling legal and privacy concerns for the millions of people who submit their DNA to such sites to discover their heritage. There aren't strong privacy laws to keep police from trolling ancestry site databases, said Steve Mercer, the chief attorney for the forensic division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. "People who submit DNA for ancestors testing are unwittingly becoming genetic informants on their innocent family," Mercer said, adding that they "have fewer privacy protections than convicted offenders whose DNA is contained in regulated databanks." Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested Tuesday after investigators matched crime-scene DNA with genetic material stored by a distant relative on an online site. From there, they narrowed it down to the Sacramento-area grandfather using DNA obtained from material he'd discarded, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said. Authorities declined to name the online site. However, two of the largest, Ancestry.com and 23andMe, said Thursday that they weren't involved in the case. DNA potentially may have played an earlier role in the case. It was just coming into use as a criminal investigative tool in 1986 when the predator variously known as the East Area Rapist and the Golden State Killer apparently ended his decade-long wave of attacks. DeAngelo, a former police officer, probably would have known about the new method, experts said. No one who knew DeAngelo over the decades connected him with the string of at least a dozen murders, 50 rapes and dozens of burglaries from 1976 to 1986 throughout the state. After he was identified as the suspect, however, prosecutors rushed to charge him with eight killings. In addition, police in the central California farming town of Visalia said Thursday that DeAngelo is a suspect in a 13th killing and about 100 burglaries in the area. Photo: The Canadian Press U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Brownsville, Texas. Federal officials lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year after a government agency placed the minors in the homes of adult sponsors in communities across the country, according to testimony before a Senate subcommittee Thursday. The Health and Human Services Department has a limited budget to track the welfare of vulnerable unaccompanied minors, and realized that 1,475 children could not be found after making follow-up calls to check on their safety, an agency official said. Federal officials came under fire two years ago after rolling back child protection policies meant for minors fleeing violence in Central America. In a follow-up hearing on Thursday, senators said that the agencies had failed to take full responsibility for their care and had delayed crucial reforms needed to keep them from falling into the hands of human traffickers. "You are the worst foster parents in the world. You don't even know where they are," said Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. "We are failing. I don't think there is any doubt about it. And when we fail kids that makes me angry." Since the dramatic surge of border crossings in 2013, the federal government has placed more than 180,000 unaccompanied minors with parents or other adult sponsors who are expected to care for the children and help them attend school while they seek legal status in immigration court. An AP investigation found in 2016 that more than two dozen unaccompanied children had been sent to homes where they were sexually assaulted, starved or forced to work for little or no pay. At the time, many adult sponsors didn't undergo thorough background checks, government officials rarely visited homes and in some cases had no idea that sponsors had taken in several unrelated children, a possible sign of human trafficking. Since then, the Health and Human Services Department has boosted outreach to at-risk children deemed to need extra protection, and last year offered post-placement services to about one-third of unaccompanied minors, according to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. But advocates say it is hard to know how many minors may be in dangerous conditions, in part because some disappear before social workers can follow up with them and never show up in court. From October to December 2017, HHS called 7,635 children the agency had placed with sponsors, and found 6,075 of the children were still living with their sponsors, 28 had run away, five had been deported and 52 were living with someone else. The rest were missing, said Steven Wagner, acting assistant secretary at HHS. Republican Sen. Rob Portman gave HHS and the Department of Homeland Security until Monday to deliver a time frame for improving monitoring. "These kids, regardless of their immigration status, deserve to be treated properly, not abused or trafficked," said Portman, who chairs the subcommittee. "This is all about accountability." Photo: The Canadian Press A man works in the TMX broadcast centre in Toronto, May 9, 2014. The TMX Group says technical problems Friday afternoon affected the Toronto Stock Exchange, Montreal Exchange and others markets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese The Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Exchange have shut down early for the day as a result of technical problems that erupted about 2 p.m. The Toronto-based company that owns the exchanges announced the unusual decision through Twitter. A spokeswoman for Toronto-based TMX Group said the company was investigating the cause of the disruption but would be confining its comments to its social media feed. The first tweet was sent out about 2 p.m., with two hours remaining in the normal trading day. A later update said TMX had decided to shut down all markets for the remainder of the day and apologized for the inconvenience. Photo: Contributed The international consortium behind plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal on British Columbia's north coast has awarded the contract to design and build the proposed $40-billion project. A news release from Texas-based Fluor Corp., says it and JGC Corp., based in Japan, have been approved as joint venture contractors for the engineering, procurement and construction of LNG Canada's planned export facility in Kitimat. The award of the estimated multibillion-dollar contract is conditional on a positive final investment decision from the project partners led by Shell Canada, along with Mitsubishi Corp., Kogas, and PetroChina. A post on LNG Canada's Facebook page says if the Kitimat terminal moves forward, Fluor and JGC would be responsible for directly hiring the majority of the thousands of skilled workers required during the five-year construction period. Fluor says its team's design and execution strategy improves the competitiveness and predictability of the Kitimat project and positions LNG Canada for a final investment decision. The final decision was delayed indefinitely by the consortium in 2016 because of a skid in global LNG prices. In addition to construction of the Kitimat terminal, LNG Canada is looking to TransCanada Corp. to build a proposed $4.7-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline to carry LNG from the gas fields of northeastern B.C. to the port for shipment overseas. In March, B.C.'s New Democrat government offered new conditions and tax incentives for the province's liquefied natural gas projects, including relief from provincial sales taxes, subject to repayment in the form of an equivalent operational payment. LNG projects would also be subject to new greenhouse gas emission standards and would have to pay general industrial electricity rates consistent with other industrial users in B.C., but the framework would repeal an LNG income tax introduced under the B.C. Liberals. Photo: The Canadian Press Two of Canada's biggest banks are raising their benchmark rates for five-year, fixed-rate mortgages. TD says as of Wednesday it increased its posted rate for five-year fixed mortgages to 5.59 per cent from 5.14 per cent. Mortgage planner and rate comparison website founder Robert McLister says the increase is "unusual" as the benchmark rate hasn't seen a jump of 45 basis points or more since March 2010. TD spokeswoman Julie Bellissimo says a number of factors are considered when determining rates including the competitive landscape, the cost of lending and managing risk. Meanwhile, Royal Bank spokesman AJ Goodman says the lender plans to raise its posted rate for a five-year fixed mortgage on Monday to 5.34 per cent compared with the 5.14 per cent currently posted. McLister says the actual rates banks offer to borrowers are not seeing an increase, but notes the Bank of Canada uses the posted rates at the big banks to calculate the rate used in stress tests to determine whether homebuyers qualify for loans. Colton Davies A section of Green Mountain Road just west of Penticton has been slowly slipping away for a few weeks, and people in the area are concerned the road could be wiped out during the spring freshet. The pavement was chipped away about two weeks ago and crews graded the road with gravel which has had to be shored up several times since then. Herb Allen, a nearby resident, said the slope is slipping at least one to two inches every day. "I can't explain it. I've lived here basically all my life and I've never seen it do that," Allen said. While several signs have been put up by road crews, Allen thinks more should be in place to increase awareness. "If someone's coming through in the dark, they won't know if the road is washed out." The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is well aware of the unstable soil, and area director Tom Siddon walked through the area earlier this week to see the progressive damage. On Wednesday, the RDOS issued an evacuation order for one nearby property due to unstable soil above the home. Information officer Zoe Kirk said the RDOS is talking daily with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure about the situation, and said theyre expecting a geotechnical assessment of the soil to be received late on Friday. "We have elected with (MOTI) to keep that road open for as long as possible, until we get that report back and can make those mitigative decisions," Kirk stated. "It is a bit confusing because generally when the regional district issues an evacuation order, the road is closed, or a whole area is closed to the public." Kirk also advised residents who live on side hills or slopes to keep an eye on the back of their properties. "If they see or have areas of concern, water coming out or tension cracks, please let us know." Photo: The Canadian Press Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada President and CEO Andrew Kriegler, centre. The B.C. government is expanding the reach of an investment watchdog to protect vulnerable investors. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada along with anti-poverty and seniors' groups have lobbied the government for legislation that allows the organization to enforce its rules and discipline those who bilk investors. The organization's CEO, Andrew Kriegler, says changes to the B.C. Securities Act will help protect investors, especially seniors who rely on their retirement investments. Finance Minister Carole James says the legislation works for people and promotes a fair and efficient capital market in the province. The amendments give the organization better enforcement tools, which the group says will allow it to go through the B.C. Supreme Court to collect $4.7 million in unpaid fines. The changes extend the organization's authority to six provinces and the group says in a news release that when governments give it better enforcement tools, it has seen higher fine collection and a change in behaviour among advisers. Photo: Contributed Beaverdell Rd. Forest service roads near Penticton are feeling the impacts of the spring freshet. Snow melt has taken a chunk out of a part of Beaver Dell Road east of the city, about four kilometres up. Peat Bog Road, which provides access to several recreational sites, is also mostly washed out. Motorists in the area tell Castanet the situation on Beaverdell Road has deteriorated significantly over the past 24 hours. The hazards are marked by orange sandbags, indicating Argo is aware of the situation. Snow melt has also caused problems on rural roadways in Naramata and most notably, on Green Mountain Road, where one home has been evacuated. Epic RecordsShe may no longer be a member of Fifth Harmony, but Camila Cabello has found someone new to harmonize with. She and Kane Brown have now released their duet version of Camila's pop smash "Never Be the Same." Camila writes on Twitter, "When we were writing ['Never Be the Same'], [my producer] Frank Dukes kept telling me 'The melodies you're doing make it feel like this could be a country song!!!' Ever since we finished writing it, I always thought this could be reimagined with a country artist, and I heard Kane Brown's song 'What Ifs' one day and freaked out!" She continues, "I was like, 'he's the PERFECT artist to do this with'..I'm so so excited about this and I hope you love it as much as I do and thank you Kane for your magical voice, this song tells a different story now." Kane retweeted Camila's tweet and added, "LET'S GO!" Both Kane and Camila are nominated for Billboard Music Awards this year, and Camila will perform on the show as well. Who knows -- she and Kane may even perform the duet live on the show. Camila will kick off her gig as the opening act for Taylor Swift's Reputation tour May 8 in Glendale, AZ. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Chattanooga Police officers arrested two suspects involved in an armed robbery within hours of the incident. Officers responded to an armed robbery call at 5966 Brainerd Road at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. The victim told police she was exiting her vehicle when she was approached by a white male pointing a handgun at her demanding her purse and cell phone. The victim complied and the suspect fled in a gray Mitsubishi driven by a white male. A quick-acting witness was able to take a photo of the vehicle and provide officers with a detailed description of the suspects, which aided officers' search for the men. Four hours after the robbery, CPD patrol officers stopped the suspect vehicle for running a stop sign at Roanoke and Rawlings. During the stop, the officer recognized one of the occupants from the information provided by the witness. The two men were questioned and admitted to their involvement in the robbery. "The effort and quick thinking of the witness who took the photo of the vehicle greatly assisted in the apprehension of these two suspects," said Captain Zac McCullough. "The cooperation we receive from community members is crucial to making Chattanooga a safer place for all who live and visit here." Through investigation by CPD's Robbery Unit Investigators it was determined Donald Roush, 44, committed the act of aggravated robbery and James Harden, 35, facilitated the crime as the driver of the suspect vehicle. Both men are charged with aggravated robbery. They were transferred to the Hamilton County Jail. Additional charges for fraudulent use of a credit card and theft are pending. A large crowd of East Ridge property owners filled the city council meeting Thursday night in response to a letter they received bearing the citys seal. The 2,500 letters that were sent included a map with a red-zone indicating what the East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority considers to be blighted areas, leading people to believe their homes could be seized by eminent domain in the quest to clean up East Ridge. Resident Frances Pope summed up the citizens' concerns when she said that most everyone agrees that improvements need to be made in the city, but there is already a codes enforcement officer and an administrative hearing officer who can issue steep fines to deter non compliance with city codes. The city also has the ability to make inspections of rental properties, she said, and questioned why the procedures already in place cannot address blight without going into the neighborhoods and taking property by eminent domain. In April 2017 a resolution was passed to create this board and Mayor Brent Lambert made all five appointments of the members in June. The first meeting was held in July or August, said City Attorney Mark Litchford, but he did not know who had the original idea to create the board. Mr. Litchford is the redevelopment authoritys attorney in addition to representing the city council. The board itself is considered by many speakers to be a problem, as well as the letter it sent. One resident asked for credentials of the appointees to be made available to the community. Do they have a background in planning or community development? Or what qualifies them?, she asked. After some searching, Attorney Litchford said that the only qualification is that they are a citizen of East Ridge. The original purpose of a redevelopment plan, as understood by the council members, was to target the commercial property on Ringgold Road and fix it up, using the Border Region map consisting of 950 acres. The actual plan this board has developed and mapped involves 1,607 acres and includes a lot of residential property. The five members of the redevelopment authority have the power to take over both homes and commercial property, according to the letter that was sent. How did the committee get so far off track? It is terrible you have a committee with this much authority that doesnt know what theyre doing, said one speaker. Denny Manning, past city councilman, said to the vice mayor, Mr. Sewell, I appreciate your sitting in because our mayor was too chicken to come. He said that the people on the authority have no training or qualifications for the job. He cited blighted houses in his neighborhood, where police make arrests and Hamilton County courts release the problem people who simply return to the drug houses. He made a suggestion that the city set up benefit programs for people who are disabled or who cannot afford to fix up their property. Other requests and comments heard from the citizens included that any home that is for sale in the red zone would have to disclose that it is subject to government seizure. One man told the council that this issue has caused him unbelievable stress and loss of sleep over worrying that he would lose his house. With the threat of taking over property, another speaker asked the council to make sure that property rights are not stamped out. Many who spoke requested for the map to be redrawn and reduced to areas of actual blight that are in the commercial district only. Councilman Jacky Cagle read multiple examples of conflicting items he found in the by-laws of the redevelopment authority. The concerned citizens and Councilman Cagle unanimously supported dissolving the board altogether. A motion to dissolve the Housing Redevelopment Authority was put on the agenda for the city council meeting on May 10. In the meantime, the authority will be asked to reduce the plan and redraw the map to pinpoint defined areas only in the commercial district. A public meeting has already been scheduled for May 3 beginning at 5:30 at the community center to gather community input about the redevelopment plan. Members of the authority and city council will be present for as long as people have questions, said City Manager Scott Miller. In new business, the council adopted rules and regulations that specify minimum hotel and extended stay hotel requirements and standards. Penalties for failure to comply with the regulations are included in the ordinance that passed on first reading. Rules and regulations were also added to the East Ridge zoning ordinance relating to short-term vacation rentals. Codes Enforcement Officer Kenny Custer said that state adopted rules which will grandfather in existing homes used for short term rentals within the R-1 District will apply to the city. On second reading, property at 1420 Boyd St. was rezoned from R-1 Residential to RT-1 Residential Townhouse. A final vote set the City Court Clerks compensation at $57,740 effective after the Nov. 6 election. Authorization was given to purchase five E-Citation units and related software for the police department at the cost of $36,830 and a recurring annual fee of $4,148. Some of the cost will be offset by the collection of citation fees charged by the court. The police department will also be getting a body-worn camera system. This cost is $150,000. Memorial Health Care donated 100 doses of Narcan to the city that will be used for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses. East Ridge adopted a limited English proficiency policy that will improve access to federally conducted programs and activities for persons with limited proficiency in the English language. It will be funded through various federal grant programs. Estes Cocke was appointed as director on the Industrial Development Board for a six-year term beginning May 1. Fees were waived for use of facilities at Camp Jordan by the East Ridge Optimist Club for fundraising events. The pond in the park will be used for a fishing rodeo on June 2, the arena will be used for the Kars for Kids Car Show on June 23, and the pavilion will used for a fundraiser barbeque on May 26. The city will support the barbeque by purchasing $300 of tickets. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will provide a special ranger-led program, lasting 90-minutes, at Signal Point on Signal Point Road, discussing the role that the Tennessee River played in the progression of Chattanooga and the hazards that traveling the river in the 19th century posed. The program will be on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m. The Tennessee River is 652 miles in length, extending from its origin at the confluence of the French Broad and Holston Rivers at Knoxville to its mouth on the Ohio River at Paducah, Ky. During the Civil War, the river was a natural highway through this region. Some sections of the river, however, proved impassible for large vessels due to the many rapids that formed in one of the most treacherous stretches known as the Narrows. These rapids even took on names of their own, like the Pot, the Pan, and the Skillet. As a result, steam vessels bound for Chattanooga had to be pulled by ropes through man-made side channels for safe passage. Participants are asked to dress appropriately for weather conditions and to wear comfortable shoes. A bottle of water and portable chairs are recommended. For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 821-7786, the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch. The Eppendorf Group can look back at 2017 as a very satisfactory business year. With Group sales of 690.3 million (prior year: 651.5 million), the company generated growth of 6.0% (organic growth in local currencies: +7.9%) while the world market grew by around 5%. As expected, income from operations (EBIT) developed at a slower rate than sales as a result of stronger strategic investments, rising by just 4.2% to 145.5 million (prior year: 139.6 million). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of 21.2% (prior year: 21.4%). All market regions and all major product groups contributed to Eppendorfs business success in the reporting year. In North and South America, the growth momentum accelerated once again. As far as Europe is concerned, the greatest contribution to the increase in sales came from double-digit growth rates in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile the momentum in the Asia/Pacific/Africa region was driven mainly by growth in the key market of China. Thomas Bachmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eppendorf AG, comments: Eppendorfs excellent business and strong market position in 2017 offered ideal conditions to set up the company for continued successful development in the future. In parallel with our operating business, we worked intensively on various strategic initiatives and projects, especially in the areas of market presence, innovation and corporate culture. For instance, Eppendorf established a new global organization effective as of January 1, 2018 to focus itself even more strongly on the needs of the market. These organizational changes are closely linked to a comprehensive innovation initiative that aims to bring products onto the market as quickly as possible. As in the year before, Eppendorf increased its research and development expenditures considerably: In 2017, they amounted to 36.5 million compared with 34.8 million in the previous year. The roundabout twenty new products that the company launched in 2017 already made an important contribution to its growth. Outlook Eppendorfs aspiration for 2018 is to consistently and sustainably implement the projects it has launched for the further development of the company. It has also budgeted further substantial investments in innovation, organization, infrastructure and production capacities as well as training and continuing education. The company considers itself in a good starting position for another successful business year. Chesterfield now offering Pfizer booster shots The Chesterfield Health District is now offering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 65 and older and those 18-64 with underlying medical conditions. The booster shot, administered... Vaccine policy stirs tension between county, commissioner of the revenue In early June, Chesterfields commissioner of the revenue, Jenefer Hughes, found herself swimming against the current. With COVID-19 cases plummeting and vaccination events inoculating thousands in Chesterfield and across the... CEO pay has been rising since the 1980s, with a sharp climb during the 1990s among large companies driven by hikes in incentives and restricted stock. By the turn of the millennium CEOs were making 120 times the pay of the average worker, whereas in the 1970s they were making about 30 times more, according to research by finance professor Carola Frydman and associate finance professor Dimitris Papanikolaou, both of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. The researchers have theorized that the pay gap widens during periods of rapid technological innovation because it becomes more important to have a skilled CEO who can grow the company amid those shifts. "(Porter County) invited us to come in for an initial seven-year stint," and then officials will decide whether the local chapter will go off on its own with the store, Williams said. "But we're one Habitat, and our goal is to serve as many families as possible." From Fess Parker to Greg Norman to Mike Ditka, plenty of famous folk have gotten into the wine game. But what about the hard stuff? No lack of star power there. The draw of earning extra cash has lured a number of celebrities to lend their names to a bottle of hooch. Even reality TV star Bethenny Frankel is cashing in, having just sold her popular Skinnygirl Margarita (a pre-mixed cocktail in a bottle) company for big bucks. Here, our Top 10 celebrity spirits: Cabo Wabo Tequila: Sammy Hagar himself developed this well-regarded tequila, made with 100 percent blue agave and available in blanco, reposado and anejo styles (the anejo won Gold status at the 2009 World Spirits competition). The Red Rocker sold 80 percent of the tequila company to Gruppo Campari for a reported $80 million, but he continues to be its highly visible brand ambassador. Conjure: Rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges partnered up with master blender Philippe B. Tiffon to release his signature cognac in fall of 2009. It's the real-deal -- aged in Limousin oak barrels and all -- and is a relatively smart business move, given that Bridges and cognac mostly share the same audience: youngish African-Americans who pride themselves on good taste. Crystal Head Vodka: See Dan Aykroyd has this obsession with crystal skulls and he likes booze, so Danny DeVito's Limoncello: When life hands you lemons (an embarrassing 2006 appearance on The View when DeVito appeared to be intoxicated), make lemonade -- or this premium liqueur made from Sorrento lemons on the Amalfi Coast. DeVito had his name on this sleek black bottle within months of his televised pratfall. Mansinthe: Any consumable attached to shock-rocker Marilyn Manson kinda scares us, but his branded absinthe (for which he also painted a label), has actually won awards, impressive sales -- and even made him a household name in the tiny Swiss vilage of Kallnach where the spirit is distilled. 901 Tequila: "It's always 901 somewhere." So says multi-talented Justin Timberlake, whose tequila (which borrows its name from his hometown area code: Memphis) launched two years ago independent of a parent spirits company. The agave-based spirit, rooted in Jalisco, Mexico, is actually not half-bad, as far as celebrity spirits go. Apparently, JT knows his booze. Three Olives Purple Vodka: Three Olives has never taken itself too seriously. (With vodkas flavored with chocolate, would you?) So when sass-mouthed rapper Lil' Kim was brought on board last summer to be the face of new flavor Purple (which, according to its label, tastes grape-ish, though it tastes, in essence, just as it sounds: purple), she upped the brand's reputation for party-friendly -- though not necessarily recommended -- spirits. Tres Rios Silver Tequila: Kick back or kick butt with former Motley Crue frontman Vince Neils tequila. Do either at the Vegas restaurant named for it, Tres Rios Cantina, in a brand-extending move. Trump Vodka: Billed, with typical Trumpian modesty, as the "World's Finest Super Premium Vodka," this pricey pour comes in a gold-painted bottle with architectural lines reminiscent of The Donald's skyscrapers. The vodka itself doesn't quite reach the same lofty heights, at least according to some critics. But it's an undeniable conversation-starter. Old Whiskey River: The autographed guitar pick tied to the neck of this 6-year-old, small-batch bourbon (produced by Heaven Hill Distilleries, one of the stops on Kentucky's Bourbon Trail) is a subtle hint to the bourbon's celebrity connection, Willie Nelson. According to the product's website, Heaven Hill sent bourbon samples to Nelson while he was on tour, until he tasted one worthy of Nelson's name. Or at least his pick. Of course, that oversimplifies and makes a novelty of this Filipino-style meal. "Kamayan" means "with hands" in Tagalog, one of a number of Filipino languages, but at its heart, it is a communal meal meant to be shared with loved ones and strangers alike. It is literally connecting one's hands directly with the food placed in front of you and, in turn, symbolically connecting you to it. The eating experience invites guests to experience the food, its warmth, its texture, its color, by getting truly hands-on, and of sharing a bountiful table. The book offers insights from a number of industry heavyweights but mostly draws from the author's own experience. Meehan shares his wisdom in his exploration of hospitality ("working service in a bar is like painting a room: if you spend hours prepping correctly, all you have to do is apply the paint evenly"), bar design (he favors wooden bar tops soft enough to prevent glasses from shattering but "sturdy enough to stand on if the occasion is ever called for") and spirits (he values cultural terroir "the know-how passed down from one generation of producers to the next" over geographic terroir). There is more pleasure taken here in the poetic verbosity of the play, delivered without invasive subtext: Morse's abiding sadness doesn't limit his articulation, so you always hear the beauty of the world outside the doors, the one these men cannot face. And Meany's Hope has not given up on the pleasures of hosting, which gets a man attention, even if the party could just as well be a mass funeral. Wolfe didn't forget O'Neill's tacit observation that no one yet has definitively determined alcohol to be a palliative any less valid than any other against the usual ravages of life. But the new "Westworld" is airing at a time when we're not only more comfortable with our machines and devices, but have integrated them so thoroughly into our everyday lives that they're more like extensions of us than mere utilities. For the humans - both on screen and off - the fear in "Westworld" isn't a computer glitch, but the worry that technology will evolve past us, resulting in synthetic creations that are stronger, smarter, more durable and perhaps worthier of occupying space on Earth. In this future, it's people who are the crude, malfunctioning machines, destined for the scrap heap. Earth 2.0 doesn't need us anymore. "Since day one, my goal has been to ensure that this most vulnerable population of victims that has been through unthinkable trauma may obtain the care they need and deserve from the most qualified medical professionals," state Rep. Michael Unes (R-East Peoria), who sponsored the legislation, said in a statement. "When everyone woke up to that news, we were like, 'Holy s---," said Kera Bolonik, a Brooklyn resident and friend of McNamara's for 32 years. "Of course, there's this unanimous feeling that she did this. 'Oh my gosh, she did this.' It's four days after her second anniversary of her death and a week and a half after what would have been her 48th birthday. ... All this work took them to this place, so there's a lot of pride and some sadness that she's not here to experience that pride and relief and elation, but ultimately what she did want to happen did happen." "We have to celebrate one another's survival, the incredible resistance people bring to bear up against systems of harm. But the time is now," says Cartwright. "MeToo has uplifted the stories of survivors, the experiences of survivors in a way we haven't seen. Tarana Burke's creation of MeToo has reached tens of millions of people worldwide that's unprecedented. With that, it creates room for critical conversations and dialogue around what sexual harm is. That it's not just the impossible standard of the criminal legal system to provide a verdict for what is and what isn't, but acknowledging sexual harm is experienced in the most normal of spaces, all the time." When Garnett and Dave Mellen sent their 19-year-old daughter, Gita, off to college an hour away at Virginia Commonwealth University last fall, they didn't expect to follow her. But in November, the family received notice that its monthly health insurance premium in Charlottesville would triple for 2018, from $1,200 to an unaffordable $3,600. So, the Mellens, both longtime local business owners, packed their bags and spent time with Gita in her off-campus apartment in Richmond. "My whole life has been rearranged around trying to get health insurance," Garnett Mellen, 56, said, as she explained that claiming residency with her daughter in the new ZIP code had cut their premiums by more than half. Charlottesville now claims the dubious distinction of having the highest individual-market health insurance costs in the country prompting families like the Mellens to look for extreme solutions. An exodus of carriers, which was blamed on losses caused by the instability of the Obamacare marketplace, created a coverage vacuum, leaving locals and insurance regulators scrambling. Only one carrier Virginia Beach-based Optima Health decided to continue to participate in the individual market, but it did so with monthly premium increases that were, on average, in the high double-digits and for some consumers as much as 300 percent, according to people interviewed for this story. It's a problem that's likely to be replicated elsewhere, said Timothy Jost, an emeritus professor of law at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and expert on the health law. "In many states, it's going to be hard to maintain a functional individual market," he said. "Charlottesville is sort of ahead of everybody else in this ... but this is the direction things are heading." Insurers nationwide that intend to participate in the individual market face spring deadlines to file forms for 2019 plans and rate proposals. In Virginia, these dates are April 20 and May 4, respectively. The situation in Charlottesville has left many residents at their wits' end about how to pay for their health insurance, prompting the evolution of an angry and rebellious civic movement and thrusting the costs of coverage into the center of local politics. Charlottesville for Reasonable Health Insurance, a grass-roots organization and Facebook group of more than 700 people, has already claimed small victories in the state legislature, such as propelling the passage of a bill that will alleviate the cost burden for some of its members. But its highest priority has been pressing state regulators to explain and possibly reconsider the decision that allowed for the stunning premium increase. In the midst of various bureaucratic fits and starts, the state Bureau of Insurance (BOI) responded to the group April 11 by reiterating that Optima's rates were "actuarially justified." Ian Dixon, one of the group's organizers, said it plans to appeal this finding to the State Corporation Commission. "We're not going away, that's for sure," said Dixon. "They're hoping they can wait us out. ... They would drag this out for a year if they could." At the same time, the group has expanded its focus to other issues on health care costs, such as price transparency and regulatory reform. The trouble started in summer 2017, when the state's major insurance carriers announced they would be leaving the individual market in Virginia, saying the market was "shrinking and deteriorating" pointing to the instability of Obamacare under the Trump administration. Their departures left Albemarle County, home to Charlottesville, bare meaning residents had no insurance options. When Optima opted to continue to offer plans in and around Charlottesville, state insurance regulators breathed a collective sigh of relief. But Optima's decision came with updated rate increase proposals, which gained the OK of the under-the-gun BOI, led by Commissioner Scott White. "I think the (regulators) decided they were willing to accept almost anything to get someone to cover Albemarle County and Charlottesville," Jost said. About 15 miles north of Charlottesville on U.S. 29, there's a billboard that some residents now view with bitter irony. It features a smiling man with the message: "I chose Optima." On one hand, Optima did fill a void and offer health plans where no other insurer would. Still, many residents found their only choice came with a 300 percent boost in premium costs. They felt that state regulators had fallen short of their consumer-protection responsibilities. "Any assumption that I had ... that I thought (the Bureau of Insurance would be) protecting the people ... was completely naive," said Sarah Stovall, 40, who works for a small software company, lives in Charlottesville with her husband and two sons and has struggled to find affordable coverage. But Ken Schrad, the director of the Division of Information Resources for the State Corporation Commission, said the bureau is still questioning Optima, checking its math and evaluating its actuarial decisions. He couldn't answer specific questions about a matter he said is pending. Schrad said the bureau reached out to carriers and worked with them last summer when it was clear that much of the commonwealth wouldn't be covered. "It wasn't a question of what the premiums would be," Schrad said. "It was whether there would be any coverage. "(Filings) must be based on actuarially sound decisions, and that's all the bureau can review. The market is the market." Stovall, 40, teamed up with Dixon, 38, a web app developer, to manage the emerging Facebook group, which was originally set up as a support system for people in search of new insurance options in a short window of time. Soon, Karl Quist, 46, who had been actively calling the BOI to lodge complaints, joined the effort. "The three of us did not know each other before November," Dixon said. "We feel like we're relatives now." Others quickly piled on, including the Mellens and Gail Williamson, 64, a part-time secretary at a private school who needed insurance for herself and her husband, who owns a business restoring antiques. Like many of the people in the group, the Williamsons made too much money to qualify for federal subsidies, but too little to be able to afford the $3,725 monthly premium that Optima would have charged them. Sharing their knowledge, many Charlottesville for Reasonable Health Insurance members have resorted to imperfect jury-rigged policies that do not come with many of the coverage guarantees that protect patients from unexpected costs under the Affordable Care Act. Instead of paying $2,920 a month for Optima's least generous family health plan, Quist is saving $2,300 a month by purchasing two non-ACA-compliant plans, one for sickness and one for accidents. Williamson has settled on a "silly little" three-month policy for $1,400 per month, plus an extra $35 a month in supplemental accident insurance for her husband. "If I won the lottery, the first thing I'd do before giving my kids any money would be to buy health insurance for everyone in that group," Williamson said. Washington and Lee's Jost said he worries about the impact of such cobbled-together coverage. He said having these plans could damage the ACA market further by skimming the healthier people away from the more comprehensive coverage, leaving behind those who are ill or have chronic conditions. "It makes the situation worse because the only people who are going to pay premiums that high are people who are desperate," Jost said. Over the past months, the community-based effort has evolved beyond being an ad hoc information clearinghouse into a powerful organizing tool. For instance, it has raised almost $20,000 to hire lawyer Jay Angoff, a former federal and state insurance official, to appeal to Optima and state regulators about the Charlottesville-area rates. Dixon, Stovall and Quist also regularly pile into Stovall's minivan, drive to Richmond and become lobbyists for their cause. "The insurance companies pay people very good money to lobby for them on a regular basis," Stovall said. "Meanwhile, I have to take off work, Ian (Dixon) has to leave his business for a day." "On some level, I have faith that if we keep pushing, I don't know what the eventual outcome will be, but we'll find some type of justice," Dixon added. Their greatest victory came with the passage of SB 672. This law redefined what a "small employer" is so that self-employed people can buy insurance in the small-group market. The group sought this change because many people, including Dixon, found that the cost of adding an employee to a company of one allowed them to save money by obtaining insurance as a small group, though it still added significant overhead costs to these businesses. Many in the group see this success as only a Band-Aid fix. Though it allows some people to obtain cheaper insurance, it doesn't address the root of the problem: Optima's rate increases. For Garnett Mellen, though, the issue seems resolved, at least for now. She found a job with health benefits in Charlottesville, which enabled her and her husband to move back there. It's a big relief both for her and for Gita, her college-aged daughter. "She (was) not entirely happy with us being there," Mellen said. Rabbi Avrohom Friedlander is the chief chaplain at Maimonides Medical Center, and Dr. Richard Grazi is founder of Genesis and director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the center in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Washington Post photo by Carolyn Van Houten) "Fifty percent dropout rate, I'm telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse?" he said. "And as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother and great-grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them. All this child knows is 'gimme, gimme, gimme.'" Shaped by the firms SmithGroupJJR and Studio Gang, the latter headed by star architect Jeanne Gang, this "framework plan" was a road map for development rather than a fixed vision. It urged that the island's northern half become a concert venue and that its southern half be turned into a nature preserve offering a multitude of habitats woodlands, savannas, prairies, wetlands, marshes and a lagoon where fish could spawn. Offshore reefs and barrier islands would frame a lagoon and protect it as well as the island from the lake's pounding. That signaled a bold departure from the hard edges of reinforced concrete steps and steel sheet pile that traditionally protected the shoreline. Regardless of its ranking, the cottonwood's endurance is noteworthy. Very few trees grow taller than 120 feet in Illinois, Hayek said. Wind, ice storms and soil conditions make it tough on the woody plants here, he added. Still, the amount of forest in Illinois has grown to nearly 5 million acres, from 3 million in 1926, Hayek noted. The temporary agreement came after the first hearing in the suit, filed by Madigan on Monday against the company. Suburban Express has drawn scrutiny for a series of ads that appear to target Asian students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. One said: "You won't feel like you're in China when you're on our buses." After the officers jumped into their squad car, they saw the red Impala run a red light at 15th and Pulaski and tried to pull it over, but it sped away at a high rate of speed. The officers gave chase and saw one of them hurl a gun from the driver's side of the car, which crashed at the intersection of Cermak Road and St. Louis Avenue, said Santini. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi could not confirm that, saying detectives were still investigating. But he did say that the string of carjackings and shootings apparently was "kicked off by the shooting of his brother. The offender turns into an engine of violence." He gave a timeline of what happened next: The 29-year-old, of rural Athens, was arrested Thursday morning by Menard County sheriff's deputies after he stopped the tractor and surrendered when the farm machinery approached a bridge it was too wide to cross. Terrence Wright, 29, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault after he was identified as the person who grabbed a 24-year-old woman from behind at a building in the Lakeview neighborhood, police said. Prosecutors indicted Crawford after she had put on a judge's robe and presided over a handful of traffic cases in a suburban courtroom in summer 2016. That fall, Crawford was elected to the bench, even though she was under indictment, her law license had been suspended and the state's highest court barred her from being sworn in. Steve Brown, an attorney who lives a block away, was walking home from getting groceries when he saw paramedics helping the man with a gunshot wound to the arm out of the driver's seat of the Nissan. He was placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance, Brown said. When officers saw a person driving a vehicle that matched the description given out in a flash message, they tried to stop it, but it took off northbound on Kimball Avenue. It then went through the intersection at Lawrence Avenue and collided with a semi truck, which crashed into at least two additional vehicles, police said. The body of Destiny Tolodxi was found April 20 in a bedroom of her home. Winnebago County sheriff's officials said Thursday they believe her former boyfriend, 30-year-old Elmer G. Aguilar of Rockford, beat her to death. The two broke up two days earlier. Kaegi's legal effort to knock Raila off the ballot was successful at the trial level, with the court agreeing that Raila's signature-collection campaign involved "a pattern of fraud." But the ruling came late in the process, so her name still appeared on the ballot. Eventually, an appellate court overturned the ruling just a week before the election. By then, nearly 90,000 early ballots had been cast, and those voters had been told votes for Raila would not count. "It's clear to me that there are massive divisions within the Republican Party. Evidence of that of course is his poor showing in his own Republican primary, and now a third-party bid by someone who has been a conservative Republican and who is now choosing to challenge him in the general election," Pritzker said. Among Emanuel's proposals is a move to quench Chicagoans' thirst for outdoor drinking and eating by allowing restaurants and bars to apply for year-round sidewalk cafe licenses. He also wants to make business license changes by lowering fees, streamlining the process to get one and introducing a renewable license for "pop-up" stores that want a bricks-and-mortar location for a short time. BEIJING Seven Chinese middle school students died Friday when a man attacked them outside their school in northwestern China, state media reported, and 12 more were injured. The attack happened around 6:10 p.m. outside a school in the town of Mizhi in Shaanxi province, China Daily reported. A suspect has been taken into custody by police, while the injured students are receiving emergency treatment at a hospital, the report said. A reporter from Shaanxi Radio and Television Station was quoted by Chinese media as saying the suspect was a former school dropout who is suspected of having carried out the attack "to retaliate against society." China has strict gun-control laws, and there was no immediate word on what weapon the attacker had used. The attack appeared to be the latest in a long series of puzzling attacks on schools in China in recent years by people with grievances against society or with mental health issues. In June, a 22-year-old school dropout was blamed for detonating a bomb outside a kindergarten in the city of Xuzhou, in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu, killing eight people, including himself. Sociologists have blamed the attacks on schools and young children on the stresses caused by a society undergoing rapid change, with rising inequality and huge pressures on young people to compete and succeed. They have also cited a lack of support for the mentally ill and a dysfunctional legal system in which people who feel they've been treated unfairly or have suffered injustice have few avenues to seek redress. While Macron has been positioning himself as Europe's "Trump whisperer" and conduit to an American president who seems intent on upending U.S. relationships with allies, Merkel maintains her strength as the head of the largest economy in Europe. And if this visit produces a similar lack of bonhomie, that might just be fine with Merkel, who has little to gain at home by being overly friendly with Trump, according to German political analyst Jan Techau. Kucinich had come under mounting political pressure after news reports revealed that the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees was the parent organization to the pro-Assad Syrian Solidarity Movement. Bronson would talk to people as they came in to pick up their checks, or in regular training sessions or other company meetings. Eventually 30 percent of the workers signed cards to call for a union election. She was one of the first to sign, Kelleher said, and was on the first organizing committee. About 1 of every 4 American women will have an abortion by age 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute. If you regard abortion as murder and think your sister, daughter, aunt, niece, cousin or friend should go to prison for decades or be executed if she ever terminated a pregnancy, you're being consistent. If you regard abortion as murder and think they deserve a gentle path to healing, you're not. The family and its supporters assert, with justified outrage, that it is barbaric to sentence anyone to death by starvation for the crime of being dependent on others, and that parents have a right to make medical decisions for their children. The courts are treating the parents as though they were in the grip of irrational, if understandable, emotions. They are merely loving their baby. It is the British state that appears to be reacting in an irrational and nearly incomprehensible way. This alarming pattern of flight is happening at multiple levels. In 2016 Chicago was the only city among the nation's 20 largest to lose population. It was the third consecutive year of decline. The same year, the population of the greater Chicago area fell by the biggest number of any metro area in the country. Based on the state's net migration loss figures, assume that most of those people didn't leave Chicago or Elgin for Danville or Decatur. They left for another state. Census figures show that last year the top moving destinations for Illinois residents were Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Florida, Texas and California. Tax records show similar results. The state, he says, should have implemented a 401(k)-style plan for new workers years ago. "At what point do citizens say enough is enough? I feel like we're going to be Detroit. So we're gone. I'm done with the corruption," he says. Brady and his wife bought property in Florida and likely will move there. Trump faced up to the threat in a way his predecessors in office did not: He made it clear to Kim that there is a genuine red line that cannot be crossed: menacing the U.S. with nukes. Remember the verbal taunts and threats from last year. "Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime," Trump said, mocking Kim at the United Nations. At the U.N. he said that! The only creatures that want to see humans sitting outside shoveling food into their pie holes are flies, and if we could communicate with them, I bet even they would say something like: "Hey, we don't want to watch you animals eat either, but a fly's gotta survive, and this is at least a small step up from a Dumpster." Cosby was criticized by some who saw his speech as being too harsh regarding the black poor, many of whom are trying hard to help themselves and their neighborhoods. But it also drew praise from many in the black community and especially from white conservatives, some of whom wanted him to run for president. "No Worry. It's just another candidate rushing in to register for the Chicago mayoral election." Or at least the apps claim to be able to detect phone distractions. One reason I was steamed after arriving at the restaurant is that on the way there I'd fallen six points short of a perfect score in the "mobile distraction" category even though I'd carefully set my phone face down on the seat next to me and not touched or interacted with it in any way during the 12-minute drive. Harry Joslin, 32, of the 200 block of East Galena Boulevard, is charged with a single count of possession of child pornography depicting a child under 13 while having a previous conviction for child pornography; three counts of possession of child pornography depicting a child under 18; one count of violation of sex offender registration; and a single count of a sex offender communicating with believed minors online, police said in a Facebook post. Perea said she saw police commotion Thursday evening at the couple's home a few doors away from where she has lived all of her life. She found out what happened from her brother who spoke with police, she said. "For us, this is not about 'claiming scalps,' to quote the unfortunate poem," Rehab said. "To the contrary, where there is humble admission of error and a genuine desire to fix mistakes, then our strategy is to create an opportunity out of the challenge and work together to not only fix problems, but even set new standards of welcomeness." On Thursday, officers attempted to contain Kemble. Police encountered him shortly after noon as he was running east on Voltaire just off of Peck Road, police said. Mahan previously said that when he pointed a handgun in the direction of officers, they fired at Kemble. According to the news release, per police department policy, the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave. According to her husband, who himself served time back in the late 1960s, more employers from manufacturing to restaurants are willing to give ex-prisoners a second chance. That's why nobody made it past their table without getting stopped by this husband/wife team, who after quizzing them about their circumstances and needs, promised the jobs are out there for those who truly want to work. "The whole goal of the simulation is to connect to children on a more personal level," said Bishop, whose program has five sites across the country. "When the students come away from the experience, they come away with a deeper understanding of what history is about." PHOTOS The 50 best photos in the month of September by Chicago Tribune photographers From the city to the suburbs and beyond, Chicago Tribune photojournalists visually document what is happening in our neighborhoods, tell the stories of those who live and work in our communities and show the impact that the arts, politics and sports have throughout northern Illinois. In this month's best photos of the month, you'll find great sports photography from the start of the Chicago Bears season at Solider Field, how the city commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and celebrations of Mexican Independence day along with many great moments that tell the story of the lives of people who live in the Chicagoland area. Annual financial statements the district filed with the state board of education show that District 152 paid Tower $12,496,821 between 2013 and 2017 or nearly $2 million more than the contract for construction of the schools specified but it wasn't immediately clear what accounted for the discrepancy or what other work Tower might have done for the district. The Miami's owner said last fall that he'd put $250,000 into making improvements at the motel and was on board with making additional security upgrades, if necessary. He said he'd already implemented changes that had resulted in a large reduction in police calls even before the village began raising concerns. A group of Evergreen Park Community High School students organize a week of activities to bring awareness to the issue of gun violence in schools and communities leading up to, and in place of, the April 20 National School Walkout. That week, Keegan Cassidy, Maddie Cosgrove, Neema Griffin, Taylor Hoefler, Savannah Judy, Erin Knight, Daniela Salazar, Dana Sanders, Nyah Tsai, Meche Watson and Lori Wilson ordered orange bracelets for all staff and students to wear that read "End Gun Violence and #NEVERAGAIN", and made over 900 orange ribbons which were passed out to staff and students. The group decorated a bulletin board with gun violence facts and when students arrived at school that Monday, the girls had inspirational words of kindness placed on every student locker. Throughout the week, the girls provided positive daily announcements where they took turns reading facts and information regarding gun safety and gun violence in and around schools. Thursday all staff and students were encouraged to wear orange and on Friday the school observed a moment of silence to remember all of those who have lost their lives to gun violence. The law, which has been on the books for a few years but had not previously been utilized, has sparked concern among local officials and state legislators who believe it could have punitive effects on cash-strapped communities that are further punished for being unable to keep up with pension payments. "We think it's going to be a great event," he said. "We want to bring people to the park and have a good time and to celebrate our village's diversity. The village board looks forward to working with Jose on this for many years to come." The water deal between Evanston, Niles and Morton Grove should increase the number of suburban customers using Evanston-supplied water from 400,000 now to about 450,000, according to Evanston officials. Morton Grove and Niles users are expected to make up about 13 percent of Evanston's customer base. "My brother expressed a willingness to donate but he was not a good match for me," said Arbit, who has lived most of his life in Highland Park. "But it turned out he was a good match for a woman living in Illinois whose husband was a good match for me." "When we first got together, it was a combining of two separate partnerships, Greg Camp and I, Steve Harwell and Kevin (Coleman on drums who is no longer with the band)," DeLisle said. "We wanted success and we wanted to write pop songs, upbeat, punk pop songs. We had a direction and a vision that way. Everyone just brought their own thing to the table. It worked out naturally. It was obvious Greg was the best songwriter," he said. "His songs are interesting, a mish-mash of all kinds of styles. He's a natural songwriter." Meanwhile, in news barely recorded by the world media, the House of Lords in the United Kingdom has handed a major setback to the tortured efforts of the government to withdraw from the European Union (EU). On April 18, the senior house of Parliament voted to demand that the government negotiate a customs union with the EU as part of departure, known as Brexit. What is the thing you most like to do as part of your business? "What I like doing most is helping people. That's the number one thing for me. There is nothing better than that. When you go into a house and the owners are so distraught, the basement is up to your knees. We tell them, 'don't worry about it, ma'm', and we go in there and literally get rid of all that water. The contents may be destroyed and we have to discard some things, but after we are done, it's amazing to see the customer's face light up." "My opinion is that other people have it wrong, but other people might think my opinion of it is wrong too," he said. "Photography speaks to so many people in so many different ways and for me, this is a novel without words. That's why they say 'a picture is worth 1000 words' we can go out and take photos and people looking at those pictures as well as the ones taking them all have different points of view." The event also will feature yard games, music, food and other activities. Local vendors will speak about mental health resources available in the community. Proceeds will be donated to NAMI of DuPage, which offers support for individuals with mental illnesses and their families. You can start partying on the very first day of the month, which is both Spring Festival May Day and International Workers' Day. When I was growing up in England, May Day wasn't just something you called if you were stranded at sea. It sounds pretty lame now, but I cannot tell you how excited I was when it was time for May Pole dancing. Believe me, it's (almost) the only time I've danced around a pole, and it's so much fun when you and your classmates are skipping around, holding onto brightly-colored ribbons. We would weave in and out making pretty patterns, then skip all the way back to unwind it. Looking back, this strange pagan ritual was probably more fun for me than everyone else, since I was usually the one going in the wrong direction, which, I suppose, goes to show just because these days I have to drive on the other side of the road, my sense of direction has always been poor. Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral: 8000 Madison St. St. Helen's Ladies Philoptochos Society will host a Spaghetti Dinner to benefit the Ross Township Food Pantry on Wednesday at the church. Lunch will be carry-out only from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and a dine-in dinner will be served from 4-7 p.m. Spaghetti with a choice of meat, marinara or Greek-style sauce will be offered along with a salad, roll and dessert. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. In addition, there will be a cash raffle, Greek pastry bake sale, vendors and basket raffles. More information is at 219-613-8380. Meyer is a former federal prosecutor and private attorney. According to his website, he said he would work for a responsible deficit reduction plan and he would advance legislation to nurture American innovation to make the U.S. more competitive in the global market. "You are always worrying about the safety and well-being of the kids," he said. With the state's program, "How more proactive can you get?" "Having said that, the nature of our officer's work is inherently dangerous and there is no foolproof way to prevent accidental exposures when securing crime scenes or coming into contact with these drugs on the street," Mance said. "Most of the time, when someone approaches someone and intends to steal something from someone, they engage the potential victim in conversation that doesn't quite make sense. It is better to be rude than robbed," Gonzales said. Birkle also traveled to Switzerland in 2013 as part of a team representing the United States and while there, he won a gold medal in a self-defense competition in which his competitors were less than half his age. He returned to the Switzerland competition this year as a guest. "I never thought it was going to get to that point, at least not that quick," Turvey said. "I always thought I was going to be selling at breweries and pubs and farmer's markets and events. I was not thinking of making it a full-time gig. But it is quickly moving that way. For better or worse, it is definitely moving in that direction." Born Francesco Forgione in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, to peasant farmers, Padre Pio grew up in a religious family. By the age of 15, he was ready to begin his studies as a Capuchin friar. He adopted the name of "Pio" to honor Pope Pius I. Shaw, a good guy without a gun stopped a bad guy with one. Ken Lam, the Toronto police officer who singlehandedly arrested the perpetrator of this week's mass vehicular homicide, showed how a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy without a gun, and not shoot the other guy even when he has something shiny in his hand. Because someone captured the arrest on video, we can watch it and wonder the whole time how Lam learned and kept the confidence that he could make that arrest without firing his weapon. He has the usual training, and as the son of a Hong Kong police officer, he has no doubt rehearsed such scenes a thousand times, given how many make the news, so often with different results. Still, how did he not pull the trigger? Regarding the Trump tax cuts I am happy to see that (a Quickly commenter) is now able to afford a new auto that he couldn't afford before the tax cuts. I work for the state. I can truly say that I have not seen an extra dime in my paycheck from the tax cuts. However, I must say I do have a gut feeling that the commentator is a lot like our president a big liar. Trying to buy a home in Pueblo? Read these stories first. Our weekly round up of other news affecting foreign investors throughout Asia: Indonesia Eases Tax Holiday Policy for New FDI Projects In a bid to attract more investment to support the countrys economic growth, Indonesia recently issued a new regulation granting a 100 percent Corporate Income Tax (CIT) cut to new FDI-backed businesses. Read our latest update to know more. Indias Special Economic Zones: A Primer Special economic zones (SEZs) in India are certain localities which offer tax and other incentives to their resident businesses. Up until 2000, India did not have SEZs, and instead had a number of export processing zones (EPZs), which, although similar in structure to the modern SEZ, failed to attract many firms to India. Russia Moves to Fund Digital Economy in Five Sectors Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order to allocate funds for financing the priority activities of the program The Digital Economy of the Russian Federation. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative is Being Blamed for Sri Lankas Hambantota Port Problems. But the Real Story is Rather Different. There has been a lot of media coverage recently about Chinas Belt and Road Initiative creating debt problems in some of the countries aligned with the project. Vietnam to Strengthen Cryptocurrency Legal Framework Vietnam is in the midst of strengthening its cryptocurrency legal framework. Digital currencies are already banned, but the potential for blockchain is enormous. Read more to know about the technologies, government concerns, regulations, and industry applications. It is rare to see Uruguay art on display in Beijing. However, to mark 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Uruguay, an exhibition featuring the Guarani art of Uruguay is being displayed at the National Art Museum of China. Dubbed "Uruguay in Guarani", the exhibition focuses on Guarani art in Uruguay since the 17th century. The Guarani were the main indigenous people of South America before Spain and Portugal established colonial rule in the 15th century. They are still a major part of the population of Uruguay. The Guarani are also the only ethnic group in Uruguayan territory that retains indigenous customs. The exhibition features 158 pieces, made using handicraft skills such as engraving, weaving, knitting, printing and dying. Daily items, such as clothing and accessories, are also on display. They vividly show the folk art tradition of Guarani and its contemporary transformation. "In this exhibition, you can see three different things, the Baroque art from the 16th and 17th centuries, the folk art of the indigenous people, and the contemporary art. So it's an exhibition with three different parts, but represent the history of folk art in our country," said Facundo de Almeida, Director of the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art. Co-sponsored by the National Art Museum of China, the Museum of pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art, and the Embassy of Uruguay in China, the exhibition is held to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Uruguay. It is hoped to explore a new path for the exchange of art and culture between the two nations. "Probably a lot of people don't know Uruguay. This exhibition offers a good opportunity for Chinese people to know Uruguay," said Facundo de Almeida. "The exhibition gives Chinese people a chance to get to know the art and culture of the Uruguayans. It also provides a window for people of the two countries to enhance mutual understanding and friendship," said Wu Weishan, Director of the National Art Museum of China. The exhibition runs until May 5. But this is just the beginning of the cultural exchange between the China and Uruguay. An exhibition of Chinese art will soon be displayed in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. China values the willingness the United States has shown to address the current trade friction through dialogue and communication, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday, adding that China's door for negotiation was always open. Li made the remarks when he met with Elaine Chao, the U.S. secretary for transport, in Beijing. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer would travel to China in a few days for trade talks. Li said the essence of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation was mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. "There is no winner in trade conflict, which will not only affect the recovery of the world economy but also the global industrial chain," he said, adding that solutions can only be found when both sides sit down for dialogue. Li said it serves the interests of both countries to maintain a steady and sound growth of bilateral relations. "It is also what the international community expects from our two countries," he said. Li said President Xi Jinping had met and held phone conversations with President Donald Trump for many times, and both countries should follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and view China-U.S. relations in a "correct way." "As the largest developing country and developed country in the world, China and the United States are highly complementary in the economy," Li said. He expressed the hope that the two countries could "work together in the spirit of mutual respect, and equal consultation to increase consensus and manage and control differences." "China will unswervingly open further to the outside world, which will unleash huge market potential," Li said, adding that he hoped countries including the United States would grasp the opportunities and benefit more from China's opening-up. "China also stands ready to promote cooperation with the United States in transportation, such as autonomous driving," he added. Chao, who was in Beijing this week for the ninth annual meeting of the China-U.S. Transportation Forum, congratulated China on maintaining an economic growth rate of 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. The United States and China had fruitful consultation during the forum, exchanging in-depth views on safety, infrastructure and new technologies like autonomous driving, Chao said, adding that the United States looks forward to enhancing cooperation with China in related areas. Noting that U.S-China relations were at a crucial stage, Chao said she hoped the consultation between two countries on economic and trade issues could yield positive results. Fan Gang, a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, was at the center of public attention due to his "six-wallet" theory for homeownership. In an episode of "China Economic Forum" aired on April 19 by China Central Television, Fan used wallets as a metaphor for funding sources when buying an apartment. He said if a young couple has six "wallets," representing the financial support from the couple's two pairs of parents and four pairs of grandparents, and the funds from the "wallets" can afford the down payment on an apartment, the young couple should use that money to buy an apartment. He also stressed that whether or not to use the money to buy an apartment depends on many specific factors. For instance, he said, if a young person doesn't have a stable job, renting an apartment is more cost-efficient than buying one. However, for those who have marriage plans, and whose family members have enough money to help them, Fan believed pooling all their resources to buy an apartment is better. According to Fan, the aim of reforming the housing market and implementing mortgage policies is to prevent young couples from having to save money for decades to buy an apartment, which is the reality that many prospective homeowners have faced. He advised young people to utilize mortgage policies to get themselves a permanent home. But after the program was aired, the speech triggered heated public debate about whether it's necessary to use the savings of so many people just to buy an apartment, and about who should be blamed for the current housing shortage. On Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social network, some people agreed with Fan's view. A user nicknamed Dadi Qinxian said: "This is indeed how things work in China. Most young people have to empty their parents' savings to buy an apartment." Another Weibo user nicknamed Dandan Shiguang Rencuotuo said, "Most people are just reluctant to face this reality." But others felt China's housing prices are growing too fast. A person nicknamed Fuyu Xiaokang said, "It's ridiculous for three generations to save money just to buy one apartment." Kaiko-Dong said, "The government said it would curb the housing price, but it seems to me that the price is still growing up." Some said they thought the problem lies in people's obsession with owning an apartment. User Mon_Bob said, "It's true that China's housing prices are high, but it's also abnormal for twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings to think that they ought to have an apartment of their own at such a young age." A few users also argued that there are other choices for prospective homeowners. Gupiao Lunima said: "Why do they stick to living in big cities? Everything will be fine if you work in your hometown." Bayue Yanting Zhiye said: "You can find good jobs in your hometown. Those who are troubled by housing problems are simply not capable of living in big cities." Daini Zhuanmi Daini Feia said, "When I graduate from school, I will rent an apartment, because I don't want to be a mortgage slave." To curb speculation, local governments rolled out or expanded restrictions on housing purchases and increased the minimum down payment required for a mortgage. For instance, in September, the second-tier cities of Xi'an, Chongqing, Nanchang, Nanning, Changsha, Guiyang, Shijiazhuang and Wuhan tightened housing controls, with most banning home sales within two to three years after purchases. In January, Beijing announced a plan to allocate 1,200 hectares of land for the building of residential houses this year, and more will be added to further develop the city's house rental market. As a result, housing prices have remained largely stable in major Chinese cities for months, as shown by statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics. During previous years, rocketing housing prices, especially in major cities, had fueled concerns about asset bubbles. This year's government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in March stated that "houses are for living in, not for speculation." "We will support people in buying homes for personal use, and develop the housing rental market and shared ownership housing," Li said. A proposed plan that aims to allow the children of renters better access to schools in their neighborhood was rolled out in Beijing, reported Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday. According to the proposed plan released by Beijing Education Commission on Wednesday, a school-age child who is a permanent resident of the city and lives in a rented home can enroll at a primary school nearby. The plan is designed to give young people who don't have their own house more options for their children's education, said Feng Hongrong, an official from the city education commission. The rule targets children from a family who lives in one district and has the family members' hukou, or permanent residence, registered in another one. To be eligible for the proposed policy, one of the parents should have worked for over three years in the district where they rent a home. The plan also proposes strict regulations against recruiting students for primary and secondary schools based on participating in after-school education organizations as well as a ban on schools organizing tests for enrolling students. China's Law on Compulsory Education states that governments should offer adolescents of school age access to education in schools where their permanent residence is registered. Four years after being identified as female at birth, giant panda Pu Pu has actually been found to be male, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. Earlier this month, workers with the center noticed through monitors that Pu Pu, temporarily living in a zoo in the northeastern city of Shenyang, showed behavior commonly associated with male giant pandas, such as moving backward and lifting legs. The workers immediately informed the zoo, prompting the keeper at the zoo to carefully check his genital area. Everyone finally agreed that Pu Pu was male. Huang Yan, an expert with the center, said the gender of giant pandas was hard to identify because the genitals of a cub, which weighs a mere 100 grams, were not obvious. Zoologists once believed that the gender of a giant panda could only be precisely known after they reached three years old. "Experienced keepers or zoologists rarely mistake the gender of giant pandas today," Huang said. "Even though analysis of sex chromosome can identify the gender of animals, the method is seldom used in rare species." The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has recently organized real-combat military training around China's Taiwan Island, confirmed a defense ministry spokesperson on Thursday. Speaking at a routine press conference in Beijing, Senior Col. Wu Qian told reporters that the move "is to further enhance the navy's capability in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity" in the face of secessionist activities by the "Taiwan independence" forces, which, he said, "pose the greatest realistic threat to peace and stability of cross-Straits relations and damage the interests of the Taiwan people." According to multiple reports, military forces of Taiwan have carried out maritime and air exercises recently, during which the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen boarded one of the vessels. Taiwan also says it will carry out its annual Han Kuang drills later this month. Some are speculating that the action from Taiwan is aimed against efforts from the Chinese mainland. "'Taiwan independence' activities are destined to fail, and any attempt to resist reunification by the use of force would go nowhere," Wu declared. He said that the message sent by the PLA on this issue has been clear and consistent. "We have strong resolve, full confidence and enough capability to defeat any secessionist attempt, and will do our best to resolutely safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity." As China changes, the attention its administration directs toward new technologies grows. Digitalization and the internet have already become new forces of development, but some challenges and risks are simultaneously emerging. Future strategies have been outlined in official policy documents as well as important conferences taking place in the country. Two recent examples are the Beijing national conference on the work of cybersecurity and informatization and the Fuzhou First Digital China Summit. President Xi Jinping spoke at the national conference, saying China is "keenly grasping the historic opportunity for informatization development in a bid to build the country's strength in cyberspace." For starters, information technology provides unprecedented opportunities to the state to improve the efficiency of its mechanisms, overcome problems of bureaucracy, provide better services (now e-services) and protect its national interests. Ordinary citizens, meanwhile, find it easier to communicate with each other, make payments, find information online and save time in comparison with the pre-internet years. Professionals, too, can equally benefit; doctors, for instance, are able to share information and engage in online consultations in cases of difficult operations. And companies see e-commerce as a necessary tool to reach new clients. China's digital economy grew to $4.29 trillion dollars in 2017, making up 32.9 percent of GDP. Of course, cyberspace is viewed as a technological paradise by governmental elites not only in China but also in the West. From 2009, for example, Washington concluded that cyberspace was critical to national security. Its National Security Strategy published the following year included, for the first time, "securing cyberspace" as a national interest. No one disagrees that thieves, spies and terrorists can use cyberspace to strike much quicker and more successfully than in the past. China shares this concern and is prepared to collaborate with the U.S. on the matter to tackle joint threats. Presidents Xi and Obama laid the foundations of mutual understanding by signing a Cyber Agreement in September 2015. Now Obama's successor, Donald Trump, is on the same page. It is no coincidence that one of the four Sino-American pillars of dialogue as they were agreed between the two leaders in April 2017 in Mar-a-Lago is on law enforcement and cybersecurity. The first round took place in Washington last October, and Xi has said that building a "community with a shared future in cyberspace" is a personal objective. Whereas China and the U.S. share the same concern, they are employing distinct approaches. Xi spoke at the Beijing conference about a method in line with "Chinese characteristics," the main objective of which is to advance a strategy to strengthen the government's presence and capacity in cyberspace, to create a governing network led by the Communist Party of China and to enhance military-civilian integration. As a result, China's internet security industry continues to see its revenues increase year after year as the Chinese administration is determined to crack down on criminal offenses such as hacking and e-fraud, as well as obviously on attempts by terrorists to spread malicious content through social media and recruit new soldiers. When criticizing China, many Western analysts express skepticism about the future usage of so-called "big data." The Chinese government, they argue, will soon be capable of closely monitoring the attitudes and behavior of citizens and companies, ranging from social to financial. Even the "Healthy China 2030" strategy has come under scrutiny by some think tanks because diagnoses and treatment advice will be generated by big data. For its part, China sees the initiative as vitally contributing to the provision of customized health and nutrition services according to citizens' needs, primarily at the local level. As a matter of fact, "big data" goes hand in hand with new concepts such as "smart cities." And this is not exclusive to China. In October 2014, the New Scientist magazine published an article titled, "Chicago uses big data to save itself from urban ills." The piece explains how even four years ago Chicago was applying new models to pinpoint risk areas and help it reduce everything from rat problems to cases of lead poisoning. One year later, Fortune magazine elaborated on the initial successes of the project. All in all, China and the West have much more to gain by looking for synergies in the cyberspace either to prevent and eliminate threats or to offer better services to people. Certainly, the recent Facebook scandal does not entitle Western scholars to place blame on Chinese approaches to cyberspace. George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. The "Expo Flower Feast" gourmet festival was held yesterday in Yanqing, in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, to kick off a one-year countdown leading up to the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Expo. The festival showcased 30 kinds of savory specialty dishes from Yanqing. In addition to the gourmet food, a selection of local handicrafts and agricultural products were on offer at a fair. Yanqing, set as the venue for the 2019 Beijing Horticultural Expo, is known for its landscapes and natural tourism sites, including the Badaling Great Wall and the summer resorts of Longqing Gorge and Yudu Mountain. According to data from the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau yesterday, 93 countries and international organizations, including Russia, Germany, Britain and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have confirmed attendance to the expo next year. Flash The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Mike Pompeo as the new secretary of state to replace Rex Tillerson. Pompeo, the outgoing chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), won 57 votes in support against 42 senators who opposed. Most Senate Democrats voted against him, for fear that his hawkish policy positions could dire U.S. interests. The confirmation enabled Pompeo to represent the United States to attend an upcoming NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, and would facilitate his communication with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump's direct talks with top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. Shortly after the confirmation, Trump said he was "pleased" with the Senate's confirmation of Pompeo to serve as the U.S. 70th secretary of state. In a statement issued by the White House, Trump noted Pompeo's "immense talent, energy, and intellect," saying these would be "an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history." "He will always put the interests of America first. He has my trust. He has my support," Trump said. Trump confirmed on April 18 that Pompeo secretly met with Kim earlier this month, tweeting that the "meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed." The Kim-Trump meeting was expected in May or early June. Trump on March 13 announced plans to replace Tillerson with Pompeo. Trump told media that Pompeo has "tremendous energy, tremendous intellect." "We're always on the same wavelength," he said. "The relationship has been very good and that's what I need as Secretary of State ... I think Mike Pompeo will be a truly great Secretary of State." He added that Gina Haspel, Pompeo's deputy, will become the new director of the CIA as "the first woman so chosen." Flash A dozen of witnesses from the Hospital of Douma in Syria, including 11-year-old Hassan Diab, told reporters on Thursday that the video in which they are seen as victim of chemical weapons, rescuing personal or passer-by, was a fake one produced by the controversial "White Helmets", or the Syrian Civil Defense group. "We were at the basement. We heard people shout that we should go to a hospital. We went through a tunnel. At the hospital they started pouring cold water on me. I don't know why," little Hassan told a press conference called by the Russia delegation to the Hague-based global chemical arms watchdog, the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Behind him on the big screen, Hassan was in the footage released by the White Helmets on April 7, all wet, shivering, frightened. His father Omar Diab told press that in the video nobody has been poisoned and everyone is healthy. "The children were taken without explanation. After that we learnt it was fake. We never saw any poison or chemical agents, neither I nor my family," he said. Doctors, nurses and workers from the hospital said people did suffer from respiratory problems, but the symptoms resulted from contacts with smoke and dust caused by the collapse of bombed buildings. "Some people shouted 'chemical weapons', 'chemical weapons'. That caused panic and chaos," said Muwaffak Nasrim, a worker of emergency care in the hospital. "But no one had any symptom of chemical weapons exposure. People are released after treatment. No one died in the hospital that day." Aleksandr Shulgin, Russia's permanent representative to the OPCW, called the "crude staged action in this fake video" a "prepared provocation". "Any reference to this video as evidence of use of chemical weapons in Douma is null and void," he said. He reiterated that the military attack jointly launched by the Untied States, the United Kingdom and France against Syria on April 14 was a violation against international law. "Russia and Syria urged the OPCW to dispatch a team to do the investigation. It is common sense that we should wait for the results of the investigation," said Shulgin. "But while OPCW experts were set to arrive in Syria, the American, the British and the French launched missiles. This is a clear disrespect of international law and of the OPCW." Before the press conference, Russia and Syria organized a briefing with the witnesses at the OPCW headquarters. "Unfortunately, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the European Union, NATO members and Asian allies of the USA did not come. They are afraid to look at the truth in face," said Shulgin. Seventeen nations, opposed to the Russian-Syrian briefing, issued a joint statement saying Russia and Syria's briefing at OPCW "is nothing more than a crude propaganda exercise". The authenticity of the information gathered to date on the chemical attacks that occurred in Duma on April 7 is unassailable, said the U.S., Britain, France and their supporters in the joint statement. The signatories say they expect this information to be tested and verified by the Fact-Finding Mission through its independent examination. Russia and Syria also told press that they fully support the work of the OPCW. On Wednesday, the OPCW advised the Russian delegation that these witnesses should be first interviewed by the Fact-Finding Mission and recommended to let the FFM completes its work before organizing this briefing. The Russian delegation said its intention was not to interfere with the FFM's work. OPCW inspectors are currently conducting investigation in Syria into what happened in Douma on April 7. The White Helmets said dozens of people had died that day. The West alleged that Syrian forces had carried out an attack with chemical weapons and launched a retaliatory attack a week later. Flash Washington will be closely watching as leaders of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) meet in the Korean DMZ. The summit is expected to have an impact on a proposed meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. No date has been set for the Trump-Kim meeting, though officials appear to be aiming for May or June. If the two leaders get together, it would be the first time the heads of state for the U.S. and the DPRK have ever met. Whether it will indeed take place, however, is still a matter of speculation. Speaking on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning, President Trump said he was ready to walk away if need be. "It could be that I walk out quickly. With respect, but it could be," he told the hosts. "It could be that maybe the meeting doesn't even take place. Who knows?" Trump also slammed his predecessor, saying that he was not like former President Barack Obama, and that former Secretary of State John Kerry was the "worst negotiator" he's even seen. A potential obstacle standing in the way of any deal between the U.S. and the DPRK is how each side understands "denuclearization." While Washington wants Pyongyang to give up its entire nuclear weapons arsenal, the DPRK may not be willing to immediately dismantle its program. Meanwhile, the White House and Downing Street confirmed Trump will travel to the UK in July and meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May. The trip will be a "working visit," which falls short of a full-fledged state visit. The two leaders have met several times in the past, including at the White House. Trump was previously scheduled to travel to the UK earlier this year, but cancelled the trip after outcry and protests over his re-tweeting of far-right group Britain First. The president and London Mayor Sadiq Khan who is a Muslim have also had public disagreements over Trump's attitude towards racial and religious minorities. You are here: World Flash People-to-people exchanges will promote friendship, mutual understanding and mutual trust between China and India, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday. Hua Chunying made the remarks in response to a report that India is considering appointing Bollywood star Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador to showcase its services sectors in China due to his massive popularity. Hua said many Chinese people, including herself, had watched the Indian film "Dangal" starred by Aamir Khan, which she said was rather motivating. "Currently, under the guidance of both Chinese and Indian leaders, bilateral ties maintain sound momentum of development and people-to-people exchanges enjoy continuous progress," she said. "Doing yoga and watching Bollywood movies have become a new trend among young Chinese, and these exchanges will undoubtedly bring the two peoples closer, and promote their friendship, mutual understanding and mutual trust," Hua said. Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold an informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Friday to Saturday in Wuhan, exchanging in-depth views on the development of the China-India relations. Hua said China is ready to work with India to take this opportunity to promote better development of bilateral ties. 15:16 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Apr. 27. The event was held at the Peruvian Embassy headquarters. At the site, Ambassador Pareja highlighted the close relationship between Peru and Utah , their shared values, the numerous exchange and cooperation programs, as well as the steadfast growing trade and tourism industries. On the occasion, the diplomat recalled that Utah was the first State he visited as an Ambassador back in January 2017. "I had a very productive trip, interesting meetings with political authorities, had the chance to meet with professors and students of Peruvian origin, as well as with trade and tourism leaders. Honestly, a lovely experience in a very beautiful State," Pareja said. He also expressed gratitude to Representative Stewart for co-chairing the Congressional Caucus on Peru , "a high-level dialogue platform between Peru and Members of the House of Representatives, which helps keep our ties strong and fosters the development of individual relationships with States throughout the country." The strong ties between Peru and Utah are also reinforced by the 40,000 Peruvian community members currently living, studying, and working in the Beehive State. Besides that, some Peruvians have very strong spiritual ties with the Church of the Latter Day Saints. "We also have a steadfast growing trade and tourism relationship with your State, as well as plenty of exchange programs with several Utah universities, including some studying abroad programs from Utah State University," he added. In that sense, the Ambassador also emphasized that "these cultural and educational cooperation programs between universities in Utah and Peru have been helping both of us to learn, work, and grow together." "As for the Embassy of Peru, we wish to continue engaging in opportunities with different universities from the U.S., especially now with Utah State University, from which several distinguished figures have emerged, such as a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, the founder of Chuck E. Cheese, the inventor of headphones and, among others, New York Times best-selling author, U.S. Congressman and friend of Peru, Chris Stewart," he stated. 10:20 | Cajamarca (Cajamarca region), Apr. 27. Quecher Main will entail an investment of at least US$300 million and create 350 skilled and unskilled jobs, Senior Director for External Relations at Newmont Peru Raul Farfan affirmed. The project is currently working on the creation of heap leach pads, whose construction is being handled by local companies. Plus, commercial production is expected to start next year. Quecher Main will increase production by between 100,000 ounces and 150,000 ounces of gold starting 2020. The Yanacocha Main will increase production by between 100,000 ounces and 150,000 ounces of gold starting 2020. The Yanacocha gold production has averaged 500,000 ounces per year since 2016, and this figure will remain unchanged thru 2019. Farfan explained the company's priority at this moment is to get this project off the ground. Additionally, he said the initiative will have a significant impact because it involves local companies and workforce in Cajamarca districts of La Encanada and Los Banos del Inca. Conga project On the other hand, Newmont representative in Peru referred to Conga mining project, saying it is not within the production and construction line. "The project has been suspended since 2011, and its reactivation depends on two factors: social acceptance and the economic issue," he stated. "If we wanted to develop Conga, we would have to review the economic impact since the project was designed at a time when metal values and prices were different," Farfan underlined. (END) ELJ/MAO/RMB Loading... Speaking from Puno , a region in southern Peru, the Head of State urged people to commit to choosing competent mayors. "We have a good team, but we want to have a good, hardworking, diligent, and honest squad as a counterpart in regions ," the Peruvian leader noted. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. AKRON, Ohio - If Akron artist Don Drumm had enjoyed calculus, the world might never have been graced with his fanciful and iconic cast aluminum suns or towering steel sculptures. In the 1950s, enrolled in pre-med at Hiram College, Drumm abruptly changed his major to sculpture, launching a career that has positioned his signature art in cities across America for nearly 60 years. Today, the busy 83-year-old artist moves agilely through the rooms of his cramped and cluttered workshop, which covers the full first floor of a house on Crouse Street. His aging Golden Lab, Sam, watches over the shops while two unnamed rats sleep in a cage. Design elements are everywhere. A board of perfectly matted leaves is near a bag of squirrel-chewed walnut shells. Nearby are a series of large coated and epoxied leaves that will be cast to become pieces of larger works. Tall, elegant bird sculptures with moveable wings sit along a wall. Several tall intricate totems have just returned from a foundry in North Carolina, which has taken over the casting work Drumm once performed in his shop. Cubbies along two walls are filled with square aluminum plates bearing rhinoceros to swirling pattern designs, which will be worked into sculptures. Entire walls are covered with tools hung from spokes. The years have sharpened Drumm's ability to juggle multiple projects. The artist has pieces in the works for everything from jewelry to 15-foot-tall sculptures soon to be installed outdoors. The shop is one of the eight buildings and four lots that make up Don Drumm Studios in East Akron. It's easy to identify which buildings make up the Drumm enclave -- their muted jewel-tone exteriors are decorated with Drumm's iconic designs. A Don Drumm totem greets visitors at the courtyard entrance to the main gallery. Drumm's wife, Lisa, an artist and educator he met in 1958 while teaching at the Akron Art Institute, manages one private and two public galleries. The Drumms work seven days a week, often past 8 p.m., he says. It's clear he is as much a businessman as an artist. "I love it," he said. "I work on Sunday instead of going to church. But you have to in this business." Setting the course At Hiram in 1955, Drumm was enrolled in pre-med but hadn't decided yet whether to become a medical doctor or veterinarian. In the spring of 1957, sitting in an intensive calculus class, he abruptly changed his trajectory. "It was when the birds and bees were out, and everything was in leaf," he said. " I thought I was going to die in that class." Drumm had noticed an interesting art class, and approached the instructor, asking to be admitted. He was told the class was full. He started to walk away but turned back. "I said, 'I'm going to have to drop out of school this term,'" he told her. "She said, 'Oh no, we'll find a place for you.'" Soon after, realizing Drumm's talent, the same instructor encouraged him to find a school with a well-rounded art program. He transferred to Kent State University and in 1958 earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Honing his skills The years following college were busy for Drumm, who moved from employee to self-employed to married. His only employer was industrial design firm Smith, Scherr & McDermott on Wilbeth Road. Drumm did not apply - he was invited to work there through two Kent State instructors who were married to the company's principals. When the design firm closed two years later, Drumm was offered work space next door at Thor Mold & Machine Co. for $25 per month rent. "That seemed like a fortune to me at that time," he said. But the workspace at Thor set him on a course that would help shape his life and art. Thor was a foundry that rebuilt tire molds out of cast aluminum. There, Drumm learned the art of casting and welding, and began selling his work out of his home. But choosing aluminum as his primary medium was an anomaly. As a teenager, one of his jobs had been to take the excess metals - brass, bronze, steel and aluminum - from his father's General Motors machining business in Warren, Ohio to the scrap yard. "I didn't like aluminum", he said. "It was strange. it was light. But his proximity to the foundry operations changed that. "It was an entirely different experience," Drumm said. "It was lighter than bronze or steel - three times lighter. I did pieces to hang on the wall without tearing the walls down." In the first 12 years of sculpting, Drumm, a left-handed dyslexic, carved the designs by hand into sand castings, which he excelled at because the designs had to be inverted. By the time Thor closed five years later, Drumm had been asked to be Artist in Residence at Bowling Green State University, where he served for six years. The residency offered Drumm enough money to buy a garage and lot on Crouse Street, which he rehabbed himself and opened his first studio to the public in 1971. "It had about eight junk cars in front we had to have towed away," he said. Creating the art Drumm now has exterior installations around the country, sculpted using all-weathering steel, commissioned by public and private companies, universities and private patrons. In Akron, his early work stands at Cascade Plaza downtown, while five sculptures at the John S. Knight Center commemorate the Gay Olympics held in Northeast Ohio in 2014. Countless works are visible at Akron hospitals, schools, libraries, places of worship and other public gathering places. Recently in Akron, a private developer of University Edge, student housing near the University of Akron, commissioned Drumm's work for an enclosed courtyard. The same developer commissioned a totem comprising five penguins stacked atop one another, which will soon be installed at Youngstown State University. Unlike many of his smaller pieces available at the gallery, Drumm's exterior work is mostly nonobjective, which he refers to as "one step past abstract." "They're not to represent anything, but the shape and the color and the spaces between," he said. He has lost track of some large sculptures, such as pieces at a Baltimore school, which he was told would be moved. He does not know where they were moved, or whether the art still stands. For Drumm, no project is more or less important than any other. "It's fun, it's exciting," he said. "But you come back to the studio and you've given birth to this child that's no longer yours. It belongs to somebody else, you have no control over it." However an early project Drumm created at Kent State stands out. In 1968, he was asked to work with a group of public school industrial design teachers taking a summer course at Kent to boost the teachers' creativity. Drumm worked with the group on a series of exterior sculptures set in cement near Taylor Hall. On May 4, 1970, one of those pieces was hit by a bullet during the shootings that killed four people. A few days after the tragedy, Drumm was asked to simulate the event using identical materials, to prove which direction the shot was fired. Although officials asserted the shot was directed toward the Ohio National Guard, Drumm's recreation was able to prove the bullet had been fired at the student demonstrators. "I asked that the bullet hole never be welded shut," he said. Visiting Don Drumm Gallery Don Drumm Studios & Gallery showcases the art of more than 500 American artists. Among thousands of works, Drumm's signature designs featuring myriad suns are unmistakable. But the sun didn't evolve necessarily out of a love for the star or for nature. Instead, the iconic designs were born over a period of years, from something he heard in art school. He was told the circle was a difficult design element to work with because it is a "complete statement in itself." "I played around with that idea and then I started drawing within the circle," he said. "Pretty soon I'm drawing faces. Pretty soon the circle wasn't important, but the sun became important." Don Drumm Studios & Gallery is located at 437 Crouse St. in Akron. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Don Drumm Gallery website or call 330-253-7651. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. AKRON, Ohio - Farming, music, robotics and theater are among the many types of training the Salvation Army of Summit County now offers area children. For more than a year, the organization has been quietly working with myriad partners to transform a large former storage building into a STEM-focused learning lab that features the Fresh Face Farm and the Black Box Theater. Robotics, engineering and 3-D printing are among the skills the kids can gain. Dubbed Fort Romig, the facility at 2205 Romig Road, was unveiled with a ribbon cutting at a public event on Friday. Fort Romig will serve as a learning center for children in the group's Learning Zone, ages 18 months to 12 years old, who attend preschool, after-school and summer programs. Partners in the programming include the Soap Box Derby and Junior Achievement. Fresh Face Farm, with production well underway, is a 5,300 square foot hydroponic growing operation designed in collaboration with Crop King of Lodi, Ohio, and the Ohio State Agricultural Extension Office. Fresh Face Farm is planned to produce nearly 20,000 pounds of tomatoes and 19,000 heads of lettuce each year, some of which will be sold to Beau's Restaurants in Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. The farm is planned to produce nearly 20,000 pounds of tomatoes and 19,000 heads of lettuce each year, some of which will be sold to Beau's Grille at the Akron/Fairlawn Hotel & Suites and Beau's on the River in the Cuyahoga Falls Sheraton Suites. The produce is expected to bring in $2 million per year, which will be divided in thirds between a scholarship program for kids, the Salvation Army's Community Table mobile feeding program and Fort Romig programming. "We're not going to lose another generation of kids," said Salvation Army Major Kevin Jackson. "This gives kids tangible hope for the future." The kids will not only grow healthy food and learn about nutrition, they'll gain entrepreneurial skills, including product planning, packaging and marketing, and computer skills, said Susan Flowers, the army's mission strategist for business. Volunteers from Smuckers, The University of Akron and Summit County Farm Bureau will serve as consultants for the student farmers. "We're kind of saying this isn't your grandmother's Salvation Army," said Salvation Army Vice Board Chair Sue Pierson. The new STEM-based activities are offered in addition to the Salvation Army's existing programs, such as food pantries, hot meals, hot showers and the Red Kettle program. Children who live in the West Hill neighborhood and Barberton will be transported to Fort Romig for programs. The Black Box Theater operates in conjunction with Rubber City Theater, enabling kids to participate in performance and technical aspects of theatrical productions. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. AKRON, Ohio -- Two Akron brothers are accused of trying to take a man's wallet and shoes at gunpoint Wednesday in the city's Middlebury neighborhood. A 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy are charged with aggravated robbery in the incident that happened about noon on South Arlington Street at East Exchange Street, according to a police report. The younger boy is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and marijuana possession. A 25-year-old Akron man was walking near the intersection when one of the boys flashed a gun at him and said "how about them shoes and jewelry," according to the police report. The man started to walk away, and the boys pointed the gun at him and threatened to kill him, the report says. The man kept walking and called 911. An Akron police officer spotted the 13-year-old boy walking on South Arlington Street near Ackley Street. The boy ran away and tossed a revolver on the ground on Miles Avenue, the report says. Officers caught the boy outside a house on South Arlington Street. They also found his 15-year-old brother at the same home, the report says. The 25-year-old man identified the boys as the robbers, the report says. Both brothers told police they were involved with an argument with the man. They admitted the 13-year-old boy flashed a gun, but they denied trying to rob the man, the report says. The 13-year-old boy was also found in possession of roughly 10 grams of marijuana, the report says. Both boys were taken to the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center. To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Assault, Engle Road: An argument between an Ashtabula man, 58, and a Garfield Heights man, 55, escalated into an assault at about 10:35 a.m. March 31 outside a home on Engle. The men were arguing over which of them had unplugged a refrigerator. The Garfield Heights man punched the Ashtabula man, leaving a scratch on his forehead, and the two started wrestling. Police arrested the Garfield Heights man. Criminal simulation, Snow Road: Police hope to identify and arrest a woman who passed three counterfeit $20 bills at about 8:15 p.m. March 9 in Arby's, 14500 Snow. The woman paid for three separate food orders, each with a fake $20 bill. Restaurant workers didn't realize the bills were fake until after the woman left. Criminal simulation, Smith Road: A worker at Paponetti's Pizza Ribs & Spirits, 5805 Smith, told police she received $100 in counterfeit money from a bar customer or customers March 12. She didn't realize the money was fake until the end of the night. Operating a vehicle under the influence, Smith Road: An Akron man, 57, was arrested at about midnight April 18 after police saw his pickup truck swerving on Smith. The man was driving with a suspended license. He was drunk and almost fell during field sobriety tests. Operating a vehicle under the influence, Smith Road: A Cleveland woman, 34, was arrested at about 11:45 p.m. April 17 after police caught her driving drunk. The woman drove over a curb in a parking lot. When police asked her if she had been drinking, she became angry and started yelling at officers. Operating a vehicle under the influence, Pike and Knox boulevards: A Berea man, 35, was arrested at about 3 a.m. April 17 for drunk driving. The man's girlfriend had called police, saying he had just driven from her home and was intoxicated. To comment on this story, visit the crime and courts comments page. The FMD K&L Europe has opened the largest biotechnology park in Yerevan on April 27. The list of participants of the ceremony included foreign ambassadors, world leading biotechnology, pharmaceutical, financial, IT and other leading figures. The FMD K&L Europe is a Chinese-American transnational company that has been operating in Armenia for 3 years and has already invested about $4 million during this period, Business Armenia informed. April 27, 2018, 17:55 Largest biotechnology park in region opened in Yerevan, Armenia STEPANAKERT, APRIL 27, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS:The company is planning on investing another $3 million and increase the number of employees from 170 to 250 and then up to 500 in 2018. Within the scope of the biotechnology part, the company will cooperate with the largest pharmaceutical companies. Compared to other countries Armenia has important advantages: firstly, well-educated specialists and medical schools. Secondly, investing in Armenia is beneficial in terms of costs too. This increases the level of competitiveness. And finally, the favorable geolocation of Armenia will guarantee the entry into other CIS countries, Mr. Dan Zhang, the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the FMD K&L global company, said. When I first came to Armenia I investigated the environment and found that the country has highly qualified doctors and biologists. Armenia may become the perfect platform for our company to enter Europe, Executive Director of FMD K&L Europe, Mr. Kirit Velani noted. These days the managing staff of FMD K&L Corporation is in Armenia too. They held the annual meeting of the company's board in Armenia. This is a certain level of appreciation of the investment and business environment of our country, CEO of Business Armenia, Mr. Armen Avak Avakian stated. In the technology park, the Shtigen company has installed a hybrid solar power plant, which, besides from saving and protecting the environment, ensures uninterrupted operations even in case of power failure. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A jury on Friday found an Akron man guilty of selling a heroin-fentanyl mix to a woman who died of an overdose in 2015. Ryan "TJ" Sumlin, 29, sold the powerful concoction to 23-year-old Carrie Dobbins, who was found dead at her mother's house on Sumatra Avenue March 28, 2015. State and federal authorities found that Sumlin visited Dobbins the day she died, and that the pair exchanged a series of text messages arranging a deal to buy heroin before his arrival. Following about a day of deliberation, the jury found Sumlin guilty of dealing a heroin-fentanyl mix, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The jury found Dobbins died as a result of the heroin and fentanyl Sumlin sold her. That finding, known as a "death specification," means Sumlin faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison. Sumlin showed little emotion as Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent read the jury's verdict. His mother blew him a kiss as the U.S. Marshals Service took him away. Nugent will sentence Sumlin, who has previous drug convictions, on Aug. 3. In her closing arguments on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Barr painted Sumlin as a reckless drug dealer who obtained fentanyl because it was cheaper than heroin. In 2015, the powerful drug was starting to make inroads into the Akron area. In the next few years, fentanyl would enhance an already growing number of opioid deaths in Ohio and nationwide, leading to country's current epidemic. Barr said Sumlin mixed heroin and fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and still marketed it to his customers it as regular heroin. There's nothing wrong with making money, but you can't "make it on the backs and the veins of the addicts," Barr said, giving her last closing arguments before retiring from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Defense attorney Rhonda Kotnik told the jury that her client did not contest the possession charges. Instead, she cast doubt on whether Sumlin was the one who sold Dobbins the drugs that killed her. She said Dobbins texted with several people, any of whom could have been dealers, in the day leading up to her fatal overdose. Kotnik also said Dobbins' texts showed that she took Xanax in the day before she died, and the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office did not do toxicology tests for prescription medication. Barr said the toxicology test clearly showed lethal levels of heroin and fentanyl in Dobbins' system. She also said Dobbins' sister saw Sumlin at her mother's house the day Dobbins died. Sumlin was charged along with Leroy Steele and Sabrina Robinson when the federal government brought the case in 2015. Steele bought fentanyl from Chinese suppliers and had Robinson help him deal the powerful opioid. Steele and Robinson then supplied Sumlin with fentanyl. Steele was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and a drug charge that included a "death specification" for the fatal overdose of Thomas Rauh in March 2015. Robinson pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. Nugent gave her 10 years. Steele also cooperated with federal prosecutors, showing them how he bought his drug from overseas suppliers. The information eventually led investigators to a Chinese drug suppler and a Massachusetts warehouse run by a chemist in Boston. The chemist, Bin Wang, was arrested in July and is awaiting trial on federal charges. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former longtime Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman is set to make his first court appearance Friday for 26 misdemeanor charges that accuse him of improperly voting to award city money to a design firm that employed his wife. The hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Cleveland.com will stream the hearing on Facebook Live. Watch as former Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman makes his first court appearance after ethics charges Posted by Cory Shaffer on Friday, April 27, 2018 Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's office on Wednesday charged Cimperman with 26 counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, with offenses dating back to 2002. The investigation focused on public contracts and grants that Cimperman voted to approve during his tenure on council that benefited LAND Studio, a non-profit company where his wife worked. Though Cimperman said Wednesday that he will not contest the charges, it's likely that he will plead not guilty at the arraignment. The arraignment judge will then assign the case to another judge, who will schedule another court hearing to accept the deal. The charges come years after cleveland.com first began reporting that Cimperman advocated for and voted to approve sending millions of dollars to the firm, which was formerly known as ParkWorks. Several city leaders, including Mayor Frank Jackson and current council president Kevin Kelley, have issued statements in support of Cimperman, who represented the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods for 18 years before resigning amidst the ethics investigation. Cimperman resigned in January 2016 to become president of Global Cleveland, a nonprofit economic-development group focused on immigrants, refugees and other newcomers to the city. Global Cleveland's board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to keep Cimperman at the organization's helm. To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman has agreed to plead guilty to 26 misdemeanor ethics charges and pay a $10,000 fine for voting to award city money to a design firm with close ties to him and his wife. Cimperman's lawyer, Roger Synenberg, and Stephanie Anderson, an attorney in Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's office, outlined the agreement at Cimperman's first court appearance since he was charged by information with having an unlawful interest in a public contract. Common Pleas Court Judge Dick Ambrose assigned Cimperman's case to Judge Michael Russo, who will decide whether to accept the plea bargain. The next date is set for May 8. Cimperman was released after the court hearing on a $1,000 personal bond. He faces a maximum of a year in county jail. Watch as former Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman makes his first court appearance after ethics charges Posted by Cory Shaffer on Friday, April 27, 2018 Yost's office on Wednesday charged Cimperman with 26 counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, with offenses dating back to 2002. The investigation focused on public contracts and grants that Cimperman voted to approve during his tenure on council that benefited ParkWorks, where Cimperman once served on the board of trustees and where his wife, Nora Romanoff, worked as a senior project manager. ParkWorks later became LAND Studio. Cimperman voted to award city money to ParkWorks while he was on the board of trustees, and later to LAND Studio. "The evidence in this case reveals a clear-cut conflict of interest," Yost said in a release. Cimperman, with Romanoff by his side holding his hand, told reporters after the hearing that he agrees with the charges and takes full responsibility for his votes. He declined to take questions. Synenberg said that Cimperman did not know at the time that his votes were improper and that Cimperman never personally benefitted by voting to award more than a million dollars in contracts and grants to the organization. Several city leaders, including Mayor Frank Jackson and current council president Kevin Kelley, have issued statements in support of Cimperman, who represented the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods for 18 years before resigning amidst the ethics investigation. The charges came years after cleveland.com first began reporting that Cimperman advocated for and voted to approve sending millions of dollars to the firm, which was formerly known as ParkWorks. In October 2013, cleveland.com published a story revealing that Cimperman had both sponsored and voted for legislation granting a city contract worth $200,000 to the firm to produce detailed design and engineering plans for the downtown Malls B and C, related to the Convention Center project. Cimperman also sponsored resolutions supporting the firm's applications for about $2 million in state grants to acquire land for the Lake Link Trail project on the West Bank of the Flats. Cleveland.com began its investigation in the wake of accusations from Cimperman's election opponent at the time, Carrie Kurutz. At the time, Cimperman said in his defense that many of the projects involving his wife's firm were initiated long before their marriage in 2006. After his marriage, he said, he had abstained from voting on most contracts involving ParkWorks or LAND Studio and cast other votes only with the blessing of the city's law department. Cimperman resigned to become president of Global Cleveland, a nonprofit economic development group focused on immigrants, refugees and other newcomers to the city. That group's board of directors voted Wednesday to stand behind Cimperman and allow him to keep his position. To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Foxtrot" is an extraordinary Israeli film that is at once illuminating and gut-wrenching. In Israel, the film and its controversial writer/director, Samuel Maoz, have been both celebrated and reviled. The film deals with the large, universal themes of life and death; love, marriage and children; war and peace; God and man. But it does so in the context of one middle-aged married couple and their son, who is serving in the military. The story unfolds in three acts. When it opens, soldiers are at the Feldmanns' apartment door to tell them their son, Jonathan, has died in action. The wife, Daphna, played by Sarah Adler, faints dead away. The soldiers medicate her and put her to bed. The husband, Michael, played by Lior Ashkenazi, absorbs the news with a muted tidal wave of emotional anguish. Initially, he zombies out. Over the course of the morning, his suffering blossoms like a rapidly decaying wound. Director Maoz's camera meticulously records every ounce of loss and pain in tight close-ups of his red, watery eyes and slack face. His despondence is excruciating. Just before the section ends, the soldiers return to the apartment to inform the couple a mistake has been made. The second section of the film opens on the remote military outpost known as Foxtrot. Michael and Daphna's son is stationed out there with three other young soldiers. They operate a military checkpoint in the desert that sees little traffic and the occasional lone camel. Their barracks are an improvised shipping container that is sinking in the mud. Their lives consist hours of boredom punctuated by moments of potential terror. Jonathan (Yonatan Shiray) explains to his fellow soldiers that a "fox trot" is actually a dance. In it, the dancer takes steps forward, to the side and back, always ending in the same place. The soldiers pass the time trading stories of their lives back home. They eat canned rations and fool with their radio attempting to get music to help fill the empty hours. The tone of this section is one where the feelings of ennui are offset by tension brought on by a great sense of foreboding. The third section of the movie is shocking, exasperating and confounding. It's easy to see why director Maoz is considered such a controversial filmmaker. "Foxtrot" is well worth seeing. Just don't expect an easy time of it. REVIEW Foxtrot Who: With Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler and Yonatan Shiray. Directed Samuel Maoz. Rated: R. Running time: 113 minutes. When: Opens Friday, April 27. Where: Cedar Lee Theatre, 2163 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights. Grade: B+ CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County's IT Department this week blamed computer-user error for having awarded a contract to an IT vendor that was nearly twice as long and twice as costly as what the Board of Control had approved. Jeanelle Greene, business services manager in the IT Department, said in an email sent to three county officials that the 13-month contract approved by the Board of Control for Vox Mobile was "erroneously entered" into the computer as a two-year agreement. Greene's email is the IT Department's answer to questions raised earlier this week by Trevor McAleer, who serves on the Board of Control. McAleer said Monday he could not recall another contract being changed in such fashion during his four years on the board. The county canceled the contract with Vox Mobile earlier this month on the advice of County Inspector General Mark Griffin. Griffin said he made his recommendation because of the ongoing corruption investigation. Cuyahoga County prosecutors have served nine subpoenas on the county as part of the probe. The most recent sought email communications related to Vox Mobile. Other subpoenas from corruption investigators have sought records and communications related to County IT Director Scot Rourke, who had previously disclosed that he had been a founding member of Vox Mobile and had a financial interest in the company. Rourke was placed on unpaid leave earlier this month. Vox Mobile describes itself as a mobile managed services provider. The company's work for the county included auditing of the county's mobile communications. A copy of the contract awarded to Vox and obtained by cleveland.com through a public records request shows a term of two years and an amount not to exceed $75,600. But minutes from the Board of Control show the board approved a contract that would run from Jan. 1, 2017 to Jan. 29, 2018 and for an amount not to exceed $39,060. In her email this week, Greene suggests that whomever entered the Vox contract into the computer mixed up the terms with another contract approved the same day by the Board of Control. "Notes relating to this matter (the agenda item, the internal contracting system) indicate a one-year contract for Vox Mobile, and a two-year contract for Spyglass," she writes. "With the contracts being entered on the same item, it may have gotten confused. I can only speculate that this seems to be due to a user error, as this operator infrequently used MyPro/OnBase." The agenda for Feb. 13, 2017 does show the board dealing with a $39,060 contract for Vox Mobile and a $100,000 contract for Spyglass Acquisition. But the agenda shows the Spyglass Acquisition contract running for one year, not two years as stated by Greene. Cleveland.com has requested a copy of the Spyglass Aquisition contract. This story will be updated when the contract is made available. "Moving forward, we are centralizing the users that will enter items into OnBase to alleviate issues such as this," Greene's email continues. "The goal is that by having a focused group of users enter items (with input from department requestors/operators), we can decrease the amount of errors that may occur." County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan released a statement from Mike Young, interim chief of information technology, who also speculated that processing errors led to the terms of the Vox contract being changed. "At this point it is speculation," he wrote. "This was a result of an error; part people/process/technology. This was processed through the old procurement system. The new procurement system that is now in place has significantly more controls to prevent a reoccurrence [sic]." Council member Nan Baker, who sits on the Board of Control and was forwarded a copy of Greene's email, said she has no reason to believe the contract was improperly changed. But she said she would like a better explanation than the one provided in Greene's email, and that she wants it to come from County Executive Armond Budish. "I think this falls on our executive and his administration," she said, adding that it is Budish's his job to demonstrate "that there isn't anything more than a human error going on here." CHARDON, Ohio -- For once, sunny skies opened the first day of the 89th Annual Geuaga County Maple Festival in Chardon Square on Thursday. The festival, founded in 1926, celebrates all things maple syrup, from maple syrup cotton candy to maple horseradish mustard. According to the Ohio Maple Producers Association, the maple syrup industry contributes $5 million to the state's economy each year. Approximately 100,000 gallons are produced each year by 900 Ohio producers and Ohio is ranked 4th or 5th in maple production nationally. The festival runs through Sunday. For more info visit: https://www.maplefestival.com/ WASHINGTON, D. C. - Ohio Democrats on Friday sought answers from House Speaker Paul Ryan about the forced resignation of the U.S. House of Representatives' chaplain. As the House voted against a measure ordering a congressional investigation of Patrick Conroy's departure from the job he's held since 2011, all four of Ohio's Democrats in the House of Representatives signed a letter to Ryan about the controversy. I asked for an investigation into why Speaker Ryan fired the House Chaplain and whether it was for a prayer urging Congress to consider all Americans including the poor in our work. House Republicans just said no. pic.twitter.com/Fm2tIAW8ER Joe Crowley (@JoeCrowleyNY) April 27, 2018 The letter co-authored by Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur asked Ryan to explain the process and reasoning behind his decision to request Conroy's resignation. They said doing so would help the House avoid questions about religious bias and politicizing the chaplain's office. "Continued silence on this matter could allow unfair and utterly unfounded inferences to be made about (Conroy's) character and the evenhandedness of the House on dealing in matters of faith," said the letter signed by 148 Congress members. The Jesuit priest submitted his resignation earlier this month, stipulating his last day will be May 24. He was hired by former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, who left office after achieving his dream of getting the Pope to visit the U.S. Capitol. The job includes offering an opening prayer when the House of Representatives is in session, and providing priestly counsel to those in the legislative body. "The position is one which I did not seek nor strive to assume, but I have seen it as a blessing and I have considered it one of the great privileges of my life," Conroy's resignation letter said. Democrats feared Conroy was shown the door for offering a prayer before consideration of tax law changes that expressed hope there wouldn't be "winners and losers." Others speculated he was pushed out because of friction with conservative evangelical Christians. The House chaplain who was just dismissed by Paul Ryan offered this prayer last Nov, wherein he expressed hope that there would not be "winners and losers under new tax laws." Afterwards, he said a Ryan staffer came to him, saying Ryan was "upset," and it was "too political" pic.twitter.com/hlLdCWnLA7 Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) April 27, 2018 Republicans discussed the departure behind closed doors Friday with Ryan, who is a devout practicing Catholic. Ryan told the group that some members of Congress had expressed concerns about Conroy's pastoral care. "The speaker made the decision he believes to be in the best interest of the House, and he remains grateful for Father Conroy's many years of service," said a statement from Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. The measure demanding an investigation was defeated on a largely party-line vote, with all Ohio Democrats voting for it and most of the state's Republicans voting against it. The exceptions were Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs, who missed the vote because of a scheduling conflict, and Bainbridge Township's GOP Rep. Dave Joyce, who voted "present." In a statement released after the vote, Joyce said he believes Conroy is a "fair and thoughtful man who carried out his mission in a professional manner." Joyce said he was pleased Conroy let Notre Dame Cathedral Latin School president Sister Jacquelyn Gusdane open a House session in prayer in 2013. "Everything in this town has to be politicized and his removal has become so as well," Joyce's statement said. "Some of my colleagues should listen to his challenges to our thoughts in making policy and reflect upon whether we are doing all we can to make our country one indivisible nation under God." Kaptur believes Ryan doesn't have the authority to fire Conroy without a House vote and may introduce legislation to block his departure if she's not satisfied with Ryan's answer to her letter, said her spokesman, Joshua Stewart. "They want to see what kind of response they get before deciding what's next," said Stewart. WASHINGTON, D. C. - Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur on Thursday joined congressional inquiries into Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's spending and travel by berating Pruitt for visiting Italy and Morocco instead of Cleveland. During a hearing before a committee that oversees the EPA's budget, Kaptur told Pruitt she's "a little offended" that he hadn't accepted invitations that she and Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Dave Joyce had extended to visit Lake Erie. "I know you're a busy man, but I read in the paper that you, in the past year, travelled to Italy and Morocco and the trip to Italy alone cost more than $120,000," said Kaptur. "Do you have any idea what a plane ticket to Cleveland, Ohio might cost you to come and visit?" "Probably less than the trip to Italy," Pruitt conceded. "It would cost you a great deal less," said Kaptur, who subsequently offered to drive him to Ohio if he'd prefer not to fly. Kaptur and Joyce also asked Pruitt about the Trump administration's repeated efforts to slice money from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which funds programs to fight invasive species and pollution. Pruitt told them he supported funding the program at the yearly $300 million level that Congress has allocated. "To have this kind of ignorance by the EPA , I consider it at this point in our history to be Un-American," said Kaptur. "We need the help of the government of the United States to protect our people." MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio -- After numerous committee meetings and an extensive review process, City Council approved Mayor Gary Starr's proposed law department appointees during the April 24 council meeting. New Director of Law Gary Ebert and Assistant Director of Law/Prosecuting Attorney Santo Incorvaia were sworn in at the meeting. Ebert had been serving as interim law director since Hull's departure and also currently holds the position of Bay Village law director. Starr previously acknowledged to council that he interviewed no other candidates. Council voted 6-1, with Councilman Tim Ali basing his decision to vote no on feedback from his constituents. "I spoke to numerous residents and they all said the same thing, 'Why can't we get somebody to just concentrate on the city of Middleburg Heights?'" Ali explained before casting the only dissenting vote. "Their opinions count for me, and I just can't support this." Councilman Mike Ference said he heard from residents, as well, but a recent committee meeting put to rest any remaining questions he had. "There's no doubt about it that this has been a very challenging time for City Council," added Councilman David Bortolotto. "Any time there is change of this magnitude, there are going to be concerns. This was not an easy dialogue in any way." He then emphasized that Ebert "will be representing City Council's interests, as well as the executive branch's interests" as part of his duties. Councilman Matt McGregor agreed that the process was considered carefully. "Council took it seriously and did its due diligence," McGregor said. "We were looking out for the residents who elected us to this position and making sure we're doing the right thing for the city of Middleburg Heights." He went on to say that council expects "good communication and transparency from all." Ebert will be working 25 to 30 hours per week in Middleburg Heights, primarily in the afternoon, and earn $110,000 annually. Incorvaia's salary will be $55,000. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Lawmakers are demanding answers after learning U.S. House chaplain Father Pat Conroy resigned earlier this month under pressure from Speaker Paul Ryan. The Jesuit priest submitted his resignation letter on April 15, NBC News reports. "As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives," the letter reads. "The position is one which I did not seek nor strive to assume, but I have seen it as a blessing and I have considered it one of the great privileges of my life." A Democratic aide tells The Hill that Ryan and other Republicans believe Conroy "was aligned with Democrats." NBC News says a prayer Conroy delivered in November before the House voted on the GOP tax bill might have upset Ryan and other Republicans. "As legislation on taxes continues to be debated this week and next, may all Members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great Nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle," Conroy said in the prayer. "May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans." But lawmakers from both parties say they're upset with the news of Conroy's departure. Legislators are drafting a bipartisan letter to send to Ryan seeking an explanation, CNN reports. "It is just a sad commentary on America in the House that is supposed to be the House of the people -- if we want to protect freedom of speech, a prayer here, then where are we going to protect it?" Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., tells NBC News. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, denies to CNN that Conroy was forced out for something he said or did, but did not offer a reason. She said Ryan consulted with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and that she did not object to dismissing Conroy. A Pelosi spokesperson says Pelosi opposes the decision. Conroy was nominated in 2011 by former Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. The Auburn/Cayuga branch of the NAACP will host its 51st annual Freedom Fund Banquet at 6 p.m. Friday May 11 at the Springside Inn, 6141 W. Lake Road, Fleming. The event's keynote speaker Brandiss Pearson, founder and facilitator of the I'mPossible Dreams Mentoring Program. The event will honor Cinda Gilmore with the Dale Post Educator Award, James Johnson with the Reverend John C. Humphrey Jr. Religious Service Award, Nazir Smith with the Dr. Jerome H. "Brud" Holland Youth Leader Award, and Perform 4 Purpose with the Business/Organization Award. The youth collective, organized by Jim and Jennifer Van Arsdale, will also play live at the event. There will also be a cocktail hour and a presentation of college stipends to graduating local high school students. RSVPs are required by Friday, May 4, and include a one-year NAACP membership and subscription to Crisis magazine. For ticket information, call (315) 283-2243 or email unit2128@aol.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBUS, Ohio - All the major candidates running for governor appear to enjoy comfortable incomes, according to tax returns they've revealed this week. But each of their earnings paled compared to Republican Mike DeWine's. Almost all the major gubernatorial candidates have shown reporters their returns this week, following DeWine, the first to begin the paperwork rush. Democrats Richard Cordray and Bill O'Neill showed their returns to reporters Friday. Former congressman Dennis Kucinich was the only one who hasn't shared his returns, but they are coming next week, his spokesman said. DeWine and his wife reported earning $634,975 last year. Mary Taylor, his rival in the GOP primary, reported earning $97,197, in her 2017 return. Cordray Democrat Rich Cordray and his wife sold more than $120,000 worth of investments in late 2016 because of concern over how the election of Donald Trump as president would affect the U.S. economy, according to a campaign aide. The Columbus-area couple's 2017 tax return showed they paid just over $58,000 in federal income taxes on almost $298,000 of income in 2017 - a tax rate of 19.5 percent. Last year, Cordray reported about $160,000 in wages for his work as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before he resigned in November. His wife Margaret, a Capital University law school professor, drew a $140,000 salary in 2017. In 2015 and 2016, the Cordrays paid a 22-percent federal income tax rate on about $306,000 in annual wages. The couple gave generously to charity, donating $25,625 in 2017, $20,450 in 2016 and $18,390 in 2015. The returns didn't specify which charities the Cordrays gave to, though they scored a $500 tax deduction last year after donating a vehicle to a program run by NPR's "Car Talk" program to help fund public radio. Cordray, like most other gubernatorial candidates, allowed reporters to inspect paper copies of his returns at his campaign headquarters. Schiavoni Joe Schiavoni, a Democratic state senator from Boardman who also is a practicing attorney, filed taxes the past two years jointly with his wife, Margaret Potts, a nurse anesthetist. In the couple's 2017 tax return, they reported a gross income of $207,518 for the previous year. They paid $47,592 in taxes to the state and federal governments. Their federal tax rate was 17.1 percent. At age 38, Schiavioni is the youngest among the major gubernatorial candidates, and is the father of two young children. He received a $374 tax credit last year for child care expenses. In their 2016 return, the couple reported a gross income of $235,101 for the previous year. They paid $56,694. Their federal tax rate was 18.9 percent. They received a $392 child care credit. They reported $331 in gifts to charity in 2016 and $268 in 2017. O'Neill Bill O'Neill, a Democratic former Ohio Supreme Court justice, released his tax return only for 2017, showing a gross income of $254,844 - earnings from the bench, in pensions and annuities and in Social Security. He paid $51,893 in state and federal income taxes and his federal tax rate was 17.3 percent. He reported giving $960 to charity. Cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer contributed to this report. Aanand Mehta Ohio House District 10 is fortunate to have several able and highly informed candidates in a crowded Democratic primary to replace the current officeholder, term-limited State Rep. Bill Patmon. District 10 includes Bratenahl and all or part of several Cleveland neighborhoods, including downtown, Ohio City, Clark-Fulton, Tremont and Glenville. The contenders are: *Nelson Cintron Jr., 52, who served on Cleveland City Council from 1998 to 2005. *TJ Dow, 43, who was narrowly defeated in his Cleveland City Council re-election bid in November. In March, Cuyahoga County elections officials sent to the county prosecutor's office a possible election fraud case against Dow for voting at his old residence days after he says he moved to a new one to establish residency for the Statehouse run. *Kyle Early, 38, a pastor who wants to fight poverty and infant mortality, raise the minimum wage and create a database of skilled local workers to match with local jobs. *Ronnie B. Jones, 63, a warehouse manager who ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2000 and 2004, whose top concerns are infant mortality and unemployment. *Aanand Mehta, 30, a lawyer with Jones Day who wants to help cities by reversing the state's prior cuts to local government funding and who argues his experience in the law could benefit this diverse urban district. *Billy L. Sharp, 42, who volunteers at a food pantry and would like to decrease food deserts, build a better transit system and be more accessible to constituents. *Danielle Shepherd, 30, vice president of a small Cleveland construction company, who is concerned about human trafficking and wants to decrease student loan debt. *Terrence Upchurch, 29, a business specialist with the Collinwood & Nottingham Villages Development Corp., who wants to bring back jobs and lower crime in the district. Cintron and Dow did not appear for the endorsement interview nor did they respond to attempts to reach them for a separate interview. Neither is recommended in this race. Shepherd also did not attend the endorsement meeting but was interviewed separately. Many of these candidates care deeply about House District 10 with its pockets of great wealth and pockets of dire want. Upchurch was particularly eloquent about the need for school reform, Sharp wants to focus on gun violence and Earley understands Columbus through his work with then-state Sen. Nina Turner. But Aanand Mehta, the son of Indian immigrants, is the superior candidate in this district, which has a large African-American population. Mehta has the legal knowledge, the detailed plans and the drive to work hard for long-needed change for the residents of District 10, including by pushing for criminal justice reform and more affordable housing. His legal skills and affable manner should help him bridge divides in the Statehouse. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face independent Y-Von Cawthon, who originally filed as a Democrat, in the fall. No Republican has filed for this seat. Early voting in the May 8 primary has begun. Kyle Earley, Ronnie B. Jones, Aanand Mehta, Billy L. Sharp and Terrence Upchurch, Democratic candidates in the May 8 primary for the Ohio House District 10 seat now held by term-limited Bill Patmon, were interviewed by the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer April 10, 2017 as part of the board's endorsement process. The Democratic race includes three additional candidates: Nelson Cintron Jr. elected not to participate in the endorsement meeting; TJ Dow did not appear; and Danielle Shepherd had a conflict. Listen to audio of the regular endorsement interview below: Danielle Shepherd, a candidate in the May 8 Democratic primary for Ohio House District 10 who was unable to participate in the regular endorsement interview before the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, was interviewed separately by telephone on April 18, 2018. Listen to audio of that interview below: About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the "Follow" option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. State Rep. Kristin Boggs represents parts of Columbus and the Columbus area in the Ohio House. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The current tide of sexual misconduct scandals hits every American institution. Victims range from Olympic athletes to blue-collar workers. Allegations are made against liberals and conservatives, the religious and secular, urban elites and rural folk. But these scandals have one thing in common: entrenched power exercised with bad intent for sexual gratification. In Ohio we have our own scandal. But our #MeToo Moment is not enabled by corporate wealth or social standing. Rather, it comes from the legislature's refusal to change a law that limits liability for those who knowingly put women and children in danger of being sexually assaulted. As described in opinions issued by the 5th Ohio District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court, a fifteen-year-old female parishioner at Sunbury Grace Brethren Church in Sunbury, Ohio, was victimized during her counseling session in March 2008 by the church's senior pastor, Brian Williams. Williams first asked the teenager to perform oral sex, and when she refused, he blocked her attempt to leave his office. He then pushed her to the floor, and forced her to have vaginal sex with him. Albert Lin is a Columbus attorney. As noted by the Ohio Supreme Court, Williams had been a youth pastor at the Delaware Grace Brethren Church, within the same denomination as Sunbury. He had a history of sexual misconduct with minors and young women. Yet, despite this knowledge, the Delaware church promoted Williams for the senior pastor position at Sunbury. The teenager sued, alleging that the Delaware church's negligent hiring practices resulted in her serial rapes. As noted in the 5th District opinion, two other women testified that while they were teenagers, Williams had inappropriately touched them and made sexual comments to them on outings. Witnesses testified that Delaware church elders kept the prior misconduct "quiet to protect our brother." Experts testified as to the victim's continuing emotional trauma. As noted by the Ohio Supreme Court, the jury awarded the victim $3.65 million in damages. But because she was a teenager with no work history, the jury could only award $151,378.85 for economic damages, such as lost wages. The remaining $3.5 million consisted of "noneconomic" damages, like pain and suffering. However, under Ohio's 2005 tort reform law, noneconomic damages for personal injury claims are capped at $350,000 per occurrence where there is no permanent physical deformity or disability. The legislature passed this law to prevent "runaway juries" from making "inflated damage awards." Chief among the law's supporters were industries that are frequently involved in personal injury cases, such as hospitals and insurers. These medical providers argued that large noneconomic damages award were inappropriate for malpractice claims where the injury is a result of negligence or accident. But this law is equally applicable to cases of intentional sexual assault and rape. Accordingly, the trial court reduced the victim's noneconomic damages to $350,000 pursuant to the damage caps. This decision was eventually affirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court. Since the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling, members of Ohio's legal and political community have sought change. Currently pending is Ohio House Bill 20, which seeks to exempt victims of sexual or physical assault from the noneconomic damage caps. Though introduced in February 2017, the bill is stuck in limbo, and has yet to receive any consideration in committee. This inaction is unsurprising. The impact of noneconomic damage caps falls disproportionately on people who can't fight back. Economic damages can be proven by well-off, working adults with documented back wages, easily projected future earnings, and an entire file of medical bills. But children, the unemployed, and the disadvantaged have few wages, are often without insurance, and are less likely to receive treatment. The bulk of their recovery is through compensation for "noneconomic" pain and suffering they have endured -- which is capped. The victim's total damage award amounted to $500,000. Though seemingly substantial, the award does not cover the attorneys' fees and expert witness costs for eight years of litigation. The victim has received little actual compensation for two rapes that will impact the rest of her life. Despite this, Ohio's legislature ignores the topic. Ohio's elected leaders do not see the benefit of changing a law that has the support of so many powerful interests. Hopefully, the General Assembly will do what is right. But we fear Ohio is missing its #MeToo Moment. Kristin Boggs represents Ohio House District 18 in Franklin County and is the co-sponsor of House Bill 20. Albert Lin is an attorney practicing in Columbus. ************** Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the "Follow" option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The first day of the weekend will start of nice and dry, but it likely won't last through the night. Morning temperatures are cool, but in the afternoon will warm up to the 60s. Early birds will hit temperatures in the low 40s, while those leaving a bit later could hit 50 degrees since things will warm quickly. A mix of clouds and sun is expected. For the afternoon, things will further warm to the low to mid 60s as clouds begin to build heavily ahead of an incoming cold front. The front could spark up some scattered showers, but chances are higher later on. As the cold front slowly pushes through, slight chances of scattered rain last into the evening, including during the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners game. If the front was stronger, coverage and chances would be much higher. There's no worry for flooding as rainfall should say below a quarter-inch. Temperatures will dive back into the low 50s for your Friday night out. Check out the forecast: Temperatures Temperature forecast. Precipitation chances Precipitation forecast. Winds Wind speed and direction forecast. Sunrise: 6:29 a.m. Sunset: 8:20 p.m. Pollen level: High for oak, birch and maple Air quality: Moderate Keep checking cleveland.com/weather for daily weather updates for Northeast Ohio, and don't forget to submit any weather questions you may have! Kelly Reardon is cleveland.com's meteorologist. Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter @KellyRWeather and Instagram. Haines did point out to Salvage that landlords in good standing will not be required to pay the fee. Brett Tracy, the president of the Cayuga County Landlords Association, said his group would like to be involved in the process of establishing the registry and requested that a public meeting be held for tenants and landlords to provide input. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Council members said they supported the creation of a registry and agreed that it is important for the public to be involved in developing the idea. "This is necessary as far as I'm concerned," Councilor Jimmy Giannettino said. "How we go about it is up for discussion, but it is absolutely necessary." They also had some concerns and aspects they want to see tweaked. Councilor Dia Carabajal said she would like to know more about how much this would cost the city to implement. Mayor Michael Quill said he was concerned about the longevity of the program. If the city was to implement it, he said, there would need to be a way to make it permanent. AUBURN David Mitchell said he didn't stay out of trouble for long. On Thursday, the 32-year-old appeared in Cayuga County Court, his hands in shackles and his head hung low as he faced his second judge in four months, and apologized for his crimes. In October, Mitchell was sentenced to five years probation in Onondaga County for fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a class E felony. But in February, he violated that probation when he was arrested for snatching a 72-year-old woman's purse in Auburn. At the time, police said Mitchell had stolen a purse from a shopping cart in the Wegmans' parking lot. He was later found with the victim's credit card, having dumped her purse and other belongings on the lawn of Memorial City Hall. Mitchell a resident of Chapel House was arrested and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a class E felony. He was then turned over to the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office on an unrelated bench warrant. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Same for my comment about women dresses for sale comments about Serbian lifeguards. Data from poison control centers around the nation suggests that the number of injuries in kids associated with household cleaning products nova new subway now open at route 30 center And instead of giving tax breaks to corporations to create jobs overseas, we cutting taxes for companies that put our people to work here at home.That why we investing in growth industries like clean energy and manufacturing. There were no regional differences in exposure to the campaign across Canada. We have some families who have long standing traditions of chopping their own trees at my farm, Rau said. David Shankbone attended the pre release screening of I Am An Animal at HBO's offices in New York City on November 12, and the following day he sat down with Ingrid Newkirk to discuss her perspectives on PETA, animal rights, her responses to criticism lodged against her and to discuss her on going life's work to raise human awareness of animal suffering. NORTH MANKATO, Minn. Sponseller said manufacturers and state agencies should teach people about the dangers when amower or tractor is purchased. Homeschoolers actually socialize more than public schoolers. Michael Barglow (June 5) succumbs to a different sort of confusion by adding up the transmission wattage from several antennas to come up with a total number of watts of radiation being beamed into neighborhood homes. A week since the passing of Maria many are still waiting for help from anyone from the federal or Puerto Rican government. The hangar was dedicated July 4, 2013.The air museum, located north of the Minot International Airport, tells the story of the area aviation history, including displays of military and civilian aircraft from the early 1900s to the present.Last year, the air museum observed its 30th anniversary.Don Larson, air museum board president, talked about the air museum and its history for a story published by the Minot Daily News in 2014. Comments: 0. Liberals ended up returning nearly $60,000 in improperly reported donations, dating back to 2011, and revising their annual financial reports going back to 2005 to correct the sources of another $40,000.. I turned my car and headed down the hill toward the store. It started with a free monthly meetup and now we're trying to expand to help as many as we can, through a multitude of ways.. "Our affordable housing supply is far below demand while the cost of building new affordable units dwarfs our available resources," the memo states. And what you have to remember gmatula is that no one on this earth is perfect. The blind man is walking in front of a car and you do not have a duty to stop him absent some relation between you," Kennedy said in arguments on the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare."Kennedy added that there are "some severe moral criticisms of that rule, but that's generally the rule."Dramatic Video Shows N. Shop at Jollyhers online store with "Spring Panic Buying" Promotion of designer Women Dresses and Girl Dresses until May,2,2018. $10 off code SP10 for $89+ orders $20 off code SP20 for $149+ orders $40 off code MS40 for $249+ orders And, 10%OFF Code CART10 is also available at any time. Visit Jollyhers to find Women Dresses, Women Tops, Girl Dresses, Girl Coats, Boy sets, Boy Coats, family matching clothes, kids shoes,and more. Enjoy designer stylish,high-quality materials,reasonable price,and free shipping from Jollyhers. Snap on https://www.jollyhers.com/women-dresses We are analyzing the site. Please wait a few seconds.. 100% Website weddingsinthailand.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 4749 bytes (4.64 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-11-22, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. A POD like this allows the health department to work with their partners like BOCES, the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office, and the Sheriffs' Department, Cuddy said. She added that many "staff aren't in (their) traditional roles," and people have to adapt to the assignment given when they arrive to the simulation. Volunteers from the community who participated allowed for hospital staff, nurses, physicians, and other staff to experience the protocol of an emergency response. Volunteers queued in line and went through the same process persons would if reporting to a POD for a true emergency response clients were registered, came forward as nurses were available, medical reviews were done with on-site physicians to determine the doses necessary for each individual's immune globulin administration, and then they would sit to rest and fill out an evaluation following their pretend post-exposure prophylaxis treatment. Clinical staff in green vests would hold up green cards at their stations to notify the next person in line that they were ready. The nurses would then interact with each volunteer as if they were really administering vaccines and immune globulin gloves were changed, arms were swabbed with alcohol wipes, and doses were determined. No real or placebo treatment was administered, however. GENOA It was Mark Gallup's second week on the job driving a tractor-trailer carrying liquid manure for Sunnyside Farms in Scipio Center. Gallup, 58, of Whitesboro, a veteran driver for over 20 years, crossed Route 34 traveling eastbound on Route 90 in Genoa at about 1:45 p.m. when his truck caught the soft shoulder, forcing it into a four-foot ditch and rolling it over. Gallup was able to escape the crushed cab through the passenger side window with no injuries. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Area farmers arrived on the scene within minutes and began to work to stop the spilling manure from making its way to a nearby waterway. Genoa highway workers used bulldozers to fill the ditch to stem the flow. Responding to the scene was Genoa and King Ferry fire departments, Genoa Highway Department, New York State Police and the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office. Love 3 Funny 5 Wow 14 Sad 3 Angry 17 By this point, you're probably aware that Kanye West outed himself as a supporter of Donald Trump. It's all that anyone in the media can talk about, and like raccoons digging in a garbage can, they're scrambling for anything that'll allow this story make any goddamn sense. Because even in a world in which Donald Trump is president of the United States, him being cozied up to by the guy who got his start by singing about what it's like to have your jaw wired is a step too far. We don't have the psychoanalyst community on speed dial like other major publications do, but we've got an idea about what's going on, and we'd love it if you could hear us out. This is happening because it's the most Kanye West thing imaginable. Much like an Andy-Kaufman-shaped tornado, Kanye is a force unto himself. He can't be controlled, he can't be reasoned with, and above all else, you're never entirely sure whether he's fucking with you. West first outed himself as a supporter by saying that he would've voted for Trump -- and then immediately followed that up by saying that he still believes black lives matter, that women's rights and gay marriage are good things, and that racism is a problem. And if you know anything about this administration, those things were somewhere between Priorities #60,890 and #845,002 during the first hundred days. "If the portions are not sufficient, then those inmates who are bigger and stronger, and I guess more violent, will take the food from other inmates in order to get enough food," he said. Malloy's plan would boost the typical daily food budget for each inmate 10 percent, from $2.95 to $3.25. The state would still lag behind some neighbors; Rhode Island spends $4.40 per inmate per day, Massachusetts $4.16 and Maine $3.75. New York spends $2.85, according to Malloy's office. "In addition to being the right thing to do, this is a common-sense policy change that will save taxpayer money in the long run by promoting a healthy lifestyle and ultimately reducing medical costs," said Leigh Appleby, a spokesman for the governor. To become reality, Malloy's plan must become part of a final budget agreement between the governor and legislators. Lawmakers hope to have a deal before this year's session ends May 9, but it remains unclear whether that will happen. Malloy's fellow Democrats already reduced the governor's proposal by half in their budget plan, and the General Assembly's Republicans scrapped the concept entirely in their budget proposal. According to recent tests at United States airports, surfaces from self-check-in screens to armrests on the chairs near airline gates are covered in germs. Kim, during their talks, joked that he would make sure not to interrupt Moon's sleep anymore, a reference to the North's drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year, according to Moon's spokesman, Yoon Young-chan. Kim also referred to a South Korean island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said he'd visit Seoul's presidential Blue House if invited. The historic greeting of the two leaders, which may be the images most remembered from the summit, was planned to the last detail, though the multiple border crossings may have been impromptu. As thousands of journalists, who were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly controlled pool reporters at the border, waited and watched, Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They smiled broadly and shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after Kim did so, Moon said, "You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across?" Kim replied, "Why don't we go across now?" and then grasped Moon's hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. With the recent spate of mass shootings plaguing our country, I would like to ask our local Congressman John Katko a serious question about a position he holds on gun safety. Id ask him in person, but as you know, the congressman is forum-averse when it comes to facing his constituents. Why is it, congressman that your name appears on House bill H.R. 38, also known as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017? Why are you so eager to allow more gun owners to carry weapons across state lines? Is it because you genuinely feel that Central New Yorkers would feel safer? Maybe its because you believe that the Second Amendment is sacrosanct? Or, quite possibly, is it because you receive a great deal of lobby money from the National Rifle Association? Mr. Katko, you put your name on this bill despite dire warnings from Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who warned that your bill could result in more handguns falling into the hands of gangs (remember, handguns can easily be stolen from personal vehicles, even yours, congressman). Fitzpatrick also warned of shootings from untrained citizens who negligently or accidentally fire their weapons in public. By the time you read this, little Alfie Evans might have died. Or he might still be clinging on to a thread of life, locked in his tiny world. His life-support system was removed on Monday, against the wishes of his parents. Over the following days, judges listened to expert advice, then refused parental appeals to allow the stricken boy to fly to Rome. There he would be treated in the Vatican childrens hospital with the support of the Pope, even though there was no promise of a cure and no hope of a cure. Only of a miracle, God willing. However, even the kindest, logical reflection would consider this unlikely. Alfie, 23 months old, has a neuro-degenerative disorder so rare that it doesnt even have a name. He has been in decline since a seizure when he was seven months old. lfie, 23 months old, has a neuro-degenerative disorder so rare that it doesnt even have a name An MRI scan in February 2018 revealed his brain had deteriorated to the point where it was beyond recovery and appearing almost identical to water and cerebrospinal fluid. That is a stark and horrifying fact. The white matter of his tiny brain is almost all liquid. Yet just like Charlie Gard last year, his living and his dying have been the subject of passionate debate, with both sides utterly convinced of the righteousness of their position. Alfies young parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, have managed to convince themselves and their supporters that the Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool where hes been treated for 15 months is not fit for purpose. Even worse, medics there were colluding in nothing less than the murder of their son by switching off his ventilator. Their behaviour, said Evans, has been disgusting. Last night, he seemed to be in a more conciliatory mood, talking of building bridges with the medical staff he has castigated. All the couple want now is to be able to take Alfie home, and one hopes this wish is granted. Alfies young parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, have managed to convince themselves and their supporters that the Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool where hes been treated for 15 months is not fit for purpose Yet this has been a terrible affair, this tragedy of a sick and dying baby turned into a circus by those who should know better. Supporters who call themselves Alfies Army protested outside the hospital, threatening violence and necessitating a police guard on the front doors. Doctors and nurses feared for their own safety, while one nutcase even threatened to burn down the building. Tom Evans says that he did nothing to encourage these protesters and peddlers of misinformation, but to be fair he did little to discourage them either. Alder Hey just wouldnt listen to them, he said this week. Meanwhile, the furious battle for hearts and minds online continued. At my hairdressers in London on Tuesday, Emma the shampoo girl wanted to talk of nothing else but Alfie. She had been following every step of events on social media, where she has become another follower convinced that this baby boy is the plaything of brutal medics who want him dead. The doctors and nurses at Alder Hey? They didnt know what they are doing. They had switched off his ventilator on Monday, but Alfie was still breathing. Emma the shampoo girl was keen on a video of Alfies mother poking her sons chin to show that he does react to stimulus Showed how much they knew! The baby was a fighter, an angel, a champ but he was still doomed because the hospital are going to kill him by lethal injection, I read it on Instagram, she said, near to tears. What? Emma, I promise you, that is not going to happen, I told her. But it is, she insisted, scrolling through her iPhone. It says it right here. We looked at the various online accounts she was following, all of them campaigning to save Alfies life, all of them rooted in emotion rather than fact, some of them verging on the hysterical, some of them downright ugly. All of these accounts, many with 200,000-plus followers, have used the emotive videos and photographs posted by his parents of Alfie lying in his hospital crib. One of them shows him sticking out his tongue. He is not DYING he is IMPROVING, informs the desperate message alongside. Emma the shampoo girl was keen on a video of Alfies mother poking her sons chin to show that he does react to stimulus. It was heart-rending, but not convincing. Not to me, at any rate. To Alfies Army, however, it was further proof that the only barrier to his recovery was those employed to look after him, who were acting in collusion with the judges to kill him. Good grief. Another conspiracy from the authorities, and this one over the fate of a desperately ill tot? Conspiracy theories are comforting for those without the intellectual capacity to accept the randomness of the world. They prefer to think events are controlled by a secret cabal forever plotting against them. By putting two and two together to make eight, people convince themselves they are in the right, and find a willing audience and a welcoming forum for all this nonsense online. They fail to see that in moments of crisis, when social medias power increases, distortion follows, and that distortion has consequences. Across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter, Alfies Army rampaged onwards. An Alfie petition page with 200,000 signatures begged the Queen to step in to save his life. A foreword written by his father insisted that doctors plan to kill Alfie on an appointed hour by withdrawing his life support; and for the day and hour of that killing to be kept secret from the public to avoid any protest or hindrance. Elsewhere, the rhetoric is feverish, frightening. The smoke of treachery is in the air, fanned by the flames of desperation and ignorance. Someone suggests that Prince William is capable of flying him to Italy himself, he is an air ambulance pilot. Another reads: Kim Kardashian, can you help? If the truth is something they dont want to hear, Alfies Army simply choose to ignore it. Meanwhile, the legal rows, the court appearances and the audience with the Pope have not helped. They have given Alfies poor, benighted parents the illusion of a battle they can fight, perhaps even win. Like me, like everyone, they wish Alfie could be saved. But he cannot. Their refusal to accept medical evidence has pitted them against the hospital and provided them with a handy enemy in clear sight an enemy that is easier to rail against than the unwinnable odds that are the reality of their situation. The impulse to do something anything for their sick child is only human. That excuses them their desperate actions. However, it does not excuse the dolts in Alfies Army for abusing and threatening doctors and nurses. Not now, not ever. Why Im uneasy about this posthumous post When she was only 29 years old, Dr Kate Granger was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She died five years later, in 2016, but had time to plan a few things. Reflecting the plot of Cecelia Aherns best-selling book, PS I Love You, Dr Granger prepared cards and letters to her husband, for him on significant dates in the future. He has just opened the most recent one for his 41st birthday, in which she wonders if he still has a full head of hair. This lovely and understandable gesture of hers is not uncommon. I have heard many similar stories. Yet however loving the intention, are these missives from the grave really in the best interests of the surviving partner? In a way, they dont let the grieving spouse move on. And however unintentionally, they peel open wounds that might be tentatively healing. Yes, a letter kept for a childs wedding day is a precious thing. But rather than a ribbon of letters to your other half stretching into the future, wouldnt it be kinder just to let them get on with it? If only rank stupidity was a crime Mark Meechan was convicted of a hate crime last month, for teaching his girlfriends dog to respond with a Nazi salute Please tell me you havent donated to Mark Meechans charity page, which has raised 100,000 to appeal a court conviction? The idiot was convicted of a hate crime last month, for teaching his girlfriends dog to respond with a Nazi salute when prompted by statements such as Heil Hitler and gas the Jews. Buddha the pugs obedient salute has been viewed more than three million times by morons on YouTube. At his sentencing, Meechan said that he would appeal his 800 fine and conviction, because he believed it set a dangerous legal precedent against freedom of expression. Come off it, mate. What a pity that rank stupidity and wilful removal of canine dignity arent also crimes, because he would be guilty of those charges, too. Meechan is from Coatbridge, in Lanarkshire, and wears ear-stretching jewellery. Apparently, when prompted by statements such as time for beddy byes and here come num-nums, he bursts into tears and fills his nappy. But nobody wants to see that on YouTube, thanks all the same. Girls who still want to rock around the clock Like Doctor Who, old rockers never die. They seem to regenerate by going out with ever-younger women. This week, two girlfriends were vying for the attentions of ancient priapic love lizard Mick Jagger. Meanwhile, Don McLean, 72, of American Pie fame, is currently getting a slice of the action with Paris Dylan, the 24-year-old he originally hired to manage his social media accounts. Quicker than you could swipe right, the unlikely couple had become an item. Don McLean (left), 72, of American Pie fame, is currently getting a slice of the action with Paris Dylan (right) Superfan Dylan says she still watches her Don McLean videos three times a day. Good to know she is with him for love, not money. Especially as Don is playing at the Pavilion in Southend, Essex, on Sunday, which isnt exactly three sell-out nights at Wembley, no? Will the new Prince of Cambridge wear Georges hand-me-downs? You can bet your last pair of pin-tucked rompers and darling soldier tank-tops he will. Kate has already had her first-born togged out in Williams old bloomers. The new boy hasnt a hope. Usually his arrival at Birkhall, his grandmothers home on the Balmoral estate, which he has stylishly updated, is a moment of lipsmacking anticipation. Increasingly as he gets older, the Prince of Wales views visits to this Scottish retreat as a necessary restorative. But yesterday it was difficult not to have a flicker of sympathy for Charles as he waited anxiously at his bolthole for an opportunity to see his newborn grandson. Instead, the first visitors to Kensington Palace were a progression of Middletons, led by Kates hands-on mother Carole, her pregnant sister Pippa, father Michael and bearded brother James. Even Fergies daughter Princess Eugenie turned up to welcome the arrival of her first cousin once removed. For Charles, languishing in Scotland, the pain must be considerable. To many puzzled observers it may seem that the neglect in not yet having seen his new grandson, when the Middletons have, must lie with the Prince of Wales. But is that the case? Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge with their newborn baby son as they leave the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London On Wednesday, he understandably had to put duty first, travelling to northern France for the dawn ceremony marking Anzac Day and the centenary of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. A long-planned trip, it involved the prime ministers of France and Australia. All the same, there was a sense of unease among courtiers this week as the prince found himself relegated behind Williams in-laws in the queue to see the latest addition to the House of Windsor. Despite the fact no other senior royals have called in to see the baby, the princes absence shines an uncomfortable light on the tricky and perplexing relationship between father and son. We have been here before, of course. Three years ago, Charles complained that he almost never sees his first grandson, Prince George, and that he occupied a peripheral role in the little boys life. The dismay at seeing less than he expected of his first grandson was amplified because he hoped to become a mentor to the future king. Just a few days before George was born, Charles was happily asking a ladies circle for any hints on being a grandfather. The anticipation was clear, and it was obvious to those ladies that Charles was determined to be the attentive and loving grandfather he never knew himself. The prince was only three when George VI died, and he never knew his paternal grandfather, Prince Philips playboy father Prince Andrew of Greece, who died in 1944. It is not difficult to see how this sparked his desire to be involved in the development of young George, particularly as Charles feels they have a special connection. For he knows that, like himself, George is probably going to have to wait almost a lifetime before he fulfils his destiny. But from the outset, according to insiders, Williams attitude was somewhat different. Very strange, says one. On the day Kates labour began at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, Charles was on a train en route to a day of engagements. He had offered to cancel his duties, but was assured it was not necessary because William did not want visitors to come to the hospital immediately, fearing they would be disruptive. Instead, Georges first visitors were the Middletons, which established a pattern that, tellingly, repeated itself this week. When Kates due date with Princess Charlotte emerged, the same instruction not to visit and not to cancel engagements followed. But as a royal aide noted: The Middletons dont do engagements, so it didnt apply to them. Prince Charles has not seen the newborn Prince as he has been away on official duties In the event, Charlotte was born at the weekend and Kate quickly went home to Kensington Palace. When it became clear to Charles that the Middletons would be visiting, he made an immediate decision to go, driving himself and Camilla from Highgrove. According to a friend, he felt it would look awful if he didnt visit his new granddaughter at the same time as the Middletons. He was said to have hared down the motorway to London, and even radioed ahead to London for an aide to collect a gift from Clarence House which Camilla had chosen for the baby, to be sent over to Kensington Palace. In the event, Granny Carole and Grandpa Charles arrived at the palace almost at the same time. When it suits him, William can be friendly and welcoming, but he can also be aloof and icy, says a close figure. With his father, he can be cordial or effusive, especially if he wants more money, as he did for work on Anmer Hall his house in Norfolk. He dispenses niceties like he is the owner of a sweet shop to a small child. Nothing illustrates this wilful approach better than Williams reaction after Charles included a picture on his desk of him with George alongside photographs of William and Harry for one of the regular in-house videos the Prince of Wales makes for his charities in Commonwealth countries. William complained bitterly, even though the picture was one that had been issued publicly. Nor, say friends, has he made any secret of the fact that he views the relationship that Carole and Mike Middleton enjoy with their children as being just what he covets for his own family. It doesnt take a genius to work out that he doesnt think he has had that kind of relationship with his father. For Charles, who wants only to be a mentor and sounding board for his sons and his grandchildren, it is not just a puzzling situation. It is also a sad one. So after all the waiting, all the hints and all the would-be clues, tradition ran out the winner in the royal baby name stakes. In naming their son Louis Arthur Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have settled a considerable royal heritage on the fifth in line to the throne. And in choosing to give the infant prince a name that their eldest son George has as one of his middle names already, William and Kate have stuck firmly to the conventions of an eccentric royal parlour game. Lord Louis Mountbatten was the beloved great uncle of Prince Charles Perhaps the biggest surprise was that, despite all the talk suggesting William would be honouring his paternal grandfather with his new son, the name Philip did not feature. What we can be sure of is that both he and Kate really do like the three names they have chosen. For if there is one thing we have learned about this couple, its that they do things their way. No one will be more moved by the choice of names than the Prince of Wales. His grandson will not only carry Charles as one of his middle names, but in choosing Louis, Prince William is honouring the memory of his fathers beloved great-uncle, Earl Mountbatten of Burma. In picking Louis pronounced Lou-ey not Lew-is William and Kate appear to be following long-established royal custom. William himself has Louis as a middle name, as does Prince Edward. But while Louis has a dashing and romantic ring to it, feelings towards Lord Mountbatten from within the Royal Family were mixed to say the least. Prince William never knew the man whom his father referred to as my honorary grandfather. He was murdered in 1979, three years before the princes birth, but William was brought up knowing the legend of his life and of his violent death at the hands of the IRA. After seeing action as a midshipman in the First World War, he rose to become Admiral of the Fleet, First Sea Lord and last Viceroy of India. Mountbatten and Prince Charles at a polo match. Lord Moutbatten was murdered in 1979, three years before the Prince William's birth, And by the most judicious of marriages, he acquired the finances to support himself in a manner appropriate to his position. His wife, Edwina, was granddaughter of the financier Sir Ernest Cassel and probably the richest heiress in the whole of Europe. His aggrandisement did not stop there. In 1947, he married off his nephew Philip to Princess Elizabeth, now our Queen and had it not been for the last-minute intervention of Sir Winston Churchill, who vetoed the very suggestion, we would now be ruled not by the House of Windsor but by the House of Mountbatten. But as the last Viceroy was fond of pointing out, it is his bloodline that flows through the royal veins. His ambitions were blown to shreds by an IRA bomb on August 27, 1979. He was on holiday in Ireland with his family, and they had gone out to collect lobster pots. The bomb on his boat was detonated by remote control. Lord Mountbatten was killed instantly. Also killed in the explosion was his 14-year-old grandson, Nicholas. The boys twin brother, Timothy, lost the sight in one eye. Their mother Mountbattens daughter Patricia, who inherited his title required 120 stitches in her face. Patricias mother-in-law, the Dowager Lady Brabourne, died of her injuries the following day. All the honours in the world could never compensate for this. Lord Louis remained a controversial figure in British public life. In the Sixties and Seventies he was implicated in alleged military plots to overthrow former Labour prime minister Harold Wilson. It is unlikely William knows much about this aspect of the man whose name he has chosen for his second son. Or that Mountbattens wife was a voracious sexual adventuress who was said to have had an affair with Indias first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Lord Mountbatten hold Prince Charles as he dangles his feet into a pool in rocks in Malta The Queen Mother did not trust him. After her husbands death, she resented the way he inserted himself into the life of the Queen and Prince Philip as a mentoring figure. It is ironic that the two pivotal influences in Prince Charless life, Mountbatten and the Queen Mother, did not get along. For William, Louis also represents a nod to his late mothers Spencer family. In 1994 Princess Dianas brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, named his son and heir Louis. The choice of the new princes second name, Arthur, is even more traditionally royal. One of the favourites with the bookies, it is a middle name for both William and Charles, and was also one of the names of the Queens father, King George VI. It was the first name of one of Queen Victorias sons, the Duke of Connaught, an archetypal and obscure minor royal who served as an Army officer for decades before ending up as Governor General of Canada. By choosing a third name of Charles, William has ensured that his childrens paternal grandparents have both been recognised in their nuclear family. Three-year-old Princess Charlotte has Diana as a middle name. The names are a very charming choice, but there is a very English-ness to them, says historian Robert Lacey. Its surprising that there is no nod to Scotland, or particularly Wales, as William will one day become Prince of Wales. Perhaps most intriguing of all is the merry-go-round of names that feature. Louis shares two names with grandfather Charles, one with his father, one with his uncle Harry, one with his great uncle Edward and even one with his royal cousin David, Earl of Snowdon. Again and again you see the same names bestowed on members of the royal family. Prince Harry and Prince Andrew both second sons have Albert, for example. There is one other question concerning the new prince, of course. The names of George and Charlotte were publicised within two days of their birth in 2013 and 2015 respectfully. So the fact that with Louis it took William and Kate twice as long to issue them will doubtless fuel rumours that the couple may have been expecting a girl and had not prepared male names. Charles still hasnt seen the newborn prince because he has a difficult relationship with William Usually his arrival at Birkhall, his grandmothers home on the Balmoral estate, which he has stylishly updated, is a moment of lipsmacking anticipation. Increasingly as he gets older, the Prince of Wales views visits to this Scottish retreat as a necessary restorative. But yesterday it was difficult not to have a flicker of sympathy for Charles as he waited anxiously at his bolthole for an opportunity to see his newborn grandson. Instead, the first visitors to Kensington Palace were a progression of Middletons, led by Kates hands-on mother Carole, her pregnant sister Pippa, father Michael and bearded brother James. Even Fergies daughter Princess Eugenie turned up to welcome the arrival of her first cousin once removed. For Charles, languishing in Scotland, the pain must be considerable. To many puzzled observers it may seem that the neglect in not yet having seen his new grandson, when the Middletons have, must lie with the Prince of Wales. But is that the case? Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge with their newborn baby son as they leave the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London On Wednesday, he understandably had to put duty first, travelling to northern France for the dawn ceremony marking Anzac Day and the centenary of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. A long-planned trip, it involved the prime ministers of France and Australia. All the same, there was a sense of unease among courtiers this week as the prince found himself relegated behind Williams in-laws in the queue to see the latest addition to the House of Windsor. Despite the fact no other senior royals have called in to see the baby, the princes absence shines an uncomfortable light on the tricky and perplexing relationship between father and son. We have been here before, of course. Three years ago, Charles complained that he almost never sees his first grandson, Prince George, and that he occupied a peripheral role in the little boys life. The dismay at seeing less than he expected of his first grandson was amplified because he hoped to become a mentor to the future king. Just a few days before George was born, Charles was happily asking a ladies circle for any hints on being a grandfather. The anticipation was clear, and it was obvious to those ladies that Charles was determined to be the attentive and loving grandfather he never knew himself. The prince was only three when George VI died, and he never knew his paternal grandfather, Prince Philips playboy father Prince Andrew of Greece, who died in 1944. It is not difficult to see how this sparked his desire to be involved in the development of young George, particularly as Charles feels they have a special connection. For he knows that, like himself, George is probably going to have to wait almost a lifetime before he fulfils his destiny. But from the outset, according to insiders, Williams attitude was somewhat different. Very strange, says one. On the day Kates labour began at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, Charles was on a train en route to a day of engagements. He had offered to cancel his duties, but was assured it was not necessary because William did not want visitors to come to the hospital immediately, fearing they would be disruptive. Instead, Georges first visitors were the Middletons, which established a pattern that, tellingly, repeated itself this week. When Kates due date with Princess Charlotte emerged, the same instruction not to visit and not to cancel engagements followed. But as a royal aide noted: The Middletons dont do engagements, so it didnt apply to them. Prince Charles has not seen the newborn Prince as he has been away on official duties In the event, Charlotte was born at the weekend and Kate quickly went home to Kensington Palace. When it became clear to Charles that the Middletons would be visiting, he made an immediate decision to go, driving himself and Camilla from Highgrove. According to a friend, he felt it would look awful if he didnt visit his new granddaughter at the same time as the Middletons. He was said to have hared down the motorway to London, and even radioed ahead to London for an aide to collect a gift from Clarence House which Camilla had chosen for the baby, to be sent over to Kensington Palace. In the event, Granny Carole and Grandpa Charles arrived at the palace almost at the same time. When it suits him, William can be friendly and welcoming, but he can also be aloof and icy, says a close figure. With his father, he can be cordial or effusive, especially if he wants more money, as he did for work on Anmer Hall his house in Norfolk. He dispenses niceties like he is the owner of a sweet shop to a small child. Nothing illustrates this wilful approach better than Williams reaction after Charles included a picture on his desk of him with George alongside photographs of William and Harry for one of the regular in-house videos the Prince of Wales makes for his charities in Commonwealth countries. William complained bitterly, even though the picture was one that had been issued publicly. Nor, say friends, has he made any secret of the fact that he views the relationship that Carole and Mike Middleton enjoy with their children as being just what he covets for his own family. It doesnt take a genius to work out that he doesnt think he has had that kind of relationship with his father. For Charles, who wants only to be a mentor and sounding board for his sons and his grandchildren, it is not just a puzzling situation. It is also a sad one. Anita Rani has lived in her renovated East London home for four years 1 HOUSE MUSIC My husband Bhupi Rehal, a tech director, and I have an open-door policy to our friends. We rebuilt this house from scratch and have lived here for four years. Music is a huge part of my life I spent a lot of time in my bedroom as a child listening to the radio and making mix tapes. I have a pair of DJ turntables and when I met Bhupi he had a set too, so we bonded. Ive always been the first on the dance floor, which is why taking part in Strictly in 2015 was so great. We take Polaroid pictures using the camera on the table to my right, to record when friends, family and my godchildren come round. 2 SHEEP THRILLS Im obsessed with my sheepskin rugs I have this one and a brown one. I love being cosy so I take them with me round the house. Im often to be seen on a busy train on a Friday night in big walking boots covered in animal dung, carrying something back home from filming Countryfile these rugs are some of the best things Ive picked up. They were from a sheepskin rug factory in Devon where they make them in a really traditional way, washing them in big oak barrels. 3 COOL FOR CATS My dads youngest brother was an artist called Govinder Nazran, and he was the biggest influence in my life. I remember him coming home from art college in his Volkswagen Beetle wearing a big green duffel coat, torn jeans, Doc Martins and eyeliner, smelling of patchouli. Anita treasures this representation of the god Ganesh (pictured) because she loves Hindu iconography. She bought him at an art gallery in 2005 I thought he was the coolest dude an Indian bloke in Yorkshire covered in tattoos! When I was older I would go to his beautiful house in Saltaire, and wed get drunk and listen to music. He died tragically in his early 40s and I have some of his artwork which I treasure, including this red sculpture called Archie The Cat. 4 WEDDING BELLE This is me in a sari on the day I married Bhupi, eight years ago, doing the Indian bhangra dance although my dad says it looks like were fighting each other! Our wedding day was bonkers, and more like a wedding week. Were both from Indian families so it was taken out of our hands. We had 450 of our nearest and dearest in Bradford, which is relatively small for a Punjabi wedding. We didnt want to do a first dance, so I booked the Bollywood Brass Band and we made our entrance dancing behind them. 5 POTTY ABOUT GRANDAD I got this pot when I filmed Who Do You Think You Are? three years ago. I found out about my maternal grandfather who was in the British Indian Army. He was an incredible character and a real feminist for a man of that generation, let alone India. His family were potters, so I went to the village where he was born and met my extended family, who made me feel really welcome. This clay pot is made in the traditional Indian way, from the very earth of my grandfathers ancestral home. 6 ELEPHANT WOMAN I am part Hindu and part Sikh, and I have this Ganesh, the elephant god, not for religious reasons but just because I love Hindu iconography. Ganesh is the remover of obstacles, and hes a kid too. Mine is made out of clay and I got him in a cool art gallery in Calcutta in 2005. Id been asked to make a one-hour special about the city my first time presenting a whole show on my own. He reminds me of my first foray into documentary-making. As told to Rachel Corcoran. Anita Rani is a board member of Northern Ballet, whose Jane Eyre production is touring nationally until 9 June, northernballet.com. On the night of October 3, 1922, shipping clerk Percy Thompson was walking home from the theatre with his wife when he was fatally stabbed by a man who had been lying in wait in the shadows of the dimly-lit street. The attacker, 20-year-old Freddy Bywaters, was a former friend and lodger of Mr Thompson - and the younger lover of his wife, Edith. Bywaters, a steward on a P&O liner, was arrested shortly after the attack in the London suburb of Ilford, charged with murder and subsequently sentenced to death. Controversially, Edith, eight years her lover's senior, was also hanged after investigators uncovered evidence to suggest she had encouraged Bywaters to commit the murder. She was one of the last women sentenced to death in England. The high-profile case drew widespread public attention at the time, with crowds forming outside the Old Bailey to hear the latest on the trial of Edith, who was a source of fascination not only because of her alleged crime but also because she was a childless adulteress with a successful career in her own right. In the sensational new book Rex V. Edith Thompson, author Laura Thompson argues Edith was wrongly hanged for the crime and was a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Love triangle: Edith Thompson with her husband Percy, right, and her lover Freddy Bywaters, left. Edith and Bywaters were both hanged in January 1923 for Percy's murder. A sensational new book claims Edith was an innocent victim of a miscarriage of justice Unhappily married: Edith and Percy Thompson, who met in 1909 and married seven years later. The main evidence against Edith was a bundle of letters she had written to Freddy in which she described how she had tried to kill her husband by crumbling shards of glass in his food Speaking to FEMAIL, Laura Thompson said: 'I feel very strongly that the story of Edith Thompson should not be forgotten, and that it needs to be retold every so often for a new generation. 'We are all too familiar with the concept of the miscarriage of justice, but her story seems to me the worst of the lot: she was convicted of murder because society, at that particular moment in history, wanted her to be convicted.' Percy Thompson was 18 when he met 15-year-old Edith in 1909. Seven years later, the couple married at St Barnabas, Manor Park and eventually settled in a comfortable home in the fashionable London suburb of Ilford. Lying in wait: Bywaters, pictured, stabbed Percy as he walked home with Edith following a night at the theatre. The 20-year-old defended his older lover when he took to the stands Arguing her case: Author Laura Thompson claims Edith, pictured, a childless adulteress with a flourishing career, became a symbol for the type of woman the Establishment wanted to tame Bywaters was a friend of Edith's younger brother growing up and the pair became reacquainted in 1920. The trio went away on holiday to the Isle of Wight with Edith's sister Avis, who fell in love with Bywaters. Shortly after they returned home Mr Thompson invited Bywaters to live with them and he and Edith began their affair. Percy eventually uncovered his wife's infidelity but refused to divorce her. However he did order Bywaters out of the house. From September 1921 until September 1922 Bywaters was at sea, and during this time Edith Thompson wrote to him frequently. After his return, they met again. The murder occurred a month later. She was an adulteress, a childless wife who wanted to work rather than look after her husband, an uncomfortably sexy-looking woman who had had an affair with a man eight years her junior Laura Thompson, author of Rex V. Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders Explaining the attraction Laura Thompson said: '[Percy] was not a bad man, he had risen from abject poverty to a respectability that he prized, but Edith outgrew him and this brought out the worst in him. 'He became frustrated, enraged, petty, domineering he spied on her he became obsessed with the idea of keeping hold of her, making the pair of them miserable, when the best thing he could have done was cut loose and leave her to it. 'With a different woman he would probably have been happy. As with so many murders, a foolish unthinking marriage was the cause of it all. 'Freddy meanwhile had tremendous physical attraction there was really no contest between him and Percy in that respect and despite his youth was very much a man, a merchant sailor with a confidence that never left him, even under cross-examination at the Old Bailey.' Public interest: Crowds outside the Old Bailey during the 1922 trial of Bywaters and Thompson The primary piece of evidence against Edith was a bundle of love letters she had written to Bywaters. They seemed to contain evidence that in the months leading up to that fateful night, she had goaded him into murder, and had herself attempted to kill Percy by poisoning him, as well as grinding up light bulbs and sprinkling the remnants in his food. They even contained details about the importance of not leaving fingerprints and discussion over the amount of poison she had apparently tried to add to his food. Her defence counsel argued that these murderous suggestions were simply the fantasies of an over-imaginative woman. This is the view shared by Laura Thompson. The belief took a hold that the handsome young Freddy Bywaters had killed Percy Thompson at her instigation. People wanted to believe it Laura Thompson, author of Rex V. Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders 'Her letters, which were really the means whereby she expressed herself Freddy was simply the chosen recipient of all that fervid imagination - were what helped to hang her, because they were construed as incitement to murder,' she said. 'The atrocious irony is that if he had destroyed them she would probably have lived to be an old and forgotten woman; yet because he kept them she died aged 29 and we remember her still.' The court evidence and transcript were among the documents painstakingly poured over by Laura Thompson while researching. She said: 'There were two huge boxes of Home Office documents, which had to be read in a sealed room at the Public Records Office... Public spectacle: Crowds gather outside the court during the widely publicised trial 'It took weeks to go through everything, and it was at times tremendously upsetting to read the documents what came across above all was the stubbornness of officialdom, the absolute refusal to admit any possibility of error, the smooth completeness with which both Edith and any doubt about her fate were obliterated.' While many historians and commentators agree Edith Thompson was wrongly hanged, Laura Thompson goes further to suggest it was because she had become a symbol of something bigger than herself. She continued: 'It was late 1922 and Britain was in a state of extreme nerviness about the future, not unfamiliar to us today: it feared what it perceived to be a loosening of the old moral ties, the death of the known order, as well as the changing role of women and their desire to pull away from the home. 'Edith became a useful and highly decorative - symbol of all this. One commentator wrote that "it is hard not to wish her away from the sphere". 'She was an adulteress, a childless wife who wanted to work rather than look after her husband, an uncomfortably sexy-looking woman who had had an affair with a man eight years her junior; and because of all this rather than the evidence - the belief took a hold that the handsome young Freddy Bywaters had killed Percy Thompson at her instigation. People wanted to believe it... She added: 'I felt a profound desire to understand all this: to show what can happen when the public and the authorities turn upon an individual, when the climate of opinion turns a certain way, and when people will not rest until the story achieves the endgame that they have decided upon.' Who was Edith Thompson and why was she hanged? On the night of October 3, 1922 shipping clerk Percy Thompson was making his way back home in Ilford, Essex, after a night at the theatre with his wife in London's West End when he was attacked by Freddy Bywaters. Bywaters, 20, was a former lodger and the lover of his wife, 28-year-old Edith Thompson. Bywaters, a steward on a P&O liner, was arrested shortly after the attack in Ilford, charged with murder and subsequently sentenced to death. Complex relationship: Edith and Percy Thompson, centre, with Freddy Bywaters, right In the letters, Edith passionately declared her love for Bywaters, and her desire to be free of Percy. She described how she had ground a glass light bulb to shards into her husband's food. On another occasion she claimed to have fed him poison. In one letter Edith implored Freddy to 'do something desperate'. Her defence counsel argued that these murderous suggestions were simply the fantasies of an over-imaginative woman. On the stand Bywaters insisted Edith had not ordered the murders and could not have known it was going to take place because it had never been his intention to kill Mr Thompson that night. The trial, which drew widespread media attention, ended when the jury returned guilty verdicts and both Thompson and Bywaters were sentenced to death by hanging. Almost one million people signed a petition against the imposed death sentences. Mrs Thompson's mother wrote directly to the king, pleading with him to stop her daughter's execution. On January 9, 1923, a little over three months after the murder took place, Thompson, 29, and Bywaters, 20, were hanged simultaneously, at Holloway Prison and Pentonville Prison respectively. The last woman executed in Britain was Ruth Ellis, who was hanged at Holloway Prison on 13 July 1955. Advertisement Rex V. Edith Thompson: A Tale Of Two Murders by Laura Thompson, Head of Zeus, 25 The agonising moment a paramedic learned her own daughter was being rushed to hospital was caught on camera during routine filming for the BBC show Ambulance. Natalie Greaves, 34, was on duty in Birmingham when she received a call about her daughter Jessica, who has cerebral palsy, to let her know the teenager - who turned 16 that same day - had had a fall. Natalie's tearful phone call, which aired during Thursday night's show, prompted sympathetic viewers to tweet that their hearts were 'in their mouths' watching what the mother's visible panic. The paramedic rushed to be at Jessica's beside as she was seen to by specialists, before returning to work mere hours later when Jessica was comfortable. Fans of the show said the mother's 'palpable shock' was tough to watch, and many said they'd been moved to tears by Natalie's strength. Natalie Greaves, 34, a paramedic in BBC's Ambulance had to rush to hospital to be with her teenage daughter Natalie's daughter Jessica has cerebral palsy, and the paramedic juggles caring for her with her busy career Viewers took to Twitter to say they were in tears watching BBC's Ambulance when one paramedic had to deal with a horrifying 999 call Natalie and her ambulance partner, also called Nat, were on their rounds driving emergency patients in the Birmingham area when she received the call about Jessica's fall. She learned that Jessica wasn't responding and her body had gone floppy, and another ambulance was on the way to take her on the 30 minute journey to the hospital where her specialist is based. Nat drove Natalie to the hospital, fortunately just six miles from where they were parked, to sit and wait for her daughter. One viewer said: 'I'm sure I'm not the only one tearing up watching #Ambulance, absolutely heartbreaking to watch, can't begin to imagine what that lady must be going through.' Another tweeted their hope for Jessica's swift recovery: 'I hope Nat's daughter Jessica is ok I'm crying right now as well, my heart goes out to Nat. Please let her be alright.' 'Oh my heart is breaking for Nat #ambulance is a tough watch, couldn't imagine how Nat is feeling,' said a third. 'The shock is palpable. Brave lady for letting what was routine filming continue,' added another. The show didn't capture Jessica's time in hospital, but viewers watched as Natalie returned to work just hours later on her night shift after getting virtually no sleep. It was the worst moment of the paramedic's life when she received the call that her daughter was unresponsive Jessica, who was celebrating her 16th birthday that day, has cerebral palsy and had suffered a fall, leaving her unconscious Others were praying that Jessica would recover, sharing that they were 'sobbing' while watching the show Natalie was driven to Jessica's specialist hospital by her ambulance partner Nat and the pair had a nervous wait outside The mum-of-three admitted that she is prepared to lose her daughter every day after she was told she wouldn't live very long WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? Cerebral palsy is the umbrella term for a number of brain conditions that affect movement and coordination. Specifically, it is caused by a problem in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling muscles. The condition can occur if the brain develops abnormally or is damaged before, during or shortly after birth. It's estimated that 764,000 children and adults in the US have one or more symptoms of the disorder. The CDC says that about 10,000 babies born every year will develop cerebral palsy. There's no cure for cerebral palsy, but some treatments are available to ease symptoms, such as physiotherapy. Life expectancy is usually unaffected, however, the emotional and physical strain can put a great deal of stress on the body which can cause further problems in later life. Advertisement Natalie said of juggling motherhood with her life as a paramedic: 'If I had every day off that Jessica [was ill] I wouldn't have been at work for about three months. If she was in [hospital] I would be there. She's got the nurses with her.' Jessica was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as her brain was starved of oxygen at birth. Natalie had been told that it wasn't likely that she would live very long, so her sixteenth birthday was a special milestone for them. The mum-of-three said: 'After Jessica's birth she was given to me and I was told this would be the first and last time I would hold her alive. I wasn't supposed to have her a day, I [wasn't] supposed to have her two days. 'If somebody had said to me you're going to have her for 16 years I'd have just been over the moon with that.' Jessica had been diagnosed with an infection but was deemed well enough to go home and be looked after by nurses. More than 15 years later, hospital visits are commonplace for the family, and Natalie said she had done her best to prepare herself for the possibility of losing her daughter at a young age because of her start in life. 'I'm always in preparation of losing her, thinking ''Is it going to be today? Is it going to be tomorrow? Can I plan something in a month's time because Jessica might not be here in a month?'' Natalie was back to work just hours later as she said she didn't want to take time off when Jessica was being looked after Natalie was inspired to train as a paramedic after she was impressed by the care they gave her daughter She had been told that the first time she held Jessica would be the last time as doctors expected she wouldn't live long. Nat shared this image with viewers at the end of the show saying Jessica was doing well 'You grieve for that life she should have had and then you come to acceptance and accepting that this is how life is now. This is Jessica, this is our family this is our life.' Natalie revealed that she had actually trained to be a paramedic because of the help they gave her when her daughter had an emergency. She said: 'Initially what set me down the path was that I'd used 999 for Jessica. I just admired what they did, not only for Jessica, but for us as her mum and her dad and sisters. 'They supported us as a family and I thought ''I could do that, that's something I'd love to do.''' Ambulance airs Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Zhu Jiang, vice president of NIO's user development, confirmed that NIO will not only continue to cooperate with JAC, but also will deepen their cooperation in the future. Zhu Jiang also added that NIO had signed an agreement on the manufacturing of its second model with JAC. As to the issue of contract manufacturing, Zhu Jiang said that it is a common practice in auto industry. For instance, the Mercedes-Benz G-class, Jaguar's latest compact SUV models and all-new electric model products as well as part of BMW models are all manufactured by their contract partners. Zhu Jiang explained that it is the processes of manufacturing management and quality control that matter most to automakers' product quality. NIO sticks to high standards on the two processes and focuses on R&D and services. Besides, he showed great confidence in producing high-quality products via cooperating with JAC. Zhu Jiang also disclosed that NIO is accelerating construction of its factory in Jiading District, Shanghai, because JAC's production capacity is limited. What's more, NIO has established co-founded companies with Changan and GAC Group respectively. The automakers' management will determine their respective new companies' products and brands, including the whole project and chassis. In the future, NIO, Changan and GAC Goup will share their resources with the co-founded companies. Meghan has stuck predominantly to neutral shades for her royal engagements to date - with green being the only other colour she's worn. And now, experts have revealed that her favourite colour may be helping to give her a 'feeling of safety and reassurance'. Prince Harry's fiancee, 36, has been favouring a warm forest green shade in particular, which could be a sign she is feeling 'apprehensive' about her new role in the royal family. The former actress most recently wore a green printed dress by British brand Self Portrait when attending an Invictus Games reception on Saturday. Outside of her safe neutral shades, the only colour Meghan has worn is green. Prince Harry's fiancee wore a green dress by Self Portrait on Saturday Apart from green, Meghan has stuck to neutral colours for her royal engagements so far, such as black, navy, and white. Experts say her decision to wear green could be reflective of her nervousness about joining the royal family. Karen Haller, an applied colour psychology practitioner, told FEMAIL: 'The green that Megan is favouring is a warm dark forest green. 'If she is feeling a bit apprehensive or unsure - and lets face it who wouldnt feel like this joining the royal family and learning all protocol - this specific hue would go some way to providing her with a feeling of safety and reassurance, helping to create a sense of peace and balance.' Meghan, 36, wore a green midi dress by Toronto-based Greta Constantine in Belfast in March In Edinburgh in February, the royal bride-to-be opted for a green and navy checked coat by Burberry, along with a dark green Strathberry cross body bag Meghan has chosen green accessories on a couple of occasions, sporting a DeMellier Mini Venice handbag in forest green in Cardiff in January. In February, the Suits star opted for a dark green Strathberry cross body bag in Edinburgh, along with a navy and green checked coat by Burberry. Last month, Meghan wore a green midi skirt by Toronto-based Greta Constantine during a visit to Belfast. She also chose a khaki coat by Babaton for Aritzia for the Invictus Games team trials in Bath at the start of this month. Meghan opted for a forest green DeMellier Mini Venice handbag while in Cardiff in January The Suits star opted for a khaki coat for the Invictus Games team trials in Bath this month Her boldest look when it comes to colour came at the weekend, when Meghan opted for a printed midi dress by Self Portrait, a brand that has also been worn in the past by the Duchess of Cambridge. Meghan has stuck to a fairly understated wardrobe in the run-up to her big day on May 19, which experts suggest may be a deliberate strategy. Celebrity stylist and designer Lucas Armitage previously told FEMAIL that her style choices are leading to 'even more anticipation for the wedding' at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It not uncommon for brides-to-be to play things low key in the run up to the big day,' he explained. Victoria's Secret model Sharam Diniz has revealed why she made the decision to shave her hair off. The 27-year-old model who was born in Angola, Africa, but is now based in New York City, revealed to Refinery29 that she had been chemically relaxing her hair since she was five-years-old because her natural hair was too 'painful to manage'. She also recounted how when she was younger, she always wanted to have 'long, straight hair and I could never have it.' Scroll down for video Makeover: Victoria's Secret model Sharam Diniz, 27, has revealed why she made the decision to shave her hair off Old habits: The model who was born in Angola, Africa, but is now based in New York City, revealed that she had been chemically relaxing her hair since she was five-years-old New look: Despite straightening her hair because her modelling agency in Europe asked her to, Sharam now believes that beauty should be about embracing 'perfect imperfections' 'When I looked at covers of magazines when I young, I didn't ever see a Black girl rocking an Afro, so I became obsessed with the hair I saw on TV and in music videos and magazines,' she explained. 'I wondered why I didnt have that. But after 15 years of treating my hair with aggressive chemicals, it lost its life, so I took a break from relaxers and started wearing wigs. That felt amazing.' As her mother was a flight attendant, travelling internationally to places like Paris, she would bring wigs home from all across the globe for Sharam to play with. And the model shared that she loved experimenting with different looks that could instantly transform her into a different character. However, when she was 17, the half-Portuguese model moved to Portugal to pursue her career in Europe, and after she was signed to a major agency, she was told she would need to straighten her hair. 'I had an Afro, and although it was a weave, it was labeled as "too commercial" at the time. To land high-fashion, editorial jobs, I needed straight hair. I didnt really understand why, but because I already had so much experience with changing my hair often, I was okay with it,' she explained. When she moved to New York a couple of years later, Sharam stopped straightening her hair and started getting a weave sewn in instead. However, this time consuming process would take almost a whole day and she started thinking about shaving her head instead of going through with the arduous process every couple of weeks. 'Seeing so many beautiful and bold women, like Maria Borges and Lupita Nyong'o rocking their natural texture and forcing the industry to accept what natural beauty is made the decision easier.' She also explained that she wanted to tempt herself out of her comfort zone of 'feminine hair'. Transformation: Sharam also filmed the process for her YouTube channel and revealed it took her five months to pluck up the courage to go ahead with her transformation Joker: During the video she joked with her hair stylist that she was worried about the shape of her head without her long hair Empowered: However she also shared that she felt excited to see her natural hair for the first time in years and was looking forward to seeing it grow out Positive: Although she was worried about what her management would say about her new hair do, Sharam has been pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction 'Weve been brainwashed to think that being feminine means having long, straight hair. No, you can see the beauty of a person with short hair, too. It's a movement now,' she added. And although she wanted to do it, it took Sharam five months to pluck up the courage to actually follow through with her plan as she was nervous she would lose work over it. Sharam also filmed the process for her YouTube channel and joked that the one thing she did know was that she had good ears so they wouldn't be a problem. She also admitted that she was scared she would have a 'really, really bad head shape', however as her hair colorist applied bleach and then a pink dye to her newly shaved tresses, Sharam expressed her excitement at seeing her natural hair for the first time in years. She now believes her hot pink buzz cut has given her a 'new lease of life' and she's amazed by the positive reactions from other women. 'Women with short hair were coming up to me, complimenting mine,' she revealed. 'The reaction on social media and walking around the streets just confirms I made a great decision, and even my agents at One Management, who I was most worried about, love it. I feel like Im on a wave. If I had known before it wouldve been this good, I wouldve cut it much sooner.' And at the end of her video she concluded: 'Beauty isn't about hair. Beauty is about the way we see ourselves, being comfortable with our perfect imperfections and own it and embrace it... but that doesn't mean I won't go back to my long Sharam hairstyles. I will eventually if I miss it but for now, this is it, short and pink.' A model born without a forearm just got married wearing a gold prosthetic hand after she's been wearing the same black bionic limb for almost 20 years. Rebekah Marine was born with limb abnormality - symbrachydactyly and has been wearing a black prosthetic arm for the past 19 years but her wedding day called for a special occasion so she got a gold arm made. The 31-year-old from Woodbury, New Jersey married Jared Paster, a 32-year-old medical student on April 7 wearing the gold bionic arm so that it would draw people's attention and show them that she's happy the way she is. Scroll down for video Happily ever after: A model born without a forearm just got married wearing a gold prosthetic hand after she's been wearing the same black bionic limb for almost 20 years Wedding: Rebekah Marine was born with limb abnormality - symbrachydactyly and married Jared Paster, a 32-year-old medical student on April 7 wearing the gold bionic arm Amazing: She's been wearing a black prosthetic arm for the past 19 years but her wedding day called for a special occasion so she got a gold arm made Awareness: The 31-year-old from New Jersey said she wore the gold arm so that it would draw people's attention and show them that she's happy the way she is Rebekah has faced many hardships in her life as a model trying to make it in the industry but finally broke ground when she was asked to model in New York Fashion Week back in 2015 when she was just 22-years-old. Since 1999 she's always worn a black i-limb quantum prosthetic hand, which was made with advanced gesture control technology but she knew from the moment she got engaged that she wanted to wear a 'wedding arm' she told Yahoo Lifestyle. 'I knew when I got engaged that I wanted a wedding arm - I wanted to do something special,' she told the outlet. She continued on explaining that the gold hand was made to draw attention. 'The whole point of wearing it was to draw attention to it,' she explained. 'I wanted people to see it and notice it because I am proud of where I am right now.' 'Originally I had liked the idea of white but I realized you might lose it with the white of my wedding dress. A friend suggested gold. 'The challenge then was finding the right shade of gold because I didn't want to look like C-3PO,' she said referencing the gold character from Star Wars. Honeymoon: Rebekah loved the gold prosthetic so much she even wore it on her honeymoon in Mexico despite people staring at her she notes I see you! She said she was wearing sunglasses but could see everybody staring at her admitting she thought it was cool that people were in 'awe' Attention: 'The gold arm makes me more approachable' she said admitting that she 'wants people to ask questions' and wants to 'educate people about it' She expressed how she's always battled with the fear of not being able to marry someone because of her arm and how all of her dreams have finally come true. 'Growing up I feared marriage because I feared everyone looking at me, so it's awesome to see how far I've come.' Rebekah gushed about her new arm saying it's her 'new favorite accessory,' and she even wore it on her entire honeymoon in Mexico. Wearing her gold arm around the beach with the sun blaring on it was not an easy task to deal with as she explained, 'I would wear sunglasses and I could see everybody staring at me because they didn't know I was looking at them. It was cool to see people staring at it in awe. 'The gold arm makes me more approachable. It draws a lot more attention and the whole point of wearing it is to draw attention to it. I want people to ask questions and I want to educate people about it,' she explained. As for how she feels now that she's finally comfortable in her own skin Rebekah shared: 'We all can't be Kim Kardashian, realistically, so we have to learn to embrace our uniqueness. It is so important to talk about the differences we all have.' Spokesperson: After she started wearing a prosthesis 19 years ago, Rebekah developed a new confidence that inspired her to pursue modeling and become a spokesperson for her disability Beautiful either way: Rebekah wore a mechanical prosthesis in grade school, however, it was difficult to use and she eventually gave up on the idea until she got a new one in 1999 Rising star: Rebekah was rejected by numerous agencies as a child but returned to modeling after being fitted for her prosthesis, appearing in bridal shoots (left) and on the runway (right) After she started wearing a prosthesis 19 years ago, Rebekah developed a new confidence that inspired her to pursue modeling again after being rejected many times and become a spokesperson for her disability. 'It's been quite a journey for me,' she told People. 'It was hard at first to put myself out there for the whole world to see. But I've become quite comfortable with myself now, and I'm the happiest I've ever been.' As a child Rebekah dreamed of becoming a model and her mother would take her to various agencies in New York City. However, the constant stream of rejection left her feeling self-conscious about her arm and soon she no longer felt comfortable having her photo taken. 'It didn't go very well, of course, when casting directors noticed my disability,' she recalled. 'Hearing the words, 'You'll never have a future in the business,' really hit me hard.' Rebekah wore a mechanical prosthesis in grade school, however, it was difficult to use and she eventually gave up on the idea. Life-changing: Rebekah received one of the first new i-limb quantum prosthetic hands (pictured), which was made with advanced gesture control technology Raising awareness: Rebekah said it is important to include diverse models because 'nearly one in five people in America have a disability' Inspiring: Rebekah also served as an ambassador for Touch Bionics and the Lucky Fin Project, a non-profit organization that helps support those with upper limb differences At 22, she looked into getting a myoelectric-controlled prosthesis, an artificial limb that the users controls with electrical signals generated by their own muscles. After she got fitted for it, her friend asked if she was going to model her new 'accessory', and Rebekah was inspired to embrace her unique look and return to modeling. A few months later Rebekah booked a small bridal photo shoot and since then she has appeared in a Nordstrom campaign and walked the runway wearing designer Antonio Urzi at New York Fashion Week in February 2015. 'I thought my portfolio was strong, and I had a good message behind it, but they quickly passed on me,' Rebekah explained. 'My image isn't for everyone; I've accepted that.' In addition to modeling, Rebekah also served as an ambassador for Touch Bionics, a provider of prosthetic technologies and for the Lucky Fin Project, a non-profit organization that helps support those with upper limb differences. A mother-of-two has launched a way to solve your preening problems with an app that's like Tinder, but for beauty. Louise Walker, 33, from Perth, found that while being a busy mum it was hard to find time to search and book services, such as hairdressers, while running the kids around - let alone finding the time to go. This gave Louise the idea to create an app to make the process of finding and booking them fast and easy, which is how Pretty Pronto was born. 'The biggest issue has been budget. It takes a lot of money to build and deliver an app. So far I have spent around $100,000,' she told FEMAIL. Louise Walker, 33, from Perth, found that while being a busy mum it was hard to find time to search and book services, such as hairdressers so created the app Pretty Pronto Even though it was only launched recently, the app has already received thousands of downloads, with more expected in the coming weeks. One of the road blocks that Louise came across in the beginning was that even though she had this dream in mind, she had never created an app before and didn't know where to start. 'I spoke to a girlfriend who is an experienced entrepreneur and we came up with some ideas,' she explained. 'I didn't have any tech experience, so I literally googled tech and app developers. I also asked people if they knew of any good app developers.' 'The biggest issue has been budget. It takes a lot of money to build and deliver an app. So far I have spent around $100,000,' she told FEMAIL Even though it was only launched recently, the app has already received thousands of downloads, with more expected in the coming weeks 'I met with quite a few but I found many were too showy, too expensive and not a good fit for me,' Louise added. 'I also heard about lots of horror stories of people using app developers, spending lots of money and things going wrong.' She explained that she met some people in Perth who own Tek Labs, an app developing company. Although Louise had this dream in mind, she had never created an app before and didn't know where to start 'I also heard about lots of horror stories of people using app developers, spending lots of money and things going wrong,' Louise said 'I needed to work with people who were down to earth and prepared to help me on my journey,' she said. 'I found them to be very authentic and transparent with me. I clicked with them and I engaged them to design and build my app. 'They have been brilliant. They have taken my ideas and thoughts and translated them into technical outcomes - which is great.' Louise wanted to create an app that anyone could use, no matter their age bracket and she wanted it to be simple and accessible as well. The app includes services such as tanning, hairdressers, beauty, nails and day spas 'I realised there had to be a better way to find and book beauty services, like a hairdresser. Everyone goes to the hairdresser so I thought 'why can't I just search and book on my phone. Why isn't there an app for this?' So I created one,' Louise said. 'This is a huge gap in the market. We should be able to search and book from our phone on an app like Uber or Tinder.' The app doesn't stop at hairdressers though, as it includes services such as tanning, beauty, nails and day spas as well. It took only 18 months from the time Louise developed the idea to launching the app. 'I realised there had to be a better way to find and book beauty services, like a hairdresser,' she said. It took only 18 months from the time Louise developed the idea to launching the app 'We have only just launched and over 1,000 businesses have listed and more are listing every day,' Louise said. 'I would like Pretty Pronto to be become the go to app for beauty all over the world.' At the moment Pretty Pronto is only available on iPhone but they will soon be rolling out a version for Android. The busy mother said that she wouldn't have been successful as she has been so gar if she didn't have the support of her husband. 'Deciding to develop an app is a big commitment and he has supported me 100 per cent in every way - he understood my vision and goals,' she said. 'Support is important when you develop and launch an app as there is much to deal with and it is important to have good support around you.' Getting young children to help out around the house can be a daily struggle - particularly when there is little to no incentive. So Gold Coast mother Sarah Girvan decided to try and make household tasks a breeze for her 10-year-old daughter Mackenzie, and all she needed where some zip-lock bags and a cork board. The 44-year-old has concocted an ingenious 'chore board' that sees her place almost $10 worth of coins in bags labelled with jobs like 'clean the lounge area' and 'feed the animals'. So Gold Coast mother Sarah Girvan decided to try and make household tasks a breeze for her ten-year-old daughter Mackenzie (pictured) It's Mackenzie's choice how often, when and which tasks she chooses to do each week, but ultimately she'll end up doing a group of 'free' chores as well - just like Mrs Girvan's other three children. 'We choose tasks that are age appropriate. Sometimes it's as simple as feeding the dog - which she might get 50 cents for - or if she vacuums the lounge it will be $1,' she told FEMAIL. 'My husband and I were just tired of going to the supermarket or shops and for her to be asking for things all the time. This way she can learn the value of money and also buy small things that she's been eyeing.' The pocket money incentive will only work for kids who don't already have a regular part-time or full-time job, but the amount of money and type of jobs are so flexible it could work in any Aussie household. The 44-year-old has concocted an ingenious 'chore board' that sees her place almost $10 worth of coins in bags labelled with jobs like 'clean the lounge area' and 'feed the animals' (Sarah and Mackenzie pictured) 'Right now she's really interested in making slime - which involves borax, shaving foam and glue. Those ingredients aren't necessarily cheap so this is a good way for her to fund it,' Mrs Girvan said. But not everyone is so convinced about the 'chore board', suggesting the invention pays Mackenzie too much and she should be doing a lot of those tasks regardless of money. 'It works for us and that's all that matters to me,' Mrs Girvan explained in reply. A mother has found an ingenious solution to motivate her children to do chores - she used a photo frame and stickers to create her board and she pegs each task with pocket money Trish Lott, a mother-of-three from Victoria, also uses a chore board to encourage her children to help out around the house. Using a photo frame, she created a chart where she listed all the work that needed to be done daily - and she added the pocket money to each task she thought each was worth. 'The reason behind it is because in the past, my kids have pretty much always got what they wanted,' she told FEMAIL previously. She came up with the cunning plan after she tried everything imaginable to get her children to do their chores around the house 'I would go to the shops and they would always walk out with something, I'm a sucker like that. Totally all my doing, but I wanted my kids to realise that it's not always like that. 'They haven't been able to understand 'not today mate, Mum can't afford it' so now they are learning all about saving and counting money. 'It's a great skill especially for my two boys in school.' Supermodel, activist and actress Amber Valletta is the new face of Australian personalised accessories brand The Daily Edited. The 44-year-old, who graced more than a dozen Vogue covers and has starred in Revenge and What Lies Beneath, posed in the #AmberInResidence campaign which was shot in a luxury private residence in New York. The lifestyle collection features a range of dog collars, photo frames, jewellery boxes and new bags and clutches. Supermodel, activist and actress Amber Valletta (pictured) is the new face of Australian personalised accessories brand The Daily Edited 'I've loved working with TDE there's something so bespoke about the brand. It's authentic, it's relatable and you know that there is a lot of thought and energy behind it,' Valletta said. 'I think it's incredible to support women I love female entrepreneurs and businesses that are driven by them.' This is the brand's first foray into interiors after it was established in 2014. Former corporate lawyer Alyce Tran started The Daily Edited with just $7,000, alongside friend Tanya Liu. Last year, they sold a 30 per cent stake in the company to Oroton for a $4.5 million - a tidy profit for the pair in four years. This is the brand's first foray into interiors after it was established in 2014 Valletta (pictured) joins past international faces such as Hailey Baldwin and the Stallone sisters, as the face of company Valletta joins past international faces such as Hailey Baldwin and the Stallone sisters, as the face of company. 'I knew with the introduction of chic new lifestyle and home products that our next face had to embody style and substance,' said Tran. 'Amber offers a mature attitude and unique perspective that I wanted to share with our customer.' Every night, they exchange a loving kiss, share a warm embrace, wish one another a peaceful night's rest - and then disappear into their own bedrooms. It's the same routine Jennifer Adams, 52, and her husband Fraser Mackay, 50, have followed through for nearly 14 years. And the couple, who live in Queensland's Brisbane, insist they are happily married. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Ms Adams wanted to bust the myths about separate sleepers, challenge the stigma surrounding the practice - and how the arrangement has made their marriage stronger than ever. Happily married couple Jennifer Adams and Fraser Mackay have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for 14 years - and they insist the arrangement has strengthened their relationship The decision to have separate rooms came after the sleep deprived pair struggled to enjoy a good night's rest in the same bed. 'We were going out for five months, we fell madly in love with each other and very quickly, he moved into my house,' Ms Adams told Daily Mail Australia. 'We had our bedroom all set up... But we lasted one week in bed together.' Ms Adams explained how she was struggling to nod off at night because her then-boyfriend's snoring was interrupting her sleep. 'The snoring became a predominant issue,' she explained. 'By the end of the week, I couldn't sleep and he was feeling very bad about it.' She explained how their schedules also affected their sleeping patterns. 'We have opposite body clocks,' Ms Adams said. 'Fraser was working as a tiler at the time, so he would go to bed early and wake up early. He needed to get a good night's rest so he could do physical work all day. 'I'm a night owl. I always read a book before bedtime so I couldn't do that while he was trying to sleep early. 'And so we started sleeping in separate rooms but would spend our weekends sharing a bed together - but we still found ourselves feeling tired.' The happily married couple, from Brisbane, insist their relationship is stronger than ever after they found a 'practical solution' to end their sleepless nights by having their own bedroom The couple found a 'practical solution' to end their sleepless nights for good by having their own bedroom. 'Our bedrooms were next door to each other, but we were very sad about being apart,' Ms Adams recalled. 'At first, it was a shock for both of us, we were both nervous about doing it but we talked through it. I had a few tears but from a practical perspective, I just needed my sleep and so we both made it work. 'For us, it was a no brainer. Our number one priority is health - you've got to be healthy - and this was our key focus.' After spending months apart under the same roof, the couple noticed how the separate sleeping arrangements brought them closer. 'For us, it was a no brainer,' she said. 'We were getting enough restorative sleep, we were feeling better and healthier - and we weren't resenting each other. 'We're just like everyone else, except we have our own beds at night. There was a level of sadness but we kept that physical intimacy with each other.' The couple found a 'practical solution' to end their sleepless nights for good by having their own bedroom And sleeping in different bedrooms has proven to strengthen their relationship. 'We have been together for 14 years, married for 11 years and we have been sleeping separately for 13 and a half years,' she said. 'We are very happily married.' The only time the couple do share a bed together is when they go on holiday. 'When we're on holiday, we certainly spend time together in the same room. It's lovely when you can sleep together and wake up next to each other,' she said. 'I still have to use ear plugs - there's not one set of ear plugs in the world I haven't tried - I've tried everything,' she added, laughing. Like most couples, Ms Adams said they have never had any issues with intimacy. We have been together for 14 years, married for 11 years and we have been sleeping separately for 13 and a half years... We are very happily married 'We are very intimate. If you lose intimacy, that's when you start to have problems in the relationship - but this has never been the case for us,' she said. 'When Fraser wakes up, the first thing he does every morning is he gives me a kiss. Normally I'll still be asleep,' she said. 'We make sure we say goodnight every night - we can't go to bed until we do this, or I would go to his room for a kiss and cuddle. We enjoy each other's company. 'We always snuggle in bed together and then we go to our rooms to sleep. We FaceTime each other or talk on the intercom. 'We have no boundaries. It's important to have that approach. It's about wanting to do this not having separate rooms because there's issues in the relationship. 'It was never our motivation to go to our own rooms because of an issue. But if one of us wasn't giving enough attention to the other, we would call them out on it.' Like most couples, Ms Adams said they've never had any issues with intimacy in their marriage Ms Adams said their sleeping habits came as a surprise to their family and friends when they told them about the arrangement. 'Our parents thought there was trouble in paradise,' she said, laughing. 'When we told our family and friends, there were certainly a few raised eyebrows. But I think that's just a social judgement and statement around the practice of sleeping together. 'Sleeping together is a real western culture - we've been made to think successful relationships is when you share the same bed with your partner - but it's really the opposite. 'I'm really fortunate my husband is a great communicator.' Ms Adams said she wanted to break the stigma surrounding the separate sleeping arrangements between couples. 'Show me the stats of the divorced couples who shared a bed every night,' she said. 'Sleeping in separate rooms does not mean the end of a relationship, it's just a way of doing maintaining our relationship. 'Talking about it openly becomes more socially acceptable. You would be surprised at how many happy married couples out there already doing this.' Ms Adams said she wanted to break the stigma surrounding the separate sleeping arrangements between couples Ms Adams - who's the author of Sleeping Apart Not Falling Apart - said couples should not resist sleeping apart if it means a better night's rest. Ms Adams busted all the myths about separate sleepers in her book: Sleeping Apart Not Falling Apart 'It's practical. If you're being disturbed by your partner's snoring, and you're not getting enough sleep, then you need to do something to restore yourself,' she said. 'The key message is this should be done for health. Sleeping is such a luxury and if you're not getting enough, ask yourself: If your partner is disturbing your sleep? If so, then you should consider sleeping in separate rooms. 'Be explicit with each other and have those rituals so you know everything's okay. Be honest about why you're doing this - that's your key to send it into success. 'If you're doing it because there's issues in your relationship, then you need to address those problems first. 'It's not a black-and-white issue. Consider sleeping separately sometimes. You might need sleep on some days because of work commitments or you just need a good night's sleep. 'We are both well rested now, it was such a key drive for us. We are both people who needed sleep, and the separate rooms took away that tension of both being tired. 'Talk to your partner. Be confident in your decision and just be proud about it. If you're doing it for the right reasons, then you don't have anything to worry about. 'Just remember, it's not you, it's about sleep.' Advertisement A contestant from America's Next Top Model, shows her wild side in her latest photo shoot - wearing nothing but a deadly python. Jeana Turner, 24, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, melted viewers hearts when she broke down in tears during a makeover scene where she had to remove her wig. The model, who came in fourth place on the show, suffers from alopecia which has left her completely bald. And she shed more than her clothes for her sexiest photo shoot yet when she appeared wrapped in the coils of a 12ft-long yellow snake. Model with alopecia Jeana Turner has proudly showcased her bald head in a striking photo shoot where she poses nude with a deadly python She said: 'Posing with the snake was liberating. It's a wild animal and I wanted to show my wild side. 'I've always loved snakes. That combination of silent strength and deadly precision really appeals to me. They are beautiful creatures.' Since sharing the saucy snaps on Instagram with her 250,000 strong following, Jeana has been flooded with comments praising her wild look. John Williams posted: 'Wow, simply wow. Jeana you look amazing. Your eyes could burn through steel baby. Loving the python.' Jeana (pictured in a wig) appeared in the most recent series of America's Next Top Model where she won viewer's hearts as she bravely embraced her baldness She has since amassed over 250,000 followers on Instagram where she shares snaps of herself with and without her wig Since sharing the saucy snake snaps Jeana has been flooded with comments praising her wild look Another admirer said: 'Ssssoooo sssexy!' Jeana won the hearts of the viewers of ANTM during the makeover challenge when the show's judges encouraged her to remove her wig. 'Plenty of people have told me I'm not beautiful. Doing this is really scary, but I want to show people it's okay to be bald and bald is beautiful. Losing your hair is beautiful,' she said in her testimonial. The autoimmune disease, which causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and other parts of the body, affects as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. Jeana says posing with the snake was 'liberating' and says she has always admired the creatures The model has described losing her hair as 'a symbol of strength' and says she has 'internalised a lot of really rough things' Although she was understandably apprehensive about removing her wig at first, she was later happy that she went through with it. 'Removing the wig is really liberating. It's freeing,' she explained. 'I feel like the whole world can see me now, like I can see myself now.' The aspiring model noted that she is a 'very strong person' who has 'internalised a lot of really rough things', including her hair loss. 'Losing my hair was a symbol of strength,' she said. 'I didn't know that until now.' Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden were given a lavish welcome as they touched down in Latvia on Friday. The royal couple were greeted by President Raimonds Vejonis and First Lady Iveta Vejone as they arrived in Riga to kick off their visit. Crown Princess Victoria, 40, daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and heir to the Swedish throne, looked perfectly polished in a camel wrap coat and midi floral dress for the occasion. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden were greeted by President Raimonds Vejonis and First Lady Iveta Vejone as they arrived in Riga to kick off their visit Princess Victoria, heir to the Swedish throne, joined President Vejonis to inspect troops She wore her brown hair swept back into her signature sleek bun and kept her make-up to a minimum. Once inside Princess Victoria removed her coat to reveal a blush pink long-sleeved dress with intricate floral detailing. The mother-of-two joined President Vejonis to inspect a military guard before posing for a group photograph. Victoria wore her brunette locks swept back into her signature sleek bun for the occasion Victoria, 40, wrapped up against the chilly weather in a mid-length camel coat The Swedish royals attended a painting presentation shortly after their arrival in Riga Once inside Victoria removed her coat to reveal a flirty blush pink embroidered dress Victoria and Daniel, 44, will join the president and his wife for lunch at Riga Castle before carrying out a series of engagements this afternoon. First the royals will visit the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and talk about the future work of the United Nations global sustainability goals with participants from the leadership program 'Future Leaders Academy'. Crown Princess Victoria is a special advocate for the SDG's of the United Nations. The group attended a book presentation at Latvia's National Library in Riga on Friday Crown Princess Victoria beamed as she was presented with a book at the event The Swedish royals listened intently as a talk was given at the library in the Latvian capital Later the couple will visit the National Library of Latvia and attend the opening of the exhibition 'Portable landscapes' at the Latvian National Museum of Art. The visit will be followed later this year by tours of Estonia and Lithuania later this year. They are designed to underline the importance of Sweden's close relations with its neighbouring countries. The royals signed a book that is to be added to the collection at the library She is regarded as one of the friendliest royals around, and Queen Maxima was in typically high spirits this morning as she stepped out to celebrate her husband's birthday. The Dutch queen consort, 46, was flanked by her young family as she attended the traditional Koningsdag (King's Day) celebrations in Groningen on Friday. She was joined by her husband along with their daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, 14, Alexia, 12, and Ariane, 11 for the epic birthday spectacular. And Maxima pulled out all the stops for his special day day, donning a vibrant red coat and matching beret over what appeared to be a daring sheer dress. Family affair! The Dutch queen consort, 46, was flanked by her young family as she attended the traditional King's Day celebrations in Groningen on Friday Maxima was in typically high spirits, chatting and posing for selfies with crowds, many of whom had their faces painted in the Netherlands' national colours, and attending a service Maxima was in typically high spirits, chatting and posing for selfies with crowds, many of whom had their faces painted in the Netherlands' national colours, and attending a service She teamed her eye-catching ensemble with a pair of perspex heels featuring a perilous 4in heel and a bright red toe - which rather clashed with the orange carpet that was rolled out in the family's honour. Koningsdag is held annually in honour of the monarch's birthday, this year sees King Willem-Alexander turning 51. The family certainly celebrated in style as they toured the northern Dutch city on foot, where they were strewn with confetti by delighted crowds before being treated to an acrobatic performance and a poetry recital. Maxima was in typically high spirits, chatting and posing for selfies with crowds, many of whom had their faces painted in the Netherlands' national colours, and attending a service. Yesterday, the Dutch royals released a glossy family portrait to mark King Willem-Alexanders fifth year on the throne. Regal glamour: Maxima pulled out all the stops for his big day, donning a vibrant red coat and matching beret over what appeared to be a sheer dress The family were in excellent spirits as they chatted to locals and watched young girls taking part in a football kickabout The Queen teamed her eye-catching ensemble with a pair of perspex heels featuring a perilous 4in heel and a bright red toe which somewhat clashed with the orange carpet that was rolled out in the family's honour The Dutch queen consort wore an eye-popping red ensemble, teaming her coat with a stylish beret and what appeared to be a sheer dress underneath Maxima was joined by her husband along with their daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, 14, Alexia, 12, and Ariane, 11 for the epic birthday celebrations Family affair: Yesterday, the Dutch royals released a glossy family portrait to mark King Willem-Alexanders fifth year on the throne The family celebrated in style as they walked around the northern Dutch city, where they were strewn with confetti before being treated to an acrobatic performance (pictured) The family were enjoying what appeared to be a poetry reading as they strolled around Groningen meeting locals and chatting to the crowds After her performance, the adorable youngster got a cuddle from the Queen - while her daughters looked suitably impressed The glamorous image was shot in the royal palace of Amsterdam and sees the family pictured together for the first time since their ski trip to Austria in February. They were taken last month by photographer Erwin Olaf, who previously captured the queen and her daughters in October to celebrate King Willem's last birthday. An international financier by training, Maxima was born in Argentina and married into the Dutch royal family in 2002, three years after meeting her husband-to-be in Seville, Spain. Always smiling: Maxima was in typically high spirits, chatting and posing for selfies with crowds, and even having a go on a remote control car at one point Maxima looked impressed as she viewed an exhibition of robots made by local children the family celebrated in style as they walked around the northern Dutch city, where they were strewn with confetti before being treated to an acrobatic performance and a poetry recital. Despite reportedly having no inkling that Willem-Alexander was heir to the throne when the pair first met, she eventually became Queen consort when her husband ascended to the throne. Willem-Alexander became king after his mother, Beatrix, abdicated in April 2013 after 33 years as reigning monarch. The couple are parents to Princess Amalia, Alexia and Ariane - affectionately dubbed 'the A team' by their doting father. The differences between North and South Korea could not be more stark but when it comes to style there does seem to be some common ground. The wives of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have met for the first time. Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim Jong-un, crossed the border in the Demilitarized Zone into South Korean territory on Friday to attend the summit dinner hosted by President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook. The wives of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have met for the first time. Pictured: Ri Sol-ju with Kim (left) and Kim Jung-sook with Moon (right) And while the women represent contrasting political minds their taste in style is amicable. Both women gave a nod to conservative 'Jackie O' image that has become ever popular among the first ladies of the world over. Ri Sol-ju, 28, cut a demure figure in a two-piece skirt suit in a peach shade reminiscent of those worn by Kennedy's wife during the sixties. She swept her raven locks into a half up-do fastened with a black bow, conveying a youthful air. While their political minds may be worlds apart both Ri Sol-ju of North Korea and Kim Jung-sook of South opted for a similar conservative style Ri Sol-ju opted for a two piece suit with a single button detail with a skirt falling below the knee - similar to those favoured by Jackie O seen in 1962 (right) Kim Jung-sook chose a pale blue coat complete with a Mandarin collar - a popular style with the former FLOTUS seen right in 1967 Ri chose to wear her legs bare with her skirt falling below the knee and slipped into a pair of kitten-heels so as not to tower over her husband. Style critic Natalie Robinson says that the women's choice in outfits are reflective of the 'respect' they have for their husbands. Speaking to the MailOnline she said: 'Ri Sol-Ju and Moon Jae-in look demure and respectable in a similar pared-down ensemble reminiscent of the sophisticated glamour of Jackie-O. 'Their outfits portray a distinguished sense of style which equally reflects the high regard they have for their husbands by dressing appropriately for the occasion. 'Ri Sol-Ju opted for a suit with a shorter hem-length which appears slightly more youthful in comparison to Mon Jae's dress with a matching coat that fall below the knee. 'Nonetheless, both ladies have adopted a 'less is more' approach to their style by allowing their subtle elegance to enhance their social status.' The First Lady of North Korea of course abides by the strict dress code implemented by her husband in 2004. Women of the nation must not wear trousers at any point and to avoid anything branded by a Western company. While South Korea has no such laws President Moon Jae-in's wife Kim Jung-sook followed a similar pattern when it came to her outfit choice. The 62-year-old cut a conservative figure in a pale blue coat complete with a Mandarin collar and a pencil dress in a matching shade. The coat again harps back to former FLOTUS Jackie Kennedy who was known to favour a dress and coat combination with Mandarin collar shapes particularly prominent in her wardrobe. While Ri had to abide by North Korean dress laws of no trousers or Western brands, Kim is free to dress as she chooses fit Friday marks the first-ever meeting between first ladies of the two Koreas She too opted for a court shoe, this time in a nude colour and added a little personality in the form of a deep purple brooch. At Ri Sol-ju's arrival in South Korea, she had a brief conversation with South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook, marking the first-ever meeting between first ladies of the two Koreas. Upon her arrival at the truce village of Panmunjom at 6:15 pm, she headed directly for the Peace House building on the southern side of the village, where the welcome dinner is set to take place. Moon and Kim had a historic summit on the second floor of the building earlier in the day. 'I'm happy to hear from my husband that the summit was a success. 'I hope things between the two leaders do go well,' South Korea TV quoted Ri as saying during the meeting. The two ladies seemed to really hit it off, with Kim Jung-sook seen laughing happily after greeting her North Korean counterpart. They could be seen clasping hand as photographers swarmed them, rushing to capture the historic moment. Later, the first lady's met up with their respective husbands before introducing themselves to the other leader. For today's outing, Kate Middleton opted to wear a purple jacket and matching trousers, which she paired with a navy turtleneck and matching heels. Meanwhile Prince William opted for a smart navy suit for the occasion. The couple, both 39, have arrived in Derry-Londonderry where they will spend the day meeting young people and hearing how organisations are engaging across communities to promote positive relations. It is their first time in this area of Northern Ireland. While Kate (pictured) and William last visited Northern Ireland in March 2019, the Duchess also visited the country in February 2020, weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown, to promote her Early Years survey. Their visit today comes amid a busy week for the couple, who attended the glittering, star-studded premiere for the new James Bond film No Time To Die at the Royal Albert Hall last night in London, alongside The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge then arrived at City of Derry Rugby club to meet players, coaches and volunteers involved in the Sport Uniting Communities initiative. Jenna Bush Hager says her grandfather George H.W. Bush is 'sad, but doing well', as the former president keeps recovering from an infection in hospital. The Today correspondent, 36, returned to the show on Friday for the first time since her grandmother Barbara Bush's passing last week. She gave her colleagues an update regarding her family, especially her grandfather, who was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Sunday and has been treated for an infection that spread to his blood. Update: Jenna Bush Hager said on Friday that her grandfather George H.W. Bush is 'sad, but doing well', as the former president keeps recovering from an infection in hospital The former president (pictured at his wife's funeral on Saturday) was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Sunday and has been treated for an infection that spread to his blood A family spokesman announced on Friday that the former president will remain hospitalized through the weekend. George, 93, was at one point treated in the intensive care unit but he was moved to a regular patient room earlier this week. 'He's sad, but he's doing well,' Jenna told her Today colleagues on Friday. 'Last time we talked to him he was eating barbecue.' The former president, she said, is looking forward to traveling to Maine, where he has his summer home in Kennebunkport. 'He's doing great,'' Jenna told her coworkers. 'He's goal-oriented, and he wants to get to Maine. We think he's going to be going there.' Barbara's granddaughter, who gave an emotional reading during the former first lady's funeral on Saturday, also explained how grateful she and her family have been for the public support they have received since Barbara's death. Back on the job: Jenna returned to the show on Friday for the first time since her grandmother Barbara Bush's passing last week Plans: The former president, she said, is looking forward to traveling to Maine, where he has his summer home. He is pictured at Barbara's funeral with (from left to right) Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and First Lady Melania Trump 'You know, what's so amazing is to hear how beloved she was,' Jenna added before recounting Barbara's funeral procession in Texas. 'We loved her, but we drove from Houston to College Station to bury her next to her daughter, and the streets, the highways were packed with people. 'People holding up their pearls. It was so touching to our family to feel that love.' The Bush family's spokesman Jim MGrath said on Friday that Jenna's grandfather 'is in excellent spirits' and is looking forward to resuming his schedule and traveling next month to his family's home in Maine, where the Bushes usually spend their summers. The former president has a form of Parkinson's disease along with a history of pneumonia and other infections. He was hospitalized a day after attending the funeral and burial of Barbara, who died on April 17 at their Houston home aged 92. Shortly after her grandmother's death, Jenna paid her a moving tribute by sharing a touching letter she wrote to her. Barbara died after declining further medical treatment, following her admission to the hospital for congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Jenna recorded herself reading the letter addressed her 'dearest Ganny' and her recording aired on the Today show last week, prompting emotional reactions from her colleagues. Missive: Shortly after her grandmother's death, Jenna paid her a moving tribute by sharing a touching letter she wrote to her Message: Jenna (pictured as a girl with her grandparents) recorded herself reading the letter addressed her 'dearest Ganny' Sweet: 'People stopped me everywherein airports, on the streetand declared their love for you,' Jenna wrote to Barbara. They are pictured with Jenna's daughters Poppy and Mila 'When we lost you, we lost one of the greats,' Jenna wrote. 'You were our family's rock, the glue that held us together. I hope you know in your final days how many people prayed for you. How many people told me they loved you. It was like that my whole life. 'People stopped me everywherein airports, on the streetand declared their love for you. It always felt good. We didn't mind sharing you with the world. 'We called you 'the enforcer'. It was because you were a force and you wrote the rules. Your rules were simple: treat everyone equally. Don't look down on anyone. Use your voices for good. Read all the great books. Oh, how I'll miss sharing books with you.' Jenna shared a treasured childhood memory dating back to when she and her sister Barbara tried to order peanut butter sandwiches in the White House, back when their grandfather was the president, only to get reprimanded by their grandmother. 'I will never forget when Barbara and I as seven-year-olds snuck into the bowling alley of the White House and ordered presidential peanut butter sandwiches,' she wrote. Trouble: Jenna recounted how she and her sister Barbara (pictured as girls with their grandparents) once tried to order peanut butter sandwiches in the White House Values: She praised her grandmother for teaching her and Barbara 'humility and grace'. Jenna and her sister are pictured with Barbara and their other grandmother Jenna Welch Moving: The letter left her Today colleagues visibly emotional when the recording stopped 'We couldn't wait for someone to deliver what was sure to be the fanciest sandwich of our lives. Then, you opened the door, scolding us, telling us under no circumstances could we order food in the White House again. This was not a hotel. 'You taught us humility and grace.' Barabar's granddaughter paid tribute to her grandparents' seven-decade-long romance, telling Barbara in her letter that she is an inspiration to her and her own husband, Henry Chase Hager, 39. 'You and Gampy embodied unconditional love,' she wrote. 'At our wedding, Henry and I asked you to read because we so hoped we could emulate your love story. Your love letters will be passed down to my girls so they know what true devotion looks like.' Jenna remembered the times the family spent vacationing in Maine, writing: 'You always said humor helps. Our nights spent around the dinner table in Maine laughing at old family stories were made all the better because of your laugh. 'And humor was necessary, because of summers you spent surrounded by 17 raucous grand-kids in Kennebunkport. Grandkids who filled the hot tub with soap, creating a giant bubble bath. Rowdy kids who loved doing cannonballs over your head while you peacefully swam laps.' 'Ganny': Jenna said her grandmother was called 'the enforcer' because she 'wrote the rules'. Barbara is pictured with Jenna during George W Bush's 2001 inauguration Bookworm: She also said she would miss sharing books with her grandmother. Barbara is pictured reading to her grandchildren in 1988 Looking back: Jenna reminisced about important times in her family's life. She and her sister Barbara are pictured with their parents and grandmother at a Reagan / Bush rally in 1984 Checking in: Her Today show colleagues then spoke to Jenna on the phone to get the an update on how the family is coping She told her grandmother how she taught Jenna 'the gifts of uniqueness and authenticity', 'from wearing mismatched Keds to your signature pearls and snow-white hair'. 'You taught us that humor, wit and grace were the best accessories and that worrying too much about your looks, in your own words, is boring. Words matter. Kindness matters. Looks fade,' Jenna added. She revealed what Barbara told her in one of her last emails, which the former first lady sent to her granddaughter on February 23. 'One of your final emails to me was simple and true,' Jenna wrote. 'The subject line read: 'You.' In the body of the email you wrote: 'I am watching you. I love you. Ganny.' 'Well, Ganny, we have spent our lives watching you. Your words inspired us. Your actionsan example to follow. We watched as you held babies living with HIV to dispel the stigma, as you championed literacy across our country, as you held Gampy's hand. 'You always said that you were one of the luckiest women to ever live, but Gans, I am filled with gratitude because you were ours. We are the lucky ones. You did things on your own terms, up until the very end, and now you're reunited with your little girl Robin.' Jenna remembered Barbara's daughter, who died of leukemia aged three in 1953. 'She died so young,' Jenna wrote. 'You called her your sweet angel in heaven, and though I never met her, her words are still today and forever will be a treasured part of our family. And so, Ganny, we love you more than tongue can tell. 'Love, Jenna.' Vacation: Jenna reminisced about the times her family spent in Kennebunkport, Maine. Pictured in 1986 from left to right are, in the back row: Margaret holding daughter Marshall, Marvin Bush, Bill LeBlond; in the front row: Neil Bush holding son Pierce, Sharon, George W. Bush holding daughter Barbara, Laura Bush holding daughter Jenna, Barbara Bush, George Bush, Sam LeBlond, Doro Bush Koch, George P. (Jeb's son), Jeb Bush holding son Jebby, Columba Bush, and Noelle Bush Playing: Jenna (pictured third from left) admitted to her grandmother (second from right) that the grandchildren often got 'rowdy' in Kennebunkport Tribute: She shared this photo of herself and Barbara in 2015 to wish her 'feisty, funny, smart Ganny' a happy birthday Memories: Jenna, her sister Barbara, and their grandparents are pictured in 2005 during George W Bush's second inauguration Family time: Barbara and Jenna are pictured on their grandparents' bed along with them, with (left to right) grandchildren Pierce, Marshall, Jeb Jr. and Sam LeBlond News: Jenna (pictured with her sister and grandparents) spoke to her colleagues on the phone and said her grandfather has been making jokes so that his family doesn't worry about him Love: She said her grandmother will be 'dearly missed' and that Barbara 'lived the best life' Update: 'He misses her of course,' Jenna (pictured with Barbara and her grandparents in an archive holiday photo) said of her grandfather George Tiffany Trump and her older sister Ivanka both shared warm messages for their stepmother Melania while paying tribute to the first lady on her 48th birthday. Tiffany, 24, took to Instagram Stories on Thursday to post a snapshot of herself with Melania and her father, President Donald Trump, at the White House Easter Egg Roll earlier this month. 'Happy Birthday @flotus Love you!' Tiffany captioned the image, which features a festive white boarder with gold dots and black balloons. Paying tribute: Tiffany Trump, 24, shared a photo of herself posed with her stepmother Melania and her father, President Donald Trump, in honor of the first lady's 48th birthday on Thursday Kind words: 'Happy birthday @flotus Love you!' Tiffany wrote, while her sister Ivanka called Melania 'an incredible wife, mother and First Lady' in her own Instagram Stories message In the photo, Tiffany is wearing a white off-the-shoulder, double-breasted blazer dress, which she later covered with a pastel pink coat. Melania is pictured wearing a pale blue trench coat while standing between her husband and stepdaughter, while Trump donned a suit and light blue tie. All three of them have bright smiles on their faces while posing for the family photo. Ivanka, 36, also had an Instagram Stories message for the first lady, but, unlike her younger half-sister, she opted not to share a photo. 'Happy birthday to @flotus, an incredible wife, mother and First Lady!' Ivanka wrote, adding a banner and birthday cake emoji to the post. Shout out: Ivanka (pictured with Melania in 2016) also tweeted her birthday message for her stepmother 'Thank you': On Friday, the day after her birthday, Melania took to Twitter to show her gratitude for all kind words she had received The first daughter shared the same brief message on Twitter. While Melania's stepdaughters opted for social media tributes, the president called in to Fox & Friends on Thursday morning and gave his wife a shout out. Trump explained that the date was special because it was Melania's birthday, but he admitted that he failed to buy her a proper gift because he has been 'busy.' 'Well, I better not get into that because I may get in trouble,' Trump told the show's hosts. 'Maybe I didn't get her so much. 'I tell you what ... I got her a beautiful card. I'm very busy to be running out looking for presents. I got her a beautiful card, beautiful flowers.' 'I'm very busy': Trump (pictured at Tuesday's state dinner) admitted on Fox & Friends Thursday that he 'may get in trouble' for only getting Melania a card and flowers for her birthday Proud: The president went on to gush about the 'fantastic job' Melania did planning the administration's first state dinner, which took place on Tuesday (pictured) The president then went on to gush about Melania's execution of Tuesday night's state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. 'She did a fantastic job with France,' he said. 'I tell you what, the people of France are just, were spellbound by what happened, with their great president who just left, Emmanuel. And he is a wonderful guy.' Melania took a hands-on approach to the planning of the administration's first state dinner, choosing to have her small team handle the event instead of hiring outside party planning help, which past first ladies have utilized. The dinner was small, intimate, with guests sitting in the state dining room under candlelight. On Friday, the day after her birthday, Melania took to Twitter to show her gratitude for all kind words she had received. Happy as can be: Ivanka and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, were all smiles at the state dinner Family gathering: Tiffany joined her father and his wife at Easter services at Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea earlier this month 'Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes!' she wrote. Tiffany, who is finishing up her first year of law school at Georgetown University, celebrated Easter with her father and stepmother at the family's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month. Trump's only child with his second ex-wife, Marla Maples, wore a pale pink dress to attend Easter services at Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. Ivanka did not travel to Mar-a-Lago with her family, nor did she attend the White House Easter Egg Roll. Instead, she and her husband, Jared Kushner, took their three children to Wyoming to celebrate Passover with the Kushners. Jared, 37, was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, and Ivanka converted to Judaism before marring her husband in 2009. The hardest part of making a Royal Wedding cake wasn't the sleepless nights stressing over its perfection, design and delivery it was the moment Fiona Cairns finally walked away from it. Fondly known as the Queen of Cakes, Fiona was responsible for baking the most famous cake in recent history for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011. The spectacular eight-tiered, 3ft-tall creation weighed nearly 16st and took Fiona and her team six weeks to make. 'It may have been the most stressful thing I've ever done, but the hardest thing was walking away from the cake,' says Fiona. 'We'd put so much love, time and devotion into it that it brought us all very close together. So it was a really emotional moment when it all ended I even cried.' Fiona Cairns, 63, baked an eight-tier cake for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011 - here she reveals the secret to her success The spectacular eight-tiered, 3ft-tall creation weighed nearly 16st and took Fiona and her team six weeks to make With three weeks to go until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, there is as much excited speculation over their wedding cake as the bride's dress itself. No wonder then that a slice of Royal Wedding cake can command a small fortune. Some 4,000 slices of William and Kate's cake were sent out as gifts, with one slice selling for nearly 6,000 at an auction in California. 'We'd never made a cake like that before,' says Fiona, 63, who runs a bakery near Leicester with her husband Kishore. 'We've been asked to copy it many times but we'd never ever do that, because it was bespoke and unique.' The elaborate design featured impossibly delicate scrollwork, leaves, sprigs and sprays based on the language of flowers (which explains the symbolic meaning behind different blooms), and even mirrored the intricate lacework of Kate's wedding dress. Despite refusing to replicate it, Fiona has taken simple elements of the royal cake and is sharing the secret of how to re-create them in her brilliant new guide to cake decorating, which starts in the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine today. Now you can make your own exquisite single-tier Language Of Flowers Celebration Cake. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan are bucking the royal tradition for fruitcake with intricate icing and opting for an ultra-fashionable lemon and elderflower wedding cake with buttercream icing topped with fresh flowers. It is being made by pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of London-based Violet Bakery. 'I think this wedding is going to be very different but equally beautiful. I can't wait to see the cake, and, of course, the dress,' says Fiona. The new Duke and Duchess (pictured on their wedding day) sent 4,000 slices of their wedding cake as gifts Claire Ptak (pictured) is set to make the lemon and elderflower cake for Harry and Meghan's wedding If you want to join in the latest royal cake trend, Fiona will also be showing you how to create a fabulous floral three-tiered wedding cake. Made with a rosewater and raspberry sponge with prosecco syrup, it is topped with buttercream and fresh edible flowers. 'I have a passion for edible flowers, as well as using seasonal ingredients. And although this cake looks spectacular, it's not difficult to make,' she says. The buzz around Harry and Meghan's wedding cake brings back vivid memories of the phone call that changed Fiona's life. The police checked on our bakery every night 'Kishore received the call from Clarence House at 4.30pm on Friday 18 February 2011 it's etched in my memory. He said, 'We've been asked to make the Royal Wedding cake.' It still sends shivers down my spine.' For six weeks Fiona and her team, led by her design director Rachel Eardley, locked themselves away in a room in her bakery while they meticulously planned the design, structure and execution of their creation, which consisted of 17 fruitcakes with 900 hand-crafted sugar paste flowers. 'The team all had to sign confidentiality agreements and couldn't tell their partners. We had over 80 people working in the bakery at the time, so we pretended we were preparing a wedding cake for a Harrods' window display,' says Fiona. 'We even had the local police do nightly checks to help with security.' Fiona's been supplying cakes to Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Waitrose for years, as well as catering for rock royalty Paul McCartney orders his Christmas cake from her each year, and she's made cakes for Bono, Pink Floyd and Simply Red. But it was the Royal Wedding cake that put her under the global spotlight. She'd already been on the royal radar for some time though. 'My husband knows the Middleton family as we make the cakes to order through their Party Pieces company. Also, I once presented a cake to Prince Charles at Fortnum & Mason. I know the Royal Family are all fans of our fruitcake,' says Fiona. The initial meeting to pitch for the Royal Wedding cake was nerve-wracking nonetheless. 'Before we got the commission, we met Kate and her PA, who was helping organise the wedding. Kate told me she had my book [Fiona's written three, the first being Bake & Decorate, published in 2010]. She had very firm ideas about what she and William wanted. She wanted it all to come together as a story with her dress, Westminster Abbey and the flowers. So we showed her our ideas then waited nervously for the next four days.' After that fateful phone call, all hell broke loose in Fiona's bakery. Fiona (pictured right) and her team put the finishing touches to the 900 sugar flowers 'We put together mood boards of drawings to scale. Kate wanted tones of cream, so we did icing samples in different shades and lots of samples of fruitcake,' Fiona recalls. 'She sent a swatch of lace to copy, but we had no idea it was from her dress. We also created 17 sugar flowers that had a special meaning, from sweet william to myrtle, which symbolises love and marriage. We were told lily of the valley was the most important, but we didn't know it would be in the Abbey or that Kate would be carrying those flowers. 'It was actually Kathryn Boyden, the Royal Pastry Chef, who made the lily of the valley flowers for the top of the cake. I asked her if she'd have liked to make the cake and she said, 'Oh, I couldn't possibly I'm far too busy with the wedding banquet. But I'd like to be involved in some way.' So she made the amazing flowers.' There wasn't enough time for the team to make the entire cake as a trial run. Fiona's fruitcakes were on the radar for the royals before she pitched to bake for the royal wedding. She has also supplied cakes to Harrods and rock royalty Paul McCartney 'When planning a tiered cake, the structure is as important as the cake itself. It's a trade secret how Rachel Eardley designed the eight tiers, but we had lots of trials, starting with polystyrene shapes to get the proportions right.' 'We did experiments for each tier, working out which ones we had to pipe with icing and which we had to make decorations for, which would be stuck on.' The room in which the cake was to stand was a vital consideration too, says Fiona. 'Kate said we had to visit the room where the cake was going to be displayed the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which has huge ceilings. It could have easily been dwarfed. That does happen. I go to weddings and think, 'Why is that cake not displayed properly?' We had to take a door off at the Palace get it in Fiona and her team packed the cake and trimmings into 40 boxes and took them in an unmarked van to the Palace, where they worked for two and a half days in a room over the kitchen to assemble their masterpiece. 'We had to put the cake on a trolley to move it to the next floor and into the Picture Gallery. It was partly stacked by then, but I carried the top three tiers myself because I didn't trust anyone else to do it.' They were told to finish by 1pm the day before the wedding as the official photograph was going to be taken. 'There was lacework going around the cake, which snaps so easily if you touch it in a certain way or put it at the wrong angle. It all had to be done that morning, and the piping too, and we couldn't really stop but we had to. The Queen and Kate view the Royal Wedding cake. 'The Queen said some lovely things about it,' says Fiona The photographer insisted on climbing onto a ladder to take the photos, but I was terrified his camera would fall into the cake. 'And as if there wasn't enough going on on that day, I was told Her Majesty would be coming to visit us,' laughs Fiona. 'The Queen talked for a long time and said some lovely things about the cake. She thought it was funny that we'd had to take a door off downstairs at the Palace so the cake could fit through once we'd assembled it.' Fiona was still unable to relax until she'd received the official thumbs up. 'I did hear on the day of the wedding that the cake was beyond their expectations, and it was only then that I could enjoy a glass of Champagne,' she says. While Fiona charges up to 20,000 for bespoke commissions worldwide, she's only too happy to share her cake-decorating wisdom with Weekend readers in our three-part guide, which includes plenty of projects for complete beginners as well as more challenging designs to attempt as your confidence grows. You can always tell if someone has loved doing something as it shows in the cake 'If you haven't made a wedding cake before, keep to a single tier and a simple design,' she advises. 'Something simple and beautiful is far better than trying something complex and getting really stressed. You can always tell if someone has loved doing something as it shows in the cake.' Fiona's business started out as a kitchen table enterprise after she left art school, where she trained as a graphic designer, and went on a cookery course 'because I couldn't cook'. She started work as a pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall, in Rutland, spending her spare time perfecting her cake baking and decorating skills. 'It became an obsession,' she admits. She and Kishore set up their company in 1986 and now produce over two million cakes a year. Many people find the idea of cake decorating intimidating, but Fiona insists anyone can do it. 'Start with the easy designs, break each stage down and don't rush. You can bake cakes in advance most freeze well then decorate them when you have more time,' she says. 'And don't be afraid of making mistakes. Often they can be fixed. My worst disaster was when I baked a huge chocolate cake for dessert at a friend's New Year's Eve party and I took it out of the oven before it was properly baked. So I cut out the uncooked part and used a round cutter to make 14 individual cakes with the rest, then decorated them so nobody was any the wiser!' Has she had any decorating disasters? 'Not that I can remember,' she muses. Is she sure? 'Yes.' In that case, you are in super-safe hands if you follow Fiona's step-by-step guides in Weekend magazine over the next three weeks. Soon you'll be creating your own delicious and stylish showstoppers fit for royalty. She has just won the title of world's best female chef - but Clare Smyth admits it is 'strange' to separate men and women working in the industry for an award. The 39-year-old, the first and only female chef to run a restaurant with three Michelin-stars in the UK at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, is the first British woman to win the honour. Smyth, who now runs her own restaurant, Core, in London, says she hopes the award will encourage more women to work as professional chefs. However some industry experts have branded the gong 'insulting' - and Smyth acknowledges that she hopes one day there will be 'no need' for the category. Clare Smyth, who was the first female chef to hold three Michelin stars in the UK, has been named the world's best female chef in 2018 Smyth, the elit Vodka World's Best Female Chef 2018, told The Independent: 'I stood shoulder to shoulder with men in the toughest kitchens in the world and excelled and loved it. She added: 'So to separate [male and female chefs] for me is strange, but we don't see enough women coming through at the top and we need to do something about it.' Speaking to Bloomberg, Smyth, who grew up in County Antrim, added: 'This award shines a light on women's success and gives people like me the opportunity to talk about how we can support and mentor the next generation. She added: 'When we see women represented in numbers in lists like these, then we will have changed the industry for the better and these awards will no longer be needed.' Clare Smyth (left) is renowned in the industry and now has her own restaurant, Core by Clare Smyth (pictured right winning at the GQ Food & Drink Awards in April) Some working in the food industry have branded the award sexist and unnecessary Food magazine Eater has branded the award 'absurd' and 'insulting' to Smyth. Editor-in-chief Amanda Kludt argued that women 'are neither a different species nor a different category of human' and therefore there shouldn't be a separate award for Best Female Chef. The award has long been criticised by chefs and others working in the industry. Five years ago, Anthony Bourdain tweeted: 'Whyat this point in historydo we need a 'Best Female Chef' special designation? As if they are curiosities?' Smyth was awarded the title of Best Female Chef ahead of the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony this summer. The evening will also see the unveiling of the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018. Smyth left Northern Ireland at the age of 16, and worked in some of the most celebrated kitchens in the world, including Alain Ducasse's renowned Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, where she won a 10/10 score in the Good Food Guide and five AA rosettes. Smyth was honoured with an MBE in 2013 for services to the hospitality industry. William Drew, group editor of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, said: 'Her devotion to her craft, uncompromising standards and undoubted culinary finesse are just three of the reasons why she is worthy of this award.' Virtual GP consultations will be more common than meeting in person in 10 years, says the head of a review into tech in the NHS. Dr Eric Topol has been commissioned by Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt to examine how the NHS can utilise technology to transform healthcare. He said services such as online consultations and remotely monitoring patients, known as 'telemedicine', will become normal practice. However, his claims come just weeks after a report by the Care Quality Commission found half of online GPs operating in England are unsafe. The doctor will see you now: Services such as online consultations and remotely monitoring patients, known as 'telemedicine', will become normal practice, an expert claims Dr Topol, an expert in cardiology, genetics and digital medicine, has previously examined the use of wireless and smartphone technology in healthcare. And he led a multi-million dollar US research programme focusing on harnessing technology and data to provide more precise, tailored patient treatment. Dr Topol, a professor of genomics at The Scripps Research Institute in California, is set to report back to Mr Hunt with the findings of his review by the end of the year. According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: 'Over the next decade we expect to see more and more remote monitoring of conditions and more virtual consultations. 'I wouldnt be surprised if the numbers overtake the number of physical visits within a decade.' Dr Topol's claims come just weeks after the CQC report, which found many online GP services are handing out super-strength painkillers and antibiotics. The damning report also found that online GP firms, most offering webcam appointments, were sometimes failing to check patients were over 18. Dr Topol's review will begin with a visit to London's Moorfields Eye Hospital, which has revolutionised the way professionals carry out eye tests so that artificial intelligence (AI) can detect common eye diseases much earlier. Their work is looking at how machine learning technology can analyse eye scans, giving eye care professionals a better and faster understanding of eye disease. ARE ONLINE GPS REALLY SAFE? A report published by the Care Quality Commission in March found that 43 per cent of online GP firms operating in England were unsafe. Addictive painkillers, antibiotics and heart disease medication were being prescribed. Companies usually provided a webcam or 'Skype' consultation in which a doctor would try to make a diagnosis - this cost up to 25 for ten minutes. Others were operating as an online pharmacy, allowing patients to fill in a form which was then checked by doctors. The CQC checked 40 firms operating in England. Doctors at one firm prescribed a patient powerful opiate medication to last two years without informing the individual's usual GP. Antibiotics were prescribed without doctors examining patients in person. Advertisement Dr Topol said: 'While it's hard to predict the future, we know artificial intelligence, digital medicine and genomics will have an enormous impact for improving the efficiency and precision in healthcare. 'Our review will focus on the extraordinary opportunities to leverage these technologies for the healthcare workforce and power a sustainable and vibrant NHS.' A key case study linked to the review involves new technology to help patients self-manage diabetes occurring during pregnancy. Currently patients need to measure glucose levels up to six times per day, record results in a paper diary and visit hospital every two to four weeks. But a new smartphone app with a Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose meter has been developed to offer real-time management of this type of diabetes. The GDm-Health was developed by Drayson Technologies and reduces the need for clinical visits, saving time for patients and staff. Staff are trained to interpret data on the app and use it to message patients directly so they can self-manage the condition. Commissioner of the review Jeremy Hunt said: 'Every week we hear about exciting new developments surfacing in the NHS which could help provide answers to some of our greatest challenges such as cancer or chronic illness. 'These give us a glimpse of what the future of the whole NHS could be, which is why in the year of the NHS' 70th birthday I want to empower staff to offer patients modern healthcare more widely and more quickly. 'I'm delighted that Dr Topol is kicking off this review - ensuring the NHS is at the forefront of life-saving, life-changing care across the globe for decades to come.' Dr Topol authored a book in 2011 covering the role of mobile technology in providing personalised healthcare and the use of smartphones in medicine. Doctors are calling for heroin, cocaine and cannabis to be legalised. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), which represents 26,000 medics in the UK, said it: 'strongly supports the view that drug addiction must be considered a health issue first and foremost.' Rather than being punished, the RCP believes drug users should be offered support and 'timely' treatment. The death rate from illegal drug overdoses in the UK has more than doubled in the past decade, with over two in three people not knowing where to get help if they were battling an addiction, according to the report 'Taking a New Line on Drugs'. The RCP said: 'These figures demonstrate a clear need for physical, psychological and social support and care for people addicted to drugs.' This comes after analyses suggest heroin and crack users are dying of overdoses in the areas of England where cuts to drug-treatment budgets are greatest. In a new report, doctors are calling for heroin, cocaine and cannabis to be legalised (stock) DOES THE ILLEGAL PARTY DRUG KETAMINE EASE DEPRESSION? The illegal party drug ketamine may ease depression, research suggested in August 2017. Patients who respond to the horse tranquiliser have greater overall activity levels days after its infusion, a study found. Depressive episodes are partially characterised by a reduced interest in activities. Responsive patients also sleep better the following day, the research adds. Ketamine is a Schedule III drug in the United States and a class B in the UK. It can legally be prescribed by doctors as a general anesthetic in humans and animals. Researchers, from the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, analysed 51 people with major depressive or bipolar disorder. All of the study's participants failed to respond to previous treatments. They were given a single infusion of ketamine. The researchers tracked the timing and degree of participants' activities via wristwatches. Results further suggest those who do more activities prior to ketamine's infusion have more favorable outcomes, which suggests doctors can predict patients who will respond to the drug. Dr John Krystal, editor of the journal Biological Psychiatry, where the study was published, said: 'It would be nice if daily patterns of activity could be used clinically to identify people who might respond to ketamine and to monitor clinical improvement.' Previous research suggests ketamine likely eases depression by promoting the growth of new connections between brain cells in the regions associated with mood and emotion. Advertisement 'The criminal justice system is not the place to address drug addiction' Jane Dacre, president of the RCP, told The Sun: 'The criminal justice system is not the place to address the often complex needs of people addicted to drugs. 'We are committed to ensuring that all people who need to do so are able to access timely and appropriate prevention and care services.' The report, which was put together by the Royal Society of Public Health but backed by the RCP, still supports illegal drug dealers, suppliers and importers being actively prosecuted. It also wants the UK's drug policy to be overseen by the Department of Health, rather than the Home Office. Just one in four members of the public believe the UK's current drugs policy effectively protects people's wellbeing, the report adds. Past research suggests that over the past four years, councils in 85 per cent of areas that have an above average drug-mortality rate have reduced the amount they spend on drug treatment, The Guardian reported. The treatment budget in Blackpool, which has consistently been the worst area in England for drug deaths, has more than halved since 2013. Success in other countries The report references the Netherlands, which aims to reduce harm to drug users and even tolerates cannabis sales from licensed 'coffee shops'. As a result, hard-drug use is lower in Holland than the UK, with treatment programmes also leading to less crime, while legal-cannabis use drives higher tax revenues. In Canada, supervised drug-injecting facilities have been called 'life preserving' by its Supreme Court. Starting in Vancouver, such facilities have led to a plummet in HIV and hepatitis C rates, according to the report. The Royal College of Physicians, which represents 26,000 medics in the UK, said it: 'supports the view that drug addiction must be considered a health issue first and foremost' (stock) Illegal party drug ketamine eases depression in just 30 minutes This comes after research released last February suggested the illegal party drug ketamine could ease depression in just 30 minutes. The horse tranquiliser relieves the mental-health disorder by preventing brain signals 'overfiring', a study by Zhejiang University, China, found. Unlike other antidepressants, which change brain-chemical levels and can take months to have an effect, ketamine controls the transmission of electrical signals via nerve cells in rodents, the research adds. If the drug has the same effect in humans, it could treat the mental-health disorder much faster than currently-available medications, according to the researchers. Ketamine is a Schedule III drug in the US and a class B in the UK. It can legally be prescribed by doctors as a general anaesthetic in humans and animals. Dogs may cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as cystitis, new research suggests. Two patients receiving hospital treatment for the condition carried the same infection-causing bacteria that was found in their dogs' faeces, a study found. Although one of the patients had recovered after almost a year, their dog still harboured the bacteria, which suggests it is a permanent carrier and transmitted the infection to its owner, according to the researchers. It is unclear how dogs may infect their owners with UTIs. Nonetheless, study author Dr Peter Damborg, from the University of Copenhagen, urges pet owners to avoid being licked by their animals, particularly if they have weak immune systems. UTIs affect many women at some point in their lives and are usually caused by bacteria entering their urinary tracts from their bowels, which can occur during sex. Dogs may cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as cystitis, new research suggests (stock) CAN GUINEA PIGS GIVE PEOPLE PNEUMONIA? Guinea pigs are making people ill, a report suggested in September 2017. In three years, at least as many people have been taken to hospital after developing life-threatening pneumonia from their furry friends, a study by Bernhoven Hospital, Netherlands, found. The incidences involved two women and one man; all were in their early 30s. Out of the three patients, two were submitted to intensive care. They both had guinea pigs as pets who had recently shown respiratory symptoms. The man had two guinea pigs, while one of the female patients had 25. The other woman worked in a vet clinic where she cared for guinea pigs suffering from pink eye and nasal inflammation. Patient samples revealed the presence of bacteria associated with pneumonia. In one of the individuals, this bacteria could be traced back to a specific guinea pig. Most guinea pigs likely harbour the bacteria responsible for the inflammatory lung condition, which is detectable by the animals developing pink eye. Dr Steven Gordon, chair of infectious disease at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study, said: 'We love our pets, but we've got to be smart about pets and hygiene. 'We should be washing our hands after pet contact, and certain high-risk people - like those with compromised immune systems - should avoid contact with pets.' Advertisement Avoid being licked by your dog Dr Damborg told the New Scientist: 'I think that people in general should take precautions when in contact with their pets. 'If someone has a compromised immune system, then this point is even more important as they are more at risk for infections.' Such people may include those undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplants. Dr Damborg adds that although none of the study's participants appeared to catch infections from their cats, this could theoretically occur. How the research was carried out The researchers analysed 119 patients being treated at Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, for a UTI, of which 19 lived with either cats or dogs. The pet owners swabbed their animals' faeces at the start of the study and again 10 months later. The findings were published in the journal bioRxiv. Parasite in cats' faeces may cause Alzheimer's and even cancer This comes after research released last September suggested a parasite that is commonly found in cats' faeces may cause Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even cancer. Toxoplasma gondii, which is carried by around 30 per cent of cats at any one time and sheds in their stools, may alter more than 1,000 genes associated with cancer, a study found. Once a human is infected, proteins from the parasite could also alter communication between brain cells, which may increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy, the research adds. Up until now, only pregnant women were advised to avoid cat faeces due to the parasite being known to cause miscarriages, still births and damage to foetus' development, particularly their brain and eyes. Infections often seem harmless, with few people experiencing symptoms and just a few showing signs of mild flu. Study author Dr Dennis Steindler, from Tufts University in Massachusetts, said: 'This study is a paradigm shifter.' Daffodils grown by a Welsh sheep farmer could be used to help more than 225,000 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Kevin Stephens' flowers produce unusually high amounts of galantamine, which can slow down the progress of the devastating disease. Scientists believe the daffodils, grown in the Black Mountains in Wales, have more of it due to the stress they are placed under having to endure harsh winters at 1,200ft. The unfavourable conditions cause them to flower much later than regular species, which produce very little quantities of the chemical. Mr Stephens, 51, has spent six years developing a method of growing and harvesting the daffodils to extract galantamine for use in Alzheimers drugs. Kevin Stephens' flowers produce unusually high amounts of galantamine, which can slow down the progress of the devastating disease In 2012, he created Agroceutical, a bio-research firm with a licence to produce 40kg (88lbs) of the compound in powder and crystal form each year. This is enough galantamine to help 9,000 Alzheimer's patients receive their daily dose of the drug, which helps to correct levels of a crucial chemical in the brain. Mr Stephens believes, with 2 million of investment, he could scale up production over the coming years to produce 1,000kg (2,200lbs) of galantamine annually. This would be enough for 250 million tablets - the equivalent of helping 225,000 Alzheimer's patients, he claims. There are around 500,000 sufferers in the UK. Mr Stephens said: 'Within a few years we could have very significant quantities of galantamine and actually make a positive difference to the world.' He added: 'Alzheimers is responsible for an enzyme imbalance in the brain, which effectively allows plaque to form on the neuron. Mr Stephens, 51, has spent six years developing a method of growing and harvesting the daffodils to extract galantamine for use in Alzheimers drugs In 2012, he created Agroceutical, a bio-research firm with a licence to produce 40kg (88lbs) of the compound in powder and crystal form each year WHAT IS GALANTAMINE? Clinical trials into the effects of galantamine were first conducted in the 1990s, using wild snowdrops in Bulgaria. They proved successful. However, a growing shortage of the flowers led pharmaceutical firms to produce a synthetic version of the compound. This was first used in the drug Reminyl, first approved for use in the UK in at the start of the century, but now other versions exist, including the generic. However, critics claim there are nasty side-effects to the synthetic version, as it has been linked to serious heart complications. Galantamine can prevent the breakdown of the chemical acetylcholine, which as a result increases communication between nerve cells and alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms. Advertisement 'This plaque eventually kills the neuron and causes the forgetfulness and other symptoms that we consider to be the disease. 'Galantamine causes the opposite enzyme imbalance in the brain, therefore if you get the galantamine dosage right you can restore the equilibrium of the enzymes in the brain, stop the plaques forming and delay the neuron damage.' But Mr Stephens is currently against planting hundreds of acres of daffodils until drug firms come onboard and purchase his supplies of galantamine. His current supply of the Alzheimer's-fighting compound, which was first tested more than 20 years ago, is being stored until he can sell it. Clinical trials into the effects of galantamine were first conducted in the 1990s, using wild snowdrops in Bulgaria. They proved successful. However, a growing shortage of the flowers led pharmaceutical firms to produce a synthetic version of the compound. This was first used in the drug Reminyl, first approved for use in the UK in at the start of the century, but now other versions exist, including the generic. Scientists believe the daffodils, grown in the Black Mountains in Wales, have more of due to the stress they are placed under having to endure harsh winters at 1,200ft His current supply of the Alzheimer's-fighting compound, which was first tested more than 20 years ago, is being stored until he can sell it Mr Stephens claims there are nasty side-effects to the synthetic version, as studies have linked it to heart complications, such as a low heartbeat. Agroceutical owns more than 20 acres of land near Hay-on-Wye in Breckonshire, Powys - 60 miles (96km) north of Cardiff. Mr Stephens has created a system of non-ploughing planting, which allows his sheep to also use the field as they know not to eat the poisonous plants. Agroceutical has already worked alongside scientists at Bangor and Aberystwyth universities, and with the Government body Innovate UK. It is now working with Defra to see if daffodils grown elsewhere in Britain at high altitudes could also produce high levels of galantamine. The ongoing research has indicated promising signs for daffodils grown north of Inverness in Scotland and across the Lake and Peak District. There are currently 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form and strikes more than half. However, experts predict this number will swell to one million by 2025. There is currently no cure for the memory-robbing condition. But galantamine can prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, which as a result increases communication between nerve cells and alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms. The galantamine is found in the leaves so the daffodils can be harvested leaving the bulbs in place to grow back year after year. It takes 100 daffodils to produce enough galanthamine to last one Alzheimers sufferer a year. Dr Aoife Kiely, research communications officer at Alzheimers Society, said: 'Someone develops dementia every three minutes in the UK but with no current treatment to cure, prevent or slow it down. 'Its fantastic to see people like Kevin doing what they can to unite in the fight against dementia. 'To date, research has found the effect of galanthamine on the brain to be small but positive in treating Alzheimers by easing symptoms. 'Sadly though, like other drugs currently available for dementia, galanthamine does not cure or slow down the condition. 'With it being over 15 years since the last drug for dementia, we urgently need more research to find a cure for dementia.' A medical school is considering changing the name on one of its main buildings which is currently dedicated to the architect of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Dr Thomas Parran Jr, surgeon general under President Franklin Roosevelt, is known for helping to draft the Social Security Act and for changing the public narrative around sexually transmitted diseases by calling them a medical concern rather than a moral one. However, Parran Jr's reputation was stained by his involvement in two of the most infamous medical scandals in US history. The first was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in which US public health researchers withheld syphilis treatment from 600 black sharecroppers in Tuskegee, Alabama, for more than 40 years beginning in 1932 so they could track the effects of the disease. In the second, researchers intentionally infected 1,300 Guatemalan people who were mentally ill or in prison with syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid between 1946 and 1948. The University of Pittsburgh is facing pressure from students and human rights activists who say Parran Jr's name should be stripped from the main building of its Graduate School of Public Health, which the former surgeon general helped found. Dr Thomas Parran Jr served as surgeon general under President Franklin Roosevelt. He is known for changing the public narrative around sexually transmitted diseases by calling them a medical concern rather than a moral one. However, Parran Jr's reputation was stained by his involvement in two of the most infamous medical scandals in US history In 1932 public health researchers enrolled almost 400 black sharecroppers with syphilis in a medical study in Tuskegee, Alabama. For more than 40 years the researchers administered invasive tests while withholding treatment so they could track the effects of the disease Black sharecroppers included in the 40-year syphilis study pose for a photo in Tuskegee, Alabama in the 1950s. Its believed that none of the men knew the real nature of the study until it was exposed in 1972 THE TUSKEGEE TRIAL: HOW OFFICIALS TRICKED BLACK MEN INTO THEIR RACIST STUDY THAT DEPRIVED THEM OF TREATMENT WHEN AND WHERE? The syphilis experiment was called the Tuskegee Study. It began in 1932 in Tuskegee, Alabama, an area which had the highest syphilis rate in the nation at that time. WHAT WERE THE TREATMENT OPTIONS? When the study began, the discovery of penicillin as a cure for syphilis was still 10 years away and the general availability of the drug was 15 years away. Treatment in the 1930s consisted primarily of doses of arsenic and mercury. HOW THEY TREATED SOME MEN IN THE TRIAL - AND LEFT OTHERS Of the 600 original participants in the study, one third showed no signs having syphilis; the others had the disease. According to PHS data, half the men with syphilis were given the arsenic-mercury treatment, but the other half, about 200 men, received no treatment for syphilis at all. HOW THEY LURED THEM TO PARTICIPATE Men were persuaded to participate by promises of: free transportation to and from hospitals free hot lunches free medical treatment for ailments other than syphilis free burial SURVIVAL RATE Seventy-four of the untreated syphilitics were still alive last January. In 1969, the PHS' Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, which has been in charge of the Tuskegee Study, reviewed records of 276 syphilitics, both treated and untreated, who participated in the experiment. It found that seven men had died as a direct result of syphilis. Another 154 died of heart failure, but CDC officials say they cannot determine now how many of these deaths were caused by syphilis or how many additional deaths may have been linked to the disease. SURVIVORS ARE 'TOO OLD' TO BE TREATED, MEDICS SAY Because of their age, the CDC cannot now treat the 74 survivors of the Tuskegee Study for syphilis. Possible ill side effects of massive penicillin therapy constitute too great a risk to the individuals, particularly those whose syphilitic condition is dormant. However, experts say, there was a point when the men could have been treated with some measure of success. Advertisement Parran Jr held the position of Surgeon General for more than 20 years from 1936 to 1948, during which time he worked to reduce the stigma around STDs and increase testing and treatment. While much of his work with venereal diseases is laudable, he has been vilified in recent years for the fact that he signed off on two loathsome studies carried out under his leadership, the first being the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In the early 1900s, about 35 percent of the population in Tuskegee and the surrounding county of Macon were living with syphilis, an STD that begins with a small sore and can progress to open wounds, blindness, deafness, mental illness and death. In 1929 government doctors began treating infected people in the poor, majority-black county with bismuth and mercury - two medications that were quickly found to be more harmful than helpful. Three years later in 1932, the US Public Health Service launched what was supposed to be a short study in Tuskegee to record the progression of the illness, enrolling 600 black men in what was called the 'Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male'. The men - 399 with syphilis and 201 without - were offered food, medical exams, and burial insurance, which was a very attractive offer in the segregated South were most black people had never been to a doctor. The disease-free men were used as a control group and those with syphilis were told that they had 'bad blood'. For 40 years the doctors withheld treatment for the disease so that doctors could track the symptoms and dissect the men's bodies after they died. Medical workers periodically provided men with pills and tonic that made them believe they were being treated, but they weren't. The government published occasional reports on the study, including findings which showed the men with syphilis were dying at a faster rate than the uninfected. It's believed that none of the participants - or their wives, girlfriends or other sexual partners - had any idea what had happened until an Associated Press story was published nationwide on July 26, 1972. The story ultimately caused the study to be shut down, nearly 30 years after penicillin had become the standard treatment for the disease. The other shocking study that Parran Jr was involved in took place in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948, during which time more than 1,300 Guatemalans, including many in mental institutions, were exposed to syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid. Parran Jr had reportedly said that consent was needed before individuals participated in experiments, but no evidence exists that the American researchers got permission. The study ended in 1948, the same year Parran Jr helped found Pitt's public health school, but the experiments weren't revealed until 2010, prompting worldwide outrage. Parran Jr died 20 years later in 1968 with his reputation in tact, only to later be tarnished by reports of the research he approved and supported. A man in a syphilis study sits on steps in front of of a house in Tuskegee, in the 1950s. The city had one of the highest rates in the country when doctors decided to start the racist study The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health is facing pressure from students and human rights activists who say Parran Jr's name should be stripped from the main building Today Parran Jr's family is fighting to keep his name where it is on Pitt's School of Public Health. In an email to STAT, his grandson John C Parran and his great nephew Richard Kirkpatrick reminded that he saved millions of lives during his career through his work to improve public health. 'No one is perfect,' the email said. 'The name [on the building] does not 'celebrate' my grandfather and grand uncle. Rather, it honors the passion he had for furthering public health awareness and education as means for improving the health and well-being of all people.' However, many Pitt students disagree. 'This isn't who we are anymore,' Helen Ann Lawless, a second-year graduate student told STAT. 'We are still attached to this legacy. We can't have his name on our building because it venerates him.' The movement to remove Parran Jr's name gained momentum last year, and in January Dr Donald Burke, the dean of the public health school, created a committee to address the issue. It's unclear when the committee will release its recommendations on the issue. Ten people's kidneys are failing after they contracted E. coli from romaine lettuce, the CDC announced today. Since it began in March, an E. coli outbreak traced back to romaine grown in Yuma, Arizona has now sickened nearly 100 people. At least 46 of those people have been hospitalized by a potentially deadly form of the bacteria, which produces the dangerous Shiga-toxin. Illnesses have now been diagnosed in 22 states, with new cases found in Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin this week. Romaine lettuce - commonly used in Caesar and other salads - carrying a dangerous strain of E. coli has sickened 98 people and led to kidney failure in 10 of them, the CDC revealed The agency says those infected range in age from one to 88. More than half of are female. The agency and the US Food and Drug Administration last week issued a warning against eating all romaine lettuce. Officials have not yet identified the source of the tainted lettuce except to say that it came from the Yuma region. Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli is so potent that the Department of Homeland Security even lists it as a potential agent of biological warfare. The toxin binds to white blood cells, riding to them to the kidneys where it breaks into the heart of cells. Cell death triggers the body to send red blood cells to the kidneys, causing clots and kidney failure. In an effort to get to the bottom of the outbreak, disease hunters are using genetic sequencing in their investigation of the ongoing food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, a technique that is revolutionizing the detection of germs in food. The genetic analysis is being used to bolster investigations and - in some cases - connect the dots between what were once seemingly unrelated illnesses. The investigation is also uncovering previously unfathomed sources of food poisoning, including one outbreak from apples dipped in caramel. So far, most of the work has largely focused on one germ, listeria. But it is expanding. Scientists used the genome sequencing technique in their investigation of the romaine lettuce outbreak, though other methods have so far been largely responsible for their ability to trace the contamination to Arizona. Hopefully, continued DNA analysis will help officials narrow the source to particular farms. By the end of this year, labs in all 50 states are expected to also be using genetic sequencing for much more common causes of food poisoning outbreaks, including salmonella and the E. coli bacteria linked to recent lettuce outbreak. That means the number of identifiable outbreaks are likely to explode even if the number of illnesses don't. 'There are a lot of outbreaks where they don't connect the dots. Now they're going to be connected,' said Michael Doyle, a retired University of Georgia professor who is an expert on foodborne illness. The new DNA testing is enabling disease detectives to spot food contamination before anyone is aware of a resulting human illness. 'It's turning around how outbreaks are figured out,' said Bill Marler, a prominent Seattle lawyer who has made a business of suing companies whose products sicken people. Marler added that the program is in its early stages and it's too early to call it a success. But he said the new approach has the potential to transform how and when outbreaks come to light. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is driving the program. It estimates that 48 million Americans get sick - and 3,000 die - from food poisoning each year. Lab technician extracts DNA for whole genome sequencing at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Molecular Science Laboratory in Denver The new technique relies on whole genome sequencing, which has been used in biology for more than two decades. The laboratory process determines nearly all of an organism's DNA, the genetic material needed to build and maintain an organism. And scientists use software to compare the DNA of specimens to see if they are the same strain and how resistant they are to current medicines. The technique allows the analysis to become faster, cheaper and more automated, said Dr Robert Tauxe, one of the CDC's leading experts on food poisoning. Plans are to use the technology against several germs that cause food poisoning, but so far all the work has concentrated on listeria. The bacteria cause around 1,600 illnesses each year, a tiny fraction of US foodborne disease diagnoses. But it is a particularly lethal infection, killing nearly one in five people who get it. Historically, listeria-caused outbreaks were known as 'the graveyard of epidemiology.' It could take weeks for people to develop symptoms, meaning food evidence was discarded - and some of the patients were dead - by the time officials began to sort things out. From 1983 to 1997, only five listeria outbreaks were identified in the United States. They were obvious and large - with a median of 54 cases per outbreak. That's how it was with other food poisoning outbreaks, too. 'Most foodborne outbreaks were detected because it happened in one place,' like in a town where a popular restaurant's customers grew ill, Dr Tauxe said. Outbreaks were investigated by asking people what they ate before they got sick, and then comparing notes to see what patients had in common. The field took a big step in the 1990s, after a frightening outbreak erupted in the Seattle area. Four deaths and more than 700 illnesses in four states eventually were traced to undercooked Jack in the Box restaurant hamburgers contaminated with E. coli. The outbreak prodded the CDC to develop a program that relied on a technique called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis that helped health officials more easily link illnesses, but it was imperfect: it couldn't make exact matches and sometimes missed when cases were related. Then came whole genome sequencing. The CDC began using the technique in food poisoning investigations in 2013. Initially state labs sent samples to a CDC lab in Atlanta for testing. Now, the CDC is working to get labs in all 50 states up and running. Last year, the federal agency awarded about $32 million to state and city health departments to work on foodborne, waterborne and fungal disease outbreaks. That included $12 million to help them set up whole genome sequencing technology. Since whole genome sequencing began, the CDC says it's catching more listeria outbreaks with a food source identified. By that measure, the number rose from about two per year to an average of more than six per year from 2014 to 2016. One of the first success stories came a couple of weeks after Halloween in 2014, when listeria cases began popping up in Arizona, New Mexico and the Midwest. Through whole genome sequencing, investigators discovered about three dozen people had been sickened. In interviews, patients and their families didn't mention foods commonly associated with listeria. But most did say they had eaten packaged caramel apples. This 2002 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the kind of listeria bacteria that is behind some food poisoning outbreaks Scientists hadn't considered them a threat, because apples and caramel aren't hospitable to listeria individually. But it turns out that putting a stick in a caramel-covered apple gives germs a door into tiny spaces between caramel and the apple's skin. Besides fingering foods previously seen as unthreatening, whole genome sequencing has the potential to turn investigations around: In several outbreaks recently, germs found in food plant inspections prompted product recalls before anyone knew about an outbreak. Then whole genome sequencing helped find and confirm illnesses. Whole genome sequencing is becoming increasingly important, but it's not yet the basis of outbreak solving. It was used in the current investigation of E. coli bacteria found in romaine lettuce grown in Arizona, which has sickened at least 84 people in 19 states, according to a CDC update released Wednesday. But 'that's not how we first detected the outbreak,' said Matthew Wise, a CDC food poisoning investigator. It was more crucial in an investigation last year of a 21-state salmonella outbreak that ultimately was linked to ground beef. Whole genome sequencing allowed health officials to wade through a wave of cases to parse out the illnesses that were most closely matched and then look for a common origin, Wise said. 'Using our previous technology,' Wise said, 'we would have had a really difficult time solving that one.' A deadly new exotic tick that could carry a host of rare diseases has invaded New Jersey, health officials have warned. The pests known as East Asian or Longhorned ticks were first discovered in the state last fall, and have now been found in another county, according to scientists at Rutgers University. The bloodsucking spider-like bugs are typically found in grassy areas and can transmit a variety of dangerous viruses such as Lyme disease. Experts have warned that the tick will likely spread rapidly to other parts of the US especially as summer brings tick season. East Asian or Longhorned ticks have been spotted in two counties in New Jersey and are expected to quickly make their way to other parts of the US, experts have warned The newest tick to arrive in the US has already migrated great distances, from its origins in Asia to Australia and New Zealand and now to New Jersey, according to James Lok, a professor of parasitology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. 'I would be surprised if it does not spread out of New Jersey quickly,' Lok told Today. Every year ticks start to emerge in May, June and July, bringing with them an increased risk of tick-borne diseases. The chief concern with the Longhorned ticks is that they have been known to spread a deadly virus called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). SFTS has never before been reported in North America, but the longhorned tick could change that. SFTS causes severe fever and low blood platelet counts that can be fatal Symptoms include fatigue, chills, headache, nausea, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. It's too early to tell which North American diseases the tick can transmit, but in Asia it's been shown to spread diseases related to Rocky Mountain spotted fever and anaplasmosis. 'It's got a pretty terrible track record in China, Japan and recently in New Zealand and Australia,' Lok said. 'And it's not a stretch to assume it would be able to transmit the related diseases in North America.' He added that it could also be able to transmit Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that if untreated can wreak havoc on the nervous system, causing numbness and memory problems. The entomologists at Rutgers University who tested the ticks told CBS that a number of steps were taken to kill them, but a number of them survived. This particular type of tick is especially concerning because it has the ability to reproduce on its own, so it only takes one invader to produce thousands of eggs, spreading the population. They also don't discriminate when it comes to their targets. They'll latch onto anything from a deer to a sheep to a human. New Jersey officials have been working to eliminate the ticks in Union and Hunterdon County, and they have said the first tick checked for diseases turned up negative for all. For the time being they are urging people to take the same precautions against this type of tick as they do with native ones. Banks were once a staple for income seekers but have become unfashionable with investors since the financial crisis. This is because they have been forced to pay tens of billions in fines for scandals including payment protection insurance (PPI), Libor-rigging and money laundering, leaving the dividend pot rather shallow. But experts are talking up the biggest High Street lenders as an increasingly good investment for those who need their savings to work hard for them in retirement. This is because from next August customers who think they have been mis-sold PPI will no longer be able to claim from their bank. Banks have been forced to pay tens of billions in fines for scandals including PPI, Libor-rigging and money laundering, leaving the dividend pot rather shallow This money has got to go somewhere, so investors are hoping it goes back into their pockets. Fund managers say they have been topping up their holdings in banks in anticipation of a potential dividend bonanza. One is Ed Meier, manager of the Old Mutual UK Equity Income fund, which has stakes in HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds: 'What we are anticipating is that when the PPI hindrance goes away, we will get some very significant [dividend] growth from these companies.' Lloyds accounts for an astonishing 63 per cent of the total PPI payouts, handing back nearly 19billion to its customers. In 2017, the bank increased its PPI provisions by 1.7billion, nearly as much as the 2.2billion it paid to its 2.4m shareholders. But just because the bank will no longer have to fork out for PPI, it does not automatically mean that money will end up in shareholders' pockets. Lloyds is investing 3billion to upgrade its digital capabilities, part of which could be paid for with the money saved on PPI compensation. Laith Khalaf, of broker Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Lloyds has been front and centre of PPI and so they stand to benefit the most from PPI disappearing into the rear-view mirror. But all of the major banks have PPI costs.' PPI has been less of an issue for Barclays, costing it 9billion. However, its cash reserves have also been bled dry by a wide-ranging restructuring programme and a 1.4billion slap on the wrist from US regulators for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities. Khalaf said: 'The ending of PPI will be good for its dividend but it is still going through a transition so whether shareholders get anything in the short-term remains to be seen.' HSBC pays a healthy income to investors. At 3.6billion, its provision for PPI isn't insignificant. But the UK market is just one part of its global business. Its worldwide earnings, therefore, will have a greater bearing on its dividend. RBS hasn't paid a dividend since it had to be bailed out by taxpayers during the financial crisis. And the 5.1billion it has paid for PPI claims has been a millstone. However, it posted its first profit in ten years in February. Even so, RBS faces a potential multi-billion fine from the US Department of Justice within weeks for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities. Not only would this put a dividend on the back-burner, it would damage an already fragile business. Russ Mould, of broker AJ Bell, said: 'What investors want to see is banks keeping their noses clean, because if they can get the conduct and litigation charges down, it should free up a lot of cash which, in theory, should find its way to shareholders.' Prosecutors have dismissed the four most serious charges against 18-year-old Jack Sawyer (above) Prosecutors have dismissed the four most serious charges against a teenager accused of plotting to shoot up his former Vermont high school and cause mass casualties in a case that has led to new restrictions in the state's gun laws. A ruling by the state Supreme Court has made the prosecution against 18-year-old Jack Sawyer 'untenable,' Rutland County State's Attorney Rose Kennedy said. The state was dismissing charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault with a weapon, Kennedy said in a notice released Monday. Kennedy said she would proceed with two lesser charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon. Sawyer has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had been held without bail following his arrest on Feb. 15, a day after the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting massacre that killed 17 people, but the judge in his case set his bail at $100,000 last week. Sawyer is seen walking into court. He is accused of plotting to shoot up his former Vermont high school and cause mass casualties in a case that has led to new restrictions in the state's gun laws A ruling by the state Supreme Court has made the prosecution against 18-year-old Jack Sawyer 'untenable' Fair Haven High School is pictured above, where Sawyer used to attend Prosecutors say Sawyer kept a diary called 'The Journal of an Active Shooter' in which he made detailed plans for a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School, in Fair Haven, and said his goal was to kill more people than in any other school shooting. Authorities were alerted by a friend of Sawyer's, who turned over some Facebook messages in which Sawyer outlined the plot. Sawyer's defense team contended that he didn't take any concrete steps toward committing a crime that under state law would justify the charges. While Sawyer had moved from Maine back to Poultney and had bought a shotgun and ammunition as part of his planning he had not visited his former high school or even visited the town where it's located. The Supreme Court ruled that 'preparation alone' did not prove an attempt at aggravated murder so he could not be kept in jail without bail. Prosecutors say Sawyer kept a diary called 'The Journal of an Active Shooter' in which he made detailed plans for a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School Kennedy is asking the judge overseeing the case to keep Sawyer's bail at $100,000. Some conditions of Sawyer's release are that he be under the supervision of his father and a 24-hour curfew at his home. Sawyer also may not have any contact with any students, staff members or teachers at the school if released. Republican Gov. Phil Scott, after reading the police affidavit for the Sawyer case, said he changed his stance on some gun restrictions. On April 11, he signed bills to raise the age for buying firearms, ban high-capacity magazines and make it easier for authorities to take guns from people who pose threats to themselves or others. The move established the first significant gun restrictions on gun ownership in Vermont history. Scott also urged lawmakers to close loopholes related to the law of attempt and to establish a domestic-terrorism statute. The changes would not impact Sawyer as they could not be applied retroactively to his case. Sawyer's attorneys did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on Monday. Having kept the world waiting for four tantalising days, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge finally revealed their newborn son is called Louis Arthur Charles. Royalists and bookmakers alike have waited patiently since Monday to find out the name of the new arrival and fifth in line to the throne. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. The name serves as a poignant tribute to Prince Charles' beloved great-uncle, mentor and 'honorary grandfather', Lord Mountbatten, who was killed in 1979 when the IRA placed a bomb in his fishing boat. More than 100,000 bets were placed across the UK betting industry on the baby name, with both Albert and Arthur leading the way as the bookmakers' favourite. But William and Kate have plumped for a moniker used for centuries across the Channel by the French, who have had 18 kings called Louis. Bookies are now quids-in after William and Kate chose the name which had odds of 20/1. Millions of people around the world watched as the newborn prince was brought out onto the steps outside the hospital on Monday The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington THE WAIT FOR ROYAL NAMES Royals traditionally keep the public guessing before revealing their choice of name. William and Kate took two days to announce both George and Charlotte's names, informing the Queen of their choice beforehand. Mike and Zara Tindall used Twitter to unveil their daughter's name six days after she was born in 2014. Princess Beatrice's name was announced two weeks after her birth in 1988. In 1982, the Prince and Princess of Wales waited seven days before announcing Prince William's name. Advertisement Millions of people around the world waited with baited breath before Kensington Palace made the announcement at 11am this morning. The first French king Louis I, known as 'Louis the Pious', reigned between 778 and 840. The most famous was Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, whose reign started aged four and lasted 72 years and 110 days - the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. Queen Elizabeth's reign is currently in its 66th year. The last one was Louis XVIII - who reigned for a year until Napoleon took power for a second time in 1815 and ensured the monarchy was destroyed. The name serves as a touching nod to Lord Mountbatten, great- grandson of Queen Victoria and uncle to Prince Philip. His full title was Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. In 1979, Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas, and two others were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which had placed a bomb in his fishing boat, Shadow V, in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland. Earlier this week Prince William teased his newborn could be given the name Alexander or the rather less traditional moniker, Jerry. Australia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Alexander Downer, suggested to Prince William he should call the boy Alexander during an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey The Duke of Cambridge was joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Westminster Abbey for the traditional service Meeting a number of people in a line-up at the door of Westminster Abbey, William could be heard joking with one man that his son has a 'strong name' As he arrived for an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, Prince William playfully joked about potential names. Australia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Alexander Downer, suggested to William he should call the boy Alexander. 'Have you thought about the name Alexander for him?' the former foreign minister asked. William appeared keen on the idea. 'Well, it's funny you should say that. It's a good name,' he said. However, the Duke agreed the name 'Jerry' was a 'strong name' after Mr Downer suggested his New Zealand counterpart, Sir Jerry Mateparae, would also like to see the baby named after him. His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge The newest member of the royal family has been named His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge The newest member of the royal family has been named Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. Louis: The name is French and German in origin and means 'renowned warrior'. It is one of William's middle names, and Prince George also has it as a middle name. Lord Mountbatten was born Prince Louis of Battenburg in Windsor in 1900. His great-grandmother was Queen Victoria and his sister was Princess Alice of Battenberg, Prince Philip's mother. Arthur: Arthur is William's middle name and a link to the legendary King Arthur adds a special Royal pedigree. The name means 'Bear' - currently a popular baby name in its own right - and the 'Art' link suits this pair of History of Art graduates perfectly. Charles: Charles is a time-honoured Royal name and ever popular with the upper classes, making it the perfect way to honour William's father. It means 'man' or 'warrior' and suits our new Bonnie Prince. It is considered an unlucky royal name for a king as Charles I was executed and Charles II's reign featured the plague and the Great Fire of London. Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was a British statesman and naval officer Lord Louis Mountbatten , the last Governor General from Britain waving a cheery farewell to the crowds in Delhi William and Kate have plumped for a name used for centuries across the Channel by the French, who have had 18 kings called Louis. The first was Louis I, known as 'Louis the Pious', who reigned between 778 and 840. The most famous was Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, whose reign started aged four and lasted 72 years and 110 days - the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. Queen Elizabeth's reign is currently in its 66th year. Louis XVI was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution and was the only King of France ever to be executed. His wife Marie Antoinette was also executed by guillotine - but historians claim she never said the 'let them eat cake' phrase she is best known for. Their son Louis XVIII, the Duke of Normandy, reigned for a year until Napoleon took power for a second time in 1815 and ensured the monarchy was destroyed. Lord Louis Mountbatten wearing the Veterans of Foreign Wars Merit Award Lord Mountbatten was born Prince Louis of Battenburg in Windsor in 1900. His great-grandmother was Queen Victoria and his sister was Princess Alice of Battenberg, Prince Philip's mother. Uncle Dickie, as he was known in the family, shared a particularly tender relationship with his young family member Prince Charles. Lord Mountbatten was admiral of the fleet in the Second World War and the last viceroy of India. On the day he was killed, Mountbatten had set sail on pleasure boat Shadow V for a fishing trip. But a bomb had been smuggled on board the night before, and once the boat was a few hundred yards offshore it was remotely detonated. Other famous Louis: Prince Louis of Luxembourg is the third son of the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. The name is also shared by Louis Tomlinson, the singer-songwriter from One Direction. The 26-year-old was born in Doncaster before joining the boyband, who went onto worldwide fame after appearing on the X Factor. He later appeared as a guest judge on the show before launching a number of solo projects. He has a son with now-ex-girlfriend Briana Jungwirth. Louis Armstrong was a world-renowned musician and singer, perhaps best known for his rendition of What a Wonderful World. Born and raised in New Orleans, USA, his instantly recognisable gravelly voice and unparalleled trumpet skills saw him rise to prominence in the jazz scene during the 1920s. He enjoyed a long career spanning five decades, culminating with his induction into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2017. Fashion-conscious Kate may have been influenced by one of her favourite luxury fashion houses, Louis Vuitton. The 164-year-old French label, named after its founder, has become one of the world's leading retail companies and was valued at 13.7billion in 2017. The French fashion designer lived from 1821 to 1892. He went from poverty in rural France and trekked into Paris before becoming the apprentice to a box-maker. He later launched his own brand and was hired as personal box maker and packer to the Empress of France, under Napoleon III. Since his death, a fashion brand bearing his name has become a global brand. Popular BBC presenter and British journalist Louis Theroux is known for his probing documentaries. Pottermore, author JK Rowling's publishing company, has pointed out that Louis, Arthur and Charles are all members of the famous Weasley family from the Harry Potter books. The official Twitter account tweeted: "Louis Arthur Charles, you were named after three iconic Weasleys... RoyalBabyName" Advertisement Prince takes his place in royal order of succession as fifth in line to the throne The new Prince of Cambridge has become the fifth in line to the throne, pushing Prince Andrew out of the top six for the first time. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child - a younger sibling to Prince George and Princess Charlotte - is now the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's sixth great-grandchild. The boy, weighing 8lbs 7oz, is also a great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. Here is how the line of succession looks now that Kate and William's new royal baby has been born Following the baby's arrival, Prince Harry shifts down the line of succession to sixth place. The Duke of York, who was born second in line, has moved to seventh and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to eighth and ninth. LOUIS: THE RENOWNED WARRIOR The name Louis is French and German in origin and means 'renowned warrior' or Famous in Battle. Advertisement Andrew falling out of the top six means he will no longer have to ask the Queen for permission to marry - unlike Charles, William, George, Charlotte and Harry. The first six people in the line of succession must have the Queen's consent before they can marry on May 19, as set out by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. The act's introduction also saw sex removed as a determining factor in the line of succession. It has also been claimed that the royal baby has been born a commoner. Royal historian Marlene Koenig told Town and Country: 'It sounds complicated, but in the UK, the only people who are not commoners are the Sovereign and peers of the realm, (people with titles like) Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.' It was always thought that William and Kate would go on to have three children. Kate is one of three and had a happy home life with her sister, Pippa Matthews, and brother, James Middleton, and is close to both of her siblings. But William may need to adjust to caring for a newborn once again. Kate joked in the months leading up to her due date that her husband was 'in denial' about having a third. By having more than two children, William and Kate are following in the footsteps of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who went on to have four children - although there was a gap of 10 years between their second child, Anne, and third, Andrew. As a sibling to both future king George and 'spare to the heir' Charlotte, the new baby is unlikely ever to be crowned sovereign. The Duke of York is the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's third child, but when Andrew was born in 1960 he leapfrogged his older sister, Princess Anne, in the line of succession. The Cambridges' third child will no longer be allowed to jump ahead of older sister Charlotte in the line of succession. WHAT WERE THE ODDS ON THE NAME OF THE ROYAL BABY? Albert - 1/3 Arthur - 11/4 Alexander - 8/1 James - 10/1 Philip - 12/1 Louis - 14/1 Henry - 16/1 Frederick - 20/1 Thomas - 20/1 Edward - 20/1 25/1 bar Odds supplied by Ladbrokes Advertisement Previously, under the ancient rules of male primogeniture, royal sons took precedence over their female siblings, even leapfrogging first-born royal daughters. But a radical shake-up of the royal succession rules removed discriminatory male bias and came into force in March 2015, affecting babies born after October 28 2011. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 has already affected the Duke of Gloucester's granddaughters, Senna Lewis and Lyla Gilman, whose younger brothers, born in 2012, now follow them in the line of succession. The new baby will be a prince or princess thanks to the Queen, who stepped in ahead of Prince George's birth to ensure all William's children would become HRHs with fitting titles. The Queen issued a Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm in December 2012 when Kate was just a few months pregnant, declaring 'all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour'. A Letters Patent in 1917, issued by George V, limited titles within the royal family, meaning daughters born to William or Kate would not have been an HRH but Lady (forename) Mountbatten-Windsor instead and second or later-born sons would also have lacked the HRH title and become Lord (forename) Mountbatten-Windsors rather than princes. What were the names in the running? Here are some of the contenders: Alexander Alexandra is the name of the baby boy's great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and the middle name of the newborn's older brother Prince George. There has never been an English king called Alexander but three medieval Scottish kings ruled as Alexander. Alexander I reigned from 1107 to 1124, Alexander II from 1214 to 1249 and Alexander III followed him from 1249 to 1286. Alexander derives from the Greek word meaning protector of men, with Alexander the Great one of its most famous exponents. The famous mosaic Alexander's battle in the House of Fawn at the archeological site of Pompei Arthur One of Charles's middle names, Arthur is also one of William's middle names and was a middle name of the Queen's father, George VI. The legendary King Arthur was the mythical leader of the knights of the Round Table, who supposedly lived in the 5th or 6th century. Once popular, the name fell out of fashion but has had a revival in recent years. Former prime minister David Cameron has a son called Arthur. The legendary King Arthur was the mythical leader of the knights of the Round Table, who supposedly lived in the 5th or 6th century Albert Queen Victoria used to insist that the name Albert was used as a middle name by her descendants, if not a first, in honour of her much-loved consort Prince Albert. By choosing Albert or Bertie for a boy, William and Kate would be honouring Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, who was actually Albert Frederick Arthur George but always known to his family as Bertie. Shy, stammering Bertie was forced to become king when his brother Edward VIII abdicated, but won the nation's affection by standing firm in London during the Second World War. Queen Victoria used to insist that the name Albert was used as a middle name by her descendants, if not a first, in honour of her much-loved consort Prince Albert (pictured together) Philip A lasting tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh could see a Prince of Cambridge called Philip. Both Charles and William have Philip as a middle name. The Duke - known for his dedication to duty and his acerbic wit - has been married to the Queen for more than 70 years and is the nation's longest serving consort. Frederick A Prince Freddie of Cambridge would have a historical link to the 1st Duke of Cambridge. Prince Adolphus Frederick lived from 1774 to 1850 and was a son of George III. He was apparently very fond of interrupting church services by bellowing out 'By all means' if the priest said 'Let us pray'. A lasting tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh could see a Prince of Cambridge called Philip Charles William may have chosen to pay tribute to his father - but perhaps as a middle name as it may be considered to similar to Charlotte. William may have chosen to pay tribute to his father - but perhaps as a middle name as it may be considered to similar to Charlotte James James could have been chosen to signify Kate's affection for her brother, the baby's uncle, James Middleton. William already has a cousin James, the Earl and Countess of Wessex's son, Viscount Severn. James is a Stuart name. James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, had been king of Scotland for 36 years as James VI when he became king of England in 1603. James could have been chosen to signify Kate's affection for her brother, the baby's uncle, James Middleton (pictured in 2011 on his sister's wedding day) Other names They could have chosen William as a middle name, but also perhaps Michael as a middle name out of respect for Kate's father. Kate's grandfather on her paternal side was called Peter, while on her maternal side, her grandfather was Ronald. Thomas also appears several times in Kate's family tree as does Francis. Bookies make millions as Kate and Wills plump for 20/1 outsider name Bookies have made millions from nationwide betting on the name of the royal baby after Kate and William chose the 20/1 outsider 'Louis' as his name. Britons have taken advantage of the four days in which the royal baby went unnamed to have a flutter on what the new prince might be called. Arthur and Albert were two of the favourite names among punters, with Arthur around 11/4 and Albert at 1/3 Britain has been betting millions of the possible name of the royal baby but bookies, like Ladbrokes Alex Apati (pictured outside the Lindo Wing), were the real winners today Alexander was another favourite at 8/1 while James, Philip and Henry were all around 12/1. But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced they had chosen the name Louis this morning, in an apparent tribute to the Prince of Wales's great-uncle, Earl Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA. With relatively few Britons have bet on the name Louis, bookmakers around the UK will now keep the vast majority of the money wagered. Alex Apati, of bookmakers Ladbrokes, said: 'Prince Louis has caught both bookies and punters by surprise. With it being one of Prince George's middle names fans didn't see it as an obvious front runner for Kate and Wills second son. 'It looks like we made the right decision to keep betting open until the very end for royal punters, rather than suspending the market or paying out early due to the rumour mill going into overdrive, as we so often saw over the last few days.' The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their baby son Louis Arthur Charles Advertisement His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge has become the fifth in line to the throne. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child - a younger sibling to Prince George and Princess Charlotte - is now the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's sixth great-grandchild. Prince Louis Arthur Charles, weighing 8lbs 7oz, is also a great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. Here is how the line of succession looks now that Kate and William's new royal baby has been born Following the baby's arrival, Prince Harry shifts down the line of succession to sixth place. The Duke of York, who was born second in line, has moved to seventh and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to eighth and ninth. Andrew falling out of the top six means he will no longer have to ask the Queen for permission to marry - unlike Charles, William, George, Charlotte and Harry. The first six people in the line of succession must have the Queen's consent before they can marry on May 19, as set out by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. The act's introduction also saw sex removed as a determining factor in the line of succession. It has also been claimed that the royal baby has been born a commoner. Royal historian Marlene Koenig told Town and Country: 'It sounds complicated, but in the UK, the only people who are not commoners are the Sovereign and peers of the realm, (people with titles like) Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.' Millions of people around the world watched as the newborn prince was brought out onto the steps outside the hospital on Monday The child will change the current line of succession, but the first four in line will stay the same It was always thought that William and Kate would go on to have three children. Kate is one of three and had a happy home life with her sister, Pippa Matthews, and brother, James Middleton, and is close to both of her siblings. But William may need to adjust to caring for a newborn once again. Kate joked in the months leading up to her due date that her husband was 'in denial' about having a third. By having more than two children, William and Kate are following in the footsteps of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who went on to have four children - although there was a gap of 10 years between their second child, Anne, and third, Andrew. As a sibling to both future king George and 'spare to the heir' Charlotte, the new baby is unlikely ever to be crowned sovereign. The Duke of York is the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's third child, but when Andrew was born in 1960 he leapfrogged his older sister, Princess Anne, in the line of succession. The Cambridges' third child will no longer be allowed to jump ahead of older sister Charlotte in the line of succession. Previously, under the ancient rules of male primogeniture, royal sons took precedence over their female siblings, even leapfrogging first-born royal daughters. But a radical shake-up of the royal succession rules removed discriminatory male bias and came into force in March 2015, affecting babies born after October 28 2011. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 has already affected the Duke of Gloucester's granddaughters, Senna Lewis and Lyla Gilman, whose younger brothers, born in 2012, now follow them in the line of succession. The new baby will be a prince or princess thanks to the Queen, who stepped in ahead of Prince George's birth to ensure all William's children would become HRHs with fitting titles. The Queen issued a Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm in December 2012 when Kate was just a few months pregnant, declaring 'all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour'. A Letters Patent in 1917, issued by George V, limited titles within the royal family, meaning daughters born to William or Kate would not have been an HRH but Lady (forename) Mountbatten-Windsor instead and second or later-born sons would also have lacked the HRH title and become Lord (forename) Mountbatten-Windsors rather than princes. Jillian Howell was found dead at her Brighton home (Sussex Police/PA) A university deputy manager accused of murdering his boss told a court he apologised as he was killing her before scrawling 'bully' on her forehead. Jill Howell, 46, had invited her co-worker round for dinner and a chat and he had arrived with flowers and a bottle of wine. But during the evening David Browning, 52, he pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the back. Browning said Miss Howell screamed 'you b*****d' and tried to grab the 10cm hunting knife from him but he continued to stab her and replied: 'I'm sorry Jill, this is what mental health does to you.' Jurors were in tears and visibly shocked at Hove Crown Court on Thursday as the 52-year-old gave evidence on how he attacked Ms Howell at her home in Brighton on October 25 last year. He said the pair 'clashed' when she joined the University of Brighton payroll department as his superior in 2015 and admits manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denies murder. Browning told the trial he felt 'demeaned' by her but over time they resolved their differences and became friends. He confided in the Samaritans volunteer when he battled depression after the death of his father in October 2016, and a year later she urged him to seek professional help. In the months before she died, he bought a hunting knife and a shotgun and claims he was having daily suicidal thoughts. He said he first thought of killing Ms Howell around two weeks before the stabbing after his first counselling session, which he was unwilling to take part in because there was 'stigma' around mental health and he feared it would blemish his employment record. Police bodycam footage shows the moment David Browning told officers: 'I've killed my boss' Browning esaid the pair 'clashed' when she joined the University of Brighton payroll department as his superior in 2015 His evidence was fraught with interruptions while the judge and his defence barrister Graham Trembath QC repeatedly asked the softly spoken defendant to speak in a clear and loud voice so the jury could hear properly. In a barely audible voice, a calm Browning, dressed in a black suit with a blue-and-white striped shirt, stared in front of him as he recalled the sequence of events of that evening. He said he had convinced himself that was the day he must die and repeatedly questioned whether he had to kill her. He hired a van, put a shotgun and a bag containing clean clothes, cable ties and wires in the back, placed the knife in his coat pocket, took a bottle of wine he had previously bought for her and posted suicide letters. He told the court he paused for some time before putting the letters inside the postbox and then bought flowers before arriving at Ms Howell's house for a 'pleasant evening' enjoying a curry. Then at around 10.30pm she asked him to leave as she had an early morning volunteer shift. Browning said: 'I said I couldn't go home because I had posted my suicide notes on the way over. She was very shocked and said I needed to go to hospital now. 'She got up, picked up her trainers and jacket and sat back down in the chair and leaned forward to tie her shoelaces. I was behind her to the side. 'I felt this whoosh feeling come over me. I pulled the knife out and I stabbed her in the back. 'She fell over and up against the sofa. I then stabbed her twice in the throat (and later in the chest). The victim and her killer worked together at the University of Brighton's payroll department 'She grabbed the knife and screamed 'You bastard'. I said 'I'm sorry Jill, this is what mental health does to you.' Browning said he then continued to stab her in the throat and the chest until she lay motionless on the floor of the living room. He told how he was thinking 'what the hell is going on, what the hell have you just done. Why have I just attacked somebody who is helping me?' He added: 'I just felt shame, guilt, I was just in complete despair.' A packed public gallery listened as Browning remembered sitting back down in the chair for around an hour and a half with his head in his hands 'just in complete shock' at what he had done. He said to himself 'it's your turn now' but found he could not do it so had a lengthy conversation with the Samaritans on the phone. At some point he said he scrawled 'bully' on her head and sprayed graffiti on the walls which implicated her close friend Sean McDonald in the death. Shortly after the killing, Browning posted this image on his Facebook page, the jury heard The trial previously heard he was obsessed with her and had a romantic attachment to her but he denied having a 'crush' and insisted he was a 'happily married man'. He said his wife Debbie, who works in the same university department, knew about his friendship with Ms Howell, knew she was trying to help him overcome his problems and was aware he was seeing her that evening. He denied being 'jealous' of former Worthing mayor Mr McDonald but admitted trying to implicate him in the crime by writing his name on the walls of her home and forging documents so he would become the sole beneficiary of her pension scheme. The court heard Miss Howell had joined the university a payroll manager in January 2015 and had to work closely with her deputy Browning. He said initially he had got on well with his new boss but as the months passed they began to disagree. Browning described his office as having a 'toxic' environment where Miss Howell would 'take to task' staff by shouting, humiliating and belittling them on occasion. He said the job was 'high pressure' because of changes in pensions laws and the growing number of staff working at the university. He told the court the three previous managers had retired on ill health, two of which were stress-related. Asked why he killed her, he said he was not thinking rationally adding: 'I'd love to know why, I'll never forgive myself. I've ruined the lives of her family, my family, her friends, my colleagues, my employer.' A man suspected of murder who fled from a Hawaii psychiatric hospital has been deemed fit to be tried in court. Randall Saito was committed to a Hawaii psychiatric hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity of a woman's 1979 killing. However, after planning an elaborate escape, a panel of three examiners found him to be mentally fit to stand trial for an escape charge. Saito was captured in Stockton, California, just days after walking out of Hawaii State Hospital. Prosecutors said his escape plan included flights to Maui and fake licenses, all of which he plotted with a banned cellphone. Randall Saito appears in court for a hearing on his mental competence to stand trial, Thursday, in Honolulu Saito fled from a Hawaii psychiatric hospital, where he was committed after being found not guilty by reason of insanity of a woman's 1979 killing, is mentally fit to stand trial for an escape charge Randall Saito's defense attorney and a state prosecutor didn't dispute the panel's confidential reports during a brief hearing Thursday. After walking out of the hospital, he called a taxi that took him to the airport, where he took a chartered flight to Maui. Saito used an alias to arrange the flight and paid $1,445 cash for it, prosecutors said. He then took a commercial flight to San Jose, California. When he was arrested in nearby Stockton three days after his escape, he had more than $6,000 in cash and fake Washington state and Illinois driver's licenses bearing his photos with different names, prosecutors said. The fake licenses contained convincing-looking holograms that are difficult to reproduce. Officials are still investigating the escape, including where he got the money and other supplies. A judge ordered that he go before a panel of examiners to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for the escape. Saito's trial is scheduled for June, but defense attorney Michael Green said Wednesday his client 'will eventually admit to the elopement.' While jailed near Stockton after his capture, Saito gave various interviews with reporters, including The Associated Press. He said he escaped to show that he should be free. Saito would rather remain in a Honolulu jail where he's being held on $500,000 bail instead of return to the hospital, Green said. Advertisement If a picture is worth a thousand words, this iconic image of former and current White House inhabitants speaks volumes. Paul Morse, a White House photographer under President George W. Bush, was invited to capture the final farewell to former first lady Barbara Bush this past Saturday in Houston. Morse tells DailyMail.com about snapping the quintessential shot of America's heads of states who were in attendance to pay their respects to the late first lady, and the interactions he witnessed beyond his lens as well. The former presidents and their wives, along with First Lady Melania Trump who was attending on behalf of the First Family, all appear to be at ease in the moment Morse captured perfectly. The group was in a small room behind the chapel itself, where people would file past H.W., or 41, as he is often called, to greet him before heading to take their seats in the expansive chapel for the funeral service. The photo was taken just before services began, with only the former presidents and first ladies remaining. Iconic image: Former President George H.W. Bush is flanked by (left to right) former first lady Laura Bush, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama and First Lady Melania Trump (image taken Saturday in Houston at former first lady Barbara Bush's services) In the instantly iconic shot, First Lady Melania Trump looks comfortable, closely standing beside her predecessor, Michelle Obama. Morse, who has also worked as a freelance photographer for the Clintons and the Obamas, said the group intuitively understood how much this photo would mean to George W., as he mourned his mother Barbara. 'All of the former presidents knew itd be a special thing to do for him, theyve shown him a lot of respect over the years at other events like that One America Appeal for hurricane relief. Taking a picture together was kind of expected, I think, and they took no time to kind of fall right into place,' Morse said. However, he says, 'It wasn't until after the service and the private service at the president's library that I actually had time to look at the photo on my computer. The first thing that struck me was how natural everyone looked. Their smiles were authentic and everyone was very comfortable around each other which was remarkable. Everyone looked very happy to be together,' he told New York magazine separately. Moreover, the lone First Lady seemed comfortable with the past presidential couples, despite her husband's contentious campaign against Hillary Clinton, as well as comments he has made against just about everyone else in the photo. 'The First Lady seemed very happy to be included as part of that group and looked really happy to be there,' Morse continued to DailyMail.com. Morse said that while his goal was to photograph former President George H.W. Bush along with attendees paying respects to his beloved wife, he was also keenly aware of other interactions transpiring around him. The photographer noted the intimate conversation Melania was having with Michelle off camera. 'I could see in the distance her chatting with Michelle Obama and they were having a friendly conversation it seemed, though I couldnt hear what they were talking about. They seemed at ease with each other as you can see in the photo.' Melania appeared to be most comfortable with the Obamas, as evidenced by the interactions she had throughout the day. Another revealing image Morse snapped: Former President George W. Bush with his father George H.W. Bush, along with his daughter Dorothy Bush Koch after funeral services for the former first lady Morse also captured Bush family members with the casket of former first lady Barbara Bush after funeral services at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas Barbara Bush's casket, surrounded by her close family, just before she is laid to rest, in this image by Paul Morse She was seated next to the Obamas later during services, where she was spotted chatting to Barack. Additionally, the conversations she had with Michelle that were not pictured, and how the women stood closely together in Morse's photo show a definite closeness. Paul Morse, a former White House photographer under George W. Bush snapped the iconic image of former presidents and first ladies at Barbara's funeral services Morse explains these familial exchanges: 'Both have the experience of raising their children in the White House. All the former presidents have so this might explain why they all looked so comfortable together. No matter the politics they raised their children in a rare environment.' The rare glimpses Morse offers into a day that included the people from the most exclusive and powerful club in America, are made more intriguing when he is asked about what he says he did not see. While the former presidents and wives were alone in the small room off of the main chapel, he says he did not see Melania interacting with the Clintons. 'I didnt see any interaction between Hillary and Melania,' Morse said, although he cautions he cannot comment on what he did not see. And, he also did not notice the Obamas and Clintons interact either, although he did have his task at hand, which had less to do with leaders other than the Bushes. 'Honestly I didnt see President Obama and President Clinton interact because I was focusing my attention on people coming up to 41. I saw each arrive out of the corner of my eye but stayed close in anticipation of them greeting 41. They both greeted him separately with President Clinton talking to him twice. President Clinton and 41 developed a close friendship years after Clintons term.' While President Trump was not in attendance, Morse says Melania brought her own distinguished, and very welcomed guests. 'Melania bought two of the former White House residence staff who worked for 41, 43, 44 and 45 to the reception. They received warm and jovial greetings from (sisters) Barbara Bush and Jenna Hager Bush who they have know since they were little girls visiting their grandfather at the White House. Also President Clinton and Hillary Clinton gave them big hugs.' The shot was in part coordinated by H.W. Bushs chief of staff Jean Becker. 'Rather than me kind of getting everyone together, they were pairing down who was in the room as people were going into the service.' Serene: Morse captured Bush family members following the casket of former first lady Barbara Bush during a private ceremony in College Station, Texas, just before her burial Barbara Bush's casket is brought to the hearse, with her family in the background, before she begins her final journey to be buried Morse, who was the White House photographer under George H.W. Bush, being intimately familiar with the family, understood why the former president's sock details mattered. Barbara Bush was known for her work promoting literacy, which her husband subtly honored by wearing socks printed with blue, red and yellow books Unlikely friendship: In the photos from Barbara Bush's funeral, it appeared Melania's closest ties were with the Obamas, who were often near her side Video of Barbabra Bush's funeral service proceedings show former President Barack Obama sharing a lighthearted moment with First Lady Melania Trump 'The former presidents were the last ones there and she asked if she could do a group picture with President Bush. It all kind of naturally came together. All of the characters were there except President Clinton, who was talking to someone. He was the last one who joined the picture and he kind of scooted in there, which is why hes partially obscured by Mrs. Clinton,' Morse explained. 'The one thing I know from working with President Bush 43 is that hes fairly impatient.' With Morse adding: 'He lets people know when its time to get going. It happened very quickly.' While the occasion was a somber one, Morse, who is now living his post White House life in New Orleans and photographs weddings, said the services had a more celebratory tone. 'The mood at the reception was more upbeat and celebratory than I expected. While guests offered their condolences to 41 they were also very happy to see him.' 'A few days prior, President Bush 43 said he was at peace with his moms passing. It wasnt a very down environment. People were more there to pay respects to 41 and more to celebrate Barbara Bushs life than to mourn. She had a life well-lived and it was a time to celebrate that.' Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has ordered all members of the Defense Department to re-double their efforts to aggressively work to prevent and respond to sexual assaults across the military. In a memo released Thursday, Mattis said that officers and commanders must act as substitute parents for their young troops, charging leaders to 'use their authority and force of personality to prevent and eliminate sexual assault from our ranks.' His memo comes amid revelations that reports of sexual assaults across the military jumped by nearly 10 percent in 2017. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis said Thursday that sexual assault is a cancer in the ranks and that he discussed the issue with senior leaders. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis listens to a question on the Department of Defense budget posture during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Thursday April 26, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington In this photograph taken on August 14, 2015, a US army soldier and military dog keep watch as Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers walk through coalition force Forward Operating Base (FOB) Connelly in the Khogyani district in the eastern province of Nangarhar 'I expect every member of the Department to use their initiative and courage to model ethical and legal behavior in the workplace, at home, and online,' Mattis said in the memo dated last week. 'Sexual assault is one of the most destructive factors in building a mission-focused military.' The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the overall increase in sexual assaults across the services in 2017 was fueled by a roughly 15-percent surge in reports in the Marine Corps. Officials said the Air Force and Navy had increases of about 9 percent and the Army about 8 percent. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss figures not yet publicly released. Mattis appeared to pin part of the problem on the youth of his force -- emphasizing the parental role that officers can play as they lead their troops. 'While casualties on the battlefield are understood to be consistent with our military duties, I accept no casualties due to sexual assault within our ranks,' Mattis said in his memo, invoking the Latin phrase meaning 'in the place of a parent. 'Military leaders are to be zealous in carrying out 'in loco parentis' responsibilities and ridding our ranks of such illegal, abhorrent behavior.' The increase in sexual assault reports came in a year that saw a massive online nude-photo sharing scandal rock the services, triggering greater awareness of sexual harassment and other similar complaints. The Marines were at the center of last year's online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and launched a large public campaign to raise awareness of inappropriate behavior and beef up enforcement of social media rules and conduct. Defense officials have consistently argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend, because it's a highly underreported crime, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they argue, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system and greater comfort with the support for victims. It's unclear, however, if the increased reports in 2017 actually represent a growing problem or if victims were just more willing to come forward. It's also not clear if any of the added attention resulting from the online scandal prompted victims to file reports. Testimony has concluded after defense attorneys declined to call any witnesses in the trial of a Michigan motorist accused of running down nine bicyclists, killing five of them. The defense's move Thursday means 52-year-old Charles Pickett Jr of Battle Creek will not testify during his trial on 14 charges, including five each of second-degree murder and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs causing death. One testimony from former friend Pamela Barletta alleges Pickett took 'a handful of pills' after a heated argument with her before getting into his pickup truck. 'He just had a handful of pills in his hand and chucked them in his mouth,' Barletta said during her testimony Thursday. 'I said that's real smart Charlie, now you have to drive. And, before I could say anything else, he drove away.' Charles Pickett, 52, allegedly took multiple pills before he got behind the wheel and mowed over nine cyclists in June 2016 Former friend Pamela Barletta testified against Pickett during his trial Thursday. She said she saw him take the pill before he drove off Pictured is the pills taken into evidence after the fatal crash. Pickett told investigators after the crash that he took pain pills and muscle relaxers Pickett arrived at the Roof Inn on June 6, 2016, after returning from a friend's funeral, Barletta said during her testimony. The pair had a fight about Barletta returning home to her husband to sort out a domestic issue before Pickett quickly left the hotel parking lot. Surveillance footage caught the man at a gas station nearby where he bought a drink to wash down the pills he took. He then allegedly plowed into a group of cyclists, killing five and injuring three. During the trial, Detective Richard Mattison testified that Pickett had been taking methamphetamine for two years as a daily user leading up to the crash, WWMT reported. At the hospital after the crash, Pickett admitted to investigators that he took pain pills and muscle relaxers prior to driving. Pickett is accused of driving under the influence of drugs and faces second-degree murder charges for plowing into a group of bicyclists in Cooper Township, Michigan, in June 2016 Melissa Schultz identifies Charles Pickett Jr., as the driver of the blue truck which ran down a group of bicyclists in June 2016, as she testifies during Pickett's murder trial Forensic pathologist Elizabeth Douglas also delivered a detailed testimony Thursday about three of the people who died during the fatal crash. Fred Anton Nelson, 73, from Kalamazoo, suffered multiple blunt force trauma injuries to his head an neck. Douglas said he was killed quickly but not instantly. Melissa Ann Fevig Hughes, 42, from Kalamazoo, also suffered blunt force trauma to the head, neck and trunk area. But she also had lacerations on her internal organs. She died quickly but not instantly, Douglas said. The third victim mention during the trial was Debra Ann Bradley, 53, from Augusta. She suffered blunt impact to the head and neck and did not die as quickly as the others. Pickett faces up to life in prison, if convicted. Prosecutors also ended their case Thursday. They allege Pickett was driving well above the speed limit and didn't apply his brakes until striking the first victim in the 2016 crash near Kalamazoo. Closing arguments are scheduled Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Ryan has forced out the House chaplain, Reverend Patrick Conroy. Conroy had served as the chamber's chaplain since 2011 but offered his resignation last week at Ryan's urging. Conroy's resignation letter said he was offering to step down at Ryan's request, calling his seven years of House service 'one of the great privileges of my life.' But one senior Democratic aide told The Hill that people thought Conroy was pushed out because 'Republicans thought he was aligned with Democrats'. Ryan spokeswoman Ashlee Strong would not reveal the speaker's reasons for forcing Conroy out. Reverend Patrick Conroy offered his resignation last week at House Speaker Paul Ryan's urging. Conroy served on the House floor for seven years A spokesperson for Ryan offered no explanation as to why the chaplain was asked to leave. Reports have said Ryan forced him out because 'he aligned with the Democrats' 'As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives,' the April 15 letter to Ryan, obtained by The Hill, states. Lawmakers such as Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said they were in the dark as to why 'Father Pat' was eased out. Boyle, a Catholic, said he did not know that Conroy was ousted until hearing it from media accounts. The offices of Ryan and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered differing accounts. Ryan spokeswoman Strong said Ryan consulted with Pelosi and said Pelosi could have blocked the chaplain's firing if she wished. Pelosi's office contended that she made it clear that she disagreed with the decision and said she only heard positive comments from lawmakers about Conroy. Pelosi would not comment as she walked to the House floor Thursday afternoon. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is allegedly planning to send a letter to Ryan to request additional information about Conroy leaving, The Hill reported. One senior Democratic aide told the news site that people thought Conroy was pushed out because 'Republicans thought he was aligned with Democrats.' According to a lawmaker, Ryan took issue with a prayer the Conroy did on the House floor in November that appeared critical of the GOP's tax bill, but this has not been confirmed. The chaplain is responsible for opening the House each day with a prayer and offering counseling to lawmakers and aides on the House side of the Capitol. Conroy is a Roman Catholic priest from the Jesuit order. A red-bellied black snake made a lucky escape if it was rescued from a can of rubbish discarded on a roadside in the Adelaide Hills. The snake was found with his head wedged inside the soft drink can near the small town of Macclesfield. In footage taken of the rescue, the snake was cut from the can using a pair of scissors with the skilled experience of a wildlife rescue team. A red-bellied black snake made a lucky escape if it was rescued from a can of rubbish discarded on a roadside in the Adelaide Hills Snake Catchers Adelaide manager Ange Broadstock was called to the roadside after a driver found the distressed serpent. 'Red belly stuck in a can!', she wrote under the video posted to Facebook. 'An early morning phone call from a concerned Macclesfield resident who found the snake on the side of the road on his way to work. 'He pulled over, picked up the snake and placed him off the road then called us.' The pair used a pair of scissors to slice the can open for the snake's head to be released. The snake was found with his head wedged inside the soft drink can near the small town of Macclesfield The distressed reptile was quick to wriggle and squirm from the can but the experienced snake catchers held him safely down with a two-finger grip on his head. 'He's warm and lively,' Ms Broadstock said as the snake wrapped himself around her arm. As her colleague carefully pried the frightened snake from the can, they turned it around to expose the distinct red under belly. 'He's alright. Hasn't been cut,' Ms Broadstock determines. The snake was cut from the can using a pair of scissors with the skilled experience of a wildlife rescue team The rescuers turn the snake to reveal a deep indent in its neck made from the sharp aluminium can edge. However the grateful snake appeared unhurt and the metal had not sliced through the skin. 'That's why people shouldn't litter. Don't throw your cans out the window,' Ms Broadstock said. 'One needs to have some respect for our creatures and land, after all its their backyard we are littering!' The venomous reptile was released, making his way down a tunnel and straight into a crack in the ground. It's not uncommon to find snakes in in different kinds of rubbish as they like confined spaces. Many of the reptiles seek the warmth of the can, are attracted to the liquid in the drink or want a dark enclosed space to hide in. Unfortunately, snakes don't realise they can become stuck - which is particularly dangerous during warmer months, Ms Broadstock said. The richest and poorest suburbs in Australia have been revealed by the Australian Taxation Office, according to the average salary per postcode - and the variation is staggering. Sitting at peak position in the 2015-16 stats is Sydney's 2027 postcode, which covers the coveted eastern suburbs of Darling Point, Edgecliff and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's local Point Piper. The average taxable income for that area was a cool $192,500 - the topmost in Australia, News.com.au reports. Data released by the Australian Taxation Office has revealed the richest and poorest suburbs in the country, with Sydney suburb Point Piper's 2027 postcode coming in at the top Suburbs on the bottom end of the ladder included Bulyeroi and Rowena, both in New South Wales, and Watchem in Victoria (pictured) At the bottom end of the ladder are the north-eastern New South Wales suburbs of Bulyeroi and Rowena, both covered by the 2387 postcode and grossing an average salary of $12,004. Those figures were gathered from a total 5995 taxpayers in the top postcode, and 135 in the lowest. The richest and poorest postcodes were both located in New South Wales, while the second-highest and second-lowest both located in Victoria The statistics also revealed Australia's top-earning occupations, with surgeons, anaesthetists and internal medicine specialists coming in at the top tiers. 'Perhaps unsurprisingly, the medical profession does dominate the top income categories, and the eastern suburbs of Sydney dominate the postcodes,' said ATO second commissioner Andrew Mills. 'Although one thing that did strike me was that the highest and lowest postcodes are in NSW.' ATO second commissioner Andrew Mills said it was 'unsurprising that the eastern suburbs of Sydney dominate the postcodes' Victoria, comparatively, was home to the second-highest and second-lowest income areas - split between the Watchem and Morton Plains postcode of 3482 and the Brim postcode of 3391, respectively. The state also had five out of the bottom 10 postcodes. 'The interesting thing to observe there is in the previous 2014-15 year, [the bottom] was dominated by Queensland, they had seven out of the 10,' Mr Mills said. In the 2015-16 stats, only one Queensland postcode made the bottom ten. Only one Queensland postcode made the bottom 10 - a stark contrast to the seven out of 10 in the previous year's stats Mr Mills also cautioned against reading too far into these kind of statistics, however, as there could sometimes be 'odd things happening'. 'One of the problems with that data is it often looks at the headline of gross income,' he said. 'If you've got a sole trader, even someone who's running a small business [such as a] mechanic, they could have $1 million gross income but you have wages, costs and so on, so the taxable income might be low. 'Don't jump to conclusions,' he stressed. 'That's a very messy story. So for this tax season and in subsequent years [we will] start breaking out a bit more info for added granularity.' The Tax Stats are an overview of 16 million income tax returns for 13.5 million individuals, 940,000 companies, as well as superannuation funds, partnerships and trusts lodged for 2016. Highest incomes by postcode $192,500 2027 (NSW: Darling Point, Edgecliff, Point Piper) $190,777 3142 (Victoria: Hawksburn, Toorak) $182,829 2030 (NSW: Dover Heights, Rose Bay North, Vaucluse) $180,412 2023 (NSW: Bellevue Hill) $167,266 3944 (Victoria: Portsea) $161,360 2088 (NSW: Mosman, Spit Junction) $159,736 2063 (NSW: Northbridge) $150,230 6011 (Western Australia: Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove) $147,757 2110 (NSW: Hunters Hill, Woolwich) $146,521 2028 (NSW: Double Bay) Advertisement Celebrities shared their joy at Bill Cosby being found guilty. On Thursday, the TV icon was found guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault - administering an intoxicant, rendering his victim unconscious and penetrating her without consent - at his retrial in Pennsylvania. The 80-year-old was accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand 14 years ago - which he denies. Reactions from Hollywood flooded social media as the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era came to a close. Reactions from Hollywood flooded social media after comedian Bill Cosby was found guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday 'Finally some justice for Bill Cosbys victims. May they find a little #peace today. #GUILTY,' tweeted Elizabeth Banks. 'Times up, Bill. Times BEEN up for you, for years. And now justice. Justice for women I know who youve hurt and those Ive never met. Good riddance,' wrote Amber Tamblyn. Rosie O'Donnell posted a photo of Cosby with the hashtag #guilty. Celebrity victims of sexual assault including Terry Crews and Rose McGowan also took to Twitter to share their thoughts. 'ACCOUNTABILITY. This is the only way things will change,' Crews wrote. McGowan's tweet read: 'Cosby is guilty. Im sorry if you loved a lie. His victims can now exhale. Thank you judge and jury. Thank you society for waking up.' Around 60 women, many of them formerly aspiring actresses and models, came forward publicly to brand him a calculating, serial predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to bed them over four decades. But only one case had not surpassed the statute of limitations: the alleged assault of Constand, which could see Cosby now face 10 years in prison on each count. Celebrity victims of sexual assault including Terry Crews, Rose McGowan and Padma Lakshmi also took to Twitter to share their thoughts During the trial, Cosby's lawyers attempted to paint the women as home-wreckers and liars who made up their allegations in a bid for money and fame. Both a first and a second trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania revealed a dark underside to his signature role of benevolent father figure and affable obstetrician Cliff Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show.' 'Everybody knows you, Mr Cosby,' said a police officer taking down his original deposition in the case. 'Not really,' came the elusive reply. Cosby's lawyers attempted to paint the women as home-wreckers and liars who made up their allegations in a bid for money and fame (Pictured, Cosby exits Montgomery County Courthouse on Thursday) The first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury declared themselves 'hopelessly deadlocked' after close to 53 hours of deliberation (Pictured, Cosby and spokesperson Andrew Wyatt exit Montgomery County Courthouse on Thursday) Cosby's true colors showed as he lashed out in court before speeding home in a large SUV. As District Attorney Kevin Steele demanded the comedian's $1million bail be revoked because he is a flight risk, Cosby, who was all smiles as he walked into court ahead of the verdict, yelled out that 'he doesn't have a plane, you a**hole' in outrage. After the verdict was read, defense attorney Tom Mesereau met briefly with the press and said: 'The fight is not over.' Cosby refused to make a statement at a press conference following the verdict and was driven immediately home in a black SUV. Judge Steven T O'Neill said Cosby was not to leave his home in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, unless for a bail hearing. The first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury declared themselves 'hopelessly deadlocked' after close to 53 hours of deliberation. A father-of-two has been jailed after he raped a young girl in his car while on bail for another sexual assault incident. Satyam Chetty will be behind bars for 10 years after offering the 13-year-old girl a lift home before he pulled over and raped her in the back seat. The then 41-year-old spotted the girl waiting at the side of a road in Manukau, New Zealand, where he took her to a nearby park in April 2016, New Zealand Herald reported. Satyam Chetty (pictured) will be behind bars for 10 years after offering a 13-year-old girl a lift home before he pulled over and raped her in the back seat The girl tried to get the father to stop but was stuck in the car, Auckland High Court heard. After raping the then 13-year-old, Chetty took the girl back to where he found her and she called police. Chetty pleaded guilty to the crime which he committed while on bail for a similar offence two years prior. The man offered two women a lift home in 2014 before he dumped one at a petrol station and sexually assaulted the other unconscious woman in his car at a supermarket car park. Chetty's actions were described as 'predatory' and opportunistic. The 43-year-old man was jailed for the 2014 crime which has now been extended until July 2026. Eddie McGuire's co-hosts on The Footy Show mocked their fellow presenter over a recent fake news story suggesting he has erectile dysfunction. The show on Thursday night kicked off with a segment with Sam Newman brewing a concoction to aid his colleague's sex life as his colleagues joined in with jokes. McGuire immediately denied the story claiming he had endorsed TryVexen - a medication used to aid men with erectile problems - saying he is suing both the authors of the article and Facebook for publishing the untrue and fake story. Eddie McGuire's co-hosts on The Footy Show mocked their fellow presenter over a recent fake news story The show on Thursday night kicked off with a segment as McGuire looked extremely uncomfortable during as he vowed again to sue Facebook and the publishers The broadcaster and Collingwood president did not look too impressed with the banter about the fake article - which was mocked up to look like it was in GQ magazine. Wearing a white lab coat ready to create the potion, Newman asked his Channel Nine colleague if he was 'alright with this' and whether he had 'invested in it'. But McGuire replied: 'No, I'm not. Clearly I haven't and that's why I'm taking legal action. 'Gordon Legal are handling the campaign and we're going after Facebook and the people who perpetrated this live and embarrassed me and have broken my spirit, it's been a horrible thing.' Sam Newman brewed a concoction to aid his colleague's sex life as well as some extremely graphic jokes as his colleagues joined in Wearing a white lab coat ready to create the potion, Newman asked his Channel Nine colleague if he was 'alright with this' The puns then started rolling in from Newman and Billy Brownless. Brownless jested as he asked McGuire whether the campaign 'hadn't gone off premarturely or too early' - to which McGuire smiled but clearly wasn't comfortable. Newman then piled in saying they 'wouldn't go too hard' on him. The awkward moments continued throughout the opening skit as Newman continued to make blue puns - one which left the audience both disgusted and left McGuire head in hands on the desk. The awkward moments continued throughout the opening skit as Newman brewed the potion featuring 'rhinoceros horn and Nathan Buckley's arm sweat' Newman continued to make his remedy with ingredients such as 'rhinoceros horn, oyster sauce, hair from the 2010 Collingwood premiership team'. There were other additions including 'Nathan Buckley's arm sweat collected and preserved after his last game for Collingwood', which he was unsure about whether he was supposed to 'put it in'. One audience member chimed in telling Newman to 'put it in because Eddie can't' to which McGuire turned and glared to 'the Essendon supporter' who made the quip. But McGuire replied: 'No, I'm not. That's why I'm taking legal action.' The broadcaster was the butt of the jokes on Thursday night's The Footy Show McGuire, who is also host of Millionaire Hot Seat and the MMM Radio breakfast show, retorted: 'We can share that concoction buddy don't worry about that.' The final ingredient saw the mixture react and bubble over as Newman said 'you get the idea that's what it does'. McGuire was pictured, named and quoted in the article alleging to endorse the product but is vowing to 'sue the a*** off' the publishers, he said earlier this week. Mark Dearn has joined the Labour leader's office from a controversial group that campaigns for a boycott of Israeli goods Jeremy Corbyn has recruited a strategy adviser who once called for Israel to be condemned in the same way as the Islamic State terror group. Mark Dearn has joined the Labour leader's office from a controversial group that campaigns for a boycott of Israeli goods. The appointment risks reigniting tensions as the party struggles to deal with the anti-Semitism row engulfing it. For the past three years Mr Dearn, 36, has been a senior campaigns officer at anti-Israel group War on Want, which has been criticised for holding events where speakers have defended violence in the country. Its actions have included organising a sit-in at Waitrose over its stocking of Israeli products. Earlier this year, Israel banned activists from War on Want nicknamed 'War on Israel' by its critics from entering the country over its support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which encourages consumers not to buy Israeli goods and to put pressure on firms to pull money out of the country. Mr Dearn has tweeted about the boycott, which was branded as 'bigotry' by Labour's shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry last year. He has also criticised the United Nations for failing to condemn Israel in the same way as it has rebuked Islamic State. After then UN deputy secretary-general Jan Eliasson complained in November 2014 about how IS had exploited access to water to suppress communities, Mr Dearn tweeted: 'No mention of Israel.' Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn while canvassing in West Drayton, London ahead of the local elections As well as being a key backer of BDS, War on Want helps fund and organise Israeli Apartheid Week, an event at universities which has been accused of 'targeting and harassing Jewish students and inviting anti-Semitic speakers to campuses' an allegation strongly rejected by the group. War on Want sponsored an Israeli Apartheid Week meeting in London in February 2016 and paid for the accommodation of one speaker, Steven Salaita, who appeared to defend violence. The academic attacked Israel's 'tenuous colonial existence' and told the gathering: 'If we are going to reduce a project of ethnic cleansing, illegal settlement and military occupation to the minuscule chance that a soldier or a settler will be harmed by an act of resistance by the natives, then we forfeit all right to be taken seriously.' Another speaker said British government policy was fuelled by 'Zionist and neocon lobbies'. In February 2016, Alex Chalmers resigned as co-chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club after it decided to endorse Israel Apartheid Week. Loach honour criticised The prime minister of Belgium has admonished one of his country's top universities for honouring Left-wing filmmaker Ken Loach while he is embroiled in Labour's anti-Semitism scandal. Charles Michel said the Free University of Brussels should not have awarded an honorary doctorate to Jeremy Corbyn's ally after Mr Loach said Labour MPs who demonstrated against anti-Semitism should be kicked out of the party. Mr Michel, 42, said: 'No accommodation with anti-Semitism can be tolerated.' Advertisement He condemned it as 'a movement with a history of targeting and harassing Jewish students and inviting anti-Semitic speakers to campuses'. Last November, Miss Thornberry branded boycotts of Israeli products or academics as 'bigotry'. At a Labour Friends of Israel meeting, she attacked those who 'somehow believe that opposition to the policies of an individual government can ever justify a hatred of the nation and its people, or a boycott of its products, its culture or its academics, or a denial of its right to defend itself from military assault and terror attacks'. Mr Dearn worked for a newspaper in Kent before getting a job as a London-based foreign correspondent for a Japanese broadsheet. He then studied politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies. The Labour Party last night declined to comment. A teenager had a terrifying encounter with a shark at a a Sydney beach while he was on his morning surf. Christian Hliounakis was surfing at North Wollongong beach when he heard another surfer call out 'shark'. The 15-year-old told Daily Mail Australia he was terrified at first, but then realised there was nothing he could do to get away. A teenager had a terrifying encounter with a shark (pictured) at a a Sydney beach while he was on his morning surf. 'I was both scared but calm, I knew there was nothing I could do to get away as it was too close already and I didn't want to take my eyes off it,' he said. He captured the incredible footage of the shark swimming dangerously close and posted it on Instagram. 'Not the kind of friend you wanna be making on a morning surf. Baby white?, he posted. The incredible footage of the shark swimming dangerously close (pictured) was posted on Instagra Christian said the shark was about a metre and a half away, and he believes it may have been a 'baby white'. 'At first I was scared after another surfer called out shark but then we realised that it wasn't aggressive at all and quite calm. 'It didn't try to bite, seem quite friendly to be honest, it was humbling to see it so calm as it swam past.' 'I got out of the water shortly after.' Dominic Raab's aide allegedly claimed the Tory minister was 'difficult to work with' and often acted as if he was the prime minister. The diary secretary described her boss as being 'dismissive of women' and putting 'himself above everybody'. The 20-year-old civil servant said Mr Raab had 'tunnel vision' and that 'just managing him had been really hard'. Mr Raab, the minister for housing and planning, became the MP for Esher and Walton in 2010. The diary secretary described her boss (pictured, second from right, speaking to Theresa May) as being 'dismissive of women' and putting 'himself above everybody' The 44-year-old has been identified by some Westminster watchers as a future Tory leader and prime minister. Mr Raab's secretary told an undercover Daily Mirror journalist: 'I'm not his biggest fan. 'You have to be very straight with him. He finds it difficult dealing with women. He's very dismissive.' She said that Mr Raab struggled with the fact that there were three women on his team, adding: 'It's something everybody's noticed, so we find it very difficult to manage him. 'He's very tunnel vision. He's not very open-minded, not very open to discussion. He's difficult to work with. I think he thinks he's the prime minister. 'He puts himself above everybody he's not the favourite minister I've worked for. However, she added: 'He's an enjoyable challenge. 'I like being the strong woman who can handle him, showing the other women around me you don't have to put up with his s**t. No, I find it a healthy challenge.' The secretary, who was suspended on Wednesday, told the Daily Mirror how Mr Raab's staff toasted his departure with a bottle of prosecco when he left London for his constituency home at the start of the Easter holiday. The young woman, who does not normally drink alcohol, said: 'The team managed to pressure me into drinking a glass of prosecco. They said it had been a dreadful week. Raab's staf reportedly toasted his departure with a bottle of prosecco when he left London for his constituency home at the start of the Easter holiday 'It had been a horrendous week with Dom. He had been really flighty. Just managing him had been really hard.' She suggested he should relax by getting high on a hash brownie a cake baked with marijuana. She said: 'He needs loosening up. He's very uptight. That's the word for him. I would love to get him high. He would lose his s**t, he would. 'Oh my God. When things go out of line he panics.' Mr Raab is a married father-of-two who was a high-flying lawyer before embarking on a career in politics. He held two posts in the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2018, initially working on human rights before being made Minister of State, assisting on court services and reform, as well as supporting the Secretary of State for Justice on EU Exit and international business. He caused controversy in 2011 when he claimed that 'feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots'. There are fears that the aide's willingness to talk about Mr Raab's role and movements could leave her open to blackmail. Her boss's role as Minister of State for Housing includes the sensitive responsibility of having to deal with the many London properties owned by Russian oligarchs. In the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack last month, Mr Raab also said the Kremlin could face 'economic, financial, diplomatic' retaliation. A construction company director is working as a cosmetic nurse following reports of a collapse in her multimillion-dollar building empire. Amber Callender, the sole director of Queensland company Empire Constructions, was accused of fraudulent activity relating to her husband's defunct business, Queensland One Homes. More than 100 creditors of Queensland One were reportedly left up to $6 million in debt following Paul Callender's declaration of bankruptcy in December, Gold Coast Bulletin reports. Amber Callender (pictured) has gone back to working as a cosmetic nurse following reports of a collapse in her multimillion-dollar building empire with her husband, Paul More than 100 creditors of Queensland One were left up to $6 million in debt following Paul Callender's (right, with Amber) declaration of bankruptcy in December Homes were allegedly left unfinished following its collapse, with it later revealed building contracts were transferred to Empire. While Empire's Ormeau office space has been advertised for lease and staff, according to social media, have taken jobs with other companies, Ms Callendar maintained the company had just downsized. She claimed the company was 'obviously' still trading but no longer required its 260 sqm space. Ms Callender denied homes were left unfinished and said Empire had completed the ones in mid-construction when Queensland One collapsed. Referring to herself picking up her old cosmetic nursing tools, she said to keep her licence she must practice a certain number of hours per year. It was understood Empire's licence was kept running long enough to allow it to complete construction on homes started by Queensland One Referring to herself picking up her old cosmetic nursing tools, she said to keep her licence she must practice a certain number of hours per year 'I have been a registered nurse for 16 years and I must do so many hours a year to maintain my registration,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I don't see how this is even a newsworthy story worth reporting.' 'I work casual shifts to maintain the required amount of hours to maintain my licence.' The Queensland Building and Construction Commission reportedly launched an investigation into reports of phoenix activity between the husband and wife companies. A spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the QBCC's investigation into potential phoenixing activities between Queensland One Homes and Empire Constructions was ongoing. Despite this, Ms Callender denied there were allegations she was operating a phoenix business. 'We have never been a Phoenix company. No assets were ever transferred between the companies,' she said. 'I phoned ASIC myself to enquire on the false allegations...to which they confirmed Empire was not a phoenix company.' The Queensland Building and Construction Commission reportedly launched an investigation into reports of phoenix activity between the husband and wife (pictured) companies Empire's licence was suspended in September, but was reinstated in October. It was understood the licence was kept running long enough to allow Empire to complete construction on homes started by Queensland One. In a statement from the regulator it was revealed 'a number of homeowners' had been in contact about Empire's situation, with it saying 'we fully appreciate their concerns'. 'While the QBCC is appreciative of these concerns, pursuant with orders issued by a Tribunal, the QBCC is unable to provide any further comment on compliance measures which are in place regarding this entity,' the statement read. Queensland One, along with Cullen Group, are set to be questioned in a State Government funded hearing in the Supreme Court in coming weeks. Speaking with Daily Mail Australia, Ms Callender (left) denied there were allegations she was operating a phoenix business The hearing follows a move from a Supreme Court judge who reportedly froze $7.1 million worth of assets owned by the couple. They were also quizzed in court on company records destroyed when computers were containing information were damaged by water after being left in the back of a ute. Ms Callender said because of a settlement deed she was unable to discuss any matters relating to her husband's company. 'There is a settlement deed in place which prohibits anything to be discussed. I cannot report on any of Q1's matters,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Building and Construction Commission for comment. Pauline Hanson claims the Chinese and other foreigners have 'hijacked' an online Australian citizenship poll and are swaying the vote towards allowing more immigration. The One Nation leader said the poll by company Survey Monkey allowed people to vote multiple times and use fake email addresses to answer questions including whether they supported her party's proposal to double the time that migrants must wait to become Australian citizens. 'This is a disgusting example of foreign interference into Australia's democratic process,' Senator Hanson said. Scroll down for video Pauline Hanson claims the Chinese and other foreigners have 'hijacked' an online Australian citizenship poll and are swaying the vote towards allowing more immigration Speaking to the Today show on Friday, Ms Hanson said the online survey had been 'hijacked by foreign interference'. 'People from China are actually saying 'vote no to this', and this goes out to students in Canada, United States, New Zealand and Singapore and here in Australia,' she told a bemused Karl Stefanovic. 'They are telling friends and relatives vote "no" because it is not in China's interest.' Ms Hanson said foreign embassies shared the survey online, urging foreigners with vested interests to vote against reduced immigration. She said the survey was for Australians only, and warned foreigners to 'keep out of our politics and keep out of our laws'. Speaking to Karl Stefanovic on the Today show on Friday, Ms Hanson said the online survey had been 'hijacked by foreign interference' Ms Hanson called for a plebiscite at the next federal election so the government could properly gauge Australians' views on citizenship and immigration. Ms Hanson said a plebiscite was the only way to get an answer without foreign interference. The questions Ms Hanson wanted to put to Australians were; 'Do you want citizenship rights after eight years in the country? Do you believe that people should have a proficient knowledge of the English language? Should we reduce immigration numbers to between 75,000 and 100,000?' Unlike 2017's same-sex marriage plebiscite, Ms Hanson said the plebiscite would not cost the Australian people anything extra if it was bundled in with the federal election. Stand-up comic Hannibal Buress, whose 2014 remark about sexual assault accusations against Bill Cosby went viral, is getting another serious surge of attention. The path to Cosby's conviction on Thursday on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home arguably started three-and-a-half years earlier in a Philadelphia comedy club. During his act, Buress mocked Cosby's smug preachiness and called him a rapist. 'I've done this bit on stage, and people think I'm making it up,' Buress said at the time. 'Bill Cosby has a lot of rape allegations...When you leave here, Google "Bill Cosby rape".' Stand-up comic Hannibal Buress (left and right), whose 2014 remark about sexual-assault accusations against Bill Cosby went viral, is getting another serious surge of attention Three-and-a-half years before Cosby's conviction, in a Philadelphia comedy club, Buress mocked Cosby's smug preachiness and called him a rapist during his act (pictured) 'I've done this bit on stage, and people think I'm making it up,' Buress said. 'Bill Cosby has a lot of rape allegations...When you leave here, Google "Bill Cosby rape"' (pictured) Cellphone video of the moment, taken by then-Philadelphia Magazine reporter Dan McQuade went viral, and so did the allegations. Stories that had been public but largely ignored for years suddenly got a footing. New accusers emerged, and old accusers reemerged. Lawsuits and criminal prosecution soon followed. Buress was silent on the subject after Thursday's verdict against Cosby, tweeting out only tour dates, and his representatives didn't respond to requests for a statement. But thousands of people were talking about the comic on Twitter. 'Somebody buy @hannibalburess a drink today. And then again tomorrow. Forever,' tweeted TV comedy writer Travon Free. 'Big big thanks to Hannibal Burress [sic] for getting the Cosby train started,' wrote another user. CNBC politics reporter John Harwood even got in on the action, tweeting: 'Think about the impact Hannibal Burress [sic] made.' On Thursday, Cosby (pictured, exiting Montgomery County Courthouse) was found guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault Thousands of people took to Twitter to credit Buress for his role in helping put Cosby behind bars Cosby, who was known for his good-guy image as wisdom-dispensing, sweater-wearing Dr Cliff Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' repeatedly denied sexually violating a Temple University employee at his mansion in 2004. The 80-year-old could get up to 10 years in prison on each of three counts of aggravated indecent assault but is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines. Louisa Moritz, one of Cosby's accusers called him 'a raping monster' and she looks forward to seeing him 'in handcuffs on his way to prison' following his conviction. Moritz says Cosby 'has groomed, then raped, then threatened so many' women. She says he raped her in a dressing room of 'The Tonight Show' in the 1970s. Another Cosby accuser is actor and former bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno's wife, Carla Ferrigno. She says she's 'so happy' to learn about Cosby's convictions. The 80-year-old (pictured, Thursday) could get up to 10 years in prison on each of three counts of aggravated indecent assault but is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines Buress has refused to talk about Cosby (pictured, with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt exiting Montgomery County Courthouse) in interviews, but he addressed what he had started in his 2016 Netflix special Buress has refused to talk about Cosby in interviews, but he addressed what he had started in his 2016 Netflix special. 'That situation got out of hand. Yikes!' Buress said. 'I was just doing a joke at a show.' He said most of the media coverage contained a 'slight dis' when it called him 'unknown comedian Hannibal Buress.' No one calls him that anymore. A pregnant woman has said she has seen the face of her grandmother in a scan of her unborn baby. Stephanie Jackson's gran died 14 years ago but said she had been 'praying' to her for a baby because she wasn't sure if she and her partner would be able to have children. The 32-year-old from om Knowsley Village, Merseyside, went for an 18 week scan and was told her baby boy, who is due in July, was healthy. Stephanie Jackson said she has been 'praying' to her gran for a baby since partner Michael had his vasectomy reversed But Stephanie said her mother noticed the 'face' of her grandmother hovering just above the baby's head, the Liverpool Echo reported. Her partner Michael Davies had a vasectomy before the pair met but since he had the procedure reversed last year, has been praying to her grandmother to give the couple a baby. 'I only got [the scan] done yesterday and didn't even see it. It was my mum who pointed it out to me. When I saw it I was like "oh my God!" 'She said 'there's your nan' and I was so happy. I recognised her instantly. I've been crying since yesterday. It has made me dead emotional. We lost her 14 years ago. Mary Jackson died 14 years ago but Stephanie said her image can clearly been seen on the scan of her unborn child 'I've not stopped crying. It's just amazing. I'm happy and dead positive to know 14 years on she's still around us.' Stephanie, who is expecting her first child with council worker Michael, said she believed her grandmother is 'looking down on me, 100 per cent'. At the recent funeral of her uncle she said feel everyone in her family could feel 'her nan around them' and 'everyone was touching my bump and saying this and there she was'. 'I believe this is her way of saying everything will be OK as I have been extremely worried during this pregnancy and to let us know she is still around,' said Stephanie. Her partner is less sure, though, revealed Stephanie, who said: 'He said he can barely make something out.' A Queensland fisherman says he is still recovering after an exhausting encounter with a near 3m bull shark on Tuesday night. Matt Duncan spent almost two hours battling with the predator while fishing on the Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast. The keen angler managed to get a photo with his massive catch before releasing it safely back in the river and has since shared the photo on social media. Keen fisherman Matt Duncan caught a bull shark on the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday night. 'After a battle that lasted just under two hours, she still had plenty of energy for a healthy release,' he said 'Last night I had an awesome battle with this Maroochy River monster,' Mr Duncan posted on Instgram. 'These bull sharks are littered throughout loads of our Aussie rivers and estuaries so don't be too worried folks, they're not interested in us! After a battle that lasted just under two hours, she still had plenty of energy for a healthy release. Stoked!' The catch comes after another fisherman reeled in a 1.2m bull shark in the same river nearby on April 1. Mr Duncan told the Sunshine Coast Daily he had caught bigger sharks when living in Western Australia but never a 2.5m bull shark in a river system. 'These sharks are super tough, they put up a fight. It kept coming to the shore but not too close because it was kind of beaching itself,' he told the publication. 'I was exhausted at the end ... It was hard because the whole time I just wanted to reel it in but I couldn't put any more pressure on my line.' Matt Duncan needed the help of his girlfriend Ebony to release the bull shark The catch comes after another fisherman reeled in a 1.2m bull shark in the Maroochy River on April 1. Mr Duncan rang his girlfriend Ebony for help to remove the hooks and tied a rope around its tail before its release. 'I jumped in the water, I have done quite a few times so I wasn't frightened of it,' he told the Sunshine Coast Daily. 'I couldn't believe it. You hear stories about sharks but people swim and kayak in the river. ' An avid fisherman, it wasn't the first shark Matt Duncan has caught His photo sparked debate on the Sunshine Coast Facebook page. 'Cars are more dangerous and kill far more people every year then sharks. If they were interested in us they would wait for surfers/swimmers to enter the water every day for an easy feed,' one man posted. Another added: 'I catch sharks at a very popular swimming hole. Noone's been bit yet. Most attacks are from people swimming at the wrong time and being mistaken for food.' Known for their aggressive nature, bull sharks can thrive in both salt and fresh water and can travel far up rivers. Navy diver Paul de Gelder lost a hand when attacked by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour in 2011- the first shark attack in the harbour in 60 years. The mountain above North Korea's main nuclear test site has collapsed, leaving the site unsafe for further testing The mountain above North Korea's main nuclear test site has collapsed, leaving the site unsafe for further testing. Chinese scientists say a test explosion involving Pyongyang's most powerful device triggered four earthquakes over the following weeks. The first of those quakes, which occurred eight and a half minutes after last September's test, was 'an onsite collapse toward the nuclear test centre', they said, while those that followed were an 'earthquake swarm' in similar locations. It led to speculation the collapse was a factor behind President Kim Jong-un's announcement on Saturday that the North was suspending its weapons testing programme. Research published on the website of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said: 'In view of the research finding that the North Korea nuclear test site at Mantapsan has collapsed, it is necessary to continue to monitor any leakage of radioactive materials that may have been caused.' The announcement by Kim, pictured, that testing was being suspended was welcomed by the US and Britain, while South Korea's presidential office said it was 'meaningful progress' towards denuclearisation, adding: 'It will create a very positive environment for the success of the upcoming inter-Korean and North-US summits.' Kim will today become the first North Korean leader to cross into South Korean territory since the end of the Korean War in 1953. South Korea said President Moon Jae-in would personally meet him the border before a planned summit between the countries. The surprise announcement comes after reports last year of major earthquakes and landslides in the mountainous area in the wake of five test blasts carried out by the secretive state in recent years. Satellite images appeared to show how there had been multiple landslides in the area The meeting the third of its kind following summits in 2000 and 2007 will focus on the North's recent indications it could be willing to give up nuclear weapons. It is the result of months of improving relations between the two Koreas. The North has been carrying out nuclear tests in a mountainous region that stretches into China. The USTC said it had not detected any radiation risk from samples collected along the border since September's test. Nuclear explosions release enormous amounts of heat and energy, and the test was believed early on to have rendered the site unstable. The yield of the bomb was estimated at more than 100 kilotons of TNT, at least 10 times stronger than anything North Korea had tested previously. The bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons. A man was allegedly extorted out of a 'substantial amount of cash' for using a popular dating app, after someone threatened to disclose his activities to another person. It is understood that the 29-year-old male was messaging several people on the app when the blackmailer threatened to expose him. The victim met with the man at Melbourne's Southern Cross Station on the afternoon of Friday, March 2 to hand over the money, The Age reports. Police want to speak to a man they think can help them over an incident where a man allegedly extorted another out of 'substantial amounts of cash', meeting his victim at Southern Cross Station to collect the money The victim, a 29-year-old male, was blackmailed over his use of a popular dating app, with the offender threatening to expose his activities to another person if he didn't pay Victoria Police have refused to release the name of the app in question. They have, however, released images and CCTV footage of a man they want to speak with in regards to the incident. He is described as being in his late 20s, about 180 centimetres tall with a slim build and messy dark blond hair. He was wearing dark cargo pants, a white T-shirt under a dark-coloured jacket, had a brown satchel bag across his body and purple-painted fingernails. Police have released CCTV images of a man they'd like to speak with in regards to the incident - described as being in his late 20s, about 180 centimetres tall with a slim build and messy dark blond hair Recent Crime Statistics Agency data suggests that dating apps and social media sites have contributed to a significant spike in thefts and sexual assault throughout the state of Victoria. Sexual offences were reportedly up 18 per cent, robbery was up 12.6 per cent and cases of deception increased 8.5 per cent in 2017. Cory Still (pictured), from Varsity Lakes in Queensland, saved $85,000 through his hard work as a boxer, removalist and barista An 18-year-old who bought his first investment property after dropping out of school in Year 11 has revealed that many people assume he didn't earn the money. Cory Still, who saved $85,000 for a $500,000 two-storey Gold Coast townhouse, told Daily Mail Australia that before dropping out of school midway through his penultimate year he had worked casually for the family business since he was 14. He said: 'My parents never gave me money but gave me the opportunity to work for it and in that sense I am very blessed. 'Many people assume I was given money, apart from the people that know me.' He said that the people who knew him knew how hard he worked for what he had. 'Being a furniture removalist is far from an easy line of work,' he said. However working for his family removal company isn't the only work Mr Still has done since leaving school. He also works as a barista and is a professional Muay Thai fighter. While his average working week is 45-50 hours some weeks can be well over that. Mr Still said not everyone in his family was initially happy with his decision to leave school. He said: 'My mum at first wasn't supportive until we summed up the figures and looked at the reality of what I could do outside of school.' He intends to have the home (pictured) as an investment property, renting it for $580 per week The 18-year-old is already getting to work on saving for a second investment property Mr Still said that there were 'no tips and tricks' to what he did. He told Daily Mail Australia: 'It's hard work and sacrifices for years, and no giving in to temptations of buying the nice car you want or the expensive fashion that many fall into the trap of at my age.' He said that while on his goal to financial stability he did miss out on 'normal teenage experiences'. Mr Still told Daily Mail Australia there were no 'tips and tricks' for what he did - just sacrifice and hard work Mr Still's average working week is between 45-50 hours but it can easily go over that 'It sucked at the time but it has all become worth it now.' Mr Still shared an image of his new investment on social media last month. The caption accompanying the image read: 'I am so lucky to have such a supportive family giving me the opportunity to leave school to work and pointing me in the right direction and giving me the advice to make this possible. 'Time to follow my sister's footsteps and keep working hard and saving for my second property!' Mr Still's sister, Amy, purchased her first investment property at just 20 years old in 2016. She now has two and helped guide her little brother to do the same. She told 7News: 'There is definitely [sibling] rivalry. I was bummed. He's 18 and signed the contract. 'I was like "you beat me" but I am so proud of him.' He said he was expecting to rent his property, to the right people, for $580 a week. He told The Gold Coast Bulletin: 'I figured to let someone pay off my mortgage (by investing) while I was saving up for my second property was a good idea. Mr Still's sister, Amy, (pictured right) purchased her first investment property at just 20 years old For now, Mr Still's current plan is to continue saving and working to extend his portfolio before property prices continue to sky rocket 'I'm looking at the bigger picture.' For now, Mr Still's current plan is to continue saving and working to extend his portfolio before property prices continue to sky rocket. He said that while he may look at higher education down the line for now he is setting up his future through 'hard work and persistence'. Advertisement Thousands of Palestinians joined a mass funeral on Thursday for a Hamas scientist who was gunned down in Malaysia last week, as Hamas' leader accused Israel of killing him and vowed revenge. Fadi al-Batsh was laid to rest shortly after his body was returned to Gaza through the Egyptian border. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh led the funeral prayers at a mosque in Jabaliya, the town in northern Gaza where al-Batsh grew up. People attend the funeral ceremony of Fadi al-Batsh, a Palestinian Hamas-linked research engineer who was killed by unknown assailants in Kuala Lumpur, at Great Omari Mosque Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh led the funeral prayers at a mosque in Jabaliya, the town in northern Gaza where al-Batsh grew up 'The hand that assassinated the scientist will be severed,' he said, as the crowd responded with chants of 'God is great.' Al-Batsh's body was brought to Gaza after crossing the Egyptian border earlier on Thursday, after Malaysia and Egypt arranged the return. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had urged Egypt to reject the request to help repatriate the body and put pressure on Hamas to return two captive Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israeli soldiers the militant group is believed to be holding. Haniyeh thanked Malaysia and Egypt for allowing al-Batsh's repatriation 'against the will of' Lieberman. Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer in Malaysia, was killed last week by two assailants on a motorcycle as he was walking to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur. Hamas identified him as a commander in its military wing and quickly accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of being behind the hit. Israeli media reported that al-Batsh was a key player in a military drone program being developed by Hamas. Israel has a long history of assassinating wanted militants, though it rarely acknowledges responsibility. But in a published interview on Thursday, Lieberman said Israel did not do it. Al-Batsh's body was brought to Gaza after crossing the Egyptian border earlier on Thursday, after Malaysia and Egypt arranged the return Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had urged Egypt to reject the request to help repatriate the body and put pressure on Hamas to return two captive Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israeli soldiers the militant group is believed to be holding 'We did not assassinate him,' Lieberman told the Arabic news site Elaph. 'Ask James Bond,' he added. 'Maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies.' Family members, Hamas leaders and other Palestinian dignitaries greeted the body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, as it arrived at the Rafah border terminal. 'You are returning back to us ... paving the way for our return to Palestine,' said Khalil al-Hayya, a top Hamas leader, at a small ceremony. 'To the occupation, we say the debt to us has become heavy,' he said. 'The day of punishment is coming.' Israel and Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, are bitter enemies that have fought three wars since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Family members, Hamas leaders and other Palestinian dignitaries greeted the body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, as it arrived at the Rafah border terminal Tensions have heightened recently as Hamas has organized mass protests along the Israeli border. Earlier on Thursday in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the funeral of a Gaza journalist who died after being shot by Israeli troops while covering a protest on April 13. Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, died from his wounds on Wednesday at an Israeli hospital, where he had been transferred. Amateur video taken at the time shows him wearing a blue vest and helmet with the word 'TV' on it. He appeared to be standing far from the Israeli border in a group of bystanders when he was shot. Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer in Malaysia, was killed last week by two assailants on a motorcycle as he was walking to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said 'the circumstances regarding the injury of Ahmed Abu Hussein will be examined.' During the weekly demonstrations so far, 35 protesters, including two journalists, have been killed by Israeli live fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 21 of those wounded by Israeli fire in the protests have since had to undergo amputations due to their wounds. It said 17 lost legs and four lost fingers or parts of their upper limbs. Rights groups, the United Nations and the European Union have all criticized Israel's use of live fire against unarmed protesters. Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover to plan and carry out attacks. Absolute Hell (Royal National Theatre) Verdict: Soho bohos drown their sorrows Rating: The Writer (Almeida Theatre) Verdict: Self-indulgent bilge Rating: Rodney Ackland's Absolute Hell depicts drunkenness and homosexuality in a private club in Londons Soho at the end of World War II. The play first saw life in 1952, when theatre censorship existed. It was called The Pink Room back then and it flopped, possibly because early Fifties Britain was not yet ready to swallow such a negative image of itself. In later years, Ackland made his unwieldy play more forthright and gave it the new, not necessarily better, name. Some consider it a masterpiece. They are overstating the case. Rodney Ackland's Absolute Hell depicts drunkenness and homosexuality in a private club in Londons Soho Yet this three-hour evening does have its moments, if only as a reminder of grimmer days. The club is presided over by Christine, one of those formidable chatelaines who were still dominant in Soho dives until about quarter of a century ago. Christines members are bohemians, depressives, failures. They include a tyrannical arts critic. Perish the thought. These people are almost as decrepit as the clubs building, which is falling to pieces. With the roof masonry occasionally cascading to the floor, up goes a shout for more whiskies. One actress (playing a prostitute) walks around the perimeter of the set without saying a word. The mood is slightly mad and distracted. The play has an impractically big cast. Indeed, there are so many members of this drinking den, how can it possibly be financially imperilled? Yet the very air seems to reek of decay, particularly with Christines most regular customer Hugh Marriner, an impoverished novelist. Sports-jacketed, threadbare Hugh is played by Charles Edwards, perhaps our most likeable stage actor. No show with Mr Edwards is worth missing; but in this production he is a rare beacon of acting excellence. The Writer: The central character is a young playwright who regards the world as a male conspiracy The only performers who come close to him are Kate Fleetwood, playing Christine, and Jonathan Slinger as a seedy film director. The story charts the collapse of Hughs love-life as his boyfriend Nigel (Prasanna Puwanarajah) leaves him for a woman. Most of the club characters have problems with money, addiction or romance. They drink with deranged thirsts people trying to avoid reality and to forget the horrors of war. What are we to make of it today, all this manic boozing, this self-destruction of our parents and grandparents generation? That is where the play, despite its clunky moments, has a modern purchase. It may leave us more dolefully aware of just how low things must have been behind the patriotic facade of VE Day and all that. There is a reference said to be the first in British theatre to Hitlers death camps. Mr Slingers character tries to make a weak joke about the word camp. He is heard in awkward silence by his friends. They were still discovering how awful things had been in Germany. That mention of the death camps clashes powerfully with this artsy cliques attempt to drown its sorrows. I expected Miss Fleetwoods Christine to be the main figure, but the set design makes the bar invisible and her prominence thus ebbs. Instead, it is Mr Edwardss Hugh who absorbs us. A multi-levelled set is over-elaborate and distracting. The lighting is dark. Maybe the gloom suits the storys unhappy arc. It would be another decade until the national mood lifted. To the Almeida Theatre in North Londons Islington to watch an expletive-spattered play which bewails the pressure on theatres to produce accessible work. That is but one of the complaints against rotten, rotten life made in Ella Hicksons The Writer. The central character is a young playwright who regards the world as a male conspiracy. She dumps her boyfriend and dives into the sea with a lesbian goddess from Greek mythology. Later, she moves to a Docklands flat with a human embodiment of that goddess and works off her frustrations by nipping behind a designer sofa and using a symbol of male oppression, a double-ended sex toy. Pass the Revels, Mabel. Romola Garai plays the title role. Her character slaps down a 40,000 script-writing commission, saying she does not need the money. We never do learn how she supports herself. Private income, maybe. Lara Rossi shines as the playwrights girlfriend but Samuel West is less persuasive as the writers bloke. Too brahmin a figure to play an ordinary Joe, Mr West is better when playing a conceited, hypocritical theatrical in the shows opening scene. Much more up spoilt Sams street! As I sat through its 120 minutes without interval which at least stops punters legging it for the exits I recalled Labour MP John Manns recent comment that, in every year for the past decade, Islington has received more Arts Council funding than all the Midlands and Northern English ex-coalfield communities combined. Such places would welcome any arts funding. They might use it more constructively than this dismal, egocentric, elitist effort. Yet part of me welcomed The Writer because it illustrates an argument I have long put: parts of our state-subsidised theatre have disappeared up their own fundaments and seem actively to sneer at the taxpayers who fund them. The former police officer identified as the infamous Golden State Killer is now the prime suspect in a 13th murder as investigators say he was also the 'Visalia Ransacker' who terrorized the California town in the 1970s. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights, California on Tuesday after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s. The Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist, is suspected of at least 12 murders and 50 rapes across parts of the state 40 years ago. Investigators revealed on Thursday that DeAngelo is the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of a community college teacher, raising the total number of his alleged victims to 13. Scroll down for video Joseph DeAngelo, 72, is now the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of teacher Claude Snelling after he was linked to the Golden State Killer slayings in California 40 years ago Investigators searched DeAngelo's home in Citrus Heights on Thursday looking for evidence that may have been taken from the various crime scenes 40 years ago Detectives are trying to link Joseph DeAngelo to the 1975 slaying and about 100 burglaries committed in the region while DeAngelo was a police officer in nearby Exeter. Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar believes DeAngelo is the so-called Visalia Ransacker who terrorized the farming community in 1974 and 1975. Salazar added that the Ransackers' crimes have not yet been added to the tally announced Tuesday in Sacramento because there is no DNA evidence connecting DeAngelo to the Visalia crimes. DeAngelo is suspected of shooting to death journalism teacher Claude Snelling after Snelling caught him trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter. The 72-year-old matches the description of Snelling's killer, and the serial burglar operated the same way DeAngelo is alleged to have operated in the other crimes, according to authorities. The Visalia suspect used sophisticated 'pry tools' to gain entrance to locked homes, just as DeAngelo is alleged to have used in the other crimes, Salazar said. The Visalia suspect was seen wearing a ski mask and eluded capture because of an apparent deep-knowledge of police work. DeAngelo was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights (above) on Tuesday after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo DNA testing linked Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, to some of the 12 murders carried out in California in the 1970s and 80s 'He was very elusive and always had a good escape route,' Salazar said. Visalia police also have fingerprints and shoe tracks that will be investigated for matches to DeAngelo. Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo. Investigators searched DeAngelo's home on Thursday looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes 40 years ago. Sacramento County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Belli said authorities were seeking weapons and other items that could link the suspect to the crimes. He declined to say what, if anything, investigators had found. Investigators backed two vehicles, a motorcycle and fishing boat out of the home's three-car garage and installed tarps to block prying eyes and news cameras. It emerged on Thursday that DeAngelo was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match. Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match to a relative of DeAngelo. Despite an outpouring of thousands of tips over the years, DeAngelo's name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week. The identity of the Golden State Killer has finally been revealed. Pictured are combination images the FBI released of sketches of the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer before his capture DeAngelo Jr was arrested on Tuesday night on two murder charges. Pictured on the left is an undated photo of DeAngelo when he was in the Navy, and on the right is a picture of DeAngelo during his sophomore year at Folsom High School A break in the case and the arrest came together in 'light speed' during the past six days but authorities refused to reveal what led to DeAngelo. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT JOSEPH DEANGELO: Joseph James DeAngelo is a 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran, former police officer and grandfather living in Citrus Heights, California. He was described by neighbors as odd but decent. He was quick to anger and could often be heard loudly cussing. DeAngelo graduated from nearby Folsom High School in 1964 and joined the US Navy. After returning home he enrolled in a community college and transferred to California State University, Sacramento, where he graduated in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. He landed a job as a police officer in Exeter where he served from 1973 to 1976. He married a local woman in 1973. In 1976, DeAngelo took a job with Auburn Police but was fired in 1979 when he was caught shoplifting. He spent 27 years working at a distribution center for Save Mart grocery stores before he retired last year. DeAngelo has three adult daughters and grandchildren. Advertisement After watching DeAngelo for several days, deputies took him by surprise Tuesday. Police said DeAngelo was shocked to see officers at his home and that when they went to arrest him he told them he had a roast in the oven. He was taken into custody by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday night on two murder charges for the 1978 deaths of Brian Maggiore and his wife Katie, who are believed to be the Golden State Killer's first victims. He was later also charged with the murders of Lyman and Charlene Smith who were found dead in their home by their 12-year-old son in 1980. Police are now working to link the 72-year-old unequivocally to the rest of the crimes that profilers have attributed to the Golden State Killer through his modus operandi. Paul Holes, an investigator who has been linked to the case for years, said one of the critical clues linking DeAngelo was that he yelled out 'I hate you Bonnie' during one of his first alleged rape attacks. DeAngelo was once engaged to a woman named Bonnie. 'Most certainly if he's making the statement, 'I hate you, Bonnie,' while he's attacking another female, he is what we call an anger retaliatory rapist. Instead of directing his anger at what's making him angry, he's directing it sideways onto someone else to be able to satisfy that anger,' Holes told The Mercury News. The killer is also suspected of committing 120 home burglaries across Sacramento County. Police believe they found ski masks worn by the Golden State Killer in this undated photo The serial killer and rapist is also suspected of committing nearly 50 rapes in southern California over the span of a decade. The above photo shows a home that was ransacked by the Golden State Killer The Golden State Killer is suspected of committing dozens and dozens of crimes in Sacramento County in the late 1970s. Pictured is crime scene evidence from one of the attacks 'I do believe that's what happened here. I don't know what made him that way, but you've got to think Bonnie dumped him, he's not happy about that, he still had feeling for her, who knows? But something along those lines must have happened.' Holes, who has been a key investigator in the case since 1994, said he helped test DNA from the various crime scenes and tie them all together. 'We always thought there was a Bonnie significant in his life, it could be a mother, a wife, a girlfriend, a childrhood crush,' Holes said. He said that they closed in on him after the DNA match and realizing he had an ex-fiance named Bonnie. According to the FBI, the Golden State Killer terrorized southern California between 1976 and 1986. His crimes began in the summer of 1976 with burglaries and rapes. Armed with a gun, the masked attacker would break into homes while single women or couples were sleeping. He sometimes tied up the man and piled dishes on his back, then raped the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled. He often took souvenirs - like coins, cash, ID cards and jewelry - from his victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 41. DeAngelo is currently being held at the Sacramento County Main jail and is ineligible for bail, according to jail records. A dramatic surge in car crime has been fuelled by high-tech thefts that do not require criminals to break into the vehicle. The number of vehicle thefts jumped by more than half last year amid claims that keyless technology has made hacking into modern cars childs play. A total of 89,000 vehicles were stolen in England and Wales last year, the equivalent of ten every hour, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is a 56 per cent rise in just 12 months, up from 57,000 in 2016. A dramatic surge in car crime has been fuelled by high-tech thefts that do not require criminals to break into the vehicle It is the highest number since the year to March 2012. In a damning indictment of how easy it has become for criminals to steal cars, the ONS said in almost half of thefts, they are entering the vehicle through an unlocked door. Motoring campaigners and police said this showed hacking into keyless cars had become the new modus operandi of digitally savvy thieves. Vehicle-related theft which also includes items stolen from vehicles and attempted thefts rose by almost a fifth from 796,000 in 2016 to 929,000 last year. Of the 44 police forces in England and Wales, all but two saw an increase in vehicle crime. The figures appear to undermine claims from manufacturers that modern cars are more secure than ever. One senior police official said the statistics confirmed Britain was facing a car crime epidemic, while an MP said they indicated that criminals were gaining the upper hand over manufacturers. The figures were released less than a week after an investigation by the Daily Mail found electronic gadgets that can be used to steal cars in seconds are being sold online for as little as 100. The number of vehicle thefts jumped by more than half last year amid claims that keyless technology has made hacking into modern cars childs play Using tools available on Amazon and eBay including a lock pick, a key programming device and a blank key a Ford Fiesta was stolen in under two minutes. Other devices allow thieves to steal a car without even breaking a window. Known as relay boxes and available to buy on specialist websites, they are used by criminals to extend the signal from a fob often stored just inside the owners front door to unlock the car and start the ignition. Upmarket keyless cars such as Range Rovers, Mercedes and BMWs have been hacked into in this way. But police say affordable cars such as Ford Fiestas are also being targeted. In its analysis, the ONS said a noticeable change in recent years had been the main method of entry used by car thieves. Murders soar in London The capital is in the grip of a murder epidemic with a 44 per cent surge in killings over the last year. Scotland Yard pledged to put hundreds more officers on the beat as it published new crime stats yesterday showing a big spike in knife crime, violence and muggings. Figures released by the Metropolitan Police for the 12 months to the end of March this year show that the number of murders and manslaughters has shot up by 44 per cent. There were 157 killings in the last 12 months, including eight deaths in Londons terror attacks, compared with 109 in the previous year. Knife crime offences are also up 21 per cent and violent robberies have risen by 36 per cent to 30,609 or 83 a day, with many of those carried out by moped gangs. There was also a rise in the number of sexual offences, up 11 per cent, with the number of reported rapes increasing by 18 per cent. Advertisement It revealed a sharp increase in the number of cases where thieves have stolen unlocked cars rather than having to smash a window or use a lock pick. It said in the space of a decade, entering a vehicle through an unlocked door had increased from occurring in one in eight incidents to half of all incidents. Meanwhile, forcing or attempting to force the lock has fallen from one in three incidents to one in seven. Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: Car thieves have clearly shunned the old- fashioned opportunistic tactics of smash and grab. High-tech techniques like relay theft are becoming standard practice for thieves. West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, who describes stealing keyless cars as childs play, said: These statistics are a shock, but not a surprise. Ive been saying for a long time now that car theft is becoming an epidemic, with criminals increasingly outsmarting manufacturers. Steve Double, a Tory MP and member of the Commons transport committee, added: These figures suggest the criminals are the ones with the upper hand at the moment. If the evidence shows that keyless entry is a weak spot for car security then something needs to be done or customers will quickly lose faith. But the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders pointed out that car theft had fallen dramatically since the mid-1990s, when more than half a million cars a year were stolen. The Canadian police officer who is being hailed as a hero for not shooting a man who allegedly mowed down over two dozen people with his van has been pictured for the first time. Constable Ken Lam of the Toronto Police Service has not been permitted to speak to the press about his dramatic, caught-on-camera arrest of Alek Minassian. Minassian faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly used a rental van to run down some two dozen people on a busy Toronto thoroughfare on Monday. Ten people died and 14 were hurt. Constable Ken Lam (left) of the Toronto Police Service has been hailed as a hero for not shooting a man who mowed down two dozen people with a van on a busy street on Monday. Lam is the son of David Lam (right), a police officer who served in his native Hong Kong Lam has not been permitted to speak to the press about his dramatic, caught-on-camera arrest of Alek Minassian (above) Minassian faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly used a rental van to run down some two dozen people on a busy Toronto thoroughfare on Monday The father of Ken Lam the officer who took down the van attack suspect without firing a shot says he is proud of his son. @globalnewsto #TorontoAttacks pic.twitter.com/9amvKhPipj Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) April 24, 2018 Dramatic footage emerged showing Minassian begging Lam to kill him following the rampage. The video shows Minassian, 25, pointing an object at cops while shouting 'kill me' before he is bundled to the floor and arrested. In the video, Lam can be heard repeatedly shouting: 'Get down or you'll be shot' as the suspect continued to wave around the object. Minassian is heard yelling 'kill me', while gesturing to the officer that he should shoot him. Oblivious bystanders can be seen in the footage emerging from a building near Minassian before hurrying away as the standoff continued. Moments later the footage, which was shot by a witness in a nearby car, shows the suspect lying face-down on the sidewalk as Lam handcuffs him. Police have since confirmed that Minassian did not have a gun. It is not clear what he was pointing at the officer. Lam is the son of a police officer who served on the force in his native Hong Kong. David Lam, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, told Global News Toronto that he was proud of his son. Im happy he was safe. Im proud of him, to do a good job. Well done, David Lam said. David Lam now runs a Chinese restaurant in Markham, a Toronto suburb. Beloved grandmother, Dorothy Sewell (left), 80, and chef, Chul Min 'Eddie' Kang (right), have been identified as two of the victims from the horrifying van attack in Toronto Investment analyst, Anne Marie D'Amico (pictured), 20, was the first casualty of the van attack to be identified after the notification of her next of kin Renuka Amarasingha, a single mother to a young child, was also identified as one of the fatalities Munir Najjar, a Jordanian national in his eighties, was also killed in the attack on Monday My son called me [and] told me, Daddy, everything is fine. I arrested the suspect I didnt even fire any shots, he said. I said, You did a good job. Ken Lam has been a police officer for more than seven years. If he had decided to open fire at Minassian during the tense standoff, the public and his bosses would likely have understood given the circumstances. The officer did a fantastic job with respect to utilizing his ability of understanding the circumstance and environment and having a peaceful resolution at the end of the day, Toronto police chief Mark Saunders told The Guardian. He was constantly assessing, constantly watching what was going on and determined he could handle it the way that he did, said Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association. People are right: this guy is a hero. So far six of the 10 fatalities have been identified. Betty Forsyth, a woman in her nineties who was living in a community housing complex; Renuka Amarasingha, a single mother to a young child; Anne Marie D'Amico, who worked for an investment management firm; Dorothy Sewell, 80; Chul Min (Eddie) Kang; and Munir Najjar, a Jordanian national in his eighties. The identities were reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. A bodybuilding entrepreneur jailed for his role in a dial-a-dealer cocaine ring is in a new relationship with an an international pole dancer who was once a solicitor. George Gerges, who was jailed on Thursday for his part in the Sydney drug supply network, met Michelle 'Shimmy' Schonstein while he was on bail in July last year. The pair quickly became a couple and they plan to start a family, after Ms Schonstein overcame her initial reservations about Gerges and his former hard partying life. Both are from Bondi Beach and until Gerges was jailed he had regularly helped out teaching Ms Schonstein's pole dancing classes. He has performed on stage with her. Scroll down for video Pole dancer Michelle Schonstein (left) met drug dealer George Gerges (right) in July last year. She wrote a reference for him describing the bodybuilder's thoughtful, calm, respectful nature Michelle Schonstein is the co-owner of Pole Dance Academy with her sister Maddie Sparkle. She has competed internationally and runs classes at Bondi, Crows Nest and Alexandria Michelle Schonstein kisses her drug dealer boyfriend George Gerges on Thursday morning before his sentencing in the District Court to 14 months' jail for the ongoing supply of cocaine Pole dancer and former lawyer Michelle 'Shimmy' Schonstein said when she first met George Gerges she thought he was 'the type of person I normally do not choose to socialise with' Ms Schonstein, 36, outlined her relationship with 33-year-old Gerges in a reference tendered to Downing Centre District Court before he was jailed for 14 months. 'When I first me George, my immediate impression was that he was exactly the type of person I normally do not choose to socialise with,' Ms Schonstein wrote. 'I admit that I made assumptions based on some unfair stereotypes. I basically dismissed him in my mind as the sort of person I normally choose to avoid. 'But we got talking and I was struck by how calm, thoughtful, intelligent and respectful he was.' Ms Schonstein described herself in the reference as a former solicitor with Clayton Utz who quit law in 2014 and now ran a small business. On her personal website Ms Schonstein says she is a 'Sydney-based, internationally-renowned pole performer, entertainer, judge, MC and instructor.' She co-owns the Pole Dance Academy, which runs classes at Bondi Junction, Crows Nest and Alexandria, with her sister, who performs as Maddie Sparkle. Michelle Schonstein (pictured) was unimpressed with drug dealer George Gerges when they first met but she quickly saw past her prejudices and the couple now wants to start a family George Gerges had this tattoo of a stick-figure pole dancer inked into the inside of his wrist to mark his relationship with Michelle Schonstein, who performs as Michelle Shimmy Drug dealer George Gerges and his pole dancing partner Michelle Sonstein (both pictured) spent their weekends walking their dogs before Gerges was sent to prison on Thursday Ms Schonstein is the co-creator and co-owner of two international pole dancing competitions, Pole Theatre - which she says is the world's largest - and Dance Filthy. She has 167,000 followers on Instagram and recently performed on stage with Gerges in a raunchy Dance Filthy routine she posted as a video on Facebook. Among many industry accolades, Ms Schonstein was a Miss Pole Dance Australia finalist 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In her reference, Ms Schonstein said she had no idea Gerges was awaiting sentencing for serious drug-dealing charges when the pair met. 'It's difficult for me to reconcile the George I know with the George I've read about in articles online in relation to the charges against him and his arrest,' she wrote. 'Reading the articles online, it would be easy to see him as a superficial eastern suburbs socialite gym junkie who parties hard and takes party drugs. Michelle Schonstein (pictured with George Gerges) described herself in a reference for him as a former solicitor with Clayton Utz who quit law in 2014 and now ran a small business Michelle Schonstein (pictured) is the co-creator and co-owner of two international pole dancing competitions, Pole Theatre - which she says is the world's largest - and Dance Filthy George Gerges comes from a good Lebanese Christian family. He was ashamed to tell them of his downfall and is now in a relationship with pole dancer Michelle Schonstein (both pictured) Judge Paul Conlon sentenced Gerges (pictured) to a minimum 14 months in prison but with time served and due to court days, he will be eligible for parole on April 27 next year 'Indeed, this was the first impression I had of him.' When the pair met Gerges was awaiting sentence for three counts of supplying cocaine on an ongoing basis, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' prison. His downfall had been swift. Gerges, a fitness fanatic with low self-esteem, was making about $200,000 a year working for a strata company when he became part of a new social scene in which cocaine was taken regularly. Initially he had no concerns about using the drug but his intake increased until he was going through 5 grams a day. Gerges spent his savings and became $25,000 in debt to his dealers, who offered him a role delivering drugs. 'I was hesitant at first but at the same time I needed to keep supplying myself with drugs and I had no other way to work off the debt,' he told the court. Michelle 'Shimmy' Schonstein (pcitured) says her boyfriend George Gerges was upfront and honest when she asked about his drug dealing past; the couple now wants to have children Bondi-based entrepreneur and model George Gerges (pictured) has been jailed for 14 months for his role in a dial-a-dealer cocaine drug network that operated across metropolitan Sydney Michelle Schonstein and George Gerges (both pictured) have had their relationship interrupted after Gerges was sent to prison for his role in a major cocaine dealing network Judge Paul Conlon said Gerges became one of six drivers working for the operation and of them had supplied the greatest quantity of cocaine over the longest time. 'His motivation was clearly financial in that he had developed a drug debt owing to his addiction and he needed to feed that addiction,' Judge Conlon said. 'Clearly the offender was not the one responsible for the implementation of the system and organisation.' Between May and September 2015 Gerges supplied 865 customers with 406 grams of cocaine. Gerges was paid $50 per bag, totaling about $3,500 a week, but was spending $7,000 each week on cocaine for his personal use. The syndicate asked customers to use code words including 'rock show tickets' and 'beers' when placing orders by text message for cocaine. Michelle 'Shimmy' Schonstein wrote in a reference that she had completely misjudged cocaine dealer George Gerges when they first met and she hoped others would not do the same Friends and family of George Gerges (pictured) wrote references testifying to his strong work ethic, good family values and charitable deeds. He was jailed for 14 months on Thursday Michelle Schonstein (pictured) wrote that George Gerges wished to return to his job in sales with Mens Health Institute Australia, which helps men overcome erectile dysfunction Gerges would then be dispatched via text messages from a handler to meet customers, mostly in the city, and deliver them cocaine from his black Lexus. Unfortunately for Gerges, some of his 'customers' were undercover police. At the time of his arrest, in September 2015, Gerges was dating self-described 'international cover girl and glamour model' Emma Rose, who appeared in the first season of The Bachelor with Tim Robards. There is no suggestion Ms Rose had any knowledge of or involvement with her then boyfriend's crimes. The court heard Gerges told a psychologist he began using cocaine regularly aged 29 and became 'caught up in a world he had never previously been exposed to.' 'He said at the time he knew he had a problem with cocaine but he did not feel he could stop,' psychologist Neil Ballardie wrote in a report. 'He said he realises now he was heavily addicted to cocaine.' Pole dancer Michelle Schonstein admits she made assumptions about drug dealer George Gerges (both pictured) based on stereotypes; the couple has been together about nine months At the time of his arrest in 2015, George Gerges (left) was dating 'international cover girl' Emma Rose (right). Rose appeared in the first season of The Bachelor with Tim Robards 'I was becoming paranoid, knew it would probably end badly but couldn't get away from it.' Ms Schonstein wrote that when she learnt through friends about the charges Gerges was facing she confronted him. 'I asked George about the charges the second time we met and he told me all about his arrest, the events leading up to his arrest, his time spent in prison on remand, his bail application, his reporting obligations and the date for his sentencing,' she wrote. 'He was very honest and up front about it and spoke with great regret about it. I did not intend to start a relationship with George at the time but we began spending more and more time together and it grew into something more serious. 'Over the course of our relationship, George has tried to send it a couple of times. On each occasion, he told me that he didn't want to drag me down and that I would be better off without him.' Ms Schonstein wrote that she had completely misjudged Gerges at the start. 'I would hate for other people to misjudge him the way I did when I first met him,' she wrote. Bondi entrepreneur George Gerges has spoken to school groups about his downfall after becoming addicted to cocaine; he hopes to continue that work when released from prison Gerges (pictured) was paid $50 per bag, totaling about $3,500 a week, but spent $7,000 each week on cocaine for his personal use. The court heard he first started using cocaine at age 29 'We spend our weekends walking our dogs, and spending time with friends and family. 'I often have to work on the weekends and George often comes to the studio to help out or to take a class.' Ms Schonstein wrote that Gerges felt shame at what he had done and had learnt some 'very valuable life lessons' from his arrest. 'That period of his life was, in my view, an aberration,' she wrote. 'Prior to and since then he has been a law-abiding citizen who contributes to his community. 'When he talks about that period of his life, it is with disgust and shame.' Ms Schonstein wrote that Gerges wished to return to his job in sales with Mens Health Institute Australia, a company which helps men with erectile dysfunction. 'He loves his job and wants to continue working in this field and help to grow the business,' she wrote. 'We talk about buying a place of our own and hopefully one day starting a family together. 'I believe him to be a man of good character who has made some very big mistakes but who is now doing everything he can to reform himself. Gerges previously told the court he was making about $200,000 a year working for a strata company. Pictured is some of the cash seized by police during raids on the cocaine syndicate A sawn-off rifle seized by police during the arrest on members of the cocaine syndicate of which George Gerges was a part. The bodybuilder was not charged with firearm offences George Gerges is arrested by NSW police in September 2015. He spent 31 days on remand and then more than two years on bail awaiting sentencing on serious drug dealing charges 'In spite of his mistakes, I am proud to be his partner and I am proud of the man he is today.' Ms Schonstein's letter to the court was one of 10 references tendered on Gerges's behalf testifying to his good character, strong work ethic and charitable deeds. Matthew Denneny, director of Mens Health Institute Australia, described Gerges as 'an integral and indispensable part of my company.' Judge Conlon noted Gerges, who has as degree in civil engineering, had been tutoring maths students, talking to school groups about his downfall and feeding the homeless. 'That would constitute one of the most powerful subjective cases that has ever been laid out before a court,' Judge Conlon said of the defence submissions. 'Clearly prior to him becoming involved... with the drug cocaine he had been a very worthwhile and contributing member of the community.' Gerges had not used drugs since his arrest and found it 'gut-wrenching' to admit his habit to his parents, who had moved their family to Australia from Lebanon when Gerges was six. Judge Conlon sentenced Gerges to a minimum 14 months in prison but with time served and due to court days, he will be eligible for parole on April 27 next year. 'I wish you the best in the future,' Judge Conlon told Gerges after sentencing. One of Christopher Nolan's earliest memories of going to the cinema is being taken by his father to see 2001: A Space Odyssey. The 47-year-old director of Dunkirk and Interstellar admits being hugely inspired by Stanley Kubrick's groundbreaking 1968 movie, and next month at the Cannes Film Festival he can acknowledge the debt in public. The film is being reissued in its original 70mm format, so modern cinemagoers can experience exactly what held audiences spellbound 50 years ago this summer. Nolan, who has worked closely on the project with a team from Warner Brothers, will introduce the premiere in Cannes, after which the film will be shown in selected British cinemas. 2001: A Space Odyssey, used pioneering special effects to show the evolution of humankind over three million years (pictured) Nolan isn't the only one who has fallen under the film's spell. Four years ago, 150 leading authors, film-makers and scientists were invited to rank their ten favourite science-fiction films. Alien finished third and Blade Runner second, but comfortably at the top of the pile was 2001: A Space Odyssey, which uses pioneering special effects to show the evolution of humankind over three million years, from grunting apes to space travellers discovering extra-terrestrial life. Its status as the greatest of all sci-fi films is endorsed by many of Kubrick's fellow directors. George Lucas regards it as a work of genius, 'far superior' to his own 1977 picture Star Wars. Steven Spielberg considers it one of cinema's towering masterpieces. James Cameron, the director of Titanic, saw it when he was 15 and says it made him want to make films. But Woody Allen couldn't make head nor tail of it, and at the Los Angeles premiere Rock Hudson (as well as 240 others) stalked out, thundering: 'Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?' Soon, we will all get a chance to make up our own minds about Kubrick's film, which was inspired by British writer Arthur C. Clarke's 1951 short story The Sentinel and released the year before Man first walked on the Moon. Since then, 2001 has become revered for its powerful classical soundtrack, its extraordinary images of space and much besides. The screenplay was eerily prescient in its vision of a computer-dependent society long before mobile phones, its characters used what we now know as Skype. Love it or loathe it, 2001 is a landmark film. 2001: A Space Odyssey will be shown at Picturehouse cinemas around the UK from May 18. Five women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault have testified at the comedian's retrial. It was a big increase from the first trial, where there were just two women who took the stand - plaintiff Andrea Constand and Kelly Johnson. This time Constand was joined by Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Chelan lasha, Lisa-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas. Prosecutors had been hoping to have 13 women testify alongside Constand to speak to a pattern of behavior exhibited by the defendant. Cosby, 80, has been accused of drugging and raping over 40 women. Janice Baker-Kinney claims that in 1982 (left) she woke up naked in bed with the comedian - and he told her to keep their encounter to themselves JANICE BAKER-KINNEY Kinney said she was 24 in May 1982 when she and a friend met Cosby at the casino where she worked in Reno, Nevada. She said the three of them went back to Cosby's apartment, where he gave her some pills. Baker-Kinney willingly took two pills and said she began to get blurry vision while playing backgammon with Cosby. Hours later, she claims, she woke up naked in bed with the comedian - and he told her to keep their encounter to themselves. 'I was mortified at what had happened,' said Kinney back in 2015 when she went public with her allegations at a press conference. 'All this time, and for many, many years, I felt that this was my fault.' The defense tried to deny Baker-Kinney's admission as a witness by arguing that her story is 'nothing like Ms. Constand's' because she only met Cosby once, 'voluntarily' took quaaludes and apologized for passing out. Janice Dickinson (left in 1982) claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982 after giving her an unknown pill while they were in Lake Tahoe JANICE DICKINSON The supermodel claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982 after giving her an unknown pill. Dickinson said in that 2014 interview that Cosby invited her to dinner to discuss a role on The Cosby Show and at one point offered her a glass of wine and a pill. 'The next morning I woke up, and I wasn't wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man,' she told Entertainment Tonight. 'I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs.' Dickinson said her last memory of the night was of Cosby taking off his robe and climbing on top of her, and that the next morning she remembers 'a lot of pain.' The supermodel claimed the incident occurred in Lake Tahoe, California in 1982. In her memoir, Dickinson detailed some of her evening in Lake Tahoe with Cosby but told a very different story. She said she was drinking with Cosby at dinner and after being invited back to his room told him she was tired, at which point he slammed his door in her face. Legal claims made by Cosby and his team may be why she decided not to print her current version of the story. She said back in 2014 that she came forward because she believes the other victims who have spoken publicly, and that it is the 'right thing to do.' As for what she would say to Cosby if she saw him, Dickinson did not mince words. 'How dare you,' she said. 'Go f*ck yourself. How dare you take advantage of me. And I hope you rot.' She is also currently preparing to face off with Cosby in a defamation lawsuit filed because of his response to her allegations. Soon after that 2014 interview aired, Cosby's attorney Marty Singer responded to requests for comment by disputing Dickinson's claim that she was drugged and raped by his client and calling the allegation 'an outrageous defamatory lie.' A judge ruled in November that because he sent out that statement and a subsequent press release Singer will also face claims in the case. 'We fail to see how justice is served by granting Singer a windfall immunity based on Cosbys pursuit of a meritless motion,' wrote California Second District Court of Appeals Associate Justice Laurence Rubin. It was also ruled that Dickinson could recover all legal costs related to the appeal from Singer and Cosby. Chelan Lasha (left in 1986) claims that Cosby attacked her when she was just 17 in 1986 when she was an aspiring model CHELAN LASHA Lasha said in a 2014 press conference that Cosby attacked her when she was just 17 in 1986 when she was an aspiring model. She said her stepmother had sent pictures of her to the star and he called her at home in Las Vegas, inviting her to the Hilton Las Vegas, where he was performing and she had a job. She then went up to Elvis Presley suite to meet him and after telling him she had a cold, he gave her a blue pill, which he said was an antihistimine, with a double shot of Amaretto. She said: 'He was rubbing my neck and saying that he might have to have someone come in and give me stress therapy.' She claimed he told her to change into a Hilton bathrobe and wet her hair to see the modelling scout. Someone did briefly come up to the room, pertaining to be from the Ford Modelling Agency -telling her to she needed to lose 10 pounds - and taking some pictures. Then, Chelan said, Cosby walked her to the bedroom and gave her another shot of Amaretto, which he claimed would help her cold. 'I laid down,' she said: 'He laid down next to me on the bed and began pinching my left nipple and humping my leg while he was grunting. 'I could not open my eyes. I couldn't move or say anything. I felt something warm on my legs. Then I blacked out. 'Thirteen to sixteen hours later I woke up by hearing Mr Cosby clapping his hands and saying 'Daddy says wake up'. He gave me $1500. He said the money was to buy something nice for me and my grandmother and he also invited me to go to the Temptations show with my grandmother. 'My grandmother went but I did not go because I was too sick. Then he invited us to his show. My grandmother really want to go. I did not, but I went with her and heckled him. As a result, I was fired my from job.' Lisa-Lotte Lublin (left in 1989) believes she was sexually assaulted by Cosby while passed out in his hotel in 1989 LISA-LOTTE LUBLIN Lublin said she met Cosby in 1989 at a hotel in Las Vegas and that he asked her to perform an improvisation so that he could evaluate her acting. According to the ex-model, she and Cosby were in the Elvis Suite at the Hilton Hotel when he offered her two drinks and proceeded to pet her hair. A short time later she passed out, but she remembered the color of the walls in the room and a flood of bright light she said in a 2015 press conference. She said that she believes she was sexually assaulted by Cosby while passed out in the hotel. Prior to this, she and her mother had gone for a run with the comedian. The defense argued that Lublin assumes she is a victim based on other media accounts but can only remember Cosby stroking her hair. Heidi Thomas (left in 1984) said she found herself in bed next to a naked Bill Cosby who was 'forcing himself' in her mouth back in 1984 HEIDI THOMAS In 1984, Heidi Thomas, nee Johnson, was a 24-year-old model from Denver, Colorado, who was dreaming of a career in acting. Thomas was being represented by the city's top modelling agency, JF Images, but by 1984 she was questioning whether or not she wanted to stay in the business. Then one day in the spring of 1984, she got a call from an agent who told her that a famous entertainer was searching for young talent to mentor. Thomas said that Annie Maloney, of JF Images, instructed her to travel to Reno, Nevada, where she was supposed to meet with Bill Cosby, who allegedly had expressed interest in becoming her acting coach.Cosby greeted Thomas at the entrance and ushered her inside, according to the woman. The aspiring actress began by performing a monologue for Cosby, who then asked her to do a cold read of a person who was intoxicated. Thomas said Cosby was not impressed because to his mind, she was not convincing as a drunk. She recalled that Cosby wanted her to relax, so he poured her a glass of Chablis. The married music teacher said that her memory of the next several hours is very hazy, but when she woke up later that night, she found herself in bed next to a naked Bill Cosby who was 'forcing himself' in her mouth. According to the woman, the married comedian then got on top of her and said to her: 'I'm your friend... your friend is gonna [ejaculate] again,' according to the 54-year-old mother of three. Thomas said she was confused as to what happened and eventually stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her, but she later apologized to Cosby for being rude. She spent three more days with Cosby and said they were all hazy and a blur. The defense argued she has given three versions of her story. Michel Barnier dismissed claims that Brussels 'desperately needs' the closest financial relationship with the UK A special Brexit deal covering British banks is not on the table, the EU's chief negotiator said yesterday. Michel Barnier dismissed claims that Brussels 'desperately needs' the closest financial relationship with the UK. He outlined how the EU is preparing to downgrade its ties with the City and said the UK will have to accept the more limited access offered to the US. The French official claimed the negative impact of Brexit would be 'substantially higher' for the UK and suggested that companies may withdraw investment in Britain. He also claimed that 'EU talent', notably nurses and doctors, could stop coming to the UK because they will see it as a less attractive place after Brexit. The comments follow repeated warnings by leading UK figures, such as Bank of England governor Mark Carney, that a bad divorce deal will hurt the EU more than it hurts Britain. Chancellor Philip Hammond is pushing for a comprehensive trade deal that gives the City privileged access to the remaining 27 EU countries after Brexit. Outlining the EU's restrictive approach, Mr Barnier suggested that the huge bonuses of British bankers prompted the financial crisis. He said: 'Some argue that the EU desperately needs the City of London, and that access to financing for EU27 business would be hampered and economic growth undermined without giving UK operators the same market access as today. 'This is not what we hear from market participants, and it is not the analysis that we have made ourselves.' Theresa May has accepted that British firms will lose 'passporting' rights that allow them to operate across the EU. But in an attempt to push for a comprehensive agreement, she wants to build a joint regulatory system and said failure to reach a deal will 'hurt both economies'. However, Brussels has said that its mechanism for dealing with non-EU countries equivalence is the only available solution. The system involves both sides effectively striving to match each other's rules. Critics have described the system as inferior for the City and warn that it can be terminated unilaterally by the EU at short notice. Chancellor Philip Hammond is pushing for a comprehensive trade deal that gives the City privileged access to the remaining 27 EU countries after Brexit Speaking at a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, Mr Barnier said yesterday: 'I can perfectly see the UK's logic and interest in pleading for a system of 'mutual recognition' and 'reciprocal regulatory equivalence'. But this will not work.' He said the UK would be expected to closely mirror EU regulations, citing the possibility of a future economic crash if it does not. 'Let's not have a short memory,' he warned. 'We all saw during the crisis that the risks of financial instability were ultimately borne by taxpayers not only in the UK. 'We saw for instance that remuneration of bankers set the wrong incentives and allowed excessive risk-taking.' Insisting that the EU's system was the only option available to the UK, Mr Barnier added: 'Why would the equivalence system, which works well for the US industry, not work for the City? 'In the meantime [before a deal] both market participants and public authorities should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.' Mr Barnier used his speech to warn that 'frictionless trade' is not possible for the UK outside of either a customs union or the EU single market. Willie Ames, 47, pictured from a previous arrest, was taken into custody Thursday morning for pushing a man onto New York City subway tracks A man wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat who pushed a Mexican immigrant onto New York City subway tracks has been arrested. Willie Ames, 47, was taken into custody on Thursday morning on Staten Island following a police investigation into a hate crime assault last Friday. Luis Lopez, 24, was taken to the hospital for cuts on his head after Ames allegedly shoved him onto the tracks head first following an argument. Police said that Ames spewed racial slurs during the assault, accusing Lopez of taking jobs and bringing drugs into the country. Surveillance footage shows Ames wearing a red Make America Great Again hat at the time he committed the alleged hate crime against a 24-year-old Mexican immigrant The incident occurred on a 4 train as it approached the Union Square station in Manhattan. Lopez, a construction worker who immigrated to the US from Mexico six years ago, reported that Ames began harassing him and a friend on the 4 train. Lopez and his friend then chose to switch trains at the Union Square stop at 14th street to get away from Ames. However, the suspect followed the the men and punched Lopez in the head several times, according to police. That's when Ames shoved Lopez off the platform and onto the train tracks before running off. 'I don't know why he targeted me,' Lopez told the Daily News. 'He started yelling that I was there to take his job and that we bring drugs here.' 'I fell head-first,' Lopez said. 'My head hit the railing. I tried to get up, but lost consciousness. I couldn't move. My friend jumped in to get me out. He saved my life.' The police released the surveillance video of Ames in the red Make America Great Again hat - a symbol of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for president. Police records show Ames has previous arrests for drug possession, robbery and assault. A state MP has called for Australia to introduce Amsterdam-style cafes where customers can enjoy hash cookies and smoke joints. Fiona Patten, a member of Victoria's upper house, said marijuana should be decriminalised so it can be bought at shops and enjoyed over a cup of coffee as it is in The Netherlands. 'Would I enjoy Amsterdam-style cafes in Australia? Well, yes I would,' she told Daily Mail Australia. A state MP has called for Australia to introduce Amsterdam-style cafes where customers can enjoy space cakes and smoke joints (a 'coffee shop' in The Netherlands capital pictured) Fiona Patten, a member of Victoria's upper house, says marijuana should be decriminalised so it can be bought at shops and enjoyed over a cup of coffee as it is in The Netherlands Ms Patten, who was elected as an Australian Sex Party candidate in 2014, argued the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use would improve the quality of drugs. 'I'd like to see stores opening up all over Victoria where adults can purchase cannabis for recreational and medicinal use, knowing they are buying a pure product,' she said. 'We aren't going to win the war on drugs. 'What we can do is minimise the risk and harm of drug use.' Ms Patten, whose libertarian group was last year renamed the Reason Party, last week visited Canada to look at marijuana decriminalisation. Ms Patten argued the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use would improve the quality of drugs (Amsterstam cafe pictured) Ms Patten (left), whose libertarian group was last year renamed the Reason Party, last week visited Canada to look at marijuana decriminalisation 'The acceptance of cannabis in Vancouver is obvious,' she said. 'Taxi drivers, coffee shop workers, and restaurant and bar staff had no complaints about the emergence of cannabis retail businesses.' In the hippie town of Nimbin, in northern New South Wales, marijuana and hash cookies are openly sold on the main street and consumed at nearby cafes. Cafes in Sydney's Kings Cross used to illegally sell marijuana before police shut them down in 2003. Cannabis has been sold at cafes in The Netherlands since 1976 at outlets known as 'coffee shops' however Dutch authorities in more recent years have banned them from being within 250 metres of a school. Marijuana is allowed for personal use in The Netherlands and 'coffee shops' can only sell the drug, either as dried leaves or as space cakes and hash cookies, under strict licensing conditions. In March, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry called for recreational marijuana use to be legalised, after MPs on the committee visited Colorado and California In March, a Victorian parliamentary Inquiry Into Drug Law Reform called for recreational marijuana use to be legalised, after MPs on the committee visited Colorado and California, where it is legal to get high on cannabis. They argued a sales tax could be levied on marijuana if it was legalised, and explored how cannabis could be regulated so it had child-proof packaging and was only available for sale to adults. However, Ms Patten said the recommendations didn't go far enough, and called for more medically-supervised drug injecting rooms and ecstasy pill testing centres. 'We can ensure our young people are able to test the substance they are going to take and feel safe in doing so,' she said. However, Ms Patten said the recommendations didn't go far enough, and called for more medically-supervised drug injecting rooms and ecstasy pill testing centres The Australian Greens this week called for cannabis to be allowed for personal use, arguing a 25 per cent excise and GST could raise $1.8 billion a year. They argued people should be able to legally smoke dope, grow six plants of marijuana in their backyard and buy the drug at shops. It is illegal in every state and territory of Australia to grow or possess cannabis. However in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, offenders caught with small amounts of cannabis pay a fine and avoid criminal charges. In other Australian states, repeat offenders are charged after cautions and treatment programs fail. In the United States, Colorado allows people aged 21 or older to grow and carry 28 grams of cannabis. California this year allowed adults to buy a similar quantity of marijuana for personal use. Amber Rudd was the target of a Eurosceptic backlash last night after suggesting Britain could stay in a customs union with the EU. The Home Secretary dealt her political career a further blow by undermining Theresa May's pledge to make a clean break with the EU. Miss Rudd had already faced renewed calls to resign over the Windrush scandal after telling MPs she had been wrong to deny the Home Office pursues targets for removing illegal migrants. In the Commons, Tory MPs rallied behind the Home Secretary in a bid to deny Labour a scalp and protect the Prime Minister from direct criticism. Amber Rudd was the target of a Eurosceptic backlash last night after suggesting Britain could stay in a customs union with the EU The Home Secretary said that 'unfortunately' she was not aware of the policy and will be looking at it again But hours later, Miss Rudd opened up a second front in the crisis by suggesting the Government had not yet decided whether to make a clean break with the EU. Her comments came at a lunch in Westminster at which she: Revealed that controversial internal performance targets for removing illegal migrants would be axed; Questioned the Government's approach to tackling illegal immigration, saying: 'I don't like the phrase hostile environment'; Refused to endorse Mrs May's flagship target for slashing net migration to the tens of thousands; Admitted that her leadership hopes had been dented, saying: 'I'm just thinking about staying in the game'; Acknowledged that the Government's handling of the Windrush affair had been a 'fiasco', but refused to say if she had considered resigning; Insisted she would act to tackle knife crime, after figures showed offences surged 22 per cent last year. Miss Rudd was a leading figure in the Remain campaign and is a member of Mrs May's 11-strong Brexit 'war cabinet'. Asked if Britain was likely to leave the customs union, she replied: 'I am not going to be drawn on that. 'We still have a few discussions to be had in a really positive, consensual, easy way amongst some of my Cabinet colleagues in order to arrive at a final position.' Her comments appeared to contradict Mrs May's pledge repeated on Wednesday that Britain will leave the customs union after Brexit. Eurosceptic Tories reacted angrily to Miss Rudd's comments. Theresa May (pictured in Downing Street today) tonight warned the FA to think of England fans before committing to selling off Wembley Stadium MP Peter Bone said he 'could not understand' why she did not support government policy. He added: 'We cannot have a home secretary not supporting this key plank of Brexit.' Former Cabinet minister John Redwood said: 'She is wrong. The Government has a final position on the customs union, which is that we will be leaving when we leave the EU.' Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Government's commitment to leave the customs union was in the Tory manifesto, adding: 'The Home Secretary is bound by collective responsibility.' A former cabinet minister said: 'That is a very stupid thing to say. She is already under pressure over her own conduct at the Home Office she cannot afford to put herself at odds with the PM and the bulk of the Parliamentary party.' Miss Rudd later put out a partial clarification, saying she 'should have been clearer' that the UK would leave the customs union. But she left the door open to forming a new customs union with Brussels, a move that would end the dream of signing new trade deals around the world. In the Commons yesterday, Miss Rudd faced fresh Labour calls to resign over her handling of the Windrush scandal. But Eurosceptic Philip Davies urged her not to be 'knocked off course' on the need to tackle illegal immigration, saying: 'Most people in the real world, outside of the Labour party ... believe that the Government does not do enough to remove illegal immigrants from this country.' Brexit will allow Britain to build 'new and expanded economic links' with fast-growing countries in the Asia-Pacific, John Howard, Australia's prime minister from 1996 to 2007, said yesterday. Advertisement About 2,000 members of Brazil's indigenous tribes, decked out in traditional feathers and body paint, marched Thursday on Congress to demand protection for ancestral lands from ever expanding farm businesses. The activists were part of a week-long, annual indigenous protest camp that drew around 3,500 representatives from around 100 tribes, organisers said. The marchers, some carrying bows and arrows, briefly blocked rush-hour traffic as they made their way to Brasilia's legislature and justice ministry. Around 2,000 Brazilian Indigenous people from various ethnic groups held a massive demonstration yesterday in Brasilia to protest against the policies of President Michel Temer's government Indigenous people are outrage their traditional lands are been taken by farmers to grow soya and other foodstuffs The tribesmen lofted a red banner to symbolise the trail of blood inflicted on their people due to clashes with ranchers A long red banner was carried by demonstrators to symbolise a trail of blood due to conflicts with Brazil's enormous ranching, soya and other food commodity industries. 'Enough of indigenous genocide. Demarcate now!' the banner said, referring to continuous delays in officially demarcating legally accepted tribal territories in order to give them extra protection from incursions. Demonstrators made another 'blood trail' out of red paint that tribal chieftain Marcos Xukuru said 'represents all the state violence against indigenous peoples in this country.' Brazil's indigenous peoples say deforestation and land grabs have increased under the conservative government of President Michel Temer, who is backed by agribusiness interests. This year's tribal camp, however, has been peaceful in contrast to violent clashes last year between protesters and riot police in front of government buildings. The protesters claimed the government had made an 'unprecedented assault on their traditional rights and lands' Indigenous groups complain Brazil's new constitution fails to acknowledge their traditional lands During this year's weeklong 'Free Land Encampment,' indigenous groups have focused their ire on a rule adopted in July under which authorities can only designate lands as belonging to indigenous people if they were occupied in 1988, the year Brazil's Constitution was adopted. Indigenous groups argue that the requirement ignores the history of dispossession in Brazil - which was especially brutal during the 1964-1985 dictatorship. The rule will make the recognition of many pending indigenous land claims virtually impossible, activists say, and could even be used to claw back already designated land. That could open the lands up to logging, grazing and other business interests and could have serious implications for Brazil's ability to protect its environment and stem deforestation. 'There are lots of threats: orders, decrees, every type of document that they want to reduce our land, to not recognize our land,' said Megaron Txucarramae, a member of the Kayapo tribe who marched Thursday. Gizeli from the Guarani and Elane from the Guajajara tribe poses at the Acampamento Terra Livre camp in Brasilia The demonstrators described the policies enacted by the government as facilitating 'indigenous genocide' Security services monitored the demonstration on horseback although there were no reports of violent clashes He was joined by between 1,500 and 2,000 other indigenous people - many wearing feathered headdresses, traditional grass skirts or face and body paint. Some groups danced through the streets, while singing, beating drums and shaking maracas. In front of the Justice Ministry, a handful of people lay down on a Brazilian flag and a sign that read, 'End of the indigenous genocide.' Others painted one lane of a central thoroughfare red, calling the mark a 'trail of blood' and saying it represented violence against indigenous people. 'Never, in the past 30 years, has the Brazilian state opted for a relationship so completely adverse to the rights of indigenous people,' the Coalition of Indigenous People of Brazil said in a statement earlier in the week. The rule change was backed by Congress' so-called 'rural caucus' - a group of lawmakers representing the interests of rural landowners who have been allies of Temer in Congress. The group typically argues for more land to be opened up to economic activity, saying that's the only way to bring development and jobs to remote areas of Brazil. Last month, the public prosecutor's office requested that the rule be dropped, saying it violated rights guaranteed in the constitution. Some of the demonstrators also held up banners looking for a complete ban in tribal areas of fracking Last Thursday, the president's office said he approved the designation of 50,000 acres in central western Brazil as belonging to the Guato people The protesters marched to outside the Ministry of Justice building in Brasilia where some demonstrators stood under a cascade of water falling from the building Temer's office directed questions to the Justice Ministry, which handles land designations. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Brazil's 1988 Constitution called for the official demarcation of all lands belonging to indigenous people within five years, but that process continues to this day because of the complexity and political sensitivity of the issue. Late Thursday, Temer's office announced that he had approved the designation of a new parcel of land for the first time - recognizing nearly 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres) in central-western Brazil as belonging to the Guato people. 'When society arrives, when economic actors arrive in our lands, it's to exploit, it's to take everything,' said Valeria Paye, a coordinator for the coalition of indigenous groups. Indigenous people, meanwhile, 'preserve them in a way that benefits not just indigenous people, this has a benefit for Brazilian society, for global society.' The change comes as Brazil moves to slow deforestation in order to meet its obligations under the Paris climate accord and conflicts over land - often between indigenous people and businesses- are intensifying. Last year, 70 people were killed in such conflicts, the most since 2003, according to the Pastoral Land Commission. Meanwhile, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon retreated last year after two years of increases. Pauline Hanson has demanded answers after Labor vowed to cut mandatory detention of asylum seekers to 90 days maximum. Bill Shorten's Australian Labor Party is expected to reopen the debate surrounding asylum-seekers after it proposed to slash mandatory detention to 90 days, after which period they would be integrated into the community. Speaking to Karl Stefanovic on the Today show on Friday, the One Nation Party leader expressed shock at the proposal. Scroll down for video Pauline Hanson has demanded answers after Labor vowed to cut mandatory detention of asylum seekers to 90 days maximum The Queensland Senator pushed for more information from the Labor party, asking: 'And where are they going to put them?' 'I want to know where they are going to put them, because we have seen refugees put into rural and regional areas. They have no work, they don't blend in with the community,' she said. 'They're left at an end, they don't know what to do with themselves. You can't do that to these people' Senator Hanson said the Labor party needed offer legitimate answers for what they would do with asylum-seekers after they left detention. Senator Hanson said the Labor party needed offer legitimate answers for what they would do with asylum-seekers after they left detention (Manus Island detention living conditions) 'I want to know where they are going to put them, because we have seen refugees put into rural and regional areas. They have no work, they don't blend in with the community,' she said (Manus Island pictured) Bill Shorten's Australian Labor Party is expected to reopen the debate surrounding asylum-seekers after it proposed to slash mandatory detention to 90 days, after which period they would be integrated into the community She said simply releasing them into the community was a recipe for disaster. 'If you're going to bring them in, you've got to ensure that we look after them like other Australians,' she said. The proposal, drafted by immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann, did not outline what the future held for Australia's offshore processing centres at Manus Island and Nauru, The Australian reported. The proposal, drafted by immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann (pictured), did not outline what the future held for Australia's offshore processing centres at Manus Island and Nauru The proposal also failed to outline what Labor's stance on boat turn-backs would be. The chapter said unauthorised arrivals would be held at detention centres for health, identity and security 'for the shortest practicable time no longer than 90 days'. The proposal is expected to be hotly debated in the lead up to the next federal election. A drug addict pocketed more than $65,000 in Medicare funds to fund his $500-a-week ice habit. Daniel Mulquin, of Mt Ousley near Wollongong, was jailed on Thursday for 10 months and ordered to repay the money. He used his position working at his family's psychiatric clinic in Wollongong to siphon off cash from the bulk billing and patient claims system. Daniel Mulquin, of Mt Ousley near Wollongong, was jailed after pocketing more than $65,000 from Medicare accounts Mulquin managed to access the Medicare Easyclaim computer system and stole $65,656.95 Mulquin, 31, was given work by his mum who believed her son was struggling and wept in the gallery at Wollongong Local Court as he was sentenced, the Illawarra Mercury reports. He was carrying out odd jobs at the psychiatric practice run by his uncle Dr Anthony Durrell and where his mother worked. While working there, Mulquin managed to access the Medicare Easyclaim computer system and stole $65,656.95. The court heard Mulquin made 173 claims for refunds between December 2013 and August 2015 after entering fake details about visits to the doctor which he never made. The court heard Mulquin made 173 claims for refunds between December 2013 and August 2015 He used the system to enter the made-up appointments, saying he had paid the bills in full and then submit requests to claim the money back from Medicare. At one point in October 2014, he claimed $11,000 during the 31-day period when he said he had been to the doctor 24 times. Daily Mail Australia has asked the federal Department for Human Services to explain how the high volume of claims were not flagged by the Medicare computer system. Mulquin lost his job in April 2014 and the court was told his life had started to spiral from that point. At one point in October 2014, he claimed $11,000 during the 31-day period when he said he had been to the doctor 24 times According to his LinkedIn profile, he had been working as a sales representative for Grays Online in Sydney at the time and previously worked at two Cellarbrations stores in the city. He told the court he started using ice in 2008 but three years later he had become hooked on the drug saying it was his method to avoid depression and anxiety. Mulquin came clean to Medicare admitting his crime to the Department of Health in February 2017, three months after he had come off the drug. He was studying at the University of Wollongong for a qualification in computer science. Magistrate Michael Stoddart told the court: 'So all of the money that you've ripped off Medicare has gone to a drug dealer? 'That money should be paid to people that need it, not to people like yourself.' Mulquin was jailed for 10 months without parole for four-months and ordered to pay back the money in full. An overwhelming influx of international students into Australia has prompted widespread concerns about the competency of housing and infrastructure in major cities. Last week, the Department of Education revealed that Australia has taken in a total of 525,000 students from overseas this year - a 12 per cent increase compared to last year, which itself saw a 10 per cent increase from 2016. Such sustained growth is ruffling the feathers of urban planning experts, who are calling on the government and universities to allocate more adequate funding to student accommodation, ABC News reports. Last week, the Department of Education revealed that Australia has taken in a total of 525,000 students from overseas this year - a 12 per cent increase compared to 2017 'There's been quite a build-up of student accommodation, but it's nowhere near enough,' said Glen Searle, honorary associate professor in planning at Sydney University. 'Universities, perhaps with some Federal Government funding, should be directing some of their fees into providing their own accommodation.' Mr Searle further claimed that the government by now bears a 'moral responsibility' to deliver investment required by Australia's immigration program. Such sustained growth is ruffling the feathers of urban planning experts, who are calling on the government and universities to allocate more adequate funding to student accommodation Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said 'There are around 200,000 more foreign students in Australia today than there were a few years ago' Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull himself admitted the biggest driving factor of immigration growth in recent years had been the ongoing rise in foreign students. 'There are around 200,000 more foreign students in Australia today than there were a few years ago,' he said earlier this month. 'So if you feel there are more foreigners on the tram and you can't get a seat on the tram, that is because of that.' The Prime Minister's statement points to one small symptom of a bigger population problem - and one that is only intensifying as more and more students flock to Australia's education centres. Recent data shows that the highest concentrations of Australia's newest migrants are packed in around university campuses and the inner suburbs in Melbourne and Sydney (pictured: University of Sydney) This week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data showing that the highest concentrations of Australia's newest migrants are packed in around university campuses and the inner suburbs in Melbourne and Sydney. If Australia's infrastructure development doesn't rise to the demands of such immigration, it will only mean fewer seats on the tram for people in those areas. Liz Allen, a demographer at the ANU Centre for Social Research & Methods, says the buck stops with the politicians. 'I would be strongly urging people to be considered when they look at these figures,' she said, 'and not blame migrants, but rather hold politicians to account'. A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, who is responsible for population issues, said the Federal Government was working with its state counterparts to address the challenges of population growth. 'Future population growth, busting congestion and investing in projects to ensure people can get to home, university and work and back again sooner and safer is a key focus of the Government,' they said. NBC's Tom Brokaw has become the latest media personality to be accused of sexually misconduct. Former NBC war correspondent, Linda Vester, told The Washington Post that Brokaw made unwanted advances toward her in the 1990s. One of those advances, she claims, was a forcible kiss. Vester, now 52, said she was 28 at the time of the alleged incidents. Vester alleged that Brokaw, now 78, invited her for a drink when she was in New York on assignment in 1994. Scroll down for video NBC's Tom Brokaw (pictured on April 6) has become the latest media personality to be accused of sexually misconduct Former NBC correspondent, Linda Vester (left), has claimed that Brokaw (right) made unwanted advances toward her in the 1990s. One of those advances, she claims, was a forcible kiss. Vester said she was in her 20s at the time of the alleged incidents She reportedly responded to him by saying that she only drinks milk and cookies. 'It was the only thing I could think of at the time, hoping the reference to milk and cookies would make him realize I was 30 years his junior and not interested,' she told the Post. Vester claimed that Brokaw called her and told her that he was coming over because he was looking for 'an affair of more than passing affection'. She alleged that he tried to give her a 'real kiss' while sitting on the hotel room's sofa. 'He grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him. I could smell alcohol on his breath, but he was totally sober. He spoke clearly. He was in control of his faculties,' Vester told Variety. Vester said she managed to break away from him and said: 'Tom, I do not want to do this with you.' 'I guess I should go,' Brokaw allegedly replied. Vester then said that he even tried to kiss her on the way out as he left. Vester also claimed that he made a second advance toward her a year later in London, where she rejected him once again. She had just been promoted to foreign correspondent in the London bureau. Vester (pictured) also claimed that he made a second advance toward her a year later in London, where she rejected him once again It was in May 1995, that Vester claims she had another encounter with Brokaw after he flew in to anchor Nightly News from London for the 50th anniversary of VE Day. 'Im out of the office, doing a story. When I get back, I found that Tom had left a small square post-it note on my desk that said, Milk and cookies? she told Variety. She said he later messaged her asking what everyone was doing that night to which Vester responded that she was going out with friends. Brokaw reportedly wanted to know where they were going and Vester answered told him. 'I figured he wouldnt be brazen enough to show up to a restaurant where Im with other people who arent even in television,' she told Variety. From there, Vester claimed that Brokaw invited himself to her flat. Upon their arrival she says that he went straight for the sofa in the living room, similar to the alleged incident that had happened a year before. Vester said he asked her to sit down again and when she did 'he reached behind my neck and tried to force my head toward him and force me to kiss him'. Again, she said she broke away from him and said: 'You need to go.' Vester told Variety she did not report the alleged incidents to NBC human resources or police because she was fearful it would hurt her career. Vester left NBC in 1999 to work at Fox News, where she remained until 2006. Brokaw denied the allegations in a statement released to the Post by NBC, saying that his meetings with Vester 'were brief, cordial and appropriate'. He's pictured with Katie Couric in June 2017 Brokaw has been married to his wife Meredith Lynn Auld (pictured) since 1962. They have three daughters together Brokaw denied the allegations in a statement released to the Post by NBC. 'I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC,' he said. 'The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other.' Vester's lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, told Variety that his client chose to speak out about the allegations because she believes her story sheds light on the culture at NBC News. According to Vester, after Today co-host Matt Lauer was fired over sexual misconduct claims, NBC should have brought in an outside firm to investigate the company. NBC did launch an internal review of its practices, but Vester said other steps were necessary to fix NBC's culture. Vester chose to speak out about the allegations because she believes her story sheds light on the culture at NBC. Vester claims that after Today co-host Matt Lauer was fired over sexual misconduct claims, NBC should have brought in an outside firm to investigate the company After Lauer was fired from the Today show, he was replaced by NBC's Hoda Kotb, who joined Savannah Guthrie as the co-host of Today. Brokaw called the move 'historic and so deserved' 'What Linda is doing, like others before her have done, is to give her truthful account in the hope that other women will not have to endure what she did,' says Wilkenfeld, who also represented one of the victims from the Lauer case. NBC's Hoda Kotb replaced Lauer and joined Savannah Guthrie as the co-host of Today, a move Brokaw called 'historic and so deserved'. 'Savannah and hoda - historic and so deserved. one more step in what i believe will the hallmark of the 21 century. women hv full parity,' Brokaw tweeted at the time. Another woman, who worked as a production assistant in the 1990s when she was 24, claims that Brokaw put her 'hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, 'How is your job search going?' Then he allegedly said: 'Why don't you come into my office after the show and let's talk about it.' She told the Post that she refused to go to his office, and never reported the allegations. Brokaw's began his career at the Peacock Network in 1966. Brokaw anchored NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He has since served as a special correspondent. He later served as interim host of Meet the Press after Tim Russert's death in 2008. Brokaw has been married to his wife Meredith Lynn Auld since 1962. They have three daughters together and five grandchildren. In 2014, Brokaw publicly announced that he had started treatment for multiple myeloma. Last year, he was honored at the 2017 Mirror Awards where he received the prestigious Fred Dressler Leadership Award. During his more than 50 years at NBC News, Brokaw covered some of history's biggest stories, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 9/11 attacks. A residential area in Florida had to be taped off after at least eight sinkholes opened on Wednesday and Thursday, officials said. Residents in Oscala, Florida, had to be evacuated from their homes after holes opened up on a hillside near a retention pond. Oscala Fire Rescue evacuated eight town homes in the Wynchase Townhomes complex on Wednesday night, officials said. One video posted by the fire department shows a sinkhole close to the pond opening up and filling with water. Eight town homes in Oscala, Florida, were evacuated Wednesday evening after at least eight sinkholes formed near the homes. More sinkholes formed on Thursday Engineers have surveyed the area and have yet to determine if the holes are actually sinkholes Engineers have since surveyed the area with ground-penetrating radar but have not yet determined if they are sinkholes, Click Orlando reported. The residents who were evacuated still have no idea when they will be allowed back into their homes. Richard Morang told the news site that he has heard strange noises in his town home but has yet to be evacuated. The residents who were evacuated have no idea when they will be allowed back in their homes Someone is monitoring the area to make sure there isn't any other ground movement 'Kind of like a popping noise that we heard before,' he said. 'We heard noised before, but they told us everything was OK, so I went back inside, and now, we see cracks in the bathroom.' The holes have reportedly disrupted a fiber optic line that carries cable television to certain complexes. A monitor is watching the site currently to keep an eye out for any more movement in the ground. The Iran nuclear deal is set to dominate the agenda when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the White House later on Friday. Merkel is heading to the White House for talks with Donald Trump and is facing an uphill struggle to save the nuclear deal, avoid a trade war and make her relationship with the US president functional again. The German leader's visit has already been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of 'fraternite' between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week. US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last met at the White House in March 2017 Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed, in vain, for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations, officials told AFP. When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host -- clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. This time around, the tricolor French flags were only just removed in time for Merkel's arrival for a one day, run-of-the-mill 'working visit.' The stylistic differences between the Macron and Merkel visits are 'very telling' according to Mona Krewel of Cornell University. It points, she said, 'to the much more difficult relationship Trump has with Merkel.' Unlike French President Emamanuel Macron, Merkel's visit is a one day, run-of-the-mill 'working visit' That is a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven, along with centrists claiming her as the new 'leader of the free world', to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Shortly after his nomination, Richard Grenell, who is known for his pugilistic conservatism and combative defense of Trump's 'America First' policies, told AFP it was 'humbling' to be chosen for a post once held by John Quincy Adams, and he vowed to work diligently. 'There is a special responsibility that all US officials have to reject partisan politics when they take government service jobs,' he said. Merkel this week stressed that, despite the differences, she wants to preserve the bedrock strategic partnership. 'The transatlantic alliance, given the many non-democratic developments in this world,' she said, 'is a great treasure that I certainly want to cherish and nurture.' Despite her more sober style, she is unlikely to diverge much from Macron on substance. She will be trying to persuade Trump to back off his dual threats of punitive metal tariffs that could spark a transatlantic trade war and his instinct to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Merke's trip to Washington comes on the heels of visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was given a lavish welcome by Trump Trump last month announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, claiming foreign imports were harming US national security by undermining the domestic production needed for military readiness. After an outcry from US allies, he granted a temporary exemption to key partners including the European Union, but this expires on May 1. Trump's National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC Thursday that Washington would continue to exempt allied economies, including the EU, if they make concessions, citing the example of 'equal treatment of automobiles.' On the eve of Merkel's US visit, Berlin's hopes were dim. 'From today's perspective, we must assume that the tariffs will come on May 1,' said a German government source. 'And then we will see how we will handle it.' The next looming deadline is May 12, the date by which Trump has threatened to tear up the landmark 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions. Trump has called the agreement, which Germany helped negotiate, 'insane' and the 'worst deal ever,' demanding that its 'disastrous flaws' be fixed. Macron came away from his meetings speculating that Trump would kill the deal, but debate continues to rage. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Thursday said Washington was yet to make 'any decision' on tearing up the deal, but stressed that some aspects needed to be improved. It is unclear how Mike Pompeo's confirmation as Secretary of State will tilt the debate. Despite his hawkish views on Iran, his criticism of the deal had been somewhat tempered in internal discussions, officials said. As head of the CIA, for instance, he had relayed the spy agency's institutional assessment that Iran was broadly complying with the terms of the agreement, despite Trump's public pronouncements. The German foreign ministry has insisted that 'the biggest priority is maintaining the existing nuclear accord,' while Merkel has also called Iran's ballistic missile program a 'cause for concern.' A lot richer today: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added $12billion to his fortune on Thursday The richest man in the world just added a lot more money to his fortune. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is $12billion richer thanks to a surge in Amazon shares, as reported by Bloomberg. Amazon Inc.'s share had a good day on Thursday afternoon, when its shares surged 6.3 percent to $1,614 in extended trading in New York. That surge added to a four percent gain during the regular session. This year's Amazon shares are now up about 30 percent. The retail giant's surges are the result of better-than-expected profits in the first quarter and predictions of more big profits aided by the company's cloud-computing, subscription and advertising businesses. Amazon's projected operating income in the current quarter of $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion on revenue of $51 billion to $54 billion. Amazon's good day in the market means Bezos is now worth $134 billion Executives announced the price of the company's Prime subscription will rise by 20 percent, from $99 to $119 a year for US customers beginning on June 16, adding even more income to the company. For UK customers Amazon Prime costs 79 a year or 7.99 per month. The reasons behind the price hike is rising shipping costs and the company's plans to invest in video streaming and technology, according to the company. Amazon's good day in the market means Bezos is now worth $134 billion. The company's good fortune comes after its shares went down last month following criticism from president Donald Trump. Unsurprisingly, some of the country's highest taxable incomes come from people with the most years spent studying. Financial dealers, surgeons and engineer managers are among the top 10 highest earning professions in Australia with taxable incomes of almost $400,000. Surgeons topped the chart with a salary of $393,467 who were just in front of anaesthetists with $359,056 and internal medicine specialists with $291,140, according to the 2015-16 Tax Stats. Financial dealers, surgeons and engineer managers are among the top 10 highest earning professions in Australia with taxable incomes of almost $400,000 (stock image) Legal practitioners came it with $198,216, mining engineers on $166,557 (stock image), chief executives on $158,249 and engineering managers with $148,852 were among top ten jobs 'Perhaps unsurprisingly, the medical profession does dominate the top income categories,' Australian Taxation Office second commissioner Andrew Mills told news.com.au. The remaining six top jobs earning more than $200,000 were financial Dealers with taxable salaries of $263,309, followed by psychiatrists with $211,024, other medical practitioners on $211,024. Those scooping up less than $200,000 were legal practitioners with $198,216, mining engineers on $166,557, chief executives on $158,249 and engineering managers with $148,852. Australia's highest earning professions 1. Surgeons - $393,467 2. Anaesthetists - $359,056 3. Internal Medicine Specialists - $291,140 4. Financial Dealers - $263,309 5. Psychiatrists - $211,024 6. Other medical practitioners - $211,024 7. Legal practitioners - $198,219 8. Mining Engineers - $166,557 9. Chief Executives and Managing Directors - $158,249 10. Engineering Managers - $148,852 Source: 2015-16 Tax Stats Advertisement The salaries are a snapshot of about 16 million income tax returns made up of about 13.5million people and almost 1200 different occupations recorded. Less than 100 of the occupations including beauticians, teachers and goat farmers were held by women who had higher than average taxable incomes than men, the publication reported. The richest and poorest suburbs in Australia were also revealed by the ATO. Sitting at peak position in the 2015-16 stats is Sydney's 2027 postcode, which covers the coveted eastern suburbs of Darling Point, Edgecliff and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's local Point Piper. The average taxable income for that area was a cool $192,500 - the topmost in Australia. At the bottom end of the ladder are the north-eastern New South Wales suburbs of Bulyeroi and Rowena, both covered by the 2387 postcode and grossing an average salary of $12,004. Data released by the Australian Taxation Office has also revealed the richest and poorest suburbs in the country, with Sydney suburb Point Piper's 2027 postcode coming in at the top Many of the top and bottom postcodes were across NSW and Victoria with only a few in Queensland (pictured) Suburbs on the bottom end of the ladder included Bulyeroi and Rowena, both in New South Wales, and Watchem in Victoria (pictured) The richest and poorest postcodes were both located in New South Wales, while the second-highest and second-lowest both located in Victoria ATO second commissioner Andrew Mills said it was 'unsurprising that the eastern suburbs of Sydney dominate the postcodes' Those figures were gathered from a total 5995 taxpayers in the top postcode, and 135 in the lowest. Victoria, comparatively, was home to the second-highest and second-lowest income areas - split between the Watchem and Morton Plains postcode of 3482 and the Brim postcode of 3391, respectively. The state also had five out of the bottom 10 postcodes. He also cautioned against reading too far into these kind of statistics, however, as there could sometimes be 'odd things happening'. Australia's highest incomes by postcode $192,500 2027 (NSW: Darling Point, Edgecliff, Point Piper) $190,777 3142 (Victoria: Hawksburn, Toorak) $182,829 2030 (NSW: Dover Heights, Rose Bay North and Vaucluse) $180,412 2023 (NSW: Bellevue Hill) $167,266 3944 (Victoria: Portsea) $161,360 2088 (NSW: Mosman, Spit Junction) $159,736 2063 (NSW: Northbridge) $150,230 6011 (Western Australia: Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove) $147,757 2110 (NSW: Hunters Hill, Woolwich) $146,521 2028 (NSW: Double Bay) Advertisement Australia's lowest incomes by postcode $12,004 2387 (NSW: Bulyeroi, Rowena) $15,411 3482 (Victoria: Watchem, Watchem West, Morton Plains) $18,291 4732 (Queensland: Tablederry, Muttaburra) $21,540 3889 (Victoria: Errinundra, Manorina, Club Terrace) $22,119 2308 (NSW: Newcastle University, Callaghan) $22,520 3542 (Victoria: NSW: Tittybong, Cokum, Lalbert) $23,641 2386 (NSW: Burren Junction, Nowley, Drildool) $23,881 5306 (South Australia: Wynarka) $24,261 3391 (Victoria: Brim) $24,641 3237 (Victoria: Weeaproinah, Wyelangta, Yuulong) Advertisement A UK banker was jailed in the US yesterday for rigging a 2.7billion currency deal. Mark Johnson, the former head of HSBC's foreign exchange cash trading, was sentenced to two years in prison in New York for defrauding a client. Prosecutors say the 51-year-old and co-defendant Stuart Scott, who is fighting extradition to the US, manipulated the foreign exchange market. Mark Johnson, the former head of HSBC's foreign exchange cash trading, was sentenced to two years in prison in New York for defrauding a client Father-of-six Johnson, of the New Forest in Hampshire, had been hired by Cairn Energy in 2011 to convert $3.5billion (2.7billion) into sterling as part of the sale of a subsidiary. But prosecutors said Johnson and Scott devised a scheme to drive up the price of pounds before carrying out the deal. They said that the men generated more than $7million (5.5million) from the transaction, some of it illegally. Johnson was said to have greeted the news with the words: 'Oh, f***ing Christmas!' Johnson, who was sentenced at Brooklyn federal court after being convicted of wire-fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in October, was arrested last year as he was about to board a flight from New York's JFK airport to London. In his trial, Johnson insisted the client got a 'fair' price. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 215,000. HSBC was not accused of any wrongdoing. An American woman who disappeared after a bushwalk has sparked a search involving police and the State Emergency Service. The 25-year-old woman left to hike Mount Sorrow Ridge in Cape Tribulation, which is in far north Queensland. She left at 8am on April 26 and she didn't come back as scheduled at 2pm. A 25-year-old American female tourist left to hike Mount Sorrow Ridge in Cape Tribulation (pictured) at 8am, April 26 At 7pm Thursday police were notified that the woman was missing. A police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that as of 10.30am SES, police and helicopters were still searching for the woman. Searches were suspended overnight but began again early this morning. She is considered to be an experienced hiker. The woman, in Australia on a walking holiday, is also thought to have food and water with her. Police said the woman was described as Caucasian and about 167cm tall. She was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt, a silver backpack, turquoise blue and black running shoes and three-quarter length black tights. She also has blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone who may have seen the woman is urged to contact police. Joseph DeAngelo, the former cop identified as the Golden State Killer, may have been motivated to rape and murder dozens due to his hatred of his ex-fiancee, investigators say The former police officer identified as the infamous Golden State Killer may have been motivated to rape and murder dozens due to his hatred of his ex-fiancee, investigators say. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights, California on Tuesday after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s. The culprit, also known as the East Area Rapist, is suspected of at least 12 murders and 50 rapes across parts of the state 40 years ago. Paul Holes, an investigator who has been looking into the case for years, said one of the critical clues linking DeAngelo to the crimes was that he yelled out 'I hate you Bonnie' during one of his first alleged rape attacks, The Mercury News reports. DeAngelo was once engaged to a woman named Bonnie. 'Most certainly if he's making the statement, "I hate you, Bonnie," while he's attacking another female, he is what we call an anger retaliatory rapist. Instead of directing his anger at what's making him angry, he's directing it sideways onto someone else to be able to satisfy that anger,' Holes said. 'I do believe that's what happened here. I don't know what made him that way, but you've got to think Bonnie dumped him, he's not happy about that, he still had feeling for her, who knows? But something along those lines must have happened.' Paul Holes, an investigator who has been working the case since 1994, said one of the critical clues linking DeAngelo to the crimes was that he yelled out 'I hate you Bonnie' during one of his first alleged rape attacks. Holes is pictured above on Megyn Kelly's show Investigators searched DeAngelo's home in Citrus Heights on Thursday looking for evidence that may have been taken from the various crime scenes 40 years ago Holes, who has been a key investigator in the case since 1994, said he helped test DNA from the various crime scenes and tie them all together. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, is now the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of teacher Claude Snelling after he was linked to the Golden State Killer slayings in California 40 years ago 'We always thought there was a Bonnie significant in his life, it could be a mother, a wife, a girlfriend, a childhood crush,' Holes said. He said that they closed in on him after the DNA match and realizing he had an ex-fiancee named Bonnie. Investigators searched DeAngelo's home on Thursday looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes 40 years ago. Sacramento County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Belli said authorities were seeking weapons and other items that could link the suspect to the crimes. He declined to say what, if anything, investigators had found. Investigators backed two vehicles, a motorcycle and fishing boat out of the home's three-car garage and installed tarps to block prying eyes and news cameras. It emerged on Thursday that DeAngelo was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match. Sheriff deputy John Lopes from CSI takes ammo cans and guns into evidence with neighbors looking on Sheriff Deputy Lopes puts evidence into the back of his vehicle at the home of Joseph DeAngelo Sheriff deputys Jeremy Smith (foreground) and John Lopes from CSI (behind) take ammo cans and other evidence into a van Neighbors walk their dog in front of the home of Joseph DeAngelo, in Citrus Heights, California Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match to a relative of DeAngelo. Despite an outpouring of thousands of tips over the years, DeAngelo's name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week. A break in the case and the arrest came together in 'light speed' during the past six days but authorities refused to reveal what led to DeAngelo. After watching DeAngelo for several days, deputies took him by surprise Tuesday. Police said DeAngelo was shocked to see officers at his home and that when they went to arrest him he told them he had a roast in the oven. He was taken into custody by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday night on two murder charges for the 1978 deaths of Brian Maggiore and his wife Katie, who are believed to be the Golden State Killer's first victims. DNA testing linked Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, to some of the 12 murders carried out in California in the 1970s and 80s DeAngelo was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights (above) on Tuesday after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo He was later also charged with the murders of Lyman and Charlene Smith who were found dead in their home by their 12-year-old son in 1980. Police are now working to link the 72-year-old unequivocally to the rest of the crimes that profilers have attributed to the Golden State Killer through his modus operandi. Investigators revealed on Thursday that DeAngelo is now also the prime suspect in a 13th murder and that he was also the 'Visalia Ransacker' who terrorized the California town with a series of robberies in the 1970s. DeAngelo is suspected of shooting to death journalism teacher Claude Snelling in 1975 after Snelling caught him trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter. Detectives are trying to link Joseph DeAngelo to the 1975 slaying and about 100 burglaries committed in the region while DeAngelo was a police officer in nearby Exeter. The identity of the Golden State Killer has finally been revealed. Pictured are combination images the FBI released of sketches of the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer before his capture DeAngelo Jr was arrested on Tuesday night on two murder charges. Pictured on the left is an undated photo of DeAngelo when he was in the Navy, and on the right is a picture of DeAngelo during his sophomore year at Folsom High School Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar believes DeAngelo is the so-called Visalia Ransacker who terrorized the farming community in 1974 and 1975. Salazar added that the Ransackers' crimes have not yet been added to the tally announced Tuesday in Sacramento because there is no DNA evidence connecting DeAngelo to the Visalia crimes. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT JOSEPH DEANGELO: Joseph James DeAngelo is a 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran, former police officer and grandfather living in Citrus Heights, California. He was described by neighbors as odd but decent. He was quick to anger and could often be heard loudly cussing. DeAngelo graduated from nearby Folsom High School in 1964 and joined the US Navy. After returning home he enrolled in a community college and transferred to California State University, Sacramento, where he graduated in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. He landed a job as a police officer in Exeter where he served from 1973 to 1976. He married a local woman in 1973. In 1976, DeAngelo took a job with Auburn Police but was fired in 1979 when he was caught shoplifting. He spent 27 years working at a distribution center for Save Mart grocery stores before he retired last year. DeAngelo has three adult daughters and grandchildren. Advertisement The 72-year-old matches the description of Snelling's killer, and the serial burglar operated the same way DeAngelo is alleged to have operated in the other crimes, according to authorities. The Visalia suspect used sophisticated 'pry tools' to gain entrance to locked homes, just as DeAngelo is alleged to have used in the other crimes, Salazar said. The Visalia suspect was seen wearing a ski mask and eluded capture because of an apparent deep-knowledge of police work. 'He was very elusive and always had a good escape route,' Salazar said. Visalia police also have fingerprints and shoe tracks that will be investigated for matches to DeAngelo. Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo. According to the FBI, the Golden State Killer terrorized southern California between 1976 and 1986. His crimes began in the summer of 1976 with burglaries and rapes. Armed with a gun, the masked attacker would break into homes while single women or couples were sleeping. He sometimes tied up the man and piled dishes on his back, then raped the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled. He often took souvenirs - like coins, cash, ID cards and jewelry - from his victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 41. DeAngelo is currently being held at the Sacramento County Main jail and is ineligible for bail, according to jail records. The killer is also suspected of committing 120 home burglaries across Sacramento County. Police believe they found ski masks worn by the Golden State Killer in this undated photo The serial killer and rapist is also suspected of committing nearly 50 rapes in southern California over the span of a decade. The above photo shows a home that was ransacked by the Golden State Killer The Golden State Killer is suspected of committing dozens and dozens of crimes in Sacramento County in the late 1970s. Pictured is crime scene evidence from one of the attacks The father of a toddler who was brutally bashed by her own mother has called for tougher penalties for all child abusers. When Evie McMahon was eight-months-old, she was left with black eyes and a swollen face after being beaten with a kitchen utensil by her mother in 2016. Despite the severity of her attack, Lorien Norman, now 28, walked free from a South Australian court with only a good behavior bond and $500 fine. Scroll down for video The father Evie McMahon (pictured) who was brutally bashed by her own mother has called for tougher penalties for all child abusers Evie's (pictured) mother Lorien Norman, now 28, walked free from a South Australian court with only a good behavior bond and $500 fine The sentence was far too light for Evie's father, Shane McMahon, who as a result proposed a bill for harsher penalties for domestic violence perpetrators. 'We drafted up a bill on the issue about child protection and domestic violence. We want a mandatory jail sentence for perpetrators,' he told Adelaide Now. His bill was ultimately knocked back, despite gaining the support of one South Australian politician, but Mr McMahon refused to back down. 'The sentences in our country are so pathetic and lenient. They benefit the perpetrator,' he said. The sentence was far too light for Evie's (pictured) father, Shane McMahon, who as a result proposed a bill for harsher penalties for domestic violence perpetrators Mr McMahon's bill was ultimately knocked back, despite gaining the support of one South Australian politician, but Mr McMahon refused to back down (Evie pictured) The father believed the legal system was flawed in the way it seemed to benefit perpetrators instead of victims 'The laws are absolutely shocking. So we lost the battle but we're still going to fight the war.' Weeks after celebrating her second birthday, Mr McMahon told Daily Mail Australia his little girl has turned a corner in her recovery and 'come out of her shell'. 'She's beautiful, she's absolutely fantastic. We are another year on from the horror and she's just come out of her shell and into her own world,' he said. 'She's a bundle of joy running around the place screaming and yelling. We've got a great relationship with her and her big sister's taken her under her arm. Evie McMahon (pictured) was left battered and bruised after a shocking attack at the hands of her mother Lorien Norman when she was just eight months old Now, just weeks after second birthday, young Evie's smile has finally returned with her father Shane McMahon sharing pictures of his adorable daughter (above) Norman, 28, walked free from an Adelaide court with only a good behavior bond and $500 fine despite the severity of the attack on her eight-month-old daughter 'We're obviously still up in the air with the psychological assessment, because she's too young to be assessed, but physically she's fine. Mr McMahon said young Evie, now aged two, continues to be haunted by the attack and cringes whenever someone goes near her face, but has physically recovered. 'There's a few issues with her and she still cringes when things go near her face and she knows she's been assaulted to some degree, but she's just a beautiful little girl.' Norman pleaded guilty to causing harm with intent after repeatedly beating Evie with a slotted spoon and her bare hand. Although the offence carries a maximum sentence of 13 years, she did not spend a day behind bars and instead received a two-year good behaviour bond and was ordered to pay $500. Adelaide District Court Judge Jack Costello told Norman if she followed Community Corrections orders and did not re-offend for two years, she would never see prison. Mr McMahon is now planning to campaign for mandatory sentencing for attacks on children, outraged by the leniency given to Norman. 'The laws are disgusting in Australia at the moment, so I've been working with some politicians to campaign for stricter mandatory sentencing,' he said. An online petition calling for Norman to face a retrial has gained more than 340,000 signatures. Mr McMahon said young Evie (pictured), now aged two, continues to be haunted by the attack and cringes whenever someone goes near her face 'We're obviously still up in the air with the psychological assessment, because she's too young to be assessed, but physically she's fine,' Mr McMahon said Evie's mother initially claimed the injuries had been caused by a fall at a local playground in Adelaide Norman called police on October 1, 2016, and threatened to throw her daughter Evie off a balcony in Adelaide A court heard Norman called police on October 1, 2016, and threatened to throw her daughter Evie off a balcony in Adelaide. When officers arrived they found bruising to the girl's face and took both mother and child to hospital. Norman initially claimed the injuries had been caused by a fall at a local playground. Pictures of Evie after the attack show the young girl sporting a black eye with a small cut and dark bruises on her face. But Judge Costello found the injuries were 'likely to resolve' and let Norman walk free from court. According to Mr McMahon it won't be until next year that the full toll of the attack on young Evie becomes clear, when she is old enough to be psychologically assessed. Pictures of Evie after the attack show the young girl sporting a black eye with a small cut and dark bruises on her face The judge said Evie's injuries were 'likely to resolve', when he allowed Norman to walk free Mr McMahon (right) it won't be until next year that the full toll of the attack on young Evie (left) becomes clear, when she is old enough to be psychologically assessed But in the meantime she's started going to play group and is preparing to go to pre-school next year, a step her father says will be monumental. 'When kids go close to her or startle her she puts her hands up, and that is probably down to the fact she's been through a lot of trauma,' Mr McMahon said. 'But other than that she's absolutely fantastic. She's talking heaps, started play group and ready for pre-school. The normal things a girl whose just turned two would do. 'It's common knowledge for children at that age who are involved in assaults it can have huge impacts on learning abilities. 'I think all the time about how she's going to be when she's older and if and when she does see her mother too, I'm shit scared of the fact it will trigger something in her. 'Being put back in front of an abuser, even that young, can trigger terrible memories and she's just been through so much, but as you can see she's doing OK - she's my little angel.' Investigators are looking into a possible link between two severed heads found near two lakes 150 miles apart. The woman in Houston was described as Hispanic or white with reddish-brown or auburn shoulder-length hair and eyebrows and eyelashes that had been tattooed on Investigators are looking into a possible link between two severed heads found near two lakes 150 miles apart. According to the Houston Chronicle, the first head was found near Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana on March 1 in a small grocery bag by a prison inmate who was doing clean-up labor in a grassy marsh next to Highway 27. The second head was found in a large black plastic back by two clean-up volunteers near Lake Houston on March 24. Both victims are white women with reddish hair, around 10 to 12 inches long, and good teeth and thought to both be between 25 and 40 years old, investigators said. The Houston Police Department has released a statement regarding a person of interest one day after the head was found. The statement revealed that witnesses had seen a male in his early to mid-20s who was seen two weeks before the discovery of the head around 2.30pm throwing a plastic black bag off a bridge. The first head was found near Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana on March 1 in a small grocery bag by a prison inmate who was doing clean-up labor in a grassy marsh next to Highway 27 (above) The second head was found in a black plastic back by two clean-up volunteers near Lake Houston on March 24 (pictured) The man was seen driving a teal Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup with a broken left passenger window covered with cardboard. Police say witnesses reported rust on the truck and that it appeared to have been wrecked multiple times. Neither of the remains have been identified bu the Harris County medical examiner's office an anthropological profile of the Houston victim, the Chronicle reported. She was described as a Hispanic or white woman with reddish-brown or auburn shoulder-length hair and eyebrows and eyelashes that had been tattooed on. The second victim had no trauma to the skull but her decomposition was more advanced than the Texas victim, according to the Cameron Parish Sheriff's Office. Both victims are white women with reddish hair, around 10 to 12 inches long, and good teeth and thought to both be between 25 and 40 years old, investigators said Witnesses say they saw a male in his early to mid-20s driving a teal Chevrolet Silverado (pictured) who was seen two weeks before the discovery of the head around 2.30pm throwing a plastic black bag off a bridge Because both had good teeth, neither are believed to have been drugs addicts or homeless. No one has been arrested in either case. The Cameron Parish Sheriffs Office and Houston police acknowledge similarities in the cases and are working together to see if there is a connection Anyone with information on the victims or the man seen throwing the black bag is asked to contact HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. Former FBI Director James Comey has once again denied allegations by President Donald Trump that he leaked classified information and said his memos were 'like a diary.' Comey appeared on the Fox News Channel on Thursday where he defended his decision to give his memos which contained his recollections of conversations with Trump to a number of associates. 'That memo was unclassified then,' Comey told host Bret Baier. 'It's still unclassified. It's in my book. The FBI cleared that book before it could be published.' Comey is promoting his new book, A Higher Loyalty, which recalls his meetings with Trump and the events leading up to his firing as FBI director. Former FBI Director James Comey has once again denied allegations by President Donald Trump that he leaked classified information and said his memos were 'like a diary' Comey gave an interview on Thursday to Bret Baier, an anchor for Fox News Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Trump and his allies have accused Comey of leaking classified information. But Comey says that the information he shared with others was not classified. One of the individuals who received his memos was Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor. Comey says he gave the memos to Richman and 'asked him to get the substance of it out to the media.' 'I don't consider what I shared with Mr. Richman a leak,' Comey told Fox News. The former FBI director says he also gave copies of the memos to other members of his 'legal team.' Trump called in to Fox & Friends and slammed Comey as a 'liar and a leaker' who is 'guilty of crimes' 'I gave the memos to my legal team after I gave them to Dan Richman - after I asked him to get it out to the media,' he said. Comey has been criticized for releasing the memos since FBI officials are bound by an employment agreement that bars them from 'reveal[ing], by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.' Comey says, however, that the memos were personal, not official. 'I didn't consider it part of an FBI file... It was my personal aid to memoir,' Comey said. 'I always thought of it as mine, like a diary,' he said. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department's inspector general launched a review as to whether Comey violated rules by revealing classified information. During his Fox News appearance, Comey confirmed that he has been interviewed by the inspector general. 'And I expect a report on them,' Comey said. 'Not on the handling of classified information because that's frivolous, but on, 'Did I comply with policy? Did I comply with my employment agreement?' Trump called in to Fox & Friends and slammed Comey as a 'liar and a leaker' who is 'guilty of crimes.' 'He leaked classified information to get a special counsel and leaked the memos which are classified the memos were about me and he didn't write those memos accurately. He wrote a lot of phony stuff,' the president said on Thursday. 'He leaked classified information to get a special counsel and leaked the memos which are classified the memos were about me and he didn't write those memos accurately. He wrote a lot of phony stuff,' the president told Fox & Friends (above) on Thursday Comey responded, saying Trump was making a 'false statement' and that the president was 'just wrong.' 'Facts really do matter, which is why I'm on the show to answer your questions,' he said. Comey also said he did not know that Democrats had funded the infamous dossier compiled by a former British spy and which contained unverified claims about Trump and Russian prostitutes. Republicans say that the dossier was used as the basis to obtain a FISA warrant to surveil a member of Trump's campaign, Carter Page. Comey said that there was other information about Page's alleged ties to Russian intelligence that authorities used as the basis to obtain a FISA warrant. The former FBI chief was also asked about FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. Strzok and Page were found to have exchanged text messages disparaging Trump. This has fueled criticism that the FBI is biased against the president. Comey told Fox News that he would have 'removed both of them from any contact with significant investigations' if he was aware of the texts. 'It was such poor judgment,' Comey said. When asked if the work of Strzok and Page should be questioned, Comey replied: 'It's a reasonable question to ask. 'And I can tell you this. When I saw the text, I was deeply disappointed in them. 'But I never saw any bias, any reflection of any kind of animus towards anybody.' The Victorian Government has not ruled out lowering the blood-alcohol limit amid a state-wide crackdown on dangerous driving and tougher penalties for drivers caught under the influence of alcohol or drugs. From Monday, drivers who blow between 0.05 and 0.069 will immediately lose their licence for at least three months, before having an interlock device fitted for six months. Under the new measures, all those caught behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be forced to complete a behavioural program. The Victorian government has not ruled out lowering the blood-alcohol limit and from Monday, anyone who blows between 0.05 and 0.069 will lose their licence for at least three months Victoria's Transport Accident Commission said driving skills started to be impaired at 0.02. When asked if the government would consider banning drivers from having any alcohol in their system, Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said 'we will do some further studies on that'. 'That's part of our road safety initiatives that we will look at those issues,' he told reporters on Friday. The initiatives will also apply to interstate drivers. The Victorian Government has not ruled out lowering the blood-alcohol limit amid a crackdown on drink and drug drivers 'We know people who are on a low-level drink-driving charge are twice as likely to be involved in a serious injury or death on our roads,' Mr Donnellan said. First-time drug drivers will also lose their licence for six months, up from three, with repeat offenders forced off the road for a year. In 2017, just over 40 per cent of people who died on Victoria's roads had drugs or alcohol in their systems, the minister said. 'This is simply not acceptable.' A 27-year-old mother has died from a rare virus carried by mice just months after first showing symptoms. Kiley Lane, from Farmington, New Mexico, went to the hospital in February for what she thought was the flu, but instead was diagnosed with a rodent-carried Hantavirus that leads to organ failure and death in more than a third of patients. The rare virus enters the bloodstream after contact with infected deer mice causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) that extensively damages the lungs, heart and other organs, killing 36 percent of those infected. Lane's family posted on a YouCaring fundraising page that she 'left this world' last week. Kiley Lane, 27, died last week from a rare rodent-carried Hantavirus, which she was diagnosed with in February. She is pictured right with her daughter There have been fewer than 1,000 cases of the virus reported in the US since it was first identified in 1993. In its early stages, hantivirus typically presents with flu-like symptoms, making it easy to misdiagnose. In early January, Lane was experiencing nausea and sharp stomach pains, so her husband Kevin convinced her to go to the hospital in Farmington, New Mexico, thinking that she had the flu. Doctors told her that she had a blockage and sent her home with laxatives, but a few weeks later she returned to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath. Lane was tested for pneumonia, the flu virus, hepatitis, and other possible causes for her symptoms but everything came back negative. 'She was getting sicker and sicker and nobody seemed to want to listen,' Lane's mom, Julie Barron, told Fox News. 'At one point they thought she might be faking it.' Her condition continued to deteriorate to the point that she was put on a ventilator. Finally, a test for Hantavirus came back positive, and Lane was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. HPS causes infections in various organs that weaken blood vessels, making them leak. The body attempts to fight the virus by creating inflammation, which combines with the organ infections and leads to intense damage throughout the body. In the lungs, leaky blood vessels cause flooding in the air sacs, making it difficult for patients to breathe. When the virus infects the heart, the damage reduces its ability to circulate blood through the body causing critically low blood pressure and a lack of oxygen throughout the body. This can rapidly lead to organ failure and death. Hantavirus typically enters the bloodstream after contact with infected deer mice (pictured) or their feces and urine While there is no known cure for Hantavirus or HPS and nearly four in 10 people infected are killed, those who do recover do so rapidly with the help of supportive care, according to the CHEST Foundation. Supportive care includes oxygen therapy, fluid replacement, and use of blood pressure medications to support blood pressure. In some cases, antiviral drugs are used to treat strains of hantavirus, but no large trials have proven them to be effective. Lane had been hooked up to an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which takes on the duties of the heart and lungs by pumping and oxygenating a patient's blood. 'This virus starts attacking your body, it damages your organs,' Barron said. 'The first thing that happened with Kiley is her lungs. They're in real critical shape.' 'A month ago, she was planning a trip to Costa Rica with her best friend from college. Now she can't even go to the bathroom by herself,' Barron said in February. 'She hasn't seen or talked to her daughter in a month. She can't even watch TV.' Sherri Hull, a family friend, set up a YouCaring page to raise money for Lane's ,medical bills. More than 160 people have already donated to the cause, raising $48,432. Through Facebook the family was connected with a couple who had experienced the virus years ago. 'We had an awesome God-thing happen,' Barron wrote on the YouCaring page. 'Cam and Angie Dockery drove several hours round-trip to come visit Kiley. 'Cam survived this virus 12 years ago and came to give us hope and encouragement. I am certain we will now be friends with Cam and Angie for life. 'It is a humbling thing to see Gods hand at work each day.' While Barron patiently waits for small signs that her daughter's health is improving, she said she's going to devote her time to spreading awareness for the deadly virus. 'We can't sit back and let things like this be swept under the carpet,' Barron said. 'I want people to know about the virus and to keep the name in open communications, so that nobody else has to go through this. Not one person.' As of January 2017, a total of only 728 HPS cases had been reported across 36 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The majority of cases were reported in states west of the Mississippi River. Barron said that she wants people to know how they may be at risk. 'It's not like [Lane] was digging through a dumpster or around infected rodents. She was doing her normal, everyday routine sweeping the porch, wiping off a box with a paper towel,' Barron said. 'Everyone has the impression: "That's never going to happen to me".' She helped her older cousin into tricking their family to think she was pregnant A teenager has been spared jail after kidnapping a baby to help her cousin dupe their entire family into thinking she was pregnant. Sydnee Toulapapa, 19, crept into the sleeping child's bedroom in Auckland and snatched the 11-day-old girl from her cot last August. Her older cousin, Nadene Manukau-Togiavalu, 21, was the little girl's nanny and had started working for the family just two days earlier, Stuff.co.nz reports. Sydnee Toulapapa, 19, (pictured) has been spared jail after kidnapping a baby to help her cousin dupe their entire family into thinking she was pregnant Her older cousin, Nadene Manukau-Togiavalu, 21, spent months wearing a fake fat belt (pictured) and said she was expecting a boy but suspicions grew when the baby shower quickly changed to be for a girl For months, Manukau-Togiavalu wore a fake fat belly strap under her clothes to convince relatives and her boyfriend she was pregnant and even threw a fake baby shower, the High Court in Auckland heard. Toulapapa was let off prison and instead escaped with a $2,000 compensation order and 400 hours of community work. The cousins each pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and kidnapping in March but Manukau-Togiavalu is still awaiting sentence. The baby's father, who has not been named, left the courtroom in disgust after hearing Toulapapa's sentence, the New Zealand Herald reported. Manukau-Togiavalu was the little girl's nanny and had started working for the family just two days before the child was snatched The court heard Toulapapa was wearing a homemade balaclava when she broke into the family home as CCTV footage showed her enter through the back door and escape clutching the baby and bags. Her cousin had convinced her to take the baby after telling her she had regretted giving her own baby up for adoption and wanted her back. She claimed to have forgotten she had signed the adoption papers and wanted the child back after making a mistake, the court heard. But family members had begun to grow suspicious after Manukau-Togiavalu quickly changed the baby shower to be for a boy to a girl. The High Court in Auckland heard Manukau-Togiavalu convinced her cousin to take the baby after telling her she had regretted giving her own baby up for adoption Manukau-Togiavalu came recommended to the young family - who was celebrating the birth of their first child - but the ordeal has left the mother with nightmares, it is reported. The court heard 80 police officers were dispatched to help track down the baby after Manakau-Togiavalu raised the alarm herself saying the house had been robbed. The baby girl was returned more than seven hours later about 1pm after Toulapapa realised the police had been called. The child's mother described the incident in her victim statement as her 'worst nightmare'. The court heard 80 police officers were dispatched to help track down the baby after Manakau-Togiavalu raised the alarm She says she wakes every night with the monitor next to her pillow to check her baby is still in her cot. The court heard Manakau-Togiavalu had been recommended by a nanny agency and moved into the family's home just two days earlier. 'It was an absolute violation of trust. We welcomed her into our home,' the baby's father said in a statement read to the court. Toulapapa's defence lawyer Annabel Cresswell said her client had been naive and was truly remorseful. 'She still didn't understand the gravity and still thought she had Nadene's baby,' Ms Cresswell said. Manukau-Togiavalu (right) gave evidence at the trial of Vincent Skeen, who killed her cousin Luke Tipene (left) The judge, Justice Peter Woodhouse, told Toulapapa her adult life would be 'permanently blighted' by her actions but accepted her remorse. 'The gravest aspect of your offence is the significant harm you inflicted on the parents of the baby you abducted and it was significant,' he said. Manukau-Togiavalu gave evidence at the trial of Vincent Skeen, who killed her cousin Luke Tipene at a party in 2014. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was arrested at his home on Tuesday after DNA linked him to the rapes and murders attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s The Golden State Killer who managed to fly under the radar for 40 years told police he had a roast in the oven when they turned up to arrest him this week. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was taken into custody at his home in Citrus Heights, California on Tuesday after DNA linked him to the rapes and murders attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s. Despite an outpouring of thousands of tips over the years, DeAngelo's name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week. His family have now expressed their shock over his crime spree, saying they never noticed 'any kind of madness' in him. After tracking DeAngelo down and watching him for several days, police took him by surprise Tuesday when he stepped out of his house. Police said DeAngelo was shocked to see officers at his home and that when they went to arrest him he told them he had a roast in the oven. Officers told him they would take care of it. Police said DeAngelo was shocked to see officers at his home and that when they went to arrest him at his Citrus Heights home that he told them he had a roast in the oven DNA testing linked Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, to some of the 12 murders carried out in California in the 1970s and 80s Investigators searched DeAngelo's home in Citrus Heights on Thursday looking for evidence that may have been taken from the various crime scenes 40 years ago Investigators searched DeAngelo's home on Thursday looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes 40 years ago. Sacramento County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Belli said authorities were seeking weapons and other items that could link the suspect to the crimes. He declined to say what, if anything, investigators had found. Joseph DeAngelo, 72, is now the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of teacher Claude Snelling after he was linked to the Golden State Killer slayings in California 40 years ago It emerged on Thursday that DeAngelo was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match. Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match to a relative of DeAngelo. The revelations come as his older sister Rebecca Thompson told the Sacramento Bee she was in shock and her family were devastated for her brother's victims. 'As stunned as I am - because I've never seen him display any kind of madness or anything like that - I just can't believe it,' she said. 'It's hard to believe. We're saddened and all kinds of things. 'We're sorry for the victims without any doubt. It's really hard to think about all the victims. The victims come to mind every time I think about it, of course.' The Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist, is suspected of at least 12 murders and 50 rapes across parts of the state 40 years ago. DeAngelo was taken into custody by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday night on two murder charges for the 1978 deaths of Brian Maggiore and his wife Katie, who are believed to be the Golden State Killer's first victims. He was later also charged with the murders of Lyman and Charlene Smith who were found dead in their home by their 12-year-old son in 1980. Police are now working to link the 72-year-old unequivocally to the rest of the crimes that profilers have attributed to the Golden State Killer through his modus operandi. DeAngelo was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights (above) on Tuesday after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer from the 1970s and 80s Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo Investigators revealed on Thursday that DeAngelo is now also the prime suspect in a 13th murder and that he was also the 'Visalia Ransacker' who terrorized the California town with a series of robberies in the 1970s. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT JOSEPH DEANGELO: Joseph James DeAngelo is a 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran, former police officer and grandfather living in Citrus Heights, California. He was described by neighbors as odd but decent. He was quick to anger and could often be heard loudly cussing. DeAngelo graduated from nearby Folsom High School in 1964 and joined the US Navy. After returning home he enrolled in a community college and transferred to California State University, Sacramento, where he graduated in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. He landed a job as a police officer in Exeter where he served from 1973 to 1976. He married a local woman in 1973. In 1976, DeAngelo took a job with Auburn Police but was fired in 1979 when he was caught shoplifting. He spent 27 years working at a distribution center for Save Mart grocery stores before he retired last year. DeAngelo has three adult daughters and grandchildren. Advertisement DeAngelo is suspected of shooting to death journalism teacher Claude Snelling in 1975 after Snelling caught him trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter. Detectives are trying to link Joseph DeAngelo to the 1975 slaying and about 100 burglaries committed in the region while DeAngelo was a police officer in nearby Exeter. Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar believes DeAngelo is the so-called Visalia Ransacker who terrorized the farming community in 1974 and 1975. Salazar added that the Ransackers' crimes have not yet been added to the tally announced Tuesday in Sacramento because there is no DNA evidence connecting DeAngelo to the Visalia crimes. The 72-year-old matches the description of Snelling's killer, and the serial burglar operated the same way DeAngelo is alleged to have operated in the other crimes, according to authorities. The Visalia suspect used sophisticated 'pry tools' to gain entrance to locked homes, just as DeAngelo is alleged to have used in the other crimes, Salazar said. The Visalia suspect was seen wearing a ski mask and eluded capture because of an apparent deep-knowledge of police work. 'He was very elusive and always had a good escape route,' Salazar said. Visalia police also have fingerprints and shoe tracks that will be investigated for matches to DeAngelo. Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo. The identity of the Golden State Killer has finally been revealed. Pictured are combination images the FBI released of sketches of the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer before his capture DeAngelo Jr was arrested on Tuesday night on two murder charges. Pictured on the left is an undated photo of DeAngelo when he was in the Navy, and on the right is a picture of DeAngelo during his sophomore year at Folsom High School According to the FBI, the Golden State Killer terrorized southern California between 1976 and 1986. His crimes began in the summer of 1976 with burglaries and rapes. Armed with a gun, the masked attacker would break into homes while single women or couples were sleeping. He sometimes tied up the man and piled dishes on his back, then raped the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled. He often took souvenirs - like coins, cash, ID cards and jewelry - from his victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 41. Investigators say DeAngelo may have been motivated to rape and murder dozens due to his hatred of his ex-fiance. Paul Holes, an investigator who has been looking into the case for years, said one of the critical clues linking DeAngelo to the crimes was that he yelled out 'I hate you Bonnie' during one of his first alleged rape attacks, The Mercury News reports. DeAngelo was once engaged to a woman named Bonnie. The killer is also suspected of committing 120 home burglaries across Sacramento County. Police believe they found ski masks worn by the Golden State Killer in this undated photo The serial killer and rapist is also suspected of committing nearly 50 rapes in southern California over the span of a decade. The above photo shows a home that was ransacked by the Golden State Killer The Golden State Killer is suspected of committing dozens and dozens of crimes in Sacramento County in the late 1970s. Pictured is crime scene evidence from one of the attacks 'Most certainly if he's making the statement, 'I hate you, Bonnie,' while he's attacking another female, he is what we call an anger retaliatory rapist. Instead of directing his anger at what's making him angry, he's directing it sideways onto someone else to be able to satisfy that anger,' Holes said. 'I do believe that's what happened here. I don't know what made him that way, but you've got to think Bonnie dumped him, he's not happy about that, he still had feeling for her, who knows? But something along those lines must have happened.' Holes, who has been a key investigator in the case since 1994, said he helped test DNA from the various crime scenes and tie them all together. 'We always thought there was a Bonnie significant in his life, it could be a mother, a wife, a girlfriend, a childhood crush,' Holes said. He said that they closed in on him after the DNA match and realizing he had an ex-fiance named Bonnie. DeAngelo is currently being held at the Sacramento County Main jail and is ineligible for bail, according to jail records. After the Cambridge Analytica scandal befell the world, we were inundated with techno lingo: data mining, informed consent, whistleblowing, internet browsing histories, disinformation, privacy breach, psychological profiling, psychographics, trolling, micro targeting and many others. Collectively the terms, and the story, left us baffled. Today we aim to simplify some of the jargon as we come to terms with the story. Cambridge Analytica, AggregateIQ, Eunoia Technologies, and Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), are data mining companies. Utilizing powerful software programs, they collect data by examining large databases, such as Facebook, in order to generate new information. That is data mining. Whistleblower Chris Wylie, who cofounded or worked for these companies has come out against them. We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of profiles. And built models to exploit that and target their inner demons, and thats trolling. Data mining in itself is not illicit, but when the data gathered non consensually influence choices at the ballot box during high-profile election campaigns, then it is fraught with illegality. Breaching the trust of 87 million Facebook users by using psychographics, or users psychological profiles, to capture user behaviour patterns, data mining companies manipulated Facebook users to make choices they would have otherwise not made. This is what modern-day colonialism looks like, Wylie also says. I tend to agree with the statement since the influence of such companies extended across the globe. Cambridge Analyticas website boasts supporting more than 100 campaigns across five continents. Hypothetically, since confirmed info is yet to emerge, voters during the 2016 US presidential election may have been swayed to vote one way or another. The outcome of the Brexit vote may have been compromised since AggregateIQ, hired by VoteLeave and BeLeave, was paid four million dollars to help them cheat, according to Wylie. Also Ted Cruz, the 2016 Republic candidate for US president hired Cambridge Analytica paying it almost $6 million. It was to assist in data analysis and online advertising. Today, while weighing in on the scandal, Ted Cruz said that Cambridge Analytica assured his campaign that its voter data methods were legit. Once Cruz lost, Cambridge Analytica went on to work on the Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Data gathering companies influence peoples choices in elections worldwide. AggregateIQ, is a company that has gone around the world and undermined democratic institutions in all kinds of countries. They could care less as to whether or not their work is compliant, Wylie says. SCL boasts its success in manipulating the Nigerian 2007 election. The Guardian quoted an ex-employee of SCL to have said, It was the kind of campaign that was our bread and butter. We were employed by a billionaire whos panicking at the idea of a change of government and who wants to spend big to make sure that doesnt happen. In addition, Cambridge Analytica was hired to hack into the incoming presidents personal data to find relevant information to blackmail him and intimidate his followers. In the Caribbean country, Trinidad and Tobago, psychological profilingvoters choices, preferences, likes, and dislikeswas conducted to improve the chances of one political party. Today, the government is questioning the role that Cambridge Analytica played in the election and will administer a full review. The 2017 Kenyan elections was compromised by data mining, too. Cambridge Analytica mined Kenyan voters data to help the President Uhuru Kenyatta win. It ran Kenyan's re-election campaign in 2017. "We have rebranded the entire party twice, written the manifesto, done research, analysis, messaging. I think we wrote all the speeches and we staged the whole thing so just about every element of this candidate," Mark Turnbull, managing director for Cambridge Analytica told an undercover reporting team from the British Channel 4. Voters in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, and Brazil have all been targeted and swayed one way or another due to the interference of data mining companies. Today AggregateIQ is working on the 2019 Ukrainian election campaign. Data mining on social media is very common. If you look up an item on Google, advertisement of similar items will haunt you for a set period until Google realizes that you are not interested anymore. Why? Because Google uses your information to target you. Say you want to order a pair of sunglasses online, you will be inundated with ads for sunglasses; if you want to go on a Nile cruise, for weeks on end, your pages will include Nile cruise ads. We realize this catch and live with it since the promotions dont influence our life-changing decisions such as whom to vote for. Besides, we dont pay to access information off Google, so this is how Google rewards itself, by targeting our choices and preferences. But once data mining is utilized to affect fundamental choices, those life or death decisions, it becomes a vile strategy that ordinary folks must heed and beware. What we include or pass on social media may come back and terrorize us later. Photos, anecdotes, political biases may be used against us. It is also important to realize that not all that we read or see on social media is there freely, but it may be there to target us personally, based on information we generously gave, so we shouldnt be fooled. Egypt passed through a presidential election recently, and Im proud to say that Egyptians did not fall prey to Cambridge Analytica or other data mining companies. Despite the tarnishing accusations that western media indulged in, the elections were free and consensual. Egyptians chose whom they wanted to lead the country. I would also suggest to western media to focus on Cambridge Analytica and its likes, which are major destructive tools, and leave Egypt to utilize its simple and easy to recognize electoral devices void of manipulative techniques and swaying tactics. A mining worker has been killed in a tragic workplace accident in Western Australia. Emergency services were called to the Griffin Coal's Ewington mine site near Collie in Western Australia's southwest region about 11pm on Thursday night after reports a man had been involved in a workplace accident. 'The man, who is in his 40s, died as a result of his injuries he received,' WA Police said in a statement. The tragedy happened at Griffin Coal's Ewington mine site (satellite photo) near Collie on Thursday night The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has sent its condolences to the worker's family, friends and co-workers following his tragic death 'Worksafe and the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety will be attending the site. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.' The department confirmed to Daily Mail Australia it was investigating the man's death. 'Mine safety inspectors from the department's Collie office attended the scene of the accident early this morning, and two investigation inspectors from Perth will join them today,' department safety director Andrew Chaplyn said on Friday. 'The department sends its sincere condolences to the worker's family, friends and co-workers.' The Western Australian town of Collie (pictured) is home to two coal mines Griffin Coal Mine is one of two mines in Collie, 213 kilometres south of Perth. Local police have told the Collie Mail they will investigate how and why the accident occurred so a similar tragedy doesn't happen again. 'It appears to be a tragic accident,' Senior Sergeant Heath Soutar told the publication. 'The impact this will have on Collie will be significant.' It is the second workplace death in WA in the past week after a construction contractor died at the Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant on April 20, WA Today reports. A high ranking Lone Wolf gang member known as the 'Naked Bikie' has been granted bail after his barrister told the court the 'child pornography' he allegedly possessed were typical family photos. Erkan Keskin, 41, pleaded not guilty on Friday after detectives allegedly found 'child exploitation images' on a computer at his luxury serviced apartment in Millers Point, Sydney. Magistrate Robert Williams granted Mr Keskin conditional bail after his barrister Grant Brady SC told the court the alleged images were pictures contained within a family album. 'This is not child pornography, these were shots of their kids that are usual in family albums,' said Mr Brady. 'And there is nothing to indicate he was the person who took the photos and even knew the photos were there'. A high ranking Lone Wolf gang member known as the 'Naked Bikie' has been granted bail after his barrister told the court the 'child pornography' he allegedly possessed were typical family photos Mr Brady described the prosecution case as 'very weak' and told Magistrate Williams he would appreciate that it was 'part and parcel' for children to be seen in 'states of various dress' in family photo albums. He told the court police investigators had found the pictures on an old computer which had not been turned on since July 2015. Additionally, the computer username belonged to Keskin's wife, who lives in Dubai with their children, he argued. 'It was an old computer with family albums that was under his wife's name,' Mr Brady said. Erkan Keskin, 41, was arrested by police on Thursday after detectives allegedly found 'child exploitation images' on a computer at his luxury serviced apartment in Millers Point, Sydney (Keskin is pictured during an earlier arrest) Prosecutor Ben Delaroche opposed bail, telling the court there was an unacceptable risk Keskin would commit other serious indictable offences. Mr Delaroche said Keskin was already on bail for other offences (including a serious alleged drug matter). He noted Keskin had a violent history and said police did not believe the current, 'extremely strict' bail conditions were adequate. The prosecutor said police found three men at the apartment during a search warrant who were 'members of an outdoor motorcycle gang'. In 2015, Keskin was found naked by police after he allegedly broke into a stranger's home in Sydney's west Detectives were also concerned Keskin's electronic bracelet did not match up with CCTV, he told the court. Mr Brady said he had not heard either allegation before the court. Keskin wore a black T-shirt and was expressionless as he appeared in court via audio-visual link. Magistrate Williams said the fact the computer had not been turned on in years and the circumstances of the photos made the prosecution case seem 'reasonably weak'. The magistrate said the court did not consider his criminal record as lengthy. He granted Keskin conditional bail and the matter returns to court in a fortnight. Keskin earned his 'Naked Bikie' moniker for running down a western Sydney street, nude and wielding a gun, during a cold July 2015 night. A two-time war Australian war veteran has been brutally bashed in a senseless late night attack the evening of Anzac Day. The former serviceman, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, was making his way back to the Nimbin YHA, in northern New South Wales, on Wednesday night when he was set upon by three men. He had stopped to pay his respects at the Nimbin Cenotaph, on Cullen Street, about midnight before his attackers struck him from behind and knocked him out, Northern Star reported. A two-time war Australian war veteran has been brutally bashed in a senseless late night attack the evening of Anzac Day as he stopped to pay his respects at the Nimbin Cenotaph (pictured) The men were described to be in their mid 20s and of Aboriginal appearance, with police appealing for the public's help to track them down. The veteran sustained several injuries in the altercation including fractures to his cheek and eye socket, leaving him needing surgery. Police have asked that anyone with information contact Lismore police or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. An Uber driver from Ethiopia who questioned how a lesbian passenger had sex has been fined $300. Umar Subi Gammeda made the inappropriate comment after giving the 25-year-old woman a lift to Brisbane's Fortitude Valley in August 2017. The 46-year-old African man had been chatting with his much younger passenger about whether she was married after collecting her from her inner-city Paddington home, Brisbane Magistrates Court was told. As they drove to the Fortitude Valley nightclub district, the woman told him she was gay. An Uber driver from Ethiopia who questioned how a lesbian passenger had sex has been fined $300 Umar Subi Gammeda made the inappropriate comment after giving the woman a lift to Brisbane's Fortitude Valley in August 2017 Subi Gammeda responded that homosexuality wasn't condoned in his home country of Ethiopia. He then asked how she had sex with her girlfriend, which was the basis of the public nuisance charge. His defence barrister Debra Wardle told the court her client was sorry for his conduct. 'He fully accepts that it's offensive here and he shouldn't have said it,' she said. 'This offence really boils down to cultural differences and not understanding, and he apologises for the offence that he has caused.' The African man had been chatting with his 25-year-old passenger about whether she was married after collecting her from her Paddington home, Brisbane Magistrates Court was told Umar Subi Gammeda (pictured) then asked how she had sex with her girlfriend, which was the basis of the public nuisance charge Her client was initially charged with deprivation of liberty after allegedly detaining the customer for more than an hour. But prosecutors withdrew that charge on Friday morning due to lack of evidence. The Uber driver instead pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to causing a public nuisance. Since being charged, Subi Gammeda hasn't worked as an Uber driver and was unemployed for six months before finding a job as a labourer at a chicken farm. Ms Wardle told the court he intended to return to work as a professional driver. Subi Gammeda did not have a conviction recorded against his name. A man aged in his 70s has been killed and a woman, also in her 70s, is in emergency surgery after a violent domestic dispute escalated onto a suburban street in Perth. The dispute, which began at a house on the quiet cul de sac of Ensign Dale in the south-west suburb of Kelmscott, spilt out to surrounding streets, in what police have described as a family violence incident. Officers and paramedics were called to the home at 7.10am on Friday after reports a man and a woman had been seriously hurt, police told Daily Mail Australia. Scroll down for video Officers and paramedics were called were called to a violent domestic dispute which escalated onto a suburban street in Perth. A man aged in his 70s was killed and a woman, also in her 70s, is in emergency surgery A man in his 40s, allegedly known to the victims and also believed to have been involved in the dispute, is currently in custody and under police guard. The man is also being treated for injuries sustained before his arrest at Fiona Stanley Hospital. A neighbour, Sharon Boulding, told ABC news she saw a man with his hands and clothes covered in blood shortly before being arrested by police in the 'normally very quiet' neighbourhood. Ms Boulding said the man was handcuffed and marched up the hill by eight police officers in the adjacent Frye Park. A neighbour told ABC news she saw a man with his hands and clothes covered in blood arrested in Frye Park (Google image pictured) in the 'normally very quiet' neighbourhood 'He looked cool, calm and collected I thought, but then his hands were all covered in blood and I thought something really bad has happened,' she said. Other neighbours reported hearing sirens early in the morning before seeing dozens of police officers running through the park. Homicide Squad detectives and forensic investigators are still at the scene searching the area. Roads and access to the adjacent park stretching almost a kilometre in each direction have been closed. The woman is currently undergoing emergency surgery at Royal Perth Hospital, where her condition is listed as critical. Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and are yet to establish a motive. Australia's largest wealth manager AMP could face criminal charges for misleading the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over charging clients fees for no advice service. Banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC has been told he could make a series of misconduct findings against AMP over the fees for no service issue. Ms Orr told the royal commission that around 2013 AMP had made decision to charge customers for services that Ms Orr said 'it knew it could not and would not provide', the Sydney Morning Herald reported. AMP executive Jack Regan admitted it 'was both unlawful and ethically and morally wrong,' according to Ms Orr. Australia's largest wealth manager AMP could face criminal charges for misleading the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over the charging of fees for no advice service (Louise Macauley of ASIC pictured) The misconduct could include management and the board's role in changing a supposedly independent report about the matter, the royal commission heard Friday. The report into how AMP charged clients fees for services they didn't receive want through 25 draft versions with changes from the company, the inquiry heard. Senior counsel assisting the banking royal commission Rowena Orr QC on Friday outlined a series of possible findings against AMP, including criminal penalties for breaches of the Corporations Act. Ms Orr said evidence before the inquiry showed AMP and its advice licensees made 20 false or misleading statements or representations to ASIC about the extent and nature of its ongoing service fees conduct. She said the commission could find four of the 20 misleading statements were material. That was because they were likely to affect, or appeared intended to affect, the manner in which ASIC went about investigating the conduct, and AMP's approach to appropriate compensation for victims. Ms Orr said AMP's conduct in misleading ASIC also fell below community standards and expectations. 'Through AMP's dealings with ASIC regarding the extent and nature of its fee for no service conduct, AMP adopted an attitude toward the regulator that was not forthright or honest, and demonstrated a deliberate attempt to mislead,' she said. She told the hearing Mr Hayne could find AMP's conduct in misleading ASIC was attributable to the company's culture and governance practices. The misconduct could include management and the board's role in changing a supposedly independent report about the matter, the royal commission heard Friday (stock image) 'The senior management and executives who contributed to the misleading of ASIC over the two-year period had knowledge of the extent and nature of the conduct and were warned by junior staff about it being a breach, but continued with a misleading narrative to ASIC.' Ms Orr said it was open for Mr Hayne to find the conduct in relation to the independent report by Clayton Utz amounted to misconduct. She pointed to section 1308 of the Corporations Act, under which criminal penalties apply, and can warrant fines up to $1million per breach. 'Having regard to the changes made to the report, there is a reasonable basis for concluding that AMP, by one or more of its senior employees or officers, knew that the representation that the report and the findings made within it were entirely independent, was materially incorrect,' Ms Orr said. 'It is open to the commissioner to find that it reflects an absence of a compliance culture and a persistent and prevalent attitude at a very senior level within AMP, that it is acceptable to deal with ASIC other than frankly and candidly.' Pictured is the AMP Limited building in Melbourne Ms Orr argued AMP may have breached its duty to be fair, honest and efficient in its service providing. The inquiry also heard allegations against Commonwealth Bank Australia, with it found to have not reported its fees for no service issues to ASIC for two years. Such an act would qualify as a breach of financial licence provisions, given the law requires licence holders to report significant breaches to the regulator within 10 days. CBA breaches included charging deceased clients service fees, with it confessing to charging tens of thousands of clients $119million in fees for services they never received. Ms Orr said it would also be open for the commission to find CBA's Colonial First State had breached the Corporations Act for charging investment platform fees inappropriately. Drivers are handed a private parking ticket at a rate of one every six seconds, a report has found. The number has soared by one million in a year as parking firms become more aggressive in their pursuit of motorists. These companies bought a record 5.65million sets of vehicle-keeper records from the DVLA in the year to April a rise of 20 per cent to enable them to hound drivers for fines of up to 100. It means that parking firms are dishing out 15,486 penalty notices a day, or one every six seconds. Drivers are handed a private parking ticket at a rate of one every six seconds, a report has found (stock image) Over the last year, the DVLA generated 14.1million by selling motorists information for 2.50 a vehicle. The figures fuel concerns among campaigners and MPs that drivers information is widely misused, with motorists unfairly targeted while visiting hospitals and high streets. Drivers have complained of being fined up to 100 for returning to their cars a few minutes late, or after being unable to buy a ticket because of a faulty machine. The RAC Foundation described the rise in tickets as astonishing and questioned whether drivers flouted rules on such an industrial scale. Ministers have already committed to backing a Private Members Bill that would lead to a code of conduct for private car park operators. The proposed legislation aims to drive rogue parking operators out of business by barring them from buying DVLA records. The number has soared by one million in a year as parking firms become more aggressive in their pursuit of motorists (stock image) In February, a Bill called Parking (Code of Practice) had its second reading in the Commons. Former Tory minister Sir Greg Knight, who introduced the Bill, told the Mail: These figures are further evidence that my bill is necessary to ensure that most are treated fairly when they park and are not treated as cash cows by cowboy car parking operators. 'A new code of practice will ensure fairness for both the car park operator and the motorist. 'At the moment the scales of justice are tilted in favour of car park operators, many of whom are using sharp practices with impunity. The number of vehicle details requested has soared since legislation was introduced in 2012. The Protection of Freedoms Act meant parking firms had to establish only who the registered keeper of the vehicle was, not who had been driving triggering a surge in details purchased from the DVLA. Companies bought a record 5.65million sets of vehicle-keeper records from the DVLA in the year to April to enable them to hound drivers for fines of up to 100 (stock image) The most prolific of the private firms is ParkingEye, owned by outsourcing firm Capita, which was exposed by the Daily Mail for using ruthless tactics to collect licence fees for the BBC. The firm runs thousands of car parks around the country. Latest figures showed it obtained 1.77million records, far more than any other company, up from 1.53million the year before. In second place was Euro Car Parks with 406,323 records, up from 306,857 the previous year. All private parking firms wanting to access vehicle keeper data from the DVLA need to be members of either the British Parking Association or the International Parking Community. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said he strongly supports new legislation to clamp down on parking firms. He said: Each year we are not only astonished by the numbers involved, but also by the fact that those numbers keep rocketing up... Whats going wrong? 'Are Britains motorists really flouting the rules on such an industrial scale? The British Parking Association did not respond to requests for comment. An Indonesian student pleaded the media for privacy after he faced court in regarding allegations he hid a camera inside a sponge in order to film his female flatmates as in the shower. Rico Auliaputra was due to to appear in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday to answer a charge of filming a person in a private act without consent, the Illawarra Mercury reported earlier this week. Police documents tendered to the court said the three flatmates were at a Wollongong unit they shared with Mr Auliaputra last October when one noticed a light flashing from a sponge, the publication reports. Rico Auliaputra pleaded for privacy when he was approached by media outside Wollongong Local Court on Thursday It's alleged a camera containing a memory card was found inside, which Mr Auliaputra allegedly threw over the balcony after he was confronted by the women. Mr Auliaputra, a 25-year-old Indonesian national studying IT at University of Wollongong, was a no-show in court on Tuesday, which prompted the magistrate to record a conviction and issue a warrant for his arrest. Mr Auliaputra handed himself into police on Thursday, claiming he'd got the court date mixed up, the Illawarra Mercury reported. Rico Auliaputra will return to Wollongong Local Court on May 22 for sentencing His lawyer told the court he would not contest the conviction recorded. Outside court, Mr Auliaputra told the publication he attempted to film the women just the one time but would not explain his actions. 'Please, give me privacy,' Mr Auliaputra said. 'I'm so embarrassed.' He will return to Wollongong Local Court on May 22 for sentencing. The father of jailed Australian jihadist Mehmet Biber (pictured) says his son's high school was a 'religious hothouse' The father of an Australian jihadist jailed for travelling to Syria to join an Islamist terror group says his son's secular high school was a 'religious hothouse' that made him ashamed of his heritage. Mehmet Biber, 25, who flew from Sydney to the Middle East in 2013 to join Jabha al-Nusra, was sentenced on Friday to at least two-and-a-half years jail after pleading guilty to entering a foreign state intending hostile activity. During sentencing, the court heard of his father's concerns about Parramatta High School in Sydney's west, where his jailed son was a student. 'We were very happy Australian public schools were totally secular and glad we sent Mehmet to one. We were misinformed... We came to learn it was a religious hothouse,' the court heard, according to The Daily Telegraph. The court heard Biber's father, Gaven, believed religious practices were 'a constant feature' of education at the school, and that teachers thought they were being were being 'culturally sensitive' by encouraging it. Biber was arrested (pictured) in November 2016 as part of a plan to catch a 10-man terror cell police believed was planning attacks in Sydney Justice Christine Adamson on Friday jailed Biber (bottom right) for four years and nine months with a non-parole period of two and a half years The court heard the father believed Biber was made to feel ashamed of his Alawite heritage, a branch of Shia Islam. 'Visiting mullahs and prayer groups and school employed emirs were a constant feature of education there. All of them it seemed legitimising a strain of Sunni fundamentalism,' the court heard. The father tried four times to alert authorities before his son travelled to Syria. He later went to Turkey himself to persuade him to come home. Outside court on Friday, Mr Biber said Mehmet posed no risk to the community and just wanted to get on with his life. The court heard Biber's father believed religious practices were 'a constant feature' of education at his Sydney school (pictured in Istanbul) will be sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to entering a foreign state intending hostile activity 'We did everything in our power to stop him but, unfortunately, the authorities gave us no assistance whatsoever,' he said. 'Any parent would have done the same thing that I did.' Justice Christine Adamson on Friday jailed Biber for four years and nine months with a non-parole period of two and a half years. During a NSW Supreme Court hearing last week, Biber insisted he never went near the front line because his hosts - from the moderate Ahrar al-Sham group - were protective of Australians. However, he conceded he would have tried if allowed. Justice Adamson accepted part but not all of his evidence. Biber (pictured right) flew from Sydney to the Middle East in 2013 to join Jabha al-Nusra Mehmet Biber (pictured) has been sentenced to almost five years in jail for travelling to Syria to join an Islamist terror group She considered his offending 'well below the mid-range of seriousness' for the charge which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Biber's youth and naivety at the time of the trip were mitigating factors, the judge said. His decision to leave behind his pregnant wife in Australia and pose for photos during the trip with a group of men holding assault rifles were indicative of his immaturity. Cannibal mice have been munching each other across Australia, much to the delight of farmers. Farmers in the Riverland and Mallee regions in South Australia have reported seeing cannibal mice, ABC News reported. 'I saw three mice in the hay shed and they had been half eaten,' Ian Farley from Jabuk on the Mallee Highway told the national broadcaster. Scroll down for video Cannibal mice have been munching each other across Australia, much to the delight of farmers Farmers in the Riverland and Mallee regions in South Australia have reported seeing cannibal mice Mr Farley said he was happy to see the mice eating each other because it signified the end of a mice plague in the region. Last year he, and many other farmers, spent thousands re-sowing paddocks because they were eaten by feral rodents. Lameroo grain farmer Gary Flohr had also seen half-eaten mice on his property He put this down to the end of the harvest period as the mice didn't have much grain to munch on. It was recently reported that mice were breeding in plague proportions and causing trouble for farmers in South Australia 'The mice are getting a bit hungry and the grain has finished, so the mice start to cannibalise each other,' Mr Flohr said. CSIRO researcher Steve Henry said cannibalistic behaviour was common with mice outbreaks. It was recently reported that mice were breeding in plague proportions and causing trouble for farmers in South Australia. 'What generally happens at the end of a major outbreak, is farmers report they see mice starting to eat each other and then the mice disappear almost overnight,' Mr Henry said. Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes This is the moment a man is confronted as he catches under-sized fish and throws them on to the ground instead of back into the water. The south Asian angler was filmed catching bream at the Liverpool Weir on the Georges River in Sydney's southwest. Instead of throwing them back into the water, the man throws them on to the concrete. This is the moment a man is confronted as he catches under-sized fish and throws them on to the ground instead of back into the water A witness to this illegal deed filmed him as he unhooked a 16th under-sized fish and threw it on to the ground, an offence which incurs a $200-on-the-spot fine in New South Wales. The man also appeared to have more under-sized fish in a plastic bag, which incurs a $500 penalty for exceeding the legal bag limit. 'How you cook this one, my friend?,' the witness said in the video as he confronted the angler. 'You cook with oil or barbecue? There you go, another one. That will be a nice catch-and-release. That is horrible.' A witness to this illegal deed filmed him as he unhooked a 14th under-sized fish and threw it on to the ground, an offence which incurs a $200-on-the-spot fine in New South Wales The witness with a smartphone was frustrated that Sydney's fish stocks were being depleted because of illegal activity. 'There won't be any fish left in these rivers he said,' he said, holding a small fish in his hand. The angler, who was filmed illegally keeping under-sized fish, didn't react as he was confronted in the video, which Danny Jobson posted to Facebook on Thursday. The footage was taken by someone else. The witness with a smartphone was frustrated Sydney's fish stocks were being depleted because of illegal activity Attempt: Father claims man matching e-fit of Madeleine McCann's suspected kidnapper tried to attack his daughters in 2001 A Spanish man claims a man matching the e-fit released of Madeleine McCann's suspected kidnapper tried to snatch his daughter from a Portuguese hotel. The father, named only as Andres, says the man entered the room where his daughters, aged five and 13, slept during a holiday in 2001. When the e-fit was released in 2013, he instantly recognized it as the man who had come into his daughters' hotel room 12 years earlier. 'I don't know if that man kidnapped Madeleine, but for me he is the man who tried to take my daughter,' he told La Voz de Galicia. Four-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from a hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents Gerry and Kate McCann were out having dinner in May, 2007. Despite an 11-year international search, neither Madeleine nor her alleged kidnapper has been found. Andres, 45, from the autonomous Spanish region of Galicia, told a local newspaper the incident six years earlier still affects him. The family had been driving through Portugal and ended up having to stay the night in a small hotel in the city of Abrantes. Still missing: Four-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from a hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007 He told La Voz de Galicia t hat a man in his mid-40s complimented him and his wife on their 'beautiful girls' as they arrived at the hotel. The family were split into two rooms, and he claims they and the other man were the only guests there that night. In the middle of the night, he says his oldest daughter called their room asking him if he had just been in there. As this was not the case, he went over to reassure them, and ended up staying in case the man would return, which he says he did a few minutes later. Mystery: 'Andres' says the staff at the hotel in Abrantes, Portugal, told him that the man 'was a regular guest who likes children but doesn't hurt them' When he confronted the man, he simply replied that 'he had come to check on the children'. 'Even today, I don't know how he managed to escape me, he slipped like an eel,' he told the website. He added that when he complained to reception, they were told the man was 'a regular guest who likes children but doesn't hurt them,' according to The Local. Despite being interviewed by both Spanish police and Scotland Yard, Andres says he has never heard anything back from either force about the case. Hundreds of female students have signed up to a 'sugar daddy' website which promises to match wealthy older men with young women willing to spend time with them. Seeking Arrangements says it has seen an increase in the number of student members across the country, with almost 200 women at Griffiths University in Queensland signing up in 2017. Almost 130 students at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology joined in the past year. The university of Sydney has a total of 436 students on the website. The website and app even offers free premium memberships for those with a university email account. Hundreds of students are turning to online dating websites which cater specifically to those who are seeking a 'Sugar Daddy' with some of the highest numbers coming from Griffith University (pictured is the Seeking Arrangements website) Jessica (pictured), a Sydney University veterinary science student, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her experience as a sugar baby. She currently has two 'sugar daddies' aged 27 and 40 'The average cost of university in Australia rose to almost $30,000 this year. Although tuition is not paid up front, it is required to be paid after graduation, and there are still factors, like the cost of living, students are faced with while in school, the website states. 'Some students are seeking alternative methods to help offset those financial burdens. Tuition and enrollment numbers continue to increase, and millions of Australian students are looking for a way to get out from underneath the crushing weight of loan debt.' Members can list their details on their profile, including 'lifestyle expectation' which can range from 'minimal' to 'extravagant'. Earlier this year, a Sydney University veterinary science student spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her experience. She currently has two 'sugar daddies' aged 27 and 40. 'From what I've gathered, they're on the site because being successful business owners/CEO's, they don't have a lot of time left for traditional dating so they need someone who won't be too reliant or needy on having to see them all the time,' Jessica said. Members can list their details on their profile, including 'lifestyle expectation' which can range from 'minimal' to 'extravagant' The Seeking Arrangement website and app even offers free premium memberships for members with a university email account 'One of my 'Daddies' lives interstate so I actually don't get to see him that much except for the occasional trips to each other's cities. 'He doesn't give me an allowance but instead pays for my tuition and extracurricular activities and likes to spoil me with gifts from time to time. We talk everyday and we're very comfortable around each other.' In addition to having her tuition paid off and an allowance, Jessica enjoys many lavish gifts. 'I also get a lot of lingerie, make up, heels and clothes so that I can have something to wear while I'm with them,' she said. Alfie Evans' 'Army' of supporters have abandoned protests outside Alder Hey - but left their banners, flags and balloons - as his family said today they want to take him home in the next day or two to live, not die. The much-loved little boy is still alive inside the Liverpool hospital more than 72 hours after his life support was withdrawn. The toddler's parents Tom Evans, 21, and Kate James, 20, insist their son could survive for 'months or years' as they dramatically abandoned their fight to take him abroad for treatment and pledged to work with doctors in a bid to take him home. But Alfie's family have reacted with fury to claims that their attempt to 'build bridges' with Alder Hey meant they were accepting he is about to pass away. Mr Evans' brother Daniel said last night: 'Thomas and Kate are not "preparing themselves for their son's death" in no way shape or form, to get him home is their priority and thats what they plan to do with the help of Alder Hey'. He added: 'Alfie is doing good, 72 hours independent breathing!!' An emotional Tom Evans asked Alfie's Army to stand down last night as the family try to build bridges with Alder Hey and get their son home Alfie's supporters have spent weeks outside Alder Hey but they have heeded the warning and stayed away today, but their balloons and flags remain The family of terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans have released pictures of the little boy clinging to life in his mother Kate's arms Tom's brother Daniel has said Alfie's parents believe their don is coming home to live, not die Tom Evans also had a message for the tens of thousands in 'Alfie's Army' as he asked them to stand down 'if this is what it takes to get our son home'. He said: 'Please respect this. You have all been the most crucial part of our fight and we love you all'. Until last night, Mr Evans and Miss James were desperate to fly him to a hospital in the Vatican - but now accept their best hope of leaving Alder Hey is getting him home. Mr Evans said the 'warrior' toddler's mother has been keeping him alive with cuddles. He said: 'Alfie's fought through the night the last two nights because he's been lying on Kate's chest non-stop. And him and his mum have become closer now more than ever before'. A military helicopter had been put on standby at the request of the Pope, who met Mr Evans last week. But on Tuesday a High Court judge again refused the couple permission to take Alfie to Rome and his decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal the following day. After a meeting with doctors, Mr Evans said he and Kate James, 20, and the hospital in Liverpool wanted privacy in order to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it. In Alfies interests we will work with his treating team on a plan that provides our boy with the dignity and comfort he needs, he said. The comments marked a huge sea change in the couples attitude to medics, whom Mr Evans had previously threatened to prosecute for conspiring to murder his 23-month-old son. Earlier yesterday he had said doctors were treating him and Miss James like criminals. Mr Evans, who wants three of his doctors prosecuted for conspiracy to murder, said: 'They hate us. They don't like us because I've fought against them for so long and I'm right'. He added: 'We're not like them. We walk around the corridors and they pop into other cubicles to avoid us. They give us some horrible smug look as if we're in the wrong. It's like we're criminals and we're being looked down on'. Alfie, with his father sleeping in the background, is still fighting, his family say, despite a lack of a ventilator Supporters shared this photo of mother Kate James cradling her son at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors have withdrawn life support. He is still alive more than 72 hours later Mr Evans made a plea for supporters to stop their protests in the hope it will convince doctors to let Alfie leave But by 6pm the couple had apparently decided to work with medics, thanking both supporters and hospital staff many of whom have been the targets of abuse and said they would not be making any more public comments. Our lives have been turned upside down by the intense focus on Alfie and his situation, Mr Evans said. Our little family, along with Alder Hey, has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like. We are very grateful and we appreciate all the support we have received from around the world... (but) we would now ask you to return back to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it. We also wish to thank Alder Hey staff at every level for their dignity and professionalism during what must be an incredibly difficult time for them too. Mr Evanss comments came as protests and vigils were held in Poland, Ireland and the Vatican for Alfie, who was taken off life-support on Monday following a drawn-out legal battle. Doctors say he has a degenerative, incurable neurological condition, is in a deep coma and it is in his best interests to let him die. High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden urged the parents to disregard the advice of pro-life campaigners who he accused of manipulating them and to spend what precious time they had left with their son. He slammed the 'malign hand' of Pavel Stroilov, who works for the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), and called him a 'fanatical and deluded' man whose advice had come 'perilously close' to contempt of court. The couple apparently agreed with the judge, who said their only option was to work with medics to try to move Alfie from intensive care either onto a normal ward, a hospice or home for his final days. It came as health chiefs warned hospital staff to hide their uniforms due to threats directed at them after Alfies case. It came after a 'sick' and 'psychotic' minority of Alfie Evans' supporters threatened to 'burn down' Alder Hey and wished harm on doctors as it was revealed police are ready to arrest the trolls. People hold candles as they gather to attend a prayer vigil for terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans Another candlelit vigil in support of Alfie Evans took place in front of the Great Britain embassy building in Warsaw Alfie's Army have also gathered outside Liverpool including here at Belfast city Hall to voice their support for the child The Royal Liverpool Hospital Trust has emailed the warning to its 5,500 workers urging them to be vigilant on their way to and from work. Mr Justice Hayden slammed 'malign hand' Pavel Stroilov, pictured outside Alder Hey, who was accused of not having the best interests of Alfie or his parents Tom and Kate at heart In recent days some internet trolls have even named the doctors responsible for his care - despite a court order making it illegal to do so - and staff had received phone calls from people accusing them of being 'murderers' and 'killers'. Alfie's parents have repeatedly urged people not to threaten anyone over the tragic plight of their son because it was damaging their campaign. The abuse has also outraged the majority of their peaceful supporters who have gathered in their hundreds outside the hospital most days. In a powerful open letter about the case shared last night, the children's hospital trust said 'remarkable staff' have been the target of 'unprecedented personal abuse' as part of the Alfie Evans case. Now healthcare workers at the Royal Liverpool Trust are being advised to cover up their uniforms and not wear hospital ID off site. It is understood staff at the trust received an email recommending measures to be taken regarding uniform and identification off the hospital site. Some of the protesters attempted to get into the hospital as police guarded the entrance A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool said: 'Following local reports of abuse towards NHS staff, we have provided our staff with advice regarding their own safety and security. 'Abuse of NHS staff or others whose role is to protect and care for others should not be tolerated.' Calling for an Alfies law, Steven Woolfe, MEP for North West England, said: The cases of Charlie Gard, Aysha King, and now Alfie Evans, show a dangerous trend of public bodies depriving parents and families of the right to make decisions they believe are in the best interests of their children. Last night there were also vigils in Rome and outside the British Embassy in Warsaw and Dublin. A man's body was run over by up to 300 London Underground trains after a worker mistook it for a fox, it was claimed. It is thought body remained on the tracks in a tunnel between Holborn and Russel Square on the Piccadilly line for around 14 hours before being identified as human. The man is believed to have been aged 47 and from Maidstone. Transport for London said its thoughts were with the man's family but would not comment further until an inquest had concluded. It is thought body remained on the tracks in a tunnel between Holborn and Russel Square on the Piccadilly line for around 14 hours before it was identified as human. File photo A member of staff investigated but believed he had spotted a dead fox on the tracks, it was reported. File photo It was reported that CCTV footage also revealed a person had been filmed entering the tunnel at Holborn. Pictured: Piccadilly line under carriages line up at Cockfosters A service in the tunnel was stopped at around 11.30am on December 28 last year after a trip switch activated, according to The Sun. A member of staff investigated but believed he had spotted a dead fox on the tracks, the newspaper reported. A source added that the manager advised controllers at Earl's Court that the remains were that of an animal. 'No foxes have been found killed or otherwise seen in the centre of the Piccadilly Line tunnels for over 15 years,' they added. British Transport Police were later called at 1.42am the following day and identified the body as that of a person. It was reported that CCTV footage also revealed a person had been filmed entering the tunnel at Holborn. Some 26 trains an hour would have passed through the tunnel in the 14 hours after the member of staff went to investigate the body Some 26 trains an hour would have passed through the tunnel in the 14 hours after the member of staff went to investigate the body. A British Transport Police spokesman told The Sun: 'We were called at 1.42am on December 29 to reports that a body had been found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations. 'A 47-year-old man from Maidstone was declared dead at the scene.' A TfL spokesman added Standard: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who was found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations on December 29 2017. 'We are unable to comment further at this time pending the conclusion of the coroners inquest.' Kim Jong-Un has become the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953 for a historic peace summit. The North Korean leader exchanged a warm greeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in the truce village of Panmunjom. In a highly symbolic moment, Moon then led Kim by hand to cross into the South for the first time ever. It comes following a year in which North Korea, the South and the US traded increasingly hostile rhetoric about nuclear war amid a series of atomic tests by Kim's regime, but then dramatically softened their stances in the last few months. Here MailOnline brings you the latest updates. To read this in the app please click here. This is the bizarre moment a zoo keeper dressed up as a tiger for a practice drill. Staff at the zoo in Kaliningrad in Russia were practicing safety procedures after a keeper was mauled by a Siberian tiger last year. They took around half an hour to grab the man dressed as an escaped tiger. The strange exercise was held after zoo staff reacted slowly when keeper Nadezhda Srivastava, 44, was pinned down by a tiger for ten minutes last year. She was eventually rescued by visitors who distracted the tiger by throwing heavy objects into its enclosure. The predator attacked Ms Srivastava after the keeper went to feed it and accidentally left a gate unbolted. A zoo keeper dressed as a tiger to help staff prepare for what to do if a big cat escaped from its enclosure That attack took just ten minutes to injure the zoo keeper, who has still not returned to work. In comparison, keepers took 30 minutes to capture the man dressed as a tiger. Unsurprisingly, reaction online has been less than complimentary of the drill. One person pointed out that a real tiger could've caused serious damage in 30 minutes, while another pointed out locating an escaped cat would be easier if 'screaming visitors' were present. A spokesman told The Sun: 'The entire process of detection, immobilisation, and return of the animal to the enclosure took 30 minutes. 'The training session was attended by zoo staff, security companies working here, Emergencies Ministry officers, and police.' The bizarre drill, which saw staff take 30 minutes to get the fake tiger, comes after a keeper was mauled last year Reliving the horrific attack, Ms Srivastava explained how she protected her throat from the animal by putting her hands and elbows in its jaw. She also revealed that a man called Oleg was fundamental in her rescue. She explained how Oleg rushed over to her after hearing her screams and threw a rubbish bin into the tiger enclosure, scaring the animal. She said: 'I remember Oleg screaming, guiding me, where to go. Without him, I might not be here still.' She has called on the visitors who rescued her to be honoured. A family in China experienced the shock of their lives after they thought their deceased mother had risen from the dead. Family members of a 73-year-old in a village in Hebei Province were mourning the loss of the pensioner when they realised she could still be alive. A video of the funeral shows family members opening the coffin and peering inside. Family members of the woman were seen opening and peering inside her coffin to see if she was alive. Paramedics later confirmed that she was dead and the family was being paranoid In the video released by BJ News, they were also heard calling her name, hoping she would respond. Then they insisted that she was still alive and called emergency service. However, paramedics arrived and confirmed her death. One doctor told BJ News that the corpse had started to decay already. Hospital records also showed that the woman had been certified dead. Family members were seen crowding around the 73-year-old woman's coffin after they thought she could still be alive. They tried calling her name, hoping she would respond Dr Zhang, who is on the paramedics team at the county's Yanshan Hospital, said that they received a bizarre call that an old lady had 'woken up' in her coffin. 'When we arrived at the scene, the funeral was in procession,' Dr Zhang told The Beijing News. 'The coffin has been opened for a while and they were all peering into it.' They reportedly reached into the coffin and checked the woman's pulse. 'But she was certainly dead - the corpse had even started to smell,' said Dr Zhang. 'It's impossible that she was still alive. 'They are just being paranoid and imagining things.' Apology to Paul Robert Burton Daily Mail Australia has been contacted by Mr Paul Robert Burton regarding an article concerning him published by us on 11 August 2017. Mr Burton raised concerns that the article could have been taken by some readers to suggest that Mr Burton was a cult figure, a danger to children and was complicit in an alternative health treatment that resulted in a womans death. The article did not say such things. In fact, Daily Mail Australia accepts that Mr Burton has never been a cult figure, is not a danger to children and has never been complicit in any alternative health treatments that have resulted in death. Despite Daily Mail Australias view of the article and Mr Burton, if anyone understood the article as suggesting the contrary, we apologise to Mr Burton for any harm or embarrassment caused. Theresa May is facing intense pressure from ministers to ditch her 'unworkable' plan for a customs partnership with the EU. The Prime Minister could be forced to rule out the option at a crunch meeting of her Brexit 'war Cabinet' next week. One senior source said the blueprint - which would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of the EU - was widely regarded as 'unworkable'. Another insisted it was 'basically dead' with David Davis, Boris Johnson and Liam Fox all opposed. But scrapping the compromise proposal could pave the way for a titanic showdown with Remainer ministers and in the Commons. The Prime Minister (pictured in Downing Street yesterday) could be forced to rule out the customs partnership option at a crunch meeting of her Brexit 'war Cabinet' next week David Davis (pictured at a Commons committee this week) is thought to be doubtful that the idea will work, with other Cabinet sources branding it 'unworkable' It would leave a stark choice between relying on technology to avoid a hard Irish border, or staying in a fully-fledged customs union - something Mrs May has previously ruled out. Home Secretary Amber Rudd yesterday hinted that she has not given up on forcing a major shift in policy that would see Britain stay in a customs union with the EU. A series of Tory MPs also backed the idea during a Commons debate - after the House of Lords voted overwhelmingly to demand the UK keeps the current arrangements to protect trade and avoid a hard Irish border. The issue could come to a head next month if MPs vote on an amendment to the Trade Bill that would oblige the government to seek a customs union in talks with the EU. The PM's wafer-thin majority would be at serious risk from a rebellion. But Mrs May is also under intense pressure from Brexiteers, who have warned they could oust her if she abandons the red line against being in a customs union. The UK side has set out two options for how the border could work after Brexit. One would see a highly streamlined customs arrangement, using a combination of technology and goodwill to minimise the checks on trade. There would be no entry or exit declarations for goods at the border, while 'advanced' IT and trusted trader schemes would remove the need for vehicles to be stopped. The second option has been described as a customs partnership, which would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of the EU - along with its own tariffs for goods heading into the wider British market. However, this option has been causing deep disquiet among Brexiteers who regard it as experimental. They fear it could become indistinguishable from actual membership of the customs union, and might collapse. Amber Rudd (pictured in the Commons yesterday) has hinted she still hopes to shift government policy on membership of a customs union EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said it is up to the UK to come up with a workable solution on the Irish border Senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has described the plan as 'completely cretinous', while minister have mocked it as the 'unicorn model'. Both options were apparently comprehensively rejected by EU officials at a bad-tempered meeting last week. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said it is up to the UK to come up with a workable solution on the border. 'We have done our share of the work,' he said. Giving evidence to MPs this, Mr Davis rejected chairman Hilary Benn's suggestion that the UK solutions had been 'emphatically' ruled out by Brussels, insisting that the EU was simply setting out an 'opening position' in negotiations. He told the committee the technology to deliver a near frictionless border - including number-plate recognition, authorised economic operator systems and electronic pre-authorisation - already exists and the Government has started talks with potential suppliers. Miss Rudd was a leading figure in the Remain campaign and is a member of Mrs May's 11-strong Brexit 'war cabinet'. Asked if Britain was likely to leave the customs union, she replied: 'I am not going to be drawn on that. 'We still have a few discussions to be had in a really positive, consensual, easy way amongst some of my Cabinet colleagues in order to arrive at a final position.' What are the options for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic after Brexit? Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker agreed the outline of a divorce deal in December Theresa May and the EU effectively fudged the Irish border issue in the Brexit divorce deal before Christmas. But the commitments to leave the EU customs union, keep a soft border, and avoid divisions within the UK were always going to need reconciling at some stage. Currently 110million journeys take place across the border every year. All sides in the negotiations insist they want to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, but their ideas for how the issues should be solved are very different. If they fail to strike a deal it could mean a hard border on the island - which could potentially put the Good Friday Agreement at risk. The agreement - struck in 1998 after years of tense negotiations and a series of failed ceasefires - brought to an end decades of the Troubles. More than 3,500 people died in the 'low level war' that saw British Army checkpoints manning the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Both London and Dublin fear reinstalling a hard border - whether by checkpoints or other means - would raise tensions and provoke a renewal of extremism or even violence if people and goods were not able to freely cross. The DUP - which opposed the Good Friday Agreement - is determined to maintain Northern Ireland inside the UK at all costs, while also insisting it wants an open border. The UK blueprint: The PM has made clear her favoured outcome for Brexit is a deep free trade deal with the EU. The UK side iniset out two options for how the border could look. One would see a highly streamlined customs arrangement, using a combination of technology and goodwill to minimise the checks on trade. There would be no entry or exit declarations for goods at the border, while 'advanced' IT and trusted trader schemes would remove the need for vehicles to be stopped. Boris Johnson has suggested that a slightly 'harder' border might be acceptable, as long as it was invisible and did not inhibit flow of people and goods. However, critics say that cameras to read number plates would constitute physical infrastructure and be unacceptable. The second option has been described as a customs partnership, which would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of the EU - along with its own tariffs for goods heading into the wider British market. However, this option has been causing deep disquiet among Brexiteers who regard it as experimental. They fear it could become indistinguishable from actual membership of the customs union, and might collapse. Brussels has dismissed both options as 'Narnia' - insisting no-one has shown how they can work with the UK outside an EU customs union. The EU blueprint: The divorce deal set out a 'fallback' option under which the UK would maintain 'full alignment' with enough rules of the customs union and single market to prevent a hard border and protect the Good Friday Agreement. The inclusion of this clause, at the demand of Ireland, almost wrecked the deal until Mrs May added a commitment that there would also be full alignment between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. But the EU has now translated this option into a legal text - and hardened it further to make clear Northern Ireland would be fully within the EU customs union. Mrs May says no Prime Minister could ever agree to such terms, as they would undermine the constitutional integrity of the UK. A hard border: Neither side wants a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. But they appear to be locked in a cyclical dispute, with each adamant the other's solutions are impossible to accept. If there is no deal and the UK and EU reverts to basic World Trade Organisation (WTO) relationship, theoretically there would need to be physical border posts with customs checks on vehicles and goods. That could prove catastrophic for the Good Friday Agreement, with fears terrorists would resurface and the cycle of violence escalate. Many Brexiteers have suggested Britain could simply refuse to erect a hard border - and dare the EU to put up their own fences. Advertisement Two FBI agents who sent anti-Trump texts during their extra-martial affair also shared their 'profound sense of loss' at director James Comey's firing. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanged more than 50,000 texts in 2016, some calling Donald Trump an 'idiot' and a 'loathsome human being'. More newly-discovered texts from 2017 revealed their outrage at their boss being controversially fired by the President on May 9, 2017. Two FBI agents who sent anti-Trump texts during their extra-martial affair also shared their 'profound sense of loss' at director James Comey's firing Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanged more than 50,000 texts in 2016, some calling Donald Trump an 'idiot' and a 'loathsome human being' 'Having a tough time processing tonight, Lis. Feeling a profound sense of loss,' Mr Strzok wrote to Ms Page on May 13, according to CBS. 'I feel that same loss. I want (sic) to see what the FBI could become under him! His vision of greatness for our strong but flawed organization,' Ms Page responded. 'I'm angry. Angry and mourning.' The texts were some of thousands discovered earlier this year that were thought lost in a software glitch on their FBI-issued Samsung 5 phones. They covered the period from December 14, 2016, to May 17, 2017, the day Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel. Mr Strzok and Ms Page described Trump as an 'idiot' and a 'loathsome human' and shared their hopes that Hillary Clinton should win the election in their 2016 texts. The texts date back to 2015, shortly after Trump announced his plans to run for president, when Mr Strzok texted that Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders was 'an idiot like Trump'. 'Figure they cancel each other out,' he wrote. Republicans and President Trump have used the FBI lovers saga to attack the bureau and the Mueller investigation by claiming it was biased THE SHOCKING TEXTS BETWEEN THE FBI OFFICIALS March 2016: Page, sent a text to Strzok saying: 'God, Trump is a loathsome human... omg he's an idiot.' 'He's awful,' Strzok replied. 'Yet he may win' (the Republican nomination), he said, adding that could be 'Good for Hillary.' Strzok later added that Hillary 'should win 100,000,000-0.' March 2016: Page texted Strzok: 'I can not believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president.' The same month, Page texted asking if Strzok had heard Trump: 'Make a comment about the size of his d*ck earlier? This man can not be president.' July 2016, Strzok texted: 'HE [Trump] appears to have no ability to experience reverence which I [SIC] the foundation for any capacity to admire or serve anything bigger than self to want to learn about anything beyond self, to want to know and deeply honor the people around you.' Advertisement The following year, on March 4, 2016, Ms Page, sent a text to Mr Strzok saying: 'God, Trump is a loathsome human... omg he's an idiot.' 'He's awful,' Mr Strzok replied. 'Yet he may win' (the Republican nomination), he said, adding that could be 'Good for Hillary.' Strzok later added that Hillary 'should win 100,000,000-0.' 'Also did you hear [Trump] make a comment about the size of his d*ck earlier? This man can not be president,' Ms Page said later that same evening. On March 16, 2016, Ms Page texted Mr Strzok: 'I can not believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president.' In April, they seemed to become a little nervous of their anti-Trump rants. Ms Page texted: 'So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can't be traced, you were just venting bc you feel bad that you're gone so much but it can't be helped right now.' After Trump won the election, Mr Strzok wrote: 'OMG I am so depressed.' Ms Page wrote back: 'I don't know if I can eat. I am very nauseous.' Mr Strzok was kicked off Mr Mueller's team when he and Ms Page, who had already left the Russia probe, were suspected of sending them. Republicans and President Trump have used the FBI lovers saga to attack the bureau and the Mueller investigation by claiming it was biased. Mr Comey did not hold back on his disappointment with the pair when asked about their texts, but said he had 'no idea' it was going on. Mr Comey did not hold back on his disappointment with the pair when asked about their texts, but said he had 'no idea' it was going on He told Fox News he would have 'removed both of them from any contact with significant investigations' if he was aware of the texts. 'It was such poor judgment,' Comey said. When asked if the work of Strzok and Page should be questioned, Comey replied: 'It's a reasonable question to ask. 'And I can tell you this. When I saw the text, I was deeply disappointed in them. But I never saw any bias, any reflection of any kind of animus towards anybody.' He later told USA Today: 'It really bugs me. I think it's terrible judgment. 'It doesn't change my view of the case, but the FBI is a public-trust organization. That they are bad-mouthing candidates using FBI (phones) is terrible.' Advertisement Britain has gone from basking in the sunshine to sheltering from the rain in just seven days as record setting temperatures make way for 50mph winds, storms, snowfall and flooding. Temperatures are set to plummet and flood warnings are in place as thunder, sleet and showers are forecast for the UK over the weekend. Weather warnings state 2.5inches of rain could fall in some parts of the UK while homeowners are being warned to prepare for flooding over 27 hours of miserable weather from Sunday evening. Torrential rain is expected, as well as hail, as a cold front from France brings a wintry blast back to Britain. After the UK bathed in sunshine last week with temperatures hitting a record breaking 29C (84.2F) in central London, the hot spell will turn to cold weather, with winter flurries predicted for higher ground and temperatures of around 5-6C (41-43F). As well as the return of wintry weather and rain there could also be strong winds, reaching 50mph, but spring is just around the corner, with weather becoming brighter from Tuesday. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for heavy rain across southeastern England and of East Anglia on Sunday evening, lasting through much of Monday. A miserable day for Londoners and tourists as the city is drenched as low pressure moves over from France. Thunder storms are forecast for the city The weather warning states: 'There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings. 'Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures. 'Where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services.' The Met Office said rainfall of at least one inch (25mm) is possible in many areas of the South-East but that some areas could receive more than two-and-a-half inches (70mm). Rain batters Britons in London as the weather goes from heatwave to torrential downpours. Flood warnings are in place for parts of the UK Flooding alert for Britain comes one week after sizzling sunshine. Londoners head to work under umbrellas as nation braces for snow, sleet and flooding over the weekend and into next week Seven days ago Britain was basking in the sunshine but this weekend the nation is bracing for wind, rain and potential flooding, while some areas will see snow falling Three day forecast: The Met Office has warned of a north-south divide of the sunshine as some parts will remain dry while London and the surrounding areas will be rained on This map from the Met Office shows a band of rain sweeping across London and the south east, amid a weather warning from forecasters What is a 'hotspell'? The new weather buzzword for high temperatures hotspell means a sudden burst or spell - of warm weather. A hotpsell differs from a heatwave in that the latter means a prolonged period of 'abnormally hot' weather. Hotspells occur in April every three to four years, according to experts A hotspell is expected to follow the rain in the latter part of May with above average temperatures. A mini heatwave was experienced in the UK last week as temperatures rocketed to 84.2F (29C). Advertisement It added: 'The heavy rain will be accompanied by strong to gale force northerly winds, and it will be cold enough to produce some snow on high ground such as the North and South Downs although this is unlikely to settle.' John West, a forecaster for the Met Office said the return of bad weather will be caused by an area of low pressure moving across the Channel from France. He said: 'We have issued yellow warnings running from Sunday through to Monday. 'There will be areas in the east of England and London which will see around 50-70mm of rain in a 27-hour period. 'Snow is expected to fall in southern parts of England including Dartmoor and the Downs.' Mr West said any snow should be only a temporary feature before turning back into rain. He said: 'The areas most at risk are the Lake District, North Pennines and Scottish Highlands, but we are not expecting a big impact.' Forecasters have also issued a flood and gale warning with up to two and a half inches of rain through Sunday night and into Monday. The Environment Agency has announced flood alerts for the Lower Avon and Tributaries and the River Kennet from Berwick Bassett to Newbury. Last Thursday, 29.1C (84.3F) was recorded in St James's Park, London, making it the hottest April day since 1949. A bee pollinates a bluebell flower as the sun shone on Wimbledon Common in London today - but it is not set to last Cold temperatures are expected to return to much of Britain after soaring temperatures last week. Pictured, tourists braved the rain in London Forecasters say heavy rain will be accompanied by strong to gale force Northerly winds, and it will be cold enough to produce some snow on high ground such as the North and South Downs, although this is unlikely to settle. After the dreary downpours the weather is expected to take another dramatic turn next week, with a return to sunshine. Britons will be basking in sunshine over the Bank Holiday weekend, according to Brian Gaze, director of Weather Outlook. He told The Sun: 'We could see temperatures picking back up from the Bank Holiday weekend, in the second week of May. 'There's a chance of high pressure blowing over continental Europe, that could lead to warm air settling in the South East of England. 'My view is that it's possible likely that we could see temperatures of up to 23C, with the warmer spell lasting between three to five days.' The Met Office said the 'hotspell' - a period of dry and bright weather - will bring 'above-average temperatures' and light winds. A serious crime prevention order that restricts gang members movements and freedoms has be implemented in an attempt to end the violent turf war between feuding bikie gangs in the Hunter region. The order is the first of it's kind in NSW and will mean that ten members of the feuding Finks and Nomads bikies gangs will have to abide by strict rules for the next twelve months. Included in the conditions are restrictions on travel and communication. Members will not be allowed to be in a vehicle after 9pm or communicate with other people in their gangs, The Daily Telegraph has reported. Members of the Nomads (pictured) have been feuding with the Finks since 2016 The Supreme court has implemented strict conditions on two bikie gangs including rules that restrict them travelling after 9pm in a vehicle and talking to other members of their groups The tough orders, were handed down today in the Supreme Court to protect the public and put a stop to the violence. The conflict between the rival groups has escalated since 2016 and has involved assaults, firebombings, drive-by shootings and attacks on family members. Membership in the two groups has risen in 2018 as they battle for supremacy in the region. Gangs Squad boss Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace said she welcomed the new measures as police are tasked with the difficult job of ending the violence. 'I'm very pleased with the outcome of thee proceedings,' she said outside court. At the beginning of April, 31 properties between Muswellbrook and Newcastle were targeted in a series of police raids against the alleged gang members. Members of the Newcastle Finks chapter pose in their MC colours. The conflict has involved assaults, firebombings, drive-by shootings and attacks on family members The turf war has spanned across the Hunter Valley region, mainly in Newcastle and Maitland (pictured) Thirteen alleged bikie members were arrested while weapons, drugs, explosive detonators and reptiles were seized from several properties during the large scale sting. Eleven of those arrested were charged with participating in a criminal group while two were charged with drug offences. Police have said that the tension between the two gangs is so intense that it is only a matter of time before the violent clash turns deadly. Since the start of 2018 there have been seven drive-by shootings and two bombings Police have shut down a number of bikie clubhouses across the region (pictured) This year alone there have been seven shooting incidents, including on near Maitland in March that left a 44-year-old man with a bullet in his leg. Authorities have appealed top gang members and their families to stop the violence. The conditions also state that the members are not allowed to associate with each other, wear their insignia, enter a licensed premises or use encrypted social media apps such as Wikr or WhatsApp. Authorities raided several properties last month and arrested 13 members (pictured is policing raiding a nomads club house) Members face a jail sentence of up to five years if they breach the regulations. Last month, when the restrictions were first announced, one self-proclaimed member took to Facebook to lament the crack down as a 'dead set joke.' 'We have stronger laws against us and get treated worse then (sic) terrorists and paedophiles,' he posted alongside the number 14, a Nomad symbol. Both groups disagreed that there was an escalating turf war, with the five Nomads giving evidence that there was not a war with the Finks. The bikies are expected to appeal. Tens of thousands of animals are being loaded onto a live export ship in South Australia as protesters gather in force to echo calls for changes to the live export trade. The Greens are also protesting the ship and are leading calls for the Bader II to be stopped from leaving port due to its history with live exports, News.com.au reported. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young directly referenced the history of live stock on the ship. Scroll down for video Tens of thousands of animals are being loaded onto alive export ship in South Australia as protesters gather at the gates 'This ship has the highest recorded number of sheep deaths,' she said. 'It is a ship of death.' Today, the RSPCA released results from a new poll into live exports which showed that three in four Australians were against the practice. The poll also found that seven out of 10 rural Australians were against the practice. RSPCA Australia Chief Scientist and Strategy Officer Dr Bidda Jones said the consistency of opposition to live exports was interesting. 'This data absolutely flies in the face of industry excuses, that opposition to live exports is centered in city areas and among people with no direct experience of farming,' she said. 'That's simply not true.' Opposition to live exports is strongest in South Australia, site of today's protests, with four in five people against the practice. 'This ship has the highest recorded number of sheep deaths, it is a ship of death,' Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Opposition to live exports is strongest in South Australia, site of today's protests, with four in five people against the practise These results followed calls form the RSPCA to halve the stocking density on all future sheep shipments along with a total ban on exports to the Middle East in the months of May to October. The protests escalated after The Awassi Express was held up for three weeks in Fremantle after improvements needed to be completed on the ships's ventilation. Former Liberal minister Sussan Ley will soon introduce a private members' bill to phase out live sheep exports to the Middle East, as calls grow from across the political divide to end the trade. Ms Ley, a former farmer from NSW, said she was becoming increasingly incredulous at the 'business as usual' approach by exporters to sheep deaths aboard their ships. 'I want to see this live sheep trade permanently cease,' she told Sky News on Thursday. Former Liberal minister Sussan Ley will soon introduce a private members' bill to phase out live sheep exports to the Middle East Ms Ley said it was 'inherently impossible' to transport sheep to the Middle East during the northern summer in a humane way Labor backbencher Josh Wilson also broke ranks with his party on Thursday, saying he had a long-held view the trade should end 'We have to lift our eyes; we have to focus on what is really happening and we have to recognise that these exporters have had years, if not decades, to clean up their act.' Ms Ley said it was 'inherently impossible' to transport sheep to the Middle East during the northern summer in a humane way. 'Particularly if the exporters are not interested in doing it,' she said, outlining plans to introduce the legislation next month. Labor backbencher Josh Wilson also broke ranks with his party on Thursday, saying he had a long-held view the trade should end. 'There are a lot of people across the parliament who when they look at the evidence around the long haul live export of sheep recognise that this can't continue,' Mr Wilson told Sky News. But Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack rejected the proposal, citing the repercussion of the Gillard government's 'knee-jerk' decision to shut down the live cattle trade in 2011. 'I don't believe that we should ban the trade holus-bolus,' he told the National Press Club. Meanwhile, live exporters have agreed to establish an independent inspector to oversee the under-fire trade. After years of opposition to the idea, the Australian Livestock Exporters' Council voted in Brisbane on Wednesday to establish an independent inspector-general to observe the treatment of livestock onboard ships. It comes after shocking footage emerged last week of sheep dying in inhumane conditions on a ship bound for the Middle East, sparking outrage. But Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack rejected the proposal, citing the repercussion of the Gillard government's 'knee-jerk' decision to shut down the live cattle trade in 2011 'Exporters are listening to the community and acting decisively to achieve change in the industry,' ALEC chairman Simon Crean said in a statement. 'The welfare of the animals and the future of our industry depends on it.' Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon is surprised by the shift in attitude from the industry, given the ALEC and National Farmers' Federation railed against the opposition's policy ahead of the 2016 election. Ms Ley believes an independent inspector is at risk of being a 'toothless tiger' which acts as a band-aid solution. The government has launched reviews into the regulator and the northern summer trade of livestock, as well as a whistleblower hotline. Greens senator Nick McKim said if there wasn't parliamentary support to end the trade, his party would consider supporting a new regulator. Richard Holliday, outside Hull Crown Court, where he was jailed for 18 months A tenant who subjected his landlord to a campaign of harassment and claimed he was part of a Freemasons paedophile ring has been jailed for 18 months. Richard Holliday abused his victim over several months, threatening to stab him and posting letters around his home in Bridlington, Yorkshire, which alleged he sexually abused children. The persecution came to a head when the 57-year-old former construction worker arranged a confrontation through a 'gypsy king' and viciously beat his landlord. Holliday, who suffers with delusional disorder, also attempted to claim he was entitled to the man's property under 'gypsy law'. As he jailed him for 18 months, Hull's most senior judge labelled Holliday's behaviour 'offensive and outrageous' and said he fears for other members of the public who could become 'embroiled in [his] delusional view of life.' Holliday represented himself throughout the case and denied any wrongdoing but was convicted by a jury of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment following a trial last August. But Holliday is expected to be released sooner having spent more than seven months on remand. At Hull Crown Court (pictured), Holliday was jailed for 18 months and given a restraining order banning him from Bridlington and from contacting his victim and another man, for 10 years The court heard Holliday lived in a flat in Bridlington owned by the victim for a year before they had a disagreement, and he began a campaign of harassment against him in January last year. Prosecutor Dale Brook said this included him posting letters on buildings, 'complaining of problems in relation to the flat where Mr Holliday was living, and money he believed was owed to him by [the victim].' He added: 'But the letters progressed to alleging [the victim] was involved in the sexual abuse of children and part of a paedophile ring. 'And there was some sort of ring the victim was involved with maybe involving the Freemasons.' Another resident told the court he was 'regularly abused' by Holliday and said the defendant had threatened to stab the landlord. WHAT IS DELUSIONAL DISORDER? Delusional disorder refers to a condition in which an individual displays one or more delusions for one month or longer. Delusional disorder is distinct from schizophrenia and cannot be diagnosed if a person meets the criteria for schizophrenia. If a person has delusional disorder, functioning is generally not impaired and behavior is not obviously odd, with the exception of the delusion. Delusions may seem believable at face value, and patients may appear normal as long as an outsider does not touch upon their delusional themes. Also, these delusions are not due to a medical condition or substance abuse. Source: Psychology today Advertisement Holliday told the judge: 'I would be very grateful if you would allow me my liberty of freedom again. 'I would at my age like a peaceful life. I'm going to live on the west coast of Scotland. I intended to go anyway.' But sentencing Holliday on Thursday, Judge Richardson QC, Recorder of Hull and East Riding, told him: 'You indulged in a course of conduct that caused him to fear that violence would be visited upon him. 'The things you stated in the documents you placed in the public domain were extremely offensive and threatening. 'You accused him of being, in effect, a part of a paedophile ring, and you also alleged it was connected to Freemasonry, and you made threats of violence. 'That sort of conduct can only be described as offensive and outrageous. 'That sort of conduct when visited upon an innocent member of the public must, in my judgement, be met with an immediate sentence of imprisonment. 'I fear that when you go to Scotland history may repeat itself. 'The doctors fear that as well. 'Consequently, it will be necessary, so it seems to me, for anyone who has any form of close contact with you to be exceptionally careful lest they be embroiled in your delusional view of life.' Holliday was jailed for 18 months and given a restraining order banning him from Bridlington and from contacting his victim and another man, for 10 years. This is the moment trainspotters were left gutted after a mainline service blocked their view of an iconic steam locomotive. Enthusiasts arrived at the railway station on Thursday an hour early to catch a glimpse of the Black Five steam train - which was just passing through. But sadly they stood on the wrong platform at Bath Spa station and a Great Western service stopped in front of them, seconds before the locomotive arrived. The 10.56am to Bristol Temple Meads pulled away again, but it was all too late for fanatics who arrived early for the spectacle and waited patiently on platform one. Enthusiasts arrived at the railway station on Thursday an hour early to catch a glimpse of the Black Five steam train - which was just passing through But sadly they stood on the wrong platform at Bath Spa station and a Great Western service stopped in front of them, seconds before the locomotive arrived There are 18 surviving examples of the Black Five which was introduced in 1934. It is not the first time that a mainline service has left trainspotters bitterly disappointed. Last February an enthusiast who drove 50 miles and waited nearly an hour to see the Flying Scotsman suffered the same situation. Ryan Allen, of Spilsby, Lincolnshire, thought he had set up at the perfect spot next to the East Coast Main Line in the village of Little Bytham. But he was left bitterly disappointed when a commuter train whizzed by at the exact moment the locomotive passed. The Flying Scotsman's incredible engineering prowess was demonstrated when it became the first train to break the 100mph barrier in 1934. The mainline train pulled away again, but it was all too late for fanatics who arrived early for the spectacle and waited patiently on platform one This is the moment trainspotters were left gutted after a mainline service blocked their view of an iconic steam locomotive The original Flying Scotsman train service began in Edinburgh in 1862 and still runs today. Its journey between Edinburgh and London took ten hours and stopped just once - for a half an hour stop for lunch at York. The National Railway Museum bought the locomotive for 2.3million in 2004 before work got under way on its restoration two years later. For its restoration, Flying Scotsman was painted in its original livery of British Rail green and had its nameplates have been reattached. President Donald Trump says he won't be played like his predecessors when it comes to North Korea. 'This isn't like past administrations. We don't play games,' Trump said. The president said he doesn't believe that North Korea's dictator is playing him, anyway. 'I don't think he's playing, no. I don't think he's playing,' Trump told a reporter in the Oval Office. 'It's never gone like this. It's never gone this far. I don't think it's ever had this enthusiasm for them wanting to make a deal.' Trump wouldn't say at a news conference whether he had personally spoken to Kim. 'I don't want to comment on that,' he asserted. 'But we have a very good working relationship.' President Donald Trump says he won't be played like his predecessors when it comes to North Korea. 'This isn't like past administrations. We don't play games,' Trump said He said that he does feel a personal responsibility to broker a deal with Kim, if he can, and not just because he promoted himself as a deal-maker when he ran for office but because he is the leader of the free world. 'I think the responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the President of the United States, ' he said. 'I think I have a responsibility to see if I can do it.' He added: 'And if I can't do it, it'll be a very tough time for a lot of countries, and a lot of people. It's certainly something that I hope I can do for the world.' In the Oval Office, Trump earlier in the day, Trump complained that the United States had been 'played beautifully, like a fiddle' in the past by 'because you had a different kind of a leader' a slam on former President Bill Clinton. 'We're not going to be played, okay? We're going to hopefully make a deal. If we don't, that's fine,' he said. 'We will, I think, come up with a solution. And if we don't, we leave the room. With great respect, we leave the room and just keep it going.' Trump was optimistic on Friday that a commitment to end the decades-long Korean War and an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula would pave the way for him to meet face-to-face with Kim Jong-un. Two or three sites are under consideration, he revealed. Trump and Kim, the North Korean dictator, have spent the last year trading threats and insults as Pyongyang made rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting America. But amid a softening of relations between Pyongyang and Seoul, the two men have reached an agreement to discuss nuclear disarmament in person. Trump affirmed said he would be meeting with Kim 'in the coming weeks' during a White House celebration on Friday for Olympic athletes. 'I want to express my hope that all of the people of Korea, North Korea and South, can someday live in harmony, prosperity and peace,' he said. 'And it looks like it could happen.' Their dramatic meeting that resulted in an end to the decades long Korean War comes weeks before Kim Jong-un (left) is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (centre, right, next to his suster Kim Yo Jong) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (centre, left) had 'serious, frank' discussions on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a permanent peace in their first summit session on Friday Trump cautiously praised today's historic Korea meeting in a tweet this morning then spoke about it at a ceremony for Olympians at the White House. Trump said that people claimed that denuclearization was an 'impossibility' when he began his campaign to force North Korea to its break point. 'And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible,' he said. This year's Winter Olympics, held in South Korea, were instrumental to bringing the North and South together. They walked under one flag in Pyeongchang at the Opening Ceremony. 'Hopefully the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons and where all Koreans can live together and care share their dreams,' Trump today observed. Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in the South this morning during talks in which he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to a 'complete denuclearization' during the talks. In tweets on Friday morning Trump acknowledged the progress even as he cast doubt over how long positive diplomacy may last. 'After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!' Trump wrote this morning. In a second message, he added: 'KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!' Trump gave his blessing last week to South Korea, an important American ally, to end the Korean War. The U.S. president has said in recent days that he will meet with Kim 'very soon' and probably by the beginning of June. 'It could be that I walk out quickly, with respect,' he said in a Thursday morning update. 'But it could be that the meeting doesn't even take place, who knows.' The White House released photos of outgoing CIA director Mike Pompeo meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Thursday after Trump revealed their existence The White House released photos yesterday of former CIA director Mike Pompeo now Trump's secretary of state meeting with Kim during a clandestine visit to Pyongyang earlier this month. 'He wasn't supposed to meet with Kim Jong-un, but he did,' Trump revealed on Fox & Friends. 'We have incredible pictures of the two talking and meeting, which I'd love to release if we can, I'll do that,' the president had said. Eight hours later, the White House published photos of Pompeo and Kim shaking hands, their countenance pleasant without extending into a grin. On Tuesday Trump said that North Korea's tyrant 'has been very open, and I think very honorable' in the lead-up to nuclear talks. He clarified later, after he came under scrutiny for the remark, that he meant, 'I hope that we will be able to deal in a very open and honorable fashion with North Korea. A lot is happening. And I think it's going to be very positive.' Trump said Tuesday, as he met with France's Emmanuel Macron, that 'a lot of promises have been made by North Korea over the years,' however he has reason to believe that Kim, a 33-year-old dictator who took over from is father in 2011, is serious about wanting to make a deal. 'We have been very, very tough on maximum pressure. We have been very tough on, as you know, trade. We've been very, very tough at the border. Sanctions have been the toughest we've ever imposed on any country,' he said. 'And we think it will be a great thing for North Korea and it will be a great thing for the world. So we'll see where that all goes.' Trump reiterated that he would 'leave the table' if the discussions with Kim are not productive a threat he first made during a summit with Japan's prime minister in Florida last week. 'Maybe it will be wonderful and maybe it won't. And if it's not going to be fair and reasonable and good, I will, unlike past administrations, I will leave the table,' he stated. 'But I think we have a chance of doing something very special with respect to North Korea. Good for them, good for us, good for everybody.' Kim and his South Korean counterpart embraced warmly on Friday after signing a statement in which they declared 'there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula' Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to step into the South for 65 years as he met with President Moon Jae-in for a historic peace summit on Friday Trump said in a tweet on Friday morning that Chinese leader Xi Jinping deserved credit for the actions he took that helped to bring North Korea to the negotiating table. 'Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!' he stated. China led global reaction to the historic Korean summit today with a quote from a poem that reads 'smiling, we meet again'. North Korea's sole major ally, Beijing said it hoped for a 'journey of long-term stability on the peninsula'. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, 'We applaud the Korean leaders' historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage. 'We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula.' She also cited a poem that reads: 'We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let's forgo our old grudges, smiling we meet again.' China is a North Korean ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests. Beijing has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis. Russia has also supported the sanctions and said Friday that the direct dialogue taking place on the divided peninsula is promising. 'This is very positive news,' President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 'Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place (and) it has certain prospects,' he said. The dictator, wearing his trademark black Mao suit, and President Moon, in a navy jacket, hold hands as they walk side-by-side across the demarcation line inside the truce village of Panmunjom at the start of Friday's summit Kim and Moon strode past an honor guard and military band, before Moon introduced Kim to South Korean government officials The two sides were writing up a joint statement and the two leaders would announce it together when it was finished, the official, Yoon Young-chan, told a briefing Donald Tusk, President of the European Council said the messages coming from the talks could serve as a 'positive memento to all', and 'that the impossible can become possible, and that it depends entirely on the good will and courage of individual people.' The White House said in a statement as the conversation was commencing that it was 'hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula' and 'looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks.' Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as the North made rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States. But Kim is now due to meet the U.S. President to discuss denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. The White House at its allies credit the 'maximum pressure campaign' that Trump implemented that included robust international and unilateral economic sanctions. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says that he still does not expect a great breakthrough that would curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Johnson told reporters at NATO headquarters Friday, 'I am very encouraged by what's happening.' He said, 'I don't think that anybody looking at the history of North Korea's plans to develop a nuclear weapon would want to be over-optimistic at this point. But it is clearly good news that the two leaders are meeting. Absolutely.' Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he welcomed the summit as a positive step and he strongly expected Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards to carry out its promises. Japan would stay in close contact with the United States and South Korea over North Korea, Abe said, adding that Japan was 'absolutely not' being left out of the denuclearization process, even though he has not been a part of the talks with Kim. Meanwhile, a Japanese Cabinet official says his government and the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1980s and 1990s are closely watching the inter-Korean summit in hopes the two leaders discuss the issue. Katsunobu Kato, Japan's minister for the abduction issue, says he hopes progress will be made at an upcoming summit that Kim is expected to hold with President Donald Trump. Tokyo has asked Seoul and Washington to press Kim to resolve the decades-old problem. Pyongyang has acknowledged abducting 13 Japanese decades ago. Five of them returned to Japan in 2002. Pyongyang says the eight others have died, but Japan believes they could be alive. Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. The latest Korean summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarized Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. A high-ranking Lone Wolf gang member known as the 'Naked Bikie' has traded in jail for a luxury apartment with stunning views of Sydney's iconic harbour. Erkan Keskin pleaded not guilty on Friday after detectives allegedly found 'child exploitation images' on a computer during a search of his two-bedroom unit in Millers Point last year. The 41-year-old was later seen walking out of the Surry Hills police station after being granted conditional bail by Magistrate Robert Williams. Mr Keskin will now await trail at his apartment in the city, which boasts a wrap-around balcony, as well as a pool, spa, sauna and gymnasium within the complex. Scroll down for video Erkan Keskin, (pictured) known as the 'Naked Bikie' has traded in jail for a luxury apartment with stunning views of Sydney's iconic harbour Keskin earned his 'Naked Bikie' moniker for running down a western Sydney street, nude and wielding a gun, during a cold July 2015 night The 41-year-old pleaded not guilty on Friday after detectives allegedly found 'child exploitation images' on a computer during a search of his two-bedroom unit in Millers Point last year Keskin earned his 'Naked Bikie' moniker for running down a western Sydney street, nude and wielding a gun, during a cold July 2015 night. The bikie's barrister Grant Brady SC told the court on Friday the 'child pornography' his client allegedly possessed were pictures contained within a family album. 'This is not child pornography, these were shots of their kids that are usual in family albums,' said Mr Brady. 'And there is nothing to indicate he was the person who took the photos and even knew the photos were there'. Mr Brady described the prosecution case as 'very weak' and told Magistrate Williams he would appreciate that it was 'part and parcel' for children to be seen in 'states of various dress' in family photo albums. He told the court police investigators had found the pictures on an old computer which had not been turned on since July 2015. Additionally, the computer username belonged to Keskin's wife, who lives in Dubai with their children, he argued. 'It was an old computer with family albums that was under his wife's name,' Mr Brady said. Keskin's apartment boasts views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House Prosecutor Ben Delaroche opposed bail, telling the court there was an unacceptable risk Keskin would commit other serious indictable offences. Mr Delaroche said Keskin was already on bail for other offences (including a serious alleged drug matter). He noted Keskin had a violent history and said police did not believe the current, 'extremely strict' bail conditions were adequate. The prosecutor said police found three men at the apartment during a search warrant who were 'members of an outdoor motorcycle gang'. In 2015, Keskin was found naked by police after he allegedly broke into a stranger's home in Sydney's west Erkan Keskin, 41, was arrested by police on Thursday after detectives allegedly found 'child exploitation images' (Keskin is pictured during an earlier arrest) Detectives were also concerned Keskin's electronic bracelet did not match up with CCTV, he told the court. Mr Brady said he had not heard either allegation before the court. Keskin wore a black T-shirt and was expressionless as he appeared in court via audio-visual link. Magistrate Williams said the fact the computer had not been turned on in years and the circumstances of the photos made the prosecution case seem 'reasonably weak'. The magistrate said the court did not consider his criminal record as lengthy. He granted Keskin conditional bail and the matter returns to court in a fortnight. Keskin was bailed in 2015 to a $10-million mansion in Sydney's exclusive Double Bay suburb. A British couple off on holiday to Portugal suffered a 4,000 mile journey from hell and ended up at the same airport where they started 15 hours later. Paul Davies, 71, and wife Ana, 60, were all set for sunny Madeira when they boarded their easyJet flight at Bristol Airport but ended up 'getting absolutely nowhere'. But their three hours and 40 minutes flight turned into a gruelling 15 hour ordeal due to bad weather. Tantalisingly the Welsh holidaymakers ended up circling Funchal's Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport twice only to turn back without landing. They ended up back in Bristol nearly a day later after stops in Porto and Lisbon in Portugal. Paul Davies, 71, and wife Ana, 60, were all set for sunny Madeira when they boarded their easyJet flight at Bristol Airport but ended up 'getting absolutely nowhere' Tantalisingly the Welsh holidaymakers ended up circling Madeira's capital Funchal twice but ended up back in Bristol nearly a day later after stops in Porto and Lisbon in Portugal With 4,000 miles now under their belts - and no holiday - they arrived home 15 hours after they arrived at the airport. Mr Davies, of Llanishen, Cardiff, said: 'When we approached the island, the captain said that due to strong winds there me be a problem landing. 'We circled for a while and then he said it was not possible to land so he said we would head back to Lisbon, which is an hour-and-a-half away, and rethink from there. 'When we got there, they told us we weren't able to get off the plane and if we wanted to stretch are legs we had to do it in the aisles. 'After an hour-and-a-half they said the weather conditions had improved in Madeira so we're going back. 'After another hour-and-a-half, we got back to Madeira and we were circling again and again and then the captain came on and said things had deteriorated again and there are eight aircrafts who were ahead of us and unable to land.' Wind conditions meant that the plane would be unable to land and had no alternative but to head back. Passengers were then told they would have to stop in Porto and could off there instead of heading home - which 39 people did. Paul said: 'When we got to Porto, they told us they would have to get all the luggage off the plane and back on again which would take two hours. 'They gave us a food voucher to go into the airport and once the 39 had disappeared the rest off us set off back for home. 'We arrived in Bristol at 8pm and got back home around 10pm. 'We had been travelling for around 15 hours and got absolutely nowhere. We did a little more than 4,000 miles and didn't even get to our holiday. 'It was an incredible experience. In 4,000 miles you can get to the west coast of America. 'They did all they could and we have been told we should get a full reimbursement for the flight and accommodation.' The couple and other easyJet customers were desperate to land at Funchal's Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport but never made it An easyJet spokesperson said: 'easyJet would like to apologise to Mr and Mrs Davies for their experience due to the weather conditions preventing us to land in Funchal on 23 April. 'The flight was unfortunately unable to land in Funchal as the winds were outside of aircraft limits. 'As a result the captain diverted to Porto after weather conditions in Funchal continued to worsen and passengers were offered the opportunity to disembark there or to return to Bristol. '39 passengers chose to stay in Porto with the remainder, including Mr and Mrs Davies, returning to Bristol. 'We provided passengers in Bristol with hotel accommodation if required and the option to transfer onto the next available flight or receive a full refund. 'Whilst the reason for the flight cancellation was outside of easyJet's control, easyJet would like to apologise and understands how disappointing it would have been for passengers. We have apologised to Mr and Mrs Davies and are in contact with them directly. 'The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority.' This is the shocking moment a little girl is forced to clean her teachers' food containers by licking them for nearly nine minutes at a kindergarten in east China. Two teachers were sacked after the girl's parents had complained the matters to the kindergarten. However, the school quickly re-hired them after they claimed that the five-year-old had offered to help them lick the trays. A little girl was told to lick her teachers' food trays clean before being allowed to take a nap CCTV footage acquired by the girl's parents shows a girl standing next to two teachers and licking a food tray clean while all other classmates are sleeping. It's reported that the girl was not allowed to take a nap until the trays were clean. The unnamed girl, in her first year of the preschool, told her parents that the class teachers had forced her to lick the trays which belonged to them. Apparently the girl had to clean more than one tray, as told by her parents. According to Kan Kan News, the incident happened in Ho Ing Kindergarten in Dezhou, Shandong Province, on April 4. The parents requested the school to show then CCTV footage and realised what their daughter had told them was true. The kindergarten's principal agreed to fire the two class teachers and waived a month of tuition fee for the girl's parents. However, 17 days later the parents saw the two teachers again in a parent meeting. The principal explained that 'all the other parents agreed to let the teachers come back to the school to teach'. 'We cannot sacked them because of a single incident that involved one student. If the parents do not agree, they can go to another kindergarten,' said the principal. Ho Ing Kindergarten also reported to the education bureau that it had been the girl's will to lick her teachers' trays. The five-year-old has been standing in the corner and licking the food trays for eight minutes The parents obtained the footage from the kindergarten as their daughter spoke of the abuse Education bureau blacklisted the two teachers and order to temporarily shut the kindergarten Decheng Education Bureau has launched an investigation to look into the matters. The Bureau has posted a statement to blacklist the two teachers involved in the abuse incident. It has also ordered all other kindergartens not to hire the teachers. Ho Ing Kindergarten has been forced to shut down for two months. Internal inspection is being carried out to decide if the kindergarten could continue operating. Parents have been told to look for other kindergartens in the meantime. Small 3.8 Quake Off Southern Oregon Coast Published 04/26/2018 at 4:56 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Charleston, Oregon) A small quake struck off the southern Oregon coast early Thursday morning, about 70 miles west of Charleston. The submarine quake caused no damage but there reports it was felt as far away as Eugene. The earthquake was a magnitude 3.8, which hit at 1:44 a.m. The USGS is listing the quake as 67 miles west of an incorporated town called Barview, which is immediately north of Charleston. This is not to be confused with the town of Barview on the north Oregon coast, next to Garibaldi. The quake was centered about six miles deep. That location is 98 miles SW of Newport. For a time, the USGS had two earthquakes listed around that location at the same time of 1:44 a.m., but about three seconds apart. A scientist with the USGS office in Seattle told Oregon Coast Beach Connection it took some time to verify the and unify two different sensor readings. There were no tsunami warnings issued: it takes a magnitude 7.0 quake or higher to generate a tsunami. The last sizable quakes off the Oregon coast happened back in January, when three shook about 140 miles west of Coos Bay, on the southern Oregon coast. Each was about 10 kilometers in depth, or 6.2 miles down. Just a week before those, a 7.9 earthquake in Alaska did generate a brief tsunami watch for the Oregon coast in the middle of the night, but it was canceled after about two hours. Submarine quakes in this region are quite normal and a regular part of the geological processes on the sea floor of the Oregon coast. It's all part of a network of faults called the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 600-mile long stretch that will one day bring a much larger quake and tsunami to the area. This is an area where two plates of the Earth's crust meet and grind against each other: one carrying the continental U.S. and the other hoisting the Pacific Ocean. See more about regional quakes at Oregon, Coast Earthquake Updates - Live Data Oregon, Washington, California, Tsunamis. More photos of the region below: More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Crime boss Oluwatobi Sunmonu took inspiration from mafia boss Don Corleone, from the Godfather A crime boss who modelled himself on the Godfather's Don Corleone has been jailed for selling an 'assassin's kit' to gangs and supplying Class A drugs. Oluwatobi Sunmonu, 26, bought bonafide antique guns online using a legal loophole and manufactured homemade ammunition to turn them into lethal weapons. And Sunmonu - who claimed to be a qualified accountant - took inspiration from mafia boss Don Corleone, from the Godfather. Detectives found a book belonging to Sunmonu titled 'The Supreme Team', which detailed the rise of an organised crime syndicate in New York in the 1980s. The literature was found after officers searched a room at the Queens Hotel in Bayswater, London. Sunmonu and his girlfriend, Toni Ferry, helped pay for the room which they rented for a year and five months to store drugs, guns and ammunition. Ferry and co-conspirator Iyisha Levine played a key part in Sunmonu's drug enterprise. They would stay in hotel suites for days at a time, preparing and packaging large quantities of Class A drugs ready for distribution. When police raided a hotel room they found four 1,900 Louis Vuitton holdalls containing six guns, a silencer, 152,000 of heroin and cocaine and a fake driving licence in the name of Thomas Corleoni. Sunmonu was in possession of drugs, guns and ammunition. Pictured: One of the weapons the crime boss kept in the hotel Officers found six guns, a silencer, 152,000 of heroin and cocaine and a fake driving licence in the name of Thomas Corleoni Sunmonu exploited a legal loophole that allowed him to buy antique guns online and then manufactured ammunition to turn them into lethal weapons Sunmonu and his girlfriend, Toni Ferry, helped pay for the room at the Queens Hotel (pictured) which they rented for a year and five months to store drugs, guns and ammunition Detectives from the Met's Trident gangs team also discovered pictures of Tony Soprano on Sunmonu's laptop and references to US gangster John Gotti. Detectives uncovered an Organised Criminal Network (OCN) divided into two areas of business - the supply of firearms and ammunition and the supply of Class A drugs. Sunmonu oversaw the criminality and would purchase firearms and ammunition before distributing them to gangs in a wider criminal network. Summonu was described as a Svengali-type character, who preyed on young girls to exploit by making them store drugs and guns before he distributed them to gangs. Officers also discovered a number of firearms had been purchased and delivered to Ferry's home address in Islington. Sunmonu - who claimed to be a qualified accountant - took inspiration from mafia boss Don Corleone, from the Godfather. Pictured: Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather Sunmonu, 26, of Woolwich and Ferry, 23, of Islington, were both charged with: Seven counts of conspiracy to enable others to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life One count of conspiracy to enable others to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life Two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply (cocaine and heroin) Iyisha Levine, 29, of Notting Hill, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to possess Class A drugs with intent to supply. Sunmonu pleaded guilty to all offences last November but Ferry and Levine denied the charges. Tony Ferry, left, and co-conspirator Iyisha Levine, right, played a key part in Sunmonu's drug enterprise But they were convicted following a two-week-long trial at Harrow Crown Court and were sentenced on Monday 16 April to 13 years and five years imprisonment respectively. Detective Sergeant Mark Attridge, from the Met's Trident and Area Crime Command, said: 'This has been a complex and protracted investigation in which my team of detectives worked tirelessly to dismantle this criminal network and bring these defendants to justice. 'Sunmonu was the head of his organisation and compared himself to both real and fictional gangsters as he distributed drugs and firearms across London. 'It became apparent Sunmonu clearly believed that he as the supplier and not the end user of his drugs and firearms was somehow not responsible for the misery that he inflicted on the streets of London. 'I would like to thank my detectives who brought these criminals to justice, I am incredibly proud of the contribution they make on a daily basis to keep London safe.' Levine was originally charged with multiple firearms offences, but these were not proceeded with. Sunmonu was also charged with possession of an identity document with improper intention, but this was not proceeded with. A beach walker was stunned after finding a packet of Golden Wonder crisps dating back to 1967 during a beach clean. Neil McDonald, 42, found the ready salted snack on Gullane beach in East Lothian earlier this week. The 50-year-old packet, which was priced at 4d, has a promotion to enter a competition to win a Triumph estate car - a classic car of the time. Neil McDonald found the Golden Wonder crisp packet while doing a cleanup on Gullane beach in East Lothian The wrapper dates back to 1967, and was priced at 4 pence - although a packet of the crisps today would set you back around 60 pence The snack wrapper has survived half a century in the sand and Neil was shocked that it had remained in such good condition. A packet of the popular crisps costs around 60p today. The company Golden Wonder had been founded 20 years prior to this crisp packet being made when the famous British brand was started in Edinburgh in 1947. Gullane beach in East Lothian, where the packet was found during a beach cleanup The 1967 Triumph Herald, which was one of the prizes offered on the packet dating back to the same year. Triumph cars would have cost around 800 when bought new The four-berth Sprite Alpine caravan, another of the five awards advertised on the Golden Wonder crisp packet, would have cost around 270 This vintage crisp packet could also fetch Neil some cash, with old Walkers crisp packets from the 1980s being auctioned on eBay for more than 600. It's not the first time vintage versions of crisp packets have washed up on beaches. Laurence Miller, 10, was volunteering in a litter picking group when he discovered the largely intact bag of cheese and onion flavoured crisps earlier this month. The schoolboy was taking part in the big clean-up when he found the bag three times his age at Treyarnon Bay, in Padstow, Cornwall. An advert for a 1967 Fletcher speedboat, another prize offered on the crisps, with an asking price of 650 The packet advertised a competition which included prizes for a Triumph Herald Estate Car, a Sprite 'Alpine' caravan and a Fletcher 'Arrow' speedboat Despite not having a printed date still visible on the packet, researchers estimate it was produced during the 1980s. Campaigners said the discovery highlighted further the ongoing issue of the environmental impact of plastic in UK oceans. Laurence, from Wadebridge, Cornwall, said: 'We were doing a litter pick and I was walking up the stream a bit where the river meets the sea and I found it just embedded in the side of the bank. 'It looks quite different to what the crisps look like now. 'It's probably the strangest thing I've found, I found lumps of palm oil in blocks and they get washed up sometimes, they are quite weird to find.' Muslims across the world mark Ramadan, the annual fast that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, every year. During this period of Ramadan, Muslims take time for spiritual reflection, charity work and spend time with friends and family and in turn, become closer to God, otherwise known as Allah in the Muslim faith. But when is Ramadan, why do Muslims fast during it and why does the date change every year? As well as fasting, many Muslims may make the pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca What is Ramadan? Ramadan is observed by Muslims around the world as 30 days of fasting, or Sawm, to commemorate the first time the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. This is also seen as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, in addition to faith, prayer, charity and making the pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. When is Ramadan 2018? Ramadan is marked on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is based on the moon. In 2018, Ramadan will fall on Tuesday, May 15 and last for 30 days until Thursday, June 14. Why do Muslims fast during Ramadan? The Quran states: 'The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Quran; a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion (of right and wrong). 'And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, a number of other days. 'Allah desires for you ease; He desires not hardship for you; and that you should complete the period, and that you should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that perhaps you may be thankful.' Fasting is a common practice during Ramadan because Muslims believe this devotion to their faith will bring the closer to Allah and teach them self-discipline. The buses are back again in Glasgow, London & Manchester - encouraging Muslims to think of those less fortunate than themselves this #Ramadan. This bus was spotted in #London earlier today. If you see one, send us a tweet!#SavingLives pic.twitter.com/8j5XOLygNS Islamic Relief UK (@IslamicReliefUK) April 26, 2018 Who is exempt from fasting for Ramadan? Ramadan, which means heat or dryness, is mandatory for adult Muslims, apart from those who are suffering from illness, are old, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or menstruating at the time. Although fatwas have been issued for Muslims living in areas where the midnight sun or polar nights exist to follow Meccas timetable, most fast from dawn to sunset in the country in which they reside. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat, drink, engage in sexual relations, false speech or fight. Food and drink will be served before dawn and after sunset, referred to as Suhoor and Iftar. When is Eid 2018? After Sawm ends, a new month will begin on Friday, June 15, 2018, which is called Shawwal and marks the date of Eid al-Fitr, a festival that breaks the fast. Why is Ramadan at different times every year? The date of Ramadan changes every year because it based on the lunar calendar, while the Gregorian calendar aligns with the sun. Due to this, the Islamic dates move back 11 days a year. A Chinese woman was hit by a suitcase while standing on a downward escalator at a subway station in Shenzhen, China. Tourist Ms Yu said she had failed to get hold of the luggage when she dragged it onto the escalator. The victim, a 50-year-old commuter surnamed Li, was taken to hospital with injuries in the head and the limbs. Ms Li was looking at her phone while taking an escalator down to a subway station in China She was unaware that a luggage was tumbling down the escalator and about to hit her Heart-stopping footage shows a blue suitcase tumbling down a moving escalator and knocking down Ms Li from the back at Shenzhen North station in Guangdong Province. Ms Li, who had been looking at her phone, was sent flying and then hit the escalator headfirst. According to Guangdong Television, Ms Yu, who travelled from Wenzhou in east China, was rushing to get on the last train on the night of April 23. She struggled to drag the luggage onto the stairway and dropped it by accident. 'I was yelling to warn other commuters, a lot of them avoided but a woman was hit,' said Ms Yu. Onlookers stopped the escalator quickly and held up the collapsed commuter. 'She was sitting at the escalator and said her feet were hurting. Then she touched the back of her head and it was bleeding,' Ms Yu told the reporter. The 50-year-old suffered minor injuries after being sent flying and hit the escalator headfirst Ms Yu, who slipped her luggage out of her hand, yelled to remind other people of the danger Onlookers stopped the escalator and rushed to help the woman before calling paramedics Staff member at Shenzhen North station and Ms Yu took Ms Li to Jian'an Hospital for treatment. Ms Yu paid for Ms Li's medical expenses, but she believed the subway company should bear part of the responsibility. 'I am a tourist and I didn't see any notice. There were no one to remind me or give me guidance, it's their job to do so,' said Ms Yu. However, Guangdong Television reporter found several notices hung around the escalators and the concourse to remind commuters to use the lift if carrying bulky luggage. Ms Yu is negotiating with the subway company over the compensation. Ms Li is recovering and is expected to discharge from the hospital soon. A video of two high school girls punching each other in an ugly brawl has shocked parents and outraged community members after it was shared over social media. The footage shows Pimlico State High School students sitting in the Stockland shopping centre before the fight breaks out. Townsville mother-of-four Michelle McMahon came across the video after it was sent to her 12- year-old daughter who attends a different school in the area. Scroll down for video In the beginning of the video one girl is filmed while she has a verbal altercation with another student 'I was disgusted,' she tells Daily Mail Australia. 'I rang the school and forwarded the video to them. They said they were investigating the incident.' In the footage the girls are seen having a verbal altercation before the it cuts to the two of them brawling in the middle of the court. Punches are thrown, hair is pulled and one of them is smacked to the ground as a man tries in vein to break up the fight. Michelle says the ugly brawl is not a one off and that parents are increasingly concerned about a culture of violence within Townsville's schools. 'It's quite common. Fights are being filmed and shared around on social media.' Couldn't get the start'the caption reads on the video of the fight that was filmed by another student watching 'I've been here thirty years and I'm starting to hate the place because of the culture of violence. People say its not that bad, but it is.' Across Townsville a record number of suspensions were awarded last year in schools, many of them were for violent offences. Michelle says the escalating violence is impacting the safety of the area that she won't let her daughter go out alone. 'It's starting to scare her and she's starting to realise that this behaviour is damaging.' She says that both the schools and parents need to do more to teach kids about the negative impacts of violence. A mother who stabbed her husband to death before turning the knife on her onto her two children was in the midst of a psychotic breakdown during the attack, a court has heard. Perth mother Cara Lee Hall, 38, killed her husband Glenn Hall, 33, in December 2015 as he slept on the couch in their Leda home, south of Perth. Hall stabbed her husband 16 times and then attacked her two children, aged four and 11, who suffered knife wounds, WA Today reported. Perth mother Cara Lee Hall, 38, (pictured together) killed husband Glenn Hall, 33, in December 2015 as he slept on the couch in their Leda home south of Perth When facing the Supreme Court in 2017, Hall plead not guilty to murder and two counts of attempted murder on the grounds that she was acting in self-defence because her husband had been physically and mentally abusive. Despite her claims, the jury found Hall guilty of murder as well as a count of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. A recording of a triple zero Hall made directly after the killing was also played for the court. In the recording, Hall can be heard telling the operator that she believed her husband was going to kill their children and sell them into the sex trade. 'I just killed my husband. He was trying to kill my kids,' she was recorded saying. During a Supreme Court hearing on Friday, ahead of Hall's sentencing later this year, psychiatrist Dr Gosia Wojnarowska concluded that Hall was indeed psychotic at the time of the killing. Hall stabbed her husband 16 times and then attacked her two children, aged four and 11, who suffered knife wounds Hall plead not guilty to murder and two counts of attempted murder on the grounds that she was acting in self defence but a jury at the Supreme Court found her guilty of murder, one count of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm Dr Wojnarowska told the court there were range of factors which caused Hall's condition including PTSD which was a result of life long trauma. 'It's very difficult to treat, it requires long-term psychological intervention,' she said of Hall's condition. She also said she found enough evidence to suggest there was no doubt that Hall was suffering an episode of psychosis, which included paranoid delusions in the lead up to the killing. Dr Gosia Wojnarowska was brought in to examine the case as an independent psychiatrist and concluded that Hall was indeed psychotic at the time of the killing The court also heard that Hall had actively sought help from Western Australia mental health authorities for years. Dr Wojnarowska said she was unable to rule out any role cannabis may have played in Hall's psychosis. Hall had also confided in Dr Wojnarowska that she had injected methamphetamine a week and a half prior to the killing and had heard a voice in her head telling her 'one, two, three, go' before the attack on her family. The hearing is being presided over by Justice Michael Corboy and is set to continue. Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, said the company's sales have not been affected by the scandal Starbucks sales have not been affected by widespread outrage over the arrest of two black entrepreneurs in a Philadelphia coffee house, the company's CEO has said. Kevin Johnson said the coffee chain's second-quarter sales growth exceeded Wall Street expectations from before the controversial incident in which an employee called the police on the two men who were waiting for a colleague to arrive. Johnson, 57, said he remained committed to ensuring such an incident never happens again. Since the episode two weeks ago, he added the company had not seen 'an impact on comp sales', which refer to sales at established stores in the U.S. He said Starbucks is 'still assessing the overall financial impact of the actions we are taking' to address the issue. These include a plan to close 8,000 U.S. stores on May 29 so employees can take part in racial bias-awareness training. Starbucks' leadership team remains in Philadelphia to address the situation, Johnson said. He also called the May 29 closings only a 'small piece ongoing actions that will systematically be woven into our processes, training, and culture.' 'I personally committed to act on several fronts to ensure it never happens again,' Johnson said. During the quarter that ended April 1, the company said sales grew 2 per cent at established stores worldwide, compared to the 1.8 per cent growth analysts expected, according to FactSet. Its stock fell 2.3 per cent to $58.01 in after-hours trading. Starbucks' earnings report gave no indication that it expected any long-term financial impact from the Philadelphia controversy. It kept its forecast for full-year earnings of between $2.48 per share and $2.53 per share. Kevin Johnson, 57, said he remained committed to ensuring such an incident never happens again. Pictured: Rashon Nelson and his business partner Donte Robinson, both 23 On May 29 8,000 U.S. Starbucks stores will close so employees can take part in racial bias-awareness training Starbucks' stock fell 2.3 per cent to $58.01 in after-hours trading but maintained an net increase since four weeks ago Rashon Nelson and his business partner Donte Robinson, both 23, were handcuffed and ejected from the Starbucks in Center City, Philadelphia April 12 prompting a national outcry. They were waiting for a business contact to arrive. 'We do want to make sure it doesn't happen to anybody again,' Robinson said last week. 'What if it wasn't us sitting there? What if it was the kid that didn't know somebody that knew somebody? Do they make it to jail? Do they die? What happens?' On Thursday, they also got an apology from Philadelphia police Commissioner Richard Ross, a black man who at first staunchly defended his officers' handling of the encounter. 'I should have said the officers acted within the scope of the law, and not that they didn't do anything wrong,' Ross said. 'Words are very important.' At a news conference, a somber Ross said he 'failed miserably' in addressing the arrests. He said that the issue of race is not lost on him and that he shouldn't be the person making things worse. 'Shame on me if, in any way, I've done that,' he said. Philadelphia police Commissioner Richard Ross initially defended his officers' handling of the encounter The viral video that prompted the scandal showed police talking with the two black men while they were seated at a table. After several minutes they handcuff and led them away He also said the police department did not have a policy for dealing for such situations but does now and it will be released soon. Nelson and Robinson said they went to the Starbucks to meet Andrew Yaffe, a white local businessman, over a potential real estate opportunity. Three officers showed up not long after. Nelson said they weren't questioned but were told to leave immediately. Yaffe showed up as the men were being handcuffed and could be seen in the video demanding an explanation for the officers' actions. Nelson and Robinson did not resist arrest. 'When you know that you did nothing wrong, how do you really react to it?' Nelson said. 'You can either be ignorant or you can show some type of sophistication and act like you have class. That was the choice we had.' It was not their first encounter with police. But neither had been arrested before, setting them apart from many of those they grew up with in their gritty southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. Nelson and Robinson spent hours in a jail cell and were released after midnight, when the district attorney declined to prosecute them. 'DRIVING WHILE BLACK': HOW COPS KEPT STOPPING RASHON NELSON February 22, 2014 Offense: Retail theft Outcome: Case dismissed April 23, 2015 Offense: Illegally parked where official sign prohibits Outcome: Withdrawn April 27, 2015 Offense: Parking violation -meter Outcome: Withdrawn April 28, 2015 Offense: Parking violation - meter Outcome: Withdrawn August 23, 2015 Offense: Violating rules of PA Turnpike Outcome: Guilty plea October 15, 2015 Offense: Obedience to traffic-control device Outcome: Guilty plea November 29, 2015 Offense: Exceeding 35mph in urban district by 5mph Outcome: Guilty plea June 30, 2016 Offense: Speeding by 10mph Outcome: Guilty plea August 26, 2016 Offense: Exceed max speed limit by 5mph Outcome: Guilty plea September 4, 2016 Offense: Speeding by 15mph Outcome: Guilty plea September 10, 2016 Offense: Turning movements and required signals Outcome: Guilty plea November 23, 2016 Offense: Speeding by 15mph Outcome: Guilty plea April 21, 2017 Offense: Careless driving, driving in right lane, first offense controlled substance impaired ability Outcome: Record wiped clean after community service and fine Advertisement Nelson said he wondered if he'd make it home alive. 'Any time I'm encountered by cops, I can honestly say it's a thought that runs through my mind,' Nelson said. 'You never know what's going to happen.' DailyMail.com can also disclose how public records reveal the Starbucks incident is not the first time Nelson, a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity's Alpha Eta chapter who graduated from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania in 2017, has been arrested - and subsequently had charges withdrawn or dismissed. According to public records, he has been subject to 13 traffic violations or misdemeanors in the past three years - which African-American community leaders say points to racial-profiling. Philadelphia councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who represents the district where the Starbucks is located, said he was 'not surprised'. Johnson told DailyMail.com: 'I know for a fact that racial profiling exists. The city of Philadelphia is under a consent decree because the ACLU sued the city for racial profiling.' In 2010, the ACLU sued Philadelphia over the police's stop-and-frisk policy. African-Americans were far more likely to be stopped than their white counterparts, according to statistics and often without justifiable cause. Philadelphia settled the case in 2011 with a consent decree, which requires them to collect data on the policy and train officers to eliminate bias-based policing. Nelson has been stopped by police in other parts of Pennsylvania for offenses such as 'exceeding 35mph in urban district by 5mph', along with driving in the wrong lane, parking violations and meter violations. Democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor of Alabama, Dr Will Boyd, who belongs to the same fraternity as Nelson, told DailyMail.com African-Americans are subject to profiling 'all the time'. He said he too is routinely pulled over by police in a certain area of his home state because 'I drive a vehicle that may look somewhat attractive to people'. Dr Boyd said: 'Profiling is still taking place and leads to a disproportionate number of African-Americans being incarcerated, when we know that crimes are being committed on the same levels across races. '[Rashon Nelson] is a well-educated man, as am I, who is experiencing, not only profiling, but being unfairly apprehended and detained for eight hours. 'He demonstrated respect no matter how many traffic tickets he had, that's irrelevant. He responded with respect and was still treated unfairly.' Video of the men, filmed on cell phones by members of the public, being arrested prompted protests at the Starbucks store and soul-searching one of the U.S.'s largest chains. Store manager Holly Hylton, 31, made the 911 call at 4.37pm, and told a dispatcher: 'Hi, I have two gentlemen at my cafe that are refusing to make a purchase or leave. I'm at the Starbucks at 18th and Spruce.' The encounter, videoed by a white customer as other people in the store asked police what they were doing, showed both men being handcuffed. 'As soon as they approached us they just said we have to leave. There was no question of 'was there a problem here between you and the manager?'' Nelson told GMA. Robinson said the officers didn't even explain what charges they were being arrested on. Center of storm: Rashon Nelson (left) was meeting his friend Donte Robinson (right) in Starbucks in Philadelphia Center City when they were arrested, sparking national outrage The incident sparked accusations of racial profiling at the coffee chain and prompted activists to start protesting at the Philadelphia store on April 16 'I was just trying to process the situation to myself at the time because I'm thinking about my family, that I have my community, so in that moment I'm trying to process what's going on because it didn't really hit me what was going on - that it was real - until I'm being double locked and my hands are behind my back,' he said. Nelson told the Associated Press he was worried he would not make it home alive. 'Anytime I'm encountered by cops, I can honestly say it's a thought that runs through my mind. You never know what's going to happen,' he said. Yaffe showed up as the men were being handcuffed. He can be seen in the video demanding an explanation for the officers' actions. Nelson and Robinson did not resist arrest. 'When you know that you did nothing wrong, how do you really react to it?' Nelson said. Manager Holly Hylton (pictured) is no longer employed by Starbucks after the incident 'You can either be ignorant or you can show some type of sophistication and act like you have class. That was the choice we had.' Robinson briefly wondered what he might've done to bring the moment on himself, he told GMA. 'I feel like I fell short,' he explained. 'I'm trying to think of something I did wrong, to put not just me but my brother, my lifelong friend ... in this situation.' Hylton no longer works at Starbucks in what has been called a 'mutual decision' for her to part ways with the company. DailyMail.com's repeated attempts to contact Hylton were unsuccessful. At the weekend she blamed the incident on what she claimed was a corporate policy at Center City Philadelphia locations which prohibits excessive loitering in stores. She told TechBook on Saturday that one person had even chased her around the shop after she asked them to leave. She told the news outlet management has the discretion to ensure the policy is enforced. She also revealed that she doesn't even tell the customers when she's calling the police. Abdul Bari, 26, is living off 35 per week and is unable to work despite 'risking his life' for the UK An interpreter who 'risked his life' to help British troops in Afghanistan says he will be killed by the Taliban if he is deported. Abdul Bari, 26, fled the terror group in his home country after they issued him with death threats and attacked his family for working with UK troops from 2008 to 2010. The Taliban is known to hunt down interpreters who have worked with the Army with the intent of recruiting them for terror attacks and intelligence - if they refuse, they are often killed. Now, living in Manchester unable to earn a living, he claims the British Government are deserting him by denying him asylum - and could be sending him to his death. On Friday his lawyer Lewis Kett said he is seeking a judicial review to challenge the rejection of his asylum application. Mr Bari, who acted as an interpreter for the Army in Helmand, said in an interview with Russia Today: 'It is unfair. It is injustice. Abdul Bari, 26, worked with British troops for two years but has been refused asylum in the UK after travelling to the UK from Calais Abdul Bari (right) says he will be killed by the Taliban whose thugs have already attacked his mother and father because he helped UK forces in Helmand Abdul Bari was a professional boxer in his home country but he cannot compete until he is given asylum in the UK He said: 'When I worked I helped the British forces in a very risky time. But at the moment I am at risk, and I need help. But they are still ignoring me.' Explaining why he helped the British Army he said: 'I knew that if I joined the British forces it would be a great choice for me. 'The situation in our country was very bad. So I had to help the international forces to protect our country. 'They came to my country to help us so I had to help them. 'I helped the British forces at a very risky, very unsafe time but now I'm at risk so I want the British Government to look after me.' But working with British troops made Mr Bari a target for Taliban forces. He explained: 'There was a phone call for my father and a letter put through my door that says 'You know your son is working for the infidels. So tell him to leave the job, otherwise he will be slaughtered'.' The threats soon turned to violence when the Taliban came to his home and beat up his mother and father. With his and his family's life in danger, Mr Bari was forced to flee, adding: 'I did not have enough time to stay there and go and seek the authorities for protection or something like that. Abdul Bari, 26, worked alongside British troops in Helmand, Afghanistan 'The only choice for me was one choice - to leave the country.' Mr Bari came to Britain illegally through Calais in 2015 and applied for asylum on arrival. Since then the Home Office has rejected both his initial application and his appeal. The government says it is safe for Bari to return to Kabul, where he says his life is in danger. However, interpreters who worked for the army in 2012 are allowed asylum. Mr Bari says he is becoming increasingly depressed. In his homeland he was a professional boxer - but he cannot compete in the UK due to the lack or a work permit. Amir Khan's childhood trainer Mick Jelley says Abdul (right) should be granted asylum to live in the UK. Pictured with UK troops in Afghanistan So he busies himself by training everyday instead with Amir Khan's famous former childhood trainer, Mick Jelley. Mr Jelley, who runs a gym in Bury, Greater Manchester, said of Mr Bari: 'He's a good lad, a smashing lad. 'He's a human being and all human beings should have a chance in life and the work the lad's done should be honoured by our country. 'We should look after people who have looked after us and if we don't we are in a very bad situation.' Abdul Bari, 26, has been denied asylum despite helping UK troops in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010 Mr Bari is allowed 35-a-week living expenses from his local council but has the constant threat of deportation living over him. Mr Bari, originally from Kabul, in Afghanistan, added: 'Since I came here I can't do anything. Just staying in or keeping busy with my training. 'Since I have come here my depression is getting worse because of this.' The Afghani says returning is a death sentence. He said : 'Interpreters who have been deported to Afghanistan are all in danger. If I go back I will be killed. 'The UK already gave me the notice for deportation. They told me that you have to leave the country. 'So they will send me where I will definitely be killed.' In a long-abandoned nuclear fallout shelter in the heart of the US capital, museum curator Frank Blazich pries open a large, rusted can of crackers bearing the date 'Nov. 1962.' 'Tastes a bit stale,' he jokes as he chomps down on its contents. The can has been stored for decades at the underground facility, one of dozens built during the Cold War as the United States braced for the possibility of a nuclear attack. Located underneath a Washington DC school, just a mile and a half from the White House, is a nuclear fallout shelter built during the Cold War The shelter was designed to keep 100 people protected in the event of a nuclear attack and was located underneath large school buildings for extra protection This is one of the last Cold War-era shelters that is still stocked with supplies, including barrels of fresh drinking water that were sealed in 1964 The shelter, which is only visible from the outside by this sign, was stocked with enough provisions to last 100 people two weeks Today, the sound of children's laughter filters down through vents to the long, narrow basement beneath the Oyster-Adams School, just 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) north of the White House. It was beneath this school that the shelter was built to protect more than a hundred people in the event of a catastrophic strike. Dimly lit by a series of hanging industrial lamps, the concrete room houses rows of barrels marked 'survival supplies' - water, medicines, food rations and Civil Defense instruction manuals, evoking the state of fear in the years following World War II when tensions with the Soviet Union reached a fever pitch. Three yellow triangles etched in a circle of worn away black paint is all that's left of an original sign indicating the shelter's presence. For those interested in the era, it's a rare find - perhaps the only shelter in Washington to still contain its provisions over half a century later. Rations stored inside the shelter included fresh drinking water and survival biscuits, which are still theoretically edible and drinkable today The last time this bag of water was opened was in 1964, when the shelter was constructed Each box is carefully marked with the rations they contain, how many people should share each box, and how long it should last for Pictured is a pack of survival biscuits after being opened, which according to historians taste 'a little bit stale', but are still edible It is unlikely that a shelter such as this would have provided much protection in the event of a bomb falling on the city, historians said, but it provided reassurance to a worried public Included with the food supplied were medical kits which included sedatives to deal with stress, though these have been stolen since 'This is a time capsule that we're really witnessing here,' Blazich, a shelter enthusiast who works at the National Museum of American History, told AFP, opening one of the black metal barrels. Inside, the vessel still contains its precious cargo: 17.5 gallons (60 liters) of water. Faced with the physical manifestation of the 'Iron Curtain' in the Berlin Wall and the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, then-US president John F. Kennedy determined in 1961 to mobilize funds for public shelters across the country. From 1962 - the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis - food was stored in the basements of buildings, schools and churches, supposedly sturdy enough to offer protection. On the walls of the Oyster-Adams shelter, you can still clearly see the dates '4/15/64' and '4/23/64,' indicating when the dozens of stacked-up barrels of water were filled. Bandages and medical instruction manuals spill out of cardboard boxes on the dusty floor - although sedatives packed to treat panic have disappeared. There are also several chemical toilets - cardboard barrels with removable plastic seats that would each serve up to 25 people. Against a wall, yet more boxes are overflowing with so-called 'survival biscuits.' Up to 100 people would have theoretically called this place home in the event of a bomb falling, surviving for two weeks underground before having to surface Peeling paint on one of the walls is illuminated by a bare bulb which hangs from the ceiling Also included was a set of toilets which were to be used by up to 25 people, with a cardboard bucket to collect the waste Scattered around the floor of the compound are instruction leaflets from medical kits Scrawled on the wall in chalk is 4-15-64, the date that the water in these cans was sealed The Washington Hilton is seen near a former Civil Defense fallout shelter beneath the Oyster-Adams School Dry and dusty, but in theory still edible, the crackers are a symbol of a time when the city was haunted by 'a real fear,' according to David Krugler, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and author of the go-to book on the topic: ''This Is Only a Test': How Washington, D.C., Prepared for Nuclear War.' Authorities had taken care to calculate the amount of rations needed to ensure inhabitants' survival for two weeks - with the allowance coming out at about 700 calories a day. But Krugler says their efforts would have been in vain. 'Had the United States and the Soviet Union gone to nuclear war, Washington... would have been utterly destroyed and that shelter would have been useless because the first effect of a nuclear detonation and heat would have destroyed it,' he explained. 'The biggest reason (for the shelters) is that people wanted some sort of reassurance that nuclear war was survivable and this helped offer that assurance even if it was a very unrealistic one.' 'It made the existence of nuclear weapons easier to accept,' he added. The signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 paved the way for a detente between the two powers and the shelters gradually fell into disuse - and by the 1970s the volunteers who oversaw them had been ordered to clear them out. 'The fact that these rations are still here is either someone did not receive that information, or it was ignored. For whatever reason it was left alone,' explained Blazich. Today, some see a renewed threat emanating from nuclear-armed North Korea, though tensions have cooled amid a spectacular detente and plans for a summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un - who just months ago were comparing the size of their 'nuclear buttons.' 'We are in a period of heightened tensions and increased risks,' Kruger said, but added it is 'not equivalent to the tensions and risks of the Cuban Missile Crisis.' 'Do people take the rhetoric of North Korea's leader versus our president or other major policy makers seriously in terms of a potential nuclear war, certainly yes,' added Blazich. 'But I don't think they contemplate what happens should the weapons be used.' A registered sex offender has been charged with 23 sex crimes against three children in two states. Jamey Paul Burrage, 37, of Summerville, Mississippi, was charged Thursday with nine counts of sexual battery in Mississippi. A registered sex offender since 2000, he also faces an additional 13 felony sex charges in Chattooga County, Georgia. He has been in jail in Mississippi since his arrest on March 26, on a molestation count. Jamey Paul Burrage, 37, was charged Thursday with nine counts of sexual battery in Mississippi and faces 13 additional felony sex charges in Georgia. He was already in custody in Mississippi on a molestation count All 23 charges involve the three children in Burrage's custody, the Daily Journal reports. Although he is not their father, he had a legal reason to have custody of the alleged male and female victims, authorities said. Authorities in Lee County began investigating Burrage after one of the children in his custody came forward with a claim against him, Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson told the Daily Journal. After the investigation, which led to Burrage's March arrest, Johnson said that he alerted Georgia authorities that Burrage 'wouldnt be coming back anytime soon,' whereupon Johnson learned about the 13 felony sex warrants against Burrage in Georgia. Lee County authorities then delved deeper into Burrage's history and conducted forensic interviews with the three children who were in Burrage's custody. All 23 charges against Burrage (center) in Mississippi and Georgia are tied to three children, under the age of 14, who were in his custody Burrage, who had a legal reason to have custody of the kids, is a registered sex offender The second investigation led the Mississippi authorities to charge Burrage with the nine new sexual battery charges on Thursday, which were based on alleged incidents which occurred earlier in 2018. The children were said to be between 10 and 14 years old, according to AM 1180. They have since been placed with Child Protection Services. Burrage has homes in both Mississippi and Georgia, shuttling back and forth between the states every six weeks to three months. His registered sex offender status was the result of a statutory rape conviction in Chattooga County in August 2000. Lee County authorities said that Burrage reported in whenever he moved in and out of the area. Burrage's bond has been set at $1million, according to WCBI. In Georgia, Burrage has been charged with three counts each of aggravated sodomy, sodomy, aggravated child molestation and child molestation, as well as one count of incest. A sexual harrassment hotline for victims and at the Cannes film festival has been set-up in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal (pictured is Weinstein at the 2017 event) An anti-sexual harassment hotline will be set up for the Cannes film festival next month after disgraced Hollywood tycoon Harvey Weinstein was accused of attacking four actresses at the event. The French equality minister Marlene Schiappa said movers and shakers would be warned about their behaviour when they arrive at the world's biggest film festival on the French Riviera. 'We have set up a partnership with the Cannes film festival to tackle sexual harassment,' Schiappa said late Thursday, with a telephone hotline for victims or witnesses to report aggressors. 'One of the rapes that Harvey Weinstein is accused of happened at Cannes, and so the festival cannot not act,' the minister told AFP. Weinstein has been accused of four sexual assaults at Cannes in previous years, including the rape of the Italian actress Asia Argento in his luxury hotel suite when she was 21. Schiappa said the measures were being put in place not just to protect actresses but all women working in or around the film industry. Although this year's jury to decide the Palme d'Or top prize is being headed by Australian actress Cate Blanchett, Cannes has faced criticism about its attitude to women in the past, with rows over the need to wear high heels on the red carpet. In a year when the #MeToo movement has dominated the headlines, only three female directors made the shortlist of 18 competing in the main competition. Eyebrows have also been raised by the lifting of the ban on the controversial Danish director Lars Von Trier, who was barred seven years ago for saying he was a Nazi. The hotline comes after Weinstein (pictured) was accused of assaulting four actresses at the Cannes Film Festival over the years The Icelandic star Bjork said in October that he had harassed her on the set of 'Dancer in the Dark', the musical for which she won best actress at Cannes in 2000. With only a tiny percentage of Hollywood films directed by women, the French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen has been calling for women to be given more control behind the camera. She and her Swedish opposite number intent to launch a international fund to help women directors during the festival, which runs from May 8 to 19. 19-year-old Rashad Webb allegedly stole a car with a baby inside on Monday Police say they caught a man who stole a car with a baby inside, when they spotted him driving another stolen car. St. Petersburg police say 19-year-old Rashad Webb stole the vehicle with the child inside Monday. Webb later told police he realized the baby was inside the car and dropped him off in a parking lot. The eight-month-old was found by a WFLA news crew that happened to be at the location working an unrelated story. Officers spotted Webb early on Thursday and tried to stop him realizing he was likely responsible for the Monday's abduction. The little boy had been left inside his father's car with the engine running The driver of the car realized there was a baby inside and dropped him off three miles away He drove off at high speed but surrendered after police punctured the tires. He said when he realized the baby was in the car, he dropped him off in the parking lot where the child was found. Police say Webb has been arrested 27 times in Pinellas County dating back to 2009, when he was 10 years old. Now he faces new charges of child abuse, burglary, fleeing and auto theft. The child was taken in an instant after his father ran back into his house to get his wallet while leaving the engine running and the boy inside. Police said Webb must have discovered the child while driving and dropped him off in a baby carrier about half an hour later. WFLA News Channel 8 photographer Michael Egger happened to be at the apartment complex and discovered the baby. Egger was there with WFLA News Channel 8 On Your Side reporter Mark Douglas covering a different news story. WFLA News Channel 8 Photographer Michael Egger happened to be at the apartment complex and discovered the baby The police were called just 27 minutes after the car had been reported missing Bookies have made millions from nationwide betting on the name of the royal baby after Kate and William chose the 20/1 outsider 'Louis' as his name. Britons have taken advantage of the four days in which the royal baby went unnamed to have a flutter on what the new prince might be called. Arthur and Albert were two of the favourite names among punters, with Arthur around 11/4 and Albert at 1/3 Britain has been betting millions of the possible name of the royal baby but bookies, like Ladbrokes Alex Apati (pictured outside the Lindo Wing), were the real winners today Alexander was another favourite at 8/1 while James, Philip and Henry were all around 12/1. But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced they had chosen the name Louis this morning, in an apparent tribute to the Prince of Wales's great-uncle, Earl Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA. With relatively few Britons have bet on the name Louis, bookmakers around the UK will now keep the vast majority of the money wagered. Alex Apati, of bookmakers Ladbrokes, said: 'Prince Louis has caught both bookies and punters by surprise. With it being one of Prince George's middle names fans didn't see it as an obvious front runner for Kate and Wills second son. 'It looks like we made the right decision to keep betting open until the very end for royal punters, rather than suspending the market or paying out early due to the rumour mill going into overdrive, as we so often saw over the last few days.' The princes' name was not the only thing being bet on. Some bookmakers are offering odds on what university Prince Louis will attend. St Andrews is the favourite at 9/4, Oxford is 3/1 and Cambridge is 4/1. The newest member of the royal family has been named Louis Arthur Charles in a poignant tribute to his grandfather's beloved mentor. Prince Charles' great uncle and 'honorary grandfather' was Lord Louis Mountbatten, the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and uncle to Prince Philip. His full title was Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. In 1979, Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas, and two others were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which had placed a bomb in his fishing boat, Shadow V, in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland. Charles referred to Mountbatten - fondly named 'Dickie' by the royal family - as the 'grandfather he never had', once saying: 'I admire him almost more than anybody else I know.' Prince Charles with his great uncle - Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Lord Louis Mountbatten pictured here in 1965 wearing the Veterans of Foreign Wars Merit Award Louis Mountbatten (third from left) with members of his family on his 30ft boat, Shadow V, at Mullaghmore, County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, circa 1975 - some four years before his death. From left: David Hicks, Lord Brabourne, Lord Mountbatten, Lady Brabourne, India Hicks, Nicholas Knatchbull, Timothy Knatchbull, Ashley Hicks and Philip Knatchbull Greg Wise played the role Lord Mountbatten in the Netflix series, The Crown Lord Mountbatten was born Prince Louis of Battenburg in Windsor in 1900. His great-grandmother was Queen Victoria and his sister was Princess Alice of Battenberg, Prince Philip's mother. Mountbatten famously encouraged the betrothal of his nephew Philip to Elizabeth, the future queen. And Uncle Dickie, as he was known in the family, shared a particularly tender relationship with his young family member Prince Charles. Lord Mountbatten was admiral of the fleet in the Second World War and the last viceroy of India. The 79-year-old had been frequently warned about his safety while visiting his Irish holiday home, which is just 12 miles from the border with Northern Ireland. On the fateful day he was killed, Mountbatten had set sail on his pleasure boat Shadow V for a fishing trip. Prince Louis Mountbatten And His Wife Edwina having A picnic with their cousins, Prince Charles and his sister Princess Anne in Malta on April 24, 1954 Prince Charles was in his late 20s when his great-uncle died. He is pictured here, struggling to contain his emotions, at his funeral Lord Louis Mountbatten , the last Governor General from Britain waving a cheery farewell to the crowds in Delhi Prince Charles visits the harbour in the village of Mullaghmore in Ireland on May 20, 2015 where the his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten was killed Lord Louis Mountbatten, pictured here in 1955, was First Sea Lord from 1954 until 1959 - a position that had been held by his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, some forty years earlier 'DICKIE' APPEARS IN NETFLIX DRAMA Popular Netflix drama paid tribute to Lord Mountbatten, portrayed in the drama by Greg Wise. In the first episode of season two, Elizabeth II speaks with Uncle Dickie about her marital troubles. He says to her: 'You married a wild spiritwe both did,' in reference to his wife Lady Edwina Ashley Mountbatten, who he married on July 18, 1922. In series two, episode nine, 'Paterfamilias', producers explored the tender relationship between Dickie and Prince Charles after the young Prince was sent to to Gordonstoun School in Scotland. In the show, Mountbatten takes his great-nephew shopping for the Eton uniforms he never gets to wear, and urges him to open up emotionally. Advertisement But a bomb had been smuggled on board the night before, and once the boat was a few hundred yards offshore it was remotely detonated. The bomb killed Lord Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, 14, young crew member Paul Maxwell, 15, and the dowager Lady Brabourne, 83. Also on board was his eldest daughter Patricia, her husband John and their other son Timothy Knatchbull. IRA activist Thomas McMahon had planted the bomb, but was already being held by the Garda at the time of the explosion having been stopped during a routine check. McMahon was jailed for murder in November, 1979, but released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday agreement. Mountbatten's murder happened on one of the bloodiest day of the Troubles. Timothy Knatchbull, then a 14-year-old boy, survived the deadly attack and was pulled alive from the wreckage by a local couple. But tragically his twin brother Nicholas, his grandmother Doreen, and his grandfather, Lord Mountbatten, were all killed. Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Silver Jubilee procession in 1977 Mountbatten inspecting Royal Marine in August 1941 Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Lord Mountbatten wave to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 1977 In the show The Crown, Mountbatten takes his great-nephew shopping for the Eton uniforms he never gets to wear, and urges him to open up emotionally Prince of Wales and Lord Mountbatten, wearing full naval uniform, on a visit to Nepal for the coronation of King Birendra on January 1, 1975 In 2015, Prince Charles had made a poignant speech in which he praised Mountbatten as 'the grandfather I never had' Doreen, the 83-year-old Dowager Countess of Brabourne, Lord Mountbatten's daughter's mother-in-law, died the following day. In 2015, Prince Charles made a poignant speech in which he praised Mountbatten as 'the grandfather I never had'. 'In August 1979, my much-loved great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was killed alongside his young grandson and my godson, Nicholas, and his friend, Paul Maxwell, and Nicholas's grandmother, the Dowager Lady Brabourne,' the Prince told an audience at The Model arts centre in Sligo. 'At the time I could not imagine how we would come to terms with the anguish of such a deep loss since, for me, Lord Mountbatten represented the grandfather I never had. 'So it seemed as if the foundations of all that we held dear in life had been torn apart irreparably.' A very unconventional marriage: How the dashing Mountbatten and his heiress wife enjoyed dalliances with a string of lovers Lord Mountbatten with his wife Edwina in Florida in 1938 In 1922, wealthy heiress Edwina Ashley married the handsome, though impoverished, 21-year- old Lord Louis Mountbatten. After a honeymoon, some of it spent in Hollywood, Mountbatten resumed his career as a naval officer. Meanwhile, the stylish Edwina, described as one of the six best- dressed women in the world, shopped at Chanel, played bridge, danced the Charleston until 3am, sometimes with Fred Astaire and shot a short movie with Charlie Chaplin. Edwina was left some 2million by her banker grandfather Sir Ernest Cassel, one of the richest men in Britain, and inherited the grand 6,000-acre Broadlands estate in Hampshire where the Queen spent her honeymoon. At weekends their country home was full of guests (including the Prince of Wales) arriving in fast cars and even aeroplanes. After their daughter Patricia was born in 1924, Edwina partied, frolicked and fornicated with abandon as she enjoyed dalliances with a string of lovers. Her first was the aristocratic Lord Molyneux. He was followed by a rich, polo-playing American, Laddie Sandford, and then by Mike Wardell, the good-looking manager of a London evening newspaper. At times, she juggled all three at once. Louis Mountbatten with his wife Edwina and the wife of U Kyin, the Burmese Ambassador at the Burmese Embassy in 1956 Next came playboy Larry Gray, before she went on a Mexican cruise and jumped into bed with the elder of two Californian brothers, Ted Phillips, quickly followed by his sibling Bunny. This serial sexual gallivanting went on until the birth of her second daughter Pamela in 1929. By now, Mountbatten, too, was seeking other women. In 1931, he was flirting with the 18-year-old future Duchess of Argyll and even kept her photo in his cabin. He also fell for a young French woman, Yola Letellier, who inspired the French novel on which the 1958 film musical Gigi was based. As Mountbatten himself once famously put it: 'Edwina and I spent all our married lives getting into other people's beds.' Edwina died in her sleep in 1960, aged 58. Edwina, described as one of the six best- dressed women in the world, shopped at Chanel, played bridge, danced the Charleston until 3am, sometimes with Fred Astaire and shot a short movie with Charlie Chaplin Advertisement The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles leave St Paul's, after the Memorial Service for Earl Mountbatten Draped with a flag, Lord Mountbatten's coffin was pictured resting on a catafalque in Westminster Abbey shortly after his death RAF pall bearers carry the coffin containing the body of Lord Mountbatten from a Hercules aircraft A massive cyber attack has crippled ISIS' ability to spread vile propaganda and execution videos across the internet. Agencies of seven European countries and the U.S. joined forces in a two-day blitz targeting media outlets that act as mouthpieces for the terrorist group. The takedown spearheaded by Europol seized servers of the Amaq news agency, al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nasher news on Wednesday and Thursday. A massive cyber attack has crippled ISIS' ability to spread vile propaganda and execution videos like this one of David Haines' beheading across the internet ISIS will find it tough to broadcast barbaric videos like this infamous scene where prisoners were burned alive Europol director Rob Wainwright said the two-year operation compromised ISIS' capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material. 'With this groundbreaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe,' he said. The 'simultaneous multinational takedown' was coordinated by Europol from its headquarters in The Hague, and led by the Belgian federal prosecutor. 'Dozens and dozens' of police fanned out in their countries, seizing servers in the Netherlands, Canada and the United States as well as in Bulgaria, France and Romania. Agencies of seven European countries and the U.S. joined forces in a two-day blitz targeting media outlets that act as mouthpieces for the terrorist group The goal was 'to destabilise this apparatus by seizing and dismantling servers used to diffuse ISIS propaganda and to identify and arrest its administrators,' the Belgian prosecutor said. Britain's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was also involved in identifying 'top-level domain registrars abused by ISIS'. The Bulgarian interior ministry confirmed 'access was blocked to four servers, used for disseminating information' by Amaq in its country. 'It was so technically challenging that we were only really able to do it because of our experience in major cybercrime takedowns,' Mr Wainwright said. 'We basically ran the cyber playbook against ISIS,' he said, adding police forces around the world had spent years gathering intelligence to locate the servers being used by the jihadists. The takedown spearheaded by Europol seized servers of the Amaq news agency, al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nasher news on Wednesday and Thursday A U.S.-led international coalition has almost completely destroyed ISIS on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria taking back territory it had seized in 2014 However, nations have also warned that a multi-pronged effort was needed, including choking off funding and its online access. 'They've been squeezed on the battlefield, and now they've been really badly squeezed, badly hit, on the online platform as well,' Mr Wainwright said. ISIS used Amaq to claim 'every major attack since 2015 in Europe', he said, including the deadly assaults in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin. 'The technical infrastructure which allows it to put these terrible propaganda videos and messages out has been knocked offline,' he said. Europol director Rob Wainwright said the two-year operation compromised ISIS' capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material like this snuff film Mr Wainwright will step down from Europol on Saturday, but investigation was still ongoing, and arrests could follow. At its height, the IS media portfolio included smartphone apps for children, websites, and a glossy magazine, full of post-apocalyptic prophesies and articles declaring the 'caliphate' was the only legitimate and viable home for Muslims. But as IS's structure crumbled, its media empire has waned too. Al-Bayan radio, which once broadcast on frequency mode and offered a wide range of statements, news and talks in several languages, had long moved online and reduced its activities. At its height, the IS media portfolio included smartphone apps for children, websites, and a glossy magazine, full of post-apocalyptic prophesies and articles declaring the 'caliphate' was the only legitimate and viable home for Muslims On Friday, however, Nasher news - the main Telegram account on which Amaq statements are posted in the region - remained active, claiming jihadist fighters had damaged three Syrian army vehicles in fighting in southern Damascus. 'We are realistic in recognising that there still might be a retained possibility of re-establishing the network,' Mr Wainwright said. 'But we're getting stronger every time, and narrowing the space for them to re-create their online presence.' He said this week's action was the third in a series of such takedowns. The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association has accumulated 'a substantial number' of votes to enact a strike for this coming Wednesday after claims of unfair working conditions. Midwives at Manly and Mona Vale hospitals took part in the secret 24 hour ballot, which closed at 2pm on Friday. It gained hundreds of votes to strike because of 'drawn out, unreasonable job matching' processes for midwives and nurses who have transferred to Manly and Mona Vale hospitals. The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association has accumulated 'a substantial number' of votes to enact a strike for this coming Wednesday after claims of unfair working conditions NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes said this process has lead to nurses and midwives being placed in jobs they aren't qualified to be matched with The Daily Telegraph reported. 'A lack of consultation with staff and their union during the EOI process has led to staff being matched to very different positions with no explanation or logic around why those decisions were made,' he said. Some examples were shift workers being matched to day worker positions and being put in wards with skill requirements which do not match their expertise. Midwives at Manly and Mona Vale (pictured) hospitals took part in the secret 24 hour ballot, which closed at 2pm today The strike will last four hours if it goes ahead. The strike is designed to bring the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD), the NSW Government and Healthscope to the negotiating table. If negotiations aren't started by the end of business on Monday then Wednesday's strike will go ahead. Manly branch president of the union, Lyn Hopper reassured patients at both hospitals that the four hour strike would not impact patient care. Manly Hospital is set to close upon the opening of the new Northern Beaches Hospital on October 30 while Mona Vale will lose its emergency ward which has lead to staff negotiating the job matching process. Some have spoken out and said they are being offered unreasonable and 'wildly inappropriate' jobs within areas they have little or no experience in. Manly branch president of the union, Lyn Hopper reassured patients at both hospitals that the four hour strike would not impact on patient care Those who have received appropriate job matches in areas where they have expertise said they were still left unhappy with the lack of transparency around shift rotations and staff/patient ratios among other gripes. One expereinced nurse spoke with The Daily Telegraph and said despite being offered a good job match her confidence in the system had been undermined. 'Ive applied for two jobs outside of Sydney already and Im prepared to move my family off the northern beaches,' she said. 'We are losing staff across the whole hospital, from nurses to cleaners and kitchen staff.' A spokesperson for Northern Sydney Local Health District said the majority of staff had already been matched to a position and that those who do not wish to go to the new Northern Beaches Hospital will be afforded different opportunities. The spokesperson also said staff had been 'reinforced' by 30 graduate nurses at the Manly and Mona Vale facilities. Emotional South Koreans gathered in front of TV-screens to watch the historic meeting between President Moon Jae-In and Kim Jong-Un, but viewers in the North have so far been told nothing about the summit. The two leaders met in the border village of Panmunjeom, where they agreed to move towards officially ending the Korean war and denuclerisation of the peninsula, with scenes from their meeting broadcast to jubilant crowds in the South. North Korean television meanwhile, showed no images from their meeting, and the only information given has so far been that Kim has travelled to Panmunjeom. Southern citizens were also heard expressing surprise at hearing the North Korean dictator speak without reading from a script for the first time. Scroll down for video Did you see that?! Two women react to the inter-Korean summit meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un, at a railway station in Seoul Former deputy commander for the South Korean army, Lieutenant General In-Bum Chun told BBC Radio4s Today show said it was the first time he had hear Kim 'talk'. 'Previously I had heard him read speeches for an hour or two, but today was the first time that I heard him speak. 'His voice sounded mature, genuine and relaxed, so it seems he wasn't the crazy man that some have depicted.' In the capital Seoul, crowds watching a large television screen in front of the city hall cheered and jumped with joy when Kim - whose nuclear and missile tests last year stoked fear of war - crossed the border to shake hands with Moon. 'I'm filled with emotion,' said Park Ha-seok, 60, as he watched the pictures being broadcast from the border village of Panmunjom. 'I don't expect a big change but this is a start.' Cheers for Kim and Moon: Students at a Seoul high school clap while watching a live broadcast of the summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Big show: Citizens watch a TV broadcast of a landmark inter-Korean summit on a giant screen set up at a downtown plaza in Seoul, South Korea Extra, extra: People read an extra edition of a local newspaper in Seoul, South Korea, which reports that the leaders of South Korea and North Korea have reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula Nothing to see here: Meanwhile, this is the news broadcast shown in the North, with no images from the summit, and they have not been told that Kim Jong-Un has crossed the border The two sides are technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean war ended in a truce, not a full peace treaty. Lee Ji-eun, a 32-year-old doctor and mother of a baby girl, said the pictures had made her unpack an emergency bag she had placed by her front door about six months ago in case of war. 'The bag has my daughter's diapers, a portable radio and a gas burner,' Lee said. 'Now I find it funny that I told my babysitter to take this bag and my daughter to flee to the basement if there's war.' United in action: The President and the North Korean dictator agreed to move towards officially ending the Korean war and de-nuclerisation of the peninsula Come over to my side: President Moon holds out his hand to invite Kim to officially cross the border into South Korea Happy occasion: Korean descendants in Japan, many of those from pro-Pyongyang schools, celebrate the success of the historic summit between North and South Korean leaders The rally had beem organised both by pro-Seoul and pro-Pyongyang groups in Tokyo Fisherman Park Tae-won, who lives on a South Korean island just 1.5 km from the maritime boundary with the North, said he hoped the summit would lead to a relaxation of restrictions on going out to sea. 'Please, we want to go fishing out there as much as we want, without the curfew on fishing only once a day,' he said. Choi Gwang-chun, who runs a restaurant in the South Korean town of Daejeon, is offering a special 'unification liquor' cocktail made of Taedong beer, named after a North Korean river, and South Korean Halla soju, a distilled rice spirit named after a South Korean mountain. 'Those who order 'unification liquor' will also get a 'unification pizza' topped with nuts in the shape of the Korean peninsula for free,' said Choi, whose father came from North Korea. 'I plan to run this offer until the day South and North Korea unify,' he said. 'I hope I don't have to run it too long.' Advertisement Britain's elite forces are being pushed to their limits in Europe's biggest NATO military exercise to ensure they are equipped and deployment ready. Operation Joint Warrior in Dalbeattie, Scotland, involves more than 11,600 military personnel from 17 nations, along with 35 naval units. The UK's war chest has been raided as battlefield tech, ships and aircraft are sent in to showcase the nation's military prowess over two weeks. Royal Marines have been spotted during a dramatic beach-landing as they dive from RHIB boats and deploy onto the shore in a war zone scenario. NATO's bi-annual exercise is running from the 21st April to 4th May and involves forces from the US, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands. The mission, operating out of Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde and incorporating forces from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, will see action taking place across air, land and sea. The biannual exercise is designed, planned and delivered by the Joint Tactical Exercise Planning Staff (JTEPS) based at Northwood in London who deploy to HM Naval Base Clyde to coordinate events. A Royal Navy statement said: 'Over the fortnight participants will be faced with a period of increasing political and military tensions, along with a huge range of realistic military tasks such as: intelligence gathering and reconnaissance; anti-smuggling and counter-terrorism operations; humanitarian assistance and evacuation operations.' Royal Marines move in: Elite forces land on the beach in Dundrennan, Scotland, as NATO's biggest joint exercise in Europe gets underway Landing on the beaches: UK war chest raided as soldiers from across NATO arrive in Scotland to take part in war games. The bi-annual exercise is running from the 21st April to 4th May War simulations in Scotland as armed units surround buildings while testing their capability to go into battle. The exercise involves some 11,600 military personnel Royal Marines come ashore armed with assault rifles as they take part in Exercise Joint Warrior. The SA80 A2 ACOG capable of firing single rounds or bursts, is the standard Royal Marine weapon Armed marines masked in camouflage cream simulate a mission in Scotland as they take part in Operation Joint Warrior - the bi-annual NATO exercise designed to put troops to the test Camo cream covered marines duck behind a hill in Scotland as they are briefed on their mission. Joint exercises are taking place on air, land and sea Marines jump from RHIB boats manufactured by BAE Systems. The Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats are used for ship-boarding, counter-piracy and counter-narcotics Exercise Joint Warrior is running from the 21st April to 4th May and involves 35 naval units from across 17 countries within NATO. Royal Marines are pictured entering land in Scotland The 28 foot long RHIBs are used to transport marines to the land as they embark on a mission under the NATO Joint Warrior exercise. Marines are trained to be ready for rapid deployment at all times Britain's marines take part in a NATO exercise as they have the threat of Government cuts looming over their heads. The UK is currently looking to plug a huge defence budget gap Highly trained commandos, part of the British Royal Navy, emerge from the sea as they are ordered to take part in a simulated war scenario in Scotland. Each marine carries an individual weapon and personal equipment A Royal Marine protects his land uniform with a high-tech waterproof bodysuit used when deploying from water to land. Getting his uniform wet will slow him down and cause serious problems on land Dozens of Marines deploy from water to land in the joint exercises taking place off-Scotland. Ships, aircraft and tanks have been called in for the bi-annual war games The troops in the coveted green berets must be a minimum height of 151.5cm, and minimum weight of 65kg before being able to apply to join the rigorous training to become a Royal Marine The exercises are taking place night and day out of Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde. Elite fighting forces perch on a hill in Scotland in low light, aiming for targets as if they were at war A British marine commando crouches behind a wall with his rifle as troops take part in targeted exercises which are based around current threats. Counter-terrorism is expected to play a large role in the war games Royal Marines rest on the Dundrennan beach as they wait for orders to move in. Gavin Williamson said the joint exercise makes defence stronger The troops simulated a dramatic mock-raid in which Marines opened fire in Scotland. Troops from 17 nations are taking part over a course of two weeks After landing on the coastline the troops are tasked with taking control of the shores and carrying out patrols to regain command of the proposed zone Marines are tasked with a rapid deployment onto Scottish shores to take over land and secure the shoreline as if they were taking part in a real conflict. The scenario is being monitored by top officers in the forces A British Marine clutches his assault rifle as troops are brought in to take over an area of Scotland using their naval skills before deploying onto land Exercises are taking place night and day as troops are securing land in Scotland but the simulation will move over ground as the mission culminates on Salisbury Plain Fortified areas are involved in the mission as troops are told to regain control of important buildings and secure targets in the Dalbeattie area of Scotland A Green Beret holds an assault rifle helps patrol the perimeter of a secured block after marines stormed the area from the nearby coastline Dramatic images of elite units taking control of besieged buildings in Scotland along with troops from Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the US Marines emerge from the freezing water as they clutch rifles and carry rounds - ready for the war on land which has been set-up by NATO chiefs The Ministry of Defence said the training scenarios would involve counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling activity, information warfare and evacuation operations A British Marine prepares for mock war as the world's eyes are on the capability of troops from the UK. The Government is currently reviewing the number of Marines as cash is set to be cut from the budget Defence secretary Gavin Williamson said Joint Warrior prepares troops 'in the best way to meet the intensifying threats our country faces by providing a major opportunity to exercise with our allies' Taking back the beaches: Troops rest on the pebbles as they wait for orders on their deployment on the Scottish shores Troops on patrol through enemy territory as Marines are ordered to secure Scottish coast before moving down the country Riding in on RHIBS: The boats are typically operated by Special Forces Boat Operators (SFBO) or a RHIB Team from the Maritime Manoeuvre Squadron (MMS) Marines take aim with their rifles. Marines typically use the SA80 A2 ACOG but carry 9mm pistols for close combat operations, as well as grenades and often The Under-slung Grenade Launcher Marines run onto the shore as their part in the Operation Joint Warrior exercise begins. Over a gruelling two weeks the men and women will be tasked with multiple war-zone simulations Marines ride on Offshore Raiding Craft is designed to be used in conflict and anti-piracy missions to protect the personnel onbaord using a gunpoint at the helm of the boat. The 9 meter-long ORC has an aluminium hull with a low enough draft to allow for safe, rapid beach insertions A pair of Marines wade quickly through water as they head for the coast from the raider RHIBs to make their way towards their allies on the beach Top NATO officials and UK forces experts will be watching the performance of the Marines over the 14-day exercise taking place in Scotland A camo-covered Marine checks his helmet as his unit is called in to mock-battle ground in Scotland. They will be supported from the air by Apache helicopters in the coming days Ammunition was fired during the huge exercise in Scotland overnight as units are drilled for two weeks under NATO joint exercises. A Marine fires his weapon as darkness falls Heavily armed Marines launch themselves into the water for the beginning of their part in Operation Joint Warrior which will end next month The military is testing their communications and their capabilities as well as practicing working with allies in war situations as political tensions grow around the globe Marines crouch down on the pebbles as they prepare to launch into action in the tri-service operation which will test them to their limits A British Marine adjusts his uniform shortly after hitting the beach in Dundrennan, Scotland, while further inland the mock enemy awaits Marines open fire during the NATO operation in Scotland. The massive multinational exercise is designed to deliver specialist maritime training The Royal Navy said the aim of the operation is to bring together the elements of air, surface, underwater and amphibious forces used in combat Joint Warrior is described as 'a UK tri-Service multinational exercise that involves numerous warships, aircraft, marines and troops' A statement from the Navy said the purpose of Joint Warrior is for the UK to be ready to protect its interests and its allies Specialist troops in the Marines are trained on sea, land and air to ensure they can be ready for war in all areas of the battle arena Offshore Raiding Craft cover the Marines from enemy fire as they approach the beach to prepare for an armed take over of enemy territory A Marine runs towards the beach as he clings onto his rifle. He is taking part in Operation Joint Warrior which also hosts non-NATO partners such as Australia, Finland and Sweden Exercise Joint Warrior operates out of Her Majestys Naval Base Clyde, in Scotland and incorporates RAF Lossiemouth in Moray A female Marine carries a huge Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) towards dry land as she hold onto her pown rifle Troops will move from Scotland to the Salisbury Plain training area where the operation will end after 14 days, next month Female Marine launches herself into the water with a huge anti tank missile called an NLAW which is used in war zones by the elite forces Troops from the UK Parachute Regiment, the Danish Jutland Dragoon Regiment, the Lithuanian 'Iron Wolf' Brigade, along with others are working together for the operation More than 11,600 military personnel from 17 nations - including the Marines - are taking part in the exercises in Scotland for a fortnight Elite soldiers open fire in Scotland as they attempt to take-over enemy territory. Over the coming days they will be faced with terrorist-related scenarios Alabama lawyer James William Woolley, 52, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder A former lawyer who threatened to cut off a man's penis with bolt cutters over a $60 debt has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Victim Justin Bicknell allegedly owed lawyer James William Woolley, 52, some money, leading the Alabama criminal law attorney, along with two accomplices, to lure the man into a trap. Bicknell was invited to the home of a woman where he had left a piercing kit, where he was ambushed at gunpoint by two men in hazmat suits and threatened with a machete and bolt cutters. Woolley was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the January 2016 attack on charges of robbery, first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. The bizarre attack unfolded on January 25 when Bicknell went to the east Birmingham home of a woman named Kimberly Murphy. Woolley lured his victim who allegedly owed him money into a violent trap with the help of accomplices Monique Antoine Roscoe, left, and Kimberly Murphy, right, He was then sent to the basement, where he was shocked when the lights suddenly turned on and he was confronted by two men - Woolley and an accomplice named Monique Antoine Roscoe - in suits surrounded by tools, according to AL.com. The victim said the suits may have been painter suits or possibly chicken suits. He was forced at gunpoint to sit in a chair. He added that the floor was covered in plastic and that the two men had a variety of tools around them that they threatened him with. The vindictive lawyer began to question the victim about the debt, allegedly striking him in the head with a machete and threatening him with bolt cutters asking him to 'choose a finger' to be cut off. Bicknell insisted that he didn't know anything about the debt, according to Birmingham police. Woolley then allegedly put the bolt cutters onto Bicknell's penis, 'in an attempt to, or a threat to, remove it', police said. The victim claimed he knew nothing about the debt to the lawyer, office pictured above, who trapped him in a woman's basement, hit him with a machete, and threatened to cut off his genitals with bolt cutters The victim managed to escape the basement trap when one of the attackers received a phone call. As the pair were distracted the victim made a run for it. Roscoe fired two shots after him as he ran away, but missed his target. 'Its kind of ironic that you expect an individual thats actually practiced law to now be on the other side of the law,' Birmingham Police Lt. Sean Edwards said to Fox6. Woolley's law license was inactive during the time of the attack because he failed to pay his annual dues. 'This was a monstrous attack, which is particularly reprehensible that these deeds were committed by a man who, as a lawyer, was entrusted as an officer of the court,' Attorney General Steve Marshal said following Woolley's sentencing. 'I am pleased that my office was successful in this prosecution to bring an important measure of justice for this victim,' he added. Woolley is now in Jefferson County jail and will serve his sentences concurrently. His accomplice Roscoe pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree robbery and second-degree attempted assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Kimberly Murphy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery. This is the harrowing moment a cruel Chinese mother viciously beat her son for losing a tablet at school and had it deliberately filmed. The mother sent the video to a closed group among parents and teachers in a bid to retrieve the tablet. However, she was being criticised by web users for child abuse. Local police were alerted and detained the mother for investigation. The boy was sent to a hospital to treat his wounds. A 12-year-old boy is badly beaten by his mother because he lost his tablet at school in China (left). The boy cries and says he does not know but his mother continues (right) According to KanKan News, the mother, surnamed Xu, found out her young boy lost his tablet at Jiaxiang Primary School in Fengqiu county, Henan Province on April 24. She asked her five-year-old daughter to film the brutal punishment as she beat her son with a wooden stick. The 12-year-old boy can be heard screaming in pain as his mother repeatedly whips on his back with his shirt off. His back is covered with red and purple marks. 'Where did you put it?' the mother yelled as she beat her son. 'I don't know. I don't know!' the boy cried. The mother then posted the clip to a closed messaging group in WeChat, where people shared and alerted local police. The mother deliberately filmed the beating and posted on a group chat in an attempt to retrieve the tablet (left). The boy was taken to hospital to treat his wounds later (right) Fengqiu Police arrested Ms Xu for alleged domestic abuse towards her 12-year-old son. In a statement, the mother expressed her regret and apology for her behaviour. Policemen gave a verbal warning to the mother and will further discuss with her husband when he is back from work from another city. The boy is currently receiving treatment at a hospital. The uncle and cousin of career criminal who died after struggling with a pensioner have been jailed for swindling a homeowner out of thousands in cash. David Vincent Snr, 50, and his 26-year-old son, also called David, are relatives of Henry Vincent, the burglar who died following a break in in Hither Green earlier this month. The pair targeted 60-year-old Robert Etheridge and convinced him he needed urgent building work on his house in Dartford, Kent. David Vincent Snr (left) and his son, also called David (right) - who are the uncle and cousin of the burglar killed by a homeowner in Hither Green have been jailed over a con They, together with another man, conned their victim, who was off work sick at the time, out of 6,000 after falsely telling him his fascia boards were rotten and his loft was infested with rodents, bird nests and maggots. They also showed him three dead rats as part of their trickery, and tried to extort as much as 13,000 from him . All three wore jackets emblazoned with a company logo 'Ideal Home Improvement' and used a van bearing the same name as well as Vincent Snr's mobile phone number. A court heard they even had the gall to warn Mr Etheridge not to tell anyone 'or the newspapers would find out'. But their deceit was discovered when a concerned Mr Etheridge contacted his insurance company and they alerted police. A genuine builder who later inspected their 'work' concluded it was 'valueless, non-urgent and bodged', Maidstone Crown Court in Kent heard. There were also no infestations. The two conmen are relatives of Henry Vincent, who died after breaking into 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks's home in Hither Green earlier this month The father and son, from St Mary Cray, near Orpington in Kent, together with 36-year-old John Baker, from Eltham, south-east London, admitted fraud. Vincent Snr, who has a previous conviction for a similar cowboy builder scam, was jailed for 21 months. Father-of-three Vincent Jnr was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. Baker, a father of two, was also jailed for 18 months. They appeared in court three weeks after 37-year-old Henry Vincent died after breaking into the home of pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, and his wife, Maureen, 76, in Hither Green, south east London, on April 4. Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but later released without charge. Vincent's funeral is due to be held next week. However, no mention of their relative's death was made during the sentencing hearing. Henry Vincent's death - which had led to Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife being advised to stay away from their home amid fears of recrimination - sparked a national debate on the rights of homeowners to defend themselves from intruders Investigating Officer Detective Constable Iain Joyce said today: 'All three targeted the victim again and again, each time coming up with even more elaborate excuses to convince the victim to hand over more cash. They abused his trust and showed no regard for the impact of their actions. 'Our officers worked alongside Trading Standards to bring all three men to justice and ensure they couldn't defraud anyone further in such a malicious way. 'If you suspect rogue traders are operating in your area, or you believe a neighbour or someone on your street is a victim of rogue trading, please call us on 101, of if the suspects are still at the scene call 999.' Advertisement Amid momentous peace talks the wives of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met today for the first time - and appeared to get on famously. Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim Jong-un, crossed the border at the Demilitarized Zone into South Korean territory on Friday to attend the summit dinner hosted by President Moon Jae-in. Before sitting at the dinner table, she spoke briefly with South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook, marking the first-ever meeting between the first ladies of the two Koreas. Scroll down for video Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju (left) was pictured holding hands with the wife of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim Jung-sook (right) as they walked together during a farewell ceremony after the summit Kim Jong-un's wife had a low profile before the summit and it appeared as if the leading ladies had hit it off as they held hands before the farewell ceremony In a historic meeting, Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim-Jong Un (right, in the pink dress) and Kim Jung-sook, the wife of President Moon Jae-in (left, in the blue dress), met, marking the first time the two Korean first ladies had ever come together Height of sophistication: Ri Sol-ju (pictured) crossed the border at the Demilitarized Zone and joined her husband Kim Jong-un in South Korean territory on Friday for the first time While there, she could be seen warmly clasping the hand of her fellow first lady, who seemed delighted to meet her (Ri Sol-ju right and Kim Jung-sook left) North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (left) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (second right) walk with their South Korean counterparts President Moon Jae-in (second left) and his wife Kim Jung-sook (R) during the farewell ceremony Upon her arrival at the truce village of Panmunjom at 6:15 pm, she headed directly for the Peace House building on the southern side of the village, where the welcome dinner is set to take place. Moon and Kim had a historic summit on the second floor of the building earlier in the day, following which they announced that the Koreas will push for three-way talks including Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing on converting the armistice into a peace treaty and establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. They agreed to open a permanent communication office in the North Korean town of Kaesong, resume temporary reunions between relatives separated by the Korean War and will seek to expand civilian exchanges and pursue joint sports and cultural events. 'I'm happy to hear from my husband that the summit was a success. I hope things between the two leaders do go well,' South Korea TV quoted Ri as saying during the meeting. The two ladies seemed to really hit it off, with Kim Jung-sook seen laughing happily after greeting her North Korean counterpart. Later, Ri Sol-ju(left) joined her husband (centre) for the summit dinner which was hosted by President Moon Jae-in (right) They could be seen clasping hands as photographers swarmed them, rushing to capture the historic moment. Later, the first lady's met up with their respective husbands before introducing themselves to the other leader. The South Korean first lady could be seen smiling widely as she met Kim Jong-un, shaking his hand and looking animated as she engaged him in conversation. Ri Sol-ju, though less animated than her counterpart, also seemed pleased with the meeting, toasting President Moon Jae-in and smiling throughout the dinner. She was dressed elegantly in a pink, Western dress, a knee length skirt and with her hair coiffed over the side of her face neatly. She could later be seen smiling while seated next to her husband at the summit dinner. The couples seemed in high spirits throughout the historic event. South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook also joined them and the leading families could be seen sharing drinks before the banquet The two leading couples posed together for an historic photo and seemed pleased to have come together for the summit talks Kim Jong Il, Jong Un's father, was never seen in public with any of his wives. Little is known about Ri, including her exact age, when she married Kim or whether they had a wedding ceremony. However, her style and attire have often been the focus of media attention, with state-distributed photograph showing designer handbags by Dior and Chanel hanging off her shoulder. Ri's status within North Korea has also risen in recent weeks, after state media began referring to her as First Lady during Ri and her husband's visit to China. That was the first time the title was used in North Korea in more than 40 years. Prior to this, Ri had been called 'comrade' or simply, 'wife of Kim Jong Un'. According to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, the last time North Korean state media referred to someone as First Lady was in 1974 for Kim Song Ae, the wife of Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un. State media has also called her 'respected Ri Sol Ju', an adjective rarely used for members other than the North's leadership. Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, is referred to by her party position. At one point, Ri Sol-ju could be seen looking towards her husband and smiling as the first couples strolled together ahead of the dinner Kim Jong-un and his wife posed together for photos during the historic meeting and both seemed to be in high spirits Analysts said that doesn't mean Ri is of a higher rank than Kim Yo Jong. The wife President Moon Jae-in, Kim Jung-sook, is a classically trained singer who studied Vocal Music at Kyunghee University, which is where she met Moon. She earned herself the nickname the 'Jolly Lady' due to her amiable character. Political observers see her as a breath of fresh air after a corruption scandal erupted consuming South Korea's business and political elite, and its then President Park Geun-hye. 'In the past, first ladies were seen sticking to formalities, they were serious and never spoke up,' said Ha Jae-keun, a culture critic for South Korean media. 'Kim, in contrast, seems approachable and feels fresh.' Her image as an ordinary 'ajumeoni', or middle-aged woman, adds to the luster of Moon, whose popularity has surged because his 'common man' touch is in such contrast to Park's aloof and disconnected style. The first lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook, seemed very animated as she spoke to Kim Jong-un who seemed like he was rapt with interest Ri Sol-ju (centre) seemed unafraid of the limelight, despite her lack of experience at official meetings, and could be seen entertaining the other three Later the North Korean leader and his wife took their places at the summit dinner, which was hosted by President Moon Jae-in South Korea praised the first round of discussions as 'sincere and candid' and said the leaders also addressed denuclearization, the prospect of permanent peace and the fate of North Korean defectors. At the historic moment when the two leaders shook hands across the Military Demarcation line that bisects the rivals, Kim said his heart 'keeps throbbing'. The dictator then thanked Moon for meeting at 'historic place', to which he responded by saying the dictator had made a 'very courageous decision' to come to the South. In his opening remarks, Kim said he was 'flooded with emotion' after crossing the military demarcation line, adding that it was 'so easy' making him wonder 'why it took so long to do so after 11 years'. Kim also said during opening talks that he would like to visit Moon at his official residence in Seoul. Speaking to the dictator at the Peace House, President Moon said the demarcation line was 'no longer a symbol of division but a symbol of peace'. The couples seemed in high spirits throughout the historic event, pictured smiling and clapping joyfully with several officials flanking them during the dinner Kim Jong-un can be seen addressing the summit dinner while his wife watches on and the South Korean President and first lady pay close attention Referring to Kim Jong-un, he added: 'I would like to pay tribute to the courageous decision made by you - you have made a bold and courageous decision, so why don't we make the bold and courageous decision to amicably discuss peace, to once again give a great gift to the whole humankind by achieving peace.' As talks resumed after lunch, Kim and Moon poured a mixture of soil and water from both countries onto a pine tree they planted together. They also unveiled a stone plaque placed next to the tree that was engraved with a message saying 'Peace and Prosperity Are Planted.' The pine tree dates to 1953, the year the Korean War ended in an armistice. The soil and water were brought from the Koreas' mountains and rivers. The leaders then talked while walking unaccompanied on a nearby bridge before they are expected to resume the afternoon session of their summit at Panmunjom. Kim at one point was seen waving away photographers as he and Moon continued their talks sitting on chairs placed at the bridge. Onlookers seemed delighted by the summit as it progressed, with their pleased expressions mirroring the joy on the faces of the leaders There seemed to be an air of celebration at the summit dinner, with the leaders clinking glasses as they toasted the day's discussions As Kim Jong-Un greeted dignitaries and signed documents at the historic summit with South Korea, there was one woman who never left his side. His sister Kim Yo Jong was the only woman at the negotiating table, sitting next to the North Korean dictator as he hammered out a peace deal with his old rival. The 30-year-old was also on hand at the more informal moments of the summit, collecting his white gloves after a ceremonial tree-planting. Scroll down for video North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un's sister Kim Yo Jong (bottom right) was the only woman at the negotiating table during the historic summit with South Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is assisted by his sister Kim Yo Jong as he signs documents at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas Ms Kim sits with (left to right) Suh Hoon, head of South Korean National Intelligence Service, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Chief presidential secretary Im Jok-suk, North Korean Party Central Committee vice-chairman Kim Yong Chol, and Kim Jong-Un himself But at one point, she found herself too close to the action and strayed into shot her brothe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked along the red carpet. Following frantic gestures from the North's protocol director, she veered swiftly to her right, leaving only her brother and Mr Moon in shot. Though Ms Kim mostly took notes and dodged the spotlight during Friday's talks, behind the scenes was a key part of her brother's inner circle. Experts said she functions as his chief of staff, managing his engagements, offering trusted advice and acting as a gatekeeper. Ms Kim is introduced by her brother to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the red carper as the peace summit begins Kim Yo Jong brings a bouquet of flowers as her brother and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (right) pose with children after meeting at the Military Demarcation Line Ms Kim sits next to her brother as one of three delegates from each party as they hammewred out the peace deal Though Ms Kim mostly took notes and dodged the spotlight during Friday's talks, behind the scenes was a key part of her brother's inner circle The historic summit aiming to end more than 50 years of conflict between north and south arguably wouldn't have happened without her. Ms Kim was the first member of the ruling party to venture south of the border since the 1953 Korean War armistice as the face of its Winter Olympics delegation. It was there in PyeongChang she made the first overtures that led to the summit, and then personally delivered the first official letter from the regime to the South Korean government in decades. Ms Kim was the youngest of former leader Kim Jong-Il's seven children to four different women, and has the same mother as Kim Jong-Un. Ms Kim walked behind her brother and Mr Moon as they walked the red carpet Ms Kim (left) walks with the North Korean from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas It wasn't all smooth sailing as Ms Kim found herself too close to the action and strayed into shot her brother and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked along the red carpet Following frantic gestures from the North's protocol director, she veered swiftly to her right, leaving only her brother and Mr Moon in shot As a favourite daughter, she received key government positions after returning from her education in Switzerland. She often led advance parties to inspect sites before official engagements, and held various administrative posts. Ms Kim's power and influence increased when her brother inherited the presidency in 2011 and she began helping with policy making and reviewing intelligence. Last year she even ascended to the North Korean Communist Party Politburo, the top council under President Kim. Balbina Hwang, visiting professor at Georgetown University and founder of the National Committee on North Korea, said she held great way over her brother's decisions. 'She's probably one of the most influential people on Kim Jong Un himself, precisely because he has very few people he can trust,' he told CNN. The 30-year-old was also on hand at the more informal moments of the summit, collecting his white gloves after a ceremonial tree-planting (pictured) Erica Davina Rosario, 22, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping after allegedly tricking her nephew to get on a plane from Chicago to Los Angeles with the promise of donuts A woman has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping her 12-year-old nephew after she flew with him from Chicago to Los Angeles on the promise of giving him donuts. Erica Davina Rosario, 22, allegedly tricked her nephew into getting on a plane in Chicago on Wednesday morning. She took him to the airport and bought two one-way tickets to Los Angeles, the Daily Breeze reported. Once the pair arrived in L.A., she told the child he would never return home to Chicago. They took a taxi from the airport to El Segundo and got hamburgers. They then walked onto a Boeing property, where they were confronted by a security guard. The child told the officer he had been kidnapped, who then called the police. Rosario was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. 'Her reason for coming to L.A. didn't make any sense,' Lt. Carlos Mendoza said. 'She was all over the place.' They took a taxi from the airport to El Segundo and got hamburgers. They then walked onto a Boeing property (pictured), where they were confronted by a security guard Police said she had no family in California and did not know anyone in the area. Rosario lives in Chicago with her mother, who is the boy's legal guardian and grandmother, and the child. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took the 12-year-old into protective custody and police are looking into criminal filing. Rosario has a previous criminal record and has spent at least 18 months in prison. A three-year-old boy has died after falling off a ride on lawn mower he was sitting on with his father. Police were called to a home in Snohomish, Washington, about 7.20pm on Thursday after the youngster went over the front of the mower. Witnesses told police after going over the front, he had then fallen under the mower, Komo News reported. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. A three-year-old boy has died after falling over the front of his father's ride on mower and being run over at their home in Snohomish, Washington (pictured) The child was pronounced dead at the scene but police have ruled the tragic death an accident (stock image) His death has been ruled an accident by officers from the Major Crimes and Collision Investigation Unit, who were unable to find any reason to believe the death was suspicious. Neither the boy or his family have been identified. In Snohomish, property lots are large and ride on mowers are common. Neighbors told Q13 Fox the tragic accident could have happened to any one of them. Despite ride on lawn mowers being the leading cause of foot and ankle amputation in children, many people allow their child to sit with them on the mower. UW Medicine in Seattle said children should never be allowed to ride on the machine, even when accompanied by an adult. A teacher at a Florida high school where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting is under fire for allegedly comparing a student to Adolf Hitler after the teen posted a photo of himself holding an assault rifle at the gun range. Kyle Kashuv, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, took to Twitter on Wednesday to call out the teacher, Gregory Pittman. 'So... I just got a call from a friend of mine from (Pittman's) class and he apparently compared me to Hitler in class and said I am a piece of crap,' Kashuv tweeted. Kyle Kashuv, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida, was allegedly compared to Hitler by a teacher after he posted this photo of him holding an assault rifle at a shooting range Kashuv said in a tweet that that Gregory Pittman, a history teacher, made the comments during a class Officials at Marjory Stoneman said they were investigating Pittman's alleged comments. Pittman is pictured at the Walk for Solidarity at North Community Park in Parkland on March 10, 2018 'I find it utterly vile that he'd call a Jew the next Hitler,' he said in another tweet. 'It's also quite telling that he doesn't know that Hitler took the people's weaponry and I want more law-abiding citizens to have firearms.' A student in the class told Fox News that Pittman's alleged comments were made during a discussion in class over Twitter photos and videos Kashuv posted on Friday of him at the shooting range with his father, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. The student said the teacher's alleged remarks were 'basically a hate fest'. 'They were just saying mean things about Kyle. He talked about how he was right, and how Kyle was making an a** of himself. He did say he 'was the Hitler type.' I dont really know what that means exactly, but I think he was just being crazy,' the student said. Pittman is also accused of calling Kashuv 'dangerous'. The history teacher's alleged comments during the class, which Kashuv was not present for, led to an internal investigation at the school, Fox reports. 'School leaders take all matters involving students and staff seriously,' Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew said in a statement. 'They are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter. According to the Sun Sentinel, this was not the first time Pittman was criticized for comments he made about the teen. On Friday, Pittman posted several tweets slamming Kashuv for posting the gun range photos after 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman were killed by gunman Nikolas Cruz in February. 'After a mass shooting you dont have to be the sharpest tack in the box to understand when another student posts a photo of an assault weapon why school security personnel and police might ask questions.' Kashuv, who supports the second amendment, was at the shooting range with his father Pittman said in a tweet Friday that he didn't think it was a good idea for Kashuv to post the videos and photo after 17 people were killed at their school In another tweet he added: 'Probably not the brightest idea to hold it like that or anyway to post on social media by a student from a school that just had a mass shooting except to get attention to gain followers and create PR. Also I own 2 guns, but dont need to post them on social media.' In one picture, the 16-year-old Second Amendment supporter is seen holding an AR-15 assault rifle in front of a target riddled with bullet holes. 'It was great learning about our inalienable right of #2A and how to properly use a gun. This was my first time ever touching a gun and it made me appreciate the #Constitution even more. My instructor was very informative; I learnt a lot. #2A is important and we need 2 preserve 2A,' Kashuv wrote in the caption. He also posted videos of his instructor showing him how to handle the gun and of himself firing at a target. Kashuv said in a tweet later that he had been reported to school officials over his social media posts and was interviewed by school police and received a report from the Broward County Sheriffs Office. Seven schoolchildren have reportedly been killed and another 12 injured after being attacked by a knife-wielding man near their school in north-west China. The incident occurred at around 6:10pm local time today in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province, said a statement released by the authority of Mizhi. The children are said to have been attacked on their way back home from school. Pictures released by Huashang Daily apparently shows injured students being carried away and one man, thought to be the suspect, under arrest in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province The suspect has been under the control of the authority and the injured students are being treated, the statement said. The statement was posted by the Mizhi Propaganda Department via Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter. According to Huashang Daily, the alleged attack took place not far away from the gate of the Number Three Middle School of Mizhi County. It's claimed that the suspect suddenly dashed out and waved his knife towards the passing students. Seven children have been confirmed dead and 12 other injured after being attacked by a man It's said that the man waved a knife towards the group of schoolchildren near their school An insider told the Shaanxi-based newspaper that most of the victims were female students because 'male students ran more quickly'. Pictures released by Huashang Daily shows injured students being carried by police and onlookers and one man being arrested. The suspect has been named 28-year-old Zhao who lives in Mizhi County, according to Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua said among the seven dead students, five were female and two were male; while among the other wounded students, nine are female and three are male. The injured students were sent to Mizhi County Hospital, Xinkang Hospital and Mizhi Chinese Medicine Hospital for immediate treatment, stated Shaanxi Metropolitan Daily. Mizhi County hospital issued an urgent appeal for donors with blood type AB and suggested donors go to nearby blood donor centre, stated Xinhua. Mizhi (file photo) in Shaanxi has a population of around 230,000 and an impoverished area The suspect of the attack in Mizhi has been named 28-year-old Zhao who lives in the county The official outlet also reported Zhao's attack as an act of revenge. It's said that the man had been bullied while studying at the Number Three Middle School of Mizhi County, and he was still angry about the fact. Mizhi has a population of around 230,000 and an impoverished area, according to an earlier report by Xinhua. County officials and paramedics are said to have attended the scene immediately. Investigation is underway. A 24-year-old school aide was arrested and charged with sexual battery on Thursday, after she admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old student when she filed a harassment claim against the teen last month. Sarah Conway, an educational aide at Willow Creek Postitive Education Program in Eaton Township, Ohio, went to school officials last month, saying that a student helper in her room was blackmailing her with nude photos. Conway went to police the following day to file a harassment complaint against the student, who denied the blackmailing claims and said it was Conway who threatened to take him down by going public with their affair. In the process of filing the complaint, Conway admitted to authorities that she had sex with the student, which was grounds for her arrest. She turned herself into police on Thursday and was charged with four counts of sexual battery, a third-degree felony. Sarah Conway (left and right), an educational aide at Willow Creek Positive Education Program in Eaton Township, Ohio, was arrested on Thursday for sexual battery Cops continue to investigate the relationship but they say no charges are expected against the student, who turned 18 last month. According to the school's website, it offers 'integrated services to troubled and troubling children and their families'. According to the Chronicle-Telegram, Conway told police that she met the student in November 2017, when he was assigned to work as a helper for the elementary classroom she works in at the charter school. She claims he stole her phone one day, and found nude photos, which he then sent to his own phone. Conway said the student then began sending her text messages, which she eventually started replying to. She says their relationship started in December, when the student was still 17. Conway was arrested after filing a harassment claim last month, saying a teen student was blackmailing her with nude photos. Above, the school in Eaton Township, Ohio where she worked In his interview with police, the student gave a different version of events. He says Conway like him, so they exchanged phone numbers and started texting each other. He says the conversations turned sexual about one to two weeks later. The sheriff's 32-page report on Conway's arrest includes several transcripts of their text message conversations between March 15 and March 20 - the day Conway went to school officials and accused the teen of harassing her. In these texts, the two talk about their relationship, about the possibility of being pregnant, living together, and how they would communicate if they went to jail. Some of these texts are sexually explicit. Others delve into their relationship's issues. Conway repeatedly asks the student for a more 'mature' relationship in some of the texts, including one exchange on March 15 where she gets mad at him for reaching out to his ex-girlfriend. 'All I want is a supportive caring honest bf (boyfriend). Is that too much to ask?' she says in the text. Conway also talks about the problems she is having with her fiance, and says that the relationship she is having with the teen is a 'distraction'. She later left this man and moved in with her father because of her relationship with the teen, authorities said. On March 20, Conway went to school officials and complained that the teen was blackmailing her with nude photos. But her text messages from that day paint a different story. In a series of texts starting at 7:05am, Conway complains to the student that 'the only time you talk to me is in school and that's not enough for me anymore'. 'I'm done trying to be yours,' she says. She even threatens to out their relationship, saying 'Yup. You going down with me.' Conway made her first appearance in court on Thursday for her arraignment. She was released on a recognizance bond and ordered not to have contact with the student. Her next hearing is scheduled for 10am on May 11. Conway was placed on administrative leave after revealing her relationship with the student to school officials. Now that she has been charged, they are moving to fire her. Cleveland Positive Education Program, which runs the school, said in a statement that Conway's behavior 'directly contradicts' their mission and 'will not be tolerated'. The principal of the school described Conway as a social worker in the police report. She was granted a one-year educational aide permit on September 6. Officials have said they hope to implement strict alcohol bans in Alice Springs similar to those at Tennant Creek. Northern Territory Police southern commander, Michael White told ABC radio he has been in conversations with Attorney-General's Department and the liquor commission to limit the sales of alcohol in the area. If the restrictions are put in place, alcohol will be sold between 3-6pm, Monday to Saturday and will limit the amount of alcohol and individual cans purchased. Central Australian police have said they hope to implement strict alcohol bans in Alice Springs similar to those at Tennant Creek The top cop said alcohol restrictions in Tennant Creek have worked and Alice Springs' current restrictions aren't enough to curb alcohol fuelled violence. 'We have seen there's been a significant reduction in admissions to the women's shelter, school admission has spiked, and even local businesses have seen improvements,' the southern commander said. He also said the changes to liquor laws would pose as an initial challenge but the Alice Springs community would adapt to the new laws. Alcohol restrictions in Tennant Creek have worked and Alice Springs' current restrictions aren't enough to curb alcohol fuelled violence 'I would ask the community of Alice Springs to work together on this,' he said. Earlier this year, Australia was shocked after a two-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 'father figure' in Tennant Creek. The toddler was flown to Alice Springs hospital and placed in to an induced coma due to the severity of her injuries. Alice Springs is a five hour drive from Tennant Creek, where a two-year-old girl was allegedly raped sparking strict alcohol restrictions Since the incident, temporary alcohol laws were put in place to stop booze fuelled violence. Within the first week of the restrictions the number of children needing to be fed at the youth centre dropped from 70 to 50. Authorities are now calling for a permanent alcohol ban in Tennant Creek. A Virginia couple has been charged after the girlfriend's two-year-old daughter was found burned to death. Shelby Love, 23, and John Tucker Hardee, 33, were both taken into custody on Tuesday after police found the girl unresponsive at the home in Norfolk, Virginia. They were called there at 3.40am by someone who reported the child being unresponsive. The girl, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead in hospital a short while later. Shelby Love, 23, and John Tucker Hardee, 33, have been charged with felony child abuse and neglect and are being held without bond The baby was born in September 2015, according to Love's social media. She is pictured with her mother in 2016. Her name has not been released by police Police have given scarce details about how she was found or the extent of her injuries. They have not suggested how she was burned or if any other children were living in the home. Love has at least one other daughter and moved to the region in the last year. Around the time that she and Hardee started dating, she stopped sharing photographs of her children on social media. On Wednesday, Love and Hardee appeared in court to be charged with felony child abuse and neglect. Neither has been granted bond. They will return to court on Monday. It is not known how long they have been together or if Love has any other children. Love has at least one other daughter. She proudly shared photographs of her baby after her birth in 2015 and for the first six months or so of her life but suddenly stopped around the time she met convicted child beater Hardee It is not known how long the pair have been together. Hardee has his own children from a previous relationship and spent time in jail after beating one of his sons in 2013 Hardee previously spent three years in jail for beating his own son. Love, 23, moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in the last year The boy was taken to police by a different girlfriend in 2013 with bruises all over his body and a skull fracture, The Virginian Pilot reports. The girlfriend said he had also strangled her. It later emerged that he hit the boy because he had spilled his drink and eaten dog food. He also has a previous conviction for cocaine possession and was charged last year with assaulting a woman who claimed he grabbed her by the throat when she tried to end their affair. A protective order was given but he was never convicted in that case. Hardee and Love will return to court on Monday. The girl was found in one of these buildings in Norfolk, Virginia, on Tuesday at 3.40am after emergency services were called. It is not known if her mother of Hardee called 911. Tributes to the little girl were left outside the home after her death. Her name has not been released A teenager who was hit by a train and dragged for 100-metres in Perth is lucky to have only suffered a broken collar bone. Aung Su was hit by a four-carriage train which was travelling at 40km/h on Thursday. From his hospital bed on Friday, Aung told Nine News he was on his way to catch up with some friends at the time and was walking looking at his phone, not paying attention to his surroundings. Scroll down for video Aung Su (pictured) was hit by a four-carriage train which was travelling at 40km/h and was dragged 100m Aung on the train tracks after he was hit by a train. He suffered a broken collar bone It was then he walked past a safety gate onto the train track and was hit by the train. 'I didn't hear anything, when I was on my phone it felt like I was in my own little world,' he told Nine News. He thought it was a dream when he woke up, but realised it was all real when he saw his mum crying next to him. Aung has since been discharged from Royal Perth Hospital and will attend his year 12 ball on Friday night. He was on his phone (pictured), not paying attention to his surroundings when he walked past a safety gate A school in Oklahoma issued an apology on Thursday to a black student and his family after a classmate posted a photo of him in a prisoner's uniform captioned 'N****r for auction.' The student had been participating in a comedy skit at Chandler High School in Chandler, Oklahoma, when the photo was snapped along with a confederate flag sticker. 'N****r for auction in Chandler Oklahoma, starting bid $50,' the caption read. The student had been participating in a comedy skit at Chandler High School in Chandler, Oklahoma, when the photo was snapped along with a confederate flag sticker In a long Facebook post, a woman claiming to be the student's sister shared that her 'blood is absolutely boiling' after seeing the picture. 'This is my little brother pictured in this screenshot,' said Ashley Dawn Warner. 'My brother is dressed up for Positive Peers as they are putting on a production for the school called Teen Forum. He was being taken to jail in this scene and this is what another student posted,' she added. Warner shares that bullying seems to happen 'a lot m ore in Chandler Schools then it should'. She added: 'Every single one of my siblings that have been in Chandler Public Schools have been bullied. 'I'm not sure if this is a result of p*** poor parenting or if the school needs to do something regarding bullying or both; but this kinda c**p isn't acceptable. 'I'm so sick of this racism s**t and disgusted that it's 2018 and we still let our children call other children 'n*****s.' Absolutely unacceptable. 'The District has no tolerance for hateful depictions and captions regarding any student and has and will continue to address this unacceptable, despicable behavior whenever it occurs,' the school said in a statement On Thursday the school sent out a statement regarding the incident and apologized to the teenager's family. 'Chandler Public Schools experienced a deeply disturbing incident on Wednesday,' the statement read, according to the New York Post. 'A student Snapchatted a picture of another student, who was acting out a role designed specifically for educating students regarding the importance of positive peer relationships. 'The student also included with the picture highlight alarming language that was hateful and demeaning.This behavior is not repetitive of Chandler Public Schools, its staff members or its students. 'The District has no tolerance for hateful depictions and captions regarding any student and has and will continue to address this unacceptable, despicable behavior whenever it occurs. 'In addition, districts officials will lean in with an even greater emphasis on educating students regarding no tolerance for actions or words that threaten, harass or bully others because of color.' 'Our deepest apologies are extended to the student who was the victim of this shameful behavior by another student. 'We will do our utmost to support this student and the student's family in standing against actions and speech that hurts and belittles other individuals.' Warner added in the post later that the student involved had been suspended. Newly-released transcripts of a 2015 court-martial reveal that Trump's chief of staff John Kelly defended a Marine colonel who faced charges including sexual harassment despite never having the officer under his command. Kelly, a retired Marine general at the time, testified by phone as a defense witness for Colonel Todd Shane Tomko, who was facing charges of misconduct and sexual harassment, calling him 'a great leader and a great Marine.' The disclosures come months after President Trump's Chief of Staff Kelly leapt to the defense of another alleged abuser White House staff secretary Rob Porter who was accused of physical, verbal and emotional abuse by his two ex-wives, in exclusive interviews with DailyMail.com. Kelly initially released a statement calling Porter 'a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional'. He later walked back those remarks and said he was 'shocked' by the allegations which included a photograph of Porter's first ex-wife, Colbie Holderness, with a black eye. Kelly issued a second statement more than 24 hours later: 'I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society. White House chief of staff John Kelly (left) leapt to the defense of White House staff secretary Rob Porter who was accused of physical, verbal and emotional abuse by his two ex-wives. Kelly initially released a statement calling Porter 'a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional' Records released by the Department of Navy to DailyMail.com following a FOIA request, revealed that in June 2015, the former Marine Corps General sprung to the defense of Colonel Todd Shane Tomko, who was facing charges of misconduct and sexual harassment Porter, shown with now-former girlfriend and outgoing White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, was forced out of his sensitive job after DailyMail.com published his ex-wives damning accounts of physical abuse 'I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation. I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.' Porter resigned from the White House in the wake of the allegations. On Thursday, the FBI revealed that it had twice told the White House that Porter's ex-wives accused him of violent abuse firstly in a file to White House counsel, Don McGahn, in March 2017, and then in a second report to White House Personnel Security in November 2017 which contained further 'derogatory information'. The disclosure cast serious doubt on the version of events advanced by John Kelly that all he knew was that Porter had been in a 'messy divorce'. Records released by the Department of Navy to DailyMail.com following a FOIA request, revealed that in June 2015, the former Marine Corps General sprung to the defense of Colonel Todd Shane Tomko. Tomko was facing charges of misconduct and sexual harassment against a corporal and Kelly sought to help him from being discharged. Tomko was accused harassment of a female corporal, of 'kissing her on the mouth with the intent to arouse and gratify sexual desires of said Cololel Tomko, causing bodily harm.' He also was accused asking an unnamed Sargent ask the corporal to destroy evidnece, described a commanding officer as a 'pussy' told the corporal that she was a 'fun, hot and intriguing dyke who makes me wish I were a woman.' He allegedly asked her 'Can I watch? and 'I would just sit back in a chair with a bucket of popcorn and have a hole in it and watch you two go at it.' Kelly, then a retired general, gave trestimony by telephone. 'Colonel Tomko and I are friends,' he said, 'but not close.' 'Colonel Tomko is a Marine through and through. He is a great leader.' At an administrative hearing, Kelly was a character witness for the decorated Marine officer and phoned into the proceedings. In his testimony over the phone, Kelly said: 'I am aware that I am testifying at the general court-martial for Colonel Tomko. Colonel Tomko and I are friends, but not close. I met him in Boston where I would typically see him at the Marine Corps ball. We never served together in a unit. I have known Colonel Tomko for about a decade. 'Colonel Tomko is a Marine through and through. He is a great leader. 'I know that the charges to which Colonel Tomko is pleading guilty revolve around alcohol abuse, a DUI, and some issues with him possibly inserting himself into the military justice process inappropriately. Colonel Tomko is a great Marine. Kelly admitted that he did not really know why Tomko was removed from command at the Marines' wounded warrior regiment . A senior White House official told DailyMail.com: He gave a brief, factual accounting of their relationship, noting that they had met at several, annual Marine Balls in Boston. John Kelly was asked to speak on his behalf because of the accused individuals role with supporting wounded veterans. In his account he noted that he did not have any knowledge about the accusations. Prince Harry, along with Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, greets Tomko on tour of the USO Warrior and Family Center at the Fort Belvoir military base in Virginia in 2015 Kelly testified: 'I don't know exactly what the issues are, but I certainly have never seen him berate, demean or insult anyone whether it's been race, ethnic background, gender.' The general said that Tomko should remain at his current rank as a member of the Marine Corps. Tomko was sentenced to two months in jail and a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, possessing anabolic steroids and un-prescribed testosterone, violating a military protective order and DUI. He was accused of forcibly kissing a female Marine corporal. After serving his sentence, he retired from the Marines as part of a plea agreement. Tomko, 54, was arrested in November 2017 in Quincy, Illinois on three counts of aggravated sexual battery, three counts of indecent liberties with a child, and one count of felony cruelty to children. According to Whig.com, prosecutors said Tomko, who is now a pastor, made children watch porn and learn sexual acts when they were as young as four and then carried out sexual acts when they were older. The alleged crimes are believed to have taken place when Tomko was living in Virginia Beach, Virginia, starting in 2002. According to reports, prosecutors said the charges were based on information from three accusers who had learned that Tomko was working with children in his new role as pastor at Parkview Church in Quincy. There is no indication that Kelly knew of the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Tomko. Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife, (left) claims he repeatedly punched and choked her. His second wife Jennifer Willoughby has also claimed that Porter was abusive in their marriage Tomko was facing charges of misconduct and sexual harassment and Kelly sought to help him from being discharged. At an administrative hearing, Kelly was a character witness for the decorated Marine officer and phoned into the proceedings Tomko joined the Marine Corps in 1983. He served for three decades and completed many combat tours. In his command of the Wounded Warrior Regiment he met First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr Jill Biden and Prince Harry. In March, the three victims who are two sisters and a brother - described the sordid abuse they were subjected to over many years, from when they were five to 14 years old. They told the court that Tomko grabbed their crotches, breasts and buttocks, exposed himself to them and made lewd comments and asked sexual questions. The judge determined there was sufficient evident to send the case to a grand jury, according to The Virginian-Pilot. Kelly, a four-star general, enlisted in the Marines in 1970, served three tours in Iraq and then led U.S. Southern Command. The installation, known as SOUTHCOM, oversees U.S. military interests in 31 Caribbean and Latin American countries. President-elect Trump recruited Kelly back to government in December 2016, asking Kelly to head up the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly was a leader and 'the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders,' Trump said. In July 2017, Trump asked Kelly to move over from Homeland Security and take over as White House Chief of Staff. Donald Trump may have missed the mark with Melania Trump's birthday gift this year, but Stephen Colbert's got some suggestions for the next one. After the President placed a call to Fox & Friends, a favorite program of his, during which he revealed he'd only gotten his wife 'a beautiful card', the Late Show with Stephen Colbert host weighed in during his monologue. Colbert, 53, quipped: 'You're a billionaire! You got your wife...a card? Do you know what she puts up with? I think she's earned a shopping spree...around...$130,000 worth.' Stephen Colbert addressed Donald Trump's Fox & Friends rant during his show on Thursday During Thursday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert skewered Donald Trump for only getting Melania Trump a card for her birthday That is, as you may recall, the same amount Trump's embattled personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair she had with the president ahead of the 2016 election. Trump, 71, acknowledged his ties to Cohen for the first time during his call to Fox & Friends. 'He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me. And from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong,' he said of the attorney, whose home, hotel and office were recently raided by the FBI. The current Commander-in-Chief did not comment on the hush money Daniels, 39, claims she was paid. He previously said he was unaware that Cohen had sent any money to the adult film star. Regardless, Daniels's team is viewing Trump's Fox & Friends 'admission' as a major win. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted the following after learning what was said during Thursday's broadcast: 'Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen previously represented to the American people that Mr. Cohen acted on his own and Mr. Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. Thank you @foxandfriends for having Mr. Trump on this morning to discuss Michael Cohen and our case. Very informative. Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 26, 2018 'As predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false. #basta.' Avenatti elaborated further during MSNBC's Morning Joe, calling Trump's comments a 'hugely damaging admission' and 'another gift from the heavens in this case'. 'They keep coming. I don't know how I've fallen into such good luck in this case, but I'm going to take it,' he said. Late Show with Stephen Colbert monologue last night During Thursday's show, Stephen Colbert opened with a monologue focused on Donald Trump's interview with Fox & Friends, which took place earlier that day. The monologue was posted on YouTube early Friday morning and has been viewed more than 300,000 times. Trump on Fox and Friends Donald Trump called into Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, delivering a half hour long rant during which he touched on a number of topics. In addition to revealing that horrible gift he'd given Melania Trump for her 48th birthday, Trump talked about Michael Cohen, Iran, 'The Democrats', and more. Below are a few particularly troubling lines from the interview: Speaking on Iran, Trump said: 'All they do is scream "Death to America, death to America." And by the way, they're not screaming it so much anymore. They were screaming it with him.' On Ronny Jackson's decision to withdraw: 'The Democrats are obstructionists. It's horrible what they're doing. They're not approving people.' On Diamond and Silk: 'Diamond and Silk are warriors, by the way. How about Diamond and Silk?' On Ronny Jackson: '[Jackson] has a perfect record. He's got this beautiful record unblemished'. On James Comey's firing: 'I did a great thing for the American people by firing him.' On Comey's memos: 'Those memos were about me and they're phony memos. He didn't write those memos accurately. He put a lot of phony stuff. 'He does these memos and then fake news CNN who's a total fake you know, they give Hillary Clinton the questions to the debate and nobody can you imagine, by the way, if you gave me the questions to a debate?' On Comey: 'He is guilty of crimes and if we had a Justice Department that was doing their job instead of spending $8 million trying to find...' On collusion: 'So the special counsel and by the way, and Intelligence Committee and everybody else has found no collusion. There's no collusion with me and the Russians.' On Kanye West: 'I have known Kanye a little bit and I get along with Kanye. I get along with a lot of people, frankly.' On his own appearance: 'You know, one of the reasons people say you're still looking good, Mr. President. How do you do it?' Stephen Colbert on Kanye West Before taking on Donald Trump's bad birthday gift during Thursday's show, Stephen Colbert used some time to address Kanye West's recent tweets showing support for the President. 'I don't know if you've checked Twitter today,' he said. 'But right now, my Twitter feed is just tweets from Donald Trump and Kanye West.' He continued: '[West] tweeted, "My MAGA hat is signed," followed by 30 fire emojis. Now, that is fitting, because that is how many times I would set that hat on fire.' Colbert then joked that perhaps the rapper could find himself a position within the White House: 'He could just change his name to Kellyanne Kanye.' In closing, the late night TV host advised the father of three: 'Put the phone down.' President Donald Trump insisted Friday that James Comey is a liar and a leaker, despite what former FBI Director been saying during his media tour. Trump said in one of his most brutal barbs at Comey yet that the fired law enforcement official is 'either very sick or very dumb' and he 'lied all over the place' to hide his crimes. 'Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey cant define what a leak is,' Trump said in response to Comey's appearance Thursday on Fox News. Trump said, 'He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesnt understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. Hes either very sick or very dumb. Remember sailor!' Former FBI Director James Comey once again denied allegations by President Donald Trump that he leaked classified information and said his memos were 'like a diary' Thursday evening on Fox News. Trump fired back in a Friday morning tweet Trump said in one of his most brutal barbs at Comey yet that the fired law enforcement official is 'either very sick or very dumb' and he 'lied all over the place' to hide his crimes Comey had denied allegations by Trump on Fox that he leaked classified information. He claimed the memos that the Justice Department released last were 'like a diary' and that information that is secret now was only retroactively classified. The former FBI director appeared on Fox on Thursday where he defended his decision to give his memos which contained his recollections of conversations with Trump to a number of associates. 'That memo was unclassified then,' Comey told Fox host Bret Baier. 'It's still unclassified. It's in my book. The FBI cleared that book before it could be published.' Comey is promoting his new book, A Higher Loyalty, which recalls his meetings with Trump and the events leading up to his firing. Comey gave an interview on Thursday to Bret Baier, an anchor for Fox News Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Trump and his allies have accused Comey of leaking classified information. But Comey says that the information he shared with others was not classified. One of the individuals who received his memos was Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor. Comey says he gave the memos to Richman and 'asked him to get the substance of it out to the media.' 'I don't consider what I shared with Mr. Richman a leak,' Comey told Fox News. The ex-law enforcement official says he also gave copies of the memos to other members of his 'legal team.' Trump called in to Fox & Friends and slammed Comey as a 'liar and a leaker' who is 'guilty of crimes' 'I gave the memos to my legal team after I gave them to Dan Richman - after I asked him to get it out to the media,' he said. Comey has been criticized for releasing the memos since FBI officials are bound by an employment agreement that bars them from 'reveal[ing], by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.' Comey says, however, that the memos were personal, not official. 'I didn't consider it part of an FBI file... It was my personal aid to memoir,' Comey said. 'I always thought of it as mine, like a diary,' he said. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department's inspector general launched a review as to whether Comey violated rules by revealing classified information. During his Fox News appearance, Comey confirmed that he has been interviewed by the inspector general. 'And I expect a report on them,' Comey said. 'Not on the handling of classified information because that's frivolous, but on, "Did I comply with policy? Did I comply with my employment agreement?" ' Trump called in to Fox & Friends earlier in the day and slammed Comey as a 'liar and a leaker' who is 'guilty of crimes.' 'He leaked classified information to get a special counsel and leaked the memos which are classified the memos were about me and he didn't write those memos accurately. He wrote a lot of phony stuff,' the president said on Thursday. Comey responded, saying Trump was making a 'false statement' and that the president was 'just wrong.' 'He leaked classified information to get a special counsel and leaked the memos which are classified the memos were about me and he didn't write those memos accurately. He wrote a lot of phony stuff,' the president told Fox & Friends (above) on Thursday 'Facts really do matter, which is why I'm on the show to answer your questions,' he said. Comey also said he did not know that Democrats had funded the infamous dossier compiled by a former British spy that contained unverified claims about Trump and Russian prostitutes. Republicans say that the dossier was used as the basis to obtain a FISA warrant to surveil a member of Trump's campaign, Carter Page. Comey said that there was other information about Page's alleged ties to Russian intelligence that authorities used as the basis to obtain a FISA warrant. The former FBI chief also talked about FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. Strzok and Page were found to have exchanged text messages disparaging Trump. The revelation has fueled claims that the FBI is biased against the president. Comey told Fox News that he would have 'removed both of them from any contact with significant investigations' if he was aware of the texts. 'It was such poor judgment,' Comey said. 'When I saw the text, I was deeply disappointed in them.' He added: 'But I never saw any bias, any reflection of any kind of animus towards anybody.' President Donald Trump said Friday he was 'honored' by the new Republican-run House Intelligence Committee report that exonerated his campaign from colluding with Russia. The president brought up the report during a photo-op with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hours after the heavily-redacted document was released. The report, running more than 250 pages, found his campaign didn't collude with Russia though it also found a Trump Tower meeting with Russians showed 'poor judgement.' 'We were honored. It was a great report no collusion which I knew anyway, no coordination, no nothing,' Trump said from the Oval Office. Then, without naming it, he went after special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. 'It's a witch hunt that's all it is. There was no collusion with Russia. You can believe this one.' President Donald Trump said he was 'honored' by the House Intelligence panel's report Then, turning to Merkel, Trump said, 'She probably can't believe it. Who can?' Trump lauded the report with what to him is the ultimate attribute: strength. 'The report was very powerful, very strong, there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian people,' he said with emphasis. 'As I've said many times. I've always said there was no collusion. But I've also said there has been nobody tougher on Russia than me,' Trump said. Then he called it 'totally conclusive' although a separate, significantly more bipartisan Senate investigation continues, as does the Mueller probe, which has already obtained guilty pleas from several Trump associates. The bitterly divided Republican-run House Intelligence Committee released a redacted version of its final report on Russian 'Active Measures' Friday that exonerates the Trump campaign from 'collusion' with Russia. President Donald Trump and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 27, 2018 The report found 'no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government,' but it also found 'poor judgement and ill-considered actions' on the part of both the Trump and the Clinton campaigns. The reports findings repeatedly highlight information to back up Trump campaign officials, while faulting the Obama administration and federal investigators for some of their actions. It calls the Russian campaign to affect U.S. politics 'nothing novel,' and calls the U.S. government response to the Russian campaign 'slow and inconsistent.' The Republican-run House Intelligence Committee released a redacted version of its final report on Russian 'Active Measures' that exonerates the Trump campaign from having any 'collusion' with Russia The report comes as special Robert Mueller's team has racked up a series of guilty pleas and continues to investigate Russia's actions. It got put out on a day that Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Kremlin-linked lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2016 changed story to say she was an informant to Moscow. 'I am a lawyer, and I am an informant,' she told NBC News, the New York Times reported. 'Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.' The report found 'no evidence' that Donald Trump's pre-campaign business dealings constituted collusion. The Mueller probe is investigating efforts to build a Trump Tower Moscow. Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Kremlin-linked lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2016, changed her story to say she was an informant to Moscow Found FBI did not find any 'deception' during former security advisor Mike Flynn's interview, although Flynn has plead guilty to lying to the FBI. The Republican panel found 'no evidence' Trump associates stole Clinton emails that got hacked during the campaign. But it calls contacts with WikiLeaks, which published the emails, 'ill-advised.' Trump has said repeatedly there was 'no collusion' with Russia. The report references the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016 where Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner 'expected to receive' derogatory information about Clinton 'from Russian sources.' But it noted they 'did not ultimately obtain' the information they sought. Donald Trump Jr. 'expected to receive' derogatory information about Clinton at a Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016, according to the report The report comes as special Robert Mueller's team has racked up a series of guilty pleas and continues to investigate Russia's actions Meanwhile, the report hits the Clinton campaign, finding it used 'cutouts' - an espionage term - to pay for opposition research on Trump that was 'obtained from Russian sources.' That is a reference to the infamous Steele dossier compiled by ex British foreign intelligence officer Christopher Steele. One finding notes that Trump's campaign chair, Paul Manafort, has been 'indicted on several charges.' But it notes that none of them relate to 'allegations of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.' Nevertheless, Manafort's ties to the Pro-Moscow Ukrainian government remain a key area of interest for investigators, and money laundering charges against him relates to his work in that area. Top Intelligence panel Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California blasted the report. 'Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate or even see, when in plain sight evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses,' Schiff said in a statement. 'The Trump campaign and Administration's efforts to deny, conceal and, when discovered, misrepresent what took place in these interactions with the Russians is powerful evidence of a consciousness of wrongdoing,' he said. House Intelligence chairman Rep. Devin Nunes stepped back from overseeing the probe after reports on his trips to the White House. The report was released by Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas The 253-page report even blames the 'establishment' not Trump for the hiring of aides with 'pro-Russia views.' 'The Republican national security establishment's opposition to candidate Trump created opportunities for two less-experienced individuals with pro-Russia views to serve as campaign advisors: George Papadopoulos and Carter Page.' It mentions efforts by Trump officials to set up a 'back-channel' to Russia after the election but argues this suggests the 'absence of collusion' during the campaign since if there really were collusion it would have been unnecessary. The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday officially cleared the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign, releasing its final report over Democratic objections and ending its probe. The investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. Republicans had already announced the main findings last month. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is ongoing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House panel did find that Russia sought to sow discord in the U.S. through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans say they will pressure intelligence agencies to be able to release more information. The report's conclusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats. They say the committee did not interview enough witnesses or gather enough evidence to support its finding. Trump has repeatedly said there was 'no collusion.' In a statement, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has been leading the investigation, said he was 'extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions' made by the intelligence agencies. He said many of the blacked out details include information already public such as witness names and previously declassified information. Conaway said the committee had pledged to be 'as transparent as possible' with the report. 'I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the IC's many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months,' he said. Charlie Gard's parents said today they have followed the tragic case of Alfie Evans with 'heavy hearts' and demanded a law change to give parents more power to decide on their child's care. Chris Gard and Connie Yates' little boy died after his life support was switched off against their will on July 28 last year, shortly before his first birthday. Toddler Alfie Evans is still alive almost four days since his ventilator was removed against the wishes of his parents Tom Evans, 21, and Kate James, 20. Ms Yates said today: 'With heavy hearts we have watched as Alfie's case has unfolded. For those who have not been in a situation like this, it is impossible to understand the pain Tom and Kate are going through'. Charlie Gard's parents have expressed their sympathy and support for the parents of Alfie Evans as they called for a change in the law Supporters shared this photo of mother Kate James cradling her son Alfie at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors have withdrawn life support. He is still alive more than 72 hours later Charlie's fight for life echoes Alfie's battle because both families were involved in a lengthy court battle because doctors believed it was in the child's 'best interests' to die. Charlie, who had a rare mitochondrial disease, also had his own 'army' of thousands of supporters, which included Pope Francis and Donald Trump. Since his death Charlie's parents have supported other families in similar circumstances, including the parents of Alfie Evans, whose son is fighting for life in Alder Hey hospital, Liverpool. Speaking today Ms Yates again called for the law to be changed to make the so-called 'best interests' test for poorly children fairer and more transparent for parents. She said: 'When we were fighting for our son, Charlie Gard to be given a chance to try a treatment that could have improved his quality of life, we realised that cases like these would keep happening until the law was changed. Tragically, this has proven to be true'. Alfie's parents have long argued that doctors should not have the final say on their son's care, they should. An emotional Tom Evans asked Alfie's Army to stand down last night as the family try to build bridges with Alder Hey and get their son home Alfie Evans, pictured with his parents Tom and Kate, is fighting for life in Alder Hey hospital, Liverpool Connie said: 'Since Charlie's passing in July last year, we have been working with paediatric consultants, medical ethicists, senior lawyers, U.K. politicians and other parents who have suffered through similar situations as us, to try and propose a law that will prevent parents experiencing painful and prolonged conflicts with medical professionals. 'This involves addressing problems around the 'best interests' test as well as creating a platform for transparency and openness so that cases like these can be dealt with before they ever reach the courts. We were calling this 'Charlie's Law' whilst also working on the foundation set up in his memory. 'Once cases are public it is difficult for people to be fully aware of the complexities and this often leads to illinformed judgements on both sides and creates unnecessary conflicts. 'We have something that is better for everybody - hospitals, healthcare professionals, families with sick children, the NHS, and the reputation of our own government. We would ask those pushing for law change to take account of the careful work already done, and join us as we continue to push for a solution that is best for all involved'. Alfie Evans' 'Army' of supporters have abandoned protests outside Alder Hey - but left their banners, flags and balloons - as his family said today they want to take him home in the next day or two to live, not die. The much-loved little boy is still alive inside the Liverpool hospital more than 72 hours after his life support was withdrawn. The toddler's parents Tom Evans, 21, and Kate James, 20, insist their son could survive for 'months or years' as they dramatically abandoned their fight to take him abroad for treatment and pledged to work with doctors in a bid to take him home. But Alfie's family have reacted with fury to claims that their attempt to 'build bridges' with Alder Hey meant they were accepting he is about to pass away. Mr Evans' brother Daniel said last night: 'Thomas and Kate are not "preparing themselves for their son's death" in no way shape or form, to get him home is their priority and thats what they plan to do with the help of Alder Hey'. He added: 'Alfie is doing good, 72 hours independent breathing!!' Alfie's supporters have spent weeks outside Alder Hey but they have heeded the warning and stayed away today, but their balloons and flags remain Tom's brother Daniel has said Alfie's parents believe their don is coming home to live, not die Tom Evans also had a message for the tens of thousands in 'Alfie's Army' as he asked them to stand down 'if this is what it takes to get our son home'. He said: 'Please respect this. You have all been the most crucial part of our fight and we love you all'. Until last night, Mr Evans and Miss James were desperate to fly him to a hospital in the Vatican - but now accept their best hope of leaving Alder Hey is getting him home. Mr Evans said the 'warrior' toddler's mother has been keeping him alive with cuddles. He said: 'Alfie's fought through the night the last two nights because he's been lying on Kate's chest non-stop. And him and his mum have become closer now more than ever before'. A military helicopter had been put on standby at the request of the Pope, who met Mr Evans last week. But on Tuesday a High Court judge again refused the couple permission to take Alfie to Rome and his decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal the following day. After a meeting with doctors, Mr Evans said he and Kate James, 20, and the hospital in Liverpool wanted privacy in order to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it. In Alfies interests we will work with his treating team on a plan that provides our boy with the dignity and comfort he needs, he said. The comments marked a huge sea change in the couples attitude to medics, whom Mr Evans had previously threatened to prosecute for conspiring to murder his 23-month-old son. Earlier yesterday he had said doctors were treating him and Miss James like criminals. Mr Evans, who wants three of his doctors prosecuted for conspiracy to murder, said: 'They hate us. They don't like us because I've fought against them for so long and I'm right'. He added: 'We're not like them. We walk around the corridors and they pop into other cubicles to avoid us. They give us some horrible smug look as if we're in the wrong. It's like we're criminals and we're being looked down on'. Alfie, with his father sleeping in the background, is still fighting, his family say, despite a lack of a ventilator Mr Evans made a plea for supporters to stop their protests in the hope it will convince doctors to let Alfie leave But by 6pm the couple had apparently decided to work with medics, thanking both supporters and hospital staff many of whom have been the targets of abuse and said they would not be making any more public comments. Our lives have been turned upside down by the intense focus on Alfie and his situation, Mr Evans said. Our little family, along with Alder Hey, has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like. We are very grateful and we appreciate all the support we have received from around the world... (but) we would now ask you to return back to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it. We also wish to thank Alder Hey staff at every level for their dignity and professionalism during what must be an incredibly difficult time for them too. Mr Evanss comments came as protests and vigils were held in Poland, Ireland and the Vatican for Alfie, who was taken off life-support on Monday following a drawn-out legal battle. Doctors say he has a degenerative, incurable neurological condition, is in a deep coma and it is in his best interests to let him die. High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden urged the parents to disregard the advice of pro-life campaigners who he accused of manipulating them and to spend what precious time they had left with their son. People hold candles as they gather to attend a prayer vigil for terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans Another candlelit vigil in support of Alfie Evans took place in front of the Great Britain embassy building in Warsaw Alfie's Army have also gathered outside Liverpool including here at Belfast city Hall to voice their support for the child He slammed the 'malign hand' of Pavel Stroilov, who works for the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), and called him a 'fanatical and deluded' man whose advice had come 'perilously close' to contempt of court. The couple apparently agreed with the judge, who said their only option was to work with medics to try to move Alfie from intensive care either onto a normal ward, a hospice or home for his final days. It came as health chiefs warned hospital staff to hide their uniforms due to threats directed at them after Alfies case. It came after a 'sick' and 'psychotic' minority of Alfie Evans' supporters threatened to 'burn down' Alder Hey and wished harm on doctors as it was revealed police are ready to arrest the trolls. For more information on the Charlie Gard Foundation click HERE Artus Kozlovski, pictured, was jailed for five years today after he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl while high on the zombie drug Spice A sex attacker was branded 'every parent's nightmare' by one of Britain's top judges today as he was jailed for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl while high on the zombie drug Spice. Artus Kozlovski, 23, dragged the youngster into bushes after ambushing her on a canal path in Manchester when she was walking home from visiting friends. During the sickening attack, Kozlovski placed his hand over the youngster's mouth and left her fighting for breath before pulling down her leggings and molesting her. She only escaped when he halted the sexual assault to light a cigarette. The girl ran for life out of the bushes and collapsed weeping in the arms of a woman walking her dog. She was said to be hyperventilating and barely able to speak saying only: 'Don't let him get me.' Police arrested Kozlovski following a manhunt in which CCTV of him attempting to chase the girl and then prowling around a corner shop near his home in Openshaw, Manchester, was issued as part of a public appeal. A neighbour recognised him from his distinctive hooded top with a rose emblem. The attacker initially denied wrongdoing but later told officers: 'I am so sorry for what I have done. The last few days I have been lost. I have been on spice.' Police stepped up patrols in the area after the incident. At Manchester Crown Court, Kozlovski, a former Iceland shop worker who arrived in the UK from Latvia in 2011, was jailed for five years after he admitted sexual assault. Police arrested Kozlovski following a manhunt in which CCTV of him (pictured) attempting to chase the girl and then prowling around a corner shop near his home in Openshaw, Manchester, was issued as part of a public appeal A second charge of false imprisonment with intent to commit a sexual offence was dropped at an earlier hearing. The judge Mr Justice William Davies ordered Kozlovski to remain in licence until 2026 after he is freed from jail and said he had to sentence him on the basis he would stay in the UK. The judge said: 'This was a 10-year-old girl on her way home and you approached her affected by drugs and she ran because quite rightly she was concerned. You didn't let her get away and chased after her and grabbed her and pulled her into some bushes. You pulled down her clothing and touched her. 'This is the nightmare of every parent and you bought that nightmare to the parents of this girl who as a result suffered badly. I have no doubt she will continue to suffer badly. 'At the time you had a stable background, a family and a job and there is nothing in your life which should have caused you to go off the rails except drugs. But you did behave in this way - and it was a grave way towards a young girl. 'There must be a significant risk of you doing this to another small girl and I must sentence you on the basis that you will remain in this country.' The incident occurred at 2pm on February 10 when the girl was walking home along a canal path and noticed Kozlovski walking towards her. Prosecuting, Andrew Ford said: 'He stopped and asked her where she was going. Sensing danger, she began to run away but the defendant gave chase and with one hand over her mouth he dragged her into some bushes. 'The complainant struggled but the defendant was stronger and there was a smell that made her think the defendant had been taking drugs. The defendant pushed her to the ground, pulled down her leggings and touched her sexually. 'At this point the complainant saw her friend and shouted for help but was prevented from doing so by the defendant who had his hand over her mouth an she found it hard to breathe. She only escaped when he halted the sexual assault to light a cigarette in the middle of the attack 'He stopped and said: "Wait there while I pull a smoke out." This provided her with her chance to escape and she ran through the bushes running for her life. She came across a woman who was walking her dog. 'She was crying and hyperventilating and almost couldn't speak but the woman heard the complainant say: "Don't let him get me." 'She took the complainant home and police were contacted immediately. In the early part of the investigation the police released CCTV images they received calls from members of the public who recognised the man. 'At the police station he denied everything saying he chased the complainant because he thought she had stolen something. He later claimed she had asked for help because she was lost and accepted he was under the influence of spice. 'It is clear that this was the most distressing event for the girl to experience and there is some psychological symptoms as a result of what happened.' In mitigation defence counsel Miss Rachel Shenton said: 'The defendant accepts the seriousness and the damage caused to the complainant. He has expressed his remorse and regret for his conduct. He simply cannot bear to contact his two sisters who live in the UK. 'He expressed the view that he cannot believe he acted in this way. He has limited or no recollection that he acted in this way and it is totally out of character. 'He came to this country when he was 16 and began working in Bradford and at the time of the offence was working in a factory for Iceland. He was already using spice which became an addiction. 'He is a very hard working young man who behaved in a totally out of character way.' Kozlovski was also made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. After the case Det Insp Claire McGuire of Greater Manchester Police said: 'Every person that heard about this appalling case was genuinely shocked, struggling to comprehend that such a young girl could be so horrifically attacked by a stranger in their community. 'However it is the people in this community I'd like to thank, both for their support of this young girl and her family, and for helping us to identify Kozlovskis, so that we could take him off the streets so quickly. 'I wish this hadn't happened and we did not have to discuss his depraved actions that Saturday afternoon, but I hope this awful case will send a clear message that we are prepared to work relentlessly to bring sexual predators like Kozlovskis to justice. 'While we cannot undo the damage of his sickening behaviour, I hope this young girl and her family have some comfort knowing he will now spend the next five years behind bars.' A man who set up a hidden camera in a bid to film people using the toilet ended up appearing on camera himself after checking to see if he had fitted it correctly. Footage clearly shows a man police identified as Kenneth Haluska, 59, 'installing the device inside the mobile restroom' on a construction site near Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The voyeur could be seen wearing a white construction helmet and a green safety vest as he installed the tiny hidden camera behind a toilet roll holder. Ken Haluska is seen here. He had worked for the construction company for 22 years A Pennsylvania man is facing charges after being accused of setting up a hidden camera in a public restroom at a construction site Kenneth Haluska, 59, can allegedly be seen on camera bending down to check its position The camera had been fitted to a Porta-Potty and placed where he hoped it would not to be detected Police say that the camera ended up recording several unsuspecting victims relieving themselves before a worker discovered the hidden device and turned it over to the supervisor on the job site. It was when investigators reviewed the footage that they saw Haluska clearly identifiable on the tape. In the video, police said you can see Haluska adjusting the camera behind a toilet paper roll. Johnstown police said it happened on April 12. 'We can see this individual actually placing the camera in the Porta-Potty,' Police Detective Brad Christ told WJAC. The camera managed to capture at least three people using the restroom 'The victims that were found in this case, except for last gentleman that located it, there's no way they could have known it was in there,' said Christ. 'The fact this gentleman placed a recording device in a facility that dozens of people use throughout the day is a very disturbing incident,' he continued. 'The location of it wasn't very obvious. You'd really have to lean forward to observe it. It would be easily missed in my opinion if you weren't learning over to look for it.' The same day the camera was found a worker who does not want to be named, pictured, said conversation started around the job site about who could have planted it Haluska's distinctive bright green vest and white helmet can be seen on camera Haluska, an engineering inspector, had been at the Johnstown construction site on the day that the camera was found, according to a criminal complaint. After the camera was found conversation began on the site as to who could have planted it. The worker said Haluska made a point to say, 'I thought I heard a click when I was in there and looked down. You may see my face on there.' A detective has since identified three victims who were recorded inside the Porta-Potty and informed them of the surveillance. 'I've been a police officer for 14 years and this is a first for me. I've never seen anything like this. Even if it is a joke, who or why would someone do something so heinous? To me it's very disturbing,' said Detective Christ. Haluska had worked for Keller Engineering for about 22 years. He is now on administrative leave without pay. and has been charged with nine misdemeanor counts in connection with the surreptitious filming. A school principal has spoken out about how constant phone use is impacting children's development. In a letter published in the school newsletter, west Sydney's Glendenning Public School Principal Doug Meaney said students starting kindergarten have 'poor speaking skills' as a result of parents choosing to spend more time with technology than their children. Mr Meaney cited examples of how he has seen the relationship between parent and child change due to smart phones and tablets, according to the Daily Telegraph. The impacts of constant phone use has been well documented but now a school principal has spoken out about how it is impacting children when they start school (stock image) Mr Meaney said he recently saw a mother walking her child in a pram that had a tablet holder for the child to. '(They would talk) about the houses, the trees, the birds, the cars, the animals they would see. They would talk about colours of things and say whether they were fast, slow, big, heavy,' he said. He continued the letter by encouraging parents to take more time to speak with their children or even setting aside some 'talking time'. The calls from Mr Meaney were supported by parenting experts who have been desperately calling for parents to 'put down their phones'. Mr Meaney wrote a letter to parents through the school newsletter and cited examples of how he has seen the relationship between parent and child change due to smart phones and tablets University of Sydney speech pathology senior lecturer Elise Baker said you never had to look far in public to see the lack of communication between child and parent. 'I see in cafes a child in a stroller with an iPad or given the parent's phone, so (the parent) can carry on having their own conversation or check their social media, and the child is shut out of the opportunity for conversation,' she said. She said vocabularies were built upon conversations children have and parents were often the closest and most constant source of those conversations. Dr Justin Coulson is another leading expert in the field and said children were desperately crying out for their parents attention in the age of the smart phone. Glendenning Public School principal Doug Meaney said that students starting out kindergarten with 'poor speaking skills' as a result of parents who choose to listen to music or speak on their phones 'Research is coming to light where we're discovering it is not just the kids who are having a problem with screen time, one of the most recorded wishes of children is that their parents would put down the phone,' she said. The Courier Mail reported in February of this year that the Senate will push for a smartphone ban in schools to help curve cyber bullying which is another negative impact of kids and smart phone use. Nick Xenophon Team senator Rex Patrick first put forward the motion stating clearer guidelines in schools were needed. 'There are good reasons for them to have them (smart phones), including for both safety and logistics, but clear guidelines should be established for the use of smartphones in the classroom,' he said. Dr Justin Coulson is another leading expert in the field and said children were desperately crying out for their parents attention in the age of the smart phone 'We've recently heard from experts warning that smartphones are diluting students' focus in the classroom and curbing students' social skills.' NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian threw her support behind the motion and said she believed smart phones didn't have a place in the classroom. 'That would be akin to us, in the good old days, having a cassette recorder or something else sitting on the table and I think the classroom is for learning,' she said. In another report from news.com.au, it was discovered new students starting school are more likely to be able to use a smart phone than tie their own shoelaces as parents struggle to teach their kids basic life skills. An international survey of 2200 mothers in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe had shown that children's basic motor skills, tying shoelaces, or riding a bicycle were being 'superseded by tech savvy'. According to the study from internet security company AVG 19 per cent of children who were aged two to five were proficient in the use of smart phone compared to the 9 per cent who could tie their shoelaces. A 26-year-old Kansas man has been charged with the shooting murder of his girlfriend and their unborn son. Ashley Harlan, 23, moved to her grandfather's house in Olathe from Manhattan in Kansas City just weeks earlier to be closer to her boyfriend Devonte Wash. She was 20 weeks pregnant and about to learn the gender of their unborn child when Wash allegedly shot her, The Kansas City Star reported. Wash has been charged with capital murder and is being held at Johnson County Jail. If convicted, he will face the death penalty. Scroll down for video Devonte Dominique Wash, 26, has been charged with capital murder over the shooting death of his girlfriend Ashley Harlan, 23, and their unborn son Ms Harlan was 20 weeks pregnant when she was allegedly killed by Wash on January 30 Just one month after Ms Harlan was murdered, Wash was seen standing with her family as they begged for answers on a local tv network Wash kept his head bowed and did not say anything to the cameras as Ms Harlan's family asked for justice - not just for Ms Harlan and her unborn child, but for Wash too Ms Harlan's body was found in her grandfather's home on January 30, and her death was ruled a homicide just one day later. Wash was the one to call 911, telling authorities his girlfriend had been hurt, Fox 4KC reported. A month after her murder, Wash was seen with Ms Harlan's family on a KMBC local news broadcast as they begged for answers. Wash did not speak to media, and stood in the back of the group with his head bowed. Video shows him licking his lips and shifting on his feet while the family asks for justice - not just for them, Ms Harlan and her unborn son - but for Wash too. In the lead up to her murder, Ms Harlan had been acting different, and friend Kait Beeton told the Star she believed it was due to her relationship with Wash, who she described as 'controlling'. The Kansas woman had moved to Olathe just weeks earlier to be closer to Wash in the hope of forming a happy family for her child to grow up in 'She's a natural leader, so I knew something was up just in the way she changed before everything happened.' Wash reportedly has other children to two other mothers, and had a reputation for angrily airing his grievances with other women on social media. While he appeared to be a loving and devoted father on Facebook, Wash's other posts and controlling behaviour towards Ms Harlan painted a different picture. Ms Harlan, who grew up in foster care and had previously overcome drug addiction, was focused on creating a happy environment to raise her own child in. 'She believed in giving this baby a happy family and that's what she was trying to do,' Ms Beeton told the Star. Ms Harlan's body was found in her grandfather's home on January 30, and her death was ruled a homicide just one day later Wash's bond has been set at $5million and he will make his first appearance in court on Friday Wash's bond has been set at $5million, and he will appear in court on Friday at 1.30pm. Neighbors who were home at the time of Ms Harlan's murder say they are relieved police have made an arrest in relation to the murder. Neighbor Katie Campbell told KCTV5 she was frightened by the idea the gunman was just able to walk away from the scene. 'It was a little scary. I feel a lot better about it [now Wash has been arrested],' she said. 'It's a terrible situation, but to know that person is no longer on the loose and can't hurt anybody, it's a good feeling.' The Olathe Police Department are asking anyone with more information about the shooting to contact the TIPS hotline on 816-474-8477. A teenage Muslim boy born with a one-and-a-half foot long 'tail' is revered by Hindus in an Indian village who see him as an incarnation of the monkey god Lord Hanuman. Sohail Shah, 13, was born in a small village near Madhya Pradesh, central India with a patch of thick hair on his lower back that has grown long and matted together into a tail. His strange growth has earned him the name of Bajrangi Bhaijan- or the God brother by the villagers. Sohail Shah, 13 (pictured), is treated like a god by Hindu neighbours in his village, because of his 1.5 feet tail He is so popular that people from far off villages flock to him every other day to be blessed. They bring a bag full of fruits such as bananas and mangoes for Sohail in exchange for the blessings. The schoolboy is also revered at school, particularly by teachers who never scold him in fear of upsetting the God. The boy was born with a growth of hair on his back which has now grown in length and matted into a tail It is unclear why the boy has developed the growth, but it is likely a result of a neural tube deformity. During the first month of life, an embryo grows a structure called the neural tube that will eventually form the spine and nervous system. Sohail could have been born with a tail due to a neural tube defect known as spina bifida, where the spine doesn't develop properly. Sohail himself says he enjoys the love and attention he gets because of his tail and never wants to of cut it off. The strange growth has earned him the name of Bajrangi Bhaijan- or the God brother by the villagers The teen said: 'I am not at all embarrassed because of my tail. I was born with this and it is very much part of my life now. 'I have seen people treating me like God since my birth so it is not new for me. 'They call me Hanuman and touch my feet for blessings. 'If I am walking on road, they come to me and join their hands asking for blessings. Some give me bananas and mangoes-my favourite fruits. 'I am treated specially by everyone in the village be it Muslims or Hindus and I feel fantastic about it. They refer to him as Lord Hanuman, which is a monkey-deity and flock to see him at his home His parents and grandfather are adamant that the tail has been a source of luck to the family and do not intend on removing it 'I do not face any physical problems because of the tail and so I don't intend to get rid of it ever. 'I do feel I am special and that I am blessed by Lord Hanuman because I get so much love by the people.' Sohail's family also believe that he is truly God's gift and say they have only experienced love, peace and prosperity since he was born. His grandfather Ashiq Shah, 60, said: 'We have been blessed with peace and prosperity since his birth. He has brought good luck to all of us. 'He is a wonderful boy and is very peaceful and intelligent and caring. He treats everyone with love and respect.' Since Sohail is a Muslim, his grandfather said there were hermits who wanted to adopt him. The teenage boy is revered at school, particularly by teachers who never scold him in fear of upsetting the God They requested that the family hand over Sohail but were refused. 'They feared we will marry him off but we refused to give him up, instead we have raised him with lots of love and care.' According to mythology, Lord Hanuman was the ultimate bachelor and life-long celibate who devoted his life to his lord Rama. Grandfather Mr Shah said: 'We have accepted Sohail with his tail and we believe that he is a special child. Sohail is so popular that people from far off villages flock to him every other day to see his tail and to be blessed 'Even though we are Muslims, we respect the feelings of our Hindu brethren in the village who see him as Hanuman. 'He has brought harmony in the village. 'If someone bumps into him in the morning, they say their day is going to be good as they have seen the god's face. 'They all call him Hanuman and brings food for him. We never object to that.. In fact, we also call him hanuman at times.' His parents, father Sadiq Shah, 32, a daily wage labour and mother Nazma, 30, also believe that Sohail's tail is God's gift and removing it will bring bad omens. They bring a bag full of fruits such as bananas and mangoes, which are Sohail's favourites, in exchange for the blessings His mother said: 'I was shocked to see the patch of hair in his back. But soon people in the village started saying he was incarnation of the Hindu god. We too started believing he is special. 'We are poor but all our worries and sorrows have vanished since his birth. There is always happiness and peace in the family. 'We never wish to get his tail removed because he was born like this.' A stalker tried to 'destroy' a care worker by making false gang rape allegations because she had been left out of a trip to the zoo, a court heard. Emily-Jane Bridges, 37, harassed Sandra Killion for ten months after she receiving a suspended sentence and restraining order for stalking. She was incensed because there was not space on a trip to the London Zoo with the Havering Learning Disability Society, which Bridges had attended since 2005. Bridges blamed Mrs Killion, who is chair of the society based in Romford, east London. Between February 20 and April 21, Bridges made a series of historic rape allegations against her to police, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. She claimed that Mrs Killion, her husband, step-son and four other men raped her 'twice a day, seven days a week, for 18 years'. Emily-Jane Bridges, pictured, harassed Sandra Killion for ten months after because there was not space on a trip to the London Zoo with the Havering Learning Disability Society, which Bridges had attended since 2005 But she changed her story multiple times during the police interview and the charges were eventually dropped. Mrs Killion broke down when she was interviewed under caution by police. The victim had to work with Romfords MP, Andrew Rosindell, to clear her name completely. She could have lost her job because she works with vulnerable adults and such a charge would cause her to fail safety checks. Bridges also wrote on the Romford Recorder Facebook page on July 27 accusing Mrs Killion of locking a naked child in a closet at the club. She sent over 200 texts after receiving the restraining order including one saying: If you go near the building you will regret this for the rest of your life. Bridges took out multiple insurance policies with Sun Life in Mrs Killions name and asked a local locksmiths to change the locks on the societys doors. She also put a sign on the door claiming the club had shut down forcing Mrs Killion into reassuring many members it was not true. The court heard how she made disparaging comments about her and the club at several businesses and cafes around Romford. Mrs Killion said: 'She was trying to destroy me. It shocked me that someone would go to such lengths to get at me' Mrs Killion had to install security cameras had her home and the club at a cost of more than 3,000. She said: 'She was trying to destroy me. It shocked me that someone would go to such lengths to get at me. 'I feel like Im living in a Stephen King horror movie. Her ultimate aim is to get rid of me.' The court heard how Bridges showed no remorse for her actions and continued to blame Mrs Killion. Judge David Bridge noted Bridges learning difficulties but said the way she circumvented her restraining order showed she knew what she was doing. He said: 'This was nothing less than a campaign to afflict and harm Mrs Killion. Crimes of this kind cause serious harm. 'You intended to cause fear and distress to Mrs Killion. You have almost no understanding of the effect you have had on her. 'There was a degree of intelligence and cunning in the way you got around your restraining order. 'You were motivated by revenge and your course of conduct has been malicious.' Bridges, of Mawney Road, Romford, Essex, admitted three counts of breaching a restraining order but denied another three counts and stalking. She was convicted of stalking and breaching a restraining order by a jury at Snaresbrook crown court last month. Bridges sobbed uncontrollably as she was sentenced to 32 months in prison. A pair of drunken vandals who caused 28,000 damage to antique railway carriages used in the Downton Abbey TV drama have been told they 'should be ashamed of themselves'. Benjamin Terry, 19, and Mollie Dawson, 18, were part of a group of eight teenagers who entered the seven 1930s 'Gresly' teak carriages at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in Pickering on July 22 last year. The vandals caused a significant amount of damage to the antique trains made famous on TV The damage caused by the group, discovered by a cleaner the next day, included smashed windows, wrecked furniture and fixings, and stolen food and drink. The trains were featured in Downton Abbey Chris Price, general manager at the NYMR, estimated the cost of the criminal damage at 27, 656. Terry had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of theft of food and drink to the value of 247 and of causing criminal damage to property. Appearing at Scarborough Magistrates' Court, however, he changed his plea to guilty for the theft. The other charge was dismissed. Dawson pleaded guilty to both charges at a hearing in March. Mitigating for Terry, Liam Hassan said: 'There is nothing sinister at work here. What you're dealing with is a group of young people who were fueled by drink and youthful stupidity.' For Dawson, Robert Vining said his client had been 17 on the night in question, and that although she admitted breaking a lightbulb, she 'wasn't the instigator' of the damage. He said she'd been intoxicated and believed the carriage was abandoned. The inside of the trains were left in a horrendous state after the vandals smashed them up Sentencing the pair, magistrate Duncan Webster said: 'This course of offending has caused local community outrage. 'It was no doubt stupid - youthful or otherwise. It was wanton. 'The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a charity which brings considerable benefits to the local community.' He added: 'You were in drink and there was a gang of you. It's people like you who give young people a bad reputation and quite frankly you should be ashamed of yourselves.' Both were given a 12-month conditional discharge, but Terry, of Jute Road in York, was ordered to pay 30.88 to the NYMR for the theft, as well as 85 costs and a 20 surcharge. Dawson, of Keld Head Orchard, Kirkbymoorside, had to pay 30.88 for the theft, costs of 85, a 20 surcharge and a compensation order of 500 for the criminal damage. Shards of glass covered the floor of the train carriages which appeared on Downton Abbey The six other defendants were dealt with in the youth court. They all received referral orders and had to pay costs and compensation. Chris Price, NYMR's General Manager said, 'We were absolutely devastated to discover that the carriages had been damaged. The set was found with the windows smashed and the furniture and fixings completely ruined.' On the day in question, the charity had the launched a '60s Fest' event which was taking place over the weekend. The railway welcomed thousands of passengers, who enjoyed live music, just meters away from where the carriages were vandalised. As well as appearing in Downton Abbey, the carriages were also used in the recent Dad's Army film. This is the heartwarming moment a police officer makes his last call on his radio after retiring from the force following 36 years of service. Ed Rankin, of the Hudson Police Department in Wisconsin, posted the emotional footage on Facebook. The clip started with Mr Rankin opening his closing speech to his dispatch family with: 'From now on I'll be on the driving range not the firing range...and the only chases will be beer chasers. This is the heartwarming moment a police officer makes his last call on his radio after retiring from the force Ed Rankin, of the Hudson Police Department, in Wisconsin, posted the emotional footage on Facebook 'It's been an honour and privilege to serve this community over the last 36 years. Now, if you'll excuse me I've got a noon tea time to get to. 10-42, end of watch, I'm out.' A message soon comes across the radio from a colleague who says: 'Thank you sir for all of your years of service. And thank you for protecting the city of Hudson. Congratulations.' After hearing the reply Mr Rankin starts to tear up and says: I said I wasn't going to do that. I didn't think it was going to hit me.' Posting the touching video online, Mr Rankin wrote: 'So I woke up this morning, same time as usual. Time to go to work, time to make the donuts. Or is it eat the donuts? Mr Rankin had worked for the department for 36 years but has now retired following his long career The clip started with Mr Rankin opening his closing speech to his dispatch family with: 'From now on I'll be on the driving range not the firing range......and the only chases will be beer chasers' Posting the touching video online, Mr Rankin (pictured) wrote: 'So I woke up this morning, same time as usual. Time to go to work, time to make the donuts. Or is it eat the donuts?' 'Only thing is, I don't work anymore. What I've done, who I've been for the last 36 years, ended yesterday. 'And I honestly did not think I would get emotional. This is what I chose, what I wanted, leaving on my own terms, still happy, healthy and mostly not crazy. 'All morning the emotions built and the butterflies never faded. Then it was time to check out, go 10-42. I knew what I wanted to say, I'd practised it in my head all week. 'Then started to say it and choked on the words. Made it through, then LecyAnn signed me off...and it hit me. I'm glad Pete turned it off when he did, a blubbering cop is not cool. He continued: 'I really enjoyed being a cop, the reasons I became one are not clear anymore, but the reasons I stayed and lasted this long became clearer over time. I loved helping people, trying in some small way to make someone's day, if not their life, better.' Social media users were quick to congratulate the officer on his retirement and his speech with one writing: 'Congrats Ed! Thank you for all you have done for Hudson!' Another said: 'Dang Ed, you have me crying over here!! Thank you for your service but also congratulations on retirement!' Comedian Rob Schneider believes that 'Saturday Night Live' is beginning to beat a dead horse with their sketch jabs at the Trump administration. The 54-year-old who got his big break with NBC's comedy series in the 1990s, feels the show has gotten its point across when it comes to its disdain for Trump. 'The fun of 'Saturday Night Live' was always you never knew which way they leaned politically,' he told the New York Daily News. 'You kind of assumed they would lean more left and liberal, but now the cat's out of the bag they are completely against Trump, which I think makes it less interesting because you know the direction the piece is going.' Scroll down for video The 54-year-old who got his big break with NBC's comedy series in the 1990s, feels the show has gotten its point across when it comes to its disdain for Trump The comedian was a part of 'SNL' during a time when greats like Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Phil Hartman, Tim Meadows, David Spade and Adam Sandler were also cast members. Schneider's latest project on Netflix 'Real Bob' explores how different Alec Baldwin's approach to Trump is from Dana Carvey's portrayal of George H. W. Bush. Carvey played the former president more than 30 times between 1987 and 2000. 'You kind of assumed they would lean more left and liberal, but now the cat's out of the bag they are completely against Trump,' Rob Schneider said about the show The comedian (center) was a part of 'SNL' during a time when greats like Dana Carvey (top center), Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Kevin Nealon (left), Chris Rock, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz (right) Tim Meadows, David Spade and Adam Sandler were also cast members 'Carvey played it respectfully,' Schneider added. 'To me, the genius of Dana Carvey was Dana always had empathy for the people he played, and Alec Baldwin has nothing but a fuming, seething anger toward the person he plays.' The San Francisco native added that Baldwin is 'hard to watch' as Trump because he clearly isn't a fan of the president. 'Alec Baldwin is a brilliant actor he's not a comedian,' he asserted. 'I don't find his impression to be comical because, like I said, I know the way his politics lean and it spoils any surprise. There's no possible surprise. He so clearly hates the man he's playing.' Schneider's project on Netflix 'Real Bob' explores how different Alec Baldwin's approach to Trump is from Dana Carvey's portrayal of George H. W. Bush (pictured) The actor said: 'I don't find his (Baldwin) impression to be comical because, like I said, I know the way his politics lean and it spoils any surprise. There's no possible surprise. He so clearly hates the man he's playing.' Schneider has recently identified as an Independent, having long been a Democrat, and speaks on the tense political climate during his shows. He finds humor in the 'hypocrisy' in liberals but feels the 'PC' culture of today is making that more difficult. 'Literally if you don't go the party line you're out. There's a real ugliness to it,' said Schneider. Schneider has recently identified as an Independent, having long been a Democrat, and speaks on the tense political climate during his shows The actor has had his own slew of controversial roles, including playing a stereotypical Asian priest in 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry', a Middle Eastern delivery man in 'Big Daddy', a Latino man in 'The Waterboy', and a Native Hawaiian in '50 First Dates'. Schneider - whose grandmother was Filipina and married a white Army private - called himself a centrist but would not share if he supported Trump. 'Nothing good can come from making Trump nervous,' Schneider stated about bashing the President. 'It's like asking Bill Cosby to top off your drink.' The two have a pre-existing relationship, costarring together in 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.' At the time, Schneider didn't inform 'SNL' that he was doing the movie, going to film during the day before filming for the show at night. 'I didn't sleep for two weeks,' Schneider detailed. 'Alec Baldwin is a brilliant actor he's not a comedian,' Schneider asserted '[Trump] was nice enough to give me a room. He gave me a room for free, so I could sleep between shots. 'He was very generous and nice and has been nice every time I saw him. He told me hated me, but he was kind of joking because I made fun of him.' One of the actor's issues with Trump stems on immigration. Schneider is married to a woman from Mexico City and they have a bilingual daughter. He tweeted Trump in 2015 to share that his daughter only had a 'problem' that she could speak both Spanish and English before she was three. 'I make fun of the Republicans too,' he added. 'I think attacking immigrants is ignorant. Immigrants are what make America great.' Politics will be a huge talking point at this yuear's Emmy Awards with 'Weekend Update' hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost hosting the NBC show. 'SNL' creator Lorne Michaelss will be producing the show. A former childcare worker who shook her infant son to death because she was frustrated will serve her sentence on home detention. Jennifer Nicole Kennison, 31, was sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and eight months. Supreme Court Justice David Lovell ordered she serve the sentence on home detention, PerthNow reported. Jennifer Kennison (pictured) should not be allowed to serve her jail sentence for fatally shaking her baby boy to death on home detention, a court heard Thursday 'You were Enzo's mother he was entitled to rely on you, above all others, for care and protection,' She said druing the sentencing. The court heard that Kennsion had been frustrated because baby Enzo, who was born prematurely and had only developed to the equivalent of a three-wee-old, was crying and would not settle. It is unclear exactly what happened in the moments before Enzo's death. The baby had fatal head injuries and broken ribs but Kennison refused to explain what exactly took place. She had pleading guilty to one count of manslaughter over the 2016 death of the three-month-old boy. Justice Lovell said the difficulty in Kennisons case was that she had not confessed to how he got such severe injuries yet buy all counts seemed like a loving mother. 'For reasons unclear, I find on this occasion, you lost control of yourself no doubt because of the fact he was crying and not settling. Prosecutor Emma Wildman told the court that the circumstances of Kennison's (pictured) offending were simply too serious for her to be allowed home detention The court was told that Kennison 'showed no remorse' over shaking of her child at their Adelaide home left him with a brain injury and 16 broken ribs (Kennison's home pictured) 'You shook him violently, so violently that he died from the head injury that resulted from that shaking.' He said that Kennison was remorseful for what she had done. The court had previously been told that she had not come to terms with what she had done. Prosecutor Emma Wildman had told the court that the circumstances of the offending were simply too serious for home detention. But Justice Loveell said there would be no risk to other children should she be placed on home detention. New laws targeting cosmetic surgeons are set to be introduced following the death of Sydney woman Jean Huang. Ms Huang, 35, died of a heart attack following a botched boob job at Medi Beauty Clinic in Chippendale last year. One of the recommendations proposed targets medical practitioners who carry out services and treatments in unlicensed private health facilities, The Daily Telegraph reported. Scroll down for video New laws targetting cosmetic surgeons are set to be introduced following the death of Sydney woman Jean Huang (pictured) Ms Huang, 35, died of a heart attack following a botched boob job at The Medi Beauty Clinic in Chippendale (Clinic pictured) Ms Huang taken away in an ambulance after suffering a heart attack from her surgery (pictured) There is also a recommendation from NSW Health to state and federal health ministers to protect the term 'cosmetic surgeon', following the dodgy procedures by 'doctors'. The report says the term 'cosmetic surgeon' misleads patients into thinking the surgeon has specific qualifications which could enable them to perform the surgery. Another recommendation calls for tighter regulation of drugs commonly used in the procedures. Merrilyn Walton, former NSW Health Care Complaints Commissioner, warns the world of dodgy cosmetic procedures is one that is flourishing. 'It's like it's a subculture of illegal activity around Botox and invasive procedures,' Ms Walton told SBS Viceland. The illegal activities is like the dark web... it's impenetrable. People are being harmed, there are people who have died.' After Ms Huang's death, NSW Police conducted raids on 10 dodgy 'clinics' across Sydney, seizing illegal botox and other drugs. However, no charges were laid and the clinics are still operating to this day, injecting customers with potentially lethal cocktails of drugs. Australia is home to a seedy underworld of illegal plastic surgery, led by unqualified 'cosmetic surgeons' who perform the procedures in flats and hotel rooms (Stock image) The Chinese tourist allegedly responsible for the botched procedure, Jie Shao (pictured), 33, is facing 20 years' jail after being charged with manslaughter The Chinese tourist allegedly responsible for the botched procedure, Jie Shao, 33, is behind bars and facing 20 years' jail after being charged with manslaughter. Shao, who has no licence to practice medicine in Australia, met Ms Huang through a mutual friend. In September last year, the NSW government issued a public warning against seeking cosmetic procedures from unlicensed clinics. 'The Commission has serious concerns that persons are carrying out medical-related procedures to 'improve' aesthetic appearance whilst not appropriately registered as a medical practitioners,' it said in a statement. Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant warns that no cosmetic surgery is risk free and everyone should do their research before committing to a cosmetic surgery. Home Secretary Amber Rudd has tonight resisted calls to quit saying she is 'sorry' for not being unaware of documents which set out immigration removal targets. Ms Rudd said she had not seen a leaked internal memo referring to the targets - even though she had been copied in. However she acknowledged that the disclosure had raised 'legitimate questions' and said she would be making a statement to MPs on Monday. Her statement, in a series of tweets, followed accusations that she had misled Parliament after she told the Commons on Thursday that she had never agreed to specific targets for removals. She wrote on Twitter: 'I will be making a statement in the House of Commons on Monday in response to legitimate questions that have arisen on targets and illegal migration. 'I wasn't aware of specific removal targets. I accept I should have been and I'm sorry that I wasn't. I didn't see the leaked document, although it was copied to my office as many documents are. Amber Rudd (pictured in parliament earlier this week) said she was not aware of any targets being used at the Home Office when she was grilled by MPs - but the latest memo leak appears undermine the claim She added: 'As Home Secretary I will work to ensure that our immigration policy is fair and humane.' The response comes after an explosive memo has emerged which suggested Amber Rudd was told about illegal immigrant removal targets, despite telling MPs otherwise. The leaked memo was sent to the Home Secretary and Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis said officials had set a 'a target of achieving 12,800 enforced returns in 2017-18'. It also boasts that 'we have exceeded our target of assisted returns' and that progress had been made on achieving the 10 per cent increase in deportations they had promised Ms Rudd. It adds that progress has been made on a 'path towards the 10 per cent increase' in the numbers deported as promised to Ms Rudd. The memo, leaked to The Guardian, appeared to contradict evidence she gave to the Home Affairs select committee just three days ago when she said she was not aware of any targets. Grilled by MPs on reports that there were targets, she told the committee 'we don't have targets for removals', adding 'that's not how we operate'. What is the Windrush scandal and how did the fiasco develop? June 22, 1948 - The Empire Windrush passenger ship docked at Tilbury from Jamaica. The 492 passengers were temporarily housed near Brixton in London. Over the following decades some 500,000 came to the UK. Many arrived on their parents' passports and were not formally naturalised as British citizens. 1973 - A new immigration Act comes into force putting the onus on individuals to prove they have previously been resident in the UK. 2010 - The Home Office destroyed thousands of landing card slips recording Windrush immigrants arrival dates in the UK. The move came despite staff warnings that the move would make it harder to check the records of older Caribbean-born residents experiencing residency difficulties, it was claimed 2014 - A protection that exempted Commonwealth residents from enforced removal was removed under a new law. Theresa May was Home Secretary at the time. Under a crackdown on illegals, Windrush immigrants are obliged to provide proof they were resident in the UK before 1973. July 2016 - Mrs May becomes Prime Minister. April 2018 - Allegations that Windrush immigrants are being threatened with deportation break. Theresa May issued a grovelling apology to Caribbean leaders after major backlash April 29 - Amber Rudd resigns after inadvertently misleading Parliament by wrongly claiming there were no deportation targets Advertisement A Home Office source told the newspaper: 'We were gobsmacked by what she said, and that she stuck to her guns. 'It is inconceivable that Amber Rudd did not know about the targets.' Ms Rudd is battling to cling on to her job after a torrid couple of weeks following the Windrush scandal. The fiasco saw immigrants who arrived from the Caribbean and have lived in the UK for decades threatened with deportation. They told how they lost their jobs, homes, were denied health care and stopped from going to their relatives' funerals and weddings because they did not have proper paperwork. Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said she should resign and the SNP have joined in the calls for her to go. Ms Rudd has insisted that she is determined to reform the Home Office - distancing herself from Theresa May's policy to create a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants. And while she has refused to say if she has considered quitting over the scandal, she insists that she is the right person to reform the department. But the six page memo, which was prepared by Hugh Ind, the director general of the Home Office's Immigration Enforcement agency, deals her account another blow. And it has renewed calls for her to be sacked over the fiasco. Ms Abbott said: 'Amber Rudd either failed to read this memo, and has no clear understanding of the policies in her own department, or she has misled Parliament and the British people. 'Either way, she needs to accept responsibility and resign immediately.' Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott (pictured in the Commons yesterday) said Ms Rudd should quit as Home Secretary over the fiasco But Lord Blunkett, a former Labour minster, has said Labour should back Ms Rudd to stay because she is one of the Cabinet's leading anti-Brexiteers. He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme 'imbalancing' the Brexit balance in the Cabinet 'would not be in the best interests of the country'. 'I think she needs to get her act together,' he added. 'On a purely party political old-style jungle fight, if I thought this would actually change the Government then I might consider it, but actually I don't believe it would. 'I think it would be damaging to those of us who want at least some sane voices inside the Cabinet.' Gifts of underwear and socks for New South Wales prisoners are now on the banned list after authorities discovered they were being used to smuggle drugs into jails. Prison officers have intercepted nine packages which contained drugs being smuggled into New South Wales jails. As of Monday morning none of the 36 jails in NSW will allow any gifts of socks or jocks after prison officers found drugs sewn into the lining of designer underwear on its way into the prison, The Daily Telegraph reported. Gifts of underwear and socks for New South Wales prisoners are now on the banned list after authorities discovered they were being used to smuggle drugs into jails so prisoners will be forced to wear 'tighty whities' from now on As a result of the new ban prisoners will now have to wear 'tighty whities' which will be made by other inmates or pre-approved underwear from the prison. Prisons Minister David Elliott said it was all part of a long term and concerted effort by prison authorities to crackdown on the use of prison contraband including drugs. 'Contraband poses a significant threat to the safety and security of correctional centres,' Prisons Minister David Elliott told The Daily Telegraph. 'It is a constant battle staying one step ahead of inmates gaining access to illegal substances and other contraband.' The 'tighty whities' will be made by other prisoners and except for pre-approved underwear and socks they will be their only choice of underwear He said to win the constant battle to keep contraband out of prisons, corrections officers had to stay one step ahead of the prisoners. Prison officials launched Operation Purge last year to crackdown hard on prison contraband, but some still gets through the cracks. Operation Purge meant putting an extra 90 officers along with drug and mobile phone detecting dogs inside prisons across New South Wales. A former Bandidos bikie and a triple killer were both found with mobile phones in recent years, highlighting the difficulties of keeping out contraband at all times. If prisoners do not want to wear prison issued 'tighy whities' they have the option to buy items from the 'buy ups list', which will be added by Monday. A car was spotted parking horizontally at a university car park on the south coast of Sydney The image posted on to the University of Wollongong's Facebook page left students scratching their heads whether the maneuver was legal or not. The impressive park was a described as an intelligent move from the uni student with one person describing the idea as 'sensible parking is it not? It's not taking any more width than another car and it's certainly shorter'. Others revelled in the situation claiming the horizontal park was 'tempting' and commended the driver 'for thinking outside the box'. 'How SMART do you have to be to think of that,' was one witty response to the Facebook post. One Facebook user clarified the road rules and said 'Technically no, youre supposed to park in direction of travel. But itd still be a d*** move to enforce'. Despite not being a common sight in Australia, horizontal parking is a legitimate technique for small cars in Europe. The smart car was carefully parked in a narrow space between two grey cars on the side of the road in Keiraville near the Wollongong University campus. Natalie Cormack, 19 (pictured) plunged to her death in Magaluf after trying to climb between balconies A Scottish teenager fell to her death from a seventh floor apartment in Magaluf on Friday while trying to climb from one balcony to another. Bar worker Natalie Cormack, 19, realised she did not have her keys after she returned from work at a nearby bar in the brash resort on the south coast of Majorca. She went to a friend's apartment and tried to climb to the balcony on her flat at the Eden Rock de Torrenova apartment block when she fell. An ambulance crew tried to help but were unable to save her life. Miss Cormack is believed to be from West Kilbride, North Ayrshire in Scotland and travelled to Magaluf with friends last month, after flying out from Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Her stunned mother, Lynn McLaren, shared the tragic news on Facebook and posted the following message: 'I am sorry to do things this way but have to let everyone know that Natalie has fallen from a balcony in Magaluf and has died. At the moment this is all we know.' The post led to an outpouring of shock and grief on social media. Gillian Chisholm wrote: 'I can't believe what I am reading. I don't even want to imagine how you must be feeling Lynn because I am heartbroken for you.' Justine Rant said: 'I'm so so sorry Lynn. My heart is absolutely breaking for you. If there's anything we can do please let me know.' Miss Cormack is thought to be from West Kilbride, North Ayrshire in Scotland and reportedly travelled to Magaluf with friends last month The Scottish teenager (pictured) had returned to her apartment and realised that she had forgotten her keys Her mother Lynn McLaren seemed stunned as she announced her daughter's death on Facebook A Civil Guard officer at the regional headquarters in Palma, the holiday island's capital, said: 'We are still investigating. But it seems she did not have any keys when she arrived at her apartment and went to a friend's flat. 'She was climbing to her own balcony when she fell from the seventh floor. 'We understand that she comes from Scotland and was working in a nearby bar. But we don't have any more details yet.' Chinese social media today is buzzing with reports of a beam of mysterious light over parts of the country. Pictures and footage have emerged on the Chinese social media showing a moving beam of light in the night sky over Beijing. The public wondered what the airborne object could be. Some queried if it could be a UFO while others joked it looked like a massive torch. Chinese residents have shared pictures of the strange light reported to be observed in northern part of the country. The above pictures are seen on a popular Weibo account The phenomenon is said to have been caused by a rocket launch, according to Chinese media reports. A popular social media account, called 'the Beijing things Beijing people don't know', posted a series of pictures to show the strange phenomenon on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The post read: 'Bizarre scene appeared in the sky over Beijing. Have you seen it?' Another popular aviation-themed Weibo account 'hang kong wu yu' claimed that the light could be observed in various northern Chinese cities, including Beijing, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou and Qingdao. In explaining the matter, Beijing Evening News said the unusual light had been caused by the launch of a Beidou satellite. The launch took place today in Taiyuan, which has a major satellite launch centre, said the same newspaper. It's said that the mysterious light was caused by a rocket launch in Taiyuan carrying a Beidou satellite. Pictured, a Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the 28th and 29th Beidou navigation satellites takes off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on February 12, 2018 The series of Beidou satellite is a part of China's homegrown global navigation and positioning network. On completion, Beidou, which means Big Dipper in Chinese, will join GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo as satellite navigation systems with global coverage. India, France and Japan are also developing regional systems. The Chinese aviation authority is yet to release any statement to confirm the reported rocket launch. Last December, residents of Southern California and Arizona in the United States were startled when a similar strange white light appeared in the night sky. It turned out to be caused by a SpaceX rocket launch. A monument honouring Captain James Cook is to be part of a $50million revamp of Botany Bay - despite an existing statue of the explorer being targeted for vandalism by Aboriginal protestors. Treasurer Scott Morrison has confirmed the spend at the historic first meeting place of Europeans and indigenous Australians at Kurnell, south of Sydney. The complex will feature a statue, museum, visitors' centre and wharves, the Daily Telegraph reported. A monument honouring Captain James Cook is to be part of a $50million revamp of Botany Bay An existing statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park saying Australia was 'discovered' was the target of vandalism leading up to Australia Day Graffiti reading 'No pride in genocide' was scrawled on the base of the statue, as well as the words 'change the date' in relation to Australia Day Mr Morrison said he had been keen for a statue of Captain Cook at the site where HMAS Endeavour landed on April 29, 1770. 'I've been attracted to the idea of this aquatic monument for a decade,' he said. 'I just think it will really lift the site, from the landing site where the old monument is to the new one, and the other features which will bring in the indigenous components, I think it will be quite lovely.' Mr Morrison said the arrival of Captain Cook was a 'critical date in Australia's ancient story to its modern history'. An existing statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park saying Australia was 'discovered' was the target of vandalism leading up to Australia Day. There have been calls for the statue to be removed from the park in central Sydney. Graffiti reading 'No pride in genocide' was scrawled on the base of the statue, as well as the words 'change the date' in relation to Australia Day. Mr Morrison said the water around the proposed statue would offer protection from any vandalism Mr Morrison said the statue would be built in time for the 250th anniversary of Cook's arrival in 2020 Mr Morrison said the water around the proposed statue would offer protection from any vandalism. He said the statue would be built in time for the 250th anniversary of Cook's arrival in 2020. At the time of the vandalism of the Cook statue in Hyde Park, Mr Morrison slammed the anonymous culprit. 'That idiot who did this on the weekend, he's not doing anything to help indigenous young Australians. This was just an act of pure ego and vanity; it's disgraceful,' Mr Morrison said. Yea Ping Chan, 42, has been jailed for four years and two months over abuse of three children, including one adopted A couple who subjected three children children to sustained attacks leaving a toddler with 54 injuries from biting, hitting and dragging her by her hair have been jailed. Yea Ping Chan, 42 and Foo Khong Heow, 49, came up with their own form of torture as 'punishments' for the three children when they would bite their fingernails or irritate them. The pair from Lewisham, London, made the children aged six, three and seven squat in a stress position to punish them when they were not being physically assaulted. The six-year-old child was adopted by the pair. When they were finally caught out, the youngest child, three, had 54 'non-accidental injuries'. Chan was sentenced to four years and two months' imprisonment and Heow was order to spend three years and four months behind bars. Chan and Heow pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty to a person aged under 16 years at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday. Chan also pleaded guilty to assault by beating. Police uncovered hours of footage of the children being abused. The girl, three, was beaten and made to sit in stress positions for up to seven hours. Officers were sent to the house by the NSPCC charity after it was alerted to possible assaults on the girl aged three. A complaint said her left arm was twice the size of her right arm and she had bruises around her neck. Horrified officers found the child had extreme bruising to both her cheeks. She was also wearing winter gloves indoors. Chan attempted to tell officers the bruising was from her sucking on the child's face as part of a prayer ritual. She also explained the gloves by saying the child bites her nails. The elder two children were asked when Chan left the room how the little girl had got so many bruises all over her body. At this point they told officers she had been punished for biting her nails. Both Heow and Chan were arrested and the children were taken to A&E to have their injuries assessed. The youngest child had 54 wounds. They were then taken into police protection and subsequently place in foster care. Foo Khong Heow, 49, was sentenced to Police then discovered the house was rigged with CCTV which contained around 170 hours of footage. Horrific assaults were recorded and viewed by the officers who noted the three-year-old was their main victim. The footage showed the youngest child being assaulted on almost a daily basis. Many of the assaults would happen during the night with Chan dragging the three-year-old out of bed by her hair and subjecting her to up to seven hours of abuse which included biting, sucking, pushing, shaking and hitting her with implements repeatedly. Chan is seen to put a cloth or items of clothing into the victim's mouth whilst assaulting her and sitting on top of her body. When the victim was not being assaulted, she was made to stand in stress positions and squat continuously. No medical attention was sought for the victim at any time during this period. Heow was seen to force his feet into the three-year-old's mouth. He also violently hit the three-year-old and six-year-old with a stick. Chan and Heow were charged on 19 December 2017. Investigating officer PC Alice Hammick-Smith, from the Met's Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command, said: 'Both Chan and Heow carried out a despicable campaign of abuse on three young, defenceless children. These children should have been protected from harm by Chan and Heow, instead, they were subjected to extreme violence on almost a daily basis. 'The overwhelming level of evidence we gathered against them led to them having to plead guilty to these heinous crimes. I'm pleased they have received a custodial sentence and I hope it acts as a deterrent to others.' Convicted drug mule Renae Lawrence has shown off her dancing skills while serving time for her role in the 'Bali Nine' heroin smuggling plot - and revealed she could be released as early as next month. Lawrence, 41, performed a traditional Balinese dance while wearing a male costume during the Indonesian Correctional Board anniversary at Bangli Prison. She is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of drug trafficking in 2005. She arrived at Denpasar airport with 2.7kg of heroin concealed on her. Scroll down for video Convicted drug mule Renae Lawrence has shown off her dancing skills while serving time for her role in the 'Bali Nine' heroin smuggling plot Lawrence, 41, performed a traditional Balinese dance while wearing a male costume during the Indonesian Correctional Board anniversary at Bangli Prison Lawrence (far left) was originally sentenced to life behind bars but had her sentence reduced after a successful appeal Lawrence was originally sentenced to life behind bars but had her sentence reduced after a successful appeal. She told the Daily Telegraph that she is eligible for an early release in May due to yearly remissions and sentence reductions. To qualify for a release next month she needs to make a payment of $100,000 - however she said she can't afford to make such a payment. She will therefore serve an additional six months in prison. Lawrence said she began learning Balinese dancing while being held at Kerobokan prison. 'But here, the guards told me to dance. So I have learned again. The prison staff teach us. We also learn from the internet, downloading a video of the dancing and we follow that,' Lawrence said. Lawrence is eligible for an early release in May due to yearly remissions and sentence reductions (pictured during her trial in 2006) She has also been painting abstract art while serving her sentence She has also been painting abstract art while serving her sentence. Her dance performance is part of the vigorous lifestyle she has been leading behind bars. The former panel beater and hospitality worker from Newcastle, who converted to Hinduism, has been making the most of the rehabilitation programs on offer according to friends. Lawrence has been taking up several new hobbies. She has started classes to teach traditional Balinese dance to fellow inmates - and even children, as well as sewing handmade wallets to sell at tourist markets around Ubud. Lawrence was the only member of the 'Bali Nine' not to be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty for her part in the plot Sunday marks three years since the execution of Lawrence's co-accused Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who were shot dead by firing squad in 2015. Bangli Prison governor Diding Alpian praised Lawrence, who is the only westerner being held at the facility. Lawrence was the only member of the 'Bali Nine' not to be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty for her part in the plot. She will be eligible for release from prison in November. Rabar Mala - who boasting of plotting an attack on a county show - has been jailed for using encrypted apps to help jihadists communicate in a first-of-its-kind case An illegal immigrant who supported a network of jihadis from his tiny flat after evading efforts to deport him boasted of planning an atrocity targeting a Royal show with thousands of visitors. Rabar Mala, 32, was refused permission to remain in Britain in 2008 but stayed under the radar by using his brother's identity, working as a car valeter. But during his lunch breaks the Iraqi Kurd used his tiny one-bedroom flat in Cheshire as the secret nerve centre for an international terror network exploiting an online messaging site popular with Islamist fighters for its uncrackable encryption. He also claimed to have tickets for the Royal Cheshire County Show - whose past presidents have included Princess Anne and the Countess of Wessex - to mount an attack using 'people and weapons' which would be 'an end for Crusaders'. Mala also revelled in the murderous Manchester Arena bombing. Although no evidence of a plot was found, a police raid found he had activated hundreds of mobile phone Sim cards to allow jihadists in Iraq and Syria to use the Telegram app, uncovering a staggering 1.8million messages in four languages. He used encrypted app Telegram to help ISIS jihadis around the world communicate. Screengrabs from his phone show the number of messages he was exchanging As Mala was today jailed for eight years following the first prosecution of its kind, police said the case once again highlighted how the refusal of some global social media companies to share their data with the authorities puts the public at risk. 'I would say Mala was as dangerous as the IS fighter with a Kalashnikov or rocket launcher, because he was providing them with a vital tool in their armoury,' said Det Supt Will Chatterton, head of investigations for the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. 'It was a pivotal role. He was supporting global terrorism from his flat in Warrington. 'Giving people the ability to communicate in a war zone is an incredibly important piece of the terrorists' armoury.' He said it was 'fiendishly difficult' to disentangle such a vast web of messages, adding that it would 'make my officers' job a lot easier' if companies like Telegram co-operated with police. Mala was an illegal immigrant who had applied for the right to stay in Britain in 2008 but been turned down. He managed to stay under the radar using the name of a brother who had left Britain. A counter-terrorism detective said Mala was 'as dangerous as the IS fighter with a Kalashnikov' Using the online name Zak Kurdy, his simple technique was to use old-style phones to register SIM cards and then switch them to his Samsung Galaxy Note to activate them. Terrorists seeking to use the Telegram app would contact Mala in Warrington who would allocate them a phone number, enabling them to register an account. The social media site would send an activation code which Mala would report back to the jihadi using Telegram, completing the account set-up. Crucially, the exchange and the resulting account was both anonymous and untraceable back to either of them. When counter-terrorism officers raided his home last August they found 1.8million encrypted messages in four languages. He had 29 versions of the Telegram app on his phone. Police found hundreds of sim cards at his Warrington flat, which were used to help his network Detectives said the arrangement was 'simple but very effective', enabling him to 'dedicate his time to helping truly evil causes', while becoming increasingly confident he would never be caught. Mala had activated the latest batch of 1 SIM cards only hours before he was finally caught in a dawn raid, the latest in a total of 360 cards from as far back as January 2016. They were hidden in a cupboard with a false back. Among messages which were retrieved by police were threats by Mala to launch a terrorist attack on the Royal Cheshire County Show, which attracts almost 100,000 people every June. 'It's the biggest show,' he wrote. 'About half a million will attend...cars of every type, lorries, trailers, horses and owners'. He referred to a semi-automatic machine gun and said the operation would 'start tomorrow'. He added: 'I'm here as a representative abroad'. He was sent a response that began: 'A seeker of martyrdom is good'. Mala said he was ready to launch the attack, adding: 'I have about seven tickets. It only needs people and weapons. It will be an end for Crusaders and all of them are big people '. Photos from the investigation released today show bags of sim cards hidden in cupboards He also celebrated Salman Abedi's attack on innocent concert-goers in Manchester, telling one of his contacts: 'May Allah direct their shooting'. Security chiefs fear that other terrorists are fulfilling a similar role around the world. But the investigation was hampered by the fact that Telegram does not share information with law enforcement agencies. The prosecution, brought under Section 16 of the Terrorism Act 2000, is the first of its kind in Britain. He pleaded guilty to two counts of using possessions and properties, namely mobile phones and SIM cards, for terrorist purposes when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court. Defending, Christopher Henley, QC, said Mala was a lonely and isolated individual who had been gripped by 'an obscure fascination' for ISIS. Jailing him, Judge Patrick Field said: 'These were the deliberate and repeated acts of a determined adherent to the IS creed'. He said the significance of his crimes should not be underestimated, given that ISIS thrives on propaganda and exploits 'the wide reach of communications technology'. California authorities have opened a murder-suicide investigation after finding the bodies of a man and women who were reported missing the day before. Jovan Webb, 30, and Haley Mercier, 27, of Lancaster County, California, were reported missing by relatives after being seen last on Wednesday at 6am, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. On Thursday, at about 3.30pm, an unidentified family member of one of the victims called the Lancaster Sheriff's Station to report that they found Webb's red Mazda Miata convertible, which they were believed to have been driving in. Jovan Webb, 30, and Haley Mercier, 27, were reported missing on Wednesday. Authorities believe they have found their bodies after an apparent murder-suicide Police then performed a thorough search of the area near Munz Ranch Road and the California Aqueduct, where the car had been found, using air support. Authorities found the bodies of a man and a woman, each with a gunshot wound to their upper body, and a gun. The two people were declared dead at the scene. A family member found Webb's car in the area near the Munz Ranch Road and California Aquaduct on Thursday afternoon (approximate location shown) The identities of the bodies will be declared by the medical examiner, but Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Homicide Bureau detectives believe that the bodies are Webb and Mercier. Authorities are currently investigating their deaths as a murder-suicide. Webb was said to have suffered from depression, causing their family members to worry about the couple's safety, authorities said at the time the couple was first reported missing, KTLA reported. A pregnant woman who was shot in the back of the head last month has died after giving birth while on life support. Lindzie Wilson, 25, was shot three times in Springfield, Ohio on March 1 - in the leg, the shoulder and the back of the head. She was kept on life support to save the life of her unborn son, who she delivered on Saturday. Ms Wilson died on Tuesday at 11.24am. A police report says Ms Wilson delivered her son Bailee at Miami Valley Hospital, and her life support machine was turned off soon after. Lindzie Wilson, 25, has died after giving birth nearly two months after she was shot in the head Ms Wilson didn't know she was pregnant at the time, but was kept on life support to save her unborn son's life Ms Wilson was shot outside her home in Springfield, Ohio (pictured) The Montgomery County Coroner's Office says her death was caused by a gunshot to the head, but no arrests have been made in regards to the shooting. Her mother, LeighAnne Roberts, earlier revealed Ms Wilson had no idea she was pregnant before she was shot. Her fiancee Michael Levalley shared a heartbreaking tribute to the woman he already thought of as his wife to social media on Friday. 'She was truly the most amazing woman god placed on this earth,' he wrote. 'I'll never know why he blessed me with her love, presence and our beautiful boys - I am truly grateful, even though it was cut way too short. 'She always tried to make me not just a better husband and dad, but a better man. 'I can't wait to keep making you proud, I love you Lindzie Leigh Wilson, you will always be my one and only... always and forever gorgeous.' She delivered her third child, Bailee, on Saturday and her life support was turned off. She died on Tuesday Ms Wilson was remembered by her fiance and partner of 11 years as 'the most amazing woman god placed on this earth' Ms Wilson (left) was engaged to Michael Levally (centre) and the pair have two children together, including Bailee Ms Wilson was due on August 15, and her newborn son will remain in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit until then. The 25-year-old's family and friends have spent the days following her death begging for answers on who is responsible for her death. Wilson is the second pregnant woman from Springfield who has been shot and then died after giving birth in the last two months. Sydney pub baron, Bruce Soloman has sealed the deal on a high-end property in the affluent northern beaches suburb of Whale Beach. Mr Soloman purchased the classic 1980s brick home with plans to renovate the $5.8 million purchase. The house is one of only 45 properties on the private and exclusive strip with beach-front views. The house is one of only 45 properties on the private and exclusive strip with beach-front views Sydney pub baron, Bruce Soloman (pictured) has sealed the deal on a high-end property in the affluent northern beaches suburb of Whale Beach. In the past year only seven of these beach homes have come on to the market and the area has proven to be in high demand. The value of these houses in Whale Beach have been pushed up as much as one million dollars. With beach-front views and a close knit community, the housing prices have risen 15 per cent in the past 12 months. With beach-front views and a close knit community, the housing prices have risen 15 per cent in the past 12 months According to Domain, the exclusive suburb came in second the famous Sydney surburb of Palm Beach but has since improved. 'Whale Beach has been under performing compared with Palm Beach for years, but that's changed to the point that sites that were selling for about $4.2 million a year ago are now selling for about $5.2 million,' said David Edwards from LJ Hooker in Palm Beach Mr Solomon bought his weekend getaway facing the northern end of the beach known as The Wedge. Mr Solomon bought his weekend getaway facing the northern end of the beach known as The Wedge Last year, the businessman purchased one of Sydney's most popular venues, the Marlborough Hotel in Newtown. Mr Solomon bought the iconic Sydney pub for $34 million with his celebrity chef partner Matt Moran. A political science professor in Iowa accused of sexual misconduct by several female students was allowed to resign - and now one of his accusers is demanding answers from administrators. Nickey Jafari, a 2014 graduate of Drake University, is one of the women who filed a complaint against professor Mahmoud Hamad for sexual and verbal misconduct. Jafari told school administrators that while Hamad was her academic adviser he threatened to spank her if she didn't get good grades and would ask her to sit on his lap. The now 24-year-old medical student said he also asked her to call him 'dad'. Drake University professor Mahmoud Hamad was accused of sexual and verbal misconduct by several female students After the school found Hamad did in fact 'physically, sexually and verbally intimidate' female students, they allowed him to resign instead of firing him The Des Moines university launched an internal investigation last fall and found that Hamad 'physically, sexually and verbally intimidated' female students, according to the Des Moines Register. The school also said the 42-year-old married professor 'did exploit the power differential that existed between him and his female students'. The report was completed in November 2017, when Hamad was on a sabbatical. According to the outlet, Hamad was not fired following the investigation. Instead, he was allowed to resign effective June 1. He is currently on a leave of absence and has not taught at the school since 2016. Sue Mattison, Drake's provost, told the Register that Hamad has no 'teaching or academic responsibilities' at the school but declined to say whether he was asked to resign or if he is being paid while on leave, which started when his sabbatical ended. Jafari, who went public with her claims in a Facebook post last year, said she is disappointed that the university is allowing Hamad to simply walk away from his position. She filed the complaint against her former adviser last May. 'Allowing (Hamad) to resign is unfair to any survivors,' she told the Register. 'Letting him resign instead of firing him is not as clear of a statement from Drake that, 'This happened and we don't condone or support it.' Jafari wrote in the report that she met Hamad in the summer of 2011 when she and other students visited Egypt. She said Hamad led the group and was also the instructor for the honors courses related to the trip. Nickey Jafari, a 2014 graduate of Drake University, went public with her claims against Hamad in this Facebook post above. She was one of the students who filed a complaint with the school against the professor In the fall of that year, Hamad became her academic adviser. Jafari told investigators, according to the report, that Hamad asked her to sit on his lap and she complied twice. She said he then put his arms around her and that his face was close to her neck. She also accused the political science associate professor of asking her to call him 'dad' and threatening to spank her if she didn't get a 4.0 grade-point average. 'I decided to come forward because I knew I wasn't the only one this happened to, and I didn't want him to be able to move from school to school,' she told the Register. A second student at Drake is also listed in the report saying she had an 'emotional and physical relationship' with Hamad. The student said she never reported it because she was 'worried about repercussions'. Hamad denied the allegations, but investigators found that Jafari and others interviewed were 'credible' and the professor's denial was 'not credible'. Drake University, which did not refer the case to police, has not said why Hamad was allowed to resign rather than be fired. Davide Buccheri, 25, was working for giant asset manager M&G in central London as a fund managers assistant when he targeted Rebecca Baker A City worker who posted fake photos of an intern on porn websites after she refused his advances has been convicted of harassment. Davide Buccheri, 25, was working for investment management company M&G as a fund managers assistant when he targeted 22-year-old Rebecca Baker. Buccheri took photos from his victim's social media and edited her face onto pornographic pictures of other women between September 2016 and May 2017. He then told the woman's bosses about the photos to discredit her. The Italian was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court of harassment and taken into custody before sentencing on Tuesday. The court heard Buccheri made a series of unwanted romantic advances when Ms Baker joined the firm as an intern in September 2016. Buccheri explained that he took an interest in all of the interns starting at M&G and looked them up on social media. The court was told that he joked to a friend: I stalked her and I only stalk people I like a lot. He then asked for her mobile phone number before sending her messages on the internal email system, the court heard. Buccheri then uploaded pictures of Ms Baker from her social media accounts and put them on a porn site motherless.com in what prosecutor Aimee Emby described as an insidious campaign. Ms Emby said Buccheri had obsessive crush that ended in rejection for Mr Buccheri, damaging his pride and driving his desire to cause Ms Baker harassment, alarm or distress. Buccheri used the pseudonym Flying Gerbil to post pictures of his colleague on the porn site before reporting her to Human Resources to embarrass her, the court heard. District Judge Richard Blake found Buccheri guilty of one charge of harassment without violence and said: You were obsessed with this young woman. You were overwhelmed by her rejection of you and then you set about to destroy her. The judge said a custodial sentence was 'almost inevitable' and added: You conducted a quite wicked, calculated campaign against this young woman. It is shameful. Buccheri took photos from his victim's social media and edited her face onto pornographic pictures of other women between September 2016 and May 2017 The judge also referenced the very manipulative way Buccheri acted during the trial when denying him bail. You have accepted that you became infatuated with her, he said. She did nothing to foster or encourage that delusion in you and did nothing to encourage your attentions. She clearly felt embarrassed by them and was in that difficult position of somebody who didnt want to upset anybody in the company and didnt want to hurt your feelings but, again, did not want to encourage you in an inappropriate way. You put her in that position. You were, of course, a full time member of M&G Investment staff. The court heard Ms Baker succeeded so well in her placement with the firm she was offered a role following her graduation. Before she took up that post, she was called to the HR department of that company and was told of evidence which had come to their attention that she had featured on pornographic websites, he continued. She knew nothing of these images. At the start of her career, an intelligent woman leaving university with every reason to be excited about the future suddenly found herself confronted with these ghastly images and the suggestion that rather than being the person she presented herself as to the company during her interview, there was a much darker side. She is going to have to live the rest of her professional life with the sniggers by the water cooler or whispers when she goes by. She doesnt deserve that. This young woman did absolutely nothing to bring about your disgusting behaviour. I hope anybody that knows her or works with her gives her the privacy of not acknowledging this case and allow this young woman to go on with her career. Ms Emby had told the court how Buccheri set out to cause the Durham University graduate upset and harassment during the campaign. The Crowns case is that the defendant uploaded images of Ms Baker into galleries accounts of pornographic females similar to Ms Baker. They were given names, which on at least one occasion had the name Becca in the title. The defendant contacted the Human Resources department using an internal whistle blowing system reporting her for inappropriate conduct. He reported her again, reporting the existence of pornographic images. Giving evidence Ms Baker said she was left devastated by Buccheris campaign. At first the messages were friendly, and I felt obliged to keep it that way, she said. I felt bad for him in that I did not have his interest. There had been email exchanges when I had made it quite clear that I wanted to maintain a professional relationship. I would say that someone with a little emotional intelligence would see that someone who tried to postpone the coffee had some reservations He sent me a long gushy email. He gave me his mobile number despite me not giving him mine. I felt uncomfortable. Giving evidence Buccheri said he was shocked when someone sent him the images. Tihomir Mak, defending, told the court the images had been downloaded during an investigation, rather than uploaded. What he did was he conducted a comprehensive investigation and it is this comprehensiveness that has come back to haunt him, he added. Buccheri explained: I started researching whether pictures could have been online. So, I downloaded a list of amateur porn websites. It was quite easy. On 25 February 2017 I found the first pictures. The first picture I saw was a picture of a nude female with her breasts exposed in a black background. Three pictures showed the face of the subject. It looked like to be it could have been Rebecca Baker. I found eight pictures. I think three had her face. I download them onto a USB stick. I was a bit dumbfounded. Buccheri took a screen shot of the webpage and saved it under a file Becca-compromsing. Buccheri added: I was a bit confused about what happened. It would have been horrible if it had gone viral. Buccheris LinkedIn profile suggests that he has worked for the company since he graduated from a 12-month rotational programme. His profile also states that he graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Buccheri was convicted of one count of harassment without violence and was remanded into custody ahead of sentence on Tuesday May 1. He was handed a restraining order barring him from contacting Ms Baker or any other employees at M&G and ordered to forfeit the laptop and mobile seized during the investigation. A 13-year-old Ohio boy on trial for the aggravated murder of his little brother dismantled his grandfather's gun cabinet to gain access, police say. Elijah Lishing's grandfather kept a .357 Magnum locked in a cabinet in his home, and the key was hidden at another home. When the teenager couldn't find the key, he used tools to take apart the bottom of the wooden cabinet and take the gun, Streetsboro police Lieutenant Patricia Wain told the Akron Beacon Journal. Elijah put the cabinet back together afterwards, meaning his theft went undetected. Elijah Lishing, 13, is accused of the aggravated murder of his little brother, Caleb, 11, who was shot in the throat inside the family home (pictured) on Monday The boys were being watched by a family friend at the time, who called 911 just after 9.30pm He and his brother Caleb were being watched by a family friend on Monday night, when the 13-year-old allegedly shot his little brother, 11, in the neck. The babysitter made a frantic phone call to 911 just after 9.30pm. 'Hes 11 years old and I dont know where his brother went. I heard a pop and theres blood in his chest,' the woman said. The woman performed CPR on Caleb, who was reportedly gushing blood from his mouth, until paramedics arrived. He was rushed to hospital, but died soon after arriving. When police turned up, Elijah allegedly tried to escape, but was apprehended nearby and taken into custody. Elijah has since been charged with aggravated murder, and appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon, represented by a public defender. He has denied the charges laid against him. She performed CPR on Caleb until paramedics arrived and rushed him to hospital. The fifth grade student died shortly after The Lishing boys' parents were out of the country at the time but were on their way back home on Tuesday His parents, who were overseas, were on their way back to Ohio on Tuesday, the Record Courier reported. Just four days before his brother was murdered, Elijah's stepmother took him to the police station for being 'unruly'. There, he expressed a desire to harm himself, and was taken for mental evaluation. Caleb's school have released a statement saying they are 'shocked and saddened' over the fifth-grade student's death. 'Caleb was a well-liked student by his peers and teachers and loved coming to school each day, the statement read. 'He was a gentle soul who loved to read and talk to the adults around him. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they work through this tragic situation.' Police are running forensic tests to confirm the gun, which belonged to Elijah and Caleb's grandfather and was the only one found at the scene, was the weapon used in the 11-year-old's murder. Harrowing footage shows three masked thugs ransack a pub while holding terrified staff at knifepoint. Liam Campbell, 27, Steven Ward, 33, and Nathaniel Smith, 31, can be seen dragging an employee along the floor and holding a blade to another's throat. The gang, who targeted three pubs across Nottinghamshire within a month last year, have since been jailed for a total of 45 years. They were caught red-handed fleeing the scene of their final heist. Campbell, Ward and Smith stormed through the fire escape of Brewhouse & Kitchen in Trent Brigde at about 12am on July 24. After forcing two employees to lie on the floor, they threatened them with a knife and demanded they open the safe. They escaped with about 10,000. CCTV from Ferry Boat Inn in Stoke Bardolph, Nottinghamshire, standing over an employee with an enormous knife The knife-wielding thug demands that the safe be opened in the harrowing footage Liam Campbell, Steven Ward and Nathaniel Smith (left to right) have since been jailed for a total of 45 years Days later the group struck again, climbing up the fire escape of Nottingham Knight pub in West Bridgford and slipping in through a first floor window on August 9. They made their way to the office and slapped a wet cloth over the manager's face as she counted the daily takings, holding scissors to her throat. Two of the thugs repeatedly punched her in the face and assaulted another employee before fleeing with the takings from the till. But after their final robbery at Ferry Boat Inn in Stoke Bardolph on August 29, they were finally caught. The two employees are dragged around by their shirts and forced onto the ground in the terrifying heist One of the thugs (centre) holds a blade to the throat of an employee. The other staff member is on his knees next to another robber holding an enormous knife (right) A police dog tracked the group down hiding in some bushes nearby and they were all arrested. Smith admitted three counts of robbery and was jailed for 15 years at Nottingham Crown Court. Ward and Campbell were jailed for 15 years each after a trial. The employee is forced onto the floor as the robbers demand he open the safe One robber (right) crouches over an employee holding a knife in the shocking CCTV footage Detective Constable Steve Fenyn, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'I'm very pleased that justice has been served for all three robberies. 'No one should have to go to work and be subjected to such violent and terrifying ordeals. 'All of the victims have shown great patience and understanding throughout the trial and I'm glad the jury delivered the verdict they deserve. 'Thanks to a combination of great police work, DNA samples, detailed witness accounts and other various evidence that was gathered, three violent criminals are now off the streets of Nottinghamshire.' Micheal Brown, 17, was accepted into every university he applied to The Houston teenager who went viral after being accepted into all 20 colleges he applied to has chosen to attend Stanford University. Micheal Brown, 17, has a 4.68 GPA at Lamar High School and was accepted into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt, receiving full-ride scholarships from them and every other school he applied to. 'The school that I chose would allow me to grow personally, academically and in whatever way. I'm really excited just to explore a new place find people who are similar to me and have similar interests but also to meet people who are different from me,' Brown said to KHOU. Brown (right) has chosen to attend Stanford University. He tried to eliminate two or more schools each week to help him decide 'The world is a really big place and there's so much to uncover in it.' Brown tried to eliminate two or more schools each week to help him decide. His story went viral, and thousands of people around the world have reached out to him, including students who have asked Brown to mentor them. 'I should probably come up with some template for advice,' he said, 'instead of giving advice millions of times over and over again.' However, not all of the feedback has been positive. Anchor Holly Morris and contributor Sarah Fraser from Fox 5 DC criticized Brown on April 3 for applying to so many universities, saying that he was depriving other hard-working students of spots at the schools. Brown posted on Twitter that he had chosen to attend Stanford University starting in fall 2018 Anchor Holly Morris (right) and contributor Sarah Fraser (left) of Fox 5 DC have come under fire after they called Brown, who was accepted to 20 different colleges, 'obnoxious' The segment between the Fox anchors went viral after NowThis published a video criticizing it, which has been viewed more than 7.83 million times. 'It's a little ridiculous that this kid applied to 20 [colleges] taking away a spot and basically wait-listing another kid,' Fraser said during the segment. Morris replied: 'It's a little obnoxious because you can only go to one. You can only take one full ride, and you are taking a spot from someone else who worked really hard.' Seventeen-year-old Brown has a 4.68 GPA at Lamar High School was accepted into several top universities. Pictured celebrating his acceptance to Stanford Fraser apologized for her comments in a tweet and said had 'learned a lesson'. 'I don't feel that way. I have apologized to Michael and he accepted my apology. Michaels [sic] accomplishments aren't up for debate. I have learned a valuable lesson,' she wrote. However, Morris remained more defensive and said that race had nothing to do with her opinion on the matter. Brown chose to attend Stanford University (pictured) because it is the school that 'would allow [him] to grow personally, academically and in whatever way' 'I also said he is an amazing young man. This is not a racial issue. I would have the exact same opinion if the boy was white,' she wrote. But Brown dismissed the criticism, saying: 'Going to be honest it didn't really affect me too much, 'It kind of taught me that even on the most positive things people are going to have negative opinions.' A federal judge on Friday dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort that objected to the scope of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, saying his concerns could be addressed as part of the criminal proceedings. In a court order tossing the suit, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said well-established legal principle makes it clear that defendants cannot file such lawsuits in an attempt to circumvent criminal procedures. 'A civil case is not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future,' Berman wrote, adding that Manafort will have the 'opportunity to challenge any defects in the prosecution in the trial court or on direct appeal.' Blow: Paul Manafort, who was trolled by a protester during a previous court appearance, did not get his charges tossed A spokesman for Manafort, who is limited in what he can say due to a court-imposed media gag order, did not have any immediate comment on the judge's ruling. Manafort faces two indictments accusing him of conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent for lobbying work he did for the pro-Russia government of Ukraine, bank fraud and other offenses. None of the charges relate directly to work Manafort performed for Trump's campaign, however, and he has sought to have them dismissed on the grounds that U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ran afoul of the Justice Department's rules governing the hiring of special counsels by giving Mueller too much investigative power. Manafort, one of 22 individuals and entities charged by Mueller so far, has pleaded not guilty. Friday's loss in the civil case represents a setback, though the case was always viewed by legal experts as a long shot. Challenge: Manafort's legal team claimed that because Mueller was only supposed to look into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, the charges against him were invalid. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said it was up to him to argue that in a criminal, not civil, court Defendants in criminal cases are generally not permitted to use civil cases to challenge their prosecutions, and the judge expressed deep skepticism when she heard oral arguments at a hearing earlier this month. Jackson, who is also presiding over one of the two criminal cases against Manafort, is still weighing whether to dismiss one or more of the criminal charges based on similar legal arguments by Manafort's lawyer Kevin Downing about the scope of Mueller's powers. Manafort had initially sought to use the civil case to dismiss the charges against him. But his lawyer later scaled back the relief being sought, saying he only wanted to prevent future charges from being filed against Manafort. Next week in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, Manafort will ask another judge to consider dismissing charges against him from the second indictment. Protests have broken out across Guadalajara and Mexico City after a rapper confessed to dissolving the bodies of three murdered film students in acid on the orders of a notorious drug cartel. Close to 12,000 people marched in the two cities on Thursday to protest the murders, which have become emblematic of Mexico's 35,000 missing people. When three film students went to tape a college project in the western Mexico city, they wound up crossing paths with another young man with dreams of celebrity. He was a 24-year-old rapper who sang of an anguished, violent life of drugs and crime. Christian Palma Gutierrez, better known as QBA, told prosecutors he disposed of the remains of Javier Salomon Aceves Gastelum, 23, and 20-year-olds Marco Garcia Francisco Avalos and Jesus Daniel Diaz, last month. A Mexican rapper confessed to dissolving the bodies of three murdered film students in acid, prompting massive protests A student chants slogans to protest the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018 Students hold a sign that reads in Spanish: 'It's not three, it's all of us' Thousands of people march during the protests. Three students went missing last month and rapper QBA admitted to disposing of their bodies in acid Christian Palma Gutierrez, better known as rapper QBA, has confessed to dissolving the bodies of three Mexican students in acid on the orders of the Jalisco New Generation cartel The trio were kidnapped, tortured and killed in the state of Jalisco by cartel members dressed as policemen after they were mistaken for rival gangsters The students had hoped one day to join the wave of famed Mexican directors. Instead they stumbled into the hands of a drug gang that employed the aspiring rapper. Investigators say that his job, in this case, was to dump their bodies in sulfuric acid and dispose of the remains. The gang duties were a sort of day job for 'Qba,' who had 670,000 views on his YouTube music videos. Javier Salomon Aceves Gastelum, 25, Marco Garcia Francisco Avalos, 20, and Jesus Daniel Diaz, 20, went missing last month, authorities say they were confused for a rival gang of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel A woman holds up a sign that says in Spanish 'Peace' during a protest against the murder of three film students Close to 12,000 people marched in Mexico City and Guadalajara on Thursday to protest the murders A student holds a sign with the portraits of the three students. Translated the sign reads: 'I don't believe the government' 'We demand justice, not only for our three colleagues but for the thousands of missing' in the state of Jalisco and the country, said Oscar Juarez, a student leader at ITESO, a Jesuit university in Guadalajara. At the end of the Thursday's march, organizers said: 'Our dreams and our voices will not be dissolved in acid.' At least 15,516 people between the ages of 13 and 29 are officially listed as missing in the country, representing about 43 percent of the disappeared of all ages, according to federal statistics. The number of minors missing is over 7,000, according to statistics from the Interior Department. At least 15,516 people between the ages of 13 and 29 are officially listed as missing in the country Students hold a banner reading 'Where are they?' as they march through Guadalajara Translated: 'No more silence!' (left) and 'No more violence!' (right) with 'bloody' handprints A person holds a movie clapper with the names of the three murdered students written 'There are no words to comprehend the magnitude of this madness,' Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, a Guadalajara native, tweeted early Tuesday. 'Three students are killed and dissolved in acid. The 'why' is unthinkable, the 'how' is terrifying.' Prosecutors said the youths, who were students at University of Audiovisual Media, were confused with members of a another gang by gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which has become the most powerful in Mexico, according to U.S. authorities. Criminal groups in Mexico are known for kidnapping, torturing, dismembering and even dissolving their victims in acid and many of the remains are dumped in clandestine graves. In 2014, 43 student teachers disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero and the government said they were kidnapped by police who handed them over to a criminal group that killed them and burned their bodies. International observers objected to the government's investigation and the case shook the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has seen his popularity decline sharply amid corruption allegations and a spike in violence. More than 25,000 people were murdered last year in Mexico. Homicides hit their highest level in records going back 20 years. The world is celebrating the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child and Legoland's just upped the ante. The Windsor Resort theme park will be providing free entry to children and adults called Louis in honor of His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. Legoland announced on Friday that this offer will be valid through July 19, 2018. To redeem it, park attendees must bring proof of identity with them. Legoland will provide free entry to their Windsor Resort park for a limited time to anyone who shares the same name as the Royal baby, His Royal Highness Louis Arthur Charles People names Louis will get free entry into Legoland's Windsor Resort park until July 19, 2018 What did they name the Royal baby? Kate Middleton and Prince William named their third child Prince Louis Arthur Charles. His name was revealed on Friday, four days after he was born. Louis is also one of older brother Prince George's middle names. Kate Middleton and Prince William have been known to pay tribute to loved ones with the naming of their children. They gave their daughter, Princess Charlotte, the middle names Elizabeth and Diana in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and the late Princess Diana. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/4DUwsLv5JQ Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2018 Royal baby name meaning The Royal baby's name, Prince Louis Arthur Charles, is a tribute to Prince Charles's great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten. Lord Mountbatten died in 1979 after the Irish Republican Army placed a bomb in his fishing boat. His grandson, Nicolas, and two others were also killed. Prince Charles considered Lord Mountbatten an 'honorary grandfather' to him and a mentor. Reaction to Royal baby name Thousands of bets were placed on what Kate Middleton and Prince William would name their child. Many believed the couple would go with Albert or Arthur. Louis was not popular in the odds, though the name was once common among French monarchs. Reactions to the Royal baby's name have been mixed. A number of Royal fanatics were disappointed in the Duke and Duchess's choice. the royal babys name is Louis. Its safe to say literally everyone misses the 1d lads. rodger (@rodgermaIik) April 27, 2018 So, if Prince George and Princess Charlotte abdicate we get King Louis? pic.twitter.com/N5y80nWuC2 Guy Pewsey (@guypewsey) April 27, 2018 The most aggravating thing this week is that the new Royal baby in Britain is called Louis. LOUIS. What is this, the French monarchy? Julius Lehtinen (@Julleht) April 27, 2018 BREAKING: In a defiant two fingers to Brexit, William & Kate have given their baby a French name: Louis. One used by 18 French kings. pic.twitter.com/HWHQ1paJNP Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 27, 2018 Some, however, thought Louis was a fine name for the Royal baby. Young Louis welcome to the world. Ill take you under my wing lad. The Adidas tracksuit is in the post! Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) April 27, 2018 Royal baby birth The Royal baby was born on Monday, April 23 at 11:01am GMT. He weighed 8lbs and 7oz and was the largest of his siblings. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs. The baby weighs 8lbs 7oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well. Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 23, 2018 Royal family last name Traditionally, Royals get rid of their surnames. However, the Queen decided the Royal family's last name would be Mountbatten-Windsor nearly 40 years ago. The name is a combination of the Queen's last name Windsor and Prince Charles's. This is the moment an alpaca spits in a little boy's face after he taunted it with food. Footage shows the child chucking the contents of a brown paper bag into the creatures' enclosure at a zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario, in Canada. A flock of seagulls can be seen swooping in to hoover up the food as two hungry alpacas grow increasingly frustrated. One suddenly spits, sending the boy running for cover. The child had been visiting the zoo with his family in April when he was caught by surprise by the spitting alpaca. He can be seen taunting the animals in the video, which appears to be taken by one of his parents. The child leaps backwards after one of the alpacas steps forwards and spews saliva in his face The little boy taunting the creature, throwing food over its head into the enclosure where it was then hoovered up by a flock of seagulls After throwing the food out of the alpacas' reach, one of the creatures decided to take revenge. It stepped forwards and spewed saliva directly into the child's eyes. As the spit hits his face, the little boy giggles and shrieks 'Eww!' The alpaca steps forward just before spitting at the boy at a zoo in Ontario, Canada A man who claims his friend inserted an entire chopstick up his penis while they were 'blind drunk' has had the object removed in hospital. 'N.V.D', the 42-year-old patient, sought medical help in Vietnam's southern Dong Nai Province after complaining of difficulty urinating and pain in his penis. Dr Tran Phuong of the Saigon-Dong Nai ITO Hospital, where the man was taken, said scans did not reveal the foreign bodies inside the man's penis, suggesting it was not metal. A picture of the chopstick after it was removed from the man's penis The offending object was able to be removed without the aid of surgery The chopstick had been shoved so deep into the organ that its tip was about 1.18 inches from the urethral opening, the doctor said. The doctor added that the entire chopstick, which measured some 4 inches long, was able to be pushed out of the front end out of the patient's urethra by him, without the need for surgery. N.V.D later revealed that his friend had inserted the chopstick up his penis 'for fun' while they were 'blind drunk' and sought medical attention the very next day. Dr Tran said the patient did not require an overnight stay and was discharged on the same day. Two men have been injured after they were hit by a car outside a mosque today. West Midlands Police said they have not ruled out the potential that the incident on Ettington Road in Aston, Birmingham, could be terror-related. The men, who are both in their twenties, were struck at 2.15pm and officers were called after reports that both had been hurt outside the Shah Jalal mosque. One victim was said to have suffered a head injury and the other has been described as walking wounded, the force said. Scroll down for video Two men have been injured after they were hit by a car outside Shah Jalal mosque in Ettington Road in Aston, Birmingham today. Above, police at the scene West Midlands Police said they have not ruled out the potential that the incident could be terror-related. (File photo of Shah Jalal mosque) Police are trying to trace the identity of the person driving the car, which is believed to be silver. Detective Inspector Greg Evans, of the force's CID, said: 'The investigation is at an early stage and we're still trying to establish exactly what has happened. 'At this time we have not ruled in or out the potential that this could be terror-related but we're keeping an open mind until we have investigated further. 'I'd really like to hear from anyone who has any information or CCTV of the incident or who may have dash cam footage.' Local people said two men were left covered in blood after the incident, with one victim being knocked on to the bonnet of a parked car, which police have since covered with a blue forensic tent. A worshipper who was attending prayers at the mosque, who declined to give his name, said: 'It was shocking to see the guys afterwards. It was like something out of a movie and it was really, really shocking.' Community activist Desmond Jaddoo urged local people not to speculate about the motive for the incident, amid rumours that it may be linked to a dispute between groups of youths. Mr Jaddoo said: 'It's concerning what's happened today. Two young men have been injured quite badly and it's caused a lot of tension within the local community at present. Clearly there is a need for calm. 'The police need to be allowed to conduct their investigations and personally I would urge anyone who knows anything about what has happened to contact the police.' Local MP Shabana Mahmood (Lab, Ladywood) said: 'Today's incident is shocking, and has caused huge concern across the local community. I'd urge anyone with information to come forward and help the police with their investigation.' A group of street artists is objecting to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's U.S. visit with posters depicting her as a Hitler-friendly monkey executioner whose immigration policies, they say, have imported a sexual-assault crime wave from the Middle East. The art guerrillas, known as the Art Wing Conspiracy, plastered a neighborhood near Los Angeles overnight with posters critical of the Volkswagen corporation and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is meeting with President Donald Trump this afternoon. The project's creators say they oppose Merkel's visit to the White House and want Trump to take a hard line against Germany on tariffs particularly those that might hurt Volkswagen. 'Auf wiedersehen, monkeys,' one poster reads. It features a Photoshopped image of Merkel in a Nazi uniform, pushing a button while a primate peers out of the glass window of a gas chamber. This poster was plastered overnight on a traffic signal control box in Van Vuys, California, across the street from a Volkswagen dealership. It depicts German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a Nazi uniform, gassing a monkey Multiple copies of this poster were plastered around other neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, depicting Merkel as chummy with Adolf Hitler and blaming her for an crime wave linked to immigrants mocked as 'rape-fugees' by right-wing politicians Merkel is at the White House on Friday, meeting with President Donald Trump, and import tariffs on automobiles including Volkswagens is certain to be a point of contention VW admitted this year that it authorized and supervised a study in which monkeys were forced to inhale exhaust fumes from one of its automobiles. The German government, along with BMW and Daimler, have condemned the research. The two other car companies helped finance research that included the monkey study but said they had no knowledge of its particulars. A second poster looks more like a conventional VW advertisement, picturing a driver and three passengers inside a car. But the back-seat riders are Merkel and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. 'Importing good times (and rape-fugees) since 1937, it reads, over a VW logo. Volkswagen was founded in 1937. One of the artwork's producers told DailyMail.com on Friday that the poor-taste jab was meant to be shocking, and to draw attention to massive numbers of asylum-seekers that Merkel's government has accepted for resettlement in recent years. Between 2015 and 2017, Germany re-homed more than 1.35 million refugees, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. German media have reported a dramatic increase since 2015 in sexual assaults, specifically those involving groups of men. Trump has been cordial to Merkel but nowhere near as effusive with his praise as he was toward French President Emmanuel Macron earlier in the week The mock-VW ad reads: 'Importing good ties (and rape-fugees) since 1937. The reference to monkeys came from the scandal that erupted this year when VW admitted funding research that tested the impact of automobile emissions on primates Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West took part in a march on January 9, 2016 following about 1,200 sexual assaults on women during 2015 New year's Eve celebrations Police there estimate that on New Year's Eve 2015 alone, there were 1,200 sexual assaults involving 2,000 men. Hundreds of identified suspects were foreign nationals. In Cologne, local police reported that many were men of 'Arab or North African appearance,' sparking fears of a crime wave brought to Germany by the new arrivals. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office told the BBC and other outlets that the attacks resembled 'a phenomenon known in some Arab countries as taharrush jamai' or 'group sexual harassment.' The term 'rapefugees' was coined in 2016 by Lutz Bachmann, a founder of the German anti-Islam organization Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West. Bachmann was ejected from the group after he described immigrants as 'dirt' and 'livestock' on social media, praised the Ku Klux Klan and posted photos of himself as Hitler. The far-right National Democratic Party of Germany also used the term 'rapefugees' in some of its election posters in 2016. Reacquired Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sit in a desert graveyard near Victorville, California on March 28, 2018. Volkswagen has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back about 350,000 vehicles Germany last year recorded its largest drop in crime in a quarter-century nearly 10 percent with police saying 'a good part' of it is linked to a dramatic decrease in the number of refugee admissions. A government-directed study released in January showed the violent crime rate had jumped in 2015 and 2016. Researchers attributed more than 90 percent of that to young male refugees. The identities of the Art Wing Conspiracy members are something of a mystery. Shortly after this story was published, its Twitter account was switched to private. But still on public display was the group's header image a fighter jet dropping bombs with the names 'Harambe' and 'Pepe' written on them. Both names are tied to Internet memes associated with the 'alt-right' American political movement, whose outer margins include white supremacists. The group's Twitter profile contains just one sentence 'Politics is downstream from culture' a line made famous by the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart. Meddling in last year's German elections was attributed to alt-right interlopers in the U.S., causing heartburn for Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union party. One analysis of 300 million tweets, conducted by the Technical University of Munich, concluded that Germany was a year-long hotspot for the '#AltRight' hashtag on Twitter. Merkel's openness to refugee resettlement, in particular, has made criticizing her a near-sacrament among Americans on the far fringes of the right wing. That group behind Friday's posters protected its Twitter account after this article was first published, but left up a piece of artwork that depicts bombs being dropped with the alt-right-meme names 'Harambe' and 'Pepe' visible The source involved with the production of Friday's shocking posters, who shared the art with DailyMail.com on that condition that he would not be identified, said: 'The idea is to go after German industry like Volkswagen and hope that Trump continues to put tariffs on them, in light of them cheating on the emissions scandal.' That was a reference to a 2015 scandal sparked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's revelation that VW had installed devices and software in diesel-powered cars sold worldwide, in order to hide high emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. Nearly a half-million cars were affected in the U.S. alone, and 11 million globally. Last year a federal judge found that VW had purposely tried to cheat on U.S. government tests, and imposed a $2.7 billion criminal fine. North Korea expert Dr Robert Winstanley-Chesters, writing for MailOnline, gives his take on the historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in today. Dr Winstanley-Chesters is a Lecturer at the University of Leeds and Research Fellow at Australian National University. Previously he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow of Cambridge University (Beyond the Korean War). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The optics at Panmunjom, of course, today are astounding and the assertion that there will 'be no more war on the Korean Peninsula' of the joint declaration heartening. However, it will surely take a great deal more than some soil from the sacred slopes of Mt Paektu and Mt Halla placed on the roots of a Korean Pine as old as the division itself to heal the fracture between the Koreas. While the meeting of Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in is a dramatic shift in relations after so much confrontation in recent years it is still perhaps too early for unfettered optimism. A functional solution to the key problem of North Korea for much of the world, its nuclear capabilities and unexpected success in intercontinental ballistic missile design will surely be harder work than this. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in placed soil from the sacred slopes of Mt Paektu and Mt Halla on the roots of a Korean Pine near the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom, South Korea, on Friday The two leaders' historic meeting at the DMZ was captured on camera for the world to see. Kim Jong-un shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before crossing the military demarcation line on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) But North Korea expert Dr Robert Winstanley-Chesters believes the two countries are still a long way from achieving a peace treaty. Pictured: The second test-fire of ICBM Hwasong-14 in North Korea on 28 July 2017 Pyongyang surely cannot have expended so much diplomatic, financial and military capital on its ultimate insurance policy to give it away for smiles and a tasty mousse (even in the shape of a unified peninsula). Solutions to other North Korean problems objectionable to the wider world will be almost impossible to raise with its government and certainly haven't made the agenda of this summit. The world will have to wait for the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump to discover quite whether the dissonance between American and North Korean conceptions of 'denuclearisation' can be resolved or whether it will solicit a burst of furious 2am tweets. The fact that Pyongyang has always meant by denuclearisation the withdrawal of the United States nuclear security umbrella from East Asia and the removal of US forces from South Korea has to this moment meant that progress has been impossible. A mango mousse in the shape of a unified Korean peninsula was served at the summit between the North and South Korea leaders on Friday It may be that a US President fond of creative destruction, without a commitment to past patterns and tropes of diplomacy, a tendency towards isolationism and with an intense desire for legacy may decide that it is time for such a dramatic transformation. We will not know until the day it seems; until Donald Trump looks Kim Jong-un in the eye and decides he's a guy he can make a deal with. Until then in spite of the optics it is hard to say that much concrete progress has been made. Extremely well choreographed cheerleaders, spectacular symbolism and an energetic seriousness will not put North Korea's hydrogen bomb and capable long range missiles back in the box, only a serious commitment to a complicated, intrusive and shared future on the part of both North Korea and the United States, one governed by Ronald Reagan's immortal assertion of the need to 'trust but verify.' North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raised their hands after signing on a joint statement to work on creating a peace 'regime' This is not to say that the two Koreas are not entirely serious about their moment together in Panmunjom or their future journey. In fact aside from the various commitments to peace and brotherly love (heard at a number of such moments before), the Panmunjom Joint Declaration between the two leaders of Korea seeks a resolution to one of the most intractable issues on the Korean peninsula. The Northern Limit Line, the maritime border demarcation between South and North Korea has always been an issue for Pyongyang and is on the face of it profoundly unfair. Real movement and progress there would perhaps demonstrate that real changes are afoot, new possibilities available, a new future on the way. We must all wait for that of course, with a little scepticism in hand, for Kim Jong-un's appointment with America's most unusual Commander in Chief. Only then will we know, in North Korea's words whether the 'Treasured Swords' will be put away. While events have been extraordinary, peace is not built in a day and between the Korea's it was certainly not built this day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- North Korea's plump Kim Jong-un waddles into the Media Age Dr. Colin Alexander. Lecturer in Political Communications at Nottingham Trent University gives his take on today's extraordinary show. This morning we awoke to the remarkable images of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in welcoming each other with gleaming faces and warm handshakes at the border between the two countries. Do not underestimate the significance of this moment not just in relation to nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula but also in terms of the willingness of the North Korean regime to have improved lines of communication with international governments and their publics. 'Rocket man', as Donald Trump famously called Kim, and his father Kim Jong-il, have suffered negative onslaughts by some quarters of the mainstream news and entertainment media that have attempted to frame them as illusive and unstable psychotics bent on creating chaos within the world system through the threat of nuclear holocaust. Think: Team America: World Police and Kim Jong-il portrayed in the style of Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld complete with long-haired white cat. Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un crack open a chocolate dome cake during a welcome dinner at the Peace House Indeed, until recently, the North Koreans had been stoking that media fire by issuing statements and providing quotes that many of us found rather unusual. Ri Yong-ho's 'sound of a dog barking' response to US threats being a case in point. However, on Friday a different North Korean leader emerged. Kim, in his photo opportunities with Mr. Moon, looked very human, rather than the unknown and unpredictable despot that he has been profiled as. That human side to North Korea's leader is an important PR step in the tense political relationships that make the Korean peninsula a focal point of regional tumult, and we would do well to acknowledge the efforts made by the North Koreans in this regard. Diplomatic silence is one of the most awkward of political silences and makes a lot of people very nervous. Thus, talking to other leaders, making media appearances and being seen to be willing to negotiate, however staged-managed it all might be, benefits the prospects for peace as it lowers the temptation for others to start rumours or make erroneous judgments over the adversary's motives to fill that communications void. Nevertheless, increased communication can also lead to increased scrutiny and critique and so North Korea should be careful what it wishes for. We saw in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics increasing focus on China's human rights record and its activities in its Western regions like Tibet. However, the Beijing Olympics was a key moment in China's attempt to manufacture 'soft power' and was the culmination of the growth in China's international confidence since the start of its social, economic and political reforms in 1978 some 30 years before it hosted the world's greatest sporting spectacle. North Korea is a long way from this. Indeed, their society remains largely closed off to outsiders and those who are allowed in are under strict chaperone. This is for good reason as most people would not like what they saw if they were allowed open access to the country. People in North Korea remain very poor and have had to contend with significant food security issues in their recent history. By contrast, today Mr. Kim appeared to be hugely overweight with this epitomising the excesses that have long created a credibility gap between Communist regimes and their citizens. Perhaps, rather than walking confidently into the media age then, North Korea is moving with a laboured and uncertain waddle towards the future. Chance The Rapper has apologized for defending Kanye West over his adorning tweets about Donald Trump. The rap artist admitted he'd made some 'poorly timed comments' after tweeting yesterday that 'Black people don't have to be democrats.' His original tweet came as his long-time friend and mentor Kanye found himself in trouble after sharing a photo of himself in a Make America Great Again hat and praising Trump's 'dragon energy' saying that the mob 'can't make me not love' the president. Chance The Rapper has apologized for defending Kanye West over his adorning tweets about Donald Trump The rap artist admitted he'd made some 'poorly timed comments' after tweeting yesterday that 'Black people don't have to be democrats' Many were furious over Kanye's support for the president, who has been criticized for his policies which disproportionately affect black people and minorities, and others speculated that West may be experiencing a mental breakdown, but Chance cleared the air on that assumption as well. Chance weighed in to defend Kayne, insisting: 'Talked to him two days ago. Hes in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health.' He added in another tweet that: 'Next President gon be independent.' Chance's tweet caught the attention of the president who thanked him in a tweet, saying the rapper 'got it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history).' To which chance replied: 'Nah that aint it yo.' Amid his own wave of backlash, Chance today apologized, tweeting: 'My fault yo'. 'Black people don't have to be democrats,' Chance, who has been one of Trump's many critics, tweeted earlier on Wednesday West once again declared his support for Trump, calling the president his 'brother' and saying they both share 'dragon energy'. He tweeted this around 9.30am PST West was spotted walking out of his Calabasas studio with a smoothie in one hand and his cell phone in the other Chance, whose father is a Democratic operative in Chicago who worked for future president Barack Obama, also shared a lengthy statement explaining he only wanted to support West, whom he called such a mentor that he felt like family. 'Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about my city and my loved ones,' began Chance. 'Kanye West in just a mentor or big brother to me. He's my family. No matter how much I may disagree with him, it's hard to watch people talk about someone I love-- even if they were justified in doing so. I didn't speak up because I agreed with what Kanye had to say or cause I fuck with Trump, I did it because I wanted to help my friend and cause I felt like I was being used to attack him.' 'I'd never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination,' Chance tweeted in reference to Trump. Chance said his comments were ill-timed but that Chicago has had 'generations of Democratic officials with no investment or regard for black schools, neighborhood(s) or black lives.' Several fans have tweeted that West may be experiencing a mental breakdown, but Chance cleared the air on that assumption as well That tweet was followed by another that read: 'Next President gon be independent' Kanye West fans and supporters have been left divided after he traded adoring tweets with President Donald Trump, but Chance the Rapper has come to his defense West and Chance the Rapper at the Magnificent Coloring Day Festival at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 2016 'We have to talk honestly about what is happening and has been happening in this country and we have to challenge those who are responsible, as well as those who are giving them a pass,' said Chance, whose charity last year pledged $2.2 million for arts programs in Chicago public schools. West met Trump in 2016 after the rapper cut short a tour following a breakdown. But West has said little about why he admires the real estate tycoon, who came to political prominence promoting unfounded conspiracy theories about Obama's place of birth. West tweeted on Friday: 'I haven't done enough research on conservatives to call myself or be called one. I'm just refusing to be enslaved by monolithic thought.' Chance was joined by Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian who also rushed to his defense after he blasted former president Barack Obama. 'He's a free thinker, is that not allowed in America? Because some of his ideas differ from yours you have to throw in the mental health card?' Kim tweeted. 'That's just not fair. He's actually out of the sunken place when he's being himself which is very expressive,' she added. West put his love for Donald Trump on full display as he donned his MAGA hat while leaving his California studio not long after he traded adoring tweets with the president. Chance the Rapper's apology about his defense of Kanye in full Chance also hit back at Trump after he praised the rapper for 'getting it' The rapper was spotted walking out of his Calabasas studio with a smoothie in one hand and his cell phone in the other. Along with his MAGA hat, he sported a pair of dark shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt, accompanied by a light grey jacket as he chatted with his entourage. His public appearance came shortly after he exchanged tweets with the president earlier on Wednesday. West proclaimed that the mob 'can't make me not love' Trump and praised the President's 'dragon energy'. 'You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him,' he wrote. 'We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals.' He later revealed that his MAGA hat is signed by the President himself, posting a picture of the accessory, which itself prompted another reply from Trump which simply read: 'MAGA!' Trump later retweeted the message and wrote: 'Thank you Kanye, very cool!' Chance the Rapper and Kim Kardashian were both quick to rush to West's defense on Wednesday after he blasted former president Barack Obama. But Kardashian later took to her own Twitter to defend her husband, tweeting around 12.30pm PST that her husband was 'years ahead of his time' Less than an hour later at 10.30 PST, West tweeted that his wife Kim Kardashian had called him about the Trump tweet Kardashian (pictured with West in a recent family photo) was a vocal supporter of Clinton during the 2016 presidential election campaign Later on Wednesday evening, West turned his attention to former president Barack Obama, tweeting: 'Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed.' However, he declared his respect for Hillary Clinton, writing 'I love Hillary too'. Kanye then retweeted a post in which President Trump was expressing his excitement about meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook with the caption: 'Can't wait to meet'. Next he posted a photo of Trump and Cook speaking together and said 'caption this photo'. Seconds later he wrote: '2 of my favorite people' before retweeting Trump's 'MAGA' tweet again. After that he posted messages which had apparently been sent by popular New York radio host Ebro Darden that seemed to discuss the rapper's support for Trump. Trump later retweeted the message on his page and wrote: 'Thank you Kanye, very cool!' The president then tweeted the photo of the hat with 'MAGA!' West even tweeted a picture of himself in a Make America Great Again hat (pictured here with music mogul Lyor Cohen in center and an unidentified man) Around 12.30pm PST West posted a picture of his MAGA hat to show that it had been signed by Trump himself In December of 2016, he actually met with Trump but soon after deleted all his post about the President after he was hit with a wave of criticism '159 employees to go,' he wrote. Darden yesterday claimed that rapper had previously battled an opioid addiction. Eric Trump also got on the Kanye train, retweeting the same tweet his dad did and adding a few American flag emojis as well. Less than an hour after he posted his original tweet, West revealed that his wife Kim Kardashian had called him about the Trump tweet. 'My wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does,' he wrote. 'I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself.' Kardashian took to her own Twitter account to defend West and said he was 'years ahead of his time'. 'Now when he spoke about Trump...Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this,' she began. 'But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions, even if really different from mine. He never said he agrees with his politics.' In a separate tweet Kardashian reiterated that she loved and respected her husband. 'Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that's why I love him and respect him,' she said. Chance's tweet also caught the attention of the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, who retweeted it At 1pm PST he tweeted a screen grab of Trump's retweet - posted half an hour earlier - which he had seen from mediatkd, a Kanye West Twitter fan page 'And in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren't labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time.' Kardashian also hit back at the media, which she said was trying to 'demonize' West. 'Your commentary on Kanye being erratic & his tweets being disturbing is actually scary,' she wrote. 'So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair.' Don Jr jumped in to show his support for Kardashian, retweeting her defense of West and adding #ImWithHer - the hashtag originally used to show support for Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. West's public support for Trump even made its way into the discussion at the White House press briefing on Wednesday. A reporter asked Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if Trump had reached out to West following the rapper's recent praise. 'I don't know of any conversation that they've had over the last week or so, I'll keep you posted if that changes,' Sanders said, breaking into a smile. 'I know they met during the transition, that's the only meeting I'm aware of that's taken place, or conversation.' West first revealed his support for Trump shortly after the November 2016 election, when he told a California concert audience he would have voted for the Republican. 'I told y'all I didn't vote, right? But if I would've voted, I would've voted for Trump,' he said. 'We live in a racist country. That is a fact. This world is racist, OK? Let's stop being distracted to focus on that as much.' Axon, the largest provider of police bodycams, is considering adding facial recognition technology to the devices Developers of body cameras worn by police officers around the country are looking into adding facial recognition to the devices. The announcement was made on Thursday by Axon, the technology company formerly known as Taser for its eponymous stun guns. It revealed that it has put together an ethics committee to work solely on its artificial intelligence division, with facial recognition technology at the top of its agenda. The announcement has triggered grave concerns from activist groups including the American Civil Liberties Union which says it could trigger horrific racial prejudice because the technology is known not to be as effective when identifying people of color or who have dark skin. They fear officers will start identifying innocent people as dangerous fugitives as a result. Thirty activist groups sent a letter to Axon after the announcement laying out their concerns. They said it would be 'categorically unethical' to deploy the technology across the country. Coming to a town near you? Facial recognition technology was used famously to hunt baddies in the 1987 film Robocop 'Real-time face recognition would chill the constitutional freedoms of speech and association, especially at political protests. 'It could also prime officers to perceive individuals as more dangerous than they really are and to use more force than the situation requires. 'No policy or safeguard can mitigate these risks sufficiently well for real-time face recognition ever to be marketable,' the letter said. HOW DOES IT WORK? Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person. If used on police body cameras, it would function like a highly-tuned version of the facial recognition software used by the likes of Facebook to tag people in photographs posted by users. It does not give a 100 percent match but suggests a probability that a person is the same as one pictured before by scanning their face for similarities. It is not yet known what databases police forces would use for a comparison but they would likely utilise drivers' licenses, passport photographs or mug shots. Advertisement Critics also fear it could encourage excessive force if a police officer wrongly identifies a suspect and shoots them. 'There's a real concern that it could exacerbate the risk of police use of force,' Laura Moy, the deputy director of Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology, told LMTOnline. 'There's always going to be a possibility of error and, in a real-time scenario where a police officer is likely armed, the risks associated with potential misidentification are always going to exceed any possible benefits. Axon has not said that it will definitely introduce the technology to its products. Its CEO Rick Smith said he acknowledged that it was not perfect. 'I don't think it's an optimal solution, the world we're in today, that catching dangerous people should just be left up to random chance, or expecting police officers to remember who they're looking for. 'It would be both naive and counterproductive to say law enforcement shouldn't have these new technologies. 'They're going to, and I think they're going to need them. 'We can't have police in the 2020s policing with technologies from the 1990s,' he said. Key Trump campaign advisors showed 'poor judgment' by attending a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, the Republican-run Intelligence panel found in a document that came out just as the lawyer said she was reporting to Moscow. Even in a document panned by Democrats for focusing on the Hillary Clinton camp and FBI and intelligence failures under the Obama administration, the GOP-panel gave a written slap to participants in the infamous June 2016 meeting. The report found that the trio of top Trump advisors who attended the meeting Donald Trump Jr., former campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner,' showed 'poor judgement' by attending the meeting. President Donald Trump said he was 'honored' by the House Intelligence panel's report They attended in order to meet a Russian 'who falsely purported to have damaging information on the Clinton campaign,' the panel states flatly a conclusion that emerged from emails between the president's eldest son and the son of a Russian oligarch. The Kremlin-linked lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, acknowledged in a new interview with NBC that she was feeding information to Moscow, despite earlier denials. I am a lawyer, and I am an informant, she told the network. Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general, she said. The Republican-run panel also pointed to contacts between the Trump camp and WikiLeaks the transparency organization that the Intelligence Committee considers a hostile non-state actor countering the U.S. government. Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 22, 2018. The Intelligence Committee faulted the decision by top Trump advisors to meet with her 'The Committee also found the Trump campaign's periodic praise for and communications with Wikileaks a hostile foreign organization to be highly objectionable and inconsistent with U.S. national security interests,' the report said. Even as it found 'no evidence' Trump associates stole Democratic Party emails or those belonging to her campaign chair during the campaign, it calls contacts with WikiLeaks, which published the emails, 'ill-advised.' Veselnitskaya's comments about feeding information to Moscow air tonight on 'NBC Nightly News' and on MSNBC's 'On Assignment.' The report, which Trump called a 'great honor' and which found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, also traced efforts by the Trump Organization to open a Trump Tower Moscow. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, now under criminal investigation, exchanges repeated emails with an official whose name is redacted but has been reported in the past to be Russia-born Trump associate Felix Sater. Touting the deal, he writes at one point: 'Buddy, our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it.' The deal fizzled out in 2016, Donald Trump Jr. testified. But that wasn't before Cohen 'attempted to reach out to members of the Russian government' to promote the project. But he 'apparently did not havea ny direct points of contact He also writes that if 'Putin gets on stage with Donald for a ribbon cutting for Trump Moscow ... Donald owns the republican nomination,' he writes. President Trump said Friday he was 'honored' by the new Republican-run House Intelligence Committee report that exonerated his campaign from colluding with Russia. The president brought up the report during a photo-op with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hours after the heavily-redacted document was released. The report, running more than 250 pages, found his campaign didn't collude with Russia though it also found a Trump Tower meeting with Russians showed 'poor judgement.' Donald Trump Jr. attended the meeting with a Russian lawyer who now says she sent information to Russia 'We were honored. It was a great report no collusion which I knew anyway, no coordination, no nothing,' Trump said from the Oval Office. Then, without naming it, he went after special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. 'Its a witch hunt thats all it is. There was no collusion with Russia. You can believe this one.' Then, turning to Merkel, Trump said, 'She probably cant believe it. Who can?' Trump lauded the report with what to him is the ultimate attribute: strength. 'The report was very powerful, very strong, there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian people,' he said with emphasis. 'As Ive said many times. Ive always said there was no collusion. But Ive also said there has been nobody tougher on Russia than me,' Trump said. Then he called it 'totally conclusive' although a separate, significantly more bipartisan Senate investigation continues, as does the Mueller probe, which has already obtained guilty pleas from several Trump associates. The bitterly divided Republican-run House Intelligence Committee released a redacted version of its final report on Russian 'Active Measures' Friday that exonerates the Trump campaign from 'collusion' with Russia. President Donald Trump and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 27, 2018 The report found 'no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government,' but it also found 'poor judgement and ill-considered actions' on the part of both the Trump and the Clinton campaigns. The reports findings repeatedly highlight information to back up Trump campaign officials, while faulting the Obama administration and federal investigators for some of their actions. It calls the Russian campaign to affect U.S. politics 'nothing novel,' and calls the U.S. government response to the Russian campaign 'slow and inconsistent.' The Republican-run House Intelligence Committee released a redacted version of its final report on Russian 'Active Measures' that exonerates the Trump campaign from having any 'collusion' with Russia The report comes as special Robert Mueller's team has racked up a series of guilty pleas and continues to investigate Russia's actions. It got put out on a day that Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Kremlin-linked lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2016 changed story to say she was an informant to Moscow. 'I am a lawyer, and I am an informant,' she told NBC News, the New York Times reported. 'Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.' The report found 'no evidence' that Donald Trump's pre-campaign business dealings constituted collusion. The Mueller probe is investigating efforts to build a Trump Tower Moscow. Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Kremlin-linked lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2016, changed her story to say she was an informant to Moscow Found FBI did not find any 'deception' during former security advisor Mike Flynn's interview, although Flynn has plead guilty to lying to the FBI. The Republican panel found 'no evidence' Trump associates stole Clinton emails that got hacked during the campaign. But it calls contacts with WikiLeaks, which published the emails, 'ill-advised.' Trump has said repeatedly there was 'no collusion' with Russia. The report references the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016 where Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner 'expected to receive' derogatory information about Clinton 'from Russian sources.' But it noted they 'did not ultimately obtain' the information they sought. Donald Trump Jr. 'expected to receive' derogatory information about Clinton at a Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016, according to the report The report comes as special Robert Mueller's team has racked up a series of guilty pleas and continues to investigate Russia's actions Meanwhile, the report hits the Clinton campaign, finding it used 'cutouts' - an espionage term - to pay for opposition research on Trump that was 'obtained from Russian sources.' That is a reference to the infamous Steele dossier compiled by ex British foreign intelligence officer Christopher Steele. One finding notes that Trump's campaign chair, Paul Manafort, has been 'indicted on several charges.' But it notes that none of them relate to 'allegations of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.' Nevertheless, Manafort's ties to the Pro-Moscow Ukrainian government remain a key area of interest for investigators, and money laundering charges against him relates to his work in that area. House Intelligence chairman Rep. Devin Nunes stepped back from overseeing the probe after reports on his trips to the White House. The report was released by Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas The 253-page report even blames the 'establishment' not Trump for the hiring of aides with 'pro-Russia views.' 'The Republican national security establishment's opposition to candidate Trump created opportunities for two less-experienced individuals with pro-Russia views to serve as campaign advisors: George Papadopoulos and Carter Page.' It mentions efforts by Trump officials to set up a 'back-channel' to Russia after the election but argues this suggests the 'absence of collusion' during the campaign since if there really were collusion it would have been unnecessary. The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday officially cleared the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign, releasing its final report over Democratic objections and ending its probe. The investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. Republicans had already announced the main findings last month. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is ongoing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House panel did find that Russia sought to sow discord in the U.S. through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans say they will pressure intelligence agencies to be able to release more information. The report's conclusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats. They say the committee did not interview enough witnesses or gather enough evidence to support its finding. Trump has repeatedly said there was 'no collusion.' In a statement, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has been leading the investigation, said he was 'extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions' made by the intelligence agencies. He said many of the blacked out details include information already public such as witness names and previously declassified information. Conaway said the committee had pledged to be 'as transparent as possible' with the report. 'I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the IC's many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months,' he said. Newly unearthed documents reveal that suspected school shooter Sky Bouche, 19, had made threats against his middle school in comments on Columbine school shooting YouTube videos Documents show that years before the 19-year-old man fired a shotgun at a Florida high school, injuring one, he had threatened to open fire at his middle school. Suspected shooter Sky Bouche, 19, of Crystal River, Florida, was arrested on April 20 after firing a shotgun into a door at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida. But, an October 2013 police report revealed that Bouche had posted potential shooting threats against his middle school in the comments section of a YouTube video about Colorado's 1999 Columbine school mass shooting. The 2013 report, unearthed by The Ocala Star Banner, noted that Bouche's YouTube comment said, 'I'm thinking about doing my school the same way, I have enough guns and ammo. I have been planning for months, but not sure when to do it.' At the time Bouche wrote the comment, he was a student at Osceola Middle School in Ocala. Bouche's comments were flagged to the Ocala Police Department by a Marion County sheriff's official, who was part of the FBI's Safe Streets task force, because Bouche's 'numerous inflamed derogatory comments' had set off warning signals. The OPD report also mentioned that Bouche had also posted comments saying that 'everybody will know my name', was taking Prozac for mental health reasons and had admitted to considering suicide. According to the OPD report, Bouche was pulled from class and interviewed about the YouTube comments, at which point he admitted that he had posted the comments himself in June 2013, during school summer vacation. A 2013 police report stated that Bouche had been investigated for allegedly threatening a mass shooting at Osceola Middle School, when he was still a student there Authorities declined to charge Bouche (pictured April 20) after investigating the 2013 threats, claiming that they were a mental health issue and not specific threats to harm people. At the time he said that he made the threats as a way to gain attention On April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, Bouche entered Forest High School armed with a shotgun, firing at a locked door and wounded a 17-year-old male student Bouche claimed that he had only made the comments as a way to gain attention because he 'felt hopeless' and was experiencing family problems and wasn't mentally stable. He also denied owning any firearms. When authorities checked his home for guns, they only found realistic gun replicas including air soft, BB and pellet guns. Following the investigation into Bouche's YouTube comments, school officials reportedly referred Bouche for a suicide and violence-risk assessment and had the school's guidance counselor speak with him. No criminal charges were filed against Bouche at the time, as the alleged threats against the middle school were not deemed specific threats about harming anybody at the school and the posts seemed to be the fallout of a mental issue. Speaking with The Ocala Star-Banner after the April 20 shooting, he revealed that he once wanted to join the Marines but could not as he was 'Baker Acted when I was 14,' meaning he was committed for a mental health evaluation at the age of 14. Bouche entered Forest High School in Ocala, armed with a shotgun on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, and the very same day students across the nation participated in a walkout to protest gun violence. Bouche shot at a locked door where pellets ricocheted off the door and wounded a 17-year-old male student. He was taken down by a school resource officer and arrested, just three minutes after he opened fire. A detective's report revealed that Bouche had a 17.5 inch shotgun concealed in a guitar case that he brought into school. After entering he went to the bathroom, put on a tactical vest and gloves, then walked into the hallway where he shot the door. The day after the Forest High School shooting, Bouche gave a televised interview from behind bars, recalling the shooting. 'I prepared to go and scare people,' Bouche told KTVU. 'Put my shotgun in my guitar case, took two pills of Phenibut, put my tactical vest in my backpack and went to Forest,' Bouche said. Phenibut is an anti-anxiety medication which is banned in the US but obtainable online. When asked why he did it, Bouche replied: 'It's just built up since I was a young child. Just not around good things, a lot of mental illness, some violence, mostly neglect.' 'I don't know, it just wasn't a good day,' he said. Bouche was taken down by a school resource officer and arrested, just minutes opening fire Bouche was denied bail due to the nature of the charges that span terrorism, aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and armed trespass on school property Bouche said that when he entered the school a girl walked by him, but he hesitated in pulling out the gun. 'I just didn't want to shoot or kill people, because at that point the adrenaline and the excitement just kind of faded immediately.' Instead, he said fired through a door and dropped the gun, thinking he hadn't hit anyone. But a 17-year-old boy on the other side of the door was struck in the ankle. 'I could have pumped the shotgun. I didn't, I just dropped it,' Bouche said. Addressing the injured student he added, 'There's nothing I can say, I can say sorry all I want, but he can think what he wants.' 'This is what I wanted, was to be away from everyone else, so I'm not hurting anyone else,' he said, sitting stony faced in jailhouse stripes. 'That was my primary goal. Cause I knew if I didn't, you know, snap now, it would have been later and it would've been a hundred times worse.' Bouche was denied bail at his first court appearance on Saturday. Judge Willard Pope at Marion County Jail told Bouche he would be held without bond due to the nature of the charges that span terrorism, aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and armed trespass on school property. Bouche had been planning a shooting for some time. He told detectives he wanted to do it on Friday the 13th but changed his mind. He added he wanted to do a church shooting at first but decided to go with a school shooting as it 'creates more attention'. He added that he was prompted to complete Friday's shooting after suffering nightmares. He said wanted to go to jail as he could 'potentially conduct another shooting in the future' the detective report stated. Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, was charged with second-degree burglary, sexual assault of an animal and violating his parole after allegedly breaking into a stable and raping a horse An Oregon homeless man has admitted to breaking into a barn and sexually assaulting a horse. Authorities said that Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, entered the stables at a rural home near Hillsboro, Oregon and had sexual contact with a black mare named Ellie, according to court documents. Duyck was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree burglary, sexual assault of an animal and violating his parole. A homeowner called deputies on April 19, after discovering that her stable had been broken into and finding her horse, Ellie, tied up in an unusual way, the Hillsboro Tribune reported. Although nothing seemed to have been stolen, items were moved around the stable, the homeowner reported. Deputies found an overturned bucket near the horse, according to The Oregonian. The homeowner said that she took a photo of Ellie and sent it to her daughter, a veterinarian, who said that it appeared as though someone had engaged in sexual contact with the horse, according to court documents reviewed by FOX 12. The horse's alleged sexual assault took place in a rural home's barn on this street in Oregon Authorities found Duyck, a homeless man, sleeping in his car in the parking lot of the Walmart in nearby Cornelius, Oregon. They arrested Duyck and later collected his DNA Authorities examined Ellie and collected DNA evidence from her. The day before discovering the alleged sexual assault of her horse, the homeowner told deputies that a man had called her and asked for permission to camp on her property, but she had denied his request. After the call, the homeowner said that she saw a 'homeless-looking' man, who identified himself as being Duyck, talking with her neighbors. Duyck was arrested after deputies tracked him down while sleeping in his car in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter in nearby Cornelius, Oregon. Following his arrest, authorities collected Duyck's DNA. Deputies said that Duyck claimed to have broken into the stable in an effort to find work, but later admitted to having sexual contact with the horse and that it was the first and only time that he had sexually assaulted a horse. The probable cause affidavit revealed that Duyck stated that he believed he was driven to sexually assault the horse because he had not been taking his medications. Authorities told the Hillsboro Tribune that Duyck has been known to visit the area where the incident occurred and has some family members there. Court records showed that Duyck had been convicted of burglary and theft charges in 2017, after breaking into his uncle's home and stealing a handgun in 2015. Duyck was found unfit to stand trial at first and received several months of treatment at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, before he was deemed able to aid his own defense. At the time of his arrest on Tuesday, Duyck was on probation for the 2017 conviction. If found guilty of sexually assaulting the horse, Duyck could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined up to $125,000. The Church of Scientology has been fined 14,000 for polluting a river with raw sewage. The Church of Scientology Religious Education College - a subsidiary of the organisation - repeatedly polluted a tributary of the River Medway with sewage from its toilets. The church, based at Saint Hill Manor at East Grinstead, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to one offence and asked for ten others to be taken into consideration at Worthing Magistrates' Court on Friday 27 April. The Church of Scientology base at Saint Hill Manor at East Grinstead in West Sussex The organisation was fined 14,000 and ordered to pay costs totalling 2,566. The court heard that in August 2015, the church was replacing their old sewage treatment plant, with the new facility built to treat a higher volume of sewage. The plant was completed and operating correctly when the Environment Agency inspected it in September 2015. But in October, the Environment Agency was told of pollution in the Saint Hill area. Investigators traced the pollution upstream to find that the newly installed treatment plant was the source. Samples taken from the treatment plant found that the wastewater being discharged was over 10 times the permitted limit. Investigators saw sewage fungus - described as 'a grey, slimy bacterial and fungal growth associated with sewage' covering the stream bed. The stream bed had been covered for over 200 metres with sewage fungus and sediment associated with sewage. The Environment agency said in a statement: 'Dead invertebrates were found for over 350 metres downstream of the discharge. ' Further inspections and sampling found that the treatment plant continued to pollute. Wastewater being discharged from the Saint Hill Manor building (shown) was over 10 times the permitted limit The Environment Agency took samples on 19 occasions of which 10 failed water quality standards, it said in a statement. As part of the investigation the Environment Agency filed a notice requiring information about the design and installation of the sewage treatment plant, details of remedial works and also details of a large gala concert held at the complex. Solicitors for the church responded with information and stated that although 1,600 guests had attended the concert additional toilet facilities had been provided that were not connected to the sewerage system. Dave Willis, Area Environment Manager of the Environment Agency said: 'We are pleased that the court decided to impose a significant financial penalty on the organisation today. 'The incident had a serious and avoidable impact on a local watercourse, caused by failing to ensure that the new treatment plant operated correctly. 'We take these types of incidents very seriously and will do everything within our powers to safe-guard the environment and people affected, and that includes bringing those who harm the environment to account for their actions.' The court heard the church was aware of the long-standing problem and was therefore negligent, but had since spent considerable money on installing new infrastructure to get the sewage treatment plant operating as it should. They also noted that no long-term harm to the watercourse was caused. President Trump has hailed Kanye West for performing a 'great service to the black community' after the rapper threw his support behind the president in a series of tweets - which were met with hefty backlash. Kanye has been busy since his return to Twitter after taking a year-long hiatus, but his tweets have become headlines. He has repeatedly thrown his support behind President Trump, tweeting a photo sporting his very own Make America Great Again cap, and being photographed in it while running errands on Friday. Trump, America's number one Twitter fan, quickly took notice, and thanked him Thursday. On Friday the president tweeted: 'Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community - Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades - Legacy Stuff!' Kanye West continues to show his support for President Donald Trump by wearing his now signed America Great Again hat in Los Angeles Kanye West and a then President-elect Donald Trump first formed their relationship when they met at Trump Tower in December of 2016 (pictured that day) Trump took to Twitter to thank Kanye West for his support, and added a special thanks to Chance the Rapper, who tweeted 'Blacks don't have to be Democrats.' Chance later explained in a lengthy post that he does not support Trump's relationship with the black community He added a special note to Chance The Rapper, as well as Dr. Darrell Scott, who works with the president and was a member of his transitional team. 'Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history).' According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, unemployment for blacks and Hispanics are at or near their lowest point. Latinos had a comparably low unemployment rate in 2008. On Wednesday, at the beginning of Kanye and the president's tweet-storm love-fest, Chance said 'Black people dont have to be democrats,' seemingly also supporting the president, and Kanye's sentiments about Trump. However, within hours of the president thanking Chance, the rapper posted a lengthy tweet clarifying his stance on the issue of Kanye supporting the president, and how he perceives the president's relationship with the black community. Kanye West and Chance the Rapper pictured together. Chance became caught up in the Trump-Kanye love-fest when he attempted to defend Kanye Nope: Chance clarified his position on President Trump after POTUS tweeted a thank you to him, suggesting the rapper was also throwing his support behind the president Chance posted a lengthy missive on Twitter clarifying his position on Kanye's support of Donald Trump Defending Kanye: Chance ended up in the middle of controversy when he attempted to come to Kanye's aid after he rather emphatically supported Trump The bromance between Kanye and Trump began in earnest after the election in 2016, when West met Trump at his home-office at Trump Towers. The two men posed together at the time, both smiling for the cameras in the lobby of the building after their meet-up. Kanye continued on with his message, sporting his Make America Great Again hat on Friday while out running errands. Also Friday, Kanye tweeted about being called a conservative: 'I haven't done enough research on conservatives to call myself or be called one. I'm just refusing to be enslaved by monolithic thought.' The rapper's support of the president quickly garnered the attention of the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, after West called Trump a 'brother,' defended 'independent thought,' showed off his MAGA hat on Twitter Thursday, and said he wasn't 'scared' of the media. The committee quickly sent out a fundraising appeal in an email. The pitch read: 'The American people do not want to be told what to think or who to support.' 'Group think is a mandate in today's society and when a free thinker like Kanye West speaks truth, they attack him.' In December of 2016, Kanye West met with Donald Trump but soon after deleted all his posts about the President after he was hit with a wave of criticism On Friday Kanye tweeted his stance on being labeled a conservative after shocking the left leaning artistic community when he shared his support of Trump Then the committee hedged. 'We support Kanye speaking his mind, even if sometimes we do not agree on the issues. Do not let them silence you. Get your MAGA hat today,' it concluded. Trump continued praising Kanye over Twitter Thursday after the rapper called Trump his 'brother' and said they shared similar 'dragon energy.' 'He has good taste,' the president said during his wide-ranging call-in Thursday morning to Fox & Friends. 'You know, I have known Kanye a little bit. And I get along with Kanye.' Trump explained that he believed Kanye was impressed with his record on black, Latino and even female unemployment, reminding the Fox & Friends co-hosts how he would tell African-American voters at rallies 'What do you have to lose?' 'He sees that stuff and he's smart,' Trump continued. 'And he says, "Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,"' the president added. President Trump tweeted a 'thank you' to Kanye West Wednesday afternoon after a reporter asked about positive comments the rapper had made about Trump during the White House press briefing In a second tweet about Kanye West, President Trump merely wrote 'MAGA!' - which is shorthand for 'Make America Great Again' The president was then asked if Republicans had done a bad job trying to court black voters. 'You know, I think it was just a custom, people don't realize, if you go back to the Civil War, it was the Republicans who really did the thing,' Trump said. 'Lincoln was a Republican.' 'Somehow it changed over the years and I will say, I really believe it's changing back,' he added. The president's Thursday morning comments came after he gave the rapper two shout-outs on Twitter on Wednesday. 'Thank you Kanye, very cool!' Trump wrote, including West's original message in his tweet. In a second tweet, Trump wrote 'MAGA' shorthand for 'Make America Great Again' as the president shared the rapper's photo of his signed red Trump hat. Kanye's original tweet read: 'You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him.' 'We are both dragon energy. He is my brother,' West added. 'I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought,' said the rapper, who is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about Kanye West's comments at Wednesday's press briefing Kanye West continued to show his support for President Donald Trump on Wednesday, even tweeting a picture of himself in a Make America Great Again hat (here with music mogul Lyor Cohen pictured center) Kanye West originally declared his support for Donald Trump on Twitter Wednesday, calling the president his 'brother' and saying they both share 'dragon energy' In his next tweet, Kanye wrote that he loved also Clinton and claimed that 'Trump is pretty much a 50 50 split' for the people in his life Less than an hour later, West tweeted that his wife Kim Kardashian had called him about the Trump tweet. 'My wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does,' he wrote. 'I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself.' West also tweeted a photo of himself wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat and referred to himself as a 'future president.' West's public support for Trump even made its way into the discussion at the White House press briefing on Wednesday, shortly before the president sent out his tweet. A reporter asked Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if Trump had reached out to West following the rapper's recent praise. 'I don't know of any conversation that they've had over the last week or so, I'll keep you posted if that changes,' Sanders said, breaking into a smile. 'I know they met during the transition, that's the only meeting I'm aware of that's taken place, or conversation,' she added, noting, 'Before everybody has a meltdown and thinks we had a meeting last week.' Ivanka Trump also tweeted about Kanye West's praise for her father on Wednesday too. First daughter and White House aide Ivanka Trump also tweeted about Kanye West showing support for her father Less than an hour later, West tweeted that his wife Kim Kardashian had called him about the Trump tweet Kardashian (pictured with West in a recent family photo) was a vocal supporter of Clinton during the 2016 presidential election campaign Last year West shared with a Californian concert audience that he would have voted for Trump West first revealed his support for Trump shortly after the November 2016 election, when he told a California concert audience he would have voted for the Republican. 'I told yall I didnt vote, right? But if I wouldve voted, I wouldve voted for Trump,' he said. 'We live in a racist country. That is a fact. This world is racist, OK? Lets stop being distracted to focus on that as much.' But in a separate tweet on Wednesday, Kanye wrote that he loved also Clinton, who Kardashian publicly supported in the 2016 presidential election. 'If your friend jumps off the bridge you don't have to do the same,' he began. 'Ye being Ye is a fight for you to be you.' 'I told yall I didnt vote, right? But if I wouldve voted, I wouldve voted for Trump,' he told the crowd shortly after the November 2016 election West continued to discuss free thought, saying he loves when 'people have their own ideas' 'For people in my life the idea of Trump is pretty much a 50 50 split but I don't tell a Hillary supporter not to support Hillary I love Hillary too.' The rapper continued to discuss free thought, saying he loves when 'people have their own ideas'. 'You don't have to be allowed anymore. Just be. Love who you want to love. That's free thought,' he wrote. 'I'm not even political. I'm not a democrat or a republican.' Advertisement A Palestinian bride was seen being driven in a car today while smoke billowed from flaming tyres just an arm's length away in the West Bank. Her wedding day came amid clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah. Beit El is at the forefront of the Israeli settlement project, and has led to a heightened state of tension. A Palestinian bride was seen being driven in a car today while smoke billowed from flaming tyres in the West Bank Her wedding day came amid clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, which they say is being rapidly eroded by Israeli settlement growth throughout the West Bank Beit El is at the forefront of the Israeli settlement project, and has led to a heightened state of tension One of the demonstrators prepares to hurl a flaming tyre near Beit El. More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank A Palestinian protester with a Hamas flag on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah today A Palestinian protester burns tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers after a protest against the expanding of Jewish settlements in Kufr Qadoom village near the West Bank city of Nablus today Hundreds of Palestinians on Friday converged on the Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel amid ongoing mass rallies against Israel. The violence came shortly after a top U.N. official urged Israel to refrain from using excessive force against the protesters The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, which they say is being rapidly eroded by Israeli settlement growth throughout the West Bank. More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians converged on the Gaza Strip's border fence with Israel today. They tried to rip through it before drawing heavy Israeli fire in one of the most violent incidents yet in five weeks of protests. Three Palestinians were killed and dozens were reported wounded. The violence came shortly after a top U.N. official urged Israel to refrain from using excessive force against the protesters. At least 38 protesters have been killed by Israeli live fire and more than 1,600 wounded in the weekly protests since they began on March 30. Israeli security forces intervene today in a Palestinian protest, which was organised in support of 'Great March of Return' - as the rallies, which have gone on for weeks have been dubbed - at Beit El checkpoint A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli soldiers today during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron Hundreds of Palestinians converged on the Gaza Strip's border fence with Israel today (pictured). They tried to rip through it before drawing heavy Israeli fire in one of the most violent incidents yet in five weeks of protests. Three Palestinians were killed and dozens were reported wounded Israel has rejected the international criticism, saying it is defending its sovereign border and accusing Gaza's Hamas leaders, who are organising the protests, of using the crowds as cover to carry out attacks. In Friday's unrest, a large crowd gathered a few hundred yards from the border, with some throwing stones and setting tyres on fire in what has become a weekly occurrence. Thousands have taken part in the Friday demonstrations from five protest tent camps, each set up several hundred yards from the border fence. Israeli officials have said that some of the protesters in recent weeks tried to damage the border fence or plant explosives along it. Others have tried to set Israeli fields on fire on the other side of the fence by hurling improvised explosives or firebombs, or flying flaming kites. Israel and Egypt imposed the Gaza blockade in 2007, in response to a violent takeover of the territory by Hamas, which had won Palestinian parliament elections a year earlier. The blockade has gutted Gaza's economy, driving up unemployment and leaving two-thirds of young people without jobs. Hamas' Interior Ministry announced that Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah border crossing for three days, beginning Saturday. The temporary opening is the second this month. A 15-year-old girl who brought THC-laced chips to school and gave them out to her friends is facing criminal charges after three students fell dramatically ill. One girl was taken to hospital, another was hallucinating and could not stand, and a third was carried from the school by her father because she couldn't walk, the Sun-Sentinel reported. The Driftwood Middle School student told Hollywood police she got the snack, called Weetos, from a man who police have not identified as the investigation continues. A 15-year-old girl is facing criminal charges after handing out 'Weetos' at her middle school. The chip is laced with THC and one girl was hospitalised after eating one She said her friends knew the chips were laced with THC, the chemical compound in marijuana that gives users a high, but the student who was hospitalised told police she thought she was just eating Cheetos. Kevin Klein, the brother of the girl who was hospitalised, said his sister had noticed no difference between the original chip and the weed-laced snack. 'Her friend just gave her a Cheeto, and what she thought was a Cheeto was actually something called Weetos,' he told WSVN. 'It's basically marijuana or THC-infused Cheetos - orange, crunchy, [there's] no difference. 'A while later, she started feeling the effects as she was transferring to her next class where she started just feeling super ill, dizzy, in and out of it, basically.' The brother of the girl who was hospitalised said his sister thought she was eating a regular Cheeto (pictured) Weetos are only sold in California, where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use. The girl who brought the 'Weetos' in to school has been charged with possession of THC. She has been suspended from school for 10 days and will likely be expelled. President Donald Trump came up with an admiring label for Dr. Ronny Jackson has been called 'candy man' for the way he dispensed drugs terming his now-defunct Veterans Affairs secretary nominee an 'American hero.' Trump, who has come up with such short-hand nicknames as 'Crooked Hillary' and 'Little Marco' said of the White House physician: 'Calling him names was to me a disgrace an absolute disgrace.' Trump said he called Jackson, who announced he was withdrawing his nomination Thursday, for a pep talk. 'I called him today. I said in a certain way, in a very big way, you're an American hero because you've exposed a system for some horrible things,' Trump said of Jackson 'I called him today. I said in a certain way, in a very big way, you're an American hero because you've exposed a system for some horrible things,' Trump told reporters at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the day after Jackson stepped back from his effort to be the next Veterans secretary. He was facing a swarm of allegations that he doled out Ambien and stimulants aboard Air Force One on overseas trips, wrecked a car while drunk, and created a 'hostile' work environment. 'I've had it happen to me with the Russian collusion hoax it's a hoax,' Trump said, comparing what Jackson went through with his own need to contend with the Russia probe. 'He didn't really think a thing like this could happen,' said Trump. Trump said it was a 'disgrace' for him to be brought down by 'false accusations.' Trump effusively praised Jackson in the phone interview in a way he did not when given the opportunity at a news conference earlier this week. The president asserted, in response to the allegations that ruined Jackson, 'there's no proof of this' Embattled Veterans Affairs nominee Dr. Ronny Jackson suddenly withdrew his name from consideration Thursday and issued a bitter statement saying the list of claims about his conduct were 'completely false and fabricated' 'Ronny Jackson admiral, doctor is one of the finest men that I've met over the long period of time. 'High quality,' Trump said. I explained that Washington can be a very mean place,' Trump said. 'You don't know about that, chancellor,' he said to Merkel, who walked around Georgetown and went to lunch on Thursday in advance of her Trump meeting. 'A nasty place. The false accusations that were made about him by Sen. Tester from a great state, I don't think that state is going to put up with it,' Trump said of the North Dakotan who first revealed Jackson was known by some current and former military staff as 'candy man.' 'These were false accusations about a great man, about a man who has a son who is a top student at Annapolis,' Trump said. About a man that's given his life to this country and to the military. A brave man who would have been a great leader,' Trump said, running through his reviews and promotions, like an 'A plus report' from President Obama. 'You have President Trump giving him an A-plus report,' said President Trump. He said most of the things Jackson was accused of 'never even happened.' Jackson suddenly withdrew his name from consideration Thursday after vowing to press on. 'He's a great man, and he got treated very, very unfairly. He got treated really unfairly. And he's a hell of a man,' Trump said during a White House event for children. Trump, in a phone interview with Fox & Friends, had lauded Jackson as 'highly respected' and 'a real leader' who 'would have done a great job' atop the Department of Veterans' Affairs. He said that Democrats were 'trying to destroy Jackson' or as he likes to call him, 'Doc Ronny,' and asserted 'there's no proof' that the White House doctor had committed any of the infractions he'd been accused of. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Jackson will continue to serve the president. 'Admiral Jackson is a doctor in the United States Navy assigned to the White House and is here at work today,' she said. Jackson suddenly withdrew his name from consideration for VA secretary on Thursday morning and issued a bitter statement saying the list of claims about his conduct were 'completely false and fabricated.' He has been accused of wrecking a government vehicle while driving drunk and prescribing a large amount of an opioid painkillers to a military White House staffer, among other allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct. In a statement issued by the White House announcing his withdraw, Jackson said the anonymous claims are 'baseless.' 'If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years,' Jackson rebutted. However, he said, 'Unfortunately, because of how Washington works, these false allegations have become a distraction for this President and the important issue we must be addressing how we give the best care to our nation's heroes. The alleged drunk driving incident is said to have happened after a going-away party for a Secret Service agent. Jackson is also accused of giving a 'large amount' of Percocet, heavily-regulated opioid, to a staff member, according to a summary document. Jackson did not explain why he did not want to contend the allegations as he walked away from the Veterans Affairs post that would have put him in charge of the second-largest government agency if confirmed. A trio of US military aircraft were involved in a near-miss in airspace over Norfolk, a report has revealed. Two F-15 fighter jets were conducting combat training when the incident occurred, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said. With one of the jets acting as the aggressor and the other as the defender, they embarked on a climbing left turn which brought them towards a Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. F-15E Strike Eagles prepare for landing at RAF Lakenheath in Britain (file picture) This was despite the fighter pilots receiving air traffic information from a controller based in Swanwick, Hampshire. A warning system was activated inside the reconnaissance plane's cockpit. When one of the F-15 pilots spotted the RC-135 they ended their training fight and executed a right-hand turn to avoid a crash. Radar recordings show that one of the F-15s passed within 370 metres of the RC-135. The risk of collision during the incident on November 27 last year was assessed as 'medium' by the RC-135 pilot. The UKAB believes the fighter pilots had 'sufficient information' about the location of the reconnaissance aircraft, but may not have fully understood it due to being engaged in 'highly-dynamic manoeuvring'. Its report concluded: 'The cause of the (incident) was that the F-15 pilots flew into conflict with the RC-135, despite having received traffic information.' The two aircraft passed within 370 metres of an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, such as the one pictured In a previous near-miss, two F-15s narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with an RAF tanker aircraft in January 2017. The pilot of the RAF Voyager claimed one of the F-15s flew as close as 50 metres from it during the incident off the coast of north Norfolk. The US operates F-15s from RAF Lakenheath and RC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, both in Suffolk. President Donald Trump said Friday that he is considering taking a trip to Israel for the opening of America's embassy in Jerusalem. 'I may go. It's getting ready to open,' he said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House. The rebooted U.S. diplomatic mission will move on May 14 from its current home in Tel Aviv, making a political statement about America's commitment to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital city. And the shift may be just the first in a series of diplomatic relocations, resulting in a new diplomatic zone that one Israeli minister is considering calling 'Trump Town.' President Donald Trump said Friday that he still might come to Jerusalem for the opening of America's relocated embassy on May 14 Moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (pictured) is controversial but three other nations are already publicly saying they could follow suit The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem will be the site for now of America's rebooted diplomatic mission in Israel Trump said in a geopolitically earth-shaking December announcement that the embassy would soon relocate to Jerusalem, sparking clashes between Jews and Palestinians that left two protesters dead near the Gaza border fence. More recently seven were left dead last month after Palestinian protesters battled with Israeli soldiers in response to Trump's plans. Israeli news outlets including Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post have reported in the past 24 hours that Trump wouldn't attend the May unveiling, and that he would be represented by his daughter Ivanka, her husband Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Several members of both houses of Congress are also expected to make the trip. May 14 will mark Israel's 70th Independence Day. Trump also told a story on Friday about budgeting for the new embassy project, claiming he pared a $1 billion State Department request down to a maximum of $400,000 by deciding to repurpose an existing building and real estate already owned by the U.S. The consulate is a sprawling complex that includes part of a former hotel, providing what Trump says is enough room to function as an embassy without breaking new ground Palestinian protesters burned posters of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest in December after the president said the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel 'The papers were put before me to sign an application for more than $1 billion to build an embassy. I said, "What are you talking about, $1 billion?"' he recalled. 'You know, most embassies are, like, a single story.' 'I had my name half signed, then I noticed the figure, and I never got to the word "Trump",' the president said. He credited U.S. Ambassador David Friedman for divising a plan to 'take a corner of the building' and 'fix it up, make it beautiful [and] open our embassy.' 'Instead of in ten years from now, we can open it up in three months.' Netanyahu's government is preparing for perhaps 'dozens' of new embassies in Jerusalem, resulting a new diplomatic quarter that one official is considering calling 'Trump Town' The embassy site will be the American consular offices in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem. Trump may have started a wave of diplomatic relocations, turning part of Jerusalem into an 'embassy quarter.' The Czech Republic, Romania and Honduras have already told the Israeli government that they would like to follow suit. And Israel's construction minister said Friday that he is forming a task force to find appropriate sites for many more. Palestinians burned tires as a protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 'There is an apparent pattern of embassies moving to Jerusalem, and we have to start getting ready now,' Yoav Gallant told the Jerusalem Post. 'We might have to build dozens of embassies, and we would need new land ready for that purpose.' Gallant said he originally called the concept 'Embassy Town,' but might rename it 'Trump Town' instead. Transportation Minister Israel Katz said days after Trump's December announcement that he would name a new train station at the Western Wall after Trump as well. LAPD cop Mambasse Koulabalo Patara, 42, was arrested on Tuesday after border patrol agents say they caught him trying to shuttle two illegal immigrants into the country A Los Angeles Police Department officer has pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to smuggle two Mexican nationals into the country this week. Traffic cop Mambasse Koulabalo Patara, 42, of Fontana, entered a not guilty plea to a single charge of transport of illegal aliens on Thursday. He was released on bond and ordered to surrender his passport and any firearms he owns. If convicted, he faces the possibility of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Patara was off duty when he was arrested early Tuesday morning at a San Diego County immigration checkpoint about 12 miles north of the Mexican border, according to the federal complaint filed Wednesday. Patara and the two passengers in his 2006 Toyota Corolla were pulled over at the Campo Border Patrol Checkpoint near Pine Valley around 12.15am. Agents said Patara seemed nervous, was visibly shaking and avoided eye contact with them. He immediately told agents that he was a cop, and showed them his LAPD identification card. He also told the agents that the two other men in the car, Fermin Lopez and his nephew German Ramirez-Gonzalez, were U.S. citizens. Lopez was asleep in the back seat of the car when they pulled into the checkpoint. An agent woke him up and asked if he was a citizen, and he responded yes, even though the agent said it didn't look like he understood the question. The agent repeated the question in Spanish, and Lopez again responded that he was a citizen but didn't have any ID on him. Patara, of Fontana, California, is an 11-year veteran of the LAPD. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges Courtesy of 10news Ramirez-Gonzalez was in the front seat and also seemed nervous. Agents noted that he was constantly looking away, refusing to make eye contact. Suspicious, the agents asked Patara to drive over to a secondary inspection area. At this second location Patara told agents that he had his department issued gun on him. They patted him down and found the gun in his waistband. It was at the second location that the two men admitted that they were in the country illegally. At this point, all three men were taken into custody. In interview with agents, Lopez and his nephew gave different stories about how they ended up in the country. Ramirez-Gonzalez said he's known Patara for about five years, and had worked on his home in Fontana. He said that he and his uncle hiked over the border about a week earlier and then got a ride up to Los Angeles from another person. That night, he says they drove to Viejas Casino in Alpine and gambled for about an hour before moving on to the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo. He says they left Acorn shortly after they arrived, and headed back towards L.A. around 8pm or 9pm. He had no explanation for why the 15 to 20 minute drive between the casino and the checkpoint took them three hours. Lopez on the other hand, said that he and his nephew crossed into the country the previous day, spending a day and a half hiking over the border before arriving at the casino. Once there, he says his nephew got them a ride with a stranger. Above is the border patrol checkpoint that Patara was pulled over at early Tuesday morning. The two men he was driving are in federal custody Neither man said that Patara had been smuggling them. Both remain in federal custody and are material witnesses in Patara's case. Following the charges, Patara was placed on administrative leave from the department. The Internal Affairs Division is investigating. Patara is an 11-year veteran of the force. He currently works in the South Traffic Division. He is due back in court next on May 9. Neighbors in Fontana were shocked ot hear the news about patara. 'I heard what happened, and I'm really shocked,' one woman told CBS LA. 'They've always just been a really nice family ever since my husband and I have lived here. [] There's always multiple sides to every story, so I think that's important for everyone to keep in mind [] before jumping to conclusions on these types of things.' 'I just don't believe that he's doing that,' another neighbor said. 'I don't believe at all that he's capable of doing something like that.' A 12-year-old Colorado girl who was abducted from her school by a registered sex offender, was found safe but her abductor shot himself dead when police closed in. Jody Haskin, 47, shot himself Friday after police closed in on him following a manhunt for him and his step-daughter Raeanna Rosencrans, 12, who went missing around 3pm on Wednesday. Police closed in on Haskin early Friday morning in the area of Rifle, after he snatched Rosencrans from her school in Grand Junction. Raenna Rosencrans, 12 (left), who was abducted on her way home from school Wednesday, was found safe Thursday night. Her abductor- stepfather, Jody Haskin (right), was a registered sex offender. He fatally shot himself when the police closed in on him following a manhunt Haskin fatally shot himself early Friday morning following a manhunt (crime scene pictured) 'At 6:47 this morning, officers were searching for a wanted subject believed to be in the area,' the Rifle Police Department confirmed. 'During this time, they encountered an armed adult male. Officers ordered the male to drop his weapon. The male refused, and ultimately shot himself.' Late Thursday, police found the girl unharmed at a Walmart in Rifle. She appeared to be in good health but was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Haskin was not present when police found her. The manhunt started Wednesday, when police issued an alert asking for help locating the man, after Rosencrans was seen getting into a green 'boxy' car by her school at around 3pm on Wednesday. Authorities say Haskin was Rosencrans' stepfather. He was a registered sex offender identified and did not have parental rights to her, reported KKTV. An Amber Alert was issued around 10pm on Wednesday and investigators said Rosencrans was developmentally disabled but also high-functioning. The green car that she got into was recovered in Rifle but it is unclear how it got there or who was driving it. 'Witness statements indicate that Rosencrans entered the vehicle willingly,' police said in a statement after her disappearance. Rosencrans was last seen around 3pm on Wednesday getting into a green 'boxy' car in the area of D 1/2 Rd and Larry's Meadow (pictured), according to a statement from Grand Junction Police 'Haskin is a registered sex offender, and currently has a warrant for his arrest for sex assault on a child out of the Grand Junction Police Department.' The statement continued: 'There is no doubt that a case like this is incredibly alarming and frightening to everyone involved, as well as the community affected by the incident. 'We are committed to following up on every lead in our efforts to bring Raeanna safely home. Investigation thus far indicates this is not a case of stranger abduction.' Donald Trump would not discuss the potential for a military conflict with Iran on Friday. The U.S. president said 'that's not appropriate to be talking about' when a reporter asked him about it during a joint news conference with the German chancellor. 'But, I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons; that, I can tell you. OK?' Trump replied. 'They're not going to be doing nuclear weapons, you can bank on it.' Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday that it will 'have big problems' if it restarts its nuclear program with or without an agreement providing sanctions relief in exchange for its cooperation Trump must decide by May 12 whether he wants to yank the U.S. out of a nuclear pact that the Obama administration made with Tehran in 2015. His new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said today at NATO's headquarters in Brussels that Trump 'is unlikely to stay in that deal past May' unless there are substantial changes to it. It was clear this week that those changes wouldn't happen that quickly, although French leader Emmanuel Macron said he would start working on a companion deal that addresses the problems Trump has with the existing pact. Trump said Tuesday that Iran will 'have big problems' if it restarts its nuclear program with or without an agreement providing sanctions relief in exchange for its cooperation. 'If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid,' he said at a news conference with Macron. Trump signaled then that he could stay in the existing agreement that covers Tehran's nuclear activities in the face of a promise that Europe will work toward a new deal that addresses his concerns about Syria and ballistic missiles. Macron said Wednesday that it was his sense, however, that Trump would leave the deal in order to put pressure on Tehran to broker a new one, much like the hardline approach he's taken to dealing with North Korea. Trump's threats followed Tehran's claims that it could take 'surprising actions' and the U.S. would suffer 'serious consequences' if the U.S. president fulfills his promise to leave the pact. The president railed against Barack Obama's administration for signing onto the accord in the first place as he held court with the Oval Office with Macron. Trump said the U.S. was 'insane' to send Iran 'barrels of cash' as part of the deal he claimed 'should have never, ever been made.' Macron talked him down by committing to pursuing a new pact after hours of meetings at the White House with Trump that he said ended in a 'common reading' on what is happening in Syria, where the U.S. and Iran both have boots on the ground. At the White House on Friday, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor said the agreement 'is anything but perfect.' Merkel said the region is of 'prime importance' to Europe, however, because 'Syria and Iran are countries that are right on our doorstep' The U.S. joined France and the U.K. on launching airstrikes against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's government after his latest chemical weapons attack. The measure brought Trump and Macron even closer, with the leaders speaking to each other on the phone regularly in the weeks since. 'In the past, sometimes France argued that it was time to take action against chemical weapons, and it was -- France was not followed by its allies, including the United States at the time. It is not what happened this time. We decided together what was possible and what was not,' Macron said at a joint news conference. As for the Iran nuclear deal, Macon said, 'I do not know what President Trump will decide...and it's his responsibility.' The French president said he would work with regional powers, including Turkey and the Syria-aligned Russia, for now, to forge a new agreement. 'I believe we can both combine our common views and our differences, because we are not in a vacuum. I always said we should not tear apart the JCPOA and have nothing else.' Trump told him during the media availability that 'nobody knows what I'm going to do,' although he said to his foreign counterpart, 'you have a pretty good idea.' The U.S. president said his actions will depend on whether it will be possible to do a new deal with 'solid foundations' unlike the crumbling agreement his predecessor left him. 'It's a bad deal. It's a bad structure. It's falling down. Should have never, ever been made,' he said. 'I blame Congress. I blame a lot of people for it. But it should have never been made, and we're going to see what happens.' At the White House on Friday, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor said the agreement 'is anything but perfect.' 'It will not solve all the problems with Iran. It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure; and that when the United Kingdom, France and Germany work together with the American colleagues, this was brought about, and then we will now see what sort of decisions are made by American partners,' she said. Merkel said the region is of 'prime importance' to Europe because 'it's not a thousand kilometers away, as it is the case, for example, between the USA and -- and Syria. 'But Syria and Iran are countries that are right on our doorstep,' she said. 'So that is of prime importance for us, and we will continue to be in very close talks on this.' The president railed against Barack Obama 's administration for signing onto the pact as he held court with French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office. Macron said afterward that he got the sense that Trump would leave the pact In his Oval Office meeting with Trump, Macron said the U.S. and France must work together to bring stability to the region. 'The Iran deal is an important issue but we have to take a far broader picture which is security in the overall region,' he said. 'What we want to do is to contain Iran an its presence in the region.' Trump chimed in, having already delivered his own remarks to press to begin their meeting, and tore into Iran. 'It just seems that no matter where you go, especially in the Middle East, Iran is behind it, wherever theres trouble, Yemen, Syria, no matter where you have it, Iran is behind it,' Trump said. 'And now, unfortunately Russia is getting more and more involved.' Trump said the U.S. was not 'going to allow certain things to happen that are happening,' pointing specifically to Iran's ballistic missile testing and its terror financing in Yemen. 'The Iran deal is a disaster. Theyre testing missiles. Whats that all about?' he griped. 'What kind of a deal is it when you dont talk about Yemen and you dont talk about all the other problems that we have with respect to Iran?' The president lit into former Secretary of State John Kerry. Trump said that 'despite all of the money that we gave them,' Kerry 'didn't want to discuss it because it was too complicated.' Obama's administration transferred $1.7 billion to Iran, the first $400 million of which was sent over in pallets of cash, after the deal was brokered. The money resolved a dispute between the U.S. and Iran over a failed 1970s arms deal. Iran paid the U.S. for the weapons but the U.S. cancelled the deal and froze the funds after an uprising. 'That's actual cash, barrels of cash. It's insane. It's ridiculous,' Trump claimed Tuesday in the Oval Office. Trump appeared to be referring to the fact that the first installment of the payment delivered on wooden pallets in foreign currencies order to comply with sanctions the U.S. has on Iran's banking system. He said later on Tuesday that he also heard that the money was delivered in boxes, as well as barrels. 'In barrels, I hear, it was taken out, and in boxes it was taken out -- cash -- they should have made a deal that covered Yemen, that covered Syria, that covered other parts of the Middle East where Iraq is -- where Iran is involved. They didn't do that,' he said. The U.S. is party to the pact with France, Great Britain, Germany, China and Russia. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said Tuesday that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran would readily take 'surprising actions' if the U.S. reneges. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the U.S. could expect 'severe consequences' if Trump moves ahead with plans to pull out. 'I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments,' Rouhani proclaimed in a speech, 'the Iranian government will firmly react.' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that the U.S. could expect 'severe consequences' if Trump moves ahead with plans to pull out of the nuclear agreement Iran loomed large over both Merkel's and Macron's visits to the White House. The French leader was the first to bring it up on Tuesday, mentioning it on the South Lawn in remarks that the U.S. president limited to the United States' long-standing friendship with the nation's oldest ally. He did most of the talking in a joint news conference on the subject, too, after saying in an opening statement that Trump's views on the topic are well known. President Trump has said he would be willing to stay in the deal if Europe is willing to toughen it up by addressing the existing sunset clauses and Tehran's illicit ballistic missile tests. He added Syria to the list of demands on Tuesday. He told Macron in front of reporters that he was open to 'doing something' Iran so long as it is 'done strongly.' As the agreement stands, Trump said, 'Its insane. Its ridiculous. It should never have been made.' A reporter began to inform Trump that Iran says it will resume its nuclear activities if he yanks the U.S. out of it. 'It won't be so easy for them to restart. Theyre not going to be restarting anything. If they restart it, theyre going to have big problems, bigger than they ever had before. And you can mark it down,' Trump interrupted. 'If they restart their nuclear program, they will have bigger problems than they ever had before.' As they entered into an expanded meeting with their aides after a brief session alone, Trump was visibly calmer. 'We're fairly close to understanding each other,' he said. 'Our one on one went very well.' He told reporters during the news conference that Iran's presence in Syria was now on the table as part of a new deal, which Macron then agreed to. Trump also said that U.S. troops would be 'coming home relatively soon' from Syria. 'I would love to get out. I'd love to bring our incredible warriors back home. They've done a great job,' he stated. 'With that being said, Emmanuel and myself have discussed the fact that we don't want to give Iran open season to the Mediterranean, especially since we really control it.' The Iran nuclear deal and Trump's desire to recall U.S. troops from Syria were sticking points heading into the negotiations with France on Tuesday. Macron emphasized in a Sunday interview that aired on Fox that the agreement is not 'perfect' but there is no 'Plan B.' 'I dont have any Plan B for nuclear against Iran,' he said. 'So thats a question we will discuss, but thats why I just want to say, on nuclear -- lets present this framework because its better than the sort of North Korean type of situation. Macron said, 'I'm not satisfied with the situation with Iran. I want to fight against ballistic missiles, I want to contain their influence in the region.' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders rebuffed Macron on Monday, telling American reporters, 'We certainly think that there should be a better deal, one that actually is positive, that works. And we don't really typically look to the leadership in Iran to determine what our foreign policy is.' The French president seemed ready to negotiate by the time he got into the room with Trump, making what was interpreted as an about-face on his 'Plan B' comment. He said at the news conference that the 'Plan B' remark in the interview was about climate change, not Iran, and so his position had been mischaracterized. 'Now, regarding Iran, I've always been coherent,' he insisted. Macron said he would move forward with small group discussions on an improved deal that includes the four pillars that he and Trump discussed. Each week, Brexit Secretary David Davis travels thousands of miles to do battle with EU bureaucrats. So few would expect him to find time in his frantic schedule for a small, pioneering school for children with special needs. There needs to be a lot more emphasis on what a child can do, instead of what they cannot do, is the motto of the Middletown Centre for Autism in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. That inspirational message is one Davis remembers when the going gets tough in his EU negotiations. There needs to be a lot more emphasis on what this country can do instead of what we cant do, he says. When we meet in his small office at 9 Downing Street, he is just back from Northern Ireland. David Davis has always guarded the privacy of his family. Married to Doreen for 45 years (pictured together), he says only that the Davis clan is very close, and his office is filled with photographs of them The border issue with the South is proving to be one of the most intractable sticking points with his EU counterparts. It has taken up a lot of time but the people I met on the border say it can be done, they want it to work, he says. It was after those meetings that he went to the autism centre, which is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland and Irish governments. So why was he there? He produces his mobile phone and proudly shows us the screensaver a picture of an adorable, curly-haired little girl in a floral dress. Thats my granddaughter, Chloe, he says. I never normally talk about my family. But isnt she beautiful? Chloe is also disabled, hence grandads interest in the Middletown Centre. But true to form, Davis, a father of three grown-up children Rebecca, Sarah and Alexander and a grandfather of five, aged between one and 16, declines to be drawn further about Chloes condition. We all love her very much, he says simply. During the Easter break, the former SAS reservist took some of the grandchildren, who came to stay in his Yorkshire constituency home, on a typical Davis idea of a fun weekend: camping, kayaking, hiking and mountaineering. Was Chloe with them? A flicker of sadness comes into his eyes. No. Not this trip. Davis has always guarded the privacy of his family. Married to Doreen for 45 years, he says only that the Davis clan is very close, and his office is filled with photographs of them. Asked if there are any Remainers in his family, he laughs: I wouldnt dream of asking them. We dont talk politics at home. Doreen thinks politics is for madmen. Davis is pictured in 1983, as a newly elected MP, with his wife and daughters, Rebecca and Sarah And the secret of his long and happy marriage? There is a divide. When I go home there is no talk of politics. Thats family time. One wonders if the absence of his own father in his life is why family matters so much to Davis, and why he is so protective of them. Born to a single mother in York in 1948, he was mostly raised on a South London council estate by his mum, Betty Brown, and stepfather, Ronald. He did eventually track down his birth father, who came from South Wales and was by then a civil servant, but they met just once and there was no happy-ever-after conclusion. Asked if there are any Remainers in his family, he laughs: I wouldnt dream of asking them. We dont talk politics at home. Doreen thinks politics is for madmen. However, he adds that Doreen broke cover last weekend. Someone on the radio was going on about Britain remaining in the customs union. She said indignantly: What? What do you think the people have voted for? Its the first political thing she has said for months. The question of whether Britain stays in the customs union which would prevent the Government negotiating new trade deals with the rest of the world is also causing serious tensions in the Cabinet, not least with Chancellor Philip Hammond. Imagine going clothes shopping and 27 other people have to agree what youre going to wear David Davis on Brexit negotiations Theresa May is under pressure from Tory rebels to agree to a so-called customs partnership under which the Government would collect EU tariffs on goods that pass through the UK. Brexiteers led by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg have described the proposal as cretinous, a bureaucratic minefield that is utterly unworkable. But a handful of those rebels who have never been reconciled to the EU referendum result are planning to join forces with Labour and the Lib Dems next month to defeat the Government in the Commons on the customs union even though it could bring down the Prime Minister. When he is asked about the potency of this threat, Davis leans forward with a steely glint in his eyes, and says: Let me make it very plain. We are leaving the customs union. We have to leave it. Its what the people asked for. He leaves us in no doubt that he sees his role as not just representing the Government. The people have spoken. They rejected the downbeat view of Project Fear. I have 17.5 million bosses the ones who voted for Brexit. There is no question that leaving the customs union was a condition of Brexit. In a pointed warning to the rebels, who include the Europhile veteran Tory Ken Clarke, he says: In our manifesto we said unequivocally that we will leave the single market and the customs union. The Conservative Parliamentary Party was elected on that manifesto. Nearly two years after the referendum, Davis says that EU governments have, grudgingly, conceded that Britain is leaving. We will undoubtedly see some manoeuvring but they have accepted it But what of Philip Hammond, an unrepentant Remoaner? Exasperated, Davis says: Look, its the Cabinet view. The Prime Minister has confirmed it. Even the Chancellor has said it in terms. . . What Davis means is that Hammond, albeit reluctantly, has publicly signed up to leaving the customs union. After 21 months as Brexit Secretary he has been to 17 countries so far this year, from Greece to Sweden Davis is looking remarkably perky, and certainly much healthier than when he appeared on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show earlier this month. Then, he was so ill with a stomach virus that the shows producers had a bucket strategically positioned beside his chair. A strapping six-footer, he looks younger than his 69 years, though he concedes that his grey hair has become greyer. He remains fanatical about his fitness but has had to curtail his regimen of running ten miles on alternate days. I dont have the time, he shrugs. In between travelling, he splits his week between London and his constituency of Haltemprice and Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where, he says, he manages to run three miles a day. However, mindful that his opportunities for exercise have shrunk, the sugar in his tea has been replaced by sweeteners. Apart from the family snaps and biographies of Winston Churchill on the bookshelves, Daviss office is spartan. Many thought he would opt for a grander office, as befits his status as one of the most senior Cabinet ministers, but he likes the proximity to the Prime Minister. A door from Number 9 connects to his neighbour the same door, incidentally, that was locked to keep out Sir Humphrey Appleby, the head of the Civil Service, in a memorable episode of Yes, Prime Minister entitled The Key. But Davis doesnt use it. Its quicker to walk up the street if I need to borrow a cup of sugar from the PM, he laughs. As we were being ushered into his office, Frances OGrady, the first woman general secretary of the TUC, was leaving. Indeed, at Daviss insistence and in a move that astounded many, OGrady a Labour supporter who voted Remain was the first person he saw when he took on the Brexit brief. I saw her first for two reasons, says Davis, who worked for Tate & Lyle for 17 years before entering politics. Firstly, a fear that Brexit was going to be all about taking workers rights away, which is not true. Secondly, who voted for Brexit more than anyone else? The British industrial working class in the Midlands and the North. They deserve to know I am going to look after their jobs and rights. If only he could make the same pledge to Britains fishermen, who fear the worst. A leaked White Paper has suggested that the quota regime, which enables Spanish fishermen to plunder British waters, will not be significantly reformed after Brexit. So is he selling out this countrys fishing industry? No. But during the implementation period we cant pick and choose. We dont have time for that. I can understand why the fishermen are nervous. Back in the era of Edward Heath [the PM who took us into Europe in 1973] their interests were not served well, he says. I give them a promise we are not going to do that. After the implementation period we will control our own waters. We will start that discussion while we are still in transition. When David Davis to the surprise of many was elevated to the Cabinet as Brexit Secretary after languishing on the backbenches for eight years, some questioned whether he was up to the job. His detractors, many of them supporters of David Cameron, against whom Davis ran for the party leadership in 2005, whispered that he was too lazy and not that bright. The smearing and sneering by the former PMs coterie was always more about class than competence. How could a lad from a rough council estate in Tooting compete with the pedigree of Camerons lot? He didnt even go to Oxbridge! Yet Davis, who progressed from the local grammar school to Warwick University and then on to Harvard, has long demonstrated a sharp intelligence and abundance of common sense which is now invaluable. Elected to the Commons in 1987, he learnt the art of diplomacy as Europe minister under John Major when there were just 14 member states of the EU, rather than the 28 there are today. Michel Barnier, now the chief EU negotiator on Brexit, was Frances minister for Europe and the two enjoyed many encounters. Were friendly without being friends. But we have known each other since those days, says Davis. I believe in old-fashioned diplomacy, he adds. Real diplomacy actually works. It starts with basic courtesies. Really good negotiators find what is best for both sides and strike the deal in that area. Its about understanding what the other side wants as well as your own. However, he concedes that its often an uphill task: Imagine going clothes shopping and 27 other people have to agree what youre going to wear. As for the EU as a whole, he believes that every single member would be happier if we werent leaving and for different reasons. The European Union was created out of dictatorship, defeat and war, and a wish to prevent it happening again. Spain came in after Franco, the Greeks after the Colonels, the Eastern Europeans came in after the Soviet jackboots. For them, Europe is about modernity, democracy, the rule of law and a decent life. We joined after 150 years of the most successful liberal democracy in the world. However, nearly two years after the referendum, he says that EU governments have, grudgingly, conceded that Britain is leaving. We will undoubtedly see some manoeuvring but they have accepted it. Unlike the Remainers in Parliament, who are determined next month to force a cliffhanger Commons vote on the customs union. They argue its not in Britains economic interest to leave. Yet in 1999 some 60 per cent of our business was with Europe, 40 per cent with the rest of the world. Every year since then it has switched by around 1 per cent. At the end of this decade it will be the other way round. Even the European Commission accepts that 90 per cent of growth is now outside the EU. Trade in the rest of the world is growing like topsy. Asked how Britain will look post-Brexit, he smiles and says: Even more fashionable, even more cosmopolitan. We speak English, we have the English legal system, English is the language of the internet, medicine, engineering, the financial industry, science and the media. We have the highest employment ever, the lowest unemployment in my adult life. We have nothing to fear. In 20 years time, when we look back, no one will remember the implementation period. As a result of his high profile, Davis has earned the dubious privilege of being lampooned as the enthusiastic but misguided Brexit Bulldog in the Radio 4 satire Dead Ringers. I havent heard it, nor has Doreen. But I admit I am flattered. Who wouldnt be? He thinks he is difficult to satirise because hes so ordinary. That is not a view shared by his friends or foes. And there is nothing ordinary about Daviss determination to deliver the Brexit that Britain voted for. And after Brexit, the issue that Tory MPs talk about most is who will be the successor to Mrs May. Does he still harbour leadership ambitions? He dismisses the question with a typical burst of laughter. So is his current political role his last big job? Thats a question for the Prime Minister, he says. What if Mrs May fell under a double-decker bus? The bus wouldnt dare, he says a clever reply that leaves the distinct impression that he might, just might, run. For now, though, if proximity is power, then Daviss office at 9 Downing Street is a reminder to everyone of exactly who is wearing the Brexit boots in this Government. The full extent of the cover-up by car makers who failed to warn drivers of a major security flaw can be revealed today. As organised gangs use cheap devices to hack electronic entry systems and steal thousands of cars, a Daily Mail investigation has revealed that millions of drivers have been left in the dark for years about the scale of the problem. Five years ago, Volkswagen which was at the centre of the 2015 emissions cheating scandal won a High Court injunction to prevent details of the security flaws being made public. But three years later, researchers found millions of its cars were still at risk. And BMW has admitted in emails that criminals can hack into cars using tools anyone can buy on the 'open market'. Police and industry experts last night accused car makers of not doing enough and said motorists needed to be warned of the risks. Today we can reveal how: Range Rovers were quietly fitted with new technology to prevent keyless car theft last month but its makers didn't publicise it to avoid acknowledging that older models were at risk (file picture of a Range Rover) Range Rovers were quietly fitted with new technology to prevent keyless car theft last month but its makers didn't publicise it to avoid acknowledging that older models were at risk, experts claimed; Volkswagen suppressed warnings about the new risk of electronic car theft from owners for two years; An MP said manufacturers should address the security failings as 'a matter of urgency', and warn drivers of the risks; Electric car pioneer Tesla tried to prevent the publication of a video which demonstrated how one of its models could be stolen without a key. Earlier this week the Mail exposed how gadgets that can be used to steal cars in seconds are being sold online for 100. BMW has admitted in emails that criminals can hack into cars using tools anyone can buy on the 'open market' (file photo of a BMW) There are two main methods of hacking electronic fobs. The first 'relays' a signal from the keys in the owner's home to the vehicle. This opens the car's doors and allows criminals to use the button ignition to drive off. The second method involves forcing entry to the car and using a programming device that tells the vehicle's computer to accept a blank key. In 2013, researchers at the University of Birmingham discovered a security flaw in Volkswagen models, and VW took out a High Court injunction preventing the findings from being published until 2015. The team discovered car makers including Audi, Citroen, Fiat, Honda and Volvo, as well as Volkswagen, had models that were vulnerable to 'keyless theft'. In 2013, researchers at the University of Birmingham discovered a security flaw in Volkswagen models, and VW took out a High Court injunction preventing the findings from being published until 2015 (file photo of a VW) In granting the 2013 injunction, Mr Justice Birss said: 'Volkswagen now know what the problem is. They have a chance to do something about it.' But in 2016, a second research paper claimed many of the 100 million Volkswagen vehicles sold over the past 20 years were vulnerable and could be hacked using cheap tools. Audi, Seat and Skoda models sold since 1995 were also said to be affected as they share Volkswagen's keyless system. Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) last month rolled out technology which prevents relay attack on its latest Range Rover models but failed to inform its past or future customers. Ian Elliott, a former Met Police officer who specialised in organised car crime, said: 'If (JLR) came out and said, 'we've solved our theft problem', people will say 'what theft problem?' and then you expose that some previous models are easily stolen. JLR could see that the writing was on the wall so they worked with the police. Certain other manufacturers need a kick up the backside.' Last night West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: 'The idea that modern cars are more secure than ever is utter nonsense. 'A lot of manufacturers are saying 'we're doing our best, these cars are safer than ever'. That's not going to wash. Go and tell that to someone who's had their car stolen.' Last year Tesla was made aware of a video by stolen vehicle recovery service CanTrack Global, which demonstrated an ethical 'relay theft' attack on one of its models. A senior Tesla executive asked the team behind the video not to publish it. Steve Double, a Tory member of the transport committee, said: 'If car makers are aware of any vulnerabilities they need to address them as a matter of urgency.' Some 89,000 vehicles were stolen in England and Wales last year, a rise of 56 per cent on 2016. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: 'Recent increases in vehicle crime are concerning and it's an issue industry takes extremely seriously. 'It is important to remember, however, that the risk of theft is still very small less than 0.3 per cent of the roughly 41 million vehicles on our roads today are stolen per year. 'The latest models feature sophisticated immobilisers, tracking devices and encrypted key codes to prevent cloning and manufacturers are investing billions to try to stay one step ahead of the criminals. 'However, technology can only do so much, and we continue to call for collective efforts to combat all forms of vehicle theft. 'Industry supports action that will allow accurate and consistent recording for different methods of vehicle theft, and prevent the sale and use of cloning technologies, signal blocking and other devices that have no legal purpose.' BMW said it worked constantly to design the best possible security systems. VW said customer safety and security were its 'highest priorities', while JLR said it was doing 'everything it can to combat vehicle crime'. A Home Office spokesman said the department 'currently have no plans to introduce new regulations'. A spokeswoman for Tesla said: 'Relay attacks are not unique to Tesla vehicles. As soon as we saw an increase in these types of attacks in certain regions in 2017, we rolled out a software update to all Tesla vehicles globally, giving our customers the option to safeguard against the attack by turning off passive entry.' CASE 1 Arthur Preou now has a car with a key Arthur Preou has vowed to never buy another keyless car after his 60,000 Range Rover Vogue was stolen from his drive overnight. CCTV shows two men outside his home in Romford, Essex, last October, 'waving some sort of device'. Another walks towards the front door, but moves out of view of the camera. Within a few minutes the car's headlights come on and the thieves get in before driving off. Mr Preou, 75, who owns a heating engineering business, said: 'I'm blown away by how easy these things are to steal.' He now drives a 2008 Range Rover with a standard key. Jaguar Land Rover said it had a team of experts tackling car crime and there had been a 90 per cent drop in keyless vehicle theft. Advertisement CASE 2 Graham Sinclair with another of his BMW's A gym owner who fell victim to keyless car crime when his 53,000 BMW was stolen claims the showroom later told him he should have kept the fob in the microwave. Graham Sinclair's white 4x4 was taken from his girlfriend's driveway in Enfield, north London, in October. After contacting BMW and his insurers, Mr Sinclair, 44, spoke to the showroom in Enfield where he bought the car. He claims he was told the electronic key fobs which can unlock cars remotely 'should be kept in tin foil and put in the microwave'. In theory, this should stop relay hackers from being able to access the electronic codes contained in the key. Mr Sinclair said his BMW was stolen silently. 'I massively regret getting keyless entry,' he added. Advertisement Anyone can buy tools to hack our cars admits BMW One of the world's biggest motor manufacturers has admitted keyless cars can be hacked into by criminals using tools that anyone can buy. BMW has told a customer whose car was stolen from his drive that key fob cloning gadgets which can override its security systems are available for sale on the 'open market'. In private emails seen by the Mail, the German car giant said this poses a 'unique challenge' for the entire industry, and indicated manufacturers are struggling to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated car thieves. Although it stressed its cars are designed with the 'highest security standards', it said it has 'no control' over the fact 'thieves are always looking for new ways to steal cars.' With some police blaming keyless cars for fuelling a car crime 'epidemic', BMW insisted it is impossible to warn customers about the 'many ways a car can be stolen'. The comments made in private emails to a customer whose 55,000 BMW was stolen appear at odds with the industry's public claims that cars are more secure than ever. Last night, a Tory member of the Commons transport committee said manufacturers should address any security failings with keyless cars as 'a matter of urgency', and should be warning drivers of the risks. Thieves are able to buy key programming devices on websites such as Amazon and eBay which allow them to clone key fobs. Other devices known as relay boxes extend the signal from a fob inside the owner's home to unlock the car and start it. A number of cases have emerged of upmarket keyless cars such as Range Rovers, Mercedes and BMWs being hacked into in this way. But police have said affordable cars such as Ford Fiestas are now being targeted more frequently. Emails sent by BMW's UK headquarters show it is acutely aware of the problem but believes there is little it can do. Simon Burnett complained to the company on February 18, after waking up to find his BMW 435 diesel had been stolen from his drive. His key fob was on his bedside table. He reported the crime to police and was told he was unlikely to see the car again. Mr Burnett, 33, used a BMW phone app to try to locate the car and received a message that the vehicle's tracking system had been deactivated. The IT consultant, from Surrey, contacted BMW demanding compensation. He had paid around 500 extra for 'comfort access' on his car, which means drivers can open the door by walking up to it with the key fob in their pocket. In an email on March 15, Laura Bebbington, of BMW UK customer services, said: 'We and other car makers face a unique challenge due to the fact key-programming equipment is available for sale on the open market.' She said the 'sophisticated equipment' was 'not available publicly' previously. In an earlier email on March 1, she said: 'Our engineers are constantly developing our security systems to ensure they're kept to the highest standard. Thieves are always looking for new ways to steal cars, this isn't something we have control over.' When Mr Burnett suggested manufacturers warn customers about the potential risk, Miss Bebbington said: 'There are many ways a car can be stolen. We're unable to make customers aware of each single way this can be done.' Michael Stephens, a BMW customer services consultant, told Mr Burnett in an email 'criminal activity of all kinds is becoming increasingly sophisticated' and tackling it was 'a constant battle'. Mr Burnett accused BMW of 'not being transparent'. Steve Double MP said: 'If [car makers] are aware of any vulnerabilities they need to address them as a matter of urgency if they can't show it is secure then they should put it on hold until they can provide a more secure system.' West Midlands crime commissioner David Jamieson said: 'Car manufacturers are sacrificing security for the sake of convenience.' A BMW spokesman said: 'BMW's specialist security teams work constantly to design and enhance the best possible vehicle security systems. We also work in partnership with police and other authorities in responding to the latest threats and anticipating new ones.' Mike Hawes, of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: 'New cars are more secure than ever and the latest technology has helped bring down theft.' Confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz appeared in a Fort Lauderdale court on Friday afternoon for a procedural issues hearing, keeping his head mostly hung low and his eyes on the ground. The 19-year-old gunman charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder after he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14 didn't utter a word as his attorney waived his right to a speedy trial. Broward County Judge Elizabeth Scherer scheduled the next hearing for May 25, where lawyers will discuss how to move forward with the case, including which witnesses to depose first. A trial date has not yet been set. Nikolas Cruz appeared in court on Friday for a procedural issues hearing at a Fort Lauderdale courtroom Cruz stared at the ground during most of the heating, only lifting his head briefly to look at the judge The 19-year-old confessed school shooter waived his right a speedy trial through his public defender Melisa McNeill (pictured on the left) Broward County Judge Elizabeth Scherer scheduled the next hearing for May 25 but has not set a date for the trial yet 'I don't want this case treading water,' judge Scherer said, according to the CNN. Cruz's younger half-brother, Zachary, was present for the hearing. The 18-year-old, who was sentenced in March to six months probation for trespassing on Marjory Stoneman's campus, sat expressionless in the courtroom. Cruz is charged with 7 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the February 14 attack Cruz was arrested shortly after the February 14 massacre, which left 17 students and staff members dead. Court documents show that he has confessed to being the shooter. Last month, Cruz entered a plea of not guilty through his attorney Melisa McNeill after she told a judge that Cruz chose to stand mute on the charges, meaning he was declining to enter a plea. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty for Cruz saying the attack was 'especially heinous, atrocious or cruel'. A judge on Tuesday ruled that Cruz will continue to be represented in the death penalty case by a public defender because he only has about $28,000 in assets and that's not enough money to hire a private lawyer. 'The court finds that this is not a typical felony case, or even a typical capital felony case,' judge Sherer wrote. Public Defender Howard Finkelstein said in an email that Scherer 'made the right ruling under the law and the unique nature of this case.' Finkelstein repeated that Cruz will plead guilty if prosecutors waive the death penalty, which they have declined to do. Zachary Cruz, who was who was sentenced in March to six months probation for trespassing on Marjory Stoneman's campus, was also at the hearing 17 students and staff members ate Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were killed in the February 14 shooting 'We still believe it is in the best interests of the families and the community to end this case now rather than take a 20-year march to impose the death penalty which will link them for decades to the person who killed their loved one,' he said. The state attorney's office declined comment. According to the judge's order, Cruz's major known asset is $25,000 from a life insurance policy taken out by his mother, Lynda Cruz, who died in November. Scherer noted, however, that Cruz has no access to that money while in jail and it's unclear what in his mother's estate might benefit him. 'Whether or not (Cruz) will ultimately receive any monies from his mother's estate is not known,' Scherer wrote. Cruz also has $2,200 in Microsoft stock, $700 in a Broward County Jail commissary account and $353 in a bank account, the order says. Scherer added that if more assets are identified for Cruz that 'would afford him the ability to retain private counsel' she would revisit his status as indigent. Twelve dead dogs have been found in the home of a woman in South Carolina including some which were wrapped up in plastic bags. The animals were found in the gated community of Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island on Tuesday after security guards received a complaint about the smell coming from the woman's home. They went to the house to check it and found two garbage backs by the back porch. The 12 dogs were found at this home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Tuesday afternoon When one of the officer's kicked it, he said it felt like a dog's carcass. Three living dogs were found in a car at the property but the vehicle was not turned on. Police and animal protection services were called to rescue the other 14 animals. When they arrived, the woman who lives there emerged to speak to officers. She is in her 70s but police would not give any more information about her. The woman has not been arrested and police are waiting for the results of autopsies performed on the dead dogs to determine if any charges are appropriate. Security guards found black trash bags on the back porch (above) which had a strong odor coming from them. The dogs' owner has not been named 'When I arrived on scene, I immediately detected the odor of a decomposing carcass coming from the area of (the) residence,' one officer wrote about the property. The fourteen rescued dogs are now being cared for by vets. The property is set on the water and one of many in the estate. Its estimated value is $984,000. A Church of England vicar given a three-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in India was missing last night. The Reverend Jonathan Robinson an acquaintance of former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was sentenced by a court in India earlier this month. Robinson, 75, who was convicted of abusing the teenager after a seven-year police investigation, had been released on bail pending a possible appeal. Church of England vicar The Reverend Jonathan Robinson (above on right with his lawyer) was given a three-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in India But last night it emerged that he had failed to report to a police station on Tuesday and is now believed to have left India. The father of three is understood to have boarded an Etihad flight this week from Chennai to London. Last night there was no sign of either Robinson or his wife Christine at their 400,000 home in Martock, Somerset, and the couple were thought to be in the Home Counties. At one stage during lengthy court proceedings in India, a judge discussed whether the vicar might be castrated. In the High Court in Chennai, formerly Madras, Mr Justice N Kirubakaran said: This court is sure that additional punishment of castration of child rapists would fetch magical results in preventing and containing child abuses. But he added that there would be a hue and cry from human rights activists if castration was confirmed. Another Indian court heard how Robinson molested his victim on two occasions in cheap YMCA hotels before attempting to have sex during attacks in April 2011. It happened when the pair were on an educational trip to the Indian capital, Delhi, involving a childrens home and charity. The youngster had been taken from the home in Vallioor, in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, which was financed by the Grail Trust, where Robinson was a director at the time. The teenager later alerted local welfare officials about his ordeal. They helped him file a criminal complaint to police and a warrant was issued for Robinsons arrest. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, an acquaintance of The Reverend Jonathan Robinson He initially denied the sex attacks took place. Under pressure he flew to India and handed himself into the authorities in November 2015 after four years on Interpols wanted list. At his trial in Vallioor, Robinson was convicted of attempting to commit unnatural sexual intercourse and wrongful confinement. He had quit his post as a director of the trust in the wake of the scandal. Robinson has strong links to former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Williams through their work with the Alister Hardy Trust, which promotes the study of religion. Dr Williams has repeatedly refused to comment on their links. However, a blog for the vicars religious book with the unfortunate title Crossing Boundaries carries a recommendation from Dr Williams. During a 40-year career Robinson held posts at churches in London, Surrey, Bath and Herefordshire before retiring in 2001. He was allowed to return to duties in Hereford as a non-stipendiary priest in charge. Last year a Charity Commission inquiry into the Grail Trust and the charitys Indian arm formed to advance religion, education and the relief of poverty issued a damning indictment of those behind the body. Trustees told the commission that when allegations against Robinson were brought to their attention they did not report them to the commission because they thought they were malicious and unsubstantiated. The High Court in Chennai, where a judge pondered if Robinson should be castrated But the inquiry found their response to the allegation was inadequate. The inquiry report concluded that there had been misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity. In a statement this week the Grail Trust said: We have consulted closely with the Charity Commission whose procedures and recommendations we have followed. Rev Robinson has played no part in the charitys work since he resigned as director on January 2, 2012. We as a charity have completely distanced ourselves from him. A Pennsylvania congressman who used taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment charges brought against him by a former aide abruptly resigned from Congress on Friday. Four-term Republican Patrick Meehan had already decided not to seek re-election this fall, but said he had chosen to step down immediately to spare his staff and taxpayers the 'rigors' of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. In a resignation letter, Meehan vowed to repay the $39,000 he used from his House office account as a severance payment to help settle the woman's allegations against him. Four-term Republican Republican Patrick Meehan, (left, in Washington on March 7) who was the subject of an ethics probe called by House Speaker Paul Ryan (right, on April 27) had already decided not to seek re-election 'I did not want to leave with any question of violating the trust of taxpayers,' Meehan wrote, adding that he would pay the money within 30 days. House Speaker Paul Ryan called for an Ethics panel investigation of Meehan, 62, after The New York Times reported on the accusations against him in January. Married Meehan was accused by his much younger former aide of making unwanted overtures to her after she became involved with another man. The woman then said he became hostile after she rebuffed him in what her lawyer called a 'serious sexual harassment claim'. Meehan described the woman as a 'soul mate' and said he developed strong feelings for her, but always kept the relationship professional. He said he became upset when he learned the woman, who worked for him for seven years, was involved with someone else. Married Meehan (pic on June 21, 2017) was accused by his much younger former aide of making unwanted overtures to her after she became involved with another man The Times reported that she had lodged her complaint last summer with Congress' Office of Compliance after Meehan became angry towards her and she left the job. In his letter on Friday, Meehan said he believed the investigation would have absolved him. 'I recognize that there are constituents who are disappointed in the manner in which I handled the situation that lead to my decision not to seek re-election and wish I had done better by them,' he wrote. The lawmaker's early departure, which essentially ends the Ethics Committee's probe into his case, prompted criticism from an attorney for the accuser. 'I'm disgusted that he has chosen to take the coward's way out. Our client participated in the ethics probe expecting that justice would be served. That will not happen,' lawyer Debra Katz tweeted. The Ethics Committee has the power to expel members of congress in serious cases. Meehan's retirement has left his open seat from Philadelphia's suburbs as a toss-up in this November's elections, in which Democrats are hoping to capture House control. Pennsylvania Governor. Tom Wolf now has 10 days to set a special election at least 60 days out. His office said Friday that Wolf had yet to make a decision on a date. Meehan chairs chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence in an undated image Meehan said he followed the advice of House lawyers and Ethics Committee guidance in agreeing to the payment. However, the settlement had been kept secret, and Meehan's office had long refused to answer repeated questions about how much taxpayer money Meehan paid out in it. The scandal was a nail in Meehan's political coffin. Since 2011, Meehan's district had been badly contorted and criticized as being among the nation's most gerrymandered. Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly won it in the 2016 presidential election, and a court-ordered redrawing of districts put Meehan's home in a newly drawn district that heavily favors a Democrat. Like any great spin doctor, Sir Alan Parker built his empire on a priceless ability to make friends, influence people and to as they say in the trade bury bad news. The 61-year-old PR svengali is one of Londons foremost schmoozers, and his manicured hands have for three decades gripped Britains levers of power with the same deft assurance of the chauffeur at the wheel of his expensively upholstered Bentley. Parkers inner circle contains Cabinet ministers, celebrities, captains of industry, newspaper editors and BBC chiefs. His draw transcends party political divisions. Gordon Brown is godfather to his child, while David and Samantha Cameron have been pictured frolicking on South African beaches with him. Sir Alan Parker built his empire on a priceless ability to make friends, influence people and to as they say in the trade bury bad news. Among his many contacts are David and Samantha Cameron. (He is seen, above, with Samantha, in 2014) Both former prime ministers were guests at his second wedding and the Camerons spent a short time in his 17m Holland Park mansion after quitting Downing Street following the Brexit vote. This lofty network is the key to a fortune helping Parker pull strings, and make problems disappear, on behalf of free-spending corporate clients across the world. The PR firm he founded in the Eighties, Brunswick, now employs 1,050 people in 24 offices and 16 countries, and has represented between a quarter and a third of all FTSE-100 companies. His share of the spoils, estimated at around 150 million, has brought collections of Oscar Wilde first editions and Henry Moore drawings, and a 1.8 million stretch of the river Tay where he indulges a passion for salmon fishing. How ironic, therefore, that this master of modern media management should now be mired in controversy . . . over a most abject failure to bury bad news. Namely, he stands accused of presiding over a botched (and deeply cynical) cover-up of sexual harassment allegations at Save the Children, where he was chairman until he stepped down last week. His sudden departure followed the revelation that during his time as head of the charity, two senior male employees chief executive Justin Forsyth and policy director Brendan Cox left their jobs after a number of female colleagues complained about their conduct. The reasons they departed were never made public. Both men have strong links with Labour Forsyth having spent six years in Downing Street as an adviser to Blair and Brown; Cox is the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox. Parker had unique access to ministers and senior civil servants as well as presiding over fundraising events where celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter (pictured with him in 2016) and Mick Jagger mingled with senior politicians and plutocrats Parker, for his part, quit the charity, which spends 400 million a year, after the Charities Commission announced an inquiry into whether multiple complaints against the two men were handled fully, frankly and accurately. Crucially, the watchdog is also looking closely at Save the Childrens decision making when details finally started to trickle out around two months ago. For it has emerged that the charity took extraordinary steps to discourage reporting of the scandal. One of Londons top law firms, Harbottle & Lewis (which has acted for the Royal Family) was hired to send multiple highly aggressive letters to news organisations on their behalf. Some of the letters, which will have been written on the basis of information and instructions from its client, contained so-called statements of fact which now seem at odds with the contents of documents subsequently leaked from the charity. Where this sorry affair will eventually lead is anyones guess. On Thursday, Save the Children was forced to stop bidding for government aid contracts (which bring between 90 and 100 million a year into its coffers) until things are resolved. Senior staff, including Parker, have been called to give evidence to MPs. This weeks Spectator magazine even suggested that Parker may have to renounce the knighthood he was given for services to charitable giving in 2015. Parker's sudden departure followed the revelation that during his time as head of the charity, two senior male employees chief executive Justin Forsyth (left) and policy director Brendan Cox (right) left their jobs after a number of female colleagues complained about their conduct To understand how it has come to this, we must look back to 2008, when Parker became chairman of Save the Childrens governing board of trustees. As someone whose firm acts as a bridge between business and power, it was a perfect appointment. Parker had unique access to ministers and senior civil servants as well as presiding over fundraising events where celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter and Mick Jagger mingled with senior politicians and plutocrats. All very cosy. Over several years, Parker, Forsyth and Cox turned Save the Children into a giant of the booming charity sector, using celebrity endorsements to increase its domestic profile. It received big grants from the Department for International Development (which spends a large proportion of the Governments controversial 13billion-a-year overseas development budget). As its coffers swelled and, among others, Samantha Cameron joined its ranks of Save the Childrens ambassadors so did senior staff salaries. Forsyth was on 163,000-a-year. In 2012, a small cabal of top executives were paid bonuses totalling 160,000. Parker sat on the remuneration committee that signed them off. But behind the scenes, there was a problem: staff at Save the Children HQ were concerned about the way Forsyth and Cox treated female subordinates. Forsyth was in the habit of sending creepy texts to his young female staff (about 80 per cent of the charitys workers were women). Youve got a lovely dress on, he told one, shall we go for coffee? Another received a message saying: Look, I fancy you, you fancy me. Why dont we just stop pretending? If the women failed to reply, he would call them into his office for a chat it was alleged. A further alleged incident, details of which remain unclear, is believed to have occurred when a junior staffer was invited to his hotel room during an overseas visit. Cox was a brazen sexual predator. Though married, he was known to misbehave on late-night staff outings. As things unravelled, several former employees came forward suggesting that Cox and Forsyth owed at least some of their soft treatment to their relationship with the professional reputation manager, Sir Alan Parker Older women often intervened to stop his unsavoury flirting with younger females, policing dancefloors to shield them from his wandering hands. There were reports of junior workers getting unsolicited text messages at 2am saying come and have a drink with me. Matters came to a head at a drinks party in July 2015 when Cox was observed dancing provocatively with a woman who told him to leave her alone. When she left the premises, he allegedly followed the woman, pushed her against a wall, grabbed her throat, and declared: I want to f**k you. The incident caused outrage, convincing several members of Save the Children staff to file complaints about harassment at the top of their organisation. Forsyth was the subject of at least two. In October 2015, he resigned, saying it was the right time for a fresh challenge. He duly took a highly paid job at Unicef in New York which, among other things, seeks to campaign on behalf of young female abuse victims. Though Save the Children provided a reference to his new employer, it also made no mention of any harassment complaints. As for Cox, he was suspended, pending a full investigation, but then allowed to resign before it was completed. As a result, the disciplinary process was abandoned and Save the Children never passed on concerns about his conduct. Weeks after leaving, he attended a course in the U.S. at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. There, a woman complained to police that he had repeatedly touched her inappropriately in a bar and forced his thumb into her mouth in a sexual way. She alleged that he even sent her a text message asking: Are you touching yourself? At the womans request, the matter was not taken further. Cox has subsequently denied assault. Be that as it may, the whole ugly affair presented Save the Children with a huge problem: if details of their alleged behaviour came out, the charitys ability to generate funds, and lobby governments, might be seriously hurt. Fortunately for Sir Alan Parker and his chums barely a whiff entered the public domain (save for one article in the Mail on Sunday in 2015 noting that female Save the Children staff had made complaints about Brendan Cox). Then Coxs MP wife was murdered in June 2016 ending any further appetite for journalists to investigate the matter. So things remained until February, when the charity sector fell under renewed scrutiny, amid revelations of serious abuse at aid giant Oxfam. Around this time, Radio 4s PM programme got wind of the real reasons behind the departures of Forsyth and Cox. It broadcast a report, prompting a host of other organisations to begin asking awkward questions about how the two men had been allowed to walk away with their reputations intact. Both men issued grovelling, if belated, apologies. As things unravelled, several former employees came forward suggesting that Cox and Forsyth owed at least some of their soft treatment to their relationship with the professional reputation manager, Sir Alan Parker. At this point, Save the Children began a highly aggressive campaign to control coverage. Multiple news organisations, the Mail included, were sent letters from Harbottle & Lewis on its behalf, promising there would be dire consequences if details of the affair were made public. Several were dispatched to Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, preventing an entire edition of his radio show, in which harassment at Save the Children was discussed for a few minutes, from being uploaded to the BBCs iPlayer for some four days. So what did these letters say? One to the Mail on February 20 said it would be seriously defamatory to allege that Parker had taken a personal interest in Forsyths case and arranged for him to have a soft exit. It added that neither [Save the Children] or Parker acted to cover up any wrongdoing. . . It insisted that the complaints made in relation to Forsyth were resolved at the time on a confidential and informal basis. The question of who was paying for these legal letters which would have cost tens of thousands of pounds in total is a difficult one to answer. This week, Save the Childrens current chief executive Kevin Watkins (another chum of Parker) refused to comment on how much the charity had spent hiring law firms to muzzle reporting, or on whether this constituted an attempted cover-up. If Parker were personally footing the bill, that would appear to represent a conflict of interest between him and the charity by placing Save the Children in his debt. If the charity had paid, though, then it would represent a controversial use of funds provided by donors who are largely motivated by concern for child welfare. Sources at Save the Children have suggested the latter is the case, though no formal position has yet been taken. The Charities Commission is now investigating. More worryingly, documents then emerged suggesting that several of the key claims the charity instructed its lawyers to make in the legal letters may be untrue. One was a previously secret report into the affair by the law firm Lewis Silkin, which was commissioned by Save the Children in 2015, and reveals that complaints were first made about Forsyth in 2012. Back then, it says, Parker agreed to censure his chief executive by sending him a letter of reprimand, which would have remained on his personnel file (and been reported to future employers). But the key letter disappeared, and it is not known if it was actually sent. Months later, Parker agreed (despite the affair) to pay Forsyth a 20,000 bonus. In 2015, when two more complaints were made, Parker met Forsyth to discuss them a move that was arguably not appropriate, the report said. Save the Childrens head of HR, Paul Cutler, is also quoted, saying that he raised Forsyths behaviour with Parker, who responded that Forsyth was very important to the organisation; people behave very differently when theyre abroad; they would have been tired; they would have needed some mutual support; what were the complainants doing by agreeing to go to his hotel room in the first place? Cutler was frustrated by this response, which he feared was a result of Parker and Forsyth being close. Cutler later left the organisation, apparently having signed a gagging agreement, though doubtless the Charity Commission will now be looking him up. In view of all this, it is hard to understand how Parker can now say that he took no personal interest in Forsyths case. When asked by the Mail to square this aspect of the leaked 2015 Lewis Silkin report with their recent legal letters, sources close to Parker accepted that he had actually been involved in dealing with allegations against Forsyth. However they claimed that the legal letter sought only to deny that his involvement had resulted in the disgraced Chief Executive getting a soft exit. We must, of course, take them at their word. Also hard to understand is the charity and Parkers claim that all complaints against Forsyth were dealt with on an informal basis. For the BBC says it has definitive evidence that at least one woman submitted a formal complaint about Forsyth. A copy of this lengthy written complaint is now believed to be with the Charities Commission. Another strand of the Charities Commission inquiry is looking at allegations that, in 2015, Save the Children decided, at Parkers behest, to ignore legal advice suggesting it ought to mount a formal investigation into the conduct of Forsyth and Cox. Witnesses say that advice was supplied by the charitys longstanding law firm, Farrer. However, it is alleged to have displeased Parker, who asked a different law firm to give a second opinion. Sources close to Parker said they did not wish to comment on this particular topic, since it is now subject to a Charity Commission investigation. Save the Children did not answer a range of questions from the Mail about the affair, but instead released a statement saying: We are co-operating fully with the Charity Commissions inquiry. Elsewhere, it seems that, in late 2015, Parker helped Save the Childrens press office prepare lines to take to ensure that the charitys reputation was protected if they were contacted with media inquiries about his departure. And so the questions continue to mount. Perhaps the greatest mystery, in this deeply unedifying affair, is whether all this will have a damaging knock-on effect on Parkers PR agency Brunswick ... which touts its ability to advise clients on corporate social responsibility. Intriguing, in that context, is the recent experience of a key whistle-blower in this case, a former Save the Children staffer called Alexia Pepper de Caires, who has given several interviews critical of Cox, Forsyth and Parker. Recently, she received an email from the social media site LinkedIn, notifying her that someone called James Dray had been viewing her profile page. James Dray just happens to be a partner in Brunswick. Was he quietly investigating her? Sources at the PR firm insist otherwise. But given their all-powerful bosss recent form, we could be forgiven for taking their pronouncements with a hefty pinch of salt. Wanted: Police in Maine are seeking John Daniel Williams, 29, in a cop slaying Hunting has been suspended in three Maine towns as a manhunt continues for the suspect in a deputy's fatal shooting. John Daniel Williams, 29, remained on the loose on Friday evening, when Maine Governor Paul LePage decided to suspend all hunting in in portions of Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Fairfield. That includes the start of youth wild turkey season on Saturday and regular wild turkey season on Monday. LePage said the move is to 'ensure the safety of the public and our law enforcement officers.' Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole was shot and killed early Wednesday morning. Police are on their third day searching for Williams in and around the heavily wooded rural community of Norridgewock, about 60 miles west of Bangor. He's considered armed and dangerous. Maine state police search along railroad tracks near Mill Stream Road in Norridgewock, Maine on Friday during a manhunt for John Daniel Williams The manhunt has entered its third day and all hunting is suspended in three Maine towns More than 200 officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have been searching The shooting of Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole (left) early Wednesday morning in Norridgewock has triggered an intensive manhunt for John Williams, 29 (right) More than 200 officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have been working on the case. Police planned to focus their search Friday in the woods and door-to-door. Sheriff Dale Lancaster said at a news conference earlier on Friday that authorities understand that Williams may want to communicate with them but wouldn't elaborate further. Lancaster said they are willing to listen and encouraged him to reach out. 'If John Williams is listening to me, I'd like to address him directly,' Lancaster said. 'We will do anything to resolve this situation peacefully.' State Police Lt. Col. John Cote said authorities interviewed family and friends of Williams and now have a good understanding of his whereabouts and activities in the 24 hours leading up to the shooting. Cote said they are looking for people who may have had contact with him afterward, from 2.30am Wednesday on, saying they are 'critically important'. Numerous area police agency officers converge on Bear Mountain Road to search for Williams State Police Lt. Col. John Cote said authorities interviewed family and friends of Williams and now have a good understanding of his whereabouts and activities in the 24 hours leading up to the shooting Maine state police search along railroad tracks near Mill Stream Road in Norridgewock, Maine Cops released these photos of Williams' tattoos as the manhunt continues. The tattoos on his chest and abdomen read 'Seven Eleven' and 'Williams', while his right arm says 'Molon Labe' Police said Cole's body was found in Norridgewock outside a home on Mercer Road. The woman who lives there, Kimberly Sirois, not only found Cole's body but also said she knows Williams and saw him earlier this month. Sirois, an education technician at Mill Stream Elementary School in Norridgewock, said she found Cole's body in her yard around 7.15am Wednesday. Sirois also said police told her they found body armor and a rifle in her vehicle, which she said was unlocked. A state police spokesman declined to confirm or deny details of her story. Sirois said Williams lived with her when he was in high school after having a falling out with his parents. She said he also stayed with her last fall, but she asked him to leave because she was suspicious he was using drugs in the house. Police said Cole's body was found in Norridgewock outside a home on Mercer Road. The woman who lives there, Kimberly Sirois, not only found Cole's body but also said she knows Williams and saw him earlier this month Dashcam footage from Cole's patrol car minutes before he was shot shows Williams entering the store (left) and emerging a minute later at 1.41am. Cole was shot at 1.45am 'He was certainly struggling with addiction,' Sirois said, 'and it seemed to get progressively worse from September to after Christmas when he was asked to leave.' She said Williams in his last visit discussed his recent arrest in Massachusetts on gun charges. He was due in court Wednesday. Sirois said she has no idea what transpired that morning and hopes Williams turns himself in. 'Maybe because of this,' she said, 'people will be more willing to step in when people are having a hard time.' A viewing for Cole will be held May 6. A funeral is planned for May 7. The FBI has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Williams. Anyone with information about Williams' whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI tip line at 207-624-7076. The brother of the youngest known sexual assault victim of the Golden State Killer may have worked for the ex-wife of the man who raped his sister, according to the arrest on Tuesday of Joseph James DeAngelo as the prime suspect in those cases. Margaret Wardlow, who was just 13 years old when she was raped in 1977, shared that detail and more about her attack by the Golden State Killer, the name attributed to the person thought to be behind 12 murders and as many as 50 rapes, including Wardlows, with Inside Edition. DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, appeared in Sacramento County Superior for the first time on Friday and was arraigned on two counts of murder, after being arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of being the previously unidentified serial rapist and killer. Wardlow also spoke to Inside Edition about her feelings on potentially confronting her suspected attacker in an interview airing on Friday. Scroll down for video The brother of Margaret Wardlow, the youngest sexual assault victim of the Golden State Killer, may have worked for the ex-wife of the man who raped his sister, according to DNA that led to the arrest of 72-year-old former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo on Tuesday; DeAngelo is seen here at his arraignment in Sacramento County Superior Court on Friday In a bizarre coincidence, when Wardlow found out that DeAngelo was the man accused of raping her, she discovered that her brother used to work for DeAngelos ex-wife, Sharon Huddle. Her brother has a process serving business in Sacramento and DeAngelos former wife, an attorney, was one of his clients. DeAngelo was identified as the suspected Golden State Killer after DNA from a crimescene was entered into a private DNA database called GEDmatch. From there, it's believed a family member match to the Golden State Killer's DNA was identified. That person had voluntarily submitted his own DNA in hopes of finding unknown relatives. Margaret Warldow (pictured) now looks forward to the potential opportunity to confront the man who attacked her, all those years ago DeAngelo did not enter a plea during his arraignment on Friday, was denied bail and is being held in a psychiatric ward of the county jail, Sheriff Scott Jones After a likely family match was pinpointed, investigators then used additional information that had obtained over the past four decades to close in on DeAngelo as their suspect. Warldow now looks forward to the potential opportunity to confront the man who attacked her, all those years ago. 'Id love to tell him, "I wasn't afraid of you then. Im not afraid of you now. All those years you were at large I was never afraid of you! Ever!"" she said. Despite her bravery, the memory of her rape has remained clear in her mind for the past 41 years. 'I remember being woken up with a flashlight in my face,' she said. 'Id love to tell him, "I wasn't afraid of you then. Im not afraid of you now. All those years you were at large I was never afraid of you! Ever!"" Wardlow said 'In a very harsh whisper, he would say, "Do you want to die? Do you want me to kill your mother? Do you want me to slit her throat?"' Wardlow said. 'I answered him immediately, "I dont care," and hed say, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"' Even during her rapist's attack on her, Wardlow refused to show any fear, she said. The arresting officer told Wardlow about the moment DeAngelo was taken into custody. She said: 'I spoke to the arresting officer who said, "This guy never saw them coming. He didnt have a clue. He couldnt have been more surprised when they put the cuffs on him."' Investigators are now thoroughly searching every inch of DeAngelo's home, searching for any possible evidence to connect him to the more than 170 crimes he is suspected of committing DeAngelo did not enter a plea, was denied bail and is being held in a psychiatric ward of the county jail, Sheriff Scott Jones told ABC, where he has been in 'quiet reflection,' saying little aside from mumbling. Investigators are now thoroughly searching every inch of DeAngelo's home, searching for any possible evidence to connect him to the more than 170 crimes he is suspected of committing, Jones said. DeAngelo is suspected of committing 12 murders and at least 50 rapes, between 1976 and 1986, alone. Investigators trying to hunt down the so-called Golden State Killer also used information from genetic websites a year ago and misidentified an elderly Oregon man as a possible suspect, the Associated Press reported. This time, however, investigator Paul Holes has said he is '100 percent sure' they have the 'Golden State Killer.' The Golden State Killer reportedly shouted 'I hate you, Bonnie! I hate you, Bonnie!' during one terrifying attack in the 1970s. DeAngelo was found to have been previoulsy engaged to a woman named Bonnie Lee Colwell, according to an engagement announcement that appeared in a local California newspaper. Colwell was described as a lab assistant at Sierra College. Warldow's full interview with Inside Edition airs on Friday at 7pm Eastern. For stations and times in your area, check local listings. DeAngelo is suspected of committing 12 murders and at least 50 rapes, between 1976-1986 Willie Ames, 47, pictured from a previous arrest, was taken into custody Thursday morning for pushing a man onto New York City subway tracks A man who was arrested after he allegedly pushed a Mexican immigrant onto New York City subway tracks has blamed the victim for the incident. Willie Ames, 47, appeared in court on Friday and was arraigned on charges of attempted assault in the first, second and third-degree as a hate crime. The convicted murderer's lawyer Eliza Orlins said Ames 'does maintain he is not the instigator of this incident,' as reported by the New York Post. Ames was taken into custody on Thursday morning on Staten Island following a police investigation into the hate crime assault last Friday. He's been on parole since 2013 for a robbery charge. Luis Lopez, 24, was taken to the hospital for cuts on his head after Ames allegedly shoved him onto the tracks head first following an argument. According to the criminal complaint, Ames said during the assault: 'You guys come here to take our jobs, and you bring drugs! F****** Mexicans, you people are dirty, you people are nasty!' The incident occurred on a 4 train as it approached the Union Square station in Manhattan. The convicted murderer's lawyer Eliza Orlins said Ames 'does maintain he is not the instigator of this incident' Surveillance footage shows Ames wearing a red Make America Great Again hat at the time he committed the alleged hate crime against a 24-year-old Mexican immigrant Lopez, a construction worker who immigrated to the US from Mexico six years ago, reported that Ames began harassing him and a friend on the 4 train. He and his friend then chose to switch trains at the Union Square stop at 14th street to get away from Ames. However, the suspect followed the men and punched Lopez in the head several times, according to police. That's when Ames shoved Lopez off the platform and onto the train tracks before running off. According to the criminal complaint, Ames said during the assault: 'You guys come here to take our jobs, and you bring drugs! F****** Mexicans, you people are dirty, you people are nasty!' Ames appeared in court on Friday and was arraigned on charges of attempted assault in the first, second and third-degree as a hate crime 'I don't know why he targeted me,' Lopez told the Daily News. 'He started yelling that I was there to take his job and that we bring drugs here.' 'I fell head-first,' Lopez said. 'My head hit the railing. I tried to get up, but lost consciousness. I couldn't move. My friend jumped in to get me out. He saved my life.' The police released the surveillance video of Ames in the red Make America Great Again hat - a symbol of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for president. Ames was convicted of murder in Virginia and has a long criminal record. In 2008 he was arrested after allegedly throwing bleach at people in a deli and in 2015 he was accused of stabbing a man over a dice game, according to the Daily News. A new House Intelligence panel report says Trump picked up pro-Russia aides with thin resumes because of establishment pressure on more experienced aides to stay away. As a result, the Republican-run panel found, Trump ended up with aides like George Papadopoulos, who pitched a Trump meeting with Vladimir Putin and who has pled guilty to lying to the FBI. Among the other ideas he pitched was traveling to Vietnam to meet the expected next prime minister. One finding of the report is that 'the Republican national security establishment's opposition to candidate Trump created opportunities for two less-experienced individuals with pro-Russia views to serve as campaign advisors.' The GOP-run Intel panel says Trump was compelled to bring on B-team aides after foreign policy experts urged top talent to stay away. Pictured is George Papadopoulos in London It specifically mentions Papadopoulos and Carter Page, whose Russia ties and travel helped trigger the Russia probe. Papadopoulos 'made minor contributions to the campaign,' according to the report. He 'briefly' served as a campaign surrogate, until he 'insulted' UK Prime Minister David Cameron, it says. 'In an apparent effort to increase his standing' with the campaign, he cultivated ties with foreign leaders and tried to 'insert himself' into international engagements. He pitched several campaign members on a 'meeting with Russian leadership - including Putin' and also 'volunteered to travel to meet the next Prime Minister of Vietnam.' Trump named Papadopoulos as one of five foreign policy advisors at a time when he was being criticized for not having much of a team in place Papadlopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI He wanted to bring along Dr. Joseph Mifsude, the mysterious London-based professor with Kremlin ties. The report says Papadopoulos had met him 'just ten days earlier' but called him a 'good friend of mine.' Sen. Jeff Sessions, who went on to become attorney general, testified that during the only meeting with Trump's foreign policy team, the idea was shot down when Papadopoulos said he could travel to Russia on behalf of the campaign. Sessions testified he 'pushed back pretty sharply.' Another attendee said Sessions interrupted and started 'talking about the Logan Act' which makes unauthorized negotiations outside of the with foreigners a crime. The obscure law was not widely known until a series of Trump campaign contacts with foreigners were known after the election. Papadlopoulos managed to travel to Britain, Greece, and Israel. But aides balked when he tried to get the campaign to pay. ROAD TRIP: Papadopoulos wanted to bring Professor Joseph Mifsud, who he had met 10 days earlier, on a trip to Vietnam From Greece, he wrote campaign chair Paul Manafort saying 'Russia has been eager to meet Mr. Trump for quite some time and I have been reaching out to me to discuss.' Manafort wrote his deputy, Rick Gates, that 'we need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips.' When Papadopoulos tried to get reimbursed for his globe-trotting, a Trump aide that appears to be Steven Miller pushed back. He is described only as running the campaign's D.C. policy shop. An aide who appears to be longtime Hill aide John Mashburn (only a last name is given) replies: 'He cost us a lot more in having to deal with what he said about Cameron 2 months ago.' 'He got no approval and did it on his own,' he wrote. 'Let him eat the cost and maybe he will learn to play nice with the team, not go off on his own.' An unidentified aide said Papadopoulos could 'take the meeting' he proposed with a senior Israeli security official, but 'should do that as a private citizen.' The head of NBC News has acknowledged the allegations against former nightly news anchor Tom Brokaw, calling the claims 'very serious'. 'As you have all seen now in reports from last night, there are allegations against Tom Brokaw, made by a former NBC News journalist, which Tom emphatically denies,' NBC News Chairman Andy Lack wrote in a staff memo on Friday obtained by Deadline Hollywood. Two women have accused Brokaw of making unwanted advances in the 1990s. 'As we've shown, we take allegations such as these very seriously, and act on them quickly and decisively when the facts dictate,' Lack said. Despite that assurance, NBC won't be launching a full investigation into the claims, a company source told PageSix. Tom Brokaw (pictured) has denied the allegations against him, which NBC News Chairman Andy Lack says the company takes 'very seriously' in a staff memo on Friday 'She's given her side, and he's responded. They don't feel there's anything left to investigate in the case,' the source said. 'We may make further inquiries if more information emerges.' Lack's memo also said that findings in an internal NBC probe into Matt Lauer could be ready as soon as next week. It came as Sacred Heart University President John Petillo said that Brokaw had withdrawn from a planned commencement speech on May 13. 'Mr. Brokaw did not want to distract from the intended and most important focus of the day our graduating students and their families,' Petillo said in a memo to the community. Earlier on Friday, Brokaw denied the allegations made by former NBC employee Linda Vester in a scathing email that was sent to the legendary anchor's co-workers and friends on Friday. 'It is 4:00 am on the first day of my new life as an accused predator in the universe of American journalism,' writes Brokaw. 'I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship.' Brokaw went on to write about the incredible hurt this accusation caused him, as well as the hate he has for his accuser. The repercussions are already being felt by Brokaw, who elected to cancel his planned commencement speech at Sacred Heart University next month. Mad: 'I deeply resent the pain and anger she inflicted on my wife, daughters and granddaughters,' said Brokaw (above with his wide Meredith) 'I am angry, hurt and unmoored from what I thought would be the final passage of my life and career, a mix of written and broadcast journalism, philanthropy and participation in environmental and social causes that have always given extra meaning to my life,' noted Brokaw. 'Instead I am facing a long list of grievances from a former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom.' He continued: 'She has unleashed a torrent of unsubstantiated criticism and attacks on me more than twenty years after I opened the door for her and a new job at Fox news.' Brokaw then tried to explain what happened between himself and Vester on the night in question, while also criticizing how the press handled the claims. 'Linda Vester was given the run of the Washington Post and Variety to vent her grievances, to complain that I tickled her without permission (you read that right), that I invaded her hotel room, accepted an invitation to her apartment under false pretenses and in general was given a free hand to try to destroy all that I have achieved with my family, my NBC career, my writing and my citizenship,' stated Brokaw. 'My family and friends are stunned and supportive. My NBC colleagues are bewildered that Vester, who had limited success at NBC News, a modest career at Fox and a reputation as a colleague who had trouble with the truth was suddenly the keeper of the flame of journalistic integrity.' Vester - a war correspondent for the network in the 1990s, who today runs a website for mothers - came forward to accuse legendary newsman who hosted NBC Nightly News for 22 years. She told The Washington Post and Variety magazine that Brokaw, 26 years her elder, forcibly tried to kiss her twice in 1994 and 1995, while he was the network's star anchor. Brokaw says only that he met Vester twice, 'both at her request' because she wanted career advice. Linda Vester (above) has accused Brokaw of assault 'The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other,' he said in a statement. Another woman, a 24-year-old production assistant at the time, has also accused Brokaw of sexual harassment dating back to the same period, allegations he also denied. US television networks have been rocked by a series of accusations as the United States grapples with the cultural shift of the #MeToo movement. NBC sacked Matt Lauer, the host of its flagship Today program last November. CBS News fired Charlie Rose a few days earlier and Fox News dropped Bill O'Reilly in 2017. Lauer was the biggest media scalp so far in the US watershed on sexual misconduct, and criticism has mounted against NBC for allegedly not doing enough to counter what some have called a culture of harassment. 'I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division,' Vester told the Post. NBC will now start looking into Brokaw's behavior just as the investigation into Matt Lauer nears completion. Chairman Andy Lack addressed both of those investigations in an internal memo sent on Friday. 'As you have all seen now in reports from last night, there are allegations against Tom Brokaw, made by a former NBC News journalist, which Tom emphatically denies. As we've shown, we take allegations such as these very seriously, and act on them quickly and decisively when the facts dictate,' wrote Lack. 'The same report included claims against Matt Lauer. As you know, since the week we terminated Matt's employment, NBC Universal has been conducting a review, led by general counsel Kim Harris -who has extensive experience in conducting reviews of this kind- with a team of legal and HR leaders. Kim has advised us that the review is nearing its conclusion, and we will have findings and further steps to share with you as soon as next week.' Lack then closed out the memo by stating: 'Once again, our highest priority is to ensure we have a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected. We are absolutely committed to making this a reality--there can be no exception.' A brawl broke out among customers at French luxury brand Balenciaga in Printemps in Paris after several shoppers reportedly jumped the line in front of a Chinese woman. The fight broke out on Thursday at the department store's Haussmann branch after the woman allegedly objected to the queue-jumping and her son came to her defence. A video of the fight released by Chinese Weekly shows a Chinese man being held in headlock by security personnel and dragged away from the fight. The Chinese man was seen held in a headlock by security personnel and dragged away Outrage ensued online after the video went viral, with many Chinese web users commenting on Balenciaga's Weibo and Instagram account accusing the brand of discriminating against Chinese. Many online believed that the security staff only handled the Chinese man and was not aggressive towards the other customers involved in the altercation. Both Balenciaga and Printemps have each issued statements on Weibo to apologise for the incident. The information on the other customers in the brawl remains unclear. The topic 'Boycott Balenciaga for discriminating against Chinese people' was trending on Weibo on Friday, gathering more than 29 million page views. The scuffle occurred during the launch of the brand's Triple S collection sneakers, which costs around 615 for a pair. Due to its ultra bulky design, the trainers have been dubbed the 'Old Dad Shoe'. The Triple S collection sold at Balenciaga. A pair of these trainers could set you back 615 The men's line of the Triple S collection sold at Balenciaga. A fight broke out during the shoe's launch at department store Printemps's Haussmann branch in Paris Balenciaga has apologised for the incident in a statement in English and Chinese on its official Weibo account on Thursday, saying that 'the security staff acted immediately to restore the calm'. 'The house of Balenciaga regrets the incident that took place yesterday morning at a department store in Paris while customers were waiting to enter its corner shop.' 'Balenciaga sincerely apologizes to the customers who were present and reaffirms its strong commitment to respect equally all its customers,' it added. French luxury brand Balenciaga has issued an apology on its official Weibo account after the altercation, saying that the security staff 'acted immediately to restore the calm' However, many Chinese net users remain unconvinced. 'What kind of apology is that? It is not sincere at all,' one commented. 'You can say goodbye to the Chinese market now,' one said. 'I couldn't afford the expensive shoes Balenciaga in the first place - now I have one more reason not to buy them,' another said. However, many also demanded the department store to release the security footage of the entire altercation. The high-end sneakers has been dubbed 'Old Dad Shoe' due to its ultra bulky design Printemps also issued a similar statement to its Chinese customers. 'We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Chinese customers involved in this altercation as well as to all those who were upset or inconvenienced in any way,' the department store said. 'We deeply regret the altercation that occurred yesterday in Printemps, which is in strict contradiction with the experience we are committed to offer to our customers.' Printemps issued a statement saying they 'deeply regret the altercation that occurred' on Thursday in the Haussmann branch (pictured) in Paris French department store Printemps has issued an apology after the incident and said that its staff would receive additional training so that they could better manage future situations It added that staff will receive additional training so that they would be able to manage future similar situations 'in the best way'. MailOnline has reached out to Balenciaga and Printemps for comment. Advertisement They were used by the likes of Christopher Colombus to navigate the seas and discover continents. Now, some of most influential ancient maps in the world are set to go on sale at an auction house in London - and they could fetch millions. Among the 400 maps in the collection is a 1472 'T-O' map, the first printed atlas in the world showing how the Earth was arranged according to Christian concepts. It depicts three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe in three sections, with Europe and Africa making up a quarter each and Asia representing the top half of the atlas. This map is one of several in the collection that is from famed geographer and astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus. Published in an atlas from 1482, it is one of the earliest global maps ever made. Known to be the first ever map to make use of latitude and longitude, the origins of this map date back to the known world in the 2nd Century and it could sell for 80,000 ($110,000) The circle surrounding the three sections represents the oceans of the world and indicates the belief the Earth was spherical. It shows the Mediterranean separating Europe from Africa, whilst the Red Sea and the River Don separates both from Asia. As well as showing the breakdown of the Earth in remarkably accurate observations for the time, the sons of Noah are also drawn in on each continent. The map is featured in a book by Saint Isidore of Seville and is expected to sell for between 40,000 and 60,000 ($55,000 - $83,000) at the Sotheby's auction in London in May. Another notable map in the collection the first ever atlas to make use of longitude and latitude. Created by famed cartographer, astronomer and philosopher Claudius Ptolemaeus, it is one of the earliest examples of a world atlas ever produced. This stunning map was created by Peter Goos in 1666. Not a cartographer by trade, the engraver created his masterpiece as a visually striking piece of art. This heavily embellished map is estimated at 40,000 - 60,000 ($55,000 - $83,000) Among the 400 maps in the collection is a 1472 'T-O' map, the first printed atlas in the world showing how the Earth was arranged according to Christian concepts. It depicts three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe in three sections, with Europe and Africa making up a quarter each and Asia representing the top half of the atlas. The map is in a book by Saint Isidore of Seville and is expected to sell for between 40,000 and 60,000 ($55,000 - $83,000) The origins of this map date back to the known world in the 2nd Century and it could sell for 80,000 ($110,000), making it one of the most expensive items in the collection. Francesco Berlinghieri, an Italian artist, helped create the map and provided the 'considerable artistic appeal' with the addition of the 12 wind-heads surrounding the map. The map is believed to have been used by Christopher Columbus during his accidental discovery of the 'New World'. Cecilie Gasseholm, Sotheby's specialist, told MailOnline: 'Ptolomy made his own calculations on the size of the Earth when creating the map with regards to dimensions of the world. One of the pieces created by famed cartographer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, is the first Venetian edition and the first known example of an atlas produced in two colours. This map is only the second map to show America. It was also the first western printed map to show the existence of Japan. The prestige and age of the piece (1511) makes this a blue-chip atlas worth between 40,000 and 60,000 ($55,000 - $83,000) This early mapping of London has been defined as 'The most important of the surviving early map-views of London,' by a leading expert. From an atlas of city views called Civitates Orbis Terrarum by Braun and Hogenber published in 1574, the map is from the second edition, issued two years after the first. This map shows 'Westmester' changed to 'Westmuster' and also shows the newly built Royal Exchange. The map was drawn at least 15 years prior to publication, since it shows the spire of St Paul's, which was destroyed by lightning in 1561 and never re-built. This 16th-century close-up of the Thames is expected to reach up to 3,000 ($4,000) at auction Created in 1775, this stunning map is surrounded by artistic work including 16 pictorial vignettes depicting contemporary events from history. Hand coloured, it is one of the largest in the collection and is made of four wall sheets. In total, the piece spans 1.2 metres by 1.6 metres and was likely hung on a wall of a wealthy businessman's office. Despite more of the north west Americas being mapped, Australia still remains incomplete. Australia was not successfully circumnavigated until the 1802-1803 outing from Matthew Flinders. The largest piece in the collection, it could sell for up to 18,000 ($25,000) 'The measurements were widely taken as gospel for centuries and into the middle ages. 'Christopher Columbus, when he set sail in 1492 from the Spanish port of Palos, used these calculations to inform his navigatio. To his dismay and later great reward, they turned out to be wildly inaccurate and resulted in the Spanish colonisation of the Americas.' One map from Ptolomey, found in a 1511 atlas, is also the first world map to include Japan. Other maps are visually striking and lavishly embellished with vignettes and hand-coloured illustrations. These were likely larger pieces that would be the first map in an atlas, according to Ms Gasseholm. Other maps were far larger and would have decorated the walls of wealthy businessmen's offices. This unusual map shows the world from a different view, looking at the globe from the poles. Created by Cornelius De Jode, a cartographer from Antwerp in the 1500s, the map consists of two half globes that combine to create a unique look at the world. It does show America and was later updated to include the discovery and mapping of Cape Horn. The updated version was constructed in 1616 after De Jode had died. This earlier edition was made in 1593 and is worth between 20,000 and 30,000 ($28,000 - $40,000) A detailed version of the Americas as known in the mid 18th-Century (1755), this map, thought to be worth up to 10,000 ($14,000), was created by Jean Baptiste Nolin. The hand-coloured map is 1.3m by 1.4m in size and is made of four sheets joined together. The 30 vignettes surrounding it add decoration to the wall map Several maps from the 16th century through to the 19th century show the growth of human understanding of the world. One map shows several portions of the world missing. The north-western pass between modern-day Alaska and Russia is absent and so is most of Australia, indicating the unexplored regions of the world. In later maps the north west Americas grows in size as more areas are discovered. Australia still remains incomplete as it was not successfully circumnavigated until the 1802-1803 venture of Matthew Flinders. This late 18th-century map of Europe shows the divisions of the continent and its constituant countries in 1788. Hand engraved and measuring 1.2m x 1.6m in size, this large and elaborate wall map features 17 vignette around the central feature. Created by Louis Joseph Mondhare, the map should sell for between 2,500 and 3,000 ($3,500 - $4,000) Farmers are using high-tech thermal imaging on their phones to help them locate lost lambs at night. On average 15 per cent of lambs on British farms are lost due to predators or health complications after being separated from their mothers. For many farmers, reducing these losses has been a massive challenge. Now thermal imaging technology on a smartphone can help them locate lost and vulnerable members of the flock - even if it's in the dead of night. Farmers are using high-tech thermal imaging on their phones to help them locate lost lambs at night (pictured). On average 15 per cent of lambs on British farms are lost due to predators or health complications after they are separated from their mothers The Cat S60 smartphone, which has been developed by Reading-based Bullitt Group, has a built-in thermal imaging camera. Rob Hodgkins, who owns and runs the 1,700-acre Cherry Farm in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, has been using this technology and claims it has dramatically changed how he monitors his flock. 'Technology is changing farming in a massive way and my Cat S60 is a tremendous asset', he said. 'I use the thermal imaging camera, which a few years ago would have cost thousands of pounds, to me help find and identify hypothermic lambs.' He said he also uses the instant visual indicator to ensure the glucose is the right temperature when injecting lambs. The S60 smartphone is designed for the outdoors and its thermal imagery and multiple spot metres means users can retroactively pinpoint temperature in an image. For many farmers, reducing losses of lambs has been a big challenge. Now thermal imaging technology on a smartphone can help them locate lost and vulnerable members of the flock - even if it's in the dead of night. Pictured is a normal (left) and infrared (right) image of a lamb Rob Hodgkins, who owns and runs the 1,700-acre Cherry Farm in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, has been using this technology and claims it has dramatically changed how he monitors his flock (pictured) The Cat S60 smartphone, which has been developed by Reading-based Bullitt Group, has a built-in thermal imaging camera. Pictured is a lamb lying in hay (left) and the same shot as seen through the camera (right) WHAT ARE THE SPECS OF THE CAT S60 SMARTPHONE? The Cat S60 smartphone is designed for use outdoors and farmers around the UK are using it to help them work. The gadget, developed by Reading-based Bullitt Group, has an impressive list of specs: - Price: 600 ($835) - Built-in thermal imaging camera - Scratch resistant glass - Can survive up to depths of five metres for 60 minutes - Can withstand being dropped from a height of six feet (1.8 metres) - Can take photographs underwater - Thermal camera can measure temperatures from -20 to 120C (-4 to 250F) - Measure temperature to 30m (100ft) distance Advertisement It can also survive up to depths of 16 feet (five metres) for 60 minutes and can take photographs underwater. Developers say it also has scratch resistant glass and can withstand being dropped from a height of six feet (1.8 metres). Mr Hodgkins was able to use the technology in this phone to reunite a lamb with its mother at night after a dog-scaring incident. Using the thermal camera, Mr Hodgkins was able to locate the tiny creature on his display. Mr Hodgkins said he also uses the instant visual indicator to ensure the glucose is the right temperature when injecting lambs Mr Hodgkins was able to use the technology in this phone to reunite a lamb with its mother at night after a dog-scaring incident and inject it (pictured) Using the thermal camera, Mr Hodgkins was able to locate the tiny creature on his display. Pictured is the farmer measuring the temperature of glucose injections with the camera 'Normally we would have had to get torches, headlights and trucks to try and find it. Instead we were able to go out very discretely with thermal imaging, using the smartphone, find the lamb and bring it to safety', he said. Although the lamb was still alive the Cat S60 showed it was nearly hypothermic. 'There were predators around last night so the lamb was very lucky', he said. 'Sometimes it feels like everything in the countryside is trying to eat my lambs. We have foxes, badgers, seagulls, crows and magpies. 'These are things that years ago we would never have been able to do, but now it is second nature to us. We couldnt run our farm without it'. The S60 smartphone is designed for the outdoors and its thermal imagery and multiple spot metres means users can retroactively pinpoint temperature in an image. Pictured is a weak lamb Although the lamb was still alive the Cat S60 showed it was nearly hypothermic. 'There were predators around last night so the lamb was very lucky', Mr Hodgkins said Advertisement This incredible 3D-printed home was built by a robot in just 48 hours. Constructed using a special quick-drying mortar, the building is the first of its kind because it can be deconstructed and reassembled at a different location. The one-story home, which has been described as a 'milestone' for 3D printing construction, covers 100 square meters (1,075 square feet) and features curved walls, a living area, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The Italian architects behind the project said it is just a proof-of-concept for now, and did not disclose how much it cost to build. They added that the house could one day be printed on the moon to house lunar colonies. Scroll down for video This incredible 3D-printed home was built by a robot in just 48 hours. Constructed using a special quick-drying mortar, the building is the first of its kind because it can be deconstructed and reassembled at a different location Architects used a 3D concrete printer mounted on a movable base to construct the building, named '3D Housing 05', in Piazza Cesare Beccaria in Milan. The quick-drying mortar walls set in just 24 hours, significantly faster than the four weeks that traditional concrete takes to dry. The house is made up of 35 modules that were each printed in 60-90 minutes; meaning the full house was printed in just 48 hours. Its fixtures and interior decorations were added later by human builders. Lead architect Massimiliano Locatelli at CLS Architects told lifestyle site Wallpaper: 'My vision was to integrate new, more organic shapes in the surrounding landscapes or urban architecture. 'The opportunity is to be a protagonist of a new revolution in architecture.' The one-story home, which has been described as a 'milestone' for 3D printing construction, covers 100 square meters (1,075 square feet) and features curved walls, a living area, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom The residence's quick-drying mortar walls set in just 24 hours, significantly faster than the four weeks that traditional concrete takes to dry The Italian architects behind the project said it is just a proof-of-concept for now, and did not disclose how much the concrete house cost to build. Pictured is the building's bathroom Architects used a 3D concrete printer mounted on a movable base to construct the building, named '3D Housing 05', in Piazza Cesare Beccaria in Milan 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY MAKES OBJECTS BY DEPOSITING MATERIALS ONE LAYER AT A TIME First invented in the 1980s by Chuck Hull, an engineer and physicist, 3D printing technology also called additive manufacturing is the process of making an object by depositing material, one layer at a time. Similarly to how an inkjet printer adds individual dots of ink to form an image, a 3D printer adds material where it is needed, based on a digital file. Many conventional manufacturing processes involved cutting away excess materials to make a part, and this can lead to wastage of up to 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) for every one pound of useful material, according to the Energy Departments Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. By contrast, with some 3D printing processes about 98 per cent of the raw material is used in the finished part, and the method can be used to make small components using plastics and metal powders, with some experimenting with chocolate and other food, as well as biomaterials similar to human cells. 3D printers have been used to manufacture everything from prosthetic limbs to robots, and the process follows these basic steps: Creating a 3D blueprint using computer-aided design (CAD) software Preparing the printer, including refilling the raw materials such as plastics, metal powders and binding solutions. Initiating the printing process via the machine, which builds the object. 3D printing processes can vary, but material extrusion is the most common, and it works like a glue gun: the printing material is heated until it liquefies and is extruded through the print nozzle Using information from the digital file, the design is split into two-dimensional cross-sections so the printers knows where to put the material The nozzle deposits the polymer in thin layers, often 0.1 millimetre (0.004 inches) thick. The polymer rapidly solidifies, bonding to the layer below before the build platform lowers and the print head adds another layer (depending on the object, the entire process can take anywhere from minutes to days.) After the printing is finished, every object requires some post-processing, ranging from unsticking the object from the build platform to removing support, to removing excess powders. Advertisement Asked where he envisioned the houses being built in future, Mr Massimiliano said: 'Everywhere and anywhere, even on the moon.' A number of space agencies have plans to colonise the moon in the next two decades, including the European Space Agency, which has toyed with the idea of 3D printing for more efficient lunar construction. Projects like 3D Housing 05 could help the ESA realise its dream of building a 'lunar village', opening up opportunities for space tourism or even lunar mining. The house is made up of 35 modules that were each printed in 60-90 minutes; meaning the full house was printed in just 48 hours. Its fixtures and interior decorations were added later by human builders Lead architect Massimiliano Locatelli said: 'My vision was to integrate new, more organic shapes in the surrounding landscapes or urban architecture. The opportunity is to be a protagonist of a new revolution in architecture' A spokesperson for Arup, the engineering company behind the project, said: 'This building represents a milestone for 3D printing applied to construction. 'Robots are opening up a number of possibilities for realising the next generation of advanced buildings.' Alongside architectural firm CLS Architects, Arup will showcase the 3D-printed house at Milan's design festival 'Salone del Mobile' next month. The team aims to demonstrate that 3D printing concrete technology is now advanced enough to produce flexible and sustainable buildings, quickly and affordably. A spokesperson for Arup, the engineering company behind the project, said: 'This building represents a milestone for 3D printing applied to construction.' Pictured is the house's bathroom Alongside architectural firm CLS Architects, Arup will showcase the 3D-printed house at Milan's design festival 'Salone del Mobile' next month. Pictured is the house's dining room area The Arup spokesperson added: 'The construction industry is one of the worlds biggest users of resources and emitters of CO2. 'We want to bring a paradigm shift in the way the construction industry operates and believe that 3D printing technology is critical to making buildings more sustainable and efficient. 'It creates less waste during construction and materials can be repurposed and reused at the end of their life.' 3D-printed buildings have long been touted as a way to help cut humanity's greenhouse emissions, and some have suggested the structures could help solve the global housing crisis. The team aims to demonstrate that 3D printing concrete technology is now advanced enough to produce flexible and sustainable buildings, quickly and affordably The construction industry is one of the worlds biggest users of resources and emitters of CO2, and 3D-printed buildings could drastically cut these emissions The Arup spokesperson added: 'We want to bring a paradigm shift in the way the construction industry operates and believe that 3D printing technology is critical to making buildings more sustainable and efficient. It creates less waste during construction and materials can be repurposed and reused at the end of their life' Last month, Texas-based start-up Icon unveiled its single-story 650-square-foot (60 sq m) house at the SXSW festival in Austin. The properties, which are currently at the concept stage, will soon be used to provide safe shelter for people in El Salvador and could one day be expanded worldwide to house billions. The homes currently cost 7,200 ($10,000) to construct and take up to 24 hours to build, but for the production version this cost should be reduced to around 2,900 ($4,000). They could also offer a viable option for the construction of off-world colonies on planets like Mars in the near future, the firm said. Icon's homes currently cost 7,200 ($10,000) to construct and take up to 24 hours to build, but for the production version this cost should be reduced to around 2,900 ($4,000) Around 1.2 billion people globally live without adequate housing, according to the World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Icon has teamed up with New Story, a nonprofit that invests in international housing, and plans to build around 100 new homes in El Salvador within the next 18 months. A spokesman for the firm said: 'History has been punctuated with advances in technology and materials that provide an order-of-magnitude decrease in cost and time required to build a new home. 'And while recent decades have brought major advances in personal technology, construction practices remain relatively unchanged since the 1950s. 'Icon aims to change this, ushering in a new era in construction to meet the needs of the future.' They could also offer a viable option for the construction of off-world colonies on planets like Mars in the near future, the firm said. The firm has teamed up with New Story, a nonprofit that invests in international housing, and plans to build around 100 new homes in El Salvador within the next 18 months Body cameras worn by police in the US could soon have in-built facial recognition software, sparking 'serious concerns' among civil liberties groups. The controversial technology, branded 'categorically unethical', would automatically scan and identify every single person law enforcement interacts with. It is intended to help officers track down suspects more effectively, but experts are worried it could lead to false arrests and suffer from inbuilt racial and other biases. If developed, the equipment could become a regular sight on the streets of cities across the world. The manufacturer behind the move has now brought together a panel of experts to discuss the implications of the 'Minority Report' style technology. Scroll down for video Body cams worn by police officers could soon have in-built facial recognition software. The technology would be able to automatically scan and identify every single person the law enforcement agent interacts with (stock image) Technology and weapons company Axon, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, makes wearable body cameras - as well as the contentious Taser electroshock weapon - widely used by many US police forces. Although Axon says it is not actively developing facial recognition software, it has admitted the technology is 'under active consideration.' The firm's founder and chief executive, Rick Smith, said in a statement to investors: 'I don't think it's an optimal solution, the world we're in today, that catching dangerous people should just be left up to random chance, or expecting police officers to remember who they're looking for. 'It would be both naive and counterproductive to say law enforcement shouldn't have these new technologies. 'They're going to, and I think they're going to need them. We can't have police in the 2020s policing with technologies from the 1990s.' The news has led to criticism from 30 civil rights, technology and privacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP. In a letter sent to the company, they raise 'serious concerns with the current direction of Axon's product development.' The letter dubbed the project 'categorically unethical.' Axon's founder and chief executive, Rick Smith (pictured), thinks police officers should have facial recognition software built-in to their body cameras to reduce paper work and make identifying suspects easier Axon, a US-based manufacturer of bodycams, yesterday brought together a panel of experts at their headquarters in Arizona to discuss the ethical implications of the Minority Report (pictured) style technology HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK? Facial recognition is increasingly used as way to access your money and your devices. When it comes to policing, it could soon mean the difference between freedom and imprisonment. Faces can be scanned at a distance, generating a code as unique as your fingerprints. This is created by measuring the distance between various points, like the width of a person's nose, distance between the eyes and length of the jawline. Facial recognition systems check more than 80 points of comparison, known as 'nodal points', combining them to build a person's faceprint. These faceprints can then be used to search through a database, matching a suspect to known offenders. Facial recognition is increasingly used as way to access your money and your devices. When it comes to policing, it could soon mean the difference between freedom and imprisonment (stock) Facial scanning systems used on personal electronic devices function slightly differently, and vary from gadget to gadget. The iPhone X, for example, uses Face ID via a 7MP front-facing camera on the handset which has multiple components. One of these is a Dot Projector that projects more than 30,000 invisible dots onto your face to map its structure. The dot map is then read by an infrared camera and the structure of your face is relayed to the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone X, where it is turned into a mathematical model. The A11 chip then compares your facial structure to the facial scan stored in the iPhone X during the setup process. Security cameras use artificial intelligence powered systems that can scan for faces, re-orient, skew and stretch them, before converting them to black-and-white to make facial features easier for computer algorithms to recognise. Error rates with facial recognition can be as low as 0.8 per cent. While this sounds low, in the real world that means eight in every 1,000 scans could falsely identify an innocent party.. One such case, reported in The Intercept, details how Steven Talley was falsely matched to security footage of a bank robber. Advertisement Writing in the letter, its authors said: 'Real-time face recognition would chill the constitutional freedoms of speech and association, especially at political protests. 'It could also prime officers to perceive individuals as more dangerous than they really are and to use more force than the situation requires. 'No policy or safeguard can mitigate these risks sufficiently well for real-time face recognition ever to be marketable. The letter urges a total prohibition on the technology, instead of moderated use or even specific limitations being place on it. This is based on a range of privacy implications, technical imperfections and potentially life-threatening biases. MIT research published in February found that popular facial recognition services from Microsoft, IBM and Face++ vary in accuracy based on gender and race, often inaccurately identifying users who are female or dark-skinned. This opens up the potential for police officers misidentifying an innocent person as a dangerous fugitive, based on the AI - with potential lethal results. In a bid to tackle the ethical and privacy concerns related to the emerging tech, Axon has brought together a board of eight experts. Motorola is a company which is developing AI-powered facial recognition software. Its Solutions' AI-equipped body cameras can identify a missing child in a crowd of people (pictured). The software compares photos of a missing person with footage in real time IBM, MICROSOFT SHOWN TO HAVE RACIST AND SEXIST AI SYSTEMS In a 2018 study titled Gender Shades, a team of researchers discovered that popular facial recognition services from Microsoft, IBM and Face++ can discriminate based on gender and race. The data set was made up of 1,270 photos of parliamentarians from three African nations and three Nordic countries where women held positions. The faces were selected to represent a broad range of human skin tones, using a labelling system developed by dermatologists, called the Fitzpatrick scale. All three services worked better on white, male faces and had the highest error rates on dark-skinned males and females. Microsoft was unable to detect darker-skinned females 21% of the time, while IBM and Face++ wouldn't work on darker-skinned females in roughly 35% of cases. In a 2018 study titled Gender Shades, a team of researchers discovered that popular facial recognition services from Microsoft, IBM and Face++ can discriminate based on gender and race Advertisement Axon first announced its desire to develop the feature back in early 2017. Its goal was to form a new Taser AI team with the acquisition of two video-recognition software firms. CEO Rick Smith said the company's main focus with the initiative was to reduce police paperwork. 'Rather than arduously written by police officers overburdened by paperwork,' searchable video would allow incident reports to be 'seamlessly recorded by sensors,' Mr Smith said in a statement at the time. Humans may be to blame for the second most damaging earthquake in South Korea's history. The quake hit the south-eastern city of Pohang on 15 November, injuring nearly 100 people, temporarily leaving 1,500 homeless, and causing millions in damage. Two investigations have now concluded the 5.5-magnitude tremor was caused by an experimental fracking plant injecting water deep underground. The 'alarming' results could change the way we assess the risks of fracking. Scroll down for video Humans may be to blame for the second most damaging earthquake in South Korea's history. The quake hit the south-eastern city of Pohang on 15 November, injuring nearly 100 people, temporarily leaving 1,500 homeless, and causing millions in damage (pictured) A team of researchers from the University of Glasgow, ETH-Zurich in Switzerland and GFZ-Potsdam in Germany analysed data from seismographic stations. They also studied satellite data to pinpoint where the main shock and 46 aftershocks of the quake occurred. The main shock hit within 0.9 miles (1.5km) of where workers at a geothermal plant had been injecting thousands of cubic metres of water into the ground. The goal was to harness energy from underground heat by injecting water into hot subsurface rocks and then extracting the heated water through a second borehole. The last of these injections was around two months before the earthquake. Researchers also discovered the main shock and aftershocks hit at unusual depths of between 1.9 and 4.3 miles (3-7 km) beneath the Earth's surface. Two investigations have now concluded the 5.5-magnitude tremor (aftermath pictured) was caused by an experimental fracking plant injecting water deep underground. The 'alarming' results could change the way we assess the risks of fracking The tremors were surprisingly shallow compared to precious tremors in the region but hit at a similar depth to the geothermal plant's fracking injections. Debris from a collapsed building is scattered in front of a shopping center after the earthquake in Pohang, South Korea The European researchers said their finding does not prove the fracking caused the quake, but does outline a connection that merits further investigation. South Korean authorities are also exploring a possible link between the two. Study coauthor Dr Robert Westaway, a research at Glasgow University, told the Gaurdian: 'It would be a very a remarkable coincidence if this earthquake were to be unrelated to the activity at the site, given that it occurred so close to it.' 'My own personal view is that it is highly likely there is a connection.' The study may change the way researchers judge how fracking may impact the risk of earthquakes. Previously, risk assesments have focussed on the volume of water used rather than the pressure it is pumped at. In the case of the Pohang tremor, workers injected relatively small amount of water about 10,000 cubic metres (353,000 cubic feet). The main shock hit within 0.9 miles (1.5km) of where workers at a geothermal plant had been injecting thousands of cubic metres of water into the ground. In this image, students gather on a playground after evacuating after an earthquake at Handong University in Pohang 'No one ever thought that injecting such a small amount of water could lead to such a large earthquake,' Dr Westaway said. The 5.4 magnitude earthquake was South Korea's second-strongest in decades. More than 1,000 houses and dozens of other buildings and cars were damaged or destroyed, and cracks and other damage were found in military facilities, bridges, port facilities and water supply facilities. Media images showed crumbled walls piled on damaged cars, broken windows and cracks in buildings. The 5.4 magnitude Pohang earthquake was South Korea's second-strongest in decades. More than 1,000 houses and dozens of other buildings and cars were damaged or destroyed HOW DOES FRACKING TRIGGER EARTHQUAKES? Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake, and in extreme cases can even split the Earth's crust up to its surface. Fracking works by injecting huge volumes of water into the rocks surrounding a natural gas deposit or hydrothermal well. The water fractures the rocks, creating dozens of cracks through which gas and heat can escape to the surface. Fracking causes Earthquakes by introducing water to faultlines, lubricating the rocks and making them more likely to slip. When two blocks of rock or two plates rub together, they catch on one another. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving, building pressure that is only released when the rocks break. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again. There are questions over whether a magnitude 5.6 temblor that hit Oklahoma - the biggest earthquake ever recorded in the state - was caused by the controversial process. Advertisement It was the second-strongest quake in South Korea since the country officially began monitoring them in 1978. The biggest quake occurred in September 2016, when a 5.8 magnitude occurred near the ancient city of Gyeongju, which is close to Pohang. That quake also caused injuries but no deaths. South Korea has relatively little seismic activity, unlike neighboring Japan. Advertisement A stunning mosaic of cloud-free images captured by the Sentinel 3A satellite has revealed the entire continent of Europe, and more, in incredible detail. The view stretches from Iceland in the northwest across to Scandinavia and Russia in the northeast, and from the northern tips of Norway and Finland to as far south as Algeria, Libya and Egypt. While the satellites ocean and land colour instrument depicts the green of summer in many parts of Europe, dryer regions, particularly to the south, can also be seen in parts of Spain, Italy and Turkey. Scroll down for video A stunning mosaic of cloud-free images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite has revealed the entire continent of Europe, and more, in incredible detail. The view stretches from Iceland in the northwest across to Scandinavia and Russia in the northeast, and from the northern tips of Norway and Finland to as far south as Algeria, Libya and Egypt The image is made up of scenes captured between March 1 and July 30, 2017, by the sixth satellite in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus programme. It aims to help predict weather phenomena such as El Nino and track the progress of global warming. The second Sentinel 3, and the seventh satellite in the Copernicus project, Sentinel 3B, lifted off from Russia on Wednesday. In the same way as ESA's Gaia satellite maps stars thousands of light years away to understand the universe, the Sentinel 3 mission observes our home planet to understand large scale environmental changes. Sentinel 3 - now comprised of two identical satellites, which orbit 506 miles (815 km) above Earth on opposite sides of the planet - carries a suite of instruments to measure our oceans, land and ice. It is these instruments that were used to produce the map in such detail, from the snow covered north to the more arid regions of northern Africa and the middle east to the south. Over land, Sentinel 3 is used to map the way land is utilised, to monitor vegetation and wildfires, and to measure the height of rivers and lakes. Over oceans it measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice. The image, made up of scenes captured between March 1 and July 30, 2017, was released by the European Space Agency (ESA) to mark the ILA Berlin Air Show, with the German capital lying in the centre of the image While the satellites ocean and land colour instrument depicts the green of summer in many parts of Europe, the dryness that summer brings, particularly to the south, can also be seen in parts of Spain, Italy and Turkey WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY'S SENTINEL 3 SATELLITE AND WHAT DOES IT DO? Sentinel 3 is primarily an ocean study mission, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of its Copernicus Programme. However, it is also able to provide data on the atmosphere and land masses. Sentinel 3A was launched on February 16, 2016, with a twin, Sentinel 3B, arriving in orbit on April 25, the seventh of Esa's Sentinel Earth observation satellite. The two satellites orbit 506 miles (815 km) above Earth, on opposite sides of the planet. The multi-billion Copernicus programme aims to help predict weather phenomena such as El Nino and track the progress of global warming. Sentinel 3 (pictured in video footage) is primarily an ocean study mission, developed by the European Space Agency as part of its Copernicus Programme. However, it is also able to provide data on the atmosphere and land masses Their data could also help shipping companies chart more efficient routes and may be used to monitor forest fires, water pollution and oil spills. The Copernicus project is described by ESA as the most ambitious Earth observation programme to date. The European Union and the ESA have committed funding of more than eight billion euros (7.12bn / $9.8bn) to it until 2020. The launch of the Copernicus project became especially urgent after Europe lost contact with its Earth observation satellite Envisat in 2012 after 10 years. Sentinel-3 makes use of multiple sensing instruments to accomplish its objectives. These are: the sea and land surface temperature radiometer (SLSTR), ocean and land colour instrument (OLCI), SAR altimeter (SRAL), doppler orbitography and radiopositioning integrated by satellite (DORIS), and a microwave radiometer (MWR). Advertisement This is not the first time that the beautiful sights of cloudless photos have hit the headlines. On Monday, a rare cloud-free photograph of the Scottish Highlands captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station emerged. The image, which was taken in February on a Nikon D5 digital camera, shows the breathtaking Scottish landscape in all its rugged beauty. An astronaut has captured a rare cloud-free photograph of the Scottish Highlands from the International Space Station. The image, taken in February on a Nikon D5 digital camera, shows the breathtaking Scottish landscape in all its rugged beauty The rare photo shows the snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor, a 62-mile (100km) valley running from Inverness to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe. According to Nasa cloudy skies 'are common for the region and typically prevent landscape photography from space, especially during the winter months'. Also known as the 'Great Valley' or 'Great Glen,' Glen Mor is believed to house some of the oldest rocks in Europe. The fault zone surrounded by many elongated lakes one of which is Loch Ness, famous for the illusive Loch Ness monster. The landscape was shaped by geological forces some hundreds of millions of years ago. The rocky landscape of the Scottish Highlands also shows signs of reshaping by flowing glaciers during the most recent Ice Ages from around 2.5 million years ago. The photo shows the snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor, a 62-mile valley running from Inverness to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe. The landscape was shaped by geological forces some hundreds of millions of years ago In 2016, US astronaut Jeff Williams managed to take photo of Scotland without clouds. 'We had a great view of Scotland todayvery rare to not be covered with clouds', he tweeted In the early 2000s, locals built a pathway through the area - the Great Glen Way - for walkers and cyclists. The incredible cloud-free image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artefacts have also been removed. In 2016, US astronaut Jeff Williams managed to take a similarly rare photo of Scotland without clouds. We had a great view of Scotland todayvery rare to not be covered with clouds. pic.twitter.com/R31MXg2I1U Jeff Williams (@Astro_Jeff) August 16, 2016 'We had a great view of Scotland todayvery rare to not be covered with clouds', he tweeted. At the end of last year Nasa released another image of the Scottish highlands caked in snow with lots of cloud cover, which is the view astronauts are more used to seeing. The 2017 image was taken from Nasa's Terra Satellite Earth Observing System which is the size of a minibus. For almost 18 years the Terra satellite and its five sensors have collected data about Earth and its complex systems. The US Army is using AI to try and give soldiers super-learning capabilities. The experimental system would allow American troops to analyse new information far faster than they can at the moment. Initial tests have found U.S. Soldiers can learn 13 times faster than conventional methods using the system. U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry on a joint patrol with Iraqi troops in Hawr Rajab, a predominantly Sunni area of southern Baghdad, Iraq Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007. In the future, they could use an AI system to alert them far more quickly of nearby threats The U.S. Army Research Laboratory project is designed to 'help Soldiers decipher hints of information faster and more quickly deploy solutions, such as recognizing threats like a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial war zone images.' It uses a combination of computers and AI software to analyse information on the battlefield. It is hoped the system could one day be embedded into military vehicles on the battlefield. Dr. Rajgopal Kannan, an ARL researcher, said this technique could eventually become part of a suite of tools embedded on the next generation combat vehicle, offering cognitive services and devices for warfighters in distributed coalition environments. Developing technology for the next generation combat vehicle is one of the six Army Modernization Priorities the laboratory is pursuing. The US Army is experimenting with dozens of technologies, including VR (pictured) to boost the intelligence troops have on the battlefield. Kannan collaborates with a group of researchers at the University of Southern California, namely Prof. Viktor Prasanna and students from the data science and architecture lab on this work. The Army says the projecy is part of a major push to use AI for warfare. 'This work is part of Army's larger focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning research initiatives pursued to help to gain a strategic advantage and ensure warfighter superiority with applications such as on-field adaptive processing and tactical computing,' it said. Microsoft is set to add a radical new feature to its Windows 10 software to stop users being distracted. The free update, called Focus Assist, enables workers to temporarily switch off email and social media notifications. Microsoft says the update is inspired by research showing office workers are being interrupted or having to switch tasks about every three minutes - and it takes 23 minutes to get back in focus. Scroll down for video 'Today, most of us spend between 3-6 hours each day on screens,' Microsoft says. 'Much of this time is spent on social media, where the constant stream of distractions across our myriad of devices makes it hard to focus. 'In many ways, our attention is being hacked, pulling us into continuous scrolls of information, but distracting us from what matters most. HOW DO I USE MICROSOFT'S FOCUS ASSIST? Turn on Focus Assistwhenever you want to get things done without distractions, like social media or other notifications. Or set it to turn on automatically at certain times during the day when you want focused time. When you finish, you receive a summary of what came through, whether notifications, emails or updates, while you were heads down. If youre waiting on a specific call or email, choose people who you want to break through. Advertisement 'This war on attention is real in the workplace, the average amount of time people spend on any single event before being interrupted or switching tasks is about three minutes (outside of meetings).' The system can allow messages from certain people to break through. The update will be released on Monday as part of Microsoft's latest update. Microsoft has also updated its Edge browser, allowing users to click the audio icon to mute and unmute a tab that is playing sound. It also includes a new Timeline feature. This allows a Windows 10 PC lets you go back in time up to 30 days to find things. Before the end of the century, California could be hit by flooding as severe as the notorious Great Flood of 1862, which left a 300-mile-long stretch of the state submerged under water. And, it could happen more than once. A new study has warned that California could soon see dramatic shifts between extreme dry and wet weather, in a phenomenon known as climate whiplash. In the next few decades, the researchers warn the chances of a flood-triggering storm sequences will rise dramatically, putting the state at risk of trillion-dollar disasters that leave homes under up to 30 feet of water. Scroll down for video Before the end of the century, California could be hit by flooding as severe as the notorious Great Flood of 1862, which left a 300-mile-long stretch of the state submerged under water. File photo I dont think most people in California really have a grasp of the magnitude of this kind of event, said lead author Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLAs Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Millions of people living in the Central Valley, at a minimum, have to leave for a while, and many could actually have their homes under 20 or 30 feet of water. This includes much of Sacramento. And all of these other cities in the Central Valley are much bigger than when they used to be, and there are all of these sprawling suburbs in regions that were historically vast natural floodplains. The worrying new study published to the journal Nature Climate Change predicts extreme flooding events will become more common in the near future as will the extreme shifts between wet and dry weather. These are actually huge changes occurring; theyre just on opposite ends of the spectrum, said Swain said, If you only look for shifts in average precipitation, youre missing all of the important changes in the character of precipitation. The combination of the warming atmosphere and warming oceans will drive more water vapor into the air, the researchers explain. This, in turn, will lead to greater precipitation. When a storm gets going, air converges at low levels carrying more water vapor with it. With more vapor to dump our, the result is more rainfall, said Professor David Neelin. In the next few decades, the researchers warn the chances of a flood-triggering storm sequences will rise dramatically, putting the state at risk of trillion-dollar disasters that leave homes under up to 30 feet of water. File photo The changing climate could leave the state 300-400 percent more likely to see storm sequences comparable to that which caused the major flood over 150 years ago. The prospect of another flood like the Great Flood of 1862 is known as The Other Big One, in a nod to Californias earthquake risk. We may be going from a situation where an event as big as 1862 was unlikely to occur by the end of the century to a situation where it may happen more than once, Swain said. Given the magnitude of Californias population today, the effects of such a flood would be much worse. Both humans and wildlife would be hard hit, causing far more sudden damage than drought. People tend not to die in droughts in places with a developed economy, Swain said. People do still die in floods. It happened this year and last year in California. During an event of a magnitude similar to the 1862 flood, a lot of lives would be at risk. A new study has warned that California could soon see dramatic shifts between extreme dry and wet weather, in a phenomenon known as climate whiplash. File photo Researchers warn the phenomenon could lead to more extreme wildfires. If vegetation remains dry into October and November the early rainy season it could line up with the warm, dry Santa Ana winds While major floods like this happen only a handful of times each century, the warming atmosphere could change this. But under these projections, it would go from something that happens maybe once in a generation to something that happens two or three times, Swain said. Even if we are lucky and manage to avoid a repeat of 1862, these lower-magnitude events could still seriously test the limits of our water infrastructure. The study also predicts the state will see more frequent cases of climate whiplash, with abrupt transitions from wet weather to dry weather thought to increase in frequency by 50-100 percent. WHY ARE CLIMATE MODELS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT? The main problem with climate models is uncertainty. In particular, something called the 'equilibrium climate sensitivity' measure has been causing scientists a headache. This is a highly influential measure that describes how much the planet will warm if carbon dioxide doubles and the Earth's climate adjusts to the new state of the atmosphere. Studies have found a wide range of possibilities for this key measure somewhere between 1.5 and 4.5C, with 3C. Most scientists try to constrain ECS by looking at historical warming events. For the last 25 years, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the ultimate authority on climate science, has settled on a 'likely' range of 1.5C to 4.5C (2.7F to 8.1F). Warming less than 1C is 'extremely unlikely' and more than 6C is considered 'very unlikely', the panel has concluded. However, some scientists dispute this figure. Advertisement The most dramatic changes will be seen in Southern California. And, the phenomenon could lead to more extreme wildfires. If vegetation remains dry into October and November the early rainy season it could line up with the warm, dry Santa Ana winds. The most dangerous combination historically is in September and October, when its really dry but the winds are starting to pick up, Swain said. What if it had started raining in October or November? Would the Thomas Fire have even broken out? Would it have burned so quickly? Or so intensely? The lack of autumn rains last year were a big part of the equation. Theyre among Brazils most fearsome predators but even jaguars meet their match sometimes. Researchers observing big cats in the Pantanal tropical wetlands have captured the incredible interactions between jaguars and the giant otters that build their dens along the rivers. In one hilarious encounter, a young female jaguar was caught wandering too close to the otters favorite snacking spot, causing the whole group to gang up on her and chase her away in a flurry of splashing and screaming. Scroll down for video Researchers observing big cats in the Pantanal tropical wetlands have captured the incredible interactions between jaguars and the giant otters that build their dens along the rivers. The two can be squaring off, above The comical scene was spotted during a boat ride down Sao Lourenco River, near Pantheras Brazilian research station. In a blog post about the encounter, Ailton Lara, Director at Pantanal Nature, explains that the 3-year-old jaguar Ague had chosen the wrong spot to sit and take in the river view. A video captured by the researcher shows how one otter pops its head out of the water and begins making calls to defend the groups favorite area for eating fish. Then, one by one, several others join in. First alerting the alpha male of the situation with loud vocalizations, the frenzied group of otters proceeded to storm up to Ague from the water, screaming and dashing in front of her, the researcher wrote. It was clear that their intimidation tactics were working, as continuous, flicking tail movements indicated the jaguars fear response. Meanwhile, the dominant male otter, who had been separated from the group scouting new den sites, came onto the scene after hearing alarm calls. Ague, realizing that the fierce male was coming to the aid of his group, pulled an impressive maneuver that only cats are known to perform--turning around almost in a somersault--to flee the otter mob. Despite being chased away, Ague returned the next day to relax in the shade under a tree. The comical scene was spotted during a boat ride down Sao Lourenco River, near Pantheras Brazilian research station. In a blog post about the encounter, Ailton Lara explains that the 3-year-old jaguar Ague had chosen the wrong spot to sit and take in the river view A video captured by the researcher shows how one otter pops its head out of the water and begins making calls to defend the groups favorite area for eating fish. Then, one by one, several others join in According to the researchers with Panthera, the Brazilian Pantanal is home to the largest density of jaguars in the world. The region offers a unique semi-aquatic habitat that brings together all sorts of wildlife, from capybaras to caimans. But, giant otters dominate the waters. The huge carnivorous mammals can grow to be roughly 6 feet long, and can be fiercely territorial. Giant otters are carnivorous, formidable, and extremely agile aquatic predators (to the extent that they are called the aquatic jaguar by some local indigenous tribes) and are always in social groups taking care of their territory and one another, the researchers write in a recent blog post. According to the researchers with Panthera, the Brazilian Pantanal is home to the largest density of jaguars in the world. The region offers a unique semi-aquatic habitat that brings together all sorts of wildlife, from capybaras to caimans. But, giant otters dominate the waters At Panthera Brazils 10,000-hectare Jofre Velho Ranch, in the Porto Jofre region, researchers have obtained stunning insight on the coexistence between the jaguars and giant otters living along the Corixo Negro river The most suitable period for their breeding is when the waters of the Pantanal are low because they can easily find fish and build predator-proof lairs out of exposed riverbanks, gullies, and roots. At Panthera Brazils 10,000-hectare Jofre Velho Ranch, in the Porto Jofre region, researchers have obtained stunning insight on the coexistence between the jaguars and giant otters living along the Corixo Negro river. A video of another encounter shows two jaguars running into a huge male otter as they attempted to descend a fallen tree trunk to the water for a drink. The jaguars, two sisters according to the experts, appear to regard the otter with both surprise and curiosity. After aggressive vocalizations from the giant otter and a series of dives between the branches, however, the jaguars thought the better of their decision, and ultimately retreated. Clear-blue skies and bright sunshine make winter the perfect time to explore the Catalonian capital. Cooler days make hunkering down with fresh churros and hot chocolate a real treat, and you can explore Gaudi's magnificent Sagrada Familia without the sweaty crowds. Or pull on a blanket and just enjoy the warmth of the winter sun with a vino tinto on La Rambla. Check our guide to visiting Barcelona in winter. Visit Barcelona's top sights without the crowds One of the true highlights of Barcelona in winter is the chance to explore the city's main attractions, sans crowds. In the summer, the daily queues for Gaudi's great Sagrada Familia snake around the block. While you won't quite have the church to yourself (even in winter, it's still one of the biggest attractions in the city), it's a much more pleasant experience than fighting through the sweaty crowds on a steamy August afternoon. Learn more about the Catalan artist on a private Gaudi tour which also takes in the UNESCO-listed Park Guell, the colourful roof at Casa Batllo, and the Modernist Casa Mila, known as La Pedrera. Queues to see the Sagrada Familia snake are a lot less in the Winter Hunker down in one of the city's gintonerias One of the nicest things about visiting a city in winter is the cosiness of settling into a welcoming bar for the evening. The charming Rubi Bar on Carrer dels Banys Vells in El Born has visitors from far and wide come for its top-notch gin selection. A small, eclectic bar, it has more than 50 gins, including home-infused gins like the fragrant lemongrass and pepper. Metro: Jaume I Open MondayThursday 19300230, and FridaySaturday 19300300 Winter is also an ideal time to catch a performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's elegant opera house on La Rambla, which opened in 1847. Get seats in five-tier auditorium surrounded by opulent gold-and-red Baroque and Rococo design for an evening of opera, ballet or dance. For a unique experience, you could join a secret backstage tour or walk in the footsteps of Barcelonas well-to-do in the Mirror Hall on a guided tour. Metro: Liceu Barcelona's Opera House Gran Teatre del Liceu Go Christmas shopping at the Santa Llucia Fair Under the watchful gaze of Barcelona Cathedral, the Santa Llucia Fair has been running for more than 200 years and is the city's biggest and best Christmas fair. Listen to carols, see centuries-old Christmas traditions and pick up handmade Christmas decorations, wooden nativity scenes and quirky gifts. A particular favourite is the Caga Tio a perky, smiling log with wobbly eyes and a red Catalan hat, who poos presents if children have looked after him well enough on the run up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve, children hit Tio with sticks, like a pinata, to find gifts hidden under his blanket. Metro: Jaume I Barcelona Cathedral Follow Barcelona's Christmas festivals and parades Another popular Barcelona Christmas tradition is on 5 January. Celebrating Twelfth Night, Dia de los Reyes Magos the Three Kings Parade is an old Catalan tradition that replicates the procession of the kings by parading decorated floats through the streets and handing out sweets to children. Then on the weekend closest to 12 February, Festival of Santa Eulalia or La Laia Festival the children have even more fun at the three-day extravaganza celebrating Santa Eulalia's birthday. Barcelona's biggest annual children's event is crammed with music concerts, processions and street parties. Feast on Catalan churros and hot chocolate in the Gothic Quarter For a proper Catalan winter treat, head to one of the city's cosy churrerias for fresh churros con chocolate. Opened in 1947, Granja La Pallaresa on Carrer Petritxol in Barcelona's atmospheric Gothic Quarter is a real local favourite. Order a pile of churros with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream (known as suizo) for a decadent sweet treat. Metro: Liceu Churros is a real Winter treat in Catalan Pick up lunch or a bargain in Barcelona's many markets Visit Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, the city's famous indoor food market just off La Ramba. In the summer, the market is overrun with visitors stocking up on Catalan treats, but in winter, it's largely the domain of locals. Stop off at one of the tapas bars, such as El Quim de la Boqueria for a winter lunch of butiffara sausage with beans and garlic. Metro: Liceu Open MondaySaturday 08002030 Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria is the city's famous indoor food market Dig around for dusty treasures at the Mercat Gotic dAntiquitats in Barrio Gotico, the city's Gothic Quarter. The market pitches up outside Barcelona Cathedral every Thursday and is great for a mooch to find vintage postcards or rare and collectable coins and is a great place to pick up a unique gift or at least a bargain or two. Metro: Jaume I. Open Thursday 09002000 You're never far from a perfect pint in Amsterdam, especially in the central neighbourhoods of De Wallen, Centrum and the Canal Ring. Choose between pubs spilling out onto lively city squares, or those hidden on quaint cobbled backstreets and in long, thin townhouses overlooking the canal. Or wander between all three in the ultimate Amsterdam pub crawl. Here's our pick of the best. Int Aepjen Brown cafe is the name given to a traditional Dutch pub, and Int Aepjen is one of Amsterdam's oldest, dating back to the 17th century. The building itself is even older, and one of only two remaining wooden buildings in the city. The decor is all dark wood, wobbly bar stools and brass, and the location, opposite Central Station and on the edge of the De Wallen red light district, makes it perennially popular with the passing tourist trade. Metro: Central Station Open SundayThursday 15000100, and FridaySaturday 1500-0300 A modern restaurant in Amsterdam with an open kitchen The Old Sailor The Old Sailor is another traditional-style De Wallen haunt, with a fun Popeye-themed twist. The atmosphere is great in this lively pub although it's firmly aimed at the tourist crowd and the location, between the Erotic Museum and the Museum of Prostitution, is interesting to say the least. A window-seat will give you a front row view of the canal-side red windows something to bear in mind! Metro: Nieumarkt Opening times vary Popular Dutch breakfast Cafe Belgique This cute little Belgian pub sits on a cobbled side-street in the busy Centrum district, within stumbling distance of Dam Square, with its gothic New Church and impressive Royal Palace. Inside Cafe Belgique the walls are plastered with patriotic beer-themed posters, and behind the bar there are over 50 Belgian beers to choose from, including eight on draft. Tram: Dam Open SundayThursday 1500-0100, and FridaySaturday 1500-0300 Cafe Belgique has over over 50 Belgian beers to choose from, including eight on draft In de Wildeman This little Dutch pub is as traditional as they come, with its bottle-green paintwork, black and white tiled floor and dark wood furnishings. The wall space is cluttered with framed prints, while bottles, tankards and various curiosities line every shelf. The fact that it sits in a former distillery adds to the authentic atmosphere at In de Wildeman, and the long beer menu should keep every beer connoisseur happy (18 on draft, 250 bottled). Tram: Nieuwezijds Kolk Open MondayThursday 1200-0100, and FridaySaturday 1200-0200 Beer Tasting Room Arendsnest This pub makes the most of its canal-side position with a cluster of outdoor tables and chairs. It serves Dutch beer only, with 52 available on draft. If you're keen to try as many as possible, without keeling over, you can book a beer tasting session. Simple bar snacks namely cheese, bread and sausage are also available. Tram: Nieuwezijds Kolk Open SundayThursday 1200-0000, and FridaySaturday 1200-0200 Most restaurants and cafes in Amsterdam have a great view to offer Beer Temple Beer Temple serves American beers to a young, cool crowd, including 35 on draft and 200 in bottles and cans. The vibe is 'dive bar USA', with friendly bar staff, simple bar snacks and a good mix of background music. Tram: Dam Open SundayThursday 1200-0000, and FridaySaturday 1200-0200 Brouwerij 't IJ It's a little out of the way in the Eastern Docklands, but the fact that it sits underneath its own windmill makes Brouwerij 't IJ worth the trip. The beer flights which include five small glasses are a good idea for indecisive drinkers, and you can tour the adjoining brewhouse. Tram: Hoogte Kadikj Open daily 1400-2000 Brouwerij 't IJ cafe sits underneath its own windmill Cafe Hoppe Its position in a corner townhouse overlooking Centrum's Spui Square makes Cafe Hoppe a popular choice, and the interior reflects its 1670 birthdate, with beer served from aged wooden barrels. What sets Hoppe apart from other old-style pubs in the city is its extensive menu, which includes breakfast and lunch. Its also well known for its programme of events, including a street party in June that sees crowds spilling out onto the square. Tram: Spui Open SundayThursday 0800-0100, and FridaySaturday 0800-0200 De Drie Fleschjes Walking into this tiny pub is like walking into an old apothecary, with its pretty line up of bottles behind the bar many of which contain the traditional Dutch gin, Jenever. For beer drinkers, De Drie Fleschjes also offers an impressive line-up of barrelled beers. The low-beamed ceiling hung with brass lanterns adds to the cosy feel but be warned seating is scant. If it's warm enough, grab an outside chair. These sit on the cobbles of a tiny backstreet square, looking out to the arched rear windows of the New Church. Tram: Dam Open MondaySaturday 1500-2030, Sunday 15001900 Amsterdam has a variety of pubs that are great to socialise with friends Three Sisters Grand Pub Head to lively Rembrandtplein Square and you'll find the Three Sisters Grand Pub. There's plenty of seating, inside and out, and the interior mixes tradition and comfort, with leather Chesterfield armchairs, spacious booths, plush carpet and smart bathrooms. If you fancy a change from rickety wooden bar stools and tiny barrel tables, this could be the pub for you. Tram: Rembrandtplein Opening times vary You could easily spend days exploring central Dublin on foot, but there is so much more than just the city to see. Just outside the capital, the countryside is rich with forests, mountains and a rugged coastline, all waiting to give you a walking adventure to remember. Weve pulled together our eight most enjoyable hikes, so you can discover Dublins great outdoors. The ultimate guide to the best places in Dublin to go for a walk Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk Distance: 3.9mi (6.2km) Linking two County Wicklow seaside towns just to the south of Dublin, the well-trodden Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk provides stunning Irish Sea views. Beginning at the DART station in Bray, this dramatic path hugs the rugged coastline as it winds around Bray Head, meanders through undulating fields and eventually drops down into the harbour at Greystones. You can stick to the signposted route or take a detour up Bray Head hill for a higher vantage point. Rail: Daly Station Bray Ticknock Hill: Fairy Castle Loop Distance: 3.7mi (6km) This moderately-difficult loop on Ticknock Hill passes through thick woods and open moorland on its ways to the top of Two Rock mountain. From the stone cairn on the summit affectionately known as Fairy Castle you can enjoy fine views of Dublin, the Irish Sea and the imposing Wicklow Mountains to the south. If you're visiting Ticknock Hill in the summer, there's the added bonus of seeing the heather in its full blooming glory. Bus: Ticknock 44B, 144 The Bohernabreena Reservoirs Trail Distance: 4mi (6.3km) or 8.2mi (13.3km) The enjoyable figure-of-eight route through the pretty Glenasmole Valley takes in two Victorian reservoirs, built in the late 19th century to supply nearby Rathmines with water. Take your camera to get shots of the maze of pines, fir and larch trees, also the thick reeds and weeping willows hanging over the water. Herons and kingfishers are a regular sight here. If you're travelling by public transport, the start of the route is south-west of Tallaght, so add another 4.4 miles (7km) to your walk. Rail: Tallaght (Luas Red Line) The Great South Wall Distance: 5mi (8km) Highly accessible from the city centre, the easy-going walk from Ringsend to Poolbeg Lighthouse offers panoramic views of Dublin Bay. Starting at Eastlink Bridge in the inner suburbs, the walk takes you along the southern banks of the Liffey estuary before darting out to sea towards the iconic beacon. From here, you can enjoy stunning views of Sandymount Strand and the pretty seaside at Dun Laoghaire. Expect to see ferries coming in and out of port, and if it's a clear day to catch a glimpse of the mountains. Bus: Ringsend, Bridge Street 1, 47 Carrickgollogan Forest: Lead Mines Way Distance: 1.5mi (2.5km) Short but fascinating, the Lead Mines Way heritage walk offers woodland exploration, testing slopes and the occasional industrial relic. The highlight of this waymarked trail is the imposing Ballycorus Chimney, the main landmark of the defunct Ballycorus leadworks. It stands close to the summit of Carrickgollogan Hill, which itself offers spectacular photo opportunities. The detour from the main waymarked route is steep, but it's worth the effort. Bus: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, The Scalp Wood 44 The Dodder Trail Distance: 3mi (4.9km) This gentle path along the banks of the River Dodder takes in some of the southern suburbs' leafiest areas. Ideal for a casual stroll, the weir-laden route winds its way from Bushy Park in Terenure to The Dropping Well pub in Milltown, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You'll pass willow trees, bridges and tunnels along the route dotted with remnants of Dublin's industrial past. There's usually plenty of wildlife on the water, with cormorants, herons and moorhens among the residents. Bus: Bushy Park, 15, 49, 65, 65b With so much natural beauty in Dublin, there are many walks with truly majestic views The Dublin Mountains Way Distance: 26mi (42km) For a more testing hike, you can tackle the long-distance Dublin Mountains Way, which runs from Shankill, south-east of Dublin, to Tallaght, west of the capital. The landscape changes as often as the altitude on this varied trail, which passes several historical and geographical sites of interest. You'll see the Ballyedmonduff Wedge Tomb, Fairy Castle and Tibradden Mountain, along with The Scalp a deep natural chasm and the pretty Glenasmole Valley. If youre an experienced walker, you could complete the route in a single day, but its much more pleasurable to break the walk down into smaller sections. Rail: Shankhill Grand Canal Way: Inchicore to Lucan Distance: 5.2mi (8.5km) You may not fancy walking the entire 72-mile (117km) towpath of the Grand Canal Way, but the gentle stretch from Inchicore to Lucan lets you dip your toe in the water. The path, specifically designed for pedestrians and cyclists, takes in ten locks along the canal route. Trees, pretty shrubs and purpose-built otter habitats line the well-lit banks along this unchallenging path. Luas: Blackhorse Five-star hotels are a definite worthwhile treat. But let's be honest, they can be a bit bizarre, with conventions and expected rules of behaviour that are sometimes a mystery even to seasoned well-heeled travellers. Etiquette expert William Hanson, thankfully, is here to unravel these mysteries. Here he provides a handy guide to avoiding social hiccups at posh properties, from being economical with the selfies to keeping your luggage out of the lobby. Act as if you own the place When you arrive, 'do not allow your pupils to dilate and mouths to drop in five-star awe', says Mr Hanson Upon arrival, when you spot the chandeliers, marbled desks, floors and smartly dressed staff, do not allow your pupils to dilate and mouths to drop in five-star awe. This is a very basic and easy way for both the waiting staff and on-looking guests to immediately work out if you really belong there. You must take the attitude that your own chandelier at home is bigger and, frankly, the marble looks a little lacklustre. The hotel should feel like a reproduction of your house. No reception Increasingly, top hotels are moving away from even having the classic reception desk. Some have now moved the reception to discrete private rooms off the central entrance, others escort you immediately to your room or suite and conduct the check-in process behind closed doors, such as The Peninsula in Beijing and the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo. Do not be surprised if you can't see a reception desk. The staff are not your friends The key training motto the staff of any quality hotel will have been told is not to cross the line. The staff are friendly but they are not your friends. Guests need to remember this and not become overly familiar or chummy with the staff. It's a different mentality to your relationship to the bronzed holiday rep on the Costa Plonka. Leave the famous guests alone Five-star hotels do always attract guests of note. You never know who is going to be staying so if you do spot someone you recognise do not approach the reception desk and ask them to verify whether you were right. Even if you do, a good hotel will always respect other guests' right to privacy and won't reply in the affirmative or negative. Similarly, do not try and stage a rendezvous with the celebrity. Leave them alone. Room categories 'Unless they are a suite, all bedrooms in a five-star hotel are good enough so don't sweat the small stuff and worry about which one to book,' says Mr Hanson A source of continued amusement and bafflement for guests of luxury hotels is trying to work out the room categories upon booking. In most cases, a 'superior room' is in fact, despite the billing, superior to nothing. It is the lowest category of room. A 'deluxe room' is pretty much the same but with the addition of a sofa or arm-chair. An 'executive room' is one with a desk. Unless they are a suite, all bedrooms in a five-star hotel are good enough so don't sweat the small stuff and worry about which one to book. You will still get the umbrella in the wardrobe, evening turn-down service and glossy ad-riddled magazines that no one ever reads. Tipping To tip or not to tip? There is an argument that hotel staff in really top drawer places will be remunerated sufficiently and so tipping is not as essential as in a lower-budget hotel, but this school of thought usually comes from Brits, who are known the world-over to be bad tippers. Go easy with the photography, whether it's selfies or staged photos of your pre-dinner cocktail William Hanson Even if you do not tip the doormen and waiting staff, leaving $2 per night stayed in an envelope in your room addressed 'housekeeping' is always a smart idea. Don't ask for an upgrade Blagging is not a smart move. Do not ask at reception if you can have a free upgrade. You may, of course, let them know it is your honeymoon or 50th wedding anniversary but don't expect this to get you anything. Aside from actually paying for it, the best way to get bumped up a room category is to hope that there has been some error in your booking and if there has, play it down. For example, when I was last travelling alone in the Middle East I was asked if I would be happy with a standard twin room (which was not what I had booked). I said I'd 'preferably' just like the one bed as having an empty bed next to you is always a little disconcerting. After tapping on the reception computer, the staff member informed me I had been upgraded to the presidential suite. (Which was the other end of the disconcerting scale as it was so large and, with just me in it, very empty: far from relaxing.) Use the concierge One of the always slightly forgotten aspects of quality hotels is the concierge. For example, if there's a restaurant in town that is notably difficult to get in, ask the concierge to try and get you a table. They will usually have good relationships with restaurants and the venue will want to have guests from hotels like yours dine there as they know you have a good budget. The concierge is more than just a collection of suitcase shifters. Luggage Some hotels, like The Savoy (not pictured), have a blanket ban on the very sight of a suitcase in the hallowed hall - however expensive the bag When checking out, do not wheel your luggage yourself down into the lobby. Some hotels, like The Savoy, even have a blanket ban on the very sight of a suitcase in the hallowed hall - however expensive the bag. Fifteen or so minutes before you need to leave the hotel telephone the porter and ask for someone to come and collect your things. You may as well use the service - you're paying for it. Selfies and photos/Instagram Finally, go easy with the photography, whether it's selfies or staged photos of your pre-dinner cocktail. Oversharing the luxury is a flashing neon tell-tale sign that the poster isn't used to this sort of environment. Your ever-ready flash and phosphorescent backlight will annoy other guests too, especially in more dimly lit areas of the hotel. Stephanie Beacham has opened up about her 'wretched' miscarriage, which saw her baby 'chucked into the incinerator' moments after he passed. Speaking during an appearance on Thursday's Loose Women, the actress, 71, admitted she was 'trembling' as she recalled the traumatic event, which occurred after she was hit too hard during a rehearsal. The Connie star explained the pain of losing a child three months into her pregnancy was only worsened by the fact she was unable to see her son after the procedure, as the hospital had already disposed of him. Devastating: Stephanie Beacham has opened up about her 'wretched' miscarriage, which saw her baby 'chucked into the incinerator' moments after he passed Stephanie branded her miscarriage with actor John McEnery completely 'wretched', as she had lost the baby due to injury in rehearsal. She explained the loss was made more heartbreaking by the fact it occurred at the end of her first trimester, meaning the couple had already started to organise the child's future. She said: 'There's a strange thing that happens between three or four months you start to make plans. You already know what school it's going to.' However in a more shocking confession, Stephanie revealed the experience was made even more 'dreadful' by the fact her baby was disposed of almost immediately after her operation. Traumatic: Speaking during an appearance on Thursday's Loose Women, the actress, 71, admitted she was 'trembling' as she recalled the traumatic event Fighting back her tears, she said: 'I asked, after I had the procedure, if I could see him. 'And the nurse said 'No, they are chucked into the incinerator.' I am trembling telling it. I watched the smoke as I left the hospital.' While she revealed the pain never fully goes away, she added: 'Too many other bad things - and life - has happened since then to let it still affect me. 'But people didn't realise that it was a little human. It was a boy! It was a dreadful business. I am laughing because how horrid is that.' Stephanie and John went on to welcome two daughters, Phoebe and Chloe, before they separated in 1979. Shocking: The Connie star explained the pain of losing a child three months into her pregnancy was only worsened by the fact she was unable to see her son after the procedure Emotional: Stephanie fought back tears as she appeared on the panel alongside Andrea Mclean, Coleen Nolan, Nadia Sawalha and Jane Moore The British star has endured her fair share of heartbreak - having also revealed in 2016 that she was raped as a young actress. Explaining she had learned to avoid being touched up and carried a 5 note sewn into her coat as 'getaway money', she told The Sunday Telegraph: 'I can remember avoiding rape several times and a couple of times not.' After being questioned further about the date she added: 'No, I will, for my own brain, be more specific and say once, and it was the very early seventies. And that is fact.' She refused to reveal the name of her attacker but said he was not a 'theatrical person', and admitted that being a rape victim had 'screwed up' her life. The actress has since found happiness with Bernie Greenwood, who she became engaged to in 2014. Stephanie made her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers with Marlon Brando and also later starred in Dynasty spin-off The Colbys as glamorous Sable Colby. The opening scenes of Station 19 show us how easily a fire can start in everyday situations and frankly, those intros are giving us nightmares. In Season 1 Episode 7 April 26's 'Let It Burn' the emergency-of-the-week starts when a waiter throws a used matchstick in a trashcan. But we won't see the resulting blaze until the second half of the episode. In the meantime, we catch up with Pruitt (Miguel Sandoval) at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) tells him chemo-induced infections could be causing problems with his kidneys, heart, or nervous system. Diagnosis: Bailey tells Pruitt his chemo-induced infections could be causing problems with his kidneys, heart, or nervous system Chance meeting: During a mission to administer vaccines to Seattle's homeless population, Andy and Maya find Maya's brother Mason (Cameron Cowperthwaite) among the transients Homeless: Mason refuses Maya's handouts but he comes back later in the episode and drops off supplies anyway Once he gets home and once he lies about his whereabouts Andy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) tells him about her Incinerator test, revealing she was ranked last among aspiring fire captains. She tells Maya (Danielle Savre), too, as they run a mission to administer vaccines to Seattle's homeless population. They find Maya's brother Mason (Cameron Cowperthwaite) among the transients, but Mason refuses Maya's handouts. She comes back later in the episode and drops off supplies anyway. Meanwhile, Travis (Jay Hayden) takes Vic (Barrett Doss) to a yoga studio to try to solve her PTSD through meditation, and who should they see there? Grant (Sterling Sulieman), the cute grandson of their patient Edith (Marla Gibbs). Grant gives Travis his phone number, but after he leaves, Travis tries telling Vic he and Grant aren't a match. 'He's yoga guy, but I'm meditation, so we're totally incompatible,' he claims, pathetically. Fate: Travis takes Vic to a yoga studio to try to solve her PTSD through meditation, and who should they see there? Grant the cute grandson of their patient Edith Tricked: Later, Travis and Vic respond to a medical 'emergency' involving none other than Edith, who berates Travis for not yet calling her grandson Playing it cool: When Travis doesn't call Grant to work out the logistics, Grant goes to the fire station to find him and persuade him they should give it a shot Later, Travis and Vic respond to a medical 'emergency' involving none other than Edith, who berates Travis for not yet calling her grandson. Grant arrives in a panic, having heard that Edith was in distress. 'False alarm, honey,' she tells him. It was all a ruse! Duly outsmarted by an 87-year-old grandma, Travis finally tells Grant he'll go out with him, and they agree to meet for breakfast. But when Travis doesn't call Grant to work out the logistics, Grant goes to the fire station to find him. Travis says he doesn't date because his job is dangerous and he doesn't want anyone to worry. Grant scoffs. 'Not only have you married us off, but you've widowed me, too? You move fast,' he says. Understanding the extent of Travis's romantic reluctance, Grant lays out a low-key plan for their next few dates, and Travis consents. By the way, Travis and Maya team up to put Vic though some firefighting paces, hoping to get her reacclimatized to her job. 'Sometimes we have to give our friends the help they need, not the help they want,' Maya explains. But Maya panics yet again, still overcome by her past trauma. PTSD: Travis and Maya team up to put Vic though some firefighting paces, hoping to get her reacclimatized to her job but she panics again Hint: When Bailey drops Ben off at the fire station, she implies Ben should keep an eye on Pruitt Andy refuses to back off and give her father space, even when he orders her to. As they get into a yelling match, Andy finally reveals she promised her late mother she'd watch over Pruitt When Bailey drops Ben (Jason George) off at the fire station, she implies Ben should keep an eye on Pruitt, speaking elliptically so as not to break doctor-patient confidentiality. 'Today, you're not the firefighter I'm worried about,' she says. Ben and Dean (Okieriete Onaodowan) try to persuade Pruitt to go to the hospital, and Andy joins in on the fight, even though leaving the station might endanger her standing in the battle for captaincy. At the hospital, Bailey tells Pruitt his labs show his cancer is progressing and is no longer responding to his current treatment. She recommends a higher level of chemo. 'It's like hitting a fire with every hose in the city at once,' she tells him of the new protocol. Andy realizes Pruitt kept his prior hospital visit from her, and she yells at him before storming out. 'She's loud, but she's right,' Bailey tells Pruitt. 'Talk to your damn daughter.' Ben finds Andy in the hospital hallway and assures her Bailey knows her medicine. Andy tells him to stop coddling her and skulks away. When they cross paths later, though, Ben tells her he wasn't coddling her or treating her like a patient's family; he was treating her like his family. Andy accepts this explanation. 'You are pretty much the most annoying rookie I've ever worked with,' she tells him with a wink. But then Ben is in hot water with another woman: As Pruitt uses fire emergencies to make a timeline of his symptoms, Bailey learns Ben was involved in the power line disaster. At Ben's urging, Andy refuses to back off and give her father space, even when he orders her to. As they get into a yelling match, Andy finally reveals she promised her late mother she'd watch over Pruitt. Father and daughter reconcile, but then Pruitt loses consciousness. Bailey resuscitates him, explains he had an allergic reaction to souped-up chemo meds, and says this will happen with every dose. Andy hates that idea, but Pruitt is fine with it he'd suffer any slings and arrows to eradicate his cancer. But he has learned his lesson: He tells Bailey he'd like his daughter kept up to speed on his treatment. OK, back to the restaurant fire. Station 19 responds to the blaze, as does policeman Ryan (Alberto Frezza). By the time the gang arrives at the scene, the fire has spread to the entire strip mall. Fire Chief Ripley (Brett Tucker) is there, too, and he notices Andy is absent. Blaze: By the time the gang arrives at the scene, the fire has spread to the entire strip mall Stuck: A woman named Allison (Nicole Hayden) and her baby are trapped on the second-floor balcony. Jack climbs up the ladder, but it can't bridge the gap Rescue: Ryan asks the woman to drop her baby into his arms so she can jump to the ladder. After a moment's anguish, she drops her baby, and miraculously, Ryan catches him Hero: It's Allison's turn to jump to safety, she leaps toward the ladder, and Jack catches her A waitress tells them customers might be trapped inside, and both Ryan and Jack (Grey Damon) run into the burning building. But Jack soon realizes they have to take a defensive stance, deciding the building (and anyone trapped inside) is a lost cause. Ryan still wants to charge in to save more people, but Jack shows him the toxic, black smoke billowing out of the structure. Soon, however, they hear a shout from above: A woman named Allison (Nicole Hayden) and her baby are trapped on the second-floor balcony. Jack climbs up the ladder, but it can't bridge the gap, so Ryan asks the woman to drop her baby into his arms so she can jump to the ladder. After a moment's anguish, she drops her baby, and miraculously, Ryan catches him. Then it's Allison's turn to jump to safety. She leaps toward the ladder, and Jack catches her. Turning up the heat: Ryan visits Andy at home to tell him he caught a baby but then had to stand back and watch the strip ball burn Back on: They start making out and ripping off each other's clothing with fiery passion With two victims rescued, Jack and Ryan get over their romantic rivalry long enough to shake hands. And as the strip mall burns to the ground, Vic stands in front of it, facing her fear with Maya standing by her side. As the episode ends, Maya jogs past the overpass where Mason was camping out, and she sees a colorful mural painted on the wall. (Apparently, it was a collection of art supplies she had dropped off.) Bailey confronts Ben about keeping mum on his more traumatizing cases 'Benjamin Warren, we do not do this; we do not shut each other out,' and he agrees to keep her in the loop. And Ryan visits Andy at home to tell him he caught a baby but then had to stand back and watch the strip ball burn. Then, gazing deep into her eyes, he says, 'Andy, I can't stand back anymore.' They start making out and ripping off each other's clothing with a passion that forgive us can only be described as fiery! He was jilted by Davina Rankin on Married At First Sight and it seems that reality TV 'groom' Ryan Gallagher is still struggling to find love. But this time it's because of his newfound celebrity status. The 29-year-old tradesman has revealed that his online dating profiles, on popular apps like Tinder and Bumble, keep getting shut down. 'I keep getting reported': Married At First Sight's Ryan Gallagher keeps getting banned from dating apps... because Tinder and Bumble think his profile is FAKE While he happily swiped up a storm before appearing on the dramatic Australian series, Ryan has found that fame comes with a price. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he confessed: 'I was on both Bumble and Tinder but Im not on there anymore, I keep getting reported (for being fake) so I am over it. 'My profiles just kept getting cancelled and every message I got was that I should be ashamed of myself for pretending to be Ryan from MAFS.' With Tinder off the table, the amateur comedian is hoping to meet his future wife in a more traditional setting. Dating disaster: The tradie, who was jilted by TV 'wife' Davina, is hoping to meet someone in real life because Tinder and Bumble are now off-limits He said: 'Ive always said you dont meet the love of your life at the pub or club but my last girlfriend I did and we were together for three years. So if I do just meet someone out and about, it may just bloody work. You can meet them anywhere, at the supermarket or wherever, I dont care.' Woolies or Coles? Ryan is hopeful to meet his new partner in the supermarket On Friday, Ryan announced that he's hitting the road on his new comedic tour next month, dubbed Looking For Love. With four dates across Australia - in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide - Ryan will be performing stand-up jokes based on his tumultuous relationships. Ryan left Married At First Sight early in the series after discovering his on-screen 'wife' Davina had cheated on him with Dean Wells. But since the scandal, Ryan appears to have used the misfortune as material for his stand-up routine. She has remained in good spirits following her split from husband Kevin. And Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Clifton was beaming with delight on Thursday as she attended the launch of the All Star Lanes at London's Westfield Shepherd's Bush. The 36-year-old professional dancer showed off her washboard abs in a nude crop top and black pencil skirt as she tried out her bowling skills, joining other stars including Matthew Horne, Nick Grimshaw and Daisy Waterstone. Strike! Strictly Come Dancing pro Karen Clifton flaunted her washboard abs in a nude crop top and pencil skirt on Thursday as she attended the opening of All Star Lanes in West London Karen flaunted her incredibly toned physique in the classic bra top and black pencil skirt, and even managed to knock down a pin or two taking a shot in her red patent platform boots. The Venezuelan beauty had her ombre tresses in a mass of bobbed curls as she covered up in a leather jacket upon arriving for the launch bash. Karen announced that she and husband Kevin had split in March after months of speculation, but has since insisted their bond is 'stronger' now that they're just friends. Sensational: Karen, 35, showed off her dancer-toned physique in a simple nude bra top and high-waisted black pencil skirt, as she attempted to bowl in her towering ankle boots Rocker chic: Teaming her stylish look with a black leather jacket, Karen looked happier than ever just a month after announcing she had split from husband Kevin Sensational: Karen appeared in jovial spirits as she posed for photos with her pal Abs-olutely: She highlighted her taut abs in her tiny knit crop top In a new interview with HELLO!, the pair said it was important to be honest that not everything is a 'perfect fairytale' as they prepare to work together again. 'Things don't have to fall apart,' Karen told the magazine. 'Throughout the years we have had a good friendship, and that is a great base.' 'It was important to be honest about everything. I think there is a lot of pressure on people to be perfect all the time, and so there is this fairytale image of everything, but at the end of the day we are just like other people.' 'We never want to pretend to our fans or to anybody or to ourselves,' Kevin added. Girls' night out: She sipped on a fruity beverage inbetween her bowling games Not 7-10 split! Actress Daisy Waterstone went for street chic in a denim jacket and boyfriend jeans as she showed off her bowling skills at the launch Casual: Actor Matthew Horne also sported a relaxed denim jacket as he attended the launch of the all-new bowling alley at the expansion of Westfield Shepherd's Bush Screen star: Fans may best know Matthew for his roles on Gavin and Stacey and Bad Education Karen was joined by an array of stars at the lavish launch, which celebrated the expansion of the West London shopping centre ahead of its 10th anniversary later this year. Also in attendance was actor Matthew Horne, who donned a casual denim jacket and jeans as he arrived to celebrate the opening of the bowling alley. Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw was on hand to provide some tunes for the evening, teaming a un-tucked white shirt with jeans as he got behind the mixing desk. Stylish: Radio 1 frontman Nick Grimshaw was on hand to show off his mixing skills for the evening, donning an un-tucked white shirt and jeans Jamming along: The 33-year-old took a break from presenting his breakfast show to attend the launch Ita Buttrose has acknowledged her feud with Studio 10 co-host Denise Drysdale for the first time, revealing that the Brussels sprout throwing incident was even worse than reported. The 76-year-old confirmed that Denise threw food at her on-set last November - but clarified that the projectile was an entire bowl, not just a single sprout. 'I don't really want to talk about Brussels sprout gate, but I will just for once,' Ita told KIIS FM's Celeb HQ hosts Zoe Marshall and John Caldwell on Thursday. Scroll down for video 'It was not one Brussels sprout, it was a bowlful': Studio 10's Ita Buttrose has revealed shocking new details about her vegetable throwing incident with Denise Drysdale 'It was not just one sprout, it was a bowlful,' Ita said, but denied that she was involved in an exchange of blows. 'I didn't throw any sprouts. I was working. This was our Christmas shoot. And I was working,' she added. The media doyenne also responded to Denise's comment that she wouldn't miss her on the panel, claiming that she had helped the comedian get her start on Studio 10. 'I'm sorry Denise feels like that but there you go. Actually, if it weren't for me she wouldn't have the job at all,' she remarked. Ita abruptly left Studio 10 on Wednesday after months of rumoured tensions between her and Denise. Not happy! 'It wasn't just one sprout, it was a bowlful,' Ita told KIIS FM's Celeb HQ on Thursday - however, she denied that she was involved in an exchange of blows Tense: Denise was noticeably silent during Ita's farewell segment on Studio 10 on Wednesday In separate radio interviews on Thursday night and Friday morning, the TV presenters addressed their behind-the-scenes rivalry. On Friday, Denise told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she was shocked at the publicity the incident had generated. 'With this Brussels sprouts thing, if I'd have known it was going to get so much publicity I'd have hurled a turkey!' Denise joked. Conflicting claims: Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Friday, Denise (pictured) denied it had been a bowlful of Brussels sprouts thrown 'It's just something I've done. I've done things in the past that I probably shouldn't have done, but I'm still here.' Denise denied it had been a bowlful of Brussels sprouts, however. She said: 'It was on the roast turkey that we had done for the shoot, it was just looking at me saying, ''Throw me''.' She's been in Hollywood's spotlight since the 70s. But Susan Sarandon revealed that she's not afraid to take a DIY approach to her hair in a new interview with InStyle published on Thursday. The Ray Donovan actress, 71, said she still cuts her hair 'all the time,' but takes a very haphazard approach, admitting: 'I just hold it up and trim it. Its a mess.' Do it yourself! Though she's been in Hollywood since the 70s, Susan Sarandon revealed that she's not afraid to take a DIY approach to her hair while talking to InStyle , admitting she still cuts her tresses herself. Above, Susan is pictured in London in March In the column about finance, called Money Talks, the Rocky Horror Picture Show star shared some of the odd jobs she used to do, amateur hair dresser being one of them. The Academy Award winner confessed she wasn't the greatest stylist, but had a trick or two to cover it up. 'I cut hair with the scissors that are like teeth so that you cant see the lines. I didnt have to know that much of what I was doing.' Some of Sarandon's other gigs included getting 'paid to babysit when I was a pre-teen,' but as she got older, 'worked in laundry to get through college.' A little bit of this and that! In the column about finance, called Money Talks, the Rocky Horror Picture Show star, above in 2002, shared some of the odd jobs she used to do, amateur hair dresser being one of them She's done it all! Listing the work she picked up to get herself through college, she said 'I worked in a hospital. Ive worked, obviously, as a waitresswho hasnt? In college, I cleaned apartments, worked on the switchboard, and cut hair' 'I worked in a hospital. Ive worked, obviously, as a waitresswho hasnt? In college, I cleaned apartments, worked on the switchboard, and cut hair.' Though Susan doesn't shy away from being thrifty, she was clear that money has never dictated the types of roles she chooses, especially if it gives her a chance to work with female filmmakers. 'Ive worked with five women directors lately, and theyre all on low-budget films because thats the way theyll get their shot,' she said, 'I had an incredible part when I did The Meddler, for instance. Picking and choosing: Though she likes to save, Susan said money has never dictated the types of roles she chooses, especially if it gives her a chance to work with female filmmakers, like her recent project The Meddler, above with Rose Byrne 'Am I going to turn down a great part and a woman director because Im not getting my quote? No,' the actress/activist explained, 'Its the process thats important to me and the people Im working with.' 'Sometimes youre offered an enormous amount of money for something that just sucks. So what do you do? If you really need to buy that house or send your kid to college, then maybe youll take that job. But Ive always maintained a rather low standard of living so that I dont get in the position of having to do that. Though the starlet is in her 70s, she is giving no signs of slowing down, with four features and a short film in the pipeline for 2018. Earlier this week, she glittered in a gold mini dress at the world premiere for Avengers: Infinity war in Los Angeles. But on Thursday, Gwyneth Paltrow addressed a more somber moment in her life - her battle with postpartum depression following the birth of her son Moses, now 12. Speaking with her mother Blythe Danner in a goop podcast, the actress said the experience 'was really shocking to me because I never thought that I would be a person who got post-natal depression.' Scroll down for video Opened up: Gwyneth Paltrow spoke about her battle with postpartum depression during a goop podcast with her mother Blythe Danner on Thursday. They're pictured in November Paltrow was, at the time, married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and had already given birth to the couple's first child, daughter Apple, two years earlier. 'I was so euphoric when Apple was born and I assumed it would happen with Mosey and it just it took a while. I really went into a dark place,' she recalled. It's not the first time the Shakespeare In Love Oscar winner has spoken about her battle with postpartum depression. In 2015, she talked about the experience as being 'a very debilitating thing.' Two experiences: Paltrow said she was 'euphoric' after the birth of daughter Apple in 2004, left, which made the depression after the birth of son Moses in 2006, right, so 'shocking' Mom of two: 'I was so euphoric when Apple was born and I assumed it would happen with Mosey and it just it took a while. I really went into a dark place,' she recalled And before that, in 2011, she explained in an interview with Good Housekeeping that she felt 'like a zombie' after the birth of her son. 'I couldnt access my heart. I couldnt access my emotions. I couldnt connect,' she said. 'It was terrible....... I just thought it meant I was a terrible mother and a terrible person.' Paltrow and Martin 'consciously uncoupled' in 2014 after 10 years of marriage and finalized their divorce in 2016. They continue to co-parent their two children. The Iron Man star and goop businesswoman is now engaged to producer Brad Falchuk and the couple held a star-studded 'celebration of our love' at the Los Angeles Theater earlier this month. She was forced to bow out of reality series Survival of the Fittest during the series debut in February after suffering an injury. Now back to full health, Dani Dyer, 22, stepped out in a daring slinky ensemble alongside her Survival of the Fittest co-star Georgie Clarke leaving Mayfair hotspot Cipriani on Thursday. The daughter of actor Danny Dyer made sure to command attention as her semi-sheer nude coords flashed her underwear while posing for photos outside the restaurant. In the nude: Dani Dyer, 22, stepped out in a daring slinky ensemble leaving Mayfair hotspot Cipriani on Thursday Catching up: She was joined alongside her Survival of the Fittest co-star Georgie Clarke Owning her lingerie-flashing ensemble, Danni highlighted her svelte figure and perky posterior in her high-waisted wraparound skirt. The reality star teamed her pin-flashing skirt with a cropped bandeau top that hugged her narrow midriff and flashed a glimpse of her taut abs. Danni accessorised her look with a matching nude leather handbag and added inches to her petite frame in a pair of sky-high gold sandals. Keeping to a glamorous display, she worked her brunette locks into a soft curl and applied a nude gloss across her pout. Bottoms up! Owning her lingerie-flashing ensemble, Danni highlighted her svelte figure and perky posterior in her high-waisted wraparound skirt Mane attraction: Keeping to a glamorous display, she worked her brunette locks into a soft curl and applied a nude gloss across her pout Complementing Dani's skin-flashing ensemble, pal Georgie donned a colourful plunging mini dress which highlighted her ample cleavage and enviable long legs. The reality star worked her brunette tresses into a soft wave while she draped an iridescent handbag over her shoulder. Her appearance on Survival of The Fittest was cut short back in February when she dislocated her shoulder during one of the show's gruelling challenges. Dani flew to South Africa earlier this year to appear on new ITV2 show Survival of The Fittest - widely expected to fill the gap left by the enormously popular third series of Love Island. Work it: Danni accessorised her look with a matching nude leather handbag and added inches to her petite frame in a pair of sky-high gold sandals Pin-credible: Complementing Dani's skin-flashing ensemble, pal Georgie donned a colourful plunging mini dress which highlighted her ample cleavage and enviable long legs However she dislocated her shoulder while taking part in a pre-recorded physical challenge resulted in Dani being withdrawn on medical grounds. Following Dani's early exit, rumours have swirled that the star could make a return to reality TV with a stint on this summer's series of Love Island. However, addressing the speculation on Good Morning Britain last month, she admitted her famous dad wouldn't be impressed if she signed up to the notoriously raunchy show. Not happy: Addressing the speculation on Good Morning Britain last month, she admitted her famous dad wouldn't be impressed if she signed up to the notoriously raunchy show She said: 'I haven't planned on going on Love Island, I think it's a bit too intense for me. I don't think I would be open to doing something like that.' When the hosts asks if her EastEnders star father would support her decision, she confessed: 'I don't think he could watch it... 'You know what I mean? Boys talking about me and stuff. I haven't made any plans but it's not a bad rumour though.' Yet, when asked about her relationship with her dad, she gushed: 'He's like my best mate, it's so nice.' Their relationship on Married At First Sight ended acrimoniously after Davina Rankin 'cheated' on her 'husband' Ryan Gallagher with Dean Wells. And it appears the bad blood between the pair hasn't ended there, with Davina threatening Ryan with legal action after he compared her to a pig in his stand-up comedy routine. In a text message sent by Davina to Ryan and obtained by Daily Mail Australia, the bikini model puts her ex on blast, asking the former tradie to stop using her for his own 'benefit'. EXCLUSIVE: 'Stop defaming me for your own benefit!' Davina Rankin threatens to take LEGAL ACTION against Ryan Gallagher after he compared her to a PIG in his stand-up comedy routine Earlier this month, News Corp reported that Ryan had compared Davina to 'Babe', referencing the 1995 family film starring a pig during his debut gig at Melbourne's Yarraville Club. 'Davina is not too bad, though she has her moods, but she is actually quite a Babe - have you seen the movie?' the publication reported him as saying. Ahead of his national stand-up comedy tour next month, Davina has reached out to Ryan, threatening to take legal action if he makes more disparaging comments about her. Not happy: 'I wanted to reach out to you first and politely ask you to stop defaming me for your own benefit,' the message read 'If you continue to mention my name for cheap laughs, I will be passing this onto my lawyers': Davina has reached out to Ryan, threatening to take legal action if he makes more disparaging comments about her 'Hey Ryan. It has been brought to my attention yet again that you have been using my name in your 'comedy routine' with you referring to me as a pig,' a text sent by Davina to Ryan read, Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal. 'I wanted to reach out to you first and politely ask you to stop defaming me for your own benefit, before I take this matter any further. 'If you continue to mention my name for cheap laughs, I will be passing this onto my lawyers. Shock move: Ryan made the surprise announcement he would be pursing a career in comedy 'It's nice to have 10 minutes of fame, but please refrain from having to use me to get yours': Davina accused Ryan of using her to get famous 'It's nice to have 10 minutes of fame, but please refrain from having to use me to get yours.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ryan for comment. After appearing on Married At First Sight as an unlucky in love tradesman, Ryan made the surprise announcement he would be pursing a career in comedy. 'There's a bit about my marriage, a bit about my leading up to it and then a lot about my dating life. Which is dreadful': Last month Ryan gave A Current Affair a sneak peak into his routine On Thursday, Ryan announced dates for his stand up comedy tour next month, titled Looking For Love. Before his debut performance earlier this month, Ryan told A Current Affair his act covered his love life and funny anecdotes about his MAFS co-stars. 'There's a bit about my marriage, a bit about my leading up to it and then a lot about my dating life. Which is dreadful,' he said. Suranne Jones' shelves are no doubt groaning from the awards she won for her starring role in BBC1s Doctor Foster Suranne Jones, whose shelves are no doubt groaning from the awards she won for her starring role in BBC1s Doctor Foster, will join Peaky Blinders actress Sophie Rundle in an extraordinary new drama about a real-life lesbian couple living in the North of England in the 19th century. Jones has long been set to star in the eight-episode drama Gentleman Jack, which writer and director Sally Wainwright begins shooting next month. She will portray Anne Lister, who was born into a military family in the late 18th century and inherited the 400-acre Shibden Hall, just outside Halifax, from her uncle. After an affair with a doctors daughter ended, she began courting a wealthy woman called Ann Walker (Rundle), and they were able to swear their love for each other on the Bible. A priest later blessed their union in church. Although Lister didnt care who knew about the relationship, she kept the most intimate details of her marriage concealed in volumes of diaries, written in a code that used combinations of Greek letters and numbers. Wainwright and her team of researchers found the key to unlock Listers four million encoded words, and that mass of information will inform her screenplays. The series will show how Lister clashed with businessmen, who were challenged by her sexuality. And how when she needed to she could be just as ruthless as them. Any series with Wainwrights name attached attracts major talents. And, over the years, its almost as if she has established her own repertory company. Last Tango In Halifax and Happy Valley, between them, starred Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid, Sarah Lancashire, Nicola Walker and Siobhan Finneran. Sophie Rundle appeared in the first series of Happy Valley. Wainwright has cast three more of her TV alumni Timothy West, Joe Armstrong and Vincent Franklin in Gentleman Jack. Sophie Rundle appeared in the first series of Happy Valley Gemma Jones will portray Listers Aunt Anne; and Gemma Whelan will play her sister, Marian. Stephanie Cole is cast as Ann Walkers aunt. Peter Davison will play her cousin, and Amelia Bullmore has been chosen to play his wife. Jodhi May also joins the company, as do Thomas Howes (from Downton Abbey), Rosie Cavaliero, Jessica Baglow and Albane Courtois (a newcomer tipped for stardom). The BBC1 show is being made in partnership with U.S. cable network HBO, with filming set to take place in and around Halifax and on locations in Copenhagen. Gentleman Jack is expected to be shown late in 2019. She is expecting her second child by husband Hugh Dancy. And Claire Danes showed off her beautiful baby bump in an elegant cocktail dress as she attended the Tribeca Film Festival director's series at Spring Studios in New York City on Thursday evening. The actress, 39, dazzled in a plunging white gown with black detailing and an elegant midi-length. Bumping along: Claire Danes showed off her baby bump in an elegant cocktail dress as she attended the Tribeca Film Festival director's series at Spring Studios in New York on Thursday Letting her wavy blonde hair fall freely around her shoulders, Claire, who won two of her three Emmys via Homeland, balanced on black ankle-strap stilettos. That day, she was at Spring Studios attending a Tribeca Talks: Director's Series event co-starring Lesli Linka Glatter, who has helmed 21 episodes of Homeland. Lesli, a 64-year-old who hails from Dallas, went for New York chic basic black on Thursday, flinging on a flowing sweater. Chic: The actress, 39, dazzled in a plunging white gown with black detailing and an elegant midi-length Radiant: Letting her wavy blonde hair fall freely around her shoulders, Claire, who won two of her three Emmys via Homeland, balanced on black ankle-strap stilettos Duo: That day, she was at Spring Studios attending a Tribeca Talks: Director's Series event co-starring Lesli Linka Glatter (right), who has helmed 21 episodes of Homeland Her neckline stretched widely out to the shoulders, baring a bit of bra strap, and she matched black trousers with black shoes. Stringing on a tangle of necklaces, she beamed as she stood for the shutterbugs alongside the Showtime series' leading lady. Claire was photographed sitting onstage holding a sheaf of papers as she chatted with Lesli during a Director's Series conversation. Backdrop: Mrs. Hugh Dancy has been leading Homeland's cast as bipolar Carrie Mathison - once a CIA agent - since its first season, which began airing in the autumn of 2011 Feted: Among the Emmys and other accolades, her work on Homeland has brought her a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Award and two Golden Globes The decolletage-flashing star, who won her first Emmy for the TV movie Temple Grandin, beamed as she sat in her black leather armchair. Mrs. Hugh Dancy has been leading Homeland's cast as bipolar Carrie Mathison - once a CIA agent - since its first season, which began airing in the autumn of 2011. Among the Emmys and other accolades, her work on Homeland has brought her a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Award and two Golden Globes. Fan service: Appearing on CBS This Morning a couple months back, Claire discussed Elizabeth Marvel's character Elizabeth Keane, who is the President Of The United States Appearing on CBS This Morning a couple months back, Claire discussed Elizabeth Marvel's character Elizabeth Keane, who is the President Of The United States. Gayle King inquired whether the show - which introduced Keane on last year's season - was influenced by the rise of current U.S. President Donald Trump. 'Yeah, that was a challenge last season, because, you know, obviously, the focus was on the election, and so we wanted to refer to that,' said Claire. Claire, who clandestinely married her Evening co-star Hugh in France in 2009, already shares one child with him - five-year-old son Cyrus. Amalgam: She clarified that the character was crafted as a 'composite of a lot of different, the qua- of the qualities of all of the people who were running' 'That was a nod to Hillary': Claire specified: 'So, she had characteristics that could be reminiscent of Trump and Sanders, but, you know, she's a woman' Under the lights: Claire was photographed sitting onstage holding a sheaf of papers as she chatted with Lesli during a Director's Series conversation Having a ball: The decolletage-flashing star, who won her first Emmy for the TV movie Temple Grandin, beamed as she sat in her black leather armchair Also on Thursday night at the Tribeca Film Festival, there was a reunion of the cast of Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning Scindler's List. Spielberg joined his stars Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley to talk about the movie 25 years after its release. The trio also watched the film, shot in black and white and based on a true story, with the audience. Historic moment: Also Thursday night at Tribeca Film Fest, there was a reunion of the cast of Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning Scindler's List to mark 25 years since the films release Career highlight: Spielberg won a best director Academy Award for the 1993 Holocaust drama based on a true story. The film won six other Oscars including best picture Emotional night: Spielberg said he last saw the film with a theatrical audience in 1993 in Europe. 'There were so many moments that washed over me,' the director explained Moments after the lights came up after the screening and following a long standing ovation from the audience had subsided, Spielberg said he last saw the film with a theatrical audience in 1993 in Europe, Deadline.com reported. 'There were so many moments that washed over me,' the director explained. Neeson recalled filming at the front gates of Auschwitz on a freezing cold morning. He said that one of the film's producers Branko Lustig had come up to him as the scene was being set up and put his arm around him. Neeson said: 'He pointed over to the huts at Auschwitz and he said, 'You see that hut? I was in that hut. It hit me, big f***in time. Big time.' Real: Liam Neeson recalled filming at the front gates of Auschwitz on a freezing cold morning and how producer Branko Lustig, who survived the camp, brought home to him the horror of it Intense experience: Ben Kingsley recalled bonding over vodka with Neeson, who starred as Oskar Schindler, and how the production was dogged by Nazi sympathizers during filming Karl Stefanovic couldn't resist making a cheeky joke about his co-presenter and sister-in-law Sylvia Jeffreys on Friday's Today show. Following a segment which saw experts discussing 'meddling in-laws', fill-in host Deborah Knight questioned the pair about their relationship. 'Sylvia, how are you going with your in-laws?' she wondered. '(I have) a few things to say,' the 32-year-old replied. 'Mostly that I hit the jackpot.' But Karl, 43, was less complimentary, saying: 'And next week on the show: how to deal with overbearing sister-in-laws (sic). A Today show exclusive.' Momentarily surprised by the remark, Sylvia gained the upper hand by correcting Karl's grammar. Well, that was awkward! Today's Karl Stefanovic (left) jokingly branded Sylvia Jeffreys (right) an 'overbearing sister-in-law' before apologising for his 'cheap shot' 'Sisters-in-law, I think you'll find,' she said. Backpedalling on his remarks, Karl blamed his awkward joke on the bucket of fried chicken he had just eaten. 'It's the KFC!' he said, before apologising to his brother Peter's wife. 'I'm sorry Sylvia, that was a cheap shot.' Keeping it in the family: Journalist Sylvia is married to Karl's brother Peter Stefanovic (right) 'No, it was,' she retorted. The pair's exchange comes after Sylvia scolded Karl on-air for comparing Prince George and Princess Charlotte to 'aliens'. Sylvia told her brother-in-law off for being impolite after he said the well-behaved royal children seemed 'fake'. Double date: Shots were fired between Karl and his sister-in-law Sylvia on Friday's Today show - but it all appeared to be a light-hearted joke Following the birth of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge's third child earlier this week, Karl said: 'I don't want to be disrespectful, but they could be aliens.' He added: 'I said earlier as well, and a lot of people got very angry at me, but I do think they're fake kids. Because I don't think I've ever seen a kid who is this well behaved walk into any kind of establishment.' Sylvia and showbiz reporter Richard Wilkins agreed Karl was being 'disrespectful'. She has been a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2015. And Elsa Hosk put her supermodel credentials on display as she pounded the pavement in New York City on Thursday, wearing quirky heels which had lace stockings attached. The Swedish 29-year-old wrapped herself in a bathrobe-like pinstriped dress that allowed her to show off her enviably svelte legs, but that she had to hold in place as she nearly revealed a little too much. Scroll down for video Stepping out into the world: Elsa Hosk put her supermodel credentials on display as she pounded the pavement in New York City on Thursday wearing quirky heels which had lace stockings attached Slathering her face in a thick coat of makeup, the blonde bombshell slicked her hair back and gathered it into a high ponytail. The Sweden's Next Top Model winner slid into a pair of open-toed stiletto thigh-high boots, which above the ankle were made to resemble lace stockings. As she strode across the pavement toward a gleaming car parked against the curb, she artfully grabbed the tip of her ponytail and lifted it into the air. On the go: The Swedish 29-year-old wrapped herself in a bathrobe-like pinstriped dress that almost revealed a little too much Sleight of hand: The Sweden's Next Top Model winner slid into a pair of open-toed stiletto thigh-high boots, which above the ankle were made to resemble lace stockings Moving and shaking: As she strode across the pavement toward a gleaming car parked against the curb, she artfully grabbed the tip of her ponytail and lifted it into the air Elsa, who was among the models at last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, was festooned in jewelry by Jacob & Co. The Shanghai Fashion Show, which took place in November, was incidentally the first time the brand held its annual extravaganza in Asia. Elsa was photographed that day strolling the red carpet at the grand re-opening of Jacob & Co.'s flagship store in New York City that day. Only the best: Elsa, who was among the models at last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, was festooned in jewelry by Jacob & Co New horizons: The Shanghai Fashion Show, which took place in November, was incidentally the first time the brand held its annual extravaganza in Asia Wearing the same outfit she was pap-snapped in out and about in town Thursday, Elsa posed up a storm with her hands at her waist. Pouting ever so slightly, she aimed a supermodel stare at the shutterbugs as they snapped away at her and the other celebs. One of her fellow famous famous in attendance was none other than Debra Messing, who plays the second title character in the resuscitated sitcom Will & Grace. Sizzling: Elsa was photographed that day strolling the red carpet at the grand re-opening of Jacob & Co.'s flagship store in New York City that day Camera-ready: Wearing the same outfit she was pap-snapped in out and about in town Thursday, Elsa posed up a storm with her hands at her waist Looking good: Pouting ever so slightly, she aimed a supermodel stare at the shutterbugs as they snapped away at her and the other celebs The 49-year-old swept her signature red hair back into a ponytail and dazzled in a pair of ornate blue and white earrings with a leafy motif. Debra slid her curvy figure into a sleeveless black cocktail dress, which had a V-neck that fell far enough to offer a generous glimpse of cleavage. On occasion, she posed with a serious model stare on her face, but she also at times smiled for the cameras as she stood on the red carpet. Back at it: One of her fellow famous famous in attendance was none other than Debra Messing, who plays the second title character in the resuscitated sitcom Will & Grace Showing what she's got: Debra slid her curvy figure into a sleeveless black cocktail dress, which had a V-neck that fell far enough to offer a generous glimpse of cleavage Happy times: On occasion, she posed with a serious model stare on her face, but she also at times smiled for the cameras as she stood on the red carpet The fete was peppered with celebrity guests, such as model Kate Bock, who flashed her chiseled midriff beneath a decolletage-baring white crop top. Kate pulled on a pair of wide-set navy slacks, flinging a matching blazer casually over her shoulders without putting her arms in the sleeves. Julia Restoin Roitfeld, who is famously the daughter of ex Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, teetered on sky-high heels and modeled tight black pants. Beautiful in blue: The fete was peppered with celebrity guests, such as model Kate Bock, who flashed her chiseled midriff beneath a decolletage-baring white crop top Sleek and chic: Kate pulled on a pair of wide-set navy slacks, flinging a matching blazer casually over her shoulders without putting her arms in the sleeves Legacy: Julia Restoin Roitfeld, who is famously the daughter of ex Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, teetered on sky-high heels and modeled tight black pants Tres elegant: Swinging a gleaming black purse, she threw on a sleeveless sheeny dull gold top with lacy fringe that made it slightly reminiscent of a nightie Swinging a gleaming black purse, she threw on a sleeveless sheeny dull gold top with lacy fringe that made it slightly reminiscent of a nightie. Carine herself, looking nowhere near her 63 years, slid on a bust-accenting black top with leather accents and balanced on black stilettos. While posing on the red carpet, she got a kiss on the cheek from the besuited Jacob Arabo, for whom the store being re-opened was named. Iconic: Carine herself, looking nowhere near her 63 years, slid on a bust-accenting black top with leather accents and balanced on black stilettos Top brass: While posing on the red carpet, she got a kiss on the cheek from the besuited Jacob Arabo, for whom the store being re-opened was named Showstopper: A model called Eniko Mihalik let her bra show through her translucent black top, largely concealing her shoes beneath flowing black pants A model called Eniko Mihalik let her bra show through her translucent black top, largely concealing her shoes beneath flowing black pants. Another model, this one named Alina Baikova, buttoned on an eye-catching black blazer with bursts of feathery frills around each forearm. Letting her silky blonde hair fall freely down her back, she slipped into a form-fitted pair of raven-hued slacks and matching barely-there shoes. Adrien Brody, who won an Academy Award for his performance in The Pianist, added a bit of thespian pedigree to the event's guest list. Hand at the waist: Another model, this one named Alina Baikova, buttoned on an eye-catching black blazer with bursts of feathery frills around each forearm Coordinated: Letting her silky blonde hair fall freely down her back, she slipped into a form-fitted pair of raven-hued slacks and matching barely-there shoes Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino will soon be a married man. The Jersey Shore favorite, 35, announced he and college sweetheart Lauren Pesce's engagement in a darling series of Instagram photos on Thursday. 'GYM TAN WE'RE ENGAGED!' the proud Italian American captioned the sweet photos which were taken in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Scroll down for video Mr. and Mrs. Situation! Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino announced he and college sweetheart Lauren Pesce (above) were engaged in a darling series of Instagram photos on Thursday Speaking to Us Weekly after the big news, The Situation said: 'I'm currently living the dream and proposed to my college sweetheart, Lauren Pesce, amongst my best friends on the biggest reality show in the country.' 'We are so proud and excited to share this chapter of our story with the world.' In the pictures, the reality star looked sharp in a blue suit while his love went for classic elegance in a formfitting off-white dress. Another pictures showed the stud down on one knee with a ring box. Popping the question: Speaking to Us Weekly after the big news, The Situation said: 'I'm currently living the dream and proposed to my college sweetheart, Lauren Pesce, amongst my best friends on the biggest reality show in the country' If you got it, flaunt it! Of course Lauren had to show off her new bling, sharing a close up of her rock and beautiful make-up captioned: 'I said YES love you forever @mikethesituation' It was captioned 'THE FUTURE MR & MRS SITUATION.' One more showed the soon-to-be groom lifting his love up with the message: 'SHE SAID YES !!!' Of course Lauren had to show off her new bling, sharing a close up of her rock and beautiful make-up captioned: 'I said YES love you forever @mikethesituation.' The college love-birds dated for all four years of school, but split before The Situation's time on the MTV reality hit started in 2009. Meant to be! The college love-birds dated for all four years of school, but split before The Situation's time on the MTV reality hit started in 2009, but reunited once the show ended But the duo rekindled their romance after the show's end in 2012 and have been going strong ever since. While Mike can look forward to marital bliss, he also has some less-than-exciting plans on the horizon. After pleading guilty to tax evasion, Sorrentino is set to be sentenced by a New Jersey federal judge at the end of April. Nasser Sultan has defended himself after his former Married at First Sight co-star Ryan Gallagher claimed he was 'not surprised' by rumours he was gay. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, the 51-year-old said: 'Look, my sexuality is no-one's business. I will come out with my sexuality in my own time'. Earlier in the day, Ryan had answered questions about Nasser's sexuality on KIIS 106.5's The Kyle and Jackie O Show. EXCLUSIVE: 'My sexuality is no-one's business': Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan lashed out at Ryan Gallagher on Friday after the tradesman said he was 'not surprised' by gay rumours Ryan also accused Nasser of setting up staged paparazzi photos with 20-year-old male fashion student Eyob Geist - a charge which Nasser furiously denied. 'If Ryan thinks we're making money from photos... I thought we were great mates, I'm very disappointed,' Nasser told Daily Mail Australia. 'To bag me on national radio to other bogans saying, "He's setting up pap shots" - go f**k yourself, mate. 'Look, my sexuality is no-one's business. I will come out with my sexuality in my own time'. War of words: Speaking on KIIS FM, Ryan also accused Nasser of setting up staged paparazzi photos with male fashion student Eyob Geist, 20 - a charge which Nasser furiously denied Appearing on Kyle and Jackie O, Ryan answered Kyle Sandilands' cheeky question about whether Nasser had 'been with over five blokes' since filming MAFS. 'Well that doesn't surprise me at all,' Ryan said. He added: 'He said he doesn't like the fellas but then he goes and sets up a date with a fella so he can make some money from taking photos.' Ryan was referring to pictures published by NW magazine in early April that showed Nasser looking cosy with Eyob at a cafe in Surry Hills, Sydney. Claims: Ryan told The Kyle and Jackie O Show, '(Nasser) said he doesn't like the fellas but then he goes and sets up a date with a fella so he can make some money from taking photos' Candid images? Ryan was referring to photos published by NW magazine in early April that showed Nasser looking very cosy with Eyob at a cafe in Surry Hills, Sydney At the time, NW's 'source' claimed: 'They definitely looked like more than friends... Nasser couldn't keep his hands off him! 'At one point Nasser was holding the guy's hand and seemed to kiss him on the cheek while whispering in his ear.' Nasser, who is an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community, has previously claimed he is '110 per cent not gay'. They were one of Married At First Sight's few success stories, meeting and falling in love when they were 'wed' in season one of the series. But after recently splitting with Alex Garner, 32, Zoe Hendrix has bared her soul as she deals with the heartbreaking end of their relationship - this time posting books on the themes of love and loss to Instagram. On Friday, the single mum posted a picture of Dr Nikki Stamp's book Can You Die Of A Broken Heart?, with the caption: 'Ok then!' 'Can You Die Of A Broken Heart?' MAFS' Zoe Hendrix turns to break-up books for comfort after 'hellish' split from 'husband' Alex Garner In her book, Dr Stamp, an Australian heart and lung surgeon, explores the workings of the human heart and how our emotions affect its functioning. The author refers to the death of actress Debbie Reynolds - which occurred shortly after that of her beloved daughter, Carrie Fisher - as she examines how the experience of sad events can have fatal consequences. Single-mum Zoe then shows pictures of several other titles laid out side by side, with the caption: 'They all look so good!' Heartbreaking: After splitting with Alex Garner, 32, Zoe Hendrix has bared her soul as she deals with the end of their relationship - this time posting books on the themes of love and loss to Instagram Word up: Single-mum Zoe showed pictures of several other titles laid out side by side, with the caption: 'They all look so good!' Baby talk: Zoe, who welcomed daughter Harper Rose into the world in November 2016, has documented her fears about not being able to give her daughter everything she wants The books include Marian Keyes' The Break (a witty tome about 'staying in love'), and The Sun and Her Flowers, a collection of poetry by Rupi Kaur. Kaur's book is divided into sections reflecting the life cycle of a flower including Wilting, Falling, Rising and Blooming. Wilting touches on the subject of heartbreak and loss, while Falling focuses on depressive feelings following the loss of an important relationship. The final book in the frame is You Me Everything, a work of fiction by Catherine Isaac. Triple treat: Zoe and Alex were one of Married At First Sight's few success stories, meeting and falling in love when they were 'wed' in season one of the series Say cheese! Zoe captioned this picture as her 'favourite photo' Zoe, 29, recently took to Instagram to freely express her grief in a note to herself as she divulged the 'hole' she couldn't escape. 'Dear Self, I know it seems like such a hole right now. Living a nightmare you cant escape. A level of fear you werent aware existed,' she wrote on social media. Zoe, who welcomed daughter Harper Rose into the world in November 2016, also documented her fears about not being able to give her daughter everything she wants. Grateful: Zoe, 29, recently thanked her fans on social media for their support In the wake of the break-up, she further explained: 'Worried if you can give this child the quality of life and opportunities she deserves.' She confirmed last week that the couple had split after three years together. The mum-of-one revealed how much she is struggling in the wake of her separation from Alex, telling fans last Friday: 'I'm in a s**t place right now.' Stranger Things just began filming season three. And on Thursday, stars Millie Bobby Brown, 14, and Sadie Sink, 16, were seen shooting the series in Canton, Georgia. It looked like the English teen's character Eleven was growing up, showing off shoulder length locks much, much longer that her signature buzz-cut. Working hard! Stranger Things stars Millie Bobby Brown was seen shooting the series third season in Canton, Georgia on Thursday, where she revealed much longer tresses than previously Millie looked in good spirits, donning a long blue shirt and white pants while making her way to set. Besides her co-star Sadie, who was introduced last season as tomboy Max, donned a yellow shirt and burgundy pants with a striped belt. Both ladies carried backpacks, as they hopped aboard a transport van with some helpful assistants and headed to their secret set location. Also spotted on location were series creators, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. Growing things out: Millie's hair was much longer than the buzz cut her character Eleven was introduced with, above Growing! It looked like Eleven was growing up, showing off shoulder length locks much, much longer that her signature buzz-cut The SAG Award-winning ensemble officially began filming the eight-episode third season Monday in Atlanta, prompting several castmembers, like Millie to share BTS snaps. The IMG Model took a b&w selfie with executive producer/director Shawn Levy on Saturday captioned : 'And so it begins!' She also shared a selfie captioned: 'Back to work [shush emoji.]' Off we go! The actress who plays telekinetically talented Eleven was seen hopping on a transport van with co-star Sadie Sink, who was introduced last season as tomboy Max 'And so it begins!' The SAG Award-winning ensemble behind Netflix's Stranger Things officially began filming the eight-episode third season Monday, prompting Millie to mark the moment with an Instagram Brown told Variety last month she hopes her character psychokinetic tween Jane 'Eleven' Ives 'evolves and understands what being a girl is' in the summer-set, third season premiering in 2019. 'The shadow monster is still lurking up there, out there in the Upside Down,' executive producer Shawn Levy teased to Variety last month. 'And he is determined to find a way to achieve his goals.' Scarlett Johansson was full of the jokes when she appeared on Conan on Thursday as she talked about being surrounded by men on the set of Avengers: Infinity War. The stunning star, 33, who plays the Black Widow in the franchise, was full of humour when Conan told her that she had to provide 'all the oestrogen on set'. She joked: 'Right. Although Mark Ruffalo was there to help.' Something to say: Scarlett Johansson told Conan on Thursday she 'had to provide all the oestrogen on set of Avengers: Infinity War'... but joked co-star 'Mark Ruffalo was there to help!' Pals: Scarlett loves to have a giggle and no doubt Mark (pictured on Tuesday on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live) loved her joke Scarlett got the most laughs on the show as she appeared with her co-stars and said that at least there was a little more female presence on this Marvel Studios movie than previous ones. The show got off to a rather peculiar start when Conan, 55, asked how they would describe the past 18 Marvel movies to someone who's been in a coma for the past 10 years. Chris Pratt, 38, who starred in the NBC sitcom Parks And Recreation deadpanned that he would seek details first. 'First I would probably have to find out the details of what got them in a coma and maybe let them know. Did they lose anyone in the accident? Who's their wife with now?,' Pratt said. Coma question: The 33-year-old actress showed deft comedic timing on the TBS show Conan said that nobody else was hurt and his wife remarried quickly, even before finding out about the accident. Hemsworth, 34, who showed his funny side in Thor: Ragnarok, asked if there was short-term memory loss and how quickly should they answer. The Australian actor said he would suggest the coma patient 'just watch the Thor movies'. Coma patient: Chris Pratt when asked how to describe the past 18 Marvel movies to someone waking from a coma said he'd want more details about the coma, while Chris Hemsworth asked about memory loss Pratt, who plays Star-Lord, continued that the coma patient would likely need to undergo testing for 'at least 40 hours' in hospital and would have time to watch all the Marvel movies starting with Roberty Downey Jr in 2008's Iron Man all the way through the Guardians Of The Galaxy films. Conan noticed that Pratt perked up when mentioning his own Guardians Of The Galaxy movies. 'Was I?,' Pratt asked innocently. All movies: Pratt said the coma patient likely would be in the hospital for testing and would have time to watch all the Marvel movies including his own Guardians Of The Galaxy films Conan then replayed the tape showing Pratt definitely acting more energetic mentioning his own films. 'When dealing with someone recently in a coma it's important to have big facial expressions. I was role playing,' Pratt said as Hemsworth cracked up behind him. Danai Gurira, 40, who portrays Dora Milaje member Okoye, noted their answers took an 'interesting route' and said she 'enjoyed the journey'. Replay video: Conan replayed video to show that Chris was more energetic when talking about his own movies Interesting route: Danai Gurira noted that the guys took an 'interesting route' with their answers 'That was in incredible waste of time,' Conan said. Scarlett, who had been silent the entire time, then chimed in: 'Wait, you have to make big facial expressions when someone comes out of a coma?' The deft display of comedic timing left Conan and Scarlett's co-stars reeling in laughter. Comedic timing: Scarlett asked if you really have to make big facial expressions when someone comes out of a coma Good one: The Avengers and 'sidekick' Andy Richter cracked up at Scarlett's joke Anthony Mackie, 39, who plays Falcon when asked who was the biggest leaker among the Avengers named Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man, and Mark Ruffalo, who plays Hulk. He said Ruffalo was 'too old' for social media and once accidentally FaceTimed a table reading live with crucial plot points. Conan asked Scarlett what it was like with a larger female presence on the set after being surrounded by just guys in previous movies. The leaker: Anthony Mackie said that Mark Ruffalo was among the biggest leakers in the group 'It feels good,' she said. 'The more ladies the better, I say. Let's do it,' Danai agreed. Conan noted that he has a 14-year-old daughter Neve who 'loves seeing women kicking ass on the big screen'. Feels good: Scarlett said that it feels good to have more women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Teen daughter: Conan said he has a 14-year-old daughter who loves watching female superheroes in action Scarlett said she was excited to see Oscar winner Brie Larson, 28, in the title role of Captain Marvel due out in March 2019. Conan said that Scarlett being surrounded by men 'all the time' meant she had to 'provide all the oestrogen on the set'. 'True although Mark Ruffalo was there to help,' she joked. She's funny: Scarlett joked that Mark Ruffalo helped her spread estrogen on the set The wide-ranging interview was held at a makeshift studio in Burbank that Conan said was created to accommodate the stars. The guys after being asked by Conan who was the most attractive meandered again and compared themselves to different types of meat. 'You see why I've been so happy with more female characters,' Scarlett said after nearly two minutes of pork chop talk. Meat talk: The guys when asked who was the most attractive started comparing themselves to different types of meat Conan joked that the interview wasn't going to air and encouraged them to enjoy themselves. 'This is unairable. It's unairable. There's like eight billion dollars worth of talent in the room and it's unairable. I take responsibility for that,' Conan said. Avengers: Infinity Wars is in theaters and its sequel is scheduled for release on May 3, 2019. New pose: Chris Hemsworth volunteered to strike the superhero pose normally employed by female superheroes Noni Janur has never been shy when it comes to showing off her enviable figure. And The Bachelor star took to Instagram on Friday, rocking a barely there g-string bikini. The racy snap captioned 'She got a a** that'll swallow up a g-string,' saw the 27-year-old drew attention to her very shapely derriere. Scroll down for video Booty-ful: The Bachelor's Noni Janur, 27, rocked a barely there g-string bikini, and captioned the shot: 'She got a a** that'll swallow up a g-string' The text referred to the Jay-Z track that also features Kanye West and Rihanna, and won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Noni is no stranger to posing scantily clad - earlier in the year she posted a video of herself in a teeny-tiny bikini while enjoying a day at Sydney's Manly beach. The sizzling starlet wore a Brazilian-style two-piece in a pastel paisley print, while wearing her hair in a topknot and peach-hued retro sunglasses to match. Support: Noni recently rushed to beau Sam Johnston's side after he was injured in a motorcycle accident which left him with several broken limbs Sitting on a bohemian-printed beach towel, Noni wrote on her Instagram: 'I did not wake up today to be mediocre.' Fans flocked to her Instagram to comment on the sultry snap, with one writing: 'Stay away from the smoke alarm! You'll set it off.' The busty babe has been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles with her partner - male model Sam Johnston, 29 - after he moved to the US for work. She recently rushed to Sam's side after he was injured in a motorcycle accident in LA which left him with a number of broken bones. Future is bright: In a recent interview with NW, Noni said she'd like to move to the US to be with her beau once her visa is approved The Bachelor and Bachelorette stars confirmed their relationship in February last year. Sam appeared on Georgia Love's season of The Bachelorette in 2016 and Noni found fame vying for Richie Strahan's heart the same year. In a recent interview with NW, Noni said she'd like to move to the US to be with her beau once her visa is approved. 'I've wanted to move over to LA too, but it's really hard obviously with visas and stuff,' she said. 'We've talked about it and Sam's said "Once I get my permanency, we can just get married and you can come over".' It's a wonder to many how beloved AFL WAG Bec Judd manages juggling a busy family life with an equally busy career. But in her latest Instagram Story post, the 35-year-old proved she's just like any other mother who occasionally has a forgetful moment. On Friday, the brunette beauty shared a snap of the cover of her debut parenting book The Baby Bible, featuring herself and twin sons Tom and Darcy, one. 'If only I knew who was who!' Bec Judd took to her Instagram Story and joked that she could not tell the difference between her one-year-old twin boys Tom and Darcy Across the image she joked that she could not tell which twin was who, writing: 'If only I knew who was who on the cover.' Earlier in the year, Bec surprised her legions of fans by announcing her first foray into the literary world with 'The Baby Bible'. The entrepreneur explained that her soon-to-be released book will cover all the ups and downs from pregnancy to their first year. She's an author too! Earlier in the year, Bec surprised her legions of fans by announcing her first foray into the literary world with 'The Baby Bible' The Baby Bible: The brunette beauty explained that her soon-to-be released book will cover all the ups and downs from pregnancy to their first year Her book is broken up into nine chapters of each month of a pregnancy, along with five additional chapters about postnatal care for mum and bub. After giving birth to her twins in September 2016, she revealed that her husband Chris could not tell the difference between their boys, in an interview with NW. Unlike her hubby, she had already developed the knack for telling them apart. 'Yes, identical, but I can totes tell them apart. Different shaped heads, different hairlines, a stork bite on opposite eyelids, Darcy's nose is slightly more turned up.' Cuties: Unlike her hubby, she had already developed the knack for telling them apart. 'Yes, identical, but I can totes tell them apart. Different shaped heads, different hairlines, a stork bite on opposite eyelids, Darcy's nose is slightly more turned up' 'Plus, their personalities are totally different (phew! I was worried they'd be the same too),' she added. Bec and her former AFL star hubby Chris also share son Oscar, six, and daughter Billie, four. Bec is set to go on a book signing tour with stops in Sydney on May 1, Melbourne on May 3 and her hometown of Perth on May 11. Brie Larson sprinted hard in her Captain Marvel costume on Thursday while filming in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old Oscar-winning actress had a determined look on her face while running in her long-sleeved green and black costume. Brie also was spotted between takes in a tight black workout top worn underneath her superhero outfit. Superhero star: Brie Larson was spotted filming Captain Marvel on Thursday in Los Angeles She had her golden blonde hair down around her shoulders in wild curls and showed her natural beauty without makeup. Brie plays the title role in the first female-led film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain Marvel is due out in theaters on March 8, 2019 as the 21st film by Marvel Studios. Brie plays U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers who becomes one of the most powerful heroes in the galaxy after Earth is caught in the center of an intergalactic conflict between two alien worlds. Full sprint: The 28-year-old Oscar-winning actress sprinted in her Captain Marvel costume Captain Marvel will be set in the 1990s and also will star Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg and Jude Law. Principal photography on Captain Marvel started on March 19 in Los Angeles. Filming is scheduled to take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and New Orleans before principal photography concludes on May 11. World premiere: The California native is shown on Monday at the Los Angeles premiere of Avengers: Infinity War Captain Marvel will come out after Ant-Man And The Wasp scheduled for release in July 2018 but before the Avengers: Infinity War sequel due out in May 2019. Brie starred in the 2015 drama Room based on the Emma Donoghue novel of the same name. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of a kidnapping victim in the film. Oscar winner: Brie is shown holding the Oscar for Best Actress in February 2016 in Los Angeles She is well-known for her sensational, high-octane performances. And Jennifer Lopez pulled it out of the bag once more at Thursday night's Billboard Latin Music Awards at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Centre, where she was displaying her sensational physique in a scanty ensemble with a wild stage layout. The 48-year-old All I Have hitmaker was premiering her new single El Anillo at the show and ensured she made her presence known as she sizzled in a phenomenal bodysuit with bare-feet and an ankle length ponytail. Sparkling sensation: Jennifer Lopez once again pulled it out of the bag at Thursday night's Billboard Latin Music Awards at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Center, where she was displaying her sensational physique in a scanty ensemble with a wild stage layout In her trademark diva style, Jennifer brought the stage to a standstill as she transformed the setting into a flamboyant fantasy world. She wore a skin-tight nude body with shimmering adornments hanging off while the nude tights on her bottom half were studded with glittering dots. Her hair was lengthened with endless extensions, while she wore an intricate gold headdress to complement her dancers' painted gold physiques. The show opened with Jennifer emerging from a flower while her backing dancers stood behind her with their arms just visible from behind her frame. All eyes on me! The 48-year-old All I Have hitmaker was premiering her new single El Anillo at the show and ensured she made her presence known as she sizzled in a phenomenal bodysuit with bare-feet and an ankle length ponytail Woah! In her trademark diva style, Jennifer brought the stage to a standstill as she transformed the stage into a flamboyant fantasy world Watching on in undoubted adoration was Jennifer's beau Alex Rodriguez, who had joined the megastar of the red carpet earlier in the evening. She was spotted on the red carpet wearing a sizzling mini dress which acted to show off every inch of her sensational frame even further. Having maintained a sensational figure throughout her many years in the spotlight, Jennifer has always been candid about how she maintained her figure. Belting out the hits: She wore a skin-tight nude body with shimmering adornments hanging off while the nude tights on her bottom half were studded with glittering dots Look at me! The show opened with Jennifer emerging from a flower while her backing dancers stood behind her with their arms just visible from behind her frame How does she do it!? Having maintained a sensational figure throughout her many years in the spotlight, Jennifer has always been candid about how she maintained her figure In 2016, Jennifer told Hello! Magazine: 'It's hard to avoid comparing yourself to others, and I've definitely been guilty of it myself. I remember thinking I wasn't thin enough because I had curves. 'But I've learned that being healthy and feeling great aren't about having one specific body type; it's a completely individual thing. 'Feeling beautiful is an attitude, and we should all look for the beautiful things we love about ourselves, regardless of how our bodies compare to someone else's.' Woah mama! In 2016, Jennifer told Hello! Magazine: 'It's hard to avoid comparing yourself to others, and I've definitely been guilty of it myself. I remember thinking I wasn't thin enough because I had curves' A fine pair! Watching on in undoubted adoration was Jennifer's beau Alex Rodriguez, who had joined the megastar of the red carpet earlier in the evening Caroline Flack shared a picture of herself wearing nothing but a sheet on Friday, before mocking her boyfriend's hair colour once again. Sharing another picture of Andrew Brady, 27, on her social media, she hilariously compared his new dyed locks to a bag of Cheetos that he was eating at the time. The TV presenter, 38, wrote: 'Things the same colour as your boyfriend's hair. #Cheetos.' Snap happy: Caroline Flack, 38, wears nothing but a sheet in her latest Instagram post as she spent the day mocking her boyfriend Andrew Brady's new orange hair Spot the difference: She compared Andrew's locks to the colour of the bag of Cheetos he was eating Hours before, she had poked fun at his new 'do, writing: 'Getting a flight with Tesco value Eminem.' Andrew also himself shared a shirtless photo of himself with his new look, writing: 'Blondes have more fun.' It appears that it was Caroline's friend's Sam Campbell of Bleach London fame and her sister Lou Teasdale, a who did the dye job, as they were tagged in the photo. And Andrew's hair transformation is not yet complete and he's going to be dyeing his hair in stages to get the final result. Lose Yourself in the dye: Hours before, Caroline shared another hilarious picture of boyfriend Andrew with his new platinum blonde hair as she called him 'Tesco value Eminem Just Cleaning Out My Garnier Nutrisse: Andrew said his look was only halfway there, so who knows what's coming next? Hi! My name is.... Caroline couldn't help but think of Eminem when she looked at her boyfriend's new hairstyle Andrew wrote that the look was 'halfway there,' alongside a blonde man emoji, complete with blonde moustache. The couple briefly split last month, but confirmed they had reconciled only days later when he was pictured leaning out of the window of her home. A source told The Sun at the time: 'Caroline and Andrew have worked things out away from the spotlight. 'Shes heard what hes had to say and believes the relationship is worth another go. Theres just something about him that she thinks is worth holding on to.' And while they've only been dating for a couple of months, Caroline has already had her man's initials tattooed onto her wrist. It's believed she got the inking done within around 4-6 weeks of them getting together. Advertisement She has made her fortune from stripping off to flaunt her stunning figure. Yet it was not Demi Rose's nude form turning heads on Thursday as her latest saucy photoshoot was rudely interrupted by a nude sunbather, who stumbled across her path on the Mexican setting she was shooting on. The 23-year-old Birmingham native was the subject of her favoured photographer Danny DeSantos' lens yet things ground to a halt when the unwelcome guest arrived - much to Demi's amusement. Ahem! It was not Demi Rose's nude form turning heads on Thursday as her latest saucy photoshoot was rudely interrupted by a nude sunbather, who stumbled across her path on the Mexican setting she was shooting on Demi was pulling all her best moves for the camera as she smouldered in a high-legged white swimsuit with a fringed belt adornment before later changing into a bronze-hued two-piece. As she stood in front of her colleague, the arrival of the naked beach-dweller appeared to tickle them both but determined to get her best shot, she carried on smouldering for the camera. Wearing her raven tresses in cascading beach waves, Demi kept her look natural as she sported minimal make-up to allow her incredible physique to do all the talking. Attentive Danny, who snaps a host of the model's shoots, was on-hand to assist her every need and ensure they got the perfect shot, while he also went for a shirtless look. Cheeky! The 23-year-old Birmingham native was the subject of her favoured photographer Danny DeSantos' lens yet things ground to a halt when the unwelcome guest arrived - much to Demi's amusement Hello there! Wearing her raven tresses in cascading beach waves, Demi kept her look natural as she sported minimal make-up to allow her incredible physique to do all the talking Any chance you could move over? Indulging in a chat with the star, the nude man seemed unperturbed by his arrival at the shoot Bronzed babe: Danny was showing Demi exactly what was needed for the best possible shot Showstopper: Demi first got a taste for the limelight when she was chosen to be part of the Taz's Angels at its peak in 2015 after rising to fame through her Instagram account Cheeky! She is famed for her steamy curves as she wowed in the phenomenal bronze bikini with a saucy thong back Larking around: In a previous interview with The Sun, she revealed: 'I've had Instagram since I was 18. Posed for selfies and pictures and it just grew from like 60,000 to 200,000 to a million to 3.2million now' Found fame: Demi first got a taste for the limelight when she was chosen to be part of the Taz's Angels at its peak in 2015 after rising to fame through her Instagram account Demi first got a taste for the limelight when she was chosen to be part of the Taz's Angels at its peak in 2015 after rising to fame through her Instagram account. In a previous interview with The Sun, she revealed: 'I've had Instagram since I was 18. Posed for selfies and pictures and it just grew from like 60,000 to 200,000 to a million to 3.2million now. 'In school I was quite popular on MySpace and that kind of followed on to Instagram. It was really weird when people started recognising me and stuff on the street. I just got used to it.' Kylie Jenner lookalike Demi was propelled into the spotlight when she was linked to the reality star's ex, rapper Tyga, after they split. She's got it! Demi nailed her saucy shoot as she smouldered for the camera - with Danny getting on his knees to nail the shots Out and a pout: The stunner was checking out the shots between shoots - undoubtedly to make sure he caught the best angles Having a giggle! Demi could not stop laughing as she continued the shoot - despite the presence of their nearby pal, who was only wearing a pair of sunglasses All my best angles: The stunner was sure to work her best angles as she larked around in front of the camera Out and a pout: The stunner was smouldering as she showed off her famously peachy posterior for the camera Working pals: Demi and Danny have worked together on a number of occasions, yet they both seemed stunned at the arrival on their shoot Happy days: While she proved she loves her time in front of the camera while sporting a swimsuit, Demi has revealed that a move to LA could be in the works due to her acting desires Confident in her sex appeal, the former beauty student claimed her curvaceous figure rivals the Kardashians in a more recent interview with The Sun. The model said: 'I have an amazing life travelling the world and showing off curves to rival the Kardashians.I love the best parties, yachts and fast cars but deep down Im just a kid from Sutton Coldfield who got lucky.' While she proved she loves her time in front of the camera while sporting a bikini, Demi has revealed that a move to LA could be in the works due to her acting desires. She revealed: 'Movies have always been a passion of mine since I went to stage school. But another ambition is to become a Bond Girl, as I love the style and glamour of those films'. Snapping away: The star has since gained a huge following on Instagram and she is known display her incredible curves in a number of risque ensembles Naked ambition: So of course she was more than happy to divulge the secrets to her sensationally curvy figure in an exclusive chat with MailOnline Saucy! The star has since gained a huge following on Instagram and she is known display her incredible curves in a number of risque ensembles. So of course she was more than happy to divulge the secrets to her sensationally curvy figure in an exclusive chat with MailOnline The star has since gained a huge following on Instagram and she is known display her incredible curves in a number of risque ensembles. So of course she was more than happy to divulge the secrets to her sensationally curvy figure in an exclusive chat with MailOnline. In September, Demi told us: 'I try to keep as healthy as I can. With travelling, it's hard to work out, I travel across the world but try to keep my routine. Everyone says I'm the healthiest person they know. The fattiest thing I will ever eat is nuts and peanut butter.' 'My figure just gains weight so fast. Any bad thing I eat my body isn't used to it and just puts on the weight. That means no birthday cake! All I've eaten today is nuts. I've managed to eat a whole pot. I feel guilty as there's a lot of fat in the nuts. That's my treat! So I'm happy!' Smouldering: 'My figure just gains weight so fast. Any bad thing I eat my body isn't used to it and just puts on the weight. That means no birthday cake! All I've eaten today is nuts. I've managed to eat a whole pot. I feel guilty as there's a lot of fat in the nuts. That's my treat! So I'm happy!' Hot stuff: The star has since gained a huge following on Instagram and she is known display her incredible curves in a number of risque ensembles She wed entrepreneur investor Nick Gold in a lavish ceremony in Miami earlier this month. And Laura Zilli looked sensational as she stepped out with her new husband and her BFF Samantha Rowley for a dinner date in London on Thursday. The 32-year-old daughter of celebrity chef Aldo Zilli put on a leggy display in a silver metal miniskirt paired with a high neck slate grey satin top emblazoned with images of animals. Leggy: Laura Zilli looked sensational as she stepped out with her new husband and BFF Samantha Rowley for a dinner date in London on Thursday Skimpy: Laura sizzled as she stepped out with Samantha, who was clad in a similarly leggy ensemble Flaunting her toned and endless legs in the thigh-skimming skirt, the beautiful brunette added extra height to her statuesque frame with metallic strappy sandals. Her brunette locks were styled in soft waves, parted in the middle while her pretty features were enhanced with metallic eyeshadow, fluttery lashes, bronzer and fuschia lipgloss. She was joined by her gal pal, actress Samantha Rowley, 30, who flaunted her own toned legs in clinging black cycle shorts. She paired the tiny shorts with an extravagant black and gold sequin studded t-shirt by Rock Eagle. Tanned: The 32-year-old daughter of celebrity chef Aldo Zilli put on a leggy display in a silver metal miniskirt paired with a high neck slate grey satin top emblazoned with images of animals Glittering: She was joined by her gal pal, actress Samantha Rowley, 30, who flaunted her own toned legs in clinging black cycle shorts The blonde beauty, who was recently romantically linked to billionaire James Stunt, slipped on black peep-toe stiletto boots The former Hollyoaks star wore her blonde tresses sleek and straight while her striking features were accentuated with a rich palette of make-up. Laura's husband Nick was also seen joining the girls on their dinner date at C Restaurant in Mayfair, clad in a fitted white shirt and jeans, paired with silver shoes. The brunette beauty recently tied the knot with the businessman in a Jewish ceremony on Miami beach in front of high society friends. Night on the tiles: The former Hollyoaks star wore her blonde tresses sleek and straight while her striking features were accentuated with a rich palette of make-up Newlywed: Laura's husband Nick was also seen joining the girls on their dinner date at C Restaurant in Mayfair, clad in a fitted white shirt and jeans, paired with silver shoes Laura is Aldo's only-child from his first marriage to Jan Zilli. He also has a son Rocco, 12, and daughter Twiggy, 10, with second wife Nikki. Her father Aldo has previously spoke of his pride for daughter Laura, telling The Telegraph in 2011 that he feared she would be a 'nightmare' until she settled down. In the article - entitled 'Shes the most beautiful thing in the world. But shes a nightmare,' Aldo admitted that he had not liked any of her previous partners. 'Shes going to become dangerous,' he said. 'When I left [home] she went a bit wild. She was coming to see me with a different guy every five minutes. Happy couple: The brunette beauty recently tied the knot with the businessman in a Jewish ceremony on Miami beach in front of high society friends 'It upset me. I didnt feel in control any more. I dont like boyfriends not any of them. She is my blood, so I will be jealous.' Laura, who started modelling at 15, was once the face of car manufacturer Alfa Romeo and was previously signed to the First Models agency. While Samantha and James are said to have gone their separate ways, after the blonde was first photographed on his arm just days after the final court hearing in his divorce from Petra Ecclestone in February, wearing a 1.5 million engagement ring. The high-flying couple were rumoured to have been dating for several months. James and Petra tied the knot in at lavish 12 million wedding at a castle in Rome, Italy, in 2011. The couple enjoyed an extraordinary life together, splashing out 100 million on a Chelsea mansion and 158 million on a 123-room home in Los Angeles, and went on to have three children. He's been busy on the promotional circuit, thanks to his role as Doctor Strange in the highly-anticipated epic superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War. But Benedict Cumberbatch's stop on Ellen DeGeneres's eponymous chat show didn't go as smoothly as he'd hoped, when he ended up yelling the word 'f**k' twice after the host pulled a terrifying prank on him in the midst of his interview. As the 41-year-old actor confessed to Ellen, 60, that he scares 'very easily', he was left spitting out expletives after a crew member dressed in full Iron Man costume jumped out a box next to him and roared, before running off backstage. Prank: Benedict Cumberbatch swore twice during a daytime TV interview when chat show host Ellen DeGeneres terrified him with an Iron Man prank in the midst of their conversation 'Ah, f**k off!' Benedict yelled in reaction, as he placed his hands over his face in shock, before putting his head in his lap on realising it was just a prank. Amid raucous laughter from the studio audience and Ellen, the visibly shaken reiterated his feelings as he said, 'Oh f**k,' while tightly clutching his chest. Referring to his Avengers co-star Robert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man, the British actor quipped: 'Robert you've got to stop doing that! It's getting tired, but clearly not on me. Wow.' shocked: After the crew member ran off, a shocked Benedict sat with his head in his hands Movie: During his appearance, he discussed his epic superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War As he recovered, he said to Ellen: 'Good, I am still alive. This isn't Heaven, although it would be nice to be in heaven with you.. Thank Christ for that.' Suspecting that another prank was on the horizon, the father-of-two peered around the studio as he asked: 'What else is hollow here that might suddenly [open]? I should know this happens on this show. 'You see, honestly now you've got me on a real high alert paranoid trip. My nose is running, I'm showing all the kind of flight or flight responses now.' Showing his sense of humour hadn't faltered amid the chaos, he added: 'It's just really good that I'm not a sort of trained assassin or martial arts expert, because he'd be dead. Or she. I don't even know, I didn't get the gender... I need to lie down.' Cool: For his stint on the show, the star was casually cool with a blue shirt, taupe trousers and vegan, eco-friendly shoes by Yatay Scrubs: Benedict and Ellen later threw on hospital scrubs for a giant-sized game of Operation During the show, which is set to air on Friday, he threw on some hospital scrubs and a red cape to play a game of Operation against Ellen on a giant-sized board. They had 45 seconds to remove as many pieces as they could, with each competitive star attempting to distract the other during their turns. In the end, it was Benedict who emerged victorious as he successfully extracted two items as throwback hits by Ginuwine and Mystikal played in the background. Away from Avengers: Infinity War, the London-born actor has also been busy promoting his upcoming miniseries Patrick Melrose. The work never ends: On Thursday evening, Benedict attended the Los Angeles premiere of his upcoming miniseries Patrick Melrose with Jennifer Jason Leigh Chat: He was seen chatting away enthusiastically with British talk show host James Corden Producer: During his night on the town, he posed for a snapshot with producer Adam Ackland Group shot: The trio got together for a group shot with (L-R) executive producer Michael Jackson and writer David Nicholls Benedict tired the knot with theatre director Sophie Hunter in 2015, and the lovebirds are the proud parents of two sons - Christopher, two, and Hal, one. After winning over a huge fan following for his starring role in the British TV series Sherlock, Benedict has gone on to become a bona fide Hollywood star. In addition to playing Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has been nominated for an Academy Award for the 2014 movie The Imitation Game and starred in such films as The Hobbit, Black Mass and Star Trek: Into Darkness. His new series is based on the novels by Edward St. Aubyn and follows his character Patrick Melrose 'from a privileged but deeply traumatic childhood in the South of France, through severe substance abuse in his twenties in New York and, ultimately, toward recovery back home in Britain,' according to Showtime. Project: As the show was screen, a dapper Benedict spoke to the audience about the project The host with the most: He was interviewed by James, who served as moderator on the night Listen: He listened intently as his co-star Jennifer spoke about her role in the Showtime show Holly Willoughby was subject to cruel criticism on Thursday evening when she enjoyed a night out while watching The Streets in Brixton. The mother-of-three, 37, shared a host of snaps from her night out with frontman Mike Skinner and pal Nicole Appleton however the Instagram images were met with 'mum-shaming' comments as she was blasted for being away from her kids. The star, who has sons Harry, eight, Chester, three, and daughter Belle, seven, with husband Dan Baldwin, divided followers as unkind critics insisted her partying was 'sad' while others staunchly defended Holly and her right to 'have a night off'. Bad girls go backstage: Holly Willoughby was subject to criticism on Thursday evening when she enjoyed a night out while watching The Streets in Brixton Holly, who recently admitted that her and Mike Skinner's school age children have a crush on one another, was letting her hair down at the concert, where she was joined by her pal Nicole and was feeling snap happy throughout the evening. The TV presenter wore a 'Bad girls go backstage' T-shirt as she shared pictures with BFF Nicole from the O2 Brixton Academy, yet regrettably some of her fans opted to find the negative in the This Morning host's night off. Critics took to the comments section to pen: 'works hard certainly plays hard. Missing out on time with her kids that's sad they must miss her no replacement for mom... 'Knew she would be here tonight cause shes not on this morning tomorrow morning... it might sound like I'm criticising hey I work full time too... She's backstage! The mother-of-three, 37, shared a host of snaps from her night out with frontman Mike Skinner and pal Nicole Appleton however the Instagram images were met with 'mum-shaming' comments as she was blasted for being away from her kids Mummy dearest: The star, who has sons Harry, eight, Chester, three, and daughter Belle, seven, with husband Dan Baldwin, divided followers as some insisted her partying was 'sad' while others defended Holly and her right to 'have a night off' Not cool: Many cruel critics lashed out at the star as she opted to enjoy a night out at the gig 'I just know where I'd rather be she works more than most and is pictured at a lot of celebrity functions. I like her she's great but it's sad that she might be missing out that's all... God she's never in! How does she do it? I have one son and I can only get out every three months!... When are u home with your kids ????... 'where,s her kids all the hrs she works you would think she would like to spend time with them and her hubby... Others however swiftly defended the star, as they penned: 'Or maybe there are all just p***ed x good for them x kids tucked in bed with granny or dad babysitting x you go Holly... are you for real ???? Clearly no work family life balance for you... 'hence your s**ty nasty response to ... I work full time too. I am currently away with my job because I have to due to the distance and I know where I would rather be...snuggled up to my little girl... 'People need to get a grip and stop criticising her. Shes allowed to care for her children and have a night off! All I see on social media lately is women critiquing other women! And celebritys getting bashed for everything they do... Supportive: Fans soon defended the star - in clear irritation at the response of her critics Happy days: Holly shares the tots with TV producer Dan (pictured together in 2009) Part of the gang: After the gig, Holly immersed herself in Mike's backstage atmosphere, even posing with the entourage on Instagram - including producer BowzerBoss, rapper Blakie and grime artist Jaykae - captioning it 'Hey boys' Out on a school night: The young mums were determined to have a good night on the town 'Omg she works hard and provides for her children, she's allowed to have a night off to let her hair done... she works 4 mornings a week and celebrity juice one evening. And once her kids in bed shes enjoying a night out. Whats wrong with that?... 'But following 2days of business meetings I have then actually gone out of an evening with my customers and enjoyed these times with no guilt. You cannot be there every single time!!!... 'hahaha f**k off at let the women enjoy herself at a gig. Bet your kids wish you would f**k off out once in a while... 'what the hell, she goes to one gig and she's missing out on time with her kids. What a crazy thing to say. Mums can have time off to... this comment is LOLZ ridiculous!!!!! Mums arent ever allowed out!?... Girls' night! Their meet-up came just days after the besties were spotted holding hands as they departed the English National Opera gala 'My two favourite people': Later, Mike shared a picture of Holly and his friend Jaykae, saying they were 'two of his favourite people' 'People who criticised other people who are allowed to go out and have fun you must real have very sad lifes if all you can do is be nasty on social media especially woman having a go at other woman really not nice and men just go to how much you respect your wife mother daughter so sad... omg, can us mums not go out and enjoy ourselves these days!!' In her images from the bash she was pictured sticking her tongue out as she wrapped her arms around her two musician friends. Her cheeky slogan T-shirt - clearly worn over the outfit she'd worn on This Morning - read: 'Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go backstage.' 'Bad girl' Holly then proceeded to share backstage pictures from the event, which saw Mike reliving his Noughties heyday with a packed crowd. Raucous: The wild gig saw Mike abandon his own T-shirt in the middle of the gig Cheeky: Mike's wife Claire Le Marquand posted a picture of the gig before Mike went out During the raucous evening Mike performed without a shirt as he embraced the nostalgia. After the gig, Holly immersed herself in Mike's backstage atmosphere, even posing with the entourage on Instagram - including producer BowzerBoss, rapper Blakie and grime artist Jaykae - captioning it 'Hey boys'. Mike returned the favour, calling Holly 'one of his favourite people' in a shot with Jaykae. Holly recently explained her unlikely connection with Blinded By The Lights hitmaker Mike. Speaking on Red Stripe presents: This Feeling TV in December, Holly let slip that Belle has 'a bit of a thing' for Mike's young son George (both aged five). 'Mike's kids are the same age as mine,' she explained of their unexpected link. 'Belle actually has a bit of a thing for Georgie Skinner, as does Georgie for her.' Blinded By The Lights: Mike was wrapped up Noughties nostalgia on Thursday evening Packed out crowd: The Brixton Academy was packed with fans of his Noughties music Holly went on to say that she hoped their children would be able to hang out at a Streets gig sometime soon. 'I'm going to take the kids along,' she said of the gig. 'Despite how irresponsible I know it seems to take them to a Streets gig. Musician Mike and his wife Claire Le Marquand are also parents to daughter Amelia, who is the same age as Holly's eldest child. 'Bring your friends to work day': Nicole dropped by the This Morning studios to catch up with pal Holly earlier in the day. The duo went straight from ITV Studios to the gig Squeaky-clean TV presenter Holly has a long and rarely documented history with English rapper Mike. In 2006, at the height of Skinner's fame, Holly appeared in the music video for When You Wasn't Famous as a TV interviewer. Holly explained: 'I love The Streets Mikey [Skinner] is a genius! I actually appeared in the music video for When You Wasnt Famous.' Of the video, she added: 'The song is about waking up next to somebody, then seeing them on Saturday morning TV looking all squeaky and clean but we kind of know what they got up to the night before.' Married At First Sight lovers Troy Delmege and Carly Bowyer jetted off for a romantic holiday in Bali on Friday. But before leaving Melbourne International Airport, the amorous couple shared a departure message for fans. In the short clip, uploaded to Instagram Stories, the couple exclaimed how excited they were about their getaway, before Troy ended with a VERY inappropriate gaffe about tanning. 'She'll be darker, like an Aborigine!' Troy Delmege made an inappropriate gaffe on Friday, as he prepared to depart Melbourne International Airport for a Bali getaway with ladylove Carly Bowyer The goofy groom stated: 'Couldn't be more excited! Can't wait to get the tan on, get some heat on me after being in Melbourne for a few weeks.' He then pointed at his ladylove before adding: 'I'm going to be dark, (but) she'll be darker, like an Aborigine!' Carly quickly cut the clip and the video abruptly ended. Ready to tan! Troy and Carly claimed they can't wait to get some sun during their getaway in Bali Throughout his time on MAFS, Troy became known for his quirky behaviour and off-the-cuff comments, which often landed him in hot water with his 'ex-wife', Ashley Irvin. However, it appears Carly finds most of her new man's behaviour quite endearing. Earlier in the week, the brunette beauty even insisted on getting her man's body ready for the beaches of Bali. Getting his body Bali ready! Earlier this week, Carly helped Troy get his rig ready for the beach, The stunner revealed she used a whopping 46 wax strips to wax Troy's back. Sharing a clip to her Instagram Stories, Carly joked that she 'killed' her goofy beau by using two entire packs of wax strips. 'It's a bit of a disaster,' she conceded. Starting a family? The couple - who unveiled their romance just last month and recently moved in together in Melbourne, are reportedly expecting their first child Troy and Carly unveiled their romance last month and recently moved in together in Melbourne. There are even reports they are expecting their first child. Last week, NW claimed the pair are expecting and announced the news while shopping at a Melbourne baby boutique. The publication claims the pair are having a daughter, and picked out pink goods in the store. It seems one Marvel-based film franchise isnt enough for Josh Brolin. The actor plays the supervillain Thanos in Marvel Studios Avengers: Infinity War and in just under a month will hop across some (soon-to-be nonexistent) intellectual property lines to play Nathan Summers AKA Cable in 20th Century Foxs X-Men film, Deadpool 2. The sequel to Ryan Reynoldss R-rated hit will be the first of four films that Brolin has signed on for. Brolin has had an illustrious film career that only really hit full-speed in the mid aughts, with the actor admitting that he was put off film work for years after watching his second feature film, Thrashin. In 2018 Josh Brolin plays supervillain Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Cable in Deadpool 2 'Its a skateboard movie, and when I went to the premiere, I was crushed. I thought my acting was horrendous, the actor told the New York Times while promoting his 2010 film, Jonah Hex. It was the worst acting Ive ever seen in my life. I moved to New York after that. And I devoted myself to the theater. Here is all you need to know about Josh Brolin including what his net worth is, his roles in The Goonies and as Thanos and Cable in Infinity War and Deadpool 2. Who is Josh Brolin? Josh James Brolin was born in Santa Monica, California to Jane Cameron and James Brolin. Brolins mother was the assistant casting director on the 1960s Batman TV series and met Brolins father, the actor James Brolin on the shows set. Brolins parents divorced when he was 16 and in 1998 James Brolin married the Oscar-winner Barbra Streisand. Brolins first big role came in 1985s cult-classic The Goonies, acting alongside future Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, and Corey Feldman. He followed that up with Thrashin but then took a break from films until 1993s The Road Killers, in-between missing out on a lead role in 21 Jump Street to Johnny Depp. After Brolins mother died after a car crash in 1995, on the actors 27th birthday, he started drinking and using again, only getting treatment after a close friend from AA staged an intervention. After getting sober, Brolins acting career resumed, albeit very slowly. I was the last-resort guy, the actor told Esquire. Brolins life and career turned around in 2006, when he landed the role in the Coen brothers film, No Country for Old Men. At the time, Brolin was in Robert Rodriguezs film Grindhouse. He was having breakfast with the American playwright and actor Sam Shepard, who told him about the film. Despite believing he had no chance of getting a role, Brolin made an audition tape - directed by Quentin Tarantino, who was visiting the Grindhouse set that day - and landed the role of Llewelyn Moss. A string of increasingly big films followed including American Gangster, George W Bush biopic W. and Milk, for which Brolin was nominated for an Oscar. Brolins industrious approach to acting continued through to the 2010s. High-profile films such as True Grit, Men in Black 3, Guardians of the Galaxy and Sicario consolidated Brolins status as a Hollywood star. In 2018 alone, Brolin will star in Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter. Brolin has been married three times, to actress Alice Adair between 1988 and 1994 and with whom he has two children; Diane Lane between 2004 and 2013; and former assistant Kathryn Boyd in 2016. What is Josh Brolins net worth? Josh Brolins net worth is estimated to be $35 million (25.3m), according to Celebrity Net Worth. Most of Brolin's net worth is bolstered by his salaries in huge films such as Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, and his four-film deal with 20th Century Fox to play Cable in the X-Men series. K-Pop super group BTS have announced dates for their Love Yourself world tour, including two dates in London despite turning down performing at the Winter Olympics closing ceremony in their homeland of South Korea. BTS members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Rap Monster, Jimin, V and Jungkook will start their tour in Seoul and make their way to Canada, the Netherlands and Germany after the success of the Trilogy Episode tour and their second studio album, Wings. Known for their killer dance moves and social media prowess, BTS have become a global sensation, have performed at the American Music Awards and made an appearance on James Cordens Late Late Show. But who are BTS? K-Pop super group BTS have announced dates for their Love Yourself 2018 world tour Who are BTS? Also known as the Bangtan Boys, BTS are a seven member South Korean K-Pop boy band, debuted their first track No More Dream from their album 2 Cool 4 Skool in June 2013 and went on to win several awards for their first single. As their fame grew, BTS released albums Dark & Wild, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever and Wings, which peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200, the highest a K-Pop album has ever charted and sold over 1.5 million copies. BTS EP Love Yourself: Her, which came out in 2017, did even better and reached number seven on the Billboard 200, the highest an Asian artist have ever ranked. DNA, the track that they remixed for the 2018 Winter Olympics performance, also entered the Billboard Hot 100. Mic Drop, their collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki and Desiigner was also a success on the Billboard charts and Love Yourself: Her reclaimed its title as the best selling album in South Koreas Gaon Album Chart, with 1.2 million copies being sold. According to Forbes, BTS were the most retweeted artist on Twitter in March 2016 which resulted in the social media platform launching its first K-Pop emoji, which featured BTS in May of the same year. Following on from this, Billboard also place BTS as number one on their Social 50 chart and they won the Top Social Artist Award at the Billboard Music Awards in 2017, beating the likes of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez. At the awards, BTS said: We still cannot believe that we are standing here on this stage at the Billboard Music Awards. Its so great to see all the artists we admire. To be in this category with such great artists, we are just really honoured. BTS new album BTS will released their third studio album on May 18, 2018 featuring their new single We Are So Excited, which they are expected to perform for the first time at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas in the same month. BTS Love Yourself world tour BTS have announced their first world tour, the Love Yourself tour, after their most recent EP Love Yourself: Her, received critical acclaim and was a major success. Only some dates have been confirmed with more to follow: Seoul, South Korea - Aug. 25-26, Olympic Stadium Los Angeles, California - Sept. 5-6 and 8, Staples Center Oakland, California - Sept. 12, Oracle Arena Fort Worth, Texas - Sept. 15-16, Fort Worth - Convention Center Hamilton, Ontario - Sept. 20, 22-23, First Ontario Centre Newark, New Jersey - Sept. 28-29, Prudential Center Chicago, Illinois - Oct. 2-3, United Center London, England - Oct. 9-10, The O2 Arena Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Oct. 13, Ziggo Dome Berlin, Germany - Oct. 16-17, Mercedes-Benz Arena Paris, France - Oct. 19-20, Accorhotels Arena BTS tickets BTS tickets for their shows in London will go on sale on Friday, June 1, 2018 at 9am BST on Live Nation. They've been happily married for almost four years after tying the knot in upstate New York in June 2014. But Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl looked like a pair of honeymooners as they enjoyed a low-key stroll after a lunch date at Sant Ambroeus restaurant in SoHo on Thursday. The socialite, 32, and her model husband, 40, shared a sweet kiss, before wandering through the streets of New York with their arms wrapped around each other. Loved-up: Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl looked like a pair of honeymooners as they enjoyed a low-key stroll after a lunch date at Sant Ambroeus restaurant in SoHo on Thursday The fashionista looked typically chic in a flowing teal duster coat and matching cropped cigarette pants, teamed with a mustard-coloured polo neck. Olivia wore a pair of wine-coloured leather brogues on her feet and toted a deep purple patent crocodile skin handbag. The former The City star accessorised with a pair of oversized shades, while carrying a bold yellow and white fur stole in her hand. Injecting a further bolt of colour to her look with a slick of pillar box red lipstick, Olivia opted for natural make-up to showcase her pretty features, and wore her brunette locks tied back in an elegant up-do. Pucker up: The socialite, 32, and her model husband, 40, shared a sweet kiss, before wandering through the streets of New York with their arms wrapped around each other Stylish pair: The fashionista looked typically chic in a flowing teal duster coat and matching cropped cigarette pants, teamed with a mustard-coloured polo neck Not letting his glamorous wife down in the style stakes, Johannes looked every inch the dapper dude in white chinos, a pale blue shirt and a grey blazer. The German-born model accessorised with shades and a pair of beige lace-up shoes for his low-key city stroll. Olivia shot to fame when she appeared in MTV's The Hills spin-off, The City, which documented Whitney Port's move to New York to work for Diane von Furstenberg in 2008. The socialite appeared in both seasons of the reality show, as Whitney's workplace friend and later rival. Since featuring on the series, Olivia has become one of the most established front-row regulars on the fashion circuit, attending the world's most prestigious events. Girl about town: Olivia wore a pair of wine-coloured leather brogues on her feet and toted a deep purple patent crocodile skin handbag Fashionista: The former The City star accessorised with a pair of oversized shades, while ;ater wrapping up with a bold yellow and white fur stole A bite to eat: Injecting a further bolt of colour to her look with a slick of pillar box red lipstick, Olivia wore her brunette locks tied back in an elegant up-do The socialite recently discussed her time on The City in an interview with The Edit, saying she isn't upset by having a 'reality star' label. Olivia explained: 'It doesnt bother me. But a label should probably be somewhat accurate. I do more behind the scenes than people realise. 'It [The City] was an interesting time. There is always an agenda [on these shows] whether you are on board with it or not. There is so much garbage out there. I just ignore it.' Olivia and Johannes met through mutual friends 11 years ago, before tying the knot in June 2014 in a low-key ceremony in Bedford, upstate New York. Discussing the secret to the couple's happy marriage, Olivia previously told Harper's Bazaar Australia: 'We try not to ever be separated more than seven days. Its just something we have always done.' Elegant: Not letting his glamorous wife down in the style stakes, Johannes looked every inch the dapper dude in white chinos, a pale blue shirt and a grey blazer It's the tragic storyline set to chill the residents of Albert Square to their core this spring. And the aftermath of EastEnders character Shakil Kazemi's death is currently being filmed - with the whole of Walford pictured in attendance on Friday, in on set photos. The likes of Jessie Wallace and Davood Ghadami were seen on set, as Kat Slater and Kush Kazemi respectively, as they acted in the scene, mourning murdered Shakil. Devastated: Kat Slater is pictured attending murdered Shakil Kazemi's funeral with his distraught brother Kush... as Albert Square residents mourn the knife victim's death in horrifying new plot Gone: The aftermath of Shakil's death is currently being filmed - with the whole of Walford pictured in attendance on Friday, in on set photos Shakil - played by Shaheen Jafargholi - is to be killed off in a shock stab attack in the stalwart BBC soap. And this has prompted the return of actor Davood, who took time out to compete in Strictly Come Dancing last year. He was seen on set looking solemn in a black suit, walking around a Hearse, with his on-screen brother's coffin inside, bedecked with flowers. Jessie kept her head down on set in a black dress and a large winter coat with fur trim, adding a typical element of brazenness to the funeral attire with bright red tasseled heels. Stabbed: Shakil [Shaheen Jafargholi] is set to meet a sticky end as he is killed off in a shock stab attack Sad: Jessie kept her head down on set in a black dress and a large winter coat with fur trim Tragedy: The cast were gathered for the scenes at a church Standing out: Kat seemed to be adding a typical element of brazenness to the funeral attire with bright red tasseled heels Here come the Beales: Adam Woodyatt followed on-screen mum Gillian Taylforth Dressed up: The characters of Martin Fowler [James Bye, L] and Robbie Jackson [Dean Gaffney, R] were seen mourning their former neighbour Paying their respects: Among the mourners was Keegan Baker [Zack Morris] who will be heavily involved in the story line [second from left] Veteran: Kathy has been part of the show since episode one and recently returned from the dead Here come the Taylors: Walford's relatively new family were seen heading to the funeral Just doin' this now: Natalie Cassidy and Letitia Dean made their way to the churchyard Between takes: Jessie was seen chatting on the phone, speaking to members of the crew and flipping through her script at the church they were filming at Jessie was seen chatting on the phone, speaking to members of the crew and flipping through her script in between takes at the church they were filming at. Other members of the cast on set were Big Mo [Laila Morse], Patrick Trueman [Rudolph Walker], Jean Slater [Gillian Wright], Kim Fox [Tameka Empson], Keegan Baker [Zack Morris] and Karen Taylor [Lorraine Stanley]. All of them were looking equally low-key in wake of the tragic events that will play out right on their doorstep. The move is understood to be part of 'big clear-out' on the programme as producers say goodbye to some key characters in order to keep it feeling fresh. What am I like, eh? Natalie plays Sonia, while Lacey Turner portrays Stacey Dearly departed: The family of the murdered youngster were seen at the church Sad times: The storyline is set to rock the core of Albert Square Stars come out: The cast were seen heading to the church in earlier scenes from the shoot In mourning: Other members of the cast on set were Big Mo [Laila Morse] and Patrick Trueman [Rudolph Walker] Spotted: Tilly Keeper was seen on set, portraying Louise Mitchell Also there: She was seen in character, followed out by Hunter Owen [Charlie Winter] and Tiffany Butcher [Maisie Smith] Plans are already in place for other favourites to leave the show as well as those who have already left including Richard Blackwood, Lee Ryan, Jenna Russel and Maggie Steed. A source told the The Daily Star Sunday: 'Producers are having a big clear-out, waving goodbye to some massive characters to make sure the show feels fresh.' The source added that actor Shaheen, 21, would like to return to music when he leaves the long-running show. Downtime: Jessie was seen chatting to her co-stars Time out: Jessie made a call while outside the church Stepping out: Jessie flitted between the car and the church Checking things over: She was seen brushing up on her lines, last minute The star first entered the spotlight on Britain's Got Talent aged 12 and singing is one of his main ambitions. The cast were spotted filming the fallout from the brutal knife attack which involved Shakil and Keegan. Stills from the forthcoming episode saw Keegan and Shakil being attacked by a gang. The future: Plans are already in place for other favourites to leave the show as well as those who have already left Gone: Richard Blackwood, Lee Ryan, Jenna Russel and Maggie Steed have all left the soap in recent weeks On location: It looked like a very emotional scene for the actors A source told the The Daily Star Sunday: 'Producers are having a big clear-out, waving goodbye to some massive characters to make sure the show feels fresh' Moving on: The source added that actor Shaheen, 21, would like to return to music when he leaves the long-running show Drama: Stills from the forthcoming episode saw Keegan and Shakil being attacked by a gang Getting into character: The cast were spotted filming the fallout from the brutal knife attack which involved Shakil and Keegan last month Shocking twists: Fans will see the story line play out this spring to mark the tenth anniversary since former star Brooke Kinsella's brother was brutally murdered Suited up: Davood was joined on set by the cars by Jamie Borthwick [R] They also showed Keegan stood next to his friend's mother, Carmel, who is played by Bonnie Langford. Fans will see the story line play out this spring to mark the tenth anniversary since former star Brooke Kinsella's brother was brutally murdered. EastEnders representatives have been contacted for further comment. In attendance: Indira Joshi plays Mariam Ahmed [L] and Christopher Timothy plays Ted Murray [R] Emotional: Shots from an upcoming episode show Keegan stood next to his friends mother, Carmel, who is played by Bonnie Langford Charlie Hunnam surveyed his picturesque surroundings as he prepared to shoot scenes on the set of forthcoming Netflix drama Triple Frontier on Thursday afternoon. The British actor was joined by co-stars Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund during a welcome break on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where principal photography began in late March. Making their way across a low bridge, the three actors looked relaxed as they passed the time between takes on the tropical exterior set. Quiet on set: Charlie Hunnam surveyed his picturesque surroundings as he prepared to shoot scenes on the set of forthcoming crime-drama Triple Frontier with co-star Oscar Isaac in Hawaii on Thursday afternoon Leading the way, Charlie, 38, was dressed in character as one of five friends who reunite to overthrow a notorious South American drug lord with potentially devastating consequences. With Oahu Hawaiis third largest island used as a convenient local substitute for Brazil, where much of the script is set, a cast-member was seen guiding a baggage-laden mule in their wake. Ben Affleck, who initially withdrew from the project citing personal reasons during a stuttering pre-production, was not present as they took a break between scenes. In good company: The British actor was also joined by Garrett Hedlund during a welcome break on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where principal photography began in late March Authentic: With Oahu Hawaiis third largest island used as a convenient local substitute for Brazil, where much of the script is set, a cast-member was seen guiding a baggage-laden mule in their wake Follow my lead: Leading the way, Charlie, 38, was dressed in character as one of five friends who reunite to overthrow a notorious South American drug lord with potentially devastating consequences J.C. Chandor is directing the Mark Boal-penned drama, which is being produced by Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Andy Horwitz. But it has been beset by problems, with original cast members Mahershala Ali pulling out over scheduling issues and Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum walking away from the profect at the eleventh hour. Paramount Pictures, in the midst of a managerial overhaul following the departure of studio chief Brad Grey, later dropped the film over a growing reluctance to develop another political crime drama. Coming soon: J.C. Chandor is directing the Mark Boal-penned drama, which is being produced by Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Andy Horwitz Let's go: Cast and crew made their way across the bridge during a break between scenes on Thursday According to Deadline, 'Netflix took on the picture after Paramount let go of it after Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum dropped out weeks before production was to begin.' Affleck has since returned to spearhead the project after undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse. The script was originally written by Mark Boal for his Hurt Locker partner Kathryn Bigelow to direct. The film takes its title from its setting in the infamous border zone of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, however, that area has become less dangerous since the movie was originally penned. Chandor has updated the script in recent years, and the picture will shoot in Hawaii, Colombia, and California. Absent: Ben Affleck, who initially withdrew from the project citing personal reasons during a stuttering pre-production, was not present as the actors converged Kevin Feige just revealed some interesting things about Brie Larsons Captain Marvel film, and now the Oscar-winning actress was seen filming action sequences in Los Angeles. In the film, Brie Larson plays Carol Danvers, a US Air Force Captain who gets incredible powers when the Earth becomes caught in the middle of an intergalactic showdown between two alien worlds. The film also stars Ready Player One actor Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg and Jude Law. Samuel L. Jackson will return as SHIELD agent Nick Fury. Here is all you need to know about Brie Larson including her net worth, Captain Marvel role and other films including Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Short Term 12 and 21 Jump Street. Brie Larson won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Lenny Abrahamson's Room Who is Brie Larson? Brie Larson was born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers on October 1, 1989 in Sacramento California. Her parents ran a chiropractor practice together. Larsons stage name is thought to come from her grandmothers name, although on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the actress said she took the name from her favourite American Girl doll, Kirsten Larson. Larsons first language growing up was French. At the age of six, Larson became the youngest person ever to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. The following year, Larson landed her first gig, a sketch on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Larsons first proper break came in 2009, when she was cast in the Showtime series, United States of Tara, starring as the daughter of Toni Collettes lead. The show ran for only two seasons, but brought her to the attention of super-producer Judd Apatow, who thought about hiring Larson for Bridesmaids, and later picked her to star as Amy Schumers sister in Trainwreck. In 2013, Larsons film Short Term 13, in which she plays a counselor at a centre for at-risk teens, was released. The film was a hit with the critics and won several festival prizes including at South by Southwest. Larsons role put her on the radar of the director Lenny Abrahamson, who was looking to cast someone for the lead role in Room, a film adaptation of Emma Donoghues novel about a young mother whos been held captive for seven years and raises her five-year-old son in captivity. She doesn't do that showy intensity thing that we overpraise in film actors,' the Room director told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2016. 'There's just this truthfulness about her and a delicacy to what she does. The film, released in 2015, was critically acclaimed and earned Larson an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. In 2017, Larson directed a comedy film, Unicorn Store, which starred Samuel L Jackson, Get Outs Bradley Whitford, and Joan Cusack. The actress followed up with Bean Wheatleys shoot-em-up flick Free Fire and the blockbuster Kong: Skull Island opposite Tom Hiddleston. In 2019, Larson is set to play Captain Marvel twice, in the standalone origin story and in the Avengers: Infinity War sequel. As well as acting, Larson has a strong musical background. Back in 2005, aged 16, Larson released an album called Finally Out of PE. Although it wasnt a hit, Larsons subsequent success has attracted fan reappraisals. I haven't done music in 10 years, but if you Google my name, my music video is one of the first things that pops up, Larson joked back in 2016. It's this weird story that keeps coming back. Larson has been in a relationship with musician Alex Greenwald since 2013. In March 2016, the couple got engaged and confirmed the news in May of that year. What is Brie Larsons net worth? Brie Larsons net worth is estimated to be $10 million (7.2m), according to Celebrity Net Worth. While Kanye Wests texts to John Legend about Donald Trump and his tweets about conservative figure Candace Owens have got Twitter talking, the prolific tweeter will launch Donda Social, a community outreach program aiming to rescue hundreds of thousands of Chicago residents. After calling out former President and Chicago native Barack Obama for not making changes in the city, Kanye has asked his famous friends to join together to combat issues with housing, education, gun violence and drinking water. Yeezy and his friend G.O.O.D. Music affiliate Malik Yusef have asked the likes of Common, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa and Don C to help out. But what is DONDA? Kanye West is launching Donda Social, a community outreach program to rescue Chicago What is DONDA? DONDA, named after Kanye Wests late mother, Donda West, is a creative company launched by the rapper in 2012 and announced by a series of tweets. Kanye stated that he wanted to pick up where Steve Jobs left off and would operate as a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers in a creative space to bounce there dreams and ideas [sic]. I am assembling a team of architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts, app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionist, doctors, scientist, teachers John Legend and Kanye West at the Kanye West/John Legend GOOD Music launch in 2005 DONDA will be comprised of over 22 divisions with a goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford. I want to put creatives in a room together with like minds that are all waaaay doper than me. We want to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel, Kanye said. This announcement was considered the first major social media moment of 2012 by Time Magazine and the organisation began to work with a number of different creatives, including the likes of painter George Condo, film director Steve McQueen, sculptor Takashi Murakami and the fashion house Maison Martin Margiela. DONDA projects The inaugural DONDA project was a film called Cruel Summer, which was a 7-Screen Surround Vision experience and was part of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It was shot using a special camera rig and was developed in partnership with the Doha Film Institute. In 2015, Kanye collaborated with Steve McQueen for a short film entitled All Day/I Feel Like That, which premiered at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and then at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art later that year. He also plans on launching a cosmetic line, which will inevitably go up against his wife Kim Kardashians KKW Beauty and Jay Zs Roc Nation is thought to manage DONDA Music, which works with Lil Wayne, Big Sean and 2 Chainz. Kanye West's company DONDA also produced his wife Kim Kardashian's selfie book Selfish DONDA has also provided artwork for Kanye and Jay Zs Watch the Throne album as well as their single with Big Sean, Clique; Meek Mills Burn and Tygas The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty to name a select few. The creative company has also produced Yeezy music videos for Black Skinhead, Bound 2 and Only One. Kim Kardashian Wests book Selfish alongside the stage design for the The Yeezus Tour and for his performance of All Day at the 2015 BRIT Awards were also created by DONDA. What is DONDA Social? DONDA Social gained momentum in April 2018 amid Kanye Wests tweeting spree about Donald Trump and other philosophical thoughts. Kanye will use this organisation to help neighbourhoods in Chicago that are facing serious problems with housing, education, gun violence and drinking water with celebrities like Don C, Vic Mensa, Chance The Rapper and Common. They will visit struggling areas and listen to the residents to attempt to come up with realistic solutions and money to fund the transformation. Katie Price has thanked fans for their continued support after debuting the results of recent cosmetic surgery to correct a botched facelift. The former glamour model shared a snap of her significantly smoother face on Friday, weeks after rectifying mistakes made during her original procedure at the Brussels based Be Clinic. Wearing a liberal layer of foundation, salmon pink lipstick and eyeliner, Katie, 39, looked notably different as she thanked her surgeon, hairdresser and make-up artist for transforming her appearance. The new me: Katie Price has thanked fans for their continued support after debuting the results of recent cosmetic surgery to correct a botched facelift that left her looking like a doll' Captioning the post, she wrote: 'Friday feeling so happy with my new face. Thankyou Frank Plovier feel so much better. hair by @carlbembridgehair makeup by @fern_makeup.' Katie raced to Brussels for emergency surgery in March after an initial cosmetic procedure left with sagging skin and unsightly lumps on her face. In pictures obtained by The Sun, the former Celebrity Big Brother champion was seen in a wheelchair and with drainage tubes swinging from her face as she left the clinic to go home. Devastated: Katie raced to Brussels for emergency surgery in March after being left with sagging skin and unsightly lumps on her face following an initial cosmetic procedure 'I instantly feel better after [Dr] Frank [Plovier] treated me. He is the only surgeon I've trusted over the years and the only one I wanted to correct the work,' Katie told MailOnline after her second, successful cosmetic procedure. 'I am so happy with Frank's work, he really has restored my confidence. He is very loyal and an incredible surgeon!' In September, Katie took to Instagram to demonstrate her intial face-lift procedure to followers, who watched as her 'sagging' cheeks and jawline were raised. Painstaking: In September, Katie took to Instagram to demonstrate the facelift procedure to her followers, who watched on in horror as her 'sagging' cheeks and jawline were raised Katie had opted for a 'silhouette' facelift, which is designed to lift a sagging cheeks and blurred jawline, using 'sutures' implanted under the skin to sculpt features. However Katie was soon spotted with puffy features, revealing that she suffered an allergic reaction to anesthetic penicillin after having further dental work. She was later spotted with her face in bandages, and took to Instagram to reveal she had her 'botched surgery' corrected. 'Gone to get my face re-corrected after surgeon has totally f***ed my face up,' she wrote alongside the dramatic selfie. Katie rose to fame as glamour girl Jordan, notably for her surgically enhanced breasts. Since then, she has admitted to having a total of eight boob jobs as well as botox, lipo, fillers, veneers and a nose job. Kim Kardashian seemed unfazed on Thursday evening when at Skin Thesis in Santa Monica, California. The 37-year-old star shared a clip to Snapchat where she was getting a skincare routine while wrapped in a white towel. The reality TV siren said she was 'unbothered.' This comes after she was accused of copying Jean Paul Gaultier's famed 1993 naked torso perfume bottle for her new fragrance. Scroll down for video Beauty routine: Kim Kardashian seemed unfazed on Thursday evening when at Skin Thesis in Santa Monica, California Not worried: The 37-year-old star shared a clip to Snapchat where she was getting a skincare routine while wrapped in a white towel. The reality TV siren said she was 'unbothered' Kim was makeup free as she lay down on a table with a white towel on her head and one barely covering her chest. The Hidden Hills, California resident said she was getting a face massage but it looked like her skin was getting microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion treatments use a minimally abrasive instrument to gently sand your skin, removing the thicker, uneven outer layer. This type of skin rejuvenation is used to treat light scarring, discoloration, sun damage and stretch marks. Zero glam: Kim was makeup free as she lay down on a table with a white towel on her head and one barely covering her chest The mother to North, four, Saint, two, and newborn Chicago also had work, which could have been light therapy, done to her neck. Skin Thesis does Led Therapy, peels, laser facials and Coolsculpt. Kardashian looked at peace and still as she filmed away with her cell phone. What did she have done? Skin Thesis does Led Therapy, peels, laser facials and Coolsculpt It must hurt! Here a humming beauty tool rolled over her face and Kim didn't flinch Plugging her makeup: On Friday morning the looker shared this image and insisted they used 'hardly any make up here' except for cream concealer shade 7 from her KKW Beauty line The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star faced criticism online after her new KKW Body fragrance was said to resemble the French designer's Classique perfume bottle, which also features a woman's body without arms, legs and head. However, the mother-of-three has insisted that her bottle is based on a purely 'personal' design, telling Cosmopolitan of the comparison between hers and Gaultier's: 'Sculptures were my inspiration, but I love that bottle. 'It's iconic and celebrates the womans body, but my inspiration was a statue. I wanted [mine] to be really personal with my exact mould, but Ive always loved the Gaultier bottles.' And it might not be the only reason Kim, married to rapper Kanye West, took a mould of her own body as she also revealed she is turning it into an art piece. She added: 'We were making a mould of my body for the fragrance, but we were also making it to make a big sculpture.' Shape: Kardashian has hit out at claims that she ripped off Jean Paul Gaultier's Classique perfume bottle for her own fragrance, insisting it's based on sculptures and her own frame Seeing double: On Thursday, Kim came under fire as people have accused her of ripping off Jean-Paul Gaultier's iconic perfume bottle (right) for her own fragrance (left) Kim had previously eluded to doing a unisex fragrance and she was 'hoping' to unveil it in the fall. She revealed to Elle: 'Yeah, Im hoping so ... there are two other ... I dont want to say just yet, but yeah, Im hoping in the fall.' Kim had previously taken to Twitter to unveil a nude photo of herself covered in grey plaster, which she used as a mould. The caption read: 'We took a mold of my body and made it a perfume bottle @KKWFRAGRANCE [sic]' The reality star took to social media on Wednesday to unveil her new fragrance bottle, which was modelled after her own body. Sculpture: However, Kim has insisted that her perfume bottle is based on her love of sculptures Anatomy: The reality star's bottle (pictured) was modeled after her own body, and is shaped like her bust from the neck to the upper thigh, with the arms cut off Her bottle is shaped like her upper body from the neck to the upper thighs, with her arms cut off and the spray top where her head would bea design that, as many Twitter users pointed out, looks stunningly similar to Jean-Paul Gaultier's iconic perfume bottle for his Classique fragrance. The French designer released the scent in 1993. His bottle, which is shaped like a woman's bust, has become as well known as the perfume it contains. It has been redesigned several times over the years to dress the bust in various colors and styles, but the woman's bust has always remained as the quintessential element of Jean-Paul's bottle. A similar concept was used for the bottle of his men's fragrance Le Male, which is shaped like a man's chest. After Kim posted a video of her new perfume bottle on social media, Twitter users took to the platform to highlight the similarities between her design and Jean-Paul's. Iconic: The French designer released the scent in 1993. His bottle, which is shaped like a woman's bust, has become as well known as the perfume it contains Chiming in: After Kim posted a video of her new perfume bottle on social media, Twitter users took to the platform to highlight the similarities between the two designs Artsy: One person found that Kim's bottle looked like a cross between Jean-Paul's design and the ancient Greek statue Venus de Milo In addition to a video in which she unveils the bottle, Kim also posted a photo of herself naked with plaster on her body as part of the process to manufacture the container. 'Jean-Paul Gaultier gave us this centuries ago,' someone wrote in response to the snap. 'Very 1993 of you... Ever [heard] of Jean-Paul Gaultier?' another person asked Kim. One Twitter user said Kim's bottle is 'Jean-Paul Gaultier reloaded', while someone else wondered: 'Does Kim Kardashian think she's orignal, because the whole body mold perfume bottle is a rip-off of Jean-Paul Gaultier's perfumes.' 'I hope Jean-Paul Gaultier sue Kim Kardashian for the bottle design,' another person wrote. Someone else replied to Kim with: 'Jean-Paul Gaultier did it better Honey.' Throwback: Kim famously wore a Jean-Paul Gaultier gown to the 2015 Grammys and posed confidently in the golden gown with a plunging neckline Kim has so far not responded to the comments pointing to the resemblance between her design and Jean-Paul's. She has instead focused her tweets on her husband Kanye West's renewed Twitter presence and public support of Donald Trump. The Keeping Up With The Kardashian Star famously wore a Jean-Paul Gaultier gown to the 2015 Grammys and posed confidently in the golden gown with a plunging neckline. At the time, Kim said she had suffered a wardrobe malfunction earlier in the night, which involved one of her pockets falling off. She said the garment was fixed thanks to a bit of sewing and some safety pins, and the pocket looked fine when she made it in front of the cameras. Beyonce and Jay-Z announced their upcoming On The Run II tour in March this year. And now a number of sources have revealed the highly-anticipated joint tour 'is set to perform in Australia.' On Thursday, the Herald Sun reported 'sources' told Page 13: 'A deal is locked in and the pair will head to Australia over summer after the Europe and American leg of the tour is complete.' Scroll down for video Headed Down Under? Beyonce and Jay-Z 'are set to perform in Australia' as part of their 'On The Run II' joint tour according to insiders The Lemonade hitmaker has enjoyed great success in the land Down Under, most notably when she brought her sold-out Mrs Carter World Tour to Australia in 2013. According to Page 13, Beyonce has an extensive rider for the upcoming tour. The songstress is said to have requested 'all-white decor, thermostat below or above 22.22 degrees, grapefruit scented candles, hot wings and hand-carved ice balls to cool her throat.' Beyonce's rider is also said to include 'a turkey deli tray, heavily seasoned roast chicken, a bag of cheetos and a jar of green olives.' Huge news: In early March, Beyonce confirmed rumours that she and her hubby were hitting the road together for On The Run II Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Beyonce's representatives for comment. In early March, Beyonce confirmed rumours that she and her hubby were hitting the road together for On The Run II. She did so in three separate posts - two photos and one video, which featured footage from her and Jay-Z's previous joint tour and their lives together. The couple recently collaborated on a video for Jay-Z's Family Feud. The song appeared on Jay-Z's 4:44, on which he rapped about cheating on his wife, Beyonce suffering a miscarriage, his infamous elevator feud with Solange Knowles and more. Beyonce has not released new music since Lemonade came out on April 23, 2016. She performed music off the album on the Formation World Tour, which began on April 27, 2016 and ended on October 7, 2016. Corey Feldman has tweeted his delight after evidence emerged supporting his claims that he was attacked during a road rage confrontation last month. The former child star had been trolled on Twitter about the validity of his story after LAPD appeared to initially dismiss the attack, saying the actor had no visible injuries. However now surveillance footage from a nearby gas station has surfaced showing a confrontation, while a group of firefighters have come forward to support Feldman's version of events. 'LAPD IS IN FACT ON THE CASE, THIS GIVES ME GR8 HOPE THAT MY ASSAILANTS WILL B BROUGHT 2 JUSTICE,' wrote a relieved Feldman on Twitter on Thursday night. Attacked: Corey Feldman is seen receiving hospital treatment after the attack last month Vindicated: Corey expressed his delight after the reports of evidence emerged Thursday night Relieved: The former child star had been trolled on Twitter after LAPD appeared to initially dismiss the attack, saying the actor had no visible injuries The Blast spoke to several sources who revealed that multiple firefighters, including an engineer and captain, had come forward in support of Feldman's version of events. It also emerged that 'credible and clear' surveillance footage was also obtained from a nearby gas station. Feldman was admitted to hospital for treatment for a wound to his abdomen following the March 28 assault. The 46-year-old claimed a group of men had surrounded his car, with one assaulting him through an open window. Feldman initially said he was anxious the alleged attack could have been related to his decision to speak out against child sex abuse in Hollywood - but his lawyer Perry Wander later blamed road rage for the incident. Blood and urine tests run by the hospital came back clean of both drugs and infectious diseases. Evidence: Actor Corey Feldman shared this picture of a 'stab wound' to Instagram following the confrontation which he alleged was caused by a syringe or a knife Checked over: Feldman shared a shot of himself getting checked over by a medical professional as his distressed wife Courtney Anne Mitchell looked on Following the confrontation the actor explained onTwitter that he was sitting in his car while his security detail was distracted by a group of men, an individual opened his door and stabbed him with 'something.' Feldman expressed his fears that this attack was the work of the 'wolfpack,' a group of powerful Hollywood players that he believes have been trying to kill him in order to get revenge after he named a number of alleged pedophiles in the movie industry. The Goonies actor has previously received backlash online for his claims that he was molested by a powerful Hollywood executive. Veteran: Feldman may be best known for his work in classic 1985 adventure film The Goonies Feldman first came forward with his account in his 2013 memoir, Coreyography, claiming that both he and Corey Haim were repeatedly abused as up-and-coming actors. Since the recent Harvey Weinstein sex scandals sparked a surge of Hollywood heavyweights getting toppled from their positions of power, Feldman's previous accounts of abuse at the hands of showbiz executives have gained new traction. Back in December, the actor was vindicated again as police in California said they had uncovered a tape in which a younger Feldman listed the names of men who had abused him in the past. The former child actor had claimed in October that he had given the names of sexual predators in Hollywood to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office in 1993 during their investigation into Michael Jackson's molestation charges. Speaking out: Feldman is seen on January 20 at an event in Utah Then in November, the actor revealed the identities of two alleged child molesters he claims took advantage of him and other adolescent screen stars years ago. In November, the LAPD revealed it was investigating this rumored Hollywood pedophile ring after Feldman filed a formal police report identifying the men. 'Corey Feldman filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department. There is no further information at this time, and his report is being investigated,' a spokesperson told DaillyMail.com at the time. The actor married Courtney Anne Mitchell, 28, in 2016 and shares 13-year-old son, Zen with ex-wife Susie Sprague. Blac Chyna is still going strong with her teenage lover of two months. On Thursday evening the ex-fiancee of Rob Kardashian shared several images to Snapchat when she was in the company of YBN Almighty Jay, 18. The 29-year-old mother-of-two has not been seen with him in weeks. Scroll down for video Her teen love: Blac Chyna shared several images to Snapchat when she was in the company of YBN Almighty Jay, 18, on Thursday Her look: The star had on a black and white top and a white skirt with black tights that barely covered her leg tattoos The star had on a black and white top and a white skirt with black tights that barely covered her leg tattoos. The mother to Dream and King Cairo also was covered in diamond jewelry. A diamond-encrusted watch looks like the one Rob gave her years ago before they shot Rob & Chyna. Her man: The 29-year-old mother-of-two has not been seen with him in weeks This comes two weeks after YBN Almighty Jay proposed to the former friend of Kim Kardashian. On April 10 YBN Almighty Jay posed her with a heavy question on Instagram. 'Will You Marry Me?' the 18-year-old rap artist wrote in a caption along a shot of the 29-year-old reality star, whose real name is Angela Renee White. No engagement ring: This comes one week after YBN Almighty Jay proposed to the former friend of Kim Kardashian Her new look: The star showed off her designer clothes and long pink nails The Texas-based performer, whose real name is Jay Bradley, has been linked with the Lashed owner since February. It is not known if the proposal was a joke but it seems she said no. Chyna has not been seen with an engagement ring since. YBN Almighty Jay established himself as an emerging talent with a single called Chopsticks that's racked up more than 10 million YouTube views. It's also garnered him media recognition from outlets including Complex, XXL and Hot New Hip Hop. In his early going, he's already rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, such as Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne. He was at her side earlier this month after she clashed with a park-goer at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Two months strong: The Texas-based performer, whose real name is Jay Bradley, has been linked with the Lashed owner since February. Seen in Beverly Hills He held her back as she charged at a woman who she said tried to touch her one-year-old daughter Dream (with Rob) in an incident that was caught on camera. The Washington D.C. native has been romantically-linked to a number of famous faces in recent years. She has a five-year-old son named King Cairo with rapper Tyga, who went onto a high-profile relationship with Kylie Jenner after they parted ways in 2014. In 2015, she was in a brief romance with a boxer named J'Leon Love before, like Tyga, she began dating a member of the Kardashian-Jenner dynasty in sock designer Rob. The couple had a fast romance beginning in January of 2016, announcing their engagement after three months, and welcoming baby girl Dream in November of 2016. They had an E! series called Rob & Chyna, but things quickly went south by year's end, with public bickering over social media and a few fruitless shots to revive the relationship. Last summer, Rob found himself in hot legal water after taking to Instagram in July with a storm of social media posts about Chyna which included nude shots, inflammatory statements about her truthfulness and parenting ability, and a bold claim she cheated on him with '8 dudes in less than a month.' Her childhood home was just lost to foreclosure. But Lindsay Lohan managed a smile as she strolled through New York, New York on Thursday. Donning a flowing white floral top, the 31-year-old actress looked like a picture of spring. Spring chick: Lindsay Lohan looked happy and healthy as she strolled through New York, New York on Thursday The 60s-inspired top, with its flared sleeves and intricate embroidering, gave the Parent Trap star an air of seasonal ease. A pair of skinny blue jeans pulled the eye downward and showed off Lindsay's slender thighs as she sauntered through the Empire City. Adding a pair of nude heels gave the actress a few extra inches and another bit of freshness. Bloomin' lovely: Donning a flowing white floral top, The 31-year-old actress looked like a picture of spring She accessorized with a straightforward black watch, but went sans earrings for her venture into town. Her trademark red locks were pulled into a tight ponytail, while simple makeup lended itself to the earthy look. Lindsay glowed underneath street lamps and looked to be smiling despite the recent news that her childhood home had just been lost to foreclosure. In the air: The 60s-inspired top, with its flared sleeves and intricate embroidering, gave the Parent Trap star an air of seasonal ease Lindsay's mother lost the actress' childhood Long Island home on Wednesday after fighting off the bank for years. The actress had previously tried to stave off the bank, giving her mom $40,000, in October 2012, but her mother is now in arrears to the tune of $1.5 million as of December 12. According to court documents, a New York judge has ordered the home go up for auction in the next 90 days, reported The Blast. Tragic: Lindsay's mother lost the actress' childhood Long Island home on Wednesday after fighting off the bank for years Dina bought the home for $650,000 in 2004 but then took out a $1.3 million loan on the property where Lindsay, 31, and her siblings Michael Jr., 29, Ali, 23, and Dakota, 20, lived as children. The home boasts a pool, three and a half baths, and a three car garage. It is currently worth around $900,000. Courtney Cox looked like she didn't have a care in the world when she left dinner in Los Angeles on Thursday with her 41-year-old pal Jennifer Meyer. The 53-year-old Friends vet was laughing as she walked arm-in-arm with Tobey Maguire's ex. This comes a week after she was seen having what appeared to be a heated argument with her boyfriend Johnny McDaid as they touched down in Los Angeles. Fun night: Courtney Cox looked like she didn't have a care in the world when she left dinner in Los Angeles on Thursday with her 41-year-old pal Jennifer Meyer The star wore a striped shirt that was tucked into ripped jeans. The Ace Ventura actress added pointy black kitten heels and a long black purse. The siren wore glasses and very little makeup with her hair down. The 53-year-old Friends star put on an animated display with her man as they returned from a trip to New York, after Johnny, 41, joined his band for an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Courteney was dressed for her relaxed flight back from the Big Apple, teaming her loose cream jumper with skinny black jeans and trainers. Johnny was dressed in all-black with a backpack over his shoulder as he chatted to Courteney on their way out of the terminal. Casual customer: The star wore a striped shirt that was tucked into ripped jeans. The Ace Ventura actress added pointy black kitten heels and a long black purse Pals forever: The 53-year-old Friends vet was laughing as she walked with Tobey Maguire's ex The Derry-born performer had been appearing on The Late Show with his band Snow Patrol to promote their upcoming album Wildness, with Courteney taking to Twitter to share a snap of her proudly watching on in the audience. Courteney and Johnny have been dating since late 2013, and got engaged in 2014 before hitting the rocks with a 'brutal' split in 2015. It was reported at the time that Johnny was determined to get away from Tinsel Town and move back to his native United Kingdom, while Courteney did not want to leave Los Angeles, and they couldn't resolve their living plan. Rare fight: This comes a week after she was seen having what appeared to be a heated argument with her boyfriend Johnny McDaid as they touched down in Los Angeles They've been back on track since April 2016, after the ex-wife of David Arquette reportedly agreed to spend more time in the U.K. Courteney's BFF Jennifer Aniston apparently had a part to play in convincing the actress to give things another shot. 'Courteney and Johnny argued over trust issues, where to live and Johnny's busy writing, recording and touring schedule,' said a source. 'But Jen told Court that you can overcome a lot if you are in love. For every flaw that Courteney saw in her relationship with Johnny, Jen could think of two positives that cancelled it out,' a source explained to Life & Style. Meanwhile, last week Aniston narrowly avoided her estranged husband Justin Theroux in NYC. She's adding a new title to her sturdy resume. And Kim Zolciak, 39, played the part of interior designer as she debuted a new room in what appeared to be her Georgia home, showing off an entire wall of wigs to her millions of followers on Thursday evening. The Don't Be Tardy star debuted the personally decorated room - which was complete with a neon red 'PLASTIC' sign created by artist Beau Dunn - to a camera crew and her 21-year-old daughter Brielle. Scroll down for video Electric: Kim Zolciak debuted the personally decorated room - which was complete with a neon 'PLASTIC' sign from Art Angels - to a camera crew and her 21-year-old daughter Brielle Rows of blonde wigs were perched against the wall, positioned atop bright white illuminated shelves. 'I could be an interior decorator full time ... I loved doing this,' the mother-of-six said to a cameraman filming the new space. 'This place is so cute! So are you going to decorate my apartment?' Brielle asked Kim before a quick 'no' response. Panning across the room, Brielle made her way to a massive neon 'PLASTIC' sign positioned across one wall. On display: The 39-year-old star played the part of interior designer as she debuted a new room in what appeared to be her Georgia home, showing off an entire wall of wigs to her millions of followers on Thursday evening Decked out: Rows of blonde wigs were perched against the wall, positioned atop bright white illuminated shelves With Kim standing underneath the Art Angels piece, Brielle commented, 'How funny ... someone so plastic is literally standing by a plastic sign.' She reportedly 'halted production' of her Bravo program amid an investigation into the final episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta as Kim took to Instagram to defend questionable racist comments made during the finale. 'Kim and her team have halted all production for Don't Be Tardy while her lawyers have been working around the clock to investigate and deal with the final episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion,' a source told US Weekly. 'Finally hung my sign!!! Thx @art_angels,' she captioned an Instagram photo That's a wrap? She may be taking a break from the cameras as she's reportedly 'stopped filming' her hit show Don't Be Tardy, according to US Weekly Trouble: She 'halted production' of her Bravo program amid an investigation into the final episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta as Kim took to Instagram to defend questionable racist comments made during the finale Early Thursday morning, Zolciak wrote a lengthy post on Instagram after saying that racism isn't 'real' during the reunion episode. 'During the last RHOA Reunion episode, I made a comment that confused and offended people. I sincerely apologize. Edited out of context, I understand why my remark angered people,' she wrote. 'Racism is a sad reality in the United States. It has been prevalent throughout our country's history. 'Let me be very clear, I do NOT support, tolerate or put up with any form of racism, hate or other discrimination. My love for ALL people runs deep - I am open to all and always have been. Wordy: Early Thursday morning, Zolciak wrote a lengthy post on Instagram after saying that racism isn't 'real' during the reunion episode Difficult: She then went on to say that social media is partly to blame for putting a spotlight on racism and related issues; seen in March 'I was heartbroken when I watched the last few minutes of the episode and saw how my words were taken out of context. My comment that seemingly 'racism didn't exist 10 years ago' was made as part of a larger, emotional 45-minute conversation about how, sadly, social media has become a hub for hate. 'Immediately following my confusing comment, I also said that 'it's not as real as it is now' referring to the power of social media. But those remarks didn't make the show.' She then went on to say that social media is partly to blame for putting a spotlight on racism and related issues. Family: Kim and Kroy have been married for nearly seven years; seen in March 'Before social media, the public simply observed the news. Now, the public actively participates and has an opportunity to take action in real time,' she wrote. 'But this is a double edged sword. Now, when false accusations are made, they are amplified by online platforms regardless of their merit. This wasn't the case 10 years ago when I started on RHOA.' Before signing off of the wordy post, she had a few words of wisdom to share with her naysayers. 'I truly pray that the people wishing horrible things on others, and on me, channel that energy into something positive. Our world would be a much better place if you do,' she wrote. 'I am committed to making this world a better place to live. I will continue to learn from, and be open to, ALL people.' During Sunday night's reunion, Kim sparked backlash after complaining about racism to her castmates. 'This whole racism thing in this day and age is bullst,' she said on the episode. 'Everyone of those motherf*****s on that couch owe this world a f***ing apology for this racism s**t. They already tried to claim that s**t long ago. Nobody bought into it then because the social media wasn't there and racism wasn't f***ing all that real. You know it.' For ten years now Marvel fans have been enjoying PG-13-rated fantasy violence in films such as The Avengers and Black Panther, where intergalactic murder and war abounds, but profanities are rarely heard. However, in honour of Avengers: Infinity War, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has given the latest Marvel Studios film the famous Unnecessary Censorship treatment, whereby perfectly innocuous dialogue is turned into the smuttiest of scenes with the help of a well-placed bleep. 19 Avengers: Infinity War stars have appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the last week of April Its Thursday night and its also Avengers Week, Jimmy Kimmel said on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! So we decided to mix things up a little tonight. Tonight, were going to skip the news and instead were going to bleep and blur the biggest moments from Marvel movies - whether they need it or not. Its time for This Week in Unnecessary Avengership! the host pronounced. The clip showed that no Marvel film was safe. A romantic scene in Guardians of the Galaxy between Chris Pratts Star-Lord and Zoe Saldanas Gamora is turned into something completely different when the phrase sticks up their butt is bleeped at just the right moment. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Scarlett Johanssons Black Widow asks Chris Evanss Captain America where he learned to steal a car, but Jimmy Kimmels unnecessary censorship makes it sound like the Cap learned to do something completely different in Nazi Germany. Doctor Strange, The Avengers, and Avengers: Age of Ultron are all bleeped to suggest that the male members of the superhero team have viscerally strong feelings for each other, while a Thor: Ragnarok scene is blurred to imply that Karl Urbans Skurge is doing something very NSFW on the job. Kimmel's segment is particularly hilarious given Marvel Studios decision to stick with more family-friendly content, especially after the staggering success of the R-rated Deadpool highlighted the strategy. After Deadpool became a global hit and DCs Batman v Superman was planning to get an R-rated home video release, the president of Disney - which owns Marvel Studios - Bob Iger reportedly told shareholders: We dont have any plans to make R-rated Marvel movies. The Unnecessary Avengership segment aired on the Thursday episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when the Avengers guests included Iron Man's Don Cheadle, Age of Ultron's Elizabeth Olsen, Black Panther's Winston Duke and Doctor Strange's Benedict Cumberbatch. The full list of the 19 Avengers stars to have appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's show can be found here. It seems Nicole Kidman thinks husband Keith Urban talks too much. On Friday, the country superstar revealed to Ellen DeGeneres that's why she joined him onstage at a low-key Spotify event in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday. 'We were at this event, and someone asked about this song, Parallel Lines and I was talking about Ed Sheeran, who wrote it, and talking and talking. Scroll down for video Casually dressed: Keith Urban kept up his country creds in a grey and white, tie-dyed T-shirt, paint splattered jeans and boots when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday 'And from the back I hear someone shout "Play the song!" And, of course, I'd know that voice anywhere and it's my wife heckling me, basically. 'So I said, "Will you come up and do it with me?" which I never thought she'd do. But she did.' That surprised Ellen who had earlier said she suspected the whole thing was a set up. 'I'd recognized her voice anywhere.' The 50-year-old music star revealed wife Nicole Kidman heckled him at an event in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday because he was talking too much Unplanned duet: 'So I said, "Will you come up and do it with me?" which I never thought she'd do. But she did.' They sang Parallel lines together She shared a shot of them singing at the event showing Nicole sitting on a stool and a rear shot of Keith. 'That's a particular angle,' the 50-year-old star joked. 'I've heard of talking out of it but singing out of it now, that's incredible!' And it turns out that The Voice judge and the Big Lille Lies actress-producer, 50, often sing together at home. Doing what he loves: Ellen transformed the studio into a stage for Keith and his band to play his latest hit, Coming Home Guitar hero: The song comes from his new album, Graffiti U, out now Up close and personal The audience massed round the stage for Keith's performance Keith kept up his country creds wearing a grey and white, tie-dyed T-shirt with short sleeves to show off his tattoos, and pale blue distressed jeans splattered with white paint that he tucked into heavy boots. He and his band played his latest hit, Coming Home, after Ellen transformed the studio into a theater with the delighted audience standing around the stage. Keith's new album, Graffiti U, is out now. Zoe Ball put on a brave face as she stepped out in Brighton just a day after an inquest was held into her cameraman boyfriend Billy Yates' tragic death. The television presenter, 47, spent the day with her son, Woody Cook, 17, as she no doubt tried to keep busy amid a very difficult time. During the inquest, the extent of Billy's personal suffering was revealed as his friends and family heard how he had battled depression for years. Doing her best: Zoe Ball put on a brave face as she stepped out in Brighton with son Woody a day after the inquest into her cameraman boyfriend Billy Yates' tragic death Her pride and joy: Zoe's son vowed to 'look after her' in a beautiful message after she lost the love of her life last year Moreover, it emerged that Zoe had tried in vain to help her boyfriend after two suicide attempts in the months before his death. And it was Zoe's son who pledged to 'look after' her in the aftermath of Billy's sudden death. Woody - who is the 46-year-old's son with ex-husband DJ Norman, 53 - had paid tribute to the late cameraman by sharing a heartfelt message on Instagram shortly after he passed away. Sad: Billy Yates, 40, pictured with Zoe, rammed his car into a motorway barrier and tried to commit suicide by inhaling toxic fumes before his death last May Love of her life: Zoe has done her utmost to raise awareness about mental health and has raised money for charity in Billy's honour Pain: The inquest heard that Zoe had tried in vain to help her boyfriend after two suicide attempts in the months before his death Caring: After Billy's suicide attempt in November 2016, Zoe paid for a two-week stay in the Priory hospital where his mental health began to improve He shared an image of five crabs on a lobster pot that featured the words 'Billy Yates 1976 - 2017' written in white in the left upper corner as he wrote a tender note to his mum's late partner alongside it. He captioned his sincere post: 'I'm sorry we spent so little time together. No one deserves to feel what you felt. I'll look after her.' While admitting he will do his best for his TV presenter mum, Zoe commented under the post revealing how proud she was of her darling boy and astounded by his empathy. A close bond: Zoe shared a picture of her late boyfriend on Instagram hoping to raise awareness of male suicide Heartfelt: Woody Cook - who is the 46-year-old's son with DJ Norman, 53 - paid tribute to the late cameraman last year, by sharing this picture and the words: 'I'm sorry we spent so little time together. No one deserves to feel what you felt. I'll look after her' She wrote back then: 'Woo my best boy. You make me the proudest mama ever. You blow my mind with your love. The inquest revealed that troubled Billy, 40, rammed his car into a motorway barrier and tried to commit suicide by inhaling toxic fumes before his death last May. He had concerns over a large tax bill but his relationship with Zoe was going well when he was found dead at his London home, Westminster Coroner's Court heard. Zoe and Mr Yates had a 'beautiful relationship' and were the 'love of each others' life' after meeting through their TV work, the inquest was told by his family. Soulmates: Zoe and Billy Yates (pictured) had a 'beautiful relationship' and were the 'love of each others' life' after meeting through their TV work, the inquest was told by his family But a coroner returned an open verdict into the death of the former Royal Marine, who had been drinking on the day he was found dead, as she couldn't be satisfied that he had intended to take his own life. After his first suicide attempt in November 2016, Zoe paid for a two-week stay in the Priory hospital where his mental health began to improve. Mr Yates was prescribed a cocktail of anti-depressants by his GP and private therapists throughout his life, the inquest heard. Zoe, the first female host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, had been dating Billy for several months before his sudden death. A friend of 15 years discovered his body on May 4 last year at his apartment in Putney, south west London, after he hanged himself at home, the inquest heard. A local shopkeeper was the last person to have seen Billy several hours before he died when he popped in to buy a soft drink, but said he appeared cheery. Tragic: A friend of 15 years discovered his body on May 4 last year at his apartment in Putney, south west London, after he hanged himself at home, the inquest heard Flowers: A local shopkeeper was the last person to have seen Billy several hours before he died when he popped in to buy a soft drink, but said he appeared cheery Brad Abbotts, who discovered Mr Yates' body, said: 'I was friends with Billy for the last 15 years. 'We kept in regular contact and I am aware that in the last five years Billy suffered depression and it got so bad that he tried to crash his car. 'It was a cry that he needed help. He received treatment for his injuries and he was admitted to The Priory where he was for two weeks on a voluntary basis. 'I received a text from a friend asking if I had heard from Billy. I went up the stairs and I knocked on the door and there was no answer. 'Straight away I saw Billy lying on the floor. He was lying face down wear a pair of dark jeans, there was discolouration in his face and he was very cold.' During a panic attack on November 25, Mr Yates smashed his car into a motorway barrier and was rushed to hospital where he told doctors he wanted to kill himself. The cameraman had been sober since August 2016 and had attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting two days before his death where he had appeared happy. Her love: Zoe, the first female host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, had been dating Billy for several months before his sudden death On May 4, he began to drink again and was found to have 92mg per 100 milligrams of alcohol in his blood, putting him just over the drink-drive limit. Priory consultant psychiatrist Dr Barbara Rooney said: 'His girlfriend made enquiries and his girlfriend's therapist whom I had worked with before contacted my secretary. 'He had suffered depression for ten years, he felt very anxious at times which sometimes resulted in panic attacks. 'He was not working because of his depression and anxiety and had had his driving licence taken away and needed his car to work. 'He was feeling low, but looking forward to Christmas and had planned to go to Goa with his girlfriend at the beginning of January. 'He had been seen by his GP and wished to be referred back to NHS psychologists as he did not want his treatment to be paid for by his girlfriend.' A statement from Mr Yates' family, read by Coroner's Officer Julie Kidd, said: 'William was known and loved by a great number of people and was a sweetheart to many. In memory: Shortly after Billy's death, Zoe took to Instagram and posted a poignant photograph of a flower with the caption, 'My sweet love' 'Working in TV, cast and crew knew that if Billy was on the job they would be having a good time. 'That was where Billy met Zoe. They had a friendship and beautiful relationship, they were the love of each other's life. 'William lived his life in something of a whirlwind. William's life, although too short, was filled with absolute individualism. 'He suffered greatly from depression which plagued him on and off for years, but life became too much for him.' Assistant Westminster Coroner Shirley Radcliffe said Mr Yates died of asphyxiation. As he had been drinking in the moments before he died, she returned an open verdict as she could not be certain it was not a drunken, impulsive act. Advertisement She recently admitted she was 'so happy to be away' after visiting her jailbird ex Arthur Collins. And Ferne McCann appeared to be lapping up the sun on Friday as showed off her incredible figure in a sexy gingham bikini on a sun-soaked getaway with her baby daughter Sunday and pal Danielle Armstrong. The 27-year-old First Time Mum star flaunted her jaw-dropping physique in the yellow frilled two-piece as she strolled along the beach with Danielle, 29, who looked equally stunning in a busty white crochet and lemon-printed bikini. Amazing: Ferne McCann, 27, flaunted her incredible bikini body in a frilly gingham two-piece on Friday as she enjoyed a sun-soaked holiday with baby Sunday and her close friend Danielle Armstrong Ferne showed off her enviable figure just five months after giving birth to her daughter in the yellow string bikini with white checked detailing as she strolled along the golden sands, keeping her long blonde tresses poker straight. Ever the Essex girl, Ferne looked effortlessly glamorous even when soaking up the sun, rocking a nude pout and flawless skin with her eyes protected by gold reflective sunglasses. The star took turns with Danielle carrying Sunday as they walked down the beach, and the tot looked cuter than ever in a multicoloured swimming costume and white sunhat. Stunning: Ferne showed off her enviable physique in the yellow and white checked bikini as she strolled along the sands, going barefoot on her sun-soaked break away from rainy Britain Cute: Doting on her five-month old daughter, Ferne covered up in a multicoloured kimono that matched little Sunday's swimming costume, wearing bright pink nail polish to match her summery look Sunday was colour co-ordinated with mum Ferne in their holiday looks, as the I'm A Celebrity star sported a printed kimono in the same print as her little girl's seaside outfit. Ferne was joined for the holiday by close friend Danielle, who chose a more mismatched holiday look that highlighted her enviable bust. The star teamed a white crochet top and yellow floral print bottoms, finishing her look with classic aviator sunglasses as she helped Ferne with the childcare duties. Curve queen: Danielle 29, put on a busty display in a white crochet bikini top and yellow-printed bottoms as she showed off her amazing body on the break with friend Ferne Bikini babe: The TOWIE star had her blonde hair hanging in loose waves as she made her way along the seafront, finishing her look with aviator-style sunglasses My turn! The pair took turns carrying little Sunday along the beach, and the tot looked utterly adorable in a multicoloured swimming costume and white hat The pair have been close friends for years and they looked super excited when they shared clips of themselves checking in and ordering some breakfast. Ferne recently admitted that she was 'so happy to be away' on her villa break to unknown location, taking to Instagram to share some bikini-clad selfies. It has inevitably been a difficult time for the star, after she was spotted bringing her daughter Sunday to visit her ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins. The TV star made the 440 mile round-trip from Essex to the maximum security jail where Collins is serving a 20-year sentence for a vicious acid attack at a nightclub. Having fun? Doting on the little one, Danielle was seen launching Sunday into the air as she showed off her eye-watering cleavage in the funky bikini Time away: Ferne recently confessed she was 'so happy to be away' after jetting to an undisclosed location with Danielle for the holiday, after being spotted bringing Sunday to visit her ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins in prison Ferne and her baby were forced to make the eight-hour journey after her jailbird ex asserted his legal right to see his daughter. The ex-TOWIE star insisted she was 'done' with confronting Arthur and she explained she felt very 'strongly' about the 'innocent people' injured in the attack. She told The Sunday People: 'I went to see Arthur and I took Sunday with me. This was because I am very angry about what has happened and I needed to communicate that and wanted to hear what Arthur had to say. 'I strongly feel for the innocent people hurt that night and I in no way condone violence as I have already made clear. It was a difficult decision to take Sunday into that environment but I felt I needed to confront him about a number of things, which I have now done.' Tough time: Ferne and her baby were forced to make the eight-hour journey after her jailbird ex asserted his legal right to see his daughter, as he serves a 20-year sentence for a nightclub acid attack in east London Taking time out: The ex-TOWIE star insisted she was 'done' with confronting Arthur and she explained she felt very 'strongly' about the 'innocent people' injured in the attack Supportive: It appeared the star was enjoying her sun-soaked holiday, with Danielle on hand to help with childcare duties Powering through: Speaking about Arthur, Ferne told Sunday People' I went to see Arthur and I took Sunday with me. I am very angry about what has happened and I needed to communicate that and wanted to hear what Arthur had to say' Stuck to her guns: She added: 'I strongly feel for the innocent people hurt that night and I in no way condone violence as I have already made clear' But since the visit it was claimed her jailbird ex-boyfriend took legal action to get access to the daughter he shares with the reality star. A source told The Mirror: 'Ferne sought legal and professional advice, and it was a difficult decision she had to make.' MailOnline has previously contacted Ferne's representative for comment. Collins, 25, was convicted of GBH and ABH against 14 people after he threw acid at nightclubbers following an argument at the Mangle E8 nightclub in east London. Honest: A source also told The Mirror: 'Ferne sought legal and professional advice, and it was a difficult decision she had to make' He's a powerful real estate broke and reality television star. And Fredrik Eklund may have used a bit of his industry knowledge to unload his Tribeca apartment to the tune of $6.5million. The 41-year-old Million Dollar Listings New York star shared a series of photos to his Instagram stories on Friday, detailing the gorgeous rooms in the stunning three-bedroom condo. Congrats! Fredrik Eklund may have used a bit of his industry knowledge to unload his Tribeca apartment to the tune of $6.5million 'Good bye to our apartment ... you were good to us,' he wrote across one photo showing off the New York skyline from a pristine living room. 'All the good memories,' Fredrik wrote in another image captured of the luxurious home which features three-and-a-half bathrooms. Located at 290 West Street, the apartment was designed by Paris Forino and is one of many gorgeous homes in the Adjmi & Abndreoli-designed building. Picturesque: The 41-year-old Million Dollar Listings New York star shared photos to his Instagram stories on Friday, detailing the gorgeous rooms in the three-bedroom condo 'All the good memories,' Fredrik wrote in another image captured of the luxurious home which features three-and-a-half bathrooms The marble-drenched master bedroom is one of many extravagant touches in the custom-made home. Another stellar selling point for the home includes 50 linear feet of unabridged views of the Hudson River. For interested parties not quite yet ready to purchase, he has also listed the home on the rental market to the tune of $22,500 per month. Details, details! The marble-drenched master bedroom is one of many extravagant touches in the custom-made home Memories: The couple welcomed twins Mila and Fredrik Jr. via surrogate on November 28 Eklund, who is also a broker with Douglas Elliman, is listing the home along with fellow Elliman brokers John Gomes and Lisa Interdonato, according to Curbed. The real estate heavyweight said he and husband Derek Kaplan were listing the home due to the need for more space. The couple welcomed twins Mila and Fredrik Jr. via surrogate on November 28, 2017. She ended her relationship with Myles Barnett after he branded her a 'f**king s**g' and a 'dirty dog' on TOWIE. And Courtney Green's heartache is heightened as Jon Clark drops the bombshell he has heard her ex-boyfriend cheated on her on Sunday's episode. In upcoming scenes, the reality star, 28 calls Myles a 'disgusting piece of s**t' as he tells Courtney, 22, the devastating news over drinks with Liam 'Gatsby' and Georgia Kousoulou. Devastating: Courtney Green's heartache is heightened as Jon Clark drops the bombshell he has heard her ex-boyfriend cheated on her on Sunday's episode Keen to discuss the rumours, he told the group: 'I'm more than happy Courtney to tell you what I know. 'I think Myles is a disgusting piece of s**t. I think once I explain to you what I'm about to explain to you, you might think the same as me. 'Deep down you did know for a little while there has been something that has gone on behind your back. Cheating? In upcoming scenes, the reality star, 28 calls Myles a 'disgusting piece of s**t' as he told Courtney the devastating news while in a bar with Liam 'Gatsby' and Georgia Kousoulou 'It's been brushed under the carpet and you haven't moved on with it.' Ahead of Jon's revelation, Courtney had confronted Gatsby over the rumours, before he relayed the information had come from Jon. She said: 'I'm not going to lie but earlier when I was on the beach with Chloe and Bobby I was super f****d off with you, because Bobby told me that you said that Myles had cheated on me.' To which, Gatsby replied: 'If I knew something I would 100% you know I would have told you before anyone.' 'Yeah that's why I was a bit shocked, I was a bit taken aback, thinking "why would he do that?" she replied. Pledging his loyalty to her, Gatsby added: 'Listen no-one knows that me and you are very close, I feel like you're my little sister. I've known you for ten years now. Where this has all come from my source, yeah, is Jon.' Fight? Jon's bombshell comes after reports emerged Myles had to be pulled away from him after learning his friend was behind the rumours he had cheated on Courtney Jon's bombshell comes after reports emerged Myles had to be pulled away from him after learning his friend was behind the rumours he had cheated on Courtney. The pair were involved in a heated discussion that soon threatened to turn violent, so was put to a halt, reports The Sun. The reports come shortly after Myles and Courtney called it quits on their relationship after a year together. A TV source said: 'The pair tried to talk things out when Myles confronted him after hearing Jon was the one who started the rumour about him cheating on Courtney. But it got more and more heated. 'They had to be separated as they squared up to each other and it looked like it was going to kick off. 'Luckily no punches were thrown.' MailOnline has contacted a TOWIE spokesperson for comment. Myles and Courtney's love story began before joining TOWIE in 2016 yet the following year when they joined the show, viewers watched their romance unfold, with the brunette beauty asking the hunk to go official with a teddy bear. They soon fell out when he discovered she was texting her ex and acting like 'a psycho' - yet their reconciliation came shortly after. Myles' fractious relationship with Courtney's best friend Chloe Meadows also caused strife, with the duo locked in bitter rows over his treatment of Courtney. Chloe and Myles' romance has been plagued with strife ever since he was accused of mentally abusing the starlet when he branded her a 'f**king s**g' and a 'dirty dog' due to an alleged flirtation with new boy Jordan Wright. Following the split, Courtney was filmed tearfully explained the reason for their break-up with her pals Amber Turner, Chloe Lewis and Yazmin Oukhellou. Courtney shared: 'I was just so unhappy. In the whole relationship I was so worried the whole time about making him happy that I forgot about myself. 'And I've realised that I wasn't happy, cos I was so much concentrating on him.' For four days after his return to EastEnders it seemed as if Max Branning really was back 'to make amends' and had actually changed, mostly thanks to the support of Rainie Cross who had quit crack, found Jesus, and married him so that together they could provide his orphaned baby grand-daughter with a home in a loving, stable, family. Friday's episode though showed he was as manipulative, devious, and damaged as ever. Luckily In fact Max and Rainie were well on their way to becoming soap's most evil couple. Phew! Not really: It seemed as if Max Branning really was back 'to make amends' and had actually changed, mostly thanks to the support of Rainie Cross who had quit crack Max hadn't wasted any time taking over EastEnders. After two months away his first week consisted of: revealing he was now owner of the car lot; opening his new business 'Maximum Motors' (launching it with 'showgirls' and free chips); marrying Rainie (his ex-sister-in-law); and beginning a bid to gain custody of his (dead) daughter Abi's newborn child. Only four months old, Abi junior was an orphan and already had her own social worker. A bad start even by Walford's standards Besides all this, on Thursday Max had also helped save a kidnapped baby, securing his safe return to his foster parents (the baby's that is, not Max's) and ensured police arrested the abductors. And you thought your life was complicated. Evil: Friday's episode though showed he was as manipulative, devious, and damaged as ever. Luckily In fact Max and Rainie were well on their way to becoming soap's most evil couple It made you wonder where would EastEnders be without him. (Probably still filling time playing chess and pretending no one in that part of London knew where to buy Somozas.) It is to the writers' credit that even though Max had recently been responsible for Abi's death (falling from the roof of the Queen Vic) and been in cahoots with James Willmott-Brown when he attempted to take over/destroy Albert Square, part of you was hoping that this time his evil scheming would succeed. There was only one problem with Max's plan to gain custody of his granddaughter by persuading everyone (including social services) that he was a reformed character, a successful businessman, and a happily married man who, together with Rainie, could look after the baby. The problem was his Cunning Plan was completely ludicrous, blatantly unbelievable, rubbish. The good news for Max (and us) was that this was Walford. Anything goes: The problem was his Cunning Plan was completely ludicrous, blatantly unbelievable, rubbish. The good news for Max (and us) was that this was Walford Operation Adopt Abi Junior had got off to a decent start even though the residents were sceptical to say the least. 'Have you finally lost your mind?!' Jack Branning asked his brother pretty much summing up viewers' attitude to the scriptwriters when we saw where the storyline with Rainie was going. 'Please just tell me that this is a wind-up.' Sharon agreed, scoffing in classic style: 'Are you having a laugh?' Max himself recognised how unorthodox the pairing was, confessing to baby Abi junior: 'This might be a bit confusing but this is your great aunt and your grandma rolled into one.' Poor kid It's hard to say which plan to get custody of Abi junior was more far-fetched: with Max and Rainie being a happy couple or as an East End duo so devious and heinous they made Ronnie & Reggie Kray look like The Two Ronnies. The way Max didn't let his scheme be impeded by the fact that he and Rainie had nowhere to live and were kipping on the floor of the car lot in sleeping bags was almost heroic (or thick). Con artists: It transpired that Max and Rainie were also so good at lying and manipulating people they made Derren Brown look like Robbie Jackson It transpired that Max and Rainie were also so good at lying and manipulating people they made Derren Brown look like Robbie Jackson. 'I can persuade anyone to do anything me !' Rainie had enthused on Tuesday, before proceeding to prove it. First she seemed to hypnotise a woman on the warpath about the wedding dress Rainie had walked off with, sobbing: 'My mum's in hospital. They rang Max to say that she might not have long. I've been sitting up with her all night.' Max's concerned ex Carmel was next, putty in Rainie's hands as she proclaimed earnestly: 'Do you believe people are born evil? Neither does Jesus. When I met Max at the hospital after Abi died, do you know what I saw? The repentant sinner a man desperate to rid himself of all the bad he'd done. Do you what I did? I asked him to forgive himself.' Amen! Anything she can do... 'I can persuade anyone to do anything me !' Rainie had enthused on Tuesday, before proceeding to prove it Then on Thursday Rainie turned into Walford's answer to mind-bending detective The Mentalist persuading the mother who'd kidnapped her baby to hand him over, talking the fellow junkie round using references to love, parental responsibility, and 'a big bag of brown' (heroin). 'I didn't always have this perfect life,' Rainie told the befuddled abductor/addict. 'I thank God I didn't have a baby back then.' Forced to improvise when Abi junior's social worker insisted on an impromptu interview, Max and Rainie combined their mind-bending skills first with Max talking his brother Jack into vacating his mansion so that Max and Rainie could pass it off as their own. And then to impress the social worker that Max should have custody of Abi rather than her great grandma Cora. 'Have you had much experience of looking after children?' the hapless Calvin asked. 'Yeah sort of,' shrugged Rainie casually. 'Like yesterday for example I helped save a baby from a hostage situation' As you do Bemused: As a former detective with CSI: Walford, Jack Branning was still unconvinced. 'I can't believe you married that. She's bad news. End of' As a former detective with CSI: Walford, Jack Branning was still unconvinced. 'I can't believe you married that. She's bad news. End of.' 'Not anymore,' Max assured him, beginning to hypnotise him with his whispering. 'She's made me realise I've got a future. All I need is my granddaughter. I just want to build a proper family and a good stable home for her.' 'You're serious?' asked Jack. 'Yeah I am. I know it's hard to believe. I made a promise to Abi and I need your support. Do you think you can do that for us?' As so many women over the years can testify, resistance was futile. The key issue was whose will was stronger: Max or Rainie's? Could Max really control her or was he kidding himself that he was not being played, as he had with Fi Browning? When they got back to the car lot, Max and Rainie erupted into a row like Albert Square's version of Burton & Taylor, only toxic. Toxic: When they got back to the car lot, Max and Rainie erupted into a row like Albert Square's version of Burton & Taylor, only toxic When Rainie raged about faking their relationship and her hair grip 'stabbing my brain', Max stormed: 'what brain? You haven't even got a brain. You're just a crackhead loser.' Rainie's response to this was a back-handed slap across his face and spitting: 'say that again and I'm gone. Go on, say it again!' 'You're a crackhead loser that's going to mess everything up for me and Abi unless you sort yourself out. I want everyone around here to think I'm living in domestic bliss. This is a business deal and you ain't going to get a penny if I don't get Abi.' At this point, marrying Rainie and passing themselves off as a happy couple in order to gain custody didn't seem such a brilliant idea after all. Why hadn't he just campaigned for custody on his own? Wouldn't he have LESS chance with Rainie than without her, you thought? And where the hell was Tanya? Confusing: Why hadn't he just campaigned for custody on his own? Wouldn't he have LESS chance with Rainie than without her, you thought? And where the hell was Tanya? If baby Abi junior was still in hospital why had she gone back to Exeter? And wasn't she a more likely candidate for adopting Abi than a fiercesome old dragon like Cora? Where was Lauren come to that? Was she still walking the earth to get away from Josh? Didn't she want to see how her dead sister's baby was? How could Max afford to buy the car lot and not have any money even for a B&B? And as she knew he had no money what did Rainie think he was going to pay her with? Was Max still self-harming? How long would it be before he copped off with Mel (probably on the desk of the car lot's Portakabin where he had 'seduced' the likes of Lucy Beale, Stacey Slater, and detective Emma Summerhayes)? Most importantly of all, did he still have his famous brown suit? He's used to being surrounded by beautiful women. And Idris Elba had his two great loves by his side as he joined daughter Isan, 16, and fiancee Sabrina Dhowre, 29, at the ABB Formula E Qatar Airways Paris E-Prix Cocktail Party at Automobile Club De France on Friday. Looking in great spirits on the night, the 45-year-old actor was no doubt loving spending some quality time with the women in his life. Terrific trio: Idris Elba joined daughter Isan, 16, (L) and fiancee Sabrina Dhowre, 29, at the ABB Formula E Qatar Airways Paris E-Prix Cocktail Party at Automobile Club De France on Friday Showing off her hourglass curves, Sabrina was a vision in a black bardot midi dress that clung to her figure and fell just below the knee to flash a hint of leg. Keeping her accessories simple, the stunner donned a pair of silver stiletto heels and hooped earrings, whilst she slung a small bag over her shoulder. Idris, meanwhile, kept things casual in a khaki bomber jacket layered over a T-shirt for the party. Loving life: Looking in great spirits on the night, the 45-year-old actor was no doubt loving spending some quality time with the women in his life (also pictured: Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag) Looking stylish for the occasion, his teenage daughter Isan opted for a striped grey and white wrap dress. Idris shares Isan with his first wife Hanne Norgaard, who he divorced in 2003 after four years of marriage. The Luther star is also father to four-year-old son Winston from his second marriage to Naiyana Garth - who he was married to for just four months in 2006. Dressed to impress: Showing off her hourglass curves, Sabrina was a vision in a black bardot midi dress that clung to her figure and fell just below the knee to flash a hint of leg Chic: Looking stylish for the occasion, his teenage daughter Isan opted for a striped grey and white wrap dress. Idris shares Isan with first wife Hanne Norgaard, who he divorced in 2003 Idris has not revealed if he plans to have more children with his soon-to-be third wife, who he popped the question to during a screening of his latest film Yardie at Rio cinema, Dalston, in February. The showbiz couple made their red carpet debut as a couple in September 2017 after seven months of dating. Despite looking completely besotted with one another, Idris once claimed marriage was off the cards just six months ago after two divorces. Dapper: Idris, meanwhile, kept things casual in a khaki bomber jacket layered over a T-shirt that he teamed with forest green trousers for the party He told ESSENCE magazine in July 2017: Am I ever gonna get remarried? I dont think so. Yeah, I dont think so. Marriage is an institution of sorts. And Ive done it. Its not for everybody. Its not my lifes calling. The director gave a rare glimmer into his private life when he confessed falling in love while making a movie was 'pretty special' in recent months. He was filming The Mountain Between Us alongside Titanic's Kate Winslet in Canada when he found himself smitten with beauty queen Sabrina. She had an emergency surgery last week after a cancer diagnosis. And Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller recently showed off some of the toll it has taken on her body. The 51-year-old reality star, who was recently released from a Victorville, California prison, took to Instagram on Friday to share a gruesome photo of her back with dozens of staples on it. She has recently been preliminary diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphomacancer of the lymph nodes. Ouch: Abby Lee Miller took to Instagram on Friday to share a gruesome photo of her back with dozens of staples on it Tough times: The star - pictured in LA last month - has recently been preliminary diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphomacancer of the lymph nodes Despite the grisly nature of the snap, Abby seemed to be in good spirits as she posted it with the silly caption: 'This gives a whole new meaning to being stabbed in the back!' Over the large wound could be seen a gloved hand doing the thumbs up whom Abby tagged as registered nurse Brianna Barbuto. This comes just a week after she shared a selfie from her hospital bed after an emergency surgery. 'So much gratitude and love for those who listened, those who looked deeper, and those who leapt into action,' she said on Instagram in reference to her spinal surgery. 'So much more I wish I could say......about how quickly your life can change at the hands of others.' Scary times: the 51-year-old Dance Moms star shared this selfie from a hospital bed last week after emergency surgery Following Abby's operation, her doctor, Hooman M. Melamed, spoke with PEOPLE through a rep and confirmed that Miller is 'looking good' but 'she's not out of the woods yet.' The Pittsburgh native, who was left paralyzed from the neck down on Tuesday, will undoubtedly need another spinal surgery. 'She has a lot more movement in her arms legs and toes, which is a very good sign,' Melamed said. The nearly five-hour surgery required Dr. Melamed to make an 18-inch incision. The orthopedic surgeon then removed the back part of several vertebrae in order to relieve pressure from Miller's spinal cord. Life threatening: Abby was recently released from a Victorville, California prison as she is pictured in LA earlier this month An oncologist has been brought on Abby's case to determine next steps regarding chemotherapy and radiation. 'Depending on the tumor type, depending on the sensitivity of the tumor it just depends the type but I feel more than yes, she will undergo chemotherapy or radiation,' Hooman said. 'We don't know where the source is,' he added. 'Any tumor that spreads anywhere is automatically Stage 4, but we have not determined the stage yet.' It's been a difficult few years for Miller, who was in the custody of Victorville Federal Correctional Institution from July until late last month in connection to her bankruptcy fraud conviction. She lost 100 pounds during her detainment at the penitentiary. Last month, she began staying at a Long Beach halfway house, where she's tentatively slated to stay until May 25. It has been revealed that Australia's peak business lobby met with representatives of the controversial research firm Cambridge Analytica last year. Business Council chief Jennifer Westacott and president Grant King were involved in the meeting in Washington DC in September 2017. Ms Westacott told a Senate hearing in Melbourne on Thursday the meeting had been held "more out of curiosity" than any other reason. But she said it had nothing to do with the council's campaign to support the Turnbull government's corporate tax cuts, which is the subject of the Senate inquiry. She said, under questioning from Labor senator Kristina Keneally, the BCA did not have any formal relationship with Cambridge Analytica or use them in the South Australian state election campaign. The company made headlines when it was revealed it misused personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook accounts, including Australian users. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before US congressional committees and at one point the company lost some $50 billion in value for its shareholders. Cambridge Analytica has commissioned an independent investigation. The peak trade union body wants the industrial umpire to be given the teeth to arbitrate and properly deal with wage theft. ACTU secretary Sally McManus will make the case for changes to the Fair Work Commission in a speech to think tank Per Capita on Friday. She wants the umpire to be a "one-stop shop" for resolving disputes and responding to mistreatment in the workplace. "The Industrial Commission used to be a strong umpire. Work Choices relegated it to being an occasional linesman," she will say. "It now makes a few calls here and there, but it's a long way from the main game." Ms McManus will cite the high cost for workers of fighting wage theft in the courts and argue it should instead be arbitrated by the commission. "We need a tough cop back to deal with wage theft," she is due to say. The secretary wants the commission to have strong powers to compel parties to attend conferences and hearings and for the ability to summons not just the store owner but the franchisor. When it comes to enterprise bargaining, the union says the commission is now just applying check lists created by parliament, in a one size fits all manner. It should instead be able to consider what is fair and reasonable, determining cases on their merits - not constrained by existing rules. "The independent umpire should be there to knock heads together. It should be there to help parties reach agreement," Ms McManus says. The Australian Academy of Science has released a plan to accelerate the identification of hundreds of thousands of unidentified species, including plants and animals, across Australia and New Zealand by 2027. WHAT PROMPTED THE PLAN? * Australia and New Zealand are two of 17 countries deemed biologically megadiverse * The pair have approximately 830,000 species of plants, animals, fungi, algae, microbes and other organisms * Many of the others are tropical, developing nations including Indonesia, Madagascar, Ecuador and Brazil * The countries cover less than 10 per cent of the world but support more than 70 per cent of its biodiversity * Researchers felt Australia has a responsibility to document its diversity given it is economically developed * At the current rate, it would take approximately 400 years to discover Australia's 420,000 unidentified species * New Zealand has named 50,000 species, with an estimated 170,000 to be found and described WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT? * More "charismatic and readily visible groups" such as mammals, birds, flowering plants and butterflies * Some of the most documented groups: Mammals (99 per cent of 500 estimated species), frogs (99 per cent of 250), reptiles (93 per cent of 1000) and birds (93 per cent of 1200) WHAT DON'T WE KNOW ABOUT? * The hyperdiverse groups of organisms with a large number of species, considered "less charismatic or visible" * Some of the poorly documented groups: Insects (33 per cent of 225,000 species), fungi (24 per cent of 100,000), spiders (19 per cent of 50,000), nematodes (3 per cent of 80,000) and bacteria (2 per cent of 40,000) WHY SHOULD THEY BE DISCOVERED? * Living organisms are "consummate engineers and innovators" able to unlock solutions to many problems * They are likely to offer "a wealth of new and potentially valuable biochemical products" to improve medicine * It could better society's relationship with nature and the human ability to recognise organisms in the wild * It would aid conservation, trade and biosecurity efforts including effective policies on what to protect or avoid * Scientists need a taxonomic framework to understand evolution and to answer questions about the past (Source: Discovering Biodiversity: A decadal plan for taxonomy and biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand 2018-2027 - Australian Academy of Science) FIVE REASONS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT SUPER NETBALL A NEW SCORING SYSTEM - Out of the blue, Netball Australia have endorsed a radical new system which means teams can win up to eight points in a match with a bonus point awarded to the winner of each quarter, giving teams incentive to fight to the end of each contest. ANOTHER JAMAICAN SHOOTING COLOSSUS - Jhaniele Fowler is the latest prolific Jamaican shooter to enter the league after spending several years playing in New Zealand. Her accuracy is sure to make the West Coast Fever a team to be reckoned with and a potential finals contender. GEITZ LIGHTS UP FIREBIRDS - - Laura Geitz was a defensive linchpin and captain of the Firebirds three-trans Tasman title winning teams, Without her last year they missed the finals, but she's back to harass the outstanding array of international shooters across the league. GREEN GIANT - There are few savvier players than the Giants veteran midcourter Kimberlee Green, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, They made the grand final without her, she may take them one step further this year. DERBIES AND RIVALRIES - The Sydney and Melbourne derbies are sure to stir the passions of fans in both those cities, while the grand final rematch this weekend between the Lightning and Giants will add another chapter to the growing rivalry between two young clubs. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hopes the historic summit between North and South Korean leaders is not another "false dawn". North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un made history on Friday when he crossed over the world's most heavily-armed border to greet his rival, South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It was the first time in more than a decade that leaders of the two countries had met and only the third time leaders had met since the end of the Korean War. Mr Turnbull cautiously welcomed the talks, and hopes it is a step towards ridding the peninsula of nuclear weapons. "We have had false dawns before on the Korean peninsula," he told reporters in Perth. He has no plans to visit Korea in the foreseeable future but is closely monitoring developments. The North Korean nuclear threat had been a top issue of discussion during the prime minister's recent meetings with various European leaders. It was all smiles as Mr Moon grasped Mr Kim's hand and led him along a red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children placed flowers around their necks and an honour guard stood at attention. Beyond the surface, however, it's still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue. Expectations are generally low, given past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Malcolm Turnbull remains committed to cashless welfare cards after hearing the moving stories of indigenous community leaders in Western Australia. The prime minister visited Kalgoorlie in September last year to promote the expansion of the cards to the WA Goldfields. Mr Turnbull restated his support for the cards during a press conference in Perth on Friday, as protesters in Kalgoorlie rallied against the program. "I would encourage you to go there, as I did, and sit down with the community and listen to the heartfelt stories about the importance of that cashless card and the way it saves families, it saves lives," he told reporters. "I have rarely been as moved as I have been by the personal stories that I heard there in Kalgoorlie from members of the community, including leading members of the Aboriginal community." West Australian MPs have been accused of "sabre rattling" to gather support to end the live export trade, as the ship at the centre of an industry row prepares to set sail without any animals on board. The Awassi Express, which has been held up in Fremantle Port for about three weeks for modifications to its ventilation system, will head to northern WA where it will pick up cattle bound for South East Asia. Tony Seabrook, president of the Pastoralists and Graziers Association WA, has called on state MPs to "butt out" of the debate, telling ABC 720 radio on Friday people needed to "calm down" and wait for the findings of a federal review. Star West Coast Fever recruit Jhaniele Fowler doesn't need any help striking fear into the heart of her opponent, but an ongoing error has helped her cause anyway. Fowler is one of the tallest players in world netball, with the Jamaican's towering presence causing issues for defenders from all walks of life. When her opponents do their homework on Fowler, they see her listed at a daunting 198cm. But Fowler has revealed that the 198cm figure which has been listed for years is actually incorrect. "I'm actually 196cm. But you can leave it at 198cm, put some fear into people," Fowler said with a laugh. Fowler recently helped lift Jamaica to a shock victory over New Zealand in the bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games. Now, she's keen to help turn the Fever from easy beats to hardened finalists. The Fever only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon last season after managing just two wins from 14 games. But the recruitment of Fowler and the return from injury of Shannon Eagland has boosted hopes of a swift rise up the ranks. Fowler has been a dominant force for NZ outfit Southern Steel over the past four years. But the star goalshooter knows she can't rely solely on her height to get the job done as she prepares for her first season in the Super Netball league. "There are advantages being tall. But there are pretty awesome defenders in the league, which makes it not easy," Fowler said. "I still feel I have to put up a lot of work just to get the ball and relax and shoot it. "It's not just stand there, catch, and shoot. It doesn't work that way." Fowler was always destined to play a sport where height was an asset. "The moment I came out of the womb, the doctor told my mum I was going to be a pretty tall girl," Fowler said. "Being tall has its ups and downs. I've always towered over all my peers. I was always loved. "People always wanted me to lead them. I reckon my height brought on a certain responsibility from me, like having a leadership role growing up." West Coast start their campaign against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide on Sunday. Graham Arnold has condemned as "completely wrong" suggestions Sydney FC get the rub of the A-League green. Two days before Saturday's Big Blue semi-final, former Melbourne Victory defender Rodrigo Vargas claimed the the Sky Blues have been protected by some lenient decisions and called on referee Kurt Ams not to get "caught up in the hype of the occasion". "It's completely wrong. I didn't read the article but no doubt it's to try and get the referee, to talk to the referee," Arnold said on Friday. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has refused to explain why documents about Australian spy operations during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor should remain secret. Since 2014, Canberra academic Clinton Fernandes has been trying to get access to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service's 43-year old records about East Timor through the National Archives of Australia. The overseas secret intelligence director general Paul Symon was due to argue against release at an Administrative Appeals Tribunal private hearing on Friday. "It is not the practice of the Australian government to comment on intelligence matters," Ms Bishop told reporters in Sydney. She said the matter was before the tribunal and it would be inappropriate for her to provide a running commentary. Professor Fernandes said his legal team hopes in the proceedings to ask questions that make ASIS justify why on national security grounds the materials should continue to be withheld 43 years after the event. "It was common knowledge that Australia was involved in East Timor and was very interested in Indonesia in the 1970s," the University of New South Wales professor told the ABC. He believes the documents could shed light on events leading up to the 1975 deaths of five Australian journalists at Balibo. A man in his 70s has died and a woman suffered serious injuries in what police believe was a family violence incident in Perth's south. Officers attended a Kelmscott home on Friday morning and found a severely injured man and woman. The man later died of his injuries while the woman, who is also aged in her 70s, remains in hospital. Police say another man in his 40s, who is known to the pair, was hurt before his arrest and is under guard at Fiona Stanley Hospital. He is assisting the Homicide Squad with their inquiries. The Turnbull government is moving closer to getting the budget books back into the black, according to new figures. In the mid-year budget review released in December the budget deficit was forecast to be $23.6 billion, down from $29.4 billion in the 2017 budget. But the latest figures produced by the Finance Department on Friday show an underlying cash deficit in March of $19.666 billion. The improving position is due to a rise in commodity prices and corporate earnings as well as the 400,000 jobs created in 2017 which boosted income tax receipts and kept a lid on welfare spending. Company tax receipts are almost $1 billion ahead of the MYEFO forecast while income tax receipts are ahead by $1.8 billion. Stronger than expected imports lifted customs duties up $527 million on the MYEFO forecast. Expenses are down $3.76 billion on the mid-year forecast. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop insists it is appropriate for Australia to continue providing limited training to Myanmar's military, despite the atrocities committed against Rohingya people. Earlier this week, Labor's defence spokesman described Australia's ongoing military ties with Myanmar as "totally untenable". More than 700,000 Rohingya people have poured across the border to Bangladesh to escape Myanmar's troubled Rakhine since last August following a military crackdown. The Myanmar military has been accused of committing rapes, murders and razing Rohingya villages. The United Nations has described the situation as a "textbook case of ethnic cleansing". While the United Kingdom, United States, European Union, France and Canada have cut ties with the Myanmar military, Australia's program continues. Military assistance is worth almost $400,000 and involves training in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, peacekeeping and English classes. Ms Bishop said Australia had an arms embargo against the Myanmar military and doesn't have joint exercises. "What we are seeking to do is engage in dialogue," Ms Bishop told reporters in Sydney The foreign minister had talks on Friday with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in Sydney to receive a leadership award at a global women's summit. The pair discussed the prospects of Rohingya refugees returning to Myanmar from the camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Australia has so far committed $31.5 million to the Rohingya refugee crisis. A teenager from an affluent harbourside suburb has allegedly flashed a pistol on a Sydney train after another passenger confronted him about his rowdy behaviour. A male passenger watched the 16-year-old trying to force his way into the unoccupied rear driver's cabin of a city circle train on Monday night, NSW Police said in a statement. The man confronted the teenager who allegedly lifted his shirt to reveal a gun tucked into his waistband. The alarmed passenger got off the train at Museum Station and called authorities. Police investigations led them to a home in Mosman on Sydney's north shore where the teenager was arrested on Thursday afternoon. An image of the black Galaxy pistol was released by police on Friday. The manufacturer lists the weapon as a metal airsoft pistol, which shoots pellets. AAP understands airsoft pistols are classified as firearms by NSW Police. Ballistic testing will be carried out on the gun. The teenager was charged with possessing an unauthorised firearm, being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence and trying to enter the train's crew compartment. He was granted conditional bail to appear at a children's court in mid-May. A Sydney man who pleaded guilty to a terror-related charge will spend at least two and a half years behind bars after travelling to Syria in 2013 with the intention of fighting in the war-torn region. Mehmet Biber, 25, was arrested in late 2016 more than two years after returning to Australia. He pleaded guilty in February to entering a foreign state intending hostile activity. Justice Christine Adamson on Friday jailed Biber for four years and nine months with a non-parole period of two and a half years. During a NSW Supreme Court hearing last week, Biber insisted he never went near the front line because his hosts - from the moderate Ahrar al-Sham group - were protective of Australians. However, he conceded he would have tried if allowed. Justice Adamson accepted part but not all of his evidence. She considered his offending "well below the mid-range of seriousness" for the charge which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Biber's youth and naivety at the time of the trip were mitigating factors, the judge said. His decision to leave behind his pregnant wife in Australia and pose for photos during the trip with a group of men holding assault rifles were indicative of his immaturity. The 25-year-old's father, Gaven Biber, tried four times to alert authorities before his son travelled to Syria. He later went to Turkey himself to persuade him to come home. Outside court on Friday, Mr Biber said Mehmet posed no risk to the community and just wanted to get on with his life. "We did everything in our power to stop him but, unfortunately, the authorities gave us no assistance whatsoever," he told reporters. "Any parent would have done the same thing that I did." Premier Steven Marshall has demanded an explanation why an interstate company won a major advertising contract to promote South Australia, while ruling out overturning the decision. The SA tourism commission awarded the contract, believed to be worth millions of dollars, to Melbourne-based company TBWA over a pool of 34 other applicants, including SA firms. Speaking at the SA Press Club on Friday, Mr Marshall said the decision was a "huge disappointment" and he would meet with the commission on Monday morning. "It's pretty difficult to understand why an agency, which is charged with the responsibility of promoting the state, has turned around and said the best people to promote our state is actually a Melbourne-based firm," he said. "I don't understand that logic. "I'm going to want a full explanation to why this has occurred because we've got amazing talent in this state." Opposition tourism spokeswoman Zoe Bettison called the decision a "shocker" and said the premier should overturn it. "We've heard a lot of talk from the Liberal Party about the 'brain drain' but they have failed their first test with this decision," she said. "The Liberal Government needs to explain why it wants Victorians selling South Australia to the world." The premier was quick to distance the government from the tourism commission's pick, but said he had no current intention to overturn the decision. "There could be very good reasons, but I want to hear what they are and they better be pretty good," he said. Australia's building ministers are to examine who should pay to have unsafe cladding removed or rectified in the wake of London's Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 which claimed more than 70 lives, including two Australians. NSW Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean called for a "national report" to probe the issue and on Friday his federal, state and territory colleagues agreed during a meeting in Melbourne. Mr Kean says that's proof NSW is leading the nation when it comes to working out who should pay for rectification work that's required. "We will continue to push for effective, nation-wide action to give Australians certainty and security when it comes to the buildings where they live, work and play," Mr Kean said in a statement. NSW last week announced it would classify unsafe aluminium cladding as a major defect, meaning property owners can demand repairs be done by the responsible builder for up to six years after work is completed. The changes to the home building laws are not retrospective, however. An Australian mother and daughter were among the 71 people who lost their lives in the Grenfell tragedy. Victoria King, 71, and her daughter Alexandra Atala, 40, were the last two victims to be identified in November after their remains were found in their 20th floor flat, it was revealed this week. Australian officials are downplaying fears of a "looming health crisis" among refugees and asylum seekers being held on Manus Island. A contract with International Health and Medical Services, which provides healthcare for immigration detainees on Manus Island, will end on Monday. Amnesty International Australia refugee coordinator Graham Thom feared there was no plan in place to fill the void following the cut-off date. "The health situation for refugees and asylum seekers in PNG is already dire, but the end of the IHMS contract threatens to turn this into an all-out crisis," Mr Thom said on Friday. "Despite six deaths, and soaring rates of mental illness and self-harm among this traumatised population, the Australian government seems to have no plan in place for filling the void that will be left by the withdrawal of these services." However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs has confirmed a new health services provider has been engaged to begin work on Tuesday. "IHMS will work with the new health service provider during a transition period in PNG to ensure service continuity," the Home Affairs spokeswoman said. "Individuals will continue to have access to appropriate primary health services." IHMS has extended its contract to provide health services to immigration detainees held in Nauru. Australian scientists will play a lead role in the next major international report into climate change, setting the standard for policymakers around the world. The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has chosen 41 Australian scientists to join hundreds of experts from 90 countries to prepare the next international climate assessment, which will inform nations on how to avoid dangerous global warming. The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report is set to be the "most reviewed document in the history of human kind", says Australian National University academic Professor Mark Howden. The UN's Nobel-winning organisation will spend the next three years reviewing current research and presenting it to governments who will "negotiate over every word and every line" before it is published in 2022, he said. "The challenge is maintaining the integrity of the science, reporting what the science says. But also resolving those sensitivities of different governments," Prof Howden told AAP. Prof Howden, who heads Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, said Australia's role in the IPCC was unusually large for the country's size, with similar numbers of authors to the United States, Germany and China. Around the world, people are starting to look at climate risk management a lot more, he says. "Climate affects almost everything we do. From day-to-day decisions like: do we take an umbrella? To big strategic questions like: how do we conduct agriculture in Australia?" The report is set to guide the first full global stocktake in 2023, when countries will get together to decide on new or enhanced actions needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's climate goals, including keeping temperature rises below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Scientists have been divided into three working groups for the report, the first focusing on the climate science, the second on its impacts and the world's vulnerability, with the third to discuss mitigation. Prof Howden, who has been appointed vice-chair of working group two, says the report will be geared towards policymakers. The essential message of the IPCC's report around the impacts of climate change won't differ too much from the previous report, but the weighting of different issues will change, he said. "For example, solar radiation management. Can we put dust into the atmosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the earth?" The last report, published in 2014, warned trends in carbon emissions would lead to disaster and there was a small window of opportunity to stay within two degrees Celsius, otherwise the world would experience worsening drought, flood, rising seas and species extinctions. "It provided governments with the confidence they needed to take this seriously," Prof Howden said. The Paris Agreement was reached a year later, which was watershed because businesses became involved and realised there was opportunity and money to be made, he said. Environmental groups say a reported federal government rescue package for the Great Barrier Reef must be met with a commitment to tackle climate change. Next month's federal budget is expected to include $400 million to tackle runoff from farming, the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish, and fund new research on coral bleaching. While the prospect of increased funding has been welcomed, environmentalists say it means little without the government also altering its stance on issues such as Adani's planned new coal mine in Queensland. "Protecting the reef for the future means stopping the damage caused through the burning of coal, oil and gas and fixing water quality with a serious investment package," Australian Marine Conservation Society reef campaign director Imogen Zethoven said. "Unless the federal government shows leadership on climate change, we will need to see yet another reef rescue package in another three years." WWF Australia said they would like to see the funding go towards threats such as farm pollution, to give the reef a chance to recover from bleaching event. A study published earlier this month in British scientific journal Nature claimed on average 30 per cent of the corals in the reef had died off in a nine-month period between March and November 2016. Queensland's Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Leeanne Enoch, said a bipartisan approach was needed to save the reef. "The federal government needs to work collaboratively with the Queensland government on reef initiatives to ensure our combined efforts are delivering maximum benefit for the reef," Ms Enoch said. "The key challenge facing the reef is climate change." Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger is again being challenged for the top job. Current vice president Greg Hannan has thrown his hat in the ring and the party will take a vote at their state council meeting at Melbourne Park on Saturday. Last year former Howard government minister Peter Reith took a stand against Mr Kroger but withdrew after suffering a stroke just weeks before the ballot. Factional infighting has become rampant in recent years within the party over its direction and finances. In March, the Liberals went to the Federal Court against major donor the Cormack Foundation over the rights to a $70 million war chest. There are fears party headquarters, 104 Exhibition Street, could also be sold to bring in some cash. The proposal has prompted the Surrey Hills branch to put forward a motion that any such move can only be done with a two-thirds majority vote at state assembly. "Members are aghast at the idea that 104 will be sold, when it has been a long-term secure asset for the party and is generating substantial income," the motion reads. State Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and federal Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop are due to address the meeting on Saturday morning. A woman who was thrown from a car is one of three people who are in a critical condition in hospital after a two-car smash in Sydney's southwest. Police say it is "obvious" one of the cars was speeding after the two vehicles collided at an intersection in Greenacre at about 10.30pm on Thursday. A 25-year-old woman who was a passenger in a grey hatchback was "ejected" from the vehicle and taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition, along with the driver and another woman. It's alleged the driver of the other vehicle, a 19-year-old man, left the scene and presented at Bankstown Hospital before being discharged on Friday morning. His 18-year-old male passenger also required treatment. Witness Lillian Anoun told reporters the crash sounded like a bomb. "This car ... was just whizzing down the street, it was so fast," she said. Late on Friday afternoon, the 18-year-old man, the 31-year-old driver of the hatchback and one of the women aged 25 remained in critical but stable conditions. The other 25-year-old woman was in a stable condition. The pressure on AMP's chair and board has increased after barristers for the banking royal commission suggested Australia's largest wealth manager face criminal charges for lying to the corporate regulator. The fees-for-no-service scandal has already claimed AMP CEO Craig Meller's job and wiped $2.2 billion off AMP's market value during the commission's two-week financial advice hearing. There is now increasing speculation about the future of AMP chair Catherine Brenner, with The Australian newspaper reporting the board will hold a crisis meeting on Sunday. The News Corp Australia broadsheet says she will be asked to resign at the meeting. AMP would not comment on the speculation, but noted the seriousness of the closing submissions made by counsel assisting the banking royal commission on Friday. Senior counsel assisting the commission Rowena Orr QC outlined a series of possible misconduct findings against AMP for misleading the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, including breaches of the Corporations Act that carry criminal penalties. "Through AMP's dealings with ASIC regarding the extent and nature of its fee-for-no-service conduct, AMP adopted an attitude toward the regulator that was not forthright or honest, and demonstrated a deliberate attempt to mislead," she said on Friday. Ms Orr said AMP and its advice businesses misled ASIC 20 times from 2015 to 2017 about the nature and extent of its fees-for-no-service practice. Ms Orr said commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC could also find there was misconduct around what AMP described as an external and independent report on the fees issue, which went through 25 draft versions with changes from the company before being given to ASIC. She said AMP employees or officers, including Mr Meller, Ms Brenner, group executive for advice Jack Regan and particularly general counsel Brian Salter, either marked up or suggested amendments. She said the effect of some of Mr Salter's changes appeared, on their face, to limit the findings as to the extent of the knowledge and involvement of the most senior executives of AMP in the impugned ongoing service fee conduct. Ms Orr also said the AMP board may have approved the changes to the Clayton Utz report before it was submitted to ASIC last October. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, representing 38 funds, has instructed its members to vote against director election and remuneration resolutions at AMP's annual general meeting on May 10. "We think it is appropriate that accountability for the events and conduct revealed over the past 10 days rest with the board," ASCI chief executive Louise Davidson said. ACSI member First Super urged other super funds to fall into line and called on the rest of the board to "seriously consider their individual and collective positions". Mr Salter has taken leave while AMP's regulatory reporting and governance processes are reviewed. Mark Bouris says Australia's small businesses are doing it tough, but he wants to help them. In his show, The Mentor, the former Apprentice host focuses on a small business every week that's struggling, and shows ways for it to improve. "They're doing it tough.They can't afford consultants, they can't afford advice. They're competing with the big guys. They can't pump enough volume through the business, they usually need to borrow money or bring in an investor," Bouris said. "I put them through what I call a pressure test. I put cameras everywhere in their shop and I sit outside somewhere remotely on an iPad and I'll watch all the cameras and see how they roll, what's their process and how they operate under pressure because pressure brings the best and the worst out of people and I'm looking for both. Then I come back in and give them some feedback." The successful businessman, who founded Wizard Home Loans in the 1990s and is now the chairman of financial services company Yellow Brick Road, doesn't just rely on his own expertise to help people. He's the first one to admit he doesn't know how to solve every issue, but he's well-connected after decades of experience and uses that to his advantage. "Generally speaking I bring in an expert from somewhere, I know a lot of experts in a lot of industries," he said. "Everyone is sort of paying it forward, so I'm bringing experts in who are paying it forward to these businesses and share with them what the experts have learned over long periods of time that works for them." The idea for the show actually grew out of Bouris' successful weekly podcast of the same name, which he started doing just for fun. "I like listening to podcasts myself and I thought I'd experiment with it and see how it went and it went really well and I thought 'wow it means people really want to listen to this stuff'," he said. He follows up with everyone about a month later to see how they're faring and the businesses also check in with him weekly. He even invests his own money to help them. "I do spend money. I spend money in each of the businesses. I'm not seeking equity or anything like that, it's not a loan, but I do put money in with some conditions attached," he said. His overall desire with the show is to spread an appreciation and awareness for small businesses across the country. "Our small business community is not small, it's huge. It's bigger than any other community in our economic system. So I want Australians to understand how important it is. I want politicians to pay attention to the unsung heroes of our economy," he said. * The Mentor airs on Monday at 9pm (AEST) on the Seven Network. Four people have been charged over a money-laundering syndicate in Sydney's west after six warrants were executed at multiple homes. Strike Force Loane was established by the NSW organised crime squad in August, identifying links with another investigation in the Bankstown area. More than $50,000 cash as well as documents, phones and computers were seized on Friday. A 45-year-old Vietnamese national, along with a 46-year-old Moorebank woman and a 49-year-old Yagoona woman have all been refused bail to appear in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday. They have been charged with knowingly directing criminal activities, dealing with proceeds of crime and participating in criminal activity. The Vietnamese national was directing both syndicates from outside Australia, police will allege. A 27-year-old Bankstown man will appear in Bankstown Local Court on May 16 having been granted strict conditional bail. He was charged with recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group. Inmates will no longer be able to receive underwear and socks in the mail as part of an attempt to stop drugs being smuggled into NSW prisons. Corrective Services NSW will still provide inmates with basic underwear and socks, but if they want brand-name items they will have to buy them off a prison shopping list. Drugs were found sewn into the lining of underwear and socks nine times in the 18 months to February 2018, according to a media release from Corrections Minister David Elliott. A member of Kurdish security forces stands near a campaign poster for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the May 12 parliamentary elections in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region Arbil Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday took his campaign for Iraq's May 12 elections to the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, seven months after its ill-fated independence referendum. "Today we are all under the tent of Iraq, and whoever wants separation will be torn apart by hyenas," he said on arrival at the airport in Arbil where he was greeted by his Iraqi Kurdish counterpart Nechervan Barzani. "Kurdish-Arab brotherhood is permanent and will persist. The heroes of the peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) and the Iraqi army confronted Daesh together and shared the suffering to achieve victory," Abadi said, referring to their joint defeat last year of the Islamic State group. "Today we absolutely need this unity," said Abadi who has this week been touring northern and western Iraq. The federal government imposed a battery of sanctions on Iraqi Kurdistan after the northern region voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 25 non-binding referendum that Baghdad rejected as illegal. The Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said Edalat was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and that he had refused to post bail on Wednesday Iranian media confirmed on Thursday that Abbas Edalat, a British-Iranian scientist and peace campaigner, has been arrested for his alleged role in an "infiltration network". "Recently, members of an infiltration network affiliated to Britain have been arrested," an unnamed source told the Fars news agency, which is considered close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards. The report named Edalat, a professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College in London. Britain said earlier it was "urgently seeking information" from Iran following reports of the academic's arrest. Edalat was detained on April 15, according to the New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). He founded the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran, which describes itself as "an independent campaign organisation with the purpose of opposing sanctions, foreign state interference and military intervention in Iran". CHRI said Edalat was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and that he had refused to post bail on Wednesday, arguing that he was innocent and should be released unconditionally. The group said Edalat's home in Tehran had been raided and his computer was confiscated, as well as CDs and notebooks. "We are urgently seeking information from the Iranian authorities following reports of the arrest of a British-Iranian dual national," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said. CHRI said 30 dual nationals have been arrested in Iran, primarily on spying charges, since the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The most high-profile British case is that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a Thomson Reuters Foundation employee who was arrested two years ago and is serving a five-year sentence for alleged sedition. Another Imperial College scientist, Kaveh Madani, was forced to leave Iran and quit his job as deputy head of the government's environment agency earlier this month following pressure from hardliners. He later said he had been placed under unauthorised surveillance from the moment he returned to Iran in September. burs/del Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the US wants changes on things like auto trade before it will decide to keep the EU and other allies off the list of countries subject to biting import tariffs on steel and aluminum The United States will continue to exempt allied economies, including the European Union, from steel and aluminum tariffs if they make concessions on trade, a senior White House advisor said Thursday. "It's very important that some of our friends make some concessions with respect to trading practices, tariffs and taxes," National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC. He pointed to concerns about "equal treatment of automobiles" in the EU as an example. Kudlow's remarks come four days before the tariff exemptions are due to expire for the EU, Canada, Mexico and others, after which the major exporters would face punishing import duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. President Donald Trump imposed the tariffs last month on national security grounds, saying cheap imports were undermining US producers crucial to military preparedness, but gave a temporary reprieve to the countries that are the main supplies to the US market. The measures were targeted primarily at overproduction by China, which has been the key focus of Trump's combative trade policies. But Kudlow said the auto sector, rather than national security, was one area where a deal could be reached on the exemptions. "One of the issues cropping up is the equal treatment of automobiles. We'd like to see some concessions from Europe," Kudlow said, adding that details were still under consideration. "We'll let you know as soon as we figure it all out." If the tariff exemptions expire it could reignite the turmoil seen last month on global markets, which fear a full-blown trade war could hamper growth, harm profits and push prices higher. The EU had threatened to impose their own punitive tariffs on key US goods if they were not shielded from the steel and aluminum duties. In a state visit to Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron this week called for cooperation among allies on trade. "You don't make trade war with your allies," Macron warned addressed the US Congress. Kudlow is due to travel to China next week -- accompanying Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer -- to discuss Washington's trade disputes with Beijing. Trump has authorized tariffs on up to $50 billion in Chinese imports in retaliation for the alleged theft of US intellectual property but investors have taken some solace in recent weeks as both countries have sent some conciliatory signals. Pakistan has been battling to get its shaky economy back on track and solve a chronic energy crisis that cripples its industry Pakistan's economy is set to record its fastest growth since 2005 during the current fiscal year, authorities said Thursday. But the projected 5.8 percent growth rate means the government will still miss its six percent target. "We would have achieved 6.1 percent without political turmoil," Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said while launching the Pakistan Economic Survey 2017-2018. The country was rocked last July when Nawaz Sharif was ousted from the premiership over graft allegations. Pakistan, for years plagued by a bloody homegrown Taliban insurgency, has been battling to get its shaky economy back on track and solve a chronic energy crisis that cripples its industry. But now confidence in South Asia's second biggest economy is growing, with security improving and the International Monetary Fund claiming in October that it has emerged from crisis after completing a bailout programme, though it still faces major challenges. The growth in GDP comes amid structural reforms, the improved energy sector, and China's ambitious $46 billion infrastructure project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, linking its western province of Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that right now, "we are not withdrawing" from Syria US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that French special operations forces arrived in Syria over the past two weeks to help boost US-led efforts against the Islamic State group. Speaking to senior lawmakers in Washington, Mattis responded to a question about whether the United States was planning on pulling out of Syria -- something President Donald Trump has said would happen "very soon." Right now, "we are not withdrawing," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "You'll see a reenergized effort," he said. "You'll see increased operations on the Iraqi side of the border, and the French just reinforced us in Syria with special forces here in the last two weeks. This is an ongoing fight right now." On Tuesday, Trump appeared to walk back his vow to yank US troops from Syria, saying the United States wanted to "leave a strong and lasting footprint" in the country. Currently, about 2,000 US troops are in Syria, most of them commandos. Even after IS -- which still control two pockets of territory along the middle Euphrates River Valley -- are defeated, the US military wants to maintain a presence in Syria to prevent the jihadists from returning. Mattis said he wanted to see more "regional support" for the anti-IS fight and told lawmakers he was "confident that we would probably regret it" if the US does not contribute to a long-term holding force in Syria. France is a longstanding member of the international coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and helped bombard the jihadists in the Mosul area during the Iraqi operation to recapture the city. France, along with the US and Britain, also took part in the April 14 cruise missile strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons-related facilities. Former CIA director Mike Pompeo won Senate support in a vote Thursday to be secretary of state Former CIA director Mike Pompeo was sworn in as America's top diplomat Thursday after a bruising battle over his hardliner image, and immediately embarked on a mission to Europe and the Middle East with a strong declaration of support from President Donald Trump. Pompeo overcame stiff opposition in the Senate from Democrats who warned he would add fuel to Trump's aggressive foreign policy. But ultimately, the 54-year-old West Point graduate and former congressman beat back critics, easily winning Senate confirmation in a 57-42 vote. Just over one hour later, he was sworn in as secretary of state by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at the White House. The State Department immediately announced Pompeo would lead the US delegation to NATO foreign minister talks in Brussels on Friday, and follow that with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history," Trump said in a statement. "He will always put the interests of America first. He has my trust. He has my support." After the swearing-in ceremony, Pompeo said he was "completely humbled by the responsibility" of his new post. "I'm looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away," he added. Pompeo replaces Rex Tillerson, the former oil executive Trump fired in March after a year of tensions with the White House over policy and turmoil in the State Department, where his cutbacks and aloofness alienated staff and left the body deeply demoralized. But where Tillerson was seen as a voice for moderation in the Trump administration, Pompeo is viewed as a hawk who could combine with new White House National Security Advisor John Bolton to back Trump's aggressive posturing on the world stage. - Promises diplomacy, 'swagger' - In a bruising fight against his appointment, Democrats accused Pompeo as too bellicose and harboring anti-Muslim and homophobic sentiments. President Donald Trump says Pompeo "has my trust" During his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Pompeo rejected those accusations. He insisted his focus will be on diplomatic solutions to problems, while pledging to bring "swagger once again" to the State Department. "One of the many values of robust diplomacy is that it increases our chances of solving problems peacefully, without ever firing a shot," Pompeo said. "War is always the last resort. I would prefer achieving the president's foreign policy goals with unrelenting diplomacy rather than by sending young men and women to war." Despite his conservative religious background, he also insisted his record at the CIA was one of openness toward Muslim and gay and lesbian employees, though a number of Democrats said he was not convincing. - Secret North Korea trip - A veteran who graduated first in his class at the elite US Military Academy at West Point, and later earned a law degree from Harvard, Pompeo served four terms as a Republican congressman from Kansas before Trump tapped him to head the Central Intelligence Agency last year. There, he promised a more "vicious" intelligence operation, making unapologetically menacing statements toward North Korea and Iran. He also earned Trump's ear in regular intelligence briefings at the White House, accommodating Trump's desire for simplified, visual presentations rather than detailed written assessments of the world's security dangers. Behind the scenes, he made numerous trips abroad to meet foreign political and security leaders, especially in the Middle East. He also took the lead in creating a dialogue with North Korea as Pyongyang demonstrated its theoretical ability to strike the United States with a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. In late March, Pompeo secretly traveled to Pyongyang, where he met with Kim to discuss what could become a historic summit between the two countries possibly as early as in May. "He's the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts diplomatically," Republican Senator Bob Corker said ahead of the vote. Democrats remained skeptical. "I opposed his nomination because I believe he will only reinforce President Trump's worst instincts, but now that he has been confirmed, I certainly hope to be proven wrong," said Senator Richard Blumenthal. This photo taken on March 9, 2015 in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk shows Libyan anti-Islamist General Khalifa Haftar attending his swearing in ceremony as the new self-styled Libyan National Army chief Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar returned Thursday to the eastern city of Benghazi after a long stay abroad, including for treatment in a Paris hospital, an AFP correspondent reported. The 75-year-old, smiling and dressed in a black suit, greeted generals from his self-styled army after descending from a plane, in his first public appearance for weeks. After walking down the red carpet, Haftar entered the airport lounge where officers, politicians and tribal dignitaries gave speeches of welcome. "I assure you that I am in good health," he told the gathering, thanking them for their support and loyalty. Among them was his chief of staff, General Abdelrazak al-Nadhuri, who survived a car bombing in Libya's second city Benghazi on April 18. Haftar was hospitalised in Paris in mid-April for what his spokesman said at the time was "normal checkups" after he fell ill during a scheduled trip abroad. Conflicting reports on his absence fuelled rumours in the press and on social media in Libya about his health and possible death. Libya has been gripped by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations and multiple militias vying for control of the oil-rich country. Haftar supports a parliament based in the east of the country, while a UN-backed unity government in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority nationwide. Last summer, Hafter announced the "total liberation" of Benghazi, after a three-year campaign to seize the city from jihadists who had made it a stronghold following the revolution. He is accused by his rivals of wanting to establish a new military dictatorship in Libya. Jihadists with the Islamic State group remain active in central and southern Libya despite being forced out of their northern stronghold Sirte in 2016. Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will now himself be the subject of a feature film, on the reporting that took him down Harvey Weinstein made a clutch of Oscar-winning films. Now, the disgraced movie mogul will be the subject of a film -- about the accusations of sexual harassment and assault that ended his career and the New York Times team that broke the story. Brad Pitt's production house Plan B and Annapurna Pictures have acquired the rights to make the film, The New York Times confirmed Thursday. The story was first reported by specialized Hollywood news outlet Deadline. The film will chronicle the work of Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey investigating Weinstein's misconduct -- stories that recently earned them a Pulitzer Prize, which they shared with Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker. Producers are looking to Oscar-winning films "Spotlight" and "All the President's Men" as their models for the movie, which will focus not on Weinstein's litany of alleged misdeeds but on the journalists and the obstacles they faced while reporting. Since the Times and New Yorker articles last October, more than 100 women have publicly accused Weinstein of misconduct ranging from sexual harassment to rape, sparking the #MeToo movement that has seen a string of influential men lose their jobs and reputation. Weinstein's marriage has ended; he has been under police investigation in London, Los Angeles and New York; he is facing a series of civil lawsuits; and his former production company has been forced to file for bankruptcy. When the news first broke in the Times, Weinstein himself told The Hollywood Reporter: "The story sounds so good, I want to buy the movie rights." Representatives of Plan B and Annapurna did not immediately respond to AFP's requests for comment. Among Weinstein's accusers is Gwyneth Paltrow. At the time she says the movie mogul harassed her, she was dating Pitt, who confronted Weinstein over the incident. Visitors take in the exhibitions at the Palestinian Museum, a new art museum hoping to change US attitudes toward the Palestinians A bucolic Connecticut town may have outwardly little in common with the Middle East, but it's home to a new art museum hoping to change US attitudes toward the Palestinians. Tucked away in Woodbridge, an affluent community near Yale University 80 miles (128 kilometers) north of Manhattan, it is well off the museum circuit and the bright lights of a big city, at least for now. The achievement is that it exists at all, funded on a shoe-string budget of half-a-million dollars, and nine months in the making by its Palestinian-American businessman founder, determined to create the first museum dedicated to Palestinian art in the United States. Israel's imminent 70th anniversary, the prospective US embassy move to Jerusalem, Washington's close relationship with the Jewish state, past suicide bombings and headlines about stabbing attacks overshadow much of the US discourse about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The media and the forces that are not friendly to Palestine have painted the Palestinians in a very negative light and in some ways they were dehumanized," museum founder Faisal Saleh, 66, told AFP. His hope is for everyday Americans to visit and discover that the Palestinians have a rich artistic heritage. "We have our own artists, just like everyone else has their own artists, and we have a disproportionate number," he said. "A lot of them are working under very austere conditions." Called Palestine Museum US, it will open to the public this Sunday and for now will open only Sundays, free of charge and staffed by volunteers. It houses more than 70 works of art, 100 photographs, collections of embroidery, costumes and several modern installations. While it's about art, not war, and the museum offers little education on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself, the longing for land, for peace and for self-determination permeates much of the work. Palestinians commemorate the anniversary of Israel's creation in 1948 as the "nakba" or "catastrophe" that forcibly displaced or sent into exile the first of successive waves of Palestinian refugees. - 'Creative rather than backward' - "Art always expands your thinking," says Samia Halaby, 81, a prominent Palestinian artist who lives and works in New York. Three of her pictures hang in the gallery space. "I hope they will learn more about our existence as a people, see us as being creative rather than backward victims, as the press is prone to present us," she told AFP. "It is something that is accomplished a great deal by museums all around the world for other cultures and other ideas." The airy 4,000 square feet (371 square meters) of gallery space, with sunlight flooding through the windows, starts with old photographs of Jerusalem under the British Mandate, and leads through to contemporary and abstract paintings. Featuring the work of 29 artists, many living in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Saleh says it is proof of a concept that can be transported on a bigger scale. Faisal Saleh, founder of Palestinian Museum, speaks during its inauguration in Woodbridge, Connecticut "We are hoping that very soon other Palestinian entrepreneurs will join and fund the ultimate objective, which is creating a much larger museum in a major city, such as in New York or Washington DC," he said. This is a tall order, but the Ramallah-born Saleh says initial reactions have been "phenomenal," already generating press coverage focused on Palestinian art rather than conflict. "It's a very peaceful activity," he said. "We want to share our art with the people and I don't see why anybody would have a problem with it." Timothy Niedermann, an editor and author of a novel about a Palestinian schoolteacher, was one of those who attended an invitation-only opening ceremony last weekend. "Our negative image is perhaps more than partially justified in terms of the terrorist experience but we don't know anything else. So this is going to give us a picture of 'yes normal people live there'. "And that's what really needs to be said. Normal people with whom one can have a normal conversation and perhaps arrive at normal solutions." Employees of tech firms and startups often move frequently and get a number of workplace perks, but activists say there is nonetheless growing interest in labor unions in the sector Well paid and in high demand, it would appear that engineers in Silicon Valley have scant reason to join forces in labor unions. And yet there are signs that interest is on the rise. Engineer Bjorn Westergard and a dozen colleagues were fired early this year by Lanetix. The startup specializing in professional software cited economic reasons for the staffing cut. But axed employees suspect their effort to create a worker union was a factor in the move. The dismissals came a few days after an application join with the Communications Workers of America was sent, Westergard told AFP. "I think it is the first time that software engineers in a software company have filed (to unionize)," Westergard said "It's not hard to find a job, and it pays relatively good so there is the idea that if you have any problem at all you just leave and get another job." Some 10.7 percent of US workers are unionized, according to a January report by the Labor Department, about half the percentage from 1983. The highest levels are in public-sector jobs, including teachers and firefighters. The report found just 1.7 percent of "professional and technical services" workers in the private sector are union members. Silicon Valley talent is notorious for flitting from one well-paying job to another, with high turnover in workplaces weakening the potential for worker solidarity. Westergard contended that colleagues in the industry are giving increasing weight to the option of staying put and fixing what they see as problems in workplaces instead of quitting. It's not that engineers are anti-union, Westergard maintained, "they just don't know anything about organized labor." - Libertarian outlook - Technology workers are less likely than others to be unionized, but there are signs of interest in Silicon Valley Tech companies, on the other hand, have long been cool to the idea of unions. Internet titans like Facebook and Google are known for pampering engineers: high salaries, stock grants, comprehensive health insurance, unlimited meals, bicycles, dance classes, special commuter buses, limitless espresso and more in offices with the feel of playful college campuses. It would seem daunting for engineers on picket lines to win public support. Silicon Valley employers are said to have a "libertarian" mindset that deems unions a brake on freewheeling progress, with the viewpoint conveniently playing into their business interests, according to David Judd of the Tech Workers Coalition. The organization describes itself as " a coalition of tech industry workers, labor organizers, community organizers, and friends cultivating solidarity among all workers in tech." According to Time magazine article in 2014, retail colossus Amazon has taken pains to prevent even warehouse workers from unionizing, advocating a "direct relationship" between management and employees. For the Tech Workers Coalition, the interest of Lanetix employees in a union was a sign of growing awareness in the technology sector that they are very much a part of the rest of society and their creations are touching the lives of most people. Lanetix did not respond to a request for comment. "There is a lot of activity among workers who are working for websites and digital media and trying to organize," author and union specialist David Bacon told AFP. "It is partly a product of the insecurity in this industry," he added, noting that if a startup fails, employees rewarded with shares for countless hours of labor can wind up with nothing. The response from employers, however, has been a consistent 'unions not allowed,' according to Bacon. There has been a wave of unionization in recent years among employees of subcontractors tech giants hire for jobs such as cleaning offices or preparing meals, noted Judd. Computer scientists have yet to follow suit with a passion, but interest is healthy, according to Judd. Work hours for engineers can be grueling, with long days routine under the pretext of changing the world for the better, Judd said. And, there can be workplace concerns about sexism or racism. The election of Donald Trump as US president may be ramping up interest in unions, with tech workers worried they may be serving as drones for an evil empire. "We don't want our employers to get away with building surveillance tools for Trump to go after our neighbors and colleagues, or with screwing over their users by selling data, ignoring security holes, or manipulating content," Judd said. "Fundamentally, it's about democracy: we want a say in our lives and our impact on the world. We want technology to be a tool for people, not a power over them." North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in made history when they reached across the Military Demarcation Line When the leaders of North and South Korea reached across the Military Demarcation Line to shake hands on Friday, they symbolically -- if fleetingly -- united a peninsula that has been divided for decades. The handshake between the two leaders marked the latest milestone in a rapid rapprochement after months of global fears about a nuclear conflict. Here are some other handshakes that shook the world: - Arafat-Rabin, 1993 - After months of secret negotiations in Norway, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stood in the South Lawn of the White House on September 13, 1993 to witness the signing of the Oslo Accords. The Rabin-Arafat handshake at the White House was one of the most dramatic moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict And then, in one of the most dramatic moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with US President Bill Clinton's arms stretched around both leaders, Arafat and Rabin shook hands. The abortive process granted autonomy to the occupied Palestinian territories without creating a separate state, and ended the six-year-long popular Palestinian uprising -- the Intifada -- in which over 1,200 Palestinians and around 150 Israelis were killed. Rabin was assassinated two years later by a Jewish extremist opposed to the peace process, which faltered in the years that followed. A second Intifada broke out in 2000. - Obama-Castro, 2013 - At a memorial service for Nelson Mandela in 2013, US President Barack Obama made headlines when he shook hands with Cuba's Raul Castro, the first such public greeting between leaders of the bitter neighbours after decades of enmity. There was a rapid thaw in US-Cuba ties after Barack Obama and Raul Castro shook hands in 2013 Within months, there was a rapid thaw. Full diplomatic relations were restored in July 2015, followed by once-unthinkable steps to mend ties after more than half a century of enmity. Obama visited Cuba in 2016 -- the first such trip by an American president in 88 years. Washington also relaxed its decades-long embargo on the communist-ruled island, and US airlines resumed direct flights to Havana in November 2016. - Queen Elizabeth-McGuinness, 2012 - In a landmark moment in the Northern Ireland peace process, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II met Martin McGuinness, a former top commander in the paramilitary Irish Republican Army during the many years of bloody hostilities with British forces. The 2012 handshake between Queen Elizabeth II and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness was a gesture that was once unimaginable The IRA wanted an end to British rule in the province, and for it to be merged with the Republic of Ireland. McGuinness later became one of the figures that helped negotiate an end to the violence. McGuinness -- then a deputy first minister of Northern Ireland -- shook hands with the Queen during her 2012 visit to the province. It was a gesture towards reconciliation that would once have been unimaginable, with McGuinness' militant past and British security operations still a source of anger for many. - Xi-Ma, 2015 - After decades of estrangement following a traumatic split at the end of a civil war in 1949, the presidents of China and Taiwan met for the first time ever in Singapore. The Xi-Ma summit in 2015 was the first time leaders from Beijing and Taipei met since Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 In unprecedented scenes, China's Xi Jinping and Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou shook hands for more than a minute and smiled for a mass of reporters before holding talks. The summit led to the setting up of a hotline between Beijing and Taipei and a lowering of tensions between the self-ruled island and the mainland. While the meeting was undeniably historic, there were no major concessions from either side. Ma ended up paying a heavy political price at home: Taiwanese voters chose to back Beijing-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen in the 2016 election amid fears about the island's sovereignty. - Donald Trump - The next major handshake on the global calendar is expected to feature Kim Jong Un again -- this time with US President Donald Trump. While it will certainly mark a historic moment, handshakes involving Trump sometimes make headlines for the wrong reasons, and the businessman-president has become well-known for his awkward grapples. Clips of US President Donald Trump's awkward handshakes with other world leaders often go viral on social media Clips of his handshakes often go viral on social media, with commenters poking fun at the way he tries to pull another world leader's arm or the often-uncomfortable amount of time he spends shaking hands. Most famously, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year appeared to roll his eyes in an apparent expression of relief after a long handshake with Trump in Washington. Quite how Kim might react to an impromptu arm-wrestle, only time will tell. Kim and Moon held hands as they stepped together over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries North and South Korea held their third summit Friday, stirring hopes of peace following years of tensions over the North's nuclear and missile tests. The North's leader Kim Jong Un shook hands with the South's President Moon Jae-in on the southern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom, ahead of a summit with US President Donald Trump expected in the coming weeks. Friday's meeting came after tensions soared last year as the North made rapid progress on its banned nuclear weapons programmes, while Trump engaged in an increasingly bellicose verbal scrap with Pyongyang's leader. North and South previously held summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007. Here are some key moments in the decades-long standoff between the two Koreas: - War but no peace - Tensions on the Korean peninsula The US and Soviet Union agreed to divide the Korean peninsula between them in the days after Japan's surrender ended the Second World War and its rule over the territory. In June 1950 the Communist North invaded the capitalist South, sparking a brutal war that killed millions of people. Beijing backed Pyongyang in the three-year conflict, while Washington threw its support behind the South -- alliances that have largely endured. The two sides fought each other to a stalemate and hostilities ceased in 1953 with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, leaving them technically still at war. - Sending in the assassins - Pyongyang has tested the ceasefire with numerous attacks. It sent 31 commandos to Seoul in a botched attempt to assassinate then-President Park Chung-Hee in 1968. All but two were killed. In the "axe murder incident" of 1976, North Korean soldiers attacked a work party trying to chop down a tree inside the Demilitarized Zone, leaving two US army officers dead. Pyongyang launched perhaps its most audacious assassination attempt in Myanmar in 1983, killing 21 people in a bomb blast in a Yangon mausoleum, but visiting South Korean general-turned-president Chun Doo-hwan survived. In 1987 a bomb on a Korean Air flight exploded over the Andaman Sea, killing all 115 people on board. Seoul accused Pyongyang, which denied involvement. The North's founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994, but under his son Kim Jong Il it continued to prod its southern neighbour. In 1996 a North Korean submarine on a spying mission ran aground off the eastern South Korean port of Gangneung, sparking a 45-day manhunt that ended with 24 crew members and infiltrators killed. A clash between South and North Korean naval ships in 1999 left some 50 Northern soldiers dead. - Rays of hope - The South's first liberal president for decades, Kim Dae-jung, instituted a "Sunshine Policy" of engaging with the North, and went to Pyongyang in 2000 for the first inter-Korean summit since the Korean War, earning himself the Nobel peace prize. Inter-Korean projects followed, including the Kaesong industrial park, where South Korean firms employed North Korean workers, and hundreds of thousands of Southern tourists visited the North's scenic Mount Kumgang. Kim's liberal successor Roh Moo-hyun went back to Pyongyang in 2007 towards the end of his term, but the North had already carried out its first nuclear test and after conservative Lee Myung-bak was sworn in the following year Seoul took a harder line against Pyongyang. The Mount Kumgang trips came to an end when a visitor was shot dead for entering a forbidden area, and in March 2010 Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its corvette warships, killing 46 sailors -- an allegation the North denies. That November the North attacked a civilian-populated area for the first time since the war, firing 170 artillery shells at Yeonpyeong island. Four people were killed, including two civilians. - Going nuclear - North Korea has steadfastly pursued its banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, seeking to build a rocket capable of delivering a warhead to the US mainland, with progress accelerating under Kim Jong Un, who inherited power in 2011. In response, the UN Security Council, US, EU and South Korea all imposed increasingly tough sanctions on the North, with the Kaesong industrial zone shut down in 2016. Pyongyang remained defiant, carrying out its sixth nuclear test last year -- its biggest by far -- and launching missiles capable of reaching the US. Kim has since declared the country a nuclear power. - 'Peace Olympics' - Following years of tensions, the South's election of the pro-engagement Moon Jae-in as president and its hosting of the Winter Olympics gave the neighbours a window to reopen communications. At the opening ceremony the two Koreas marched together and Moon shared historic handshakes with Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong and the North's ceremonial president Kim Yong Nam. The Koreas later agreed to hold Friday's summit, and Trump accepted Kim's invitation -- relayed by Southern envoys -- to meet. At the weekend the North declared a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, in an announcement immediately welcomed by Trump as "very good news". Is that a gun in your pocket? North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is always surrounded by tight security, and his bodyguards are chosen for their fitness, marksmanship and martial arts skills When Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un came down the steps towards the inter-Korean border Friday he was escorted by a phalanx of bodyguards carefully chosen for their fitness, marksmanship, martial arts skills and even looks. Men in sharp suits and matching blue and white striped ties fanned out ahead of and around Kim as he approached the Military Demarcation Line for a historic handshake with his Southern counterpart Moon Jae-in. Some of the men had bulging pockets. All sported red North Korean lapel badges and the curly-wired earpieces beloved of the US Secret Service. As the leader left after the morning session of talks, a dozen of them were given a pre-lunch work-out, jogging alongside and behind Kim's official car to form a human shield, ties flapping as they ran. North Korea is one of the world's most tightly-controlled societies, but even so security for its leader is iron-clad. Foreigners attending any event where Kim will be present must go through hours of security procedures beforehand, and surrender all electronics, including phones. The Guard Command, the military unit tasked with ensuring the safety of the leadership, is an elite institution close to the centre of North Korean power -- it provides the centrepiece display of the annual kimjongilia and kimilsungia flower festivals in Pyongyang to honour Kim's father and grandfather. North Korean bodyguards jog next to a car carrying leader Kim Jong Un returning to the North for a lunch break after a morning session of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Ri Yong Guk, a defector from the North who served on a security detail for Kim Jong Il, wrote in a 2013 memoir that as many as six different layers of security guards protected the leader on trips to the countryside to inspect military units, plants or farms. "It is one of the world's tightest security blankets through which even a single ant would find it hard to go," he wrote. The arrangements for the current leader are reportedly even tighter, and during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the foundation of its regular armed forces in February, Pyongyang paraded three kinds of security units dedicated to protecting Kim's life. Kim was repeatedly seen accompanied by a stout military general in uniform with a holstered gun. The protection afforded to the Kim family was also on display when the leader's sister Kim Yo Jong visited the South for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, accompanied by tall bodyguards with crew cuts, sunglasses and earpieces. - 'Scariest place on Earth' - Former US president Bill Clinton once described the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula and where Friday's summit was being held as "the scariest place on Earth". South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (front) waits before the Military Demarcation Line for North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (centre R) ahead of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom Despite its name, the DMZ is among the most heavily fortified areas on the planet. Around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the South Korean capital Seoul, the four-kilometre-wide space stretches for 250 kilometres across Korea and bristles with electric fences, minefields and anti-tank barriers. At the joint security area at Panmunjom the two sides, technically still at war, come face-to-face, with stern South Korean guards -- also chosen for their height and looks -- standing stock still only metres from the North Korean positions. Soldiers are permitted to carry only sidearms in the area, but it is an open secret that both sides have larger weapons stashed nearby for use in case of emergencies. A North Korean solider came under a hail of bullets from his comrades as he defected in the DMZ last year In November a North Korean soldier defected under a hail of automatic rifle fire from his comrades. Back in 1984, a 22-year-old Soviet tourist bolted from North to South at Panmunjom, triggering a gun battle in which three pursuing North Korean soldiers were killed, along with a Southern trooper, although defector Vasily Matuzok was unharmed. Your next job interview may be with this... You have a telephone interview for your dream job, and you're feeling nervous. You make yourself a cup of tea as you wait for the phone to ring, and you count to three before picking up. Now imagine that your interviewer is a robot named Vera. Russian startup Stafory co-founder Alexei Kostarev says Robot Vera, which his company developed, is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. "It's machine learning," Kostarev said, as he explained that his firm programmed Vera using 1.4 million interviews, as well as Wikipedia and 160,000 books. When Vera first started conducting phone interviews, she followed a script, but that has since changed. "Vera understands the kind of answers candidates give," Moscow-based Kostarev told AFP by phone. And while robot recruiters will appeal to companies trying to keep costs down, there may also be another, more subtle advantage. "When (candidates) give feedback on a job offer for example, they (say) more honest things they would not tell ... a human," Kostarev said. Stafory says Robot Vera currently has 200 clients, major companies which then take the selected job candidates through conventional interviews and final selection. - Danger of bias - More broadly, human resources specialists are looking to AI solutions to speed up recruitment processes as a whole. US company ZipRecruiter is touting a real-time selection service, with each job offer posted immediately on as many as 100 websites. In the blink of an eye, its algorithm then trawls through the 10 million jobseekers who have registered with ZipRecruiter to see which best suit the job description. The prospective employer then gets a shortlist of the top candidates, making recruitment a far less time-consuming exercise. Ian Siegel, head of ZipRecruiter, told AFP the system works well because "employers aren't great at describing what they want but they know what they want when they see it". Algorithms get better and better over time at detecting what kind of profile companies are looking for, as human resources staff give a virtual thumbs up to their preferred candidates. So far so good, but of course there are concerns. For one, the algorithms are learning so fast it is hard to work out how they make such crucial choices. There is also a fear that the robots cannot remain immune to weaknesses such as bias or prejudice -- when all their learning comes from humans. ZipRecruiter is trying its best to take the risk of bias into account in its algorithms. But "the thing is, the algorithm is so sophisticated, there's so many different pieces of information, we can't reverse engineer exactly how it's coming up with the matches," Siegel said by phone. - 'It takes two' - Jeremy Lamri of the Paris-based association of human resources start-ups called LabHR said one way to counter this risk is to dial down the AI in the system. "It is enough to tell the machine what to look out for; there is no need for machine learning in this," he said. Technology is developing all the time as employers look for candidates with soft skills such as learning capacity, adaptability, and the ability to work well in a team. "If tomorrow someone invents a scanner which can tell simply by looking into your eye whether you can perform well in a job, then I would think most (companies) would adopt it," said Lamri. But if machines can make the initial selection, it should always be up to human beings to make the final choice, said Laurent da Silva, head of Adecco recruitment units Badenoch & Clark and Spring. "It's like in our private lives," he said. "AI can help facilitate meetings, but at the end of the day, it takes two real people to tango." You put your left foot in: Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in were engaged in a metaphorical and literal diplomatic dance on Friday when they met at the frontier It was a historic handshake that Koreans had waited more than a decade to see -- and it sparked a completely unscripted dance, with the two leaders hopping back and forth over the border that divides their nations. Everything about the inter-Korean summit had been minutely choreographed and rehearsed but the North's Kim Jong Un went off-script when he invited his southern counterpart Moon Jae-in to join him over the border. After a prolonged clasp lasting almost half a minute over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that forms the border, a beaming Moon invited his guest over to South Korea. They posed for pictures as Kim became the first Northern leader to set foot in the country since Korean War hostilities ceased in 1953. Kim then beckoned Moon over to the other side. Moon seemed initially hesitant but the North's jovial young leader was not taking "no" for an answer, grabbing his hand and accompanying him across the border before they warmly shook hands again. South facing, open aspect: The two men added soil around the roots of a tree, then sprinkled it with water Grinning broadly, the pair then crossed back to the South hand-in-hand, to be presented with flowers by children from a village in the buffer area next to the Demilitarized Zone. It all went to show that even for a moment as carefully planned as the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, where the North's nuclear arsenal will be high on the agenda, the best-laid preparations rarely run completely to schedule. South Korean officials had carried out a full dress rehearsal on the eve of the summit, including stand-ins for the two leaders. "We examined every single detail including lighting and flower decorations," a Moon spokesman said. Even the smell of the summit room received careful attention, with officials "scattering onions and charcoal on the floors and running many electric fans to remove the odour" of new paint. A North Korean security team made preparations of its own, Seoul said, sterilising the chair Kim was to sit in to sign a guest book and wiping down its seat, armrest and legs with a white cloth. - Cold buckwheat noodles - The welcoming ceremony dripped with symbolism as the two men walked down a red carpet through an honour guard of South Korean soldiers colourfully dressed in traditional uniform lifting up banners as they went through. There have been jokes and smiles during the day-long meeting at Panmunjom They were also greeted by a military band, Moon saluting and Kim standing rather awkwardly not quite to attention. The pair seemed to share several relaxed moments, Kim at one point breaking into a laugh as Moon pointed something out with a gesture, and the visitor joking about noodles during his summit opening remarks. The symbolism and bonhomie continued in the afternoon when the pair donned white gloves and grabbed shovels for a ceremonial tree-planting near the MDL. They then repaired for an extended open-air one-on-one on a raised wooden platform for more than half an hour, Kim nodding attentively as Moon spoke. Friday also brought moments of unexpected comedy as Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong and another delegation member following the two leaders realised they were in shot and wildly swerved off to the side. There was some awkwardness too as Kim took an age to sign the guest book, with Moon standing by seemingly not knowing where to look. North Korea's Kim Jong Un lingered over the guest book signing as South Korea's Moon Jae-in waited Their lingering handshake contrasted sharply with the 2000 greeting between the current leader's father Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung, a vigorous two-handed pumping affair lasting around five seconds. The 2007 version was slightly more muted -- three seconds and only one hand -- as Kim Jong Il welcomed Roh Moo-hyun in Pyongyang. The North has since made rapid progress in its weapons programmes, last year detonating its sixth and by far most powerful nuclear blast and launching missiles bringing the US mainland into range. At times of tension, Pyongyang has threatened to unleash the "treasured sword" of its atomic arsenal and turn Seoul and the US into a "sea of flames". But the image that lingered on Friday was that of the two leaders hand-in-hand, walking across the border to the South towards their summit. Indonesia's former house speaker Setya Novanto (2nd L) was hit with one of the country's heaviest sentences for corruption A hefty 15-year prison term for one of Indonesia's top politicians, who allegedly even staged a car crash to evade arrest, could be a turning point in the country's war on corruption, observers say, as anger boils over against powerful figures living above the law. Setya Novanto's case sparked a mix of rage and disbelief as the disgraced house speaker tried to dodge arrest on graft charges, capped by his suspicious crash into a utility pole shortly after his palatial estate was raided. The car accident -- widely believed to have been engineered -- landed Novanto in a Jakarta hospital bed with medical tubes up his nose, apparently one step ahead of pursuing anti-corruption investigators. The images sparked a flurry of mocking online memes, including the popular #SaveTiangListrik (save the electric pole) hashtag. It later emerged that Novanto's now-indicted lawyer had booked his hospital room before the accident happened. The 62-year-old -- hailed by Donald Trump as one of Indonesia's most powerful men several years ago -- then unsuccessfully claimed that a bout of diarrhoea left him unable to participate in his trial. On Tuesday, he was hit with one of Indonesia's heaviest sentences for corruption after being convicted of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes linked to the national roll-out of government ID cards. Novanto, dubbed Mr Teflon, had escaped corruption allegations before -- including being caught on tape trying to extort a US-based miner -- and his conviction marked the highest-profile victory in recent memory for Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). "I think this is a milestone for the Corruption Eradication Commission and the anti-corruption movement in general," said Adnan Topan, coordinator for the non-profit Indonesia Corruption Watch. "Setya Novanto is very powerful. He has a strong network." - Payoffs and bribes - Novanto was among dozens of politicians, government officials and businessmen implicated in the scandal, which saw an estimated $170 million syphoned off the $440 million ID card project. It was the latest example of graft in a country where the legacy of notoriously corrupt dictator Suharto, suspected of looting billions of dollars from state coffers, still looms large. Indonesia's former house speaker Setya Novanto listens to the judges verdict during his corruption trail in Jakarta Indonesia ranked 96th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's 2017 corruption index. It also scored a lowly 37 on a perceived public corruption scale, with 100 being "very clean" and zero "highly corrupt". The House of Representatives, where Novanto served as speaker, is widely viewed as one of Indonesia's most graft-riddled institutions. "Eradicating corruption and patronage go hand in hand -- I don't think they are going to be very easily removed from Indonesia's politics," said Deasy Simandjuntak, a visiting Indonesian researcher at the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. It is not only the political sphere that is tarnished by graft. Surveys show most Indonesians have encountered payoffs and bribes when dealing with the justice system. "The institution that can really help Indonesia free itself from corruption is law enforcement officers," Topan said. "The KPK struggle to deal with this problem because the police have very strong political power." - 'Gecko versus a crocodile' - Indonesia's anti-graft agency has made numerous enemies since it was established in 2002, in particular the police who loathe its extensive powers to pursue cases and seek prosecutions in a special corruption court. The force has baulked at KPK attempts to tackle police corruption, with Indonesia's chief detective in 2009 famously mocking it as a "gecko versus a crocodile". Setya Novanto was among dozens of politicians, government officials and businessmen implicated in a scandal that saw an estimated $170 million syphoned off a $440 million ID card project In 2015, the KPK launched a corruption probe into three-star general Budi Gunawan, who just days earlier had been named the sole pick for national police chief. President Joko Widodo subsequently withdrew the nomination. Two top anti-corruption officials were charged shortly after in a move widely seen as police revenge for the Gunawan probe. Last year, a top KPK investigator was partially blinded in an acid attack while he was heading the Novanto case probe. No one has yet been arrested. Despite the slow pace of reform, some see real progress in the push for cleaner governance. "The public sees that the KPK's efforts towards corruption eradication are bearing fruit," Simandjuntak said. "At the same time the public knows that patronage politics is inherited from decades-long practices.... Eradicating corruption is not an easy task." This combination of pictures shows the electoral banners of candidates in Lebanon's parliamentary elections Expatriates kick off Lebanon's parliamentary polls by voting abroad on Friday, a first for the small country's huge diaspora. The 12,611 Lebanese voters registered in the Middle East will be the first to cast ballots for the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament. Voters elsewhere in the world will vote on Sunday, a week before the May 6 polling in Lebanon, which has not renewed its parliament since 2009. But of the estimated one million-plus Lebanese nationals scattered across the globe, of which around two thirds qualify to vote, a total of only 82,900 people have registered. Akram Khater, director of a centre for Lebanese diaspora studies at North Carolina State University, says promotion for the new initiative has been limited. "This is a new experiment that has been poorly publicised, and many are not sure of the mechanism, the implications of their vote," he said. Others may be disillusioned after a series of political crises that notably saw the last parliament extend its own mandate three times. "Many are reluctant to participate in what is widely regarded as rigged elections which will only bring back the same crop of politicians from the same parties," Khater said. The numbers of voters registered outside Lebanon is a fraction of the 3.7 million eligible voters at home. - Massive diaspora - But for a first try, "it's a satisfactory" number, a diplomat told AFP. The vote is being held under a new law that allows Lebanese living abroad to vote for the first time since independence in 1943 and introduces a proportional list-based system. Expatriates will cast their vote for one list of candidates running in their Lebanese district of origin. On this list of parliamentary hopefuls, representing each religious community in that district under a strict quota system, they will also choose one candidate. Lebanon Half of the seats in Lebanon's parliament are reserved for Christians and the other half for Muslims. After successive waves of emigration from the 19th century to the 1975-1990 civil war, some estimates say Lebanon's extended diaspora has bloated to a whopping 12 million but most no longer have citizenship. Christians were well represented in the early diaspora and were the first to press for expatriate polling, according to Akram Khater. But the demographics of Lebanon's diaspora and of the pool of those eligible to vote have evolved, and other communities are now on board with expatriate polling. Some Christian parties -- like the Lebanese Forces and Marada -- have worked hard in their biggest expat hubs like Australia and France to promote voter registration, said Ali Mourad, professor of public law at the Beirut Arab University. - Diplomatic pouch - "Their participation could be important for example in Christian districts in northern Lebanon," he said. "It can influence the result of the vote if competition is tight" between lists. And instead of picking traditional candidates, some voters outside the country could look for alternatives in civil society lists. Voters will head to 116 polling stations in Lebanese embassies and consulates in 39 countries, and their votes will be shipped to Beirut in the diplomatic pouch. They will then be stored at the Central Bank after being sorted into electoral districts, and dispatched to each of these for counting on May 6. The government has said polling stations abroad will be monitored by security cameras. With registration relatively low, the political weight of Lebanon's diaspora vote this year will be "symbolic", elections consultant Said Sanadiki said. But in 2022, "in the next elections, six seats will be allocated to the diaspora", he said. And then it will be "a different game". Some of the personal belongings of US soldiers missing in action recovered from the jungles of Vietnam When Tycoria Johnson told her family she was going to Vietnam to help recover the remains of an American killed there during the war, her mother was proud -- but anxious. Seventeen years earlier, Johnson's father died in a helicopter crash on a similar mission to find some of the 1,600 US servicemen and women killed in the Vietnam War whose bodies have still not been located. "The last time (my mother) had a family member here, he didn't come back, so she was kind of nervous," said 26-year-old Johnson, a radio frequency transmission systems technician stationed in Japan with the US Air Force. In an unlikely twist of fate, Johnson was assigned to help recover the remains of a Marine pilot whose plane crashed during a night mission in central Quang Ngai province in 1966. A US search team scours a site in Quang Ngai province in Vietnam for the remains of a marine pilot who was killed in 1966 in a plane crash but whose remains have never been recovered She spent weeks scouring the forest for bone shards or tooth fragments, learning a few words of Vietnamese, the same work her father, US Army Sergeant First Class Tommy Murphy, did before he died in 2001. He was among seven Americans and nine Vietnamese killed when their helicopter slammed into the side of a mountain in bad weather. Johnson said her trip was a chance for closure. "I feel like he didn't complete it, so I wanted to do that for him, to say that he finished the mission," Johnson told AFP, sitting near a framed photo of her father working on a dig site in Vietnam. Johnson was on the mission with the US agency in charge of recovering American remains around the world, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). It has been working in Vietnam for more than 30 years, before the former war foes established diplomatic ties in 1995. The agency was born out of a war-era effort by the wives of American POWs in Vietnam who demanded US leaders do more to get their imprisoned husbands home, many of whom were held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison in the capital of the Communist North. Now it focuses on returning bodies and has repatriated more than 1,000 American remains from the Vietnam War since 1973, including fallen soldiers found in neighbouring Laos, Cambodia and China, according to DPAA figures. US troops standing next to three flag-draped coffins bearing the remains of American soldiers killed in Vietnam whose remains were only recently recovered Of the more than 1,600 still unaccounted for, about 1,200 are in Vietnam. That includes the pilot whose remains Johnson was looking for, though her team never found him. Instead she capped her mission at a stoic repatriation ceremony in Danang for three other soldiers whose remains found in Vietnam were placed in a box wrapped with an American flag to be shipped to the US state of Delaware for DNA testing. - Race against time - DPAA works around the world to recover US war missing. Those unaccounted for include 72,000 from World War II and 7,700 from the Korean War. A further 126 are listed as unaccounted for from the Cold War -- many of them aircrew who went missing during reconnaissance flights over or near former Soviet bloc countries. Tycoria Johnson's father died in a helicopter crash on a mission to find some of the 1,600 US servicemen and women killed in the Vietnam War whose bodies have still not been recovered Its reach is broad: the agency has brought home remains from Papua New Guinea to China, Pearl Harbor and the former Soviet Union, and has even identified remains of soldiers handed over by North Korea decades ago. All the sites share a similar challenge, and Vietnam is no exception. "Time is our biggest enemy," DPAA director Kelly McKeague told AFP in Hanoi. "Because witnesses are ageing and dying it's important for us to accelerate the pace and scope." Many bodies are in remote jungle terrain or on land that is due to be paved over for shopping malls or apartment complexes in the fast-developing country. Plus, the acidic soil that eats away at bone erodes evidence for search teams to recover. McKeague said it's impossible to estimate how long it will take to bring back the remaining soldiers from the region, with only the "hard cases" remaining. Hundreds more are deemed non-recoverable. The number of unaccounted-for Americans pales compared to the estimated 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers still not found, as official efforts to recover them has dragged amid funding shortfalls and limited DNA testing. Weapons and personal belongings of US soldiers recovered in Vietnam displayed at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Hanoi "We need support from the international community, including the American side," Le Thanh Tung, director of the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons, which works with DPAA to help recover American remains. "Cooperating with the US to search for American MIA remains in Vietnam is a way to mobilise US support to find Vietnamese martyrs," he told AFP. In the absence of a coordinated national effort to find the bodies of Vietnamese fighters, some families turn to psychics to lead them to suspected death sites, or dig so-called empty graves so they have a place to worship the dead. Johnson knows well the importance of having remains returned. Since her own father was repatriated and buried in Virginia, her family visits his grave a few times a year to lay flowers and give him updates on their lives. Sitting in the DPAA office in Hanoi, next to a war-era Budweiser beer can, aftershave bottle and machine guns unearthed from past digs, Johnson described the feeling of helping American families whose relatives have been missing for decades. "To know that we can help others feel complete, that's what makes this an amazing mission for me." A sign marks the location of a former Civil Defense fallout shelter in Washington, one of dozens built during the Cold War as the United States braced for the possibility of a nuclear attack In a long-abandoned nuclear fallout shelter in the heart of the US capital, museum curator Frank Blazich pries open a large, rusted can of crackers bearing the date "Nov. 1962." "Tastes a bit stale," he jokes as he chomps down on its contents. The can has been stored for decades at the underground facility, one of dozens built during the Cold War as the United States braced for the possibility of a nuclear attack. Today, the sound of children's laughter filters down through vents to the long, narrow basement beneath the Oyster-Adams School, just 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) north of the White House. It was beneath this school that the shelter was built to protect more than a hundred people in the event of a catastrophic strike. Dimly lit by a series of hanging industrial lamps, the concrete room houses rows of barrels marked "survival supplies" -- water, medicines, food rations and Civil Defense instruction manuals, evoking the state of fear in the years following World War II when tensions with the Soviet Union reached a fever pitch. Three yellow triangles etched in a circle of worn away black paint is all that's left of an original sign indicating the shelter's presence. Dimly lit by a series of hanging industrial lamps, the concrete room houses rows of barrels marked "survival supplies": water, medicines, food rations and Civil Defense instruction manuals For those interested in the era, it's a rare find -- perhaps the only shelter in Washington to still contain its provisions over half a century later. "This is a time capsule that we're really witnessing here," Blazich, a shelter enthusiast who works at the National Museum of American History, told AFP, opening one of the black metal barrels. Inside, the vessel still contains its precious cargo: 17.5 gallons (60 liters) of water. - Food, makeshift toilets, sedatives - An opened can of survival biscuits is seen in a former Civil Defense fallout shelter beneath in Washington; Authorities calculated the amount of rations needed to ensure inhabitants' survival for two weeks Faced with the physical manifestation of the "Iron Curtain" in the Berlin Wall and the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, then-US president John F. Kennedy determined in 1961 to mobilize funds for public shelters across the country. From 1962 -- the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis -- food was stored in the basements of buildings, schools and churches, supposedly sturdy enough to offer protection. On the walls of the Oyster-Adams shelter, you can still clearly see the dates "4/15/64" and "4/23/64," indicating when the dozens of stacked-up barrels of water were filled. Bandages and medical instruction manuals spill out of cardboard boxes on the dusty floor -- although sedatives packed to treat panic have disappeared. On the walls of the Oyster Adams shelter, you can still clearly see the dates "4/15/64" and "4/23/64," indicating when the dozens of stacked-up barrels of water were filled There are also several chemical toilets -- cardboard barrels with removable plastic seats that would each serve up to 25 people. Against a wall, yet more boxes are overflowing with so-called "survival biscuits." Dry and dusty, but in theory still edible, the crackers are a symbol of a time when the city was haunted by "a real fear," according to David Krugler, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and author of the go-to book on the topic: "'This Is Only a Test': How Washington, D.C., Prepared for Nuclear War." - Reassurance value - Bandages and medical instruction manuals spill out of cardboard boxes on the dusty floor of the shelter -- although sedatives packed to treat panic have disappeared Authorities had taken care to calculate the amount of rations needed to ensure inhabitants' survival for two weeks -- with the allowance coming out at about 700 calories a day. But Krugler says their efforts would have been in vain. "Had the United States and the Soviet Union gone to nuclear war, Washington... would have been utterly destroyed and that shelter would have been useless because the first effect of a nuclear detonation and heat would have destroyed it," he explained. "The biggest reason (for the shelters) is that people wanted some sort of reassurance that nuclear war was survivable and this helped offer that assurance even if it was a very unrealistic one." "It made the existence of nuclear weapons easier to accept," he added. The signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 paved the way for a detente between the two powers and the shelters gradually fell into disuse -- and by the 1970s the volunteers who oversaw them had been ordered to clear them out. "The fact that these rations are still here is either someone did not receive that information, or it was ignored. For whatever reason it was left alone," explained Blazich. Today, some see a renewed threat emanating from nuclear-armed North Korea, though tensions have cooled amid a spectacular detente and plans for a summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un -- who just months ago were comparing the size of their "nuclear buttons." The entrance to a former Civil Defense fallout shelter; today, the sound of children's laughter filters down through vents to the long, narrow basement just 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) north of the White House "We are in a period of heightened tensions and increased risks," Kruger said, but added it is "not equivalent to the tensions and risks of the Cuban Missile Crisis." "Do people take the rhetoric of North Korea's leader versus our president or other major policy makers seriously in terms of a potential nuclear war, certainly yes," added Blazich. "But I don't think they contemplate what happens should the weapons be used." Ines Boussetta, who heads the list of the Nidaa Tounes party for municipal elections in Tebourba, campaigns in the town some 35 kilometres west of the capital on April 20, 2018 Tunisian women "have the chance to act", says Ines Boussetta, as she hits the campaign trail in northern Tebourba, listening attentively to the problems of the rural region's inhabitants. Boussetta is one of hundreds of Tunisian women heading party lists in May 6 municipal polls -- and for the first time, women will be on an equal footing with men, thanks to a new electoral law. "I have faced many criticisms and commentaries, like 'you are too young,' 'you don't have political experience,' 'how can a woman lead a council?'" Boussetta, a candidate for the ruling Nida Tounes party, tells AFP. But "women today have the chance to act, to have an opinion that counts," she added. Around 100 party lists have been rejected for failing to meet a strict requirement for the candidacy of men and women to alternate in the municipal polls, the first since mass protests forced dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power in 2011. Boussetta says she was attracted by Nida Tounes because its founder, Tunisia's 91-year-old President Beji Caid Essebsi, has sought to promote the role of women and young people. The head of state's 2014 election triumph was "thanks to women", says the former health volunteer. - 'New political generation' - The North African country's 2014 constitution has been praised as a key milestone, paving the way for greater equality. A law on violence against women, passed last year, came into force in January. "A new political generation is in the process of appearing," says Torkia Chebbi, vice-president of the League of Tunisian voters, a group set up in 2011 to promote female participation in political life. Fifty-two percent of Tunisia's 5.3 million voters are under the age of 35. Women now sit at the top of more than a quarter of the 2,074 party lists. Many of the female candidates first dipped their toes into politics with the fall of Ben Ali through their work in civil society, Chebbi tells AFP. But "without the law on parity, we would never have achieved such a figure, because attitudes continue to favour men," says Chebbi. The key parties, Nida Tounes and its junior coalition partner the Islamist Ennahda party, were found to have fulfilled the new gender requirement. - 'Women don't have experience' - For Boussetta, who moves onto her next campaign stop in a modest black car, her experience working in the health sector makes improving infrastructure a big priority. Many have placed their confidence in her "because she is young and sensitive to the needs of the region", she says. Boussetta's family have a long history in Tebourba, where fresh street protests erupted in January this year against the high cost of living, unemployment and corruption. And there is a yearning for change at the local level. With the fall of Ben Ali seven years ago, municipalities collapsed. While replaced by temporary councils, these are widely perceived as having failed to respond to communities' needs. There is hope that the upcoming elections could help improve daily life in the country, cleaning up public spaces, attracting new investment, and helping to develop marginalised regions. "Tunisian women don't have experience," acknowledges Simone Susskind, a Belgian gender politics specialist who recently ran a workshop on female leadership. "But they have to start somewhere." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels President Donald Trump's brand new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began talks at NATO on Friday planning to hammer home one of his boss's oldest themes -- demanding that other alliance members pay their way. America's top diplomat told NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg he had "hopped on a plane and come straight here" as the pair met at the start of a gathering of foreign ministers at alliance headquarters in Brussels. Welcoming the former CIA director, Stoltenberg said the fact Pompeo had come so soon after being sworn in on Thursday was a "great expression of the importance of the alliance". But the message Pompeo brings from Washington will not be so warmly welcomed by all NATO members. Trump wants other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2016 to spend two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and US officials said Pompeo would carry this message to Brussels, as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. Newly minted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) -- shown here at a March meeting with US President Donald Trump (R) -- is expected to tell NATO members to pay their way As he arrived, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. "Germany plays a very important role," Maas said. Earlier this month, welcoming the presidents of the three Baltic republics on NATO's eastern flank with Russia, Trump praised them over the older partner states in western Europe. Friday's talks of the 29 foreign ministers -- and a defence ministers' meeting in May -- will prepare the way for a full summit in July that could see the US clash with Germany and others. - 'Undermine and invade' - To support increased spending, Pompeo will stress the threat posed by Russia, which a senior US official said has "demonstrated its ability to threaten, coerce, undermine, and even invade its neighbours". "We will underscore how important it is for all allies to take this threat seriously, to honour their commitment from the Wales summit," he added. "Six countries in NATO currently do so, nine have submitted credible plans for doing so, and it's time for the other 13 members of the alliance to step up, and especially Germany, NATO's largest and wealthiest European member state." While Pompeo is in Brussels, US President Donald Trump will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House -- the pair is shown here at the White House last year As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkel's meeting will be less warm than Macron's. The senior US official said Germany spends only 1.24 percent of its GDP on defence and plans only to increase this to 1.25 percent by 2021. Russia will be top of the agenda at Friday's meeting, which will be the first gathering of NATO foreign ministers since the poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain and the last before the alliance leaves its Cold War-era headquarters for new premises. In a press conference ahead of the talks, Stoltenberg slammed Moscow's "dangerous behaviour", citing the annexation of Crimea, interference in Ukraine, meddling in Western elections, cyber attacks and disinformation. NATO ministers will look at what more they can do to counter the Russian threat, but Stoltenberg said the alliance remained open to "meaningful dialogue" with Moscow. - Troops for Iraq - But some NATO members are fearful that Pompeo's reputation for confrontation could upend the alliance's dual-track policy on Russia, which combines military deterrence with diplomacy. The NATO ministerial will be the last meeting held in the historic North Atlantic Council room, as the alliance moves to a new headquarters Stoltenberg is expected to say a few words to mark the end of the final meeting of ministers in the historic North Atlantic Council room where Article 5 -- the alliance's mutual self-defence pact -- was invoked for the first and only time, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect their "importance as key allies and partners in the region," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. Rohingya refugees are seen at a temporary settlement setup in a "no man's land" border zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh The UN Security Council will pay a visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar beginning Saturday as it weighs next steps to address one of the world's worst refugee crises, stemming from the forced exodus of Muslim Rohingya. Myanmar has come under international scrutiny since a military campaign launched in August drove more than 700,000 Rohingya from their homes in northern Rakhine state and into crowded camps in Bangladesh. The council is urging Myanmar to allow their safe return and take steps to end decades of discrimination that the Muslim minority has suffered in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The visit kicks off in the camps of Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh where ambassadors will meet refugees, whose harrowing accounts of killings, rape and the torching of villages at the hands of Myanmar's military and militias have been documented in UN human rights reports. Led by Kuwait, Britain and Peru, the four-day visit is expected to include a trip by helicopter to Rakhine to allow ambassadors to tour villages affected by the violence, including Pan Taw Pyin and Shwe Zar. The council will hold talks with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticized for failing to speak out in defense of the Rohingya, and with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Kuwait's Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said the visit was not about "naming and shaming" Myanmar, but that "the message will be very clear for them: the international community is following the situation and has great interest in resolving it." "We are coming to see how can we help, how can we push things forward," he said, stressing that the current situation was "not acceptable." "700,000 people have fled their country and they cannot go back. It's a humanitarian disaster." - 'Almost no action' - After months of deliberations, Myanmar finally agreed this month to allow the council to visit as the government rejected accusations from the United Nations and Western countries that the attacks against the Rohingya were ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has said the military operation in Rakhine is aimed at rooting out extremists. British Ambassador Karen Pierce said it was "incredibly important" for the council to see the situation on the ground as it considers "what needs to be done next to help Myanmar develop as a modern, political and economic entity." The United States and its European partners in the council have faced strong opposition to action on the Rohingya crisis from China, a supporter of Myanmar's former ruling junta. The council adopted a statement in November that called on Myanmar to rein in its military, but there has been no resolution, a stronger measure that China would likely block as one of the veto-wielding permanent members. "This trip represents an opportunity for the council to press the reset button," said Akshaya Kumar, UN deputy director for Human Rights Watch. "They have taken almost no action," she said. "So if this trip is what is needed to spur them to actually respond to the gravity of an ethnic cleansing on their watch, then we'll be waiting for a resolution when they return." The president of the International Red Cross, which is providing aid to those affected by the violence in Rakhine, said the Myanmar government is rebuilding villages and taking steps to allow the Rohingya to return. "But what we see is that people don't yet trust that this will give them safety and security," said Peter Maurer. "We are at the beginning of the such a confidence-building process. It's a very long way to go," Maurer told reporters. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Christine Schraner Burgener, Switzerland's ambassador to Germany, as his new special envoy to Myanmar, following a months-long search for an emissary. Israeli rescue services search for several young people who went missing near Arava in southern Israel after flash floods swept through the area while they were hiking on April 26, 2018 Three people have been arrested in Israel in connection with the deaths of 10 young hikers in flash floods during a programme to prepare them for military service, police said Friday. The ten students, mostly aged 17 and 18, were caught up in floods while hiking in the Arabah desert in southern Israel following exceptionally heavy rainfall. They were part of a group of around 25 hikers taking part in the training. "Police questioned three staff members from the academy that organised the trip," Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement. Two remain in detention and the third is under house arrest, he added. The hike was organised by a Tel Aviv-based institute that offers a one-year programme for young people wishing to postpone their military service, compulsory in Israel, in order to strengthen themselves mentally and physically. The hikers were taking a break in the middle of the Nahal Tzafit Gorge when they were taken surprise by the rains, Israeli media reported. Flash floods can turn the picturesque gorge into an instant death trap, they said. Some speculated that organisers may have ignored weather warnings. Israeli media on Friday morning broadcast photos of the ten killed, nine girls and a boy, most of whose funerals are expected during the day. The arid Arabah desert is prone to flash floods. In Whatsapp communications before the hike, one of the teens warned conditions were dangerous. "I cannot believe I'm going on a trip in such weather," said the teen, who later died. "It doesn't make sense for us to go to a place where everything is flooding. It's tempting fate -- we're going to die." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted his condolences to the families on his Facebook page. Separately police in the area were searching for the missing driver of a truck that was caught in the floods after a road accident. On Wednesday a Bedouin teenager died in southern Israel, while east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl was found dead after being swept away. The tree planted by the leaders of the two Koreas was germinated in 1953, the year Korean War hostilities ceased The last time South Korea's President Moon Jae-in was on duty for a tree-related event in the Demilitarized Zone, it involved 813 troops, 27 helicopters, B-52 bombers with fighter escorts -- and an aircraft carrier prowling offshore. As a young serviceman, Moon played a supporting role in "Operation Paul Bunyan", likely the most expensive tree-felling in history, when US and South Korean troops cut down a poplar whose leaves were blocking strategic views. On Friday, he swapped military hardware for a metal shovel as with North's leader Kim Jong Un he took part in a ceremonial tree-planting next to the Military Demarcation Line that forms the border between the two Koreas. In bright afternoon sunshine, the pair donned white gloves, grabbed shovels and tossed soil from mountains in both countries to the base of the already firmly installed pine. It was germinated in 1953, the year Korean War hostilities ceased with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Armed with bright-green watering cans, Moon then poured water from Pyongyang's Taedong river and Kim watered the tree from the Han river in Seoul. The leaders unveiled a smooth standing stone in front of the tree inscribed: "Peace and Prosperity Are Planted" before posing for photographers. "We Koreans say pine trees are strong and they are green all around the year, even in winter as well," Kim said. "Like pine trees, we have to overcome challenges that may come before us down the road." Then the leaders set off down a path for a stroll alone, with no aides alongside. - 'Axe murder' - It was all a far cry from the dramatic 1976 tree-felling aimed at removing branches that were obstructing the view of US-led United Nations forces. At the time Moon was doing his compulsory military service and was among the special forces soldiers held in reserve nearby, ready for action if there was any intervention by the North. An earlier attempt to prune the tree saw North Korean soldiers kill two US officers with their own tools in what was dubbed the "Axe Murder Incident" and prompted the overwhelming show of force. The North's Kim Jong Un and the South's Moon Jae-in were armed with bright-green watering cans for the tree planting A furious US President Gerald Ford ordered a massive military operation -- codenamed Operation Paul Bunyan after a giant lumberjack in American folklore -- to fell the single tree. A joint mission involving Korean and US special forces, combat engineers with chainsaws and martial arts experts steamed into the DMZ. The whole of the US and South Korean forces on the peninsula were put on full alert and the tree-felling unit had back-up from B-52 bombers, F-111 and F-4 fighter jets, and the USS Midway aircraft carrier with its full battle group patrolling off the coast. It took 45 nerve-wracking minutes to fell the offending poplar, while scores of heavily armed North Korean soldiers stood close by observing, but not a shot was fired. Later that day, in an uncharacteristically conciliatory message, then North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung expressed "regret" over the killings of the two soldiers and voiced hope that such incidents could be avoided in the future. "That's when my view of our country and security as well as my patriotism were formed," Moon told a television interviewer during his election campaign last year, promising to "restore peaceful relations with North Korea". British Prime Minister Theresa May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump in the White House Donald Trump will defy protests to visit London during his July working trip to Britain, the US ambassador said Friday, adding that the US President was "very thick-skinned." "He'll definitely be coming to London. We welcome him, we're so happy to have him," Woody Johnson, the ambassador in London, told LBC Radio, following reports that the president may avoid London, where widespread protests are planned. "He's very thick-skinned. He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians. "Most politicians don't weigh it out the way he does and so he is going to get a lot of criticism for that as people interpret where he is taking everything. "But I think in the end, people are starting to, even now, realise that where he is going is a good direction." The visit, which will take place on July 13, had been repeatedly delayed amid a series of diplomatic spats and fears it could be marred by huge protests. British Prime Minister Theresa May controversially offered Trump a state visit when she was the first foreign leader to visit him shortly after entering the White House, provoking uproar at home following the president's travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries. British lawmakers called on May to withdraw the offer, while protesters have promised to turn out in record numbers. "Anybody any good at making placards?" British opposition lawmaker David Lammy asked cheekily on Twitter. Meanwhile, Guardian columnist Owen Jones, a prominent leftwing activist, called for "everybody out on the streets". Trump has repeatedly clashed with London mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter, and the British official predicted a hot reception for the president. "If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear," he wrote on Twitter. "He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear." The Daily Telegraph reported Trump will meet Queen Elizabeth II and go to Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby emerging from the courthouse after the verdict The conviction of cultural icon turned national pariah Bill Cosby on sexual assault charges was a bittersweet victory for advocates of women making similar charges against powerful men in Hollywood, the media and elsewhere. And those advocates say they hope it will lead to more such convictions amid the groundswell of allegations that have come forward since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke late last year, unleashing the #MeToo movement. "I think now there is tremendous awareness of how these crimes have been covered up and papered over for years," US District Attorney Kevin Steele said after the jury convicted the comedian on Thursday. "And all women that are out there standing up and telling their truth, I, we, support them and encourage them to keep it up," said Steele. "And I hope now everybody recognizes that here you are going to be treated with dignity and respect through the process," he added. Cosby's first trial ended last June with a hung jury, hopelessly deadlocked after 52 hours of deliberations. The 80-year-old's conviction in the first celebrity courtroom battle of the #MeToo era "is a notice to sexual predators everywhere," said the National Organization for Women. Actress Rose McGowan -- who was among the first to go public with accusations against Weinstein, a movie mogul whose career is now in tatters -- tweeted: "His victims can now exhale." "Thank you, judge and jury. Thank you society for waking up," she added. - Charges rare - Weinstein has been accused of abuses ranging from harassment to rape by more than 100 women The flood of reactions reflects the exceptional nature of Cosby's conviction. In recent years, many powerful men in America have been accused of sexual assault. But few have actually been charged, even if the number of probes has soared with the #MeToo watershed. Weinstein's alleged transgressions are perhaps the most flagrant. He has been accused of abuses ranging from harassment to rape by more than 100 women since October, prompting probes in Los Angeles, New York and London. But he has not yet been charged. Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, has said his client never engaged in non-consensual sex. But pressure on prosecutors in New York is growing, and they have beefed up their team of investigators. Other high-profile men have been accused of sexual misconduct, including the actor Kevin Spacey, Metropolitan Opera director James Levine, and, in France, prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan. Most have been forced to resign or humiliated out of public life. But apart from Ramadan, none of these men have been charged so far. Cases are hard to carry forward. This is because of a lack of physical evidence of sexual assault, as in Cosby's case, and court proceedings that depend largely on contradictory testimony from defendant and accuser. Also, in many of the US cases, the statutes of limitation have expired, meaning the alleged crimes occurred too long ago to prosecute. On Friday, many commentators highlighted that allowing five other Cosby accusers to testify in the case brought by Andrea Constand, inevitably tipped the scales. "While the #MeToo movement might have opened the floodgates of sordid stories and reveals how ubiquitous the experience of such abuses of power are, the outcome of Cosby's trial underscores the sad truth that the voice of a single woman too often isnt enough," The Philadelphia Inquirer said in an editorial. - 'Hesitation' to tell story still unavoidable - Although some abuse victims might be encouraged by the Cosby verdict and the #MeToo reckoning, "there is still going to be hesitation for the victim to come forward because there is a feeling sometimes of shame," said Julie Rendelman, a New York lawyer who has worked on several of these cases. "Going forward with these types of cases is not a piece of cake for the prosecution. Once an accusation is made, law enforcement has an obligation to investigate those accusations to determine if in fact a crime has been committed." Indeed, tough prison sentences in these types of cases is still rare. The 80-year-old Cosby could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. His lawyer has pledged to appeal, so the judge could leave him free on bail in the meantime. Prenatal sex tests are banned in India as part of efforts to stop unborn girls being aborted by parents desperate for a boy but they are still widespread Indian police are hunting two men posing as doctors who killed a newborn by severing his genitals in a bid to convince the mother she had given birth to a girl, officials said Friday. The pair said the eight-month pregnant woman would have a girl after staging a sham ultrasound at an illegal clinic in the Chatra district of eastern Jharkhand state, according to Chatra's top medical officer. They said urgent surgery was needed to deliver the baby, Satinder Prasad Singh added. But on seeing the child was a boy when he was born on Tuesday, the two cut off the genitals to pass him off as a girl with a deformity, Singh told AFP. The baby died almost immediately through blood loss, according to an autopsy. "They were illegally running the clinic and conducting tests and other medical procedures. They do not possess any medical degree and were fleecing gullible patients," Singh said. A murder and fraud case has been filed against the men, who have been on the run since Wednesday when the family went to police. The pregnant woman had been for several check-ups at the clinic, which had been operating for several months, conducting illegal prenatal sex tests. Prenatal sex tests are banned in India as part of efforts to stop unborn girls being aborted by parents desperate for a boy. The tests are still widespread. Unqualified medical practitioners are also common in India, particularly in rural areas, where formal healthcare is scarce and private hospitals are expensive. India has an estimated 840,000 medical doctors -- one for every 1,674 people. The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum one per 1,000 people. Xi and Modi are seeking to mend their relationship after a territorial dispute between China and India last year President Xi Jinping sought to open a "new chapter" in relations between China and India as he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for a summit aimed at mending ties strained by a border dispute. Xi greeted Modi at a Hubei province museum in the city of Wuhan for what has been billed as an "informal" meeting that will continue on Saturday. While last year's high-altitude standoff in the Himalayas has been resolved, the world's most populous countries have a long history of mistrust. New Delhi has also raised concerns about Beijing's Belt and Road initiative, a global trade infrastructure programme that includes a major project through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, disputed territory that New Delhi claims is illegally occupied. Friday's meeting included the museum tour, a meeting and dinner. On Saturday, they will walk along the East Lake, ride a boat and have lunch together, according to the Indian leader's official agenda. "I hope that the prime minister and I can open a new chapter in Sino-Indian relations during this meeting," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Chinese leader said the two sides have established a good working relationship and Beijing was willing to build a closer partnership and cooperation in all fields. "I want to make our countries' friendly relations ceaselessly grow stronger, to make them rush forward without pause like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, eternally moving forward," Xi said. Modi thanked Xi for meeting him twice outside Beijing, telling the Chinese leader: "This in itself shows love and affection towards India." With 40 percent of the world's population, India and China have a responsibility to fix the world's many problems, Modi said, adding that the meeting was a "great opportunity" to do so. Invoking Xi's political slogan and his own, Modi said: "Together your 'new era' dream and our 'new India' effort will be the right step for the benefit of the world." But neither leader directly mentioned the border row or other sources of tension in their remarks. - Disputed border - The summit "is New Delhi's well-intentioned attempt to reach out to Beijing to see if the past can be put behind and if the relationship can be reset," Harsh Pant, a professor of international relations at King's College in London, told AFP. India and China say they are committed to solving longstanding border disagreements through dialogue, but progress has been glacial Both nations say they are committed to solving long-standing border disagreements through dialogue, but progress has been glacial. India and China went to war in 1962 over Arunachal Pradesh, with Chinese troops temporarily capturing part of the Himalayan territory. The dispute remains unresolved: India considers Arunachal Pradesh one of its northeastern states, while China stakes claim to about 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 square miles) of the area. In February, Beijing lodged an angry protest with New Delhi over a trip by Modi to the state. Last year, Indian and Chinese troops faced off on the Doklam plateau, an area high in the Himalayas claimed both by China and by India's ally Bhutan. The dispute began in June when Chinese troops started building a road on the plateau and India deployed troops to stop the project. A crisis was averted in August when the two nuclear-armed nations pulled back. "We have to step out of the shadows of the 1962 war," said Wang Dehua, a South and Central Asia expert at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "The meeting will focus on avoiding the unhappy events we saw in Doklam last year," Wang said. Modi is expected to return to China in June for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security bloc led by Beijing and Moscow. Indian analysts point to a pragmatic reason for Modi to want better relations with China: he faces national elections next year, and he would be better off with stable ties with the world's second-largest economy. "I don't think he would like to go into an election with the kind of relationship, the low point it had reached over the last year," Pant said. With China facing a potential tariff war with the United States, Beijing and New Delhi could find common ground on international trade, Pant added. "It is one of the issues where India and China have worked together on the global stage in the past," he said. US First Lady Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, bonded during the French leader's visit to Washington French first lady Brigitte Macron has heaped praise on her "fun" and "intelligent" American counterpart Melania Trump after her three-day visit to Washington. Speaking to Le Monde newspaper and RTL radio, Brigitte said she and "kind, charming, intelligent" Melania had bonded further this week after their first meeting in Paris last July. In Brigitte's telling, Melania is very different in private to in public, where the 48-year-old former model from Slovenia displays little emotion during appearances with her husband. "On the contrary she is really fun," Brigitte said, Le Monde reported in its Friday edition. "We have the same sense of humour, we laugh a lot together. "Everything is interpreted, over-interpreted. She's someone who has a strong personality but she makes an effort to hide it. She laughs very easily at everything, but she shows it less than I do," said Brigitte, who recently celebrated her 65th birthday. Macron's wife, his former drama teacher from high school who is 25 years older than him, said she was still adjusting to the constraints of life as France's first lady, but she was still able to find moments of freedom. "Melania can't do anything, she can't even open a window at the White House. She can't go outside. Every day, I go out in Paris," she said during the interview on Wednesday during the final day of the Macrons' US trip. Brigitte also played down her role as a fashion icon, with each of her outfits widely commented on during her trips abroad. She said the tailored outfits, which are usually provided by French fashion house Louis Vuitton, were a sort of "skin" that helped shield her from all of the attention. "I don't really have that many ideas about what to put on," she said, adding that Louis Vuitton artistic director Nicolas Ghesquiere was in charge of her wardrobe. As for her public responsibilities, she said she did her best not to be a "vase of flowers" in the background of her husband while abroad and joked about the need to respect the choreography of the US state visit. This often involved following stickers on the floor to her position during the ceremonies. "Can it be any other way? I don't know," she said. Brigitte insisted that only her clothes had changed, not her -- reinforcing her down-to-earth image which has made her a more popular figure than her husband, according to polls. "In my head, I'm Emmanuel Macron's wife, not the president's wife. I don't feel like a first lady even though I'm aware of my responsibilities," she said. ASEAN foreign ministers welcomed dramatic moves towards peace on the Korean peninsula as the leaders of North and South met for a historic summit Southeast Asian leaders are expected to rally against protectionism at a summit in Singapore this weekend amid fears that tit-for-tat tariffs between the US and China could escalate into a global trade war. A region of around 650 million people, Southeast Asia is home to some of the world's fastest growing economies, thanks largely to the benefits of free and open trade. But officials and analysts have warned that an escalation of trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies poses a risk to the region's growth. Leaders from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to pledge to fight protectionism when they meet in the city-state on Saturday, according to a draft of their final statement seen by AFP. The statement warns of "uncertainties surrounding global economic recovery, the rising trends of protectionism, and global policy uncertainties". "We reiterated our strong commitment to open and inclusive regionalism, free and open markets and underscored the critical importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system," it says. US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves around the world last month when he imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. He also authorised tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese exports in response to Beijing's alleged theft of American intellectual property. Beijing has responded by slapping duties on key US agricultural exports, in measures intended to target the American president's support base. Trump accuses China of driving up a yawning, $337 billion trade deficit with the United States through unfair trade practices. The Southeast Asian leaders will also welcome Friday's historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, while calling on Pyongyang to get rid of its atomic weapons. Regional foreign ministers met Thursday before the leaders' summit, and "ASEAN feels there is a greater chance for peace in the Korean Peninsula", a diplomat, who asked not to be named, told AFP. On the disputed South China Sea, the leaders are expected to take note of "the concerns expressed by some leaders on the land reclamations and activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region". Four ASEAN states -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- have laid partial claims to the sea, pitting them against China which asserts sovereignty over almost the entire area. China rankled its smaller neighbours when it carried out massive land reclamations in the sea, and is now putting up structures, which analysts say include runways and military facilities. Luxury fashion label Balenciaga and French department store Printemps have apologised for an incident that sparked calls for a Chinese boycott of both brands Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga and a French department store have apologised after allegations that Chinese customers were mistreated in Paris sparked an uproar and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media. Balenciaga and the Printemps store issued their apologies in Mandarin on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, where the incident had become a top trending topic. The hashtag #BoycottBalenciagaDiscriminatesChinese had been viewed 23 million times on Weibo on Friday. China's state-run Global Times, citing a video posted online, said a Chinese customer scolded queue jumpers when she was standing in line to enter the Balenciaga shop in Printemps. One of the jumpers pushed the woman and threatened to punch her, prompting her son to come to her defence, according to the tabloid, which cited a video that was posted on another Chinese social media platform, WeChat. Her son was beaten to the ground by group, the daily said, adding that a sales clerk then allegedly insulted Chinese customers and told them to leave. "Balenciaga shoes are beautiful, but such an episode is an eye-opener. #Boycott Balenciaga, which discriminates against the Chinese," said one Weibo user. Another wrote: "You can say goodbye to the Chinese market." In its statement late Thursday, Balenciaga said it regretted the incident and noted that security guards had acted immediately to restore calm. "Balenciaga sincerely apologises to the customers who were present and reaffirms its strong commitment to respect equally all its customers," it said on Weibo. Printemps wrote that staff would receive additional training to ensure they manage such situations in the best possible way. "We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Chinese customers involved in this altercation as well as to all those who were upset or inconvenienced in any way," it said. Paris is a favourite European destination of Chinese travellers, and they are crucial clients for French luxury brands. Long lines of customers from China and other countries are common at Parisian stores. But big-spending Chinese tourists have become targets for thieves in France, with the embassy issuing a statement last year urging them to exercise caution following "several large-scale violent robberies". The leaders of the two Koreas seemed to form a genuine connection at the historic summit It was more than a decade since the last inter-Korean summit and Friday's meeting in the Demilitarized Zone that has divided the two nations since the end of the Korean War in 1953 did not disappoint. With some genuinely historical moments and some jaw-dropping ad-libbing, along with hugs and smiles aplenty, here are five things we learned from the landmark talks. - 'K-Chemistry' - From an emotional handshake across the Military Demarcation Line to a warm embrace after signing the joint declaration, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in seemed to forge a genuine connection. There were few moments in public when the cameras didn't catch the two leaders sharing a joke, with the jovial Kim reducing the South's delegation to giggles with a gag about Northern noodles. In an completely unscripted moment when he arrived, Kim grabbed Moon's hand and led him over the border to the North before they returned hand-in-hand, in an image that will provide the lasting memory of the summit. Many were also surprised by how long -- more than 30 minutes -- the leaders spent deep in earnest one-on-one conversation sitting on a bench surrounded by trees and birdsong, with Kim giving every indication he was listening intently to his counterpart. - Transport troubles up North - In an admission that not everything is rosy on the northern side of the border, Kim said its transport infrastructure might make a trip by Moon to visit the scenic and culturally significant Mount Paektu "uncomfortable". Kim also said his delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang had praised South Korea's high-speed train networks. Moon replied that the two countries should link up their train systems so that everyone could enjoy high-speed travel. The parlous state of roads in North Korea is no secret -- 32 Chinese tourists were killed earlier this week in a bus crash -- but Kim's acknowledgement of it was unusual. - A sisterly hand - If there were any doubt before about what an important role Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong plays in his life, it was banished as she seemed to spend almost the entire day at his side. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong was on hand as he signed the guest book She was on hand during both the formal talks -- taking notes as he made his opening remarks -- and the more informal moments of the summit, collecting his white gloves after a ceremonial tree-planting. But at one point, she found herself too close to the action and strayed into shot as the two leaders walked along the red carpet. Following frantic gestures from the North's protocol director, she veered swiftly to her right, leaving only her brother and Moon in shot. - Fitness first in North Korea - We also learned that you have to be fit to be a North Korean bodyguard, as 12 of Kim's security staff trotted along next to his car to form a human shield. North Korean bodyguards jogged alongside as the North's leader Kim Jong Un returned to his side of the border for a lunch break The pace was sedate on the way to lunch but considerably more brisk on the way back, with one of the lead guards appearing distinctly out of breath. The North Korean phalanx was dressed to kill in matching sharp suits, and possibly also armed to kill, with many a suspicious bulge under the jackets. - Style not substance? - Despite the sunny optics of the summit, some questioned whether there had been a great deal of progress on the key issues, ahead of a likely summit showdown between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Despite a written declaration pledging denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, Kim made no reference to it after the signing and while analysts said the summit was a positive first step, some questioned how many genuine concessions he had made. The declaration "appears to use recycled language and does not contain any tangible or verifiable commitments from the North," noted Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. People look at a vehicle destroyed by the military during crossfire with Boko Haram Islamists in Maiduguri At least four people were killed when Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked northeast Nigeria's biggest city, the emergency services said on Friday, as residents returned home. Violence broke out on the outskirts of Maiduguri on Thursday night, with indications the jihadists were trying to reach the city's Giwa Barracks, where suspected militants are held. The attack -- and an announcement that 22 soldiers from a regional force have been killed in fighting this month -- again underlined the threat posed by the Islamist insurgents. Nigeria has repeatedly maintained the Islamic State group affiliate is a spent force and on the verge of defeat. In Maiduguri, Bashir Garga, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said: "There were innocent citizens, four of them, who died. "Very few people were injured and none of them seriously." Five suicide bombers also died trying to detonate their explosives, he added. The Borno state police gave a lower death toll of two, including a member of the civilian militia assisting the military with security against Boko Haram. "The victims and corpses have been evacuated to the state specialist hospital in Maiduguri," said police chief Damian Chukwu. "Normalcy has been restored in the area." Thursday's attack, which was repelled with the arrival of troop reinforcements and air support, was a rare urban incursion by Boko Haram. - High casualties - Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram in northern Borno around the shores of Lake Chad, which forms the border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Troops from all four countries, and Nigeria's western neighbour Benin, have combined in a regional force to combat the cross-border threat from the group. Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for the N'Djamena-based Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), said operations this month had made "substantial operational dividends". But 22 soldiers have been killed and 75 others wounded since April 5. The nationalities of the dead were not disclosed. Police cars burnt by the jihadists Force commander Major General Lucky Irabor attributed the high casualty rate to "indirect fire and vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks by terrorists", Antigha added. In Maiduguri, people fled the Jiddari Polo area, which has been repeatedly hit in recent years, as the insurgents fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at troops. The police said the attack was repelled "after a fierce gun battle" and firing of tear gas. Two officers were injured while seven others were also wounded, he added. Intelligence reports seen by AFP on Friday suggested more than 100 Islamist insurgents may have been involved in the attack. Boko Haram fighters were pushed back to the Alidawari area on the outskirts of Maiduguri. Air strikes killed an unspecified number of jihadists as they fled, it added. At least one member of the security forces was killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a military vehicle, the report added. Search and clearance operations resumed at first light, when civilians who had escaped the attack began to return to their homes, it said. bur-abu-phz-sf/ach Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (C) has said she is willing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping to mend fraying ties "without any political pre-condition" Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said Friday she would be willing to meet her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping "for peace and stability" in the wake of a landmark summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. Relations between Taiwan and China have deteriorated since Tsai came to power in May 2016. Beijing still sees the self-ruling island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. China is deeply suspicious of Tsai's traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, and has cut off official communications with Taipei as the Taiwanese president refuses to accept that the island is part of "one China". When asked on Friday if she would consider meeting Xi given the way the inter-Korean summit unfolded, Tsai appeared to offer an olive branch to China and said her government "would be willing to do anything that is helpful for... peace and stability". A meeting with the Chinese leader could take place "without any political pre-condition and on an equal footing", she added. Under those principles, "I believe no Taiwanese leader would refuse," she told reporters. Tsai said she hopes the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North's leader Kim Jong Un is a step towards greater regional stability. Commenting on the Koreas summit, the foreign ministry in Taipei said Taiwan "is willing to actively contribute to and work with the international community to promote the realisation of peace, stability and prosperity in the region." Tsai's Beijing-friendly predecessor Ma Ying-jeou oversaw an unprecedented thaw in China-Taiwan relations during his 2008-2016 presidency, which culminated with a historic 2015 meeting with Xi in Singapore. Ma's government acknowledged the so-called "1992 consensus" that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative. China has repeatedly urged Tsai to adopt the same position. Beijing has recently stepped up pressure on her government with a string of air and naval exercises around the island, including live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait last week. It has also used its clout to isolate the island, luring away its diplomatic allies and blocking it from attending major international events. Chinese officials said the drills were conducted to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and warned that they would take further action if Taiwan's "(pro) independence forces continue to wantonly take rash actions". Trump thinks the WTO is too soft on China The United States on Friday rejected a proposal by 66 World Trade Organization members aimed at breaking a deadlock within the body's court, a trade official in Geneva said. The deeping crisis at the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has been triggered by President Donald Trump administration's refusal to sign off on the appointment of new judges to the court's appellate chamber. The 164-member WTO is confronting a range of headaches linked to Trump's trade policies, including fierce battles over his proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium. But trade experts have said the DSB blockage may prove to be the most severe, since it could cripple the WTO's ability to resolve disputes, one of the organisation's key functions. The trade official, who was not authorised to comment publicly on Friday's DSB meeting, said 66 members put forward a plan to fill the three court vacancies. "The United States said it was not in a position to accept (the) proposal," the official said. Tensions over the issue have been compounded by the fact that the United States has not clearly expressed its intentions for the DSB or offered a reform plan. Trump has called the WTO a "disaster," a "catastrophe," and said its rulings are "unfair" to the US. Those assertions have been countered by WTO officials who note that the US has won more DSB cases than any other member. The US ambassador to Switzerland, Edward McMullen, told journalists on Thursday that he was not in a position to explain the American position regarding the trade court, but noted that Washington's new WTO envoy, Dennis Shea, has recently started work and will be able to provide answers soon. "I think you are about to get clarity with the new ambassador," McMullen said. The DSB needs at least three judges to hear cases. Based on timelines on which the remaining judges are due to retire, the court will stop functioning by the end of next year if no replacements are agreed. US President Donald Trump has hailed progress on North Korea, but has also struck a cautious tone, saying that "only time will tell" if moves toward denuclearization and peace will be successful US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed the "historic" summit between the two Koreas, saying that "good things" are happening on the peninsula ahead of his own highly anticipated meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong Un. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump wrote on Twitter. "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" he tweeted. Kim met Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the pair agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearization of their divided peninsula. An armistice brought the fighting on the Korean peninsula to an end in 1953, but 65 years later, a final peace agreement has still not been reached. The US president also praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's efforts on North Korea, calling them a "great help." "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" he tweeted. Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish the North over its nuclear and missile tests. China has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the crisis. Trump gave credit to China, but US Senator Lindsay Graham said the US president's efforts could be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize -- an honor won by Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. While Trump praised progress on North Korea, he also struck a somewhat cautious tone, writing that: "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" Trump said Thursday that three or four dates were under consideration for his meeting with Kim, which he has previously said could take place by early June. The summit between the two Koreas -- only the third since 1953 -- was the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy. But the two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both of them in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. Last year, Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim would serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. China welcomed what it called "an important consensus" between the two Koreas China on Friday praised the leaders of North and South Korea for their political "courage" and welcomed their joint declaration vowing to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and seek a peace treaty. The foreign ministry called the handshake between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in over the Military Demarcation Line that divides the peninsula a "historic moment". "We applaud the Korean leaders' historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing. "We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula." She also cited a poem that reads: "We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let's forgo our old grudges, smiling we meet again." China is North Korea's sole major ally, having fought by its side in the 1950-1953 Korean War. But Beijing has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests. Relations have chilled but Kim held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a surprise meeting in Beijing in March, his first official trip abroad. Beijing has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis. Another foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, issued a statement late Friday following the signing of the joint declaration by Kim and Moon, calling it "an important consensus". The two leaders issued a statement confirming their goal of "complete denuclearisation". They also agreed to seek a permanent end to the Korean War this year, 65 years after hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. In the declaration, the two sides said they would seek meetings this year with the US and possibly China -- both parties to the 1953 ceasefire -- "with a view to declaring an end to the war, turning the armistice into a peace treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime". Lu said China "welcomes it and extends its congratulations". "The DPRK and the ROK belong to the same nation," Lu added, using the acronyms for the official names of the two Koreas. "We hope that the relevant parties will maintain the momentum for dialogue and work together to promote the denuclearisation of the Peninsula and the political settlement process... China stands ready to continue to play its positive role to this end." Homosexual contact is outlawed or repressed in many parts of Africa A Kenyan movie due to become the first in the country's history to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival was banned by authorities on Friday for seeking to "promote lesbianism". The Kenya Film Classification Board announced the film "Rafiki" was being banned "due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law." In a statement, the board said the film "contains homosexual scenes that run counter to the law, the culture and the moral values of the Kenyan people." Ezekiel Mutua, the board's head and a self-described "fervent moral crusader", has previously sought to ban films, ads and cartoons he deems immoral, often on the grounds that they promote homosexuality. "Rafiki" -- meaning "friend" in Kiswahili -- is adapted from a story called "Jambula Tree" by Ugandan writer Monica Arac Nyeko. It tells the tale of two young women from different communities who fall in love. The story won the 2007 Caine Prize, which is awarded to African writers of a short story published in English. It is due to be premiered in the May 8-19 festival in the "Un Certain Regard" category, earmarked for films with unexpected or marginal themes by emerging directors. The film's Kenyan director, Wanuri Kahiu, said the decision was disappointing. "I am incredibly sorry to announce that our film 'Rafiki' has been banned in Kenya," she said. "We believe adult Kenyans are mature and discerning enough to watch local content but their right has been denied." Under British colonial-era laws homosexuality remains illegal in Kenya. In a televised interview last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta said homosexuality went against Kenyan society and culture. He dismissed gay rights as being "not of any major importance to the people and the Republic of Kenya." India's Maoist insurgency began in the 1960s, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and has cost thousands of lives in almost daily violence Indian security forces killed at least eight suspected Maoist rebels in a raid on a jungle hideaway Friday, adding to the dozens of dead from recent operations against the radicals. At least six women fighters were among the latest dead in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state, regional police chief Mohit Garg told AFP. The police unit raided a safe house used by the Naxalite communists in the restive state. "At least eight Naxals were killed in the ensuing encounter after our men surrounded them in a forest," said Garg. The officer said they suspect a large number of Maoist suspects were injured in the gunfight but escaped. "Blood marks and signs of injured being dragged were found and we are scouring the area for remaining Naxals," he said. Security forces killed 39 Maoist rebels in the forest of Gadchiroli in neighbouring Maharashtra state in raids on Sunday and Tuesday. It was one of the worst death tolls suffered by the Maoists in their decades old battle with the central government. Nineteen of the rebels killed earlier this week were women, and included senior commanders. India's Maoist insurgency began in the 1960s, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and has cost thousands of lives in almost daily violence. Thousands of armed men and women claim to be fighting for the rights of the indigenous tribal people, including the right to land, resources and jobs. The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 Indian states but are most active in resource-rich areas in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Gadchiroli is a key transit point for Maoist guerrillas, connecting western India with central and southern states in a restive zone known as the "red corridor". Last month eight security forces were killed in Chhattisgarh after suspected rebels blew up their vehicle with a landmine. Two soldiers were killed last week in a similar explosion in the central state. A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot during clashes with Israeli forces on the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City, during the fifth straight Friday of mass demonstrations and clashes on April 27, 2018 Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in clashes on the Gaza border Friday, the health ministry in the enclave said, in the latest day of demonstrations dubbed the Great March of Return. The ministry said two of the men, who it did not identify, were killed by Israeli fire east of Gaza City. An AFP correspondent saw both bodies at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. A third man, identified by the ministry as 29-year-old Abdul Salam al-Bakr, was killed east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed since protests began on March 30 to 44. 154 other people were hospitalised for gunshot wounds and tear gas inhalation, Gaza's health ministry said. As on previous Fridays, protesters gathered at five sites near the border fence, though numbers were down on earlier weeks. Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948. Israel says that allowing the refugees in would mean the end of the Jewish state, and accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as a pretext for violence. The mugshot of accused 'Golden State Killer' Joseph James DeAngelo on display at a Sacramento press conference where his arrest was announced Detectives in California used DNA left at crime scenes, combined with genetic information from a relative who joined an online genealogy service, to catch an alleged rapist and murderer who eluded authorities for four decades. The arrest this week of 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo -- believed to be the "Golden State Killer" responsible for 12 murders and more than 50 rapes in the 1970s and 1980s -- was hailed as a victory for cutting-edge science and old-fashioned detective work. "The answer was, and always was going to be, in the DNA," said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. Here's how it unfolded. - Crime scene DNA - Schubert opened a cold case investigation into the Golden State Killer two years ago, according to The New York Times. Investigators started with DNA samples from crime scenes that were in storage to build a genetic profile of the suspected attacker, which they then uploaded into an online genealogy database to see if they could find a match. A Lake Worth, Florida-based company called GEDMatch acknowledged on Friday that its database "was used to help identify the Golden State Killer... although we were not approached by law enforcement or anyone else about this case or about the DNA." The FBI wanted poster for the 'Golden State Killer' The company warned customers in a statement that even though the site was intended for genealogical research, possible uses of their DNA include "identification of relatives that have committed crimes or were victims of crimes," and that they should delete their profiles if they had any concerns. Although DeAngelo himself had not sent his own DNA to GEDMatch, at least one distant relative of his had done so, and possibly more. GEDMatch is a website that "pools raw genetic profiles that people share publicly," Paul Holes, a retired district attorney inspector, told the East Bay Times. "No court order was needed to access that site's large database of genetic blueprints." Larger companies including Ancestry.com and 23andMe denied any link to the investigation and said they had not given any customer data to law enforcement officials. - Online family trees - People who are related share chunks of identical DNA, which is interspersed with sections of different DNA. Identifying these shared patterns can point investigators to people who are distant or close kin, depending on the extent of the match. The crime lab began exploring online family trees that appeared to mirror the suspect's DNA profile. Then, they hunted for clues about various individuals in those families, to see if they were possible suspects. On April 19, detectives decided that DeAngelo might be the one because a number of factors aligned: the DNA, his age, and the fact that he lived in the area where the crimes occurred. Investigators set up surveillance in the tree-lined suburb where DeAngelo lived. Then, Schubert said, "abandoned" DNA samples were acquired from him. Officials have not said what was used, but it could have been a soda can, a hairbrush, or anything containing DeAngelo's saliva, hair or blood. "You leave your DNA in a place that is a public domain," she said. This allowed experts to compare the newly collected sample to the old DNA from the crime scene, and it was a match to more than 10 of the murders. The sample provided "overwhelming evidence that it was him," Schubert said, according to the Sacramento Bee. - 'Astronomical evidence' - Schubert asked the sheriff's office to collect a second sample, to be sure. So they did. "The second sample was astronomical evidence that it was him," she said. DeAngelo was arrested outside his home Tuesday and charged with murdering two people in 1978 in Rancho Cordova, California. He is expected to face more charges. "This was a true convergence of emerging technology and dogged determination by detectives," Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said. Just a few grains of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for the rising number of overdose deaths in the United States, are as powerful as a much larger amount of heroin The US Treasury on Friday named an alleged Chinese fentanyl supplier as a major global trafficker, taking aim at one of the drug networks behind a rising number of overdose deaths. It designated Zhang Jian, of Shanghai, as a top trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, allowing it to go after his financial interests around the world. Zhang was already indicted last October as part of a joint US-Chinese law enforcement investigation into trade in fentanyl, an extremely powerful synthetic opioid that causes a rising share of the 60,000-plus annual overdose deaths in the United States. Four other Chinese were also hit with sanctions in Friday's announcement. All remain at large. The Justice Department says those sanctioned were part of Zhang's organization, which supplied a US and Canada distribution network. So far 32 people have been charged in the investigation. "This was an elaborate and sophisticated conspiracy. They used the internet, about 30 different aliases, cryptocurrency, off-shore accounts, encrypted communications, and they allegedly laundered funds internationally through third parties," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday in a speech in North Dakota, where a 2015 overdose death sparked the investigation into the Zhang network. Sessions said most of the fentanyl distributed in the United States comes from China, and is shipped either through the mail or smuggled across the southern border. He said the Chinese had cooperated with US investigators in the case, adding: "I hope that cooperation will grow in the future. The fact is that we must have more help, and as trading partners, we have a right to expect it." The UN delegation will speak to refugees in Bangladeshi camps before they head to Myanmar early next week to visit conflict-scarred Rakhine state Human Rights Watch called Friday for Myanmar's Rohingya crisis to be referred to the International Criminal Court, days before a UN Security Council delegation is due to arrive in the country. Myanmar has come under intense pressure since the start of a military campaign in August that has driven some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh, where refugees have provided consistent testimony of murder and rape by security forces and local mobs. Myanmar's military insists the campaign was justified as a means to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border guard posts and killed about a dozen police officers. The UN delegation will speak to refugees in the Bangladeshi camps before they head to Myanmar early next week to visit conflict-scarred Rakhine state. They will also meet with Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been denounced in the West for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless minority that has faced decades of persecution in the largely Buddhist nation. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told reporters in Yangon on Friday that the Security Council should issue a resolution to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or else no one will be held accountable. "The lack of a UN Security Council resolution has left the Myanmar government convinced that it has literally gotten away with mass murder," he said. He also called for targeted sanctions on perpetrators and an arms embargo. Myanmar has rejected nearly all allegations that its security forces committed atrocities in Rakhine. Earlier this month it dismissed an attempt at the ICC to open a probe into the crisis, saying the court has no jurisdiction. It took months for Myanmar to agree to the delegation's visit after the UN levelled accusations of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine. The visiting delegation is led by Britain, Peru and Kuwait, whose ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi has said the trip is not about "naming and shaming" Myanmar, but rather to show the country that the "international community is following the situation and has great interest in resolving it". The United States and its European partners in the council have faced strong opposition to action on the Rohingya crisis from China, which has key economic interests in the neighbouring country. The council adopted a statement in November that called on Myanmar to rein in its military, but there has been no resolution, which could face opposition from China. But Roth said this should not be assumed. "If China wants to veto it should pay the price of turning its back on the crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya." Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a repatriation deal for the refugees but no Rohingya have returned from the camps across the border, fearing a lack of safety back home. Donald Trump and Kanye West stand together in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City Rap superstar Kanye West's professed love for President Donald Trump sent new shockwaves Friday through hip-hop with Chance the Rapper apologizing for seemingly sympathetic remarks. West, re-emerging from a year-long absence as he promotes upcoming albums and his fashion line, on Wednesday tweeted his "love" of "my brother" Trump and appeared wearing one of the president's signature "Make America Great Again" caps. Twitter observers noted an exodus of leading artists who unfollowed West including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Drake. But one rare voice of support was Chance the Rapper, a fast-rising star from West's hometown of Chicago who tweeted, "Black people don't have to be Democrats" and predicted that the next US president will be an independent. "I'd never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination," Chance tweeted in reference to Trump Trump, unaccustomed to defenders in the celebrity world, on Friday thanked Chance on Twitter and said that "eyes are being opened for the first time in decades" as he touted low unemployment rates among minorities. Chance, whose father is a Democratic operative in Chicago who worked for future president Barack Obama, on Friday apologized and said he only wanted to support West, whom he called such a mentor that he felt like family. "I'd never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination," Chance tweeted in reference to Trump. Chance said his comments were ill-timed but that Chicago has had "generations of Democratic officials with no investment or regard for black schools, neighborhood(s) or black lives." "We have to talk honestly about what is happening and has been happening in this country and we have to challenge those who are responsible, as well as those who are giving them a pass," said Chance, whose charity last year pledged $2.2 million for arts programs in Chicago public schools. West met Trump in 2016 after the rapper cut short a tour following a breakdown. But West has said little about why he admires the real estate tycoon, who came to political prominence promoting unfounded conspiracy theories about Obama's place of birth. West tweeted on Friday: "I haven't done enough research on conservatives to call myself or be called one. I'm just refusing to be enslaved by monolithic thought." The rapport between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at least visually, appeared decidedly warmer than in their previous White House meeting in March 2017 US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to make little headway on high-stakes trade and security disagreements Friday, but avoided the public bickering that has plagued their year-old relationship. Merkel left the White House, seemingly unable to secure a promise from Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal or to provide a permanent European exemption to trade tariffs. Unless Trump acts by May 1, which is next Tuesday, tariffs on European steel and aluminum will kick into effect, likely followed by EU countermeasures that would spark a transatlantic trade war. "The president will decide. That is very clear," Merkel said, papering over differences during a joint press conference at the White House. "We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs of the negotiations and the respective assessments on where we stand on this. And the decision lies with the president." On the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump may scuttle on May 12, Merkel conceded it was "anything but perfect" but is worth holding on to nonetheless. Trump has demanded the "terrible" deal -- which gave Tehran sanctions relief in return for curbs on controversial nuclear activities -- be renegotiated, something Europeans see as unrealistic, dangerous and unnecessary. Merkel, like French President Emmanuel Macron who visited the White House earlier this week, tried to sell Trump on the idea of the deal being a stepping stone to a longer-term, broader agreement. "It will not solve all the problems with Iran. It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure," she said. Trump was as noncommittal as he was with Macron, giving no sense that he was ready to bend, or that he has an alternative plan. "They will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. Okay?" Trump said when asked about his own proposal, refusing to rule out military action. US President Donald Trump was as noncommital with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as he was with France's Emmanuel Macron about what he will do on Iran The White House has largely seen the deal through the prism of domestic politics and Trump's campaign promise to nix it. Despite lingering disagreements, Trump tempered his previously harsh criticism of low German defense spending, open immigration policies and export-focused trade. Hailing Merkel as an "extraordinary woman," Trump insisted "we must have a fair and reciprocal trading relationship with our friends and partners." "I'm committed to working with Chancellor Merkel to reduce barriers to United States exports, to remedy these trade imbalances, and deepen our economic ties." Trump also renewed his criticism of NATO, saying the transatlantic defense alliance was more useful for Europe than for the United States, but in less sharp terms than before. "NATO is wonderful but it helps Europe more than it helps us," he said, returning to a pet peeve. "Why are we paying a vast majority of the costs?" he complained. "We're working on those things. It's been unfair. And I don't blame the chancellor." - Make Germany heard again - The German leader's visit had been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of "fraternite" between Trump and Macron earlier this week. Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed -- in vain -- for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations, officials told AFP. Instead the chancellor got a one day, run-of-the-mill "working visit." But the trip got off to a surprisingly warm start, and the body language showed. The two leaders exchanged kisses on the cheek as Merkel emerged from her limousine at the White House. "We actually have had a great relationship right from the beginning but some people didn't understand that," Trump told reporters. "But we understand it, and that's what's important." When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host -- clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. The Trump era has seen a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run, successfully, for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven -- along with centrists claiming her as the new "leader of the free world" -- to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican-controlled Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Both Merkel and Trump welcomed his appointment. French officials said President Emmanuel Macron will discuss security in the South Pacific with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his first visit to the country as president Climate change, cuisine and defence will be on the menu next week when French President Emmanuel Macron visits Australia. French officials said Macron would also discuss security in the South Pacific with Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull on his first visit to the country as president. The May 1-3 trip comes hot on the heels of Macron's pomp-filled visit to Washington and Turnbull's journey to Normandy for World War 1 Anzac Day commemorations. Macron's advisers said he wanted to discuss a "common response" to security and climate tensions in the South Pacific, which includes the French territory of New Caledonia. The visit will also have a strong trade and cultural flavour. France's 40-year-old leader will discuss food Wednesday at a lunch with Australian and French chefs. As often on his foreign visits, he will also meet local artists, specifically Aboriginal artists whose work deals with the climate change -- a subject on which Macron, custodian of the 2015 Paris Agreement, has taken a leadership role. He will also try to drum up business for French defence companies, a-year-and-a-half after Australia signed an Aus$50 billion (US$37 billion, 31 billion euros) deal to purchase 12 next-generation French submarines. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said earlier this month that, with Britain poised to leave the European Union, Australia was anxious to deepen ties with other European countries. Australia was already working "very closely" with France on the submarine project, she was quoted by Australian media as saying. Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi (3L), who was recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden, was moved by intelligence officials to the safer place late Thursday The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track and kill Osama bin Laden has been moved by authorities from a prison in the country's northwest to an unknown safer location, an official and family member said Friday. Shakil Afridi has been languishing in a prison in the city of Peshawar for almost seven years after his fake vaccination programme helped US agents track and kill the Al-Qaeda leader. A top prison official in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the main town, told AFP that Afridi was moved by intelligence officials to the safer place late Thursday. When asked the reasons behind moving the doctor, the official told AFP, "I was informed in writing that they are moving him due to security reasons". Jamil Afridi, the doctor's brother, confirmed to AFP that he had been informed by government officials that "Shakil has been moved to a safer place". Afridi was sentenced to jail for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. Some US lawmakers said the case was revenge for his help in the search for the Al-Qaeda chief. Afridi, a former senior surgeon believed to be in his mid-50s, had been living in solitary confinement in a small room in Peshawar's Central Jail, his lawyer Qamar Nadim told AFP. In 2016, a US threat to cut aid to Pakistan saw a tribunal slice 10 years off his sentence -- but since then US pressure for his release has tapered off. US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi. "I'm sure they would let them (him) out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan," Trump told Fox News at the time, adding that Pakistan "takes advantage like everybody else". The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister at the time branded Trump "ignorant" and stated the "government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump" would decide Afridi's fate. Angola's ex-president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos ruled for 38 years Angola's former long-time president Jose Eduardo dos Santos is to stand down as head of the ruling MPLA party, officials said Friday, underlining the country's historic transfer of power. Joao Lourenco, who succeeded dos Santos as president last year, will also replace him as party leader in September, the MPLA said in a statement. Dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years before stepping aside in favour of Lourenco. But dos Santos -- who has been dogged by reports of ill health -- had remained as MPLA leader and was expected to retain significant influence over Lourenco's government. The party's executive said in a statement that it "approved of the candidacy of Comrade Joao Lourenco as president of the MPLA" and that it would hold a special congress in September. Lourenco, an MPLA veteran and previously a loyal minister under dos Santos, has surprised many observers by acting against state corruption and nepotism since taking over. Jose Filomeno dos Santos, the son of the former president, has been charged after allegedly syphoning off $1.5 billion when he ran the oil-rich country's sovereign wealth fund until he was sacked in January. Filomeno's half-sister Isabel dos Santos was also sacked from her job as head of state oil giant Sonangol and is now facing a graft probe. Exposing friction at the top of Angolan politics, Isabel has alleged that her family are victims of a witch hunt at the hands of the country's new leader. This week, President Lourenco fired his army forces' chief of staff and his head of intelligence over corruption allegations in a deepening purge of senior figures linked with graft. Scores of other government officials and management of state-owned companies have also been removed. During the country's oil boom, dos Santos was accused of corruption and enriching a small elite, including his own family, while millions of Angolans remained in dire poverty. At a meeting of the ruling party's central committee in March, Dos Santos said he could stay on as party leader until 2019. According to a member of the committee, there were fierce exchanges between old-guard supporters of Dos Santos and members aligned to Lourenco who wanted him named party leader promptly. Dos Santos became Angolan president and head of the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in 1979. The country was engulfed by civil war between 1975 and 2002. Supporters of the Western Sahara's Polisario Front during a demonstration in Sale in March, 2017 The UN Security Council on Friday backed a US-drafted resolution that urges Morocco and the Polisario Front to prepare for talks on settling the decades-old conflict over Western Sahara. The council renewed for six months the mandate of a UN mission that has been monitoring a ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991 and spelled out steps for a return to negotiations. China, Russia and Ethiopia abstained, but the measure passed with support from all 12 other countries in the council. "The expectation is clear," US political coordinator Amy Tachco told the council after the vote. "It is time to see progress toward a political solution and after 27 years, to stop perpetuating the status quo." Morocco and the Polisario fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, but diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of UN-sponsored talks in 2008. The adoption followed a week of contentious negotiations during which Russia and Ethiopia complained that the proposed measure appeared to favor Morocco's stance. Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council that the resolution was "unbalanced," adding: "let's not decide in the place of the sides what the outcome will be" of a new round of talks. Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara and rejects the Polisario's insistence on an independence referendum. Tachco told the council that Morocco's autonomy proposal is "one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara to run their own affairs with peace and dignity." - Need for compromise - While the resolution does not set a timetable for relaunching talks, it stresses "the need to make progress toward a realistic, practicable and enduring political solution to the question of Western Sahara based on compromise." In a statement, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said that goal "identifies with the political solution advocated by Morocco." The MINURSO mission was extended until October instead of a full year, giving the council an opportunity to review the situation in six months and decide on next steps. "This is a turning point," said the Polisario's MINURSO coordinator Mhamed Khadad, who pointed to the six-month extension as a window given by the council for progress to be achieved. "We are ready to engage." The resolution renews a call for the Polisario to withdraw from Guerguerat, an area in a buffer zone in the southwest near the Mauritanian border, and to refrain from relocating offices to Bir Lahlou, in the northwest. Morocco's Ambassador Omar Hilale warned that if the Polisario "will not withdraw, there will be no political process." In a bid to quell tensions in the buffer zone, the council requested that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres step in to "interview the parties" to discuss the military agreements underpinning the ceasefire. Guterres last year appointed former German president and ex-International Monetary Fund director Horst Koehler to be his new envoy for Western Sahara with a mandate to restart negotiations. Koehler is expected to embark on a new regional tour soon to press for negotiations, which some diplomats say could happen later this year. In a message to Algeria, which has refused to engage in direct talks with Morocco over Western Sahara, the resolution called on the neighboring states to "increase their engagement in the negotiating process" -- an element praised by Morocco. "It is Algeria that arms and shelters the Polisario, it is Algeria that finances it, it is Algeria that oversees it and mobilizes all its diplomatic apparatus to counter the territorial integrity of the kingdom (of Morocco)," Bourita said. Morocco has long insisted that Algeria come to the table, but Algiers sees this as a ploy to sideline the Polisario and present the conflict as a regional one. In response to renewal of the MINURSO mandate, Algeria said it hoped this would encourage Morocco and the Polisario to resume talks "as soon as possible and without delay." The resolution "reaffirms once more... that there is no solution to this conflict except that which ensures the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination," foreign ministry spokesman Abdelaziz Benali Cherif said, according to the state news agency APS. The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario in 1976, is a full member of the African Union. The mostly desert territory has rich fishing grounds off its coast and may have untapped offshore oil deposits. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Israel's Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman listen to the Israeli national anthem at the Pentagon April 26, 2018 in Washington Israel is not concerned by Russia's military presence in neighboring Syria because Moscow is a "pragmatic actor" with whom deals can be struck, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Washington on Friday. "What is important to understand is that the Russians, they are very pragmatic players," said Lieberman during a discussion on the alliance between Russia, Syria and Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "At the end of the day, they are reasonable guys, it's possible to close deals with them and we understand what is their interest," said Lieberman, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union. "Their interest is very different from our interest but we respect their priorities," he said. "We try to avoid direct frictions and tensions." The Russian military has an air base at Hmeimim, in the northwest of Syria and has maintained port facilities at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast in the west for several decades. But Lieberman said the expanded Russian presence in Syria was "not our business. We try only to protect our own security interests." Lieberman was talking three days after the Israeli news site Ynet published an interview in which he threatened to attack Russian S-300 anti-aircraft batteries that could be delivered to the Syrian military and used to target Israeli aircraft. In 2010, Moscow signed a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the delivery of S-300 batteries but Damascus has yet to take possession of the anti-aircraft systems, in large part due to Israeli pressure, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Even though Israel has insisted it will not get drawn into the Syrian civil war, it has carried out dozens of air strikes on regime positions and has targeted weapons convoys it says were coming from Iran and were destined for Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla organization that has frequently clashed with Israel. Pick-up trucks belonging to militants of MSA patrol along the Mali-Niger border in the deserted area of the Menaka region in Mali on February 4, 2018 Twelve tuareg, including children and elderly people, were killed in clashes on the Mali border with Niger, sources said Friday, a day after the incident. Unrest between jihadists and two Tuareg-led armed groups is common in the region. Sixteen gunmen appeared on motorbikes outside the town of Anderamboukane and "opened fire on civilians" Thursday, according to statements from the Tuareg groups, the pro-government Gatia and MSA. "Among the victims are young children and elderly people," they added. A Mali official source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the death toll to AFP. An MSA patrol gave chase to the assailants, saying it had placed four "out of harm's way" while losing a fighter of their own in capturing equipment and motorbikes from the attackers. Sources from the UN's MINUSMA peacekeeping operation said on April 12 they had received "very serious" information that "summary executions of at least 95 people" had occurred during anti-jihadist operations in the northeastern Menaka region carried out by "a coalition of armed groups" including Gatia and MSA. Both groups denied a claim they dubbed "scandalous and outrageous." France intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help government forces drive al Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the north. But large tracts of the country remain lawless despite a peace accord signed with ethnic Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists. Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected "Golden State Killer," at his first court appearance in Sacramento Handcuffed to a wheelchair and appearing frail, the former California policeman accused of being the notorious "Golden State Killer" appeared in court on Friday and was charged with two counts of murder. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who was arrested on Tuesday after a 40-year manhunt, did not enter a plea to the charges at the brief arraignment in a Sacramento court. DeAngelo was charged with the February 2, 1978 murders of Brian and Katie Maggiore, a newlywed couple who were shot dead in Rancho Cordova, a Sacramento suburb, while walking their dog. DeAngelo had both wrists handcuffed to a wheelchair and was wearing an orange jumpsuit as he made his first court appearance since his arrest. The balding, unshaven alleged serial killer appeared weak and struggled to answer the judge's questions. Judge Michael W. Sweet addresses accused 'Golden State Killer' Joseph James DeAngelo during his arraignment on two charges of murder Asked if he had a lawyer, DeAngelo replied in a raspy voice: "I have a lawyer." A public defender has been appointed to represent DeAngelo. DeAngelo's next court appearance was set for May. Besides the Maggiore killings, DeAngelo is a suspect in 10 other murders committed in central, northern and southern California between 1976 and 1986, according to the authorities. In addition to the murders, the Golden State Killer has been linked by DNA or other evidence to more than 50 rapes and 150 burglaries. DeAngelo was arrested on Tuesday after investigators tracked him down using a genealogy database and DNA left at crime scenes. - Crime spree sparked terror - The decade-long crime spree of sadistic rapes and murders by the man known as the Golden State Killer sparked terror over much of California. They began in the summer of 1976 and ended abruptly in 1986 with the rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl. A woman holds a photo of Cheri Domingo and her boyfriend Gregory Sanchez, who were killed in 1981, at the arraignment of accused 'Golden State Killer' Joseph James DeAngelo Along the way, the meticulous masked assailant was given a number of nicknames: the East Area Rapist, the Original Nightstalker, the Golden State Killer... DeAngelo appears to have spent most of his life in and around Sacramento, the California state capital, apart from a stint in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. He went to high school in Sacramento and obtained a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Sacramento State after serving in the navy, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. DeAngelo served as a policeman from 1973 to 1976 in the town of Exeter, south of Sacramento. Exeter is near the town of Visalia, and DeAngelo is suspected of being the "Visalia Ransacker" who was burglarizing homes in the area. From 1976 to 1979, DeAngelo worked for the police department in Auburn, California, until he was fired for shoplifting a hammer and a can of dog repellent. Sheriff's deputies cordoned off accused 'Golden State Killer' Joseph James DeAngelo home in Citrus Heights, California, as they searched for evidence According to the Sacramento Bee, DeAngelo retired last year after working since 1989 as a truck mechanic at a warehouse for a grocery store chain. For more than 20 years, DeAngelo lived in Citrus Heights, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. According to the Bee, DeAngelo was married in 1973 and has adult children. Investigators caught him by comparing DNA from crime scenes to profiles available on genealogical websites. Investigators were able to find DNA matches with "third, fourth and fifth cousins and more distant than that," forensic criminologist Paul Holes told the Los Angeles Times. They were even able to track the suspect's lineage back to "great-great-great-grandparents in the early 1800s," said Holes, who spent years investigating the case. The next task, which began at the start of 2018, was to work down the family tree searching for suspect. DeAngelo was not initially the main suspect, and came under the investigator's attention around six weeks ago, Holes told the newspaper. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, is no stranger to international acclaim having shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a champion for women's rights Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Friday accepted the prestigious $5 million Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. "As the first woman to receive this Mo Ibrahim Foundation Prize award, it is my hope that women and girls across the continent are inspired to break down barriers," said the 79-year-old who left office earlier this year. "Where there is a first, there will be a second." The world's richest individual prize is given to a democratically-elected African leader who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, served their mandated terms and left office within the previous three years. The award comes with $5 million (4.1 million euros), which is paid over 10 years, and $200,000 annually for life from then on. "I stand before you today an imperfect leader, from a complex, post-conflict society, on a continent of uneven progress, during a time of global uncertainty," she told an audience of African and foreign officials in the Rwandan capital Kigali. Sirleaf is no stranger to international acclaim having shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a champion for women's rights. The Ibrahim prize, founded by Sudan-born telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim, has only been awarded five times since its inception in 2007. The philanthropist has said in the past that making no award sent just as strong a message on African leadership. When Sirleaf's win was announced earlier this year Ibrahim praised her leadership of Liberia. "In very difficult circumstances, she helped guide her nation towards a peaceful and democratic future, paving the way for her successor to follow," he said in February. "I am proud to see the first woman Ibrahim laureate, and I hope Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will continue to inspire women in Africa and beyond." The prize's four previous laureates are: Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007); Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008); Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), and Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014). Bill Cosby (C) can travel only within the greater Philadelphia area, and solely for medical treatment or to meet his legal team upon written request Convicted sex offender Bill Cosby was ordered Friday to be fitted with a GPS monitor and undergo a violent sexual predators' assessment, allowed to leave home only for medical treatment or to meet his lawyers. Judge Steven O'Neill signed the order, clarifying the terms of the disgraced icon's $1 million bail, one day after a Pennsylvania jury found Cosby guilty on three counts of sexual assault. The frail, 80-year-old Cosby -- once beloved as "America's Dad" -- faces a sentence of up to 30 years for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004. Prosecutors on Thursday demanded his bail be revoked, arguing he was a flight risk -- but an irritated O'Neill refused to "simply lock him up right now." The judge confined Cosby to his palatial residence in Cheltenham, the same home where the actor assaulted Constand 14 years ago, and instructed probation officers to fit him with a GPS monitor. Cosby can travel only within the greater Philadelphia area, and solely for medical treatment or to meet his legal team upon written request, O'Neill said. The disgraced megastar's passport has already been impounded. He must also submit to an assessment by a sexual offenders board to determine how much of a danger he poses, before being sentenced by O'Neill in 75 days' time. His conviction ends the career of once towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, the first black actor to grace primetime US television, hitting the big time after growing up as the son of a maid. Cosby's lawyers have vowed to appeal. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Latest on developments surrounding the killing of a Palestinian in Malaysia (all times local): 5:40 p.m. The body of a Hamas scientist gunned down in Malaysia last week has arrived in his native Gaza for burial. A kid holds a poster of Palestinian Fadi al-Batsh portrait at a mosque in Selayang, on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The Palestinian envoy in Malaysia says the body of the Hamas militant killed last week in Kuala Lumpur will be repatriated to the Gaza Strip for burial. Fadi al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer at a Malaysian university, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was on his way to a mosque early Saturday. (AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf) Relatives and Palestinian faction leaders gathered in a show of respect to greet the body of Fadi al-Batsh as it entered Gaza through the Egyptian border. Hamas has scheduled a funeral for Friday. Al-Batsh, who was working as a university researcher in Malaysia, was killed by a pair of assailants on motorcycles early Saturday as he was on his way to pray at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur. Hamas has identified him as commander in its military wing and accused Israel of killing him. But on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel did not do it. Israeli media have reported that al-Batsh was involved in Hamas' military drone program. ___ 5 p.m. Israel's defense minister is denying that his country killed a Hamas-affiliated scientist who was gunned down last week in Malaysia. Avigdor Lieberman told the Arabic news site Elaph that "we did not assassinate him." When asked in the interview on Thursday who killed Palestinian engineer Fadi al-Batsh, the minister said: "Ask James Bond ... maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies." Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer at a Malaysian university, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was on his way to a mosque on Saturday. In Gaza, Hamas leaders and relatives are waiting at the Egyptian border for his body. Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, accuses Israel of assassinating al-Batsh. He is to be buried Friday at a ceremony led by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader. ___ 2:20 p.m. Hundreds of Palestinians have participated in the funeral of a Gaza journalist who died after being shot by Israeli troops while covering a border protest. Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, died Wednesday at an Israeli hospital, nearly two weeks after he was shot on April 13. Abu Hussein was covering the weekly massive protests organized by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. Hamas leaders and family members were waiting Thursday at the Egyptian border for the body of a Hamas-affiliated scientist gunned down last week in Malaysia. The body of Fadi al-Batsh, an engineering lecturer in a Kuala Lumpur university, was expected to arrive later Thursday. Hamas, which accuses Israel of assassinating al-Batsh, is to bury him on Friday at a ceremony led by Ismail Haniyeh, the group's top leader. NEW YORK (AP) - Avicii's family says the late performer "could not go on any longer" in a second statement released this week. The Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ, born Tim Bergling, was found dead last week in Muscat, Oman at age 28. Details about his death were not revealed. His family says Thursday that "our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions." FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2013 file photo, Avicii accepts the award for favorite artist - electronic dance music at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Avicii's family released a statement Monday, April 23, 2018, saying they "would like to thank you for the support and the loving words about our son and brother." They say they are grateful for his fans around the world who loved his music. Swedish-born Avicii, whose name is Tim Bergling, was found dead, April 20, in Muscat, Oman. He was 28. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File) Avicii retired from touring in 2016. His family says after he stopped, "he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most - music." They also say their son "was not made for the business machine he found himself in." Instead, "he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight." BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana's plans to finance about $600 million in interstate projects have gotten tied up in a dispute over moves by two banking giants to restrict gun sales by their business customers. The State Bond Commission disagreed Thursday about how and if Louisiana should retaliate against Citigroup and Bank of America for their firearm restriction policies. Citigroup announced it will end relationships with businesses that sell firearms to people who haven't passed a background check or anyone under the age of 21. Bank of America said it will stop doing business with certain gun manufacturers. Treasurer John Schroder wants Louisiana to stop contracting with the banks. But the commission voted 8-6 against Schroder's bid to keep the banks from being eligible to work on the interstate financing deal. Members will debate the issue again. NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City man who admitted to plotting to help the Islamic State group has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. Fareed Mumuni was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to charges that he planned to aid the extremist organization and tried to kill a federal agent searching his Staten Island home. Prosecutors say the 23-year-old Mumuni attacked the agent with a knife, but the agent's body armor protected him. He and his co-defendant, Munther Omar Saleh, were suspected of plotting an attack using a pressure cooker. Saleh pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The two were part of a group of six that planned to travel overseas and fight for ISIS. Three New Jersey residents have admitted to their roles in the 2015 case. CHICAGO (AP) - When Frank Mir received the call from Bellator he didn't anticipate fighting one of the most prolific men in MMA history after a two-year layoff. Mir (18-11) will be making his Bellator debut against Fedor Emelianenko (36-5, 1 no contest) in the first round of the 2018's Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix on Saturday night in Rosemont. Emelianenko, 41, dominated MMA in the heavyweight division from 2000 to 2010. He lost to Matt Mitrione by TKO last June in his Bellator debut, but he previously won five straight fights after three straight losses before his decade of dominance. "At first when I first got the call, honestly, I didn't want the fight. First fight back. Two-year layoff. I'm also a strategist. It didn't seem like a good idea. I wouldn't mind a softball, an underhand pitch for the first swing, you know," Mir said. "It would be nice if it worked out we were in the finals together, but there are six other guys that don't want to cooperate with that process, and they are going to try to screw this up, so it made sense if I want this fight it had to happen now." Mir, 38, also enjoyed most of his success between 2000-10. The former UFC heavyweight champ was knocked out by Mark Hunt on March 19, 2016. Mir was suspended for two years by USADA for taking a banned substance after in-competition test. Mir has denied knowingly taking the banned substance. Mir and Emelianenko has been a fight in the making for nearly 20 years and Bellator is finally putting it together. "One of the things I have learned in this business, when you can make a fight, you make the fight because there are no guarantees that fight will happen later," said Bellator President Scott Coker. Emelianenko is also done waiting. "I couldn't be happier than to meet Frank in this fight because it's been a long time that people have been waiting for this fight, since we worked at different promotions, so that's why it wasn't possible," said Emelianenko through a translator. Another fight on the card, will feature Dillon Danis in his MMA debut versus Kyle Walker (2-4). Danis, is the training partner of Conor McGregor and will be fighting at 170 pounds. Danis made name for himself by dominating the jiu-jitsu circuit. Danis, just like McGregor, does not lack confidence. When asked how he feels about being on the same card as Emelianenko, Danis responded. "I wonder how he feels, you asked him, to be on the same card as Dillon Danis?" Danis, 24, who trained in Ireland for the fight with John Kavanagh, received expertise from McGregor on his striking game. "One hundred percent, he is the best striker in the world, so, he's definitely helped me. He helps me in every aspect, mental, physical, he is a very good mentor and I'm happy to have him as a friend and training partner," Danis said. Danis is not sure if McGregor will be in attendance for the fight. "He is kind of a guy that is last minute. But he is definitely going to watch it." SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - James Huddle always hoped the rapist who terrorized the Sacramento suburbs in the 1970s and prompted him to buy a pistol for protection would be caught. But Huddle was stunned to learn the man arrested was his former brother-in-law, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., who once discussed the rash of rapes with him. "It was true shock and awe in the family," Huddle told The Associated Press on Thursday. "It's still just going crazy in my mind. It's one of those kind of things that only happens to other people until it happens to you." Sacramento Sheriff's deputies carry evidence taken from the home of suspect Joseph DeAngelo to a sheriff's vehicle Thursday, April 26, 2018, in Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo was taken into custody, Tuesday, on suspicion of committing multiple slayings and dozens of rapes in the 1970's and 1980's in California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) For those who knew DeAngelo and those who still have vivid memories of the frightening period when a masked prowler struck week after week in Northern California, raping dozens of women and killing a couple, news that the so-called East Area Rapist was behind bars was still sinking in. DeAngelo, 72, a former cop, has been charged with eight counts of murder. He is suspected in 13 killings statewide and about 50 rapes and likely to face other charges, authorities said. Most of the killings occurred in Southern California after DeAngelo was fired from Auburn's police force in 1979 for shoplifting. After DNA linked the killings to some of the rapes, the suspect was dubbed the Golden State Killer. As investigators continued their search of DeAngelo's house for class rings, earrings, dishes and keepsakes the culprit stole from crime scenes, Candace Creech and her teenage daughter showed up in the Citrus Heights neighborhood out of curiosity. Sierra Creech, 17, was friends with DeAngelo's granddaughter and spent almost every weekend at the house for six months when she was 8 or 9 years old. She said DeAngelo was often working and his daughter looked after her. "Nothing was odd," the girl said. "Everything was normal. He was just nice." Candace Creech was spooked to learn that the man who used to pick up and drop off her daughter is accused of such heinous crimes. "Scares me to death," Candace Creech said. Betsy Reamer hadn't thought about the frightening period for years until her son, an AP reporter, told her Wednesday about the arrest. She was immediately reminded of a sleepless night in 1979 when she looked out the front window of her Danville home and saw a man in a ski mask riding a bicycle. He matched the image she'd seen on the news of the serial rapist who had already hit two homes in town. Reamer shook her husband awake and called police, but no arrest was made. The incident rattled her for the next two years they lived in town and it changed her behavior. She was nervous letting her children play outside and frequently double-checked if doors and windows were locked. On Wednesday night, the masked bicyclist appeared in her dreams. "It was astounding to me. I hadn't thought about it for so many years," she said. "I had flashbacks - nightmares - last night thinking back to that moment." News of the crime wave was everywhere and it was a frequent topic of conversation decades ago. Huddle didn't think anything was unusual when DeAngelo asked him what he would do if he encountered the rapist. "I think I told him, 'I already got a gun,'" Huddle told AP. "I don't think he was surprised by what I said." Huddle said he is stunned thinking now about who he was talking to. "Pretty crazy," he said. "I was clueless." ___ Melley reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press photographer Rich Pedroncelli in Citrus Heights contributed to this story. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and the special counsel's Russia probe (all times local): 8:45 p.m. President Donald Trump insists he "won't be involved" in any attempt to interfere with the investigation into Russian election meddling - unless he changes his mind. Former FBI director James Comey arrives at a Barnes & Noble book store to speak to an audience Wednesday, April 18, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Meanwhile, a Senate panel has moved to safeguard special counsel Robert Mueller from any attempt to fire him. The GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Mueller-protection measure just hours after Trump blasted the Justice Department, which oversees the special counsel's investigation. Trump said in a telephone interview with "Fox & Friends" that he is "very disappointed in my Justice Department. But because of the fact that it's going on, and I think you'll understand this, I have decided that I won't be involved." But he added, "I may change my mind at some point, because what's going on is a disgrace." __ 11:50 a.m. The Senate Judiciary Committee has passed a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job. Now all eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he won't let the bill onto the Senate floor. The vote was 14-7 with four Republicans in favor. Republicans have split as President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Mueller's Russia investigation. The measure would give any special counsel a 10-day window to seek expedited judicial review of his or her firing. It also would put into law existing Justice Department regulations that a special counsel can be fired only for good cause. Many Republicans argue that it is unconstitutional or unnecessary. Republicans and Democrats on the panel have said Trump shouldn't try to remove Mueller. ___ 10:38 a.m. President Donald Trump is saying he did spend the night in Moscow during a 2013 trip to Russia. And he is accusing former FBI director James Comey of lying about their conversations about the trip, which plays a key role in the Steele dossier. Trump told "Fox & Friends" Thursday that "of course I stayed there" when he attended the Miss Universe pageant, which he owned, held in Russia that year. The president insists he "never said" he left Moscow without spending the night. Comey says in his new book that Trump told him on more than one occasion he did not sleep in Russia. Unverified information in the dossier says Trump consorted with prostitutes overnight on that trip. Trump has denied the claim. ___ 8:49 a.m. President Donald Trump said he "won't be involved" in the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling Thursday, but added he may change his mind. Trump said in a phone interview Thursday with "Fox & Friends" that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe "is a disgrace." Trump criticized federal agents for exercising search warrants on his lawyer Michael Cohen and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. "I am very disappointed in my Justice Department. But because of the fact that it's going on, and I think you'll understand this, I have decided that I won't be involved," Trump said. "I may change my mind at some point, because what's going on is a disgrace." Trump's comments come as the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to vote Thursday on a bill to protect Mueller's job. MEXICO CITY (AP) - Thousands of people have gathered in Mexico's second-largest city to protest the deaths of three film students who were killed and dissolved in acid in a case that has highlighted the disappearance of the country's youth amid a vicious drug war. The students were abducted March 19 on the outskirts of Guadalajara after working on a film project for school at a location that authorities say was being watched by members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Their disappearance had become emblematic of Mexico's 35,000 missing people and drew the attention of celebrities, including Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. Mexicans were horrified by this week's announcement that they had been killed and dissolved in acid. Students hold a sign that reads in Spanish "It's not three, it's all of us" during a protest against the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) Local media reported 12,000 participants in Guadalajara and in another demonstration in Mexico City. A student holds a sign with the portraits of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, which reads in Spanish: "I don't believe the government!," during a protest in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) A woman holds up a sign that says in Spanish "Peace" during a protest against the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) Students chant slogans to protest the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) A student chants slogans to protest the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) People protest the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) People protest the murder of three film students who have become emblematic of Mexico's missing, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2018. Prosecutors said the three were abducted by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel because they were filming a school project at a house used by the rival Nueva Plaza gang. The students were using the residence because it belonged to one of their aunts. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) SINGAPORE (AP) - Southeast Asian leaders will discuss economic cooperation and Myanmar's refugee crisis at a summit in Singapore, but much of their attention will be focused on the history unfolding on the Korean Peninsula. Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Singapore on Friday to affirm a common vision amid happenings beyond their 10-member group. "We do so at a momentous time in the world, many things are happening both within and beyond ASEAN," Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in an opening address. "I think it's all the more important that we remain united, that we project a common purpose." It was a clear reference to Friday's landmark meeting between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korea's Moon Jae-In. ASEAN has long advocated for dialogue and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Southeast Asian nations have been wary of the North's nuclear program and the tensions it sparked, but continue to hosts its embassies and welcome its presence at a regional forum. "In the past, ASEAN member states have provided good offices for talks, and the budding rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang is a welcome development," said Tang Siew Mun, head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. There has been speculation that a meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming weeks could possibly be held in Southeast Asia. Thailand has offered to host the meeting and South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo reported that Singapore is on the shortlist of locations. At a working dinner with Southeast Asian leaders on Friday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said ASEAN needs to grow more resilient to tackle cross-boundary threats such as terrorism, climate change and cybersecurity. "We do not expect to resolve all the issues within the one-year span of our chairmanship, but we do hope to prompt a productive discussion and develop a consensus among the ASEAN partners on the overall approach," he added. The leaders will gather Saturday for a retreat, where analysts said they are expected to discuss free trade and Myanmar's refugee crisis. The South China sea, where the bloc is currently negotiating a code of conduct with China, is likely to be less prominent. In addition to Singapore, the ASEAN members are Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines. BEIJING (AP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stepped-up cooperation with India during an informal summit Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid tensions along their contested border and a rivalry for influence with their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. Xi greeted Modi at the provincial museum in the city of Wuhan at the start of two days of talks between the heads of the world's two most populous nations. "Conducting great cooperation by our two great countries can generate worldwide influence," Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. Xi said he hoped the meeting would "usher in a new chapter of China-India relations." In this photo released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, Friday, April 27, 2018. The leaders of India and China met at a lakeside resort in central China on Friday amid tensions along their contested border and a rivalry for influence among their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. (Indian Ministry of External Affairs via AP) Following their talks, the leaders were to dine lakeside at a resort that had been a favorite of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who formed strong ties with an independent India before relations deteriorated over territorial disputes. They are to continue talks on Saturday with a walk along the lake, a boat ride and lunch together. Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted that the leaders would "review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective." China-India relations date back centuries but in recent decades have been characterized by competition for leadership in Asia. The countries fought a border war in 1962 and last year engaged in a 10-week standoff in the neighboring state of Bhutan. New Delhi has also been alarmed by China's moves to build strategic and economic ties with Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India's longtime rival Pakistan. China for its part resents India's hosting of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and its control of territory Beijing says belongs to it. China claims some 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of territory in India's northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of its territory on the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas. Officials have met at least 20 times to discuss the competing border claims without making significant progress. Following the most protracted standoff in years, India last year agreed to pull back troops from the disputed Doklam Plateau high in the Himalayas, where Chinese troops had begun constructing a road. China claims the strategically important region, but India says it belongs to ally Bhutan. Despite such differences, Modi hopes China can help drive Indian economic growth ahead of national elections next year. However, his administration has been notably reluctant to engage with Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative linking its economy to those of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe through massive loans and investments. Given the state of relations, the Wuhan summit should be seen as a conscientious attempt to steer ties in a new direction, said Wang Lian, a professor at elite Peking University's School of International Relations. "This meticulously planned meeting will offer the leaders more time to discuss current issues and the future blueprint for bilateral relations," Wang said. Regardless of the current visit's outcome, Modi appears intent on building a strong personal relationship with Xi, who will be China's leader for years to come following the lifting of term limits on the presidency. Modi will be traveling to China again in June for a summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization dominated by Beijing and Moscow. Along with China, Russia and India, that group includes the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan. In this photo released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, Friday, April 27, 2018. The leaders of India and China met at a lakeside resort in central China on Friday amid tensions along their contested border and a rivalry for influence among their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. (Indian Ministry of External Affairs via AP) India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second from left, is greeted by Chinese officials as he arrives at the airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, early Friday, April 27, 2018. Modi is in China for what Chinese state media has described as a two-day "informal meeting" with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Chinatopix via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) - With a flat-top haircut, three missing fingers and an impressive girth, Sen. Jon Tester has somehow kept a low profile in Congress. That's until he caught the attention of Americans - and President Donald Trump - by airing startling allegations that toppled Veterans Affairs nominee Ronny Jackson. It's not necessarily the kind of high-stakes debut political strategists would dream up for Tester, a plain-spoken Montana Democrat running for re-election in a Trump-won state with more veterans per capita than almost any other. But the deed is done. Trump is responding. And now it's game on in a midterm race that could help determine control of the Senate. "I want to tell you that Jon Tester - I think this is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state," Trump said Thursday on "Fox & Friends." FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2018 file photo, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., arrives for voting at the Capitol in Washington. With a flat-top haircut, three missing fingers and a quite-wide girth, Tester has somehow kept a low profile in Congress. Then he caught the attention of Americans, and President Donald Trump, with startling allegations that toppled Veterans Administration nominee Ronny Jackson. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Trump is still defending Jackson, the Navy rear admiral who served three presidents as a White House physician but withdrew from consideration for the VA position Thursday among allegations of drinking, overprescribing prescription drugs and fostering a hostile work environment. Just as vigorously, Trump turned his sights on Tester, and is likely to swoop in to campaign against the senator. Trump's twitter thumbs haven't even engaged yet. "Jon Tester has to have a big price to pay in Montana because I don't think people in Montana - the admiral is the kind of person that they respect and admire and they don't like seeing what's happened to him," Trump said. For Tester, heading home for the weekend, he says he wouldn't have done it any differently, believing it's his duty as the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to scrutinize the nominees and ensure the best person to head the troubled VA. "We had a job to do and we did it," Tester said. The senator says he didn't seek out the allegations, but that more than 20 military and retired military personnel brought concerns to the committee. It would have been a "dereliction of duty" not to investigate, he said. And even though the claims were not fully probed or proven true, he says it was important to bring them forward publicly for the sake of transparency. "It's about doing the best thing you can do to make sure you got a great country," he said. Tester's happy to invite Trump to Montana for a look-see at the challenges in rural America. Montana is home to nearly 100,000 veterans, among a population of 1 million, and the president's trade tariffs are worrying some farmers. "I welcome him to come out any time and we'll talk about the issues that are important to Montana," Tester said. "I'll continue to work with him when I can, and hold him accountable when I must." The Senate race in Montana will be among THOSE watched this fall, PART OF a constellation of red-state contests where Republicans want to pick off Democrats to bolster their slim 51-49 majority. Flipping the Montana seat may be easier on paper than practice. Sure, Trump won Montana by 20 percentage points in 2016 and remains popular in the state. But unlike many other senators, Tester is running with a recognizable brand of his own, as a third-generation farmer near the little town of Big Sandy, a former teacher who started in politics on the school board. He hardly looks like he's gone Washington. It's far from clear that the president's attack will hurt the senator. Trump plucked Tester's main rival, Ryan Zinke, from a potential race by tapping him for Interior Secretary, leaving several candidates scrambling for the GOP nomination. They pounced on the opportunity to align with Trump against the two-term incumbent. "He's not a supporter of the president," said one, Russ Fagg, a retired judge. "It's an attempt to cozy up to a president who is popular in our state, and it's disingenuous." Candidates Matt Rosendale, the state auditor, and Troy Downing, a businessman, also criticized Tester for his role in releasing what they called unsubstantiated claims against Jackson. "Our view is this race gets more competitive by the week, and entirely because of what Tester is doing," said Steven Law, the president at CEO at the Senate Leadership Fund, a super political action committee aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Others though, say Trump's attack could actually help. Tester needs independent voters, strong Democratic turnout and some Republican defections in November. It could showcase Tester's independent streak and help with all three, said Montana State University political scientist David Parker. Tester received an unexpected assist Thursday from an old ally, Chuck Hagel, the former Nebraska senator and Secretary of Defense, who was so outraged over Trump's attack that he dialed up his distant colleague and offered to help campaign. "What I heard this morning out of the president and others vilifying Tester, it made me sick," Hagel, a Vietnam Veteran, told AP. "Jon Tester is as clear, direct, honest, transparent and pure on veterans matters as anyone I've ever run into." A Republican who has often sparred with his own party, Hagel said the GOP needs to stand up to Trump's outbursts and "say enough is enough." "The good people of Montana," he said, know enough about Tester "that they trust him." Tester, he said, has represented the state "in a way people of Montana can be proud of, they don't have to hold their head in shame." ___ Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LisaMascaro and Volz at https://twitter.com/MattVolz NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The retrial that led to Bill Cosby's conviction Thursday on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia mansion played out far differently than one that ended in a hung jury last year. This time, prosecutors had the advantage of calling five additional accusers to help make the case that the man once revered as "America's Dad" had a sordid secret life that involved preying on women for his own sexual gratification. Cosby's lawyers countered with a witness who wasn't allowed to testify last time who alleged that chief accuser Andrea Constand talked about framing a high-profile person to score a big payday. Bill Cosby gestures as he leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., after being convicted of drugging and molesting a woman, Thursday, April 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Cosby overhauled his legal team, with high-powered Hollywood lawyer Tom Mesereau, best known for winning an acquittal in Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation case, leading the attack. "I have never seen or heard of a retrial that was as different as this was from the first trial," said lawyer Dennis McAndrews, who has been following the retrial and is not associated with either side. Jurors at the retrial deliberated for about 14 hours over two days before finding Cosby guilty on all three counts. The last jury weighed the charges for 52 hours over six days, but couldn't come to a consensus. Here are some of the key differences between the trials: PARADE OF ACCUSERS Prosecutors in the retrial bolstered their case by building to Constand's testimony with that of five other women who told jurors that Cosby had also drugged and violated them in incidents dating to the early 1980s. One of them pointedly called Cosby a "serial rapist ." Another choked back tears as she asked, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?" A third declared: "I was raped." Just one other accuser was allowed to testify at the first trial. $3.4 MILLION QUESTION The retrial started with an answer to one of the biggest mysteries in the case: Cosby paid Constand nearly $3.4 million in a 2006 civil settlement. The amount had been confidential, and was kept out of the first trial, but Judge Steven O'Neill ruled it could be discussed at the second one. District Attorney Kevin Steele suggested Cosby wouldn't have paid so much money if the accusations were false. Mesereau called the settlement "one of the biggest highway robberies of all time." 'CON ARTIST' DEFENSE Mesereau tore into Constand from the get-go, branding her a "con artist" whose goal was "money, money and lots more money." Mesereau's defense strategy was far more aggressive than one put forth by Cosby's first set of lawyers, buoyed by a ruling allowing a former colleague to testify that Constand once mused about framing a prominent person, so she could sue and "get that money." O'Neill didn't allow Marguerite Jackson to take the stand at the first trial, and Cosby's lawyers didn't put on much of a defense after that, other than insisting Constand was Cosby's lover and that the encounter was consensual. 12 YEARS TOO LATE? Cosby's lawyers argued the very charges against him were illegal because the alleged assault couldn't have happened within the statute of limitations. They pored over phone and travel records and called Cosby's personal assistant to the stand, insisting he couldn't have been at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004. Prosecutors highlighted large gaps in the travel records and phone records with calls indicating Cosby may have been at the home after all. The date is important because Cosby was arrested on Dec. 30, 2015, just before the 12-year statute was set to expire. The defense didn't raise the issue at the first trial. FEROCIOUS FINISH The retrial had more fireworks, culminating in 5 hours of closing arguments in which Mesereau slammed Constand as a "pathological liar " and prosecutor Kristen Feden turned the con artist label on its head. "Yes, you did hear about a con," she said, her voice rising as she moved toward Cosby and pointed at him. "The perpetrator of that con is this man, sitting right here." Cosby's lawyers drew sharp criticism for what some called a blatant attempt to "victim-shame" women who've leveled accusations against him. ___ Follow Mike Sisak at https://twitter.com/mikesisak . ___ For more coverage visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial . Bill Cosby looks around before he leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse, Thursday, April 26, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Cosby was convicted Thursday of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine) Bill Cosby accusers Lili Bernard, left, and Victoria Valentino, right, reach out to embrace outside the courtroom after Cosby was found guilty in his sexual assault retrial, Thursday, April, 26, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. A jury convicted the "Cosby Show" star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges. (Mark Makela/Pool Photo via AP) Bill Cosby's attorney Kathleen Bliss, left, and Tom Mesereau, right, leave the courthouse after their client was found guilty in his sexual assault retrial, Thursday, April, 26, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. A jury convicted the "Cosby Show" star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine) GOYANG, South Korea (AP) - Kim Jong Un's younger sister took a prominent place at the negotiating table for the first North-South Korea summit in more than a decade, cementing her public role as Kim's closest confidante and possibly the second-most powerful figure in his ruling regime. Kim Yo Jong, believed to be 30 years old, emerged as the most visible figure in the Kim regime after her brother when she became the first member of the ruling North Korean family to travel to the South, in early February for the Olympics. She was right by his side on Friday as well, walking across the line that divides the two Koreas with his delegation and joining him for the first round of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The only other North Korean official present was former intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol, the top cadre in charge of relations with the South. In this image made from video provided by Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, walks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his sister Kim Yo Jong at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. Their discussions will be expected to focus on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs.(Korea Broadcasting System via AP) Her rise has been fast and impressive. The Pyeongchang Olympics were something of a coming-out party and she quickly proceeded to steal the show, looking almost regal as she held court with Moon and other international dignitaries. At the opening ceremony, Moon stood to shake her hand as a joint North-South team entered Olympic Stadium. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who was also in the VIP box, sat stone-faced nearby. Officially, Kim has a relatively humble position within the party considering her pedigree. She has been an alternate to the ruling party's powerful Politburo since October last year, and is believed to be in charge of maintaining her brother's public image and cult of personality. After the Olympics, she has maintained a conspicuously high profile. She and Kim's young wife, Ri Sol Ju, accompanied him on his surprise trip to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping last month. At this rate, it's quite likely she will join Kim for his next summit - with President Donald Trump in May or June. Just four years apart in age, she and Kim Jong Un lived in Switzerland in relative isolation for several years as children and their relationship has been likened to that of Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, and his aunt, Kim Kyong Hui. But a quick footnote is probably in order. Kim Jong Un famously ordered the execution of the aunt's husband, Jang Song Thaek, for treason in 2013. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center left, pose for the media during a meeting at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. Their discussions will be expected to focus on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) NEW YORK (AP) - Steven Spielberg says no film has affected him the way "Schindler's List" did. Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and others reunited for a 25th anniversary screening of "Schindler's List" at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, in an evening that had obvious meaning to Spielberg and the hushed, awed crowd that packed New York's Beacon Theater. In a Q&A following the film, Spielberg said it was the first time he had watched "Schindler's List" with an audience since it was released in 1993. "I have never felt since 'Schindler's List' the kind of pride and satisfaction and sense of real, meaningful accomplishment - I haven't felt that in any film post-'Schindler's List,'" Spielberg said. Director Steven Spielberg, left, and actors Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley, right, attend the "Schindler's List" 25th anniversary screening during the Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theatre on Thursday, April 26, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP) The reunion was a chance for Spielberg and the cast to reflect on the singular experience of making an acknowledged masterwork that time has done little to dull the horror of, nor its necessity. "It feels like five years ago," Spielberg said of making the film. Spielberg shot the film in Krakow, Poland, in black-and-white and without storyboards, instead often using hand-held cameras to create a more documentary-like realism. Neeson remembered Spielberg running with a camera and, on the fly, directing him and Kingsley down Krakow streets. "It was exciting. It was dangerous and unforgettable," Neeson said. "Schindler's List," made for just $22 million (Spielberg declined a pay check), grossed $321 million worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. It also did much to educate the American public on the Holocaust. After the film, Spielberg established the Shoah Foundation, which took the testimony of 52,000 Holocaust survivors. More needs to be done for Holocaust education, Spielberg said: "It's not a pre-requisite to graduate high school, as it should be. It should be part of the social science, social studies curriculum in every public high school in this country." Making "Schindler's List" was a profound, emotional and fraught experience for many of those involved. Kingsley recalled confronting a man for anti-Semitism during production. Spielberg said swastikas were sometimes painted overnight. Recreating scenes like those in the Krakow ghetto and at Auschwitz were, Spielberg said, very difficult for most of those involved. Two young Israeli actors, he said, had breakdowns after shooting a shower scene at the concentration camp. "That aesthetic distance we always talk about between audience and experience? That was gone. And that was trauma," said Spielberg. "There was trauma everywhere. And we captured the trauma. You can't fake that. (The scene) where everyone takes off their clothes was probably the most traumatic day of my entire career - having to see what it meant to strip down to nothing and then completely imagine this could be your last day on earth. "There were whole sections that go beyond anything I've ever experienced or seen people in front of the camera experience," the 71-year-old filmmaker added. Spielberg actually released two movies in 1993. "Jurassic Park" came out in June, and "Schindler's List" followed in November. While he was shooting in Poland, Spielberg made several weekly satellite phone calls with the special effects house Industrial Light & Magic to go over Tyrannosaurus Rex shots - a distraction he abhorred. "It built a tremendous amount of anger and resentment that I had to do this, that I actually had to go from what you experienced to dinosaurs chasing jeeps," Spielberg told the audience. "I was very grateful later in June, though. But until then, it was a burden. This was all I cared about." "Schindler's List" was a redefining film for Spielberg, who up until then was mostly considered an "entertainer," associated with fantasy and escapism. Since, he has largely gravitated toward more dramatic and historical material like "Amistad," ''Saving Private Ryan," ''Munich," ''Lincoln" and last year's "The Post." But Spielberg initially shied away from "Schindler's List," scripted by Steven Zaillian and based on Thomas Keneally's novel "Schindler's Ark." He urged Roman Polanski, whose mother was killed at Auschwitz, to make it. Martin Scorsese was once attached to direct. Yet the making of "Schindler's List" prompted an awakening for Spielberg, who has said his "Jewish life came pouring back into my heart." On Thursday, the director said he wanted to make the film about "the banality of the deepest evil" and "stay on the march to murder, itself." To keep his sanity while shooting in Poland, he watched "Saturday Night Live" on Betamax and relied on weekly calls from Robin Williams. "He would call me on schedule and he would do 15 minutes of stand-up on the phone," said Spielberg. "I would laugh hysterically because I had to release so much. But the way Robin is on the telephone, he would always hang up on you on the loudest, best laugh you'd give him." ___ Follow Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP Director Steven Spielberg attends the "Schindler's List" 25th anniversary screening during the Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theatre on Thursday, April 26, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP) Actor Liam Neeson attends the "Schindler's List" 25th anniversary screening during the Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theatre on Thursday, April 26, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP) Actor Ben Kingsley attends the "Schindler's List" 25th anniversary screening during the Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theatre on Thursday, April 26, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In an April 27 story providing a timeline of relations between North and South Korea, The Associated Press erroneously reported the number of people who died in the bombing of a South Korean passenger plane in 1987. A total of 115 people were killed, not 269. A corrected version of the story is below: Key moments in tense inter-Korean relations Key moments in tense inter-Korean relations By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The highly anticipated summit Friday between the leaders of North and South Korea on the North's nuclear weapons opens an uncertain chapter in inter-Korean ties, which have been characterized by abrupt swings. A look at key moments in the rivals' relations: __ 1945: The Korean Peninsula is liberated from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II but eventually divided between a Soviet-supported North and a U.S.-backed South. The North invades the South in June 1950, starting a devastating war that is stopped three years later by an armistice. __ 1968: North Korean commandos infiltrate South Korea in a failed assassination attempt against South Korea's staunch anti-communist dictator Park Chung-hee. ___ 1974: Park's wife is killed in an assassination attempt targeting him during a speech in Seoul. The Korean-Japanese shooter claims he acted under orders from then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. ___ 1983: South Korean military strongman Chun Doo-hwan narrowly escapes a bombing in Myanmar that kills 21 people, including several Cabinet ministers and presidential aides. South Korea and Myanmar accuse North Korea of orchestrating the attack, which Pyongyang denies. ___ 1987: A South Korean passenger plane is bombed, killing 115 passengers and crew. South Korea says the North was behind the attack. ___ 1991: South Korean President Roh Tae-woo seeks to improve relations with the North, and the Koreas, after rounds of dialogue, sign a non-aggression pact vowing trade, travel and cultural exchanges. The Koreas also join the United Nations at the same time. ___ 1994: Kim Il Sung dies and is succeeded as leader by his son, Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un. Months later, North Korea signs a major nuclear deal with the United States in which it agrees to freeze and dismantle its nuclear facilities in return for two alternative nuclear power reactors that could be used to provide electricity but not bomb fuel, and an annual 500,000 metric tons of fuel oil. ___ 2000: South Korea's so-called "Sunshine" engagement policy leads to a summit between then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il. ___ 2002: The "Agreed Framework" of 1994 collapses when U.S. officials confront Pyongyang over a secret nuclear program using enriched uranium. ___ 2003: North Korea claims it has a nuclear device and will withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This brings Washington back to the negotiating table with the North, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia in August 2003. ___ 2006: North Korea conducts its first nuclear test. ___ 2007: The United States and the four other nations in the six-party talks reach a deal to provide North Korea with an aid package worth about $400 million in return for the North disabling its nuclear facilities and allowing international inspectors. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong Il meet in Pyongyang for the second inter-Korean summit. A joint statement vows mutual efforts to solve the "nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula." ___ 2008: Conservative Lee Myung-bak is elected as South Korean president, ending a decade of liberal rule in Seoul. ___ 2010: An explosion sinks a South Korean naval ship near the countries' western maritime border, killing 46 sailors. South Korea accuses Pyongyang of firing the torpedo that sank the ship. Months later, North Korea unleashes artillery on a South Korean border island, killing four people. ___ 2011: Kim Jong Un takes power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. ___ 2012: North Korea reaches a deal with the United States to suspend nuclear weapons and missile tests and uranium enrichment in exchange for food aid. The deal is killed weeks later when the North launches a long-range rocket. Conservative candidate Park Geun-hye wins the South Korean presidential race in December. ___ 2013: Kim announces his country will pursue a national "byungjin" policy aimed at simultaneously seeking nuclear development and economic growth. This is seen as a clean break from the North's previous stand that mainly used the nuclear program as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from foreign governments. ___ 2015: South Korea blames the North over land-mine blasts that maim two South Korean soldiers. Tensions grow before the Koreas reach a deal in which the North offers vague regret over the blasts in exchange for the South stopping anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border. ___ 2016: South Korea, in reaction to a nuclear test by the North, shuts down an industrial park in North Korea that had been jointly operated by the countries. ___ 2017: Moon takes office in May after winning a presidential by-election following Park's ouster over a corruption scandal. Moon initially vows to reach out to the North, but is forced to take a tougher stance as the North accelerates its nuclear weapons and missile tests. ___ 2018: Inter-Korean dialogue is resumed after Kim in his New Year's speech proposes talks with the South to reduce tensions. North Korea sends hundreds of people to February's Winter Olympics in the South, including Kim's sister, who expresses her brother's desire to meet with Moon for a summit. South Korean officials later broker a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump. Kim and Moon meet at a border truce village between the Koreas. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish authorities have detained four suspected senior Islamic State extremists in an operation in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir. Anadolu Agency said Friday the suspects include the group's so-called "emir," or ruler, of Deir el-Zour, a major city in eastern Syria, and its environs. It described the other three suspects as senior operatives within the extremist group. Hurriyet newspaper said the four were captured as part of a joint operation by Turkey's intelligence agency and police anti-terrorism units. The suspects were hiding among a group of Syrian refugees planning to cross into Europe, the newspaper reported. The four are being questioned by anti-terrorism police in Izmir. Police in Izmir confirmed the operation but could not immediately provide details. GYUMRI, Armenia (AP) - The lawmaker behind the protests that forced Armenia's longtime leader to resign took his campaign to the country's second-largest city Friday, aiming to marshal nationwide support ahead of a crucial vote in parliament. More than 10,000 people gathered in Gyumri for an evening rally with opposition leader Nikol Pashinian held hours after his planned talks with Armenia's acting prime minister were called off. Pashinian, a newspaper editor and member of the Armenian National Assembly, and Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetian were to have met at noon to discuss the political crisis that has gripped the landlocked former Soviet nation. Karapetian's office announced Friday morning that it canceled the talks because Pashinian was "dictating the agenda." Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian gestures speaking to demonstrators gathered in the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Pashinian and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) In Gyumri, Pashinian remained firm in his demand that he be named head of government when the parliament meets Tuesday. "There is one road: choose me as the premier of Armenia, as the candidate of you, of the people," he said at the rally. "Our de-facto victory should be settled de-jure on May 1 in the walls of parliament." Pashinian's protest movement holds just a fraction of seats in parliament, while Karapetian's party has a majority. Karapetian was Armenia's prime minister until his ally, President Serzh Sargsyan, had to step down because of term limits and parliament voted him in as prime minister. Sargsyan stepped down Monday after six days in his new post following more than a week of anti-government protests triggered by what the ex-president's critics saw as a brazen move to extend his rule. The opposition wants a transfer of power that would ensure that Sargsyan's allies would not be part of the new government so he could not pull the strings behind the scenes. Pashinian reacted to the breakdown Friday's talks by telling reporters that his protest movement has "the key mandate - that of the Armenian people. The parliament has to accept people's will." Despite winning two landslide presidential victories before becoming prime minister, Sargsyan was unpopular because of the perceived nepotism and corruption of his inner circle. The protests over his stepping into the prime minister's seat after the government was rearranged to reduce the power of the presidency represent the deep frustration with his rule. Several hundred people rallied in the center of the capital, Yerevan, on Friday morning to show their support for the opposition. "We're not going to go and we'll continue to protest until this government goes," school teacher Armen Zarubyan, 42, said. "Authorities couldn't care less for people's opinion, but we have already showed our strength." Yerevan-based political analyst Agaron Adibekyan told The Associated Press that Karapetian's refusal to negotiate shows that the current regime is confident of its ability to stay in power. "Authorities decided to drag their feet so the opposition will get tired and the protests die down," he said. "It's the opposition that needs these talks. Authorities are controlling the country and have a majority in the parliament." __ Nataliya Vasilyeva and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report. Crowds listen to their leader Nikol Pashinian in the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinian and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Protesters react listening to their leader Nikol Pashinyan at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The Armenian parliament on Thursday called for an extraordinary session next week to vote for a new prime minister after the country was plunged into a political crisis with the abrupt resignation of its leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian gestures speaking to a crowd in the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinian and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Protesters react listening to their leader Nikol Pashinian at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The Armenian parliament on Thursday called for an extraordinary session next week to vote for a new prime minister after the country was plunged into a political crisis with the abrupt resignation of its leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Protest leader Nikol Pashinian gestures speaking to demonstrators gathered at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The Armenian parliament on Thursday called for an extraordinary session next week to vote for a new prime minister after the country was plunged into a political crisis with the abrupt resignation of its leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Protesters react listening to their leader Nikol Pashinyan at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The Armenian parliament on Thursday called for an extraordinary session next week to vote for a new prime minister after the country was plunged into a political crisis with the abrupt resignation of its leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Opposition activists drive a car rally towards the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People greet opposition activists driving a car rally towards the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) A man greets opposition activists driving a car rally towards the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinian arrives for a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenia's acting prime minister Karen Karapetian on Friday called off talks with the opposition leader amid mass protests and an upcoming crucial vote in parliament. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Koreans watched Friday as history unfolded and Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader they normally only see in heavily edited footage, walked across the border and had his every word broadcast live and unfiltered on airwaves across the country. From train platforms to tech forums, South Koreans took a pause from their normal routines to get a glimpse of Kim as he became the first North Korean leader to visit South Korean territory. Major South Korean television networks canceled their usual programming for wall-to-wall coverage of the inter-Korean summit with President Moon Jae-in. "I can't believe I'm listening to the voice of Kim Jong Un. Someone I have only seen as jpg is speaking now," South Korean Lee Yeon-su wrote on Twitter, referring to a common image format. She spoke to the AP as she watched the live footage at home. People watch a TV screen showing the live broadcast of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, top right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) It's a dramatic change for South Koreans, who under the National Security Act are banned on threat of jail from accessing media considered pro-North Korean. Websites for the North's official Korean Central News agency and Rodong Shinmun newspaper, which regularly publish propaganda images of Kim, are blocked in South Korea. South Koreans used the rare opportunity of seeing raw footage of Kim to speculate on everything from his speech habits to his health. Some even said they found Kim cute. "Most South Koreans probably heard his voice for the first time. I found his way of speaking friendly, like a guy living next door," said Ryu Seok-woo, a reporter at a local news outlet who didn't cover the summit. Some noted that the reclusive leader, who rules his country unquestioned, seemed to drone on and on in his first speech. They speculated that he had never been stopped or interrupted when speaking before. There was a moment many South Koreans noted when Kim made an off-the-cuff comment about naengmyeon, cold buckwheat noodles that are a North Korean delicacy popular among South Koreans and are to be served at Kim and Moon's dinner meeting. "Pyongyang naengmyeon that came from afar. Ah, I shouldn't say it's from afar," Kim said before the two leaders started their morning meeting. Kim appeared to be making a joke about the distance between the two countries. The remarks, which didn't seem to fit with the intimidating image most South Koreans have of Kim, went viral on social media as people shared them in disbelief and even suggested he has a future in comedy. "I thought he had a sense of humor. He's certainly different from his father's generation," said Lee Seung-won, an office worker. "I thought I would never see such scene before I die." As Kim walked a few hundred meters from the border and climbed some stairs to the Peace House where the summit is taking place, some South Koreans questioned whether the heavyset young leader was physically struggling. When Kim was leaving a message in the guest book, his shoulders appeared to be moving up and down as if he was panting. "He probably doesn't walk a lot and seemed to be having a hard time," homemaker Cho Jin-joo said, noting that such a common struggle made him seem real. "Before I found him intimidating on the news but today I felt like he was much more human," she said. Some were sympathetic to Kim. "Ah, Kim Jong Un panting hard after walking that much. It strikes a chord with people who don't like walking," South Korean Kim Somi confirmed she said in a tweet. Between Kim's jokes and big smiles, some on social media and elsewhere said the rival leader looked cute. "He was so different from what I saw on the news in the past. He looked friendly. I thought he looked like a teddy bear," said office worker Yang Hae-ra, who watched the footage live on her phone. Such comments raised the ire of others on social media, who thought it distracted from the fact that Kim is an authoritarian leader. People watch a TV screen showing the live broadcast of South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian police say at least seven Maoist rebels have been killed in the second major operation by security forces against their strongholds in a week. Police officer Mohit Garg says security forces attacked the rebels on Friday after learning they were meeting in a forest hide-out in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state. He said seven rebels were killed in an exchange of gunfire. There were no immediate reports of casualties among the security forces. Last week, at least 37 Maoist rebels were killed in gunbattles between government forces and insurgents in Gadchirolia in western Maharasthra state. The Maoist rebels, who claim inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting India's government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani court in the eastern city of Sargodha has sentenced a man to seven years in prison for working for a child pornography network, the first such conviction in this Islamic nation. District police chief Suhail Chaudhry says the court's ruling against Sadat Amin was announced on Thursday. He says Amin was arrested earlier this month by the Federal Investigation Agency - Pakistan's version of the FBI - following a complaint from the Norwegian government. The police chief says the investigation proved Amin produced and sold porn videos of children to a Norway-based network. During the trial, prosecutors said Amin confessed to luring children to produce porn videos. Pakistan recently introduced laws giving authorities power to crack down on the porn industry. BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania's president said Friday that the country's first female prime minister was unfit for the job and should resign, a call she rejected hours later. President Klaus Iohannis said that Viorica Dancila, who became premier in January, "is not up for the job of Romanian prime minister" and represented "a vulnerability" for the country. Iohannis claimed that Dancila "prefers to execute party orders." He was referring to Dancila's political dependence on Social Democratic Party chairman Liviu Dragnea, who effectively runs the government. FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 file photo, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, left, stands next to Romania's President Klaus Iohannis after the swearing in of her cabinet, in Bucharest, Romania. Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Friday April 27, 2018, has asked the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to resign, saying she is unfit for the job. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) Later Friday, Dancila said she would not resign because she had the backing of the ruling Social Democrats and was doing a good job. She is the third premier since the Social Democrats came to power in 2016. In televised comments, Dancila said she did not show up for a meeting with the president Friday because "he gave me the impression he was summoning me to school, and I'm the prime minister." The president's move signals a fresh round of political tensions between Romania's centrist president and the left-wing government. In calling on the prime minister to step down, Iohannis also accused her of failing to inform him about a government proposal to relocate the Romanian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Iohannis is in charge of foreign policy and would make a final decision on the embassy. He doesn't have the authority to fire Dancila, but his request will put pressure on the government. Dragnea, the Social Democratic Party leader, met with anti-corruption prosecutors Friday for an update on a probe that he embezzled European Union funds. He denies wrongdoing in the corruption case. He said Dancila had party support, "no reason to resign" and "a job to do." Dragnea can't be prime minister because of a 2016 conviction for vote-rigging. The leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, also beckoned for Dancila's resignation, saying she was incompetent. Earlier Friday, Iohannis said he was concerned that the Social Democrats were trying to meddle in the running of the National Bank of Romania. The leader of Romania's ruling Social Democratic party, Liviu Dragnea, grimaces as he walks out of the anti-corruption prosecutors' office, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, April 27, 2018. Dragnea met with anti-corruption prosecutors Friday for an update into a probe that he embezzled European Union funds and said, commenting on the request by President Iohannis for the Prime minister to step down, Dancila had "no reason to resign," adding she was supported by the party "and has a job to do." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) The leader of Romania's ruling Social Democratic party, Liviu Dragnea, is surrounded by media as he arrives at the anti-corruption prosecutors' office, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, April 27, 2018. Dragnea met with anti-corruption prosecutors Friday for an update into a probe that he embezzled European Union funds and said, commenting on the request by President Iohannis for the Prime minister to step down, Dancila had "no reason to resign," adding she was supported by the party "and has a job to do." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) President Donald Trump's personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and his father-in-law have lent $26 million in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Semyon 'Sam' Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohen's father-in-law, created Nevada-based Cannaboss LLC the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show. 'He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic),' according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nevada, that was obtained by the AP under the state's public records law. Business dealings: Michael Cohen and his father-in-law loaned $26 million in total to Semyon 'Sam' Shtayner, who set up a firm called Cannaboss in 2016 and wants to be a legal pot-growing mogul Taxi family: Stan (left) and Elvin (right) Shtayner are sons of Chicago taxi owners Semyon and Yasya Shtayner. Semyon, known as Sam, has received $26 million in loans from Michael Cohen and his father-in-law Questions over business: Marijuana is now fully legal in seven state, including Nevada where Cohen's long-term business partner is trying to become a growing king. But Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump appear split on how to deal with states which have legalized the drug It's not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans - $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 - to finance his grow operation. Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohen's hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Florida, as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman. Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cellphone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner. News of Shtayner's ties to the medical marijuana industry comes as the Trump administration finds itself somewhat split on marijuana policy. Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug - a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws. Marijuana use is fully legal in Nevada, seven other states and Washington, D.C., and 38 states allow medicinal or other limited uses. It was not clear why Shtayner has decided to move out of taxis and into the grow business. But the rapid rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft has disrupted the taxi industry, and Shtayner is among a handful of prominent taxi owners who face lawsuits from creditors who once lent liberally to medallion owners. The value of medallions - the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display - have dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece in New York just a few years ago to nearly half those amounts today. The subsequent drop has left many taxi medallion owners overleveraged. One former Cohen business partner, who managed Cohen's taxis for years, is accused in a lawsuit by creditors of hiding his assets in financial disclosures to his bank - including a luxury apartment in a Trump skyscraper. Another former cab manager of Cohen's has declared bankruptcy and is facing criminal charges from state prosecutors in New York, who accuse him of pocketing nearly $5 million in taxes. Records show that a company controlled by Semyon 'Sam' Shtayner, a has applied for a business license to run a legal medical marijuana cultivation and edible production facility out of this building Henderson, Nevada The business relationship among Cohen, Shusterman and Shtayner stretches back years. Property records in New York show that Shtayner and Shusterman were among the investors in an upper Manhattan taxi garage and auto repair shop in the 1990s. Last August, Shusterman lent at least $12 million against properties owned by Shtayner, his wife or their companies, Chicago real estate records show. In a second series of four transactions in March, Shusterman lent the Shtayners or their companies an additional $8 million. Four of the loans were made to Shtayner's wife, Yasya, and four others were directed to two Chicago taxi companies she manages, according to corporate documents. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported those transactions. Cohen has been involved in the New York City yellow cab industry since the 1990s. He has a fleet of 22 cabs in Chicago and, along with his wife and father-in-law, has owned some 30 medallions in New York after initially going into business with his father-in-law, records show. Shusterman - who, like Shtayner, started as a cab driver after emigrating from Ukraine - pleaded guilty in 1993 to federal money-laundering charges in a tax-evasion case involving cab drivers and a Brooklyn accountant. Shtayner's Chicago cab empire has grown rapidly, though records show that 99 of his medallions are in foreclosure and 15 have some sort of violation. Forty-nine have already been taken over by the city for failure to pay taxes and fees. Although Shtayner has been sued by creditors, operates a taxi business in a harrowing time for his industry and is borrowing heavily in nontraditional loans, the city of Henderson concluded that he is adequately liquid financially. The city's business operation division found that Shtayner and his business partner, a Las Vegas-based steel and aluminum provider, each had liquid assets that exceed the state's requirement that they be able to free up to $250,000 within 30 days if needed, according to the records obtained by the AP. SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - Bosnian police detained a former Bosnian army commander and 12 other people Friday on suspicion of war crimes against Serb and Bosnian civilians and prisoners during the country's deadly 1992-95 war. Atif Dudakovic and other commanders and members of the wartime Bosnian Army's 5th Corps were detained in early morning raids in several towns, the Bosnian prosecutor's office said. They are suspected of atrocities against mainly hundreds of Serbs in northwestern Bosnia, the statement said. It added the case against the group is based on hundreds of testimonies, video footage and other evidence. Initially, prosecutors said Dudakovic and 11 others were detained, but police apprehended one more suspect later Friday. Dudakovic's arrest is sensitive for Bosnia, because he was in charge of the northwestern Bihac area that was under Serb siege during most of the war that killed around 100,000 people and left millions homeless. The 64-year-old former general became the Bosnian army commander after the war and remains highly respected and popular. "We are shocked," said Dzevad Malkoc, the official who deals with war veterans in the Bihac area. "This is a blow to the state, to all patriots who defended this state." Reactions to Dudakovic's arrest reflected Bosnia's persisting ethnic divisions, with Muslim citizens criticizing the move and Serbs saying it is welcome, although late. The Muslim head of the country's three-member Bosnian Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, warned against attempts to create "a false ethnic balance" in prosecuting war crimes. He said the arrests Friday were an "unnecessary humiliation" because the suspects have been cooperating with the investigation. Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik said the "relatives of the victims have been waiting for justice for 20 years." The war started when Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia, triggering a rebellion by Bosnia's Serbs, who took control of more than half of the country seeking to merge with neighboring Serbia. A peace agreement for Bosnia was signed in 1995, but tensions between the country's Muslims, Serbs and Croats still persist. Today's Bosnia is comprised of a Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat one. In the Serb town of Banja Luka, Milorad Kojic, who heads a group investigating wartime crimes against Serbs, said they have submitted to the Bosnian prosecutors more than 8,000 pages of evidence against Dudakovic and others, including allegedly incriminating video footage. The case involves 256 victims between the ages of nine and 99, Kojic said. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Andres Iniesta took two deep breaths, and then said the words that announced his story-book career at Barcelona was coming to an end. In an emotional news conference Friday attended by most of his teammates, his family and club executives, the midfielder who has embodied Barcelona's creative attacking style said that he was leaving after 16 trophy-packed seasons. "I have spent all my life here at this club and it is not easy to leave," Iniesta said after fighting back tears and regaining his composure. "My time here ends this season. I understand that the club that took me in at 12 deserves the best of me in return, and I have given it that until now, but in the near future I won't be able to both physically and mentally. F.C. Barcelona player Andres Iniesta during a news conference announcing he is leaving the club, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, April. 27, 2018. Andres Iniesta says that he will leave Barcelona this summer after 16 trophy-packed seasons with the Spanish club. Iniesta, who turns 34 on May 11, says Friday "this season is the last." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) "The club has placed its confidence," he said. "And I have always said that if I am not able to give my all to my club that has given me everything then I wouldn't be happy." Iniesta, who turns 34 on May 11, said that he intends to continue playing but did not reveal what his next club will be. "I have always said that I would never compete against my club, so all the options outside Europe are open," Iniesta said. "When the season is over we will know my choice." Local media reported that the Spain midfielder will be signing a lucrative contract with a club in the Chinese league. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were his only teammates not present to receive Iniesta's thanks. The club said that they had personal commitments they could not break. Iniesta left his village in southern Spain to join Barcelona's youth academy when he was 12. He went on to become one of the best players in its history, helping the team win 31 titles - a club record he shares with Messi. Iniesta has helped Barcelona win four Champions League titles, eight Spanish leagues, six Copa del Reys, three Club World Cups, seven Spanish Super Cups and three European Super Cups. And Iniesta is expected to get one more trophy for the club with Barcelona on the cusp of clinching the league title. The team leads Atletico Madrid by 11 points with five games left. Iniesta has been a fan favorite at Camp Nou since he helped it start its current winning era by claiming the Spanish league title in 2005 under Frank Rijkaard. He went on to form a dominant midfield pairing with Xavi Hernandez under the orders of Pep Guardiola, and has become team captain. "It would not have been possible without him so I just say 'thank you' because he helped me," Guardiola said. "People believe the managers help the players, but in a few cases, and I think Andres is one of them, he helped me to understand the game better." Last year, Iniesta signed the first lifelong contract ever given by Barcelona. And even though he is opting out of that deal, club president Josep Bartomeu said that there were no hard feelings. Bartomeu said Messi was the best player in Barcelona history for his goals and unmatched talent, but he has plenty of praise for Iniesta, too. "Iniesta is the most important player of this winning era that started in 2004," Bartomeu told Cadena SER radio on Thursday. "He has been a key part of all the teams under all our coaches, from Rijkaard, Guardiola, Tito Vilanova, (Gerardo) "Tata" Martino, Luis Enrique and now Ernesto (Valverde). He deserves our respect." Iniesta has shown this season that he is still able to perform at a top level. He has been a first-choice player for Valverde and was still its most decisive attacking midfielder. The loss of Iniesta is a blow to the entire Spanish league. He is widely admired and loved by fans across the country for his winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup and his role in Spain winning the 2008 and 2012 European Championships. He is often applauded by opposing fans when substituted on the road. "He is charming, very reserved, and I like people who do their talking on the pitch," Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "I only have good things to say about him, admiration for his football and I wish him the best." This year, Iniesta will play for Spain at the World Cup in Russia. That will likely be his last chance to add to his glorious career with the national side. But first, Iniesta has five more matches with Barcelona, starting on Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna. He will bid his final farewell at home on May 20 against Real Sociedad. "To Barcelona's fans, who have seen me grow up and followed every step I have taken, and been with me through the good times and the bad," Iniesta said, "I will take your love with me in my heart." F.C. Barcelona player Andres Iniesta reacts during a news conference announcing he is leaving the club, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, April. 27, 2018. Andres Iniesta says that he will leave Barcelona this summer after 16 trophy-packed seasons with the Spanish club. Iniesta, who turns 34 on May 11, says Friday "this season is the last." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) F.C. Barcelona player Andres Iniesta speacks during a news conference announcing he is leaving the club, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, April. 27, 2018. Andres Iniesta says that he will leave Barcelona this summer after 16 trophy-packed seasons with the Spanish club. Iniesta, who turns 34 on May 11, says Friday "this season is the last." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) F.C. Barcelona player Andres Iniesta reacts during a news conference announcing he is leaving the club, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, April. 27, 2018. Andres Iniesta says that he will leave Barcelona this summer after 16 trophy-packed seasons with the Spanish club. Iniesta, who turns 34 on May 11, says Friday "this season is the last." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Romaine lettuce outbreak update: 98 people sick in 22 states NEW YORK (AP) - A nasty strain of bacteria that can cause severe illness is what's driving a food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, health officials said Friday. The government now has reports of 98 people who got sick in 22 states. Forty-six people have been hospitalized, including 10 with kidney failure, which is an unusually high number of hospitalizations. The outbreak has been blamed on E. coli bacteria in romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. While most E. coli bacteria are not harmful, some produce toxins that can cause severe illness. The growing season in Yuma is pretty much over, but it's possible some illnesses will still occur, said Matthew Wise of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent illness began on April 20. In the meantime, people should not buy or eat romaine unless they know it's not from Yuma. The Yuma region provides most of the romaine sold in the U.S. during the winter. ___ AP PHOTOS: Macron, not Merkel, gets Trump's buddy treatment President Donald Trump and Emmanual Macron? Judging from the body language, mon ami! The president and Germany's Angela Merkel? Ach, not so chummy. During Macron's recent three-day trip to Washington, Trump greeted the French president with back-slapping geniality, including a lavish state dinner. The pair went to great lengths to display their affection through hearty handshakes, hugs - and, at times, air kisses. On Friday, during Merkel's three-hour visit to the White House, she and the president didn't demonstrate the same chemistry, though Trump did greet the chancellor outside the West Wing with a handshake and a peck on each cheek. Here's a collection of images chronicling the dissimilar welcomes accorded the two foreign leaders. ___ ___ APNewsBreak: Serial killer search led to wrong man in 2017 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Investigators hunting down the so-called Golden State Killer used information from genetic websites last year that led to the wrong man, court records obtained Friday by The Associated Press showed. An Oregon police officer working at the request of California investigators persuaded a judge to order a 73-year-old man in a nursing home to provide a DNA sample. It's not clear if officers collected the sample and ran further tests, but it was not the man arrested this week outside Sacramento in one of the state's most notorious string of serial rapes and killings. The Oregon City man was unable to answer questions Friday about the case. The case of mistaken identity was discovered as authorities hailed a novel use of DNA technology that led this week to the arrest of former police officer Joseph DeAngelo at his house outside Sacramento on murder charges. Critics of the investigative approach, however, warned it could jeopardize privacy rights. DeAngelo's suspected of being the sadistic attacker who killed 13 people and raped nearly 50 women during the 1970s and '80s. ___ Cosby confined to his home as team decries 'public lynching' NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Bill Cosby's team blasted his sexual-assault trial as a "public lynching" Friday and began looking ahead to an appeal as the judge ordered house arrest for the 80-year-old comedian and said he would be outfitted with a GPS ankle monitoring device. Cosby's appeal seems certain to focus on the judge's decision to let a parade of women testify that they, too, were abused by the former TV star. Defense allegations of a biased juror and the admission of Cosby's explosive testimony about drugs and sex are among other possible avenues of appeal as he tries to avoid a sentence that could keep him in prison for the rest of his days. Cosby remains free on $1 million bail while he awaits sentencing, probably within three months. Judge Steven O'Neill said Cosby would be confined to his suburban Philadelphia home in the meantime. The judge's order, issued Friday afternoon, said the comic may leave his house to meet with his lawyers or to get medical treatment, but must get permission first. ___ White House: Records dispute allegations against Jackson WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said Friday that internal records raise doubt about some of the most serious allegations leveled against White House doctor Ronny Jackson in his failed bid to become the next secretary of Veterans Affairs. Jackson withdrew his nomination Thursday after allegations by current and former colleagues raised questions about his prescribing practices and leadership ability, including accusations of drunkenness on the job. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester's office collected the allegations, which included a claim that Jackson "got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle" at a Secret Service going-away party. The records, including police reports, show Jackson was in three minor vehicle incidents in government vehicles during the last five years, but none involved the use of alcohol and he was not found to be at fault. In one case, a side-view mirror was clipped by a passing truck. In another incident an enraged driver in Montgomery County, Maryland, allegedly punched out Jackson's window during a morning drive to Camp David. The White House medical unit that Jackson ran successfully passed regular controlled substance audits, according to the records for the last three years. The reviews did recommend improvements to the medical unit's handling of controlled substances, but did not find misconduct. The Associated Press reviewed the documents Friday. They were the result of an internal White House review of allegations raised against Jackson during his brief confirmation process. The White House says the records, covering recent years, disprove the allegations. ___ Trump says he has a responsibility to end Korean conflict WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump claimed credit Friday for a historic inter-Korean summit, but now faces a burden in helping turn the Korean leaders' bold but vague vision for peace into reality after more than six decades of hostility. Trump must contend with two nagging suspicions: first about his own suitability to conduct that kind of war-and-peace negotiation and succeed where his predecessors have failed; secondly, whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un really is willing to give up the nuclear weapons his nation took decades acquiring. "It is still unclear whether North Korea still believes that it can have its cake and eat it too," said Victor Cha, who until January had been in the running to become Trump's choice for ambassador to South Korea. Cha said that while the atmospherics of the inter-Korean summit got an "A'' grade, the meeting had failed to clarify whether Kim is willing to give up his nukes or is interested in just freezing his programs in return for sanctions relief and economic and energy assistance. At a White House news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump basked in the afterglow of the feel-good meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and said he has a responsibility to try to achieve peace and denuclearization. "And if I can't do it, it'll be a very tough time for a lot of countries, and a lot of people. It's certainly something that I hope I can do for the world," he said. ___ GOP-led House panel clears Trump campaign in Russia probe WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday released a lengthy report concluding it found no evidence that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing praise from the president and rebuttals from Democrats. The report caps an investigation that began with the promise of bipartisanship but quickly transformed into an acrimonious battle between Democrats and Republicans over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and whether there were any connections with the Trump campaign. Trump quickly claimed vindication Friday, calling the report "totally conclusive, strong, powerful, many things." "No collusion, which I knew anyway. No coordination, no nothing. It's a witch hunt, that's all it is," he told reporters in the Oval Office. But the committee's Republicans didn't let the Trump campaign completely off the hook. They specifically cited the Trump campaign for "poor judgment" in taking a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower that was described in emails to Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as part of a Russian government effort to aide his father's presidential bid. The report also dubbed the campaign's praise of WikiLeaks "objectionable." ___ Tom Brokaw 'hurt and unmoored' by sex harassment allegations NEW YORK (AP) - Tom Brokaw denied sexual misconduct charges and told friends in a late-night email that he felt "ambushed and then perp walked" in the media as an avatar of male misogyny and stripped of his honor and achievement. The 78-year-old broadcast journalist penned an emotional response to accusations that he had made unwanted advances on a former colleague, writing that "it is 4:00 a.m. on the first day of my new life as an accused predator in the universe of American journalism." The letter was first reported in the Hollywood Reporter and confirmed by The Associated Press. Brokaw, meanwhile, withdrew on Friday as a commencement speaker at Connecticut's Sacred Heart University next month, saying his appearance would be a distraction. The Washington Post and Variety reported the charges by Linda Vester, a former NBC News and Fox News Channel correspondent. She said Brokaw went to her New York hotel room once in the mid-1990s, proposed an affair and tried to forcibly kiss her. She said he tried to kiss her one other time at her apartment in London and once grabbed her from behind and tickled her on her waist. She told Variety that despite not being at fault, she "suffered years of humiliation and isolation" from the incidents. ___ Family pride: Edmunds brothers both go in 1st round ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Lots of brothers have made it to the NFL. Some have played on the same team or been selected in the same draft. The Edmunds siblings made history Thursday night as the first brothers selected in the same opening round. Linebacker Tremaine went 16th to Buffalo. Then older brother safety Terrell, also of Virginia Tech, was chosen 28th by Pittsburgh. Older brother Trey was a rookie running back with the Saints last year. Talk about family pride. "Man, it was great," Tremaine says. "Definitely to see my other brother get drafted tonight, it was a big-time relief for my whole family. I know everybody's excited and I'm excited. It's a long time coming, but we can finally say that we made it." ___ 'He's not listening': Teachers and Arizona governor at odds PHOENIX (AP) - As thousands of teachers and supporters gathered at the Arizona Capitol to protest inadequate public school funding for a second day Friday, Gov. Doug Ducey again skipped the chance to address them. Instead, the Republican governor's public relations machine sent out links to a series of interviews the previous day with TV news reporters where Ducey pushed his plan to boost teacher pay by 20 percent by 2020, talking point by talking point. The scene was far different Friday in Denver, where several thousand teachers gathered for a second day to protest low education funding were greeted by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. He said he would work to have the state repay all of the approximately $1 billion borrowed from education during the recession. "We see you. We hear you," said Hickenlooper, who wore a red checked shirt and spoke for less than five minutes. "We are working with you, not just today." However, Hickenlooper didn't offer any funding above what has already been proposed for next year. Some teachers shouted over him "We want more," while others applauded his pledge. JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A train in South Africa has struck a vehicle at a railway crossing, killing seven men in the same place where 10 children died in a similar accident in 2010. Authorities are investigating the cause of the collision on Friday at the Buttskop crossing in Cape Town, site of a memorial to the victims of the 2010 crash. South African media say the victims in Friday's accident were workers in the pickup truck that was on the railway tracks. Photographs from the scene show their crumpled vehicle. Emergency workers attend the scene where a train struck a vehicle at a railway crossing in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday April 27, 2018. A train in South Africa has struck a vehicle at a railway crossing, killing seven men in the same place where 10 children died in a similar accident in 2010. (AP Photo) The driver of the vehicle in the 2010 case was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter. MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Police will be cracking down on drivers blasting loud music as they cruise around Miami Beach. The Miami Herald reports a special police squad will begin pulling over cars with loud music blaring from car stereos this weekend. It's an effort to address noise complaints and other disturbances in the busy tourist district. Miami Beach Police Chief Dan Oates told city commissioners on Wednesday that violators will be given one warning. After that, they'll be arrested and taken to jail. The county has an ordinance prohibiting cars from playing "unreasonably loud" music, but police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez says violators often weren't ticketed. The increased enforcement follows a busy spring break that brought thousands of visitors to South Beach. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump claimed credit Friday for the historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and declared that peace on the divided peninsula could be achieved and its people could live in harmony. Trump spoke hours after Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to visit south of the demarcation line between the two Koreas, meeting with President Moon Jae-in. They pledged in a joint statement to seek a formal end to the Korean War by year's end and to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons, without specifying how it would be achieved. "When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility," Trump said during an appearance with U.S. athletes who participated in this year's Winter Olympics in South Korea. "They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. Their discussions will be expected to focus on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) The Kim-Moon meeting was the culmination of a rapprochement that was inspired by the February games. Responsibility for turning a bold vision for peace into reality will in large part rest with Trump, who has often vowed to succeed where his predecessors as president have failed in eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat to America. Trump on Friday gave an unequivocal statement that he would sit down with Kim - a meeting that has been tentatively scheduled for May or early June - in what would be a first during six decades of hostility. "I'll be meeting with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks as we seek to denuclearize the North Korean area and the entire Korean Peninsula," Trump said. "Hopefully the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons and where all Koreans can live together and can share their dreams. It would be a wonderful thing to do." Earlier, and with characteristic swagger, Trump had touted the outcome of Friday's summit between Kim and Moon as a breakthrough in the generational standoff. "KOREAN WAR TO END!" he tweeted. "The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" In a separate tweet sent minutes earlier, Trump said "good things are happening, but only time will tell." After a febrile year, when the U.S. and North Korean leaders traded threats while Kim pushed his nation to the verge of being able to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the U.S. mainland, tensions have eased with Kim's sudden shift to international diplomacy. Last month, Trump surprised the world by accepting an offer to negotiate with Kim, who has announced a halt to nuclear and long-range missile tests. Trump also offered credit Friday to China, North Korea's traditional ally and main trading partner, who has supported tough international sanctions against North Korea to pressure it to give up its nukes. "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" Trump tweeted. Despite the optimistic rhetoric, major uncertainty still surrounds North Korea's commitment to "denuclearize" and what it would demand in return. The North has spent decades building up an atomic arsenal as a deterrent against a U.S. invasion and as a safeguard for the continuance of its totalitarian regime. ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's creditors said Friday that the country is on track to reach a final deal on June 21 on fully exiting its international bailout in August, though work remains to be done and debt inspectors will return to Athens next month for a final review. Speaking in Sofia, Bulgaria, after a meeting of the finance ministers of the European Union's 19-member eurozone, Finance Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Greece was essentially on track to meet its reform commitments, "but there are still a few efforts to be conducted." Among key issues are the handling of banks' soured loans and property foreclosures. Pierre Moscovici ,Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, speaks during press conference after Eurogroup meeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) Greece is set to emerge from its third and final bailout on Aug. 20, after eight years of relying on emergency loans from international creditors. In return, it has had to push through repeated rounds of deep spending cuts, structural reforms and privatizations and its economy has been under strict supervision by its creditors. "We are very satisfied with the Eurogroup (meeting)," said Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, referring to the eurozone finance ministers' gathering. The Greek government has committed to continuing reforms after the end of the bailout, but has resisted the idea preferred by some, including the country's central bank, of taking a so-called precautionary credit line - a backup loan it could use as it eases back into international bond markets. A credit line would likely involve more stringent government austerity measures and heavier international oversight, which would make it politically unpopular. Instead, the left-led coalition government has insisted on a "clean exit" from the bailout. "We will have reinforced surveillance, which has nothing to do with a credit line," said Tsakalotos. He stressed that the bailout program will be over, meaning creditors will no longer regularly demand reforms in exchange for loans. Tsakalotos presented the government's proposals for growth in the post-bailout era to the finance ministers at the Sofia meeting, and said the creditors were "very happy" with the presentation. "The strategy is to boost Greece's long-term growth potential and enhance the investment climate. Importantly, it underlines Greek ownership of the reform process" after the bailout, said Mario Centeno, who chairs the eurozone finance ministers' meetings. Moscovici stressed the need for a surveillance program after the end of the bailout. "We really are now in the final straight," he said. "We have undoubtedly already covered 90 percent of the way. The effort mustn't stop now, it must go all the way. The last 10 percent isn't necessarily the simplest, but it must be done and we will do it together." The debt inspectors will return to Athens on May 14 for the fourth and final review of the last bailout, said Centeno. "We saw some good news from Greece lately, namely on the fiscal side," said Centeno, noting the country had posted a primary surplus - the budget balance minus debt repayment - of over 4 percent of gross domestic product for a second year. "This is very encouraging given the track record." Athens also expects some form of debt relief at the end of its bailouts, as promised by its creditors. "The final decision on the implementation of the debt measures will be taken, if needed, at the end of the program," Centeno said, while Tsakalotos said the discussion on the debt was continuing and would be concluded by the June 21 finance ministers' meeting. ____ Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed. Euclid Tsakalotos, Greek Minister of Finance arrives to Eurogroup meeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) Eurogroup President Mario Centeno speaks prior to Eurogroup meeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) Pierre Moscovici ,Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, speaks during press conference after Eurogroup meeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) Mario Jose Gomes de Freitas Centeno, President of the Eurogroup and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism speaks at press conference after Eurogroup meeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's main intelligence agency says it has detained four men from a Siberian oil town who are linked to the Islamic State group and are suspected of plotting terror attacks in Moscow. The FSB agency said Friday that the four members of the suspected IS "sleeper cell" were detained in the Moscow region after they traveled from Novy Urengoi, an oil town in western Siberia. The FSB said the men plotted attacks in Moscow and were receiving orders from IS members in Syria via a messaging app. Twenty people were detained in Novy Urengoi on suspicion of aiding the group. Russia has been providing air cover for Syrian President Bashar Assad since 2015, while thousands of its own citizens went off to Syria to join IS in fighting against Assad's government. ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The Latest on Europe's response to refugees and migrants trying to reach the continent (all times local): 3:10 p.m. Specialists from the Council of Europe say Hungary's ability to detect human trafficking of migrants and asylum-seekers has deteriorated, with unclear procedures and insufficient information about victims' asylum rights. FILE - In this April 28, 2017 file photo a police officer with a dog patrols along the border fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border near Roszke, 180 kms southeast of Budapest, Hungary. A report by specialists from the Council of Europe says Friday, April 27, 2018 that Hungary's ability to detect potential victims of human trafficking among migrants and asylum seekers has deteriorated, with unclear procedures and insufficient information about asylum rights. (Zoltan Gergely Kelemen/MTI via AP, file) The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings said in a report issued Friday that Hungary's two transit zones on its border with Serbia, where asylum-seekers must stay until their claims are evaluated, lack the "atmosphere of trust" needed for trafficking victims to come forward. The report also said "collective expulsions" hindered the detection of potential victims. The group says it is "deeply concerned" that children between the ages of ages 14 and 17 are treated as adults for asylum purposes. In a letter published with the report, the Hungarian government refuted much of the experts' criticism. ___ 2:35 p.m. The U.N. refugee agency has made an urgent appeal to Greece to create more reception facilities at a border area with Turkey which has seen a surge in crossings in recent months by asylum-seekers from Syria and Iraq. The UNHCR on Friday said existing facilities in the Evros border region were overwhelmed after the number of arrivals swelled to 2,900 so far this month. Refugees were crammed into local police stations, often in poor conditions, it said. Many migrant traffickers have switched routes to the Evros region instead of islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, where most migrants are prevented from traveling to the mainland. There was no immediate reaction from the government. BLACK REPUBLICAN BLOG - The Republican Party is the party of civil rights and the four Fs: faith, family, freedom and fairness. The Democratic Party is the party of the four Ss: slavery, secession, segregation and socialism (Quote By Author Michael Scheuer). ROME (AP) - Italian state police said "special attention" will be paid to the arrival and movements of 5,000 Liverpool supporters next week for the Champions League match against Roma following clashes at the first leg. After a security briefing between Italian and British authorities, the clubs and UEFA on Friday, Italian police said they were provided details of the flights and airports to be used by Liverpool fans "not only in the capital but also in other cities." In England this week, two men from Rome were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an assault that left a Liverpool fan in critical condition. Italian and British authorities attend a security briefing ahead of next Wednesday's Champions League match between Roma and Liverpool, at the Interior Ministry, in Rome, Friday, April 27, 2018. Italian state police say "special attention" will be paid to the arrival and movements of 5,000 Liverpool supporters next week for the Champions League match against Roma following clashes at the first leg. (Italian Police via AP) "We condemn any and all forms of violence. The team, my staff and I have all been thinking about and praying for Sean Cox and his family," Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said, referring to the fan in critical condition. The return leg is scheduled for Wednesday at the Stadio Olimpico. "My hope is that the second leg will be played in an inclusive, celebratory atmosphere: For football, and for sport in general," Di Francesco said. "This is my appeal to our supporters." Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp hoped common sense prevails. "When I first heard of (Cox's assault) I cannot describe my emotions in English," Klopp said. "It should never have happened, it should never have happened before, and it should not happen in the future, and we all have to do everything to make sure things like that will not happen anymore. "I obviously don't have the solution for it, probably no one has that. It is easy to say: Behave like how you want to be treated yourself. If you are in the street you want to be safe, that's how it is." Police also said they will provide visiting fans with "all of the relevant information" for arriving and departing the stadium, as well as "behavior rules" and pre-arranged meeting points. "A positive and productive meeting has taken place in Rome today, with all those involved displaying intent for a collaborative approach and a commitment to making the event a great sporting occasion," Liverpool said in a statement. Liverpool won the first leg of the semifinal 5-2. ___ More AP Champions League coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/ChampionsLeague AS Roma CEO Umberto Gandini, left, and General Director Mauro Baldissoni, right, leave the Interior Ministry headquarters in Rome, Friday, April 27, 2018. Officials from Roma, Liverpool and UEFA met in Rome to discuss security concerns ahead of their Champions League return match next week. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) ADDS NAME OF SECOND PERSON IN PHOTO - Kenny Scott, UEFA safety and security adviser, left, shakes hands with Massimo Passariello, vice-president of the National Observatory on Sport Events, as he leaves the Interior Ministry headquarters in Rome, Friday, April 27, 2018. Officials from Roma, Liverpool and UEFA met in Rome to discuss security concerns ahead of their Champions League return match next week. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Kenny Scott, UEFA safety and security adviser, leaves the Interior Ministry headquarters in Rome, Friday, April 27, 2018. Officials from Roma, Liverpool and UEFA met in Rome to discuss security concerns ahead of their Champions League return match next week. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Lee Lomax, football officer for Merseyside police, leaves the Interior Ministry headquarters in Rome, Friday, April 27, 2018. Officials from Roma, Liverpool and UEFA met in Rome to discuss security concerns ahead of their Champions League return match next week. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) BERLIN (AP) - Officials in Germany are refusing to let Spain give medals to German police officers who detained Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont last month. Spain's National Police Corps reportedly wants to award merit medals to the officers who executed a European arrest warrant for Puigdemont as he drove into Germany from Denmark. But the government of Schleswig Holstein state, where the March 25 arrest occurred, say they won't give Spain the names of the officers involved. State government spokesman Peter Hoever told the dpa news agency Friday that the police officers "only did their jobs." The Puigdemont is currently on bail in Germany awaiting extradition to Spain, where authorities accuse him of rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia's independence from Spain. PARIS (AP) - Fresh from his visit to Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron is planning a 5-day trip next week to Australia and New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific. The president's office said on Friday that Macron will seek closer cooperation on defense during his visit to Australia that starts May 1. French company Naval Group is building the Australian navy 12 submarines in a $36.3 billion deal. Macron will then travel to New Caledonia, where a crucial self-determination referendum is being held in November. French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Macron urged the United States not to retreat from world affairs, but to embrace its historic role as a military leader of world affairs. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The French president is set to attend ceremonies marking the 30th anniversary of when New Caledonia's indigenous Melanesian tribesmen took French police and a judge hostage on Ouvea island. Four gendarmes and 19 hostage-takers died. The events on Ouvea prompted a 1988 agreement between rival loyalist and pro-independence factions. A Philadelphia mob boss who says he has stepped away from a life of crime pleaded guilty on Friday to an illegal betting charge avoiding a retrial in his racketeering case. Joseph 'Skinny Joey Merlino was accused of extortion, loan-sharking, casino-style gambling, sports gambling, health care fraud and credit card fraud after his 2016 arrest. Merlino and other mobsters who were arrested are alleged to have operated in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. The 56-year-old was on trial in February for federal racketeering but a mistrial was declared when the jury could not agree on a verdict. Joseph 'Skinny Joey' Merlino pleaded guilty to a gambling charge on Friday to avoid a retrial in his racketeering case. Merlino is pictured above outside a Manhattan federal court on January 31, 2018 Merlino, 56, was accused of extortion, loan-sharking, casino-style gambling, sports gambling, health care fraud and credit card fraud Merlino was back in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday to plead guilty to the lesser charge of gambling so he could avoid a retrial. The deal calls for a prison term up to 16 months, but US District Judge Richard Sullivan said he could impose a longer sentence based on Merlinos criminal past. Sentencing is scheduled for September 13. Merlino once controlled the remnants of a Philadelphia-south Jersey organized crime family that was decimated by a bloody civil war in the 1980s and 1990s. Federal authorities say he was frequently targeted by murder plots after rivals put a $500,000 murder contract on his head. In 2001, a jury acquitted him and six co-defendants of three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder that could have put him in prison for life. He was convicted of lesser racketeering charges and served 12 years in prison before being released in 2011. After his release, Merlino said that he had retired from the mob for good and opened an upscale restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida. The restaurant has since closed and in 2016 he was arrested again in a crackdown on an East Coast syndicate that prosecutors say committed numerous crimes including extortion, gambling, fraud and loan-sharking. During the first trial, the defense tried to convince jurors that they were being misled by compromised turncoat mobsters who testified against Merlino. In February, a judge declared a mistrial in his racketeering case after the jury could not agree on a verdict. Merino is pictured above with his wife Deborah leaving court in February One former mobster who testified against Merlino was John Junior Rubeo, an ex-confidante of Merlinos who became an FBI informant and secretly recorded conversations he had with Merlino about the alleged illegal activity. The tapes were played during the first trial and allegedly included talks about bribing doctors and Merlino fretting about stool pigeons. Merlino seemed carefree outside the courtroom on Friday telling reporters that he thinks the Philadelphia 76ers will win the NBA playoffs. He also chimed in on Philadelphia rapper Meek Mills recent release from prison. Im glad hes at home with his family where he belongs, Merlino said. MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut police have charged a man they say was trying to sell venomous snakes. State environmental police on Thursday charged 21-year-old Cameron DeFrances with multiple counts of illegal possession of wild animals and reckless endangerment after finding seven live snakes in his Meriden home. A viper, several cobras and two dead snakes were discovered. State officials got a search warrant after getting a tip from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that DeFrances was selling snakes through social media. The serpents were seized and transported to a reptile facility with the help of a qualified specialist. DeFrances was freed on $1,000 bond pending a May 10 court date. A listed home phone number for DeFrances was out of service Friday. WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing imminent deadlines, President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel largely papered over their differences on trade and the Iran nuclear accord on Friday, stressing instead ties between the longtime allies and their shared goal of a nuclear-free North Korea. Still, Merkel's brief visit, coupled with French President Emmanuel Macron's more lavish stopover earlier in the week, made clear that the U.S. president's divisions with European allies remain substantial. Trump and Merkel's three-hour visit at the White House contained little of the back-slapping geniality that defined Macron's three-day trip, including a lavish state dinner. While Trump and Macron complimented and embraced each other, the German chancellor kept her public statements brief and handshakes formal. President Donald Trump with German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Trump is widely expected to withdraw the U.S. from the international Iran agreement next month, despite pleas from Macron earlier in the week and Merkel on Friday. Yet Merkel used her public comments after her meeting with Trump to try to gloss over that disagreement, calling the Obama-era accord a "first step" toward curtailing and containing Iran's regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Trump has said he, too, is open to new negotiations with Iran. But he has not said he will heed European calls for the U.S. to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Iran's nuclear efforts, while any further talks are underway. His decision on whether to exit the deal is expected by May 12 and he forcefully set out what he sees as the ultimate goal. "They're not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it," Trump declared at a news conference with Merkel. On trade, Merkel saw little progress on obtaining permanent exemptions for the European Union from Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, even as a May 1 decision deadline approaches. "The decision lies with the president," she said. German officials had signaled that their goals for Friday's visit were modest, Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting NATO military spending obligations, saying it is "essential that our NATO allies increase their financial contribution." Merkel said Germany's latest budget will take defense spending to 1.3 percent of GDP and the country is aiming for more over time. NATO countries are expected to devote 2 percent of their gross domestic product to defense. Merkel made a point of flattering Trump on one issue, declaring that the U.S. pressure campaign against North Korea deserved the lion's share of the credit for the historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea. Trump praised Germany's role in the effort but agreed with a reporter's question that he would be "the closer" in the deal, saying "I think I have a responsibility" to oversee denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. While Merkel kept her answers brief, Trump expounded at length on subjects ranging the strength of the U.S. economy under his leadership to the failings of his predecessors in the Oval Office. The German chancellor could not maintain her poker face during a number of Trump's comments at their joint news conference, her expression at times rotating between looks of amusement and bewilderment as the president parried with the press corps. While Macron and Trump went to great lengths to display their professed affection through hearty handshakes, hugs - and, at times, air kisses - the president did not demonstrate the same chemistry with Merkel. He did greet her outside the West Wing with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek and, at the end of their news conference, a tentative pat on her back. That was a marked improvement from their first White House meeting last spring, when Trump seemed to ignore photographers' prompts to give Merkel the traditional photo-op handshake. And the German chancellor looked on unhappily when Trump upbraided NATO nations last summer for not spending enough on defense as he stood in NATO'S gleaming new Brussels headquarters. This time, Trump insisted that they have "a great relationship," and Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor, said the president's relationships with Merkel and Macron don't need to be compared. "Every leader is different, every relationship is different," Conway said. "We're very happy that Chancellor Merkel is making another trip here." While Macron has been positioning himself as Europe's "Trump whisperer" and conduit to an American president who seems intent on upending U.S. relationships with allies, Merkel maintains her strength as the head of the largest economy in Europe. And if this visit lacked a big show of bonhomie, that might just be fine with Merkel, who has little to gain at home by being overly friendly with Trump, according to German political analyst Jan Techau. "For Merkel, it's quite important domestically not to be seen to be getting too close to Trump," said Techau, a senior fellow at think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Anti-American sentiment has been growing again in Germany since Trump's election, with mainstream media regularly portraying the U.S. president as a threat to the world. The Macron state visit had been long planned, while Merkel's more informal working visit was added to the schedule so her trip to Washington would be her first outside Europe since her recent election victory. Although Germany is unlikely to accept a wholesale rewrite of the Iran deal, Berlin has indicated that it is prepared to consider add-ons that would crack down on Tehran's ballistic missile program and curb Iranian efforts to strengthen its strategic role in the Middle East. Earlier this week, Macron made clear that France would not follow the U.S. lead if Trump decides to withdraw from the agreement. ___ Associated Press writer Frank Jordans contributed reporting from Berlin. ___ Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire President Donald Trump greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Friday April 27, 2018, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, April 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, smiles at President Donald Trump during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont teen accused of plotting a shooting with mass casualties at his former high school in a case that led to the first significant limits on gun ownership in Vermont was released Friday into the custody of his father. Jack Sawyer, 18, was released on conditions after posting $10,000 bail. The state's defender general said he was being placed in a treatment facility on Friday, but would not say where. Sawyer was arrested the day after the Feb. 14 Parkland, Florida, shootings that killed 17 people after a friend reported him to authorities. He was charged with attempted murder, accusing him of planning a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School that prosecutors say was outlined in his diary "Journal of an Active Shooter." FILE - This file photo released Feb. 15, 2018, by the Vermont State Police shows Jack Sawyer from Poultney, Vt., accused of planning "to shoot up" his former high school. Sawyer was released Friday, April 27 into the custody of his father. Prosecutors on Monday dropped the most serious charges against him after the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that preparation didn't constitute attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to lesser charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon. (Vermont State Police via AP, File) Prosecutors on Monday dropped the most serious charges against him after the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that preparation didn't constitute attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to lesser charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon. His defense team has argued that he didn't take concrete steps to commit the crime. Gov. Phil Scott on Friday outlined what the state is doing to enhance the safety of the Fair Haven school and community. Prosecutor Rose Kennedy used one of the new gun restrictions, obtaining an extreme risk protection order that said Sawyer poses an extreme risk of physical harm to himself and others and is barred from having any firearms. The Vermont State Police is assisting the local police department by providing personnel, state police cruisers to be periodically posted at schools, as well as a plain clothes trooper periodically posted in and around the school, Scott said. Seven other law enforcement agencies in Vermont and New York are prepared to provide resources if needed, he said. "As I've said, I am extremely concerned and frustrated that our current laws have allowed for the release of an individual who - as the Court record shows - intended, and may still intend, to carry out a horrific crime," Scott said. He said his administration would continue to work with the Legislature to change Vermont's law to criminalize substantial steps to commit mass violence against schools and other public locations. The state Senate this week approved a new domestic terrorism law that includes that change. "I want the Fair Haven community to know we stand with them, and I personally share their frustration with the system," Scott said. "I promise, we are doing everything we can to keep the school and community safe." ALACHUA, Fla. (AP) - The man who fatally shot two deputies at a Chinese restaurant in Florida was armed with two rifles and a handgun when he "assassinated" his men, a sheriff said Friday. Fifty-nine-year-old John Hubert Highnote was described Friday as a white male, overweight and balding with a white beard. "He is described as a recluse and a loner by the few people who knew him," Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz said. "His neighbors did not see him, nor were they even able to describe him." Highnote had no presence online, and investigators are still trying to find people who knew him in Bell, a town of fewer than 500 people surrounded by farmland and ranches where he had lived for years. Highnote killed himself after walking casually into the Ace China restaurant in nearby Trenton on April 19 and shooting Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey as they ate lunch, police said. Schultz said Highnote had carried "ample ammunition" for all the weapons he possessed. The sheriff says that before the shooting, Highnote had driven to a previous employer's business but fled as employees approached him. The only photograph of Highnote that investigators have obtained is his driver's license, Schultz said. The sheriff refused to release it. Highnote had no criminal record other than some traffic tickets, court records show. He was arrested for felony carrying a concealed firearm in 1978, a charge later dropped after he successfully completed a pre-trial intervention, Pinellas County court records show. "The violence he perpetrated on Noel and Taylor can never be explained. They were simply assassinated while having a meal," Schultz said. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, said he plans to return a $20,000 speaking fee he received last year from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The former congressman announced his decision in a letter sent Thursday to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, which was placed in a tough spot by the payment after having endorsed Kucinich for governor. Kucinich had come under mounting political pressure after news reports revealed that the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees that paid for the speech was the parent organization to the pro-Assad Syrian Solidarity Movement. FILE - In this April 10, 2018, file photo, former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, of Ohio speaks during the Ohio Democratic Party's fifth debate in the primary race for governor at Miami (OH) University's Middletown campus in Middletown, Ohio. Kucinich is returning a $20,000 speaking fee he received last year from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Democratic candidate for Ohio governor announced his decision in a letter sent Thursday, April 26, 2018, to The Plain Dealer. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) Kucinich said that he was unaware of the connection when he took money from an umbrella group, which he initially defended as "a civil rights advocacy group." "The organization did not identify itself as having any interest other than human rights and never specifically mentioned to me their interest in or position regarding the Syrian regime," he wrote. "If they had, I would have declined their offer, because anyone who stands for peace must be able to remain above the appearance of influence." Kucinich had initially omitted the speaking fee from his required financial disclosure filing. He wrote that was "unintentional" and said he promptly fixed the error when asked by the Ohio Ethics Commission. Cordray's campaign spokesman, Mike Gwin, said Kucinich's behavior "doesn't add up." "Kucinich concealed a payment from this despicable pro-Assad group on his ethics form that he was legally required to disclose," Gwin said. "Once the omission was brought to light, Kucinich defended the group and the payment, but now he claims he didn't know anything about the organization or its offensive ideology." In his letter, Kucinich reiterated that the speech he delivered at the European Centre for the Study of Extremism in London last year was "on the topic of resolving the conflict in Syria." The U.S. and its allies attacked Syrian government chemical weapons stores earlier this month that intelligence agencies say have been used on Assad's own people. Kucinich also previously went to Syria for what he has described as peace missions during which he met with Assad. Kucinich said those meetings, along with an interview he conducted on Fox News, have all been aimed at advancing peace in the region. "I am not nor have I ever been an apologist for anyone," he wrote. "In a lifetime as a public servant I have never carried water for any interest, foreign or domestic. A look at the interview I conducted on Fox News with President Assad should dispel that notion." HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (AP) - Police say a cattle trailer has overturned in western Missouri, killing 40 to 50 animals. The Kansas City Star reports that the crash happened Friday morning in Harrisonville, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Kansas City. Police say the truck was pulling a trailer with 80 to 100 head of cattle. A man and woman in the truck were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Police say the surviving cattle were rounded up and taken from the scene in trailers. Police say some animals will likely be looked at by a veterinarian. It's unclear where the cattle were going. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. It caused major traffic delays on northbound Interstate 49. ___ Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com WINTER PARK, Fla. (AP) - Police say a 58-year-old Florida man shot at his roommate because he was angry about cat hair being on the couch. Craig Tull is facing charges of robbery with a firearm, shooting into a dwelling, aggravated battery and aggravated assault following the incident early Wednesday at his central Florida home. The roommate told investigators that Tull pulled the gun after getting angry about the cat hair. According to court documents, Tull fired in the direction of the roommate and said, "the next one's going to be you." The Orlando Sentinel reports Tull then jabbed the gun into the roommate's rib cage, causing minor cuts and bruises. Police said Tull initially refused to leave the house after officers arrived. Tull is being held without bond. Jail records don't list a lawyer. BERLIN (AP) - Austria's defense minister is ordering an investigation into whether the country's peacekeepers allowed Syrian police to drive into a fatal ambush in the Golan Heights six years ago. Austrian weekly Der Falter published a leaked video Friday that was apparently filmed by the United Nations peacekeepers from Austria in September 2012 and shows Syrian smugglers ambush the police. The Austrian soldiers are clearly heard discussing whether to warn the officers, but then letting them pass. In a statement, the defense ministry said it was only made aware of the "dimension of the incident" by the images and video leaked to Falter. Defense Minister Mario Kunasek says "the incidents will have to be meticulously and completely cleared up." Austria's peacekeeping role on the border between Syria and Israel ended in 2013. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the ouster of the House chaplain, the Rev. Patrick Conroy (all times local): 2:05 p.m. The top House Democrat says the ouster of the House chaplain by the speaker was abrupt and unjust. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 27, 2018. It was discussed during the closed-door meeting that Chaplain of the House of Representatives Father Patrick J. Conroy, a Roman Catholic priest from the Jesuit order, has been forced out after seven years by Ryan after complaints by some lawmakers claimed he was too political. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Nancy Pelosi tweets that "Father Pat Conroy's service for the last seven years has been a blessing of grace & dignity to the House." The California Democrat says his ouster "is hard to understand & impossible to support." Speaker Paul Ryan Ryan demanded Conroy's resignation. He told Republicans Friday morning that he's heard complaints that Conroy did not sufficiently tend to the pastoral needs of lawmakers. But Pelosi said she's never received such a complaint. Pelosi is a Catholic, like Conroy. She's also a former speaker who says Ryan did not have the power to fire Conroy outright. ___ 11:59 a.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan has told fellow Republicans that he fired the House chaplain after complaints from members that he wasn't doing a very good job - not because of pressure over the Rev. Patrick Conroy's political leanings. Lawmakers exiting a GOP meeting Friday said Ryan told them that Conroy was forced after lawmakers complained that had not been adequately tending to the pastoral needs of lawmakers. "He had a number of complaints that the chaplain was not meeting the pastoral needs of the members in general," said Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo. Ryan's office won't say why Conroy was asked to resign. It would be the first forced ouster in the history of the House. PHILADELPHIA (AP) - It is difficult to overstate the pride, admiration and sense of ownership many black Americans felt watching Bill Cosby at the height of his career in the 1980s and '90s. As Dr. Cliff Huxtable, Cosby starred in a top-rated network sitcom about a loving, successful black couple and their wholesome children. "The Cosby Show" shifted the paradigm for millions of viewers for what a black family could look like. And it made Cosby an idol to many African-Americans in an era long before the country would see a black family living in the White House. All of which explains why the comedian's downfall Thursday was met with pain, disappointment and conflicted feelings in the black community. For many black people, news of Cosby's sexual-assault conviction was hard to hear, even for fans who believed his accusers. FILE - In this April 18, 2018 file photo, Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. On Thursday, April 26, 2018, Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, completing the spectacular late-life downfall of a comedian who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as America's Dad. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) "We have been split from Day One about his innocence because of our need to have a hero that looks like us," said Tarana Burke, the black woman who created the #MeToo hashtag in 2006 and recalled growing up listening to albums of Cosby's comedy routines and later watching him as "America's Dad." She warned against confusing Cosby with the roles he played. "Cliff Huxtable was a good person, but that character doesn't reflect the character of (Cosby's) life," Burke said. "Fat Albert is not a serial rapist. Bill Cosby is." Cosby carefully crafted his persona over half a century in public life and on the big and small screen. In the 1960s, he became the first black actor to star in a network show, "I Spy." He later created the children's cartoon program "Fat Albert," based on childhood friends, and then "The Cosby Show." He would go on to win the 2002 Presidential Medal of Freedom and made it his role to admonish blacks to take personal responsibility, his stinging commentary hitting home because of the man, husband and father many believed Cosby to be. When word of some of the allegations against Cosby broke in 2014, in part because of a stand-up routine by black comedian Hannibal Buress, many African-Americans who had long admired the TV star were hurt. All told, more than 60 women would accuse Cosby of sexual assault. Some black people who grew up watching shows like "The Cosby Show" and the Cosby-created spinoff "A Different World" were conflicted about continuing to watch. Rutgers University women's studies professor Brittney Cooper said it's time for black people to drop their support for the entertainer and his work. "There's an ongoing conversation about can we love the art and dismiss or disavow the artist," said Cooper, author of the recent book "Eloquent Rage," which explores the Cosby allegations. But "we have to stop deciding that art is a reasonable spoil of war, that we will ignore all the casualties. We can't separate Cosby from his art." For some, this is easier said than done. In a rare front-page essay, New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris laid bare his emotional strife over having to divorce himself from Cosby's work in the wake of the verdict, and told of how the comedian was a formative influence in his life. "Mr. Cosby made blackness palatable to a country historically conditioned to think the worst of black people," wrote Morris, who is black and was born in Philadelphia, where Cosby is from. "Mr. Cosby told lots of jokes. This was his sickest one," Morris continued. "How do I, at least, cleave this man from the man he seduced me into becoming?" Cosby was prosecuted after rumors of sexual assaults swirled for years. He was protected, his detractors say, by power, money and racial loyalty. Supermodel Beverly Johnson said her reluctance to come forward as an accuser was tied to her allegiance to African-Americans and a disinclination to hurt a member of her community. Since then, #MeToo has become a global phenomenon that has brought down powerful men in politics, entertainment and the media, including Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein. Some observers have said the movement contributed to Cosby's conviction. It may also have given some African-Americans permission to finally hold their hero accountable. "It took away the heft of the narrative, in black communities in particular, that this was some kind of grand conspiracy to take down a powerful black man," Cooper said. "It placed Cosby in conversation with folks like Weinstein, to say this is about the kinds of things that powerful men do when they feel like they can get away with it." Cosby, at 80, is now looking at the possibility of dying behind bars. "He is now part of a broader narrative about Hollywood, mainstream men doing this kind of thing," Cooper said. "He's not the singular, black, male monster." ___ Whack is The Associated Press' national reporter on race and ethnicity. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous. Bill Cosby, center, leaves the the Montgomery County Courthouse after being convicted of drugging and molesting a woman, Thursday, April 26, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, laugh as they tell a story about collecting a piece in the exhibit "Conversations: African and African-American Artworks in Dialogue," at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art in Washington. On Thursday, April 26, 2018, Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, completing the spectacular late-life downfall of a comedian who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as America's Dad. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A California man has been sentenced to 112 years in prison for the attempted murder of two unarmed officers in the lobby of a county jail. The Fresno Bee reports Thong Van was sentenced Friday in the 2016 shootings of the officers at Fresno County Jail. Authorities say Vang shot officers Juanita Davila and Toamalama Scanlan when they approached him after he cut to the front of the visitors' line. Scanlan's wife, Tespatasi, testified that her husband can no longer walk, talk or feed himself. Davila was shot in the neck and said she still needs another surgery to mend her broken jaw. Vang testified he was high on methamphetamine, paranoid and looking for help when he entered the jail lobby. He had prior rape convictions. ___ Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri attorney general can continue investigating Gov. Eric Greitens and a veterans' charity he founded after a judge on Friday refused Greitens' request to bar the probe by his fellow Republican officeholder. Greitens' lawyer had claimed Attorney General Josh Hawley had a conflict of interest while investigating Greitens' political use of a charity donor list because Hawley had called for the governor to resign over separate allegations of sexual misconduct. During a court hearing Thursday, Greitens' lawyer also suggested Hawley had a disqualifying "personal interest" because he's challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem denied Greitens' request for a temporary restraining order barring the attorney general's office from any investigation related to Greitens. Beetem dismissed the case. The judge said that rules about attorneys' professional conduct can't serve as the basis to initiate civil court cases. He said the rules apply only to criminal prosecutions and noted that the attorney general is not currently prosecuting any case against Greitens, much less in Cole County. Hawley spokeswoman Mary Compton said the office was pleased with the judge's ruling. A spokesman for Greitens' attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Greitens faces a May 14 trial in St. Louis on a felony invasion-of-privacy indictment for allegedly taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of an at least partially nude woman in 2015, before he was elected governor. Greitens has acknowledged having an affair but denied criminal wrongdoing. A House investigatory committee released a report April 11 containing testimony from the woman alleging that Greitens had restrained, spanked, slapped, shoved and threatened her during a series of sexual encounters that at times caused her to be afraid and cry. After that report, Hawley issued a statement saying Greitens should immediately resign. Last week, Hawley announced that while investigating The Mission Continues he had developed evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing by Greitens. He shared that evidence with the St. Louis prosecutor's office, which charged Greitens on April 20 with a felony of tampering with computer data for allegedly disclosing a list of top donors to The Mission Continues to his political campaign in 2015 without the permission of the St. Louis-based charity. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered an independent review Friday into problems at a state agency where the director allegedly sexually harassed female employees for years without consequence, reversing what the governor had told reporters earlier in the day. Reynolds had told reporters Friday morning that no further investigation of the Iowa Finance Authority was necessary because its former director, her longtime ally Dave Jamison, was responsible for the problems and that she had fired him. But by Friday afternoon, Reynolds announced that she and the attorney general's office had selected prominent white-collar attorney Mark Weinhardt to lead an independent review. She said Weinhardt would investigate Jamison's conduct during his 7-year tenure as director and "what was known at IFA about these matters and the appropriateness of the response to them." In this photo for video provided by KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa Finance Authority Dave Jamison is seen during an interview. Jamison was fired March 24, 2018, by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who rejected calls Friday, April 27, 2018, for a broader investigation into problems at the state agency where the Jamison allegedly sexually harassed female employees for years without consequence. (KCCI-TV via AP) Reynolds said in a statement that she had been reluctant to investigate earlier because she wanted to protect the safety and privacy of two victims who reported "horrible allegations" to her office last month. "Now that one of the victims has made the decision to release the specific details of the harassment, I am ordering an independent review of David Jamison's conduct and what was known about it," she said. The woman's attorney had said she agreed to the release of her complaint with redactions after The Associated Press sought the document under the open records law. The hiring of Weinhardt marks a second reversal for the governor in the case of Jamison, whom the governor has known well for 20 years. Last week, she said that no documentary evidence of his harassment existed before releasing Thursday a graphic complaint addressed to Reynolds that detailed behavior that she called "disgusting and abhorrent." Weinhardt helped document one of Iowa's biggest corruption scandals in recent memory when he was hired by the Iowa Senate to investigate then-Sen. Kent Sorenson for allegedly seeking cash payments for endorsing GOP presidential candidates during the 2012 Iowa Caucus cycle. Sorenson was later convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison. Reynolds fired Jamison last month, a day after two employees told the governor's office that he had been sexually harassing them. The complaint from one of the women released Thursday alleged Jamison made unwanted sexual advances, comments about her breasts and constant crude sexual remarks and gestures. The woman wrote that a male agency lawyer often told Jamison "that he needs to stop it or be quiet," and that a male agency administrator had reprimanded Jamison for inappropriate comments. Reynolds said she understood that they may have feared retaliation if they stepped forward to complain. The woman said she reported the behavior to the governor because she worried Jamison would be cleared or she would be fired if she contacted a separate state agency that reviews human resources issues for state employees. Attorney Paige Fiedler, who's representing one of the victims, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on the independent review. But Fiedler said Thursday that any "responsible employer" would typically investigate such complaints to determine the extent of the problems, who was aware of them and why they weren't reported. Fiedler, a prominent attorney for sexual harassment victims, said such inquiries happen even after the perpetrator has been fired because there are lessons to be learned. "A lot of those management folks knew what was going on. I think everybody had the moral obligation and the obligation under the state's policies to report it," she said. Fiedler said she believed that employees feared retaliation, and that Jamison had created an environment where such behavior was tolerated. "He had made the culture of that department such that, everybody seemed to think that was just what you did there. This was the way that he ran things," she said. Jamison hasn't spoken publicly about the allegations, but said in a text message Friday he was planning to do so "soon." Democratic lawmakers have called for an independent investigation, saying it's important to know the details of any prior complaints against Jamison and how they were handled. Interim IFA Director Carolann Jensen had said Thursday that there was no pending investigation at the agency and that the governor's office hadn't reached out about launching one. "This is not indicative of the work environment at the Iowa Finance Authority," she said. "Clearly the bad apple has been dismissed." LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police in Las Vegas said Friday they won't immediately release records that include officer body camera videos, 911 recordings, evidence logs and interview reports about the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. A meeting was planned Monday, nearly seven months after the shooting, to determine how and when documents and electronic records will be distributed, said Carla Alston, the top spokeswoman to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo. The development came after the Nevada Supreme Court rejected a bid by police to delay the release of records about the Oct. 1 shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds in an outdoor concert crowd on the Las Vegas Strip. FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas. The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected a Las Vegas police bid to delay the release of records about the Oct. 1 mass shooting, including officer body camera videos, 911 recordings, evidence logs and written interview reports. Five of seven justices said Friday, April 27, 2018 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department should make public the records that several media entities hope will shed light on the investigation of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) Five of seven justices upheld a February ruling by a state court judge in Las Vegas who said the records are public and should be released - after redaction of identifiable information including names, Social Security numbers and portions of videos in which people could be easily recognized. Two justices said they would have preferred to hear arguments in the open-records case. Clark County District Court Judge Richard Scotti also ruled in March that police can recoup from media some costs of producing paper and electronic records. Scotti noted that police said there are almost 750 hours of body camera recordings from the incident, and volumes of 911 audio recordings. Reporters have sought to learn what police and the FBI discovered about the shooter, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old high-stakes video poker player who killed himself before police reached him. Police and the FBI have said they believe Paddock acted alone but have not disclosed his motive. Media attorneys argued the documents also could shed light on the response by public agencies, emergency workers and hotel officials while gunfire rained for more than 10 minutes from 32nd-story windows of the Mandalay Bay resort. Eight media organizations including The Associated Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal sought police records including dash-cam footage, closed-circuit television video, evidence logs, dispatch information, interview reports and police purchase orders and no-bid contracts related to the investigation. Department lawyers argued that the investigation was not complete, that it would be time-consuming and costly to quickly comply with the public records requests, and that the materials could disclose investigative techniques. FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, police run toward the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas. The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected a Las Vegas police bid to delay the release of records about the Oct. 1 mass shooting, including officer body camera videos, 911 recordings, evidence logs and written interview reports. Five of seven justices said Friday, April 27, 2018 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department should make public the records that several media entities hope will shed light on the investigation of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - European Council President Donald Tusk urged Western Balkan leaders Friday to solve festering bilateral issues and deliver a clear signal their countries are ready to join the European Union. Speaking at a regional summit in Macedonia, Tusk focused on the independence dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, and the naming dispute between Macedonia and EU member Greece. He said it is up to regional leaders to make "extra efforts" to overcome their disagreements, adding that the EU remains the most reliable partner for Western Balkan countries. European Council President Donald Tusk, speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci during their meeting in Pristina, Kosovo, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Tusk is on a one day trip to meet with Kosovo officials as part of his weeklong tour of Western Balkans to prepare for the May 17 summit in of EU and regional leaders. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) "Reconciliation in this part of Europe is important for the whole continent, for our stability, peace and prosperity," Tusk said. "It is possible that the history of the Balkans, a kind of a never ending horror movie can turn into an Oscar winning production with a happy end," he added. This week, Tusk visited Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia - all former Communist states and EU hopefuls. Heads of state or government from all five countries, as well as EU members Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria, attended the meetings in Skopje. SINSHEIM, Germany (AP) - Andrej Kramaric scored a hat trick for Hoffenheim to stake its claim for a Champions League spot with a 3-1 win over Hannover in the Bundesliga on Friday. A mistake from Salif Sane, who is joining Schalke next season, gifted Hoffenheim the first when Serge Gnabry ran onto his botched back pass to give Kramaric a tap in. Gnabry had to go off with a thigh injury afterward. Kenan Karaman pulled one back, but Kramaric restored the home side's lead when he smashed in a volley from a corner, and the Croatian forward sealed the win late when he took Nico Schulz' cross on his chest before chipping over the Hannover 'keeper. Hoffenheim's third win in a row lifted the side into fourth and the last qualification place for the Champions League, though Bayer Leverkusen could retake the position with a win at home over Stuttgart on Saturday. Two rounds remain after the weekend's games. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Officials at Andrew Jackson's historic home in Tennessee say the seventh president's tomb has been vandalized and marred by profanities. Andrew Jackson Foundation President and CEO Howard Kittell said the vandalism was discovered early Friday at The Hermitage, the former president's home and museum in Nashville. Kittell said someone marred the stone covers of the graves of Jackson and his wife, Rachel, with black and red paint. He said the word "killer" was written, along with profanities, and anarchist symbols were drawn at the site. Kittell said a police report has been filed. Jackson served as president from 1829-1837 and was a controversial figure. He was beloved as a man of the people but also oversaw the forced removal of Native Americans from the southeastern U.S. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency is opening internal investigations into Scott Pruitt's $50-a-night condo deal with a lobbyist and other recent allegations, adding to about a dozen federal probes involving the EPA chief. EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. confirmed the new investigations in a letter to lawmakers written Wednesday and released Friday. Pruitt's condo deal would be one of several recent allegations involving Pruitt that would be the topic of new or expanded investigations, Elkins wrote. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt leaves after testifying before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) The Office of Government Ethics, which is the government's top ethics watchdog agency, and lawmakers had asked for investigations of the condo lease and others of the latest allegations raised involving Pruitt. The agency's whistleblower hotline also had received calls on the same allegations, Elkins wrote. EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox declined comment Friday, saying the agency does not publicly address matters related to the inspector general. Pruitt for much of last year rented a Washington bedroom from a lobbyist whose husband had pending matters before the EPA. The unusual deal allowed the EPA chief to pay just $50 a night, and only on the nights he actually stayed there. Both Pruitt and the lobbyist, Steven Hart, denied Hart had conducted any recent business with EPA. But Hart was forced to admit last week he had met with Pruitt at EPA headquarters last summer after his then-firm, Williams & Jensen, revealed he had lobbied the agency on a required federal disclosure form Announcement of the new investigations comes a day after Pruitt weathered six hours of scathing questions and criticism from House Democrats on ethics allegations, in back-to-back hearings. The hearings were seen as make-or-break for Pruitt in the wake of months of news reports into alleged misconduct that eroded support of the former Oklahoma attorney general at the White House. Pruitt gave clipped, lawyerly answers to Democrat's questions on the ethics allegations on Thursday, repeatedly blaming subordinates for decisions he said he had no knowledge of. The day ended without any obvious, immediate mortal blow to Pruitt politically, and no Republican lawmakers in the hearings joined calls on Pruitt to resign. "He obviously hopes that the bad headlines generated by his bad behavior will go away, and that he won't be held accountable for his actions," said Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat and one of the members of Congress asking for the expanded probes. "The Inspector General's letter announcing new reviews assures us that this will not happen," Beyer said in a statement. Pruitt is a onetime Oklahoma state lawmaker who built alliances to wealthy oilmen and influential Republican conservatives. As head of the environmental agency he has faced an unending series of revelations involving issues such as pricey trips in first-class seats and unusual security spending, including a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls. He also demanded 24-hour-a-day protection from armed officers, resulting in a 20-member security detail that blew through overtime budgets and racked up expenses approaching $3 million. The EPA's inspector-general, the Government Accountability Office and the White House Office of Management and Budget all have announced probes into several of the earlier allegations. Besides Pruitt's housing arrangements, Elkins' letter indicated new or expanded investigations into more recent allegations about Pruitt's spending on travel and security; claims that he gave two favored staffers big raises despite White House opposition; and claims that he assigned one staffer to help him hunt for a house in Washington. Investigators also would look into news reports that the EPA punished staffers who went public with complaints about Pruitt's spending, Elkins indicated. Pruitt denied wrongdoing in his testimony to lawmakers on Thursday, and denied knowledge of any rule-breaking in either raises or demotions. NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine (AP) - A woman who for years provided a home for the fugitive suspected in the killing of a Maine sheriff's deputy said Friday that she discovered the officer's body in her yard. Kimberly Sirois said she found the body of Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole around 7 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say Cole was killed by 29-year-old John Williams earlier that morning in Norridgewock, Maine. Sirois, an education technician at Mill Stream Elementary School in Norridgewock, said Williams lived with her when he was in high school after having a falling out with his parents. She said he also stayed with her last fall, but she asked him to leave because she was suspicious he was using drugs in the house. Maine state police patrol along Mill Stream Road in Norridgewock, Maine, Friday, April 27, 2018, during a manhunt for John Williams, wanted in the shooting death of Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Cole on Wednesday. (Michael G. Seamans/The Central Maine Morning Sentinel via AP) "He was certainly struggling with addiction," Sirois said, "and it seemed to get progressively worse from September to after Christmas when he was asked to leave." She said Williams last visited earlier this month, and he discussed his recent arrest in Massachusetts on gun charges, for which he was due in court Wednesday. Upon searching the house and surrounding area, police told her they found body armor and a rifle in her vehicle, which she said was unlocked. A state police spokesman declined to confirm or deny details of her story. But Chris Shulenski, who's friends with Williams, has more details. The two initially met while working together as telephone-pole repairmen, Shulenski said. He said Williams called sometime after midnight Wednesday asking for a ride. Shulenski and his girlfriend then picked up Williams from a home in nearby Skowhegan. Williams was acting "paranoid" and asked to be dropped off at a house on Mercer Road in Norridgewock, Shulenski said. It was Sirois' house. Williams had with him two duffel bags and a backpack that Shulenski noticed contained a bullet-proof vest. "I said, 'Don't do anything crazy,'" Shulenski said, adding that Williams said, "As of tomorrow, I'll be a fugitive." The manhunt is now in its third day. It's taking place in the heavily wooded rural community about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Bangor, Maine. More than 200 officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have been working on the case. Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Williams may want to communicate with his investigators but wouldn't elaborate further. Lancaster said his office is willing to listen and encouraged him to reach out. "If John Williams is listening to me, I'd like to address him directly," Lancaster said. "We will do anything to resolve this situation peacefully." Gov. Paul R. LePage suspended hunting in parts of the towns in Maine where the manhunt is taking place: Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Fairfield. State Police Lt. Col. John Cote said authorities have interviewed family and friends of Williams and now have a good understanding of his whereabouts and activities in the 24 hours leading up to the shooting. Cote said police are looking for people who may have had contact with him afterward, from 2:30 a.m. Wednesday on, saying they are "critically important." Sirois said she has no idea what happened that morning and hopes Williams turns himself in. "Maybe because of this," she said, "people will be more willing to step in when people are having a hard time." Community members on Friday created a memorial for Cole decorated with flowers, red balloons and a framed picture of the deputy. Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster, foreground, and Maine State Police Lt. Col. John Cote hold a briefing near the Norridgewock, Maine, Fire Department on Friday, April 27, 2018. Police are still searching for John Williams, wanted in the shooting death of Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Cole Wednesday.(Michael G. Seamans/Waterville Morning Sentinel via AP) This undated photo released by the Maine State Police shows John Williams of Madison, Maine, who is being sought in connection with the shooting of a Somerset County sheriff's deputy Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Norridgewock, Maine. Deputy Eugene Cole was killed while responding to a reported robbery. (Maine State Police via AP) This undated image released Thursday, April 26, 2018, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a wanted poster for John Williams. Authorities are searching for Williams as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Cole early Wednesday morning in in Norridgewock, Maine. (FBI via AP) Maine state police search along railroad tracks near Mill Stream Road in Norridgewock, Maine, Friday, April 27, 2018, during a manhunt for John Williams, wanted in the shooting death of Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Cole on Wednesday. (Michael G. Seamans/The Central Maine Morning Sentinel via AP) Maine state police search along railroad tracks near Mill Stream Road in Norridgewock, Maine, Friday, April 27, 2018, during a manhunt for John Williams, wanted in the shooting death of Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Cole on Wednesday. (Michael G. Seamans/The Central Maine Morning Sentinel via AP) A Turkish court has convicted journalists and other senior staff members from an opposition newspaper on terror charges, in a case that has exacerbated concerns over press freedom. Turkeys official Anadolu news agency said 14 Cumhuriyet employees were found guilty of aiding a terror group without being a member. They were handed sentences ranging from two and a half to seven and a half years. It was not immediately clear if they would spend further time in jail and all are banned from leaving the country. Three people were acquitted. The newspaper said those convicted include editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, leading journalists and columnists and a cartoonist. Protesters backing the Cumhuriyet employees. (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP) Outside the courthouse, Sabuncu called the verdict an attack on journalists aimed to stop us from doing journalism in Turkey, to make us fearful when were doing journalism in Turkey. He said they would continue their work even if they have to go back to prison. A total of 19 Cumhuriyet staff members were accused of sponsoring terror organisations, including Kurdish militants, a far-left group and the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government blames for a failed coup in July 2016. Mr Gulen denies involvement. The court convicted Akin Atalay, the board chairman, but ordered him released from prison. Eleven others were released earlier in the trial after months in jail. Five staff members were tried without being imprisoned. The prosecutions of two defendants who are not in Turkey, including former chief editor Can Dundar, were separated from this case. A man suspected of using a Twitter account critical of the government was also on trial. Kemal Aydogdu was sentenced to 10 years for terror group membership and will remain in custody. Authorities arrested tens of thousands on terror charges and dismissed more than 110,000 from government jobs in a massive crackdown that followed the coup. More than 38,000 remain behind bars on alleged links to Gulen. Journalists, opposition lesgislators and activists have been imprisoned. Prominent investigative journalist Ahmet Sik tweeted after his guilty verdict, alluding to Erdogan: No dictator in history ever won the war to silence the righteous. We will win. Kadri Gursel, an influential columnist, said the case against journalism would go down in history in his final defence to the court. The journalists were put on trial on the outskirts of Istanbul in the compound of a maximum-security prison. Turkey ranked 157 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders 2018 index on press freedom. Growing support for stricken Alfie Evans is also evident in Poland, following early interventions from the Vatican and Italy. Alfies parents have been embroiled in a legal battle to get treatment for their son who has been cared for in Liverpools Alder Hey Hospital. Alfie Evans must be saved! His brave little body has proved again that the miracle of life can be stronger than death. Perhaps all that's needed is some good will on the part of decision makers. Alfie, we pray for you and your recovery! Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) April 25, 2018 Polands President Andrzej Duda tweeted on Wednesday that Alfie Evans must be saved. A pile of flowers, toys and candles has grown in front of the UK embassy in Warsaw amid sympathy for the sick childs plight in the Catholic nation. A woman lays flowers for Alfie Evans (Alik Keplicz/AP) Pope Francis has appealed for the boys parents wishes to be heeded, saying only God can decide who dies. Alfies father Tom Evans on a recent visit to the Vatican (Gregorio Borgia/AP) Italy has offered citizenship to Alfie in an attempt to smooth his path to treatment in the country. His parents wanted to take him to Rome for treatment with the Bambino Gesu Hospital said to be a possible destination. At least 11 people have been injured and homes evacuated after a tank containing crude oil or asphalt exploded at a large refinery in Wisconsin. No deaths have been reported but at least 11 people were being treated at hospitals in Superior, where the blast happened, and nearby Duluth, Minnesota. The explosion at the Husky Energy oil refinery happened at about 10am, Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger said. An explosion took place at the Wisconsin refinery (AP) He said the fire was out by 11.20am, although smoke could still be seen rising from the plant. Superior police later tweeted that the fire had reignited and urged residents living within a one-mile radius of the refinery to leave. Updated evacuation: 2 miles to the north, 3 miles to the east and west, and 10 miles to the South. Please evacuate immediately. Superior Police (@SuperiorPolice) April 26, 2018 Police blocked roads around the refinery in Superior, which is home to about 27,000 people and borders Minnesota to the north and the tip of Lake Superior. Essentia Health spokeswoman Maureen Talarico said five people injured in the explosion are being treated at St Marys Medical Centre in Duluth. She said doctors described those patients as awake and alert. Another five are being treated at St. Marys Hospital in Superior. She said the extent of injuries is unknown. In Duluth, St Lukes Hospital was treating one person and did not expect to receive any more, spokeswoman Jessica Stauber said. Mr Panger said a small tank containing either crude oil or asphalt exploded in the refinery. A contractor who was inside the building told WDIO television that the explosion sounded like a sonic boom and that it happened when crews were working on shutting the plant down for repairs. Calgary-Alberta-based Husky Energy refinery bought the refinery from Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products Partners last year for over $490 million. It is Wisconsins only refinery, and it produces gasoline, asphalt and other products. The refinery, which dates back to the early 1950s, has a processing capacity of around 50,000 barrels per day and a storage capacity of 3.6 million barrels of crude and products. It processes both heavy crude from the Canadian tar sands in Alberta and lighter North Dakota Bakken crude. The special relationship between the US and UK has lurched from cordiality to open criticism since Donald Trump entered the White House. The US president is to visit the UK in July on a working trip, rather than a full-blown state occasion. He rarely minces his words about UK affairs and as such poses a diplomatic headache for Prime Minister Theresa May as she seeks to forge stronger relations with Brexit looming. Theresa May became the first world leader to meet the president following his inauguration (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Here are the key moments of his relationship with Britain: 2016 November Mr Trump is elected president of the United States, forcing UK politicians to quickly change tack in their handling of the billionaire businessman. Mrs May congratulates Mr Trump on his victory and says Britain and America will remain strong and close partners. Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, of whom Mr Trump is an admirer, embarrasses Mrs May by beating her to a meeting with the new president. 2017 January The Prime Minister becomes the first world leader to meet the president following his inauguration. She faces criticism for offering President Trump a state visit just seven days into his presidency. But they are photographed holding hands outside the White House, and Mrs May gets a significant commitment from the president to Nato. Mrs Mays spokesman says she does not agree with Mr Trumps refugee ban, an executive order signed just hours after their meeting, and will make representations if it affects Britons. February Cracks begin to appear in the relationship when Mrs May eventually denounces Mr Trumps travel restrictions on Muslims as divisive and wrong, echoing statements from her ministers. And she reportedly pokes fun at the size of Mr Trumps hands, telling a Conservative fundraising party, in response to applause from donors: Thank you very much for that wonderful reception. I dont think I have received such a big hand since I walked down the colonnade at the White House. March Mrs Mays spokesman denounces ridiculous allegations made by the White House press secretary that GCHQ spied on Mr Trump before the presidential election. The president refuses to give a public apology. May The PM rebukes Mr Trump after intelligence shared with the US in the wake of the Manchester terror attack is leaked to American media. Mr Trump later describes the PM as very angry about the leaks, which prompted British police to temporarily suspend sharing information across the Atlantic, and promises to investigate. June In a bad month for relations, the Prime Minister tells Mr Trump of her disappointment at his decision to pull America out of the Paris Accord on climate change. She then directly condemns Mr Trumps attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khans handling of the London Bridge terror attack as wrong. September Mrs May delivers a rebuke to the US president after he claimed the Parsons Green Tube bomber was in the sights of Scotland Yard. The Prime Minister said: I never think its helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation. November Mrs May and Mr Trump fall out spectacularly over his retweeting of anti-Muslim videos posted online by the deputy leader of the far-right Britain First group, Jayda Fransen. The PM said Mr Trump was wrong to retweet the videos, and the US president hits back at Mrs May on Twitter by telling her to focus on destructive radical Islamic terrorism in the UK, rather than on him. 2018 January The US president says he has cancelled plans to travel to the UK to open the new American embassy, hitting out at the location of the project and amid fears of mass protests. Later in the month, Trump blows hot and cold with the Prime Minister during a trip to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. Following talks with Mrs May, the president appears keen to clear the air about tensions between the two nations, declaring: We love your country. But then, in an interview with Piers Morgan, he pours scorn on Britains approach to Brexit negotiations and says he would take a tougher approach with Brussels. He also says he is prepared to apologise for retweeting posts from Britain First, telling Piers Morgan that he knew nothing about the organisation before he shared three of its videos. February Mr Trump uses the NHS as an example of why universal healthcare should not reach US shores. March The response from Mr Trump is initially ambiguous after Russia is blamed for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter but the White House later states it stands in solidarity with the UK and joins Western allies in expelling diplomats. April Community heroes are named among Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding guests while potential diplomatic tensions are sidestepped as it emerged US president Donald Trump and other politicians, including his predecessor Barack Obama, have not been invited. Mr Trump is to visit the UK on Friday July 13. It is not a state visit, as has previously been offered, and protests are expected. Campaigners will lodge a legal appeal against a London councils ban on demonstrations outside an abortion clinic. Ealing Council was the first in the country to create a protest-free safe zone outside a Marie Stopes clinic in the west London borough. Alina Dulgheriu, a representative for campaign group Be Here For Me, will file a High Court challenge on Friday against the councils decision. Pro-choice demonstrators (foreground) face pro-life demonstrators outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing (PA) "What kind of society refuses help for a vulnerable woman?" Visit https://t.co/g7GixRvO6k to take 2-minutes to write to your MP to ask them to oppose censorship zones & full video. To see our launch press release click here: https://t.co/HmJ4JyWBEc #behereforme #nocensorshipzones pic.twitter.com/pCvqqaB38d Be Here For Me (@behereformeuk) March 28, 2018 The group said the order criminalises prayer and support outside an abortion clinic. Ms Dulgheriu, 34, said she was offered financial, practical and moral help, as well as accommodation, and now has a beautiful six-year-old daughter. The Public Spaces Protection Order came into force on Monday after reports of intimidation, harassment and distress for women using the Marie Stopes clinic on Mattock Lane. John Hansen-Brevetti, clinical operations manager at the clinic, said women had been told the ghost of their foetus would haunt them, had been told mummy, mummy, dont kill me, had holy water thrown on them and rosary beads thrust at them. High Court judges are to rule on whether a coroners decision to adopt a cab rank queuing system for burials is unlawful. Religious groups brought a legal challenge against a policy established by Mary Hassell, the senior coroner for inner north London, which means deaths in her jurisdiction are dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis. The policy stipulates that no death will be prioritised based on the religion of the deceased or their family by either the coroner or her officers. But lawyers argued at a hearing last month that it ignores deeply held beliefs of certain religious communities which require their dead to be buried as soon as possible. Muslim and Jewish communities, whose traditions dictate a swift burial have been deeply affected by the Coroners imposing a so called "cab-rank rule" for burials. We stand with these communities and call for the policy to be changed. @NawaalFund @HackneyMuslims @Shomrim @Hatzola https://t.co/ziEFFzKygN Cazenove Labour (@CazenoveLabour) April 11, 2018 They said Ms Hassells stance is unlawful and breaches the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act. The court previously heard Ms Hassells jurisdiction covers the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, which between them have sizeable Jewish and Muslim minority populations. Sam Grodzinski QC told the court there was evidence from Jewish and Muslim leaders that the policy has caused widespread distress among faith communities. The barrister, representing the Adath Yisroel Burial Society, told the court his case was not that religious groups must come first, but that religious belief must be conscientiously taken into account by a coroner. Some religious groups require their dead to be buried as soon as possible (PA) He added: If the coroners officer knows that the family has a genuine religious need to hold the funeral of their loved one either later that day or the next day, this religious need cannot lawfully be excluded from the defendants consideration. And yet, the effect of the policy is that the Jewish or Muslim family must simply take their place in the cab rank queue regardless of whether others require any urgent decision from the coroner. Since first outlining the policy, Ms Hassell has said it is flexible and does take into account the wishes of families. Lawyers representing the Chief Coroner of England and Wales, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, said the policy set out by Ms Hassell was over-rigid and not lawful. They said there was no criticism of Ms Hassell intended, as her decision may have been motivated by a genuine intention to be fair to everyone in her area. However, they argued it was wrong to rule out speeding up the process in relation to deaths where family members had asked for a loved ones body to be released quickly by reason of their faith. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- A former Jackson County Sheriff's Office employee indicted last November on charges she embezzled $1,340 from the JCSO non-profit trust fund is in jail after failing to appear in court for trial. Ward, a 47-year-old Ocean Springs woman, formerly worked as the Public Information Officer for the sheriff's department. Prior to that, she had been a reporter for The Mississippi Press. She was due in court for trial Tuesday, but when she failed to appear, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Deputies took her into custody Wednesday. A Jackson County Grand Jury indicted Ward last November after it found sufficient evidence she "converted to her own use" money from the Thin Blue Line Trust, the non-profit, fundraising arm of the JCSO. The cast was investigated by the State Auditor's Office. Ward stole the funds, according to the indictment, between March and May 2015. She served as the sheriff's office PIO from September 2012 to February 2016. At the time of her arrest Wednesday, Ward was free on the $5,000 bond set at the time of her indictment. With her failure to appear in court Tuesday, that bond has been revoked and she is listed as "not bondable" on the county jail docket. Because Ward was a Jackson County employee at the time of the alleged crime, a Lamar County attorney, Lauren Harless, has been appointed special prosecutor for the case. Ward's trail date has been reset to May 21. Unless a new bond is granted and set, she will remain in the JCADC until then. New US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has hit the ground running at Nato headquarters on his first trip abroad as Americas top diplomat. Just hours after being sworn in, Mr Pompeo flew to Brussels where the alliances foreign ministers are meeting to prepare a leaders summit in July. I did come straight away, I was sworn in yesterday and I hopped on a plane, Mr Pompeo told Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he arrived. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool) Welcome, Secretary Pompeo! @USAmbNATO Hutchison & all of us at @USNATO are thrilled to see you at the #NATO #ForMin to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to this critical Alliance. pic.twitter.com/Pe9ZzkUwno US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 Theres good reason for that. The work thats being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important and this mission means a lot to the United States of America. The president very much wanted me to get here and Im glad we were able to make it, and I look forward to a productive visit here today. Mr Stoltenberg said Mr Pompeos presence at the meeting so soon after taking the reins of the US State Department was a great expression of the importance of the alliance and the importance we attach to the alliance. I very much look forward to talking with you, on the need to adapt Nato to a more demanding security environment, he added. A senior US official said Mr Pompeos aim is to ensure that Nato maintains a unified position of no business as usual with Russia and to prod members, particularly Germany, to meet their commitments to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024. Secretary Pompeo & his #NATO counterparts begin #ForMin with working breakfast to discuss how Alliance is responding to #Russia's pattern of dangerous behavior, including attack in #Salisbury. Read more on NATO-Russia relations: https://t.co/W0x66U3mS2 pic.twitter.com/9WIt7AbNdt US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 That commitment was made in 2014 and thus far only six of the 28 countries who made the pledge meet the goal. Nine have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024, but the rest, including Germany, have not. That spending level, frequently incorrectly referred to by Mr Trump as a contribution to Nato itself, is particularly important given the allies need to combat increased Russian aggression, said the official. The official said the US delegation would make the point that Nato is more relevant today than at any point since the end of the Cold War. Russian efforts to destabilise Western democracies as well as encroach on neighbours like Ukraine will be a major theme of the meeting, the official said. The ministers will hold sessions on Russia, Afghanistan and Natos open door policy for accepting new members. Ahead of first official session of #NATO #ForMin, Secretary Pompeo greeted SecGen @jensstoltenberg: "As soon as I was sworn in, I hopped on a plane & came here. There's a reason for that. Our work here is invaluable." pic.twitter.com/xFgomKMUhW US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 In addition, Mr Pompeo will have separate talks with the foreign ministers of Italy and Turkey. Relations with the latter are notably strained. The senior official said one of Mr Pompeos main goals with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is to refocus on co-ordination in northern Syria, where Turkey has been attacking Kurdish rebels supported by the US. That co-ordination was started by Mr Pompeos predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who was fired by Mr Trump last month, and had languished in the absence of a new secretary of state. Coronation Street favourite Jim McDonald is to make an explosive return to Weatherfield after being jailed for armed robbery in 2011. The hardman, played by Charlie Lawson, is due for release and will be back on our screens in a matter of weeks. Lawsons character, who first appeared in the soap nearly 30 years ago, made a brief comeback in 2014 when he filmed scenes from behind bars. Coronation Street actor Charlie Lawson, whose character Jim McDonald is set to make an `explosive return to the soap (Hannah McKay/PA) A Coronation Street spokesman said: Jim is such a hugely popular character. Were delighted he is coming back for what will be a typically explosive Jim storyline. Lawson responded to a fan on Twitter who had asked him if he was returning to the street. He said: Patience lads, patience! The character of Jim is known by fans for his Northern Irish accent and catchphrase of So it is. Lawson, whose character was involved in a turbulent marriage with Liz McDonald (Beverly Callard), quit the soap in 2000 but returned in 2010. He left again in 2011 following a storyline which saw him attempting to rob a building society so he and Liz could buy the Rovers Return. His comeback will coincide with son Steve (Simon Gregson) marrying Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) for a second time. Coronation Street returns on ITV on Friday at 7.30pm and 8.30pm. Campaigners have hailed a decision by European countries to bring in a near-total ban on pesticides linked to declines in bees as a 'major victory'. European Union member states have decided on a ban on the outdoor use of 'neonicotinoid' pesticides after an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) confirmed in February the dangers they posed to bees. Use of the three pesticides is already restricted in the European Union on crops such as oil seed rape, because of the concerns they have 'sub-lethal' effects such as harming the bees' ability to forage and form colonies. Scroll down for video European Union member states have decided on a ban on the outdoor use of 'neonicotinoid' pesticides after an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) confirmed in February the dangers they posed to bees (stock image) Member states have now endorsed proposals by the European Commission to completely ban the outdoor uses of the three active substances, meaning they can only be used in greenhouses. The Efsa assessment, which looked at the impact on wild solitary bees and bumblebees as well as honey bees, confirmed that most uses of the chemicals pose a risk to the insects. Last year Environment Secretary Michael Gove had said the UK would back a ban on the neonicotinoids, saying new evidence indicated the risk to bees and other insects from the chemicals was 'greater than previously understood'. Emi Murphy, bee campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: 'This a major victory for science, common sense and our under-threat bees. The evidence that neonicotinoid pesticides pose a threat to our bees is overwhelming. WHAT ARE NEONICOTINOIDS? Neonicotinoids are neuro-active chemicals similar to nicotine that have proved to be highly effective at protecting crops from pests, especially aphids and root-eating grubs. They can either be sprayed on leaves or coated on seeds, in which case they infiltrate every part of the growing plant. Years of research have shown that under controlled conditions the chemicals are toxic to honey bees and bumblebees, causing brain damage that can affect learning and memory and impair their ability to forage for nectar and pollen. The chemicals are a key battleground in the environmental movement with campaigners demanding a 'complete and permanent' ban on the pesticides as they are suspected to be harmful to bees. Only two to 20 per cent of the neonicotinoids, which are still used on crops such as wheat, are taken up and the rest is left on the soil. Samples taken in October revealed 75 per cent of samples from around the world contain the chemicals. Researchers tested 198 honey samples and found three out of four were laced with at least one of the neonicotinoid chemicals. For the study, an international team of European researchers tested almost 200 honey samples from around the world for residues left by five different neonicotinoids. While in most cases the levels were well below the EU safety limits for human consumption, there were exceptions. Honey from both Germany and Poland exceeded maximum residue levels (MRLs) for combined neonicotinoids while samples from Japan reached 45 per cent of the limits. Samples from England had neonicotinoid levels that were no more than 1.36 per cent of the amount thought to be safe for human consumption. Advertisement 'It's great news that Michael Gove listened to the experts and backed the ban he must now give farmers the support they need to grow food without bee-harming pesticides.' Antonia Staats, senior campaigner at Avaaz, which had led a petition backed by five million signatures to ban the chemicals, said: 'Banning these toxic pesticides is a beacon of hope for bees. 'Finally, our governments are listening to their citizens, the scientific evidence and farmers who know that bees can't live with these chemicals and we can't live without bees.' Campaigners have hailed a decision by European countries to bring in a near-total ban on pesticides linked to declines in bees as a 'major victory' A spokesman for the Environment Department (Defra) said: 'We are committed to enhancing our environment for the next generation, and welcome the vote today in support of further restrictions on neonicotinoids. 'The Government has always been clear we will be led by the science on this matter. 'The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids may pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators is greater than previously understood. 'We recognise the impact a ban will have on farmers and will continue to work with them to explore alternative approaches as we design a new agricultural policy outside the European Union.' WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE BEES? Declines in recent months to honey bee numbers and health caused global concern due to the insects' critical role as a major pollinator. Bee health has been closely watched in recent years as nutritional sources available to honey bees have declined and contamination from pesticides has increased. In animal model studies, the researchers found that combined exposure to pesticide and poor nutrition decreased bee health. Bees use sugar to fuel flights and work inside the nest, but pesticides decrease their hemolymph ('bee blood') sugar levels and therefore cut their energy stores. When pesticides are combined with limited food supplies, bees lack the energy to function, causing survival rates to plummet. Advertisement The ban has seen a positive reaction from the public and scientists alike. Gleeful wildlife-enthusiasts took to Twitter to express their joy at the development. One user said: 'Such a fantastic outcome for pollinators, biodiversity and our food chain as EU member states support near-total neonicotinoids ban. Delighted!' Another tweeted: 'Long overdue. My garden is bee friendly.' Organisations involved with the campaign to block the use of the hazardous chemicals tweeted out their delight at the outcome. Friends of the Earth said: 'You did it! Huge moment for our #bees!! Bee-harming neonicotinoids are no more the EU has banned them for all outdoor crops. Please share the good news!' You did it! Huge moment for our #bees!! Bee-harming neonicotinoids are no more the EU has banned them for all outdoor crops. Please share the good news! #SaveTheBees #neonics #FridayFeeling #Friyay pic.twitter.com/w1RhGbOkAu Friends of the Earth - since 1971 (@friends_earth) April 27, 2018 Great news from our partner @friendsoftheearth today! Bee-harming neonicotinoids are no more the EU has banned them for all outdoor crops. pic.twitter.com/7cqjzvoRHM Ecotalk (@EcotalkMobile) April 27, 2018 Academics also expressed their pleasure at the resulting prohibition of neonicotinoids used outside. Professor Dave Goulson from the University of Sussex, said: 'There is abundant evidence from lab and field studies that neonicotinoids are harmful to bees, and a growing body of evidence linking them to declines of butterflies, aquatic insects and insect-eating birds. 'The EU decision is a logical one, based on a major review of the evidence by Efsa.' Professor Goulson expressed a word of caution, citing other chemicals as potential enemies of bees and reminding people the pollinators may not be entirely out of the woods just yet. 'We should also be aware that neonicotinoids are far from the only problem facing bees and other insects,' Dr Goulson added. 'They are also having to cope with accidentally imported parasites and diseases, a lack of flowers and nesting habitat, and exposure to a blizzard of other chemicals. 'Banning neonicotinoids is a step in the right direction, but we have a very long way to go if we are to halt insect declines.' Louis was the first name of the Prince of Wales beloved great-uncle Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Charles will be touched that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to pay tribute to Lord Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979, by naming their son Prince Louis. The name, also one of Prince Georges middle names, is French and German in origin and means renowned warrior. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/4DUwsLv5JQ The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2018 Louis was the 71st most popular name in England and Wales, according to the latest available figures from the Office for National Statistics. In 2016, just 911 boys were given the name Louis in England and Wales. It was more popular in the early 2000s when it ranked around 39th, but was not popular throughout the 20th century. Louis has been the name of many rulers across the world, including 18 kings of France. Famous people named Louis include pop star Louis Tomlinson from One Direction and jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Louis Tomlinson of One Direction is another famous Louis (Hannah McKay/PA) Lord Louis Mountbatten was also the Duke of Edinburghs uncle and the brother of Philips mother Princess Alice. He was the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947. He was very close to Charles but Uncle Dickie, as he was known in the family, was assassinated by the IRA in August 1979. His boat was blown up on a fishing trip off the coast of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Louis is pronounced Lou-ee, rather than Lew-is Arthur, Prince Louiss second name, evokes the legend of King Arthur, the mythical leader of the knights of the Round Table. Arthur has been a popular middle name for royal born sons during the Windsor era but not a common first name. One of Charles middle names, it is also one of Williams and was a middle name of the Queens father, George VI. The Prince of Wales has released a statement following the birth of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridges third child. HRH said: We are both so pleased at the news. It is a great joy to have another grandchild, the only trouble is I dont know how I am going to keep up with them. pic.twitter.com/fZmsd72yeX The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) April 24, 2018 The babys third name Charles, of course, pays tribute to Williams father and the babys grandfather the Prince of Wales. Its meaning is man and it is derived from the German name Karl. It is considered an unlucky royal name for a king as Charles I was executed and Charles IIs reign featured the plague and the Great Fire of London. A Labour MP has welcomed the expulsion of an activist who clashed with her at the launch of an anti-Semitism report. Ruth Smeeth said she was relieved that the ordeal was over almost two years after Marc Wadsworth launched a verbal attack on her. Mr Wadsworths expulsion followed a hearing by Labours disciplinary body which found his behaviour had been grossly detrimental to the party. My statement on today's NCC decision: pic.twitter.com/EY7uyhjyh7 Ruth Smeeth (@RuthSmeeth) April 27, 2018 A Labour Party spokesman said: The National Constitutional Committee (NCC) of the Labour Party has found that two charges of a breach of the Labour Partys rule 2.1.8 by Marc Wadsworth have been proven. The NCC consequently determined that the sanction for this breach of Labour Party rules will be expulsion from membership. Stoke-on-Trent North MP Ms Smeeth said: Abuse, bullying and intimidation have no place in our movement, as todays announcement has proven. I hope that this decision represents the first step towards a return to the values of decency and respect throughout the Labour Party. Mr Wadsworth, who runs Momentum Black Connexions, had accused the MP of working hand in hand with The Daily Telegraph during a tirade at the launch of the Chakrabarti report in 2016. Dozens of Labour MPs had marched in support of Jewish colleague Ms Smeeth as she prepared to give evidence at Mr Wadsworths disciplinary hearing this week. Labour MPs march in support of Ruth Smeeth (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Ahead of the hearing, Mr Wadsworth told reporters: Im confident, as Im not guilty. Based on the facts, this hearing, if its fair, I will be exonerated. Im totally and utterly opposed to anti-Semitism, to all forms of bigotry, including anti-black racism and Islamophobia. The decision on Mr Wadsworth came as Ken Livingstone who is currently suspended from Labour over remarks linking Adolf Hitler and Zionism said rows over anti-Semitism in the party are a complete diversion. Mr Livingstone told LBC: Im not discussing anti-Semitism until after the election is all out the way because it is a complete diversion. We had this last year in the run-up to the local elections then. We had it two years ago in the run-up to the election of Sadiq Khan. It didnt damage us at the last two local elections but it is a complete diversion. Every Labour MP should just be focused now on getting out the Labour vote and winning council seats. Ken Livingstone at Church House, Westminster, London, when he attended a disciplinary hearing over claims about his conduct (Lauren Hurley/PA) Mr Livingstone avoided expulsion in April at a disciplinary hearing into his conduct but was suspended for a further year. One of the flashpoints at a failed meeting between Jeremy Corbyn and Jewish leaders over anti-Semitism in Labour was the partys handling of the former MPs case. The attempt to smooth relations with the community backfired for the Labour leader as leaders of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) accused him of failing to back his words with action. But Unite union leader Len McCluskey voiced disgust at backbench Labour critics of Mr Corbyn, raising the prospect that those who have attacked him over issues such as anti-Semitism could face mandatory reselection. Gillian Merron, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a former Labour MP, said the meeting with Mr Corbyn did not go as well as hoped but there had been positive movement in recent days. Writing on the LabourList website, she said it was concerning when Labour MPs show support to people who have been barred for anti-Semitism, as this suggests that what they are accused of is a small matter. In a message to Mr Corbyn, she said: If he is to show his seriousness about tackling this problem, Jeremy cannot continue to engage with anyone, Jewish or not, who seeks to obstruct efforts to tackle the problem. Labour said 90 current cases of anti-Semitism are under investigation, making up around 0.02% of Labours membership of around 500,000. Over the past three years, a total of 300 complaints have been made over anti-Semitism, around half of which had led to people being expelled from or leaving the party. Louis is not a traditional Windsor first name but has a deep significance for the royal family, a historian has said. Judith Rowbotham said the choice was a little surprising but remained a safe option, and would delight both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. Its not a traditional Windsor name but its very much an acknowledgement of a wider heritage, Dr Rowbotham said. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince Louis (Dominic Lipinksi/PA) I cant think of a Louis in the immediate royal family with Louis as a first name. She added: Louis is a little surprising on one level because its not a strong Anglo-Saxon, British name and that has been what the royal family has tended to go for. Either theyve gone completely off piste before with something like Zara (Princess Annes daughter) or theyve stuck to more traditional names. But this is a name with a provenance. Earl Mountbatten, whose first name was Louis, was the Prince of Waless beloved great-uncle and mentor, and the Duke of Edinburghs uncle, but he was murdered by the IRA in 1979. Dr Rowbotham, a visiting research fellow at Plymouth University, said both Charles and Philip would be touched by the choice. Its very much an affectionate tribute to the Prince of Wales, the historian said. Louis Mountbatten is someone who Prince William himself never knew but at the same time he has remained a very important figure in terms of the impact he had on Prince Charles life. Prince Philip was also deeply devoted to Lord Mountbatten. At one stroke, Louis pleases great-grandfather and grandfather, which is a good thing. Louis is also one of Williams middle names, and one of Prince Georges. Dr Rowbotham said. One of the things that they are very conscious of is the need to be seen as a stable force Be safe and dont raise eyebrows. Britain has welcomed the announcement by leaders of North and South Korea that they are ready to work together on a nuclear-free future for the area. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described Fridays meeting between North Koreas Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in as historic. But he cautioned that the summit was not the end in itself and said it must lead to a change of course by the secretive communist dictatorship in Pyongyang. The UK will continue to back the strict enforcement of sanctions on North Korea until commitments made in Panmunjom are translated into concrete steps towards denuclearisation, said Mr Johnson. In a joint statement, Mr Kim and Mr Moon said that they had confirmed their goal of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation. They will jointly push for talks with the US, and potentially China, to convert the armistice which concluded the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty, formally ending the state of hostility between the two countries. The statement came after Mr Kim became the first leader of North Korea to enter the territory of its southern neighbour, with a highly symbolic handshake with Mr Moon in the demilitarised zone dividing their nations. Mr Kim said he felt he was firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity. Mr Moon responded that there were high expectations of an agreement that would be a big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were all smiles at their historic meeting (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) In a statement released by the Foreign Office in London, Mr Johnson said: I welcome the announcement that the two Koreas will work towards the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea, improve bilateral ties and reduce border tensions. This historic summit is not the end in itself. There are still many questions to be answered. Kim Jong Uns commitment to halt all nuclear and intercontinental and intermediate range ballistic missiles tests is a positive step. We hope this indicates an intention to negotiate in good faith and that Kim has heeded the clear message to North Korea that only a change of course can bring the security and prosperity it claims to seek. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to strictly enforce existing sanctions until such time that North Korea turns its commitments into concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Campaigners have taken the first step in a bid to take a council to court over a ban on demonstrations outside an abortion clinic. Ealing Council was the first in the country to create a protest-free safe zone outside a Marie Stopes clinic in the west London borough. Alina Dulgheriu, a representative for campaign group Be Here For Me, was at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Friday to start the legal process to fight the authoritys decision. Alina Dulgheriu, a representative for campaign group Be Here For Me (Yui Mok/PA) The group describes the High Court move as being against a censorship zone which criminalises prayer and support outside the clinic arguing that it violates the human rights of residents and visitors, including the right to freedom of speech and prayer. It says the challenge launched by Ms Dulgheriu, who was supported by a pro-life vigil outside an abortion clinic, was being brought to ensure that the vital support options that pro-life vigils provide to women outside Ealing clinic are available again as soon as practically possible. Ms Dulgheriu, 34, said she was offered financial, practical and moral help, as well as accommodation, and now has a beautiful six-year-old daughter. Alina Dulgheriu with her daughter Sarah and fellow supporters Jacelyn, centre, and Lilian with their children (Yui Mok/PA) The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) came into force on Monday after reports of intimidation, harassment and distress for women using the clinic on Mattock Lane. John Hansen-Brevetti, clinical operations manager at the clinic, said women had been told the ghost of their foetus would haunt them, had been told mummy, mummy, dont kill me, had holy water thrown on them and rosary beads thrust at them. After filing case papers at the High Court, Ms Dulgheriu said: Without sufficient justification, Ealing Council has decided to criminalise otherwise lawful behaviour, to criminalise charitable activity that is needed by some of the most vulnerable women in our society. I am asking that justice be done for those women who have been ignored by Ealing Council. She said: I never expected a local council in the UK to make a decision that violates so many human rights; the right to free speech, the right to pray, the right to receive information and the right to assemble. As an immigrant who loves so many of your traditions, I never expected to have to defend the rights that keep a healthy British democracy alive. She said: I cannot put into words the joy, the beauty and the love that my daughter has brought to my life. She would not be with us today if it werent for the vigils that Ealing Council has criminalised. Emmerdale star Anthony Quinlan has dismissed reports that he will be among this years celebrity line-up for Strictly Come Dancing. The 33-year-old, who plays Pete Barton in the ITV soap, had been linked to this years BBC One show. His girlfriend, Dianne Buswell, is a professional dancer who appeared on Strictly last year. Anthony Quinlan has dismissed reports linking him with this years Strictly Come Dancing (Ian West/PA) It had been suggested that the couple were to become the first real-life pairing on the programme but now Quinlan has dismissed the rumours that he will take part. An Emmerdale spokesman said on behalf of the actor: There are no plans for Anthony to do Strictly. Abba catapulted to global fame after scooping the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. Their triumphant victory took place at the Brighton Dome in 1974. It made the Swedish pop group a household name around the world and especially in the UK. Hits, such as Mamma Mia, Fernando, Dancing Queen and Money, Money Money, followed and they are still hugely popular today. The bands name was an acronym of its members Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad but also the name of a Swedish canned fish company. The relationships between the quartet, and the demise of them, are part of the supergroups story. Faltskog and Ulvaeus, as well as Lyngstad and Andersson, were married for a period and announcements of divorce changed the bands happy image. A recent exhibition , at the Southbank Centre, showed how the group were a breath of fresh air in a 1970s Britain mired in strike action and the three-day working week. The groups flamboyant and outlandish costumes, which included capes, flares, catsuits and platform heels, were part of their appeal. Their other hits over the years included Knowing Me Knowing You, Take A Chance On Me, Super Trouper, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) and The Winner Takes It All. But by 1982 the band were on a break they did not officially announce a split. Since then, they have pledged a reunion would never happen and are said to have turned down eye-watering sums to get back on stage together. Ulvaeus previously told the Press Association that the pop sensations would never perform together again, and that he would rather be on his surf ski. I think we dont feel the motivation. The four of us, with live concerts, no. The simple answer is because we dont want to. It would be such hassle, it would be enormous. You cannot imagine the tension and the attention from everyone, he said. So it would be like robbing yourself of, perhaps, two or three years out of your life when I could be paddling on my surf ski in the archipelago of Stockholm instead. Theres a choice. The musical Mamma Mia!, based on Abba songs, premiered in London in 1999 and became a worldwide hit, having been seen by more than 60 million people. The movie version, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, opened in 2008 and was attended, in Stockholm, by all four Abba stars. OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- A 40-year-old Ocean Springs woman is in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center, charged with stealing money from a quadriplegic person for whom she was providing care. Ocean Springs Police Capt. Chuck Jackson said police received a report that a person had withdrawn a total of $720 from the account of the handicapped individual. Investigators learned the victim's debit card had been used to withdraw the funds over the course of several ATM transactions at different locations throughout Ocean Springs. It was learned the victim's caregiver -- identified as Dusty Duncan of 700 Halstead Rd. in Ocean Springs -- had taken the victim's debit card and obtained the PIN number to access the money. Duncan was arrested and charged with four counts of credit card fraud and one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult. All the charges are felonies. Bond was set at $10,000 for each count of credit card fraud and $50,000 for the exploitation charge for a total bond of $90,000. A Labour activist expelled from the party for verbally clashing with an MP has claimed Jeremy Corbyn did not believe he had done anything wrong. Marc Wadsworth said he had received behind the scenes support from the Labour leaders office during his disciplinary hearing a claim denied by sources close to Mr Corbyn. Mr Wadsworths expulsion followed a hearing by Labours disciplinary body which found his behaviour had been grossly detrimental to the party. But the veteran activist claimed Mr Corbyn had told mutual friends he doesnt see that I did anything wrong. Mr Corbyns office disputed Mr Wadsworths account and insisted no member of staff had called to offer him support. Labour MPs march in support of Ruth Smeeth (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Dozens of Labour MPs had marched in support of Jewish colleague Ms Smeeth as she prepared to give evidence at Mr Wadsworths disciplinary hearing this week. But Mr Wadsworth accused the gang of white MPs of bullying behaviour, saying it was a crude attempt to influence the outcome of my hearing, and it seems to have had an effect. A Labour spokesman said: The National Constitutional Committee (NCC) of the Labour Party has found that two charges of a breach of the Labour Partys rule 2.1.8 by Marc Wadsworth have been proven. The NCC consequently determined that the sanction for this breach of Labour Party rules will be expulsion from membership. The decision on Mr Wadsworth came as Ken Livingstone who is currently suspended from Labour over remarks linking Adolf Hitler and Zionism told LBC rows over anti-Semitism in the party are a complete diversion in the run-up to the local elections. Mr Livingstone avoided expulsion in April at a disciplinary hearing into his conduct but was suspended for a further year. One of the flashpoints at a meeting between Mr Corbyn and Jewish leaders over anti-Semitism in Labour was the partys handling of the former MPs case. The attempt to smooth relations with the community backfired for the Labour leader as leaders of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) accused him of failing to back his words with action. Ken Livingstone at Church House, Westminster, London, when he attended a disciplinary hearing over claims about his conduct (Lauren Hurley/PA) Labour said 90 current cases of anti-Semitism are under investigation, making up around 0.02% of Labours membership of around 500,000. Over the past three years, a total of 300 complaints have been made over anti-Semitism, around half of which had led to people being expelled from or leaving the party. Here is what we know so far as the UK prepares for US President Donald Trumps visit this summer. Mr Trump will visit the UK on Friday July 13. This date follows the Nato summit which the president is due to attend in Brussels on the previous days. The US ambassador to Britain said Mr Trump `really wants to meet the Queen (Niall Carson/PA) Prime Minister Theresa May said she is looking forward to welcoming President Trump on what is described as a working visit. "I am looking forward to welcoming President Trump to the United Kingdom for a working visit on July 13." PM @theresa_may UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 26, 2018 The president cancelled a planned trip to London to open the new US embassy in Vauxhall earlier this year, complaining the move off location to south of the Thames had been a bad deal. But it is thought his decision may have been driven by a fear of protests in the capital. The threat of protests is also believed to be behind the postponement of a state visit mooted for 2017. The US ambassador to Britain, Robert Wood Johnson, said Mr Trump really wants to meet the Queen, adding the president would definitely be coming to London, despite the warnings of likely demonstrations. Full details of the trip are yet to be announced, although various media reports have said Mr Trump will indeed meet the Queen. Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral have been tipped as locations for the royal encounter. Asked how concerned the president is about the prospect of protests, the US ambassador to Britain said: Hes very thick-skinned. Downing Street said further details of the visit will be set out in due course. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rebuked Russia for what he called aggression beyond its borders, and vowed to restore relevance to a badly demoralised State Department in his new role as the top American diplomat. Attending a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels less than 24 hours after being sworn in, Mr Pompeo criticised Russia for threatening the alliances friends and partners in Georgia and Ukraine as well as for an aggressive campaign to undermine Western democratic institutions. Among other Russian misdeeds, he said, are the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in Britain last month and its support for Syrian President Bashar Assads government. Syria is accused of launching a chemical weapons attack that led three Nato members Britain, France and the US to launch airstrikes on Syrian targets. "Its truly been an honor to be here in #Brussels today. I received a very warm welcome from my counterparts. Its never good to be late on your first day of work & so after being sworn in I hustled here." -- Secretary Pompeo at #NATO #ForMin TRANSCRIPT: https://t.co/aLDkLYw5hP US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 Syria has denied responsibility. In light of Russias unacceptable actions, Nato is more indispensable than ever, the former CIA chief told reporters as he wrapped up the first stop on his first overseas trip as secretary of state. Nato should not return to business as usual with Russia until Moscow shows a clear change in its actions and complies with international law. Mr Pompeo said that among the allies there was enormous consensus of the risk that it poses to the West (and) a real commitment to work together to mitigate to those risks and to deter them. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed. Secretary Pompeo at @NATO: The United States has made abundantly clear that #NATO should not return to business as usual with #Russia until #Moscow shows a clear change in its actions and complies with international law. pic.twitter.com/LLvJVrJfyw Department of State (@StateDept) April 27, 2018 We are in a situation where weve not been before, he said. Were not in the old Cold War, but were neither in the strategic partnership we were trying to build after the Cold War. So this is something new. Fridays meetings set the stage for a summit of Nato leaders in July at which they are expected to outline more specifics about their response to Russia. Because of Natos central role in pushing back against Russia, Mr Pompeo said it was even more important that the allies, particularly Germany, the largest and wealthiest European member, meet their commitments to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024. The commitment was made in 2014 and thus far only six of the 28 countries that made the pledge meet the goal. Nine have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024, but the rest, including Germany, have not. No, Mr Pompeo replied bluntly when asked if Germanys efforts to increase defence spending have been satisfactory. Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Virginia Mayo/AP) They should meet the goals that they agreed to, he said as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump were meeting at the White House. Mr Pompeo arrived in Brussels about 12 hours after he was sworn in as secretary of state to replace Rex Tillerson, fired by Mr Trump last month. His participation in the meeting so soon after taking office was noted by Mr Stoltenberg and others who said it was a sign of US commitment to Nato and its allies. His arrival also appeared to have heartened some US diplomats who had been discouraged by Mr Tillersons embrace of budget and staffing cuts and a perceived desire to reduce Americas diplomatic footprint. Mr Pompeo alluded to the change. They may have been demoralised but they seemed in good spirits, he said of a group of US diplomats he met at Nato. They are hopeful that the State Department will get its swagger back, that we will be out doing the things that they came on board at the State Department to do. Thats my mission set: to build that esprit and get that team on the field. US President Donald Trump called German Chancellor Angela Merkel an extraordinary woman and disputed any idea that their rapport was frosty as he welcomed her to the White House. We have a really great relationship. We actually have had a great relationship from the beginning, he said. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Ms Merkels message was similar to French president Emmanuel Macrons that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. In a joint press conference on Friday afternoon, it was apparent that despite the back-to-back visits, Mr Trumps divisions with Europe are still substantial. "Today I am honored to welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel back to the White House... We are also pleased to have our newly confirmed United States Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell." pic.twitter.com/vgNEFJ6mU6 The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) April 27, 2018 He is widely expected to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear accord next month, despite pleas from Mr Macron earlier this week and Ms Merkel on Friday. Ms Merkel used her meeting with Mr Trump to try to paper over the differences, calling the Obama-era agreement a first step towards curtailing and containing Irans regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Mr Trump has said he was open to new negotiations with Iran, but has not said whether he would heed European calls for the US to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Irans nuclear efforts, while those talks are under way. His decision is expected by May 12. On trade, Ms Merkel said there was little progress on seeking permanent exemptions for the EU from Mr Trumps steel and aluminium tariffs. The decision lies with the president, she said. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington (Susan Walsh/AP) Mr Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting its defence spending obligations to Nato, saying it is essential that our Nato allies increase their financial contribution to the pact. Ms Merkel said Germanys latest budget will take defence spending to 1.3% of GDP. She acknowledged thats far short of the 2% goal but said Germany is still aiming for that over time. In the hours before Ms Merkels arrival at the White House, Mr Trump himself took note of their limited schedule, which was to include a 30-minute Oval Office meeting, followed by a working lunch and joint news conference. Look forward to meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany today, he tweeted. So much to discuss, so little time! It will be good for both of our great countries! While Mr Macron and Mr Trump went to great lengths to display their affection through hearty handshakes, hugs and, at times, air kisses the president has not displayed the same chemistry with Ms Merkel. In their first White House meeting last spring, Mr Trump seemed to ignore photographers prompts to give Ms Merkel the traditional photo-op handshake. The relationship between the German people and the United States predates Americas independence and extends to the deep bond the two countries share today. More: https://t.co/tSWOqpC2S1 The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) April 27, 2018 And the German chancellor looked on unhappily when Mr Trump upbraided Nato nations last summer for not spending enough on defence as he stood in Natos gleaming new Brussels headquarters. This time, the two exchanged a handshake in the Oval Office. Kellyanne Conway, a senior counsellor to Mr Trump, said that the presidents relationships with Ms Merkel and Mr Macron do not need to be compared. France and Germany are great allies. I think every leader is different, every relationship is different, she said at the White House. Were very happy that Chancellor Merkel is making another trip here. Children born between April 20 and November 6 this year According to the current configuration of planets in the celestial map, Zodiac, three of the nine planets have gained special strength due to the specific nature of the three signs in which they are transiting these days. The Sun has gained exaltation in Aries, Venus Swakshetra (own House) in Taurus and Mars exaltation in Capricorn. Swakshetra or exalted planets other than the Sun and the Moon give rise to certain auspicious yoga when they are placed in quadrants (Kendrasthana) and in certain other Houses in an individual Natal Chart (horoscope). Venus in his own sign and Mars is in exaltation. Venus is due to transit in Taurus from 02.07 hours on April 20 to 20.48 hours on May 14 and Mars in Capricorn from 16.17 hours on May 2 to 08.23 hours on November 6. Therefore, children born between these two periods will be fortunate enough to benefit from the auspicious yoga arising due to Venus being placed in Taurus which is his own sign and Mars in Capricorn which is his sign of exaltation. Special auspicious yogas The auspicious yoga which the children to be born during the above-mentioned durations include two of the five Maha Purusha Yogas, Malavya Maha Purusha Yoga and Ruchaka Maha Purusha Yoga, Amala Yoga, Harsha Yoga, Sarala Yoga and Vimala Yoga. The yogas the newborns between the above mentioned two periods are to get fortified with, are shown in the inset table. It is noteworthy that those born into above Ascendants will benefit from the yogas mentioned above only when Venus passes through Taurus from April 20 to May 14 and Mars through Capricorn from May 2 to November 6. How these yogas are formed and benefits they bestow on a person are described briefly below. Amala Yoga: Amala Yoga arises when a benefic like Jupiter, Mercury, Venus or Moon is placed in the 10th House of a horoscope. This yoga makes the native a person of integrity and high principles. He will possess sterling qualities. He will enjoy wealth, fame, career success and high status in society. Harsha Yoga: This yoga is formed when the lord of the 6th House is placed in the 6th House itself at birth. A person fortified with yoga at birth will enjoy good health. He will be free from debts. No enemy will harm him. He will have a good family life and will command respect and influence in society and may occupy a position of authority. He will be wealthy. Malavya Maha Purusha Yoga: Venus placed in a quadrant (Kendrasthana) at birth gives rise to this yoga. A person born with this yoga is blessed with a charming and magnetic personality. He will lead a life of comforts and luxuries. He will shine in a field of arts and his fame will spread far and wide. Ruchaka Maha Purusha Yoga: Mars posited in a quadrant in a horoscope produces this yoga. Native born with this yoga will possess great strength, courage and bravery, power and influence. He will possess leadership qualities. He will enjoy material comforts and long life. Sarala Yoga: The lord of the 8th House being placed in the 8th House itself leads to the formation of this yoga. Native fortified with this yoga at birth will be wealthy, healthy and will enjoy respect and influence in society. He is inclined to seek spiritual advancement. Vimala Yoga: The placement of the lord of the 12th House in the 12th House itself results in generating this yoga. The person born with this yoga will be wealthy, healthy and will have a happy family life. He will have an altruistic bent and will be generous towards the lesser fortunate. He will have a positive outlook and a keen perception. He will steer clear of sinful acts. He will be very frugal-minded. He will be renowned for his good qualities. The most salient feature of the Buddhas teaching is awareness- awareness of the moment, the here and now; the ability to be alive and present. You yourself will have to achieve it. It is not Zero-state or nothingness On Vesak Day, Buddhists of the world commemorate three events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions and sects. The Birth, Enlightenment and the Parinbbana of Gautama Buddha. The United Nations, in 1999, resolved to internationally observe the day at its headquarters. The Pali term Vesakha or Sanskrit Vaisakha is the name of the lunar month in the Hindu calendar. In the Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name Vaisakha, While in Theravadhait is Vesak, which usually falls in the month of May; this year the authorities have decided on April 29 instead of May 29, which is designated as Adhi Poson-it is a rare exception, though many Buddhist nations, this year, celebrate the Vesak Festival in May. Tuchcha Pothila Senior monk Pothila was a learned Bikkhu, who lived during Buddhas time. He was highly proficient in all facets of the Tripitaka. He became a Guru a to a large number of monks, but he never practised Dhamma and did not care for Buddhas advice to do so. Finally, the Buddha commenced calling him, Tuchcha Pothila [Empty Pothila]; the trick worked. Theoretical or academic knowledge of Tripitaka, it must be emphasized, however deep or profound is no alternative to practice. Asked about the nature of Nibbana, the Buddha initially maintained silence, knowing that the answer would lead to more puzzlement. Being asked where the worlds end is; Buddha said, It is in this one fathomed body with awareness, that I pronounce the existence of the world, its termination, the path leading to termination. Thus Nibbana does not exist separately from ourselves. The root of Buddhas teaching is the need to understand the reality not merely at the scholarly level, but by the direct occurrence. This, O monks truly is the peace, end of all formations, the forsaking of rebirth, fading away of craving detachment, extinction; Nibbana ---Buddha Nibbana in this very life Nibbana can be achieved in this very life; it is an optimistic state, which has to be comprehended by the mind. It is not a mere ending of craving or emptiness effect from blowing out. It is not Zero-state or nothingness. The real meaning or sense of Nibbana cannot be understood until and unless we have achieved it. It is not a thing that words can express in their conventional speech or by using descriptions. It is not a place or a state of affairs comparable to a plane of existence such as a heaven. It is not a mere extinction of ignorance and craving. It is only the path leading to it. Origins of Nibbana lie outside existence and non-existence, as together are conditional and relative to each other. Nibbana can only be grasped by those who have attained it, passing beyond boundaries. Just as the fire is not hoarded up in a place but rises when basic conditions are present. To consider different propositions was as pointless as to speculate about the path in which a fire had gone once it was doused. Just as a blind does not realise what light is, the mind clouded by greed, anger and illusion will not be able to distinguish the reality of Nibbana. It cannot be weighed against anything, which comes within the reach of our mind. A contender must wisely examine, scrutinize and analyze objects with bare attention, applying Sathi mindfully, devoid of application of conceptual behaviour. Understand your nature devoid of any distortions, without any prejudice, without any response to what you determine you are, that is the beginning of austerity. The examination, the awareness, of every deliberation, every feeling not to hold it back it, not to control it, but to observe it, like watching a bird in flight, without any of your own prejudices and misrepresentations. Sermonizing and educating on Nibbana has a parable in Amphibian Turtles unsuccessful attempt to enlighten the experiences on the ground to a fish! Parable of turtle and fish After a trip around the land, the turtle returned to the water, to be questioned by the fish, why he was missing for a while. The turtle rejoined that it had been on dry territory. The fish who was clueless about dry land, cried out; What do you mean by dry land? There is nothing termed dry land. The turtle replied, How can I make you realize, but I just arrived from there. The fish was confused; demanded to make out what exactly dry land meant, Can I swim there? Is it cool and damp? Does it flow? Does it rise up and down in waves? to each query, the turtle replied in the negative. A thrilled fish declared, There is no such place as dry land. The turtle said, There is dry land, but, you never experienced it. You know only water so you discard it because the uniqueness of water is not there, or it is not like water. We are the result of what we have thought. It is established in our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one talks or acts with a wholesome thought, happiness pursues one, like a shadow that never abandons. In the Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name Vaisakha, While in Theravadhait is Vesak, which usually falls in the month of May; this year the authorities have decided on April 29 instead of May 29, which is designated as Adhi Poson-it is a rare exception, though many Buddhist nations, this year, celebrate the Vesak Festival in May. Happiness can be achieved by using knowledge and practice to attain mental equanimity. Equanimity, or peace of mind, is achieved by shedding oneself from the series of cravings that creates dukkha. Therefore, by achieving an intellectual state where you can detach from all the obsessions, needs and wants of life, you free yourself and attain a state of inspirational happiness and well-being. Mindfulness and Bare Attention Mindfulness is one of the most significant teachings of Buddha. It has filtered into an accepted culture as well as modern psychoanalysis. The Buddha felt that it was crucial to cultivate right mindfulness for all facets of life in order to observe things as they actually are. He encouraged keen thought and awareness of all things through the four basics of mindfulness: Contemplation of the body, of feeling, of states of mind and of phenomena. In a word, mindfulness is about understanding the moment with an approach of openness and originality to all and every experience. Through correct mindfulness, one can free oneself from obsessions If you are paying attention now with all your being, with your brain, with your mind, with your nerves, with your total energy; listening without comparing, not accepting, not opposing, but actually with complete awareness: then there is no entity who is observing, who is listening? If you are paying attention to the howling of dogs at night, listen with your heart, listen with your mind, with your whole body dont say I hate it or I like the sound, just listen conscientiously, then there is no observer. See an image without the interference of thought. No observer! It is the observer who produces fear, the observer is the hub of thought, it is the I, it is the Me, the Self, the Ego; the observer is the sensor. When there is no thought, there is no observer. It is open for us, and when we have developed into as gentle, as wise, as pure, as compassionate, and as absolutely self-controlled as an Arhant, then shall we recognize, then shall we comprehend Nibbana. Comprehending Dhamma is Nibbana. You yourself will have to achieve it. May all Beings be Happy! Tel Aviv (dpa) 26 April, 2018 - Eight young people died in flash floods that struck while they were hiking in southern Israel, medical services said Thursday. Israeli police said that a group of 25 hikers had been hit by flash floods in Nahal Tzafit, a riverbed near the Dead Sea, but did not confirm any casualties. Eight of the hikers were killed and many others are missing, according to Zaka, an Israeli emergency rescue service. Two days of heavy rain in Israel have caused flooding throughout the country. On Tuesday, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl near Bethlehem and an Israeli-Arab teenager in southern Israel were both killed in flash floods. We are trying to get as much help as we can. We are walking by foot, helicopters, 4-wheel drives, whatever we can do in order to find the people who got lost, said Nadav Eylon, the head of emergency and security at the local Central Arava Regional Council. Comprehensive Community Standards Introduced Facebook has decided to refine and make their guidelines understandable to the public Facebook has its own description of a nude picture This difficulty in identifying doesnt arise with regard to a video It is difficult to identify content as being aggressive or violent because it is written Although FB users stumble upon content including hate speech or sensitive content, not all users will go to the extent of reporting them When Facebook (FB) was first introduced after the Hi5 and Messenger revolutions, the youth were mesmerised by its glamour and various other options. From adding people you know to sharing your ideas, it became a global platform for people to connect, free-of-charge. In no time, Mark Zuckerberg became a hero among the global community. With gradual changes, Facebook became a point of discussion and debate as it was open to anyone. People of all ages and various intentions started using FB, some to do good and some with ulterior motives on their minds. At the onset of the recent violent incidents in Kandy District, FB fanned more flames than expected, thus forcing the Government to censor all social media sites till the matter was resolved. Taking this issue and various other matters which led to hate speech and violence from around the world into consideration, Facebook has decided to refine and make their guidelines understandable to the public. In doing so, the team believes that they would be able to convince the public to play a role in allowing them to realise their mistakes and upgrade their service. Hence the Dailymirror sheds light on the users responsibilities and why content should be reported even if it doesnt concern you or someone you know. We will update content regularly and ensure that the public understands it- In an exclusive newsroom call with the , Facebooks Head of Product Policy and Counter-terrorism, Monika Bickert elaborated on the recently launched Internal Enforcement Guidelines for Community Standards. The standards that we have are Community Standards. I have worked and visited several places in Asia and when I came to Facebook six years ago, Community Standards were already there and they were of a high level. They said we dont support harassment, bullying etc., but we didnt give a lot of detail about what we meant. We heard questions about people all the time and about what we meant. By 2015 we came out with a more detailed version of how we define some of these concepts such as hate speech. But we didnt reveal all the details and we continued to receive questions from people about how we enforce these policies. For instance when it comes to harassment we would define something, so we would explain how we tell our content reviewers to enforce the policy. But today we are giving more importance to these policies and making them public. We are going to make sure that these policies are understandable to the audience and our goal is to make sure that when the public see the content they could look at the policies to understand and review our content. If not they will understand with reasons. We are also launching an appeal process for individual pieces of content. If there are certain pieces of content that should be removed we do have the opportunity to request for a review. We recognize that we make mistakes and we are trying to give our community an opportunity to play a role in the process and analyse these mistakes. So if the content should be removed the information goes to our operations team and if we find out that we have made a mistake we do make it a point to make sure that the content is restored. Bickert said. More users equal to more changes Speaking further Bickert however mentioned that this is not a final version of the FB Content Policy because the Policy continues to evolve. Part of that is because we see more and more people on Facebook and there are different communities around the world. For instance there are speech issues that continue to change. So we are always hearing about new trends and things that we need to include in our Policy. We have a meeting which we call the Content Standards Forum where people from all different teams of Facebook from all over the world come together and discuss certain issues that we see in different parts of the world. Here we check the possibilities of refining our Policy. So, somebody from the Australian team might see a new self-harm trend among young people in Australia and then we would take a decision to view the activities happening in Australia. Then we look at the data and the content on our servers and find out the information offline about their trends and we will talk to academics about this problem around the world and we will get their inputs about how to refine our Policy to best address whatever the new issue is. So from now on wards we will regularly update the content; maybe every month. One of the goals of this launch is to obtain feedback from the community. We have been reaching out to civil society organisations and academics to obtain their feedback on these Policies. So from now onwards, anybody can report any piece of content on Facebook and this could be a profile, a photo, a post etc. This report goes to a member of our Community Operations Team and they are the reviewers who are based around the world. There are over 75,000 of them who continue to grow and they speak many languages and we want to make sure that we respond quickly to the reports that we obtain from the people. We get millions of requests within a week and we try to review the majority of them within 24 hours. In terms of hate speech and harassment, a lot of this bad behaviour comes from people who use fake accounts. They are not using their real names and they are using their accounts to abuse other people. Therefore our technical tools to identify fake accounts are getting a lot better. We see over a million fake accounts every day. We will have an Image Matching software and various other tools for this purpose. During the recent French and German elections for instance we removed tens of thousands of fake accounts using these new tools,she elaborated. With gradual changes, Facebook became a point of discussion and debate as it was open to anyone. People of all ages and various intentions started using FB, some to do good and some with ulterior motives in their minds Customised Terms and Conditions In his comments to the Dailymirror, Senior Information Security Engineer at the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) Roshan Chandraguptha said that on social media, every site has its own terms and conditions. On Facebook they have their Community Standards which is not available on other social media. On other sites, their terms and conditions might reflect their laws and cultures. Therefore they address our issues in a different manner. Since 2013 we have spoken to technical teams at Facebook and although they said they will look into the issues, they were never resolved. This is because they emphasized on the freedom of expression for people in countries among other reasons. But for the Asian culture they have their own concerns. These issues exist because people use Facebook for different matters. If you use it in an ethical and a responsible manner there wont be any technical issues. If anyone tries to misuse Facebook then there will be problems. Initially when someone identifies a nude picture, Facebook has its own description of a nude picture. Therefore just because you post a photo of a girl in a swimming pool or in a bikini, according to Facebook it might not be a nude picture. If you go by another category also it might state that you are not violating the terms and conditions of Facebook. But its of concern to our people and culture, he explained. But problems may arise in how we identify the offences because they may not match what Facebook defines as an offence. This is also because the law in US is applicable to most social media and not the law in our country He further said that other issues include people using Facebook to rob money, to threaten others and so on. Regarding these incidents there is a legal process in which you could obtain Subscriber Information which is held by them. If someone publishes something targeting someone or asking for ransom then any country is supposed to send a court order and obtain information from them. But problems may arise in how we identify the offences because they may not match what Facebook defines as an offence. This is also because the law in US is applicable to most social media and not the law in our country. But there are numerous instances when people use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and to promote businesses. During the time we faced an issue we came across numerous accounts owned by businesses as their marketing strategy. Therefore they were affected as a result of the censoring. In addition to that you cannot trust all the content that you see in Facebook. If you want to find out how many planets are there in the solar system and if I think I need to come up with a website with the scientific details of the solar system I can do that. Nobody will ask me to take down the content and it is my opinion as well. Therefore if you search it on my website you will think that my opinion is correct and what others say is wrong. So we need to see if the information we obtain from the Internet comes from a reliable source. Wrong information can spread like wildfire and if you dont trust the person sharing it, then you will share that wrong information with the rest of the people in your profile, he said. The real issue of reporting content Although FB users stumble upon content including hate speech or sensitive content, not all users will go to the extent of reporting them. When asked about this trend, Chandraguptha said that unless someone sees his or her own photo or a photo of a person he or she knows is being used by another account, people generally dont report content. There was an incident where some photos of girls were used by an account and those particular individuals requested us to take down the page. But we dont have the authority to do that and hence reported the page to FB. We then realised that although around 100 people have reported the page, it was liked by over 70,000 people. In that case they count only the numbers. With Community Standards FB believes that people will have their own photo and that they will not take somebody elses photo and publish it. Of course there are instances when FB was used to collect dry rations and aid during times of emergency. We also see advertisements of people who need blood donations and other assistance. If people use FB in such a way there wont be issues and nobodys life would be in danger. Unless somebody reports, FB remains as it is because it is a community requirement, he said. We are going to make sure that these policies are understandable to the audience and our goal is to make sure that when the public see the content they could look at the policies to understand and review our content If we report a page or an account and they are able to remove it, it means that they have access to all accounts, Chandraguptha further said. This means they have a lot of intelligence. We need to understand that they have all our information because given that there is a court case they have to provide all necessary information. If you deactivate your account you can recover it after three months. When we create an account we agree to their Terms and Conditions which many people dont read. But if you read it you will have a better idea of what you are using. It is the users responsibility to use it wisely. It is difficult to identify content as being aggressive or violent because it is written, but this difficulty in identifying doesnt arise with regard to a video. This in turn makes it difficult to identify such posts to have violated terms and conditions of FB. Therefore users have a bigger responsibility in using FB wisely, he said. In a historic move, Sri Lankas real estate major, Blue Mountain, has signed an agreement with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) to build Achilleion, its Seven Star Luxury Project, which will be a landmark development in the country and the South Asian region. Currently, CHEC operates in over 80 countries around the world and in Sri Lanka is responsible for building the eagerly awaited Port City project. By coming onboard the iconic Achilleion project, CHEC is affirming the credentials of the project and the vision of Blue Mountain. Located in the heart of Colombo 4, Achilleion is set to make an iconic appearance on Colombos skyline and will feature all-new levels of seven star luxury and innovation. The 50-storey twin tower apartment complex will consist of 584 luxury units of one, two or three bedroom apartments, duplexes and penthouses with more than 85% of the apartments enjoying glorious view of the Indian Ocean. Achilleion has already won three international awards already, including the best Luxury Show Apartment at the prestigious Asia Pacific Property Awards 2016/2017, for its breath-taking show apartment which was located onsite to enable prospective buyers. With an investment of Rs. 300 million, Achilleions show apartment, which was built at 100 feet above sea-level, was the worlds tallest purpose-built, stand-alone show apartment. Having the global giant CHEC as construction partner adds infinite value and influence to the project, thus making it a reality soon for existing and potential investors. This state-of-the-art complex will also feature Sri Lankas first-ever sky bridge, the tallest sky restaurant by sea and an infinity pool, which will offer breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean and the vibrant Marine Drive stretch. Other facilities include a 24-hour medical centre the first of its kind to operate in a private residential complex, a comprehensive library and a private theatre. Residents can revel in unimaginable luxury with access to a rooftop helipad and a private helicopter for their use coupled with a fleet of Limousines at their disposal. Hutchs parent to hold controlling stake in combined entity SL mobile telephony market has 5 players at present The parent companies of Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. and Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. have entered to into a definitive agreement to merge the operations of the two companies. CK Hutchison Group (CKHH Group) and Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (Etisalat Group) have entered into a definitive agreement to merge their mobile telecommunications businesses in Sri Lanka, operating under Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Private) Limited (Hutch Lanka) and Etisalat Lanka (Private) Limited (ESL) respectively, a joint media release said. The combined business of Hutch Lanka and Etisalat Lanka will be better positioned to serve their Sri Lankan customers, it added. The financial details of the merger are yet to be announced. The communique also said the transaction is part of the stated strategy of portfolio optimization of the Etisalat Group. Upon completion of the transaction, CKHH Group will have the majority and controlling stake in the combined entity. The two companies said the transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, which include, among others, securing the necessary competition and regulatory approvals in Sri Lanka. An industry consolidation was long expected in Sri Lankas mobile telephony market, which currently has five players. We expect some industry consolidation due to on-going intense competition, especially in the mobile segment; this segment has five operators that face investment requirements that are still high, and the smaller operators are unprofitable, Fitch Ratings said in a recent rating report. The Bonmartini-Fini family started making wine in 1497 when the two noble Venetian families of Bonmartini and Fini united in marriage and began producing wine in Northeastern Italy. Today, the Bonmartini family, direct descendants of the Barone Finis, continue to own and manage this venerable property. Per the winery website, Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini and his sister Gioia are the current owners and brand ambassadors, exuding charisma and passion for the family's well-established wine brand. One grape that Giovanni, the president of Barone Fini Wines, is attempting to alter in terms of perception is Pinot Grigio. Its a grape that more than anything draws apathy and criticism for its simplicity. "When I took over the company in 1997 ..., Pinot Grigio as a category had become dominated by cheap agro-industrial mass-produced wine that didn't require, or warrant, much respect." Giovanni says. "Our family had seen this trend and set out to re-build the perception of what Pinot Grigio could be, and prove the potential of Italy's most important white grape to make one of the world's best, most versatile, and food friendly white wines." The brand is known for its Valdadige Pinot Grigio, which is created from young vines planted 25-30 years ago. All the grapes are hand-picked, sorted manually, crushed lightly and then fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. What's drawn from that process is a medium-bodied wine, without harsh tannins or high alcohol content that allows it to gain a D.O.C designation (strictly regulated by the government, the D.O.C. is a mark of excellence that means they are produced in specific regions according to Italian Winemaking Standards). The other grape that the winery specializes in is Merlot. Barone Fini Merlot is unoaked and displays the classic fragrances and flavors of the varietal, suggesting plums and blackberries with good intensity, balance, and structure (DOC in 1971). A count at birth, Giovanni was born in Massachusetts but grew up on his family's farm in Italy. When the family returned to America, Giovanni earned a degree in molecular biology from Princeton. Add to that back story is his ownership with an innovative toner cartridge business, with around 600 stores throughout Europe. In his time off, he pursues his other passion - kite surfing. Thanks to the Lippe Taylor agency in New York City, here are answers from Giovanni to questions sent to him after his life, the winery and its wines. Q. So, let's start with something besides wine before diving in to your brand. When and where did you first learn how to go kite surfing and where are a couple of your favorite places to do that now? A, Kite surfing is the most incredible sport I have ever done. It is wakeboarding but I drive the boat. I can surf waves, I can fly off of flat water or I can just cruise and watch the marine wildlife. I started right off the coast of Rome and taught myself [don't ever do this, I almost got killed several times] before there were teachers and safety technology. Greek Islands, Red Sea, Mauritius, South East FL, Outer Banks NC, Golden Gate Bridge, Turks and Caicos, Jericoacoara Brazil, every place I have been is heavenly!!! Q, Does your family farm in Italy grow the grapes for your wine? When did you get your first exposure to grape growing and wine making? A, When my Grandfather died in 1974 we sold off thousands of acres of vineyards. Today, I buy grapes from 50+ growers all located in the same mountain valley. Drinking wine and wine making has always been a part of my family's table conversation as far as my memory goes. Q, Does your degree in molecular biology come into play with your wine making? Or did you parlay the degree into your successful toner cartridge business? Did you pursue any other paths before dedicating yourself to wine making? A, My Princeton molecular biology thesis was on yeast genetics and the effect was the opposite of what one might expect. After manipulating yeast to produce various molecules, I learned that nature does the best job. As you know, yeast is key to the winemaking process, and I assure you, we minimize any manipulation of our wine during production. Also, my personality has always been driven by curiosity and exploration, that was what it was like to research tiny things in the molecular biology lab. I think some of that is what led me to start 6 businesses -- in fact, we just bought a cell phone repair, which has a 100+ store chain that we will integrate into our 2000+ Print stores. But no other business comes close to the elegance, depth and excitement of wine making. Q, Some of my readers may be new to your wine. Can you summarize what makes up your brand and sets your wines apart A, Essentially, wine is in my blood, and is part of our family culture. The history of cultivating our vineyards goes as far back as 1497 when two noble Venetian families - Bonmartini and Fini - united in marriage and began producing wine in northeastern Italy. It is this rich history and deep understanding of wine making that helps Barone Fini stand apart from other brands. Additionally, all the fruit for Barone Fini is sourced from old vines, known for producing quality, and is hand harvested before being subjected to rigorous hand sorting to ensure that only the best fruit is used. Q, Tell me about Pinot Grigio. Is the Pinot Grigio that Americans drink different than the Pinot Grigio they would drink in Italy? Has it earned its tepid reputation in this country? A, Pinot Grigio is one of the top 3 most purchased wines in America. I would guess that you would find this varietal in most homes and gifted very often - it is a "go to" purchase. In the States, almost any brand can claim they make Pinot Grigio, however, in Italy, only those using grapes grown in select regions, such as Alto Adige can claim the varietal name. I hope that bringing a high-quality Pinot Grigio, such as Barone Fini Pinot Grigio Valdadige, to the US will help consumers understand that they deserve great taste and great quality, for a fair price. Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini, president of Barone Fini Wines: 'When my Grandfather died in 1974 we sold off thousands of acres of vineyards. Today, I buy grapes from 50+ growers all located in the same mountain valley. Drinking wine and wine making has always been a part of my family's table conversation as far as my memory goes.' Q, What potential do you see for Pinot Grigio and where is its place among the Italian white grapes? A, I think the potential for Pinot Grigio is truly endless, both in Italy and in the US. It is already a favorite among American households, and I think bringing more trusted and quality brands to the forefront will only help its popularity grow. Q, What prompted you to want to do something different with your wine, and what are you doing to make it different? A, Wine quality in the US is an opinion, and some opinions are highly regarded but most can be influenced. As the USDA certifies meat quality in the US, the Italian government certifies wine quality. The vast majority of Italian Pinot Grigio sold in the US is I.G.T. certification whereas our Pinot Grigio is D.O.C., the highest standard possible for Pinot Grigio. What makes us different is we have never lowered our standards to make more money. Q, If done right, it really is a versatile grape, isn't it? Something to sip during the spring through fall, but also one that pairs with a lot of foods? A, These grapes are extremely versatile and make a versatile wine! In addition to drinking the wine as is with your favorite meals, one can always use Pinot Grigio instead of red wine in cooking. The Pinot Grigio grape is actually a red grape that is lightly pressed resulting in a white wine. Most extraordinary about our wines from the Valdadige and Alto Adige regions is nature's equilibrium of crisp acidity balanced by minerality that is pulled out of our soil originating from ocean beds before the Alps were formed. This extraordinarily natural balance accentuates flavors in food and is the reason for Barone Fini Pinot Grigio's success in restaurants. A sampling of other interviews from the series of national/international interviews. Views from a Chilean winemaker: 1865's Matias Cruzat Sri Lanka celebrates Vesak Poya tomorrow though some confusion has been created over this thrice-blessed day marking the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama the Buddha. Some Buddhist prelates say Vesak should have been celebrated on May 29 as several other Buddhist majority countries like Thailand are doing. Another controversy arose when the Buddha Sasana Minister asked that Vesak pandals, dansal and other festivities be held not on Vesak day but on April 30 and the days after. He urged that people should be encouraged to go to temples on Vesak day to listen to bana sermons and also watch some special Vesak-related films that the ministry has prepared. Some Buddhists have objected to this proposal while others have welcomed it on the basis that it will stop the trend towards the commercialisation of Vesak. Whether it be April 29 or May 29 what is vital is for Sri Lankas Buddhists to reflect deeply on some important dimensions of the Buddha Dhamma specially the issues connected to the situation in Sri Lanka today. Scholar monks say that Gautama the Buddha when he began his world-changing mission gave up all his privileges including those in the royal palace. Prince Siddhartha totally emptied himself and tradition has it that his first robe was stitched from pieces of yellow cloth picked up from funeral pyre sites where people left behind pieces of yellow cloth. During his entire mission, which influences hundreds of millions of people all over the world more than 2500 years after him, the Buddha lived in a simple and humble way which is known in classical Sinhala as Alpechchathawaya. Unfortunately political and other leaders who loudly and proudly proclaim Buddhism are known today to be seeking personal gain or glory, perks or privileges and are mired in the vice of Bahubhandavadaya which is the desire to accumulate more and more by way of wealth, property and possessions, power and popularity. The government has declared that poverty alleviation is one of its main goals and one of the important structural adjustments needed to achieve this is to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. As in most parts of the world, in Sri Lanka also it is believed that the richest one per cent of the powerful elite own more wealth than 50 per cent of the people. Socio-spiritual analysts believe that an important step to bridge this gap is for our leaders -- in the political, social, religious and other spheres -- to live in a simple and humble way, stop wasteful expenditure or indulging in luxuries and extravagance. Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka this hallowed concept is preached by many but few are those who practise it sincerely and quietly. When we live in a simple and humble way we will be able to save more and thereby share more with millions of people known to be caught in a poverty trap set up by a selfish and wicked world. Sharing more needs to go beyond just giving some money to poverty-trapped people. Their dignity as human beings needs to be restored and therefore measures must be taken to help them to earn their own living. This could be done by providing them the means for self employment or giving them productive and reasonably-paid jobs so that they will have an equal place in society and also an equal say in decision-making. The Buddhas main theme was, may all beings be happy. That means we need to live and work in a way that makes all creatures happy. It also means that everything created -- including the air, the sea, the trees and soil should be cared for properly and we need to be good stewards. In modern terms that means effectively getting involved in the battle against global warming or climate change. Thus instead of focusing on dates we need to reflect on and more importantly live in the way the Buddha wanted us to so that it will be a happy and blessed Vesak for all. Mr. Stephan de Muerville - Managing Director of Moet Hennessy India Private Limited And Iain Delaney - Chief Operating Officer, MMI Moet Hennessy India Private Limited (MHI) is a subsidiary of Moet Hennessy, part of LVMH - Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury group. Known for their excellence in research and innovation, Moet Hennessy is widely recognized for the quality of its products. The companys portfolio varies from Champagne to Wines from the finest wine growing regions in the world to premium spirits. Moet Hennessy India was incorporated on April 1, 2001. The company undertakes import, sales and marketing in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives of MH luxury portfolio of wines and spirits. The companys international brands are available in the country today. The strategic partnership with Lanka Premium Beverage, a joint venture between MMI and Truebell, is the start of a new relationship for the luxury group MHI that is revered for its excellent track record in product and delivery in the Sri Lankan market. Moet Hennessys portfolio of overseas vineyards is the fruit of an exciting series of acquisitions started some 50 years ago. The house of Moet & Chandon first wanted to invest in and develop vineyards in Argentina where the terriers were capable of producing fine sparkling wines following the traditional Champagne method. In the 1980s and 1990s, the prestigious house of Veuve Clicquot looked to California, Australia and New Zealand to acquire labels and vineyards that symbolized the New World. The exclusive event that marked the celebration of this new beginning was held at a fine dining destination and Colombos only French restaurant, Cafe Francais, known for their delectable cuisine. Guests were treated to a sublime menu from renowned chef, who flew in especially for the occasion, and whose culinary skill has been awarded with the ultimate accolade three Michelin stars, Jacques Pourcel. The commencement of the association was celebrated with the grandeur and glamour brought to the evening with numerous flutes of Moet & Chandon. The menu was a fusion of his culinary style and a reflection of the new partnership between MHI and LPB, sophisticated, even extravagant with its constant quest to push new boundaries, to dare to step outside of the classics and look around both locally and internationally for an ever-changing style. Commenting at the celebration of the partnership agreement, Mr. Stephan de Muerville, Managing Director of Moet Hennessy India Private Limited, said: I am looking forward to bring to fruition this new initiative between us and Lanka Premium Beverages. Our goals will only be possible through innovative partnerships such as this one, where we join forces and combine our respective expertise and resources, thereby achieving common objectives. Our strategies are based on three key values that guide its expansion: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a strong sense of ethics. " Iain Delaney, Chief Operating Officer, MMI, added: MMI is delighted to announce the agreement between Lanka Premium Beverages and our valued partner Moet Hennessy India. MMI with its partner Truebell established Lanka Premium Beverages with the aim of becoming the leading premium independent beverage distributor in the Sri Lankan market and the agreement with MHI and its world-class portfolio is a major step towards achieving this goal, MMI works closely with Moet Hennessy in a number of other markets and we look forward to building on our successful partnership. MMIs gold-standard reputation for commercial transparency, processes, and ease of distribution; along with their quality guarantee and state-of-the-art facilities in Jebel Ali, Dubai, gives beverage brands the ideal platform to introduce their products to Sri Lankan hotels and resorts supporting MMIs goal to become the leading independent distributor of premium beverages in emerging markets. Seen here Pakistani High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Major General (retd) Shahid Ahmed Hashmat speaking to the gathering whilst President of the National Chamber of Commerce Sujeeve Samaraweera (left) looks on Pic by Samantha Perera By Supun Dias Pakistani High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Major General (retd) Shahid Ahmed Hashmat said that both Sri Lanka and Pakistan should work towards achieving an annual bilateral trade value of US$ 1 billion to strengthen the economic potential of the two countries. He was speaking at a session to discuss Sri Lanka-Pakistan business cooperation which was organized by the National Chamber of Commerce, at its auditorium in Colombo. We have a strategic partnership, and during the war we were there to help you whenever it was needed. Now things have changed and we should focus on increasing our trade potential. Therefore, I urge that we take appropriate steps to meet this target, he said. Pakistan exports around US$ 300-400 million worth goods to Sri Lanka and we also get goods worth up to US$ 80 million from Sri Lanka. We should minimize the trade deficit and would like to see more Sri Lankan exports coming into the Pakistani market in the next couple of years, he noted. The High Commissioner said that projects such as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Gwadar Port and Hambantota Port are key economic projects undertaken by both countries to boost its economic potential amidst geopolitical tension in the region. Having such friendly relations with Sri Lanka, it will be very easy to set up the foundation needed to boost our bilateral trade. We recently had a couple of exhibitions in Sri Lanka to attract Sri Lankan investments into Pakistan. And we will continue to have such platforms to encourage key investments needed for both countries, he added. Sri Lankan exports to Pakistan include rubber, vegetables, fibre, tea, garments, and coconut whilst Pakistani exports include sugar, cotton and cement. President of the National Chamber of Commerce Sujeeve Samaraweera spoke on how the chamber could facilitate Sri Lankan businesses to work closely with their Pakistani counterparts. Both the National Chamber of Commerce and the Pakistani High Commission requested all stakeholders and business partners to raise any issue with regard to doing business with Pakistan at anytime, so that these queries could be raised with the highest authorities. From left: Jetwing Hotels, Director Operations Jerome Auvity, Round Table Sri Lank Vice President Shezad Hameed, Representative of George Steuart Travel, Minister of Tourism and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga and Round Table Sri Lanka (RTSL), President Jehan Mubarak Pic by: Samantha Perera By Nishel Fernando Sri Lanka has won the bid to host the Round Table International World Meeting (RTIWM) 2018 connecting four leading hotels in Negombo from 5th to 9th September, the organizers of the event announced at a recent press briefing. RTIWM is considered the most important event in the Round Table calendar, with many countries bidding to host the event. Round Table Sri Lanka (RTSL) was successful in its bid to host the 2018 World Meeting at Jetwing Blue, Jetwing Sea, Jetwing Beach and Camelot hotels in Negombo. The organizers of RTIWM expect to host over 500 members from 44 countries and over 100 local members. The organizers stressed that RTIWM 2018 will offer its membership across the globe an opportunity to explore the island and its cultures and traditions as well as to engage in growing personal and business networks. The event is expected to generate US$ 200,000 - US$300,000 in foreign exchanges to the country, according to Round Table Sri Lanka (RTSL), President Jehan Mubarak. Prior to RTIWM 2018 main event, George Steuart Travel also organized a tour across the island for the RTIWM 2018 participants. RTSL, Vice President, Shezad Hameed noted that the Tusnami Round Table came to the spotlight by rapidly mobilizing its local and international network to raise US$2.4 million in aid as immediate flood relief and for long term infrastructure projects. Speaking at the press briefing, Minister of Tourism and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga said that growing MICE activities such as RTIWM 2018 will help Sri Lanka to establish itself as a leading tourist destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions (MICE) events. Round Table International is an international network of professional young men promoting personal development, fellowship and community service with an aim to bring about change in the life of its members as well as communities. It was founded in 1927 in Norwich, England and it was expanded to Sri Lanka in 1994 under the auspices of the late President of Sri Lanka, J.R. Jayawardane. RTSL has grown to 9 tables with over 120 members while the current local network consists of young men who are at the peak of their careers ranging from CEOs, pilots, doctors, chefs, sportsmen to entrepreneurs. Nishan Dissanayake Senior Policy Advisor Agriculture; Embassy of the Kingdom ofthe Netherlands, Rita van Ramshot - Teacher of Flower Design; Wellant College, Diane Smit Teacher of Flower Design; Wellant College, Wouter Verhey Agriculture Counsellor; Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and H.E. Joanne Doornewaard Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka and Maldives On Wednesday, 25 April the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands perfumed Trace Expert City with the scent of flowers, as it held a series of events to celebrate the floriculture industries of Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. The programme consisted of a floral arrangement competition, exhibition and a training workshop with floriculture experts from the Dutch agricultural vocational training institute Wellant College, in keeping with this years Kings Day theme of floriculture. The programme was organized parallel to the Embassy of The Kingdom of the Netherlands National Day, Kings Day - the birthday of the King of the Netherlands, His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander van Oranje-Nassau. It was attended by H.E. Joanne Doornewaard, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka and Maldives, consultants and expert florists from the Netherlands and Sri Lankan professionals from the floricultural industry. The event commenced with a keynote address by Ambassador Doornewaard. The Netherlands is known for its expertise and innovation regarding horticulture and there is a lot of potential when it comes to collaborations between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, said Ambassador Doornewaard. Events like this embody the motto of the strong partnership between the two countries: Sri Lanka The Netherlands: Old Friends New Trends. H.E. Joanne Doornewaard ; Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka and Maldives 30 participants took part in a floral arrangement competition during the morning session. This was facilitated by floral consultants from the Netherlands, who challenged competitors to create arrangements that melded Sri Lankan and Dutch style. Following this competition, a training workshop for 36 young professionals focused on improving professional capacities aligned with international standards. All participants received an official certificate of participation at the end of the programme. Floriculture is characteristic of the Dutch economy, with the Netherlands leading the world market with a 50% share in global floricultural products. The industry has flourished for decades, specifically since the mid-1970s when the production and distribution of cut flowers burgeoned in the market. The countrys knowledgeand capacity in the industry makes it a viable partner to help Sri Lanka foster its own floricultural industry as a player in the global market. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands are long termpartners in the economy, noted Ambassador Doornewaard. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands facilitates multiple projects to transfer Dutch knowledge and technical knowhow in order to contribute to the growth of the Sri Lankan agricultural sector. This is one area where we see significant potential for growth and collaboration. (Behind)Judges : Wouter Verhey Agriculture Counsellor; Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Eva van Woersem Deputy Head of Mission; Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Diane Smit Teacher of Flower Design; Wellant College, Rita van Ramshot - Teacher of Flower Design; Wellant College and Michael Wijesuriya Designer & Fashion Consultant (Front)Winners of the floral arrangement competition:1st Runner-up Darshani De Mel, Winner Prithvi Sharujha Pathmanathan and 2nd Runner-up E. M. C. P.Surivickrama Floral arrangement competition DPA, 27th APRIL, 2018 The US Senate on Thursday confirmed Mike Pompeo as the nations top diplomat in an expected endorsement of US President Donald Trumps choice for secretary of state. The 57-42 vote was largely along party lines, but a handful of Democrats joined majority Republicans in endorsing Pompeo, a foreign policy hawk who has served as Trumps director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Pompeo, a former officer in the US Army and former member of Congress from Kansas, was sworn in shortly after the vote and then departed on his first official foreign trip in his new position. Pompeos first stop is Brussels, where he will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and participate in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, who are to discuss preparations for Julys NATO summit, the State Department said. The secretary will then travel to the Middle East, where he will meet with Saudi, Israeli and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. The White House meanwhile released photos of Pompeo meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The secret meeting took place over the Easter weekend, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter. Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Sanders said. The White House confirmed last week that Pompeo began laying the groundwork for a Washington-Pyongyang summit expected to take place in May or June. Immunization is the most efficient public health intervention in reducing the burden of infectious diseases. A person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease thereby stimulating the bodys own immune system to safeguard the individual from subsequent diseases or infections. This process which is usually done in the form of a vaccine, administered to the body has been able to ward-off at least 2-3 million deaths each year in the world. As a result this process has been protecting children from various deadly infectious diseases like Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Measles etc. over years. According to World Health Organization (WHO), immunization is considered to be one of the most cost-effective and easily accessible mode of health strategies and is described as an investment made on health of our future generations. This is said not only due to its efficiency, but the capacity to cater precisely to identified target groups. In an attempt to bring the history of immunization in Sri Lanka, National Immunization Schedule and immunization services available under the spotlight, we are having this discussion with Dr. Deepa Gamage, Consultant Epidemiologist from the Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health. Importance of vaccination Most medicines or drugs are given to cure an illness or to relieve its symptoms. Vaccines are different and they are administered to prevent illnesses or a disease occurring agent. Vaccination in the process of immunization, to develop immunity in the body, helps children to stay healthy, which leads to a healthy nation in future. In fact vaccination ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being explains Dr. Gamage. She further mentioned that, the health, safety and well-being of children are of primary concern in protecting children and creating a healthy nation in future. Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets the ensuring of healthy lives and promotes well-being for everybody by 2030. We expect to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age. All countries aim at reducing neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-5 year child mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births. In achieving these targets and creating a healthy nation, vaccination plays an important role in preventing preventable deaths in children, the doctor said. History of vaccination The vaccination process dates far back to more than 200 years ago where country physician Dr. Edward Jenner observed an induced protection for Small Pox. He had done experiments on inoculating Vaccinia Virus (cowpox) to a young boy which helped him protect himself against Smallpox. In the year 1798, Dr. Edward Jenner first demonstrated the vaccination which offered protection against Smallpox. As a result, over the 18th and 19th centuries, the Smallpox vaccine was implemented successfully on a global scale and the medical authorities succeeded in eradicating Smallpox by the year 1977 says Dr. Gamage. Elaborating more on the scenario, she mentioned that the introduction of routine immunization has generally reduced the incidence of several vaccine preventable diseases through the past few decades. Similar success in disease reduction has been demonstrated by immunization programmes in many other countries. The World Health Organizations (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), with assistance from the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and other donors such as Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has made great strides in extending these benefits to developing countries. Immunizations permitted the global eradication of smallpox, and may do the same for Poliomyelitis, Neonatal tetanus, Diphtheria, Measles and some other vaccine preventable diseases. According to her, natural immunity occurs when a child is exposed to a disease and becomes infected, but the risks of death and long-term disabilities are much greater with natural infections. Immunization can prevent infectious diseases that could kill, harm or expose children to long-term disabilities. Without vaccines, children are at risk of becoming seriously ill, suffering from disability and even death from diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Immunizing a child not only protects that particular child, but also other children and adults by increasing the level of immunity in the general population and minimizing the spread of infection in the community (herd protection). History of Immunization in Sri Lanka The history of immunization in Sri Lanka date back to the 19th century. The law relating to compulsory vaccination (against smallpox) is referred to in the Vaccination Ordinance of 1886. The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) established in 1978, has continued to make excellent progress over the past two decades, most notably in terms of achieving high immunization coverage and disease control. Important milestones of immunization in Sri Lanka are given below. Sri Lanka has tremendous achievements in the National Immunization Programme in maintaining very high vaccination coverage in all districts during past 2 decades resulted in very low numbers in vaccine preventable diseases. The last Smallpox case in Sri Lanka was in 1972, Diphtheria case in 1991, Neonatal tetanus case in 2009 and Poliomyelitis case in 1993. Congenital Rubella Syndrome, Rubella and Measles are currently at a near elimination stage. And Whooping cough and other vaccine preventable diseases are maintaining at a very low status while maintaining satisfactory communicable disease notifications and surveillance in the country. In fact, it is very important to vaccinate all the children and every child born to prevent these deadly infectious diseases as it can rise its heads at any time if not properly immunize children says Dr. Gamage. She further mentioned that in the context of high international travel and tourism there are high chances of importation of diseases and transmission of communicable diseases making exposure to these deadly diseases. Raising a childs immunity with proper vaccination at the correct age at the correct time is important, not only to protect that particular child, but to prevent community transmission and protect other children and adults in the community too. The National Immunization Policy has addressed this issue of vaccinating a child as a right of the child and also a right of the others in protecting others. National Immunization Programme is implemented by the Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health through maternal and child health (MCH) clinics, conducted by the field level staff of Medical Officer of Health (MOH) and through immunization clinics in all major hospitals. Medical Officers of Health, Public Health Nursing Sisters, Public Health Midwives and Public Health Inspectors are working as a team in immunizing all the children in their respective geographic areas. The National Centre of the Immunization Programme, Epidemiology Unit is responsible and ensures to get down quality vaccines which are WHO pre-qualified, registered vaccines which are maintained at proper temperature from the manufacture until administration to the child. All vaccine storing centres are equipped with standard special vaccine storing refrigerators (Ice Lined Refrigerators) and proper monitoring of the cold chain maintenance are done with standard newer temperature monitoring equipment (Fridge tags, log tags and Freeze tags) explains Dr. Gamage. Elucidating that these standards are regularly monitored by the district level Regional Epidemiologists and also by the national level authorities she says that the efforts are done to ensure maintaining the quality and potency of vaccines for adequate immune development on vaccination in each child. All children are screened by a medical doctor for the eligibility of the vaccination and they are ready with emergency kits and plan for early attention if there is any possible adverse event. In comparison to some developing countries, Sri Lanka provides equal access to quality immunization services for all children in an equitable manner, ensuring high standards, she said. World Health Organization has declared an Immunization week from April 24-30 to mark the World Immunization Week (WIW). The main aim is to highlight the importance of collective action to provide immunization and make everybody have access to such medication. This is done to ensure the protection of every person from vaccine-preventable diseases through the National Immunization Programme. A speech by General George Patton, a famous World War 2 warrior, has an uncanny resemblance to the philosophy of Donald Trump. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser -- Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win -- all the time. Thats why Americans have never lost, nor ever will lose a war, for the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. A speech by General George Patton, a famous World War 2 warrior, has an uncanny resemblance to the philosophy of Donald Trump. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser -- Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win -- all the time. Thats why Americans have never lost, nor ever will lose a war, for the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Then came the Korean War (a stalemate), Vietnam (a loss), Afghanistan (mired in unconquerable mountains), Iraq 2 (a quagmire). Never mind the failures, with Trump in the saddle a new toughness is apparent. Hes in the middle of conflicts with North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria, China, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and in Niger and Mali. Fire and Fury, aimed at North Korea, is in danger down the road of becoming his mantra. Recall that the US commander in Korea, General Douglas MacArthur, advocated using 34 nuclear weapons on targets in Korea and China. Polls today show that a majority of Americans would think it right to use them if America were attacked. Obama would never have pressed the button. I wouldnt be so sure about Trump sometime over the next few years. Never mind the failures, with Trump in the saddle a new toughness is apparent. Hes in the middle of conflicts with North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria, China, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and in Niger and Mali Where are the risks? Russia -- Trump has pushed for a fast build up of Americas military might, including nuclear weapons, even though America has a military expenditure as high as the combined total of Russia, China, Japan, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and India. He has no plan to discuss arms cuts, to take missiles off hair-trigger alert nor to take up ex-president Dmitri Medvedevs important proposal for a new European Security Treaty. This would deal with Russias anger at the expansion of Nato up to its borders, while getting Russias soldiers out of Ukraine and ending its military manoeuvers in and around the Baltic. Ukraine needs to be de-militarised but Trump has decided to arm the government with sophisticated weapons. To deal with rebel demands the reasonable request for decentralization - as practised in Britain - should be met. China -- Trump has provoked China unnecessarily over Taiwan. This small island which has provided much of Chinas investment is claimed by Beijing to be part of China. It is not. But it should not, as a counter move, declare independence, a policy that Trump seems to lean to. Rather it should realize the quiet status quo is the only policy worth its weight. Trump is aggravated by Chinese claims to islands in the South and East China seas. US warplanes already cross the borders of Chinas Air Defence Identification Zones. In the 1950s the US nearly went to war with China over the off-shore islands of Quemoy and Matsu, owned by Taiwan. President Dwight Eisenhower considered using nuclear weapons. Eventually China did pull back. These days no one in their right mind wants to provoke a major war fought over tiny uninhabited islands. If this be true then the Pentagon should be ordered to take its military far away, so war cannot happen. On the economic front there is a danger that Trump is initiating a trade war which in the long run will lead to a US defeat. China has most of the cards. The total size of its economy is fast catching up with the US. It could buy its planes from Airbus rather than Boeing etc. It can start selling its vast savings in US Treasury bonds. Iran- To Trump Iran is the source of all the problems of the Middle East: From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region. Trump has gone to great lengths to make sure Saudi Arabia benefits politically and militarily from his views, even though for years its government has permitted funds to be sent to Al Qaeda. Such an attitude undermines the job of making ISIS and Al Qaeda the primary targets, as they should be. It is Iran, Iran, Iran, even though Iran is a force for defeating extremists. Yet Iran can be negotiated with as the US discovered when it succeeded in sealing a highly important de-nuclearisation agreement. Trump wants to rip that accord open, even though he should know that North Korea will never trust a US deal if thats what happens two years later. North Korea -- Negotiations are now underway between the North and the US. If they work then that should be an example for how to deal with other problems. If they fail, then we should worry that Trump might lead us into a nuclear war. With Obama, even though he made grave mistakes, one felt there was a momentum towards peace. With Trump it just seems to be, North Korea excepted at the moment, a momentum to war. For 17 years, the writer was a foreign affairs columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a US $100 million credit to support Sri Lankas efforts to strengthen and modernize its education system. The General Education Modernization Project (GEM) will modernize and diversify the curriculum of general education in keeping with the transformation taking place in Sri Lankas society and economy. Greater emphasis will be on strategic subjects that are key for economic development such as English and Mathematics. The project will help broaden choices at the GCE A-level grades so that students have the flexibility in selecting subjects from among the Arts, Management, Science, Technology, and Vocational streams. Learning material for English language and Mathematics will be developed digitally and the focus will be on children from schools located in more disadvantaged regions. Sri Lanka has made an impressive progress in expanding access to education. However, to reach the status of an Upper Middle-Income Country, it needs to further improve the overall learning outcomes. Sri Lankas education policy makers recognize that a high-quality general education system will enable students to meet the demands of 21st century jobs, said Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. We are happy to partner with the government to ensure that all children have the opportunity to gain foundational skills, especially in Mathematics and English, needed to participate in Sri Lankas economic growth, she added. The project will benefit school students both at the primary (grades 1-5) and at the secondary (grades 6-13) levels. Technical education and vocational training institutes, academic and managerial staff of the schools will also benefit from this project. The World Bank has been a longstanding partner of Sri Lanka in the education sector. The Transforming School Education System Project (TSEP), supported by the World Bank, has helped the country increase the survival rate of students from grades 111 (ages 616) to over 87 percent; introduced a regular cycle of national assessments of learning outcomes, and started School Based Management (SBM) to support the administration of schools in all zones. In addition, TSEP helped in strengthening the capacity of the decentralized tiers of education administration. GEM will support the government to modernize the primary and secondary education system in line with international standards established in middle-income and high-income education systems, said Harsha Aturupane, Lead Economist and World Banks Task Team Leader for the project. Successful implementation of the overall general education reform program and the key priorities supported by GEM should lead to improved learning outcomes and higher socio-emotional skills among students he added. The General Education Modernization Project that has been approved, will build on the experience and lessons learned from TSEP and strengthen the World Banks support to the general education sector. Enterprise IT is going through a tectonic shift, driven by rapid migration to the cloud and adoption of new technologies to address evolving customer needs, said Joseph Harding (above), executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Windstream Enterprise and Wholesale. This transformation directly addresses the specific challenges facing businesses today whove learned that conventional approaches cant keep pace with the requirements of the digital economy, said Harding. Our response to this is to distinguish ourselves in our understanding of the unique needs of our business customers and in our agility in how we respond. We have transformed our product portfolio, our network and the customer experience to deliver on this. he new brand strategy reflects the transformation the organization is undertaking in response to the demands of the business market for a more agile, innovative network and communication service provider. The organization distinguishes itself by leveraging the latest technology and a highly agile, customer-centric culture that positions Windstream as a trusted partner to its Enterprise and Wholesale customers. Windstream Enterprise and Windstream Wholesale. The company explained t Two months back at ITEXPO /SDWAN Expo , Windstream aligned itsbrands to simply In October 2017, longtime master agent Curt Allen (above) joined Windstream Enterprise to lead the channel program. In February 2018, Windstream Enterprise unveiled new brands for its enterprise and wholesale businesses, and in March its channel program was named a preferred provider by PlanetOne. Our momentum continues, and with the launch of the Our Size Fits You campaign there has never been a better time to partner with Windstream Enterprise, said Allen. This new campaign is about claiming our provider differentiation, telling partners that we are a fundamentally different company today, showing them through performance how that is true, and giving them a unique incentive to partner with us. We are positioned to be an agile service provider between the LECs and the local cable companies, which will help our partners guide customers to solutions like SD-WAN, UCaaS and growing security solutions. Secondary schools with mostly black students are more likely to have on-site police and security officers than schools with largely white enrollment, an analysis of new federal civil rights data finds. About 54.1 percent of middle schools and high schools where enrollment includes at least 75 percent black students had a sworn law enforcement officer or security guard in 2015-16, according to an analysis released by Child Trends Thursday. By contrast, such security personnel could be found at 42.1 percent of all high schools and middle schools and at 32.5 percent of secondary schools where enrollment was at least 75 percent white, the analysis found. In this analysis, homogenous black schools [where black enrollment was at least 75 percent] account for 6 percent of all middle and high schools; 27 percent of all black middle and high school students attend these schools, the analysis says. Homogenous white schools [where white enrollment was at least 75 percent] account for 39 percent of all middle and high schools, and 53 percent of all white students. Civil rights groups say a greater presence of security personnel, differing discipline philosophies, and fewer support staff in majority black schools may help contribute to disproportionately high rates of discipline for black students at state and national levels. Nationally, black students made up 15 percent of all students in 2015-16, but 31 percent of those arrested or referred to police--a disparity that has grown by 5 percentage points since 2013-14. The Child Trends analysis, which did not include alternative schools, also found that homogenous black schools were morely likely to have security staff than mental health personnel. Education Week took a deep dive into school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement last year. You can explore those data nationally, at the state level, and school by school . Related reading on race, school discipline, and safety: Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. On the second day of the historic Arizona teacher strike, a conservative group has sent letters to school superintendents in the state with a warning: Require teachers to return to work, or parents and students might sue. The Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based think tank, has told school leaders that the strike is illegal and violates students constitutional right to be guaranteed an education. The letter charges that districts closed as part of a coordinated plan to allow teachers to skip work without penalty. (If districts had remained open, teachers would have had to use personal leave to miss work. Many district leaders have said they had to close schools because they didnt have sufficient staff to care for students.) District leaders need to re-open schools, search for substitute teachers to replace the educators who refuse to return, and stop facilitating the strike to avoid a lawsuit, the letter said. The disruption this illegal strike has caused is hard to measure, wrote Timothy Sandefur, the vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute, in a blog post . Not only does this unlawful strike violate the teachers constitutional dutyand contractual obligationto teach, but it interferes with the plans of almost 850,000 Arizona students and their parents, who have been forced to make arrangements for being out of school. He added that some schools will add on extra days to the end of the school year calendar to make up for the work stoppagewhich could disrupt vacation plans, delay graduation, or interfere with the ability of students to leave for religious missions overseas. Arizona has a larger Mormon community than many other states , and many young Mormons go on overseas missions as early as age 18 . Teachers in Arizona are expected to continue to protest at the state capitol on Monday. Their strike is the third statewide teacher work stoppage since Februarypart of an unprecedented and growing movement among U.S. educators. Colorado teachers also demonstrated at their state capitol on Thursday and Friday for more education funding , forcing about a dozen school districts to close, but they are set to return to work on Monday. See also: Across the Country, Teachers Are Sharing Lessons on How to Strike Arizona teachers are asking for $1 billion in school funding, including a 20 percent teacher pay raise. State senators have said they are confident they will pass a pay raise deal , but are not sure where to find the money, according to the Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, Arizonas state superintendents message to teachers is: Get back in the classrooms because your duty is to the students and the parents, Diane Douglas told the Arizona Republic . She said she wasnt sure what the consequences for teachers could be if there are complaints made about their refusal to workbut they could include a letter of censure, suspension, or the revocation of their teaching license. This is uncharted territory, she told the paper. Teacher strikes are illegal in West Virginia as well, and the states attorney general had said his office would assist and support any superintendent or board of education if they tried to enforce the law during the states nine-day strike earlier this year. Ultimately, there were no legal consequences for teachers there, who received a 5 percent pay raise. Image: Teachers rally outside the state Capitol on April 27 in Phoenix, on their second day of walkouts. Matt York/AP Most teachers experience high levels of burnout and stressand that may be affecting their students achievement, a recent study found . The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri and published in Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, measured the levels of stress, burnout, and coping abilities of 121 teachers at elementary schools in a Midwestern school district, as well as the effects of teacher stress and coping on student outcomes. The results are particularly interesting given that teachers in several states have recently walked out of their classes to fight for higher pay and better working conditions issues that undoubtedly impact stress levels. For this study, each teacher completed self-report measures on their levels of burnout, stress, efficacy, and coping, answering questions like, How stressful is your job? and How well are you coping with the stress of your job right now? on a scale of zero to 10. Teachers reported their students behavior by filling out checklists for each of their students, while students themselves completed a standardized test to gauge academic achievement. Almost all of the teachers93 percentreported high stress levels, while only 7 percent were categorized as well-adjusted. The teachers who reported the highest levels of stress and lowest levels of coping were also associated with the worst student outcomes, which included lower math scores and higher disruptive behaviors. This corroborates several other recent studies that found that when teachers are stressed, their students well-being and achievement tend to decline. While the study didnt explore the factors affecting high teacher stress, a similar survey released by the American Federation of Teachers and the advocacy group the Badass Teachers Association offers a few explanations. The 2017 AFT/BAT survey found that teachers find their work stressful 61 percent of the time, as compared to the general public, which found work stressful 30 percent of the time. The survey pointed to several factors that could have influenced these high levels of teacher stress, including high rates of workplace bullying, limited influence in administrative decisions, and a lack of respect from the media and elected officials. How can schools address teacher stress? The University of Missouri study suggested screening teachers to find those most in need of support, equipping educators with stress-management and coping skills, and fostering positive environments in schools. A recent Education Week Teacher special report explored the benefits of instilling social-emotional competencies in classroom teachers. In one piece from the series, my colleague Madeline Will noted , As schools across the country put more of a focus on social-emotional learning for their students, experts have come to realize that teachers social-emotional competencies, especially their stress-management skills and their ability to regulate their emotions, are a vital piece of that puzzle. Photo by caio_triana . Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 7:00 am The Bolivar Seventh-day Adventist Church is hosting a free weekly meal from noon to 2 p.m. each Saturday for area residents. The April 28 menu includes tacos, tostados, burritos or taco salad, dessert and a drink. The church is at 1704 E. Division St. at the corner of Rt. D and Division. This item is available in full to subscribers. Attention subscribers We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription. If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site. If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here. Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. Posted Thursday, April 26, 2018 11:35 am Richard V. Linnell II Richard Vaughn Linn Linnell II, 74, Belton, passed away Thursday, April 26, 2018, at Western Missouri Medical Center in Warrensburg. A graveside services with full military honors will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, with Brother Charles Brant officiating at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Missouri Veterans Home and can be left in care of Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home. Posted Thursday, April 26, 2018 10:00 pm Central Church of Christ will host a gospel meeting with lessons on Christian maturity April 27-29 with guest preacher Artie Brown. Services are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday morning for Bible study, 10 a.m. worship service with teaching and at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Lessons include: Friday Why I ought to be a Christian. Saturday To what are you converted? Sunday a.m. Bible study Marks of a Mature Christian, part 1. Sunday worship Marks of a Mature Christian, part 2. Sunday afternoon Building a strong church. The church is at 1037 W. Broadway St., Bolivar. Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 4:00 am The local National Active and Retired Federal Employees Chapter will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Smith's Restaurant in Collins on the northwest side of Mo. 54 and Mo. 13. The chapter encompasses Benton, Camden, Dallas, Hickory, Polk and St. Clair counties. NARFE members, potential members and their guests are welcome to attend. Featured guests will be Missouri Conservation Agents Dylan Bollig and Matthew Bryant. Their presentation will be very educational and interesting. Let's demonstrate our appreciation and support by having a large turnout. France, Germany Launch Future Fighter The page you requested is only available to subscribers. 1. If you are a Premium Service subscriber, please log in here to access this story: Log-in : Password : 2. If you are not a subcriber, you can: -- buy access to this page: unlimited access for seven days costs 3.00 EUR + VAT (at 19.6%) if applicable. Clicking on the "Ok" button below will place the item in your shopping cart and return you to our home page, where you will be able to select additional stories. -- select additional stories and services from our home page and pay for them at the same time. -- see your shopping cart. You can also see the contents of your shopping cart at any time by clicking on the "Order" tab on the navigation bar at the top of any page, or by clicking on the "Your order" light blue link in the top right-hand corner of our home page, immediately under the log-on box. Ukraine Completes Final Test of Vilkha Multiple Rocket Launcher The page you requested is only available to subscribers. 1. If you are a Premium Service subscriber, please log in here to access this story: Log-in : Password : 2. If you are not a subcriber, you can: -- buy access to this page: unlimited access for seven days costs 3.00 EUR + VAT (at 19.6%) if applicable. Clicking on the "Ok" button below will place the item in your shopping cart and return you to our home page, where you will be able to select additional stories. -- select additional stories and services from our home page and pay for them at the same time. -- see your shopping cart. You can also see the contents of your shopping cart at any time by clicking on the "Order" tab on the navigation bar at the top of any page, or by clicking on the "Your order" light blue link in the top right-hand corner of our home page, immediately under the log-on box. Posted Thursday, April 26, 2018 6:16 pm Multiple fire crews responded to Affordable Towing, 4750 S. Scenic Ave., Bolivar, at around 5 p.m. Thursday to battle a blaze that engulfed multiple salvage vehicles. Black smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away. Central Polk County Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Chris Mumm said 12 vehicles total caught on fire. The fire sparked when staff members were moving scrap vehicles onto a trailer, Affordable Towing General Manager Christie Engle said on scene. Mumm said as staff prepped the vehicles for the crusher, a battery left in one vehicle shorted out, giving off sparks and igniting the vehicle. Engle said fire is always a danger when dealing with gasoline and batteries left in salvage vehicles. Because Affordable's staff drained the petroleum fluids from all of the vehicles involved, Mumm said fire crews did not have to clean any hazardous spills on scene. Mumm confirmed that no one was hurt in the fire and that no buildings were involved. "It could have easily spread to buildings on the property," Mumm said. "Everyone's quick response time was a huge factor in successfully stopping that from happening." Crews used around 14,000 gallons of water on scene, he said. They also incorporated the use of a dump tank, which allows firefighters to "dump the tenders out into the tank then use a hard suction line leading into the engine," providing water to hoses at a faster pace, Mumm said. Bolivar City Fire Department and Morrisville and Pleasant Hope fire protection districts provided mutual aid, Mumm said. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was also on the scene, assisting with the closure of South Scenic Avenue. Peter Zahn (Courtsy ) The Solana Beach City Council unanimously appointed former member Peter Zahn on Wednesday, April 25, to fill the seat left vacant by the sudden resignation of Mayor Ginger Marshall on April 5. A practicing attorney for 35 years, Zahn was elected to his first term on the council in 2012 and chose not to run again in 2016. During his term, he was active in a number of issues that still face the council, and he helped lay the groundwork for the citys community choice energy program thats being rolled out this year, the first in San Diego County. Solana Beach appoints a different member of the council as mayor each year. Deputy Mayor David Zito has chaired the meetings since Marshalls resignation, and will continue until another mayor is appointed. Zahn was one of 10 confirmed eligible applicants for the vacant council seat. Two other applicants were confirmed but withdrew before the meeting, and another who applied was not confirmed. A third confirmed applicant, Richard Hendlin, who served on the first Solana Beach City Council in 1986, withdrew his name Wednesday night in favor of Zahn. He will be able to walk in, sit down in the chair, and be immediately familiar with all that you have to be familiar with, Hendlin said. All four council members agreed, and Zahn was sworn in and seated to participate in the rest of Wednesdays meeting. Mr. Zahn has continued to stay engaged (in city activities), and his experience as an attorney will serve this council well at this particular time, said Councilwoman Jewel Edson. Marshall, who served less than one full term, was appointed to the council after she and incumbent Mike Nichols were unopposed in 2014. The city did not hold a council election that year. Hers was the second unexpected resignation from the council in less than a month, and she offered no public explanation for her decision. Nichols resigned effective March 12 in a letter submitted a day earlier, citing a need to spend more time with his family. Lesa Heebner, who stepped down in 2016 after three four-year terms on the council, was unanimously appointed at the councils April 11 meeting to fill the remaining months of Nichols term. She was sworn in and seated the same night, and participated in the rest of the evenings meeting. All the applicants for the appointments agreed not to seek re-election in November. Joe Kellejian, who stepped aside in 2012 after 20 years on the council, was a leading candidate for one of the appointments, and his long service was praised by several speakers. In all, five applicants including Heebner and Zahn were former council members. The fifth, David Powell, served a single term on the council from 2002 to 2006. Council members thanked all the applicants and encouraged them to continue their participation in city service. Solana Beach is the second-smallest incorporated city in San Diego County, with fewer than 13,500 residents. Its neighbor, Del Mar, has about 4,400 residents. --Phil Diehl is a writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview By competing to dominate robots, e-cars and other tech sectors, the U.S. and China appear to be on a collision course. By JOSH BOAK and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writers WASHINGTON When Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leads a delegation of American officials to Beijing next week, few analysts expect them to defuse a smoldering trade conflict with China. Rather, the likeliest outcome is a more modest one: That the talks could produce a delay in the series of damaging import tariffs the two nations have threatened to impose on each other's goods. . . . Subscriber content preview In Louisiana, some state officials want to stop doing business with Citigroup and Bank of America because of their firearm policies. By MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. Louisiana's plans to finance about $600 million in interstate projects got tangled up Thursday in a dispute over moves by two banking giants to restrict gun sales by their business customers. The State Bond Commission, which regulates the roadwork financing plans, disagreed about how and if Louisiana should retaliate against Citigroup and Bank of America for their firearm restriction policies. . . . Subscriber content preview SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A U.S. appeals court says employees at Native American casinos can receive protection under a federal labor law. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Thursday that federal officials reasonably concluded that the National Labor Relations Act applies to tribal employers. The judges said the law does not violate tribes' right to self-government. . . . Subscriber content preview CENTRALIA (AP) A company that treats medical waste from Washington, Oregon and Idaho has been fined for a series of improper releases of polluted wastewater. The Chronicle newspaper of Centralia reports that Washington's Department of Ecology fined Stericycle Inc. $72,000 for the pollution from its medical waste processing plant in the southwestern Washington city of Morton. . . . Subscriber content preview By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer For Microsoft, Windows is no longer a core business so much as a complement to the company's other offerings. The company still makes money from Windows, the computer operating system that helped catapult the Microsoft brand to success more than three decades ago. But Windows' share of the business has shrunk. . . . Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 6:45 am Returned Peace Corps volunteers from around Missouri and the U.S. joined together at Bolivars Dunnegan Memorial Park and Greenwood Cemetery on Sunday, April 22, to honor David Crozier. Crozier died in a plane crash April 22, 1962, in Colombia, South America, alongside fellow volunteer Larry Radley. The pair were the first Peace Corps volunteers worldwide to die in service. Assigned to the first group of volunteers headed to Colombia, Crozier arrived in the country in September 1961. He was stationed in Jardin, working as a community development assistant. Crozier and Radley were returning from the Easter holidays when the plane they were on crashed into a mountain in the Choco jungle on April 22, 1962. Their bodies were never recovered. Sunday's event was the first time Crozier had been honored in his home state of Missouri. Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 3:30 am With Kimberly Lightwines trial set for next month, it appears a plea deal may be in the works. According to online court records, a plea hearing has been set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Benton County Courthouse in Warsaw. Earlier this month, subpeonas had been served to potential witnesses for the previously scheduled bench trial set to begin May 15 with 30th Circuit Court Judge Michael OBrien Hendrickson presiding. In an April 4 hearing, Lightwine waived her right to a jury trial. In the same hearing, Hendrickson sustained changes to Lightwines bond conditions. The court no longer requires weekly drug testing for Lightwine, who has remained drug free since fall 2016, online records said. In February, Lightwines attorney, Jason Coatney, withdrew his motion to suppress his clients videotaped confession to Polk County Sheriffs Office investigators after she was found in a field near Morrisville on Aug. 29, 2016, alongside her 19-year-old son, Austin Anderson, who had died from dehydration, exposure to the elements and lack of vital medication, according to autopsy results. Lightwine, a former Polk County resident, was charged with class B felony second-degree elder abuse and class A felony second-degree murder in the death of Anderson, who was autistic and blind. While the world is rapid moving towards cleaner fuel, obsolete and outdated vehicle technologies continue to be shipped to developing countries through second-hand vehicle market. Thanks to regulatory loopholes, old vehicles make their way into developing and transitional markets, mainly in Africa, undermining the gains made in other areas of intervention, including air quality and fuel quality. by Subhojit Goswami & Lalit Maurya Status of used vehicles in Africa In absence of any no regional or global agreements to govern the flow of used vehicles, the continent is now getting flooded with polluting vehicles which are sometimes more than 10 years old. Only 10 countries in the continent ban used vehicles over 5 years. Regulations are weaker in 24 countries, including Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan., Benin and Democratic Republic of Congo, where government ban only those vehicles that are 10 years and over. Did you know? 1:131 ratio of new cars to used cars in Nigeria What is worse is the fact that countries such as Madagascar, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia are among do not even have any age restrictions in place for importing light duty vehicles (LDVs). In a continent comprising more than 50 countries, only Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and South Africa have completely banned import of used vehicles. Map shows the age restrictions in place for importing light duty vehicles (LDVs) in African countris (number of years), mouse mover over the map to see detail: Data Source: Eurostat Comext Database, Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau, and US International Trade Commission Main exporters Stringent emission standards in EU, US and other exporting countries make vehicle replacement more attractive. Used vehicle exporters offer better returns to used vehicle sellers in developing countries than the incentives offered for scrappage. Moreover, for importers, price is the key factor. This perpetuates the trend of importing the lowest-priced vehicles, which also means they are in the worst condition. Graph shows the majority of US and Japan used vehicle exports, over 85 per cent and 95 per cent respectively in 2013, were destined for West Africa Vehicle imports from Japan in 2015 Vehicle imports from US in 2014 In 2013, around 800,000 used cars were exported to the top ten sub-Saharan African importers from Japan, EU and the US. Japan, alone, exports used vehicles to at least 13 African countries via UAE. Top 10 Sub-Saharan African importers of used passenger vehicles from the US, Japan, and EU in 2013, mouse mover over the graph to see detail: Data Source: Eurostat Comext Database, Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau, and US International Trade Commission Did you know? In 2013, around 800,00 used cars were headed to the top ten sub-Saharan African importers from Japan, EU and US If we look at region-based demand for used vehicles, West Africa is clearly ahead of the rest as it imported 989,199 used cars in 2013, which is 71.7 per cent of total imported vehicles (1,786,162). Central Africa has contributed the least to this import business by importing only 65,754 vehicles. Interestingly, it is slightly higher than what Kenya, alone imported in 2013: 62,751. Added burden of polluting fuels The European companies are already exploiting weak fuel quality standards in African countries by exporting highly polluting "African Quality" fuels with sulphur levels hundred times higher than European limits. In 2016, Down To Earth had reported how these companies are deliberately lowering the quality of fuels to increase profit margin at the expense of Africans' health. When the fuel is burnt, the sulphur and other compounds are released into the atmosphere, contributing to respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma. The high-sulphur fuels also destroy emission-reducing technologies in vehicles. The sensors and filters in cars get damaged and they start belching smoke. Table shows the regulation of vehicle import in Africa Click on header to sort table or use search to find: Did you know? Only a quarter of countries have advanced fuels and vehicles standards, which can significantly reduce small particulate matter pollution, especially in cities. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, decided that from 1 January 2015 only low sulphur fuels would be allowed in their countries. If met by similar vehicles standards this would reduce vehicle emissions by over 90 per cent Did you know? Did you know? 712,000 Africans each year, more than the toll of unsafe water, malnutrition and unsafe sanitation. In September last year, researchers calculated the monetary cost of air pollution in Africa for the first time: $215 billion from outdoor pollution and $232 billion from indoor pollution (based on 2013 figures) Dirty air has led to the premature deaths ofAfricans each year, more than the toll of unsafe water, malnutrition and unsafe sanitation. In September last year, researchers calculated the monetary cost of air pollution in Africa for the first time:from outdoor pollution andfrom indoor pollution (based on 2013 figures) Map shows the Economic cost of premature deaths from air pollution, per country in Africa 2013, All values in USD Millions, mouse mover over the map to see detail: Data Source: The cost of air pollution in Africa, OECD, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation Did you know? Did you know? In Africa, human and economic costs of air pollution are surpassing the costs associated with unsafe sanitation or childhood malnutrition. Data Source: The cost of air pollution in Africa, OECD, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation Did you know? Did you know? Polluted air could be leading to 712,000 premature deaths every year, compared to 275,000 deaths due to malnutrition and 391,000 from unsafe sanitation. How do we arrest the flow of polluted vehicles? To fill the lacuna surrounding regulations on used vehicles, a global framework needs to be created where importing and exporting nations arrive at a consensus on whether restrictions on used vehicles should be based on age of the vehicle or vehicle emissions or a combination of the two. Importing countries need to protect consumers interest. To begin with, they can limit the age of used imported vehicles to two or three years. But limited available data on used vehicle flows and volumes will make the task challenging. Data Source: UN-DESA, Population Division (2014), World Urbanisation Prospects: The 2014 Revision, IHME 2015, Global Burden of Diseases Study 2013(GBD 2013) Eurostat Comext Database, Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau, and US International Trade Commission World Health Organisation (WHO) Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) The cost of air pollution in Africa, OECD Africa used vehicle report, UNEP, March 2018 The state of global air, 2017 The state of global air, 2017Ambient air pollution: A global assessment of exposure and burden of diseases Posted Thursday, April 26, 2018 8:30 pm The Bolivar R-1 School District found itself this week at the center of national headlines and public debate over religious speech in public schools following a recent high school assembly program presented by a self-described evangelist. At the center of the controversy is Bob Holmes a Boston native who markets himself via his websites as a school inspirational speaker, a one man volleyball team and an evangelist who allegedly went off script during a Feb. 20 Bolivar High School assembly that was supposed to focus on suicide, drug abuse and bullying prevention. The complaint A news release this week from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, in which the Wisconsin-based nonprofit claimed credit for barring a proselytizer from the R-1 district, sparked headlines Tuesday and Wednesday as far away as Seattle. The organization said it had lodged a formal complaint with the district on behalf of an unidentified concerned parent via its legal fellow Colin McNamara. According to a copy of McNamaras March 23 letter obtained by the BH-FP and addressed to R-1 superintendent Tony Berry, McNamara described the assembly as a constitutional violation. It is our understanding that during this assembly, which was ostensibly about bullying and suicide prevention, Mr. Holmes took several opportunities to preach his Christian faith to the captive audience, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior, and Im not ashamed to tell you that, McNamara wrote. He also recounted a story of a troubled teenager who turned her life around after accepting Jesus as her savior: Another girl was molested in 13 foster homes. And because she got forgiven by the Lord Jesus, she went to every one of her child molesters and said, I forgive you because I got forgiven by my wonderful savior. McNamaras letter also said Holmes allegedly invited students to a full-scale Christian revival the following week at Stockton High School, an event held in cooperation with Agape Baptist Church of Stockton. The event at Stockton High School was also advertised through flyers posted on the walls of the Bolivar High School, he wrote. In addition, McNamara said Holmes was accompanied by representatives of the Agape Baptist Church at the BHS assembly. It cited an Agape Facebook post from March 16. (The post) says the Lord allowed us (the church) to get into Bolivar High School, Stockton High School and Stockton Middle School through Bro. Holmes ministry to the public schools, he wrote. This same post refers to him as Evangelist Bob Holmes. McNamara also accused the district of failing to exercise due diligence. We are aware that many Christian missionaries insinuate themselves into public schools by camouflaging their purpose, he wrote. However, in the case of Bob Holmes, it would only require a cursory Google search to verify his proselytizing agenda. His own website refers to his work as a ministry and his official Facebook page is replete with references to his evangelism. As of Wednesday evening, Holmes website, referenced in the letter, offers the following description of his mission: The Lord gave me the burden to see if I could use the concept of being a one man team to enter into the public school arena with the gospel. The conclusion of the letter requested the district refrain from sponsoring inappropriate and unconstitutional assemblies moving forward, that it ensures that assemblies from outside groups or speakers do not contain an underlying proselytizing message or agenda and that offers specific assurances that Bob Holmes will not be invited to speak at any district schools in the future. R-1s response In an April 11 letter, Attorney Craig Heidemann responded on behalf of R-1 to the foundation. District personnel regret that, for a few moments, Mr. Holmes failed to confine his presentation at the assembly to the agreed upon topics of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and suicide prevention, Heidemann wrote. I have been assured by the superintendent that he will not be invited back for any future engagements. The district did not intentionally promote any improper religious speech at the school assembly in question and will continue to respect the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as well as the current jurisprudence interpreting same. In addition to Heidemanns response, the district provided the BH-FP with a copy of a letter it said Berry sent to district administrators barring Holmes from returning from the district. The copy of the letter dated April 4 indicated it had been sent via email April 20. Bob Holmes with one man volleyball team will no longer conduct programs with Bolivar R-1 Schools in accordance to Bolivar R-1 Board Policy INC, Berrys letter read. R-1 Communications Specialist Samantha Jacobson told the BH-FP Thursday morning that a very small percentage of (Holmes) remarks were unexpected, while the vast majority of the presentation was very appropriate and tied directly to the topics as expected. Jacobson said the Agape Baptist Church representatives who accompanied Holmes took no part in the assembly and did not address students. R-1 technology/communications director Brad Sterling told the BH-FP Wednesday the foundations complaint was the only one the district received regarding Holmes visit. In a Thursday afternoon interview, Berry said the incident may be being made into a bigger deal than it really is. But its also big to our community, he said. This is a faith-based community, and we all understand that. We also understand that this is nothing new. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been around for a good long time, and it clearly says that government agencies will neither endorse nor inhibit the creation of an established religion. We all understand that. Weve all been versed in that in our education. The thing that I probably want to get out in our faith-based community is that the teachings of a religion are not going to come from our staff. Thats not what we do. We are about educating the children. The teachings of a religion need to come from the family. However, Berry added just because we are teachers and we are not promoting that religion does not mean that we dont believe in it. We dont have to check our Christianity at the door and say we no longer believe when we walk in here, he said. We have our freedoms also, but we cannot discriminate and we dont want to discriminate. Our mission field is public education. If (children) witness something about our lives during that process, thats whats going on. Berry said he wants to offer assurances to the community that R-1 is inclusive. I want everyone in the Bolivar community to rest assured that every child is accepted at our school, he said. And our faith is a personal belief. If they want to know my personal belief, I would love to share that with them. But its not appropriate for me to do that at a school. As always, our intent is to not alienate any students, Jacobson said. According to emails obtained by the BH-FP, BHS principal David Geurin was approached via email in October by Agape Baptist Church Youth Pastor Tim Martin, who suggested the district bring in Holmes. The email included a YouTube link to a video showing Holmes singlehandedly defeating multiple high-profile teams. The video does not include Holmes speaking on any topics other than volleyball. Invoices obtained by the BH-FP show the district paid Holmes $800 for his presentation. According to the districts policy, The board, superintendent, principals or teachers may invite speakers from outside the district. The content of the speech is limited to the purpose of the forum and the specific topic or theme the speaker was directed to address, the policy reads. Outside speakers may be required to submit a copy of their presentation for the purpose of determining whether it meets the intended purpose of the event and otherwise satisfies the rules established in this policy. Berry confirmed the district did not review Holmes script prior to the assembly. We were told this was going to be an anti-bullying, anti-suicide speech, and I would say that even 99 percent of it was, Berry said, noting that a script review would not help if a speaker goes ad-lib or off the script. The policy also states building administrators are responsible for approving and monitoring the use of outside speakers in their buildings and may revoke an invitation or stop a presentation if the speaker is in violation of this policy or for any legal reason. Assistant Superintendent T.C. Wall said Thursday an administrator did not stop the presentation in this case because the violation was very brief. There were two comments that were made within the whole scope of that presentation, she said. Sterling said the situation has been a learning experience. Berry said the district will be making one change. We are going to ask for speakers to sign a memorandum of understanding, Berry said. But its nothing new. It just outlines our sitting board policies and our requirements. Otherwise, Berry said he doesnt think that there is anything different to do. We have a board policy, he said. We have clear outlines of what our expectations are. Berry also pointed out that Stockton Schools also received a formal complaint from the foundation. Berry said he has a message for the foundation which lodged the complaint: I would like to tell them dont get involved with our community. If there are things we need to address, we are going to do that, but by no means is that a reflection upon our personal faith and our personal beliefs, and we are not going to inhibit those. ... They think they are going to try to dictate what we are going to do in Bolivar, Missouri, and the fact of it is they dont need to. We have been given walking orders from the Constitution of the United States. Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 7:15 am Two Bolivar residents were injured in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of North Main Avenue and East Locust Street at around 10:50 a.m. Sunday, April 22. According to a Bolivar Police Department news release, Dawn Steinman, 47, of Bolivar was driving her 2015 Honda Civic east on East Locust Street. As she attempted to cross North Main Avenue, she was struck by Ashlee Hancock, 22, of Bolivar, who was northbound on Main in her 2007 Chevrolet Impala. Witnesses told police that Steinman did stop at the stop sign but tried to cross Main Avenue in front of Hancock, resulting in the crash, the release said. Steinman and Hancock were taken by ambulance to Citizens Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries suffered as a result of this crash. Both vehicles were towed from the scene by B & B Wrecker of Bolivar due to disabling damage. The crash was investigated by Officer T. Hamp. Could not establish database connection. DB: bostonimc and SQL: --> The administrator has been notified and will resolve the problem ASAP. Achievement School Districts are a recent phenomenon in the corporate education reform movement. These school districts are designed to guarantee rapid improvement in the states low performing schools, although specific methods, techniques and strategies to accomplish this goal are rarely mentioned. ASDs have sprung up all across the nation, under various names and guises, from the Education Achievement Authority in Detroit, to the Recovery School District in New Orleans, to Achievement School Districts in Tennessee and Nevadaand Georgia and North Carolina have recently announced plans to form their own ASDs. These experimental school systems usually target the bottom 5% of low-performing schools in a state or region for governmental takeover, with the promise of quickly improving student learning. The one thing all of these experiments have in common is that theyve been crashing failures. In spite of incredible amounts of publicity, spin and hoopla, not one of these educational petri dishes has resulted in any appreciable improvement in student learning, accountability, or curricular reform. In Tennessee, audits of the ASD uncovered problems in the way that federal dollars were handled and the way payments were being processed. In a related story, Chris Barbic, the founding superintendent of the TNASD, recently announced his resignation. In a disturbingly similar development, Detroits EAA manager, John Covington, resigned from his position after less than 2 years of service amidst heated criticism for high rates of student and teacher turnover, questionable spending on travel and expenses, problems with special education services and the use of a computer-based curriculum rather than traditional textbooks. And in New Orleans, despite former Gov. Bobby Jindals claims of miraculous improvements since the inception of the citys Recovery School District, recent research tells a very different story, with only 6 percent of high school seniors in the Recovery School District (scoring) high enough in English and Math to qualify for admission into a Louisiana four-year college or university straight out of high school. Five of the districts 16 high schools produced not a single student who met these requirements. An Achievement School District Primer How do you know if your state is considering creating an Achievement School District? Well, Achievement School Districts are characterized by several traits, none of which makes even the tiniest amount of sense in terms of helping to improve student learning or teaching quality: School Funding Individual ASD schools are often required to pay a kickback or tax to the state ASD authority for the privilege of being identified as a low performing school. In Nevada, ASD schools receive the same state and local per-pupil resources that they would have received as part of their original home district. This includes local, state, and federal funding. As with other charter school sponsors, the ASD will receive a small administrative fee from each school it authorizes. (bold added) In other words, in spite of the probability that an ASD school has been chronically underfunded for years, perhaps decades, the state will now take its own cut from whatever local, state and federal funding the school may be receiving for administrative overhead, further decreasing the actual number of dollars that are going to classrooms, teachers and children. Local Control Local control, long recognized as a hallmark of public education, is a dinosaur in ASDs. In Detroit, the locally-elected school board still meets, but has essentially been stripped of all power and authority. The members of the elected school board refer to themselves as being exiled, and the newly elected state superintendent of schools has called on the governor and state legislators to return control of the Detroit Public Schools to the local school board, saying, I believe we ought to have a Detroit school district for the Detroit community. Instead, Gov. Rick Snyder implemented a radical plan to split the citys schools into two districts: one to educate children, and the other devoted to addressing the districts debt problem. Transparency Even though it is often trumpeted as an integral aspect of effective school governance, very few ASDs follow their own propaganda when it comes to transparency in reporting. Detroits EAA is an especially notorious offender in this respect, making claims that do not stand even the faintest amounts of scrutiny. According to Wayne State professor of education Thomas Pedroni, the EAAs internal data directly contradicts their MEAP data. Even Scantron, the maker of the internal assessment, would not stand behind the EAAs growth claims. And Veronica Conforme, the current EAA Chancellor, removed all the dishonest growth claims from their advertising and their website, and told me personally she doesnt give them credence for the purpose the EAA used them for. For more from Dr. Pedroni on the EAAs specious relationship with transparency, see this, and this. Punitive vs. Educative Methods Many ASD charters include language regarding the possible consequences if schools do not meet adequate yearly progress goals, such as: Operators of ASD schools that do not demonstrate meaningful improvement will be held accountable pursuant to policies set by the ASD. Indeed, school closings have become a prominent tool in the school reform playbook: Washington, D.C. closed 23 buildings in 2008. Officials are currently considering another 15 closures. New York City closed more than 140 schools since 2002; leaders recently announced plans to shutter 17 more, beginning in 2013-14. Chicago closed 40-plus buildings in the early 2000s. The district recently released a list of 129 schools to be considered for closure. This approach follows guidelines first established in the No Child Left Behind legislation, which stipulate draconian changes for any school that fails to meet yearly progress within five years: Reopening the school as a charter school; Replacing all or most of school staff; Turning over the school operations to the state or to a private company with a demonstrated record of effectiveness; or Other major governance restructuring. This thinking represents a sea change in terms of strategy with respect to schooling and education policy. Never in our nations history have we taken a punitive approach rather than an educative approach when schools or children have struggled with demonstrating expected levels of progress. When students experience difficulties in learning we respond by providing remediation, extra tutoring, or alternative teaching strategieswe dont kick them out of school. By the same token, when under-funded and under-resourced public schools do not show adequate yearly progress, our response should be to find out why these schools are struggling, and provide them with the materials and support they need to improvenot for the charter management companies that run these schools to walk away before the end of the school year, forcing families to scramble to get their kids placed into public schools with little notice and no assistance. Public education is far too important to treat it like a science experiment, with fuzzy methodology and uncertain results. Our children deserve schools that are adequately funded, controlled by locally elected school boards made up of persons with ties to the community and a vested interest in the success of their schools, transparency in reporting of school finances and learning outcomes, and that are founded and administrated with educative goals in mind, not punitive ones. Its time to demand the return of our schools and our children from Achievement School Districts and the forces of school privatization. Education is not a business, and our children arent widgets. 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One of the most spectacular of those formations is not so well known except by the MOzarkians who live nearby. It To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. By Reuters , April 26, 2018 ANKARA (Reuters) - Irans supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to bullying, state television reported on Thursday. The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist... All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook By The Sun , April 27, 2018 At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace on the peninsula. The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease "hostile acts," turn their fortified border into a "peace zone," and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. In his first ever press conference in front of the world's media Kim Jong-un said:We are one nation we cannot be separated. We share the same blood. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook By Dan Bacher | April 27, 2018 | My long series of articles investigating the power of Big Oil in California, including my coverage of the passage last year of Jerry Browns legislation extending Californias cap-and-trade program past 2020, began at the Annual Legislative Fisheries Forum at the State Capitol in March of 2009. As I listened to testimony from the public about the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative to create marine protected areas in California, my ears perked up when John Lewallen, an author, longtime North Coast environmental leader and seaweed harvester, complained that an oil industry lobbyist was strategically placed on the panel overseeing the creation of marine protected areas. I was stunned. After he spoke, I asked Lewallen, a Mendocino County resident, Whats the lobbyist's name? He told me, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the chief operating officer and chief of staff of the Western States Petroleum Association. Look it up on the DFG website. I looked up her name and saw that she was on the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the North Central Coast, as well as for the South Coast. I was appalled by the fact that an oil industry representative with such an enormous conflict of interest was on a task force to protect the ocean, along with a coastal real estate developer, marina corporation executive and others with big conflicts of interests. As it turned out, several months later Reheis-Boyd became the President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and around the same time became the Chair of the MLPA Initiative South Coast panel after the previous chair left. While state officials and corporate environmental NGO leaders touted the process as open, transparent and inclusive and saw no problem with having an oil industry lobbyist at the helm of marine protection in California, Tribal leaders, fishermen, grassroots environmentalists, and public trust advocates criticized state officials for allowing an oil industry official and others with conflicts of interests to oversee a process tasked with creating marine protected areas. The worst fears of MLPA Initiative critics were realized in December 2012 when the Brown administration completed a series of marine protected areas on the California Coast that fail to protect the ocean from oil drilling, fracking, oil spills, pollution, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than sustainable fishing and gathering. Then in August 2013, an Associated Press and FOIA investigation revealed that the oil industry had conducted over 203 fracking operations in waters off the California coast during a 20 year period, including the period from 2004 to 2012 that Reheis-Boyd had served on the MLPA task forces for the South Coast, Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast. Since that time, I have written many articles documenting the power of Big Oil and WSPA on this website and elsewhere. I've found that the state's appointment of oil and energy officials, as well as Big Ag interests, to serve on the state's regulatory panels and agencies has increased dramatically in recent years under the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brown administrations. Governor Browns oil and gas regulators approved 238 new offshore wells Then in February 2017, an analysis of Department of Conservation data by the Fracktracker Alliance revealed that Governor Jerry Browns oil and gas regulators approved 238 new offshore oil wells in state waters under existing leases off Los Angeles and Ventura counties from 2012 to 2016, an increase of 17 percent. Roughly 171 of them were still active as of a year ago. In addition, the number of active onshore oil and gas wells has jumped 23 percent from 53,825 in 2009, the year before Brown was elected Governor, to 66,516 onshore wells at the end of 2016, according to Department of Conservation data. The number of wells drilled and completed in 2014 alone jumped by 67 percent over 2011 to 6,896 from 4,636 on Governor Browns watch. The FracTacker Alliance report is available here: https://www.fractracker.org/2017/02/more-offshore-drilling-ca/ More recently, state records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity under the California Public Records Act revealed that corporations drilling for oil and gas off the southern coast of California have violated state regulations at least 381 times since 2015. The violations range from major corrosion and other serious safety threats on offshore drilling platforms to a pattern of missing and failed well-integrity tests on four offshore drilling islands owned by the city of Long Beach, the Center said. While California officials tout themselves as leaders in marine protection, the reality in the states coastal waters is one of fossil fuel expansion and rampant violations of environmental laws by the fossil fuel industry. Western States Petroleum Association supports cap-and-trade Now nine years after I attended that legislative forum, it is no surprise that Reheis-Boyd's organization, WSPA, also strongly backed Governor Jerry Browns cap and trade bill, heralded by California politicians as landmark legislation curbing climate change. WSPA and the oil industry collaborated with the Brown administration to craft language that was incorporated into Assembly Bill 398, brokered by Brown to extend Californias cap-and-trade program to 2020. www.dailykos.com/... On June 28, 2017, In These Times revealed that leaked documents show that the Brown administration was promoting a cap-and-trade measure, not then yet a bill, laden with talking points that appear to be ripped near verbatim from a policy paper by the states influential oil and gas lobby. ( inthesetimes.com/... On July 10, Governor Jerry Brown, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced a legislative package that the Governors Office said would launch a landmark program to measure and combat air pollution at the neighborhood level in communities most impacted and extend and improve the states world-leading cap-and-trade program to ensure California continues to meet its ambitious climate change goals. The Legislature is taking action to curb climate change and protect vulnerable communities from industrial poisons, said Governor Brown. The bill was opposed by many environmental justice, consumer and conservation groups, although supported by some NGOs, including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the California League of Conservation Voters and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer. Consumer and environmental justice groups opposed AB 398 Consumer Watchdog and Food & Water Watch disagreed with Browns contention that the legislation would curb climate change and protect vulnerable communities from industrial poisons. They opposed Assembly Bill 398, calling it a massive giveaway of billions of dollars to the oil and gas industry that fails to rein in one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in California. Both organizations called on state legislators to defeat the cap and trade bill, a measure that passed through the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on Thursday, July 13, and went to the Senate Floor on Monday, July 17. "Jerry Brown calls climate change an existential threat, but this bill is a sell out to the oil and gas industry that does nothing to avert that threat, said consumer advocate Liza Tucker of Consumer Watchdog at the time. Brown and lawmakers who support this bill will be helping the oil and gas industry continue to pollute rather than slash their emissions." Tucker said AB 398 creates several exemptions for the oil and gas industry and fossil fuel power plants from air pollution regulation by giving the Air Resources Board (ARB) total authority over their emissions. It then straightjackets ARBs oversight by requiring it to regulate only via cap-and-trade, prohibiting it from crafting meaningful greenhouse gas reduction goals," she stated. Governor Brown is once again favoring the oil and gas industry, giving it a pass to pollute for another decade, said Adam Scow, California director at Food & Water Watch. Legislators who care about public health and Californias future must reject this bill and instead demand polluters make real emissions reductions at the source. Tucker and Scow said that the oil and gas sector would see immediate benefit in the form of reduced regulation. The legislation pre-empts local air quality districts that regulate the biggest oil refineries in the state, preventing them from setting stricter emissions limits that polluters would have to meet. In addition, the legislation makes the cap-and-trade program, which relies on the issuance and sale of emissions allowances, even more favorable to the oil and gas industry. The program would keep carbon emissions cheap by continuing to give hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free pollution credits to the oil and gas industry," they said. The legislation also exempts the electric power industry from state taxes. They said the lost state taxes will be made up for with cap-and-trade revenue that would go into the general fund. That cap-and-trade revenue then will not be available to fund pollution monitoring or reduction programs, Tucker and Scow concluded. The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) also strongly opposed AB 398. California has some of the dirtiest air in the nation and environmental justice communities need stronger provisions to address our climate and air quality crisis, the group said in an action alert. However, AB 398 includes a horrible give away to Big Oil that ties the hands of our local and state regulatory authorities, preventing the Air Resources Board from enacting critical regulations that cut greenhouse gases directly at the source. It undermines instead of enables our state's ability to meet our 2030 targets under SB 32 and in essence overturns AB 197. CEJA Co-Director Amy Vanderwarker said in opposition to #AB398 : "It does not get us to the real rapid emissions reductions our communities need." Despite the massive opposition to the bill, the oil industry and Jerry Brown were able to pressure the legislators, including some Republicans, to pass AB 398. The bill passed 55 to 21 in the Assembly and 28 to 12 in the Senate and the Governor quickly signed the legislation into law. Background: Big Oil Regulatory Capture in California So how did a big oil lobbyist come to chair a marine protection panel in Southern California from 2009 to 2012 and how was the organization she oversees able to effectively write Governor Jerry Browns historic cap-and-trade legislation and then make sure that it passed through the California Legislature? The answer is two words: regulatory capture. In spite of California's reputation as a "green leader, Big Oil is the largest corporate lobby in the state and exerts enormous influence over the Governor's Office, Legislature and regulatory agencies. The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the most powerful corporate lobbying organization in California, and its members have contributed $170 million to California political campaigns since 2001, according to a data analysis from MapLight released on February 14. WSPA is the trade association for oil industry interests in the western states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. WSPA members include multinational oil corporations such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Valero and the Plains All American Pipeline Company, the corporation responsible for the Refugio Beach Oil Spill of 2017. WSPA and its members have contributed more than $112 million to ballot measure campaigns, $8 million to state candidates, and $50 million to other California political action committees and party committees, according to the MapLight analysis of data from the California Secretary of State compiled by Laura Curlin and Ashleigh McEvoy. Chevron tops the list of political donors from WSPAs membership, contributing $89 million overall since 2001, the first year in which online data is available, Maplight reported. Aera Energy has contributed the second most at roughly $40 million, and Valero is third at $13 million. The report documents all of the California legislators who have received campaign contributions from the oil industry since 2001. You can explore data on the campaign contributions from WSPA members - including contributions from each organization, top recipients serving in the California State Legislature, and contribution patterns over time by going to: maplight.org/ While the amount of money individual legislators have received from WSPA members is alarming, they pale in comparison to the $9.8 million from oil companies, gas companies and utilities that climate leader Governor Jerry Brown has received since he ran for his third term as governor, according to Consumer Watchdog. For more information on Governor Brown and his so-called "green" policies, see: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/2017-09/how_green_is_brown.pdf In addition to pouring millions into campaigns, WSPA augments its political influence with a massive lobbying presence in Sacramento, topping the list of lobbyist spending in California in the third quarter of 2017, according to Maplight. Big Oil dominated three out of the four top spots of expenditures by all lobbying organizations in 2017, the year that the oil industry-written AB 398 passed through the Legislature, according to documents from the California Secretary of States Office that I analyzed. Outspending all of their competition, Chevron placed first with $8.2 million and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the trade association for the oil industry in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona, placed second $6.2 million. Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company finished fourth with $3.2 million. You can find the information on spending by employers of lobbyists here: cal-access.sos.ca.gov/ Thats a total of $17.6 million dumped into lobbying by the three top oil industry lobbying organizations alone. That figure exceeds the $14,577,314 expended by all 16 oil lobby organizations in 2016. Big Oil has become so powerful in California, in spite of the states green image, that every bill except one opposed by the oil industry has failed to make it out of the legislature over the past three years. 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Disabilities Gay / Lesbian Hispanic Mens Interests Native American Senior Citizens Social Services Teen Issues/Interests Womens Interest Software General Sports Baseball Basketball Bicycling Boating / Maritime Bowling Boxing Fishing Football Golf Hockey Hunting Martial Arts Outdoors Rugby Soccer Tennis Water Winter/Snow Sports/Fitness General Stocks General Supermarkets General Technology Biotechnology Computer Electronics Enterprise Software Games Graphics/Printing/CAD Hardware / Peripherals Industrial Information Internet Multimedia Networking Public Sector/Government Robotics Semiconductor Software Telecommunications Webmasters Telecom General Wireless Television General Tobacco General Trade General Transportation General Travel General Utilities General Volunteer Volunteer Weather Weather Here is the latest jail booking report from Hamilton County: ARNOLD, MARTREL DEWAYNE 608 NORTH PARKDALE CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 32 years old Arresting Agency: Hamilton County RACKETEERING ENTERPRISE RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY FIRST DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER --- BARNES, VIOLA LAVERNE 6579 GLEN COVE ROAD OOLTEWAH, 37363 Age at Arrest: 61 years old Arresting Agency: Hamilton County CONTEMPT OF COURT (NON SUPPORT) --- BATES, TINIKIA LASHELLE 815 GREENWOOD RD CHATTANOOGA, 374111308 Age at Arrest: 45 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga ALTERING, FALSIFYING OR FORGING EVIDENCES OF TITLE DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE --- BENFORD, SAMIRA MONIK 2808 TARA CT CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 22 years old Arresting Agency: THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) UND --- BOWLING, QUADARIUS DEONTE 4016 6TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407 Age at Arrest: 23 years old Arresting Agency: Chatt. Housing AuthorityFAILURE TO APPEARRACKETEERING ENTERPRISERACKETEERING CONSPIRACY---BROWN, JEFFREY4000 LARA LN APT C CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyAGGRAVATED ASSAULT---BURNS, RICKY WINSTON7626 ASHERTON LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeTHEFT OF PROPERTY-UNDER 1000THEFT OF PROPERTY UNDER 1000THEFT OF PROPERTY-UNDER 1000---CANTRELL, KRISTINA DIANE129 S POPE ST GRAYSVILLE, 37338Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency:THEFT UNDER $1,000---CARROLL, SARA PATRICIA2801 NEW JERSEY AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFTA/COMPLY ORDER EVADING ARREST---CASH, BRITNEE ELIZABETH1703 GANASITA TRAIL CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE)---COBOS, CLAUDIA VERONICA12 AVE N PASADENA, 50477Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDISORDERLY CONDUCT---COLEMAN, TIMOTHY GRANT2540 OVERHEAD BRIDGE CLEVLEAND, 00000Age at Arrest: 61 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---DAVIS, NATHAN CLEON117 HOOK STREET DUNLAP, 37343Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (OBTAINING CONTROLLED SUBST---DAVIS, WILLIAM LEE315 YOUNG DRIVE SWEET WATER, 37874Age at Arrest: 39 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---DEFRIESE, KIMBERLY PAIGE7326 SAWYER PIKE SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, 37377Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)---DOW, SHALEY DAWN8658 DAISY DALLAS ROAD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT---GANDARILLA, OSCAR RAFAEL706 W DUG GAP MOUNTAIN RD DALTON, 30720Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountySPEEDINGEVADING ARRESTRECKLESS DRIVINGDRIVING LEFT OF CENTER LINEFAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANEAGGRAVATED ASSAULTTRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNALS VIOLATION---GRAY, DANA MARIE2701 CORRAL RD SIGNAL MTN, 37377Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---GREENE, DAVID JAMES4211 MELINDA DR CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 56 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE---HAMMERS, SHELBY LASHA1670 JED LANE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency:THEFT OF PROPERTY---HARDEN, JAMES RAY428 OLD CHATTANOOGA PIKE SW CLEVELAND, 37311Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED ROBBERY---HARTMAN, MATTHEW ALAN86 MIDWAY AVE ROSSVILLE, 30741Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULTVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF---HENDERSON, MICHAEL DON9817 COLONY PARK LANE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT---HENSON, KEITH HOUSTON138 HINTON LN RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgePOSSESSION OF FOR RESALE---HERNANDEZ, CARLOS DANIEL816 TOMMY LANE CHATTANOOGA,Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAPOSSESSING A FIREARM WITH INTENT TO GO ARMED---HIGH, TSHOMBE KHARI3711 ROGERS ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECTDOMESTIC ASSAULTCRIMINAL IMPERSONATION---HOUSTON, ROBERT LOUIS5306 MEADOWBROOK LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 42 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFELONY RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT---HUDSON, JAYLON DEWAYNE724 HARGRAVES AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 19 years oldArresting Agency:THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) UND---HUNDLEY, JASON LEE6513 SHIRLEY POND ROAD HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyEVADING ARRESTVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSS OF DRUG PARAPHERNALI---LEFFEW, SABRINA JEAN15920 POOLE RD SALE CREEK, 37373Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT---LEONARD, DREW DILLON69 MILL LN RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCRIMINAL SIMULATIONTHEFT OF PROPERTY---LOPEZ, LOUIE DIAZ2418 MAYVIEW HOUSTON, 77091Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDRIVING WITHOUT DRIVERS LICENSE / EXPIRED LICENSEDOMESTIC ASSAULTPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA---LOVELACE, JESSICA K7734 MONGER LANE OOLETEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---LOWE, DENNIE CORDUS2116 CITICO AVE APT B CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 48 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT---LOWRY, ANTHONY DEWAYNE836 COUNTY ROAD 140 VALLEYHEAD, 35989Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgePOSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE---MALONE, KANE JAQUES1664 GREENDALE WAY HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (CRIMINAL TRESPASSING)---MASTERS, KAITLYNN ELIZABETH3408 FLEETA LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (DOMESTIC ASSAULT)VIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SU---MCCORMICK, DYLAN ANDREW2462 HICKORY VALLEY ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)---MCCOY, SEAN DESANTIS773 HOLIDAY HILL CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 46 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTY---MCGILL, RHIANNA ALAYNE1907 MOWBRAY PIKE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: Soddy DaisyCRIMINAL TRESPASSING---MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN ALLEN5100 DELASHMITT RD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 50 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT---MENIFEE, TAVARAS DEMETRIUS2905 5TH AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgePOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE (POSSESSION OFPOSSESSION OF HEROIN FOR RESALE---MOLINA, CRISTIAN GERSON9092 EMERYWOOD TRAIL OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---MORRISON, DAVID SHANE3331 CEDAR GLEN CIR EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 49 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAINING OR---MOSS, MALIK LAMAR2601 KOBLENTZ CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 374062533Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT---MYLES, RESHEEM RESHAWN265 W 37TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaSTOP SIGN VIOLATIONNO PROOF OF INSURANCEDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE---PAREDES, STEVEN MICHAEL12155 BACK VALLEY RD SODDY DAISEY, 37379Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: Soddy DaisyDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE---PARKS, KEJUAN JERMAINE3712 MCCOOL DR CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE---POYTHRESS, KRISTINA BLAIR6663 SANDWOOD CIR HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF IDENTITYTHEFT OF IDENTITYTHEFT OF IDENTITYTHEFT OF PROPERTYBURGLARY OF AUTO---POYTHRESS, MATTHEW HENRY5312 BENNETT RD EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBURGLARYTHEFT OF PROPERTYTHEFT OF IDENTITYTHEFT OF IDENTITYTHEFT OF IDENTITY---ROCKHOLT, CHASTITY MARIE712 SUMMITT AVE EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaFAILURE TO YIELD RIGHT-OF-WAYSTOP SIGN VIOLATIONFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYDRIVING WITHOUT DRIVERS LICENSE / EXPIRED LICENSEDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEDRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CARE---ROUSH, DONALD LEE3311 GLEASON CIR CHATTANOOGA, 37412Age at Arrest: 44 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED ROBBERY---SCHAFER, SEAN ALLEN3940 GRACE AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTY---SLOMAN, JEREMY BRUCE1949 NORTH POINT BLVD HIXSON, 37323Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF---SMITH, CORTERRIUS DOMINIQUE713 DODSON AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374041517Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT---SMITH, DEJUAN SHAQUILLE5075 OOLTEWAH RINGGOLD RD OOLTEWAH, 373635637Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankCONTROLLED SUBSTANCES SCHEDULE IV---SMITH, REBECCA LEE3106 MASON DR EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeCONTEMPT OF COURT NON SUPPORT---STAMPER, JAMES ALLEN3606 CENTRAL AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 38 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF COCAINE FORVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHE---STOUT, EDWIN GRANT6116 CHAMPION RD CHATTANOOGA, 374161407Age at Arrest: 58 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE---TACKETT, TIMOTHY FRANKLINHOMELESS ROSSVILLE, 30741Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeTHEFT OF PROPERTY---THOMPSON, SHAWN DYLAN1712 ST CLAIR WAY HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---TUCKER, TAHAN RAY5028 MOMOSA CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENTCHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENTCHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT---UPSHAW, DEJUAN LEBRON453 N WILLOW ST CHATTANOOGA, 374042229Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SVIOLATION OF PROBATION (RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRU---WARD, TIFFANY MARIE2010 STALEY AVE SAVAHANNA, 31313Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency:DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYFAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE---WELLS, MICHELLE RENEEHOMELESS CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 46 years oldArresting Agency:FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEFAILURE TO YIELD RIGHT OF WAYLIGHT LAW VIOLATION---WHITE, JOHN THOMAS1229 BIRMINGHAM HWY CHATTANOOGA, 37419Age at Arrest: 45 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---WICKLIFFE, JOSHLYN1234 CYPRESS ST CT CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency:POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE---WILLIAMS, MICHAEL CHRISTIAN709 SIGNAL MTN BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37377Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE---WILLIAMS, MONTEL EUGENE5208 WOODLAND VIEW CIR CHATTANOOGA, 374102157Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaFAILURE TO APPEARVIOLATION OF PROBATION (EVADING ARREST)---WILSON, BENJAMIN LEE154 CRYSTAL VIEW DR CLEVELAND, 37312Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SVIOLATION OF PROBATION (FAILURE TO APPEAR)---WOODS, KENTRELL D3611 3RD AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 18 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED ASSAULT Here are the mug shots: ARNOLD, MARTREL DEWAYNE Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 03/15/1986 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): RACKETEERING ENTERPRISE RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY FIRST DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER BARNES, VIOLA LAVERNE Age at Arrest: 61 Date of Birth: 08/24/1956 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): CONTEMPT OF COURT (NON SUPPORT) BENFORD, SAMIRA MONIK Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 10/09/1995 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) UND BROWN, JEFFREY Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 01/15/1996 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CANTRELL, KRISTINA DIANE Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 03/22/1993 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT UNDER $1,000 CARROLL, SARA PATRICIA Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 04/06/1989 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (UNAUTHORIZED USE OF AUTOMO COBOS, CLAUDIA VERONICA Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 03/07/1993 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DISORDERLY CONDUCT COLEMAN, TIMOTHY GRANT Age at Arrest: 61 Date of Birth: 02/15/1957 Arresting Agency: Collegedale Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) DAVIS, WILLIAM LEE Age at Arrest: 39 Date of Birth: 03/27/1979 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) DEFRIESE, KIMBERLY PAIGE Age at Arrest: 41 Date of Birth: 04/28/1976 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) DOW, SHALEY DAWN Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 07/18/1989 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT GANDARILLA, OSCAR RAFAEL Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 11/20/1981 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): SPEEDING EVADING ARREST RECKLESS DRIVING DRIVING LEFT OF CENTER LINE FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNALS VIOLATION GRAY, DANA MARIE Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 01/04/1989 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GREENE, DAVID JAMES Age at Arrest: 56 Date of Birth: 06/01/1961 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE HAMMERS, SHELBY LASHA Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 02/15/1998 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY HARTMAN, MATTHEW ALAN Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 04/10/1989 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF HENDERSON, MICHAEL DON Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 11/03/1983 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): CHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT HENSON, KEITH HOUSTON Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 02/18/1997 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF FOR RESALE HOUSTON, ROBERT LOUIS Age at Arrest: 42 Date of Birth: 05/15/1975 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): FELONY RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT HUDSON, JAYLON DEWAYNE Age at Arrest: 19 Date of Birth: 11/17/1998 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) UND HUNDLEY, JASON LEE Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 09/06/1977 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): EVADING ARREST VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSS OF DRUG PARAPHERNALI LEFFEW, SABRINA JEAN Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 08/28/1983 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT LEONARD, DREW DILLON Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 02/21/1989 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): CRIMINAL SIMULATION THEFT OF PROPERTY LOPEZ, LOUIE DIAZ Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 04/19/1990 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DRIVING WITHOUT DRIVERS LICENSE / EXPIRED LICENSE DOMESTIC ASSAULT POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA LOVELACE, JESSICA K Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 02/29/1992 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) LOWE, DENNIE CORDUS Age at Arrest: 48 Date of Birth: 11/04/1969 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT LOWRY, ANTHONY DEWAYNE Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 12/30/1981 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE MASTERS, KAITLYNN ELIZABETH Age at Arrest: 23 Date of Birth: 03/24/1995 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (DOMESTIC ASSAULT) VIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SU MCCORMICK, DYLAN ANDREW Age at Arrest: 27 Date of Birth: 05/07/1990 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) MCCOY, SEAN DESANTIS Age at Arrest: 46 Date of Birth: 12/03/1971 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY MCGILL, RHIANNA ALAYNE Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 12/20/1991 Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN ALLEN Age at Arrest: 50 Date of Birth: 07/22/1967 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT MORRISON, DAVID SHANE Age at Arrest: 49 Date of Birth: 06/08/1968 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAINING OR MOSS, MALIK LAMAR Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 07/02/1996 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT PAREDES, STEVEN MICHAEL Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 09/30/1983 Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE POYTHRESS, KRISTINA BLAIR Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 05/20/1985 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF IDENTITY THEFT OF IDENTITY THEFT OF IDENTITY THEFT OF PROPERTY BURGLARY OF AUTO POYTHRESS, MATTHEW HENRY Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 08/04/1984 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): BURGLARY THEFT OF PROPERTY THEFT OF IDENTITY THEFT OF IDENTITY THEFT OF IDENTITY ROCKHOLT, CHASTITY MARIE Age at Arrest: 27 Date of Birth: 11/25/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): FAILURE TO YIELD RIGHT-OF-WAY STOP SIGN VIOLATION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DRIVING WITHOUT DRIVERS LICENSE / EXPIRED LICENSE DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE DRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CARE SCHAFER, SEAN ALLEN Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 02/18/1986 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY SLOMAN, JEREMY BRUCE Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 11/14/1992 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF SMITH, CORTERRIUS DOMINIQUE Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 08/22/1996 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT STAMPER, JAMES ALLEN Age at Arrest: 38 Date of Birth: 11/02/1979 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF COCAINE FOR VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHE STOUT, EDWIN GRANT Age at Arrest: 58 Date of Birth: 02/10/1960 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE TACKETT, TIMOTHY FRANKLIN Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 10/04/1982 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY THOMPSON, SHAWN DYLAN Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 07/30/1986 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) TUCKER, TAHAN RAY Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 03/17/1985 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): CHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT CHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT CHILD SUPPORT NON PAYMENT WARD, TIFFANY MARIE Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 08/13/1988 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE WELLS, MICHELLE RENEE Age at Arrest: 46 Date of Birth: 04/24/1972 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE FAILURE TO YIELD RIGHT OF WAY LIGHT LAW VIOLATION WHITE, JOHN THOMAS Age at Arrest: 45 Date of Birth: 09/16/1972 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) WICKLIFFE, JOSHLYN Age at Arrest: 23 Date of Birth: 02/20/1995 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 04/26/2018 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE Southern Lit Alliance introduces Manifest Voices, a summer poetry session for teens. It will be for 12 teenagers seeking rhythm and self-expression, ages 13-18. The free eight-week summer poetry workshop for teens will offer a "fun, welcoming space for individual creative expression." The workshop culminates in a celebratory slam poetry night on July 29. The program is coordinated by spoken word artist Christian Collier. Workshops will be held Mondays, June 4-July 23, from 6-7 p.m. at the Arts Building, second floor, 301 E. 11th St. To submit an application or to read more about workshop leader Christian Collier, go to http://www.southernlitalliance.org/manifest-voices. Applications are due May 28. The Boynton Lions Club of Ringgold forwarded over 200 pairs of glasses to the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation for preparation for use by new users around the world. The glasses were donated by Catoosa residents and dropped off at locations such as Boynton and Ringgold United Methodist churches. The club meets the second Tuesday of each month at Boynton United Methodist Church fellowship hall at 6:30 p.m. Crisis arised between opposition party leaders in Turkey Republican People's Partys leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu who wants Good Partys leader Meral Aksener to back down from the presidential candidateship was met by refusal. The secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) and the far-right Good Party (IP) have been in intense political talks since last week among party officials, despite distant ideological stances, around an anti-Erdogan shared ground. Political circles in Ankara suggest that as the opposition has now failed to participate in the elections around a joint candidate for the first round of the elections on June 24. Despite of the 15 congressmen were resigned from CHP for Akseners candidateship, CHP leader Kilicdaroglu has demanded Aksener to back down from the presidential candidateship. Good Party leader Meral Aksener declared earlier this week that she would not pull out of the race. "As I have previously announced, I am the candidate of the Good Party with 100,000 signatures." said Aksener, following a meeting with CHP Chairman Kilicdaroglu in Ankara on Wednesday. North and South Korean leaders meet in summit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the countries on Friday. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. Kim became the first North Korean leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the 1950-53 Korean War. The two leaders walk along the red carpet and posed for the cameras while shaking hands. Kim said he felt a swirl of emotion as he walked into South Korea, wondering why it took so long to get to this place, he told Moon later, at the start of their meeting. Seoul's presidential office has made clear that a successful summit would mean taking concrete steps towards North Korea's denuclearization. While Kim has already announced a freeze on nuke and missile tests, the United States expects Pyongyang to go further if it wants to free itself from global sanctions. North and South Korean leaders meet in summit WATCH For his part, Moon celebrated Panmunjom's shift from being a symbol of division to peace. The border has been heavily guarded since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty. A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Kim wrote as he signed a guest book at South Koreas Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjom. The new Halloween movie has the Laurie Strode seal of approval. Jamie Lee Curtis promises fans are in for a wild, and very scary, ride. Prepare For A Scare The Halloween alum took the stage at CinemaCon to show off some fresh new footage from the upcoming reboot. Reportedly, the clip elicited audible shrieks from the gathered audience, which is exactly what Curtis promises will happen once the flick drops in theaters this October. "It's hella scary. It will scare the living s**t out of all of you," she advised. The trailer opens in the mental asylum where serial killer Michael Myers is held. A true-crime documentary team is investigating the infamous night from 40 years ago, while Laurie Strode sits tight and prays for her brother to return so she can kill him. The team visit Myers and hold out the infamous mask to him. Later, they interview survivors in Haddonfield. Naturally, Myers escapes and goes on a rampage. Alongside Curtis, Judy Greer plays the role of her daughter, with Andi Matichak as her granddaughter. The return of Michael Myers was so terrifying that Kevin Hart, who was at the event to unveil a trailer for upcoming comedy Night School, in which he stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, was shaking even after the trailer ended. He even questioned as to whether Jason was there, hilariously mixing up the Friday the 13th villain with Myers. Return To Haddonfield Curtis's return to the hit series that made her name was a massive deal to horror fans who were worried that the new movie wouldn't live up to the standards of John Carpenter's seminal classic. The role of tortured teen Laurie Strode in the 1978 movie made her a horror icon and catapulted Curtis onto the Hollywood A-list. Curtis is thrilled to be returning to the role, saying she said yes immediately, noting she couldn't think of another actor outside the Star Wars saga who's done the same after 40 years. Curtis also revealed that the first movie was so low-budget the cast and crew had to rough up the iconic William Shatner mask to give Michael Myers a scarier look. A Modern Take The new Halloween, on which Carpenter serves as exec-producer and creative consultant, finds Strode as a grandmother still traumatized by her tussles with Myers. When he escapes prison, she finally has her chance to get rid of him once and for all, but Myers has his own ideas, leaving a pile of bodies in his wake as he searches for her. The upcoming reboot is courtesy of horror maestro Jason Blum and his Blumhouse label, which was behind genre hits including Get Out, Split, and The Purge franchise. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride co-wrote the script, with Green directing. It ignores most of the sequels. Footage from the movie was unveiled during Universal's annual presentation at CinemaCon in Vegas, alongside lighter fare including Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Halloween hits theaters just in time for the spookiest night of the year, on October 19. Chance The Rapper defends Kanye West as he received backlash amid his support for Donald Trump. He is one of the few celebrities to do so. Chance The Rapper Backs Kanye West Chance stood up for his fellow Chicago native on Twitter as other celebrities and fans blasted West for being such an avid backer of President Trump. Chance The Rapper first responded to a fan who questioned if he and West had talked since the latter appeared to be in a fragile mental state earlier this week. He informed the fan and his nearly 8 million viewers that he had just caught up with West a couple of days ago. He said West is unbothered despite that people are trying to challenge whether he is having a mental breakdown. According to Chance, West hasnt changed from his other notable moments, such as when he stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs and when he accused then-President George Bush of not liking the African American community. Talked to him two days ago. Hes in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health. Same Ye from the Vmas, same Ye from the telethon. https://t.co/2zY3KpllV2 Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018 Chance had continued to say that not all Blacks have to support the Democratic party before he suggested that the next President would not be a member of any political party. He used a Jay-Z gif to respond to the backlash that he received for supporting West. Other than Chance, Wests wife, Kim Kardashian, seems to be the only celebrity who openly backed West. She first called out publications that tried to make West look like he is losing his mind and said his most recent tweets were disturbing. Kim Supports Her Husband, Too She added that while West did end his relationships with his longtime manager Scooter Braun and his lawyers, her husband's decision was categorized as a mental breakdown instead of a simple business strategy. She went on to say that Wests untraditional thinking should be embraced in America, and not looked down upon. She continued and wrote that although she disagrees with his views on Trump, West is entitled to his own thoughts. Now when he spoke out about Trump... Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this. But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions,even if really different from mine He never said he agrees with his politics Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2018 Kardashian commended her husband for always being himself and not afraid to express his unpopular opinions. She concluded stating that mental health issues should not be the go-to when it comes to discussing West. Mental Health is no joke and the media needs to stop spitting that out so casually. Bottom line Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2018 Kanye Is Unbothered West has sparked controversy on the Internet ever since he returned to Twitter earlier this month. He doesnt seem to be moved by fans blasting him for supporting Trump, as he was spotted wearing a Make America Great Again hat. He took to Twitter to let his fans and critics know Trump had signed it. Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest news and updates on your favorite celebrities. Here is the upcoming City Council agenda for Tuesday: I. Call to Order. II. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Byrd). III. Minute Approval. IV. Special Presentation. V. Ordinances Final Reading: PLANNING a. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, Article XVI, Downtown Chattanooga Form-Based Code, relative to recommended improvements based on a one (1) year review. (Alternate Version)(Co-Sponsored by Councilmen Hend)VII. Resolutions:ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTa. A resolution declaring surplus of property located at 3300 Brannon Avenue,identified as Tax Map No. 156P-E-016. (District 7)b. A resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Donation Agreement with FirstLutheran Church, a registered non-profit, in substantially the form attached, and toexecute any related documents between the City of Chattanooga and First LutheranChurch for the conveyance of property located at 3300 Brannon Avenue, identified asTax Map No. 156P-E-016, with the property to be utilized for the benefit of theClifton Hills community. (District 7)MAYORS OFFICEc. A resolution to confirm the Mayors re-appointments of Jason Farmer and VelmaWilson to the Regional Planning Commission.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksd. A resolution authorizing the award of Contract No. Y-17-017-201 to JDH Company,Inc. of Chattanooga, TN, Replacement Roofing System for Carver YFD CenterBuilding, in the amount of $192,844.00, with a contingency amount of $20,000.00,for an amount not to exceed $212,844.00. (District 8)e. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toenter into a Joint Funding Agreement (JFA) with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)and the City of Chattanooga to operate three (3) continuous real-time stream gageslocated on North Chickamauga Creek, South Chickamauga Creek, and ChattanoogaCreek for the period beginning April 1, 2018 through March 31st, 2019, at a total cost of$44,200.00, with a contribution of $10,875.00 from the USGS, and $33,325.00 from the Cityof Chattanooga.f. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works to renewContract No. S-16-011 with (1) Asa Engineering & Consulting, Inc.; (2) Barge DesignSolutions; (3) Craig Design Group; (4) Stantec; and (5) W.M. Whitaker & Associates, for one(1) year blanket contracts with five (5) professional firms, on-call landscape architect designservices for year two (2) of two (2), estimated at $500,000.00 total annually, for all five (5)professional firms for use by all departments. (Revised)Transportationg. A resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a proposal with the Tennessee Department ofTransportation (TDOT) for State Project No. 33002-2169-44, Federal Project No.NH-I-24-3(90), PIN #112833.00, Interchanges at SR-2 (Broad Street) and SR-58 (MarketStreet) in Chattanooga Route I-24. (District 7)h. A resolution authorizing the Chattanooga Department of Transportation to erectcommemorative secondary street name signs on Oak Street and Shallowford Road fromGlenwood Drive to Ridgeside Road, designating said portions of Oak Street and ShallowfordRoad as Glynn D. Key Way. (District 9)VIII. Purchases.IX. Other Business.a. City Attorney Report.b. Approval of renewal certifications for grocery stores wishing to sell wine:1. Sams Club #8112, 6101 Lee Highway (District 6)2. Walmart #3660, 3550 Cummings Highway (District 1)3. Walmart #3659, 501 Signal Mountain Road (District 1)4. Walmart #3619, 3901 Hixson Pike (District 2)5. Walmart #1606, 5764 Highway 153 (District 3)6. Walmart #1469, 2020 Gunbarrel Road (District 4)7. Walmart #5143, 8101 East Brainerd Road (District 4)8. Walmart #4671, 4110 Shallowford Road (District 5)9. Walmart #5251, 490 Greenway View Drive (District 6)X. Committee Reports.XI. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda Matters.XII. Adjournment.TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018CITY COUNCIL AGENDA6:00 PM1. Call to Order.2. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilwoman Coonrod).3. Minute Approval.4. Special Presentation.5. Ordinances Final Reading:PLANNINGa. 2018-042 Jason Geraci (R-3 Residential Zone to R-T/Z Residential Townhouse/ZeroLot Line Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38,Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 906 and 912 East 14th Street,more particularly described herein, from R-3 Residential Zone to R-T/Z ResidentialTownhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8)(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksb. MR-2018-006 DreamTech Homes, LLC (Abandonment). An ordinance closing andabandoning a sewer easement located at 1135 McNichol Lane, Tax Map No.159O-A-026.01, as detailed on the attached map, subject to certain conditions.(District 4) (Recommended for approval by Public Works)6. Ordinances First Reading:PLANNINGa. 2018-075 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (AmendConditions). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38,Zoning Ordinance, so as to amend Condition 2.1 of specific conditions for R-4Zoning Ordinance No. 12809 of previous Case No. 2014-008 on part of propertylocated at 6100 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, subject to certainconditions. (District 1) (Recommended for approval by Planning andrecommended for denial as to Applicants request)2018-075 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (AmendConditions). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38,Zoning Ordinance, so as to amend Condition 2.1 of specific conditions for R-4Zoning Ordinance No. 12809 of previous Case No. 2014-008 on part of propertylocated at 6100 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, subject to certainconditions. (Staff Version)b. 2018-077 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (R-1 ResidentialZone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at6048 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone toC-2 Convenience Commercial Zone. (District 1) (Recommended for approval byPlanning)2018-077 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (R-1 ResidentialZone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at6048 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone toC-2 Convenience Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)c. 2018-078 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (R-1 ResidentialZone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at6046 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone toC-2 Convenience Commercial Zone. (District 1) (Recommended for approval byPlanning)2018-078 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (R-1 ResidentialZone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at6046 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone toC-2 Convenience Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)d. 2018-079 Hillocks Farm Land Company, LLC c/o Duane Horton (R-1 ResidentialZone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at6100 Highway 153, more particularly described herein, from C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone to R-4 Special Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 1)(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)e. 2018-049 Aimee Allen (R-2 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). Anordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance,so as to rezone property located at 600 Tremont Street, more particularly describedherein, from R-2 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone, subject to certainconditions. (District 2) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-049 Aimee Allen (R-2 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). Anordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance,so as to rezone property located at 600 Tremont Street, more particularly describedherein, from R-2 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone. (Applicant Version)f. 2018-052 John Jernigan, Jr. (R-1 Residential Zone to RZ-1 Zero Lot Line ResidentialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 512 Tucker Street, more particularlydescribed herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to RZ-1 Zero Lot Line Residential Zone.(District 2) (Recommended for approval by Planning and recommended fordenial by Staff)g. 2018-056 John Jernigan, Jr. (R-1 Residential Zone to RZ-1 Zero Lot Line ResidentialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 510 Tucker Street, more particularlydescribed herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to RZ-1 Zero Lot Line Residential Zone.(District 2) (Recommended for approval by Planning and recommended fordenial by Staff)h. 2018-073 RTB Holdings, LLC and Dartmouth Properties, LLC (R-1 Residential Zoneto R-T/Z Residential Townhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone). An ordinance to amendChattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezoneproperties located at 1841, 1847, 1849, and 1853 (part) Knickerbocker Avenue, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-T/Z ResidentialTownhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone. (District 2) (Recommended for denial byPlanning and Staff)i. 2018-054 N & R Properties c/o Ross Timoshchuk (R-1 Residential Zone to RT-1Residential Townhouse Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, PartII, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 7509 and 7513Ziegler Road, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to RT-1Residential Townhouse Zone. (District 4) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and recommended for denial by Staff)j. 2018-070 Pointe Development Company (R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone properties located at 7978 (part) and 8012 ShallowfordRoad, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 SpecialZone, subject to certain conditions. (District 4) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and recommended for denial by Staff)2018-070 Pointe Development Company (R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone properties located at 7978 (part) and 8012 ShallowfordRoad, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 SpecialZone. (Applicant Version)k. 2018-071 Danny White (R-2 Residential Zone to M-4 Outdoor Industrial Use Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 3439 Lightfoot Mill Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-2 Residential Zone to M-4 Outdoor IndustrialUse Zone. (District 5) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-071 Danny White (R-2 Residential Zone to M-4 Outdoor Industrial Use Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 3439 Lightfoot Mill Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-2 Residential Zone to M-1 Manufacturing Zone.(Recommended for denial by Planning and Staff and Applicant Version)l. 2018-063 Ragan-Smith (R-3 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone). An ordinance toamend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezoneproperties located at 7416 Lee Highway and 2735 Silverdale Road, more particularlydescribed herein, from R-3 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone. (District 6)(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)m. 2018-055 Bruce Robins (R-1 Residential Zone to a portion of C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 5006 13th Avenue, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to a portion of C-2Convenience Commercial Zone. (District 7) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and Staff)2018-055 Bruce Robins (R-1 Residential Zone to a portion of C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 5006 13th Avenue, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone. (Recommended for denial by Planning and Staff, ApplicantVersion)n. 2018-067 City of Chattanooga-Regional Planning Agency (R-1 Residential Zone, R-2Residential Zone, R-3 Residential Zone, and R-5 Residential Zone to permanentzones). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone properties located off of the 1800 and 1900 blocks of OldWauhatchie Pike and owned by the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone, R-2 Residential Zone, R-3Residential Zone, and R-5 Residential Zone to permanent zones, subject to certainconditions. (District 7) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-067 City of Chattanooga-Regional Planning Agency (R-1 Residential Zone, R-2Residential Zone, R-3 Residential Zone, and R-5 Residential Zone to permanentzones). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone properties located off of the 1800 and 1900 blocks of OldWauhatchie Pike and owned by the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone, R-2 Residential Zone, R-3Residential Zone, and R-5 Residential Zone to permanent zones. (ApplicantVersion)o. 2018-064 Collier Construction c/o Ethan Collier (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGCUrban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code,Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 815 EastMain Street, 1333 Central Avenue, and an unaddressed parcel of land in the 1300block of Central Avenue, more particularly described herein, from M-1Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certainconditions. (District 8) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-064 Collier Construction c/o Ethan Collier (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGCUrban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code,Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 815 EastMain Street, 1333 Central Avenue, and an unaddressed parcel of land in the 1300block of Central Avenue, more particularly described herein, from M-1Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone. (ApplicantVersion)p. 2018-072 Matthew Ballard (R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 1302 South Willow Street, moreparticularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban GeneralCommercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8) (Recommended forapproval by Planning)2018-072 Matthew Ballard (R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 1302 South Willow Street, moreparticularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban GeneralCommercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)2018-072 Matthew Ballard (R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 1302 South Willow Street, moreparticularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to UGC Urban GeneralCommercial Zone. (Applicant Version)q. 2018-065 Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise c/o Bob McNutt (R-1 Special Zoneto UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at1715 Union Avenue, more particularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone toUGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9)(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-065 Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise c/o Bob McNutt (R-1 Special Zoneto UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at1715 Union Avenue, more particularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone toUGC Urban General Commercial Zone. (Applicant Version)7. Resolutions:PLANNINGa. 2018-044 Saurin Patel (Special Exceptions Permit). A resolution authorizing aSpecial Exceptions Permit for a Residential Planned Unit Development for propertylocated in the 600 block of Julian Road (given temporary address of 805 WorlickWay for Land Disturbance Permit). (District 4) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and Staff)POLICEb. A resolution authorizing the Chief of the Chattanooga Police Department to execute aMaster Service Agreement and Coplink License Service Agreement with ForensicLogic, LLC and also to execute a Memorandum of Understanding Chattanooga AreaNode Share of Cost Agreement relative to law enforcement data sharing softwaresolution, licensing maintenance, and data source integration maintenance, in theamount of $35,899.00.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksc. A resolution authorizing the approval of Change Order No. 1 CDM Smith, Inc.relative to Contract No. W-12-024-101, MBWWTP Solids Process OptimizationImplementation Phase 3 Centrifuge and Digester Upgrades, a Consent DecreeProject, for an increased amount of $334,500.00, for the revised contract amount of$1,708,050.00. (District 1) (Consent Decree)d. A resolution authorizing the award of Contract No. Y-17-016-201 to JDH Company,Inc. of Chattanooga, TN, Replacement Roofing System for Eastdale YFD CenterBuilding, in the amount of $139,225.00, with a contingency amount of $14,000.00,for an amount not to exceed $152,225.00. (District 9)Transportatione. A resolution authorizing the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau ?Shelda Rees to use temporarily the right-of-way along the northern side of the unitblock of Riverside Drive (between Chestnut Street and the Market Street Bridge) forthe purpose of installing historic TVA signs, as shown on the maps attached heretoand made a part hereof by reference, subject to certain conditions. (District 7)8. Purchases.9. Other Business.a. Approval of renewal certifications for grocery stores wishing to sell wine:1. Food City #715, 703 Signal Mountain Road (District 1)2. Food City #726, 3600 Hixson Pike (District 2)3. Food City #703, 5604 Hixson Pike (District 3)4. Food City #701, 7804 East Brainerd Road (District 4)5. Food City #706, 4510 Highway 58 (District 5)6. Food City #759, 4011 Brainerd Road (District 5)7. Food City #735, 6951 Lee Highway (District 6)8. Food City #774, 9213 Lee Highway (District 6)9. Food City #716, 3801 Tennessee Avenue (District 7)10. Food City #705, 1600 East 23rd Street (District 8)10. Committee Reports.11. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda Matters.12. Adjournment. Molly Ringwald is giving credit where credit is due, and that is for the doctor who helped save his dad's life while onboard a plane. Contrary to the angry social media posts directed to airline companies of incompetent crews and some questionable deeds, Ringwald has given due recognition to the people who had greatly aided in ensuring his dad's, Robert "Bob," safety. The 50-year-old expressed her gratitude for Southwest Airlines doing an emergency landing during the dire situation and a doctor who coincidentally was on the same flight as her dad's. "I would like to thank Southwest Airlines and the doctor who happened to be onboard. They emergency landed the plane for my dad. Because of their speed and professionalism, my father's life was saved. #SouthWest #gratitude," Ringwald wrote. Meanwhile, the airlines company also reached out to the actress and asked for her to direct message the names of the crew that assisted her father in order to give appreciation and recognition. It is still unknown what Ringwald's father's medical condition was. Ringwald played Claire Standish in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. The film revolved around five high school students who met on one Saturday morning for detention, the time when they were able to share their own stories, a far cry from how they were seen by everyone else. Daddy's Girl Robert is a popular jazz pianist that had greatly influenced her daughter in terms of music. Ringwald had jazz albums and even worked with her dad' s band, Fulton Street Jazz Band. "He is of the traditional era, but he gave me an incredible education that a lot in my generation do not have," Ringwald said of her dad. She isn't one to shy away for being close to her dad either. In 2014, Ringwald admitted in an interview that she was indeed a "daddy's girl" and that it was "musical connection" she had with the patriarch that was unique from her siblings' link with him. Tragic Incident The news came as a good review for Southwest Airlines, which is still reeling from a tragedy last week. A flight to Dallas became a tragic accident after one of the engines was damaged. The plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. The incident resulted to the death of a passenger, 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan, who reportedly got sucked out of the window. There were less than 10 people who were injured as well. The fatal accident is the first for airline companies since 2009. Southwest Airlines admitted that their bookings had plunged after the accident. It also said it has inspected most of its aircrafts. Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is kissing his hard-partying days goodbye for good. The reality star is engaged to his long-time lady love. The Situation Is Settling Down The infamous ladies man and star of Jersey Shore is off the market. He revealed on social media on Thursday that he asked his college sweetheart Lauren Pesce to marry him, and she naturally said yes. "GYM TAN WE'RE ENGAGED!!" he wrote, referencing one of the most beloved and well-known catchphrases from the popular show. The 35-year-old included a photo of him and Pesce taking a romantic carousel ride. He also posted another shot of him getting down on one knee, with his now-fiance looking happily at him. "THE FUTURE MR & MRS SITUATION," he gushed. Pesce also shared the happy news on her own page, with a selfie and a close-up shot of the ring. Sharing The Love Sorrentino, who's currently starring on the reunion show Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, received tons of congratulatory messages from his fellow cast-members. He mentioned on the most recent episode of the show that he'd be looking to marry Pesce some day. "Love you two so much!!!!!" wrote Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi on Instagram. Vinny Guadagnino, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Pauly "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro were all quick to share in the happy moment. He and Pesce originally dated for four years during college but went their separate ways as he rose to fame on the original iteration of the hit show. The Situation Is Under Construction Sorrentino, whose sobriety has been a plot point on the rebooted reality show, revealed last year that Pesce stood by him during his darkest moments. The Situation had an ongoing issue with prescription drugs, which ultimately led to a 60-day rehab stint in 2012. The reality star has been sober for more than two years. He and his longtime girlfriend previously took part in Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars together, where their issues were dealt with on the public stage. "It really helped us out and it still helps us out ... You ... learn how other people communicate and [that] they're coming from a different perception or a different view," he said of his time on the show. Sorrentino is currently awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to tax evasion in federal court at the beginning of the year. He's facing up to five years in prison and will be sentenced on June 20. "I worked so hard to turn my life around and be the best person I can be," he said in an interview with PEOPLE. Pesce was quick to praise her soon-to-be husband for all the good work he's done over the past few years. "I've watched him work hard in silence for years, personally and professionally, without getting any recognition. He didn't do it for anyone to notice, he did it to better himself, his life and to create a healthy and positive future for us as a family," she posted on Instagram. Matt Lauer has confronted sexual assault allegations since he was fired from NBCs Today. Lauer denied any inappropriate actions toward former female coworkers. Matt Speaks Out Lauer, who released an initial statement after the accusations made headlines back in November, has shut down any allegations against him. He didnt confront the claims even if they were untrue because he wanted to protect his family from public shame, he explained. He has decided to speak out now to set the record straight on accusations that he sexually assaulted a former female colleague. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC, said Lauer. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false. A Pattern Of Sexual Misconduct Lauer was accused of being sexually inappropriate with a with a female worker back in 2014. One of the incidents allegedly occurred during their coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Other women claimed that Lauer harassed them. Their identities have not been released to the public as yet. Interestingly enough, Lauers now former coworker, Ann Curry, said she heard news of Lauers alleged behavior in the past. She told the story of a woman who approached her crying and said Lauer sexually harassed her. The woman was concerned that coming forward with the accusations against Lauer, who had been with NBC for more than 20 years at the time of his firing, would cause her to lose her job, Curry said. Curry added that she spoke with the networks management team and warned them about Lauers interactions with women. She also advised them to monitor him, she continued. The former NBC host's ex-coworker Hoda Kotb revealed she still has a good friendship with Lauer even after the allegations came to light. His Wife's Decision Meanwhile, Lauer's wife, Annette Roque, filed for divorce shortly after the accusations went public. Word is Lauer has been living in the Hamptons as he hardly communicated with his now-estranged wife. Roque reportedly kicked him out of the home they shared with their three children. Lauer refused to leave at first, but recent reports confirmed he moved out for good. Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest news and updates. Kanye Wests friends cant talk him out of his support for Donald Trump. The rapper tweeted texts from John Legend amid the controversy. John Legend Tries To Get Kanye West To The Other Side In the first text, Legend pleaded with West to reconsider his backing for Trump. Legend pointed out Wests major following and influence over his millions of fans. He said Wests political views truly resonate with the ones who admire him. He added while Wests followers respect his perspective, many are taken aback considering that the nature of Trumps policies has a pattern of harming the Black community. In the message West posted, he responded and told Legend he appreciates his opinion. Still, he accused Legend of attempting to have a negative influence over his free thought by bringing up his fans, a strategy West told Legend is based on fear. Legend encouraged West to continue to develop perspectives freely but reminded him that he should use empathy and context as well. After West posted the texts, Legend joked that since West was sharing their messages with millions of fans, the rapper should share that Legend just released a new song. Kanye Stands By The President West followed it up with a tweet that said he decided to share Legends text to prove that while he respects the opinion of those that do not agree with him, he is not going to change his mind about standing with Trump. He went on to say that he is still the kid from the telethon that blasted former President George Bush for not caring about the Black community on a live special. That comment was amid the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. West also tweeted he is still empathetic to others and pointed out that many do not think Trumps campaigns and policies are compassionate. This is year one, added West. We cant add empathy to [Make America Great Again] by hating. We can only ad empathy with love and time and truly hearing all sides. He also surely promoted Legends new single. John Legend new single on line now KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 26, 2018 It's Still All Good It might be safe to say the two were able to agree to disagree and keep their friendship intact. Meanwhile, Legend's wife Teigen just wanted to make sure she and Legend were still good for a double date with West and his wife, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian said yes, but joked they shouldn't bring their phones. Their conversation came just days after Legend wrote a series of tweets of his own after news had hit that West is still an avid supporter of Trump. He wrote that even artists and celebrities cannot ignore the reality of racism as he added that Trump has allegedly made it clear that he is an advocate of White supremacy. Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest news and updates on your favorite celebrities. Bill Cosby was convicted of three counts of sexual assault Thursday. Still, the comedians days in court arent over yet amid his fall from grace. More Legal Woes For Bill After facing accuser Andrea Constand after he sexually assaulted her in 2004, Cosby will have to do a deposition with Chloe Goins in her civil lawsuit against him. That case was put on pause while Constands case against Cosby continued. It is possible Goins lawsuit could move forward now that a jury has ruled in Constands case. The next step is for both parties to undergo a deposition, said Goins lawyer Spencer Kuvin. He revealed his plans to request that a judge in California remove the stay on Goins case against Cosby, so they can continue their case and order Cosby to testify under oath. The public might recall that Goins took legal action against Cosby with claims that he drugged her while they were partying at the infamous Playboy Mansion back in 2008. Goins was 18-years-old at the time. She said she woke up only to have Cosby sucking her toes while he groped himself. Kuvin said in light of Cosbys conviction, they want to move forward with Goins case, despite Cosbys teams alleged plan to appeal. He has now been convicted and we will argue that any appeal has no bearing on allowing us to move forward with the deposition, said Kuvin during his interview with Radar Online Thursday. The only thing [Goins] has ever wanted was to see Bill Cosby behind bars and now this will happen. He added that Goins doesnt care if Cosby is going to jail for assaulting someone else, as long as the comedian serves his time for his actions. Did The Actor Reach His Breaking Point? Meanwhile, Constand has spoken out after winning her high-profile case in court Thursday. She addressed Cosbys outburst after just after his conviction. Cosby reacted to the district attorney of Montgomery County, Pennsylvanias request to not allow Cosby to be released on bail. They suggested Cosby was a flight risk. Cosby broke his silence and yelled that he does not own a plane. He also allegedly screamed that he was sick of the prosecutor. Constand said the outburst from Cosby wasnt surprising as that was how she and his other accusers knew him to be. In the end, Cosby went home on bail but is under house arrest until his sentencing. His moment came days after a woman attacked him on the first day of the retrial. Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest news and updates. Politics will determine whether nations end up apologising for historical wrongs, but the philosophical questions underlying the issue have no easy answers. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appealed to the British government in December 2017 to apologise for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. More than a thousand people died after Colonel Reginald Dyer ordered troops to open fire on unarmed Baishakhi pilgrims trapped in this walled space in Amritsar on 13 April 1919. The British foreign office turned down Khans appeal, reiterating the stance taken by the countrys former Prime Minister, David Cameron, who, while describing the incident as deeply shameful when he visited the site of the massacre in 2013, did not apologise. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- For the 1st Time after Years, CoE had a Chance for Discussions with Top Political Russian Politicians on the "Hot" and Topical Issue of Syria, Today in Strasbourg, as revealed in Reply to an "Eurofora" Question the experienced President of Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, Leonid Slutsky, of the Liberal Democratic Party, a Long-Time former Key Member of CoE's PanEuropean Parliamentary Assembly (PACE). - "Eurofora" had Observed the Unusual Fact that PACE's Plenary was just Starting an Exceptional Debate on "Europe's Role in PeaceMaking Initiatives on Syria", Added at the Last Minute to its Official Agenda, as a "Current Affairs" Debate, by a Striking Coincidence, ... the Same Day, and even exactly at the Same Moment that a Rare High-Level Meeting between Top Russian Politicians and PACE's Leadership, had been Scheduled to Conclude here, at the CoE, in Strasbourg... - "It's Necessary, may be, to Wait some Hours", Carefully Replied Leonid Slutsky to "Eurofora"s Question whether Russian representatgives might Discuss possible developments in Syria with their collegues of CoE's PanEuropean Organisation, (which has 47 Member States, including Russia). - "Now, that Debate (on Syria, in PACE's Plenary) has just Started", he accurately observed. => - So, indeed, "I'll go for an Exchange of Views, in a few Hours"' Time, the President of Russian Dumas' Foreign Affairs Committee announced to "Eurofora", (who had already noted, inter alia, also the Fact that, Exceptionaly, even the Office of the Russian Deleghation to PACE had been set and prepared for Collective Meetings, since Yesterday Evening). ---------------------- President Slutsky had just spoken at a "Press-Point" with Journalists, including "Eurofora", at the Conclusion of a special High-Level PACE's Committee on this PanEuropean Assembly's Mission, set up Recently, from the End of Last Year (2017), in order to Deal with the "Burning" Issue of Russian MEPs' possible Return, after their Departure, in Controversial Circumstances, since the Ukranian Conflict suddenly emerged after the Winter 2014 provoked Clashes in Kiev droped a Compromise Agreement signed then by former President Yanukovich and the Maidan Demonstrators' Opposition, in the presence of the French, German and Polish Foreign Ministers, (See, f.ex.: ....., etc). Various Other Key Members of CoE's Political Leadership had just indicated to "Eurofora" that the Confidential Talks inside that "Ad Hoc" Top Committee were, this Time, "Interesting", as they stressed, pointing, for the rest, at the immediate Foreseeable Future for more Concrete Developments. - To "Eurofora"'s Question "what was the most Interesting point" in those Talks, President Slutsky, teasing, Replied that - "the Most Interesting for me, is that, by coming here (at the CoE), I can Meet People like you", as he Friendly Joked, with a Smile, (after having, already Saluted, from the Start, with a Friendly : "Bonjour Collegue. Hereux de vous voir !", in pure French)... - Indeed, Slutsky's overall mood appeared to correspod, grosso modo, to what he Earlier, soberly but positively named as "Constructive" Atmosphere, when it came to HighLight his overall impression from the Talks inside that High-Level "Ad Hoc" Top Committee. - Despite Past strong Criticism against him Personally from some quarters, (which Persisted, with UnPrecedented Long Personal verbal Attacks by 1 Opposed MEP, both at the Corridors and during a Different Debate in CoE's Plenary, until the Chairman-in-office Cut the Sound), nevertheless, the Experienced President of the EuroLeft Group, Dutch Senator Tiny Cox, told "Eurofora" that his attitude, Today, was "Intelligent", and that he played well at that Special Meeting. + As for PACE's President himself, Italian Professor Michele Nicoletti, questioned also by "Eurofora", at first simply denied that he might have "Succeeded" to mark a Political "Breakthrough" for now : - "Success, is a Big Word". In Fact, it was "Quite Constructive", and, at any case, "there will be a Continuation at a Next Meeting", so that "I hope that we are going to have progres", Nicoletti Positively told us, smiling enigmatically. - From Other, but Well-Informed CoE's Top Sources, "Eurofora" heard that this Next Meeting of that High-Level "Ad Hoc" Committee on PACE's "Mission", is Scheduled for the Beginning of June, "at Zagreb", in Croatia, (InComing Next CoE's President in office, for the Period of Mid-May - November 2018), side by side with CoE Assembly's "Standing" Committee, (which, in principle, has the Same Powers as also its Plenary). + Meanwhile, according to Various, Other Sources, both the new French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, were due to Visit Russia asap. in order to Meet, mainly, with President Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Tsipras' Invitation by the Russian President to visit Moscow had already been Anounced, just after a reportedly "Balanced" stance that he kept at the Latest EU Summit in Brussels, at the End of March 2018, (Comp. various "Eurofora"s NewsReports from the spot), almost as also Austria (the Next EU President in office for the Period of July - December 2018), etc. And, by a Coincidence, it's 1st the Head of the Greek Delegation at PACE, MEP Ioanna Kavvadia, who Walked out of Today's High-Level Russia-PACE Meeting, looking particularly Busy, Phoning somewhere Urgently, etc., right in front of "Eurofora", followed, shortly afterwards, by Cyprus' Head of Delegation, and former CoE Assembly's President Stella Kyriakides from Cyprus, with a Calm but Mysterious smile, closely followed by various Other Top MEPs... But it was from well-informer Russian sources, here in Strasbourg (France), that "Eurofora" was duly Informed about the prospect also for new French President Macron, (Comp. various Recent, April 2018 Macron's Statements to "Eurofora", f.ex. at: ..., etc), to Visit on May 2018 Moscow, (i.e. shortly after another important Visit, Earlier this Week, in the USA, to meet President Don Trump). Given also the Fact that France will take over CoE's rotating Presidency on 2019, when a New PanEuropean Summit of 47 Heads of State/Government (including Russia, as Member, while even USA is a Permanent Observer here) is expected, manifold Important relevant Developments may naturally be expected. => Including, eventual real Progress on the Issue of the Conditions of Russian MEPs' re-integration of CoE's Assembly, perhaps at that Next Meeting of the competent PACE's High-Level Committee at the Beginning of June in Zagreb (Comp. Supra), considering also the Fact that (as other CoE's Officials told Strasbourg Journalists, including "Eurofora", recently), the Question of Russia's "Big Payer" Financial Contribution to the CoE, (that Moscow felt necessary to Suspend, after 3 Years withOut a normal Participation Ensured for the Russian MEPs in PACE, since a Controversial Measure taken on pretext of the Ukranian Conflict's ill-elucidated outbreak, Back on 2014), has to be normaly Settled before the End of June, for Practical and Legal reasons. At Zagreb the participants will have More Time available, if necessary, than the 1,5 Hour that was available Today in Strasbourg, ("Not Enough", according to some Insiders, particularly when MEPs had also to Deal with Other Topical Issues, as "Monitoring", etc, as they told us), before PACE Plenary's Topical Debate on Europe's role in Peacemaking Initiatives in Syria, (Comp. Supra)... (../..) The City of East Ridge was notified on Wednesday that the governor had signed into law an extension of the investment period for the Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act. This extension allows all three of Tennessees Border Region citiesBristol, East Ridge, and Kingsportto continue investing in new economic development through June of 2027. Designed to keep sales tax dollars in Tennessee by making its border cities more competitive, this legislation allows a city to enter into financial incentive agreements to spur new development within a prescribed areaits Border Region District. The city can then be reimbursed for the cost of those incentives by receiving a portion of the states share of increased sales tax revenue. Although complicated and often misunderstood, the legislation has already had a profoundly positive impact on the East Ridge economy. Several new businesses have already located in East Ridge, and many more projects are in the works with plans to break ground in the upcoming months. To date, the city of East Ridge has welcomed Bass Pro Shops, Firehouse Subs, and Dunkin Donuts as a direct of result of Border Region incentive agreements, while Chick-fil-A (scheduled opening May 2018), Marcos Pizza (Summer 2018), and Hampton Inn (September 2018) are slated to open in the near future. The addition of the Bass Pro Shops alone helped propel the city to a 20 percent jump in its local option sales tax revenues from FY 2016 to FY 2017 and has returned that parcel back to the property tax rolls to the benefit of both Hamilton County and the city of East Ridge. The city has invested over $12.6 million in its Border Region District since 2015 and has received $4.4 million in reimbursement from State sales tax dollars, of which it has retained $2.3 million and distributed $2.1 million via financial incentive agreements with developers. Among the projects being financed with Border Region dollars are the expansion of Camp Jordan Parkway, the I-75 and Ringgold Road Interchange Reconfiguration, the West Ringgold Road streetscape project, and the Town Square Pavilion at the former McBrien School. According to the legislation, the city may continue receiving reimbursements until 2042 or until it has been fully reimbursed, whichever comes first. Hi Does anyone know if there are any rules regarding the colour a swimming pool can be painted in the Dordogne? I am more interested if there are rules about the hue of the blue or cab they only be white? Second does anyone know of a swimming pool paint supplier in the Dordogne? Thanks. Hello, Me and my girlfriend have been together for three years now. She was originally studying in the UK, but for the past year she's moved back to the US with her family to finish off her University course. (she's an American citizen by the way). We've opted to get married, not only because of this topic - but because we'd like the spend the rest of our lives together. The issue is, we've read that she needs to be on poverty wage x3, or something similar to sponsor me in the US. She does not make this amount because she's in full-time education, and will be for another three years. She comes from a wealthy family. When she fully graduates, her parents are passing over xxx,xxx which was inherited. She's asked for it earlier, but they've refused. So this has left us in a bit of a predicament, is there anything we could do here? I have a business, but it's a startup. So, this avenue isn't an option either - not for a couple of years at least. It's very frustrating knowing she'll have a more than large enough lump sum, (and wage) - just three years from now, and neither of us want to be apart for any longer. Team Summary: Both Williams drivers would complete their installation laps with ten minutes of the session completed. The first time would be set by Bottas with a 1m:49.762 using the supersoft tyre. But Hamilton would go quicker with a 1m:47.653 also using the super soft tyre while Bottas had improved. The Williams team was working on a range of bodywork and aerodynamic tests as Hamilton set a 1m:46.465 to improve his time. Bottas was second followed by Verstappen and Perez. On the soft tyre Verstappen would go quickest with a 1m:46.399 followed by Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Ocon, Lance and Perez eighth. Ricciardo would move up to second but this would become third as Hamilton again went quickest with a 1m:45.629 but just as quickly Verstappen would move ahead with a 1m:45.559. Now it was Ricciardo's turn to go quickest setting a 1m:45.369. But with an accident from Verstappen the Virtual Safety Car would be deployed. Verstappen spun going into the tyre barrier and was now able to continue. The session would restart but everyone had pitted. For Williams their first runs would see them sixth and 15th. The only car on the track with forty five minutes remaining was Vandoorne. He would be joined by Alonso and Raikkonen. Raikkonen would move up to 5th running on the ultrasoft tyres. Also on the ultrasoft tyre it would be Bottas who would go quickest with a 1m:44.242. After their second runs the Williams drivers were currently eighth and ninth. A turnaround from other Friday practice sessions. Vettel would move in between the Williams drivers to be ninth. With five minutes remaining both Williams drivers were on longer runs on the supersoft tyre. With the end of the session the Williams drivers would finish in 8th and 11th with Sergey ahead of team-mate Lance. At the top of the times Bottas remained quickest but he was followed by Ricciardo, Perez, Hamilton, Ocon, Verstappen, Alonso, Sergey, Gasly and Vettel tenth. Lance Stroll: Lance would join his team-mate out on the track but was on the supersoft tyre. He would complete a single lap prior to pitting. After a short stop Lance would return running on supersoft tyre and on his first lap he would set a 1m:55.256 on a slow lap. His next lap would see a 1m:49.276 but was over two seconds slower than the quickest times. Lance would improve with a 1m:48.928 but remained fifth. A further improvement with a 1m:48.638 but would drop to eighth. On used supersoft tyres Lance was able to set a 1m:47.506 to move up to 5th prior to pitting. He would stop briefly coming back out currently sixth. But Lance would again pit returning to his garage. Lance would drop to ninth as he also returned to the track on a new set of supersoft tyres. Lance had dropped to be 11th as others went quicker. Lance would also improve setting a 1m:46.590 to be ninth right behind his team-mate. He would drop to tenth prior to returning to the track. With the end of the session he would be eleventh. Sergey Sirotkin: Sergey would be first out for Williams carrying out his installation laps. He would be using the soft tyre for his run. It was now time for Sergey to come out with twenty minutes completed. He was also on the supersoft tyre for his first run. He would set a slow 1m:57.072 as he dialled himself into the circuit. His next lap would see him set a 1m:50.747 to be twelfth. He would improve with a 1m:49.510 but would drop to 13th. This would become 15th as Sergey continued to lap the circuit. Sergey would also pit having completed eight laps, currently fifteenth. With forty minutes remaining Sergey would return on a new set of supersoft tyres. He was now 18th but was able to set a 1m:46.885 to be sixth. He would pit after a seven lap run currently eighth. With close to twenty minutes remaining Sergey would return on used supersoft tyres but would pit again briefly. Sergey would go down the escape road after a moment with the rear of his car. He would continue pitting after having completed a total of seventeen laps. AUSTRALIAN Farm Institute executive director Mick Keogh is taking a bigger and full-time role at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), becoming one of the competition watchdogs deputy commissioners. Mr Keogh, who joined the ACCC two years ago in a newly-created agriculture commissioners role, becomes a deputy chairman for five years from May 30. He will oversee the ACCCs small business work in addition to his current job leading its agriculture work. Mr Keoghs part-time position becomes a full-time job, alongside other deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard. The Australian Farm Institute is yet to comment on how it will manage Mr Keoghs new appointment and what role he will continue to play at the institute, which he founded. ACCC chairman Rod Sims has welcomed the appointment by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison who also reappointed Cristina Cifuentes and Sarah Court as commissioners for a further five years. Micks vast experience working with small businesses in the agriculture sector will greatly assist him in his new role working with small business right across the economy, Mr Sims said. I look forward to working closely with him as deputy chairman. Mr Morrison described Mr Keogh as having a strong understanding of the competition issues affecting small businesses, particularly from his personal experience running a small business as the manager of a family beef cattle enterprise. He has received the Order of Australia Medal for services to agriculture and will continue to perform his agriculture responsibilities in addition to his new role at the ACCC. Mr Keogh, a widely respected farm sector identity, has led the farm institute since it was set up in 2003 to conduct background research into key issues facing Australian agriculture and to promote the outcomes to policy-makers and the wider community. The AFI, funded by farmer organisations and agribusiness, was founded to effectively help the farm sector take responsibility for its own future directions. It conducts objective and credible policy research for the industry, rather than relying on governments, policy-makers and special interest groups and commentators to come up with solutions. Mr Keogh replaces deputy chairman Michael Schaper, who departs on May 30 after a decade with the ACCC. Michael has been an invaluable advocate for small businesses and franchises throughout his service, and his passion, tenacity and advocacy will be greatly missed, Mr Sims said. He said also welcomed Ms Cifuentes reappointment, saying she brought the commission a deep knowledge, in particular, across the infrastructure, banking and energy sectors. Ms Courts reappointment was testament to her dedication and effectiveness for 10 years on many issues, including enforcement activities in areas such as mergers, financial services and agriculture. Cristin OKeefe Aptowicz shares the top 10 things that her readers should know about her, following the release of her seventh collection of poetry, How to Love the Empty Air Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz My poetry career started because a boy in my class invited every girl in our class to see him compete in a poetry slam EXCEPT me! I had to go to spite himand then won the very poetry slam and was hooked! I once wrote a poetry collection about the year I spent as a writer and editor in porn. Its titled Hot Teen Slut, is still in print, and was recently optioned for a film adaptation! I write nonfiction books as well. My latest nonfiction book, Dr Mutters Marvels even made the New York Times Best Seller List! But when I toured behind it, I still did poetry gigs on the sly in the same cities too! The worst experience I had while performing was getting food poisoning and vomiting on stage twice! It was at university, I received emails for weeks afterwards from teachers who told me their students were very impressed, and thought I was very punk rock! Speaking of punk rock, I ran a poetry slam in the legendary New York City punk rock venue CBGBs for years! When CBGBs closed its doors, we moved to another legendary spot: NYCs Bowery Poetry Club. I lived in New York City for fifteen years, but fell in love in Austin, Texas, where I currently live. I love Austin, but miss the hell out of NYCs fresh bagels, fast subways, and constant, beautiful chaos. I have two rescue dachshunds named Max & Alvy. When touring writers stay at our house, they have the option of having Max & Alvy sleep in the guestroom bed with them! Most say YES! The publisher of my poetry books once slept on my dorm room floor when he toured with his band John Wilkes Kissing Booth. His name is Derrick Brown, and he was a paratrooper, a weatherman, a children shows writer, and a singing gondolier before founding Write Bloody Publishing. Another fun fact: he also was the minister for my wedding! When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the paranormal. Ghost stories, Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, you name it! I spent an embarrassing number of summer afternoons trying to see if I could objects using just my mind! Breakfast is my favorite meal. I tour a lot, and wherever I am, I google Best Restaurant for Breakfast and go there. Its my one tour indulgence, and its worth it! Plus, its a great way to explore unfamiliar cities! How to Love the Empty Air is vulnerable, beautiful and ultimately life-affirming. In her revelatory seventh collection of poetry, Aptowicz continuing in her tradition of engaging autobiographical work, How to Love the Empty Air explores the before, during and aftermath of losing her mother, battling the silencing power of grief with intimate poems burnished by loss and a hard-won humor. I was a suit for six months. When I left school, I worked in insurance during the day and studied accountancy at night. That lasted all of six hellish months before in a single day-of-enlightenment, I dropped out of business school and quit my job. It was the best decision I ever made. S D Monaghan I lived in Thailand for a year. So instead of getting another job, I sold some stuff, and bought a plane ticket to Thailand where I lived for a year, traveling around the untouristed regions and coasts, supplementing my living expenses by teaching English. I could have been an air-traffic controller. Upon my return from Thailand, I was shortlisted as a candidate for training to be an air-traffic controller in Dublin Airport. However, when they called me back for the final interview, which was to be in the evening, I went to a David Bowie concert instead. The guy who they interviewed instead of me, at short notice, when I didnt turn up, is now head traffic controller in Ireland. Dublin Aviation Authority youre welcome. And the concert was great. Win-win. Norman Mailer wrote to me. So instead of being an air-traffic controller, I decided to write a book about my time in Thailand. When it was published, I sent a copy of it to my (then) favourite novelist, Norman Mailer in Florida. In return, he sent me a self-portrait hed painted in the style of Picasso, with a dedication to me. I framed it. I almost became a psychoanalyst. Having published two early books, I finally went back to college, fulltime, as a mature student studying psychology. After I got my psychology degree, my Professors were eager for me to join up with the Lacanian School of psychoanalysis and do a doctorate in their field. I had basically signed up to do so, when at the last minute, I again left Ireland and moved to Canada. Id done college already and now I needed to live somewhere else permanently as opposed to travelling around, like in Thailand. I lived in Toronto for three years. In Canada I studied screen writing. I was going to move there permanently but when I was granted my permanent visa, I realised that if I didnt return back to Ireland I would, in effect, live in Canada for the rest of my life. It was a tough decision but Ive never regretted moving back to Ireland. I still make it over to Toronto every summer just to hang out. I was taught by Richard Ford. Back in Ireland I did a Masters in Creative Writing in Trinity College where my teacher was the Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford. One of the first things he said to me was, I am a writer. Therefore, I am not a nice man. I warn my friends, Dont tell me things. Because if those things are interesting, I will have to put them in a book. I swear by acupuncture. I have one session a week just for my general wellbeing. If Im ill, I treat it with natural herbs from my herbalist and a visit to my acupuncturist. I know too many people who have left hospital in a worse state than when they had entered. Im an excellent cook. Even if I do say so myself and I do. Never believe a person who says that they want their steak well-done. Just do it medium. I know best. The key to an excellent Chinese is sherry. Lots and lots of sherry. My signature dish is General Tao Chicken. Its all about the marinating. I always read two books simultaneously. I read one book in the traditional or eBook format. But Ill have a second one on the go in the car, in audio form. I work mostly from home so I would only spend about 30 minutes a day in the car. However, thats enough time to get through at least one novel a month. The first audio book I finished was Moby Dick it took a month, driving 30 mins a day, five days a week. Most books are much shorter than Melvilles masterpiece, so I get through approximately 18 extra novels a year, simply by turning off the disposable pop while driving, and listening to a novel instead. Everyone in the world (who drives) should do this. 300 EntertainmentMeg Myers will release her sophomore album, titled Take Me to the Disco, on July 20. You can download the record's lead single "Numb" now via digital platforms. "Listening back to some of these songs made me realize what I was really writing about...what was underneath it all," says Myers of the new album. "On the surface, I thought I was writing about love [and] loss, but I've learned it goes much deeper than that. It's going back to the child in me that needed to be healed." "I've always written from a true place, but in getting to know myself better, I'm now writing from an even deeper level of honesty," she adds. Take Me to the Disco is the follow-up to Myers' 2015 debut album Sorry, which featured the singles "Desire," "Sorry" and "Lemon Eyes." In support of the new album, Myers will embark on a short tour this summer starting June 11 in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit MegMyers.com for ticket info. Here is the Take Me to the Disco track list: "Take Me to the Disco" "Numb" "Tourniquet" "Tear Me to Pieces" "Jealous Sea" "The Death of Me" "Some People" "Done" "I'm Not Sorry" "Little Black Death" "Funeral" "Constant" Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Betram Gerome Beck, 44, formerly of 902 Straight Street #2, Dalton, entered guilty pleas Friday to attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated stalking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Scott Minter to serve 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 30 years on probation. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Susan Beck (no relation). Beck was represented by local attorney Sam Sanders. Beck was facing trial on two separate indictments, both involving allegations of domestic violence. The first incident occurred on Feb. 3, 2017. Officials said Beck strangled his wife, Heather Griffin, on two different occasions and also struck her in the face causing visible injuries. He also strangled their dog. The second incident occurred on Dec. 8, 2017 while Beck was out on bond on the first incident. He returned to the victims home in violation of bond conditions, kicked open the door and entered the residence while pointing a handgun at her. He told her he was ready to go and shot her twice, once in the shoulder and once in the abdomen. A friend of the victim, Patricia Jones, was present and Beck struck her in the head with the gun as she was attempting to protect Ms. Griffin, officials said. Beck has a history of felony drug convictions and other charges including fleeing from law enforcement, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and misdemeanor assaults, as well as parole and probation violations between 1990 and 2010. He has served time in prison on five prior occasions. Because of the three prior felony convictions, Beck will not be eligible for parole during the 20-year prison portion of his sentence. James Corden sent a special set of books to congratulate Prince William and Duchess Catherine on the birth of their baby son. James Corden The royal couple welcomed their third child - a sibling for four-year-old Prince George and two-year-old Princess Charlotte - into the world earlier this week, and the 'Peter Rabbit' actor sent a limited edition set of Beatrix Potter stories along with plush characters to the new prince. According to TMZ, the gift retailed at $750. Meanwhile, designer Diane Von Furstenberg has ensured the royal baby will be well-dressed as she gifted $500 of childrenswear including two complete lines of organic cotton bodysuits and onesies. Ali Bongo Ondimba, the president of African nation Gabon, and his wife Sylvia, splashed out $5,000 on baby gifts at upmarket Beverly Hills boutique Petit Tresor for the new arrival. Their presents included a $3,500 Silver Treasures gift set which featured a silver sippy cup, rattle, keepsake box, comb/brush set, cutlery/bowl set, and cake candleholders. They also had to pay out another $200 on shipping. William and Catherine have yet to announce the name of their baby son, but speculation has risen he will be named Albert because of a page on the royal website. Users who type in the URL www.royal.uk/prince-albert into a search engine reach a page that states 'access denied' - the same message for Prince-George and Princess-Charlotte extensions. However, using extensions for names previously speculated such as Prince Alexander simply bring up a 'Page not found' message. The 35-year-old prince joked earlier this week they could name the baby Jerry. William met the New Zealand High Commissioner to the UK, Sir Jerry Mateparae at the beginning of the Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey. The Dean of Westminster suggested: "Jerry would like it to be Jerry." To which the prince replied: "Jerry's a strong name." Written by Secret Escapes UK Head of Editorial Emma McWhinney Food and Drink on Female First Secret Escapes, the luxury travel site that offers up to 60% off four and five-star hotels and holidays, has launched a collection of foodie stays to whet your appetite; from tasting menus and celebrity chefs to Michelin stars and cooking classes. With so many palate-pleasing destinations to choose from, weve asked Secret Escapes UK Head of Editorial, Emma McWhinney, for her pick of the best gourmet getaways: Tuscany, Italy From freshly rolled pasta and soft, doughy pizzas, to fresh burrata and delicately cured prosciutto, the Italians know a thing or two about food and wine. Lyrical landscapes aside, this abundant pocket of Italy is bursting at the seams with bustling trattorias and local, seasonal and sustainable finds. With vineyards aplenty, wine cellars, daily farmers markets, truffle hunting spots and albergo cookery courses, theres really nowhere better to enjoy la dolce vita. Here, youll be able to learn how to fold pasta and toss pizza dough like a pro as you take in the beautiful backdrop of rolling hills and picturesque villages. Marrakech, Morocco Shrouded in mystery and perched at the end of Africas spice route, Morocco has made a culinary name for itself thanks to its eclectic and aromatic flavours. From saffron infused sauces and pomegranate-flecked couscous to fresh seafood and steaming tagines, Moroccan food is the stuff of Arabian nights: exotic and unknown. For a whistle-stop tour of Moroccos cuisine, Marrakechs Djemaa El Fna Square is the place to go; with its fragrant jungle of spice markets, fresh orange juice vendors and steaming street food stalls. Opt for a cookery course during your stay and youll soon be able to master delicacies such as tagine, harira and zaalouk. Provence, France With its fragrant French lavender fields and more Michelin stars than you can shake a baguette at, Provence is the grand dame of gourmet getaways. Rich in history, culture, boutique hotels and food, Provence is home to iconic wine regions, farm-to-table bistros, abundant local produce and a cafe-culture way of life. Head to the local markets to stock up on local cheeses, freshly baked breads and regional wines, and be sure to stop off at Marche au Poisson for fish and Marche Capucins for spices. Cape Town, South Africa When it comes to dining, Cape Town represents the globe, with a climate that affords fresh, seasonal produce much of the year round and a sustainability scene that is way ahead of the curve. Days here can be spent enjoying the citys cafe culture, hiring a car to head into the surrounding winelands to sample cheeses, chocolate and local tipples, or simply heading to the beach for a typical South African braai. With a cosmopolitan, urban edge, Cape Town offers some of the most buzzed-about restaurants in the world, where diners can sample traditional foods such as biltong, boerewors and bunny chow whilst taking in the surrounding vine-carpeted valleys. Cotswolds, UK The pretty-as-a-picture Cotswolds has well and truly earned itself a well-deserved spot on the British foodie scene with its fair share of praiseworthy restaurants including the ultra-cosy Wild Rabbit in Kingham, Upper Slaughters elegant Lords of the Manor, and Le Champignon Sauvage the areas only holder of two prestigious stars. Peppered with bustling market towns, gastro pubs and food festivals, drawing in celebrity chefs, the Cotswolds tick all the boxes for a foodie weekender. New Orleans, USA Known as one of the culinary capitals of the US, New Orleans is certainly worth a visit for those who enjoy hearty meals with a side of rhythm. Try iconic foods like Beignets, Gumbo, Boudin and Muffaletta to experience the citys best authentic eats whilst taking in the Louisiana charm. Be sure to visit the oldest area of New Orleans - French Quarter for elegant hotels, vine-draped courtyards, sunny cafes, rich jazz traditions and charming architecture. Feeling inspired for your next foodie escape? Head to luxury travel flash sales website, Secret Escapes where youll find gastronomic breaks at four and five-star hotel stays with discounts of up to 60 per cent, along with foodie extras such as unique classes, tasting experiences, multi-course tasting menus and restaurants with top chefs at the helm, some with Michelin stars! Justin Timberlake's 'Man of The Woods' merchandise is to get four new items to mark the opening of a dedicated pop-up shop in Los Angeles. Justin Timberlake The 'Can't Stop The Feeling' hitmaker's merchandise for his current tour will go on sale at the RSVP Gallery on Friday (27.04.18) and there will be four exclusive pieces - a T-shirt, hat, hoodie and pair of shorts. The rest of the original items - which were designed with streetwear designer Heron Preston - include graphic sweatshirts, T-shirts and long-sleeve shirts and cost from $40 to $80 each. It will mark the first time Justin's 'Man of The Woods' merchandise will be sold outside a music venue. Back in February, Justin announced limited edition merchandise for each of the 16 tracks on his album. He shared on social media: "New #MOTW Collection merch designed by @heronpreston only available at 138 Wooster St, NYC ... "Higher Higher - Man of the Woods pop-up this weekend in New York. A custom, collaborative product for every song on the album. @jumpman23 ... "Montana - Man of the Woods pop-up this weekend in New York. A custom, collaborative product for every song on the album. @levis ... "Hers/Flannel - Man of the Woods pop-up this weekend in New York. A custom, collaborative product for every song on the album. @pendletonwm @levis ... "Morning Light - Man of the Woods pop-up this weekend in New York. A custom, collaborative product for every song on the album. @pendletonwm (sic)" Gladys Knight will headline BBC Proms in the Park 2018. Gladys Knight The 73-year-old music icon - who is nicknamed Empress of Soul - will lead the annual event at London's Hyde Park on September 8, with 80s stars Lisa Stansfield and Matt Goss, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, American operatic pop star Josh Groban and the 100-piece Rock Choir also on the bill. They'll be joined by conductor by Richard Balcombe and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Knight said: "I'm so excited to be performing at this year's BBC Proms in the Park, I love coming to the UK and always receive such a warm welcome. Performing on the Hyde Park stage as part of the Last Night of the Proms event has always been a dream of mine and I think it's a wonderful way to celebrate music in London!" The seven-time Grammy Award winner had a string of hits from the 1960s onwards as Gladys Knight and the Pips, including 'Every Beat of My Heart', 'Letter Full of Tears' and the smash hit 'Midnight Train to 'Georgia', and has recorded more than 38 albums during her career, spanning over five decades. Michael Ball - who took over duties from the late great Sir Terry Wogan - will lead the festivities, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2. Proms in the Park concludes eight weeks of outdoor concerts at venues across the UK as part of the Last Night of the Proms. Last year, The Kinks Sir Ray Davies close the event joined by the likes of Elaine Paige, Gilbert O'Sullivan and 90s pop groups Steps and Texas. The rock veteran was led by a full orchestra and chorus in renditions of The Kinks' hits including 'Sunny Afternoon', 'Lola' and 'Waterloo Sunset'. Tickets for this year are on sale now. 'Countryfile' has been granted access to Queen Elizabeth's royal residences. Queen Elizabeth The 92-year-old monarch has agreed to let the cameras into her Sandringham House in Norfolk, Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and Windsor Castle in Berkshire - where Prince Harry will marry Meghan Markle next month - for the show's 30th anniversary. Presenter Adam Henson said: "I once had the great pleasure of meeting Her Majesty, and in our conversation I soon realised that, like me, she loved her animals. It became clear that the working countryside and her animals were her passion." The special episodes - which will coincide with the 65th anniversary of the Queen's coronation - will explore the royal's attachment to rural Britain and love of animals. A BBC spokesperson told the Mail Online: "The show will give unprecedented insight into how these estates are run, revealing how actively involved both The Queen and The Duke have always been in their development." Executive Editor Bill Lyons said: "It's a privilege to work on 'Countryfile' and a delight that the programme has reached its milestone 30th anniversary. "We've shared many memorable moments with our viewers during those three decades, but we look to the future and hope to celebrate the beautiful British countryside for many years to come." The hit show, which has been gracing television screens since 1988, pulls in millions of viewers every week as it focuses on rural and environmental issues across the UK. It's not yet known which presenters - Helen Skelton, Anita Rani, Ellie Harrison, John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker and Tom Heap - will cover the royal specials. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has appointed Wendy Pitts as director of health services for its senior products division. Ms. Pitts will oversee the divisions care management and case management/population health teams. In this role, she is responsible for coordinating and implementing strategies and programs to provide members with effective, high quality products and service, said officials. Wendys considerable leadership experience in case management and clinical operations makes her an ideal fit for this role, said Dr. J.B. Sobel, chief medical officer of senior products for BlueCross. We are thrilled to have someone with her expertise and accomplishments on our team. Before joining BlueCross, Ms. Pitts served as director of case management at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Her other previous leadership roles include case management manager at IlliniCare Health Plan and senior manager of clinical operations for case management with Health Care Service Corporation under BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois. Ms. Pitts earned a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina, and a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Liberty University, and is a Certified Case Manager. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) announced earnings for first quarter that declined from the same period last year. The company's profit totaled $205 million, or $0.36 per share. This compares with $281 million, or $0.57 per share, in last year's first quarter. Excluding items, Southwestern Energy Co. reported adjusted earnings of $162 million or $0.28 per share for the period. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.25 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company's revenue for the quarter rose 8.7% to $920 million from $846 million last year. Southwestern Energy Co. earnings at a glance: -Earnings (Q1): $162 Mln. vs. $87 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q1): $0.28 vs. $0.18 last year. -Analysts Estimate: $0.25 -Revenue (Q1): $920 Mln vs. $846 Mln last year. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their historic meeting early Friday with a handshake at the heavily fortified border between the two countries. Moon was the first to arrive at the border in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone. Kim arrived later, shortly after he appeared on the North Korean side of Panmunjom. He crossed the border on foot, becoming the first North Korean leader to have stepped on South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The inter-Korean summit, the third of its kind in history, is the first to be held in South Korea. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2018) - PowerBand Solutions Inc. (TSXV: PBX) ("PowerBand" or the "Company") a leading online remarketing platform to buy and sell used vehicles, is pleased to announce that it has retained Minera IR Inc. ("Minera") to provide the Company with strategic investor relations and financial communications services. Minera is an investor relations firm based out of Toronto, with a focus on broadening market awareness and engagement with the institutional and retail investment communities. Minera will be responsible for marketing and shareholder communications as well as the development and implementation of a strategic investor relations program, which includes enhancing the Company's exposure among industry stakeholders and investors across Canada, the United States and Europe. Mr. Patrick Piette, the President and founder of Minera, previously worked at TMX Equicom where he provided investor relations counsel to over 20 companies during his 3+ years. He also worked in equity research, M&A and advisory services at RBC Dominion Securities and CIBC World Markets. Mr. Piette is a graduate of Concordia University and a Chartered Financial Analyst. Under the terms of an investor relations agreement between PowerBand and Minera effective April 24, 2018 (the "Agreement") PowerBand will pay Minera a monthly fee of $5,000 for select strategic investor relations services on a month to month basis, terminable at any time by either party, upon providing 30 days written notice. In addition, Minera may be granted stock options to purchase up to 62,500 common shares in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.225 for a period of 3 years. The options will vest in 25% tranches quarterly, beginning 3 months from grant, in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The Agreement and the stock option issuance remain subject to the approval of the Exchange. Minera has advised the Company that Patrick Piette currently owns 16,666 common shares of the Company and 8,333 warrants to acquire common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $0.60 until February 2021. About PowerBand Solutions Inc. PowerBand Solutions Inc. is a technology provider listed on the TSX Venture Exchange that is developing solutions for automotive and other industries that drive efficiency and transparency in the marketplace. PowerBand has developed and commercialized a leading-edge Software-as-a-Service remarketing platform that increases revenues and profit margins for its automotive dealership, Original Equipment Manufacturer, commercial fleet and rental company customers. PowerBand's remarketing platform, the PowerBand Exchange, incorporates the industry's latest auction technologies, market intelligence, and appraisal processes to increase its customers' control and productivity. For further information, please contact: Richard Goldman, Vice President, Finance (866) 768-7653 rgoldman@powerbandsolutions.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by Canadian securities law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Chairman Vincent HS Lo (R) and Chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) Thomas Lembong signed a memorandum of understanding to further promote investment cooperation between Indonesia and Hong Kong in Jakarta on 25 April. Hong Kong: HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department - Vince Lung, Tel: +852 2584 4341, Email: vince.mh.lung@hktdc.org Philippines: ED Integrated Marketing Communications Firm - Vince Reyes, Tel: +63 917 533 1595, Email: info@execdecisions.com.ph; vincesreyes@gmail.com Indonesia: FleishmanHillard (Indonesia) - Dinda Puspasari, Tel: +61 82183 829102, Email: dinda.puspasari@fleishman.com HONG KONG, Apr 27, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - As part of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) drive to help businesses find opportunities in Belt and Road markets, a Hong Kong-Shanghai joint infrastructure investment delegation to the Philippines and Indonesia was organised this week to discuss cooperation and investment opportunities driven by growing intra-regional cooperation in Asia.The mission, organised by the HKTDC in association with the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, comprised some 40 investors and services professionals from Hong Kong and Shanghai. The delegates included those with interest and expertise in finance, consultancy, architecture, energy, waste and water treatment, engineering and construction, legal and accounting, transportation as well as other sectors.High-level discussions on infrastructure collaboration --During the 23-24 April Manila visit, the delegation met with the Philippine National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines Economic Zone Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry and various other departments as well as Philippine business leaders and project owners. Project presentations and networking sessions were held in which Hong Kong and Shanghai delegates representing the investment, financial and professional services sectors had in-depth discussions with local investment agencies and project owners to identify areas for cooperation and development in infrastructure.During the 25-26 April Jakarta visit, the delegation met with Indonesian government departments including the Ministry of National Development Planning Board and the Ministry of Transportation, as well as key local developers such as Jababeka Group. Hong Kong Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam delivered a keynote speech at the "Indonesia-Hong Kong Strategic Partnership on the Belt and Road Initiative" seminar and luncheon, co-organised by the HKTDC, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong (CGCC) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), and an MoU was signed between the HKTDC and the Indonesian Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) to further promote investment cooperation between Indonesia and Hong Kong. Networking sessions were held for Hong Kong and Chinese mainland investors and professionals to discuss collaboration opportunities with Indonesian developers and project owners.The power of Hong Kong-Shanghai collaboration --HKTDC Chairman Vincent HS Lo said the Belt and Road Initiative is a huge undertaking and the complementary strengths of Hong Kong and Shanghai offer a powerful combination of expertise, capital and production capability that can provide comprehensive solutions to the large, complex projects in the Belt and Road."Indonesia, being the biggest economy in Southeast Asia and a founding member of the ASEAN community, plays a very important role in shaping the Belt and Road," said Mr Lo. I am pleased that the long-time trust we have shared with Indonesia will give us a head start to work together. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN and has a young workforce. Offering a combination of capital, professional expertise and production capability from Hong Kong and Shanghai, we hope to collaborate with partners in these two countries to turn investment opportunities into viable ventures."Co-Mission Leader Dr Jonathan Choi, CGCC Chairman and Chairman of Sunwah Group, said: "The delegation is impressed by the prospects of upcoming projects in the country. Apart from capital needs, we also see high demand for total solutions for infrastructure development. In our delegation there are representatives of a wide range of services providers, from architectural and engineering, construction, information technology, project management and operation to legal and risk managements. They are ready to contribute their expertise to the planned development projects."Shanghai Mission Leader Lin Kaiwen, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce and President and CEO of Shanghai Kaiquan Pump (Group) Co. Ltd, said: "During our visit, we see that the economies of the Philippines and Indonesia are stable and developing rapidly. Hong Kong is very well connected in both countries. We hope to strengthen our cooperation with the HKTDC to help Shanghai enterprises explore opportunities in overseas markets. My company will further expand its operation in Hong Kong to leverage the city's advantages as a 'going out' platform."Photo download: https://bit.ly/2vQ1ne1About HKTDCEstablished in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Google+, Twitter @hktdc, LinkedIn.- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+hktdc- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hktdc- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-councilSource: HKTDCContact:Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. STOCKHOLM, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The first patients arrived in clinics in Krakow, Poland and Berlin, Germany to take part in Phase IIB trials of the world's first treatment for PMDD. CEO Peter Nordkild: "This is a milestone moment. Already having patients in the clinic, only ten days after the study opened, underlines the powerful need for a treatment that will alleviate the misery of the severest form of PMS." The phase IIB study is recruiting 225-250 patients from Sweden, UK, Germany and Poland, to trial Sepranolone in PMDD. It's an endogenous compound, naturally occurring in the brain, which inhibits the effects of allopregnanolone, the steroid which triggers PMDD, the most acute, debilitating form of PMS. Symptoms, including mood swings, extreme irritability, anxiety, depression, and especially aggression can disrupt lives, relationships and careers. The study opened April 11th, with applicants carrying out online Questionnaires to ensure a diagnosis of PMDD. On April 20th the first patients entered clinics to begin in-patient screening. Their first task will be keeping diaries of their menstrual cycles, and the severity and frequency of their symptoms. The first administered therapies are expected to take place in June. "These tests are critical," says Peter Nordkild. "In Phase IIB patients administer the treatment themselves, at home, for up to two weeks every month, exactly as they will when the therapy reaches the market. This first diary-keeping stage is crucial and empowering. Many people suffer the debilitating symptoms of PMDD but don't seek medical treatment because they think 'this is just very severe PMS, and there is no treatment'. Well, we're moving that treatment forward all the time. Sepranolone delivered some 80% symptom relief In Phase IIA clinical trials, and we're confident it can treat PMDD-and help millions of women take back control of their lives." If you want more information on the study go here. For further information, please contact: Peter Nordkild, CEO, Asarina Pharma AB Phone: +45-25-47-16-46, e-mail: peter.nordkild@asarinapharma.com Karin Ekberg COO Asarina Pharma AB Phone: +46-70-45-800-45 e-mail: karin.ekberg@asarinapharma.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/asarina-pharma/r/asarina-pharma--first-patients-begin-phase-iib-trials-of-world-s-first-ever-therapy-developed-specif,c2507564 The following files are available for download: A new choice for travelers to China GUANGZHOU, China, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. ("Hainan Airlines") announced the launch of nonstop service between Tel Aviv and Guangzhou scheduled to start on August 2, 2018. The route will be serviced by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner three flights a week. Following the rollout of Tel Aviv-Beijing and Tel Aviv-Shanghai services, this is Hainan Airlines' third direct flight between Tel Aviv and China. Following the flight from Tel Aviv to Beijing and the flight from Tel Aviv to Shanghai, this is Hainan Airlines' third direct flight between Tel Aviv and China. This new route will deliver a new level of convenience for Israelis when they travel to China, while creating more possibilities for business cooperation between Israeli and Chinese companies. In recent years, Hainan Airlines has been highly proactive in developing international services originating from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The company has launched several long-haul international routes, from Shenzhen to Auckland, Brisbane, Brussels and Madrid, complemented by short-haul international routes from Guangzhou to Phnom Penh, Nha Trang and Siem Reap. Combined with the Guangzhou-Tel Aviv service scheduled to start in August and the Shenzhen-Vienna service on tap to launch in October, the airline has gradually established a comprehensive international route network, integrating both long-haul and short-haul, with hubs in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Travelers will be able to transfer in Guangzhou for convenient connections to domestic cities in China as well as to several southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and Cambodia. Tel Aviv-Guangzhou Flight Timetable (All times are local): Flight No. Aircraft Schedule Departure City Departure Time Arrival Time Arrival City HU466 B787 Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday Tel Aviv 12:45 pm 4:40 am+1 Guangzhou HU465 B787 Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday Guangzhou 1:30 am 8:50 am Tel Aviv Note: Specific timetables can be confirmed on Hainan Airlines' official website. About Hainan Airlines Founded in January 1993,Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd, has been rated a SKYTRAX five-star airline for seven consecutive years since 2011 and was listed among the Top 10 SKYTRAX carriers. We are devoted to providing passengers with comprehensive flight services. Hainan Airlines operates nearly 1,800 routes to more than 220 citie with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft. Please log on official website (www.hainanairlines.com) for more information. RIGA, Latvia, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amber Beverage Group has reached an agreement with the shareholder of Think Spirits Australia to acquire a majority share in the company, and expects this process to be completed inMay 2018. Think Spirits is one of the largest independent spirits distributors in Australia with an enviable reputation in the market for building premium brands. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640947/Amber_Beverage_Group_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/682936/Think_Spirits_Logo.jpg ) Amber Beverage Group (ABG) is also pleased to announce that Patrick Borg, founder and Managing Director of Thinks Spirits, and his team will remain in the business and that no operational changes are expected. "We are very excited to have Patrick and his exceptional team at Think Spirits join ABG. I am certain that the addition of Think Spirits will enable us to accelerate our drive to build a global platform for our brands," commented Seymour Ferreira, CEO ABG. "Our companies share similar values and we believe the partnership will give us access to other brands within the group, allowing us to further strengthen our portfolio and teams for the benefit of both existing and new brand owners," said Patrick Borg, Managing Director and Founder of Think Spirits. Amber Beverage Group operates internationally from its head office in Luxembourg and through its production and distribution companies in Russia, Mexico, UK and the Baltics, its historical home. ABG is a leading producer, distributor, logistics provider and retailer of alcoholic beverages. Think Spirits was founded in 2004 by Patrick Borg. The company is based in Sydney, Australia and has established itself as one of the leading independent distributors of premium spirit brands through its innovative approach to on premises and consumer marketing. For further information, please contact: Sabine Rutka, consultant, "LEAD. Corporate Communication" E-mail: sabine.rutka@lead.lv Phone: +371-26198363 http://www.amberbev.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:55 am ET Friday, the Federal Labor Agency releases German jobless rate for April. Economists expect the jobless rate to remain unchanged at 5.3 percent. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against its major counterparts. While the euro recovered against the pound, it dropped against the rest of major rivals. The euro was worth 132.07 against the yen, 1.1966 against the franc, 1.2074 against the greenback and 0.8696 against the pound as of 3:50 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department - Banbi Chen Tel: +852 2584 4525 Email: banbi.yc.chen@hktdc.org HONG KONG, Apr 27, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The HKTDC and the Belt and Road Pioneer are jointly organising the "Belt and Road Journey" Youth Exchange Programme to encourage the city's young people to participate in the development of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The trip will take about 20 Hong Kong youths, aged between 18 and 25, on a trip to Xinjiang and Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, in late July.The trip will include visits to local businesses and cultural exchanges with local citizens and youth, enabling the participants to gain an understanding of the economies as well as experience life in countries along the Belt and Road route. The programme is now open for application.Co-organised by the SMEs & Younger Generation Working Group under the HKTDC Belt and Road Committee and the non-profit Belt and Road Pioneer, the "Belt and Road Journey" Youth Exchange Programme is supported by tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.Raymond Yip, HKTDC Executive Director, said, "The HKTDC actively promotes a series of activities which we hope can enable more people to understand the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as strengthen Hong Kong's role as the commercial hub for the Initiative.Jason Chiu, Convenor of the SMEs & Younger Generation Working Group and Founder & CEO of Cherrypicks, said: "Central Asia is relatively 'foreign' to many young people in Hong Kong, yet it serves as a critical hub connecting China, Russia and the Middle East. The Youth Exchange Programme is the Working Group's predominant event this summer."Through a creative and fun approach, the Programme aims to raise local youth's awareness of the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, help them better understand the opportunities arising from the Initiative, as well as encouraging them to proactively participate in Belt and Road developments in the future."Wilson Chan, Chairman of Belt and Road Pioneer, said that Belt and Road opportunities are not limited to the business, but also other aspects of life, such as cultural exchanges. "Through this programme, we seek to encourage young people to actively equip themselves, expand their horizons and develop more interests by exploring opportunities around the world."Participants will travel to a number of Central Asia cities along the China-Kazakhstan Railway including Urumqi, Yining, Khorgas and Almaty. Highlights of the programme include exchange activities with local tertiary students, as well as visits to major companies, logistics and industrial parks, and landmarks such as the Urumqi international Bazaar and the Huiyuan Ancient City. To help all young people in understanding Belt and Road opportunities, arrangements will be made for participants to share their experiences on the journey on television, social media and through other channels.The programme is open to Hong Kong residents aged between 18 and 25, who can apply by uploading to a dedicated website a 40-second video with self-introduction and presentation of their understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative.For enrolment details, please refer to http://beltandroadjourney.hktdc.com/en/."Belt and Road Journey" Youth Exchange ProgrammeEnrolment: 27 April - 18 May 2018Travel: 26 - 31 July 2018The HKTDC announced the formation of the HKTDC Belt and Road Committee in December last year. Through its five working groups targeting different markets and business sectors, the Committee implements a comprehensive and targeted programme to engage different sectors and the public to participate in Belt and Road development and share in the benefits presented by the Initiative. In particular, the SMEs & Younger Generation Working Group seeks to promote and foster participation of young professionals in the Initiative, as well as to help start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand their business into Belt and Road markets. The Belt and Road Pioneer is a voluntary organisation that aims to introduce the Belt and Road Initiative to youth.Photo download: https://bit.ly/2JweaUVAbout HKTDCEstablished in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Google+, Twitter @hktdc, LinkedIn.- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+hktdc- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hktdc- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-councilSource: HKTDCContact:Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Faculty and students from the Lee University Department of Communication Arts recently attended the American Advertising Federation Chattanooga American Advertising Awards, where 25 Lee students received seven ADDY awards in total. The American Advertising Awards offer an opportunity for students to showcase their work outside an educational environment. Additionally, it gives students a chance to be judged by industry professionals and to network with multiple companies and organizations. Ten students represented and submitted work from Lees Vindagua, a student-run magazine. Twelve students were affiliated with and submitted work from Lees National Student Advertising Competition team. The remaining three Lee participants submitted individually completed work. Our students did extremely well this year, displaying the benefits of working in teams, said Dr. Megan Moe, professor of communication and advisor for Lees NSAC team. Students from Vindagua and Lees NSAC team received the only two Gold Student ADDY awards. The Vindagua team also won the Student Best in Show award. The individual students won a number of awards including senior advertising major Angela Williams who won Silver for a commercial and Bronze for a truck wrap design; senior elementary education major Jaclyn DeVries who won Bronze for a photograph; and senior graphic design major Kaitlyn Anderson who won Bronze for a graphic design piece. The Vindagua and NSAC team entries were forwarded to the AAF-District 7 competition. Vindagua won a district Silver ADDY as well as a Judges Choice award. Each of the four judges chose their favorite work from either the professional or student entries, with one judge selecting the Vindagua Yearbook as the favorite submission. According to Dr. Moe, the Vindagua was recently re-conceptualized by Dr. Michael Finch, assistant professor of communication at Lee, to be a bi-annual magazine rather than a traditional hardbound yearbook. Moe attributes the unique design and creation of Vindaguas compelling visual narrative to Jordan Holt, assistant professor of graphic design and Vindaguas faculty advisor, and to Julia Minucci, Vindaguas student editor-in-chief and her staff. Their vision and execution of a bold contemporary aesthetic breaks the stodgy yearbook stereotype, said Dr. Moe. They lovingly crafted a volume that will be cherished by many. NSAC is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client. Students develop a marketing plan and then pitch their work to advertising professionals at the district, semi-final, and national levels. The American Advertising Awards, formerly the ADDYs, is the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting over 40,000 entries every year in local AAF Club (Ad Club) competitions. The mission of the American Advertising Awards competition is to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising. The American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association, conducts the American Advertising Awards through its 200-member advertising clubs and 15 districts. It is the only creative awards program administered by the advertising industry for the industry. Lee Universitys Vindagua is a biannual student-run publication that is distributed at the end of every semester. For more information about the American Advertising Federation or the awards please visit www.aaf.org. For more information about NSAC, contact Moe at mmoe@leeuniversity.edu. For more information about Vindagua, contact Holt at jordanholt@leeuniversity.edu. NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend, a leading provider of enterprise data storage solutions, announced today that Cogito Group, the leading ICT (Information and Communication Technology) company providing digital security solutions in Australia, has adopted the rock-solid EonStor DS 4016RU with SSD Cache solution in its IT environment to stabilize infrastructure deployment and speed up critical applications while boosting performance and reducing costs and complexity. Today's cyber security threats have become more and more sophisticated. As such, in order to effectively provide more secure solutions to its customers while reducing operating costs, Cogito was looking for a storage solution capable of operating several virtual machines to run its mission-critical applications, and support a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) for approximately 130 in-house staff with provision of up to thousands of users. Cogito decided to adopt EonStor DS 4016RU after comparing several storage vendors, choosing to deploy the system for production as the solution offers much better performance and is considerably more reliable than before. By leveraging SSD Cache, DS 4016RU would intelligently and automatically keep a copy of frequently accessed data (such as OS boot images) in SSD Cache from HDDs to dramatically reduce computer boot time. "Infortrend SAN has been rock solid and reliable, we have not had any issues with outages in our datacenter since we implemented Infortrend storage," said Richard Brown - CEO of Cogito Group Pty Ltd. Thomas Kao, Senior Director of Product Planning at Infortrend commented: "Our products are designed to seamlessly integrate with virtualization environments with scalability provisioned to anticipate future growth. We are pleased to assist Cogito a complete solution in terms of speed, reliability, and ease of management. We will continue to develop storage solutions so that users can enjoy optimal resource efficiency, application productivity, operational resilience, and management simplicity." For more details about this success story, click here. About Infortrend Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more Information, please visit www.infortrend.com Infortrend and EonStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc., other trademarks property of their respective owners. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The European Commission will release Eurozone economic confidence index for April at 5:00 am ET Friday. The economic confidence index is expected to fall to 112.00 in April from 112.6 in March. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against its major opponents. While the euro dropped against the greenback and the yen, it held steady against the franc. Against the pound, it rose. The euro was trading at 132.02 against the yen, 1.1967 against the franc, 1.2072 against the greenback and 0.8734 against the pound at 4:55 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The "Germany Polymer Emulsions Market Segmented by Product Type, Application, and End User Industry- Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The polymer emulsion market in Germany is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period, 2018-2023. Emulsion polymerization produces polymers with high molecular weight and very less viscosity which reduces VOCs emission. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are major environmental concerns, therefore governments are levying stringent policies to either curtail or completely ban them. This is driving the market. The German government has identified the regulation which targets residential sector air quality and health in buildings, and has limited the usage of high VOC products in construction. Based on application, paints coatings accounts for the largest share, greater than 40, as Germany is the largest market in Europe for paints coatings. The increasing amount of paint exports to other European countries, combined with increasing demand for low VOC decorative paints in the residential sector is expected to drive the market during the forecast period. Companies Mentioned 3M Akzo Nobel NV Arkema SA Asahi Kasei Corp BASF SE Celanese Corp Clariant AG Cytec Industries Inc DIC Corp Dairen Chemical DowDupont Eni SpA JSR Corp Lubrizol Corp Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC Nuplex Industries Ltd Reichhold Inc Royal DSM NV Synthomer plc Wacker Chemie AG ZEON Corp Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 3. Market Insights 4. Market Dynamics 5. Market Segmentation and Analysis 6. Future of the Market 7. Competitive Landscape 8. Company Profiles 9. Disclaimer For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/v2bkm3/germany_polymer?w=4 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005361/en/ Contacts: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Related Topics: Plastics Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 27, 2018) - Gunpowder Capital Corp., (CSE: GPC), (CSE: GPC.PR.A), (OTCQB: GNPWF), (FSE: YS6N), (the "Corporation") announced today that it had closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement raise of Warrants. In total, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ("$300,000.00") CDN was raised by issuing Ten Million ("10,000,000") Warrants at a price of Three Cents ("$0.03") CDN per Warrant. Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one a Common Share in the capital of the Corporation at an exercise price of Twelve Cents ("$0.12") CDN per Common Share for a period of 24 months. The Warrants are subject to acceleration at the sole discretion of the Corporation in the event that the volume-weight average trading price of the Common Shares is greater than CDN$0.15 for any period of 10 consecutive trading days. In connection with the closing of this private placement offering, the Corporation, paid finder's fees totaling Twenty-Six Thousand, Dollars ("$26,000.00") CDN in connection with certain subscriptions for the Corporation's Warrants. Proceeds of the placement will be used for both acquisitions and for working capital purposes. The Corporation has also extended the closing date of the current offering to May 15th, 2018. For further information please contact: Mr. Frank Kordy CEO & Director Gunpowder Capital Corp. T: (647) 466-4037 E: frank.kordy@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com Mr. Paul Haber CFO Gunpowder Capital Corp. T: (416) 363-3833 E: paul.haber@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward- looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES. - 30 - Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 27, 2018) - Maritime Resources Corp. (TSXV: MAE) ("Maritime" or the "Company") announces a non-brokered private placement of up to $1,000,000 through the issuance of a combination of units (the "Units") at a price of $0.10 per Unit and flow-through units (the "FT Units") at a price of $0.12 per FT Unit (the "Offering"). Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half (1/2) of one common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.20 per common share for a period of 18 months following the closing date of the Offering (the "NFT Warrants"). Each FT Unit consists of one common flow-through share and one half (1/2) of one common share purchase warrant ("FT Warrant"). Each whole FT Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one non flow-through common share of the Company at a price of $0.20 per common share for a period of 18 months following the closing date of the Offering (the "FT Warrants"). The Warrants and the FT Warrants will include an acceleration clause that, if at any time after 4 months from the closing of the Offering, the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is greater than $0.40 for 20 consecutive trading days, then the expiry date for the Warrants and the FT Warrants may, by notice in writing by the Company, be accelerated to 30 days following the date that such notice is given. The private placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval and all securities issued will be subject to a four month hold period. Finder's fees may be payable in connection with the private placement, all in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Use of Proceeds The net proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Company's 100% owned Hammerdown Mine project as well as the Whisker Valley project in Newfoundland and for general working capital and corporate purposes. The work will include a 3,000 metre drill program both on Hammerdown and the Whisker project that is now underway. Permitting will continue on the Hammerdown project as well as further engineering study to look at optimizing the opportunities within the PFS. Hammerdown Drill Program A 2000 metre drilling program is now underway on the Hammerdown mine areas, both on the inferred resources that sits within and near the current mine plan area as well as the J, K, veins that have now been exposed by surface trenching. As outlined in the Prefeasibility Study, announced in March of 2017, much of the inferred resources exists within the mine plan area however cannot be considered or included as a mineral reserve. Currently there is approximately 400,000 ounces of Au in the inferred category and a focused drill program will aim to move part of this inferred resource into the measured or indicated categories to allow for further consideration as a mineral reserve. The surface drill program will also test the depth potential below the J and K veins as outlined for the recently completed surface trenching program. (see News Release MAE 17-12, November 16th, 2017) Specifically, for the J & K veins, drilling will be directed between the recent trenching program and the historic underground drilling. This portion of the program will consist of shallow drill holes to outline the grade and thickness of the veins in this area. Once the drill program is completed, both surface trenching and drilling results will be compiled and evaluated for a potential open pit production scenario similar to Richmont's first year of production. The current mineral reserves at Hammerdown do not include any mineralization from the now expose J and K veins. Whisker Valley Drill Program In addition to the Hammerdown drilling, a 1000 metre drill program is also being planned for the Whisker Valley project area. The high grade gold assays that have been received from the trenching program this fall on the Ben, Gary and Jackson veins have warranted a follow up drill program to be carried out. (see News Release MAE 17-14, November 29,2017 and MAE 17-16 December 7, 2017) The drill program will target gold mineralization at depth and below the ~250 metre strike length of veins that have been exposed on surface. Prior to the start up of the drill program, the Company plans to conduct a detail geophysical program that will consist of an IP survey over the trenched area. About Maritime Resources Corp: Maritime Resources holds 100% of the Green Bay Property, located near Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador. The property hosts the past producing Hammerdown gold mine and the Orion gold deposit separated by a 1.5 km distance that sits within an overall strike length of 4000 metres. Maritime announced a Prefeasibility Study (March 2nd, 2017) that evaluated the Measured & Indicated NI43-101 mineral resource estimate for the past producing Hammerdown gold deposit. The study was completed by WSP Canada Inc. ("WSP"), an independent third party engineering firm, with the mandate to evaluate the potential of bringing the past producing gold mine back into commercial production. Pre - Feasibility highlights Project Pre-tax net present value ('NPV 8% ') of $71.2 million with an IRR of 46.8% per cent. ') of $71.2 million with an IRR of 46.8% per cent. Project after-tax net present value ('NPV 8% ') of $44.2 million with an internal rate of return ('IRR') of 34.8% ') of $44.2 million with an internal rate of return ('IRR') of 34.8% Net pre-tax cash flow of $104 million, undiscounted. Net after-tax cash flow of $69 million, undiscounted. Pre-tax operating cash cost to produce an ounce of gold is $558 CDN with an all in pre-tax cash cost (including capital, sustaining capital and operating cost) of $955 CDN per ounce of gold. with an all in pre-tax cash cost (including capital, sustaining capital and operating cost) of per ounce of gold. Mine life for the current plan at Hammerdown is five years, producing approximately 174,000 ounces at an average of approximately 35,000 ounces per year. Basic assumptions used for the compilation of the PFS: Gold Price of US$ 1,250 per ounce Exchange Rate of 0.8 US$: 1 CA$ (or 1 US$: 1.25 CA$) Project discount rate of 8% Mill recovery of 97% based on the historic treatment of the ore at the nearby Nugget Pond Gold Mill from 2000 to 2004. (All currency is expressed in Canadian dollars ($CA) unless otherwise noted.) The Hammerdown gold deposit was successfully mined by Richmont Mines between 2000 and 2004 while gold prices averaged $325/oz. During its operation, a total of 291,400 tonnes of ore were mined and milled, at an average grade of 15.83 g/t Au, recovering a total of 143,000 ounces of gold at an 8 g/t cut-off. All of the ore was processed at the Nugget Pond mill, now owned and operated by Rambler Metals and Mining Canada Limited, with an average gold recovery of 97.1%. Mining terminated in 2004 due to low gold prices with extensive gold mineralization remaining, although uneconomic at that time. The Orion gold deposit consists of two main vein systems, both of which are open along strike, and down plunge to the northeast. Bernard H. Kahlert, P.Eng. is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this release. Further information on the Green Bay Gold Property can be found on our website at www.maritimeresourcescorp.com along with the NI43-101 compliant Technical Report and Prefeasibility Report filed on SEDAR. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Doug Fulcher President, CEO For further information, please call: Doug Fulcher Telephone: (604) 336-7322 info@maritimeresourcescorp.com The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements: Certain information included in this press release, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of management or estimates of future performance constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding copper, gold and silver forecasts, the financial strength of the Company, estimates regarding timing of future development and production and statements concerning possible expansion opportunities for the Company. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief are based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, the price of and anticipated costs of recovery of, copper concentrate, gold and silver, the presence of and continuity of such minerals at modeled grades and values, the capacities of various machinery and equipment, the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices, mineral recovery rates, and others. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, interpretation and implications of drilling and geophysical results; estimates regarding timing of future capital expenditures and costs towards profitable commercial operations. Other factors that could cause actual results, developments or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, among others, increases/decreases in production; volatility in metals prices and demand; currency fluctuations; cash operating margins; cash operating cost per pound sold; costs per ton of ore; variances in ore grade or recovery rates from those assumed in mining plans; reserves and/or resources; the ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; operational risks inherent in mining or development activities and legislative factors relating to prices, taxes, royalties, land use, title and permits, importing and exporting of minerals and environmental protection. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable security law. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO, IMO.TO) announced it has received final acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange to amend its normal course issuer bid or NCIB to increase the number of common shares that it may repurchase. Under the amendment, the number of common shares that may be repurchased will increase from up to three percent to up to five percent of its 846.53 million outstanding common shares as of June 13, 2017, or a maximum of 42.33 million shares during the 12-month period from June 27, 2017 to June 26, 2018. This amended maximum will be reduced by the number of shares purchased from Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), Imperial's majority shareholder. No other terms of the NCIB have been amended. Purchases under the amended NCIB are eligible to begin on May 2, 2018. The NCIB will end should the company purchase the maximum allowable number of shares, or on June 26, 2018. ExxonMobil will be permitted to sell its shares to Imperial outside of, but concurrent with, the NCIB in order to maintain its proportionate share ownership at approximately 69.6 percent. ExxonMobil advised Imperial that it intends to participate, as it has in prior years. Under its current NCIB, as of April 26, 2018, Imperial has purchased 6.37 million shares on the open market and a corresponding 14,582,359 shares from ExxonMobil to maintain its proportionate share ownership at 69.6 percent, representing a total cost of about $773 million and an average cost of $36.90 per share. Separately, Imperial Oil Limited declared a quarterly dividend of 19 cents per share on the outstanding common shares of the company, payable on July 1, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 1, 2018. This second quarter 2018 dividend compares with the first quarter 2018 dividend of 16 cents per share. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de East Africa Oil Group As the name suggests East Africa Oil Group or EAOG is a group created to explore for oil plays along the flanks of the Western Indian Ocean from Cape Town northwards to Somalia and oceanwards from Madagascar to the Comoros, Seychelles and the Cambay region of India. The group comprises five explorers who have been continuously active in this region, either individually and collectively, with various companies over the last couple of decades. During that time some 270 oil occurrences have been examined, mostly by directly obtaining and analysing oil samples. The results are now integrated with their local and plate settings. The result is that EAOF understand the origin and distribution of the East Africa margin hydrocarbons and are able to determine where commercial oil will most likely be found. First responders were dispatched o n April 20, to a medical emergency shortly after 4 p.m. at the intersection of Gunbarrel and E. Brainerd Road. The driver had a seizure and was unconscious. Captain Kristin Smith said that when Serenity recognized what was happening to her mother, she put the vehicle in park, jumped out of the car to flag down other drivers for help. After that, Serenity jumped back into the car, stabilized her mother's head to ensure that she didn't choke, checked for her medication, and stayed with her throughout the seizure. "She never left her mother's side, even while we took care of her mom," said Captain Smith. As firefighters from Station 21 arrived on the scene, they saw the driver's daughter, Serenity, who turned 12 years old that day, taking care of her.Captain Kristin Smith said that when Serenity recognized what was happening to her mother, she put the vehicle in park, jumped out of the car to flag down other drivers for help. After that, Serenity jumped back into the car, stabilized her mother's head to ensure that she didn't choke, checked for her medication, and stayed with her throughout the seizure. "She never left her mother's side, even while we took care of her mom," said Captain Smith. While her mother was being treated by the firefighters and medics with Hamilton County EMS, Serenity sat next to her mother and made some phone calls to get a family member to come drive them home. "The level of calm and clear-headedness Serenity showed during this incident was incredibly impressive," said Captain Smith. "My crew, the EMS crew and Chattanooga police officers were all noting Serenity's heroic acts that likely saved her and her mom from being struck by oncoming traffic in that intersection." A week after the incident, Serenity and her parents, Roni Mothershead and John Honeycutt, were invited to meet the first responders on Friday at Hamilton County's EMS Medic 7 in East Brainerd. Fire Chief Phil Hyman presented a CFD challenge coin, T-shirt and cap to Serenity. "We're making you an honorary firefighter Serenity," said Chief Hyman, "because you remained calm and did all the right things to help your mother and keep her safe." Paramedic shift Captain Brian Bricker with Hamilton County EMS said he was very impressed with how Serenity kept her cool. "She not only took care of her mother," said Bricker, "she also helped prevent others from being injured in an auto accident." Hamilton County EMS Director Ken Wilkerson and Deputy Chief John Combes also gave Serenity similar gifts, and then presented her with a birthday cake to recognize the fact that she turned 12 the day of the emergency with her mother. With that, all of the first responders present sang Happy Birthday to Serenity, who told reporters that she was more nervous at this media event than she was last week when her mother had the seizure. Despite all the attention she received on Friday, she said she was thrilled to meet the first responders again. Lee University named Kristiana McCombs as the recipient of the 2018 F. J. Lee Award. Dr. Debbie Murray presented the award to Ms. McCombs during the Honors Chapel. I am humbled to be counted among the hardworking and passionate recipients of this award, said Ms. McCombs. The Lee faculty and staff have invested so much toward my academic and personal success, and I hope to continue their legacy of excellence. This annual award was established in 1968 in honor of the second president of the university. It is presented to a senior at Lee who has demonstrated high standards of integrity, leadership, service, broad campus involvement, and academic excellence. Each department may nominate one student for the award and a winner is selected by faculty vote. Kristiana is simply one of the finest students we have ever produced at Lee University, said Dr. Mark Bailey, professor of music. She is a scholar, student leader, mentor, and consummate musician. Ms. McCombs is a Centennial Scholar and is a School of Music Presser Scholar. She is the recipient of the Roberson Leadership and Carolyn Payne Awards. She has served as a peer leader for the Office of First Year Programs, a student worker in the Music Performance Studies Office, and the secretary on the School of Music Deans student advisory council. Ms. McCombs won the Lee University Concerto Competition twice and served as the student conductor for the Lee University Chamber Strings, along with being the directors assistant for the Lee Childrens Chorale. During her time at Lee, she has traveled to Japan, taught string instruments to students at Blythe Bower Elementary School, and tutored at the Boys and Girls Club. Ms. McCombs is a double major in cello performance and music education with a vocal and instrumental licensure. She will graduate summa cum laude this May. After graduation, she plans to move to Toronto and hopes to teach music before pursuing graduate school. . , , , - . - , , ... By continuing to browse our site you agree to our Privacy & Cookie Policy. > Privacy & Cookie Policy I Agree Guest Commentary Audio Article This is a short history of the Morgan family farm before the possible development of the remaining 49 acres east of Chesterton. Jesse and Jane Morgan arrived in Northwest Indiana in 1833 after traveling through Ohio, northern Indiana, stopping off in LaPorte County for a... Echoes of the Past Audio Article 10 Years Ago Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 Bethlehem Lutheran Church will host a wellness screening event. . . CHS girls soccer team beats LaPorte 5-0 and clinches a share of the DAC title. Scoring goals are Rosie Biehl (2), Hannah Kollar (2), and Sam... Voice of the People I can drive on the left lane of Ind. 49 and not have to deal with the truck traffic any more. I dont think I know you Jim Ton but apparently youre the one that made this happen. My life is a little better now.... Guest Commentary Fair maps for our children, for our Hispanic communities, for our futures My son will vote for the first time next year. And for his first time, the state of Indiana will have brand new legislative and congressional districts. It should feel like a clean... This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. Get em while theyre not so hot. Ford has revealed the dates that it will end production of several of the slow-selling car model lines it will be eliminating in favor of a lineup mostly made up of trucks and SUVs. As first reported by Automotive News, Ford will stop building the current Focus this May and replace it with a crossover-inspired model called the Focus Active that will be imported from China beginning in the middle of next year. Ford's Michigan Assembly plant where it is currently built will be retooled to produce the upcomming Ranger pickup and Bronco SUV. The Taurus will follow the Focus into the history books next March, when its Chicago factory is scheduled to be revamped to manufacture an all-new Explorer SUV, while Fiesta production will end next May at Fords Cuautitlan Assembly facility in Mexico to make way for a lineup of electric cars that will be manufactured there starting in 2020. The Fusion looks set to live on the longest, as a date for its discontinuation has not yet been announced. The midsize sedan is currently exported to the United States from a Ford facility in Hermosillo, Mexico, that also builds the Lincoln MKZ. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott may put the brakes on his stock car racing hobby over concerns that his presence at the track will anger fans who disagree with his support for new gun control measures in the state. The 59-year-old Republican approved legislation this month that banned high capacity magazines and bump stocks, raised the legal age to purchase a firearm to 21 and mandated background checks for most firearms transactions. The new regulations were drawn up in the wake of an alleged threat to shoot up a high school by an 18-year-old former student that was uncovered earlier this year. Several of the most serious charges against the teen, Jack Sawyer, were dropped this week. Scott has been one of the top drivers at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre for years, and continued racing after he became governor in 2017. The Vermont politician understands that many of the spectators are also hunters and gun owners. His spokeswoman says hes talking to the tracks owners and other drivers to determine if his being there will have a negative effect on the event, but that he hasnt yet made a decision. "It's an event for everybody and he doesn't want that to be sort of a cloud over what's normally a fun event for all," she said. Thunder Road said it had been contacted by Scott but said it considers what was discussed a private matter. Down the road at Cumberland Farms, where spectators often stop after races, clerk Sheila Smith, a gun owner and hunter, said it's the governor's choice but if he races he will get "booed." "He's just going to get a bad rap. He's going to get booed a lot," she said. Tim Isabelle of Barre gets to several races a year and doesn't care if Scott races or not. "I think he's washed up myself," Isabelle said, mentioning competition from younger racers. "Could he still win? Yeah, probably," he said. Fellow racer Bobby Therrien, of Hinesburg, who works in the racing performance shop where Scott keeps his cars, said he understands Scott's concerns but hopes the governor races this season. The sport is a getaway for the governor, he said. "He's a figure of Thunder Road," he said. "He's the winningest driver in the late model division so it would be a shame to see him not compete this year." The Associated Press contributed to this report n elderly veteran of the Great War is being honored in the nation's capital. That may seem impossible, given that World War I ended nearly a century ago, but given that this veteran is made of steel and iron rather than flesh and blood, it's understandable. The honoree is an automobile, a 1918 Cadillac Type 57, and it's one of five vehicles being displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this spring by the Historic Vehicle Association. All are listed in the National Historic Vehicle Register, an archive of significant vehicles within the Library of Congress. The Cadillac is on display through April 30. When the U.S. committed to the horrific struggle that was World War I on April 6, 1917, its supply of military vehicles was meager and war production was just ramping up. But America was building passenger cars by the tens of thousands, so some of them went off to war. Most failed to return from that cataclysmic struggle, but this Cadillac survived in largely original and unrestored condition. MORE CLASSIC CAR STORIES FROM HAGERTY Today, the veteran Cadillac is owned by Marc Lessen of Gardiner, Wash., but when it went off to war, it was the property of Dr. John H. Denison, who served with the YMCA in support of the troops. Cadillacs were the preferred transportation of many American generals, so when Dennison joined the war effort he shipped over with his car. Too old for combat and hobbled by a leg injury, he served as chauffeur for a French welfare organization and was present at the horrific battle of Marne. What appears to be a bullet hole in the automobile may well have been earned at Marne. Denison's war duties aren't fully documented, but we do know that when Eleanor Butler Alexander-Roosevelt, daughter-in-law to President Theodore Roosevelt, followed her husband, Theodore Jr., to Europe, Denison drove her around France in an effort to select military leave sites. The Cadillac that Eleanor would later describe as luxurious in her autobiography was built on a 125-inch wheelbase and powered by a 314-cubic-inch, 70-horsepower V-8. It left the factory with dark blue paint but was redone in ordnance green at some point, possibly at the conclusion of the war. Lessen said that blue is still visible under coats of green. The war ended on November 11, 1918, and Dennison and the Cadillac travelled to Nice, where he managed a military leave area that accommodated troops remaining in Europe. Dennison was discharged the following summer and returned to the U.S. without his Cadillac. But he traveled to France in 1920, found the car, and shipped it back to his Santa Barbara home. Most military vehicles that remained in Europe after the war were auctioned or disposed of in a bulk sale to France. Dennison's Cadillac was spared, perhaps because he remained on duty in Europe for a time following the armistice. That helps explain while it may well be the only complete and largely unrestored example of a military Cadillac. When Denison died in 1936, the Cadillac was purchased by a military vehicle collector named Major M.C. Bradley. Bradley subsequently sold it to a Santa Barbara car dealer, who, in turn, sold it to Senator George Wingard. It changed hands a few more times until Graham Jackson of Spokane, Washington, unaware of the car's history, sold it to Lassen in 2005. Given the Cadillac's olive-green paint, Lassen suspected that it had been a military vehicle, but a search of GM records revealed that the car hadn't been purchased by the U.S. government, as was true of most vehicles that saw war service. But GM files did indicate that the owner was named Denison, so Lassen persisted. His diligence paid off when he was able to document both Denison's service and that his car had accompanied him when he served in Europe. Now, nearly a century later, the veteran machine's service has been duly noted. TRUMP'S NEW LIMOUSINE WITH SECRET SERVICE. SET TO TRANSPORT PRESIDENT THIS SUMMER: Legendary NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw allegedly made unwanted sexual advances against multiple women in the 1990s, a bombshell set of reports revealed Thursday, months after a separate set of accusations led to the downfall of longtime Today anchor Matt Lauer. According to The Washington Post, Brokaw, now 78, made unwanted moves on Linda Vester, a former NBC correspondent and former Fox News anchor, twice during the 1990s, including a move to forcibly kiss Vester, who was in her 20s at the time. The report also detailed the claims of an anonymous woman who told the outlet Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her during her time as a production assistant in the 1990s. Brokaw was the anchor of NBC Nightly News at the time. He has denied all the accusations against him. I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC, Brokaw said in a statement issued by NBC that was provided to The Post. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other. Before the accusations against him went public, he actually spoke out about the #MeToo movement on MSNBC -- without mentioning his own behavior. I do think we need to have a healthier, well-defined dialogue, if you will, and Im not sure how we launch into it, he said in December 2017. A Fox News request for comment was not immediately returned by NBC. Lauers former co-host, Ann Curry, who left amid turmoil inside the network, also said in The Post report that she told network management about complaints regarding Lauer's alleged sexual harassment, in 2012. However, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack previously said there were no formal complaints lodged against Lauer in his two decades with the network. I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division, Vester told The Post. Vester spoke of an alleged January 1994 incident in a New York hotel room with Brokaw. She had plans to leave New York ahead of an impending snowstorm but Brokaw discouraged her, she said, and suggested that the two get a drink. I only drink milk and cookies, Vester claimed she said as a way of skirting Brokaws alleged intentions. It was the only thing I could think of at the time, hoping the reference to milk and cookies would make him realize I was 30 years his junior and not interested, Vester said. But when plans to travel to Washington D.C. got canceled, Vester said, Brokaw tried again in a 3 a.m. phone call to her hotel room. Once in my room . . . I received three phone calls, she told The Post, citing diary entries she made at the time. One from a friend, another from a source; the third was Tom Brokaw. He said to order milk and cookies and he was coming over. My career at NBC would be over before it even got going, Vester said she remembered thinking if she turned Brokaw down. The anchor soon knocked on her door. What do you want from me? Vester claimed she asked Brokaw. An affair of more than passing affection, Brokaw allegedly replied. But youre married, she said. And Im Catholic. Brokaw urged Vester to sit next to him on the sofa, she claimed. He proceeded to press his index finger to my lips and said, This is our compact, The Post said she wrote in her diary. My insides shook, Vester said. I went completely cold. Brokaw then allegedly placed his hand on the back of her neck and grabbed her head in order to show Vester how to give a real kiss. "I could smell alcohol on his breath, but he was totally sober," Vester told Variety in a detailed account of the alleged interaction. "He spoke clearly. He was in control of his faculties." Vester said she forcefully wiggled away from Brokaw in reply. I said Tom . . . I dont want to do that with you, she wrote. Following a brief silence, Brokaw decided to leave, Vester claimed. I think I should go, she said he said. A similar incident between Brokaw and Vester took place over a year later in London, Vester claimed, but she again avoided Brokaws advances. A second woman, who once served as a production assistant at NBC News, claimed Brokaw encountered her in a hallway in the mid-1990s and encouraged her to meet him on the side of the walkway. Brokaw then allegedly held her hands, spoke of how cold they were, and proceeded to place them under his jacket. He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, How is your job search going? she told The Post. After replying, Brokaw allegedly suggested the woman come into my office after the show and lets talk about it. The woman said the implication in the conversation was obvious and she skipped the invite. She ultimately left the network. Neither Vester nor the anonymous woman reported the incidents at the time, The Post reported. Brokaw stepped down as an NBC news anchor in 2004. Curry described in detail the claims against Lauer. A woman approached me and asked me tearfully if I could help her, Curry said. She was afraid of losing her job I believed her. The anonymous woman, Curry told The Post, said she was sexually harassed physically by Lauer. I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women, she said. Lack was not with the network during the time Curry said she went to management. In interviews with The Post, 12 NBC employees claimed to have been sexually harassed by Lauer, who was fired in November 2017. Lauer exposed himself to one woman while the two were in his office and asked her to touch him, an anonymous woman told The Post. Another said they had sex in the middle of the day in his office. Lauer, who has remained mostly mum following the allegations last year, provided a forceful response to The Post. I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months, he said. I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost. But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC, he continued. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false. Actress Alyssa Milano has announced a protest against the NRA and Vice President Mike Pence and has called upon activists to join her in a rally against the pro-gun organization. On Tuesday, it was announced that the vice president would speak at the 147 annual NRA legislative action conference in Dallas, TX on May 4. But the former "Charmed" actress is demanding that Pence remove himself from the NRA's convention program with a petition she penned on MoveOn.org. It's sad that Pence is so dismissive of the American lives lost in Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, and Parkland not to mention the thousands of people killed every month by gun violence, Milano said in the email attached to the petition. The online petition, which now has more than 16,000 signatures with a goal of 20,000 needed, is addressed to Pence and and his Chief of Staff, Nick Ayes, and demands that the VP withdraw from his upcoming NRA appearance. Pence, Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the GOP seem happy to continue making excuses for gun violence because the NRA throws millions of dollars in donations at their party, Milano wrote. The NRA convention and Milano's petition comes just two months after the school shooting in Parkland, FL, which has put a new spotlight on the gun organization as demand for stricter gun laws in the U.S. grows. According to The Hollywood Reporter, many celebrities who are against the NRA recently joined the No Rifle Association initiative," also known as #NoRA on social media. Celebrities who have reportedly signed on in support of the #NoRA includes Ashley Judd, Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle, Amy Schumer Minnie Driver, Jon Favreau, Nathan Fillion, Jordan Horowitz, Julianne Moore, Michael Moore, Patton Oswalt, Annabella Sciorra, Jill Soloway, Amber Tamblyn and more. Milano retweeted the the invitative after they announced on April 26, that they will be joining the NRA protest in Dallas. Amy Schumer will not be going to London like she planned. On Friday, the 36-year-old comedian announced on Instagram that she had to cancel her upcoming appearance at the U.K. premiere of "I Feel Pretty" after being hospitalized for a kidney infection. "Heres what Ive been up to this week. I was hospitalized for five days with a horrible kidney infection," she captioned an Instagram photo of herself in the hospital. "I wanted to share this with you because this is sexy as hell but mostly because I was meant to go to London for the opening of I Feel Pretty and my doctors have told me thats a no go." Amy Schumer Gushes Over New BFF: 'It's Me and Oprah Till the End' "Im really disappointed selfishly to miss this trip because I love London and Europe in general and all the great people (food) there. But I need to put my health first," she continued. "I am so grateful for all the support the movie is getting. I hope people check it out in England and everywhere else in the world. Its sweet and fun and you will walk out feeling better. Which is something I hope to feel soon too." Midway through the post, Schumer also thanked the medical professionals at the hospital as well as her family and new husband, Chris Fischer, who is seen holding her hand in another photo. "I want to give a big thank you to the doctors, the bad ass nurses also my husband whos name is, i want to say, Chris?" she quipped before adding, "and my sisters Kimby and mol who have been by my side the whole time." Amy Schumer Opens Up About Not Being Retouched in Her New Film 'I Feel Pretty' This isn't the first time Schumer has shared on social media that she's in the hospital. In September 2016, she posted a video of herself in the hospital not long after revealing that she got food poisoning during a trip with her then-boyfriend, Ben Hanisch, in Paris, France. Bill Cosby's rep says the 80-year-old is feeling great after being found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Andrew Wyatt appeared on Good Morning America and told George Stephanopoulos his client is spending time with his wife, Camille Cosby. "Mr. Cosby is right now with Mrs. Cosby, Wyatt said. "He's feeling great. He's confident. Although he's been found guilty, he's innocent of these charges and he maintains his innocence. He's going to walk around as a man who's innocent because he didn't do anything wrong. Wyatt said the once-celebrated comedian, who was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, is confident. His lawyer, Tom Mesereau, has said "the fight is not over" and said he will appeal. He's confident because he didn't do anything wrong, Wyatt insisted. These are allegations that are decade-long allegations. These women have no evidence. They went to no authorities." Wyatt added, "I think these jurors got it wrong." On Thursday, Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004. Cosby could be headed to prison when he is sentenced in 60 to 90 days. Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine on each of the three counts. He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, but given his age, even a modest term could mean he will die behind bars. After 14 hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and determined Cosby was guilty on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault. The comedian initially had no visible reaction in the courtroom as his fate was announced, but upon hearing the district attorney's request that his bail be revoked he launched into an expletive-laden rant. The moment happened when District Attorney Kevin Steele argued Cosby's bail was not high enough. It prompted the comedian, who once called out Eddie Murphy for using curse words in his act, to push away his lawyer's hand and shout that he does not have a private plane and then refer to Steele with an expletive. "I'm sick of him!" Cosby shouted at Steele. The request to have his bail revoked was denied. Before his downfall, Cosby was long-known for his success as a comedian and actor. He won five Grammy Awards after breaking into the stand-up scene in the 60s. He then paralleled that success on TV, winning three consecutive Emmy Awards from 1966 to 1968 for his role on I Spy. The show elevated him to a new level of stardom and led to the eventual creation of his titular sitcom, The Cosby Show. In 1998, he became known to a new generation as the host of Kids Say the Darndest Things. He was also once lauded as a philanthropist, and received more than 50 honorary degrees from universities across the country. Cosby's legacy of giving was topped by a $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988 and including, among many other donations, $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine and $1 million in 2004 to the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia. But most of Cosbys honorary degrees were revoked one by one, as more and more women came forward to allege he had assaulted them. Following the verdict, multiple others revoked his degree including Notre Dame and Carnegie Mellon. In the end, it was one woman Constand who had the information and the statute of limitations on her side to force Cosby to trial. Fox News' Leora Arnowitz, Sasha Savitsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Bill Cosby, the famed comedian who was convicted of drugging and assaulting a woman this week, was ordered by a judge Friday to remain on house arrest until he faces sentencing. In addition to the home confinement order, Judge Steven ONeill ordered that Cosby must also wear a GPS monitoring device. A jury found Cosby guilty on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault on Thursday and afterwards, the judge suggested that he would be permitted to move freely around Montgomery County. However, ONeill said Fridays order was meant to clarify the restrictions, which included that Cosby was only allowed to leave his residence for pre-approved meetings with his lawyers or to seek medical care. COSBY GUILTY: JURY RULES COMEDIAN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ANDREA CONSTAND The disgraced celebrity remains free on $1 million bail, despite the district attorneys attempt Thursday to have his bail revoked, claiming that it wasnt high enough. The request was ultimately denied but only after Cosby reportedly launched into an expletive-laden rant upon hearing the request. Cosby has maintained his innocence and his lawyer told reporters that they very strongly plan to appeal the verdict, adding, We dont think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything and the fight is not over. The TV icon, known as Americas Dad for his role as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, was found guilty of violating Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. BILL COSBY GUILTY VERDICT SPARKS REACTIONS FROM CELEBRITIES Constand, 45, testified that Cosby slipped her three blue pills he called your friends. She said she thought they were herbal supplements designed to help relieve her stress, but they knocked her out. When she awoke, she said, Cosby was violating her. Cosby maintained he gave Constand the cold medicine Benadryl and that she consented to a sexual encounter. His legal team was unsuccessful in proving that Constand was greedy and seeking to extort money from Cosby. BILL COSBY FEELING GREAT AFTER GUILTY VERDICT, REP SAYS This was the second trial for the comedian -- the first ended in a mistrial in June 2017. Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine on each of the three counts. Fox News Sasha Savitsky, Leora Arnowitz, Jennifer Earl and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Prince William and his wife, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, welcomed royal baby No. 3 on April 23 and Brits are thrilled to greet the bundle of joy. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at [11:01 a.m.]," a tweet from Kensington Palace revealed. "The baby weighs 8lbs 7oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth." The pair revealed their third pregnancy on Sept. 4, announcing the April 2018 due date about a month later, though they didn't specify the exact day doctors predicted. Kensington Palace confirmed at the time Middleton was suffering from severe morning sickness, known as hyperemesis gravidarum. The 36-year-old was affected by the same condition during her pregnancies with both Prince George, now 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2. The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news," Kensington Palace said in an October statement. Middleton gave birth to a boy just weeks ahead of another royal occasion: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, an hour-long ceremony that will take place on May 19 at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England. Here's what we know about the third royal baby. What we know about the royal birth Middleton gave birth in the private Lindo Wing of St. Marys Hospital in London. "Parking Suspended" signs popped up along South Wharf Road outside of the hospital on April 9, announcing a suspension of parking through April 30, according to People. The signs were similar to those that appeared roughly two weeks ahead of both George and Charlotte's births, in 2013 and 2015, respectively. KATE MIDDLETON STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF APPRECIATING 'CHILDHOOD WHILE IT LASTS' The Queen was the first to get a call about the safe arrival of George and Charlotte's little sister or brother. The parents were then given hours to bond with their child before making their way home. As they exited St. Marys, the pair paused for pictures and wave to crowds of people gathered around the gates of the hospital before taking off in a nearby car. Significant April date The pair welcomed their third child on St. George's Day, the feast day of Saint George, a patron saint. "While St. George never actually set foot in England during his lifetime, he was officially named the protector of the royal family and the patron saint of the country during the Middle Ages," PEOPLE explained in a post online. What we know about the baby's name The couple has stuck to tradition -- naming their children after past or present royals. George Alexander Louis' first name was a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's father and grandfather. "Alexander is believed to have been picked by the couple to honor the Queen, whose middle name is Alexandra," People explained in a July 2013 post. "[The] name Louis 'is a nice tribute' to the Queens husband, Prince Philip, whose grandfather was Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg." KATE MIDDLETON'S ROYAL FUTURE WITH PRINCE WILLIAM PREDICTED IN HER OWN HIGH SCHOOL PLAY The name Charlotte Elizabeth Diana "pays tribute to Prince Charles, Kates great-grandmother Elizabeth, Her Majesty the Queen, and, most tellingly of all, Williams late mother, the Princess of Wales," according to Vanity Fair. Their third child will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles. The couple say they named their son Louis pronounced LOO-ee after William's grandfather, Prince Charles, and the Duke's mentor-- Louis Mountbatten-- who was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979. The Palace has announced all of the details of Middleton's latest birth on its website and via Twitter, @KensingtonRoyal. The new royal baby makes history The third royal baby is fifth in line to Britain's royal throne, behind grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William, big brother Prince George and big sister Princess Charlotte. Charlotte just became the "first-ever member of the royal family that will not lose her spot in line to the throne if a male heir is born," Evening Standard reports, explaining that the Succession to the Crown Act passed in 2013 makes this possible. Prince Harry moved down to sixth in line behind his nephew. The male suspect is detained after a knife attack near a middle school in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. [Photo: hsb.hsw.cn] Nine students were killed and ten wounded in a knife attack near a middle school in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Friday. Local police said the suspect, a 28-year-old man, attacked the students from the No.3 Middle School in Mizhi County on their way home after school. He was detained by police following the attack. According to a statement by Mizhi police, the man said he attacked the students because he was bullied by classmates when he was attending the school at a younger age. The case is now under further investigation. Louise Turpin's sister Teresa Robinette will never forget the moment she heard Louise and her husband David were accused of torturing their 13 children. Robinette, who currently resides in Tennessee, has chosen to come forward in a new documentary on Oxygen, The Turpin 13: Family Secrets Exposed, where she hopes to demystify rumors about her family. The two-hour special is being hosted by Soledad OBrien and also features interviews with Robinettes half-brother Billy Lambert, as well as some of the Turpins neighbors, experts in child trauma, and law enforcement from where the Turpins resided. Authorities, who received a call from the Turpins' 17-year-old daughter after she escaped the familys home in Perris, Calif., said the residence stunk of human waste and evidence of starvation was obvious, with the oldest sibling weighing only 82 pounds. The children range in age from 2 to 29. I was cleaning house, cooking dinner, doing my routine, Robinette told Fox News. And then [our sister] Elizabeth called. She told me to sit down I looked at the news and I just I dont really know how to describe the feeling to you. "I really felt like I was waiting to wake up. Like I was having a nightmare. For a long time, I kept saying I wanted to wake up. I felt like it wasnt real I kept saying, Is this real news? Then I just got mad. My next emotion was anger And Im still mad. Robinette claimed since the news broke earlier this year, she has received hate mail and endured accusations that she must have known what was occurring inside the house of horrors. Robinette said she hopes the documentary will finally dispel that rumor. I didnt want people to think I had something to hide, said Robinette. If we didnt come forward, people would have felt like we knew things and we were attempting to cover them up because Im her sister But theres no way we would have stood for that. Thats why she distanced herself from us. Both Louise and David grew up in Princeton, West Virginia, and they married in 1985. Their first child was born when Louise was 20. According to investigators, the Turpins lived in Texas for 17 years and then moved to California in 2010. Robinette said that while she never witnessed the children being abused, she did wonder why Louise distanced herself from the family over the years. I dont even know if you can say any of us had a relationship with the children, she explained. You have to understand, I only met the four oldest children in person. The other children, I only met through video chat. "I would speak to Louise for hours, but its like the kids were never there. As the children grew older, I started questioning Louise about why they didnt have cell phones so we can stay in touch Even when we video chat, it would be short, sweet conversations. It came to a point when eventually she stopped letting them all come together [for video chats]. She would send a couple ones in, then send them out, and then get a couple more to come in. It got really strange. Then she would just start making up excuses of why she couldnt video chat. She would say, David and I are just so busy with 13 kids, we will get to it this weekend.' And then it just never happened. Then seven to eight years passed, and we didnt video chat or anything. Robinette said that the last time she saw Louise was around 1997-1998 before she started distancing herself from the family. Louise would just go into a hole and just disappear, said Robinette. She would cut herself off from us from everybody in the family. And she would do that for what felt like forever. And then one day she would randomly call [the family] The visits stopped." Robinette said her final interaction with the children before the arrest was sometime between 2009-2010. She claimed it was the the same time her sister, who grew up in a religious household with a preacher for a father, announced she was walking away from the church. Investigators have said all of this started in 2010, she explained. And that hit me really hard. I know thats when things started changing with her behavior. And the whole time, she would send me pictures of one of the children, the youngest child. "I would ask her why I wouldnt get photos of the other kids. She never gave me a reason. She would just beat around the bush about everything video chatting, pictures. But never in a million years had we thought she was abusing the kids. Robinette revealed how growing up, Louise was a good girl all her life who never drank, did drugs or smoked. I had never heard Louise cuss unless she was really, really mad, she recalled. Robinette said shes unsure why Louise cut ties with the church. However, she insisted her sibling and husband David were looking for a new religion. All I know is that she told me she had been hurt by people in the church, Robinette explained. She and David they were tired of the church. They were going to look into some other religion. I know for a moment they were into Mormonism She talked about looking into witchcraft and laughing about it I warned her I would never go near that stuff. "She thought it was funny In our minds, we just felt she got far away from God. We are not perfect. We dont go to church every Sunday. But we do feel God. We do know him But every single thing that we saw, all the changes in Louise, not one of those things ever, ever entered in our minds that it had anything to do with the kids whatsoever. Robinette claimed she and her half-brother attempted to make plans over the years to visit Louise in California and get to know the children better. However, those plans were always abruptly canceled by Louise. Robinette added, [Louise] would always come up with an excuse that something happened, that she had a bad dream about the flight, one of the kids got sick. She made up a big elaborate story about one of the girls who got into trouble with some friends one night, so she and David were aggravated Everything she told us was a lie. David and Louise are being held in prison, each on $12 million bail. They face up to life in prison after being charged with torture and child abuse. The case sparked national attention as details of the abuse came to light. Prosecutors alleged the children were subjected to frequent beatings and even strangulation, and werent allowed to be unshackled to go to the bathroom. They also allegedly were allowed to take only one shower a year. The siblings also lacked common knowledge such as knowing what medication was or who a police officer is. Robinette said Louise has attempted to contact her several times since the arrest. I was really hoping she wouldnt because I wasnt planning on talking to her, said Robinette. Im still pretty mad. But I did accept one collect call from her. She called about a month ago. I did speak with her on the phone, but I just told her what I wanted to say. Shes tried to call me several times since then. I have not accepted them because Im not paying to talk to her. I only wanted to pay for what I had to say to her. Robinette is more focused on reconnecting with the children and has spoken to them on the phone. Im having some shirts made for them, she said. My brother and I wanted to adopt [them]. We still want to, but dont know if we can. I guess there are state requirements and youve got to have a certain income But we really want to. "Were going to try. Were going to visit all we can and try to talk to them. We want to have the best relationship that we can with them. We already told them that we love them and were here for them I would like to plan a trip and see them when my kids are out of school. Jack Osborn, whose law firm is representing the seven adult Turpin children, announced in late February they are now enjoying popular movies, food and modern technology. People Magazine also reported star cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed an exclusive concert for the siblings. Theyre doing great, said Robinette. Theyre OK. For what theyve been through, theyre doing well. Theyre happy. As for me? Im OK as long as theyre OK. "The Turpin 13: Family Secrets Exposed" airs Saturday at 6 p.m. on Oxygen. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have named their third child Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge, Kensington Palace announced Friday. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles. The pair welcomed their third child on Monday, which was also St. George's Day, the feast day of Saint George, a patron saint. The name pays tribute twice over to Prince Charles, who has Arthur as one of his middle names. The choice also honors Louis Mountbatten, Charles' great-uncle and beloved mentor, who was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979. Louis pronounced LOO-ee is fifth in line to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles, his father and his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Charlotte has become the "first-ever member of the royal family that will not lose her spot in line to the throne if a male heir is born," thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act passed in 2013 makes this possible. The name pays tribute twice over to Prince Charles, who has Arthur as one of his middle names. Prince Louis' birth pushed William's brother, Harry, to sixth in line for the throne. Prince Harry is set to marry American actress Meghan Markle on May 19. Bookmakers had been doing a brisk trade in bets on the new prince's name, but Louis wasn't among the favorites. The royal couple has used it before, as one of George's middle names. Arthur, Albert and James had been considered front-runners. Fox News' Jennifer Earl and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rob Schneider thinks Alec Baldwin's "Saturday Night Live" Donald Trump impersonation is ruining the show because Baldwin has let his personal politics take center stage. "The fun of 'Saturday Night Live' was [...] you never knew which way they leaned politically," Schneider told The New York Daily News on Friday. "You kind of assumed they would lean more left and liberal, but now the cat's out of the bag [and] they are completely against Trump, which I think makes it less interesting because you know the direction the piece is going." The former "SNL" regular compared Baldwin's performance to comedian Dana Carvey's impression of George H.W. Bush in the late '80s and '90s. Carvey recently appeared on "Conan" to discuss his 25-year friendship with the former president. Over the years, Carvey said he grew close to Bush, even exchanging phone numbers. "You kind of assumed they would lean more left and liberal, but now the cat's out of the bag they are completely against Trump, which I think makes it less interesting because you know the direction the piece is going." Rob Schneider "We had so many warm moments with them ... It was a different time," Carvey admitted. ANN COULTER'S UC BERKELEY DEBACLE: ROB SCHNEIDER DEFENDS FREE SPEECH Schneider says Baldwin's impression of Trump is different from Carvey's playful impersonation of Bush. "Carvey played it respectfully," Schneider said. "To me, the genius of Dana Carvey was Dana always had empathy for the people he played, and Alec Baldwin has nothing but a fuming, seething anger toward the person he plays." And it's clear from looking at Baldwin's Twitter account, Schneider says, that he has very strong opinions about the Trump administration. GEORGE H.W. BUSH 'SNL' IMPERSONATOR DANA CARVEY RECALLS 'FUNNY MOMENT' WITH FORMER PRESIDENT "I don't find his impression to be comical," Schneider told the Daily News. "Because, like I said, I know the way his politics lean and it spoils any surprise. There's no possible surprise. He so clearly hates the man he's playing." "Alec Baldwin has nothing but a fuming, seething anger toward the person he plays." Rob Schneider This isn't the first time Schneider has scolded a public figure for their words and actions against Trump. In January 2017, Schneider came under fire for calling out Rep. John Lewis for not attending Trumps inauguration and for telling "Meet the Press" he's not a legitimate president. Rep. Lewis, you are a great person. But Dr. King didnt give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished & won Civil Rights," Schneider said in a since-deleted tweet posted on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Schneider also attacked UC Berkeley for cancelling conservative commentator Ann Coulter's speech last April, arguing it limited Americans' right to free speech. "UC Berkeley, after you done eliminating speech you don't like & words you dont like whats next?" the comedian tweeted. "Maybe add burning books to the curriculum." Berkeley asked Coulter to postpone her appearance for a month after protests over the planned speech grew into a nationally watched firestorm. Schneider reportedly used to consider himself a Democrat but he's since become an Independent a move he realizes may not be popular with all of his fans. "Literally if you don't go the party line you're out. There's a real ugliness to it," he explained. He clarified his comments in a tweet early Friday, saying he "greatly admires" Baldwin but adds it's "more fun to play the middle." Schneider is now starring in his own Netflix series called "Real Rob," which is based on his family and struggles with fame. He says Season 3 of the comedy is on its way. Fox News' Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report. An NYPD sergeant urged a Midtown Starbucks to stop giving free food to the homeless after dozens of disturbance calls at the location. But the coffeehouse, not far from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, ignored the warning and that same cop wound up being assaulted by a vagrant who was angry over the quality of his free croissant, the officer charges in a lawsuit. I warned that someone would end up getting hurt it was an unsafe environment. It turned out to be me, Sgt. Timothy Wall told The Post. PHILLY POLICE COMMISSIONER APOLOGIZES TO TWO MEN ARRESTED AT STARBUCKS And despite 80 disturbances involving vagrants at the latte palace in 2017 alone, according to Walls suit, Starbucks says the cop has no one to blame but himself. Starbucks lawyers say Wall brought on his injuries through his own culpable conduct . . . and assumption of risk, according to response papers filed in February. Wall, a community affairs officer with the Midtown South Precinct whose job is advising businesses on crime reduction said he and colleagues repeatedly told managers at the branch at Eighth Avenue and West 39th Street to stop giving away food. They said it was attracting emotionally disturbed individuals who urinated on cafe seats, got high in a second-floor seating area and assaulted patrons. In fact, cops were called to that Starbucks for such disturbances 80 times in 2017, the suit alleges. Midtown South officers including Wall met with local and regional Starbucks managers no fewer than five times over the course of 2015, 2016 and 2017 to advise them on alternative ways to help the needy such as donating to food banks or setting up a distribution center off site, the suit states. I want to help people in need as much as anyone else, but I explained to [Starbucks] that there was a time and place to do it, said Wall, a second-generation officer and 10-year NYPD veteran. They call us for help, and when we gave them advice, they brushed it aside. It went in one ear and out the other. Then Wall became a victim. STARBUCKS CLOSING 8,000 US STORES ON MAY 29 TO CONDUCT 'RACIAL BIAS TRAINING' He and his partner responded to the Starbucks around 3 p.m. Sept. 18 as 24-year-old Montclair Mobley was throwing a temper tantrum over the French breakfast roll the store gave him. Mobley was so put off by the on-the-house croissant that he whined about wanting a time machine so he could go back to earlier in the day when, he said, Starbucks was giving away better grub, said the suit, filed in December by Walls attorney, Andrew Carboy. Starbucks hired security cowered at the far end of the store and would only point cops in Mobleys direction, the suit claims. When Wall and his partner tried to get the man to leave, he threatened to kill everyone in the restaurant, the court papers state. Wall tried to detain Mobley, but the nut shoved him into a wall, dislocating the cops right shoulder, according to police and court documents. The attack reinflamed a 2014 line-of-duty shoulder injury that required surgery, according to a doctors report. The injuries sidelined Wall from work for months. He needed surgery in February to repair torn shoulder cartilage, and seven months after the attack, he still has to go to physical therapy. Plus hes been stuck behind a desk while he continues to heal. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Workers at the store Wednesday were unaware of any food giveaway, but said there had been a problem with loitering and fights six months ago. The food donation program described in the complaint does not exist, said company spokesman Reggie Borges. Additional reporting by Kevin Fasick In the wake of the April 22 tragic shooting that left four dead at a Tennessee Waffle House, the chain has announced they will be donating 100 percent of sales from the Antioch location through the next month to shooting victims' families. Waffle Houses Director of Public Relations and External Affairs Pat Warner confirmed the announcement to Fox News Friday, sharing that the communities of Antioch and Nashville really came out for the April 25 reopening of the restaurant where suspect Travis Reinkings violent rampage unfolded. Noting that the Waffle House welcomed roughly double the amount of customers it gets in a usual day after opening its doors at 9 a.m., Warner explained all sales from the Antioch location will go to support the families of victims Akilah DaSilva, DeEbony Groves, Joe Perez and Taurean Sanderlin, and the two women who remain hospitalized from injuries sustained in the attack. PIC OF TEENS' PRE-PROM PRAYER SPARKS ANGER, SURPRISING REPORTER WHO POSTED IT Waffle House has not yet determined how the funds raised will be given to the victims families, Warner added. Two crowdfunding pages already have raised over $355,000 for the victims families and Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr., who risked his life and successfully disarmed Reinking in the attack. Shaw himself created a created a GoFundMe page to help the families of the victims, which has raised $172,802 of the $15,000 goal as of Friday noon. WHY CHICK-FIL-A EMPLOYEES DON'T SAY 'YOU'RE WELCOME' In addition, a fundraiser has been established for Shaw, who suffered a graze wound and a second-degree burn on his right hand from when he grabbed the barrel of the gun. To date, $182,311 of the $175,000 goal has been raised for Shaw, a 29-year-old electrician and father to a 4-year-old daughter. Perhaps this money can be used for her college fund or some other education related expense. But I'd be just as happy if James used some of this money to take his family on a nice vacation, the donation page reads. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS A small community in North Carolina will allow alligator hunting for the first time in over 40 years. Lake Waccamaw is moving forward with plans to permit a limited hunting season of the large reptiles after the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission made it legal last month. The town board, which voted unanimously to move forward with its application, believes this new recreational activity could help boost tourism to the area, as well as help the local economy, the Charlotte Observer reports. SKYWEST FLIGHT ATTENDANT ACCUSING PILOT OF DRUGGING AND RAPING HER DURING LAYOVER State officials will work with the town to determine how many alligators live there and what areas the hunting will take place, according to the Observer. While gators arent typically found in the lake, they often hang out in the surrounding canals, WWAY TV reports. Pending approval, the hunting season would take place from September 1 through October 1. Hunters would only participate with a permit, which would be issued on a lottery system and be good for one alligator kill each. Alligator hunting was first outlawed in the state in 1973 after Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. Alligators were removed from the endangered species list in 1987 but hunting them remained illegal until now, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. Lake Waccamaw is the only town thats shown interest in authorizing alligator hunting so far, according to the Observer. Bellville voted to oppose the hunting season within city limits. Alligators were almost hunted to extinction, and now theyre back, Belville Mayor Mike Allen told the Jacksonville Daily News. "Im glad to see that, so we want to make sure that preservation continues within our town limits." FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Female alligators are around nine feet long, while males can reach 12 to 13 feet and weigh 500 pounds or more, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. While often given a bad reputation, the Wildlife Resources Commission notes that they rarely pose a threat to humans and are not an immediate cause for alarm. In the weeks since an E. coli bacteria outbreak on romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona was announced, restaurants and eateries around the country have worked to assure customers their food is safe. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first revealed the multi-state outbreak on April 10. On Friday, they said at least 98 people across 22 states have been affected. More than 40 people have hospitalized, they said, adding that there have been no reported deaths. Amid the outbreak, romaine lettuce continues to be sold at restaurants throughout the U.S., as businesses said theyve confirmed their products only come from places that havent been affected by the contamination. And if theyre not sure, theyve swapped romaine out with iceberg or other types of greens. CDC WARNS PEOPLE TO AVOID ALL TYPES OF ROMAINE LETTUCE AS E. COLI OUTBREAK CONTINUES Armando Ayala, manager of Houston-based Italian restaurant Cavatore, told The Associated Press a lot of people have been asking where the business gets their lettuce from. The establishment offers three dinner salads made with lettuce from California and local farms in Texas. And the popular chain, Just Salad, who has nearly 30 locations in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Chicago, told the outlet since they assured customers on social media that their romaine is not from the affected growing area, business has been good. Janani Lee, the chains supply chain manager, said they added iceberg to their list of menu options, which already includes five other types of lettuce. The CDC has warned people not to eat or buy romaine lettuce unless theyre certain its not from Yuma. Theyve also advised restaurants and retailers to refrain from serving or selling any romaine from that growing region and to confirm with their suppliers of the products source. The advisory includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, baby romaine, organic romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. HEALTHY PEOPLE WASTE THE MOST FOOD, STUDY FINDS The government is still investigating this outbreak. But generally, E. coli is spread through human or animal feces, contaminated water or improper handling. Salads UP, which has two restaurants in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin, told The Associated Press that it didn't have to get rid of much romaine, since it gets deliveries almost daily. For now, it has replaced romaine with iceberg, Salads UP co-founder Robert Mayer said. "Customers don't mind the temporary solution, and in general they appreciate that we are taking precautionary steps," he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A former model known for her looks was eaten alive by parasitic mites due to a scabies infestation while in the care of a Georgia nursing home. An investigation into the 2015 death of Rebecca Zeni, 93, revealed she died from scabies during her stay at the Shepherds Hill Nursing Home in LaFayette, 11 Alive reported. An autopsy report stated the womans cause of death was septicemia due to crusted scabies. State health officials were made aware of a scabies outbreak at the facility but did not investigate or inspect the nursing home, the station reported. Scabies is an infestation by the human itch mite. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TEACHER WHO SMELLS LIKE A FISH DUE TO RARE DISORDER FINDS RELIEF WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO AHEAD As a young woman, Zeni was employed at a naval yard during World War II, did some modeling in New York City and worked for a television station in Chicago. She was put in the nursing home by her daughter in 2010. Zeni suffered from dementia, the station reported, citing health records. Zenis family is suing Pruitt Health, which runs the nursing home where the woman died. I dont understand how you can allow a human being to suffer needlessly, Mike Prieto, the familys lawyer, said. Pictures of Zeni before she died showed her skin blackened and flaky. Stephen Chance, an attorney representing the Zeni family, alleged the nursing home staff were told not to touch Zenis hand. There was a conversation at this nursing home with a health care provider about being careful about touching Ms. Zenis hand for fear that it might fall off her body, Chance told 11Alive. The news station asked Dr. Kris Sperry, a forensic pathologist, to look over Zenis autopsy report. Sperry said out of the 6,000 autopsies he has conducted, Zenis was one of the most horrendous things Ive ever seen in my career as a forensic pathologist. MORE KIDS HAVE AUTISM, BETTER DIAGNOSIS MAY BE THE REASON Sperry believed hundreds of millions of mites were burrowed inside Zeni during the time of her death. When asked if it was fair to say Zeni was eaten alive, he said it was likely she suffered a painful death. Having seen what Ive seen with Ms. Zeni, I think that is frankly a good characterization, Sperry said. I would seriously consider calling this a homicide by neglect. Pruitt Health did not return requests for a comment, according to the station. Records from the Georgia Department of Public Health showed officials were notified of the scabies outbreak at the nursing home in 2013 and 2015. The records showed 35 residents and staff were exposed to the infestation. The department did not inspect but sent the facility information on how to treat scabies. Zeni died 11 days after the response from the agency. The outlet noted the states department of health is not required to inspect facilities after learning about an outbreak, but are expected to notify the Georgia Department of Community Health. However, the department of health did not have any record showing the department of community health was notified of the outbreak. Families who live near a hog farm in Bladen County, N.C., have been complaining for decades about bad smells, flies and excessive chemical spraying. But on Thursday, they finally scored a huge victory in court. A federal jury awarded the neighbors more than $50 million in damages, agreeing that the impact of the farms operation was so intrusive that people couldn't enjoy their rural homes. Instead of suing the farm's owner, the plaintiffs attorneys aimed instead at the hog-production division of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, a Chinese-owned company. Smithfield uses strict contracts to dictate how farm operators raise the livestock that Smithfield owns. Jurors awarded the 10 neighbors who sued the 15,000-head swine operation a total of $750,000 in compensation, plus $50 million in damages designed to punish Smithfield. "We are pleased with the verdict. These cases are about North Carolina family property rights and a clean environment," said Mona Lisa Wallace, a Salisbury attorney whose firm teamed with two Texas-based firms to prepare the series of trials covering similar ground. "We are now preparing for the next, which is scheduled for the end of May." The jurors decided that the defendant owed [the neighbors] a standard of care in terms of trying to minimize the odors and other undesirable fallout from their processes," said Wake Forest University law professor Sidney Shapiro, who has followed the case. Apparently the jury decided [Smithfield] knew about and disregarded all this fallout even though they could do something positive to reduce it. Smithfield hasn't changed the locally dominant method of hog waste disposal since intensive hog operations multiplied in North Carolina in the 1980s and '90s. The practice involves housing thousands of hogs together, flushing their waste into holding pits, allowing bacteria to break down the material, then spraying the effluent onto fields with agricultural spray guns. Neighbors say the spraying sends the smells and animal waste airborne, allowing it to drift into their homes and sometimes coat outdoor surfaces on their properties. The case was the first in dozens of lawsuits filed by more than 500 neighbors complaining about hog operations. But North Carolina legislators last year changed state law to make it much more difficult to replicate the string of nuisance lawsuits targeting hog operations like the one decided Thursday. The lawsuits are a serious threat to a major industry, to North Carolina's entire economy and to the jobs and livelihoods of tens of thousands of North Carolinians," Smithfield senior vice president Keira Lombardo said in a statement. Although the size of the jury award is large, the result of the next trial could be more telling since the parties were chosen by Smithfield's attorneys, said Drew Kershen, an emeritus law professor at the University of Oklahoma and a past president of the American Agricultural Law Association. "If you got a second test case, chosen by the defense attorney, which turns out to have damages like this, then you would really have to say, my goodness these are really significant claims against the industry in North Carolina," he said. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Editor's Note: This story initially appeared April 27. A spokeswoman from Smithfield Foods emailed the following statement to Fox News on May 31: Weve learned of the charges that the Utah Attorney Generals Office has filed against members of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) regarding last years incident. While members of DxE committed several crimes on our property, including trespassing, breaking and entering, and theft, all prosecuting decisions are entirely that of law enforcement. We continue to fully cooperate with the authorities on this matter. You can read our original response here, and find our full response following these recent charges here. Additionally, you can learn about our industry-leading commitment to animal care here. Some questionable medical advice allegedly dished out by paramedics to the parents of a child who swallowed a small battery may end up costing a Florida city $475,000. Rather than transport the child to a hospital, the emergency responders allegedly told parents Yandy Joseph and Matthew Asea of Lauderhill that a doctors care wasnt necessary to remove the battery, and that the child would probably just poop it out, the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida reported, citing the couples lawsuit. But instead, the parents claim in their suit, the battery caused medical complications for the child, requiring multiple surgeries and three months of hospitalization costing a total of more than $1 million, the newspaper reported. The city of Lauderhills commissioners are set to vote on the settlement deal Monday, the paper said, noting that a payout of $475,000 would be one of the largest personal injury settlements in the citys history. As for the paramedics, city spokeswoman Leslie Johnson told the newspaper that the employees have been retrained. Click here for more from the Sun-Sentinel. President Xi will be staying in Wuhan until Saturday for the highly anticipated meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders are holding an informal 2-day summit to enhance ties between the two Asian giants. Indian PM Modi arrived in China late on Thursday night, according to the official Twitter account of the office of the prime minister. China and India are the worlds two biggest developing countries and emerging markets, each with a population of more than one billion people, and they are looking to build their mutual trust and reach a consensus. The photo shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in China on Thursday night. [Photo: official Twitter account of the office of the Indian Prime Minister] Many said Xi and Modi will conduct discussions on major changes in the international landscape that have not been seen in the past hundred years. The informal summit in Wuhan is seen as the perfect mechanism for such brainstorming. The host city of Wuhan is an important location in central China. Its located on the bend of the Yangtze River, and has a rich culture. Indian diplomats and politicians are quite familiar with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian and Kunming and the like, but I think they are not quite familiar with the central parts of China, Lan Jianxue, an expert at China Institute of International Studies said. Through this informal dialogue, China will be able to bring a holistic view of the country for its Indian friends. There will be more chemistry between them too, and they will be able to set up a more constructive working relationship. This is just the latest in their many meetings as leaders. For example, in September 2014, during a state visit to India, Xi visited Modis home state of Gujarat. The following year, Xi hosted the Indian prime minister in the ancient city of Xian, which is the capital of Xis home province of Shaanxi. The photo shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in China on Thursday night. [Photo: official Twitter account of the office of the Indian Prime Minister] Between China and India, there are some disagreements, for example, the boundary questions, Lan Jianxue said. But I think these differences are manageable and both countries will have the wisdom to handle them. During a press conference ahead of the Wuhan meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry said the two sides needed to create conditions and trust to resolve boundary issues. Experts and officials believe the informal summit is a chance for the leaders to spend some quality time together, to have heart-to-heart talks as if theyre very good friends. Its believed that deeper cooperation will not only benefit India and China, but also have a meaningful impact on peace and development in the region and beyond. An Alabama teacher claims she was sent home by school officials Monday over a shirt with the words just pray" on it. Chris Burrell, a teacher employed with the Mobile County Public School District, told WALA she wore the shirt to work because it reminded her of Aubreigh Nicholas, a local 11-year-old girl who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2017. The shirt was created by Aubreighs Army, an organization that helps raise money for the girls treatment. The district's superintendent, Martha Peek, said the shirt violated the dress code policy, which states teachers and students cannot wear clothes that reflect certain beliefs. PIC OF TEENS PRE-PROM PRAYER SPARKS ANGER, SURPRISING REPORTER WHO POSTED IT "We have to be cognizant of everyone's beliefs or everyone's thoughts in a public school," Peek told WALA. Burrell wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that she did not think of religion when she put on the shirt. "I didn't think twice about it. I wasn't trying to promote religion, it was just my Monday feel-good shirt." Burrell wrote. FIRE RAINBOW SPOTTED OVER PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK IN CALIFORNIA The schools principal was allegedly not aware the shirt was part of a fundraising campaign. "We're totally supporting her," said Peek. "I think that this was just an unfortunate connection there, but still the principal would have had to exercise her judgment." Burrell did not face any discipline but was sent home to change her shirt. The educators Facebook post received hundreds of shares before it was deleted. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! At the conclusion of the day-long summit between North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in Friday, one thing was clear: the meeting would never have taken place if not for President Trump. And for this achievement, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Its true that we wont really know for weeks or months whether the North-South Korean summit will bring about better relations between the two Koreas and result in Kim getting rid of his small arsenal of nuclear weapons. We shouldnt naively believe any promises Kim makes without verifiable proof, because he has a history of lying. His promises may last as long as a snowman in August. But President Trumps tough stance against a nuclear North Korea and his success in winning approval of international economic sanctions against the North at the United Nations that have crippled the countrys economy clearly succeeded beyond expectations in pushing Kim to the negotiating table. And President Trumps willingness to hold an unprecedented summit with Kim in coming weeks gave the dictator the incentive to recently announce he was halting nuclear weapons testing, closing an underground test site, and ending tests of long-range missiles. In 2009, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for um for ... well, for giving good speeches and having big plans for making the world a more peaceful place. In 2015, the former secretary of the Nobel Institute, even acknowledged that the prestigious prize was awarded prematurely to President Obama for achievements the institute hoped Obama would achieve, rather than for what he had actually accomplished. Many of Obamas supporters believe it was a mistake, Geir Lundestad wrote in his memoir. As such it did not achieve what the committee had hoped for. He added that awarding the prize to President Obama was only partially correct. In contrast, President Trump has concrete accomplishments to his credit early in his term the summit Friday and his upcoming summit with Kim. Im no Pollyanna. I realize Kim will likely never agree to give up all his nuclear weapons though he could agree to limits on his nuclear and missile programs and other actions to make him less of a threat to his neighbors and to the U.S. And I realize that there is every reason to believe the inter-Korean summit was nothing more than a giant PR stunt on the world stage big on photo ops and short on any real substance. But give President Trump the credit he deserves he has successfully de-escalated the biggest of threats: the possibility of a war with North Korea where nuclear weapons could have been used in mass, with millions of people dying as a result. This is no small accomplishment and certainly worth the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition to setting the aspirational goal of working toward the removal of all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula, Kim and Moon said they would seek talks with the U.S. to officially end the Korean War with a peace treaty. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice, meaning that the North and South remain technically at war. Will there ever be a real peace treaty between the divided Koreas and the U.S.? We dont know but were a lot closer to one now than we were before President Trump took office. And realistically, I bet Kim will never try to open his country to the world in any meaningful way. The summit we just witnessed, at least to me, feels like the geopolitical equivalent of Bill Murrays movie Groundhog Day Pyongyang makes big promises and nothing happens besides negotiations that go nowhere. The North then led by Kims father did the same during similar summits in 2000 and 2007. Indeed, the photo-ops look nearly identical. But in all honesty, if that is indeed the case, who cares? That is what we should have expected, because North Koreas playbook is clear. Promise the world, stall for time, and string the world along until it has a bigger problem to deal with. It worked in the past, and it will most likely work again. But none of that matters. We need to focus on the results that President Trump has achieved so far. And they are to use his phraseology 'yuge.' The Trump administration has successfully contained the North militarily, economically and diplomatically and put the hermit kingdom in a vise that would be hard to escape from. With an economy worth only $14 billion annually only one-third the size of Ethiopia we need to understand that North Korea is a problem that we can now manage. Thats an important point to remember, even if we arent ever able truly get Kim to give up all his nuclear bombs. So while the inter-Korean summit was no game-changer, we need to see the positives of what has been achieved. The danger from Pyongyang, while not entirely removed, can now be handled likely for decades. Thanks to President Trump. History tells us we can do this. If we were able apply a maximum pressure campaign on the mighty Soviet Union which had thousands of nuclear weapons for 40 years, we can certainly contain a small impoverished nation that cant even feed its own people. Combine that with President Trumps campaign to nearly destroy the Islamic State freeing millions of people from what can only be described as enslavement by a fanatical terrorist organization and you see the President Trump has achieved some big things on the world stage. For all these reasons, I say give President Trump the Noble Peace Prize. And if it were possible, maybe the Nobel Institute should strip President Obama of his prize and give that to President Trump as well. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! In many ways, country music is Americas soundtrack because its lyrics capture everyday life in all its forms, including the good, the bad and the ugly. I was reminded of that this past week when I heard about a provocative and controversial tweet from country music star Blake Shelton. Reports are suggesting it was a veiled shot at his ex-wife, Miranda Lambert: The tweet says: Been taking the high road for a long time.. I almost gave up. But I can finally see something on the horizon up there!! Wait!! Could it be?! Yep!! Its karma!! Shelton and Lambert divorced in 2015. Though the country music duo has been quiet on details surrounding their marital dissolution, Shelton has hinted it was due to Miranda Lamberts infidelity. According to reports, Wednesdays tweet referred to recent news of relationship drama and dysfunction in his ex-wifes life. When you have a broken heart at least, when I do, Shelton recently said, you got to get it out of your system. You want people to sympathize with you. I was at rock bottom, in the middle of hell. I can relate to Blake Sheltons raw admission of emotional pain and heartbreak. Back in 2000, my wife of 17 years cheated on me. It was a stunning blow. We are both Christians and active members in our church. She said she simply fell out of love with me and in love with another man. That was it. Game over. Thanks for playing. I was devastated. And bitter, much like what I suspect Blake Shelton has been going through these last few years. Its probably why he tweeted what he did this past week. I dont blame him. At the time of my wifes infidelity, our son was 7 years old, an innocent victim in our relationship drama and dysfunction. For the next 12 years, though my wife had cheated on me, I paid child support and was robbed of half of my sons childhood. Sadly, divorce and infidelity are raging epidemics in America. There are reasons behind every one of them, some complicated, some not. Most victims suffer in silence, either because of embarrassment, emotional paralysis or a combination of both. The late writer Pat Conroy may have captured it best when he observed that every divorce is the death of a small civilization. He was absolutely right. By Gods grace, I was able to recover from my divorce, though it took years. In time, I married again, to a wonderful and beautiful woman. My relationship with my adult son is now healthy and strong. I even came to forgive my ex-wife. Heres how. Early in the midst of my bitterness, when I was angry and revenge-minded, someone gave me some terrific advice. You need to make sure you have desert tree roots of bitterness, not oak tree roots of bitterness, he told me. In other words, its normal to be bitter but if you let it fester and take hold like a giant tree in the forest, youre never going to bounce back and enjoy your life. I was made aware of the three levels of forgiveness. That term forgiveness is so easily and often thrown around these days. We often think of forgiveness as a single act, but true dispensation is a process that comes in parts and can take a lot of time. First, I finally arrived at a point where I didnt wish to emotionally hurt my ex-wife and her new husband. In my initial bitterness, I used to try and craft pithy and pointed retorts in conversation or correspondence. I wanted my words to sting. I wanted them to feel guilty. In time, I was able to get over this need for revenge. Second, I finally arrived at a point where I didnt want outside harm to come to them. Early on, I used to hope their relationship would implode or that theyd suffer some financial reversal. I wanted them to realize the decision to divorce their respective spouses was a big mistake. Eventually, I was able to let go of those sinful feelings. Third, I finally arrived at a point where I could pray for them. Can you pray that God will bless them? a friend once asked me. Indeed, I reached that point. It was actually liberating. I continue to pray for them. Ironically, it was when I forgave them that my own marriage to my new wife really began to flourish. No longer burdened by the weight of bitterness, I felt freer than ever before. I hope Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert find that same freedom. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Bills labeled criminal justice reform have circulated in Congress for the past three years, but while they are well-meaning, they would do far more harm than good. This includes a measure sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, titled the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. The Grassley legislation would make our communities less safe by returning still more convicted criminals from federal prisons to the streets sooner. In addition, the Grassley bill would tie up hundreds of federal prosecutors, who would be forced to deal with sentencing reduction motions filed by prisoners seeking early release. This means the prosecutors would have less time to handle new cases involving dangerous criminals. The Grassley bill would reduce federal prison sentences not only for non-violent, low-level drug offenders but serious drug traffickers, members of violent drug cartels and people convicted of firearms crimes. In addition, Grassleys bill ignores the reality that strong federal sentencing guidelines have another valuable byproduct squeezing cooperation from reticent criminals so they will testify against other criminals, while incentivizing them to plead guilty to lesser offenses to get shorter prison terms. Getting criminals to confess and reveal information about others provides government investigators with a wealth of intelligence they can use to solve more crimes. Weakening sentencing guidelines to shorten prison terms as the Grassley bill does only serves to undercut cooperation by defendants and would make our communities more dangerous. Because of its many serious shortcomings, 40 former federal law enforcement senior executives signed a letter to Senate leadership rejecting an earlier version of Sen. Grassleys bill in 2015. The signatories included former U.S. Attorneys General John Ashcroft and William Barr, former U.S. Attorney and New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former White House Directors of National Drug Control Policy William Bennett and John Walters, former Administrators of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Robert Bonner, and 11 former high-ranking FBI officials (myself included). At the time, then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., was among the senators who understood the risk and were vocal about opposing the Grassley bill. Now, three years later, Attorney General Sessions again stands in opposition to Grassleys successor bill. He was right then and hes right now. The Grassley bill just deals with federal prisoners, not those in local jails or state prisons. The federal corrections system is far different than those of the states, and their respective populations help to define some key differences. The Federal Bureau of Prisons holds nearly184,000 prisoners. A total of 46.2 percent of them are serving time for serious drug-related offenses; another 17.5 percent have been convicted of weapons, explosive and arson crimes; and 9.4 percent are imprisoned for sex offenses. While much has been made of the harshness of federal minimum mandatory sentences and their impact on reform and on families, Bureau of Prisons records show that half of federal prisoners are serving sentences of 10 years or less. Only about 16 percent are serving sentences of 20 years or more. By contrast, according to a Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics review, at the end of 2016 there were 1.3 million inmates in state prisons, with just over half held for violent crimes and only a quarter for state and local drug crimes. Within the federal system, agents and prosecutors work to build enterprise investigations that include focusing on disrupting or dismantling big pieces of entire criminal organizations. Because drug trafficking organizations involve participants at multiple levels, the feds seek to unravel and prove the various roles and schemes engaged in by those charged. History has shown these often sprawling interstate and international organizations use enforcers and the threatened and actual use of violence to collect debts and illegal payments, ensure loyalty, control territory and mete out discipline. Much of this violence is at the point of a gun weapons that American inner cities are awash with. This violence feeds a destructive downward spiral of attack and retaliatory response that takes the lives of criminal enterprise participants and their rivals. Too often, criminal enterprise-driven gun violence claims the lives of uninvolved innocents children cut down in the crossfire or even targeted because of a parents felonious involvement, along with indiscriminate victims who were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Local, state, tribal and federal law enforcers have all contributed mightily to counter violent criminal and drug trafficking enterprises. But despite this, opioid abuse, overdoses and deaths spiked in 2016 and 2017. Communities large and small suffered the impact while law enforcement seized synthesized fentanyl in quantities that could kill the population of entire cities. Whether the enterprise is a Mexican drug cartel or one bred in the U.S., the result is the same growing numbers of the addicted and a national crisis in overdoses and deaths have left cash-strapped communities with few good options. Moreover, after sliding for two decades, Americas violent crime and homicide rates turned upward in 2015 and again in 2016. The reversal wasnt minor it was real and worrisome, with violent crime climbing 7 percent and homicides jumping by 20 percent. Those numbers represent real victims. Grassleys legislation is both poorly timed and ill-advised. Its little more than a rehashed jailbreak bill that should be permanently scrapped, taking with it the mistaken notion that federal prisons remain filled with low level, non-violent drug offenders. The good senator from Iowa would do better for all Americans by drafting legislation that empowers validated methodologies shown to steer the willing away from prison while building the opportunity, skill sets and individual tools needed to make released convicts more crime resistant. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! In 2007, then-Congressman Mike Pence said: "Protecting and assisting those who have helped the United States and coalition forces is a moral obligation of the American people." Vice President Pence was right. President Trumps plans to secure the border and his tough stance on immigration are fulfilling his offices sacred responsibility to protect the homeland. However, we cant forget about those who shed their blood standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our brave men and women in uniform who have confronted true evil in Afghanistan and Iraq. These Afghans and Iraqis now receive death threats from the Taliban and ISIS as they wait years for the special immigrant visas we promised them. Many saved American lives at great risk to their own. Others have had family members murdered simply to intimidate them from helping us. Still, they stood next to us and protected our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, diplomats and intelligence professionals. They believe in the hope and promise of America, and we cannot let them down. Anyone willing to lay down his or her life for strangers from the other side of the world deserves a chance at the American Dream. As a Christian, this issue is near to my heart. Anyone willing to lay down his or her life for strangers from the other side of the world deserves a chance at the American Dream. As a Republican, it has pained me to see people who are trying to immigrate here legally be punished for following the rules. Add in the fact that they are hunted just because of their affiliation with us and this takes on a much more somber tone. Many have been ruthlessly killed for believing in us. If we want to have an immigration system that works, we must both enforce our laws and reward people who follow them. With 10,000 Afghan combat translators who were promised special immigrant visas and who have been fully vetted for years by the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Intelligence Community, and the Department of Homeland Security now is the time to send a message around the world that we dont leave our allies behind. All five post-9/11 former secretaries of defense Rumsfeld, Gates, Panetta, Hagel, and Carter concur. Such unity in Washington is a rare thing. This is an issue that surpasses partisanship. Ask any post-9/11 veteran what he or she thinks. Many have worked tirelessly even after they have taken off the uniform to complete the mission. They wait years, writing and calling Congress, the State Department, and America diplomatic facilities to check on the status of their friends and allies. These U.S. veterans have had painful Skype conversations at all hours of the night (because of the time difference between the U.S. and Afghanistan and Iraq) offering as much hope as they can while trying to explain the bureaucratic delays that really do mean the difference between life and death. Many members come to Congress wanting to make a positive difference. This is an issue where they can. Congress can ensure that enough visas are included in the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2019 fiscal year for those who aided our forces in the war on terrorism and who pass through rigorous screening. Doing this can honor these brave men and women and highlight them as examples of what it means to be our partners. It can prove that if you stand by us, we will stand by you. Sadly, America has a reputation of forgetting about those who helped us. The stories about those left to our enemies in Korea and Vietnam still haunt service members from those eras. It is no wonder that the Vietnam Veterans of America is a strong proponent to make sure that we as a country do not repeat the same mistakes of the past. The groups endorsement reads: "Our founding principal is Never Again Will One Generation of Veterans Abandon Another, and we are proud to stand with you in support of conferring these brave individuals the title of honorary veterans. Throughout the numerous operations of the War on Terror, interpreters risked their lives and the lives of their families to assist the United States in achieving the mission. During this time, they fought the same battles and suffered the same types of injuries as American service members. However, while our veterans receive world-class health care, these individuals have little to no access to care, and are left to defend themselves from the grips of the Taliban, ISIS, and other opposition forces due to their loyalty to the United States. Our government owes it to these brave men and women to assist them in finding safe haven, and that starts with recognizing their service to the United States as honorary veterans." I urge my fellow Republicans, as well as Democrats, in the House and Senate to protect Afghans and Iraqis who helped U.S. forces by appropriating enough visas for all those who pass the full vetting process to have a chance just a chance at a better life here in America. They deserve it. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! At the summit between North and South Korean leaders on Friday, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un became the third member of Kim dynasty to meet his South Korean counterpart in this case, President Moon Jae-in. They shook hands and pledged as their predecessors did to end hostilities between the two nations and work towards denuclearization of the peninsula. President Trump was fast to react, tweeting: KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! How did we get here? Here is a quick timeline of the inter-Korean summits since 2000. June 2000 The Promise: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung sign an accord to reduce tensions and work jointly to achieve reunification of the peninsula. They also pledge to work towards a final peace agreement and family reunions. The Prize: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung receives a Nobel Peace Prize. The Bribe: Hyundai, a South Korean business group, pays $500 million to North Korea to make the summit happen. The Results: Two years later, in 2002, a naval gun battle between North and South in the Yellow Sea ends with 34 dead sailors. North Korea walks away from all agreements. October 2007 The Promise: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun crosses the demilitarized zone separating the two countries and meets with Kim Jong Il. They sign the second agreement calling for a denuclearization of the peninsula and a permanent peace agreement. They promise to meet more frequently with each other. The Prize: No Nobel Prize is awarded for the second summit. The Bribe: South Korea pays more than $100 million in so-called humanitarian and food aid to the North. The Results: In 2009 North Korea walks away from all deals with the South, accusing it of hostile intent. In the same year, North Korea conducts long-range missile tests, launches a satellite and has its second underground nuclear test. Friday The Promise: Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in promise to end hostilities between the two nations and work towards denuclearization of the peninsula. The two countries say they will work towards a permanent peace agreement to be signed sometime later this year. The Prize: In May, President Trump is expected to become the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a North Korean leader. Maybe he will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for this attempt. The Bribe: In a few weeks we will know the final bill for this third summit, and who will pay what. I hope, that Kim Jong Un a Western-educated member of the Kim dynasty has come to realize that this is the end of the road. I hope he will decide to honestly engage to achieve a lasting peace that will bring prosperity to his own people and perhaps extend his time in office. But the only person who can guarantee and change the future of this timeline of all the broken promises and bribes is President Trump. It will ultimately be up to President Trump to put in place verifiable and strong monitoring mechanisms that will lead to full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There will be no fourth North-South Korea summit. The world will soon come to realize that the only option, if this third summit and a U.S.-North Korea summit fail, will be one advanced by National Security Adviser John Bolton last September in an interview with Fox News, before he was in the Trump administration. Bolton called for an end the North Korean regime. Tony Shkurtaj was the head of the United Nations' and UNDP operations in North Korea from 2004 to 2006. Follow him at @shkurtajt NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! In the 1980s, with our nation facing an influx of drug crimes, Congress passed into law stiff penalties targeting all levels of offenders. The goal was to deter crime through harsh sentences. While well-intentioned, these policies came with a cost. Over time, prisons began to fill up with offenders of all stripes. Lower-level, nonviolent drug offenders were locked up alongside career criminal masterminds. Lengthy mandatory minimum sentences offered little flexibility for judges to take individual circumstances into account and left scant prospects for rehabilitation. Taxpayers shell out more than $7 billion annually roughly 25 percent of the entire Justice Department budget just to house the ballooning federal prison population, almost half of which is serving time for drug crimes. These policies have been in place for more than three decades now, and yet we are facing a new wave of drug crimes this time with crowded prisons syphoning scarce resources away from other law enforcement priorities. Its clear that the policies of the 1980s need a fresh look. We need a more strategic approach to drug sentencing that focuses law enforcement resources on violent career criminals and drug kingpins instead of non-violent, lower level offenders. That is why I worked with several of my colleagues in the Senate to craft the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. This legislation is the product of years of thoughtful bipartisan deliberations and has earned the support of lawmakers, advocates and experts from across the political spectrum. The bill is tough on crime and focuses law enforcement efforts on the worst criminals. But it also promotes fairness in sentencing, especially for lower-level, nonviolent offenders. Similar reforms at the state level have reduced crime, closed prisons and cut taxpayer costs. This bill strengthens important crime-fighting tools and aids in the fight against the opioid epidemic. It preserves cooperation incentives to help law enforcement take down serious criminals, and stiffens penalties for violent felons. The legislation adds new mandatory sentences for federal domestic violence crimes and weapons trafficking to terrorists. And it supports the fight against the opioid epidemic through enhanced penalties for traffickers of the deadly drug fentanyl. Judges have criticized the current sentencing guidelines because they sometimes require judges to impose harsh penalties that dont fit the underlying crimes. Our comprehensive bill grants judges greater discretion at sentencing. Mandatory minimum penalties would be preserved to ensure that criminals face clear consequences for their actions. But penalties would be lowered under the bill for lower-level, nonviolent offenders to give judges additional discretion at sentencing. Judges would still be free to impose stiff criminal penalties, but they could also take into account individual circumstances to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. This approach would prevent prisons from being overcrowded with lower-level, nonviolent criminals serving unnecessarily long sentences. In the interest of fairness, the bill would make these reforms available to some inmates who have already been sentenced under harsh mandatory minimum laws. Under the bill, an inmate with a minimal criminal history could request that a judge review his or her case to determine if the sentence should be reduced. Notably, violent and career criminals would not qualify for this relief. Giving judges more discretion over sentencing has another benefit: it reduces the amount of taxpayer dollars that must be spent on prisons. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. This frees up resources to pay for the prison reform programs that the Trump administration supports. These programs are designed to reduce recidivism and help prisoners return to the workforce. Savings from our bill could also be used to support law enforcement efforts to fight the opioid epidemic and go after major drug importers and distributers. Without sentencing reform, Congress would have to appropriate additional funds for these programs, potentially adding to our growing budget deficit, projected to be more than $1 trillion by 2020. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act has united policymakers across the political spectrum. It is co-sponsored by more than a quarter of the Senate, evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats. The bill is also backed by a diverse array of groups including FreedomWorks, the American Conservative Union, Prison Fellowship, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, and Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration a group of more than 200 respected law enforcement officials from around the country. No other proposal enjoys the same level of bipartisan support. The notion that Congress can enact meaningful criminal justice reform by focusing solely on the back-end of the process without addressing the underlying disparities in prison sentencing is naive and unproductive. There will never be enough funding for back-end prison reform programs as long as there is a steady stream of new inmates with lengthy sentences disproportionate to their crimes. Instead of keeping lower-level, nonviolent inmates in prisons longer for no good reason, we must work to ensure that our limited resources are used to go after our worst criminals and to prevent inmates from committing new crimes when they leave prison. President Trump has made his priorities on criminal justice reform clear. He wants effective tough-on-crime legislation that doesnt overburden taxpayers. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act achieves those goals and more. The bill recalibrates criminal sentencing to ensure that our harshest penalties are used on our worst criminals. It saves money through better sentencing policy and allows law enforcement to put this money towards law enforcement priorities like going after major drug criminals. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act would also reduce the number of prisoners who commit crimes once again after their release. It would help law enforcement officers do their job to keep communities safe while improving fairness in our justice system. The bill proves that Congress can be tough on crime while enacting reasonable and responsible public policy. And, importantly, in an increasingly polarized political environment, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act is the only proposal that has the votes necessary to become law. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and my colleagues in the Senate and House on the important issue of criminal justice reform. Former FBI Director James Comey told Fox News' "Special Report" Thursday evening that he would still be in charge of the bureau had President Trump not fired him almost a year ago. "That was my intention, to serve another six years," Comey told anchor Bret Baier. Former President Barack Obama appointed Comey as FBI Director in September 2013 and his term was due to expire in 2023. "As of tonight, had you not been fired, you'd still be working for [Trump, whom] you say is like a crime boss, who's morally unfit, who you just don't agree with on principle and values?" asked Baier, referencing criticisms Comey has made of Trump in his book "A Higher Loyalty," as well as in public statements. "You'd still have that job tonight?" "Absolutely," Comey responded. "My goal would be to protect the FBI and serve the President of the United States. I respect that office tremendously." COMEY CLAIMS RELEASE OF MEMO CONTENTS NOT A 'LEAK' IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW The exchange between Baier and Comey followed a discussion of a Feb. 14, 2017 conversation between Comey and Trump. Comey has claimed that Trump asked him to get the FBI to back off its investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials. Comey has said that he did not push back against Trump's comments, which led Baier to ask: "Is it possible that there was another reason why you didn't push back, and that is that you wanted to keep your job?" "It's possible, but it's not the case," Comey said. "At least, I don't remember thinking about that at the time." Fox News' Bret Baier contributed to this report. Former FBI Director James Comey told Fox News on Thursday night that the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General has interviewed him about his handling of memos detailing conversations between Comey and President Trump. Fox News reported last week that the DOJ watchdog was looking into whether Comey gave classified information to unauthorized sources as part of a broader review of the former director's outside communications, including with the media. Comey told "Special Report" host Bret Baier that he expected Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz to issue a report about the memos "not on the handling of classified information, because that's frivolous, but on: Did I comply with policy? Did I comply with my employment agreement?" JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IG PROBING COMEY MEMOS OVER CLASSIFIED MATERIAL Comey, whom Trump fired in May 2017, emphatically denied Thursday that sharing the memos with his legal team constituted a leak of classified information. Instead he compared the process to keeping a "diary." "I didn't consider it part of an FBI file," Comey told Baier when discussing one of the memos. "It was my personal aide-memoire ... I always thought of it as mine." Comey also claimed that the FBI approved the use of one of the memos in his new book, "A Higher Loyalty." Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee last year, Comey said he made the decision to document his interactions with Trump in a way that would not trigger security classification. He also testified that he avoided putting classified material in the memos so that they could be more widely shared. However, after a January 2017 meeting that included then-President-elect Trump at Trump Tower, Comey wrote that the material should have been classified at the SECRET level unless the intelligence agencies thought otherwise. COMEY DENIES RELEASE OF MEMO CONTENTS WAS A 'LEAK' IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW "I am not sure of the proper classification here, Comey wrote, "so have chosen SECRET. Please let me know if it should be higher or lower than that." Comey's disclosure of his memos prompted Trump to describe him as a "liar and a leaker" earlier Thursday. "He leaked classified information to get a special counsel and leaked the memos which are classified the memos were about me and he didnt write those memos accurately. He wrote a lot of phony stuff," Trump told "Fox & Friends." Comey responded by saying Trump was "just wrong" and his statement was "false." Fox News' Bret Baier, Alex Pappas, Catherine Herridge and Judson Berger contributed to this report. When President Trump lashed out Friday at former FBI Director James Comey for sharing memos about their conversations, the president highlighted the case of a lower-level figure who was given a tough sentence for mishandling classified material. Remember sailor! Trump tweeted. It was a reference to Kristian Saucier, the former U.S. Navy sailor who served a year behind bars for taking photos of classified areas in a nuclear submarine before being pardoned by Trump this spring. Comey denies leaking classified information. But The Wall Street Journal reported that at least two of the memos he shared have been to found to contain material now deemed classified. Critics say Comey, who does not currently face any charges, is being judged on a different standard than others the FBI has prosecuted. There is a clear double standard, Ronald Daigle Jr., an attorney for Saucier, told Fox News. My client was sentenced to a year in federal prison, fine, probation, house arrest and a dishonorable discharge from the Navy, Daigle said. My client never shared or leaked any classified information. Comey leaked classified information and nothing is being done by the Justice Department. Why? "Comey leaked classified information and nothing is being done by the Justice Department. Why? Ronald L. Daigle Jr., an attorney for Kristian Saucier There are other high-profile, recent examples of lower-level figures who have faced tough sentences for leaking classified information to the media. Terry Albury, a 39-year-old former Minnesota FBI counterterrorism agent, pleaded guilty this month to leaking classified documents to a reporter. In a statement, the African-American former agent said he knew it was illegal but felt he had to act against a culture in the bureau that often treats minority communities with suspicion and disrespect. TRUMP SLAMS COMEYS LEAK DENIAL Under his plea agreement, Albury faces a likely sentence of between 37 and 57 months. Higher-level officials routinely leak sensitive sometimes even classified information to advance their own personal interests and rarely face serious consequences, Jess Radack, a whistleblower defense attorney, told the Washington Examiner. But if a whistleblower leaks sensitive information of public interest, the hammer comes down. The outcomes have everything to do with politics and nothing to do with justice, Radack added. Theres also the case of 25-year-old Reality Winner, a federal contractor from Georgia, who was charged last summer with removing classified material from a National Security Agency facility and mailing it to a news outlet. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at the time. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation. COMEY DENIES RELEASE OF MEMO CONTENTS WAS A LEAK And theres the 2015 high-profile case of Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA officer who was sentenced to more than three years in prison for leaking classified information to a New York Times reporter. During a Thursday evening interview on Fox News, Comey denied that he leaked classified information when he shared copies of his memos with multiple people, including his friend, Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman. Comey acknowledges Richman gave the information in the memos to the media at his direction. I don't consider what I shared with Mr. Richman a leak, Comey told Fox News' Bret Baier. He added, That memo was unclassified then. It's still unclassified. It's in my book. The FBI cleared that book before it could be published. But President Trump ripped into Comey for those comments in a morning tweet. James Comey cant define what a leak is, Trump tweeted Friday. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesnt understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. Hes either very sick or very dumb. Remember sailor! The Justice Department inspector general is looking into Comeys handling of the memos and Comey acknowledged in Thursdays interview that the IG has interviewed him. And I expect a report on them, Comey said. Not on the handling of classified information because that's frivolous, but on, Did I comply with policy? Did I comply with my employment agreement? Meanwhile, the Justice Departments internal watchdog has also sent a criminal referral for fired FBI official Andrew McCabe to the U.S. attorneys office in Washington. The move follows a recent DOJ inspector general report that found McCabe leaked a self-serving story to the press and later lied about it to then-Director James Comey and federal investigators, prompting Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him on March 16. Fox News Judson Berger, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in central China Friday, saying he expected their two-day informal meeting will open a new chapter in bilateral ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit an exhibition of cultural relics at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 27, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua] Welcoming Modi's visit to Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Xi said in the past three years, he and Modi have established a good working relationship through mutual visits and meetings at multilateral events. The two leaders have reached many important consensuses via these meetings, which have sent the world a positive signal on China-India friendship and reflected the strong will of the two emerging economies to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve common development, according to Xi. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 27, 2018. Modi is here for a two-day informal meeting with President Xi Jinping. [Photo: Xinhua] "The great cooperation between our two great countries can influence the world," Xi said. Xi suggested that both sides should look at the complete picture of Sino-Indian ties from a strategic perspective, so as to ensure that relations between the two countries always proceed in the right direction. He called for continuous strengthening of friendly relations between the two countries so that their friendship will continue to flow forward like the Yangtze and Ganges rivers. China stands ready to work with India to establish a closer partnership of development, so as to promote all-round progress in exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various sectors, Xi said. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their visit to an exhibition of cultural relics at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 27, 2018. Modi is here for a two-day informal meeting with President Xi Jinping. [Photo: Xinhua] Modi said that the informal meeting, which will run until Saturday, has a historic significance. The prime minister said that maintaining frequent high-level exchanges and strategic communications between India and China is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation, which is in line with the common interests of development and prosperity of the two countries and the region. India is willing to work with China to this end, he said. During their visit to an exhibition of cultural relics at Hubei Provincial Museum on Friday afternoon, Xi said that the culture that rose around the region of Hubei Province in ancient times was an important part of and played a decisive role in the development of the Chinese civilization. Both China and India are countries with a splendid history and culture, and there are many similarities between cultures of the two countries, Xi said. The president said that China and India should conduct exchanges in wider areas and at a deeper level, commit themselves to the revival of Eastern civilizations, advocate the respect for diversity of civilizations and promote harmonious coexistence of different civilizations. Modi said that India and China are both countries that grew from ancient civilizations, and share similarities in the historical development of their civilizations. Cultural exchanges between the two countries go back to ancient times. Modi called on the two sides to increase mutual understanding, and work together to deal with global issues and challenges using the wisdom of the two countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said ahead of the meeting on April 24 that the two sides agreed that an informal meeting would be a good idea so that the two leaders can have in-depth exchanges on major issues of common concern in an appropriate atmosphere. The House Intelligence Committee on Friday declared that it found no evidence of collusion between the Russian government and Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election, releasing a heavily redacted final report on its yearlong Russia investigation. The Republican-authored report -- released over Democratic objections -- stated the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government. The committee did, however, find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaign. President Trump, reacting to the report moments after its release, hailed its findings and said the Russia "Witch Hunt" must end, in an apparent swipe at Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation. READ THE DOCUMENT Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. No evidence that the Trump Campaign colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia. Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia-Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW! Trump tweeted. The more than 250-page report was heavily blacked out, however, and the leader of the committee investigation slammed the intelligence community for their overzealous redactions. I am extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions made by the IC. Many of the redactions include information that is publicly available, such as witness names and information previously declassified, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, complained in a statement Friday. I will continue to challenge the ICs many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months. The committees investigation focused on several topics: Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the U.S. governments response to the attack, links between Russians and the Trump and Clinton campaigns, and purported leaks of classified information. The investigation found that Russia's "increasingly aggressive cyber operations" would "continue to present a profound threat," while noting that Russian state actors were responsible for the "dissemination of documents and communications stolen from U.S. political organizations." The report said the Russian government used media company "RT to advance its malign influence campaign" during the 2016 election, along with social media platforms to "sow social discord and to undermine the electoral process." But the committee found no evidence that Trump campaign associates were involved in the theft or publication of Clinton campaign-related emails, although Trump associates had numerous ill-advised contacts with WikiLeaks. The report also criticized the executive branch's "post-election response," calling it "insufficient." The committee outlined poor judgment practiced by both campaigns, citing the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between members of the Trump campaign and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who falsely purported to have damaging information on the Clinton campaign demonstrated poor judgment. The Committee also found that the Clinton campaign and the DNC, using a series of cutouts and intermediaries to obscure their roles, paid for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources, including a litany of claims by high-ranking current and former Russian government officials, the report read. Some of this opposition research was used to produce sixteen memos, which comprise what has become known as the Steele dossier. The committee also focused on leaks of classified information, noting that the number of leaks regarding Russian intentions to "help elect candidate Trump increased dramatically after the election day." "Continued leaks of classified information have damaged national security and potentially endangered lives," the report read. The committee also found that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper provided "inconsistent testimony to the committee about his contacts with the media, including CNN." Clapper is now a CNN national security analyst. It is unclear at this point what information Clapper discussed with media outlets. The report includes more than 25 recommendations for Congress and the executive branch to improve election security, U.S. government response to cyberattacks, campaign finance transparency, and counterintelligence practices related to political campaigns and unauthorized disclosures. The release of the full report comes after committee leaders announced key findings last month, prompting a war of words between Republican and Democratic members. The GOP majority at the time reported finding no evidence of collusion between Russia and Trump campaign associates. They also said that based on the investigation, the controversial anti-Trump dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele formed an essential part of an application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to obtain electronic surveillance on Trump adviser Carter Page. Conaway took over the probe when House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., stepped down in April 2017 after he was accused of making unauthorized disclosures of classified information, in violation of House Rules, law regulations, or other standards of conduct. But the top committee Democrat blasted Republicans last month for prematurely shutting down the panels Russia probe and renewed that criticism on Friday. Notwithstanding the decision by the Majority to end its work and turn its attention to counter-investigations designed to serve the Presidents interests, the Minoritys work on the Russia investigation continues, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement Friday. We will continue our investigation using every means at our disposal; to do otherwise would ignore our responsibility to conduct meaningful oversight and insure that the Russians do not possess leverage over the President of the United States. Schiff and committee Democrats released their minority view report Friday, where Schiff said they "correct the record on a raft of misleading conclusions, insinuations, attempts to explain away inconvenient facts, and arguments meant to protect the President and his campaign found in the Republican report." Schiff also is seeking to publicly release the transcripts of interviews so the public can see the "evidence for themselves and judge accordingly," noting that sharing the transcripts with Special Counsel Robert Mueller could "assist their efforts." Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report. House Intelligence Committee Republicans, in their newly released report concluding their Russia investigation, seemed to back up reports that FBI agents did not think ex-White House national security adviser Michael Flynn lied to them despite his eventual guilty plea for making false statements. Among the 44 findings in the report was a line stating that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents did not detect any deception during Flynn's interview. The Washington Examiners Byron York first reported earlier this year that fired FBI boss James Comey had briefed lawmakers amid allegations Flynn had lied to Vice President Pence about conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and speculation he may have misled FBI agents who questioned him in January 2017. Comey reportedly told lawmakers at the time that agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe he lied in that Jan. 24 meeting, and that any inaccuracies in his account were unintentional. Fast-forward to December, after the probe takeover by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Flynn would plead guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI during that meeting. HOUSE PANEL'S RUSSIA REPORT FINDS 'NO EVIDENCE' OF COLLUSION; TRUMP SAYS PROBE 'MUST END NOW' The House Intelligence Committee report, which was disputed by Democrats and released over their objections, provides virtually no public information to back up its conclusion about Flynns interactions with the agents as most of the section explaining that finding is redacted. (Committee Republicans have blasted the intelligence community over heavy redactions throughout the report.) The public portion of the report does not make clear where that information came from whether from Comey or another source. Comey, however, denied that he ever told lawmakers agents didnt believe Flynn intentionally lied. No, he said in an interview Thursday with Fox News Bret Baier on Special Report. I saw that in the media maybe someone misunderstood something I said. I didnt believe that. I didnt say that. Flynn lost his job over the Russia contacts controversy -- and as recently as December, even President Trump claimed Flynn had "lied" to agents. But last week, Trump defended Flynn as he castigated Comey, saying Flynns life has been totally destroyed while shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from his newly released memoir. Muellers team, meanwhile, has sought to delay Flynns sentencing, and is expected to file another joint-status report by May 1, following a special counsel motion on Feb. 1, 2018 suggesting they did not believe that this matter is ready to be scheduled for a sentencing hearing at this time. The delay was one of several curious developments in the proceedings. Days after accepting his guilty plea, the judge assigned to the case, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Rudolph Contreras, recused himself from the case, and was replaced by Judge Emmet Sullivan. The release of Fridays report was heavily opposed by Democrats. Notwithstanding the decision by the Majority to end its work and turn its attention to counter-investigations designed to serve the Presidents interests, the Minoritys work on the Russia investigation continues, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement Friday. We will continue our investigation using every means at our disposal; to do otherwise would ignore our responsibility to conduct meaningful oversight and insure that the Russians do not possess leverage over the President of the United States. Schiff and committee Democrats released their minority view report Friday, where Schiff said they "correct the record on a raft of misleading conclusions, insinuations, attempts to explain away inconvenient facts, and arguments meant to protect the President and his campaign found in the Republican report." Fox News Megan Woods, Brooke Singman, Adam Shaw and Alex Pappas contributed to this report. Roughly 100 remaining members of the immigrant caravan from Central American arrived in Tijuana, Mexico on Thursday. Sometime this weekend, the group of 500 Honduran, Guatemalan and Salvadorans refugees are expected to cross the pedestrian bridge into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry just south of San Diego to ask for asylum. Based on conversations with sources north and south of the border, here's what you need to know. 1. The group is a mix of women, children, families and young men. Rather than attempt to cross the border illegally over a fence, most will present themselves at the port to a customs agent and request asylum. For context, while the caravan of 500 to 1,500 sought and received publicity, in March alone the Border Patrol apprehended 3,786 unaccompanied children and family units, up from 2,978 in February. Since October 1, the two groups total more than 28,000 of those almost 9,000 are from Guatemala and 4,500 are from Honduras, according to Border Patrol statistics. 2. This is a lengthy process that begins with an interview with a Customs and Border Protection officer to screen those claiming asylum. The bar for this interview is extremely low and requires no actual evidence other than the claim. A CBP official said the agency will process as many per day as we can. That could be roughly 100. 3. If passed, the family or individual will likely be handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be transported to a detention facility, where a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service officer will conduct a more through interview to establish if the individual has a "credible fear of persecution" if forced to return to their county. Again, evidence is not required and an overwhelming majority are given a date or notice to appear in immigration court. Even those who are denied, are still given the right to see a judge. 4. Adult immigrants are typically held for a few weeks to a few months. Those with no criminal record are usually released in a few weeks. Some families are held together, others are not, depending on their claim and shelter space. Under a court ruling called the Flores decision, the federal government must release children within 72 hours from detention to live with a relative, foster care or a charity. 5. Under a separate ruling known as the "Dolly Gee Decision," children and their parents are supposed to be released from detention "without unnecessary delay." That does not apply to criminal aliens or those with prior deportations. They are a priority for sustained confinement. 6. The American Civil Liberties Union and others argue children and families should not be separated and should not be detained. Others argue most Central Americans are economic immigrants looking to improve their life and are not actually persecuted because of class, religion, race or political views. Separating families can reduce fraud and frivolous claims, some argue, while lengthy detention terms also increase deterrence. Not everyone agrees. U.S. officials also claim tightening the 'credible fear' standard will discourage parents from sending their children on this dangerous journey alone, or with smugglers. 7. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she is sending additional prosecutors, judges and asylum officers to handle the load. The U.S. is also working with Mexico to work out an arrangement where the Central Americans register with Mexico, obtain a number, then essentially wait until their groups is called to present themselves at the Port of Entry. Neither the U.S. nor Mexico want women and children camped against the border in tents overnight for consecutive days. 8. Representatives for Puebla Sin Fronteras said the group plans a massive protest Sunday at the border, where the immigrants will demand dignity and justice and a right to live and work in the U.S. Despite strong words from Secretary Nielsen and President Trump, these refugees will be treated just like those under President Obama. They will be processed and released and given a date in court for which statistics show 85 percent will not appear. 9. Critics say two changes in the law are needed. A law allowing "expedited removal" of any immigrant who does not apply for asylum or safety in the first country outside their own. This would force Mexico to better police its southern border since most Central Americans could then be deported to Mexico. A second change in the law would more broadly allow for the deportation of unaccompanied minors who are not victims of human trafficking. A bill sponsored by House judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte would treat all children the same as those from Mexico, and require an immigration hearing within one week of being apprehended by the Border Patrol. 10. Without legislative changes and additional money, administration sources say the public should not expect any change in policy because the law dictates what happens when an asylum claim is made. Critics say this robs the president of his attempt to send a message to Central America - that anything has changed thus encouraging additional immigrants to make the journey. Without pressure on Congress to close 'loopholes,' few expect anything to change and the U.S. will see more caravans in the future. Although specifics werent provided, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined his counterpart to the south in promising to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. The vow to create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization came during the Koreas historic summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April, and just before a much-anticipated meeting between Kim and U.S. President Trump. I feel like Im firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity, Kim told Moon. Kim is the first known member of his familys dynasty to set foot on South Korean soil since 1953. There, at least in front of cameras, his rhetoric drastically changed since he engaged in a war of words with Trump throughout the first year of the U.S. presidents time in the White House. (Kim called Trump a dotard; Trump called the North Korean leader short and fat.) Since Kim took over North Korea in 2011, the regime rapidly expanded and tested its missile arsenal with weapons capable of striking the U.S. mainland. His end goal, he once said, was to "establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military options for the North. Read on for a brief look at how North Koreas nuclear weapons program has grown throughout the regimes in the past century. Kim Il Sung, leader from 1948-1994 Kim Il Sung can be credited with founding North Korea and propelling the nations nuclear program forward but he did not live to see his country conduct its first nuclear test. It was under the first Kim that North Korea began to build up its nuclear reactors. And it was under his leadership that the nation began the Korean War surely a catalyst that led the leader to believe his nation needed nuclear weapons, Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, told Fox News in an interview. TRUMPS COMMENTS ON NORTH KOREA, FROM FIRE AND FURY TO BLAMING CHINA The seeds of nuclear aspirations were sown in the Korean War, Lee said. The Korean War pitted North Korea and its ally China two nations that did not have nuclear capabilities at the time against a nuclear-armed U.S., making it clear to the first Kim that nuclear weapons are very powerful, a powerful deterrent, Lee said. Kim Jong Il, leader from 1994-2011 When the second leader of the Kim dynasty died in 2011, Kim Jong Il was remembered as the dictator who turned North Korea into a nuclear state, in his New York Times obituary. And its Kim Jong Il that really gets the credit of taking the country down the nuclear path," Lee said. In the beginning of his reign he was North Koreas supreme leader from 1994 to 2011 North Korea denied that it had a nuclear weapons program. TIMELINE OF NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES IN 2017 However, in 2003, Pyongyang announced that North Korea was withdrawing from the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which barred the nation from making nuclear weapons. By 2005, North Korea confirmed that it had its own nuclear weapons. It tested its first nuclear device in 2006. Kim Jong Un, leader from 2011-present Kim Jong Un is credited with accelerating North Koreas push for nuclear weapons, and under the Obama administration, many of the worlds attitudes toward the East Asian nations nuclear capabilities became less blase than in the past, Lee said. Kim Jong Un also crossed a major threshold for his country in the summer of 2017 the ability to credibly threaten the U.S. with an intercontinental ballistic missile. In 2017, North Korea successfully tested its longest-ever flight of a ballistic missile. The intermediate-range weapon traveled 3,700 miles and passed over Japan before it landed in the Pacific. The country also tested its most powerful nuclear test to date this year. After the missile test, Kim Jong Un said North Korea is nearing equilibrium with the U.S. in terms of its military force. The increasingly frequent and aggressive tests added to outside fears that North Korea is closer than ever to building a military arsenal that could viably target the mainland of the U.S. or its allies in Asia. Calling Kim Jong Un Rocket Man, Trump said in 2017 the dictator is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States has great strength and patience, Trump said. But if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. But 2018 brought a dramatic turn of events after he declared in a stark New Years address that a nuclear launch button is always on my table. Kim Jong Un offered to meet with Trump and became the first known member of his familys dynasty to set foot in South Korea since 1953. At the historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, both leaders pushed for peace and would work toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. However, neither leader provided any specific measures or seemed to forge a potential breakthrough on the issue that has captivated and terrified many, especially since last year. Before Trump canceled a much-anticipated meeting with Kim Jong Un, North Korea said it demolished what it claimed to be its nuclear test site, setting off several explosions over the course of a few hours in the presence of foreign journalists. The planned closing of the Punggye-ri site was previously announced, but it's unclear if another facility could be used to continue the country's nuclear weapons program. Yongbyon nuclear complex, located about 64 miles north of Pyongyang, has a new reactor that could produce weapons-grade plutonium. Pyongyang insists is being used to produce electricity for its citizens. Trump ultimately rejected Kim Jong Un's invitation to a June meeting in Singapore, citing North Korea's "open hostility." Fox News Edmund DeMarche, Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report. US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan forced out the Jesuit priest who had served as House chaplain since 2011, in an apparent partisan squabble, a new report said Thursday. House Democrats believe the ouster of Rev. Patrick Conroy was because Republicans thought he was aligned with Democrats, a senior Democratic aide told The Hill. Conroys letter of resignation, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill, said he was stepping down because of a request from the Wisconsin Republican, who is also a Catholic. As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, the April 15 letter to Ryan said. Four sources two from each party told the website that Conroy was told he had to retire or he would be canned. In a prayer during deliberations on tax cuts last year, Conroy asked that lawmakers should be fair to all Americans, a new report said Thursday. One Democratic lawmaker said Ryan objected to the prayer on the House floor that Republicans viewed as critical of the GOP tax cut bill. Other sources said Ryan thought Conroy favored Democrats in the House, and cited the prayer and the priests invitation to a Muslim to offer a prayer before the chambers as the reasons behind the chaplains demise. Some of the more conservative evangelical Republicans didnt like that the Father had invited a Muslim person to give the opening prayer, a source said. A senior GOP aide said Conroys exit was not because of any particular prayer. Click for more from The New York Post Newly recovered text messages exchanged by anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page reveal their shock and frustration in the wake of James Comeys May 2017 firing, as they privately fumed over the news and scrambled to react. The messages were transmitted to congressional committees late Thursday by the Justice Department, after the inspector general announced that his office had recovered previously missing communications over the critical period between Dec. 14, 2016 and May 17, 2017. This covered Comeys firing and the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. On the day President Trump fired his FBI director, Strzok and Page exchanged a flurry of messages. Ack dammit Im DYING down here, Strzok wrote, inviting Page to talk and suggesting she go to a lunch with a person whose name is redacted. Now more than ever this is an important, critical, time. Moments before, Strzok also wrote, And we need to open the case weve been waiting on now while Andy is acting. It is unclear what case Strzok was referring to, but the text suggested he wanted to act while former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe was still in charge post-Comey. Page replied: We need to lock in [redacted]. In a formal chargeable way. Soon. Over the next several days, the texts show the two rallying behind Comey. Are you watching this s*t?!?? Call me when youre off Strzok texted. ... [Sarah Huckabee Sanders] said D [Director Comey] had lost confidence of rank and file of fbi. Days later, Strzok and Page exchanged texts that they were feeling a sense of loss. Having a tough time processing tonight, Lis. Feeling a profound sense of loss, Strzok wrote. I feel that same loss. I want to see what the FBI could become under him! His vision of greatness for our strong but flawed organization. Im angry. Angry and mourning, Page replied. We will endure, we just wont be as good. Yeah I keep telling myself the organization is much bigger and stronger than any one person, that well endure, Strzok wrote. But that didnt seem to help. On May 17, 2017, the day Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates, Strzok texted Page notifying her. News announcing Mueller, he wrote. You could go work with Aaron for himyou heard it from me first;) And you go to Wilmer when its done. There are two Aarons on the special counsel team Aaron Zebley and Aaron Zelinsky. But the message may have been referring to Zebely, a former partner at law firm WilmerHale and former chief of staff to Mueller when he served as FBI director. Weve got one hell of a team going Page wrote to Strzok. Yes we do, Strzok replied. The following day, Strzok told Page he talked to Zebley in the context of getting [redacted] under Muellers authority, not the team. Strzok and Page both joined Muellers team in 2017. A spokesman for Mueller told Fox News in July that Page was only on staff for a 45-day detail and, upon concluding work, returned to the FBIs Office of the General Counsel. Strzok was removed from Muellers team in August, following revelations that Strzok and Page were romantically involved and exchanged politically charged texts. Immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Special Counsels Office removed Peter Strzok from the investigation. Lisa Page completed her brief detail and had returned to the FBI weeks before our office was aware of the allegations, a spokesman for Mueller told Fox News in an email in December. Strzok currently serves in the FBI's human resources division. The dragon energy between President Trump and Kanye West is growing stronger. The leader of the free world on Friday thanked the iconoclastic rapper for his great service to the black community, after Kanye risked condemnation from fellow artists and other celebrities by publicly praising Trump. "Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community - Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades - Legacy Stuff! Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history)," Trump tweeted Friday. Chance the Rapper earlier this week said black people dont have to be democrats. Dr. Darrell Scott, a pastor and member of Trump's transition team, also backed Kanyes recent support for Trump on Fox & Friends. The latest Trump tweet follows a weeklong frenzy over West's Twitter activity. He tweeted out pictures of himself in a Make America Great Again, criticizing former President Obamas record in Chicago and offering support for Trump. His claim that they both share "dragon energy" also has inspired countless memes. You dont have to agree with trump but the mob cant make me not love him, he tweeted Wednesday. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. Trump responded earlier by thanking him and calling his tweetstorm very cool. West responded by tweeting out a picture of his signed MAGA hat. He also clarified, apparently pushed to do so by his wife Kim Kardashian West, that he doesnt agree with everything Trump does." Kanye had caused a similar hubbub during the presidential transition when he appeared at Trump Tower and met briefly with the then-president elect. His pro-Trump tweetstorm came on the heels of him voicing support for conservative commentator Candace Owens and Dilbert cartoon creator Scott Adams. In an interview with "Fox & Friends" Thursday, Trump hailed his friendship with West. "I have known Kanye a little bit and I get along with Kanye...but Kanye looks and he sees black unemployment at the lowest its been in the history of our country, he sees Hispanic unemployment at the lowest its been in the history of our country. He sees female unemployment at the lowest its been in 19 years," he said. "He sees that stuff and hes smart, and he goes 'you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,'" he added. President Trump on Friday hailed progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, but also warned that the U.S. and its allies will keep up maximum pressure in dealing with the North Korean regime until it is denuclearized. A lot of good things are happening with respect to North Korea, Trump said at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trump spoke after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in South Korea. The two leaders announced that both sides will work toward a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula" and try to officially end the Korean War. Trump is due to meet with Kim in the coming weeks and told reporters Friday that they were down to two potential sites for a meeting. He also said that things have changed radically from just a few months ago where both Trump and Kim were trading barbs -- with Trump labeling Kim rocket man. But he promised that the U.S. would keep up pressure despite the positive signs from Pyongyang. "We will not repeat the mistake of past administrations, he said. Maximum pressure will continue until denuclearization occurs." He made similar warnings with respect to Iran when asked about the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump is considering pulling the U.S. from if it cant be strengthened. He said it wouldnt be appropriate to say if he would use military force against Iran. Theyre not going to be doing nuclear weapons, he said. You can bank on it. On North Korea, Trump pointed the finger at prior administrations. He said that President Barack Obama warned him during the transition that it would be your biggest problem. He repeated his claim that the crisis should have been dealt with by prior administrations. In her remarks, Merkel praised Trumps leadership on North Korea. "Today, we meet at a point in time where it has become very clear that the strength of the American president, where he really saw to it that the sanctions against North Korea are respected, has opened new possibilities, opened new ways, Merkel said. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that the U.S. had been played like a fiddle by North Korea before he took office. But at the press conference again expressed hope that bringing peace to the region could be part of his legacy. "It's certainly something that I hope I can do for the world," he said. President Trump touted the historic meeting between North and South Korea early Friday and said the U.S. should be "very proud" of the progress, as leaders from the two nations pledged to clear the peninsula of nuclear weapons. The presidents tweets came during a summit in the Peace House in Panmunjom between North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Trump tweeted. NORTH, SOUTH KOREA AGREE ON DENUCLEARIZATION OF PENINSULA AFTER HISTORIC MEETING The Korean leaders announced they would work to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, and also expressed hope to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War by the end of the year, though it is not clear at this point the steps the leaders will take to achieve denuclearization. KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Trump tweeted, minutes later. During an exclusive interview with Fox & Friends Thursday morning, Trump criticized the Obama administration for allowing the situation with North Korea to escalate, touting his negotiating skills while calling former Secretary of State John Kerry the worst negotiator hed ever seen. We had weak people, this should have been settled long before I came into office, Trump said. This is a much different ball game than if they did it five or ten or twenty years ago. This is a much more dangerous ball game now. I will tell you its going very well. TRUMP TOUTS PROGRESS ON NORTH KOREA, CALLS KERRY 'WORST NEGOTIATOR' Trump, who is slated to have a summit with Kim Jong Un at a date not yet scheduled, slammed media reports that he was making concessions to secure the meeting with the North Korean dictator. Newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to North Korea earlier this month to lay the foundation for the meeting between Trump and Kim. Now, the North and the South have announced that they will jointly push for talks with the United States, and potentially China to officially end the decades-old war. The Koreas have agreed to stop all hostile acts over land, sea and air that cause military clashes and tensions. "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" Trump tweeted, applauding Chinese President Xi Jinping for his aid throughout talks. The leaders also agreed that beginning May 1, all loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts that have been blaring from each side of the heavily-armed border will be suspended. They also agreed to dismantle broadcasting equipment and stop flying propaganda leaflets across their border. Kim also promised Moon that he wont interrupt his early morning sleep anymore, referring to missile tests, South Korea said. KIM JONG UN PENDS PESSAGE OF PEACE IN SOUTH KOREA'S PEACE HOUSE During the summit, Kim Jong Un signed South Koreas guestbook: A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history. The message was written in black ink, and ended with the date 2018.4.26, marking the date of the historic summit. Fox News' Bradford Betz , Edumund DeMarche, Adam Shaw , Amy Liu, and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rep. Patrick Meehan, a Republican from Pennsylvania, had already announced his intentions not to seek re-election, but on April 27, he resigned. Meehan, 62, was accused of sexual misconduct by a former aide. It was reported that he used taxpayer funds to settle a claim with the longtime aide he called a soul mate, and in his resignation, Meehan said he would pay the $39,000 back to the U.S. Treasury. With the knowledge that I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve, Meehan, who was first elected in 2010, said in a statement. I have stayed to fight for important priorities like fully funding our troops, increasing support for medical research and preserving promising clean energy solutions. And now that work is accomplished. According to the U.S. House, laws pertaining to members elected to fill vacancies varies according to when the vacancy occurs and applicable state law. Read on for a look at what happens to Meehans seat since he has resigned -- and what that means in terms of Pennsylvania redistricting. The governor will set a special election date Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, will set a special election date. He is required to do so within 10 days of receiving the resignation, and the election will be held at least 60 days later. Wolf is expected to make a decision on the special election soon, Wanda Murren, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania secretary of state, told Fox News. REPUBLICANS WHO ARE NOT COMING BACK TO CONGRESS AFTER 2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS This will be the second special election Wolf will have to set given April resignations. Longtime Rep. Charlie Dent, also a Republican, said on April 17 that he planned to resign from Congress in the coming weeks. As the resignation date is not yet official, that election has not been set. The winner will finish out Meehans term in office Each political party will nominate a candidate. Whoever wins the special election, will fulfill the remainder of Meehans term in office, according to guidance provided by Pennsylvanias secretary of state office. Redistricting makes things difficult Meehans congressional district, the 7th, encompassed the area around Philadelphia. According to The New York Times, it could have been the most gerrymandered district, with such an odd shape, in the entire country. Redistricting turned most of this area into what will be the new 5th district, which is considered to be safely Democratic, according to The New York Times. The special election will still be held under the older congressional map, drawn in 2011, per rules put in place by the states supreme court. Whoever wins the special election, would be able to run again to keep the seat in the upcoming general, according to Murren. From his handling of a probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to his investigation into Russian meddling in the election, former FBI Director James Comey has long been a punching bag for President Trump. After Comey left the FBI, Trump accused him of leaving the agency in "tatters." And as Comey released his explosive tell-all book, Trump called for the former FBI boss to be "prosecuted" for allegedly leaking information and lying under oath to Congress. "He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI," Trump said in April. "It was my great honor to fire James Comey!" But while Trump has publicly hit the nations former chief investigator hard, his public opinion throughout his presidency and campaign hasn't been all bad. Criticism On Comey's Capitol Hill testimony On Dec. 7, Comey testified behind closed doors, despite previously seeking an open hearing. He was expected to answer a variety of questions from his decision not to recommend any criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her private server scandal in 2016 to the FBI's investigation into potential Russian collusion during the 2016 presidential campaign. Comey tweeted days before his testimony that it was "hard to protect [his] rights without being in contempt," so he agreed to "sit in the dark." House Republicans apparently weren't satisfied at the conclusion of Comey's questioning and indicated they may want to bring Comey back, according to reports. Trump, too, was clearly frustrated. "It is being reported that Leakin' James Comey was told by Department of Justice attorneys not to answer the most important questions," Trump tweeted afterward. "Total bias and corruption at the highest levels of previous Administration. Force him to answer the questions under oath!" On Clintons emails Trump has often tweeted about Comeys involvement in the FBIs investigation into Clintons use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, saying his handling of the probe has left the FBI in tatters. Hillary and the Dems loved and praised FBI Director Comey just a few days ago. Original evidence was overwhelming, should not have delayed! Trump tweeted in October 2016. Before Comey was officially sacked, Trump said Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Clinton because he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds. After the FBI confirmed Comey had drafted a statement about Clinton before the investigation was completed, Trump took to Twitter to lambast the former FBI chief even more. Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete. Many people not interviewed, including Clinton herself, Trump tweeted. Comey stated under oath that he didnt do this obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept? Trump tweeted. As it turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her! he said. He's also said Comey, along with others, have "committed many crimes." On Comeys firing Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017 and sent his FBI chief a short, impersonal letter to make him aware of his termination. Trump predictably took to Twitter to defend the firing. James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI," Trump said the morning after the firing. Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me! Trump added. On the Russia investigation Comey told Trump that he was not under investigation by the FBI, Trump said in a May 2017 interview with NBC News. I said, if its possible would you let me know, am I under investigation? He said, You are not under investigation, Trump said. When asked if he was angry with Comey over his investigation into Russias meddling in the presidential election, Trump just said he want[s] somebody thats competent to lead the FBI. He added that he is a big fan of the FBI. Trump reportedly called Comey crazy and a nut job during a conversation with Russian officials in the Oval Office the day after Comeys firing, according to The New York Times. I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job, Trump said according to a document of the meeting obtained by the Times. I faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off. And when it comes to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump has denied asking Comey to stop his investigation into potential wrongdoing. I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie! Trump tweeted on Dec. 3. On Comey's memo As Comey has promoted his new memoir, titled "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," Trump called the former FBI head a "slimeball" and dubbed him "Slippery James Comey." "Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!" Trump said on social media. He also criticized the book for not answering certain questions, such as: "how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail), why did the DNC refuse to give [Clinton's email server] to the FBI (why didn't they TAKE it), why the phony memos," among other things. Trump has also denied asking Comey for his loyalty, something Comey detailed in his memoir. On stopping government leaks Trump has several times expressed his disappointment with Comey and the FBI not being able to stop national security leakers and even accused the former FBI boss of leaking as well. The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security leakers that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. Trump tweeted in February 2017. Trump also threatened Comey against leaking, himself, information to the media. James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press, Trump tweeted. His tweet came after The New York Times reported Trump asked for Comeys loyalty during a private dinner, which Comey declined to give. The New York Times cited sources who said they knew about the details of the dinner through Comey. Later, after Comey told Fox News the memos he shared with his legal team did not constitute a leak of classified information, Trump took to social media to call him "either very sick or very dumb." Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey cant define what a leak is. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesnt understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. Hes either very sick or very dumb, he wrote. Praise On Clintons emails While the president eventually castigated Comeys handling of the probe into Clintons private email server, Trump initially praised him for investigating Clinton at all. It took a lot of guts, Trump said in October 2017 of Comeys decision to reopen the Clinton investigation. I have to give the FBI credit. That was so bad what happened originally, Trump said after the FBI did not recommend charges be brought against Clinton by the Justice Department. It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had where theyre trying to protect her from criminal prosecution, Trump said. I was not his fan, but Ill tell you what what he did, he brought back his reputation, Trump continued. He also encouraged Comey then to hang tough. On the Russia investigation In prepared remarks released ahead of Comeys testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017, Comey confirmed reports that Trump asked the FBI to lay off his former national security adviser as the department investigated Russias influence on the 2016 presidential election. But Comey also confirmed that he did reassure the president that Trump was not under investigation. Trump was pleased by Comeys admission. The president is pleased that Mr. Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the President was not under investigation in any Russian probe, Trumps lawyer said in a statement. The President feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda. Wrapping up its investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, the House Intelligence Committee released its final report on April 27 -- and seemingly vindicated President Trump. This investigation is the first of several to actually conclude. An investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is ongoing. Read on for a look at seven things you need to know about the report. No collusion but poor judgment The report says it found no evidence of collusion from the presidents campaign with Russia, though it concluded that both Trump's campaign and that of Democrat Hillary Clinton exercised poor judgment. While the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated or conspired with the Russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaigns, the report stated. The committee cited the 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with campaign officials Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law, Donald Trump, Jr., the presidents son and a Russian lawyer who was supposed to have damaging information about Clinton. It also called Trumps praise and communications with WikiLeaks highly objectionable and inconsistent with U.S. national security interests. As for Clinton, the committee criticized her campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for using a series of cutouts and intermediaries to obscure their roles, paid for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources, including a litany of claims by high-ranking current and former Russian government officials. Russia guilty of cyberattacks The committee said it found Russia carried out cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions from 2015 to 2016. The section on what the committee found on the cyberattacks is mostly redacted. According to its report, the committee also found that Russian-state actors and third-party intermediaries were responsible for the dissemination of documents and communications stolen from U.S. political organizations. This represents a significant escalation in directness, level of activity and scope of effort in Russias longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order, the report read. It is therefore likely that high-level Russian government approval was required in both planning and execution of the operation. The investigation found that Russias increasingly aggressive cyber operations would continue to present a profound threat. Leaks are detrimental The report said, Continued leaks of classified information have damaged national security and potentially endangered lives. The investigation found that leaks were used to sow discord in the U.S. presidential election, which began before Election Day. It also accused former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper of having provided inconsistent testimony to the Committee about his contacts with media, specifically pointing to inconsistencies in Clappers testimonies regarding whether he discussed the controversial dossier with reporters. Its heavily redacted The more than 250-page report contains heavy redactions from the intelligence committee -- and House Republicans have said they plan to challenge those redactions. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, said some of the data redacted included public information, such as declassified material and names of witnesses. I am extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions made by the IC, Conaway said in a statement, adding that he plans to challenge the ICs redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months. Recommendations The committee urged intelligence officials to immediately alert presidential candidates when they discover legitimate threats to the campaign. Officials should also inform Congress, it said. Additionally, the committee recommended the executive branch crack down on leaks by conducting polygraphs of certain employees with top secret clearances. It also said Congress should consider revising the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to include malicious international cyber actors. House Dems arent happy Democrats on the committee, particularly ranking member Adam Schiff of California, fiercely oppose the report and have released their own document. Schiff accused Republicans of failing to properly investigate, including by not interviewing certain witnesses or obtaining specific documents. Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate -- or even see, when in plain sight -- evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses, Schiff said. He called on the panel to release the transcripts from the interviews it conducted with key witnesses, but Conaway, who took over the probe last year, said the committee needs permission from intelligence officials before doing so. Schiff also said the content of the report changed daily, including on key assessments. He attributed it to Republicans fundamentally flawed approach to the investigation and the superficial and political nature of its conclusions. Trump has already responded to it Shortly after the report was released, Trump heralded it on Twitter and called for the investigations to end. Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. No evidence that the Trump Campaign colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia. Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia - Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW! Trump tweeted. Trump has often called the Russia investigation a witch hunt and has repeatedly denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians during the election. Fox News Judson Berger, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A real life "Jaws" named Hilton was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico just west of the Florida Keys this week. The great white shark, a Twitter celebrity with more than 22,000 followers, was tagged by OCEARCH a non-profit organization that researches great white sharks and other apex predators. OCEARCH researchers have been following the 12-foot great white's route since March 2017 when they tagged the shark near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Hilton, weighing in at 1,326 pounds, is fitted with a tag that pings to transmit his location when his fins break the surface. The shark has traveled up and down along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Florida but he's never been seen in the Gulf of Mexico before. He's been in the waters for nearly two weeks now. "Since then he's made his way toward the Florida panhandle, a famous fishing ground for sport fishermen. No doubt Hilton's doing a little fishing of his own, chowing down on the many fish of the canyon and shelf region there," Dr. Robert Hueter, OCEARCH chief science advisor and mote marine laboratory senior sientist, said in an online statement. According to OCEARCH, Hilton's last "ping" was recorded on Friday at 11:49 a.m. The shark has traveled nearly 80 miles in the past 24 hours and a total of 10,029 miles since he was first tagged. "After spending last spring near the shelf and canyons off North Carolina, Hilton is spending this spring further south, along the Florida Escarpment and DeSoto Canyon in the Gulf," Dr. Bryan Franks of Jacksonville University explained, according to an OCEARCH Facebook post. "The common factor: those interesting bottom features that likely hold a nice buffet of food and a range of water temperatures." The sighting sparked hilarious comments from Hilton fans across the world. "Maybe he's headed to Mexico for Cinco de Mayo!" one Facebook user wrote. "Hilton, what are you doing way over there in the gulf? How did you travel across land in Florida? Inquiring minds want to know! Come back to South Carolina. We miss you!" another wrote. "Looks like he took a side trip to Disneyworld! Hope Ariel is safe!" one user joked. Hilton greeted his fans on Twitter Friday. "Hello Florida! Anyone know where I can find some fish?" the shark's account tweeted. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An 800-year-old religious relic, the heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin, has been returned to the church it was stolen from in 2012. The thieves may have returned the relic because they thought it was "cursed," according to media reports. After a nearly six-year-long investigation by the police, the heart was found undamaged and was returned to Christ Church Cathedral in a ceremony on Thursday, the Catholic Herald reports. Anglican Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin said the return of the relic is extraordinarily important, one that gives the people of Dublin great joy. 'EXTRAORDINARY FIND' MADE IN POMPEII BATH HOUSE Our deep thanks and warm appreciation go to all who have worked tirelessly to make this day of restoration possible, he said in comments obtained by Catholic Herald. The cathedral held a service Thursday to celebrate the heart's return. A spokesman for the church said that there will be a proper shine for St. Laurence, now that the relic has been properly returned. St. Laurence has great significance for Irish Catholics. He was elected Archbishop of Dublin in 1162 during the pontificate of Alexander III. He also helped the Irish church reform in the 12th century, in addition to taking care of the wounded during the Anglo-Norman invasion in Ireland. He ultimately helped mediate between the Normans and the Irish, SWNS reports. St. Laurence fell ill after his last trip to Normandy for King Henry II, for whom he was a trusted adviser. He eventually died on November 14, 1180 and was canonized in 1226 by Pope Honorius III. With the moon as its immediate goal, NASA is pushing hard on deep space exploration. In a press conference from Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston today (April 26), NASA officials talked through the status of their deep space exploration program and the upcoming launches of the agency's Orion spacecraft around the moon. A NASA report last year suggested the launch date could slip to June 2020. However, JSC Director Ellen Ochoa confirmed that NASA is still pushing to use the massive Space Launch System to send Orion around the moon for the first time, on the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1, by the end of 2019. "Launch [is] hopefully at the end of 2019. That is the goal we're keeping toward," Ochoa said at the press conference. "We've done an in-depth assessment of that, and likely it will be in early 2020, but we are keeping pressure on our agency and our folks to try and launch in December of 2019, to make sure that we put our best foot forward and do our best to meet those deadlines." [How the Orion Space Capsule Works (Infographic)] EM-1, the spacecraft for that first test flight, is already being assembled at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Ochoa said, and awaiting the European Service Module, which should arrive at the center this summer. (That module will sit below the Orion spacecraft, with the abort system attached above.) In the meantime, EM-2 the spacecraft for the second Orion flight, and Orion's first crewed mission around the moon is already being assembled at the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. It will make its way to Florida later in the summer. Before EM-1 almost exactly a year from today, Ochoa said NASA will test the spacecraft's abort system after a launch to a point more than 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) high in a short, but intensive test called Ascent Abort-2. "It's just a 3-minute test, but it will be an exciting 3 minutes," Ochoa said. Once Orion has reached the moon, NASA plans to spend a significant amount of time there honing systems and creating an orbiting outpost called the Deep Space Gateway, according to Vanessa Wyche, director of the Exploration Integration and Science Directorate at NASA. "Building on the transportation elements being developed today, the Space Launch System and Orion and using the International Space Station as a platform to test technologies in LEO [low Earth orbit], we're working with commercial industry and our international partners to build and assemble a crew-tended spaceport in orbit around the moon in the 2020s," Wyche said at the conference. "NASA and its partners will use the Gateway for deep-space operations including missions on the moon with decreasing reliance on Earth. "We'll use the lunar orbit as a place to stage where we'll actually build up a small, crew-tended spaceport that will then do testing. We will learn about what's going on at the moon. We'll do testing on the moon's surface, and then we will build up, do other testing and move on to Mars," she added. Wyche said that NASA will learn much more about the moon in the coming decade, not just through the Orion program. The agency's Science Mission Directorate will open an opportunity for people to evaluate samples brought back from the moon on Apollo missions that haven't previously been analyzed, taking advantage of modern technology to analyze the samples more deeply. NASA will send more robotic missions to the moon to learn about its surface. And the Gateway will enable communications for missions to the moon's far side, allowing for more in-depth investigations in that less-explored area, Wyche said. [NASA Shapes Science Plan for Deep-Space Outpost Near the Moon] "For a few years, we've been really planning to spend the decade of the 2020s in the lunar vicinity anyway, because we believe there's a lot we need to test and learn before we actually head to Mars," Ochoa added. "As we do spend time around the moon and on the moon, a lot of what we're thinking about is what it is that we need to accomplish there in order to move on to Mars after that." But before that, the teams will have to finalize Orion, get EM-1 launched and then launch EM-2, sending humans on a loop around the moon that will take them farther than people have ever traveled into space 40,000 miles (64,000 km) past the moon. Near the end of the conference, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott shared some of her experiences working with the nitty-gritty testing that will make sure Orion and its procedures work. "Right now, we're doing a lot of the testing where I would be in a suit and with four crewmembers, we're strapped in to [a mock-up of] Orion," she said. "And we have a smoke machine, and they set off smoke, and they close the hatch. We're looking at, can we get out of this vehicle? How are we going to unstrap? How is the flow of us getting out?" Just last week, Stott said, they tested escaping from the docking hatch at the top of Orion in the event that the side hatch is inaccessible; a ladder came down that they had to climb up after throwing rafts out of the vehicle's top. "You can put all that in a very detailed plan, and the engineers do a great job of developing that [but] human-in-the-loop testing and finding those things that you didn't think about because you have humans involved in this expedition is critical in the early development of this program," she said. Original article on Space.com. Marcio Cabral submitted a once-in-a-lifetime shot of an anteater, captured in the Brazilian plains, eating termites deep in the concrete mud mound. For his work, Cabral won the 2017 British Natural History Museum photography award for Animals in their Environment." The image, however, has proved highly controversial. After unnamed third parties contacted the museum, officials took a closer look at the photo, named "The Night Raider," analyzing it for over three weeks. The museum put together a team of experts, including two mammal experts, a taxidermy expert and an anteater researcher. The experts all looked at the photo individually and came up with the same conclusion: it was a phony photo. PROMISCUOUS MONKEYS ARE HAVING SEX WITH OTHER SPECIES, RESEARCH SHOWS "After a thorough investigation taking just over three weeks, the Museum has concluded that the available evidence points to this allegation being true," the museum said in a press release. "As a result, the Museum believes that the image breaches the competition rules. The rules clearly state that entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to misrepresent the reality of nature.'" Cabral's photo was taken at Emas National Park, the same place where the high-resolution photo of the taxidermy anteater is kept on open display. When the experts compared Cabral's photo to the taxidermy anteater depicted in other photos, they found "elements in overall posture, morphology, the position of raised tufts of fur and in the patterning on the neck and the top of the head that are too similar for the images to depict two different animals." The museum also questioned Cabral about the photo and found some of his answers puzzling. Cabral said he had only taken one photo when it is very common for wildlife photographers to take dozens of images of a subject to get the right shot. Cabral, who the museum said cooperated fully, supplied RAW image files taken before and after the award-winning photo that did not contain the anteater. Cabral denied any wrongdoing and provided a witness who claimed to have seen the anteater. ZOO KANGAROOS WEREN'T ACTIVE - SO VISITORS THREW BRICKS AT THEM As a result of the investigation, not only will the image be removed from the exhibition and tour, but Cabral was disqualified and he is never allowed to enter the competition again. Cabral's disqualification marked just the second time that an entrant's photo violated the museum's rules. In 2000, Jose Luis Rodriguez claimed to have spent months tracking a pack of Iberian wolves to capture an image of them hunting livestock and ultimately winning the award. Eventually, however, judges found that Rodriguez had hired the wolf from a wildlife park and he was later disqualified, according to The Washington Post. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia Google is throwing its weight behind the effort to tackle Americas opioid crisis. For National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, the tech giant has worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to develop a Google Maps tool to help people get rid of medicines they no longer need. The locator tool can help anyone find a place near them to safely dispose of leftover prescription medications, explained Susan Mollinari, Googles vice president of public policy, in a blog post this week. The DEA has identified more than 5,000 locations across the U.S. where people can safely dispose of unused prescription drugs. FACEBOOK, COCAINE, OPIOIDS: HOW ADDICTIVE IS THE SOCIAL NETWORK? Longer term, were working with the DEA and state governments like Iowa, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Michigan to gather data on year-round take back options for future Google Maps integration, added Mollinari. Google is also adding a link to its search page for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day that will provide information on curbing the opioid epidemic. Additionally, the companys Google.org charitable arm is providing $750,000 to the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. The grants will be used to expand the non-profit organizations Parent Helpline and provide additional support to families. Social media giants such as Facebook are being urged to clamp down on illegal opioid sales on their platforms. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, was pressed about the removal of inappropriate opioid advertisements from the social network during his recent testimony to Washington lawmakers. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers First-class air travelers apparently cant resist a good deal when they see one, as staffers for various airlines report that passengers are illicitly taking high-end pillows and blankets off flights with them. Last week, Skift reported that cabin crews from United Airlines, American Airlines and British Airways have reported increasing numbers of luxury pillows and blankets getting swiped, as all three airlines have recently equipped their upscale cabin classes with bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, Casper and White Co, respectively. EMIRATES STAFFERS REPORTEDLY TOLD SIBLINGS WITH NUT ALLERGIES TO 'SIT IN THE LOO' WHILE CASHEWS WERE SERVED It is a huge problem right now, Nick Richards, director of premium services and customer experience strategy at American Airlines, told the outlet. Theres the novelty of a new product, and everybody wants to take them with them. Things just tend to walk away. American has debuted bedding products from Casper including mattress pads, pillows and duvet, an inventory of a million separate pieces that has been shrinking from the start, he said. Likewise, United circulated an internal memo to flight attendants last year, urging staffers to be alert in keeping its luxury bedding on board. To help ensure we are able to continue offering these high-quality products, its important to remind customers that these items remain on board the aircraft after every flight, the memo said, Live and Let Fly reports. Proactively, the carrier even rolled out the official Saks Fifth Avenue duvet for online purchase for $59.99. Similarly, when British Airways introduced White Co. bedding, including a super-soft woven blanket and a bespoke, luxuriously soft large pillow for their long-haul premium passengers, they made a $565 million investment in the passenger experience. Unfortunately, travelers seem to love the products so much, theyre taking them home. WHY AIRLINES CAN CHANGE YOUR SEATING ASSIGNMENT BEFORE A FLIGHT People go, 'Oh my god, this White Company bedding is lovely,' and they take it off the plane with them, which theyre not really meant to do, said Harry Zalk, a commercial director involved in the British Airways and White Co. partnership told Skift. These are not cheap items. As carriers weigh their options for combating the theft that can quickly add up to millions of dollars in loss, United is already striking back, Skift says. We hope you enjoyed the pillows, blankets and bedding during your flight. Please be sure you leave these items on board as you exit the aircraft," a new departure script reads. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Investigators in California were able to crack the case of the Golden State Killer using genealogical websites that featured genetic information from a relative, prosecutors said Thursday. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested Tuesday at his Citrus Heights home after a DNA sample matched that of the Golden State Killer a mass murderer who's believed to be responsible for at least 12 murders, 45 rapes and 120 home burglaries through the state in the 1970s and 1980s. GOLDEN STATE KILLER SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said Thursday that investigators used DNA from a crime scene years ago and compared it to other DNA samples from family history websites which users send their DNA to in order to learn more about their ancestry. The district attorney's office "explored online family trees that appeared to have matches to DNA samples from the East Area Rapist's crimes," The Sacramento Bee reported. "They then followed clues to individuals in family trees to determine whether they were potential suspects." Officials on Wednesday said that DNA helped investigators identify DeAngelo, and led to the case being solved within the last six days. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones referred to the genetic material as "discarded DNA," but authorities at the time refused to give specifics about how it was collected or matched to the suspect. Authorities last Thursday reportedly were able to pinpoint that DeAngelo could be a suspect which led to investigators setting up surveillance in his Citrus Heights neighborhood, and ultimately obtaining the "discarded DNA." DeAngelo, a former police officer, was taken into custody as he left his home, located 16 miles northeast of Sacramento. Jones said that the 72-year-old was surprised when deputies arrested him and told them he had a roast in the oven. He's so far been charged with eight murders. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The FBI and authorities in Maine said theyre offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the man accused of killing a sheriffs deputy early Wednesday morning. The agencys Boston office tweeted the poster about the wanted individual, John D. Williams, and shared new photos of him, including some that show off a variety of tattoos on his arms and chest. Williams is considered armed & dangerous, the poster said. The search continued Thursday for Williams, 29, who has been accused of fatally shooting Corporal Eugene Cole early Wednesday morning on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock, located about 30 miles north of Augusta, authorities said. MAINE OFFICER SHOT AND KILLED BY SUSPECT WHO STOLE HIS CAR, ROBBED STORE After the shooting, Williams allegedly stole Coles cruiser and then robbed a convenience store, officials said. After fleeing the store, Williams reportedly abandoned the vehicle, which was found around 5 a.m., officials said. Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Wednesday that Cole was one of the finest deputies that you would want to meet. During a Thursday news conference, Lancaster issued a message to Williams. If John Williams is hearing this, I want you to turn yourself in, he said. Please surrender peacefully. OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY IN 2018 State Police Lt. Col. John Cote added that authorities believe Williams remains somewhat contained in the immediate area but the FBI bulletin was issued nationwide because they need to consider the slim possibility that he may have been able to get out of the area. Authorities described Williams as being 5-foot-6, 120 pounds and having blue eyes and brown hair. Cole was a member of the sheriff's office for 13 years and had a son, according to authorities. Fox News Travis Fedschun and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Hundreds of schools across Arizona were shut down Thursday, so tens of thousands of teachers could march on the capital in Phoenix to demand more funding. Look our kids in the eye and say, You gave us your best, we just gave you our best. Be strong Arizona, yelled Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association. Thomas spoke to an energetic crowd on a stage placed directly in front of the Capitol, but more importantly, in front of Governor Doug Duceys office. Weve all been listening but now, its time to act. My number one focus right now is passing a 20-percent pay raise for Arizona teachers. This raise is earned, and it is deserved, said Ducey in a statement. Ducey wants to give Arizona teachers the pay raise by 2020. Critics, however, say the plan is not sustainable because its based on economic projections, and not money thats already there. Ducey has stuck with the plan, and said the economy is growing and will continue to do so. To parents, I understand the pain and pressure caused by todays strike. I want you to know, I am working to get this 20 percent raise passed at the Legislature. But we need your help to make it a reality. Call your legislator and tell them to vote yes on a 20 percent pay raise for Arizona teachers, Duceys statement continued. Analysis from the Arizona Republic showed the protests may have affected 840,000 of the states 1.1 million students. But while 78 percent of teachers in Arizona voted in favor of the walkout, 22 percent were against it. They said shutting down schools was not the best way to help students. Some parents who had to find daycare, and students trying to finish the school year strong, agreed. The teachers made it clear in word and sign that they didnt want to shut down schools, but felt it was the only option to get their point across. Its about bringing $1 billion back to our students, said Thomas. Its about having a class size beneath 40. Its about having kindergarten classes beneath 22. Thomas was speaking about educators demand to improve the student to teacher ratio. Arizona Educators United, a coalition but not a union, is making demands that many are working to fulfill. The problem is they are extraordinarily expensive. Theyre demanding a 20 percent raise for all teachers and certified staff, competitive wages for classified staff, yearly raises until Arizona teachers salaries match the national average, and increased funding to 2008 levels when massive cuts were made, but never restored, to navigate through the recession. Currently the average teacher salary in Arizona is just under $49,000 a year, according to Ducey. He said his plan will raise the average salary to more than $58,000. Its a step in the right direction, said Hazel Chandler, a retired teacher and Arizona State House candidate. Chandler said her daughter-in-law is a new teacher and has spent thousands of dollars of her own money to pay for classroom supplies. Meanwhile in Colorado, teachers also were demanding more funding. I have never seen it this bad. There is no reason (Colorado) cant step up, said Democratic State Senator Andy Kerr. Believe me there are still some senators here who could use an education. Lawmakers in Colorado also have said theyll give teachers a massive funding increase, the biggest in the state since the great recession. But teachers say Colorado has a long way to go to recover lost ground because of strict tax and spending limits. Fox News Kelly Burke and The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Gathering of Nations, one of the world's largest gatherings of indigenous people, started Friday in Albuquerque. The annual event attracts about 3,000 dancers from hundreds of tribes from the U.S., Canada and Mexico and draws about 80,000 visitors who come to see dances, drum contests and competitions. The Native American event is a powwow a pan-American Indian celebration featuring song, dance and prayer. They are held in stadiums, rural community centers, high school gyms or outdoor arenas, and offer an opportunity for American Indians from different tribal nations with diverse histories to come together to reaffirm their shared experiences and reunite with friends. Here's a look at how powwows began and have evolved over the years: ___ HISTORY OF THE POWWOW Native American tribes for centuries come together for ceremonies and communal feasts, inviting outsiders and other tribal communities to take part. The term "powwow" comes from the Algonquin word "pau-wau" referring to a gathering of spiritual leaders. According to "Powwow," a 2006 anthology of scholarly essays about the event, modern powwow culture first appeared in the 1930s and maintained ties to specific tribal and communities practices. Federal government officials established policies prohibiting traditional dances and public religious practices starting in the late 1800s. They remained in place until the 1930s, when a new powwow culture emerged. It soon became an important element of the post-World War II pan-Indian movement and quickly transformed into one of the most popular expressions of ethnic awareness in Indian Country, especially among tribes in the Plains. ___ UNITING EVENT Today, many powwows follow similar templates, with local customs shaping dances and contests during the events. The gatherings usually begin with a prayer and a formal opening led by military veterans and dancers from various tribes in a display of Native American unity. Dancers wearing intricate, colorful regalia compete in different categories and age groups, and performers take part in singing contests before a panel of judges. Tribal artists display their work and Native American hip hop groups sell CDs. In urban areas, the gatherings also provide an opportunity for Native Americans to network and build new friendships. ___ GATHERING OF NATIONS The Gathering of Nations began in 1983 in a gym at present-day St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque and moved to Expo New Mexico soon after. The event relocated to the University of New Mexico and is now held at the Expo New Mexico fairground. Over the years, it morphed into one of North America's most popular powwows and has been showcased in popular culture ranging from literature to movies. A character in the 1998 movie "Smoke Signals," for example, said the Gathering of Nations was such a powerful pan-Indian event that it would have kept Columbus away if it had existed in 1492. It's not the only large powwow. Others include the Denver March in Colorado in March, Red Earth in Oklahoma City in June and Crow Fair in Montana in August. ___ Associated Press writer Russell Contreras is a member of the AP's race and ethnicity team. Follow Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras ___ This version corrects that federal policies, not a law, prohibited traditional Native American traditional dances and public religious practices. An associate professor at Iowa's Drake University accused of making a female student sit on his lap and threatening to spank her will be allowed to resign after a report concluded he sexually "intimidated female students." Mahmoud Hamad, 42, an associate director for Drake Universitys political science department was placed on a leave of absence and has no teaching or academic responsibilities at the college, Sue Mattison, the provost told the Des Moines Register on Thursday. Hamad, whose resignation will be effective June 1, has not taught since 2016 at the university and went on a sabbatical last year. An internal investigation by the university found Hamad physically, sexually and verbally intimidated female students and did exploit the power differential that existed between him and his female students." The university did not refer the case to the Des Moines Police Department. MONSTER WALLEYE FISH CAUGHT IN IOWA LAKE Nickey Jafari, 24, a graduate of the university, was the first student to speak out about Hamads behavior. She wrote in a post on social media last year that she met Hamad, who was her adviser, in the summer of 2011 during a student trip to Egypt. Hamad was the groups leader and instructor. Jafari said Hamad asked her to sit on his lap and she did twice. She also said the professor put his arms around her and his face was close to her neck. Hamad reportedly asked her to call him Dad. Jafari said Hamad promised her a free trip to Egypt if she had a perfect grade-point average. The student also claimed Hamad threatened to spank her if she did not receive all As.She said she decided to come forward with the allegations because she was afraid the professor would go to another school and do the same thing to other female students. She also said she was inspired by Olympic gold medal-winner Aly Raisman to speak out. Raisman was one of the sex assault victims of disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Investigators found Jafaris claims credible and found the professor violated university policies through unwelcome advances and unwelcome verbal and physical conduct and intimidation aimed at female students because of their sex. FORMER IOWA WRESTLER PLEADS GUILTY TO COMPUTER FRAUD CHARGE Jared Bernstein, the director of the universitys public relations, told Fox News in a statement: Drake University is committed to the safety and well-being of all students, and especially those who have the courage to come forward with a complaint." Omar Austin had to do a double take when he spotted a sexually explicit question on his teenage daughter's homework assignment this week. "This needs to be seen. [What the hell] is going on in our schools???" the Florida father asked as he read the question aloud in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday. The mulitple choice question reportedly read, "Ursula was devastated when her boyfriend broke up with her after having sex. To get revenge, she had sex with his best friend the next day. Ursula had a beautiful baby girl nine months later. Ursula has type O blood, her ex-boyfriend has AB blood and his best friend is type A blood. If her baby daddy is her ex-boyfriend what could the possible blood type(s) of her baby NOT be." As of Friday evening, the video has been viewed more than 500 times and sparked a handful of comments from concerned residents. "Someone actually gets paid to make the test. I'm assuming someone checks the wording of the question? What happened to common sense!" one Facebook user wrote. "Wow... just wow!" another exclaimed. Austin told First Coast News in Florida he immediately contacted the principal at Westside High School in Jacksonville to flag the inappropriate question that was on his eleventh-grade daughter's practice test for her upcoming anatomy exam. This was a district-generated worksheet that her teacher just printed offline and it was given to the students, Austin explained to the local news station. I want it to be acknowledged. I want it to be reviewed. And I want it to be changed." Duval County Public Schools said in a statement obtained by First Coast News that it agreed the question was "highly inappropriate" and confirmed it was not part of a district assessment. "Immediately upon being made aware of this matter, school and district leaders began conducting a review of the situation. Appropriate and corrective action will be taken," the district stated. "We encourage parents to contact their school leaders directly if they ever have any concerns about their childs school and instructional experience so that we can immediately work to problem-solve." Austin called the "biased" question "sad and a disgrace to our educational system." He said he hopes the school will be more careful in the future and thoroughly read every assignment they pass out to high schoolers. "I think that we can do better," he added. The school district said they don't believe the inapropriate worksheet was passed out to any other schools but they are still investigating. A school bus driver in Florida saved the lives of 25 Challenger Middle School students after the vehicles engine caught fire on Friday morning, the Cape Coral Fire Department announced. The driver, who has not been identified, heard a noise from the engine and then saw smoke coming from under the hood, according to the fire department. She then stopped the bus and quickly, successfully, and safely evacuated all 25 students, the fire department said. As a result of her quick thinking, no one was injured. The fire was extinguished and another bus came to take the students to school. Officials with the Cape Coral Fire Department said the fire was caused by a mechanical failure. Investigators this week used a free genealogy website to help find the suspected Golden State Killer -- a celebrated development that nevertheless sparked questions about privacy concerns for those who use popular DNA-testing websites. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested after authorities matched DNA retrieved years ago from a crime scene linked to the so-called Golden State Killer and compared it to DNA samples from a family history website, the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office said. Investigators then obtained a direct DNA sample from the suspect after obtaining material he had discarded, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said. Authorities' biggest tools was GEDMatch, a Florida-based website that pools DNA profiles that people upload and share publicly, Paul Holes, one of the teams top officials, told the Mercury News on Friday. Holes said he didnt need a search warrant to access the sites database. GEDmatch exists to provide DNA and genealogy tools for comparison and research purposes, the company says on its policy page. It is supported entirely by users, volunteers, and researchers. DNA and Genealogical research, by its very nature, requires the sharing of information. Because of that, users participating in this site should expect that their information will be shared with other users." But while investigators using DNA testing sites to blow open the Golden State Killer case may have brought a murderer to justice, it's also raising privacy concerns for the millions who submit their DNA to such sites to discover their heritage. Some observers say prospective users may be wary about using these testing programs in the future. Are you willing to have your DNA searched? John Roman, senior fellow of economics, justice and society at NORC at the University of Chicago, told Fox News on Friday, adding it's still unclear how many samples authorities went through to find the link that led them to DeAngelo. Major DNA ancestry websites such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe dont allow law enforcement access to their profiles without a court order. But the privacy laws keeping police from going through ancestry site databases arent strong, said Steve Mercer, the chief attorney for the forensic division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. People who submit DNA for ancestors testing are unwittingly becoming genetic informants on their innocent family, Mercer said, adding users have fewer privacy protections than convicted offenders whose DNA is contained in regulated databanks. DNA database inquiries are usually limited to those people who have been arrested or convicted criminals, according to the Bee. California legalized familial DNA testing in 2008, but it comes with restrictions. Searches can only be requested when authorities have a suspect and DNA is only allowed to be tested against databases that have samples from those arrested or who have been convicted. The FBI maintains the DNA database system, but each state manages its own database. California passed a law in 2004 allowing authorities to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested on felony charges or arrested for a misdemeanor but that also has a felonious background. The person doesnt have to be charged to have their DNA collected. Authorities in California have run 192 familial searches since 2007 in 108 cases, the California Attorney Generals Office told the Bee. "People who submit DNA for ancestors testing are unwittingly becoming genetic informants on their innocent family." Steve Mercer, Maryland forensic official The most recent conviction using the technology came in May 2016 after The Grim Sleeper, Lonnie Franklin, Jr., was arrested and convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder in Southern California for his killing spree from 1985 to 2007. Los Angeles police also used the controversial tactic in May 2017, collecting spit from a sidewalk to tie Geovanni Borjas, 32, to the sexual assault and murder of two women who vanished in 2011. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Prosecutors recently dropped the four most serious charges against a man who had been accused of plotting a high school shooting -- allegations that have sparked fear in the Vermont community where he lives. Jack Sawyer, 18, was arrested Feb. 15, just a day after the high school massacre in Parkland, Fla. He was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault with a weapon. Sawyer was accused of planning to commit a school shooting at the high school he previously attended in Fair Haven. But a ruling by state Supreme Court earlier this month made the prosecution of Sawyer untenable, according to Rutland County States Attorney Rose Kennedy. The court ruled that preparation alone for mass murder didnt constitute a felony attempt at murder. Kennedy said she would now proceed to prosecute Sawyer based on two lesser charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon. Sawyer has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had been held without bail since February, but last week the judge set his bail at $100,000 and it has since been lowered to just $10,000. Sawyer's lawyer said Wednesday that his client would not be released from custody just yet. But the fears of possible shooting after Sawyer's release are rocking the local community -- and the state. Republican Gov. Phil Scott said the Sawyer arrest influenced his stand on some proposed changes in state gun restrictions. On April 11, he signed bills to raise the age for buying firearms, ban high-capacity magazines and make it easier for authorities to take guns from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. The move established the first significant gun restrictions on gun ownership in Vermont history -- drawing the ire of many gun rights supporters, who heckled Scott with shouts of "Traitor!" and "Liar!" when he signed the gun control bills in a public ceremony. Meanwhile, officials at Fair Haven Union High School -- the previously alleged target of Sawyer -- said they have taken precautions in connection with Sawyer's likely release. Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell said Wednesday that the school has planned an additional police presence and conducted security audits amid community concerns. Sawyer allegedly kept a diary called, The Journal of an Active Shooter, that included extensive plans for a school shooting that would surpass the death toll of any other school shooting. Authorities were alerted about Sawyers diary by one of his friends, who provided some Facebook messages detailing the plot. The defense argued that Sawyer didnt take any steps to actually commit the crime. While he moved back from Maine to Vermont and had bought a shotgun and ammunition, he had not visited the former high school or the town where the school is located, the lawyers said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Authorities involved in the desperate dragnet for a Maine cop killer may now know the accused murderer's motive, as it's emerged the slain officer was involved in arresting the suspect's girlfriend just days before the deadly shooting. Somerset County Sheriffs Cpl. Eugene Cole, 62, was shot and killed on U.S. Route 2 in Norridgewock the first Maine police officer to be killed in a shooting in almost 30 years. John Williams, 29, was identified as the suspect soon after the shooting. Williams allegedly stole Coles cruiser and then robbed a convenience store, officials said. After fleeing the store, Williams reportedly abandoned the vehicle. Police believe Williams to be armed and dangerous. Kristina Pomerleau, 32, of Norridgewock, was arrested Saturday on unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs, possession of scheduled drugs, operating after suspension and possession of a suspended license charges, police said. Authorities confirmed Thursday she was in a relationship with Williams, according to the Portland Press Herald. Cole was listed as a responding officer in Pomerleaus arrest, the newspaper reported. Deputy Isaac Wacome and Detective Lt. Carlo Gottardi responded as well. Williams was upset at Pomerleaus arrest and was concerned about an upcoming hearing in Massachusetts on his own arrest last month for firearm and other driving-related charges, Chris Shulenski, a friend of Williams, told the Press Herald on Thursday. Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster urged Williams to turn yourself in and surrender peacefully. The FBI and Maine authorities offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Williams arrest. State Police Lt. Col. John Cote added authorities believe Williams remains somewhat contained in the immediate area but the FBI bulletin was issued nationwide because they need to consider the slim possibility that he may have been able to get out of the area. Authorities described Williams as being 5-foot-6, 120 pounds and having blue eyes and brown hair. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Marine at Camp Pendleton has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old fellow Marine on the Southern California base. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday that Pfc. Raymond W. Begay was arraigned last week on murder and manslaughter charges in the Jan. 16 death of Ethan Barclay-Weberpal. Barclay-Weberpal was stabbed while sitting in formation with a platoon of Marines at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Defense lawyers had argued that the death was a tragic accident and the two friends were playing around with a knife. Defense lawyer Marine Maj. Nelson Candelario did not return phone calls seeking comment. Prosecutors say Begay had threatened to stab other Marines. Barclay-Weberpal was buried in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. A New York firefighter is being hailed as a hero after rescuing three young girls caught in a rip current along a a North Carolina beachfront. The save came just two days after a 4-year-old boy was swept out to sea off the same coast. Sean OGorman from the Oswego Fire Department, was vacationing with his family in Emerald Isle, N.C., on Thursday when he noticed two girls in the water who appeared unable to return to shore. A third girl who was attempting to save them also became stuck. OGorman said he ran to the girls mother, who then called 911. Deciding not to wait for help, OGorman swam out to the girls himself. SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR BOY, 4, SWEPT AWAY TO SEA OFF NORTH CAROLINA COAST "We were sitting, watching the girls playing in the water about 75 yards out, and I noticed they stopped trying to get back to the shore, and I think they were caught in a rip current, OGorman told The Charlotte Observer. I decided to swim out, which was easy. Getting back was a struggle, with me trying to tow them all in. They were hooked onto my feet." The firefighter, who will turn 52 in the coming days, said the girls did not panic, and he believed that the local fire department wouldve gotten to them had he not gone out. Oswego Fire Department confirmed on Facebook that OGorman completed swift water rescue training just last week, and by using the aggressive swim, forceful crawl stroke, he was able to reach the struggling swimmers. Deputy Fire Chief for Emergency Management Justin Norfleet told Fox News that their department trains extensively for marine operations including swift water rescue, ice rescue and dive operations. He said they are responsible for the shores of Lake Ontario in Central New York and the Oswego River. News of the rescue comes just one day after police in Kitty Hawk, N.C., called off the search for a missing 4-year-old who was swept out to sea while walking hand-in-hand with his mother along the beach. The unidentified boy, said to be from New Hampshire, was swept out by a rip current just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday. In suspending the search a day later, police said they have now transitioned to recovery efforts. The boy had yet to be found at the time of publication on Friday night. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Four students in Elyria, Ohio were arrested and charged with aggravated menacing, making terrorist threats, or carrying a concealed weapon after a series of "hit lists" were found at Franklin Elementary School and Eastern Heights Middle School. The students, all of whom are currently unidentified, have since been taken to Lorain County Juvenile Detention Home, Elyria Police Captain Christopher Costantino told Fox News on Friday. The first incident occurred on April 19 when a 14-year-old female student at Eastern Heights Middle School was involved in a physical fight with another student. Afterward, the schools principal found a hit list inside her backpack. The teenager was arrested after she made threats to shoot up the school, Costantino said, though he noted that teen did not have a gun at the time she was taken into custody. The student claimed she had written the list for someone else, Costantino said. However, police have not yet determined if her statement is true or not. Days later, on April 24, a 10-year-old girl at Franklin Elementary School was arrested after a knife was found in her backpack. She also allegedly co-wrote a hit list with a 10-year-old boy at the school who was also arrested. The list, which school officials had been made aware of and later found in the trash, detailed all the people the students reportedly wanted to stab to death, police records said, according to FOX8. A student informed a teacher that the 10-year-old girl was telling other students that she had a knife, hit list and intended to stab people, Costantino said. Later on, the students told police that the names on the list were people who were not nice to them. The same day, another hit list was found, again at Eastern Heights Middle School. A 12-year-old boy was arrested after a teacher reportedly overheard another student ask him to show me the list of people that you want to kill. The 12-year-old boy and the 10-year-old boy who were arrested are brothers, the police captain said. As of now, police do not think the lists are connected, Costantino said, though he called the timing of the incidents somewhat unusual. This is the first time this has ever happened, he said. Moving forward, its a two-fold process -- the criminal part of it and the schools disciplinary process, he said, adding that the children will likely be suspended or even expelled. We want to find the underlying cause of why they are so angry and why they are expressing their anger like this, he said. Costantino said that the middle school boy who was arrested told police that making a list was his way of venting his anger. Costantino said both schools did a great job handling the incidents, praising the officials for their quick actions. Matters of student and school safety are of the utmost urgency, and as a school administration and law enforcement team we will continue a no-tolerance approach to threats and violence, while continuing to delve into the issue of student behaviors and student responses to emotional and social issues they may be experiencing at school and at home, Amy Higgins, communications and marketing director for the Elyria school district told Fox News in a statement. It is our greatest priority to keep our students and staff safe and to provide a secure environment, so students feel protected and are learning to their full potential. We wish to commend our students and staff in these situations for quickly reporting information, and our administrative team and our Elyria Police Department partners for their calm, swift and deliberate handling of the situations for the safety of all, the statement continued. Our hope is that these kids get the help they need, Costantino said, adding that he's hopeful the students understand the severity of this and the hurt it has caused. Officials at the Florida school where 17 students were gunned down during a mass shooting on Valentine's Day are investigating allegations a teacher compared pro-Second Amendment student Kyle Kashuv to "Hitler" and called him "dangerous." The comments were allegedly made by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School American history teacher Gregory Pittman, an outspoken gun control advocate. Pittman's reported remarks came after photos posted to social media showed Kashuv visiting a gun range with his father. School leaders take all matters involving students and staff seriously, Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew told Fox News. They are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter. Kashuv, a junior, posted a photo and video from his first time shooting a gun with his father, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, on Twitter last Friday. He told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that photo led to an interrogation from a school official and a report from the Broward County Sheriffs Office, which found the tweets to be non-threatening. Pittman and Kashuv went back and forth on Twitter, where the teacher said it was bad for Kashuv to hold a gun and said Kashuv was just doing it to get attention. During a class discussion days later, Pittman allegedly began disparaging Kashuv, who was not present. A junior who witnessed the rant told Fox News that Pittman was a bit angry and launched into a tirade Wednesday during the last 10 minutes of class after one student brought up the Twitter exchange. It was basically a hate fest, the student said. They were just saying means things about Kyle. He talked about how he was right, and how Kyle was making an ass of himself. He did say he 'was the Hitler type.' I dont really know what that means exactly, but I think he was just being crazy. The teacher allegedly also called Kashuv dangerous. Though Kashuv was not in class that day, he responded to the controversy on Twitter. I find it utterly vile that hed call a Jew the next Hitler, said Kashuv, whose family emigrated from Israel in the 1990s. Its also quite telling that he doesnt know that Hitler took the peoples weaponry and I want more law-abiding citizens to have firearms." Pittman did not respond to requests for comment. A 15-year-old girl was arrested at her Florida middle school for allegedly sharing pot-laced chips with her classmates. Hollywood Police said at least three students at Driftwood Middle School got sick earlier this week after they ate the THC-laced chips labeled as Weetos Flamin Hot, which resemble a bag of Cheetos. Officials said the teenager admitted to bringing the snacks into school and sharing them with her friends, who she said knew they were laced with THC, the ingredient in marijuana makes people high, WSVN reported. Police said one student was transported to a nearby hospital, while another student is said to have hallucinated after ingesting the product. The third student was carried out of school by her father because she couldnt walk, CBSMiami reported. Her friend just gave her a Cheeto, and what she thought was a Cheeto was actually something called Weetos, Kevin Klein, whose sister was hospitalized, told WSVN. Its basically marijuana or THC-infused Cheetos. FLORIDA SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER SLAMS UNRULY STUDENT TO GROUND: DONT GIVE ME YOUR SH--! He said his 14-year-old sister told him the texture and flavor was the same as Cheeto. Orange, crunchy, no difference, he said. A while later, she started feeling the effects as she was transferring to her next class where she started just feeling super ill, dizzy, in and out of it, basically. Police said the effects of the THC eventually wore off. The girl told police that a man gave her the snacks. The man has not been identified as it is part of an open investigation, a Hollywood police spokeswoman told the Sun-Sentinel. Weetos is based in California, where the product is legal. The label on the package warned of possible health risks for consumers who should be 21 or older. The companys owner and creator, Rod Emerson, told reporters that the product the students ate was a bootleg as he only distributes within California. People have taken the Weetos name and tarnished it a few times in the last three years, he told CBSMiami. I dont want any children getting my products, and I find out that anybody is providing children with my product, theyre going to be reported, among other things. The teenager who took the chips has been charged with possession of THC and has been suspended for 10 days. The school is reportedly considering her expulsion. She has since been released to her parents. Six members of the violent MS-13 gang have been indicted in New Jersey on murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. The murder victim was a suspected rival gang member who was gunned down entering an apartment building in West New York, N.J., on July 1, 2015, according to the indictment. The indictment returned this week by a grand jury in Newark Federal Court says the hit was carried out by MS-13 recruit Juan Garcia-Gomez, 22, as part of his initiation into the gang. It alleges that the murder was authorized by a high-ranking MS-13 member, Christian Linares-Rodriguez, 38. who is behind bars in El Salvador. Other charges in the indictment include racketeering and extortion. Our office has been pursuing and successfully prosecuting the members of the violent transnational gang MS-13 for the crimes they have committed in New Jersey and elsewhere, Newark U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a news release. The facts described in the indictment returned today make it clear why: This is a vicious organization with no regard for human life or for the laws of our country. The five defendants from New Jersey are citizens of El Salvador, where the gangs top leaders are based, according to the news release. The attorney for Garcia-Gomez said his client maintains his innocence and will plead not guilty when he is arraigned, the Bergen Record reported Thursday. The Hudson Reporter posted an article at the time of the murder that identifed Garcia-Gomezs victim as 19-year-old Jose Lazaro Urias-Hernandez. The U.S. was already at war with Al Qaeda before hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers and Pentagon and crashed in Pennsylvania, a U.S. military judge presiding at the pretrial of alleged 9/11 attack plotter Khalid Sheik Mohammed and others ruled this week. The landmark decision will pave the way for a trial of the accused 9/11 mastermind and four alleged abettors by military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Miami Herald reported. Lawyers for the alleged conspirators tried to convince the military commission that since the U.S. entered the war against Al Qaeda only after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the defendants can face trial only in federal, civilian courts -- not before military commissions. A lawyer for Mustafa al Hawsawi -- a Saudi man accused of supporting at least seven of the 19 hijackers -- argued that his client allegedly helped some of the hijackers with funds and travel to the U.S. before the American government was at war with Al Qaeda. Attorneys for another alleged conspirator, Ammar al Baluchi, claimed the war began when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001. Prosecutors argued the war between the U.S. and the terror group began with Usama bin Laden's 1996 "Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans, according to the newspaper. But the judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, wrote in a 20-page ruling that its unnecessary to decide a date certain for commencement of hostilities, asserting that the U.S. was at war with Al Qaeda prior to 9/11, as two presidents have said in the past. According to the ruling, President George W. Bush formed the military commissions to prosecute the culprits of the attacks, while President Barack Obama signed the Military Commissions Act of 2009 that "contemplates prosecution for offenses occurring 'on, before or after Sept. 11, 2001. "The overall armed conflict against al-Qaida a transnational terrorist organization operating primarily outside the United States might itself be viewed as an anomaly under pre-Sept. 11, 2001, law of war standards," Pohl wrote. "However, the law of war is not static, and its precise contours may shift to recognize the changing realities of warfare. Military commissions by their nature are intended to have sufficient flexibility to address the needs presented by the armed conflict they address." A Milwaukee-area bar called Walk Her Inn, Drag Her Out is stirring controversy in the #MeToo era because critics say the name promotes sexual assault. Milwaukee resident Paress Huebner took a photo of the bar's sign and posted it on social media, Fox 6 reported. Another photo of the logo shows a cartoon caveman dragging a woman by her hair. A friend of mine showed it to me a month ago and I said, This exists? Its 2018. This is insane,' Huebner told Fox 6. A friend of mine showed it to me a month ago and I said, This exists? Its 2018. This is insane.' Paress Huebner, Milwaukee DEAD, FROSTBITTEN TOE TO BECOME GARNISH AT CANADIAN BAR The bar reportedly has been a neighborhood staple for more than 30 years in West Allis, Wis., a suburb about 7 miles west of Milwaukee. But Huebner said she believes both the name and logo need to be changed. Its, at the very least, unnecessary, at the most, offensive. For whatever reason, I was like, Lets put it on Facebook, and something needs to be done and said because they just crossed the line, Huebner said. Many people who commented on the post believe the name suggests acceptance of mistreatment of women, OnMilwaukee.com reported. I think some people will say its a joke, but a lot of people will take it for what it is and thats rape culture, Michael Reece said, according to Fox 6. "Having something that implies any nonconsensual activity right [when] walking in the door is very irresponsible," resident Christine Nell told WDJT-TV. Diane and Kristian Plumeri, husband and wife, have owned the bar for nine years, Fox 6 reported. TEXAS BAR REMOVES 'DISGUSTING' SIGN WITH RACIAL SLUR If it is offensive, I apologize, but its been that way for over 30 years, Diane Plumeri said. They said previous owners added the words drag her out to the name in 1985, and that they saw no reason to change it. Kristian told Fox 6 he approached his wife a few years ago about changing the name, but she was the one adamant about keeping it. They said theyre going to have a conversation, but have not committed to any changes. "I just don't feel someone's right to be offended is more important than my right to own a business," Diane told WJDT-TV. "Come on in and check it out. If you find we promote raping and drug use and beating on women, that's not the promotion here nor has it ever been," she said. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS West Allis Mayor Dan Devine told OnMilwaukee.com that its a free-speech issue, and communities cant regulate when it comes to names and sign. "This is the perfect example of why you need to spend your money in businesses that you want to see in your community, Devine said. Conditions may be going from bad to worse for the jailed Pakistani doctor who played a critical role in helping the U.S. get Osama Bin Laden, sources have confirmed with Fox News. Dr. Shakil Afridi has been moved from the Central Peshawar Jail to a higher-security prison over trumped-up charges he was working with outsiders in a plot to escape, according to his supporters. This is nonsense, human rights defender Zar Ali Khan, who has longed championed the jailed doctors cause, told Fox News on Friday. His life is under threat in Pakistan whether it is Peshawar, or elsewhere in Pakistan. I do not know what conspiracy government has hatched now. Afridis lawyer, and cousin, Qamar Nadeem Afridi told Fox News by phone Saturday that on early Friday morning Shakil was shifted to Adyala Jail from Peshawar Central Jail, but was unsure if he would be under tighter lock and key. Neither I nor his family has been allowed to meet him, Qamar said, denying reports that the U.S. was helping Shakil to flee from jail. Moreover, the lawyer believes that the transfer was being planned for some time as Adyala Jail recently underwent renovations - but he isnt losing hope yet. On 22nd May, Shakil will be completing his seven years of consective imprisonment out of 23 years of total imprisonment, Qamar noted. So, we might think that this shift is done under the U.S. pressure... Shakil might get an official release and pardon over his remaining charges, helping him to leave to U.S. permanently." To many Americans, Afridi - now in his mid-50s - is the hero doctor who played a key role running a cover vaccination program at the Abbottabad, Pakistan compound where bin Laden had been living. But in the eyes of many Pakistanis, he is a traitor who generated national embarrassment. Even before reports of this prison transfer, Afridi's supporters had become increasingly concerned about the doctor's fate. A plan last year to move him to a lower-profile jail, with the intention of someday allowing his quiet release, was quashed in the courts. Afridis due process under the tribal system continues to be called into question. The system allows closed hearings and does not require the defender to be present. Despite the public perception that Afridi committed treason by working with the U.S., that is not the reason he remains behind bars. Afridi was sentenced to a 33-year jail term, but the sentence was reduced in 2014 to 23 years following a decision by the Frontier Crimes Commission Captain. He is serving a sentence since 2011 on the pretext of having ties with the militant group Lashkar-e- Islam (LEI) providing medical care to its members and extending financial support to them, Qamar, who has been permitted to see the doctor only twice since 2012, told Fox News on Friday. According to Qamar, the evidence for such a charge came in the form of the prosecutor submitted some papers, coupled with the written statements of anonymous persons, who saw LEI militants receiving treatment in the hospital under Afridi supervision. Qamar insisted that LEI militants hate Afridi and would have nothing to do with him. Zar Ali Khan, president of Society for Rights and Development and chairman of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Commission of Human Rights, also dismissed such claims. Had Afridi been charged with treason, he would have had the right to public hearings and a lengthy appeals process. But such a process would also mean details of the raid carried out successfully by U.S. Navy SEALs would be exposed - something most in the partner country have endeavored to avoid. Afridi, who facilitated a vaccination program to collect DNA samples to verify bin Ladens hideout in 2011, had no knowledge of the high-value target or exactly who he was working for, his brother Jamil, who has not been seen his sibling since just prior to his 2011 arrest, vehemently asserted. Afridis pivotal part in the larger operation was exposed after the Obama administration publicly disclosed details of the successful mission, carried by Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011. Three weeks later, the doctor was arrested. The general view from Islamabad is that the case is riddled with complexities. Officials contend they cannot appear to be interfering with the FATA system or going soft on seemingly treasonous cases that brought them such high-profile humiliation. Nor can the government appear to the voting public to be bowing to U.S. demands, while at the same time endeavoring to improve the U.S. partnership. One former U.S. intelligence official, who worked closely on the Afridi issue, told Fox News that in the initial years after his arrest, Pakistani leadership issued assurances that there would be a way to release him quietly when the case died down and everyone stopped asking. But seven years on, he continues to languish. Sardar Masood Khan, president of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistans Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2008 to 2012, asserted there has been no breakthrough in the case to date, and he does not foresee one anytime soon. Frustrated U.S. officials insist Afridi has not been forgotten. A State Department official told Fox News the case remains on their radar, and they continue to raise it with Pakistans top brass. Meanwhile, the office of Sen. Rand Paul, who has been a strong supporter of Afridi, issued a statement Friday afternoon. "Sen. Paul remains highly concerned for the safety of Dr. Afridi, and believes Pakistan should immediately release him. Additionally, Dr. Paul has repeatedly urged Pakistan to reform laws that have led to the targeting of religious minorities, including Christians." Sen. Paul had earlier said he supported President Trump's decision to cut aid funding to Pakistan in part because of the Afridi situation, adding that further cuts should be considered should Dr. Afridi remain unjustly behind bars. In March, the Afridi case was woven into the $1.3 trillion draft spending bill that mandates a $33 million freeze of financial assistance to Pakistan unless the doctor is released and cleared of all charges. But hope is fading, and not just for Afridi himself. Afridis first lawyer, Samiullah Afridi, was gunned down by unknown assailants in April 2015, as was a Peshawar jail deputy superintendent who argued on behalf imprisoned doctor. Afridis wife Imrana Ghafoor, who was a school principal, remains mostly in-hiding with their three children, but is permitted to see her husband from behind a glass wall once a week. Qamar said last month they continue to move locations every few months and are no longer in Peshawar. Furthermore, they rely on financial support only from Ghafoors father. And even human rights defender Zar Ali Khan fled to the Netherlands in September last year, as a result of his Afridi advocacy. It has been a more than five months that I haven't been able to speak to my family, who are living in Peshawar's outskirts, because they are under great threats, he said. I narrowly escaped death, when on October 31 2016, I was attempted to be shot down." Then in December, Khan said his NGO office in Peshawar was attacked by unknown assailants and water showered down destroying his records and his livelihood. My office was my asset which I had started from scratch in my 20 years efforts but in a minute, I lost my everything, Khan added. But still, I am a human rights defender it is my responsibility to demand justice for Dr. Afridi and his family. A free and fair trial is his right as a human being." Guatemala's highest court has overturned a prison conviction for three Russians who were accused of using forged documents and claim to be the victim of a plot orchestrated by Moscow. The three members of the Bitkov family came to the Central American nation in 2009. In 2015 they were detained on various charges related to the alleged falsification of documents to win residency. Igor, the father, was sentenced to 19 years, while his wife, Irina, and daughter Anastasia got 14 apiece on Jan. 18, 2018, along with 36 others alleged to belong to an organized crime network that sold falsified documents. Their family's defense has said they are innocent and argues that the process against them is part of something more complex that could potentially embarrass the Russian government an allegation for which their lawyer has offered no evidence. The Russian Embassy declined to immediately comment on the case, saying it would respond later to questions from The Associated Press. On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the trial judge did not have a firm enough basis for his decision to convict the Bitkovs. It annulled the sentence and ordered the case to be reconsidered beginning at the point where they were accused. For now, the Russians will remain in prison, the same one where former President Otto Perez Molina and other ex-officials are being held on accusations of corruption. The high court's decision did not order them freed while prosecutors reconsider the case and decide whether to seek a retrial. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into South Korea on Friday and has started talks on nuclear weapons with President Moon Jae-in for a historic summit. Moon called for more meetings between the leaders and said he wishes to travel in North Korea to visit Mount Paektu near the country's border with China. Kim told Moon he "won't interrupt your early morning sleep anymore," referring to missile tests, South Korea said. It was the first time a member of the Kim dynasty was known to set foot on South Korean soil since 1953. The two men shook hands and smiled for news cameras. The meeting comes weeks before Kim plans to sit down with President Donald Trump. The rogue nation's nuclear capabilities are expected to be a major topic of discussion during the summit with the U.S. leader. The historic meeting of the two Korean leaders was scheduled down to the last detail. Thousands of journalists were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly-controlled pool reporters at the border. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Kim said. Moon responded that there were high expectations that they create an agreement that will be a "big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace loving person in the world." OPINION: HISTORIC NORTH-SOUTH KOREA SUMMIT WILL SET THE STAGE FOR EVEN BIGGER TRUMP, KIM JONG UN SUMMIT Upon their initial meeting, Moon and Kim shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after he did so, Kim grasped Moon's hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. They took a ceremonial photo facing the North and then another photo facing the South. Moon and Kim were set to plant a pine tree together on the borderline, using dirt from both the North and South's mountains and rivers, before beginning formal talks. They also were expected to discuss ways to both improve relations and settle the 1950-53 Korean War, which was halted with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Kim said he was ready for "heartfelt, sincere and honest" discussions with Moon, adding the Koreas shouldn't repeat past situations where they were "unable to fulfill our agreements." The White House said in a statement, "We wish the Korean people well" during the summit, which is also expected to have a heavy focus on North Korea's arsenal of nuclear weapons. "We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean peninsula," the statement read. "The United States appreciates the close coordination with our ally, the Republic of Korea, and looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation" for Trump and Kim's summit, expected to be held in May or early June. Friday's summit may indicate whether peaceful negotiations to remove North Korea's weapons are possible. Expectations generally have been low as the North, which engaged in previous talks to denuclearize, has pulled out of such discussions. While it's unclear whether Moon and Kim will make progress regarding the North's nuclear arsenal, advocates of engagement have said the only way to get a deal is to sit down for a talk, which Moon and Kim are scheduled to do, and see what's possible. The Associated Press contributed to this report. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The Latest on a caravan of Central Americans who plan to seek asylum in the United States (all times local): 5:30 p.m. About 170 people in a caravan of asylum-seekers have left the Mexico border city of Mexicali for the final leg of a monthlong journey to the United States. Three tourist buses left a migrant shelter Thursday for a roughly two-hour drive to Tijuana, where they planned to seek asylum at a San Diego border crossing starting Sunday. The buses were guarded by a Mexican federal police escort as drivers navigated a curvy, mountainous highway. They will join about 150 others who recently arrived in Tijuana. Migrant shelters near the city's red-light district are full, forcing organizers to locate other places for temporary housing. President Donald Trump wrote campaign supporters Thursday that the caravan must be stopped and he used it to build support for his proposed border wall with Mexico. ___ 3:30 p.m. About 175 people in a caravan of Central American asylum-seekers are on the final leg of a monthlong journey to the United States, with the Trump administration warning they could be detained and quickly deported. The migrants in the Mexico border city of Mexicali are preparing for a bus trip to Tijuana to link up with about 175 others who have already arrived in preparation for a weekend attempt to cross into San Diego. Lawyers plan free workshops on the U.S. immigration system for the migrants ahead of their planned attempt on Sunday to seek asylum in the U.S. Organizer Leonard Olsen of the Pueblos Sin Fronteras group says many migrants in Mexicali were tired from their lengthy journey from southern Mexico and nervous about the possibility of being detained. President Nicolas Maduro says Venezuela and Panama are restoring diplomatic and business ties cut during heightened tensions just weeks earlier. Maduro said Thursday in a nationally televised broadcast that he and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela settled their differences by phone. The two countries agreed to return their ambassadors and resume commercial airline flights, among other measures. Relations between the countries broke in early April shortly after Panama put Maduro on a watch list of Venezuelan officials as being at "high risk" for laundering money. In the ensuing diplomatic spat both countries had banned dozens of key businesses from the other country and pulled home their ambassadors. Maduro says the two leaders also agreed to create a commission to resolve all other outstanding challenges between the two Latin American countries. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history Friday when he crossed into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in. But not far behind him was a portable toilet, according to a report. Lee Yun-keol, a former member of the North Korean Guard Command who in 2005 left for South Korea, told the Washington Post that the toilet is meant to keep certain information about the leader private. The leaders excretions contain information about his health status, so they cant be left behind, he told the paper. The report said that he uses the private toilet during international trips and, at times, even domestic events. The leaders excretions contain information about his health status, so they cant be left behind. Lee Yun-keol, former member, North Korean Guard Command The portable potty is shrouded in secrecy. The DailyNK reported in 2015 that it is transported in the leader's convoy. There are multiple vehicles within the convoy so that people cannot tell which one he is in, and there is a separate car that acts as his restroom, an unnamed source told the website. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 NATO is backing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's offer of peace talks to the Taliban, embracing what top officials say is an "unprecedented" opportunity to end the fighting in the insurgency-wracked country. In a statement Friday, NATO foreign ministers said the 29 allies "are united in their support for this proposal," and that they would respect a political settlement that ends violence. Ghani has offered the Taliban unconditional peace talks accompanied by a cease-fire, recognition of them as a political party and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. NATO is also open to talks between Kabul and the Taliban on the future role of the international community in the country. The Taliban have insisted that international troops must leave. In a dramatic early Friday announcement, North and South Korean leaders agreed to a framework that could finally bring peace to the peninsula and potentially end decades of tension between the Hermit Kingdom and the global community. The joint announcement that both sides will work toward a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula" and try to officially end the Korean War came after a historic meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Koreas Kim Jong Un -- who, fewer than four months ago, threatened the United States with nuclear weapons. But the same Kim Jong Un who declared in a stark New Year's address that a nuclear launch button is "always on my table" continued his recent -- and surprising -- push for peace during his meeting with Moon. While it was not immediately clear what concrete steps the countries would take to achieve the lofty goals set forth Friday, both nations agreed to hold further high-level talks and other negotiations, including a push for joint talks with the U.S. and also potentially China. The Koreas, which have technically remained at war since the 1950-1953 Korean War was only stopped via an armistice, have agreed to stop all hostile acts over "land, sea and air" that can cause military tensions and clashes. The two leaders announced that starting May 1, all loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts that have been blaring at each other across their heavily-armed border will be suspended. They will also dismantle broadcasting equipment and stop flying propaganda leaflets across their border. Earlier Friday, Kim told Moon that he feels like hes firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of [the two Koreas], writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity. Kim also promised Moon he "won't interrupt" his "early morning sleep anymore," a somewhat joking reference to North Korea's troubling intercontinental ballistic missile tests, South Korea said. It was the first time a member of the Kim dynasty was known to set foot on South Korean soil since 1953. The two men shook hands and smiled for news cameras. Kim and Moon planted a pine tree together as a symbol of peace before resuming their second meeting of the summit. They also unveiled a stone plaque placed next to the tree that was engraved with a message saying "Peace and Prosperity Are Planted." The summit has drawn measured responses from around the world. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" tweeted President Trump, whose own fiery rhetoric and aggressive posture are credited by some analysts with helping to bring North Korea to the bargaining table. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he welcomes the summit but doesn't expect any major breakthroughs. "I am very encouraged by what's happening," Johnson told reporters Friday. "I don't think that anybody looking at the history of North Korea's plans to develop a nuclear weapon would want to be over-optimistic at this point." China has welcomed the summit, saying it applauds the countries' leaders for taking a "historic step" toward peace. The Associated Press contributed to this report A Pakistani court in the eastern city of Sargodha has sentenced a man to seven years in prison for working for a child pornography network, the first such conviction in this Islamic nation. District police chief Suhail Chaudhry says the court's ruling against Sadat Amin was announced on Thursday. He says Amin was arrested earlier this month by the Federal Investigation Agency Pakistan's version of the FBI following a complaint from the Norwegian government. The police chief says the investigation proved Amin produced and sold porn videos of children to a Norway-based network. During the trial, prosecutors said Amin confessed to luring children to produce porn videos. Pakistan recently introduced laws giving authorities power to crack down on the porn industry. Newly minted U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is hitting the ground running at NATO on his first trip abroad as America's top diplomat. Just hours after being sworn in, Pompeo flew to Brussels where the alliance's foreign ministers are meeting Friday to prepare a leaders' summit in July. A senior U.S. official says Pompeo's aim is to ensure that NATO maintains a unified position of "no business as usual" with Russia and to prod members to meet their commitments to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. The ministers will hold sessions on Russia, Afghanistan and NATO's "open door policy" for accepting new members. In addition, Pompeo will have separate talks with the foreign ministers of Italy and Turkey. A federal jury in Puerto Rico has found a teacher guilty of transporting a 14-year-old male student to a motel with the intent to have sex. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Friday that Yaira Cotto Flores was the student's English teacher at a school in the western town of San Lorenzo. Officials said Cotto gave him several gifts including an acne treatment kit and an expensive watch before taking him to a motel in March 2016. Cotto was ordered to remain under house arrest until a sentencing scheduled for August. Her attorney could not be immediately reached for comment. Authorities in Bosnia say police have detained a former Bosnian army commander and 11 others on suspicion of war crimes against Serb and Bosnian civilians and prisoners during the 1992-95 war. The prosecutor's office says Atif Dudakovic and other commanders and members of the wartime Bosnian army's 5th Corps were detained in early-morning raids Friday in several towns. Dudakovic was in charge of the northwestern Bihac area which was under Serb siege during most of the conflict. The 64-year-old former general became the Bosnian army commander after the war. The prosecutor's office says Dudakovic and others are suspected of atrocities against hundreds of Serbs and Bosniaks. It says the case against the group is based on hundreds of testimonies, video footage and other evidence. The probe opened in 2005. The United Nations cultural agency has called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the 300-year-old wreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose, which is believed to contain a cargo worth billions of dollars. A UNESCO experts' body protecting underwater cultural heritage on Friday sent a letter to Colombian Culture Minister Mariana Garces Cordoba expressing concern that recovering the treasure for sale rather than for its historical value "would cause the irretrievable loss of significant heritage." The letter was made available by the body's Albanian head, Auron Tare. Colombian authorities plan to recover the wreck, ending a three-century saga since June 8, 1708, when the ship with 600 people aboard sank while trying to outrun a fleet of British warships. Mystery Businessman Who Gave Famous Atheist a Bible Discovered Contact: Jen Thompson, jthompson@livingwaters.com LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- In 2009, well-known magician and outspoken atheist Penn Jillette made a YouTube clip about a businessman who gave him a Bible, praising the man's evangelistic effort. It was so remarkable that several prominent ministries such as Focus on the Family and Answers in Genesis wrote about it. According to the Baptist Press, on the clip the famous atheist spoke about a man who approached him after a performance: "He was really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible. And I've always said that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all," Jillette said. "If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward...How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" Jillette went on to stress the man's character: "He cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible...I'll tell you, he was a very, very, very good man, and that's really important...that was a really good man who gave me that book." For years people have wondered who that businessman was, and what he said that so impressed Penn Jillettean atheist so hardened against God that he made videos of himself contemptuously throwing and kicking Bibles. Christian filmmaker Ray Comfort now knows the answer. When he first saw the video, Comfort remarked, "I was so moved by his sentiment that I longed to speak with him and thank him for making that clip. Years later, through a number of unusual circumstances, God worked it out that I got my heart's desire." Then during a recent interview on a Las Vegas radio show, Comfort was surprised to discover that the host was that businessman. "The inside story of his encounter with Penn, and what he actually gave him, was so compelling," Comfort explained, "that we immediately filmed the man sharing the incredible story and included it in our new moviewhich 'coincidentally' already mentioned that encounter. It's amazing how God put all the pieces together." The filmmaker added, "In Penn's video, the heartfelt statements of an atheist have motivated countless Christians to share their faith. In the same way, God used other atheists to get the gospel to millions and even proclaim it themselves. We're excited to tell these inspiring stories in 'The Fool: Never Fear Looking Foolish Again.'" (See the trailer here) A free prescreening of "The Fool" is available to churches across the US, months before its public release later this year. For details of how your church can freely show the film, go to www.TheFoolForChrist.com. For interviews with Ray Comfort, contact Jen Thompson: jthompson@livingwaters.com Share Tweet It's Happening Now... Again Contact: Christ for all Nations (CfaN), 407-854-4400, srodriguez@cfan.org TORONTO, Canada, April 27, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Light the Fire Again Conference (LTFA) is on and the Lord is using it to miraculously reach into lives around the globe. The 1990s were touched by God through numerous outpourings across the planet notably the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, FL, the Toronto Blessing in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), and the MorningStar prophetic movement in Charlotte, NC. Additionally, the nationwide Argentine Revival swept across Argentina and overflowed into neighboring South American nations. Currently, at this very moment, senior leaders from each of those divine moments have joined Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke in Toronto, Canada for the LTFA Conference. The event marks the 25th anniversary of the Toronto Blessing and is being held in the very same building where God poured out his Spirit so extraordinarily. The line up is unprecedented: Reinhard Bonnke, Daniel Kolenda, John Kilpatrick, John Arnott, Lou Engle, Claudio Freidzon, Heidi Baker, Rick Joyner, Lindell Cooly, Don Potter, Jeremy Sinnott, and many, many more. Worship pioneer, Don Potter, pointed out the truly unique nature of the meetings, "Toronto was all about the Father's heart. Brownsville and Argentina centered around Jesus' work on the cross a cry for repentance and souls to be saved. And MorningStar was about the voice of the Holy Spirit... but, here, we have something truly special all three: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit all at once." Believers from 20-plus nations are in attendance. One foreign attendee testified that, "The tangible anointing was ever present just walking in the rear of the auditorium." Additionally, thousands from around the world have joined in online. Participants as far away as Ethiopia and Cambodia have commented on the manifest presence of God they experienced watching the live stream! This is much more than a trip down memory lane. Yes, each of these ministers were witnesses to God's specific work 25-years ago, and we all celebrate those moments. But LTFA is every bit as much about what God is doing now. Because these leaders have seen it before, they can testify to the authenticity of this movement. They know what they're looking at. This is the real thing and God is moving. As CfaN ministry leader Daniel Kolenda said, "The time is now for a new generation to experience the Fire. I believe we are standing on the threshold of the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in history. The best is yet to come." Don't miss your chance to tune-in and experience His presence to draw from the past and take part in the present move of God's kingdom. All of the events can be watched and, as a special gift, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda will live-stream tonight and Saturday night's services for free on his Facebook page (7pm est). About Christ For All Nations CfaN is a non-denominational missions organization aimed at taking the Gospel message to the world. Christ for all Nations is primarily known for its historic crusades in Africa and recently surpassed a historic milestone of over 78 million documented decisions for Jesus Christ at major events in Africa and other parts of the world. CfaN has offices in countries around the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about Christ for all Nations, visit CfaN online at www.cfan.org, or email srodriguez@cfan.org or call 407.854.4400. Share Tweet Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Australia Calls World to Pray & Fast for USA 30 April - 3 May 2018 Contact: James Condon, 61-478-301-468; Sue Tinworth 61-418-389-419; Warwick Marsh 61-418-225-212 UNANDERRA, Australia, April 27, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- For the sixth year in a row, Australia is calling the nations of the world to join with them to pray and fast for four days for the United States of America, from 30 April 3 May 2018. May 3 is America's National Day of Prayer. The theme is "Pray for America - UNITY" Ephesians 4:3. www.nationaldayofprayer.org April 30 is America's National Day of Repentance. www.dayofrepentance1.org Promo YouTube Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B5nFcDBMOA Facebook Video President Reagan renewed the call for a National Day of Prayer in 1982 and said, "The first National Day of Prayer was proclaimed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. As thousands gathered in prayer in places of worship and encampments throughout the new land, the dispersed colonists found a new spirit of UNITY and resolve in this remarkable expression of public faith." Commissioner James Condon, a member of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting team, said, "God has done remarkable things in America since we began to pray and fast, but God can do greater things yet! We in Australia believe it is our turn to stand in the gap for the nation of America and pray for revival and transformation for the USA through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Whilst America has a new administration, the need for a new National Awakening has never been more apparent." Sue Tinworth, a member of the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team, talking about the history of prayer in the USA said, "President Abraham Lincoln, on 30 April 1863 called for a Day of 'Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting' at a time of great national crisis. This is a great encouragement to us today. Unfortunately, America is again in a dangerous predicament because it has forgotten God. Sadly the situation in Australia is very similar." Ps Warwick Marsh, also from the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team said, "America and Australia need revival and reformation, as does the whole world. We all need more of God. We invite you and the nations of the world to join with us in four days of prayer and fasting for the USA." National Day of Prayer & Fasting. www.nationaldayofprayer.org.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/nationaldayofprayerandfasting Share Tweet A 58-year-old crofter has died following a cattle-handling incident in the Western Isles, Scotland. The man, named locally as Hector Macleod, was found dead on the Isle of Berneray on Tuesday morning (24 April). It is understood he was working on farmland near Borve Cemetery when he was knocked down by a bull and killed. See also: I Lost my leg in a farm accident a farmers story Emergency services attended, but Mr Macleod died from his injuries at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the tragedy. No suspicious circumstances A Police Scotland spokesman said: There are no suspicious circumstances and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal. The Health and Safety Executive has also been contacted regarding the circumstances. Our thoughts are with the mans family and friends at this time. Unite plea On Friday (27 April), the eve of this years International Workers Memorial Day (Saturday 28 April), the Unite workers union called on the government to take urgent action to improve safety in agriculture, Britains most dangerous industry. Unite acting national officer for agriculture Joe Clarke said: Urgent action is needed to ensure that agricultural workers are not killed, maimed or injured at work. Deaths and injuries should not be considered an occupational hazard of the farming industry. The administration of President Rajaonarimampianina has been marred by allegations of corruption. One person was killed when Madagascan police fired tear gas at opposition demonstrators protesting against new electoral laws they say are created to lock out their candidate from a presidential election due this year. Another individual injured in Saturday's unrest, died on Sunday, Olivat Alson Rakoto, director of a hospital in the city, told Reuters. The Reuters news agency reported that the demonstrators had been dispersed by police throwing tear gas canisters. President Rajaonarimampianina has been in power since 2013, and his administration has been marred by allegations of corruption and incompetence. Demonstrators were protesting a new electoral law that the opposition said would exclude many of their candidates and give too much advantage to the ruling party in the upcoming elections. They brought the coffin of the victim of Saturday's clashes with them, the Reuters witness said. Supporters of Marc Ravalomanana, a former leader of the Indian Ocean island nation, say the new electoral laws are created to prevent him running in the election. "I call on churches to convince those who are not yet convinced to engage in dialogue to find a solution to the crisis". Opposition politicians have also complained about restrictive new laws about campaign financing and media access. But two former heads of state have already mooted runs: Marc Ravalomanana, who was president from 2002 to 2009, and Andry Rajoelina, who removed Ravalomanana during a coup. Harivonjy Randriamalala, a 42-year-old father of three children, said: "We want the president to resign". The country endured several years of turmoil after Ravalomanana was ousted. Before Monday's march began, General Beni Xavier Rasolofonirina, the defense minister, appealed to politicians to find an outcome that would avoid violence. But he warned the protesters that the police would "never accept any state institution established outside the election process, because that is what is consistent with the constitution". He said police would stay away from the area where people were marching. Michael Goves Health and Harmony consultation, setting out his vision for the future for food, farming and the environment, has been touted as a once in a lifetime opportunity to help shape UK government policy. The consultation gives English farmers an insight to the intended direction of government policy for agriculture outside the European Union and provides them an opportunity to have their say. Defra secretary Michael Gove has made it clear that it is the quality of the arguments that will influence the final outcome of the policy consultation, not the noise coming from any particular pressure group or vested interest. See also: NFU president says speak up for British farming These are some of the main points that farmers need to be thinking about if they want to make a contribution. Key points The consultation ends on 8 May Clarity is needed on post-Brexit terms of trade before anything is finalised Any cuts in BPS should be gradual and spread over a larger number of farmers Profitable food production must not be sacrificed in favour of environmental delivery Agri-environment schemes must be easy to access and generously funded The total budget for the new policy should increase, not decrease The Health and Harmony paper The document is split into three broad sections. These are: Moving away from the common agricultural policy (CAP) Implementing a new agricultural policy in England The framework for this new agricultural policy 1. Moving away from the CAP The first section sets out what is wrong with the current CAP (complexity, low uptake of Countryside Stewardship etc) and outlines in considerable detail the governments thoughts on an agricultural transition. This transition could last five, seven or 10 years and includes the gradual phasing out of direct payments, possibly from 2020. This can be achieved either by progressive reductions for many starting with a 5% cut in BPS at 25,000, 10% at 30,000, rising to 75% above 200,000 or by applying a straight cap on payments at, say, 100,000 (or a combination of the two). The paper discusses the conditions farmers should meet to receive these payments, and sets out the idea of making direct payments based on historic receipts, detached from the land. This money could then be used to invest in their businesses, or to exit the sector altogether. The paper then looks at ways to make farming more successful, including benchmarking, investing in new technology, research and development, encouraging new entrants and developing a skilled workforce. 2. Implementing a new agricultural policy The second section sets out the governments thoughts on what should replace the CAP, namely a new scheme that delivers public money for public goods. It lists five main areas for future taxpayer support: Environmental enhancement and protection Animal and plant health and welfare Improved productivity and competitiveness Preserving rural resilience, traditional farming and landscapes in the uplands Public access to the countryside The main focus is on environmental enhancement, and the paper outlines plans for a new environmental land management scheme using money from BPS and building on Countryside Stewardship. It lists the outcomes it wants farmers to deliver better soil, air and water, more biodiversity, flood control, climate change mitigation and outlines how this can be achieved, for example by tendering schemes, collaboration and/or capital grants. Two other key areas in this section relate to risk management and resilience, and ensuring fairness in the supply chain the first talking about insurance schemes and futures markets, the second about collaboration, co-operatives and the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA). 3. Policy framework The third section of the paper looks at devolution issues, international trade and proposals for a new Agriculture Bill. On devolution, it acknowledges the need to allow some policy divergence, but notes the importance of ensuring the UK single market functions properly. On international trade, government points to the opportunities for UK farmers to export more based on quality, but it also wants to open up our own markets offering more choice and strengthening the discipline of competition that helps keep food affordable. The paper also emphasises the governments commitment to ensuring the maintenance of high standards. How farmers can respond There are several ways to respond to the Health and Harmony consultation before it closes on 8 May. The NFU is still in the process of finalising its response on behalf of members, so its not too late to email any ideas or concerns to Brexit@nfu.org.uk. Others may prefer to make their voices heard direct to Defra and this can be done by emailing agricultureconsultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk. At this stage, this is probably the best option, focusing on one or two key points suggested in the consultation paper and making them succinctly. But those with the time and motivation may like to respond online by filling out the consultation survey at consult.defra.gov.uk/farming/future-of-farming. The survey asks for quite a lot of preliminary information about the individual and his/her business, though there is an option for this to be treated in confidence. It then goes through each of the 15 chapters of the Health and Harmony document, asking a series of questions about each issue. The first questions in each section usually have suggested answers and it is just a case of ranking preferences. Some questions also allow you to answer other and there is then an opportunity to explain your reasoning. Most sections also give you a chance to respond to further questions which tend to be more open-ended, so views can be expressed, rather than just ranking preferences. It is not a requirement to answer every single question. If there are just some issues you feel strongly about (and it is helpful to at least have the summary of the consultation paper to hand to help navigate the survey), then limit your answers and comments to those. What to consider when responding In total, there are 15 different chapters in the document, spread among the three broad sections. But the two key areas are the transition period covering reductions in direct support, and the move to public money for public goods. We would make the following observations: An agricultural transition As explained above, this sets out some of the options for phasing out direct payments and the conditions which should be attached. Given the importance of direct payments to the profitability of most farms, and the fact that our main competitors post-Brexit are likely to continue receiving them, moves to phase them out are regrettable. But that is not negotiable the days of direct payments are numbered. Of the options tabled, progressive cuts to BPS, rather than capping, would be fairer, so as to spread the pain more evenly. Applying a straight cap is too blunt an instrument, which penalises farmers just for being large. These farms are not necessarily the most profitable, but they may be doing the most for the environment, as well as employing more people and providing more business for the whole rural economy. Whatever method is chosen, the transition period should be longer, rather than shorter, to limit any annual reductions in BPS and so reduce the impact. How long it lasts, and what shape it takes, will very much depend on the terms of any future trade agreement with the EU and others, as well as any other support mechanisms that are put in place to help farmers improve their competitiveness. As for the conditions to be attached some form of cross-compliance is no bad thing, but it must be simplified, compared with what the CAP currently prescribes, and greening should be abandoned. Payments should also be targeted at active farmers, rather than detached from the land. Any money saved from BPS should be reinvested in the agricultural sector. Public money for public goods Farmers already deliver much for the public good, both through maintaining land in good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) under the CAP, and through various agri-environment schemes. There is a strong feeling that this has been completely overlooked. But it is clear farmers are going to have to do more to convince the Treasury to continue directing funds to the sector. The consultation asks respondents to list various aspects in order of importance, so it is not difficult to put improved soil health, high animal welfare standards, flood control and climate change mitigation right up there. These are as important to agriculture as to society as a whole, and farmers need to play their part. But there is a question: are there any other public goods which you think the government should support? and that is a golden opportunity to specify the need for greater self-sufficiency, food safety and full traceability. Certain economists might argue that food production is not a true public good as an income can be generated from the marketplace. But that income is often precarious. Furthermore, productive farming delivers much more, including rural employment, the creation of agricultural landscapes and food security, which should also be considered public goods. As for the proposed new environmental land management system, the absolute priority is that it should be simple to access, policed with a light touch and relevant. Broad and shallow used to be the expression used in relation to the earliest agri-environment schemes and that is something we need to get back to. Such a scheme must also be properly funded. There are limits established by WTO rules, which say that any payments must only compensate farmers for income foregone. But that is open to interpretation, and we believe any payments must not only fully compensate, but also incentivise farmers to get involved in environmental delivery and reflect the true value to society. Overall, while environmental protection is clearly important, profitable food production is paramount and government needs to get the balance right. A successful future for farming This part of the consultation contains many great ideas for helping farmers improve productivity, profitability and performance through research, adoption of best practice, investment in new tools and technologies, and adoption of new business models. Its all commendable stuff, but government needs to be putting its money where its mouth is. It also needs to focus more on near-market research and development, give farmers a greater say when it comes to setting research priorities and help the industry access the labour it needs, both at home and abroad. Supporting rural communities and remote farming The paper recognises the specific challenges of making a living in upland areas (poorer soils, harsher climate, fewer opportunities to diversify), and attaches some value to traditional ways of life and maintaining populations in these areas. In asking how should farming, land management and rural communities continue to be supported?, the consultation provides an opportunity to expand on farmers specific needs in these areas. Proper broadband and rural infrastructure is an obvious one. The government should also maximise the opportunities for farmers to take part in agri-environment, forestry, rural tourism and public access schemes. But if there is one group of farmers that really warrants continued access to direct support albeit with specific strings attached it is upland farmers. Ensuring fairness in the supply chain Much of the logic behind the governments proposals to shift taxpayer support away from food production and towards public goods is that it believes farmers can make a living from selling their produce to processors and consumers. To help them achieve that profitably, the paper is keen that farmers improve their productivity and co-operate to strengthen their negotiating power. It also wants to see clearer price reporting and better contracts. Those are worthy objectives, but making it work is the biggest challenge, so legal enforcement and public funding may be needed. The government says it will continue to champion the Groceries Code Adjudicator. What it really needs to do is to extend its remit, to cover more of the supply chain so farmers have better protection from unfair trading practices. This point needs to be made loud and clear. Devolution maintaining cohesion and flexibility Having acknowledged the need for flexibility in the way policy is implemented between different parts of the UK, the paper then asks: what are the areas where a common approach is necessary? There are some obvious ones for example, in setting standards for plant protection, animal welfare, organic farming and labelling. It is particularly important to ensure full compatibility for things that are exported, as future trade deals will be achieved on a UK basis, so uniform standards must apply. One area of concern is that of coupled support payments, where some organisations have expressed a desire to see subsidies linked to specific types of livestock in specific areas. This has real potential to create competitive distortions and should be avoided. It is also necessary to avoid too much divergence in support schemes for farms that straddle regional borders. International trade There is a clear contradiction in the consultation paper between the desire to develop our exports based on high production standards, while opening our own markets to imports to help keep food affordable. The clear message that government needs to hear is that you cant have it both ways. Either foreign produce coming here should be produced to the same high standards as UK farmers adhere to, or UK farmers must be given access to the same tools and techniques that are permissible abroad. A farmer from Wolverhampton has been ordered to pay more than 5,000 for burying illegal waste. Ivor Powell, 65, pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching environmental regulations at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday, 19 April. The case was brought by the Environment Agency after officers visited Lower Aston Farm, Claverly, Wolverhampton for a routine inspection in November 2015 and saw a tractor that appeared to be levelling the ground. See also: Ultimate guide to farm security kit Officers also saw large heaps of shredded mixed waste and noticed the land had been landscaped to incorporate the waste material. Mr Powell confirmed it had been coming onto the site for four months. During another visit in March 2016, the agency found buried compressed waste that had been imported onto the site. 5,000 penalty The court heard if Mr Powell had taken the waste to a landfill or similar site, he would have been charged approximately 533,500 for the 5,335t of waste. Mr Powell was fined 1,000 and told to pay 4,000 in costs and 100 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to clear the site within three years. Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency spokesman said: Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight communities and undermine those operating legally. We will not hesitate to take action against anyone that fails to comply. News Mayors: Affluent should also qualify for Harvey money Julie Masters Kevin Holland Pat Hallisey Three Galveston County mayors sent letters Wednesday to Gov. Greg Abbott and state Land Commissioner George P. Bush asking the state to seek federal waivers that would benefit middle-class residents whose homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey. More residents of Dickinson, Friendswood and League City could benefit from federal disaster assistance with waivers on federal income restrictions, the mayors said. The three mayors are asking the state to pursue a waiver to the federal requirement that 70 percent of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds be used to support low- and moderate-income earners. Texas got more than $5 billion in disaster recovery money and the land office will oversee its distribution to communities but must follow federal guidelines, including the 70 percent support for low-to-moderate income families. Bush has already asked the Texas congressional delegation to help lower the threshold from 70 percent to 50 percent, which was the threshold after Hurricane Ike, land office spokeswoman Brittany Eck said. The housing department declined to make the reduction, despite the delegations help, she said. The mayors want state officials to ask again. They want the housing department to waive the 70 percent requirement. Federal housing money for Hurricane Harvey recovery should be available to homeowners in areas more affluent than allowed under federal law, they said. So many people who were flooded would not qualify, Dickinson Mayor Julie Masters said. Friendswood, as a whole, is blessed to have many residents with a higher than average household income, Mayor Kevin Holland said. The 50-plus inches of rain that fell during Hurricane Harvey affected everyone, without regard to income. About 20 percent of League City residents are considered moderate- to low-income, and to put League City into the 70-30 formula is unfair, Mayor Pat Hallisey said. The vast majority of people destroyed in this city were middle- to high-income, Hallisey said. They are a long way from being rich, but they pay sales tax and property tax. Under housing department rules, households earning 50 percent or less of an areas median income are low income. Households earning 80 percent or less are moderate income. In Galveston County, the federally recognized median income for a family of four is $74,900. That means a household earning less than $37,450 would qualify as low income, those earning less than $59,900 would qualify as moderate income. Congress created the housing department in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons War on Poverty, so programs that help the more affluent seem at first glance to contradict the departments initial mission. Joe Compian with Gulf Coast Interfatih, an organization that advocates for the working poor, sympathizes with the mayors even though the department programs are supposed to help low- to moderate-income people, he said. About one-fifth of the federal money has already been promised to Houston and Harris County, with the rest being split among more than 40 other Texas counties. Thats a problem, Compian said. Galveston County also should have been promised part of the money to spend as leaders saw fit. That for me is the bigger issue, Compian said. This Harvey recovery and these dollars were organized and put together in a secretive manner. The mayors also want the state to reduce or remove the low-to-moderate income benefit requirement for infrastructure projects. The letters also ask the state to expand the housing recovery program to include opportunities for local programs. Many people who have lived along Clear Creek for 30 or 40 years with homes that never flooded before Harvey decided not to buy flood insurance, Hallisey said. Were all for moderate- and low-income people, Hallisey said. Were not opposed to them getting help. But we still have people struggling to get their houses back in shape. Wed like to get some help. Reporter Before coming to work for The Daily News as a staff reporter, Connor worked for us as a freelance correspondent throughout 2017. He has written for other publications such as the Washington Post. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Last week, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was brought to the court of Twitter. The prosecutor: a student from Ateneo de Manila University who alleged his friend was assaulted by a schoolmate. Within the next couple of days, about 60 girls responded, citing problematic encounters with the same boy. Their accusations ranged from uncomfortable, inappropriate conversations to outright assault. They posted screen caps of conversations with him. The jury: All of Twitter. The allegations prompted even more noise, as users notably, mostly male raised concerns for the data privacy and mental health of the accused. Some called it a witch hunt, a trial by publicity, and cried for due process. Others clarified they were listening, but they also asked: Is it appropriate to course allegations of sexual misconduct and violence online? Women coming forward on social media with these experiences is hardly new and neither are the rebuttals against it. Globally, the callout was most prominently articulated in the #MeToo movement, which unseated Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein after dozens of women came forward with allegations of assault and harassment from him. The movement made a ripple, although some countries have been more resistant than others. In the Philippines, the Weinstein effect has yet to truly trickle down but it has allowed for pockets of resistance: one of which is the millennial Twittersphere. In January last year, a University of Sto. Tomas student was allegedly groped on a UV express by an upperclassman. Her brother wrote a Facebook post, that has since went viral, accusing the school of punishing her and forcing her to take down a warning she made on social media. Before the year ended, a Filipino digital artist was taken to task on Twitter for sending explicit messages to young girls; local bands were booted from gigs following online allegations of misconduct; and a co-ed from Ateneo Senior High School alleged her classmates spread fake nude photos and tried to spike her drink. Let's take a look at why people keep returning to the court of social media, chaotic though it may be and what we can do to balance level-headed discourse and a space for rage. The court of last resort The Philippines lives a double life when it comes to gender equality. On one hand, it boasts a sterling record of women in government service and the 10th narrowest gender gap in the world. On the other hand: The Center for Women's Resources reported a person is raped every hour. The Philippine National Police listed over 32,000 cases of violence against women last year. Government statistics show one in four women between 15 to 49 has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence from their husband or partner. While there are some who criticize these confessions as unnecessary airing of ones dirty laundry in public, we need to acknowledge the fact that for most of these survivors, [those who] chose to open up through social media are those who feel that their complaints would have been received by deaf ears otherwise. Lynn Pinugu Women would not feel the urgency of online vilification if there was an accessible, effective, just and safe way to report their grievances offline. As it is, for some, Twitter is the court of last resort. The fact that the #MeToo movement did not take off in the country shows that there is a lack of faith in how we, as a community and a nation, handle and respond to allegations relating to rape and sexual assault, says Lynn Pinugu, co-founder of She Talks Asia. The initiative organizes conferences to educate and empower women. However, some online users wondered: Did the victims really try, before taking their grievances online? A counter-question would be: Do they have to? A victim only needs to have heard and seen examples of men getting away with such deeds whether at home, school, work, or the media to instantly feel the system is against her. The Philippines is rife with all sorts of examples of this misogyny, from the smallest unit of society to the highest position of power: it could be an inappropriate uncle, an act in school that goes unpunished, the President not apologizing for a rape joke, or a convicted child rapist seeking pardon so he can run for public office. While there are some who criticize these confessions as unnecessary airing of ones dirty laundry in public, we need to acknowledge the fact that most of these survivors, [who] chose to open up through social media are those who feel that their complaints would have been received by deaf ears otherwise, says Pinugu. She adds that the pressure is on institutions like schools and workplaces to ensure the claims are properly investigated and acted on. For Sharmila Parmanand, a Gender Studies PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, survivors of such encounters should still try their luck offline before publicly name dropping except in cases of clear power imbalance (such as if the perpetrator is a prominent figure). If that doesnt work, then they can turn to the internet. Parmanand errs on the side of caution, noting that an accused person must still be accorded a fair hearing as much as possible. This not out of disbelief for victims stories but because the court of public opinion is not likely to rule effectively. Public shaming is sometimes necessary, but it cannot be our only tool and it is unlikely to be a sustainable tool, she says. If we rely on the court of public opinion ... it can very easily turn against us. Victims can easily be discredited and counter-shamed, which is starting to happen. We need to be willing to have difficult cultural conversations about sexual behaviour that is technically consensual but still problematic. Sharmila Parmanand However, she acknowledges that public outrage is sometimes ... the best and only option, deterring potential abusers and forcing corporations and universities to take allegations seriously. There are things the online callout can achieve which offline action cannot: a speedy warning to other women; gathering people with similar experiences, possibly with the same alleged perpetrator, to build a stronger case; and pressuring institutions. However, there are also things that online action cannot replace A fair trial or investigation would hold the accused accountable through a systematic authority. It would result in intervention for the accused, whether through disciplinary sanctions or corrective justice, and rehabilitation for the survivor. There is also no replacing structural changes that should empower the victim, such as laws that prioritize consent and recognize different types of sexual misconduct and violence. Guidelines for social media discourse Why has there been a pushback against victims going online? Parmanand says the worst case scenario is a malicious attempt to silence victims; the best case is valid concerns about how public outrage could affect a fair hearing. It's worth noting that some things said on social media would never be said to a victim's face. (If you're having trouble figuring out how to respond to such confessions both online or offline, Trisha O'Bannon gives some pointers here.) OBannon notes that given the statistics of sexual violence, its very likely that there are people in your social circles who are survivors, whether or not you know it. When typing out comments, it helps to ask yourself: If I had a friend, sister, or mother who was a victim of sexual misconduct or violence and she read what I am about to post, would she feel like her voice is important? If the answer is no, it might be better not to comment; it is not your turn to talk. All parties could benefit from a more civil discussion. Suggesting a moral standard on the mess that is Twitter may be futile, but here are some guidelines for considerate and productive discourse. 1. Listen. The knee-jerk reaction to these concerns should be to listen, and not to interrupt. Parmanand says structural sexism makes it hard for victims to disclose what happened to them, an we don't want to reproduce this norm. She advises a steady balance for third party observers. Offer support and don't disbelieve the person, she said. At the same time, remember that there are two sides to a story and the accused also deserves a hearing. 2. Acquaint yourself with the spectrum of sexual violence. Equip yourself with the vocabulary for discourse. Learn the differences between sexual assault, harassment, misconduct, and violence. While everything from sexist jokes to rape may fall under the same tent of entitlement to women's bodies, Parmanand cautions against lumping them all together. Each action merits different interventions. Forcing a legal bar on all unpleasant sexual experiences is counterproductive and also dishonest, said Parmanand. We need to be willing to have difficult cultural conversations about sexual behaviour that is technically consensual but still problematic. For example, consider the viral accusations against actor Aziz Ansari and producer Harvey Weinstein: Ansari was accused of not catching on to verbal and non-verbal cues from a date, who felt pressured to engage with him in sexual activity. Weinstein, on the other hand, has assaulted dozens of women in show business, using his power in Hollywood to keep them mum. In the same vein, an uncle who makes an off-handed comment about a short dress deserves a different response to an uncle who may repeatedly molest a niece or nephew. Parmanand maintains that smaller acts indicating misogyny should still be corrected, but without equating them to the graver crimes that calculated sexual predators make. These acts are not morally equivalent and we should be more nuanced in how we approach them. Some acts may be technically consensual, even if they are not equitable, and they are more likely a result of ignorance rather than malice, Parmanand explains. Conflating them will make victims less credible. They ... do not deserve the same level of public opprobrium. 3. Treat different types of criticism differently. Parmanand stresses: Not all criticism of victims is equal. Bullying and personal attacks merit a defense of the victim and a call to stop. However, more complicated responses should be tackled differently. If it is a respectful criticism of the victim's strategy but doesn't trivialize the victim's experience, and if it is phrased in a non-threatening way, you may want to consider engaging, said Parmanand. She noted that some questions on whether the victim has acted outside of social media may be [done] in good faith. Perhaps they truly do not appreciate the inaccessibility of [formal] mechanisms, she said. In these cases, it's best to let them know, but not group them into the same picture as those who actively try to stifle women's voices. Taking #MeToo offline A week after the allegations against the Ateneo student went viral, the tweets have since been deleted and the internet conversation once reverts to other matters: "Infinity War," gatekeeping in art and design, the supposed gentrification of ukay-ukay. With social media constantly in flux, how do we keep sexual misconduct and violence top of mind, and how do we ensure that it is acted upon sustainably? Here are some ideas. 1. Personal intervention. While you cannot force victims to rush forward with their stories, you can offer them support in your own capacity as a friend, relative, or professional. This could range from accompanying them as they report their case to maintaining sensitivity when you handle their cases as a medical professional, a media personnel, lawyer, and so on. If you are mulling legal action, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines just launched Find Justice PH, an app that makes legal service inquiries accessible. 2. Intervention at work, school, and the community. Support (or start) initiatives that endeavor to create policies addressing sexual misconduct or violence. This could be a new policy or process, or even seminars or forums on gender and sex education. Pinugu advises support for projects with a curriculum that is evidence-based, which effectively tackles the definition of consent, implications of assault and rape, training individuals to intervene, and how to properly respond when someone speaks up. Support organizations that implement school-based and community-based rape prevention programs, specifically focused on educating young people and adults on nurturing healthy relationships and creating safe environments, says Pinugu. Parmanand likewise advises the public to invest in efforts that allow people to tell their stories. When organizing talks, for example: Make sure that any course of action is driven largely by the primary stakeholders, says Parmanand. Do not instrumentalise peoples pain and suffering for your own agenda, even if it is a liberal agenda, because that would be re-exploiting victims. Apart from non-government initiatives like She Talks Asia, you can throw your support behind government-linked efforts like the Safe Cities Metro Manila Programme or legislation that seeks to address sexual misconduct and violence. 3. Intervention for the accused. Victims or survivors of sexual misconduct or violence are not obligated to give their perpetrators the benefit of the doubt. However, after justice is served or as the perpetrator heads to rehabilitation, the community must ensure the perpetrator stays corrected. If an accused person seems genuinely remorseful and is willing to take steps to improve their behavior in the future, I don't think victims have an obligation to forgive them, says Parmanand, but the rest of society should try to give the accused party a chance to reform. *** Features like Twitters anonymity and the ease of tagging anyone are a double-edged sword: they allow for democratic conversation and a space for people to come forward, but they are also what allows trolls and simply downright mean people to thrive. Is there healing on social media? Probably not. Twitter is for messy conversation but it is also where the conversation is. It is not, however, the only space for action. If we are to make a safe space for women, we have to truly buckle down to work. As a game designer, dealing with feedback is an everyday part of the job. This post aims to help you... Encourage feedback from your peers. Embrace feedback rather than fight against it. Process the feedback you receive. 1. Be Approachable Some of the best feedback you will receive during development is from your colleagues. You are likely to miss out on lots of important feedback if you cultivate an environment that discourages criticizing the project. Consider employing the following tactics to help come across as more approachable to your team: Actively mention to your team that you are always willing to hear their feedback - a simple one but maybe the most effective at getting feedback from people who might not otherwise provide it. A simple "Just grab me if you have any feedback on this." at the end of a discussion goes a long way. - a simple one but maybe the most effective at getting feedback from people who might not otherwise provide it. A simple "Just grab me if you have any feedback on this." at the end of a discussion goes a long way. Always keep things positive - as bad as an idea might be, your priority should be encouraging the act of sharing feedback. Try to find any positives you can from their input to help show that you are trying to understand their contribution. - as bad as an idea might be, your priority should be encouraging the act of sharing feedback. Try to find any positives you can from their input to help show that you are trying to understand their contribution. Give credit where credit is due - try to actively credit the team member for their input. statements such as "____ had a great idea for..." and "Actually, it was ___'s feedback that led me to this approach." help validate the team member's decision to offer their input. - try to actively credit the team member for their input. statements such as "____ had a great idea for..." and "Actually, it was ___'s feedback that led me to this approach." help validate the team member's decision to offer their input. Help people understand why an idea is turned down - make sure they know it is not personal and try to give objective reasons if possible. If there are no objective reasons then try to help the team member see the issue from your perspective. 2. Put your ego aside. Every designer likes to be able to say "That was my idea" but you need to be comfortable saying "I think your idea is better". Prioritize the project before your personal pride. Making games is (usually) a team effort. Just because you are the designer on a project, it doesn't mean you are the only one who can design. Don't see feedback as an attack on your ability as a designer, see feedback as an opportunity to show how well you can recognize the best design for the project at hand. Make sure, however, you don't confuse this point with being a push-over. In the times where you believe you are in the right, make sure you stick to the project vision. 3. Consider feedback validity before viability. Don't let project scope or restrictions stop you from considering the validity of a person's feedback. Even if it is abundantly clear that a proposed idea is not viable, it is often worth taking some time to considers the main points and ponder a more viable solution. 4. Learn to translate/investigate what people are REALLY telling you. Consider the following feedback statement: "I think this boss fight is too hard" This is a very normal statement from a player's perspective but as a developer the following statements might be more useful: "I haven't been adequately prepared for this boss fight" "The boss has too much health" "I don't feel powerful enough to kill the boss" "Random gameplay elements have led to a more difficult than usual fight" "The boss doesn't telegraph it's attacks well enough for me to prepare my defense" It is very easy to assume the intention of the statement, perhaps based on other previous feedback. However, asking questions is the best way to dig deeper into a statement's true meaning, if the situation permits. This is harder than it sounds. Your biggest obstacle at this point is trying not to put words into the player's mouth. When asked "Do you think the boss has too much health", it is too easy for the player to give me the answer they think I want or be guided by my question into believing something is more of an issue than they actually feel it is. Start out by asking open ended questions, even something as simple as "What do you mean by this". Some people will be able to expand on their answer. If the person struggles to relay their opinion, offer a relevant multiple choice question to help them think critically about the experience they have had. "Are you having more issues attacking the boss or defending yourself from the boss" might be a good way to investigate further in this example. 5. Consider the context of the feedback. It is much easier to process feedback if you consider the context of it. Consider the following scenario: A team member says "Level 12 is not fun". This alone is not enough to start acting on the feedback. We would need to consider the context of this feedback. Some points to consider might include: How much experience does this player have with Level 12? - Is this their first time playing the level or have they been testing the level non-stop for weeks? - Is this their first time playing the level or have they been testing the level non-stop for weeks? How far along in development is the level and its systems? - Are there work-in-progress areas or systems in the level? Are their bugs affecting the gameplay experience? Are players getting the full experience that you hope the final product will achieve? - Are there work-in-progress areas or systems in the level? Are their bugs affecting the gameplay experience? Are players getting the full experience that you hope the final product will achieve? Why was the player playing the level? - Are they being forced to play it? Was it to debug an issue? Consider how this might affect a players emotions. - Are they being forced to play it? Was it to debug an issue? Consider how this might affect a players emotions. Does the player belong to the target audience? - Is your game aimed at being fun for young children? Maybe you are aiming to make a compelling racing simulation? Not everyone finds all genres of games fun - acknowledge that someones feedback is often personal and not necessarily representative of the wider audience. - Is your game aimed at being fun for young children? Maybe you are aiming to make a compelling racing simulation? Not everyone finds all genres of games fun - acknowledge that someones feedback is often personal and not necessarily representative of the wider audience. Is the level even meant to be fun? - Maybe this particular level is meant to be unsettling? Maybe you plan for this level to relax the player before a big impact point in your narrative? Make sure you keep the project vision in mind. Always remember, however, that no matter the context, there is usually something useful to take away from a piece of feedback. Maybe you think the issue will be solved once all of the bugs are fixed? - This might now lead you to consider re-prioritizing bugs in order to test this level sooner than you had first planned. [This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.] Funcom teams up with Spike Chunsoft and H2 Interactive to release Conan Exiles digitally and in retail in Japan, Korea, and several other territories in Asia Funcoms open world survival game Conan Exiles leaves Early Access and launches in full May 8th on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 Oslo, Norway April 27th, 2018 Funcom is excited to announce that Conan Exiles, the studios open world survival game launching on May 8th, will be receiving a broad, localized release in several Asian territories. The company is teaming up with Spike Chunsoft to release Conan Exiles both digitally and in retail across Japan. Funcom is also joining forces with H2 Interactive to release Conan Exiles digitally and through retail stores in Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Get the latest trailer, Conan Exiles Your Journey Through Conans World, here. Embed directly from YouTube Conan Exiles is one of our most international releases ever and that can only be achieved with strong, local partners, says Funcom CEO Rui Casais. We are both honored and excited to be working with experienced publishers of this caliber. Both Spike Chunsoft and H2 Interactive have a long history of successfully bringing games to market in their territories. H2 Interactive will be releasing the PlayStation 4 version both for digital download and in retail throughout Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. For Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand there will also be a retail release of the PC version. In Korea, the company will be releasing both the PC version and the PlayStation 4 version both digitally and in retail. The release is set to May 8 th in all these territories. In Japan, Spike Chunsoft will release the PlayStation 4 version both for digital download and in retail stores across Japan during the summer of 2018. A concrete date will be communicated later. Funcom is already working closely with a partner in China, managing the local marketing and community efforts there for the digital version of Conan Exiles. After 14 months of Early Access, Conan Exiles is about to launch complete with new content, features, and its first ever release on the PlayStation 4 platform. More than doubling in size since start of Early Access, the world players will get to explore and survive in come May 8th spans from burning deserts to the frozen highlands and include never-before-seen locations such as the swamp. Launch also brings with it a wealth of new features, including The Purge, where players must defend their homes and their cities from monsters and other enemy NPCs. Want to know exactly whats coming to Conan Exiles at launch on May 8th? Check out the full overview here Conan Exiles is an open-world survival game set in the brutal lands of Conan the Barbarian. Here players must survive in a savage world, build their kingdom, and dominate their enemies in brutal combat and epic warfare. Conan Exiles can be experienced in both local single-player and in persistent online multiplayer. For more information about Conan Exiles, please visit www.conanexiles.com Four very different events put on by Long Beach's Justin Rudd and the Community Action Team are open for registration. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) It was only in 2000 that we started having diplomatic ties with North Korea. Prof. Lucio Pitlo III, consultant for the UP Korea Research Center and lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University, believes that the Philippines' 'minor' relationship with North Korea or the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) may be because our values are more aligned with that of South Korea or the U.S., our allies during the Korean War. We have that long history of working with the U.S. on security issues and we share the values of democracy and liberalism, and I think this is one reason why it is quite difficult for us to fully engage the North, says Pitlo. Pitlo adds that, like most countries, we have yet to allow North Korea to have an embassy in Manila, because North Korean diplomats are known to carry out illegal activities. Some North Korean diplomats were apprehended for trafficking wildlife, ivory, gold, counterfeiting money. I haven't heard about drugs, he says. The DPRK has no embassy in the Philippines, but they do have a non-resident ambassador to the Philippines, Mun Song Mo, who is based in Thailand. The Philippines also has a non-resident ambassador to North Korea, Ambassador Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, who resides in China and is also our ambassador to China. Imminent danger Though the Philippines and North Korea do not have embassy bases on each others lands, our country has a trade relationship with the North; although, it is not as extensive as our ties with the South. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Philippines is North Koreas fifth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to $28.8 million. The Philippines is also among the top import origins of North Korea, together with China, India, Russia, and Thailand. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippines main exports to North Korea in 2015 were computers, bananas, integrated circuits, and womens undergarments. However, on Sept. 8, Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano announced that the Philippines is suspending trade with North Korea to comply with the United Nations Security Council resolution, following the sixth and largest missile test of the DPRK on Sunday, Sept. 4. Filipinos in North Korea Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) acting spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar says that as of September 2017, there are already 65,000 Filipinos who live in South Korea. While it is known that the South is home to a considerable amount of Filipino migrant workers, Palumbarit says that an accurate number of Filipinos living in the North may be hard to decipher. In 2006, there were about four Filipinos in Pyongyang working for a tobacco company, and in 2012, based on my personal communication with Ambassador Hernandez, [the Philippine ambassador to South Korea], he mentioned that there were about seven Filipinos in North Korea working for the United Nations related agencies, Palumbarit says. But based on the information from Bolivar, there are currently six Filipinos working in the DPRK: one is working for the UN World Food Program, two working for an international NGO, and three working for a Singaporean multinational company. Our embassy in Beijing closely monitors and communicates with all six Filipinos in North Korea, just to make sure they are in good health and their living conditions are appropriate, he says. Because of the repeated missile tests of the North, Palumbarit says that Filipinos in the Korean Peninsula may already be accustomed to it. Pitlo also agrees that that the people living in Korea may have already accepted North Koreas threats with resignation. What could they do? The only way to reverse that would be war, he says. Do you think North Korea will give up their nuclear arm? No. In the 1990s, there was a huge famine that killed thousands, if not millions, of people. But did they divert resources away from military and into feeding people? No. North Korean refugees With North Korea continuously allocating resources to military and nuclear operations instead of providing for their people, it is unavoidable for some North Koreans to opt to flee and take refuge in another land. In a 2015 study by Christopher J. Dawe entitled The Philippines as an International Transit Site for North Korean Refugees, he argues that the Philippines has a pivotal role in aiding the transit of North Korean refugees from China to South Korea. Dawe states that the Philippines is a country that has never been reluctant to assist refugees, one reason being that the Philippines is also a signatory of the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a treaty that ensures the socio-economic rights of refugees. Pitlo also says that the Philippines does assist refugees, but more as a transit point rather than the final destination, akin to the aid extended to refugees who fled Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Further evidence of the Philippines being a waypoint is Dawes research stating that there was an official correspondence from the American embassy in Manila indicating that the Philippines has adopted a policy of low-key assistance in helping North Korean refugees reach South Korea. However, this correspondence was written in 2005, and Dawe says that it is impossible to say whether the Philippines continues to assist North Korean refugees until now as all the governments involved are silent on the topic. Bolivar says that the DFA does not have information regarding refugees, but they do have information on the number of North Korean tourists who have gone to the Philippines, although their information stops at 2012. We believe these are private individuals in the Philippines on a holiday. That's the information we got from DOT. It's very minimal as you can imagine, 10 tourists or 12 tourists in a year, that's almost negligible, he says. Nevertheless, Dawe concludes in his research that even if North Koreans are no longer flown to Manila on the way to Seoul, many have survived, thanks, in large part to the Philippines. These information are only some of the documented accounts that have been made available to the public. Pitlo says that we can never know for certain the extent of our present ties with North Korea, and Palumbarit agrees: North Korea is a very reclusive country. [Its] very isolated, very mysterious. Perhaps this might change with the North and South Korean's vow to end the Korean War. *** Note: Portions of this article originally appeared in How does North Koreas missile test affect the Philippines? Manila (CNN Philippines Life) North Korea has always been on my bucket list. So when we found out that the biggest celebration in their country, Kim Il-Sungs 105th birthday which is probably the equivalent of Christmas there in terms of scale fell during Holy Week in 2017, we felt that it was the perfect time to go. We stayed for five days and caught the big military parade on Saturday. That was the time when they were parading their nukes last year. The process is quite easy, contrary to what a lot of people think. You cant travel there independently or backpacker-style. Everybody has to go through an accredited travel agency. We ended up with Young Pioneer Tours. They had me with the line for those who hate group tours. They specialize in North Korea and other worldwide destinations your mother would rather you stay away from (Thats actually on their website). Theyre the ones who fix everything, from flights (through Beijing), to accommodations, tours, visa application, etc. Once you go through them, youre pretty much done with all the planning. Upon arrival, I was quite nervous with customs because Ive heard several stories about how they go through all your stuff, phones, and cameras. They didnt have much time to inspect though, perhaps because there were a lot of tourists. They only questioned my Apple Watch and Fitbit as they are very strict when it comes to GPS. Good thing both didnt have batteries during that time so I just politely told them that I turned them off and they would not be working for the duration of my stay. Theyre also strict with travel guide books and several literature. Bringing the Bible is a big no no, and of course, any material that would ridicule or oppose the nation. So dont even think of bringing The Interview. The guidelines during our stay were pretty simple, and a lot of them were common sense really. The number one rule is: Dont do something ridiculous and avoid insulting their beliefs or ideology. You cant wander around alone as well, you need to be with a local guide at all times. Taking pictures is fine; the guide will tell you when its prohibited to take photos, which is usually any ongoing construction, the military, or anything that would put the country in a bad light. There is no phone signal or any internet connection. You probably could ask the tour guide to get internet access, but thats propbably only for an emergency. So we had five days of no contact to the outside world, which stressed out a lot of people back home, especially after seeing the news on the nuclear bombs being paraded in Pyongyang. There are a few hotels for tourists, but it seems like almost everybody, if not all, stay in Yanggakdo Hotel, a huge hotel that looks and feels like its stuck in the 70s. Its pretty cool actually, like youre in a time capsule. The whole North Korea experience feels like youre in a different time. And that feeling starts once you check into your hotel. Theres a huge new hotel that towers the North Korean skyline, the Ryugong Hotel. It looks like a triangular spaceship ready to fly. Construction started in 1987 and to this date, its still not open. As for taking photos (I used a Fuji camera), I think we were lucky also that we came in during their biggest celebration, so everybody was just happy. Snapping photos here and there was fine, and everybody smiled. They paraded their military, which they were really proud of, and they were more than happy to be photographed. I dont think you can do that on any other day. The Monument to Party Founding. The three symbols are hammer, brush, and sickle, to symbolize the workers, intellectuals, and farmers. Photo by POMA MALANTIC One of the many murals in North Korea. Photo by POMA MALANTIC Tourist buses parked near the Monument to Party Founding. Photo by POMA MALANTIC North Koreans hanging out near the river. Photo by POMA MALANTIC A mural of Kim Jong-il at the Pyongyang metro station. Photo by POMA MALANTIC Inside the North Korean Metro. Photo by POMA MALANTIC They allow only the best part of the country to be photographed. Actually, even the itinerary itself is probably designed for tourists to see just these photographable areas. Once youre on the bus, you get to pass local housing. When you travel to the border, you get to see the countryside as well. Theyd most likely tell you not to take photographs while on the bus, but some tourists would still do. It was a special time when we went so it was, all in all, celebratory. But as we all know, theyre culturally very different. Its nothing like anything else in the world. They respect and worship their leaders so much that I got the sense that theyre actually willing to risk their lives and die for their leader. They treat their three great leaders as their fathers, to whom they offer flowers every morning. And during weddings, the first thing they do is visit Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-ils monuments to pay respect. We experienced a lot of memorable things during our stay, like almost running for cover after hearing a loud boom while we were walking around the sights, only to find out it was just fireworks. In another instance, the local tour guide, suddenly panicky, ran and rushed so we all followed not knowing why or where we were going, only to find out that we just almost missed the parade and she just wanted us to have a good spot. The Mansudae Fountain Park which is dedicated to the memory of Kim Il-sung. Photo by POMA MALANTIC Female officers during the military parade in 2017 in commemoration of Kim Il-sungs 105th birthday. Photo by POMA MALANTIC The Arch of Reunification, which looks like two women in traditional Korean garb, symbolizing the two Koreas. Photo by POMA MALANTIC One of the weddings taking place during Kim Il Sungs 105th birthday. Behind them is the Mansu Hill Grand Monument featuring the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Photo by POMA MALANTIC Soldiers waving to the spectators during the military parade. Photo by POMA MALANTIC The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang. It was built to commemorate the Korean resistance to Japan from 1925 to 1945. Photo by POMA MALANTIC The pastel-toned buildings of Pyongyang form an unexpected symmetry. Photo by POMA MALANTIC But the most memorable one was probably during our last day in Pyongyang. We got to the airport for our 8 a.m. flight back to Beijing, and finally told ourselves that we survived five days in North Korea. Then, as we were checking in, the airport officials and immigration officers just decided to leave. They left their posts and walked out of the airport without even saying anything to us. We really didnt know how long we were supposed to wait there as even the local guides were puzzled with what was happening. After about eight hours being stuck there, the guides finally started asking for email addresses of family or friends so they can send them a note that were okay in the airport (and I was thankful they did this because I told my friends that Id contact them right away once I reached Beijing, and they all knew that I was supposed to be in Beijing at 10 a.m.). Cut to 8 p.m. and we were finally allowed to leave the country. Up to this day, nobody knows the reason why we were all held up for that long in the airport. I guess it was a great way to end a once in a lifetime trip. Popular German tradition : Where you can dance into May in Bonn and the region BONN Tanz in den Mai, or dancing into May is an age old tradition revived every year at this time. Numerous parties and dance events are a big attraction as people welcome in the month of May. Here are some places you can go to dance the night away. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Dance into May is one of many traditions associated with the first day of May. Some of the customs are so old that it is often difficult to find out the exact origin. All of Northern Europe celebrates the start of spring at this time of year. Not only the ancient Teutons practiced this tradition but the ancient Romans as well. Back then, they lit May bonfires on Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht (Witches Night) to chase away the evil spirits. When the fire died down young couples jumped over it together. Dancing into May is still preserved today as a folk festival but without any superstitions involved. In Bonn and the region, there are many places and events offering you a chance to dance and party into the month of May. Zeughaus der Beueler Stadtsoldaten The St. Paulus womens committee is holding their seventh Dance into May, featuring DJ Wolle (Norbert Aretz). The event is being held at the Zeughaus der Beueler Stadtsoldaten, which roughly translates to: Hall of the Beuel City Soldier Corps and implies that there are ties to carnival. It is located on Rheinaustrae under the Kennedy Bridge. Tickets in advance cost 9.90 euros, and 12 euros at the door. Must be 21 or older to be admitted. Das Sofa This club is located at Maximillian Str. 8, and the party gets going at 10pm. Ladies get in free if they come before 11pm, after that they pay 6 euros. Music will be a wide variety from the 80s, 90s and 2000s, along with party classics and chart hits. Manu Pop is responsible for the music. Hotel Konigshof From 8pm, there will be dancing into May at the Ameron Hotel Konigshof (Adenauerallee 9). DJs and various live acts will be in all the event rooms at the hotel as well as on the Rhine terrace for the After-Job-Party. Tickets can be purchased here. Tanzhaus Bonn At the Tanzhaus Bonn (Dance House Bonn), the dancing into May will begin at 8:30 pm (located at Gartenstr. 102). With live music, you can dance everything from the disco fox to salsa. Tickets cost 18.90 euros in advance and 28.90 euros at the door. Basecamp Bonn Its the first time that Basecamp (located at In der Raste 1) will offer a Tanz in den Mai event. They will offer two dance floors with music from the 90s and party classics, presented by Holi Colors Festival Bonn. The music duo Stereoact will also perform. Tickets are 15 euros online. Or they can be bought at Basecamp. On the Godesburg The Witches dance on the Godesburg (Auf dem Godesberg 5) begins at 9pm. The party is an U-30 party which means its for guests 30 years and older. Musically speaking, there will be everything from house music to chart hits and German folk music. Tickets are 12 euros at the door and cannot be purchased in advance. Kasalla in the Rhine-Sieg Hall For the third time, the popular Cologne band Kasalla will play in the Rhine-Sieg Hall for Tanz in den Mai. The concert begins at 8pm, at midnight DJ Ronaldo takes over. Entry begins at 7pm and tickets cost 27.50 euros. They can be purchased here. Meckenheim dances into May Some carnival clubs are organizing a dance into May for the second year. It will be held at the Dorfplatz (village square). It begins at 6pm, with party-goers listening to music from DJ Mutze. Entrance is free. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Wearing a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses with a leather fanny pack slung across his shoulder, David Guison introduces a new segment for his video blog, called 500-Peso Ukay-Ukay Challenge. He talks in front of a camera with the four-storey ukay in Anonas as the backdrop, and shares how when he was in college, he would go to an ukay-ukay every week and hunt for one-of-a-kind pieces. As soon as he promoted his video on Twitter, some users started calling him out for gentrifying ukay-ukay, for being burgis, for not acknowledging that shopping in an ukay-ukay is more than a challenge, especially since [proletariats] treat it as a lifestyle. Other users also came to his defense, saying that it is a non-issue when he certainly is not the only person of privilege who shops in ukay (for example, photographer Shaira Luna has talked about her love for ukay countless times) or that hes not influential enough to actually gentrify ukay-ukays. If anything, the issue brought to light an often understudied culture of shopping in an ukay-ukay. We see them in almost every corner in the Philippines: in wet markets, in dilapidated buildings, in side streets, and in plazas, among many others. And yet we seldom question where these are coming from, and how they continue to thrive. For those who are in a position to choose not to shop in an ukay but do so, as well as for those who have the time, money, and energy to ruminate about these non-issues, there could be merit in attempting to understand what the ukay-ukays place is in our culture, history, and economy. How did it get to the Philippines In a study by Rina Locsin, where she zoomed into the culture of ukay-ukay in Baguio, she states that it is difficult to determine the exact date of when the ukay-ukay started in the country. But there have been notes from anthropologists like Lynne Milgram saying that access to secondhand clothing already grew after World War II in Southeast Asia. Locsin says that this period after the second world war coincides with the time the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) gave billions of dollars worth of relief to Asia, which was around 1943 and 1949. Reports state that ukay businesses generate 1.2 million daily. What once started as a charitable act has indeed become a multimillion-peso trade. The market for secondhand goods grew vigorously across the world. During the Great Depression, Mormons built their chains of thrift shops to create jobs that could help the poor. Stores like Goodwill Industries in the U.S. and Salvation Army in the U.K., both distributed by Methodist churches, have begun to be a viable place for buying cheap clothes. In the Philippines, non-government organizations (NGOs) in the 80s started selling tax-free clothing as a means to fundraise. Bambang in Manila have also become a used clothing district and Locsin says that thrift shops in the area became profitable businesses because a young generation looked into the ukay culture as a source of vintage clothing. According to Luisito Abueg, who studied the economics of secondhand retail trade in the country, ukay items have largely been purchased in warehouses in Hong Kong that store Salvation Armys clothes. These are then shipped to the Philippines, which are sold at less than half of the prices of the already cheap Salvation Army pieces. Reports state that ukay businesses generate 1.2 million daily. What once started as a charitable act has indeed become a multimillion-peso trade. Goods supposedly for the poor The ukay trade, however, is not without its own issues of legality. In the 90s, an NGO received an unusually large volume of garments as donations that were supposedly for the poor. However, in an investigation by Newsbreak, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) found it suspicious for this particular NGO to be receiving two container vans of clothes monthly. All beggars in the country would have been clothed already like fashion models at that, DWSDs Elma Pille said to Newsbreak. The DSWD apparently discovered that the NGO was only a face for a smuggler of secondhand clothes, which were then sold in Baguio. Then-Vice President and Social Welfare Secretary Gloria Arroyo, who has experience in dealing with the textile and garments sector during her time as trade undersecretary, then issued a department order to prohibit the import of used clothing. She feared that since these NGOs are licensed by the DSWD, the department would be dragged into cases once they engaged in illegal activities, Pille told Newsbreak. The Federation of Philippine Textile Industries was also worried that the ukay-ukay trade would affect the businesses of legal garment manufacturers. When these stores become a disservice for whom secondhand clothes do not mean vintage or an ukay challenge, but simply cheap, then thats when the danger actually resides. For the poor, thrift shops have been the most practical place to shop for clothes because of its low prices. However, if these clothes were goods that were intended to be given to them anyway, theyve only become another victim of an underground ukay trade that also rips off millions from the government. Ukay-ukay stores being gentrified? There have also been a surge of online shops that sell vintage clothes, style the pieces to make the pieces more attractive to middle-class taste, and sell them in a much higher price. Some thrift shops have even already marketed themselves as a seller of class A secondhand clothing. Is this gentrification? Strictly speaking, gentrification is a term used by urban planners to refer to poor neighborhoods that have been renovated to cater to a more affluent market. If the term is employed to the context of ukay-ukay culture, then it possibly is. However, the practice of having video blogs about ukay like that of Guison is more a mainstreaming of the ukay-ukay culture, rather than gentrification. Also part of this mainstreaming are fashion and lifestyle magazines and websites such as Preview, Cosmopolitan, and Inquirer, which have featured the ukay-ukay culture on their platforms from a list of ukay shopping tips to ukay-ukay commandments every thrifty fashion girl must know. If we do see a change in landscape, meaning ukay-ukay stores having refined racks, closets, and displays and its surrounding areas having new parks, new security systems, or even new coffee shops, only then can it be safe to say that the area is becoming gentrified. Poblacion in Makati is a perfect example of gentrification, and yet does this stop people from going there? This will only become truly problematic when a substantial amount of ukay-ukay stores across the Philippines do focus on selling class A items when there are people whose only option is to buy 50-peso (or less) clothes. When ukay-ukay stores become a disservice for whom secondhand clothes simply mean cheap and not vintage or an ukay challenge, then thats where the danger actually resides. NFC Mobile Marketing Customers to Benefit from Upgraded UI/UX and Enhanced Digital Experience Builder OSLO, Norway, April 27, 2018 - Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") (OSE: THIN; OTCQX: TFECY), a global leader in NFC (near field communication) mobile marketing solutions, today announced the release of its newly designed CNECT(TM) Cloud Platform 2.0. The upgrade features expanded analytics capabilities and an enhanced digital experience builder, giving marketers and agencies the ability to easily and effectively create and measure innovative experiences delivered through the tap of a smartphone. The experiences are triggered when consumers interact with NFC-enabled digital touchpoints integrated with products or packaging using their Android or iOS devices. Using the new platform, brands can easily digitize products, create and deliver unique mobile experiences, and view real-time, interactive analytics that provide meaningful and actionable insights. Key improvements related to CNECT Cloud Platform 2.0 include: a cleaner, more intuitive user interface (UI) enhanced tag-management capabilities to simplify tag management at scale streamlined templates to simplify creation of dynamic NFC-triggered consumer experiences based on time, location, and multi-stage interaction improved control over analytics and visualizations that provide insights into both product-level and user-level interaction across product batches and experiences "Thinfilm is committed to bringing the benefits of digital consumer marketing to the physical world by enabling the creation of NFC-based experiences dynamically and at scale," said Christian Delay, EVP Software for Thinfilm. "Because mobile marketing is all about understanding context and achieving results, we combined a fresh user interface with a platform integration strategy to connect decision makers to more actionable data in an intuitive environment." The CNECT Cloud Platform initially launched in February 2017 as an integral component of Thinfilm's end-to-end NFC mobile marketing solutions. In March, Thinfilm announced the CNECT platform's integration capabilities with Adobe Analytics Cloud to further empower brand marketers focused on NFC mobile marketing. To date, nearly 500 companies have registered on the CNECT platform. About Thin Film Electronics ASA Thinfilm is a leading global provider of NFC mobile marketing solutions. The Company's end-to-end solutions feature hardware, label/packaging integration services, and comprehensive cloud-based management, reporting and analytics. Collectively, these components deliver a powerful 1-to-1 digital marketing platform through which brands of all sizes can connect directly with consumers, all with the simple tap of a smartphone. The resulting disintermediation of search engines, online marketplaces, and social platforms empowers brands to control messaging, enhance consumer dialogue, build loyalty, increase engagement, and drive sales. Thin Film Electronics ASA is a publicly listed company in Norway with global headquarters in Oslo, Norway; US headquarters in San Jose, California; and offices in Linkoping, Sweden; San Francisco; London; Hamburg; Singapore; and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.thinfilmNFC.com. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to 5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act). For more information on Thinfilm please contact: Bill Cummings SVP Corporate Communications Thin Film Electronics ASA +1 408-503-7312 bill.cummings@thinfilmNFC.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Australian nun Patricia Fox and her lawyer on Thursday said they were denied the opportunity to plead their case before she was ordered to leave the country. Fox's lawyer Jobert Pahilga in a press briefing said they were still in the process of exchanging documents to answer the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) charges, when news of the visa's cancellation surfaced. Fox was accused of engaging in partisan political activities, which the BI prohibits for non-citizens according to the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. She was allegedly seen in a rally organized by Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Gabriela party-list, in the Coca-Cola distribution center in Davao City on April 9. Fox maintained her stance of never participating in any anti-government rally. She added that she has never showed any criticism against the government. Fox explained that she was merely showing support for the workers during their rally, in their fight against contractualization as part of her mission. "Sinabi ko sa kanila ang puso ko'y sainyo (I told them my heart was with them). The teaching of the church ay ang mahirap ay may karapatan (the poor has the right) to unionize, to a just wage and a right to a secured tenure," she said. Pahilga refuted Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque's statement on April 17 that a preliminary investigation took place before the order for Fox to leave the country was issued. He explained that no inquest took place because she was not caught inflagrante or in the middle of committing any fault. She was arrested from her mission house in Quezon City on April 16 and released the next day. READ: BI detains Australian nun for 'attending protests' Pahilga also said the BI gave them ten days upon receipt of the department's supplemental reports on April 24 to file a counteraffidavit, as an answer to the charges against Fox. "We were expecting na wala pang mangyayari until May 4 pero nagulat kami na magising sa April 25 eh, lumabas na yung balita na mayroong cancellation ng kanyang visa," Pahilga said. "That to us is a violation of the right of Sister Fox to due process of law," [Translation:( We were expecting that nothing would happen until May 4 but we were surprised to wake up on April 25 to news of her visa being cancelled.] Moreover, Pahilga believes Fox caught the ire of Duterte and the military for joining a fact-finding mission in Mindanao which was held to verify reports of human rights abuses. "Nagalit ang military kasi sa ilalabas namin na international fact finding mission report, detailed ang human rights violations sa Mindanao. Si Sister, siya ang napag-initan kasi nakita na foreigner siya, ba't siya sumasali sa ganyan?" the lawyer said. [Translation: The military got mad because we will release the fact finding mission report that details the human rights abuses in Mindanao. They got at angry at sister because since she was a foreigner, why was she participating in it?] Pahilga added that he is willing to raise Fox's case to the Supreme Court given the problematic circumstances of the order's issuance and the premise of the immigration law. "Siguro hanggang Supreme Court pa ilalaban namin ang kaso ni sister kasi pati yung Memorandum ni (Justice Secretary) Guevarra ng 2015 nagsasabi na bawal sumali sa partisan political activity yung mga alien or foreigner dito sa Pilipinas ay maaring ito iquestion kasi wala ito sa Commonwealth Act 613 doon sa immigration law natin," the lawyer argued. He also questioned the term "partisan politics" since the law did not clearly define it. "Wala silang definition. Ano ba 'yon (partisan politics)? Bakit yung mga foreigner na nagrarally nagsasalita ng pro-Duterte eh 'di ba partisan political activity yun? 'Bat 'di rin sila nadeport? Dapat natin iklaro yun," Pahilga stated. [Translation: They don't have a definition. What is it (partisan politics)? How about the foreigner who was rallying and saying pro-Duterte?, isn't that policital activity? Why weren't they reported? We need to clarify that] Despite the order, Fox still hopes to get her missionary visa back and to be given the chance to explain her missionary work in the country to the BI. "Sana mayroong akong [pagkakataon] na magpaliwanang kung ano talaga ang missionary work," she said. The marine environment is critical to Grenadas economy and closely linked to the islands income generating tourism sector. Grenadas tri-island ocean state is not just a hub of maritime activity, but also home to unique marine biodiversity Susana Mendoza knew she was walking into a tough job well before she ever assumed office as the comptroller of Illinois in December 2016. She attended a conference of state treasurers, auditors and comptrollers as a candidate, and, as soon as she told other attendees she came from Illinois, she says, they would say, Oh boy, you havehands full!Indeed, being Illinois chief check-signer is one of the toughest jobs in any state government these days. The state currently has $8.1 billion worth of bills waiting to be paid. Thats a problem when the state ends a business day, as it did one day recently, with just $290 million in cash. Its up to the comptroller to decide who gets paid and when, whether thats bondholders or nursing home operators or vendors who supply food to state prisons.If the financial pressures werent enough, the states ongoing fiscal problems have transformed the comptrollers office from a sleepy hideout for good government advocates into a major political battlefield.Mendoza, a Democrat who previously served as a state legislator and Chicago city clerk, often clashes with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Mendoza knocked off a Rauner appointee in a heated 2016 special election, and theyve been at it ever since. The hardest part of the job, she says, is to play the yin to the yang of the governor.The two officials disagree on basic principles of running government, ranging from the prospect of letting Illinois seek bankruptcy-like protections for mounting pension debts (he favors it; she doesnt) to the day-to-day financial reporting requirements for state agencies. This week, they fought over who was more at fault for the state accruing $1.14 billion in late fees for past-due bills since 2015.But the rivalry has also become very personal. Rauner has called Mendoza a puppet of Illinois long-serving House speaker, Michael Madigan. In November, the comptroller took a dig at the fabulously rich governors penchant for sporting cheap clothing when she suggested Rauner was all Carhartt and no heart.The two have never had a face-to-face meeting to discuss the states finances, Mendoza says.People ask, 'How are you possibly navigating through that?' Mendoza says of the financial officials in other states. I say, 'You do what you have to do.' Its all I know: Right now as comptroller is a bad time.And things may not get much better for a while. Illinois lawmakers ended an unprecedented two-year budget standoff last summer, when the Democratic majorities and a handful of Republican legislators overrode Rauners veto of a budget that included an income tax hike. But that budget is set to expire at the end of June, and its unclear whether the governor will negotiate a budget with the same Democrats he is blasting on the campaign trail for tax hikes and corruption in Springfield. Any hiccup in the budget process could trigger a bond downgrade by Wall Street rating agencies, which could have far-reaching consequences because two of the three major firms rate Illinois bonds just a notch above junk status.Gabe Petek, the Illinois credit analyst for S&P, the bond rating firm, credits Mendoza for using the soft power of her office to help the state navigate its financial troubles, especially during the budget standoff that finally ended last year. Mendoza raised the alarm about the state running out of money to pay court-ordered medical bills, but it was comforting, Petek says, that she consistently reiterated that the debt service would be funded. He also says her advocacy for the Debt Transparency Act helped state officials and the public better understand exactly how much Illinois owed in unpaid bills.But Eric Kim of Fitch Ratings takes a different view. Comptroller Mendozas efforts thus far, while commendable, do not materially affect our current assessment of Illinois credit rating, he says. The states operating performance remains weak and its financial resilience has been hampered by large unfunded retiree benefit liabilities and substantial budgetary liabilities.met with Mendoza recently in her office in the Thompson Center in Chicago to get a better sense of how Illinois budget battles looked from the front lines. Mendoza addressed the states financial difficulties, how politics has complicated the job of managing those finances, and how Illinois could eventually pull itself out of its financial problems.The following are edited highlights from that conversation.I think were in a class of our own, Mendoza says. Thats not just because of the feedback from her colleagues at the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers. Her day-to-day decisions involve a lot more than keeping the books.Its not so much the nuts and bolts of the money, but what it means when people arent getting paid, she says. It means businesses closing down. It means people getting laid off from their jobs, [and] the more businesses that close, the more people lose their jobs, the less tax money is entering into the state coffers. Its a really, really vicious cycle.And then theres the fact that, with the state owing so much for medical and basic human services, her actions can literally affect who lives and who dies. Even when I was running, I always thought, yes, I get to advocate for vulnerable populations or people who need our help. But I never really thought I would be making life-and-death decisions.With only a little amount of money to dole out every day, Mendoza says she prioritizes payments to certain groups, such as services for sick and vulnerable populations, children or adults with disabilities, and schools and colleges.But even then, there are tough calls. It really is like triage, she says. There are three categories of recipients, she says: those that will definitely do better once they receive the money the state owes them; those that might recover; and those that no matter how many resources you put into them, are beyond helping. Thats what we dont always want to talk about.Even when the states budget crisis reached its worst point last year, Mendoza repeated the message over and over again that the state would pay its bondholders, no matter what. She said that even as the state was being threatened with contempt of court for not paying Medicaid providers quickly enough.I think we instilled a lot of confidence in the markets when I said that, no matter what, we would not default on our debt service payments. No matter what. They could literally take that to the bank, she says.I understood that, even if I wanted to make, from a moral perspective, the payments to the most vulnerable groups, she says, if I were to default on debt service payments, Im going to hurt the very people were trying to help today, because well never have access any kind of capital to make other, more important payments down the road.At the same time, though, Illinois has the worst bond ratings of any state. After two ratings agencies dropped Illinois ratings to within one notch of junk bond status last year, Rauner said he wouldnt be surprised if theres more ratings downgrades, there should be, because the majority in the General Assembly wont get a balanced budget. He also said, Dont listen to some Wall Street firm. Thats not what matters. Listen to the people of Illinois.Mendoza thinks Rauner wanted to create chaos with another downgrade, pointing to his support for federal legislation allowing states to seek bankruptcy-like protections to reduce their pension debts (they are not legally able to now) and his dismissive attitude toward the possibility of Illinois bonds being rated as junk.I think the governor, absolutely, on purpose, created this fiscal crisis. I say that without equivocation. Yes, she says.On the very eve getting a budget passed, when we were teetering on the brink of going into junk bond status, here I am telling the markets, Dont worry, Im going to make the debt service payments no matter what. And then Gov. Rauner is saying, Dont listen to the markets! The people dont want a tax increase. Dont listen to Wall Street.I thought, oh my God, he is metaphorically giving them the finger, she says. This madman is running this state into the ground.Most states, including Illinois, dont have much experience with multibillion-dollar backlogs that stretch for nearly a decade, so they dont have formal ways of accounting for one when it happens. In Illinois, the comptrollers office tallies all the bills it has left to pay, but governors from both parties have tried to mask the size of the backlog by having state agencies that incurred the bills delay turning them over to the comptrollers office. That essentially created a backlog to the backlog.This became such a big problem that, in 2013, the legislature required the executive branch to inform the comptrollers office every October of how many bills were still left at the agencies. But Mendoza says that once-a-year requirement still left her with no way to assess agency budgets in real time.So she pushed a bill to require monthly reports from the agencies. The bill passed the legislature, but, Rauner vetoed it, calling it an attempt to have Mendozas office micromanage executive agencies. Thats a make-work bill, he later added. Were going to waste a lot of money generating reports that are monthly that are going to be almost immediately worthless. He suggested the better approach would be to upgrade the states computer systems, so that agencies could make that information available at any time.Mendoza pressed her case with lawmakers, and pitched it to editorial boards. Republicans in the House could have torpedoed it, but the House ultimately voted unanimously in favor of overriding Rauners veto, clearing the way for Mendozas bill to become law, which it did.Mendoza says the law will help lawmakers conduct better oversight of state agencies and draft more realistic budgets.Now, if the Department of Corrections is given a $2 billion budget, and six months into the fiscal year, theyre already at $1.8 billion, you can say, OK, clearly you guys are going to blow through your budget. Before, Id have no way to know that until theyve already blown through their budget, she explains. These are important red flags, so you can say, 'We need to pay more attention here.'As a legislator, Mendoza supported legislation calling for the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now in prison on public corruption charges.I know what its like to impeach a governor, she says. I never thought I would say, having lived through that experience, that we would have a worse governor than Rod Blagojevich. But we do.People can critique me for saying that all they want, but its the truth. At the very least, under Rod Blagojevich, as distasteful as that guy was, we passed major initiatives like All Kids [a state program to expand health insurance for children]. That was a huge, huge deal in Illinois. We had in-state tuition for undocumented students. We had breast and cervical screening for women. All these initiatives that saved peoples lives or made their lives better, she adds.Mendoza says Illinois can slowly work its way out of many financial problems. She says Illinois can increase revenue through a progressive income tax, and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana.But paying down Illinois' bill backlog -- or paying principle on the state's $130 billion of unfunded pension liabilities -- will take a long, long time. Even a fast scenario for paying off the bill backlog, she says, would probably be a four-year term.And she thinks theres no way for Illinois to avoid paying for its huge pension liabilities. Courts have consistently ruled that the Illinois constitution requires the state to do it.Whoever the next governor is will have to deal with it, because it just continues to get worse and worse and worse. Were going to have to realize that the time has come that we have to pay up. We have to pay those obligations. We have to honor those contracts, she says. Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would give everyone, regardless of age, easier access to the lifesaving, overdose-reversing drug naloxone.The bill to remove age restrictions, sponsored by Rep. Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, had received widespread bipartisan support from both political parties. This month, L.D. 1892 was passed unanimously by the Republican-controlled Senate and by 132-7 vote in the House of Representatives."Overdoses can strike anyone at any time, and in every opportunity we should be trying to save every life possible," Gideon said in a statement issued Wednesday. "We can no longer ignore the impact of this epidemic, disregard the underlying causes or the lack of access to needed treatment, and clearly, we can no longer delay access to lifesaving medicine."According to the state Attorney General's Office, a record 418 people died from overdoses in Maine in 2017, up 11 percent from the 376 reported in 2016.Opioids, including prescription and illicit drugs, were responsible for 354 of last year's deaths.The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram published a 10-part series called "Lost" last year that examined the impact of the opioid crisis in Maine. The series found that although other states have similar problems, it has been exacerbated in Maine by insufficient resources and a lack of consensus on how best to combat the problem.Under Gideon's bill, there would be no minimum age for purchasing naloxone, sold under the brand Narcan, without a prescription. The drug has proven effective at reversing overdose symptoms without adverse side effects.Gideon urged lawmakers to override LePage's veto.Both the House and Senate, which are expected to reconvene sometime next week, would need to muster two-thirds majorities to override."Every aspect of Maine's economy, community safety and family stability will continue to suffer if we do not make progress on this crisis," Gideon said.In his veto letter, dated April 25, LePage urged the Legislature to sustain his veto."Maine is fortunate to have many licensed pharmacists who will use their experience and professional judgment to determine when and to whom to dispense naloxone. They don't need the Legislature's permission to make professional decisions. Licensed pharmacists will do the right thing under the rules promulgated by their oversight body, the Pharmacy Board," LePage wrote.LePage goes on to claim that L.D. 1892 is an effort "to undermine the Maine Board of Pharmacy's efforts to adopt reasonable rules -- grounded in public safety -- for when and to whom licensed pharmacists may prescribe and dispense naloxone."The governor called the Legislature's position "extreme," noting that Gideon's bill would allow every resident of Maine, including children, to have access to naloxone."This bill reflects a lack of understanding about effective ways to reduce deaths resulting from opioid overdose. The Legislature must be under the mistaken impression that deaths from opioid overdose cannot be reduced unless naloxone is provided to anyone and everyone. That will not be the case," LePage said.LePage's veto drew a harsh reaction from Phil Bartlett, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, who noted in a media release that even Republican President Trump supports increasing access to naloxone."Drug overdoses know no bounds, and getting naloxone into the hands of more people would only have the result of saving more lives," Bartlett said. "But rather than work with the state Legislature to accomplish this, Governor LePage continues to demonstrate his singular ignorance surrounding this lifesaving medication, and it's going to cost Maine people their lives."This veto is yet another painful reminder that Governor LePage is the biggest obstacle to addressing Maine's opioid crisis." Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed three new gun regulations into law Tuesday, including a ban on so-called bump stocks.Introduced to the Maryland legislature in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas last year, the bill would prohibit even the possession of bump stocks, devices used to accelerate fire in semiautomatic weapons.Hogan also signed a bill creating Extreme Risk Protection Orders, which would allow family members to ask a judge to order the seizure of a gun from a person believed to be planning to hurt themselves or someone else. Sometimes referred to as red flag laws, these bills burst into the mainstream in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.A third bill Hogan signed would require defendants convicted of certain domestic violence offenses to provide proof that they do not possess a gun. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) The possibility of signing the proposed labor protection deal between the Philippines and Kuwait has become uncertain following a diplomatic row over the rescue of supposed distressed Filipino workers in the Gulf state, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson said Friday. "I do not know anymore what will happen to the MOU," Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told a news conference in Singapore, referring to the memorandum of understanding that seeks to protect Filipino workers in Kuwait from being absued by their employers. "Everything is up in the air now with recent developments-- with the Kuwaiti ambassador being recalled and the Philippine ambassador declared persona non grata," he added. Roque said Duterte will make an official statement on the country's stance on Kuwait upon his arrival in Davao City on Sunday after attending a summit of leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore. Roque and other cabinet officials accompanied Duterte to Singapore. "The President being a lawyer with 30 years of executive experience certainly had a very different reaction to the controversy," the spokesperson said. "It was a course of action that was not specifically recommended by anyone, he made up his mind It's a position that he personally crafted" Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello remains optimistic the labor deal will be signed. "As Labor Secretary I'm quite confident," Bello said during a media briefing at the Orchard Hotel in Singapore this Friday. "Dahil maganda naman ang ating diplomatic relations, I don't see any reason why we won't have a good trade or migrant worker relation." [Translation: Because our diplomatic relations are good, I don't see why we won't have a good trade or migrant worker relation.] Bello is with President Rodrigo Duterte in Singapore for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. The proposed labor deal will protect Filipino workers from abuse by their employers. Bello said he last had a conversation with Ambassador Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh of Kuwait Wednesday in Malacanang, which he described as very cordial. "The possibility of no signing was not mentioned," Bello said. "I gave him the impression that we are ready to sign." READ: PH to Kuwait: Explain recall of ambassador, arrest warrants vs. diplomatic personnel Paras met with Philippine Ambasador Renato Villa on April 14 in Kuwait to talk about the repatriation of Filipino workers. Both Bello and Paras claim that they haven't seen the controversial video. Bello is slated to visit Kuwait after Labor Day. Persona-non-grata Bello's statement comes on the heels of a controversial rescue operation for Filipino workers by Philippine Embassy personnel in Kuwait, a video of which has gone viral. The government has since apologized for the issue, but not before the Kuwait government declared the Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa persona-non-grata. READ: Kuwait declares PH ambassador persona non-grata, tells him to go home Apolinario Lozada, former Ambassador to Iraq and Palau, said the Philippines violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that one country can not interfere with the internal affairs of another. "The protocol is if our embassy has certain information about abuse by employers, they should give the information to the Foreign Ministry of Kuwait," said Lozada in an interview with CNN Philippines. "The Foreign Ministry of Kuwait will have to give instructions to the police to raid all of these private houses." This diplomatic row with Kuwait could cost the country a key ally in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Lozada said. Bello downplayed Lozada's comment. "If I base it on the action of Ambassador Althwaikh of Kuwait, I don't think the statement of former Ambassador Lozada is accurate," he said. Meanwhile, ACTS-OFW party-list Representative Aniceto Bertiz called on the government to retaliate against Kuwait by declaring Saleh persona-non-grata. "The Kuwait ambassador has been recalled by his government for consultation anyway. We might as well forbid him from coming back," Bertiz said in a statement. "Kuwait should not have expelled Villa, considering that the Department of Foreign Affairs had already apologized for the misunderstanding caused by the (Philippine) embassy's highly aggressive efforts to safeguard our workers there," he added. Beritz said will file a resolution at the House of Representatives to declare Saleh persona-non-grata. If approved by the House plenary, it will be forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration. CNN Philippines' Lois Calderon contributed to this story. When Travis County overhauled its system of providing legal representation for the poor back in 2015, criminal justice advocates, judges, attorneys and prosecutors had high hopes.An independent agency would oversee most indigent defense in the Austin area, with a staff of nearly a dozen and an annual budget of more than $1 million. With the help of nearly $2 million in state funding over the last three years, the agency would make sure private lawyers who agreed to represent low-income people were doing a good job for their clients and werent juggling too many cases at once.If it worked, they thought, Travis Countys solution could become a model for the whole state.So the architect of the new system was surprised to learn recently that despite all the reforms, one local attorney, Cheryl Hindera, was appointed to a whopping 349 felony and 434 misdemeanor cases last year. According to state guidelines, that should be the work of about four full-time lawyers.Thats too many cases, Mike Lynch, a retired Travis County judge who came up with the idea for the new local indigent defense system, said when a Texas Tribune reporter informed him of Hinderas caseload. I practiced law for 20 years, and I dont think I could handle that many cases, or that any lawyer should. I didnt know the numbers were that high.Because Travis County doesnt have a public defenders office except for juveniles and some of the most mentally ill defendants the county pays more than 200 private local attorneys like Hindera to represent adults who cant afford a lawyer. And the numbers show that she is among a small group of Austin attorneys who are being appointed to far more cases than experts believe any one lawyer could handle. In other public finance news this week: The States That Could Be Most Hurt Most by China Tariffs Kansas -- At It Again For decades, the feds have experimented with ways to incentivize investment in the nations most distressed communities. Be it empowerment zones in the 1990s or the New Markets Tax Credit in 2000, each effort has tried, but generally failed to combat uneven patterns of economic development across the country.Now, some say a new program created as part of the federal tax overhaul in December could succeed where the others have faltered.So-called opportunity zones allow investors to defer their tax liability by investing equity into different assets within a distressed community. It has the potential, says Urban Institute expert Brett Theodos, to be the largest community economic development program in the nation. (Currently, that status belongs to the $3.3 billion Community Development Block Grant program.)To qualify as an opportunity zone, a census tract must meet certain requirements set forth by the Treasury Department to ensure investments flow to areas with high unemployment and low median incomes. Last week, governors submitted the areas in their state eligible for investment.Once designated, these areas will be eligible for investment via "opportunity funds." It works like this: Private investors who earn money selling stock would normally have to pay a capital gains tax on those earnings. But if they instead take those earnings and invest them in opportunity funds, they can defer taxes on those gains until 2026. Whats more, the longer they keep their investment in the fund, the bigger discount they get when they pay those taxes: up to 15 percent if they keep the investment through the end of 2026.There's another perk. If investors keep their money in an opportunity fund for at least 10 years, anymoney they make from their fund investment won't be taxed. The idea is to encourage investors to invest for the long haul.The program is the brainchild of the Economic Innovation Group, which first pushed the free-market idea three years ago in Washington, D.C. To EIG President John Lettieri, opportunity zones address some of the criticisms about prior tax credit programs in that they encourage long-term investment and put the financial risk on the investor. Unlike other programs, there is no guarantee here, he says. If you have losses, there is no benefit. So, youre not putting full the risk on the taxpayer, but youre keeping it on investors.But, counters Theodos, the concept isnt totally without risk to the taxpayer and -- like prior versions --doesnt guarantee the investment will ultimately help communities. The government is still going to spend a bunch of money," he says, and will have no guarantee that the investment will benefit distressed communities. "I think it remains to be seen how good a deal this is.Indeed, it's too soon to know whether the program will be effective or not. But observers are encouraged by early developments, specifically the census tracts selected by governors.About 57 percent of the countrys neighborhoods meet the criteria to be designated an opportunity zone. Many worried that governors would select only those areas considered safe bets for investors. For example, notesneighborhoods in the Boston suburbs of Cambridge, Chelsea and Quincy have been designated as opportunity zones, even as investments in real estate have already been surging in recent years.But an analysis by the Brookings Institution shows that most states designated deeply impoverished areas for the new subsidy. Of particular note, California and Georgia allocated most of their picks to their most distressed neighborhoods.Iowa could be the biggest loser if trade wars with China come to fruition, Fitch Ratings is warning. The Hawkeye State is one of the U.S.s largest exporters of soybeans, corn and pork to China -- a $6.8 billion business in 2016 alone. Washington state is also exposed to potential higher tariffs from China because it ships more than half of its aircraft parts globally. In 2016, the $46.4 billion in these exports equaled nearly 10 percent of Washington's economic output.This month, China published a list of 450 U.S. products (worth $50 billion in annual exports) that would be tariffed. The announcement was in response to President Trumps threat to slap high taxes on China imports. Fitch notes the likelihood of the tariffs actually being enacted is uncertain, but adds that they could lower business activity and sales and income taxes, which could ultimately hurt state and regional tax revenue.One year after Kansas lawmakers repealed Gov. Sam Brownbacks 2012 tax cuts, some are now pushing for their own brand of tax relief. Legislation being considered by the House would -- among other things -- raise the standard deduction taxpayers take from their declared income on state tax returns. The measure, which is expected to cost the state $141 million next year, was passed earlier this month by the Senate.The proposal comes as the states once-tumultuous budget has stabilized and officials are projecting a surplus of up to $610 million. Some are worried that a tax cut now would set the state back from that progress.Even if the House approves the legislation, the Kansas Supreme Court will have the final say: It has to sign off on any plan that might affect its mandate on the legislature to increase education funding. That mandate will ramp up funding so that within five years, schools receive $500 million more each year than they do currently. A selection of recent media releases, and news stories is available in the database below and can be searched for by year and month. Friday 27 April 2018 His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, will present 10 North Queensland residents with honours and awards under the Australian honours system at a special ceremony in Townsville on Monday 30 April 2018. Full citations for all recipients are included on the following pages. Presenting awards and honours under the Australian honours system the highest form of recognition in Australia is one of the Governors key ceremonial duties. For further information about the Australian honours system please visit www.pmc.gov.au/government/its-honour This will be the first time the Australian Corrections Medal has been presented. What: Townsville Investiture Ceremony Where: Ballroom 2, The Ville Resort-Casino, Townsville When: 9.00am (media should arrive by 8.45am), Monday 30 April 2018 Interviews and photographs (by mutual agreement with recipient) with recipients can take place after the presentation ceremony and official photograph. The formal elements of an Investiture Ceremony normally take 30 minutes. As this is a formal occasion, please ensure all media representatives are suitably attired (no thongs or sandals, collared shirts). For further information please contact Louise Ahern, Communication and Media Coordinator on 0436 678 215 At this Investiture Ceremony, the Governor will invest the following honours and awards: Order of Australia: Member of the Order of Australia (AM), Medal of the Order of Australia General Division (OAM), Medal of the Order of Australia Military Division (OAM (Mil)) Meritorious Awards: Public Service Medal (PSM), Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM), Emergency Service Medal (ESM), Australian Corrections Medal (ACM) INVESTITURE CEREMONY MONDAY, 30 APRIL 2018 at 9.00AM The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below. On Thursday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC greeted members of the Nerang Probus Club visiting Government House for morning tea and a guided tour. Following, at 1 William St, the Governor presided at a meeting of the Executive Council. In the afternoon, at the Commonwealth Courts Building, Brisbane, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey attended the Federal Court of Australia Ceremonial Sitting for the Retirement of the Honourable Justice John Dowsett AM. Description GIS 27 April, 2018: The meeting at Senior Officials level of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) Ministerial Conference on Maritime Security in the Western Indian Ocean opened yesterday at the Intercontinental Resort in Balaclava. The Ministerial Conference is co-hosted by the Republic of Mauritius, current chair of the IOC, and the General Secretariat of the IOC, with the support of the European Union (EU) through the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Maritime Security Programme. In her opening address the Secretary for Foreign Affairs (SFA), Ambassador Mrs Usha C. Dwarka Canabady, said that maritime security is fully an international concern thus the need to sensitise people about the contribution that they can make in addressing this issue. The idea, she said, is to look after maritime security based on a programme which is being developed and beyond that to list out priority actions that need to be taken in the region and then enlist the assistance of stakeholders to provide support on these actions. The SFA highlighted the importance of working together when a problem arises in the Indian Ocean and to be practical in addressing issues. Even if countries have great institutions and legislations it so happens that sometimes they are unable to take practical steps to address issues, she pointed out. According to Ambassador Dwarka Canabady, one of the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference would be to identify the focal points in countries that can come together very quickly at short notice and effectively implement those legislations as well international cooperation and coordination. We have to know how to focus our actions in such a coherent manner that we do not duplicate efforts but that we actually live out practical issues, she said. For his part the Secretary General of the IOC, Mr Hamada Madi, termed maritime security as an essential element of global security of the indiaoceanie adding that the forthcoming ministerial conference will have to give a new boost to regional and international action for maritime security. He also gave an overview of key elements which make of the Western Indian Ocean a strategic zone. These include: perspectives offered by deposits of hydrocarbon in the Mozambique channel; regional biodiversity; abundant fishing resources; as well as the Western Indian Ocean region being a zone crossed by nearly half of the maritime traffic related to international merchant shipping. In his speech the Charge dAffaires, EU Delegation, Mr Michal Golabek, observed that there is a mounting debate at international level on the maritime domain with special focus on risks and threats involved. We all agree that our seas and oceans are facing increasing pressures and we have to address those pressures and to do so we must manage more effectively the human activities affecting our seas and oceans and we need a coherent and comprehensive approach involving all sectors, he said. According to him the approach should be based on fair and transparent rules for all allowing us to secure our oceans and protect resources in a sustainable manner. Thus it is imperative to observe that both the EU and AU converge in their respective approaches on integrated maritime security, he pointed out. Also present the UNODC Regional Representative for Eastern Africa, Dr Amado Philip de Andres, who spoke about the organisations mandate and work in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime as well as how the UN is supporting Member States to succeed in attaining the SDGs. Senior Officials meeting Participants are representatives of the Ministries of the Interior/Defence/Home Affairs, Fisheries, Justice, and national agencies in charge of the fight against money laundering, maritime insecurity, and drug trafficking. The two-day meeting is being held to prepare the Ministerial Conference which is scheduled on 28-29 April 2018 and which will adopt a Ministerial Declaration with an Action plan. This document focuses on all the issues of Maritime Security namely cooperation mechanisms, the fight against illegal fishing and maritime trafficking (drugs, human, money laundering), terrorist risk, environmental crimes and marine pollution. Four thematic working groups have been set up on: Regional Mechanisms for Maritime Safety and Security; Combating Transnational Traffic; Counter Terrorism; and, Marine Environmental Threats. Maritime Security Ministerial Conference The focus will be on all maritime threats and crimes and the collective solutions needed to secure the vast ocean areas for the economic and social development of the region. The objectives are threefold: Identify priority actions in response to maritime transnational risks and crimes; Identify regional, tangible and value-added collaborative and comprehensive approaches to each of the threats to maritime safety and security in the ESA-IO region; and, Mobilise partners and institutions and generate specific commitments for concrete actions to be implemented according to an agreed roadmap. One hundred delegates from 30 States as well as Regional and International organisations will be present. Conference participants comprise IOC Member States (Comoros, France [Reunion], Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles); EU; States bordering Eastern and Southern Africa as well as other States bordering the Indian Ocean and those with interests in the region and partners; COMESA, SADC, IGAD, EAC, African Union; International Maritime Organisation; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; United Nations Department of Political Affairs; International Organization for Migration; FAO; EUNAVFOR Atlanta; NATO's Ocean Shield; and stakeholders of the Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia currently chaired by IOC. Description GIS 27 April, 2018: Cooperatives - A driver for Sustainable Development Goals was the focus of a one-day workshop for University students which was held yesterday at the University of Technology of Mauritius, La Tour Koenig. The aim was to raise awareness on the importance of placing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the core of cooperative societies so as to address the issue of poverty. Some 120 students currently in the first and second year of their Degree Courses attended the workshop organised jointly by the National Co-operative College (NCC) and the University of Technology of Mauritius. It was conducted by the statistician, Ms C. Rughoobur, who gave an overview on the relevance of SDGs in the field of entrepreneurship. She outlined the role of young entrepreneurs as future drivers of economic development and emphasised the need to inculcate SDGs in their mindset. According to the International Labour Organisation, cooperatives are sustainable enterprises that are owned and run by membership, and are built on key values such as cooperation, empowerment, good governance and solidarity. They are recognised as potential contributors of the 2030 Agenda for the implementation of SDGs. National Co-operative College The NCC, operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, is an institution offering award courses in capacity building for cooperative entrepreneurship. The college has been set up to provide appropriate training to potential entrepreneurs so as to boost productivity and help them operate in an efficient manner. It aims at creating an impetus for entrepreneurial attitude and culture of innovation among local entrepreneurs. (TNS) CLEVELAND, Ohio Cuyahoga County's long-delayed Enterprise Resource Planning system, which will tie together all county government computers and IT systems, is at a "tipping point" that could lead to more delays and cost overruns, a consultant told County Council Thursday.The $25 million project desperately needs a manager to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the system's master plan, consultant Zig Berzins said. And the county needs to dedicate more employees to help implement the system in their departments."I think we are getting close to the tipping point in regard to project and staffing needs," he said.Lines of management and control over the project continue to be 'fuzzy,' leading to miscommunication and incomplete or misleading information on the status and pace of the phases of the project, his report to council said."There should be a project management office with weekly meetings," he said.Council recently hired Berzins' company, ZCo Consulting, for "independent verification and validation services" in connection with the ERP because members felt they weren't getting adequate information from county administrators overseeing the project.The county has been working to establish the ERP system for years, but the implementation has stumbled in recent months because no one is leading the project.Chief Information Technology Officer Scot Rourke was placed on leave in February after he was named in a subpoena from public-corruption investigations.Cindy Nappi, who was hired almost two years ago to oversee implementation of the ERP was transferred in March to a job directing the county's human resource information systems.The county is close to signing a contract with a project director who will focus entirely on leading and guiding the project through to its conclusion, Berzin's report said.After Rourke was placed on leave, Budish asked three members of a committee that had been overseeing the project, Chief of Staff Earl Leiken, Fiscal Officer Dennis Kennedy and Chief Economic Growth and Opportunity Officer Matt Carroll, to move the ERP project forward.Three small departments, sanitary dispatch, GIS and the print shop, were the first to go online and began using the system on March 19.But the fiscal, budget and procurement departments, which were supposed to go online June 7, are now delayed until Sept. 3, Kennedy told council members in March . And others may be delayed in the future.Berzins has been attending ERP meetings and evaluating the progress. He gave his first report to council on Thursday.He told council that any more delays will lead to an increase in the contract with Infor Public Sector, Inc., which deals with software licenses, maintenance and support for ERP software.See his report below or click here if on a mobile device.Here are some highlights:--While the initial rollouts have been successful, they involve small departments. Seven rollouts are scheduled for September and seven for December. "Many of the rollouts are virtually on top of each other, adding complexity to scheduling and placing increased pressure on people learning the system while having to continue to work," the report said.--Infor has not provided training in several areas, including budget preparation and expense management, because of a discrepancy in what it believed it was expected to do. Discussions are continuing and Infor estimates "the extent of a change order that will be significant (near 7 digits)."--It is difficult to determine what phases of the project are complete for departments because there is no information on tasks and schedules. All county tasks should be included and updated weekly.--Teams working on ERP projects are not working with each other.--The total amount spent thus far is below what should have been spent, which indicates the pace is lagging. Spending has to be more clearly shown.--The IT department is "woefully short of resources" to complete the responsibilities of supporting the ERP system over the coming months.--Rather than trying to find full-time IT employees, which has been difficult, the county should consider contracting with firms that can provide help.--ERP is a business project, not a technology project. The project leader should not report to IT but to the business side of the county.2018 Advance Ohio Media, (Cleveland, Ohio) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The recording studio at the Phase 4 Learning Center in East Liberty, Pa., used to be a bathroom.Now it's home to a computer with audio editing software, a MIDI keyboard and a sound-proofed recording booth.Down the hall, there's a makerspace equipped with everything from a 3-D printer to a sewing kit and a dozen computers equipped with multimedia editing software and coding tools. There's a video production studio around the corner.The newly renovated space is the first Best Buy Teen Tech Center in Pennsylvania and one of 16 in the country connecting young people in underserved communities with access to tech education. It hosted a grand opening celebration Wednesday."They have the talent, they have the passion -- all they need is the access to the resources," said Andrea Wood, Best Buy director of community relations.The new partnership with Best Buy builds on Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Phase 4 Learning Center's existing relationship with the Clubhouse Network, an international program focused on providing after-school mentorship and tech training opportunities to students in underserved communities. In addition to the new Best Buy Teen Tech Center on Centre Avenue in East Liberty, Phase 4 offers a range of programs, from alternative education and diploma retrieval to other after-school programs, at locations in Pleasant Hills and East Liberty.Students will also be encouraged to use the space and technology to research and to find solutions to issues they care about, said Aaron McKinnon, who manages Phase 4 technology programs."Kids started saying, 'we're having these real issues, how do we address them?'" McKinnon said.Food deserts, education, homelessness and gender equality are just some of the issues students have expressed an interest in exploring, he said.Moving forward, students will use the space to prepare multimedia projects--photo essays, music videos, songs, animations--to present their research and personal experiences. In addition to technical resources, the students will also have access to adult and peer mentors to guide their work, McKinnon said.The space is open to all students middle school-age and older Monday through Friday after school. 2018 The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) - The Harris County Flood Control District was not consulted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the Corps' decision to release water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs and into thousands of homes downstream during Hurricane Harvey, according to a recently filed affidavit.The flood control district's chief engineer -- Steve Fitzgerald -- wrote in the affidavit filed this month that "The Corps did not ask for HCFCD's input or approval on whether or not water should be released from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs."The document emerged as part of a lawsuit that was filed against the flood control district and the city by flooded residents downstream of the dams, blaming the local entities for the "taking" of their private property via the releases.That particular lawsuit was dismissed as both the city and the flood control district asserted that the Army Corps had sole control of the dams and releases. The Corps faces other lawsuits from homeowners upstream and downstream of the dams.Amid the various revelations that have come out since the storm, including the various shortcomings of Houston's flood defenses, Fitzgerald's admission could seem relatively minor.But it underscores the disjunct between various levels of government responsible for protecting residents from potentially deadly floodwaters, and raises further questions about the coordination between federal and local officials during the storm and beyond.The Corps runs the dams, but the flood control district is responsible for flooding along the bayous that flow into Addicks and Barker. The waterways include Bear Creek, Mayde Creek, Horsepen Creek, Langham Creek and Mason Creek.Water released from the dams flows into the flood control district-managed channel of Buffalo Bayou.Meanwhile, local officials approve development inside the reservoirs, which contributes to how much water they are forced to hold back during severe storms.The document also provides one of the best overviews of how public officials coordinated and reacted during Harvey's unprecedented deluge. Read a snippet here:The Corps did not immediately respond to questions seeking comment.2018 the Houston ChronicleVisit the Houston Chronicle at www.chron.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) The Cumberland County 911 Emergency Communications District (ECD) turned down a request from the city of Crossville this week to come back and be a partner and contribute toward funding the Central Communications Dispatch Center.The ECD was part of funding the center in an interlocal agreement between the city, county and E-911 district. Each funded a third of the dispatch center budget.The ECD board of directors decided to withdraw from the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement (ICA) for emergency communications in Cumberland County at the end of June 2016 due to financial reasons.The Central Communications Committee (CCC) is the board that regulates the E-911 Communications Center dispatchers and dispatch director.Currently, the city and Cumberland County governments split the cost of running the center. The dispatchers are considered county employees and the communications director is hired by the CCC."We're looking at revamping the agreement and wondered if the (ECD) 911 would consider coming back and being a partner in the CCC with any support," City Attorney William Ridley said. "It would relieve some of the burden on the city and county."Everett Bolin, E-911 board chairman, said, "I would love to but I don't feel comfortable doing it at this point. Maybe with another year (in the black) under our belt."Bolin continued in saying the ECD was facing several upcoming costly projects with equipment and a possible expansion at the center.He said the district has been playing catch up on funding because they had spent a couple of years in the red in their budget from reduced funding.Mike Mahn, ECD legal counsel, explained there are only certain things the ECD can fund now by law and operations is not one of those. The ECD is responsible for funding the technology of the center and the building itself.When the ECD withdrew from the agreement in 2016 they said they would "continue to make the 911 Center (Emergency Communications Center) available to the CCC indefinitely and maintain the essential equipment as permitted under applicable state regulations, consistent with our financial capabilities.""At this time I'm not comfortable committing anything. But that's my opinion and it's up to the board," Bolin said.Ridley said one of the issues was there was 50/50 funding of the board and department, but representation on the CCC board was not adequate for the city because the county had five seats and the city had three. He said the E-911 board still has a seat on the CCC board but is no longer contributing any funding.Ridley and County Attorney Randal Boston have both said the CCC agreement is outdated and needs to be revised.Dr. Mark Fox, ECD board member, asked about call volume in the county versus the city.E-911 Dispatch Director Rodney Shoap reported the county had 11,894 calls dispatched and the city had 8,609 for January through March of this year.Shoap reported there were 24 full-time and three part-time E-911 dispatcher positions.The ECD has four full-time employees including the center's director and E-911 addressing employees.Bolin said the ECD is operating on an annual revenue budget of $927,000 with employee costs, including benefits, listed at $320,300. Total operating expenses come to a total of $883,437.Their proposed operating budget includes revenue for fiscal year 2018-'19 listed at $888,000 with operating expenses listed at $885,400 leaving a net position of $3,000.The board agreed with Bolin and no action was taken on the city's request.E-911 Director Eric Ritzman reported new Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVLs) are in and are being installed as time allows on all emergency units in the county including EMS, sheriff's office and county fire department.Ritzman also reported a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system was installed at the center and the transition went smoothly.2018 the Crossville Chronicle (Crossville, Tenn.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra stood by his predecessor's decision to reinvestigate alleged drug lords operating in the Visayas. Guevarra on Friday dismissed the appeal of Cebu-based businessman Peter Lim to reverse the order of then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, which would review the dismissal of drug charges against him, self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa, and several other suspects. Guevarra denied Lim's appeal "for lack of merit." "Movant has failed to show any violation of his due process rights, much less his right to a speedy disposition of his case," Guevarra said in his resolution. These were the arguments raised by Lim's counsel in criticizing Aguirre's order to reopen the probe under a new set of prosecutors. The first panel earlier dropped the charges against the suspects for lack of evidence, a move that put the department in hot water. Aguirre has since resigned from his post amid rumors he would be sacked. President Rodrigo Duterte himself questioned why state prosecutors dismissed the case against Espinosa when Espinosa himself admitted he was involved in the Eastern Visayas drug trade. Meanwhile, Lim was earlier named by Duterte as part of a Chinese triad leading illegal drug operations in the Visayas. It was later revealed that Lim was Duterte's compadre (co-sponsor) in a wedding. Malacanang said it would be "unfair" to say it was because of this connection that Lim was earlier cleared by prosecutors. Lim met with Duterte in Davao City in July 2016. He denied involvement in the drug trade, saying the "Peter Lim" also known as "Jaguar" in the drug trade could be one of his namesakes. The key witness of the complainant, the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, however identified "Jaguar" as the man in eyeglasses who met with Duterte. READ: Suspected drug lords Peter Lim, Kerwin Espinosa: What we know so far Kimi Raikkonen has denied he is obviously the 'number 2' driver at Ferrari. Although the Finn has performed strongly in 2018, many believe Ferrari has clearly favoured Sebastian Vettel in race strategy. "I don't comment on that. As far as I know, I have 100pc the same opportunities," Raikkonen told Finland's Ilta Sanomat newspaper in Baku. "I'm here to do my best, and I want to fight as hard as I can. I would not be here if I felt that was not possible," he added. Raikkonen also played down reports he could be set to lose his seat altogether, amid rumours Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo are in talks. "It's the same every year for as long as I can remember -- maybe for 15 years," he said. "Every year I am out, and if you just keep repeating it, sooner or later you are right. But I don't want to talk about things here." (GMM) Speculation Daniel Ricciardo might move to Ferrari or Mercedes for 2019 is hotting up. In Baku, a paddock rumour is swirling around that the Australian has already signed a 'pre-agreement' that locks him into exclusive Ferrari talks. Ricciardo denies it. "I've only had talks with Red Bull," he said. "I'm aware of other reports, but there hasn't been anything else. They're not true, at least up until now certainly not." Indeed, Ricciardo revealed that he is interested in teaming up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year. "I've got a good challenge now obviously with Max and I had Seb, so I don't want to say it's just Lewis I'm looking for, but that would be a good challenge," he said. However, Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport said Ferrari is actually Ricciardo's target, as he pushes for $30 million a year and equality next to Sebastian Vettel. Vettel said in Baku: "I can't help him put the signature on a piece of paper. "I have good memories of being with Daniel although it was a difficult year for me. For the rest I have to say he's driving well." Mercedes, though, sounds keen to pair Ricciardo with Hamilton. "Daniel is one of the best drivers and he proved it in China once again," boss Toto Wolff is quoted by Marca. (GMM) A new joint venture between Magna and Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co., Ltd. (BHAP) has been formed and has already netted new door module business for a German OEM in China. The announcement was made at the Beijing Auto Show by executives from both companies. Magna-BHAP door module The Magna and BHAP joint venture will supply door modules to automakers in China. To accommodate the new business and meet the demands of the Chinese automotive industry, the joint venture partners will establish a new facility in Beijing. The joint venture and production facility would allow both Magna and BHAP to further expand their presence in China, specifically Beijing, while attracting new customers and strengthening relationships with current ones. Production within the facility is scheduled to begin in 2021 and is expected to generate more than 100 new jobs. Registered and founded in Beijing in January 2008, Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co., Ltd. (BHAP) is an international auto parts enterprise group. In 2017, BHAP had operating revenue of RMB 51.2 billion (USD 8.1 billion), ranking 68th among the worlds top 100 auto parts suppliers selected by Automotive News. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) President Rodrigo Duterte is visiting Benham Rise soon to assert the Philippines' sovereign rights over the vast undersea region. "Next week... I'm going to Benham Rise and I will make a statement there that nobody owns this place (except the Philippines)" Duterte said in a speech Thursday night, a video of which was released Friday. He reiterated he "will go to war" if any other country claims to own Benham Rise. Benham Rise is an undersea plateau 135 miles off the coast of Aurora province that spans 13 million hectares. The United Nations' Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has recognized it as part of the country's extended continental shelf - giving the country sovereign rights over the area. Duterte named it Philippine Rise after Chinese survey ships were spotted there in March 2017. The region lies on the other side of the Philippine achipelago from the South China Sea, where the Philippines has territorial disputes with China. Four other governments have territorial claims in the South China Sea. Philippine officials said they will also name five undersea features in Benham Rise, refusing to recognize names given to them by China in 2016 and 2017 but which made headlines only early this year. The government was criticized for its decision to allow China to conduct research in waters off the northeastern part of the Philippines which includes Benham Rise, in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute. China later clarified the research was done "in waters under the Philippines' jurisdiction, but not in the Benham Rise." Benham Rise, named after U.S. geologist Andrew Benham who first discovered it in 1933, is believed to be rich in marine resources, natural gas, oil, and minerals. CNN Philippines' Ella Hermonio contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce his "personally crafted" action on the country's diplomatic row with Kuwait upon his arrival in Davao City on Sunday. "I confirm that he will announce the Philippine position personally during his arrival statement in Davao. He wants to annnouce in Philippine soil," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque at the sidelines of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore. Roque admitted that it is unclear at this point if the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the protection of Filipino workers in the Gulf State would be signed. "I do not know anymore what will happen to the MOU. I can only surmise," he said while shaking his head. The two governments were ironing out the labor deal in the wake of a deployment ban to Kuwait. It has been in place since February 15 after the tragic death of household helper Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer. Her death prompted Duterte to order the repatriation of distressed OFWs from Kuwait. "Everything is up in the air now with recent developments with the ...Kuwaiti ambassador being recalled and the Philippine ambassador being declared persona non grata," Roque said, recalling the controversies stemming from the ambassador's rescue mission of distressed Filipino workers in the Gulf state. Roque said the President is firm with the action even without the clarification from the Kuwait Government on why it did not make good on its promise to move forward from the issue. "It was a course of action that was not recommended by anyone. He made up his mind," he said, adding that the President has enough experience and wisdom to decide on the matter. "It's a position he personally crafted." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) President Rodrigo Duterte has discussed the international arbitral ruling on the Philippines' dispute with China in the South China Sea with Vietnam's head of state, who was all praises for the way Duterte handled the' maritime row, a Palace official said. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque revealed some details about Duterte's bilateral meeting in Singapore with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Friday. Vietnam also has claims in the South China Sea, along with Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei. Roque said it was Phuc who brought up the July 12, 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines, but that Duterte's response did not disappoint. "He made it very clear to a head of state that he recognizes the gains of the arbitral award and that he will refer to the arbitral award in due course," Roque told reporters in Singapore, where Duterte and the Vietnamese leader met on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian leader. This means the President is not "abandoning, ignoring, or setting aside" the landmark ruling, Roque said. The case was filed in 2013 by Duterte's predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague's ruling invalidated China's vast territorial claims to the South China Sea on historical grounds and the Philippines overwhelmingly won its case. China has refused to acknowledge the ruling and continues to claim nearly the entire South China Sea. Duterte has repeatedly said the country cannot afford to go to war against China, but has promised to bring up the arbitral ruling with China during his term. "Not now, but in due time," Roque reiterated Friday. 'Critics can shut up' Vietnam's leader praised the way Duterte handled the maritime row with China. "We will learn from his handling of China. The President handled China very well," Roque quoted a statement from Phuc. Critics have slammed Duterte's soft stance on China in the long-standing maritime row. Roque took a swipe at them, even mentioning Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio. PHOTOS: PRRD at the Bilateral Meeting with Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Phuc "I hope Justice Carpio and all the critics of President Duterte will now keep quiet because this is now a statement of the Philippine president made to another state that he is not in anyway abandoning the arbitration," Roque said. Carpio was part of the Philippine delegation to The Hague that argued for and won the country's case against China in July 2016. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) Foreign correspondents on Friday expressed alarm over restrictions imposed by the Philippine government on the media, including the House of Representatives' ban on journalists who "besmirch the reputation" of lawmakers. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) in a statement said it is "deeply alarmed by the government's strong actions that clearly violate Constitutional provisions on freedom of information." The group slammed the House's recently released rules for media coverage saying these "can be used to clamp down on the critical press." Under the new rules, the chamber's Press and Public Affairs Bureau can deny the accreditation or revoke the media ID of any journalist who "besmirches the reputation of the House of Representatives, its Officials or Members." Other grounds for expulsion include making false claims, violating policies of the House, abusing journalists' privileges and entitlements, gross misconduct and similar acts. The House said the rules had to be updated "to give more teeth to the House's efforts of ensuring a systematic and orderly media coverage that will be beneficial to both the House and the media, and ultimately to the citizenry." FOCAP also revealed some of its members were stopped from covering press conferences, including those of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano. They were eventually allowed access to Cayetano's press event but were barred from asking questions, the group's statement said. "These incidents are not isolated. We note the earlier restrictions on press movements during coverage of the war in the southern city of Marawi and those who reported on the closure of the island resort of Boracay," the association added. It called on President Rodrigo Duterte's government to "clarify and spell out clear guidelines" on media coverage. The Philippines ranked 133rd among 180 countries assessed for media freedom in a recent report by media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (or RSF for Reporters Sans Frontieres). This is six notches lower than the country's ranking in 2017. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) Authorities arrested two suspected members of groups that expressed allegiance to ISIS. "Ang intelligence build-up is ito ay identified as members of local threat group who pledged allegiance to ISIS kaya they were all subjected to our case build-up and surveillance operations," Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said Friday. Albayalde said Jimwell "Amir" Velasco Dizon and Eddieboy "Abdullah" Alejo Bermejo are members of the Rajah Sulayman Movement (RSM). He said this group may have links to ISIS. "They openly expressed allegiance to the ISIS kasi yung Balik Islam na 'yan 'yung RSM they openly expressed support and allegiance to the ISIS yung grupo ni Akmad Santos," he said. He said grenades, an improvised explosive device, unregistered hand guns and magazines, live ammunition, and a black flag were taken from the suspects who were arrested in Laguna on Thursday. The suspects will face illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges. Despite the arrest, Albayalde assures the public there is no cause for alarm. "This is part of our target hardening measures, part of our proactive measures to prevent terror attack particularty here in Metro Manila," the PNP Chief said. The chain with Scenic Views. Photo: Google Maps Two former servers have filed an EEOC complaint claiming that they were sexually harassed at a suburban Chicago location of Twin Peaks, the mountain lodgethemed Hooters rival that brags that it offers customers Scenic Views. Twin Peaks maintains that it strikes a wholesome, yet sexy, Girl Next Door Image, but the servers allege it was tantamount to work at a strip club. Their attorney, the exFox News commentator Tamara Holder who settled her own sexual-assault case last year against the news channel, didnt mince words in her press statement: Twin Peaks is engaging in disgusting, systemic abuse of young women across the country, it reads. Many of the young women are still in high school, others are trying to pay college tuition. She adds that these female servers signed up to work at a family-friendly restaurant, not a strip joint, and argues that the Twin Peaks business model baits young women into wearing one uniform, then after theyre hired, orders them to wear crop-tops, bikinis, and lingerie. Among the womens allegations: being forced to change in full view of kitchen staff, having to send management pictures of work outfits (lingerie and bikinis) from dressing rooms to ensure that the ensembles were revealing enough for work, and getting fat-shamed for eating during a shift. Bosses would reportedly line up female workers against a wall before the restaurant opened each day, and grade them on how taut and toned their bodies were. Higher grades reportedly meant more lucrative table assignments. The uniforms were scandalous enough for police to get involved. On one occasion Sweetheart Lingerie Week around Valentines Day officers entered the restaurant, and according to their police report, observed almost every employee dressed in lingerie that exposed their buttocks. The women ultimately got cited for indecent exposure. Managers allegedly insisted that theyd handle it; the police trouble was for simply wearing work uniforms, after all. But the women claim that only later did they learn that a Twin Peaks attorney had entered guilty pleas for everyone, leaving them all with inexpugnable convictions for indecent exposure. Twin Peaks calls the charges outrageous and baseless, adding that the company does not tolerate any type of harassment or discrimination and has strict policies and training practices in place to make sure every guest and employee is treated equally and with great respect. But Holder told the Sun-Times yesterday that the Chicago locations problems permeate the entire chain, and says shes in the process of drafting a class-action lawsuit. She claims that her phone is ringing off the hook right now. Shaw, probably right around the time he started his GoFundMe. Photo: James Shaw Jr. It has been five days since the horrific Waffle House shooting in Nashvilles suburb of Antioch. Thats barely long enough for the location to have reopened, and hardly a blip on the time itll take the community to heal. But its ample time for Americans to dig into their pockets and donate a significant amount of money to the incidents victims and heroes. James Shaw Jr. the customer being celebrated as the Waffle House hero (and, now, Tennessees hero) who saved lives by wrestling the suspect to the ground topped his heroism during the actual shooting by setting up a GoFundMe just hours later that asked for money to give to the victims families. His initial goal: a somewhat ambitious $15,000. His current amount, raised after just four days: $172,822. Nearly 5,000 people have chipped in so far. Meanwhile, Yashar Ali, the journalist who saw Shaws crowdfunding effort and decided the world also owed this man something, has raised even more over on his separate GoFundMe page. A well-connected politics reporter with 261,000 Twitter followers, Ali has managed, as of this writing, to collect $182,311 in three days from more than 5,700 people. His original goal was to help start a college fund for Shaws 4-year-old daughter. But Id be just as happy, Ali writes, if James used some of this money to take his family on a nice vacation. The way GoFundMe pages work is, they remain live until their creators decide to take them down. Neither Shaw nor Ali has suggested plans to make their fund inactive anytime soon. That means if you want to contribute to either, or both, you still have time to do it. You can find James Shaws page for the victims families here. And Yashar Alis page for Shaw here. A now-closed, once-loved Brooklyn cooking store will be replaced by another much-loved Brooklyn cooking store. Williamsburgs Whisk will move into the Downtown Brooklyn space occupied by A Cooks Companion, which closed in February so the owners, they told Brooklyn Heights Patch, could spend more time with family. The new Whisk, co-owner Natasha Amott tells Grub, will open on May 1. A family-run store that will celebrate its ten-year anniversary this November, Whisk is a great resource whether youre looking for cocktail ingredients, cake stands, or cookbooks.This location in Brooklyn Heights is Whisks third. The store is still in the process of being built out but Ammot says that it will stay true to Whisks selections, which she adds dovetails nicely with what was sold at A Cooks Companion. It sounds like theyre trying to fill the void, and Ammot says theyll tailor offerings to what neighborhood customers ask for. When I first moved to New York, I lived not too far from Cooks and brought some of my kitchen essentials there, she wrote. Its great to move full circle. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) A human rights group warned against the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency's impending release of barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs. The Human Rights Watch on Friday said naming the 211 barangay officials on the government's "narco-list" or drug watchlist will put their lives at risk. "The Duterte administration will be putting hundreds of people in danger if it released the names of barangay (village) officials it accuses of involvement in the illegal drugs trade," HRW said in a statement. The international nongovernment organization said the release of the narco-list will deprive the suspects the right to due process. "This virtual hit list violates due process and is an affront to the rule of law," it said. It added the government should instead strengthen its evidence against the personalities, adding they should be charged in court instead of vilified in public. The PDEA on Wednesday said President Rodrigo Duterte gave the order to release the names on the narco-list. PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said the list will be released to the public on Friday. "The list came from all intelligence units. These 211 are validated, (it is) confirmed they are involved in illegal drugs," Aquino told CNN Philippines. Of this number, 89 are barangay chairmen while the rest are councilmen (kagawad), Aquino told CNN Philippines. He said authorities are building up cases against these drug-linked officials, making sure they have strong evidence against them. Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde welcomes the disclosure of the narco-list. "We support his decision. To provide our electorate a chance to choose and decide who to vote," he said. The Interior Department has said a task force will be created to investigate barangay officials linked to drugs. The impending release of the narco list comes in the wake of the election period. The campaign period for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections is on May 4 to May 12; elections are on May 14. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco blames the National Housing Authority (NHA) for a bridge mishap at a housing site. Climaco was inspecting projects under the Zamboanga City Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction (Z3R) in Brgy. Mariki when a portion of a wooden footbridge collapsed. The Mayor fell into the water with Negros Occidental Representative Albee Benitez, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat, and other local officials. In an interview on CNN Philippines Balitaan, Climaco said what happened to them was not the only mishap in the housing area. "A few minutes later, another bridge fell in that same site," she explained. Climaco said she does not want these to happen to recipients of the units. "We became ourselves, first-hand victims of the utilization of substandard materials and building projects," she said. In an earlier statement, said the incident shows the poor state of housing projects under the NHA's regional office. "The Z3R Housing Project was designed to give decent homes to those poor residents who were greatly victimized during the 2013 Zamboanga siege, and now they are again victims, this time, of NHA's ineptitude," she said. She added she has appealed to the House Committee of Housing and Urban Develoipment, which Benitez chairs, to investigate the NHA regional office. "Let those found at fault face justice," she said. Meanwhile, urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY) said the incident underscores the gravity of the housing situation in the country. "NHA officials seem to have gotten a taste of their own medicine as they experienced first-hand the perils in government housing sites," KADAMAY said in a statement. With the current era of rum gathering steam toward a golden age, an exciting by-product is the ready availability of full-throated, hogo-licious Jamaican rums. The intense, overripe banana and pineapple notes of Jamaican rum are bewitching and, truth be told, trigger a subconscious recognition of something primal. Names like Hampden Estate, Long Pond, and Worthy Park roll off the tongues of hardcore Jamaican enthusiasts, who collect dozens of special bottlings for their rum bunkers. Its worth noting that Appleton Estate has made polished, world class Jamaican rum for decades. However, their rums are too refined for the funk-obsessed crowd who worships at the altar of Smith & Cross and Rum Fire. High hogo Jamaican rum may not be for the everyday drinker, but for the rabid Jamaican connoisseur, Hampden Estate rums hold the same allure as the Laphroaig and Lagavulin peat-bombs have for the single malt Scotch dramsters. Replace the peat bogs and kiln floors of Scotland with dunder and muck pits of Jamaica and its clear that rum hyper-enthusiast can wonk-out just as much as the single malt geeks do. More on that in a moment. For those blessed with access to indie-bottled rums and the credit limit to purchase them, high-ester, cask-strength, limited edition releases like Italian indie-bottler Veliers HLCF (Hampden Estate) and Compagnie des Indes Jamaica New Yarmouth fly off the shelves as quickly as the annual Pappy van Winkle bourbon release. But even at lower price points, funk acolytes with their ears to the ground have plenty to be excited about think Mezan XO, Doctor Bird, and Stolen Overproof for righteous hogo at a reasonable price. All of this is to say that Jamaican enthusiasts have found, if not a cornucopia of funktastic offerings, at least a steady stream of Jamaican rum releases to keep the palate sated. Ultimately, there are only a handful of operating Jamaican distilleries, and their profiles become well-known and familiar in time. With the Jamaican itch finally being scratched, its only natural to wonder whats next. Where do we go from here? A Wonky Aside on Ester, Dunder, and Muck Esters, the chemical compounds that smell and taste of fruit, are the cornerstone of rum flavors. (Read more about them here.) During fermentation, esters creation can be supercharged by the addition of dunder and/or muck. While these words are frequently thrown about by Jamaican rum enthusiasts, the vast majority of them dont have a solid understanding of what they are. While dunder might be imagined as some sort of voodoo-enhanced mystery ingredient, its really just the thick liquid remaining in the still after distillation. Distillers know it as stillage, and the French term for it is vinasse. The high acid content of dunder supercharges the production of esters to levels not found in most rums. Going a step beyond dunder is muck the combination of dunder and other organic compounds like fruit, which is left to putrefy into an unholy, unimaginably foul smelling sludge. A large dollop of muck in the fermentation vat alongside the molasses boosts ester production into the stratosphere. (Important aside: Not all Jamaican distilleries use dunder and/or muck. At least two do: Hampden Estate and Long Pond. Appleton Estate and Worthy Park say they dont use dunder or muck.) While Jamaica is particularly known for its dunder- and muck-driven ester bombs, its never had a lock on dunder/vinasse usage. Its clear from this excerpt from Eugene Boullangers 1909 book Industries agricoles de fermentation, distillerie agricole et industrielle, alcools, eaux-de-vie de fruits, rhums. The translated text reads: In the rhumeries of Martinique molasses and water was mixed with vinasse in the following proportions: Molasses, 10 to 15 liters; water, 35 liters; vinasse, 70 to 50 liters. In Jamaica, the composition is as follows: molasses, 100 liters; vinasse, 400 liters; washing water, 250 liters; water, 250 liters. In Haiti, 12 liters of molasses are used for 55 liters of water and 33 liters of vinasse It is the same in Reunion Island, where we sometimes add a little vinasse, without exceeding the proportion of 30 to 35 percent. In short, we have evidence of dunder usage in Martinique, Reunion Island, and Haiti. So if its funky, high ester rums were after, lets start our search there! Vive la France! Although possessing a very different flavor profile than classic Jamaican rum, the sugar-cane juice rhums of Martinique and Guadeloupe also pack a hugely aromatic punch. In fact, Martiniques AOC regulations specify a minimum level of volatile compounds, i.e. flavor components, per liter of rhum. In essence, any bottle of AOC-labeled rhum agricole is guaranteed a minimum flavor level. (Wonky aside: Esters are only a subset of the volatile compounds measured for French rhums. Thus, you cant directly compare Jamaican rum ester counts with the volatile component measurements cited for agricole rhums. The measured ester level of rum will almost always be lower than the volatile component measurement.) While Jamaican rum is all about overripe fruit notes, rhum agricole is grassy, earthy, and savory. Nose a glass of unaged rhum agricole, and the cane stalk aroma practically whacks you across the forehead. Odds are, if youre obsessed with Jamaican funk, you probably already know about rhum agricole, but Im mentioning it here for completeness sake and for another reason: The discussion of rhum agricole leads us to a much more exotic style of rum made on Martinique Grand Arome. While sugar cane-based rums are the order of the day in the French West Indies, Martiniques Le Galion is the last remaining distillery working primarily with molasses. While they make a few decent budget-oriented rums, its their Grand Arome thats particularly interesting essentially the French version of funky Jamaican rum. Like their Jamaican counterparts, Le Galions Grand Arome gets its flavor from extended fermentation and the use of vinasse. Unlike pot-distilled high ester Jamaican rum, Le Galions Grand Arome is column distilled, albeit in a still specially designed for a more flavorful result. (This coeur-de-chauffe post has some great additional background on the Le Galion distillery.) Unfortunately, Le Galions Grand Arome is almost exclusively sold in bulk to blenders such as E&A Scheer, who use it in small quantities as top notes in various blends, as well as reselling it for use as concentrated flavor and aroma in tobacco, candy, and pastries. One place youll find Grand Arome is in Denizens Merchants Reserve, a blend of Jamaican rums and Grand Arome. The Denizen blend was crafted to replicate the rum flavors that Martin Cate believes were used in the revised Trader Vics Mai Tai recipe after the Wray & Nephew 17 year rum of the original 1944 recipe was completely consumed. Grand Arome, Part Deux If youre determined to taste a Grand Arome style rhum, your best bet is to go farther afield than the Caribbean all the way to the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Madagascar. On the relatively tiny Reunion Island (also part of France, as are Martinique and Guadeloupe), youll find a handful of distilleries, including Distillerie de Savanna. Being a French territory, agricole style cane juice rhums are the order of the day. While Savanna makes traditional rhum agricoles, what were after is Savannas Lontan and HERR lineups. The Lontan range rums have a long fermentation using dunder and are column distilled a classic Grand Arome. The HERR, on the other hand, cranks everything up to eleven, using both dunder and an extra slug of specifically chosen bacteria to send the ester levels off the charts. The HERR is also pot distilled, traditionally the domain of high-ester rums. While it wouldnt be fair to say Savannas rhums are widely available, they can be found on bespoke store shelves like La Maison du Whisky and Christian de Montaguere in Paris. At 40 percent ABV, unaged Lontan has a nice bouquet of fruit on the nose, with some similarities to the Jamaican overproofs like Wray & Nephew and Rum Fire. However, the dominant overripe banana notes found in many Jamaican rums is replaced by roasted pineapple and leather. Its simultaneously both very familiar ground for Jamaican enthusiasts, yet very different. The 57 percent ABV unaged version bursts out of the bottle and snaps your head back with a pineapple explosion. Youd smell less pineapple if you showered in pineapple juice. Truth be told, I might just prefer this rum over any other overproof white rum. Moving to the aged Savanna expressions, the Millesime 2007 Lontan is aged for eight years in ex-Cognac casks and bottled at 60.4 percent ABV. The nose is only a dull roar compared to the unaged Lontan, and the cask finishing rounds off the most extreme edges of the pineapple notes. Given lots of time in the glass, it smooths out a bit and the dried fruit flavors come forward. Its still an 800 pound gorilla of a rhum, however. As for the HERR, aged for ten years in ex-Cognac and bottled at 63.8 percent, it hits your taste buds and stomps them repeatedly until they beg for mercy. Having tasted Hampden Estate DOK (see below) on several occasions, the Savanna HERR has a similar entry, an almost chemical solvent character thats impossible to describe: Neither fish, nor fowl, nor anything else familiar. In time, a bit of mint strolls by in the background. A good while longer, as your taste buds and nasal passages finally stagger back to life, along comes a blast of wait for it Brachs strawberry flavored hard candy. Lance over at the Lone Caner describes it as strawberry bubble gum, but Im sticking with strawberry candy. Simply put, the Savanna HERR is proof that no matter how much you enjoy something, you can take it too far. This isnt to say theres anything wrong with the HERR. Rather, its exactly what it sets out to be: an exercise in extremes, an untamed monster. I cant call it a pleasant sipper to enjoy on the verandah after a long day. The takeaway from the Savanna rhums? Rest assured, the French island distilleries are more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the Jamaican hogo-bombs. Onward to Haiti Back in the Caribbean, Haitian Clairin is rapidly gaining mindshare with the r(h)um crowd, thanks in large part to Luca Gargano and Velier. Clairin is essentially rhum agricole made the way it was hundreds of years ago: in numerous small distilleries in rural villages using a bare minimum of technology. With wild yeast fermentation and very basic, old-school distilling equipment, Clairin is rhum agricoles raw, untamed cousin. And its delicious! Having attended Luca Garganos talk on Clairin at Tales of the Cocktail 2015, I was already familiar with the basics of clairin and owned a full set of the expressions available in the U.S. Then one day, La Maison & Veliers Kate Perry told me about a new clairin expression: Le Rocher. Unlike the other Velier bottled clairins, its cane syrup-based, so it wont have the same intense grassy notes as the rhum agricoles and the other clairins. Since its not yet available in the U.S. as I write this, I made sure to pick up a bottle in Paris. The back label of the Le Rocher (translated from French) says: Clairin Le Rocher is produced using cane syrup, produced with natural juice, and adding about 30 percent of vinasse from the previous distillations during fermentation: an archaeological example of the production method of the French colonies, influenced since 1785 by the technique developed by the British in Jamaica, the dunder-style. Further inquiries turn up that its made from three different cane varietals and is pot distilled a single time to bottling proofi.e., its not diluted for bottling. Basically, the Le Rocher is dunder-charged, pot-stilled rum, closer in production method to Jamaican style rum than cane-juice based rhum agricole. Color me excited! The Le Rocher noses very fruity, like a Jamaican, but without the overripe banana aspect. The second night I tried it, I smelled paprika most unusual! The taste is suitably intense, darting among fresh fruit, apple-cider vinegar tones, and a flash of leather before finishing with peppery notes. I think of it as the love-child of two revered rum-making cultures. Jamaica Reexamined Finally, lets return to Jamaica to ensure weve thoroughly scouted out all the funk sources. Of the Jamaican distilleries, Hampden Estate in the Trelawny parish has a special place in the hearts of enthusiasts, primarily because it specializes in high-ester marques. Rums like Veliers Diamond H and HLCF expressions, Barrell Rums Batch 001, and even the unaged Rum Fire have forever linked the Hampden name to high-ester flavor bombs. Hampdens DOK marque, with an ester level of 1600 g/hL AA, is the funkiest allowed by Jamaican law. Exceedingly rare in the wild, in its pure, unblended and unaged form, DOK is a challenge to consume beyond a few sips; I can vouch for this firsthand. While Hampden Estate and its muck pit gets the lions share of high ester attention, its Trelawny neighbor Long Pond also specializes in high-ester rums and uses a muck pit. Marque for marque, up to Jamaicas legal ester limits, Long Pond matches Hampden Estate. Where Hampden has HLCF (500-700 g/hL AA), Long Pond has STC^E (550-700 g/hL AA). And Hampdens DOK (1500-1600 g/hL AA) is matched by Long Ponds TECC (also 1500-1600 g/hl AA). While Hampdens marques receive the most attention Velier uses the marque as the expression name Long Ponds marques can also be found on store shelves. However, beyond a few indie-bottlings, youll mostly find Long Pond in blends like Plantations OFTD Overproof. However, Velier seems to be releasing some high-ester Long Pond marques as well later in 2018. The wildcard of Jamaican funk is New Yarmouth, Appleton Estates sister distillery, which is also owned by Campari/Wray & Nephew. Campari holds information about New Yarmouth very close, and only an exceedingly small number of non-employees have been allowed in. However, several reliable sources have indicated New Yarmouth is also capable of producing ultra high-ester rums. If youre among the lucky few whove tried the Compagnie des Indes Jamaica New Yarmouth, you know its true! True connoisseurs of Jamaican hogo go to extremes to acquire ever more exotic and rare funk-bombs. However, the primal aromatic sensations that draw you into Jamaican rums have other manifestations, as we learned above. There may be yet more example of high ester, funk-bombs yet to be discovered, and Ill be on the lookout. Its a testament to rums diversity and the dedication of artisan producers that these ancient production techniques still exist in a world ever dominated by the big players. The best way to ensure these gems live for future generations is to seek these rums out and buy them, thus ensuring the continued financial viability of this style of rum production. In short, get hunting! Two Departments Set to Go Live on States New Payroll System News Release from Transform Hawaii Gov, April 25th, 2018 This year, the State of Hawaiis four-decade-old mainframe payroll system will transition to a modern payroll software and processes utilizing PeopleSoft. Involving more than 70,000 payments each payroll cycle, the modernization project will provide employees with updated toolsets and training. According to the Department of Accounting and General Services, the new system will enable payroll and human resources staff to process information using up-to-date technology, resulting in less manual processing. Increased efficiency will provide more time for employees to work on other priority tasks such as analytical activities. When fully implemented, employee self-service capabilities will include: Setting up direct deposit distributions Managing federal and state tax withholding allowances Updating payroll mailing addresses and emergency contacts Viewing and printing pay statements and W-2 tax forms Payroll and human resources staff have been working closely with project staff the last few months to test the system and learn the new processes, said Chief Information Officer Todd Nacapuy, whose office is assisting DAGS with the modernization effort. The rollout of the system is being scheduled in three phases: April/May Department of Human Resources Development and the Department of Accounting and General Services and its attached agency July/August Remaining jurisdictions, departments, and agencies statewide except for Department of Education and the University of Hawaii system October/November Department of Education and the University of Hawaii system (Reuters) Deutsche Bank on Thursday announced cuts to its investment bank after posting a 79 percent drop in net profit in the first quarter. Deutsche Banks said it will scale back its bond and equities trading activities, including cuts to its business with hedge funds. The bulk of the cuts will focus on the United States and Asia. To read this article: The proposal was submitted earlier this week by a task force established under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The task force proposed that both domestic and foreign alcohol retailers be allowed to distance-sell beverages as long as their alcohol content does not exceed 5.5 per cent. Jaana Pelkonen and Petri Sarvamaa of the National Coalition have criticised a proposal to partly prohibit the distance sales of alcoholic beverages. Distance sales to Finland of alcoholic beverages containing more than 5.5 per cent alcohol by volume would still be prohibited, but it would be possible to distance-purchase such products, it stated. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is providing misleading information about the legislation governing the sales of alcoholic beverages, says Pelkonen, a second-term Member of Parliament from Helsinki. The Finnish legislation does not prohibit the distance sales of alcohol, nor has it ever done. The ministry thus cannot claim that the distance sales of beverages containing more than 5.5 per cent alcohol would still be prohibited. Such activity is perfectly legal, and shall be also in the future. Why is the ministry providing false information? she asked. Sarvamaa, a Member of the European Parliament, called attention to the same issue. There is no prohibition on distance sales in the current legislation, he said. They both also voiced their general bemusement with the proposal. Pelkonen described it as a short-sighted attempt to protect the financial interests of the state-owned alcohol retail monopoly, Alko. It is incomprehensible that one would deny Finns the benefits and freedoms offered by the EU, she said. Restricting or prohibiting distance sales would be of no significance for preventing alcohol-related harms and disturbances. Sarvamaa, in turn, described the proposal as a new low for the alcohol policy of Finland. He also predicted that implementing it would constitute a violation of the basic freedoms of the EU, namely the free movement of goods. I intend to do everything in my power in the EU to force the Finnish government to scrap the entire package if the proposal is enacted into a law, he added. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Markku Ulander Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi Paivi Rasanen, an ex-chairperson of the Christian Democrats, presented the legislative proposal to the Parliament on Tuesday in the absence of Annika Saarikko (Centre), the Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services. The Finnish government is set to revise the regulations on organ transplants to allow living donors to donate organs also to people who are not their immediate family members or loved ones. She pointed out that the legislative amendment would be beneficial especially for patients who are waiting for a kidney transplant in Finland. In light of the demand, too few organ transplants are performed in Finland, said Rasanen. There is a constant need for organs that are suitable for transplanting. People lose their lives all the time because they do not receive an organ transplant in time. Finnish laws currently prevent people from donating an organ, if the recipient is not a family member or does not live in the same address as the donor. The legislation defines spouses, children, parents and siblings as immediate family members, and unmarried partners and other cohabitants as loved ones. Rasanen viewed that such a narrow interpretation is peculiar in the modern-day world. This narrow interpretation rules out aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Its rather peculiar that [] sharing an address remains a determining factor for organ transplants in Finland. The Finnish organs and tissues act must be updated to correspond with the laws in the Nordics and Europe, she said. Roughly 200250 kidney transplants are performed annually in Finland. An estimated 450 people are currently waiting for a kidney transplant in the country, according to Rasanen. Finding a suitable kidney from a dead donor takes an average of one-and-a-half years, and many have to wait even longer. In roughly 90 per cent of the kidney transplants performed here, the transplant comes from a brain dead donor, whereas roughly 40 per cent of global transplants are made possible by a living donor, she highlighted. She also reminded that a kidney transplant is a more cost-effective treatment method than the alternative, dialysis treatment. The bill will be considered next by the Parliaments Social Affairs and Health Committee. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Roni Rekomaa Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi BUILDING 95 homes in Sonning Common would destroy the open countryside around the village, a planning inquiry heard. Tom Cosgrove QC said the proposed development was also in conflict with the villages neighbourhood plan, which passed a referendum in 2016. He was speaking on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council, which refused to grant Gallagher Estates planning permission for the scheme so the developer appealed. Planning inspector Kenneth Stone heard the appeal at Henley Rugby Club over four days last week. Mr Cosgrove said the neighbourhood plan had earmarked only part of the 6.65-hectare site off Kennylands Road for the development of 26 homes. He said: The appeal proposal would plainly be materially more harmful than the allocation development envisaged. It would... destroy the openness of the northern part of the field, so valued and the protection of which informed the making of the plan. The development would radically diminish the current tranquil and unspoilt rural character, which are key characteristics associated with the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also plain that the affection the community has for the village, as so eloquently expressed by residents who have attended the inquiry, is due in large part to the setting of it in the countryside in which it falls and the varying contrast between open field and woodlands. One of the expressed key aims of the neighbourhood plan is to protect and enhance such qualities and minimise the [impact on] the surrounding countryside of the village and the AONB. Megan Thomas, for Sonning Common Parish Council, said it was feared the development would set a precedent for extending other sites allocated in the plan, including another site off Kennylands Road earmarked for 22 homes. She said: That would make it difficult for the local planning authority to refuse other unplanned (non-infill) sites, particularly extensions to the neighbourhood plan housing allocations. There are other identifiable sites where the pattern could be repeated. Overall there would be unacceptable harm to the spatial and housing strategies in the neighbourhood plan and the proposal would not represent sustainable development. Miss Thomas said a 26-house development would impact on the landscape and appearance of the site but this would not be as severe as from 95 homes. Most importantly, they are impacts the community has voted overwhelmingly to accept in line with a planning system that is aimed at giving them control over the location of housing development, she said. Paul Tucker QC, for Gallagher, said the community should blame the district council, not the developer. The neighbourhood plan had earmarked sites for 195 homes but it was now out of date as the council had revised the villages target to 377. He said: Understandably, the target of the ire for the local community was the appellant for having the temerity to promote a site which is larger than the one allocated in the neighbourhood development plan. However, that ire is ill- directed since the real architect of the piece is the local planning authority for having failed over years to get an up-to-date local plan in place. He said the residents sense of aggravation did not make the neighbourhood plan up to date. Mr Tucker also said that Michelle Bolger, the district councils landscape expert, had grossly overstated the landscape and visual harm of the development. This is not a valued landscape, he said. There will be some negative change but it is limited, very limited, and in no way weighs against the scheme. He said Andrew Williams, the developers landscape expert, had taken a logical, robust and transparent approach. Yes, the development will be visible but hardly out of character and the opportunity for mitigation is obvious and substantial, he said. The concerns that do remain standing are limited, unjustified, misconceived and in any event do not sufficiently weigh against the appeal proposal to justify refusal on an ordinary planning balance, let alone a tilted one. Mr Stone is expected to announce his decision within four to six weeks. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Handshake between Robert Young and MP Jay Ngwele over donation, witnessed by MP Tom Noam (right), Andrea Young and children and friends from Pango Village Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, hanger on of academia, parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me. One aspect of a Jewish home is decorating with Judaica including a mezuzah and holiday decor. Many Jewish homes may have various kiddish cups, Chanukiah and wall art tastefully displayed throughout the home. There is no difference for senior living communities welcoming families and seniors of all cultures and religious backgrounds. A warm and welcoming entrance was displayed at Serenades at Longwood for Passover. Touches like this make families and visitors feel acknowledged at holiday time. Passover was shared with the residents and staff by offering sweet and customary Passover treats. The Jewish Pavilion thanks all of the senior living communities and long term care facilities for presenting the beautiful displays to acknowledge the Jewish holidays. The Jewish Pavilion is the Jewish connection for elder-care residents. Enhancing lives in senior- living communities through friendly visits, holiday celebrations and engaging programs. Bringing smiles to residents of all faiths. LOS ANGELES (JTA)-1993 was a dramatic year in the memorialization of the Holocaust. In April, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened its doors; 45 million visitors later it is a fixture adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., not only telling the story of the Holocaust but demonstrating the ongoing significance of this Jewish event-this European event-to the American people, to Western civilization and to the world. In November of that year, Steven Spielberg, widely recognized as the most influential director of this generation, released his monumental work "Schindler's List" to international acclaim. Forsaking many of the tools of his profession, including the beautifying effect of color, Spielberg created a masterpiece. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, it won seven, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best original score. The overture to "Schindler's List," written by John Williams, is routinely played whenever Holocaust events are held. Its haunting tones evoke not only the motion picture but the event itself. Expected to lose money, "Schindler's List" was probably greenlighted by Universal Studios because Spielberg was Spielberg, a director's director. He personally vowed not to make money on the film, saying his task was sacred, not entrepreneurial. Yet despite its length of over three hours, which made two screenings an evening difficult, it grossed $321 million in its initial release, more than 14 times its original cost. Spielberg donated his entire share to charity. The story of Oscar Schindler was cherished by its survivors but little known even by experts. For years Leopold Page would tell his story to people who walked into his Beverly Hills luggage store hoping that one of his prominent customers would bring it to the screen. Australian writer Thomas Keneally walked in one day. The result was his 1982 historical novel "Schindler's Ark." For decades two New Jersey developers, Murray Pantirer and Abraham Zuckerman, named a Schindler Drive or Schindler Road in each of their New Jersey developments, honoring the man who saved their lives. Only later-much later-did residents of their developments understand who was being honored and themselves feel honored by their address. Schindler, a Sudeten German, was an unlikely Holocaust hero. A philandering Nazi war profiteer, he used Jewish money, Jewish talent and Jewish slave labor to build his metal works business and his fortune. His transformation was gradual. He saw too much evil and then used the same cunning, and daring, to save his endangered Jews. He moved them from Krakow to Czechoslovakia along with his factory, and they survived the war. More than 1,200 Jews were rescued due to his interventions. Spielberg resisted the temptation to valorize Schindler, who was portrayed brilliantly by Liam Neeson, warts and all. Spielberg couldn't quite end the film, perhaps because he didn't want to, so he gave filmgoers four endings: Schindler's final speech wishing he had done more; the Jewish workers walking away into an uncertain future; a segment in color featuring real-life survivors visiting Schindler's grave; and a closing title card reading simply, "There are fewer than 4,000 Jews left alive in Poland today. There are more than 6,000 descendants of the Schindler Jews." The film is widely recognized as one of the finest ever made and gained such a moral stature that it was aired by NBC without commercial interruptions. Ford's sponsorship of the broadcast was perhaps an act of atonement or posthumous justice: Company founder Henry Ford, publisher of the anti-Semitic Dearborn Independent and the American disseminator of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," was honored personally by Hitler. "Schindler's List" had a monumental unintended consequence. Survivors kept coming up to Spielberg and saying "have I got a story to tell you," and the filmmaker listened with ever-growing fascination. As a man who could move millions with his work and was at the forefront of technological innovation, Spielberg vowed to record the testimonies of 50,000 survivors and preserve them for posterity. Naturally he chose video. The result was what was then called the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which took the testimony of 52,000 Holocaust survivors in 57 countries and 32 languages, compiling the largest collection of oral history of any historical event. At first Spielberg envisioned disseminating the collection in its entirety to five major research centers. In the years since, the collection has not only been disseminated in its entirety, but community after community has made use of the testimonies of local survivors to create films and educational material. Examples abound: In my own work with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, the testimonies of Chicago-area survivors were turned into a dozen films. Macedonia has used Macedonian testimonies, Mexico City Mexican testimonies. It is the gift that keeps on giving as scholars have made use of it for their research Even great document scholars, such as Christopher Browning, learned the historical importance of oral history. Related films have been made on death marches and Sonderkommandos, the prisoners who worked in the vicinity of the death camps, areas where documents are few and memories deep. Now housed at the University of Southern California, the renamed Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education is pioneering a video dialogue with survivors using voice recognition software. It allows a genuine conversation with holographic images of survivors, drawing on their actual testimonies. It is taking testimony from other genocides, Cambodia and Rwanda and Bosnia, as sadly the list grows. And institutions throughout the world are creating educational programs from this work Spielberg himself has become a major moral voice of our generation, a voice that only grew with time and with new works such as "Saving Private Ryan," "Lincoln" and most recently "The Post," to name a few-films that grapple with racism and slavery, war and memory, freedom of the press and the courage to take a stand. Spielberg himself grew more comfortable and more profound in his Jewish identity and his ability to embrace that identity without being narrowly parochial or limiting the audiences for his films. His name is synonymous with excellence-film excellence and moral excellence. And his stature poses a challenge to filmmakers of all generations to engage their own tradition and speak through that experience to the world. Like the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Schindler's List" demonstrated that a Jewish story could remain deeply Jewish and yet speak to the mainstream not only of American society, but the contemporary culture as well. In Krakow last week, I stood in line with hundreds of visitors at Schindler's factory, where a museum has been created. It attracts visitors from throughout the world, all of whom were drawn to the place because of the story Spielberg told as only he could: of a scoundrel who over time became noble. For after all, "he who saves a life, saves the world entire." Michael Berenbaum, professor of Jewish studies and director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, was president of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation from 1997 to 2000. (JTA)-From his birthplace in Boston to New York, Berlin, South Africa, China and Israel, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the larger-than-life conductor, pianist, composer, educator and bon vivant, is being celebrated in a two-year bonanza of concerts, stage productions and programs marking the centennial of his birth. The American-born son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Bernstein's influence spanned the musical world, from classical music to Broadway. Thousands of events are featured as a part of #Bernsteinat100, including "Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music," an exhibit that recently opened at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Last week, the Library of Congress got in on the act, making available online for the first time free access to more than 3,700 items including letters, photographs, audio recordings, and other material from its vast Leonard Bernstein Collection. The release nearly tripled the library's digital offerings. Curious fans with time on their hands can cue up "West Side Story," "On the Town" or the "Chichester Psalms," and peruse volumes of scrapbooks in the Library's collection that were meticulously compiled by Helen Coates, his piano teacher and later, his career-long secretary. "Bernstein arguably was the most prominent music figure in America in the second half of the 20th century," according to Mark Horowitz, the collection's curator, who has been immersed in the details of the maestro's life for a quarter century. He described Bernstein as a "polymath, a Renaissance man who wanted to do it all," from music to education to social activism Born on Aug. 28, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Jennie and Samuel Bernstein, the young musician famously catapulted onto the world stage in November 1943, when he filled in on short notice as conductor for the New York Philharmonic for an ailing Bruno Walter, in a concert broadcast on national television. Five years later, with his 1958 appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein became the first American-born and educated conductor, and the first American Jewish conductor, to lead a major American orchestra. With an estimated 400,000 items, the Bernstein Collection is one of the largest and most varied in the Library's music division, Horowitz told JTA. The archives fill 1,723 boxes that measure 710 linear feet. Here are seven treasures from the Library of Congress collection: 1. Bernstein grew up in Boston in a deeply religious family and was influenced by the music he heard at Congregation Mishkan Tefila. At Congregation Mishkan Tefila, his family's synagogue, the young Bernstein came under the influence of Solomon Braslavsky, a Viennese composer who became the synagogue's music director and led its choir. On Oct. 10, 1946, Bernstein wrote to Braslavsky, shortly after Yom Kippur: "I have come to realize what a debt I really owe to you... for the marvelous music at Mishkan Tefila services. They surpass any that I have ever heard." Bernstein had a strained relationship with his father, a successful business owner, whose life was guided by Talmudic learning. While he described his father as authoritarian, he admired his depth of knowledge of Jewish texts and thought. 2. Bernstein's Harvard years were instrumental in shaping his music. A page in a bluebook dated Jan. 25, 1937, during Bernstein's sophomore year at Harvard University, displays "handwriting thoroughly familiar to a Bernstein scholar," according to Carol Oja, a professor at the Harvard Department of Music. In the exam book, Bernstein described Baroque-era toccatas, a musical notation for virtuosic keyboard, as "dramatic, brilliant... and very technical, difficult, effective." These descriptions "would later characterize his own compositions," Oja observed in an email. 3. Bernstein was smitten by Israel and became a devoted and influential supporter of the Israel Philharmonic. In November 1948, during Israel's War of Independence, amidst fighting between the Israeli and Arab armies, Bernstein made his second conducting tour of Israel. He wrote a nine-page letter to his mother, Jennie, that glows with colorful, playful illustrations by Yossi Stern, a Hungarian refugee who became known as the "painter of Jerusalem." "You can see his passion for the young state of Israel, its land, the people and the culture," according to Ivy Weingram, curator of the exhibit at the NMAJH, where visitors can see one page of the original letter, on loan from the Library of Congress. Over his career, Bernstein conducted the Israel Philharmonic in 25 different seasons, in Israel, Europe and the U.S. 4. Following the Six-Dar War, Bernstein performed a concert in Israel. The July 1967 concert, with violinist Isaac Stern and the Israel Philharmonic, included Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem; Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto; and the final movement of Mahler's Second Symphony, known as the "Resurrection Symphony." In his speech at the performance, handwritten on stationery from Jerusalem's Shemesh Oriental Restaurant, Bernstein recalled his exhilaration conducting the Mahler symphony 19 years earlier, during Israel's War of Independence. He marveled at the recent unification of Jerusalem, a city he envisioned would inspire peace. "Is it too much to hope that this growing together of people in peace may radiate out to this general region ... and eventually... the world," he wrote. "Why not? This is Jerusalem," with the name of the city written in Hebrew. 5. Bernstein was gay. His wife Felicia seemed okay with that. In 1946, Bernstein married Felicia Cohn Montealegre, a Chilean actress who performed the role of narrator in Bernstein's Symphony No. 3, the "Kaddish Symphony." They had three children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina. Bernstein didn't hide his homosexuality and attraction to men from his wife. Early in their marriage, Felicia wrote a stirring and remarkably broad-minded letter, undated, that revealed the deep love and bond between the couple. "You are a homosexual and may never change-you don't admit to the possibility of a double life, but if your peace of mind, your health ... depend on a certain sexual pattern, what can you do?" she wrote. "I am willing to accept you as you are, without being a martyr. I happen to love you very much ..." 6. "West Side Story" was originally about Jews and Catholics. In the 1950s, Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins took inspiration from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," adapting it to the ethnic and racial tensions of the 20th century. An annotated copy of "Romeo and Juliet" in the Library of Congress collection is on view at the NMAJH exhibit and includes notes by Bernstein and Robbins. It was originally conceived as "East Side Story," about conflicts between Jews and Catholics. Audition notes for "West Side Story," which opened on Broadway in 1957, include Bernstein's comments about a young Warren Beatty, who sought the role of Riff ("Good voice, can't open jaw-charming as hell-clean cut"). 7. Bernstein had a passion for education. "It's a marvelous town... I had a glorious Arab meal with khumus and T'hina," Bernstein wrote about a lunch in Nazareth. This is the first page from a long letter he wrote to his mother that was illustrated by Yossi Stern Bernstein relished his role as an educator. His children often say it's among their father's most enduring legacies. Just two weeks after beginning his notable role as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein stepped up to the podium at Carnegie Hall to lead the first of his dozens of Young People's Concerts. It was the first time the series was broadcast live on national television, bringing the engaging maestro into America's living rooms. For the Feb. 28, 1961 Young People's Concert, Bernstein captivated his audience with the question, 'What Makes Music Funny?" The 39-year-old maestro started off with a joke about an elephant and a mouse. Humor, even in music, needs an element of surprise, he said. "It's like a bag full of tricks coming at you," and always has "something new and eye opening." Throughout, Bernstein lifted his baton, leading the orchestra in selections from Haydn and Gilbert and Sullivan to Prokofiev and Brahms. The Library of Congress is hosting a series of programs from May 12-19 including performances and film screenings. On Saturday, May 19, rarely seen materials from the collection will be on display. More details on the Bernstein events are on the Library's website. (JTA)-Barbara Bush "was the gold standard for what it means to be First Lady," the Republican Jewish Coalition said following her passing Tuesday night in Houston. The wife of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush, as well as the mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush, died at her home with her husband by her side. She was 92 and had been battling COPD, a lung disease, and congestive heart failure, according to reports. Barbara Bush was known for her large fake pearl chokers and grandmotherly appearance, and her no-nonsense attitude. As first lady from January 1989 to January 1993, Bush reportedly often polled as more popular than her husband. "Barbara Bush was an extraordinary woman," Norm Coleman, national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition and a former U.S. senator from Minnesota, said in a statement. "She dedicated her life to public service, and worked tirelessly to help sick children and people in need. She inspired millions and helped countless others. She will be deeply missed, but her legacy of charity will live on. May her memory be a blessing." On Monday, a Bush spokesperson announced that the former first lady had made a decision to halt medical treatment and receive comfort care in her home. She also suffered from Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes an overactive thyroid gland. George H.W. Bush held his wife's hand all day Tuesday and was with her when she died, according to Jean Becker, chief of staff at George H.W. Bush's office in Houston. The couple had been married for 73 years after meeting as teenagers at a school dance. Barbara Bush championed family literacy during her time in the White House, focusing on bringing awareness to early childhood education and adult literacy for parents. She launched the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. A defining moment of her tenure as first lady was her visit to a residence for HIV-infected babies at a time when Americans were terrified by the AIDS virus, a disease that was not well understood by the public. Bush cuddled and kissed the babies with television cameras capturing the visit. "You can hug and pick up AIDS babies and people who have the HIV virus" without hurting yourself, she said. "There is a need for compassion." A statement issued by the White House said that "President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump join the Nation in celebrating the life of Barbara Bush. As a wife, mother, grandmother, military spouse, and former First Lady, Mrs. Bush was an advocate of the American family Amongst her greatest achievements was recognizing the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection. She will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well. The President and First Lady's thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mrs Bush." Bush also is being remembered as having a sharp tongue, especially if she felt a family member was under attack. One incident being recalled in the wake of her death came when her husband was running for re-election as vice president, against Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman running in a spot on a major party's ticket. She called Ferraro a "4 million dollar... I can't say it but it rhymes with 'rich.'" Bush later called Ferraro and apologized personally. Her funeral, which is invitation only, will be held Saturday in Houston. She is survived by five children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a daughter, and will be buried next to her on the grounds of the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. Founder of Give Kids the World and a loyal philanthropist to the Jewish community, Henri Landwirth died on Monday, April 16, 2018. He was 91 years old. Landwirth and his twin sister, Margot Glazer, were born March 7, 1927, in Antwerp, Belgium. His father and mother were killed by the Nazis. He and Margot were imprisoned in Auschwitz and Mauthausen Nazi death camps between the ages of 13 to 18. Both miraculously survived and were reunited after the war. Landwirth worked his way to America on a freight ship, arriving with $20 to his name. After serving in the Army, he used his GI benefits to learn hotel management. In 1954, he became manager of the Starlight Motel in Cocoa Beach. It was here that Landwirth met many of the first American astronauts and news reporter and anchor Walter Cronkite. He had a successful career in the hotel industry that spanned 50 years, and owned several hotels in Orlando, including the Holiday Inn Maingate East where in 1989 he developed the plans for the Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Fla., which has now given more than 160,000 children with life-threatening illnesses and their families all-expenses paid vacation experiences. Give Kids the World Village is now a 79-acre resort with 144 villas. "Henri was a remarkable man who worked tirelessly to help our precious children and their families. He has left behind an enduring legacy of compassion and love," Pamela Landwirth, president and CEO of Give Kids The World and Henri's former wife, told the Orlando Sentinel. In appreciation of volunteer work for GKTW, Landwirth also refurbished the Roth Family JCC's Senior Lounge. In 2000, Landwirth founded Dignity U Wear, an organization that provides homeless, abused or abandoned children with new clothes. He also started Hate Hurts, a program that teaches forgiveness and ending hatred. Landwirth was named "Most Caring Individual in America" by the Caring Institute, Humanitarian of the Year by Parents Magazine, and in 1994, he was named Orlando Sentinel's "Floridian of the Year." Paul Jeser, former executive director (1976-1984) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando called him "One of the great human beings of our day." Landwirth is predeceased by his twin sister, Margot Glazer. He is survived by three children-Gary Landwirth, founder of A Gift for Teaching; Greg Landwirth and Lisa Landwirth Ullmann; and four grandchildren. A private family graveside service was held at Temple Israel Cemetery with Rabbi Michael Matuson of Beth El/The Beaches Synagogue in Ponte Vedra Beach officiating. There will be a public celebration of the life of Henri Landwirth on Saturday, April 28, at 2 p.m. at Give Kids the World in Kissimmee. The family is requesting donations in memory of Henri to Give Kids the World, http://www.GiveKidstheWorld.org. Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, Inc., 640 Lee Road, Orlando 32810. 407-599-1180. The Jewish Community Relations Council and Temple Israel are joining forces to welcome Fuente Latina at a special Shabbat and presentation. The event, which is open to the public, will be at Temple Israel on Saturday, May 5. After a dual-language Shabbat service, Gloria Garces, Fuente Latina's Media Outreach director based in Miami, will lead the program about Fuente Latina's work connecting informed and unbiased speakers with Spanish-language news programs. "The work Fuente does is invaluable to Israel as well as Jews in the diaspora," said Ben Friedman, director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. "Connecting with a Spanish-speaking audience directly, rather than through translation, lends credibility to a speaker in a way that many in the Jewish community are unable to achieve." Fuente Latina's roots trace back to 2011, when the government of Iran founded a Spanish-language news network that aimed to promote Iran's message and undermine Israel's credibility in Hispanic and Latino communities. Seeing the need to combat this deliberate effort to take anti-Semitism mainstream, Fuente Latina was founded to connect Spanish news coverage with journalists and speakers familiar with Middle Eastern issues and unbiased in their coverage of Israel. This is not the first time Temple Israel has shown interest in building bridges with the Latino community. "As an initiative to expand Spanish-language outreach in our Jewish Community, we started a monthly Latino Shabbat a few years ago at Temple Israel. This has provided us the ability to welcome and embrace Spanish speakers and provide them with the opportunity to experience Judaism, many for the first time," said Natan Brener, vice president of Temple Israel, who founded and currently leads Latino Shabbat. "I'm thrilled to join forces with the JCRC to welcome Fuente Latina to Temple Israel, to hear their experience in Spanish-language outreach, and to talk more about how we can be part of the ongoing effort to strengthen the relationship between our communities." Garces, who was born in Guatemala, holds a bachelor's degree in International Journalism from Florida International University and previously worked as an Executive Producer for Mira TV (formerly CNN Latino). "Our deepest thanks to the Jewish Community Relations Council for helping to facilitate this conversation and to Temple Israel for welcoming us into their congregation," Garces said. "I am looking forward to addressing the Jewish and Latino communities of Central Florida, especially in a forum which has already shown leadership in multi-cultural outreach." Friedman said that many people might be unaware that the government of Guatemala joined with the United States in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, "and Fuente Latina was instrumental in that process. Their diplomacy can be echoed locally as the Jewish community reaches out to make new connections and partnerships with the growing Latino population in Central Florida." As for the goal of the community presentation, Garces summed it up, saying "We hope to shed light on how the Jewish and Latino communities can and should collaborate to defeat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias, and we look forward to developing a lasting relationship with our new friends in the Orlando area." The presentation will begin at 12:30 p.m., immediately following the 9:30 a.m. Shabbat morning service at Temple Israel. The presentation and Shabbat are open to the public. For more information, contact Ben Friedman, JCRC director, at bfriedman@jfgo.org or by calling 407-645-5933 ext. 233. AMSTERDAM (JTA)When Barry Vingerling asked his employers at the Anne Frank House whether it was okay for him to start coming to work wearing a kippah, he did it mostly as a courtesy. I hadnt expected this to be an issue, Vingerling, 25, told the Dutch-Jewish NIW weekly in an interview. I work at the house of Anne Frank, who had to hide because of her identity. Should I have to hide mine in that same house? His bosses answer to this question appeared to be yes. Suggesting at first that he wear a hat on top of his skullcap, they dithered for six months on whether to allow it before Vingerling forced their hand by wearing a kippah without permission. In a statement, the Anne Frank House said it did not have a policy on the wearing of religious symbols by employees and that it needed a few months to hammer out one. They finally announced last week that they would allow employees to wear religious symbols to work. Vingerlings predicament may have had a happy ending. But the fuss nonetheless illustrates how Jews in Western Europe are affected by a debate usually focused on Muslims, immigration and religious tolerance. In the Netherlands, a 2015 law made it illegal to wear face-covering clothes in schools and hospitals, government buildings and public transportation. Belgium has an even stricter policy since 2011, as does France, aimed at the Muslim niqab, or face veil. In 2016, local authorities in France banned the wearing of a full-body bathing suit, popularly known as the burkini, favored by some devout Muslim women. Those bans divided French society -- and its Jewish community in an acrimonious debate. Supporters of the ban, including Moshe Sebbag, the head rabbi of the Grand Synagogue of Paris, said the burkini was a political statement. But opponents said the ban was a dangerous encroachment on religious liberties that could affect French Jews, as well as Muslims and Christians. Back in Amsterdam, the kippah issue pitted two key institutions preserving the memory of Anne Frank against each other. The Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, a foundation set up by Anne Franks father, Otto, and which holds the copyright for her diary, criticized the Anne Frank House for its handling of the affair. Otto Frank always wanted to establish in the former annex a meeting place for young people from all over the world with their different routes to talk about peace, the future and living together, Yves Kugelamann, a spokesperson for the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, told JTA when queried about Vingerlings case. This should be respected and acknowledged. At the Anne Frank Fonds, Kugelamann added, everybody is allowed to show his religious, cultural etc. background. He also said his organization cant comment [on] other organizations policy, but religious tolerance is how the Frank family lived in the open-minded Jewish environment in Frankfurt, where Anne was born, and how the children where educated. The two groups have clashed before on a number of issues, including on how to balance Anne Franks particularist Jewish identity with some of her universal values. Separately, the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel is also facing criticism for a different reason its newly announced cooperation with a controversial organization that funds left-leaning and Arab-rights organizations in Israel, in addition to general civil society work. The Anne Frank Fonds said earlier this month said it would contribute some of its proceeds to the New Israel Fund. The nonprofit funds groups in Israel like Breaking the Silence, made up of veterans who report what they say are violations of the Israeli armys own policies, and Adallah, an Israeli-Arab human rights organization that frequently criticizes the government. NIF is also critical of Israels plans to deport tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accuse it of working for the erasure of the Jewish character of Israel. In announcing the partnership, the Anne Frank Fonds wrote that the New Israel Fund is the leading organization promoting democracy and equality in Israel, and that [t]his partnership with NIF is designed to strengthen Israeli civil society. Caroline Glick, a right-leaning journalist and Jerusalem Post columnist, criticized the deal in a column for Maariv Friday, stating that NIF seeks to make Israel a country devoid of singular Jewish characteristics, whereas Frank herself was both a Dutch patriot and a proud Jew. Kugelmann declined to say how much money the Anne Frank Fonds will give to the New Israel Fund, or whether his group will agree to fund all of the organizations receiving funding from the New Israel Fund, including Adallah and Breaking the Silence. We make sure that money is given in the idea and under the conditions of Anne Frank Fonds (mainly social help, education, women and children rights), he said. The Basel-based group has to approve [each recipient] organization. The New Israel Fund proposes projects, [then] we decide together, he told JTA. On Tuesday, Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told German Jews to avoid wearing yarmulkes on the streets after an Arab Israeli was assaulted for wearing a kippa just days ago in a social experiment. The suspect beat the Arab Israeli with his belt while shouting Yahudi Jew in Arabic. The suspect in the assault is a 19-year-old Syrian refugee of Palestinian origin. Schuster explained that people should stop showing themselves openly with a kippah in a big-city setting in Germany, and wear a baseball cap or something else to cover their head instead. According to the Associated Press: NEW YORK (JTA)Congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyns Park Slope neighborhood is removing its savings from JPMorgan Chase, making it the first U.S. synagogue to publicly divest from a bank or other corporation to explicitly oppose the funding of fossil fuel and other related projects dangerous to the world in which we live, according to a statement from the congregation. The move also puts Kolot at the forefront of Jewish organizations in doing values-driven investing, putting money where Jewish groups mouths are on climate change and other environmental crises. Leaders and members of the independent synagogue will gather Tuesday afternoon at Amalgamated Bank near Sunset Park to announce their divestment, and will be joined by New York Citys public advocate, City Council members and the chief of a nearby Native American tribe. Amalgamated Bank, far smaller than JPMorgan Chase, originally was a union bank and is devoted to sustainable lending practices, according to Rabbi Ellen Lippman. While Kolot Chayeinu acknowledges that its modest fundsunder $1 millionmay not mean much to Chase, the largest bank in the United States, we want to make a statement, Lippman said. The environmental group Oil Change International has called Chase the largest U.S. funder of extreme fossil fuels. After a period of getting involved with Water Protectors of Standing Rock and learning that there are banks that fund things like the Dakota Access Pipeline and Chase is one of them, we began to develop the idea that wed like to bank in a place more in line with our values, said Lippman, referring to the crude oil pipeline routed through the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and under a lake in North Dakota Standing Rock was the site of major protests in 2016 and 2017 by Native Americans and their allies. American Jewish organizations lag far behind church groups and other investors in identifying and divesting from banks and lending institutions invested heavily in fossil fuels, even though umbrella groups like the Jewish Council for Public Affairs have long called for immediate action on climate action and carbon emissions. Im sorry to say that Kolot Chayeinu is the first Jewish organization of any kind to move their money, said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Philadelphia-based Shalom Center and a longtime environmental theologian and activist. Im pleased its Kolot, but if they had been the first three years ago and by now there were 100 synagogues and at least one major denomination saying its endowment fund was going to be moved, that would be far better. Still, more Jewish groups are getting on board with the idea of values-driven investing. The JLens Investor Network has a $35 million advocacy fund in which Jewish individuals, family foundations and Jewish federations are invested, said Julie Hammerman, the networks executive director and founder. In December, JLens ran what it called a Jewish Impact Investing Summit in New York that attracted representatives of 84 Jewish groups. JLens provides educational and advisory services to both Jewish organizational investors and the companies in which they invest. Hammerman said that current thinking in the field argues against simply pulling money out of a bank. Investors in public companies prefer to try to change corporate policy from within by working behind the scenes and, if necessary, introducing resolutions at shareholder meetings. Divestment is the original approach, but the field has become much more sophisticated now and there are other tactics, like shareholder advocacy, Hammerman told JTA. Moving your money to a local bank that supports the things you value is an easy first step. I would definitely encourage anyone before divesting to reach out to the bank with concerns. We have relationships with over 300 organizations, including Chase. Lending practices is one of the areas where we try to move the needle. Other approaches to values-driven investing include putting money into green bonds, which take the proceeds to develop things like water reclamation and grasslands replenishment projects. Google has raised one to put solar panels on its campuses, said Fran Seegull, executive director of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, which is being incubated at the Ford Foundation. Starbucks has raised a green bond to create trade finance facilities for its coffee growers, she said. Green bonds has exploded and is now worth $90 billion, Seegull said. The growth rate has been extraordinary. Worldwide, more than one quarter of all professionally managed assets, or $23 trillion, is invested in expressly values-driven ways, according to Hammerman. In 2016, in the United States, nearly $9 trillion was invested in values-aligned ways, she said, citing a report by the U.S. Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing. That was up 33 percent over 2014, the report states. Its 2018 study is underway now, and expected to again reflect dramatically increased interest in environmentally and socially responsible investing. But the Jewish community has yet to catch up, many say, particularly when it comes to connecting its principles to action. The Jewish community is just frozen in a laudable but outdated past when it comes to addressing environmental issues, Waskow said. I am both proud and ashamed that the Shalom Center is the only national Jewish organization that has defined the climate crisis as the top issue. Yosef Abramowitz is CEO of the Israeli environmental company Energiya Global Capital, which builds solar energy fields in 10 African countries, where sunlight is plentiful and reliable energy often scarce. The Jewish community has unfortunately shied away from divestment from fossil fuels, even though other religions have moved forward with having their money invested in a way aligned with their values, Abramowitz said in an interview from his home in Israel. You will have rabbis upset about President Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and yet allow their rabbinic pension funds to continue to invest in ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies that are the worst offenders. Perhaps the largest player in that sector is the Reform Pension Board, which manages $1.3 billion in retirement funds for Reform movement rabbis, educators and synagogue executives. The Pension Board just added a Jewish Values Investing fund to the other 13 options from which its members can choose to put their money. It launched for investors in January after a Jewish values-driven investing policy was approved by the denominationAmerican Judaisms largestin 2014. The fund selects 250 companies for inclusion in its portfolio of stocks based on a range of values, said Michael Kimmel, the Pension Boards executive director. Those values have been defined, he said, by resolutions issued over the past 100 years by the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. Companies engaged in the production of tobacco, civilian firearms, landmines, coal and other consumable fuels, as well as those involved in predatory lending, are automatically excluded, according to fund information. Then they are weighted based on criteria including environmental concerns, diversity, support for unions, human rights and stem cell research. When it comes to the environmental screens, companies are graded on a range of factors, from the number of environmental fines they have incurred per dollar of revenue to whether they have disclosed a climate change policy. Kimmel said the fund gives extra weight to specific companies focused on generating energy from alternative sources, on energy efficiency, green building and preventing pollution. Companies with a relatively small carbon footprint based on the amount and intensity of their emissions also get extra points. Yet on its fact sheet, the fund names Chase as one of the top 10 companies in which it has invested. We partner with an outside firm to build the fund, Kimmel said when asked about Chases inclusion despite the criticism it gets from environmental groups. He was referring to Aperio, a company that creates what its website calls hyper-customized portfolios designed to meet the specific goals and values of advisors and their clients. The fact that this is, as JLens Hammerman says, a new field, may help explain why performance doesnt always measure up to stated goals. Kimmel told JTA that Aperios research and methodology in many cases discerns companies environmental practices. Their research doesnt go to the level of lending practices of financial institutions. Over time and as we develop more experience with the fund, we may be able to drill down further to make additional decisions to invest or not invest in a particular company. According to a Reform Jewish Values Fund fact sheet, for instance, JPMorgan Chase is one of its 10 largest holdings. The Jewish community is missing out on the amazing leverage we could have from the 95 percent of our communal funds that are in investments not aligned with our values, said Energiyas Abramowitz. If Jewish organizations endowments and other investable funds were deployed to produce positive change in addition to profit, he said, we could be even larger engines of change and reflectors of our values. The Jewish National Fund's Women for Israel is hosting "A vision for Israel's future through the preservation of its past" program, featuring Noa Geffen. The event will be held 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16, at the Star Tower Building Rooftop, 260 S. Osceola Ave., Orlando. As the executive vice-chairwoman of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, a JNF partner, Gefen plays an instrumental role in restoring, preserving and maintaining important historical and heritage sites throughout Israel. She previously worked in human resources development for TIM Global, Bar Group and Stanford University. RSVP by May 9 to jnf.org/orlandowfi Tickets are $48 for general admission. For more information, contact Laura Abramson, director, at labramson@jnf.org or 407-804-5568. It is that time of year once again when Heritage Florida Jewish News is putting out feelers for one outstanding person in the Jewish community who has given his or her time or talent or monetary gifts to better the Orlando Jewish community. Nominations for the 2018 Heritage Human Service Award are now being accepted and the award will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando in August. For more than 28 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last years recipient was Sara Stern. Former recipients have included Bernie Raff (2015), Loren London (2014), and Nina Oppenheim (2013). According to Gaeser, Each recipient chose their own path, but made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the Jewish community. Nominees for the 2018 award are individuals who do not look for recognition, but perform tikun olanrepairing the worldout of internal motivation. Nominations should be emailed to news@orlandoheritage.com with the subject Human Service Award, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sent by mail to Heritage Florida Jewish News, Human Service Award, 207 OBrien Road, Suite 101, Fern Park, FL 32730. Included should be the name and phone number of the nominee, a documented list of his or her accomplishments, and the name and phone number of the nominator(s). The Heritage is accepting nominations until Friday, June 8. (JNS)The Iron Dome missile-defense system has been voted the winner of Israels Ministry of Economy and Industry contest ranking of the greatest Israeli inventions of all time, in honor of Israels 70th Independence Day. In the first stage of the competition, 70 Israel inventions were listed and then whittled down to the top nine by 52,000 participants. In the second stage, some 63,000 online participants had to choose the single greatest Israeli invention. In first place among the top nine came the Iron Dome missile-defense system; followed by the Waze international navigation system; the drip-irrigation targeted watering system; Disk On Key data storage; the surgical-assistance robot Watergen, which extracts water for use from the air; durable Shoresh sandals; Check Point IT security software and hardware; and the military spy satellite Ofek. There is no dispute that the inventions chosen by the public as leading inventions are excellent examples of Israeli ingenuity, innovation and creativity that provide solutions to significant challenges, inspire the world and bring a lot of national pride for Israel, said Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen. Israels Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released its traditional statistics report on the citizens of Israel in honor of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, which is celebrated this year on Wednesday night and Thursday. Israel boasts 8,842,000 citizens, more than 10 times as many as the 806,000 at the time of the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. On Israels 100th birthday, in 2048, the CBS estimate that Israels population will grow to about 15 million citizens. According to CBS projections, Israels population will surpass 10 million some time between 2025 and 2030. The Jewish population stands at 6,589,000 million, 75 percent of the entire population. Israels Arab citizens constitute 20.9 percent of the total population, numbering approximately 1,849,000. Non-Arab Christians and other religious groups constitute 4.65 percent of the population. Since last years Independence Day, Israels population grew by 163,000, constituting a 1.9 percent growth, including 177,000 newborn babies; 41,000 people have died. Israels population is young in comparison to other Western countries. Children up to the age of 14 constitute 28 percent of the population. Israel welcomed 28,000 new immigrants. Some 3.5 million people have made Aliyah (immigration to Israel) since 1948, making up 42 percent of the total population. About 75 percent of Israels population is Israeli-bornknown as sabrashalf of them second-generation. In 1948, only 35 percent were sabras, and their numbers have since more than doubled. In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry. At the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, only one city had more than 100,000 residentsTel Aviv-Yaffo. Today, 14 cities have over 100,000 residents; eight of them have more than 200,000. They are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Haifa, Rishon Letzion, Petah Tikvah, Ashdod, Netanya, and Beer Sheva. Israels capital, Jerusalem, is the most-populated city, with some 882,700 residentsalmost 10 percent of the population. In 1949, Israel had merely 500 cities and towns. Today, it boasts over 1,200. In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry. Israel boasts 63 academic institutions, as opposed to only two in 1948. Israel was the 11th happiest country in the world in 2017, the fifth consecutive year Israel received this high ranking, after reaching 14th in the first 2012 report. Israel came out ahead of the US, Germany, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Britain, Brazil, France and Mexico. According to data from Israels Central Bureau of Statistics, over 93 percent of Israelis say they are happy or very happy with their lives. Meet Loretta Miller. She is a Constitutional Republican running for Florida US Representative, District 15. "We need a strong representative who is not in the large corporation's pockets," she stated in a straight-forward manner. "The people of Florida are sick and tired of our representatives voting for what big corporations want." What will she fight for? Straight and to the point she states: "We need jobs. We cannot rely on the tourist industry. We need to produce, manufacture, improve education, and make English the official language of the country and protect our citizens. We need to educate those in English who claim they do not speak English." Miller also sees the bigger picture. "I am for everyone," she said. "When elected, I will fight not only for District 15, but for all of Florida and the United States." Miller will also fight passionately for better Medicare coverage. "I watched my husband die in my arms for lack of medical care on Medicare. I understand how the elderly are struggling on Social Security without a decent cost of living increase and now the congressional right-winged Republican members are in the process of trying to eliminate Medicare and Social Security all together, stating it is an 'entitlement program,' which will leave the elderly and the disabled on the streets without food and medication." Miller, who resides in Clermont, is originally from Philadelphia, Pa., She moved to Wellington, Fla., with her husband, Jordan M. Miller, VMD, who passed away shortly thereafter. They have one son, Marcus, 39, who has his master's degree in business and is currently in a doctoral program. Miller's political and business background is diverse. She took both business management classes as well as political science on the suggestion of the late Senator John Heinz. She was a radio hostess on WPDR in Wisconsin; a radio guest many times on the Harriet Lehrman Show on WPDR; was also a radio hostess on Tea Party.Org blog talk radio; and she also had her own Blog talk radio show called I'm Listening America. Miller is a life time member of Na'amat, Hadassah, and ZOA, and she supports and donates to the Chabad of Orlando. Miller has lived in Israel, where she worked as a farmer on a kibbutz. She is also a former IDF officer and served in the Yom Kippur War. "I understand foreign affairs," she said. "I understand radical Islam and terrorism whether it is domestic or foreign. I have seen what radical Islam and terrorism has done and how it affected the Middle East. What happened at The Pulse Nightclub was terrorism and not a lone-wolf incident and will not be tolerated by me." Miller welcomes any and all contributions to her campaign. To donate, please visit her website, https://electloretta millerforcongress.com/donation The closed primary will be held Aug. 28 and the general election will be on Nov. 6, 2018. Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trumps Special Representative for International Negotiations, hit back Friday after being accused of automatically repeat[ing] Israeli talking points while omitting any word of condemnation of Israeli forces at the Gaza border fence, where daily violence orchestrated by Hamas has been ongoing. Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat had leveled these highly critical accusations at Greenblatt and the American administration in a letter sent to all foreign diplomats in Ramallah last week. Not for the first time, Erekat also dismissed the idea that Washington could serve as an impartial peace broker since, as he put it, those who do not consider that the lives of Palestinians and Israelis are of equal value cannot possibly promote any plan that will be remotely close to a just and lasting peace. Greenblatt was equally blunt in his response to the charges, calling them empty, self-indulgent rhetoric. Saeb Erakats personal attack on me is a symptom of the difficulties in the path to peace, he tweeted. Saeb knows theres no truth to his accusation. This outburst, like all his recent outbursts, is merely intended as a distraction from the important work that lies ahead. Greenblatt urged the Palestinian negotiator to join with the United States and get to work on thepeace process instead of continuing on a path that would get them pretty much nowhere. What appears to have triggered Erekats attack on the US envoy was a series of social media messages that Greenblatt had posted, calling out Yahya Al-Sinwar, Hamass leader in Gaza, for saying that the Palestinians would tear down the wall and tear out their (meaning Israelis) hearts. Such a statement was monstrous, the Greenblatt said, adding that if [Hamas] wants to join the REAL world, it must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and decide to abide by past agreements. Its time for Hamas to make some real decisions. However, Greenblatt had also specifically backed a longstanding PA demand by calling on Hamas to relinquish its control of Gaza to the Ramallah government. Also, the PA notably did not call on the Palestinians under its control to open a second front of protests, which would seemingly be a natural step if it had actually approved of what Hamas was doing. (JNS)There was a time when a proposed U.S. sale of sophisticated rocket systems to an Arab regime that finances terrorism against Israel would arouse fierce opposition from American Jewish leaders. So why are Jewish leaders silent in the face of the Trump administrations announced plan to sell $300 million in advanced rocket technology to the government of Qatar? The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, claimed at his White House meeting on April 10 that he doesnt help terrorists. (I guess his well-paid American PR advisers told him what he had to say in order to receive those rocket systems.) U.S. President Donald Trump offered no objection to that assertion. Yet according to The Jerusalem Post, Qatar has pledged more than $1 billion to Hamass declared campaign for Israels destruction... Qatar is Hamass ally and single largest donor, paying out hundreds of millions of so far. The U.S. House of Representatives recently adopted a resolution condemning Qatar for providing significant financial and military support to Hamas. And its no secret that senior Hamas fugitives, including terror leaders Khaled Mashal and Yusuf al-Qaradawi, are living safely in Qatars capital of Doha. A bipartisan group of U.S. Congress members last year expressed their deep concern that Doha continues to serve as a sanctuary to Hamas terrorist officials. Not only that, but the Qatari government finances Al Jazeera, the notoriously anti-Israel and anti-Semitic international media outlet. Given the Qatari regimes close relationship with the mass murderers of Hamas, how can we be sure that U.S. military aid to Qatar might not one day end up in the hands of Dohas terrorist friends in Gaza? Its a legitimate question to ask in view of what happened to some of the weapons that the U.S. provided to Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. When Israeli troops overran PLO terrorist bases in southern Lebanon during the 1982 war, they discovered what The New York Timescalled (July 11, 1982) surprisingly large stores of weapons. And among those weapons, reported the Times, were American M-16 rifles that had been sold to Saudi Arabia. Im sure that when Saudi Arabian officials first asked for M-16 rifles from the United States, they promised that the weapons would never be transferred to a third party without explicit American authorization. And if Israel, or any of its American friends, expressed any concerns about giving Saudi Arabia those rifles, they were assured that the Saudi leadership is moderate and trustworthy. Yet somehow, those Saudi-purchased weapons made their way into the hands of the PLO in Lebanon. Isnt that remarkable? The rifles didnt just fall off the back of a truck. Its 927 miles from Riyadh to Beirut. Somebody had to organize a pretty sophisticated means of transportation for those rifles. Obviously, the Saudis figured that they could get away with it. And they were right. Because even after the rifles were discovered, the U.S. didnt stop sending weapons to the Saudi regime. What if the Qataris reach that conclusion, too? The Emir of Qatar could look back at the Saudi rifles scandal and figure that even if it is discovered that some American rocket system reached Hamas in Gaza, Qatar can just pretend that it doesnt know how it happenedand that there probably will be no consequences. These are the kinds of questions and concerns that American Jewish and Zionist leaders normally would be raising. They would be meeting with White House officials to oppose the sale, and they would be asking members of Congress to block the sale. But something has changed. No major American Jewish or Zionist organization has criticized the proposal to provide Qatar with $300 million in U.S. rocket technology. Could that have anything to do with the fact that a number of Jewish leaders recently enjoyed all-expenses-paid trips to Qatar? Did the thrill of hobnobbing with Arabian princes dull the senses of those who should know better? Has the excitement of being treated as international statesmen compromised the judgement of those who are supposed to represent the interests and concerns of American Jewry? I guess the answer to those questions is to be found in the terrible Jewish silence surrounding the Qatar rocket-technology deal. Stephen M. Flatow, a vice president of the Religious Zionists of America, is an attorney in New Jersey. He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. Truthfully? I dont remember when I first heard the word Holocaust. In the 1940s I went to Bala Cynwyd Junior High and then Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where out of 1500 students, less than 20 were Jews. In my senior year, Israel declared its independence. There was a discussion about it in Miss Lambs history class. As I remember, the class was about evenly divided on whether or not Israel as a State was legitimate. I do not remember any mention, much less discussion of the Holocaust. Perhaps it came into my consciousness gradually. Perhaps it was the first viewing of the newsreels in movie theaters of the concentration camps and the gaunt, ghostly figures of the survivors. In 1950 we moved to Cleveland and became active members of the Jewish Community. It was there that I remember hearing the stories. It is where we began to meet the survivors. I remember absorbing the statistics. Naked, unsentimental, stark statistics. Six Million deadmostly Jews. Eighty two percent of our scholars, teachers, rabbisgone. One third of our peoplegone. This reality is still hard to absorb. We learned slowly. Of people like Rabbi Stephen Wise who learned of the Holocaust while it was still going on in the 1940s. Of the Jewish delegation he led to the White House to plead with Roosevelt to have American bombers bomb the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz. We heard of the presidents responsethat he had enough problems with his congress as it was and that they could not afford to divert the planes and God forbid one got shot down on that mission and would these Jews prefer to have the Nazis marching down Fifth Avenue in New York? We learned of the resistance in the State Department to offering any Jews asylum in the U.S. And we learned of the St. Louis, being turned away from the port of New York and sent back to Germany. Slowly. In my 20s the stories and the films and then the testimonies came slowly. It seeped into our consciences. It was hard to grasp the reality. It still is. The testimony is still there. The Holocaust Center here in Orlando and the larger one in Washington, D.C., still tell the stark story to thousands every year. And the statistics show we lose an average of 13 survivors every day. If your family is not that involved in community, if you do not have the means to have your children or grandchildren join the March of the Living, are you going to remember? Are they going to be even aware? Since the Holocaust there has been Rwanda, the terror in Burma, half a million dead in Syria. The world is not a whole lot safer than it was when we dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the same philosophies that created the Holocaust are alive and well in the world today. You saw the marchers in Charlottesville. You heard their chants. You saw the muted response from the White House. You read of the governments in Eastern Europe becoming more isolationist, more unwelcoming. The cultural shakeup of the worlds population does have a jarring effect on people. Specifically when thousands of people who dress, speak and worship differently descend on your ancient culture. In the U.S. in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the U.S. was open to immigration. The Lady with the Lamp told the world Give me your tired, your pooryour huddled masses yearning to be free... And we integrated themusinto the amalgam that is America. That is our secret, our greatness. In Europe? The immigrantsmost from Muslim countries, are kept separate, isolated. Well, we were too when we first came. But we Jews, thrust from our native countries could not wait to assimilateto become Americans. Our grandparents or parents spoke Yiddish in the home and English on the street. I have written before that my grandmother, an immigrant from Russia, went to school at the age of 63 to learn to read and write English. But: We didnt forget. We learned the stories of Jews forbidden to attend regular schools. Of living in shtetlsreally ghettos throughout Europe. Heroes like Jabotinsky traveled through Eastern Europe in the 1920s, warning Jews of what was to comeand that was before Hitler. He saw the Jew hatred, knew that it was only a matter of time. He was mostly ignored. Such a thing could not happen. It did. And now, here in the United States, a whole new generation is hardly aware of the Holocaust. Certainly not aware of how it came about. How the Nazis were able to become powerful. Not aware that in many places in Poland and Russia and the Ukraine and Lithuania, the people did not wait for the Nazis and began killing Jews before they were invaded. That even today the concept of the Other is alive and well here in our land. Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. (JNS)In what must be considered a public-relations coup of epic proportions, the New Israel Fund announced this week that it would be benefiting from the sales of copies of Anne Franks diary. The diary is among the most beloved books of the 20th century and the standard introduction to the Holocaust for many people. The foundation created by Annes father, Otto Frankthe sole member of the family to survive after being captured by the Nazis and sent to death campsreceives the proceeds from the bestseller and related works, and it will now be sending money to organizations that are supported by the NIF. The timing is particularly good for the NIF since it comes on the heels of a blistering attack on the group by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week accused it of sabotaging a deal to deport some of the African migrants who crossed illegally into Israel in search of work. While much of its efforts are centered on promoting somewhat anodyne causes, like protecting the rights of women and the LGBT community inside Israel, the liberal group has also been a source of bitter controversy. Among the beneficiaries of its grants are groups that promote boycotts of Israel and anti-Zionist incitement, in addition to criticizing and attempting to hinder the efforts of the Israel Defense Forces to combat terrorism. Acquiring the Anne Frank Foundations seal of approval would seem to inoculate the organization from the critiques of those who point out that its support of groups that libel the Jewish state and seek its destruction contradict its avowed goal of support for Israel. As such, this places the Frank Foundation squarely in the middle of a political battle. which would seem to be the last place that an institution dedicated to Holocaust education would want to be. Yet to anyone who knows the post-publication history of the Diary of a Young Girl and the well-known play that was adapted from it, its hardly surprising that Otto Franks creation would wind up in such a position. The willingness of the foundation to associate itself with the NIF brings to mind the controversy between Annes father and Meyer Levin, the journalist and author who did more than anyone to promote the diarys publication. Levin, a passionate Zionist, helped get the book an American publisher and wrote a rave review of it for The New York Times in 1952. After helping Otto Frank find contacts in America, and being promised the adaptation rights for stage and screen, Levin was pushed aside. Frank and his advisers rejected Levins theatrical version of the diary on the grounds that it was too Jewish. Acting under the direct influence of Stalinist writer Lillian Hellman, Frank and producer Kermit Bloomgarten opted for a less Jewish, more accessible Anne for the stage. Infuriating Levin, who felt that both he and Annes true legacy were being cheated, they gave the assignment to Hollywood screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, whose most famous movie script was for director Frank Capras 1945 classic Its a Wonderful Life. With much play doctoring by Hellman and director Garson Kanin, Goodrich and Hackett produced a Holocaust play in which the fate of the Jews was sidelined in order to tell a coming-of-age story about a cockeyed optimist who would have been right at home with Jimmy Stewart in Capras mythical small town of Bedford Falls. The fact that the Franks were Jewish was incidental to their plays theme. In a famous passage, they even contradicted Annes own words. In her book, she chided her friend Peter, one of the other Jews hiding in the annex, for wanting to deny his Jewish identity, saying, Were not the only Jews that have had to suffer. Right down through the ages, there have been Jews and theyve had to suffer. Astonishingly, Kanin dismissed the passage as an embarrassing piece of special pleading. In the 1955 Goodrich and Hackett play, Anne says nothing of Jews, but speaks instead of minorities through the ages. The fact that in this play the symbols of persecution and oppression are Jews is incidental, explained Kanin. Their play ended with a line taken out of context about Annes belief in the goodness of people. There was no mention of Annes terrible and agonizing death in a Nazi death camp. Her awakening to a sense of Jewish spirituality, which shines out from the complete version of The Diary, was erased. Meyer Levin had seen in the writing of young Anne a voice who could speak for millions of anonymous Jewish victims. But the play and the movie that bore her name wished to tell a different story. As Cynthia Ozick later observed, the version of his daughter that Otto Frank had chosen was bowdlerized, transmuted, traduced, reduced... infantilized, Americanized, homogenized, sentimentalized, falsified, kitschified. The silencing of his own play in favor of a less Jewish version became an obsession that tormented Levin to the end of his days. He accused Otto Frank of imposing his own assimilated identity on his daughter, as well as succumbing to the influence of the viciously anti-Zionist Hellman. Foolishly, he engaged in a futile lawsuit against Frank for fraud, as well as the Goodrich/Hackett team for plagiarism. As one of Levins friends aptly observed, that was akin to suing the father of Joan of Arc. The rest of his life was wasted tilting against the windmills of a literary and theatrical establishment that was uninterested in his story of the true Jewish Anne. Some subsequent productions of the play have sought to correct Hellmans butchery. But the play still remains a banal piece of universalizing that fails to do justice to Anne and the other victims. It is in that context that the decision of the Anne Frank Foundation to back the New Israel Fund should be understood. As much as Meyer Levins critique of his choices was accurate, Otto Franks decisions represented a vision of Jewish identity that exemplified Cynthia Ozicks famous observation that universalism is the parochialism of the Jews. Even though it is regrettable that some of the NIFs unsavory causes will now bear the imprimatur of the most famous Holocaust martyr, its probably in keeping with her fathers outlook (though perhaps not that of his daughter). So while it would be just as futile and counter-productive for contemporary Zionists to do battle with her fathers foundation as it was for Levin, neither should sensible observers be deterred by its endorsement from pointing out what is profoundly wrong with the NIFs funding decisions. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSthe Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin. The Trump administration may be patting itself on the back by playing tough guy with tariffs in its effort to convince the Chinese government to return to the negotiating table for the purpose of revising reciprocal trade arrangements. President Xi, however, may have turned the tables in Chinas favor with his hosting last month of North Koreas Kim Jong Un who received a very warm welcome in Beijing. The economic brinkmanship game being played out by the two leaders of the worlds two biggest economies is not occurring in a diplomatic vacuum. It already has caused major reductions in asset portfolio values across the globe irrespective of class, and the fear of widespread disruptions in both the developed and third world countries in the targeted products, services and commodities labor markets. There is no question that the U.S. is at a disadvantage in the trade imbalance with China to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars per year, but is this really the best way to resolve this issue? Bullying is not good in the schoolyard, but it is infinitely more damaging in international relations. As the rabbit to his chagrin discovered, subtle steady movements generally win the race. While China has matched us in gross domestic product, its economy is much less dynamic than that of the United States. Most of its technology has been derived from theft, not innovation. The United States could learn much from Israel in this regard. Instead of reducing funding for research and development, which we have been doing for several decades, we should reverse that trend, and in partnership with business and our universities, increase not only applied R&D, but also fundamental research in the natural sciences. Who knows what great discoveries lie ahead! This is what Israel has done and the fruits of that effort are self-evident around the world. The benefits for Israel have not only been economic. Israel has benefited in the security and military spheres. It has won the friendship and support of many countries with whom Israel has shared its technology, and aided those countries with its innovative methods in agriculture, medicine, disaster relief and in a whole host of other ways. We cannot peacefully stop Kim Jong Un from having nuclear weapons without Chinas assistance. While the president may have his rose-colored glasses narrowly focused on unilaterally bringing China to agree to closer trade equalization, he forgets that President Xi has a strong hand too in solving other issues that are vital to the United States. The art of the deal in this instance requires less dependence on Chinese acquiescence and greater effort on our part in making Chinese exports less vital to our economy by following Israels example of innovation, creativity and increased demand for Americas unique products and services. By unleashing the genius of American scientific inquiry and discovery, which in the past has made America great, we can in the future, as the president so aptly puts it, make America great again. If you wish to comment or respond to any of the contents herein you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner. If you wish to respond by ranting and raving, please go into your bathroom, lock the door and shout your brains out. Mel Pearlman has been practicing law in Central Florida for the past 45 years. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; on the District VII Mental Health Board, as Special Prosecutor for the City of Winter Park, Florida; and on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Research and Development Authority. He was a charter member of the Board of Directors and served as the first Vice President of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as its first pro-bono legal counsel. (JNS)The head of the Palestine Liberation Organizations Washington office received a thunderous welcome on Monday afternoon from self-described pro-Israel, pro-peace activists at the 10th anniversary J Street conference. Despite a speech peppered with obvious agitprop, Husam Zomlot was cheered heartily by attendees. It warms my heart to know we have allies like you, Zomlot told the crowd. Allies with such courage and conviction to stand up for what is right. You are not dreamers, but realists. The J Street lobbying agenda includes extensive demands on Israel and none on the Palestinians, apparently affirming Zomlots contention that an alliance exists between the PLO and the progressive lobbying group. Before becoming PLO envoy to Washington in 2016, Zomlot founded the Palestine Strategy Group, an organization created to provide strategic and public-relations strategies to help guide the Palestinian national project, and inform and influence policy decisions. In a 2017 profile inPolitico, Zomlot claimed: How this conflict has been depicted and portrayed in America is wrong, inaccurate and misinformed. One of my main missions is to make it accurate. We will have to redefine the discourse on this whole thing. His speech on Monday was full of such redefinition. Zomlot laid out a platform to which he claimed the Palestinian leadership was committed. His list included a nonspecific dignified and just peace, two democratic and egalitarian states, and a meaningful, genuine, credible peace process. He also said his leadership was committed to a two-state solution on the 1967 borders which, despite the audiences enthusiastic applause, would leave the Old City of Jerusalem, including the holiest Jewish sites, in a foreign country. Zomlot also claimed that his leadership is committed (and always has been) to nonviolence. The Palestinian have done their share for peace, he insisted. They have, he said, recognized Israel on 78 percent of historic Palestine, a formulation that might have rung a little hollow with the minority of centrist attendees. He vowed that the Palestinians would not accept redefining what the two-state solution means and, again to much applause, said that there would be no interim agreements, no state without East Jerusalem, no state without Gaza, no state with provisional borders, no state without a resolution for Palestinian refugees, and no state with even one Israeli soldier on its soil. Despite a long history of hostility to Jewish worship at holy sites in Hebron, Shechem and Bethlehem, Zomlot vowed that once peace prevails, once the state of Palestine is established, once that state has East Jerusalem as its capital, we will not only recognize the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, but we will celebrate the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. Clapping from the crowd suggested that they believed him. Zomlot clearly appreciated the work that J Street has done and took his 34-minute speech as an opportunity to commend J Streetto commend the relentless work, your dedication, your investment. You have partners in us, the people of Palestine and the leadership of Palestine. Jonathan Greenberg is an ordained reform rabbi, and senior vice president of the news and public-policy group Haym Salomon Center. Follow him @JGreenbergSez. Megiddo, in Israels Jezreel Valley, is among the most fought-over pieces of ground in history. The worlds great armies have waged 34 known battles across the terrain surrounding the base of Tel Megiddo, the hilltop settlement dating from 7000 bc. It is the site of historys first reliably recorded battle, when in 1457 bc Egyptians under Pharaoh Thutmose III defeated a coalition of Canaanite tribes. Many people also believe Megiddo will host historys last great battle, a climactic clash between the forces of good and evil at the place the New Testament Book of Revelation calls by its Greek nameArmageddon. In an age when merchants transported almost all trade goods on the backs of camels and horses, Megiddo was strategic terrain in every sense of the term. From its position on the western edge of the Jezreel Valley this high ground dominated the narrow Musmus Pass on the Via Maris, a primary overland trade route in ancient and early medieval times. It linked Egypt with Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) and Mesopotamias Fertile Crescent (present-day Iraq). Branches of the fabled Silk and Spice roads ran through the Jezreel along the Via Maris. Battles since lost to the mists of time were undoubtedly fought there before 1457 bc. Fragmentary inscriptions on ancient Egyptian tombs strongly suggest that in 2350 bc forces under Pharaoh Pepi I defeated Canaanite rebels at the Nose of the Gazelles Head, a landmark historians have placed somewhere in the Mount Carmel coastal range, just a few miles northwest of Megiddo. The Old Testament records five key clashes around Megiddo. In 1285 bc the Israelite prophet Deborah and her military counterpart, Barak, sent Canaanite General Sisera packing in battle near Mount Tabor, 21 miles northeast of Megiddo. Sisera kept running until a turncoat drove a tent peg through his skull. Forty years later a band of 300 Israelites under the prophet and commander Gideon routed a greatly superior Midianite army at the Hill of Moreh, just east of Megiddo. In 1055 bc Saul, first king of a united Israel, lost the battle, his life, his head and three sons to the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, 20 miles southeast of Megiddo, leaving son-in-law David as king. In 841 bc the Israelite captain Jehu staged a coup against King Joram, piercing his heart with an arrow in a chariot duel just east of Megiddo before having his mother, the infamous Queen Jezebel, thrown from a window to her death in Jezreel. Finally, in 609 bc Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II defeated and killed King Josiah of Judah (opposite, in lead chariot) in battle at Megiddo and turned the southern kingdom into a vassal state. Tel Megiddo was abandoned in 586 bc, about the time Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, overran Judah and sent many survivors into the infamous Babylonian captivity. But over the subsequent two and a half millennia the fighting has continued on the plain surrounding Megiddo. In ad 67, during the Jewish Revolt against Rome, future emperor Vespasian routed a rebel force at Mount Tabor. In 1182 and again in 1187 Sultan Saladin of Egypt and Syria defeated the Crusaders at Mount Tabor, though in 1183 he cut and ran at Ain Jalut (present-day Ein Harod, Israel), between Megiddo and Mount Gilboa. The Egyptian Mamluks defeated a force of invading Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260, only to be thrashed themselves four years later by a combined Crusader force of Templers and Hospitallers at Lejjun, a mile east of the Tel Megiddo ruins. In the modern era Napoleon Bonaparte turned around a French battle against Ottoman Turks at Mount Tabor in 1799, while in 1918 British General Edmund Allenby defeated a mixed force of Ottomans and Germans at Megiddo. Israel fought four distinct battlestwo in 1948, one in 1967 and another in 1973against Arab forces around Megiddo. Present-day Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) National Park [en.parks.org.il/ParksAndReserves/TelMegiddo] encompasses perhaps the most significant archeological site in Israel, where excavations have unearthed more than two-dozen layers of habitation stretching back to the early Bronze Age. Peace may reign for the time being in Megiddo, but if the final battle between good and evil foretold in the New Testament comes to pass, it may not be confined to the surrounding plain. Since the end of World War II the name Armageddon has become synonymous with a potential global nuclear cataclysm. MH Another sacrifice to the grim, insatiate Moloch of War, The Highland Weekly News evoked when it reported the untimely death of Brig. Gen. Joshua W. Sill in its January 22, 1863, edition. Gen. Sill was well known and everywhere admired throughout Ohio..He falls lamented by an admiring State and grateful country, in whose memory and history he will be forever cherished. Today, Sills service and sacrifice are memorialized at two locations more than 1,000 miles apart. One is his namesake U.S. Army postFort Sill, Oklahoma. The other is a marble and limestone monument at his gravesite in Chillicothe, Ohio. While one remains a thriving, bustling training center with thousands of troops at the largest artillery installation in the world, Sills rapidly deteriorating gravesite monument is threatened with destruction. Born in Chillicothe on December 6, 1831, Joshua Woodrow Sill received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy from Ohio Whig congressman John L. Taylor in 1849. He excelled as a cadet, graduating third in the Class of 1853 and was commissioned in the Ordnance branch. While a West Point cadet, he had roomed for a time with Phil Sheridan, and the two became lifelong friends. From 1853 to January 1861, Sill served ordnance assignments at the Watervliet Arsenal (twice), the Pittsburgh Arsenal, and did a two-year tour (1855-57) at West Point as an instructor of cadets. In January 1861, Sill resigned his Army commission and began a civilian teaching job as a professor of Mathematics and Civil Engineering at the Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in New York. Gen. Sill is lamented by an admiring State and grateful country. When the war broke out in April 1861, however, he patriotically returned to the colors, resigning his academic position and offering his service to Ohio Governor William Dennison. In May, the governor appointed Sill assistant adjutant general of the state with the primary duty of organizing the formation of Ohio volunteer regiments and preparing them for Union Army service. In August 1861, Sill was commissioned colonel of the 33rd Ohio Infantry and led it that fall to join Union forces in eastern Kentucky. Sill established a solid reputation as a humble and modest officer and a brave and resourceful battlefield commander. His men adored him. An officer recalled that the soldiers fairly worshipped him, for he treated them like men. One of his officers stated that No man in this entire army, as I believe, was so much admired, respected and beloved by inferiors and superiors in rank as was General Sill. Sill rose from colonel of the 33rd Ohio to brigadier general on July 16, 1862. At his request, Sill received command of the 1st Brigade in his old West Point friend Brig. Gen. Phil Sheridans 3rd Division in the Right Wing of Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans Army of the Cumberland. At the Battle of Stones River on December 31, 1862, a Confederate musket ball struck the 31-year-old Sill in the face and penetrated his brain, killing him. Sill was one of Sheridans four brigade commanders struck down that daybased on number of casualties as a percentage of troops involved (nearly 33 percent) the bloodiest major battle of the war. Sheridan expressed that Sills death, abruptly closed a career which, had it been prolonged a little more, not only would have shed additional lustre on his name, but would have been of marked benefit to his country. Sills body fell into enemy hands and he was initially buried in a battlefield cemetery. However, a committee of citizens from his hometown, Chillicothe, Ohio, went south and retrieved it for reburial. His remainstransported by a hearse from the church to Grandview Cemetery and escorted by a band, relatives and friends, army officers and soldiers, the mayor, and city officialswere reinterred in early February 1863. A fluted column, broken below its capital, and draped with the American flag, was erected over his gravesite. Nearly a century later, on Memorial Day 1957, a bronze plaque donated by the officers and soldiers of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Sills namesake army post was added to the monument. Bird's eye view drawing of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, late 1800s. (Historic American Buildings Survey/Library of Congress) In January 1869, Sheridan, at that time commanding frontier army forces operating against hostile Indian tribes, memorialized his fallen friend by renaming Camp Wichita, Indian Territory (80 miles south of present-day Oklahoma City) Fort Sill in his memory. Much of the original construction of the forts buildings was done by 10th Cavalry Regiment Buffalo Soldiers under the command of Colonel (Brevet Maj. Gen.) Benjamin H. Grierson, who in 1863 had led Griersons Raid during Grants Vicksburg Campaign. Fort Sill was an important post during the Indian Wars, including the location where the Army held Apache prisoners of war, notably Geronimo. The soldiers fairly worshipped him, for he treated them like men. The number of well-known Native Americans buried in Fort Sill cemeteries has earned it the nickname The Indian Arlington. In 1911, the U.S. Army Field Artillery School (then known as the School of Fire for Artillery) was established there, and Fort Sill has become the premier artillery (field artillery and air defense artillery) complex in the world, training artillerists from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as those of international Allied nations. Through his namesake Fort Sill, the Sill moniker quite literally is known throughout the world. Yet secure and lasting fame is definitely not enjoyed by Sills Chillicothe monument. Bayonet practice at Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1917. (A.J. Quble/War Department/National Archives) Sills monument in Chillicothes Grand View Cemetery, meant to stand in perpetuity, might not last much longer unless serious action is taken. The base holding the monument is in poor condition and unstable. The monumentmade of marble and limestoneis caked with biological growth and the epitaph is faded. The bronze plaque added in 1957 also badly needs to be restored. Sills monument, meant to stand in perpetuity, might not last longer. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), Sergeant Richard Enderlin Camp #73the organization that initiated the projectand the Chillicothe-Ross Community Foundation are trying to raise enough funds to restore the monument. They have a bid from the Columbus Art Memorial, Inc.a family-owned business, founded more than 90 years agofor $32,000 to take on the project. The fee will cover the expense of dismantling the monument, transporting it to Columbus for restoration, and returning it to the cemetery. The project will take 68 months to complete. The companys past restoration projects include the Medal of Honor Grove at Valley Forge, Pa.; the Columbus, Gahanna, Groveport, and Grove City police memorials; and the Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College) and Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller statues (Schiller Park, Columbus, Ohio). The best way to donate is through the General Sill Monument GoFundMe page. Every tax-deductible donation counts. Frank Jastrzembski, who writes from Cleveland, Ohio, is a regular contributor to Americas Civil War. In pursuit of a story, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn pushed the boundaries of her profession, the military, and even common sense. Martha Gellhorn was determined to cover D-Day, and she wasnt about to let a little thing like the American military stop her. Refused press credentials, she stowed away in the bathroom of a hospital ship, which dropped anchor off Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944. As dawn broke, Gellhorn came up on deck and saw a seascape filled with shipsthe greatest naval traffic jam in historyso enormous, so awesome, that it felt more like an act of nature than anything man made.She later waded ashore to help the ships crew carry wounded soldiers. In a century defined by war, Martha Gellhorn found her lifes work. I never really found my own private disorderly place in the world except in the general chaos of war, she wrote. As a journalist, she covered battles from the Spanish civil war to the 1981 invasion of Panama. But World War II would always be her defining conflict, and Gellhorn was one of that wars great chroniclers. She covered it all, from the political maneuvering in Czechoslovakia in 1939 to the Nuremberg trials. Gellhorn delighted in the disorder of combat, and put up with the miseries of wartime without a complaint. In March 1944, after Gellhorn had filed dozens of stories from the front for Colliers, the editors wrote that she was notable among our gal correspondents not only for her writing but for her good looks. Blond, tall, dashingshe comes pretty close to living up to Hollywoods idea of what a big-league woman reporter should be. The gal correspondent was indeed attractive, but her greatest appeal lay not in her legs but in her unquenchable curiosity. She was a great listener, a woman who delighted in staying up all night in a bombed-out basement or a muddy field, drinking cheap whiskey and talking with soldiers from half a dozen countries in English, German, and French, the fevered conversations punctuated by her rich laugh. Martha was not just tough. Martha was fun. Gellhorn was born and raised in St. Louis, but decamped as soon as she possibly could. Her father, born in Germany, was a physician; her mother lobbied for the womens vote. Hers was a privileged childhood, with trips to Europe and education at a private school that Gellhorns parents founded because they thought that the schools in St. Louis were too hidebound. Gellhorn enrolled in Bryn Mawr, but soon found it as stifling as the Midwest. She dropped out to become a cub reporter in Albany, New York, where she covered womens clubs and the police beat. That gig lasted six months. The cub reporter borrowed train fare from her ever-supportive mother, packed her bags, and headed to New York City, where she traded an article for passage in steerage. In the spring of 1930, the twenty-one-year-old St. Louisan arrived in Paris with two suitcases, a typewriter, and seventy-five dollars. I meant to go everywhere and see everything and I meant to write my way. That Martha did, peddling articles on Parisian fashion to Americans, exploring the south of France and the Alps, and working on a novel about a young woman footloose in Europe. She also had a four-year-long affair with Bertrand de Jouvenel, a French journalist who had been Colettes stepsonand, at age sixteen, her lover, immortalized in Colettes Cheri. At a conference in Berlin in January 1934, Martha and Bertrand met members of the Hitler Youth. She found them repugnant, and was convinced that any rapprochement with the Germans would be suicide for France. Gellhorn also came to realize that a life in the salons of Paris was not for her. When her relationship with de Jouvenel crumbled, she returned to the United States and got a job reporting for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration on conditions in North Carolina and New England. Tramping down muddy roads in her Parisian shoes, she interviewed mill workers, sharecroppers, teachers, doctors. She saw children stupefied by malnutrition, whole families rendered helpless by tuberculosis or syphilis. Still, with all this, they are a grand people. If there is any meaning in the phrase American stock it has some meaning here. They are sound and good humored; kind and loyal. I dont believe they are lazy; I believe they are mostly ill and ignorant.It is a terribly frightening picture. Gellhorn was enraged by the sufferings she saw, and the failings of the government to alleviate that pain. Her anger at the plight of the bit players in the drama of history fueled her war coverage for decades to come. It helped temper her acute, almost cold eye, and also helped her write a half-dozen decent novels, including A Stricken Field, on World War II. She would have nothing to do with the kind of bogus objectivity that media schools love, John Pilger, a journalist who befriended Gellhorn when they both covered the war in Vietnam, told NPR.She saw journalism, and she conducted her journalism, rather from the point of view of humanitypeople, not power. Martha harangued Harry Hopkins, her boss, about the failures of relief. He calmly suggested she take the subject up with Eleanor Roosevelt. The first lady, who was acquainted with Gellhorns mother through Bryn Mawr, invited Martha to the White House for dinner. Over the glittering table, Eleanor said loudly: Franklin, talk to that girl. She says that all the unemployed have pellagra and syphilis. The evening marked the start of a long, rich friendship between the two women, who wrote to each other for decades. She gave off light, Martha wrote of Roosevelt years later. I cannot explain it better. By the spring of 1937, Gellhorn was ready to move on. Like many young Americans, she had become fascinated with the building civil war in Spain. Determined to cover it, the twenty-seven-year-old wrote a piece for Vogue on Beauty Problems of the Middle-Aged Woman to pay her passage to Europe. Me I am going to Spain with the boys, she wrote a family friend in St. Louis.I dont know who the boys are, but I am going with them. Actually, she did know one boy. In 1936, she had met Ernest Hemingway, already famous for writing A Farewell to Arms, in Key West when she and her mother were on vacation there. The author was parked at the bar at Sloppy Joes.A large, dirty man in untidy somewhat soiled white shorts and shirt, Gellhorn described him. That unalluring image, and the fact that Hemingway was married to his second wife, wasnt enough to forgo a flirtation. It escalated when Gellhorn arrived at Madrids Hotel Florida to find Hemingway already there, holding court among the foreign journalists. I knew youd get here, daughter, because I fixed it so you could, Hemingway said. The two embarked on an affair, one that was punctuated by artillery shells bursting in the street outside the hotel and drives out to the front. At Hemingways urging, Gellhorn started writing about war: not military maneuvers, about which she thought she was ignorant, but about its effects on civilians. She wrote about seeing an old woman leading a little boy across a square: You know what she is thinking: she is thinking she must get the child home, you are always safer in your own place, with the things you know. Somehow you do not believe you can get killed when you are sitting in your own parlor, you never think that. She is in the middle of the square when the next one comes. A small piece of twisted steel, hot and very sharp, sprays off from the shell; it takes the little boy in the throat. The old woman stands there, holding the hand of the dead child, looking at him stupidly, not saying anything, and men run out toward her to carry the child. At their left, at the side of the square, is a huge brilliant sign which says: GET OUT OF MADRID. Colliers asked for more; so did the New Yorker. At age twenty-eight, Gellhorn was a respected war correspondent. There are practically no words to describe Madrid, it was heaven, far and away the best thing I have ever seen or lived through, Gellhorn wrote. Even as the war wound down she was reluctant to leave, but the magazine wanted her to head north to France and England and Czechoslovakia, to report on the possibility of more war.The war in Spain was one kind of war, she wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, the next world war will be the stupidest, lyingest, cruelest sell-out in our time. She was still deeply involved with Hemingway, and went to join him in Cuba in February 1939, where he was finishing For Whom the Bell Tolls and Martha was writing her own novel set in Spain. It was not a match made in heaven. Martha admired Hemingways writing, but was not cut out for playing the adoring helpmeet. Hemingway was charmed by her energy and independence, but infuriated by her refusal to play second fiddle. After too many months supervising the servants and accompanying Hemingway on drunken evenings with exiled Basque pelota players, Gellhorn headed off to Finland in November 1939, where she covered the beginning of the winter war. It is going to be terrible, she wrote Hemingway, after the Russians bombed Helsinki. The people are marvelous, with a kind of pale frozen fortitude. They do not cry out and they do not run; they watch with loathing but without fear this nasty hidden business which they did nothing to bring about themselves. Gellhorn didnt run either. When Geoffrey Cox of the Daily Express knocked on her door one night to tell her that journalists were being evacuated, I told him what the hell and went back to sleep, she wrote to Hemingway. Cox was mightily impressed by the sight of Gellhorn in her yellow silk nightgown, and also by her determination to stay. When she finally returned to Cuba, she wrote Hemingway a wry guaranty stating, I recognize that a very fine and sensitive writer cannot be left alone for two months and sixteen days and that after marriage I will not leave my present and future husband not for nothing no matter what or anything. The two married in November 1940. That February, Gellhorn took Hemingway along with her on a three-month honeymoon to China, where she was reporting on the China-Japan war for Colliers. Conditions were terrible, with bedbugs, rain, maggot-infested food, and cholera. In Travels with Myself and Another, published in 1978, Hemingway became U.C., or Unwilling Companion. While the great writer parked himself at the hotel bar in Hong Kong, Martha was out roaming the streets, talking to opium dealers, prostitutes, and refugees: When finally I visited a dank ill-lit basement factory where small children carved ivory balls within balls, a favorite tourist trinket, I could not bear to see any more. I had a mild fit of hysterics. They look about ten years old, I shouted at U.C. It takes three months to make one of those damned things, I think its eight balls within balls. Theyll be blind before theyre twenty. And that little girl with her tortoise. Were all living on slave labor! The people are half starved! I want to get out, I cant stand this place! U.C. considered me thoughtfully. The trouble with you, M., is that you think everybody is exactly like you. What you cant stand, they cant stand. Whats hell for you has to be hell for them. How do you know what they feel about their lives? After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Colliers contacted Gellhorn and asked her to cover Americas entry into the war. The American military was less receptive; women correspondents were refused credentials. As you say, it is really too late to do anything about my sex, Gellhorn wrote to Charles Colebaugh, her editor at Colliers. That is a handicap I have been struggling under since I was five years old, and I shall just forge ahead, bravely, despite the army. But, she added, This is going to be a nice long war, and sooner or later they are going to want to make it popular, and then folks like us can work. Having stayed in Cuba with Hemingway and spent time in New York to help get her novel Liana published, she didnt make it back to England until November 1943. Once back, she made up for lost time, going to Lincolnshire to write about the absurdly young pilots of Bomber Command, the British unit with the worst odds of survival. In September 1943, Gellhorn followed the Allies into Italy, making her way to Naples from Algiers. She joined a French transportation officer driving back to the front near Cassino, north through the mud and cold and burned-out trucks and dead animals. Hemingway was pressuring her to return to Cuba: Are you a war correspondent, one cable read, or wife in my bed? The wife returned to Cuba to mollify the husband, and make one more attempt to convince him that he had to start writing about the war. Hemingway finally agreedand usurped Gellhorn as chief war correspondent for Colliers, snagging a rare seat on an RAF plane from the States to Shannon and London. The way it looks, Gellhorn wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, I am going to lose out on the thing I most care about seeing or writing of in the world, and maybe in my whole life. Two weeks later Martha made it to London herself, having crossed the Atlantic on a Norwegian freighter carrying amphibious personnel carriers and dynamite. The conditions were trying: the ship was dry, making it hard for Gellhorn to drown her sorrows, and she could only smoke on deck. She passed the time reading Lady Chatterleys Lover and pondering the shambles of her marriage.Stayed in bed till afternoon,she wrote on May 10, 1944. Terrible depression last nightcant sleep for sadness regretting it all so terrible. She and Hemingway both ended up at the Dorchester Hotel in London, where they quarreled bitterly. Gellhorn left him, an act for which he never forgave her. To the end of her days, she was furious that she was more often described as Hemingways third wife than as a writer in her own right, and would abruptly end a conversation at the mention of his name. To her mother, she wrote: A man must be a very great genius to make up for being such a loathsome human being. Because she was no longer the principal correspondent for Colliers, and because she was female, Gellhorn wasnt among the 558 reporters and photographers accredited to cover D-Day. On June 6 she waited anxiously in London, far from the Channel. This wouldnt do. She headed east, toward the coast. When a military policeman stopped her on the docks, she told him she was interviewing nurses, and pointed to a hospital ship. He waved her through. On the hospital ship, Gellhorn locked herself into a bathroom and waited until she heard the engines thrum and waves slap the hull. She had drunk considerable whiskey in order to gather up courage for the caper, and it must have been a queasy ride. The ship anchored in the American sector, at Omaha Red. Wounded soldiers were brought to the ship in landing craft and water ambulances, and carried off to the operating rooms. Gellhorn helped interpret, despite the fact that she was repelled by the German prisoners, and shouted Ruhig! (Quiet!) when they talked and laughed.We are helpless against our own decency really, she wrote later. That night, Gellhorn waded ashore with the ambulance teams to collect casualties. She smelled the sweet smell of summer grass; a smell of cattle and peace and the sun that had warmed the earth some other time, when summer was real. She saw a deserted junk yard, with the boxy black shapes of tanks, trucks, munitions dumps. The noise of shells exploding was deafening. The next morning, the hospital ship weighed anchor to carry the wounded to back to England. When Gellhorn arrived in London, she was arrested for crossing to France without military permission, stripped of her travel papers and ration coupons, and sent to a nurses training camp, with orders to return to Normandy only when the nurses were ready to goa clear punishment for a correspondent of Gellhorns caliber. Those orders hardly slowed Gellhorns stride. She took leave of the nurses camp by rolling under the wire fence, then hitched a ride to Naples with an RAF pilot after feeding him a sob story about a fiance in Italy. Before leaving London, she had written a letter of protest to a Colonel Lawrence complaining about the Armys continued refusal to let nineteen SHAEF-accredited female correspondents return to France. Not only was this curious condescending treatment as ridiculous as it is undignified, she wrote, but it was preventing experienced reporters from carrying out their responsibilities to millions of people in America who are desperately in need of seeing, but cannot see for themselves. She hopscotched her way around Europe, returning to Paris shortly after its liberation, then to Brussels and Arnhem. Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne found her alone with her notebook, without a pass or any other accreditation, and out of uniform. They brought her to their commander, James Gavin. She told him how shed been stripped of her papers because of sneaking off to D-Day. He laughed, said she would make a good guerrilla fighter, and said he would pretend hed never seen her. But Gavin did pursue her, finally sending a young colonel in his airplane to Paris to fetch her in March 1945. The two embarked on a two-year-long affair, one sustained by occasional rendezvous and many letters, as well as deep respect for the others intelligence and understanding of what Gavin called the madness and the miracle of war. Gavin begged her to marry him, but Gellhorn had to admit that she was not cut out to be a generals wife. Gellhorn spent the last year of the war traveling alone, circling down to the Spanish border to interview refugees, flying on a P-61 over Germany at night, and interviewing Germans, none of whom seemed to have ever been Nazis. In May 1945 she reached Dachau, which had been liberated several days before. She looked at everything: the skeletal survivors, the rooms where the medical experiments were conducted, the crematorium.We have all seen a great deal now, Gellhorn wrote. We have seen too many wars and too much violent dying; we have seen hospitals, bloody and messy as butcher shops; we have seen the dead like bundles lying on all the roads of half the earth. But nowhere was there anything like this. Nothing about war was ever as insanely wicked as these starved and outraged, naked, nameless dead. In Dachau, she told friends later, she finally understood the true evil of man, and stopped being young. The years after the war were less kind to Gellhorn. Without a war to follow, her nervous energy took over, and she ping-ponged around the world, living in Italy, Mexico, and Kenya. She adopted an Italian war orphan and doted on him, but chafed at the bonds of motherhood, and had no qualms about leaving him for months at a time. She married T. S. Matthews, former editor of Time, but once again found that marriage wasnt a strong enough anchor to hold her. And she kept looking for another war, first Vietnam, then the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1989, she covered the American invasion of Panama. She was eighty-one. When civil war erupted in Bosnia in the early 1990s, Martha grudgingly admitted she was too old to go. You have to be nimble, she reportedly said. A woman who felt alive only while in motion was being forced, at last, to slow down. Gellhorn died on February 15, 1998, at age eighty-nine. Suffering from cancer and almost blind, she committed suicide in her London apartment, choosing her own path to the end. What distinguishes her journalism is her eloquent outrage and commitment to fair play, Bill Buford, who had befriended Gellhorn when he was editor of Granta, said upon her death.She was amazing. She was nearly 90, smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, and well into her 80s, with her high cheekbones, she could flirt as easily as women 50 years younger. That, no doubt, is a eulogy that would have suited Gellhorn just fine. Originally published in the February 2008 issue of World War II Magazine. To subscribe, click here. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. The Music Modernization Act passed the U.S. House this week and is headed for the Senate. Here Dae Bogan recounts how providing the Principle Analyst of the Congressional Budget office with a crash course in copyright law and music publishing left him very concerned about the economic future of DIY musicians. ______________________________ Guest post by Dae Bogan of Dae Bogan Music He emailed me yesterday and asked to speak with me about the magnitude of the unclaimed royalties market, although we ended up discussing much more than that. Apparently he had discovered a presentation that I gave at the Music Industry Research Associations MIRA Conference last year titled The State of Unclaimed Royalties and Music Licenses in the United States. I just spent the last hour giving a copyright law and music publishing crash course to a Principal Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office whos tasked with determining the economic impact of the revised Music Modernization Act (which, by the way, now includes the Musical Works Modernization Act (which is an update to the originally proposed MMA, affecting songwriters and publishers), AMP Act (affecting producers and engineers) and CLASSICS Act (affecting recording artists of Pre-1972 records)) on states, DSPs and music creators. The good news is he had a lot of great questions and had did a significant amount of research prior to our call. To be fair, I meet plenty of music industry professionals who have (or at least demonstrate) less knowledge of whats going on in the world of music rights administration and music publishing than this gentleman; and theyve spent years in the industry! It is refreshing to know that the government does inquiry with non-lobbyist from time to time when considering the impact of proposed legislation. At any rate, he was open to hearing my advocacy on behalf of music creators (specifically songwriters, music producers, and recording artists of Pre-1972 records) as well as my substantiated opposition to some features of the revised MMA (generally those features that would disproportionately benefit music licensees (primarily, DSPs) and major publishers while leaving DIY music creators to fend for themselves). [This paragraph was omitted on 4/20/2018 as a result of a clarification that I received for Title 3 of the MMA] Another issue I have is with the ownership of the unclaimed mechanical royalties fund(s). The Musical Works Modernization Act (Title 1 of the MMA) would, for the first time, codify the existence of a mechanical royalties black box in the United States. The current US Copyright Act does not give copyright owners a right to earn or collect mechanical royalties if their musical works are not registered with the US Copyright Office. Mount Greylock building project owner's project manager Trip Elmore of Dore & Whittier addresses the School Building Committee as committee member Richard Cohen, left, looks on. Mount Greylock Building Committee Opts to Move Forward with Whiteboard Installation A third-floor academic room in the new wing, as observed on Wednesday evening from the parking lot, appears to be taking shape with cabinets installed. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. A deeply divided Mount Greylock School Building Committee on Wednesday declined to halt the installation of interactive whiteboards in order to give the district time to explore replacements. Committee member Richard Cohen, who brought the issue to the committee's attention at its April 10 meeting, moved to direct the construction manager to stop taking delivery on whiteboards that he argued were inferior, keep any that are on the job site in their boxes and, instead, study whether the district should acquire boards that are both larger in display area and capable of allowing touch manipulation of images. That motion failed on a vote of 4-4, with Cohen joined by Steven Wentworth, Jesse Wirtes and Al Terranova. Hugh Daley, Mark Schiek, Paula Consolini and Principal Mary MacDonald, a voting member of the committee, voted against the change. The committee was under the gun from a time perspective in a couple of different ways. Chairman Schiek was dealing with a bare minimum quorum of the 15-person panel, and co-chair Consolini announced at the outset of the 5:45 special meeting that she needed to leave a little before 7 p.m. in order to make a commitment for work. She ended up staying closer to 7:30 in order to make sure that the committee could have a vote on the lone item on its agenda. The other time constraint: The district already has display whiteboards on site and being installed in the new academic wing. "Turner needs direction tonight," owner's project manager Trip Elmore said on behalf of Turner Construction, which was not represented at Wednesday's meeting. "Turner's major concern is they need to know what to do." The next regular meeting of the committee is scheduled for May 8. No one at Wednesday's meeting argued Cohen was wrong that the boards he is proposing are superior to the ones the district has on hand -- or in the delivery stream -- from the project's vendor. As on April 10, the main objections to switching course midstream were twofold: added cost and potential delay to a $64 million project already behind in its original goal of having classes in the new academic wing this month. On the timing issue, Cohen came armed with testimony from Valley Communications Systems, the vendor that sold the district its ceiling-mounted projectors, that the "better" whiteboards could be installed on the project's timeline. While the current plan of holding classes in the new academic wing at the start of the 2018-19 school year is still viable, Daley argued that any change at this point could be problematic for the district. "Revisiting this decision at this time we are giving the [construction] team an out to say, 'The schedule is not going to hit because you did X,' " Daley said. "We need to keep all the responsibility for the schedule on the project team and the design team. We need to be the consistent one so we can hold them to account." As for cost, the committee heard Wednesday that it likely would be in the neighborhood of $100,000. While the project still has funds in its owner's contingency line item to cover that cost, those contingency funds have already been hit several times, including, most recently, by the district's decision to rebuild the middle-high school's parking lot as part of the building project. While the whiteboards originally included in the scope of the project (and, in some cases, in the classrooms) are eligible for some reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, new boards ordered at this late date would not, Elmore told the committee. The cost of the change would be borne entirely by the district. The new whiteboards, which cost about $1,800 per unit according to information supplied by Cohen's working group, would be offset by a credit of $219 per unit for old whiteboards returned at this point in the project. MacDonald reported that the school has 44 of the boards in educational spaces. Cohen argued that the additional expense is worthwhile. His argument on April 10 focused mostly on the touch interactivity, which is more useful with some applications, based on Cohen's conversation with Mount Greylock math teacher Karl Belouin, who served on the working group and provided more than two pages written testimony as part of its report. On Wednesday, he argued more that the "touch-capable" whiteboards (which also can be used with a stylus) are larger in display area, allowing for greater visibility for all students in the classroom. "If we resolve the image issue by putting compatibility-sized, 100-inch whiteboards, you'd automatically be resolving touch," Cohen said. "Touch would be a freebie." Much of Belouin's comment was focused on the size issue. "Screen size is extremely important," the math teacher wrote. "The larger the screen size, the greater the amount of material that can be placed on the individual pages, allowing for a more traditional and natural use of the board typical of the traditional write-only board. "Projected images and applications (math interactive applets and applications) are harder to see and manipulate in this reduced environment, and zooming in on the application or image requires manipulation of the image that wasn't necessary when the image size was greater with the prior projection system." Cohen noted a couple of times that the new display whiteboards being installed provide less surface area than the screens currently in use at the "old" Mount Greylock and that reducing the area is a step backward for teachers and students. He also showed the committee a diagram generated by British retailer CDEC that shows the 100-inch diagonal whiteboards Cohen recommends would serve students in the back of the room who would be underserved by the 80-inch boards the district is installing. In addition to debating the merits of switching to the larger, touch-sensitive boards, Cohen used the opportunity to again assail the process by which the district purchased the boards it is installing. Again, he argued that the School Building Committee should have had more input at the beginning about specific equipment that would be installed in the classroom. A brief discussion of a proposed compromise on the issue allowed Cohen and Wirtes to push for more voices in the procurement process. The school's administration suggested a middle ground of ordering nine of the larger whiteboard and installing them in targeted classrooms -- mostly rooms used by math teachers. "The reason nine was put there was we were thinking at a base level, where could these go?" MacDonald said. "That's where that came from. That doesn't mean the nine is locked in stone." "Who is we?' " Cohen asked. "Let's do it together and not just have the administration making decisions." Wirtes, the school's facilities supervisor, agreed. "We're talking about priorities," Wirtes said. "It could be nine [boards]. It could be 15. That should have been the working group's decision." Schiek asked for but did not receive a motion to take action on the compromise suggestion after Cohen's initial motion failed, 4-4. No one made a motion to install nine or any other number of the larger whiteboards, and the meeting adjourned with the direction that Turner Construction should continue with the boards already in the budget. At several points in the meeting, it was suggested that the school always could replace the smaller boards at some point in the future out of its regular operating budget. "Because this would be a nonreimbursable item, the only advantage we have of paying for [the larger boards] now instead of doing it over time is that now it would be rolled into the bond," Daley said. "What we're going to lose [by inaction Wednesday] is the $200 credit on all the boards and the cost of installation. We're still going to eat the $100,000 in [larger board] costs either way. But [by not halting], we haven't impacted our schedule. "I think it's worth it to proceed with the existing course to keep the team on track. If we can go through your study process now, let's do that. And if it comes back that somehow these are incredibly better, we'll step into the corrective action." CANCELED: North Adams Cannabis Applicant Holding Community Meeting Friday Update April 27: EWP LLC canceled its scheduled community meeting on Friday after determining that 420 Curran Highway was not suitable for its, largely because of its proximity to south end of Noel Field Athletic Complex. The company's principals say they are looking at other options for use as a cultivation facility. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. A second marijuana establishment is seeking to put down roots in the city. EWP LLC is looking to establish a cultivation location at 420 Curran Highway. The company is holding a community meeting on Friday, April 27, at noon in the Berkshire Room at the Holiday Inn on Main Street. Community meetings are required by state law for establishments seeking to set up dispensaries, cultivation sites, processing or laboratory testing. The city recently passed a cannabis ordinance setting out where such establishments could be located in the city. The location, 420 Curran Highway, was originally K-K Home Mart and later the home of the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Brien Center's adult day program. The building has been largely empty of late with the exception of a vape store that moved in last year. The state began accepting applications for retail establishments of marijuana on April 1 and is expected to be approving licenses beginning in July. Another company, Valley Green Grow, is eyeing a dispensary and cultivation site in the city's south end. The community meeting is open to the public and representatives of EWP LLC will be available to present their plans and answer questions. President Jesse Cook-Dubin and Director Cheryl Mirer delivered the annual report on Tuesday. Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Delivers Annual Report to City Council PITTSFIELD, Mass. From playable pianos to bolstering member to tweaking the parking system, Downtown Pittsfield Inc. has a lot of ahead of it for this summer. The organization delivered its annual report to the City Council on Tuesday. It has gone through some changes in the last year or so. It hired a new director, Cheryl Mirer, and the city had changed its director of community development, which serves as the point of contact with the city. "Every relationship we start takes some time to sort of understand each other," said Downtown Pittsfield President Jesse Cook-Dubin. In the last few months, the organization has met with Director of Community Development Deanna Ruffer to sort through the expectations of each party. That has led to modifications in the scope of work, which Cook-Dubin said eliminates some lofty hopes with more concrete and achievable tasks. One of which is for the organization to focus on maintenance issues with the streetscape project with the Department of Public Services. "We feel that agreement has sort of been restored to packing a punch and some concrete commitments from Downtown Pittsfield Inc." Cook-Dubin said. And now, as the spring rolls in and will eventually turn into the busy summer season, Downtown Pittsfield has a number of projects to unveil. Mirer said she had just been elected to become the vice chairman of the Artscape Committee and, on June 14, that organization, which brings displays of public art to the downtown, will hold its first fundraiser. This summer, Pittsfield will see three of 14 playable pianos displayed. "They are playable pianos and they will be outside," Mirer said, adding that the concept is in conjunction with Tanglewood's 100th anniversary and part of the "summer of music" theme for the county. The organization is most known for its marketing efforts and Mirer said this year's downtown guide will be distributed shortly, helping to show people what downtown has to offer. "We are going into print mode soon with our guide, which will be distributed across the Berkshires and land before Memorial Day weekend," she said. The organization hired a part-time marketing coordinator last August who has been bolstering the organization's social media and sending out weekly email newsletters promoting events going on. "We do have a brand-new website that just launched over the weekend," Mirer added. Mirer said the organization is also creating a "heart of the Berkshires" toolkit for member organizations to align the branding better. Those marketing tools will be given to the membership. However, the city has been scaling back how much it contributes to the organization. In the last three years, the city decreased its contribution from $43,000 down to $24,185. Cook-Dubin said that has taken somewhat of a toll on the amount of marketing it can do. "It has made it very difficult for us to market the downtown the way we want to market," he said. Cook-Dubin said the organization had been able to reserve enough cash to take those hits to the budget. "We had enough cash to absorb the hit in the city line item for one year," Cook-Dubin said. "We had a deficit budget this year and we almost clawed that back." He said Downtown Pittsfield has been doing a lot of recruiting to bolster its membership and places like General Dynamics has seen dues increase. He said organizations such as Guardian Insurance and Interprint, while not located in the downtown, are members. And Berkshire Health System remains one of its largest donors. "It is very appealing for businesses to get an ad in the guide," Cook-Dubin said of its efforts to increase membership. The organization is also heavily promoting the Berkshire Lightscapes project, which aims to bring decorative lighting to Dunham Mall and Park Square. And Downtown Pittsfield will also continue running the downtown ambassador program, which puts people on the street to help patrons of the downtown businesses with wayfinding and other questions. It is also serving a role when it comes to making recommendations to city operations when it comes to the downtown. "We work with the city very closely on the parking program. It is just after the one-year anniversary for the kiosks something to Pittsfield. We are in the process of doing a thorough review of what's working, what's not working," Cook-Dubin said. Already the organization has put in a petition to align the hours of operations for the parking lots and garages with on street which currently have different hours. But, it hopes to come up with more tweaks to the system in the future. While Cook-Dubin boasted of eight new businesses opening in the downtown recently or soon, he also recognizes that some businesses had closed. He said the organization is talking with those businesses and is looking to see if there is a common thread that could be fixed. "It is all over the map. It is foot traffic. For some businesses, there is not the critical mass of foot traffic to sustain them. Certain niche businesses have trouble competing with online retailers," Cook-Dubin said. "We ask and we do our best to figure it out." presents a Let Your Yoga Dance series with Megha-Nancy Buttenheim on Wednesdays from May 2 through Oct. 24. This class is specially designed for the Parkinson's community. Wheelchairs welcome, caregivers and loved ones wanted, elevator access available, no experience needed. 10:10-11:10 a.m. Suggested donation of $5-$10 per class. BCC Phi Theta Kappa Scholars Honored at State House Ceremony BOSTON Two Berkshire Community College students were honored by the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office at a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House on April 18. Iolani DeRis and Bridget Wnukowski were among a small group of scholars honored as the highest academic achievers of the community colleges system and were presented with medallions and certificates for being named to Phi Theta Kappas All-Massachusetts Academic Team. Every year, MCCEO hosts this event at the State House in Boston to showcase the best and brightest of the 15 college system. The event is co-sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for community colleges, and the Coca-Cola Foundation. Trump, Netanyahu Call for Fixing Iran Nuclear Deal The Fellowship | April 26, 2018 Trump Both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are calling for a major overhaul of the Iran Nuclear Deal or its demise. While hosting French President Emmanuel Macron this week, President Trump said that unless France and other European allies fix the terrible flaws in the Iran deal by May 12, he will restore U.S. sanctions on Iran. This would deal a severe blow to the agreement. Also this week in Israel in the News: The Washington Post is reporting that Iran continues to edge closer to a conflict with Israel, following a missile strike allegedly carried out by the Jewish state against Iranian positions within Syria two weeks ago. Nine Israeli high school students participating in a pre-military academy were killed when flash floods caused by torrential rains swept them away. The teens were hiking in a riverbed near the Dead Sea. One teen was reported still missing. Tensions continue to increase along the Israeli-Gaza border, with Palestinian protesters attempting to storm the border fence. Four protesters were killed in these skirmishes as Israeli forces have been forced to open fire. Palestinian protesters have developed a new tactic flying fiery kites over the border fence in hopes that the kites will land in Israel and start a fire. Local farmers in the area have reported extensive property damage caused by the kites. Meanwhile, the terror group Hamas is using Palestinian children as human shields, recruiting children to throw Molotov cocktails or sabotage the border fence. This weeks Israel in the News Perspective features The Fellowships Global Executive Vice President Yael Eckstein taking a look at Israels challenges and opportunities in the next 70 years. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) the blockchain-based issuance of tokens or cryptocurrencies for the purpose of fundraising are a hot topic at the moment. There is continuing strong demand from mostly young, technology-based companies that seek to tap the capital markets through ICOs as a viable and efficient alternative to traditional fundraising. Switzerland offers an open regulatory framework for ICOs and has therefore developed as a hotspot for token offerings. While the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) published a first set of guidelines on regulatory aspects to be considered in connection with ICOs on February 16 2018, there has been no comparable publication from the tax authorities as of yet. The only official guidance that has been issued by certain local tax authorities deals with the reporting of cryptocurrencies or tokens held by Swiss resident individual investors in their annual tax returns. This article provides a brief summary of the status of discussions in terms of Swiss tax treatment of ICOs. The information is based on informal guidance provided by tax authority officials from public speaking engagements, as well as from our interaction with tax authorities in relation to ICOs. Classification of tokens from a Swiss tax perspective In its guidelines, Finma categorises tokens into three types, while hybrid forms are also possible: asset tokens, payment tokens and utility tokens. Since ICOs commonly use this classification, we will also refer to the tokens in this way for the tax analysis that follows. Swiss tax law has no specific rules for tokens; the classification therefore needs to be made under the rules applicable to traditional categories of capital raised by a company, such as debt or equity. The classification is predominately based on an assessment of the economic function of the token, but can take into account certain formal aspects such as the legal form of the issuer (issuers today are mostly corporations; historically, foundations sometimes acted as issuers) or the accounting treatment of the ICO proceeds by the issuer. Asset tokens Asset tokens represent financial assets, which confer their holders a financial claim against the issuer. Such tokens can, depending on their features, be assimilated to equity certificates, debt instruments, or derivative instruments in the form of a contractual agreement between the issuer and the holder over an underlying asset. The criteria to be examined in view of a proper classification of the token under tax laws are the ones that are typical to each one of these categories. To the extent a token grants the investor participation rights (eg voting rights, profit participation, or a share in liquidation proceeds), it may be assimilated to an equity instrument. If a token confers its holder a claim against the issuer over a fixed principal and bears interest (or offers an issue discount), it may be assimilated to a debt instrument. Where none of the two aforementioned categories apply, but the token grants the investor a future payment linked to an underlying reference asset (eg the Earnings Before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) of the issuer, or a specific type of asset held or developed by the issuer), it may qualify as a derivative financial instrument. The tax impact for the issuer and the holder follows the tax rules that apply to the financial instrument with which the token is most closely assimilated; an equity-type token would thus follow the tax treatment of the issuance of an equity instrument, both for the issuer and the holder. Payment tokens Payment tokens can be used for value transfer, just like a currency. Payment tokens do not confer its holder any claim against the issuing company; therefore they cannot be assimilated to a security interest, and the ICO proceeds are likely to be income of the issuer, subject to corporate income tax. The issuance of pure payment tokens is a rare event in the market, and there is not yet an established practice around ICOs of such tokens. Utility tokens Utility tokens provide their holders a right for digital access to an application or service. They are comparable to gift vouchers sold by digital companies. The issuing company realises an income from the ICO proceeds, which is generally taxable. The obligation of the issuer to provide a service to the token holders can require, however, that the issuer establishes a provision for the expected future expense for the development or delivery of that service. Since the utility token incorporates a service which is delivered by the issuer, the issuance of such tokens can be subject to value added tax. Recommendations By taking the above criteria into consideration, issuers can design tokens that have the tax features that are most suitable for themselves and the token holders under given facts and circumstances. As the Swiss tax practice around ICOs and tokens is still evolving, it is highly recommended that a planned ICO is reviewed from a tax perspective early in the process and tax rulings are applied for in advance of the ICO. Christoph Suter Cyrill Diefenbacher 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article This content is from: Capital Markets The Chairman of the CFTC confirmed that he will not seek reappointment when his term ends in April 2019 Imperial Valley News Center U.S. Aviation Sales to Turkey Washington, DC - We congratulate Turkish Airlines on its March 12, announcement to order 25 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with an option for five more airplanes, and its subsequent agreement on April 25, to purchase GE engines for those planes. These deals together total over $10 billion, create and sustain more than 25,000 U.S. jobs, and underscore the expanding economic cooperation between the United States and Turkey. American companies, including Boeing and GE, are dedicated to the Turkish market, and their investment in Turkey has built capacity, trained talent, and provided innovative solutions to fuel the regions socio-economic growth. Especially in the field of aviation, American industry continues to create value-added manufacturing, exports, high technology jobs, and innovative R & D. We congratulate GE, Boeing, Turkish Airlines, and the Government of Turkey on this important announcement and look forward to working with Turkey to deepen the U.S. Turkey economic relationship. Stunning solos by students and graduates from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are part of an international festival celebrating innovative dance. Hatti Dawson They are performing at Lets Dance International Frontiers (LDIF), an annual 10-day event bringing culturally diverse work from around the world to Leicester. Talented dancers from DMU are joining artists from Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Senegal, Trinidad and Zimbabwe during this years celebration of the rich traditions of African and African Caribbean dance. Final-year Dance BA (Hons) students Hatti Dawson and Paige-Brooklyn Kennedy are part of Signatures and graduate Mac Daniel V Palima is one of two artists performing at Autograph - both events are held at Curve theatre and run in collaboration with Dance4. Starting on Sunday 29 April to mark International Dance Day, the festival is co-ordinated by Serendipity, a local organisation working with partners across the region to nurture new and emerging talent. Paige-Brooklyn Kennedy Hattis contemporary hip hop piece - The Fragility of Power - is inspired by Sidi Larbi Cherkaouis Faun (2009). The 21-year-old from Wiltshire said: I created this work to question whether an intense onset of strength and power can reveal both fragility and risk. It feels exhilarating to be part of such a great show and to be able to perform at Curve. Ive already received so much support from Serendipity staff, who invited me to perform my solo at the press launch in London. Now I cant wait to perform in front of a Leicester audience! RELATED NEWS DMU dance duo wins 5,000 Channel 4 commission Discover what DMU has to offer during our next Open Day Danni dances in the desert in spectacular Goldfrapp music video During her three years at DMU, Hatti has had the chance to perform her work in front of college students and at DMU Open Days. All of these opportunities have added to my experience as a performer and made me a more confident dancer, she said. Mac Daniel V Palima and Hettie Holman One of the most valuable opportunities I had was visiting the Ukraine with the University Dance Company and performing to Borys Grinchenko University in Kiev. It really opened my eyes to the world of dance outside the UK, as it was my first international dance experience. The continuous support from my teachers and peers has prepared me well and LDIF has given me the perfect opportunity to start my journey as a professional practitioner. Paige-Brooklyn Kennedys solo called Affect is an exploration of how one movement throughout the body can affect another and create a ripple-like pattern. I work with abstract themes and ideas, allowing the audience to get their own meaning from it, said the 22-year-old from Leeds. The way I perform is very inclusive and accessible to people who dont normally watch dance and I like to think my solo is both vibrant and exciting. LDIF is something you hear about, but never expect to be a part of, so its very exciting to be featured this year. Im looking forward to chatting to people from the sector and hope that it may lead to some good opportunities. Graduate Mac Daniel V Palimas Sekseneutraal is a bold exploration of gender in movement. It earned him and course-mate Hettie Holman a 5,000 commission from First Acts, Channel 4s cutting-edge arts strand celebrating Englands most exciting 16 to 24-year-old artists and filmmakers. LDIF runs from Sunday 29 April to Saturday 12 May. Indian American mortgage broker Mona Das, who dropped her Congressional bid earlier this year for lack of funds, is now running for a seat in the Washington state Senate. So many of our voices are not being represented; our votes are being under-represented, Das told India-West last fall. (Facebook photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan April 27 as part of a two-day summit. During their first meeting, the two leaders discussed a stronger India-China relationship, among other global issues. (Narendra Modi Twitter photo) Home Search ICH EU & Germany Using Hardship As Leverage By German Foreign Policy April 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - BERLIN/DAMASCUS (Own report) - Berlin and the EU are seeking to use Syria's hardships for leverage to gain influence on that country's political development. Berlin will provide humanitarian aid for the Syrian population, German Foreign Minster Heiko Maas announced at yesterday's Syria conference in Brussels - aid that is also seen as helpful in preventing a new wave of mass migration to the EU. However, aid for the country's reconstruction will only be granted, if Damascus makes political concessions, Maas declared. Berlin considers reconstruction aid a promising lever, because Syria, most likely, will not be able to raise the more than 200 billion necessary, and its closest partners, Russia and Iran are low on funds due to the western economic sanctions. Experts warn that, for example, in Raqqa, under the control of Syrian opposition forces and the USA, another insurgency could develop should reconstruction continue to be delayed. A US journalist calls Raqqa's level of destruction the worst he has ever seen in the Middle East. A Humanitarian Catastrophe Berlin and the EU are seeking to use Syria's hardships for leverage to gain influence on that country's political development, as is evidenced in statements by leading politicians at the Syria Conference hosted by the UN and the EU, which ended in Brussels yesterday. As in the first Brussels Syria Conference in April 2017, funds were also raised at this conference for humanitarian aid for the Syrian population. According to the United Nations, 13.1 million Syrians depend on aid, 6.1 million are internally displaced and 5.5 million have fled to neighboring countries (mainly to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey). Nearly 80 percent of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line, 9.4 million are dependant on food aid. There are more than 400,000 casualties and at least 1.2 million wounded. Some regions of Syria have already been hard hit since the war escalated in 2012. At that time, the United Nations initiated its first major relief efforts for the country. Berlin and the EU began providing significant amounts of aid only in 2017, mainly in reaction to the mass exodus in 2015 and 2016. Humanitarian aid can best deter people from trying to flee to prosperous EU metropolis. Yesterday Berlin provided a billion euros. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Reconstruction as Lever Like last year, Berlin and Brussels emphasized that they are only providing humanitarian aid - the urgently needed aid for reconstruction, however, will depend on the fulfillment of political preconditions. Negotiations on ending the Syrian war should be reopened in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations and Berlin is also demanding an early removal of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Both of these demands are aimed at reducing Russia's influence in the Middle East. When the Geneva talks stalled last year due to the obstruction by the Western countries and the opposition groups they support, Moscow initiated its own format for negotiations in Astana. With the participation of Iran and Turkey - excluding the EU - the Astana format has already had a series of successes. Yesterday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini declared in Brussels, the EU will only "participate in Syria's reconstruction, if there is a political process under the aegis of the United Nations."[1] German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas seconded, declaring, "We will participate in the reconstruction, only if there is a political solution."[2] Reconstruction is seen as the appropriate lever because it is completely unclear how Syria can raise the more than 200 billion, experts believe necessary. Syria has been devastated by the war and dramatically impoverished. With its harsh sanctions, the West is exerting pressure on the Russian and Iranian state budgets and is politically - and occasionally even (massively) militarily -threatening both countries. Still in Ruins Reports from the former IS capital Raqqa, illustrate why Berlin's stalling tactic for Syria's reconstruction will not only cause the Syrian population more suffering, but is also an additional political danger. One reason why the situation in Raqqa is particularly significant is that the city was not recaptured by the Syrian and Russian military forces, but by the Syrian-Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US military and the anti-IS coalition - including Bundeswehr participation with reconnaissance and refueling aircraft. Raqqa, in spite of massive political resistance from the Syrian government, is still in the hands of the SDF/USA forces. Reconstruction is hardly advancing because the Kurds are focused on an escalating conflict with Turkey in northwestern Syria and the US has lost interest since defeating IS. Other than a generator here or there, there is no electricity and access to water is only in few places. It is reported [3] that half a year since the city was recaptured, numerous corpses are still buried under the rubble; clearing the mines is delayed; and the means and equipment needed for reconstruction are lacking. Local officials warn that a lack of progress leads to frustration and could drive sectors of the population to launch another insurgency. According to an expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), if reconstruction does not materialize, the SDF and the USA could lose all support in a few months. Representing a typical opinion, a resident is quoted, "We suffered under IS, but we're suffering more from this American liberation."[4] Worst Destruction That statement also refers to the how Raqqa had been liberated from the IS. As Tamer El-Ghobashy, Baghdad bureau chief of The Washington Post reports after his visit to Raqqa, "there are very, very few parts of the city that are not heavily impacted." He had covered quite a few battles in the Middle East - from Gaza to Iraq, but he has "never quite seen this level of destruction as we see in Raqqa." The destruction can not be attributed to the IS but "clearly to firepower that came from the Americans, the British and the French" when they were recapturing the city.[5] More than 11,000 buildings were destroyed, severely damaged or moderately damaged in a city of about 400,000 residents. According to the estimates of the Airwars NGO (which is occasionally accused of underestimating), the Anti-IS Coalition bombarded Raqqa with an estimated 20,000 munitions during the five-month operation - more than US forces in Afghanistan during all of last year. Whereas the United States admits to 24 civilian casualties of the their air strikes, Airwars puts the number closer to 1,400.[6] U.S. commanders have described the battle for Raqqa last year as some of the most intense urban combat since World War II, El-Ghobashy noted.[7] Precision Weaponry Fallacy Because of the German media corporations and the public television networks' correspondents' double standards, the brutality of the combat to retake Raqqa was hardly mentioned, even though - or because - the Bundeswehr was participating with reconnaissance and refueling aircraft.[8] Reports on war destruction in Syria are usually illustrated with photos of Aleppo. The Springer Publishing Company Media had even claimed that the Syrian-Russian combat to retake Aleppo was "worse than Auschwitz." (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[9]) Members of the US military are drawing a parallel between the battles over Aleppo, Raqqa and Mosul. In view of the equally devastating damage on all three battlefields, they are calling for finally exposing "precision" weaponry - that supposedly spare civilian lives - a "fallacy."[10] German media, however, are carefully indulgent of the murderous combat of the western powers, to focus on the assumed next theatre of the Syrian-Russian offensive - Idlib. Al Qaeda's new Safe Haven The governorate of Idlib is the last major area of Syria still under jihadi control. It is ruled by the Hayat Tahrir al Sham militia, an alliance run by a successor organization of the Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda subsidiary. Already last August, the US special representative for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, was quoted saying that Idlib is "the largest safe haven for al Qaeda since 9/11."[11] The Al Qaeda subsidiary's control over the governorate has been reinforced since. Referring to the intensification of combat in the region, last Tuesday, UN Special Envoy to Syria, Steffan de Mistura declared in Brussels that "Idlib is the greatest new challenge to be faced."[12] Because Syria and Russia - and not the western powers - are the ones combating the jihadis, a new wave of outraged reporting can be expected in the western media. [1] EU knupft Wiederaufbauhilfe fur Syrien an Politikwechsel. zeit.de 25.04.2018. [2] Kai Kustner: Spenden und Druck machen. tagesschau.de 25.04.2018. [3], [4] Tamer El-Ghobashy: How American neglect imperils the victory over ISIS. washingtonpost.com 19.04.2018. [5] After ISIS Was Driven Out, Syrian City Of Raqqa Remains In Rubble. npr.org 21.04.2018. [6] See also Double Standards. [7] Tamer El-Ghobashy: How American neglect imperils the victory over ISIS. washingtonpost.com 19.04.2018. [8] See also Die Schlacht um Mossul (V). [9] See also Double Standards. [10] Amos Fox: Precision Fires Hindered by Urban Jungle. ausa.org 16.04.2018. [11] Ben Hubbard: In a Syria Refuge, Extremists Exert Greater Control. nytimes.com 13.08.2017. [12] Daniel Brossler, Paul-Anton Kruger: "Humanitare Katastrophe". sueddeutsche.de 24.04.2018. This article was originally published by "German Foreign Policy " - ===== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. We ask that you treat others with respect. Take a moment to read the following - Comment Policy - What Or Who is Information Clearing House and Purpose and Intent of this website: It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. FCMB Group Plc is on a stronger pedestal and will continue to provide superior performance that would add significant value to stakeholders in a sustainable manner in spite of the challenging macroeconomic and regulatory environments. The financial institution added that its subsidiaries are well positioned to deliver more cutting-edge solutions that would provide the best customer experience in their respective target markets. The assurance was given at the 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FCMB Group Plc, a holding company comprising eight entities, namely First City Monument Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, CSL Trustees Limited, Legacy Pension Managers Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited, First City Asset Management Limited and Credit Direct Limited, held on Friday, April 27, 2018 in Lagos. Going by its audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2017, FCMB Group Plc recordeda gross revenue of N169.9 billion and a profit before tax (PBT) of N11.5billion, while profit after tax (PAT) was N9.4billion. In addition, deposits grew to N689.9billion as at the end of December 2017, an increase of 5%, from N657.6billion in the previous year. The Groups capital adequacy ratio also improved to 16.9% from 16.7%, just as asset base increased to N1.19trillion, compared to N1.17trillion at the end of 2016. Non-interest income as at the end of 2017 was N32billion, while loans and advances stood at N649.8billion. Presenting the Chairmans report, Mr. Oladipupo Jadesimi said: We will continue to shore up the capital of the bank through profit retention in preparation for the growth opportunities that we expect as the economy recovers. The new Chairman of the Board of FCMB Group Plc expressed gratitude to shareholders for their continuous support, adding that: Although we met with a number of challenges as a Group in 2017, I am pleased to say that we were able to surmount them, thanks to the commitment of all the personnel of our Group companies. Also speaking at the AGM, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said: In spite of the reduction in headline numbers, Group performance is an improvement over the previous year after adjusting for the significant FX (foreign exchange) revaluation income enjoyed in 2016. The key drivers of the Groups performance include increase in income from our non-banking activities, lower impairment charges from the bank and its subsidiaries, and improved operating efficiencies through more pervasive use of technology. Mr. Balogun assured that FCMB Group Plcs successful acquisition of majority (88.2%) stake in Legacy Pension Managers Limited will go a long way to help achieve further diversification of service offerings and consequent earnings within the FCMB Group. He said: We see significant growth opportunities in the Pension management industry in Nigeria as it is yet to achieve maturity and will support and facilitate strategic organic and inorganic growth initiatives that will position Legacy in the top-tier of its industry over the next few years. Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, says Nigerian Army will work with National Park Service and Borno Government to revive Sambisa forest to attract tourists into the country. Buratai said this on Tuesday when the Conservator-General of National Park Service, Ibrahim Goni, paid him an advocacy visit at the Army Headquarters in Abuja. Sambisa forest is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60 kilometres southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno. The forest is under the control and management of Borno Government. The chief of army staff said the forest deserved to be revived as it harboured large number of wild animals, noting that the army would see the possibility of working with relevant stakeholders to make the forest a tourists attraction and training ground for the army. According to him, the army in partnership with National Park Service and Borno Government will explore the potential in the forest. The army boss, who assured the National Park Service of support, commiserated with the service over its men who got injured and some murdered in the forest. Goni said the purpose of the visit was to enlighten the Nigerian Army that the nations forests were critical to the economy and security. According to him, most of the forests are located at the nations boundaries which the military use for war. It is important to say that when the forest is left uncatered for, it will affect the nations economy, Goni said. He added that Nigeria had five per cent forests cover as against the 25 per cent recommended by UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Goni called for increased number of forests to bridge the gap and called for more personnel. He underscored the need to acquire high calibre fire arms and ammunition, as well as training of rangers. Created in 1979 when Kainji Lake National Park was established through Decree 46 as Nigerias premier national park, National Park Service was inaugurated by former President Goodluck Jonathan as paramilitary in 2014 to manage game and forests reserve. Leave a Comment comments Punch The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, said on Thursday that the fresh rounds of killings in Benue State were being sponsored. Vanguard The speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly Barrister Michael Adeyemo has died a few hours ago. The Sun The Director of Media and Publicity of the Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM), Chief Niyi Ojo and a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and loyalist of Governor Ayo Fayose, Wale Ayeni, recently traded words over alleged thuggery witnessed during the recent ward congress to elect delegates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Thisday President Muhammadu Buhari has again re-echoed his decision to seek re-election in 2019, assuring his supporters that he is confident of winning. Daily Times The National Coordinator of the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO), Alhaji Danladi Garba Pasali, has said that the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 will not only benefit Nigeria but Africa at large. Tribune Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State again lamented the rise in the spate of killings in the country and held that President Muhammadu Buhari is a captured president who has been reduced to offering condolences to Nigerians slaughtered by herdsmen instead of taking firm action to stop the atrocities. Leadership Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of a Federal High Court, Abuja, has been asked to restrain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu from further selling off his properties.The federal government in a counter affidavit in response to Ekweremadus motion on notice told the court that Ekweremadu in a desperate bid to avoid forfeiting the properties to the federal government has already sold two of his three undeclared properties in Kissimmee, Florida, United States of America. The Authority Senators have rejected the request of President Muhammadu Buhari for the sum of $496 million to buy fighter jets from the United States of America (USA) after incurring the expenditure. A young undergraduate has been reported dead after a kerosene explosion less than two weeks after her matriculation in Cross-River state. The young lady is just 21 years old. The deceased, Miss Eke Ukam Ogholo, was killed on Wednesday evening when she attempted to light a lantern after buying kerosene from a filling station, opposite her home at Ikot Nkebre. One of her neighbours, simply identified as Pamela, said an explosion was heard from Ekes house around 8pm. Neighbours rushed to the scene and found Eke in a pool of blood. Pamela said: It was unfortunate because Eke just matriculated at CRUTEC on April 9, which was on a Monday.We all went to share the moment of joy with her. Today is just April 25, and shes now dead, about to be buried. Another neighbour, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: The incident was the fifth in Ikot Nkebre community. Four people had earlier died, while a n o t h e r victim is in the hospital. Even the one in the hospital may not survive because of the degree of injuries she sustained. Before, people used to say that we should buy kerosene from filling stations. But now, people are dying from kerosene bought at filling stations. Eke was taken to her Biase home for burial yesterday as neighbours, friends and the university community continued to mourn her. Leave a Comment comments This content is from: Culture With data out there, we can have an adult conversation about why theres so much underutilization of talented women and people of color, said Robert Raben, executive director and founder of the Diverse Asset Managers Initiative. Delegates discuss the impact of artificial intelligence International Tax Review hosted its Indirect Tax Forum in Amsterdam on March 22, in association with WTS. ITR editor Joe Stanley-Smith, who chaired the conference, highlights the key topics of the day. The interactive one-day event featured presentations from David OSullivan, VAT policy adviser in the consumption taxes unit within the OECDs Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Maria Teresa Fabregas, director for indirect taxation and tax administration at the European Commission, as well as a host of indirect tax experts across the WTS network, and tax professionals from Lloyds Banking Group, Ascom, VdA Portugal and Sovos, among others. While opinions and experiences varied on certain tax matters, many of the panellists agreed that indirect taxes are becoming an increasingly popular regime for governments worldwide as they try to balance tax revenues when corporate tax rates are falling. OSullivan, who was the first speaker to take to the stage, emphasised the increasing importance of VAT/GST to governments in his presentation, showcasing figures that value-added taxes now make up 20.1% of revenue for OECD countries more than that of taxes from corporate income, corporate gains, property and payroll combined. Taxation of goods and services is also a particularly important contributor to government revenues in low- and middle-income countries. All G20 countries operate a VAT/GST, with the exception of the US, and 170 countries globally have implemented either a VAT or GST regime. The VAT policy adviser also talked about how digital platforms could play a key role in collecting VAT/GST on online sales. According to OSullivans presentation which can be downloaded in full at LINKLINK the market dominance of multi-sided platforms creates challenges for administrations (tax and customs) in terms of collection. With 1.6 billion online shoppers worldwide a number which is forecasted to rise to 2.2 billion by 2022 global online retailers could have a key role to play in collecting tax in the future, said OSullivan. Countries are already acting on this, and tax authorities now need guidance to ensure consistency. The OECDs Working Party 9 (WP9) is analysing the functions performed by digital platforms in online sales and delivery chains, and the possible role of platforms performing these functions in the collection of VAT/GST on online sales including an overview of approaches implemented or considered by tax authorities around the world, the OECD presentation states. This work will result in the release of an OECD report on the topic this year that will include possible guidance and approaches based on good practice, OSullivan said, but he assured delegates that this is not intended to delay or impinge on jurisdictions current domestic policy development and implementation strategies. He also outlined how important it is that any strategys impact on the value chain should be as limited as possible, and respect neutrality principles. The business and academic community is being consulted through the technical advisory group to WP9. Download David OSullivans presentation here. Maintaining a global outlook at the event, Jurgen Scholz, global head of indirect tax at WTS, gave delegates an update on VAT around the world, noting how some countries are achieving high revenues from the regime. He humorously spoke about the tendency of European crime agencies to hunt tax criminals nowadays, drawing attention to the EUs unsustainable VAT gap. The EU VAT gap (the difference between expected VAT take and the actual amount collected) stood at 151.5 billion ($185 billion) for 2015, the most recent year for which data is available. This represents a loss of 12% of the total expected VAT revenue across the EUs 27 member states, with the gaps ranging from -1.4% in Sweden, to 37.18% in Romania. While a large portion of this is down to missing trader fraud, the system is simply not built to cope with types of commerce that didn't even exist in 1993 when the EU's temporary VAT system entered into force. Scholz told delegates that the need to chase down missing revenues is leading to more compliance obligations for companies, whether this be the mini one-stop shop, more transactional reporting requirements, or split payment procedures of electronic declarations. Download Jurgen Scholzs global VAT update presentation here. During the first panel discussion of the day, the higher compliance burden was discussed in more detail by Mario Fernandez, head of indirect tax at Lundgrens, WTS Denmark; Conceicao Gamito, head of indirect tax at VdA Portugal; Marco de Weerd, VAT solution principle at Sovos; Tamas Laszlo, VAT manager at WTS Budapest; and Joel Wessels, partner at Atlas, WTS Netherlands. The panel discussed how, in the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal, the requirements of VAT declarations, as well as EC sales lists (ESLs), the Intrastat, VAT ledgers and split payment processes are keeping tax directors busy. In Hungary, where VAT declarations have to be monthly, and the ESL, Intrastat and VAT ledger obligations also apply, there will be more tax reporting from July. Companies will be required to comply with live VAT invoice reporting from July 1 2018, which will apply to invoices with VAT chargeable above HUF 100,000 ($390). This will eventually replace the existing domestic sales invoice filings. Download merged presentations from our four panellists from the Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark and Portugal here. Forum: Can artificial intelligence simplify the VAT world? The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and indirect tax spurred lively discussions across the room, where, after an introductory presentation on the topic by Scholz, delegates on each table debated AI and its use in tax. Scholz explained that AI has the potential to increase compliance and reduce tax risks, standardise routine activities and proactively provide information. On the cost side, it can also improve resource utilisation and increase productivity. Whether tax professionals prefer paper or not, tax functions are going digital and the development of AI and robotics is an issue of global significance. Tax management tools and robots have the ability to replace difficult, repetitive or even dangerous activities and encourage efficiency. But people are concerned that these technological developments will require clear legal definitions to avoid unfair taxation on the use of robotics in the future as they replace some human tasks and risk higher unemployment. The way to succeed, according to some, is for there to be a good blend of interaction between governance and processes, technology, tools and data analysis. Download Jurgen Scholzs presentation on AI here. The new EU proposals on the future of VAT One of the highlights of the day was Maria Teresa Fabregas, director for indirect taxation and tax administration at the European Commission, who talked openly above the EUs VAT reforms in what was the final session of the day. She spoke through the progress the Commission has made on the definitive VAT system package in the past year, including the introduction of the concept of a certified taxable person and four quick fixes proposed in October 2017. On the subject of VAT rates, Fabregas wants to give more flexibility to member states, which are currently bound by EU-mandated minimum and maximum standard and reduced rates. She believes that reform is necessary because current rules do not fully take into account technological and economic developments. She also identified that the system was designed for taxation at origin even though the world is transitioning to tax at destination, and the rules are too restrictive for a destination-based VAT system and do not respect the subsidiarity principle. Reform, she asserted, will give more freedom and put an end to unnecessary litigation. As well as outlining the objectives to reduce VAT compliance costs for SMEs and shielding them from distortions of competition, she discussed how there can be greater administrative cooperation and data exchange not just between member states, but with other law enforcement bodies such as OLAF, Europol and the European Public Prosecutors Office. Fabregass speech came just one day after the EU released its digital tax package on March 21, and while perhaps not everyone in the room was able to digest the proposed measures which controversially includes either a 3% digital turnover tax or a virtual permanent establishment concept it was a great chance for attendees to ask questions on the subject. Global corporate tax rules have not kept pace with the digital economy, said Fabregas in her presentation. Many digital companies make profit from new services created largely from users input and data huge user and consumer bases within the EU. She also touched on less well publicised parts of the package, including a recommendation from the EU to member states to make certain amendments to their double tax treaties so that the same rules apply to EU and non-EU countries. Ultimately, the event offered great insight and clarity for tax professionals on the VAT plans of the OECD and EU over the coming year, and the direction and trends of indirect taxation matters to provide tax directors with the knowledge they need. Once her presentation was finished, she faced comments and questions from Stijn Vastmans, partner at Tiberghien, WTS Belgium; Charlene Adline Herbain, lawyer at Law Square in Belgium and also lecturer at the University of Luxembourg; Cendrine Chappuis, senior manager of global indirect tax at holiday rentals website Homeaway, and Greg Lockhart, tax principal at Irish firm Matheson. Members of the audience were then also able to ask questions and so many were asked that the post-event drinks reception had to be delayed by 15 minutes. Download Maria Teresa Fabregass presentation on EU VAT reforms here. International Tax Review would like to thank all of the days attendees, speakers, sponsors and staff for making the 2018 Indirect Tax Forum a success. The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Laura Wiederholt and Lauren Berglund are just two of 2,000 students with documented disabilities on campus. And theyre not ashamed of talking about them, either. Wiederholt, senior in biology, re-launched the Alliance for Disability Awareness a club dedicated to supporting students with disabilities and raising awareness about them during her sophomore year and has been president since. Berglund, junior in child, adult and family services, will take over as president next semester. Wiederholt has dysautonomia, which is an umbrella term for a group of disorders that cause dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, anxiety and depression. Berglund has oculocutaneous albinism, which is a rare disorder that causes a reduction of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. Berglund is blind and uses her guide dog, Sheba, to get around. The Daily sat down with the two of them to reflect on their year of advocacy together. How have you seen the Alliance for Disability Awareness grow? Wiederholt: Initially I mostly just kind of thought of it as a bunch of students can come and hang out, and its kind of turned more into advocacy. Ive ended up doing a lot of work with the administration, way more than I ever thought I would. As I saw the complaints that were coming in, I was thinking, a lot of these complaints are identical and maybe we can fix them. How many people are in the club? Berglund: Id say an average of six people at a meeting. Wiederholt: Its somewhat disappointing, the lack of engagement. I think its a hard topic to talk about. Berglund: And a lot of the disabilities themselves prevent people from attending. Wiederholt: If I wasnt president, I guarantee you I would have missed some of the meetings. Ive had to force myself to get up and be like it doesnt matter if I hurt, it doesnt matter if I just got done crying and look like a mess, I have to go. Peoples disabilities prevent them from doing the things that are best for advocacy. And a big part of the reason why it hasnt grown so much is that its not very appealing to the community as a whole. The Iowa State community as a whole, when they find out its an organization run by people with disabilities about disability awareness, it seems like they lose interest. Berglund: They want the Best Buddies, help the poor disabled kids kind of thing and thats not us. Wiederholt: Not to say you cant be in the club if you dont have a disability, in fact Id encourage it, but we very rarely get members without disabilities. I wish that there was more community engagement. I think when we do show people, they get upset. We did the Step Into My World event [an event where students can experience what its like to have certain disabilities and have to maneuver with a cane or wheelchair] in the library and I took people around in a wheelchair and I was like, 'OK, try to get in the bathroom,' there was a guy that said 'I cant get into the bathroom' and I said 'Thats right, you have to go to a different building to go to the bathroom,' and hes like 'Well thats ridiculous.' Berglund: You dont think about things until youre forced to and I just think thats part of the benefit [of having events like Step Into My World] we can force people to think of the different things and then they keep those things in mind. Berglund: Putting a fellow students face and name and story to the things that theyre told You know people are disabled, you know people have disabilities, but you dont really realize that they affect your peers until someone is like 'hey, me too.' Berglund: Sometimes as the club and when we all come together, we help students reach the point of accepting their disability and accepting the identity and what comes with it. Wiederholt: The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a person with a disability as a person who has a personal or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. People will think, I have anxiety and there are days where I cant even eat because I just feel so sick to my stomach. Thats a major life activity. Theres a lot of stigma around having a psychiatric disability. Theres a reason that I talk more about my physical disabilities than my mental disabilities and its just because it still makes me uncomfortable. Berglund: Ive even noticed Laura, in the beginning you only said I have dysautonomia. The last three or four times weve spoken, Ive heard you say, I have dysautonomia and I have anxiety and depression. Wiederholt: Originally I kind of started it for selfish reasons, like I felt alone and I wanted a place where I could not feel alone, and now I just kind of realized if you have the ability to speak up for others and you can try to help improve things. I find it very fulfilling to do that and I think its the right thing to do because theres plenty of people that just cant. If I can help, I really want to help. Berglund: I think for me growing up, I was taught how to advocate and so many people with disabilities, especially blind students, are not really taught that. You have to advocate for your needs or youre not going to do well. I was the first student to graduate my district who had a visual impairment and no other disability and hopefully paved the way for people behind me. My hope is with my advocacy efforts, I can make it easier for the people that come behind me, but hopefully also teach others how to advocate for themselves because I think its one of the most important skills anyone can have, especially someone with a disability. Wiederholt: One of our goals is to teach [people] that you dont need to be ashamed of who you are and how you are. Youre not less of a person because you have a disability. It certainly causes challenges in your life and it makes things more difficult, but its the type of thing that you will find work arounds and youre going to find a way to do everything. Berglund: Not necessarily everything. I cant drive a car. Wiederholt: I mean within reason. There are plenty of things that people are like 'oh I can never do that.' Berglund: Theres supports. Theres accommodations. I heard someone say 'Im never going to live alone.' But maybe you live alone but someone comes into your house three hours a day and helps you with things that you cant do. Lauren, I know a big part of your advocacy is through educating people on social media and showing what your daily life is like. Berglund: I feel like its a way to go about it where people can have their reaction without being worried that theyre going to offend anyone. If I can get one person to think differently about something, thats a huge deal. I feel like I have to convince people to the level that I struggle. To them, I do fine. I get around, I get to class, I do my stuff. I think that sometimes its just trying to show people what we put in to get to where we are. Wiederholt: They dont realize the reality of how long it might take [someone] to the destination that somebody else got to in 30 seconds. Do you feel like youve made any changes at Iowa State? Berglund: I like to think that while I havent made [many] changes up higher, I would like to think if anything Ive changed professors perceptions. Wiederholt: I feel like there have been some things that I cant really take direct credit for. Nora [Ryan]s been hired, the University Committee on Disabilities has been reinstated, it seems like administrators have been more conscious of it, but I dont feel like I can personally take any credit for that. At this point Ive spoken in front of thousands of people, I like to think that 1 percent of those say 'oh yeah, this is important.' Or if that changes their attitudes on people with disabilities, thats enough for me. Are there any specific things that youve been proud of? Wiederholt: When you feel like youve really reached somebody after youve spoken with a group, sometimes theyll email you afterwards or come up to you afterwards saying, hey, I just wanted to say thank you, I never thought of it that way before. Thats when I really feel like Im making a difference. Or theyll say, I realized anyone can have a disability. And thats a point I really try to get across. Disability doesnt discriminate and it can happen to you. Berglund: And you cant necessarily see the disability. Wiederholt: Or a lot of people see a wheelchair and that just puts a huge stop sign up for any further interaction. Id rather just have it be that a wheelchair is just part of what youre observing, not the whole of what youre observing. People are taught, dont look at them, dont engage, dont talk to them, just ignore. And I like to teach people, dont just ignore. And people with disabilities dont just date people with disabilities. Or they dont live their lives alone. I like to get the point across, like yeah, we can go on dates, we can do things. What is it like being a student with a disability on Iowa States campus? Berglund: At times, frustrating. Compared to other universities that Ive been at and had experience with, Iowa State is above the ball in certain aspects, but also behind it in others. Were behind when it comes to physical accessibility. But when it comes to you having an issue with a professor we have a whole team of people here who can help you. Wiederholt: Some things, were doing pretty well on especially considering that we have a huge campus. I think in general education [is a big issue]. I think society as a whole falls behind on education. The more further removed you are from a person with a disability, the less youre going to know. Berglund: Theres still a ways to go with student knowledge and acceptance. Wiederholt: Im always happy to answer questions. If you want to get to know somebody and they have a disability and youre interested in being friends with them, dont let it stop you. What is it like to be you? Wiederholt: Difficult. Berglund: Complicated. Wiederholt: Yeah its complicated. Berglund: I feel like its almost like youre on a roller coaster. Wiederholt: Sometimes I just feel like Im in a slingshot and somebody just pulled back and let go and Im just kinda going. I feel like Im just kind of in limbo a lot. Especially with the mental illness, its always uncertain. You just kind of dont know whats going to happen. Berglund: I mean yeah its frustrating and shitty but theres also times where youre sitting with your friends and youre all laughing about something that the outside people wouldnt understand. Theres ups and theres downs and theres just going steady. Describe your friendship. Berglund: Our friendship isnt that much different than anyone elses. Wiederholt: Id say our personalities go together well. Like shes easily amused and I really like amusing people. Berglund: She likes my dumb jokes. Wiederholt: Were both really talkative. Lauren never shuts up. Shes really easy going about stuff. I feel like if anything, were more open. I kind of like that about having a disability, it forces you to be open. If you have people that understand you, your support system is a lot better because they can understand. Editors note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. RELATED CONTENT: Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 93F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Google Ad Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Google Ad Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Armenias Parliamentary Elections PRESS STATEMENT COVID19:77 new cases Armenias early parliamentary elections were competitive and well run, but polarized and marred by aggressive rhetoric, international observers say International election observers to Armenias early parliamentary elections held press conference Arsine Khanjian also addresses crowd (video) 20:05 Arsine Khanjian also addressed the crowd. "I congratulate you, you have convinced us that the Diaspora should participate in the life of Armenia, we are always behind you, you have stamped the meaning of independence in our nation, there is fraud in the country, you overcame it, Nikol Pashinyan directed you, I want to congratulate him that he awakened the people." 19.40 David Sanasaryan: "We do not have phobias, strong people just love" The rally of the "My Step" initiative started in Vardanants Square in Gyumri. The gathered met with Nikol Pashinyan, a member of the National Assembly, shouting "Nikol, Prime Minister" and "Hello Nikol." Their meeting took place almost half and an hour later. Arsine Khanjian is also on Vardanants Square. The president of Asparez club Levon Barseghyan had the opening speech of the rally who welcomed the participants and delivered the speech to Gevorg Loretian, a member of the Civil Contract party. "Shirak region is the poorest in Armenia, there are more than twenty-two thousand unemployed people in Shirak region, people are tired of the authorities, it's time to take power." Next speech was delivered by David Sandasaryan, member of the "Take a step" initiative. "Criminal regime understands that there is no other option, it tries to spread false information about us such as that we are russian-phobs. We do not have phobias, strong people only love." Today Cloudy with showers. High 76F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Tomorrow Rain likely. High 74F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- After the Parkland shooting, schools across the nation are figuring out how they can keep their school safe against a shooter. One local school district is literally taking matters into its own hands. Larry, the 3D printer, has been working on multiple prototypes of what Klamath Falls City Schools technicians are affectionately calling the Norton Notifier. It's named after one of their technicians, Wesley Norton, who came up with its function. It's essentially a panic button. If there was an imminent threat, [we] would want to secure the building and get everyone behind locked doors. Thats the safest place to be in those situations. So how do you get that information out as quickly as possible so that people know what to do?," said Klamath Falls City Schools Director of Technology Scott Mahaffey If that button is pressed, it will send out a lockdown message to every desk phone, every computer, and every speaker in that school. Norton, Mahaffey, and the rest of the tech team have been thinking about this panic button idea over the last year. But after the Florida tragedy, they realized they needed to turn the idea into something real. "After the Parkland shooting, the technicians [and I] were having a conversation and it was more about how do we do this? How can you make this more of something that everyone can do?" Norton said. Right now, the plan is to put the final product into every room in the Klamath Falls City Schools District, including the district office. That will cost about 60 thousand dollars. Norton and Mahaffey say student safety is priceless. "It's constant in my mind that my kids can be harmed anywhere," Norton said. "Its our kids and they're very important to us. As you see national news, it's becoming more and more a threat so that's why we did it. We felt like we had the capability to do something, something that we would be able to assist and help prevent tragedy like that," Mahaffey said. The technicians are constantly improving on the Norton Notifier. The District hopes to add them into the schools by this summer. SALEM, Ore. After passing the Oregon House and Senate with unanimous bipartisan support, a bill aimed at helping National Guard members attend college has been signed into law by Governor Kate Brown. House Bill 4035 allows for grants that would provide state-funded tuition assistance to Oregon National Guard soldiers and airmen pursuing associate or baccalaureate degrees at public universities or community colleges in the state. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission will be in charge of administering the grants, beginning with the 2018-2019 academmic year. Im proud to sign a bill into law that deepens Oregons commitment to our National Guard service members, said Governor Brown. Whether theyre fighting on the frontlines, fighting wildfires, or helping prepare our state for the influx of eclipse viewers, our Oregon Guard members are always ready to answer the call to help Oregonians in times of need. Extending tuition assistance to Guard members is one important way to show our appreciation for their service by investing in their education and future. HB 4035 passed the Oregon legislature on March 3 after gaining unanimous support from Democrats and Republicans in both chambers. It was introduced by House Minority Leader Rep. Mike McLane. CLICK HERE for our story on a recent, similar bill that protected Guard students called to active duty. According to the Governor's office, approximately 15 percent of the Oregon National Guard was called into service for emergencies, disasters, and crisis planning, including wild land firefighting, hurricane relief efforts, search and rescue missions, and traffic assistance during the solar eclipsein 2017 alone. Meanwhile, nearly 200 Oregon Guardsmen were deployed overseas last year. Service members statistically cite money for education as the number one reason they join the military. Those who already have federal education benefits such as the Montgomery G.I. Bill or the Post 9/11 Bill will need to use those benefits prior to using the state tuition assistance funding. Qualified students can use up to 90 credit hours at an Oregon community college and up to 180 credit hours at a public university. To receive the tuition assistance, Guard members must be in good standing with their Oregon National Guard commitments and their educational institution. This new law specifically bridges the federal tuition assistance shortfall and enables our Guard men and women to complete their associate or bachelor degrees, said Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel, Adjutant General, Oregon. It aligns with the governors education focused agenda and will not only serve as a huge recruitment and retention tool, but it will also provide us with the breadth of knowledge we need to think like leaders and succeed in an increasingly technologically complex world. SALEM, Ore. Four Oregon and California lawmakers sent off a letter to Trump Administration officials on Wednesday, urging them to extend environmental protections for the Chetco River that are set to expire on July 25 of this year. U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), alongside Representatives Pete DeFazio (D-OR4) and Jared Huffman (D-CA2) signed the letter and addressed it to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. "As you are aware," the letter begins, "We have repeatedly written to you over the last decade supporting the withdrawal of Oregon's iconic Chetco River from mineral entry. We are writing to you today with extreme urgency." According to the U.S. Forest Service, a withdrawal is an administrative tool used to withhold an area of National Forest land from settlement, sale, or entry under certain land lawsparticularly the leasing of land for mining operations. If the current protection is not extended, they wrote, we will lose precious ground in protecting this world-class salmon and steelhead river and source of clean drinking water for two communities while Congress considers our legislation to make the withdrawal permanent. Earlier progress reports to our staffs indicated that the extension was on schedule and that the reasoning for an extension was still valid, the four lawmakers wrote federal officials. However, now, with the expiration date of the current 5-year withdrawal fast approaching, and what appears to be insufficient time to complete the process to extend it, our staffs cannot learn anything concrete about what is happening or what is causing what appears to be an inexcusable delay. Lawmakers tried to make the Chetco mineral withdrawal permanent by introducing it to the U.S. House and Senate in 2010. Those efforts have apparently not yielded any tangible results as yet. Meanwhile, the lawmakers claim, the Chetco withdrawal has become a popular measure among locals and some federal officialsmost notably administrators of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the withdrawal is most ardently opposed by miners, who tend to deny any ecological impact. "You should also know that the threat to the river when we introduced our legislation was no small matter. There were proposals to mine its bed for almost the full length of the river subject to the withdrawal. However, during the time that the interim withdrawal has been in place, most of the existing federal mining claims have been eliminated," the lawmakers wrote. UPDATE: Jacob Cartwright has been found and is currently being evaluated at the hospital in La Grande. According to Oregon State Police the early report is that he slid off the road and walked out on his own. (04/28/18 11:06 a.m.) LA GRANDE, Ore. Oregon State Police (OSP) is searching for an Oregon truck driver who disappeared en route to a delivery in eastern Oregon. He was last seen on Tuesday, with GPS data tracking him until Thursday. According to OSP, 22-year-old Jacob Cartwright was headed southeast to a delivery that was due at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 25 in the town of Nyssa in eastern Oregon, near the Idaho border. Cartwright and his truck were last seen on April 24 around 5:30 p.m., near Pendleton. Inexplicably, GPS data shows Cartwright's truck southwest of La Grande on April 26 around noon, on Highway 244 near MacIntyre Roadputting him in the opposite direction of his Nyssa destination. OSP aircraft and ground rescue personnel have been searching the area, which they say is very remote, expansive, and heavily wooded with rough terrain. Cartwright's truck is a green 2005 Kenworth semi with the company name "Little Tree Transportation," pulling a white trailer. The truck has Oregon plates with the number YAIN63. Anyone with information regarding Cartwright or his truck should contact the Union County Sheriff's Office at 541-963-1017, or contact OSP at *OSP. MEDFORD, Ore. -- Cascade Christian high school and middle school students spent time outside planting native plants along Bear Creek today as a part of a restoration project. The project is a part of a partnership with Lomakatsi, a local non-profit that works to restore local ecosystems. "Kids learn how to become stewards while they're learning about important issues relating to water quality, biology and wildlife habitat," says Lomakatsi Restoration Ecology Education Program Manager Niki Del Pizzo. Today students planted, fertilized, and tended to native trees and shrubs. Additionally, they removed invasive plants around last year's plantings and enhanced the walking path that runs through the restoration site. Students were introduced to a variety of subjects including fish and wildlife habitat, local ecology, botany, soils and creek restoration. They also participated in a water quality testing activity, learning more about the health of this critical waterway that runs through the Rogue Valley. Their partnership began about 8 years ago but it's been mostly high school students. This is the first year that middle school students have been a part of the project and the first year that the project has taken place on the school's property. "I love the opportunity that we offer her the stream ecology class for a high school students now that I middle school students are right here on this campus to be able to have our kids partner with them and experience what youre saying here today," said Devon Rickabaugh, Cascade Christian Head of Schools, "The school is right along Bear Creek, right out our back door. It's fabulous to have this opportunity, almost like a outdoor school in your backyard." Gary Bennett, Cascade Christian High School stream ecology teacher, said that the overall goal is to keep growing, "our hopes are that we'll get this area back to ... a more natural Southern Oregon habitat." OAKLAND, Calif. Almost five months ago, three orphaned mountain lion cubs were found separately by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). All three of them were considered critically ill and malnourished when CDFW brought them to the Oakland Zoo in Oakland, Calif. After a few months in quarantine and 24/7 care at the Zoo, the three cubs were introduced to one anotherslowly, at first. However, the three cubsa girl named Coloma and two boys named Toro and Silveradoquickly bonded and formed their own family unit. Zookeepers say that the youngest, Coloma, was only 6-8 weeks old and near death when she arrived on December 23, and was unable to stand or walk from such severe dehydration and starvation. Now she is the boss of her adopted brothers, who provide her constant affection and attention. Nearly five months later, the three mountain lions are being introduced to a new environmentthe Oakland Zoo's brand-new California Trail exhibit. CDFW determined that the three cubs could not be released back into the wild. Although all three were fully rehabilitated, they lacked the kind of survival skills that wild mountain lions learn in those early days. Mountain lion cubs need up to two years with their mom in order to learn how to survive and thrive. Human survival training is not possible. The Bay Area Puma Project supports Oakland Zoos efforts to care for pumas that cannot be released into the wild, said Zara McDonald, Executive Director of the Bay Area Puma Project. According to the Oakland Zoo's staff, the three mountain lions immediately to to their new habitat, climbing into the comfort of big oak trees within the California Trail enclosure. Preferring to be more active at night, cameras have shown them rough-housing in their caves, resting platforms and grassy hillsides in the dark hours. Its been a long road to recovery for each of these orphaned puma, and a very emotional time for all of us who have helped them become normal young cats. Sometimes shy, other times wacky, and often sleepy, its fills my heart to see them act like mountain lions, said Darren Minier, Assistant Director of Animal Care, Conservation and Research at Oakland Zoo. Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada President and CEO Andrew Kriegler meets with community members to explain how new legislation will better protect seniors and vulnerable investors during an event at James Bay New Horizons in Victoria, B.C., on Friday April 27, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Police are seen near a damaged van after it mounted a sidewalk crashing into a number of pedestrians in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018. Think before you post, social media experts say after an uproar emerged over messages that expressed sorrow over Toronto's deadly van tragedy while also appearing to promote shoes and hot yoga. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim A photo released by the Transportation Safety Board shows wreckage of the Cessna Citation 500 jet that crashed about eight minutes after taking off from Kelownas airport on Oct. 13, 2016, killing all four people aboard, including a former Alberta premier. FILE - In this Jan.23 2018 file photo, a French solider watches code lines on his computer at the French Defense ministry stand during the International Cybersecurity forum in Lille, northern France. Police in Europe and North America have seized servers and data from Islamic State propaganda outlets in a multi-country operation aimed at tracking down radicals and crimping the group's ability to spread its violent message. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File) A man casts his vote for the 2011 federal election in Toronto on May 2, 2011. The Trudeau government is expected to finally move next week on a raft of promised reforms to election laws, but it may already be too late to fully implement them in time for the 2019 federal election. Acting chief electoral officer Stephane Perrault told a House of Commons committee this week that major changes to election laws should have been enacted by April of this year if they were intended to apply in the next election -- and the government hasn't even come close to meeting that timetable. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna stands during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Oilsands projects that use steam to get bitumen from deep below the ground will likely get a pass from new federal environmental assessment rules but the government is still considering what to do if the companies turn to solvents instead of water. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland speaks with media in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. With the NAFTA talks at a critical juncture, Freeland is changing her travel plans and staying in the U.S. capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Panetta In this Monday, April 16, 2018, photo an efficiency counter is shown at the SKILCRAFT pen manufacturing area at the Industries of the Blind in Greensboro, N.C. where pens are made for the U.S. Government. Anyone whoAos served in the military, worked for the federal government or addressed a package at the post office is probably familiar with an iconic government pen. But they might not have realized it was made by the visually impaired for the past five decades. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Protesters react while listening to their leader Nikol Pashinian in the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinian and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) The leader of Romania's ruling Social Democratic party, Liviu Dragnea, is surrounded by media as he arrives at the anti-corruption prosecutors' office, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, April 27, 2018. Dragnea met with anti-corruption prosecutors Friday for an update into a probe that he embezzled European Union funds and said, commenting on the request by President Iohannis for the Prime minister to step down, Dancila had "no reason to resign," adding she was supported by the party "and has a job to do." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2017, file photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves the federal courthouse in Washington. A federal judge in Washington has thrown out a civil lawsuit brought by President Donald TrumpAos former campaign chairman that sought to challenge the authority of the special counsel in the Russia investigation. The decision was a blow to ManafortAos defense against special counsel Robert Mueller. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued the ruling.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A Springfield High School student will travel to Australia to play the tuba this fall in the Pacific Honors Ensemble Program. Trenton Fleenor, a junior at SHS, was one of about a dozen students selected from the Western International Band Clinic which hosts students from all over the world. This is something that doesnt happen often, its kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, Fleenor says. The fact that Im going overseas to Australia is just huge. He has played tuba for about six years and said he practices at least once a day for about an hour. Fleenor will spend a few weeks in Queensland playing with other students from Australia and America at Griffith University. While there he will have the opportunity to work under accomplished conductors and perform at the Sydney Opera House. Ambassador Bruno Angelet, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, at a press briefing in Hanoi (Source: CPV) The information was released by Ambassador Bruno Angelet, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, at a press briefing in Hanoi on April 26th. The Europe Days 2018 will be co-held by the Delegation of the EU to Vietnam, 18 Embassies of the EU member states and the European Cultural Institutes. The highlight of the event will be the Europe Village, which will be held in Vietnam for the first time. It will be an amazing and unique cultural and entertaining event that will showcase the richness of European cultures from arts and cuisine to lifestyle, right in the heart of Hanoi. The event will offer diverse activities in different areas, such as concerts, sports, cultural performances and fashion shows. Visitors will also be offered European food and drinks, as well as many other products from the EU. The photo book European Cultural Heritage will be launched within the framework of the program, while readers can also enjoy books from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Belgium during the European Book Days in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city./. CHARLES CITY, Iowa A Floyd County man is facing a drug charge after a traffic stop. Sayvonne Lealbert Eugene Jordan, 21 of Charles City, is accused of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver. Charles City police say he was stopped for a traffic violation on February 23 in the 900 block of Kelly Street. An officer says a search of the vehicle found $1,700 in cash, plastic baggies with scales, and a container holding 31.86 grams of marijuana, a small amount of methamphetamine, and pills identified at Alprazolam and Cyclobenzaprine. A criminal charge was not filed against Jordan until April 7 and he was arrested in Black Hawk County on Monday. LA PORTE CITY, Iowa (AP) Authorities intend to renew their water search for an eastern Iowa teenager who's been missing for nearly three weeks. Sixteen-year-old Jake Wilson, of La Porte City, was last seen around 9 p.m. April 7, going for a walk to nearby Wolf Creek. A search began less than an hour later, when he didn't return home. His mother, Megan Neiswonger, has said Jake has autism with a mild intellectual disorder and functions at the level of a 9-year-old. La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher says trained crews from law enforcement and fire departments will be involved Saturday and Sunday, as well as heavy equipment to pull apart log jams in Wolf Creek. "These are areas that a large amount of debris are collecting," says Brecher. "We will also be covering multiple other snag areas in the creek with personnel in dry suits. With the waters rising then lowering, it changes the demographic of the creek bed to the point that objects shift and move creating an opportunity for items once stuck below, to rise to the surface. Once this weekend concludes we will decide what our plan of action is going forward." GARNER, Iowa A Crystal Lake man stands accused of being a meth dealer. Corey David Tangman, 31, was charged Wednesday in Hancock County District Court with prohibited acts, a class B drug felony. Authorities say that Tangman, along with two other individuals, distributed methamphetamine between July 24 and October 21 in 2017. Law enforcement says it searched Tangmans home on October 21, 2017, and found meth and marijuana paraphernalia, scales, baggies, and drug notes. A class B felony is punishable by up to 25 years in prison in Iowa. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A newspaper has reported that a Drake University professor accused of sexually exploiting female students has been allowed to resign effective June 1. The Des Moines Register reports that a November internal investigation found that Mahmoud Hamad "physically, sexually and verbally intimidated" female students and "did exploit the power differential that existed between him and his female students." The report found that Hamad violated university policies through "unwelcome advances and unwelcome verbal and physical conduct and intimidation aimed at female students because of their sex." The case hasn't been referred to police. In the report Hamad denied the student accusations. He's declined to otherwise comment. Drake administrator Sue Mattison won't say whether Hamad was asked to resign. She says he's on a leave of absence. ROCHESTER, Minn.- We honor police officers, fire fighters and first responders but we rarely take a look at how dangerous transportation workers jobs are. To recognize the dangers of the job, The Minnesota Department of Transportation is participating in the state proclaimed Worker Memorial Day. Many of the workers who fix our roads were thanked for their dedication to the job during a ceremony today. Those at MnDot said there are many hazards that come along with the work but distracted driving can quickly turn a day at work into a tragedy. To hit bring that message they told the workers about John Biever. He was killed while working on a bridge in 1962. His granddaughter, Dawn Lowery describe how he was, He was a very proud state highway worker Decades after her grandfathers death, shes now speaking on his behalf of the many workers who were added to the memorial list. It eases the tragedy of his lost to know that 56 years after his death he is still remembered, said Lowery. Since 1960, MnDot reports that 35 workers have lost their lives while working on state highways. MnDot also wants to remind drivers to pay close attention to road signs as construction season begins... meaning more workers will be putting themselves in danger. Another part of the MnDot Memorial interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis will be lit orange from April 28th-30th. GOYANG, South Korea (AP) The leaders of North and South Korea played it safe Friday, repeating a previous vow to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons but failing to provide any specific new measures or forge a potential breakthrough on an issue that has captivated and terrified many since the rivals seemed on the verge of war last year. In a sense, the vague joint statement produced by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to achieve "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization" kicks one of the world's most pressing issues down the road to a much-anticipated summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Even so, the Koreas' historic summit Friday might be remembered as much for the sight of two men from nations with a deep and bitter history of acrimony holding each other's hands and grinning from ear to ear after Kim walked over the border to greet Moon, and then both briefly stepped together into the North and back to the South. Standing at a podium next to Moon after the talks ended, Kim faced a wall of cameras beaming his image live to the world and declared that the Koreas are "linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately." What happened Friday should be seen in the context of the last year when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North threatened and raged as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century's bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that's still technically in a state of war. Kim's single step across the cracked, weathered concrete marking the Koreas' border made him the first ruler of North Korea to step on South Korean soil since the war. It marks a surreal, whiplash swing in relations for the countries, from nuclear threats and missile tests to intimations of peace and cooperation. Perhaps the change is best illustrated by geography: Kim and Moon's historic handshake and a later 30-minute conversation at a footbridge on the border occurred within walking distance of the spot where a North Korean soldier fled south in a hail of gunfire last year, and where North Korean soldiers axe-murdered two U.S. soldiers in 1976. The latest declaration between the Koreas, Kim said, should not repeat the "unfortunate history of past inter-Korean agreements that only reached the starting line" before becoming derailed. Trump tweeted later Friday, "KOREAN WAR TO END!" and said the United States "should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" Both Koreas agreed to jointly push for talks this year with the United States and also potentially China to officially end the Korean War, which stopped with an armistice that never ended the war. Many will be judging the summit based on the weak nuclear language. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. The North, which has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium, claims it has already risen to that level. South Korean conservative politicians criticized the joint statement as letting North Korea off the hook by failing to secure a clear commitment on nuclear disarmament. Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo denounced the summit as a "show camouflaged as peace." But the Koreas made inroads on a raft of other points of friction between them. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, sometime in the autumn, and both leaders said they'd meet on a regular basis and exchange calls via a recently established hotline. They agreed to settle their disagreement over their western maritime border by designating it as a peace area and securing fishing activities for both countries. They said they'd open a permanent communication office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and resume temporary reunions of relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimeters separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a "big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world." Kim acknowledged the widespread skepticism over their summit. "We have reached big agreements before but were unable to fulfill them. ... There are skeptical views on whether the meeting today will yield meaningful results," Kim said. "If we maintain a firm will and proceed forward hand in hand, it will be impossible at least for things to get worse than they are now." Kim, during their talks, joked that he would make sure not to interrupt Moon's sleep anymore, a reference to the North's drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year, according to Moon's spokesman, Yoon Young-chan. Kim also referred to a South Korean island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said he'd visit Seoul's presidential Blue House if invited. The historic greeting of the two leaders, which may be the images most remembered from the summit, was planned to the last detail, though the multiple border crossings may have been impromptu. As thousands of journalists, who were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly controlled pool reporters at the border, waited and watched, Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They smiled broadly and shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after Kim did so, Moon said, "You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across?" Kim replied, "Why don't we go across now?" and then grasped Moon's hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. Moon then led Kim along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave Kim flowers. An honor guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of "Hail to the Chief." They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit took place, in front of a painting of South Korea's Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion and where dozens of North Korean commandos trying to assassinate the then-dictator in Seoul were killed in 1968. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, was by Kim's side throughout the ceremony, handing him a pen to sign a guestbook, taking the schoolchildren's flowers from his hand and scribbling notes at the start of the talks with Moon. Expectations were generally low on the nuclear issue, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement, however, say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas tried Friday: Sit down and see what's possible. The White House said in a statement that it is "hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. ... (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks." The ceremony (Photo: VNA) After the ritual ceremony, Mr. Pham Duc Vinh, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia, read Ambassador Ngo Duc Manhs letter sent to delegates attending the event. In the letter, the Ambassador reviewed the origin of the people of Vietnam and stressed that the Hung Kings Death Anniversary is more significant when it is first organized in many countries under a common program with a common ritual, in order to connect Vietnamese people throughout five continents to raise the love for the homeland and solidarity among the overseas Vietnamese community. After the rituals, many art performances were conducted by overseas Vietnamese. The Hung Kings Death Anniversary is a special spiritual cultural activity of Vietnamese people. This is an opportunity to express gratitude to the Hung Kings, who built the country, and pray for peace, prosperity and happiness for the nation and people. This activity also has practical significance in preservation and promotion of the Hung Vuong worship cultural heritage, recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage./. GARNER, Iowa An accused mail thief has been arrested. Carl Douglas Werstein, 36 of Leland, is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, 3rd degree theft, and 4th degree theft. Charges were filed on Monday and Werstein was arrested Friday in Forest City. The Hancock County Sheriffs Office says it began receiving complaints in January of mail being stolen from rural mailboxes. There were initial reports of seven thefts from four separate mailboxes and the Sheriffs Office says the investigation identified four additional victims. Werstein became a suspect in these crimes and law enforcement says it set up a sting to catch the mail thief. Two items were placed in a mailbox monitored by authorities on March 18 and a deputy says Werstein drove up to the mailbox around 4 am and took the trap mail. Wersteins vehicle was then stopped and searched. Law enforcement says they not only found the trap mail from the sting but a package under the drivers seat holding multiple envelopes with addresses from throughout rural Hancock County. In total, Werstein is accused of stealing from 12 different mailboxes, sometimes stealing from the same place multiple times. The Sheriffs Office says these thefts happened between December 2017 and March 18 and the items taken ranged from less than $100 in value to $995, with several worth more than $200. Authorities say the stolen material included checks and gift cards. Ongoing criminal conduct is a class B felony, punishable in Iowa by up to 25 years in prison, while 3rd degree theft is an aggravated misdemeanor and 4th degree theft is a serious misdemeanor. FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) Officials say a Minnesota woman suspected of killing her husband at their home and then killing a Florida woman and stealing her identity is heading from Texas to Florida to face prosecution. The News-Press of Fort Myers says Cameron County, Texas, Sheriff Omar Lucio confirmed 56-year-old Lois Riess was picked up at a Texas jail early Thursday morning. She's being brought back to Lee County, Florida, to face a second-degree murder charge. Riess was arrested last week in Texas. She's expected to stand trial in Minnesota after the Florida case is done. Authorities say Riess killed her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, at their Blooming Prairie home before heading to Florida and killing 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson. Investigators say they believe Lois Riess killed the Bradenton, Florida, woman to assume her identity. ROCHESTER, Minn. Police say theyve made a significant arrest and disruption of the Rochester drug trade. Terrance Burkhalter, 43, has been booked into the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center pending charges of 1st degree drug sales and prohibited person with a firearm. He was arrested after two homes were searched Thursday around 2:30 pm. Police say nothing was found was a residence in the 2300 block of Marion Road but a search of 531 36th Street SW found 19.25 pounds of marijuana, over a pound of cocaine, nearly two ounces of heroin, more than 400 oxycodone pills, 10 grams of marijuana wax, a loaded handgun, and an undetermined amount of cash. It is believed these drugs came from California as part of a larger distribution ring. Rochester police say Burkhalters arrest is the result of an extended investigation by the Criminal Interdiction Unit and he is described as someone with a lengthy criminal history in Rochester and Olmsted County. Police say this investigation is continuing and additional arrested are expected. BRITT, Iowa - It's not something you see every day; a traveling memorial called "Remembering Our Fallen Tribute Towers" is being set up to remember soldiers who have died since 9/11, and is making Britt its first ever stop in Iowa. Nancy Michel's husband served in Vietnam, and has two sons who served in Operation Desert Storm, and is excited to see the memorial coming to her town. "I think it's an honor. Because we're the first city in the state of Iowa to have it done," Michel says. It's a token of pride for Nancy, and adds that the town is actively spreading the word. "Our women's VFW has been doing so much promoting it," Michel adds. Jerry Christensen is a two time veteran and served in both the Marine Corps and the Army for 24 years. "It's a relief that everybody wanted to help," Christensen says. He's also been in charge of bringing the memorial to Britt, along with his daughter Amy Boekelman. "Remembering what happened in 2001...that what we lost, and the guys that are coming back with PTS, they're all on this too. And anyone that was in training, stateside, overseas, that was killed, their names are on this too," Christensen adds. And when the memorial finally rolled into town, Michel was at a loss for words. "It's a once in a lifetime thing, it'll probably never happen to Britt again. And...I don't know how you explain it. It's fantastic, awesome, very proud to American," Michel adds. The memorial will be at the Veteran's Memorial Park until 6 p.m. Sunday night, with its next stop at Bellevue University in Omaha. (Kitco News) - Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE, TSX: AEM) late Thursday reported that its profit and gold output eased in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The company listed net income of $44.9 million, or 19 cents per share, which was down from $76 million, or 33 cents, in the first quarter of 2017. The January-March results include non-cash foreign currency translation gains on deferred tax liabilities of $6.7 million, mark-to-market adjustments and derivative gains on financial instruments of $0.5 million, and non-cash foreign currency translation gains of $3.5 million. Excluding the special items, adjusted net income was $34.2 million, or 15 cents per share. The company described its mining operations as stable, with gold production of 389,278 ounces. This is down from 418,216 ounces, with Agnico Eagle attributing this to reduced throughput at Meadowbank as the mine transitions through the last full year of mining, plus the fact that mill processing did not resume until March at Lapa. All-in sustaining costs per ounce rose to $889 from $741 in the year-ago period. This was due to the lower production, strengthening of local currencies against the U.S. dollar and higher expenses at some mines, principally Meadowbank. "Our operations continued to deliver strong cash flow in the first quarter with unit production costs on the lower end of full-year guidance and gold production tracking slightly above full-year guidance. We remain focused on optimizing unit costs and increasing production as we transition through 2018 and begin to see the positive results of our growth phase in 2019, said Sean Boyd, chief executive officer. The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 11 cents per share, payable on June 15 to shareholders of record as of June 1. Full-year production guidance was unchanged at 1.53 million ounces, with AISC projected at between $890 and $940 per ounce. "During the first quarter, we continued to make very good progress at our Nunavutgrowth projects, with Amaruq permitting activities advancing as expected and development of the underground exploration ramp proceeding as planned, Boyd said. Construction activities and underground development remain on schedule and on budget at Meliadine." The company said it has been assessing the opportunity to monetize several non-core assets in its portfolio, including the West Pequop joint venture, Summit and PQX properties in Nevada, the cobalt mining properties in Ontario, and its equity investment in Belo Sun, which it disposed of this month. Agnico Eagle said it has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corp. in which Newmont will purchase Agnico Eagle's 51% interest in the West Pequop joint venture, plus the company's 100% interest in the Summit and PQX properties. Under the deal, Agnico Eagle will receive a cash payment of $35 million and be granted a 0.8% net-smelter-return royalty on the Nevada properties held by the West Pequop joint venture and a 1.6% NSR on the Summit and PQX properties. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday the United States would probably regret not keeping a holding force in Syria to ensure that Islamic State militants did not re-emerge, the latest sign that a total U.S. withdrawal was unlikely. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to withdraw American troops from Syria relatively soon but also appeared to temper that position by voicing a desire to leave a strong and lasting footprint. A footprint, in military-speak, usually refers to a U.S. troop presence. Mattis did not offer any clear indication of how long U.S. troops would remain in Syria or hint at future troop levels, stressing the ongoing mission to train local forces to combat Islamic State. We have to create local forces that can keep the pressure on any attempt by ISIS to try to (re-emerge), Mattis told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, using an acronym for Islamic State. When asked whether it would be risky to have local holding partners without U.S. forces, Mattis said: I am confident that we would probably regret it. The Pentagon and State Department have held that a longer term U.S. effort will be needed to ensure a lasting defeat of Islamic State. The group seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq but has gradually lost its territory since the United States and its allies started a military offensive in 2014. Some of the harshest critics of a potential withdrawal from Syria come from Trumps own Republican party, which blasted President Barack Obama when he withdrew U.S. from Iraq in 2011. Iraqi forces began to unravel and eventually collapsed in the face of Islamic States advance into the country in 2014. We learned that the Iraqi forces werent capable of providing security inside the country and that gave the enemy an opportunity to resurge, that is where really ISIS had the space to grow, U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the hearing. U.S. airstrikes, troops and U.S.-backed Syrian militias have dealt heavy blows to Islamic State in Syria but the group still holds pockets of territory and is widely expected to revert to guerrilla tactics if the last remnants of its once self-styled caliphate are captured. Mattis said he expected a re-energized effort against Islamic State militants in eastern Syria in the coming days. Youll see a re-energized effort against the middle Euphrates River Valley in the days ahead and against the rest of the geographic caliphate, Mattis added. YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenias acting prime minister, Karen Karapetyan, rejected a proposal by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan to hold talks on Friday to defuse a political crisis engulfing the small South Caucasus nation. Armenia, a close ally of Russia, has been rocked by two weeks of anti-government protests against the ruling elite which led on Monday to the resignation of Serzh Sarksyan as prime minister. Sarksyan had previously been president for a decade. His resignation has failed to halt the protesters, who say they consider the whole government tainted by Sarksyans drive to shift power to the prime minister from the president. They want Pashinyan installed as interim premier and then for early parliamentary polls to take place under a new election law. The acting prime minister considers taking part in talks that have no chance of finding a solution to be useless, Karapetyans press service said in a statement. Karapetyan is an ally of Sarksyan and a member of his ruling Republican Party. Karapetyan later accused the opposition of monopolising the political process and said only genuine dialogue and an acknowledgement of mistakes could defuse the crisis. We should understand which political force or forces will lead the country to a better future, Karapetyan told independent television channel Shant TV. We should support a program rather than just elect a personality. Pashinyan, who has led the daily street protests, said Karapetyan was repeating Sarksyans mistakes and said the demonstrations would continue. Protesters held a rally on Friday in Gyumri, Armenias second biggest city, and plan to hold another outside the capital on Saturday before resuming protests in Yerevan from Sunday. Thousands of people greeted Pashinyans cortege and chanted his name along the road from Yerevan to Gyumri. In some villages he met local residents who hugged and kissed the former journalist turned lawmaker. Pashinyan said the opposition would probably boycott any snap parliamentary election unless parliament made him the interim prime minister. We want a guarantee that such an election would be really free, really transparent and really democratic, Pashinyan said. Otherwise this vote would not have any meaning. Im calling on the citizens of Armenia to go out to the streets from early morning on May 1 and to flood all streets and squares, including around the National Assembly (parliament), Pashinyan added. Parliament is due to pick a new prime minister on May 1. RUSSIA WATCHING Although the anti-government demonstrations have been peaceful, the upheaval has threatened to destabilize Armenia in a volatile region riven by the countrys decades-long, low-level conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. Pashinyan has not questioned Armenias geopolitical alignment with Russia under Sarksyan and his criticism has focused on domestic issues such as corruption and poverty. On Friday, the Kremlin said it hoped the political crisis in Armenia could be resolved as promptly as possible and with the consensus of all parties involved. Moscow has two military bases in the ex-Soviet republic. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Thursday to Karapetyan, a former executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom, and made clear that Moscow was watching events closely and did not want mob rule in Armenia, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin statement appeared to suggest that Putin wanted Armenias next prime minister to come from the ruling party, which has been the focus of popular anger, saying he thought the crisis needed to be addressed on the basis of what he said were legitimate parliamentary elections in 2017. One Yerevan-based political analyst said the Kremlin had clearly endorsed Karapetyan as its preferred candidate to head the next government. It is a direct challenge to the opposition and a move to safeguard the position of the embattled and deeply unpopular ruling elite. It is also a flagrant rejection of the new political reality in Armenia, Richard Giragosian, director at Yereban-based Regional Studies Centre, told Reuters. LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Greeces government bond yields hit a 2-1/2 month low on Friday after as euro zone finance ministers said they are set to decide in June on the future steps to help Greece successfully end its current bailout programme. The Eurogroup will decide in June all the elements that can help facilitate the Greek exit from the bailout programme, Mario Centeno, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said on Friday. He said Greece did not intend to ask for a precautionary credit line. Greeces 10-year bond yield dropped to as low as 3.901 percent, down 3 basis points on the day, 5-year Greek bond yields dropped to 2.993 percent, down 5 bps on day . Both yields were at their lowest since February. News that had discussions will begin is positive for Greece and GGBs (Greek government bonds) given that Germanys finance minister remains the harshest on debt relief and is now open to talks, said DZ Bank rates strategist Sebastian Fellechner. (Reporting by Fanny Potkin; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe) * Aluminium falls as supply fears abate* LME/ShFE arb:* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices) By Jan Harvey LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Aluminium fell on Friday after sources said sanctions-hit Russian producer Rusal will overhaul its management structure to restore shipments, further dampening fears of a supply shortfall. The metal was set for its biggest weekly drop in seven years as investors scaled back bets that the sanctions, which sent aluminium to its highest since 2011 last week, would hurt availability. It fell sharply from its April 19 peak after the United States on Monday gave American customers of Rusal more time to comply with sanctions, though it rebounded as the week wore on. "It's a bit of a rollercoaster but the clear message is that both sides are trying to work out a way to avoid sanctions on Rusal," said Capital Economics analyst Caroline Bain. "We had signs of that from the U.S. side this week, and now it looks as though Russia (and) Rusal are also making efforts to at least soften the blow." This month's sharp price swings still leave the metal up nearly 12 percent in April, its biggest monthly rise in nearly eight years. LME ALUMINUM: Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange closed 2.2 percent down at $2,225 a tonne. It has fallen more than 9 percent this week. RUSAL: The world's second-biggest aluminium producer will overhaul its board and management in the hope of persuading the United States to lift sanctions, but it may be forced to suspend aluminium exports for good if the plan fails, sources close to the company said. ALUMINIUM INVENTORIES: On-warrant aluminium stocks - those not earmarked for delivery and available to the market - rose by 12,475 tonnes to 930,125 tonnes, exchange data showed on Friday. ALUMINIUM TECHNICALS: A break in aluminium prices below support at $2,260 could cause a loss to $2,195, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. COLUMN: U.S. sanctions on Rusal shatter aluminium's supply chain: Andy Home COPPER: Industrial metals bellwether copper did not trade at the close but was bid down 2.4 percent at $6,796 a tonne, suffering from the impact of a firmer dollar, which makes metals expensive for holders of other currencies ESCONDIDA: Chile's Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, said on Thursday that early contract talks with its workers' union ended without an agreement, setting the stage for legally scheduled negotiations to begin in June. OTHER METALS: LME zinc ended 0.5 percent down at $3,121 a tonne, lead finished 0.4 percent up at $2,346, nickel was bid down 2.3 percent at $13,875 and tin closed with a 2.3 percent decline at $20,900. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Peter Hobson in London and Tom Daly in Beijing Editing by William Maclean and David Goodman) Messaging: jan.harvey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: The Straits Times ran an article on Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to Singapore With the title Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to make official visit to Singapore on Wednesday, Channelnewsasia cited a statement from Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday (April 24th) saying that Mr Phucs visit is taking place as Singapore and Vietnam celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations this year. The press also said the Vietnamese leader would attend the Vietnam-Singapore Business Dialogue jointly organised by Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Manufacturing Federation. On the consecutive activities, Channelnewsasia also published Singapore, Vietnam sign six agreements to boost cooperation, including financial innovations and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development. According to the article, Singapore was Vietnams third largest foreign investor in 2017, with over USD43.2 billion invested in more than 1,800 projects. Besides, PM Lee Hsien Loong also said that Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city and Da Nang in Vietnam will be part of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network which is being proposed by Singapore as the ASEAN chair. He added that he was impressed with their rapid urban development, which he saw when he visited all three cities during his two visits to Vietnam last year. On April 26th, the Straits Times also ran an article titled Singapore and Vietnam sign deals. The article said Singapore and Vietnam inked six agreements to strengthen ties on environmental protection, banking supervision, fintech, renewable energy, liquefied natural gas and trade rules. Mr Phuc is on a three-day official visit to Singapore ahead of the 32nd ASEAN Summit this weekend. The Straits Times also reported that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his visiting counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc toasted the close partnership between their countries, which celebrate 45 years of diplomatic ties this year, at an official dinner at the Istana last night./. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a long-delayed bill Friday to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration after Republicans gave up on a plan to privatize air traffic control. The bill was approved by a 393-to-13 vote and now moves to the U.S. Senate, which could take the issue up as early as next month. Republicans in February conceded after months of effort that there was not enough support to move forward with a plan backed by Republican President Donald Trump to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system. The FAA has been operating on a series of short-term extensions since 2012. House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement that the long-term reauthorization brings the certainty our aviation industry needs to make important improvements. The bill includes new authority for the FAA to allow additional use of drones and a provision that would make it illegal for an airline to bump an already boarded passenger from a flight. In April 2017, a United Airlines passenger was forcibly removed from his seat, prompting public outrage and congressional hearings. The airline banned the practice. The bill also requires large and medium-sized airports to provide private rooms in every terminal for nursing mothers. Last June, Trump unveiled a plan to privatize air traffic control which he said would modernize the system and lower flying costs. Democrats contended it would hand control of a key asset to special interests and big airlines, and some Republicans opposed it. United, Hawaiian Airlines Inc [HAII.UL], American Airlines and Southwest Airlines Co, backed the plan. The bill also includes a provision after a fatal Southwest accident prompted by an engine blowout last week to require regulators to take new steps to ensure airline engine safety and report to Congress. The measure will bring airlines, manufacturers, regulators and others together to share best practices and implement actions to address airline engine safety and require a review of regulations, guidance, and directives related to airline engine operation. The House bill does not include some provisions opposed by airlines. A Senate FAA bill approved last year would require new rules prohibiting cancellation, baggage, seat selection and same-day change fees that are not reasonable and proportional. Kim Jong Un (R), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), watches the train leaving the station in Pyongyang, the DPRK, on April 25, 2018. A train carrying two survivors and the remains of Chinese citizens killed in a road traffic accident in the DPRK last Sunday, arrived in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province, at 9 a.m. Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, went to the station to see off the train, which left Pyongyang Wednesday night, and once again expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a routine press conference Thursday afternoon. (Xinhua/Cheng Dayu) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A train carrying two survivors and the remains of Chinese citizens killed in a road traffic accident in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) last Sunday, arrived in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province, at 9 a.m. Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, went to the station to see off the train, which left Pyongyang Wednesday night, and once again expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a routine press conference Thursday afternoon. Kim also boarded the train to see the injured, Hua said. Several senior government and party officials of the DPRK were on board. Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun, a team consisting of Chinese Embassy staff and diplomatic workers of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as well as medical specialists were also on the train. Kim and other leaders of the DPRK sent messages of condolences to their Chinese counterparts Wednesday. A tourist bus fell from a bridge in North Hwanghae Province of the DPRK at around 6 p.m. last Sunday. The victims included 34 Chinese -- 32 dead and two seriously injured. Gao Xiaobing, vice minister of Civil Affairs, received the train in Shenyang Thursday morning, said Hua. China will continue to provide help to the families of the victims for handling the aftermath. 2 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Madison County farmer named Tennessee Farmer of the Year John Verell III, of Madison County, has been named the Tennessee Farmer of the Year by UT Extension. Verell is pictured with his wife Crissy and their daughter Emmi. Photo by D. Morris, courtesy UTIA. KNOXVILLE A third-generation farmer from Jackson who manages more than 5,000 acres of row crops has been named the Tennessee Farmer of the Year by University of Tennessee Extension. Johnny Verell, who farms in partnership with his father and grandfather, John Verell, Jr. and John Verell, Sr., rose to the top of the competition because of his business savvy, his land stewardship and his devotion to community service. Verell was nominated to be Tennessee Farmer of the Year by Danny Morris, a UT Extension area farm management specialist for 10 West Tennessee counties, including Madison County. Farmers from across the state were nominated for the honor by their county extension agents or by area farm management specialists. The youngest Verell began farming in 2005 40 years after his grandfather started the family business. At first he was entrusted with just 50 acres of the familys 2000 acres, which he planted in Delta & Pine Land cotton. Now he manages the entire 5,050 acre operation. At his direction, Verell Farms, as the business is known, has moved away from cotton production to cultivating wheat, corn and soybeans; lots of them. With the help of technology and precision agriculture, Verells irrigated acres of corn have been known to produce in excess of 300 bushels per acre. In 2017 USDA estimated the U.S. average yield of corn to be 171.8 bushels per acre. Whats more, at 65 bushels per acre of full-season soybeans, Verell produced well above last years national average yield of 49.5 bushels per acre. Over the years Verell Farms has seen its share of challenges, including the fateful Super Tuesday Tornados of February 2008 during which most of their equipment and the homes of John Sr. and John Jr. were destroyed. Photo used by permission of Verell Farms. In 2008, Verell Farms faced perhaps its biggest challenge. In February of that year a tornado spawned as part of that years Super Tuesday Tornado outbreak destroyed much of their equipment, all their storage sheds as well as the homes of John, Sr. and John, Jr. This placed additional financial and emotional stress on the entire family, Johnny understates. Debris was scattered across 1,000 acres of ground that we worked. We were able to overcome this natural disaster thanks to support from family, close friends, our church family and our faith in the good Lord above. Since that time Verell Farms has expanded to include not only the original family owned land but also some additional 3,000 acres of rented cropland. All of it, Verell knows, contains the secret to his future success. He manages all of the land for sustainability, including installing wildlife food plots, planting buffer strips along the edge of streams and using best practices that reduce the amount of fertilizer and pesticides applied to the crops. He has even planted 20 acres designed as pollinator habitat to help native bee populations survive and thrive. Verell will be introduced as the Tennessee Farmer of the Year in August at the Tennessee Farm Bureau Presidents Conference in Franklin, Tennessee; at the Tennessee State Fair Hamburger Grilling Contest for Media, which is sponsored by the Farm and Forest Families of Tennessee; and at the UT Institute of Agriculture Ag Day celebration which is scheduled for September 22 in Knoxville. Three generations of John Verells farm in partnership in Jackson, Tennessee. The youngest, Johnny (shown left in attached photo), has been named Tennessee Farmer of the Year. The three are shown on their operation, Verell Farms. John Sr. is shown center and John Jr. is shown on the right. Photo used by permission of Verell Farms. According to the graduate of Jackson State Community College Johnny holds an associate degree in precision agriculture from that school and a B.S. in agronomy from Murray State University - the honor of being the Tennessee Farmer of the Year does not belong to him alone. All three John Verells have daily input into the success of the family business, and the youngest considers the farms employees who happen to also be skilled tradesmen - to be critical to the success of the operation. Finally, the support of his wife Crissy and his daughter Emmi has been invaluable. Both Crissy and Johnny have been involved in many agricultural and community activities. Johnny has been a member of the Madison County Farm Bureau Board of Directors since 2006. His father and grandfather have also served on many boards. And Johnny was the state and national American Soybean Association Young Farmer of the Year in 2012. Both he and Crissy are active in the North Jackson Church of Christ, and both support Lights, Camera, Fashion, a benefit for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital as well as several other events for the benefit of children with special needs. As Tennessee Farmer of the Year, Verell will compete in the Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. That competition chooses from among the top farmers from 10 southeastern states and is sponsored by Swisher International, Inc. The award recognizes excellence in agricultural production and farm management, along with leadership in farm and community organizations. The award also honors family contributions in producing safe and abundant supplies of food, fiber and shelter products for U.S. consumers. The overall Southeastern Farmer of the Year will be announced at a luncheon on the opening day of the expo, October 16. Verell, who is truly appreciative of his statewide honor, is very excited to represent Tennessee at the upcoming Sunbelt Ag Expo. Its a great honor to be chosen as Tennessees Farmer of the Year, and Im honored to represent the state of Tennessee at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, he said. The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrates 50 years of excellence in providing Real. Life. Solutions. through teaching, discovery and service. ag.tennessee.edu. Photo taken on April 26, 2018 shows Long March-11 carrier rocket lifting off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. China on Thursday sent five Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellites into space on a single carrier rocket. (Xinhua/Wang Jiangbo) JIUQUAN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday sent five Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellites into space on a single carrier rocket. The Long March-11 carrier rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:42 p.m. The launch was the 272nd flight mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets. Zhuhai-1 is a commercial remote sensing satellite constellation invested in by Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co. It will provide data services for areas including agriculture, land and water resources, environmental protection and transport. China launched two Zhuhai-1 satellites on June 15, 2017. 2 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Photo taken on April 26, 2018 shows a view of the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Thursday warned of the danger of another war in the Gaza Strip after weeks of violence on the border with Israel. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Thursday warned of the danger of another war in the Gaza Strip after weeks of violence on the border with Israel. "This combination of the security, development and humanitarian deterioration, coupled with the political impasse, makes Gaza a power keg. Notwithstanding the tragic developments in the rest of the region, we must do everything possible to prevent another war in Gaza," Mladenov told the Security Council. For the past four weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have converged on the border with Israel in the context of the Great March of Return protests. Demonstrations are expected to continue and culminate around the Israeli independence day on May 14, and could spread to the West Bank and beyond, noted Mladenov. "If another conflict between Hamas and Israel were to erupt, this would have devastating consequences for Palestinians in Gaza. It could undermine the relative stability of the West Bank and have repercussions for Israel and the region," he warned. Since March 30, during those demonstrations, 35 Palestinians have been killed and large numbers have been injured by Israeli security forces. No Israeli casualties have been reported, said Mladenov. There has also been an increasing number of dangerous incidents at the border fence, including the planting of improvised explosive devices -- at least one of which detonated -- the throwing of Molotov cocktails and attempts to breach the fence, he said. Israel has accused Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militants of using the protests, women, children and the elderly as a cover to infiltrate into Israel to commit terrorist attacks, he said. As those protests continue, tension and the potential for serious incidents and further casualties will increase, he warned. "Israel must calibrate its use of force and minimize the use of live fire. Lethal force should be used only as a last resort. Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations must keep protestors away from the Gaza fence and to prevent all violent actions and provocations." Children, who should be particularly protected, are at grave risk, said Mladenov, noting that at least four children have been shot dead by Israeli live fire. "I take this opportunity to reiterate, in the strongest possible terms, that civilians, particularly children, must not be intentionally put in danger or targeted in any way." In other incidents, two Hamas militants were shot dead on March 30 in an exchange of fire near Gaza's fence and five rockets and mortars were fired toward Israel in the last month. On April 12, one person was killed by an Israeli airstrike after a group of Palestinian militants targeted an Israeli aircraft with machinegun fire. At least three additional militants were killed by Israeli security forces in separate incidents, said Mladenov. On April 15, the Israeli security forces announced it had sealed the fifth Hamas tunnel in the past six months leading from Gaza into Israel. The Israeli security forces also foiled an attempt in the West Bank to smuggle 10 pipe bombs that were reportedly intended for an attack on Israel's independence day, he said. All militant activity in Gaza, including the digging of tunnels and the firing of rockets, must cease, he said. "It threatens the lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike, increases the risk of a new escalation of hostilities, undermines calls for lifting the closures, and ultimately damages the prospects for peace." What is happening in Gaza is an injustice that no man, woman or child should have to endure: the deplorable living conditions; the consequences of the continued, suffocating closures and control by Hamas; and the mounting risk that Gaza could trigger a new conflict, he said. Palestine remains a central part of the regional quagmire. Until the occupation ends and a two-state solution is achieved through meaningful negotiations based on relevant UN resolutions, the conflict will remain one of the key drivers of extremism and a persistent threat to regional stability, he warned. 5 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] KEF Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik Lobby for employers searched over role in Samsung destroying company's union By Yoon Ja-young The Korea Employers Federation (KEF), which irked the Moon Jae-in administration by opposing its labor-oriented economic policies, is continuing to struggle. Its headquarters was searched as a part of an investigation into Samsung Electronics' alleged moves to prevent the creation of a union at the company; which it saw as perplexing as the raid coincided with the KEF chairman's meeting with the media The prosecution raided the KEF headquarters in Mapo District, Seoul, Thursday, as a part of an investigation into Samsung's activities. The country's top conglomerate has been facing allegations that it had sought to destroy a union formed by workers at its after-sales service centers. Samsung set up Samsung Electronics Service for after-sales services, which commissioned partner firms to run centers around the country. The workers formed a union in 2013 and the KEF started collective bargaining with the workers the following year, representing the centers. There has been suspicion that Samsung Group intervened in the procedure, trying to dissolve the union. The prosecution is known to have seized related documents and computer hard disks at the KEF headquarters. The investigation perplexed the KEF even more since its chairman Sohn Kyung-shik was having a meeting with the media at the Press Center in downtown Seoul, to commemorate the 50th day since his inauguration. Key executives were also away attending a monthly forum organized by the federation. Regarding the search, Sohn said he was sorry. "We have contributed to the country's development as a responsible member representing employers. I am sorry about what has happened today," he said. "I hope that such incidents are never repeated. We will wait for the result since the investigation is still ongoing." The KEF was established in 1970 to represent employers in the country as relations between management and the workforce were never smooth. It rose as one of the major business lobby groups in the country, but its relationship with the current administration has soured. Its former vice chairman Kim Young-bae criticized the new administration's job policy last year, pointing out that "the pressure to transform irregular workers to regular workers was weighing heavily on businesses." He also said that creating jobs by pouring in tax money could not solve the problem. President Moon Jae-in has openly criticized the KEF, saying he was concerned over the negative impact of such remarks on job policy. He pointed out that the federation was the "one that should solve job problems, including economic polarization and youth unemployment along with the government and labor." Kim also objected to the administration's steep minimum wage hike, saying it would deal a blow to industry. It was raised by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won an hour this year, and is scheduled to reach 10,000 won by 2020 in line with a presidential election pledge. He resigned from the KEF in February along with then Chairman Bahk Byong-won. Sohn said that the KEF would lead efforts by businesses to strengthen their social responsibility and contribute to job creation. Officials of the Corporate Association of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex applaud at the association's office in Seoul, Friday, during the handshake between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjeom. / Yonhap By Park Jae-hyuk South Korean businesses said Friday they have high hopes for the inter-Korean summit to lead to a resumption of economic cooperation with North Korea, which has been suspended ever since the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in February 2016. Although the two Koreas excluded economic cooperation from the key summit agenda, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea expected the forthcoming meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump to produce good results, regarding Washington's positive comments on the summit as a signal for the possible alleviation of sanctions against North Korea. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) supported the view, regarding the inter-Korean summit as "a guide to a successful North Korea-U.S. summit." Shin Han-yong, chairman of the Corporate Association of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, said the association members will apply to visit North Korea after the summit and before the Kim-Trump meeting. Their previous applications for visits have been rejected by both previous and incumbent administrations. "After the summit, we will set up a taskforce to prepare for the resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex," he told reporters Friday at the association's office in Seoul. "Although the two Koreas will not discuss economic cooperation this time, we expect they will talk about the issue in the next summits or high-level talks." The Korea Federation of SMEs (K-Biz) emphasized the nation's SMEs have played important roles in operations of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tours to Mount Geumgang. In its statement released after the Moon-Kim meeting, K-Biz said the SMEs will do their best for the early resumption of operations at the complex and for the employment of North Korean workers at South Korean companies. Association of High Potential Enterprise of Korea Chairman Kang Ho-gap urged the two Koreas to establish stable and solid measures for economic ties, saying, "Economic cooperation will dispel worries of medium-sized companies over their difficulties in doing business in both domestic and global markets." Before the North Korean leader's visit to South Korea, some analysts said it was too early to prepare for economic cooperation, citing the United Nation's sanctions against Pyongyang and absence of a business delegation in the summit. The only influential businessman accompanying Moon was Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Chairman Park Yong-maan, who joined a banquet to welcome Kim after the summit. During the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, three executives from KITA, the Federation of Korean Industries and K-Biz visited Pyongyang with former President Kim Dae-jung to discuss investments in North Korea. The second summit in 2007 was attended by chairmen of Hyundai Motor Group, LG, SK, Hyundai Group and POSCO, as well as a Samsung Electronics vice chairman. South Korean business lobbies, however, are mulling over possible ways of supporting projects in North Korea. The KCCI said its members will pioneer a new era of inter-Korean economic ties. The business group is considering contacting the North Korean Chamber of Commerce again with the help of the International Chamber of Commerce, as it did under the previous Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. Korea Employers Federation Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik also told reporters Thursday that the federation expects the inter-Korean summit to be a path to economic ties between the two Koreas. Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byung By Jhoo Dong-chan Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byung left the country Sunday for a visit to three Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. The group is seeking entry to Indonesia by acquiring a local asset management company, and Cho's 6-day visit to the region is also part of his plans to expand the bank's overseas operations by 20 percent by 2020. According to Shinhan Financial Group, Cho took off Sunday to visit Jakarta in Indonesia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Yangon in Myanmar. He comes back next Friday. "Cho won't visit the group's affiliate branches this time," said a Shinhan Financial Group official. "He is expected to meet local financial officials in a bid to secure other business and investment opportunities." Shinhan Financial Group has recently entered Indonesia, as Shinhan Bank, the group's banking affiliate, took over two local banks _ Bank Metro Express and Centratama Nasional Bank _ to establish PT Bank Shinhan Indonesia in May 2016. Shinhan Card also entered the country through a joint venture with Salim Group to set up Shinhan Indo Finance. The group has also boasted its strong presence in Vietnam. Shinhan Bank established its local corporate body Shinhan Vietnam Bank in 2009, and acquired the retail finance sector of Australian-based banking firm ANZ Vietnam under Cho's leadership last April. Shinhan Vietnam Bank is now the largest foreign bank there with assets worth a combined total of $3.3 billion. It also has about 900,000 customers. Shinhan Card took over 100 percent of Prudential Vietnam Finance Company, a consumer financial affiliate of U.K.-based Prudential, last January. The group has expanded its operations in Southeast Asia since Cho came to the post, a strategy focusing mainly on emerging economies over red-ocean advanced countries. The global operations of the bank currently account for about 9 percent of the group's business portfolio as of the first quarter this year, a slight jump from last year's 7.1 percent. Shinhan Financial Group said the group will expand its overseas operations by 20 percent by 2020. The group's foreign operations are likely to enter into double-digits by the end of this year if the trend continues. "Cho is looking into a stable profit-making structure not by depending solely on domestic operations but by establishing a flexible business portfolio through its overseas operations," said an industry insider. "Cho himself is an expert in global finance. He believes the group's future depends on its foreign investments." By Jhoo Dong-chan The National Pension Service (NPS) says it will expand its investment record disclosure, countering public concern about the agency's fund management. Public distrust over the agency's fund management came to the surface when the NPS posted heavy losses after the Samsung Securities' fat finger scandal and Korean Air "nut rage" sister's tantrum. The NPS is the second-largest shareholder in both companies. According to the Ministry of Welfare on Friday, the National Pension Fund Operation Committee, an NPS decision-making body, discussed how to improve transparency of the agency's fund management. During the meeting, the committee decided to widen the disclosure of its investment records in all sectors _ domestic stock market, loan bond and alternative investments. The NPS had carried out the disclosure for listed firms in which the agency has more than 5 percent of the shares. But it will now disclose its entire investments in the domestic stock market from now on. The agency had also disclosed its top 10 bonds in volume, but will now categorize its loan investments by issuing entities. The NPS had posted only the top 10 funds in its alternative investment sector, but will now expand its disclosure to include foreign real estate. "An increasing number of people have called for the agency to actively exercise its shareholders since the Korea Air family's deviant behavior and Samsung Securities' fat finger scandal," said committee head Park Neung-hu. "Such incidents negatively influence the value of the shares in which the NPS has invested and have hurt the agency's profitability in the long term. "For these reasons, the committee has decided to be more transparent through disclosure." A photo released by the White House shows U.S. Central Intelligence Director Mike Pompeo meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. / Yonhap / Yonhap The White House on Thursday released photos of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two photos -- sent to reporters by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders -- show Pompeo and Kim meeting in Pyongyang over Easter weekend. The White House did not disclose the exact venue and date. Pompeo traveled to North Korea to prepare for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim. At the time, he was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The photos were released shortly after Pompeo was sworn in as new secretary of state upon confirmation by the Senate. By Ko Dong-hwan As President Moon Jae-in left Cheong Wa Dae on Friday morning and headed to Panmunjeom to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the presidential motorcade drew attention because most of the 13 cars in it were imports. Except for Hyundai Motor's white Genesis police car that led the motorcade, all the vehicles were products of foreign motor companies. What stood out most was a group of five black Cadillac Escalades by American carmaker General Motors. They initially grabbed attention when the president's bodyguards in the SUVs appeared through the roofs to monitor the surroundings as they left the presidential office and drove down Sejong-ro Road in Gwanghwamun District in Jongno-gu, Seoul. In front of the Escalades were two Maybachs by German luxury auto brand Mercedes-Benz, one of which carried Moon. Two S-class sedans of the same brand were in front of the Maybachs and behind the Escalades. At the rear were two vans a Starcraft by GM Chevrolet and a Sprinter by Mercedes-Benz. The South Korean President's state motorcade often draws attention for the models that are in it and some questioned why there weren't more domestic brands. Chinese President Xi Jinping is known to use Chinese luxury brand Hongqi. Moon's motorcade passed Gwanghwamun district at 8:10 a.m., drove past Mapo Bridge at 8:17 a.m., entered Jayu-ro Road at 8:21 a.m., arrived at Goyang at 8:31 a.m., and went past the Unification Observatory at 8:41 a.m. It arrived in Panmunjeom at 9:01 a.m. By Ko Dong-hwan Churches in Gwangju and other parts of South Jeolla Province rang their bells simultaneously at 9:30 a.m. Friday to wish for a peaceful result from the inter-Korean summit. About 130 bells at churches in the Archdiocese of Gwangju tolled at the time South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were to meet on the south side of Panmunjeom in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The leaders actually met several minutes earlier. Catholic Archbishop Kim Hee-jung had an emergency meeting with parish officials on Thursday afternoon and decided to send a letter to all churches to encourage them to ring their bells. The letter referred to the summit as "the historical day when President Moon and the North's leader Kim meet for talks that will lead to peace on the Korean Peninsula." The letter requested that churches toll their bells for one minute at 9:30 a.m., "when the two leaders meet for the first time." Archbishop Kim, who heads the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, reminded in the letter that the U.S.-Pyongyang summit would follow and he encouraged "prayers for the latter so that the Korean Peninsula opens doors to reconciliation, mutuality and peace." Proposed inter-Korean trade routes connecting South Korea's Yeongjongdo Island with Gaesong and Haeju in the North. / Korea Times graphic by Lee Jong-eun By Ko Dong-hwan With the inter-Korean summit under way on Friday, another inter-Korean breakthrough may be on the way a network of trade routes connecting cities of both countries near the Korean Peninsula's western seaboard. The emerging road network would connect Yeongjongdo Island in the South, the home of Incheon International Airport, to the North's Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Hwanghae Province and Haeju in South Hwanghae Province. The Gaesong complex is an inter-Korean project which combined South Korean industrial know-how and North Korean labor in a proto-reunification experiment in economic cooperation that was supposed to eventually lead to cultural openings between the two Koreas. The project has been in the wind since South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised the western port city of Incheon during the 2017 presidential election that he would support a "West Sea peace cooperation belt" via an inter-Korean trade network. Haeju was mentioned during the inter-Korean summit in 2007, when the city was nominated to be the center of an inter-Korean triangular free economic zone connecting the city, Incheon and Gaesong. Freight trucks and other vehicles head to Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Hwanghae Province past Dorasan Inter-Korea Transit Office in November 2017. / Korea Times file Students of Deoksoo Elementary School watch the inter-Korean summit in class in Seoul, Friday. / Yonahp By Kang Seung-woo On the occasion of the inter-Korean summit, there are growing calls for South Korean schools to educate students on unification. A number of school superintendents have vowed to step up efforts to give more unification education to students, with some of them already sending official documents to schools encouraging it. The National Council of Governors of Education issued a statement, Thursday, hoping for the success of the inter-Korean summit, and to promote education on peaceful unification, denuclearization and the building of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula Their move came on the eve of the meeting between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Friday, at the Peace House on the southern side of Panmunjeom a sign of inter-Korean rapprochement after heightened tensions on the peninsula due to Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile tests last year. "The leaders of the two Koreas will meet for the first time in 11 years. The summit carries a symbolic meaning that Kim will be the first North Korean leader to cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into South Korean territory since the Korean War," the council said. "In addition, the summit will pave the way for a successful meeting between the United States and North Korea that could lead to permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula." The education office in Seoul asked elementary, middle and high schools in the capital city to take advantage of the event as unification-related education material, Wednesday. Other education offices also instructed schools under their influence to voluntarily decide whether to have students watch the rare event. The education ministry recommends that each school carry out eight hours of unification-related education every year, based on its guidelines. The inter-Korean summit, aired live, was watched at a large number of schools nationwide. "Out of a belief that watching the inter-Korean summit is more educational, I decided to show it to students," said the principal at a Busan elementary school. "I hope students will use the summit as a momentum to think of the importance of peace and the meaning of the Korean Peninsula." Amid growing conciliatory gestures from the North, some education chiefs call for the resumption of school field trips to Mt. Geumgang. They believe a visit to the North Korean site will naturally serve as an opportunity to learn about Korean unification. As part of reconciliatory efforts between the two Koreas, cruises to the scenic resort located on the North's east coast began in 1998 and the tourism program entered a boom period, resulting in the addition of a land route in 2003. However, these were suspended in 2008 when a tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier. In addition, the "May 24" sanctions prevent South Koreans from visiting there. The economic sanctions, imposed by the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2010 in retaliation for the North's torpedoing of the South's naval ship, the Cheonan, ban inter-Korean economic exchanges and cooperation. Late last year, the Gwangju Metropolitan Education Office submitted a proposal to Cheong Wa Dae and the unification ministry that called for President Moon to discuss the tour issue with the North Korean leader Kim at the summit. "Simply visiting North Korea's tourist attractions will enable students to learn about unification," said the proposal. Lim Hae-kyu, a preliminary candidate for the top education officer of Gyeonggi Province, claims the resumption of school field trips to Mt. Geumgang, the establishment of an ecological peace park at the Daesungdong Elementary School located in the DMZ, and inter-Korean exchanges between students will be even more helpful. "Perfunctory education on peace and unification cannot help South Korean students fully understand North Korea," Lim said. "The system for unification education should shift to an experience-centered one." By Kim Jae-heun A group of President Moon Jae-in's advisers for the inter-Korean summit held a forum, Thursday, to discuss the future of the two Koreas after the summit. The advisory panel, comprised of 46 members including President Moon Jae-in's special adviser for unification, foreign affairs and national security, Moon Chung-in. The forum was divided into three parts to talk about pending issues of the summit and experts' predictions over the outcome of President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meeting. The first debate was held in Korean, hosted by the former President of the University of North Korean Studies Choi Wan-kyu. Choi emphasized that the latest summit is meaningful as South Korea is hosting a summit for the first time. "Unlike the previous regular meetings between South and North Korean leaders, this summit has adopted denuclearization as part of the agenda. This is something that the world is paying great attention to," said Choi. "However, it is important that the South and North make an agreement over denuclearization and continue to hold consecutive meetings in the future." Cho Seong-ryoul, head research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, further added it will become useless if North Korea fails to carry out denuclearization. "It is uncertain whether North Korea will offer to open their nuclear weapons facilities. We have to keep monitoring the process," Cho said. Choi said the inter-Korean summit plays an important role for the upcoming U.S-North Korean summit set to take place next month. "What we discuss at the inter-Korean summit will also be discussed at the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It is important that South Korean officials cooperate with White House officials frequently before and after the inter-Korean summit," Choi said. NANJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has said it will supply its artificial intelligence technology to help thousands of Chinese courts share live-broadcasting and cloud services. At Alibaba's computing conference on Thursday in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Alibaba Cloud, the cloud service arm of Alibaba, said it would team up with Jiangsu Xinshiyun Technology Co., Ltd. to improve an online cloud service platform to link up 10,000 courts. Xinshiyun currently operates China's largest court trial database and a cloud platform in partnership with more than 2,100 courts including the Supreme People's Court of China and 32 Chinese provincial-level high courts. Li Jin, vice president of Alibaba Cloud, said Alibaba's AI technology would help courts make both voice and video recording, transcribe them, and broadcast live court proceedings. The online cloud service platform can keep the case records and make intelligent analysis of cases. "The judicial field is one of the sectors eyed by Alibaba's cloud service as a potential market. The other sectors are banking, higher education institutes, financial and astronomical fields," Li said. [ Editor: WPY ] By Lee Min-hyung President Moon Jae-in As a son of North Korean refugees, the inter-Korean summit today carries a significant meaning for President Moon Jae-in. Moon's parents are from Hungnam, a city in South Hamgyong Province in North Korea. His parents, fled to the South in December 1950 during the 1950-53 Korean War. Moon was born in 1953 at a refugee camp on Geoje Island off the southern coast of South Gyeongsang Province. Moon has, partly for this reason, become interested in human rights and peace on the Korean Peninsula. His North Korean policy has so far been in contrast to that of his predecessors former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak both of whom pushed for aggressive, pressure policies against the North. Last year, Moon pledged during his presidential campaign to build a lasting peace on the peninsula through dialogue with the North. "I will do the utmost to bring the North to the negotiation table by strengthening sanctions and pressure," Moon said in a television commercial aired in May last year. His campaign pledges regarding North Korea also included a gradual and fundamental denuclearization of the regime by using all possible measures such as dialogue and sanctions. By Lee Suh-yoon The government's live broadcast of this historic summit at the main press center offers interpretation services in nine languages. But sign language is not one of them. "Disabled citizens' right to information is just as important as that of foreign reporters in a historic event like this," said Kim Cheol-hwan, a disability rights activist. "But the government ignored our repeated requests to provide sign language services." Videos uploaded on Cheong Wa Dae's summit website also lack sign language. The inter-Korean summit was held at the Panmunjeom border truce village on Friday, exactly one week after the country held its 38th National Disabled Persons' Day. Public service broadcasters KBS and MBC have taken matters into their own hands, adding independent sign language translations on their channels. But public broadcaster SBS, as well as other commercial broadcasters and internet portals, have not done so despite requests from disability rights groups. Korean sign language, also called "suhwa," was declared an official language of equal status to Korean in 2016. Some citizens expressed disappointment that the Moon administration which prides itself as a liberal product of the candlelight revolution left out the disabled. "I wonder if the Moon administration remembers the huge sign language translations it provided at the last candlelight demonstration," said citizen activist Jeon Jy Yun, 46. By Kim Jae-heun President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un took time before their talks to hold a "tree-planting" ceremony at Panmunjeom, Friday. They shoveled earth and poured water from the two Koreas on a sapling from a pine tree planted in 1953 when the Korean War armistice was signed to mark the inter-Korea summit. The sapling was planted close to where Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung took truckloads of 1,001 cows to the North in 1998. "The pine is the Korean people's most favorite tree and it symbolizes peace and prosperity," presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok told a press conference in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The two Korean leaders shoveled soil collected from Mount Halla in the South and Mount Baekdu in the North. Moon and Kim also used water from the Han River in the South and the Daedong River in the North. Before the inter-Korean summit, the South requested the joint ceremony and the North accepted. The leaders' names are inscribed on a stone in front of the tree. The ceremony was part of an historic North-South event to break the ice between the two leaders, and show the world the two Koreas' desire for peace on the peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into South Korea for the first time on Friday (April 27), where he was greeted by the South's president, Moon Jae-in ahead of the two Koreas' first summit in more than a decade. The two leaders smiled and shook hands after which Kim Jong Un gestured to Moon they cross over to NorthKorea briefly, which they did for a few steps, then returned to the South, holding hands. Kim was handed a flower bouquet by a South Korean boy and girl, residents of a village situated in the demilitarised zone. The pair were met on a red carpet by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will "openheartedly" discuss pending inter-Korean issues with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a historic summit Friday, the North's state media said. The North's leader left Pyongyang early Friday for a summit that will be held for the first time at the border truce village of Panmunjom, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim "will openheartedly discuss with (President) Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean Peninsula," the report said. The KCNA reported details about agenda items for the talks, but it did not mention North Korea's denuclearization. The North's leader is expected to meet Moon at the border at 9:30 a.m. and cross the demarcation line that separates the two countries on foot. He will become the first North Korean ruler to cross the border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands in front of Freedom House at the truce village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone, Friday. / Korea Summit Press Pool / Korea Summit Press Pool Delegations led by Moon and Kim attend inter-Korean summit. / Korea Summit Press Pool By Kim Rahn The leaders of the two Koreas shook hands Friday as they prepared for their historic meeting to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared from the Panmungak, a building on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom, at 9:27 a.m. President Moon Jae-in was waiting for him in front of Freedom House, a building on the southern side, right behind the military demarcation line (MDL). As Kim walked between buildings T2 and T3 meeting rooms of the Military Armistice Commission to the MDL, Moon walked toward the line and they shook hands with the line between them. Kim then unexpectedly asked Moon to cross the MDL to the northern side, and the two, holding hands, briefly walked across the line. Moon then escorted Kim to the southern side, as the summit venue is Peace House. It was the first time a North Korean leader has set foot in the South since the Korean War (1950-53). Moon and Kim had photos taken and two children offered flowers to Kim. The children are students at an elementary school in Daeseongdong Village, the only village within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the South. The leaders were escorted by South Korean traditional honor guards to a plaza between Peace House and Freedom House for the official welcoming ceremony that included inspection of the guards. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they across the military demarcation line, Friday. / Korea Summit Press Pool By Park Si-soo In defiance of the script, South Korean President Moon Jae-in briefly crossed into North Korea before Friday's historic inter-Korean summit. Moon walked across the military demarcation line (MDL) to the North at 9:31 a.m., at the request of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who, as planned, had crossed into the South. The two leaders, holding hands, stepped over the 10-centimeter-high concrete threshold built on the parallel of the MDL. It happened soon after their historic first handshake, with the MDL in between and then with Kim on South Korean soil. Chief presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan said that while Moon and Kim were shaking hands, Moon told Kim, "You came to the South. When would it be possible for me to cross into the North?" Kim said, "How about now?" turning his head northward. Moon appeared a little embarrassed, but soon accepted Kim's offer and crossed the line to the North. Another off-script event was a group photo of the two leaders and delegates taken on the way to Peace House, the summit venue. The press secretary said Moon suggested the idea after Kim told Moon some of Kim's delegates were supposed to return to the North after the welcoming ceremony. Video footage shows Moon and Kim asking their delegates to form for a group photo in the Peace House courtyard before the leaders inspected the South Korean honor guards. Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea cheer as they watch a live broadcast of the inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap Political parties on Friday welcomed the start of a historic summit between the leaders of South and North Korea, voicing hopes for steps toward peace on the peninsula and the North's denuclearization. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had their first encounter early Friday, marking the third summit of its kind in history and the first in 11 years. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said it expects "a big achievement" from the summit that will help bring peace on the Korean Peninsula. "The agreements reached in the past two summits were never fully carried out," DP spokesman Park Beom-kye said. "Now that Friday's summit will be followed by a meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, we anticipate a considerable outcome that ultimately leads to a peace settlement and sustainable growth between Seoul and Pyongyang." Minor opposition parties also expressed optimism while calling on the president to reach a concrete deal with Kim in terms of efforts toward denuclearization. "The sole objective of the historic summit with the North is to make sure Chairman Kim Jong-un promises a complete denuclearization and to have his words in writing," Yoo Seung-min, co-head of the Bareunmirae Party, said in his party's supreme council meeting. "It is the only way to prevent war and bring peace." The Party for Democracy and Peace welcomed the summit and promised to lend support to any legislative procedure needed for the government's post-summit plans. The progressive Justice Party said, "it is our first day into the age of peace on the peninsula," stressing that the summit cannot be called a success unless it deals with Pyongyang's denuclearization. "Our party hopes the two leaders will open doors for new peace by removing nuclear weapons." The main opposition and conservative Liberty Korea Party called the summit "a new turning point," but called for real progress toward an irreversible dismantlement of the North's nuclear programs. "Instead of staging an emotional show, the summit must show substantive progress for the two Koreas toward a complete denuclearization of the North and a peaceful peninsula," LKP floor leader Kim Sung-tae told reporters. (Yonhap) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with the former CIA director, now U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang over the 2018 Easter weekend. / AFP-Yonhap By Oh Young-jin The case might be based on a great deal of circumstantial evidence without the smoking gun. But throw into the mix U.S. President Donald Trump's predilection for people's attention, and a credible case could be made. Trump's White House has released photos showing Mike Pompeo meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during Pompeo's secret visit to Pyongyang over the Easter weekend in April. Pompeo, then Director of Central Intelligence, is now U.S. Secretary of State. The release of the photos was sudden and timed to coincide with the beginning of the inter-Korean summit between President Moon Jae-in and the North's Kim just before Moon left in a motorcade for the summit at the Pammunjeom truce village. A citizen watches a live broadcast of the inter-Korean summit in front of Seoul City Hall, Friday. / Yonhap By Lee Suh-yoon Despite some foreign media reports of young Koreans' lack of interest in the inter-Korean summit, many are following it with high hopes. "I'm hoping the talks could finally end decades of unnecessary military tension," said a student named Baek, 25, who is finishing his two-year military service. Young Koreans may not be as emotionally attached to the prospects of reunification as the older generation are but they support the summit on more rational grounds. "I'm excited by the prospect a formal peace treaty may finally replace the armistice," Baek said. "The logic that the Korean War is still in a ceasefire makes our political sphere too vulnerable to McCarthyism." "I also think the North's willingness to talk and put nuclear weapons on the negotiation table means something. They are not simply trying to deceive us this time." BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will appoint chiefs of streets and hutongs in the urban area by June to improve environmental management, authorities said Friday. The chiefs, usually main leaders of sub-district and township governments and their subordinates, will be responsible for improving the environment around, according to the municipal commission of urban management. Volunteer hutong keepers will be selected from residents to help with management, said the statement. Last April, Beijing released a three-year plan for improving minor streets and hutongs in the central area, but problems remain serious, said an official with the commission. According to the official, only one ninth of the total number of more than 1,800 minor streets and hutongs meet the standard required by the plan, including no illegal advertisements, no road damage, no illegal businesses and no random dumping of garbage. Appointment of hutong chiefs is of great significance in protecting the appearance of the capital, improving the living environment and raising the standard of urban management, he said. [ Editor: WPY ] By Oh Young-jin Ri Sol-ju Ri Sol-ju, North Korean first lady, will join her husband Kim Jong-un at 6:15 p.m. Friday at the truce village of Panmunjeom and will participate in the dinner hosted by President Moon Jae-in. The presidential office said, "North Korean first lady Ri will arrive at 15 minutes after six and have a chat with first lady Kim Jung-sook before joining the dinner." Moon and Kim finished their morning round of summit meeting in the Peace House located in the southern side. There was speculation that Ri would accompany him when the North Korean leader crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) or the border in the morning but she didn't come. By Park Si-soo South Korean President Moon Jae-in set off for Panmunjeom at 8:06 a.m. Friday leaving behind cheering Cheong Wa Dae staff. Wearing a dark indigo blue suit and a bright blue tie, Moon briefly emerged from his black sedan on the way out, expressing gratitude to the cheering crowd and shaking hands with some. His motorcade dashed through a traffic-controlled road for about one hour and arrived in Panmunjeom at 9 a.m. Ahead of his historic encounter with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at 9:30 a.m., Moon inspected Peace House, the summit hall, with his delegates, including presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon. Im and Suh were to sit next to Moon during the summit with the North Korean leader. The North Korean leader emerged from the Panmungak building on the North side at 9:27 a.m. He walked down the stairs and across the military demarcation line (MDL) where Moon was standing. The Japanese government said Friday it expects the leaders of the two Koreas will have "serious" discussions on denuclearization shortly after President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their talks at the border. Tokyo also expects the summit to feature "positive" discussions to resolve the issues of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, as well as the North's nuclear and missile programs, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press briefing. "I want to praise the South Korean government for its efforts that led to today's talks," the Japanese government spokesman said. "I think there will be serious discussion between the two leaders in the summit meeting," he noted. (Yonhap) Pyongyang did not broadcast live historic inter-Korean gathering By Lee Min-hyung North Korea has welcomed the historic inter-Korean summit between President Moon Jae-in and the regime's leader Kim Jong-un, delivering reports on Kim's summit schedule Friday. The Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim left Pyongyang at dawn for the meeting with his southern counterpart The regime's mouthpiece detailed Kim's schedule at the summit venue, the Peace House located on the southern side of the truce village, Panmunjeom. This highlighting of Kim's first inter-Korean summit is viewed as exceptional for the regime, as Pyongyang rarely covers his detailed schedule. "Kim will have an in-depth discussion with Moon over ways to improve inter-Korean relations and bring peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula," the state-run media reported. "Kim will return to Pyongyang on Friday night after meeting with delegates from the Koreas." Moon met with Kim at 9:30 a.m. at the military demarcation line. This is the first time that Kim has had a meeting with his southern counterpart. By Park Ji-won South Korean President Moon Jae-in is likely to be among the few strong candidates to win next year's Nobel Peace Prize. Cheong Wa Dae has been cautious about mentioning this, and Moon himself has given much credit to U.S. President Donald Trump for reduced tension on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean reconciliation. However, many South Koreans are already holding an active online campaign to push for Moon's nomination for next year's prize. "I hope the day would come that Moon wins the Nobel Peace Prize after holding a successful inter-Korean summit," lawmaker Chun Jung-bae posted on Twitter. Some foreign media outlets, including the BBC, also cautiously anticipated Moon may become the winner. Another lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, floor leader of the Justice Party, said the prize should be shared with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump. Moon praised Kim in the opening statement in the inter-Korean summit, Friday, saying that he respects "Kim's bold decision to make this happen." South Korean President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 the first time for a Korean for improving ties with the North. Kim and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held their first historic summit in the North Korean capital Pyongyang in 2000. The nomination process for the prize ends on Jan. 31 every year and the winner is announced in October. This historic summit was the first in 11 years. Cheong Wa Dae has been cautious about talking about the prize. The presidential office spokesman once criticized the move to form an organization for nominating Moon for the Nobel Peace Prize saying it was not "desirable." First couples of the two Koreas greet each other before a banquet held in Panmunjeom, Friday. / Korea Summit Press Pool / Korea Summit Press Pool By Choi Ha-young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended a summit dinner reception at the Panmunjeom truce village on Friday. President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook chatted with Kim Jong-un and Ri at the Peace House for a while, before they attended a banquet later. It was the first time the first ladies of the two Koreas had met. First lady Kim warmly welcomed Ri. "After the morning session of the summit, my husband told me he shared sincere talks with President Moon, which made me so happy," Ri told her South Korean counterpart. During the banquet, the two Koreas' first couples enjoyed performances together. At the two previous inter-Korean summits, former South Korean first ladies accompanied Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, respectively in 2000 and 2007. But then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's wife did not attend. There was speculation about whether Ri would attend, because she was not with her husband when he crossed the border to meet President Moon. Presidential secretaries had refused to confirm the first ladies' participation, before presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan revealed in the afternoon that Ri would arrive in Panmunjeom at 6:15 p.m. First ladies of the two Koreas walk hand in hand. / Korea Summit Press Pool U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that "good things" are happening after the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to pursue a peace treaty and denuclearization of the peninsula. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump tweeted after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks. "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" Trump is set to have his own meeting with Kim in May or early June to discuss the denuclearization of the regime. By Kim Ji-soo Tension of another kind, full of anticipation for peace, took over Panmunjeom Friday, as the two Koreas held their third summit. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emerged from the doors of the liaison office on the North side, surrounded by numerous officials and bodyguards for the historic summit. His younger sister Kim Yo-jong was seen in the first group; North Korea's first lady Ri Sol-ju arrived later for a commemorative dinner. Looking confident, Kim was met by President Moon Jae-in, who waited near the Military Demarcation Line. After shaking hands, Kim took a symbolic step, becoming the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South. Kim was then seen suggesting to Moon to cross over to the North. Moon accepted, and together they turned back, hand-in-hand, like long-lost friends or two leaders sorely needing each other's support in their bold step in history. They stood on the North side briefly, and then turned back again. Moon then walked alongside Kim on a red carpet, with an honor guard to the South and North Korean delegations. Entering the Peace House, Kim signed the visitors' book: "A new history begins now; at the starting point of history and the era of peace." The two leaders vowed to make progress at the summit in the initial moments of the talks that were opened to the public. The doors then closed for the talks to commence on the historic day that was heavy on symbolic steps, gestures and photo-ops. By Ron Roman Seventeen innocent people were slaughtered by accused gunman Nikolas Cruz at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. Since then thousands of anti-gun advocates (largely well-intentioned teenagers) have taken to the streets in marches across America, vowing "Never Again!" "No More Guns!" and "Down with the NRA!" (The NRA stands for the National Rifle Association which is a leading organizational defender of America's Second Amendment protecting private possession of firearms). These kids are sincere in their agitation all right. And they are idiots. Witness the great Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s own nine-year-old granddaughter at the Washington, D.C., "March for Our Lives": "I have a dream that enough is enough. That this should be a gun-free world. Period." Huh? A "gun-free world"? Well, kiddo, vicious criminals don't give a rat's ass about relinquishing their own illegally attained guns for your platitudes about a chimerical "gun-free" world period. They're smacking their lips waiting for law-abiding adults to have their guns confiscated. And don't you forget it. It breaks my gun-owning heart to see American teens misled and manipulated by their schools' left-wing ideologues in the guise of "public safety." When will we ever learn When will we ever learn that mass disarmament does not, will not and cannot make our streets safer? At least not in America. Okay, I hear some readers howling right now. Well, what about here in Korea and next-door Japan, countries with no Second Amendment equivalent and comparatively safer streets? Great point. Get to that in a moment. We have "adults" like Diane Daley, 60, attending a march and quoted by the Associated Press: "Maybe that's what it's going to take children leading us." Gulp. Heaven help us. American national policy being articulated and driven by misled and manipulated kids. Peter Pan syndrome is alive and well. Scary. Back to so-called safe countries like Korea and Japan. Safer than the U.S.? Sure. For the most part. Why? Simple: Their citizens (again, for the most part) tend to be more civilized, unlike many of those roaming around some American neighborhoods where a certain savage element simmers, where thugs will rob you of your cash, valuables, and then, that not being enough, shoot (and/or cut) you just to watch you bleed. Other countries don't have a gang culture; America does. Take a hard look at the American Department of Justice's cold statistics on this. Unsettling? Sure and the truth. Of course, tell that to hardcore left-wing ideologues, and they immediately launch into their usual kneejerk TPR (Transfer of Personal Responsibility) routine: Can't possibly blame poor trigger-happy street gang members trying to survive while pushing dope in America's back alleys. Oh, heavens, no. Not enough decent jobs floating around. Must be President Donald Trump's fault for that! (Then, too, Limousine Liberals don't live in back alleys, do they?). Why not blame that wealthy gun manufacturer CEO instead? "Gun control"? How about some "Criminal and gang control"? Take, for example, Switzerland: 8.3 million people own at least 2 million guns. Gun-related murder is almost non-existent. Why? Again, no gang culture. How much simpler could it be? What we witness in America's streets with these kids is tantamount to the proverbial chicken scrambling around the farmyard squawking, "Do something! Just do something anything!" This is not to belittle their rightful anger and indignation. No, far from it. What this is is a clarion call to think before we act, think about the consequences of mass disarmament, more "gun-free" zones, repeal of the Second Amendment. Taking these misguided actions in the name of public safety is throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out. Gun-free zones? How many times must we be reminded that these zones are precisely the places where armed thugs head to first? In the Paris nightclub, 150 were gunned down at random because nobody was armed to fight back in a country with some of the strictest gun controls in the world. You don't have to look to Europe for examples. What about closer to home? Minnesota? What has America become to demand law-abiding adults be disarmed? A nation of sniveling cowards? The Founding Fathers, framers of the Second Amendment, must be thrashing in their graves. What to do? Space here precludes a full analysis, yet here are a few starters . 1) Install metal detectors in all schools; 2) Rehearse/train students in what to expect/how to react to an active shooter; 3) Tighten mental health checkups for gun purchases; and 4) above all: Select and arm a few volunteer teachers after they've been firearm-trained and certified. Parkland cops were called and initially refused to confront Nikolas Cruz. Yet the anti-gun crowd still howls gun "control" over criminal control. A little "Idiot Control" wouldn't hurt, either. The author has taught English and the humanities with the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) throughout the U.S. Pacific Command originally since 1996. The opinions expressed here are strictly his own. He can be reached at By Baek Byung-yeul Naver has begun receiving opinions from media outlets on whether they would like it to adopt an "outlink system" that leads newsreaders to the website of news producers. Korea's largest portal operator sent an email to its news providers Friday, asking for opinions about introducing the outlink system. Naver has maintained an "inlink system," where newsreaders read articles posted on its platform, whereas foreign portals such as Google use the outlink system. The top portal website is being blamed for letting a few power bloggers manipulate public opinion. To dispel the ongoing turmoil, Naver announced self-help measures Wednesday to limit the number of comments a user can post on news articles and the number of times a user can click "like" or "dislike" a day. However, the operator has hesitated to adopt the outlink system which experts have recommended. With the current inlink system, Naver has generated huge ad revenues by keeping users on its website for longer. "As there have been opinions from media and political circles that Naver needs to adopt a Google-equivalent outlink system, we would like to take opinions from our partners to decide the direction of our news management system," Naver said in the email to news providers. The portal operator set a deadline for a response at 1 p.m. May 2. Naver also said in the email that there would be no money for its news providers if it decides to adopt the outlink system. Korea's portal sites including Naver have purchased content from media while Google does. Previously, Naver CEO Han Seong-sook told lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party the company may consider introducing the outlink system. The lawmakers visited the company's headquarters on Wednesday to protest alleged online opinion-rigging led by a power blogger nicknamed "Druking" and two of his followers. Hosted by the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food and the Embassy of Mexico in Vietnam, the event offered a chance for businesses from the food industries and agricultural sectors of both sides to exchange and introduce their products. Speaking at the workshop, Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam, Sara Valdes Bolano, said that Mexico and Vietnam are well-known for their agricultural products. With its strength, the Latin American nation could meet Vietnam's growing demand for high-quality, affordable agricultural products, she added. The diplomat informed those present that Mexico currently ranks 15th among the top food exporters in the world and ranks first in avocado production. Mexico is also famous for its strawberry, banana and beef products. The growth rate of its food production, Mexico's strategic industry, was at 13% in 2017. To promote trade in agriculture, the Mexican and Vietnamese ministries of agriculture are urgently completing memoranda of understanding on plant protection, food products, and the importation of meat and other fresh produce. In addition, the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would promote the development of agricultural trade between the two countries, the ambassador said. Mexican exporters of beef, butter, bananas, pork and dates introduced their strengths at the event. According to representatives from the Vietnamese businesses, the seminar is a good opportunity to explore the Mexican market and set up cooperation with Mexican partners. The Vietnamese side wants to increase its cooperation with Mexico in rice and fishery exports, as well as promoting collaboration in science and technology, medicine, education and training, and response to climate change. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mexico is Vietnams third largest trade partner in Latin America, with increasing import and export turnover. Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus with Mexico in recent years. In the first nine months of 2017, the two-way trade turnover reached over US$2.2 billion, in which Vietnams export value was at over US$1.8 billion. The two nations have favourable conditions for economic and political cooperation as they are active members of the APEC and CPTPP. GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem, right, shakes hands with the carmaker's union leader Lim Han-taek during a labor-management signing ceremony at head office in Bupyeong, Incheon, Thursday / Courtesy of GM Korea By Jhoo Dong-chan GM Korea continues to face a daunting task in getting back on track even after its Detroit headquarters and the Korea Development Bank (KDB) decided to inject a combined $7.15 billion into the ailing carmaker. The financial injection to salvage the debt-ridden car maker is not the ultimate solution to its problems, analysts said Friday. They said GM Korea's production costs are still very high compared to GMs' other production plants, a major reason that Detroit headquarters hesitated to expand its Korean operation. GM also announced it would allocate two new models in Korea to drive growth, but industry insiders said allocating new models will not be the ultimate solution. "Unionized workers at GM Korea agreed to freeze their salaries and made concessions in welfare in negotiations for the survival of the company," said Daelim University automotive professor Kim Pil-soo. "But I believe the company's production costs are still too high compared to General Motors' other production bases." "The union agreed to the management's proposal of burden sharing in last minute negotiations. It was natural because they wanted to secure as many benefits from the company before the deal. They are not interested in the company's reformation for survival. "If they maintain a similar stance in future wage talks with management, GM Korea will never be able to improve its high-cost production structure." Deteriorating trust is another challenge for GM Korea. Many customers have reportedly had difficulties in getting after-sales service since the troubled carmaker's worsening financial status came to the surface last year. "It was hard to make a reservation at its service centers via phone," said a Chevrolet owner. "I am afraid they are downsizing their workforce at maintenance and repair centers." In a bid to attract a wider range of customers, General Motors said it would allocate two new models here _ possibly a compact SUV and a crossover utility vehicle. The U.S. carmaker said it would produce each model at the Bupyeong and Changwon plants starting 2019 and 2022. GM said it would invest 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) for the models over the next five years. But industry insiders are questioning the plan. "General Motors is gradually downsizing its combustion-engine models in its global portfolio, and moving into eco-friendly ones," said a motorsport insider. "Allocating new models here won't be a long-term solution. Detroit should find a way for its Korean operation to utilize its R&D capability for ultimate survival." In the agreement, the KDB will provide $750 million to GM Korea in a non-binding preliminary deal. In return, General Motors will invest $3.6 billion while converting a $2.8 billion loan into equity. The total financial package is expected to reach a combined $7.15 billion. The agreement came after GM President Dan Ammann said earlier that he was very close to finding a solution. But Detroit has voiced opposition to the state-run bank's demand, which would reduce General Motors' capital in GM Korea by a ratio of 20 shares to one if the debt-for-equity swap goes ahead. Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Huynh Cach Mang expressed his delight at the strong development of bilateral relations across all fields, especially in the exchange of high-level delegations and cooperation in water management, climate change adaptation, culture, education, and tourism. Speaking highly of the role of the Consulate General in boosting collaboration between Ho Chi Minh City and the Netherlands, Mang affirmed that the city is willing to create the most favourable conditions for the Consulate General to carry out diplomatic events and cooperative activities in order to tighten the friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples. Consul General Carel Richter stressed that the Netherlands has maintained its position among the largest foreign investors in Vietnam and biggest European trade partners of the country. The bilateral partnership has flourished over the past 45 years, particularly in water management and climate change response, he stated. He confirmed that the Netherlands wants to help Ho Chi Minh City cope with flood challenges and further promote cooperation in agriculture, education, and tourism. The country is also willing to implement a programme to increase the capacity of the State and private sectors in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Last year, trade between Ho Chi Minh City and the Netherlands hit US$1.2 billion. The Netherlands is now running 132 investment projects in Vietnams southern economic hub with a total capital of nearly US$1.9 billion, ranking eighth out of the 95 countries and territories pouring capital into the city. Many Dutch-funded projects on the environment and agriculture are being undertaken in Ho Chi Minh City. The vessel, with 150 officers and crew members on board, is captained by Sen. Lieut. Col. Joseph Neo, Commanding Officer of the Singapore Navy Academy. During their time in Da Nang, the guests are scheduled to pay courtesy visits to the municipal Peoples Committee, High Command of the Military Region 5, and High Command of the Naval Region 3. They will also participate in cultural and sport events with soldiers of the Naval Region 3 and visit some of the sights around the city. After the visit, the Vietnamese and Singaporean navies will conduct a joint exercise on maritime search and rescue and training covering the use of flags, lighting, and radios in signalling. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh is leading the Vietnamese delegation to the event. The AMM will discuss progress in implementing the regions key initiatives and review the process of building the ASEAN Community along with future orientation for the work. Ministers will also look at the pace of blueprints on carrying out the ASEAN Community Vision to 2025 and adopt the agenda of the 32nd ASEAN Summit along with the list of documents to be submitted to the blocs leaders. Ministers will debate ASEAN priorities under the Singaporean-sponsored theme of Resilient and Innovative, including an idea on building a network of smart cities in the region. Relevant regional and international issues of common concern, including the East Sea, new developments on the Korean peninsula, terrorism and extremism, maritime security and some other non-conventional security matters, are also on the AMMs agenda. Also on April 27, several important events will take place, namely the 17th ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Council meeting and the 21st ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) meeting. To ensure safety for the ASEAN Summit and related meetings, host Singapore has tightened security around all meeting venues and the countrys entry gates. Speaking of her great appreciation for the Vietnam visit of the UVFPG delegation, Vice Chairwoman Anh affirmed that Vietnamese people always keep in mind the huge support provided by Ukrainians during Vietnams national struggle for independence and reunification. Briefing the guest on HCMCs socio-economic situation and the operations of the citys peoples council, the Vice Chairwoman expressed her hopes for further cooperation between Ukraine and HCMC for their mutual development. She called on parliamentarians of both countries to promote their role in connecting and supporting Ukrainian and Vietnamese businesses, including those from HCMC. For her part, Chairwoman Yurynets Oksana Vasylivna, who is also chairperson of the subcommittee for regional development and trans-border cooperation between Ukraine and the EU Committee for European integration, said she has been impressed by the robust and dynamic development of Vietnam and HCMC in particular, stressing that both Vietnam and Ukraine share many similarities, including the peoples undaunted spirit in the two countries struggles for national independence. Such similarities have facilitated the two sides in fostering their friendship and cooperation in education, science and technology, she said. She also hoped for more practical activities to boost bilateral ties from central to local levels of their common concern and in potential domains. Visiting the Port of Singapore, run by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), on April 27, PM Phuc lauded Singapores strategic vision in utilising its port advantages as one of the focuses for economic development, hailing it as an experience for Vietnam to learn from. He was briefed by the PSA leader on the operations of the Port, as well as the companys port management and operation experience. The Vietnamese leader spoke highly of the achievements attained by the Port, while asking the PSA to share its experience and collaborate with Vietnam in developing ports in the country. Later in the morning, PM Phuc visited the Supply Chain City, invested in by YCH Group, a Singaporean giant in logistics services. Supply Chain City was inaugurated in 2017 on an area of over 600,000 square meters. It is considered as a smaller version of Silicon Valley, which offers logistic services and is an important supply chain in Singapore. Together with the port system, the Supply Chain City has helped Singapore to become one of the largest logistics centres in the world. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Supply Chain City. (Photo: VGP) Roberet Yap, Executive Chairman of YCH Group, introduced PM Phuc and the Vietnamese officials to the operations of the group, as well as that of the Supply Chain City. He said that the company has applied many modern technologies in its logistics services, specifically including the combination of the automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), a multi-tier storage structure, unmanned aerial vehicles, and advanced robots. The Supply Chain City leader said the company has been running an affiliate in Vietnam, but is currently only operating warehouse services, thus voicing his wish to bring technological advances to Vietnam to expand the companys logistics operations. PM Phuc extended his congratulations over the impressive achievements attained by the YCH Group, stating that the groups experience is crucial to Vietnam in developing the countrys logistics industry. He pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese partners to boost their cooperation with Supply Chain City to develop modern services in Vietnams port system. Highlighting the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore, the PM called on YCH Group to collaborate with Vietnamese partners in developing logistics services, thus contributing to accelerating economic development. Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh made the statement at a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney, Australia, on April 27. She congratulated Bangladesh on its remarkable achievements gained in 2017, especially the realisation of several millennium development goals of the United Nations on children and women. The Vice President expressed her wish that Bangladesh would reach its target of becoming an upper-middle income nation in 2021. PM Sheikh Hasina said Vietnam is a source of inspiration for Bangladesh in its fight for independence in the past and a model of national building and economic development at present. She recalled her fine impression of the country during her official visit to Vietnam in 2012. The PM expressed her pleasure at the growing relations between the two countries after their establishment of diplomatic ties 45 years ago across politics-diplomacy, economy-trade-investment, agriculture and education. There is plenty of room for expanding the bilateral cooperation, she said, adding that she highly values the outcomes of the State-level visit to Bangladesh by President Tran Dai Quang in March this year. The Bangladeshi PM agreed to increase meetings among high-ranking officials and promote people-to-people exchanges between Bangladesh and Vietnam. Vice President Thinh suggested that Vietnam and Bangladesh deploy specific measures to meet the set target of US$2 billion in two-way trade by 2020 and create favourable conditions for the two countries business communities to share information and promote trade connectivity and mutual assistance in the fields of agriculture and seafood. She recommended enhancing cooperation in education and tourism, and promptly opening a direct air route between the two countries. The two sides agreed to strengthen their coordination and mutual support at regional and international forums, including the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. Bangladesh took note of Vietnams request for support of its candidacy to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure. Trieste, April 27 - Europe is "perhaps a bit slow" on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani told an ANSA Forum in Trieste on Friday. He said we want to "interview (Facebook chief Mark) Zuckerberg to understand what happened". Tajani said "Facebook replied to our invitation by sending its vice president to Strasbourg, we insisted to have the president because the scope of what happened is so serious that we want to understand what happened and what can be done to avert a recurrence of the use of personal data in the next electoral campaign for the European elections". Tajani stressed that "the world of the Web must be regulated". Pavia, April 27 - Anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini was pictured with his severed head hanging down in stickers that have appeared over the past few days on walls and lamp posts in Pavia, La Provincia Pavese newspaper said Friday. Salvini said Friday "these are idiots and cowards, I'm going forward". Alongside Salvini, their severed heads also swinging, were US President Donald Trump, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The stickers were captioned Make Fascists Swing Again. DIGOS security police are investigating. The pose resembled that of Benito Mussolini who was strung up by the feet in a Milan square after being shot by partisans in 1944. Centre-right Forza Italia (FI) Senate Whip voiced "solidarity with Salvini, let's stop this hatred and intolerance". League Veneto Governor Luca Zaia described the episode as "uncivilised, without any motivation". Milan, April 27 - Two North African men were arrested Friday in connection with a spree of violence in Milan Thursday night. The pair were arrested, among other things, on suspicion of stabbing to death a 22-year-old Bangladeshi man during a robbery in Via Settembrini and injuring a 21-year-old British woman student, also stabbed in the abdomen, during a robbery near the central rail station. Milan, April 27 - Former Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) chiefs Alessandro Profumo, now Leonardo CEO, and Fabrizio Viola, as well as former college of auditors chief Paolo Salvadori, were indicted in a derivatives case on Friday. The MPS bank was also indicted as such. The trial will start July 17. Prosecutors had asked the judge to acquit all four. The charges are share-rigging (except for Salvadori), and accountancy fraud in accounts for the Santorini and Alexandria derivatives. Profumo said "I am surprised but my conscience is clear". "We will prove that what we did was correct, and I have total faith in the magistrature," he said. In December a Florence appeals court acquitted three former MPS chiefs, Giuseppe Mussari, Antonio Vigni and Gianluca Baldassarri, of charges related to the restructuring of the Alexandria derivative. The three had been convicted and handed jail terms of three years, six months in the first-instance trial. MPS has seen a welter of probes and woes in recent years and has gone through an expensive turnaround. photo: Profumo (L) and Viola Nga was delivering a speech at the open debate of the UN Security Council under the agenda item The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question on April 26. She noted that Vietnam is deeply concerned about the recent report by the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on the implementation of Resolution 2334, especially the lack of dialogue between the parties, the continuing illegal settlement expansion, the demonstrations and deadly clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the deteriorating humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza, the growing incitement for violence, and the violation of rights and dignity of the Palestinian people. These negative developments have imperiled the prospect of the two-state solution and put the security of the whole region at stake. The ambassador said de-escalating tension on the ground is a pre-requisite for any future negotiations and dialogue. She urged all of the parties concerned to strictly comply with the UN Charter and international law, exercise maximum self-restraint, refrain from any provocative acts and foster a favourable environment for the pursuit of peace. It is clear that foreign occupation is illegal under international law and constitutes an obstacle to peace, she said, calling on Israel to halt and reverse all settlement development, lift its blockade in the Gaza Strip and step up its efforts to protect the civilians and improve the living conditions of the Palestinian population. Nga reaffirmed Vietnams unconditional support for the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people for their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state, as well as a two-state solution. She also stressed the need for all parties to respect international humanitarian law, stop any act of hostility, incitement or violence, and to ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance. In this regard, my delegation reaffirms our unwavering support to the indispensable role and tireless efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to ease the sufferings of the Palestinians, the diplomat added. At the debate, Nikolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that, since late March, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have converged to the Gaza fence to protest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. During these demonstrations, 35 Palestinians have been killed. He urged increased efforts to support the parties in advancing a sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis of the two-State solution. Representatives of many countries at the debate also criticised Israels excessive use of force and requested that Israel immediately stops building settlement housing in the occupied land and all activities violating international human rights and humanitarian law. They called on Israel to fully implement the UN Security Councils Resolution 2334, urging the two sides to exercise self-restraint, end violence, promptly resume peace talks and realise the two-state solution with Palestine co-existing peacefully as an independent country with Israel and having the borders that existed before 1967 and its capital of East Jerusalem. During the visit from April 23-27, the Sri Lankan parliament leader held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; paid a courtesy visit to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong; received representatives from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the leaders of Ninh Binh province; and attended the Sri Lanka Cultural Festival in Hanoi. During the talks and meetings, the two sides agreed to promote cooperation in several fields, including oil and gas, infrastructure, information and communication technology, textile-garment, leather-footwear, farm produce processing and distribution, renewable energy and aviation and maritime transport. They also agreed to push for an aviation connection to facilitate trade and help both countries to tap their tourism potential. Regarding their defence ties, the two sides vowed to enhance their collaboration in logistics, overcoming war consequences and UN peacekeeping activities. The two sides also pledged to share information and experience and enhance their capacity in preventing and fighting trans-national crime and terrorism. On their legislative ties, the two sides shared the view that the two parliaments will maintain and increase the exchange of delegations at all levels to share information and experience in law making and supervision work, while boosting mutual support and coordination at regional and international forums, including the Inter-Parliament Union (IPU). The visit of the Sri Lankan parliament speaker ended with positive outcomes, contributing to cementing and developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. Perhaps the most conspicuous surprise in Anshel Pfeffers biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels long-serving but little-loved prime minister, who glowers from the cover, is his emergence from these pages as a man of unbending principle. This does not conform to the Netanyahu we think we know, the master manipulator of Israels political sphere, the man trailed by criminal investigations whose own fans admiringly claim him as a bully. The change in perspective leading to this realization is one result of the daunting task Pfeffer, a writer for the Israeli daily Haaretz, has set for himself: to recount the life of Netanyahu against the background of the life of Israel, from its pre-state inception into its 71st year. The mirroring may have been too tempting to resist. When not referring to himself as the voice of the Jewish people, Netanyahu, 68, Israels first Israeli-born prime minister, has a penchant for using himself as a metaphor for the state. Advertisement Set aside the pettiness of politics and the daily accommodations necessary to survive a rough-and-tumble democratic arena. Pfeffers Netanyahu is convincingly portrayed as a devoted adherent to a rigid, right-wing worldview from birth. Three consecutive generations, starting with Nathan, the premiers grandfather, who attended the Eighth Zionist Congress of 1907 and adopted the name Netanyahu, are portrayed as unchanging in their conception of the world as it pertains to Jews and Jews, their fate and their agency, are the unchanging topic that consumes the Netanyahu men. Anshel Pfeffers new biography of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Bibi. (Basic Books ) History, of course, has provided some validation for their dystopian vision. Still, it is amusing but not shocking to read that 20 years ago, as Israel turned 50, Benzion Netanyahu, the prime ministers father, grumpily conceded to a journalist that with all the faults and weaknesses it was a wonder in my eyes that with the human material at our disposal, which was not ideal, we succeeded in building a viable state. The not ideal, in his eyes, was David Ben Gurion, Israels legendary founding prime minister and a visionary who never harbored a single doubt about the viability of the state, yet was, from the Netanyahu standpoint, a wimp. A chip on the shoulder, it turns out, can be hereditary. Netanyahu has built a myth around his familys contributions to the success of the Zionist enterprise, but Pfeffer writes that Benzion was just as peripheral a figure as Nathan, a failed politician who never once failed to bet on the wrong horse. Bibi is the exact opposite a politician with near flawless timing. The family first came to public attention in 1976, when Yoni Netanyahu, Bibis older brother, died while commanding the rescue of Israeli hostages at Entebbe. Advertisement The Bibi who emerges from this readable, thought-provoking book is an utterly recognizable Bibi complete with his familiar smirk (now explained: scarred in a childhood accident, the prime minister still instinctively hides his lip), the polished English, the self-assurance, the shameless political ploys and the obsession with Jewish vulnerability. Anshel Pfeffer, author of the new biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibi. (Yarden Gabbay ) But this Bibi is also new, a chrysalis. Some facts about Netanyahu, it turns out, have been distorted by time. He did not expediently adopt an American persona while studying at MIT, as Israelis believe. Instead, through his mother, Tzila, he was born a dual national, American and Israeli to the root. And he fought hard for the flawless American English that has won him the admiring votes of two generations of Israelis. Bibis childhood memories include the trauma of showing up at a new school in New York, aged 8, not knowing a word of English, during one of the familys numerous transatlantic relocations. Yoni never lost his Hebrew accent. Advertisement In grappling with the dilemma that defined his life, the prime ministers father, Benzion, Pfeffer writes, was incapable of identifying with his sons, who felt that by leaving Israel, they were abandoning the Zionist enterprise that was central to their self-identity. We discover that the Netanyahu boys coming of age was defined by rebellion against their unyielding, standoffish father, who preferred American university libraries to Israel, where his ideological nemeses were building a state and where, casting off his awkwardness, his good-looking, fitness-obsessed sons were ravenously integrating into the elite. In a fascinating section, Pfeffer describes a stiff Netanyahu in post-Kennedy America, a chameleon already inhabiting the dual persona that would characterize him for life: American Ben filled with disdain for liberal-leaning, Democrat-voting American Jews, and Israeli Bibi, back home for the summer, lecturing kibbutz friends about the evils of socialism. He was 14. This is also when Netanyahu developed the contempt he makes little pains to hide today toward diplomats, military officers, journalists, anyone, really, professing any sort of expertise. Advertisement The sons defied the father in every aspect of life but one: a fixed dogma unaffected by time or the appearance of adaptation to political reality. Yes, a first-term Netanyahu shook hands with Yasser Arafat in 1996 (the picture chosen by Pfeffer makes it look as pleasant as a colonoscopy) and signed the 1997 Hebron Agreement, turning major responsibility for security to the Palestinian Authority. Yes, in 2009, months into his second elected term, Netanyahu delivered the Bar Ilan speech, reaffirming his commitment to the two-state solution with the Palestinians. Bibi makes plain that none of this made one bit of difference. In his heart, Bibi is unchanged. In 2001, no longer in government, Netanyahu said the Hebron agreement had been a mistake. In the 2015 election, he bellowed that there would be no Palestinian state as long as he is prime minister. Advertisement It is a lifetime riddled with the carcasses of mentors and allies Netanyahu discards without a thought, pierced through with a steel thread of certainty. About midway through the book we encounter the early 1980s Netanyahu, recently appointed Israels ambassador to the United Nations. It is not a coincidence that that Bibi remains vivid in the minds of so many; it was, Pfeffer notes, at that time that Netanyahu discovered the role that would allow him to do what he did best: be an Israeli on the American stage. Oozing self-confidence, he quickly became a fixture on [American] news shows, Pfeffer says, adding that Netanyahu quickly started lobbying for the post of ambassador to the United States. The idea of appointing a 33-year-old with no political standing and only six months of relevant experience to Israels most sensitive diplomatic posting may have seemed absurd, but Netanyahu believed he was the best man for the job. Those 10 words could serve as the title for this book. Advertisement Pfeffer begins his chapter on Netanyahu and President Obama with the observation that both men were elected leaders of their countries in their mid-forties, with little political experience but enough eloquence and charisma to defy entrenched political establishments. Netanyahu, he reveals, hoped Obama would win against Hillary Clinton in 2008. Hed had enough of the Clintons with Bill, who figures prominently among the diverse list of American presidents Eisenhower, Reagan and George H.W. Bush who brought the vaunted American-Israel relationship to a chilly low spot. In this context, the Obama era is interesting not because of its overexposed flops, but in the particulars, especially the Obama teams mystifying yet complete inability to productively engage with the Middle East. The background to the first Obama-Netanyahu White House encounter unfolds almost like a thriller, with each side confidently striding toward a precipice. Pfeffer describes Netanyahu, his mind on the Iranian threat, expecting a meeting with a generically Democratic president, whereas Obama, either unaware of diplomatic precedent going back to 1967, or unaware of its significance, resolved to demand a complete settlement freeze from the Israelis. Nothing, Pfeffer writes, could have prepared Bibi for that meeting. Advertisement Nine years later, with Iran licking at the Israeli border in Syria and settlement growth unstopped, one wonders how Obama will describe the encounter in his upcoming autobiography. The final rendering of Netanyahu is devastating. Israel turns seventy in 2018. Netanyahu will turn seventy in 2019. He is convinced that no one else but him is qualified to lead the nation into its eighth decade and beyond, Pfeffer concludes. Netanyahu is depicted as a man stricken with an acute case of l'etat, cest moi, a patriot with little faith in the remarkable nation he leads, believing only in himself. Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent who reports on Israel and the Middle East for The Times. Advertisement :: Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu Anshel Pfeffer Basic Books: 432 pp., $32 Longtime NBC News journalist Tom Brokaw is pushing back hard at allegations by Linda Vester, a former network correspondent who said he sexually harassed her in the mid-1990s. Brokaw sent a lengthy letter to colleagues Friday that disputes the accounts of Vester, 54, who told Variety and the Washington Post in stories published Thursday night that the former NBC Nightly News anchor made unwanted sexual advances toward her when they worked together at NBC in the 1990s. Read Tom Brokaws letter to colleagues In his letter, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Brokaw described the stories as a drive by shooting by Vester, who had a grudge against NBC News because her career stalled at the division. Advertisement Vester alleged that Brokaw forcefully tried to kiss her in 1994 when she was staying at the Essex House Hotel in New York, where he showed up uninvited. A similar incident occurred in May 1995, she alleged, when Brokaw appeared unannounced at her flat in London when she was assigned to the networks bureau there. Vester alleged that in both instances, Brokaw pressured her to have a sexual relationship with him. She said she feared that reporting the incidents would hurt her career. The allegations against Brokaw are another blow to the image of NBC News and join a wave of complaints against powerful men in media and entertainment. NBC News in November fired its biggest star, longtime Today co-anchor Matt Lauer, for sexually inappropriate behavior after executives heard a formal complaint from a female network employee. The same month CBS ousted venerable newsman Charlie Rose over allegations of sexual misconduct. Vester told the Post she decided to come forward with the allegations out of her belief that NBC News has failed to effectively investigate harassment issues at the company following Lauers firing. NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division, she said in the Washington Posts account. Since Lauers firing, the news division has been undergoing what it calls a culture assessment and that all employees are receiving workplace behavioral training. An internal review is being conducted by counsel at NBCUniversal. Late Friday, NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in a memo that the review is nearing its conclusion and that the findings will be shared as early as next week. As for Vesters accusations against Brokaw, Lack said, As weve shown, we take allegations such as these very seriously, and act on them quickly and decisively when the facts dictate. Advertisement Brokaw issued a brief statement Thursday saying the incidents Vester described in her accounts did not happen, and on Friday, he issued the letter to colleagues that slammed her account and her career at NBC. Linda Vester was given the run of the Washington Post and Variety to vent her grievances, to complain that I tickled her without permission (you read that right) that I invaded her hotel room, accepted an invitation to her apartment under false pretenses and in general was given a free hand to try to destroy all that I have achieved with my family, my NBC career, my writing and my citizenship, Brokaw wrote. My family and friends are stunned and supportive. My NBC colleagues are bewildered that Vester, who had limited success at NBC News, a modest career at Fox and a reputation as a colleague who had trouble with the truth was suddenly the keeper of the flame of journalistic integrity. Brokaw maintains that Vester initiated the New York hotel room meeting she described in the Post and Variety interviews. I should not have gone but I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair in language right out of pulp fiction, Brokaw said. She was coy, not frightened, filled with office gossip she often reminded me she was a Catholic and that she was uncomfortable with my presence. So I left, 23 years later to be stunned by her melodramatic description of the meeting. Advertisement Brokaw said it was Vesters suggestion to meet at her London flat late at night in 1995 after they ran into each other at the networks London bureau. Again, her hospitality was straight forward with lots of pride in her reporting in the Congo and more questions about NY opportunities, Brokaw said. As I remember, she was at one end of a sofa, I was at the other. It was late and I had been up for 24 hours. As I got up to leave I may have leaned over for a perfunctory goodnight kiss but my memory is that it happened at the door on the cheek. No clenching her neck. That move she so vividly describes is NOT WHO I AM. Not in high school, college or thereafter. Brokaw said after Vesters contract was not renewed at NBC News in 1999, he made a call on her behalf to then-Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes, who hired her as an anchor. Vester worked at Fox News until 2005 and was known to have a happy working relationship with Ailes, who in 2016 became embroiled in his own sexual harassment scandal at the network that led to his downfall. Advertisement Brokaw expresses anguish in the letter that Vester did not contact him to discuss the events of 23 years ago before going to the press. She couldnt pick up the phone and say, Id like to talk. I have issues from those two meetings 20 years ago? Brokaw wrote. Instead she became a character assassin. Strip away all of the hyperbole and what has she achieved? What was her goal? Hard to believe it wasnt much more Look At Me than Me:Too. Asked to respond to the letter, Vesters attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said, My client stands by the allegations, which speak for themselves. Vester told Variety she never discussed the incidents with management at NBC News at the time they were alleged to have happened because she believed the corporate culture was one in which women who raise questions about misconduct get labeled as troublemakers. It can torpedo your career. Advertisement Brokaw, 78, was in the middle of his 22-year tenure as anchor of the NBC Nightly News during the period that Vester describes in her accounts. Since 2004, he has been a special correspondent contributing to special-event coverage and appearing in documentaries and specials. He also appears regularly on the MSNBC program Morning Joe. Brokaw joined NBC News in 1966 as an anchor at the networks Los Angeles TV station, KNBC. He has been married since 1962. In 2013, Brokaw was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer, but has continued to work. While Brokaw no longer has a regular program on the network, he is a revered figure internally who provides a link to the news divisions history. Advertisement A group of female anchors, reporters, executives and technical staff who worked with Brokaw at NBC signed and circulated a letter of support. Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect, the letter said. He has given each of us opportunities for advancement and championed throughout our careers. The signees include MSNBCs Rachel Maddow and longtime Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell. stephen.battaglio@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @SteveBattaglio UPDATES: 4:15 p.m.: This article was updated with a letter of support for Brokaw from his colleagues. 1:38 p.m.: This article was updated with NBC News chairman Andy Lacks memo to staff. Advertisement 11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a comment from Linda Vesters attorney. 10:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a letter Tom Brokaw sent to colleagues. This article was originally published at 7:15 a.m. When Amazon executives recently toured the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one of 20 finalists for a second company headquarters, local officials touted its growing workforce and low taxes as perfectly suited to accommodate 50,000 planned Amazon jobs. But the team also brought an unexpected guest: the Rev. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas, pastor of a predominantly gay megachurch in Dallas. He impressed upon the Amazon representatives how inclusive and welcoming the community has been to him, his husband and the 4,000 congregants at his church, according to people familiar with the meeting. In the high-stakes contest to become Amazons new location, it may have been a shrewd move. Although the companys search materials dont make it explicit, Amazon has quietly made rights for and acceptance of gay and transgender people part of its criteria in choosing a second headquarters, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely. As Amazon executives recently toured finalist locations to help select what theyve dubbed HQ2, they asked public officials about what sort of compatible cultural and community environment the wording from the companys search parameters each city offers, adding to speculation about whether Amazon will choose a liberal stronghold. Advertisement Amazon second headquarters: L.A. mayor is in aggressive pursuit of this opportunity In North Carolina, company representatives asked pointed questions of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper about several state policies such as the bathroom bill, which restricted the use of public facilities by transgender people, according to a person in the room. In another city, an Amazon executive groaned at the mention of proposed legislation in Georgia that would restrict funding for same-sex adoption, according to another person who attended the meeting between the company and state and local officials. Given the publicity and economic impact of the project, including as much as $5 billion in capital expenditures, Amazons push on gay and transgender rights may increase pressure on state and local policymakers who have either declined to institute equal-rights rules or passed laws some view as discriminatory. But by raising a social issue during its search, Amazon also risks alienating conservative political leaders, including President Trump, who has recently criticized the companys taxes and its contract with the U.S. Postal Service, which delivers many of its packages. The sponsor of the Georgia bill, Republican state Sen. William T. Ligon Jr., said the issue of same-sex adoption wasnt intended to be discriminatory. In his view, the legislation would benefit children because church-based adoption agencies would shut down if they were forced to serve same-sex couples. Ligon said he hoped any company would support the bill. If youre against, then I think we need to think hard about whether you ought to come here, he said. We need to seriously consider whether we want you to come here. That sentiment has not played well at Amazon, according to a person who has been on tour with Amazon as it met with local officials. I just think Atlantas out, the person, who is not an Amazon employee, said. Advertisement The Georgia Legislature did not approve the adoption bill before it adjourned last month. The Georgia Department of Economic Development, which is handling Atlantas bid for HQ2, declined to comment on the matter. Amazon also declined to answer questions about the meetings, and it is not known how much a regions stance on gay rights ultimately will factor into its decision. The companys search for a region of compatible cultural values is one of many issues it has said its considering as it chooses the new headquarters. But the cause of gay rights has emerged as a focus for the companys founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) One of Bezoss first public actions on same-sex marriage in 2012 took advocates by surprise. Advertisement The Supreme Courts decision allowing same-sex marriage nationwide was three years away when advocates in a bare-bones office in south Seattle plotted how best to ask Bezos and his wife about a donation. Prospects for same-sex marriage in Washington state had dimmed. Opponents had forced a voter referendum and were raising money. In 32 similar measures in other states, same-sex marriage lost every time. There was little reason to think Bezos would chip in. Other corporate stalwarts in Seattle, Microsoft and Starbucks, were known for mixing social missions into their business. Not Amazon. The Seattle Times that year called the company a virtual no-show in hometown philanthropy and questioned its lack of donations to local nonprofit groups. Other companies were taking heat over the issue. General Mills faced demonstrations after its then-chief executive donated just $10,000 to defeat a Minnesota ban on same-sex marriage. Hundreds of gay-marriage opponents lined up at Chick-fil-As to support a business that shared their view. Advertisement The task of asking Bezos fell to Jennifer Cast, one of Amazons first employees who had left the company and was volunteering for the same-sex marriage campaign. She was 50 and living with her partner and their 7-year-old twin boys. I want to have the right to marry the love of my life and to let my children and grandchildren know their family is honored like a real family,' she wrote in an email to Bezos. We need help from straight people. To be very frank, we need help from wealthy straight people who care about us and who want to help us win.' Cast asked for $100,000. Bezos responded: This is right for so many reasons. Were in for $2.5 million. Jeff & MacKenzie.' Advertisement The donation brought new prominence to the movement. Bill and Melinda Gates followed with $500,000. Brad Pitt gave $25,000. It became the costliest election in the states history. Its easy to look back and think this was a fait accompli, but these were coin-flip endeavors, and the willingness of someone with his national profile and that level of investment it was a turning point, said Zach Silk, who managed the same-sex marriage campaign. It prevailed 54% to 46%. Amazons second headquarters project is the biggest economic development prize by a long shot that many industry veterans say they have ever seen. The company says that over the years in Seattle, it has invested $3.7 billion and paid more than $25 billion in salaries. For HQ2, the company estimates it will hire as many as 50,000 people, make $5 billion in capital investments and fill 8 million square feet of office space, which would be larger than the Pentagon. Although Amazon is not sharing details of its meetings and requires nondisclosure agreements from bidders, its conversations with local officials are driving them to make or propose changes in an effort to woo the company. Some jurisdictions are pressing ahead with airport expansions or improvements that might impress Amazon. Others have proposed new partnerships with colleges and universities that could provide it a pipeline of workers. Advertisement Shortly after Amazon met with officials in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. all finalists for HQ2 the three jurisdictions came to agreement on $500 million in annual support for the ailing Metro system after years of discord over who ought to pay. The excitement and the possibility [of Amazon coming] is making good things happen for this region in regard to Metro, in regard to public-private cooperation, how to attract and retain workforce, how to improve quality of life and educational potential, said Bob Buchanan, chairman of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Economic Development Corporation. Bringing LGBTQ issues into the process carries risks for the $750-billion company, which began its search last year winning plaudits for the attention it garnered but now increasingly finds itself walking a political tightrope in the spotlight it has created. As Delta Air Lines recently learned when it ended a discount for National Rifle Assn. members (prompting Georgia officials to deny the firm a tax break), a disagreement over social issues can complicate negotiations for public subsidies, something Amazon is seeking. Advertisement While Amazons inquiries on gay rights may anger conservatives, LGBTQ advocates say the company is not going far enough. One group wrote to Bezos asking that he not choose any of 11 locations in nine states that have not passed comprehensive legal protections for people based on their sexuality or gender. But many of the states being criticized among them Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas are among the least expensive of the options, providing a low tax environment the company covets. And harnessing the publicity surrounding his companys headquarters to advance such a cause would be a significant departure from how Bezos has led the company. Its fairly shortsighted to think a business decision like this is likely to be based on one policy, particularly a social one, said Matt McDonald, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies who has studied HQ2. Bezos declined an interview through Amazon representatives, who instead provided comments from Anthony Little, president of the companys LGBTQ affinity group, GLAmazon. Little said he was very proud of the companys policies, such as expansion of health benefits to fully cover transition surgeries for transgender employees and opposition to Washington states version of a bathroom bill. Advertisement Ultimately, I think Amazon wants us to do what is right for LGBTQ employees, he said. The company has said it will make a decision this year. Officials in other regions have argued that if Amazon wants to maximize its support for the issue, it could relocate to and bring change to a politically red state. With someone like Bezos around, city and business leaders in Dallas and Austin, both HQ2 finalists, say they could do more to change attitudes in the state. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for instance, has argued that homosexuality is a choice and called on Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to resign after the high court made its landmark gay-marriage ruling. Fort Worth-based American Airlines was one of the citys earliest and most ardent backers of better LGBTQ rights. I think were more impactful here than we would be anywhere else, Chief Executive Doug Parker said. Advertisement Parker said he expects Amazon to choose wherever is best for its business. But he said if Bezos wants to push the issue, he should bring Amazon someplace where equal rights have not advanced as far as Seattle: My personal view is if they care about making a difference, they should go where they can make a difference. OConnell writes for the Washington Post The biggest winner of DocuSign Inc.s long-awaited initial public offering isnt well-known. The venture capitalist has never appeared on a Midas List, and his company isnt one of the venerable investment firms on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley. But 12 years ago, Pete Solvik made a bet on a start-up that enables people to securely sign contracts online. So sure of the idea, he kept buying shares over the years for his firms, Sigma Ventures and San Francisco-based Jackson Square Ventures, where hes a partner. On Thursday, DocuSign went public at $29 a share, and the stock surged as much as 41% on Friday before closing at $39.73, a gain of 37%. For the record: An earlier version of this article said that DocuSign co-founder Thomas Gonser had been selling shares for years to the company and to Pete Solvik, and that the most recent transaction was a $13-million sale to Solvik. In fact, Gonser had been selling his shares to the company, and the most recent transaction was a $3.3-million sale. Solviks funds hold the biggest stake in the company, with a combined 13% now worth $687 million. Solviks commitment to the San Francisco software company outlasted that of even co-founder Thomas Gonser, who now holds just 1.5% of DocuSigns shares. The payoff for Solvik and other investors didnt come quickly or easily. Most start-ups go public or get bought in about half the time. DocuSign changed strategies a few times, shifting the sales focus from small to large customers and expanding from real estate customers to other industries. Results in those new sectors took longer than expected to materialize, Gonser said. We expected crazy growth. It didnt happen, he said. Advertisement Another factor that complicated decision-making was DocuSigns unusually large board. The company had entertained acquisition discussions with IBM, Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and other potential suitors. But the directors, a dozen in total, frequently disagreed, people familiar with the interactions have said. Gonser and early investors would push for a sale, while later investors advocated for an IPO. This dynamic intensified during the companys fraught search for a chief executive a 15-month process completed last year with the hiring of Dan Springer. Solvik, who had known Springer since 2004, led the CEO search. Solvik, 59, has quietly worked his way around Silicon Valley for decades. He worked at Apple Inc. in the early 1980s and at Cisco Systems Inc. in the 1990s, where he rose to chief information officer. He left Cisco in 2002 to become a venture capitalist. Solvik joined Sigma Partners, based in Campbell, Calif., on the outskirts of San Jose. (Whether the location qualifies as part of Silicon Valley would be a matter of some debate.) Before DocuSign, Solvik had few deals of note. His most successful investment was in a data company called Topio, which NetApp Inc. acquired in 2006 for $160 million. To accumulate a 13% DocuSign stake for his funds, Solvik spent $17.5 million. He declined to comment, citing legal restrictions ahead of his companys debut. DocuSigns backers include some of the technology industrys more recognizable names, but their wins wont be substantial. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Alphabet Inc.s GV each invested later in DocuSigns life and own less than 5%. Gonser, the last of the three founders to leave, has been reducing his DocuSign holdings for years. He still owns $83 million of stock but relinquished an operational role at the company more than two years ago to do venture investing; he is now a partner at Seven Peaks Ventures in Oregon. He had been selling shares for years to the company. The most recent transaction was in 2016, when Gonser sold $3.3 million in stock at half the current price. UPDATES: 2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with DocuSign shares closing price. This article was originally published at 12:40 p.m. A farm near Yuma, Ariz., has been identified as a suspected source of E. coli bacteria in an outbreak that has sickened scores of people in 22 states. But federal health officials cautioned Friday that only eight of 98 cases were traced to the farms romaine lettuce and that two dozen other sites in Arizona remain under investigation. Harrison Farms, located about two miles from the California border, supplied whole-head romaine lettuce to a correctional facility in Nome, Alaska, where eight inmates were sickened, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Harrison Farms officials were not immediately available for comment. No recall has been issued because romaine from Harrisons fields, which was harvested from March 5-16, has exceeded its 21-day shelf life and has either been consumed or thrown away, officials said. Harrison Farms has ceased production of lettuce theyre growing grass on the field now, said Matthew Wise, deputy branch chief for Outbreak Response at CDC. Advertisement Most other growers in the Yuma region have shifted from lettuce to other crops, Wise added. We havent been able to guarantee that there is no product coming out of Yuma at this point, but given the time of year, the expectation is that harvesting has moved north from the Yuma growing region, Wise said. Dr. Stic Harris, director of the FDAs Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network, cautioned that more than two dozen potential contamination sources in the Yuma region remain under scrutiny, including fields, packinghouses and other parts of the supply chain. Its important to point out that so far weve been able to identify only one specific farm thats responsible for these eight [Alaska] cases, but we still have a lot of work to do to identify other legs of this outbreak, Harris said. Its difficult for us to say definitively that theres not a continued risk. FDA spokesman Peter Cassell said all the sites under scrutiny are on the Arizona side of the winter lettuce region, which extends from Yuma County into Californias Imperial Valley. From roughly November through April, these desert regions produce about 90% of the nations lettuce. Cultivation then begins farther north, including in Californias San Joaquin and Salinas valleys, coastal areas, and in other states. Nonetheless, consumers should continue to avoid Yuma-grown romaine heads or hearts, as well as chopped romaine or salad mixes containing romaine. Any of those products whose source is unknown should be discarded, officials warned. This is a serious E. coli. Wise said. I think everybody should be concerned and everybody should be avoiding romaine. Advertisement The CDC on Friday boosted its tally of victims to 98 and added three more states to the map of the outbreak. More cases can be expected due to delays in onset, identification and reporting of illnesses, the CDC warned. The strain of E. coli has been identified as one that produces strong versions of Shiga toxins, which bind to blood cells and can destroy organ linings a scenario that has sent 46 people to hospitals, including 10 with kidney failure, the CDC said. That hospitalization rate is far higher than usual, the agency added. The outbreak is the second worst of its kind since 2006, when about 200 people were sickened by contaminated spinach from the Salinas Valley, the CDC said. Romaine lettuce has been a relatively common source for bacterial outbreaks, mostly because it is a popular crop that is widely consumed and eaten raw. An outbreak of a different E. coli strain last December killed one person in Canada and sickened 24 others in 15 states. Advertisement Here are the warnings the CDC has issued to consumers: Do not eat or buy romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma growing region. Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, do not eat or buy romaine lettuce if you do not know where it was grown. This advice includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, baby romaine, organic romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. If you do not know if the lettuce in a salad mix is romaine, do not eat it. geoffrey.mohan@latimes.com Follow me: @LATgeoffmohan UPDATES: Advertisement 4:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and quotes from Center for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials. This article was originally published at 1:40 p.m. Mary Hawley takes the widely used drug Humira for her rheumatoid arthritis. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year, but for nearly a decade Hawley has been assisted with discount coupons from the drugs manufacturer, AbbVie. You pay $5 max, she told me. They pay whatever is left over. Another plus: The coupons would be applied to Hawleys $6,800 insurance deductible, meaning her responsibility for out-of-pocket costs typically would be met before summer. Thats changed for Hawley, 62, and for millions of other people who depend on drugmakers co-pay-assistance programs to afford costly meds. Advertisement Many insurers are introducing so-called copay accumulators to their plans. What this means is that coupons no longer will be counted toward patients deductibles. In Hawleys case, one upshot is shell no longer meet her deductible in any 12-month period, barring catastrophic illness. Her insurer, HealthNet, thus wont need to pay any claims. It seems unfair, Hawley said. It shouldnt matter to them whos paying my deductible, as long as its being paid. HealthNet didnt respond to a request for comment. It would appear that co-pay accumulators allow insurers to double dip: They get their full co-pays and they get to extend the duration of patients deductibles. However, healthcare experts caution the situation is more complicated than that. Vivian Ho, a healthcare economist at Rice University, said pharmaceutical companies will feel no pressure to lower drug prices, particularly for expensive specialty drugs, unless patients are unable to afford them. Co-pay accumulators allow insurers and the pharmacy benefit managers that haggle on their behalf to maintain economic leverage in negotiations with drugmakers, she said. Advertisement Drugmakers coupons, Ho said, encourage overutilization of high-priced drugs. Insurers make the same point. Cathryn Donaldson, a spokeswoman for Americas Health Insurance Plans, an industry group, said coupons are nothing more than a marketing scheme leveraged by Big Pharma to keep drug costs high for everyone. The true issue remains that drug pricing continues to skyrocket, with no clear explanation on how those prices are set, she said. Co-pay coupon programs hide the true impact of rising prescription drug costs. Thats correct. But its also correct that coupon programs are a direct response to insurers repeatedly jacking up peoples co-pays and deductibles. Advertisement Drug companies argue that theyre just trying to level the playing field as patients shoulder a greater share of healthcare costs. Co-pay accumulator programs are nothing more than an insurance scheme that leave patients financially exposed while benefiting payers bottom lines, Stephen J. Ubl, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement. Both sides make fair points. Its hard not to suspect, though, that theyre both motivated by self-interest rather than patient welfare. The insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, theyre obviously making out like bandits. Advertisement But drug companies win no points for upstanding behavior. Their coupons allow them to maintain absurdly high prices as a starting point for their dealings with insurers, and to stick insurers with bloated costs. Pharmaceutical companies are doing everything possible to avoid price cuts. There are no good guys here, said Geoffrey Joyce, a pharmaceutical economist at USC. This is about control of the market. The only thing thats clear is who loses. The loser is the patient, Joyce said. Advertisement The average health-insurance deductible for individuals with employer-provided coverage reached $1,505 last year, compared with just $303 in 2006, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Deductibles for family plans are even higher. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical and biotechnology revenue jumped 45% from 2006 to 2015 as drug prices soared, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. The 25 largest drug companies enjoyed annual average profit margins of 15% to 20%, compared with average profit margins of 4% to 9% for the largest non-drug companies, the report found. I get that insurers feel they need to turn the economic screws on price-gouging drug companies. Nobody is going to give the pharmaceutical industry a Humanitarian of the Year award. Advertisement But insurers and pharmacy benefit managers seem to be prospering most here, entirely at the expense of patients, not the pharmaceutical companies theyre battling. Both sides are complicit, USCs Joyce said. But Im less sympathetic to the insurers and PBMs. He said the companies are holding patients hostage, using peoples inability to meet deductibles as a way to shame drug makers into slashing prices. I put that to Donaldson at Americas Health Insurance Plans. Advertisement The bigger question is why do we need co-pay coupons at all? she countered. Its very important to recognize the problem starts with the price. That is the real underlying problem. So were in this chicken-or-the-egg situation. Are co-pay accumulators a response to crazy-high drug prices, or are drug companies coupon programs a response to crazy-high deductibles and co-pays? For most patients, its a meaningless question. Their only concern is how they can obtain potentially lifesaving meds without courting personal bankruptcy. For that reason, Hawley has no doubt her insurer is cheating her with its new co-pay accumulator and that AbbVie, the maker of her medicine, is her friend. Advertisement I feel really good about AbbVie contributing to the cost of my drug, she said. Even though thats a cost set by the company, a cost that has doubled since 2012, according to market researcher SSR Health. Yes, drug prices are often too high. And yes, the onus should be on pharmaceutical companies to stop fleecing sick people for no better reason than because they can. But insurers have no business stripping patients of an opportunity to obtain drugs at reasonable prices. Advertisement If they want to duke it out with drug makers, great. Give em hell. But leave us out of it. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. With rising rents threatening to push Self Help Graphics & Art from its Boyle Heights headquarters, the nonprofit center that has long nurtured noted Latino artists has secured a solution: It bought the building. The cost: $3.6 million. The community arts center, which emerged from the 1970s Chicano movement and was instrumental in the rise of artists including Frank Romero and Barbara Carrasco, had been pulled into the gentrification debate that has roiled Boyle Heights. Some community activists even accused Self Help Graphics & Art of contributing to the problem despite the centers history and its nonprofit status. Self Help Graphics & Art started in the East Los Angeles garage of Franciscan nun Karen Boccalero. In 1979 it moved to a mosaics-covered building on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in East L.A. that, over the ensuing decades, allowed Self Help to cement its reputation as a place to develop Chicano expression in the arts. Self Help was displaced from that building in 2011 and moved to its current location. Advertisement Self-determination through stewardship of this building is significant for the cultural arts community and means that the organization will no longer be at risk for displacement, Joel Garcia, co-director of programs and operations, said in the announcement Thursday. He said the purchase is allowing us to expand on our mission to be a leading source of cultural programming, arts education and workforce development for artists of color in the creative capital of the world. The acquisition of the building was made possible partly by an $825,000 funding commitment proposed by Councilman Jose Huizar and money from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Additional support came from the nonprofit Weingart Foundation, a grant-making entity focused on inclusion and equal opportunity, and from the California Community Foundation, which has a mandate to improve the lives of L.A. County residents. jessica.gelt@latimes.com @jessicagelt MORE ART: Photographer Laura Aguilar, chronicler of the body and Chicano identity, dies at 58 CB1 Gallery in the Arts District to close after artists allege nonpayment Ceramic art, once written off as mere craft, wins a brighter spotlight in the L.A. scene Just when you might have thought the world has enough cool sneaker brands, Brazilian brand Cariuma is dropping a unisex collection on Tuesday, and it has chosen Los Angeles as the place to show off its footwear for the first time. The offerings, which are priced from $79 to $139, are designed for easy, everyday wear. For spring, the label has low kicks in red, rose and yellow. Cariumas pop-up space at the Grove in Los Angeles the temporary store pops up Saturday and pops down May 13 is intended to convey a rainforest vibe, filled with overgrown plants. Cariuma pop-up shop at the Grove, 189 the Grove Drive, Los Angeles, cariuma.com. Building Block X MOCA In a collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art in L.A., local design studio Building Block created this iPhone sling. Building Block Building Block, the Los Angeles design studio created in 2011 by sisters Kimberly and Nancy Wu and known for its spare, minimalist handbags and clutches, launched a collaborative collection with L.A.s Museum of Contemporary Art this week. The two-piece offering is appropriately avant-garde, comprising an iPhone sling and luggage tag, both in vegetable-tanned leather and with a streamlined, architectural appeal. The leather was chosen for its ability to develop a patina over time, making each piece unique. The luggage tag is affixed with a smooth wooden ball, a signature element of Building Block pieces (the motif also appears in a subtle print on the phone sling). The limited-edition pieces are priced from $75 for the luggage tag and $125 for the iPhone sling, and will be on offer at the museums store and website until June 25. Building Block X MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, building--block.com and mocastore.org. Sephora The newest Los Angeles-area Sephora store opened at Universal CityWalk this month. Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Sephora Sephora opened its doors at Universal CityWalk Hollywood in Universal City on April 20, providing beauty options to those who are there to catch a movie, listen to live music or hit up one of the popular restaurants. The 6,200-square-foot store will carry 200 brands, including favorites such as Nars, Milk and Jo Malone. But there are other reasons to stop by. At its new Skincare Studio, customers can receive a free 30-minute Perk Hydrating Facial if they spend $75 on products. Or gather around the central workstation to attend a beauty class or browse digital makeup looks. Staffers will also offer makeovers and help customize foundation and fragrances. Sephora, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, www.sephora.com. CJW Designer Christina J. Wang dedicated her newest collection to all things Los Angeles. Christina J. Wang Combining Los Angeles most obvious symbols (the Hollywood sign, a palm tree) and its more elliptical ones (the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from Eggslut, the roof of the Broad museum), New York designer Christina J. Wang launched in April her CJW collection dedicated to the City of Angels. Selections, which start at $85, are available at shopcjw.com. The pieces, which include a sleep shirt, pajamas and scarves with all-over prints, are embellished with Wangs whimsical iterations of jean shorts, sunglasses and convertibles, along with motifs of gourmet edibles that local foodies should instantly recognize. Support our journalism Please consider subscribing today to support stories like this one. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your support makes our work possible. Thank you. image@latimes.com For fashion news, follow us at @latimesimage on Twitter. Whats in season: Stroll the stalls of your local farmers market right now, and youll probably catch the sweet fragrance of strawberries before you see them something youre not likely to experience at the supermarket. Sample the berries, and youll find theres no comparison; the market berries are bursting with flavor, sweet and floral. Varieties such as super-sweet Gaviota and the more complex Seascape, along with newer varieties, including Viva Patricia and Albion, are beginning to show up during a season that typically spans the spring months. The quality of this fragile fruit can vary from week to week, so check with the farmers to see what they recommend at the moment. Tarts, salads and more: 20 of our favorite strawberry recipes >> What to cook: Score a pack or splurge on a box of ripe berries, and they might not make the trip home. Strawberries at their peak are probably best eaten out of hand. Or get creative, tossing them with salads or mounding them into a freshly baked pie shell. If youve never roasted them, toss the berries with a little oil and spread them on a baking sheet before placing in a hot oven for a few minutes to soften. The heat will deepen their flavor and enhance their sweet notes, and they make a perfect dessert, simply spooned over ice cream or topped with whipped cream. Whats on the horizon: Before zucchini and other squash begin to flood market stands later in the summer, you can find their vibrant orange and yellow preludes squash blossoms. Slice them up and toss the raw blossoms with salads, or stuff them and fry, bake or saute the blossoms for a savory side or main dish. Advertisement noelle.carter@latimes.com @noellecarter Delroy Edwards, Rio Grande (L.A. Club Resource). The producer who makes otherworldly, anachronistic tracks as Delroy Edwards works with the intention of a visual artist. Filled with the kind of hiss that suggests these 22 instrumental house tracks were recorded onto a low-bias cassette and exported onto streaming services via vintage modem, Edwards second proper album is a self-described ode to the American West that, as conveyed in release notes, sounds like Devo reverse-engineering Ennio Morricone. Rather than harnessing 2018 technology, which he could easily do, Edwards on Rio Grande limits himself to a few choice machines. The artist who outside the studio is Brandon Perlman, the son of actor Ron Perlman works with rudimentary gear that requires ingenuity to master. Advertisement He then renders moot their so-called limitations by building structurally sound, dance-inducing rhythms. Anybody can make booming beats, he seems to argue with each new track, but it takes imagination to create an immediately identifiable style. Kadhja Bonet, Delphine (OBE/Fat Possum). Written, performed and produced entirely by the artist, the second single from Bonets forthcoming album is a lush, seductive experimental soul track featuring the L.A.-based multi-instrumentalist harmonizing with herself as a minimal, funk-inspired beat tiptoes behind her. Taken from Childqueen, Delphine is part of what feels like a kind of psychedelic song cycle. She plays everything on all 10 string-laden songs, which were recorded during European studio sessions across two years. Bonet even designed the cover. A joint release between Grammy-nominated artist Anderson .Paaks OBE imprint and the respected Mississippi label Fat Possum, the album comes out June 8. Melvins, I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Ipecac). Taken from their just-issued new album, Pinkus Abortion Technician, this version of the Beatles breakout hit stomps with the fury of a loser who has a pretty good idea that the hand he wants to hold is going to brush it away, Melania-style. The song heaves, shifting tempos while distorted metallic guitars down-tuned to Black Sabbaths frequency and two bassists wrestle for control. Two bassists? Yes. For the first time in its three-plus decades as Americas most consistently great punk and/or metal band, Melvins have expanded to dueling bassists Steven McDonald (Redd Kross, Off!) and Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers). The logic, as explained by founder Buzz Osborne, is pretty sound: Theyd never done it before. Weve had two drummers and two guitar players, so it makes total sense to now have two bass players, he said. Advertisement But lets get back to that Beatles cover: Yes, on first listen, it makes for an entertaining surprise. Listen again at full volume, though, and hear a quartet of expert musicians celebrating a melody, harmony and rhythm that helped define a generation. The band twists the standard time signature and adds quick metal-esque bridges to reshape the structure, in the process revealing the brilliance of the original. UPDATES: April 30, 8:00 a.m. This article was updated to embed music by the three artists. He noted that ASEAN needs to improve rapid and effective response to emerging challenges; ensure the serious and full implementation of cooperation commitments, especially in the field of economy; facilitate innovation-based and people-oriented development; and enhance the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms in ASEAN as well as with partners. Politburo member Minh stressed that ASEAN should promote its self-resilience and innovation in implementing its relations with partners, thus maintaining its solidarity, unity and central role. He shared Vietnams stance on new initiatives in the region, affirming that ASEAN needs to take active and proactive approaches and welcome the initiatives contributing to regional peace, stability and cooperation, on the basis of respecting the blocs central role and basic principles. He took the occasion to thank ASEAN member nations for their contributions to the success of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi last January, marking an important milestone in the ASEAN-India partnership for which Vietnam serves as a coordinator. The deputy PM affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and peacefully settling disputes in line with international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Vietnam supports the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early finalisation of an effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), he said. At the meeting, the ministers of 10 ASEAN member states expressed their satisfaction with the construction of the ASEAN Community over the past years and positive results in implementing the master plan on three pillars to realise the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. Agreeing with the theme of Self-Resilient and Innovative ASEAN proposed by Singapore as the ASEAN Chair, the ministers underscored the enhancement of solidarity and unity and maintenance of ASEANs central role as a prerequisite requirement to build a confident and solid ASEAN against external challenges and pressure. They promised to tap new opportunities arising from the fourth industrial revolution to fuel innovation capacity, and the even and sustainable development in the region, whilst strengthening cooperation across spheres to bring practical benefits to the people, including response to natural disasters and climate change, and the fight against human trafficking and cybercrime. Sharing views on ASEANs external relations, the ministers acknowledged the fine outcomes of the recent ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, as well as the positive developments of the ASEAN-China relations through the building of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision by 2030 and the launch of negotiations on the COC. They agreed that ASEAN should maintain its central role in regional forums and promote relations with its partners on the basis of international law observance, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Regarding the international and regional situation, the ministers welcomed positive progress on the Korean peninsula. They said they expect the important results of the inter-Korean summit on April 27 and the prospect of a meeting between the leaders of the US and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the time ahead, towards seeking a peaceful and sustainable solution to the denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula. On the East Sea issue, they stressed that ASEAN needs to continue upholding the agreed stance and principles on ensuring maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the region, exercising self-restraint and refraining from any unilateral action to complicate the situation, peacefully settling disputes in respect of international law as well as diplomatic and legal processes, seriously implementing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working towards an effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). The ministers shared the view that ASEAN and China need to accelerate the formulation of an effective and practical COC in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), towards a transparent and rules-based regional architecture and the East Sea of peace and stability. The Rev. Christian Mondor, the Surfing Padre who wore a wetsuit under his clerical robe and presided over an annual Blessing of the Waves ceremony in Huntington Beach, has died. Mondor died Wednesday, two days before his 93rd birthday, after a bout with pneumonia, according to officials at Saints Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, where he heard confessions and sang in the choir for nearly three decades. He just loved life, his colleague, the Rev. Ryan Thornton, said Friday. The community was drawn to him because he had an extraordinary ability to connect with people. A competitive swimmer since he was a boy, Mondor only took up surfing in 1990 when he was in his mid-60s after joining the church just blocks from the beach. Advertisement He figured that if he lived near the beach, hed better learn how to surf, Thornton said. Before long he earned the nickname the Surfing Priest and, later, the Surfing Padre. His fellow surfers would ask for his blessing before they paddled out in the mornings. Eventually, Mondor started a yearly interfaith prayer service on the sand with other religious leaders. It became known as the Blessing of the Waves and drew thousands of people. Mondor said the event was to honor St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment. Recent gatherings included representatives from the Roman Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Islamic and Zoroastrian faiths. After presiding over the blessing, Mondor shed his robe and grabbed his board to join a crowd of surfers in the water. We find that the ocean can bring people of all faiths together, Mondor said in 2010. And since this is Surf City, USA, its the perfect place to gather. In 2013, Mondor was honored with a star on Huntington Beachs Surfing Walk of Fame. During his nearly 70-year career, Mondor worked as a priest and teacher in his home state of California, as well as in Oregon and Canada. A memorial is planned at Saints Simon and Jude church and the surfing community will organize a ceremonial paddle-out in Mondors memory, he said. Immigration officers in the United States operate under a cardinal rule: Keep your hands off Americans. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents repeatedly target U.S. citizens for deportation by mistake, making wrongful arrests based on incomplete government records, bad data and lax investigations, according to a Times review of federal lawsuits, internal ICE documents and interviews. Since 2012, ICE has released from its custody more than 1,480 people after investigating their citizenship claims, according to agency figures. And a Times review of Department of Justice records and interviews with immigration attorneys uncovered hundreds of additional cases in the countrys immigration courts in which people were forced to prove they are Americans and sometimes spent months or even years in detention. Victims include a landscaper snatched in a Home Depot parking lot in Rialto and held for days despite his sons attempts to show agents the mans U.S. passport; a New York resident locked up for more than three years fighting deportation efforts after a federal agent mistook his father for someone who wasnt a U.S. citizen; and a Rhode Island housekeeper mistakenly targeted twice, resulting in her spending a night in prison the second time even though her husband had brought her U.S. passport to a court hearing. They and others described the panic and feeling of powerlessness that set in as agents took them into custody without explanation and ignored their claims of citizenship. Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security L.A. Times Graphics Source: U.S. Department of Justice L.A. Times Graphics The wrongful arrests account for a small fraction of the more than 100,000 arrests ICE makes each year, and its unclear whether the Trump administrations aggressive push to increase deportations will lead to more mistakes. But the detentions of U.S. citizens amount to an unsettling type of collateral damage in the governments effort to remove undocumented or unwanted immigrants. The errors reveal flaws in the way ICE identifies people for deportation, including its reliance on databases that are incomplete and plagued by mistakes. The wrongful arrests also highlight a presumption that pervades U.S. immigration agencies and courts that those born outside the United States are not here legally unless electronic records show otherwise. And when mistakes are not quickly remedied, citizens are forced into an immigration court system where they must fight to prove they should not be removed from the country, often without the help of an attorney. The Times found that the two groups most vulnerable to becoming mistaken ICE targets are the children of immigrants and citizens born outside the country. Matthew Albence, the head of ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations, declined to be interviewed but said in a written statement that investigating citizen claims can be a complex task involving searches of electronic and paper records as well as personal interviews. He said ICE updates records when errors are found and agents arrest only those they have probable cause to suspect are eligible for deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes very seriously any and all assertions that an individual detained in its custody may be a U.S. citizen, he said. But The Times review of federal documents and lawsuits turned up cases in which Americans were arrested based on mistakes or cursory ICE investigations and some who were repeatedly targeted because the government failed to update its records. Immigration lawyers said federal agents rarely conduct interviews before making arrests and getting ICE to correct its records is difficult. A big mistake Sergio Carrillo had already been handcuffed in the Home Depot parking lot in Rialto on a July morning in 2016 when an officer in Homeland Security uniform appeared. Homeland Security? Carrillo asked. What do you want with me? Ignoring Carrillos demands for an explanation, the officer ordered the 39-year-old landscaper taken to a federal detention facility in downtown Los Angeles. Youre making a big mistake, Carrillo recalled saying from the back seat to the officers driving him. I am a U.S. citizen. Born in Mexico, Carrillo has lived nearly his entire life in the United States and automatically gained citizenship as a teen in 1994 when his mother became a citizen. He received a certificate of citizenship from the U.S. government and a passport to document his status. Federal policies require ICE agents to carefully and expeditiously investigate any claim of U.S. citizenship. But throughout his detention, Carrillo said, ICE officers either ignored or scoffed at his repeated claims. When his son rushed to the downtown booking facility with his fathers passport and citizenship certificate, ICE officers refused to consider the documents, he said. After he was moved to a privately run immigration detention center 85 miles outside Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert, Carrillos hope that ICE would quickly remedy its mistake gave way to a sense of despair. Inmates were telling me, Youre not going to see a judge for weeks. In here, you dont have any rights, he said. I started getting real scared: How long was I going to be in here? How could this be happening? It was not until Carrillos fourth day in detention, when an attorney intervened and presented agents with Carrillos passport, that ICE corrected its error. Carrillo emerged from custody to find his phone filled with messages from angry clients. Several fired him. For ICE, its like, Oops, we made a mistake, Carrillo said. But for me on the other end, it tears up your life. Carrillo sued for false imprisonment and was awarded a $20,000 settlement, but ICE made no admission of wrongdoing. An agency spokeswoman declined to comment, citing Carrillos right to privacy. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Valencia prepare to make an early morning arrest in 2012. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times Carrillos arrest highlights pitfalls in ICEs digitally driven search for the deportable. At the core of the hunt are massive federal databases containing records on citizenship, crime, foreign travel, education and work. Deportation officers and contract analysts ply these databases from cubicles on the second floor of a pyramid-shaped building in Laguna Niguel, one of the nerve centers ICE relies on to determine whom to target for deportation. When a person is arrested in the U.S., their fingerprints are sent electronically to the FBI and automatically checked against those of millions of immigrants in Homeland Security databases. Where there is a match, deportation officers in Laguna Niguel and elsewhere scour other databases for indications a person is in the country illegally. Last year, they identified some 70,000 people they concluded should be deported. Homeland Security computers also flag people with past criminal convictions. Carrillo had been convicted years earlier of carrying a concealed weapon and sending sexually explicit material to a minor crimes that would have made him a priority for deportation had he been in the country illegally. Digital copies of Carrillos fingerprints and certificate of citizenship had never been entered into federal databases, and his name was misspelled Cabrillo in a central database used heavily by ICE officers. There also was no evidence ICE agents checked if Carrillo held a passport. Agents simply assumed he was in the country illegally because they could not find any evidence to the contrary, Carrillo alleged in his lawsuit. Similarly, in three dozen false arrest lawsuits, Americans caught in the ICE dragnet alleged that officers took them into custody on the basis of cursory computer searches. The agents, according to the lawsuits, often overlooked evidence of citizenship, such as passports, and failed to examine paper files or conduct interviews to confirm the accuracy of their database searches. We could, but we don't interview because we have all of the information, all of the facts, an ICE agent said in a federal court deposition, explaining how he used database searches to mark a Chicago man for deportation. The 2011 mistake led to the man, a Belarusian native convicted of burglary, being booted from an early release program and into prison, though his paper files noted he was the son of a U.S. citizen and himself an American. Assuming they are lying For a decade, ICE administrators have sought to end such mistakes. In 2009, after repeated warnings to agents from top ICE officials and a series of embarrassing deportations of U.S. citizens, then-ICE Director John Morton mandated that citizenship claims be investigated and reviewed by agency lawyers within 48 hours. A hotline was later set up to receive the claims. In 2015, ICE officials again instructed agents to conduct deeper investigations into a persons possible citizenship, requiring them to check if a person met any of a number of indicators of citizenship, such as whether they had served in the military or were adopted by a U.S. citizen. Last April, ICE abandoned a policy that allowed agents to ask local police to detain people born abroad if there was no evidence in the databases showing they were citizens. That standard, however, persists in immigration court, where those born outside the country must prove why they belong in the U.S. A former senior attorney for ICEs regional office in Los Angeles said the 2009 directive to conduct legal reviews of all citizenship claims brought dozens of cases to her desk every week. The people were all in custody, and agents, she said, generally assumed they were lying. Note: Data is from 2008 to January 2018. Source: U.S. Department of Justice (L.A. Times Graphics) The automatic response was, Yeah, youre just doing that to get out of our custody, said Patty Corrales, who left the federal agency in 2012 and now works in private practice. Most citizenship claims were false, she said, but there were real citizens out there. In the seven and a half years ending in February, ICE reviewed 8,043 citizenship claims of people in custody, according to figures provided by the Department of Homeland Security. In 1,488 nearly a fifth of those cases ICE lawyers concluded the evidence tended to show that the individual may, in fact, be a U.S. citizen, a DHS spokeswoman said. The largest number of those arrests occurred in 2012 and 2013 at the height of an aggressive push by the Obama administration to deport unauthorized immigrants. When Obama reversed course and took a more selective approach, the number of citizenship cases dropped significantly. Department of Justice records show that hundreds more people fighting deportation in immigration court have argued they are citizens. From 2008 to the start of 2018, judges terminated or suspended removal proceedings against 880 people whose citizenship claims warranted investigation. Immigration court files are confidential, and the DOJ does not track whether the defendants prevailed on citizenship claims or other points of law. U.S. citizens mistakenly arrested by ICE Sergey Mayorov Detained in 2011 in Vienna, Ill. ICE mistakenly identified him as deportable after an agent noted he was a citizen but never updated his digital records. The error led to him spending an extra year in prison. (Sergey Mayorov) (Guadalupe Plascencia) Guadalupe Plascencia Detained in 2017 in San Bernardino, CA Plascencia, a hairdresser, was arrested and detained for a day by ICE despite claiming repeatedly that she was a citizen. (Passports provided by Sergey Mayorov and Guadalupe Plascencia) Justice Department records show at least two-thirds of the people had spent some time in custody. Among them was a 10-year-old boy from the San Francisco area whose attorney said he was held in a Texas detention center for two months. In addition, The Times found more than two dozen federal lawsuits in which U.S. citizens sued for unlawful arrest after ICE changed its policies in 2008 to prevent such detentions. Their time in custody ranged from a day to more than three years. Twelve of the men and women held U.S. passports proving their citizenship. ICE had mistakenly arrested several of the people more than once. In an internal email prompted by the seven-day jailing of a Chicago man, an ICE official wrote that it was agency practice to tell citizens that the burden was on them to obtain written proof of their legal status to ensure they would not be wrongly targeted again. Corrales, the former ICE general counsel, said it took her a year and the testimony of fingerprint and handwriting experts to persuade ICE to fix an error made when an agent halfway across the country linked the file of one of her Los Angeles clients, a legal permanent resident with no criminal history, with that of a deported criminal. The men, she said, looked nothing alike the other man had tattoos across his face. Only their names were similar. Wrongly targeted again Ada Morales, a Guatemalan native who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1995, was first held overnight in a county jail in 2004 when authorities mistakenly identified her as living in the country illegally. Five years later, she came under ICE scrutiny again when police in Rhode Island arrested her on a welfare fraud warrant. An immigration agent checking federal databases failed to run her Social Security number or her maiden name, which would have confirmed her citizenship, according to court records. When the state court judge handling Morales case issued an order that would have allowed her to go home, ICE detained her. (Ada Morales) Ada Morales Detained in 2004 and 2009 in Cranston, Rhode Island. ICE mistakenly targeted her twice. The second time she spent a night in prison despite her husband bringing her U.S. passport to a court hearing. The mother of five, who cleaned houses and offices for a living, was strip-searched and her anxiety medications were confiscated. The following day, an ICE agent drove Morales to the federal agencys offices for questioning. Met there by her husband with her passport, the agent realized the error and freed Morales. Nearly nine years later, Morales, 54, still sobs recalling her night in prison, where she said she suffered panic attacks and guards accused her of lying about her citizenship. Nobody wanted to listen to anything, she said. That year, the ICE agent who conducted the flawed investigation into Morales issued 77 official requests to detain people he identified as eligible for deportation. Of those, 31 had to be canceled when it turned out the subjects were Americans or lawful residents, according to records in a lawsuit Morales later filed against the agency. Where an individuals liberty is at stake, a 50/50 success rate is not acceptable, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell wrote in his 2017 order finding ICE negligent for holding Morales in prison. Mistakes like those, the judge wrote, should concern all Americans. The governments near complete reliance on data to find deportable immigrants began in 2007 with a project called IDENT, which aimed to match jail booking records against the FBIs fingerprint database in near real time. In the years since, the government has expanded its reach with computer programs bearing names such as CLAIMS, EAGLE, ENFORCE and FALCON that contain troves of state and federal information on hundreds of millions of people. The architecture of those programs is so sensitive that federal attorneys have sought to keep details under seal and to prevent former federal employees from testifying in open court. A deportation officer at an ICE facility in Laguna Niguel reviews federal databases to determine if someone arrested by police is eligible for deportation. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times However, ICE administrators and agents have testified that the databases they use are known to contain flaws and holes. Digital fingerprint records, for example, were not consistently uploaded until 2010 and the files that Homeland Security kept on people before 1992 are spotty. Because the extent of the problems is unknown, agents are advised to check multiple databases when determining a persons status in the country to guard against being misled by errors or missing information, court records show. A 2011 UC Berkeley study of ICEs early use of IDENT found six U.S. citizens, including one who had previously been deported, in a sample of 375 arrests an error rate that would affect thousands of Americans on a national scale. And government audits showed that last year 52,000 people were wrongly tagged in the Central Index System, a key database used by immigration agents, as being ineligible to work in the U.S. A training document for users of the Central Index System, which is maintained by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, warns of incorrect or multiple identification numbers, scrambled names, inconsistent procedures for recording multi-part names common in Latin and Chinese cultures, aliases, misspellings and typographical errors, incorrect birth dates and lost records. The document obtained and made public by Northwestern University political science professor Jacqueline Stevens offers a reminder that what computer systems deliver is only as good as what goes in. Garbage in, garbage out, the document cautions. The reliability of the governments databases is at the center of a class-action lawsuit headed to jury trial in Los Angeles. The American Civil Liberties Union contends flaws in data ICE uses are so common agents should not be allowed to rely on the records to hold people in jail. You feel like your rights are stripped from you. You feel hopeless.... I spent many nights crying. Davino Watson, wrongfully held in detention centers for more than three years Davino Watson, a U.S. citizen, was wrongfully held in immigration detention centers for more than three years while he sought to prove his citizenship. Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times ICE agents found Davino Watson when the Jamaican native was serving time in a New York state prison on a drug charge. Under questioning about his immigration status, Watson said he was a U.S. citizen through his father, who had naturalized. An agent looked for Watsons father in immigration databases, but he pulled up the wrong person, court records show. Instead of Hopeton Ulando Watson, who lived in New York, the agent landed on Hopeton Livingston Watson, a man living a state away in Connecticut who wasnt a U.S. citizen. Once he had served his sentence for selling cocaine, Watson was transferred to ICE custody, where he remained for 3 years. Even after ICE realized the error in identifying his parents, federal lawyers refused to free Watson. They seized on a new U.S. reading of Jamaican law to argue Watson should be deported because his father was not his legal guardian when they left the island nation. Watson discovered that rights inherent in the U.S. justice system dont apply in immigration court, where there is no guarantee to a legal defense. You feel like your rights are stripped from you. You feel hopeless, Watson said. It was very hard to understand. I spent many nights crying. He had never finished high school, but from a prison law library, Watson mounted his citizenship case. An immigration judge ordered him deported. The Board of Immigration Appeals agreed. It was only when Watsons appeal reached U.S. District Court and a court-appointed attorney pressed ICE that immigration authorities conducted the internal legal review they should have done when Watson first claimed to be a citizen. The review found the government had misinterpreted an arcane aspect of immigration law. ICE abruptly freed Watson. Surprised by his unexplained freedom, Watson walked out of a federal detention center in rural Alabama. He recalled how he was penniless, in prison garb and thousands of miles from home when he approached strangers at a gas station to borrow a phone. Colossal government failure Immigration lawyers said deportation proceedings can turn on obscure and evolving U.S. citizenship laws. A child born outside the U.S. after Nov. 11, 1986, for example, is a citizen if a parent was a citizen and that parent had lived in the United States or its territories for at least five years, at least two of which were when the parent was at least 14 years old. But if a child was born before the cutoff date, the parent would have had to have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years. It is common for people facing deportation to be unaware they have a rightful claim to citizenship, both ICE officials and immigration attorneys said. The task of proving citizenship can mean digging up the birth certificates of dead parents and finding work records from decades ago to show they lived in the country long enough to confer citizenship on their children. Such legal fights can be really, really difficult, especially if the person is locked in a detention facility, said Ashley Tabbador, a federal immigration judge in Los Angeles who spoke in her capacity as president of the National Assn. of Immigration Judges. Unless the person is able to come forth with enough facts, Tabbador said, judges are likely to side with ICE. Immigration lawyers said they make it a habit to ask clients about their parents immigration status and other indications of citizenship that ICE agents often overlook. Los Angeles immigration lawyer Danielle Rosche said she has seen so many U.S. citizens arrested that she tells clients to arm themselves and their children with U.S. passports and certificates of citizenship as a defense against government mistakes and skimpy ICE investigations. Detainees work out in the yard at the Adelanto Detention Center in Adelanto, Calif., where Sergio Carrillo was detained. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times A decade of Justice Department records analyzed by the Times show the success of defendants making U.S. citizenship claims more than doubled if they had an attorney. After Watson was freed, he sued the government for false imprisonment and won an $82,500 judgment. Then a federal appeals court took it away, ruling that while Watson was in detention he missed the two-year deadline to file his claim. Despite its decision, the panel of judges found that the legal safeguards created to protect citizens had been undone as one ICE superior after another approved Watsons detention without reviewing his case records. One of the courts judges went a step further, saying Watson should have been allowed to keep the money in light of the extraordinary struggles he was put through. The 1,273-day imprisonment was a striking illustration of the consequences that stem from the governments broad discretion to initiate detention and removal proceedings and the sometimes limited ability of citizens to fight back, wrote Robert Katzmann, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It was, Katzmann said, a colossal government failure. For Watson, the failure did not end when ICE let him go. A court expert diagnosed him with depression and anxiety brought on by his time in ICE custody. Government lawyers said his difficulties were of his own doing, hammering on his history of addiction and earlier drug conviction. To see how the government attorneys treated me opened up old wounds, he said. They never said, Mr. Watson, were sorry. Support our journalism Please consider subscribing today to support stories like this one. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your support makes our work possible. Thank you. UPDATES: 6:20 p.m., Sept. 17: This article was updated to add that a training document for users of the Central Index System was obtained and made public by a Northwestern University professor. This article was originally published on April 27. Andres Alonso, who was one of four finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has become the second to withdraw from consideration. The remaining candidates in the confidential search are interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former investment banker Austin Beutner, who is by most accounts the clear front-runner. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of the former Baltimore schools chief seems further to solidify Beutners prospects. The school board, which did not meet this week, is scheduled to resume its deliberations on the candidates Tuesday. Advertisement Indianapolis Supt. Lewis Ferebee last week became the first finalist to bow out. When names in a confidential superintendent search emerge in public, it is common for some candidates to drop out out of concern for their current jobs or to better frame the story line if they think theyll be passed over. By the time Ferebee dropped out, he appeared extremely unlikely to get the L.A. job. By early this week, it could have become clear to Alonso that he lacked a clear path to the post, at least on terms he was willing to accept. Many potential leaders would hesitate to come to a volatile, struggling school system with a Board of Education split closely along political lines, as is the case in Los Angeles. On Twitter, Alonso said it was a matter of pursuing an opportunity closer to his heart. To those sending best wishes on the LAUSD superintendent job, I withdrew from the process on Monday, when a possibility emerged no guarantee in relation to the school system I first loved, Alonso tweeted Thursday night. I am grateful to the LAUSD board for its consideration and wish the city the best. In a follow-up tweet, Alonso, whose Twitter handle is @andantalon, said the district in question is not Baltimore: ...Love Bmore but not 1st! Baltimore crazy but not that crazy!!! Advertisement In an email to The Times on Friday, Alonso, who teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said it was premature for him to name the district. I cant release that information, he said. But its a public search, so the information will be released by the district soon. He added: If you dont read my name its because that possibility closed real fast! People who know me will know exactly what district I was not naming. Before heading the Baltimore system, Alonso worked as chief of staff for teaching and learning and as deputy chancellor for teaching and learning at the New York City Department of Education. From 1987 to 1998, he taught emotionally disturbed disabled adolescents and English-language learners in Newark, N.J. Advertisement The Newark district is seeking a superintendent, and the same firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates is conducting the search in Newark and L.A. Beutners supporters, meanwhile, have been trying to assemble five votes for him. They also seem prepared to live with a shakier 4-to-3 victory. He should take it, said Mickey Kantor, an attorney and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration. Once he was there, the whole board would learn this is someone they needed and they would enjoy working for him. Kantor and Beutner are close and they co-chair Beutners nonprofit, Vision to Learn, which provides glasses to low-income students. Advertisement L.A. Unified recently accused the nonprofit of falling short in its promise to provide vision screening and glasses to district students. Vision to Learn faults the district for the delays. Beutner formerly served as an L.A. deputy mayor and as publisher of the Los Angeles Times, each for about a year. His core of support on the board has been from a four-member majority elected with major financial support from charter school advocates, with a fifth vote anticipated from board member Richard Vladovic. But Kelly Gonez, a member of the charter-backed majority, is said to have wanted an educator and Alonso appeared to fit the bill. Now that Alonso has pulled out, pressure for Gonez to conform could intensify. Advertisement Although it seems unlikely, a majority of board members could turn to Ekchian, who has spent her career in the school district and has managed it on an interim basis since September. The board also could reconsider other candidates or accept new applications. A 4-to-3 majority could pose problems for any candidate if one of the votes belongs to Ref Rodriguez, who faces criminal charges on suspicion of political money laundering. Rodriguez, who denies wrongdoing, could be forced to resign if convicted. On Monday, his attorneys are expected to argue that his preliminary hearing should be postponed from May 9 to a later date. The preliminary hearing will be the first opportunity for prosecutors to bring witnesses to the stand and submit evidence before the court in public. howard.blume@latimes.com Advertisement @howardblume UPDATES: 6:10 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional details about the superintendent selection process and the candidates. 10:10 a.m.: This article has been updated with emailed comments from Alonso. Advertisement This article was originally published at 8:15 a.m. The defense team in the political money laundering case of Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez will request a postponement that would push back the start of a trial, The Times has learned. Attorneys representing both sides declined to comment Thursday, but sources close to the case confirmed what is expected to happen in a court hearing set for Monday. The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the case. At the Monday hearing, attorneys for Rodriguez and co-defendent Elizabeth Tinajero Melendrez are expected to argue that they need more time to gather evidence, depose witnesses and prepare their defense. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges for conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Advertisement Prosecutors say Rodriguez carried out a scheme in which friends and relatives donated more than $24,000 to his campaign, with the understanding that Rodriguez would reimburse them fully. He could have donated the money legally to his own campaign, but Rodriguez allegedly broke the law by concealing the true source of the contributions denying voters accurate information about support for his campaign, according to the L.A. County district attorneys office and the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. Melendrez, his cousin, faces related misdemeanor charges. Both Rodriguez and Melendrez have denied wrongdoing. A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for May 9, which was to be next court appearance. But the defense decided it needed more time and would go to court earlier to make the request, the sources said. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is for the prosecution to present enough evidence to show that the case should go to trial. That May 9 hearing, which is likely to attract public attention if it occurs as scheduled, is looming even as Rodriguez is involved in meetings to choose the next superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. The school board is meeting Tuesday, when it could announce a selection. howard.blume@latimes.com @howardblume Editors note: This article was originally published on May 9, 2011. If the DNA left at a crime scene does not precisely match a profile in a criminal database, state authorities may look for similar profiles to find relatives of the perpetrator. Hereditary Children inherit one genetic marker from each parent at every location on a chromosome. In forensic DNA tests, each marker is assigned a number to designate its type. Relatives will have many markers in common. Advertisement Californias strategy If a crime is serious and other leads are exhausted, authorities may try to find relatives of the perpetrator by looking for DNA profiles with many of the same markers. The search takes into account the rarity of each marker and produces a list of the 200 most likely potential relatives. Criminalists then test the DNA of the potential relatives against the crime scene sample. They look for markers on the Y-chromosome that are shared by fathers, sons and brothers. Once scientists identify the likely relative, investigators search records to determine who in that persons family was the right age and in the right place to have committed the crime. After further vetting, police are given the suspects name and obtain a DNA sample from him to check against the genetic evidence left at the scene of the crime. Advertisement Graphics source: California Department of Justice When the law came for him after 40 years of hunting, he was doing a woodworking project in his garage. As the team of heavily armed local and federal agents took him into custody, the 72-year-old truck mechanic asked them if he could take out a roast he had cooking inside. The arrest Tuesday underscored the utter dichotomy between the day-to-day suburban life of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. and the gruesome crimes he is accused of committing. Authorities say he is the Original Night Stalker and the Golden State Killer, monikers given to a man who raped at least 46 women and killed a young couple in the Sacramento area before heading to Southern California, where he crept into homes at night and brutally slayed 10 people. Advertisement In Citrus Heights, he was a grumpy man who cursed when he misplaced his car keys. He owned an aluminum fishing boat and dirt bike, and kept his lawn meticulously trim, crawling around boulders to edge the grass by hand. Little about his life story suggests alienation, or the sadism inherent in the charges he faces. Before retiring last year, he worked for 27 years at the Save Mart Supermarkets distribution center in Roseville, fixing its trucks. He and his wife an attorney raised three daughters, one who is an emergency room physician, another a graduate student at UC Davis. DeAngelo served in the Navy and did 22 months of combat operations off the North Vietnam coast during the war, according to local media reports at the time. He received his associates degree in police science from Sierra College in Rocklin and moved to Cal State Sacramento in 1970 to get his bachelors degree in criminal justice. He met his wife, Sharon M. Huddle, in school and married her in 1973. That year, he joined the police department in Exeter, outside Visalia, where his sister Becky lived. According to an article in the Exeter Sun at the time: James DeAngelo Jr. believes that without law and order there can be no government and without a democratic government here can be no freedom. Law enforcement is his career, he says, and his job is serving the community. Authorities believe his secret criminal life began here, as the Visalia Ransacker. For the three years he was in Exeter, Tulare County police were befuddled by some 100 break-in burglaries in Visalia by a man who donned a mask and tore up the homes interiors. The incidents stopped in 1975. By 1976, DeAngelo had moved back north, to be hired by the police department in Auburn. Then the rapes began. An intruder slipped into homes in the foothills east of Sacramento, first looking for single women, then couples. With a handgun pointed at the victims, he had the women bind the men with shoelace or cord, then he would bind the women himself. Advertisement He often made the men lie with cups or stacks of plates on their backs, and promised that if he heard the dishes fall, he would kill them. Then he might spend hours looking for jewelry and rare coins, eating and drinking beer, repeatedly raping the women, before disappearing into the night. The sheriffs team investigating the crimes had a strong suspicion the rapist had law enforcement experience. It was a lot more than a hunch, said Wendell Phillips, a former Sacramento sheriffs deputy who was part of a team searching for East Area Rapist. There was no doubt he was either military or law enforcement or both. Phillips said the perpetrator knew police tactics and how to elude capture. He picked houses that backed up to a culvert or greenbelt, and always left a back window open. And the way he tied the knots on his victims suggested he had been in the Boy Scouts or Navy. Advertisement The Sacramento County Sheriffs Department had a good-sized unit hunting him every night, Phillips said. But if it closed in on him, he would go into the biggest, thickest, nastiest bush he could find, then cover himself with leaves. The search would go right over the top of him, he said. Phillips said they were so sure that the rapist was a cop that any officers who wanted to join the team hunting him had to submit saliva samples to ensure they didnt share a rare genetic trait they found in the suspects bodily fluids. The first killings DeAngelo is charged with occurred about 9 p.m. on Feb. 2, 1978. Brian and Kate Maggiore were walking their dog near their apartment in Rancho Cordova. The details are not clear, but they encountered a man in a ski mask with a gun, ended up in a backyard and were shot to death as they tried to escape. Whether the killer had set out to murder the Maggiores is not clear. Advertisement The rapes continued until July 1979, probably around the time when he was caught stealing a can of dog repellent and a hammer from a Pay N Save Store in Citrus Heights. According to the Auburn Journal, he was convicted of a misdemeanor for the theft in August and dismissed from the force. Now murder became the clear ultimate objective. That October, authorities say, he went to the Goleta area near Santa Barbara and attacked a couple asleep in their home. The two escaped, and he fled on a stolen bicycle. Advertisement Two months later in Goleta, the killer entered the home Dr. Robert Offerman, 44, and Alexandria Manning through a sliding glass door. He found the couple asleep in bed, tied them up and shot them to death. On March 13, 1980, he broke into the Ventura home of Lyman Smith, 43, and his wife, Charlene Smith, 33. He tied them up using a drapery cord and secured it with a diamond knot his signature knot. He raped her, then bludgeoned them to death with a fireplace log. He next killed a couple in Dana Point in August 1981, followed by a woman in Irvine, then another couple in Goleta in July 1981. Six weeks later, DeAngelos first daughter, Misha Louise, was born. The killing would stop for nearly five years. Advertisement He moved to his home on Canyon Oak Drive in Citrus Heights in January 1983. The serial killers last known victim, Janelle Cruz, 18, was raped and slain in her Irvine home on May 4, 1986. It wasnt until 2000 that detectives connected the unsolved murders and realized they were the work of a serial killer. Authorities identified DeAngelo as a possible suspect through a genealogical website. Investigators then made a positive match to the killer by collecting his DNA from a discarded item, such as cup or straw. Advertisement How familial DNA searches work DeAngelos sister, Becky Thompson, who still lives in Exeter, sobbed on the phone Thursday, seeking peace for her family as she grappled for an understanding of the horror surrounding her brother. Im pretty much in shock, she said. Im in disbelief. Its difficult to think about. Thompson said she hopes that police are wrong about her brother, whom she regarded as the kindest, gentlest man with his children. I have prayed hard that some of this isnt true, she said. Advertisement DeAngelo appears to be separated from his wife. She practices family law and helped mount a national fight against the practice of surrogate motherhood. Huddle, then practicing as Sharon Huddle DeAngelo, co-founded the National Coalition Against Surrogacy as California considered a law governing the rights of women to be paid for carrying the fetuses of egg and or sperm donors. His neighbors described Joseph DeAngelo as cantankerous. Natalia Bedes-Correnti and her husband had nicknamed him freak, after hearing one too many expletives shouted across Citrus Heights quiet streets. His ire was never directed at anybody as far as Bedes-Correnti could tell, but instead were bursts of anger out of frustration. He couldnt find his keys or something was out of place so hed shout out the F word as he dug through his old Toyota sedans back seats, she said. Advertisement A lot of the neighbors know that about Joe that he was a screamer and a curser, Bedes-Correnti said. Bedes-Correnti and her husband have lived more than 20 years in Citrus Heights Willow Oak neighborhood, where they count themselves among a generation of longtime homeowners who have shared Fourth of July fireworks in cul-de-sacs and watched each others children grow up and move out. DeAngelo was known for his swearing and his lawn. Hed get down on his hands and knees and trim around each rock by hand. And he mowed. He kept up that lawn meticulously. Advertisement She said DeAngelo was handy, setting his own concrete in the front yard, which she suspects now might be of interest to detectives looking for some of the mementos the killer is known to have stolen from victims. I think theyre probably going to look under those slabs, she said. Times staff writer Paige St. John contributed to this report. sarah.parvini@latimes.com | Twitter: @sarahparvini Advertisement joe.mozingo@latimes.com | Twitter: @joemozingo richard.winton@latimes.com | Twitter: @lacrimes joseph.serna@latimes.com | Twitter: @josephserna Two women were killed and four others were injured Friday in a single-car crash in Beverly Hills, police said. The collision occurred around 1:23 a.m. near the intersection of South Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, authorities said. The women were ejected from the car and had injuries that ranged from minor to critical, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. They were transported to a local hospital and the driver has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, said Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Andrew Myers. Its going to be a lengthy investigation, he said. Advertisement Early Friday, police had cordoned off the area where the white BMW SUV had overturned. Authorities said the intersection will be closed until around 7 a.m. sarah.parvini@latimes.com For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini The California Supreme Court decided unanimously Thursday that a father should not have been removed from his home based on his 3-year-old daughters claim that he had molested her. In a ruling written by Justice Leondra Kruger, the justices said a juvenile court judge should not base a decision on the accuracy of statements by a child too young to testify unless the youngsters claims bear special indicia of reliability. The decision, which clarified previous court rulings, said the requirement of reliability was designed to ensure that children are protected from abuse while guarding against the risk that children will needlessly be separated from their parents on the basis of unreliable reports that are not subject to testing in court. Thursdays ruling stemmed from a 2012 Alameda County child dependency case in which evidence showed the 3-year-old identified by the court as I.C. had been molested by an 8-year-old neighbor named Oscar. Advertisement Her mother summoned police, and the girl was examined in a hospital. An investigation proved to be inconclusive. Two months later, the girl saw her neighbor, who attended the same school as her brother. According to her mother, I.C. was scared and confused. About four days later, the girl told her mother, My dad put his penis on me. Her mother corrected her, saying it was Oscar who did that. The mother questioned her husband, who called the allegation crazy. I.C. repeated the allegation to a child welfare worker who made an unannounced visit to her preschool, and the county then took her and her brother to a forensic facility for children. I.C. was videotaped during an interview. The child welfare worker assigned to the case believed the allegation and filed a petition to have the children declared dependents of the juvenile court. The petition charged that the girl had been abused and that both children were at risk. According to evidence presented during a juvenile court hearing to determine whether the children needed government protection, I.C. could not differentiate between a penis and a train. The youngster also claimed that her father had molested her stepsister, her babysitter and the babysitters sister. The father protested his innocence, and the mother said she believed him. After viewing the videotape of the girls interview unlike in criminal cases, juvenile courts may take into account statements made by children deemed too young to testify the judge decided the girl was credible because her core allegation was spontaneous, had remained consistent and she had no motive to lie. The court initially removed the children from their home but later allowed them to return to their mother, as long as the father stayed away. Advertisement A divided panel of a San Francisco-based court of appeal upheld the judges decision. In 2015, the Alameda County juvenile court decided the father could return home. But his lawyer, Louise Collari, said the man persisted with his appeal because he wanted his name cleared. Police investigated the child abuse allegation, Collari said, but did not bring charges. In overturning the lower courts, the Supreme Court pointed to a ruling it had written in 2000 that said the statements of a child too young to testify may be admitted in a court proceeding if their timing, content and circumstances showed them to be reliable. I.C.s father did not contest the admissibility of his daughters statements but said the juvenile court should not have relied solely on them in deciding he had molested her. Advertisement Thursdays ruling said a young childs accusations do not have to be corroborated but, according to precedent, should be evaluated for their spontaneity and consistency as well as for the accusers mental state, lack of motive to lie and terminology. In I.C.s case, the juvenile judges decision was not supported by substantial evidence, the court found. The probability that I.C.s statements resulted from her recent molestation by Oscar, and her surprise encounter with her abuser just days earlier, cannot be ignored, Kruger wrote. The court said the evidence showed that I.C. had a tendency to interweave fantasy with truth and that her statements contained both inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Advertisement Juvenile courts also should not rely solely on the judgment of a child welfare worker assigned to a case, the court said. Samantha Stonework-Hand, who represented Alameda County, said she could not discuss specifics of the case because juvenile matters are confidential. Collari, a staff attorney for the First District Appellate Project, which handles appeals for low-income people, said the courts decision was needed because the accusation of child abuse was never going to be moot for this family. The fact that this happened is going to stick with them forever, she said. Advertisement maura.dolan@latimes.com Twitter: @mauradolan A woman who suffered a head injury when she was hit by a drone has reached a settlement with a USC fraternity chapter and an event-planning company, which hired the operator of the drone to photograph attendees at a 2015 frat party. Lawyers for Alina Pituch filed documents April 12 in Los Angeles Superior Court stating that her lawsuit against Pi Kappa Phis Delta Rho Chapter and the Perfect Event Inc. was resolved. No terms were divulged. The defendants denied any wrongdoing. USC was not a defendant in the suit, which was filed in September 2016 and alleged negligence and premises liability. Advertisement The suit stated that Pituch arrived about 11 p.m. Oct. 3, 2015, for a Glow Party that was being held in the backyard of the frat house. Perfect Event was hired to produce the party and employed the operator of the drone, which was taking photographs of those present, according to the suit. About 15 to 20 minutes after Pituch arrived, a heavy object fell on (her) head, causing her to stumble forward into a friend, who caught (Putich) before she fell down, the suit stated. Pituchs head immediately began to bleed vigorously from her wounds. The object was later identified as a drone, according to her complaint. Pituch said she suffered injuries to the back of her head, forehead and left eye, and also felt dizzy and became disoriented after the blow. Pituchs friends assisted her in getting to the front curb of the frat house, and she was taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to court papers. Pituch has permanent scarring on her head and forehead and has met with plastic surgeons to discuss her injuries, the suit stated. As a result of the injury, her ability to focus on schoolwork has been compromised, and she still experiences headaches that affect her concentration, according to the complaint. carlos.lozano@latimes.com Speaking at a dialogue with 15 chairpersons and CEOs of leading Singaporean groups and businesses on April 27, PM Phuc affirmed that the Government of Vietnam will assign relevant ministries, agencies and localities to coordinate with Singaporean investors to speed up the implementation of their projects in the country. He applauded Singaporean enterprises planning to expand investment in the areas of Vietnams priorities, while calling on the investors to carry out their projects on schedule, observe Vietnams laws and harmonise interests of the State, the investors and people. Singapore has become Vietnams most important economic partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with more than 2,000 projects worth US$43 billion, and two-way trade reaching US$8.3 billion in 2017, PM Phuc said. The government leader noted that Singapore is also a gateway for multi-national groups and international tourists to enter Vietnam, and helps the country get easier access to the world. PM Phuc briefed the corporate leaders on Vietnams business environment which ranked 68th out of 190 countries surveyed by the World Bank, up 30 places as compared with 2012. The country was placed 55th out of 137 countries in terms of competitiveness in the rankings of the Word Economic Forum, he added. The PM also cited a fact that 55% of the Vietnamese population are using the Internet and nearly 50% accessing the social network and around 130 million mobile phone subscriptions as favourable conditions for investors. Vietnam commits to ensuring political, social and macro-economic stability; creating the most favourable business environment towards standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); reducing transactions costs, especially logistic and administrative expenses; and building transparent macro-economic policies, PM Phuc stressed. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (centre) and delegates at the meeting. The Vietnamese Government always pays attention to policy dialogue mechanisms to clear up concerns of the business community, including those from Singapore, he added. Speaking at the dialogue, Ho Meng Kit, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), called on Singaporean businesses to scale up investments in Vietnam as the strategic partnership between the two nations is flourishing. The participating corporate leaders highly valued outstanding achievements Vietnam has recorded in economic development, particularly the countrys innovated mindset in building and implementing polices. They highlighted opener and more favourable investment procedures in Vietnam, which, they said, have help businesses to save time and costs. They told PM Phuc that Singaporean businesses have devised strategies and stand ready to invest in such areas as logistics, renewable energy, software industry, smart city building, education-training, transportation and cruise tourism in Vietnam. The investors committed to introducing the worlds most advanced technologies to Vietnam through projects, thus helping generate more jobs and incomes for local people. Earlier the same day, PM Phuc met with Neil McGregor, CEO and President of Sembcorp Industries, one of the leading Singaporean investors in Vietnam, with nine Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) in the country. The leader lauded Sembcorps contributions to the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore, and urged the group to speed up the implementation of sluggish projects in Vietnam, particularly in land clearance, while building more industrial parks in the countrys southern provinces and cities. Neil McGregor said apart from value chains, Sembcorp aims to develop comprehensive infrastructure and smart cities and invest in renewable energy projects in Vietnam. Sembcorp will accompany Vietnams socio-economic development cause for a long term, he said, calling for more support from the PM and relevant Vietnamese agencies during the implementation of its projects. Investigators were digging Thursday in the backyard of the accused Golden State Killer, who they say killed 12 people from 1978 to 1986. By the early evening, investigators had not uncovered anything in Joseph James DeAngelo Jr.s yard. They said they were not really looking for anything specific. We do NOT believe there are bodies buried back there or anything, Sacramento County sheriffs Sgt. Shaun Hampton said in a text message. He added that authorities were not using heavy equipment or excavators. A local and federal task force arrested DeAngelo late Tuesday evening, after linking him to 12 slayings, 45 rapes and more than 120 residential burglaries in a trail that stretched south from Sacramento to Orange County. Advertisement In Ventura, he allegedly tied up a couple with a drapery cord and raped the wife before fatally bludgeoning them with a fireplace log. In Goleta, he bound a doctor and his wife, a clinical psychologist, and shot them both, authorities say. Authorities said that the killer would sometimes place cups or plates on his bound victims backs so he could hear if they broke free when he was in another room. At the time of the crimes he was described as being about 5-foot-9 with blond or auburn hair. Investigators thought he had military or law enforcement training. A Navy veteran and former police officer, DeAngelo eluded authorities for decades before they were able to tie DNA evidence from the slayings to genetic information contained on a consumer genealogical website. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Twitter: @AleneTchek The man authorities say killed 12 people and raped dozens of women in a string of attacks across California decades ago made his first court appearance Friday. Handcuffed in a wheelchair and wearing an orange jumpsuit, Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arraigned on charges that he killed a Sacramento County couple in 1978 the first of many killings he allegedly committed between Northern California and Orange County, earning the moniker the Golden State Killer. He sat expressionless and occasionally closed his eyes as Judge Michael W. Sweet listed the charges against him. DeAngelo responded in a soft voice that he had a lawyer and understood the charges against him. He did not enter a plea. Sheriffs officials said he is being housed in isolation while in custody. In addition to two murder charges in Sacramento County, he also faces two counts of murder in Ventura County and four counts of murder in Orange County. Advertisement His crimes graduated from burglaries in 1976 to rapes and murders by the time he was done in 1986, officials say. The assailant known as the East Area Rapist and Golden State Killer stayed a step ahead of detectives during his reign of terror in California, authorities said. The planning and execution of his crimes and the fact he was virtually impossible to identify led authorities to believe the killer had law enforcement or military training. DeAngelo is a former police officer. After 42 years of searching, detectives submitted old DNA evidence into a publicly accessible genealogy website to find potential relatives of the killer, prosecutors said. They then cross-referenced all of the killers potential relatives identified on the site until it homed in on DeAngelo. Investigators then put DeAngelo under surveillance, surreptitiously obtained two DNA samples from him and found they matched the DNA evidence from one of the killings. He was taken into custody Tuesday at his home. The fact that detectives used commercial DNA and genealogy websites to catch a suspected serial killer from 42 years ago after the federal criminal DNA database failed to yield results is revelatory, said Ruth Dickover, director of UC Davis forensic science program. This was a shot in the dark, definitely, Dickover said, If thats what they did, that approach is very new and innovative and explains how they were able to crack a case when the more traditional types of DNA testing couldnt. GEDmatch is a crowdsourcing website where the public can submit DNA and genealogy screening results they may have received from other sites such as 23AndMe and Ancestry and cross-reference those findings with other collected data for a more complete picture of their genetic background. A relative of the suspected killer must have submitted their DNA to one of the sites at some point for authorities to have been able to use it and find him, Dickover said. Advertisement Although we were not approached by law enforcement or anyone else about this case or about the DNA, it has always been GEDmatchs policy to inform users that the database could be used for other uses, as set forth in Site Policy, GEDmatchs statement said. It continued, While the database was created for genealogical research, it is important that GEDmatch participants understand the possible uses of their DNA, including identification of relatives that have committed crimes or were victims of crimes . If you are concerned about non-genealogical uses of your DNA, you should not upload your DNA to the database and/or you should remove your DNA that has already been uploaded. DeAngelo is charged with eight counts of murder in three counties but is believed by authorities to be responsible for another four, along with more than 46 rapes and 100 burglaries. All those crimes occurred between 1976 and 1986, many while he was a police officer in rural California cities. Books have been written about the manhunt, the FBI dedicated an entire website to the case, and many of the detectives who worked on the investigation retired or died long before a suspect was apprehended. St. John reported from Sacramento and Serna and Winton from Los Angeles. Advertisement joseph.serna@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter. UPDATES: 2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details from DeAngelos first court appearance. Advertisement This post was originally published at 10:25 a.m. Jae Su An stayed up past 5 a.m. watching the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. If it goes as they said, thats to be welcomed .... But is he just putting on a show? I couldnt tell, said the 83-year-old Los Angeles resident, referring to North Koreas leader. He said when Kim first appeared on the screen, his face was colorless and without a hint of a smile. They worked on the nuclear weapons for 30 years, he said. These rapid developments are scary. In L.A.s Koreatown on Friday, older immigrants who were children during the Korean War were busy analyzing every hand gesture and facial expression of the two Korean leaders. Most said that if Kim stuck to his word, it was monumental news for the peninsula, yet some said they remained skeptical. Advertisement Ans friend, Min Kyu Park, said he noticed that Kims military entourage saluted the Souths Moon, while the South Korean officers did not do the same for the North Korean leader. It wont be like before, Park countered, he wont be like his father and grandfather. As he perused a stack of the mornings Korean-language papers, Hae Seok Kim, 81, said he was hopeful. It will be different this time for sure, he said. It has to be different this time for the North to survive. He remembered the three months he lived under communist rule in his hometown of Suncheon, South Korea, when North Korean soldiers swept through the region during the war. They fled after U.S. forces under Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed at Incheon in September 1950. In L.A.'s Koreatown, residents had mixed reaction to the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times ) Any agreement will have to come after the nuclear weapons are fully discarded, he said. With a peace treaty, the war will finally be over. Early Friday, the leaders of the two countries, both smiling, greeted each other along the Military Demarcation Line, the border that has separated the two countries for more than six decades. They crossed briefly to the northern side, and then entered a diplomatic building for their meeting. Advertisement On their agenda were three key issues: improved inter-Korean relations, which have been especially strained in recent years; a sustainable agreement for peace, which could set a path to formally end the Korean War; and the potential denuclearization of the North, which spent last year antagonizing the world by testing ballistic missiles and detonating an underground hydrogen bomb. Kim and Moon were expected to meet inside the Peace House, a building on the South side of the compound, throughout the day before a banquet there Friday night. A meeting between President Trump and Kim is expected to happen in the next several weeks. The United States and South Korea are close allies, and more than 28,000 American troops are stationed in and around Seoul, the capital, and elsewhere in the country. victoria.kim@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @vicjkim A high-ranking officer and another supervisor with the Los Angeles Police Department were taken into custody by Glendale police early Friday morning in an alcohol-related incident, marking the third time this week that LAPD officers had been arrested, authorities said. Glendale police identified the two as Cmdr. Nicole Mehringer, who was booked on suspicion of being intoxicated in public, and James Kelly, who was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence. Kelly is listed as a sergeant in LAPD records. Glendale police Sgt. Dan Suttles said Mehringer was not cited and wont be charged. Mehringer and Kelly were taken into custody about 1:45 a.m. near Lomita Avenue and Brand Boulevard after officers saw that their car had come to rest up against another vehicle, Glendale police said. No one was hurt, but officers suspected the two had been drinking, Suttles said. Advertisement Mehringer, 47, and Kelly, 46, spent a little over three hours in custody before they were released Friday morning, according to jail records Mehringer, who is identified on the LAPD website as Nicole Alberca, is one of 20 commanders in the 10,000-officer LAPD, reporting directly to Chief Charlie Beck. Beck promoted her to commander in March 2017, placing her in charge of the departments Employee Relations Group. The group represents the police chiefs office in all employee relations matters, handling things like contract negotiations and arbitration of grievances, according to the LAPDs website. She and Kelly did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Beck confirmed that an internal investigation had been initiated, telling The Times that he had been briefed on the circumstances surrounding the arrests and was extremely concerned about the allegations. Beck declined to comment on the details of the arrests because it was a personnel matter. Mehringer and Kelly were the third and fourth LAPD officers taken into custody this week. On Tuesday, an off-duty officer was arrested at a San Diego County checkpoint after Border Patrol agents found two men in his car who were in the country illegally, authorities said. Mambasse Patara a 42-year-old officer assigned to the LAPDs South Traffic Division later pleaded not guilty to federal charges of transporting people who were in the country illegally. Advertisement Also Tuesday, Officer John Bailey was arrested and charged with workers compensation fraud, the LAPD said. Bailey, 43, was assigned to the departments Van Nuys Division. This weeks arrests came after another LAPD officer, Edgar Verduzco, was charged last week with murder in connection with a suspected DUI crash on the 605 Freeway in Whittier that killed three people in September. kate.mather@latimes.com @katemather Advertisement UPDATES: 4:00 p.m.: This article was updated with more details from Glendale police as well as background about murder charges filed last week against another LAPD officer. 3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. This article was originally published at 1:45 p.m. Santa Ana officials moved Wednesday to take legal action against all 33 other Orange County cities, stepping up pressure on their leaders to help resolve homelessness across O.C. The City Councils unanimous vote may clear the way for a federal judge to follow through on his threat to ban enforcement of anti-camping ordinances in the county, if elected officials especially those in South Orange County dont start doing their part to provide temporary housing for a swelling homeless population. In early April, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter warned city representatives that they needed to join forces to find shelter for people removed from the Santa Ana River trail, the countys largest homeless encampment. Santa Ana, he said, had done more than its share in housing desperate and vulnerable populations. Santa Anas mayor said his city long has sacrificed to help the homeless while continuing to carry burdens. Advertisement We are taking this action in order to allow the court to facilitate a countywide solution to a countywide problem, Mayor Miguel Pulido said in a statement. Legal action may be the catalyst that helps us all find solutions for the county. The Santa Ana vote was 6 to 0, not including Councilman Sal Tinajero, who was absent. Lawyers for the city plan to file a lawsuit by the end of the week. The councils decision followed a Tuesday vote by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to unanimously reject a proposal from south O.C. mayors who pitched opening a shelter at the former Silverado Elementary School in a remote canyon. As officials scramble for shelter solutions for the former river-trail population, they also need to find options for about 150 people recently removed from an illegal tent city at Santa Anas Civic Center. A recent study by workers from the Orange County Health Care Agency showed that the Civic Center population included homeless who had migrated from 17 other cities. During the March point in time count across Santa Ana, statistics show that 52% of the 1,030 people interviewed reported their last permanent residence was outside the city. Santa Ana officials say theyve tried again and again to reach out to neighboring cities to find ways to help the homeless. In October 2016, workers contacted leaders in the countys other 33 cities to meet to find solutions. When the group finally gathered in June 2017, only 12 other Orange County cities sent representatives. Santa Ana has been a leader in addressing homelessness in Orange County. We are willing to continue being a leader in these efforts, but we need the county and our fellow cities to be good partners, said Councilman Juan Villegas. There need to be more ideas, fewer roadblocks, and more of us asking: How can we collectively move forward? Those without homes demand better of their cities. We demand better of our neighbors. Los Angeles County this week won possession of a four-acre property in South Los Angeles that has sat empty since the buildings on it burned to the ground during the 1992 riots. Over the decades, the site at the corner of Vermont and Manchester avenues has been a battleground for politicians, residents and the propertys owner, each with their own ideas on how to develop them and revive the neighborhood. Most of the land has long been owned by Eli Sasson, who acquired the remainder in November. Sassons company has repeatedly announced plans to build on the site and three years ago held a groundbreaking for a project he said would include restaurants, shops and a grocery store. But the site remains undeveloped. Advertisement Flames engulf a row of businesses at Vermont and Manchester avenues during the Los Angeles riots. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) In December, county officials moved to seize the land through eminent domain, which allows governments under certain circumstances to take private property for public use. The county argues that the 16 parcels on Vermont Avenue in the two blocks north of Manchester Avenue have the right size, location and vacancy to accommodate affordable housing, a boarding school, a transit plaza and community-serving retail, developed with a mix of private and public funds. It has set aside $15.7 million in taxpayer money to obtain the land. At Mondays court hearing, lawyers representing the county argued for immediate possession, saying it would be easier to obtain funding for the mixed-used project once they obtained the land. Waiting, said attorney Gregory Bergman, would would delay the county project by a year or two. Karyn Jakubowski, a lawyer representing Sassons company, argued that the county lacked the authority to file eminent domain. She said environmental and governmental rules could halt efforts to seize the property. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel S Murphy ruled Thursday that the county would assume ownership by May 4. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the ruling paves the way for long-awaited action at the corner. Local governments have an absolute obligation to think imaginatively about our most pressing issues job creation, quality education, transportation, and the development of affordable housing and community centers, Ridley-Thomas said in a statement. With this project, we are taking an out-of-the-box approach to getting all of that done at the corner of Vermont and Manchester. Advertisement Not everybody is celebrating the seizure. Shamara McFarland, who lives nearby, attended Mondays hearing in hopes of speaking out against the county project. She collected 75 signatures from Vermont Knolls residents who felt the same. McFarland, 45, said she thinks the countys plan is underwhelming and that she favors the kind of retail that Sasson had promised stores, sit-down restaurants and a grocery store with organic produce over a proposal that calls for a government building and otherwise undefined retail space. I dont want to be locked in the countys agenda, she said. Its not in our best interest. On April 29, 1992, rioters outraged over the acquittal of four LAPD officers in the beating of Rodney G. King torched the intersection of Vermont and Manchester avenues. Dozens of buildings burned. Months later, Sasson vowed to rebuild, but after numerous project proposals and false starts, the citys community redevelopment agency moved to seize the land through eminent domain in 2008. Three years later, Gov. Jerry Brown disbanded redevelopment agencies amid a state budget shortage, a move that allowed Sasson to repurchase his land. Advertisement Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said residents have long awaited a fresh start at that corner. Over the course of almost three decades, residents endured crime, blight, violence, and neglect all while waiting for empty promises and false starts to produce something real, he said in statement. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said residents have long awaited a fresh start at that corner. Over the course of almost three decades, residents endured crime, blight, violence, and neglect all while waiting for empty promises and false starts to produce something real, he said in statement. Advertisement angel.jennings@latimes.com Twitter: @AngelJennings Fox News host Sean Hannity is one of the most recognizable media figures in America. He has the ear of President Trump. His show is one of the most popular on cable news. But you wouldnt know it from talking to the tenants at the Meadows, a modest neighborhood of duplexes in Lithia Springs, about 15 miles west of downtown Atlanta. For the record: An earlier version of this story said that rents at a property owned by Sean Hannity had increased 10% a year from 2013 to 2018. They increased 50% since 2013. Who? Keith Jones, a 62-year-old pipe layer, said blankly in an interview this week. I dont know who he is, said Sherrice Rouster, a 38-year-old self-employed childcare worker and tax preparer. Advertisement Hannity is their landlord, and hes raising their rent a lot. In this March 4, 2016, file photo, Sean Hannity of Fox News appears at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. (Carolyn Kaster / AP ) Journalists uncovered Hannitys extensive rental holdings in Georgia and Alabama this week after he said he had consulted with the presidents lawyer, Michael Cohen, about real estate issues. Through a series of limited-liability companies each using the name SPMK, followed by Roman numerals documents revealed that Hannity is the owner of apartment complexes and houses worth tens of millions of dollars and capable of housing hundreds of people. A Nassau County, New York, property document revealed Fox News host as the owner of a property-holding company called SPMK IV. A series of SPMK companies, registered to the same address at a financial firm in Georgia, own rental complexes in Georgia and Alabama. (Los Angeles Times ) Some observers tittered at the revelation that Hannity, a vocal critic of government assistance, had accepted taxpayer help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to insure the mortgages for at least two of his rental complexes. But there was little unique about the way Hannity built his empire, using limited-liability companies, as many wealthy people do, to shield his identity while legally buying properties. Its the same story of how Wall Street became a major Main Street landlord and began jacking up rents. In 2012, Hannity joined a wave of big-money investors to sweep in after the Great Recessions housing crash, often snatching up foreclosed properties across the U.S. at bargain-bin prices. Advertisement Historically, the typical single-family landlord was a local person who owned a few houses, said Julia Gordon, executive vice president of the National Community Stabilization Trust, an anti-blight nonprofit organization. They would basically oversee things like collecting the rent, do home repairs themselves, or employ a handyman to do home repairs. It was a very mom-and-pop type-industry. Today, Gordon said, it seems like rental homes are almost always owned by somebody whose last name is LLC. The rise in out-of-town ownership also coincided with the rise of companies like Renters Warehouse, a national property-management service that received a celebrity endorsement from Hannity. The duplexes at the Meadows, in Lithia Springs, were built on a former cow pasture in the 1980s by Paul Robinson Jr., a local home builder and small businessman. The subdivision has more than 100 units, which average about 944 square feet. Advertisement A neighborhood of duplexes in Lithia Springs, Ga., called the Meadows, is owned by a company linked to Fox News host Sean Hannity. (Los Angeles Times ) It was an investment for his retirement, Robinson said in an interview this week. Living next door, he adopted a hands-on approach, taking on much of the day-to-day work of cleaning up, painting, replacing carpet and collecting rent. Robinson didnt raise the rent much, he said, because many of his tenants had lived there for 10 or 20 years and were elderly. But after the financial crisis hit, Robinson lost the complex, he said, when his bank went under and the new bank demanded that he pay $500,000 of the $2.5 million loan. Advertisement With 112 duplex units bringing in a cash flow of about $60,000 a month, Robinson said, he had $500,000. But it was only a one-year deal and, having heard of horror stories of banks upping demands each year, he decided to let the bank foreclose on the property. Eventually, the loss of rental income led Robinson to lose his own home too. Then, in March 2013, an LLC named SPMK XII Meadows bought the property from Robinsons bank for $3.15 million. A housing development of rental duplexes called the Meadows, in Lithia Springs, Ga., is owned by a limited-liability company owned by Fox News host Sean Hannity. (Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement There was nothing in the companys registration records indicating its owner was a famous TV host. The complex is managed by Henssler Property Management, which is co-owned by another LLC called SPMK II. After Hannity was named as the owner of the SPMK companies this week, he defended his holdings. It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money, Hannity said in a statement. The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support. Since SPMK took over, the homes got renovated. Old carpets were replaced with hardwood floors; kitchens got new cabinets and appliances. Outside, fresh siding went up and flower beds were filled with uniform rows of privet and pink roses. Advertisement But longtime tenants of this predominantly blue collar, African American neighborhood also said their monthly payments on their small two-bedroom apartments had gone up 50% over the last five years, increasing from about $650 to as much as $1,000. Rents are rising nationally. But a rate increase of roughly 50% since 2013 is surprisingly high, about double the rate of rentals in the Lithia Springs area, said Dan Immergluck, a professor at Georgia State Universitys Urban Studies Institute, who specializes in neighborhood change and housing markets. Thats a lot, and its fast, Immergluck said, noting that even if Hannity spent thousands of dollars on renovations for each unit, he is probably doing quite well in terms of profit. Its not really affordable, said Rouster, a Meadows resident, as a pair of toddlers waddled around her tiny living room. Advertisement Hes not helping. Hes making money, said Iyabo Balogun, a 51-year-old home-helper who works with the elderly and lives in a unit with her niece and her two children. If he was helping, he wouldnt be increasing rents every year. Olander Ragan, a 29-year-old warehouse forklift truck driver, is taking on extra jobs cutting grass every Saturday and fixing cars to meet his monthly $850 rental payments for the cramped apartment he shares with his wife and daughter. Next month, his payment will jump to $950 a month. They wanted to raise it to $1,000, but I told them Im not going to pay that much, he said, as he sat cross-legged on the asphalt outside his tiny duplex, surrounded by a hammer, ratchets and lug nuts as he installed new brake pads on a Honda Accord. Olander Ragan, a 29-year-old warehouse forklift truck driver, repairs a car to help pay rent for his home in the Meadows, a Lithia Springs, Ga., housing development owned by a limited-liability company linked to Fox News host Sean Hannity. (Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement For Ragan, his prospect of financial security is bleak, whether or not Hannity is his landlord. Im a black man living in America. Doesnt matter who my landlord is. Doesnt matter if hes a racist S.O.B., Ragan said bitterly as his friend watched him work. Ive been a slave all my life. What am I supposed to do? An attorney who handles Hannitys real-estate holdings, Christopher Reeves, did not respond to a request for comment. Even if they felt the odds were against them, many residents said they hoped to eventually own their own place. Advertisement I aint planning on being around here much longer, Ragan said. I dont want to keep paying rent for something I can never own. Its a waste of my time. While Robinson, the builder of the complex, still thinks the banks treated him unfairly They killed all the little guys he has no hard feelings against the current owner of his property. The rents needed to go up, Robinson said. I should have gone up on them, but we all knew each other. Of Hannitys decision to snap up the property out of foreclosure, Robinson added: If he had the money to buy all that during the bad times, thats how you get ahead. I wish Id have had that myself, but it just didnt work out that way. Advertisement Now working as a property manager more than 100 miles away in Pell City, Ala., Robinson has not given up on real estate. Even with more big corporations swooping in to buy properties, he said, there are still deals to be had. Its a free market, he said. They have opportunities. Theres also opportunities for a little guy like me, to kind of move around and manipulate in between the big guys. There are opportunities for all of us. Pearce reported from Los Angeles and special correspondent Jarvie reported from Lithia Springs. matt.pearce@latimes.com Advertisement Matt Pearce is a national reporter for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @mattdpearce. More national headlines The Trump administration is struggling to assemble a coalition of Arab military forces to replace U.S. troops battling Islamic State militants in eastern Syria, a roadblock that could indefinitely delay President Trumps goal of pulling American forces out of the country, U.S. officials said. Allies in the region are deeply skeptical about sending their troops and many are even reluctant to contribute funds to help stabilize cities and towns liberated from Islamic State, according to senior U.S. officials, if the United States intends to pull out, as Trump has threatened. Roughly 2,000 U.S. troops have been working with local fighters in eastern Syria to defeat Islamic State. The militants presence east of the Euphrates River has shrunk to a few towns and rural strongholds that are being pounded by U.S.-led airstrikes. But what to do once those fighters are defeated remains a matter of stark disagreement between Trump and his advisors, especially at the Pentagon, where officials fear Trumps desire for a rapid troop pullout could enable the militants to regroup and give a freer hand to Russia and Iran. Advertisement Trump signaled plans for an abrupt U.S. pullout this month when he declared he wanted to remove American troops very soon, and news reports indicated he told aides he wanted them out in six months. Pentagon and State Department officials rushed to reassure allies involved in possible contributions to a Syrian follow-on force that there is no timetable for a U.S. pullout. Even so, the prospects for Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arab countries to send troops and trainers to Syria is remote, U.S. officials said. Although worried about Irans growing presence, they fear becoming bogged down in Syrias multi-sided civil war and being handed the difficult job of controlling Islamic State. There is no serious appetite in the region to do that much on the ground, said a senior U.S. official involved in the talks with allies, who spoke on the condition he not be identified to discuss internal assessments. One thing is certain: No other military, particularly from the region, will enter Syria if we are not there in some capacity. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told reporters in the capital, Riyadh, this week that his government has been in discussion with Washington since the beginning of the Syrian crisis about sending forces into Syria. It has yet to send ground troops in, however. U.S. officials are warning the White House that the U.S. is risking repeating the same mistake it made in Iraq, when President Obama withdrew U.S. forces in December 2011 despite warnings from the Pentagon and critics that Iraq was still unstable only to send them back in 2014 after Islamic State fighters swept across the border from Syria and appeared on the verge of capturing Baghdad. We learned that the Iraqi forces were incapable of providing security inside the country, and that gave the enemy an opportunity to resurge, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Thats where, really, ISIS had the space to grow. Hoping to prevent a recurrence, the Pentagon is discussing a plan to continue U.S. airstrikes and special operations raids against Islamic State, also known by the acronym ISIS, in Syria even after U.S. ground forces withdraw. The concept is aimed partly at reassuring allies worried that the U.S. will leave them unprotected if they contribute to a stabilization force in eastern Syria, the officials said. U.S. ground troops would be gradually withdrawn beginning later this year. But airstrikes and ground operations staged from nearby bases in the region would aim to keep Islamic State contained, targeting leaders, bomb-making facilities, equipment and training facilities, a second official familiar with Pentagon planning said. Advertisement That would enable Trump to claim he fulfilled his vow to remove U.S. forces without completely disengaging from Syria, the officials said. But they conceded that they are unsure how long the president is prepared to let U.S. ground troops remain. Although he has not yet set a deadline for a U.S. pullout, Trump has made clear he wants to hand off the mission in Syria as soon as possible to regional allies. That has heightened the urgency of getting pledges of financial and military support. Hours after he won his Senate confirmation Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left on his first official trip. Syria was high on the agenda in his visits with military allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels, as well as in planned stops in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. Highlighting the split between Trump and his advisors, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said the U.S. would probably regret not leaving troops in Syria to train local security forces in liberated areas and to protect Syrian militias that have aided the U.S. effort. Advertisement We have to create local forces that can keep the pressure on any attempt by ISIS to try to regenerate, Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Mattis and Dunford that the Syrian Democratic Forces, a grouping of Arab and Kurdish militias that has become the main U.S.-allied ground force, could face attacks from Turkish forces. Infuriated by Washingtons support for Syrias Kurds, Turkey launched a military campaign in January, dubbed Operation Olive Branch, to rout the U.S.-backed force from near the Syrian-Turkish border, where the Kurds hope to create their own state inside Syria. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurds to be terrorists linked to restive Kurdish separatist groups at home, against which it has fought a decades-long insurgency war. Advertisement Turkish special forces working alongside Syrian rebel groups last month captured Afrin, a Kurdish-majority enclave near Aleppo city. The town of Manbij, where some U.S. troops are stationed approximately 50 miles northeast of Aleppo, may be their next objective. U.S. lawmakers are pressing Pentagon officials not to abandon the Kurds. If we leave too soon, Turkey is going to go after the Kurds that helped us destroy ISIS. Are you worried about that? Graham asked Mattis. Weve got to get that situation right before we leave. In a meeting Friday in Brussels with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Pompeo urged Turkey to abide by its promise to reach a negotiated settlement on Manbijs future, according to a senior official who briefed reporters traveling with the new secretary of State. Advertisement The U.S. also is discussing offering other inducements to regional allies to help in Syria, such as offering to name Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally, a designation held by 16 other countries that widens access to U.S. weapons sales and Pentagon stockpiles. The United Arab Emirates pledged to contribute $60 million in humanitarian assistance for Syria at a conference this week in Brussels. But U.S. officials say such pledges are largely focused on assisting refugees, not on rebuilding infrastructure and training local police, the tasks considered most vital for stabilizing eastern Syria. Any contributions will mean little if Trump orders an abrupt U.S. withdrawal, officials said. Nobody will invest hundreds of millions of dollars if they think we are just leaving, said one of the senior officials. It is all quite uncertain. Advertisement Last February, a civil defense volunteer, a member of the group known as the White Helmets, checks the site of a Syrian airstrike in the rebel-held town of Saqba, in the besieged eastern Ghouta enclave on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. ((AFP / Getty Images) ) david.cloud@latimes.com Twitter: @davidcloudLAT UPDATES: Advertisement 5:25 p.m.: This report has been updated with a comment from the Saudi foreign minister. This article was originally posted at 2:35 p.m. A federal judge in Washington on Friday threw out a lawsuit brought by President Trumps former campaign chairman that sought to challenge the authority of the special counsel in the Russia investigation. The decision was a blow to Paul Manaforts defense against numerous charges brought by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and a rejection of his attempt to use a civil action to thwart his criminal prosecution. It was the first of Manaforts challenges to Muellers authority. He has made similar arguments in moving to dismiss the two criminal cases against him. In her 24-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who also presides in one of Manaforts criminal cases, rejected his request for an order protecting him from future prosecutions by Muellers team. Read the judges opinion opinion dismissing the lawsuit Advertisement A civil case is not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future, Jackson wrote, saying that it was well-established law that a court shouldnt use its powers in a civil case to interfere in a criminal investigation when a defendant has the ability to challenge the prosecution in a criminal case. Jackson emphasized, however, that her order in the civil case does not address the pending motions in Manaforts criminal cases and should not be read as expressing any opinion about the merits of those arguments. Jackson said she would issue a separate order in the criminal case in which she presides at a later date. Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment. A spokesman for Manafort didnt immediately have comment on the ruling. Manafort faces two criminal cases that include charges of money laundering, conspiracy, bank fraud, tax evasion and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. None of the charges relate to allegations of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates, the main thrust of Muellers appointment order. Manaforts attorneys, Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle, pointed to that fact in arguing that Mueller had exceeded his authority by bringing charges unrelated to Russia or the Trump campaign. Initially, Manafort had asked Jackson to throw out all charges against him and nullify Muellers appointment order in total. But in an April 4 hearing, Downing told Jackson that he was dropping the bulk of the civil challenge, asking her only to nullify a paragraph in Muellers appointment order that he believed was overly broad. He also asked Jackson to issue an order protecting Manafort from future prosecutions by Mueller. The Justice Department had moved for dismissal of the lawsuit, largely on grounds that allowing a judge in a civil case to dictate the scope of a criminal investigation would be a violation of separation of powers. Daniel Schwei of the Justice Departments civil division argued that precedent set by previous cases should lead the judge to throw out the suit. This is a collateral civil challenge attacking a criminal prosecution, Schwei told the judge. Advertisement Manaforts civil lawsuit did not address a recently released memo from Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein that appears to undercut his argument that Mueller didnt have the authority to prosecute him. The August 2017 memo shows Rosenstein specifically authorized the special counsel to investigate Manafort for his political consulting work in Ukraine on behalf of that countrys government and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The memo, which had not been previously released publicly, also revealed that Mueller was empowered to investigate whether Manafort committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials to interfere with the presidential election. Portions of the memo were made public in a court filing that responded to Manaforts motion to dismiss his criminal case in Washington, which is also before Jackson. That motion and a similar one in Manaforts criminal case in Virginia are still pending. It was inevitable that legislators in Sacramento would join the debate over free speech on college campuses. It isnt just that California has seen dramatic examples of censorship through violence, such as the rampage by 150 black-clad agitators in Berkeley last year that led to the cancellation of a speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Legislators in California are also aware of incidents on college campuses in other parts of the country, private and public alike, in which speakers have been shouted down. Nine bills have been introduced in Sacramento to respond to this problem, but most have little hope of enactment. For example, Democrats in the Assembly rightly sidelined a proposal by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) that, among other provisions, would require punishment for students who disrupt speeches and withhold funding from campuses that failed to comply with a statewide policy on free speech. We agree that students who repeatedly disrupt or shout down speakers should face discipline; but such behavior can already be punished under current regulations. At UC Berkeley, for example, students can be disciplined for disruptive activity. And of course, violent protests can be punished as violations of the criminal law. We see no reason why the state needs to intrude in the student disciplinary processes or threaten a withdrawal of funding. Free expression and robust debate are indispensable to the academic mission. Advertisement But the state can nudge its institutions of higher learning to recommit themselves to free speech, and thats the goal of the measure with the best chance of success. AB 2374, sponsored by Assemblymen Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), was drafted with advice from Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, and Howard Gillman, chancellor of UC Irvine, authors of the recent book Free Speech On Campus. The Kiley-Quirk bill would require campuses of the California State University and community college systems and request the UC system to disseminate statements affirming their commitment to free speech, including a promise to protect controversial speakers. The bill also would require campuses to supplement those statements with educational materials about the importance of free expression and to develop programs on the subject as part of student orientation and in other settings. (UC is requested to establish a free-speech policy because the legislatures ability to issue mandates to the university is limited by the state Constitution.) It should be unnecessary to remind students that universities are places where controversial, even offensive, ideas must be tolerated. Free expression and robust debate are indispensable to the academic mission. But commentators from across the political spectrum have remarked on the fact that many members of this generation of college students are skeptical of the idea of uninhibited free speech. In their book, Chemerinsky and Gilman offer one explanation: A generation educated from a young age not to bully, they write, has a strong and persistent urge to protect others against hateful, discriminatory or intolerant speech, especially in educational settings. At the same time, they note, the historic link between free speech and the protection of dissenters and vulnerable groups is outside the direct experience of todays students. Ideally, enactment of AB 2374 will result in more students appreciating the historic connection between free expression and the protection of the rights of minorities and dissenters. That the Kiley-Quirk bill has attracted bipartisan support is also important. There should be no Democratic versus Republican divide on whether universities should be bastions of free speech. But its a fact of contemporary political life that most of the prominent speakers who have been the targets of disruptive protests have been conservatives, while many of the protesters have been members or allies of marginalized groups. That creates a temptation for both political parties, and not just in California, to politicize what should be a nonpartisan commitment to free speech. The legislature also should approve SB 1381, which is aimed at prohibiting the states public institutions of higher learning from limiting 1st Amendment activity to small free speech zones. The proposal by state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) would require larger outdoor areas on the campuses of public postsecondary educational institutions to be designated as public forums where students can assemble and distribute literature. This bill addresses a real problem. In 2016, Kevin Shaw, president of a libertarian student group at Pierce College, was handing out Spanish-language copies of the U.S. Constitution on campus when he says he was stopped by a college administrator and told he could exercise his 1st Amendment rights only within a minuscule free speech zone. Advertisement Sacramento shouldnt micromanage state institutions of higher education, but enactment of these two bills would help college and university administrators do what they should have been doing anyway: preaching and protecting freedom of speech. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook At their meeting, the two leaders expressed their delight at fruitful strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Philippines as reflected through frequent meetings and exchanges, especially in security and defence, and improved economic-trade ties. Bilateral trade surpassed US$4 billion in 2017, an annual increase of 25%, with rice trade bringing about practical mutual benefits. PM Phuc suggested both sides continue their exchange of high-ranking delegations, and actively implement cooperation mechanisms, particularly in oil spill response, search & rescue at sea, sustainable marine management, fisheries and anti-terrorism. Duterte stressed the Philippines values the friendship and collaboration it shares with Vietnam, and is willing to work with Vietnam in sectors that the two nations can supplement each other. He thanked the Vietnamese Government for creating conditions for Philippine citizens to live and do business in the country. Lauding the quality of Vietnamese rice, the President said he wants further bilateral cooperation in rice trade and Vietnam to be a stable and long-time rice supplier for the Philippines. The two leaders discussed regional and international affairs of common concern, including collaboration within ASEAN, the East Sea issue, and fight against marine crime. PM Phuc took the occasion to congratulate the Philippines on its successful ASEAN chairmanship in 2017. Concerning the East Sea issue, both sides highlighted the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters. They affirmed that disputes ought to be peacefully resolved in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They said they support the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and early conclusion of an effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China. A Kern County Superior Court judge last week ordered that a 68-year-old former farmworker, Vicente Benavides Figueroa, be released from San Quentins death row after the local district attorney declared she would not retry him. Benavides had been in prison for more than 25 years after being convicted of raping, sodomizing and murdering his girlfriends 21-month-old daughter. Benavides was freed after all but one of the medical experts who testified against him recanted their conclusions that the girl had, in effect, been raped to death conclusions they had reached after reviewing incomplete medical records. In fact, the first nurses and doctors who examined the semiconscious and battered girl in 1991 observed no injuries suggesting she had been raped or sodomized, but those details were not passed along to the medical expert witnesses who testified in court. Injuries later observed at two other hospitals were likely caused by that first effort to save her life, which included attempts to insert an adult-sized catheter. Convicting Benavides was an egregious miscarriage of justice; he spent a quarter-century on death row for a crime he apparently did not commit. His exoneration serves as a reminder of what ought to be abundantly clear by now: that despite jury trials, appellate reconsideration and years of motions and counter-motions, the justice system is not infallible, and it is possible (or perhaps inevitable) that innocent people will end up facing execution at the hands of the state. Not all of them will be saved, as Benavides was. Innocent people end up facing execution at the hands of the state. Advertisement The case also ought to remind us of the dangers inherent in Californias efforts to speed up the calendar for death penalty appeals under Proposition 66, which voters approved in 2016. Moving more quickly to execute convicted death row inmates increases the likelihood that due process will be given short shrift and the innocent will be put to death. Benavides described in court filings as a seasonal worker with intellectual disabilities was convicted in 1993. But the records that blew up the case against Benavides, but also raised doubt that Consuelo Verdugo had been murdered at all, were not uncovered until about 2000. Proposition 66 makes it less likely that such diligent research can be completed in the single year it gives appellate attorneys to file their cases (a process that currently consumes three years or more), and thus more likely that innocent people will be put to death. This rush-to-execute mood isnt Californias alone. Florida adopted its own speed-up legislation five years ago. And around the country, pro-death penalty advocates argue that the condemned take advantage of the appeals process to delay their executions. Federal statistics for 2013, the last year available, show an average of 15 1/2 years between sentence and execution for people on death row in the U.S. At least 365 people have been on Californias death row for 20 years or more. Benavides was released after more than 25 years. Two half-brothers in North Carolina spent about 30 years under death sentences before they were exonerated. Since the Supreme Court revived the death penalty in 1976, more than 150 people have been exonerated of the murders for which they were condemned (in most cases that also meant the real killers got away with it), with an average of more than 11 years between sentence and exoneration. A 2014 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimated that at least 4% of the people sitting on Americas death rows are probably innocent. With a national death row population of 2,700 people, that means more than 100 people currently under death sentences probably are innocent about 30 of them in California. A rush to execution will only increase the chances that state governments will execute the innocent in the name of the people. The unfixable problem with the death penalty is that mistakes get made, witnesses lie, confessions get coerced all factors that can lead to false convictions. It is abjectly immoral to speed things up by limiting due process. The better solution is to get rid of the death penalty altogether. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook On Tuesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was on L.A.s skid row touring a womens shelter and praising Los Angeles for its ambitious efforts to end homelessness. On Wednesday, Carson proposed new laws that could make it much more difficult to do just that. Carson unveiled the Making Affordable Housing Work Act of 2018, a proposed bill that could force the very poorest tenants receiving federal aid those most likely on the edge of homelessness to pay three times as much in rent. It would also shrink the rent subsidies received by other low-income Americans, leaving them with less money for food, medical expenses and education. And it would allow local public housing authorities to impose work requirements on people receiving housing assistance. The proposal is part of a larger Trump administration push to cut funding for and add work requirements to a range of social safety net programs, including Medicaid and food assistance, ostensibly to help more people climb out of poverty. The administration had previously sought to slash funds for affordable housing programs, but Congress restored the money when it passed the budget last month. We cant imagine someone visiting skid row and then proposing to make it harder to house the most downtrodden men and women. Advertisement Congress isnt likely to back Carsons new plan, either lawmakers surely recognize that cities across the country are experiencing an affordable housing and homelessness crisis. The cost of housing has outpaced income growth in many metropolitan areas. HUDs housing safety net is vitally important in keeping families off the street, yet its woefully underfunded roughly three-fourths of the families who qualify for rent subsidies are stuck on waiting lists, where they may remain for years. Carsons answer to that problem is to make poor people pay more and work more. Under the current rules for federal rental assistance, non-elderly, non-disabled renters have to pay 30% of their income after deducting child care and medical expenses. The proposal would boost their rent to 35% of gross income, allowing no deductions. That could significantly increase how much families, particularly low-wage working parents with young children, pay toward their rent. The proposal would also boost the minimum rent that the poorest of the poor pay. Currently non-elderly, non-disabled renters must pay at least $50 a month toward their housing; the bill would boost that to $150 a month a sum that would consume, for example, two-thirds of the monthly general relief check that some homeless people in Los Angeles County rely on. The HUD proposal would also create a new, minimum rent of $50 for elderly and disabled renters. HUD also wants to let public housing agencies and landlords who accept federal subsidies set work requirements for non-elderly, non-disabled renters, or about half of those receiving subsidies. But just 6% of households receiving assistance include able-bodied adults who are not working and not caring for young children or dependents with disabilities, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. So there is hardly an epidemic of slouches living off public housing dollars. Carsons proposal is slap-dash attempt to enact reforms that have been floated for years, some of which are being piloted by HUD right now. There are long-standing, bipartisan complaints that HUDs subsidy program is too bureaucratic and hard to navigate. There is also concern that the program discourages individuals from working more or earning more money, for fear theyll lose their rental assistance. HUD has a study underway to figure out whether simplifying income requirements and verifying eligibility less frequently would give families a financial cushion if they begin to earn more. There are also local public housing agencies experimenting with work requirements. The goal of these experiments is to streamline processes and move more poor renters toward greater self-sufficiency without hurting families or whittling away the safety net. Rather than wait for the results of those studies or use data from other research to guide proposed reforms, however, Carson and the Trump administration are plowing ahead with changes that weaken the safety net they were entrusted to protect. Advertisement When Carson toured skid row this week, he told reporters, I cant imagine how anybody could walk through an area like this and not have their heart strings tugged. We cant imagine someone visiting skid row and then proposing to make it harder to house the most downtrodden men and women. And yet, here we are. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Last spring, when jury deliberations wore on and on during Bill Cosbys first trial on charges of sexual assault, reporters like me on the scene in Norristown, Pa., began to hear rumors of screaming fights in the jury room and I believed them. Those 12 people had worked for more than 50 hours, and their faces bore the marks of their distress and frustration. But the hung jury and mistrial in June 2017 still came as a shock to me. Do you agree that there is a hopeless deadlock that cannot be resolved by further deliberation? Yes, yes, yes each juror replied. It sounded like a death knell for even the hope of justice in cases of sexual assault. If this jury couldnt convict based on the evidence Id seen presented much of it in Cosbys own words from a prior deposition then what could we expect of a future trial? I despaired at the time, thinking that nothing will change; fearing that my daughters, even, might never see change. Advertisement Id seen incontrovertible evidence collapse... The progress made by the #MeToo movement might not survive the hard realities of the courtroom. Over the course of the trial and its outcome, Id learned exactly why a woman whod been badly harmed might choose to give up on the legal system, keep quiet and try to put it behind her. Thats what 20-year-old actress Lachele Covington, who in 2000 became Cosbys very first public accuser, chose to do. Covington was treated abominably. The New York Post ran her story under the squawking headline: Actress Bombshell: Cos Rubbed Me the Wrong Way. Andrea Constand and her mother, Gianna, were called extortionists, liars and con artists during the first trial. Gianna Constand had to relive the experience of confronting Cosby on the phone in 2005, a bewildering two-and-a-half-hour conversation about the drugging and sexual assault of her daughter. Mom, she even had an orgasm, Cosby told her. (Yes, he called her Mom.) Andrea Constand had endured a roomful of strangers imagining every detail of her drugged and violated body, over and over again. And still they lost. What if you were to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing nothing changes? Hamlet was young, and never entertained this possibility. But I did, and I approached the news of Cosbys retrial, which began April 9, with a sense of dread. By last fall, 62 of Cosbys alleged victims had come forward and five of them would be permitted to testify. Other new developments seemed to favor the prosecution, media reports suggested. But Id already seen incontrovertible evidence collapse in a jury room, where anybody can claim a reasonable doubt. The progress made by the #MeToo movement might not survive the hard realities of the courtroom. Thursday I was shocked for the second time, as this jury returned guilty verdicts against Cosby on all three counts of aggravated sexual assault. Dist. Atty. Kevin Steele, Andrea Constand, the jury succeeded in demonstrating that wealth and position will no longer guarantee men the power to assault women with impunity. Its been 14 years since Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand. But in the 10 months between the first trial and the second, a revolution took place. Andrea Constand is the alpha and omega of that revolution. She gave hundreds of women the courage to tell their own stories, and she forced a nation to confront the reality of endemic sexual predation. Because she and her mother were so strong, the rest of us can tell our children: Look what happens when you tell the truth and are brave, you dont have to fail or be humiliated. You can seek justice, and you can win it. Advertisement Maria Bustillos is the editor-in-chief of the forthcoming popula.com. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook That a tiny market for conversion therapy to cure homosexuality still exists today is deeply sad, even infuriating. But heres the question: If a competent adult knows the most devastating critiques, and wants to pay for it anyway, should California law thwart him or her? The Assembly thinks so. Assembly Bill 2943, which State Rep. Evan Low shepherded through passage last week, declares that the potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. The bill then goes on to prohibit advertising, offering or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual, treating such acts as a form of consumer fraud. Supporters say the change is long overdue: Same-sex attraction is not an illness requiring treatment and, regardless, there is no scientific evidence that conversion therapy is effective. It is already banned for those under age 18. Advertisement But the bills critics, who hope it dies in the state Senate or is vetoed by the governor, say the wrongheadedness of such therapy is beside the point. In their view, a persons freedom to choose and pursue goals in professional therapy is sacrosanct; the bill infringes on therapists 1st Amendment rights; and because of its language, such a law would have more sweeping consequences than supporters acknowledge. That last claim requires some unpacking. As youd expect, a lot turns on how change efforts are defined. The text spells it out explicitly: It prohibits any practices that seek to change an individuals sexual orientation. Would that clause make it illegal to market a book that urges readers to change their sexual orientation through prayer, as some religious conservatives have asserted? Probably not. Books arent a change effort with an individual and no federal court would let a ban on religious books stand. Any bill of this sort would raise questions about limiting free speech and religious liberty... but this bill has problems all its own. A subsequent passage, however, is more sweeping. It prohibits efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex. That goes even beyond trying to change sexual orientation. Indeed, it would seem to encompass a gay man who goes to a therapist and says, Look, I understand that you cant make me straight, but Im married to a woman, we have children, and I want to try to be faithful to her and focus on our family at least until the kids are out of the house can you help me to change my behavior, or at least reduce how often I think about sex with men? Or, a woman goes to a therapist and says, I was assigned the sex female at birth, but lately I just dont know if I am trans or not. Ive always hoped to get pregnant one day, and everything would be so much easier if I could be comfortable in my body so I dont feel any need for surgery or hormones or even these mens clothes. Would helping her try to change gender expressions be illegal? Should it be? Advertisement The matter is complicated by yet another clause that lays out what are not change efforts. The bill says it is OK for therapists to support identity exploration and development, including sexual orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. In other words, to settle what the law really is saying will require a decade of court battles. Gay rights and acceptance have come far, and the internet has made it so much easier for young people to connect to supportive communities and identify hucksters. Individuals who still seek out conversion therapy have suffered from something no law can prevent: family, friends or a religious community so hostile that the person hopes to change who they are. If the law pushes people toward religious counselors who do gay conversion therapy for free (and thus legally), are we confident anyone is going to be better off? Any bill of this sort would raise questions about limiting free speech and religious liberty, infringing on the autonomy of consenting adults, and paternalistic use of consumer protection laws. (Will the Assembly come for reiki next?) But this bill specifically, under close reading, has problems all its own. Advertisement California legislators ought to hope for the overdue demise of conversion therapy, but reject this bill as the wrong way to achieve it. Conor Friedersdorf is a contributing writer to Opinion, a staff writer at the Atlantic and founding editor of the Best of Journalism, a newsletter that curates exceptional nonfiction. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook Maybe I didnt get her so much, President Trump mused to Fox & Friends. He was talking about his wife, Melania, whose birthday Thursday he dimly believed he had marked with a card. She was evidently not top of mind. As usual that slot was reserved for Hillary Clinton. (Breaking: Trump defeated Clinton in 2016.) Trump reminded the supercilious Fox TV hosts of his triumph over Clinton in the presidential election, inflating as usual his tally in the electoral vote. Trumps mind also danced with images of other women not his wife. In his lurching, unsteady rant, he spoke of Stormy Daniels, the pornographic-film actress who alleges she had a sexual relationship with him shortly after Melania gave birth to their son Barron. He let slip that, contrary to earlier protests, he had a crazy Stormy Daniels deal, overseen by his beleaguered personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. (Daniels lawyer called this truth-serum Trump blurt a hugely damaging admission by the president.) Advertisement The famous, if maybe fictional, sex workers of Moscow also addled Trump. Though he didnt explicitly mention those possibly phantom Muscovites, he told his Fox friends, Of course I stayed in Russia overnight, thus confirming another widely verified fact hed earlier denied. It seems hed had all the time he needed in Moscow in 2013 for the alleged revenge-urine event. Discretion forbids me from elaborating on this scurrilous rumor beyond this link to the complete Steele dossier. Tangled webs! Ideally, while her husband raved, Melania Trump spent her birthday speaking Slovenian, her mother tongue, with someone she actually loves. Maybe Barron, or her parents. One further hopes that she, in merry celebration, ignored his card and his foray on Fox & Friends. Although I believe pity is the least anyone married to an abuser deserves, I dont overlook evidence that Melania is not a sterling human. Oh, Melania. The canonical feminist position is that she deserves no pity. The former model made her bed, its said and gold diggers who spout birtherism like ventriloquists dummies have no place in the sisterhood. Although I believe pity is the least anyone married to an abuser deserves, I dont overlook evidence that Melania, now 48, is not a sterling human. In April 2016, she came close to countenancing anti-Semitic attacks on the journalist Julia Ioffe by people she called her fans. One of these fans had depicted Ioffe, who had written a moderately critical Melania profile, dressed for a gas chamber at Camp Trump. And then, more trivially, theres Melanias taste. While she nailed a pretty Chanel dress at the state dinner for the French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, her usual synthetic-looking scuba garb says dont touch me. White hats, like the one she wore Tuesday to greet the Macrons, may say chastity, virtue or suburban prom. That hat seemed to have been placed with a carpenters level; Melania forgoes the jaunty angle favored by white-hat fan Olivia Pope on Scandal. Melania is not jaunty. Her usual dominatrix stilettos seem designed to flaunt her ornamental role, atrophy her calf muscles and further incapacitate her. Advertisement Indeed, shes incapacitated. And for that its also hard to have no pity at all. Trumps first wife, imperious Ivana, drags her; she used to try to be cutting in response, but now she swallows her feelings. She doesnt crack when more news breaks that her husbands a goat. She appears desperate but never sheds a tear. As the journalist Evgenia Peretz has observed, Melania once seemed poised to be the ideal advertisement for Trumps virility. That ad seems like a faded bit of Melanias long-lost trousseau. Now she promotes his status as physically repellent. When at the Macrons arrival she resisted, in vain, her husbands efforts to hold her hand, it became plain: In her agonizingly high heels, she will hit her mark like a steely, dead-eyed cadet, but when it comes to actually touching her husbands skin, even our spirit-broken trouper wont fall in line. Especially on the biggest of stages. Advertisement Or perhaps instead of his virility Melania now advertises Trumps kinship with the incel rebellion a drastic internet movement among involuntarily celibate men who, according to CNN, believe that women have unfairly denied them the sex to which theyre entitled. (Alek Minassian, who was charged with murder in the Toronto car rampage that left 10 dead, considered himself an incel and seems to have been radicalized into exterminationist misogyny by incel propaganda.) In any case, it takes a hard heart to scorn Melania these days. Once she was spotted laughing with Barack Obama at the funeral for former First Lady Barbara Bush, it became clear that she still has the capacity to smile. Yoked to Donald Trump, she just lacks a reason. Remember how we all used to smile more with Obama? Melania Trump has become a stand-in for the nation, which has also been humiliated, even threatened, by the presidents recklessly asserted droit du seigneur. We as a country an electoral-college majority of us married ourselves to a brutal overlord, and we have also made our bed. Anyone who finds fault with Melania for taking it, and for serving as an exponent of the presidents bigotry, has to do what she cannot as first lady. Stand up to him at the midterms, put on some sturdy shoes and break free. Advertisement Twitter: @page88 Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook For years, Nicaraguans seemed to tolerate the growing authoritarianism of President Daniel Ortega in exchange for stability and growth. That pact is now crumbling. Massive protests and riots have rocked the foundations of the Sandinista government over the past week. The demonstrations were triggered by changes to the countrys social security system, but protesters have since demanded that Ortega resign and that Nicaraguas democratic institutions be restored. Dozens of protesters have been killed, according to human rights organizations. The United States has shut down routine operations at its embassy in Managua and pulled diplomats families from the country. On Saturday, a Nicaraguan journalist was shot dead in the coastal city of Bluefields while broadcasting on Facebook Live. This is a critical moment for Nicaragua, one in which the U.S. could play a vital role. Instead of isolating the Ortega regime, the U.S. and other countries in the region should pressure the government to undertake immediate democratic reforms. Without a clear path forward, this Nicaraguan Spring may meet the same fate of protest movements past: lasting instability, violence and even more repression. Advertisement Ortega himself came to power through a democratic uprising. After the Nicaraguan Revolution, he led the country from 1979 to 1990 as head of the Sandinista Front. He returned to the presidency in 2007, through elections and informal alliances with elites and big business, promising stability in exchange for support. Ortega delivered significant economic growth. Under his rule, Nicaragua has avoided the drug and gang-fueled violence that has plagued many of its neighbors. But he also gradually dismantled all checks and balances, packed the judiciary with his acolytes, restricted free press and repressed almost all political opposition. The demonstrators are calling for resignations and a clean slate, but a Nicaragua without Ortega would not automatically be more democratic. The last shred of Nicaraguas democracy dissolved with Ortegas reelection in 2016. Having abolished term limits, he won a third consecutive term with his wife, First Lady Rosario Murillo, as his running mate. The couple got an improbable 72% of the vote, in part by banning the main opposition party, defunding and splintering the opposition and barring international election observers. The government has since made a series of missteps. Ortega reportedly has health problems, limiting his involvement and leading him to cede most decisions to Vice President Murillo, a deeply polarizing figure. Meanwhile, a previous supply of aid and cheap oil from Venezuela was cut off after that countrys economic collapse, jeopardizing some of the social programs with which the Ortega government had placated Nicaraguas poor. It was against this backdrop that, on April 16, the government announced a reform of the national pension system that would increase worker and company contributions while reducing benefits. Pension reform tends to be a third rail in Latin American politics, and Nicaraguans across the political spectrum were outraged. A tremendous miscalculation by a government that is usually seen as politically astute, the move also served as a further indication that Ortega might not be in control. The Ortega regime has responded to Nicaraguas explosive riots with deadly force. More than 200 people have reportedly been jailed, and protesters have accused police of torturing those in custody. (According to the government, most of them have been released.) Hundreds have been injured, and more than 30 people have died. The crackdown has not quelled the protests, nor has the governments move on Sunday night to scrap the new pension law. Advertisement The demonstrators are calling for resignations and a clean slate, but a Nicaragua without Ortega would not automatically be more democratic. Ortegas followers control all of Nicaraguas institutions, including three-quarters of the seats in congress and most of the judicial branch. Whats left of the political opposition is weak, divided and underfunded, and there is no clear alternative leader within the regime or outside of it. The U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would freeze loans from international financial institutions to the government of Nicaragua until it undertakes democratic reforms. Although the 2017 bill, the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act, may be well-meaning, American lawmakers should tread carefully. Unilateral punishment by Washington will weaken the Nicaraguan economy, potentially harm the Nicaraguan people and alienate other countries in the region. It also may give Ortega an excuse to crack down further. The Nicaraguan government plans to convene a set of mediated talks with protesters, the business sector and the Catholic Church in the coming weeks. These negotiations represent a window of opportunity to translate Nicaraguas mass demonstrations into democratic reforms. The U.S. should support this process and send diplomats to the talks, as should other countries that belong to the Organization of American States. Once there, the U.S. ought to pressure the Ortega government to restore presidential term limits, remove controls on the media and civil society, change electoral laws to even the playing field for the opposition, implement anti-corruption measures, reform the heavily politicized judiciary and even schedule new elections. The U.S. should work with other Latin American countries, including Mexico and Costa Rica, to apply this pressure. Advertisement It is easier to topple an autocracy than it is to build a democracy, of course. Nicaraguans know this well. Less than four decades ago, a mass uprising helped topple the brutal Somoza dictatorship a movement led, in part, by a young revolutionary named Daniel Ortega. Ben Raderstorf is an associate at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C. Bruno Binetti is a fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook To the editor: As a parent getting ready to send her 17-year-old daughter from an inclusive and culturally diverse high school to a university, I worry about racism on college campuses. (After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome, April 25) Diversity, as well as safety, is an important factor in my daughters choice of college to attend. Although I know we wont rid our country of racism overnight, Id like to know that her university addresses social and institutional challenges in a way that provides immediate support to affected students and puts an end to these practices. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo found an easy scapegoat in its Greek system, but it isnt addressing the heart of the problem: a lack of ethnic and cultural diversity, and a culture of racism. In my opinion, a universitys ability to welcome a diverse student body speaks to its seriousness as an institution of higher learning. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has a long way to go. Advertisement Evelyn Aleman, Reseda .. To the editor: It seems odd to me that a campus that is nearly 50% minority is not considered diverse enough. Also, it is hard to believe one of the students who said she is often the only minority in class. How could this be if almost half of the students are nonwhite? Solving the problem of a dearth of black students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is simple: More African Americans need to apply. Bob Wiegand, Anaheim Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Gavin Newsom releases ad that highlights his push to allow same-sex couples to marry By Phil Willon A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The current lieutenant governors push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Failed California housing bill was not a bad idea, Gov. Jerry Brown says By Liam Dillon Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe. I think that was not a bad idea, Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon. The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was horrified by the bill. Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice ones annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state. FOR THE RECORD May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print John Cox begins California barnstorm with the delivery of gas tax repeal signatures By Javier Panzar Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, left, and Assembly candidate Bill Essayli load boxes of signatures for the gas tax repeal initiative. (Francine Orr) GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorders offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his partys hope for success in 2018. The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees. Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required. The aim: to bring out the partys base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket. A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes. Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary. Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco. This is a central issue in my campaign, he said. Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days. We are going all across the state, Cox said. The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print All Californians would be able to serve on state boards even people in the U.S. illegally under new bill By Jazmine Ulloa Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status. Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the states own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation. The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other transient aliens from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad. The Senate bill would delete the phrase transient aliens from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development. Californias two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state, Lara said in a statement. It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in historys trash can. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Tony Mendozas fundraising dries up after resignation amid harassment inquiry By Patrick McGreevy Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). (Steve Yeater / Associated Press) Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded. As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing. Last year, Mendozas reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters. Most of Mendozas 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April. Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period. On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Womens Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Newsom and Villaraigosa affairs coming to TV ads in California By Phil Willon An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs. The California Deserves Better ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles. The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the states top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced Today show veteran Matt Lauer. Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power, the ad begins. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldnt apply to them. The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group. Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a true conservative and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes Californias sanctuary state policy. John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity, Teece said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Was that Cisneros in the voicemail? Dispute is latest espisode of Democratic infighting in crowded primary races By Christine Mai-Duc Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) With less than five weeks to go before Californias primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win. The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, whos retiring. Its one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities. In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Red to Blue program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5. At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburns home answering machine earlier this month. The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. Hi Andy, its Gil Cisneros. Im gonna go negative on you, a mans voice is heard saying. Cisneros campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail fabricated and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it defamatory. It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they pursue all legal rights and remedies. An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting. Thorburns camp says it flatly rejects Cisneros denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him. Track the California races that could flip the House According to The Intercepts report, Cisneros campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions ridiculous. In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a dirty, desperate trick by the Thorburn campaign and said they are readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light against both him and the publication. It sounded like him to me! said Thorburns wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said. Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros threats Trump-like tactics and accused the candidate of trying to harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way. Its not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and its all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them. Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt hollow and likened it to political theater, while Caforio accused her of empty campaign promises. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California Politics Podcast: The money raised in the race for governor hints at a race thats now red hot By John Myers With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governors race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place. This weeks podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats. We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic authors own allies. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement L.A. County politician sexually assaulted woman when she was 16, lawsuit claims By Dakota Smith A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink. The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a public figure at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Villaraigosa touts his working-class upbringing, accomplishments as mayor in first TV ad By Phil Willon Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governors race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession. The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus. In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that, Villaraigosa says into the camera. And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates. Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday. Two Democratic rivals in Californias race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosas chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election. Villaraigosas ad, titled Three Buses, emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes that hes the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians. I know how far a bus can take you, Villaraigosa says in the ad. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Sen. Dianne Feinstein wont participate in pre-primary debate By Sarah D. Wire (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday. Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date May 5 reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled. Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate. Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasnt fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles. The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot. Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said. Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of Novembers general election. Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election, Millman said in an email. Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that its free publicity for candidates who dont have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own. De Leon spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did. We basically said well clear his calendar 100%, well clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up, Underland said. Wed love to make it happen, but we want her to be there. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement NRA, Olympic shooter sue California over its restrictions on ammunition sales By Patrick McGreevy Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition. The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted face to face with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition. The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges Californias new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature. As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Californias law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit. We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If youre a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly, Newsom said in a statement. California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republicans hope to ride a gas-tax repeal to victory By Patrick McGreevy In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislatures hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees. I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax, said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year. Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: Republican Greg Haskin tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Treasurer John Chiang launches ad in governors race touting his record as a fiscal steward By Seema Mehta In his first television ad in the governors race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession. Some thought we were done, Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy. Chiangs campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days. That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. His ad, called Quiet Storm, tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento. Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what doubters say is impossible to improve the states healthcare, housing and schools. I say, we got this, Chiang concludes. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Been ignoring the race for California governor? Thats OK, in some ways its just starting By Mark Z. Barabak On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach. Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, have a ton in common, and he didnt simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive. Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasnt a terribly original thought it also wasnt the most egregious sort of political pandering like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California voters should expect to decide on an $8.9-billion water bond in November By Liam Dillon (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to Californias water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday. Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said. The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print They came for Darrell Issa. They stayed with their inflatable chicken, blue wall and signs for political therapy By Christine Mai-Duc (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) A mother of two turned ringleader of the resistance and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issas office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red Make American Great Again cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words. For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif. Theyd also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street. On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressmans office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Efforts to regulate bail companies have some unlikely allies: bail agents By Jazmine Ulloa Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client. ( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization. This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit its time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because theyve seen the system abuse the poor. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California voters: Get ready for an onslaught of television ads By Seema Mehta After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governors race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks. The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary. Newsoms campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of states office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads. Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosas campaign has requested availability in at least five of the states biggest TV markets. The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Partys endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active. Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas. State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republicans ready to turn in signatures for ballot measure to repeal California gas-tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure. Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive. The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing, said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life. The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine. Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this years election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes. I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot, DeMaio said. A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed. DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature. Its a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here, DeMaio said. Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice. The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters. We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters, DeMaio said. But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rep. Duncan Hunter sets up trust to raise money for legal expenses amid ongoing criminal investigation By Morgan Cook Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash. Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted Legal Expense Fund through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses. Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidates campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Kamala Harris says she wont take corporate donations anymore By Sarah D. Wire (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees. In an interview with WWPM-FMs The Breakfast Club, in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasnt expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists. At the time, Harris said it depends, but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind. Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right? Harris said. Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision since I had that conversation that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just Im not. You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.) Harris wouldnt be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though its widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money. Soon after Mondays show aired, Harris campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance. As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress priorities at your expense, were going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you, the email says. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement With money tied up in court, California lawmakers try again with new plan to spend $2 billion on homeless housing By Liam Dillon A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot. State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California. De Leons new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldnt take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and its unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion. De Leons Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De Leon said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time. We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies, De Leon said. Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot. De Leon noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan. SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday. Should De Leons measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De Leon said hes not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the states housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes. Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, Im confident that theyll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure, De Leon said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California lawmakers say too many former felons are being denied professional licenses By John Myers Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses. (John Myers/Los Angeles Times) A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes. We cant say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when theyre released, said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). That leads to more recidivism and to more crime. The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the states list of violent crimes. The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians. The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is directly related to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicants conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers. Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if youre looking at public safety, said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center. One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state. If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Assembly speaker rebukes building trades union after it targets Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia By John Myers ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, whos seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway. Rendon didnt criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests. This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership, Rendon said in a statement. We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack. A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to reverse past support for her. The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcias district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families, said the statement. The political action committees campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary in kind contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun researching Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014. Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor groups political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcias hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life. Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday. Rendons critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized well-funded ivory tower elites who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry. We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy, read the advertisement. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Legal tiff breaks out over independent committees ad backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor By Phil Willon An attorney representing Gavin Newsoms campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa. Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is false and misleading and violates California law because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosas own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC. Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be coordinated and thus not independent expenditures when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate, the letter states. A representative for the independent expenditure committee Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have no merit and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading. Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaigns accusations. He said the Newsom camp appears to intentionally misrepresent the law and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosas campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits. The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide. The committees ad is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Governors race snapshot: Californians are generally upbeat but not focused on the campaign By Mark Z. Barabak Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) As California chooses a new governor one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment. Not to say things are perfect. Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as Californias direction is concerned. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Sierra Club backs Gavin Newsom for California governor By Phil Willon Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with members of the public following a debate at USC in January. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Sierra Club endorsed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race for California governor, with officials in the established environmental group praising the Democrats record on climate change and clean energy. He has a proven record for leading on environmental protection, public health and clean energy, Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said in a statement released by the Newsom campaign. He understands that we are feeling the effects of climate change and that California must reduce carbon emissions and reach 100% renewable energy to achieve our climate goals. Phillips said the Sierra Clubs extensive network of volunteers will campaign for Newsom as the June 5 primary approaches. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also praised the Democrat, saying he will protect California from Donald Trumps attacks on our clean air and water. The Sierra Club joins a series of other influential groups in California that have backed Newsom. The California Medical Assn., the powerful state doctors lobby, announced its endorsement of Newsom on Thursday. The California Nurses Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, also support Newsom. Newsom is the races front-runner in polls and fundraising. A poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 26% of likely voters backed Newsom. John Cox, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, was favored by 15% of likely voters and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, by 13%. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Californias GOP House members are taking their challengers more seriously and the numbers show it By Christine Mai-Duc For much of last year, consultants and campaign managers for some of Californias most vulnerable Republican incumbents maintained a bullish tone on the prospect that the GOP would hold the House in this years midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee insisted that longtime Republican incumbents in California had built up reputations as effective champions of local issues that would help them weather a flood of Democratic enthusiasm. Since then Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) have decided not to seek reelection and the NRCC has opened a West Coast headquarters in Orange County. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California officials say Pentagon has confirmed National Guard funding despite Trump threat By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The awkward dance between Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government over the National Guard jerked back toward discord on Thursday, when Trump said he would refuse to pay for a new deployment of troops just hours after his administration said otherwise. And a few hours later, California officials said they had received written confirmation from the Pentagon that the mission would indeed be funded. Trump had earlier called Browns decision to approve 400 troops for a mission focused on combating transnational crime and drug smuggling a charade in a tweet. We need border security and action, not words! the president wrote. Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy up to 400 National Guard Troops to do nothing. The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Browns charade. We need border security and action, not words! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018 A spokesman for Brown pointed to a tweet written Wednesday night by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, thanking the California governor for his efforts. Trump was meeting on Thursday with Nielsen at his Mar-a-Lago estate not long after his tweet was posted. A tweet later posted by the California National Guard said that almost three hours after Trumps comment, the state received written confirmation from the Pentagon to fund the mission as outlined by Brown the day before. In short, nothing has changed today, said a subsequent Guard tweet. Just spoke w @JerryBrownGov about deploying the @USNationalGuard in California. Final details are being worked out but we are looking forward to the support. Thank you Gov Brown! Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 19, 2018 Brown was the last of the nations border governors to respond to Trumps insistence earlier this month that National Guard troops were needed to assist with immigration-related duties at the U.S.-Mexico border. And he has consistently refused to allow California troops to engage in any mission related to federal immigration law. This will not be a mission to build a new wall, Brown wrote last week to Nielsen and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. Exactly what the California operations will cost remains unclear, as state officials have said it will depend on decisions made once the mission begins. The funds would not be transferred to the state, but instead would be paid directly by the Department of Defense. Trump has critiqued California several times over the past few days, often writing tweets that embrace the actions by some cities and counties to join his administrations lawsuit against the states sanctuary immigration law. He made similar comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon. If you look at whats happening in California with sanctuary cities people are really going the opposite way, Trump said. They dont want sanctuary cities. Theres a little bit of a revolution going on in California. 2:26 p.m.:This article was updated with additional information from the California National Guard and with remarks from Trump. This article was originally published at 9:51 a.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gay conversion therapy services would be banned under measure advancing in California By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay conversion therapy to the states list of deceptive business practices, following a debate that focused on the personal experiences of several lawmakers and hinted at potential lawsuits to come. It is harmful and it is unnecessary, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the bills author and one of the Legislatures most vocal LGBTQ members, said of the practice. Low, who told Assembly members that he explored conversion therapy as a teenager and suffered depression over his sexual orientation, insisted that the bill would be limited to efforts that involve the exchange of money. Theres nothing wrong with me, he said in an emotional speech on the Assembly floor. Theres nothing that needs to be changed. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has become the focal point of intense debate on social media. Some religious groups have said that such a law would be a violation of their constitutional rights, while advocates insist the provisions are narrow and theres no credible evidence that the services work. One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles. An analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a persons sexual orientation and offered on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services. Lawmakers who spoke in support of AB 2943 also made clear that they believe those kinds of services have been discredited. This is fraudulent, it should not be occurring, said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who said the bill addresses a difficult issue, nonetheless said that its important to ensure laws dont tamper with religious freedom. We have to think about the legitimate experience of people who have gone through conversion therapy and said this was a good thing for them, Gallagher told his colleagues. California law already bans the use of conversion therapy by mental health professionals on those under age 18. Lows bill would expand the states efforts beyond minors. It would join a list of commercial activities deemed unfair or deceptive acts or practices and therefore banned under state law. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gavin Newsom gets backing from doctors group, despite differences over single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Gavin Newsom speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 24. (Kent Nishimura) Californias doctors are siding with Gavin Newsom in the governors race, even though they dont see eye-to-eye on a defining issue of the campaign: single-payer healthcare. The California Medical Assn., the state doctors lobby and a political heavyweight, announced its endorsement of the lieutenant governor on Thursday. Gavin is a lifelong champion for health care in California, and we know he will continue to fight for pragmatic solutions to our most crucial health care challenges, including working to achieve universal access and tackling our states physician shortage, CMA President Theodore M. Mazer said in a statement. Newsom has made his support for state-financed healthcare a centerpiece of his campaign, and he earned the early backing of the most ardent single-payer supporters, the state nurses union. The doctors, meanwhile, oppose the nurses bill, SB 562, which emerged as a flashpoint in the healthcare debate last year. The CMA said the bill would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize Californias economy. Newsom has said SB 562 should advance in the Legislature, but also said it has open-ended issues that still need to be addressed. The doctors group is also battling with another prominent Newsom endorser, the Service Employees International Union, over a new measure that would impose price caps on an array of medical services paid for by commercial health insurers in the state. The SEIU is a leading sponsor of the proposal; the doctors fiercely oppose it. Newsom and the physicians group have a history of political alignment. Newsom was the first statewide official to support Proposition 56, a 2016 tobacco tax pushed by the CMA that raised revenue in part to increase money for doctors who saw Medi-Cal patients. That year, the association also endorsed two initiatives championed by Newsom: Proposition 63, which imposed new gun control measures, and Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor hits the airwaves with first ad By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa speaks at the 2018 California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) A well-financed independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosas bid to be Californias next governor released its first television ad Thursday, praising his record for working with Republicans and as a candidate for all of California. The ad, which is to air statewide on broadcast and cable stations, is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, including on education and a drop in crime while he was at City Hall. To move California forward, we need to help more Californians get ahead, the ad says. Thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools and new career training programs. The independent expenditure committee behind the ad campaign, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The committee is spending seven figures per week on the ad buy, said Josh Pulliam, a political consultant for the committee. As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers unions, starting with his failed attempt to take political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. His fight with those unions continued after he left office in 2013. Money has poured into the committee this month from wealthy charter schools supporters: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, donated $7 million, and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million. On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million. The independent expenditure committee is expected to provide a boost to Villaraigosas campaign. Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a major advantage in fundraising over all other candidates in the race and has received the backing of the California Teachers Assn. and other education unions. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed Villaraigosa lagging in third place in the race, trailing Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. The candidates who finish in the top two in the June 5 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission without immigration duties By John Myers (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week a mission to combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trumps recent comments. California National Guard service members shall not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, arrest people for immigration law violations, guard people taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, or support immigration law enforcement activities, the order read. The cost of the mission, a spokesman for Brown said, will be paid directly by the federal government. No initial estimate has been made, as the exact amount will depend on exactly how the troops will be used. Though the duties of California Guard members were outlined last week, the state had been waiting for an agreement by federal officials to pay for the operations. Since that time, the president has taken Brown and the state to task over its decision to avoid any immigration-related duties at the border. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018 Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border, Trump tweeted Tuesday. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Browns announcement. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters in Washington that his plan was consistent with a safer border. That sounds to me like fighting crime, the governor said. Trying to catch some desperate mothers and children, or unaccompanied minors coming from Central America, that sounds like something else. The order Brown issued Wednesday after returning from a brief trip to talk climate change in Toronto and to speak to a national trade union and visit with reporters in Washington is set to expire at the end of September. It specifically says no Guard service member may participate in a mission that would exceed the mission scope and limitations related to transnational crime activity. It also says troops cannot help build any new border barrier. 5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with information related to the cost of the Guard mission and Browns trip to Washington. This article was originally published at 5:13 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California bill aims to end practice that keeps workplace misconduct cases out of court By Melanie Mason A California bill would prohibit employers from requiring workers to use private arbitration to settle disputes, a practice that critics say shields improper workplace conduct from public view. The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) would bar businesses from making employees, when they are hired, waive their future rights to take any harassment, discrimination or other claims to court. Arbitration can be a highly effective dispute resolution method when both parties can choose it freely, when both parties are equal, Gonzalez Fletcher said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is far less successful when the more powerful party forces the other to accept those terms, especially as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration has come under increasing scrutiny since the #MeToo movement, with high-profile figures such as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson pointing to the practice as shielding workplace abusers from public disclosure because arbitration resolutions often include nondisclosure agreements. Last year, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to end mandatory arbitration in employment agreements. Gonzalez Fletcher said she was pursuing an unusual tool to draw attention to the issue a subpoena issued by the Legislature to compel testimony from a worker bound by a nondisclosure agreement as a result of arbitration. The Legislature has subpoena power but it is rarely used. The bills sponsors believe lawmakers last issued a subpoena in 2001 while investigating price manipulation by Enron. Gonzalez Fletcher said she has requested Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) to issue the subpoena to require Tara Zoumer, who sued the company WeWork in 2016 for overtime pay, to testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next week. Zoumers suit was moved to arbitration and resolved. She is now subject to a nondisclosure agreement and could face a financial penalty for speaking publicly about her case. A spokesman for Rendon said the subpoena request is under consideration. Business groups oppose the bill, AB 3080. The California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed it a job biller, claiming it would dramatically increase legal costs for businesses. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee, the group said. The bill must first advance from the Assembly Labor Committee on Wednesday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At least 240 House lawmakers want a vote on immigration. California supporters say they arent ready to force one By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) speak about DACA legislation (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Rep. Jeff Denham says at least 240 of the 430 current House members have signed onto his resolution to hold votes on four immigration bills, and he hopes House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Trump are paying attention to the show of support. But, the Republican from Turlock and his allies said Wednesday that they are not yet willing to commit to forcing Ryans hand through a little-used procedural move called a discharge petition; they acknowledged theres no guarantee that all of 47 Republicans and 193 Democrats House co-signers will back them up if they try to force the issue. Im sure that it is something that will be discussed in the coming weeks. You should not need a discharge petition. When you can show the overwhelming majority of the House, the support of it, you should not need a discharge petition, but it is something we would talk about in the future, Denham said. It is far too early to talk about next steps. Ryan said last week that he opposes Denhams effort, saying its a waste of time for the House to vote on bills the president might veto. Denhams resolution would prompt debate and votes on four very different immigration bills: one favored by the Trump administration, one preferred by Democrats, one bipartisan proposal and another immigration bill of Ryans choice. Whichever got the most votes would move forward to the Senate. All four bills would help Dreamers to differing degrees and include varying levels of border security or immigration enforcement. For example, the Trump-backed bill would also dramatically reduce legal immigration, while the Democrats would only deal with legal status for Dreamers. Democrats say they dont expect the show of support will sway Ryan. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said Tuesday night she expects Ryan will have to be forced into allowing a vote. It doesnt matter how many signatures we get. We could have every signature, technically, except his, on the floor of the House and... if he doesnt want to, it doesnt happen, Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who gathered the Democratic co-sponsors for Denham, also wouldnt give a deadline for House leaders to act, but said the co-sponsors are only willing to wait weeks not months. We do want to give them an opportunity to bring up the rule and to use whatever process they want, Aguilar said. They do have options, but I think they need to understand that we have options too. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer endorses Kevin de Leon in his insurgent bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta Tom Steyer, left, and California state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). (Getty Images; Los Angeles Times) Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de Leon in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De Leons chances. I think hes the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally, Steyer said in an interview on Tuesday, pointing to De Leons efforts on issues such as immigration, climate change and gun control while he was the state Senate leader. I know him well and hes a friend. We share a lot of values. Steyer, who flirted with running for the Senate seat, did not criticize Feinstein as he has in the past. Sen. Feinstein has been an outstanding public servant who has dedicated the bulk of her adult life to the service of our state and the country, he said. These are two strong, very good Democrats. I just believe Kevin is the true progressive and he reflects something we need representing California going forward. I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein. I have a lot of good to say about Kevin de Leon. De Leon faces enormous odds as he tries to oust Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, is well known to the states voters and has daunting leads in polls and fundraising. But De Leon has gained notable endorsements, most recently from the 2.1-million-member California Labor Federation last week. Campaign finance reports released this week show that Feinstein has more than $10 million in the bank, while De Leon has just more than $670,000. Feinstein, a multimillionaire and one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, has already lent her campaign $5 million and could easily write another check. But Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, could write a larger one. He is among the largest Democratic donors in the nation and has already committed more than $50 million to push for the impeachment of President Trump and to register young voters. He was noncommittal when asked if he would fund an independent expenditure group on behalf of De Leon. I dont have any concrete plans for that, he said. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Californias largest pension fund sends next years invoice to state government: $6.3 billion By John Myers The California Public Employees Retirement System building (Max Whittaker / Getty Images) As part of a shift toward less optimistic expectations for investment returns to pay for government worker pensions, board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System voted Tuesday to require an almost $6.3-billion payment from the state budget in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The action, which could receive final approval on Wednesday, reflects a gradually higher annual contribution to public employee pensions by the state and from local governments across California. In 2016, CalPERS approved a half-percentage point decrease in its official estimate of the long-term investment return on its $353.3-billion portfolio. That shift was designed to happen over several years, in hopes it would lessen the financial shock of shifting more of the costs onto government employers. The highest costs are also, in part, a reflection of increases in the size of the states payroll. The states CalPERS payment will be about $450 million more than the total paid in the current fiscal year and more than double what it was only a decade ago. CalPERS board members voted on Tuesdays staff proposal with little discussion, save for a question about the increase in contributions also required from workers hired after a pension overhaul that took effect in June. It seems like it will be a ding on peoples salaries, said Theresa Taylor, the chairwoman of CalPERS finance committee and a member of SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents some 96,000 state employees. The $6.299-billion payment required from Californias state government must now be factored into the budget crafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June. Brown had already assumed a similarly sized payment in his budget proposal unveiled in January. In February, a coalition representing city governments warned about the effects of rising pension costs under the expectations of less money from Wall Street investments. The report issued by the League of California Cities projected an average increase of more than 50% in annual pension payments made by the states largest cities over the next seven years. A CalPERS staff report notes that the net return on all of the funds investments for the fiscal year that ended in July was 11.2%. But expectations on profits over the next 30 years remain significantly more modest, and theres long been a robust debate about how to properly set those future expectations. The lower the rate of projected investment return, the larger the share of pension costs that must be covered by taxpayers and some employees. Overall, CalPERS officials believe the system has assets to cover 71% of its long-term obligations. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California warns legal pot sellers not to participate in unlicensed 4/20 events By Patrick McGreevy Marijuana on display at a dispensary in Los Angeles. ( (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)) The state issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including on Friday, April 20, which has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups. The warning was issued ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use. The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval. Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action, the warning said, adding that lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau. While many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as Proposition 215 events after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state. Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, the warning said. Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California police groups shift position on officer discipline records, now consider support for making some of them public By Liam Dillon Los Angeles Police Department recruits at a graduation ceremony in April (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Some major law enforcement groups signaled Tuesday they are willing to support making part of police officer disciplinary records public, a dramatic departure from their past positions. Local and national attention on police shootings and misconduct has led law enforcement organizations to reconsider their blanket opposition to proposals that would give public access to some internal disciplinary investigations of officers. Were going to be open to supporting efforts that would allow for some records to be released, said Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist with the Riverside Sheriffs Assn. Debate over secrecy provisions in officer disciplinary files came during a legislative hearing on Senate Bill 1421 from Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). Skinners bill, which advanced out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, would require public disclosure of all internal officer shooting investigations and confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. Currently, all police discipline information is confidential outside of a courtroom in California, which has some of the nations strictest standards against public disclosure. Unfortunately, the fact that we have such strict restrictions on any access to public records has affected certain communities trust towards our law enforcement, Skinner said during the hearing. Prior to Skinners effort, other have tried to loosen these rules, some of which date back 40 years. Most recently in 2016, a bid by then-Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) failed in a Senate committee. In debate two years ago, no major law enforcement groups indicated they would accept changes to state laws that would make individual internal investigations public, saying they were essential to protect officer privacy and safety. But Tuesday, Sherman and other lobbyists including those representing the states largest police labor organization, signaled they might be willing to entertain changes. They said they were negotiating with Skinner on the bills details. Law enforcement groups still have major concerns about SB 1421 as written. Ed Fishman, an attorney for the Police Officers Research Assn., told legislators that the bill would wrongfully expose police officers who acted within departmental policy to invasions of their privacy. It has unintended consequences that are extreme and will hurt the public, Fishman said. Tuesdays hearing featured testimony from many who have had relatives killed by police officers in recent years advocating for the bill. Senators on the Public Safety Committee also gave public rebukes to law enforcement lobbyists, criticizing them for a lack of diversity and insensitivity to concerns raised by communities of color. I think that you are completely and utterly out of touch with the realities of how those you are representing are perceived by major segments of California, said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). You are not going to be able to continue to lobby your way out of it. The bill faces at least one more committee hearing in the Senate before reaching the floor. It will have to pass both houses of the Legislature by the end of August. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues By John Myers Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove prepares for the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon with her husband, Austin Dove. (California Assembly Democrats) Two weeks after winning a Los Angeles special election, the newest member of the California Assembly says she hopes to focus on reforms to the states criminal justice system during her time in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) took the oath of office on Monday, filling one of three vacant seats representing Los Angeles County in the lower house. The Democrat, a former community college trustee and legislative staffer, thanked her mentors in remarks from the Assembly rostrum. So many women, and in my life so many black women, have paid in giving me the kind of morals and integrity and grit that is required to fight on behalf of people that you know, and people that you dont know, she said. Kamlager-Dove won handily on April 3, receiving 70% of the votes cast in the 54th Assembly District which encompasses communities west of downtown Los Angeles, from Crenshaw to Culver City and as far north as Westwood. She will serve the remaining eight months of the term of former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who resigned last year citing health concerns. She has said she hopes to focus her attention on poverty issues and on reform of the states criminal justice system. I think we have an opportunity to really push the needle in terms of how we look at rehabilitation, how we look at incarceration, and how we look at changing the lives oftentimes of poor men and women of color, Kamalager-Dove said on Monday in a video released by Assembly Democrats. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Survivors of violent crime raise their voices in California to call for a new approach to criminal justice By Jazmine Ulloa Aaliyah Smith marches with her cousins. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Her father, uncle, a cousin and two older brothers. Those are some of the family members 16-year-old Aaliyah Smith has lost to gun violence. Then there are her friends. Jermaine Jackson Jr., 27, was shot and killed in 2016 while he painted over graffiti in San Francisco. Toriano Tito Adger, 18, was shot there a year later at a bus stop. He called Smith, who was nearby, and warned her to run. She made it inside a library moments before the crack of gunfire. Last week, Smith was among hundreds who gathered in Sacramento for annual National Crime Victims Rights Week events, where calls were issued for a new approach to criminal justice and public safety in California, one that puts survivors at the center of policy. But a debate is brewing over what that entails. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California expects $14 billion in tax payments this month By John Myers State workers handle income tax returns at the California Franchise Tax Board offices. (Laura Morton / For The Times) Gov. Jerry Browns proposed state budget is built on what taxpayers might find an audacious assumption: almost $14 billion in tax payments in the month of April, an average of $83 million collected per hour on every business day of the month. Most of that money will come from the taxes Californians pay in advance of Tuesday nights filing deadline for income tax returns. If history is any guide, the rate of payment could quadruple by weeks end. While tax rules have shifted some of the payment schedules to other months, April remains a vitally important month to the fiscal health of state government. The state controllers office reports more than 15% of all personal income tax revenues in 2017 were collected in April. In the recession years of a decade ago, tax revenue predictions were frequently off the mark by hundreds of millions of dollars. The last two state budgets have seen significant windfalls of personal income tax revenue, thanks in part both to an improving economy and to the continuation of a temporary surcharge on the wealthiest taxpayers extended by voters in 2016. In the budget plan he sent to lawmakers in January, Brown projected a $6.1-billion windfall and proposed using a sizable amount to top off Californias rainy-day fund ahead of schedule. The independent Legislative Analysts Office reports that through the end of last week, the months income tax tally stood at $3 billion, slightly ahead of projections. By the end of the current week, a single days total could be almost that large. Lawmakers began reviewing the governors $190.3-billion spending plan during the winter, but few decisions are made until they get a look at Aprils tax revenues. The governor will release a revised plan based on the new data next month; lawmakers are required to send him a completed budget no later than June 15. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Feinstein war chest tops $10 million while Kevin de Leon struggles to keep pace By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein widened her already-massive fundraising advantage in the run-up to Junes primary, raising twice as much in the first quarter than her strongest Senate challenger has sitting in the bank. Feinstein raised $1.3 million between January and March, bringing her war chest to just over $10 million as Californias U.S. Senate race begins in earnest, according Federal Election Commission reports. Former state Senate leader Kevin De Leon, the best known of the more than 30 people who will appear with Feinstein on the June primary ballot, raised just $575,991 in that same period, bringing his cash on hand to $672,331, according to his quarterly FEC report. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump has met his match, says Gov. Jerry Brown in promoting climate action on a quick trip to Canada By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown told a Canadian audience Monday that he believes President Trumps efforts to reverse course on climate change policy are a momentary deviation as others in the United States seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Thats very temporary, I can assure you, Brown said at a joint event in Toronto with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The governors quick international trip, announced only late last week, comes as Wynnes Liberal Party faces a stiff challenge in Junes election from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its leader, Doug Ford. Critics of Wynnes party have called for Ontario to pull out of the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative agreement between three Canadian provinces and California on efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Brown sought to link the efforts of Canadian conservatives with Republicans in the United States who oppose existing climate change programs. In contrast, he told the audience, several GOP lawmakers voted last summer to renew Californias cap-and-trade program. I would say to the conservatives of Canada, wake up and see what your friends in California are doing, he said. The Democrat took particular notice of Trumps efforts to shift away from climate change policies from the administration of former President Obama, as well as a push by the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel Californias strict limits on automobile emissions. If Trump tries to change that, well have litigation well beyond his term in office, Brown said while also noting Chinese government efforts to produce more low-emissions vehicles. Between California and China, Trump has met his match. What hes saying is not going to happen. Many of the governors remarks, though, were aimed at the tough political situation in which Wynne finds herself with seven weeks to go before Ontarios parliamentary elections. Dangers abound, but success is right in our hands, Brown said. So dont blow it! Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California voters are getting to know the states attorney general through his aggressive stance challenging Trump By Patrick McGreevy Less than two months from his first statewide election, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has become adept not only at challenging President Trump but at using the bully pulpit of his office to raise his profile with voters. The aggressive effort may help boost the former Los Angeles congressmans chances at winning a full term in office this fall, almost two years after he was appointed to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2017. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra took office as attorney general four days after Trumps inauguration. Thats afforded him an opportunity to get in front of Californians and potential voters on an array of issues including immigration, healthcare and the environment. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gov. Jerry Brown forms commission for 2020 census outreach By Melanie Mason In an effort to make sure California has a strong showing in the next national census, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday established a state commission to prepare outreach for the decennial count. It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census, Brown said in a prepared statement. The commissions formation comes on the heels of a Trump administration plan to ask about citizenship status as a part of the census. State officials fear that such a question, which has not been asked in a census since 1950, could chill participation among California residents. That could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funds and a seat in Congress. The 23-member panel, appointed largely by Brown as well as picks by legislative leaders, comes from private- and public-sector backgrounds, including civil rights groups, religious institutions and educational institutions. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Garcetti kicks off Iowa visit with 2020 on his mind and a hardhat on his head LA Mayor - and 2020 prospect - Eric Garcetti makes his Iowa debut at the Carpenters Union Training Center. Fearlessly flaunts the never be photographed in head gear/safety glasses rule. pic.twitter.com/14bUOPXMvF Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) April 13, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Asm. Rocky Chavez takes the lead in race to replace Issa, while Doug Applegate slips By Joshua Stewart A new poll shows that Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has taken a clear lead over 15 other candidates running to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress and has overtaken Democrat Doug Applegate, the previous frontrunner. In a SurveyUSA poll by 10News and The San Diego Union-Tribune, Chavez, R-Oceanside, has support of 16 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Applegate, a lawyer, who was favored by 12 percent of voters and is in second place. The top two vote-getters in June, regardless of party, will proceed to a November runoff election. Competing with Applegate for the No. 2 spot is Democrat Mike Levin, also a lawyer, with support of 9 percent of voters. Several other candidates were right at his heels. Democratic Businessman Paul Kerr and Board of Equalization Member Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, were tied for fourth at 8 percent each. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pro-Kevin de Leon group launches ad castigating Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta A group that is supporting Kevin de Leons bid for the U.S. Senate launched a blistering ad against Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday, questioning her progressive principles and tying her to President Trump. The ad buy from A Progressive California is minuscule $10,000 to air it in Los Angeles for one day on CNN and MSNBC during programming such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper 360. The minute-long ad features news clips about Feinstein not getting the California Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year, as well as footage of Feinstein saying that Trump can be a good president and appearing to share a laugh with Trump. That moment actually came during a White House meeting in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting when the president suggested an assault weapons ban should be included in a bipartisan bill to expand gun background checks. It also features extensive clips of de Leons speech at the state partys convention. De Leon, who just ended his final term as leader of the state Senate, announced last year he would run against fellow Democrat Feinstein as she seeks her fifth full term. Feinsteins longtime political advisor dismissed the ad, noting the size of the buy. Its not really a buy, said Bill Carrick. Ten thousand dollars in cable in L.A. Poof, its gone. Still, he said he planned to have the campaigns lawyers review the ad to see if it violates campaign law that limits what outside groups like A Progressive California can do. Such groups cannot coordinate with campaigns or candidates, and are limited in how much their messages can support a candidate. Ann Ravel, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if the ad was in a state race, she is certain that the state commission would open an investigation into potential coordination with de Leons campaign because of the messaging and the types of footage in the ad. But the bipartisan federal commission cant agree on how to enforce the federal regulations, she said. The problem is [outside groups] understand that given the lack of very strong enforcement at the federal level, theres the ability to stretch the law, she said. A spokeswoman for the FEC declined to comment. Dave Jacobson, a spokesman for A Progressive California, disputed the suggestion that the ad violated campaign law. This frivolous allegation shows that Sen. Feinstein is afraid of the public seeing an ad which showcases her own words, that Donald Trump can be a good president, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Dispute over money emerges in campaign to repeal Californias gas tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A proposed initiative to repeal hikes to Californias gas tax has been caught in the middle of a dispute involving Republican rivals in the governors race. Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican candidate for governor, decided in January to drop plans for his own initiative and said he would urge supporters to sign a separate petition being supported by several Republican members of Congress. Then last week, the committee Allen formed to finance his ballot measure reported a $300,000 contribution from PISF Inc., a Novato, Calif., real estate firm. Now, an organizer of the still active Give Voters a Voice committee is urging the Allen committee to immediately donate their funds in support of the ongoing signature gathering efforts. There is only one gas tax repeal measure currently in circulation and that is the measure sponsored by the Give Voters a Voice Committee, said Dave Gilliard, a consultant to the group. PISF Inc., he said, gave to repeal taxes a Speaking at a meeting in Hanoi on April 27, Party leader Trong, who is also head of the committee, underlined the need to bring the case of organising gambling, gambling in the northern province of Phu Tho and a number of localities to court as scheduled. The leader also urged extended investigation into organisations and individuals who committed wrongdoings at Dong A Bank and first instance trials of sluggish cases. The case regarding Mobifone Telecom Corporation's purchase of 95% of the Audio Visual Global Joint Stock Company (AVG) will be under direct supervision of the steering committee, he instructed. At the same time, the investigation and settlement of a number of cases directly monitored the by committee must by completed soon, he stressed. Applauding efforts made by the committee over the past time to ensure schedule and quality of the handling of cases, the Party leader said the recorded achievements have demonstrated the Party and States determination to combat corruption, without banned zones and exceptions. The committee reported that the settlement of cases has been conducted on schedule set for the first quarter of 2018 and April, with three especially serious cases brought to court. They included the cases involving Trinh Xuan Thanh and his accomplices who were charged with deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences at PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC), and asset embezzlement at PetroVietnam Power Land JSC (PVP Land), and regarding PetroVietnams investment of VND800 billion (US$35.2 million) (PVN) in the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank). Party General Secretary Trong said fighting corruption is a very hard task, requiring the absolute sense of justice. The Trump administration is speeding toward all-out war with California over fuel economy rules for cars and SUVs, proposing to revoke the states long-standing authority to enforce its own, tough rules on tailpipe emissions. The move forms a key part of a proposal by Trumps environmental and transportation agencies to roll back the nations fuel economy standards. The agencies plan to submit the proposal to the White House for review within days. The plan would freeze fuel economy targets at the levels required for vehicles sold in 2020, and leave those in place through 2026, according to federal officials who have reviewed it. That would mark a dramatic retreat from existing law, which aimed to get the nations fleet of cars and light trucks to an average fuel economy of 55 miles per gallon by 2025. Instead of average vehicle fuel economy ratcheting up to that level, it would stall out at 42 miles per gallon. Advertisement That would constitute the single biggest step the administration has taken to undermine efforts to combat climate change. Cars and trucks recently surpassed electricity plants as Americas biggest sources of the greenhouse gases that drive global warming. And unlike the electricity industry, in which market forces have pushed utilities toward cleaner energy, including natural gas and renewable sources, relatively low gasoline prices in recent years have led consumers to pay less attention to fuel economy when they buy new cars. As a result, the steady increase in fuel mileage standards championed by the Obama administration in partnership with California represented the most powerful action the U.S. has taken to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The biggest gains have been projected to happen in the years that the Trump administrations plan would target. The plan from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration remains a draft, and White House officials could decide to back away from a direct fight with California and like-minded states. Within the administration, officials have disagreed about how far and how quickly to push changes in fuel economy rules, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Some officials attuned to the concerns of the auto industry have warned against a proposal that over-reaches and could lead to years of litigation and uncertainty. Others, aligned with EPA chief Scott Pruitt, have argued for a more aggressive push. EPA spokesperson Liz Bowman declined to comment on the details of the draft plan. The Agency is continuing to work with NHTSA to develop a joint proposed rule and is looking forward to the interagency process, she wrote in an email. Environmental groups and California officials already have vowed to fight the administration in court. But if the EPA plan prevails, it would be a crippling blow to efforts in California and other states to meet aggressive goals for climate action as well as for cleaning their air. Advertisement I find this to be an outrageous intrusion, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in an email. California has its own authority under the Clean Air Act to continue the tough standards that are in place today. We will take this fight to the courts if the Trump administration challenges that authority, she said. This is going to have a real impact both on global warming and the air we breathe. Its one bad move. Feinstein has successfully pushed in the Senate for bipartisan legislation for aggressive mileage targets. Under federal law, California has long been allowed to set tougher tailpipe emission rules than the federal government. Other states are allowed to adopt Californias standards, and a dozen currently do. Those states account for more than a third of cars and trucks in the country. Advertisement The administration proposal would revoke the ability of any state, including California, to impose rules different from those made in Washington. The rollback of mileage targets goes further even than the auto industry has sought, and it threatens to disrupt their business. The plan would be destined for years of costly litigation, creating uncertainty for carmakers. Rather than pursuing a reasonable compromise, the Trump administration is crafting a proposal that is dramatically weaker than any automobile manufacturer has requested and that also deliberately seeks to embark on a legal collision course with the state of California a scenario that automakers, lawmakers and the state of California have all repeatedly urged the administration to avoid, said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the senior Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. If enacted, this proposal would be a loss for the environment, a loss for consumers, a loss for the state of California and a loss for the auto industry, which is why all parties must come together immediately to find a workable solution that we know is very much within reach, he said. Advertisement Pruitt argues that the current fuel economy rules are unnecessary, rely on technology that has yet to be perfected and will raise auto prices too high for many consumers. The program has created these arbitrary [mileage] levels that have put a certain sector of cars in the marketplace which no one is purchasing, he said in congressional testimony this week. Because of the cost, he said, consumers stay in older vehicles, which defeats the purpose. Environmental and consumer advocacy groups strenuously dispute Pruitts characterization of the program, pointing to record car sales and increased automobile safety. Officials in California and the other states eager to keep the existing mileage targets in place point to thousands of pages of federal and state data and analysis confirming the targets are within reach and would benefit the economy. They say the uneasiness with the EPA proposal even among auto companies should give the administration pause. Advertisement It isnt every century we and the auto companies agree on anything, said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign. But we appear to agree that what they are proposing here is a dreadful set of ideas. Officials at the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the states vehicle emissions program, said the administration has not yet shared the proposal with them. If enacted, this would harm peoples health, boost greenhouse gas pollution and force drivers to pay more money at the pump for years, Stanley Young, spokesman for the board, said in an email. It would also severely disrupt the U.S. auto industry, compromising its ability to succeed in a highly competitive global market that increasingly values innovative and efficient technologies. California has been in this fight with the federal government before, and it has prevailed. The administration of George W. Bush also resisted aggressive mileage targets the state sought. But the courts ultimately ruled that federal law required such action to combat climate change. Advertisement Testifying before Congress on Thursday, Pruitt assured lawmakers he does not plan to revoke the special waiver California was granted by the EPA that allows the state to set its own mileage targets. What he didnt say is that the proposal the EPA and NHSTA are poised to deliver to the White House would sidestep the waiver by relying on a different set of legal authorities to block Californias plans. The administrations legal case rests on the law, passed in the 1970s amid the OPEC oil embargo, that first created the countrys fuel economy standards. Administration lawyers argue that the law gives NHTSA power to preempt Californias authority to set its own rules. NHTSAs authority, according to the draft plan, supersedes the waiver the EPA has given California. Advertisement The auto industry began lobbying Trump to relax fuel economy standards soon after his election. But company officials have been clear that they want a deal with California, not a war with the state. In backroom negotiations, industry officials have urged the administration not to create a situation where California pursues one standard and the federal government pursues another. Auto company representatives declined to talk on the record, but industry executives have asked for a meeting at the White House, where they will urge the administration to avoid a collision with California, according to people involved in the negotiations who spoke anonymously to comment on the private discussions. The prospect of two different standards is a business dilemma for the companies, which want to build one fleet of vehicles for the entire nation. The possibility of the administration trying to force California to adhere to weaker federal rules creates a different kind of dilemma, one which could drag on for years and leave auto companies uncertain about what rules they should design their vehicles around. A long, litigious road is the worst outcome for all stakeholders, especially the auto industry and American consumers, said Robbie Diamond, who leads Securing Americas Future Energy, a group of business and former military leaders trying to help broker a compromise. Advertisement The latest from Washington More stories from Evan Halper evan.halper@latimes.com Follow me: @evanhalper Advertisement UPDATES: 3 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the California Air Resources Board and additional analysis. 12:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction to the administration proposal and analysis. This article was originally published at 10:20 a.m. Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released their hotly contested report Friday on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, concluding there was no conspiracy or collusion between President Trumps campaign and Moscow. The report found what it called poor judgment and ill-considered actions by both the Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns, however. Trump was quick to claim vindication even as special counsel Robert S. Mueller III continues his criminal investigation of whether any of Trumps current or former aides assisted the Russian operation, which involved leaks of hacked emails, fake social media posts and other tactics. Speaking beside German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House, Trump again denounced the Mueller probe as a witch hunt and praised the Republican report as strong, powerful [and] conclusive. Advertisement Democrats countered that the report was partisan and incomplete and vowed to continue their own inquiry. The Republican report said investigators found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government. It also said both the Trump and Clinton campaigns had exercised poor judgment considering Russias role. It criticized a meeting at Trump Tower in New York in June 2016 between a Kremlin-linked lawyer and three of Trumps top aides his son Donald Jr.; his son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort after Trump Jr. had been told a Russian government lawyer had incriminating information on Clinton. The report also slammed Clintons team for secretly paying for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources. A former British intelligence officer produced a series of memos on Trump, based on his sources inside Russia, in a dossier later leaked to the media. House Democrats have pushed their own investigation, reviewing intelligence reports and sending requests to about a dozen witnesses. They recently met with Christopher Wylie, a former employee at the data firm Cambridge Analytica who helped expose the misuse of Facebook data to help the Trump campaign. Someone has got to do the investigation we were charged with doing, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), ranking Democrat on the committee, said Friday. In a sign of the political battle on the committee, Schiff criticized the chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare). Nunes decided to investigate not the Russians or the Trump campaign, but to investigate the investigators, Schiff said. The breakdown began with the so-called midnight run in March 2017 when Nunes went to the White House complex at night to view classified information he later suggested revealed wrongdoing by the Obama administration. Advertisement The evidence was far less explosive than Nunes had claimed, and he stepped aside as chairman during a House ethics committee investigation that later cleared him. Next was an episode nicknamed London calling, when Republican staff members traveled to England in an unsuccessful attempt to meet Christopher Steele, the former British spy who researched Trumps alleged ties to Russia. Democrats considered the unilateral trip out of bounds. Nunes also probed how Justice Department officials conducted court-approved surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, shortly before the election. Nunes later released a redacted memo that alleged law enforcement had improperly used Steeles research to obtain the warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Democrats responded by releasing their own redacted memo, saying the surveillance court judges were fully informed before they approved the warrant. The court renewed the 90-day warrant three times, suggesting the FBI continued to gather valuable intelligence. Advertisement Former committee staff members, lawmakers and intelligence officers have expressed concern that the tumultuous process has eroded relations between the House committee and intelligence agencies. Like its Senate counterpart, the panel is responsible for oversight of the nations intelligence community. But given the partisan breakdown in the Russia investigation, the flow of information could be reduced. If I was told to go down and brief Devin Nunes about an incredible sensitive Russian thing, I would be very, very worried, said Steve Hall, a former CIA officer who was a liaison to congressional committees in 2012 and 2013. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican who chaired the House committee from 2011 to 2015, said he fears the controversies could damage oversight efforts. Advertisement I think the sharp-edged partisanship hurts the committees ability to do traditional and important oversight of the intelligence community, Rogers said. It just becomes a toxic place. Schiff said the committee was still doing its job of overseeing intelligence agencies, saying, That work has never stopped. Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington chris.megerian@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @chrismegerian President Trump hosted two European leaders this week who lobbied him to stick with the Iran nuclear deal, but there was little indication their efforts swayed his urge to walk away from the landmark pact. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on his first full day on the job, said Friday in Brussels that it was unlikely Trump would remain in the accord after a self-imposed May 12 deadline, barring a substantial fix negotiated with European leaders. Speaking on the margins of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit for foreign ministers in Brussels, Pompeo said that no decision has been made but that he was communicating Trumps position to allies in Europe and the Middle East. Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the flaws of the deal, he is unlikely to stay in that deal, said Pompeo, who next visits Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan. Advertisement In Washington, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Trump at the White House on Friday for a three-hour working session. Iran topped the agenda, along with Syria, trade and NATO. European allies have warned that leaving the 2015 multinational Iran accord would have dangerous consequences and might encourage Tehran to resume its now-blocked nuclear program. U.S. and European diplomats have met several times to negotiate possible supplemental agreements to address Trumps concerns. Merkel and Trump clearly did not see eye to eye Friday on the wisdom of pulling out of the nuclear deal. I set out my position, and ... obviously, this agreement is anything but perfect, Merkel said at a joint news conference. It will not solve all the problems with Iran. It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure. We will now see what sort of decisions are made by [the] American partners, she said, adding that the United States and Europe ought to be in lockstep on curbing Irans nuclear ambitions. Trump repeated his characterization of the Islamic Republic as a murderous regime that was the driving force behind militant groups across the Middle East. We must ensure it doesnt even get close to a nuclear weapon, he said. Trump would not say whether he had an alternative to the nuclear deal or whether he would use force to stop Tehran from resuming its nuclear program. I dont talk about whether or not Id use military force. Thats not appropriate to be talking about, he said. But, I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons; that I can tell you, OK? Theyre not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it. Advertisement Merkel met with Trump two days after French President Emmanuel Macron made a similar pitch during a state visit to Washington. The United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China signed the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, and United Nations monitors have repeatedly found Iran in compliance with its terms. Under the accord, Iran destroyed or dismantled the bulk of its nuclear infrastructure and shipped its nuclear fuel out of the country under strict monitoring. In exchange, a network of international economic sanctions were eased and seized property, including cash held in U.S. banks, was returned to Tehran. Trump has said he will decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the accord and unilaterally reimpose U.S. sanctions on Tehran. Its unclear how quickly he would apply sanctions, however, which could buy time for further negotiations. Trump and other critics say the accord is deficient because it lets some of the nuclear restrictions on Iran expire over time. They also complain that the nuclear negotiations did not address Irans ballistic missile program or its support for militant groups elsewhere in the Middle East. Advertisement Merkel concurred that Iran has inserted itself in its neighbors crises with support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and for Syrian President Bashar Assads forces against rebel fighters, some of them allied with the U.S. But she noted Iran had permitted frequent inspections by U.N. monitors under the nuclear accord. The critics argue that the inspectors do not have access to Iranian military bases and facilities. We are of the opinion that the [accord] is a first step that has contributed to slowing down their activities, Merkel said. But we also think, from a German point of perspective, that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Irans ambitions are curbed and are contained. Merkel and Trump also discussed NATO and tariffs he plans to impose on steel and aluminum producers, chief among them Germany. Advertisement He has repeatedly complained about members of the NATO military alliance that do not yet spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defense, as they agreed at a summit four years ago. Merkel indicated she and Trump did not come to terms on the tariffs question. We had an exchange of views, she said. The president will decide. The freewheeling Trump and the staid Merkel have had a decidedly tense relationship months went by last year when they reportedly didnt even speak by phone but the chill appeared to ease somewhat Friday. Trump appeared to acknowledge his lack of popularity in Europe but added his own twist. Advertisement They may not like Donald Trump, but you have to understand, he said, that means Im doing a good job. Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington noah.bierman@latimes.com Twitter: @noahbierman The Senate Judiciary Committee appeared an island of civility Thursday as Democrats and Republicans politely debated and voted 14 to 7 to approve bipartisan legislation intended to prevent President Trump from firing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III without cause. But the action only highlights how intractable the question has become as Muellers investigation moves deeper into the White House. The proposed bill is expected to stall because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has publicly vowed not to let it advance further. McConnell says legislation is unnecessary because he doesnt think Trump will fire Mueller. The president reportedly attempted to do so last June, backing down only after his White House counsel threatened to quit. The committee hearing Thursday reflected the delicate dance between Trump and Republicans in Congress. Many grumble about his hair-trigger tweets, unconventional policies and scandal-plagued appointments, but are reluctant to impose constraints on his presidency. Advertisement If you read their private comments, they dont trust the guy as far as they can spit, said Jim Manley, a former staff member for Senate Democratic leaders. But for whatever reason, theyre not willing to go after him. Part of the challenge is trying to decipher Trumps intentions at any point. Shortly before Thursdays hearing, for example, the president told Fox & Friends he would not intervene in the Justice Department, where the Mueller inquiry is based but then added a caveat. I may change my mind at some point because whats going on is a disgrace, he said. Jason Chaffetz, a onetime Republican congressman from Utah who doggedly pursued President Obamas administration and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he chaired the House Oversight Committee in 2015 and 2016, rejected the suggestion that Republicans have gone easy on Trump. Any allegation that oversight has slowed down under Trump is just bunk, Chaffetz said in an interview. It will never be enough for the Democrats, he added. Both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly last July to slap new sanctions on Russia in response to Moscows military operations in Ukraine and Syria, among other concerns. Trump considered a veto then signed the legislation, but didnt impose the penalties until this year. The Republican-controlled Congress has given Trump broad leeway on most other issues. No hearings have been held, for example, on the overlap between Trumps official duties and his family business empire even though lobbyists, politicians and foreign leaders spend vast sums at his hotels and clubs. Nor have they scrutinized Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law, who faces a similar dilemma trying to separate his White House role from his familys real estate interests. He remains a senior advisor to the president despite losing his high-level security clearance. Advertisement Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington Mueller was appointed last May to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether any of Trumps aides were involved. So far, four former aides, including the presidents former national security advisor, have pleaded guilty to various charges. Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has pleaded not guilty to nearly two dozen charges of money laundering, bank fraud and tax evasion. None of Trumps associates has been charged with election-related crimes, and the president has repeatedly denounced the investigation as a witch hunt. His anger spiked after Mueller sent evidence to federal prosecutors in Manhattan and they seized a trove of documents from Michael Cohen, Trumps longtime personal lawyer, on April 9. Advertisement Republicans have repeatedly warned the White House that firing Mueller could plunge the country into a political or even constitutional crisis, but many say legislation isnt the right approach. Some expressed concern in Thursdays hearing that the bipartisan proposal which would allow a special counsel to appeal his removal in court would be unconstitutional because Congress doesnt have authority to reduce a presidents power over the executive branch, which includes the Justice Department. Others said the legislation is unnecessary because Mueller, a former FBI director, is safe in his job. The president is not going to fire Director Mueller because the repercussions of doing so would be disastrous for his presidency and for the country, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Advertisement Besides, he added, This bill will not be taken up on the Senate floor, the House will not pass it, the president will not sign it. The White House says Trump has no plans to fire Mueller. The president certainly believes he has the power to do so, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said on April 10. Russell Riley, co-chairman of the Miller Centers Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia, said that passing legislation to protect special counsels would be a sharp stick in the eye of the president and that hes not surprised Republicans arent taking that step against Trump. What theyre trying to do is erect, by their language, some guardrails against the president taking this step, Riley said. Advertisement Some of those guardrails were on full display Thursday as several Republicans issued dire warnings, but then voted against the proposed legislation. Firing Mueller would case a firestorm and bring the administration agenda to a halt, warned Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who voted no. It could even result in impeachment. It would be politically suicidal for the president to fire Mueller, agreed Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). For Republicans, avoiding confrontation with Trump has often been a good bargain, especially when they can advance long-sought policies like the tax cuts passed in December. Advertisement House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who plans to step down at the end of his term, said that he saw no reason to get in a food fight with the president and that he wont send legislation to the White House that Trump wont sign. I dont think it makes any sense to bring a bill through or a process through that would produce a bill that will get a presidential veto, he said. I just dont think that thats in anyones interest. chris.megerian@latimes.com Twitter: @chrismegerian Adm. Ronny Jackson had a shining career up until the day President Trump tapped him as the nominee to head the nations perennially troubled Veterans Affairs Department. In the space of a month, Jackson has gone from the accomplished, telegenic and widely admired White House doctor for three presidents to a disgraced nominee dogged by allegations of misconduct. Washingtons fierce political battles always chew people up, but the Trump administration seems headed for a record on the number of early casualties. Jacksons case underscores several of the reasons. Sign up for the Essential Politics newsletter Advertisement THE ACCIDENTAL NOMINEE By the time Trump fired the previous VA secretary, David Shulkin, the conservative campaign for a change at the top of the VA had been underway for months. Since February, when a report from the VA inspector general sharply criticized a trip Shulkin and his wife took to London at taxpayer expense, his opponents had stepped up their campaign to oust him. By mid-March, the White House had clearly signaled that he had lost his fight to hang onto the job. And, yet, the administration, distracted at the top and divided by numerous rivalries, had no clear succession plan even though Trump has repeatedly described care of the nations veterans as a top priority. On March 28, when Trump tweeted word of Shulkins firing, he surprised even much of his staff by naming Jackson, a man with no major management experience, no known positions on the issues facing the VA and no previous vetting for a major political appointment. The nomination was greeted by a puzzled silence in the Senate. When it all began to fall apart this week, the only surprise was that the end hadnt come faster. On Tuesday, with a flood of misconduct allegations becoming public and senators postponing Jacksons confirmation hearing, Trump openly nudged his nominee to withdraw, as Cathy Decker and Noah Bierman wrote. I told Adm. Jackson just a little while ago I said, What do you need this for? Trump said. Advertisement As is often the case, the nominee wasnt immediately prepared to accept his fate, and for a day or so, the White House mounted a defense. But by Thursday, Jackson bowed to the inevitable and withdrew, issuing a blanket denial of the accusations against him as completely false and fabricated, but not addressing any of the specifics. A LENGTHENING LIST But what was most telling about Jacksons fall was that he wasnt Trumps biggest personnel problem not even of this week. Advertisement On Capitol Hill, the news of Jacksons withdrawal had to compete with hearings at which Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt defended himself against a list of misconduct allegations that appears to grow by the day. As Evan Halper reported, Pruitt offered lawmakers little contrition and encountered tough questions not only from Democrats, but from some Republicans over questionable spending and management decisions. At least 10 separate investigations of Pruitts conduct are under way. Trump has stuck by Pruitt so far. He admires the former Oklahoma attorney generals ability to dismantle Obama-era environmental regulations and the zeal with which Pruitt has pursued the pro-coal, pro-oil agenda. This week, for example, Pruitt proposed a major new rule that would block EPA now and in the future from considering a wide range of scientific studies when developing new regulations. Advertisement As Halper wrote, the proposal, which would particularly limit the agencys ability to look at health data, aims to put into effect a ban that conservatives have failed to get through Congress. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Trumps nomination of Andrew Wheeler, a former coal-industry lobbyist, to the EPAs No. 2 position. With him now in place, Pruitts tenure seems increasingly tenuous. STORMY TIMES FOR COHEN Then theres Trumps longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who was back in court in Manhattan this week in proceedings related to the criminal investigation he faces. Advertisement In a now-familiar pattern, Trump has sought to minimize his ties to Cohen. Prosecutors are looking at something that has to do with his business. This doesnt have to do with me, Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox & Friends. He has a percentage of my overall legal work, a tiny, tiny little fraction, Trump declared. As Joe Tanfani reported, prosecutors in New York within hours presented that remark to federal district judge Kimba Wood as evidence that Cohens office files, which the FBI seized in a series of court-approved raids on April 9, probably dont contain a lot of privileged attorney-client information related to Trump. With prosecutors agreement Thursday, Wood appointed a New York attorney and former federal judge, Barbara S. Jones, to be a special master in the case, giving her the authority to review Cohens files to decide which remain shielded by privilege. Advertisement In making that appointment, Wood rejected Trumps argument that he should have the right to review the files first and shield whichever ones he felt should be withheld. In the Fox & Friends interview, Trump admitted that Cohen represented me in negotiations with Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who received a $130,000 payment during the 2016 campaign to keep quiet about her allegations of having had an affair with Trump. Cohen had insisted that Trump didnt know about his negotiations with Daniels. Also in the Fox & Friends interview, Trump criticized the FBI and threatened the Russia investigation. Advertisement Im very disappointed in my Justice Department, he said, as Decker reported. I have decided that I wont be involved. I may change my mind at some point, because whats going on is a disgrace. THE COMMON FACTORS What the Jackson, Pruitt and Cohen cases have in common is Trumps disregard for ethical and legal norms that call for careful vetting of people chosen for high-level posts or that seek to restrain their behavior. Advertisement The other common factor: Its the people standing next to Trump who have paid the price at least so far. Trumps hardly unique among presidents in that regard. The scandals of President Bill Clintons administration, for example, took a toll on many of his appointees. Where Trump stands alone, however, is in the number of high-level appointees and close associates who have entered the administration as well regarded, successful people and left with their reputations damaged, sometimes severely. Unsurprisingly, that pattern makes recruiting of replacements increasingly difficult. GRAPPLING WITH IRAN AND NORTH KOREA Advertisement Trump regards his diplomacy with North Korea as among his administrations top successes. As Laura King reported, he bristles at criticism of his planned summit with Kim Jong-Un. Wow, we havent given up anything, Trump tweeted last weekend. By contrast, he said North Korea had agreed to denuclearization. Thats not accurate. The North Koreans have agreed to talk about denuclearization, but as Tracy Wilkinson wrote, theres little evidence that they plan to get rid of their entire nuclear arsenal. Theres considerable evidence that Kim believes he is acting from a position of strength. The North Koreans have largely accomplished their goal of building and testing a small nuclear force. So their willingness to suspend tests, for example, isnt much of a concession. Advertisement The U.S., meanwhile, has agreed to something that North Korea has long sought a meeting with a U.S. president. Even as Trump seeks a nuclear deal with North Korea, the leaders of France and Germany have come to Washington trying to persuade him to maintain the existing nuclear deal with Iran, as Wilkinson and King wrote. French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Tuesday and did his best to talk Trump into preserving the Iran deal. As Bierman reported, Trump has formed a close bond with Macron, but sounded like a man who might yet disappoint his friend. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Washington on Thursday and meets with Trump today. Advertisement In time for her arrival, the Senate confirmed Trumps ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, and also gave final approval to Mike Pompeo as Trumps second secretary of State. After meeting with Trump, Macron spoke to a joint meeting of Congress, where he gave a speech that strongly challenged Trumpism, as Decker wrote. We have two possible ways ahead, Macron said. We can chose isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism. as a temporary remedy to our fears. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world, he added. It will not douse, but inflame, the fears of our citizens. Advertisement A NAFTA DEAL AHEAD Trump has often talked about pulling out of NAFTA, the trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. But as Don Lee reported, his administration is now pushing hard to reach a new NAFTA agreement, with the announcement of a deal possible in the next few days. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wants to get a deal done quickly so that Congress would have time to approve it late this year, during a lame-duck session, Lee reported. The Canadian and Mexican trade ministers have canceled other plans to stay in Washington for negotiations through the weekend. Advertisement MELANIAS DEBUT As first lady, Melania Trump has largely avoided the spotlight, but this week, as Decker wrote, the shroud of invisibility lifted. After hosting the Japanese prime minister and his wife at Mar-a-Lago last week, Melania Trump represented the administration at the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush in Houston; the president, whom the Bushes disliked, stayed away. On Tuesday, two days before her 48th birthday, Melania Trump dominated images of the first state dinner of the administration with a striking white hat that became the launching point for a thousand semiotic theories. Advertisement As a former model, the first lady unquestionably understands that her wardrobe sends messages. White hats denote the good guys, that much is clear. Who was she identifying as the villain? TRAVEL BAN FARES WELL AT HIGH COURT Trumps third try at his much-disputed order restricting travel to the U.S. from several mostly Muslim countries seemed to pass muster at the Supreme Court, David Savage reported. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor asked tough questions, but the courts four solid conservatives and its swing voter, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, seemed convinced that the travel order was a valid exercise in presidential power. Advertisement The high court likely will issue a final decision on the case by late June. FARM VOTE REMAINS SOLID As Geoff Mohan wrote, one might assume that Mike Poindexter, a walnut grower in the San Joaquin Valley town of Selma, would be regretting his vote for Trump. Since the inauguration, immigration officials have raided his office and Trumps tariffs against China have brought retaliation against U.S. walnut exports. Advertisement But what is our other option? Poindexter asked. Democrats are not willing to back [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein because shes not liberal enough. They dont have anyone whos palatable to us, he said. Poindexters reaction goes a long way toward explaining why, trade war or no, the countrys farm regions arent likely to desert Trump any time soon. I dont think youll have farmers go out and vote for Democrats over tariffs, he said. LOGISTICS Advertisement That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration with our Essential Washington blog, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. David.lauter@latimes.com Advertisement @davidlauter Could a clump of interlocking brain cells in a Petri dish ever experience self-awareness? Can you make a mouse or a monkey partly human by implanting human stem cells in its brain? If pieces of a dead persons brain are reanimated in a lab, is the patient still completely dead? Questions like these are being raised by advancing techniques at the cutting edge of neuroscience. Far-fetched though they may seem, they are forcing scientists to wrap their heads around what it takes to be a human brain. Neuroscientists may not yet be creating conscious mini-brains in their labs. But that prospect, while distant, is real. And as things stand now, scientists may not truly recognize when they have crossed that indistinct boundary. So its not too early to ponder scenarios that seem to have more in common with sci-fi thrillers than real life, according to a group of 17 neuroscientists and medical ethicists who made their case this week in an essay published in the journal Nature. Advertisement In labs across the world, scientists have used stem cells to grow multicellular structures that resemble human organs, including the eye, gut, liver and kidney. Now the same techniques are being used to grow brain organoids miniaturized, simplified versions of living brain tissue. Brain scientists are transplanting these organoids, or the human stem cells from which they are grown, into other animals. Elsewhere, they are probing the function of brain tissue excised from people who have just died, or from patients who have had brain tissue removed to treat diseases such as epilepsy. The knowledge gleaned from this research will help brain scientists understand at a very basic level how this complex organ develops, how its components work individually and together, and what goes wrong in certain psychiatric and neurological disorders. Those diseases are a universal cause of suffering. So abandoning this research would arguably be unethical, the authors of the new essay wrote. But going forward has its ethical perils too. To ensure the success and social acceptance of this research long term, an ethical framework must be forged now, wrote the experts, who met last May at Duke Universitys Initiative for Science and Society to hammer out a list of concerns. Most of these brain organoids live in growth medium in a lab dish and lack the blood supply and specialized cells needed for basic housekeeping functions. They consist of somewhere between 2 million and 3 million cells (a mature human brain has about 170 billion) and are no bigger than, say, an adult fruit fly. Yet these organoids are tiny facsimiles of part of a human brain. Already, they are being grown and fused into assemblages of brain structures. It is hardly beyond imagining that one day researchers could create a miniaturized model of the exquisitely complex organ that can create, store and retrieve memories; love and hate other creatures; and contemplate its own place in the universe. A section of a preserved human brain on display at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo in New York. (David Duprey / Associated Press ) Advertisement Scientists have already transplanted human brain organoids into rodents. In short order, the cluster of human brain cells lashed themselves to their hosts neurons, and the rodents neurons appeared to return the embrace. Indeed, the researchers discerned evidence of crosstalk between the human organoid and the rodent brain that had become its host, according to a study published this month in Nature Biotechnology. In related work, neuroscientists already have used human stem cells to grow glial cells (a type of brain cell involved in cerebral housekeeping) and transplanted them into the brains of mice. In certain learning tasks, the hybrid mice performed better than their counterparts that were 100% mouse. Meanwhile, researchers at the Yale School of Medicine (among them neuroscientist and essay coauthor Dr. Nenad Sestan) have reportedly restored circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs and kept the reanimated organs alive for up to 36 hours. Though the pig brains showed no signs of consciousness, the experiment suggested that, with sufficient tending, brain cells might be capable of normal activity after their hosts death. And at Harvard, stem cell biologist Paola Arlotta (also one of the essays authors) grew 31 human brain organoids over periods as long as nine months and watched as pluripotent stem cells gave rise to human retinal cells alongside other brain cells. When her team shined a light on the retinal cells growing in a lab dish, they effectively saw the brain cells blink in response evidence that an external stimulus can result in an organoid response, the team reported last year in Nature. Advertisement Add time, academic ambition and scientific progress to these instances and you begin to appreciate the questions raised in the essay: Should brain organoids, or non-human creatures bearing human brain cells, be protected by regulations that acknowledge the possibility of their greater awareness? Should that possibility preclude the creation of chimeras that involve our close evolutionary relatives, such as chimps or monkeys? Who owns the organoids or animals created by these processes, and what say should the human owners of stem cells or brain tissue have in their subsequent use? Should there be limits on the ability of human tissues to live outside of their original owner? Advertisement There are so many issues we need to think about, said Henry T. Greely, who drafted the essay along with Duke bioethicist Nita Farahany. One other bit of outstanding business: how to define consciousness, an attribute that would certainly justify stronger protections for the organoids and other organisms believed to have it. The signals for consciousness or unconsciousness detected in a living adult using electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, for example dont necessarily translate to infants, animals or experimental brain surrogates, the group wrote. Without knowing more about what consciousness is and what building blocks it requires, it might be hard to know what signals to look for in an experimental brain model. Greely, a lawyer who directs Stanford Universitys Program in Neurosciences and Society, said the thorniest ethical problems are not immediate. But I do think in five to 10 years, theres a really good chance well have to ask, Are we there yet? Advertisement The best evidence that the time has come to discuss these matters is the active engagement of scientists at the front lines of such work, Greely said. Usually, its a reflex to resist discussions that might place strictures on their work. Theyre all convinced that these ethical concerns are really important, Greely said. That, to me, is a pretty powerful signal. melissa.healy@latimes.com Twitter: @LATMelissaHealy Advertisement MORE IN SCIENCE Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children Scientists have a promising new approach for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis In human cells, scientists find DNA that looks like a twisted knot instead of a double helix An Inglewood man suspected of committing several commercial burglaries in Burbank last week was arrested after he was found hiding in the building he allegedly burglarized, police say. At around 8 a.m. on April 20, the Burbank Police Department responded to reports of multiple burglaries in a commercial building in the 100 block of East Olive Avenue, according to Sgt. Derek Green, a spokesman for the department. He said the building houses several businesses, and eight offices had been ransacked. It was believed the same person had committed the crimes, he said. Sometime around 2:40 p.m., police received a call from someone in the building while a burglary was in progress, and they said the suspect was still inside. Officers soon arrived and made contact with the man, who refused to leave the building. After several warnings, a police canine was deployed into the business for the purpose of assisting officers in apprehending the suspect, Green said. The police canine bit the suspect, providing control over his movements to allow police officers to enter and safely handcuff him. The man was then identified as 40-year-old Nathan Hall. Green said Hall was on parole for burglary, and investigators believe he hid in the building the entire day, even while police were there in the morning. It was reported that he was hiding in the ceiling or the air vents, he said. Hall was charged with eight counts of commercial burglary by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office and is being held in lieu of $415,000 bail. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc Embrace change or rage against it? Thats the question at the heart of Chapman University graduate Kendall Goldbergs first feature film, When Jeff Tried to Save the World. The movie starring Jon Heder who played an awkward teen in the cult film Napoleon Dynamite will make its West Coast premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Friday and May 2. The dramedy follows Jeff (Heder) who learns the bowling alley he manages is being sold. He does everything he can to save the place hes come to call home. This movie is about Jeffs world, Heder said by phone. This is his world that he has created and hes found a comfort zone. Hes important there. He would be lost without the bowling alley. While revolting against the disintegration of all thats familiar to him, Jeff comes to learn a vital lesson. Hes been living this life where he has fallen into routine and comfort but he learns to accept change, Heder said. The film has been five years in the making. Goldberg, 22, of Los Angeles co-wrote the script with collaborator Rachel Borgo while attending film school at Chapman University. Jim OHeir, left, who starred in Parks and Recreation, acts with star Jon Heder in a scene from When Jeff Tried to Save the World. The film by a Chapman University graduate will be shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival. (Courtesy of Zac Osgood and When Jeff LLC ) The idea for the story spawned from work environments. I am usually inspired by locations, the people who work in those places and what their routine is, Goldberg said. I dont really have a connection to bowling. I just wanted to make a movie in a bowling alley its as simple as that. Since Borgo was attending school elsewhere, she and Goldberg communicated through Skype while writing the script. Along the way, the film developed a theme about resistance to change, which was influenced by Goldbergs sentiments at the time. It formed into a story of me projecting my fears and insecurities into the vessel of Jeff about the way life can change very quickly without notice, Goldberg said. The bowling alley served as an apt backdrop for the story considering its nostalgic symbology. Famed bowling movies like The Big Lebowski didnt heavily influence Goldberg, as she referenced underdog films like The Way Way Back and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, which is about a ragtag crew of social misfits attempting to save their gym from corporate takeover. Heder was drawn to the character because Jeff mirrored many of his own traits. Hes a very subdued person with a quiet nervousness about him throughout the film I have certainly had a lot of those moments in my life, Heder said. Heder also pointed out that the character contrasts with the iconic Napoleon Dynamite. I loved Napoleon, but at the same time, I think people will enjoy seeing something different, Heder said. I have enjoyed seeing some of my favorite actors who are known for certain characters do something different. Kendall Goldberg, director of When Jeff Tried to Save the World, looks over the script with Jon Heder. (Courtesy of Zac Osgood and When Jeff LLC ) When Heder read for the part of Jeff about three years ago, Goldberg instantly knew he was fit for the role. Unfortunately, like many independent films, there was a deficit of funding at the time a hurdle not made any easier with a first-time feature filmmaker. Heder and Goldberg kept in touch for years and eventually they decided to shoot a short of the film to try to attract some support. The short premiered at the 2017 Sarasota Film Festival in Florida and was used to propel the project into a feature, which was filmed in August 2017 at Lan-Oak Lanes in Chicago, Goldbergs hometown, just months after she graduated from Chapman. Goldberg employed the help of Chapman film students during shooting. Also starring in the film are Jim OHeir (Parks and Recreation), Maya Erskine (Man Seeking Woman), Brendan Meyer (The OA), Anna Konkle (Rosewood) and Steve Berg (Idiotsitter). Heder said he enjoyed working with Goldberg at the helm. I like working with first-time directors, he said. I find most of the time that they are easy to work with because they are much more collaborative. Kendall, being this very young filmmaker, had a vision and she wrote the script which I admired. I knew she knew what she wanted but would also be easy to work with. There was a lot of trust there and I enjoyed that. Goldberg said shes excited to bring her first feature film to the area that served as an incubator for her film career. Its really cool to have my premiere in the same county a lot of Chapman people will be coming, Goldberg said. I had a great experience at Chapman. The film school is second to none. The way I was taught and the people I met, I credit part of my film for that. When Jeff Tried to Save the World will be screened at 8 p.m. April 27 at The Lot at 999 Newport Center Drive and again at 5 p.m. May 2 at Edwards Big Newport 6 at 300 Newport Center Drive. For more information, visit newportbeachfilmfest.com/event/when-jeff-tried-to-save-the-world. benjamin.brazil@latimes.com Twitter:@benbrazilpilot Newport-Mesa Unified School District administrators have visited about a third of their campuses to inspect infrastructure and security that would help protect students in the event of a shooting or other violent event. Deputy Supt. Russell Lee-Sung, who is overseeing the districtwide study, updated the board of education Tuesday regarding actions the district has taken since the mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida. This involves reviewing infrastructure and strengthening partnerships with the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa police departments, which provide four school resource officers to local schools. Lee-Sung opposes arming school employees. I would never recommend that but having trained police officers who are part of the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police departments is where we get our support, Lee-Sung said. Britt Dowdy, president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, said his membership concurs. Mr. Lee-Sung did a very good job outlining the programs that Newport-Mesa has provided for many years to provide a safe environment, Dowdy said. School Trustee Karen Yesley met Monday with Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis, Supt. Fred Navarro and Phil DAgostino, the districts director of student and community services. During the meeting, Lewis reaffirmed his officers commitment to protecting students, school employees and the general public. Theyre equally concerned about the safety of our campuses, Yelsey said. School resource officers, commonly called SROs, have visited all but one school site, Lee-Sung added. Lewis said he is pleased that Newport Beach police have a close working relationship with Newport-Mesa and its leadership team. We are in close contact with them on a daily basis through our school resource officers and patrol officers, he said. And, on occasion, I take the opportunity to meet with higher-level staff members from NMUSD to ensure that our ongoing work together (and any future endeavors) are on track. As part of the risk and threat assessments, school administrators will consider security-related upgrades, but not every suggestion from the Newport-Mesa community will be appropriate, he said. We dont want to create prisons, Lee-Sung said. These are our schools. We want our parents to feel comfortable. We want our students to feel comfortable. After the safety review is completed, Lee-Sung wants everyone on campus to know what to do in an emergency, own and accept responsibility for their safety and collectively contribute to a caring environment. Safety has been a recurring topic among parents and teachers during school board meetings this academic year, but concerns heightened after the Feb. 14 shooting in Florida. Days after the shooting, Newport Beach police investigated a graffiti threat found on a desk in a seventh-grade classroom at Corona del Mar Middle School but deemed it not credible. Last month, parents raised concerns about a drawing by a student at California Elementary School in Costa Mesa and called on the district to ramp up security measures. Staff Writer Priscella Vega contributed to this report. Daniel Langhorne is a contributor to Times Community News. Twitter: @DanielLanghorne Talking with UNSW President Ian Jacobs, Thinh affirmed that Vietnam always values achievements of Australias advanced education and stands ready to create favourable conditions for Australias educational establishments, including UNSW, to further enhance collaboration with Vietnam. He asked the UNSW to maintain effective collaboration with Vietnams agencies concerned and education-training establishments, especially in sharing education-training experience, exchange of students and lecturers, building curricula, increasing scholarships to Vietnamese students, and jointly celebrating the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Jacobs, for his part, said the UNSW has received outstanding students from Asian countries, including Vietnam under the Colombo Plan funded by the Australian Government since the 1950s. In recent years, the number of Vietnamese in the university has continuously increased, amounting to nearly 500 now. The UNSW also partnered with Vietnams institutes to issue more than 40 research publications. At the universitys Climate Change Research Centre, Thinh said as one of the countries seriously hit by climate change, Vietnam attaches special importance to and supports the international communitys joint efforts against climate change, including implementing global climate change agreements within the framework of the United Nations Frame Convention on Climate Change, especially the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement. The centres leaders expressed readiness to cooperate and share experience with Vietnam in the field. At the UoS, the Vice President spoke highly of the universitys cooperation with Vietnam, especially its Sydney Medical School. On the occasion, she expressed delight at meeting Marie Bashir, patron of Hoc Mai (Study Forever) Foundation. Bashir said since its establishment in 1997, the foundation worked with the Sydney Medical School to launch education exchange activities and improve Vietnams medical capacity. Over the past more than 19 years, thousands of Vietnamese graduates and doctors have studied in Australia with government scholarships and others funded by the school and Hoc Mai Foundation. Thinh wished that the school and Hoc Mai Foundation would create opportunities to work with Vietnamese partners so that the Vietnamese patients could enjoy cheaper and better treatment. In the evening the same day, the Vietnamese guest attended the launch of Vietnam Centre and a show introducing royal costumes during the post-Le dynasty. She believed that the centres activities will bring Vietnamese history and culture closer to Australian people, thereby enhancing friendship and mutual understanding, especially at a time when the countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. She said the centre should discuss and propose teaching Vietnamese with the Vietnamese General Consulate in Sydney, and even suggest New South Wales administration add Vietnamese language into official curricula in schools with numerous Vietnamese students. During the GSW the same day, the Vietnamese delegation joined common and specialised discussions during which participants said economic connectivity is indispensable and countries need to tap opportunities instead of choosing trade defence policies. Apart from discussing gender equality, empowering women in digital era and the fourth industrial revolution, the summit also debated leadership skills for women, corporate development, market expansion and application of advanced technologies in business operations. Vietnamese female entrepreneurs actively joined discussions on building a network of female entrepreneurs in Australia. During World War II, Frances Brewer worked on warplanes for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, but much to her dismay never got the opportunity to fly in one. I always wanted to fly, Brewer said. More than 70 years later, Brewers wish has been granted. Through the efforts of some caring individuals, Brewer, 93, flew over the Orange County coastline in a single-engine four-seater out of John Wayne Airport. Brewer, a former schoolteacher and clinical psychologist, lives at the Groves Senior Living center in Tustin. The Groves has an initiative called Livin the Dream, which grants residents wishes in the same way the Make-A-Wish Foundation does for children with critical medical conditions. We find out what the residents have been wanting to do but never had a chance to do and try to make it happen for them, said Alma Gomez, vibrant life director at The Groves. During a visit to Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, Brewer, who is in the middle stages of Alzheimers disease, told Gomez about her desire to fly in a small plane. Gomez then got busy trying to make it happen. She reached out to Costa Mesa-based Royal Aviation, an FAA-approved flight school providing flight instruction at John Wayne Airport, which agreed to get Brewer into a plane and up in the air. With flight instructor Emi Kennedy at the controls, Brewer in the co-pilot seat and a videographer in the back seat, Brewers dream became reality on April 23. The three took off from John Wayne Airport, traveled along the coast to Dana Point and then returned for landing. When we went over the water we went up pretty high, Brewer said. It was really fun to see the ground from up there. She even got to take the wheel during part of the flight. She was enjoying it, definitely, Kennedy said. I think she was just amazed. Back on ground, Brewer boarded a van for the trip back to the Groves. When you stop having adventures, you stop being alive, Brewer said. Lou Ponsi is a contributor to Times Community News. Former Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh took exception last week to campaign mailers sent out by his chief opponent in the 48th Congressional District race, incumbent Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa). They are just making stuff up and throwing it out to see what sticks, Baugh said of the accusations made about him in the fliers. For the record: An earlier version of this column incorrectly identified OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker as Ken Whitaker. Rohrabachers campaign hasnt responded to my questions about the assertions. But Baugh isnt letting this go. On April 23, he wrote to OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker, requesting an ethics investigation into the false, misleading, defamatory and distorted information used by Dana Rohrabachers campaign committee and Congressman Rohrabacher himself. The letter explains Baughs complaints about Rohrabachers mailers, which accuse him of being pro-amnesty and supported by Never Trumpers. Neither claim is true. If the lies in Rohrabachers mail were sent out against a favored Republican, the OCGOP would issue swift rebuke and condemn the liars, Baugh says. The OCGOP cannot have a double standard when applying ethics by applying a harsh standard to challengers and ignoring the lies of incumbents. Otherwise the party would lose credibility. At a minimum, I expect that Chairman Whitaker make certain the lies are stopped. As far as punishment, the OCGOP has options of admonition, reprimand, censure and even withdrawing an endorsement. Also on April 23, Baugh signed another letter to Whitaker along with over a dozen OC Republican Central Committee members, including state Sens. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) and John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), school choice advocate Mark Bucher and Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Will ONeill. Newport council members Diane Dixon and Kevin Muldoon and Costa Mesa Councilman Jim Righeimer also signed. We write to request that you take immediate action to stop the Rohrabacher (for) Congress campaign from distributing false information about Scott Baugh, chairman emeritus the Republican Party of Orange County, their letter stated. The group defended Baugh as a Republican leader, saying he served the party faithfully for decades, walking precincts on behalf of candidates, volunteering and raising more money (exceeding $20 million) for Republican candidates throughout Orange County and the entire country more than any other volunteer in OCGOP history. In closing, they acknowledged that the party endorsed Rohrabacher before Baugh entered the race, but that endorsement cannot be used as an umbrella to allow incumbents to engage in false and negative campaigning, they wrote. These false accusations and negative campaigning tactics reflect poorly on each of us especially when done by one of our endorsed candidates, the letter stated. I asked Dixon why she signed. I do not support a race to the bottom (or) campaign mudslinging, she said. And though she hasnt endorsed anyone in this race, she does support Baughs effort to run a campaign based on facts and important issues. Seeing signatures from the likes of Muldoon, ONeill and Dixon seemed a bit hypocritical of them. Theyve all used Newport political consultant Dave Ellis, a guy not known for pulling punches in campaigns. And I should know: When I ran for Newport Beach City Council in 2006 one of my opponents used Ellis, who sent out fact-bending mailers about me. I asked Ellis to comment for this column, but he declined. I asked Dixon about her Ellis connection; she wasnt ready to talk about it. We are all big boys and know that campaigns can get nasty, Baugh says. That has gone on since before the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Candidates often distort and stretch the truth, but there is a bright line that cannot be sanctioned when the candidate is lying about his opponent. But isnt that splitting hairs? Truth isnt meant to be distorted or stretched. Now, I agree with Baugh that this practice needs to end. And Im glad notable elected officials are taking a stand. But you cant complain about these tactics one minute and belly up to the bar with those whove perpetrated the practice the next. Baugh recently added former Anaheim blogger Matthew Cunningham to his PR team. Cunninghams had his own go-around with controversy. In 2013 he published a photo of a defaced teddy bear next to a Virgin of Guadalupe candle, which he says was misrepresented by the media as mimicking a memorial shrine Latino families place at the locations where their sons and brothers have been shot by police. It sparked outrage. Cunningham says that wasnt the intent of his blog post and tried to correct the story with reporters, telling them it was a satirical moment gone wrong, one which he regretted, and that he never intended to offend Latinos his wife is Mexican and would never do that. He feels his political enemies helped perpetuate the damaging narrative, which cost him dearly financially and personally and remains a painful chapter. Whatever side of the mudslinging youre on, this negative political culture has been allowed to fester for decades, not only within the O.C. Republican Party but the Democratic Party as well. Can Baugh be the instrument of change within his party, forcing the establishment to re-evaluate its definition of the truth and ethical behavior? If he succeeds, its a game-changer. BARBARA VENEZIA is an opinion columnist writing political and social commentary since 2007. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com With the Legislature recently passing Senate Bill 54, it has become increasingly important to speak up on issues regarding the publics safety. Many cities have been taking different approaches, anywhere from resolutions, to lawsuits, to ordinances, and all have different impacts. But the need to take action on this important issue is clear. Back in 2006 I pushed for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent to be in our jail to screen arrestees for their immigration status. As a result we turned over to ICE 1,300 undocumented immigrants who were charged with committing crimes in Costa Mesa. These were serious crimes like burglary, robbery, drug offenses, sex offenses, weapons charges, etc. During that time other cities and politicians largely took no action on the issue. In 2010 I put a resolution forward to make Costa Mesa a rule of law city the first in the country to make such a declaration. Again, other cities and politicians were mostly silent. I am glad to see them finally catching on and bringing the issue forward for their councils to vote on. I have requested that our City Council take up this issue at our first meeting in May. But dont hold your breath on the outcome. A couple of months ago I put forward a letter opposing SB 54, the sanctuary state bill, but it was voted down 3-2 by the council majority. I have complete respect for legal immigration, as both of my parents immigrated to this country legally, and I am a first-generation American. We all take an oath of office to uphold our laws and the people in our city deserve no less. ALLAN MANSOOR is a member of the Costa Mesa City Council. Two men are being sought by the Glendale Police Department for allegedly pickpocketing a woman at the Cheesecake Factory in the Americana at Brand late last month. The incident occurred around 1:45 p.m. on March 24 as a woman was eating in the restaurants patio area, according to Tahnee Lightfoot, a spokeswoman for Glendale police. She said the men reportedly entered the area and went over to a table behind the woman. One of the men allegedly then used a jacket to partially hide himself as he took the womans purse from her chair and stole its contents. He took out her wallet, removed credit cards and then used his jacket to conceal the purse as he placed it next to the victims chair, Lightfoot said. The suspects immediately left the restaurant and pretended to not know each other after exiting. Soon after the men left, the woman received a fraud alert on her phone saying her credit cards were used nearby to purchase three $1,000 Nordstrom gift cards. Her credit cards were also used to purchase gift cards at a Nordstrom in Canoga Park, according to Lightfoot. The man suspected of stealing from the woman is described as 30 to 37 years old with a medium build. The second man is described as 50 to 57 years old, having a medium to heavy build with a mustache and goatee. Anyone with information about the two men can contact Glendale police at (818) 548-4911. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc Community members have an open invitation to drop by and enjoy watching equestrians compete during the four-day, 97th annual Flintridge Horse Show taking place at Flintridge Riding Club beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 26, and concluding on Sunday, April 29. Admission to the shows daily events is free, as is parking on the grounds of the club, located at 4625 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada. On Saturday night, Land Rover Pasadena will present the $15,000 Grand Prix and Ringside Benefit Dinner, with proceeds earmarked for Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Tickets for that dinner are $150 per person, with children under 10 admitted for $50 each. The president of the historic riding club, Suzie Osimo, stated in a news release that the organization is pleased to have the opportunity to host the show each year, where ponies and horses are put through their paces in several rings. We want people to enjoy our Flintridge Riding Club and have an opportunity to see magnificent horses and riders of all ages compete, Osimo said. Also, every year the Flintridge La Canada Guild works diligently to raise funds to support the Huntington Hospital. The proceeds from this benefit horse show go toward providing the best in possible care to patients there. We welcome folks to come to the show and have some fun with us. Show sponsorships and tickets to Saturday nights Grand Prix and dinner are available by contacting Helen Lund at (818) 693-1010. carol.cormaci@latimes.com Twitter: @CarolCormaci Despite recent flooding, farmers in Hawaiis East Oahu say they will turn the spotlight on their products as planned during the Parade of Farms in early May. Torrential rain on April 20, KITV reported, fell at the rate of 4 to 5 inches an hour, the areas worst flooding in 30 years. As cleanup continues, Parade of Farms organizers say the areas agricultural bounty will be showcased as planned on May 5. Some of the hardest-hit farms withdrew from the event that showcases farms, farm products, foods and more. People are invited to visit six farms in the Waimanalo area during four guided tours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on May 5. That is down from the planned seven tours of 10 farms prior to last Fridays deluge. Advertisement Buses will shuttle participants between the sites, beginning with a 9 a.m. trip to Frankies Nursery, a grower of tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees, including exotic varieties such as cainito, kasturi and malama. Other stops include Go Farm, a University of Hawaii project to assist new farmers; Kanu Farms, which raises chickens on a seven-acre pasture; Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii, where horses are used to improve the minds and bodies of their riders; and Waimanalo Farms, a grower of various non-GMO produce. Tickets for the Parade of Farms cost $15. (Some of the participating farms welcome visitors year-round. Details can be found on their websites.) Manoa Chocolate in Kailua canceled a May 5 tour after losing much of their cacao crop in the storm. It plans to hold an open house that day, with bean-to-bar products for sale. Although tourism is the economic lifeblood of Waikiki, the Waimanalo region on the eastern, and wetter, side of Oahu relies heavily on agriculture. The fertile growing lands lie about 15 miles east of Honolulu. Info: Parade of Farms, (808) 622-9026 travel@latimes.com Advertisement @latimestravel Hundreds of Palestinians stormed a flimsy fence that runs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Friday, setting parts of the barrier on fire. It was the first breach of the security fence in five consecutive weeks of Palestinian protests. Israeli army spokesman Lt. Jonathan Conricus said Israel viewed this as an audacious and severe attack, adding that Israel will not tolerate attempts to infiltrate its territory. According to Conricus, between 500 and 700 protesters managed to penetrate about 30 yards into Israel, remaining in a dusty strip of no-mans land adjacent to a village, where residents were readying for Friday night dinners. Three people were killed and at least 350 were wounded Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Advertisement The ministry said that 45 of the wounded were hit by live fire from Israeli forces. Conricus said that 12,000 to 14,000 Palestinians participated in the protests. They rolled burning tires, hurled rocks, flew kites with flaming objects attached to them and made several attempts to burn and breach the border fence before succeeding, he said. The rioters approached the security fence and hurled explosive devices, grenades, firebombs and rocks and tried to light the security fence on fire, the Israeli army said in a statement. Palestinian media reported that six of the wounded are journalists. A reporter, Abdel Rahman Alkahlout, was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian reports, and a photographer, Hashem Hamada, was hit in the head by a tear gas canister. Todays breach of the border fence was unprecedented, but long feared and foreseen by the Israeli military. The demonstrations, collectively dubbed the Great March of Return, originally were scheduled to culminate in a massive march of thousands on May 15, the date on which Palestinians mark Israels 1948 declaration of independence as the Nakba, or catastrophe. But on Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that the weekly protests would continue beyond May 15, which this year also marks the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Palestinian people will demonstrate throughout the month of Ramadan to deal with the many challenges facing us, and first of all the peace plan promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump, the so-called deal of the century, Haniyeh said. Advertisement Palestinian anger at the United States has escalated since Trumps December announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The U.S. Embassy move is set for May 14, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Israels founding. Israel has long sought the move and the recognition. Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, strongly object. Trump has touted a Middle East peace plan, to be negotiated by his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, since the start of his presidency, calling it the ultimate deal, but Israeli, Palestinian and American officials have yet to see it. We will turn this deal into a resounding slap in the face for the administration in Washington and anyone who weaves conspiracies against the Palestinian people, Haniyeh said. Advertisement On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 42 Palestinians had been killed and 5,511 wounded in the weekly marches in Gaza. No Israeli casualties have been reported. Israel has faced a growing international outcry over its use of live fire to contain the protests, which have included improvised bombs and numerous attempts to breach the border fence. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Raad Hussein said Friday that Israel must explain its use of excessive force in Gaza, where the number of injuries is staggering. A spokesman for the Israeli military said Thursday that its troops operate in accordance with clear rules of engagement that are tailored to these scenarios. Advertisement Hundreds of Palestinians stormed a flimsy fence that runs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Friday, setting parts of the barrier on fire. Amnesty International published a statement Friday calling for an embargo on arms sales to Israel and asserting that Israel is carrying out a murderous assault against protesting Palestinians, with its armed forces killing and maiming demonstrators who pose no imminent threat to them. On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley denounced the participation of unarmed Palestinian civilians in the protests, saying, Anyone who truly cares about children in Gaza should insist that Hamas immediately stop using children as cannon fodder in its conflict with Israel. Addressing a U.N. Security Council meeting, Haley said, Its difficult to think of a more cowardly act even for a terrorist than hiding behind innocent civilians. Advertisement Several journalists have been killed and wounded since March 30, when the protests started. Yasser Murtaja, a Palestinian photographer wearing a vest emblazoned with the word Press, was killed while covering the march on April 6. Ahmed Abu Hussein, another photographer, died this week of injuries sustained in the April 13 march. The Israeli army says it is investigating the circumstances of their deaths but has yet to issue any findings. On Thursday, an Israeli army spokesman said that it does not aim to harm members of the press. Despite the fact that bullet wounds caused the deaths of Murtaja and Hussein, the spokesman postulated that if the journalists in question had stumbled and fell or inhaled tear gas, which is one of the riot dispersal means used, it is impossible for the [Israeli army] to prevent such injuries. We encourage journalists to act with caution in the areas in which Hamas carries out terrorist acts and leads violent riots. The Gaza Strip, a tiny, beleaguered enclave bounded by Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, has survived under an onerous blockade since 2007, when Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militia, wrested control of the territory from the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank. Advertisement Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent. UPDATES: 1:20 p.m.: This article was updated with new casualty numbers and details about protesters breaching and burning the border fence. This article was originally published at 10 a.m. Kim Jong Un, who has boasted of having missiles capable of reaching the United States, became the first North Korean leader to hold summit talks in South Korea, declaring Friday morning that he hoped for a new history of peace, prosperity and better inter-Korean ties. Kim walked across the border for his meeting with President Moon Jae-in, and his decision to cross at Panmunjom, a tense diplomatic outpost thats been the site of deadly skirmishes over the years, seemed a symbolic step to show that the third-generation leader, whose grandfather founded the totalitarian state, is ready to make a deal with the South. The two leaders, both smiling, greeted each other along the Military Demarcation Line, the border that for more than six decades has separated the two countries still technically at war. Kim and Moon chatted, crossed briefly to the northern side, and then walked together along a red carpet, accompanied by an honor guard, before entering a diplomatic building for their meeting. As the start of the meeting, Kim said, Today, Im here with a mindset that I would fire a flare to kick-start a new history of peace, prosperity and better inter-Korean ties. I hope that we will have heart-to-heart conversations on issues of mutual interest, and bring about good results today, according to a transcript released by Moons office. Advertisement I dont want to see the previous history that weve seen at past summits repeat itself, going back to square one without any results. Instead, hopefully, both sides will look forward to the future, hand-in-hand and marching together toward the future, Kim said. Lets talk in an open-minded, sincere and candid manner. Moon replied, The weather is so nice today. Spring is here on the Korean peninsula. Kim, wearing a dark, Mao-inspired suit, had crossed into the South by walking between two sky-blue huts that straddle the demarcation line. He stepped over a concrete marker onto gravel on the South Korean side, a stunning visual for many Korea watchers, the men holding hands along the way. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border village of Panmunjom. (Associated Press ) The only thing missing is a high-five and a hug, said one news announcer, Daniel Choy, with state-funded Arirang News. This historic moment is now immortalized. David Kang, a professor at USC who heads its Korean Studies Institute, said the images of Kim and Moon greeting each other and the Norths leader walking across the border and his gracious opening statement signaled a positive start to the summit. Kang said he and others will be watching, however, for what the leaders agree to announce later during the meeting. For the skeptic, its easy to say it doesnt mean anything. The reality is, this is extraordinary, he said. This is how you begin. Its not how you end, but its how you begin. On the meeting agenda are three key issues: improved inter-Korean relations, which have been especially strained in recent years; a sustainable agreement for peace on the peninsula, which could set a path to formally end the Korean War; and the potential denuclearization of the North, which spent last year inflaming the world by testing ballistic missiles and detonating an underground hydrogen bomb. Advertisement The summit could be just the first round in a continuing dialogue between the two nations, which are trying to reestablish some diplomatic channels despite the tension of recent years. The two leaders, for example, recently installed a direct hotline to communicate. A meeting between President Trump and Kim is expected to happen in the next several weeks. The United States and South Korea are key allies, and more than 28,000 American troops are stationed in and around Seoul, the capital, and elsewhere in the country. Kim and Moon were expected to meet inside the Peace House, a building on the South side of the compound, throughout the day before a banquet there Friday night. It is the same location where many of the talks leading to the two countries joint participation in the recent Winter Olympics took place. The three-story building has been spruced up in recent weeks, with new paint and a conference room table that will place the two leaders 2,018 millimeters apart (about 6 feet) to symbolize the year. Advertisement For a long time, this area has really been used as a tourist destination. Its a good thing to remind people about what this area is truly meant for: to have talks and maybe one day resolve the conflict on the Korean peninsula, J. Elise Van Pool, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces Korea, said during a recent tour for foreign journalists. Before entering, Moon waited for Kim to arrive and walked to greet him at the border. The men shook hands and posed for pictures, including with a group of young students. Moon, whose parents fled North Korea amid the war, and Kim then walked into the Peace House. The Norths leader then signed a guestbook, and South Korean media broadcast images of his remarks: A new history starts now: from the starting point of the age of peace and history. Advertisement The highly scripted opening didnt, of course, address what the two leaders might agree to announce on Friday. They were expected to say something about the Norths willingness to change course on its rapid advancement as a nuclear power. They were also expected to try to find common ground on a potential peace agreement, which could require the blessing of the United States and China, whose representatives were signatories to the 1953 armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War. No matter the summits result, its clear the imagery of the day will be long remembered by observers of Korean affairs. Among those following Fridays events was Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., who studies images for clues about North Koreas nuclear and missile programs. Advertisement It was remarkable, she said of Kim crossing the border. I was teasing my colleagues that, decades from now, we would remember being together for this moment. Stiles is a special correspondent. UPDATES: 8:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with comments from Kim Jong Un, Moon Jae-in, David Kang and Melissa Hanham. Advertisement 5:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the meeting of the leaders of North Korea and South Korea. This article was originally published at 5:45 p.m. If China and the United States continue their charge into a full-on trade war, few regions will be as vulnerable to the resulting economic turbulence as Southeast Asia. Thats why the 10 governments of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Singapore this week are hashing out ideas about how the region can duck any shrapnel if the worlds two biggest economies keep firing protectionist salvos at each other. Considering that China and the U.S. are ASEANs first and third trading partner respectively, the early exchange of blows between Washington and Beijing would be watched nervously across all ASEAN capitals, said Tang Siew Mun, head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a Singapore-based research organization. Especially vulnerable is Singapore, a tiny island state sitting on the Strait of Malacca, a narrow waterway between Indonesia and Malaysia linking the Indian and Pacific oceans. One of the worlds busiest ports, Singapores total trade in goods and services is three times the size of countrys economy, which at around $300 billion roughly matches Connecticuts. Advertisement Each day, hundreds of cranes hoisting thousands of shipping containers line the city-states extensive port facilities. Sixteen million barrels of oil and other hydrocarbons pass through the strait each day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As a strong proponent of free trade and supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system, Singapore is concerned by an escalating cycle of expanding unilateral tariff measures. Such actions will have a negative impact on international supply chains and global growth, the Singapore Trade Ministry said in a statement. ASEANs members range from the Philippines, a 7,500-island archipelago that is Asias biggest Christian-majority country; to mostly Muslim Malaysia, a manufacturing and electronics hub; to Buddhist Myanmar, where bounteous natural resources sit strategically positioned between India and China. Much of the regions economy is stitched into global production chains linking usually bigger or wealthier economies in Japan, the U.S., Europe and more recently, China. Manufacturing taking place in countries such as Vietnam or the Philippines often results in parts shipped to China for final assembly before export to the U.S. While of the region has not yet been hit by directly U.S. trade curbs, countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, which like China sell more to the U.S. than they buy, could find themselves subject to American scrutiny. The regions governments have spoken against protectionism and are likely to do so at this weeks summit, which ends Saturday. At the same time, however, they will be wary of saying anything that might prompt a tweet-storm from the irascible U.S. president. As a globally trading city-state and simultaneously ASEANs current chair, Singapore is likely to encourage a summit statement that cautions against trade instability without being sharply anti-Trump, said Donald K. Emmerson, director of the Southeast Asia Program at Stanford University. ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have signed the revised Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal that President Trump ditched soon after taking office. All 10 ASEAN countries also are party to negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, another huge Asian free trade deal that will, if agreed, include China, Japan and India, as well as Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Advertisement A kind of slimmed-down version of the European Union, ASEAN marked its 50th anniversary last year. Set up at the height of the Cold War, the grouping is slowly becoming more integrated, though countries typically trade more with nonmembers, such as Japan and China, than they do with one another. But as tensions between the U.S. and China grow, ASEAN is once again caught in the middle of what could be a damaging arm-wrestle between great powers. The latest U.S. National Security Strategy, published in late 2017, made it clear that the Trump presidency sees China as a rival to be confronted. We should understand that what is now happening on the trade front is an expression of a much deeper shift in Washingtons approach to China. Unlike previous Republican and Democratic administrations of the past four decades who saw China as a partner or strategic partner, the Trump administration has named it a strategic rival or even adversary, said Graham Allison of Harvard University, author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydidess Trap? Advertisement U.S.- China rivalry has caused rifts in ASEAN in the past. In 2012, in a rare breach of ASEANs usually polite reserve and formal unity, a gathering of ministers ended acrimoniously as Cambodia, that years chair and an ally of China, refused to sign off on a statement criticizing Beijing over its activities in the South China Sea. China claims much of the sea as its own, and its expansive claims overlap with those of Vietnam and the Philippines, a U.S. ally. Asked if this weeks summit would feature any potentially divisive debate about the South China Sea, Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers, said, We have no idea about that; you will have to ask the ASEAN chair Singapore about the agenda. Advertisement ASEAN countries may be reluctant to criticize China for another reason. The countrys long economic boom has been presided over by an authoritarian one-party government. Such governments are found among ASEAN members. Cambodias recent crackdown on the countrys main opposition party, ahead of elections to be held at the end of July, means that Prime Minister Hun Sen will maintain control a longevity that dates to the year after Ronald Reagan won reelection to the White House. But Cambodia is unlikely to face any criticism from ASEAN, which includes one-party states Laos and Vietnam, as well as Thailand, a military dictatorship. A similarly muted response is likely regarding the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in western Myanmar. Last year around 700,000 Rohingya fled into Bangladesh as the Myanmar army retaliated against attacks by Rohingya militants with deadly and disproportionate force. Leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner and Nobel laureate, has faced criticism over the Rohingya from Muslim-majority ASEAN members Indonesia and Malaysia, albeit outside the formal confines of the bloc. Advertisement Roughneen is a special correspondent. The radio station is among the projects implemented under the agreement on economic, cultural, education, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries. Carried out by the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), the project has advanced facilities which are in line with the radio-television development progress committed in the ASEAN bloc. At the inauguration ceremony, director of the provincial department of information Men Som Nuon expressed her sincere thanks to the Vietnamese Government and people for supporting the provinces development. The FM radio station will make significant contributions to popularising the Cambodian Governments policies and guidelines as well as socio-economic development plan to local people, she added. Prof. Dr. Ta Hoa Phuong, Head of the Subject of Natural Resource Management and Development under the Faculty of Geology, VNU University of Science, held a talk with Nhan Dan on the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark and gave several suggestions for Cao Bang to make the most of the geopark. "Only concerning the area of geoheritage, the park luckily possesses dozens of unique destinations, which contain outstanding and premier values," said Prof. Dr. Phuong. "Magnet" has yet to be exploited Q: Non Nuoc Cao Bang is the second global geopark of Vietnam to be recognised by UNESCO but the name Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark remains unknown, even to Vietnamese people. Can you tell us more about the outstanding and special values of this geoheritage? Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark is located in the north-eastern region of Vietnam. With a total area of over 3,000 km, the park covers the entire administrative boundaries of the six districts of Ha Quang, Tra Linh, Quang Uyen, Trung Khanh, Ha Lang, and Phuc Hoa and part of three districts of Hoa An, Nguyen Binh and Thach An. Like Dong Van Karst Plateau in Ha Giang province, before being recognised as a global geopark, Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark was developed as a provincial-level geopark. Perhaps because of inefficient communications, the title of the provincial geopark remains unknown. Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark was formed over a vast period, having experienced the three Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. It is also home to the largest number of karst caverns and the most beautiful caverns, such as Nguom Ngao and Dong Doi, which were formed from the Givet limestone about 387-382 million years ago - the oldest type of limestone compared with other famous caves in Vietnam including Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Ha Long Bay, Dong Van Karst Plateau, and Trang An tourism site. Non Nuoc Cao Bang also possesses a lot of geological and geomorphological heritages (also called geoheritage) - the most important type of heritage among natural heritages. These geoheritages meet all of the criteria set for a geoheritage including beautiful, unique and exceptional landscape; special geoheritage of scientific significance and national and international importance; the heritage needs to be protected from the threat of destruction by nature or humans; and heritage sites are meaningful for education and tourism development. Q: Could you provide some specific examples? The 3km Nguom Ngao cave is a good example with part of it having been opened for tourists. The cave is famous for its stalactites, which make up the Thap Vang (golden tower), Thap Bac (silver tower), and the magnificent Cay San Ho (coral tree). In particular, the cave also possesses a stalagmite in the shape of a perfect upside-down lotus which is said to be the most beautiful one compared with other caves in Vietnam. The Dong Doi (Bat Cave) in Ha Lang district is also a very rare cave which includes three interconnected floors, in which the first floor is a river cave and the upper two floors are fossil caves. In addition to the diverse and unique stalactite system, this cave also possesses a tremendous amount of cave pearls. Moreover, the cave has Vietnam's largest reef of marine organisms (which are mainly Stromatoporoidea, Coral and Brachiopoda fossils) with their remains on the wall and ceiling of the cave, stretching tens of metres. Such a beautiful three-storey karst cave with a unique stalactite system and a rare reef of marine creature is not seen anywhere else in Vietnam. In addition, the Ghi Rang cave and the Thang Hen Lake system are also among the must-see destinations for visitors when exploring the Non Nuoc Cao Bang geopark. Ghi Rang is a fossil cave that is divided into two large chambers with stalactites in special shapes, while Thang Hen is the most beautiful and widest lake in the system of 36 interconnected lakes in the karst topography of Tra Linh district. The lakes are interconnected through a system of underground caves, cracks and siphons, which only occur in the karst topography. Besides a few of the caves that have been opened for tourists, a large number of karst caves of the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark have not been fully researched. However, only preliminary reviews can see the huge potential for exploration and adventure tourism. It would be a mistake without mentioning Ban Gioc - the world's fourth largest cross-border waterfall and also the largest and most beautiful natural waterfalls in Southeast Asia. The Quay Son River (Guichun River) originates in China and when it reaches Dam Thuy commune in Cao Bang province, it divides into many branches and lowers its flow by 35m to form the spectacular Ban Gioc waterfall. After many years of remaining in the land of magnificent scenery and cultural and historical richness I now understand the magnetic attraction of the nature here that has featured in many famous folk-songs. Unfortunately, the pace of tourism development in Cao Bang has yet to meet its potential. If the locality knows how to make the most of the global values recognised by the UNESCO, Cao Bang would probably become a magnet for a large number of domestic and foreign visitors. Practical suggestions Q: "If the locality knows how to make the most of the global values" sounds simple but it is not easy to realise. With the view of a leading expert in the field of geological tourism, what should Cao Bang do "to make the most of the acclaimed global values"? Being over 300 km from Hanoi to the natural heritage sites in Cao Bang is likely to be a significant obstacle as it takes visitors five to eight hours to travel from Hanoi to Cao Bang. Moreover, tours for visitors to Cao Bang are not designed reasonably, in the way that tourists travel from the central city of Cao Bang to tourist destinations in remote areas. Therefore, tourists do not spend the night at tourist sites, creating little opportunities for tourist spots to develop, thus not improving the economic conditions for the localities. To overcome this shortcoming, Cao Bang should invest more in tourism infrastructure in its localities, especially roads and tourist accommodation and services at tourist sites. On this basis, tours should be reorganised in a more rational manner including tours connecting tourist sites. The opening of tourist routes linking prominent tourist spots in a closed circle as proposed by Vu Van Ha and Dang Minh Tuan or the idea of building thematic tours based on the clusters of heritage or clusters of cultural - historical heritage as advised by other experts are also practical suggestions so that Cao Bang will develop more tourism products that are worthy of the recognised global geopark title. Thank you very much! Chinese President Xi Jinping takes a ship to inspect the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou City, central China's Hubei Province, April 25, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua] WUHAN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for achieving high-quality economic growth through developing the Yangtze River economic belt. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. He stressed the importance of enhancing reform and innovation, strategic coordination as well as planning and guiding in developing the economic belt. "It is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee and a major strategy concerning overall national development to promote the development of the Yangtze River economic belt," Xi said. He called for all-out efforts to protect the Yangtze River, saying there should be no large-scale development of the river. "In developing the economic belt, the key lies in properly dealing with the relationship between pressing ahead on the whole and making breakthroughs in key areas, between ecological environment protection and economic development, between making an overall plan and making unremitting efforts, between getting rid of old growth engines and cultivating new engines, and between developing individually and developing in a coordinated way," he said. Before the symposium, Xi on Tuesday inspected Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group, China's largest fine phosphoric chemicals maker and the largest relocated company in the Three Gorges Reservoir region. "The Yangtze River is China's mother river, and we must protect it, while enterprises are the major force in protecting and building the ecological environment of the river," he said. "We must move all polluting enterprises from along the Yangtze River with resolve... to root out hidden dangers of pollution," he stressed. Xi called for putting restoration of the river's ecological environment high on the agenda in developing the Yangtze River economic belt. "When we say there should be no large-scale development, it does not mean we cannot develop it at all, but we should stay away from destructive development of the river, and we should follow a green development path which puts ecology first," Xi said. Also on Tuesday, Xi inspected the Three Gorges Project and the dam area's neighboring ecological environment. Calling the Three Gorges Project a crucial piece of high-end equipment for the nation and a major symbol of China's development since the reform and opening-up, Xi stressed the importance of having the capability to make really important high-end equipment "using our own hands." "To get core and key technology, begging alms won't work," Xi said. "We must rely on our own hard work." On Wednesday morning, Xi inspected the ecological environment and development along the Yangtze River by ship. Describing restoration of the river's ecological environment "an arduous task that the new era has entrusted to us" and "the high expectations of the people," Xi called for top priority to be given to stopping unplanned development and capping the total pollution discharge. "We must not allow the ecological environment of the Yangtze River to continue deteriorating in the hands of our generation, and we must leave our descendants a clean and beautiful Yangtze River," he said. On Thursday afternoon, Xi chaired a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt. "We must proceed from the long-term interests of the Chinese nation to put restoring the ecological environment of the Yangtze River at a dominant position, making all-out efforts to protect it, and forbidding large-scale development of the river," he said. The aim is to build the economic belt into a golden economic belt featuring more beautiful ecology, more smooth transport, more coordinated economy, more integrated market and more scientific mechanisms, he said. Saying that difficulties and challenges remain in developing the Yangtze River economic belt, Xi made five suggestions to promote the development of the Yangtze River economic belt. First, efforts should be made to properly deal with the relationship between pressing ahead on the whole and making breakthroughs in key areas, so as to protect and restore the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in all aspects. Second, efforts should be made to properly deal with the relationship between ecological environment protection and economic development, and explore a new path which puts ecology first while pursuing green development. Third, efforts should be made to properly deal with the relationship between making an overall plan and making unremitting efforts, and stick to a single blueprint until the end. Fourth, efforts should be made to properly deal with the relationship between getting rid of old growth engines and cultivating new engines, and facilitate the establishment of a modern economic system for the Yangtze River economic belt. Finally, efforts should be made to properly deal with the relationship between developing individually and developing in a coordinated way so as to make the economic belt an efficient economic entity. Vice Premier Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and also head of the leading group for promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt, addressed the symposium. A 24-year-old man died Thursday night hours after being shot in Allentown, the Lehigh County Coroner's Office reports. The shooting of Juan A. Sanchez, no street address given, was reported about 8:18 p.m. in the 300 block of West Linden Street, Coroner Scott Grim said. The victim was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township where he was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m. from gunshot wounds to the body, Grim said. The death was ruled a homicide, Grim said. The Morning Call, citing emergency radio reports, said police were looking for a silver 2012 Hyundai Sonata driven by a man with a mohawk. Allentown police couldn't immediately be reached for more details. The coroner's office and police are being assisted in the investigation by Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and the county's homicide task force. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A Bethlehem man who distributed thousands of packages of synthetic drugs to hundreds of clients nationwide was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life in federal prison. Jeremy Achey sold a synthetic analogue of the drug fentanyl to a 24-year-old woman in Orlando who overdosed and died, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Florida's middle district. A federal jury in Florda convicted the 43-year-old Bethlehem man on Jan. 25 of distributing synthetic drugs and conspiring to distribute the drugs. Achey sold drugs using the pseudonym "EtiKing" and was one of the largest synthetic drug distributors on Alphabay Market, a "darknet" marketplace for illicit substances, the news release says. The darknet is accessible via a free and easily downloaded encryption tool called The Onion Router, according to the criminal complaint filed against Achey. The encryption tool conceals users' identities and internet activities from government surveillance, according to the complaint. "To all those who feel safe hiding behind the dark web to dispense lethal drugs, you will eventually pay a high price for your actions," said Adolphus P. Wright, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's Miami field division. "Today's sentence underscores the severity of these crimes and their lethal consequences," added U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. The Onion Router used by Achey to facilitate his business was developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to protect U.S. intelligence communications online, the complaint says. Now it's used by criminals for credit card fraud, identity theft, weapons sales, child exploitation and drug sales. Darknet clients and dealers transact in the virtual currency Bitcoin to launder the proceeds, the complaint says. Achey's only prior conviction was for loitering when he was 19, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by federal defender Maria Guzman. He was born in Los Angeles. He married in 2000 and lived in Bethlehem until his arrest in June 2017. He never finished high school and worked as a forklift operator, carpenter, warehouse supervisor and truck driver, the memorandum says. Achey abused synthetic drugs and needs treatment, the memorandum says. Guzman failed to convince U.S. District Court Judge Paul Byron to limit Achey's sentence to 20 years in prison. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Joseph Roy and the school board are condemning the behavior of a district administrator who was captured in a video on Facebook cursing at a district parent. A district mother on Wednesday posted a short video on Facebook that shows her interaction with Nitschmann Middle School Assistant Principal Michael Wagner and the school resource officer. In the video, the man is heard in a short profanity-laced clip ordering the parent off district property. "Our community expects our school leaders to serve as role models. I expect our leaders to set the standard for civil behavior regardless of the challenge of a situation," Roy said in a statement Friday. "In a video recently posted online, a Bethlehem Area School District school administrator is heard using unprofessional and profane language. This behavior clearly fails to meet district expectations." Roy extended an apology to those involved and the community. "I regret the negative impact on the reputation of our district and on our dedicated teachers, administrators and staff," he said in a statement. "I expect better and we will do better in the future." The mother does not use her full name on her Facebook profile and did not respond to requests for comment sent via Facebook. When alerted to the posting Wednesday, Roy said the district was attempting to identify the people in the video and if they were confirmed as district staff they'd face immediate personnel action. "The district is pursuing appropriate personnel action commensurate with the seriousness of the incident," Roy said in his statement release Friday. In her Facebook post, the mother says that her daughter, who attends Nitschmann, has been bullied all school year and appropriate action has not been taken despite the filing of multiple reports with the Bethlehem Police Department. In her post, she says that her daughter was jumped by another girl and she went to the school, but found herself subjected to unprofessional treatment by staff who called them names and shoved them out of the building. See Roy's full statement below: Dr. Roy's statement regarding the recent video involving Nitschmann Middle School that was posted online. You can also read the statement at the top of the District website here: https://www.beth.k12.pa.us/ Posted by Bethlehem Area School District on Friday, April 27, 2018 EDITOR'S NOTE: The video, which contains profanity, was live on Facebook on Friday afternoon. The content had been either removed or blocked by Friday night. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Three cars derailed as a Norfolk Southern train was making a delivery along a private spur Thursday afternoon off Route 611 just south of Martins Creek in Lower Mount Bethel Township, a company spokesman confirmed. Since the incident happened on a railroad customer's property, the cleanup and righting of the cars were being handled by the customer, Norfolk Southern spokesman Jonathan Glass said Friday morning. He wouldn't identify the customer, citing policy, but the incident happened near the old Lehigh Cement plant which is owned now and operated by Ardent Mills, which has two facilities near each other in the township. The company is North America's largest supplier of flour, according to its website. Three Norfolk Southern train cars derailed making a delivery April 26, 2018, near Route 611 in Lower Mount Bethel Township. (Photo courtesy | Jim Schoof) A media voicemail box at the Colorado company could not accept messages on Friday morning, according to a recording. The train had 54 "covered hopper cars" loaded with grain, Glass said. No one was hurt in what Glass called a minor incident. The train was moving the cars into the facility to "spot" -- or properly place -- them to be unloaded, he said. Some grain was spilled in the 2 p.m. incident when one of the cars fell on its side, he added. The cars would be inspected either by the railroad or the customer before they would be allowed to continue on, he said. Whichever entity handled the inspection, Glass said he could "assure" the cars would be safe to travel. After a brief delay, the train continued on, Glass said. Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast said they had no information on the incident and Northampton County emergency dispatch records don't show a response from firefighters or EMS. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Elaine Chao, the U.S. secretary for transport, who is in Beijing for the ninth annual meeting of the China-U.S. Transportation Forum, in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2018.(Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China values the willingness the United States has shown to address the current trade friction through dialogue and communication, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday, adding that China's door for negotiation was always open. Li made the remarks when he met with Elaine Chao, the U.S. secretary for transport, in Beijing. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer would travel to China in a few days for trade talks. Li said the essence of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation was mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. "There is no winner in trade conflict, which will not only affect the recovery of the world economy but also the global industrial chain," he said, adding that solutions can only be found when both sides sit down for dialogue. Li said it serves the interests of both countries to maintain a steady and sound growth of bilateral relations. "It is also what the international community expects from our two countries," he said. Li said President Xi Jinping had met and held phone conversations with President Donald Trump for many times, and both countries should follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and view China-U.S. relations in a "correct way." "As the largest developing country and developed country in the world, China and the United States are highly complementary in the economy," Li said. He expressed the hope that the two countries could "work together in the spirit of mutual respect, and equal consultation to increase consensus and manage and control differences." "China will unswervingly open further to the outside world, which will unleash huge market potential," Li said, adding that he hoped countries including the United States would grasp the opportunities and benefit more from China's opening-up. "China also stands ready to promote cooperation with the United States in transportation, such as autonomous driving," he added. Chao, who was in Beijing this week for the ninth annual meeting of the China-U.S. Transportation Forum, congratulated China on maintaining an economic growth rate of 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. The United States and China had fruitful consultation during the forum, exchanging in-depth views on safety, infrastructure and new technologies like autonomous driving, Chao said, adding that the United States looks forward to enhancing cooperation with China in related areas. Noting that U.S-China relations were at a crucial stage, Chao said she hoped the consultation between two countries on economic and trade issues could yield positive results. Viewed as a turning point for Phillipsburg, town officials unveiled an extensive plan Thursday to redevelop Union Square and neighboring land to the north and south along the Delaware River. The plan earned the recommendation Thursday night of the town planning board for approval by town council. It builds on a riverfront redevelopment plan adopted by the town in 2014. What's different from past redevelopment plans going back decades in town is the possibility of an economic engine to drive the improvements: the federal Opportunity Zone awarded to Phillipsburg earlier this month on the recommendation of Gov. Phil Murphy. If council approves the plan, the town would put out a request for proposals to developers. Under the opportunity zone, investors would see their capital gains taxes reduced or even eliminated, depending on how many years -- up to a decade -- they remain involved in the property, said Mayor Stephen Ellis. "The riverfront is that mustard-seed that is going to start the redevelopment and bring people back to town," Ellis said, noting the Opportunity Zone encompasses more of Phillipsburg than just Union Square and the Delaware River frontage. By having the Union Square and riverfront redevelopment plan in place, the town is "way ahead of the curve" in vying for the limited federal Opportunity Zone dollars, Ellis said. The vision presented Thursday by planning board planner Angela Knowles draws from about a year and a half of community engagement. All together, the riverfront area extends about 2.5 miles. The focus Thursday night was on Union Square, the New Jersey gateway just off the Easton-Phillipsburg free bridge along Main Street. Redeveloping it according to the plan aims to redefine the space with new buildings and uses, connected to recreational and community gathering spaces along the river. "It's called Union Square but there really is no square any more, so we want to bring back the square," Knowles said. "We're really trying to capture what was there 100 years ago, wth new development." Some of the plan's concepts include new three-to-four story buildings, with Victorian-style gabled roofs. North of Union Square, now a parking area, a hotel may rise. New buildings could have parking underneath, first-floor office and retail and residences upstairs. An elevated boardwalk is envisioned, with spaces for temporary uses such as farmers' markets within the riverside floodplain. One idea shared Thursday shows a ferris wheel rising along Route 22. "This is all conceptual," Knowles said. "This is something to put out to a developer and have them come back with their more final plan." Conceptual renderings of a redevelopment plan for Union Square and the Delaware Riverfront, recommended for Phillipsburg Town Council approval by the town's planning board on April 26, 2018. (Courtesy images | For lehighvalleylive.com) Seeing the plan come to fruition would require acquiring some properties, Knowles said. Charlotte Walker, one homeowner along Riverside Way whose home is identified in the plan for possible acquisition, was joined by family members in pleading to be able to keep her home. Planning board member Danielle DeGerolamo, also a member of town council, said the idea of using eminent domain to take properties makes her uneasy. But she joined others on the board in giving its unanimous backing to the plan. Tricia Kobble, owner of Free Bridge Wine and Spirits in Union Square, gave the plan her full endorsement. Her parents own the gas station across from her shop that is one of the properties eyed for acquisition. Her family has been involved in Union Square since 1933; her grandfather owned the hotel that burned down there in 1967. "We're ecstatic," she told the planning board. "It's amazing, the job that you've done." Phillipsburg resident Lee Clark commended planners for the commitment to sustainable, green infrastructure in the proposal. "I am so impressed by what I saw here tonight," he said. "It truly shows that the town is looking to move forward." Phillipsburg, N.J., Riverfront Redevelopment Plan by Anonymous arnc2g2N on Scribd Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Stock Market News Credit Suisse ups target on Shell, but says further deleveraging needed 27-04-2018 16:04 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Feedback signs two-year contract with Royal Papworth Hospital 27-04-2018 09:31 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk PYONGYANG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), left here early Friday to attend the inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom, the truce village on the North-South border of the peninsula, said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un are set to hold their first summit meeting on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom on Friday. Kim will become the first DPRK leader to cross the border onto the South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The official Rodong Sinmun daily has said in an article that the summit is a historic one and a major event in the national history of Korea and it demonstrates the determination of Kim to realize reunification with the south through the strength of national unity. On Thursday, the official daily again slammed South Korean conservatives for trying to derail the process of national reconciliation launched by DPRK since the beginning of the year. A 41-year-old IT engineer who identified himself as Choy said that the summit is definitely a good thing. "It is starting to get better in inter-Korean relations, but there will be a long way to go," he told Xinhua. Kim Jong Un launched the process of reconciliation with South Korea in early this year. DPRK and South Korea cooperated in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February and exchanged visit of level delegations in March, warming up their relations and easing tension on the peninsula. A highlight each year for ArToll is the visit of a class of the Versailles School of Fine Art (Ecole des Beaux Arts). Motivated students and dedicated teachers bring sparkling cultural life to the community of Bedburg-Hau and give, at the end of their stay, a good insight in the quality of teaching and learning. Language can be a problem, as French is rarely taught in Germany nowadays, but visitors to the exhibitions assist each other and the artists in understanding the displayed art. A onetime dialogue between a performing Mongolian art student and a visiting Dutch-Chinese woman who knows English to explain the art to other visitors was a rare happening, but worth mentioning. Sometimes chance meetings start off something like the following On a young artist who marked the course of the sun on the floor and walls of her studio and by doing so made a large three-dimensional sundial. Poem written in the manner of a classical Chinese quatrain. Gloria Chifung Wong and her artwork Sunlining (2018) You marked the way the sunbeams go | as morning time went by A dial in the studio | the sign that time does fly You pose with grace upon your art | when all the work is done The sunbeams seek your company | and with each other vie A giant panda started rehabilitation in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday after receiving a complex stomach operation last month. File photo of Giant Panda Cheng Jiu. [Photo: Xinhua] The panda, Cheng Jiu, will receive two hours of rehabilitation every morning in his enclosure at a zoo in Hangzhou, according to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Last month, the four-year-old panda had the surgery for acute stomach distention, the first time the surgery has been conducted on a panda. He has survived three dangerous bouts of gastric reflux since the surgery. The panda's keeper monitored him eating less and suffering from low energy in late February. Veterinarians at the zoo and the panda base as well as doctors from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou conducted a group consultation to diagnose the illness and formulated a plan to operate. According to the base, it was the world's first stomach incision surgery to eliminate indigestible food on a giant panda. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was used to supplement the panda's recovery following the surgery. A four-member team from Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of TCM prescribed medication for the panda. "He is more than 100 kg, so we gave him a high dosage three times that used for an adult human, and blended the medicine powder into his bamboo," according to doctor Xu Zhiying. It was for the first time a panda has been treated with a combination of Western and Chinese therapies, said Zhang Shuo, deputy head of the hospital. The panda was healthy before the base sent him to Hangzhou Zoo in September, 2016. Photo taken on April 26, 2018 shows a giant poster about the inter-Korean summit in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean officials on Thursday had a final rehearsal for the upcoming summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to check all of preparations for the historic meeting, the Blue House of South Korea said. (Xinhua/Li Peng) GOYANG, South Korea, April 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korean officials on Thursday had a final rehearsal for the upcoming summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to check all of preparations for the historic meeting, the Blue House of South Korea said. Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told a press briefing at the media press center in Goyang, outside of Seoul, that the final rehearsal was performed for about an hour from 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) in the border village. Moon and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un are set to hold their first summit meeting in the South Korean side of the border village on Friday. Kim would become the first DPRK leader to cross the border onto the South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Kim will walk over the military demarcation line (MDL), marked only by a low cement slab in a narrow aisle between blue pavilions, called T2 and T3, sitting in the middle of Panmunjom and straddling the two Koreas. He will be greeted by Moon on the MDL beside the Military Armistice Commission meeting room. The two leaders will be escorted by a South Korean traditional honor guard to a Panmunjom square for a welcoming ceremony. The square is located between the Freedom House and the Peace House, a three-story building recently renovated for the Moon-Kim summit. After the welcoming ceremony, including the inspection of honor guard at the square, Moon and Kim will move on foot to the Peace House, where Kim will sign his name into the guestbook and take a commemorative photo with Moon on the first floor before starting the summit talks on the second floor. For the third-ever inter-Korean summit after the first and second ones in 2000 and 2007, respectively, six out of the seven members of Moon's major entourage participated in the final rehearsal. Moon's entourage included his chief of staff, national security advisor, chief of the intelligence agency and ministers of unification, defense and foreign affairs. The rehearsal was conducted in the same order of what will be unfolded in Panmunjom on Friday. The officials of South Korea checked in detail how the DPRK leader will cross the MDL on foot, how Moon and Kim will shake hands and how the commemorative photo will be taken. Journalists work at the media press center in Goyang, outside of Seoul, South Korea, April 26, 2018. South Korean officials on Thursday had a final rehearsal for the upcoming summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to check all of preparations for the historic meeting, the Blue House of South Korea said. (Xinhua/Li Peng) Staff members work at the media press center in Goyang, outside of Seoul, South Korea, April 26, 2018. South Korean officials on Thursday had a final rehearsal for the upcoming summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to check all of preparations for the historic meeting, the Blue House of South Korea said. (Xinhua/Li Peng) Sam Gyimah 175 The Gilbert rugby ball, the MRI scanner, the Tangle Teezer, graphene, Harry Potter and the Spice Girls all have one thing in common. They were all produced by British inventors, artists and entrepreneurs, on British soil and have boosted the British economy, immediately creating jobs and global investment opportunities. This World IP Day, marking the Intellectual Property Awareness Networks 25th anniversary, we reflect on the outstanding innovations and talent that exists in Britain and through our modern industrial strategy we want to boost our world leading IP sector. And as boundaries of technology are stretched even further with the advent of nanotechnology, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing and artificial intelligence it is clear there has never been a more exhilarating time to see these ideas transform our society. Intellectual property is everywhere you look, and someone, somewhere was responsible for the idea, the design, the execution of creating everyday items that you and I often take for granted. In the UK we have an economy thriving with IP rich businesses. And we have an IP regime, consistently one of the very best in the world, that supports these creators and entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to market. Some of the examples I mentioned are just a small collection of what has been created in the UK. And there are pockets of this blossoming creativity right across the country, from Mulberry in Somerset, to Emma Bridgwater in Stoke-on-Trent, Cavendish pianos in the Yorkshire Dales to Bentley motors in Crewe. These businesses rely on their intellectual property to continue doing what theyre doing, to continue providing vital employment and to continue boosting local economies, supporting our Industrial Strategy and contribute to our determination to get 2.4% of GDP spent on R&D by 2027. The government knows how much blood, sweat and tears went into these products and creations, and I can assure you as IP Minister, I will continue to champion the cause to make sure there is continued protection for the IP rights behind them Make no mistake about it, the government knows how much blood, sweat and tears went into these products and creations, and I can assure you as IP Minister, I will continue to champion the cause to make sure there is continued protection for the IP rights behind them. Through the Governments Industrial Strategy, we are investing record levels of funding to support research and development, nearly 7 billion by 2021, and we are determined that by 2027, 2.4% of GDP will be spent on research and development, boosting our economy and making sure our innovators have the right support to excel in what they do best. Through our recently published Creative Industries Sector Deal, we are supporting our creative industries more than ever and making sure a robust IP framework exists to protect their work. And through our continued support of our superb enforcement agencies we are making sure that those who infringe IP face the full force of the law. And we are clearly doing something right. We routinely feature in the top three countries in global IP indexes, beating many global powers that produce some of the most iconic items, and were showing to the world that we not only have an environment for IP rich businesses to flourish, we have a world-leading IP regime to support them to go from strength to strength. However, I am not complacent about this and I know that there is more to be done to make sure we have an IP framework fit for the future. Not only are we in an exciting period of transition in many industries bringing out fascinating and innovative products, we are also in a period where criminals are exploiting opportunities to steal IP and harm businesses and creators in ways that are challenging to stamp out. This is why I regularly meet with industry and stakeholders to learn more about issues harming businesses and consulting on the best way to address them. I recently held my first roundtable discussions with some of these key stakeholders, from registered rights representatives, to copyright and enforcement experts. And it was clear that we have a shared understanding of, and commitment to, tackle the challenges ahead of us and invest our efforts in maintaining our world leading position. This World IP Day, my first World IP Day as Minister for IP, I reflect on the strong position we are in to support our IP rich industries, and it has left me striving to make sure that we not only continue to reach the top three countries in global IP indexes, that we reach the top spot and stay there for years to come. The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article World IP Day 2018 poster 168 Business abhors uncertainty, they say if theyre prone to quick cliche and nothing is more uncertain than Brexit. That maxim is particularly true if youre an IP professional in the UK and face disruption on all fronts in trade marks, copyright and even patents. Thats why many were likely glad to hear from a range of speakers at yesterdays IPAN World IP Day about the bright future of a global Britain. The speaker that blew everyone away, of course, was IP minister Sam Gyimah, who chose the occasion to announce that the UK had ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement. We are well placed to turn the changes that are to be an essential part of our exit [from the EU] into opportunities, he said. One of those opportunities is to make sure we continue to strengthen and develop the international IP framework. And today I am pleased to confirm that the UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement. His speech was difficult for other speakers to come after, but the rest of the talks did an excellent job of setting out the strength of the UKs IP industry and the opportunities that could still be reaped in a post-Brexit Britain. Debbie Bestwick, CEO of computer games company Team17, for example, spoke of the entrepreneurial spirit that has come to define Britains gaming industry. The UK has deep roots in contribution to the global games industry, she said. In addition to beloved 80s and 90s franchises, the UK has produced some of the most iconic and global games IP the world had ever known. From our own Worms franchise, to Tomb Raider and the Grand Theft Auto series. Tim Moss, chief executive of the UK IPO, followed by talking about changes to the IP landscape and how effective global enforcement is more important than ever. This is a truly international and global issue. I was surprised and amazed to hear an example a couple of months ago about counterfeit goods being labelled as UK goods being imported into China. Who would have thought of that? Allie Renson, head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors, later set out her thoughts on IP in terms of future trading relationships. Theres a tendency to think that the only channel through which IP rights can be extended and enforced is through trade agreements. Actually there is an international web made up of the EPO, WIPO, TRIPS and such. Theres lots of pieces to the puzzle in terms of how you facilitate trade through IP exports and IP intensive industries. Chris Warkup, CEO of Innovate UKs Knowledge Transfer Network, rounded off the afternoon by speaking about encouraging, engaging and funding start-ups and the role of IP in that process. One part of the challenge, he said, we incentivising universities to see IP as a way to grow long-term partnerships with businesses. Dave Roblin, who spent time as the first COO at the Francis Crick Institute behind the British Library, had the most wonderful description for his technology transfer office. Dave said: The job of our TTO is to deliver our science into capable hands. Just how much more value might we capture from the UK if that was the approach taken by our universities? Overall, the afternoon provided valuable insight into the direction of the UK IP industry, including where opportunities can be found and improvements made. Lets hope those lessons are followed. Here are some of the highlights from Twitter also: The UK has contributed to the worlds most recognised games @djbteamsters recognises IP as helping to get her where she is today. Although it is not without challenges in IP enforcement for game owners #worldipday#ipaware15pic.twitter.com/m3OCPCrCL9 Hayleigh Bosher (@BosherHayleigh) April 26, 2018 Ratification...demonstrates that internationally, as well as at home, the UK is committed to strong intellectual property protections - IP Minister Sam Gyimah announcing UK ratification of the UPC #UnifiedPatentCourt#upcpic.twitter.com/7HdTzLrDqc CIPA (@TheCIPA) April 26, 2018 Congrats to @Ipanaware on #WorldIPDay Powering Change-Women in creativity & innovation, met @IPO_CEO friends & rounded the evening off with a walk across Parliament Sq to salute Dame Millicent Fawcett, tireless campaigner to improve women's opportunities for higher education pic.twitter.com/w9ruLRwggl Dids Macdonald OBE (@DidsMacdonald) April 26, 2018 The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article Thiruvananthapuram: The DNA result on the samples taken from the recovered body from Kovalam confirmed it was that of Latvian tourist, Liga Skromene. The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Bio-Technology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram conducted the DNA test and submitted the report in a sealed cover to the Sub-Judicial Magistrate court here. The Institute sources said that the blood sample of the victims sister, Ilze and a bone sample from the recovered body was tested and it was 100 percent match. As the tissues got decomposed, the bone sample was taken for DNA test. Meanwhile, the Kerala government announced a solatium of Rs. Five lakh amount to the family of Liga Skromene and it was handed over to them by the State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. London: Prince Harry has asked his older brother, William, to take on the role of best man at his wedding to Meghan Markle next month, Kensington Palace announced last day. The 33-year-old royal is set to marry his 36-year-old American actress fiance e at Windsor Castle on May 19 and it was widely expected that he would choose his brother to be by his side during the ceremony. Harry, who was pushed down the line of succession to sixth in line to the British throne after the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton's new baby boy earlier this week, had been the best man at their wedding back in April 2011. "Prince Harry has asked his brother, The Duke of Cambridge, to be his Best Man at his wedding to Ms Meghan Markle," Kensington Palace said in a statement. "The Duke of Cambridge is honoured to have been asked, and is very much looking forward to supporting his brother at St George's Chapel, Windsor on May 19," it said. The high-octane, unprecedented 'informal' summit between Prime Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is being seen as a strategic review of relations between the two nuclear armed nations after the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army were engaged in a 72-day face-off in Doklam last August. As Modi left for Wuhan, the sprawling capital of Central China's Hubei province, on Thursday, Beijing readied the red carpet for him with expectations running high. Both Modi and Xi are expected to usher in a turnaround in ties after a series of disputes and differences. Senior Chinese official Kong Xuanyou, who is Beijing's point man on India and the vice-foreign minister, hinted at why China is now reaching out to Modi. "Both Xi and Modi have strategic vision and historic responsibility. They are both widely supported by their people and have devoted a lot of energy to this relationship," he told India Today. The idea behind the Wuhan summit was to provide the two leaders an informal atmosphere so that they "could have a wide-ranging conversation without a set agenda, lay a blueprint for the next 100 years, and move past Doklam", Kong added. ean Gallup/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- On the heels of a festive state visit in honor of French President Emanuel Macron, President Trump is set to welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House Friday for a more subdued business meeting. While Macron was feted in grand style with a three-day state visit, complete with a private dinner with the president and first lady at George Washingtons Mount Vernon, Va. home, a formal military welcome ceremony, and state dinner, Merkel will arrive in Washington for a no-frills, one-day visit to meet with the president and participate in a joint press conference. The back-to-back meetings will stand as a study in contrast between the Trump-Macron bromance and the strictly-business Trump-Merkel relationship of necessity. While Trump and Macron's political bromance budded over an extended white-knuckle handshake at their first meeting last year, Trump and Merkel had an awkward moment before cameras in the Oval Office on her first visit to the Trump White House when there was no handshake at all. President Macron, I believe, has broken the code when it comes to dealing with President Trump, with a very close ally and partner. Now, lets contrast that to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Heather A. Conley, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Europe Program. She is a scientist. She is cautious. She is careful. Her nickname is "Mutti' or mother. Shes low-key. Shes an everyday person, a slayer of political challengers and egotistical males. But while the divergent optics between the two visits will be impossible to avoid, Merkel will arrive in Washington with a mission very much aligned with the French president, in seeking to urge the U.S. president not to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. If Chancellor Merkel is not the soulmate of Donald Trump and if Germany is not the tailormade partner for the Trump administration, nevertheless it is indispensable, said Jeffrey Rathke, Deputy Director of CSISs Europe Program. The back-to-back visits come as Trump is facing a fast-approaching May 12 deadline to decide whether or not to essentially withdraw the United States from the pact after he threatened in January that he would waive sanctions for Iran just one last time to give Congress and European allies a few more months to make fixes to the deal. "This is a last chance," Trump said in January. "In the absence of such an agreement, the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately." But while the divergent optics between the two visits will be impossible to avoid, Merkel will arrive in Washington with a mission very much aligned with the French president, in seeking to urge the U.S. president not to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. If Chancellor Merkel is not the soulmate of Donald Trump and if Germany is not the tailormade partner for the Trump administration, nevertheless it is indispensable, said Jeffrey Rathke, Deputy Director of CSISs Europe Program. The back-to-back visits come as Trump is facing a fast-approaching May 12 deadline to decide whether or not to essentially withdraw the United States from the pact after he threatened in January that he would waive sanctions for Iran just one last time to give Congress and European allies a few more months to make fixes to the deal. "This is a last chance," Trump said in January. "In the absence of such an agreement, the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately." Out of Macrons visit, there were indications that the French president made progress. Speaking side by side at a joint press conference Tuesday, the president signaled a willingness to consider what Macron described as a new deal that would address the weaknesses that Trump sees as fatal flaws in the deal and accomplish the broader goal of blocking Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. There is a chance, and nobody what's I'm going to do on the 12th, although Mr. President, you have a pretty good idea, but we'll see, President Trump said Tuesday. But we'll see also if I do what some people expect, whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations, because this is a deal with decayed foundations. While Trumps differing relationship with Merkel will be in most direct contrast to his chummy friendship with Macron, it also stands in contrasts to President Obamas close alliance with the German chancellor, who was widely viewed as Obamas closest European ally. But as Rathke points out, what ended as a tight-knit bond between Obama and Merkel began quite differently. At the end of the Obama administration the relationship between President Obama and Chancellor Merkel became perhaps the most important transatlantic relationship for the United States, but it didnt start out that way. So, you know, there is always? there is always the possibility of change, Rathke said. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force formation conducts island patrols during training on April 26, 2018. The formation was made up of fighters, early warning and surveillance aircraft, and H-6K bombers, which took off from various military airfields. The formation flew over the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, completing an island patrol, the subject of the training. (Xinhua/Wu Yuepeng) FUZHOU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)air force formation conducted island patrols during training on Thursday morning. The formation was made up of fighters, early warning and surveillance aircraft, and H-6K bombers, which took off from various military airfields. The formation flew over the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, completing an island patrol, the subject of the training. The air force has conducted a number of island patrols since April 18, in order to exercise and enhance its capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Via real combat training at sea, the air force's combat preparedness has undergone historic changes, air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said at a military base in Fujian Province. "The PLA air force has the resolve, faith, and capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force formation conducts island patrols during training on April 26, 2018. The formation was made up of fighters, early warning and surveillance aircraft, and H-6K bombers, which took off from various military airfields. The formation flew over the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, completing an island patrol, the subject of the training. (Xinhua/Zhai Peisong) Photo taken on April 27, 2018 at the media center in Goyang, South Korea, shows a screen broadcasting South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) shaking hands with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom. Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Moon's motorcade came to the South Korean side of Panmunjom around 30 minutes before Kim's scheduled arrival in the border village at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT). Before leaving his office, Moon got off his black sedan for minutes to say hello to and shake hands with ordinary people waiting just outside the presidential compound, called Blue House, to wish for the success of the third-ever inter-Korean summit. The Moon-Kim summit is to be held at Peace House, a three-story building on the South Korean side of the truce village. Kim would become the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The first and second inter-Korean summits were held in Pyongyang, the DPRK capital, in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Kim left Pyongyang for Panmunjom earlier in the day to attend the summit, according to the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions tried to prepare for social isolation like they would for a blizzardstocking up not just on toilet paper and sanitizer, but also on pantry basics like milk, eggs, flour, and beans. Faced with this sudden surge in demand, grocery stores across the country were completely overwhelmed. Not just shelves but entire stores were cleared out, so one-per-customer rules were established on select items and notices were posted detailing which were out of stock. As we have written elsewhere, the capitalists cant efficiently sustain supply chains through a crisis such as this. The fourth section of the chapter, The Colonial Revolution and the Workers' States, is yet a further development of the broad themes already worked out above. It was first published in the Militant International Review, in July 1978. In the fourteen years since the publication of the previous document, there had been a number of revolutionary movements in the third world which had resulted in the formation of proletarian Bonapartist states on the same lines as China and Russia. These included Syria, Vietnam (unifying South and North), Laos, Kampuchea, Angola, Mozambique and Ethiopia. The formation of these states was consistent with the analysis of the colonial revolution already worked out in 1949, and elaborated since then. But in addition, in confirmation of the analysis of the origins of the Sino-Soviet split, some of the divisions between different bureaucracies had gone to the point of armed conflict. There had been armed clashes on the Russian-Chinese border, and on the Vietnamese borders with Kampuchea and China. There is no other explanation of the conflict between these alleged 'socialist' states, other than the basic position developed by Ted Grant at the time of the Tito-Stalin split, elaborated in relation to Chinese Stalinism and then further developed in his writing on the colonial revolution. Particular attention is paid in this article to the position of Cuba and Ethiopia. In the case of the latter, a revolutionary movement overthrew the emperor, Haile Selassi, in 1974, and soon afterwards a military regime around Colonel Mengistu was consolidated by basing itself on the expropriation of landlordism and capitalism. This government, however, adopted the totalitarian methods characteristic of all the third world Stalinist states. In its policy towards its national minorities, it was no less repressive than the regime it replaced, and it became involved in wars against Eritrean guerrillas in the North and against Somali-backed sucessionists in the Ogaden region. It was at this point that the Russian Stalinists switched their support from Somalia (also a proletarian Bonapartist regime) to Ethiopia and began to give active assistance to the latter. The sectarian remnant of the old Fourth International now found itself in the impossible position of having to explain how a 'healthy workers' state' (Cuba) could be giving active support to a 'fascist state' (Ethiopia). Once again, it was only possible to understand the events through the analysis previously worked out by Ted Grant, explaining how Stalinist states had come to be created in both Cuba and Ethiopia. This article, like the previous document, also illuminates the general processes taking place in the colonial revolution, referring, for example, to the coup in Afghanistan in 1978. This coup established the deformed workers' state which the Moscow bureaucracy set out to shore up by its invasion a year later, in December 1979. From Introduction to The Colonial Revolution and Proletarian Bonapartism In bourgeois countries in the past, where the bourgeoisie has a role to play and looks forward confidently to the future - ie when it is genuinely progressive in developing the productive forces - it has decades and generations to perfect the state as an instrument of its own class rule. The army, police, civil service, middle layers and especially all key positions at the top; heads of civil service, heads of departments, police chiefs, the officer corps and especially the colonels and generals are carefully selected to serve the needs and interests of the ruling class. With a developing economy and a mission and a role they eagerly serve the 'national interest' ie the interest of the possessing class - the ruling class. In Syria, as in all the ex-colonial countries, the imperialists, in this case the French, partly under the pressure of their rivals, especially American imperialism, were compelled to relinquish their direct military domination. The state which emerged is not fixed and static. The weakness and incapacity of the bourgeoisie gave a certain independence to the military caste. Hence the perpetual coups and counter-coups of the military. But in the last analysis they reflect the class interests of the ruling class. They cannot play an independent role. The struggle between the cliques in the army reflects the instability and contradictions in the given society. The personal aims of the generals reflect the differing interests of social classes or fractions of classes of society, the petit-bourgeois in its various fractions, the bourgeoisie, or even under certain conditions the proletariat in so far as thay are successful in gaining power. The officer caste must reflect the interest of some class or grouping in society. They do not represent themselves though of course they can plunder the society and elevate their own ruling caste. Nevertheless they must have a class basis in a given society. Bonapartist regimes do not rest on air but balance between the classes. In the final analysis they represent whichever is the dominant class in society. The economy of that class determines its class character. Some of these countries, as in Latin America, a semi-colonial continent which was under the domination of British then especially American imperialism for the last century, nevertheless, have been nominally independent for more than a century. In consequence, despite a period of turbulence the ruling class of landowners and capitalists has had sufficient period to perfect their state. Sometimes the armed forces of different fractions or factions of armed forces, can reflect different fractions of the ruling class and even the pressures of imperialism, primarily American imperialism. But, up to now, they have always reflected the interest of the ruling class in the defence of private ownership. In Burma, where the regime, newly emerged from British domination and where the ruling class was incapable of successfully 'holding the country together', it faced a series of rebellions and wars. The army was formed from the the Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League, which described itself as 'socialist'. With China as a model next door, the army leaders tired of the incapacity of the landowners and capitalists to solve the problems of Burma. Basing themselves on the support of the workers and peasants, they organised a coup, expropriated the landowners and capitalists and established Burma as a 'Burmese Buddhist Socialist State'. China Yet up to the Russian revolution even Lenin denied the possibility of the victory of the proletarian revolution in a backward country. The Chinese revolution of 1944-9 did not proceed on the model of the revolution of 1925-7. It was a peasant war, which took place because of the complete incapacity of the bourgeoisie to carry out the tasks of the bourgois-democratic revolution - the ending of landlordism, national unification and the expulsion of imperialism - it ended with victory to the Chinese Stalinists. The programme of the Chinese Stalinists was not fundamentally different to that of Castro later in Cuba: 50 or 100 years of 'national capitalism' and an alliance with the 'national bourgeoisie'. Hence the belief of many American bourgeois that they were 'agrarian reformers'. Only the Marxist tendency in Britain argued against the Stalinists and the alleged 'Trotskyist' sects and explained the inevitability of Mao's victory and the establishment of a deformed workers' state. At a time when Mao and the Chinese CP had the programme of capitalism and 'national democracy' we could predict the inevitability of proletarian Bonapartism as the next stage in China. This had nothing in common with the methods of the proletarian revolution in Russia in 1917. Power was gained through the peasant war by giving land to the soldiers in Chiang Kai Shek's army. Then, by balancing between the classes and playing them off against each other in Bonapartist fashion, once military victory was achieved, landlordism and capitalism were expropriated. Nearly all the so-called 'Trotskyist' sects now accept the accomplished fact. But never before in history has it even been theoretically posed that a peasant war on classical lines could lead to a workers' state, however deformed. The workers in China were passive throughout the civil war for reasons we will not enter here. But here was a perfect example of one class - the peasants in the form of the Red Army - carrying out the tasks of another. It is amusing now to see the sects without turning a hair, swallowing the idea that a 'workers' state' was established in China by the peasant army, only because at the head of the army was the so-called 'Communist' Party. In classical Marxist theory this idea would be precisely considered hair-raising and fantastic. The peasants, as a class, are least capable of assuming a socialist consciousness. It is an aberration of Marxism to think that such a process is 'normal'. It can only be explained by the impasse of capitalism in China, the paralysis of imperialism, the existence of a strong deformed Bonapartist state in Stalinist Russia, and most important of all, the delay in the victory in the industrially advanced countries of the world. The colonial countries cannot wait. The problems are too crushing. There is no way forward on the basis of capitalism. Hence the peculiar aberrations in colonial countries. But the price for this, as in the Soviet Union, is a second political revolution to put the control of society, industry and the state in the hands of the proletariat. Only thus could the first genuine beginnings of the transition of socialism, or rather steps in that direction, commence. The wide support for 'socialism' not only among the working class, but among the peasants and wide layers of the petit-bourgeoisie in the cities in colonial countries, is the expression of the complete blind alley of landlordism and capitalism in the colonial world in the modern epoch. It is also a result of the Russian and Chinese revolutions and their achievements in developing industry and the economy. It is this that lays the groundwork for the development of proletarian Bonapartism. The state can be reduced to armed bodies of men, according to Engels. With the defeat and destruction of the police and army of Chiang Kai Shek, with the destruction of the army of Batista(1) in Cuba, power was in the hands respectively of Mao and Castro. The fact that nominally Mao was a 'Communist' and Castro a bourgeois democrat altered nothing. Moscow's Image So far was Mao from the model of the proletarian revolution that on entering Shanghai and other cities, workers who had seized their factories and met Mao with demonstrations of red flags were instantly shot in order to 'restore order'! The state created by Mao was in the image of Moscow, 1949, not Moscow 1917! Mao, in typical Bonapartist fashion on the basis of the peasant army, always an instrument of (bourgeois) Bonapartism in the past, balanced between the classes. Having perfected a state in the image of Moscow, leaning on the workers and peasants, he could snuff out the bourgeoisie painlessly. As Trotsky put it, for a lion you need a gun, for a flea, a fingernail will do! Therefore, having balanced between the bourgeoisie and the workers and peasants in order to prevent the workers from taking power, Mao and his gang - after perfecting the state - could then crush the bourgeoisie before turning on the workers and peasants to crush whatever elements of workers' democracy had developed. The bureaucracy then developed a totalitarian one-party dictatorship, centred round the Bonapartist dictatorship of one single individual - Mao. But, not for nothing has Marxist theory given the task of achieving the socialist revolution and the transition to socialism to the working class. This is not an arbitrary role but because of the specific role in production of the proletariat which gives it a specific consciousness possessed by no other class. Least of all can the petit-bourgeois peasant develop this consciousness. A revolution based on the latter class by its very nature would be doomed to degeneration and Bonapartism. It is precisely because a proletarian Bonapartist dictatorship protects the privileges of the elite of state, party, the army, industry and the intellectuals of art and science that it has succeeded in so many backward countries. Marxism finds in the development of the productive forces the key to the development of society. On a capitalist basis there is no longer a way forward, particularly for backward countries. That is why army officers, intellectuals and others, affected by the decay of their societies can under certain conditions switch their allegiance. A change to proletarian Bonapartism actually enlarges their power, prestige, privileges and income. They become the sole commanding and directing stratum of the society, raising themselves even higher over the masses than in the past. Instead of being subservient to the weak, craven and ineffectual bourgeoisie they become the masters of society. Transitional Economies The tendency towards statification of the productive forces, which have grown beyond the limits of private ownership, is manifest in the most highly developed economies and even in the most reactionary colonial countries. There is no possibility of a consistent, uninterrupted and continuous increase in productive forces in the countries of the so-called third world on a capitalist basis. Production stagnates or falls. In the world recessions, particularly in the smaller countries, living standards fall. There is no way out on the basis of the capitalist system. That explains the terror regimes of bourgeois Bonapartism like that of Pakistan, Indonesia, Argentina, Chile and Zaire. But with bayonets and bullets, on the basis of an out-dated and antiquated system, only very temporary respite is given. Discontent multiplies and is reflected in the officer caste of the armed forces and throughout the society. This in turn leads to conspiracies of individuals and groups of officers. The army is a mirror of society and reflects its contradictions. That and not the mere whims of the officers concerned, is the cause of the upheavals as in Syria. It is an indication of the agonised crisis of society, which cannot be solved in the old way. These strata of society can espouse 'socialism' of the Stalinist variety - proletarian Bonapartism - all the more enthusiastically because of their contempt for the masses of workers and peasants. The horrible caricature of workers' rule in Russia, China, and the other countries of deformed workers' states attracts them precisely because of the position of the 'intellectual' educated cadres of that society. What is repulsive to Marxism is what attracts the Stalinists. All that these states have in common with healthy workers' states or with the Russia of 1917-23 is state ownership of the means of production. On that basis they can plan and develop the productive resources with forced marches at a pace absolutely impossible on their former landlord-capitalist basis. This is possible of course for only a limited period of time. At some point the Stalinist regimes become an absolute hindrance and a fetter to production. Russia and Eastern Europe are reaching these limits. In common with a healthy workers' state on the accepted Marxist norm is the fact that they are transitional economies between capitalism and socialism. But Marxism teaches that a movement towards socialism requires the control, guidance and participation of the proletariat. With a privileged elite in uncontrolled dominance and not reconciled to the loss of its status in a 'withering away' of the state, this produces new contradictions. As the corruption, nepotism, waste, mismanagement and chaos which bureaucratic control necessarily involves comes more and more into contradiction with the needs of social development, this manifests itself in the heightened antagonism between the proletariat and the bureaucratic elite. Trotsky long ago explained that in the case of Russia the bureaucracy developed the productive forces in a way in which the bourgeoisie was incapable of doing, but at three times the cost to the masses. The bureaucracy fulfills the function, a relatively progressive function, which the bourgeoisie had accomplished in the past. But Trotsky explained that this role also engenders its own contradictions. The bureaucracy is in some senses even less prepared than the bourgeoisie to reconcile itself to the loss of privilege and power. Instead it grows even more to become a monstrous cancer on society. It can only be removed by political revolution. This will be triggered either by events at home or the successful gaining of power by the proletariat and the constitution of a workers' democracy in one of the advanced capitalist countries. It will be by social revolution in the West or by victorious political revolution in Russia and Eastern Europe that a healthy workers' state and a workers' democracy will be created. It must be emphasised that the only features these deformed workers' states have in common with the ideal workers' state is state ownership of the economy and a plan of production. Only one of the 'idealist' and 'eclectic' sects could discover a fundamental difference between the peasant war in which Mao came to power and the guerrilla war of Castro, based on peasants and semi-peasants and landless peasants as well as some ex-workers. There is not much difference, despite the bourgeois democratic ideas in Castro's head which in any event were not all that different from the programme on which Mao fought the civil war. At least in the last stages of the struggle, the participation of the working class, with the general strike in Havana, turned the scales in Castro's favour. Nothing of this sort happened in the civil war in China of 1945-9. Nor was this kind of intervention desired by Mao; true, had it not been for the stupidity of American imperialism the outcome could have been different in Cuba. But with the impasse of Cuban capitalism like that of Chinese capitalism, just as Mao had used the strong proletarian Bonapartist state of Russia as a model, so Castro used Eastern Europe and China as models in his conflict with American imperialism. In both cases this marked an enormous step forward historically. Landlordism and capitalism were eliminated. That meant the removal of the fetters of semi-feudal landlordism and of private ownership of industry. The monopoly of foreign trade, following the Russian model, is also a powerful progressive factor. These measures meant a gigantic release of the constraints on the productive forces. Hence in advance we could hail the Chinese revolution as the second greatest event in human history, the Russian revolution being the first. Nevertheless because of its Bonapartist character - and the inevitable vested interest of the bureaucracy in maintaining the rule of privilege, prestige, power and income for the ruling layers of the bureaucracy itself - the masses would have to pay with a second revolution before there could be a workers' democracy on the level of that in Russia of 1917-23. Because of the incapacity of the sects to apply Marxism and 'Marxist philosophy' in a concrete manner they have landed themselves in ludicrous contradictions. Thus they declared Eastern Europe to be state capitalist in 1945-47 - while Russia, which occupied Eastern Europe with the Red Army, was a 'degenerated workers' state'. When Tito broke with Stalin, overnight, from mysteriously being 'capitalist', Yugoslavia became a healthier workers' state than even Russia in 1917! This did not prevent these sects from simultaneously declaring Eastern Europe still to be capitalist. China remained 'state capitalist' according to them until 1951 or 1953. Then, 'Hey Presto', China, from being 'state capitalist', was mysteriously transformed into a 'healthy workers' state'! All this muddle and theoretical confusion has never been explained by any one of these petit-bourgeois tendencies masquerading as Marxists. One sect claimed Cuba was a petit-bourgeois Bonapartist state while describing China as a relatively healthy workers' state in which political revolution was not necessary. Not a single one of these tendencies was capable of analysing the main forces and processes of the epoch, in which the colonial world saw a caricature of permanent revolution in which weird and deformed workers' states were being set up. Not a single one of them understood the meaning of the Chinese 'cultural revolution'. Some hailed this as a second version of the 'Paris Commune'! Only recently - some 30 years too late - some reluctantly concluded that the Chinese revolution was deformed from the start. Our tendency explained the process in advance of Mao's victory. All the objective conditions for a socialist revolution are now maturing in Western Europe, Japan and the USA. The process, however, will be protracted because of the weakness of the forces of genuine Marxism. It is the delay of the revolution in the West, and now its protracted character, which gives room for these peculiar regimes in the neo-colonial countries. They are reaching unbearable tensions with semi-starvation of great masses without a roof or a crust. The insolent parasitism and luxury of the landlords and capitalists in contrast, leaning on imperialism, invests all the contradictions in these societies with an explosive force. It is on the basis of this weakness of imperialism, the glaring rottenness and decay of landlordism-capitalism - which makes possible the development of the curious process of proletarian Bonapartism. Taking advantage of the revolt of the masses of peasants, petit-bourgeoisie and even workers, the elite of officers, intellectuals etc, can emerge, as in Ethiopia, with firm power in their hands on the basis of the support of the workers and peasants. They can perfect a 'KGB' secret police of their own to silence anyone who would object to their privileges. The peasantry, by its very nature a class of individuals not bound together by production, is therefore the perfect instrument for bourgeois or proletarian Bonapartism. It is a class that can inherently be manipulated and deceived; a class that looks towards the 'Tsar as a father of the people', or to the god-head, Mao. The urban petit-bourgeois too have these attributes; in Germany and Italy they looked to Hitler and Mussolini as 'leaders'. Only the proletariat stands firmly for genuine democracy - ie workers' democracy in a workers' state - which is the only system where its direct rule can be manifested. Our tendency has explained and predicted these processes. There is no real possibility of moving forward in the colonial world on a capitalist basis. It is this, plus the lagging of the proletarian revolution in the advanced industrialised countries, which has led to these regimes taking ten steps forward and five steps back. They can - at least for a period in most cases - develop the productive forces with seven league boots, on the basis of proletarian Bonapartism. They carry out in backward countries the historic role which was carried out by the bourgeoisie in the capitalist countries in the past. The whole essence of Trotsky's theory of the permanent revolution lies in the idea that the colonial bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie of the backward countries are incapable of carrying out the tasks of the bourgeois democratic revolution. This is because of their links with the landlords and the imperialists. The banks have mortgages on the land, industrialists have landed estates in the country, the landlords invest in industry and the whole is entangled together and linked with imperialism in a web of vested interests opposed to change. Under these circumstances the task of carrying out the bourgeois-democratic revolution fell on the shoulders of the proletariat. But the proletariat, having conquered power at the head of the peasantry and the majority of the nation, would not stop at the accomplishment of the bourgeois-democratic tasks of expropriating the landowners, unifying the nation, and expelling the imperialists. It would then pass on to the socialist tasks, the expropriation of the bourgeoisie and the setting up of a workers' state. But the socialist tasks could not be encompassed in a single country, especially a backward colonial country. The revolution would have to spread to the more advanced countries. Hence the term for this process, permanent revolution beginning as a bourgeois revolution, becoming a socialist one, ending in international revolution. It is true that, owing to the development of the Stalinist bureaucracy and the reformist degeneration of the Communist Parties, exceptional difficulties have been put in the path of the proletariat in both advanced and backward countries. But the impasse of landlordism and capitalism in the so-called third world has been aggravated during the course of the decades since the outbreak of the second world war. For a period, the industrialised capitalist countries passed through a relative development of productive forces, once the political preconditions had been established by the betrayal in the early post-war period of Stalinism and reformism. But while living standards in the West increased at least in absolute terms, in the 'third world' with few exceptions there was a decline in already low living standards. The decay of antiquated land relations under the inexorable pressure of the world market continued apace. A large surplus population of paupers, beggars and lumpens is endemic in the colonial world. On the old relations there is no way out. In Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, Burma, Syria, Angola, Mozambique, Aden, Benin, Ethiopia and as models, Cuba and China (which in their turn had the model of Eastern Europe as a beacon showing the way) there has been a transformation of social relations. This is because of the rotten ripeness of world capitalism for the socialist revolution. But all history shows that where, for one reason or another, the new progressive class is incapable of carrying out its functions of transforming society, this is often done (in a reactionary way, perhaps) by other classes or castes. Thus in Japan big sections of the feudal lords became capitalists and in Germany - as Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky recognised - the landowning Junkers of East Prussia under Bismarck and the monarchy carried out the task of the national unification of Germany - a task of the bourgeois democratic revolution. Attractive Power As Marx long ago explained, there is no such thing as a supra-historical blue-print. It is necessary to take the material objective reality as it is and then explain it. That is the method of 'Marxist philosophy' and not the philosophical gibberish of the sects. But it is not only necessary to see objective reality as it is, but to explain the process that brought it into being, the contradictions encompassing it, the law of social movement which it represents and the future processes of contradictions and change which will envelop it. Its process of birth, development, decay and the changes which will destroy it. Under the conditions of the decay of capitalism-landlordism in the colonial countries, all the social contradictions are aggravated to an extreme. Social tensions reach an unbearable level. Hence in one country after another in Asia, Africa and Latin America, bourgeois democracy is replaced by bourgeois Bonapartist dictatorships or proletarian Bonapartist dictatorships. In the above-named ex-colonial countries not one proceeded on the model of the norm of the socialist revolution. Neither did the countries of Eastern Europe before them in the aftermath of the second world war. The great Marxist teachers in the past have often explained that once the norm of the socialist revolution has been established in the main capitalist countries, it would have an irresistible appeal to the rest of the world and result in a painless transformation without conflict. Even the bourgeoisie would recognise the superiority of workers' democracy, apart from the effect this would have on the world working class. Marx himself believed that in this way the backward areas of the world, and even the backward countries of Europe, would be brought forward by the advanced industrialised countries acting as a magnet and a model of socialism. Lenin and Trotsky conceived of the socialist revolution taking place in some backward countries first only with the leading role and participation of the proletariat. The proletariat would lead the petit-bourgeois masses, especially the peasantry, to the overthrow of landlordism and capitalism and then link the workers to the international working class and the tasks of the world revolution. The Bonapartist totalitarian dictatorship in Russia, a completely deformed workers' state, repels workers in advanced capitalist countries. This is because nothing remains of October except the abolition of landlordism and capitalism, a plan of production, plus the monopoly of foreign trade, albeit bureaucratically twisted and distorted. But nevertheless the mighty achievements of the revolution, the productive advances, the abolition of backwardness bringing Russia to the position of the second industrial power of the world, have an enormous attractive power for the colonial masses. (This is further reinforced by the example of the Chinese revolution which in the space of less than a quarter of a century has transformed China into a mighty power.) In most of the colonial countries where it still exists, bourgeois democracy is a hollow and empty shell backed up at various times by 'states of siege', states of emergency and even martial law. Consequently the lack of workers' democracy in these proletarian Bonapartist states is not such a drawback in attracting the masses. It is a positive attractive feature as far as the professional and lower army officers are concerned. The solution of their most pressing problems of food, clothing and shelter loom large in the minds of the colonial masses. Ethiopia This in its turn has an enormous effect in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The bourgeois-Bonapartist regimes in the colonial countries are charged with terrible contradictions. Their problems are insoluble. They spend large sums on armaments, further exacerbating the poverty of the masses. They are inherently unstable. They provoke the hatred of the workers, the petit-bourgeoisie, the students and peasants. Even the weak bourgeoisie they represent comes into collision with them. It is in this social soil that plots, counter-plots and conspiracies in the army flourish. The army (or armed forces) is always moulded in the image of society and is not independent of it. Where the army dominates, that indicates a crisis in society and a regime of crisis. Different cliques, groups or even individuals at the top in the army come to reflect groupings, sections of classes or classes in society. They do not represent themselves but precisely reflect the antagonistic interests of different classes in society. Under conditions of social crisis people change. This applies to classes and even individuals. Thus Marx explained that with the decay of feudalism a section of the feudal lords, bigger or smaller as the case may be, goes over to the side of the bourgeoisie in the bourgeois revolution. A section of the bourgeoisie, particularly the intellectual bourgeoisie, can also put themselves on the standpoint of the proletariat. No more barren, formalistic, anti-dialectical, philosophically idealist, anti-'Marxist philosophy' idea in the history of the movement has been put forward than by those who argue that because Castro began his revolutionary struggle as a bourgeois democrat with bourgeois democratic ideas and goals that therefore he must remain a bourgeois democrat for all eternity. They forget that Marx and Engels themselves began as bourgeois democrats who broke decisively with the bourgeoisie and became leaders of the proletariat. Under conditions of the crisis of capitalism in Portugal,(2) a semi-colonial country, a majority of the officer caste, sickened by the decades of dictatorship and the seemingly unending wars in Africa which they realised they could not win, moved in the direction of revolution and 'socialism'. Only our tendency explained this process. This gave an impetus to the movement of the working class, which then reacted in its turn on the army. This affected not only the rank and file, and the lower ranks of the officers, but even some admirals and generals who were sincerely desirous of solving the problems of Portuguese society and the Portuguese people. This was something that would have been impossible in previous revolutions. Thus, 99 per cent of the officer caste supported Franco in the Spanish civil war. True enough, because of the reformist and Stalinist betrayal of the Portuguese revolution which prevented it from being carried through to completion, there has been a reaction. The army has been purged and purged again to become a more reliable instrument of the bourgeoisie. But how far this has succeeded remains to be tested in the events of the revolution in the coming months and years. But what it has demonstrated is the need for a genuine dialectical understanding and interpretation of the events of the present epoch. If such a transfonnation was possible, in a semi-colonial but imperialist capitalist Portugal, how much more could similar processes take place in the newly independent countries of Africa and of Asia? Events in Ethiopia have crushingly confirmed the theses we have worked out. There, the famine brought about by Haile Selassie and the landlord nobility, was the last catastrophe even the officer caste was prepared to tolerate. The callous indifference of the Emperor and the landlord class to the famine and the death from starvation of hundreds of thousands and possibly even millions, plus the accumulated social contradictions in a backward country under the pressure of imperialism, pushed the middle layers of the officer caste to organise a coup. This in its turn awakened the movement of the small working class in Addis Abbaba and the students and petit-bourgeois layers in the capital and in the towns. It awakened the peasantry also into a cataclysmic movement to gain control of land. Thus the 1000 year old 'empire' and its class structure crumbled to dust. The crisis in the army and the attempts at counter-revolution, the further impetus this gave to the guerrilla war in Eritrea, the querrilla war in the Ogaden, aided by the direct intervention of Somalia, the uprisings of the Galla and other tribes, all acted as a spur to the revolution. The movement of the classes in turn had its effect on the new ruling junta in the army. It produced splits and individual and group conspiracies of officers. These reflected the classes in battle in Ethiopia and the developing civil war in the whole country. Whatever the individual whims of the officers, they reflected (as in Syria) - and had to reflect - the class struggle taking place. Hardly any wished for a return to the old regime. The model of the Emperor's landlord semi-feudal regime was rejected by the bulk of the officer caste. But there were differences as to how far to go, which ended in armed conflicts and executions. This, in a distorted way perhaps, reflected the struggle of the classes in Ethiopia. It ended in the victory of Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu. Already the land had been divided among the peasants and industry nationalised without compensation to the imperialists and the native capitalists (though of course compensation is not necessarily the decisive factor). In the struggles Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu emerged victorious as a Bonapartist dictator under the influence of the wars and civil wars. In order to obtain mass support Mengistu, formerly a high-up officer of the Emperor, has been forced to go all the way. He has declared himself a 'Marxist-Leninist' (probably without reading a single word of Marx or Lenin) and set about creating a one party 'Marxist-Leninist' totalitarian dictatorship. This is in the image of Moscow or Peking. The landlords and capitalists are expropriated and the imperialist countries are without real influence on the processes taking place in Ethiopia. In this case the process is clear. It is even clearer than in Mozambique, Angola or the former Aden, and this without a direct struggle against imperialist occupation. The imperialists are too weak and debilitated to intervene directly by military means and can only grind their teeth in impotence. But undoubtedly only the Militant foresaw these possibilities in advance for many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The revolution, or rather the primary tasks of the revolution, in backward countries have been accomplished in the regimes mentioned above. Landlordism has been eliminated. Capitalism has been destroyed, the influence of imperialism dispelled. Thus the bourgeois origin of the leadership of the guerrilla movement in Cuba was of third or fifth rate importance. What was important was the attempt to take action to bring Cuba back to neo-colonial status which precipitated the break of Castro with American imperialism. It is the social and economic similarities which are decisive for a Marxist in the social overturns in these countries. To carry through a revolution like that of Russia in October 1917 requires the consciousness, the action, the understanding and the active participation and movement of the proletariat itself in the overthrow of capitalism and landlordism. It requires organs and organisations through which the proletariat can move, such as soviets, shop stewards committees, trade unions and so on. After the victory of the rule of the workers, the checking and control can be effected by such organs of workers' rule. In a revolution according to the norm such ad hoc committees and traditional organisations are indispensable. They are a training ground for the workers in the art of running the state, of developing the solidarity and understanding of the workers. After a victorious overthrow of capital they become vehicles for workers' rule, the organs of the new state and of workers' democracy. But where - as in Eastern Europe, China, Cuba, Syria, Ethiopia - the overthrow takes place with the support of the workers and peasants certainly but without their active control, clearly the result must be different. The petit-bourgeois intellectuals, army officers, leaders of guerrilla bands use the workers and peasants as cannon fodder, merely as points of support, as a gun rest, so to speak. Their aim, conscious or unconscious, is not power for the workers and peasants, but power for their elite. They had and have their model in Stalinist Russia.The revolution - change in property relations -begins where the Russian revolution ended, Stalinist Russia of 1945-9, or if you prefer, Stalinist Russia of 1978. They are fundamentally the same; a one party totalitarian state where the proletariat is helpless and atomised, with an apparatus of control of the state by the officials. The guerrilla army chiefs, who with an iron hand imposed discipline, take control undoubtedly with the support of the masses but with no organs of workers' rule independent of the state. Also, none of the rights and powers of the workers and peasants, which the existence of soviets as organs of workers' power would mean, exist. For a transition to a Bonapartist workers' state such organs of workers' democracy, indispensable for a healthy workers' state, would be an enormous hindrance. They constituted a tremendous obstacle to the Stalinist bureaucracy in Russia, which had to wage a Herculean struggle and even a one-sided civil war to erase the last remnants of workers' democracy, which stood in the way of their untrammelled and dictatorial rule. This was reflected through the one man dictatorship of Stalin and his successors. What is important is that this was the model of 'socialism' for Mao, for Castro, for Mengistu, for the Burmese generals and for the Baathist 'Muslim' generals in Syria. Army and Intellectuals It is important to see that what all these variegated forces have in common is not the secondary personal differences but the social forces and class forces they represent. Mengistu, Castro, the Burmese generals broke with their class background and the advantages or disadvantages of their bourgeois and university education and outlook. It is true that they did not put themselves on the standpoint of the proletariat - as Marx and Lenin did - but they accepted the much easier 'socialism' which entailed the individual rule of them and of their elite on the backs of the working class and peasants. All individual differences are stamped out by the decisive class and economic changes which they have presided over in their countries and their societies. All the self-styled 'Marxist-Leninist' sects have not even understood the ABC of Marxism as taught by its founder and echoed by Lenin and Trotsky. This is something to marvel at. The emancipation of the working class is the task of the workers themselves. This is not because it is some kind of penance which the workers must do or because they are 'nice people'. It is because without this there is the inevitability of a small minority having a monopoly of culture they will then use - and inevitably abuse - against the interests of the workers and peasants and in their own interests. Also, mobilisation of the proletariat, its conscious struggle for power, and fight for workers' democracy, transforms the proletariat and fits it for the task of workers' rule. This then partially rubs off onto the peasants and petit-bourgeoisie which follow the proletariat in both the advanced and the backward countries. This process does not take place with the struggle of the petit-bourgeois guerrilla bands or where radical army officer cliques take power. Thus, the intellectual and army elite in all the social revolutions and overturns in the countries mentioned took state countrol firmly into their own hands. They had the passive - or more or less active support - of the masses. But there was not the conscious organised movement of the proletariat. The peasants and petit-bourgeoisie are not a viable substitute for the 'self-movement' of the proletariat. It is a striking fact that in the case of every sect, they accept Mao and the Chinese revolution ex-post-facto and find in the 'Communist' badge of Mao the excuse for this. In reality Mao was an ex-Communist who had broken with the proletariat and put himself at the head of a peasant war. The fact that he later balanced between the classes and in typical Bonapartist fashion, leaned on the workers for a time, alters nothing. The fact that the Peking gangsters called their hideous caricature 'socialism' or sometimes the dictatorship of the 'proletariat' also alters nothing. There is no fundamental difference economically or socially between any of these regimes. This means that the secondary differences in comparison with the fundamentals are only of trifling importance. Lenin's Mistake It is no accident also that all the sects base themselves on the mistake of Lenin in What is to be Done - that the proletariat on its own is capable only of 'trade union consciousness' and not 'socialist consciousness'. In reality this is not Lenin's idea but appropriately Kautsky's. Lenin discovered his mistake, and Lenin's works, as those of Marx and Engels and Trotsky, not to add Luxemburg and Mehring, are the living refutation of this idea. In all 55 volumes of Lenin's works there is never again the repetition of this error. In fact, without idealising the proletariat, as with all the great Marxists - all his works, down to the smallest article, are saturated with confidence and trust in the mighty power of the proletariat as the only vehicle which would lead mankind to socialism. This, of course, comes from the dialectical materialism of Marx. In reality all these gentlemen of the sects have a haughty if secret - and sometimes not completely secret at that - contempt for the working class. Dialectically, while embracing enthusiastically this false idea about trade union consciousness, at the same time, they worship at the shrine of Ho Chi Minh or Mao or Castro or Tito or some other proletarian Bonapartist dictator. They are incapable of understanding the process of history and the temporary conjuncture of the economic upswing which led to a long lull in the class struggle in the West and the continuing crisis of society in the underdeveloped world. This was one of the corollary factors of the West's boom and inevitably led to the rise and development of proletarian Bonapartism in the colonial world, which the dominance of Stalinism in Russia and the predominance of Stalinism and reformism in the workers' movement in the world contributed to. Only genuine Marxism has been able from the beginning to explain all these 'outlandish' phenomena from the viewpoint of the working class and the class nature of society and the organic crisis of world capitalism which is manifested first of all at its weaker and more backward extremities. All these proletarian Bonapartist regimes are temporary aberrations on the road of the world revolution. The excrescence which Stalinism represents will be eliminated almost in passing when the mighty proletariat of one of the advanced countries takes power in the West or the regimes of Russia and Eastern Europe are regenerated by the overthrow of bureaucracies. In a number of works we have traced the contradictions and inconsistencies which the sects show on the question of what is a healthy workers' state with 'bureaucratic deformations', or what is a deformed workers' state. Though both are based on state ownership, they are fundamentally different in their super-structure. For that reason a political revolution is necessary in the case of a deformed workers' state before a 'workers' democracy' or 'the dictatorship of the proletariat' in its political as well as economic sense, can be established. On the other hand, a workers' state with 'bureaucratic deformations' is a workers' state under conditions of backwardness and isolation which can still be reformed through the restoration of party, trade union and state democracy, ie a return to the control of the workers and peasants and where, if only in vestigial form, these organisations still exist under the pressure of the workers. Some sects have bowed down before Castro as the leader and organiser of a 'healthy workers' state'. They went even further and compared his 'struggle against bureaucracy' with that of Trotsky against Stalinism. They actually committed the indecency of publishing the photographs of Trotsky and Castro together as fighters against bureaucracy and for democratic socialism. They thus showed that they understood neither the role of Trotsky as an immortal fighter against the Stalinist bureaucracy nor Castro's role as the incarnation of the Cuban Stalinist bureaucracy. Words are cheap. 'Castro's struggle' against the Cuban bureaucracy was no different in essence to that of Stalin on occasions against the Russian bureaucracy. Stalin as a Bonapartist dictator sometimes attacked the 'bureaucracy' in words. He went further on occasions and leaned on the workers and peasants. This happened when the greedy bureaucrats went too far in their swindling, speculation and plundering of the state and threatened to devour the foundations of the state. Stalin took action even against high-up bureaucrats and certainly against wide sections of the lower ranks of the bureaucracy. This was to preserve the Stalinist system by making scapegoats of some bureaucrats, especially the lower ranks. Fundamentally, Castro's role in Cuba is the same. True, he played the leading personal role in the guerrilla war, the overthrow of Batista, the movement towards expelling imperialism, and overthrowing landlordism and capitalism. Stalin had lived through a proletarian revolution together with the existence of a workers' democracy, yet he carried out a counter-revolution against it. But right from the first day, the Cuban revolution was deformed and distorted. The proletariat never held political power directly as in Russia. The fact that even today probably the decisive bulk of the Cuban people, as the Chinese people too, support the regime at this stage, alters nothing as to its character. Castro's strictures against bureaucracy, like Stalin's, are necessary if he is to preserve the role of 'Bonapartist arbiter' and 'father of the people'. Now, when dealing with Ethiopia, some of those who bow the knee before Castro, declare Mengistu - whose regime is basically a copy of that of Russia, China and Cuba - to be 'fascist'. This particular example of contortions and eclectic acrobatics can only be greeted with gales of laughter by genuine Marxism. State Capitalism? Why is Mengistu's regime 'state capitalist' and different to the others? There is no explanation. They merely echo the arguments of the student, Maoist ultra-lefts in Ethiopia. At least the Ethiopian Maoists have the consistency to declare - as the Maoists have done everywhere - that Russia too is 'state capitalist'. The proof of the 'fascist' character of the Mengistu regime, they claim, is the vicious repression, the executions, the repression of national rights and the national revolutions of a similar character to that of Ethiopia - of Eritrea and the Ogaden - and the suppression of other national minorities. The crushing and dissolution of independent trade unions and all the nascent democratic organs of self-expression of the workers and peasants is certainly to be condemned. So also is the concentration of power into the hands of the Army junta clique and the dictatorship of Mengistu. But one rubs one's eyes in disbelief at the shallowness of the 'Marxism' of these self-styled Trotskyists'. For every crime committed by Mengistu in this regard, Stalin committed a hundred times more! The repression of independent organs of the workers must have reached a state of perfection by the bueaucracy in Russia. Puppet 'unions' exist which resemble the Arbeitfront of the Nazis in Germany. The Russian 'Communist' Party is the arm of the bureaucracy itself and has long ago ceased to be a workers' party. Concentration camps, or 'labour camps' as they are called, and psychiatric 'hospitals' have been established for all dissidents - right or left. The national oppression of the minorities, and especially of worker dissidents, reached levels never reached even under Tsarism. A one-party totalitarian machine has been established without allowing any opposition anywhere among workers, peasants and intellegentsia. The regimentation of art, science and government into a Stalinist straitjacket, without any independent initiative or thought, has been unequalled in history except, possibly, in Hitler's Germany. More or less, that is the picture common to all the proletarian Bonapartist states, including China and Cuba. Some of the sects pick up the characterisation of the Mengistu regime from the Maoists. They also support the heroic guerrilla peasant war in the Ogaden and in Eritrea, which, if victorious, would probably end in a carbon copy of Cuba or of Mengistu's Ethiopia. That would be inevitable with a backward economy and with the limited nationalist leadership looking to their own resources alone and not seeing the necessity of linking up with the workers of the advanced capitalist countries. If there is a struggle for national rights of these peoples - so long as there is not the direct intervention of imperialism - we would give critical support to the struggle as we would for example to the struggle of the Ukranian people for independence from Stalinist Russia. An independent socialist soviet Ukraine would prepare the way for a genuine and voluntary socialist soviet federation of all the peoples of the USSR. This could only be achieved by the overthrow of the Russian Stalinist bureaucracy by the Russian working class. Support for Revolution Unfortunately in Eritrea and the Ogaden, as in Ethiopia for the next period, democracy will receive short shrift. This is inevitable on the bases of a peasant war, as well as the Stalinist ideology of their leaders. But as we did in the case of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (Kampuchea) and for that matter China also - we would give support without closing our eyes to the inevitability of Stalinist totalitarian regimes whatever the result of the conflict. Because of its character as a national struggle (though on the basis of state ownership and the elimination of landlordism and capitalism) and the limited outlook of its leadership, neither the Somalis nor the Eritreans have a means of influencing or winning over the peasant soldiers of Ethiopia. They too have carried through a revolution and are influenced by the national idea of a united Ethiopia. The proletarian and far sighted policy of Lenin - in standing firmly for the bourgeois-democratic right of self-determination - has no place unfortunately in the policy of the Ethiopians. But neither is there present, on any side in the conflict, the other policies of Marxism - democratic-centralism in the Party, democracy in the soviets, trade unions and so on. Our policy is dictated first by the international socialist proletarian revolution and its interests. The defeat of imperialism and the overthrow of landlordism and capitalism in the Horn of Africa are big steps forward. This is despite the conflict between 'socialist states' which sows confusion among the advanced workers and the proletariat generally. The complexity of the problem and the need to keep our ideas clear is shown by the way imperialism and the Russian and Cuban bureaucracy have changed sides. Yesterday the imperialists supported Haile Selassie and the landlord-capitalist regime in Ethiopia against Somalia and the guerrilla movement in Eritrea. Russia and Cuba financed, armed and organised the Somali state and supported the guerrillas in Eritrea with arms, finance and technical assistance. Ethiopia assumed more importance in their eyes, with the collapse of the Emperor, followed by the overthrow of the semi-feudal landlord-capitalist regime. Ethiopia has 35 million people against approximately 2 or 3 million each in Eritrea and Somalia. Opportunistically taking advantage of the civil war in Ethiopia, organised by the landlord-capitalist counter-revolution, President Barre of Somalia sent troops into the Ogaden. He hoped for the disintegration and collapse of the Ethiopian revolution. He was nationally limited and short-sighted, interested only in a 'greater Somalia'. Undoubtedly the imperialists, surreptitiously through the semi-feudal reactionary Arab states like Saudi-Arabia, gave support to the Somalis, as they now give support to the Eritreans despite the social character of the movement in Eritrea. They wish to weaken Ethiopia and strike a blow against the Russian bureaucracy. The Russian bureaucracy and Castro have changed horses in mid-stream after vainly attempting to persuade the Somali rulers to make a compromise and establish a federation of Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia. This would undoubtedly have been the best solution, given the character of all these regimes either as Bonapartist deformed workers' states, or such states in the process of formation. When the Somalis rejected this proposal the bureaucracy switched sides. It is not certain that the Ethiopians were in agreement with this proposal either. Now they are trying to negotiate some form of agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopea. If the Eritreans do not accept some form of limited 'autonomy' Cuba and Russia seem certain to support the crushing in blood of the Eritrean attempt at self-determination. The imperialists, unable to intervene directly, will weep crocodile tears about the national and democratic rights of the Eritrean people. (Yesterday they brutally tried to suppress the rights of the Vietnamese people.) But what is really entertaining about these dramatic conflicts is the position of some of the sects. They solemnly declaim that Russia (correctly) is a deformed workers' state and Cuba (incorrectly) a relatively 'healthy' workers' state. But in no way do they explain how and why the relatively 'healthy' workers' state of Cuba or the deformed workers' state of Russia actively helps the 'fascist' state of Ethiopia to establish itself and suppress the national rights of the people of Eritrea who are attempting to establish a 'Marxist' regime and the Somalis of the Ogaden and the other minorities. Undoubtedly, on the basis of land distribution, the overwhelming majority of the Ethiopian peasants support the Ethiopian regime for want of an alternative. It is theoretically possible of course that for the purpose of 'defence' against other capitalist states, a deformed workers' state or even a healthy workers' state could ally itself with a reactionary or fascist state. Stalin's Russia did this in 1939 with the 'non-aggression' pact with Hitler's Germany. But what strategic necessity was there for Brezhnev and Castro to switch from supporting Somalia and Eritrea to their 'fascist' rivals? The rulers of the deformed workers' states would look with trepidation at the rise of a healthy workers' state in the industrialised countries because of the social reverberations it would provoke in their own countries. But they would welcome the establishment of social regimes on the pattern of their own regimes in the backward and neo-colonial countries. This strengthens them internationally against their capitalist imperialist rivals. The basic world antagonism between the social structures of these countries and capitalist countries remains. Stalinism and Fascism Ethiopia is a country far more backward than Russian Czarism or even pre-revolutionary China, and is under conditions of civil war on every front. With a leadership which takes Cuba and China as its model, without revolutionary training, this officer leadership has moved towards Stalinist conceptions in the course of the revolution. But we cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater. We must separate out the enormously progressive kernel from the reactionary wrappings. Landlordism and capitalism have been eliminated and this decisive fact will have far-flung effects on the whole of the African revolution in the coming epoch. Not for nothing did Trotsky explain to the American Socialist Workers Party that, separated from state ownership of industry and the land, the political regime in Russia was fascist! There was nothing to distinguish the political regime of Stalin from that of Hitler except the decisive fact that one defended and had its privileges based on state ownership while the other had its privileges, power, income and prestige based on the defence of private property. That was a fundamental and decisive difference! There is no difference in the fundamentals of economic and political structure of Ethiopia from China, Syria, Russia or any of the deformed workers' states. The latest events in Indo-China have served again to show the ridiculous contortions of the policies of all the sects. Our tendency gave wholehearted support to the struggle of the Vietnamese 'Communist' Party of Ho Chi Minh and its Laotian and Cambodian off-shoots in their peasant guerrilla war against American and world imperialism and their native puppets. We supported the struggle unconditionally and wholeheartedly. We supported it because it was a colonial war for liberation. We would have supported such a war even under bourgeois or petit-bourgois leadership which had fought merely for the right of national self-determination alone. But it inevitably became a war for social liberation as well as national liberation - in the sense of fighting for the elimination also of landlordism and capitalism. Without this, the struggle could not have been carried on for decades against overwhelming military odds. How far the sects have strayed from the Marxist or Trotskyist method was shown by the polemics between two different sects of the same international tendency about how far the Vietnamese were 'unconscious' Trotskyists operating on the basis of the permanent revolution. None of these worthies have understood the peculiar character of the epoch as far as the colonial or ex-colonial areas of the world are concerned. Nor have they understood the inevitable perversion of the revolution under either open Stalinist - or pseudo-communist leadership - or that of radical sections of the officer caste. They have not understood the inevitable consequences when a colonial revolution is led to its progressive and 'final' conclusion of eliminating capitalism and landlordism but when the main force is not that of the working class with a Marxist leadership. When the main force is a peasant army using classic peasant tactics of guerrilla war, then it must result in a 'deformed workers' state' even if that were not the aim of the leaders. In the event of an army coup of the younger officers, allied to 'intellectuals' and students, the consequences would - inevitably - be the same. This is particularly the case given the world environment of strong Bonapartist workers' states, in the form of Stalinist Russia and other countries. Taken together with the existence of the imperialist powers there could be no other outcome. Of course if there were in existence healthy workers' states - for instance in Russia, or one of the big industrialised states of Europe, or Japan - then the results and the possibilities would be entirely different. The proletariat and people of the advanced workers' states would give aid and assistance to a workers' state in a backward country, linking the economies together, and sending tens of thousands of technicians to small countries and hundreds of thousands to one with a big population. That would mean rapid industrialisation plus workers' democracy. That is what Lenin meant when he said Africa could move straight from tribalism to communism. But given the present relationship of class forces in international affairs, with classical reformism and Stalinist reformism dominant in the workers' movement of the advanced countries, such a conclusion in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos was ruled out. Indo-China Clashes That is why our tendency, while wholeheartedly supporting the Vietnamese and Indo-Chinese revolutions, warned the workers and peasants of these countries that while they should actively support the struggle and fight for social and national liberation, at the same time the dominance of the struggle by the Stalinist leadership would mean that while an enormous social step forward would be taken by the victory of the national liberation movement, it would be succeeded by a new enslavement by the totalitarian Stalinist bureaucracy. Without a Marxist party and without Marxist leadership the goal of the 'Communist Party' leadership would be a state in the image of the so-called 'socialism' of Russia or China. We appealed to the advanced workers of Britain, America, France and the world, to support the social and national liberation struggle of the Indo-Chinese peoples, because it weakened imperialism and world capitalism. The liberation of the productive forces of these countries, by the overthrow of the rule of capital, would be of immense long-term benefit to the people of these countries and also to the world proletariat. But we never deceived ourselves or the workers and peasants of the world as to the inevitable nature (the class relationship of forces) of the regimes which would be set up in these countries. We warned of, and predicted, the inevitable setting up of nationalist totalitarian Stalinist regimes in these countries but even we had not expected just how far they would go in their distortions. The armed clashes between Cambodia and Vietnam are a crushing condemnation of all those 'Trotskyist' sects in Britain and internationally who did not understand the class nature of these regimes and their Stalinist character. There was no surprise in these events for our tendency. The clashes on the borders between Russia and China when tens of thousands were killed had shown what nationalist bureaucrats are capable of. These bureaucracies cannot look beyond the boundaries of the national state. Behind these clashes in former Indo-China are the aspirations of the Vietnamese to set up an Indo-China federation of 'socialist states'. Obviously this would have been of immense benefit to the economies of all these countries. But the reason that the Cambodians are against the setting up of such a federation is that under conditions of Bonapartist totalitarianism they would inevitably come under the nationalist domination and national oppression of the Vietnamese bureaucracy. Leaving aside the virulent national chauvinism of the Cambodian Stalinists, this would be as inevitable as it was in Stalinist China and in Russia. For the same reason, the Vietnamese Stalinists, in their turn, would refuse to federate with Stalinist China. They know, as the minorities in China have seen, that they would come under the national oppression of the Chinese bureaucracy. Even though economically it would be of immense benefit, they would not agree to this, no more than would the Chinese bureaucracy agree to a federation with Russia, though economically and even in terms of world power politics, it would be colossally beneficial to the peoples and the economies of both these countries. What stands in the way are the national vested interests of the bureaucracies of all these countries. Only workers' democracy, without any hint of national superiority or advantage as in the days of Lenin and Trotsky, can have such a programme. But a Bonapartist regime, basing itself on privilege and inequality, is incapable of such a policy: the chauvinistic excesses of Stalinist Russia and China are proof of this. Bonapartist totalitarian regimes by their very nature, can never look beyond the narrow horizon of the national state. By the very nature of bureaucracy and its privileges they are nationally limited. Basing themselves on peasants, students and intellectuals, and without the decisive domination and participation of the working class, they are inevitably nationally limited. Afghanistan The working class can secure its emancipation and the domination of society only by overcoming all the prejudices of the past - national, racial, caste, sex or any other. But only the working class and no other - and only under Marxist leadership at that - is capable of this feat. But the emancipation of the workers means the emancipation also of the petit-bourgeois strata in society who, under the leadership of the working class, and only under these conditions, would be capable of rising to these heights. The petit-bourgeois and the intellectuals can adopt the standpoint of the proletariat only by breaking completely with their origins and the outlook of their class. Under modern conditions that is extremely difficult where genuine Marxists, as in the early days of Marx and Engels, have been reduced to a handful. This is particularly the case today when the struggle is not merely in the ideological sphere but where the immediate issue in country after country is the transformation of society. In this situation it is easy for the intellectuals to come under the domination of the muddled ideas of Stalinism in its various forms. Only a strong workers' movement dominated by Marxism could make the metamorphosis of such intellectuals possible. This is especially difficult in colonial or neo-colonial countries where the problems are immediate, where the masses live an almost animal existence, where also there are insuperable obstacles to modernisation and the development of society on the basis of the semi-feudal landlord capitalist regimes. It is easier for the intellectuals, the radical officers, even civil servants and upper layers of professional people, doctors, dentists, lawyers and so on to make the transition to Stalinist Bonapartism than to support genuine but tiny Marxist tendencies. Especially this is so in most of these countries where 'Marxism' does not exist as an organised tendency. The 'Marxist-Leninism' of Russia, China or Ethiopia suits them perfectly. It fits all their prejudices. A 'socialism' where the elites of state, party, industry, army and the professions have a standard of living way above that of the masses seems perfectly normal and natural to them. A society where these strata become the dominant and governing caste, has an enormous attraction for them, especially as they see the enormous strides which backward countries make with a forced march of 'socialism'. Thus it is easy for them to rationalise their class position. They have a hatred of the corrupt landlords and capitalists under whose control their societies and countries are either decaying or only inching ahead. They have a contempt for the downtrodden masses of peasants and even for the weak working class. These stratas, apart from their economic position, are imbued with an overwhelming conceit and concern for their own importance in society. They are concerned with perks, status, standing, power, privileges, income and prestige. Thus, it is easy in the modern world to see how they can embrace 'socialism' on the pattern of Cuba, for example. In the past period the fresh example of Afghanistan underlines the analysis we have made of the colonial revolution. The 'Communist' Party of this terribly backward country was only formed in the last decade or so. Like the Baath Party in Syria, it had no difficulty in swallowing the doctrine of 'Islam' as well as 'communism'. It has done so because religious superstition has deep roots among the overwhelmingly backward peasant majority, 90 per cent of whom are illiterate. Complete Transformation Now, as with the Baath Party in Syria, the CP leaders in Afghanistan have allied themselves with the radical lower and middle ranks of the officer caste in the army. The immediate issue which precipitated the coup was famine - as in Ethiopia - and the impossibility of the corrupt, semi-feudal Asiatic ruler, to cope with it. Afghanistan has had many coups in the past decades leading to different tribal leaders and groups gaining power. They merely changed the tops, leaving the social structure intact. The same corruption inevitably developed, leading, when the imposition had become unbearable on the masses, to a famine, or through foreign intrigue, to a new coup. Thus, social relations were contained in the same vicious circle. This new coup opens up the possibility of striking in a new direction. 'Communists' have become Prime Minister and President and also have a dominant role in the government. This indicates in which direction the officers wish to go. One of the first acts of the new regime has been to seize the lands of the monarchy, which, though overthrown by the former Daud(3) regime, still possessed 20 per cent of the land in Afghanistan! This is a new departure and may be the beginning of a complete transformation of social relations. As in Poland, where the Polish Stalinist bureaucracy came to an agreement with the Catholic church, so in Afghanistan the Communist Party leadership, together with the officers, can arrive at an agreement with the mullahs of Islam. The fact that Taraki, the new Prime Minister, is the leader of a so-called Communist Party alters nothing. He pursues the same policy as that of the Syrian leaders of the Baath. In the case of Afghanistan, only two roads are possible at this stage. The working class is miniscule. Sections of the intelligentsia, and apparently the majority of the officers and a great part of the professionals, want to construct a modern civilised state. The peasants want the land. On the road of capitalism and landlordism, there is no way forward. The army officers wish to take the road traversed by Outer Mongolia. In fact these peculiar changes are only possible because of the international context. The crisis of imperialism and capitalism, the impasse of the backward countries of the third world and the existence of the proletarian revolutions in the West, are powerful factors in the case of Afghanistan. The barbarous regimes also of Pakistan, Iran and nearby India have no attractive force. The army officers, many, if not most, trained in Russia, are attracted when they see the consequences of the Stalinist regime. It has a big effect on the tribesmen, of similar peoples and even the same tribes, in areas bordering Russia when they see the modernisation of areas of Russia which formerly had as low a standard of living, and just as great illiteracy and ignorance as themselves. Marxist Approach The industrialisation, complete literacy and high standards in comparison to Afghanistan, are bound to impress these strata. In contrast, the backwardness and barbarism on which the nobility thrived in Afghanistan cannot but appal all the best elements - the intelligentsia, the professionals and even the officer caste. They wish to break out from poverty, ignorance and dirt from which their country suffers. The capitalists of the West, with unemployment and industrial stagnation, offer them nothing. They wish to break away from the vicious circle of tribal rulers and different military regimes which change nothing fundamental. The world crisis of capitalism hits the backward regions of the world even harder, and impels them to draw the conclusion that capitalism offers no way forward. The 'republican' regime of Daud - incidentally, backed and propped up by Moscow in the past - alters nothing. The upheavals and coups, leading to mere changes of dynasties by different clans of the nobility during the last fifty years have been completely sterile. The nobility and the relations on the land on which they were based, was the main obstacle to modernisation. Under these circumstances, if the new regime leans on the support of the peasants and transforms society, then the way will be cleared for the development of a regime in Afghanistan, like that of Cuba, Syria or Russia. This, for the first time for centuries, will bring Afghanistan society forward to the modern world. If the socialist transformation is completed, it could comprise a new blow at capitalism and landlordism in the rest of capitalist-landlord Asia, especially in the area of South Asia. It will have incalculable effects on the Pathans and Baluchis of Pakistan and will have a similar effect on the peoples on the borders of Iran. The rotting regime of Pakistan in coming years will face complete disintegration. A revamping of social relations in Afghanistan can further contribute to the decay of this regime. The tribesmen will be influenced by the process taking place among their brothers across the borders. On the North West frontiers of Pakistan and among the Baluchis there is already endemic and simmering revolt, with these peoples looking towards a unity with their brothers in Afghanistan. The effect would be in widening circles, the repercussions of which could be felt in Iran and further afield, also in India. This is the road which the 'Communist Party', which holds power together with the radical officers, will take. The opposition of the old forces in Afghanistan, as in Ethiopia, will in all probability impel them in this direction. If they temporise, possibly under the influence of the Russian ambassador and the Russian regime, they will prepare the way for a ferocious counter-revolution based on the threatened nobility and the mullahs. If successful, counter-revolution would restore the old regime on the bones of hundreds of thousands of peasants, the massacres of the radical officers and the near extermination of the educated elite. For the moment - until there is a movement of the only advanced class which can bring a transition moving in the direction of socialism in the industrially developed countries - the most progressive development in Afghanistan seems at the present time to be the installation of proletarian Bonapartism. While not closing our eyes to the new contradictions this will involve, on the basis of a transitional economy of a workers' state, without workers' democracy, Marxists, in a sober fashion, will support the emergence of such a state and the further weakening not only of imperialism and capitalism but also of regimes basing themselves on the remnants of feudalism in the most backward countries. Go back to contents page or go on to next section, Introduction to Section Five Notes Fulgencia Batista was the US backed Cuban dictator, from 1933 until his overthrow by the guerrilla army led by Castro in 1959. On 25 April 1974, a movement of armed forces officers overthrew the Caetano dictatorship in Portugal, ushering in a revolutionary crisis. Mohammed Daud came to power, overthrowing the monarchy in 1973. He was overthrown by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council on 27 April 1978, which brought the Taraki regime to power. SPRINGFIELD -- A federal civil suit brought in Springfield by seven of the more than 60 women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual abuse remains on hold because of the disgraced comedian's criminal case in Pennsylvania. A jury convicted Cosby Thursday on three counts of counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each of those convictions could put the 80-year-old disgraced comedian in prison for up to 10 years. But Cosby's legal team has vowed to appeal Thursday's conviction, a process that could take years -- and that might further slow the civil case. Cosby was sued here because he and his wife have a home in Shelburne. Attorney Joseph Cammarata, who is representing the women, told U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni in September 2017 that he can't prepare his client's case unless he questions Cosby under oath with a deposition. Cosby couldn't allow himself to be deposed while the criminal case was going on because of his 5th Amendment right to avoid self incrimination. Mastroianni stayed discovery in the case here until the criminal case is over. But that delay includes the expected appeals process which might take year or longer, according to court papers in the case. Cammarata said deposing others in the case while he waits for access to Cosby won't work because it would force him to work backwards. In most of these cases, investigators question the primary person and then work out from there. The women filed the civil suit in Springfield in 2014. Plaintiffs Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie all seek damages from Cosby. He faces other similar suits both here and in California. The women say Cosby and his legal team defamed them and called them liars after they came forward with their stories of Cosby's sexual abuse. Lead plaintiff Tamara Green says Cosby met her for lunch in the 1970s, and gave her pills saying they would help her cold. Green says he took her back to her apartment and sexually assaulted her while she was under the effect of the pills, despite her resistance. Afterward, he left two $100 bills on her coffee table. Cosby faces other civil suits. Last week, attorneys for Katherine McKee, who says Bill Cosby raped her in a Detroit hotel room in 1974, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a defamation lawsuit she brought against Cosby after he publicly denied her story. Mastroianni dismissed McKee's lawsuit in Springfield in 2017. Appeals courts have agreed with his ruling, leaving the Supreme Court as McKee's last resort. In California, Cosby still faces a similar defamation suit filed by model and actress Janice Dickinson. This week, Dickinson's attorney Lisa Bloom tweeted that she is pressing on with plans to question Cosby in a deposition. GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Friday morning after Kim walked across the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the Korean Peninsula. Moon and Kim shook hands standing on the South Korean side and the DPRK side, respectively, at Panmunjom, which is divided only by a low cement slab sitting in the middle of the border village. After Kim walked across the MDL into the South Korean side, Kim invited Moon to cross the border briefly into the DPRK side with their hands holding together. They returned soon to the South Korean territory still hand in hand, marking a historic moment for the summit. Kim became the first DPRK leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two leaders were escorted along a red carpet by a traditional South Korean honor guard to a square located between the Freedom House and the Peace House, a venue for formal talks between the two leaders. The leaders inspected the honor guard, composed of service members of the South Korean army, navy and air force, as part of the official welcoming ceremony. After reviewing the honor guard, Moon and Kim greeted the official delegates from both sides accompanying them. Kim walked inside the Peace House to sign a guestbook and take a commemorative photo with Moon on the first floor. They chatted with smiles in the reception room before launching formal talks on the second floor at 10:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT). Gaming officials seek to quell speculation that ownership of Massachusetts casinos will shift. During an earnings call with analysts Thursday, MGM Resorts International CEO James Murren was asked of the potential purchase of Wynn Boston Harbor. "Of course the answer I have to give is we don't comment on rumors," he said, as reported by the Associated Press. "I don't think it's likely," adding, "It would have to be an extremely unique situation." This followed similar comments from the chief of Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox. CEO Matt Maddox appeared on CNBC Wednesday to speak of a "refresh" within the company. When asked if Wynn Boston Harbor was on the market, Maddox denied it. "Boston's not up for sale. What Boston represents for us is a good growth opportunity," Maddox said on CNBC. "I like that market. I found that land. I pursued that deal. I entered the agreement with the host community five years ago. I liked that market then, I like that market now." His comments mark a shift in previous statements about the yet-to-be-finished Boston-area casino project. During an earnings conference call earlier in the week, he kept the possibility of a sale on the table. "If there was ever any risk due to heightened rhetoric that there could be any contagion from Massachusetts into our $20 billion company in Las Vegas and Macau, we will have to take a hard look at what is best to protect our shareholders and value," Maddox said, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Speculation of such a sale began in early April. Industry insiders confirmed to MassLive that MGM officials began exploring the purchase of Wynn Boston Harbor, the $2.4 billion casino project in Everett. Such a deal received a nod of approval from gaming industry analysts. John DeCree of Union Gaming - a Las Vegas-based investment bank and advisory firm - told investors last week that purchasing Wynn Boston Harbor could result in a double-digit increase in return on investment for MGM than their casino project in Springfield. In his report to investors, DeCree said MGM Springfield "was a great fit for MGM when the license was awarded in 2014, but MGM is a vastly different company today." The report goes on, "In 2014, MGM's total leverage was six times and the company generated $1.5 billion of domestic," the report reads. "Today, MGM's balance sheet is 4.5 times leveraged and going below four times in a hurry. The company now generates over $2.5 billion of domestic cash flow and has significantly expanded its presence on the East Coast with MGM National Harbor and The Borgata. As a substantially larger enterprise, we believe MGM is a good fit for Boston." MGM is building a $960 million casino, slated to open in August 2018 in the heart of downtown Springfield. State gaming regulations prohibit a casino operator from holding more than one license to operate within Massachusetts, making the sale of the Springfield casino necessary if MGM were to purchase the Boston-area project. NORTHAMPTON -- Northampton High School students will soon have an opportunity to train for in-demand computer careers through Greenfield Community College and Springfield's Tech Foundry. Jonathan Edwards, director of strategic partnerships for Tech Foundry, said he's already talking with other area high schools about replicating the program before it's even begun. "This career pathways initiative is something the state is very focused on," Edwards said. "It's cultivating students who don't necessarily have college as part of their plan right now." The program includes college-level classes at GCC. "What we are trying to do is experiment with a different way of doing high school," said John Provost, superintendent of schools in Northampton. "We are providing students with a guided career pathway in an academic high school." On Tuesday, GCC announced that Northampton High School received a $140,000 award from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to launch its first Innovation Pathway. The high school will recruit about 10 students in the ninth grade, plus a few sophomores to keep the number stable and make up for any kids who don't continue, Edwards said. They'll get computer technology classes in high school, and starting in their junior year they'll have the opportunity to take 12 credits worth of classes at GCC, according to a news release. In the spring of their senior year, the students will travel to Springfield for the Tech Foundry program. Once there, they'll spend nine weeks taking classes alongside the rest of the Tech Foundry students. They'll get used to being in classes with older students in a mixed-age group session, Edwards said. Delcie Bean, founder and CEO of Paragus IT, helped create Tech Foundry in 2013 after five years of frustration seeing jobs in computer technology go unfilled because there were no skilled candidates. Tech Foundry is funded by charitable donations and a grant from the state as well as by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Students at Tech Foundry get a basic computer education and earn "badges" signifying their mastery of a certain skill, software or computer language. "This program exists to fill need from students and there is a skills need on behalf of employers," Edwards said. In their final five weeks at Tech Foundry, the Northampton students will work at internships with local companies, ideally employers in Hampshire County, Edwards said. They will also get a chance throughout the program to work on the help desk for Northampton municipal employees who are having computer problems. "What is wonderful about help-desk work is that it exposes you to all parts of industry. You never know what someone is going to have a problem with," Edwards said. "Do I want to be in software? Do I want to be in networking? In hardware?" Each year Tech Foundry graduates 60 to 70 students. Students and parents interested in learning more about the program should contact Northampton Public Schools Digital Literacy & Computer Science Coordinator Molly McLoughlin at mmcloughlin@northampton-k12.us. WESTFIELD -- Westfield Bank warned customers this week to check their balances and activity on their accounts after receiving complaints of fraudulent ATM withdrawals on or about April 21. The bank was able to quickly put controls in place to block the fraudulent activity, Kevin O'Connor, executive vice president and chief banking officer, said Friday. "We think we were able to identify what was going on pretty quickly, so we brought a quick end to that," he said. One warning sign was that many of the ATM withdrawals were in Worcester County, unusual for Westfield Bank. A few of the fraudulent withdrawals were in Hampden County and some were in Connecticut. "We could just tell from the location," O'Connor said. The bank wants to make sure it notifies potential victims out there who have not yet come forward, or worse, are as-yet unaware of a theft. "We have heard from most of them," he said. The bank is reimbursing customers for their loss, he said. Westfield Bank can also tell which of its customers are likely to have fallen victim and is not contacting all ATM customers, O'Connor said. Controls in place to stop the fraud probably won't inconvenience customers, O'Connor said, but there is a chance that certain legitimate transactions could run into one of the new blocks. In general, Westfield Bank asks customers to watch their accounts for unusual activity. With $2.1 billion in assets, Westfield Bank has 300 employees and 21 branches. The popular Swedish pop group ABBA has recorded two new songs, the first of which will be heard on a TV special in December. The two new songs were a result of a digital ABBA avatar tour the foursome has conceived, according to a post of the band's Instagram account on Friday. "The decision to go ahead with the exciting ABBA avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did. And it was like time had stood still and that we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience! It resulted in two new songs and one of them 'I Still Have Fair In You' will be performed by our digital selves in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC aimed for broadcasting in December. We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good. -- Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, Anni-Frid - Stockholm, Sweden, 27 April 2018." In June 2016, the Swedish quartet appeared at a private party at the Berns Salonger hotel in Stockholm to mark 50 years since songwriting duo Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson first met. Ulvaeus, Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad performed "Me and I" and talked about the group's legacy, according to the Swedish newspaper Expressen. It was ABBA's first performance since a guest spot on the British TV series "The Late, Late Breakfast Show" on Dec. 11, 1982. "It was absolutely amazing. A lot of emotions," Lyngstad told the newspaper of that reunion. "We've made this journey throughout our history. Benny and Bjorn in particular. Its been very nostalgic." ABBA, who sold 380 million albums, broke up in 1982 after a highly successful decade-long run with hits like "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen" and "SOS." They reportedly turned down a $1 billion offer to reunite. Ulvaeus told the New Musical Express in 2014 that the group would never reunite. NBC News Chairman Andy Lack had barely slept. Late the night before, he had walked from the art deco headquarters of NBC Universal in Midtown Manhattan to the Upper East Side to fire his most famous employee and longtime friend, "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer. Early the next morning, Lack was back in the office, holding a series of meetings to try to explain to shellshocked employees what precipitated such an unprecedented move. The week had started with a detailed and serious complaint Monday evening from an NBC staffer about Lauer's inappropriate sexual behavior toward her. A day later, Lauer was gone. In the following morning's meetings on Nov. 29, Lack took pains to point out that the complaint about Lauer was the first of its kind in the anchor's more than 20 years with the network. Others disagree. During her last year on the "Today" show, in 2012, Lauer's co-host Ann Curry said she approached two members of NBC's management team after an NBC female staffer told her she was "sexually harassed physically" by Lauer. "A woman approached me and asked me tearfully if I could help her," Curry recalled recently, in her first public comments about the episode. "She was afraid of losing her job. . . . I believed her." The woman, she said, implored Curry not to reveal her name to anyone, and she obliged. But Curry specifically named Lauer as a person of concern. "I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women," she said. The NBC staffer confirmed to The Washington Post that she went to Curry with her complaint. She spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation. Curry declined to name the management officials she says she approached. An NBC spokesman said the company has no record of her warning, and added that there was no mention of it in Lauer's personnel file. NBC noted that Lack was not at the network at the time. Curry, who left NBC in 2015, has a non-disclosure agreement with the company and has been reluctant to talk publicly about her experiences at the network. NBC removed Curry from her role as co-host of "Today" in June 2012 amid foundering ratings and acrimony with Lauer. Curry, who in an interview said there was "pervasive verbal sexual harassment at NBC," worked on "Today" for 15 years, most of that time as a news reader, and co-anchored alongside Lauer in 2011 and 2012. In the news business, "I think people generally did not care" about women's stories of sexual harassment, said Soledad O'Brien, who worked at NBC for 12 years, went on to CNN for another decade and now runs her own production company. "I don't think that people who were victims would feel particularly supported by going to someone and asking for help, whether that person was in HR or that person was a colleague." O'Brien added that she did not experience sexual harassment at NBC, but said that within the industry, "People were mostly concerned they would lose their jobs if they complained. I think those concerns were valid." Matt Lauer is not the only prominent anchor at NBC who allegedly sought inappropriate relationships with younger women. Linda Vester, a former NBC correspondent, told The Post that legendary anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted advances toward her on two occasions in the 1990s, including a forcible attempt to kiss her. Vester was in her 20s and filed no complaint. Brokaw denied anything untoward happened with Vester. "I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC," he said in a statement issued by NBC. "The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other." Another woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also has told The Post that Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her in the '90s, when she was a young production assistant and he was an anchor. He said no such incident happened. NBC acted quickly to dismiss Lauer, but it is facing a wave of internal and outside skepticism that it can reform a workplace in which powerful men such as Lauer were known to pursue sexual relationships with more junior women. In interviews, 35 current and former NBC staffers said that while some of these relationships were consensual, some were not. Twelve women interviewed said they were sexually harassed but did not report it. Three of the 12 told The Post about sexual advances from Lauer. One woman said that the anchor exposed himself in his office and asked her to touch him, and a second said he had sex with her in the middle of the day in his office - alleged incidents that have not been previously reported. A third woman told The Post that Lauer gave her a sex toy, as first reported by Variety at the time he was fired. - - - Three former NBC staffers, who support Lauer but would not speak for attribution, argue that Lauer's relationships with women were consensual. Lauer told two people who worked with him, and spoke on the condition of anonymity, that his relationships at work were nothing more than evidence of a troubled marriage. But NBC News Chairman Lack, in memos to staff, described Lauer's behavior as "reprehensible" and "appalling." In a statement to The Post Wednesday, Lauer said, "I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months . . . I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost. But defending my family now requires me to speak up. "I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false." Scores of companies across various industries are grappling with how to end the sort of harassing behaviors that have been highlighted in the rapid rise of the #MeToo movement. The star factories of media organizations such as NBC, CBS and PBS have come under scrutiny by the movement. "The question is, did the company take reasonable measures to prevent this type of behavior," asked Deborah Rhode, a gender expert and director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School. "What did they know, and what did they do?" Brokaw, now 78, who left the anchor chair in 2004, addressed the topic of sexual harassment while appearing on a panel on MSNBC in December. He was talking about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who had just resigned. He said the culture needs to decide "where are the lines about all of this, because it's not going away. . . . Not easy to arrive at these conclusions because so many of them are subjective. It's in the minds of the violator or the recipient, or even the people who are on the left or the right. But I do think we need to have a healthier, well-defined dialogue, if you will, and I'm not sure how we launch into it." At NBC News, officials viewed the prompt firing of Lauer as sending a clear message. In a memo to staff in December, Lack said a review was already underway to determine "why this was able to happen, why it wasn't reported sooner, and what we can do to make employees feel more empowered to report unacceptable behavior." NBC also pledged to conduct a "culture assessment" that involved small groups of employees gathering with a facilitator from parent company NBC Universal to solicit anonymous feedback on how employees feel about their work environment, whether they are comfortable raising concerns, and what might prevent employees from coming forward. The company did not hire an outside firm to conduct the investigation - a step many other companies have taken - but it did bring in a sexual harassment training firm to conduct in-person trainings on workplace behavior and sexual harassment prevention. Lack promised to share publicly the results of their findings, "however painful," at the conclusion of the review. That was five months ago. No announcement has yet been made about the findings but the network said the review is nearing its conclusion. - - - By the time Lauer was fired last year, NBC was already smarting from a series of missteps that have put it on the wrong end of some of the nation's biggest news stories. NBC News held back the now-infamous "Access Hollywood" video in which Donald Trump admits to groping women. (The video first appeared on the website of The Washington Post.) Similarly, NBC did not air Ronan Farrow's investigation of Harvey Weinstein, which later ran as a bombshell in the New Yorker, accompanied by video that had previously been in NBC News's possession for months. When Lauer was fired abruptly, many inside the building said they were surprised that the action came so swiftly given his vaunted status. In one of Lack's meetings the morning after Lauer's firing, according to a person briefed on it, an employee expressed incredulity that NBC could have thoroughly investigated allegations against the "Today" show host in a single day. In response, Lack offered some details about the complaint. He said that the improper relationship with Lauer started at the Sochi Olympics, which took place in 2014, and it continued in New York. One NBC staffer who attended a meeting with Lack that morning said that Lack provided the Sochi detail and timing to underscore that the complaint hadn't been for a mere flirtation, but rather was an offense that went on for months. Another executive noted that Lack wanted employees to know that the complaint was for recent behavior, not for historical misdeeds. Whatever its intention, the briefing also accomplished something else: It dramatically narrowed the circle of women who could have made the accusation against Lauer. With that one detail, the guessing game inside NBC accelerated. Who was she? What had happened? What could have been so serious to have warranted the firing of NBC News's most valuable name? "My client came forward in good faith to her employer with the promise of confidentiality - something that took tremendous courage," says lawyer Ari Wilkenfeld, who represents Lauer's accuser. "Almost immediately, NBC broke that confidentiality by revealing specific details of her complaint without her consent, and has in fact disclosed information which led many to deduce her identity." But the NBC spokesman said the network has "protected the employee's anonymity all along," and noted, "There were several hundred female NBC employees in Sochi." Hours after Lack's initial memo to staff on the firing, Variety published an article on Lauer anonymously quoting women who said they had approached NBC management about Lauer's behavior toward them and that they had reported his behavior to senior management. Following the publication of that story, NBC clarified Lack's statement to say that NBC's "current management" had not ever received a complaint about Lauer's alleged misconduct. But Lauer's alleged behavior with women had become tabloid fodder years before. The National Enquirer had assigned a team to follow him in hopes of catching him in a compromising position. (A National Enquirer spokesman said the paper does to comment on its investigative reporting.) A former colleague noted that that level of scrutiny outside the building made Lauer more likely to carry on affairs inside the building and when he traveled internationally. Only one of Lauer's accusers who worked at NBC has been willing to speak publicly, even though several other women have made complaints behind the scenes. The one public face, Addie Zinone, a former production assistant on "Today," said she had a consensual but damaging one-month relationship with Lauer in 2000. She was 24 and he was in his 40s. She first told her story to Variety and repeated it, in detail, to The Post. Zinone recently asked pointedly: "Where are the other victims and why haven't they come forward?" The answer might be evidenced by looking at Zinone's inbox, where she has received scores of messages from strangers castigating her for speaking out. (Others were supportive.) But the answer also lies in the fear cited by two of the women who spoke about Lauer to The Post: they feared retaliation at NBC if they spoke out publicly. (Zinone said she left NBC shortly after the relationship with Lauer.) A former colleague of Lack's from his time before NBC said when questioned about Lauer's rumored extramarital affairs, Lack responded, "He just loves people. He genuinely loves people." Lack, through a spokesman, denied saying this, calling it "a ridiculous statement." - - - Linda Vester, who began a promising career with NBC News in the early 1990s, can still recount alleged incidents with Tom Brokaw from nearly 25 years ago that anger her to this day. She said she did not report them to management out of fear of retribution. Even if such incidents are reported through internal channels, she told The Post, NBC is not willing to hire an outside arbiter. "I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division," said Vester, now 52. A Fulbright student fellow who had pursued graduate studies in Arabic and the Middle East, Vester had reported for NBC from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the first Gulf War. She was hired in the 1990s to work on "Weekend Today," based in Washington, the lowest-ranking correspondent at the least-important program. One day in January 1994, Vester remembers being in New York on assignment, staying at the Essex House, the regular hotel for NBC staff. As she was preparing to return to Washington, she received a "top line" message from Brokaw, the managing editor and anchor of "NBC Nightly News." Top lines were short internal messages within NBC's system that allowed staff to communicate easily with one another. At the time, Brokaw was the network's biggest star. Lauer had just started as the news reader on "The Today Show." NBC News' new president, Andy Lack, was not a year in the job. Vester said Brokaw asked her where she was staying and what she was doing that night. "I replied that I had checked out of my hotel and was going to catch the last shuttle back to D.C. before the coming snowstorm," Vester remembered recently. Every correspondent's travel and hotel plans were kept in a group file available to anyone on NBC News's computer system. Brokaw wrote back that that wasn't a good idea, Vester said. "My gut told me his intentions were not good," she wrote in her diary later that night, and which she supplied to The Post. So she called her best friend and mentor at the network, a producer in the Washington bureau, who has corroborated to The Post the principal aspects of Vester's account. Vester said Brokaw wrote that it would be better for Vester to stay in New York. They could have a drink. Vester, at a loss, replied, "I only drink milk and cookies," according to her diary. "It was the only thing I could think of at the time, hoping the reference to milk and cookies would make him realize I was 30 years his junior and not interested," Vester said in an interview. In her diary she wrote that her final note to Brokaw was, "There is nothing I would like more than a good chat - a great talk with someone I admire. But if appearances are a concern . . . that's valid." Vester explained, "I was trying to suggest that if he was worried that what he was suggesting might look wrong, it was wrong." Vester's friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she signed a non-disclosure agreement when she left NBC, urged Vester to sign off quickly from the system to limit further communication. As the snow began, she missed the last shuttle, stranding her in New York. She returned to Essex House and updated her whereabouts. In her diary entries, made around 3 in the morning after the encounter, she wrote, "Once in my room . . . I received three phone calls. One from a friend, another from a source; the third was Tom Brokaw. He said to order milk and cookies and he was coming over." Vester said she was terrified that if she refused to meet with him, "my career at NBC would be over before it even got going." She called her producer friend, who agreed to stay on the phone with her. Soon, Vester heard a knock on the door. The friend in Washington told Vester to call her back in 30 minutes or she would alert the front desk to come to her room. Vester said she opened the door, and Brokaw walked past her and sat on the sofa in her suite. Brokaw has a distinctly different recollection of the evening. He remembered being invited over to Vester's room that evening, a characterization that Vester rejects, as does the friend who was on the phone with Vester that night. "What do you want from me?" Vester said she asked him. She recalled him looking at her with mild exasperation. "An affair of more than passing affection," Brokaw told her. "But you're married," she said. "And I'm Catholic." Then Brokaw patted the sofa next to him, she said, while she sat down on the opposite end of the couch. She brought up a sexual harassment case that had been uncovered at NBC just recently, to try to signal she was not interested in what she felt was about to happen. Brokaw leaned over, "pressed his index finger to my lips and said, 'This is our compact,' " she wrote in her diary at the time. "My insides shook. I went completely cold." Then, "very quickly," Vester said later in an interview, Brokaw put his hand behind her neck and gripped her head. "Now let me show you how to give a real kiss," he said, in Vester's recollection, and jerked her head toward him. She remembers tensing her neck muscles and using all her strength to wriggle free and stand up. She wrote, "I said 'Tom . . . I don't want to do that with you." Brokaw sat silent for a few minutes, then finally said, "I think I should go." Vester nodded vigorously. The next day, Vester said, she and Brokaw spoke, and he attempted to make the interaction seem consensual. Vester didn't agree. Later, she met with another friend who corroborated in an interview that Vester was "rattled" by the episode and "disappointed" in what had happened given her respect for Brokaw. A second incident unfolded in London more than a year later, Vester said. She saw no way to extract herself from being in Brokaw's company because she feared alienating the anchor, she said, but again warded off his advances. "Linda has shown incredible courage and conviction coming forward to share the details of her experiences working at NBC," said her attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, who also represents the initial Lauer accuser. "She does so at her own expense and peril. She wants nothing for herself." Vester, who later worked at Fox News and left the business, said she has no intention of filing a legal claim against Brokaw or NBC. A second woman, a former production assistant at NBC News, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Brokaw stopped her in the hallway just as she arrived for work. It happened in the mid-1990s and she was wearing her winter coat. He beckoned her into a small enclave to the side of the hallway. The production assistant, then 24, had been looking for a more permanent role as a researcher on one of NBC's shows. He took her hands in his and commented on how cold they were, the woman recently recalled. "He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, 'How is your job search going?' " She looked up at the man she had habitually called "Mr. Brokaw," and mumbled a reply, she said. Then he said, in her recollection, "Why don't you come into my office after the show and let's talk about it." She said the implication of his invitation was clear, and that he was inviting her to his office for more than advice. She never went to his office and left the network shortly after the incident. Like Vester, she did not report the incident. - - - Rhode, the Stanford scholar, said that even without formal complaints, higher-ups have a responsibility for workplace conditions. But they are rarely the right people to investigate wrongdoing. "If there was this kind of information circulating in the hallways, a good investigator could find that out," she said. "The reason that experts think the best practice is to hire outside investigators is those people will be much more likely to be disinterested and appear disinterested. They don't have an ongoing relationship with a company that may have a desire to protect their reputation and keep the dirty linen out of public view." Ann Curry said she understands reticence to report harassment. "This is one of the problems when we talk about corporations with an HR department being under leadership of someone who might or might not be accused," she said. "How are they going to complain about it if they are accusing someone who is overseeing the department that is supposed to protect them?" The ultimate question, Curry added, is: "Do you have a system that allows those who feel they have been victimized to air their complaints without fear they will lose their jobs? I don't know a company that does." New Orleans musician Charles Neville, who called Western Massachusetts his home for the past 20 years, died Thursday of pancreatic cancer. He was 79. Neville, a Huntington resident and core member of the the Grammy Award-winning Neville Brothers, announced his diagnosis earlier this year. His music was feted in February at "Celebrating Charles Neville," a benefit concert at the Academy of Music in Northampton. His musical background encompassed R&B, funk, jazz, bebop, popular music and American Indian music. In his hometown of New Orleans, he was a member of the house band in the Dew Drop Inn and played behind Allen Toussaint, James Booker, Ernie K-Doe and Huey "Piano" Smith. "You were a great brother," Aaron Neville wrote in a Facebook post. "You'll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo. You helped to mold me into who I am today and I'll always be thankful. I'll always see your special infectious smile on the stage next to me, it would always give me a smile." The television show Austin City Limits, where Charles Neville appeared with his siblings three times, released a statement saying its staff was saddened to learn of his death. " Each of the four brothers had their own distinct sound, but Charles, with his saxophone, brought a uni que energy to what was to become one of the most popular and influential bands ever to emerge from the New Orleans music scene," said Terry Lickona, the show's executive producer. "They were one of the first acts I booked in my first year as ACL Producer, and we were honored to induct them into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame last year." My dear brother Charlie the horn man, just want you to know that if I wouldve had the choice of picking my brothers, I... Posted by Aaron Neville on Thursday, April 26, 2018 Along with touring the world with the Neville Brothers, Charles Neville made time to immerse himself in the Western Massachusetts music scene. Neville played a regular schedule with Connecticut-based blues guitarist Jeff Pitchell, has been a featured performer at the annual Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival. and has offered workshops at the Community Music School of Springfield. HAMPDEN - Leadership at the East of the River Five Towns Chamber of Commerce welcomed hundreds on Thursday for a flavorful networking event. ERC5 hosted its third annual Feast in the East at The Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden as "a networking opportunity for our members, and to welcome folks from the public to come in and taste the area's top savory dishes and confectionery dishes,"Nancy Connor, the chamber's executive director, said. A total of 30 food vendors were on hand with 12 drink vendors, some of whom served beverages including beer, wine, scotch and vodka. Those attending the event were able to taste a sample from each food establishment, and vote on the best savory and sweet dish, Connor said. In addition to the networking opportunity, Connor said, the event -which is presented by sponsor Green Earth Energy- supports the chamber's scholarship fund. This year, the fund will give out two scholarships to seniors at Longmeadow High School, East Longmeadow High School, Ludlow High School, and Minnechaug Regional High School. Check out photos from the event above, and for more information, visit the chamber's official website here. SPRINGFIELD -- About 200 demonstrators from Springfield and the Pioneer Valley, and some as far away as Boston, rallied in front of the Smith & Wesson headquarters on Roosevelt Avenue Friday afternoon. Demonstrators are seeking to pressure a meeting with Smith & Wesson CEO P. James Debney in order to talk about Smith & Wesson's role as a manufacturer of AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles. The rifles have been used in a number of mass shootings, most recently the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead. It was the second such demonstration by the Smith & Wesson front gates in a month, and organizers say it will not be the last until Debney agrees to meet with them. "We were here in the winter, and now we're here in the spring. We'll be here in the summer too," said Douglas Fisher, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. "Sooner or later, (Debney) is going to come out of those gates and we can have a conversation." The demonstration was organized by the Springfield-based Pioneer Valley Project and the Boston-based B-PEACE for Jorge Campaign. People in the crowd were given tiny replica $50 bills with Debney's face on them. At one point during the rally, all of the fake bills were collected in an envelope and delivered to the security office at the front gate. People were also given a handout listing the names and office numbers of Massachusetts Congressional delegation and told to give them a call. Several dozen people whipped out their cell phones and began calling numbers on the list to pressure the legislators to contact Smith & Wesson officials about a meeting. "I just called Representative Richie Neal. I did get through to someone on his staff," said Betsy Sokol. "We'll see where it goes from there." Sokol carried a sign that read "Protect people, not guns." On the lower left corner was an old photo of a smiling young woman in an graduation gown. Sokol said the woman in the photo is her sister, Lucy Pirtle, who was shot to death in Washington, D.C. 36 years ago by a coworker. Meanwhile, Aysha De Jesus, 15, of Springfield read aloud a list of recent Springfield murder victims killed by gunfire. De Jesus, a student at Central High School, said "I hope this gets rid of gun violence. I hope kids don't have to be afraid to walk down the streets or to go to school, or be afraid to just live life and not have to think about what happens next." CHICOPEE - Faced with one of the highest per-capita overdose rates in the state, city officials are considering joining a class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies to recoup costs associated with the opioid crisis. City Councilors Joel McAuliffe, Robert Zygarowski and William Courchesne have sent a letter to Mayor Richard J. Kos asking him to join the city in a class-action suit against the prescription drug industry. At the same time, Kos said he and his legal team have started the process. For several weeks the city's law department and Marshall Moriarty, the lawyer who heads the department, have been interviewing firms to hire to take on the issue, Kos said. "This is a tragedy which has affected us all," Kos said. A state study shows 20 Chicopee residents died of opioid overdoses in 2015 and 26 died in 2016 -- which is one of the highest per-capita overdose rates in Western Massachusetts. Only Ware and three towns with very small populations have higher per-capita rates. To compare, Springfield, whose population is three times greater, had 41 overdoses each in 2015 and 2016. Holyoke, which has about 40,000 people, had seven overdoses in 2015 and 11 in 2016. Chicopee has a population of about 55,000. Chicopee's health, school, fire and police departments are all working to battle the opioid crisis in different ways, but there is not enough money to go around, said McAuliffe, who authored the letter to Kos urging him to join the lawsuit. "I think it is important that we hold these drug companies accountable for a crisis they helped to create," he said. "We have to treat it as the epidemic it is and destigmatize addiction." He thanked Kos for starting the process of joining a class-action suit and said he hopes the City Council will also support the effort. "I'm grateful to the mayor for taking on this issue head-on and providing the leadership for this," he said. McAuliffe said any money recouped in a class action could be used to help with prevention and education programs as well as treatment. Already several Western Massachusetts communities have joined class action lawsuits or are considering filing their own. Greenfield was the first in the area to sign onto a lawsuit, hiring Sweeney Merrigan Law to sue three defendants, McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. Springfield has hired the national law firm Scott+Scott, which is also representing municipalities in Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania in suits against companies such as Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Insys Therapeutics. Westifeld is also considering joining a class-action suit. SOUTHWICK -- Controversy is swirling around the upcoming dedication of the Veterans Memorial Foyer at the regional high school after the owner of a Connecticut marketing firm says he was "uninvited" from speaking at the event because of his conservative political views. Southwick Regional School graduate Kyle Reyes -- an outspoken, self-proclaimed ultra-conservative who owns Manchester, Connecticut-based The Silent Partner Marketing -- says VFW Post 872 asked him to speak at the May 21 dedication ceremony. The hallway will honor three graduates who served in the military: William Alamed, Jr. Class of 1966, Steven B. Wentworth, Class of 1981 and Travis J. Fuller, Class of 1997. The VFW post worked with the Southwick Civic Fund to create the memorial. But, according to Reyes, Superintendent Jennifer Willard asked that he not speak at the program, scheduled to take place during school hours. Reyes, a Connecticut resident, says he was "uninvited" because his conservative views could make some students feel uncomfortable. Reyes is a staunch supporter of military and law enforcement, and has appeared on national television shows and spoken around the country on the topic. Willard issued the following statement today: "On May 21, 2018, we will dedicate the Veterans Memorial Foyer of the Southwick Regional School to honor three local veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Out of respect to Southwick's and Granville's fallen heroes and their families, we are striving to keep the focus of the dedication ceremony on these veterans and their immeasurable service to our nation." Reyes said his political views were never part of the ceremony. "I think it's sad that an event that has nothing to do with politics was turned controversial," Reyes said, adding that as a student at the former Southwick-Tolland Regional High School he was taught "everybody's opinion matters and everyone's perspective matters." Several parents took to social media Thursday to express their disappointment in the decision, with a few residents supporting the superintendent. "As a Southwick resident and parent of children in the Southwick school system I'm appalled and embarrassed that the administration would ostracize a Southwick graduate who has given back to the community through involvement and scholarship opportunities," Rose Vandelay wrote. "Further, she's disrespected our Southwick VFW, who requested Kyle to be the keynote speaker. It is insulting that Superintendent Willard and (SRS Principal Joseph) Turmel would suggest that Kyle would defer from honoring our fallen veterans at this ceremony." Reyes said he has accepted the VFW's offer to be the keynote speaker May 12 at an annual dinner, to honor his commitment to the veterans of the community. Reyes' company offers two $750 scholarships to Southwick Regional School graduating seniors. One is The Patriot Scholarship for students "who display patriotism, conservative values and leadership qualities." The other is for graduating seniors entering the military. Reyes did not serve in the military. "I remember sitting in high school watching the Twin Towers fall and that was a pivotal point for me," he said. He said that while he wanted to join the military, at the time he could not pass the physical so instead he supported the armed forces vocally and by hosting fundraisers. Troy Henke, a member of the VFW who helped create the Veterans Memorial Foyer, and said he was "extremely disappointed" in the decision. But, he added that Willard and high school administrators did "try to make an accommodation for us to have Kyle come in later on and headline a reception after school hours. "We do not need to take them up on this offer as Kyle will now be headlining our event on May 12 starting at 6 p.m. at the Post Hall on Point Grove Road," Henke said. "It is noteworthy that they did try, though we believe that this is a missed civic opportunity to showcase our community's ability to put aside political difference and collate around a common theme." Henke and Reyes both stressed that the event remains focused on the veterans and their families, and not the controversy. "Please come out and meet Kyle on the 12th, but also to ponder and memorialize our hallowed dead, for whom this project is the focus and always has been about," Henke said. "This project has been a microcosm of the system and civic involvement, so I suppose a little controversy was inevitable. We must not allow this to distract due to unrelated issues and opinions that were never going to be brought up to begin with. Southwick has always maintained a common sense, American-based spirit and it is gratifying to see that it is still present." Henke stands by the decision to include Reyes as a speaker. "We felt as though in planning the dedication ceremony that we could elevate the profile of these men, their families, the District, and the town with Kyle Reyes who is a 2002 alumnus of the Southwick-Tolland Regional High School, runs a very successful ad agency, is a national spokesman for Law Enforcement Today, has appeared numerous times on Fox News, writes articles for national publications, and was flown out to speak to a High School in Utah recently," said Henke. Henke said the VFW and school district have had a good partnership. "They have been very accommodating and proactive to this effort," he said. "We are still 100% committed to having a terrific dedication ceremony on May 21, and a terrific event on May 12 at our Post." William R. Alamed, Jr. class of 1966, was drafted in 1969 and killed in action in 1970. Alamed served in the US Army and died at the rank of PFC. His Gold Star Mother is Marie Alamed of Southwick. Steven B. Wentworth, class of 1981, joined the Marine Corps in 1981 and was killed in action in Beirut in 1983. He died at the rank of CPL. His Gold Star Mother is Elaine Achenbach of Westfield. Travis J. Fuller, class of 1997, graduated from Mass Maritime in 2001 a Commissioned 2LT in the Marine Corps. He was killed in action in 2005 in Iraq. His parents are David and Joanne Fuller of Granville. Below, a video Reyes posted to his Facebook page Thursday evening: Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in and the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un are holding a historic summit on Friday at the border village of Panmunjom. Kim became the first DPRK leader to set foot on ROK soil in almost 70 years. Updated at 9:30 a.m. BJT The first inter-Korean Summit in over a decade started at the Peace House on the Republic of Korea (ROK) side of Panmunjom at 10:15 a.m. local time (0115GMT). Kim Jong Un is accompanied by a nine-member delegation, including Kim's younger sister Kim Yo Jong and DPRK nominal head Kim Yong Nam, as well as top military officials and diplomats. Moon said Kim's visit makes Panmunjom a symbol of peace, not division. The DPRK leader said a new history has begun and he wishes for frank discussion on current issues and for agreements to be reached. Updated at 9:00 a.m. BJT People's Daily Online Photo Ahead of the summit with ROK President Moon Jae-in, Kim Jong Un wrote a message in a guestbook at the Peace House. "A new history begins now at the starting point of history and the era of peace," the message read. Updated at 8:35 a.m. BJT Moon Jae-in held a welcoming ceremony for Kim Jong Un at the ROK side of Panmunjom on Friday morning. In front of the Peace House, where the bilateral summit will later be held, the pair jointly inspected a ROK honor guard. Updated at 8:30 a.m. BJT VCG Photo Kim walked cross the military demarcation line (MDL), marking the first time a DPRK leader has set foot on ROK soil since 1953. The two leaders smiled and shook hands, after which Kim Jong Un gestured to Moon that they should cross over to the DPRK briefly. They did for a few steps, then held hands as they returned to the ROK side. Holyoke police officers will be standing by Saturday, April 28, to accept outdated, unused or unwanted prescription drugs for proper disposal, Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said. Police will have a drop-off point set up in the lobby of the police station at 138 Appleton St. where citizens can bring their pharmaceuticals rather than trying to dispose of them by any other method. For a list of accepted drugs, refer to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration website: www.dea.gov. Albert said dissolving drugs and flushing them down the drain or toilet only releases the materials into the drinking water cycle or into groundwater where it contaminates large areas, while many prescription drugs may end up being scavenged and sold on the streets. Worse still, young children or pets may eat colorful pills and be poisoned. Anyone with questions is asked to contact Holyoke police at 322-6900 or the DEA at 1-800-882-9539. SPRINGFIELD -- A Hampden Superior Court judge has ruled statements made by murder defendant Edward Gonzalez after he asked for a lawyer four times during a police interview cannot be used at trial. Gonzalez, 25, and Juan Villegas-Rodriguez, 33, both of Holyoke, have denied murder charges related to the Jan. 25, 2016, shooting death of 71-year-old Juan Zayas in Springfield's North End. Zayas, a North End community activist and father of a state trooper, was shot to death around 5:30 p.m. outside his home at 38 Brookline Ave. Information from court hearings indicates the men planned a robbery. According to Judge John S. Ferrara, Gonzalez was brought into the Springfield police department after being arrested on May 26, 2016. Villegas-Rodriguez implicated Gonzalez in the homicide, the ruling said. Capt. Trent Duda assigned detective Jose Canini, who speaks Spanish, to help Sgt. Jeffrey Martucci interview Gonzalez, who waived his rights and agreed to speak to detectives. Gonzalez, who is represented by Marissa Elkins, was told someone placed him at the scene of the murder. Gonzalez denied involvement. Duda was watching the interview on a video feed. Ferrara wrote, "Captain Duda became frustrated, feeling that Gonzalez was being evasive. He entered the interrogation room. He yelled and swore at Gonzalez, advising him he would be going to jail or prison for murder where there were many 'enemies' if he didn't cooperate." The judge -- who reviewed the videos of the interviews as well as the transcripts and conducted a hearing with testimony from police -- said that the transcript said Gonzalez said "No, I ain't speaking." Ferrara said the response was slurred and not clearly intelligible, but there was no effort by police to clarify it. Duda left the room and the interrogation continued with increasing pressure placed on Gonzalez to say he was involved, Ferrara said. "After some minutes passed, Gonzalez asked, in Spanish, 'Can I call my lawyer?'" Canini initially ignored the request, Ferrara said. "Gonzalez stated that he wanted his attorney four times," the judge said. "It was clear from Canini's words and tone that he was frustrated and angry that Gonzalez had asked for counsel." The recording of the interview ended. Canini remained in the room with Gonzalez, who was not brought to booking. Canini said he and Gonzalez conversed but it was "some general talk, but not about what was going on." According to the ruling, "Canini testified that at some point, Gonzalez volunteered that without a lawyer he would 'talk to him, but did not want to get yelled at.'" He said Canini, clearly displeased with Gonzalez asking for a lawyer, continued to speak with him after the first interview stopped. "It is reasonably inferred that Canini's objective in his continued conversation with Gonzalez was to persuade him to change his mind," Ferrara said. The conversation wasn't recorded and Canini wrote no report about it, the judge said. "It appears that the 'general talk' effected Gonazalez's decision to speak without counsel present," Ferrara said. Forty five minutes after the first recorded interview ended a second recorded interview started, the judge said. The ruling suppresses statements from that second recorded interview. The prosecution is going to appeal the judge's ruling. A different judge earlier this year ruled statements by Villegas-Rodriguez can be used at trial. Hampden Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page denied the argument that Villegas-Rodriguez's waiver of his Miranda rights was not valid and that his statements were not made voluntarily. Page said in her ruling that Villegas-Rodriguez's claims of memory problems from a car accident are "self-serving, somewhat short-lived, and convenient." She wrote, "For example, he was able to tell officers the type of car he and his co-defendant used at the time of the murder, the color and type of weapon used, and what jewelry was stolen from the victim." The interview in question was conducted at the Holyoke Police Department on May 25, 2016, by Holyoke Detective Edward Sustache and Canini from Springfield. Judge suppresses statements of Springfield murder defendant Edward Gonzalez by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd The University of Massachusetts Amherst's decision to acquire Mount Ida is part of an ambitious mission of growth -- one that UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy says will not impact sister schools in the UMass system. In the face of vocal opposition to the deal by both Mount Ida students and parents and advocates of UMass Boston, Subbaswamy wrote about the decision to lawmakers on Thursday. "While the Mount Ida acquisition will undoubtedly advance the strategic goals of the flagship campus in Amherst...I have and will continue to fully support the various new initiatives of our sister campuses, and would not even consider doing anything to impede their operations," Subbaswamy wrote to lawmakers on Thursday. Contrary to concerned supporters of UMass Boston, Subbaswamy said that the four undergraduate campuses in the UMass system "are seldom in direct competition for students due to their distinct characteristics, programs, and missions." In the letter, Subbaswamy detailed his university's plans with the 70-plus-acres in Newton to build a satellite campus in Boston with special programs in growing fields like health care, business, computer science and STEM. The Newton campus would enroll existing students at UMass Amherst, though he acknowledged that it would likely mean "a modest undergraduate enrollment growth in Amherst." According to Subbaswamy, the move is part of a larger vision to boost UMass Amherst into the U.S. News & World Report's Top 20 public universities list, which ranks schools on a number of indicators, like first-year student retention, graduation rates and the "strength of the faculty." On the 2018 list of "Top Public Schools," UMass Amherst landed 29th, while UMass Lowell landed 80th, UMass Boston tied for 109th, and UMass Dartmouth tied for 113th. "We are at a critical juncture. If we do not meet the demonstrated, growing need to provide the students of Massachusetts with a flagship university on par with the University of California, Berkley, UCLA...our students will increasingly leave the Commonwealth to attend an out-of-state university," Subbaswamy wrote. "The Newton campus, located less than ten miles from downtown Boston and adjacent to the tech-focused Route 128 corridor, will help us meet this critical goal." Since the announcement of the deal in early April, there has been an uproar by both unknowing students at Mount Ida as well as students and faculty at UMass Boston, who say it is unfair to see UMass Amherst grow while their urban campus continues to struggle financially. Of the critical voices came Richard Freeland, who has formerly served in roles as an administrator at UMass Boston, the president of Northeastern University and the Massachusetts commissioner of higher education. "The likely impact is the cannibalization of enrollments at UMass Boston, and other public campuses in the area and also area private colleges and universities," Freeland said to the Board of Higher Education at a public meeting in Boston on Tuesday. "My heart goes out to the students of Mount Ida College who, through no fault of their own, have been thrust into a state of uncertainty and anxiety by the sudden closing of their beloved college," Subbaswamy also wrote. Mount Ida students have been offered admission to UMass Dartmouth, and the Board of Higher Education said the college must create additional options for students as well. Subbaswamy said there is a multi-lateral effort by the UMass system and the state's higher education department to create new options and accommodations for students, including "those students pursuing academic programs with a special focus." SPRINGFIELD -- Jurors will shortly begin deliberating over the case of Rita Luthra, a former gynecologist accused of violating patient privacy laws, witness tampering and lying to federal agents who were in 2014 probing a suspected kickback scheme between a Big Pharma company and thousands of physicians. Luthra, 65, of Longmeadow, was the only of 2,000 physicians to be arrested and charged criminally, according to defense lawyer Stephen Spelman. The government bypassed thousands of other doctors who received six-figure payments and "parties on yachts," her attorney has said. She was initially charged under federal kickback laws until prosecutors dropped that case and instead indicted her for violating HIPAA laws after she allegedly allow a drug salesman access to her patient files in order to push an expensive osteoporosis medication that was routinely being rejected by insurance companies in favor of generic drugs. Luthra also was charged with witness tampering in connection with ordering her formal medical assistant to lie to agents about that, according to the charges. Additionally, she is charged with lying to agents herself about $23,500 she received in "speakers fees" from a company formerly known as Warner Chilcott. Over a two-day trial in U.S. District Court, evidence showed Luthra received $750 each of 31 times she had a conversation with drug rep Jose Cid in between patient visits or during luncheons and breakfast meetings. "I didn't realize I was paid nearly $25,000 for almost nothing -- not much work," she said to federal agents when they paid visits to her medical office in the city's North End in 2014, Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Hooker quoted Luthra as saying during closing arguments Friday morning. Luthra is not accused of taking illegal payments from the drug company, nor harming her patients, both sides agreed. The main witnesses against her were Cid and her onetime office manager, Joanne Rivera. Spelman repeatedly called the pair "liars," arguing they were the ones who schemed then laid the blame at Luthra's feet. Both testified Luthra encouraged them to access private patient records to fill out pre-authorization forms to justify prescriptions for Atelvia, the drug Cid was peddling that had been getting rejected by insurance carriers. Luthra denied she knew what the pair was up to, and that they specifically chose Friday afternoons to fill out the cumbersome forms at the medical office because Luthra typically didn't see patients then. "When's the best time to carry out a criminal scheme? Oh yeah, when the boss isn't here," Spelman argued to jurors. But during her closing, Hooker told the panel that Luthra "frantically" called Rivera immediately after agents paid their first of two visits to the office. "She said Jose got 'us' in trouble, not Jose got 'you' in trouble," Hooker said. Rivera testified Luthra ordered her to tell agents Cid never accessed patient records. She told jurors she originally complied, but later came clean when she was called before a grand jury. Luthra denies she knew that Cid was helping fill out insurance forms, ordering Rivera to lie or making that phone call. The government did not present phone records as part of its case. Spelman argued to jurors "the two liars" got busy blaming one another during their stints on the witness stand. "The thumps you heard may have been how many times you heard each of them throwing the other under the bus," Spelman said. If convicted, Luthra faces up to 21 months in federal prison. She was forced to close her practice -- which primarily catered to poor women, Spelman has said -- after she was criminally charged. Luthra also was a member of the World Health Organization. The Republican will provide an update on the outcome of the jury's verdict. SPRINGFIELD -- Thirty-one years after Mark Schand was convicted of the murder of Victoria Seymour outside the After Five Lounge, attorneys are still jousting over whether the man was railroaded by police. During a hearing in a civil case over the matter Thursday, a federal judge told a courtroom full of lawyers and the Schand family that the case includes "layers of tragedy." After 27 years in state prison, Schand was released in late 2012 after then-Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder wiped out Schand's murder conviction and granted him a new trial. Former Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, now a federal judge, dismissed the case -- in part, because one witness recanted his testimony and three new ones came forward to say Schand was not in Springfield on the night in 1986 when Seymour was killed by a stray bullet. Seymour, 25, was hit as she left the club on Rifle Street. A melee had broken out over a drug deal gone awry and shots rang out, lawyers in the case have said. Seymour was merely a patron and not a party to the deal. Schand maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and after his conviction. Springfield attorneys John and Linda Thompson fought for fresh looks at Schand's case for decades. While Schand found freedom at 50, neither Kinder nor Mastroianni made a finding of innocence, a lawyer for the city said in federal court Thursday morning. However, his case does appear in the National Registry of Exonerations maintained by University of Michigan Law School. Schand has sued the city, the Police Department and individual detectives who worked the murder investigation. He and his family filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 2015, arguing his constitutional rights had been violated on multiple levels. Another federal judge in a separate hearing predicted the case may be a significant financial liability for Springfield taxpayers given outcomes in previous wrongful conviction lawsuits. Lawyers for the Schands maintain police bungled basic investigative techniques including witness interviews, arranging and presenting photo arrays, ignoring evidence that swung in Schand's favor, and corruptly encouraging witnesses to identify Schand as the shooter. Lawyers for the city and police have vigorously denied this. They have filed motions for summary judgment, a bid to throw the case out before it gets to trial. The plaintiffs have opposed those motions, arguing many facts are still in dispute despite decades of litigation in state criminal and appeals courts before the civil case arrived at the federal level. For example, Polaroid photos of Schand sporting Gazelle glasses -- a staple of 1980s urban fashion -- and thick ropes of gold chains began circulating at some point during the investigation. Plaintiffs argue witnesses were shown these very specific photos outside of a standard mug shot array to retrofit certain accounts of the shooter at the scene. Lisa Desousa, a lawyer for the city, told U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor that Polaroid picture only surfaced well after Schand had been arrested. "It's a hand grenade in the case," Ponsor said of the disputed photos. "I don't think it's a slam dunk for either side." Plaintiffs attorney Joshua Weedman, of New York City firm White & Case, submitted a written presentation summarizing many of the factual disputes. Those include: the Polaroid photos plaintiffs argue were hallmarks of "undue suggestiveness" on the part of police; witnesses who confirm they were shown Polaroids of Schand and no other suspects; an assertion by one witness that police promised to "take care of (him) and make all his cases disappear if he cooperated and identified Mark Schand as the shooter"; an allegation that police failed to explore one witness' account of a shooter with noticeably "bad teeth." A private investigator for the Schands tracked down Tracy Fisher, serving a 50-year state prison sentence on an unrelated murder. Fisher in fact, had very bad false teeth after he had been shot by police in the 1970s, according to lawyers in the case, and said he was at the After Five Lounge on the night of the Seymour shooting. In a memo sampled by plaintiffs' lawyers, there is a heading titled "Tracy's Teeth." "At my request, he showed me his upper teeth. The upper front four teeth are a set of false teeth he can take in and out of his mouth. He claims he got those before he came to prison because he got shot in 1979 and got them fixed while on the street," reads a memo written by private investigator James McCloskey. Desousa pointed out that lawyers for Schand only raised the existence of Fisher in 2013. "We don't know what led them to him. We don't know anything. What I do know is this was a long, long time ago and they never brought it forward until 2013," she told Ponsor. Desousa added that neither Kinder nor Mastroianni ever made any "affirmative findings" of misbehavior by Springfield police detectives. Additionally, an expert witness hired by the plaintiffs submitted a report that concluded city police were ill-trained in orchestrating line-ups, photo arrays and handling potentially exculpatory evidence in criminal cases. Lawyers for the city also have rebutted these arguments in voluminous filings, arguing the detectives were earnest, well-trained and well-intentioned. Desousa told Ponsor that many witnesses have died or were "unavailable" for fresh depositions 30 years later. Ponsor said he would take the city's motions to dismiss the case under advisement and rule on those at a later date. "I can't help but think about Miss Seymour, who was just out with her friends and got shot in the back ... and there were at least four people here who sat on their hands (while Schand sat in prison) and now say he wasn't there," the judge said. "This case has many layers of tragedy." There has never been a new investigation launched into Seymour's death. There isn't enough evidence to support criminal charges in the scrubbing of the arrest report of Alli Bibaud, a judge's daughter, Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey said Friday. "Our office conducted an extensive investigation into this matter and determined that the evidence does not support filing criminal charges," Healey said in a statement. "While the revisions to the police report raise questions under our state ethics laws, we found that they were not made with criminal intent to prejudice Bibaud's prosecution," she added. "However, because of our concerns about potential civil ethics violations, we are referring the matter to the State Ethics Commission." Healey's review did not find that changes to the October 2017 arrest report were made with criminal intent to prejudice the prosecution of Alli Bibaud, the daughter of Judge Timothy Bibaud. Healey's office interviewed 36 people, including Judge Bibaud, former Mass. State Police Col. Richard McKeon, Worcester District Attorney Joe Early, Gov. Charlie Baker's public safety chief Dan Bennett, and members of the Massachusetts State Police and Early's office. Two rank-and-file state troopers filed lawsuits last year, alleging they were forced by supervisors to revise Alli Bibaud's arrest report. The case led to a wave of retirements from the Massachusetts State Police as other scandals, including the alleged abuse of overtime, have hit the troubled law enforcement agency. Gov. Charlie Baker and the new superintendent, Col. Kerry Gilpin, have proposed a series of reforms. Healey's office, in its review of the scrubbed police report, didn't find evidence to back charges under statutes that would've included witness intimidation, evidence tampering, or using an official position to obtain unwarranted privilege with fraudulent intent. Her office also reviewed phone records, emails and text messages of McKeon, Early and others, Healey's office said. After news of the edited arrest report first surfaced, Alli Bibaud pleaded guilty to a OUI in November 2017. As investigations into the altered arrest report of a judge's daughter began last fall, Gov. Charlie Baker maintained that the charge to scrub salacious details from the report came down from former State Police Col. Richard McKeon. But now, new findings from the Attorney General's Office state otherwise. In an extensive review released Friday, Attorney General Maura Healey's Office wrote that the pressure to redact the report came from the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. Alli Bibaud, the daughter of Judge Timothy Bibaud, was arrested in October 2017 after State Police discovered her car on Interstate 190 in Worcester after she slammed into a guardrail. She failed a sobriety test and breathalyzer, and had drug materials in her possession, according to police. The arrest spiraled into a scandal after some details were ordered removed from Bibaud's arrest report. Statements about exchanging sex acts for drugs and about being a judge's daughter were removed from the document under the arresting officer's objections. The scandal led to the early retirements of former Col. McKeon and Lt. Col. Francis Hughes. State Troopers Ryan Sceviour and Ali Rei, two of the troopers involved in the arrest and writing the report, are now suing the department. Now, findings released by the Attorney General's Office show that the decision to change the arrest report was made amid pressure from Early, who asked McKeon, 'what are you going to do,' about the Bibaud report. "DA Early and Col. McKeon had several telephone conversations regarding the Alli Bibaud arrest report on October 18, 2017. In those conversations, Early asked McKeon what the Colonel was going to do about the report. Col. McKeon said that he thought 'that ship had sailed,'" the Attorney General's Office wrote in its findings. "Early responded that the DA's Office would be moving to redact the report." When interviewed by a team from the Attorney General Office, McKeon said that in his discussions with Early regarding the arrest report, Early conveyed to him that he was allowed to have a new report created and that it was the right thing to do. "Well, it was after that I had the conversation with Joe Early, and all indications were that this was the appropriate thing to do," McKeon told investigators. "I must say that he was previously my boss. He's the prosecuting District Attorney in that county, and he was in charge of the prosecution of this case. And I was led to believe that everything that I was about to do was not only the right thing, but it was the appropriate thing to do." The following day, McKeon told Hughes that he wanted the Bibaud arrest report revised, according to the Attorney General's findings. That order was passed to Lt. James Fogarty, commander at the State Police's Holden barracks, who summoned the arresting trooper -- Ryan Sceviour - and Sgt. Jason Conant of the Leominster barracks, who had approved the report, to Holden. "Fogarty summoned Sceviour and Conant to Holden and issued negative observation reports to each, stating that Sceviour had included inappropriate, negative and derogatory statements in his report, which were not elements of the crimes charged and did not contribute to a finding of probable cause, and that Conant had improperly approved a report with such deficiencies," the findings state. "Sceviour and his union representative thereafter met with Major Anderson, who ordered Sceviour, over his protests, to revise the report by deleting references to Alli Bibaud's father being a judge and her alleged sex acts." Early told the Attorney General's Office that he was concerned that Bibaud's statements about sex acts needlessly stigmatized a person struggling with addiction and were likely to generate prejudicial pretrial publicity, and did not contribute to establishing probable cause for the charges. "When asked, DA Early could not recall another instance in which he had contacted a police department or otherwise personally intervened in a matter because of such concerns," the report states. Early did, however, produce notes from a 2014 training session that his office gave to police chiefs in central Massachusetts, which advocated against using arrest reports to establish probable cause when applying for a criminal complaint and expressed concern about negative pretrial publicity. Early could not be reached for comment. GREENFIELD -- Brittany Smith killed an elderly Orange couple with premeditation and extreme cruelty, Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Bucci told a Franklin Superior Court jury on Friday. Bucci delivered opening arguments after more than two days of jury selection in the trial of Smith, 29, accused of murdering Thomas Harty, 95, and fatally wounding his wife Joanna Fisher, 77, during an Oct. 5, 2016, home invasion. Hart and Fisher, relaxing in their 581 River St. home, "did not know they had been chosen -- they did not know that they were being watched," Bucci told the jury. Co-defendant Joshua Hart, 25, of Athol, was convicted this month on two counts of first-degree murder in an enterprise prosecutors called a "joint venture." Smith has denied all charges, including two counts of murder. Smith sat expressionless between her lawyers, Mary Ann Stamm and Bruce Green, as Bucci called witnesses, including local and state police officers, relatives of the victims and the accused, a medical doctor and Smith's own mother, Nicole Smith, of Athol. Bucci said Smith and Hart watched Harty and Fisher through the windows of their home before entering through a side door and brutally attacking the elderly couple. Harty was stabbed repeatedly by Hart, and Smith attacked Fisher, Bucci said. Hart and Smith stole cash, credit cards, and the older couple's Toyota Matrix, Bucci said. The pair within hours used Harty's Discover card at a Worcester Walmart, triggering an email alert picked up by Harty's daughter and starting a trail of evidence that would lead to the suspects' arrest in Virginia days later. The two wanted to "get a car and get out of town," Bucci said. Smith, a heroin addict, wanted to avoid drug treatment, and Hart, who was wanted on other warrants, wanted to dodge jail time, according to the prosecution. The two had been arrested only two nights earlier for the theft of a car belonging to Smith's great-grandmother, and were suspects in other break-ins, an Orange police officer testified. On the evening of Oct. 5, Harty was repeatedly stabbed and killed in his chair, and Fisher -- in a wheelchair due to a 2013 spinal stroke -- was slashed, stabbed, beaten and suffocated, Bucci said. Cindy Sumner-Morrill, a nurse from Catholic Charities, testified that she discovered the scene on the morning of Oct. 6 during a health visit. Harty was apparently dead, and Fisher, lying in blood on the floor, moaned the words "invasion, ambulance," the nurse testified. Fisher, airlifted to a Worcester hospital, died five weeks later after contracting pneumonia. Law enforcement witnesses included Massachusetts State Police Trooper William McMillan, who took a lead role in the investigation, and Orange police officer Jonathan Cole, who first responded to the crime scene. Nicole Smith, the defendant's mother, tearfully told of her efforts to get her daughter into rehab for her heroin addiction. She said Brittany had agreed to enter treatment only days before the alleged murders took place. The mother said the last time she saw her daughter was the afternoon of Oct. 5, when Brittany left her grandmother's home before dinner was served, wearing a white zip-up jacket that she had loaned her daughter. "I told her I wanted that jacket back," Nicole Smith said. Nicole Smith said she fully cooperated with police, and after receiving a telephone call from her daughter on Oct. 6, sent from a "blocked number," notified law enforcement. "I just wanted my daughter home safe," she said. "I knew she was with a dangerous person." The trial will continue Monday morning at the Franklin County Justice Center. WESTFIELD -- Several Westfield City Councilors continue to seek answers regarding water contamination ahead of a May 3 meeting where a vote on a $13 million bond to pay for remediation is scheduled. Councilors Dave Flaherty, Matt Emmershy, Andrew K. Surprise and Daniel Allie all voted against the initial reading of the bond request in March. The bond was reintroduced and passed the first reading earlier this month with the stipulation that the second reading would be scheduled four weeks later to allow time to gather more information. The bond, requested by Mayor Brian P. Sullivan, includes permanent filtration vessels for Wells 7 and 8, which were taken offline in late 2015 due to contamination from PFOS and PFOAs. It also includes filtration at Wells 1 and 2, only one of which is running now, a connection to the Springfield Water Works and repairs to the East Mountain Road water tank. Temporary filtration work is underway now on Well 2 and it should be online with clean water by the end of the summer, officials said. Initially the three members of the Finance Committee, Allie, Emmershy and Surprise, plus Flaherty, voted against the bond because of a lack of information. The councilors said when the bond was presented to the committee it was with one page with five lines of information and they did not receive adequate answers to their questions. Since then, city officials, including the Water Department, solicitor and mayor, appeared before a joint meeting of the Finance and Legislative and Ordinance committees to answer questions. "I have questions that have been left unanswered by the Water Department since the 19th of last month," Emmershy said last week. "There are questions that were sent over by Councilor Flaherty from a few days later that are still unanswered. More recently I had a conversation with Engineer Stayton on the 5th just before the Council meeting, which had the legal department on the call. I followed up by email with questions on the 10th. It was stated previously that we should reach out if we have any questions. I have, which led to being told it needed to go through the committee chair, which was subsequently done. The mayor followed up and indicated that all questions need to go through him and the department head, with at least seven days advanced notice of questions. So much for transparency." Flaherty said the committee deserves the time it needs to vet the bond and all their questions. "I support the finance committee's efforts to fully research and deliberate matters before they make recommendations," said Flaherty. Allie said he, Emmershy and Surprise are working on ways to clean the water that would not be at the expense of residents. "Yeoman's work (is being done) to research options to help solve the water issue, without burdening the ratepayers of Westfield with millions of dollars," said Allie. "While we are all concerned with water safety, many residents question why we should have to pay for cleanup, since we did not make the mess." The 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base used firefighting foam for many years that contained the hazardous contaminants that seeped into the wells on the north side of the city. In addition to legal action against three manufacturers of the foam, Westfield filed a tort claim against the Department of Defense. It is a long, complicated process, said Sullivan and City Solicitor Susan C. Phillips, and residents need clean water now. Allie said new information emerges nearly every day, and questions remain. "For example, because the airport owns the land surrounding wells 7 & 8, adjacent to the runway and air space, the Federal Aviation Administration must approve the transfer of the land to the Water Department for construction of a permanent facility; a process that can take up to a year," Allie said. Allie and Emmershy are researching alternative sites for new well sites away from the primary source of PFOS/PFOA contamination next to Wells 7 and 8. "We received permission from a private landowner for use for a temporary well," he said. Sullivan said it's not that easy and a new well requires a 400-foot buffer on all sides. Allie said with three wells shut down, Westfield may qualify for emergency status and be a candidate for fast-track permitting by the state, as well as low-interest loans. "The Air National Guard recently completed its Phase 1 Site Analysis, and a MASS Department of Environmental Protection report stated there is ample evidence that activities in certain areas on the base are the primary source of the contamination," Allie added. Further adding to the complication is that the Defense Department abides by CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), which uses the Environmental Protection Agency's list of contaminants as a guideline. The EPA does not list PFOA and PFOS as hazardous. The city, on the other hand, must comply with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which does consider PFOS and PFOA hazardous. Randy Chambers, an attorney for the Air National Guard, said because of this, the claim from the city would go to the U.S. Air Force, not the Guard. Phillips added that if the chemicals found in Westfield's water are not added to the CERCLA list, the Defense Department does not have to mitigate. Phillips said Westfield is in a unique situation because the city owns the property and leases it to the 104th. The Air National Guard does not own the property. So the question remains which set of regulations applies. Emmershy said he will continue to seek answers and alternatives. "There are many items that have been uncovered that our 'professionals' have not considered," he said. "This should not be considered a slight against anyone. But our job is to consider all aspects and make decisions that are in the best interests of the residents. I do not see why they are opposed to questions or considering alternatives." SPRINGFIELD -- Police are investigating a Friday morning shooting that sent a man to Baystate Medical Center with a non-life-threatening injury. Police were summoned to Springfield for a reported shooting shortly before 10 a.m., Ryan Walsh, spokesman for the police department, said. The victim was shot in the leg. Police are still attempting to determine where the shooting occurred. The victim was found about two blocks away from the police station on Pearl Street. This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available. South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Moon's motorcade came to the South Korean side of Panmunjom around 30 minutes before Kim's scheduled arrival in the border village at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT). Before leaving his office, Moon got off his black sedan for minutes to say hello to and shake hands with ordinary people waiting just outside the presidential compound, called Blue House, to wish for the success of the third-ever inter-Korean summit. The Moon-Kim summit is to be held at Peace House, a three-story building on the South Korean side of the truce village. Kim would become the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The first and second inter-Korean summits were held in Pyongyang, the DPRK capital, in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Kim left Pyongyang for Panmunjom earlier in the day to attend the summit, according to the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency. WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Transportation costs and potential overcrowding continue to be sources of concern for school district officials, who worry that the level of projected state aid for hurricane evacuees from Puerto Rico won't be enough to cover expenses in the coming fiscal year. As of Tuesday, there were 84 hurricane evacuees from Puerto Rico attending West Springfield Public Schools, 22 of whom have found permanent housing outside of the school district, Superintendent Michael J. Richard told the School Committee this week. The short-term impact from this influx of evacuees -- a number surpassing 100 students at one point -- is that district transportation costs are increasing, said Richard, with West Side obligated to continue paying transportation costs for the 22 students who no longer live in town. "What that means for us is that we are responsible for the transportation for those students to come to West Springfield Public Schools for the balance of this school year," said the superintendent, noting that the out-of-town students must enroll in their new school districts for the 2018-19 academic year. "The impact for us is significant in terms of the unanticipated transportation costs that we'll continue to assume for the next eight weeks or so," Richard said. With fiscal year 2019 rapidly approaching, "there's still much uncertainty around how many students will be with us moving forward," he said, which complicates the budgeting process. "We're operating without a crystal ball," he said. The state allocated $15 million to cover statewide evacuee costs for the current fiscal year and is expected to set aside the same amount for fiscal 2019, which begins July 1. "But that $15 million only covers about 80 or 85 percent of our school year, not the whole year," Richard said. "So we are skeptical as to whether that $15 million for next year will cover all of the expenses and student enrollment across the state sufficiently." Between Oct. 1, 2017, and March 1 of this year, West Springfield had, at various times, 103 different students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of them evacuees from hurricanes Maria and Irma, which devastated the islands in September 2017. Hundreds of hurricane families relocated to Greater Springfield, home to a large, well-established Latino community. In West Springfield, many of these families have been living transitory lifestyles in hotels and motels, waiting to either move back home or secure more permanent housing in Massachusetts. Based on the state's reimbursement formula for accommodating this unanticipated influx of students, the commonwealth determined that West Springfield was eligible for $109,494 in assistance -- the first of two disbursements for fiscal 2018. The second disbursement is expected to be roughly the same, covering the period of March 2 through June 21, which is the last day of school in West Side. Broken down, the state determined that the total "days of attendance" for all evacuee students in West Springfield Public Schools was 3,080 days. Next, the state figured that the school district's foundation budget per pupil was $11,362, then multiplied that amount by the the state's contribution to West Side's budget at a rate of 56.23 percent. That resulted in an amount totaling $6,399, said Richard, which was then divided by 180 school days to generate a daily reimbursement rate of $35.55 per student. That daily rate was then multiplied by the 3,080 school days of attendance for those 103 students, resulting in $109,494, Richard said. "Complicated on its face, but understandable, which is how the state came out with that figure," the superintendent said. West Side expects to spend all of this money -- almost $220,000 -- to accommodate these extra students in the school district. The best estimate is that West Side's student evacuee population will decline to around 60 students for the coming school year, around 30 of whom still live in hotels, according to Richard. State Rep. Michael J. Finn, D-West Springfield, is attempting to secure additional funding for the school district, "and we're hopeful that he's successful in doing that," Richard said. To physically accommodate the evacuee students, the school district had to create two new classrooms -- one at John R. Fausey Elementary School, the other at Mittineague Elementary School. The nine-school district currently has about 4,332 students. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. says everyone at his office "acted lawfully" in its handling of the arrest report involving a judge's daughter, following the release of investigatory report on the matter by Attorney General Maura Healey and State Police. Alli Bibaud, the daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Timothy Bibaud, was arrested on Oct. 16 after allegedly smashing her car into a guardrail on Interstate 190 in Worcester. Trooper Ryan Sceviour in his arrest report alleged that Bibaud was driving under the influence of drugs and heroin, and wrote that she made salacious comments about exchanging sexual favors for drugs. The report triggered a response from Early and then State Police Col. Richard McKeon, who sent orders down the chain of command for the comments to be scrubbed from the police report. "All individuals at the District Attorney's office acted lawfully; and acted in accordance with all pertinent guidelines including the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct sections 3.6 and 3.8," Early's office said in a statement released Friday afternoon. Healey's office released its findings on Friday morning, stating that there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges in connection with redactions to the report. However, Healey's office is referring its report to the State Ethics Commission. Both Healey's report and the State Police report revealed that Early and McKeon spoke several times over the phone in the days following Bibaud's arrest. Early pressured McKeon to take action on the arrest report. "Early asked McKeon, 'what are you going to do,' about the Bibaud report. McKeon said he could not do anything because he 'thought that ship had sailed, meaning that [he] believed that this had already been with the court," the State Police report reads. The report was scrubbed. When news of the redactions broke, several agencies announced there would be investigations into the matter. "All standard protocols were followed and applied appropriately as they are for all cases, including the requirement within those guidelines to avoid any public condemnation of a defendant," Early's office said Friday. It was the first event in what became months of State Police scandals. News followed that some troopers patrolling the Massachusetts Turnpike were being paid for overtime shifts they did not work, that a K-9 Trooper was a former drug defendant, that a trooper arrived for duty under the influence of alcohol and the filing of criminal charges against Massachusetts State Police Payroll Director Denise Ezekiel, who is accused of stealing funds. The new name of the $2.5 billion casino outside of Boston will be Encore Boston Harbor, Wynn Resorts CEO Matthew Maddox told Massachusetts gaming regulators. "There is no business association with Steve Wynn," Maddox said in testimony to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. But they're keeping the Wynn brand, and changing the name of the Massachusetts casino due to "cultural sensitivity," Maddox said. Maddox's comments came during a hearing on removing Steve Wynn from the Wynn Boston Harbor casino license. Wynn Resorts won the only eastern Massachusetts casino license in 2014. The casino, with 671 hotel rooms, is half-built in Everett, a city north of Boston. The facility is slated to open June 2019. Maddox said Steve Wynn has been removed from the company and no longer holds any stock. Steve Wynn stepped away from the company on Feb. 6, after the Wall Street Journal reported on decades of alleged sexual misconduct, which Wynn has denied. The Gaming Commission is reviewing whether Wynn Resorts still meets the state's suitability standards, and that review remains ongoing and separate from the decision on whether to formally remove Steve Wynn from the Mass. casino license. Commissioners retreated behind closed doors after testimony from Maddox and other Wynn officials. The commissioners are aiming to make the decision on removing Steve Wynn in the next week. The suitability review, slated to wrap up this summer, is looking into who among Wynn company officials knew what about allegations and a multi-million dollar settlement between Wynn and a woman that commissioners say was actively kept from them. "We're a $20 billion company and we're the best in the business at what we do. So if Massachusetts wants five-star luxury, high-paying jobs in the business, we're the company," Maddox told reporters. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center put out a statement Friday afternoon, after the announcement of the name change. "This is a positive step forward for the company and the Commonwealth, and it shows that we've reached a tipping point in how our culture responds to sexual harassment and assault," executive director Gina Scaramella said. "As we move forward, we expect to see continued efforts by business, community, and political leaders to advocate for the change needed to end workplace sexual harassment and assault," she added. "The decision to distance the Everett casino from its parent company's apparent failure to prevent sexual harassment and assault, and disassociating its brand from a name now linked in the public's mind with those of Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, and Larry Nassar is just the first of what we hope will be many steps to create a workplace in which all employees are safe." This post was updated with comments from Matt Maddox and the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Wynn Resorts CEO Matthew Maddox was running through all the changes that had occurred within the company since casino mogul Steve Wynn stepped away on Feb. 6. Appearing before the commission in downtown Boston, Maddox repeatedly stressed that the company is distancing itself from Steve Wynn, who left after a Wall Street Journal report outlined decades of alleged sexual misconduct. Wynn has denied the allegations. Maddox said he was proud of the changes within the company, particularly the recent appointment of three women to the male-dominated board of directors: entrepreneur Betsy Atkins, former Clinton White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers and Kestrel Advisors CEO Wendy Webb. Gaming Commissioner Gayle Cameron, a former lieutenant colonel with the New Jersey State Police, stopped him there. "Obviously these women are eminently qualified. And you've been at a high level at that company for a number of years," Cameron said. "They were eminently qualified two years ago, five years ago." Cameron continued: "I just can't - I just have to make the point there's an issue around women and now women are more valuable to the board. I see what you're doing. But it just seems to me that the company as a whole didn't value women until they got into trouble. At the board level, anyway." Maddox said there's "new leadership" within the company. "I'm part of the generation that's driving this," he added. "I don't think it's anything about what the company did do or didn't do. I think crisis sometimes creates opportunity." He added that he is the father of two daughters. Maddox said the company changed how they handle sexual harassment training within the company, bringing in a third party to review their policies. What they had before Steve Wynn stepped down was the "industry standard," according to Maddox, and now they're going to "leapfrog the industry." In an allusion to alleged misconduct by Wynn, Cameron said she assumes that the new standard will apply to everyone within the company. "Absolutely, top down," Maddox responded. He added later: "We're not defensive, we're on offense." Wynn Resorts is building a $2.5 billion casino in Everett, a city north of Boston. Maddox confirmed that the name of the casino, the largest single-phase private development in state history, will change to Encore Boston Harbor from Wynn Boston Harbor. The company itself plans to stick with the Wynn name, however. Wynn Resorts is under investigation by the state Gaming Commission as investigators seek to determine who within the company knew about misconduct allegations against Steve Wynn. The commission can revoke or suspend the casino license from the company. Investigations within the company and by Las Vegas regulators are also underway. "If anything comes out in any of those reports that anyone was complicit or that something was covered up they'll be gone," Maddox told reporters. "That I can promise." Former Massachusetts State Police Col. Richard McKeon used "flawed judgment" in ordering the revision of salacious statements from the arrest report of a judge's daughter, one of the first incidents uncovered in months of State Police scandals. As the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that no criminal charges would be brought in the case of the redacted police report for the arrest of Alli Bibaud, the State Police released its report of its own investigation and review in the matter. Current Col. Kerry Gilpin ordered the investigation as soon as she took the lead of the department in the fall. In its review, released Friday, State Police conducted its own interviews, analyzed transcripts of interviews conducted by the office of Attorney General Maura Healey, State Police reports and related text messages and emails, State Police policies and procedures, federal complaints, blog posts and other media coverage. The report, submitted to the department by Kevin P. Burke and Nancy McGillivray and signed on April 4, concluded that McKeon's judgment was wrong in ordering the redaction of the report and the negative reviews of Troopers Ali Rei and Ryan Sceviour, who have both filed lawsuits against State Police. "Both orders (to revise the report and to issue SORs) were unprecedented, and did not follow MSP policy, procedure, practice, rule, or regulation," the report reads. "They were the result of flawed judgment and a lack of professional analysis as to the requirements of report writing consistent with the training of the MSP, the requirements of the government's discovery obligations, and the conflicting advice from DA Early concerning the revision of the reports that have been submitted in support of an application for a criminal complaint," the report continues. Additionally, McKeon did not seek the advice of the State Police legal counsel in making his decisions. McKeon's decision to issue negative Supervisory Observation Reports, referred to in the report as SORs, to Sceviour and Rei was not supported by State Police training on police report writing, according to the review. Sceviour's report on Bibaud's arrest was consistent with his training experience and Sgt. Conant's approval of the report was an "appropriate exercise of his supervisory responsibilities," the review reads. The State Police investigation concluded that McKeon had the authority to review the Bibaud arrest report, but that the order to revise the report was "the result of flawed judgment and the lack of a professional analysis of the MSP requirements for report writing, the requirements of probable cause, the requirements of the government's discovery obligations, and the conflicting advice from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early concerning the revision of reports that have been submitted in support of an application for a criminal complaint." The review clears Daniel Bennett, the Secretary of the state's Department of Public Safety and Security, clarifying that he did not issue the order for McKeon to alter the report or discipline Sceviour or Rei. In its review, State Police examined conversations between McKeon and Early about the scrubbing of Bibaud's police report. "Early asked McKeon, 'what are you going to do,' about the Bibaud report. McKeon said he could not do anything because he 'thought that ship had sailed, meaning that [he] believed that this had already been with the court," the report reads. The two had multiple phone conversations on the matter, according to the report, and Early told McKeon that changes could be made to remove the offensive language. McKeon "'had no doubt in [his] mind that the District Attorney was correct,' 'that there would be no problem in making changes to the...report," the State Police review reads. After Sceviour and Rei filed the federal lawsuits, McKeon and his deputy Francis Hughes. Healey's office, in its review of the scrubbed police report, didn't find evidence to back charges under statutes that would've included witness intimidation, evidence tampering, or using an official position to obtain unwarranted privilege with fraudulent intent. However, Healey's office has referred the matter to the State Ethics Commission. After news of the edited arrest report first surfaced, Alli Bibaud pleaded guilty to operating under the influence. Early was not immediately available for comment. Worcester residents are no strangers to George's Coney Island hot dogs, but there's a pretty good chance no one in Massachusetts has seen the famous dogs -- with chili sauce and all -- like this. Crust Bakeshop on Main Street in Worcester recently celebrated Coney Island's 100th anniversary by paying homage to a loaded Coney dog ... in pizza form. That's right, the bakeshop created hot dog-themed pizzas for its weekly "Pizza Night" on April 26. "The Coney" pizza features George's chili sauce, chopped onion, yellow mustard and cheese. There's an option to add ketchup and relish to round out the pizza to get the full hot dog experience. The bakery's take on a Sicilian slice is made with their focaccia bread and is topped with chopped hot dogs. The menu also offered "Pigs in a Blanket" using a Coney dog wrapped in their fresh-baked croissant. Crust stays open till 8 p.m. on Thursdays for pizza nights and a different pizza is featured on the menu. Crust is located at 118 Main St. Several people, including a skydiver who had jumped moments before, escaped serious injury when a small plane landed short of the runway in New Braintree. The crash happened at the Tanner-Hiller Airport at about 5:17 p.m., the Hardwick/New Braintree Police Department said. Only minor injuries were reported, and the accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Skydiver Casey Tylek told Fox 25 Boston that he had no idea there was anything wrong with the plane before his jump, but was thankful that the three other people aboard the plane were safe. Skydiver tells me about plane crash shortly after he jumped off the plane. His father and friends were still on board when plane crash landed into woods, catching fire. Story ONLY ON @boston25 after the #NFLDraft : Casey Tylek pic.twitter.com/SNTbtL0c4D Litsa Pappas (@LitsaPappas) April 27, 2018 The television station reported that a small fire began shortly after the plane landed but was quickly extinguished. "I was mostly concerned about my father, when I first arrived at the airfield I couldn't locate the plane," Tylek told Fox 25. "Within 20 seconds of the landing, somebody had already dialed 911 from nearby." New Braintree police Lt. Kevin Landine told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that the skydiver made a scheduled jump from the 1976 Cessna 402B plane before it crashed near the airport on McEvoy Road. Police told the newspaper that the plane is believed to be housed at the New Braintree airport and the pilot lives in the area. The Massachusetts State Police troopers involved in the arrest of Alli Bibaud, a judge's daughter, have been "completely vindicated" after the Friday release of two reports looking into the controversial case, their attorney said. Leonard Kesten, the attorney for troopers Ryan Sceviour and Ali Rei, is still moving ahead with federal lawsuits he filed on their behalf. The lawsuits allege that supervisors pressured Sceviour and Rei to make changes and shred documents after they arrested Bibaud, who is the daughter of Judge Timothy Bibaud. The lawsuits also allege that there was a "conspiracy" to replace the police report in court with doctored version. Attorney General Maura Healey's office concluded there wasn't enough evidence for criminal charges against anyone involved in the editing of the police report, but forwarded the matter to the State Ethics Commission for potential ethics violations. A related State Police review, ordered when new Col. Kerry Gilpin took over the tarnished law enforcement agency, found her predecessor Richard McKeon was wrong to order the scrubbing of salacious details Alli Bibaud's arrest report. Both reviews outlined discussions between McKeon and Worcester District Attorney Joe Early after Bibaud's arrest in October 2017. McKeon, who acknowledged that he ordered the altering of the report but maintains he didn't do anything wrong, told investigators that Early suggested the creation of a new report. McKeon and the State Police claimed changes to a police report were routine. But Kesten said the reviews show that's now been proven false. "We are gratified that these investigations have gotten to the truth and the lawsuit will get to the complete truth," Kesten told MassLive. "This absolutely vindicates the troopers and condemns the people who ordered them to do this for illegal reasons," he said. There are still unanswered questions as to "who said what to whom" and the involvement of court employees, Kesten added. A spokeswoman for Early said in an email that all individuals within the DA's office "acted lawfully" and within guidelines for professional conduct. "All standard protocols were followed and applied appropriately as they are for all cases, including the requirement within those guidelines to avoid any public condemnation of a defendant," she wrote. The State Police report, handled by former state public safety secretary Kevin Burke, also touched on the topic of whether Gov. Charlie Baker's public safety chief, Dan Bennett, was involved. Legal filings in the troopers' cases allege that one of their supervisors invoked Bennett's name in attempting to justify the changes to the documents involved in Bibaud's arrest. The supervisor, former Maj. Susan Anderson, has denied she said that. "By the time Bennett spoke with McKeon, McKeon had already issued the orders [for changes] and they were implemented," Burke's report said. "Bennett first heard of Bibaud's arrest from DA Early on Oct. 18. They spoke two or three times about the Bibaud case between October 18 and 20." A Bennett spokesman said Bennett learned about the editing of the arrest report in the media. The Bibaud case was the first in a series of scandals to emerge over the last six months. Baker and Gilpin announced reforms of the "tarnished" law enforcement agency earlier this month. This post was updated with a comment from an Early spokeswoman. By Bret Stephens New York Times News Service George H.W. Bush once vomited on the prime minister of Japan. It was a mortifying but innocent incident, the result of a nasty stomach bug. Donald Trump has spent the past couple of days effectively doing likewise on France's Emmanuel Macron. What's Trump's excuse? The contrast between the 41st and 45th presidents comes to mind this week as millions of Americans mourn the passing of Barbara Bush and pray for the health of her bereaved husband. It's a study in American decline. Bush did his duty in World War II as the Navy's youngest pilot and was shot down over the Pacific. Trump shirked his duty in Vietnam, and we already know he doesn't like guys who were shot down. Bush zipped through Yale in 2 1/2 years and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Trump is "like, really smart." Bush married his teenage sweetheart at 20 and stayed married to her for 73 years. Trump stayed married to his first wife for 13 years, his second for five, and his current one (if you can call it a marriage) for 13, with all the assorted lecheries and abuses during and in between. Bush voted for the Fair Housing Act of 1968 as a Republican congressman. Trump and his father were charged with violating it in 1973. Bush was the only Republican congressman to see off Lyndon Johnson as the 36th president departed Washington in January 1969, a humane gesture for a broken man from the opposing party. Trump couldn't bring himself to invite a single congressional Democrat to his state dinner with Macron. Bush presided adroitly over a high-water mark of U.S. power and influence, a remarkable four-year stretch that included the collapse of the Soviet Union, the creation of NAFTA, lightning victory in the Gulf War and the rescue of the Kurds. Trump is all that in reverse: the looming collapse of NAFTA, the resurgence of Russia, an incoherent policy in the Middle East and prospective abandonment of the Kurds. Bush believes in the virtues of bipartisanship in substance. Trump believes in it only for show. Bush husbanded and enhanced U.S. credibility on the world stage. Trump squanders it. Bush is a respecter of civic institutions. Trump is a destroyer of them. "Bushes were to win, but not brag; succeed, but not preen," Jon Meacham writes in his recent biography of the 41st president. Trump brags and preens through successes and failures alike. Bush had a capacity to laugh at himself. Trump does not. Bush had some money, and a lot of class. Trump has lots of money and no class. Bush is profoundly decent. Trump is profoundly not. These contrasts don't mean that Bush was without blemish: As Meacham notes, there were political misjudgments and calculated concessions to ambition on the long path to power. Nor does it mean that Trump doesn't lack his own kind of strengths, not the least of which is his loudly declared indifference to elite opinion. Yet the fact that personal virtue does not always guarantee political success - or that private vice may often facilitate public achievement - does not mean countries can afford to remain indifferent to questions of virtue and vice. That's what some of Bill Clinton's liberal defenders argued during the impeachment debates in the 1990s, and what Trump's defenders believe today. They're wrong. In an age of radical transparency, who the president is inevitably spills over into how he's seen. Jack Kennedy might have been all class in public and a complete cad in private, but he lived in an era when he could get away with it. Not anymore. Today's presidents will be judged on their behavior, which is why the Trump brand is proving so damaging to Republicans' midterm prospects, despite the strength of the economy. Today's presidents also model behavior, and tell every presidential aspirant what will or won't work for them politically. The Bush model was about proving one's worth and paying one's dues. The Trump model is about the vain boast and the savage put-down. It's either Hadrian or Caligula: Whose regime would you rather live under? The intense interest in Barbara Bush's funeral, as well as the concern for George Bush's health, no doubt reflects the ordinary human sympathy for a couple that has been such an enduring part of our common political landscape. But it reflects something else, too: They - that - was what we once were, too, at least at our striving best. In the age of Trump it's a reason for mourning and nostalgia, along with a prayer for resurrection. By Robert Redford Special To The Washington Post President Donald Trump should follow the suggestion of many - including some within his own party, and reportedly even his chief of staff - and replace Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt's conduct as head of the EPA is beyond disappointing; it's disgraceful. The list of indefensible actions grows each week: from sweetheart condo deals with the wife of an energy lobbyist, to unfair raises for favored appointees and apparent punishments for those who defy him, to a $43,000 soundproof phone booth. These seemingly daily revelations dominate the headlines. But Pruitt's failings in ethics and judgment are only part of a much larger problem: Pruitt has failed at the core responsibility of his job. He's not protecting the environment. Pruitt has become a one-man public-health risk to the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. From day one, he has worked to gut the EPA and hamstring its ability to protect the environment and public health. He works on behalf of the fossil-fuel industry and other industrial polluters, not the American people. That's the greatest scandal - and the reason, first and foremost, he's got to go. And he actively promotes one of the gravest threats to our future - misinformation. To hear Pruitt tell it, the rising seas, widening deserts and raging wildfires Americans are experiencing are reasons to debate the science on climate change, not take action against it. Pruitt led Trump's charge to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord. I was in Paris when that agreement was reached. It was a triumph of American leadership. We were doing what was best for our country: cutting carbon pollution today so our kids would have a more predictable climate and a better future. The Trump administration has broken our promise to the world by announcing that we will back out of the Paris accords. Unfortunately, that's not all. Pruitt has been working to weaken standards designed to clean up dirty power plants and to walk back fuel standards for cars. He has put a hold on vital safeguards that would limit the amount of mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic chemicals that industry can spew into the air or dump into our rivers. Speaking of water, he's working to repeal the clean water rule that ensures protection for wetlands, rivers and streams that provide drinking water to a third of all Americans. Meanwhile, he has ignored research from scientists at the agency and refused to ban dangerous chemicals, such as the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Instead, he hired a lobbyist connected with one of the manufacturers of the chemical and then reduced fines levied against the company for violating regulations. He also attacked science itself, proposing policies in the guise of transparency that would limit the research that the agency could use to make decisions. Americans deserve better. The EPA was established to protect the environment and public health for everyone. It's something America got right, and it is up to us to defend it. Pruitt should be replaced by a principled leader who will do what the EPA was intended to do: protect America from men such as Pruitt. Robert Redford is an actor, director, producer and trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un began formal talks Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjomon on the South Korean side at the third-ever inter-Korea summit. After attending an official welcoming ceremony that included an inspection of a South Korean honor guard, the two leaders launched talks on peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula at a conference room on the second floor of the Peace House, a South Korean building inside Panmunjom dividing the two Koreas. Kim made history by becoming the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Standing on the two sides of the military demarcation line (MDL), marked only by a low concrete slab, Moon and Kim shook hands with beaming smiles on their faces for their first meeting. The previous two inter-Korean summits took place in the DPRK capital of Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, respectively. After walking across the MDL into the South Korean side, Kim invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side. They returned back to the South Korean side of Panmunjom grasping hands with each other, marking a historic moment for the first inter-Korea summit in more than a decade. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, raised concerns this week about whether outside money has influenced decisions made at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, following reports that the agency's head admitted basing lobbyist access on contributions while in Congress. The Massachusetts Democrat, who helped start the financial watchdog, penned a letter to CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney Thursday seeking clarification on whether contributions made to his campaign account have influenced any of the agency's recent actions. Warren further called on Deputy General Counsel Sonya White, the CFPB's designated agency ethics official, to detail what arrangements have been made to ensure Mulvaney is excluded from decisions affecting financial institutions that have contributed to his campaign. Pointing to Mulvaney's reported claim that he had a "hierarchy" in his congressional office where he didn't talk to lobbyists who never gave him money, Warren argued that the CFPB director owes the public "straight answers" to questions posed in her January 2018 letter on payday lending rules. Warren, an outspoken critic of the new CFPB head, had asked Mulvaney in the January letter about his delay and re-evaluation of a rule protecting consumers from what she called "abusive payday lending practices." She also raised concerns that the move could be tied to "the nearly $63,000 in campaign contributions that payday lenders " gave his campaigns -- a notion Mulvaney rejected. The Democrat added that the CFPB director's reported admission also raises questions about other actions he has taken while leading the financial watchdog, including his expressed desire to remove public narratives from the agency's complaint database; announced postponement of a Home Mortgage Disclosure Act-related rule; and efforts to "gut the CFPB's Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity." "Almost every one of your major decisions at the CFPB has fulfilled a request of a lobbying organization that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to your political campaigns," she wrote. "The public deserves to know whether this is a coincidence or is a reflection of the same kind of 'hierarchy' you created when you ran your congressional office." Warren requested that Mulvaney respond to a series of questions by May 11, including: whether his reported remarks before the American Bankers Association conference were accurate, and if he has a "hierarchy" at CFPB that favors lobbyists that have contributed to his campaigns. The senator, meanwhile, asked White to, among other things, provide information on what, if any, advice was given to Mulvaney about working on matters related to political donors when he arrived at CFPB, as well as whether he was recused from working on issues related to any companies or industries. "For American families to trust the CFPB, they have to know that lobbyists' payments to Mr. Mulvaney's campaign are not putting in play CFPB policies that favor those same lobbyists," she argued in a letter to the ethics official. Warren's letters came just days after Mulvaney reportedly told 1,300 bankers and lending industry officials attending the ABA conference in Washington that he had a hierarchy in his congressional office. "If you're a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn't talk to you. If you're a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you," he said, according to the New York Times. John Czwartacki, a spokesman for Mulvaney, told the newspaper that the CFPB director's words were being taken out of context. "He was making the point that hearing from people back home is vital to our democratic process and the most important thing our representatives can do," he reportedly said. "It's more important than lobbyists and it's more important than money." Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has been facing pressure to resign over ballooning ethics scandals involving his lavish spending habits and a shady condo deal with a gas industry lobbyist. Reports suggest the White House considered firing Pruitt, but President Donald Trump repeatedly defended his EPA chief. Pruitt has been one of the most effective cabinet secretaries in terms of rolling back regulations, and many conservatives want him to stay. What do you think? PERSPECTIVES Pruitt appeared before Congress amidst his growing list of ethics scandals including his spending habits and a shady deal with a gas industry lobbyist involving a Capitol Hill condominium. In addition to his lavish spending, Pruitt also got in trouble for bypassing the White House to give two of his aides massive raises, adding to an ever-growing list of ethics scandals. Many lawmakers have already called on Trump to fire Pruitt using the hashtag #BootPruitt. .@USGAO has found Scott #Pruitt in violation of the law by spending more than $43,000 on his soundproof phone booth. The Antideficiency Act requires that its violator be punished. Im demanding that Pruitt turn himself in, comply with the law and resign. #BootPruitt pic.twitter.com/xZyjjt9lUE Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) April 26, 2018 Scott #PollutingPruitt epitomizes the Trump White Houses worsening cloud of corruption that's abusing millions in taxpayer dollars and pandering to special interests. #BootPruitt pic.twitter.com/Mgj2r6OZT9 Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) April 26, 2018 Between the corruption and his anti-science attitude, Pruitt is unfit to head the EPA. Scott Pruitt & his Flat Earth Society friends have brought a dangerous combination of ignorance, corruption and greed to the @EPA. We need to #BootPruitt before he causes any more damage to our planet. https://t.co/hXKnldQW5e Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) April 24, 2018 Scott Pruitt needs to go. The @EPA deserves an honest leader who won't use his or her position for personal gain. Accepting settled science and protecting our clean air and water would be a nice change too. #BootPruitt Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) April 23, 2018 But Trump has defended his EPA chief and doesn't appear interested in firing him. While Security spending was somewhat more than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt has received death threats because of his bold actions at EPA. Record clean Air & Water while saving USA Billions of Dollars. Rent was about market rate, travel expenses OK. Scott is doing a great job! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018 According to Politico, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wanted to fire the scandal-scarred EPA chief, but Trump wants to keep him around. Scandals aside, Pruitt is one of Trump's most effective cabinet secretaries when it comes to dismantling Obama-era policy. A few high-priced flights hardly seem a good enough reason to let him go just yet. Pruitt is being targeted because he's effective at doing what liberals hate -- plain and simple. Why is @EPAScottPruitt still in office, you ask? ...to control an overzealous EPA/CARB and senseless regulation. Plus he did nothing wrong. Thank goodness for Scott Pruitt! (Lieu, do you drive an electric car? Why not? Perhaps its cost versus utility?) Jibber Brain (@JibberB) April 3, 2018 The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. The Puerto Rican man was on antibiotics to prevent infection after lumbar back surgery. A nurse would come to his home and give him an infusion. Then Hurricane Maria hit the island. After completing just two weeks of the six-week course of antibiotics, the man lost access to medical care. By the time he arrived in Springfield, his spinal cord was infected and he was almost paraplegic. Dr. Orlando Torres, director of Baystate High Street Health Center in Springfield, said the man was sent to the hospital, where he was put on antibiotics and treated successfully. "It's an example of how people who were vulnerable before the hurricane -- then the hurricane came by, they lost access to medical care, how they could have potentially died in the aftermath," Torres said. Since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, hundreds of Puerto Ricans who fled the island ended up in Massachusetts. The highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the state are in Springfield and Holyoke. Hospitals have had to cope with an influx of new patients. While most of the evacuees have public insurance, hospitals say the cost of treating them has not been entirely covered. Amendments included in the House version of the state budget would reimburse Western Massachusetts hospitals for some of those costs. "The other big cost center for care, after you move beyond housing, you move beyond schools, is health care," said Michael Knapik, vice president for government and community relations for Baystate Health. One amendment, sponsored by Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, would provide $500,000 for Baystate Health. The other, sponsored by several Western Massachusetts representatives, would provide an unspecified amount of money through a Medicaid reimbursement formula to Hampden County hospitals disproportionately impacted by treating uninsured patients displaced by the hurricanes in Puerto Rico. Both amendments were included in the final version of the House budget that passed Thursday, which will now go to the Senate for consideration. Knapik said Baystate, which is the largest health care provider in Western Massachusetts, treated more than 1,600 Puerto Rican evacuees, mostly on an outpatient basis in the hospital or affiliated medical practices. Knapik said patients required serious initial interventions, then ongoing care "that had been completely unplanned for by the health system." In many cases, Baystate's emergency room and its community health centers saw patients who needed ongoing medical care but lost that care when the hurricane hit. Approximately 450 adult patients were seen at Baystate's three community health centers between November and March. Torres said many were seeking refills to continue medication for illnesses like diabetes or hypertension. Some had depression or anxiety from experiencing the hurricane and losing their homes. The health centers saw back pain, bursitis and injuries in people who had cleaned up debris or rebuilt buildings. Patients generally did not have their medical records with them. Baystate established a relationship with two welcome centers set up to assist Puerto Rican families. The medical system set up a phone line, which Puerto Rican families could call to get a doctor's appointment within a couple of weeks -- faster than an appointment would be available through the regular appointment system. Torres said Baystate set up a clinic where two hours each week were reserved for seeing Puerto Rican evacuees, then referring them to any needed treatment. The clinic just closed March 30, after demand decreased. "It was a temporary measure to absorb the extra capacity from a natural disaster that occurred on the island," Torres said. "We saw a surge of phone calls. Now we're back to business as usual." Daniel Keenan, vice president of advocacy and government relations for Trinity Health of New England, which includes Mercy Medical Center, said Mercy Medical Center also saw a significant number of patients showing up in the emergency room who had fled Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "The primary reason why they're ending up in emergency departments is they don't have access to primary care. They don't have a physician in greater Springfield," Keenan said. Keenan said many patients needed medication or care for mental health needs. "We have been focused on making sure that the individuals get the care that they need," Keenan said. Three Hampden County hospitals -- Baystate, Mercy Medical Center and Holyoke Medical Center -- said most of the patients had Medicare or Medicaid. Puerto Rican Medicaid is not automatically reciprocal with Massachusetts' Medicaid. But state officials made efforts to get people who were eligible for MassHealth enrolled. A federal disaster declaration allowed doctors who would have been considered out of network to be covered as in network for Medicare patients. Rebecca MacGregor, a spokeswoman for Holyoke Medical Center, said the hospital's financial counselors helped approximately 55 people from Puerto Rico between October and January who needed help finding new insurance. The majority of those people qualified for subsidized coverage through MassHealth or the Health Connector. But Knapik said although most evacuees qualified for subsidized insurance, "It took some time for paperwork and protocols to move into place." He said the money included in the House budget will help cover the cost of care provided early on when there was a surge of new patients, not all of whom had insurance yet, and the hospital needed to bring in additional providers and do outreach. "It was a very quick evacuation of the islands to Massachusetts, and the systems were not all seamlessly in place," Knapik said. Knapik said generally, Medicare and Medicaid do not pay enough to cover the cost of care, so an influx of new patients on public health insurance hurts the hospital financially. U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, called on House leaders Friday to ensure the legislative process remains open, following reports that the Agriculture Committee was considering blocking amendments from lawmakers who plan to vote against the Farm Bill. McGovern led a group of Democrats in asking House Rules Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, to clarify that it's not the panel's policy "to administer a litmus test of loyalty before members can be allowed even to pose their ideas to the House." The congressman, who serves as the Rules Committee's ranking member, said he and other panel Democrats "were extremely troubled" to see Politico report that Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway "expects a debate rule that would allow only lawmakers who plan to vote for the [Farm Bill] to offer amendments." McGovern argued that completely shutting out members who won't promise to vote with GOP leadership "would be an extraordinary break with tradition by the Rules Committee, which historically has encouraged all members to bring their best ideas for consideration." "Institutional matters such as this one affect both parties, and a policy to silence all voices of dissent with shut out Democrats and Republicans, and the millions of American citizens that they represent. ... Requiring members of Congress to take a (Donald) Trump-style loyalty pledge just to get a chance to offer their amendments is, in a word, shocking," he wrote in a letter to Sessions. The congressman argued that while GOP leaders may have become accustomed to blocking amendments "that they've forgotten the simple fact that with a more open process, members may not know how they will vote on final passage until amendment consideration concludes on the House floor." McGovern further raised concerns that statements like Conaway's could have chilling effects that extend beyond the Farm Bill. "This is still a democracy. Congress needs to act like it," he concluded. Fellow Rules Committee members U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida; Jared Polis, D-Colorado; and Norma Torres, D-California, joined McGovern in signing the letter, which was also sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Politico reported Friday that Conaway had expressed confidence in passing the Farm Bill in the House by mid-May, noting that he recently told a radio show he expects a debate rule that would only allow supporters of the bill to offer amendments. Conaway, in a Thursday interview on "Adams on Agriculture," said he plans to "have a rule that allows those folks who will be a 'yes on final' to suggest changes." "If you're going to be a 'no' on final ... then (you're) probably not going get an amendment through the rules just to make things worse, put a poison pill amendment in," he said. Worker deaths are at an 11-year high in Massachusetts, according to a new report by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. One of those deaths was Antawani Wright-Davis, a 19-year-old bicycle delivery driver for DoorDash, who was run over by a dump truck while delivering food in Boston. DoorDash, a mobile app, never contacted Wright-Davis' family, according to the report. Because Wright-Davis was an independent contractor, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not investigate. A spokeswoman for DoorDash responded that the company cooperated with all law enforcement and other regulatory requests. She said a company representative was in touch with the family within 48 hours of learning about the death. "We're continuing to move towards a temp mentality, whether it be using temp agencies or the gig economy," said Al Vega, director of policy and programs for MassCOSH. "It removes health and safety regulations. OSHA might not necessarily be responsible for incidents that happen to workers." Gig economy involves job-to-job employment with little security and few employment rights. The report, written by MassCOSH and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and released Thursday, found that fatal injuries at work killed 64 people in Massachusetts in 2017. Another 10 firefighters died from a work-related disease. The 74 workers killed in 2017 is up from 70 fatalities in 2016 and 48 in 2013. There were 79,800 incidents of non-fatal injuries on the job in 2017. According to the report, there are only 29 OSHA inspectors for all of Massachusetts. The most deaths last year -- 21 -- were in the construction industry. Another eight workers worked in retail, which includes food delivery. Frank Callahan, president of Massachusetts Building Trades Council, blamed the high rate of construction deaths on a boom in construction and more workers being hired into the "underground economy," where they are working as independent contractors rather than full-time employees. "What we're seeing is an increasing number of workers working in the underground economy, misclassified as independent contractors, and they have no protections," Callahan said. The report states that part of the problem is an increasing reliance on temporary workers who may not get the same level of safety training as permanent workers. Six of the Massachusetts workers who died worked in administrative and support services, which includes temp workers. One was Leezandra Aponte, 36, of Lowell, a temporary worker at Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica who was killed when an employee driving an SUV into the building accelerated suddenly and crashed through a wall. OSHA fined Lynnway Auto Auction $200,000 and the temp agency that placed Aponte $12,000 for safety violations. A growing number of workers are also working in the gig economy -- for example, for transportation networking companies or food delivery services -- where they do not have access to workers compensation or unemployment benefits. "There needs to be some attempts to regulate how those businesses operate and how they classify their workers," Vega said. "If we're going to continue to see the terms of agreement being a tiny small font on an iPhone or a Samsung phone, how is someone really to know what they're getting themselves involved in?" Eleven of those killed were immigrants. The leading cause of death was transportation, followed by falls. Timothy Feeley, an oil burner technician, died at 47 in a car crash. The work truck he was driving did not have routine maintenance done on the tires, and he was not wearing a seat belt. Three workers died from workplace violence in 2017, two of them from gun violence. Western Massachusetts workers who died in 2017 were Northampton firefighter Robert Davis, Longmeadow public works foreman Warren Cowles, Chicopee firefighter Anthony Spano, West Springfield toll collector David Pandolfi, Westfield electrician Thomas Collins, Lee truck driver Jordan Hunt, Pittsfield ranch hand Edward Raynor, Montgomery firefighter Stephen Frye, and Lenox maintenance worker Minor Haskell. In the first three months of 2018, Longmeadow truck driver Anthony Gentile was killed on the job. Among others killed on the job across the state were Jonathan Saraiva, of New Bedford, and Michael Roberts, of Fairhaven, who perished when their fishing boat Misty Blue sank off Nantucket, and Joseph Toscano, a Watertown firefighter from Randolph who died while battling a fire. The full list of Massachusetts workers who died last year is included on Page 11 of the MassCosh report at masscosh.org/dying-work-2018-report. The report cites concerns that President Donald Trump has rolled back some Obama-era protections to help workers, such as requirements that companies disclose safety violations and restrictions on the use of dangerous pesticides. The report also details the growing toll opioid addiction is taking on workers. In 2015, six workers died on the job from fatal overdoses or suicide. In 2016, that number was 41. These workers are not included in the statistics on workplace fatalities. Vega said MassCOSH needs to do more to figure out how to prevent workplace injuries that result in workers becoming reliant on addictive painkillers. This story was updated on May 1 with a response from DoorDash. TORONTO -- J.D. Martinez drove an 88.9 mph four-seamer from Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada 365 feet just over the right field wall for a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning. Martinez's blast traveled with a 102.2 mph exit velocity and at a 23 degree launch to put Boston ahead 5-3. Just Dingers = Just Taking the Lead pic.twitter.com/D5Ba2w1SfB Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 27, 2018 The Red Sox held on for a 5-4 victory over Toronto here at Rogers Centre despite an adventure from the bullpen. Boston improved to 18-5. It went 6-3 on its nine-game road trip through Anaheim (3-0), Oakland (1-2) and Toronto (2-1). The Red Sox -- who have won seven of their first eight series -- return home to play the Rays at Fenway Park tomorrow (Friday). Carson Smith gave up a run on two hits while recording two outs in the seventh. Matt Barnes stranded the tying run at second base in the seventh when he struck out Justin Smoak. Craig Kimbrel closed it out with a perfect ninth. Barnes walked two hitters in the eighth but struck out Luke Maile swinging with two outs to strand runners at second and third. Martinez's homer marked his fifth of the 2018 season. The slugger went 2-for-4 and increased his slash line to .306/.351/.565/.916. Sale settles in after tough start Chris Sale went 2-0 and hurled 22 scoreless innings in three starts at Rogers Centre last year. He struck out 35 and walked two. But he allowed a run in each of his first three innings here Thursday, including solo homers to Devon Travis and Justin Smoak. Travis smashed a 92.7 mph fastball 415 feet to left field. It traveled with a 111.1 mph exit velocity. Smoak blasted an 80.2 mph slider 388 feet to left-center field. It traveled out with a 103.7 mph exit velocity. Sale settled in and retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. The exception was Teoscar Hernandez's one-out walk in the fifth. He threw 104 pitches (71 strikes). Teams continue to make him work hard and build his pitch count early. Sale threw 19 pitches to the first two batters of the fifth inning. Brock Holt exits in third Brock Holt exited with left hamstring tightness in the third inning after he slowed up running from first to second on a double. Holt was 16-for-34 (.471 batting average) with six doubles, one homer and six RBIs in his past nine games, including today. TORONTO -- Steven Wright will make his second rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket tomorrow at Buffalo. The Red Sox knuckleballer left his first rehab start (April 20 vs. Gwinnett) with a stiff back. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, five hits and two walks while striking out three. Wright is returning from knee surgery last May that cut his 2017 season short. He must serve a 15-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy when the Red Sox activate him from the disabled list. All three teams of Montana State University student entrepreneurs who competed at a startup competition held recently in Missoula earned awards and funding to support their startups. The students were competing at the 29th annual John Ruffatto Business Startup Challenge, held April 13 at the University of Montana. Over the course of the competition, the teams made their pitches in front of more than 50 judges ranging from small business owners to larger company executives. In all, 11 finalists represented MSU and the University of Montana at the competition. http://www.montana.edu/news/17687 Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your childrens children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance. Theodore Roosevelt A new Outdoor Industry Association report details outdoor rec spending by congressional district. Lawmakers should take note. Districts with high levels of outdoor recreation spending, which correlates to public land access, are represented by some of the most anti-public land congresspeople out there. Jake Bullinger https://www.outsideonline.com/2299291/how-much-money-does-recreation-bring-your-hometown PFL Tech Inc. is a marketing technology company that provides sales enablement and marketing automation solutions, as well asprinting, mailing, and fulfillment services. They also provide some great Montana Jobs. GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) promised to meet more often after Friday's summit, a senior official with South Korea's Blue House told reporters at noon. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un held formal, closed-door talks for over an hour and a half in the morning at the Peace House, on the South Korean side of Panmunjom which has divided the Korean Peninsula since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Before the formal talks, Moon greeted Kim right in front of the military demarcation line (MDL). Moon led Kim across the MDL into the South Korean side of Panmunjom, and then Kim invited Moon to step into the DPRK side. They then returned to the South Korean side together. Yoon Young-chan, Moon's senior press secretary, told reporters at the Panmunjom press center that Moon crossed over to the DPRK side as Kim suggested after Moon expressed the hope that he can once set foot on the DPRK territory. It was an unscheduled event for the official welcoming ceremony which included the inspection of an honor guard. While Moon and Kim were being escorted by a traditional South Korean honor guard to the Panmunjom square on the South Korean side, Moon told Kim that if the DPRK leader visits the presidential compound in Seoul, he could show much more excellent performances. Kim replied to Moon that if Moon invites him to the Blue House, he will accept it. During a chat at the Peace House reception room before the formal talks, Moon said he would like to visit Mount Paektu via the DPRK route. Kim said that if Moon comes, he will make Moon conveniently visit the DPRK mountain. After the formal talks, Kim returned to the DPRK side of Panmunjom for a lunch break. The second round of formal talks between them, to be followed by a banquet, will take place in the afternoon. >>Related: S.Korean, DPRK leaders begin formal talks at 3rd inter-Korean summit South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un began formal talks Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjomon on the South Korean side at the third-ever inter-Korea summit. How we made it in Africa (www.HowWeMadeItInAfrica.com), the award-winning business publication, is offering exciting opportunities for journalists and editors from across Africa to join its team on a freelance basis. Assignments will include interviewing top African entrepreneurs and writing about business opportunities and trends on the continent. Remuneration will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis, and will depend on the candidates experience and the complexity of the assignment. Candidates must have solid, demonstrable experience writing about African business-related topics. In terms of the people we are seeking to work with, we cant say it better than Hannes van Rensburg, founder of Fundamo, in his book Cash In, Cash Out: Responsibility is someone saying, Leave it to me, and you knowing you can forget about it as it will get done. Someone who doesnt think up excuses for why things do not get done, but who always thinks up ways to circumvent obstacles so that things do. Someone who takes pride in his or her achievements, and moves things forward all the time. To apply, please complete the online application form: https://APO-opa.com/freelance Only successful candidates will be contacted. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Les membres du Cabinet ont pris note des action du Universal Postal Union, des soucis des chauffeurs de van, des amendements au Dangerous Drugs Act entre autres. 1. Cabinet has taken note that the 27th Universal Postal Congress which is currently being held in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, adopted on 14 August 2021, a resolution on the implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 73/295 on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The resolution provides that: (a) the Universal Postal Union formally acknowledges henceforth that, for the purposes of its activities, the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius; (b) the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union should request Mauritius to keep the Universal Postal Union regularly informed of any decisions regarding international postal operations in the Chagos Archipelago, including any authorisations to maintain the operation of international mail processing centres by foreign entities in the Chagos Archipelago. The international mail processing centres currently established in the Chagos Archipelago are operated by Australia Post of Australia and Royal Mail of the UK; (c) the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union should cease the registration, distribution and forwarding of any and all postage stamps issued by the so-called British Indian Ocean Territory; (d) the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union should ensure that Universal Postal Union documentation does not include any references to the so-called British Indian Ocean Territory or to the Chagos Archipelago as part of the member country of the Universal Postal Union known as the Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and (e) the International Bureau should take any other measures deemed necessary to ensure due implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295. 2. Cabinet has agreed to the National Land Transport Authority (NLTA) implementing the following measures in view of the difficulties being faced by the contract bus operators due to the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) vary the licence of contract bus operators involved in the conveyance of tourists to also allow them to carry employees up to 31 December 2021; (b) review the replacement age of Standard and Executive vehicles used for the conveyance of tourists from 8 to 10 years and from 12 to 14 years respectively; (c) extend the validity of Public Service Vehicle Licence for contract bus operators involved in the conveyance of tourists and which could not be renewed due to COVID-19, up to 30 June 2022; (d) extend the delay to implement a Public Service Vehicle Licence for contract bus operators (tourists and school children), up to 30 June 2022; (e) extend the delay to implement a Public Service Vehicle Licence in respect of taxi licences and contract bus operators (employees) from 31 August 2021 to 31 December 2021; (f) vary the licence of contract bus operators conveying school children to also allow them to carry employees up to 31 December 2021; and (g) extend the delay to renew a Petrol Service Station Licence from 31 August 2021 to 31 December 2021. 3. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius nominating Le Morne, Old Grand Port and Pamplemousses villages to participate in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Best Tourism Villages Initiative. The overarching objective of the Initiative is, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, to make tourism a positive force for transformation, rural development and community wellbeing. It seeks to advance the role of tourism in valuing and safeguarding rural villages along with their associated landscapes, knowledge systems, biological and cultural diversity, local values and activities, as well as gastronomy. The selected villages under the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages Initiative could benefit from one of the following three awards: (a) the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Label; (b) the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Upgrade Programme; and (c) the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Network. The announcement of the Best Tourism Villages which would receive an award would be made on the occasion of the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly to be held in October 2021 in Morocco. 4. Cabinet has agreed to drafting instructions being conveyed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to the Attorney Generals Office to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act so as to empower the Forensic Science Laboratory to carry out examination of suspected illicit drugs by a sampling strategy based on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) guidelines. 5. Cabinet has taken note that a National Survey among People Who Use Drugs in Mauritius would be conducted by the National Drug Secretariat of the Prime Ministers Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the UN Resident Coordinators Office and the World Health Organization. The Survey would provide comprehensive information including the socio-demographic characteristics of drug users, their living conditions, their employment status, age of onset of drug use, frequency and patterns of drug use and extent of drug use which would guide the national drug response. 6. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service (Fire Safety Plan and Fire Certificate) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 to provide for the issue of digital Fire Certificates and a revised fee structure. An e-Licensing System for fire certification has been developed and it would enable online applications, e-payment of fees and automated issuance of Fire Certificates in digital format with effect from mid-September 2021. The new system would substantially decrease processing time and would result in improved efficiency and governance. With the new digitalised Fire Certification System under the National Electronic Licensing System, the fee structure would be rationalised. 7. Cabinet has taken note that the SMEs Division of the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives would extend the existing SME Employment Scheme to holders of National Certificates from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutes as announced in Budget Speech 2021-2022. Prospective placees of TVET Institutes are expected to hold at least an MQA approved Level 3 National Certificate in accordance with the National Qualifications Framework. Registered SMEs would be able to benefit from any mix of placees up to a maximum of two, irrespective of the category (Graduate or Diploma Holder or TVET Certificate Holder). Eligibility of SMEs would be verified and certified by SME Mauritius Ltd. 8. Cabinet has taken note that the Tourism Authority would sign an Implementation Agreement with the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council for the execution of the COVID-19 Occupational Safety & Health and Resource Efficiency Project for the tourism industry. The objective of the project is to engage into capacity building of employees of tourist accommodations (Hotels, Tourist Residences, Guesthouses, Domaines), restaurants, pleasure craft operators, Destination Management Companies, Travel Agencies, taxis based at hotels and airport, amongst others, with a view to contributing to the promotion of Mauritius as a safe destination. 9. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. Some 214.7 million cases have been reported globally, of which 192 million persons have been successfully treated. With regard to Mauritius, as at 27 August 2021, there were 4,643 active cases of COVID-19, out of which five were serious cases. Over the past week, six deaths were attributed to COVID-19. Cabinet has also taken note of progress in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. As at 26 August 2021, 803,035 persons had received a first dose of vaccine (representing 64 percent of the population). 735,513 persons had been fully vaccinated (representing 59 percent of the population). Cabinet has further taken note that the quarantine period in Mauritius has been extended up to 31 December 2021. 10. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Housing Company (MHC) Ltd would set up, under the Companies Act, a wholly owned subsidiary, namely MHC Properties Ltd. The MHC Ltd holds a non-bank deposit taking licence from the Bank of Mauritius and such companies are not allowed to engage in renting and leasing activities. All immoveable properties such as land and buildings of MHC Ltd would be transferred to the subsidiary. The main objects of the MHC Properties Ltd would be as follows: (a) management, maintenance and renting of existing properties of MHC Ltd; (b) promote property development in Mauritius and Africa; (c) act as syndic for MHC projects; and (d) any activities directly or indirectly related to real estate development. 11. Cabinet has taken note of the findings of three Research Projects undertaken by the Road Safety Observatory of the Ministry of Land Transport and Light Rail in collaboration with the University of Mauritius. The Research Projects are: (a) The Road Traffic Death and Injuries: The Shadow to GDP and Welfare in Mauritius- the objectives of the Study were to assess the consequence of road accidents and injuries on the Gross Domestic Product together with the associated socioeconomic costs and investigate into the impact of road accidents and injuries on the welfare of affected families and individuals; (b) Understanding Road Users Behaviour and Attitudes in Mauritius the objective of the Study was to capture trends and statistics for an enhanced road safety policy by decision-makers; and (c) Understanding Pedestrian Use of Crossing Facilities in Mauritius the aims of the Research Project were to identify pedestrian blackspots in Mauritius, investigate pedestrian perception of crossing facilities, explore the general behaviour of pedestrians along roads and at crossings, investigate pedestrian perception on the attitudes of other road users at crossings and assess the effectiveness of sensitisation campaigns. 12. Cabinet has taken note of a programme of collaboration and activities proposed by Facebook to the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, geared towards building awareness on responsible online behaviour, critical thinking and understanding social issues shared via digital technology, with the ultimate objective of enabling safe, responsible and productive use of the social media platform. Facebook has submitted a programme of activities aiming, inter alia, at: (a) reducing the spread of false news, harmful contents and misinformation; (b) reducing hate speech/incitement to violence which may trigger civil unrest, social disorder and economic hardships; and (c) showing to the Government of Mauritius and its people the steps taken by Facebook to tackle misuse of the platform and how it is seeking to support economic recovery in Mauritius. A series of activities and workshops would be held in Mauritius during the last quarter of this year and at regular intervals next year. These activities would target small businesses, the Mauritian population in general and high level Government stakeholders. 13. Cabinet has taken note of the fire outbreak reported on 24 August 2021 at around 18 25 hours on board the Taiwanese fishing vessel RUEY CHIEN TSAI 112, which was berthed at the entrance of the Port. The 18 crew members onboard had been safely evacuated. Cabinet has also taken note that the fire had been extinguished on 26 August 2021 at around 14 00 hours but it re-ignited on that same day, late in the night. However, in the morning of 27 August 2021, the firefighters of the Mauritius Ports Authority were able to control and subdue the fire. No leakage has been observed except for a minor sheen of oil around the vessel. Cabinet has further taken note of actions/measures taken by the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, the National Coast Guard, the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service and the Mauritius Ports Authority to deal with the incident. The National Emergency Operations Command had been activated to monitor the situation and to chart the way forward. The National Oil Spill Committee and a dedicated Crisis Committee were also closely following up the matter in collaboration with all stakeholders. 14. Cabinet has taken note that the 42nd Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Task Force of Senior Officials and the 21st Council of Ministers Meetings were being held from 26 August to 07 September 2021 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 15. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Board of Governors of the University of Technology, Mauritius, with Mr Deonanan Raj Makoond, GCSK, as Chairperson. 16. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Mrs Sangheeta Saulick as Chairperson of the Board of the National Womens Council. 17. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Mr Dayanand Kurrumchand, OSK, as Deputy Chairperson of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Canon Europe have announced the launch of a new remote camera system which includes three new pan-tilt-zoom cameras the CR-N500, CR-N300 and CR-X500 and the RC-IP100 controller, responding to the soaring demand for content and the need for smaller scale, efficient production methods. Over the past 12 months, remotely produced video has grown exponentially, with the live streaming industry experiencing a 45 per cent growth between March and April of last year. The CR-N500, CR-N300 indoor PTZ cameras and the CR-X500 outdoor camera combine Canons advance imaging and network technologies to offer high-quality 4K UHD footage with various IP protocol compatibilities, including the newly developed XC Protocol, that realises a simple and efficient remote production workflow. Along with the RC-IP100 hardware controller and Remote Camera Control Application, the new XC Protocol will enable other compatible Canon video products to work within the production system helping content creators of all levels to customise their production system to suit their needs. Canon will be releasing new firmware which makes the Cinema EOS range cameras compatible with this new remote production system, providing a flexible, end-to-end offering that meets the versatile video requirements of the remote production market. Versatile IP compatibility Combining Canons video and network technology into a seamless solution, the CR-N500 and CR-N300 enable IP streaming and operation for high-quality live productions. Both cameras support multiple protocols such as RTMP/RTMPS, NDI|HX [2], RTP/RTSP and Canons newly developed XC Protocol which is standard in Canons cameras enabling streaming direct to the selected Content Delivery Network for more efficient production. Further streamlining workflows, the CR-N500 employs Canon Log 3 and Wide DR modes to produce the best possible HDR results for both live streamed or recorded content ready for post-production. Even when shooting outdoors, production teams can rely on the CR-X500 with its rugged and robust body that boasts IP55 Water and Dust proof rating, remote control capability over serial communication and an inbuilt wiper to ensure wet conditions dont get in the way of great looking content. Designed to fit into existing workflows, these PTZ cameras offer a range of popular connectivity options. Both the CR-N500 and CR-N300 offer huge flexibility to support a broad range of use cases, with Power over Ethernet (PoE+), HDMI, 3G-SDI, and the CR-N300 offers an additional USB port. Enabling broadcasters to deliver excellent image quality and integrate within existing workflows, the CR-X500 uses a high-quality 12G-SDI connection to achieve 4K UHD up to 60P with a single cable. Superior image quality Meeting the demand for 4K, all of the PTZ cameras incorporate Canons advanced imaging technology that achieves quality equivalent to Canons professional video products. The CR-N500 and CR-N300 are powered by a DIGIC DV6 processor to achieve stunning 4K UHD 30P at 4:2:2 10-bit; while the CR-X500 leverages Dual DIGIC DV6 processors to capture up to 4K UHD 60p, also at 4:2:2 10-bit. The CR-N500 and CR-X500 are reinforced with 1.0 Type CMOS Sensors for impeccable, broadcast-quality video and Canons industry renowned Dual Pixel CMOS AF focusing system boasts accurate and quick focusing that is especially challenging in 4K production. The CR-N300 utilises a 1/2.3-Inch Type CMOS Sensor and the renowned Hybrid Auto Focus system, providing sharp and quick focus onto objects even in low-light, perfect for live-streaming in ambient conditions such as a lecture theatre. Says Amine Djouahra, B2C Sales and Marketing Director at Canon Central and North Africa Leveraging Canons industry-leading optical technology, each of these models retains a 4K optical resolution throughout the zoom to help creators close the distance between the subject and viewers. The CR-N500 and CR-X500 employ a 15x optical zoom and CR-N300 a 20x optical zoom, all with image stabilisation that guarantees smooth, shake-free imagery from wide angle to telephoto. The CR-X500 also features an additional 30x advanced zoom when the camera is capturing in Full HD great for capturing tight, close-up shots of an object in the distance. Simple, yet precise control The CR-N500 and CR-N300 are capable of high-precision control, thanks to the pan and tilt drive mechanism which moves at 0.1 /second increments, enabling smooth operability at variable speeds to capture the perfect shot in any scenario. Canons versatile indoor PTZ models, the CR-N500 and CR-N300, are compatible with the RC-IP100 controller and the Remote Camera Control Application via IP and selected third-party controllers, for simple integration with existing set-ups. The CR-X500 is also compatible with the RC-IP100 controller via Serial Connection. The RC-IP100 hardware controller can control 100 PTZ cameras at once from a single operator. Offering enhanced control over a number of settings including, focus, white balance and shutter speed, it also features a multi-function joystick and professional zoom rocker for incremental movement of the camera and smooth transition between wide and tele zoom. These multi-purpose controls make operation simpler than before and achieve professional, high-quality results. Both the RC-IP100 and the Remote Camera Control Application can control up to 100 pre-set positions, as well as the trace function setting, where 10 camera movements can be pre-determined in a rehearsal and then the sequence initiated with just the touch of a button. Canons two new PTZ controllers support any budget and workflow. The free Remote Camera Control Application is a software for computers and tablet devices [3] capable of controlling up to 20 Canon PTZ cameras with up to nine of them being shown as a preview on the user interface. The software control allows the image settings of the camera such as iris, white balance and gain, to be fine tuned from a laptop keyboard. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un crossed the inter-Korean border Friday and met with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in the heavily armed demilitarized zone of Panmunjom, setting a starting point of peace for the decades-long conflicts on the Peninsula. Smiling and shaking hands for a long time with each other, leaders of the two neighbors stood on the two sides of the military demarcation line (DML), marked only by a low cement slab on an aisle between blue pavilions sitting in the middle of the truce village that divides the two Koreas. After walking across the MDL into the South Korean side, Kim, the first DPRK leader that set foot on the South Korea's territory since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side. They then returned back to the South Korean side of Panmunjom together, grasping hands with each other, marking a historic moment for the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. It indicated a good start of the historic summit between Kim and Moon, who came into office fewer than a year. They took ceremonial photos facing the DPRK side and then the South Korean side. Broadly smiling Moon and Kim were escorted by a traditional South Korean honor guard to the Panmunjom square lying between the buildings of the Freedom House and the Peace House, a venue for the Moon-Kim summit, the third-ever between the divided Koreas, following the first and second ones in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Moon and Kim inspected a honor guard, composed of about 300 service members of the South Korean army, navy and air force as part of an official welcoming ceremony. The South Korean president introduced Kim to his seven-member senior entourage, including presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), who attended a closed-door talks between the two leaders at the Peace House. For Kim, his nine-member entourage included Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of the DPRK leader and the first vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea (WPK), and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee. After the welcoming ceremony, Moon led Kim along a red carpet into the Peace House, where Kim wrote a message in the guestbook and took a commemorative photo with Moon on the first floor. "A new history begins now," he wrote, "an age of peace from the starting point of history," according to the inter-Korean summit joint press corps. In his introductory remarks for the morning talks, Kim told Moon that at the starting line, it was time to "write a new history" in the DPRK-South Korea relations and peace and prosperity. The DPRK leader vowed to produce a good outcome by sincerely and frankly talking with Moon, suggesting not making proposals which the two sides will not be able to enforce. In response, Moon suggested Kim reaching an agreement through broad-minded talks that can be a big gift to people of the Koreas and the peace-loving people around the world. Moon praised Kim for his decision to cross the border into the South Korean side, saying Panmunjom changed into a symbol of peace from the symbol of division at the moment Kim walked over the MDL for the first time. Learning Chinese is the latest craze in India, as more Chinese enterprises expand their business in India due to increased China-India trade and economic ties, Xinhua News Agency reported. Ina at work 26-year-old Ina has used her Chinese proficiency to help her get into the Mumbai Office of Air China, the Chinese flagship airline. The Indian born bilingual originally came to China to learn Chinese on a government scholarship in 2015. After returning to her home country, she was recruited by the Chinese company. Ina said she is aware of the revolutionary opportunities learning Chinese has brought her since her return less than two years ago. My parents are retired. My monthly income is 40,000 rupees ($599) more than before, which means I can raise my family of five more easily, Ina said. She now teaches her friends Chinese after work. A constestant performs fan dance during the "Chinese Bridge" contest in Mumbai University. My life has changed a lot since I became a member of Air China. Now I m more responsible and motivate people around me to learn Chinese. I earn peoples respect and my parents take pride in me, the 26-year-old said in Chinese. Learning Chinese means more opportunities for us, because there are a lot of Chinese enterprises coming to India and they will keep coming, an Indian university student said. Experts predict that there are currently tens of thousands of people learning Chinese in India. They attributed the craze for learning Chinese to massive job opportunities created under the rapid development of China-India economic and trade ties. The worlds first plastinated panda was recently exhibited at a museum in Chengdu for popularization of science, Science and Technology Daily reported on April 27. The panda, known as Xinnier, died of duodenal ileus in February 2016. The Mystery of Life Museum worked with the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas to make the specimen, which took almost one year, said Sui Hongjin, founder of the museum. Wu Jun, director of the museum, explained that this plastination technique was used to preserve bodies or body parts. Water and fat are replaced with plastic, creating specimens that can be touched, and which dont decay or smell, whilst keeping most of their original properties. The technology is more advanced than traditional taxidermy which only preserves the fur and skin of a creature, as this way the bones, muscles and internal organs of the panda have also been preserved. This specimen can be used to reveal structural features of the creature during its evolution and acclimatization, according to Wu. Wu added that the specimen produced using such technology can theoretically be preserved for almost 1,000 years. New archaeological sites in Tunisia have recently been discovered thanks to Chinas space-based remote sensing technology, Peoples Daily reported Friday. This is a landmark occasion, as it's the first time China has discovered overseas heritage using this technology. These sites, traced back to Roman times, are located at the western end of the ancient marine Silk Road. 10 sites were spotted this time, including a military defense system and a water supply system. The discovery was made by an archaeological team from the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), with the cooperation of scientists from Tunisia, Italy and Pakistan. According to Wang Xinyuan, head of the archaeological team, it took them two years to finish the research. The team processed the remote sensing images in early 2016 and carried out field investigations in April and November of 2017 and April of 2018. Located at the western end of the ancient marine Silk Road, Tunisia was an important trade port during the Roman era. Experts believe that this finding is of great significance to the studies of military defense, irrigation, ethnic relationships, and environmental changes in the Roman age. Bai Guangming, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in Tunisia, told Peoples Daily that the discoveries, supported by remote sensing technology, have laid a solid foundation for enhanced cultural exchange and mutual learning between different countries. Remote sensing technology was developed in the 1960s. The method is to emit energy in order to scan objects and areas, whereupon a sensor then detects and measures the radiation that is reflected or back-scattered from the target.Remote sensing enables nondestructive detection during archaeological research, saving human resources, materials and time, said Wang. Related Mike Pompeo becomes new US secretary of state New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to travel to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel over the weekend after a stop in Brussels for a NATO meeting, the State Department said on Thursday. "No other secretary in recent history has gone on a trip as quickly as he has, department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday and sworn in shortly afterward. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts environment ministry warned that reptiles and unusual animals might have escaped from the Petrified Forest Nature Preserve in eastern Cairo after heavy rains earlier this week caused the partial collapse of an enclosure wall at the site. The ministry urged residents to report any unusual animals in nearby residential areas via its hotlines. The Ministry of Environment calls for the immediate reporting of any unusual creatures in residential areas, especially in the area around the Petrified Forest Preserve in New Cairo," the ministry said in a statement published on its official Facebook page on Thursday. The ministry said its zoology specialists have scanned the vicinity, fearing that the wall collapse might have led terrestrial animals or reptile species to wander from the preserve into nearby residential areas. The search found no traces or presence of any type of reptiles along the boundaries of the reserve, especially in the areas of collapse of the fence, where reptiles may exit from. The ministry added however that a number of white ants had been found outside the reserves fence, but said they are not harmful and do not transmit diseases. Renewed searches around the preserve are planned for Friday and Saturday, the ministry added. A technical committee is set to assess the magnitude of losses and lay out a timeframe for repair work. Workers have already began re-paving a road leading to another nature reserve, Wadi Degla, in the southern suburb of Maadi, after heavy rain damaged sections of it, the ministry added. The New Cairo suburb was the hardest hit by the severe rains, which flooded roads and apartments and shut down major highways in and outside the capital. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Thursday that he understands the suffering felt by Egyptians in the aftermath of the bad weather conditions and pledged that the government will step up efforts at preparedness in the future. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian cabinet has issued a decree to set up the Supreme Council for Community Dialogue, which will contribute to outlining national policies on societal dialogue on labour affairs. The council will also conduct economic and social studies and offer advice on bills concerning the workforce, labour unions and Arab and international labour agreements, according to a decree published in the official state gazette on Friday. The body, which will be headed by the countrys manpower minister, will also be in charge of settling collective labour disputes and introducing measures to back economic projects that offer job opportunities. The council will comprise representatives from several ministries including social solidarity, investment, justice, trade and industry and tourism. It will also include board members or chiefs of concerned business owner organisations and board members or heads of concerned trade unions. The decree to set up the new council was first issued in 2014. Earlier this month, the cabinet approved new amendments on how the body will be formed. Search Keywords: Short link: From covert assassinations to open killing, Israels tactics against the Palestinians are once again laid bare before the world Palestinian politicians and analysts accuse Israel of assassinating in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur Saturday Palestinian missile expert and scientist Fadi Al-Batsh. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas politburo, accused the Israeli Mossad of assassinating the engineer, and Islamic Jihad agrees. His assassination is a heinous crime that reveals real terrorism that must be stopped in its tracks, it said, noting that the continued existence of the Zionist entity is a real threat to the security of countries and territories, the embassies of the enemy being lairs for terrorism, sabotage, mayhem and targeting the loyal and talented of our people. The leader of Islamic Jihad called on the Malaysian authorities to immediately investigate and catch the perpetrators before they flee. Malaysias chief of police said two people on a motorcycle shot Al-Batsh, 35, more than 14 times at 6am on Saturday near his home in northern Kuala Lumpur. One shot was a direct hit to his head and his body was peppered with bullets, immediately killing him. Palestinian political analyst Tayseer Muhaysen said this happened to other freedom fighters and scientists from Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and Palestine, because Israel is always trying to abort any scientific advances that bolster Arab nations in confronting Israel scientifically, technologically or equalling it in power. Past and recent history is proof of this, he said. Israel implicitly acknowledged the assassination, with Israeli military analysts using the term termination in their writings about the assassination and Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz warning Hamas of more. I suggest Ismail Haniyeh, if he really threatens to attack Israel overseas, to speak less and beware more, said Katz. He must understand that Gaza is much closer than Malaysia. Under the headline Goal and Method Indicate Israeli Termination, Israeli military analyst Yodev Lemur wrote, It is natural that the termination of Fadi Al-Batsh in Malaysia is credited to the Mossad. The target is an engineer who worked for Hamas, and the method is a drive-by shooting on a motorcycle without leaving any evidence, just as the case in other previous terminations. Lemur continued: The method of termination is common for Mossad, similar to the death of Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Al-Shaqaqi in 1995 in Malta and several Iranian nuclear scientists in the past decade in Tehran. Yossi Melman, a military analyst, wrote in Maariv newspaper about previous assassinations and crimes by the Mossad. Israels interest in Hamas research and development unit is nothing new, he wrote. In 2013, in Ukraine, Palestinian engineer Al-Darar Abu Sisi, who worked at a power company in Gaza and was a consultant for Hamas on developing missile capabilities, was kidnapped and taken to Israel by the Mossad, according to foreign reports overseas. In 2016, Mohamed Al-Zawari, a Palestinian aviation engineer who was a consultant for Hamas on unmanned navigation systems and unmanned submarines, was assassinated in Tunisia in what is believed to be a Mossad operation. Writer and analyst Mohamed Dawdiya said there is a long list of assassinations by Mossad without prosecution of the culprits. He said Mossad assassinated Ghassan Kanfani, Kamal Nasser, Kamal Adwan, Abu Youssef Al-Najjar and Hassan Salama in Beirut. Mahmoud Al-Hamshari, Zoheir Mohsen, Yehia Al-Mashad and Atef Besiso were assassinated in France. Said Hamami was killed in London; Wadie Haddad in East Germany; Monzer Abu Ghazala and Khaled Nazal in Athens; Khalil Al-Wazir, Salah Khalaf, Fakhri Al-Omri and Hayel Abdel-Hamid in Tunisia; Yehia Al-Shaqaqi in Malta; and Mamdouh Al-Mabhouh in Dubai. Mossad also assassinated Ahmed Yassin, Abu Ali Mustafa, Yehia Ayash, Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantisi, Said Siyam, Ahmed Al-Jaabari and dozens of others in occupied Palestine. The Hollywood film Munich centres on assassinations supervised by former prime minister Golda Meir, but none of Israels politicians, plotters or perpetrators were ever prosecuted. Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published photos of Israeli snipers who killed protesters with premeditation during the March of Return. Fahmi Sharab, a Palestinian writer and analyst, said Israeli snipers were in the crosshairs of Al-Qassam Brigades sharpshooters, but peaceful means remains the path for success for the March of Return. While Israeli snipers could have easily been shot by Al-Qassam operatives, a more eloquent and powerful message was to show them at work. In response to the death of Palestinian protesters, Kobe Midan, a reporter for Israel Radio, said: I am ashamed of being Israeli. Abeer Abdel-Rahman Thabet, professor of political science and international relations in Gaza, said protesting Palestinians are unarmed civilians who go to the border with bare chests holding the Palestinian flag. Israel conducted three wars against Gaza and continues to use excessive force with demonstrators. When Palestinians took to the streets, they surprised Israeli decision-makers with the peaceful nature of their protest. Thabet continued that since the first day the Palestinian masses took the streets, on Land Day, until today protesters on the border are holding youth, cultural and heritage events including dancing, poetry and weddings on the border. These are all messages by Palestinians to the world: We are here as women, men, young and old, who believe in freedom, justice and human rights, and we are part of this world that is demanding the right to life for all people everywhere. We are just like you and want to find a way to live. She added that the world today understands this language, as seen in condemnations against Israels military machine attacking Palestinians. Asaad Jouda, member of the global communications committee for the March of Return, said: Our strategic choice was a peaceful, popular march for rights based on UN resolutions including Resolution 194. This is why the Palestinian people chose to march. Jouda noted that on the first day of marching, more than 1,500 were injured and 17 killed even though it was a peaceful march, because the enemy prefers to kill and appear to be the victim suffering from Palestinian terrorists. But we debunked these false claims since Israel has suffered zero losses, and the world is watching and sees that although the march is peaceful the occupation is shooting hundreds, he said. *This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Speaker of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives Aqilah Saleh and the head of the Tripoli-based High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri arrived in Rabat Sunday, at the invitation of the Moroccan parliament. Their meetings there are part of an initiative to revive the Libyan political process, amend the Libyan Political Agreement that was signed in Skhirat, Morocco, in December 2015, and end the four year-long political and governmental rift in Libya. Four central issues were on their discussion agenda in this regard: a mechanism for selecting the members of the new Presidency Council that is expected to be reduced from nine to three members, the mechanisms for selecting officials to occupy the seven sovereign offices, the law governing the plebiscite on the new constitution, and the law governing the next parliamentary elections. One goal of Saleh in the talks in Rabat with counterpart Al-Mishri was to outmanoeuvre attempts on the part of Commander of the Libyan Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and UN Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame to circumvent him following the breakdown in previous rounds of negotiations, set into motion in September last year, over amendments to the Skhirat accord. Field Marshal Haftars illness presented Saleh with a unique opportunity to secure his survival as a key political player in eastern Libya. Haftar had previously attempted to circumvent Saleh by entering into direct negotiations with the Chairman of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al-Sarraj in talks sponsored by Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Paris in 2016 and 2017. This series of talks leveraged Haftar and Al-Sarraj into becoming the strongest players in the Libyan political equations in which regional and international powers are rivalling one another for influence. Before heading to Morocco Sunday evening, Al-Mishri released a statement on the High Council of State Facebook page announcing his intent to travel to Rabat to meet with our brothers in the House of Representatives in order to begin a genuine dialogue, without conditions or restrictions, that places the interests of the nation above all other interests. He stressed that he was ready to offer all concessions necessary to reach a solution that ends the division, as a step towards ending the crisis that has harmed the country and caused severe strains for the people during the past years. He added that he hoped that the members of the House of Representatives, who are our partners in the nation and in the political process, will respond positively to this initiative so that the nation can reach the shores of safety. On the eve of the meeting in Rabat, observers anticipated that Al-Mishri would make enticing offers to Saleh, thereby strengthening both their positions to the detriment of those of Haftar and other rivals to Saleh in the east, and Al-Sarraj and other rivals to Al-Mishri in the west. According to the Libyan Ambassador to Morocco Abdel-Meguid Seif Al-Nasr, Saleh and Al-Mishri arrived in the Rabat-Sale Airport Sunday evening at the invitation of the heads of the two houses of the Moroccan parliament, President of the House of Representatives Habib Al-Malki and President of the House of Councillors Hakim Benchamach. Saleh was received at the airport by the deputy speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Roshdi Al-Abdi, while Al-Mishri was received by the deputy head of the House of Councillors, Khaled Al-Jaloud. Saleh met with the president of the Moroccan House of Representatives to discuss Libyan-Moroccan relations, the Skhirat agreement and the possibility of facilitating visas to Morocco for Libyans. Al-Mishri simultaneously met with the head of the House of Councillors to discuss Libyan-Moroccan relations and amendments to the Libyan Political Agreement. The Libyan ambassador added that Saleh and Al-Mishri would meet, separately at first, with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to discuss the situation in Libya as well as a number of issues of mutual concern to both countries. The two Libyan officials would then meet with the foreign minister jointly. After his meeting with the president of the House of Representatives Habib Al-Malki, Saleh reported: We discussed the situation in Libya and we agreed that there should be support for a solution to the Libyan crisis. He related that the Libyan House of Representatives outlined its demands, which were for support for the Libyan Political Agreement incorporating the amendment proposed by Salame, which was approved by the House of Representatives in the expectation that the High Council of State would do the same. He added that Al-Malki promised to convey these demands, which he described as reasonable and acceptable, to King Mohamed VI and the Moroccan government. Al-Mishri held a similar press conference after his meeting with Benchamach, stating that he had come to Morocco to find solutions to some pending issues concerning the Skhirat agreement. It is noteworthy that this development received significant socio-political backing. In particular, leaders of Al-Obeidat, one of the largest tribes in eastern Libya, welcomed the meeting between Saleh and Al-Mishri in Rabat at a time when mystery still shrouds the condition of Haftar. Officials keep reiterating reassurances that he is keeping track of military operations and preparations to resolve the battle of Derna, the only part of eastern Libya that remains outside of his control. Meanwhile, speculations are rife as to a possible successor to Haftar. It has been reported that four possible mechanisms are being considered for the purpose: appointing a vice commander-general for the army; choosing a new commander-general; creating a military council to command the army; and, lastly, abolishing the post of commander general and sufficing solely with the post of chief of staffs. The process of choosing between the four alternatives is expected to encounter major hurdles at the legislative and practical levels. Fears of renewed armed clashes in Benghazi between militia forces loyal to different tribal or military figures are always on the rise. Last Saturday, violence flared on Venezia Street during a Criminal Investigations Police hunt of a man affiliated with the national armys Zawiya Martyrs regiment. Two people were killed, including one Egyptian, and four others were wounded during the exchange of fire. No comments have been forthcoming from security and military officials in Benghazi despite the civilian casualties. In Tripoli, the security situation remains fraught in light of the precarious balances of power and understandings between the various brigades and militias responsible for security in the Libyan capital. These groups are a constant source of anxiety to foreign powers involved in Libya and to the Presidency Council headed by Al-Sarraj. Any security arrangements that exclude those militia groups would put Al-Sarrajs position in Tripoli at risk and, indeed, jeopardise the whole Libyan political process as defined by the Skhirat agreement. Al-Sarrajs survival as head of the Presidency Council, one of the outputs of the Libyan Political Agreement, is contingent on his alliances with the financial and business elites in Misrata, on the one hand, and with the groups that constitute the security forces in Tripoli, on the other. The complex web of understandings that shored up this network of alliances is at risk due to the shift in the local political alignments that began several weeks ago between the major political/militia forces in the west. *This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The international community has largely failed Syrian refugees a conclusion made clear in the case of Lebanon The Syrian crisis, which generated the worst refugee crisis since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has jeopardised the stability and security of neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon. Meanwhile, fearful of the waves of refugees and in contrast to their records of behaviour in support of human rights and the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol, EU countries have amended the Dublin Convention so as to stipulate that asylum seekers settle in the first EU country they reach and that if they move to another country they risk deportation. Other manifestations of that fear are to be seen in Brexit and in US President Donald Trumps anti-immigration laws and his construction of a wall between the US and Mexico. Now, as the EU hosts its second Brussels conference to support Syria and neighbouring host countries, we find that Lebanon has received only a small portion of the aid that was pledged to it last year. This year, Lebanon will be asking for $4 billion, but it is unlikely that it will obtain half that amount. Nor can Beirut afford to take out loans in order to support the refugees. The financial repercussions of the refugee crisis on Lebanon have already been enormous. The national treasury has had to sustain up to $18 billion so far. Accordingly, Lebanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil has adopted the following position: - The financial aid must be channelled through the Lebanese government, not through international NGOs. - The aid must be distributed equitably between the Syrians and Lebanese on the principle of division of responsibility with the international community. - The aid must be furnished to displaced persons in the country of origin in order to facilitate their safe and dignified return home. The foregoing is informed by two factors. Firstly, 80 per cent of Syrian refugees have expressed a desire to return home, according to Christophe Martin, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon, during discussions with Lebanese President Michel Aoun. The voluntary return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been on the rise. In 2017, some 11,000 returned to Syria. Recently, 500 persons displaced by the Syrian war returned from Shebaa to Beit Jinn on the outskirts of Damascus. Secondly, the situation has stabilised in 13 out of Syrias 14 provinces. Idlib remains unstable. Covering an area of 6,100 km square, this province accounts for only 3.29 per cent of Syrian territory. The portions of Syria neighbouring Lebanon, however, are currently stable. Homs province, which makes up 22.8 per cent of Syria, is four times the size of Lebanon. The international community is using displaced persons as a political card. It states that they should return only in the event of a political solution. This is not consistent with Lebanons interests, especially given that the bulk of Syrian refugees are categorised as economic refugees. These move freely back and forth between Syria and Lebanon and their return will not pose a serious risk to their lives. Unfortunately, the international community, through the auspices of the UN High Commission for Refugees, has played a detrimental role by instilling fear among Syrian refugees who wish to return home. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry was therefore forced to issue a statement deploring the dismal international performance, requiring the Lebanese government to re-evaluate UN involvement in view of the dubious circumstances governing its work. The question now is: Where is the commissions plan to enable host countries to safeguard their security and stability if it does not intend to help host countries settle displaced persons and offer them the necessary services for their survival in Lebanon? *This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Israeli troops shot dead three protesters along the Gaza border on Friday, Gaza medics said, hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticised Israel for using "excessive force" against demonstrators. Israeli troops have killed 41 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,000 others since Gaza residents began staging protests along the border fence on March 30 to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The troops were holed up behind fortifications on their side of the 40km (25-mile) border fence and fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters at five locations on the Gazan side. Gaza medical officials said two protesters who were struck by bullets were in critical condition in hospital and 600 others were wounded. The Israeli military said 10,000 Gazans were participating in what it described as "riots," and that some had tried to breach the border into Israel. It said troops "had operated in accordance with the rules of engagement" to stop people crossing the border. The Gaza health ministry said 200 were wounded by gun fire, including a Palestinian journalist who was hit in the foot by a bullet. Dozens more, including four medics, were treated for gas inhalation, as Israeli forces showered the area with tear gas canisters from behind their fortifications in Israel. Protesters hurled stones and rolled burning tyres toward the fence, and some attached cans of burning petrol to kites and flew them into Israeli territory. Others cleared away barbed wire coils which Israeli troops had placed in Gazan territory overnight in a bid to create a buffer zone between protesters and the fence. The protests come at a time of growing frustration for Palestinians as prospects for an independent Palestinian state look poor. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for several years and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories have expanded. In a statement, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein called the loss of life deplorable and said a "staggering number" of injuries had been caused by live ammunition. Israel's foreign ministry had no immediate comment but the government has consistently said it is protecting its borders and that its troops are following rules of engagement. Israel's U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, told the Security Council on Thursday that Hamas in Gaza was responsible for Palestinian casualties and that it was using innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields, while they cowered behind in safety. "The terrorists are hiding while allowing, even hoping, for their people to die. This is evil in its purest form, he said. Hamas denies the Israeli accusations. "Danon's comments are an attempt to escape responsibility and to cover up for the execution of unarmed children and people by occupation soldiers," said Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri. Named the 'Great March of Return', the protest action revives a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages which their families fled from, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948. More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal enclave. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned of the "seriousness of U.S. concerns" in a meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Brussels over Ankara's decision to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, which are not compatible with NATO's defenses. "The secretary underscored the seriousness of US concerns ...if they go ahead," a senior U.S. official said after a meeting between Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. "He asked Cavusoglu to closely consider NATO interoperable systems," the official added. Hours after being confirmed as U.S. President Donald Trump's new secretary of state, Pompeo headed to Brussels to participate in the NATO meetings, which have focused on Russian aggression and ways to strengthen the alliance. During the meeting Pompeo also raised concerns about the detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been in jail since December 2016, and other Americans detained by Turkey. Turkey signed an agreement with Russia for S-400 missiles, reportedly worth $2.5 billion, in late December as part of Ankara's plans to boost its defense capabilities amid threats from Kurdish and Islamist militants at home and conflicts across its borders in Syria and Iraq. Turkey's purchase of the systems has unnerved NATO member countries, which are already wary of Moscow's military presence in the Middle East, as the system is incompatible with the alliance's systems. NATO officials have warned Turkey about unspecified consequences of purchasing the S-400, but Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said ties with NATO remain strong. On Thursday, three U.S. senators introduced a measure to block the transfer of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, over what they said was Erdogan's "path of reckless governance and disregard for the rule of law." Turkey plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 aircraft. The bill would restrict the transfer of F-35s to Turkey and limit Ankara from receiving intellectual property or technical data needed to maintain and support the fighters. Search Keywords: Short link: A Florida woman who crashed her Tesla Model X through the wall of an empty storefront and then into an Anytime Fitness is pointing her finger at the vehicle for not stopping as the cause. ABC News Tampa Bay reports neither the woman nor anyone working out at the time of the Tesla barreling through the wall was injured in the Sunday, April 22 incident. In a video, a man can be seen narrowly avoiding the Model X and flying debris from what used to be the wall of an Anytime Fitness. -- -- The local outlet reports the woman told the Florida Highway Patrol and Pasco County Sheriff's Office that she drove into the parking lot and was pressing the brakes, but the vehicle accelerated into the building. Business Insider reports police are looking into whether Tesla's autopilot system was engaged at the time of the incident. Tesla's Autopilot is a driver assistance system that uses sensors, radar and cameras to steer, speed up and slow down a vehicle based on traffic and road conditions. While the vehicle takes over steering, braking and accelerating, the driver must keep two hands placed on the wheel. If the driver takes their hands off the wheel, the Tesla will warn you twice before putting you in "autopilot timeout" the third time. A spokesperson with the electric car maker told Business Insider in a statement that "we take the safety of our customers very seriously and we're glad our customer is safe." "We investigate the vehicle diagnostic logs in every accident in which a driver claims their car 'suddenly' and 'unexpectedly' accelerated, and in every case the vehicle's diagnostic logs confirm that the vehicle operated as designed," the Tesla spokesperson told Business Insider. "Accidents involving 'pedal misapplication,' in which a driver presses the accelerator pedal by mistake, occur in all types of vehicles, not just Teslas. The accelerator pedals in Tesla vehicles have two redundant sensors that clearly show us when the pedal is physically pressed down, such as by the driver's foot." This incident comes a little more than two months after a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model X SUV that happened on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California. In the crash, a 38-year-old man was killed when his Model X struck a freeway barrier that was either missing or had a damaged safety shield. Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk traded blows with the National Transportation Safety Board over the release of crash information by the electric car maker. While Tesla and the NTSB traded bards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had no problems with the release of information. In a post to its website, Tesla said that this missing barrier contributed to worsening the impact of the crash in a blog post. "The driver had received several visual and one audible hands-on warning earlier in the drive and the driver's hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds prior to the collision," Tesla said in its blog post. "The driver had about five seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view of the concrete divider with the crushed crash attenuator, but the vehicle logs show that no action was taken." GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN- Experience Beer West Michigan is about to launch it's 8th annual beer education class, and this year it is all free. Hosted by the extraordinary beer aficionado Ben Darcie, the classes are an immersion into beer knowledge, led by experts from across the brewing field. We caught up with Ben to learn more about the classes and how they have changed this year. Classes are held each Monday night for the next five weeks at Harmony Hall on the West Side of Grand Rapids. Classes run from 7pm to 9pm, and will be held April 30, May 7, 17, 21 and June 4. Each class focuses on a different topic, and will culminate in a brewer's roundtable on June 4 that will feature 10 area brewers answering questions and dropping knowledge. April 30 the topic will be New England IPA's, and one confirmed speaker is Nick Roelofs from Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery and Supply. The class will focus on this incredibly popular style of hazy, juicy beer. On May 7, discussion will focus on opening a new brewery in the current climate. Owners from recently opened City Built Brewing, Thornapple Brewing Company, and Two Guys Brewing. May 14 you'll get to explore the emerging sour beer scene and learn about sour maturation from Mitch Ermatinger from Speciation Ales. The fourth week will feature a field trip to Gray Skies Distillery to learn about the distilling scene in Grand Rapids. On hand will be representatives from Gray Skies, Long Road Distillers, Bier Distillery and Thornapple Brewing Company. The classes are free, but donations are accepted. If you go: Held at Harmony Hall 401 Stocking Ave Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504 (616) 233-9186 ANN ARBOR, MI - More than $10,000 in donations from developer Dennis Dahlmann and his associates have helped to fuel the political campaigns of three Ann Arbor City Council members. Since 2010, that includes $6,050 to Jack Eaton, $2,700 to Sumi Kailasapathy and $2,000 to Jane Lumm, according to campaign finance reports reviewed by The Ann Arbor News. In recent weeks, those same council members -- along with Anne Bannister, their other ally on council -- have blocked the 11-member council from securing eight votes needed to repurchase a prime piece of downtown real estate from Dahlmann for $4.2 million under terms of the original property sale. Today, the property is at the center of a legal fight brewing between Dahlmann and the city. The city will address the issue next at a meeting on May 1. Dahlmann has offered to drop a lawsuit he filed against Ann Arbor and return the property to the city for $5.7 million. Alternatively, he has offered to pay the city $1.5 million to let him keep the property without any special restrictions. Some have raised the campaign contributions given to the three council members as an issue concerning the property, though Eaton, Kailasapathy and Lumm maintain the money they've taken from Dahlmann isn't influencing their thinking or decision making. "I think that accusation, that assertion, it just drags this whole thing in the mud unnecessarily and I find that very offensive and demeaning and disrespectful," Lumm said. Lumm, an independent from the 2nd Ward, said campaign donations don't buy favors, otherwise she would owe a lot of people favors. The property in question, known as the Y Lot, is the vacant site next to the Blake Transit Center along William Street, across from the downtown library. Dahlmann purchased it from the city four years ago. A majority of council members want to regain possession of it for $4.2 million so the city can have control over its future, but that requires eight votes, and the council has been divided 7-4. After it fell one vote short earlier this month, Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward, said constituents should be asking tough questions and taking a look at campaign contributions some council members have received from Dahlmann and his associates. "This is a bizarre vote and I can't stress that enough," he said at the end of the council's April 2 meeting. A review of campaign finance reports going back to 2010 shows at least $10,750 from Dennis Dahlmann and other representatives of Dahlmann Properties was given to Eaton, Kailasapathy and Lumm. No other council members currently in office received money from Dahlmann. Bannister, who was elected in November, said she returned a $1,000 check from Dahlmann during her campaign last year due to the looming issues with the Y Lot. Eaton, D-4th Ward, made his first run for City Council in 2010. At the time, under the state's campaign finance laws, the maximum allowable contribution from an individual donor was $500. During Eaton's initial unsuccessful run in 2010, Dennis Dahlmann gave him the maximum $500, and so did Mary Dahlmann, property manager for Dahlmann Properties. Ben Dahlmann, vice president for Dahlmann Properties, gave $250, and Steven Zarnowitz, corporation counsel for Dahlmann Properties, gave $200. That amounted to $1,450 from Dahlmann associates, nearly a third of Eaton's total campaign funds in 2010. Eaton didn't receive any contributions from Dahlmann associates when he made a second unsuccessful run in 2012. But when Eaton ran again in 2013, Dennis Dahlmann again gave him the max contribution of $500. Within three days after Eaton won the Aug. 6 primary that year, unseating incumbent Marcia Higgins, more donations from Dahlmann associates came in. Ben Dahlmann, Neil Dahlmann, Andy Dahlmann and Zarnowitz each gave Eaton another $500, pushing his total Dahlmann contributions for the 2013 election up to $2,500. In December 2013, soon after taking office, Eaton held a fundraiser to pay off campaign debt. Dennis Dahlmann gave him another $500 three days before the event. Since it was after the election, that donation was counted toward the next election cycle. Starting in 2014, the limit any individual could contribute to a City Council candidate went up to $1,000. In April 2015, as Eaton was seeking re-election for the first time, Dennis Dahlmann gave Eaton the new maximum of $1,000, but that put Dahlmann's total for the election cycle at $1,500. In July 2015, Eaton reported returning the excess $500 to Dahlmann. Other Dahlmann associates again supported Eaton's run in 2015. Neil Dahlmann gave $400, Ben Dahlmann gave $300, Andy Dahlmann gave $250 and Zarnowitz gave $150. That amounted to $2,100 from Dahlmann associates for Eaton's campaign that year. Eaton didn't report any Dahlmann contributions during his last re-election campaign in 2017. He said Dennis Dahlmann tried giving him a check last year and he returned it because it was clear where things were headed with the Y Lot and he didn't want to accept any money that could be perceived as trying to influence him. "I mean, we all receive contributions," Eaton said of his acceptance of past donations from Dahlmann, arguing it's not a conflict of interest. Eaton said Ann Arbor council members receive developer contributions not because the developers expect it will change their vote, but because they've listened to council members and have seen how they've voted and appreciate their views. "These guys know local politics and they know who they agree with and who they disagree with," he said. Kailasapathy, D-1st Ward, said earlier this month she has not taken money from any developers, including Dahlmann, in the last two elections, but campaign finance reports show otherwise. When she last ran for re-election in 2016, she received $500 from Ben Dahlmann, plus contributions from developers Ed Shaffran of The Shaffran Companies and Mike Martin of First Martin Corp. Kailasapathy said Ben Dahlmann lives in the 1st Ward and she views his contributions as support from a constituent, not a developer. She said she didn't accept money from Dennis Dahlmann in the last two elections because she felt the situation was precarious after he bought the Y Lot from the city in 2014. As for other donations she has received from developers, Kailasapathy argues other council members in Mayor Christopher Taylor's camp have much cozier relationships with developers than she does. Kailasapathy received the max contribution of $500 from Dennis Dahlmann when she made her first successful run for City Council in 2012. During that campaign, she received $250 from Ben Dahlmann, $200 from Andy Dahlmann and $250 from Zarnowitz, amounting to $1,200 from Dahlmann associates that year. When she ran for re-election in 2014, she received another $500 from Ben Dahlmann and $500 from Zarnowitz. Kailasapathy and Lumm also count Tom Wieder, Dahlmann's attorney for the Y Lot litigation, as past campaign donors. Lumm, who previously served on council in the 1990s, received the max contribution of $500 from Dennis Dahlmann when she made her comeback run for council in 2011. It was reported as a late contribution in the final days before the election. After the election, Lumm also reported a $500 contribution from Dennis Dahlmann with a different receipt date, though she said that was an error and she only received one donation from him in 2011. Lumm also received max contributions from Dennis Dahlmann in her next two campaigns, which amounted to $500 in 2014 and $1,000 in 2015. She did not take any money from him in 2017. Lumm said many people have been very generous in donating to her campaigns over the years, so Dahlmann's money isn't a significant portion of the total funds she has raised. Lumm reported more than $108,000 in cash contributions during her four campaigns between 2011 and 2017. The amount she received from Dennis Dahlmann was less than 2 percent of that. The money from Dahlmann associates amounts to about 13 percent of the total cash contributions reported by Eaton and Kailasapathy. Eaton reported more than $45,000 in cash contributions during his five campaigns between 2010 and 2017. Kailasapathy reported more than $20,000 in cash contributions during her four campaigns between 2010 and 2016. In 2012, the year Kailasapathy was first elected, Dahlmann associates provided about 22 percent of her campaign funds. In 2013, the year Eaton was first elected, Dahlmann associates provided about 15 percent of his campaign funds. Dennis Dahlmann said he has supported Eaton, Kailasapathy and Lumm since long before the Y Lot was an issue because he liked their ideas about the city and believed in their vision for Ann Arbor, including their concerns about some of the high-rise developments the city is seeing, such as the one at Huron and Division. In the case of Lumm, he has supported her since she was on council in the 1990s. Eaton, who is running for mayor against Taylor this year, said he believes his support from Dennis Dahlmann stems from their agreement over what the city should have done with the Library Lot. Eaton has advocated for a downtown public park on the lot along Fifth Avenue above the city's underground parking deck. Before he was elected, Eaton said he was active in the debate over whether the city should subsidize a conference center on the Library Lot and he met Dennis Dahlmann at a couple of meetings. He said Dahlmann liked his views and supported him as a result. The Y Lot issue was discussed at a recent candidate forum, with both Eaton and Taylor agreeing campaign donations don't form the basis for decisions council members make or positions they take. Dennis Dahlmann is suing the city over the Y Lot and legal negotiations are ongoing. The council members against trying to wrest control of the lot from Dahlmann say they want to avoid prolonged litigation and they prefer negotiating to reach a settlement that avoids potentially years of fighting in court. Other council members have argued not repurchasing the property for $4.2 million, when it's believed to be worth millions more, is fiscally irresponsible. They argue Dahlmann didn't follow through on his end of the deal to redevelop the site within four years after the city sold it to him, so it's the city's contractual right to buy it back. The city sold the lot to Dahlmann for $5.25 million in April 2014 under a deal that gave him four years to redevelop it. If a project didn't happen by now, the city had the option of repurchasing the property for the lesser of either $4.2 million or the appraised value. Dahlmann, who blames the city for a project not happening by now, had the property appraised at $6.1 million last August, while the city had it appraised at $7.7 million to $12.5 million depending on the level of density allowed if sold for redevelopment. Taylor and other city officials have talked about trying to regain possession to facilitate a new development that would include affordable housing. Explaining his reasons for favoring negotiating with Dahlmann rather than fighting him in court, Eaton said the city already went through years of litigation with one developer over the Y Lot and he doesn't want to see the city do that again. "I believe that we should be trying to work with (Dahlmann) to come to a reasonable settlement, rather than tying up this property and making it inactive for another two or more years," he said. "So, I believe that there's a rational basis for my decision, completely independent of where I get my contributions." Kailasapathy also said she's independent-minded and campaign donations aren't going to buy her vote. Dahlmann Properties is a major owner of real estate in Ann Arbor, with about 300,000 square feet of office space downtown, including the City Center building across from city hall, the KeyBank building at Main and Huron and the commercial building at 301 E. Liberty St. All three of those have been renovated in recent years and Dahlmann says they're 95 percent occupied. Dahlmann also owns the Bell Tower Hotel downtown, and until 2015 he also owned the Campus Inn hotel downtown. Dahlmann Properties has won Ann Arbor's award for "Preservation Project of the Year" twice, first for its work restoring the Bell Tower Hotel on Thayer Street in 1990 and a second time for its restoration of the KeyBank building, also known as the Glazier Building, in 2008. Through his two companies, Dahlmann Apartments Ltd. and Dahlmann Properties, Dennis Dahlmann says he has developed more than $500 million worth of retail, apartment, office and hotel properties and employs 240 people between Ann Arbor and Sanibel, Florida. He has built condominiums and commercial buildings in Sanibel, including the Periwinkle Place and Heart of the Island shopping centers. Dennis Dahlmann and sons Ben and Andy Dahlmann were voted 2017 businessmen of the year by Sanibel's chamber of commerce. Dennis Dahlmann doesn't deny he was trying to block a competing hotel from being built when he bought the Y Lot in 2014, competing against other hotel developers for rights to the city-owned property, though he also maintains he wanted to develop the site. Since buying it, he has complained that increased usage of the streets around the site for bus stops, with buses often idling at the curb, make development of the Y Lot impractical. And he argues the city made it impossible for him to construct the agreed-upon project because of the lack of a required underground parking connection. When buying the property four years ago, he agreed to build a new mixed-use building rising at least five stories, with ground-floor retail/restaurant space, and office space and apartments above. The project also was to include a landscaped open space, including a grand fountain that Dahlmann described in plans. After a closed-door meeting this week, there still wasn't consensus among the City Council about what to do, so negotiations are continuing and the council is expected to meet again at 5 p.m. May 1 for another special meeting at city hall to discuss the issue. Council Member Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward, has been in favor of trying to repurchase the property for $4.2 million. "This is a contract," she said. "This is a very simple contract that said, if you don't do what you said you were going to do, we get to buy it back, and that's what we're trying to do." Ackerman wants to see the city repurchase it and try to facilitate an affordable housing development. "And if we're not able to purchase this back, it will be another piece of downtown land zoned D1 for a 180-foot building without a terrible amount of community say into what gets built there," he said. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - A Washtenaw County judge has completed a nine-month suspension ordered by the Michigan Supreme Court for his interference in the 2013 drunken driving arrest of his intern. 14A-1 District Court Judge J. Cedric Simpson returned to the bench on Thursday, April 26, Robert Ciolek, the district court's administrator, confirmed. Simpson could not be reached immediately for comment. Simpson was suspended without pay in July 2017, following a ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court. The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission recommended Simpson be removed from the bench for his role the incident but, following a lengthy process, the majority of Supreme Court justices found on appeal that the punishment was too harsh. Simpson arrived on-scene and spoke with the officer while his intern was being arrested about 4:30 a.m. Sept. 9, 2013, at Michigan Avenue and Platt Road in Pittsfield Township. Simpson "failed to prudently guard against influencing the investigation or used his judicial office in an effort to interfere with it," Supreme Court Justice David Viviano wrote in a majority opinion. The Supreme Court also said the judge made misleading statements about why he and the intern exchanged 14,000 text messages in a four-month period. Simpson fought the accusations levied against him, pointing to an unrelated case for the large volume of text messages. Simpson was appointed to the 14A bench in 1999. He is running for another six-year term, opposed by Ann Arbor-based attorney Thomas Bourque. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - Police are seeking a man they say robbed a Circle K at gunpoint in the early morning hours Friday, April 27. At about 4 a.m. Friday, a man with the muzzle of a gun protruding from his jacket pocket walked into the Circle K at 5495 W. Michigan Ave. in Pittsfield Township and demanded money from the store clerk, according to a release from the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety. Once he was given an undisclosed about of cash, the man grabbed a large quantity of cigarillos and left the store on foot, police said. Police were unable to locate the man through canine tracking. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male - an apparent teenager - under 5 feet 4 inches tall with a thin build. The suspect is described as wearing a grey hoodie and a bandana covering his face. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Pittsfield Township police at 734-944-1238. BAY CITY, MI -- After nearly a four-month long closure, Independence Bridge is scheduled to open to motorists soon. Bay City officials said the bridge will open to ship traffic on Tuesday, May 1, and then to vehicles on Thursday, May 3, city officials said on Thursday, April 26. The bridge was initially set to open at the end of March, but city officials said contractors ran into "unforeseen circumstances" with respect to balancing the bridge. It was delayed until mid-April and then again until at least the middle of May. Crews on Saturday, April 29, are going to install counterweights on the bridge. While vehicles can travel on the bridge, its sidewalks will remain closed to pedestrians. City officials say they are not finished and remain unsafe. City officials, in a prepared statement, thanked the public for their patience during the $1.45 million construction project. Businesses have felt the impact of a bridge closure over the past few months, with some reporting 20 percent to 30 percent drops in business and foot traffic. While the bridge will be open to traffic, Bay City isn't out of the woods when it comes to bridge repairs. City officials continue to grapple with a bridge funding crisis. Millions of dollars in repairs and constant maintenance is needed on Liberty and Independence bridges over the next five years and city officials say they don't have the money to pay for it. The city was hoping to see the state take over Independence Bridge, but that proposal was rejected earlier this month. The most controversial option is selling both bridges to United Bridge Partners, a private firm out of Denver, Colorado. The firm would build a new Independence Bridge and make critical repairs to Liberty Bridge, but would charge a toll to motorists who cross it daily. Privatizing the bridges and charging a toll has been unpopular with the general public, but especially came under fire in March when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Miami. That bridge was designed by FIGG Bridge Design, a partner of United Bridge Partners. BAY CITY, MI -- A Bangor Township registered nurse is accused of stealing a six-figure sum over a five-year period, all to pay for a gambling habit, police are alleging. Lynn M. Peridore, 54, on April 18 appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on one count of false pretenses of more than $100,000. The charge is a 20-year felony. Back on Aug. 9, 2017, an investigator with the National Insurance Crime Bureau contacted the Michigan State Police to report he was looking into a possible insurance fraud scheme regarding Peridore. Investigators determined Peridore, a registered nurse, was a contract employee with Mid-Valley Interim Healthcare and was supposed to provide nursing services to an area woman who had been severely injured in a 1992 traffic crash. Peridore had provided services to the injured woman for about 11 years, but the woman's family fired her in the spring of 2012. Peridore neglected to report this to her employers and continued billing them for services she was not, in fact, providing, police allege. This continued until February 2017, when a National General Insurance Company investigator discovered it, court records show. Between June 2012 and February 2017, Peridore had fraudulently obtained $356,809.70, court records state. Police interviewed Julie Salter, the president and CEO of Mid-Valley Interim Healthcare, who said she had hired Peridore in 1996 or 1997. She believed Peridore had been providing weekend nursing services to the injured woman until learning otherwise in February 2017, when Peridore emailed her and confessed to having submitted bogus invoices. Salter said she fired Peridore, who told her she had been motivated by a gambling problem, court records show. Police on Oct. 31, 2017, interviewed Peridore, who admitted to the wrongdoing. "I needed the money," Peridore told police, according to their reports. "I had an issue with going to the casino and spent way more money than I should have." Peridore said she no longer had a gambling problem and though she still went to the casino, she had no money to spend there. "It always weighed heavy on me that I was doing it and I kept thinking, 'I need to find a second job,' but I just kinda buried my head in the sand and kept going," Peridore told police. Peridore is free on a personal recognizance bond. She is to appear for a preliminary examination at 3:30 p.m. on May 2. A verdict handed down this week in an Oakland County attempted murder trial appears illogical and contradictory, but a lawyer for the defendant says there is precedent for the jury's curious conclusion. Jurors on Wednesday, April 25, found Demetrius Magee, a 48-year-old convicted felon from Bloomfield Hills, not guilty in a Sept. 23, 2017 double shooting that injured a 19-year-old Sanford, North Carolina man and a 21-year-old Pontiac woman. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office initially charged Magee -- who has prior convictions for fleeing police, assault and a firearms charges -- with multiple counts of attempted murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, as well as illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. The jury, in confusing move, found Magee not guilty of all counts, except one: use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. However, jurors found him not guilty of the underlying crime that prompted the additional charge in the first place, as well as not guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Southfield-based defense attorney Carl Jordan, who represented Magee, said his client cried "tears of joy" after hearing what he called an "inconsistent verdict." Magee could have easily spent the remainder of his life behind bars, if convicted, but based on the jury's ruling, he's expected to serve only a mandatory 5-year sentence for the single conviction. Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paul T. Walton called the verdict "proper." "Case law going back several decades allows a jury to acquit on the felony and convict on the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony," Walton said. The jury believes that Magee shot the victims in self defense, Jordan said, despite "a very different story" presented by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and Prosecutor's Office near the time of Magee's arrest. "Deputies learned that both victims were in the area to settle a dispute with the suspect," sheriff's officials said at the time of Magee's arrest. "When the suspect produced a handgun, the two victims returned to their car. "The suspect was able to fire multiple shots while both victims were inside the vehicle." Jordan claims the injured man and woman posed a threat to Magee and his family. He fired on them in self defense and "under duress." The jury deliberated for two-plus days after a three-day trial, Jordan said. Sentencing is scheduled for May 17. FLINT, MI -- Former Flint School District Superintendent Bilal Tawwab decided to leave Flint schools three days after he was given the lowest rating available during his evaluation. Tawwab was rated "ineffective" in his review for the 2016-17 school year, according to documents obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal in a Freedom of Information Act request. "Superintendent refused to sign when given this document on January 30, 2018," wrote Board of Education President Diana Wright in the only written comment made on the evaluation. Tawwab then told the district that he'd serve out his contract through the end of next school year and would leave Flint schools, according to a Feb. 2 statement from Wright. He didn't last that long. Tawwab and two others on his staff were placed on administrative leave on March 13. Tawwab served as an assistant superintendent at Detroit Public Schools prior to moving to Flint in 2015 to take over for Larry Watkins, who served on an interim basis for two-and-a-half years. Despite his desire to serve the remaining school year in his contract, the board decided to give Tawwab the boot and look for its next leader. "The board is unable to discuss this matter publicly as personnel issues are private," Wright said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal. "At this point in time, the Flint Community Schools Board of Education is steadfastly focused on its search for the District's next leader to achieve its primary objective -- improving student achievement." MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Tawwab for comment. He was evaluated in areas of governance and board relations, community relations, staff relations, business and finance, instructional leadership, student growth and progress toward district-wide goals. The available rankings are highly effective, effective, minimally effective and ineffective. Tawwab's highest mark came under the community relations section under the district image subcategory, where he ranked between minimally effective and effective, the evaluation showed. He got the same 2.6 ranking on a 4-point scale in the staff relations section under the subcategory "visibility in the district." The board said Tawwab was minimally effective in student growth and had little development in the area of student performance in math, English and language arts and in increasing high school readiness for students. Tawwab also was ineffective in attaining district goals in the area of finances, student support and teaching and learning. MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach the United Teachers of Flint for comment on Friday, April 27. Flint schools cut ties with Tawwab last month and hired Interim Superintendent Gregory Weatherspoon. Witherspoon, a former emergency manager for Highland Park and Muskegon Heights schools, became Flint's second interim superintendent in less than three years. He said he was hired because numerous Flint schools were set to be added to the Michigan Department of Education's partnership schools. Under a partnership agreement, districts retain local control of their schools and work with MDE to craft agreements detailing academic improvements that must be achieved within 18- and 36-month timeframes. Schools that don't meet the requirements laid out in the agreements are subject to other accountability measures, which could include appointing a CEO to oversee the school or closing the building and reopening it under a new model. The districts and charters were singled out for partnership agreements because they're home to one or more "Comprehensive Support and Improvement" schools. The designation applies to schools that placed in the bottom 5 percent statewide on the department's new index system. The system provides each school a score between 0-100 on the following factors: student growth, student proficiency, progress of students with a limited grasp of English, graduation rates, assessment participation, and school quality and student success. Flint schools on the partnership list include the Accelerated Learning Academy, Holmes STEM Academy, Northwestern High School and Potter Elementary. The district already announced plans to close Northwestern at the end of the school year. The Accelerated Learning Academy is housed inside Northwestern. Southwestern School exited partnership status because it improved, the MDE previously said. Tawwab was recognized by the publication Education Week in its "2017 Leaders to Learn from" for his leadership in crisis management. The Flint School District has had myriad challenges in recent years, including financial woes, declining enrollment and struggling academic performance. In 2016, the district said it was able to climb out of its nearly $22 million deficit. Once the largest district by far, Flint schools became the fourth-largest district in Genesee County with 4,553 students, according to the 2017 fall count. Officials refused to release count totals until the figures were verified by the state -- a month later. President Donald Trump's brand new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to NATO on Friday to hammer home one of his boss's oldest themes -- demanding that other members pay their way -- as the allies sought a common front against Russia. There was broad agreement in Brussels on the need find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. But divides remain on spending commitments, with Germany in particular holding out against the large military spending increases demanded by Trump, and on how to balance a stern response to Moscow with keeping open a door to dialogue. Welcoming former CIA chief Pompeo to the NATO headquarters less than 24 hours after the top US diplomat was sworn in, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of the need to adapt the 29-member Western alliance "to a more demanding security environment." Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. Stoltenberg said much of the alliance's military expansion in the Baltic was geared towards countering hybrid threats, and ministers discussed how to do more, but concrete proposals are not expected before July's NATO summit. "As we prepare for the summit we wil look at how we further strengthen our ability to respond to those threats which don't trigger Article 5 but at the same time are a challenge to NATO allies," Stoltenberg said. Pompeo's US delegation came out satisfied with the discussion on Russia. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," a senior State Department official told reporters after the session. But Pompeo brought a second, tougher message on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, as he arrived, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. "Germany plays a very important role," Maas said. Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany -- which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence -- for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. "There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so," he said. Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told AFP Pompeo had got his point across without causing upset. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkel's meeting will be less warm than Macron's. Stoltenberg will say a few words to mark the end of the final meeting of ministers in the historic North Atlantic Council room where Article 5 was invoked for the first and only time, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. Search Keywords: Short link: Work by Consumers Energy Thursday night will leave some residents in Genesee and Oakland counties without power for a short time. The anticipated 15-minute interruption scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. April 26 and affect portions of Grand Blanc in Genesee County, as well as Groveland Township and Holly located in Oakland County. Approximately 1,200 customers are expected to be affected by the brief outage as utility crews working on equipment at Consumers Energy's Newark substation and a related electric circuit. The approximate location of the outage includes customers in an area generally bordered by Baldwin Road to the north, Fish Lake Road to the west, Tripp Road to the south, and Horton Road to the east. Customers may check the status of this outage by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/outagemap. Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Consumers Energy at 1-800-477-5050. Three arraigned for homicide of 20-year-old California man 3 Gallery: Three arraigned for homicide of 20-year-old California man MUNDY TWP, MI -- Three Owosso residents accused of killing a 20-year-old California man were arraigned on murder charges April 27 in the homicide of a California man found in a Mundy Township field. Frederick Clark, a 28-year-old man, Christian Lover, a 23-year-old man and Mataya Shaw, a 23-year-old woman were charged with first-degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder. If convicted, the trio could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Officers with the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County responded around 11 a.m. April 21 to the area of Jennings and Baldwin roads for a suspicious vehicle in a field near the intersection. It was in the field they discovered the body of 20-year-old Austin Culkins of California, lying on the ground next to an older-model GM pickup truck. Metro Police Interim Chief Matt Bade said it was a "very brutal crime," with the victim sustaining multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. On the same morning the man was killed, the three suspects were stopped while traveling on foot at a gas station by Grand Blanc Township Police in the area of Fenton and Grand Blanc roads, Bade said. The suspects were cited for retail fraud and released. During the investigation, evidence was obtained that led to the identification of the three suspects, according to a press release from the Metro Police Authority. The three were acquaintances of Culkins, and named as persons of interest, according to Bade. "The investigation also revealed this murder had been planned by the three of them," Bade said. Bade declined to provide further details on the supected motive of the killing. At the time the suspects were stopped by Grand Blanc Township police, investigators were not aware that Culkins was residing in Owosso. The trio was taken into custody on April 23, at residences in Owosso. They were lodged at the Genesee County Jail soon after. Flint Journal staff writer Roberto Acosta contributed to this report. PIERSON, MI - Nick Schultz bought his property on Pierson Road two years ago so he could grow his own crops and raise animals for meat to try and avoid chemicals from store-bought products. Now, he thinks his 6-month-old son's low birth weight and other health issues could be due to fluorochemicals in the groundwater under his land. "We're just kind of wondering if maybe some of his issues are linked to some of these problems with the water," he said. Schultz was one of several hundred people who packed the Pierson Village Hall on Thursday, April 26, for a meeting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, or PFAS, pollution in the groundwater at the Central Sanitary Landfill, a decades-old dump owned by Republic Services in southern Montcalm County. Rockford-based footwear company Wolverine World Wide disposed of PFAS-laden tannery waste for years at the landfill. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality geologist Kent Walters said February testing found PFAS at levels well above the Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for two PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, in landfill monitoring wells. The results came in April 13. Test results show the highest concentration of total PFAS on the west side of the landfill, in a shallow monitoring well next to U.S. 131, where total PFAS was found at 1,062-ppt. On the east side of the landfill along Amy School Road, shallow monitoring wells found total PFAS between 60 and 735-ppt. Of the dozen wells tested, only one, on the north end of the landfill, did not detect any PFAS. Five of the wells had detections of PFOS and PFOA above the EPA health advisory level and the state's groundwater cleanup standard for the two individual PFAS compounds. Exposure to PFAS has been linked in human studies to some cancers, thyroid disorders, elevated cholesterol, low birth weights, and other health complications. DEQ geological data shows numerous private drinking water wells within a mile radius around the landfill, including clusters in the village of Pierson and along the shores of nearby Whitefish and Bass lakes. No drinking water wells have been tested yet. A initial testing zone boundary around the landfill was determined by estimating how far the groundwater had flowed in 34 years, at 80 feet per year. Schultz, whose home is in the current "phase 1" testing area around the landfill, said his son was born Nov. 22 at five pounds, 12 ounces after a full-term pregnancy. He said his son is still having trouble gaining weight and has dairy and soy allergies, which neither he, his wife, nor other kids have. He's worried about the discovery of groundwater contamination less than a mile from his home. The family knew nothing of PFAS before two days ago, when men came to their door asking to test the drinking water. Todd Harland, general manager of landfill owner Republic Services said residents in the testing zone can expect visits from the company in the next week or so. Harland said Republic will be knocking on doors and canvasing the area to set up schedules to sample wells, Harland said. They will also leave bottled water. Republic has hired a consultant to work with the Mid-Michigan Health Department to conduct sampling, but it takes to four to six weeks to get results. Additional monitoring wells will be sunk around the area to try and figure out the extent of the plume. "This isn't a stopping point," Walters said. "This is a checking point to see where it is and where it isn't." Residents at the meeting expressed anger and suspicion toward the state representatives in addition to concern for community health and property values. Some questioned why the landfill wells weren't tested sooner. Debra Cummings, who lives near the landfill on Pierson Road, said she's "furious" because "we know for a fact that it was disclosed when it happened in Rockford that they dumped this stuff up here. According to documents and former employees, Wolverine began sending sludge from the former Rockford tannery to the landfill in the early 1980s. Wolverine began using PFAS-laden 3M Scotchgard to treat shoe leather at the tannery in 1958. The landfill is lined, has a leachate collection system and is certified to accept industrial waste. Nonetheless, Republic Services stopped taking Wolverine dump site excavation waste last fall at Pierson and the Ottawa Farms landfill in Coopersville. The Pierson landfill has had groundwater problems in the past. The 36-acre sanitary landfill once accepted hazardous waste from Hooker Chemical in Muskegon County. Previous groundwater contamination prompted litigation. DEQ records show the landfill sent contaminated leachate to Rockford to wash through Wolverine's former tannery wastewater treatment plant, which sent industrial effluent to the Grand Rapids wastewater plant prior to construction of the North Kent Sewer Authority plant. Dan Buyze, Big Whitefish Lake Association president, said if anything could be learned from the Rockford situation it was that groundwater is unpredictable, complex, and that contaminants can move quite far. As such, the Big Whitefish Lake Association asked to be included in the testing and asked that fish in the lake be tested as well for PFAS. He said healthy fish in the lake isn't just important to the local community, but to everyone who visits the public lake. "This goes beyond just us," he said. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI - With his left arm around her neck, and right hand pushing a 9mm Taurus gun against her head, he walked her out as police surrounded their home. Mary Hartman knew she would die. She had just witnessed her estranged husband shoot her friend in the head. He told her he wouldn't be taken alive. Her husband ignored repeated police commands to drop his weapon. He had a tight grip around her neck, and kept her in the line of fire. She felt the gun barrel against her head. Everyone else heard the blast of gunfire. She doesn't remember hearing anything. She just felt her husband suddenly drop. A police sniper, she said, fired a rifle shot that hit Matthew Hartman just below his right eye, killing him. Once, he was the love of her life, her high-school sweetheart and father of their son, Brayden, nearly 6. But struggles with mental health turned the fun-loving "great guy" into a jealous, abusive husband, and, at least last weekend, a monster, his wife said. He shot and killed Jordan Carey, 29, early Sunday, April 22, at the victim's home on Merrill Street in Muskegon. "We believe that the suspect from West Olive came to the door and confronted (Carey) about an alleged relationship with his spouse," Muskegon Police Chief Jeffrey Lewis said. Hartman then shot Carey's girlfriend, Marian Cantu, 25, but she survived. Mary Hartman said she and Carey were only friends. She and her husband and son lived at West Olive Estates, a mobile home community just off U.S. 31, half way between Grand Haven and Holland. Outside of their home is a figurine of two children in Dutch garb kissing. The front window is covered by plastic. A bucket is loaded with broken glass. The day before the killing, Mary Hartman said her family gathered at the clubhouse pool to go swimming. Her husband was unusually quiet. Her family thought he appeared "off," and acted "odd." Their son left with his grandmother for a sleepover. At home, Mary Hartman said, her husband became physical. She said she wasn't going to take it. She said she was going to the movies with friends. She was too upset, though, and decided to drive to Carey's house. She thought they could talk, and she could cool off, but he was at work. She sat outside in her car, talked to a neighbor, but left before Carey got home. She said she stayed out the rest of the night. She got home at 6:15 a.m. The door flew open when she pulled into the driveway. She went inside. He asked about her night. "He was super calm. Super calm," she recalled. He said he wanted to go for a ride, something he liked to do. Often, they would stop at a park. When he headed toward U.S. 31, rather than the usual route on 120th Avenue, she asked where they were going. Muskegon, he said. "I asked him, 'For what?' He said, 'Well, I got some business to handle.'" After a long silence, she said: "Please tell me you don't have a gun on you." He lifted the armrest. He had his pinky on the trigger. The gun was pointed at her. She froze. She pretended she was looking at Facebook when she quietly texted her mother and asked for "any way to get help for me." She wrote that they were headed north on U.S. 31, and Matt had a gun. She asked her mother to kiss her son and tell him she loved him. She copied and pasted the message to several friends. She wrote Carey, telling him not to answer his door, but her husband took her phone before she could send the message, she said. The husband said they were going to Carey's house. She said she begged him to kill her, not Carey. She thought about jumping out of the car on the highway. She said she was screaming and crying when they got to Carey's house. Matthew Hartman took the keys and told her not to move. He tried to kick open the front door. When Carey finally answered, he apparently saw the gun and charged Hartman. Hartman shot him in the head. He took another shot at the woman in the home. He got back into the car. "I asked him, Did he realize what he just did? 'Do you understand? Really, you are going to prison. You can't play God.' He told me, 'No, I'm not going to prison.'" She told him to shoot her. "He said it was coming, don't worry about it." When they got home, he put his clothes in the washer and took a shower. She told him to let the dog out. She texted 911. A little later, when he let the dog back in, he saw police surrounding his home. She asked what he was thinking. Where was the husband she once knew? She told him he scared her. Then, he looked at her, with a chilling look on his face. "'That felt really good,'" he told her. She told herself: "I'm done. I'm dead. I'm done." He told her to call her mother. He wanted to talk to his son one last time, to tell him he loved him. The boy's grandmother, who was near the Hartmans' house by then, said a tactical team was outside of their home. Just as Mary Hartman was telling her son she loved him, Matthew Hartman hung up the phone. He had his arm around her neck and a gun against her head when they walked outside. He used her as a shield. Only part of his head was exposed to police. Mary Hartman said she happened to eye a sniper, who turned out to be a Holland police officer, across the street. Mary Hartman broke down emotionally after the gunman went down. Matthew Hartman was her husband, the father of her son, yet she was also divorcing him and had accused him of assault. She was overwhelmed by emotions. Ottawa County sheriff's deputies told her that police had no choice. Mary Hartman said her husband wanted to kill her, but wanted to do it so others - including her mother, who helped pay for the divorce - could see. That's why she believes he didn't shoot her while they were inside, she said. He had tried to isolate her from her family, threatened her, complained about the way she dressed and became possessive, tell-tale signs of an abusive relationship. She said Children's Protective Services worked with the family because of his behavior toward their son. The little boy knows what happened. His mother isn't going to lie or sugarcoat it. He'll find out eventually. She'd rather he hear it from her than kids at school. He went back Thursday, his own choice. His mother was glad. She wants him to get back to his routine. His dad used to take him fishing, riding bikes, playing ball and Pokemon Go. Brayden was the love of his father's life. "That boy is so brave. I mean, I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm a hundred different emotions," his mother said. She said she has been the subject of threats after the killing in Muskegon. She said people don't know that she tried to stop her husband, and she would have rather died herself. She said Carey was a "close friend, he was my buddy. He made me appreciate the simple things in life." She said she did not lead her husband to Carey's home but that's how some see it. People want someone to blame, and she's the only one left. "They don't care I was brought there at gunpoint." She said her husband bought the gun in September, shortly after she filed for divorce. She said police took the firearm during three investigations but it was returned to him. Her attorney, Robert German, said police took the husband's gun in February after he allegedly threatened her with it. He said police "mistreated" her, which led her to withdraw her statement. She was charged with a felony for filing a false police report but Ottawa County prosecutors this week dismissed the case. "The prosecutor realized that she was telling (the) truth," he said. "The last thing an unstable human being should be allowed to buy is a gun," Mary Hartman said. "Everything was legal about it until he killed somebody with it." She said her husband's mental health had worsened in recent months. She said he wouldn't get help to save their marriage. She said she had to "unfriend" him on Facebook because of things he was posting. After his death, she saw his Facebook. There were "bone-chilling" posts, including a statement that "If I die, it'll be better for everybody." She said no one reacted to the posts, or told her. She has conflicted feelings about her husband. He once was a good man but "he wasn't the same person I knew." He destroyed lives. "I'm very angry at him. 'You said you loved me. You told me you loved me.' But he went and created a frickin' war, and left me here to deal with it. That's not love. You hurt me ... because I filed for divorce.'" She fears retaliation but refuses to hide. "All I can pray for is they don't do it around my kid. I'm emotionally scarred for the rest of my life, anyway. If I could have done something to stop it, I would've taken every bullet to prevent what happened." GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Police investigating a stolen boat complaint arrested a 30-year-old man who was threatening to harm himself with a "long gun" in Kent County. The incident occurred Tuesday, April 24, at a residence on Dawes Court in Grand Rapids, according to a Kent County Sheriff's Department report. Deputies were investigating a report of a boat and trailer that had been stolen in Spencer Township. They determined that Anthony James Russo, who was previously connected to a case involving stolen tires and rims from car dealerships in West Michigan, was a suspect. Officers attempted to make contact with Russo at his residence when they located a boat motor in the bed of his pickup truck, police said. The motor was stolen out of Barry County. Police said Russo declined to answer the door or speak to detectives. Officers obtained a search warrant but before they entered his home, Russo opened a window and was observed holding a long gun to his head and threatening to harm himself, police said. Russo eventually surrendered and was taken into custody. He was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property and resisting and obstructing a police officer. He's being held at the Kent County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Grand Rapids police assisted the Kent County Sheriff's Department in de-escalating the incident. The stolen property was recovered from Russo's residence, according to police. LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan judge on Thursday struck down as unconstitutional state laws that reimburse private schools for the cost of fire drills, inspections and other state requirements. Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens said the 2016 and 2017 budget laws violate the state constitution's ban regarding direct or indirect aid to non-public schools. It was a victory for public school groups that challenged $5 million in appropriations spread over two years. The Republican-backed spending has been frozen during the lawsuit. Stephens rejected the state's argument that the funds are not for educational purposes but rather health, safety and welfare purposes. She said providing money to offset compliance costs "supports the employment of nonpublic school employees" and cedes a "significant degree of control" to private schools -- unlike other allowable expenses such as "shared-time" aid for public schools that enroll private students in non-core elective classes. The suit was filed in March 2017 by the Michigan Association of School Boards, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and groups representing school districts, administrators and parents. In July, the judge issued a preliminary injunction. "I don't think from our perspective that we could have asked for a better ruling," said Don Wotruba, executive director of the school board group. "While it may not be a lot of money, it at least at this level of the courts closes the door on the Legislature trying to move further in this direction." A state budget office spokesman declined to comment, saying lawmakers had requested the spending -- not Gov. Rick Snyder. In 2016, after he signed a budget with an initial $2.5 million in aid to help cover private schools' costs to comply with mandates, the Republican governor unsuccessfully sought an advisory opinion from the state Supreme Court on whether the spending supported by GOP legislators was constitutional. It was not immediately clear late Thursday if the state would appeal the ruling. Advocacy groups such as the Michigan Catholic Conference, the church's policy arm, have said the funding is not educational and is intended to ensure all schoolchildren are kept safe and healthy with immunization reporting, background checks and other mandates. A 1970 voter-approved amendment to Michigan's constitution prohibits using public money to directly or indirectly aid or maintain parochial and other private schools being attended by roughly 100,000 students. Courts have interpreted the amendment to bar state support for general educational programs unless the main effect is to further a "substantial" governmental purpose. Last month, a group that includes a Catholic school in Grand Rapids, parents and GOP lawmakers filed a separate lawsuit challenging the 1970 ban. The plaintiffs said it was deeply rooted in anti-Catholic sentiment and violates the U.S. Constitution in a number of ways, including equal protection and free speech. LANSING, MI - When Pamela Nelson, 71, of DeWitt, heard nobody had challenged Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed's eligibility for the ballot despite a possible residency issue, she decided that person would be her. "I feel like I'm the least qualified person to be asking this... I wish that someone else would do it. But since nobody else has, I'll do it," she said. She had read news reports about the question over El-Sayed's eligibility. The constitution requires a candidate for governor to "have been a registered elector in this state for four years next preceding his election," and a report from the publication Bridge revealed El-Sayed had lived in New York and been a registered voter there as late as 2015. El-Sayed sought a court opinion over the matter, and the Secretary of State argued that since nobody had challenged his eligibility, his bringing a lawsuit against them was premature. The El-Sayed campaign inaccurately framed the matter as having been settled, while the Michigan Democratic Party called it "a positive step forward." The court has yet to rule. After seeing a report on the case, Nelson called up the Secretary of State's office and asked who could file a challenge. When she found out any registered voter could file a challenge, she decided she would. She sent the Secretary of State a notarized letter asking for them to investigate whether El-Sayed was eligible for the ballot. Asked if she considered the letter a formal challenge, Nelson said yes, she did. But it's not clear exactly what the Secretary of State will do with the letter from here. "Certainly, we're reviewing the letter and what it seeks. It does ask at one point for an investigation, so that's what we're reviewing," said Secretary of State spokesperson Fred Woodhams. The deadline to file challenges is May 1, he said, and asked about a timeline for reviewing Nelson's letter he said it would "certainly be a few weeks." Adam Joseph, a spokesman for El-Sayed, said in a statement, "As we have maintained, Abdul is 100% eligible to be Governor of Michigan. He has been continuously registered to vote in Michigan since he was 18, and has maintained residency in Michigan since childhood. We have not been notified as to how the Secretary of State will handle this request, but as we have said before any challenge to Abdul's eligibility will be unsuccessful." In her letter, Nelson, a retired state worker, wrote that El-Sayed's candidacy was now open to challengers and she hoped somebody "with better standing than myself" will step forward. She hopes, she said, that people will join her. What she's hoping to avoid is a scenario where El-Sayed wins the Democratic primary and then after that the Republicans challenge his candidacy, and the Democrats are left without a candidate, she said. Nelson has donated to Whitmer's campaign, she said, but did this independently. In fact, Whitmer's campaign called her when it became aware of the challenge and asked her to withdraw the challenge. She declined. "As a registered voter I have a right to know whether this man is qualified," she said. Whitmer's campaign confirmed it had asked her to withdraw the challenge. Spokesman Zack Pohl said the campaign thinks this race should be decided by voters. "We do not support Ms. Nelson's action. The campaign has spoken with her directly, and strongly urged her to withdraw her challenge immediately so we can focus on getting things done for the people of Michigan. Gretchen has been proud to share a debate stage with Abdul, and she believes this race should be decided by the voters of Michigan," said Pohl in a statement. The Michigan Democratic Party through a spokesman declined comment for this article. Nelson is a Democratic voter and will support El-Sayed, she said, if he wins the primary and is found to be eligible for the ballot. Note: This story has been updated to include comment from El-Sayed's campaign. LANSING, MI - The Michigan Senate on Thursday unanimously passed an $18.65 million supplemental budget bill with a cash infusion meant to bolster school safety. Of the total, $15 million goes toward school security grants through the Michigan State Police. It's an existing program that has had a lot of demand in recent years, said Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, spokeswoman Amber McCann, and is available to both public and private schools. Schools can use the money for security improvements like better locks, windows and other measures. And $3 million goes into an alert system app with 911 connectivity that would allow all teachers in the state to press a button and alert authorities of a threat or emergency at a school. Another $650,000 goes toward the OK2SAY program, which encourages students to come forward with any potential threats through a confidential tip line they can call, text or access online. The Attorney General gets $500,000, mostly from moving around existing Attorney General funding, and the Michigan State Police get $150,000 to fund a new position and benefits for somebody who will serve as a dispatcher and analyst for tips received. The money is for the current fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1. Senate Appropriations Chair Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell, said the funding would help keep schools safe. "All schools should be a safe place to learn and work and this funding will go a long way to ensure great learning environments for our students and staff all over the state," he said. Democrats supported the measure but said it did not provide enough funding. "I will hold you to this being a first step, not a final commitment," Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, told the chamber. He pointed to other recommendations for higher funding, including from a group of school and law enforcement officials that recommended putting more than $100 million toward the issue. The House in the committee process is working through a separate plan proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder, which recommends $24 million for school upgrades. The House included school safety funding in its budget for the next fiscal year, including $25 million for a school safety commission, $2.3 million to expand OK2Say and $3 million for a panic button app. McCann said the Senate is still working out school safety funding details in its own budget. BLACKMAN TWP., MI - Come fly. Let's fly, let's fly a drone. Girls in seventh, eighth and ninth grades from across Jackson County celebrated International Girls in Communications and Information Technology Day on Thursday, April 26, by building, programming and flying their own drones at Baker College-Jackson. More than 20 girls attended the event in the college's newly built engineering building on Springport Road. They were greeted with a continental breakfast and short discussion led by Delta Air Lines pilot Kelly Heerlyn. Heerlyn, a Grass Lake resident, gave the girls an insight into the life of a pilot. More importantly, she said, she told the girls why they, too, can be a pilot, an engineer, a programmer or any science, technology, engineering or math professional. "It's important they be involved in stuff like this to be hands on (with STEM)," Heerlyn said. "They can see that they can succeed in these fields and it's fun. (This event) creates an environment where it's just girls so they can feel they have the ability to open up." Each team of participants was given a brand new CoDrone Pro set to work on. Each drone cost $200 and was sponsored by Jackson-area companies such as Technique Inc., MACI and Consumers Energy. The team objective was to assemble the drone's remote control, use a computer coding program to calibrate the remote with the drone, then fly their drone. For Michigan Center eighth-grader Savana Stewart, Thursday wasn't the first time she's flown a drone. But it still was fun, she said. "I really like science, chemistry and problem solving. So, it's nice to find other girls who like to do this kind of things," she said. Columbia Central eighth-grader Niya Holbert and Grass Lake seventh-grader Ava Thatai met at the event. They had their drone programmed and ready to go early. "Coming to this kind of thing gives you a sense of belonging to see all these other girls doing this," Niya said. That's what Girls in Communications and Information Technology Day is all about, said William Sherwood, an event coordinator. "It's about trying to get girls interested in IT," he said. "Anytime you can get them together, whether you're giving something away free or not, they're having fun. For me, it's just fun because of the student learning aspect." After flying the drones, the girls reprogrammed the remote controls again and flew the drones. This showed how changing the programming code affects how the drone is controlled. Baker College-Jackson was one of six Baker College locations across Michigan participatingn in the event. Other locations included the college's Allen Park, Auburn Hills, Clinton Township, Flint and Owosso campuses. Sherwood said he hopes the event becomes an annual occurrance at Baker College. KALAMAZOO, MI -- Volunteers who have given thousands of hours to helping the community by cleaning up parks, tutoring children, aiding elderly residents and countless other acts of kindness were honored Friday. The STAR (Sharing Time and Resources) Celebration, an award ceremony for Kalamazoo's most giving residents put on by Gryphon Place, recognized five volunteers during a celebration Friday, April 27 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites. Hildegard Kerney was the recipient of the Irving S. Gilmore Lifetime Achievement Award. Kerney has given over 4,000 hours to Hospice of Southwest Michigan, helping about 70 people and their families through the last days of their lives. "Her remarkable life has revolved around service to others," Tim Terrentine, vice president for development and alumni relations at Western Michigan University, said while introducing her. Kerney said during her acceptance speech it isn't the big institutions, but the "tiny molecular forces" like individual volunteers who make a difference in the community and create "fabulous miracles." Awards were also given to the area's Good Neighbor Volunteer and the top Adult, Youth and Senior volunteers. Hope Marotti was recognized as the Good Neighbor Volunteer. Marotti was thanked for her service with the Catholic Charities Diocese of Kalamazoo. Terrentine thanked her for her "compassionate and humble heart." Scott Anderson, winner of the Adult Volunteer Award, was honored for his nearly four years with Outfront Kalamazoo, an organization working for an equitable environment for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Marti Terpstra was the 2018 Senior Volunteer for her 15 years of volunteering with the Senior Services and time spent tutoring for Communities in Schools. Issra Said, winner of the Youth Volunteer Award, was honored as the recipient of the 2018 Dr. Lewis Walker Social Justice Youth Award for her work combating Islamophobia. State Sen. Margaret O'Brien said during the awards celebration that one person is capable of changing someone's life. She thanked the room full of volunteers for the "many lives you've changed." "You make our community an amazing place to live," O'Brien said. The event's keynote speaker Matt Lynn, vice president of community impact for United Way of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, said volunteers are "self luminous" people, who bring "a light of joy and a light of hope" to their work. Lynn thanked the volunteers who worked together during the February flooding. "When crisis strikes ... we will not break under the bow of pressure." Lynn said. "We are Kalamazoo strong." U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Friday hailed what he called a step toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but said it was just one step and that the United States would keep up its "pressure campaign" on North Korea. "Any talks, promises, and assurances from North Korea will be met with reservation, vigilance, and verification," Pence said in a statement. "Planning for the United States and North Korea Summit continues, but as we've said before - the pressure campaign will continue unabated." Search Keywords: Short link: KALAMAZOO, MI - The fight for new jobs -- and businesses that want to hire -- is being waged in the hearts and minds of high school and college-aged people. Growing the base of educated, talented young people, and having opportunities for them to help local companies expand, has become the primary focus of the Kalamazoo area's lead economic development organization. "We've got to keep everybody that we can. It's about retaining talent and getting them to stay here and work here," said Ron Kitchens, chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. "But people have got to understand that education is the key to our success. The more educated people we have (education beyond high school) ... that is going to be the differentiator. That will determine whether we are successfully relevant and a growing community or whether we will stagnate." Kitchens sat down with MLive recently to talk about how Southwest Michigan First is moving forward and what it is doing to stimulate economic growth. It comes as Kitchens' profile is increasing as a writer and speaker on personal growth and leadership growth. His brand is growing. But he says he doesn't own it. Kitchens has been very visible with speaking engagements nationwide, weekly online leadership podcasts (dubbed "Always Forward"), as publisher of Southwest Michigan First's bimonthly magazine (called 269), and as a proponent of leadership training. The organization's annual Catalyst University attracts a wide range of professionals and working people. His third book on leadership, talent and community development has not yet been published. Southwest Michigan First is also recognized as the governor's lead organization in the region as it looks to channel state funding for economic development projects. Here are responses by Kitchens to questions posed to him by MLive: Where does Ron Kitchens end and where does Southwest Michigan First begin? "It is all owned by Southwest Michigan First," Kitchens said. "'Ron Kitchens' Always Forward,' those are all brands of Southwest Michigan First." But he said, "Communications is the most important role that I have -- communications to lots of audiences. Communications is like that giant rubber bucket that's got a hole in it. The more you pour in, the bucket expands, it also continues to leak out. So you've got to pour more and more in." How does an economic developer have the time to be a writer, national speaker and author? "I write a lot on nights and weekends," Kitchens said. "But any revenue from books and speeches that I give, those belong to Southwest Michigan First. My job is to be the full-time leader of Southwest Michigan First. So I own my content but all of the revenue that comes from it, comes back to the organization." He said that would change if he left, but he has no plans to do that. And while he is the main face of the organization, it is a team operation that he would not want to try to do as a solo act. "I don't ever want to have to feel guilty or have to segregate my life and go, 'Well, I did this at lunch, not at this (other time),'" he said. "I just want to live this really inclusive life that allows me to be creative. You get a great idea, you want to stop and write it down. And I don't want somebody to ask, 'OK, whose time were you on?' No. No. This all belongs to this organization, which I love. And I would do this job for free if I could afford it." He is well-paid, however, with reported compensation of more than $530,000 in 2016, not counting about $37,500 in additional compensation that year from Southwest Michigan First and related organizations. Southwest Michigan First had total revenues of more than $5.5 million that year. The lion's share of that, some $3.1 million, was annual contributions made by area businesses and organizations, according its annual tax return that is public record. The organization has a staff of 28 but is looking to expand to 35. Where are the ground-breaking ceremonies and ribbon-cutting events for new businesses? Where do things stand as far as Southwest Michigan First's creation mission goes? "Our focus is on the belief that the greatest force for change is a job," Kitchens said. "That will never change. That is who we are. That is core to everything we do. How we do that changes depending on the economy in the region, in the country. It depends on the availability of resources." Unemployment rates in the Kalamazoo-Portage area ranged from just under 4 percent to just over 5 percent during the last six months. At that rate, "We're essentially at full employment right now," he said. That does not provide an adequate pool of workers from which employers can choose. Eighty percent of all new jobs are the result of expansions by companies already here, he said. Twenty percent is from new development. "That doesn't change really anywhere in the country over time," Kitchens said. "But what we do know is how we help those existing companies has changed dramatically. We're right now focused on talent." Southwest Michigan is poised to lose about 35,000 workers over the next 10 years in the seven-county area, Kitchens said, primarily a result of retirements by middle-aged workers. "The thing that keeps me up at night is we know that if we do nothing, 10 years from now we will have 35,000 fewer people in our workforce than we have today. We're right now focused on talent," he said. "Because of our one-state recession 15-16 years ago ... friends had to leave if they could get a job someplace else," Kitchens said. "They took their elementary school or lower kids with them. Those kids are now graduating from school in Dallas or Denver or Atlanta. So our school population has crashed. At the same time, Western Michigan University's census is down about 30 percent. So we have fewer college kids in the community to stay. On top of that, we as a state, became one of the oldest states in the country as we lost that middle-age group. They're all retiring." How does talent translate into more jobs? "If you don't have talent to fill the jobs, then the jobs have to leave," he said. "Jobs will go where talent is. So those regions that are going to be successful in the future aren't just regions that have the jobs but have the people. The talent is now the raw material." As the leader of the region, Kalamazoo County "will have to have an incredibly strong focus on growing and retaining college graduates," Kitchens said. That includes encouraging more students to gain a technical certificate, a community college degree or a four-year college degree. How is that happening? Kitchens said Southwest Michigan First is working in the public schools through the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency, helping KRESA expand its involvement with manufacturers and primary employers. "Their work-career program is already phenomenally good at health care and food service," Kitchens said of KRESA. "Manufacturing has not been a great partner." The economic development organization is also working with community colleges in the seven-county area and with Western Michigan University. WMU President Edward Montgomery is a believer in internships, Kitchens said. Southwest Michigan First facilitates some 30 to 50 internships through the Monroe-Brown Internship Program. "We know that when we interview kids that about 35 percent of them plan to stay in the community before the internship," Kitchens said. "We know that after the internship, somewhere between 75-80 percent are getting jobs with the company after graduation and staying in the community. They're staying in the community and working for the company they did an internship with." Southwest Michigan First is in the throes of a physical expansion. Its offices at 241 E. Michigan Ave. are soon to be expanded. In anticipation of that, its staff is relocating temporarily to 261 E. Kalamazoo Ave. That is space that formerly housed VML, an advertising/marketing firm became a tenant late last year of the new Foundry building at 600 E. Michigan Ave. Editor's note: The story was updated to reflect that the proposed trail is a connector of the Iron Belle Trail. TITTABAWASSEE TWP, MI -- They moved to the country for seclusion, security and serenity. Now, despite opposition, their township wants to put a public trail through their front yards. "I've been here 27 years," said resident James Gross. "We bought out here for the privacy. We want to keep the privacy." The Tittabawassee Township Board of Trustees unanimously approve a grant proposal last month for the 2.6-mile trail which would connect a portion of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail and the statewide Iron Belle Trail. The proposed $665,800 trail connector between the existing Freeland and Kochville Township's trails would start at the Freeland SportsZone, run north up Garfield Road, east on Kochville Road, south on Hackett Road and finally east onto a utility trail. Along Kochville Road, the pavement trail would extend 6 foot off the roadway through the yards of seven family homes. Residents don't have to OK the proposal, because the property technically belongs to the county through right-of-ways. Several Kochville Road residents interviewed said they weren't mailed a notice for either the planning meeting or the meeting where the board approved the proposal. "I found out from a neighbor knocking on my door," said resident Kate Colpean. "As soon as I found out I went to the next meeting." "A neighbor came into my yard one day and said they were going to run the trail across his property and now they're going to do it to mine," Gross said. Gross, Colpean and some 40 other residents attended the March meeting in hopes of getting the township to rethink their plans. It fell on deaf ears, Gross said. "We all went and told them what we thought," he said. "They're going to do it as they see fit, whether we like it or not. "I thought we lived in a society where your voice mattered?" Tittabawassee Township Supervisor Rick Hayes contended residents were mailed notices and their concerns were considered. "Were they allowed to speak?" Hayes asked, noting their comments were in the minutes. "Then they were heard." Change of plans If the current proposal to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is accepted, the state will pay $300,000, the township $265,800 and the Great Lakes Bay Region Trail group $100,000. MLive left messages with Tittabawassee Township Manager Marc McGill, who spearheaded the project, was unable to reach him for comment. The township initially planned two years ago to run the connector from the Freeland SportsZone to Kochville Township through utility trails the whole way, Hayes said. The plans fell apart when a property owner declined to let the trail run through a portion of his land. "They owned the land and didn't want it going through it," Hayes said. "Most of the land is owned by Consumers Energy except for that one piece." The township then rerouted trail plans up Garfield and onto Kochville Road, with the Kochville stretch narrower than the rest. "That portion will be 6-foot wide because some of the residents along the route felt a narrower trail would be a better fit with the neighborhood character and less trees need to be removed," the proposal states. The year after Tom Zemanek moved to his Kochville Road home in 1999, he planted rows of arborvitaes encircling most his property. "I planted all this," Zemanek said. "It's just my little piece of dirt, and I like the scenery, the wall of green. "It's a big asset to my property and I'm proud of it." Should trail plans go forward, crews will tear out his greenery bordering the roadway, he said. Every tree and shrub uprooted for the trail construction comes with a promise the township will replant them, Hayes said. "We all think it's our front yard, but the road commission owns 33 feet from the center line," he said. Hayes noted plantings in the right-of-way would be torn up anyhow, should any road work take place. The concerns Residents said the trail would compromise their privacy, property and security. Most viewed the trail as a positive asset to the area, but, apart from their other concerns, said the location along the roadway doesn't highlight natural landscape. "I'm for the trail, but I just think it would be beautiful back in the nature of things," Zemanek said. "It's a wonderful thing but, gee, not in my yard. It's not in your yard." Should trail plans go forward, Colpean said she'll likely fence in her yard for privacy. "I used to live in Saginaw Township, that's why I came out here," she said. Gross said although he doesn't think the all-hours trail will bring in crooks and burglars, it'll be cause to keep things locked up. "If we wanted people closer to our house we would've bought in a damn subdivision," he said. BAY CITY, MI -- A 36-year-old Saginaw man is facing federal charges for allegedly using the dark web to traffick in child pornography. According to an affidavit authored by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent David M. Alley, authorities on April 23 executed a search warrant on the home of Jesse V. Medina. Investigators seized various devices capable of sending and receiving child porn. The warrant was based on evidence investigators had acquired that Medina had communicated via the Internet his interest in child porn. In these online communications, Medina described sexually abusing a friend's 6-year-old daughter for two years and discussed plans for engaging in sexual abuse of a child with the person he was interacting with, Alley wrote. The day the warrant was executed, Alley read Medina his Miranda rights and interviewed him at the Saginaw Police Department. During that interview, Medina told Alley he has repeatedly received child porn on his computer and has used the dark web for this purpose. "He explained that at least once a month, and sometimes more often, he receives child pornography by using an 'app' that he can access through his cellular telephone..." Alley wrote. Medina went on to tell Alley he had shared images of what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl having sex with an adult man. He denied ever sexually assaulting a child, saying his earlier online descriptions of such an act amounted to fantasies. Medina did, however, tell Alley he had unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to a 5-year-old for sexual purposes, Alley wrote. Two children live with Medina, the special agent wrote. Medina is also the board president of the North Saginaw Charter Academy in Kochville Township. Evidence indicates Medina has been receiving child porn since at least the summer of 2017. A grand jury in the federal courthouse in downtown Bay City on April 25 indicted Medina on single counts of receiving or distributing child porn and possessing child porn. Medina's next court date is pending. As of April 26, he is in custody at the Genesee County Jail. SAGINAW, MI -- For the second time this week, a 17-year-old boy testified the Rev. Robert J. "Father Bob" DeLand Jr. sexually assaulted him. A teen who had testified Wednesday in a separate matter against DeLand retook the witness stand the afternoon of Friday, April 27, during two preliminary examinations. DeLand, 71, is a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. On Friday, the teen testified he had known DeLand as a hall monitor at his high school. In 2017, the teen had pleaded guilty to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol and was court-ordered to perform 25 hours of community service, with DeLand supervising. The teen said on Nov. 16, DeLand took him out of class, something atypical of a hall monitor. DeLand took him to another room and gave him $20 and hugged him, the witness testified. "As we were walking out of the room, he put his hand on my back and slid his hand down to my butt," he said, adding he felt, "very uncomfortable and very angry. I wanted to punch him in the face." The teen said he didn't recall if he said anything to DeLand. By the time this allegedly occurred, the teen had already made a complaint against DeLand to Tittabawassee Township police and had agreed to help them in their investigation, something he testified to in detail on Wednesday. Questioned by defense attorney Alan A. Crawford, the teen on Friday said he was not equipped with a recording device when DeLand allegedly touched his buttock in the school. The hearing ended with Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover asking Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman to bind DeLand over to Circuit Court on a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury. She argued when DeLand allegedly touched the teen's buttock, it was "most certainly done for sexual gratification or sexual purposes." Hoffman obliged and bound the case over to the higher court for trial. Second hearing In a subsequent hearing Friday, the same teen testified he and DeLand had discussed marijuana, pills, psychedelic mushrooms, and ecstasy. DeLand asked him about acquiring such substances, saying he wanted to smoke pot with him, the teen said. The teen said DeLand gave him $100 to buy ecstasy, with the plan being that the teen would ingest the substance at DeLand's home. The teen added he did not actually buy the drug, but that police gave him imitation ecstasy pills, he said. The teen texted DeLand a photo of one of the pills and DeLand suggested he keep it to ensure the teen wasn't caught with it, he said. The night of a later sleepover date at DeLand's condo at 29 Mallard Cove, the priest returned the pill to him, the teen testified. Tittabawassee Township Police Detective Brian J. Berg testified he had instructed the teen to enact a ruse whereby he acted high on Xanax while in the priest's presence on Feb. 22 and to "make the vague statement that there were a lot of pills going around." The purposes of the ruse was to see how DeLand would react to such a scenario. Instead of counseling the teen against using illicit substances, he continuously brought up the drugs, Berg said. On Feb. 23, the teen met with DeLand in a supermarket parking lot and gave a counterfeit ecstasy pill to him, Berg testified. With a tracking device already in place on DeLand's vehicle, investigators determined he had driven from a rectory to the spot, the detective said, adding he personally surveilled the parking lot exchange. About 8 p.m. on Feb. 25, DeLand picked up the teen and took him first to a rectory, then to a party store, then to his Saginaw Township condo, Berg said. While at the rectory, DeLand asked the teen if he wanted to take the pill then, but they decided he would take it at DeLand's home, Berg said. At DeLand's residence, the teen feigned taking the pill. From there, DeLand repeatedly asked the teen what he was experiencing and reiterated his love for him, the detective testified. The interaction was recorded by a device on the teen, with police posted nearby and a search warrant ready to go. "We thought if Father Bob was going to sexually assault or take advantage of (the teen), we wanted it to happen under a controlled environment where we could do something about it," Berg said. "We also wanted to see if (DeLand) would do the right thing and not have him take that pill of ecstasy." Defense attorney Crawford asked Berg if he ever had the teen enact a ruse that would lead to DeLand having him do something positive. Berg replied he did not. "I wanted to give Father Bob the opportunity to do the right thing or do the wrong thing," the detective said. Crawford then asked if Berg wanted to dictate or control the conversations between the teen and DeLand. Berg replied he meant to control the beginning of their conversations and to see how DeLand would proceed. "This whole investigation simply planted a seed and gave total opportunity on how it was carried out by Father Bob himself," Berg said. "He had two paths to go, and it was simple as that. He continually chose the wrong path. We were really hoping Father Bob would not commit any crimes. Everyone liked Father Bob and nobody wanted this, including myself, to be true." After Berg testified, Judge Hoffman bound DeLand over to Circuit Court on a charge of distributing an imitation controlled substance. Third hearing An 18-year-old male said he was familiar with DeLand as he was a hall monitor at his high school, but he properly met him through his father who works for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. DeLand would often make him uncomfortable, he said. "When he would shake my hand, a lot of the times he wouldn't let me go. I would try to pull away sometimes and he would just hold on a little longer than I was comfortable with." DeLand would also hug him and talk closely into his ear, the teen said. The teen said in May 2017, he and his father attended a community event conducted by DeLand at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 300 Johnson St. in Saginaw. At DeLand's request, the teen accompanied him into a coat room in the church. "He reached in for a handshake like he always does," he said. "He didn't go in for a regular handshake; he went in a little lower than I'm used to. Between my legs a little bit, down there, in that area." The teen said DeLand's palm was up and he reached toward his penis, but he moved slow enough that the teen was able to block him. "I saw it and it was more of an instinct for me to grab the hand," the teen said. "I felt like I was in danger. I felt very upset, angry. I didn't understand what was happening or why." The teen said he left the room and sought out his dad and asked to leave. Assistant Prosecutor Hoover asked the teen if he is still affected by the incident. "I had a dream the other night that I was fending off Father Bob trying to touch me," he said. "It affects me, it does." Questioned by Crawford, the teen said he never told DeLand or school staff that he made him uncomfortable. He said he told his mom and friends, though. After the teen concluded his testimony, Hoover called his father to the stand. The dad's testimony matched his son's that they attended an event at St. Agnes Church in May. The two separate in the church, but a short time later, his son approached him in a hurry, he said. "He said, 'We have to leave now, Dad.' I said, 'Why?' and he said, 'We just gotta go.' He wouldn't tell me until we got to the car. "How did I react?" he said, repeating the prosecutor's question and getting emotional. "I wanted to go and confront him and take care of this situation, there and then. My son told me to calm down, (which) is why he waited so long to tell me." After news broke of DeLand's Feb. 25 arrest, the father called police, he said. After the father stepped down, Hoover asked the judge to bind DeLand over to Circuit Court on a charge of assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Hoffman granted the prosecutor's request. On Wednesday, the 17-year-old subject testified he wore a recording device provided by police during interactions with DeLand. He testified that on Feb. 25, DeLand massaged his feet, back, and chest, touched his buttocks, and touched his hand as the teen used his hand to cover his penis. Also on Wednesday, a 22-year-old man testified DeLand had sexually assaulted him on Aug. 7 inside DeLand's condo. He said the two were drinking tequila before he blacked out and regained consciousness several times, once to DeLand kissing him and another to both of them standing with their pants around their ankles, with no memory of how they got that way. Wednesday's two hearings ended with Hoffman binding DeLand over to Circuit Court on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury, attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and gross indecency between males. DeLand's next courts are pending. In the meantime, DeLand is free on bond, but under house arrest. An explosion that rocked an oil refinery in Superior, Wisc. on Thursday morning injured at least 11 people and sent a day-long plume of heavy smoke drifting across the northwestern part of that state, according to authorities at the National Weather Service. By late Thursday, the smoky fire was out at Wisconsin's only refinery, but residents around the plant who had been evacuated during the day were not expected to be let back to their homes until very late this evening, the Associated Press said. Thick clouds of black smoke billowed from the Husky Energy refinery, forcing people to leave their homes and three schools to evacuate, along with a nearby hospital. The plant produces gasoline and asphalt. The city of Superior is located on its namesake Great Lake, and shares a shipping port with neighboring Duluth, Minn., the AP said. Freighter fans today were posting pictures to social media of large ships being loaded with cargo while the refinery fire burned in the background. The explosion was linked to a tank of crude oil or asphalt, authorities said. At one point, Superior's mayor said nearly all of the city's 27,000 people were being evacuated. Refinery officials said the smoke plume was caused by burning asphalt, and that it burned so hot that fire crews could not get near it to extinguish it. Federal chemical safety investigators planned to visit the site. Residents forced to leave their homes wondered what kind of chemical fallout there might be from the noxious clouds of smoke. The weather service said the winds were expected to weaken late Thursday and shift toward Lake Superior. Thursday night, the U.S. Coast Guard created a safety zone in the Duluth-Superior port in response to the refinery fire. It's designed to protect vessels and people from possible air quality hazards, the military said. All vessels are prohibited from entering the zone, or anchoring there. It includes the Superior entry and Allouez Bay. 2:15PM Radar image of smoke plume - now reaching to southern edge of Douglas county. This is tracking smoke aloft. Smoke plume may drift a bit to the west this evening. pic.twitter.com/PCFrzg4Es3 NWS Duluth (@NWSduluth) April 26, 2018 Kanye West found himself in hot water after expressing support for President Donald Trump on Twitter and criticizing former President Barack Obama. He even tweeted out a #Kanye2024 poster. Many think Kanye is seriously considering a presidential run, and why not? He wouldn't be the first celebrity to run for office. Others think Kanye is a total clown, and he's just looking for attention. Should Kanye West run for president in 2024? PERSPECTIVES It all started when Kanye began tweeting positive things about Trump, referring to him as his "brother." You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought. ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018 He even tweeted a photo of a signed MAGA hat. Trump thanked Kanye for his comments. Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018 And Kanye shared a #Kanye2024 poster. Kanye then went on to criticize Obama, arguing he did nothing to help people in Chicago. Maybe Kanye could be the one to bring about change? Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed. ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018 But what did Kanye ever do for Chicago? He could have helped his community if he wanted to. Hes not rich hes broke. If he had any money he should be out here like @chancetherapper actually making a difference for the City and its youth. Ivette Aguirre-Beck (@DawgGoneItInc) April 27, 2018 #Kanye2024 posters have begun popping up around the country. Kanye 2024 posters hit cities across America - Keep America Great pic.twitter.com/z5sNKWyGvr Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 23, 2018 And conservative commentator Candace Owens believes we should support free thinkers like Kanye who refuse to fall in line with everyone else. Victim blacks have been so brainwashed to commit to the past, that they are incapable of seeing the future. Same black media hosts that are calling Kanye racist, crazy, drug addictwill regret it by 2024. The more Kanye succeeds, the more they will fail. @oldmanebro Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 25, 2018 It just makes sense, Kanye should run in 2024. Kanye is 40. Prime age for running in 2024. Cruz and Rubio were both in their mid-40s during their 2016 campaigns. Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) April 25, 2018 But others feel Trump is proof that celebrities don't make good politicians. To be clear, my problem isnt with Kanye. He can think, say, and support whatever or whomever he likes. Thats freedom. My problem is with the idiots who think that because he dons a MAGA hat, hes suddenly qualified to be president. Stop. The. Celebrity. Worship. Melissa Quinn Amour (@MelissaAmour72) April 26, 2018 And like Trump, Kanye is motivated by attention, good or bad. Kanye & Trump have much in common. Both are narcissistic, pompous & arrogant. They're also pathetically insecure, a characteristic that is evident in their embarrassing need for constant attention, public praise & validation. lil'dragonfly (@Lil_Dragonfly_7) April 25, 2018 These MAGA folks really think Kanye is with them. Nope. He saw Trump become the center of attention by duping Americas most gullible group and decided he wanted in on the con. Adam Best (@adamcbest) April 25, 2018 The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. A new monument honoring the nearly 5,000 helicopter pilots and crewmembers who lost their lives in Vietnam was recently unveiled at Arlington National Cemetery, more than five decades after U.S. troops began fighting there. The 32- by 22-inch monument sits in Arlington's Section 35, just south of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It features an engraving of the iconic UH-1 Huey helicopter with an inscription honoring the "memory of the helicopter pilots and crewmembers who gave the full measure of devotion to their nation in the Vietnam War." It's only fitting for the monument to bear an image of the Huey, retired Army Maj. Gen. Carl McNair Jr., who commanded aviators in Vietnam, said at the April 18 dedication ceremony. Vietnam was known as the helicopter war, he added, and the Huey was the one that saw the most action there. "Over 10,000 [Hueys] were built for that war, McNair said. Over 7,000 saw service in theater, flying over 7.5 million flight hours - more combat time than any other aircraft in the history of warfare. Over 3,000 of those aircraft did not return." Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association spearheaded the effort to have the monument placed at Arlington. As its members grow older, they wanted to see their fallen comrades honored in their lifetime - especially because Vietnam veterans weren't always treated with respect. "As we prepare to 'pull pitch' for the last time it is important that our legacy is well established," the association's website states. "This is especially true because of the controversial nature of our war, the Vietnam War. The biased news media and so called peace movement versions of the war are not the same as our reality or what really happened. It is important that each of us provide our piece of history to counter the incorrect version of the Vietnam War." Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, an infantry officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, introduced the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Monument Act in Congress in 2017 to honor the fallen pilots and crewmembers. Baldwin said honoring those servicemembers who died in Vietnam was well deserved. "The brave individuals who served as helicopter pilots and crewmembers during the Vietnam War and their families have earned this recognition," she said in a statement after the dedication ceremony. "I'm so proud to see this monument become a reality at long last so we can honor their sacrifice and remember their courage for generations to come." [April 27, 2018] Wireless Zone Celebrates 11th Annual Franchise Convention in Grapevine, Texas ROCKY HILL, Conn., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wireless Zone, an authorized retailer of Verizon Wireless products and services and the nation's largest wireless retail franchise, celebrated another strong year of growth at the brand's annual convention held in Grapevine, Texas from March 11 to March 13. More than 310 franchisees and their staff, vendors, and the brand's corporate team met to highlight key achievements, discuss strategy for the year ahead, and award the franchisees who drove results for their locations and for the brand throughout 2017. Wireless Zone added more than 30 new stores to the system in 2017, reaching 345 locations nationwide. The brand also celebrated positive store growth backed by a number of new initiatives developed by parent company, TCC. Some of those key initiatives included the creation of a new order website, planograms and a new cloud infrastructure strategy. "Our annual convention is a time when we can get the entire team together and celebrate Wireless Zone's successes and growth from the year before, as well as recognize those that went above and beyond to contribute to those achievements," said Dave Staszewski, Wireless Zone Executive Vice President. "We had a big 2017 and know that with the strategy we have in place for 2018, we'll have even more to celebrate in the year to come." Each year, the convention includes an awards ceremony recognizing Wireless Zone's top-performing franchisees as well as those with extraordinary service to the brand. This year, 14 franchise owners were recognized as top performers who drove performance in a number of categories: new activations per month, upgrades per month, prepaid units, conected device attachment rate, year over year new activations, activations percent increase and year over year upgrade percent increase. Winners were invited to a week-long Mediterranean cruise where they'll have the opportunity to relax, enjoy the sights and collaborate with the brand's other top franchisees. Among those recognized was Connecticut franchisee Neil Ryan, who has been with the brand for more than 25 years. "I'm very proud of my team for once again earning this award. We're celebrating our 25th year in business, and it's a great accomplishment to have won this award the last 23 consecutive years," Ryan noted. "Five of our seven local stores will be joining the top 25 Verizon premium agents in the country for a week of well-deserved fun and relaxation, I'm certainly looking forward to it." Other award winners included Darren Fortner, a franchisee based in Indiana, who took home the esteemed Spirit of Wireless Zone Award. Fortner has a proven track record of outstanding sales performance and demonstrated strong commitment to the community by coordinating a number of charitable events and donations throughout 2017. The brand's highest award, Franchisee of the Year, was awarded to Dave Bogart, franchise owner of three stores across New York, who, like Fortner, was recognized for his consistent performance and community involvement. "These two franchisees are perfect representations of what can be achieved with hard work and dedication," said Staszewski. "Both Darren and Dave have been mentors to both new and existing Wireless Zone franchisees for decades and are models for the operators we hope to welcome into our system in the years to come. We were thrilled to recognize them for contributing to our success and look forward to what they're able to accomplish in the future." ABOUT WIRELESS ZONE Founded in 1988 as ""The Car Phone Store"", the Wireless Zone system has become the nation's largest wireless retail franchisor and was ranked the No. 1 franchise in its category by Entrepreneur magazine. Each store is independently owned and operated, exclusively offering Verizon Wireless products and services. The Wireless Zone system has been honored with Verizon's "Best Customer Service" award for five consecutive years and is franchised and operated by Wireless Zone LLC. For more information, visit www.wirelesszone.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Alison Hoesli No Limit Agency 312.526.3996 alison@nolimitagency.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wireless-zone-celebrates-11th-annual-franchise-convention-in-grapevine-texas-300637846.html SOURCE Wireless Zone [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\broadband-stimulus's Homepage ] Egyptian actor Mahmoud Morsi, who died in 24th April 2004, remained an enigma behind which lay a thick wall of genius in both choice and performance. He strongly protected himself from the medias eyes, which he avoided almost totally throughout his entire life. Some have said that the mystery with which he surrounded himself contributed to his stardom -- as if shunning the limelight were the secret behind his permanent presence in memories and minds. What a strange paradox! Mahmoud Morsi was the only star whose fame needed no help from media. He was also the only one who attained such stardom through a limited number of roles. Acting in TV series did not diminish his presence, although it was his favourite contribution in the last twenty-five years of his life. Mahmoud Morsi was born in Alexandria in 7th June 1923. He studied at the Institute of Post-Graduate Cinematic Studies (EIDIC) in Paris and was a long-time lecturer in the Higher Institute of Cinema, though he didnt direct a single film. Morsi taught acting theory at the Higher Institute for Theatrical Arts in Cairo, but was not even well known as a stage actor -- a total paradox! His blue eyes combined harshness and meekness, fierceness and good-heartedness, good and evil. In spite of all these characteristics, his easiness in moving from one mood to another needed no more than a fraction of a second. His red face did not conceal his genuine Egyptianess, and his unhurried movement before the camera didn't lessen our sensation of his vivid and flowing performance. As for his high-pitched voice, it did not hinder him at all from expressing the most delicate human feelings. He is indeed an artist who is full of contradictions -- but those were his tools. Morsi acted in only 25 films. He debuted in I am the Fugitive (1962, Niazi Mostafa) and ended his run with The Swords Blade (1986, Atef Salem). Throughout his cinematic career, Morsi shifted from evil to good roles, which sometimes gave way into grey area. In his villain stage, he shone as the police chief in Prince of Cunningness (1964, Barakat), the British commander in The Price of Freedom (1964, Nour El-Demerdash), the pagan tribe chieftain in Dawn of Islam (1971, Salah Abu-Seif) and as the extremely harsh prison warden in Night and Rods (1973, Ashraf Fahmi). All these roles, as you can see, are of chiefs and military commanders that required the display of a considerable amount of hardness and might. This style of role reached its zenith in his most famous cinematic roles ever: his role as Atrees the Elder of the Dahashna clan in A Touch of Fear (1969, Hussein Kamal). The haughty figure ruled his village ruthlessly, and nobody could confront his tyranny except his old flame Fouada. However, the evil of Mahmoud Morsis characters was not, in many cases, pure. Cloaked in good heartedness, over bursts of villainous behaviour, Morsi's characters often embodied ethical grey areas. Consequently, the viewer felt a certain amount of sympathy towards those characters, which were, after all, motivated by natural human weakness. This area permitted Morsi to exercise his favourite game, moving from ferocity to meekness and vice-versa. In The Last Night (1963, Kamal El-Sheikh), Morsi co-starred with Faten Hamama, he played a man who committed a heinous crime albeit for a noble cause. He exploited an innocent amnesiac woman and made her believe that she was his wife in order to bring up his daughter -- her niece -- after his wifes death in an air raid. He then exerted every imaginable effort to stop this woman from regaining her real persona. In the same year, in The Open Door (directed by Barakat), Morsi played an academic professor whose outer appearance is ravishing while his inside is totally different. In The Quail and Autumn (1967, Hossam Eddine Mostafa), based on a novel by Naguib Mahfouz, he played a man who lost his influence, became unable to adapt with the new reality, secluded himself and grew bitter to all those surrounding him. In The Beggar (1973, Hossam Eddine Mostafa) -- also based on a novel by Naguib Mahfouz -- Morsi transcended the model of moving smoothly from good to evil and exhibited a more philosophical proposition. The protagonist searches for a satisfying answer about being and nothingness, existence, death and even the meaning of life in its entirety. The protagonists perplexity led him to experiment with everything from sensual pleasures to the world of mysticism. Continuing on the same path of grey-area characters, there is of course Morsi's important film My Wife and the Dog (1971, Said Marzouk) in which he plays a man with a debauched past who begins to suspect his wife of the same. In Saad the Orphan (1985, Ashraf Fahmy), he plays a greedy man who agrees to kill his brother for the sake of money and influence, although he is very delicate and kind with his daughter and his nephew, neither of whom know anything about the murder until the very end. This role is very similar to one that he played in the TV series The Firebird (1987, Mohammed Fadel). Mahmoud Morsis efforts on stage started three years after his debut in Bitter Grapes (1965, Farouk Agrama) in which he played a big-hearted farm owner taking care of a poor girl -- much unlike the villain played by Ahmed Ramzy. Then Morsi continued playing the idealistic character in other films such as The Sad Night-Bird (1967, Yehia El-Alamy), but his more memorable performances came in both A Song on the Corridor (1972, Ali Abdel-Khalelk) in which he personified an Egyptian soldier defending his position until his last breath during the 1967 defeat -- and in his final film The Swords Blade, in which he played an undersecretary obliged to play a musical instrument behind a belly dancer in order to meet his familys needs. Even in his repeated excursions into TV dramas, Morsi did not move away from his usual roles in cinema. He was either an idealistic dreamer, as in The Trip of Mr. Abu-Ela Al-Bishry (1985, Mohammed Fadel) and in The Family (1994, Ismail Abdel-Hafez); a cunning man in When the Fox Fled (1999, Mohammed El-Naggar); or in the grey, area as in The Firebird. However, in all these roles he held a tight grip on the threads of his characters and articulated them with exquisite cleverness. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: HARLEYSVILLE After not being held last year because of the pandemic, the traditional first Saturday of October Apple Butter Frolic returned Oct. 2 to the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, bringing with it a display of 18th and 19th century farming and living. Farming demonstrations included plowing with a horse, corn binding with horses, fodder cutting, flailing and fanning... Building Homes for Heroes donates home to war veteran and her children Steve Irwin has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Crocodile Hunter star was an Australian zookeeper and television personality before he was killed by a stingray in 2006. His wife Terri and children Bindi and Robert were at the unveiling, along with a scaly friend. The family brought along a giant snake, which they struggled to pull back as it slithered across the star. A teary-eyed Bindi told the crowd her father would have loved to have been at the ceremony. Her brother Robert tweeted: "Woo-Hooit was such a privilege to unveil Dad's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. "So wonderful for everything dad was passionate about to be remembered here forever. What an honour." Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith would like to eliminate the carotid control hold from the sheriffs office use-of-force policy, because there is too much room for injury-resulting error. Local law enforcement agencies say the use of the carotid restraint is not common. However, they train for it and reserve it as a use-of-force technique in the field to compel disobedient, violent subjects to submit to arrest. The carotid hold recently gained local attention when Gilroy Police reported that officers used the restraint, among other non-lethal techniques, to attempt to arrest an unarmed suspected prowler, Steven Juarez on Feb. 25. Juarez died after a struggle with officers in the Old Gilroy neighborhood. Police said at least one officer applied a carotid hold and used a Taser and other use-of-force techniques on Juarez while he tried to resist. An investigation into Juarez death is ongoing, and authorities have not yet said identified the cause of his death. The written use-of-force policies for the Gilroy Police Department, Morgan Hill Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office each contain a section on the officers use of the carotid control hold. The restraintpopular among many departments nationwideis typically applied by wrapping an arm around a subjects neck from behind, and putting lateral compression on one of the the arteries on each side of the neck, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Mario Ramirez. The Hollister Police Department does not use the carotid hold, according to Hollister Police Sgt. Don Pershall. Officers in Hollister are trained to use and carry Tasers in the field. A correct use of the carotid hold does not cut off or restrict the subjects breathing, Ramirez said. Rather, it is intended to briefly restrict the blood flow to the brain so the subject is momentarily rendered unconscious, allowing the arresting officer to handcuff them. When applied, the restraining officers elbow should form a V in front of the subjects throat with a pocket between the elbow and throat, ensuring that no pressure is placed on the trachea or back of the head, Ramirez explained. It is not a chokehold, Ramirez said. At no point are we restricting the airway of an individual. He added that when applied correctly, Most are rendered unconscious within five to 15 seconds of the application. Most regain consciousness within 20 to 30 seconds. The written policies for both Morgan Hill and Gilroy police spell out precisely under what conditions an officer can apply a carotid hold: when the subject is violent or physically resisting, or the person has demonstrated an intention to be violent and reasonably appears to have the potential to harm officers, him/herself or others. The policies require that officers can only use the carotid hold if they have successfully completed their respective departments approved training in its use, due to the potential for injury. Gilroy and Morgan Hill police departments use of force policies also note that after a carotid hold has been applied to a suspect, that person shall be promptly examined by paramedics or other qualified medical personnel. In Morgan Hill, Ramirez said officers rarely use the carotid hold, which can only be used in tight body-to-body contact when an officer is in an active fight and other forms of force may not have been effective, Ramirez said. In fact, he said he cant remember the last time a local officer used a carotid hold in the field. But it is a technique we train for, because it is effective when other methods arent working, Ramirez said. He added its also an option to avoid using impact weapons, also an approved use of force method for local departments, which are more likely to injure the suspect. Gilroy policy unchanged Gilroy Police Sgt. Jason Smith said trained officers are still permitted to use the carotid hold in Gilroy following the Feb. 25 death of Juarez. The department has not made any changes to its use-of-force policy since Feb. 25, but Smith said, The Gilroy Police Department constantly evaluates our policies to make sure they are lawful, relevant, and they meet the needs of the department and the community. Officers in Gilroy are trained every two years in the application of the carotid hold, Smith said. This training is conducted by California Peace Officer Standards and Training certified instructors. The most recent training for Gilroy officers was a four-hour session in the fall of 2017. Gilroy Police Departments Control Devices and Techniques policy lists other non-lethal use of force techniques that officers are trained and permitted to use. These include batons, tear gas (for crowd dispersal), Oleoresin Capsicum or pepper spray/projectiles and kinetic energy projectile launchers. The policy addresses the proper escalation of force, noting that an officer should use verbal warnings before resorting to physical force on a subject refusing to comply. When using control devices, officers should carefully consider potential impact areas in order to minimize injuries and unintentional targets, the control devices policy states. Gilroy Police also have a Conducted Energy Device policy, which lists the procedures and proper use of Tasers. In Gilroy, officers in the field generally use th e carotid hold less often than Tasers, Smith said. Sometimes, even just displaying a Taser is enough to compel a suspect to comply, he said. Smith added that there might be some circumstances when an officer has to use force that is not spelled out in the written policies. If youre in a fight for your life, there might be a metal stick next to you, Smith said, without referring to a specific incident. There are times, in a fight for your life, when you use what you can. Ramirez said a similar list of control devices, including Tasers and even a flashlight as an impact weapon, is available for Morgan Hill officers. He added that officers may use personal body weaponsa technical term for fists, feet and kneesin close combat altercation. Officers also carry firearms, which are used only as a last resort because they are lethal. Sheriff has concerns Sheriff Laurie Smith said while the sheriffs office includes the carotid hold in its use of force policy, she would like to see it removed from approved use in the field because sometimes people dont do it right. The carotid hold is not approved for use by officers in county jails, which are under the sheriffs jurisdiction. Sheriffs deputies do not carry Tasers in the field or in the jails, but Smith thinks they should be permitted in both environments. I think its a good intermediate step, Smith said. I believe Tasers would decrease deadly force. Weve had deputies shoot people who were attacking them with a knife, where I think they would have had time to get their Taser out, and that may have stopped the deadly force. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. In yesterday's recap, I mentioned that we were likely to see a token bounce on one of the next 3 days, but that it didn't necessarily guarantee further gains. Today brought said bounce. As discussed in the Day Ahead, there are solid historical examples of such bounces turning out to be one or two day affairs that give way to additional upward pressure in rates. I don't share those facts to assert that such a thing WILL happen this time--merely that it CAN happen any time we see a nice green day punctuating a sea of red. Today's rally was somewhat underwhelming to boot. European bonds rallied better than US bonds and the latter was completely unwilling to chase the former's 2nd wind around 10am. In other words, Treasury yields looked like they were reluctantly pulled lower without necessarily being interested in such things. Tomorrow brings the first reading of Q1 GDP, and our first official look at the impact of the tax bill. Forecasts have consolidated in a 1.8-2.6% range--still fairly wide, and still susceptible to "upside surprises." In other words, if the headline number is a 3 instead of a 2, it could be pretty damaging. That said, a headline number that's much lower than the 2.0% median forecast would likely be of some benefit at the moment. Away from econ data, bonds will potentially be getting a jump on month-end trading. They'll also give perhaps some small thought to implications of the North/South Korea meeting as far as geopolitical risk is concerned. Partners to Monitor Digital TV in Africa French media research agency Mediametrie has teamed up with African group Omedia to launch the continent's first DTT barometer, covering the French-speaking sub-Saharan region. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa are in the middle of a five-year switchover to digital terrestrial television (DTT), to be completed in 2020, with states like Senegal (pictured) and Cote d'Ivoire already receiving it. The new Omedia-Mediametrie barometer will measure the general public's awareness, perception and expectations regarding DTT, as well as equipment used / purchase intentions. Results will be reported twice a year for each country, with digital TV indicators for Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali and Gabon due to be added from June, and other French-speaking countries to be added in December. Fieldwork will consist of 600 ftf interviews per wave per country (700 in Cote d'Ivoire), with a representative sample of the population aged 15 years and older. Christophe Gondry is Managing Partner of Omedia, which has offices in Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Cote Ivoire), Bamako (Mali), Libreville (Gabon), Kinshasa (Republique Democratique du Congo) and Lyon, France. He comments: 'This barometer reflects Omedia's desire to bring market information to decision makers. We are combining our local expertise with Mediametrie's know-how in order to monitor the evolution of DTT on our continent'. Benoit Cassaigne, Executive Director of Mediametrie, adds: 'By launching the digital TV barometer, Mediametrie and Omedia are supporting media and communication stakeholders through the heralded expansion of DTT in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa'. The firms are online at www.omedia-group.com and www.mediametrie.com . Yoke Khin Yap, professor of physics, has won the 2018 Research Award. Its a story well-ingrained in our collective consciousnessthe tale of the scientist laboring long hours for months or even years in dogged pursuit of answers. Its a story we like to tell because it assures us someday our hard work will pay off. And in Yoke Khin Yaps case, it certainly has. The professor of physics has pursued a research path that embodies this story of science, taking an idea about certain nanomolecules from mere theory to, very soon, commercialized product. He also won the Bhakta Rath Research Award with student Chee Huei Lee in 2011. Yaps contributions to fundamental understanding of boron-carbon-nitrogen nanostructures, the development of transistors without semiconductors, and commercialization of high-brightness fluorophores for medical imaging have been honored with his receipt of Michigan Techs Research Award. Ravindra Pandey, professor of physics and department chair, nominated Yap. Yap is one of the leaders in establishing application of boron nitride-based nanomaterials for nanoscale devices, Pandey says. He has also led the efforts to encourage technology development and commercialization activities at Michigan Tech. Lest Yap take too much pride in the award, however, Pandey adds that conducting research isnt the sole job of a professor: Following the tradition of our department, he is now looking forward to teaching a large introductory physics course after receiving the Research Award. Stepping Stones Somewhat mischievously, Yap credits some of his success to the quietude and space for thinking deeply that a place like Michigan Tech affords away from the chatter and noise of a large city. Though some may find the Houghtons relative remoteness unsettling, Yap says that for the past 15 years, on the banks of the Innovation Shore, he has been able to work quietly away at puzzling through big questions. One of these big questions is whether transistors really need semi-conductors to function. Answer: No, they dont. Transistors are core to the central processing units (CPU) of computers. They act as either amplifiers or switches, either passing an electrical current through a circuit board or controlling the flow of the current. There are millions of transistors in CPUs, generally made with semiconducting silicon channels. Silicon, though a semiconductor, does offer some resistance to the flow of electricity, which causes the channels to heat up. The smaller the transistors, the worse the problem. This heat can literally fry a CPU. Imagine you are driving a car from Hancock to Houghton, Yap says by way metaphorical explanation. The lift bridge is the semi-conducting channel. You have resistance in the form of traffic. If you dont have the bridge, how will you go across the canal? What if you make cars that can jump a little bit, so they just need a stepping stone. You can cross without a traffic jam. The way for an electron to do that is quantum tunneling. This quantum mechanics process does not generate heat but allows electrons to cross. If an electron can tunnel across without creating heat, it can bring the message across, and we can make a transistor without causing heat, without causing a traffic jam. The solution is boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) coated with gold nanoparticles called quantum dots just one or two nanometers apart. By applying a nominally higher potential energy, the electrons are able to tunnel or jump between the nanoparticles. No semiconductor is needed to make such tunneling transistor channels. Somewhat paradoxically, BNNTs are electrically insulating, which led some in the physics community to offer resistance. However, BNNTs can be used as a switch to stop electrons from flowing on super-conductive materials like graphene, as demonstrated by Yaps follow-up work on graphene-BNNT switches. BNNTs are also superhydrophobic, transparent and anticorrosive, which means they can potentially be used in difficult chemical and thermal conditions. Any scientist conducting research in challenging environments knows the benefits such a breakthrough. A boron nitride nanotube is such a beautiful nanomolecule, he says. They are the first nanomaterial designed by theory that was able to be realized. It is potentially a breakthrough in physics, to theoretically design something and then make it. High-Brightness Fluorophores Yaps other line of research is also at the nanoscale, but otherwise bears little likeness to BNNTs. High-brightness fluorophores are dyes that fluoresce in different colors and degrees of brightness. They are used in machines called flow cytometers to detect diseased cells in blood. In 2014, Yap and his research laboratory team were accepted for the second time into the National Science Foundations I-Corps team program, which trains scientists to do market research. The I-Corps project allowed his team to identify the market of flow cytometry and develop a viable business plan. In 2014, Yap established StabiLux Biosciences in partnership with Superior Innovations, a for-profit company founded with alumni donations to nurture Michigan Tech innovations. Yap is currently on sabbatical at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, exploring new collaboration on his work on high-brightness fluorophores. High-brightness fluorophores are fluorescent dyes that enable medical professionals to detect diseased cells in blood. Using fluorescent dyes can help medical personnel differentiate cells in the body. Stabiluxs fluorophores offer enhanced signals to enable detection of cells that are not detectable using current methods. We can use fluorophores to recognize biological substances, for example protein and RNA, Yap says. Currently we are looking into antigen conjugations. This helps us to understand the antigen profile on the surface of the cell, which helps us differentiate what kind of cells we have. The fluorophore-tinted cells are so bright they allow researchers to better analyze types of cells. Years in the making, Yaps relentless pursuit of answers down multiple research paths exemplifies his commitment to seeing a project through to its conclusions. More recently, his work on nano-environment protection and 2-D materials beyond graphene have also started to gain attention. Casually, Yap says: I might have to spend another 15 years on this research. The Research Award The Michigan Tech Research Award recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement by a faculty member. It is based on the impact of the person's research, particularly sustained research or a noteworthy breakthrough. The Michigan Tech Research Award is symbolic of the university's high standard of research endeavors. Learn more about the award on the Office of Research website. Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior. Technology startups gathered in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to pitch their business models and vie for a singular spot in a prestigious regional competition. The Echelon Top 100 Cambodia Qualifiers, hosted by local telecommunications company Smart Axiata and tech media platform e27, was held to shine a spotlight on Cambodias tech scene and the competitions organisers stressed the importance of the event for promoting Cambodian startups on a regional scale. Most of the 21 competing teams were founded by Cambodians, however all were beat out by Myanmar-based startup Goama, which advertised itself as the Netflix of games for emerging countries. Four Cambodian startups also received recognition at the event and will be flown out to experience the regional competition in Singapore as part of their rewards, but only Goama will be given the opportunity to compete at the event. [Note: Following publication of this article, representatives of the event contacted The Post to say that while Goama is the only company guaranteed a spot to pitch, the four Cambodian startups may have an opportunity to pitch their ideas as well, depending on their rankings among startups from the 20 cities where competitions will be held.] Mohani Belani, CEO and co-founder of e27, said at the start of the event that he had decided to bring his companys startup competition to Cambodia for the first time because he was inspired by the potential of the countrys youth. The ecosystem here is great, because a lot of the population is very young, he said, addressing the crowd before the final judging. This is the time for the young generation to take charge here, to localise and execute their ideas. The Cambodian startups that were runners-up to Goama were Spare, which facilitates booking of available office space in Phnom Penh; Demine Robotics, which builds robots to rid the Cambodian countryside of landmines; and BookMeBus and CamboTicket, both of which provide online bus and train ticketing platforms in the Kingdom. At the end of last year, Asia was home to more than one-third of the worlds billion-dollar startups, also known as unicorns. Only four of those unicorns were based in Southeast Asia, however, and none were from Cambodia. To get a unicorn out of Cambodia? Well, its probably a long shot, but its an exciting idea, said Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart. Right now, I think we are grooming a tech ecosystem here in Cambodia . . . which is why we were excited to bring [this competition] here, to really tell the region, Look, Cambodia has something to offer. Kan Chanmeta, secretary of state at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication, attributed the increase in number of viable tech startups to the governments recent efforts to streamline policy for the nascent sector. Our industry is still passive, and its still facing big challenges . . . for example, startups need to register, and many dont, he said, adding that the ministry would soon have good news for the tech industry on that front. Source: The Phnom Penh Post YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) The Armenian parliament on Thursday called for an extraordinary session next week to vote on a new prime minister after the country was plunged into a political crisis with the abrupt resignation of its leader. Serzh Sargsyan, who ruled the country for 10 years, surprised many when he stepped down as prime minister Monday amid massive anti-government protests. Parliament said a vote will be held May 1 to elect a new leader, potentially leading the way out of the post-Soviet nation's biggest political crisis in years. Nikol Pashinian, who leads the opposition and wants to be nominated for prime minister, held talks earlier Thursday with parliamentary factions to secure support for his candidacy. Sargsyan's party still holds a majority in the parliament, however. Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied Thursday night in the main square of Yerevan, the capital. At the rally Pashinian called for talks Friday with Armenia's acting prime minister but showed no indication of backing down from positions that scuttled such talks on Wednesday. "Either I will become prime minister or there won't be a prime minister in Armenia," he declared. Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetian walked out of the earlier talks, accusing Pashinian of delivering ultimatums. Sargsyan won two presidential terms by a landslide before moving to the role of prime minister earlier this year. The population of this impoverished nation, however, has been disappointed by the perceived cronyism of Sargsyan and by rampant government corruption. Opposition rallies began two weeks ago to protest what was seen as Sargsyan's attempt to stay in power indefinitely. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied Wednesday in Yerevan, calling for Pashinian to become prime minister. Protesters on Thursday morning blocked traffic on major roads around the capital, chanting "Victory!" "There are more of us every day," said 30-year-old Samvel Nazaryan, who was waving the Armenian tricolor on a Yerevan street. "The wave of protest will wash away this government sooner or later." The Kremlin is watching its small but strategic ally, where Russia has a military base, with concern. Moscow, however, has showed restraint in its reaction, insisting that the demonstrations are a domestic matter. The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the crisis on the phone with Armenian President Armen Sarkisian, Sargsyan's ally, and the Armenian foreign minister flew to Moscow to meet with Russia's foreign policy chief. On Wednesday, Russia's ambassador to Yerevan met with Pashinian. __ Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report from Moscow. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Saido Muhina Khamis thought she would be in the United States by now, starting a new life with her mother. Instead, the Somali woman is still in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in a remote part of Kenya, sharing a small, mud-brick home with her husband, their two small children and three other relatives thousands of miles from her mother, Isho Somow Abdi. She settled as a refugee in Raleigh, North Carolina, in July. The family's division reflects a tightening of U.S. refugee admissions that began with the broader travel ban the Supreme Court is now considering, though refugees aren't directly involved in the case heard this week. Shifting legal rulings, policy changes and unlucky timing have roiled Khamis' hopes to join the more than 3 million refugees resettled in the U.S. since 1975. Her family still hopes to reunite in the United States but has no idea when that might happen. "The feeling was too much to bear when we had to say goodbye," Khamis said by phone this month, through a Somali interpreter. "I just want to meet my mother in the U.S.A." Khamis and her children had been approved to come to the U.S. with her mother, she and the International Rescue Committee refugee agency say, but the situation changed last year. President Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to "stop the massive inflow of refugees," suggesting some were security threats. His first version of the travel ban , signed days after his January 2017 inauguration, included a suspension of refugee admissions to intensify security vetting that already involved fingerprints, interviews and background and medical checks. During the still-ongoing legal fight over the ban, Abdi, and her minor children were allowed to come to the U.S. July 7, the IRC said. Khamis, 24, was not. The family said it was never given an official explanation, but the split-up happened shortly after the Supreme Court decided in June the U.S. could refuse travelers and refugees without a "bona fide" connection to the country. The administration said such connections included siblings, among other relatives, but not uncles. Abdi had a brother in the U.S. Khamis' closest relative was her uncle. Shortly afterward, a lower-court judge ordered the list expanded to include uncles, among other relatives. By then, Abdi was already gone, and Khamis' health clearance had expired. Eight months later, Khamis says she remains hopeful, but "it's still very tough" without Abdi, the family's linchpin. About 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) away, Abdi is working as a hotel cleaner. "Life in the U.S.A. is very good," she said by phone through an interpreter, but without her daughter close by, "life is not really very bright." Trump allowed refugee admissions to restart in October from some countries, citing better interviewer training, fraud-detection procedures and background checks. The review of the refugee program "has made our nation safer," the Republican president wrote. But admissions from 11 nations, including Somalia, were held off until January to add still more screening and what officials call a "more risk-based" approach. "These additional security measures will make it harder for bad actors to exploit our refugee program," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said at the time. The pace of admissions has been slow. About 10,500 refugees arrived from October through the end of March, a 73-percent drop from the same period in 2016-2017, according to State Department statistics. Just over 200 have been Somalis. The State Department has said the U.S. is committed to helping refugees "of all religions, ethnicities, and nationalities," but that it may take longer now because of the increased vetting. Some refugee advocates say the government is bureaucratically squeezing the refugee program; people who have fled their homelands "are really stuck in limbo," says Hans van de Weerd, an IRC vice president. Khamis was 12 when her family left a civil-war-torn country where relatives had been subjected to sexual assault and other violence. She volunteered for a time as a medical assistant in a maternity ward at the Kakuma camp but had to quit once her mother wasn't there to look after her children, ages 3 and 6. Abdi, who is in her 40s, urges her daughter to have faith they'll be reunited: "Keep up your spirits, and always live with hope," she'll say when they speak by phone. But talking with her grandchildren makes her cry. If "you yourself are a mom," she says, "I'm now feeling what you would feel if you and your children are separated." ___ Peltz reported from New York. Associated Press writers Tom Odula in Nairobi, Kenya, and Adam Geller in New York contributed to this report. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) U.S. authorities have arrested the son of a former president of the West African country of Guinea and his wife for allegedly enslaving a countrywoman in their Texas home. Mohamed and Denise Cros-Toure were being held in a federal detention facility Friday pending a probable cause hearing Monday in Fort Worth on a forced labor charge. Toure's attorney, Brady Wyatt, told The Associated Press that his client is the son of late Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Toure, who helped lead Guinea to independence from French rule in 1958. Sekou Toure was the country's first president, a role he held until his death in 1984. According to an arrest affidavit, the defendants arranged for the victim to travel from her rural Guinean village to Texas in 2000, and for 16 years, forced her to work in their home without pay. She was forced to cook, clean, do the laundry, perform yard work and care for their children, the affidavit said, adding her actual age was unclear because the Toures had seized her documents to prevent her from leaving. Cros-Toure's attorney Scott Palmer denied the allegations and told AP that the woman, whose name has not been released, was a distant relative sent by her father from Guinea as a child to be raised alongside the couple's three children. "She had chores, but all the children had chores. She loved gardening. She wasn't considered a housekeeper," Palmer said. Prosecutors also said the woman was not allowed to attend school. Palmer confirmed this, but said it was because she had overstayed her visa, and the family feared that she would be deported. "She was provided food, clothing, a bed, spending money, a house to live in. Our clients purchased Christmas gifts for her," Palmer said, adding that the Toures hadn't seen the woman since she left their Southlake home in 2016, seeking help from other relatives in Houston. The maximum penalty for a forced-labor conviction is 20 years in a U.S. prison. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) With flowers, tears and bowed heads, the citizens of Kosovo held their annual commemoration day for the 1,650 people still unaccounted for since the country's 1998-99 war. People gathered Friday at the Grieving Valley in the village of Meja, 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital Pristina, where 19 years ago 376 Albanian civilians were killed by the Serb army and paramilitary troops. The war left some 10,000 dead and ended after NATO intervened on behalf of the region's Albanian majority. Victims' family members expressed anger that Kosovo's post-war governments had not renovated the symbolic cemetery where Muslims and Christians are buried at the same place, the only one in the country. Blerim Maloku, whose father Mergim was slain during the war, urged authorities not to "treat us badly anymore" and fulfill their promise to renovate the cemetery. A European Union mission monitoring justice in Kosovo said 506 victims overall have been returned to their families. "Families need closure to their painful past and the tragic loss that they have suffered," said Alexandra Papadopoulou, the group's head. Kosovo is run by former independence fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army President Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj. Haradinaj went to the ceremony in Meja, laying bouquets of flowers at some headstones, and pledged to renovate the cemetery. Thaci did not go to Meja but issued a statement. "The perpetrators of the crimes, massacres, deportations, disappearances and other forms of systematic murders of our citizens must be brought to justice," he said. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Serbia has not recognized. ___ Llazar Semini contributed from Tirana, Albania. ___ Follow Llazar Semini on Twitter https://twitter.com/lsemini Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. Flagler County felons are speaking out about the ongoing back and forth with the voting rights system in Florida. They say they keep getting denied a second chance. Appeals court stays felon voting rights restoration ruling in Fla. Flagler Co. felons feel like they can't get second chance Open Door Ministries Recovery Program helps felons "Hauling off to work as soon as I get up," said Hugh McIntyre. McIntyre is working full-time selling and fixing appliances, thanks to the Open Door Ministries Recovery Program. "I'm basically getting a chance to feed my family," McIntyre said. But even with the opportunity to work, the non-violent convicted felon still doesn't have the right to vote. "It makes you feel like less of a citizen, almost like you're not American. You can't take place in the voting process. I'm not just a felon I'm a son I'm a brother, a husband," McIntyre said. McIntyre is one of the reasons why Pastor Charles Silano started the program. He opened the store to give people jobs and volunteer work for a second chance. RELATED STORY: Feds agree with Florida in felon voting rights fight Silano is a two-time convicted felon himself. It took him 10 years to get his voting rights back. "I understand it takes time, but once you've paid your price, and you see the fruit of a changed life, that person needs an opportunity, said Silano, who is the Executive Director of Open Door Ministries. This program serves 13 people, and they can only afford to put two of them on payroll at the thrift and appliance store. But eight of them are felons who can't vote, and its hard for them to find a job. "I hope that they can just come up with a more fair system," McIntyre said. But there's more than a million felons in Florida waiting to have that right restored, just like McIntyre, who hope one day the state will change, just as he did. "I've started to turn my life around. I'm a productive member of society. I work full time, I pay taxes and I don't break the law anymore I feel like over time that I should be allowed to vote again," McIntyre said. TRENTON, Fla. Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz said he is mad. And that all of his county is mad. Funeral services were held Tuesday for Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 30, and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, 25. The two were shot and killed April 19 at the Ace China restaurant in Trenton when a gunman walked up to the restaraunt and fired shots through a window. "The violence perpetrated can never be explained," said a visibly still-shaken Schultz. "No motive could ever be enough." The FDLE investigation said little has been uncovered about the gunman, 59-year-old John Hubert Highnote, who shot and killed himself after the attack. Not much is known about him. In fact, officials have not even been able to find a picture of Highnote. Schultz described Highnote as a white male who was overweight, balding and had a white beard. He is described as a recluse and a loner by the few people who knew him. He was armed with two rifles, a handgun, and ample ammunition for each weapon. Officials did say that Highnote went to a previous employer's office in Newberry the day of the shooting but quickly left. Hours later, the deputies were dead. Highnote, a resident of Bell, Florida spent time in St. Petersburg and Clearwater in the 1980s and 90s and lived in Volusia County in the early 2000s. Authorities said Highnote's family members live in the Tampa area but no one has claimed his body. It is not known if authorities have interviewed any of those family members. "He left his home that Thursday with the intent to kill," Schultz said. The sheriff also said now is a time to begin to heal and he took the opportunity to address the current state of law enforcement nationwide. "It's time that America takes a look at itself as a society," Schultz said. "And ask what is truly important. In realizing that there are people out there that hate law enforcement, Schultz countered and highlighted the difficult job they do every day and that more positives need to be highlighted in the media. "When all we see in the media is negative things about law enforcement, what do you think (children) they are going to think about us?" Schultz said. "I'm not just saying this cause two of my friends were killed...murdered...assassinated. "Of all the contact with the public that law enforcement has on a day-to-day basis, there's is far more good that happens on a day-to-day basis. Let's be part of the change." Spectrum News reporter Jason Lanning contributed to this report. CENTRAL FLORIDA As trade talk swirls and barriers go up, interest in Foreign Trade Zones is piquing once again. Businesses becoming interested to FTZs once again Congress created FTZs in order to encourage trade Hundred of FTZs nationwide, 21 in Florida We look at the FTZ as another tool in our arsenal," said Raymond Anderson, with Orlando International Airport. We believe foreign trade zones become increasingly valuable potentially to local businesses. The senior director of commercial properties and concessions, Anderson has spent the last two years growing the airport's FTZ. The airport authority, he explained, is the guarantee or sponsor for the FTZ in Orange County. Founded by Congress in the 1930s, foreign trade zones allow companies to import products into a designated area, waiving sometimes costly tariffs, until the product is finalized and re-exported. It encourages domestic activity, particularly here locally. Wed rather have the activity on shore here as opposed to foreign competition," Anderson said. Past the serene waters of @PortCanaveral & excitement of cruise ship passengers, FTZs hum in the background. There are hundreds throughout the U.S., 21 in #Florida alone. @MyNews13 @BN9 pic.twitter.com/UiguGrFUYh Julie Gargotta (@juliegargotta) April 26, 2018 He explained that the airport's FTZs, like Mitsubishi Hibachi who makes turbine engines, are economic drivers for the region, employing hundreds at their facility off West Sand Lake Road and South Orange Blossom Trail. Another foreign trade zone with the airport, Disney Cruise Lines, imports items from around the world to have on cruise ship lines. There are hundreds of FTZs across the country, 21 in Florida alone, including at Port Canaveral in Brevard County. Theres quite a bit that happens behind the scenes," said Jay Hood, whose American Cruise-Aid Logistics keeps cruise ships afloat. The company operating within the port's FTZ allows cruise lines to offload cargo, like railing and carpet, storing in a huge warehouse until the ships are ready for them once again. The items that have the in bond, theyre kind of sitting here in a no clearance state," he said. Its been slow growth, but as you can see now, were a bit full here. Hood said that what he's seen as of late is positive when it comes to trade. But not all feel that way. If all this between Trump and the rest of the world gets out of hand, commercially world trade will collapse. If world trade collapses, there wont be quite so many people using free trade zones," said James Bacchus. Anything that discourages trade generally is going to harm tree trade zones. Bacchus, a UCF Distinguished University Professor of Global Affairs, practically wrote the book on foreign trade zones. As a Congressman, he pushed for them at the port and airport and just returned from a trip to China to discuss trade. The Chinese dont understand why were acting in ways that not only violate international rules to which we agreed but also why wed be doing things so obviously not in our self-interest," he said. Bacchus said that FTZs play an important role in trade with "a broader benefit in terms of the reverberations throughout the economy." But the professor worries that history may repeat itself. The last time the U.S. engaged in imposing steep import tariffs, other countries did the same: round after round of raising tariffs worldwide. Congress created FTZs in order to encourage trade after the high tariffs led the U.S. into the Great Depression. Economically, they need us and we need them. And it makes no sense whatsoever for the two of us to be engaged in any type of trade confrontation," said Bacchus. I hope that foreign trade zones will not be affected by the current needless confrontations. Meanwhile at the airport, Anderson said that business has not picked up yet. But, they just finished tallying their 2017 calendar year, showing an increased volume over 2016: $760 million dollars' worth of shipments. Were trying to see how this all shakes out," Anderson said. At the port, Hood remains hopeful. When President Trump started campaigning about higher tariffs in 2015, things started increasing," he said. We see more growth. OCALA, Fla. Another attack on a law enforcement officer has the Marion County Sheriffs Office outraged. Man accused of manslaughter, attempted murder Malcolm Thomas, 28, fired rounds at Marion deputy Sheriff Woods: 2nd attack on deputies this week Twenty-eight-year-old Malcolm Thomas is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer as well as manslaughter in connection to his mother's death. Deputies say Thomas shot at Corporal Alan Hewett Thursday morning, who was guarding the scene where Thomas's mother was killed hours earlier at a home near 7900 NW 39th Avenue Road in Ocala. According to the arrest report, Thomas and his brother were fighting over a loaded gun when it went off and killed their mother Pearlie May Thomas. Thomas allegedly told investigators he left the scene to get another firearm, so he could come back and kill his brother. Hewett was the assigned patrol deputy at Pearlie May Thomas' death investigation. Hewett reportedly heard gunshots and confronted Thomas in the backyard area. Deputies say Thomas refused to comply and fired several rounds at Hewett around 11:19 a.m. Hewett took cover but never returned fire; according to MCSO, the deputy is doing fine. Deputies say Thomas fled and was tracked down by K-9's. Sheriff Billy Woods says this is the second time this week where someone shot at one of his deputies. He says he's tired of it. "Were beginning to become used to it, of taking fire in which we shouldnt be," Woods said. "He was here sitting as a security for this house. He was not fighting anyone, he was not engaging anyone. He was simply sitting on a house waiting on a search warrant." Sheriff Woods mentioned Gilchrist County, where two deputies were shot and killed, as well as in Dallas where another officer died and one was wounded. "I'm probably not the only sheriff in this county or in the nation that is tired of people shooting at and killing law enforcement officers," Woods said. Woods said another deputy was shot at in Citra on Sunday morning as he was dispersing a crowd. He's asking anyone with information about that incident to come forward. MERIDEN The city continues to receive more funding to help clean up the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital before turning it over to a developer for revitalization. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $200,000 to Meriden for brownfield cleanup at the building vacant for 20 years, the EPA announced Wednesday. The federal money will be used to remove two underground storage tanks and hazardous materials from the former boiler room at 1 King Place, according to economic development director Juliet Burdelski. Meriden is among 221 grants awarded nationwide totaling $54.3 million, and the only municipality in Connecticut. Brownfields are a wise choice for development, as they already have the infrastructure in place to support new growth, as well as reducing to need to develop valuable open space, said Rob Klee, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner. This investment will help to transform a long vacant piece of property into an economic driver for the region. The DEEP is thankful to our partners at the EPA for recognizing the potential in this parcel to be a transformative project for Meriden. The hospital operated for nearly 100 years until it was vacated in the 1990s. Soil studies found the 5.6-acre site is contaminated with PCBs, metals, inorganic contaminants and petroleum, according to the city. Grant funds will also be used to conduct community involvement activities. The redevelopment of 1 King Place is a key component of the city's efforts to transform the neighborhood into a walkable, vibrant area with access to jobs, housing and improved public transit. We are thrilled. said Ken Morgan, acting city manager of Meriden. The hospital sits in the citys brownfield area-wide revitalization zone within its transit-oriented development district in the center of downtown. The zone includes 35 brownfield properties consisting of former manufacturing sites and the former hospital. More than a dozen sites are city owned. In November, the city was awarded a $2 million state grant with an accompanying $2 million loan at 1 percent interest to fund the cleanup. A $4 million financial plan approved by the council in January includes a 17-year repayment plan starting in 2021, with the city paying $132,410 a year. The developer, One King LLC, will be responsible for half of the loan repayments, which may be deducted from taxes on the property. Further subsidizing the cost of the project could be a contribution of up to $500,000 from MidState Medical Center for soil remediation on the site. MidState vacated the hospital when it relocated to Lewis Avenue. Conditions within the 327,000-square-foot building have since degraded significantly, with environmental issues and signs of vandalism. One King LLC hopes to redevelop the property into a $30 million market-rate senior housing and commercial complex and has 14 months to secure financing. The development could include a medical walk-in center, a restaurant and assisted-living services. The city has also considered relocating the Meriden Senior Center and the Pratt Street fire station into the facility. The brownfield cleanup funding was part of legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty D-5th District and included in an omnibus funding package in March. mgodin@record-journal.com 203-317-2255 Twitter: @Cconnbiz A Waterbury man pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal armed bank robbery charge and admitted he robbed nine banks and stores, including a TD Bank in Southington, across three states over several days last fall. Zachary Provost, 33, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19 and faces up to 25 years in prison. Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 8, Provost robbed 10 banks and and stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to a U.S Department of Justice statement. On Dec. 1, he entered TD Bank in Southington and presented a teller with a note stating he had a knife and demanded money. He then fled the bank with $350. Southington police charged Provost with first-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny and criminal impersonation on Feb. 27. blipiner@record-journal.com 203-317-2444 Twitter: @BryanLipiner National Geographic WILD is home to a big family of animal caretakers and rescuers. In these special episodes, check out how the Men of WILD are helping all kinds of creatures one case at a time. Fridays from 8:30pm AEDT. Sign up to receive the First Reading newsletter, your guide to the world of Canadian politics. First Reading is your guide to the world of Canadian politics. Sign up now> S V Krishna Chaitanya By Express News Service CHENNAI: The elite IIT-Madras, which is blessed with rich flora and fauna, is fast losing its unique identity. Wildlife deaths on the campus have touched a new high, with 99 animals reported dead in 2017. In four months from November 2017 to February 2018, 46 animals died, including three endangered blackbucks. The Forest Department revealed the information while replying to an RTI application filed by animal welfare activist Antony C Rubin. Of the total number of animal casualties, 82 were spotted deer, four blackbucks, three jackals, one wild dog and nine monkeys. These numbers are startling, considering the fact that IIT-Madras has been issued a stern warning by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), to take appropriate measures to minimise wildlife deaths. To be fair, the institution did initiate some proactive measures to manage its solid waste like putting in place monkey-proof bins, banning use of plastic in packaging and speeding up sterilisation of stray dogs. But still, deer and blackbuck deaths seem to be increasing year after year. Between 2013 and 2016, 220 deer and eight blackbucks died. On an average, 70 animals perish both due to natural and unnatural causes. Rubin told Express that 99 animal deaths in a year was alarming. The NGT in November warned the IIT-M of invoking the polluter pays principle, if found guilty of negligence that resulted in injury or death of any deer or blackbuck. Since November, about 38 deer and three blackbucks have died, of which many are unnatural deaths. But since the NGT Bench is dysfunctional, it is becoming difficult to seek justice, Rubin said. Rubin also raised a suspicion that IIT-M has been under-reporting the deaths. For instance, on July 19, 2017, a black buck fawn died and he asked a specific question about the incident in the RTI application. However, the Forest Department had no information on it. When contacted, IIT-M officials blamed the rising wildlife deaths on dogs and monkeys. Dog menace is the biggest challenge the institute is facing in protecting the wildlife. Almost all fawn in the campus are finding it difficult to survive. Dogs are hunting down these very young animals and mothers. Since the IIT-M is not a designated wildlife area like Guindy National Park, we are unable to get rid of the dogs, said a senior official. Many challenges While green space on the campus has been diminishing, IIT has also fallen victim to garbage dumping by families that live in the neighbourhood. The institute has hastened stray dog sterilisation programme, of late Going gets tough 2017 was the worst year in terms of wildlife deaths for IIT, with 99 animals reported dead. From November 2017 to February 2018, 46 animals died, including three endangered blackbucks. By ANI NEW DELHI: A Delhi-based jeweller allegedly committed suicide after jumping off the sixth floor of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) building in the national capital, after a raid was conducted at his store and residence in the city. The jeweller, who has been identified as Gaurav Gupta, was found lying in a pool of blood after jumping off the building at around 12:00 p.m. He was immediately shifted to Safdarjung Hospital by the officials present at the CGO complex but was declared brought dead on arrival. According to the DRI officials, the man was neither summoned nor arrested after the raid. The DRI said in a release, "A total of Rs. 13 crore smuggled goods were seized from Gaurav Gupta's possession. But unfortunately, the owner of the smuggled goods jumped through the window of the visitor's room at around 12 p.m. He was neither summoned nor arrested by the DRI. The person was immediately taken to the Safdarjung Hospital by officers of DRI and CISF of CGO complex, but his life could not be saved." However, the wife of the deceased, Stuti Gupta, has written a letter to the SHO of Shalimar Bagh to take stringent action against a DRI official Nishant and his team. The wife has also alleged that Gaurav was murdered by the said DRI officials. The police have said that the deceased's body will be given to the family after a post-mortem examination. The further probe is underway. V Nilesh By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Creativity and putting ideas into practice are integral to the ten departments at Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) in Hyderabad which has about 2,500 students studying in those departments. But for it to happen, there should be laboratories where students can get hands on experience on how things work and get a chance to test their ideas for practicality. However, thanks to a government that has not shown any keen interest in improving higher education in the State, JNAFAU's growth is stunted. This is the tenth year since the university came into existence in 2008, after the division of erstwhile Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) into four universities - JNTU-Hyderabad, JNTU-Kakinada, JNTU-Ananthapur and JNAFAU. Speaking to Express, the university's Vice-Chancellor and architecture professor Kavita Daryani Rao gave examples of various laboratories that the university is keen on developing for providing better exposure to students and developing their skills, but unfortunately the university lacks the physical space, financial resources and manpower to make that happen. University's small campus encroached by TSCHE Giving an example, prof Rao said that the university has been planning to develop a plumbing lab for the students of School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) where the students can understand various aspects of plumbing and fluid mechanics at play. For this, a well known sanitary ware company has even come forward to fund the lab but university is finding it difficult to demarcate enough space in its small campus. Same is the hurdle in the establishment of a visual graphics lab for applied arts department and audio visual lab for the photography department, apart from low financial resources. About 4.5 acres of land on which JNAFAU campus is located at Masab Tank was granted by the Nizam in 1940. While the university has not received any additional land from the State government for its expansion, Telangana State Council for Higher Education(TSCHE) has occupied a chunk of the small campus to establish its own office. Besides this, a portion of one building in the campus has been occupied by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Prof Rao said that she has written to the TSCHE to vacate the building several times but to no avail, whereas the AICTE has agreed to vacate, but has not done it yet. Lack of govt support hurdle for innovative ideas at incubation centre TSCHE officials, ministers and other bureaucrats of Telangana government, have on many occasions spoken about starting an incubation centre at five universities in Telangana, including at JNAFAU. However, the State government has not bothered to provide any kind of support to university to make the centre operational. Sharing three ideas for the incubator, Prof Rao shared, "As the government is planning to build many affordable houses for BPL families, we plan to initiate a startup that can develop foldable multi-utility furniture that can prove of great use in these small dwelling units." "Another plan is of promoting 'affordable art'. Many people like to possess art works like paintings or sculptures but find it pricey for procuring original works. However, at our university, the students of fine arts come out with some amazing art works which can be sold at affordable cost to the public and will also give exposure to students. We also plan to provide customised designing of rainwater harvesting solutions," she added. However, it becomes next to impossible for all these plans to fructify, at least the way university wants to execute them because the university does not have enough space in its campus to establish the incubator and also the financial resources to provide essential infrastructure for the startups, informed Prof Rao. No development grant in budget for JNAFAU Telangana government in its budget this year has not provided a single rupee as development grant for JNAFAU, like it has been the case last year and the year before that. The government just provides for the payment of salaries and the university is majorly dependent on the money it receives as tuition fees from students, to develop any infrastructure. Due to lack of enough teachers at the university, and NAAC recognition the university cannot even get any financial grants from the Central government funding agencies. Niche departments running show with contract teachers JNAFAU is facing severe faculty crunch not just because of lack of recruitment but also because five of the ten departments in the university have not been recognised by Telangana government. As a result, these five departments - four in the School of Planning and Architecture(SPA) and one in the College of Fine Arts have no sanctioned strength of teachers. As a result, these five departments have been running the show since more than a decade with teachers recruited on contract basis. Moreover, of the 58 teaching positions sanctioned for JNAFAU by the State government, only 28 are filled and rest are lying vacant. Four departments in SPA, which play an important role in the rapidly urbanising landscape of the country, are running on self-finance mode. They include interior design, digital technology, facilities and service planning and urban planning. Lack of hostels JNAFAU is a university without any hostels on campus. Students of the university, especially girls have been demanding hostels for many years now, but due to lack of funds and space, the university has been unable to fulfil their demands. "There is one hostel that accommodates about 115 boys located at Abids. There is no hostel available for girls. There has been a demand for hostels from boys as well as girls but there is not enough space in the campus to construct hostels," Prof Rao said. In fact, when deputy Chief Minister Mehmood Ali had visited the campus recently for inauguration of an art exhibition, a group of students handed him a representation demanding hostels. University is not accredited What can be expected of private colleges when the government university which provides them affiliation itself is not accredited. JNAFAU has not yet been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) although it has been ten years since it came into existence. Prof Rao said that the university plans to go for accreditation this year. However, with half of its faculty positions vacant, a good rating cannot be expected from NAAC. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF will hold a Raj Bhavan march and dharna on May 2 in protest against the spiralling prices of petrol and diesel in the state. The UDF workers will take out the rally on bicycles, carts and by foot to register their protest in the reluctance of the state and Central Governments to slash the duty on fuel to ease the burden on the consumers. Addressing media persons, UDF convener P P Thankachan said both the state and Central Governments have been accusing each other after turning a blind eye on the spiralling oil prices at a time when crude prices have touched just one third of the price in the past few years.In fact, the oil companies are reaching a huge benefit after the petrol and diesel prices were deregulated. But even after the crude prices touched record bottom, the fuel prices continue to spiral, giving a cascading effect on the essentials. Even at this point of time, the state and Central Governments are not ready to cut the state tax and Central excise duty. In this backdrop, the UDF has decided to hold a rally and dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan, he said. The UDF workers will also lay siege to the district Collectorates and Secretariat on May 8 in protest against the rising custodial deaths in the state, he said. The workers will picket the Secretariat and court arrest on the day. There was no sincerity in the words of the Chief Minister even after the state police kicked to death an innocent man. The Chief Minister could find time to visit Thrissur Pooram, but he is yet to visit the house of Sreejith, he said. The family of the victim has to be compensated by providing a job to the wife of the victim and the Chief Minister should stop intimidating the State Human Right Commission chief, he said. The UDF also decided to observe May 18, the second anniversary of the state government, as betrayal day in protest against the failure of an elected government in all fronts. The UDF workers will prepare a charge-sheet and distribute it among the public after reading it in every constituency, he said. By PTI KOKRAJHAR: The Army has launched a massive hunt engaging helicopters and deploying over 1000 security personnel to catch two senior NDFB(S) militant leaders in Chirang district and the Manas Reserve Forest, defence sources said. Based on specific input about the presence of dreaded NDFB(S) militants G Bidai and Batha, who have several police cases against them, Army units from Kokrajhar and Chirang districts in association with SSB jointly launched the massive operation in Chirang district and the Manas Reserve Forest along the Indo-Bhutan border since Sunday, the sources said last evening. Stating that the Army also engaged tracker dogs to trace out the insurgents, the sources said more than 1000 security personnel had been deployed in the area for carrying out extensive search operations and cordoned off the area. Ejaz Kaiser By Express News Service RAIPUR: Eight Maoists including 6 women cadres were killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces in the strife-torn Bijapur district, close to the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, on Friday. The gunfight occurred in the remote inhospitable forested terrain of Irmidi some 13 km away from the Telangana border and about 400 km south of Raipur. We had definite inputs about the heavy presence of Maoists in the region. A joint team of special task force (STF), district reserve guards (DRG), CRPF from Chhattisgarh and the Telanganas Grey Hound left on the search operation. Finding the security forces close to their location, the naxals opened fire which was swiftly retaliated by forces leading to a fierce encounter. We have recovered eight bodies of Maoists, the Bastar range inspector general of police Vivekanand Sinha told the New Indian Express. Though it was the joint operation involving forces from the two states, the actual exchange of fire took place between the Grey Hound troopers and the Naxalites, TNIE has learnt from the highly placed sources. According to the IG there is no information about any injury sustained by the forces. The search operations have been intensified in the area. The bodies of the Naxalites, airlifted by IAF chopper, were yet to be identified. The troopers have also recovered various arms and ammunition including one Self-loading Rifle (SLR), 4 Single Barrel Breach Loading (SBBL) guns, one 303 rifle, 6 rocket launchers, HE 36 grenades-3, 10 kit bags, literatures and 4 pairs of olive green uniforms of rebels from the encounter site. "It was a successful joint operation. Going by the arms recovered we believe senior Maoist leaders might also have been killed in the gunfight", Special DG (anti-Maoist operation) D M Awasthi claimed. Early this week 39 Maoists were killed in two separate anti-naxal operations at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Ahead of the PM Narendra Modi's visit to the strife-torn Bijapur on April 14, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in their protest had desperately attempted to register their presence through violence, setting vehicles on fire and triggering Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts. Bijapur is among the seven districts in the conflict zone of Bastar that figure among the country's 30 worst Maoist-affected districts cited by the ministry of home affairs (MHA). By Express News Service MUMBAI: Fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Tariq Parvin was arrested by the Anti-Extortion cell of Thane crime branch in a two-decade-old double murder case here on Friday morning. Tariq (51) was arrested from near the Mumbai police headquarters, police sources have said. Tariq, who is said to have handled Dawoods real estate business in the city for years and was regularly in touch with gangster Chhota Shakeel, was jailed in year 2000 in connection with illegal Sara Sahara shopping complex of South Mumbai that was allegedly built by Dawood's younger brother Iqbal Kaskar. He was also arrested by Lucknow police earlier. According to senior police inspector of anti-extortion cell Pradeep Sharma, Tariq's role in several other crimes, including the case in which he was arrested today, were not known when he was arrested earlier. "When we got to know about his involvement in other crimes and his whereabouts, we arrested him," Sharma said. "We suspect him to have been involved in several other serious crimes and hence he would be thoroughly interrogated. We have some indirect leads about his involvement in some cases and we shall vary them," Sharma added. Express News Service NEW DELHI: The three reasons - regional representation, seniority and absence of SC/ST judges - cited by the Centre for withholding the Supreme Court collegiums recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand Chief Justice K M Joseph do not hold water. READ | Tussle between judiciary and Centre reaches all-time high: Justice Josephs elevation spiked The government said his parent high court, Kerala, is adequately represented in the SC and other high courts. For, one SC judge and three HC chief justices hail from Kerala. However, Kerala is not the only HC to have multiple chief justices among the 24 HC in India. The HCs of Bombay, Rajasthan and MP have two chief justices each in different HCs. In the SC, Kerala has one judge Justice Kurian Joseph. But there are six parent high courts that have more than one representative from their state in the SC. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Allahabad, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have two judges each in the SC whereas three apex court judges hail from Bombay. ALSO READ | Recommendation not meeting parameters: Government on not approving Supreme Court Collegiums recommendation to elevate Justice KM Joseph If past appointments are anything to go by, then seniority should not have been a hurdle for Justice K M Josephs elevation. For example, current SC judges Mohan M Shantanagoudar and S Abdul Nazeer werent the senior most judges at time of their elevation to the apex court. In fact, they superseded as many as 20 judges. Justice Nazeer of the Karnataka High Court became the first judge in two decades who was promoted to the SC without being first elevated as a chief justice or acting chief justice of a HC. At that time, the SC collegium chose to supersede the two senior judges, and it was accepted by both the Ministry of Law and the President of India. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is set to become the next CJI, was also elevated to the SC much before his present colleagues Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri. On May 13, 2016, justices D Y Chandrachud and A M Khanwilkar of the Bombay HC were inducted into the SC though it already had a judge from the Bombay HC - Justice S A Bobde since 2013. On the lack of SC/ST representation, its a fact that since 2010, when K G Balakrishnan retired as CJI, no judge belonging to these communities was appointed. KGB was the only Dalit judge to have served as CJI. Former Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan (EPS) There is no Dalit chief justice in any HC anywhere in India. Although there is no rule for caste-based reservation in the higher judiciary, it has been said in multiple forums that minorities should be given adequate representation in the higher judiciary. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Congress on Thursday filed complaint with the police in Hubballi after a chartered flight in which party president Rahul Gandhi was travelling along with his security men had a rough landing at the airport here. The complaint said someone may have tampered with the systems of aircraft. The Congress wrote a letter to Karnataka DG&IGP Neelmani N Raju, demanding investigation into the matter. A formal complaint was later lodged at Gokul Nagar police station in Hubballi by former Congress MP I G Sanadi and his son Shakir Sanadi. The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju. Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation. Kaushal K Vidyarthee (@vidyarthee) April 26, 2018 The letter said the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag," it said. "Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are requested to be addressed and investigated," the letter read. Complaint to the DG&IG of Police, Karnataka, regarding the serious malfunction of the aircraft carrying Congress President @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/P3RJwkWOMR Congress (@INCIndia) April 26, 2018 Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka from today to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. "Yes, we have received a complaint about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft," Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad Police told PTI. Copy of the FIR against the complaint filed by @vidyarthee pic.twitter.com/DcFwFGQIMb Congress (@INCIndia) April 26, 2018 She said, "We have registered a complaint under Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi," she said. The letter said multiple "unexplained" technical snags coupled with the failure of the auto pilot system raised serious issues of aviation safety and possible and intentional tampering with aircraft which endangered the life of its occupants. "A thorough examination of the structural and mechanical elements of the aircraft, the surrounding circumstances of the flight and the persons attached with maintenance of the aircraft is required in order to assess the incident," it said. The Hubballi police summoned pilot of the aircraft Jagat Singh Yadav and his co-pilot to Gokul Road police station on Thursday night for an inquiry. DCP B S Nemgoud and other officers were part of the probe team.Late on Thursday night, police said that a DGCA team from Hyderabad will arrive in Hubballi to investigate the incident. Jagat Singh Yadav, the pilot of the special flight, said that the reports of rough landing were just a rumour. The plane landed safely and on time. I dont know who is spreading the lies. The plane did not fly to Mysuru as I got instruction to stay back at Hubballi airport, Jagat Singh Yadav, the pilot of the special flight, said. The letter said a "clankish noise" was clearly audible from one side of the plane throughout the shuddering of the aircraft body. "It was learnt that the autopilot of the aircraft was not functioning," it said. The plane landed at the Hubbali airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt, according to the letter. "The crew was also apparently petrified and admitted that the flight was particularly frightening and uncommon," it said. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi landed safely. A serious accident was averted today." He said a complaint has been submitted to the DGP Karnataka asking him to look into all aspects of the "serious, horrific incident", including foul play if any. He said it was unprecedented that a flight carrying an SPG protectee would develop a snag. Gandhi maintained his composure and tried to calm the co-passengers down, he said. Another complaint has been filed with the DGCA, demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, Surjewala added. A senior DGCA official said, "The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely. Shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official told PTI. Citing the report from the Air Traffic Controller, a senior official at the Hubbali airport said the plane had landed safely. (With inputs from PTI) Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday justified its decision of not approving the Supreme Court Collegiums recommendation to elevate Justice KM Joseph, saying the proposal was not in accordance with the apex courts parameters of regional representation, seniority and no SC/ST representation. In, a letter, the government said there were elaborate reasons why it wanted the Collegium to reconsider its recommendation. It may....be relevant to mention here that there is no representation of SC/ST communities in SC since long, it stated. READ | Elevation of Justice KM Joseph: Governments reasoning for rejecting Supreme Court collegiums recommendation doesnt hold water Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote there was adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where Justice Joseph hails because three judges from Kerala are Chief Justices in the high courts and the apex court also has a judge from Kerala. Considering that Joseph is the senior most among all chief justices of the 24 high courts, Prasad wrote that a candidates seniority may be overlooked in order to ensure regional representation. But the letter did mention seniority, making it clear that there are judges in some high courts who are senior to the Uttarakhand Chief Justice. The seniority of judges also plays own critical role. It is understood that seniority of judges of high courts is only maintained at all India level...In the all India high court judges seniority list, Justice KM Joseph is placed at 42. There are 11 chief justices of various high courts who are senior to him, the government said in the letter. However, in seniority, from the date of his appointment, Justice Joseph leads the rest of the high court Chief Justices by at least two years.The government also quoted from SC orders known as the Second and Third Judges cases on the Collegium system to substantiate its decision of returning Justice Josephs file. Express News Service NEW DELHI: The tussle between the judiciary and the Union government reached an all-time high on Thursday when the Centre chose to accept the docket on senior advocate Indu Malhotra for elevation as a Supreme Court judge but spiked that on Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph. The two recommendations had been sent together. The government asked the collegium to reconsider its decision on Justice Joseph. Both recommendations had been pending with the law ministry since January 10, 2018. Sections of the legal fraternity as well as the opposition launched a broadside on the government for alleged cherry picking. The Congress attacked the government for being vindictive and accused it of not clearing Justice Josephs name because of his ruling in 2016 against the BJP in Uttarakhand. READ | Elevation of Justice KM Joseph: Governments reasoning for rejecting Supreme Court collegiums recommendation doesnt hold water He had cancelled Presidents Rule in the state and restored the Congress government of Harish Rawat. Critics of the government also recalled how Justice Josephs transfer to the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Court never saw light of the day.However, the issue is not just about returning of a file on a collegium recommendation to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra for reconsideration. The concern is over the Centres attempt to use the reconsideration option to deny Justice Joseph seniority within the Supreme Court by clearing Malhotras appointment first. If the collegium submits the same name again, it would be binding on the Centre to clear the appointment. The government sent back Justice Josephs name based on the argument that there is already adequate representation from the Kerala High Court in the SC and among chief justices in the HCs. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a letter to CJI Misra, argued that Justice Josephs elevation to the SCwould breach the norm of seniority amongst judges of the high courts. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomad girl from the Bakarwal tribe in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the accused to respond to a plea for the hearings in the case to be transferred out of the state to Chandigarh.Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra stayed the trial which was scheduled for hearing in a court in Kathua town on Saturday. The apex court said it would hear on May 7 the plea for transfer of the trial.The Jammu and Kashmir government opposes the transfer of the trial saying that it had a different penal code and transfer of the trial would pose an inconvenience for the witnesses.Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the Centre, said the government was ready to provide any assistance if required but the call has to be taken by the Mehbooba government. The child was abducted from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later.During the hearing, the court witnessed heated exchanges between senior advocate Indira Jaising, who appeared for the victims family, and advocate Harvinder Chaudhary, who was representing the seven accused of the gang-rape and murder of the child.Advocate Jaising said the case should be transferred to Chandigarh due to its proximity to Kathua and the incidents of obstruction of and protests against the police Crime Branch personnel by local lawyers. She added that attempts were made to intimidate the presiding judge of the court as is evident in the affidavit of the Jammu and Kashmir government.On the other hand, Chaudhary said his clients do not have faith in the police investigation and the probe should go to the Central Bureau of Investigation. He alleged that the J&K police were hand-in-glove with vested interests to falsely implicate the accused. The accused who are father and son have been falsely implicated in the case. The real culprit has not been caught. We are ready for narco-analysis. A tainted police official is involved in the probe. We are questioning the validity of the probe. There will be great injustice to us. Everything should be highlighted, Chaudhary said. J&K BJP mulls action against Lal Singh Srinagar: As former J&K Forest Minister Lal Singh is turning out to be an embarrassment for refusing to toe the party line in the Kathua case, the BJP is contemplating to act against him and apprised the party high command of his defiance. A senior BJP leader said, In defiance of party, he is holding roadshows and rallies in Jammu. The party has nothing to do with these rallies and he has not got partys support for it. The party is going to take a call on him after getting the green signal from party high command. Lal Singh and BJP minister Chander Prakash Ganga were forced to resign from the cabinet. Fayaz wani By PTI NEW DELHI: Two suspected "pro-Pakistan" Kashmiri hackers have been arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell from Punjab, a senior official said today. The two, who claimed to have hacked over 500 Indian websites, have been identified as Shahid Malla, 28, and Adil Hussain Teli, 20, said PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell). Acting on a specific input, the duo was arrested on the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in raids at two locations in Punjab, the officer said. "As per their online activities and initial findings, the two were part of anti-national hacking group called 'Team Hackers Third Eye', and claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed social media ban by use of VPN (virtual private network) during April-May 2017," he said. The duo was found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-Indian hackers. Some of those hackers are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies, Kushwah said. The duo was found to be "pro-Kashmiri terrorism and pro-Pakistan" as they had made anti-India and seditious posts, the DCP said. Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from them will be examined by the Delhi Police in detail to ascertain their role in anti-state activities. Malla is a second year B Tech student at a college in Rajpora, Punjab. He belongs to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir and was staying at a rented accommodation in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura. Teli is a final-year BCA student at an institute in Jalandhar, Punjab. He belongs to Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was staying in a rented accommodation in a colony in Jalandhar. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: With another two suspected cutaneous anthrax cases reported from Madem village of Damanapalli panchayat , GK Veedhi mandal in Vizag Agency, on Thursday, the situation turned serious for tribals and health officials with total number of cases mounting to 17. Though there is no cause for alarm as all the victims have lesions on their skin and cutaneous anthrax can be cured with drugs, the para-medical teams are on the field conducting health camps and motivating the villagers to strictly stop eating any meat. A person contracts anthrax after cutting and eating the meat of a dead animal which is infected with anthrax and the tribals who are being treated in King George Hospital in the last few days were reportedly the ones who cut the animals and some of them also consumed it. For 11 mandals in the agency, there are four sub-centres and 36 primary health centres. Each panchayat has around 10-15 villages in the interior areas. Officials of Animal Husbandry say that if an animal is not vaccinated, it contracts anthrax and dies within 24 hours and has to be buried six-foot deep pit or cremated. But as soon as the animal dies, the tribals cut it and share the meat with the residents of the village and consume it. The cow meat is also stored at homes and consumed daily. This kind of food habits are seen in the primitive tribal groups and Valmiki communities. Despite PHC doctors's advise to take medicines, they fail to do so. Since the situation is serious, the staff at PHCs and doctors were strictly told not to have holidays as there is immediate need for overall survey in the agency. The medical teams are in GK Veedhi for the last 3-4 days to make the tribals take medicines regularly. The medical staff coax the tribals to take medicines by sitting beside the latter. "Not just a few, there are many who store and consume meat daily. Some of them also sell cow meat in the weekly markets. The veterinarians have to verify and certify the meat before it is sold in the market," said L Kalyan Prasad, the medical officer for Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). The 5-6 skin traders at Chintapalli have to be informed to take precautions. Meanwhile, cases were registered in June, September and December last year. Now this year, cases were registered from January to April. Though there is no particular season, rainfall makes the anthrax spores come out of soil. Vaccination of animals There are a total of 4,99,000 animals (sheep, goat, cow, buffalo) in 11 mandals in the agency. So far 2,08,600 animals were vaccinated. Thirty teams have been deployed for vaccinating the rest of the animals by May 17. Anthrax spores are in the soil for about 60 years. So when it rains the spores come out and eat the grass which in is the fodder for animals. So the animals contract anthrax in their blood. The animals also might die due in acute cases. Without any treatment, the animals can die in 24 hours. On the death of animals, Animal Husbandry deputy director B Ramakrishna said, "They don't tie animals in sheds and feed regularly. Whenever the animals are sick they do not even identify whether it is taking feed and do not even consult any veterinarian." The animals are vaccinated every nine months. He says that animals which die of anthrax can easily be spotted as they will have blood oozing out. Though it is a sign for the farmers to understand that the animal died of anthrax and should be disposed of, the tribals cut and dry it and consume the meat. Every agency has pasu mitras who administer vaccination to the animals. A total of 300 registered pasu mitras formed into teams for vaccination. They are paid `2 for each animal vaccination as a token of their voluntary service. Awareness The teams of NGOs and the Velugu department under the assistance of ITDA project officer are gearing up for large-scale awareness campaigns in schools, villages and market. While the lesions on skin and cutaneous anthrax can be cured with drugs, doctors say that there are 25 per cent chances of death if the person is not treated within 2-3 days. "Since olden time the tribals are habituated to eating dead cow meat and store it for five days. They have other sources of food but fail to follow what the medical officials' advice. They have to first stop eating meat of dead animals," said Sandhya, the coordinator (Vizinagaram) of Tribal Cell, KGH. Box: Total animals: 4,99,000 Vaccinated : 2,08,600 Mandals : 11 PHCs : 36 Each panchayat : 10-15 villages Pasu mitras : 300 Total cases: In 2016: 38 : 18 (10 positive) from Panasapattu village, Hukumpeta mandal : 14 from Goyi Gunta, Gammili PHC in G Madugula mandal : 6 Vennelakota, Gammili PHC in G Madugula mandal In 2017 : 21 : 8 from Kodipunjuvalasa village in Araku mandal : 6 from Condrum village in Dumbriguda mandal : 7 from Pirapadu village, Lothugadda PHC, Chintapalli In 2018 : 26 : 2 from Sarai village in Dumbriguda mandal : 2 from Pothandi in Dumbriguda mandal : 2 Condrum village in Dumbriguda mandal : 3 from Chintapalli : 13 Madem village, GK Veedhi mandal : 4 from Ganjigadda village, Chintapalli mandal "Not just a few homes in the agency, majority of them, especially PTG and Valmiki communities store meat and consume it daily. Some of them also sell the cow meat in the weekly market. The veterinarians have to verify and certify the meat before selling it in the market" - L Kalyan Prasad, medical officer for Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). "They don't tie animals in sheds and feed regularly. Whenever the animals fall sick they do not even identify whether it is taking feed or not and do not even consult a veterinarian" - B Ramakrishna, Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry. Anusha Ravi By Express News Service The coastal Karnataka is bracing for what could be the most polarised election ever. While religious polarisation has been a primary factor in elections for decades here, this time around, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his personality, policies and brand of politics have become the reference point for voters of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts. We will only vote for BJP. Until Siddaramaiah is in power, we will never get justice, said Mahadev H Mesta, an auto driver in Honnavar. His anger stems from the belief that the Congress government did nothing to solve the murder of Hindu youth Paresh Mesta. His vote for BJP is a vote against Siddaramaiah. On the other hand, Basheer Ullal, a member of dry fish traders union at Mangaluru port, said his vote for Congress is a pro-Siddaramaiah vote. Siddaramaaih is the only chief minister ever to have boldly supported equality in society. His policies have helped the poor. There is peace under his leadership, he said. The two contradicting statements pretty much sum up the situation along the coast. Recent incidents of communal violence, the government's attempt to take over the administration of temples and mutts, the controversial attempt to withdraw cases of communal violence only against minorities, and granting of religious minority status to Lingayats have made Siddaramaiah a talking point of the polarisation debate in coastal Karnataka. The sentiment is either pro-Siddaramaiah, resulting in support for Congress, or anti-Siddaramaiah, leading to support for BJP. Both parties are riding on the Siddaramaiah factor for electoral gains. While BJP has projected Siddaramaiah as anti-Hindu for his policies, the Congress talks about how social justice was the primary concern under Siddaramaiah. Jayanth Poojari, a member of a temple trust in Baada near Kumta, is one among the hundreds of youngsters who fosters anger against the Siddaramaiah government over the death of Paresh Mesta. I took part in protests after Mesta's death not as an RSS supporter but as a Hindu, he says. Mesta, 18, was found dead in a pond on December 8, 2017 and his death triggered protests and communal clashes in Honnavar. Our MLA worked for the development of the constituency but when our belief is under attack, we have to protect it. I voted for Congress last time but this time I will not. When BJP was in power, there were no communal riots but look at the situation under Siddaramaiah, said Rajesh Kundar, member, Fish Traders Association, Malpe. Political analyst Dr Sandeep Shastry agrees that the current government and its leader have become a new channel for polarisation. Earlier forms of polarisation directly linked with religion have already brought all the support they can to parties. BJP is now pitching the Hindutva debate in a fresh angle, he said. It is not just the Hindus who are upset with Siddaramaiah. Dr Haneef Shabab, former general secretary of Majlise Islah Wa Tanzeem of Bhatkal, is disappointed with Siddaramaiahs ways of handling communally sensitive issues. BJP will win Bhatkal and Congress has only itself to blame. What was the need to pass an order to clear names of only Muslims in communal riot cases? This differential treatment has angered Hindus who will consolidate, he observed. According to the 2011 census, of the total 14,37,169 population of Uttara Kannada, 11,87,306 are Hindus, 1,87,974 are Muslims and 44,530 are Christians. Out of Udupis total population of 11,77,361, Hindus stand at 10,09,179, Muslims at 96,740 and Christians at 65,838. In Dakshin Kannada, the total population was 20,89,649, of which Hindus number 14,03,854 while Muslim population is at 5,01,896 and Christians stand at 1,71,398. While a divided Hindu vote has been BJPs headache, a consolidated Muslim and Christian votes is the Congress strength. A month ago, Honnavar was full of Paresh Mesta's posters photoshopped with a tilak on his forehead, and his parents were made the mascots of BJPs Janasuraksha yatra led by Ananth Kumar Hegde in Ankola. The protests centred around the government's inaction in cases of violence against Hindus. The narrative is intact while the Congress that won 13 seats out of 19 in the region in 2013 is firefighting. The Hindutva and Modi wave in this part of Karnataka is like the new Indira wave ready to sweep everyone away. Politicians know that talking of caste and religion will bring them votes and now even people have forgotten about development, observed Gajanana Umesh Bhat, a resident of Honnavar and a senior journalist. The polarisation is taking a toll on residents. I have never been reminded of my religion all these years but today my children come back from school and tell me that the other kids dont play with them, said Musfa Ayam Sheikh as she waited for a bus at Honnavar bus stop. She says that while all these years she voted for the party of her choice, this time around the community had come together to discuss and decide. The open Hindutva agenda of BJP and the alleged minority appeasement by the Congress has ripped the coastal districts into two and right at the centre is Siddaramaiah, around whom the new narrative of polarisation in being built. By Express News Service KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the fourth accused in the Kalamassery bus burning case of 2005. The arrested, Shafeeq 38, Palliyakathu House, Thavakkara, Kannur, had gone into hiding since the incident took place. He was deported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a lookout notice was pending against him. The NIA recorded his arrest on his arrival at the New Delhi airport on Thursday. Later, he was produced before a court in New Delhi and a transit warrant was obtained. He was flown down to Kochi on Thursday night. Shafeeq was produced before the NIA Court here on Friday afternoon with his face covered as the identification parade was not completed. At the court, the NIA requested the accused must be remanded to the Ernakulam Sub-Jail as the co-accused in the case have been lodged in the Ernakulam District Jail. Shafeeq submitted he was behind bars in Riyadh for past eight months. "For the same case, I was lodged in a jail in Riyadh before being deported," he said. However, he denied any physical torture by the NIA when Judge Kauser Edappagath enquired about it. He has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. The NIA will seek his custody next week. There are 14 accused in the case, including Sufia Madani, wife of Abdul Nazar Madani. Thadiyantavida Nazeer, who claims to be the commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba in South India, is the first accused. The incident pertaining to the case took place on September 9, 2005, when a Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation bus was burnt in retaliation to the long detention of PDP leader Abdul Nazar Madani in connection with the Coimbatore blast case. The bus from Ernakulam to Salem with 31 passengers was diverted from its route and set ablaze at Popemala near HMT colony, Kalamassery, after forcing all passengers to alight from the bus. As per the plan, six persons, including Nazeer, Ummar Haji, Abdul Haleem, Ismail, Shafeeq, Sabir Buhari and Mohammad Navaz boarded the bus from the Ernakulam bus station. Thajuddin, Nazar and K A Anoop waited with three motorcycles at Kalamassery. The bus started from Ernakulam bus station at 8.30 pm. When the bus reached near the Kalamassery Municipal Office, one of the group members threatened the bus driver at gunpoint and asked him to drive the vehicle towards Popemala neat HMT Colony, an isolated area. As the bus reached Popemala, the accused persons asked the passengers to get down from the bus. Using cotton waste soaked in petrol, the accused burnt the bus and escaped on their motorbikes. Mohammed Sabir, the 14th accused, is the only person absconding in the case now. The chargesheet in the case was filed in 2010. One of the accused, Abdul Rahim, was killed in an encounter in Kashmir after allegedly joining a terrorist camp to fight against the nation. As many as five accused are still in judicial custody, while six, including Sufia Madani, were granted bail in the case. Dileep V Kumar By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Emergency medical care provided by state-run hospitals will undergo a sea change as the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has decided to implement the triage system. The new system will be implemented at the emergency departments of district and general hospitals. Patients who arrive at the casualty wing will now be categorised as per their medical condition so as to provide them with timely and appropriate treatment. The trauma care system being followed at state-run hospitals is on the cusp of change. What the DHS plans to do is to implement a triage protocol at the emergency departments of district and general hospitals in the state. For this, the service and expertise of Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, will be solicited, said Trauma Care nodal officer Srikanth D. The DHS proposal claims that once the triage system is adopted, the morbidity and mortality rate could be brought down as it will help in early detection of the seriously ill patient and rapid initiation of therapy. While stating that the medical or surgical emergency is a condition being determined clinically, the proposal reminds that failing which can result in the loss of life or limb or permanent disability. It also highlights the well-known concept of golden hour, in which a person needing emergency care will have to be provided with appropriate attention in the first 60 minutes. Once it is ensured, the survival rate is more than 90 per cent. The concept of triage is to prioritise the patients who arrive at the casualty wing as per their clinical urgency. Under this concept, patients will be categorised into three categories: emergency, urgent and non-urgent. The emergency wing will be divided into three areas: red, yellow and green, said a Health Department officer. As per the plan, patients who need immediate medical attention and fall under the emergency category will be shifted to the red area. Those patients who have a high risk of clinical deterioration fall under the urgent category and will be sent to the yellow area for treatment. And those who dont have any chance of clinical deterioration will be treated as non-urgent ones and will be shifted to the green area of the emergency department. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the DHS has pitched the triage system to be implemented at all general hospitals, district hospitals, taluk hospitals, taluk headquarters hospitals and community health centres, and also demanded the government to issue an instruction in this regard to the respective District Medical Officers to establish the same. In 2017, it was decided to constitute an emergency medical department (EMD) at the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. A meeting chaired by Health Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan had set up a core team to study and come out with a standard operating procedure for various medical emergencies. It is said that the EMD being planned will start functioning by August. COLOUR-CODED SYSTEM The DHS proposes to implement the triage system at state-run hospitals The proposal will cover general hospitals, district hospitals, taluk hospitals, taluk headquarters hospitals and community health centres The triage system means categorising those who arrive at the casualty wing as per their medical condition Patients will be categorised into three categories: emergency, urgent and non-urgent The emergency wing of a hospital will be divided into three areas: red, yellow and green Red area will be for those who are in need of immediate medical attention and falls under the emergency category Yellow area for those patients who have a high risk of clinical deterioration and falls under the urgent category Green area for those who dont have any chance of clinical deterioration and falls under the non-urgent category By Express News Service CHENNAI: The government elementary school teachers withdrew their four-day hunger strike after holding negotiations with School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan on Thursday. Sengottaiyan promised the teachers that the one-man commission set up by the government would look into the demands of the teachers. I thank the teachers for withdrawing the hunger strike. The commission will look into their demands, Sengottaiyan told reporters after the negotiations. Teachers from all over the State have been pouring into Chennai since Monday to participate in the hunger strike, demanding revision of wages. Elementary school teachers, who were appointed after June 2009, are only eligible for salaries much lower than their colleagues who were appointed only a few months before them. About 20,000 teachers, who were affected by the pay disparity, demanded that the Seventh Pay Commissions recommendations be implemented for them. Teachers broke their fast by drinking juice after their negotiations with Sengottaiyan. We trust that the government will not let us down and that the commission will meet our demands. We have withdrawn the strike now and will wait till they revise our pay, said M Elango, an elementary school teacher from Chennai, after breaking his fast. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The chief ministers of the two Telugu-speaking states, K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu, who were friends when they were in the Congress and TDP, turned bitter foes later but have again become close pals now, according to TRS MP K Kavitha. "They do share a good relationship. The relationship between them is so intimate that they pick up the phone whenever they want to and speak to each other," she disclosed while interacting with Express here on Thursday. Asked about her party engineering defections from opposition parties, the young leader defended the TRS leadership, saying, "This is what we call reunification of political forces in Telangana for achieving greater political stability in the state. Political stability is a must if the state is to be developed. Further, when we realised that somebody was trying to destabilise the government, we became alert and inducted lawmakers from other parties into our party." On cases registered against TRS leaders, including her, for alleged hate speeches, Kavitha said, "When the Telangana movement was in full swing, slogans like Jago and Bhago were given to reflect the mood of the Telangana people. "Now, we don't hate anybody. That is why we won 100 seats in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections. We have mellowed down... we are certainly mingling with all people," she claimed, indicating that the TRS is also embraced by Andhras settled in Telangana. By AFP TEHRAN: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani rejected any hopes of rewriting a nuclear deal with world powers Wednesday, after the leaders of the United States and France called for a new pact covering Tehran's missile programme and regional interventions. "We have an agreement called the JCPOA," said Rouhani in a fiery speech, using the technical name for the 2015 deal that curbed Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. "It will either last or not. If the JCPOA stays, it stays in full." He was responding to statements in Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump, in which they proposed a new deal with tougher restrictions on Iran. Trump called the existing accord "insane" and "ridiculous", despite European pleas for him not to walk away, and demanded fresh curbs on Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for militant groups across the Middle East. Macron said the new agreement should include a settlement on Syria, where Iran backs President Bashar al-Assad. In Iran, Rouhani responded by ridiculing Trump, saying: "You have no expertise in politics, nor in law, nor in international accords. "A tradesman, a businessman, a high-rise builder, how can he judge about global issues?" Iran has the support of all other parties to the accord, who say it is working and Tehran has stuck to its commitments. On Wednesday, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini insisted the deal must be maintained. "On what can happen in the future we'll see in the future, but there is one deal existing, it's working, it needs to be preserved," the former Italian foreign minister said as she arrived for a donor conference on Syria in Brussels. Moscow also reiterated its support, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters: "We believe that no alternative exists so far" and demanding that Iran be involved in any further discussions. - Looming decision - Macron, who has built a warm rapport with Trump, has positioned himself as an emissary for European officials seeking a compromise that allows the mercurial US president to claim a public victory, while keeping the deal intact. But he admitted after meeting Trump that he still did not know whether the US president would walk away from the nuclear deal when the next deadline for renewal comes up on May 12. Trump -- true to his background in reality TV -- teased his looming decision. "This is a deal with decayed foundations. It's a bad deal, it's a bad structure. It's falling down," the US leader said. "We're going to see what happens on the 12th." Putting on a brave face, Macron said he wished "for now to work on a new deal with Iran" of which the nuclear accord could be one part, but neither leader indicated what Iran might get in return. Iran, meanwhile, has warned it will ramp up enrichment if Trump walks away from the accord, prompting a blunt warning from the US leader. "They're not going to be restarting anything. If they restart it, they're going to have big problems, bigger than they ever had before. And you can mark it down," Trump said. Trump had earlier said his predecessors should have made a deal that "covered Yemen, that covered Syria. No matter where you go in the Middle East, you see the fingerprints of Iran behind problems." German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to press the case for staying in the agreement again when she visits Washington on Friday. Macron was also due to appear before Congress on Wednesday, and his entourage told AFP he would address the challenges eroding historically warm Franco-US ties, including economic inequality, climate change, how to tackle terrorism and the rise of nationalism. - Oliver Stone 'shocked' - The French president's pomp-filled, three-day visit was not welcomed by one long-time critic of US foreign policy, Oliver Stone, who happened to be in Tehran for a film festival on Wednesday. Stone told AFP he was "particularly shocked" to see Macron standing alongside President Donald Trump, calling for a revision of the nuclear deal. "To see this young man, who doesn't have much of a sense of history or memory of the great traditions of France... was very depressing," Stone said. Meanwhile, hawkish American officials accuse Europeans -- particularly Germany -- of putting business interests ahead of security, and of opposing a tougher stance against Iran to safeguard investments in the Islamic Republic. That charge is sharply rejected by European officials, who are increasingly frustrated at spending time dealing with Trump's complaints rather than tackling Iran's behaviour. The disagreement threatens to plunge transatlantic relations to their lowest point since the Iraq War. But for now, Macron's visit has been marked by the exuberant welcome given the French leader as the Trumps rolled out the red carpet for a lavish state visit. By AFP SEOUL: The leaders of North and South Korea on Friday signed the "Panmunjom Declaration" following a historic summit between the two countries, which are technically still at war. Here are the key quotes from the official English language version of the statement, which came after the first summit between the two in 11 years. 'Denuclearisation': "South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea are very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula." 'Peace regime': "During this year that marks the 65th anniversary of the Armistice, South and North Korea agreed to actively pursue trilateral meetings involving the two Koreas and the United States, or quadrilateral meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China with a view to declaring an end to the War and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime." 'Pyongyang visit': "The two leaders agreed, through regular meetings and direct telephone conversations, to hold frequent and candid discussions on issues vital to the nation, to strengthen mutual trust and to jointly endeavour to strengthen the positive momentum towards continuous advancement of inter-Korean relations as well as peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula. In this context, President Moon Jae-In agreed to visit Pyongyang this fall." Family reunions: "South and North Korea agreed to endeavour to swiftly resolve the humanitarian issues that resulted from the division of the nation, and to convene the Inter-Korean Red Cross Meeting to discuss and solve various issues including the reunion of separated families. In this vein, South and North Korea agreed to proceed with reunion programs for the separated families on the occasion of the National Liberation Day of August 15 this year." 'Joining sporting forces': "On the international front, the two sides agreed to demonstrate their collective wisdom, talents and solidarity by jointly participating in international sporting events such as the 2018 Asian Games." Disarmament: "South and North Korea agreed to carry out disarmament in a phased manner, as military tension is alleviated and substantial progress is made in military confidence-building." 'No more war': "The two leaders solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun." By AFP YEREVAN: Armenia's acting head of government Karen Karapetyan on Friday rebuffed talks proposed by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, further escalating tensions after two weeks of protests. Karapetyan's refusal to negotiate came after he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday. Pashinyan, who is leading the mass anti-government protests, has defiantly declared himself the only suitable candidate for prime minister in the Moscow-allied country. Armenia was plunged into crisis over the fate of veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian, who finally quit on Monday after a decade in power. Pashinyan has issued an ultimatum to the authorities, saying he should be elected prime minister in a vote by lawmakers on May 1. But a spokesman for Karapetyan dismissed Pashinyan's demands. "The acting prime minister believes that negotiations where one side dictates the agenda and the other cannot do so, cannot be considered negotiations," the spokesman said Friday. Instead, Pashinyan should discuss ways to tackle the crisis together with all political forces, the spokesman quoted Karapetyan as saying. 'Total disarray' Pashinyan accused Sarkisian's ruling Republican Party of seeking to increase the turmoil and urged his supporters to stage new rallies to pile pressure on Karapetyan. "The fact that Karen Karapetyan refused to negotiate means that the Republican Party is in total disarray," Pashinyan told reporters on Friday. "The question is, does the Republican Party want to settle the crisis or not?" he said, suggesting the ruling elites could not conduct free and fair elections. "We should have a guarantee that an election will be really free, really transparent, really democratic," he said in English, wearing his trademark camouflage T-shirt. Speaking to supporters on Thursday, Pashinyan said he needed to become the next leader to oversee snap parliamentary elections and clean up the political system. "If I am not elected prime minister, then Armenia will not have a prime minister at all," the 42-year-old former newspaper editor said. The crisis erupted over Sarkisian's election as prime minister by parliament last week after a decade as president. He resigned on Monday on the 11th day of the protests. The opposition accuses Sarkisian's party of clinging on to power after he failed to tackle widespread poverty, corruption and influential oligarchs close to the authorities. But the ruling party has a majority of seats in parliament and Pashinyan does not have enough support from lawmakers to get elected. 'Elites must go' Pashinyan has called a halt to protests in Yerevan to give demonstrators some rest after two weeks of nearly non-stop rallies, saying people should return on the streets on Sunday. But he urged supporters to stage a rally on Friday in Gyumri, the second largest city north of the capital which hosts a Russian military base. Another rally is planned for Saturday in the third largest city of Vanadzor. Pashinyan also called for a major rally on election day. A previous attempt at talks between the opposition leader and the acting prime minister collapsed earlier this week. Observers have warned the crisis could destabilise the South Caucasus nation, which has been involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. A number of top Armenian officials held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials in Moscow on Thursday. Putin has stressed the importance of the May 1 vote, the Kremlin said after his phone talks with Karapetyan. Analysts said the situation in Armenia was hugely unpredictable. "It's impossible to tell if the country will come out of this chaos on May 1," analyst Ervand Bozoyan said, adding that frantic negotiations were under way among political parties. Another analyst Stepan Safaryan said that while the core of the Republican Party has no intention of backing down, it was possible that some of its lawmakers would vote for Pashinyan. Hayk Gevorkyan, a 58-year-old economist taking part in protests, said the old elites cannot stay in power any longer. "They must go! There is no time for political manipulations and power struggle," he told AFP at a rally Thursday. By AFP SOFIA, BULGARIA: France is open to discussing the future of the World Trade Organization if the United States drops its threat of a trade war with Europe, Finance Minister Bruno le Maire said Friday. Le Maire spoke on the same day that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was expected at the White House to defuse an EU-US trade battle over President Donald Trump's threat to slap big tariffs on steel and aluminium on May 1. The Geneva-based WTO is tasked with arbitrating trade rows between its 164-country membership, but has become a source of anger to Trump, who says the body is unfair to the US and soft on China. "We are ready to open a discussion with our American friends on the future of the WTO, on the improvements of the WTO and the whole multilateral trade system," Le Maire said. "But first of all we have to get rid of that question of new tariffs," he added as he arrived for talks in the Bulgarian capital Sofia with his eurozone counterparts. Le Maire said French President Emmanuel Macron made the case to Trump earlier this week as the EU pushes hard to win a permanent exemption from the metals tariffs before next week's deadline. Macron "made very clear that we are open to working on the future of the trade system because we have to build a new multilateral system as far as trade is concerned," Le Maire said. Trump has repeatedly expressed scepticism about multilateral bodies -- from the WTO to the United Nations to NATO -- believing they constrain US power. The tycoon believes that the WTO has been especially easy on China, which receives "tremendous perks and advantages" despite breaking the rules. "The WTO is unfair to U.S.," Trump tweeted on April 6 a day after China asked the WTO to referee its own rapidly escalating trade fight with Washington. By PTI WASHINGTON: Defence Secretary Jim Mattis today appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimate USD 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers "There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this.We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, we're going to paralyse ourselves," he said. "So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of state -- I'm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show it's in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians," Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. "In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense," he said. "At this moment, when we're in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations?"Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. "You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA," he said. "So, you're suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower soon-to-be-Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right?" Cotton asked. "That's correct. And there's other countries. Indonesia, for example is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going," Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the Indo-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers yesterday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. "CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster," who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. "I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India," Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event. By PTI TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed a historic summit between the two Koreas today, urging Pyongyang to take "concrete action" on the peninsula's denuclearisation and other issues. "Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un held earnest discussions about North Korea's denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. "We strongly hope that North Korea will take concrete action through this meeting and a summit between the US and North Korea," he added. By AFP SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in sat down to a historic summit Friday after shaking hands over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism. "I am happy to meet you," a smiling Moon told Kim before the visitor stepped over the concrete blocks, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago. At Kim's invitation the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before walking to the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom for the summit -- only the third of its kind since hostilities ceased in 1953. "I came here determined to send a starting signal at the threshold of a new history," Kim told Moon as the meeting began, promising a "frank, serious and honest mindset". WATCH: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, crosses the southern border to meet rival Moon Jae-in for the summit on nuke crisis in Panmunjom. #SouthKorea pic.twitter.com/hq58iYQcUz ANI (ANI) April 27, 2018 With the North's atomic arsenal high on the agenda, Moon responded that he hoped they would reach "a bold agreement so that we may give a big gift to the whole Korean people and the people who want peace". Kim was flanked by his sister and close adviser Kim Yo Jong and the North's head of inter-Korean relations, while Moon was accompanied by his spy chief and chief of staff. It is the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy, and intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between Kim and US President Donald Trump. The North's official KCNA news agency said that Kim will "open-heartedly discuss... all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula". It did not mention denuclearisation. Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. The White House said in a statement it hoped the summit would it would "achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula". Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. But Seoul played down expectations Thursday, saying the North's technological advances with its nuclear and missile programmes meant any deal would be "fundamentally different in nature from denuclearisation agreements in 1990s and early 2000s". "That's what makes this summit all the more difficult," the chief of the South's presidential secretariat Im Jong-seok told reporters. Peace and denuclearisation Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. When Kim visited the North's key backer Beijing last month in only his first foreign trip as leader, China's official Xinhua news agency cited him saying that the issue could be resolved, as long as Seoul and Washington take "progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace". In the past, North Korean support for denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula" has been code for the removal of US troops from the South and the end of its nuclear umbrella over its security ally -- prospects unthinkable in Washington. "The big issues we know are peace and denuclearisation," Yonsei University professor John Delury told AFP. The two Koreas "can do a lot more on peace than on denuclearisation", he said, but the post-summit statement will give "a lot of chance to analyse every word, reading between the lines, look for things that are there and not there". Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles, adding it would dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. But it also said it had completed the development of its weapons and had no need for further tests. Seoul has also promoted the idea of opening talks towards a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, when hostilities stopped with a ceasefire, leaving the neighbours technically in a state of conflict. Reunions of families left divided by the war could also be discussed at the summit, and Moon has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he will raise the emotive subject of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North. The North Koreans were expected to cross back to their side for lunch, and before the afternoon session, Moon and Kim were to engage in a symbolic tree planting ceremony on the demarcation line. The soil will come from Mount Paektu, on the North's border with China, and Mount Halla, on the South's southern island of Jeju. After they sign an agreement a joint statement will be issued, with a banquet and farewell ceremony to follow in the evening before Kim returns to the North. Pyongyang's delegation included Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong, one of his closest advisers, who attended the Winter Olympics in the South in February as his envoy. By AFP BRUSSELS: President Donald Trump's brand new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to NATO on Friday to hammer home one of his boss's oldest themes -- demanding that other members pay their way -- as the allies sought a common front against Russia. There was broad agreement in Brussels on the need find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. But divides remain on spending commitments, with Germany in particular holding out against the large military spending increases demanded by Trump, and on how to balance a stern response to Moscow with keeping open a door to dialogue. Welcoming former CIA chief Pompeo to the NATO headquarters less than 24 hours after the top US diplomat was sworn in, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of the need to adapt the 29-member Western alliance "to a more demanding security environment." Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked. The ministers met first at a breakfast to discuss the Russian threat, and Pompeo's US delegation came out satisfied. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," a senior State Department official told reporters after the session. But Pompeo's second message, on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member, will not win unanimous support. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, as he arrived, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. "Germany plays a very important role," Maas said. Friday's talks of the 29 foreign ministers -- and a defence ministers' meeting in May -- prepare the way for a summit in July that could see the US clash with Germany and others. 'Undermine and invade' Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany -- which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence -- for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. "There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so," he said. As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkel's meeting will be less warm than Macron's. Russia -- NATO's traditional foe -- was again top of the agenda at Friday's meeting, the last before the alliance leaves its Cold War-era headquarters for new premises. NATO ministers will look at what more they can do to counter the Russian threat, but Stoltenberg said the alliance remained open to "meaningful dialogue" with Moscow. Troops for Iraq Some NATO members are fearful that Pompeo's reputation for confrontation could upend the alliance's dual-track policy on Russia, which combines military deterrence with diplomacy. Stoltenberg is expected to say a few words to mark the end of the final meeting of ministers in the historic North Atlantic Council room where Article 5 -- the alliance's mutual self-defence pact -- was invoked for the first and only time, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. By AFP BRUSSELS: New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took aim at Germany over its defence spending Friday, using his first NATO meeting to push President Donald Trump's call for allies to shoulder a bigger burden. As a meeting of alliance foreign ministers put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression", Pompeo hammered home one of Trump's oldest themes -- demanding that NATO members pay their way. Some allies, including Europe's economic powerhouse Germany, have been reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend two percent of GDP on defence by 2024. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and former CIA boss Pompeo carried a tough message to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked if Germany was doing enough to meet the target, Pompeo said bluntly: "No. They should meet the goals that they agreed to." "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfil their obligations on defence spending," Pompeo told reporters after the meeting. Pompeo's comments came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heading to the White House for talks with Trump. 'Fulfilling our obligations' His stark language contrasted with what Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said was a more diplomatic approach in the meeting itself. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As he arrived for the talks Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. He said Merkel's coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO." Away from the harsh words on funding there was agreement among foreign ministers on the need to find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Pompeo sought to ease lingering concerns about Trump's commitment to NATO, saying the alliance was "more indispensible than ever" due to Russia's "unacceptable" actions, from Georgia to Ukraine to political meddling. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. 'Russian aggression' Ministers discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATO's full summit on July 11 and 12. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. "We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one," Stoltenberg said. "When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever," he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Ministers also debated plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. By AFP CAPE TOWN: Seven people were killed in South Africa on Friday when a train ploughed into a pickup truck at a crossing where 10 children were killed in a similar accident in 2010, officials said. The seven victims, all men in their 30s, were reportedly travelling to work when their truck was struck by the train shortly before dawn in Blackheath on the outskirts of Cape Town. "It was human error," Metrorail spokeswoman Zino Mihi said. "The booms were down, so it was not their turn to go. People on the scene told us a taxi initially passed through and the bakkie (truck) also tried its luck." The Toyota Hilux vehicle was left a mangled wreck on the rail tracks after the accident. After the 2010 accident, the driver of a minibus carrying children was convicted of 10 counts of culpable homicide. By AFP LONDON: Donald Trump will defy protests to visit London during his July working trip to Britain, the US ambassador said Friday, adding that the US President was "very thick-skinned." "He'll definitely be coming to London. We welcome him, we're so happy to have him," Woody Johnson, the ambassador in London, told LBC Radio, following reports that the president may avoid London, where widespread protests are planned. "He's very thick-skinned. He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians. "Most politicians don't weigh it out the way he does and so he is going to get a lot of criticism for that as people interpret where he is taking everything. "But I think in the end, people are starting to, even now, realise that where he is going is a good direction." The visit, which will take place on July 13, had been repeatedly delayed amid a series of diplomatic spats and fears it could be marred by huge protests. British Prime Minister Theresa May controversially offered Trump a state visit when she was the first foreign leader to visit him shortly after entering the White House, provoking uproar at home following the president's travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries. British lawmakers called on May to withdraw the offer, while protesters have promised to turn out in record numbers. "Anybody any good at making placards?" British opposition lawmaker David Lammy asked cheekily on Twitter. Meanwhile, Guardian columnist Owen Jones, a prominent leftwing activist, called for "everybody out on the streets". Trump has repeatedly clashed with London mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter, and the British official predicted a hot reception for the president. "If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear," he wrote on Twitter. "He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear." The Daily Telegraph reported Trump will meet Queen Elizabeth II and go to Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: This time, there were fewer hugs. President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday for a visit of less than three hours. He greeted Merkel outside the West Wing with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek, a traditional welcome but far short of the bountiful display of personal warmth that was seen earlier in the week when he played host to French President Emmanuel Macron for a lavish three-day state visit. Trump, in brief remarks alongside Merkel in the Oval Office, called her an "extraordinary woman," congratulated her on her recent re-election and disputed any idea that their rapport was frosty. "We have a really great relationship. We actually have had a great relationship from the beginning," Trump said. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Merkel's message was similar to Macron's that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. In a joint press conference Friday afternoon, it was apparent that despite the back-to-back visits, Trump's divisions with Europe are still substantial. Trump is widely expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear accord next month, despite pleas from Macron earlier this week and Merkel Friday. Merkel used her meeting with Trump to try to paper over the differences, calling the Obama-era agreement a "first step" toward curtailing and containing Iran's regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Trump has said he was open to new negotiations with Iran, but has not said whether he would heed European calls for the U.S. to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Iran's nuclear efforts, while those talks are underway. His decision is expected by May 12. On trade, Merkel said there was little progress on seeking permanent exemptions for the EU from Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs. "The decision lies with the president," she said. Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting its defense spending obligations to NATO, saying, it is "essential that our NATO allies increase their financial contribution," to the pact. Merkel said Germany's latest budget will take defense spending to 1.3 percent of GDP. She acknowledged that's far short of the 2 percent goal but said Germany is still aiming for that over time. In the hours before Merkel's arrival at the White House, Trump himself took note of their limited schedule, which was to include a 30-minute Oval Office meeting, followed by a working lunch and joint news conference. "Look forward to meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany today," Trump tweeted. "So much to discuss, so little time! It will be good for both of our great countries!" While Macron and Trump went to great lengths to display their affection through hearty handshakes, hugs and, at times, air kisses the president has not displayed the same chemistry with Merkel. In their first White House meeting last spring, Trump seemed to ignore photographers' prompts to give Merkel the traditional photo-op handshake. And the German chancellor looked on unhappily when Trump upbraided NATO nations last summer for not spending enough on defense as he stood in NATO'S gleaming new Brussels headquarters. This time, the two exchanged a handshake in the Oval Office. Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor to Trump, said that the president's relationships with Merkel and Macron don't need to be compared. "France and Germany are great allies. I think every leader is different, every relationship is different," Conway said at the White House. "We're very happy that Chancellor Merkel is making another trip here." While Macron has been positioning himself as Europe's "Trump whisperer" and conduit to an American president who seems intent on upending U.S. relationships with allies, Merkel maintains her strength as the head of the largest economy in Europe. And if this visit produces a similar lack of bonhomie, that might just be fine with Merkel, who has little to gain at home by being overly friendly with Trump, according to German political analyst Jan Techau. "For Merkel, it's quite important domestically not to be seen to be getting too close to Trump," said Techau, a senior fellow at think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Anti-American sentiment has been growing again in Germany since Trump's election, with mainstream media regularly portraying the U.S. president as a threat to the world. The Macron state visit had been long planned, while Merkel's more informal working visit was added to the schedule so her trip to Washington would be the first outside Europe since her election victory. Two deadlines loom large. The first is Trump's demand for an overhaul by May 12 of the international nuclear deal with Iran an agreement that Germany, like France, worked hard to secure and believes should remain in place. Although Germany is unlikely to accept a wholesale rewrite of the deal, Berlin has indicated that it is prepared to consider add-ons that would crack down on Tehran's ballistic missile program and curb Iranian efforts to strengthen its strategic role in the Middle East. Earlier this week, Macron made clear that France would not follow the U.S. lead if Trump decides to withdraw from the agreement. Macron later told French reporters that he has no "inside information" on Trump's decision on the Iran deal but noted that it's clear the U.S. president "is not very much eager to defend it." The second deadline concerns the extension of new U.S. tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum, which some fear could trigger a global wave of protectionism that would deeply harm a trading nation such as Germany. Though German officials have signaled that their goals for the visit are modest, Berlin last week announced plans to step up defense spending, a long-standing demand in Washington. While Germany is still likely to miss the goal of devoting 2 percent of its gross domestic product to defense that's expected of NATO members, the move could be taken as a sign that Berlin has gotten the message. Some German officials have been quietly playing with the idea of buying U.S.-made F-35 jets replace the country's aging fleet of Tornado planes. The hope is that this would show Berlin's willingness to act on military spending while also improving the U.S. trade balance with Germany. Columnist Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich). Champaign, IL (61820) Today Mostly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 75F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Reporter/Columnist Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth). The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has summoned a student to appear before its disciplinary committee to answer to charges of misconduct in connection with a demonstration held at the institution last year. Kudakwashe Guta, who is represented by Denford Halimani and Kuzivakwashe Ngodza of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, will appear before the UZs Student Disciplinary Committee today to answer to charges of breaching the universitys rules of conduct. UZ authorities alleged that Guta, a political science student at the university, participated in a demonstration held on June 26, 2017 led by some medical students, who protested against the arbitrary hiking of fees. During the demonstration, the UZ authorities charged that Guta incited violence on university premises by urging fellow students to insult and physically attack security personnel. The university authorities said Gutas alleged conduct was in breach of some sections of Ordinance 30 as he had no right to do so. Oddly, the UZ authorities decision to haul Guta to appear before a disciplinary hearing comes just after he was acquitted by Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba. Guta had been on trial on charges of public violence as defined in section 36(1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act after he was arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers in June 2017 following the UZ protest. Zimbabwe Independent Biden Tells GOP to 'Get Out of the Way' on Debt Limit (Newser) Human Rights Watch is calling on Saudi Arabia to fix its "notoriously unfair criminal justice system" after revealing that over the past four months, 48 people have been executed in the country. Half of those people were put to death over non-violent drug charges, the group says. Rights experts are also concerned that, as HRW says in a statement, Saudi Arabia's justice system "doesn't provide for fair trials." Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is carried out via beheading, the Guardian reports. The country has executed almost 600 people since 2014, and more than a third of those were drug cases. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently suggested the country may change the penalty for certain crimes other than murder to life in prison rather than execution. (Read more Saudi Arabia stories.) (Newser) The sheriff whose deputies responded to the Florida high school massacre received an overwhelming vote of no-confidence Thursday from the union that represents about half his sworn personnel, with the union's president calling him "a liar" for saying the poll was a union tactic to extort raises, the AP reports. The Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association members voted 534-94 on a symbolic measure expressing no confidence in Sheriff Scott Israel, who denounced the vote and called it "inconsequential." The union's leadership criticized Israel's handling of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 14 students and three staff members dead, saying he should he should not have put the full blame on Deputy Scot Peterson, the school's resource officer. story continues below The sheriff's office has been criticized for not arresting or getting a psychiatric commitment for suspect Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student. The office received nearly 20 calls about him in the years leading up to the shooting, mostly from his late mother about his behavior, but the sheriff's office said there was nothing he could be arrested for. President Jeff Bell mocked Israel during a Thursday press conference, repeatedly using the same "amazing leadership" phrase that Israel used in a television interview days after the shooting to describe his handling of the shooting. Bell asked Gov. Rick Scott to "re-evaluate" Israel's position. Scott spokesman John Tupps said the governor is waiting for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to complete its investigation of the Broward Sheriff's Office's handling of the shooting before making any decisions. He will then "hold people accountable." (Read more Parkland school shooting stories.) (Newser) Did Paul Ryan think the House chaplain was a meddlesome priest? Father Pat Conroy says that two weeks ago, the House speaker asked for his resignation but did not provide a reason, Politico reports. Democrats believe the priest, who was nominated by John Boehner in 2011, was forced out over a November prayer in which he mentioned the GOP tax bill and said the efforts of lawmakers should result in "benefits balanced and shared by all Americans" instead of "winners and losers." House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley says Ryan's move was "reprehensible." That Conroy "be the first chaplain of the House of Representatives to be fired in the history of the United States is just outrageous," he says. story continues below Conroy is the 60th House chaplain in US history, but only the second Catholic. The priest, whose last day will be May 24, tells the New York Times that "Catholic members on both sides are furious." The Jesuit declined to comment on whether politics was a factor in the actions of Ryan, a conservative Catholic, though he says the House is inherently political. "I don't know if there is a religious divide; there certainly is a political one." A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding more information on the firing. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly blames "anti-Catholic sentiment" for the ouster, though Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong says the speaker is a proud Catholic and the charge is "false and outrageous." (Read more House of Representatives stories.) (Newser) Former NBC and Fox anchor Linda Vester say she suffered "years of humiliation and isolation" after being sexually harassed by powerful colleague Tom Brokaw in the 1990s. Vester tells Variety that when Brokaw was the host of NBC Nightly News, he made unwanted advances and tried to forcibly kiss her on two occasions, telling her he was looking "for an affair of more than passing affection." She says Brokaw, who is 30 years her senior, turned up uninvited at her hotel room in 1994, when she was 28, and at her residence in London the next year. Vester, a former war correspondent, says the behavior of her married colleague was "coercive and disgusting." This is the first time Brokaw has been publicly accused of sexual harassment. story continues below Vester says she didn't report Brokaw's misconduct because there is a culture at NBC "where women who raise questions about misconduct get labeled as troublemakers" and she feared for her job, having just been hired full-time. Brokaw, who has been married to Meredith Auld since 1962, says he met with Vester twice at her request because she wanted career advice. "The meetings were brief, cordial, and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other," he said in a statement issued by NBC. The Washington Post reports that Brokaw also denies a second accusation of sexual harassment, from a woman who says he behaved inappropriately with her when she was a young production assistant at NBC in the mid-1990s. (Read more Tom Brokaw stories.) (Newser) Decades before it was felled by the larger Inca civilization around 1475 AD, the Chimu people in what is now northern Peru gathered more than 140 children on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and slaughtered them all. Archaeologists who've uncovered the remains of boys, girls, and 200 young llamas killed with cuts across the sternum say it's evidence of the largest known mass child sacrifice anywhere in the world. It dwarfs the ritual killings of 42 children previously uncovered in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, reports National Geographic. It wouldn't have been pretty: Archaeologists say both animal and human victims, aged 5 to 14, had their chests cut open, possibly as a means of getting at the heart. As for the why, El Nino factors into a leading theory. story continues below Archaeologists say a layer of mud at the site of Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, less than a mile from the Chimu capital of Chan Chan, suggests the area was experiencing torrential rains related to El Nino at the time of the sacrifice between 1400 and 1450. Since elevated sea temperatures and coastal flooding linked to El Nino could've affected both fishing and agriculture, archaeologists suspect the Chimu got desperate. "They may have seen that [adult sacrifice] was ineffective" and "people sacrifice that which is of most and greatest value to them," anthropologist Haagen Klaus, who was not involved in the excavation, tells NatGeo. The skullsmarked with a red ceremonial pigment, per the Washington Postindicate victims came from across Chimu's territory, reports Newsweek. (This teen might've been sacrificed to Zeus.) (Newser) "A new history starts now," Kim Jong Un wrote in the guest book at the Peace House in the DMZ before talks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in began, and the day's developments were historic indeed. In a joint statement, the two leaders pledged to cease all hostilities, establish regular lines of communication, and work with the US and China to declare a formal end to the Korean War by the end of this year, the Guardian reports. The leaders also pledged to work for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula and to reunify families divided by the war. "I hope this will be an opportunity for the two Korean peoples to move freely from North to South," Kim said. "We need to take responsibility for our own history." story continues below The leaders pledged to make the DMZ a "peace zone" and to cease the broadcasting of propaganda across the zone by May 1. Military talks will be held next month to discuss reducing tensions, reports the AP, which notes that the declaration did not outline any concrete steps toward denuclearization. A South Korean official tells Reuters that Kim jokingly apologized to Moon for waking him up with missile tests and issued an invitation to visit Pyongyang later this year, which the South Korean leader accepted. In a tweet early Friday, President Trump, who is expected to meet Kim by early June, praised the "historic meeting," adding: "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" (At the start of the summit, Kim made history with a step over the border.) (Newser) With an arrest in the case of the dormant Golden State Killer, the New York Times looks at what makes serial killers tick and, contrary to what you might think, it's not usually an insatiable thirst for blood. As forensic psychologist J. Reid Meloy explains, "These are not acts that a person is compelled to do. They are intentional and predatory. There is choice, capacity and opportunity that is exercised." That helps explain why the Golden State Killer appears to have gone quiet after 12 murders and more than 50 rapes in California between 1976 and 1986. Similarly, BTK Killer Dennis Rader ended his string of 10 murders in 1991, 14 years before he was arrested. He later admitted "to engaging in autoerotic activities as a substitute for his killings," as noted in a 2008 FBI report. story continues below Though motives are hard to nail down, changes in stress level, location, work, and family have also had an impact on serial killers, per the Times. Michael H. Stone, another forensic psychologist, notes Green River Killer Gary Ridgeway's murder spree spanned his first two marriages but quieted following a happier third one. There was a five-year break in crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer after a daughter was born to suspect Joseph James DeAngelo in 1981, per the Los Angeles Times. But Stone speculates age is a factor, too. In 1986, DeAngelo would've been 40. At that age, "testosterone levels are down" and one's "capacity to perform is weakened," Stone says. Rape-murderers "are really rare over age 50," adds a retired FBI criminal profiler. "We just don't see them." (Here's how DeAngelo was identified.) (Newser) In what a currency expert tells the San Francisco Chronicle is the equivalent of "finding an original Picasso at a garage sale," a rare coin from the California gold rush has been unearthedsaid to be one of only four still in existence. The Independent reports the unnamed owner of the $5 Liberty Head Half Eagleof which 268 total were made by the San Francisco Mint in 1854, per CoinWeekdidn't think the coin was real, and coin experts had told him as much. But one dealer thought it would be worthwhile to get one more opinion, and so the owner handed the coin over to third-party authenticator Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, which set about on a complex course of detective work to compare the new coin to the three existing ones. story continues below Gizmodo explains that wasn't an easy task: Although it had high-res scans of two of the coins (one at the Smithsonian, the other owned by a coin-collecting family called the Pogues), the third coin had been owned by the Du Pont familyand had been stolen in 1967 and never found. Authenticators used images of the Du Pont coin from 1962, when it had last been auctioned off, to establish both that it wasn't the stolen coin and that commonalities among all four coins proved this newest coin was the real deal. NGC won't put an exact number on the coin's value, as it specializes only in authentication, but estimates it's worth "millions." Meanwhile, the only clue to the owner: It's a guy who has lived in New England his whole life, and he's now going to be "quite rich," a coin expert tells the Chronicle. (A single coin dropped in a Salvation Army kettle turned out to be worth a lot.) (Newser) The parents and husband of a South Carolina nurse who died on a flight from Honolulu to Dallas have filed a wrongful death suit against American Airlines, reports ABC News. Brittany Oswell, 25, suffered a pulmonary embolism and cardiac arrest during the April 2016 flight, according to the lawsuit, per USA Today. The suit alleges that an onboard defibrillator and two blood pressure cuffs were faulty and that the plane should have made an emergency landing. About three hours into the trip, Oswells husband, Cory, paged flight attendants when Oswell complained of dizziness and then fainted. Flight attendants found a doctor onboard who examined Oswell. The doctor initially believed that Oswell had experienced a panic attack. A few hours later, Oswells condition worsened and the doctor recommended that the flight be diverted. story continues below But by that time, the flight was 90 minutes away from Dallas and the pilots elected to continue the flight. Later, Oswell stopped breathing and the doctor attempted to resuscitate her, but the planes lifesaving equipment was not functioning, the suit says. After landing in Dallas, Oswell was transported to Baylor Medical Center, but never regained consciousness. Three days later, she was taken off life support. "When Brittany got on the plane, she stepped into her coffin," Brad Cranshaw, the familys lawyer, tells the State. "It's a tragedy." American Airlines, which has not yet answered the lawsuit, issued the following statement: "We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we are looking into the details of the complaint." (Read more American Airlines stories.) (Newser) As Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in jump-started their "new history" together, President Trump took to Twitter to confidently crow about what Politico deems the "historic" moment currently taking place in South Korea. "KOREAN WAR TO END!" he proclaimed, noting that the summit between the North and South is happening after "a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing." He added that the US "and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" The president's optimism was tinged with a bit of cautiousness: "Good things are happening, but only time will tell," he noted. Trump also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for his role in things, tweeting, "Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" story continues below Also on Trump's mind Friday morning besides the Korean Peninsula: his former FBI director. "Is everybody believing what is going on," he tweeted. "James Comey can't define what a leak is. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesn't understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. He's either very sick or very dumb." He then added a cryptic: "Remember sailor!" The Independent notes that final phrase is causing "widespread confusion," with speculation including it's a mangling of the term "Hello, sailor!," or maybe even a reference to a Japanese manga series called Sailor Moon. The Daily Beast's take seems most likely: Trump may have been referring to Kristian Saucier, the ex-Navy sailor he pardoned for taking photos inside top-secret areas of a nuclear sub. (Read more President Trump stories.) (Newser) The United Nations cultural agency on Friday called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the 300-year-old wreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose, which is believed to contain a cargo worth billions of dollars. A UNESCO experts' body protecting underwater cultural heritage on Friday sent a letter to Colombian Culture Minister Mariana Garces Cordoba expressing concern that recovering the treasure for sale rather than for its historical value "would cause the irretrievable loss of significant heritage." Colombian authorities intend to recover the San Jose, ending a three-century saga since June 8, 1708, when the ship with 600 people aboard sank while trying to outrun a fleet of British warships, reports the AP. story continues below It is believed to have been carrying 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds, and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, which could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered. The wreck was discovered three years ago with the help of an international team of experts and autonomous underwater vehicles, and its exact location is a state secret. The UNESCO body's head, Auron Tare, said they had learned that "the recovery of artifacts from the Spanish Galleon San Jose will be held contrary to the UNESCO convention, not in a scientific ethical way and for commercial profit of a third party." Colombia has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would subject it to international standards and require it to inform UNESCO of its plans for the wreck. (Read more shipwreck stories.) (Newser) The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. has long said she's nothing more than a private attorney who's not linked to the Kremlinbut she's now adding a new self-descriptor. "I am a lawyer, and I am an informant," Natalia Veselnitskaya said in an interview to be aired Friday on NBC News. "Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general." These remarks go against her previous statements of not having ties to the Russian government, and the New York Times notes they reboot speculation about who she was working for when she attended the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner, among others. Newly released emails from a Putin opponent also show Veselnitskaya had a relationship "far closer than she has described" with Yuri Chaika, the Kremlin's prosecutor general. story continues below In a statement last fall to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Veselnitskaya said she works "independently of any governmental bodies" and has "no relationship with Mr. Chaika ... other than those related to my professional functions as a lawyer." But Newsweek points out her "changing story," noting previous ties to Chaika's office that have been unearthed. These new emailswhich she confirmed were authentic to NBClend further credence to her working closely with Chaika's team. The correspondence documents exchanges between Veselnitskaya and a top Chaika prosecutor, whom she worked with to answer a US Justice Department request on a civil fraud case. "It's completely outrageous," says an ex-assistant US attorney in New York who worked on the case, adding Veselnitskaya's sudden 180 "raises serious questions about obstruction of justice and false statements." (Read more Natalia Veselnitskaya stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region New Delhi: IndiGo airline on Friday announced Aditya Ghosh would be stepping down as its president and Whole Time Director while promoter Rahul Bhatia would be taking over as the interim CEO. During a company board meeting on Friday, IndiGo accepted the resignation of Ghosh, as per a regulatory filing. Ghoshs resignation as a Whole Time Director would be effective from April 26, but he would step down as the President on July 31. ALSO READ: UPSC declares Civil Services 2017 results, Hyderabad's Durishetty Anudeep tops Rahul Bhatia has been announced as the interim CEO and Gregory Taylor as Senior Advisory. The board has appointed Bhatia as the Interim Chief Executive Officer but he would be continuing his stint as a director. IndiGo is Indias largest domestic airline service with a market share of approximately 40 per cent. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Mahesh Babu, who is currently enjoying to the stupendous success of his recent release Bharat Ane Nenu, is all set for another achievement. The renowned actor has joined the coveted league of celebs having their wax statue at the prestigious Madame Tussaud's in London. Indeed, it is a thrilling moment for Mahesh and he shared the news with his fans on micro-blogging site Twitter. He wrote, "Super happy to be a part of the prestigious Madame Tussaud's :) :) Thanks to the team of artists for their attention to detail. Incredible!" Super happy to be a part of the prestigious Madame Tussauds :) :) Thanks to the team of artists for their attention to detail. Incredible! pic.twitter.com/fyZHlxJE6k a Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) April 26, 2018 Reportedly, the sculpting team from Madame Tussaud's have visited Mahesh in Hyderabad to take the required measurements. In fact, his wife Namrata Shirodkar, who is proud of her husband's achievement, also shared a picture of this special moment on Instagram. Notably, Mahesh happens to be the second Tollywood actor to have a wax statue in Madame Tussaud's. Earlier, Baahubali actor Prabhas too got his stunning looks immortalized with a wax statue. New Delhi: In a major breakthrough to the decade-old Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, the Hindu religious bodies on Friday told the Supreme Court that the matter was purely a 'property dispute' and cannot be termed a socio-religious debate to refer to a larger bench. Earlier, senior advocate Harish Salve told the court to not refer the matter to a larger bench since a three-judge bench was already seized of it. The bench comprises Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer. Salve appeared for original plaintiff Gopal Singh Visharad, who was among the first to file a civil suit in the case in 1950. As per the prevalent practices and traditions of the apex court, the appeals against orders passed by a full bench of any High Court have always come up for adjudication before a three-judge bench of the top court, instead of a two-judge bench, Salve added. Senior advocate K. Parasaran, appearing for the deity, Ram Lalla Virajman, also supported Mr. Salves arguments and said the matter should be heard by a three-judge bench only. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, appearing for the Muslim bodies and petitioner M. Siddiq, said that looking at the sensitivities of the matter and its sheer importance, the case should be referred to a larger bench. Also Read | BJP leader moves SC for enforcement of right to pray at Ayodhya The hearing remained inconclusive and would continue on May 15. The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total of 14 appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court judgement delivered in four civil suits. In the landmark hearing, the Allahabad High Court in 2010 mandated a three-way division of the disputed site in Ayodhya. They ordered that the land should be partitioned equally among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The Babri Masjid was built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya back in 1528. Later on December 6, 1992, Hindu Karsevaks destroyed the mosque during a political rally claiming that the Ram temple, situated in the land was actually demolished to construct the mosque. Though there was no such evidence that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, the court agreed that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. Moreover, the excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India also suggested that the predating structure was a massive Hindu religious building. Also Read | Pravin Togadia slams Modi government for not enacting law to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya Since then the matter has been in the light and turned into a political riot in India. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Opposition Congress on Friday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show some courage and raise the Doklam issue with China during his informal summit with Chinese President Xi-Jinping. Modiji may not be able to show red eyes as he loftily promised, but will he show the courage of conviction to do plain-speaking on #Doklam & defend Indias interests? Congress media In-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said. On Thursday night, Modi arrived in Wuhan city of China to attend a historic two-day informal-summit with the Chinese President. The two leaders were scheduled to hold a series of one-on-one meetings to bridge the trust deficit between the emerging Asian powers. It was Modis first visit to China after the months long military standoff over the construction of a road in Doklam, a disputed territory in Bhutan. As Modiji 'hugs' his friend, President, Xi Jinping today in Wuhan, China, will he remember his innate duty to protect Indias strategic interests & question China on occupation of Doklam impacting Indias National Security? Surjewala, in a series of tweets, asked. Narendra Modi in China Highlights: PM Modi meets Xi Jinping at Hubei Provincial Museum Sharing a Satellite Imagery from Google Maps of 25th April, 2018, the Congress leader claimed that the increasingly aggressive China was building a new road through the South of Doklam but Modi government remained clueless about it. India is facing increasingly aggressive China to intrude into the Chicken Neck - Siliguri Corridor by building a new road through South of Doklam (Gateway to the North East), but why is Modi Govt clueless and incapable to send a strong message to China? Surjewala asked. Going full throttle, the Congress leaders asked if the Modi accepted the failure of Defence and External Affairs ministries to confront China during their visit on 20th-24th April. Does the PM accept the failure of his Cabinet Mins (Defense & EAM) to confront China on creation of full-fledged Chinese Military Complex in Doklam right upto 10m from Indian Army post, during their visit on 20th-24th April, as an abdication of their duty to the Nation? the Kaithal MLA asked. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Senior advocate Indu Malhotra on Friday took oath as a Supreme Court judge and became the first lady lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge in the apex court. Malhotras swearing-in ceremony was administered by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The Supreme Court collegium a group of five senior most judges headed by CJI Misra had recommended the names of Malhotra and Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to be elevated to Supreme Court judge. The centre, however, cleared only Malhotras name and blocked the elevation of Justice Joseph, asking the CJI to reconsider his name for the promotion. Justice Joseph was the one who struck down Modi governments order to impose Presidential rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 and allowed Harish Rawat to return to power. Also Read | Centre within its rights to not elevate Justice KM Joseph, says CJI Dipak Misra Malhotra became only the seventh woman judge of the apex court since Independence and added to the current strength of 24 judges. Malhotra, who specialises in arbitration law, would be the second sitting woman judge of the top court after Justice Bhanumati. On her first day as a Supreme Court Judge, Malhotra shared the bench with CJI Misra. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Throwing light on the Kathua rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl, investigators on Friday said that one of the main accused, Sanji Ram, told them that he learnt about the rape four days after she was kidnapped and decided to kill her because his son was involved in the sexual assault. The girl was kidnapped on January 10 and was first raped the same day by Rams nephew, who is a juvenile and was killed on January 14. The victims body was found on January 17 in a forest. Along with the juvenile, Ram and his son Vishal and five others have been charged in the heinous case, which has forced a nationwide protest that led to the government promulgating an ordinance mandating death sentence for the rape of minors aged 12 or below. The investigators informed a leading press agency that muslim minor from the Bakarwal community was kept in a devisthan, a small temple. The aim of the kidnapping was to scare and drive away the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities from the Hindu dominated area, they said. Rams lawyer Ankur Sharma refused to comment on the matter, saying it would not be viable for him to discuss defence strategy. 'At least the defence lawyer should not be commenting on the merits of the case. It is like leaking your strategy as a defence lawyer,' he told a leading press agency. Sanjhi claims that he found out about the rape only on January 13 after his nephew confessed to him, as per the investigators. He told the investigators that he asked his nephew to take prasad home after he had performed prayers at the temple But the nephew delayed it and in anger Ram beat him up, however the juvenile thought that his uncle had found out that he had raped the girl and told him about the assault, the investigators said. It was after the confession when Ram decided to kill the girl so to achieve the goal of scaring away the nomads, as per the chargesheet filed. Investigators also added that Ram had convinced his nephew to confess his crime. The body of the minor was supposed to be taken and disposed in the Hiranagar canal nearby, however a vehicle could not be arranged in time. The juvenile, Vishal, Khajuria and Mannu lifted the body and took it back to the 'devisthan' while Ram kept watch outside, the chargesheet said. The minor was sedated with manar and was kept in the devisthan covered with a rug and a matress, investigators said. Chargesheets were filed for Ram, his nephew, his son Vishal, SPOs Khajuria and Surender Verma and friend Mannu. While Ram has been charged with kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence, Mannu has been charged with kidnapping. The chargesheet also named head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed vital evidence. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the Kathua gangrape and murder case till May 7. The decision came after it was seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "Kathua rape and murder case: Supreme Court stayed the trial in the case before Sessions judge till the next date of hearing May 7," ANI reported. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it will deal with the prayer of the victim's father for shifting of trial from Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua to Chandigarh. The bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra agreed to consider the accused Sanji Ram and Vishal Jangotra's plea seeking handing over the probe to the CBI. The next hearing regarding the same will take place on May 7, 2018. #Kathua rape and murder case: Supreme Court stayed the trial in the case before Sessions judge till the next date of hearing May 7. pic.twitter.com/DQ4lUBtVxJ ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 Also Read | Union Cabinet approves death penalty for rapists of children below 12 years Earlier, the eight-year-old's father had moved the SC, apprehending threat to the family, a friend and their lawyer Rajawat. A separate plea was also filed by two accused seeking that the trial in the case be held in Jammu and the probe handed over to the CBI. The apex court, on Thursday, said that it will transfer the case out of Kathua in case it finds the 'slightest possibility' of lack of fair trial adding that the 'real concern' is to hold proper prosecution. The bench also considered the issue of alleged obstruction by lawyers in administration of justice in the case and said,"if the lawyers are at fault, they would be dealt in accordance with law". However, the Bar Council of India on Thursday said the lawyers' body in the district had neither obstructed the Crime Branch from filing the charge sheet nor the advocate representing the victim's family. The child from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Jammu and Ksahmir's Kathua on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later. Also Read | Academicians worldwide voice against PM Modi's 'prolonged silence' on Kathua, Unnao rape cases The state police's Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against seven persons. A separate charge sheet was filed against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district last week. The charge sheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged, raped and murdered inside a temple. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A Karnataka bound chartered plane carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi and four others on Thursday developed multiple faults" mid-air. Reacting to the incident, Congress party alleged intentional tampering" of the aircraft and filed a police complaint, seeking probe into the matter. The flight took off at around 9:20 am from Delhi. At around 10:45 am, the aircraft suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply, combined with violent shuddering of the aircraft body, according to the complaint filed by Kaushal Vidyarthee, a key member of Rahul Gandhis team. The complaint stated that the weather outside was sunny, normal and not windy and the autopilot of the aircraft was also not functioning. The pilots could not land the aircraft after it developed multiple faults. However, after two failed attempts, the plane landed safely at the Hubli airport. "Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are required to be addressed and investigated," Vidyarthee said. Vidyarthee demanded the faulty aircraft to remain grounded till the investigation is completed. Snag not uncommon: Directorate General of Civil Aviation Reacting to the "multiple faults" in Rahul Gandhi's plane, Aviation Regulator said that DGCA will examine the incident in detail but asserted that the snag was not uncommon. "The operator has reported the incident to us. It was snag of autopilot mode and pilot shifted to manual mode and landed safely," said BS Bhullar, the head of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "Shutting of autopilot incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do here also," Bhullar added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a series of one-on-one meetings with Chinese President Xi-Jinping on first day of a two-day informal summit in Wuhan city of Chinas Hubei province. The one of its kind informal summit was aimed at improving strained India-China ties post Doklam standoff. However, both sides decided to keep Doklam issue aside and the discussions they held were mostly focused on improving bilateral ties. During the delegation level talks with the Chinese President, Modi said that by working together, India and China can help the world get rid of most of its problems as the countries comprise 40 per cent of the total population. The Prime Minister also invited Xi to India on a similar informal summit next year. Here is what PM Modi told Xi Jinping during the informal summit in Wuhan # Your dream of New Era and our efforts of New India is a step towards right direction and will benefit the world. # At the time of Congress (Communist party Congress) government, you talked about New Era, today I talk about New India. It shows the similarity in our thinking. # I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India. # India-China have the responsibility to work for 40% of the world population, this means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us. # The people of India feel really proud that I'm maybe the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese President) have come out of the capital twice to receive me. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held series of meetings in Wuhan city of China's Hubei province as part of a historic two-day informal summit to "solidify" the India-China ties and exchanged views on how the two countries can work together for the overall good of the world. "The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI. The two-day informal summit in Wuhan, the first of its kind between the countries, is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 2017 Doklam standoff. Modi, who landed in Wuhan past midnight on Thursday, held a series of informal one-on-one meeting with Jinping in Hubei provincial museum in the city. Later, they also held rounds of delegation-level talks with six officials on each side. Xi also hosted a banquet for Modi at the state guest house by the famous East Lake in central Wuhan. During the talks, Modi offered to host the next informal summit with Xi in India in 2019. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. The Chinese president said they can meet in a similar fashion from time to time. "I believe in the future, we will meet in format like this, from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your Excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level," Xi said. Hailing the centuries old Sino-India ties and looking forward, Modi said the two sides have a "big opportunity" to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. More meetings will be held between Modi and Xi on Saturday with just interpreters of Hindi and Chinese languages accompanying them. Both leaders will have a walk along the banks of a lake and take a boat ride together to herald a new chapter in Indo-Sino relations. HIGHLIGHTS #04:01 PM: I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: Modi #03:58 PM: We (India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40% of the world population, this means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us: PM Mod # 03:55 PM: Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has termed the "informal summit" between Modi and Xi Jinping a "no agenda" meet. Rahul asked Modi to raise the issues of Doklam and CPEC. Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM, 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. Thats Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support, Rahul Gandhi tweeted. # 03: 50 PM: The people of India feel really proud that I'm the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese President) have come out of the capital twice to receive me, says Modi in Wuhan. #03:40 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping hold delegation level talks in Hubei. Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping hold delegation level talks in Hubei. #China pic.twitter.com/9sUE6G9Ajw ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #03:20 PM: Watch: PM Modi at an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping at an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum) #China pic.twitter.com/REIFk93qtK ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #03:15 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping visit an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum) Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping visit an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum) #China pic.twitter.com/bflhzVQNP7 ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #01:07 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/X85JaFmxp1 ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #01:02 PM: Prime Minister Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at Hubei Provincial Museum. #FLASH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at Hubei Provincial Museum. pic.twitter.com/TLDj8eN6WN ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #12:55 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Hubei Provincial Museum. # 10:30 AM: Congress party has asked if Prime Minister Modi will raise questions over China's occupation in Doklam during his informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. As Modiji 'hugs' his friend, President, Xi Jinping today in Wuhan, China, will he remember his innate duty to protect Indias strategic interests & question China on occupation of #Dokalam impacting Indias National Security? 1/n Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 27, 2018 # 9:30 AM: Chinese Defence Ministry expressed its willingness to stabilize Indo-China military ties on the sidelines of the on-going visit of Prime Minister Modi to Wuhan city. #08:50 AM: PM Narendra Modi to have a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at 1530 hrs (China time) in China's Wuhan. PM Narendra Modi to have a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at 1530 hrs (China time) in China's Wuhan. (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/sFhxI22NvE ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 #08:45 AM: OPINION | Modi must tread warily to dispel any sign of hidden agenda: The abruptly-called summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, later this week could turn out to be a clever ruse to showcase Sino-Indian convergence on issues relating to US protectionism. he Chinese, caught in a piquant situation after the trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese exports to the US are apparently keen to project to US President Donald Trump that they have Indian support. Modi would have to tread warily to dispel any impression of a hidden agenda with China on this issue..... Click Here To Read More #08: 35 AM: "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance... We will also review the developments in the India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective," PM Modi tweeted on Thursday. #08:30 AM: Hello and welcome to the live updates on Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi's China visit. Modi is on a two-day visit to attend an "informal summit" being hosted by Chinese President Xi-Jinping. For the next two days, the leaders of the two emerging Asian powers will hold a series of one-on-one meetings. The "informal summit" is seen as a significant milestone in Indo-Sino relations. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Karnataka as part of the last leg of his campaigning for the state assembly elections, received call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Modi dialled Gandhi after a Karnataka bound chartered plane carrying the Congress chief developed some technical snags mid-air on Thursday. Rahul was on his way to Karnataka's Hubli. According to reports, Modi was the first person to call Gandhi and enquired about the incident. Currently, Modi is in China for a two-day informal summit in Wuhan. Earlier on Friday, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged views on solidifying the India-China relationship. "It was a private conversation between the two (over phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the prime minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine," PTI quoted a Congress party source. "The flight took off at around 9:20 am from Delhi. At around 10:45 am, the aircraft suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply, combined with violent shuddering of the aircraft body," according to the complaint filed by Kaushal Vidyarthee, a key member of Rahul Gandhis team. Vidyarthee also tweeted later about the incident, saying the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down. "Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation," Vidyarthee wrote on Twitter. Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation. Kaushal K Vidyarthee (@vidyarthee) April 26, 2018 Also Read | Rahul Gandhi flight scare: Congress alleges conspiracy; snag 'not uncommon', says DGCA "Never thought we would make it through what happened in the aircraft today...cant believe how brave RG is...being a pilot himself he was constantly by the side of the crew through the crisis. Respect!," he said in another tweet. Never thought we would make it through what happened in the aircraft today...cant believe how brave RG is...being a pilot himself he was constantly by the side of the crew through the crisis. Respect! @vidyarthee Rahul S Ravi (@RahulS_Ravi) April 26, 2018 Congress filed another complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking a detailed investigation into the matter. "The operator has reported the incident to us. According to the report, it was a snag in the auto-pilot mode. The pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely," a senior DGCA official was quoted. "Shutdown of the auto-pilot (mode) is not uncommon. For a VIP flight, the DGCA examines it thoroughly. We shall do that in this case as well," he added. Also Read | Google shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture as 'India's first PM'; Here is how Twitterati reacted A two-member team has already been set up to investigate the matter. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The standoff between a section of the judiciary and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has sharpened with the Government returning to the judicial collegium its recommendation to elevate the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, Justice KM Joseph to the apex court. While the protocol is to return for reconsideration, it amounts to a rejection. It is in the realm of speculation whether the Supreme Court would in turn return the recommendation to the Government after reconsideration or let the matter rest at that. If the apex court pushes, there is lack of clarity on how far the judiciary can go and whether the executive is bound to follow the repeat recommendation. Unless Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra, defuses the situation, the confrontation could well get worse with consequences for the litigants who are already plagued by delays. To make matters worse, politics has soured the pitch further with the Congress joining issue with the Modi government, with former minister and leading lawyer Kapil Sibal calling it an assault on judicial freedom. The battlelines are indeed drawn and two powerful pillars of democracy are shaking. A solution needs to be found to the tangle over appointment of judges, the delay in which is multiplying the problem of huge backlog of cases in the apex court, high courts and subordinate courts. The Congress on its part has no feet to stand on in regard to its objection over the Modi government returning the collegiums recommendation. During the Emergency in the 1970s, it was Indira Gandhis Congress government that had superseded three senior judges and foisted Justice AN Ray as chief justice defying all norms of propriety. The governments reasons for sending the recommendation back to the judiciary are not entirely convincing. While its principal reason cited is that the said Justice Joseph is ranked 42nd in terms of seniority among high court judges and that there are 11 high court chief justices who are senior to him, the other two reasons are unconvincing---that Kerala to which Justice Joseph belongs is already adequately represented and the need to have representation from the scheduled castes and tribes. The more likely cause which BJPs critics are citingthat the said judge had overturned Presidents rule in Uttarakhand and restored a Congress government--- and that the BJP was seeking to teach him a lessonis apparently more convincing and puts the governments fairness in doubt. With the unprecedented media conference by four senior judges against Chief Justice Misra and the subsequent demand by several Opposition parties for CJIs impeachment, the judiciary is passing through rough times. It is no longer seen to be on a high pedestal as it always was and can do with a refurbished image that may bring the old glory back. A healing touch is sorely needed which can come about only if both the Government and the judiciary lend a helping hand. The next big flashpoint could come when and if Justice Gogoi who was one of the four revolting judges and is next in line for elevation to Chief Justice were to be superseded when Chief Justice Dipak Misra retires. With politics deeply enmeshed in the judiciary, such a course could indeed disturb a hornets nest. It is now widely recognised that the collegium system of appointment of judges has not stood the test of time and needs to be reformed. That Justice Karnan of the Kolkata High Court had to be jailed for contempt recently was a reflection on the process of selection. In the interests of the institution, it is time such pending issues are settled in the right spirit and in a manner that reflects the majesty and dignity that befits the judiciary. Only when the decks are cleared for appointments will there be the possibility of addressing the issue of backlog of cases to bring fair play and justice in the right context to the army of litigants in the country. New Delhi: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday disqualified Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif from the parliament for holding a work permit (Iqama) of United Arab Emirates. The decision is a big blow to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party ahead of the general election. A special bench of the Islamabad High Court, consisting of three members disqualified Khawaja Asif under Article 62(1) (f) of the Constitution, read with section 99 (1) (f) of the Act of 1976. ALSO READ: Wuhan Summit: PM Modi leaves for China for talks with Chinese President Xi "We declare that the Respondent [Asif] was not qualified to contest the General Election of 2013 from NA-110 as he did not fulfil the conditions described under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, read with section 99(1)(f) of the Act of 1976," reads the judgment, reported a leading Pakistani daily. "The Registrar of this Court is directed to send certified copy of this judgment to the Election Commission for de-notifying the Respondent as Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. A copy is also directed to be sent to the Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan for information," it added. In 2017, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as the prime minister for his involvement in the Panama Papers case. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. olalathos Computer technician and E/waste recycler Eric Lundgren is going to prison for 15 months for selling restore disks for computers, which would extend their longevity and allow them to be resold to new users. A federal appeals court in Miami rejected the appeal in his case this week, upholding a federal district judges ruling that Lundgren violated Microsofts copyright by selling the disks.Although these restore disks come free with every computer, there is a license key that is tied to the first buyer, which makes it effectively impossible to restore these computers for private sale, that is, unless you want to pay Microsoft for an entirely new license, at which point most people would just choose to buy a new computer.I am going to prison, and Ive accepted it. What Im not okay with is people not understanding why Im going to prison. Hopefully, my story can shine some light on the e-waste epidemic we have in the United States, how wasteful we are. At what point do people stand up and say something? I didnt say something, I just did it, Lundgren told the Washington Post on Monday.By keeping computers out of landfills for just a few more years, Lundgren was really doing great work for both the environment and people with lower incomes who cannot afford to go out and buy new computers. Even the judge expressed remorse during the sentencing, but still decided to send him to prison for 15 months anyway.This is a difficult sentencing because I credit everything you are telling me, you are a very remarkable person. This case is especially difficult, because of who you are today and in terms of who you have become, Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley told him in court last year.Initially, Microsoft was open about the fact that Lundgren was being prosecuted because his operation negatively impacted their revenue stream. Microsoft lawyer Bonnie MacNaughton wrote in a statement to the judge that These sales of counterfeit operating systems displaced Microsofts potential sales of genuine operating systems.However, since the case has gotten so much media attention and many are seeing Lundgren as a hero, Microsoft has changed their tune and are saying that this is a measure that was taken to protect people from malware.In a statement this week, Microsoft went on the defensive about the prosecution:Microsoft actively supports efforts to address e-waste and has worked with responsible e-recyclers to recycle more than 11 million kilograms of e-waste since 2006. Unlike most e-recyclers, Mr. Lundgren sought out counterfeit software which he disguised as legitimate and sold to other refurbishers. This counterfeit software exposes people who purchase recycled PCs to malware and other forms of cybercrime, which puts their security at risk and ultimately hurts the market for recycled products.Lundgren, on the other hand, says that he is going to jail because his plan to reduce e-waste and help the environment got in the way of Microsofts business model.In essence, I got in the way of Microsofts profits, so they pushed this into federal court on false pretense, Lundgren said. This was false and inaccurate testimony provided by Microsoft in an attempt to set a precedent that will scare away future recyclers and refurbishers from reusing computers without first paying Microsoft again for another license.Lundgren concluded that ultimately, Anyone successfully extending the life cycle of computers or diverting these computers from landfills for reuse in society is essentially standing in the way of Microsofts profits.The court gave Lundgren a few weeks to make his business transition arrangements before he will surrender to police custody, but he was warned that if he created too much media attention he would be taken in immediately.I was told if I got loud in the media, theyd come pick me up. If you want to take my liberty, Im going to get loud, Lundgren said.Each year, 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste is generated worldwide, and while it only represents 2 percent of the solid waste stream, it accounts for 70 percent of the hazardous waste that is in landfills, according to the EPA. Extending the lives of computers by giving people an easy way to buy them used would put a significant dent in this problem.https://www.activistpost.com/2018/04/e-waste-recycler-sentenced-to-over-a-year-in-prison-for-fixing-old-pcs-and-selling-them.html anatakti It was a Sunday on 27th April 1941, when German troops entered Athens. The capitals residents remained stubbornly locked in their homes. The rise of the Nazi swastika on the Acropolis markedthe beginning of the German Occupation. Soon the Germans set up a puppet government with Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who signed the capitulation, as prime minister.As the Wehrmacht motor units were rolling in the empty streets, the voice of the Athens Radio Station announcer Konstantinos Stavropoulos echoed inside the homes of Athenians, and still echoes eerie through the decades:Attention! Attention! The capital is falling into the hands of the conquerors. On the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, the blue and white is no longer flying proud. Instead, it is replaced by the banner of violence. The guard of our flag, ordered to take it down to raise the German flag, committed suicide by jumping off the cliff at the point where the blue and white was flying. Long live Greece!Then the Hellenic National Anthem played for the last time on the radio, only to be heard again three and a half years later when Athens was liberated. It was followed by the last free announcement:Attention! The Athens Radio Station will no longer be Greek after a while. It will be German and will be broadcasting lies! Greeks! Do not listen to it. Our war continues and will continue until the final victory! Long live the Nation of Greeks!. The announcement was followed by a silence that was equally eerie.The radio silence was broken several hours later with the first announcement of the Nazi conquerors, in Greek and German:The Mayor of Athens, retaining all the powers in the city of Athens under German Occupation, announces that today, Sunday, April 27th and at eight oclock am the German troops entered the city of Athens and took possession of it. Under the German troops, unequivocal assurances were given that the population of Athens have nothing to fear. We call everybody as they behave orderly, with dignity and courtesy. The Mayor of Athens commands that, as of this time, the normal life of the city resumes smoothly. For this reason:1. Shops normally open on Sundays, should open immediately.2. Immediately, people can begin moving around the city, allowed until 11pm. From 11pm (Greece time) until 6am, traffic is forbidden. Police officers may, under their own responsibility, issue special permission for free movement during the forbidden hours when necessary.3. The Gendarmerie and the City Police will keep their arms to preserve order.4. Holders of any army rifles, hunting rifles, pistols or other handguns should immediately surrender them to their local police stations and receive pertinent proof of surrender.5. Wherever there is a Greek flag hoisted, a German flag must also be raised to the right.6. Newspapers may be published and circulate in normal times and editions.7. Everyone is obliged to accept German banknotes at a price of 50 GRD per Deutsch mark.8. On the morning of Monday, all public, municipal, and other agencies and offices should open and employees should be in their positions and all other employees at their workplace.9. The German Occupation Armed Forces Guard headquarters are stationed in the KING GEORGE Hotel at Syntagma Square. The German Army headquarters at GREAT BRITAIN Hotel.When German forces entered the Greater Athens area, they were under strict orders to behave in a civilized and courteous manner, under instructions to treat the Greeks as though they bad been liberated from British occupation.After a while, they came to be hated as they imposed increasingly harsh measures on the population. A curfew was enforced. All shutters had to be kept closed, even during the oppressive heat of the summer nights. It was forbidden to criticize German soldiers under any circumstances, even by so much as a glance and the Germans themselves were the arbiters of what constituted a critical glance.The conquerors were afraid to sleep in camps for fear of bombardment by the Allies, so they appropriated private homes for their own use. They requisitioned all public and most private transport, so that citizens had to walk or use the home-made two-wheeled push-carts which were used as taxis. Hospitals were emptied of the sick, including war casualties, to ensure that they would be available, if required, for German soldiers. The wounded victors of the Albanian campaign were turned out of their beds to be quartered in vacant warehouses, or were forced to wander the streets in pyjamas. Medicines were reserved for the use of the conquerors.What followed was infinitely worse as in the three and a half years of German Occupation about 600,000 Greeks died of hunger, various diseases and the harsh conditions. Also, 105,000 died in concentration camps. Over 56,000 Greeks were executed by the Germans, mostly in retaliation to acts of the Greek Resistance. Also, over 20,000 Greek Resistance fighters died fighting the occupying forces.Source: greekreporter Japan's fast food sector is set to get more competitive with the arrival of another player from the US. Fatburger is the latest in a line of foreign chains aiming to take a bite out of the market. Staff offered a look inside their first Japanese diner which opens in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Saturday. The Fatburger line-up is slightly more expensive than most fast food here in Japan. Officials are hoping to attract an older crowd of customers. They're aiming to have 10 outlets in Japan within the next 3 years. The opening follows the arrival of other US hamburger chains such as Shake Shack and Umami Burger. The increased competition is causing some Japanese restaurants to amend their low-price policy in an effort to expand their clientele. McDonald's Japan launched a dinner option that allows customers to double the volume of beef for an extra 90 cents. The Freshness Burger chain, which operates 170 outlets, recently started selling freshly baked buns. Local governments are agonizing over how to deal with a series of cases in which foreigners have flown drones in tourist spots. In Japan, flying drones without permission is banned in places where people gather. However, there have been a spate of cases in which foreign tourists, unaware of this regulation, have flown drones. Given the circumstances, some local governments have put up multilingual signs saying flying drones is prohibited and are having their employees patrol to call foreignersa attention to the rule. A license is not necessary for flying a drone, but the Civil Aeronautics Law bans flying drones weighing 200 grams or more without permission in crowded areas, at night and in other situations. During the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival, which is being held in Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, employees of the Hirosaki city government are patrolling the park, which is famous for cherry blossoms, to issue warnings if they find visitors flying drones. The city government is on alert following a case last year in which a foreigner flew a drone above a moat around Hirosaki Castle to shoot a video of cherry blossoms during the festival. During the Hirosaki Neputa Festival in August last year, a French man allegedly flew a drone without permission at night. Police sent papers on the man on suspicion of violating the Civil Aeronautics Law. The man was quoted by the police as saying that he was shooting a video of the festival. The city government is checking on the internet if any videos shot by drones in parks and other locations have been posted. If such a video is found, the city government takes action such as writing comments to say that the drone was flown without permission. The city government said it has so far confirmed several cases of unauthorized use of drones. A SoftBank Group Corp. subsidiary and two other firms have developed a prototype of a two-seat humanoid robot that can transform into a car for use in amusement parks, the companies said Thursday. Invoking the heroes from the aTransformersa movies, the experimental J-deite Ride can go from humanoid mode to vehicle mode in about a minute. The 3.7-meter, 1.6-ton robot can lumber on two legs at an agonizingly slow pace of 100 meters per hour but go 60 kph in vehicle mode. The electric car can be driven both manually and by remote control, according to a press release from the companies. By April 1928, the parents of Kirkland, N.Y., a small town just to the southwest of Utica, had had enough. For at least two years they had heard horror stories from their children about their "upper-grade" teacher, Mrs. Mary Pryor, a 15-year teaching veteran. They were now asking their children to "go on strike" and demanded Pryor's removal from the District 2 school. The issue of corporal punishment in the school would divide the town. "Feeling is running high in that community," a local newspaper wrote, "and no truce will be declared among the factions." Kirkland was "promptly split in twain over the affair." The charges against Mrs. Pryor were long and are shocking to modern readers: Pryor failed to provide drinking water for the children and told them the only available water was from a well littered with chicken and cat carcasses and rotting pumpkins, as well as having a broken pump. Bathrooms were filthy, and children were often not permitted to use them, resulting in "natural consequences." Despite negotiating for an extra $10 a month to act as the school's janitor, Pryor often made the students perform the tasks around the school. When 13-year-old Peter Peters, a frequent victim of Pryor's, refused to clean the coal stove for fear he might ruin his new suit of clothes, Pryor whipped him with the rubber hose she kept in her desk. (Her husband, William, who had arrived to take her home that day, grabbed Peters by the wrists to hold him, while she "flogged him with the rubber hose in a cruel and inhuman manner...with all the force she could command," according to the parents' complaint. William Pryor allegedly told the boy if his teacher told him to go to the corner and stand on his head, he should do it.) Beatrice Roullier was told there was no use in her having a classmate's book she had borrowed because "she didn't know anything and will never learn anything." When the girl replied, "I know as much as you do," Pryor broke a ruler across the girl's shoulders, then beat her the next day with the rubber hose after the girl ran home after the teacher's attack the day before. The same girl had to do a Christmas recitation in which Pryor had written advice to Beatrice's mother on how to keep a clean doorstep. After Peters was expelled from the school, the students started their strike, which lasted for several days. New York State education officials ordered them to return to school, or else their parents faced prosecution. (All returned, except for Peters, whose parents opted to send him to a Utica private school.) But the parents kept up the pressure to remove Pryor from her position. "As a teacher she is incompetent and unfit to teach children; she is cruel and unkind to her pupils and has utter lack of ideals," the parents wrote in a petition to New York's Department of Education. Pryor said she would stand on her 15-year record and believed the discipline she handed out was mild. "It was only a thin rubber hose I used upon the children. One of boys said he likes to get hit with the hose, because it does not hurt at all," she said in an interview. After a pause, she said, "Why, if I hit these children with all my strength, as the papers said I did..." The controversy played out during the town's school election, which was quickly called the "most hotly contested school trustee election ever staged in the Town of Kirkland." Two state troopers were sent from New Hartford to keep the peace. (They had little to do except "direct traffic" inside the polling place.) So many turned out to vote at the schoolhouse, that the usual ballot box, an old chalk box, was deemed too small. A Black Cat shoe polish box was used. Shockingly, George Rucker, the hand-chosen nominee of outgoing trustee Charles Dawes, who said Pryor was handling her duties properly and blamed outside interference for the controversy, won a close vote, 50-37. In June, attention would turn to Utica for a hearing to decide if the charges presented by the parents were enough to cause Pryor to lose her teacher's license. (Pryor had gotten into more trouble for closing the school for a week in May to do spring cleaning at her home. She explained that the students were ahead of schedule in their lessons, despite the strike.) The hearing was described as "contentious," the courtroom filled, with children sitting on the floor. Peter Peters testified that he was subjected to floggings three or four times a week. He testified that Pryor was always "cranky in her most usual way." His sister, Mary, said she was flogged for throwing a book at Pryor, while the teacher wrapped the hose around her brother's neck. "Nowadays they don't use whips on horses," she said. Parents testified that children came home with soiled clothes and welts on their back. More than 50 witnesses were called in Pryor's defense and she underwent a "grilling cross examination" which lasted an entire afternoon. She denied many of the charges but claimed she was justified every time she used the rubber hose. She called Peters a disobedient boy, who refused to study, disturbed the other students, made a humming sound with his lips and slammed the door loudly. Some of her testimony is incredible. When asked if she can still swing the hose as hard as she did years before, Pryor replied, "I certainly can." "I may have slapped his mouth, but I do not consider that a real whipping," she said of one incident with Peters. When asked is she used a ruler on student's knuckles, Pryor replied, "And I used my hands on them." Did she ever "cuff their ears?" "I don't hit them in the ears very often," the teacher answered. By the end of the day, Rome's "Daily Sentinel" said the teacher "grew weary and constantly took off and replaced her nose glasses." The new school year began in September before there would be a decision. Pryor returned to her duties, awaiting her fate. She was greeted by many empty seats as several parents found other schools for their children. (The Peters family had their three children enrolled at the Brandegee School in Utica.) On Sept. 20, 1928, the saga finally came to end: State commissioner of education Frank Graves would not revoke Pryor's teaching license and in his decision censured the parents of Kirkland for "allowing minor disputes to interfere with the education of their children." For Pryor it would be a hollow victory. Another school election was held in May 1929 and this time her supporter was defeated. The new trustee said she would not be invited back. She found another teaching position in Lairdsville. She would oversee fewer pupils yet earned a higher salary. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958. Antoine Griezmann punished Arsenals lax defence late on as 10-man Atletico Madrid salvaged a draw from the Europa League semi-final firs... Antoine Griezmann punished Arsenals lax defence late on as 10-man Atletico Madrid salvaged a draw from the Europa League semi-final first leg at Emirates Stadium.The visitors were on the back foot for almost the entire game after defender Sime Vrsaljko was dismissed for two yellow cards in the first 10 minutes.According to BBC, with Atleticos furious manager Diego Simeone sent to the stands shortly afterwards, the Spanish side survived unscathed to half-time with Alexandre Lacazette clipping the post with a half-volley in the hosts best chance.Lacazette nodded in Jack Wilsheres cross just after the hour to apparently edge the Gunners closer to a Europa League final send-off for outgoing manager Arsene Wenger.But with eight minutes remaining Griezmann latched onto a long ball forward, shrugged off Laurent Koscielny and stabbed into the net at the second attempt for an away goal to swing the tie Atleticos way going into the second leg in Madrid next Thursday.Arsenals fans were left ruing a familiar combination of wasteful finishing and costly lapses in concentration as the teams departed to a muted response in Wengers final home European game.Their team now must breach an Atletico defence that has conceded just four times at home in La Liga this season to have any hope of extending Wengers 22-season spell in charge to the final on 16 May. The Presidency has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Nigeria on Saturday for the United States of America. The Presidency has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Nigeria on Saturday for the United States of America. Recall that we had earlier reported that President Donald Trump will host his Nigerian counterpart, Buhari in Washington on April 30 and that the meeting will focus on fighting terrorism and promoting economic growth. In a statement signed on Friday, by the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the presidency said Buhari, will leave Abuja on 28th April 2018, on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump. President Buhari will have bilateral meeting with President Trump and a working lunch on Monday 30th April 2018. The meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries and to advance shared priorities, such as: promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security. The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigerias economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership. Later in the day, President Buhari will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry. Ahead of the visit by President Buhari, meetings have been scheduled on 26th and 27th April, 2018, between senior Nigerian Government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation. In the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials will be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment. In the area of transportation, the officials will meet with the GE-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession. In the interim phase, a substantive concession agreement will be negotiated and finalized to provide the consortium the opportunity to invest an estimated $2bn, to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line). During the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements are expected to be signed. The Nigerian officials will also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements. The Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Roggers Nicholas has disclosed that a combined security operation in the theatre ... The Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Roggers Nicholas has disclosed that a combined security operation in the theatre have successfully repelled an attempt by Boko Haram to enter Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.According to Gen. Rogers who issued a statements in Maiduguri and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri said the opeation was carried out by Airforce, Police, Civil Defence, and the Civilian Joint Task Force.The Statement reads; Troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE have in the late hours of today, Thursday 26 April 2018 successful repelled Boko Haram Terrorist incursion in the outskirt of Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri.Troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE with the support of the Air Task Force, Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies including the Civilian Joint Task Force quickly mobilised to the area and cleared the terrorists incursion.The troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE are currently in pursuit of the Boko Haram Terrorists and have dominated the area while also patrolling the general area of Jidari. Therefore, the general public and residents of the area that have earlier flee are enjoined to return to their residence. They are further encourage to report any suspicious persons to security agencies currently patrolling the area.It was learnt that Boko Haram terrorists at about 5.30pm launched a daring attack to enter Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.Residents said the insurgents engaged in a heavy exchange of fire with security agencies from Molai village along Damboa Biu road.Aliyu a staff of NTA Maiduguri informed that they have been stocked in the office as all access roads have been blocked by security.Another resident who spoke from a heavy hold up in town said they have been locked down by traffic as many residents are hurriedly going home.The army in Maiduguri had earlier called on the residents of Maiduguri to remain indoors and not panic.Colonel Kingsley Samuel, Deputy Director Army Public Relations in a statement made available to newsmen in Maiduguri assured that the situation s under control, while calling on the public to be vigilant.The statement reads; The general public is please requested not to panic and discountenance rumours of Boko Haram presence.You are further enjoined to please remain at home and be vigilant. The security situation in Maiduguri is under control.Jidari Polo remains a major a battle ground where Boko Haram has severally made frantic attempts to lunch attack on Maiduguri but have always repelled by the military.The area has also been an entry point for suicide bombers into Maiduguri metropolis. The Kaduna state government filed an eight-count charge of homicide against the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, (IMN) Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and three others.The charges were filed on April 18.The defendants are Mr El-Zazaky, Zeenah Ibrahim, Yakubu Katsina and Sanusi Koki.The prosecution in the case is the Kaduna State government.The first count, the defendants are accused of allegedly conniving to block the Sokoto Road in Sabon Gari district, Zaria while they were in possession of guns, knives and other dangerous weapons. The offence is punishable under section 59 of the Kaduna state penal code law, 2017.Count two of the charge borders on the alleged commission of a homicide. According to the charge, the IMN members were accused of killing a military officer, Yakubu Dankaduna, when the officer alighted from the convoy of the army chief to disperse the group. The allegation of homicide is punishable by death, under section 190 of the same law.The third count of the charge contains alleged involvement of the group in unlawful assembly.According to the charge, the members of the IMN committed the alleged offence by blocking Sokoto road, under the guise of performing religious functions, while the group wielded dangerous weapons.Count four of the charge bothers on allegations of blocking the same road and preventing the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff from gaining access.According to count five, the IMN members are accused of disturbing public peace by preventing other residents in the area from passing the road.Count six involves an allegation against the four defendants, of inciting the IMN members to commit the alleged offence of homicide.Count seven contains an allegation against the IMN members for inflicting harm on a military officer, Faggo Babayo, without provocation; while count eight contains an allegation of inciting disturbance of the peace in Zaria.The latest controversy between the Shiite group and the Nigerian army began on December 12, when a convoy of the Nigerian army Chief, Tukur Buratai, was prevented from accessing Sokoto Road in the Sabon Gari District of Zaria.Following the clash, the army under Mr Buratais watch attacked and killed over 300 members of the IMN.The figure was confirmed by various reports including outcomes of investigations by the human rights watch and the Kaduna state government.After the clash, Mr El-Zakzaky was arrested alongside his wife and detained by security operatives.Despite a court order for their release in December 2016, the IMN leaders have remained in military custody till date.Shortly after the court ruling, state governments outlawed the group, banning any form of gatherings by the IMN members.Members of the IMN group began a daily protest early April to demand the release of their leader who was not charged, despite being detained for over two years. The minister of solid mineral resources, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in this interview speaks on his aspiration to return as governor of Ekiti Stat... The minister of solid mineral resources, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in this interview speaks on his aspiration to return as governor of Ekiti State. Excerpts:Yes, you are right, I have been governor here in the state before now, but I feel a profound sense of unfinished business. Unfinished business in the sense that all of what I did in office, have been abandoned to rot, well, maybe some infrastructure have been sustained, at least you can still see some of the street lights, you can still see the Government House on top of the hill, you can still see all of the physical things, particularly our efforts in the areas of human capital development, entrepreneurship, tourism development, Health care have actually been severely damaged.I will give you a couple of examples to demonstrate what I mean by that, over 40,000 people benefitting from our various social investment scheme have been put out to hang and drowned. The 5,000 that I was paying N5,000 to in the social security scheme, the 10, 000 benefitting from the youth volunteers and empowerment scheme who were being paid N10,000 monthly and being engaged in variety of our youth initiatives, environmental sanitation, teaching in schools, working in the health sectors, all of that were disbanded.All that we did to better the lives of our people have been eroded in a lot of places, just go to Ikogosi. So if you ask me, yes, I have been governor, Im not coming out of a sense of ambition, Im coming out of a sense of duty, out of a profound sense of unfinished business which I believe only a progressive and ideological driven government can deliver as far as the state is concerned.I think frankly, we have to come to come to terms with the fact that it is a plus actually that the APC ticket is much sought after, it is a positive one. However, it has to be managed carefully, once the primary takes place and a clear winner emerges.I dont think the problem you are envisaging would happen actually, where we may run into problem is when it is a close race, and people imagine that some hanky-panky had given one person or the other an edge in the race. But, frankly, I do not think its going to be a close race, but that is separate matter. Everyone has a right to run and aspire in political competition. I dont think we should debar them from doing so.All manners of brick-backs are going to be thrown, in a race of this nature , I have heard some of these allegations that you have raised, but Im assuring that when people say that I believe its actually an insult to the delegates who are independent minded to the best of my knowledge and who are actively associated with one aspirant or the other.If you go out in the field, you will see delegates in different camps , so if what you are saying is true, then I shouldnt be going round the state seeking the support of the delegates, I should just seat in Abuja and wait for the election to happen on May 5th and then I know that they are in my pockets.Im not taking any of our delegates for granted, and Im running on the basis of a record that I established as I governor in this state.Clearly, there is unfinished business in the mining and steel sectors; as a matter of fact, what has happened in the Mining and Steel sectors could be described as foundational.But the truth of the matter, as much as I love what Im doing and the mandate the President has saddled me with, I also know that mining is a long-term sector, there is no magic that Im going to do in the Mines and Steel in the next one year. I have a colleague who I have carried along very closely as Minister in the sector, so, nothing is likely to fundamentally change. He would deepen the activities that have been put in place, and I dont see why he would not do well in continuing with the work that I have done or that we both jointly presided over in the sector.Do you mean the toilet papercome on! You are far too knowledgeable about these things, and you have a good sense of history of where this is coming from. Yes it used to be a case in this country that you can use an administrative panel report or judicial commission report to orchestrate the ban of a political office holder but that period had since gone, because it became very clear that this was a witch-hunting tool, either in the hand of a federal officer who has used this or that the state level and there is a settled matter by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on this point you are making and that is the Atiku Abubakar vs. Federal Government of Nigeria.Only a court of record and what is defined as a Court of record in law, a High Court, either at the state or Federal level. So, for anyone to tell you, to the best of my knowledge, I have not even been asked to show up in any court over any allegation and dont forget, I did not even appear before any panelI was invited but you should also be aware that I challenged that invitation in the court and that case was in court as the panel was sitting, so, I cannot approbate and reprobate, I cant challenge a matter in court and then go to the same panel to show up thus legitimising the activity of the panel. But Im not INEC; however, there is a judicial precedence. I have a friend called Rabiu Kwankwaso, who went through this experience, he was governor, he went to become Minister, and when he was about coming back as Governor, the governor of that state brought out a Commission of inquiry report, of course, it was rubbished, and the man became governor.We took N25billion loan for infrastructural development not for salaries or frivolities and those infrastructural development traverse the length and breadth of the state, the bulk of that money was spent on roads.We spent about N14 billion out of that N25 billion on roads alone. We revived the Ire burnt bricks that had been moribund for several years before we came into office, it is still there, you can visit the place and see what they were doing there. We also brought back Ikogosi, it became a tourists delight, we received many awards, in fact about two Nollywood films were made out of the place. We built the new Government House out of this money. We built the Pavillon, a twelve thousand seat pavilion out of this money. We built a civic centre out of this money, in fact, we calculate what we spent the N25 billion on.Frankly, I believe we have enough to sell as a government, Im not just running on the record of my work when I was a governor but on the record of the present Federal Government which Im playing a prominent role, it is collective responsibility, so Im not going to shy away from perceived inadequacies.On very many grounds, I believe the track record of my Boss is worth selling. Im not saying we have been perfect in all grounds, we also suffer the tyranny of exaggerated expectations, a lot of Nigerians expected much from us, much more than we had listed considering the resources available to the country. Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has again mocked Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, over his face-off with the polic... Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has again mocked Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, over his face-off with the police. Fani-Kayode said Melaye was a free man despite being a critic of former President Goodluck Jonathan but ended up in handcuffs and hospital for speaking against the current administration. In a tweet, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftain wrote: He spoke against @GEJonathan and walked freely but when he spoke against @MBuhari he ended up in the hospital intensive care unit in handcuffs and was promptly handcuffed to the bed. That is the difference between @GEJonathan and @MBuhari. Ohsorry @dino_melaye. Melaye was alleged to have jumped off a police van in Abuja while being transported to Kogi State to face criminal charges. Following the incident, the lawmaker sustained injuries and is currently at the intensive care unit of the National Hospital in Abuja. Federal Government has paid N135 million compensation to the 19 victims of the September 20, 2013, shooting by men of the Department of... Federal Government has paid N135 million compensation to the 19 victims of the September 20, 2013, shooting by men of the Department of State Services (DSS) in an uncompleted building behind the Apo Legislative quarters, Abuja.The payment made yesterday by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, on behalf of the Federal Government, was in compliance with the award made in 2014 by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after it investigated the case.A team of men of the Army and DSS had on September 20, 2013 invaded the uncompleted building behind the Apo Legislative quarters, Abuja and shot eight people dead and injured 11.The Army and DSS had claimed that they shot and killed the squatters in self-defence. They further claimed that the security operatives carried out the early morning raid on the uncompleted building upon receiving intelligence reports that members of Boko Haram sect were hiding in the building preparatory to attacking government targets in Abuja.Upon a petition by friends, family members and relatives of the victims, the NHRC conducted inquiry on the incident, following which it released a report of its findings and recommendations on April 7, 2014.The NHRC, in its report, declared that the killing of the eight, who were later identified as tricycle riders, was unlawful.The commission, in the 83-page report, awarded N135 million as compensation to the 19 victims of the incident, which included the award of N10 million each to families of the eight people killed and N5 million to each of the 11 that sustained injuries.NHRC equally directed the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to lodge the evidence of payment with the commissions office within 30 days.The commission noted that contrary to claim by the security operatives that those killed were members of Boko Haram, they (security operatives) did not even interview those injured after the shooting to establish their connection or otherwise to the sect.NHRC noted that before the operation, the security operatives ought to have interrogated the owners of the property where the squatters were killed.It said contrary to claim by the security operatives that arms were hidden in the uncompleted building, no arms and ammunition were shown to have been recovered from the property, where the squatters were killed.Malami, while presenting a cheque of N135 million to representatives of the victims in his office yesterday, said the eventual payment was a result of negotiations by parties.He said: I am glad to inform you that the NHRC has received the payment from the DSS and the process of payment of the money to the beneficiaries starts today.I am further glad to inform the public of this gesture, the first of its kind in Nigeria, coming from President Muhammadu Buhari, which is confirming his commitment to the rule of law, upholding justice and respect to human rights.This gesture also confirms his (Presidents) enduring legacy of ensuring that justice is seen to be done to every Nigerian.In-coming Executive Secretary of the NHRC Tony Ojukwu said the final payment of the compensation was commendable.He said NHRC ordered the DSS to pay the compensation in furtherance of its powers under the commissions amended Act.He added: In fact, under Section 6(4) of the NHRC Act 1995 (as amended), it is now an offence punishable with imprisonment for six months or N100,000 to refuse to provide evidence, obstruct or do anything to prevent the commission from lawful exercise of its functions or refuse to comply with the lawful directives, determination, decision or findings of the commission.It is in fulfilment of its mandate that the commission exercised its powers to make a finding of gross human rights violation of the victims of this incident and accordingly awarded the present damages of N135 million against the DSS.Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter Chairman of the National Commercial Tricycle Owners and Riders Association (NACTOMORAD), Usman Buba Gwazo, who spoke for the beneficiaries of the compensation, hailed the NHRC for its efforts. There was pandemonium in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Thursday, after a commercial motorcycle rider, Ofim Ejike, was allegedl... There was pandemonium in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Thursday, after a commercial motorcycle rider, Ofim Ejike, was allegedly shot dead by a policeman, Onyebuchi Nweke.Ejike was allegedly killed on Wednesday by the trigger-happy police sergeant.It was gathered that the sergeant, who was attached to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, allegedly shot the victim for refusing to part with a N50 bribe.The shooting resulted in violent confrontation as youths of the area made bonfires on Udemezue and Waterworks roads and barricaded adjoining streets to demand justice for the victim.A combined team of anti-riot policemen from the police command headquarters in Abakaliki later stormed the scene, firing tear gas canisters to disperse the angry youths.Our correspondent gathered that the anti-kidnapping team was conducting a stop and search at Anan World Junction, Waterworks Road, when they flagged down the motorcycle rider at the check point.A witness, Okwuchukwu Unata, explained that Ejike, who had a female passenger, was ordered by the operatives to pay N50.He said, While he was trying to park, the killer sergeant corked his AK-47 rifle and shot him in the face at close range.Another witness, Sunday Nwefuru, explained that the policeman who shot the victim had an altercation with other team members before the incident occurred.Reacting to the incident, the leader of commercial motorcycle riders in the state, Mr. Reverend Akuma, described it as unfortunate, saying it should not have happened considering the harmonious working relationship between the union and the police.The state Police Public Relations Officer, Lovet Odah, said the killer cop was tried on Wednesday at the anti- kidnapping unit and had been dismissed from the Force.The PPRO said such actions would not be condoned by the police, adding that the suspect would be arraigned on Friday (today) to face charges bordering on murder.She said, The incident was unfortunate; we are appealing for peace and order. There is no way the police command will condone such a dastardly act. The suspect, Sergeant Onyebuchi Nweke, was tried at the department level and was summarily dismissed from the ForceIf any motorcycle rider was arrested or his motorcycle confiscated following the incident, as soon as there is calm, they will be released and their motorcycles returned to them. Every strategy we adopt is aimed at bringing peace to the state capital.No stone will be left unturned to ensure justice for the victim, Ofim Ejike. Some senators at the plenary on Thursday, called for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing the withdrawal of $496m... Most of the lawmakers, who spoke on the withdrawal and spending pointed out that the President had breached Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution, while a few disagreed.The 12 Super Tucano aircraft ordered from the United States would be delivered in 2020.The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had on Wednesday read a letter from Buhari in which he admitted that the money had been withdrawn and paid to the US ahead of the legislative approval. This, he said, was done to beat the deadline for the arms deal.On Tuesday, the letter was slated for consideration and referral to the relevant committee but Senator Mathew Uroghide, who had protested against the expenditure on Wednesday, moved a motion for Buharis impeachment for violation of the constitution.Uroghide, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, specifically urged Saraki to allow the Senate to invoke Section 143 of the Constitution against the President.He said, Any amount of money that has to be spent from the Federation Account, must be appropriated by the National Assembly. This one has not been appropriated by the National Assembly and therefore breaches the provisions of the constitution.The Senate is not unmindful of the fact that the objective of this expenditure has been well established, but the procedure for this expenditure is wrong. There ought to have been appropriation before this money was spent.Uroghide added, There are serious consequences for the violation of our constitution. As a consequence, the only thing that we can draw from on this is that, we call on you (Saraki) to invoke Section 143 of the Constitution. What it means is that this matter does not need to be investigated; it is clear that this offence has been committed by Mr. President.Seconding the motion, Senator Chukwuka Utazi stated that it was time for the legislature to be decisive. He noted that Sections 80 and 81 of the constitution stated the powers of the legislature on spending by the executive and how the executive should manage its finances.Utazi added, There is no other name to call this except an impeachable offence and we cannot allow that. We cannot stay here and this Assembly and Nigerians will be taken for granted. It should not be so. I rise and support the motion.Also speaking, Senator Shehu Sani has described the expenditure as a gross abuse of the constitution.While Sani stated that he was not in support of the impeachment call, he asked that the payment be refunded and the transaction be started afresh to allow due process.But Senator Abu Ibrahim described the impeachment call as a PDP conspiracy. Ibrahim challenged the opposition lawmakers to name any state governor in the PDP who benefited from the previous withdrawals from the ECA and sought the approval of the state House of Assembly before spending the money.Senator Samuel Anyanwu, however, countered Ibrahim, stating that the matter was about respect for governments institutions and not about party politics.The Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn NaAllah, however, argued that the executive might have considered Section 83(1-2) of the constitution, which allows the President to make extra-budgetary spending in an emergency situation.Nallah said, In view of the controversy that this has generated, my advice is that since we have the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, issues of this nature can be referred to that committee. Let them look at it properly and advise the Senate on the way forward.Saraki, in his ruling, noted there were two issues: the spate of insecurity and the flawed process through which the government wanted to tackle it.The Senate President sought the permission of the lawmakers to refer the probe to the Committee, which was unanimously granted.But the House of Representatives was undecided on Thursday whether to approve a $496.3m request by President Buhari to purchase 12 units of Tucano aircraft from the US.The House referred the request to its Committee on Rules/Business to look into it and guide the members properly on the way forward.The House, in keeping with its Tuesday resolution to debate the matter before taking a stance, had listed it on Thursday.But, as the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, called on the Acting Leader of the House, Mr. Mohammed Monguno, to move a motion for the debate, some members kicked against it.The motion sought to include the $496.3m in the 2018 Appropriation Bill still pending before the National Assembly.It was the Chairman, Committee on Ethics/Privileges, Mr. Nicholas Ossai, who raised a point of order to observe that by the procedure of the House, the request was belated because Buhari had already spent the money.Ossai quoted Section 80 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to remind members that no funds could be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, except in the manner approved by the National Assembly.He argued, This motion is not relevant because this money has been spent. This matter cannot be discussed at all. This matter ought to have been thrown away and I urge the House that this motion should be withdrawn.However, there were other members, who attempted to protest loudly, saying that the House should at least debate the letter and either approve or reject it.For instance, the Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, observed that the House would still be in order by debating the motion.Some members like the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Chukwuka Onyema; Mr. Gabriel Onyenwife; Mr. Agbedi Fredie; and Mr. Sergious Ose-Ogun, backed Ossai.They said the request was belated and trying to bend the House rules to accommodate the $496.3m either by a motion or a fresh money bill, would amount to self-indictment by the legislature.The Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, intervened to rule that in view of the divergent opinions, the debate should be suspended. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, wondered why the country had been saddled with what he described as a heavy and almo... Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, wondered why the country had been saddled with what he described as a heavy and almost unsustainable debt burden.Atiku, in an address at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), London, said President Olusegun Obasanjo and himself provided the leadership that paid off Nigerias entire foreign debt of $32bn in one fell swoop 12 years ago.He said, After paying off a monumental debt accumulated by previous governments, then President Olusegun Obasanjo, on April 22, 2006 said, Nigeria will not owe anybody one kobo. Today, almost exactly 12 years to the day, you can almost say, Nigeria now owes everybody more than one kobo.What happened in the intervening years to turn the dream that our administration had into this present reality where Nigeria now owes double what we paid off in 2006?Atiku, who spoke on the importance of strengthening state economic management systems, said structural defects in Nigerias federal structure prevented the federal, states and local governments from operating at optimal levels.He said after 19 years of uninterrupted democracy, the states had been reduced to parastatals of the Federal Government and had become addicted to the monthly allocations from Abuja.Atiku said, The only way to get them to manage their economies in an economically viable way is to cure them of that addiction. Nigeria needs to be restructured. We must commit to a new development agenda with focus on wealth creation by the federating units, rather than wealth distribution from Abuja to state and local government capitals.We must undertake far-reaching economic reforms to attract private resources, including financial resources and build bigger, stronger and more dynamic sub-national economies. We must expand the frontier of private sector activities beyond the realm of the oil sector and build a new Nigeria without oil.The former vice-president stressed the need for states to look inwards rather than outwards.He recommended that states should follow the example that Obasanjo and he laid between 1999 and 2007 when we privatised and liberalised many aspects of the Nigerian economy.Atiku said, It had the almost immediate effects of reducing our wage bill and increasing services, capacity and jobs in the private sector. By privatising those state government-owned public enterprises that gulp huge sums by way of recurrent expenditure yet give little returns by way of return on investment, state governments can free more of their revenue from recurrent and devote it to capital expenditure.We have promoted, tolerated and indeed celebrated a defective political structure. The federalism we practise is not smart. We politicised the creation of states and local governments over the years.States and local governments became too weak to meet their constitutional responsibilities and consequently the Federal Government emasculated them and took away those responsibilities which belong to them.According to him, the combined Internally Generated Revenue from all the 36 states came up to less than one per cent of the countrys nominal GDP and less than 12 per cent of their 2016 budgets. The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has said that it wont be part of the July 14 proposed Local Government Areas and Councillorship elections in the state.PDP claimed that the proposed election was not in tandem with the views of the Constitution on conduct of elections by States Independent Electoral Commissions.A statement issued by the partys Publicity Secretary in the state, Damian Opara, claimed that the Supreme Court had, last Monday, advised the state Independent Electoral Commission against holding the election.The opposition party stressed that as a responsible party that has respect for rule of law, it would respect Supreme Courts position on the proposed election by urging its members to distance themselves from the July 14 electoral exercise.The statement read, in part, The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party, Imo State, has again been drawn to a subterranean plot by the All Progressives Congress to disobey the nations Apex Courts directive that the local government elections (scheduled to hold) in Imo State be put on hold until the Supreme Court determines the case between the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Imo State and the Imo State Government.The PDP in Imo State therefore wishes to categorically state that it shall not take part in the purported election; and alert all Nigerians, particularly, political parties in Imo State, not to (participate), as any money spent by anybody in respect of the purported local government election in Imo State is tantamount to futile efforts.On Monday, the Supreme Court, upon the oral application of Barr. Ngozi Olehi, counsel to ALGON, Imo State, directed all parties in the suit before the Apex Court to keep off from entertaining or participating in any activity pertaining to local government elections in Imo State until the determination of the appeal before it.The Apex Courts advice is clear and unambiguous. New parents, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton have announced the name of their newborn son on Friday. He is His Royal Highness, Prince Louis of Cambridge.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles, said a palace statement on its verified Twitter handle. See it below:The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles.The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/4DUwsLv5JQ Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2018The name, Arthur favours royal watchers, who have long predicted that the new prince would bear the name.The name pays tribute to Williams great-great uncle Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA in 1979, while Charles is the name of Williams father.Louis is currently the 71st most popular name for a baby boy in England and Wales.He weighed eight pounds and seven ounces (3.8 kilogrammes) when he was born at 11:01 am (1001 GMT) on Monday with William, the Duke of Cambridge, present for the birth.The couple stepped out of St. Marys Hospital in central London to cheers from a crowd of supporters and global media outlets gathered outside.Their two other children Prince George, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte had met the latest addition to the family earlier in the afternoon, before returning home to Kensington Palace.Louis is a sixth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth, who turned 92 on Saturday, and her husband Prince Philip.He will hold the title of prince after the Queen changed the rules in 2012 to ensure that all of Williams children would be entitled to the style, not just his eldest son.Prince Louis is also the first male royal who will not overtake his sister in the line of succession after a reform that ends male primogeniture.Louis Mountbatten was the beloved great-uncle of Prince Charles, and the uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh.Known to Charles as Uncle Dickie, Mountbatten was the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947.He was assassinated by Irish republicans when his boat was blown up on a fishing trip off the coast of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has defended his failure to appear before the Senate on Thursday to honour the latters invitation over alleged maltreatment of Senator Dino Melaye.The police boss insisted that his action was not out of place, noting that the countrys extant law permitted him to send representation to anywhere he was personally needed.In a statement early Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, IGP Idris said his official assignment in far away Bauchi State necessitated him to send representation in the person of the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations.The statement read in full:The functions, duties and responsibilities of the Inspector General of Police as listed in Section 215 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can also be carried out as mentioned in section 312 (1) of the Police Act and Regulation by a senior officer of the Force of the Rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police and Assistant Inspector General of Police who if permitted by the Inspector General of Police to act on his behalf or represent him in official capacity at any function, event or programme within and outside Nigeria can do so in consonant with the provisions of the Police Act and Regulation."It is on the basis of the above that while the Inspector General of Police is on an official assignment in Bauchi State that he delegated the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations to represent him and honour the invitation of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect of the felonious offenses for which Sen. Dino Melaye was taken into Police custody, investigated and to be arraigned in the Federal High Court, Lokoja without further delay. Consequently, the general public are hereby implored to note that the Inspector General of Police acted rightly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Police Act and Regulation and other extant laws by delegating the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations to represent him at the Senate, National Assembly today 26th April, 2018 to present the Police report, actions and findings in a case of criminal Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms and other sundry offenses indicting Senator Dino Melaye."The Nigeria Police Force is a law abiding organization and holds the Senate and its leadership in high esteem, however the Force wishes to impress on the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not to personalize or trivialize the criminal offenses (Criminal Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms and other sundry offenses) indicting Sen. Dino Melaye from confessions of two (2) suspected kidnappers and Armed Robbers namely:KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA and NUHU SALISU a.k.a SMALL; but should allow the rule of law and justice to prevail. A House of Representatives member, Mr Peter Akpatason (Edo-APC), has expressed optimism that Supreme Court will upturn Abuja High Courts ruling that National Assembly has no powers to alter elections sequence.Akpatason said on Friday in Abuja that the courts ruling was an attempt to obstruct legislative process.According to him, the courts ruling negates the provisions of the law.He said that the court would have allowed the national assembly to complete the entire process of election sequence before offering its opinion based on the position of the law.I think in the first place, it is expected that the court should have allowed the entire process to be completed and then, they can go ahead and give an opinion about it based on the position of law.Ideally, this is an ongoing process, and until a bill becomes law, an attempt by the court to adjudicate over it will amount to obstructing legislative process and its against the provisions of the law.In any case, as a person, I dont think it is right; I dont think it is correct that the legislature does not have the powers to legislate on the sequence of elections.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they are talking about is a creation of a piece of legislation and we have the power to review, improve upon and to abrogate any piece of legislation, the lawmaker said.He disclosed that leadership of the national assembly would appeal the courts verdict at the Supreme Court.I dont see how it can be defended anywhere that the legislature does not have the powers.I am one of those legislators who believe that the matter should be taken to the Supreme Court.We have seen situations like this in the past where the lower courts intervention to solve a particular problem even when it is clear to them that ultimately, at the Supreme Court, the situation is going to change.I want to believe that is what we have in our hands right now. Definitely, we are going to reverse it at the level of the Supreme Court, he said. It's springtime in New Jersey, which means the annual fight over school funding is already in full swing. Though Gov. Phil Murphy's budget increases school aid by $283 million, school officials are calling for more, and some districts can make a stronger case than others. Districts with major enrollment booms over the past decade, significantly changing demographics or weakening tax bases have been especially shortchanged as the state routinely underfunded its formula for allocating school aid. Check out the list below to see the 10 districts who are cheated the most, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of state data. The ranking is based on how much state aid each district received this school year compared to how much it would be owed if the state fully funded its formula, including abolishing all limits and caps on annual increases. Top 10 underfunded by percentage 1. Chesterfield Township School District Percent funded: 19.8 percent 2018 state aid: $821,188 Full aid owed: $4.1 million 2. Atlantic City School District Percent funded: 22 percent 2018 state aid: $24.3 million Full aid owed: $110.6 million 3. River Edge Public Schools Percent funded: 22.6 percent 2018 state aid: $752,750 Full aid owed: $3.3 million 4. Elmwood Park Public Schools Percent funded: 24.9 percent 2018 state aid: $4.7 million Full aid owed: $19 million 5. Atlantic County Vocational School District Percent funded: 25 percent 2018 state aid: $4.9 million Full aid owed: $19.8 million 6. Robbinsville Public School District Percent funded: 25.8 percent 2018 state aid: $3.1 million Full aid owed: $12 million 7. Rockaway Borough School District Percent funded: 27 percent 2018 state aid: $584,221 Full aid owed: $2.2 million 8. Little Ferry Public Schools Percent funded: 29 percent 2018 state aid: $2.1 million Full aid owed: $7.4 million 9. Absecon Public School District Percent funded: 32.1 percent 2018 state aid: $1.7 million Full aid owed: $5.3 million 10. North Brunswick Township Public Schools Percent funded: 32.6 percent 2018 state aid: $14.6 million Full aid owed: $44.8 million Largest dollar differences Another way to look at getting shortchanged is by the total dollar amount. These large districts already receive substantial state aid but would be in line for the biggest dollar increases if the formula is eventually fully funded. 1. Newark Pubic Schools Gap in state funding: $167.5 million 2. Elizabeth Public Schools Gap in state funding: $114.6 million 3. Paterson Public Schools Gap in state funding: $92.6 million 4. Atlantic City School District Gap in state funding: $86.3 million 5. Plainfield Public School District Gap in state funding: $63.9 million 6. Trenton Public Schools Gap in state funding: $54.9 million 7. Woodbridge Township School District Gap in state funding: $52.4 million 8. Bayonne School District Gap in state funding: $46.5 million 9. Clifton Public Schools Gap in state funding: $44 million 10. New Brunswick Public Schools Gap in state funding: $42.5 million Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook On last night's episode of "Jersey Shore," while the crew was on its "family vacation" in Miami, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino informed everyone that he planned to propose to Lauren Pesce, his college sweetheart. Just after the episode ended, Sorrentino, 35, tweeted engagement photos showing the reality star and Pesce, 32, on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant and at Pier Village in Long Branch. "THE FUTURE MR & MRS SITUATION," he posted, along with photos taken for Us Weekly, which reports the engagement will play out in a future episode, of course. Sorrentino proposed to Pesce on Valentine's Day while she was visiting him in Miami, presenting a 3-carat diamond ring worth about $65,000. "It was really special for me to do this, to get down on one knee on 'Jersey Shore,'" he told the magazine. THE FUTURE MR & MRS SITUATION [?] [?] [?] pic.twitter.com/fKj96U6F9h -- Mike The Situation [?] (@ItsTheSituation) April 27, 2018 "GYM TAN WE'RE ENGAGED," Sorrentino shared on Instagram. "It was really special and it really meant a lot to both of us that they wanted to be involved and put so much effort into wanting to make it perfect," Pesce told the magazine, speaking of Sorrentino's castmates. In the series premiere of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation," the revival of the popular MTV reality series, Pesce and Sorrentino are seen living in a Long Branch condo. But the happy news may prove bittersweet for Sorrentino. His announcement came just before he was scheduled to be sentenced for tax evasion. Now he'll have a bit more time before he learns of his fate. The sentencing, originally scheduled for April 25, has been postponed until June 20. In January, the MTV celebrity, who went to high school in Manalapan, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of tax evasion as part of a plea deal. Sorrentino faced a 14-count indictment in the tax case. His legal troubles are a plot point in the revival. In the first episode, he had to stay home and miss a flight to Miami because of a court appearance, worrying that he wouldn't be able to film the show as planned. "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" features a completely sober Sorrentino, which marks a stark departure from his previous behavior on the show (running head first into a wall, for instance). He may not have that signature abdominal "situation" anymore, but he's done away with the drugs and alcohol (mostly in favor of snacks). Sorrentino credited Pesce, who grew up in Holmdel and works as a Realtor-associate in Hazlet, for keeping him on a healthy path. He said he has known her for nearly 10 years, since college in 2009. (Sorrentino got a degree from Brookdale Community College but also attended Monmouth and Kean universities). "I said YES love you forever @mikethesituation," Pesce posted on Instagram, with a picture of her wearing the ring. In other "Jersey Shore" life events, another cast member, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, welcomed a baby girl with girlfriend Jen Harley on April 3. His susceptibility to temptation -- namely, cheating on his then-pregnant girlfriend, aka reverting to "Single Ronnie" -- has been a recent focus of the show. Though the revival didn't draw the huge audience of "Jersey Shore" at the height of its popularity, "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" premiered to respectable ratings on April 5, claiming an average of 2.5 million viewers over two back-to-back episodes. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook. A local publication said it was blocked from distributing its weekly paper inside Newark City Hall last week -- in what leaders called a violation of their rights. Local Talk, which was founded in 2000, has distributed its free, weekly paper every Thursday on multiple floors of City Hall, content editor Kristopher Seals said. But last Thursday -- the same day the paper's front page featured a story about Mayor Ras Baraka's close friend being sentenced for wire fraud, and interviews with candidates in the upcoming city council races -- a Local Talk reporter was stopped from distributing the paper, Seals said. More than 250 papers were also discarded by an unknown group of individuals, he said. "It's an absolute suppression of freedom of press," Seals said. "We've never had a situation where we've been not welcomed at City Hall." Frank Baraff, a spokesman for the city, said the incident "shouldn't have happened." "It's been tradition and practice that Local Talk can be distributed and there's no change in that," he said. One of Local Talk's longtime reporters, Walter Elliot, was allegedly stopped by a woman wearing a City of Newark uniform and at least two others, Seals said. Elliot had already dropped off the papers on the first floor but was told by the group that he was not allowed to distribute inside City Hall and the papers already left on the first floor had been moved, Seals said. Any issues should be redirected to the Chief of Staff, Elliot was allegedly told. Baraff said those actions were "not authorized" by Baraka or his brother, Chief of Staff Amiri Baraka Jr. Local Talk was able to distribute papers this Thursday, despite initial problems getting past security, said editor-in-chief Dhiren Shah. Shah said it could have been a misunderstanding but his reporters "have a right" to distribute the paper. He said the city called him to let him know it should not be a problem. In his weekly editor's note on April 26, Shah wrote, "Many of you have wondered why the newspaper was not at Newark City Hall last week. Due to legal issues, we're not saying anything right now. However, we have been informed that there should be no problem moving forward." Whether the group that stopped Elliot was acting on its own or by instruction, Walter Luers, of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, said it was still unlawful. The city "has been allowing (distribution) for years and so the fact that they took the papers and threw them out, I think they violated his First Amendment right," Luers said. "We are in a time right now where the press is facing enormous pressure from different levels in the administration nationally as well locally that is impeding in many ways on freedom of the press," said Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. "It's a fight that has just gotten a lot worse over the past two years." Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Two men were arrested Thursday and charged in the fatal shooting of a Newark man in 2017. Lenwood Thompson, 39, and Chance Venable, 47, both of Newark, have been charged with murder, according to a release from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Police responded to a call about a shooting in progress at 2:40 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2017, on North 5th Street, according to a news release. Officers found Denzel N. Uwubiti, 29, also of Newark, "unresponsive" in a car. He was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m. Thompson and Chance were arrested Thursday by Sgt. Christopher Smith of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and members of the FBI Fugitive Task Force, according to the news release. They have been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Thompson was also charged with aggravated arson. Both are being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. The small hometown police department that Wenonah's leaders voted to create back in 1955 is no more. Borough council, over the objections of many, unanimously voted to disband the small police force and contract for law enforcement services from neighboring Mantua Township in Gloucester County. "To be able to bring in additional police resources for lower cost is just a no-brainer," said Mayor John R. Dominy Thursday night after council's meeting in the local school's all-purpose room, a site chosen to accommodate the 300-plus residents who turned out. The mayor says the move, which he called a difficult one for council and himself, is all about saving tax money now and in the future, but others disagree. In fact, the action, first publically introduced on April 12, has caused a deep rift in the borough. "I don't believe the coverage is going to be the same," said resident Steven Sparks. "The numbers just don't add up." He reminded officials that in 2011 residents voted down a non-binding referendum on disbanding the police department. "Here we are again," Sparks said. "So far, information provided is not sufficient to convince me or others this is a good thing to do. I'm just disappointed we haven't had enough information presented in advance." Wenonah is still very much small-town America with tree-lined streets of well-kept historic homes. Just as important, many who were against disbanding the police department said, the local officers know the residents they protect, especially the children. The nearly mile-square borough has a population of about 2,278 residents. Mantua, has a much larger police force to cover its population of 15,200. Wenonah's also the town where the average tax bill in 2017 was $10,747, the highest in Gloucester County, but keeping the police is worth it, many residents have argued. Dominy said May would be a month of "transition" and Mantua would officially begin patrols in Wenonah on June 1. Two of Wenonah's current patrol officers will join the Mantua force and the other three will join the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office, according to the mayor. The borough must also work out the remainder of the chief's contract. He said about $1 million of the $2.6 million municipal budget goes to pay for police. He has estimated with contracting police services Wenonah will save about $3 million over a 10-year period. Disbanding the local force and contracting with Mantual will equal a $400 savings for the average property owner in a year, officials have estimated. According to the contract approved by council, the cost for Mantua to provide police protection for Wenonah for the remainder of 2018 will be $320,833. In 2019 it would be $550,000 for the full year, in 2020 it will be $561,000, in 2021 it will increase to $583,440, in 2022 Wenonah will pay $603,803 and in 2023 the contract calls for a payment of $621,917. On Thursday night several people who spoke during the nearly hour and a half public comment session questioned the why a referendum couldn't be held on the fate of the local police. "They (the residents) didn't elect you officials to be God,"one man said. While those opposed were the most vocal, others at the meeting said they support the move. "I think if that is what our council has come up with it's fine," said one longtime Wenonoah reaident who did not want to be identified. " ... I'm not really worried about Mantua covering us. I do feel badly for the (Wenonah) police officers, but I think this is what we need to do and I'm alright with it." All six council members were in favor of the ordinance to disband the police department and voted on a resolution approving the contract between the two towns. At that point most in the audience walked out, one woman shouting, "Shame on you!" From the back of the room came a man's voice, "Throw the bums out." At times, emotions ran high as residents, including some children spoke of how much the local police department means to them. Some of the speakers levied attacks at the mayor that got personal. Among those who ringed the all-purpose room at the school were police officers and chiefs from both Wenonah and Mantua. The police ordinance was introduced April 12 at a special meeting where the borough hall meeting room was packed, with many more residents let standing outside, those who attended said. A citizens' group, "Save Wenonah Police," attempted to halt Thursday night's vote through a request for an injunction, but that was denied by Superior Court Assignment Judge Benjamin Telsey, who wrote, citing case law, " A court cannot prohibit a legislative branch from meeting and passing an ordinance." There have been hints that more citizen-led legal action over the police vote could come. "On my time on council this is the biggest single decision that I've had to reach," Dominy said at the end of the evening. "It's been very difficult and very emotional, even for me. At the end of the day I'm mayor of this town and I have to do what is best for this town. "We need to begin an orderly transition and set out to heal the wounds we have in our community." Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Six members of the violent street gang MS-13, including five from Union City, have been charged with the 2015 murder of one man and plots to kill two other men, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. A federal grand jury returned a seven-count superseding indictment Wednesday against the men -- Union City men Juan Escalante-Melgar, aka "Humilde," 28; Elmer Cruz-Diaz, aka "Locote," 29; Oscar Sanchez-Aguilar, aka "Snappy," 22; Jose Rivera-Robles, aka "Layo," 33; Juan Garcia-Gomez, aka "Scooby," 22; and Christian Linares-Rodriguez, aka "Donkey," 38. Authorities say the 22-year-old Garcia-Gomez was a 20-year-old recruit when he fatally shot a 19-year-old in the back of the head to gain entrance into MS-13. He was arrested a couple days later. Among the gang-related charges the men face are racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, authorities said. "MS-13 is one of the most violent and vicious gangs in America today," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. "The gang has more than 10,000 members following its barbaric motto of 'kill, rape, and control' across 40 states, and that threatens law-abiding Americans. "Today's indictment makes clear that the Trump administration and this department will be relentless in taking the fight to MS-13 with every lawful tool at our disposal." Authorities identified Escalante-Melgar is the former leader of the Pinos Locos Salvatrucha clique, while Cruz-Dia is the former leader of the Hudson Locotes Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. Sanchez-Aguilar and Rivera-Robles are member of the cliques, and Garcia-Gomez was a recruit, authorities said. Linares-Rodriguez, currently incarcerated in El Salvador, has been identified as a high-ranking MS-13 member who authorized and directed much of the illegal activity described in the superseding indictment. "Our office has been pursuing and successfully prosecuting the members of the violent transnational gang MS-13 for the crimes they have committed in New Jersey and elsewhere," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. "The facts described in the indictment make it clear why: This is a vicious organization with no regard for human life or for the laws of our country." According to court documents and statements made in court: Authorities say the defendants and other members of Hudson County MS-13 cliques and associates were involved or authorized Garcia-Gomez to kill a man in West New York. The murder was caught on several surveillance cameras outside the apartment and also show Sanchez-Aguilar watching the murder from across the street and Rivera-Robles lingering close by and meeting with Garcia-Gomez moments after the execution. The investigation of the murder revealed that Escalante-Melgar directed Garcia-Gomez to carry out the execution, with Linares-Rodriguez' approval from El Salvador. The MS-13 members also plotted in May 2015 to to kill a member of a rival gang, who had been lured to New Jersey by a female MS-13 associate, plotted to kill a member of the Hudson Locotes clique was suspected of cooperating with police, extorted a Hudson County restaurant owner by threatening harm and conspired to sell cocaine on behalf of the gang, authorities said. Here are the counts against the six men: -- Count One charges all six defendants with racketeering conspiracy; -- Count Two charges Escalante-Melgar and Linares-Rodriguez with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the May 2015 murder plot; -- Count Three charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, Sanchez-Aguilar, Rivera-Robles, and Garcia-Gomez with murder in aid of racketeering based on the July 1, 2015 murder; -- Count Four charges all six defendants with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the July 1, 2015 murder; -- Count Five charges all six defendants with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and aiding and abetting that crime; -- Count Six charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, Sanchez-Aguilar, Rivera-Robles, and Garcia-Gomez with causing death through the use of a firearm based on the July 1, 2015 murder; -- Count Seven charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, and Linares-Rodriguez with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the suspected informant murder plot. One person was taken into custody this afternoon in connection with an online threat that someone was going to shoot people at Lincoln High School in Jersey City, authorities said. The online threat, posted on Facebook, led to the "precautionary lockdown" of the high school and freshman academy at noon. Jersey City police responded in force this afternoon, with heavily armed officers in bullet-proof vests searching each classroom on each floor of the school. The Facebook threat said: "Yall Lincoln students think yall good kus yall on lockdown? Watch when yall get out yall all gettin blown tf up today. Principal wanna kick me out make me lose my job, my kids, my house!" Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said the person, a male, taken into custody had not been charged as of 5 p.m. He is believed to be a Snyder High School student, but authorities did not confirm that. Jersey City officials would not say if the person was ever inside the school or if he had a gun. Sources said the person was picked up by police near Journal Square while waiting for his mother to pick him up. The threat and the presence of armed officers led to a tense two and a half hours inside the school, with students clinging to each other in classrooms. "Someone was in the school and supposedly he had a gun," said one senior after students were dismissed at 2:40 p.m. "He was on Facebook giving his status saying, 'I'm in the school and they can't find me.'" The students were told by an administrator not to speak to a Jersey Journal reporter, but another student said "The police were coming to all the classrooms looking for the guy." Another student described the scene as "crazy." When "they said 'rapid dismissal,' you couldn't go to your locker. Everyone went out the main door. There were cops all around. Inside the school, if you looked out a window, you saw a cop." The mother of a student said her daughter and her classmates were "huddled in a corner" and had little information on what was going on outside their classroom. The mother, who did not want to be identified, said she was upset that the school district didn't communicate with parents during the ordeal. Jersey Journal Staff Writer Michaelangelo Conte contributed to this report. (Journal file photos) By Corey W. McDonald | The Jersey Journal BAYONNE -- The Second Ward of the Peninsula City has seen the bulk of new redevelopment -- so much so that officials have suggested the ward's section of Avenue E be dubbed the "loft district." The ward, which runs from 16th Street to 32nd Street, is currently governed by Sal Gullace , a first-term councilman seeking re-election on May 8. His seat is being threatened, however, by Kevin Kuhl , a local bar owner who sees the condition of his ward as unimproved despite all this development. The non-partisan election is May 8. Don't Edit (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal) Sal Gullace If there's one council member who has seen the lion's share of new development, it's Gullace and the midtown neighborhood. Officials have broken ground on at least eight new residential developments near the Light Rail, as well as the new RWJBarnabas Health facility on Broadway. A contractor by trade, Gullace sees this as moving his ward in the right direction. And he says his goal is to continue to fill empty lots still scattered throughout midtown. "I want to get the rest of those empty lots done, and just keep helping the residents like I've done in the past four years," he said. He pushes back on criticism about issues of parking and the potential strain on the local infrastructure given the expectations of new residents flocking into the city. "Most of the new residents that come in will be using mass transit, whether it be the (proposed) ferry or the light rail," he said. "A couple hundred more residents in Bayonne? That will liven up Broadway, bring back restaurants on Broadway and support that community. Broadway looks great compared to four years ago when we took it over." Meanwhile, his ward has dealt with a rash of crime on Avenue C and 19th Street, which nearby residents said has been ongoing. In December, there was a daytime shooting near the corner of 19th Street and Avenue C. And in October, a city woman was allegedly robbed by two men, one of whom beat her with a handgun, on 18th Street and Avenue A, cops said. Police made arrests in both incidents. Gullace says the way to address that is to assign more uniformed officers to the area, and to get to know the community members. It's one of the things he and his opponent agree on. Don't Edit (Corey W. McDonald | The Jersey Journal) Kevin Kuhl Kevin Kuhl, who owns Kuhl's Tavern and is running on mayoral challenger Jason O'Donnell's ticket, hopes to be an independent voice on the council and work for his community. "I told (O'Donnell) from the get-go, I am not a 'yes' man," he said, "so don't think I'm going to 'yes' you all the way through. If I don't like something, I'm going to make it known." And there are a number of things he doesn't like and thinks he can improve. "My two biggest issues -- one would be the parking issue, and two would be the litter and clean-up of the streets," he said. He said one his goals is to hold more clean-up events, both in his ward and in the entire city, to help make the city look more attractive. But Kuhl, whose tavern is on Prospect Avenue, sees new development as a detriment to the local quality of life. "It really is a mess," he says, particularly of the east side. "There's dirt, there's dust (from the construction) ... I can't keep my windows open at my house. "Obviously, the Second Ward has been the focal point for this administration's development," he said. "But we are just getting smothered over here on this side of town. All of these big buildings going up. ... I have a business in this town and there's no parking for my customers." He pointed to his ticket's parking plan as a way to solve the problem, while Gullace says some of the new developments will have parking decks available to residents. Like other members on the O'Donnell ticket, he expressed frustration at the number of PILOTs given out with no community benefit agreements. "Thirty-five to 40 times we could have gotten something for the kids, the seniors, for the community," he said, "and we got absolutely nothing." He also opened up about a run-in with the law. In the mid-1990s, he was arrested for possession of gambling records and paid a $10,000 fine. "I called in three bets for $385. I lost all three bets, got arrested and had to pay a $10,000 fine," he said. "Believe me, I was not happy with the outcome. But it was 23 years ago. Did I make a mistake? Yes. Did I get caught up in it? Yes. But it's behind me." Now, he want to focus on helping his community. "It will be a challenge, (but) I like helping people, and we have 65,000 people in the city who I feel have been neglected to a certain degree," he said. Don't Edit Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. The UBS Atrium Series will close it's 15th season of free concerts in Weehawken on Thursday with a presentation of Brazilian Choro music first heard in Rio de Janeiro more than a century ago. This concert, titled "Brazil from A to Z," features Danilo Brito, Joao Luiz, and 14-time Grammy winner Paquito D'Rivera The concerts are held at the Atrium at 1000 Harbor Blvd., in the Lincoln Harbor section of Weehawken at 12:30 p.m. Choro was influenced by musical styles and rhythms from Europe and Africa and is still popular in Brazil today. Brito is considered one of the finest mandolin players in Brazil. He has won the Premio Visa de Musica Popular Brasileira, the most prestigious award for Brazilian music. Luiz, a guitarist, educator, and composer, began to play as a child. Trained in classical guitar, he has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto. A member of an award winning Brazil guitar duo, Luiz has recorded many CD's and his compositions have been recorded by a Who's Who of classical and jazz artists D'Rivera is regarded as one of the greatest performers on today's jazz scene and a 14-time Grammy Award winner as well as a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. A founding member of the musical ensemble Irakere while living in his native Cuba, Paquito was also a founding member of the United Nations Orchestra, a 15 piece ensemble formed by Dizzy Gillespie. He was also named a Jazz Master by the NEA. Paquito has recorded more than a dozen albums that reflect his style of jazz, bebop, and Latin music. The concert is free and the venue is wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available in the adjacent lot and public transportation options include NJ Transit Bus #158 as well as the Hudson Bergen Light Rail to Lincoln Harbor, and NY Waterway ferry to Lincoln Harbor. For informatiom, visit www.hrpac.org, or call 201-716-4540. Authorities on Friday identified the driver killed in a Sayreville wreck as a 47-year-old man from Colombia who was visiting the area. Carlos Leiva died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital after the Hyundai SUV he was driving was hit by a Dodge Ram pickup truck around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday on Raritan Street, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Two adults and two children in the SUV were also injured and hospitalized in stable condition, the prosecutor's office said in a news release. Leiva was with unnamed family members when the deadly crash occurred. The Dodge pickup truck driver, a 17-year old Sayreville resident, drove into the oncoming lane and hit the SUV, according to the prosecutor's office. The teen was taken to Raritan Bay Medical Center with unspecified injuries. Authorities said the investigation was continuing. Anyone with information can call Officer David Sivilli at 732-727-4444, or Detective Donald Heck at 732-745-8842. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Two siblings have been convicted of orchestrating a fraudulent invoice scheme that stole more than $1 million from the company where one of them worked. A jury sitting in Trenton deliberated for an hour Thursday before finding Shevandra Verasawmi, 38, of Matawan, and Vishallie Verasawmi, 37, of Green Brook, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and three counts of mail fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey said in a statement. The trial lasted for a week. The siblings face up to 20 years in prison for each count when they are sentenced Aug. 7. Prosecutors also want the pair to forfeit $1,066,830 and a 2016 BMW 750Li xDrive sedan. The brother and sister attempted to steal $3.7 million, officials said. The Verasawmis set up shell companies and then Vishallie Verasawmis used her position at the business to add the shell companies to her employer's accounts payable system, authorities said. They then submitted dozens of fraudulent invoices for services they never provided and deposited the proceeds into bank accounts they controlled. The money was spent on personal expenses, including the luxury car, and credit card payments. The scam ran from April to August 2016. The indictment didn't identify the New Brunswick company by name, but describes it as a "provider of medical services." Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Once known as America's Dad, comedian and TV star Bill Cosby was convicted yesterday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 14 years ago. The trial completed the downfall of one of the world's best-known entertainers. The victim, Andrea Constand, at the time a Temple University employee, wasn't the only accuser, although she is the lone woman to face Cosby at trial. Dozens of other women leveled similar charges against him over the years. He was found guilty on three counts. Each carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison, but sentencing guidelines in Pennsylvania recommend 22 to 36 months. Judges have the authority to issue shorter or longer sentences depending on the circumstances of each case. It's also unclear if the jail terms will be simultaneous or consecutive. Worst case scenario for Cosby is 30 years of imprisonment. He's 80 years old and most likely would die behind bars. Other legal experts think it could be as few as five years. Some of accusers don't care how much time he spends behind bars. "I'm just so thrilled he's likely going to spend some time in jail. I don't even care if it's only a short sentence," Cosby accuser Sunni Welles told the New York Daily News yesterday. "He just needs to go to jail." If you were the judge, would be lenient to a man who has entertained generations and been a philanthropist, or throw away the key? Tell us, what kind of sentewnce should Bill Cosby get? Vote in our informal and unscientific poll and tell us why in the comments section. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Every good plan needs a backup route. For the Phillies, saving pennies for a run at either Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper or Baltimore Orioles infielder Manny Machado seems like a wise decision. As the 2018 Phillies rise, there's a good chance the combination of deep pockets and young, contending team lures at least one of those stars to Philadelphia next winter. But if that doesn't work out, a silver lining exists: The upcoming free-agent class isn't just two deep in talent. In fact, it's loaded. And if the Phillies truly want to upgrade at third base, Machado isn't the only option. According to Jon Heyman of FRS Network, Blue Jays star Josh Donaldson is a good fit for the Phillies. It seems like this is Maikel Franco's last chance with the Phillies, who are known to like Machado very much. The Phillies were made here as the favorite for Machado based on current Phillies' executives close relationship with the Orioles superstar from their days together in Baltimore. But there's certainly no guarantee they land Machado, and Donaldson makes a nice fallback option. They also aren't above signing 30-plus players, as we saw with Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta, either. Odds: 7:1 Heyman only placed the Cardinals ahead of the Phillies in the Donaldson derby. Donaldson would be a riskier play because of his age (32), current injury issues (on the DL with throwing shoulder inflammation), defensive value and lack of a DH in the National League. But if the Phillies could get past that (and are desperate to add a star to put a good team over the top), Donaldson would be a huge addition to the middle of the order. From 2013-2017, Donaldson posted a 144 OPS+, crushed 164 home runs and owned a 36.1 WAR. Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Over the past few days, disgraced ex-Port Authority commissioner Caren Turner found herself the target of widespread derision and outrage, after a video of a traffic stop during which she berated Tenafly police officers surfaced. The question now: How much worse could it get for her? The routine Easter weekend traffic stop that Turner turned into a slow-motion P.R. disaster for the Port Authority has been referred to the state Ethics Commission. Based on its findings, the Commission could elect to do nothing, impose fines of up to $10,000 and even refer her case to the Attorney General's office with the recommendation that she prosecuted for disorderly conduct. In the worst case, she could also face criminal official misconduct charges as well, according to several expert legal sources. Bob Mintz, a former deputy chief of organized crime prosecutions at the U.S. Attorney of the District of New Jersey, said that Turner's flashing of her commissioner's badge during her daughter's traffic stop "probably satisfies the statute" to be charged with criminal official misconduct. "What prosecutors are going to be looking at is whether she used her position at the Port Authority to obtain treatment that she would not be entitled to as an ordinary citizen," said Mintz, who now heads the government investigations criminal defense section at the Newark-based law office of McCarter English. "There's certainly evidence that was her intent, probably sufficient to bring an official misconduct charge," said Mintz. But Mintz, like other prosecutors, said it was unlikely that Bergen County's prosecutor would bring such a charge. Part of the problem, agreed Joseph A. Hayden, a former deputy attorney general of special prosecutions, is that such a charge carries a five-year-minimum prison sentence. "Her language and conduct was downright awful," said Hayden. "But it would be draconian to consider prosecuting that as a criminal case ... like using a shotgun to kill a fly." Bob Levey, who spent a decade as New Jersey's deputy attorney general from 1984 to 1994, added that proving the official misconduct charge applied to Turner would also be difficult for a prosecutor. "I can see how someone could view it as an attempt to influence conduct, but she never committed an act relating to her office, and that's what the statute requires," said Levey, now a partner at the law firm of Scarinci-Hollenbach. So, does that mean will Turner skate? Not so fast, according to veteran prosecutors. "This is why the State Ethics Commission exists," said Lee Vartan, a former federal prosecutor and the second highest-ranking official in the attorney general's office from 2012 through 2014. "And I would think she's in some potentially serious trouble with them." On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officially censured Turner, and referred the matter to the State Ethics Commission. William Schluter, a former Republican state senator and former vice-chairman of the State Ethics Commission, noted that the commission had the power to recommend fines from as little as $500 to as much as $10,000. In egregious cases, the ethics commission has the ability to refer the violation to the Attorney General with the recommendation that the violator be charged with a crime of the fourth degree, which carries as much as six months in prison. Schluter said he was unsure about how large a fine the commission might impose, but said he expected it would be sizable, given the P.R. disaster the video has become. "On a scale of one to ten, this is ten beach chairs," said Schluter, referencing Gov. Chris Christie's infamous Beachgate P.R. headache. Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- The Senate Ethics Committee "severely admonished" U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez Thursday for accepting gifts from a friend and campaign donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, and ordered him to repay their value. The committee, in a letter to Menendez, said that the senator advanced Melgen's "personal and business interests" while accepting those gifts. "Notably, you have not disputed the fact that you accepted numerous gifts from Dr. Melgen and took official actions related to his interests," the letter said. "The committee has determined that this conduct violated Senate rules, federal law, and applicable standards of conduct," said the letter, signed by the three Democrats and three Republicans who sit on the committee, the only panel with an equal number of senators from both parties. Menendez, D-N.J., was ordered to repay the fair market value of all gifts he previously had not paid for, and to amend his personal financial disclosure forms to acknowledge them. "We are glad that this ethics committee process that began nearly six years ago is finally resolved," said Marc Elias, counsel to Menendez. "As those who followed the 11-week trial know, many of the findings in the letter were not only contradicted by the presiding judge and rejected by the jury, but the proceedings clearly demonstrated that there was no violation of any law." "With the Ethics Committee process now concluded, Senator Menendez looks forward to continuing to serve the people of New Jersey," Elias said. Here is a statement as counsel to Senator Menendez in response to today's Senate Ethics Committee letter. pic.twitter.com/kuGRLSh0SW Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) April 26, 2018 His Republican opponent, former Celgene Corp. executive Bob Hugin, said Menendez should step down. "Both Democrats and Republicans that make up the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee have found that Senator Bob Menendez violated federal law and ethics rules," Hugin said. "He is an embarrassment to our state and it is time for him to resign." Democrats, though, remained at Menendez's side. "Bob has done a great job as a senator," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist. "He's always out there trying to bring back money for projects in New Jersey. I strongly support his re-election." Menendez had been indicted in April 2015 on charges that he intervened improperly with federal agencies on behalf of Melgen in exchange for trips and campaign contributions. He was one of only 12 U.S. senators ever to be indicted. After a federal jury initially deadlocked on the charges, the U.S. Justice Department decided not to retry Menendez. Melgen was convicted of Medicare fraud in an unrelated case. Menendez, who is running for re-election this fall, leads Hugin by double digits in opinion polls. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON - Legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker to make it harder for President Donald Trump to fire Special Council Robert Mueller advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, though whether it will receive a floor vote remained uncertain. The bipartisan legislation, which Booker, D-N.J., sponsored with U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., passed the GOP-controlled panel, 14-7. All those voting no were Republicans. The measure would allow Mueller to be fired only for good cause by a senior Justice Department official, require that the reasons be given in writing, and give him 10 days to appeal his dismissal to a federal judge. "We are at a moment of great insecurity in our democracy," Booker said after the vote. "Whatever you want to say about what the president actually will do, we know that his rhetoric has been often challenging the very ideals of checks and balances, of separation of powers." "He has had rhetoric that has trashed not just political norms but the very fabric that has held together this republic against any intentions of authoritarianism or erosion of liberty," Booker said. It remains to be seen whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will reconsider his decision to keep the bill off the Senate floor. He has said the legislation is not necessary because Trump will not fire Mueller. "I'm hoping there will be some momentum," Booker said. He also said that the bipartisan vote will send a message to Trump that interfering with the investigation is unacceptable. "This just really shows that we are operating in a time when it is really important that people put patriotism before party," he said. Trump, meanwhile, wasn't ruling out anything in an interview on the Fox News Channel Thursday. "I have decided that I won't be involved," Trump said on Fox. "I may change my mind at some point because what's going on is a disgrace." Trump said the Justice Department has "a witch hunt against the president of the United States going on." U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was drafting legislation to also protect the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, who named Mueller. The concern is Trump will replace Rosenstein with someone who won't fire the special counsel but will severely limit the scope of his investigation. "The objective is the same, to ensure the special counsel investigation is completed fully and fairly," Blumenthal said. Booker said he wanted to see the bill but was "inclined" to support such legislation. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. A 17-year-old Bonnabel High School student accused of bringing a gun onto campus told authorities he did so for "protection," according to an arrest report. The teen from Kenner was arrested Thursday morning (April 26) at the school, located at 2801 Bruin Drive, Kenner, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. He was booked with possession of a firearm on a school campus and possession of a gun with an obliterated serial number. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune is not identifying the teen due to his age. A student notified school officials Wednesday that the 17-year-old had a gun on campus earlier in the week, according to the arrest report. The school contacted the Sheriff's Office immediately, according to Beth Branley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson Parish Public Schools System. Deputies detained the student just after he stepped off his school bus. They found a silver Smith & Wesson 38 Special inside the teen's mesh backpack, the report said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Because of the gun's missing serial number, authorities could not tell if it had ever been reported stolen, according to Glen T. Boyd, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. The student did not make any threats of violence, Boyd said. He told detectives he brought the gun to school for protection because of some issues in the neighborhood, according to Boyd. The teen never reported any bullying to school administrators, according to Branley. "There are no bullying reports from the student on file," she said. The student was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $15,000 bond. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a man accused of robbing a Boost Mobile cell phone store in Harvey at gunpoint. John Weber, 28, of Harvey, was arrested Tuesday (April 24) and booked with armed robbery, according to Lt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the department. Weber is accused of holding up the Boost Mobile store at 1118 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey, on April 9. An employee told investigators a man wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and jeans entered the store and said he wanted to make a payment on a phone bill, according to an incident report. The number he provided wasn't valid, and he walked out after another customer entered asking for help. But the man returned five minutes later, pulled out a pistol and demanded money from the employee, the report said. She opened a drawer, but it was empty. The robber grabbed her by the hair and forced her to open another drawer, the report said. He took the cash inside and ran toward a nearby apartment complex. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Robbery detectives obtained surveillance video of the suspect and released photos of the man. Investigators received a Crimestoppers tip that led to Weber's arrest, according to Rivarde. Detectives took Weber into custody at a hotel near the store, authorities said. In addition to the armed robbery charge, Weber was booked with two traffic attachments. He was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $252,100 bond. Weber was being held without bond on a fugitive warrant. No information was available about the warrant. Three Boost Mobile cell phone stores in New Orleans have been robbed since April 17, including the most recent in the 2200 block of St. Claude Avenue on Tuesday. Sheriff's Office detectives have no indications, thus far, that Weber is responsible for the Orleans Parish robberies, Rivarde said. Patrick DeJean, the Marrero justice of the peace charged with pocketing public money, over-garnishing debtors' wages and keeping the excess, now stands accused of obstructing the federal grand jury investigation into his small-claims court. Prosecutors on Thursday (April 26) obtained a new, 22-count indictment alleging DeJean altered, concealed and omitted some records that were subpoenaed from him. The obstruction charges were added after DeJean's defense attorney on March 29 handed the government some files that were from Jefferson Parish's Second Justice Court and that DeJean had given to his previous attorney. Comparing those files to the ones DeJean delivered under subpoena between Sept. 15, 2015, and April 29, 2016, showed he "had provided altered documents to the federal grand jury and had concealed documents from the federal grand jury," prosecutors said in a recent motion in the court record. DeJean's attorney, Mike Fawer, said Friday the prosecutors "are not conversant with all the facts." He added: "There was no intent to falsify, conceal or do whatever the hell else it is that they allege we did." DeJean retains his elected office over a court that, among other things, resolves civil disputes involving $5,000 or less -- and that was wracked by scandal. The court's former constable, Tony Thomassie, was accused of spending many of his work hours at a West Bank bar, selling badges for a $20 monthly fee to deputy constables who didn't actually work and hiring his wife in violation of Louisiana nepotism laws. Thomassie lost his re-election race in 2014. On April 9, he pleaded guilty in the state's 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna to malfeasance in office. Judge Donnie Rowan sentenced him to one year's probation, according to court records. DeJean, while still holding office, has been disqualified since 2016 from performing any duties, by order of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The new indictment replaces the 17-count indictment filed against DeJean in 2017. He pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges and is now scheduled for re-arraignment Thursday. In addition to obstruction, he's he's charged with: Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up signing garnishment orders and directing employers of some debtors to pay the court, instead of sending the money directly to the creditors as required by state law; The government also says he embezzled $70,000 from his mother-in-law's estate, then spent $46,285 with his wife, Shantelle DeJean, who was executor of the estate, installing a swimming pool at their house. Shantelle DeJean's two sisters, also heirs to their mother's estate, did not learn about the $70,000 until later. Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence of embezzlement at trial, according to court records. But they have not charged him with that. Nor has Shantelle DeJean been charged with a crime. She works in the administrative section of the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans, which normally would prosecute DeJean. His prosecutors, however, are coming from the U.S. attorney's office in Lafayette. . . . . . . . Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach. Three U.S. Marines were arrested and booked in New Orleans Thursday and Friday (April 27) on rape charges, after two women reported to police that they were raped by a group of men earlier this month. Antonio Landrum, 18, was booked with third-degree rape, Jared Anderson, 18, was booked with first-degree rape, and Alexander Davenport, 20, was booked with two counts of first-degree rape, according to court records. The suspected rapes occurred April 15 at one of the women's homes in the 6100 block of South Claiborne Avenue, according to police. A Tulane University campus alert sent out shortly after the crimes were reported said the women were a Tulane student and her "guest." The two women were at a bar in the 1000 block of Broadway Street on April 14 when they became "highly intoxicated," according to police and affidavits for the men's arrest warrants. Video surveillance from the bar showed one of the women stumbling, appearing to be "moderately intoxicated/impaired," while the other woman fell on the ground and was "highly intoxicated/impaired," the warrant affidavit says. One of the women said she remembered leaving the bar and going back home with her friend and a man, who police identified as Landrum. Landrum had sex with both of the women, according to the warrant affidavits. Some parts of the court documents describe the sex as "consensual," but the documents also say that Landrum "forced" sex with the women, that one of them asked him to stop but he didn't, and that she shoved him away. According to the warrant documents, Landrum then invited three male friends to the home. One of the women said one of the men who arrived, identified by the victim in a later photo lineup as Davenport, forced her to have oral sex with him, authorities said. She also said that she had sex with a man police identified as Anderson, though the affidavit describes that as "consensual." The other woman told police that after both women and Landrum had sex, she began to black out. She told police she "vaguely remembered" a few other men entering the bedroom and "violently" raping her. She also remembered one of the men's tattoos. The three men contacted their supervisors at the Marine Corps about a "possible police report being filed on them," the warrant says. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Landrum and Anderson both confirmed to police that they did have sex with the women, authorities said. Landrum said he called his friends to pick him up "yet they entered the residence." He also told police that both women were intoxicated, and that he saw Davenport having sex with the second woman "while she was passed out drunk." Davenport did not provide a statement to police. It was not clear Friday who the fourth man at the scene was or whether police were looking to arrest him for any crime. All three men appeared side-by-side in magistrate court Friday clad in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs. Landrum and Anderson were represented by a public defender, who highlighted the men's choice to turn themselves in as well as the use of the term "consensual" in the warrant in order to advocate for a lower bond. The judge ultimately set Landrum's bond at $25,000 on one count of third-degree rape and Anderson's bond at $50,000 on one count of first-degree rape. Davenport's private counsel did not appear in court. The judge set his bond at $50,000 for each of the two counts of first-degree rape. Emily Lane and Hanna Krueger contributed to this report. Update: A previous version of the story flipped the bonds for Landrum and Anderson. Graduation season is in full swing as high school seniors citywide prepare to take their next step to obtain a higher education. Eager to celebrate their success, 250 seniors attended the 5th annual Senior Shout Out Friday (April 27) to share what colleges they are heading to next fall. Seniors from more than a dozen schools filled Dillard University's gymnasium as city officials encouraged them continue to work hard during their college careers. New Schools for New Orleans CEO Patrick Dobard and Orleans Parish School Board Superintendent Henderson Lewis both advised the students to reflect on how they can give back to the city after they complete their college education. "You're just getting started. Graduation is just the beginning and as you look to the future, I urge you to never stop striving for excellence because we all know that excellence is what got you here today," Lewis said. Dillard University President Walter Kimbrough also applauded the seniors, who were gathered at Dillard's campus with 300 8th graders who cheered to show their eagerness to graduate in 2022. The students also enjoyed a spoken word piece by KIPP Renaissance High senior Blake Woods, as well as a step routine performed by members of Dillard's Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Watch the video above to find out where these graduates are going to college. . . . . . . . Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles. The dump trucks that have been rumbling down Bellaire Drive in New Orleans' Lakeview neighborhood as crews address seepage coming from the 17th Street Canal should end their work on Saturday, according to a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. But the excavators and bulldozers grading the large lot where the work is ongoing are expected to continue on the site for another two weeks. The two-block-long empty lot will not be used to store equipment and parts during the removal of temporary pumps and storm surge gates just north of Hammond Highway that will be taken during the summer, said spokesman Ricky Boyett. On Friday morning, dump trucks carrying dirt drove along Bellaire Drive to the southern end of the lot and then dumped their load in its interior, where bulldozers moved the material to completely cover the lot with a two-foot-high cap. Workers at both ends of the lot directed traffic. The corps has been hauling 16,000 cubic yards of soil, at a cost of $925,000, to the lot to place a layer on top, Boyett said. "Saturday, based on current production and weather, will be the last day that we need to bring dump trucks to the area," he said in an email response to questions. He indicated the trucks are allowed to unload between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, and on Saturday they will do so from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. "After Saturday, we anticipate another two weeks to spread the material, establish the appropriate slope and seeding. This work will be done with the smaller excavators and dozers," Boyett said. Neighbors have complained of standing water seeping from the canal since the corps removed equipment and work trailers that were being used by contractors during construction of the permanent canal closure and pumps at the Lake Pontchartrain end of the canal. Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Residents have also raised questions about whether damage to the street will be repaired when the corps finishes work on the lot. Like many streets in Lakeview, Bellaire Drive remains pockmarked with broken and missing segments of asphalt pavement and potholes. The street was partially restored in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, after a segment of the floodwall along the open lot slide inland by 35 feet, releasing a continuous stream of water from Lake Pontchartrain for several days that flooded the neighborhood. "With regards to potential damages to homes as a result of this work, the residents should submit a claim to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," Boyett said. "Following the completion of the work, we will have to assess the Bellaire roadway. If damage was done to the road as a result of use beyond the roadway design and capacity, such as exceeded designated weight limits for the road, then we will have to consider repair work." The corps decided against following a recommendation made April 19 by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East that it install a 3-foot-deep trench at the toe of the earthen levee in which sections of T-wall and I-wall are built along the canal. The trench would have collected the seeping water and directed it to the city's drainage system. Corps engineers concluded that adding the clay cap would be adequate to stop the small amount of water seeping through the floodwall from the canal from causing any structural problems to the lot. Both the corps and the levee authority have agreed that the seepage does not pose a threat to the structural integrity of the wall itself. "Once this work is complete, we do not have any future work planned along Bellaire Drive," Boyett said. He said as the corps remove interim closure structures at the mouth of the canal starting this summer it does not plan to use Bellaire as a staging area. Instead, he wrote, "removed material will be taken directly from the project site to its final disposal location." Boyett blamed his own recent mis-statement to a Lakeview resident for a rumor that the lot might be used for storage during the disassembly of the temporary pump station. "I tried to convey that we still have work to do on the canal with the upcoming removal but that the Bellaire side of the canal has been eliminated as a potential staging area, so work on that side of the canal should be coming to a close with the completion of the clay cap," Boyett said. "Unfortunately, poor communication on my part led the resident to understand that we were considering a staging area." Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Louisiana's nine future medical marijuana dispensaries have been selected. The two grow sites, managed by LSU and Southern University, are preparing to start growing and processing the drug by next February at the latest. Legislators have been focused on the issue, too. Two bills are making their way through the Legislature that would potentially expand the number of medical marijuana patients. But after all these preparations are made, will there be doctors for medical marijuana patients to go to? Despite the interest in Louisiana's budding new industry, the number of doctors that actually have been licensed to recommend medical marijuana lingers at 10, according to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners which approves the therapeutic marijuana license. Only 15 have applied. Federal regulations could also limit the growth of physician participation by the time Louisiana's medical marijuana program is up and running. "I am really worried about the lack of medical support so far," said Jacob Irving, a law student from Baton Rouge living with congenital spastic quadriplegia. He has been a vocal advocate of Louisiana's medical marijuana program since its inception, testifying in favor of the bills being considered that would expand the use of the drug for patients with chronic pain, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe autism. Louisiana is one of 29 states plus Washington D.C. that have legalized comprehensive medical marijuana programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Louisiana passed its law in 2016 allowing the use of medicinal marijuana for people with cancer, a severe form of cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, HIV/AIDS, and other specific diseases. It can only be sold in oils, topical creams, and sprays and cannot be sold in a form that can be smoked. But just because a state legalizes medical marijuana doesn't mean that physicians will necessarily recommend the drug to their patients. In 2016 the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it was not loosening restrictions on marijuana, keeping it in the same regulatory category as heroin - schedule 1. In order for the DEA to change its classification, scientific research needs to prove that the plant has medicinal value. However, the federal restriction makes it difficult to conduct that research. A "prescription" for medical marijuana is illegal under federal law because Marijuana is a controlled substance. However, in states where medical marijuana is legal doctors can "recommend" or "certify" that a patient has a qualifying condition and could benefit from the drug, Irving explained. "It's not a prescription so they can't specify a dose under federal law. It could be a reason why physicians are scared of signing up," he said. So, although the state has legalized the production, sale and use of medical marijuana for specific medical purposes, many health providers are wary of jumping in before it becomes legal at the federal level. These rules also restrict training and research on marijuana for its medicinal benefits. Dr. Peter Winsauer, a professor of pharmacology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, is required to have a Schedule 1 license from the DEA to research the illicit effects of marijuana, which he has been doing for 30 years. "We are taught to be scientific as possible--the door is opening to a drug we don't know enough about," he said. "The federal government isn't making it any easier to help us conduct this research." Going from studying a drug for its illicit effects to studying it for its medicinal benefits represents a huge paradigm shift, he said. Ochsner Health System will not comment on whether or not it will allow its physicians to get licensed to recommend medical marijuana, or if Ochsner has set up guidelines on how this should be done. A spokesperson for LCMC Health System said their system has not set up guidelines for doctors who wish to register to recommend the drug to patients, but "doctors that work in LCMC hospitals and clinic can apply for the permits if they wish." East Jefferson General Hospital has taken a similar stance. "At this time, we don't have a specific policy regarding this. And, like any other legal medicine, we don't dictate what independent physicians prescribe in a clinic setting," said a spokesperson for the hospital. Tulane Medical Center is also being cautious before jumping in. "As this is a new area of medical practice in Louisiana, we are studying the ramifications but have not yet come to a determination on policy," said a spokesperson for Tulane University. Among Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, the divide between state and federal regulations on marijuana could also limit the number of participating physicians. FQHC's are outpatient clinics that qualify for specific reimbursement systems under Medicare and Medicaid. Federal law prohibits a health center from prescribing or dispensing medical marijuana, according to a sample policy distributed by the National Association of Community Health Centers in July 2017. FQHC's receive federal grants and are required to publish a statement notifying employees that the "manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of a controlled substance" is prohibited under the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Violating this law could result in a clinic losing grant funding and a ban on future federal contracts for up to five years, according to the document. Low physician participation rates in medical marijuana programs have been reported in many other states. In November 2016, only 1 percent of the 16,000 doctors who treat patients in Maryland had signed up for the state's program, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun. New Jersey legalized the program in 2010, but seven years later fewer than 2 percent of that state's licensed doctors were participating, according to the Henry Kaiser Foundation and Marijuana Policy. To get his therapeutic marijuana license Dr. Victor Chou, a physician based in Baton Rouge, left his job at an urgent care center. He is one of the 10 physicians who have been licensed so far to recommend medical marijuana in Louisiana. "There is no way I could work with urgent care and do this. Big institutions don't want to lose their licenses--they don't want to touch this," he said. Although it will be several months before the dispensaries open, Chou is in the process of setting up a private practice where he will specifically focus on working with medical marijuana patients. So far, he has completed 35 hours of continuing medical education on medical marijuana. Doctors who are licensed to recommend medical marijuana are only allowed to work with 100 medical marijuana patients at a time. Patients are also required to visit the doctor after three months, where they will determine whether or not they should continue taking the drug. "I felt that this is a valuable service and patients can benefit from this," Chou said. "I see this as a chance to be a pioneer in an industry that is going to keep growing." Maria Clark writes about health, doctors, patients and healthcare in Louisiana for NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and NOLA Mundo. Reach her at mclark@nola.com or 504.258.5306. Or follow her on Twitter at @MariaPClark1 . A parent with mumps may have exposed students and parents to the illness last week at Metairie Academy, according to FOX 8. The school sent out a letter to parents letting them know that the person with mumps could have exposed others at a gala held at the school last Saturday. Mumps is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and can be spread by droplets from when you cough or sneeze. The most common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite and swollen and tender salivary glands according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mumps can be prevented with the MMR vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. It is about 88 percent effective against mumps, according to the CDC. The person who was infected with mumps had been vaccinated, according to FOX 8. The school is asking parents to keep an eye out for any symptoms of the illness even if they and their children have been vaccinated. Symptoms typically appear 16 to 18 days after infection. Most people recover completely in a few weeks. As of March 30, 2018 there have been only two reported cases of mumps in Louisiana and up to 633 total in the U.S. Maria Clark writes about health, doctors, patients and healthcare in Louisiana for NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and NOLA Mundo. Reach her at mclark@nola.com or 504.258.5306. Or follow her on Twitter at @MariaPClark1 . Say hi. Tip the band. Keep an eye up for bicyclists. The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans has suggestions for folks visiting New Orleans for the Jazz Fest, and visitors will find them tucked inside 20,000 Offbeat magazines as they head to the Fair Grounds gates this weekend. After months of work vetting survey answers and designing a tri-fold pamphlet, the nonprofit is ready to put its "Good Visitor Guide" to work. "People that visit New Orleans generally want to feel like a New Orleanian," said MACCNO executive director Ethan Ellestad. "This is way to let them feel like a New Orleanian, but also provide support." The organization surveyed culture bearers, musicians and service industry workers after seeing those conversations happening naturally on social media anyway. So, its staff started asking about what those groups hope to see from city visitors, and eventually compiled the guidelines based on those surveys and conversations. "We want this to be really, really practical," said Hannah Kreiger-Benson, who handles MACCNO programming and advocacy. "It's solution-oriented." The guide notably does not offer suggestions on where to go or what to do, but instead offers advice about what appropriate tipping rates are, suggests to visitors they leave sidewalks open when they stop to enjoy buskers and recommends asking Mardi Gras Indians to take their photos before snapping away. "It's a reminder that New Orleans neighborhoods are not theme parks," Kreiger-Benson said. A 58-year-old New Orleans man has been booked with fifth-offense DWI after his swerving vehicle, which contained three empty whiskey bottles, was stopped near Bogalusa, the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office reported Friday (April 27). Roy Allen Walker, a resident of Poland Avenue, was stopped Wednesday by a deputy responding to a report of a car being driven erratically on Louisiana 21, north of Bogalusa. The deputy observed that the driver, later identified as Walker, was impaired with slugged speech and the inability to walk steadily, the Sheriff's Office reported. Walker had a Louisiana identification card but no driver's license. The Sheriff's Office determined later that his driver's license had been suspended due to previous DWI convictions. The vehicle has an Alabama license plate. After receiving permission to search the vehicle, Deputy Adam Sullivan discovered four whiskey bottles. Three were empty and one was half empty, the Sheriff's Office reported in a news release. Walker was arrested and booked with fifth-offense DWI, driving with a suspended license and an open container violation. He is being held in the Washington Parish jail on $127,000 bond, according to the news release. Washington Parish Sheriff Randy "Country" Seal noted in the news release that 28 people in the United States are killed daily by drunk drivers, equaling one death every 51 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes is $44 billion, he said, citing statistics from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "These are horrible statistics," Seal said. "Deputy Sullivan's actions may have prevented another death or serious injury. It seems obvious that Mr. Walker has a serious drinking problem and he should never be behind the wheel of a vehicle." Thursday afternoon, as I drove across the Causeway to a meeting on the north shore, I listened to the 26-minute long title track of "To Russel, My Brother, Whom I Slept With," a stand-up comedy album that Bill Cosby recorded in 1968. Spin Magazine, in 2011, decreed "To Russel" the best comedy album ever. Whether it's the absolute best is debatable, but "To Russel" is, for sure, a brilliant example of storytelling. I was in college the first time I heard the story about the two Cosby boys fighting and playing after bedtime and then lying to their father about fighting and playing. I laughed so hard that I somehow slipped out of my chair and onto the floor. The routine hasn't changed. It's as funny as ever. But Thursday was the first time I heard it and felt like crying. Hours earlier a Pennsylvania jury had declared what should have been already clear to everybody who'd paid attention to more than five dozen women's stories: that Bill Cosby is a sexual predator. As clear as it already was, believing that Cosby drugged and took advantage of women is one thing. Hearing that he'd been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman is something else. It's one thing to feel anger and disgust for the man who more than 60 women say harmed them. It's another thing to contemplate the actor and comedian we all loved -- the one whose voice and dancing we've mimicked, the one whose cartoon and sitcoms we adored -- dying behind the barbed-wire of a prison. Cosby is 80. His convictions of penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious and penetration after administering an intoxicant each could bring up to 10 years, but even if his sentences run concurrently, there's a great chance he will die a prisoner. Although we can't know when Cosby will die, the image that he created for himself as "America's Dad" has long been buried under the dirt that those dozens of accusers say he did. In a 2014 interview in Vulture magazine, comedian Chris Rock said, "It's a weird year for comedy. We lost Robin (Williams), we lost Joan (Rivers), and we kind of lost Cosby." Like so many others, when a celebrity I've admired is exposed for having done awful things, I try to register my disapproval by rejecting that person's work. Around the same time I encountered "To Russel," I read Pearl Cleage's essay about Miles Davis where she encourages everyone with a modicum of respect for women to "break his albums, burn his tapes and scratch up his CDs" in response to the legendary jazz trumpeter's "self-confessed violent crimes against women." Should we, Cleage asks in "Mad at Miles," "keep giving our money to Miles Davis so that he can buy a Malibu beach house and terrorize our sisters in it?" I've wanted to give Cosby the cold shoulder. But I came across "The Cosby Show" on TVOne recently, and the lure of nostalgia was irresistible. I watched one episode after another after another, forgetting (at least temporarily) all the awful things I knew about the man on the screen. In 2006, I learned first-hand that Cosby is not Cliff Huxtable. Cosby called The Times-Picayune before an October visit to John McDonogh High School, and he was shockingly profane. In the course of my work, I've heard plenty of people I interviewed cuss every now and then, but expletives were spilling out of Cosby's mouth left and right. Add to that his ugly name for black Americans who dress in African clothes or give their children African names, something that sounded like "Bugoongoons" or "Buhjujus." I'll admit that it was a revelation that came only after the accusations had increased in number and volume, but Cosby struck me as somebody who knew I wouldn't describe him as he was because nobody would believe me if I did. In January 2015 Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central's "Nightly Show," asked Ebony editor Jamilah Lemieux if she'd prefer that Cosby admit his guilt and avoid prison or never admit it and go. She said she'd rather him admit it. In "To Russel," the brothers' horsing around results in the younger brother getting punched in the eye, the bed they shared falling apart and their pajamas getting soaked with water. Bill claims his younger brother fell out of the bed onto his eye and that, later, a man climbed through their window, bounced on their bed and doused them with water. Their father says that when little boys lie "they go straight down and their bodies burn. Do you want to burn for the rest of your life?" Bill begins to weep. "No, Dad, I don't want to be burning." "Well, tell the truth!" Bill, still crying: "The man came in here, Dad!" As preposterous as young Bill's story was, it's more believable than the octogenarian's story: that all of the more than five dozen women who say he hurt them are lying. Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.comor at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry. The Times-Picayune editorial board makes the following recommendation for Saturday's (April 28) election. JEFFERSON PARISH WEST JEFFERSON LEVEE DISTRICT PROPOSITION To increase property taxes by 4.75 mills for 10 years for maintenance of the flood control system Yes The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West needs to spend $61.3 million to raise and armor levees and do pump station maintenance over the next decade, but the levee district has only $18.8 million of that covered. Levee officials are asking for residents to make up the $42.5 million gap in funding. It is crucial for this tax to pass. "Without the maintenance, the levees would lose height due to settling and soil subsidence, and pump station operations could be impaired," the Bureau of Governmental Research said in its analysis supporting the tax. "Businesses and residents would be more vulnerable to storm surge and flooding from nearby lakes and waterways." That could be catastrophic during a strong storm. And, as was evident after Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches in 2005, the cost of repairing the damage to homes and businesses would be far greater than the cost of the tax. As if Louisiana hasnt had enough of tropical weather this summer, Gov. John Bel Edwards was told Saturday that the states residents need to brace themselves for the possibility of another system coming ashore perhaps as early as next Friday. Three high school students died and two others were injured in a vehicle crash in the northern Alabama town of St. Florian, AL.com reported Friday (April 27). The fatality victims were students at Wilson High School: Braden Turner, 17, and Coby Hines and Tyler Nelson, both 16, the report said. The crash happened around 10 p.m. Thursday on Lauderdale County Road 30 in St. Florian, which is west of Huntsville, the story said. "It's just tragic," Wilson Principal Gary Horton said in the story. "Words cannot describe it." China announced on Thursday that its new intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of precision strikes against land- and sea-based targets has been deployed with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, a move hailed by Chinese observers as part of the country's warning to Taiwan secessionists and aircraft carriers-powered US forces behind them. The Dongfeng-26 ballistic missile has officially joined the combat sequence of the PLA rocket force after tests, Wu Qian, the Chinese defense ministry spokesperson, confirmed at a regular press briefing on Thursday, according to the Ministry of National Defense website. The domestically-developed weapon is China's new generation intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of not only swift nuclear counterattacks but also precision strikes on medium and large targets on land and sea, Wu said. Dongfeng-26 can be loaded with conventional missiles or nuclear warheads, Global Times previously reported. It is a weapon "customized for supersized US aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships," as the US is evidently behind Taiwan secessionists and Washington is interfering in resolving the Taiwan question, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday. The surprise announcement came amid a "sensitive period," and together with PLA's war games since April 18 it sends a clear warning that the US should act cautiously on the Taiwan question and not interfere in China's internal affairs as China is capable of dealing with the US-Japan military alliance, Song noted. Wu also reiterated China's non-first-use principle of nuclear weapons and that China sticks by its nuclear policy of self-defense and minimum deterrence. Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Showers early, becoming a steady rain later in the day. High around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has sent warplanes for the second time in a week to patrol around the island of Taiwan in a gesture to deter "Taiwan independence" forces and show the Chinese mainland's resolution to safeguard sovereignty. According to the official Sina Weibo account of the PLA Air Force, H-6K bombers, fighter jets, reconnaissance planes and Air Early Warning planes took off from military airports Thursday morning and conducted real-combat military training. The warplanes flew over the Miyako and Bashi straits to complete their circuit of the island. The Chinese air force's ability to prepare for and fight a war has experienced a historic shift, Shen Jinke, a PLA Air Force spokesman, said at a military air base in East China's Fujian Province. "The PLA Air Force has firm resolution, ample confidence and sufficient capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Shen said. Wu Qian, defense ministry spokesman, also said on Thursday that the PLA will take further actions if "Taiwan independence" forces continue to act without restraint. Taiwan's administrative head Lai Ching-te said earlier that he was a "Taiwan independence" worker drawing ire from Beijing. China conducted live-fire military exercises in the Taiwan Straits on April 18. On April 19, the PLA Air Force dispatched bombers to patrol around Taiwan to practice and upgrade their capability to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to an official air force statement. On Wednesday, Taiwan media reported that the US dispatched two B-52 bombers to fly near the Dongsha Islands, calling such a move "a response to the PLA's recent military exercises surrounding Taiwan" and claiming the flight path of the bombers was "a typical flight course for attack." China's defense ministry said Thursday the PLA has learned about the relevant situation. Song Zhongping, a military commentator, told the Global Times that the B-52 flight course suggested a patrol, not an attack. "In terms of air defense capability, the PLA Navy and Air Force are able to cover the entire East China Sea, the island of Taiwan, the Yellow Sea and the majority of the South China Sea," he said. "Two B-52 bombers, which is an older model, can barely achieve strategic deterrence, let alone attack," Song noted. China and Russia plan to hold a joint naval exercise in waters near the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao this year, Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry, said Thursday. The exact time, location and participating forces of the joint exercise are being discussed by Chinese and Russian military experts in their second round of consultation in Russia, Wu told a press conference. Quartier Mantonge club has been added to Kansangas map, thanks to the big Congolese community in Uganda. Mantonge, owned by Devis Bahati Kayumbu, is where Congolese catch up with their latest music, culture and friends. The club opened on April 20, with great ambiance, live music video mixing of Congolese music, and the mostly Congolese patrons looked impressed with their slice of home. Kayumbu said: Since Congo is not good for this kind of business, we find Uganda is the best for hospitality. Matthew Musoke, the procurement and logistics manager, said they have employed people of different nationalities to handle non-Congolese clients that love the vast countrys food and culture. Devis Bahati Kayumbu (L), the executive director, Quartier Mantonge club, with a guest alfredodcho@gmail.com Police through the Flying Squad Unit have arrested a 19-year-old girl, Peace Ansimiire, daughter of Rev. Fred Muhwezi of West Ankole Diocese for faking her own kidnap. In a statement, police says Ansimire, in connivance with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Julius Atwebembire allegedly faked her kidnap so as to defraud her parents of Shs 3.5 million. Peace Ansimiire and her boyfriend at CPS They reportedly intended to use the 'ransom money' to start a craft shoes business in Kenya and later get married when they have amassed enough funds from their business. Police using a tracking system and bait money of Shs 750,000, were able to trace Ansimiire's whereabouts. She was found living freely with her boyfriend in Kasubi, Rubaga Division in Kampala. Stabilizing military relations between China and India and maintaining peace in the border areas are the shared aspirations of people from both countries, according to Wu Qian, spokesperson with China's Ministry of National Defense, on Thursday. "Despite some difficulties and obstacles in the bilateral military relationship, we are willing to deepen understanding, enhance mutual trust, properly handle differences, and incessantly accumulate positive energy for the healthy and stable development of military ties under the guidance of the important consensus reached between leaders of both countries," Wu told a press conference. Ronny Jackson The Candy Man withdrew his nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs today after nearly two dozen current and former members of the White House medical team accused Ronny Jackson of promoting a toxic work environment, distributing unprescribed sleeping pills and opioids, drinking on the job and smashing a government car. A right-on-cue President Trump raged against these false accusations designed to destroy an incredible man. Fake news. Fake news. Trump also threatened to take down Montanas Democratic Senator Jon Tester, who coordinated opposition to Jackson, for apparently putting care of Americas veterans over loyalty to him. And I want to tell you, Jon Tester, I think this is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state, hissed Trump on Fox & Friends today. Much was written about Jacksons lack of experience in managing a behemoth like the VA, the federal governments second largest agency with a $200B budget, 370K employees, 145 hospitals, 1,200-plus outpatient sites and 9M veterans enrolled in its programs. Rivers of ink and countless pixels were wasted on the White Houses perfunctory vetting of Rear Admiral Jackson. The lack of experience and scant vetting is irrelevant in Trump World, where feeding the ego of the tweeter-in-chief is all that matters. Jackson pleased the president by declaring after his physical that our less-than-svelte leader is in very, very good health with a shot of living to 200 if he decided to lay off a little on the cheeseburgers, cake and ice cream. Another thing going for Jackson: he looks legit in his uniform and could play the part of VA Secretary. There may have been a darker reason for nominating Jackson. Privatizing the VA is a goal among conservatives, such as the Koch Brothers, who fund a group called Concerned Veterans for America. While CVA denies that it supports outright privatization, it does push for greater healthcare choices for vets, which some view as the first step in the road to going private. An inept leader like Jackson could result in trouble for the VA and more support for privatization. Trump says he already has selected a new nominee for the VA, someone with political capability. Thats exactly the problem. The VA doesnt need a savvy political operative in charge. It needs a strong manager. Esra Erkal-Paler Esra Erkal-Paler, who heads global external communications at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is moving to Coty as worldwide corporate affairs officer. The move reflects the return to the beauty products category for the one-time UK/Ireland internal/external communications staffer at LOreal Group. She left LOreal to serve as executive director of the UKs Advertising Standards Authority. Camillo Pane, CEO at Coty, praised Erkal-Palers more than 20 years of experience spanning the beauty, consumer goods, healthcare and regulatory sectors. She has a strong track record of transforming corporate reputation with a multi-channel mindset for engaging internal and external stakeholders, said Pane in a statement. Erkal-Paler, who began her career at Burson-Marsteller and Weber Shandwick, will be based in London when she joins Coty on May 21. The Ford F-150 has offered more engine options than it half-ton competitors for some time now, but the Blue Oval brand has never offered a diesel engine under the hood of its best seller. Until now. The new 3.0-liter diesel option becomes the sixth engine option available in the F-150 and it is not brand new. In fact, a version of this 3.0-liter, called the Lion, is also used in Land Rover SUVs, as it was developed when the two companies were still tied up. SEE ALSO: 2019 Ram 1500 Review Off the top, here are the numbers you need to know. This engine makes 250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque in the F-150 and is capable of towing a maximum of 11,400 pounds when outfitted as a 4x4 Regular cab XL model. Payload with the diesel is capped at 2,020 pounds, and power is sent through the brand's new 10-speed automatic transmission. Get the Flash Player to see this player. The EPA has rated fuel economy for rear-wheel drive models at 30 mpg on the highway, 22 in the city for a combined rating of 25 mpg. This tops the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, which is rated at 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 combined. READ MORE: Ford Ranger Raptor Spied Testing on US Soil When equipped with four-wheel drive, the F-150 nets 22 mpg combined and 25 on the highway. The vast difference in economy is because of packaging according to Ford, as the 4x2 truck uses a taller rear end gear ratio and less aggressive tires. When compared to the Ram, the four-wheel drive trucks are more evenly matched, with the FCA truck getting 22 mpg combined as well, and a better 27 on the highway. Price Breakdown Pricing for diesel engine is key to whether or not the engine will be worth it in the long run, and, at least initially, Ford has decided that the oil burner will only be available with its luxury pickups. The diesel will only be available in Lariat-trim or higher trucks. In the Lariat, the diesel will cost $4,000 more than the standard 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine and $2,400 more than the big 3.5-liter EcoBoost. So that means that in basic form, an F-150 Lariat diesel will sell for about $46,500 as a two-wheel drive SuperCab. Add in the SuperCrew bodystyle and four-wheel drive and you're looking at a price tag north of $50,000. At crosstown rival Ram, the EcoDiesel is about a $4000 option in that truck as well, but Ram allows you to get a basic Tradesman model with a diesel in the low $30,000 range. So for now, the cheapest diesel half-ton in town won't come from a Ford dealership. Diesel Drive Engine noise in diesel trucks is usually a hotly debated topic amongst the truck-enthralled, as many like to hear the rumble clearly pronounced, while there are those who don't want to be annoyed by a droning diesel engine. This new F-150 is definitely not that. In fact, I'd say it is now the quietest diesel half-ton on the market, today, which basically just means it's quieter than the Ram EcoDiesel, especially from the exterior. Starting off the line, there is a pronounced beat you must wait for the diesel to really deliver its power, but once it comes on, there is no denying the strong torque wave that washes over the truck. The 10-speed automatic fires off the gear changes nicely, though we found it was a little less smooth shifting as in its gasoline counterparts. A reluctance to downshift too low was also apparent with the 10-speed when sticking the right-side pedal to the floor, as Ford surely wants to maximize fuel economy. But don't worry, there's a solution for this too: Sport mode. In addition to normal, Rain/Snow and Eco, the F-150 diesel has Sport mode, which is more than happy to downshift quickly to find all the power you need. Outside of the engine, there are really no other main differences in how this F-150 drives compared to its gas-powered brothers, and that's a good thing. The truck feels light on its feet and nimble, even with the added weight of the engine. With two-wheel drive in Lariat SuperCrew form, the diesel model has a curb weight of 5,077 pounds, roughly 350 pounds more than a comparable gasser. Off-Road The most capable diesel model off-road right now would be an FX4 package truck, which packs skid plate protection, revised shocks and some technology like hill-descent control. The standard all-terrain tires (Goodyear Wranglers or Hankook Dynapros) did a nice job of chewing through the mud on an off-road course we ran though outside Denver, CO. The diesel's power nicely pulled it up slick hills and not once did it seem to be hunting for gears or hesitating when it wasn't supposed to. Easily the best new features for off-roading on modern trucks are the cameras, and in the Ford, that includes a nose camera. You know when you're cresting a hill and staring at nothing but sky and hoping there is going to be ground to support you when you finally level off? Well that guessing game is over thanks to a nose-mounted camera that offers a view of everything directly in front of the truck. The hill-descent control also worked quite well, taking control of the braking on steep grades the moment you lift your foot from the brake. This is confidence inspiring, as some systems will let the truck run away for a foot or two before catching up. A nice lift and a set of mud-terrain would certainly make this diesel a real formidable force off-road, and surely the torque would handle those upgrades with ease. The Verdict: 2018 Ford F-150 Diesel Review With the advent of the modern half-ton diesel, truck customers have never been closer to getting it all in one package: fuel economy, toughness and civility all from the same ride. And rest assured, this new F-150 diesel delivers all three. ISTANBUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggest that Ankara may give up its plan to clear eastern Syria of Kurdish militia amid signs of rapprochement with the United States in the Syrian theater, according to analysts. Turkey would not move to eliminate the Kurdish militia along its border unless the militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara sees as a terror group, poses a threat and stage attacks against Turkey, Erdogan said last weekend. The president's remarks and the latest development strongly imply that the Turkish military would not launch further operations against the militia, Cahit Armagan Dilek, head of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Xinhua. Ankara is not eager to shed blood in those areas held by Kurds if there is no threat, Erdogan said. In contrast, top Turkish officials had repeatedly vowed until recently that Ankara would expand its military operations against the U.S.-backed YPG into northeastern Syria as well as to Manbij, where the United States has a military presence. The Turkish military announced a "full control" of the YPG-held Afrin region in northwestern Syria on March 24 following a two-month campaign. Turkish officials have stopped, roughly for about a month, talking about launching fresh campaigns against other YPG-held areas. In the view of Dilek, a former staff officer in the Turkish military, recent U.S.-led missile strikes on Syrian sites have indicated that Ankara's vision for war-torn Syria is actually similar to that of its Western allies rather than Russia. The United States, Britain and France carried out a wave of missile strikes against the Syrian government on April 14, accusing it, without convincing evidence so far, of having used poison gas against civilians. Ankara, which has coordinated its Syrian policy more with Russia rather than with its NATO ally the United States since mid 2016, immediately expressed support for the air raids. All signs indicate that Ankara will again pursue policies that are in line with the United States in Syria, Hasan Koni, a professor of public international law at Istanbul Kultur University, told Xinhua. Ankara had earlier supported, together with Washington, rebel groups fighting to topple the Syrian government. It changed partners and started to cooperate with Moscow, a staunch ally of Damascus in the war, when Washington continued to heavily arm the YPG despite Ankara's vehement opposition. Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has been fighting for an autonomy if not an independent Kurdistan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. Dilek said that some bargaining and favors by the United States may also be included in Washington's efforts, in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey slated for June 24, to dissuade Ankara from another operation against the YPG. Some believe that the United States could hand over, ahead of June elections, some Turkish nationals in the United States who are accused by Ankara of being linked to a failed military coup in Turkey in 2016 in return for the release of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed pending trial in Turkey. "The United States could also provide intelligence to Turkey for operations against the PKK at home and in northern Iraq to bolster the perception it is at Turkey's side," said Dilek. "Such moves by the United States would make it easier for the Erdogan administration to accept U.S. plans regarding Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria." Many feel the United States wants a federal or a state-like Kurdish entity along the Turkish border, while Russia claims that Washington aims to disintegrate Syria. As Turkey was conducting its two-month Afrin operation, Ankara had resolutely stated that all those who would stand by terrorists in Syria would be targeted by Turkish troops. In response, the United States had made clear that its troops would fight back an attack against Kurdish-controlled areas other than Afrin. As signs of rapprochement between Ankara and Washington emerged lately, Erdogan's discourse towards the United States has significantly changed. Addressing a crowd on April 12, he said Turkey would never think of pointing a gun at the soldiers of its allies, although he also underlined Ankara's resolve to eliminate the YPG threat. Erdogan's remarks came the same day when local media quoted an unnamed high-level U.S. official as saying that "the United States wants to find a way of eliminating Turkey's security concerns in Syria." The moment Ankara sees a U.S. effort for rapprochement, it would stop getting too intimate with Moscow and Tehran, Koni said, referring to the fact that Turkey not only has deep-rooted military ties with the West, but its economy is highly dependent on it. The United States, disturbed about growing Iranian influence in Syria, may well try to pull Ankara to its side in the Syrian theater. Ankara, Moscow and Tehran struck a deal last year in the Kazakh capital of Astana to seek a political settlement of the Syrian conflict. If the United States ensures that the YPG poses no security threat to Turkey, then Ankara could again start causing problems for Damascus by supporting the Free Syrian Army rebels and the rebels in the province of Idlib, Koni said. "That would deal a blow to both the Syrian regime and the Iranian influence in Syria," he added. BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday welcomed the joint declaration reached between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK), expressing the hope that both sides can implement the consensus of the summit to promote reconciliation and cooperation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks in a statement issued Friday. DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and ROK President Moon Jae-in confirmed a common goal of complete denuclearization and agreed to push for multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty after their first-ever summit meeting in Panmunjom on Friday. Kim and Moon held a signing ceremony for the joint declaration, titled the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the ROK side of the Joint Security Area, often referred to as Panmunjom after the nearby village where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. A Chinese provincial maritime authority on Friday announced another military mission in the Bohai and Yellow seas, after military missions in the same area end on Saturday. The Liaoning Maritime Safety Administration announced a sailing warning in the Bohai Sea and north of the Yellow Sea from Friday to May 4, saying that military mission will be conducted at the designated areas, and no vessels would be allowed to enter. On April 20, the Liaoning maritime administration issued three sailing warnings in the same area from April 20 to 28, and attributed the warnings to military missions. "The Bohai and Yellow seas are strategically important as they are the pivotal gateway to safeguarding Beijing and Tianjin," Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times on Friday. Military drills are the road China must take to turn its armed forces into a world-class military prepared to fight and win wars, Xu said. "However, China's military drills are limited in terms of their scale and frequency compared to its neighbors and some Western countries, including Japan, South Korea and the US," Xu said. Military watchers attributed the warnings to possible sea trials of China's first domestically-built aircraft carrier, as media revealed previously that it could undergo its first sea trials. Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times that the first sea trials of China's second aircraft carrier, built at a shipyard in Dalian, are likely to take place in the Bohai and Yellow seas to test its power and design. "The wide attention on the sea trials of China's second aircraft carrier shows that Chinese people want a home-built carrier meant for combat," Xu said. Although the aircraft carrier Liaoning possesses combat capabilities through a series of drills, one carrier is far from enough for naval power, Xu said. On Monday, the founding day of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy, the second aircraft carrier moved from its berth at the outfitting quay. Chinese military enthusiasts hailed the update, saying this could be the "best birthday gift" for the PLA navy. In response to widespread speculations about the sea trials of the new aircraft carrier, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, told a media briefing on Thursday that the system adjustments and outfitting of the first indigenously made aircraft carrier are well under way. Parents have filed a formal complaint with Portland Public Schools that asserts the district is illegally prioritizing students who desire to attend specialty schools such as an arts magnet over highly-gifted students who need a special program. Access Academy parents Megan Robertson and Natalie Hval on Thursday hit Portland Public Schools with that complaint. In it, they call on the district to delay sending acceptances to children who entered a lottery to attend any of the district's specialty schools until the district announces an appropriate new site for Access. That program enrolls only students who are gifted and whose learning needs the district finds cannot be met in their neighborhood school. In a letter to Access parents Thursday, Deputy Superintendent Yvonne Curtis promised the district will find one or two suitable schools that will make room on their campus for Access next school year. One site she said is under consideration to house sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders is da Vinci Arts Middle School, she wrote. She named three other schools as well and promised the chosen sites will "meet the level of service currently provided" at the program's home of five years and "provide the learning environment necessary for Access students to thrive." In their complaint, the parents assert that da Vinci could serve as one of two sites for Access next year if its incoming class of sixth graders were substantially reduced. If the normal crop of 150 rising sixth-graders are admitted into the arts school this week, that option would effectively be off the table, they assert. The 300-plus children who attend Access Academy have spent the school year in uncertainty as the district has tried and failed to find a permanent home for the program. The school most move from its current site this summer as part of a plan to grant equity to hundreds of students in North and Northeast Portland by opening two new middle schools. "By disseminating lottery results prior to public communication of a siting plan for the alternative program known as Access Academy, Portland Public Schools is publicly and unlawfully prioritizing desired 'choice' lottery placements above the needs of children who require alternative educational programming," the complaint says. "They are thereby ranking the needs of enrolled Access Academy students and applicants as secondary to the wants of focus option applicants." It's been a roller coaster year for Access. Initially, district officials planned to move the school into the Humboldt facility that had been leased to a charter school for just a year. But the attempt to kick out KairosPDX charter school was a political hornet's nest. The school focuses on serving black children in one of Portland's few historically black neighborhoods. Then, the district announced it would split Access Academy across eight sites. Parents saw this as unworkable and akin to school closure. Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, who was just weeks into his job, backpedaled, publicly apologized and pledged to find a home for the program. Next, the district rolled out a plan to evict the its most intensive special education program so Access could have its building. That roiled parents at the special education school, who protested for months and filed a lawsuit. That plan was also plagued by numerous facilities complications. So, the district folded again. District leaders must figure out a solution to pull off the move before the start of next school year. "We have received the complaint and are studying it," district spokesman Harry Esteve said. "We are actively working with the Access community to find a home for the program. We have formed an advisory group that includes Access parents and staff, and have begun touring facilities to determine which will best accommodate the program." Bethany Barnes Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com The chief strategic officer for Portland Public Schools resigned last week after questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed her claim to have a Ph.D. in social policy from the prestigious London School of Economics could not be verified. It is unclear if Laura Parker's resignation is related to the school district's inability to verify she holds the degree, which she has touted on her resume for years. Her resignation letter blames her departure on a struggle to balance work and life and indicates she may work with the district again. It's been more than five months since The Oregonian/OregonLive first raised questions about the veracity of Parker's professional claims. The district conducted an official verification check after a journalist's repeated insistence. Oregon law forbids people from claiming academic degrees they do not actually hold and makes it punishable by a penalty of up to $1,000. Last fall, The Oregonian/OregonLive tried to verify Parker's degree with three different London School of Economics employees, all of whom told a reporter Parker appeared to not have attended the university. A reporter's friend studying at the affiliated University of London inquired in person and was also told no record of Parker existed. When Portland Public Schools human resources employees tried repeatedly to have London School of Economics confirm her credential, officials told Portland Public Schools they could find no record Parker had ever enrolled there, email exchanges between the district and the London university from January to February show. Thursday evening the district's human resources chief issued a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. "Laura has informed us that she has requested an official copy of her transcript to be sent to Portland Public Schools," Chief of Talent and Culture Kylie Rogers wrote. "In the meantime, we have received Laura's resignation." Rogers told Parker the week of April 9 that her degree could not be verified. District spokeswoman Stephanie Cameron said Parker gave "reasonable explanations" for why her degree could not be verified but refused to state what those were "out of respect for Laura's privacy." Cameron said Parker told the district early last week that she requested a copy of her transcript and it would arrive in three to four weeks. Parker's resignation letter indicates she could work with Portland Public Schools in the future. "While serving as a chief has allowed me to move critical work forward, I have struggled with the balance of work, life, and health," Parker wrote in the April 20 letter. "I appreciate the conversations we've had regarding future opportunities and projects for me at (Portland Public Schools), and I do hope to contribute down the road." Attempts to reach Parker were unsuccessful, but she has previously said she would not discuss her degree. Rogers' statement said as a result of the ordeal, the district has changed practices. Job applicants will be required to provide transcripts to verify all degrees listed on their applications. Previously, Portland Public Schools only checked the degree required to hold the position. In Parker's case, that meant verifying her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. Parker joined Portland Public Schools in March 2017 as senior director of system planning and performance but was quickly promoted into a new executive-level position. "The focus of this new position is to align and inform strategic planning and resource allocation to support student success," said a memo about her promotion. She played a key early role in shaping and explaining the district's botched efforts to split up its school for highly gifted students, Access Academy. Her resignation became public Monday along with an announcement that the district would slash dozens of jobs as part of a reorganization. It's the most major sweeping staffing change Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero has made since he started the job in October. Parker's letter noted her resignation was in line with "discussions regarding organizational structure." "I'm proud of the organizational transformation that has occurred in my departments, focusing teams on increased service and investments for our schools despite the shortage of resources," Parker wrote. Parker came to Portland Public Schools from Vancouver Public Schools and records show she also told that district she had a doctorate from the London School of Economics. The Oregonian/OregonLive first raised questions about Parker's credentials in October. At that time, Parker was the public face of divisive district boundary changes. She largely faded from public view after contentious board meetings on that topic. Her role in the controversial decision to split Access Academy caused parents and teachers to wonder about Parker's educational philosophy and values. At the time, there were rumors students at the revamped Access program would spend most of their time learning at a computer, and that approach worried some people. The best place for insight, some thought, would be her dissertation. Trouble was, a record of it couldn't be found. The Oregonian/OregonLive attempted to look up Parker's dissertation and, when the news outlet could not locate it, tried to ask her about it. Parker at first told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she was "happy to share" her academic background. But weeks went by. Eventually, after the news outlet kept on the issue, district spokesman Dave Northfield wrote, "She is politely declining to share her dissertation with you. It's not a public record. She is also politely declining the offer to speak to you." Bethany Barnes Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com The trip comes just hours after a contentious confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. While Republican lawmakers were united behind Pompeo, most Democrats bemoaned what they saw as the nominee's history of warmongering rhetoric and antipathy to Muslims and gay people. The new secretary of state then heads to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the stops were chosen to reflect their "importance as key allies and partners in the region." Pompeo replaces Rex Tillerson, who was fired last month by Trump. His assumption of duties allows him to attend a NATO meeting Friday in Brussels, and hold bilateral talks with Turkish and Italian foreign ministers. Trump hailed the confirmation and congratulated Pompeo on becoming the 70th person to be named America's top diplomat. "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this crucial time in history," the president said in a statement. Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state Thursday after a divided Senate voted 57-42 to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee, with all Republicans backing him and all but six Democrats and one independent lawmaker opposed. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, said he doubted Pompeo "would be willing to push back against the president's worst instincts" on world affairs. As an example, Menendez noted key American allies are absorbing millions of refugees, and asked, "What will he [Pompeo] credibly say as this administration slashes our own refugee program, once a crown jewel of our foreign policy?" Republicans, meanwhile, hailed Pompeo's resume and life accomplishments, from graduating at the top of his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to studying law at Harvard to years representing Kansas in the House of Representatives. Trump recently dispatched Pompeo to hold discussions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of a planned Trump-Kim nuclear summit. Montana Republican Steve Daines said Pompeo already proved his worth as part of an administration that helped engineer what could prove to be a historic diplomatic opening. "The administration's resolve and their diplomacy is what has brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table," Daines said. "The administration is moving toward a denuclearized North Korea, and Mike Pompeo has played a critical role in those efforts." Republicans repeatedly urged strong bipartisan backing for Pompeo, pointing out that only two of their members voted against former President Barack Obama's first secretary of state nominee, Hillary Clinton, in 2009, and only three Senate Republicans voted against John Kerry for the post in 2013. Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy insisted his decision to oppose Pompeo was not taken lightly. "I do believe in a substantial amount of deference to the president in the choices that he makes to serve him in his administration," Murphy said before giving his reasons for voting against confirmation. "You need a secretary of state who truly believes that diplomacy can be a viable path out of very complicated problems... I do not believe that Director Pompeo measures up." Earlier this week, Pompeo risked becoming the first secretary of state nominee in modern times to fail to get a favorable recommendation from the Foreign Relations Committee. But Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky reversed his opposition to Pompeo shortly before the panel voted Monday, giving the nominee narrow majority support. Portland Public Schools has stopped fighting a $1 million jury verdict in a racial harassment case. The school board voted Tuesday to settle the case for $1.4 million. The district lost big at trial last May. Maintenance workers Charles Morgan and Jason Williams said they faced racial harassment that included having a noose hung in their workplace and being called the n-word. The settlement is a discount when compared to what Portland Public Schools was on the hook for had it lost an appeal of the jury verdict. On top of the $1 million verdict it would have owed more than $500,000 in attorneys' fees and accrued interest. Each of the employees will get $400,000. The board's decision to settle came after it took longtime district law firm Miller Nash Graham & Dunn off the case. Miller Nash tried multiple times to get a court to undo the verdict on the district's behalf, The Portland Tribune reported. Board Chair Julia Brim-Edwards said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive she and others on the board wanted to settle the case. It's a relatively new board, as three members took office last July. The new school board and its new general counsel, Liz Large, have said repeatedly that getting a better handle on the district's many legal entanglements is a high priority. After they began applying that greater scrutiny, Miller Nash lost a large chunk of the district's business. "The board concluded that the best course was to reach closure with Mr. Morgan and Mr. Williams's claims so that every one of our employees can show up and do their best every day for our students. The settlement of this case is one more step toward achieving that goal," Brim-Edwards said. "Treating our employees fairly and support for an inclusive work environment are key values for the new board." After the trial, the district's in-house legal counsel changed twice. Not long after the verdict, the district brought on James Harris as top lawyer. Harris left in November and is under investigation by the state bar for allegedly practicing law in Oregon without being licensed to do so. Harris' defense to the State Bar is that much of his work as general counsel for Oregon's largest school district was not legal in nature. Morgan and Williams said their experiences were downplayed as "microaggressions" and responses to their complaints were intentionally stalled. That did not match the stated priorities of a district that has spent millions on racial equity training and touted diversity as a core value. "Mr. Morgan and Mr. Williams are happy to have achieved long-awaited resolution to the litigation and hope for positive changes to the workforce going forward," said Morgan and Williams' attorney Diane Sykes. In addition to a better handle on its legal affairs, the school board has stressed the need for a new district complaint process and work is underway toward that aim. The new process has already gone before the board and is open for public input. Bethany Barnes Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com Following up a Pulitzer Prize-winning book can't be easy. Suddenly there are hefty new expectations to meet. So Gilbert King, author of the acclaimed "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America," decided to give readers more of the same. "Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found" is sort of a sequel to "Devil." The villain, once again, is Lake County, Florida's noxious sheriff, Willis McCall. But this time around, crusading lawyer Thurgood Marshall is nowhere to be found. He's replaced in the hero's role by intrepid small-town journalist Mabel Norris Reese, who was also a character in King's last book. The author drops readers into the sweaty, fear-driven community of Okahumpka in Dec. 1957, and it's immediately obvious he has a powerful story to tell. A series of rapes have hit the area, and one of the victims is Blanche Knowles, the wife of a politically ambitious citrus baron. When she declares that "a Negro with bushy hair" is responsible, Sheriff McCall launches into action. McCall and his deputies round up the usual suspects -- poor, young black men. But the investigation inexplicably takes a sharp turn and settles on a mentally impaired white 19-year-old named Jesse Daniels. A trial is bypassed, and the sweet-natured young man is hustled off to an overcrowded, poorly-run state mental hospital. Why did McCall, who loved nothing more than brutalizing and convicting African-Americans, decide to railroad a helpless white man who clearly had nothing to do with the crime? That's what Reese is determined to find out, and the rocks she turns over reveal Jim Crow-era Florida in all its corrupt, racist and entirely ordinary horror. One potential problem for readers: King assumes you have read "Devil in the Grove." You will get no backstory for McCall, no explication of his character, of what made him into the blinkered, murderous man we meet here. The same goes for Reese. She too arrives fully formed, and we never learn what led her to this racist small town despite her forward-thinking worldview. At times this can make it difficult to get lost in the story, keeping the reader at a distance as McCall and Reese warily circle each other. There's also this: There's no tidy ending. That's the way it goes in real life, and that was especially the case in the 1950s American South. "I blasted the sheriff to the next county," Reese would later write about her battles with McCall. "It looked as if I had him. It looked as if he was finally impaled upon my editorial pen. I went out on my next advertising rounds fully expecting the powers-that-be to say, 'Well, I guess you had him pegged all along.'" Reese quickly realized she was being naive. The powers-that-be knew that she did indeed have McCall pegged -- but they continued to admire and support their sheriff. -- Douglas Perry Longtime hip-hop promoter and one of the organizers of Portland's Hip-Hop Day, Idris "StarChile" O'Ferrall, died Thursday after being diagnosed last month with central nervous system lymphoma, according to a post on Facebook from O'Ferrall's father. He was 42 years old. O'Ferrall began rapping as student at Wilson High School, according to Willamette Week. He later became a concert promoter. In 2015, he joined DJ O.G.One, the Trail Blazers' DJ, in organizing Portland's Hip-Hop Day. "They had the Decemberists concert at City Hall and one of the people in the mayor's office was like... why don't we have a hip-hop concert?" O'Ferrall told The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2015. "Why can't we do this for hip-hop as well?" O'Ferrall wanted to continue to grow Hip-Hop Day, hoping for "a snowball effect." "It needs to be supported by everybody, everybody that likes hip-hop music," he said. "Not just black people. Not just the rappers and their friends. It needs to be supported by everybody that will appreciate and likes and loves the culture and the music of hip-hop." Portland musicians and fans expressed their sadness on social media. "Rest In Power to a great man and mentor," tweeted hip-hop artist Mic Capes. "I can't believe this bro. Was a mentor that believed in me and a friend to me and many others. You won't EVER be forgotten bro. I promise that." "RIP Starchile, a true Portland legend and steward of the city's rising rap scene," added comedian Ian Karmel. "Gone way too soon." My beloved son, Idris StarChile OFerrall went home to be with his Heavenly Father this morning. We thank GOD for His lovingkindness. Posted by Oliver O'Ferrall on Thursday, April 26, 2018 -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052 lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker By Juan Carlos Ordonez Five years ago, the Oregon legislature met in a special session and approved major pieces of legislation. Tucked inside was a big tax break for certain business owners. Now Gov. Kate Brown has called for another special session, this time to address one injustice baked into that tax break. The tax break benefits owners of certain types of pass-through entities, those structured as S-corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. But it excludes sole proprietors, the simplest of business forms. In calling for a special session, Brown is asking lawmakers to extend the current tax break to sole proprietors. But the disparate treatment of sole proprietors is not the only, or even the most significant, injustice flowing from the tax break. Oregon lawmakers must recognize that the tax break, which mostly flows to the rich, disadvantages workers. It also takes resources away from schools and other essential public services that benefit all Oregonians. These inequities must factor into any decision the legislature makes regarding the pass-through income tax break. No one can dispute that this tax break is heavily skewed in favor of the very rich. More than two-thirds of the tax benefits flow to those who make more than $500,000 per year -- business owners who rest comfortably in the confines of Oregon's richest 1 percent. Meanwhile, Oregonians earning less than $100,000 -- the vast majority of Oregonians -- share a measly 1 percent of the tax benefits. It's also an expensive tax break. In the current budget period, it siphons some $200 million from schools and essential services. And the cost of the tax break is expected to grow, making it harder for our state to fully fund our schools, adequately protect foster kids and make housing more affordable. The tax break also treats workers as second-class citizens, requiring them to pay higher tax rates simply because they are employees, rather than the boss. It is an injustice magnified by the fact that the vast majority of low- and middle-income Oregonians make a living from a paycheck. It would be an affront to all working Oregonians if the Oregon legislature continues to ignore the manifest injustice to workers inherent in this tax scheme. And it would be irresponsible for lawmakers to ignore the sizeable cost of this giveaway, especially when the bulk of the tax benefits goes to those who need help the least. Ideally, lawmakers would use any special session to admit the error in creating this tax break and repeal it in its entirety. Short of that, the legislature must ensure that any changes to the tax break do not take tens of millions more away from our schools and essential services. If lawmakers extend the tax break to sole proprietors, it should be paid for by eliminating the benefits this tax break provides to the rich. If lawmakers meet in a special session, by all means, let's talk tax fairness. Let's talk about restoring fairness to the vast majority of Oregonians who make a living from a paycheck and get nothing from this tax break. Juan Carlos Ordonez is communications director for the Oregon Center for Public Policy, which is based in Southwest Portland. The League of Oregon Cities would like to publicly thank three Portland-area legislators for their efforts during the 2018 session on legislation of importance to cities -- not only in the metro area but throughout Oregon. Sen. Kathleen Taylor helped pass SB 1566, creating a matching system ($.25 from the state for every $1 of local contribution) to assist cities in meeting their PERS requirements. Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer led efforts to find new ways to address the statewide housing shortage and has shown an eagerness to include city governments as partners in finding solutions. Her work will result in new housing resources in the metro region and across the state. Rep. Rob Nosse sponsored HB 4027 in an attempt to repeal a flawed and overly generous gigabit property tax exemption written to attract Google Fiber to Portland. The complex compromise bill passed the House but ran out of time in the Senate. Nosse has vowed to lead efforts during the 2019 session to address the annual property tax revenue loss of approximately $17.5 million to schools and local governments. The League thanks all three legislators for their commitment to the health and well-being of Oregon's cities. Mike Cully Cully is executive director of the League of Oregon Cities This post was updated to correct the figures for the state and local match in SB 1566. Two of the back decks (to the left) on the home have lost their structural stability, and are in the process of collapsing, in this March 2018 photo. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian) By AIMEE GREEN The Oregonian | OregonLive Winter storms haven't been kind to the small bluff buffering Tai Dang's beachfront house from the ocean. The back decks of the $1 million vacation home in Rockaway Beach are collapsing. The northwest corner of the house is now just a few feet from bluff's edge. It was at least 15 feet from the edge in 2016 when The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported Dang's struggle to save the home. One of the staircases leading from the back of the house also has tumbled down the bluff. Dang has stopped renting the six-bedroom Tuscan-style villa to vacationers because of its now-precarious perch. But he hasn't abandoned his fight to convince government officials to allow him to put down a wall of boulders to protect what's left. On a recent spring day, the home's deterioration drew beachcombers, some who stopped to snap photos or marvel at the slow decline. Don't Edit In January 2018, these two back decks began the process of collapsing, according to the home owners' attorneys. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian) Don't Edit The bluff that this foundational support for the decks once rested on has eroded away in the past several months. It's seen here in March 2018. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian) The Portland resident built the place in 2009 for his immediate and extended families as a weekend getaway. Dang said he and two friends who became co-owners painstakingly selected its staircases, chandeliers, wainscoting and granite. Before construction, Dang hired a geologist who studied the dune next to the home and noted its gradual retreat from the ocean. When the geologist returned to Dang's property after the home was finished, he said erosion had rapidly sped up and the dune was disappearing at a rate of up to 15 feet a year. The riprap would run along the 81 feet of his property, pile 8 feet high and be 23 feet wide at its base, according to one of Dang's applications. Don't Edit Front of the house. (Photo courtesy of Tai Dang) Don't Edit Foyer. (Photo courtesy of Tai Dang) Don't Edit Don't Edit (Courtesy of Tai Dang) Don't Edit (Courtesy of Tai Dang) But riprap can cause erosion elsewhere as it changes how waves hit nearby beaches and it can scrape away the beach in front of it. Many people call it an eyesore. In 1973, state lawmakers set out to limit the use of riprap by allowing only landowners on beachfront properties developed with homes, businesses or utility lines before Jan. 1, 1977, to install riprap if no other viable alternative exists. Owners of land developed after then generally are out of luck. Dang's land was developed decades earlier: A house built in the 1930s once stood on the property, according to a geologist's report. Don't Edit Riprap is typically large boulders or concrete chunks laid in piles on the oceanfront, as seen here in Neskowin in 1999. (Benjamin Brink/File photo) Don't Edit The hot tub out back is a few feet from the bluff's edge. City Attorney John Putman told The Oregonian/OregonLive last week that Dang isn't complying with city land-use rules because his house was built too close to the ocean. Although Dang didn't respond to a request for an interview for this story, he and his attorney said previously that he built his house where it is because a private licensed surveyor told him it was behind the city's required ocean shore setback line. The city agreed -- even stating in a letter that Dang had complied with "all city standards and regulations." The city in January 2015 approved of the riprap but then reversed its position a few months later, state records show. The city denied the application under the belief that Dang had built too close to the ocean. Dang last applied to lay down riprap in front of his property this past Jan. 18, the same day a massive winter storm hit the Oregon coast. Around that time, the home's back decks began to collapse, Dang's attorneys said. The state denied the permission. The ultimate decision rests with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, but the agency won't approve Dang's application if the city says he isn't following its land-use laws, said Chris Havel, a department spokesman. Don't Edit Posts and rope along the line of the property have tumbled down the eroding bluff, next to the hot tub. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian) Putman said Dang could do one of two things to meet the city rules: Dig up his house and its foundation and move them back about 15 feet or more so they rest behind the ocean shore setback line. Or Dang could cut off the back 15 feet or more of his house, so the remainder is behind the setback line. "The size of the house would have to shrink significantly," Putman said. It's unclear if either one of those options would be economically feasible or structurally possible. In 2016, Dang had gone to court to ask a Tillamook County Circuit Court judge to allow him to install riprap. The judge declined to intervene, saying he didn't have the authority. Don't Edit Don't Edit Watch a video taken from outside the beach house on a recent spring day. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian) Last month, Dang and his attorneys sent the city a notice, saying he intends to sue Rockaway Beach. Co-owners Hue Le and Tue Nguyen would join him in the suit. The letter said they plan "to hold the city responsible for all damages" to the decks and the house, and those losses "may well be increasing every day." -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Don't Edit This 2016 photo shows a back stair case, which since has tumbled down the short bluff onto the beach below and been removed from the property. When this photo was taken, the edge of the bluff was about eight feet from the corner of the decks and 15 feet from the northwest corner of the house. (Submitted photo) Don't Edit The Stowger House in Bayocean, as seen in 1954. The community's last home was washed into the ocean in 1960s. (Courtesy of Tillamook County Pioneer Museum) Beachfront property owners in Oregon have a precarious relationship with the ocean -- with owners sometimes caught by surprise by the advancing waves and shrinking beaches. Among the examples: The entire town of Bayocean was washed into the ocean a few decades after it was founded in 1906. The vacation town had been built on Tillamook Spit and quickly grew to a population of 2,000 before the waves took their toll. Don't Edit After massive dune erosion in the late 1990s and the 2000s, most of Neskowin's beachfront was lined with riprap. Seen here are waves crashing in 1999. (By Bob Ellis/The Oregonian/File photo) Don't Edit Sand is constantly moving -- building dunes in one place, and tearing them apart in others. Pictured here is an eroding bluff in Tillamook County in 1997. (Photo by Bob Ellis/The Oregonian/File photo) Don't Edit Don't Edit Homes in The Capes development in Oceanside in 1998. (Roger Jensen/File photo) Another well-known example of coastal erosion: In 1998, owners at The Capes in Oceanside grew alarmed when the giant bluff their homes sat upon quickly receded in a matter of months. Residents pleaded with the state to allow them to protect their homes with riprap, but then-Gov. John Kitzhaber rejected the idea because the homes and land weren't developed before 1977. An employee at Oregon's fish and wildlife agency is suing the state and its largest public employee union, arguing that by forcing her to pay dues they are violating her First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association. Lawyers for Debora Nearman, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee from outside Independence, filed the federal lawsuit on Wednesday. Nearman disagrees with political positions taken by Service Employees International Union 503 and claims that the union is spending some of her fees on those causes. The lawsuit centers on the "fair share" clause of the state government's contract with SEIU, which requires public employees who are represented by the union but not members of it to pay fees equivalent to dues. The state deducts money from employees' paychecks, and the union is supposed to use it to defray the cost of bargaining and administering the contract. Nearman pays $120 a month, according to the lawsuit. Employees have an opportunity to opt out of supporting SEIU's political work and have that portion of their fees returned, but Nearman alleges the union still spends some of her fees on inherently political work. Nearman brings a unique perspective to the topic. She is married to Republican state Rep. Mike Nearman and alleges in the lawsuit that her union opposed his reelection. "Plaintiff objects to being required to financially support and associate with an organization that opposes her husband's candidacy, opposes her religious views, and opposes her political views," according to the lawsuit. Nearman is a devout Catholic and disagrees with SEIU's support of pro-abortion rights candidates and legislation. The lawsuit also cites her opposition to the 2016 corporate tax initiative Measure 97, and alleges SEIU spent more than $5 million on the unsuccessful campaign in support of it. Nearman claims the union spent her "fair share" fees on the cause. Oregon fish and wildlife employee adds her voice to anti-union Supreme Court case Representatives of SEIU declined to specifically address the claims in Nearman's lawsuit. But executive director Melissa Unger said in a statement that "it's telling that this comes from the wife of a legislator who has been clear and upfront about his desire to weaken workers' power by attacking unions. ... There is an effort in several states to use lawsuits like this one to make it more difficult for unions to represent and protect workers." A spokeswoman for Oregon's Department of Administrative Services, which negotiated the contract with SEIU, said a state policy prohibited her from commenting on litigation. Nearman is asking the court to overturn the Oregon law that compels public employees who opt out of unions to pay nonmember fees, prevent the state and union from collecting any more fees from her and force SEIU to repay fees already deducted from her pay. -- Hillary Borrud 503-294-4034; @hborrud Business was stacking up. Then it all came crashing down. Raji Afife Azar A Southeast Portland man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of soliciting the theft of Legos and other items and selling them online for large profits, police said. Photos of the illicit stash show Legos piled high and enough merch to line parts of Raji Afife Azar's driveway. Azar, 40, is set to be arraigned Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court on over two-dozen felonies, records show. He was jailed Thursday and released on his own recognizance. But once he was initially taken into custody, authorities served a search warrant at his family's home in the 2000 block of 102nd Avenue, according to Portland police. Fred Meyer investigators estimate the value of recovered Legos and other toys stolen from their stores is about $50,000 a figure that doesn't include the value of things stolen from other businesses, police say. Detectives think Azar would solicit thefts through websites like Craigslist and OfferUp, which allow people to browse items for sale and arrange for their purchase. He'd then buy the stolen items then turn around and sell them online, according to police. Often the people who would steal the merchandise and sell it to Azar were drug addicts, according to police. Authorities arrested him after a transaction he arranged with undercover investigators who he thought were thieves, police said. Fred Meyer Organized Retail Theft Unit investigators first learned Azar was heading the fencing or illegal sale operation early this year, according to police. Azar has no criminal record in Oregon, according to court records. Records show he cares for his parents. He lives with his parents and sister and is employed by a hospital, the records show. He's accused of aggravated first-degree theft, first-degree theft, laundering a monetary instrument and computer crime, according to police. "Investigators remind anyone purchasing items from a non-retail location to be aware of items sold as 'new' or in unopened packages with prices that seem too good to be true - the items may be stolen," Portland police said in a news release. Jim Ryan Sce Pike When Miranda Brown comes home to her Beaverton apartment each evening, the lights come on the moment she opens the door. They go off again anytime she leaves. And not just the lights. Some "smart" outlets shut off, too, preserving power that little gadgets would otherwise suck up. Brown can turn lights or gadgets back on, while she's away, with an app on her phone. Or she can turn up the heat when she's lingering in bed on a chilly morning. "Which is really cool, because once I lay down I do not want to get up," said Brown, 23, who is both a resident and a leasing manager at the Montevista Apartments in Beaverton. The complex has smart apartment features installed in about 45 of its 288 units. The technology comes from a Portland startup, IOTAS. The connected home has been, to this point, largely the domain of luxury houses in the suburbs. But the Intel-backed company thinks it could be at least as valuable to renters, too. Portland tech has boomed in the past decade but produced only a handful of companies focused on consumer technology, an area that has produced many of the biggest and most explosive technology startups in other regions. IOTAS imagines an opportunity like that for itself. The company already has hooked up more than 4,000 apartments across the country and says it has deals with landlords to add as many as 5,000 more by the end of the year. IOTAS says it has contracts to bring its total number of installed apartments to 70,000 by the end of 2021. IOTAS either retrofits existing apartments or wires up brand-new construction. At the Montevista, renters pay $45 a month extra for an IOTAS-equipped apartment. The selling point is the convenience - and the prospective energy savings that comes with intelligent management of heat, air conditioning and lighting. Chief executive Sce Pike previously helped start Portland online design firm Citizen, which sold early this year to business management firm Ernst & Young. She founded IOTAS four years ago because she felt the Internet of Things - the industry term for connected devices and smart appliances - was going the wrong way by targeting older, well-off homeowners. IOTAS Headquarters : Northeast Portland Leadership : Chief executive and founder Sce Pike (pronounced like "say") Employees : 30, including 25 in Portland Funding : $6.5 million raised from backers including Intel, the Oregon Venture Fund and clean tech nonprofit Oregon BEST Those most likely to use, and benefit, from connected homes were young people who grew up in a digital world, Pike said. And the majority of them are cost-conscious renters who might respond to an opportunity to save money on their monthly energy bills. "The residents expect technology. They have it everywhere. They carry it constantly around in their pockets," Pike said. Intel, Google, Amazon and others have invested billions in hopes of automating home technology to link thermostats, appliances, home security and lighting to ubiquitous mobile technology. IOTAS' technology is built to tap into many of the existing systems, including the Nest smart thermostat, Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The Portland company has raised $6.5 million from backers including Intel, which made an unspecified investment last fall. Still, connected homes remain an uncertain proposition. Digital assistants like Alexa have taken off, but they're still primarily sources of information - they don't yet have full smart home capabilities. "Home automation has been sort of a fraught area for a long time," said Scott Sandler, investment manager at the Oregon Venture Fund (formerly the Oregon Angel Fund), one of IOTAS' early backers. Early systems required expensive, clunky equipment - some of which quickly went obsolete. A few companies made headway with niche products like the Nest home thermostat, but none have found widespread acceptance. "What IOTAS has done is they've put together a standardized product that's really easy to say yes to," Sandler said. Landlords can install identical systems in dozens or hundreds of units and renters simply download an app and log in. And the hardware itself, Sandler said, isn't likely to grow outdated. IOTAS' technology consists of software and a local wireless network, which can be easily updated, and relatively basic light switches, outlets and thermostats. "The functionality is extremely simple: Up, down, on, off, open, closed," Sandler said. "It's easy to see how those things are going to be there for a long time." Concerns remain about security, privacy and utility. Skeptics wonder if the convenience of being able to manage a thermostat remotely or turn off lights automatically is worth the risk of a hacker repurposing the gadgets or snoops learning your household habits. "Imagine now you've got the data flowing from thousands of connected apartments. What else could you do with that? Who else would that be valuable to?" Sandler asked. Indeed, it's easy to imagine marketers would be hungry for that information. It's also easy to imagine that it might scare off potential tenants. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal at Facebook, concerns about how big tech companies use personal data has never been higher. IOTAS hopes to address that by being transparent about what happens to customers' information and giving them an incentive to share. The company does envision selling data to marketers, but it proposes to offer customers an opt-out. Rather than charge them more if they do, though, Pike suggests IOTAS will kick back some of what marketers pay straight to consumers. It's an unusual approach, offering a carrot to renters who participate rather than a penalty if they don't. "We believe we're there for their benefit, not anybody else's," Pike said. She hopes IOTAS could set a precedent that other companies would feel obliged to follow to keep pace in a competitive market. Of course, marketers aren't the only ones who might take an interest in IOTAS' systems. Pike said it's unrealistic to expect IOTAS could never be hacked. She said the company's approach is to limit the opportunity and minimize the damage. In addition to securing its systems, she said it's also isolating them so hacks would have to take place one unit at a time. That makes the systems a less attractive target for hackers, and makes it easier to respond by securing a single unit if a hacker starts sniffing around. The question, then, becomes how residents weigh the trade-off: Is the convenience and energy savings that come with smart home technology worth the potential headache hackers would bring? Portland State University Professor Corey Griffin is studying apartments with IOTAS' technology to evaluate whether they actually produce energy savings. Cleantech nonprofit Oregon BEST helped fund the research with $250,000 in backing, which bought it a small stake in IOTAS. The PSU study is still in its early stages, so it's too soon to draw complete conclusions. And Griffin said the retrofitted apartments he's studying don't have every outlet and appliance hooked up. That means some outlets, gadgets and appliances can't be programmed to automatically shut off and will continue drawing power even when they're off. Newly built apartments could be completely wired, he said, for maximum impact. Still, Griffin said the early evidence suggests IOTAS makes a difference. Few of us have a clear idea how much power we're using at a given moment, he said, but IOTAS' app makes it easy to see what's on and to shut off unneeded devices. "The IOTAS technology is helping make that more visible and real to the users, and so it's changing their behaviors." Update: This article has been updated with new information on the number of apartments with IOTAS already installed and the number of pending installations. -- Mike Rogoway; Twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699 Subway Restaurants, home of the ubiquitous $5 footlong, plans to shutter hundreds of U.S. stores as consumers lose their appetite for lunch meats. The world's largest restaurant chain says it will close about 500 of its 26,000 locations nationwide this year. Last year, Subway closed more than 800 U.S. stores. Subway - which has almost as many U.S. locations as McDonald's and Starbucks combined - is struggling to keep up with growing competition and changing consumer tastes. While its "eat fresh" motto may have won over health-conscious consumers a decade or two ago, analysts say those diners are increasingly looking for things like locally-sourced produce and hormone-free meat, often served up by regional start-ups like Sweetgreen. Chains like Panera, Au Bon Pain and Firehouse Subs have also eaten up part of Subway's market by offering a range of customizable meals. Meanwhile, fast-food giants like McDonald's, which recently brought back its Dollar Menu, offer cheaper alternatives to Subway's signature subs. "We aren't eating the way we used to, and luncheon meats are just not what most people are clamoring for," said Bob Phibbs, chief executive of the Retail Doctor, a New York-based consultancy. "Let's face it: If you're in a major metropolitan area, you're looking for that green salad place. You're not saying, 'Let's all go to Subway and order through the sneeze guard.'" Adding to Subway's woes is a long history of strained relations with its thousands of franchisees, who complain that the company's deep promotions are nibbling away at already-shrinking profits. (All of Subway's 44,000 locations worldwide are independently-owned.) Sales have fallen for at least three years in a row, and foot traffic is down 25 percent since 2012. "This is a tired company in need of a major brand renovation," said Joel Libava, an independent consultant in franchises. "Walk into any Subway and everything looks exactly the same as it did 25 years ago." Subway, founded 53 years ago in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as "Pete's Super Submarines," has expanded rapidly in the decades since, opening thousands of new locations in strip centers and suburban shopping malls. It earned a loyal following by pitching itself as a healthy alternative to fatty burgers and fries. But in recent years, the company's recipe for success has faltered. In 2015, former spokesman Jared Fogle, who rose to fame after losing more than 200 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches, pled guilty to charges of child pornography and child molestation. The company has also struggled to keep customers coming back, as an ever-expanding selection of fast-casual eateries, food trucks, even grocery stores, offer freshly-made meals at competitive prices. Earlier this year, Subway invested $25 million in a re-branding campaign aimed at boosting sales at its stores. The company's newest ads, meant to appeal to younger consumers, are part of the company's "aggressive revitalization plan," says Don Fertman, Subway's chief development officer. Subway is focusing on building up its international presence by opening 1,000 stores in countries like India, China, Germany and Mexico. But industry insiders said that while Subway may be able to successfully expand abroad - it is, after all, a well-known American brand - it doesn't have an easy road ahead at home. "I don't think there's a clear path for Subway," said Phibbs, the retail consultant. "It's just not what people want anymore." -- The Washington Post Over 2,800 reporters from 41 countries signed up to cover the historic inter-Korean summit on Friday. They gathered at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, Gyeonggi Province overlooking the demilitarize zone as well as a makeshift press room at KINTEX in Ilsan north of Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walked across the heavily armed border at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning for a historic meeting with President Moon Jae-in in the truce village of Panmunjom. Smiling broadly, they shook hands across border and posed together for the camera in turn on each side of the military demarcation line. They inspected a South Korean honor guard and moved on to the Peace House. Before vanishing into a meeting room, Kim signed a visitor's book saying, "A new history starts now. In an era of peace, at the starting point of history." The two leaders are expected to announce a joint statement around 6:30 p.m. This is only the third summit between leaders of the two Koreas. President Kim Dae-jung met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000 and President Roh Moo-hyun also met Kim in 2007. But this is the first time that a North Korean leader has crossed the border and set foot on South Korean soil. President Moon Jae-in (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pose in front of the Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. /Newsis Top of the agenda is the denuclearization of North Korea, and the two leaders will work out their final joint statement on the question at the summit itself, while the rest has been hammered out in advance. South Korea does not expect a massive breakthrough. Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, who is in charge of preparing for the summit, told reporters on Thursday, "The summit would be a success if we could stipulate North Korea's clear willingness to scrap its nuclear weapons and accurately confirm that this means complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula." If that can be achieved, it will lay the groundwork for a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or June. The White House said Wednesday that it will keep pressuring North Korea until it takes "concrete steps toward denuclearization." If the inter-Korean summit fails to elicit some kind of commitment by the North to scrap its nuclear weapons, Moon could face criticism for giving Kim some much-needed breathing space as international sanctions are intensifying. President Moon Jae-in (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk together in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. The two leaders started their talks at 10:15 a.m., 15 minutes earlier than planned, and will break for lunch and continue talking in the afternoon. They exchanged brief opening remarks in front of the cameras before closing the doors. "It has taken 11 years for this to happen," Kim said. "Walking here I wondered why it has taken so long Through today's meeting, I hope we won't go back to square one again and non-implementation of what we agree won't happen again." A government source said the lunch break gave participants time to "reflect on the contents and come up with responses." The two leaders will also plant a pine tree in the afternoon. Im said the tree "symbolized peace and prosperity" and will be planted on the military demarcation line, "which had symbolized division and confrontation." It will be planted on a route taken by Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung when he drove a herd of cattle back to his ancestral home in North Korea. The two leaders willl then go for a walk before continuing with the afternoon session. At 6:30 p.m., the two leaders will sit down to dinner together, eating dishes that reflect their personal histories like rosti from Switzerland, where Kim went to school, and fish from Moon's hometown of Busan, before the summit ends. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un went to Pyongyang Railway Station on Wednesday night to see off the bodies of 32 Chinese tourists who were killed in a bus crash on Sunday. The survivors of the crash in North Hwanghae Province also boarded a special train provided by Kim to take them home. Kim sent a message of condolences to the Chinese leadership. Kim visited the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang at 6:30 a.m. on Monday right after the accident and the same evening visited injured Chinese victims in hospital. Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Ottawa Citizen Headline News will soon be in your inbox. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are avoiding the exchange of lavish gifts at Friday's summit amid international sanctions against the regime. UN Security Council sanctions resolutions ban the export to North Korea of luxury goods including jewelry, carpets, high-end dinnerware, expensive liquor and many other items. The list is so comprehensive that there is very little Moon could legitimately give Kim. During the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000, President Kim Dae-jung gave North Korean leader Kim Jong-il two dogs of the Jindo breed, a 60-inch TV, three video tape recorders, and an electronic organ. Kim Jong-il gave Kim Dae-jung two dogs of the Pungsan breed, and three bottles of blueberry wine to each of 130 South Korean officials who accompanied the president. During the second inter-Korean summit in October 2007, then President Roh Moo-hyun gave Kim Jong-il an eight-panel lacquerware folding screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl from Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, a tea set inlaid with rose of Sharon patterns, and tea from Jeju and Boseong, South Jeolla Province. Kim Jong-il gave Roh 4,000 kg of pine mushrooms. Rising inflation is big economic news. From the average American who is being hit at the gas pump to large corporations experiencing rising costs, none is immune from the effects of inflation. The significant uptick in inflation has passed beyond the cloistered realm of economists to the larger consciousness of... We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday evening ended their historic summit with a broad commitment to work toward "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The agreement came in a joint statement that was strong on principles but vague on details after the two leaders had spent most of the day deep in discussion. "There will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new age of peace has opened," they said before sitting down to dinner in the truce village of Panmunjom. South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands after reading a joint statement in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. /Newsis The two leaders agreed to push for multilateral talks involving the U.S. and possibly China to replace the armistice that halted the Korea War with a proper peace treaty within this year. The two Koreas technically remain at war. Efforts to reduce military tensions will include a complete halt to hostilities, including a stop to propaganda broadcasts and distribution of leaflets. South Korean President Moon Jae-in (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un take a walk in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. The two sides also vowed to hold further talks on humanitarian matters like reunions of families separated by the Korean War on the occasion of Liberation Day on Aug. 15. They also pledged to set up a liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. At 9:30 a.m., Moon welcomed Kim, who walked across a graveled strip of border and briefly invited Moon to step over the line into North Korea as the two leaders held hands. They inspected an honor guard decked out in historical costume before sitting down for talks with a small entourage in a specially refurbished meeting room. At the end of the day, which also saw the two leaders plant a pine tree symbolizing peace and prosperity and take a walk together out of earshot of the press and other officials, Moon said their agreements will be a "great present to the entire world." "The two leaders held serious and honest discussions on ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, establish permanent peace and develop South-North Korea relations," said presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan. Moon will visit Pyongang in the fall to reciprocate Kim's visit and Kim also said he could visit Cheong Wa Da if he is invited. The South and North Korean leaders pose with their wives before dinner in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. /Newsis The evening is given over to a dinner attended by both leaders and their wives. Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju arrived at Panmunjom around 6:15 p.m. with another score of North Korean officials, including Hyun Song-wol, the head of the Samjiyon Orchestra that staged performances in South Korea during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February. Attendees including the South and North Korean leaders react after watching a performance at a dinner party in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. /Newsis The menu features dishes symbolic of the two leaders' personal history, including rosti from Switzerland, where Kim went to school, and fish from Moon's hometown of Busan. The dessert will be adorned with a map of the Korean Peninsula in turquoise icing. GM reports record first-quarter sales in China From:ChinaDaily | 2018-04-27 04:17 American auto giant General Motors Co reported record first-quarter sales on Thursday in the mainland. GM China sold 986,052 units, up nearly 8 percent year-over-year. The growth of almost 20 percent in the quarter included the strong performance of its newest crossover, the Baojun 530, which sold 11,000 units after launching on March 11. Baojun is an entry-level brand under the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint venture. "GM China should be mostly immune from trade spats with the US because nearly all vehicles and parts are assembled and sourced locally. There could be some issues with low volume exports from China to the US such as the Cadillac CT6 PHEV, but I don't think the impact of a trade war on a few vehicles derails GM China's momentum," Morningstar analyst David Whiston wrote in an email. GM CFO Chuck Stevens told CNBC that GM has seen no slowdown in China despite threats and counter threats between Beijing and Washington. "We expect to see another strong year when it comes to China," he said. Results from the company's international operations were bolstered by record joint venture (JV) equity income in China of $600 million. General Motors, with its joint venture partners, plans to introduce 15 new and refreshed models in China this year, sharpening its focus on the strong SUV (sport utility vehicle), MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) and luxury vehicle segments. About half of these products will be SUVs and MPVs. Overall, General Motors reported net income of $1.05 billion, down 59.8 percent from last year, and $2.6 billion in operating profits in the first quarter of 2018, down 26.6 percent from the same quarter in 2017. Results included a pretax charge of $942 million from restructuring at the company's South Korean operations. First-quarter revenue of $36.1 billion fell 3.1 percent from the same period in 2017. paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com In news surprising no one, the administration of President 45 has further stigmatized long-stigmatized sex education in America's school system. In his proposed education budget for the 2019 fiscal year, 45 has designated $75 million towards funding for abstinence-only "and personal responsibility" sex education programs. Unfortunately, these programs don't quite hold up, as studies show that an abstinence-only focus doesn't adequately equip youth with reliable, medically-backed information (or discourse) on sex, sexuality, contraception, prevention of pregnancy, and sexually-transmitted infections. Researchers argue that not only is an abstinence-only approach ineffective, but unethical, too. The bizarre twist is that publicly, sex education is widely supported by a vast majority of people in the U.S. 93 percent of parents polled support it being taught in middle schools, while 96 percent support it in high schools, with national, state, and local support. It makes sense then that, in modern times, fewer young people than ever report receiving "any sex education at all," according to recent Planned Parenthood-led research. Enter Advocates For Youth, an organization founded in 1980 that empowers and trains young people, not only as they make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health, but as they work to advocate for reproductive and sexual rights. This organization filled with young activists because the kids are the future, werq is the antidote to Trumpian warfare on sex education and the stigma that comes with it. The group hosted a Facebook live chat series called #SexEdLive, and it involved a frank discussion about STIs and options and resources for pregnant young people in confusion or crisis. Another video from the live series included a young person speaking openly about gender identity. It's all a response to Sex Ed Sit Out, a nationwide protest held this week organized by individuals who define themselves as "a grassroots movement of frustrated public school parents is turning their frustration into action." From reading the movement's website, they also feel that their children are being "inappropriately sexualized during class time" via "gender-bending sex education" agendas. Additional research from the Guttmacher Institute finds that only 24 states and the District of Columbia have sex education and HIV education mandates for schools but perhaps more unfortunately, only 2 states mandate sex education on its own at all. But as most are aware by now, being part of the digital age is a blessing and a curse: the pro side is being plugged in online helps fill in those gaps where traditional approaches in school around sex and any truthful representation in textbooks fail. On the day of Sex Ed Sit Out, Advocates for Youth posted on their Facebook page that "Advocates' youth activists are here to fill the gaps and make sure everyone gets the info they need." This should truly become a new adage: what you can't learn in school, you can find on social media. Photo via Getty Yoga originated as a deeply spiritual practice in Buddhist and Hindu communities in Asia. It has since been reinvented into a Pinterest-friendly weekend social activity. People do goat yoga, beer yoga, and most, recently, bitcoin yoga. Kali cafe in Berlin recently planned on holding an event where people could practice asana yoga while "listening to a series of short talks about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies," Motherboard reports. The event also boasted "self-appointed 'experts'" and "exotic teas," according to its event page. The event was ultimately cancelled because the cafe's employees were low on ideas of what to talk about. The employee said, "We changed something in our plans, as we need more ideas for this event. Therefore we have an event about 5-Meo-DMT tonight." There aren't too many details about what kinds of talks would have happened and how, exactly, they relate to yoga, but it's all beginning to feel a little like a discarded episode of Portlandia. Image via BFA Here's the thing about Janelle Monae's new album Dirty Computer, out today: it's everything the critics are saying it is. "A perfect celebration of queerness, female power, and self-worth?" Yep, sure is! A surefire "contender for album of the year?" 100%. "Irresistibly danceable and irrefutably topical?" How could it not be! A record made by "one of the greatest artists of our time carrying Prince's baton into the new world?" OK, now that one deserves an ecstatic fuck yes. Whatever you want to say about Dirty Computer, Monae has probably already thought and said it which is why to me, this record will go down as a milestone as work of art in its own right. Authorship is important: Monae co-wrote and co-produced every moment of this album, which she always does, to be clear. It helps, too, that the record is not only serves as her most explicitly political commentary to-date, but it's also her most accessible, with radio-ready hooks aplenty and funk-pop arrangements that we're sure Prince is grooving to in Purple Heaven. Related | Janelle Monae Is Out as Pansexual, and Here's What That Means And since Monae is not only out and proud in every way as a black, queer, self-made musician and as a human, her potential to affirm lives everywhere is at an all-time high. We picked five of the most life-affirming moments on the album, and included lyrical selections courtesy of Genius. You're welcome. "Crazy, Classic, Life" In the tracklist reveal for this album, Monae wrote that "Crazy, Classic, Life" was "inspired by the vibranium in Wakanda, wild mushroom tea parties in Mexico, and the notion that true freedom also comes from 'the right to be wrong, at least occasionally,' see Mary Beard's pronouncement in WOMEN & POWER: 'It is not just that it is more difficult for women to succeed; they get treated much more harshly if they mess up.'" I can definitely see that this song sets the tone of personal power that pumps so much life into this record, hence the vibranium reference. But it's really a groove about being free and thriving. Young, black, wild and free/Naked on a limousine/ Riding through the hood real slow/I love it when we smell the trees/I just wanna party hard/Sex in the swimming pool/I don't need a lot of cash/I just wanna break the rules We don't need another ruler/All of my friends are kings /I'm not American's nightmare I'm the American dream/Just let me live my life "Americans" This one's a beauty about America's backwards ways, but it bucks the idea of being a NRA-loving gun-toting loon by flipping it into a plea for acceptance. For Monae, this could mean her sexual identity or her artistic expression but she could also be encouraging us to have compassion for our loonier fellow Americans. The end of the song includes a speech imagining that will rally solidarity around what matters most. Just love me baby, love me for who I am/Fallen angels singing, "Clap your hands"/Don't try to take my country, I will defend my land/I'm not crazy, baby, naw/I'm American It continues: Let me help you in here Until women can get equal pay for equal work This is not my America Until same-gender loving people can be who they are This is not my America Until black people can come home from a police stop without being shot in the head This is not my America Until poor whites can get a shot at being successful This is not my America I can't hear nobody talkin' to me Until Latinos and Latinas don't have to run from walls This is not my America But I tell you today that the devil is a liar Because it's gon' be my America before it's all over Please sign your name on the dotted line "Pynk" (Feat. Grimes) This delightful Grimes-assisted jam about pussy power and the source of all life is so potent and relevant that we'll just let the iconic lyrics speak for themselves. Plus, the queer-masterpiece-of-a-video to this thing will have scholars the world over gagging for at least the next five years. Pynk, like the inside of your...baby (we're all just pink)/Pynk, like the walls and the doors...maybe (deep inside, we're all just pynk)/Pynk, like your fingers in my...maybe/Pynk is the truth you can't hide/Pynk, like your tongue going round...baby/Pynk, like the sun going down...maybe/Pynk, like the holes in your heart...baby/Pynk is my favorite part. "I Got The Juice" (Feat. Pharrell Williams) Oh! You thought Monae was done! There's much more pussy praise to be given, and blessed be that this is the case. Centuries of systemic oppression of black women will not be undone by one Janelle Monae song, so she's kind enough to bless us with another one addressing her ahem divinity. I mean, listen, black women are sacred, and Monae is just doing her due diligence to remind us. Got juice for all my lovers, got juice for all my wives/My juice is my religion, got juice between my thighs/Now, ask the angels, baby, my juice is so divine/Ain't no juice quite like yours, ain't no juice quite like mine If you try to grab my pussy cat/This pussy grab you back. In an interview with PAPER, Panic! At The Disco frontman and long-time heart-throb Brendon Urie has come out as pansexual. He follows Janella Monae as the second entertainer in recent months to embrace the term, marking a shift in the way celebrities are publicly defining their sexuality. Despite his efforts for the LGBTQ community (he recently donated $1,000,000 to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), Urie has come under fire for his approach to publicly defining his sexuality. He has, in the past, claimed himself to be "stage gay" or "barsexual," describing his proclivity to kiss his bandmates during live shows and his attraction to friends after he's had a few drinks. Urie apologizes for his previous statements in the feature, before revealing himself to identify most with pansexuality: "I guess you could qualify me as pansexual because I really don't care. If a person is great, then a person is great [...] I guess this is me coming out as pansexual." Related | Brendon Urie Lays it All Out Janelle Monae's album was strategically dropped the day after her instantly legendary Rolling Stone cover story hit, during which she came out as pansexual and set queerlings everywhere on fire with enthusiasm. "Being a queer black woman in America... someone who has been in relationships with both men and women I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker," Monae said. "But then later I read about pansexuality and was like, 'Oh, these are things that I identify with too.'" This coming-out statement comes after years of fan speculation about Monae's sexuality, spurned on mostly by her notable androgynous fashion sense. At various times, Monae has given cryptic breadcrumbs to speculative theories on her personal preferences, saying that she is attracted to androids, describing herself as sexually liberated, and in the Rolling Stone interview, we learned that at one point in her life Monae identified as bisexual. Now, for those of you who might be confused by Monae's fluid and nuanced sexual identity, let us remind you that it is her right to identify however she pleases at any time she chooses. Since Monae is publicly out as pansexual, let's break down what that means, and what Monae's coming out does for awareness around sexual fluidity, and ultimately, sexual freedom. Merriam-Webster defines "pansexual" as both an adjective and a noun. As an adjective, someone who is pansexual is "of, relating to, or characterized by sexual desire or attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation." in other words, pansexual people are attracted to all kinds of people, regardless of social categories like gender, sex, or presentation. Now, as a noun, a pansexual person is "not solely homosexual or heterosexual." In other words, remember famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey? He's probably one of the reasons why we can all generally recognize that sexuality is not particularly fixed, but rather, fluid, all depending on one's individual right to identify at any point however they choose. And though we can now identify pretty obvious holes in his "0-6" sexuality scale as, generally, times, attitudes, and awareness of varying sexual identities and proclivities have evolved, one thing he argued that remains relevant was that if all people do fall in the 0-6 scale (they don't), they could be considered pansexual people, who make adjustments based on societal or religious restrictions. (This also proves that the awareness of pansexuality isn't some recent invention, which isn't to render it invalid even if it were it's been around for a hot minute). That said, most queer and pansexual people don't consider the rhetoric of the Kinsey scale when thriving in their truth because it helps impose said restrictions on their identities. Let it also be known that popular Christian dogma around whether or not said identities is some sort of shameful "choice" is irrelevant when people like Janelle Monae come out because 1.) duh, even if sexual identity is fluid, there's not some sort of robotic on-off switch for attraction, unless of course you are a sociopath, 2.) no one "chooses" to be marginalized in a society that scrutinizes any sort of "difference" and, 3.) this is literally the 21st century, and diversity in points of view, including sexual representation, is the hallmark of actual measurable progress. It's up to you to acknowledge and respect people's identities, even if they aren't your taste. Okay! Sexuality 101: In 1976, the French philosopher Michel Foucault also argued that sexuality is a social construct used as a form of control. Nothing about Monae's coming-out as pansexual is constructed (except for how she planned the press around it, which is frankly just smart when you're dropping an amazing new album). It's liberating to identify as pansexual at all, and that she learned about what it was, and embraced it as something she could identify with in the first place. That part is about choice, but not in the way it's often promoted in society; it's about freedom. Janelle Monae coming out renders us all more free. Photography: Dustin Mansyur/Getty Many jumped to a range of conclusions as to why, after DACA, the Muslim Ban, Paris Climate Accord, North Korea, Charlottesville, Russia, Comey, the multiple affairs (the list goes on), West would isolate his demographic by tweeting numerous times praising Donald Trump. Several celebrities wasted no time waving goodbye to West after he revealed his continued alliance to Trump including his frequent collaborators swiftly hitting the "unfollow" button. Rihanna? Done. The Weeknd? No more. Kendrick? Out. Justin Bieber? Bye. Even Nicki Minaj is gone. As is Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Harry Styles. Stars also spoke out disparaging West's comments. ICE T might be done, but John was rearing to go. Let's all listen to John. Image via Getty Takashi Murakami never ceases to keep us on our toes with his vibrant creations. The Japanese artist's colorful designs have popped up all over the fashion world, including major collaborations with the likes of Virgil Abloh, Vans, Supreme, and Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton (i.e. those iconic colorful monogram bags). Now, Murakami is channeling his eccentric visuals into a new project for Uniqlo. The line is embedded with deep Japanese culture by using one of the most iconic characters in Japanese Manga history and spreading it across the globe. It is sold exclusively at the NYC flagship on 5th Avenue through May 10th. PAPER sat down with Murakami to talk about this latest collaboration as well as his artistic transformation and the unexpected embrace of the sneakerhead community: What inspired you to create this line with Uniqlo? The Doraemon is a very famous character in the Japanese manga world. It's nationally well-known; maybe people a little bit younger than myself have grown up watching it. It's something that formed their childhood. The creator of this cartoon, Fujiko F. Fujio, is a legend. About 15 years ago, I did a collaboration with my artwork with this character, so that led to recently doing the show in collaboration with the character in Japan, and then this collaboration with Uniqlo. Why Doraemon over any other manga character? I think the world of Doraemon reflects the mentality of Japan. Doraemon was a robot from the future sent to help Nobita Nobi, who is the main character that really needs a lot of help as a child. And he's constantly helping in troublesome situations by taking out these tech gadgets from his four-dimensional pocket. Throughout all of these years, they've never grown up, and Nobi is always being helped. So, that set-up really fits the mentality of Japanese people where they can't place themselves in the larger society. They kind of never grow up, and that's why it's such a national character. One of the main things in my artwork is Japan after having lost the World War. That fits very well, and that's why I'm doing this collaboration. How does this project stand out from other work you've done before? All of the collaborations I've done before involved a live collaborator. And for this one, the creator has already passed away, so we couldn't talk about the collaboration to come up with something new. Instead I had to accept everything he has created in his lifetime and just digest it myself and then come up with something that is new now. I had to really think of that on my own, and that made a big difference. Was that a struggle, or were you able to explore more creatively? Working with someone who's passed away over working with someone who's alive is, for me, ten times more difficult. I had to spend about half a year really intensely researching his work. It's not like I was only working on this project, but I had to really get all of the information I could about the manga he drew and the animation. I had posters plastered all over my studio. And I really tried to think what was most important, what was the message for Fujio. If he were alive, I could've simply asked, "Is this what you were thinking?" and he would say yes or no, and then move on. For example, my collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, it was very smooth communication compared to this one. He said he didn't want any characters for that collaboration, but then he drew a character and said, "You drew something like this before, I want this." And then my collaboration with Virgil was even more back and forth. But, this was very different. Related | Virgil Abloh's 'Aggressively Creative' Agenda Your work is popular among the hype beast crowd. How do you think that happened? Two years ago, I participated in ComplexCon for the first time and I saw a lot of sneakerhead kids, and I realized that they're my fans. I didn't even know they existed, and it looks like these are the similar people that lined up for the product at Uniqlo here. But two years ago, that was my encounter with them. And last year when I was at ComplexCon again, I thought, "Well, maybe they're interested." So I had my own booth, merchandise, and I exhibited artwork from artists I represent, and they were really well received as well. That led to my collaboration with Virgil Abloh. We did a show in London, and yet again, it was very weird that it was all shaped by this audience at ComplexCon. So, as an artist I really wanted to be accepted by the prestigious hype group in the New York art scene. I was really determined to make it here, so when I was 31 or 32 I did my debut as an artist here. And then I ended up being active in that world and now my work is touring for museums. But, at the same time, I want to communicate with my new audience, so I want to deepen my conversation with the sneakerhead crowd. That's why I want to create more merchandise and maybe even a shop for myself. Has that NYC sneakerhead crowd influenced your work? My Instagram followers are over half from New York. It's true that ComplexCon, which although was in Long Beach and on the West Coast, has had an impact. I feel like that I'm very much influenced and motivated by the New York audience. How do you think your artwork has transformed from the beginning of your career to now? At the very beginning when I was making my debut, there was Jeff Koons and Richard Prince, and there was simulationism in New York. Then, third world artists were coming up, and I sort of rode that wave at the tail end. I debuted as one of the third-world artists, and for that reason I was trying to work with the Japanese culture. Later, I did the collaboration with Louis Vuitton, and I did more work that bridged cultures and subcultures. And then I started to have a city presence in the art world, so I wanted to start tackling the relationship between capitalism and art, the kind of things that Jeff Koons was already exploring back when he was active before me. But, just around that time, there was the financial crisis of 2008 and my company almost went bankrupt, and I barely survived that. After that, I was really determined to work with a new theme, and that was when Japan was hit the the tsunami and earthquake disaster. And from that, I took away a very religious and spiritual perspective that is very unique to Japan, and I realized that where you live and your culture really has to do with where you are and how nature affects it. What happens in your own environment really affects you. And also, as I contemplated spirituality and religion, I became very positive about narrative, which I didn't really work with before. That's why I started making feature-length films and animation. When I started out it was strictly about contemporary art and working with contemporary concepts and themes, but now I'm much more with popular culture. What's the message you want to send out with this collaboration project, and generally with your artwork? Specifically speaking, with what's happening in New York, I don't think Doraemon or the author are popular in New York. It's a very locally-themed work, but on the other hand I'm in New York and I'm becoming very popular in contemporary art and sneakerhead culture. That's not really the case at all in Shanghai or Japan, because Doraemon is huge in Japan and I'm not. But, in New York particularly, I think if people start paying attention and get intrigued into the story of not growing up, and become interested enough in reading the manga or seeing the animation, they will start to see the root of the cute emoji culture in Japan. So that is definitely one of the biggest themes for me coming to New York. Photos Courtesy of Uniqlo Back in April of 2017, Katelyn Bowden, a former bartender and current stay at home mom, received a nightmarish Facebook message, the kind that legions of women dread: an acquaintance notified her that Bowden's private photos had been posted on Anon-IB, a forum for sharing revenge porn. She had sent them ages ago, to an ex whose phone was later stolen. She then traced the photo to the porn site xHamster, and managed to contact the original poster. He admitted to stealing the phone, and had no excuses for posting the photos, only the weak justification that "people online were asking for them." So she went to the law. "I went to the police with, what I thought, was an open and shut case," she recounted over the phone from her home in Youngstown, Ohio. "I have text message evidence. I had everything I needed to prove he had uploaded these images of me, and stolen a cell phone. And they said that the only crime that was committed was the theft of the phone. And yeah, turns out there's nothing that they can do about this." Bowden described the experience as isolating. "I just became so disheartened," she said. "The police made me feel like this was my fault, and that I somehow deserve it. They said, 'If you didn't want these out there, you shouldn't have taken them in the first place.' But I'd given them to somebody that I trusted, and that I had no reason to distrust. I mean, he didn't put them out there. And was within the confines of a relationship. It's nobody's business. In my opinion, consensual does not equal universal consent for people to see it." "The police made me feel like this was my fault, and that I somehow deserve it." And so she decided that if the police couldn't help, she would try to fight back herself. Anon-IB featured threads specifically dedicated to specific towns and universities; Bowden found women she knew and started to contact them on Facebook, forming a group. "We were just grasping at straws," she said. "But it felt good to be grasping at them together." In August of 2017, that small Facebook group became the Badass Army, an advocacy group dedicated to supporting victims of revenge porn (Badass is both a descriptor and an acronym; it stands for Battling Against Demeaning and Abusive Selfie Sharing). Bowden serves as president, and, since its founding, her organization has ballooned into a nonprofit with 950 members. Members range from victims to lawyers to computer programmers the goal of Badass is to "arm victims with the tools they need to become their own advocates for justice, and provide the resources they need to regain control of their images, empower themselves, and get justice." Badass co-founder and vice president BeLinda Berry was one of the first women Bowden ever contacted. She had modeled for a photographer, a good friend, in his private studio and the portfolio was later leaked online. "At first I felt ashamed and embarrassed, and I was mostly disappointed that someone took my art, something that I was passionate about, and turned it into something that I didn't think it was," she said. "It made it feel cheap." Badass became an invaluable source of support. According to Berry, Bowden likes to joke that it's "the best club that nobody wanted to be a part of." "Consensual does not equal universal consent for people to see it." Revenge porn is a notoriously difficult crime to prosecute, with laws varying from state to state. The process of getting images taken down can take years, getting victims buried in legal fees. So Kate Venable, an Ohio lawyer who serves as Badass' attorney and secretary/treasurer, assists nearby members, and directs those out of state to local resources. Ohio is currently one of 12 states that lacks protections for adult victims for revenge porn, limiting legal options. Venable begins with using the Digital Millenium Copywright Act to push websites into taking down images (she said that Anon-IB occasionally cooperates, while Discord, an invite-only chat platform, does not). She can also help victims sue for false light invasion of privacy, and she's working with a federally-licensed attorney out of New York on a class action suit. It's all extremely challenging as University of Maryland law professor Danielle Citron recently told Wired, "Getting people to take this seriously can feel like banging your head against the wall." So, as Bowden says, Badass tries to "attack revenge porn on every level." "If the person was underage [when the photo was taken], we go through NCMEC, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as the BCI [Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation], child pornography investigators in Ohio. And each state has something similar," she explained. "We also have lawyers that will do civil lawsuits, because every state has, on the books, a tort for creating a civil lawsuit in the event of this sort of thing. And they work for us on a contingency basis, so it's not going cost the victim any money upfront, to create consequences for their abuser. We also provide mental health resources. Support. Tech support. We teach them how to get their images down. How to protect themselves from this happening again. And we connect them with law enforcement that can help." Badass provides victims with training in better cybersecurity practices, teaching members to make stronger passwords and protect sensitive iCloud accounts. Berry told me that they're developing curriculum to take into schools, focusing on consent. They're also working towards vital legislative change. On April 12th, "badasses" traveled to Columbus to testify in support of a bipartisan bill that would criminalize revenge porn in Ohio. The group is amassing hard-won victories: just last month, three men were charged with telecommunications harassment after Bowden notified a woman that her photos, taken when she was underage, were online. "Just remember that there's no shame in having a body. There's no shame in having sex." For Berry, currently writing a thesis for a double Masters degree in public health and public administration, the sense of community Badass provided was essential. "A lot of people who end up in this group end up experiencing things like PTSD and trauma," she said. "And because of the nature of revenge porn, it tends to be constant and retraumatizing." She continued, "What's great about Badass and the fact that we exist as a group on Facebook is that there are a lot of us who have been through this and so there's always somebody online to talk to. We have had a couple close calls with people making declarations of self-harm, or suicidal ideations." Emotional support is crucial for victims. On April 26th, Dutch police shut down Anon-IB, the site that originally hosted Bowden's photos. Anon-IB gained notoriety for posting hundreds of nude photos of celebrities during the famed hacking of 2014; in March, Vice News reported that there was a huge section of the site with threads specifically designated to nude photos of military service members. It's not the end as Vice notes, users will likely flock to Discordbut it is a step forward. Bowden, who dedicates 80-hour work weeks to Badass, wants victims to know that they're far from alone, that not all hope is lost. "You're not alone, and you're not helpless, even though it feels that way right now," she said. "Just remember that there's no shame in having a body. There's no shame in having sex. And it's really terrible that somebody is trying to victimize you, using those things as weapons." Photo via Getty News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. China, Russia to hold joint naval exercise this year From:ChinaDaily | 2018-04-27 00:14 BEIJING - China and Russia plan to hold a joint naval exercise in waters near the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao this year, Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry, said Thursday. The exact time, location and participating forces of the joint exercise are being discussed by Chinese and Russian military experts in their second round of consultation in Russia, Wu told a press conference. Paxton, IL (60957) Today Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 73F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low near 60F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Iranian Journalist Arrested Over Tweet Deemed Insulting To Shi'ite Imam 04/26/18 Source: RFE/RL An Iranian journalist has been arrested in Tehran over a tweet deemed insulting to Shi'ite Islam's so-called Eighth Imam. Amir Hossein Miresmaili, a reporter with the Jahane Sanat daily, was detained at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport on April 24 while trying to leave the country for Georgia, according to a news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary, which quoted an "informed security source." Iranian journalist Amir Hossein Miresmaili The Mizaonline report said Miresmaili was arrested and handed over to judiciary authorities. Miresmaili confirmed his arrest via Twitter, saying, "I've been arrested." (@amirmiresmaili) April 24, 2018 The hard-line Tasnim news agency previously reported that Miresmaili was summoned to court on April 23 for "insulting" a Shi'ite imam, a reference to the presumed descendants of the Prophet Muhammad who are revered by some Shi'a. Miresmaili said he had written the tweet in reaction to the suggestion by Mashhad Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda that holding concerts is an insult to the Shi'ite imam, known as Imam Reza. The journalist had said in a subsequently deleted tweet that Imam Reza was "one of us," suggesting that the revered religious figure would have enjoyed having fun. "I did not insult Imam Reza in that tweet. I'm a Muslim and a Shi'a and I just wanted to criticize Alamolhoda," he said on April 23. In another tweet posted on April 23, Miresmaili said he was merely trying to comment on events in Mashhad in a language that is understandable to young people. Iranian authorities routinely summon, arrest, and imprison journalists, bloggers, activists, and others for remarks regarded by the country's clerical leadership as blasphemous or otherwise offensive to Shi'ite Islam. Thousands of websites, including news and social-media sites, are also blocked by the authorities. With reporting by Mizanonline and Tasnim Extra train services during May Day holiday From:Shine | 2018-04-26 17:29 The three railway stations in Shanghai are expecting to see off 1.75 million people during the May Day break from April 28 to May 1, a 3 percentrise over last year. According to Shanghai Railway Station, the peak of passenger flow will come at April 29 as some 500,000 people leave town. In order to meet the mobility needs of travellers, 72 extra trains will be put into service. More trains will be added if the need arises. Tickets on trains going to nearby regions like Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces on the mornings of April 28 and 29 are in short supply, as are tickets heading to Beijing and Tianjin on April 28. A railway station official suggests all passengers should double check the departure station on their tickets in case they go to the wrong station and miss their train. Mixing up Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and Shanghai Railway Station is a common occurrence, the official added. Indictments Issued by Iran's Judiciary Against Dozens Of Protesters 04/27/18 Source: Radio Farda Nearly one hundred indictments have been filed against those who were detained during the unprecedented uprising that broke out in December 28, 2017, says the head of Tehran's Justice Department. A number of the detainees have been charged with "action against national security, Gholamhossein Esma'eili disclosed on Thursday, April 26. Furthermore, in his interview with judiciary's website, Mizan, Esma'eili reported that several verdicts concerning last December "riots" have already been issued. "Action against national security" is among the "vague terms" that the Islamic republic's judiciary uses to convict dissidents and protesters. The unprecedented uprising broke out on December 28 in the holiest Shi'ite location inside Iran, the city of Mashhad, and soon spread to more than 100 cities across the country. During the protests that continued for more than ten days and shocked the regime, at least 22 people were killed and 5000 were detained. The protests, which started with slogans against unemployment, high prices and poverty, turned into widespread demonstrations against "tyranny", "dictatorship" and, in many cases, in favor of monarchy and Pahlavi royal dynasty. Even in Shi'ites holy city of Qom, the stronghold of the clergy and the establishment's seminaries, protesters chanted slogans, insisting that the regretted for participating in the Islamic Revolution that ended 2500 years of monarchy in Iran, almost four decades ago. Meanwhile, numerous people, including labor and students' rights activists were also detained as a "preventive measure"; while scores of legal experts maintained that the Islamic Republic's own constitution explicitly forbids the authorities to arrest people who "might" commit a crime in "future". At least three of the detainees died behind bars and judicial authorities said that they had committed suicide, while in custody. Many local and international defenders of human rights dismissed the allegation and accused the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and judiciary's intelligence arms of torturing and killing the detainees. President Hassan Rouhani's advisor in economic affairs, Massoud Nili also cautioned that anti-regime demonstrations might flare up again. In a March 14 interview with the administration-owned daily newspaper Iran, Nili said, "Those demonstrations were a warning that further wider protests might be on the way. Next time, there may not be the chance to control them." Earlier, Rahmani Fazli had also cautioned that the roots of dissatisfaction were untouched and only a spark was needed to flare up the protests across the country. Government has dismissed claims that it is interfering with the regulatory role of the Bank of Ghana (BoG). This follows the decision to set up a committee to deal with challenges confronting some indigenous banks in meeting the new minimum capital requirement. The president has set up a committee to engage with the local banks on measures to help secure the necessary requirement before December 2018. A development some analysts have criticized. In an interview with Joy Business, Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Kwarteng said the action by government is to complement the effort of the bank in sanitizing the financial system. Government wont do anything contrary to what the Bank of Ghana regulation states, we are only trying to support the effort in cleaning the system, he said. He spoke to JoyBusiness on the sidelines of the official ceremony to rebrand HFC to Republic Bank after the Trinidad Financial firm acquired a controlling stake in the bank. Kweku Kwarteng said, Government has no intention to force the Central Bank to do what is not in their plans. On the rebranding, the deputy minister applauded the Republic Financial Holdings group for the successful acquisition. On his part, Managing Director of HFC, Anthony Jordan said the new brand will open up the banks financial portfolio to finance more business and investments. Source: Joy Business Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Thursday cut the sod for work to begin on a 5.4-kilometre road from the Tema Steel Works Junction through the offices of the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Junction in Tema. The project, being financed by the government of Ghana, is expected to be completed in 18 months. The work will be undertaken by Messrs Joshob Construction Company and Lemef Construction Limited, both local companies. A mini-durbar of the chiefs and people of the Tema Traditional Area and captains of industry was organised to herald the project. Significance The Vice-President said the project was a pilot one that could be extended to some major roads in the country, since it was cheaper building a concrete road than an asphalt road. Download and install the Graphic News App for the latest news in Ghana and digital replica's of Graphic Publications According to him, the road was selected based on its functional use by heavy duty vehicles. He said Tema had played a very important role in Ghanas economy, as the metropolis was home to major industries, for which reason it was imperative that Tema was provided with durable roads that would link industries to the port and other parts of the country. There are heavy industries along the Tema Steel Works road. The road is at present in very poor condition and was serving as a disincentive to the industries situated along it. Consequently, it has become necessary for the government to address the poor nature of the road and ensure that roads in the industrial hub are in good condition. It is the expectation of the government that if the road is very well constructed and properly maintained, it should last a period of 40 years, he said. Agenda Dr Bawumia said the Accra-Tema Motorway, which is Ghanas first major road constructed in concrete to purposely link the harbour city of Tema with Accra, had survived above its design lifespan of 40 years. He said as part of the government transformational agenda, it was going to construct concrete roads across the country to address the poor road network and aso reduce the burden of constantly sourcing funds to maintain roads. Sustenance He urged the Ministry of Roads and Highways to sustain its policy direction to use concrete as a preferred pavement feature for heavy-axle roads. He further asked it to undertake research with regard to the use of local materials such as cement, aggregates and sand in road construction, with the aim of reducing cost incurred in constructing concrete roads. It is imperative to train young and upcoming engineers and contractors in the use of concrete as a pavement option in order to sustain the policy direction of the government aimed at improving road infrastructure, he said. Dr Bawumia appealed to Ghanaians to desist from activities that tended to reduce the lifespan of roads. He mentioned overloading of vehicles, washing of vehicles on roads, unauthorised cutting or trenching across roads, driving on the shoulders of roads and the construction of unauthorised speed humps as some of the negative practices. Advantages The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, said although the initial cost of concrete roads was relatively high, it was more economical, compared to asphalt roads, over a period of not less than 40 years. He said the advantages associated with concrete roads, such as durability, safety, low carbon monoxide emission, less fuel consumption, resistance to oil spillage from vehicles, among others, far outweighed those of asphaltic and surface dressed roads. He tasked the contractors undertaking the project to work to schedule and deliver quality, since the ministry will not tolerate shoddy work. Ghanaians deserve value for money being spent, he emphasised. Relief The Deputy Minister of Transport and NPP Member of Parliment for Tema East, Mr Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover, observed that when the work was completed, it would bring relief to commuters. While expressing appreciation for the Steel Works-DVLA-TOR road project, he called for the fast-tracking of processes on the proposed construction of an alternative road from the Valco Roundabout to Tema Manhean to reduce travel time and assess to social services. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ethiopias new premier announced his intention to amend the countrys constitution to the effect that terms of office for the Prime Minister will be two terms. Abiy Ahmed told thousands who welcomed him in the Hawassa capital of the Southern regional state, that he was committed to deepening democratic reforms in the country. The trip was part of the countrywide tour that Abiy undertook upon taking office on April 2. Any leader of the country will not serve in office beyond two terms following the amendment on the constitution Abiy said. The current constitution stipulates that the term of office for the Prime Minister is unlimited. Ethiopia uses a parliamentary system of government where the party with majority seats in parliament nominates a prime minister. Abiy commended his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn, for resisting the temptation to cling to power. Desalegn resigned his position as prime minister and chairman of the ruling EPRDF coalition in February. Hailemariam resigned at a time when he can contribute a lot for his country, however, there are leaders who refuse to leave office though they have to retire. The prime minister also responded to various questions raised by participants regarding infrastructure, good governance, corruption, and gender equality among others. He pledged to prioritise the fight against theft and corruption, improve empowerment of women and fill infrastructure gaps after necessary studies have been conducted to understand the needs. Source: africanews.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Parliamentary Christian Fellowship has condemned moves to force Ghana to legalise homosexuality. I write on behalf of the Christian Community in the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to convey our total disapproval or attempts to promote and pressurise the government of Ghana to accept lesbianism, Gayism, Bisexual and Transgender practices (LGBT) as human rights, President of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah indicated in a statement. United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister, Theresa May, recently urged Commonwealth nations including Ghana to overhaul outdated" anti-gay laws and said the U.K. "deeply regrets" its role in the legacy of violence and discrimination. Ms. May drew cheers and applause when she told delegates at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that "nobody should face discrimination or persecution because of who they are or who they love". Campaigners have urged Ms. May to intervene over the colonial-era legislation affecting millions of LGBTQI people, as same-sex relations are still illegal in 36 Commonwealth countries. The move was welcomed by campaigners, but pressure remains on Commonwealth leaders to take action. Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta and Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni have stated publicly in interviews with international media that their countries are not in support of LGBTQI rights. Some groups and individuals have kicked against accepting LGBTQI in Ghana and the latest to reject LGBTQI is Christian MPs. The Parliamentary Christian Fellowship noted that: It is common knowledge that such abominable practices have no place in our cultural norms as Africans. It is also true that quite apart from Christianity none of the known Religions in Ghana accepts these practices as normal human behaviour. The forbearers and founding fathers of our dear nation have great respect for the countrys value systems and under no circumstance should we betray their legacy, toil and trust by allowing a rather backward practice using the legislative arm of government. The dynamism of any culture should positively impact on its existence and not to lead to its destruction. They are, therefore, appealing to H.E the President of the Republic Ghana, not to allow any form of pressure being exerted on him and his government to introduce and or sponsor a bill to parliament for the legalisation of any indecent practice that the vast majority of Ghanaians frown upon. I also urge the President to be resolute and reject in whole all enticement, juicy promises and pressures from the west to accept this, dehumanising practice let alone forward same to the highly respected Parliament of Ghana for consideration. It is imperative that the President follows the examples of his predecessors by publicly stating the collective will of the people of Ghana. The legislators further pointed out that: The good book states in Matthew 16: 13 that: ... lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Let it not be said that it is the current Parliament or any other Parliament in the future that would lead our dear country into temptation. We will support any bill that seeks to promote the dignity of our culture, health and prosperity or humankind. It is our believe that people with such tendencies towards same sex deserve assistance and deliverance from trained professionals and fervent prayer. We cannot afford to compromise the future of our nation. Source: classfmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video What's coming to the former Hhgregg at the Hamdpen Commons shopping center in Hampden Township? Good stuff, cheap. That's right, the "buyout" specialist, Ollie's Bargain Outlet will open in the former Hhgregg space at 5800 Carlisle Pike. Ollie's will be relocating from the store at 6040 Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township, which is just a short walk away. The new Mechanicsburg-area store is expected to open by the end of September. Ollie's is moving to the new location because it is larger by about 10,000 square feet, and more visible, according to Jerry Altland, vice president of real estate at Ollie's. Ollie's typically sells overstocked or old packaged items, and products from liquidations, selling them in their warehouse-style stores at low prices. The Lower Paxton Township-based chain has 275 stores. Hhgregg announced the closing of several midstate stores last March before the entire chain eventually went out of business. There have been a number of changes in this area of the Carlisle Pike. Two other stores at Hampden Commons are vacant. Staples closed earlier this year and Dick's Sporting Goods closed its store at Hampden Commons and relocated to the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township. A nearby K-mart closed last year and was redeveloped. A Steinmart and a HomeGoods/Marshalls combo store opened last year in that space and a Hobby Lobby is expected to open next door to Steinmart later this year while a Metro Diner is also expected to open nearby. The search for four suspects wanted in connection with the killing of an elderly man in West Virginia focused upon the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Luzerne County after the suspects allegedly used the victim's credit card. As the Citizens Voice reports, Pa. state police captured the four suspects Thursday in a Mohegan Sun Pocono hotel room. They were found with guns, drugs, counterfeiting equipment and the victim's personal documents, the newspaper writes, adding: The suspects were identified as: Elizabeth Ann Chinn, 32, of South Point, Ohio; Elizabeth Victoria Hartley, 35, of Grafton, West Virginia; Moriah Lari Weaver, 42, of Fairmount; and Glenn Richard Weaver, 25, of Morgantown. The four are wanted in connection with the killing of Timothy Pahl. Pahl, 67, was found dead in his Morgantown, West Virginia, home on Tuesday. Deputies say Pahl sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen during the shooting, which appeared to have taken place Sunday afternoon. Pahl's home had been burglarized and the thieves stole his 2017 GMC Sierra pickup, credit cards, guns and other personal belongings, the newspaper wrote. Pahl's cards had been used at a number of businesses in Luzerne County, including the casino, on Monday and Tuesday, troopers told the Citizens Voice. Investigators eventually learned the four suspects were staying at room 504 of the casino hotel. They then conducted surveillance before raiding the room to successfully make the arrests Wednesday afternoon. Compiled by Stephanie Sadowski | ssadowski@pennlive.com Spring has finally arrived after an endless winter, and that means festival season is upon us. You've got choices in May from the Dillsburg Picklefest, ArtsFest, Pennsylvania Greek Festival, Army Heritage Days, Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, Zenkaikon and the final May Day Fairie Festival, just to name a few. Don't Edit Daniel Zampogna | dzampogna@pennlive.com May Day Fairie Festival The main attractions are the fairie craft activities, fairie and other nature spirit environments to explore, fairie and gnome habitat tours in the woods, fairie tea parties and guest appearances. Includes more than 70 arts and crafts vendors, performances by musicians, dancers and storytellers, participatory maypole dancing and food vendors. Costumes encouraged and pets allowed (on a leash). May 4-6 at Spoutwood Farm, 4255 Pierceville Road, Glen Rock. Hours: noon-6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission: $20 ages 13 and older; $5 ages 3-12 on Saturday and Sunday. All kids, ages 12 and younger, are free on Childrens Day -- May 4. Discounts available with Early Bird Pricing through April 27. Info: www.spoutwood.org or 717-235-6610. Don't Edit Don't Edit Zenkaikon 2018 10 a.m. May 4, 9 a.m. May 5-6, Lancaster County Convention Center. Convention celebrates anime, comics, games, science fiction and fandom. Programming includes workshops, screenings, concerts, cosplay, video gaming, tabletop gaming, dances, vendors and artists. Guests include Phil LaMarr (Futurama, Samurai Jack, Justice League, MadTV), Sarah Wiedenheft (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Interviews with Monster Girls, Orange), Quinton Flynn (Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, Bleach, Metal Gear), Jad Saxton (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Wolf Children), and Jessica Calvello (Attack on Titan, Excel Saga, Street Fighter V), along with many others. $60 (full weekend); $50 (Saturday/Sunday); $25 (Sunday only). zenkaikon.com. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Eastern National Antiques Show & Sale A general show, it features more than 70 dealers from 20 states offering fine jewelry, furniture, clocks and watches, vintage posters, art, prints and maps, books dolls, toys and games, tools, quilts, vintage clothing and selected collectibles. This year is the 63rd annual event. May 4-5 at Carlisle Expo Center, 100 K St. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission: $8 ages 12 and older (good for both days). Parking is free. Info: easternnationalantiques.com. Don't Edit Rosefest Rites of Spring Festival 11 a.m. May 4-6 at Majestic Theatre. 11 bands over three days. The festival features some of today's best progressive acts from all over the world. Performing bands include District 97, Brand X, Cell 15, Perfect Beings, Barock Project, Threshold, Valdez, Lines in the Sky, Flor De Loto, and PFM. $236 3-days. gettysburgmajestic.org. Don't Edit Fort Halifax Festival The Friends of Fort Halifax Park will host its 15th annual Fort Halifax Festival. Experience life in Colonial America next to the Susquehanna River. The day will be filled with fun entertainment and education opportunities for the whole family, including various food, entertainment, French and Indian War reenactments, living history presentations, archaeology, arts and craft demonstrations and vendors, 18th-century games, programs by master gardeners, early American games, fife and drum music, and hay rides. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 5 at Fort Halifax Park, 570 N. River Road, Halifax. Free admission. Info: www.forthalifaxpark.org/festival.html, 717-599-9701. Don't Edit JOE HERMITT | jhermitt@pennlive.com Carlisle AMANI Festival 9 a.m.-4 p.m. May 5 in downtown Carlisle. Held to celebrate diversity of central Pennsylvania. There will be music and dance performances, more then 70 food and craft vendors, a Children's Alley of activities (near Bosler Library), a Pet Path, and more than 30 vendors of food, community agencies, and arts and crafts. Entertainment includes Los Monstros, John Byrne, and Chinese Cultural Art Institute. The festival is usually held along High Street, between Pitt and Hanover streets. amanifestivalcarlisle.com Don't Edit Fort Hunter Garden Faire 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 6 at Fort Hunter Park, 5300 N. Front St., Susquehanna Twp. Free admission. Includes more than 40 vendors offering plants, crafts and an art show and sale. There will be exhibits on Victorian daily life, music and dancing, Maypole dancing, cake walks, childrens activities; a bonsai display, needle works exhibit, native plant and butterfly demonstrations, and food. Tours of the mansion for a fee ($7 adults; $6 seniors; $4 students/children). Info: www.forthunter.org or 717-599-5751. Don't Edit Don't Edit Edward S. Finkelstein Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival The festival opens at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Jewish Community Center, 3301 N. Front St., Harrisburg, and continues through May 17 at the Midtown Cinema, 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. The opening film will be Keep the Change, a romantic comedy that evolved from a program for autistic adults at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center. Two of the stars of the film -- Brandon Polansky and Samantha Elisofon -- will be in attendance. Arrive at 6:15 for a reception. There are 12 films in the festival, including Bombshell: the Hedy Lamarr Story. Bombshell will be followed by a Q&A with Alexandra Dean, writer, producer and director of the documentary, and Carrie Rickey, star of the film. Director LeeAnn Dance will appear with her picture "My Dear Children." Check the website for the schedule of film festival and all the special events. Tickets: $15 for the opening event; $8.50 to $10 at Midtown Cinema. Details: hbgjff.wordpress.com, 717-756-9216. Don't Edit Dillsburg PickleFest 8 a.m.-3 p.m. May 12 around Greenbriar Lane and Publick Tyme at Dills Tavern. Activities along Greenbrier Lane will include a street fair with crafts and other vendors, a farmers market, a bounce house and other childrens entertainment, music, a pickle-eating contest (noon), art displays and a flower sale. Food is available, including pickle soup and pickle ice cream. The "Publick Tyme" takes place 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Dills Tavern, 227 N. Baltimore St. This includes historical displays and demonstrations, tours, reenactors and encampments. Info: www.dillsburg.com, 717-432-9969. Press: picklefest@dillsburg.com. Don't Edit BrewFest May 12 at Mount Hope Estate & Winery, Route 72 and turnpike Exit 266, near Cornwall. Two sessions offered: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-8:30 p.m. Regular admission: $50 in advance; $55 at the gate. Designated driver admission: $25 in advance; $30 at the gate. Use a sampling glass to taste a variety of beers from different breweries (at least 40) from across the country. There also will be complimentary food, speakers, merchant demonstrations, homebrew competition and music. There will be additional food available for purchase. Absolutely no one under age 21 will be admitted. This year marks the 10th annual event. Info: www.parenfaire.com/brewfest/index.php, 717-665-7021. Don't Edit Hershey ArtFest & Flower Show 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 12 in and around Cocoa Avenue, downtown Hershey. This arts and craft show will host 150 juried exhibitors. This year, there will be an expanded entertainment schedule and larger children's area, food court, and multiple entertainment stages. Participating artists include a variety of media including fine art, glass art, jewelry, photography, children's art, and crafts. Free admission. Info: http://hersheyartfest.org. Don't Edit Olde York Street Fair 12:30-6 p.m. May 13 in and around Continental Square, downtown York (Market and George streets). Features more than 100 vendors of handmade arts and crafts; a Kid's Fun Block with bounce houses, games and face painting; plus other entertainment. Fifty percent of all food vendor proceeds will support local non-profit organizations. Ticket sales in the Kid's Fun Block will support York City Special Events. Free admission and parking is free on surrounding streets and in the Philadelphia and King Street garages. Info: yorkcity.org/oldeyorkstreetfair. Don't Edit Don't Edit Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival May 17-20 at Granite Hill Camping Resort, 3340 Fairfield Road. Admission varies. More than two dozen artists will perform and offer workshops. There also will be food, arts and crafts and other merchandise. Bands will include Soggy Bottom Boys, The Steeldrivers, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. Info: www.gettysburgbluegrass.com, 800-642-8368. Don't Edit Pennsylvania Greek Fest 11 a.m.-8 p.m. May 18-19; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. May 20, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1000 Yverdon Drive, Wormleysburg. Free admission. This popular, annual event features traditional ethnic folk dances and music by the Olympic Flames dance troupe, tours of the church, vendors offering Greek gift items, a Greek grocery, as well as homemade Greek cuisine and pastries. Featured foods will include paklava sundaes, saganaki, pastitsio, souvlaki and spanikopita. Info: www.pagreekfest.org, 717-763-7441. Don't Edit Army Heritage Days 2018 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 19-20 at U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle. The theme this year is the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War. There will be a Tet-focused lecture, displays and special programs, as well as an increase of equipment and reenactors at the Vietnam fire support base on the Army Heritage Trail. As always, Army Heritage Days will encompass the history of the Army and the development of the American soldier from pre-French and Indian War to current operations. The tanks and tank obstacle course will return. Free admission and parking. usahec.org. Don't Edit Taste of Jazz 2018 2 p.m. May 20 at Whitaker Center. The fourth annual Taste of Jazz presents renowned jazz ensemble Pieces of a Dream, along with a musical revue of jazz and Broadway standards performed by Harrisburg choral organization CAMA ON BROADWAY. Pieces of a Dream is known for its signature fusion of jazz, R&B, funk, pop and blues. CAMA ON BROADWAY present the best of Broadway as well as jazz standards arranged by iconic writers and composers. $65. whitakercenter.org/events/detail/a-taste-of-jazz-2018, 717-433-8056. Don't Edit Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals May 18-20 at Carlisle Fairgrounds, 1000 Bryn Mawr Road. Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $10 Friday-Saturday; $7 Sunday; $15 three-day pass. Ages 12 and younger are free. There is a fee for parking. Showcasing more than 1,200 classic and high-performance vehicles from different countries and manufacturers. Displays include Aston Martins, Jaguars, Toyota Supra, and Nissan 240SX. Also includes a Ms. Carlisle IPN beauty contest and the Kids at Carlisle Activity Center (Saturday). Info: www.carlisleevents.com, 717-243-7855. Don't Edit Don't Edit Union Canal Days 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 19; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. May 20 at Union Canal Tunnel Hill Park, North 25th Street and Union Canal Drive, Lebanon. $4 per car. Take a narrated tour through the oldest transportation tunnel in the United States during the 28th annual Union Canal Days. There also will be exhibitors and vendors -- including antique dealers -- a flower booth, basket raffle table, children's games, food and music. Info: www.lebanoncountyhistoricalsociety.org, 717-272-1473. Don't Edit Provided photo The Great PA FlavorFest 11 a.m.-5 p.m. May 26-27 at Mount Hope Estate & Winery, Route 72 and turnpike Exit 266, near Cornwall. Free admission and parking. Offers free wine tastings from more than 20 wineries, cooking demonstrations by area culinary experts, specialty foods for sampling and sale, artisans demonstrating their crafts, live music, and a children's area. Info: www.parenfaire.com/flavorfest/index.php or 717-665-7021 Don't Edit ArtsFest of Greater Harrisburg May 26-28 along Riverfront Park, Harrisburg. Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday. Admission is free. The 51st annual Artsfest features more than 250 juried artists and craftspeople from across the United States and Canada. In addition to handcrafted works in 16 categories, there is musical entertainment, a Kidsfest, FilmFest and gourmet and festival-type food. Info: www.artsfesthbg.com, 717-238-5180. Don't Edit Looking for more things to do? Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Los Angeles Times The new son of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is named Louis Arthur Charles, more formally referred to as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge, a moniker whose history weighs more than the baby. "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles," Kensington Palace announced Friday. While no official breakdown behind Prince Louis' name was given, among other things it appears to acknowledge Lord Mountbatten, born Prince Louis of Battenburg in 1900. A beloved mentor of Prince Charles, he was assassinated in 1979 by the Irish Republican Army. Louis -- pronounced "LOO-ee" -- is also one of big brother Prince George's middle names, while dad William's middle names include Arthur and Louis. Arthur is one of grandpa Charles' middle names. When the new prince was born, among bookies the odds-on favorite for his name was Albert. WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is welcoming Team USA Olympic athletes to the White House. Trump applauded the athletes gathered Friday morning on the north portico and congratulated them on their medals. President Donald Trump jokes with Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Redmond Gerard during an event with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Teams at the White House, Friday, April 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Several members of the U.S. team, including Gus Kenworthy, Adam Rippon (of Clarks Summit, north of Scranton, who was in Hershey last week with Stars on Ice), Nathan Chen and Lindsey Vonn, had said they wouldn't go to the White House if invited. On Twitter, Rippon explained his absence. Olympians from the 2018 Games have been invited to go to the White House today. I will not be going. I will not stand with people who discriminate against those that they perceive as different. In lieu of going to DC, I have donated to a few of my favorite causes https://t.co/qDXqswTHdF Adam Rippon (@Adaripp) April 27, 2018 In subsequent tweets, Rippon (who will be appearing on "Dancing with the Stars") detailed the causes: GLAAD, Planned Parenthood and the American Red Cross. If you want to join me and youre able to give a little, go for it! I think when were able to help each other out and do what we can to lift each other up, thats when were truly making America great Adam Rippon (@Adaripp) April 27, 2018 Trump also talked about the crowds who attended the Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Trump says the numbers "were not looking good" until things changed. He says, "I think you know why." Hosting Olympic athletes is a decades-old tradition at the White House. There have been notable absences over the years regardless of who is in office. Rippon is the only man to win back-to-back World Junior titles, the 2016 US men's figure skating champion, the first openly gay American to qualify for a winter Olympics and the oldest American figure skater (at 28) since 1936 to make his Olympic debut. He is also the winner of the bronze medal in men's figure skating at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, a contestant for the upcoming "Dancing With the Stars" season on ABC and was named this month to the 100 most influential people in 2018 list compiled by Time. Rippon also made headlines for stating he wouldn't go "out of his way" to meet with Vice President Mike Pence before he competed in the Olympic games, and that Pence "doesn't stand for anything that I really believe in," as reported by CNN. Photos: Adam Rippon at the Giant Center in Hershey For more on Rippon: Kathmandu, April 27 Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation, has issued a diffusion notice against the leader of a Nepali gold smuggling racket, Chudamani Upreti aka Gore. After 33.5 kg gold that police already confiscated disappeared and a person was killed in connection with this case, an investigation launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Nepal Police has found that Upreti would smuggle gold in cahoots with senior police officials. The probe team suspected that Upreti is currently abroad, therefore Nepal Police recommended Interpol for the diffusion notice. Now, police organisations of 192 counties, which are members of Interpol, will launch a search for Upreti. In the second week of January this year, 33.5 kg gold smuggled to Nepal from the United Arab Emirates had gone missing without reaching its owner. Later, it was found that its mule Sanam Shakya was murdered. Later, the investigation claimed that police, under the request of Upreti, covered details about the murder as well as the smuggling. It is also said that Upreti himself planned the murder. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo on Thursday said his office would be unlikely to file criminal charges from a Harrisburg fire that killed a 3-year-old girl because the child was home alone due to an "honest miscommunication between caregivers." The girl's mother had been cooking breakfast for a 5-year-old child at their home in the 2300 block of Logan Street Monday morning, when the child said he would just eat at school, Chardo said. The mother then walked her son to the bus stop, without realizing that she forgot to turn off the stove. Willow Meanwhile, she thought another adult was at home with her sleeping 3-year-old girl, Willow Williams. As it turned out, that person had left for work earlier that morning. When the mother returned home about 10 minutes later, the food had already ignited on the stove and spread beyond the kitchen. Black smoke was billowing out of the upstairs windows, where the girl's bedroom was when neighbors called 911. Firefighter Nate Martin told PennLive that firefighters prepared for a rescue as they rushed to the burning home. He donned his facepiece so he could run directly into the house and the driver on his truck agreed to throw ladders up against the windows. When they arrived just before 8 a.m., Martin ran to the hysterical mother in the street and asked where the child was located inside the home. "Second floor, second door off the stairwell," the mother told him. Martin then charged through the front door into the first-floor of the house, which was filled with thick, black, turbulent smoke. Visibility was zero. Another firefighter working inside had not yet found the stairs and Martin knew they had no time to spare. He ran outside and jumped directly onto the ladder that had been set up by the driver. He broke a second-floor window and climbed into a bedroom churning with smoke and intense heat. Martin felt his way across the room and found a bed. He didn't feel anyone on the bed. He continued to feel his way across the room, intending to make his way into the hall to find the room where he had been told the girl had been sleeping. But conditions inside quickly deteriorated. Other firefighters broke out another window in the bedroom and Martin told them to stay put, while he pushed deeper into the house to try to find the child. Martin searched using his hands, but the heat was nearing the point where the room was going to flashover in flames. If that happened, Martin said, "even with my equipment, I wasn't going to be able to survive." The little girl trapped inside the home had no such equipment to protect her. Martin knew the situation was dire but he had no choice. Harrisburg Firefighter Nate Martin visited a man he helped save from a burning building last year. He crawled back out the same window he entered and climbed down the ladder, where he saw Lt. Jeremy Saul exit the front door "looking terribly burned up." They wanted so desperately to find the girl but the conditions inside were unforgiving. That's when Martin noticed firefighters inside the house had reached the second floor with their fire hose, so Martin jumped on the ladder and climbed back into the room which was still filled with smoke but now had the cooling benefit of some water. That's when Martin and two other firefighters found Willow in the same front room where he had been before. Her body was under some collapsed drywall and blankets about four feet away from the bed. But it was too late to save her. The coroner later ruled she died from smoke inhalation. Firefighters believe she went into her mother's room, looking for help after the fire broke out. Martin exited the window again to relay the bad news in person to his superiors on the second-floor porch. He didn't want to blurt it out over the radio. That's when broken glass from the third floor rained down onto him, causing a deep gash on his right hand near his index finger. The wound wouldn't stop bleeding, so Martin was told he had to leave the scene. Saul also had to go to a hospital to get treatment for burns to his ear, shoulder and leg. There wasn't anything else he or his colleagues could do to help Willow, so Martin went to the hospital, where he got five stitches to close his wound. The rescue attempt in a fully engulfed home represented Martin's second in two years. He and the late Lt. Dennis DeVoe rescued a man from behind a wall of flames last year. But this rescue didn't turn out like he wanted. "Sometimes our most is just a little too late," Martin said. Willow's family and neighbors who lost everything when flames spread to their home both have online fundraisers to help pay the unexpected expenses from the tragedy. Three of the nine candidates seeking to be Pennsylvania's next lieutenant governor outlined their platforms Thursday night in Harrisburg. Democrat John Fetterman, Braddock mayor in Allegheny County who attracted a lot of attention in his 2016 senatorial primary, said he wants to take his platform that improved Braddock statewide. "I have made the care and advancement of a community of color that has been marginalized my central focus," said the four-term mayor. "I'm running for lieutenant governor because I want to take it all across Pennsylvania for all the communities that have been marginalized, that deserve better than they're getting," Fetterman told an audience of about 50. The forum was organized by the Greater Harrisburg Area Branch NAACP and partner groups. Fetterman is one of five Democrats and four Republicans in the race for lieutenant governor. Also attending were Democrat Kathi Cozzone, a Chester County commissioner and Democrat Raymond Sosa of Montgomery County, president of Round Hills Investments and Services and a career banker and insurance agent. Fetterman touted his successes in Braddock, like the its record of five-and-a-half years without a murder. "The police force treated the community with respect and not as an occupying force," he said. In 2001, he said created an out of school youth program, and since then has helped 1,000 young people earn GEDs. He said there are persuadable Democrats, and said votes can't be left on the table. "Chances are if it's a policy you care about, Mr. Wagner wants to get rid of it," Fetterman said. "We must turn Pennsylvania blue, and that means getting Gov. Wolf re-elected." Cozzone said the main reason she's running is because for the last decade, the state "decimated funding to counties for the most vulnerable. We need a seat at the table and a voice in the executive branch of government." As a minority commissioner, she said she can be partner of Gov. Wolf to work across the aisle. She believes the next lieutenant governor should be a woman, and she said she's the only woman in race who has been elected to public office. She said she advocates increasing the minimum wage, and will increase workforce development training. She would continue initiatives to reduce non-violent mentally ill people in jails. Sosa said he's poised to step into the role of lieutenant governor, since he has 14 years' experience in government positions. He was appointed by three different governors to lead districts in coordinating emergency management and response, and was chairman of the governor's human rights advocacy committee for 10 years, Sosa wants to bring greater diversity to state government, and would like to be the first Latino lieutenant governor in the state. His platform includes: Compulsory education for those in prison, funding help for public education, help for farm subsidies, increase in state funding for education, greater access to health care, and an end to gerrymandering. The lieutenant governor candidates not attending were: Incumbent Democrat Mike Stack of Philadelphia County. Democrat Nina Ahmad, former top assistant to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. Republican Jeff Bartos, a Montgomery County developer running with Sen. Scott Wagner. Republican Diane Irey Vaughan a Washington County commissioner running with Allegheny County business consultant Paul Mango. Republican Marguerite "Peg" Luksik, of Cambria County, a pro-life crusader who previously ran for statewide office. Republican Kathleen Coder, a management consultant from Allegheny County. 10th District race In the race for U.S. representative in the 10th District, four Democrats are facing off against incumbent GOP Rep. Scott Perry, who is unopposed. Two of them attended the forum: George Scott and Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson, both of York County. George Scott, an ordained Lutheran minister, served as an Army officer for 20 years. Although not addressed at the forum, Scott has a TV commercial in which he burns an automatic rifle and calls for a ban on "assault rifles meant for war" and mandatory background checks. At the forum he did say he will work to protect the community "from the plague of gun violence." He said he's running "to defeat Scott Perry and get Congress back to work for you and the other voters of this district." He advocates creating affordable and accessible health care, good jobs with living wages and high-quality public schools. Scott said he will "work for you to hold President Trump accountable when he and his administration go outside the law." Asked whether he supports legalizing of marijuana, Scott said he believes the negatives outweigh the positives, but believes the penalty should be equivalent to a parking ticket. Corbin-Johnson, a Georgetown University graduate and York County native, worked for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and in the Office of Management and Budget. Her goals are to provide good public education for all, universal health care, bring good jobs to the area, and preserve social security and pensions. "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue - it's about making sure our values are rep on Capitol Hill." She charged that Perry is funded by the Koch brothers and NRA. "I'm here to fight for you," she said. The other Democrats are Eric Ding and Alan Howe of Cumberland County. 105th District race A new representative will be chosen in the 105th District in Dauphin County, where long-time Rep. Ron Marsico is retiring. Democrat and community activist Eric Epstein, 58, of Lower Paxton Township, is unopposed in the primary. He says redistricting can be done with computer software, to keep politics out of the process. He also advocates part-time legislators, and said he won't take a salary higher than the 1995 level, and no pension, per diems or health care. "Until legislators live like the rest of the people we're not going to make laws like rest of people," Epstein said. For the opioid crisis, he said "we need treatment that works," with followup and job training. In November he can expect to face one of two Republicans who are vying for the nomination: Andrew Lewis, COO of Tradesman Building Group in Lower Paxton Township, and Adam G. Klein, an attorney and former chairman of the West Hanover Township supervisors, who did not attend. Lewis, an Army veteran, said he would work to make Pennsylvania first in the nation in job growth and opportunity. "Government works for us, not the other way around," Lewis said, and said less fighting and acrimony is needed in the state. He advocates cutting taxes and eliminating regulations that kill jobs, term limits, school choice, and conservative values. Regarding the opioid crisis, Lewis said different communities need solutions tailored to their needs. 106th District race The three candidates running in the 106th District in Dauphin County were all in attendance. GOP incumbent Thomas Mehaffie, 46, of Lower Swatara Township, is unopposed in the primary in his bid for second term. Mehaffie said he advocates looking at non-traditional ways to battle heroin and other addictions. He also supports more funding for early childhood, including a bill to require day cares to display their ratings. He said he has helped bring UPS's largest distribution center in the northeast to the area, which will provide 1,200 jobs. Two Democrats are vying for the nomination: Jill Linta of Lower Swatara Township, is chairwoman of the Gov. Pinchot Group of the Sierra Club and a legal observer and coordinator with the National Lawyers Guild of Central Pa. Linta said she wants to hold lawmakers accountable, and opposes gerrymandering that keeps those in power. She advocates early voting, and said reform is needed to ensure people aren't being turned away at the polls. "The criminal justice system is racist and broken," she said, and describes herself as a champion of LGBTQ rights. "The war on drugs is a failure," and has left millions in jail, she said. "Any blue just won't do," Linta said. Her Democratic opponent, Robert Myers III of Derry Township, who works for an engineering firm providing environmental planning and transportation services for the public and private sectors, said he will work to come up with innovate solutions in government. Myers said he is running "because I see inequality," citing the death of a friend who was one of the "working poor." He will fight against income inequality, which will improve communities and diversity, and supports the eventual rise of minimum wage to $15. 104th District Sue Helm, the Republican seeking a seventh term in the 104th District, is unopposed in the primary. The 104th includes Harrisburg suburbs in Dauphin County and a small portion of Lebanon County. Helm, in her 12th year, said she has endorsed reducing the size of the legislature, and believes with modern technology it can be done. The opioid crisis has to be addressed, Helm said, such as recent effort to help grandparents raise their grandchildren. She supports education funding to ensure students can get a good job when they graduate or go to college. Helm said she helped PSECU move its headquarters to Dauphin County, providing 500 jobs, and stopped a shooting range to train Capitol police from being located between two private schools. Instead, it was located at HACC. In November her challenger appears to be Patricia Ann Smith of Dauphin County, a certified public manager, who is unopposed in the primary. Smith said she's running because "government is broken - it doesn't work for the people, for people like me." Smith said she will fight to raise the minimum wage higher than $7.25. "You can't raise a family on that, you can't get sick on that," she said. She would like to see free community college for residents, as some states have, and believes teachers are underpaid. Smith believes citizen groups should draw redistricting maps, to keep legislators out of the process. 103rd District Patty Kim, the Democratic incumbent unopposed in her nomination bid for a fourth term in the 103rd state house district, cited her three "Es" in her platform: Quality education, expungement and economic empowerment. On expungement, Kim said Senate Bill 166 allows non-violent ex-offenders who are crime-free for 10 years to get their record expunged, and said her office has helped 500 people with the process. She advocates raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2024. Not attending was Anthony Harrell, who is seeking the GOP nomination. 48th District In the 48th state senate district, which includes Lebanon County and parts of Dauphin and York counties, GOP incumbent Mike Folmer and Democrat Lois Herr are each unopposed in the primary. Herr describes herself as a "change agent" who works inside organizations. She is a member of Mount Gretna Borough Council and is chairwoman of the Lebanon County Democratic Committee. "I want to see more women in the senate," Herr said, saying there are now only seven. Regarding the opioid crisis, Herr said we need to ensure the supply dries up and the medical community is helping in that regard. Herr said another revenue stream needs to be found for education funding, and said there needs to be equity. Dealing with how communities are affected by climate change is another of her concerns. Folmer, 61, who is seeking his fourth term, did not attend the forum. He chairs the Senate State Government Committee and is vice chairman of the Education Committee. The candidates' forum was sponsored by the Greater Harrisburg Area Branch NAACP along with the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Pennsylvania, Common Cause of Pennsylvania, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Development Institute, Interdenominational Ministers Conference, League of Women Voters of the Harrisburg area and the African American Ministerial Alliance of Steelton. WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Pennsylvania Republican who used taxpayer money to settle a former aide's sexual harassment charges has abruptly resigned from Congress. Congressman Patrick Meehan had already decided not to seek re-election. Meehan resigned Friday, saying he'll repay the government $39,000 he used to help settle the allegation against him. Meehan says in a resignation letter that his decision is in the best interest of constituents and will avoid the "rigors" and expense of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. But he says he believes he would have been exonerated. The complaint against the married lawmaker was revealed by news reports in January. He described the woman in an interview as a "soulmate" and said he'd never sought a romantic relationship with her. Meehan has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2011. The district represents parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County along with portions of Chester County, Montgomery County, Berks County, and Lancaster County. Bill Cosby lost another of his honorary degrees on Friday, this one from the college where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1971 and served as a trustee for 32 years. In light of a Montgomery County Temple University's board of trustees on Friday accepted the university's recommendation to rescind the honorary degree it bestowed upon Cosby in 1991. This action comes on the heels of Carnegie Mellon University's decision that it too was rescinding the honorary degree it awarded him in 2007. "Carnegie Mellon University has long had a clear and unwavering commitment: The university will not tolerate sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking or sexual harassment. These acts are against the law and violate our core values," said university spokeswoman Julie Mattera. Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins also decided to rescind the honorary degrees they had awarded the entertainer following the guilty verdict. West Chester University on Thursday, at the request of a university vice president, began the process of rescinding Cosby's honorary degree from there, university spokeswoman Nancy Gainer. Other schools that have taken away his honorary degree status since the sexual assault scandal began in 2015 when unsealed court documents first revealed Cosby's admission to extramarital affairs with some of his accusers, include Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Tufts University, Goucher College, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Fordham, Marquette, Baylor, Brown, and Swarthmore College. Cosby's alma mater, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he earned his master's and doctorate degrees in education, also has cut ties with him. PITTSBURGH -- Pants unbuckled, Terrell Edmunds ran out of the green room bathroom at AT&T Stadium Thursday night. His older brother, Trey Edmunds, had warned him not to go, but he was going to be right back. "No worries," Edmunds told the New Orleans Saints running back. Between washing and drying his hands, though, the phone began to ring next to the sink. Mike Tomlin was on the other line to tell he would be the Steelers' first round pick at No. 28 overall. "I was so excited I just grabbed a paper towel real quick, dried off my hands, threw it away, had my pants unbuckled still, was running out there just talking to my parents -- so excited," Edmunds said. Speaking less than 20 hours later, Edmunds couldn't remember who was on the clock before the Steelers. He could barely put into perspective the historic feat he, with his brother Trumaine, completed as they became the first pair of brothers drafted in the first round of the same draft. The reality of the moment only started to register when he and his family returned to their hotel Thursday night. Edmunds didn't wait to assure a reporter on Friday that he was fully recovered from the shoulder injury that cut his senior season to 10 games and kept him out of most drills at the Combine. There, he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash. Yet from the sink to the stage in Texas on Thursday night, Edmunds joked, he was much faster. "I promise you, if they would've clocked me," he said, "probably a 4.2." Steelers 2018 NFL Draft picks 1st round: No. 28 overall - Terrell Edmunds, S, Virginia Tech 2nd round: No. 60 overall - 3rd round: No. 79 overal (via OAK) - No. 92 overall - 5th round: No. 148 overall - No. 165 overall - 7th round: No. 220 overall - No. 246 overall - Property owners along a portion of Ellis Creek have been asked by the city to remove all items within 10 metres of the waterway due to fears of bank erosion from flooding. Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Dominic LeBlanc speaks to reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill after a cabinet meeting in Ottawa on April 24, 2018. Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he will meet with representatives from the lobster fishery today in New Brunswick. LeBlanc hasn't revealed the nature of the discussions in Moncton, but lobster fishermen had asked earlier this week for an emergency meeting with the minister. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Audrey Gagnon is escorted by police on her way to the courthouse in Quebec City, Thursday, April 19, 2018. A Quebec woman whose two-year-old daughter was found dead last week has been charged with second-degree murder in her slaying. The charge was laid against Audrey Gagnon today as she appeared before a judge at the Quebec City courthouse. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot A report released today by the parliamentary budget officer says extended drug patent protections in the Canada-EU free trade deal could cost the government up to $270 million per year. It also estimates that higher drug prices could end up costing Canadians an additional $392 million a year. This Aug. 15, 2017 photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Patrick Sison Teachers rally outside the Capitol, Friday, April 27, 2018, in Phoenix, on their second day of walkouts. Teachers in Arizona and Colorado walked out of their classes over low salaries keeping hundreds of thousands of students out of school. It's the latest in a series of strikes across the nation over low teacher pay. (AP Photo/Matt York) A man greets opposition activists driving a car rally towards the town of Gyumri, Armenia, Friday, April 27, 2018. Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan and several hundred of his supporters embarked on a car rally from the country's capital of Yerevan to the second largest city in the nation, Gyumri, on Friday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) This image provided by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office in Rhinelander, Wis., shows the wreckage of a medical helicopter that was found early Friday, April 27, 2018, after it crashed in Hazelhurst, Wis. Authorities said the people aboard, all crew members, were killed. There were no patients on board. The last known contact with the helicopter was at 10:55 p.m. Thursday. (Oneida County Sheriff's Office via AP) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, speak with the media prior to a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, April 27, 2018. Mike Pompeo took over as America's top diplomat Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and will participate in his first NATO foreign ministers meeting on Friday. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool) Guyana's locals vying for ExxonMobil contracts should get same tax free privilege given to foreigners- GCCI President By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 04 27 2018 The local business community feels marginalized by the tax free privilege that government has extended to foreign companies hired by ExxonMobil. Several businessmen who spoke to this newspaper said that they feel as if they cannot compete with the foreign companies that may want to supply goods to ExxonMobil simply because they have almost unlimited tax incentives and we do not. How can our government allow this? The men spoke on condition of anonymity after reading a previous Kaieteur News article which highlighted the tax free ride extended to foreign sub-contractors. This newspaper contacted the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)'s President Deodat Indar for his comments on the plight of local businesses. Indar was quick to point out that ExxonMobil is a member of the Chamber. He has a responsibility to act in the interest of all members. Nevertheless, Indar said that the conditions created in the contract that give an upper hand to foreign companies contracted by ExxonMobil is unfair and does not nurture a healthy business environment. As a private sector representative, we would advocate for a level playing field which I believe is important for any healthy business environment. There should be clarity of the investment climate in which we are going to operate in because it is not just ExxonMobil alone; there are others coming and want to come, but they want to ensure that the investment climate is clarified. They need transparency about what they can get when they come to Guyana. When it comes to local businesses, we just want to make sure that we are competitive enough and there is nothing in law or contract that will put Guyanese businesses at a disadvantage, said Indar. Indar noted that when foreign subcontracts have endless tax incentives, they have no need to give smaller contracts to local businesses, because they can bring in all these things themselves. Indar said that the Chamber understands the sanctity of contracts. So if they do not want to change what is there in the contract, the government will have to make all those items zero rated. In that way, the tax break is on the item. Indar continued, It works out cheaper for a foreign company to import a pipe than if a local company does, because the local company has to pay all the taxes. We have to be taken out from this position of disadvantage. PROVISIONS IN THE CONTRACT The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that Guyana signed with ExxonMobil in 2016 secures a tax free ride for all foreign companies employed by ExxonMobil. This fact was highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a 2017 report it handed to the government titled, A Reform Agenda for Petroleum Taxation and Revenue Management. IMF noted that the PSA that ExxonMobil has with Guyana provides for broad tax exemptions for subcontractors. Some of these foreign subcontractors operating in Guyana are Bristow Group Inc., Nobel Oil Group, and SBM Offshore. IMF noted that Article 15:10 states that withholding tax on payments made by the contractor to sub-contractors or affiliated companies do not apply during the exploration period. Moreover, the IMF noted that Article 21 says that subcontractors engaged in petroleum operations are exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) and import duties on imports of equipment and supplies required for petroleum operations. The only tax that foreign sub contractors employed by ExxonMobil will have to pay is excise tax. The companies only have to pay that tax on fuel imports at a rate of 10 percent. However, locals have to pay 50 percent excise tax on fuel (https://www.export.gov/article?id=Guyana-Import-Tariffs). IMF said that Guyana foregoes revenue with such generous provisions. The Fund said, In addition to the forgone revenue, (the exemptions) introduces administrative complexities and risks of tax evasion. Finally, interest and dividend payments from affiliated companies' or non-resident sub-contractors' branch in Guyana to its foreign or head office or to affiliated companies are exempt from withholding taxes. UNCOMMON PROVISION The generous provision highlighted in the ExxonMobil-Guyana contract as regards foreign subcontracts is not very common around the world. In the few instances that these provisions were found, they came with conditions. Article 17 of the Production Sharing Agreement between Liberia and ExxonMobil states that, The Contractor and subcontractors are only exempt from payment of import, export, or re-export fees for goods under the Revenue Code. The exemption however, is only granted on the condition that the quantity and quality cannot be found by the contractor in the host country. In this regard, Article 26 of the PSA, which speaks to imports and exports says, the Contractor, its agents, contractors and subcontractors undertake not to proceed with the imports mentioned in Article 26.1(a) insofar as such items are available in Liberia under equivalent conditions of quantity, quality, price, delivery and terms of payment, unless specific requirements or technical emergencies are presented by the Contractor. PSA WITH GHANA Section 12.3 of Ghana's PSA with ExxonMobil says, Contractor and its Subcontractors shall not be obliged to withhold any amount of tax from any sum due in respect of work and services or the supply or use of goods for or in connection with this Agreement, except for a five percent (5%) withholding tax. PSA WITH QATAR Section 22.7 ExxonMobil's contract with QATAR states, The Contractor, sub-contractors and Affiliates of the contractor shall be exempted from any royalties, excise, or similar charge payable to the government or its Affiliates with respect to Petroleum Operations or Petroleum marketing, or capital or property utilized in Petroleum Operations. It notes however that the aforementioned exemption shall extend to the subcontractors of the contractor on two conditions. It states these to be, (i) They must be contracts signed up to the first anniversary of the Production Commencement Date; and (ii) provided that the particular Petroleum Operation undertaken for or on behalf of the contractor involves total expenditure of a capital nature in a tax year equal to or greater than US$10 million, after the first anniversary of the Production Commencement Date. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Story by Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell from Kaieter News Kaieteurnewsonline.com 04 27 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels TT's PM Rowley bouffs UN on Venezuelan's repatriation By Shaliza Hassanali PORT SPAIN Petroleumworld 04 27 2018 An angry Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday said he intends to write the United Nations (UN) to complain about this country's local UN representative's comments about the recent repatriation of 82 Venezuelans. The repatriation process, which saw a Venezuelan military aircraft landing at the Piarco International Airport to take the nationals back to their homeland, drew criticism from UN Resident Coordinator Richard Blewitt. T&T also faced an outcry and heavy criticism for the repatriation. But at yesterday's post-Cabinet press briefing art the Diplomatic Centre, Rowley said he was very satisfied how Government handled the repatriation. He said T&T was governed by laws, while we are a generous and caring people and we demonstrated that over and over again by opening our doors to Venezuela. Addressing Blewitt's comments directly, Rowley said he would not allow anyone to paint a different story of our country. We will not allow, without protest, public servants from any international agency to misrepresent our circumstances to the world and stay in Trinidad and Tobago. Against that background, I as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago will, under my hand, write a complaint to the United Nations at its headquarters about the conduct of persons who take it upon themselves to speak about Trinidad and Tobago. The PM said he intended to defend T&T's reputation, hence the reason why he would stand his ground on the issue. As a member of the UN, Rowley said T&T has been very careful and responsible in carrying out its affairs. But he said the image painted was that T&T behaved in a unbecoming manner, which was the furthest from the truth. If officers of the United Nations are to talk about Trinidad and Tobago, especially those who are in Trinidad and Tobago and know our circumstances, then the least we can expect from them is to stay with the facts. He also said he would not allow UN representatives to make T&T into a refugee camp, noting T&T's relationship with Venezuela was based on mutual friendship. Rowley said he had not spoken to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on the heated issue. As Venezuela faces an economic crisis, Rowley said there are arrangements in place to allow their nationals to come here to obtain food and medical supplies, following which they would leave. However, he said as the crisis worsened there, there was now a proliferation of Venezuelans entering our shores illegally. He said many Venezuelans had come through the back door and continued to stay illegally. Rowley said people who knew of illegal Venezuelans exploited them for cheap labour, prostitution and all manner of evil. He said there were also those who came with guns and ammunition. At one point, Rowley said T&T had been accused of being too caring by allowing Venezuelans into our shores. Let me draw to the attention of those who have a lot to say, the people who were in those detention centres were not put there because they were Venezuelans. They were put there because they ran afoul of the laws of T&T. And it hurts me when people in this country appoint themselves spokespersons for our country that have nothing good to say about this place and seek to put us in the worst possible light where our interest is not defended. Promising to guard the country zealously, Rowley said they have been handling the situation carefully because if Government didn't it could create serious problems for us. There are people who want us to join them in invading Venezuela, we are not doing that. He added that economic migrants do not easily qualify for refugee status. As for Amnesty International's Erika Guevara Rosas, who also criticised the way in which the Venezuela nationals were repatriated, Rowley said that was better left unsaid. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Trump's threat to Iran is scaring off oil traders Uncertainty about Trump sanctions decision damps deal-making. Some buyers see shunning Iran oil to avoid U.S. legal action - Play Video -Trump says Iran will pay a price if U.S. is threatened By Anthony Dipaola DUBAI Petroleumworld 04 27 2018 Some oil traders are already steering clear of doing business with Iran as U.S. President Donald Trump signals he'll ditch the nuclear deal with OPEC's third-largest producer. Traders are unwilling to sign contracts for Iranian crude and refined products that would be valid after May 12, the deadline for Trump to decide whether to reimpose sanctions, according to recent interviews with six companies that buy and sell oil in the Middle East. French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Trump this week in Washington, said he thinks the U.S. leader will abandon the nuclear accord that Iran signed with world powers in 2015. Trump ridiculed the existing deal as terrible and insane. U.S. curbs would squeeze Iran's oil exports this year by as much as 500,000 barrels a day, according to consultant FGE and trader Gunvor SA . Iran currently ships about 2.5 million barrels a day. Some of the traders buying Iranian oil said their existing contracts contain clauses allowing them to stop taking cargoes if sanctions are reimposed. The traders would probably exercise that right to protect their business interests in the U.S. from legal action, they said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential. Some shippers, bankers and insurers also are turning down oil deals that would extend beyond May 12, the traders said. If there is one thing we've learned about this president, it's that when he's made a campaign promise -- like he did with his pledge to get out of the Iran deal -- he really does follow through, said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. Iran's current exports are more than twice what they were before energy sanctions were eased in January 2016. China is the Persian Gulf country's biggest customer, buying about a third of its crude exports. The U.S. prohibits its citizens and companies from buying Iranian oil. Brent crude, which is up more than 11 percent this year, slipped 0.4 percent to $74.48 a barrel as of 2:13 p.m. in Singapore. Trump-Merkel Talks Trump accuses Tehran of financing terrorism. Iran denies the charge, and its President Hassan Rouhani urged Trump to stand by his existing commitments before making fresh demands. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who plans to meet with Trump on Friday, is set to press for preserving the nuclear accord. The U.S. president hasn't made a decision yet on whether to pull out of the deal, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday during testimony on Capitol Hill. If Trump restores sanctions, Washington may impose the curbs immediately or do so gradually to give the market time to adjust, said Columbia's Nephew, a former State Department official who helped apply earlier oil and financial sanctions against Iran during Barack Obama's presidency. We won't see people entering into more long-term deals with Iran, he said. Companies are trying to build flexibility into their buying patterns. Iran's customers would probably have to trim purchases within 180 days of any U.S. sanctions, said Fereidun Fesharaki, FGE's chairman. China's Role When Iran last faced concerted restrictions on its energy exports, from 2012 to 2016, the U.S., European Union and United Nations together slashed the country's crude shipments by half, to about 1 million barrels a day. Exports have recovered, though France-based Total SA is the only Western energy major so far to sign a significant investment deal in Iran. A new round of U.S. sanctions probably wouldn't succeed as well as the earlier curbs, said Robin Mills, head of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy. The EU won't slap another embargo on Iranian crude, nor are China and India likely to buy any less of its oil, Mills said. FGE's Fesharaki and David Fyfe, chief economist for Geneva-based Gunvor, see U.S. curbs having a bigger impact -- a reduction in Iran's shipments by as much as 1 million barrels a day in 2019. The success of any U.S. effort to hobble Iranian exports would depend above all on China, which could either go along with the U.S. and buy less oil from Iran or snap up Iranian cargoes that other buyers were forced to pass up, said Columbia's Nephew. China, he said, is the pendulum. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us U.S. could become world's top oil exporter next year - CITI Nile TV U.S. crude, product exports rise to record 8.3m b/d last week. Higher prices encourage the nation to pump more: Citigroup By Sharon Cho SINGAPORE Petroleumworld 04 27 2018 The U.S. looks likely to overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world's biggest oil exporter next year, according to Citigroup Inc. With American production surging to unprecedented levels as OPEC continues curbing output, the U.S. is on course to be the top exporter of crude and oil products in 2019, Citigroup said in an April 25 note. American exports of crude oil and petroleum products rose to a record 8.3 million barrels a day last week, according to U.S. government data on Wednesday. That compares with top exporter Saudi Arabia's 9.3 million barrels a day in January, and Russia's shipments of 7.4 million barrels a day, the bank said. Continuing efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to curb output and reduce a global glut has helped boost West Texas Intermediate crude futures to their highest levels since 2014. But that's also sparked a surge in production from shale drillers, with output continuing to hit fresh records. Whether OPEC and its partners begin tapering their cut deal early in fear of the growing threat to their market share from the U.S. remains to be seen, Citigroup said. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us The mostly U.S.-based shareholder s of Japan's largest homebuilder have re-elected the company's two highest-ranking officers but with much reduced approval margins, in the face of criticism from two U.S. shareholder proxy advisory firms and the company's former chairman, who blame the officers for a $51 million fraud loss last year. "The vote shows a significant vote of no confidence for a Japanese company, where overwhelming shareholder consensus is the norm," said William Uchimoto, Berwyn-based Berwyn-based U.S. counsel to Makoto Saito and other Japan-based lawyers representing dissident Sekisui House investors. "This is the start of a movement to remove Abe and Inagaki which will be in the form of litigation, regulatory and political pressure. These wheels already are in motion." Running unopposed, Sekisui House Chairman Toshinori Abe received 69 percent of the vote, and vice chairman Shiro Inagaki 73 percent, while other directors supported by proxy advisors attracted over 95 percent approval from shareholders, according to attorneys for Isami Wada, who stepped down as the company's top board officer in January. Wada has since protested his former colleagues' failure to remove Abe and Inagaki as recommended by the company's personnel committee, which includes outside directors and auditors. Sekishui House, a $2.2 billion (yearly sales) company that builds housing developments in the western and southern U.S. and Australia as well as Japan, has not published official vote totals. Executives in investor relations did not respond to messages seeking comment. Recommending "No" votes against Abe and Inagaki were Glass, Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), two U.S.-based firms that advise investors on companies' annual director votes and other shareholder questions. Both Glass Lewis and ISS cited the company's lack of transparency and effective management controls, following Wada's departure last winter and his replacement by Abe. Wada said an internal review by the personnel committee had blamed Wada for the company's $51 million loss to a fraudulent broker in its attempt to purchase a property for development near Tokyo's Gotanda rail commuter station, but added that Abe and Inagaki had been able to rally a bare majority of the full board, including management members, to control the company and force out Wada instead. Sekisui House leaders insisted Wada's departure was voluntary. But after sending staff to investigate, the proxy services found Wada's concerns credible and said the company needed to do more to identify those responsible and take steps to get the money back and prevent a repeat and urged investors not to vote for Abe or Inagaki. Sekisui's ten largest investors include Japan-based Sekisui Chemical Co. and a Mitsubishi investment affiliate, plus large U.S. investment companies, including industry leaders BlackRock and Vanguard, which typically don't reveal their positions on individual company votes until months after the annual spring proxy-voting season. Not all proxy service recommendations persuade investors to buck management. Marlton banker and retail-real estate mogul. Vernon Hill was re-elected as chairman of Metro Bank Plc in the U.K. with more than 96 percent of the vote more than some fellow directors received despite the opposition of Glass-Lewis and an index fund investor who didn't like Metro's practice of paying Hill's wife Shirley's design firm, InterArch, for its work setting up new branches. Metro officials and investors agreed with Hill that this money is well spent. By contrast, Safeguard Scientifics, the Radnor-based tech investment firm, accepted the departure of chief executive Stephen Zarrilli and agreed to add two management critics, Philadelphia investor Ira Lubert and former Carl Icahn lieutenant Russell Glass, to its board, in order avoid a contested election threat from dissident investors in this year's elections. (Glass has no connection to Glass Lewis.) Citizens Bank's website and mobile banking app experienced a temporary outage on Friday that bank officials said was resolved after several hours. "The processing delay experienced by customers this morning has been resolved and all transactions have been posted. We are working through some residual access issues that currently are impacting mobile and online banking but expect access to those systems to be restored shortly," said a bank spokesman. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience caused by this delay." Social media was abuzz with customers, like some on Twitter complaining under the hashtag #citizensbank, who said they were having trouble with direct deposit and other banking transactions. In the event that customers receive a fee or overdraft charge on their account, they can call Citizens Bank Contact Center at 1-800-922-9999. Citizens Bank is a brand name of Citizens Bank, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. Arthur Halprin, 82, was nearly scammed out of $5,000 when criminals called his cell phone claiming his son had been kidnapped. His companion Shelley Sarsfield called police and his son, convincing Halprin it was a scam. Read more If you've ever feared your elderly mother or father might be scammed over the phone, then consider the story of Arthur Halprin, 82, retired physics professor living in Newark, Del. A "sharp cookie" and a brilliant teacher, say friends and family, Halprin was swayed by a flimflam aimed at the elderly, known as the "impostor scam." One morning last month, he got a horrific call from a strange number. It was a man who claimed he'd kidnapped Halprin's adult son, who resides on the Main Line. The man said he was holding Halprin's son at gunpoint and was demanding $5,000 in ransom. "Dad, please help me!" was the first thing Halprin heard. "I've never been taken [in] by any computer or other scams like the Microsoft or the IRS. I knew those were phony," Halprin said. "This one I'd never heard about. It's one that you can't take a chance on. A voice called my cellphone, and the person sounded enough like my son to me, it was believable. That's the way it started." "Then someone else got on the phone, asked me, 'Is there anyone else around you?' I said 'no.'" In truth, his companion, Shelley Sarsfield, was listening from the other room. But Halprin didn't want to lose contact. For the next hour, the caller kept Halprin on the line. "I wrote down on a piece of paper that 'criminals have Dan,' and gave it to her. I left the house in my slippers still and got in the car" to drive to the bank. From her telling, Shelley Sarsfield, 68, was instantly suspicious. "I was there when the phone call came in. We'd had breakfast and I heard Arthur talking loudly. He's normally very soft-spoken, but he'd been concerned about the stock market, so I thought perhaps he was talking to his broker about Tesla's stock price." Halprin handed her a crumpled piece of paper. "I knew it was a scam," she recalled. "I'd heard about the 'grandparent scam,' when con artists pretend to be someone's grandchild and call up asking for bail money. But his son is 47 years old! I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't get Arthur to listen. It was his son's life at stake. And they wouldn't let him put down the phone that's part of the con." Halprin's son works for a nonprofit in Philadelphia, so Sarsfield called his son immediately. Luckily, he answered and told her he was at work and perfectly fine. "I insisted he call me back on Facetime to prove he wasn't under duress. Then I called the police," she said. Halprin, meanwhile, drove to the bank and withdrew $5,000 in cash without any questions from his bank teller. Then the caller directed him to the closest Walmart to wire the money to Puerto Rico. Sarsfield couldn't get Halprin on the line, but she asked the Philadelphia police to connect with their local counterparts, aided by Halprin's license plate number and a physical description. She also heard the scammers demand he wire money from the nearest Walmart. Halprin, indeed, made it to the Walmart nearest his house, and while standing in line, "I did finally see a text message from Shelley, saying 'Dan is OK.' I wasn't sure how she knew this. But even while on the phone with the scammers, it made me pause just long enough at Walmart for a policeman to come up to me in line. He asked if I was Arthur Halprin, and said 'Your son is OK, this is a scam.' I breathed a sigh of relief. I still had the scam artist on the phone. The cop got on and said 'this is sergeant so-and-so. Go ahead and shoot Dan if you want.' They hung up." Halprin was minutes away from wiring $5,000 to a stranger. So why did he fall for the flimflam after hanging up on so many others? "This was one where potentially someone's life was on the line. It wasn't the threat of jail or taxes. It was my son's life. There was just I couldn't risk it. Whatever suspicion I had, I had to bury, I couldn't be sure. They knew my son's name. They figured out who my kids are. It was a very close call." Financial advisers such as Dan Roccato at Quaker Wealth Management in Moorestown say the root of the crimes "is love or loneliness. Imagine you're an 80-year-old widow or widower, and you don't have a lot of human interaction. You get a phone call from your grandson you haven't seen or talked to in a long time and you love them, so you send the money." About 550,000 people who gave their age reported fraud to the FTC in 2017, a fraction of the true victims. Of those, more than 107,000 were age 60 to 69; more than 62,000 were 70-79, and more than 28,000 were older than 80. Among the top frauds? Impostor scams. To prevent such crimes, Roccato advises friends and family members to make sure the elderly person in your life "isn't on his own or her own all day every day. Even just a phone call, a text, a visit is important so that person feels a connection is still there." Philadelphia has been ordered to disclose the details of the financial incentives offered to Amazon to locate its second headquarters here. Read more A state agency has ordered Philadelphia officials to release details of their financial enticements for Amazon to open its planned second headquarters in the city, rejecting arguments that the offer was a trade secret worthy of protection from public view. In a ruling Thursday, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records gave officials with the Commerce Department and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. 30 days to release their bid to host the planned corporate campus with financial incentives intact to Megan Shannon, a citizen who sought the information in January. Amazon named Philadelphia, along with Pittsburgh, among the 20 North American localities under consideration for the headquarters project. The company has said it plans to invest more than $5 billion on the campus, where it will employ up to 50,000 people. This week's decision by the Open Records Office represents the latest challenge to efforts by local and state officials to keep their offers to the Seattle company under wraps for fear of tipping off other competitors for the campus in the United States and Canada. "The city and PIDC have not demonstrated how the city incentives have economic value by not being known to other persons, or how those other persons can obtain economic value from its disclosure," Benjamin A. Lorah, an appeals officer with the state Open Records Office, wrote in his ruling. "The city is required to disclose the city incentive proposal to the requester within 30 days." Mayor Kenney's spokesman Mike Dunn and PIDC spokeswoman Jessica Calter said in separate but identically worded statements that officials are reviewing the ruling but "anticipate filing an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas." Shannon's original Jan. 18 request under the state's Right-to-Know Law asked for all documents sent by Philadelphia to Amazon in response to the company's September 2017 request for bids to host the second headquarters, according to background information contained in the ruling. More than a month later, she received a version of Philadelphia's pitch to the company with details of financial incentives for the company redacted, under the justification that the enticements constitute confidential proprietary information and a trade secret. The Inquirer was sent a similarly redacted document in December in response to a request filed under the public records law. It is awaiting a response to a second set of requests that city officials have said would be delivered by April 30 after the newspaper granted them a series of extensions beyond an original due date in early March. Shannon identified herself in an email to the Inquirer last month as a defense lawyer on insurance cases and said she was seeking details of the proposal as a "potentially disgruntled citizen." She challenged the city's grounds for withholding the incentives package in her appeal to the Open Records Office, which ultimately sided with her in its decision this week. Shannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chamber of Commerce president Rob Wonderling said in October that Pennsylvania officials were prepared to offer the company more than $1 billion in tax incentives if the state were selected but declined to share more specific details. Documents released to the Inquirer in March in response to a Right-to-Know request refer to a Department of Community and Economic Development incentive proposal that was "specifically created for the HQ2 Project," but any information quantifying those incentives had been redacted. The decision comes days after Gov. Wolf's administration filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn an Open Records Office order to release proposals it had worked on for sites in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Lehigh Valley to the Morning Call newspaper of Allentown. "It's an ongoing, highly competitive process in which terms that other cities and states could offer could change, so we believe it makes the most competitive sense for us to have appropriate leverage in the process to make sure Pennsylvania is best positioned to get this," Wolf's spokesman J.J. Abbott told the Associated Press after the suit was filed Tuesday. The City of Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County also sued to block the release of their bids after being ordered to do so in response to a request by Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV. Outside the state, few candidates on Amazon's shortlist of 20 locations have shared details of their offers to the company. Maryland, where lawmakers earlier this month approved $6.5 billion in tax incentives for the company, is one exception. That package came in addition to $2 billion pledged for infrastructure and transportation improvements in the area of Montgomery County, outside Washington, that Amazon has under consideration, the Baltimore Sun reported. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, signed legislation in January offering $7 billion in state and city tax credits for the company to locate in Newark. Still, the city released its actual proposal to the company only this week in response to a lawsuit, with five pages of the more-than-200-page document redacted, NJ.com reported. Ninth-grade English teacher Maureen Boland of Parkway Center City Middle College in Philadelphia is surrounded by students who participated in the March 14 walkout against gun violence in schools. Read more Maureen Boland sat in an oversize chair in her Philly living room. She looked tired, and understandably so. It had been less than two months since I'd gone to Parkway Center City Middle College to hear her students read essays about whether they'd participate in the national school walkout in support of the survivors of the Parkland school massacre. Where, wondered many of the ninth graders, was the solidarity for them as they lived, and died, at the mercy of violence that mostly went ignored? Since, it's been a blur of attention (not always good) and activity and activism-in-training, led by students but awakened by Boland, who in addition to supporting her budding activists also had classes to teach and papers to grade. Romeo and Juliet wasn't going to teach itself. Parkland students sent messages and a love flag through the Love Button Global Movement. an organization that fosters acts of kindness. Parkway, in turn, sent a love flag to students at Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, after two students were shot and killed in a span of less than five months. "You are not alone," the Parkway students wrote in a letter they included with the flag. March for Our Lives organizers paid for Philly students to go to Washington for the national call for gun reform. Students met with politicians in Harrisburg to push for gun laws. City Council President Darrell L. Clarke and Councilwoman Cindy Bass visited the school to hear the students talk about the toll violence had already taken on their young lives. Sixty percent of the ninth graders at Parkway have lost a relative to gun violence. The Pulitzer Center in D.C. has invited students in June to be part of a workshop on gun violence with other advocates and journalists. And, the teens have started a social justice club at the school with plans, so many plans, to do all they can to take advantage of attention they know better than most is fleeting. At times, Boland confided, she feels overwhelmed by the energy that the last few months have generated. Students who had been reluctant to join a fight they'd been left to deal with on their own are now itching to be seen and heard. She wonders how the summer will impact the momentum, how she can best support them when she's not in daily contact. They are all realizing that, now, the real work begins. They are ready. READ MORE: Ubinas: With arrest, a mother's prayers answered "The past two months have taught them they are an important part of the conversation," Boland said. "I don't think that can ever be taken away from them, and so in that sense I am deeply satisfied." Reading the letters of thanks they wrote the Parkland students, I can see why. And I am hopeful and inspired that just as the Parkland students ignited a movement, the Philly students can lead a long-overdue reckoning in Philadelphia. On June 11, for the third year in a row, I am calling on Philadelphians affected by violence to fill the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. READ MORE: If you care about gun violence, meet me Thursday at the Art Museum steps There are those who I know will be there, who have stood with me on those steps since the beginning. Mostly mothers of children whose deaths went unnoticed and unsolved. This year, my hope is that the young people will lead the way and demand that the rest of the city follows. So, mark your calendars. Spread the word. Bring your family, your coworkers, your neighbors, because as I've said since my first call, those steps should be full because violence touches every single one of us in one way or another. One of the most important lessons we've learned since Parkland is that we should be listening to the young people around us, a generation that has shouldered the brunt of a nation's apathy and inaction. READ MORE: Ubinas: Unsolved murders in Philly haunt mothers waiting for justice So, I leave you with these words, from one of the letters of thanks Parkway students sent to Parkland. "The world is capable of being cruel at times, but strength comes in numbers." NBCs The Cosby Show was televisions top-rated show for five of its eight seasons Read more On Thursday, after comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, Bounce TV announced it was pulling reruns of Cosby's 1984-92 comedy The Cosby Show from its schedule. A digital multicast network that bills itself as "the first African American broadcast network" and whose founders include Martin Luther King III and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Bounce continues to carry the college-based spin-off, A Different World. It's easy to understand why a network wouldn't want to remind viewers of the disconnect between Cosby and Cliff Huxtable, the lovable OB-GYN and father of five who helped cement the comedian's image as "America's Dad." But those who still want to hang with the Huxtables can. As of Friday, TV One still had The Cosby Show on its schedule. Amazon Prime customers can watch anytime. All eight seasons are included in the streaming service's library, free to subscribers. Read more: Cosby's fall more than a made-for-TV tragedy And for those interested in an even younger Cosby, there's Hulu, which carries all three seasons of I Spy, the groundbreaking series in which he starred opposite Robert Culp. A judge ruled Friday that Children's Hospital of Philadelphia must keep a gravely ill 14-year-old Burlington County boy on life support, pending additional hearings or at least until he can be transferred to another hospital. "It is God's will that he should get a little more time," said a tearful Rumpa Banerjee, the boy's mother, in a phone interview after the ruling. >>READ MORE: Parents of Alfie Evans, a British child on life support, say they'll work with doctors Areen Chakrabarti, 14, suffered severe smoke inhalation in an April 14 fire in his Bordentown home. He was first sent to a Capital Health facility in New Jersey, then transferred the next day to CHOP, where physicians pronounced him "brain dead," said Christopher Bagnato, an attorney representing the family. Soon after, the hospital requested consent from Banerjee to take the boy off life support, but she maintained that he responded to her touch, according to a brief Bagnato filed in the Court of Common Pleas. On Tuesday, after Areen had spent more than a week at the hospital, a physician told Banerjee that if a neurological test confirmed brain death, the boy would be taken off life support against her wishes, the attorney's brief stated. CHOP declined to comment on the case. Citing patient privacy laws, attorneys for the hospital obtained a ruling from Judge Abbe Fletman on Thursday that excluded the media or other members of the public from attending a hearing on the case. >>READ MORE: Christine Flowers says the Alfie Evans case makes her grateful for Pennsylvania legislation on Down's children Areen is autistic and amid the confusion of the fire, he ran upstairs instead of fleeing the burning house, Bagnato said. The ruling from Fletman on Friday means the case now moves to Orphans Court, which in addition to being the venue for cases involving orphans, handles cases for individuals who are unable to manage their own affairs. With the additional time granted by Fletman's ruling, the boy's family is looking for another hospital to take Areen, Bagnato said. "They don't want him at CHOP, and CHOP wants him out," he said. "Now we are hoping that CHOP will be able to help my client and actually help facilitate the final location for the child." Banerjee said Friday she rejects the hospital's diagnosis and thinks her son remains aware of her presence. The wrenching question of who has the final say in removing a patient from life support has prompted court battles around the nation and abroad. Charles P. Hehmeyer, an attorney not involved with the case, said Pennsylvania case law supports a parental right to decide when a child may be removed from life support. He cited a 1995 decision by a Dauphin County Common Pleas Court panel, Rideout vs. Hershey Medical Center. "There is a state and federal constitutional right that parents can make these kinds of critical decisions about their children," said Hehmeyer, who specializes in medical practice cases. If Areen had suffered brain death, that would mean an irreversible loss of all "clinical" brain function, including brain-stem reflexes and the urge to breathe, according to the nonprofit Dana Foundation. That is more severe than the diagnosis given to another gravely ill boy in the news, British toddler Alfie Evans. Diagnosed with a fatal neurological disorder that has placed him in a "semi-vegetative state," Evans nevertheless was able to breathe on his own this week after a court allowed Alder Hey Children's Hospital to remove him from life support. Kinship care is a term for extended family tasked with caring for a child who needs fostering, sometimes because of parents in addiction. Read more As our nation continues to reel from a decades-long opioid epidemic that has devastated families and communities, the public health response has focused on reducing fatal overdoses and treating addiction. Those are of course necessary and noble actions, but we must also be dedicated to strengthening supports for children in these families the bystanders to this epidemic who are just as impacted yet rarely seen, save for haunting images of being stranded in minivans while their parents succumb to overdoses in the front seat. Bringing these children out from behind the curtain is not easy because there are few statistics that characterize who they are. Perhaps our clearest lens is through the foster care system, which is responsible for removing children from unsafe home environments. Between fiscal years 2012 and 2016, our nation saw a 10 percent increase in the number of children in foster care, and in FY16 22,000 more children newly entered foster care than in FY12. We don't know yet how much of this increase is directly related to the opioid epidemic the federal Children's Bureau only began reporting data on circumstances for a child's removal in FY15. However, in just one year since the reporting began, the number of children removed from their homes due to parental drug abuse increased by seven percent. This growing burden falls on a system that struggles with limited funding and recruiting foster families. One alternative to supplement insufficient foster care resources during this opioid epidemic is to acknowledge and support the critical role that family members have historically played in providing for children in times of need through what is known as "kinship care." The family ties that bind Kinship care refers to guardianship over a child by a relative, often a grandparent, aunt or uncle. By 2013, 7.8 million children, or nearly 10 percent of all children in the United States, resided in families in which the head of the household was a grandparent or other relative, and as many as 2.7 million children were being raised by their relatives in absence of their biologic parents. I have to believe that number is even higher today in the face of the opioid epidemic. >>READ MORE FROM THIS WRITER: When health reform resurfaces, don't let special needs children get lost in the shuffle Furthermore, the vast majority of kinship families make these arrangements without formal connection to the foster care system. Disproportionately represented by older relatives and grandparents, these family members often care for children while facing significant financial hardship and lacking access to services to help children deal with the trauma of being separated from their parents. Witnessing these challenges among kinship families in our primary care practices, my colleagues at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and I reviewed the research on the needs of kinship families and how their children fare. What we found, issued in a 2017 AAP policy statement, is evidence that supporting kinship caregivers might be our best strategy for raising children who have experienced trauma and are at risk for related health and social effects. In fact, children in kinship care likely have equivalent, if not better, long-term health, schooling and employment outcomes than children raised by non-relative foster parents. Additionally, kinship caregivers may be more likely to weather the storm of a child's emotional crisis or related behavioral issues, thus preventing children from being bounced between multiple foster placements a typical response when foster parents feel ill-equipped to care for a child experiencing behavioral challenges. This does not mean non-relative foster parents cannot positively impact the children in their care, or that there are no inappropriate kinship caregivers, but it may show that in many instances, blood is thicker than water. A better way to support families So, how can we support relatives so they are better able to care for these children? And in so doing, how can we be inclusive of the many arrangements that are not managed within our formal foster care systems? One answer might lie in developing robust kinship care navigator programs, which can support caregivers by increasing awareness about existing resources that they may not know are available. Such services tend to include support groups, financial and legal aid, education services for children and other family-based supports. The delivery of these services differs by program, but some studies have shown that kinship caregivers take advantage of these programs and are satisfied with the services they use. A kinship care navigator program proposal (HB 2133) passed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week that, if signed into law, would administer a toll-free information hotline, fund training for navigators and create a statewide marketing campaign so kinship caregivers are aware of the program. These interventions would support the 90,000 children in this state who are in kinship care. Whether you're experiencing it in your family or your neighborhood or just hearing about it on the news, we're all confronted by the opioid epidemic every day. We can't afford to ignore the buckling of the systems supporting children through this crisis, or the fact that family members are often taking on new guardianship roles without adequate assistance. If we are to continue our response to the opioid crisis with an adult-focused lens, we will miss an opportunity to help ensure a brighter future for the children who lie in the epidemic's wake. __________________________________ David Rubin, MD, MSCE, is the medical director of population health and director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and also a member of the Inquirer's Health Advisory Panel. No one has died, but 46 people have been hospitalized, including nine with kidney damage. Read more The toll of illness tied to tainted romaine lettuce has grown to 98 people in 22 states, making this the largest multistate E. coli outbreak since 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Pennsylvania continues to have the most cases with 18. E. coli is a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of animals and people. Infection with certain toxin-producing strains can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and in rare cases, kidney failure. The toxin binds to and kills cells lining the blood vessels of the gut and kidney. During a teleconference Friday, investigators said they have made a little progress toward identifying the precise origins of the outbreak, which began in mid-March and is linked to lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz., region. >>READ MORE: Why E. coli keeps getting into our lettuce Eight confirmed cases caused by whole-head lettuce served at a jail in Nome, Alaska, have been traced to Harrison Farm in Yuma. "Cattle wandered into a stream. Wild pigs also may have played a role," said Stic Harris, director of the Food and Drug Administration's outbreak-response network. He added that the farm is no longer shipping lettuce because the growing season has ended. The rest of the nation's cases involved chopped romaine, sold in bags or salad mixes, that also came from the Yuma area. Dozens of farms, as well as distribution and packaging operations, are still being scrutinized, an arduous process that requires collecting samples and testing for the implicated strain of E. coli. "Our advice remains that people should not be eating any type of romaine, and retailers and restaurants should not be selling it, unless they are certain it didn't come from the Yuma region," said Matthew Wise of CDC's outbreak-response team. Because of the lag between when a sickness occurs and the report reaches the CDC, the case count may continue to grow. No one has died, but 46 people have been hospitalized, including nine with kidney damage. That's a higher hospitalization rate than the 30 percent usually seen with E. coli. In 2006, another particularly virulent strain of E. coli from fresh spinach sickened nearly 200 people and hospitalized half of them. The produce industry took steps to tighten safety rules for farms growing greens, and Congress in 2011 passed a law that is gradually phasing in tougher standards for farm irrigation, equipment cleaning, and other potential contamination routes. Even so, the CDC has linked an average of 11 outbreaks a year to leafy greens. The popularity of convenience salad mixes many containing romaine and the fact that the food is not processed in a way that would kill the bacteria are fundamental factors. "It's not something that's cooked," Harris said. "You're eating the raw product grown in Mother Earth." Last week, the first lawsuit of the outbreak was filed by Seattle lawyer William Marler on behalf of a Flemington, N.J., woman who blamed Panera Bread and food supplier Freshway Foods for her illness. Brain-damaged toddler Alfie Evans cuddles his mother Kate James at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, England. The father of a terminally ill British toddler said the child is surviving after being taken off life support, surprising doctors who had argued he should be allowed to die. Read more A couple of weeks ago, the House of Representatives in Harrisburg passed, by an overwhelming vote of 139-58, the Down Syndrome Fetal Protection Act, which bans any abortions designed solely to terminate pregnancies where the fetus is diagnosed with that telltale extra chromosome. After the bill had passed out of the health committee, I wrote a column praising the pro-life legislators in Pennsylvania who saw how "reproductive choice" had become a more palatable term for "eugenics." Even though the column elicited the usual pushback, it was good to see that 139 state legislators had the guts to make a stand for the most vulnerable among us: the ones who could not speak for themselves in a world where communication is the currency of power. I felt even prouder of Pennsylvania as I watched a tragedy unfold in Great Britain over the last few weeks. A little boy named Alfie Evans was, until Saturday morning, fighting for his life in a hospital in Liverpool. But he was not waging a battle with the support of doctors and nurses helping him to survive. Two-year-old Alfie and his parents were forced to fight against the government's efforts to end his young life prematurely. Like Baby Charlie Gard before him, who was denied the right to seek treatment abroad by that same sterile and nihilistic British health system, Alfie had a degenerative brain condition that the doctors couldn't cure. And because they were incapable of treating him, Alder Hey Children's Hospital essentially took the toddler hostage. The facility was placed on an information lockdown, because, even after the government ordered Alfie to be taken off of life support in the hopes that he would expire in a conveniently brief period of time, Alfie lived for four more precious days. He breathed on his own. He clung to the life that was breathed into him by God and facilitated by his mother, and that was so inconvenient for the hospital and those who simply want him gone, erased, removed. Dead. I thought that I had seen it all when I followed the Baby Charlie case last summer. Despite the calls from Pope Francis and President Trump, from other leaders of faith and politicians and from "Charlie's Army" on social media, the London hospital that had the child under treatment and observation refused to allow his desperate parents to take their baby to Italy for possible lifesaving alternatives. The family had raised the money for the trip, and still the government fought to keep that child hostage. I say "hospital" and "government" interchangeably because the British have a single payer health system which essentially blurs any distinction between the opinion of doctors and the exigencies of "good, efficient government." Sarah Palin warned of death panels in the U.S., and she was wrong on that count. But echoes of her words are more than evident in British hospitals. Baby Charlie is now with the angels, and I know that he was waiting when Alfie soared to heaven on his own mighty wings. But none of this cancels out the horror of what happened to these little boys. They were denied the opportunity to seek further treatment that, however experimental, provided a glimmer of human hope. Their parents were stripped, through a sterile and utilitarian legal process, of their right to determine the medical treatment their boys would receive. Most chilling of all, the British police actually warned people on social media to be careful what they say and write about Alfie's case. Yes, in the country where the concept of free speech was born, they seemed to be threatening people with undetermined repercussions if they made "malicious communications." So not only were two little boys, in less than a year, barred from seeking treatment, they were cut off from the world. So much manpower, to make sure they died within a socially acceptable time. We have entered a dark time, when we push children toward the gates of Heaven because they are "imperfect." In Pennsylvania, at least, there's still hope. Activist Bird Milliken reacts as Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse after being found guilty of sexual assault. Read more The guilty verdict in Bill Cosby's retrial drew an outpouring of reaction from the courthouse, across the region and on social media. In Philadelphia and Norristown, some people said they support the verdict, while others questioned it. Here are some of their reactions: In favor of the verdict Jamie Lange, 52, said at Independence Mall that she wanted Cosby exposed. "I was sick of the victim shaming. It was insane," Lange said. "It's nice that money can't buy you freedom." Lili Bernard, one of Cosby's accusers, said, "If you still believe that he's innocent, then you're either stupid or evil." Duncan MacDonald, 55, of Manayunk, said Cosby should have been found guilty the first time around. "I don't care who he is. I don't care if he's Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein," MacDonald said. "The abuse has been there and it needs to stop." Ronald Blue, 33, of Philadelphia, said his father attended Mary Channing Wister Elementary School with Cosby. While Blue and his family would watch The Cosby Show regularly as a child, he said his father thought Cosby was a "nasty person" and never would join them. "In some way, in some form, justice has been served," Blue said about the verdict. As for Cosby: "I just hope he knows God." >> READ MORE: Bill Cosby is guilty. What happens next? Against the verdict David Smith, 65, of Nicetown, was upset. "I grew up with Bill Cosby, jello pudding and all that. I grew up watching him. I don't think it's right," Smith said. "I think the lady was lying on him to get money." Dee Fass, 53, of Philadelphia, called the verdict a "shame." "It's a crying, crying shame," Fass said. "It's a shame about the person he projected to be and a shame about the women who waited so long." Fass disagreed that Cosby was guilty, saying, "women know what's going on when they go to a man's house at that time of night." A victory for the #MeToo movement On social media, some called the verdict a turning point for the #MeToo movement. A call to bring President Trump to justice Some said other powerful figures accused of sexual assault such as President Trump should also be brought to justice. Outside the courthouse, Cosbys accusers embraced and fought back tears District Attorney Kevin Steele lauded Cosby's chief accuser, Andrea Constand. Inside the courtroom, the verdict drew sobs and sighs of relief Constand displayed little emotion. So did Cosby. Read all the coverage on the Cosby trial here. Learn more about the Bill Cosby case with our day-by-day recap of the trial, timeline, and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players. Protesters cheer and hold signs as Bill Cosby leaves the courtroom after being found guilty of sexual assault Thursday, April 26, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Read more Ileana Rodriguez loved Bill Cosby's namesake show. The longtime comedian was a role model for her growing up and his TV family made her think, "Maybe my family can be like that." But make no mistake. "He should have been locked up," Rodriguez, 54, of Kensington, said, "a long time ago." A Montgomery County jury Thursday convicted Cosby, 80, of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. The decision, which came after the first trial ended in a mistrial, is being hailed as the first celebrity conviction of the #MeToo era. The impact of #MeToo in the case against Cosby can't be quantified, though some say this year's result is inarguably about timing and context. And while plenty still believe in Cosby's innocence, the latest reckoning represents a sure shift: Consider when Constand's claims were made public in a 2005 news release: Cosby continued his life as entertainer, appearing in short films, working as a writer and making dozens of public appearances. As recently as 2014, Philadelphia public officials were praising Cosby, even after 13 women had come forward. Before Cosby, there was Clinton and Clarence, both emerging unscathed after public accusations of sexual misconduct. Even Harvey Weinstein continued his career while Hollywood joked about his alleged behavior, before news reports full of women's accusations began to be taken seriously. "Since the #MeToo movement, women have gained credibility," activist Bird Milliken said outside the courthouse Wednesday. "Unfortunately, that's what it took." Here's a look back at how public perception has evolved when it comes to sexual assault. I think she did it for the publicity After Brandeis Law Professor Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas, a judge awaiting Senate confirmation to become a Supreme Court justice, the nation divided into two camps: those who believed her, and those who believed his denials. In October 1991 as Hill prepared to testify about how Thomas made unwanted sexual advances and talked to her about sex and pornography, a USA Today survey found "that almost twice as many people believed Thomas as believed Hill." A former columnist found three women discussing the allegations in a Glenside Dunkin' Donuts and recounted their conversation in the pages of the Inquirer in 1991: "Why did it take so long to come out. I think she did it for the publicity." "She was afraid of losing her job? I don't believe it. Not if a girl's qualified. " "Some people don't care how they get fame. She probably thinks, now's my chance to get my name in lights." As the Senate hearings to confirm Thomas continued, Maria Farnese, then 37 and living in South Philadelphia, told an Inquirer reporter: "I feel incredibly embarrassed. To put a man on trial like this I think we've reached an all-time low in American history." Another woman called into C-SPAN at the time to say: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I think she's lying. " There were some men in Philadelphia at the time who reflected on their own behavior during the hearings. Bruce Padgett, a firefighter on South Street, said Hill's testimony would change the way he spoke to women. "Would you go into a restaurant now and say, 'Hey, baby, how you feeling?' " he said. "No way." Thomas was confirmed on a 52-48 vote, one of the narrowest-ever margins to confirm a Supreme Court justice. He is 69 and remains a sitting justice on the Supreme Court. His position is untenable In early 1992, then Sen. Brock Adams (D., Wash.) announced he wouldn't seek reelection after the Seattle Times published a three-year investigation saying he "sexually harassed and physically molested female employees and associates over the past two decades." Despite the urging of some colleagues, Adams did not resign, instead serving another nine months. Even still, much of the conversation in the following days focused almost entirely on the political implications. "It's devastating," Washington state Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Marchioro told the LA Times. "It was bad before, but now I think Brock's position is untenable. This is a very, very serious hit on a person who was not in that strong a position anyway." Adams died in 2004 at age 77 due to complications from Parkinson's disease. They didnt believe me Multiple women accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, including Paula Jones, who sued Clinton for sexual harassment. "No one would hear us," Jones recently told the New York Times. "They made fun of me. They didn't believe me. They said I was making it up." Kathleen Willey, a former White House aide, said Clinton sexually assaulted her during his first term as president. She was told she had nothing but a "romantic fascination" with the president. In an op-ed in the New York Times in 1998, feminist Gloria Steinem said of Willey: "Even if the allegations are true, the president is not guilty of sexual harassment. He is accused of having made a gross, dumb and reckless pass at a supporter during a low point in her life." And it's impossible to talk about public perception as it relates to Clinton without mentioning the obvious: the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Sharon Smalls, then of Cherry Hill, wrote in a letter to the Daily News: "Nearly every woman I've talked to does not believe anything happened or if it did, it was the fault of Monica Lewinsky." In a 1998 NYT op-ed, writer Katie Roiphe wrote Lewinsky and Clinton abused their power equally, as the young intern employed the "time-honored female tradition to use sexual power as a way to try to improve one's position in the world." Dozens more piled on. Ann McDaniel, the then-Washington bureau chief of Newsweek magazine, said on CNN it was unclear whether Lewinsky's alleged affair with Clinton was "perhaps a small flirtation that she's exaggerated into something else." I dont know anybody whos a quicker study In the early '90s, then-Sen. Bob Packwood (R., Ore.) was nearly expelled from the Senate after allegations surfaced in a 1992 Washington Post story that he'd sexually harassed and assaulted women who were former staffers or lobbyists. Packwood's "skirt problem," as it was called at the time, was apparently well-known in Washington political circles. The freelance reporter who broke the story wrote that at least 40 women had been subjected to unwanted advances by Packwood. However, in the wake of serious sexual assault claims against Packwood, some of his Senate colleagues still took opportunities to praise him. In September 1995, Mark Hatfield, Oregon's senior senator at the time, said Packwood made a mark that "cannot be expunged," according to archives of the Statesman-Journal in Salem, Ore. Then-Majority Leader Bob Dole (R., Kansas) said at the time: "I don't know anybody who's a quicker study." Not all of Packwood's colleagues backed him, though. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ken.), who was then the chairman of the Ethics Committee that investigated Packwood, excoriated the senator, saying: "There were not merely stolen kisses. This was a habitual pattern of aggressive, blatant sexual advances." McConnell is currently the majority leader of the Senate. Packwood resigned in 1995 and went on to found a lobbying firm. An open secret The accusations that brought down Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein accusations that kicked off the #MeToo movement last year were not news to plenty of people in Hollywood who took part in what some called the "open secret." In a 2012 episode of the NBC Show 30 Rock, the comedy starring Tina Fey, the character Jenna says: "Look, I get it. I know how former lovers can have a hold of you long after they're gone. In some ways, I'm still pinned under a passed-out Harvey Weinstein and it's Thanksgiving." The same character joked: "I turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions. Out of five." Similarly, comedian Seth MacFarlane made a Weinstein-related joke at the 2013 Oscar nominations, saying after reading a list of supporting-actress nominees: "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein." Staff writers Jason Nark, Michaelle Bond, and Tommy Rowan contributed to this article. In this AP file photo, President Trump is seen wearing a Make America Great Again hat. Read more A Manhattan judge has tossed out a case alleging that a Philadelphia man was kicked out of a New York City bar for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David Cohen ruled Wednesday that the law doesn't protect against political discrimination and dismissed the case, the New York Post reported. Greg Piatek, a 31-year-old accountant who lives in Center City, visited New York's 9/11 Memorial Museum with friends in January 2017, donning his "Make America Great Again" hat, "a garb which holds significant spiritual and symbolic" importance to him, according to court records. He and his friends then went to the Happiest Hour, a bar in New York's West Village, where Piatek alleges that the bartender ignored him while he was waiting to order a drink. A confrontation ensued, and the bar's bouncers escorted the group from the building. "Piatek did not wear the hat to espouse support for a political candidate or point of [view]," reads a court filing from attorney Paul Liggieri, who represents Piatek. "Rather, it is Plaintiff's [sincere] belief that the hat is representative of a set of closely held spiritual [aspirations] and convictions that entirely transcend the political realm." Cohen heard about an hour of arguments before making his ruling Wednesday, according to the Post. Attorney Elizabeth Conway, who represented the Happiest Hour in the case, contended that while religious discrimination is protected under the law, supporting President Trump is "not a religion." "Here the claim that plaintiff was not served and eventually escorted out of the bar because of his perceived support for President Trump is not outrageous conduct," the judge ruled, according to the Post. Liggieri intends to review the court's decision before deciding whether to appeal. The Philadelphia Orchestra has been targeted by angry protests and harsh criticism ever since announcing their coming tour in Israel. Protesters have wrongly claimed that opposition to the tour is reasonable advocacy for the rights of Palestinians. In fact, their intent and strategy is dishonest and damaging both to resolving the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the cherished belief that cultural engagement can build bridges and promote understanding. Let us be clear: Anyone has a right to criticize the State of Israel for its policies, just as it is fair to criticize the policies of the United States, France, or India. However, we strongly disagree with these activists' demonization of all things Israel, and their spurious, one-sided presentation of a complicated situation. An honest accounting reveals that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is extremely complex, challenging, and heartbreaking on all sides. To claim that Israel is the sole cause of the conflict belies this fact, and to advocate for an international boycott of the Jewish state actively undermines any productive efforts to end the conflict. Indeed, the entire premise of the protest that the Philadelphia Orchestra should not go to Israel, not perform in Israel, not meet with Israelis because doing so would serve as an endorsement of all Israeli policies is not only extreme but ultimately counterproductive. Cultural exchange is essential for bridging divides between people. After all, it was ping-pong, of all things, that represented the thawing of decades of frozen relations between the United States and China. >> READ MORE: By touring Israel, Philadelphia Orchestra ignores crimes against Palestinians | Opinion The orchestra's trip to Israel enables its musicians and supporters to engage with the complex realities of Israel. They will hear a variety of perspectives from the local musicians they meet, and through their on-the-ground interactions gain insight into the politics and realities of the place. They are not endorsing policies; they are bringing and sharing their American approaches and attitudes. It is also important to note that some who have been calling on the orchestra to cancel the trip have crossed the line from advocacy into overt anti-Semitism. Let's consider the April 6 protest at the Kimmel Center. People at the protest reported to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that they heard phrases that the ADL would clearly classify as anti-Semitic. There is no mistaking hate speech for thoughtful criticism of Israeli policy, nor is it strong advocacy for the rights of Palestinians. It is bigotry, plain and simple, and must be rejected as such. >> READ MORE: On a diplomatic mission and to woo patrons Philadelphia Orchestra will go to Israel A number of years ago, British cultural figures published an open letter calling for cultural bridges, not boycotts, to bring about Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation. As these luminaries, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, wrote: "Open dialogue and interaction promote greater understanding and mutual acceptance, and it is through such understanding and acceptance that movement can be made towards a resolution of the conflict. Cultural engagement builds bridges, nurtures freedom and positive movement for change." The cultural institutions of the City of Brotherly Love should be not about boycott, but about engagement, awareness, and building foundations for peace. Nancy K. Baron-Baer is regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Richard Duncan, left, and a friend talk about their struggles with drug addiction and their living conditions under a bridge at Frankford and Lehigh avenue at the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. Thursday, January 4, 2018. Read more Philadelphia officials on Thursday announced a plan to clear two of the heroin encampments on Lehigh Avenue in Kensington, where people in addiction have been living since a longtime encampment in a nearby train gulch was cleared last summer. City officials say they'll engage in "intensive, daily outreach" to the people in the camps, but will also post warnings that they have 30 days to leave the sidewalks. After that, police will clear the camps. "We're giving them the opportunity to get off the street and get the help they need by addressing many of the barriers that are usually a deterrent to getting services like the lack of ID's, lack of transportation and guaranteeing immediate access to treatment," Liz Hersh, the director of the office of homeless services, said in a news release. "But the clock is ticking." Officials estimate there are about 200 people living in four encampments under train bridges on Lehigh Avenue, and their numbers are growing as the weather gets warmer. When the program would start, or which area would first be targeted was not stated, however. Since last fall, people in addiction have been sleeping in dome tents, on mattresses and in makeshift shelters on the sidewalks off Lehigh Avenue. They gathered there after the city closed a similar camp in the Gurney Street train gulch, known as El Campamento, which had been there for decades. Conrail, which owns the land, cleaned the camp as part of an agreement with the city in August. This week, Conrail announced $500,000 in grants to two community organizations in Kensington for a new public walkway, new landscaping in a five-block stretch around the tracks, and outreach for residents traumatized by the drug epidemic. Outreach workers visit the camps almost daily, offering food, clothing, and medical care. But with addiction this entrenched, and housing in the neighborhood scarce, it has been tough to get people into shelter. Through the winter, denizens of the camps endured freezing, often life-threatening conditions. Though the city does have shelters, they are far from Kensington and access to drugs that people need to stave off the pain and nausea of withdrawal. For months, permanent residents of the community have raised concerns about the camps. They've told city officials of walking their children past people openly injecting drugs, and having to dodge discarded needles on the streets. The city plan starts with drawing up a list of everyone living under the bridges. Then, the next month will be spent getting people into housing and drug treatment. The city will park a mobile unit at the sites to provide medical care and "immediate transportation to services," and add 40 shelter beds in the neighborhood. Another 40-bed shelter is opening in the neighborhood as well; the plan is to get everyone into some kind of facility, whether or not it's in Kensington. Anyone who remains after the month of outreach is up could receive citations for trespassing and obstructing the right-of-way, Hersh said, but added that people living in the camps have generally cooperated with police in the past. After the camp is cleared, personal items left behind will be removed and stored for another month in case their owners want to claim them. The city has been alluding to the plan for several months at community meetings, and Hersh said in an interview last month that her office had been inspired by a similar "encampment resolution" method pioneered by officials in San Francisco. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez acknowledges supporters while arriving to an event kicking off his campaign for re-election at Union City High School, Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Union City, N.J. Read more Sen. Bob Menendez may have escaped federal prosecution on bribery charges, but his colleagues issued a rare public rebuke Thursday and declared his actions had "reflected discredit upon the Senate." The criticism was lodged in a letter from the Senate Ethics Committee that "severely admonished" Menendez for accepting numerous gifts from a donor without prior approval and then failing to report them. The committee also said Menendez had inappropriately used his position as a senator to advance the personal and financial interests of the donor, Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor. The committee ordered Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat up for reelection in November, to repay fair market value for all gifts it deemed impermissible. It wasn't immediately clear how much Menendez might owe. He previously repaid $58,500 for flights on Melgen's private jet. "You demonstrated disregard for [ethics] standards by placing your Senate office in Dr. Melgen's service at the same time you repeatedly accepted gifts of significant value from him," the letter says. "Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public's confidence in the Senate." The Ethics Committee opened its investigation in late 2012 but had put it on hold while his criminal case was ongoing. The rebuke it issued Thursday was "basically the highest level of sanction the committee could impose," Robert L. Walker, former chief counsel and staff director of the Senate and House ethics committees, said in an interview. Menendez' lawyer, Marc Elias, released a statement late Thursday that didn't take a position on the committee action but said: "We are glad that this Ethics Committee process that began nearly six years ago is finally resolved." The two-paragraph statement said Menendez had "acknowledged and made substantial payments" for Melgen's gifts more than five years ago, but that he had halted making remedial action, including amending his financial disclosure forms to reflect them, at the request of the committee staff. With the committee's process concluded, the statement said, "Sen. Menendez looks forward to continuing to serve the people of New Jersey." Menendez's bribery trial ended in a hung jury in November. A federal judge later acquitted the senator of some of the charges, and prosecutors subsequently dropped the case against the senator and Melgen. In a separate case, Melgen was convicted of Medicare fraud and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Menendez had been accused of accepting trips on Melgen's private jet, hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, a $1,500-per-night hotel room in Paris, and vacation stays at Melgen's villa in the Dominican Republic. In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez helped obtain visas for Melgen's foreign girlfriends, pressured government officials to resolve his $8.9 million billing dispute with Medicare, and sought to protect Melgen's port security contract with the Dominican Republic. At trial, Menendez's lawyers said Menendez's actions were motivated by his longtime friendship with Melgen and legitimate policy beliefs. The last New Jersey senator to face such public reprimand from the Ethics Committee was Robert Torricelli, a Democrat who ended his 2002 reelection bid shortly after being admonished. For his part, Menendez has the full support of the party establishment in what is expected to be an expensive Senate campaign against Republican Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive. East of the Freemont Street Experience in Las Vegas, there is now a walkable district that includes the Downtown Container Park, an outdoor mall of stacked steel shipping boxes, as well as funky sculptures. Read more If you tell people you're going to Las Vegas for a week, the reaction tends to be either a raised eyebrow, implying that's a long time to spend there, or an overly excited and equally presumptuous "Vegas baby!" Sometimes it's easier to just tell people you're headed "out West" to avoid the backstory. Here's mine. Las Vegas is one of my home towns, a place where, in my 20s and 30s, I very much grew up. I met some of the most amazing friends in the town that tourists and only tourists call "Sin City." Since moving to Chicago in 2009, I have seldom been back. But last Oct. 2, I felt an urgent need to visit. That was the day after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, when I awoke to a stream of alerts on Facebook saying this friend and that friend had marked themselves safe in the "Violent Incident in Las Vegas, Nevada." The shooter killed 58 people and wounded 546 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. Within days, I booked a plane ticket, eager to hug my people and to show my husband, Neil, whom I'd met in Chicago, the desert surroundings I suddenly missed desperately. Just a week to re-experience a big part of my life. For most of my nine years in Vegas, I worked as a journalist and guidebook writer, hopscotching between tourist Las Vegas and real Las Vegas. That means that a sight such as, say, a gondolier rowing through blue, chlorinated waters under sky-blue ceilings at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian carries some nostalgia. To get our tourist fill, we stayed the first two nights at the Venice-themed hotel, with its Renaissance-inspired ceiling frescoes and a near-quarry's worth of marble. We didn't even need to leave the enormous property to eat decadent pastries from Bouchon Bakery and share a "Crazyshake" (an over-the-top milkshake with chocolate acting as an adhesive for more chocolate dotting the glass) at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer. When we weren't not consuming calories, we got turned around weaving through the gaming floor trying to find the elevator to return to our room and wait, there are Ellen DeGeneres-themed slot machines? The restaurant I most eagerly returned to is away from the neon and crowds of Las Vegas Boulevard. To get there, we took a meandering walk, past the bronze statue of Siegfried and Roy near the Mirage, around the lush bird habitat at the Flamingo and through that familiar gauntlet of handbillers fwap-fwapping their pamphlets about women available to visit our room. Then we veered off-Strip, taking East Flamingo Road about a mile and a half east to meet friends at Lotus of Siam (at its newest location). In 2000, Gourmet Magazine named this Thai restaurant the best in North America. We feasted on sumptuous beef jerky, duck curry, and spicy catfish. The food was even more remarkable than I remembered. The wide-open spaces, the red-rock vistas, the mountain silhouettes framing the valley, the Dr. Seuss-ish Joshua trees, the way it's so easy to breathe out here with all that hardy desert beauty that, too, is my Nevada. Shaking off the frenetic tourist energy, Neil and I headed out to Lake Mead, which is about 30 miles east of the Strip, for a morning hike on the Historic Railroad Trail. The path was constructed to transport materials to Hoover Dam beginning in 1931, and over the course of about two miles, it goes through five long, cool, eerie, dark tunnels, all while hugging the lake formed by the dam. It was especially beautiful this day, under a cloud-stippled blue sky. Having earned an appetite, we stopped for breakfast in downtown Boulder City, which, as one of two cities in the state that bans gambling, is a kind of Nevada Mayberry. At a postcard-worthy diner called the Coffee Cup, we wolfed down an omelet with green chile, avocado and cheddar (me) and hash browns smothered in pork chile verde (Neil) before driving back to Vegas to reunite with a group of friends who had also moved away. We had rented a house together in the McNeil Estates neighborhood, a cool community of swanky ranch-style homes with midcentury modern trappings about a mile and a half west of Las Vegas Boulevard. While musing over some Vegas vagaries "You can still smoke indoors?"; "Oxygen bars are still a thing?"; "Glen Lerner (a personal-injury attorney with billboards everywhere) hasn't aged?" we admired some of the developments downtown. Fremont East, a strip of bars and restaurants just past a cluster of old-school casinos and the touristy Fremont Street Experience light show, had picked up momentum and density since we all left. Once associated with seedy hotels and a Wild West, anything-goes ambiance I interviewed a self-described hit man in a hotel here in the early 2000s for a story there is now a walkable district that includes the Downtown Container Park outdoor mall made of the stacked steel shipping boxes, with funky sculptures and a fabulous little book shop, the Writer's Block. We happened upon "Market in the Alley," a far cry from the unsanctioned dealings that once took place in surrounding passageways. People were buying crafts from vendors and sipping expensive cups of pour-over coffee. We ran into an old friend and asked whether there was anything to check out farther east. "Nooo," he warned, and gestured to a nearby business. "You don't want to go past murder mart." Change comes in increments. My happy place lies deep in the Mojave Desert, about 90 minutes west of Vegas, in the tiny, hardscrabble town of Tecopa, Calif. The latest census data puts its population at about 150, but locals will say that's generous. Some people come here for the many hot springs. Others come for the date milkshakes, served in a shop at a working date farm called China Ranch. I come for the profound quiet and the tepees at Cynthia's. Twenty-some years ago, Cynthia Kienitz started visiting Tecopa. The more time she spent in the desert, the more she felt shaped by it, much the way the sun bakes the loping mud hills here just outside of Death Valley and how the Amargosa River carves a tumbling waterfall near the date farm. Kienitz, an interior designer, likes to say she got tired of the rat race and traded it all in to become a desert rat. She opened a small bed-and-breakfast in a home on the date farm, but then decided she wanted her guests to be immersed in the desert. So she set up three enormous tepees each sleeps four in comfy beds that look out on the date palm trees and surrounding bald hills. And then she added a half-dozen guest rooms in repurposed, well-appointed trailers so more visitors could live like locals. (Trailers are de rigueur out in these parts.) I've stayed in both, finding solace in the stark landscape and the bejeweled night sky. Cellphones don't work out here, and locals wear headlamps at night. It all adds to the charm. During the day, Neil and I hiked along a sandy path near China Ranch, past a couple of abandoned cars turned brown and crisp by the overbearing sun, toward earthy mounds that look like sleeping giants. Later, Kienitz, whom I've gotten to know over the years, took us out on ATVs to tour an old mine and rudimentary cemetery, where the grave markers are simple crosses fashioned with two sticks. She told us some of the history of the area, explaining that it was an active mining community from the 1870s to the 1950s. At night, we headed to Steaks and Beer, a tiny restaurant with two indoor tables and four bar seats, all of which are full. It was too cold to take advantage of the outdoor tables. We walked a few yards away to wait at Death Valley Brewing, one of two breweries in town "Probably the most per capita anywhere," the man who poured our beer said and over a red nitro and a coffee porter, we gazed at a man at the bar toting a white bucket of homegrown persimmons, cutting slices with a large knife and handing them to anyone within arm's length. When seats opened up at the restaurant, it became clear why the place does a bang-up business: The $36 filet mignon, served with vegetables and mashed potatoes, was perfectly seasoned and finished with a combination of red wine butter and reduced balsamic vinegar. It was as good as any I've had in a Chicago steakhouse. Stuffed, we used a flashlight to find our way back to our tepee for the night. With temperatures only in the high 30s, we were grateful for heated mattress pads. Only our noses got chilly, and we slept soundly until the coyotes woke with the sun, their high-pitched howls sounding more human than canine. We tool one more desert detour, winding a couple of hours north of Tecopa through the sun-baked Death Valley National Park to the Goldwell Open Air Museum, where artists mostly from Europe have created sculptures against the barren backdrop. There's a bronze miner standing next to a penguin, and eerily cloaked figures called "The Last Supper." A short drive beyond were the crumbling buildings of Rhyolite, the remaining ghost of a Gold Rush boomtown. At its peak, there were about 50 saloons, 19 lodges, 16 restaurants, a newspaper, a bathhouse, and more. You can still see Tom Kelly's Bottle House a well-preserved structure made of 50,000 beer bottles. By the time we returned to Vegas to fly out of McCarran International Airport, both of us energized by the fresh air and sunshine and time with good friends, I thought back to the places on my original "to do" list (China Mama for soup dumplings, Peppermill Fireside Lounge for a Blue Hawaiian, Dino's Lounge for a karaoke rendition of "Leather and Lace") and realized how many I didn't check off. A week may sound like a lot of time to someone who hasn't lived in Las Vegas. But for me, it wasn't nearly enough. Silver is a writer based in Chicago. Twitter: @K8Silver. IF YOU GO Cynthia's 2001 Old Spanish Trail, Tecopa, Calif. 760-852-4580; discovercynthias.com Choose to sleep in a tepee on a date farm or in a well-appointed trailer in this tiny desert town about 90 minutes from Las Vegas. Tepees start at $165 and trailers start at $98. Lotus of Siam 620 E. Flamingo Rd., Las Vegas 702-735-3033; lotusofsiamlv.com The menu of Northern and Southern Thai offerings is as thick as a book at this off-Strip favorite of locals. Be sure to make a reservation well in advance. Entrees start at around $15. Steaks and Beer 9 Old Spanish Trail Hwy., Tecopa, Calif. 442-261-1414 The steaks served here would stand out anywhere but they're especially remarkable in this tiny restaurant in a hardscrabble desert outpost. Entrees start at $16. Historic Railroad Trail Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Nev. 702-293-8990; nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/hikerr.htm Pass through five dark tunnels on this easy out-and-back hike along a former rail trail that was used to transport materials to Hoover Dam from the 1930s through the early 1960s. You can turn around at the fifth tunnel (2.2 miles) or continue on to the Hoover Dam parking garage (3.7 miles). Free. Goldwell Open Air Museum 1 Golden St.; Beatty, Nev. 702-870-9946; goldwellmuseum.org Towering art in the middle of the desert, bordering a dilapidated ghost town? Why not! The bizarre sculpture park, founded by Belgian artists, is on the outskirts of Death Valley, 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas. A tiny, on-site visitors center provides a good history on Rhyolite, the ghost town of Nye County. Free. General information: visitlasvegas.com Sheriff Jewell Williams, a Democrat first elected in 2011, has authorized millions of dollars in extra spending to advertise sheriff sales. Read more Former Philadelphia Sheriff John Green turned on the spigot nearly 30 years ago and the spending has gushed forth ever since. Without any legal obligation to do so, Green and his successor, Jewell Williams, have spent millions of dollars to place ads for forthcoming sheriff sales in community and niche newspapers across Philadelphia, using fees imposed during foreclosures. In some cases, those fees are borne by the very homeowners at risk of losing their houses. The result has been a bonanza for politically connected intermediaries who have gotten a cut of the ad money, as well as for the papers themselves, a number of which were founded by politically active owners. Williams and Green both say the money has been well spent, a way to reach a more diverse pool of potential bidders for foreclosed properties. Critics dismiss the ads as an expensive frill, meant to reward the sheriffs' Democratic allies and buy friendly news coverage for the relatively uncovered agency. Statewide court regulations require that sheriff-sale legal notices be placed in a major general-interest newspaper and an area legal publication. To that end, Williams purchased $4.2 million in ads last year in the Inquirer, the Daily News, the Philadelphia Tribune, and the Legal Intelligencer. But he has gone well beyond that, spending an additional $3.6 million for ad space in many other publications, some small and obscure. The Public Record, the Sunday Sun, the Philadelphia Gay News, Scoop USA, Fun Times, and Impacto News are among 20 newspapers and two radio stations that have received such discretionary ad money from the sheriff for years. Williams declined an interview request. In a statement, he said the extra spending was needed to reach beyond mainstream media. This way, he said, "all citizens in a city as diverse as Philadelphia have an opportunity to participate in the sheriff sales." The price for that opportunity is steep. The cost of the ads is covered by a fee that can be as high as $1,500 on a foreclosed house, officials say. "The money comes from the homeowners, the people who lost their homes. That's not good," said John Dodds, the director of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. "It still doesn't make any sense to me." City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart is another critic. At a time when the city is considering tax hikes, she said, the Sheriff's Office spending on the ads "needs to be thoroughly explored." Her agency is planning a new audit of the Sheriff's Office, including its nearly $8 million annual advertising expenditure, Rhynhart said. The ads have been controversial for years. Advocates for the poor, such as Dodds, have tried to rein in the practice. But nothing has had any impact not even the harsh light cast on the spending by the federal corruption investigation of Green that climaxed in his recent trial on bribery charges. Federal prosecutors accused the former sheriff of pocketing kickbacks from the money flow, though a jury deadlocked on some charges and acquitted Green on others. He is facing a retrial. Still, the debate over the sheriff's largesse continues as part of a larger disagreement about whether state law should mandate any sheriff ads in newspapers. Detractors say such legal notices could be posted on government websites at a fraction of the current cost. Mark Cohen, president of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, which represents the state's newspapers including the Inquirer and Daily News, said it was important that papers, independent of local governments, continue printing legal notices. "We're a watchdog," he said. "I'm not sure it makes sense for public notices to be in the hands of government." In editorials, the Inquirer, along with many other papers, has argued that printed legal notices are necessary to reach elderly and low-income readers who may not be online. Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of the Inquirer and Daily News, was paid $1.6 million for ads by the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office last fiscal year. >> READ MORE: Covering the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office: A word from the publisher It is notable that even defenders of the continued use of printed ads are surprised by the Philadelphia sheriff's aggressive use of community and niche publications, often free with small circulations. "This is shocking that they are going above and beyond what is required," said Holly Lubart, the lobbyist for the NewsMedia group. In total, Williams, a Democrat first elected sheriff in 2011, authorized the purchase of $41 million in ads over the last five years. The Sheriff's Office also has chosen to outsource the purchase of those ads rather than rely on any of its 400 employees to handle that task. In contrast, the City of Philadelphia gets the job done in-house, detailing two employees to place $2 million in legal notices yearly, said Mike Dunn, spokesman for Mayor Kenney. In the case of the Sheriff's Office, the decision to outsource the ad placements has benefited two well-connected Democratic political consultants, Barbara Grant and Luz Cardenas, former spokeswomen for Mayor John F. Street. Williams hired their media firm to place ads with 17 news organizations, paying them more than $4.5 million since 2013. They have kept their contract despite being underbid in 2016 by a competitor who offered to place the ads for less than half their fee. The Sheriff's Office, like other city agencies, is not required to hire the lowest bidder. Another political veteran in on the action is Kenneth Smukler, a longtime adviser to U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, the Democratic Party chairman in Philadelphia. Brady has been a key backer of Williams. Smukler is awaiting trial on federal charges of violating campaign-finance laws during two Democratic primaries, including the 2012 election in which Brady won renomination. None of the charges involves the Sheriff's Office. Smukler and his wife have been generous supporters of the sheriff. The couple have given $13,000 to Williams' campaign fund since 2011. For a fee, Smukler provides five niche publications with pages of sheriff sale ads, as well as a few accompanying articles, including self-penned editorials that anchor the insert. Publications that print and use the ads and insert were paid $11 million by the sheriff. In addition, they paid Smukler a fee for his efforts. Smukler declined to say what he is paid. One publisher in his group, while declining to specifically reveal Smukler's fee, said his work would typically be covered by a 15 percent commission. In that case, Smukler would have been paid $1.6 million by the papers. Smukler spoke with a reporter for this story, insisting the exchange be off the record. Last week, he published an article in his online publication, Liberty City Press, that detailed the interview. In his article, he asserted the Inquirer exploited its special legal status to overcharge the sheriff. Since Smukler violated his own ground rules for the interview, the Inquirer and Daily News view the exchange as on the record. During the interview, Smukler said the members of his group were paying for his editorial material, and not merely to gain access to the sheriff ad revenue. "This is a real publication," he said, referring to Liberty City Press. "I'm charging our partner publications for content that our partners seem to be happy with," he said. A reform candidate The practice of placing sheriff's ads in smaller community papers can be traced to Green's first election in 1987 when he ran against the party as a reform candidate. "He was interested in getting people involved people that don't read the Legal Intelligencer or the Inquirer," Janet Pina, a former top aide to Green, testified during his recent trial. "He believed the best way to do that was through the community newspapers that were free." In an interview, Irwin Trauss, a veteran lawyer with Philadelphia Legal Assistance who advocates on behalf of homeowners in foreclosure, said the spending was in part an effort to buff Green's image. "I think it was also viewed as a way of buying favorable coverage in the smaller papers," he said. Barbara Deeley, Green's former second-in-command, also testified at Green's trial, saying she persuaded Green to place ads in the Gay News after its publisher, the politically active Mark Segal, asked for help. Deeley said she presented the buys as smart politics. "The gay community are voters, and they're very community active," she recalled telling Green. The Gay News was not the only publication with political heft to receive sheriff ad money over the years ($538,000 last year). Others receiving money over time include the Sunday Sun ($572,000 in 2017), founded in 1992 by the late J. Whyatt Mondesire, a former top aide to the late U.S. Rep. William H. Gray; and the Public Record ($234,000 in 2017), founded in 1999 by former City Councilman James Tayoun after he served 40 months on a corruption conviction; Tayoun and his paper gave Williams a total of $2,000 in campaign contributions in 2011 and 2015, campaign-finance reports shows. And in 2015, with Williams up for reelection, the Public Record named him "Public Servant of the Year" in a front-page story. The article failed to report that the paper also honored him with a $1,000 prize. The honor was short-lived. After the city Ethics Board spotted the honorarium in Williams' financial disclosure the following year, it forced him to disgorge the money and pay a $500 fine. (Tayoun died in 2017). For Williams, the ethics complaint was an embarrassment. Green, his predecessor, faced far more serious allegations. Green's trial ended early this month when a jury acquitted him of three corruption charges and deadlocked on conspiracy and corruption counts. A codefendant, businessman James Davis, was convicted on several charges, including conspiracy and helping file a false Green campaign-finance report. Green's retrial is several months away. The placement of sheriff sale ads formed the heart of the corruption case against both men. The government faulted Green for giving no-bid contracts to Davis to purchase the ads under contracts that called for Davis to receive a 15 percent commission on the sales. Prosecutors said Davis reciprocated by showering Green with zero-interest loans, illegal donations to his campaign fund, and other benefits. Green's lawyer said there was no evidence that Davis' actions were tied to his sheriff's contracts. Green quit midterm at the end of 2010 amid hostile audits and criticism from good-government groups. Deeley took over as acting sheriff and promptly killed Davis' contracts. But she didn't end the niche advertising. Instead, Deeley handed the work to Grant and Cardenas, and Smukler, who, in 2011, worked for the two women's firm. All three have benefited since. For six years, the Sheriff's Office paid Cardenas-Grant Communications a 15 percent commission on the ad sales. The women lowered the rate to 12 percent in 2017 after a bidding competition. Asked about competing bids, the Sheriff's Office, in a statement, said, "Bids ranged from 5 percent to 12 percent." Grant and Cardenas got the contract again after the sheriff deemed other bidders to not meet all the requirements for the job, according to a statement. For their commission, Grant and Cardenas also handle public relations work for the Sheriff's Office. They fielded questions for this story, for instance. Grant said politics had nothing to do with her firm's winning the contract and keeping it. "The reason we were selected was we submitted superior proposals," she said. In all, Grant and Cardenas are paid commissions on ads placed with 17 news organizations, including the Inquirer, Daily News, Legal Intelligencer, and Philadelphia Tribune. Smukler's network is made up of the Gay News; the Sunday Sun; Al Dia, which serves the Latino community; and New Mainstream Press, which prints papers in Chinese and Vietnamese. Catherine Hicks, co-publisher of the Sun and a former aide to Sheriff Green, and Hernan Guaracao, publisher of Al Dia, declined to answers questions about Smukler. Segal, publisher of the Gay News, said Smukler "gets a percentage" of the ad placements. He would not say how much, but added that the "typical agency fee is 15 percent." "Ken acts as the agent for the multicultural consortium," Segal said. "Ken is a political consultant and a businessman. In this he is more of a businessman." While Grant and Cardenas are paid by the Sheriff's Office under a government contract subject to rebidding and competition, Smukler is paid by the newspapers in his group. There has never been any bidding or public competition for the placements of ads in his group. According to Smukler, before each sheriff sale, Williams' staff sends sales information to print shops that create the listings. Smukler then adds his editorials and other material. The papers in Smukler's group print the material at their own cost as an English-language insert for their publications including those in Chinese and Vietnamese. His wraparound generally includes photos from charity events, feature stories focused on people of color, stories on high school sports, and Smukler's editorials. In his editorials, Smukler has defended his political allies, including Brady and Williams. In December, he devoted his front page for two consecutive weeks to a plan to grow marijuana in a warehouse in North Philadelphia. He did not mention he has an option to buy the warehouse. Segal, who founded the Philadelphia Gay News 42 years ago, said the ad payments from the sheriff a total of $2.7 million to his weekly since 2013 supported local journalism and alternate voices. "We at PGN, like at minority and multicultural newspapers, have fought for years to gain city, state and federal advertising that the mainstream media has always had for itself," Segal added. Supporters of the spending point out that the money does not come from general taxes, but from a foreclosure fee. The advertising fee is often the biggest part of a bewildering package of foreclosure levies used to cover auctioneer charges, hall rentals, lunch for sheriff staff, attorney fees, and more. In total they can reach almost $5,000 per house. "One of the problems is that the costs are viewed as if nobody is paying them," said Trauss, of Philadelphia Legal Assistance. "There's not a significant recognition that it is coming out of the pockets of the homeowners or the lender." Rhynhart, the city controller, also said the fees needed to be scrutinized. "It is people's money," she said. "Whether it's tax dollars or fees from business or individuals, it is money that is being contributed and should be safeguarded and used appropriately." Staff writer Anh Nguyen contributed to this article. Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Leon Tucker speaks about the Philadelphia Safe Return program at a news conference. Behind him are Common Pleas Court President Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper (left), Municipal Court President Judge Marsha Neifield, and the Rev. Alyn Waller of the church. Read more A three-day event next week will allow people with certain outstanding warrants to meet with a defense attorney, turn themselves in, receive an expedited hearing, and possibly get a favorable outcome. The "Philadelphia Safe Return" program will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 W. Cheltenham Ave., in East Mount Airy. It is a collaborative effort among the Philadelphia courts, the District Attorney's Office, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, faith-based organizations, city and state probation and parole offices, and other agencies. The program will handle warrants issued by Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas and Municipal Court, including the Traffic Division, as well as warrants issued to state parole absconders. It will not handle active arrest warrants. For that, court officials said, people should head to a local police district. The program also will not cover Family Court probation and bench warrants for either adults or juveniles; those warrants should be handled at Family Court, 1501 Arch St. "Safe Return is an opportunity for anyone with certain outstanding warrants to voluntarily surrender and receive favorable consideration in the process," Common Pleas Court President Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper said in a statement. "Prior to surrendering, each person will be able to speak to a criminal defense attorney free of charge," she said. "It is anticipated that most of those who voluntarily surrender are likely to go home that same day." Lawyers with the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Defender Association will be on-site to provide legal advice before someone commits to surrendering, court officials said. "This is a unique opportunity for many of our citizens who have made mistakes to come forward and work with local officials to get their lives back on track," Mayor Kenney said in the statement. "It's an opportunity to clean the slate and eliminate the worry associated with outstanding warrants." During a similar effort over a four-day period in 2008, more than 1,000 people voluntarily surrendered, most of whom received favorable dispositions or new court dates, court officials said. For next week's event, addiction and mental-health services will be available through Prevention Point and the city's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. The Mayor's Office of Reintegration Services (RISE) will be on hand to discuss reentry services. Parking is available at the church. A shuttle service will be offered from the Olney Transportation Center, at Broad Street and Olney Avenue. Children will not be allowed to attend. For more information, visit https://phlsafereturn.wordpress.com or call 267-765-6898. Graying and gaunt in his safety-orange jumpsuit, Victor Scott looks twice the age of other inmates in the visiting room at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Philadelphia's largest jail. He stands out for another reason, too. Scott, 53, has the unwelcome distinction of being the first juvenile lifer in Pennsylvania charged with a new crime, possession of a gun. He is one of 111 so far resentenced and released from prison on parole in Pennsylvania, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2016 that the court's 2012 ban on mandatory life-without-parole sentences applies retroactively. At a preliminary hearing Friday, the gun charge against Scott was dismissed for lack of evidence, but prosecutors said they intended to refile it immediately. If convicted, Scott fully expects he'll never get another chance at freedom. Releasing Pennsylvania's 521 juvenile lifers, said Leo Dunn, chief of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, has been a "social experiment" in this life-means-life state. So far, the board has approved about 80 percent of lifers who've sought parole. There has only been one parole violation so far; that person was placed in drug treatment. "Not bad, considering 111 are on the street," Dunn said. "We're having very positive reentry so far." By comparison, the one-year recidivism rate for all people leaving state prison in Pennsylvania is about 35 percent. Philadelphia is home to more than 300 juvenile lifers, the largest such population anywhere; all of them are facing lifelong parole upon release. Many have said they feel a monumental responsibility to demonstrate that it's safe to release lifers there are more than 5,400 of them in Pennsylvania, second only to Florida. They have even created support groups to help one another along, to ensure that no one gives critics reason to doubt they can succeed. Scott shares that mindset, he said in an interview at CFCF. He had spent 35 years in prison for the 1981 murder of Michael Rhoads, 29, in West Philadelphia as part of a gang war. He'd been free just over five months such a short time that he was still counting it in days, about 150 of them. "Every day, I'd wake up early, sometimes 4 a.m., 4:30. I didn't want to miss anything. It felt like a dream. I'd try to remind myself, this is real. I'm really home." Now, he said, being locked up again feels like a nightmare. The case began on April 6, when Scott's parole agent received a confidential tip. That morning, a group of parole agents arrived at his house and called him on the phone. Scott took five to 10 minutes to answer the door. Prosecutors believe he used that time to hide the .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun the agents would later find, tucked behind paint cans and a toolbox, on a staircase leading up to the attic. At the preliminary hearing, Assistant District Attorney Chesley Lightsey also moved to enter into evidence Scott's murder conviction. "I've heard no testimony that the house was cleared" by parole agents before Scott arrived, Judge Marissa Brumbach said before dismissing the case. She said that testimony was necessary to conclude that the gun had not been there before he arrived. In an interview, Scott said he had not been aware that the gun was stashed in the Southwest Philly home, a family property where he is renting a room. He said that other family members have access to the house, and that before he moved in it was a hangout for his nephew and his nephew's friends. "Everything was perfect," he said. "Why would I have a gun? That'd be like throwing rocks at the penitentiary." He had different plans, he said. He was in a relationship with a woman he'd dated since he was 16. He suffered disabling back pain but was hoping to enroll in an experimental treatment. He was close to landing a $14-an-hour job at Horizon House, as a peer counselor, he said. His major preoccupation the morning he was arrested was how to attach his resume to an email, a technology he still found perplexing. To his relief, it finally went through. Scott said he does not want to be the one to give authorities pause. "We know how important this is, not just for us but for all the guys that are still in there," he said. "Everyone is watching for us to mess up." Dunn said that these cases are not all that different from handling parole in cases of third-degree murder, which carries a 20- to 40-year sentence in Pennsylvania. Like other parolees, lifers' home plans are carefully reviewed before their release, along with their prison records. However, the nine-member parole board developed new practices for the juvenile lifers: running parole prep sessions for them in prison, and requiring approval from at least five board members before allowing release. Dunn said he was waiting for Scott's case to be decided to draw any conclusions, and would continue to review each case on its individual merits. "It shouldn't be political. The focus should always remain on public safety." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. Read more GOYANG, South Korea The leaders of North and South Korea made a bold pledge Friday to work toward a "common goal" of denuclearizing their peninsula and formally ending the Korean War by the end of this year, following a historic day of talks on the border that has divided them for almost seven decades. It was a day marked by an astonishing level of congeniality between the two, including a warm embrace at the signing of what they called the "Panmunjeom Declaration, after the border area where it was forged. It was, however, short on details as to what, exactly, "denuclearization" means for each of them. Still, the fact that Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in spent so much time together and came up with a joint statement that even includes the word "denuclearization" marks a surprising development after a year of threats and missile launches that brought the specter of war back to the Korean Peninsula. "You can't ask for more than that," said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul and a keen proponent of diplomatic engagement. The warmth of the meeting and the positive, if vague, signals now set the stage for Kim to meet with President Trump at the end of May or early June. Trump has said he will only go to the talks if they promise to be "fruitful," a bar that likely was met with Friday's meetings. "Yes, there are still questions about how to guarantee North Korea's security on the path the denuclearization. But I'm surprised they would go this far at this early stage, that Kim Jong Un didn't save this for his meeting with Trump," Delury said. The three-page Panmunjeom Declaration states that "South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." "South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard," it said. "South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Kim did not utter the word "denuclearization" during his remarks with Moon after the signing ceremony, and the phrase "through complete denuclearization" will ring alarm bells in Washington because it implies that nuclear weapons will not be allowed in South Korea either. The United States, South Korea's security ally, regularly sends nuclear-capable aircraft and ships to the South during military exercises, so this clause will raise suspicions that North Korea is calling for a significant change in the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Moon had previously said that Kim would not insist on American troops being withdrawn from the South. In Friday's declaration, Kim and Moon also agreed to work to turn the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty that would officially bring the war to a close. "South and North Korea will actively cooperate to establish a permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," the joint statement said in English, as officially translated by the South's presidential Blue House. The Korean language version used the words "peace treaty" an important distinction. "Treaty" generally refers to a piece of paper while "regime" means a system for peace, such as stopping military activities. "Bringing an end to the current unnatural state of armistice and establishing a robust piece regime on the Korean Peninsula is a historical mission must not be delayed any further," the statement said. The United States signed the armistice agreement on behalf of the South Korean side, and Trump has said that he supports such a move. The White House welcomed Friday's summit as it started. "We wish the Korean people well," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. "We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula," she said, adding that the White House hoped the "robust discussions" would pave the way for the planned meeting between Trump and Kim. "This provides the political space for Trump to have his own summit with Kim," said Duyeon Kim, a visiting fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul. "Whether or not Kim Jong Un means it is a completely different story." The two sides will set up an inter-Korean liaison office to be established in Kaesong, a city just over the northern side of the border, and Moon said he would visit Pyongyang this fall. During their conversations earlier in the day, Kim said he would happily travel to Seoul if invited. The signing ceremony came at the end of an extraordinary day full of scenes that would have been unimaginable at the turn of the year after a 2017 in which Kim had demonstrated surprising advances in both missile and nuclear technology and was regularly threatening to use them against the United States. Trump, for his part, was returning the verbal volleys, calling Kim "little rocket man" and threatening to "totally destroy" North Korea. But, following a sudden frenzy of diplomacy pegged to the Winter Olympics that South Korea hosted in February, Moon has managed to shift Kim's focus from missile launches to the negotiating table. At 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning, Kim came out of the main building on the northern side of the military demarcation line that has divided the Korean Peninsula for 65 years and walked right up to the line. Moon was waiting there for him, hand outstretched, and for the first time since the Korean War halted in 1953, a North Korean leader stepped into South Korea. Showing his penchant for bold and surprising moves a tactic that was repeated later with the hug Kim then asked Moon to step back across the line with him, and he did. For a brief moment, the leaders stood in North Korean territory, holding hands. The moment was broadcast live across the country, with commuters stopping in train stations and teachers stopping classes so their students could watch the moment, and North Korean state television even broadcast an unscheduled news bulletin to announce that Kim was on his way to Panmunjeom. Moon and Kim proceeded to spend hours together on Friday, both in formal talks and in a half-hour-long private discussion on park benches outside in the sun, surrounded by birdsong. They threw soil and water from both Koreas onto a pine tree planted in the Demilitarized Zone to mark the occasion. At one stage during the day, Kim assured Moon he wouldn't have to wake up early any more a reference to the fact that North Korea's missile launches usually happened at about dawn. Then, after their announcement, their wives made cordial small-talk in front of the cameras before heading to a dinner that was full of symbolism, from the noodles that came from Pyongyang to the fish brought in from Moon's home town. This is only the third inter-Korean summit and is the first that South Korea has hosted. In 2000, the South Korean president at the time, Kim Dae-jung, went to Pyongyang to meet then-leader Kim Jong Il, the current leader's father, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. However, the shine came off when it emerged the South had paid the North $500 million to participate. Roh Moo-hyun, Kim Dae-jung's successor, followed suit by traveling to Pyongyang in 2007 and also meeting Kim Jong Il. At the time, Moon was Roh's chief of staff and head of the summit preparation committee. As officials prepared to celebrate the opening of Subaru's new corporate headquarters in Camden on Friday the city's latest catch, bolstered by generous state tax incentives Mary Ann Rakus was pining for a different type of development along the Admiral Wilson Boulevard. "It would be nice to have a WaWa," said Rakus, the vice president of Bush Refrigeration, a commercial refrigeration company that has been on the north side of the boulevard in Camden for 34 years. Its 22 employees bring in a personal trainer for fitness needs and run errands in Cherry Hill. "Where we're at, really, there is nothing to get at quick," Rakus said. The seedy subject of a $45 million cleanup effort 18 years ago, now a spartan stretch of gas stations mingled with a bus lot, liquor stores, vacant buildings and a strip of parkland, this section of Route 30 between the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden and neighboring Pennsauken has been a challenging sell to some businesses like a hoped-for ShopRite that never came to pass. "It takes a special company that's going to want to move to a site that's right off the highway, which is essentially one way, heading toward a bridge," Camden County Freeholder Jeff Nash said, of the westbound commercial section of highway. He and others hope that Subaru will help change that. The company's new five-story, 250,000 square-foot headquarters sits off the south side of the Admiral Wilson Boulevard, near Campbell's and Cooper Hospital in an area developers envision as a "pedestrian-friendly urban campus" complete with a nine-acre park, light-rail and PATCO access, farmers markets, art installations, and performance spaces. "People's perception of Camden starts at Admiral Wilson Boulevard. You want to create a perception" of what Camden is now "that there's significant revitalization," Nash said. "It's tough to create that perception with boarded-up buildings." Spurred by the opening in 1926 of what would later be dubbed the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Admiral Wilson Boulevard was once imagined as a tree-lined parkway that would showcase Camden. But it quickly became a commercial hotspot for businesses seeking to "appeal to the driving consumer" including the world's first drive-in movie theater and a "whoopee coaster," a type of roller coaster for cars, according to Rutgers University-Camden librarian Bart Everts. By the 1970s, the boulevard began an evolution toward a different kind of business. Go-go clubs and hourly rate motels began to dominate a trend enhanced by a 1977 city ordinance restricting businesses related to "prurient interests" to the boulevard, according to Everts. For years, prostitutes walked along the roadway, looking for work even in daylight and congregated under a bridge in between trips to the nearby hotel. Ahead of the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, the state decided the boulevard needed to shed its sleazy image. Buildings along the south side of the highway were razed to put on a better face for visitors along a road that serves as the gateway to Camden for thousands of motorists daily. The state also tackled the road's flooding problems, which once routinely forced its closure after a soaking rain, completing a $7.8 million project to improve drainage in 2010. Still, amenities are lacking. After ringing up a customer Wednesday at Carool's Discount Liquor where posters outside advertise prices for single cans of Tecate and Bud Ice Maria Cintron said that while the demolition improved the highway, she wished for more stores or a shopping center. "Anything we can get by that's close," said Cintron, who lives in Camden. Commuters suggested that the boulevard could still use sprucing up. "I would like to see some beautification," said Randy Pesikey, a Subaru dealership employee who drives from Delaware to Cherry Hill. He sometimes stops at the Speedway on the south side to grab food. "I've never been here after dark," Pesikey said. "I've been told I shouldn't." Camden Mayor Frank Moran said he was bullish on the boulevard's future. With Subaru opening, "that will be the anchor for what's to come on Admiral Wilson Boulevard," he said. The city is promoting several tracts along the north side and will talk with Brandywine Realty Trust, the developer of the Subaru site, "to look at land along the boulevard," Moran said. "It's just a great corridor," Moran said. The city has enjoyed a powerful tool to lure businesses to Camden recently: tax incentives. Subaru was approved for $118 million in incentives by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in 2014 to move from Cherry Hill and build the headquarters that will open Friday. The incentives were the product of a 2013 law to spur economic activity and prevent businesses from leaving the state, with particular bonuses for businesses moving to Camden. Other big projects in the city to net credits include Holtec granted $260 million by the state in incentives to move to the Camden waterfront from Evesham and American Water Works Co., promised $164 million to move from Voorhees. In seeking the tax credits, Subaru pledged to relocate 500 employees and create 100 new jobs. The credits, spread over 10 years, are conditional on the company's meeting those commitments and staying in Camden for at least 15 years. The law also affords Subaru a 20-year tax abatement, allowing the company to forgo paying real estate taxes for the first 10 years, and paying a portion of the tax owed for the next 10. The company declined to comment on its property taxes. Throughout Camden, 55 percent of property value is tax-exempt, compared with 14 percent in the rest of Camden County, according to the New Jersey Treasury Department. Camden's median household income is $26,214. More than one in three Camden residents lives in poverty, according to census data. More than 550 Subaru employees will be relocated from four sites onto the new campus, though the headquarters has room for 900 employees, spokeswoman Diane Anton said. A not-yet-complete, 107,000-square-feet service training facility will hold 70 more employees. A "limited number of vehicles" will also be stored on site, she said. While some workers have already moved in to the headquarters, others will do so over the next several weeks, finishing by the end of May, Anton said. Amenities at the new headquarters which is expected to be LEED-certified include a full-service cafeteria, ATM machine, a dry cleaner and a "grab-and-go" food shop, Anton said. Brandywine is marketing the development which can accommodate 1.2 to 1.8 million more square feet on six additional sites "regionally and in the Acela corridor from NYC to DC," Berson said. Other changes are coming to Admiral Wilson. The Gateway Park along the south side of the boulevard is expected to open in July, according to county officials. "We want to make sure that park is in a condition that employees and residents can use," Nash said. And new companies slated to move to or just off the north side of the boulevard also lured by tax incentives include Benjamin Foods, a Hatboro, Pa.-based wholesale food distributor, and ResinTech, a water treatment company relocating factories from West Berlin; Bristol, Pa.; and Maryland. "I wanted to have close proximity to Admiral Wilson, access to the Ben Franklin Bridge and Cherry Hill," said ResinTech CEO Jeffrey Gottlieb, whose company netted $138 million in tax credits to move a few blocks off the boulevard and hopes to begin construction later this year. "It's mostly an industrial area. I think there's great potential for development there." George Stephanopoulos interviews Bill Cosbys publicists Andrew Wyatt and Ebonee Benson on Good Morning America the day after a jury found the entertainer guilty of aggravated indecent assault. Read more Speaking out for the first time since a jury convicted Bill Cosby, the entertainer's publicists compared him Friday to Emmett Till, the black teen whose 1955 lynching in Mississippi and the acquittal of his killers became a signature moment of the civil rights era. "This became a public lynching," Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt said of the entertainer's prosecution, during an interview on ABC's Good Morning America. Wyatt maintained that Cosby had committed no crime, noting that despite the conviction, the defendant would "walk around as an innocent man" while the appeal process played out. Within hours, that changed: Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill issued an order placing Cosby under house arrest until his sentencing. "The defendant shall not leave his home" in Cheltenham, O'Neill wrote, will be fitted with an electronic monitor, and can travel within the Philadelphia area only if he first submits a written request to the county's probation office. Wyatt's television appearance and the judge's tightening of bail conditions were just two of many responses the day after a jury in Norristown found the one-time TV star guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand. Constand and other women who testified at the trial spoke out, and Temple University rescinded an honorary degree it gave Cosby, its most famous alumnus. One group that remained silent, however, was the jury that delivered the first celebrity conviction of the #MeToo era by declaring Cosby guilty; O'Neill did not release the names of the 12 jurors and six alternates from Montgomery County. Wyatt and fellow publicist Ebonee Benson told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America that Cosby is at home with his wife, Camille, and insists he has done nothing wrong despite the verdict and accusations from more than 60 women. "You're saying all these women, all 60 women, are lying?" Stephanopoulos asked. "Since when are all women honest?" Benson replied. "We can take a look at Emmett Till, for example. Not all people are honest." Till was 14 and visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was lynched in August 1955, after a white woman claimed that he had grabbed her waist and made crude comments in an encounter at a grocery store. His killers were arrested and charged with murder, but acquitted by a jury of 12 white men. The following year, the defendants admitted the killing in a magazine interview. Decades later, the woman spoke out and said her claims against Till were false. In her closing argument, one of Cosby's lawyers, Kathleen Bliss, also had compared the accusations to a lynching as well as a witch hunt and McCarthyism. Wyatt suggested that Gloria Allred, who represents more than 30 Cosby accusers, worked to help women fabricate allegations. "What Gloria Allred was able to do, what she did, was take a salt and pepper shaker she shaked out a lot of salt and sprinkled in a little black pepper," Wyatt said. "And the south came east. And that's what we saw." The interview immediately stirred reactions on social media. Moments before Wyatt and Benson spoke, Stephanopoulos interviewed Janice Baker-Kinney and Lise-Lotte Lublin, two of Allred's clients who testified against Cosby at trial. "I just began to shake," Lublin, a teacher from Las Vegas, said of learning about the verdict. Asked about the tough cross-examination she endured from Cosby's lawyer Tom Mesereau on the witness stand, Baker-Kinney said Mesereau was "kind of a bully and I wasn't about to put up with it." Constand tweeted her thanks Friday morning to Montgomery County prosecutors her first public statement since Thursday's verdict. "Truth prevails," she wrote. Her lawyer Dolores M. Troiani said Constand feels relieved by the verdict, but she was not sure whether she or Constand would say anything more about the trial. "This has been a 14-year struggle," Troiani said. "I think we're entitled to take some time and think about things." Meanwhile, O'Neill did not indicate Friday whether he intended to release the names of the jurors who delivered the guilty verdict or hold a hearing in response to a motion from media organizations requesting that he make their identities public. In addition to the Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com, the media organizations that petitioned the judge for access to the names Friday included the New York Times; the Washington Post; the New York Post; the Associated Press; CNN; ABC News; NBC News; Buzzfeed; WHYY; and the LNP Media Group, publisher of both LancasterOnline.com and the Caucus. "The case for releasing the jurors' names is even stronger now" than after Cosby's first trial, which ended in a mistrial in June, attorneys Michael Berry and Paul Safier wrote in a motion on behalf of the news organizations. Back then, O'Neill was concerned that releasing jurors' names could fill the news with opinions that could taint the jury pool in advance of Cosby's retrial. He ultimately relented, acting on a similar request from many of the same media organizations. In court documents Friday, the lawyers pressed their case anew: "There are no grounds for overriding the First Amendment right to access jurors' names." Candidates in the Democratic primary in the Fifth Congressional District debate at Galdo's Catering in South Philly. From front to back: Margo Davidson, Larry Arata, Molly Sheehan, Rich Lazer, Mary Gay Scanlon, Ashley Lukenheimer, Lindy Li, and Theresa Wright, standing. Read more The 10 Democrats running in the Fifth Congressional District by and large share the same ideas: they want to raise the minimum wage, protect undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, expand pre-K, and stand up to President Trump. But at a forum last night in South Philly, things grew a bit heated when the discussion turned to money in politics. Here are a few highlights. The plot thickens Earlier this week, we told you that the super PAC Progress in PA-05 was supporting former federal prosecutor Ashley Lunkenheimer in the Democratic primary. The committee hasn't disclosed its donations and hasn't responded to requests for comment. Lunkenheimer's rivals seized on the issue Thursday night, and a voter pressed her to disclose the group's donors. What ensued was a series of awkward deflections. She said three supporters had told her that "they believe so much in the importance of this race and my candidacy that they would like to provide additional support to my candidacy." Lunkenheimer declined to reveal the supporters names but said they had also donated directly to her campaign, and that she expected the group to publicly disclose its donors with the Federal Election Commission. "If my supporters would like to support me in a different way this is the system that we have," she said at another point. "I don't control them doing that." She added that, like the other candidates, she wants to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which helped open the door to unlimited spending by outside groups. Democrat Larry Arata said he had heard that Lunkenheimer's mother, Molly Shepard, had launched the PAC. A spokeswoman for Shepard didn't return requests for comment Friday. Johnny Doc, Russian oligarch? It's no secret that Philadelphia's powerful electricians union is going in big for Democrat Rich Lazer, a former top aide to Mayor Kenney who has done consulting work for the union. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 98 recently launched a super PAC that placed a $200,000 ad buy to promote Lazer's candidacy on cable. And on Friday, Local 98 dropped $82,740 on hoodies, signs, and canvassing operations to support Lazer, according to Federal Election Commission records. "One person, one labor leader, should not be the dictatorone person should not have that much power," Arata said Thursday night, in an apparent reference to Local 98 business manager John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty. "That's not democracy. That's an oligarchy. That sounds like Russian politics, not a democracy." Of course, so-called independent-expenditure groups have proliferated in recent years, and Dougherty is hardly the only person using them. Lazer said he was proud of the support he's received from organized labor and said he had read about the super PAC, Middle Class PAC, in the newspaper. He said he, too, supports campaign-finance reform. Meek Early in the debate, a moderator asked the candidates if they supported legalizing marijuana. Lindy Li said yes and then name-dropped Philly's most famous rapper. "I actually had the great fortune of running into Meek Mill today," she said, "and we talked about criminal justice reform." Mill was released from prison this week on unsecured bail after serving a controversial five months behind bars for violating probation stemming from 2009 firearms and drug convictions. The primary is May 15. Vitaly Bespalov, a 27-year-old freelance journalist, answered an ad for a content manager at 55 Savushkina Street, the infamous Russian internet troll factory that meddled in the 2016 election. Read more ST. PETERSBURG, Russia The four-story building at 55 Savushkina St. that housed the infamous Russian internet "troll factory" that meddled in America's 2016 election now appears empty. I saw a huge "For Rent" sign in one of its large windows facing the street. The main trolling operation has moved to an impersonal seven-story glass office building in the distant Lakhta business district. I couldn't enter the building due to tight security. (Journalists seen taking pictures have been grabbed and harassed.) The city's leading business daily Delovoy Peterburg reported late last year that the operation's workspace has tripled. Yet, little known to Americans, this fake news factory, whose organizers and some staff were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for interfering with the U.S. political system, was not initially intended to wage information warfare on America. Instead, its original purpose, starting in 2014, seems to have been to shape the thinking of ordinary Russians by viciously attacking domestic opposition activists and fueling public hostility toward Ukraine and the United States. >> READ MORE: Report from Moscow: After missile strike, will Trump or Putin be seen as the winner? The domestic propaganda barrage continues out of the troll factory's new digs, which include a massive online media conglomerate that intertwines news with Kremlin propaganda. "A tricky mix of normal reporting and hate speech," one Russian journalist calls it. RBC magazine wrote in March 2017 that this "media factory" now reaches an audience that exceeds 50 million Russians a month. In May, this "media factory" will launch a new "information agency" called "USA Really. Wake Up Americans." It has already put out an announcement that it "will focus on promoting information and problems that are hushed up by major American publications controlled by the U.S. political elite." The agency is inviting "English-speaking journalists and authors to work on the project " and send their CVs. Now that its secret internet project has been exposed, the troll factory will apparently focus more on open information warfare. Kremlin propaganda mills masquerading as news agencies will try to insert anti-American propaganda into U.S. and Russian media. Given the rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, I think the domestic trolling operation holds more potential threat to America than any (over-hyped) efforts to subvert U.S. democracy. It promotes Kremlin efforts to convince Russians that the United States wants to destroy their country and start WWIII (enhancing similar messages on state-controlled TV). Since at least 2014, this trolling operation has been posting grotesque fabrications to foster Russian support for the Kremlin's invasion of eastern Ukraine and to whip up hostile feelings toward America. The information operation is funded by a Putin-friendly oligarch, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who just also happens to control a mercenary outfit known as Wagner that has contract troops in Ukraine and Syria. To find out how the trolling worked, I talked to brave Russian journalists and undercover activists in Moscow and St. Petersburg who have been reporting on the fake news factory since long before Americans ever heard of Russian trolls. >> READ MORE: Report from Moscow: Russian TV news exacerbates disconnect between Putin and the U.S. Vitaly Bespalov, a 27-year-old freelance journalist with long blond hair and a tattoo of Russian opposition politician Ksenia Sobchak on one arm, came to St.Petersburg in 2014 to try to find work. He answered an ad for a "content manager" at 55 Savushkina St. and was offered a salary about a third higher than a normal starting job in Russia. It was not long after Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and he was told he would be working for a department called Ukraine II. Bespalov had to pull 20 news stories about Ukraine daily from the internet and rewrite them to fit the Russian propaganda version. Ukrainians resisting the Russian invasion were "terrorists" and Russia-backed separatists were "volunteers." When a Ukrainian rocket hit an empty school where "volunteers" were hidden, the news was that Ukrainians wanted to kill children. Americans wanted to use the uprising as an excuse to start World War III. (According to the BBC's Russian service, the troll factory was linked to a video operation in Ukraine that produced gems like a supposed U.S. soldier shooting bullets into a Quran, clips that might enrage Russian Muslims in the Caucasus.) After a few days, Bespalov realized what was going on and decided to "stay and get more information and make it public." He was later assigned to distribute links to fake news stories to social-media groups in different Russian cities. These stories were filled with cliches, such as "[Secretary of State] Clinton wants war with Russia" and nasty claims about President Barack Obama. "I used to think this work was absolutely stupid work with no results," Bespalov told me. But later he heard ordinary people using these cliches in their conversation "not just about Ukraine but about the USA." >> READ MORE: Report from Moscow: Not the Cold War, not WWIII: What to look for from Russia The trolling news operation backs Kremlin efforts to convince Russians that the United States wants to destroy their country. Similar messages are delivered by state-controlled TV. Unfortunately, I was unable to learn what the American department of the troll factory is up to these days. Russian journalists say that, since 2016 it is much harder to find sources that have worked inside the troll factory. "They are scared and refuse to talk," says Bespalov. Only a handful of Russian news outlets still cover this story, which can put journalists at severe risk. After Vitaly Bespalov was interviewed by NBC late last year, the main state TV channel attacked him viciously, and his picture appeared on social media with false claims that he was a drug addict. In the United States, on the other hand, we have plenty of information, overhyped, about Russian trolling. (Russian journalists I met uniformly expressed astonishment at any claims that the troll factory changed the outcome of the 2016 election.) We know what happened in 2016, and should be fully able to take adequate precautions about any similar efforts. Forewarned about Russian trolling should be forearmed. Damage to buildings in the fall near Norman, Okla. But so far, so quiet out that way this year. Read more Spring has been taking its grand old time in ripening around here, and while that hasn't been an altogether pleasant experience, it evidently is related to quite a remarkably benign development in Tornado Alley. Not a single tornado has been reported this year in Oklahoma one of the world's twister capitals and that is a record. At 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, it became Oklahoma's longest wait for the first twister of the year, said Patrick Marsh, warning coordinating meteorologist at the national Storm Prediction Center, in Norman, Okla. Nor has a single tornado yet been spotted in Kansas, where the record for the latest first sighting is May 28. Why the good fortune? It has something to with our bad fortune. You've probably noticed it's been on the cool side around here. "The large-scale pattern across the United States has continued to favor cold-air intrusions across most areas east of the Rocky Mountains," Marsh said. That air originates in central Canada, and in the central United States it has tended to arrive on the dry side (not that it's been exactly dry around here). That would kill two tornado-makers warmth and moisture with one air mass. In Tornado Alley, in the south-central states, conditions have been more favorable for wildfires than severe thunderstorms. Could this continue? "To paraphrase a Danish proverb, it's dangerous to make seasonal tornado predictions, especially about the future," said Marsh. Tornado counts, he said, "can change very rapidly in a matter of a week or two." Attempts to forecast how active or inactive a given season would be a la those seasonal hurricane outlooks remain nascent, he added. "There is some preliminary research that's being done," he said. "It's a little bit harder than the hurricane problem. Smaller-scale features play a much bigger part in tornadoes." For his part, Marsh is hoping for continued meteorological tranquillity in his home state. He has a newborn son and a 2-year-old daughter. Said Marsh: "I could use the quiet weather right now." In Bill Cosby's first trial for sexual assault of Andrea Constand, the jury deadlocked on all charges. It was unfortunate that Cosby's first trial ended in a mistrial, because so many of the women who had been harboring guilt and shame in other cases felt as if it were a slap in the face. But I believe that the first outcome was a result of unfortunate evidentiary rulings, not an indictment of rape victims generally. One can never be certain about what a jury will do, but on Thursday afternoon, the jury in Cosby's retrial landed on a guilty verdict. I believe this was possible because the jurors had a much clearer picture of the defendant in front of them, thanks to the following three reasons: 1. Other victims testified. This trial was no longer a "he said, she said" case between Cosby and Constand. For the first trial, even though more than 50 women said that Cosby sexually assaulted them, the judge limited corroborating testimony to just one other woman. That was a mistake in my view. The hardest cases for the prosecutors to win are those where the defense can say it's just "he said, she said." In the first trial, one additional victim did not dramatically alter that impression. An alternate juror explained: "The evidence wasn't strong enough. It was a classic he-said, she-said, and there were too many holes too many holes in the prosecution's case, I feel." In the retrial, Judge Steven T. O'Neill permitted five other accusers to testify. It was still less than 10 percent of the women who have come forward to accuse Cosby, but five stories is radically different than just one. Through the testimonies of the additional victims, the jury was able to see a pattern and understand that Constand's story was not just a random occurrence. To be sure, it's sad that five were needed; it reminds me of Jay Leno's observation that "you go to Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man. Here, you need 25." 2. #MeToo has educated the public. It's no surprise that the public is more knowledgeable about the facts of the incidence of sexual assault than it was a year ago. Why? Because the #MeToo movement brought into the public square so many victims of famous men. The defense complained that it is hard to get a "fair trial" in light of the #MeToo era. I beg to differ. The movement has nicely educated the public about the incidence of such assault and abuse. Women often couldn't get a fair trial against their accusers when the public did not know that so many idols and leaders had engaged in sexual assault and/or harassment. As we have seen again and again, there is a tendency to treat the celebrity we loved or revered as sacrosanct. It takes the sunlight of this cultural change to let the facts filter through the cloud of a sterling reputation. In addition to teaching the public about the incidence of powerful men subjugating women to sexual assault or harassment, the #MeToo movement has given a platform to women to explain why they didn't tell anyone. It turns out that many of them felt no one would believe them. That was true of the first witness, Heidi Thomas, this time around. Others didn't say anything, because they feared that it would harm their fledgling careers. Check off this factor for Thomas, too, who said she also kept the matter secret because she feared affecting her young modeling career. She also blamed herself, which we know is what victimized women often do. Indeed, we have a term for it when other people do it: victim-blaming. It happens a lot when powerful men are accused. Take, for example, the people who engaged in victim blaming of Harvey Weinstein's victims here and here. In short, this first witness set the stage for the jurors to understand how Cosby could have many victims who were not vocal about the assaults. With the long line of women echoing similar themes over the last year, she was credible. 3. Cosbys large settlement with the victim was disclosed. In the retrial, the jury was permitted to learn that Constand had received a huge settlement from Cosby, in the amount of $3.4 million. The defense argued that she was trying to "milk" Cosby for money. Maybe that argument would have some force if it was a much smaller number. That might show that he was just trying to get rid of an annoying lawsuit. But $3.4 million is a lot of money to receive even in a sexual-assault case, and it is an extraordinary amount to make the suit go away. That's not the amount of money one pays to just "get rid" of a plaintiff. In fact, the sheer size of the settlement indicates he knew he was in actual trouble. Surely, that was not lost on the jury. This is a game-changer. The #MeToo movement swept away the habits of thinking that immunize men like Cosby. That created a space where the jury could see the facts and the man for who he is. He is not "America's Dad" anymore. Marci A. Hamilton is the Fox Professor of Practice and Fox Family Pavilion Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania; the founder, CEO, and academic director of the nonprofit think tank to prevent child abuse and neglect, CHILD USA, and author of two books. Former juvenile lifers with staff of the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project following a workshop for juvenile lifers at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford. Read more They were told as teenagers that they would never get out of prison, but in the last two years, more than 70 men and two women sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole have returned home to Philadelphia and a world drastically different from the one they were removed from decades ago, as children. They are former "juvenile lifers," who were convicted as teenagers of murder or felony murder that is, participating in a crime that ended in a death and were sentenced to mandatory terms of life in prison without parole (JLWOP), meaning that a judge had no choice but to impose that sentence. After decades in prison, many are now 50 and 60 years old. They are trying to find work, housing, and education, learn technology, and deal with the other demands of modern life. Soon they will be followed by others who now have a chance at freedom because of two U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The first case, Miller v. Alabama, in 2012, responded to scientific evidence of the diminished culpability of teenagers because of their immaturity and susceptibility to peer pressure. The ruling declared that mandatory life sentences without parole for youth are unconstitutional and that context must be considered before sentencing a child to die in prison. The second, Montgomery v. Louisiana, decided just two years ago, made that finding retroactive for all 2,000-plus juvenile lifers in the United States. It's a life-changing moment, but the challenge of building new lives on the outside is daunting, and in many ways it is more difficult for former juvenile lifers than for other formerly incarcerated men and women. At the time of the Montgomery decision, nearly a quarter of all juvenile lifers in the country had been sentenced in Pennsylvania and more than 300 in Philadelphia. In the two years since, more than 230 men and women have been re-sentenced statewide, and many more could be released in the near future. As a recent Inquirer article noted, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has taken a new approach to extending offers in JLWOP cases, which reflect the individualized circumstances of each situation. The Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project (YSRP) has created a new online tool, the Pennsylvania JLWOP Reentry Navigator, to make it easier for former juvenile lifers to locate resources in the community, including those that can help with housing, behavioral health, physical health, food and clothing, education, employment and volunteer opportunities, government assistance and public benefits, faith-based services, identification documents, voter registration, senior services, life skills training, case management, and transportation. Resentencing and parole decision-makers are particularly interested in the supports and plans that a juvenile lifer has in place for when he or she returns to the community, and the Navigator can help locate them. The need for the Navigator grew out of training we conducted inside of nearly every prison in the state with juvenile lifers. We asked what concerns they had about reentering society, and what questions they had about navigating life on the outside. The Navigator responds directly to these questions and concerns, and now exists as a resource to support folks planning to return home, as well as those who have already returned home. We are working to help all juvenile lifers have the best possible chance at this important and overdue opportunity. Lauren Fine and Joanna Visser Adjoian are co-directors of the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project. Philadelphia's history as a driving force for technological advancement stretches back centuries, having served as the home for countless inventors since before the nation's founding. The kickoff date for Philly Tech Week marks the 85th anniversary of one of the city's major technological milestones, which involved close collaboration between Bell Labs and the Philadelphia Orchestra. On April 27, 1933, music enthusiasts gathered at Constitution Hall in Washington for a special performance. The event featured the Philadelphia Orchestra, then conducted by the legendary Leopold Stokowski. Instead of rows of world-class musicians arranged on stage, however, the audience sat before cutting-edge loudspeakers designed and built by Bell Labs (the research and development branch of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., or AT&T). The Philadelphia Orchestra remained in its home city, stationed in front of special microphones (also designed by Bell) arrayed inside the Academy of Music. The audience experienced two feats of technological magic that evening: the first live transmission of a concert through a telephone wire and the first public showcase of stereophonic audio. Each partner in this groundbreaking project contributed enormously to its success. Stokowski was both a master-class artist and an advocate for integrating technology into music. Beginning his widely celebrated tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1912, Stokowski led the keystone Philadelphia cultural institution on to a number of artistic triumphs and technological firsts throughout his 29-year career. In 1925, the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded "Danse macabre, Opus 40," by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens, which resulted in the first orchestral work recorded using the electrical recording process. By 1929, Stokowski and his world-renowned orchestra had performed the United States' first-ever commercial radio broadcasts of a live symphony, disseminated to the entire nation by NBC. These early broadcasts propelled Stokowski to find even better technological solutions for the orchestra's modern-age experiments. Frustrated at what he considered the inadequate sound quality of the NBC broadcasts, Stokowski turned to Bell Labs for ideas to take his ambitions for the Philadelphia Orchestra to the next level. Bell had long worked on improving the quality of transmitted and recorded sound, primarily in the service of further developing telephone technology. Dr. Harvey Fletcher a University of Chicago-trained physicist served as Bell's director of acoustical research in the early 1930. Under his guidance and in conjunction with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Bell produced a number of groundbreaking audio technology advancements during this period. In 1931, Bell installed microphones capable of capturing previously unimaginable frequency ranges in the Academy of Music's basement with the intention of recording the Philadelphia Orchestra. Stokowski kept the project a secret, withholding it from orchestra members as he and Bell produced experimental records, including the first-ever stereophonic record, which featured Maurice Ravel's arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and Alexander Scriabin's "Prometheus: The Poem of Fire." Together, Bell and the Philadelphia Orchestra contributed enormously to the revolution of recorded and transmitted sound, forever improving the listening experience of the record-buying and music-appreciating public while cementing Philadelphia's important role in the development of audio technology. Patrick Glennon is a communications officer at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. pglennon@hsp.org The Philadelphia Orchestra's planned tour of Israel, in partnership with the Jewish Federation, is set to begin June 1. By performing in Israel, the orchestra will provide musical accompaniment to the world's last settler-colonial state, at a time when other artists are canceling appearances there following the Palestinian call for a global boycott (BDS) of Israel, modeled after the South African anti-apartheid boycott. Among the strategies Israel has launched to combat BDS is "Brand Israel," a propaganda initiative that seeks to exploit culture to divert attention from Israeli crimes. Arye Mekel, Israeli deputy director general for cultural affairs, explained it as the "way you show Israel's prettier face." The Philadelphia Orchestra's trip to Israel is part of this strategy. >> READ MORE: Philadelphia Orchestra's Israel tour enables musicians and supporters to engage with complex reality of Israel | Opinion More than 100 musicians, artists, scholars, and human-rights activists, together with 35 social justice organizations, sent a letter to the orchestra's leadership calling on it to cancel the trip. We asked for the chance to further discuss the issues in person. Believing we could appeal to orchestra leaders' sense of morality, we quoted the words of Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu: "People who are denied their dignity and their rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings. I have witnessed the systematic humiliation of Palestinian[s] familiar to all black South Africans." The orchestra's co-presidents, Ryan Fleur and Matthew Loden, sent a short response that I can only describe as dismissive, patronizing, and micro-aggressive. We followed up with another letter to reiterate our desire to meet, but received no answer. One of the things mentioned in our letters was a scheduled dinner with Miri Regev, a politician who once referred to African asylum-seekers as "a cancer" and later apologized to cancer patients for the association. She said, "Heaven forbid I did not compare them [Africans] to human beings." The itinerary (open to orchestra members and patrons joining the trip) boasts multiple visits with military personnel, including a "VIP visit to an IDF [military] base." This is the same military that has killed 40 Palestinians and wounded 5,000 more in the span of just four weeks. A video of snipers celebrating after shooting an unarmed Palestinian man in December was leaked and immediately went viral. In response, Israel reprimanded the person who filmed the shooting and is seeking to criminalize future videos of crimes against Palestinians. >> READ MORE: On a diplomatic mission and to woo patrons Philadelphia Orchestra will go to Israel Fleur and Loden claim neutrality, invoking lofty verbiage like "cultural diplomacy," "brotherly and sisterly love," and "peace and tolerance." But based on their press release, the orchestra's tour is in celebration of Israel's 70th anniversary, which marks the year when 80 percent of the indigenous non-Jewish population were forcibly evicted and had their properties, homes, and heritage stolen by recent European Jewish immigrants with no direct ancestral ties to the land. Unwilling to let such ignominy pass unnoticed, concerned Philadelphians began weekly protests outside the Kimmel Center and will continue to do so. The orchestra's tour is ultimately a collaboration with an apartheid state that oppresses millions through the use of color-coded IDs denoting one's ethnicity, color-coded license plates, segregated roads, segregated buses, and a two-tiered legal system (harsh military orders and courts for occupied Palestinians and a civilian justice system for Israelis). It is morally indefensible for Philadelphia's world-renowned orchestra to participate in Israel's propaganda, particularly as Israel is murdering and maiming thousands of defenseless human beings now before our eyes. Susan Abulhawa is an international bestselling author and human-rights activist living in Bucks County. @sjabulhawa Cheyenne, WYCheyenne Regional Medical Center is hosting a free mens health event on April 28, 7 a.m.-10 a.m., in the hospitals main auditoriums, 214 East 23rd St. The first 200 men to participate will be offered a free blood draw to test for lipids, testosterone, glucose and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Men who plan to do the tests should not eat or drink anything except water for at least eight hours before the blood draw. Medications should still be taken as prescribed. Information on lung, testicular, prostate and colorectal screenings will also be available, in addition to free stool-testing kits and low-cost radon-testing kits. This event offers a convenient way for men in our community to receive basic wellness screenings at no cost and to also find out more about issues that often have a significant impact on mens health in our county and state, said Barbara Lawyer, CRMCs oncology program manager. Sponsors include the Cheyenne Regional Cancer Center, the Wyoming Institute of Population Health, Prostate Conditions Education Council and Wyoming Cancer Resource Services. Denton "Den" R. Dudrey, is a Wyoming native, born and raised, with a strong family history in the military. He was born in Sheridan, and lived all of his childhood years there until graduating from Sheridan High School in 1965. From Sheridan, Dudrey went to Junior College working towards an electrical engineering degree. After a year, he transferred to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. While at Laramie, he worked towards his degree, circumstances would change and he would find himself looking to enlist rather than be drafted. So he headed to Butte, Montana to enlist. Montana would prove to be a call back situation. He was told after testing for the United States Army that he could not enlist there, but to try in Wyoming. With that in mind, he tried the United States Marines. However, that wasn't to be either. In the end, he got a call back from the U. S. Army and enlisted in Butte, Montana. Pulling from his family's heritage with the military, Dudrey followed in his father's boots and enlisted in the United States Army. His dad served during WWII as a bombadeere and a navigator on the B29s. Although, he was in the Army as well, Dudrey entered basic, completed it and headed to flight school in Texas to fly helicopters. While Dudrey was in basic, he came to be known as "Cowboy". Coming from the "Cowboy" state, this seemed most appropriate. During flight school, he learned about a problem with his eyes, and was retrained in a different careerfield as a carpenter. He would find himself a Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. Classes were small, and he gained some friendships that have lasted a lifetime. Dudrey would find himself going across the world to Vietnam. He would see some of his friends there as well. His new assignment would change his life, and his opinons about much of what he knew. "Not everyone in Vietnam was an enemy, regardless of what you are told." he stated. "We have many 'papasans' and young boys helping in the camps, things like KP duty, clean up! We also had mamasans to help at the laundry!" While in Vietnam, at Long Binh with the 1st Signal HQ Bricade, Dudrey was in charge of 3 of the bunkers. He would also pull duty on "Rat Patrols" guard duty. "Day time duty for the bunkers were left to one man, but at night all three bunkers were manned." Dudry stated. He went on to explain how it was sometimes hit and miss with the rockets, and they were famous for striking at night. "They attacked with rockets one night, and took out the mess hall from another squadron just 100 yards from ours!" he exclaimed. "Making it work in other places," he said, "one became quite the scrounger for parts, wood, food, etc." He went on to explain that "trading wood for steaks was common practice amongst the squadrons." Upon leaving Vietnam, the plane Dudrey was on, was pretty heavily shot up and they had to change destinations. When landing in the states, he had requested civilian clothes to change into. When he put his clothes on, he hadn't realized just how much weight he had lost. "I was down to 130 pounds." he said with a grin. Dudrey received the Bronze Star and the United States Army Commendation Medal for his duties and service in Vietnam. Courtesy Den Dudrey Once back home, Dudrey started his college education again. He received his degree in geology, and started working as a surveyor for an exploration company. From here he would go to work in the mines in Hannah, Wyoming. Dudrey would next find himself in other mines, underground doing core samples studying the rock and sandstone for possible roof cave-ins. Next would be back home, teaching as a substitute teacher. Soon, he would leave home again and would stay with the Department of Roads for the state of Wyoming for twenty years. Dudrey stands tall in his family history of veterans. His father served in WWII, both his grandfathers served in WWI, as well as his mother, who served in the Army WACS. This lineage would continue on down the line to Dudrey's son David Dudrey, Marine Corp. Thank you for serving, Den! Small businesses are not just your mom and pop stores, cafes, service stations of the past. There are the meat and potatoes of every small town across American. In our town and surrounding communities, we have many business, old and new that are still going strong. Since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. This years National Small Business week is from April 29th to May 5th, 2018. Join us in congratulating and thanking our small business for another year. Continued salute on A9 Once every year, thousands of students and teachers gather together in the Casper Event center to view the best artwork from high school students throughout the state. For the first time in many years, the Pine Bluffs High School attended the Wyoming High School Art Symposium. There were over five thousand pieces of artwork on display. This year, Pine Bluffs had fourteen students participate, and Burns had three. Pine Bluffs students brought home four blue ribbons and Burns brought home one as well. Students who were awarded ribbons should be very proud considering there were over five thousand pieces of art and roughly only five hundred pieces gained that recognition. The art was judged and given ribbons based on the judging done by art teachers. Each teacher was allowed to present 13 ribbons to any artwork excluding work done by their own students. No matter what kind of art student you are, there was something for every student to enjoy. "I thought it was really amazing to see all of the different works of art from the students throughout the state," said Amy Bauer, one of the students who submitted photography. Brian Arzola went on to say that "I'm pretty certain that it was by far the best experience, art-wise, that I've had so far." It was overall an amazing experience and completely worth the bus ride all the way to Casper. Brian Arzola won two ribbons, one for a distorted Salvador Dali created with mixed media and one for the Christiano Ronaldo created with white charcoal. Scout Pachel took home a blue with her distorted portrait created with graphite, and Elizabeth Syvanen took home one with her conceptual acrylic painting based around racism. Last week, the Wyoming Recreation and Parks Association held its annual workshop right here in Pine Bluffs. In the past the event has been held in Casper, but that changed last Thursday. The workshop was one of two annual events the association holds each year, the other being the annual conference. At the annual workshop, parks and recreation professionals networked and attended different seminars including event planning and marketing. Pine Bluffs Recreation Director Sonja Fornstrom, who is also a WRPA board member, said the event was an opportunity for Pine Bluffs to showcase itself to the rest of the state. Everyone was very impressed with the community support we have here in Pine Bluffs, Fornstrom said. In addition to hosting the workshop, WRPA board members met Wednesday They will meet again in the fall, Fornstrom said. Cities and towns of all sizes from across the state were well-represented last week. Recreation and parks professionals attended from Cheyenne, Casper, Evanston, Pinedale, Cody, Sheridan, Lander, Albin, Burns and Wheatland, Fornstrom said. She added that she hopes other small towns throughout the state can host the event in future years, so they too can showcase what they have to offer. LARAMIE COUNTY SHERIFFS: The Laramie County Sheriffs Department will be at two locations on Saturday, April zs", 2018 from 1 0:00AM through 2:00PM to take back any unwanted, unused, prescription, or over the counter drugs. The Sheriffs Department will join other local law enforcement agencies in continuing this successful program for county residents. The two locations are the Safeway Grocery Store and Pharmacy at 700 South Greeley Highway, and Laramie County Fire District #2 at 5800 North College. The Laramie County Sheriffs Department has taken in over 1,800 pounds of unused and unwanted prescription drugs since the program inception. The purpose of these Drug Take Back Days is to allow citizens to safely dispose of unused or unwanted prescription drugs in an environmentally safe manner and keep those drugs out of the hands of unauthorized persons or juveniles. Drugs that have been taken in have ranged from over the counter drugs to narcotic prescription pills and liquids. Once again, no illegal drugs, sharps, thermometers, oxygen containers, radioactive materials, pressurized containers, or chemotherapy drugs will be accepted. For further information you can contact Lieutenant Kevin James at (307) 633-4773. Points of Contact for further information regarding this release for the Laramie County Sheriffs Department are Captain Linda Gesell at (307) 633-4735 or Lieutenant Kevin James at (307) 633-4773. Planetary Science Division Funding Hits Record Heights With the conclusion of the FY 2018 appropriations process, TPS saw the majority of its goals reflected in the final funding bill for NASA. The Planetary Science Division smashed through previous funding records, reaching $2.2 billion. The budget included two of The Planetary Society's top priorities: an additional $75 million directed toward Mars Sample Return and future orbiter planning (as we recommended in 2017's Mars in Retrograde paper), and $35 million for NEOCam, an asteroid-hunting space telescope. Also a high priority, the Europa project received a boost to a stunning $595 million for both a lander and the Clipper spacecraft. No other organizations had focused on the Mars Exploration, Planetary Defense, or Europa, sowe consider this to be a clear example of the effectiveness of our empowered Space Policy & Advocacy program. The Planetary Society's D.C. staff had worked hard in the past few to ensure that critical programs like Mars exploration and planetary defense were not overlooked. This work paid off. Congressional Planetary Science Caucus is Established The paperwork was submitted in January, formally establishing the caucus. The team worked with marketing and communications to announce the news to our membership via a multi-channel marketing strategy, including an exclusive interview on Planetary Radio, an op-ed published in The Planetary Report, an all-member email, and assistance in a formal press release. The team in D.C. worked with Bill Nye on Capitol Hill to make personal requests to join the caucus, and also provided material for TPS members to distribute during our congressional blitz in February. The current size of the caucus is five senators, twenty-two representatives, and four supporting organizations, surpassing the goal of 20 members by the end of May. New Online Training CourseSpace Advocacy 101Readied for Launch We finalized the production of our first online training courseSpace Advocacy 101which usesa new online teaching platform to provide an accessible, valuable, and unique offering to our members and the general public. We tested out an early version of the course on the participants of the February congressional blitz, which helped to validate its utility and scope, and to refine the final version. All 2017 donors to the Space Policy & Advocacy program were given early access to the course, fulfilling last year's fundraising campaign promise. The course will be opened to full membership in April. We Partnered with the Library of Congress for a Conversation on near-Earth Objects with Bill Nye and Dr. Amy Mainzer The Planetary Society partnered with the Library of Congress's Kluge Center for a members-only, off-the-record breakfast discussion on near-Earth objects with Bill Nye and Dr. Amy Mainzer from JPL. This represented an expanded Space Policy & Advocacy focus on planetary defense policy in addition to planetary exploration. More than a dozen members of Congress attended. Bill and Amy's conversation was followed by a moderated discussion before members and more than 400 congressional staff in their auditorium. The D.C. staff scheduled a dozen in-person office meetings later that day, including with high-profile officials such as Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). Bill Nye Attended the State of the Union (SOTU) NASA Administrator nominee Jim Bridenstine invited Bill to attend the SOTU as his guest. Major news stories picked up Bill's participation, causing concern among some of our members. We worked hard to engage with our membership and share our belief that The Planetary Society must work with everyone to advance space science and exploration. We used the trip to arrange an additional 18 in-person congressional meetings on Capitol Hill with members of both parties to build support for the Planetary Science Caucus and to discuss space science and exploration. Australian-American Leadership Dialogue - West Coast Delegation Visited Planetary Society Headquarters The Australian-American Leadership Dialogue is a nonprofit founded in 1992 with the support of then-President George H.W. Bush, and brings together a wide range of individuals from both countries to find new ways to cooperate and promote ideas. The West Coast Delegation was on its annual visit to the U.S. coast, and came to TPS headquarters on a trip that also included visits to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and SpaceX. We hosted the delegation for lunch and held a discussion with Bill Nye and Policy Director Casey Dreier. Other top-level management provided tours and additional discussion opportunities. New Record for Member Participation in the Annual Congressional Blitz The policy team played an integral part in supporting the Space Exploration Alliance in its annual congressional visits day (or "congressional blitz"), in which The Planetary Society brought 58 members from 21 states and the District of Columbiaroughly 80% of all participants. The entire policy team worked to support the event, and organized multiple in-person membership engagement opportunities, a special congressional briefing on sample return, and early access to the Space Advocacy 101 online training course. In the post-event survey, 95% of respondents stated they have a "Very Positive" or "Positive" experience, with 75% committing to return in a future congressional blitz. Original Content The team continued to provide regular columns to The Planetary Report, and wrote eight original blog posts on space policy issues, generating 52,325 unique page views this quarter. The Space Policy Edition (SPE) podcast audience dipped by 10%, likely due to a the transition to Panoply, which tracks listenership differently than the previous host, SoundCloud. The audience remains in- line with that for regular episodes of Planetary Radio. The monthly Space Advocate e-Newsletter audience grew by 5,542 to 33,150 recipients by the end of the first quarter. This growth was entirely organic, as there was no effort either to promote the newsletter or increase awareness on behalf of the organization. We also generated approximately 1,400 messages to Congress in support of the new Planetary Science Caucus. This is lower than normal, but reflected the fact that we did not prioritize letter-writing during this period. A deputies union on Thursday announced that 85 percent of its members who voted 534 out of 628 cast ballots expressed no confidence in Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel's leadership. He fails to listen to the people, he fails to listen to the leadership, said Jeff Bell, president of the Broward Sheriffs Office Deputies Association. Amazing leadership starts from the top, and there is no amazing leadership here. We are a ship out at sea with no power adrift. Although the plan is to present the results of the vote to Gov. Rick Scott and urge him to remove or suspend Israel, the vote is largely symbolic and does not translate into immediate action or consequence for the sheriff. Israel wrote off the vote as inconsequential and an attempt to extort a pay raise while Gov. Scott punted on how hell proceed, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Those who purportedly voted in this straw ballot reflect only a small number of the 5,400 employees. The unions representing the vast majority of our employees solidly support the leadership of this agency, Israel said. Richardson, TX, police officer David Sherrard was killed in February after responding to a disturbance at a local apartment building. He was a 14-year veteran of the department. (Photo: Richardson PD) A Collin County, TX, grand jury has indicted Brandon McCall on two counts of capital murder for killing his roommate and a Richardson police officer in February. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Officer David Sherrard was shot after responding to a call about a disturbance at the Breckinridge Point Apartments, near Renner Road and North Star Road in early February, CBS DFW reports. Back in February, Richardson Police Chief Jimmy Spivey said when officers arrived they found the injured civilian and began rendering aid. In the course of their investigation they were led to an apartment where they made an entry and immediately encountered gunfire. The Chief said Officer Sherrard fell back out of the apartment and was immediately helped by other officers. After allegedly shooting Officer Sherrard, accused gunman Brandon De McCall barricaded himself inside one of the apartments for more than four hours. The standoff kept residents sheltered in their apartments as McCall randomly firing shots throughout the evening. Ultimately McCall surrendered after officers pumped tear gas into the unit. Empire strikes back: EU "weapon" against Hungary, Poland in the works The European Commission, backed by Germany, France and the EUs other wealthy paymasters, want to make 2021-2027 EU funding to be conditional on compliance with the rule of law. The new measure would send a serious message to the strongmen currently at the steering wheel in Poland and Hungary that they risk losing EU money should they infringe the principals of the bloc, Reuters reported. The news agency clearly relies (also) on information obtained from Commission President Jean-Claude Junckers environment.The EU executive will unveil proposals on Wednesday as part of the 2021-2027 budget that will tie funding, on which poorer eastern countries rely, to respect for the rule of law, EU officials told Reuters. Conditionality will be there," one senior source said. A second said the budget pressure would be a game-changer". We have leaders flirting with another set of values," said a third, referring to Orbans call for illiberal democracy" and his attacks on an open refugee policy which he says is promoted by Brussels officials set on imposing a new empire" on Hungary. This is much more of a threat to Europe than Brexit. Budget details are still being hammered out, but under the proposals, funds could be withheld from countries which fail to abide by treaty obligations to respect the rule of law, such as by having independent courts.Note that net EU spending accounts for more than 4% of public expenditure in Poland and over 7% in Hungary.The Commission believes it has a range of tools to clip the wings of its critics. Junckers goal, people familiar with his thinking say, is to heal an east-west rift before he steps down in 18 months and to bequeath a Union that is reshaping itself after losing one of its Big Three powers, Reuters said.That dictates a softly approach which leaves critics of Orban, whom EU chiefs call The Viktator", and Polands dominant politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, less than satisfied.The news agency does not say, however, what set of criteria will be established and how compliance could be assessed objectively, which could be the weakest link in this particular chain. Hence it remains a question how the new rules could be adopted by the leaders of all 27 member states.EU officials expect Poland to back down enough next month on reforms of its judiciary to avoid the Commission having to follow through on a threat to try to suspend its EU voting rights a compromise the EU executive believes will have been achievedTensions with eastern states could also be defused by tough EU action to keep out irregular migrants, by a prospective compromise on sharing out the task of looking after refugees and by efforts to deal with complaints from former Soviet-bloc countries that they are treated as second-class citizens. East to west: Europe must breathe with both lungs. Otherwise our continent will struggle for air , Juncker said in September as he laid out policies for the rest of his mandate in what one aide described as a love letter to eastern Europe". We will work hard to keep them hooked in to the system," said another. With the right carrots and sticks." Related article EU plans leaked: Hungary seen losing huge funds 23/04/2018 2:41pm Commission faces test of wills with Orban Related article EU fund payment should be linked to rule of law compliance - Ottinger 20/04/2018 4:40pm Related article Hungary needs not to fret about drastic German ideas 26/02/2018 3:29pm EU officials expect Hungarys Prime Minister him to step up challenges to Brussels but say legal sanctions have forced him to back away from some actions and voice confidence that they can do so again, Reuters said.Orban has already backed down after losing cases to the EC in the European Court of Justice, including on a move to remove senior judges and a data privacy supervisor. He also accepted an ECJ rejection of his attempts to overturn a Union policy that would oblige member states to take in a share of asylum-seekers.to block new Hungarian laws aimed at curbing funding from abroad, notably by Hungarian-American financier George Soros, of a university and of liberal non-government organizations.The European Parliament has urged the Commission to launch moves to suspend Hungary. Opponents say more should be done to stop misuse of EU funds by businesses close to Orban.Benedek Javor, a Hungarian opposition member of the European Parliament, says the Commission has been too soft" and checks on the executives ability to step into national politics mean the system is artificially paralyzed".Countries face a high bar to prove democratic credentials to join the EU but sitting members face less scrutiny, he said.The EU Treaty would not let Hungary and Poland to be denied the payment of structural funds beyond 2020 despite concerns over their rule of law deficiencies and refusal to take in refugees. There are two possible "backdoor" solutions, though, said Carsten Nickel, Deputy Director of Research at Teneo Intelligence in Brussels, in February. 25 2021 - 200 , Cookies . cookies. One of the things you can always count on from liberals is that their earnest care about the poor and disadvantaged always ends when policies to alleviate inequality might affect them. Like this story from the Wall Street Journal today about how parents on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (it hardly gets any more correctly liberal than the Upper West Side) object to a plan to admit student withgasp! lower test scores!to the schools where they send their own kids: A New York City proposal to diversify middle schools on Manhattans Upper West Side, by setting aside seats for children with low test scores, is facing stiff resistance from parents worried their high-achieving children might lose access to the popular public schools. The Department of Education has proposed one scenario in which most middle schools in District 3 would give priority, for up to 25% of their seats, to applicants who had fourth-grade scores below grade level on state tests of reading and math. . . some parents argue their high-performing children shouldnt be edged out. At a heated public meeting Tuesday, filmed by NY1 at P.S. 199, many parents were upset. Do tell. We didnt mean diversity for us! Its only supposed to be for those icky deplorable working class people in Ohio. Ive noticed that popcorn prices are soaring these days. P.S. One last bit from the story: Supporters say the disadvantaged deserve better access. Principal Henry Zymeck of the Computer School, which would be affected, said children benefit from learning alongside others with varying abilities, and teachers know how to differentiate instruction. If this is true, then why doesnt it apply to college education, too? I think Harvard and other elite universities should admit applicants by random drawing. Among other things, it would solve the controversies over affirmative action admissions at a stroke. Think of how much disadvantaged students will benefit from professors who know how to differentiate instruction. UPDATE: An outfit called New York 1 has uploaded this report and video from a community meeting: A famous statue of Stephen Foster, often referred to as the father of American music, has stood in Pittsburgh for more than 100 years. (Foster was a native of Pennsylvania.) It was sculpted by Italian emigre Giuseppe Moretti: Today Morettis statue of Foster was carted away by Pittsburgh authorities: A 118-year-old statue of the Oh! Susanna songwriter was removed from a Pittsburgh park Thursday after criticism that the work is demeaning because it includes a slave sitting at his feet, plucking a banjo. In October, the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to take the Stephen Foster sculpture out of Schenley Plaza and find it a new home. For now, it will remain in a storage lot, out of the public view. On Thursday, workers used straps and construction equipment to lift the 10-foot-bronze statue off its base. It was strapped to a flatbed truck and taken away. This statue controversy is different from the ones surrounding Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and (weirdly) William McKinley. I take it there is no objection to Foster. Rather: The shoeless banjo player is based on Uncle Ned, a fictional slave and subject of a song by the same name. Critics have long decried the statue as racist. Its the single most offensive display of public art in Pittsburgh, hands down, Paradise Gray, a hip-hop activist, musician and writer, told the Post-Gazette in August. It permanently depicts the black man at the white mans feet. It is true that the fictional Uncle Ned occupies a subordinate position in the statue. This seems natural, since the statue is a tribute to Stephen Foster. But to me, it seems blindingly obvious that the statue portrays a kinship between Foster and the blacks who helped to inspire, and who performed, his music. Now, the fictional slave will be erased from public view altogether. Is that an improvement? Perhaps some would prefer not to be reminded that slavery once existed. I believe Thomas Sowell noted years ago that slavery existed from time immemorial on every continent except Antarctica. The extraordinary historical fact is not the existence of slavery, but rather its abolition. But that is a larger subject for another day. The Associated Press says that [a] statue honoring an African-American woman will be put up in its place. Residents can submit nominations. In todays environment any African-American woman will do, apparently. Not a man like the fictitious Ned. Stephen Foster was undoubtedly one of Americas greatest composers of popular music. It is remarkable that a number of his songs are still widely known, and sung, today. And yet he died at 37, young and broke. His career parallels that of Edgar Allen Poe, who was a near-contemporary. Poe also died young and broke, despite having invented both the horror story and the detective story, genres that have conferred great riches on countless lesser artists. The same is true of Foster. Wikipedia says that Foster was the first songwriter to refer to an African-American woman as a lady, in Nelly Was a Lady. It occurs to me that contemporary songwritersrappers like Paradise Graytypically dont refer to African-American women as ladies. I think they took down the wrong statue. In June and July the Indian-made ComBe Five vaccine will replace the Korean-made Quinvaxem against five common, potentially fatal diseases affecting infants diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B. Assoc Prof Dr Tran Dac Phu, head of the Ministry of Healths Preventive Medicine Department, speaks to Vietnam News about it. Assoc Prof Dr Tran Dac Phu, head of the Ministry of Healths Preventive Medicine Department Why does the Ministry of Health plan to replace Quinvaxem vaccine with ComBe Five? Berna Biotech Company no longer produces Quinvaxem. ComBe Five has the same quality and ingredients as the Quinvaxem vaccine including cellular components of whooping cough. This component leads to cheaper costs for the ComBe Five vaccine compared to other five-in-one vaccines with acellular components of whooping cough. So the country can afford to provide the vaccine free to 1.7 million newborn infants each year. Despite the lower cost, the ComBe Five vaccines immunity period is longer than other five-in-one vaccines with acellular components of whooping cough, which need a booster shot when children are at the age of 13, 14 or 15. If not, the risk of outbreaks of diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B in future will be high. Before deciding to use the ComBe Five vaccine as a replacement for Quinvaxem in this years second quarter in the four provinces of Ha Nam, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum, and Dong Thap first, the ministry consulted many experts and domestic as well as foreign organisations involved in immunisation. The vaccine has been assessed for efficiency by the World Health Organization and is used in 43 countries around the world, with more than 400 million shots given so far. Many parents with young children are worried about the change. What does the ministry do to assure them? This is not the first time this vaccine is being replaced. In the age of social media and the internet, it is highly necessary for the ministry to inform the public about the substitution and strengthen communication to help parents with young children get a thorough understanding. If the communication is not done well, parents are reluctant to bring their children to places offering vaccines, reducing immunisation coverage in the country. According to health experts, any vaccine for children causes reactions such as fever, swelling and others. These reactions should not cause any worry. Parents should not prevent their children from getting vaccinated just because they do not understand fully, leading to diseases which could spread in community. There are anti-vaccine groups in the countrys large cities like HCM City and Hanoi. What does the ministry have to tell them? Opposing vaccinations could affect the countrys immunisation coverage and has forced the ministry to work with all relevant organisations and hospitals to work together to help propagate the benefits of vaccines. The anti-vaccine groups say their children do not get any disease despite not vaccinating. This is not right because they enjoy the benefits of the national immunisation programme, which has increased the immunity in the community to infectious diseases. However, more and more people are joining the anti-vaccine groups. It is very dangerous and poses the risk of disease outbreaks. What are the major achievements of the national immunisation programme? Vaccines have helped the country eliminate diseases such as smallpox, polio, measles, and rubella. In the programme, there are 10 types of vaccines against many dangerous diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza type B, which are provided free to children. The Government wants more and more children to get more vaccines, but its finance is limited. So parents with the means should be encouraged to take their children to vaccine centres to get more shots outside the programme in order to protect their children from diseases. VNS BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air China Limited ("Air China" or the "Company," together with its subsidiaries, collectively the " Group") (HKEX: 00753; LSE: AIRC; SSE: 601111; ADR OTC: AIRYY), today announced its first quarter results of 2018 (the "Period"). Results Highlights Total profit increased 66.31% year-on-year to RMB4.024 billion Operating income increased 9.11% year-on-year to RMB31.607 billion Total operating cost increased 6.71% year-on-year to RMB 28.230 billion Operation and Business Highlights In the first quarter of 2018, the Chinese economy developed steadily. As residents' demand for travel was strong, air passenger traffic maintained steady growth while demand in the cargo market continued to improve. During the Period, the Group recorded operating income of RMB31.607 billion, an increase of 9.11% over the same period of last year. Total operating cost was RMB 28.230 billion, an increase of 6.71% over the same period of last year. Total profit was RMB4.024 billion, an increase of 66.31% over the same period of last year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was RMB2.628 billion, an increase of 79.23% over the same period of last year. During the Period, the Group's passenger capacity, measured by Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) increased by 10.96% year on year to 65.758 billion. The passenger traffic, measured by Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) was 53.350 billion, an increase of 9.75% year on year. Among which, RPK of domestic routes, international routes and regional routes amounted to 32.596 billion, 18.849 billion, and 1.905 billion, up 7.44%,13.65% and 12.92% year on year, respectively. The passenger load factor was 81.13%, a slight decrease of 0.90 percentage points year on year, of which, the passenger load factor of domestic, international and regional routes were 83.02%, 78.28% and 78.90% respectively. In terms of air cargo, the Available Freight Tonne Kilometers (AFTK) amounted to 3.518 billion, up 9.81% year on year, while the Revenue Freight Tonne Kilometers (RFTK) amounted to 1.803 billion, up 10.90% year on year. The cargo and mail load factor was 51.26%, up 0.51 percentage points year on year. Outlook Benefitting from the continued development of the global aviation industry, steady growth of China's macro economy, and the influence of a series of policies favourable to the industry, we expect the Company will have larger room for development this year. Adhering to the development philosophy of "Innovation, Coordination, Green, Openness and Sharing", the Group will persist in making progress while pursuing stability, continue to deepen reform and innovation, strengthen cost management and control, optimize capital and debt structure, and consolidate and enhance competitive advantages, so as to achieve better performance and sustainable development to its utmost ability. About Air China Air China Limited (Air China) is the national flag carrier of China and a leading provider of passenger, air cargo and airline-related services and products in China. Its operational headquarters is in Beijing, a major domestic and international hub in China. It also provides airline-related services, including aircraft maintenance, ground handling services in Beijing, Chengdu, and other locations. As of 31 December, 2017, the Group operated a fleet of 655 aircraft with an average age of 6.53 years, while the Company operated a fleet of 396 aircraft with an average age of 6.57 years. Passenger traffic routes have reached 420, including 101 international, 16 regional and 303 domestic routes. The Company's network covered 40 countries and regions globally and 185 cities, including 66 international, 3 regional and 116 domestic cities. Air China was listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange on 15 December, 2004 under codes 00753 and AIRC respectively. On June 30, 2006, a level 1 sponsored ADR program was set up for Air China with the ticker AIRYY. On August 18, 2006, Air China was listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange under code 601111. For further details, please visit Air China's website: www.airchina.com.cn. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains projections and forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These views are based on current assumptions which are subject to various risks and which may change over time. No assurance can be given that future events will occur that projections will be achieved, or that the company's assumptions are correct. Actual results may differ materially from those projections. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/458020/Air_China_Logo.jpg Related Links HTTP://www.airchina.com/ SOURCE Air China PUNE, India, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Continuous Testing Market by Service (Professional Services and Managed Services), Interface (Web, Mobile, and Desktop), Deployment Type, Organization Size, Industry Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is expected to grow from USD 1.15 Billion in 2018 to USD 2.41 Billion by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.9% during the forecast period. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg ) Browse 66 market data Tables and 48 Figures spread through 147 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Continuous Testing Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/continuous-testing-market-189840521.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report The increasing adoption of IoT-enabled devices and advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), neural networks, and machine learning technologies are expected to be the major drivers of the Continuous Testing Market. North America is expected to have the largest market size during the forecast period. North America is expected to be the largest contributor to the Continuous Testing Market in terms of regional revenue. This region comprises developed countries, such as the US and Canada. North America is open to the adoption of new and emerging technologies, and its strong financial position enables it to invest majorly in leading tools and technologies for effective business operations. The need for reducing time in software development cycle in enterprises in the US and Canada has encouraged the adoption of continuous testing. This gives organizations in North America a competitive edge over other organizations from other regions. Inquiry Before [email protected] https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=189840521 The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry vertical is expected to hold the largest market size during the forecast period. The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry vertical includes commercial banks, insurance companies, non-banking financial companies, stock brokerage firms, and payment gateway providers. This industry vertical deals with critical financial data and different types of software; hence, it is a good contributor to the Continuous Testing Market. Due to continuous changes in the financial environment, companies require different software to carry out critical operations. Continuous testing in the BFSI industry vertical can help financial and insurance companies ensure business-critical software remain bug-free and stable. The large enterprises segment is expected to hold the larger market share during the forecast period. Organizations with more than 1,000 employees have been categorized as large enterprises. The use of continuous testing in large enterprises is relatively higher as compared to that of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This is due to the affordability and high economies of scale, which enable large organizations to benefit from continuous testing. Enterprises leave no stone unturned to compete in today's cut-throat competitive market. Hence, they invest significantly in automation testing and building delivery pipelines for optimizing the whole testing process. All these services are favorably welcomed and highly adopted by large organizations. The major vendors in the Continuous Testing Market include Mindtree (India), EPAM Systems (US), HCL Technologies (India), Atos (France), Tech Mahindra (India), Hexaware (India), Tricentis (Austria), Cigniti (India), Larsen and Toubro Infotech (India), NIIT Technologies (India), CA Technologies (US), IBM (US), Capgemini (France), Spirent Communications (UK), Micro Focus (UK), Syntel (US), Cognizant (US), Parasoft (US), Softcrylic (US), LogiGear (US), QualiTest (US), Testplant (UK), Vector Software (US), QA Mentor (US), and SmartBear Software (US). Know more about the Continuous Testing Market: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/continuous-testing-market-189840521.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets MUMBAI, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SPJIMR, one of India's top ranked schools of management, welcomed about 2,000 guests for the Graduation Ceremony 2018 where participants from four programmes were conferred diplomas and certificates of honour. The spruced up campus buzzed with excitement right through the Graduation Day on April 20, 2018 as graduands dressed in customary robes sported sashes of different colours as per their programme. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/676830/SPJIMR_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683438/SPJIMR_Graduation_2018_Faculty_and_Guests.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683439/SPJIMR_Graduation_Batch_2018.jpg ) The purple sash represented the two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management's (PGDM) graduating class of 2018 while the red sash marked the students of the Post Graduate Executive Management Programme (PGEMP) from five batches: 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57. The students of the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) adorned blue colours whereas the pink sash announced the very first graduating class of the newly launched, unique programme, the Post Graduate Management Programme for Women (PGMPW). It was the first time four programmes graduated together. The ceremony started with the Graduation procession led by the Chairman of the SPJIMR Governing Council, Mr. Deepak Parekh, the Chief Guest of the ceremony Mr. D. Shivakumar, the SPJIMR Dean Dr. Ranjan Banerjee and the Faculty Coordinator for the Graduating Ceremony Dr. Suranjan Das, followed by Governing Council members, programme heads and faculty members attending the ceremony. A total of 586 students who were to receive their MBA-diplomas followed the procession and entered the large graduation hall that was set up for the day on the north west of the 45-acre SPJIMR lawns and campus. Ms. Priti Miranda, Registrar - Academic Administration and the Master of Ceremonies welcomed the procession amidst cheer and applause from the families and friends. Mr. Parekh, Chairman of HDFC, who has attended SPJIMR Graduation Ceremonies every year since he became Chairman of the SPJIMR Governing Council, announced, "You are students only for one more hour now. You will soon become alumni." He then introduced the presiding Chief Guest, Mr. D. Shivakumar, Group Executive President, Strategy and Business Development - Aditya Birla Group and former CEO of PepsiCo India. Prior to PepsiCo India, he was with Nokia India. Mr. Shivakumar has also had a long stint at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. where he worked with more than 50 brands. The Dean Dr. Ranjan Banerjee was received with loud cheers as he rose to speak. He announced the Institute's landmark accomplishments, accolades and breakthrough innovations achieved in the past academic year. Taking inspiration from the SPJIMR brand values of Courage and Heart in his message to the outgoing students, he said, "There is no courage without fear, just as there is no learning without failure. Courage dips when we allow the opinions of others to influence our sense of self-esteem. It is difficult to have heart when insecurity rears its head. Courage and heart have many dimensions, but for me it means that you are able to present your best self to the world on a sustained basis." "As you grow, learn and develop the courage to face reality on a sustained basis, you will then find the heart to shape that reality. As you do so, remember that you have a family at SPJIMR, a family that is rooting for you, rejoicing in every step you take, and ever ready to hold you when you fall. You are SPJIMR. We are who we are because you are who you are," the Dean added. The Chairpersons of each programme then presented the Batch Reports highlighting key moments from what was an eventful year for each programme on campus. From the new initiatives undertaken, to batch achievements and amusing anecdotes, the parents got insights into the participants' rigorous, entertaining and enriching life on campus. Dr. Vasant Sivaraman, Chairperson of PGDM, said, "The graduation day is a landmark event which is reflected in the anticipation and excitement of all assembled here. With the batch now stepping out to join the SPJIMR family as alumni we look towards your ongoing engagement as we continue to nurture the institution. We are there for you and will take pride as you build the life you'd like to lead." "Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfilment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart," said Dr. Preeta George, Chairperson of the 21-month PGEMP programme, as she quoted Martin Luther King Jr. to beautifully sum up the prevalent mood. Prof. Prem Chandrani, Chairperson, PGPM, said, "The musical talent of the PGPM batches has been exemplary. On a personal note, I am proud to have been very deeply associated with each one of you right from the beginning of your engagement with the programme; which is a source of great satisfaction." Prof. Vineeta Dwivedi, Associate Head, PGMPW, said, "This is a special day for SPJIMR as its first ever all-women batch is graduating today. We are happy and proud to present the maiden batch of SPJIMR's Post Graduate Management Programme for Women. We all wish the graduating students a very bright future; they are not just the leaders of tomorrow but guiding examples to many other women, who are still waiting to return and fulfil their destinies." Chief Guest Mr. D. Shivakumar spoke about the role of courage and heart in the students' future beyond SPJIMR and shared effective ways to navigate the four fears faced by many freshers. He said, "You are a rare, talented lot. People will give anything to be in your situation today, sitting where you are with a successful degree. You are one of India's best. Have the faith and the courage to succeed. As you progress be good and do good. Formal education makes us use more of our mind to look at everything. Use your heart too; you will make a big difference. If you have courage and a heart, you will go far. Go pursue your dream. A big dream needs a big heart." The students were officially deemed as graduates after completing the timeless graduation rituals of oath-taking, signing the register and the conclusive hat throwing. The iconic graduation hats flew joyfully in the air announcing both the end of one journey and the beginning of another. As PGEMP graduate Rohan Kanungo aptly said, "The programme may conclude here but the journey goes on." Dr. Suranjan Das, Faculty Coordinator for the Graduation Ceremony, gave a vote of thanks, listing out a long list of volunteers and others who had worked under his leadership for over three months for the event. This was the first time Dr. Das led a ceremony that ran as a 'silent' event with no announcements but names and images of students on three giant LED screens as they came up on stage to receive their diplomas. It was a 'Design Thinking' approach that picked up ideas from Mumbai's 'silent' airport and implemented it flawlessly at the ceremony. Freshly minted graduates then joined the after party to celebrate their achievements. Faculty socialised with the graduates and their families over unhurried dinner, recounting shared memories and clicking snapshots for posteriority. The lit fountain in the lake, beside the venue, also reflected the overwhelming joy of the festivities and provided a beautiful backdrop for encapsulating many a memory, of the day gone by. About SPJIMR S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) is a constituent of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and is ranked among the top ten business schools of India. As a premier school of management, SPJIMR is noted for pedagogic innovations and pioneering programmes, which have helped the Institute stand out for its unique and distinctive path in management education. SPJIMR's mission is to 'influence practice' and 'promote value-based growth'. The Institute currently operates from its 45-acre campus in Andheri, Mumbai, and a campus in New Delhi. To avoid confusing us with any other institution, look for the five strokes logo and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan association. Media Contact: Prof. Abbasali Gabula [email protected] +91-9821362495 Deputy Director External Relations & Administration Placements - PGDM, PGPM, PGMPW S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research SOURCE SP Jain Institute of Management & Research #lawmaker Lawmaker accused of using 'comfort women' group's money 217 times A lawmaker, who formerly headed a major civic group supporting women forced into wartime sexual slavery by Japan, has been accused of embezzling the organization's funds 217 times,... #Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic likely to visit S. Korea next month The Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world's most prestigious orchestras, will likely become the first foreign orchestra with more than 100 players to have concerts in South Korea n... PUNE, India, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market by Charging Station (AC Charging Station, DC Charging Station), Installation Type (Residential, Commercial), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Row) - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from USD 5.30 Billion in 2018 to reach USD 30.41 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 41.8% between 2018 and 2023. Key factors such as government funding, subsidies, and incentives, growing demand for electric vehicles, growing concern toward environmental pollution, and heavy investment from automakers of EVs are driving the electric vehicle charging stations market. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg ) Browse 66 market data Tables and 60 Figures spread through 142 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market - Global Forecast to 2023" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-market-21599205.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report DC charging station to hold the largest share of the electric vehicle charging stations market between 2018 and 2023 The ability of DC charging stations to charge an EV in lesser time compared to AC charging stations is the primary driving factor for the high growth rate of former in the electric vehicle charging stations market. Also, the increasing popularity of public charging stations is boosting the demand for DC charging stations. Furthermore, automakers are planning to invest in DC fast charging network to support their launch of long-range battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Commercial installation to hold the largest share of the electric vehicle charging stations market between 2018 and 2023 The growth is attributed to an increased deployment of charging stations at public places such as shopping malls, commercial buildings, airports, and restaurants. The convenience of being able to use an EV charger while shopping or during office hours is expected to boost the adoption of electric vehicles. Furthermore, government offerings, such as tax credits, on the installation of publicly accessible stations are expected to boost the commercial installation of charging stations. Ask for PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=21599205 APAC held the largest share of the electric vehicle charging stations market in 2017 A majority of electric vehicle charging station installations in APAC are driven by huge demand in countries such as China and Japan. Currently, APAC is the largest market for electric vehicle charging stations globally. Furthermore, South Korea and India are taking initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the use of EVs. For instance, India, one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gases, has pledged to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030. This initiative by the Indian government is expected to create a huge demand for EVs and EV charging infrastructure in the country. Moreover, in September 2017, the Indian government decided to buy 10,000 electric cars from Tata Motors to replace old petrol and diesel cars used by government agencies. Furthermore, in September 2017, the Singapore government launched its first large-scale EV car sharing program. Under the car sharing program, BlueSG (Singapore), a subsidiary of Bollore Group, will install 500 charging stations equipped with 2,000 charging points in Singapore. Major players in the electric vehicle charging stations market are ChargePoint (US), ABB (Switzerland), Tesla (US), Engie (France), and AeroVironment (US). Know more about the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-market-21599205.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Blog: http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors Connect with us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets As the latest member of the GAC Motor family, the mid-to-high end GM6 minivan is designed with leading-edge concepts and automotive technologies. It adopts the 1.5L and 1.3T engines, coupled with five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions. And the slim center console has a much more modern and practical design when compared with current models. Together with the previously-released GM8, the family-oriented GM6, with its lower price, will reinforce the company's complementary advantages in the global minivan market. "GAC Motor is proud to be able to unveil our latest model, the GM6 minivan, and to showcase our latest achievements at Auto China 2018," said Yu Jun, President of GAC Motor. "GAC Motor's sales growth has been able to leapfrog the competition in development because of our quality-first strategy and benchmark-setting manufacturing capabilities. Our participation in Auto China 2018 is yet another step in our strategy to further expand into international markets. Already in 2018, GAC Motor has exhibited at NAIAS and NADA, which has helped us to steadily implement our global strategy." GAC Motor is also exhibiting its Enverge concept car for the first time in China at Auto China 2018, as well as its signature sedan, SUV and new energy models. GAC Motor's display at Auto China 2018 has already attracted attention from more than 30 international dealers and distinguished guests, who have spoken highly of the brand's top quality and design. Rod Alberts, Executive Director of the North American International Auto Show, commented that GAC Motor with its innovative design and high-quality products, has once again brought the world even more excitement. As GAC Motor's global brand strategy progresses, He is eagerly looking forward to seeing its world-class automobile products in more and more overseas markets. Alberts also invited GAC Motor to participate in next NAIAS in Detroit in January 2019. Jean-Claude Girot, Executive Manager of the Paris Motor Show, also formally invited GAC Motor to demonstrate GAC Motor's world-class product and capability as a leading brand of Chinese automobile industry to Europe and the world in October 2018. GAC Motor announced the establishment of an automatic transmission manufacturing joint venture with Aisin AW at the press conference. During the Auto China 2018, the company has also signed strategic cooperation agreements with seven new suppliers. Adhering to an international development strategy that connects everybody, GAC Motor is building strategic alliances that integrate global resources and create a more competitive supply chain. On April 26, GAC Motor hosted its 2018 International distributor conference to jointly discuss open, inclusive and win-win partnerships that will help the brand shine on the international stage. 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of GAC Motor. As a part of the outgrowth of its aim to develop globally, the company's advanced design center is up and running in Los Angeles after the establishment of its R&D center in Silicon Valley, while GAC Motor North American Sales Company and GAC Motor International Company will also be established in the first half of 2018. GAC Motor is scheduled to exhibit at the Paris Motor Show, Los Angeles Auto Show and Moscow International Motor Show later this year. "Based in China with a broad view at the world, GAC Motor will embrace opportunities and develop from a new beginning, offering top quality vehicles and a better mobility life for consumers," said Yu. About GAC Motor Founded in 2008, Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor CO., LTD (GAC Motor) is a subsidiary of GAC Group which ranks the 238th among the Fortune Global 500 companies. The company develops and manufactures premium quality vehicles, engines, components and auto accessories. GAC Motor has now ranked the first among all Chinese brands for five consecutive years in J.D. Power Asia Pacific's China Initial Quality Study SM (IQS), demonstrating the company's quality-centric strategy from innovative research and development (R&D), manufacturing to supply chain and sales & services. For more information, please visit: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GACMotor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gac_motor Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gac_motor Media Contact: Sukie Wong +86-186-8058-2829 [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683527/GAC_Motor.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683529/Yu_Jun.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683528/GAC_Motor_and_Aisin_AW.jpg SOURCE GAC Motor After a year of working together since signing an exclusive cooperation agreement between PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S and Universidad CES, PharmaCielo Colombia President and CEO Federico Cock-Correa and Universidad CES Rector Dr. Julian Osorio jointly announced the launch of the symposium series as representing the continued result of mutual cooperation. The inaugural symposium, to be held in Medellin, Colombia, will provide the opportunity to medical practitioners to expand their knowledge about the therapeutic possibilities of cannabinoids, endocannabinoids, plants and synthetics in the treatment of various types of diseases. "The hunger of the medical community for greater learning about the therapeutic contributions of medicinal cannabinoids is clearly evident in the 'sell out' of the symposium within days of announcement," said Dr. Camilo Ospina, Vice President of Product Development for PharmaCielo, and founder of Ubiquo Telemedicina. "The first symposium has a capacity of 30 participants, which was immediately filled by some of the 400 practitioners associated with Ubiquo Telemedecina, who I am confident will be able to apply their learning in their clinical network." At the conclusion of the symposium, participants will be designated to receive certification from the university for the delivery of cannabinoid-based treatment in clinical settings. On completion of a series of 5 symposiums, representing approximately 100 hours of cannabinoid education, participants will receive a Diploma in Therapeutic Application of Cannabinoids from Universidad CES. Lecturers represent some of the world's leading health researchers and clinicians from a number of countries, including Canada, the United States, Uruguay and Spain, in addition to Colombian expertise. Developed jointly by PharmaCielo and the Observatory Colombiana Cannabis Medical (OCC) Pharmacy Chemistry Program together with the Faculty of Administrative and Economic Sciences at Universidad CES, the program has received support from the Instituto Universitario de Investigacion Neuroquimica and the International Society of Neurochemistry. "Part of the PharmaCielo commitment to the objectives of Ubiquo Telemedicina was to facilitate continuing medical education knowledge about the possible uses, benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis," noted Dr. Ospina. "This initiative, as made possible with the participation of the university and partners, helps ensure the achievement of these objectives." About Universidad CES Universidad CES is a private, national, autonomous, non-denominational, non-profit, self-sustainable university that forms professionals with the highest human, ethical and scientific qualities in numerous areas of knowledge with a special emphasis in health-related programs. CES offers undergraduate and postgraduate educational programs at a technological and professional level, stimulating cultural, social, ideological, political and religious pluralism. About PharmaCielo PharmaCielo Ltd. (the "Company") is a global company privately held and headquartered in Canada, with a focus on processing and supplying all natural, medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products to large channel distributors. PharmaCielo's principal (and wholly owned) subsidiary is PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., headquartered at its Nursery and Propagation Centre located in Rionegro, Colombia. The boards of directors and executive teams of both PharmaCielo and PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings are comprised of a diversely talented group of international business executives and specialists with relevant and varied expertise. PharmaCielo recognized the significant role that Colombia's ideal location will play in building a sustainable business in the medical cannabis industry, and the company, together with its directors and executives, has built a compelling business plan focused on supplying the international marketplace. For further information: www.PharmaCielo.com Media Relations: David Gordon, Tel: +1 647 259 3258, [email protected]; (Colombia) Juan Manuel Cuellar, Tel: +57 310 3298776, [email protected]; Investor Inquiries: [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683275/PharmaCielo_PharmaCielo_Partners_with_Universidad_CES_to_Launch.jpg Related Links http://www.PharmaCielo.com SOURCE PharmaCielo PUNE, India, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Secondary Refrigerants Market by Type (Glycols, Salt Brines, Carbon Dioxide), Application (Commercial Refrigeration, Industrial Refrigeration, Heat Pumps, Air Conditioning), and Region (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA) - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Secondary Refrigerants Market is projected to reach USD 710.7 Million by 2022, at a CAGR of 7.3% from USD 466.2 Million in 2017. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg ) Browse 75 market data Tables and 25 Figures spread through 112 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Secondary Refrigerants Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/secondary-refrigerant-market-198445739.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report Emerging economies are expected to witness a rise in demand for secondary refrigerants in the near future as a result of strengthening cold chain infrastructure, government initiatives, and the demand for natural refrigerants. Factors such as the need for reducing leakage and refrigerant charge are expected to support the secondary refrigerant market. The industrial sector (mainly for large refrigeration systems) will be focusing on improved energy efficiency, long life, and integration of cooling systems with other heat transferring processes. This will fuel the demand for secondary refrigerants, thereby driving the Secondary Refrigerants Market. Get PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=198445739 The glycols segment was the largest type segment of the Secondary Refrigerants Market in 2016. The glycols segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the Secondary Refrigerants Market in 2017, in terms of value. Glycol fluids can provide freeze protection for closed loop refrigeration systems, water-based heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and cooling systems. They help in lowering the freezing point of water. Propylene glycol is the most preferred type of glycol fluid that is used in a wide range of operations due to its less toxicity and non-corrosive characteristics. Glycols reduce wear and maintenance costs and have to be replaced every 3-5 years, which increase their demand in the growing end-use industries, such as food & beverage. These factors play an important role in the growth of the glycols segment. The industrial refrigeration segment is estimated to be the largest application segment of the Secondary Refrigerants Market in 2017. The industrial refrigeration segment is estimated to be the largest application segment of the Secondary Refrigerants Market, in terms of both, value and volume, in 2017. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the adoption of environment-friendly refrigerants, and the need for reducing carbon emissions in developed and developing regions. Europe is estimated to be the largest market for secondary refrigerants in 2017. The Europe Secondary Refrigerants Market is estimated to witness considerable growth on account of the recent F-gas regulations/HFC phase out plan, which dictates the reduction of use of HFC refrigerants by almost half by 2025. The region also enjoys the highest number of end user entities, which have already switched to refrigeration systems based on secondary refrigerants. The market for low-charge ammonia and NH3/CO2 cascade systems, supported by continuous technological advancements in R&D activities for low-GWP and ODP refrigerants, are expected to drive the market growth in Europe. Moreover, strong legislation for switching to refrigerants from high-GWP HFCs have already been made. These factors are expected to drive the Secondary Refrigerants Market in Europe. Key market players profiled in the report include The Linde Group (Germany), A-Gas International (UK), TAZZETTI S.P.A (Italy), The Dow Chemical Company (US), Eastman Chemical Company (US), Clariant AG (Switzerland), Arteco Coolants (Belgium), Temper Technology AB (Sweden), SRS Frigadon (UK), Hydratech (UK), Dynalene (US), Environmental Process Systems (UK), Gas Servei SA (Spain), Climalife Groupe Dehon (France), and Nisso Shoji Co. Ltd. (Japan). Know more about Secondary Refrigerants Market: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/secondary-refrigerant-market-198445739.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets BANGALORE, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Also announces the launch of its IoT Security Lab Subex, a pioneering entity in the Cybersecurity space, hosted the first edition of its Cybersecurity Symposium with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The Symposium aimed towards creating a collaborative platform for the industry and academia to discuss ideas and initiatives around cybersecurity education. Representing NTU Singapore was esteemed NTU Academician and cybersecurity practitioner Prof Lam Kwok Yan, who provided his overview of the cybersecurity landscape in Singapore and perspectives on how the lessons learnt can be applied to the Indian ecosystem. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/537249/Subex_Logo.jpg ) Also taking place on the same day was the launch of Subex's IoT Security Lab, which will solve threats specific to IoT industrial control systems (ICS) and IT Systems. Using the world's most comprehensive IoT and ICS focused honeypots of over 400 different architectures and over 4000 devices, Subex IoT Lab collects threat intelligence across multiple verticals including Telecom, Academics, Enterprises, Defense and Smart City projects. As part of the lab inauguration, Subex also announced that it will be opening its lab up to public-private partnerships with universities such as NTU and other colleges in Bangalore with a goal to create specific IoT security threat detection and prevention mechanisms for IoT ecosystems. The Cybersecurity symposium also witnessed the formation of a Cyber Security Academic Forum with the objective of establishing an ecosystem in the country for cyber security research to emerge and grow, with the main mission to foster "A Safer Cyberspace". This forum will provide a unique opportunity to meet and discuss the current issues of cyber disruption and the ever-changing landscape of cyber security and IoT security related threats. Speaking at the Cybersecurity Symposium, Vinod Kumar, CEO and MD, Subex said, "With increasing threats in the Indian and Global cyberspace, we believe that education and awareness around cybersecurity will play an important role towards preparing and securing our critical assets against these threats. However, the topic of cybersecurity is yet to gain prominence within colleges in India, leading to gaps in the available talent pool. We are extremely proud to be partner with NTU Singapore to host the Cybersecurity symposium, and play a part in addressing this gap. The symposium witnessed collaborative discussions and brainstorm sessions between the industry and academia to identify ways to improve cybersecurity education in the country. Having Prof. Lam Kwok Yan provide his expertise on the topic was of tremendous value. Further, we also inaugurated our IoT Security Lab that will now be open to public-private partnerships with universities. The lab provides research opportunities on IoT Security threat intelligence using a one-of-its kind honeypot network. This along with the continuous monitoring of over 8.5 million customer devices has enabled us to obtain 30% more IoT and ICS threat signatures and thereby offer a comprehensive IoT threat intelligence and prevention solution to our customers." About Subex Subex is the market leader in the products Security and Fraud Management market, with over 180+ customers in total. Subex is a pioneering entity in the Cybersecurity space involved in multiple public and private partnerships in India. The company runs the world's most comprehensive IoT and ICS focused honeypots of over 400 architectures in 32 locations around the world. Visit http://www.subex.com for more information About NTU A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. In 2017 NTU was placed 11th in the world and the best in Asia in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. It was again placed the world's best young university (under 50 years old) by QS for the fourth consecutive year in 2017. In addition, NTU was named the world's fastest rising young university by Times Higher Education in 2015. Media Contact: Sandeep Banga [email protected] +91-9916824122 Marketing and Communications Subex SOURCE Subex CHENNAI, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Neerali was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major when she was a baby. Thalassemia is a genetic condition that leads to defective production of haemoglobin. She had to undergo painful blood transfusions every 20 days to keep her alive. Her last ray of hope was a blood stem cell transplant. The chance of finding a matched blood stem cell donor from within the family was as low as 25%. On the other hand, the probability of finding an unrelated matched blood stem cell donor was 1 in 10,000 to 1 over a million. Every match is close to a miracle. If a match is found, that donor is probably the only person who can save the patient. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/682760/DATRI_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/682761/Gopal_and_Neerali.jpg ) Amidst such a gloomy situation, in the year 2015, while Neerali was undergoing treatment in Apollo Specialty Hospital, Chennai, her doctor, Dr. Revathi Raj had reached out to DATRI for an unrelated donor. As luck would have it, a perfectly matched donor was found in Dubai for the young girl. Mr. Gopal Vachhani had registered with DATRI in a drive conducted for a patient in Dubai in 2013. At that time he was not found to be a match for that patient. But almost after 2 years of registering with DATRI he received a call informing he was a perfect match for a young girl who was suffering from a serious blood disorder and was asked if he would donate his blood stem cells. Without any hesitation, Mr. Vachhani flew all the way from Dubai for the donation process to save the little girl's life, putting an end to the painful hospital visits. He also happens to be the 100th donor from DATRI to donate blood stem cells.It is 3 years post-transplant now and the child is completely cured of Thalassemia. The gathering on the afternoon of 25th of April was filled with eager chirps to witness the meeting of the donor and the recipient for the first time. When the mainline news these days is flooded with hate-crime and honor killings, here we could see for a change, a life-saving act. This was one of the few rare occasions that re-instills a on humanity and showcases the hard to see live-let live attitude. Mr. Vachhani, a life-insurance manager by profession who is a life-saver now, said, "The little girl needed my stem cells to live and I needed to help her urgently. I felt this opportunity as my fortune to save a life." A very emotional Mr. Atul, Neerali's father, said, "My daughter's doctor Dr. Revathi Raj asked me to believe in DATRI. I had hope for her and prayed to Samyapuram Amman to help my child. The next day I received a call that a donor had been found. He is truly God-sent. No words can express our gratitude to the donor." Dr. Revathi Raj, a well-known Pediatric Hemato-oncologist and Neerali's doctor, said, "Neerali loves to dance. Donors like Mr. Gopal keep the dreams and ambitions of such children alive. We have a number of patients suffering from fatal blood disorders like blood cancer and Thalassemia, for whom the last resort is a blood stem cell transplant. For patients who do not find a match from within their family, the only hope is finding an unrelated donor through registries like DATRI." "Every donor registered with DATRI is a step closer to saving a life somewhere. It is important that we have a large donor pool from various ethnicities to help patients requiring a blood stem cell transplant," says Mr. Raghu Rajagopal, Co-founder and CEO of DATRI. There are around 10,000 babies born with Thalassemia in our country every year. The only cure is a blood stem cell transplant. Anyone in the age group of 18-50 can register themselves on http://www.datri.org and give the 'Gift of Life' to those in need. About DATRI DATRI is a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Mr. Raghu Rajagopal, Dr. Nezih Cereb and Dr. Soo Young Yang in 2009. The vision of the organization is to find a willing matched donor for every patient suffering from fatal blood-related disorders and in need of a blood stem cell transplant. DATRI is India's largest adult unrelated blood stem cell donors registry with 3,38,000 voluntary donors registered. DATRI has facilitated over 380 donations till today including 53 donations for international patients. DATRI has serviced patients from over 70 hospitals across the world. DATRI is an associate of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMWD) and a member of World Marrow Donors Association (WMDA). To become a donor, login to http://datri.org/join . Media Contact: Hinduja Raj MV [email protected] +91-9940389300 Head- Marketing and Communications DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donor Registry SOURCE DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry INDIANAPOLIS, April 27,2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE / Euronext Paris / SIX: LLY) today informs its shareholders its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2018 has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Lilly makes available free of charge on its website, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, reports filed pursuant to Section 16 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after Lilly electronically files these documents with, or furnishes them to, the SEC. These documents are posted on Lilly's website at www.lilly.com - under "Investors." The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. These materials may be obtained electronically by accessing the SEC's home page at www.sec.gov . Copies of the above referenced information will also be made available, free of charge, upon written request to the Company's secretary at Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285, U.S.A. This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire. SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company Top Chicago SEO Agencies In its latest round of monthly awards, 10 Best SEO has named Straight North as the Best Chicago SEO Agency for April 2018. This award category is important because of its relevance to the SEO industry. Search engine optimization is one of the biggest fields in the world of digital marketing in today's day and age. With Google's search engine processing more than one trillion searches each and every year since 2016, it is difficult to underestimate how extensively search engine optimization is an important part of success in marketing. 10 Best SEO is a group of experts in the field of SEO that founded the group back in 2012. Since then, it has provided services for some of the fastest-growing businesses on INC 500's list and consistently pumped out ranking lists of what firms can be considered the best in all of search engine optimization. For April 2018, list of winners involved the best firms offering SEO and digital marketing services to companies in the Chicago, Illinois area. Straight North and SEOValley finished first and second, respectively, and are both located in the heart of Chicago. Zadro Web landed in third place. It is located right outside of the city limits of Chicago in Schaumburg, although most of its clients are concentrated in Chicago. The best SEO agency, Straight North, was created in 2008. It has given assistance to countless clients in their efforts to ascend the ranks of popular search engines like Google and Yahoo. Kevin Duffy and David Duerr created the company, and they boast more than fifty years of combined experience in the world of search engine optimization. This includes years they spent working inside and outside of Chicago, which gives Straight North an extensive amount of experience to support its strategies. SEOValley is also located in Chicago, and it maintains between fifty and 250 employees. SEOValley is arguably one of the largest of the leading SEO agencies in the city of Chicago, it is known to boast an approval rating of 98 percent. Zadro WEB is a top SEO agency located just minutes outside of Chicago in the city of Schaumberg. The pros at Zadro WEB arguably make it one of the best SEO Agency bids in the United States of America. It has also been called a top Chicago SEO firm because of its work with countless clients both within and outside of the area, though most are the most prominent companies in Chicago. Learn more about the 10 Best SEOs monthly award winners at http://www.10bestseo.com. Travel Nurse Source - Nurses Week Sweepstakes Nurses Week is about celebrating not only current nurses, but all of those past and present who sacrifice for the care of others. TravelNurseSource is launching its annual National Nurses Week Sweepstakes on April 30, and one lucky nurse will receive a Charge 2 HR FitBit prize. The goal of the sweepstakes is to honor all nurses and the countless ways that they inspire, influence and innovate in their profession. TravelNurseSources sweepstakes idea is based on this years Nurses Week theme, Nurses: Inspire, Innovate, Influence, which is established by the American Nurses Association. The American Nurses Association hosts, sponsors and promotes Nurses Week each year, but many other industry groups, such as TravelNurseSource, join the association in observing the nursing profession each spring. From April 30 through May 11, current nurses who follow TravelNurseSource on Facebook can enter to win by reacting to a post on TravelNurseSources page. Nurses are choosing which I they do best. They can react with a like for innovate, love for influence, and wow for inspire. The sweepstakes will begin on Monday April 30, and it will close on Friday May 11 at noon. A winner will be announced by late afternoon on May 11. This is TravelNurseSources second year participating in Nurses Week. Last year the niche career site ran a sweepstakes based on the theme, Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit, and a Nebraska-based nurse won a FitBit prize. This month, keep an eye on TravelNurseSources social media posts to hear testimonials from nurses, read blogs on various nursing specialties and of course enter to win your very own step counter. Although we focus on nurses every single day, we like to do something a little extra special for them during this national holiday, said TravelNurseSource President Oliver Feakins. Nurses Week is about celebrating not only current nurses, but all of those past and present who sacrifice for the care of others. TravelNurseSource is an industry-specific website that focuses on connecting healthcare staffing agencies with travel nurses through unique marketing and promotional opportunities. TravelNurseSource is operated by Track5Media, LLC, which is a privately-held technology company based in Lancaster, Pa. As a corporate holding company, Track5Media owns a network of industry-specific websites. Along with TravelNurseSource, it also maintains AlliedTravelCareers, LocumJobsOnline, AllPhysicianJobs, and AllTruckJobs. The brands are designed to help clients find a steady stream of highly qualified referrals. With a strong concentration in healthcare recruitment advertising, Track5Media is expanding into other verticals and seeking new partnerships. From referral generation to job boards to online advertising, Track5Media websites feature outstanding resources designed to complement and enhance existing marketing initiatives for its clients across the nation. Learn more at Track5Media.com. Lots of solid meat in areas where I know personally there is a lot of confusion. If Certrec continues to build the library with videos like this, it will be a huge success. Certrec, a leading licensing and regulatory compliance provider for NRC and NERC compliance, debuted CertrecTV just over a year and a half ago. Since then, the interest and number of videos available has continued to grow. The first-of-its-kind tool was created to assist clients in sharing information and knowledge through the use of Just-in-Time videos. Each video is presented by an industry expert who shares their thoughts, insights, and explanations of complex industry issues. Topics from defense-in-depth to good practices for meeting with inspectors are covered on CertrecTV. Clients have stated that CertrecTV is a good refresher to maintain consistent awareness for people in the industry. As an industry, we have needed a way to capture knowledge that walks out the door with our retirees and to share it with the workforce that is left behind. We have pioneered the development and growth of CertrecTV with a goal of gathering industry information for enhanced sharing and knowledge migration, says Ted Enos, President of Certrec. CertrecTV offers a wide range of video topics discussed both from a high-level view and in greater detail. The video styles are evolving and growing from three-to-five minute informational videos to longer web-based-tool instruction and training videos based on client demand. Certrec has started implementing Just-in-Time web tool videos throughout its sites as well as made the videos available in the new Certrec App. Since its official release in October 2017, CertrecTV already has garnered many positive reviews. Some of our satisfied clients have said: Lots of solid meat in areas where I know personally there is a lot of confusion. If Certrec continues to build the library with videos like this, it will be a huge success. Love CertrecTV Detailed and informative videos! Thank you for offering this. Great video brief, but very informative. Good blending of verbal and visual helps. Good editing to envelop the core details with intro and conclusion. We watch three videos every week during our staff meetingThe videos are great and we are really enjoying them. CertrecTV currently has more than 500 videos available from more than 25 industry experts, including Steve Frantz, Mark McBurnett, and Rick Grantom, to name a few. Whether you are a veteran in the industry or someone just starting out, CertrecTV offers helpful information for everyone. Big plans are in the works for CertrecTV; there is more still to come. If you have an idea you would like to see produced for CertrecTV, send an email to Videos@Certrec.com. CERTREC Founded in 1988, Certrec is an engineering and technology-based organization providing regulatory support services in the electric power industry. With more than 1,000 cumulative years of direct industry experience (including nuclear, fossil, and renewables), Certrec has developed exceptional capabilities to support regulatory activities emanating from regulatory entities such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Regional Entities (NERC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other regulatory agencies. Certrec's Office of Licensing and Compliance (OLC), Office of Assessment and Recovery (OAR), Office of NERC Compliance (ONC), and Office of New Plant (ONP) services are used by utilities and entities across the United States to help manage the regulatory process to their advantage. Certrec offers support from highly skilled and experienced industry professionals who possess degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines (civil, electrical, mechanical, and nuclear). Additionally, Certrec's staff has multiple degreed personnel in physics, communications, a variety of MBAs, and information technology. This highly skilled team has direct working experience in all regulatory areas of licensing, compliance, and engineering, including nuclear, fossil, and renewable generation and transmission. For more than 25 years, Certrec has been using its hundreds of years of industry experience to help clients develop and manage solutions to complex regulatory issues. Combining this direct industry experience with Certrec's Information Technology assets has led to the development of technology-based solutions and tools directly targeted to the electric power industry and specifically focused on helping clients manage regulatory issues. Top San Diego Web Design Agencies 10 Best Design recently identified the winners of its Best San Diego Web Design awards for April 2018, revealing Jacob Tyler as the winner of the top prize. This is a new monthly award that honors 10 web design firms based on a set of criteria that includes client satisfaction and the quality of each firm's overall portfolio of websites designed. Only the most well-regarded web design firms in the San Diego area were considered for this prestigious award. Therefore, the 10 firms represented on the list of awards winners are truly the best of the best. Here is a summary of the top three winners. The best San Diego web design business for this month is Jacob Tyler. With nearly 20 years of experience in the field, Jacob Tyler is a top web design firm that knows how to meet clients broad needs. In addition to providing web design services, Jacob Tyler works in the areas of copywriting, digital marketing and brand development. The professionals at Jacob Tyler believe in putting the customer's needs at the forefront of all that they do. Each customer receives personalized attention throughout the web design process. Jacob Tyler has provided web design services for both small companies and large corporations. Among the firm's clients are some of the most prominent corporations in the world. Holding the second position on this month's list of best web design firms is OP Web Design. This firm recently moved its operations to the San Diego area. While it provides services to companies of all sizes, OP Web Design specializes in working with small companies in the San Diego area. The team members at OP Web Design have the goal of providing clients with an online presence that will increase the number of visitors that their website receives. The goal is to keep visitors on the website so they are turned into customers for the client. In third position on the list of top San Diego web design businesses for the month of April is Storm Brain. In addition to its offices in San Diego, Storm Brain helps clients from its locations in Costa Mesa and Santa Monica. The firm assist clients in the areas of search engine optimization, graphic design and web design and development. Storm Brain always works to create a website that is unique for the client. They offer multiple web design packages, and they are available for continuing support for each client served. To learn more about any of this months award-winning web design firms, visit http://www.10bestdesign.com. Its a unique opportunity to introduce a next-generation and ground-breaking image technology to moviegoers and offer them exceptional image quality in a comfortable environment - Christian Langhammer CinemaNext, the European specialist in cinema exhibitor services (Ymagis Group, ISIN: FR0011471291, TICKER: MAGIS, PME-PEA, TECH 40), today announced the signing of an agreement with Austrian cinema circuit Cineplexx (Constantin Film-Holding GmbH) for the installation of a Samsung 3D Onyx CinemaLED at the Cineplexx Wienerberg in Vienna. It will be the first Samsung Onyx CinemaLED deployed by CinemaNext. After the successful deployment of the next-generation sound systems at select Cineplexx cinemas and the opening of our 50th cinema site in Parndorf this past March, we are thrilled to once again partner with CinemaNext on our first Samsung CinemaLED Screen. With an emphasis on our pioneering work in terms of new technologies, we are able to set another milestone in Austria. Cineplexx Wienerberg will be the newest flagship within the company by featuring the first Samsung CinemaLED Screen not only in Austria but in the European Union, comments Christian Langhammer, Owner and Managing Director of Austrias Constantin Film Group. Its a unique opportunity to introduce a next-generation and ground-breaking image technology to moviegoers and offer them exceptional image quality in a comfortable environment. We continue to invest in enhancing the cinematic experience with what unquestionably constitutes a game-changer for our industry. Cineplexxs Samsung 3D Onyx CinemaLED will boast a screen 10,24m (33.6ft) in width and 5,4m (17.7ft) in height with all visuals shining at ultra-sharp 4K resolution (4,906 x 2,160) coupled with state-of-the-art 7.1 audio technologies from Harmans JBL Professional Brand, explains Christof Federle, CinemaNext Regional Manager & Managing Director of CinemaNext Austria. We expect to complete this project in mid-July in close collaboration with our colleagues in Valencia (Spain), who are in charge of building and assembling the LED complex structure. Featuring nearly 9 million pixels, Samsungs 3D Onyx CinemaLED delivers exceptional visual quality, technical performance and reliability. First introduced in July 2017, Samsung Cinema Screen is a Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI*)-certified cinema display, which amplifies on-screen content through HDR and EclairColor HDR picture quality. It features 4K images with peak brightness levels nearly 10 times greater (146fL) than the common cinema standard (14fL). The resulting high contrast showcases bright colors, pristine whites and deep blacks. Unlike standard 3D cinemas, the Samsung CinemaLED screen provides consistent picture quality across an entire theater, ensuring a uniform, immersive viewing experience for viewers in every seat. "Samsung is thrilled to open Austrias first cinema auditorium with 3D Onyx CinemaLED in cooperation with Constantin Film-Holding," says Sunghan Kim, President of Samsung Electronics Austria GmbH. "With that, the Viennese are among the most innovative cinemagoers, and we hope that we will soon be able to introduce this unique cinematic experience to a greater audience throughout Austria. ABOUT CINEMANEXT - YMAGIS GROUP CinemaNext is the Ymagis Groups business unit dedicated to exhibitor services. Founded in 2007 and managed by professionals from the motion picture and high-tech industries, Ymagis Group is a European leader in advanced digital technology services for the cinema industry. Through CinemaNext and Eclair, the Group provides smart, comprehensive solutions to movie exhibitors, distributors (feature films & event cinema), producers, rights holders, cinema/TV advertising networks, broadcasters, OTT channels and video publishers. Over the years, Ymagis Group has significantly expanded its portfolio of solutions & services and further developed its geographic footprint in Europe with permanent offices in 26 countries. The companys core business is structured around three main units: CinemaNext (exhibitor services: sales and field services, software solutions, customer service/NOC and consulting), Eclair (content services: post-production, theatrical delivery, digital distribution, versioning and accessibility, restoration and preservation) and Ymagis (VPF & financial services). A publicly-traded company listed on Euronext, Ymagis Group is headquartered in Paris (France) and has close to 800 employees. For more information, please connect to http://www.ymagis.com, http://www.cinemanext.com or http://www.eclair.digital ABOUT CONSTANTIN FILM-HOLDING GMBH The film distributor Constantin Film Holding GmbH was founded in Austria in 1951. A second mainstay was created at the end of the 1960's in the segment of cine operations. In this segment, 25 traditional cinemas and cinema centres were operated until the beginning of the 1990's and, following a structural change, the Cineplexx Cine Operations GmbH, a subsidiary company of the Constantin Film Holding GmbH, was founded in 1993. The business developed during a time when many traditional cinemas in Austria were disappearing and multiplex movie theatres were conquering the market. Constantin Film reacted to this trend by establishing a group of 19 cinemas and 153 screens in Austria. Additionally, traditional movie theatres with up to 18 halls existed. In 2009, the Cineplexx INTERNATIONAL GmbH started expanding to Austria's neighbouring countries and the first cinema outside Austria was opened in Bolzano, South Tyrol. Cineplexx also took over a cinema in Zagrebs city centre, thus laying the foundation for expansion into Croatia. Further Cineplexx cinemas followed since 2011 in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. In 2013 Cineplexx established its first five multiplex movie theatres in Slovenia and the first seven-hall cinema in Albania. In Spring 2014 Cineplexx opened the biggest cinema in Serbia (Usce Shopping Center, Belgrade, with 11 halls and over 2.000 seats). The last expansion took place in March 2018 with the opening of Cineplexx Parndorf in Austria. Today, Cineplexx has a strong market presence with 44 multiplexes and six traditional locations in Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Greece and Italy, offering more than 300 screens. In 2017, the companys working force included 1,500 employees, the overall turnover amounted to 140 million euros and the number of Cineplexx visitors reached 12,0 million. More information is available at http://www.cineplexx.at ABOUT SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com. Dean Seddon, Founder, iMARVEL! I have always been passionate about building businesses; now, Ill be working with other business owners to plan and execute their growth plans. Dean Seddon co-founder of iMARVEL! Creative Agency has announced his departure from the UK agency to focus on working with entrepreneurs developing marketing strategy and training. It is a big change moving away from the iMARVEL! brand, which feels very much like a child, but I am excited to focus more on working with entrepreneurs and businesses to help them put together innovative strategies to grow their business. Its an exciting time for the future of iMARVEL! and an exciting time for me as we push forward in developing businesses with entrepreneurs. iMARVEL! was founded by Dean Seddon and Jonathan Hulton in 2015. From their Plymouth office, the pair built out offices around the UK. Jonathan Hulton will continue to lead the creative strategy agency which will be based out of London, Manchester and regional offices across the UK. iMARVEL! will continue to build brands through creative marketing, working with leaders and entrepreneurs across the UK. Maverrik, a consultancy and training organisation will be the next chapter for Dean. Based in Plymouth and serving clients across the UK and Europe. The company offers training, support, and consultancy to SMEs to help build and implement marketing strategy. I am really excited about building on my own experience pioneering iMARVEL! and help start-ups and developing companies on their journey of growth. As well as doing all of this, I will be bringing leadership to Imprint, a print company based in Devon, which has been operating for the last eight years. I have always been passionate about building businesses; now, Ill be working with other business owners to plan and execute their growth plans. Jonathan Hulton, CEO of iMARVEL! creative strategy agency shares Dean has been working with me for the last eight years. Hell be sadly missed by the team, and we are behind him all the way. As iMARVEL! continues to grow across the UK we will be forever grateful for the input Dean has contributed throughout the years, the team and I wish him every success for the future. Madison Risk Group (MRG), a King of Prussia, PA based risk management insurance brokerage, has announced the promotion of Zina Clayman, Vice President of MRG Client Services, and Bill Burke, Vice President of MRG Risk Control Services to Partner, effective January 1, 2018. Ms. Clayman is a certified Construction Risk Insurance Specialist (CRIS) and has 20 years of experience managing the risk management programs for many of the largest construction firms in the Philadelphia area. Ms. Clayman oversees the Client Services Division which handles contract bid & specification review and analysis, coverage & premium negotiation, insurance program structure, client advisement and day to day servicing. Mr. Burke is also a CRIS designee and has 25 years experience in construction industry risk management. He also has a degree in Occupational Safety & Health Management from Millersville University Burke oversees MRGs Risk Control Services Division which provides safety program analysis, training, and jobsite analysis to MRG Clients. Zina and Bill are two of the top professionals in the industry and have been instrumental to MRGs success Ron Ebert President of MRG. About MRG: MRG is a specialty insurance brokerage servicing the area Construction Industry. It was founded in 2013 to fill what it viewed as a large void in the construction insurance space. As the sole Construction Only property casualty brokerage in the Philadelphia area, MRG offers the middle market high level brokerage services that previously were only available to national and global construction firms. MRGs clients include construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers, owners and suppliers on both private and public projects. The MRG team consists of certified loss control experts, expert claims analysts, underwriting professionals and experienced risk management insurance brokers who are well equipped in navigating the challenges that its clients face in the insurance marketplace. "We took it upon ourselves to work and put out our best effort in providing these individuals the health care that every human being deserves." ~Ariana Hernandez, UMHS Medical Student The tragedy of Hurricane Maria is still affecting Puerto Rico more than seven months later. The island continues to struggle as power is restored and areas start rebuilding, but the physical and mental health of the people are among the most serious ongoing challenges, as UMHS student, proud Puerto Rican native and Med4You nonprofit founder and president Ariana Hernandez explains. Ms. Hernandez and her organization Med4You, comprised of UMHS students devoted to advocating health care as a human right, especially in disadvantaged communities, responded immediately after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. First, by creating a Go Fund Me page (with the help of UMHS students, the Student Government Association, faculty, staff and President Warren Ross) to raise a total of $45,000 specifically for Puerto Rican medical services. However, the UMHS students involved with Med4You did not simply raise money for Puerto Rico. These future doctors showed they truly understood the altruism required to assist people hurting financially, physically and emotionally. Med4You organized clinics over their Christmas holiday break in three separate Puerto Rican communities among the hardest hit by the catastrophe: La Mocha in Ponce; Arecibo; and in the town center of Ponce. "Doctors have closed their offices, others are fully booked or the families don't have the money to treat their diseases," Ms. Hernandez said, pointing out why doing the clinics was so important. The first medical clinic in Puerto Rico was set up on December 27, 2017 in the "La Mocha" area near Ponce, Puerto Rico. "We provided medical services, psychological services, social worker services and nurses," Ms. Hernandez said. "By the end of this clinic, we also did visits to individual homes for the critically ill." The second clinic was set up on December 29, 2017 in the town of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Finally, the third clinic was held on January 4, 2018 in Ponce town center. "This was our biggest one," Ms. Hernandez said. "We provided cardiology, pediatric medicine, general medicine, psychiatry, psychology, social work and nurse services. In addition to the health services, in our clinics, we donated clothing, food, water and hygiene articles. We were able to help many people that lost everything after Hurricane Maria, and the homeless, too. Also, we achieved one of our goals joining together students from different medical schools (PHSU, UMHS, and UCC). We shared our knowledge and gave the patients our best." Students also visited the University Pediatric Hospital at Puerto Rico Medical Center in Rio Piedras, San Juan. "We were here for Three Kings Day [the Feast of the Epiphany], playing with the pediatric oncology patients and giving them gifts. Many of the families lost their homes too, while at the same time their kids were suffering from cancer. However, their hope and strength were admirable. "People are in a desperate need of health services in disadvantaged communities," Ms. Hernandez said." For this reason, we are committed to keep doing many more clinics and in the near future helping the healthcare system in Puerto Rico." UMHS faculty, staff and students raised an estimated $45,000 to help the people of Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria. Donations were given to the Ponce Research Institute at the Ponce Medical School Foundation, Inc. in Ponce, Puerto Rico to bring further aid to students and communities in need during these months. A total of $5,000 was donated to the Gogo Foundation in Ponce to help them rebuild the damages that Maria caused to their infrastructure. The Gogo Foundation gives medical services to pediatric patients in Ponce. "We had three great clinics where UMHS students and Ponce Medical School students participated," Ms. Hernandez said. 'Med4You is committed to keep doing these clinics." Ponce Research Institute President Kenira Thompson, Ph.D. praised UMHS' efforts in a letter. "Words cannot express how grateful we are for the support provided by you during these difficult times," Dr. Thompson said. "You came to our aid with a generous donation, comforting messages, and support for our faculty, students, researchers, and ongoing activities." UMHS students have been bringing hope to other parts of Latin America as well. Just one month before Hurricane Maria hit, eight UMHS students involved with Med4You and UMHS professor Angel Matos, M.D. volunteered on a mission trip to Zacapa, Guatemala, a remote, poverty-stricken area of the Central American nation with little access to medical care. Med4You organized clinics and saw more than 350 patients with various illnesses and conditions, providing people with antibiotics, antifungals, vitamins and other medication. "Throughout this trip, we saw the conditions in which this community lived in and we couldn't help ourselves but to empathize with them and the rest of the world," Ms. Hernandez said. "We took it upon ourselves to work and put out our best effort in providing these individuals the health care that every human being deserves." UMHS Med4You has scheduled medical clinics again in Latin America from April 26 to May 3, 2018. The personality of a loved one living with dementia is foremost in our story, says Schriftman. My mom was still the same caring person she always was, although the confusion, memory loss and angry outbursts prevalent with Alzheimers were ever-present." My Million Dollar Mom, a film shot in the Philadelphia and based on Ross Schriftmans book by the same name about a mother who has Alzheimers, a form of dementia, and the son who cares for her, will premiere at the Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002 on Monday, May 14th at 7:15 p.m. There will be a question and answer session after the film with Schriftman, Kevin Hackenberg, the films director, and the cast. For information about the premiere or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.mymilliondollarmom.com/news-040418.cfm. There will also be two premieres at the Central Bucks Senior Activity Center, 700 N. Shady Retreat Road, Doylestown, PA 18901. The first, on Tuesday Evening, May 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m., will be hosted by the Doylestown Dementia Friendly Community organization and will feature a screening and discussion. The second, to be held on Thursday, May 24th at 1 p.m. at the Central Bucks Senior Activity Center. At this premiere, the members of the Center will watch the film, including a scene that was filmed at the Center with members of the community. My Million Dollar Mom is an endearing drama inspired by real events and stars Pete Postiglione and Susan Moses, two actors who have appeared in film and television shows such as Silver Linings Playbook and The West Wing. When an aging mom, played by Moses, is diagnosed with Alzheimers, her son, played by Postiglione, steps forward to care for her. At the same time, he is offered a chance to run for Congress. He must decide between his life-long dream and his moms wishes to remain in her home under his care. My Million Dollar Mom demonstrates the profound impact Alzheimers and other forms of dementia has on those who suffer from this devastating illness and their families. The film will take audiences into the lives of one wonderful mom and her son as they face this challenge with dignity, love and even joy. The life lesson of caring for one another through Tikkun Olam (the Hebrew expression for repairing the world) is the theme of the film. Ross Schriftman, author, screenwriter and producer of My Million Dollar Mom, hopes that the film will raise awareness about Alzheimers as he and others commit to finding a cure. The personality of a loved one living with dementia is foremost in our story, said Schriftman. My mom was still the same caring person she always was, although the confusion, memory loss and angry outbursts prevalent with Alzheimers were ever-present." Schriftman plans to have the film available for community events with a discussion guide for audiences to help people better understand dementia and to encourage them to plan ahead. In addition, the production company is putting together a panel of advocates and educators to develop continuing education programs for medical, legal and financial organizations. We want to contribute to enhancing professionals knowledge about issues related to Alzheimers, Schriftman said. Along with the film and book as part of a training package, we will prepare specific study guides for various disciplines. About My Million Dollar Mom Based on the book of the same name by Ross Schriftman, My Million Dollar Mom is a film about a loving mother who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and the devoted son who steps forward to care for her. The script for the film was selected as a semi-finalist in Story Pros' screenwriting contest in the drama category. Schriftmans production company is partnering with the Dementia Society of America in an effort to promote awareness and raise funds for research and family support services. After the film is produced, Schriftman plans to show it locally and hold discussions with audiences about the issues surrounding Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Schriftmans ulimate goal is to release the film to a worldwide audience. This film is directed by Kevin Hackenberg, who began his career working on the M. Night Shyamalan films The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. He went on to establish the production company Get-Kinetic in 2003 in Philadelphia, where he and his staff create visual content for clients as varied as Temple University and NBC10 in Philadelphia. For information about the film visit http://www.mymilliondollarmom.com, http://www.facebook.com/mymilliondollarmom or contact Ross Schriftman at mymilliondollarmom@gmail.com. For premiere tickets and information, visit http://www.mymilliondollarmom.com/news-040418.cfm. Editors Notes: Members of the media are invited to attend the premieres. Please let us know in advance if you will be attending so that we can accommodate you with seating and press credentials. Interviews are available with Ross Schriftman, and members of the films cast and crew. To schedule an interview, please contact Debbie Goetz Media Connections at 215-630-5408 or email Debbie Goetz at dgoetz(at)dgmediaconnections.com. Art Brand Studios, a leading publisher, manufacturer, marketer, wholesaler and branded retailer of fine art reproductions announces the acquisition of Wild Wings, a company representing 50 of Americas top wildlife and Americana/nostalgia artists. Wild Wings has a long history of specializing in art and art-related products that reflect a healthy outdoor lifestyle, with genres that include big game, upland birds, waterfowl, songbirds, raptors, wolves, domestic dogs and cats, horses, Native American, nostalgic Americana, rural scenes, fishing, ocean scenes, among others. Wild Wings has always remained true to its nature art heritage and has always made sure to support that which the art depicts. Since the publication of their very first art print in 1970, Wild Wings and the artists they represent have jointly donated a portion of each years print editions to conservation organizations across North America. Wild Wings has published over 2500 print editions since 1968, and will now operate under the ABS umbrella. Adding Wild Wings to our already impressive line-up of talented artists is exciting on so many levels, says Mark Mickelson, Managing Partner at Next Point Capitol. ABS is owned by Art Brand Investor, LLC, which is owned by M2 Investment Management, LLC, and managed by Next Point Capitol. Mickelson adds, Through a broad range of products, from fine art prints to home decor, we are looking forward to marketing and promoting an artistic genre that celebrates wildlife and Americana, and doing it with a company with the same values and creative commitment that ABS was founded on. Shared values are always good business. We are beyond thrilled at this acquisition. Im sure I can speak for everyone at Wild Wings in saying we couldnt be more excited about joining the Art Brand Studios organization, says Randy Eggenberger, President of Wild Wings. This union brings together the creative talents of some of the most respected names in art including Thomas Kinkade, Terry Redlin and Wild Wings. The combined companies will build on the respective strengths of each organization resulting in exciting new directions and opportunities for our customers, artists, and employees. Art Brand Studios is a leading publisher of branded art programs in both Limited and Open Edition. ABS is committed to growing artists brands with quality and integrity through corporate and independently owned galleries worldwide, strategic art licenses with Disney and DC Comics, licensing relationships with more than 70 licensees such as Hallmark and Bradford Exchange, and cross-channel marketing that includes everything from web to print to event management and targeted multimedia campaigns. ABS publishes the work of Thomas Kinkade, Thomas Kinkade Studios, Blend Cota, and Marjolein Bastin among others. ArtBrandStudios.com Wild Wings is a leading publisher, producer, and distributor of wildlife, sporting, and nostalgic/Americana art prints and art-related products. Founded in 1968, Wild Wings published its first limited edition art print in 1970 and mailed its first direct-mail catalog in 1971. Today, 50 years after its inception, Wild Wings continues to lead the industry in product development and innovative approaches to incorporating nature themes into a wide range of art products, gifts, home furnishings, collectibles and apparel. Wild Wings products are sold under the Wild Wings, Terry Redlin, Great Northern Art, Loon Lake Decoys, and Bouquet & Company brands at thousands of retail locations and conservation organization events across North America. WildWings.com Scott Aney, Chairman of the Board of Directors, VEDC For over 40 years VEDC has helped provide capital and educational resources to small businesses in underserved communities. Im proud of what our non-profit has accomplished. The Board of Directors of VEDC, a leading non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced the election of Scott Aney as chairman of the board of directors. Aney previously served as the vice-chair of the board and stepped into the new position at the start of the organizations fiscal year on April 1st. Aney succeeds Nishen Radia who completed his scheduled two-year term as chairman. Aney, a commercial banking executive, has served the southern California and Nevada markets for more than 30 years. He is currently senior vice president and regional manager for City National Bank, leading the banks Nevada commercial lending operation. Previously, Aney served in similar positions in the Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara markets for more than 25 years. As VEDCs incoming chairman of the board, Aney will continue to lead the organization in its mission to create and sustain jobs. Nishens chairmanship provided real opportunities for VEDC to serve businesses and strengthen the economy through lending and technical assistance, said Aney. For over 40 years VEDC has been providing capital and educational resources to small businesses in underserved communities. Im proud of what our non-profit has accomplished and, like all of our board members, am passionate about our mission. Nishen Radia will remain on the board and its executive committee as its immediate past chairman. Radia said, It has been an honor to serve as chairman, and I am delighted to hand the baton to Scott. Along with my fellow board members, I am confident that Scott has the background and professional expertise to lead the organization. He has served as a member of the Board for 12 years and as a member of the executive committee for most of that time. He knows the organization and the needs of small businesses in diverse markets such as California and in other parts of the country and brings a strong lending background. In addition to the election of Aney as chairman, two board members have retired from their service. Dutch Ross, a 15-year board member, and Anne Williams, who has served the organization for seven years, left board service at the end of the fiscal year on March 31st. Although Dutch and Anne have announced their planned retirement from the board, they will both continue to serve the organization, said Aney. Im pleased to be able to retain the expertise of two important business leaders and thank them for their service to the community. Effective April 1st, the organizations executive committee includes, along with Aney, Ariel Berrios, vice chairman of the board, Shala Tavakoli, secretary, Byron Reed, treasurer, Nishen Radia, immediate past chairman and Pegi Matsuda, member at large. Along with members of the executive committee, additional board members include Ron Meraz, Manual Rosales, Leandro Tyberg and Ray Vasquez. Several new board members will be announced soon. About VEDC VEDC works to create and sustain jobs and businesses in California, Illinois, and New York by making high-quality small business development services more available, sustainable and impactful. As a non-profit CDFI and small business lender with community-based loan funds and unique technical assistance programs, VEDC supports minority and low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs with powerful lending solutions and educational resources. Natural Family Planning Methods recognize the natural, biological signs of fertility and infertility. These methods observe the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of a woman's menstrual cycle. To achieve pregnancy, couples engage in intercourse during the most fertile time. Natural family planning and fertility are special interests of Dr. Bazgers. She is an NFP Medical Consultant in Creighton Model FertilityCare System and medical Natural Procreative TECHNOLOGY (NaPro), and she is also familiar with and promotes the Billings Ovulation Method, Sympto-Thermal (Couple to Couple League), and the Ovulation Method. Dr. Bazger is fellowship-trained at the Pope Paul VI Institute. NaPro TECHNOLOGY is used to assist women plot their natural menstrual and fertility cycles, which can enhance the likelihood of conception naturally. Surgical NaPro TECHNOLOGY utilizes minimally-invasive operative techniques designed to prevent adhesions (bands of scar tissue) and includes reconstructive pelvic surgery, microsurgery, laser surgery, and resection of endometriosis. For her patients, Dr. Bazger aims to preserve natural fertility and optimize reproductive health by promoting a preventative, holistic approach to health and wellness. She also specializes in enhancing natural reproductive potential by addressing, diagnosing, and treating the underlying anatomic and physiologic conditions that cause infertility, such as hormone deficiencies, endometriosis, adhesive disease, and PCOS. Womens Excellence is the most comprehensive obstetric and gynecologic office in Michigan. Additionally, they specialize in menopause, weight control, bladder control, endometriosis, robotic surgery, oncology and midwifery services. Womens Excellence is committed to staying at the forefront of innovation with cutting edge technologies utilizing robotic surgery and minimally invasive surgical options when possible. The knowledgeable, compassionate physicians and healthcare providers of Womens Excellence focus on patient-centered processes to deliver the highest quality of care. They are affiliated with most insurances. They offer seamless medical record access via a state of the art patient portal and use the latest technology for record keeping and sharing, making the patient experience easier and more efficient. Womens Excellence is taking new patients and is conveniently located in three locations throughout southeastern Michigan, Birmingham, Lake Orion, Clarkston, Rochester, and West Bloomfield. For more information, visit http://www.WomensExcellence.com. If youre not careful, digging a simple hole can turn into a deadly decision. As the April weather becomes warmer and plants come to life, thoughts often turn to the outdoors, and facility managers may consider projects and landscaping that require digging. No matter if the project is a small hole or a large-scale trench, its critical to take the right precautions to stay safe. MaintenX wants to give facility managers advice to stay safe during Safe Digging Month. Power lines, water pipes, telecommunications infrastructure it can all lie underground, said Bill Schaphorst, MaintenXs VP of Business Development. If youre not careful, digging a simple hole can turn into a deadly decision. Taking the time to become educated before you dig can save a lot of trouble and heartache. For over 35 years, MaintenX has provided facility managers with landscaping and project digging help. Here are some of top tips to ensure you stay safe the next time you pick up a shovel: Call 811: Some utilities are buried deep underground, while others are only inches from the surface. If you are unsure where water, gas or electricity lines run on your property call 811 a few days before you plan to dig. 811 is the federally designated number for digging information. This gives utility companies a chance to come to your location and mark their buried lines, which saves their infrastructure and protects you from injury. Florida residents are asked to contact 811 two full business days before digging. Protect Yourself: Some projects will require deep digging, like trenches. Any trench deeper than 5 feet should be supported in order to prevent hazards like falls, equipment accidents, or falling trench walls. Steps can be taken to help reduce risk. These steps include digging walls at an angle away from the bottom of the trench, known as sloping, or using supports to prevent cave-ins, known as shoring. Dig Wisely: Digging is physically demanding work. If done improperly, it can lead to muscle strain, overexertion, back or knee twists or fall injuries. In order to help reduce the likelihood of accidents, OSHA recommends ergonomically-focused digging. Recommendations include moving your whole body to dig rather than twisting at the waist, using the correct shovel head and handle length for your project, reducing shoveling time to 15-minute increments, and the use of mechanically assisted digging tools when possible. Hire a Professional: Due to the hazards underground, the physical toll that digging can have on your arms and back if digging manually, and the expertise needed to operate heavy machinery for larger projects, facility managers often decide to call in a professional. Facility maintenance professionals, like the technicians at MaintenX, can help with all your digging needs. For more information about MaintenX and the services they provide, visit http://www.maintenx.com. ABOUT MAINTENX INTERNATIONAL: MaintenX International is a fully-licensed, facilities repair company. They are one of the largest national self-performing facility maintenance and repair companies in the U.S. MaintenX has created a network of knowledgeable and professional technicians throughout the country. With their team of well-trained technicians, MaintenX self-performs and manages facility maintenance for clients. In the event there is not a MaintenX technician in the area, the company has fostered a network of preferred vendor partners throughout the country to provide superior service for their clients. For more than 35 years, MaintenX has been expertly serving multi-location retail stores, restaurant chains, and Fortune 500 companies nationwide. The Drip Club "Tobacco-based flavors are one of the hardest to perfect, and its great to see that people are enjoying our take on this e-juice classic. We are extremely proud of this award" The Drip Clubs Milkman Heritage line wins runner-up in the Best Tobacco flavor category at the Vape Showcase in Dallas Texas held on November 4-5, 2017. In a category that can be difficult to get right, this award proves that Milkman Heritage flavors are tobacco done well. Milkman Heritage combines the classic Milkman dessert character with rich tobacco undertones, creating a satisfying vape experience for a wide range of customers. The line consists of three varieties: Heritage Red a timeless, robust flavor with a sweet surprise. A flavor designed to appeal to both tobacco and dessert vapers: smooth strawberry layered onto an earthy tobacco base. Heritage Gold this unique take on the tobacco classic layers decedent cream and honey onto a full-bodied tobacco base. The three flavors meld to create a rich, satisfying vaping experience. Heritage Smooth a perfectly balanced blend of tobacco, sweet vanilla, and velvety caramel. This timeless flavor combination is all about creating a smooth vape for customers who love tobacco but want to try something unique. Director of Product development Quinten Thompson explains Tobacco-based flavors are one of the hardest to perfect, and its great to see that people are enjoying our take on this e-juice classic. We are extremely proud of this award. When we set out to create the Heritage line, we wanted to find a way to combine the sweet dessert undertones that define Milkman with the dark complexity of tobacco. What weve made is something different that still appeals to those vapers who love classic tobacco e-juices that continue to be a staple for vape shops internationally. For more information about Milkman Heritage, The Drip Club or any brands mentioned, please contact Quinten Thompson - Director of Product Development via quinten(at)thedripclub.com. About Vape Showcase Dallas 2017 Vape Showcase Dallas 2017 took place between the 4th and the 5th of November in Dallas Market Hall. Hurricane Harvey caused devastation across Texas through August and September, but thanks to huge support from the community, Vape Showcase was a huge success. Other categories being judged at the showcase included Best Candy, Best Fruit, Best in Show and Best Dessert. About The Drip Club The Drip Club is a consumer products company engaged in the development of innovative vaping products and brands. Since 2014, the L.A.-based company has been the purveyor of iconic brands such as the Milkman, ANML, and Modus. With a focus on quality and safety, the company strives to create products that resonate with consumers with the ultimate goal of one day inhabiting a cigarette-free planet. Its products include Milkman Heritage, that redefines tobacco flavors by providing tobacco enthusiasts an introduction to sweet dessert flavors and Candy Pop! a breakthrough offering in the candy category. Both products have won awards at the Vape Showcase in Dallas, TX (Heritage) and West Coast Vape Expo in Pasco, WA (Candy Pop!). The Drip Club also leads the industry in providing 1st generation Nicotine Salts in the form of CRFT Salts and Milkman Salts, all higher nicotine concentrations, for low-powered, convenience-centered devices. Find out more about The Drip Club on our website, by following us on Instagram @DripClub, or on LinkedIn. The cloud technology involved in this project is at the forefront of modernizing utility operations. Red Clays vast experience in the utilities industry made them a natural choice for us. Red Clay Consulting, a Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), announced today its participation, through a partnership, in the modernization of the utilitys commercial management system of EPSA, a CELSIA company. Red Clay, as technological ally, will be responsible for a full-scale Customer Information System implementation, taking advantage of cloud technology. Following a commercial bid process, Red Clay was brought on as part of a consortium of vendors to help EPSA realize its vision for a digital transformation that will facilitate growth. Roberto Ocampo, Project Director at EPSA, commented on the new partnership with Red Clay: We are committed to employing cutting-edge technologies to best serve our customers. The cloud technology involved in this project is at the forefront of modernizing utility operations. Red Clays vast experience in the utilities industry, along with the parallels between how Red Clay and EPSA operate, made them a natural choice for us. With the recent opening of a new branch in Cali, Colombia, Red Clay is poised to expand its presence in a new geographic area. According to Red Clay CEO Paul Marnell, Red Clay has long been interested in expanding its footprint to other geographies. We felt this was the right time to bring our services and expertise to South America due to several factors, including the types of projects available and opportunities to implement cloud technology in the South American market. Utilities around the world are working to quickly evolve and innovate to keep pace with changing demands, and cloud technologies are well suited to assist by reducing IT cost and risk, and providing capabilities that scale and flex as business needs change, says Matthew Gleeson, vice president, global alliances & channels, Oracle Utilities. Oracle Utilities is innovating across all of our solutions, so that utilities can innovate, and we are pleased to be working with Red Clay Consulting as it implements our solutions in an IaaS/PaaS infrastructure at EPSA. About Red Clay Consulting Red Clay, a leading consultancy for utilities, delivers seamless integrations of leading software systems. Industry experience, technical expertise, and an unyielding commitment to client success combine to deliver turnkey solutions that maximize value. As a Gold Level member of the Oracle Partner Network (OPN), Red Clay Consulting is the preferred choice among utilities for software integration and managed services. Red Clays unparalleled experience, expertise, and execution fuel project success. To learn more about Red Clay, visit: http://www.redclay.com About CELSIA CELSIA is the energy company of the Argos group with an innovative portfolio of energy for cities, businesses and homes. It has presence in Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica and a generating capacity of 2.399 MW from 28 Central hydroelectric, thermal, photovoltaic, wind and solar that generates around 7.750 GWh per year. It has 86 substations, 20.246 km of distribution network and 274 km of transmission network through EPSA, which serves more than 600,000 customers in the Colombian Southwest. 1,550 collaborators live the CELSIA culture of innovation and service, making a reality the principles of sustainability in all phases of the business. About Oracle PartnerNetwork Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) is Oracle's partner program that provides partners with a differentiated advantage to develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracles products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracles growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to be recognized and rewarded for their investment in Oracle Cloud. Partners engaging with Oracle will be able to differentiate their Oracle Cloud expertise and success with customers through the OPN Cloud program an innovative program that complements existing OPN program levels with tiers of recognition and progressive benefits for partners working with Oracle Cloud. To find out more visit: http://www.oracle.com/partners. Trademarks Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and / or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Since we opened our doors ten years ago, weve taken every opportunity to provide greater access to a future in medicine for our students. Each year has resulted in new or upgraded accreditations and additional state approvals. The 2018 Residency Match saw Trinity School of Medicine graduates earning residencies across the US and Canada. This year alone, the school added seven new states to their alumni footprint: Idaho, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. Each of these is significant for both the success of the students involved and the spread of Trinitys reputation for educating excellent physicians. Massachusetts and Tennessee are particularly noteworthy, though. A Trinity School of Medicine graduate was offered an attending position in Boston. As this graduate was the schools first in the state, it triggered a medical board approval process. As a result, the board granted a full licensure for our graduate provided recognition by the Board that Trinity's medical education is substantially equivalent to U.S. medical school training. This has now opened the door for additional graduates to serve the medical needs of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Similarly, a Trinity School of Medicine graduate was offered a fellowship in Tennessee and granted licensure ahead of the schools pending 1/1/2020 California medical board approval, a list the Volunteer State traditionally follows. Trinity president Steve Wilson commented, Since we opened our doors ten years ago, weve taken every opportunity to provide greater access to a future in medicine for our students. Each year has resulted in new or upgraded accreditations and additional state approvals. He continued, Were excited to see how our graduates have spread across North America and are serving their patients with professionalism, care, and continued academic distinction through chief residencies, competitive fellowships, and as always, as boots on the ground in the effort to address the physician shortage. About Trinity School of Medicine Trinity School of Medicine is a fully accredited International medical school focused on helping students achieve their goals of becoming licensed physicians in the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Trinity is known for its early clinical experience, supportive and philanthropic campus culture, and a marked dedication to the study of excellence in medical education. Mario Natarelli, Managing Partner, MBLM, at the Customer Loyalty Awards Ceremony in Korea We believe companies in Korea will benefit from creating stronger, more emotional bonds with customers, and are delighted with the engagement and excitement the presentations generated," stated Mario Natarelli, managing partner, MBLM. MBLM today announced Mario Natarelli, managing partner, delivered keynotes on Brand Intimacy and the 2018 Report at the Customer Loyalty Awards ceremony, an Insights Meeting with leading Korean marketers and the Team White Student Academy of the countrys top 200 student marketers. Natarelli spoke at these three events from April 18 20 sharing his first co-authored book Brand Intimacy, A New Paradigm in Marketing, which included theories, models and the practice of building more intimate brands from his 20 years of experience. It was an honor to be invited by the Korean Customer Council to these events and I was thrilled with the enthusiasm from audience members on the concept of Brand Intimacy, stated Natarelli. We believe companies in Korea will benefit from creating stronger, more emotional bonds with customers, and are delighted with the engagement and excitement the presentations generated. Secretary General of the Korean Customers' Council, Jun Jae Ho added, Brand Intimacy is an intuitive and compelling new paradigm. We saw strong enthusiasm and excitement from academics, practitioners and students alike. Korea is a dynamic and technologically advanced marketplace where Brand Intimacy can add real value and deliver stronger business results. MBLM and the Korean Customer Council will be planning events and initiatives to broaden the exposure to include the translated Brand Intimacy book, and an annual Conference and Awards for top performers. For companies looking to improve their performance, consulting services are also proceeding. Brand Intimacy: A New Paradigm in Marketing is an Amazon #1 international bestseller in the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Natarelli and co-author Rina Plapler, partner at MBLM, are also bestselling authors in the Business & Money book categories. The book provides insight and lessons for marketers, business leaders and entrepreneurs who are seeking to understand these ultimate brand relationships and the opportunities they represent. It is published by Hatherleigh Press, which is distributed by Penguin Random House, and is available in print and as an eBook. To download the full Brand Intimacy 2018 Report or explore the Ranking Tool, please visit: http://mblm.com/lab/brandintimacy-study/. And to learn more about Brand Intimacy: A New Paradigm in Marketing, please visit: http://mblm.com/brandintimacybook/. About MBLM: MBLM has invented a new marketing paradigm, Brand Intimacy, delivering expertise and offerings across three areas of focus: Agency, Lab and Platform. With offices in seven countries, our multidisciplinary teams help clients build stronger bonds and deliver optimized marketing outcomes and returns for the long term. To learn more about how we can help you create and sustain ultimate brand relationships, visit mblm.com. Kenneth Luikart While we didn't like the war, we went and we served Within the pages of his autobiography The Uncomfortable Zone ($16.49, paperback, 9781545629932; $8.995, e-book, 9781545629949), Luikart chronicles growing up in West Virginia then being involved in the Tet Offensive in Vietnam on February 1969 at age 19. In 1968, most of us in the U.S. Army were patriots, the author states. While we didn't like the war, we went and we served. This book is about a young intelligence analyst and how I was able to predict enemy attacks. Readers will step into the Vietnam War and look at the situation of U.S. troops as they waged to stop the communist aggression. This book attempts to show how intelligence supports the war fighter and how young men are selected and tempered to become intelligence analysts, Luikart says. It is noteworthy because the tools used to track the enemy lacked modern technology, requiring a pencil. Kenneth Luikart was a combat order battle analyst for the U.S. Army during two tours in Vietnam. From 1975 to 2001, he also served as a National Guard wing intelligence non-commissioned officer. His previous book was The Comfort Zone: Growing Up in Appalachia. Mediaclip, the worlds premier developer of product personalization software, announced the launch of its newest v7.0 product release today. This version is packed with new features and enhancements that promise to create the most intuitive end-user experience and optimize the overall performance of the front-end creation tool, Mediaclip Product Designer (Designer). Further improving the usability of Mediaclip Designer was a top priority throughout the development of version 7.0, says Christian Rondeau, Chief Innovation Officer at Mediaclip. Consumers expect immediate feedback and obvious navigation; thats why we revamped our user interface so that we make even better use of the available screen size, predict upcoming interactions to finish in fewer clicks and make everything snappier than ever before. The numbers reliably show that these things are what drives conversion rates up, as well the revenue of our customers, he continues. The challenge when introducing new features to the creative process is to present everything in a way that does not overwhelm or overcrowd the work area of the creation tool. As such, Mediaclip has developed a brand-new Header for the tool. Being collapsible/expandable, store owners now have the freedom make more options accessible to their shoppers. Businesses can brand it with their logo, add unique links leading to other parts of their website, and add a custom Help link that leads end-users to the websites chosen medium of support (chat, tutorial videos, etc.). By combining the websites custom redirections and the Designers functionalities into a single header results in a much larger editing work area for end-users, especially on mobile resolutions. We also decided to make a few small visual changes and relocate certain functionality buttons within the UI that will greatly impact the fluidity of navigation as well as provide better support for users with disabilities, adds Christian. In the spirit of providing a frictionless experience, many new features were designed to simplify the editing while providing more options to the user, allowing them to quickly reorganize photos in their book, or switch from a portrait to a landscape canvas in one click, or even change their mind and switch to a more colorful theme. Moreover, version 7.0 has changed a few of the element behaviors to get end-users to the editing options they need in as few clicks as possible, eliminating any needless adjustments required to get the desired results within a project. Last but not least, the Mediaclip Design Team has developed fifty-one (51) new greeting card themes and added news clipart and styles, expanding the existing range of available content from the Mediaclip library. The new themes were created using Mediaclip Photoshop Extension, which is sure to make it easier for website owners to adapt the design for any language and printing specifications to better suit their business needs. The core of our development activities has always been to find ways to make the user experience exceptional for consumers while also ensuring that the management of the solution and associated workflows, as well as content creation and management, are as smooth as possible for our customers, remarks Marion Duchesne, Founder and CEO at Mediaclip. Were confident that this latest release will equip our customers with the best tool possible within the highly competitive product personalization market, giving them the ability to establish a unique edge within a sea of average websites, she concludes. To see the latest release in action, please request a demo via the companys website (https://goo.gl/aNvYCo), by email (sales@mediaclip.ca), or by phone (1-877-799-2547). Home education: Tutors International supports registration I have been calling for home education registration in England for a long time, and I believe that it is an essential step if we are to ensure all children have a suitable and safe education, wherever that may be taught. The Department for Education has recently launched a call for evidence on home education, following concerns about schools illegally off-rolling pupils, unregistered schools, and whether children taught at home are getting a good quality education. [1] Global private tutoring firm Tutors International has announced its support for a register of home-educated children in England, citing it as a step in the right direction towards all children receiving their entitlement to education as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. [2] Adam Caller commented, At present, there is no registration system for families choosing to educate their children at home. I have been calling for home education registration in England for a long time, and I believe that it is an essential step if we are to ensure all children have a suitable and safe education, wherever that may be taught. Homeschooling parents should certainly have the freedom to shape their childs education, and should not be required to seek permission from any authorities to be able to do so. However, I do believe that parents should be required to inform the authorities of their decision to home-school, and be required to produce and maintain documentation pertaining to a childs education so that governing bodies can effectively ensure that minimum standards and a basic curriculum framework are being met; this is in the best interests of the child. Mr Caller notes that the homeschooling community has historically tended to resist regulation, seeing it as a process of greater interference, but he believes that this latest call from the Department of Education provides homeschoolers with a beneficial opportunity to form a cohesive organisation which can best put forward constructive views on what this regulation might look like. Mr Caller has actively campaigned for regulation of the private tutor industry in order to safeguard the interests of both tutors and families, and believes that regulation could also be effective for homeschooling parents. Mr Caller stated: I believe that, if a unified and coherent body was formed within the homeschooling community, home educators would have a platform from which they can engage meaningfully with the Department of Education. Whilst it may be tempting for the community to close ranks and protest against regulation, this could be the perfect opportunity for them to seize even further control and input into their childrens education, jointly identifying the minimum parameters of the education to which every child is entitled. Mr Caller has previously encountered dissent from the homeschooling community in light of his views on regulation, commenting in 2016 that: Many choose to educate their own children at home because the traditional education system in this country has failed them or because they want their children to have the freedom to learn, according to their own needs, in the privacy of the family home. I am in favour of home education when it is the right decision for the family, and I sincerely believe that these families have nothing to fear from any proposed new regulatory system; those who approach home education with care and responsibility have no reason to feel threatened. Mr Caller added, I am however concerned about what home educated children are being taught: are they being taught ideologies, or being prepared for a life that denies them freedom of choice, or denied a basic knowledge of our society and its laws? At present there is no way of knowing, and I believe that the children deserve the protection of the state at this level. Home education regulations are about having systems in place to alert authorities and allowing them to intervene where a childs safety or human rights are genuinely at stake. Tutors International regularly receives requests to place tutors with families who want the benefits of home education, but are unable to fulfil the role full-time themselves. To find out more about the services offered by Tutors International, visit http://www.tutors-international.com. ENDS References [1] Department for Education, Elective home education: call for evidence - government consultation 10 April 2018 [2]United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 28 About Tutors International Tutors International is a worldwide organisation providing experienced private tutors to work with children of all ages and nationalities. Tutors are available for full-time tutoring positions, for major support and tutoring outside school hours, or for home-schooling. Tutors International provides a bespoke service to find the right tutor that suits the childs needs and aspirations, and if a live-in tutor is required, it is essential that the assigned tutor is the right match for the family and fits in the environment. Navesink Dental Care in Red Bank, NJ Not everyone has dental insurance these days and its devastating for us knowing that there are people here in our community that need dental care but will go without because they cant afford it. We want to give back to the community that supports us each and every day. It has become a decade-long tradition for the community Navesink Dental Care serves, providing a day of free dental care for the less fortunate. And on Saturday, May 5, 2018, the practice located on the border of Red Bank and Middletown will host their 10th Dentistry from the Heart event. Dr. Allan Ruda and Dr. Beth DeAngelis are a husband and wife team that head Navesink Dental Care. Providing a family feel and advanced dentistry procedures at their New Jersey location has been their focus for over 30 years. This Dentistry from the Heart day is very important to us every year! We try to make our patients feel cared for and respected each and every day, on Dentistry from the Heart day however, were able to extend our care and attention to those who maybe arent able to visit a dentist because of financial restraints, Dr. Allan Ruda said. Anyone over the age of 18 is invited to benefit from the Dentistry from the Heart event. Each patient in need may choose to have one filling, one extraction, or cleaning procedure completed that day. Registration should be done in person, preceding the event at Navesink Dental Care located at 180 Highway 35 in Middletown, New Jersey on Saturday, May 5. Registration will begin at 7 AM and will close at 9 AM and procedures will follow directly after. Everyone will be seen on a first come, first served basis. We are so excited for this years Dentistry from the Heart event! Not everyone has dental insurance these days and its devastating for us knowing that there are people here in our community that need dental care but will go without because they cant afford it. We want to give back to the community that supports us each and every day, Dr. Beth DeAngelis said. All dental services at the event will be donated by: Dr. Allan Ruda, Dr. Beth DeAngelis, Dr. Ralph Reilly, Dr. Mitchel Friedman, Dr. Jeffrey Zatzkin, and a team of altruistic volunteers. For more information about this Dentistry from the Heart event, please call (732) 788-7382. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Connect with Navesink Dental Care: http://www.navesinkdentalcare.com (732) 741-7733 About Navesink Dental Care: Whether you keep up with your dental care and just need a quality cleaning or if you have neglected your oral health and need a lot of compassionate, state-of-the-art health care, Navesink Dental Care has you covered. They offer innovative technology, like intraoral cameras and computerized anesthesia, all from the comfort of their newly renovated, modern exam rooms featuring ultra-plush dental chairs for patients ultimate comfort. Education Token Sourcing Method Users on the LiveEdu platform - the first for the Education Ecosystem, will use Education tokens (LEDU) for all transactions in the ecosystem. Tokens minted following the crowdsale were allocated for different purposes, as explained in this article. Due to a change in the original plan for sourcing of tokens to use on the LiveEdu platform, 30 million Education tokens will be burned on July 31st 2018. The tokens that viewers will use on LiveEdu for all transactions, will be sourced from exchanges instead of from the subscription pool. As a result, a portion of the subscription pool tokens will be burned. In addition, a portion of the tokens originally allocated for API Ecosystem Developers and Supporters (Quality Assurance & Moderation) will be burned and sourced from exchanges if further tokens are required. New Offices Education Ecosystem will soon be opening two offices in Kiev and Santa Monica. They are in the process of hiring 3 new engineers who will be joining the team at the engineering office in Kiev. In 2019, they will also be opening a China office as they continue expansion into the Asia Pacific region. With three offices in areas where the majority of their users are located they will be able to provide more value to the ecosystem and achieve their goal of becoming the worlds largest project learning platform, decentralized on the blockchain. Get Education Token (LEDU) Get Education tokens now with ETH or BTC on Bibox or Gate.io. Read more about Education token on their project page and ask any questions you might have in their Telegram group chat. Shannon Vaillancourt, president and founder of RateLinx, a thought leader in customized supply chain data services and consulting, has been accepted into the Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Vaillancourt joins other Forbes Technology Council members, who are hand-selected, to become part of a curated network of successful peers and get access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and short tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com. Vaillancourt founded RateLinx in 2002. It is the only DaaS that integrates carrier invoice, track and trace, shipment and order data to create an integrated data foundation in real time. The firm provides processing, analytics and intelligence services to national retail, consumer brands and manufacturers across the U.S. I am pleased to join the Technology Council to share my data expertise with Forbes readers, said Vaillancourt. At RateLinx, we are data integrators which is different from data aggregation. Im looking forward to bringing this perspective to help readers understand how their data can be integrated to transform their supply chain through increased visibility and intelligence. Forbes Councils combine an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businesses and a dedicated member concierge who acts as an extension of their own team, providing personalized one-on-one support. Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, said, We are honored to welcome Shannon Vaillancourt into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world. About RateLinx Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Madison, WI, RateLinx (ratelinx.com) is transforming supply chain management through its customized data services and consulting. Providing a complete end-to-end solution from order to delivery, cash and payment, RateLinx is the only DaaS that integrates carrier invoice, track and trace, shipment and order data to create an integrated data foundation in real time. Its Logistics in 3D process (Diagnose, Develop, Deploy) combines with its Radar Track & TraceSM, Intelligent Invoice ManagementSM, and ShipLinx TMS to provide Integrated Data IntelligenceSM for increased visibility and predictive analytics to solve even the most challenging supply chain problems while reducing overall costs. Read more about RateLinx innovative approach to logistics at ratelinx.com/blog. About Forbes Councils Forbes partnered with the founders of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to launch Forbes Councils, invitation-only communities for world-class business professionals in a variety of industries. Members, who are hand-selected by each Councils community team, receive personalized introductions to each other based on their specific needs and gain access to a wide range of business benefits and services, including best-in-class concierge teams, personalized connections, peer-to-peer learning, a business services marketplace, and the opportunity to share thought leadership content on Forbes.com. For more information about Forbes Technology Council, visit https://forbestechcouncil.com/. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com. We know the future of medicine is trying to help the body repair itself, and were doing everything we can to move in that direction, said David Pearce, Ph.D., vice president of research and innovation for Sanford Health. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved two new clinical trials involving adipose-derived stem cells at Sanford Health. The health system, based in the Upper Midwest, now has four FDA-approved clinical trials involving adipose-derived stem cells, with a fifth pending. Sanford Health had the first FDA-approved adipose-derived stem cell trial in the United States in 2016, with cells taken from a participants own abdominal fat used to treat rotator cuff injuries. That trial reached full enrollment in May 2017. The one-year follow-up visits are ongoing for enrolled patients and will be completed in May 2018. Data will be reviewed and study reports will be completed by the end of summer 2018. We know the future of medicine is trying to help the body repair itself, and were doing everything we can to move in that direction, said David Pearce, Ph.D., vice president of research and innovation for Sanford Health. Having FDA approval for these studies and having so many of them validates the work were doing. The latest trials are: The Rotator Cuff Pivotal Study is a Pivotal study that opens in July. It will be a continuation of the initial rotator cuff study and further investigate the potential effects of adipose-derived stem cells on rotator cuff tears. It will enroll 210 participants nationwide, with 30 from Sanford Health locations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota. Participants will either receive an injection of stem cells or receive standard of care treatment. Jason Hurd, M.D., is the lead principal investigator for this study. The Facet Joint study is a Feasibility trial that opens this summer. This trial will investigate the potential healing factors of adipose-derived stem cells in patients with osteoarthritis of the facet joints. Patients must have chronic lumbar back pain due to facet joint osteoarthritis for more than six months and have failed three months of conservative back pain care. This study will enroll 40 patients 20 will undergo a liposuction procedure, and 20 will receive standard of care treatment. Thomas Boetel, M.D., is the principal investigator for this study. The Wrist Osteoarthritis study is a Feasibility trial that opens in June. It will investigate the potential healing factors of adipose-derived stem cells in patients diagnosed with wrist osteoarthritis. There will be 40 patients enrolled in this study. All patients will receive a minor liposuction procedure, and then half will receive stem-cell injections and half will receive a steroid shot. Participants will not know which treatment they receive. Robert Van Demark, Jr., M.D., is the principal investigator for this study. A trial for non-healing leg wounds that opened in September 2017 continues. The Feasibility trial will study the safety and efficacy of using adipose-derived stem cell therapy as a treatment for the wounds. The trial will accept 36 participants. It is being led by Bradley Coots, M.D., a plastic surgeon at Sanford Health. Cell therapy, according to Sanford Health experts, uses the bodys own cells as therapy. Stem cells, in particular, have the ability to repair or regenerate cells that are damaged or killed as the result of injury or disease. Sanford Healths cell therapy techniques focus on adipose-derived stem cells because they can be used in many parts of the body and are easily collected. Adipose stem cells yield many times more cells than other sources like bone marrow. They also can be returned to the body quickly, and they have a low infection rate. Sanford Health is presenting on stem-cell research and therapies and regenerative medicine at the Unite to Cure conference this month at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. The conference, Unite to Cure: The Fourth International Vatican Conference How Science, Technology and 21st Century Will Impact Culture and Society, brings together leaders in health care, science and research from around the world as part of the Cura Foundation conference, which is held every other year in Rome. This is the second time Sanford Health has presented at the invite-only event. Robin Smith, M.D., president of the foundation, also serves on the Sanford International Board. Its invaluable for us as researchers to be part of this conference, Pearce said. These are some of the best and brightest in the industry, and every time we go, we are inspired by our colleagues to work harder to advance treatments and search for cures. The event is the continuation of a collaboration among The Cura Foundation, Stem for Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to advancing global awareness of regenerative medicine and cell therapy, The Vaticans Pontifical Council for Culture and its foundation, STOQ (Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest). To learn more about Unite To Cure: The Fourth International Vatican Conference, please visit: vaticanconference2018.com. You can follow the event on Twitter @CuraFdn and on Facebook at facebook.com/TheCuraFoundation, and join the conversation with #UnitetoCure. About Sanford Health Sanford Health is one of the largest health care systems in the nation, with 44 hospitals and nearly 300 clinics in nine states and nine countries. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and serving the Upper Midwest, with nearly 1,400 physicians, Sanford Health is dedicated to several initiatives, including global clinics, genomic medicine and specialized centers researching cures for type 1 diabetes, breast cancer and other diseases. Sanford Health has 28,000 employees, making it the largest employer in the Dakotas. Nearly $1 billion in gifts from philanthropist Denny Sanford over the past decade have transformed how Sanford Health can improve the human condition. For information, visit sanfordhealth.org. About the Cura Foundation The Cura Foundation leads a major global health movement, with the passionate purpose to improve human health. Cura unites public and private sectors, partnering with doctors, patients, business leaders, philanthropists and thought leaders to collaborate and create breakthroughs around the world. The foundation drives change by raising awareness of scientific advancements in genomics, emerging technologies and big data to usher in the future of medicine. Cura helps people live longer, better lives free from suffering. The Cura Foundation is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, public and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, please visit: https://thecurafoundation.org ### Madonna Badger and Kerry McCoy Its never going to be easy. The pain is just so huge that sometimes it feels like a prison cell. But trying really hard to not feel sorry for myself makes me feel good. On Friday, April 26, 2018, Up in Your Business host Kerry McCoy will speak with New York advertising executive Madonna Badger, creator of the We Are #WomenNotObjects ad that debuted at Cannes Film Festival and has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube. Badger left the advertising industry for more than a year after a tragic house fire on Christmas morning that claimed the lives of her three young daughters and both her parents. After the tragedy, Badger spent a few months in psychiatric hospitals for manic depression and suicidal ideation. Badger contacted her college roommate, Kate Askew of Little Rock, for refuge. During that year of recuperation, Badger began healing from the immense pain of losing so many loved ones at once. Assisted by the Askew family, Helen Porter, one of the founders of the Psychiatric Research Institute at the University of Arkansas and Dr. Richard Smith, director of the Institute and Institute staff, Badger recovered enough to return to New York. Before reestablishing her work routine, she accompanied another friend from Arkansas to an orphanage in Thailand, where she found additional healing through the stories and love of the orphaned girls there. Badger wrote in Vogue Magazine, Its never going to be easy. The pain is just so huge that sometimes it feels like a prison cell. But trying really hard to not feel sorry for myself makes me feel good. Being of service helps the pain to go away, if only for a little while, and giving and receiving love makes me feel good. Basically, I go to wherever the light is, because anything else is darkness, and it can be a deeply black darkness. Her tragic, yet inspirational story, her business and her volunteer work and more will be discussed during the hour-long interview. Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy airs every Friday at 2 p.m. live on 88.3 FM KABF radio and on Facebook Live. The podcast is available on YouTube, iTunes, SoundCloud and the http://www.flagandbanner.com website every Tuesday afternoon. The weekly broadcast features live guests every week from notable Arkansans, business owners, entrepreneurs, politicians, artists and personalities sharing their stories in a unique and candid conversational interview. English Rose Tea Room Celebrates Royal Wedding in Arizona Desert Prince Harry and Meghan Markles British-American union is history in the making, said Jo Gemmill, owner of English Rose Tea Room. Come enjoy a royal wedding celebration rivaling those held in England. Celebrate the modern-day fairy-tale marriage and British-American union of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the English Rose Tea Room, 201 Easy Street. The soiree complete with traditional British pomp and pageantry will take place on Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. English Rose Tea Room owner and dual citizen, Jo Gemmill will host the day-long celebration in her hometown of Carefree, Arizona. Guests may don wedding attire or formal wear including gowns and tiaras for the ladies, and suit and ties for the gentlemen. Dont forget, a proper British celebration includes fashionable headwear with hat styles including fascinators, derby hats and tiaras. Party goers will watch wedding coverage on big screen televisions in the covered outdoor pavilion. Guests will take photos on the red carpet with life-size cutouts of royal family members and British celebrities. They also have a chance to win a replica of Meghan Markles ring and may purchase commemorative lapel pins, tea towels and fine bone china from England at the Tea Room gift shop. Prince Harry and Meghan Markles British-American union is history in the making, said Jo Gemmill, owner of English Rose Tea Room. Come enjoy a royal wedding celebration rivaling those held in England. The quaint restaurant, located in the tiny desert town of Carefree with a population of only 3,400, is noted for their British celebrations including the Royal Wedding, Royal Baby Shower, Queen Elizabeths Diamond Jubilee celebration and the Queens birthday party, and has become a renowned destination for royal watchers visiting Arizona from around the globe. Admission to the celebration is $60 per person and includes formal afternoon tea, wedding cake and a royal wedding souvenir bag. Make required reservations at 480-488- 4812. Seating is limited. For information, visit carefreetea.com. About the English Rose Tea Room The English Rose Tea Room was established by Jo Gemmill in 2002. Located at 201 Easy Street in Carefree, Arizona, the restaurant offers a full selection of traditional British teas and menu fare, and was named Best Afternoon Tea by Phoenix Magazine. For information about the English Rose Tea Room, call 480-488- 4812 or visit carefreetea.com. EVENT/CALENDAR BRIEF What: Royal Wedding Celebration Where: English Rose Tea Room, 201 Easy Street, Carefree When: 10 a.m. 5 p.m., Saturday, May 19 Cost: $60 Contact: 480-488- 4812, http://www.carefreetea.com Additional Information: Celebration of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with television showings throughout the day. Enjoy formal afternoon tea, royal wedding cake and a souvenir bag. Guests will take photos on the red carpet with life-size cutouts of royal family members and have a chance to win a replica of Meghan Markles ring. The whole team at Sabal views this as a great honor and as a validation of the hard work that goes into what we all do, every day. The Chamber is a linchpin of the Fort Lauderdale business community and just to be selected as a finalist is a terrific achievement. Sabal Insurance Group is pleased to announce its selection as a finalist for the 2018 Small Business Award, presented by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. A panel of judges coordinated by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee will review and evaluate the nominees and select one winner per category. Additionally, the Small Business Person of the Year will be selected from the pool of nominations. Sabal Insurance Group was nominated as one of three finalists in the Professional Services Division. The expanded categories for the award are: Health & Wellness, Hospitality & Tourism, Nonprofit Organization, Professional Services, Retail Products & Services, Technology, and Small Business Person of the Year. Sabal Insurance Group is an independent insurance broker, specializing in the development of innovative insurance solutions for both commercial and personal needs. Sabal Insurance group is devoted to reducing clients insurance costs while improving their insurance coverage. The keynote will be delivered by Peyton Robertson, a 16-year-old entrepreneur who has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30 and is already the holder of multiple patents for original inventions. The whole team at Sabal views this as a great honor and as a validation of the hard work that goes into what we all do, every day. The Chamber is a linchpin of the Fort Lauderdale business community and just to be selected as a finalist is a terrific achievement, said Ian Norris, president of Sabal Insurance Group. The awards ceremony is May 4 at 7:30 a.m. at the Downtown Events Center. More than 200 chamber members are expected to be in attendance. Expo tables and single ticket admissions can be purchased here. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce is the largest and oldest business organization in Broward County. It was established in 1910 and has a membership base of 1,252 companies that employ more than 500,000 employees. The Chamber is committed to serving the business community and helping promote future economic growth and development in South Florida. Sabal serves a diverse client base that spans North America, Europe, and Latin America from their headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, visit the Sabal Insurance Group website to contact the professional at Sabal. Smiles for our Veterans! "I recently lost my job and put my kids needs first so this really helped me a lot." - Jessica D. The Day of Giving for Veterans is an annual event that has been a truly rewarding experience for the volunteers who participate. Over 30 providers and support staff gathered at the Bright Now! Dental office in Olympia, Washington, to host the 2018 Olympia Day of Giving this past weekend. Director of Market Operations, Nicole Witherbee, celebrated her birthday by helping deliver smiles to veterans, and Dr. Brittany Nichols and her team drove three and a half hours to volunteer at this special event. This dedication and enthusiasm from the Olympia team helped provide dental care to 90 individuals, delivering nearly $70,000 in donated dentistry. Thank you, I am very appreciative of everything that was provided and all of the work and they did an amazing job," says patient Jessica D. "I had a lot that needed to be done and I recently lost my job and put my kids needs first so this really helped me a lot. The Smiles for Everyone Foundation partnered with many different veteran outreach associations to refer veterans and their dependents to this free dental day. Celia Stephens was one of the individuals who heard about the event through these various networks. She says, Thank you for giving to people who dont have dental care... You will be blessed in return! I cant thank you enough! It was very generous of all of you to sacrifice your weekend day for people in need. Especially for veterans and their spouses [which is me]. It was my first time at your company. I dont have a dentist and would like to come back because the staff helped me feel at ease. Many other individuals expressed their sincerest gratitude for the services provided. Michael and Arline Tabola live on a fixed income. When their granddaughter was struggling to pay for college, the couple decided to give up their dental insurance to help her pay for school. Michael heard about the Olympia Day of Giving through his veterans network, and the couple had also attended the event last year. Michael and Arline were so appreciative for the services provided that this year, they brought jars of homemade organic raspberry jam for all of the volunteers, along with a lovely note to thank the team. David Stocks and his son, Eli, also attended the Day of Giving last year. David was in the Army for eight and a half years and fought for our country in Afghanistan. Now, his focus is on taking care of his son, and that includes getting his son the proper dental care he needs. The volunteers loved Eli and his sweet personality! The team looks forward to this event every year, but it is not the only time they serve those in need. Later this year, Dr. Nichols will be traveling to Africa on a dental mission trip to serve individuals in some of the most disadvantaged communities. Through the Share Our Smiles program, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has provided a grant of dental supplies to support Dr. Nichols on her mission. The Foundation looks forward to sharing more about her outreach. Services at a Day of Giving include checkups, cleanings, oral cancer screenings, fluoride treatments, fillings and extractions. The next Day of Giving will be hosted by Bright Now! Dental in Burbank, Calif on May 6, 2018. Please visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org for more information. About Bright Now! Dental Bright Now! Dental provides general dentistry, childrens dentistry and, in select locations, specialty care services such as orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics and endodontics at over 150 offices across Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Bright Now! Dentals Olympia office is operated by Nurani, P.C. (the Group). The Group is affiliated with Smile Brands Inc., one of the largest providers of business support services to dental groups in the United States. Smile Brands Inc. provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long-term service agreements with affiliated dental groups, so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors (Gryphon), a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, Calif. For more information, visit smilebrands.com. . About the Smiles For Everyone Foundation The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of delivering smiles for everyone by providing free dental care for those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. Since 2011, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has delivered over 14,000 smiles and $12 million in donated dentistry. The foundation currently supports programs which provide free dental care to those in need in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand and the United States. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org . Contacts: Bright Now! Dental Jody Martin PR@smilebrands.com 714.427.1299 Smiles for Everyone Foundation Crystal Strait crystal.strait@smilesforeveryone.org 714.824.5037 ### Gili Gibli, Chairman of the Young Professionals of the American Friends of Sheba, Yoel Hareven, Chief of Staff of Sheba Medical Center and Michael Galant Sheba is on the forefront of cutting-edge medical care with one mission save lives regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or nationality. It is so uplifting to see the young Jewish community come out to support and recognize this incredible hospital. Young New Yorkers, including well known Israeli-American actress Mili Avital, gathered last night to support the trailblazing work of Sheba Medical Center. The hospital is the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East. Over 200 people attended the Children of the World event, a magical evening on the Penthouse floor of the Hotel on Rivington. Guests celebrated 70 years of Sheba, and of the state of Israel, and its unwavering dedication to provide humanitarian medical relief to children and families worldwide. Sheba is sometimes referred to internally as the Hospital Without Borders. It provides the most advanced medical care to anyone in need without exception. For decades, doctors have been treating children from Israel, Gaza, Syria and more at Sheba Medical Center. The modern medical miracles that are experienced at Sheba save childrens lives every day. In addition, Sheba doctors are often the first emergency responders on the ground to help victims of natural disasters and mass casualty incidents. Dr. Elhanan Bar-On, Director of the Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response at Sheba, spoke at the event last night about the hospitals incredible work from earthquakes in Haiti to cholera outbreaks in Zambia to restoring vision to the blind in Papua New Guinea. Sheba is on the forefront of cutting-edge medical care with one mission save lives regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or nationality, said Gili Gibli, the Chairman of the Young Professionals of the American Friends of Sheba. It is so uplifting to see the young Jewish community come out to support and recognize this incredible hospital. There were hundreds of supporters here, added Mira Bar-Mashiah, President of American Friends of Sheba who also spoke at the event. This was an enormously successful event that went way beyond our expectations. Its gatherings like these that allow Sheba doctors to do their vital and lifesaving work throughout the world. Actress Mili Avital hosted the event, held at a stunning triplex Penthouse with a roof deck showcasing breathtaking Manhattan views. There were special live performances by Yemen Blues, Live DJ Mickey Perez and a guest appearance by DJ Spooky. To request photos or interviews, contact Elian Dombey at 954-681-8056 or via email through elian(at)redbanyan(dot)com. About Sheba Medical Center Born together with Israel in 1948, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer is the biggest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East. Sheba is the only medical center in Israel that combines an acute care hospital and a rehabilitation hospital on one campus, and it is at the forefront of medical treatments, patient care, research and education. As a university teaching hospital affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University, it welcomes people from all over the world indiscriminately. We are excited about our current incentives for the community. said Paul Csik, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at American Properties Realty, Inc. Join Greene 750 at Bear Tavern on May 5th starting at 2pm to tour three fully furnished apartment models and enjoy delicious Mexican food and refreshments at the community clubhouse. Visitors will also have the opportunity to explore the onsite amenities, including the beautiful outdoor pool, grill area, tot lot, and multi-purpose court. Those interested can RSVP by phone to (609)-403-6033. We are excited about our current incentives for the community. said Paul Csik, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at American Properties Realty, Inc. Greene 750 is currently offering a special incentive for one month free with a 13-month lease for select units. Additionally, the community is offering short-term 6-month or 9-month leases (Restrictions Apply). We already have 17 new leases approved for the month of April said Csik. Greene 750 at Bear Tavern is conveniently located near Princeton, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey. The community offers many luxurious features including spacious floorplans with up to 1,458 sq.ft. with 1 Bedroom, 2 Bedroom, or 2 Bedroom + Den models, stylish kitchens with stainless steel appliances, modern bathrooms, 9 ceilings, private patios or balconies, pet friendly residences and onsite dog park, sprawling 6,100 sq. ft. clubhouse with great room, bar/pub area, 24-hour fitness center, media room and billiards room. *About American Properties Realty, Inc. American Properties Realty, Inc., A Licensed Real Estate Broker, continues its proud 40-year tradition of introducing award winning communities that provide excellent quality, convenient locations and affordable pricing for New Jersey homebuyers. The Principals of American Properties Realty, Inc., have been involved in the creation of residences ranging from luxurious estate homes to master planned communities of apartments, condominiums, townhomes and single family homes. Visit http://www.americanproperties.net to find the community thats right for you! The award-winning Corporate Practice at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has grown once again with strategic additions in the firms New York and New Jersey offices. Peter Humphreys joins from Hogan Lovells as a shareholder in both offices. Maya Mitchell joins from King & Spalding as of counsel in the New York office. These additions underscore Greenberg Traurigs strategy of providing clients with top-tier service in key areas of the corporate practice said Alan I. Annex, co-chair of the firms global Corporate Practice and a shareholder in New York. Peter brings considerable experience advising clients on large-stake structured finance transactions. Mayas experience working with private equity and other clients on the structuring, negotiating and execution of a wide array of corporate transactions further strengthens our existing capabilities. Humphreys has more than 25 years of experience advising clients on complex corporate, securities, and finance transactions. He counsels clients on the securitization of consumer receivables, equipment and operating leases, bank loans, and mortgages. He also has experience in public and private markets transactions, the development of new financial products as well as offshore transactions and cross-border deals. Humphreys received his J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law; his B.C.L., with honors, from University of Oxford; his LL.B., with honors, from University of London; and his A.K.C. from Kings College London. Peter is a high-caliber attorney and we are excited to welcome him to Greenberg Traurig, the firms New Jersey Co-Managing Shareholders Philip R. Sellinger and David Jay said in a joint statement. Peters experience and synergy with our existing client offerings is a value-add for Greenberg Traurig clients in the region and globally. I was attracted to Greenberg Traurig because of its stellar reputation and the opportunity to work across sectors and bring my clients the resources of more than 2000 lawyers throughout 38 offices around the world to help them achieve their business goals, Humphreys said. Mitchell advises clients on investment-related activities, focusing on private investment ranging from early-state and venture equity markets to large private equity funds. She provides counsel on an array of transactions including leveraged buyouts, growth equity investments, and carve-out transactions. Mitchell received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and her B.A., in Economics, from Wesleyan University. About Greenberg Traurigs Corporate Practice Greenberg Traurigs Corporate Practice comprises more than 450 lawyers in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America who regularly advise public and privately held companies, entrepreneurs and investment funds on global mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, private equity and venture capital, underwritten and syndicated offerings, commercial finance and syndicated lending, cross-border transactions, and general corporate matters. The groups industry experience includes transactions in a wide range of fields, from the pharmaceutical, medical devices, and life sciences fields, to representations involving clients in the aviation, banking, consumer products, energy, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, media, technology, and telecommunications sectors. About Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. uBiome is delighted to sponsor SF Take Steps once again ... to help fundraising efforts for IBD research. As leaders in the industry, we continue to advance the science of the microbiome, and support other researchers who are doing the same. -- Jessica Richman, PhD, co-founder and CEO of uBiome. On May 5th, uBiome, the leader in microbial genomics, will be sponsoring SF Take Steps, hosted by the Northern California Chapter of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation, for the second consecutive year. Funds raised at the event will be used to support research efforts in developing effective treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. Since its inception in 2008, Take Steps has raised more than $85 million to improve the lives of those affected by these diseases. uBiome is delighted to sponsor SF Take Steps once again and support the great work of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation to help fundraising efforts for IBD research, said Jessica Richman, PhD, co-founder and CEO of uBiome. As leaders in the industry, we continue to advance the science of the microbiome, and support other researchers who are doing the same. According to the Crohns and Colitis Foundation, approximately 1.6 million Americans suffer with IBD. The makeup of an individuals gut microbiome may be associated with the onset of these diseases, as well as the severity of the symptoms. uBiome, whose mission is to transform the science of the microbiome into useful products and services that improve peoples lives, has developed key technologies that allow the company to make groundbreaking products that tackle a wide range of health conditions. SmartGut, launched in 2016, was formulated to empower individuals to take steps toward understanding their gut health and assess actionable information about their gut microbiome. Sponsoring SF Take Steps is just one of many ways in which uBiome demonstrates its continuous involvement in patient advocacy. We are grateful to have so many distinguished sponsors once again this year, supporting Take Steps, and helping us raise funds and awareness on behalf of the approximately 1.6 million Americans affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease, said Harriet Patterson, Executive Director of the Northern California Chapter of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation. uBiome will have a booth on-site, as well as the uBiome walking team, who will be joined by members of the extended uBiome community. The event is open to the public and check-in begins at 10:00 a.m. For more details or to join the uBiome Team at SF Take Steps, please visit: http://online.ccfa.org/goto/teamubiome About uBiome: Founded in 2012, uBiome is the worlds leading microbial genomics company, with a mission to explore important research questions about the microbiome and develop reliable, accurate products and services focused on the microbiome. uBiome is funded by Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and 8VC, as well as other leading investors, and has received widespread recognition including the CNN 10: Startups to Watch, the IVY Technology Award, CNN Future 30, and was named one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare in 2016 and in Data Science in 2018. About Take Steps: Take Steps is the Crohns & Colitis Foundations national walk program. These walks raise funds for mission critical research and patient support programs, and help increase awareness of Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis, two painful and unpredictable digestive diseases. Our events are family-friendly and are held in more than 110 communities across the country with activities for everyone including games, music, and great food. Funds raised through Take Steps will help transform the lives of those impacted by these diseases, and support the Foundations critical research, education, and patient support programs. Walk with us today: get started at http://www.cctakesteps.org. Media Contact Lelle Henrichsen lelle.henrichsen(at)ubiome.com http://www.ubiome.com The Middlesborough Waste-to-Energy Plant Secured by 4NEW To be able to deliver two plants and begin mining is fantastic, we can help reduce the cost of mining while helping the planet at the same time. Come the end of June, we will be utilizing up to 10MW per hour to mine cryptocurrencies bringing the KWATT to life Today, 4NEW announced that they have secured two operational Waste to Energy (WTE) power plants that produce over 10 megawatts of electricity per hour in the United Kingdom. The power plants, located in Middlesborough and Hartlepool, utilize the Anaerobic Digestion technology to convert regular household waste and feedstock into electricity that is currently sold to the UK national grid. 4NEWs securing of the two power plants is positioned to redefine the crypto landscape by placing a permanent footprint for the community that will deliver for decades to come. In Q3 of this year, 4New will install onsite cryptocurrency mining farm that will be powered by dedicated electrical supply from the two plants that will generate digital assets such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies as determined by the holders of the 4New utility token the KWATT. 4NEW has approached the crypto supply chain from the perspective of power production in response to Bitcoins voracious energy consumption which currently equates to the same electricity usage as the nation of Switzerland. The conventional approach of the crypto-mining community has remained focused on mining by trying to source the cheapest power available to them. However, with 1 Bitcoin transaction consuming as much power as 34 US households in a day, a mining arms race has caused a record spike in electricity consumption. In recent months, some US utility companies have banned miners from tapping into subsidized power rates. To attack this problem, 4NEW focused their pursuit of renewable energies such as Waste to Energy power plants. We couldnt be more thrilled than to deliver to our investment community these sites, already operational in the United Kingdom. To be able to deliver two plants and begin mining is fantastic, we can help reduce the cost of mining while helping the planet at the same time. Come the end of June, we will be utilizing up to 10MW per hour to mine cryptocurrencies bringing the KWATT to life, said Varun Datta, Founder of 4New. Waste to Energy technology has been in play in excess of 100 years with 71 WTE plants within the United States and over 80 WTE plants in Europe. These plants solve two major social problems; Waste surplus and energy shortfall. It is projected that waste output will double within 25 years. To combat this waste epidemic, 4NEW has chosen Waste to Energy technology as its desired protocol to purchase, build and develop power plants globally. We are thrilled to participate in this deal with 4New which we believe is carving an entirely new demand and validation of the waste-to-energy power production technology, said James Williams, representing the sellers of both plants in Middlesborough and Hartlepool. WTE plants operate at breakeven due to revenue generated from the sale of Waste processing services and byproducts. Therefore the energy produced is free and can be sold to a national grid. 4NEW has decided to dedicate this energy to the blockchain and mine the most desired cryptocurrencies. ABOUT 4NEW 4New is a waste to energy company focused on the production and provision of electricity to power the mining of popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Thanks to the waste-to-energy model, energy produced is free, given the revenue generated from waste processing. Consequently, as Bitcoin mining gets increasingly harder to maintain profitably, 4NEW's ecosystem, coupled with free energy, will be disruptive, providing users with unparalleled competitive edge compared to all other actors within the mining industry. This is the safest way I know of to dispose of unused, unneeded, expired medications,no questions asked." Its never a good idea to keep unused prescription drugs sitting around, but the opioid crisis heightens awareness of national problem in which everyone can do their part. Larry Segars, Pharm.D., a professor of pharmacology at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU), urges anyone with expired prescription medications or partial prescriptions that have not been used, to turn them in as part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Saturday, April 28, 2018. This is the safest way I know of to dispose of unused, unneeded, expired medications," said Segars. No questions asked. Prescription narcotics and opioids are useful for pain when properly prescribed and taken. But its all too easy to see these drugs move from the family medicine cabinet into the wrong hands. As honest as patients may be, sometimes their friends and family members are not as honest, said Dr. Kevin Hubbard, DO, a professor of oncology and hospice/palliative medicine at KCU. Stealing old narcotics sitting on the shelf and not being used often comes with the realization that their absence will not be missed. Beyond the potential of fueling the opioid crisis, Hubbard says its important to remember that pain management is often a dynamic issue. Changes to the medication regimen are common, Hubbard said. The risk of confusing old medications with new ones is high in this setting. This could result in pain that is inadequately controlled or in medications errors that can be harmful for the patient. Hubbard and Segars say they understand the tendency to hold onto to medications just in case its needed, but the farther a medication goes beyond the expiration date the less you can know about its potency. They say taking leftover antibiotics instead of a full course of treatment can also lead to drug resistance. For more information visit DEA Takeback site, which provides drop off locations based on zip codes across the country. Dr. Leandra Hernandez, Faculty, Trident University International This book is important because it examines how the media frames reproductive health and gender violence against women, and how ideologies and biases can shape how the news media communicates health information." - Dr. Leandra Hernandez Trident University International (Trident) faculty member Dr. Leandra Hernandez has published, Challenging Reproductive Control and Gendered Violence in the Americas: Intersectionality, Power, and Struggles for Rights, which is currently available through Lexington Books. Dr. Leandra Hernandez teaches Health Communication & Advocacy and Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives in Tridents College of Health and Human Services. This book looks at reproductive and gendered violence against women in Texas and Latin America through a Chicana feminist lens. Dr. Hernandez and co-author Dr. Sarah de Los Santos Upton, University of Texas at El Paso, examine several contemporary issues including reproductive justice in Texas, feminicides in Latin America, and anti-feminicidal activism in Cuidad Juarez. "In this contemporary digital age, many people receive important health information from the news, stated Dr. Leandra Hernandez. This book is important because it examines how the media frames reproductive health and gender violence against women, and how ideologies and biases can shape how the news media communicate health information and the broader implications of this for news consumers and health policy." Dr. Hernandez holds a Ph.D. in Health Communication from Texas A&M University, a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from University of Houston, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from University of St. Thomas. About Trident University Founded in 1998, Trident University International (Trident) is a leading online postsecondary university serving adult learners. Trident uses the EdActive learning approach, which employs case-based learning in an online setting to teach real-world relevant critical thinking skills to enhance the lives and careers of students. Trident offers high-quality bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs and certificates, led by a qualified faculty team, over 80% of whom have doctoral degrees. Trident is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and has over 30,000 alumni, including more than 22,000 with a military affiliation. The University has received multiple acknowledgements from Military Times and Military Advanced Education & Transition for their dedication to military-affiliated students. Visit http://www.trident.edu, Tridents Facebook page, or call at (855) 290-0290 to learn more about Trident's wide range of educational options. What people really loved about the last conference was the networking. We had a ton of exhibitors outside, so it partly felt like being at the Consumer Electronics Show, but for crypto & blockchain. Richard, organizer of the original Bitcoin, Ethereum and Blockchain Super Conference, held in February, is hosting a follow-up conference in September. Like the first conference, the second offers attendees a rare opportunity to network with many of the most respected players in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space including developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and smart money hedge fund managers who are now piling their capital into blockchain assets. Headline speakers include major industry leaders like Tim Draper (the billionaire venture capitalist who famously bet on Skype before it got big), Mark Yusko (founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management, who manages $4.5 billion), Nick Spanos (founder and CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corp.), and Lyn Ulbricht (CEO at Ross Ulbricht Defense). When asked why he decided to organize a second conference, Mr. Jacobs responded: So much has changed in the crypto space since February. There are a lot of new threats and new opportunities that nobody seems to be talking about. So, we decided to bring together dozens of the most respected players again, and some who couldnt make it last time, so they can fill in investors on the latest developments. Mr. Jacobs continued: What people really loved about the last conference was the networking. We had a ton of exhibitors outside, so it partly felt like being at the Consumer Electronics Show, but for crypto and blockchain. We had a lot of great speakers too! Folks said they learned a lot. But what they loved most was the chance to spend three days with a bunch of other smart people, making valuable connections, talking shop, exchanging blockchain investment ideas, and even creating joint ventures. The second Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference is expected to have over 1,000 attendees, 70 top-notch speakers and 100+ exhibitors from the world of cryptocurrency, blockchain, and, in a few cases, other future techs as well as talks from ICOs and blockchain start-ups. Tickets are now available here. Or you can sign up for the Notification List here. Press contact: Richard Jacobs organizer(at)bftexpo(dot)com (888) 448-4590 About the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference II: This three-day conference will be held at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at Dallas from Friday September 14th to Sunday September 16th, 2018. We are expecting more than 1,000 attendees, at least 50 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout last 2018 and 2019. The 56th edition Windjammer Days Festival will feature a new look at what previously was called the parade of sail. The festival will run from Sunday, June 24 to Saturday, June 30. This year, on Wednesday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., drones will stream live video to jumbo (10' H x 12' W) LED screen in Whale Park, as an announcer narrates the Gathering of the Fleet. For those who will want to see the gathering from the water, there will be plenty of boat tours available. The Gathering of the Fleet is just one of the innovations on this years festival calendar. Another is the first Crab Cake Cook-off with chefs from Boothbay Harbor. The first 20 guests will receive a wristband and get to participate in the peoples judgment. Cash donations at the cook-off will support the festival. The Linekin Bay Resort, a popular Boothbay Harbor venue, will be putting on a tasting event on Monday, June 25th. The Miss Windjammer Pageant is morphing into Windjammers Got Talent. Boys and girls will compete. Artist Alley will be back and will feature live music on Friday afternoon of Festival Week. Across the harbor tug-of-war will happen at a special time, due to the tides. It will take place on Saturday at 2:30. Other exciting events include fireworks on Wednesday night, the lighted boat parade on Saturday night and the street parade on Wednesday afternoon. Times and more details for all Windjammer Days events can be found at windjammer days.org. Windjammer Days is the first major event of the tourist season, and it represents both a chance for visitors to enjoy what this seaside community has to offer and the opportunity for businesses to benefit from the crowds. The crowds over the week number in the tens of thousands. We welcome lots of old and new faces to Boothbay Harbor, said Peter Ripley, president of Friends of Windjammer Days, the group that organizes the festival. And because of the support of the business community, most Windjammer Days events are free. For more information please visit https://www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org Windjammer Days 2018 is presented by the Friends of Windjammer Days and, while new sponsors are coming aboard every day, these are the sponsors committed as of today: Giles Family, J. Edward Knight, Pine State Beverage, Knickerbocker Group, Pepsi, Carousel Marina, Linekin Bay Resort, Yale Cordage, Boothbay Harbor Marina, SuntoryCruzan Rum, Compass Rose Events, Tugboat Inn, Fisherman's Wharf Inn, Boothbay Harbor Inn, Oceanside, Gimbel and Sons Country Store, Hodgdon Yacht, Southport Island Marine, Heddon Yacht Charters, Sea Tow, Nelson Family, Tindal and Callahan, Samuel Adams, Bristol Marine, Breakaway Charters, Herger3 Advertising and Design, Jansons, Capt. Fish Whale Watching, Getagadget, Lincoln Health, Ram Island Preservation Trust, Boothbay Harbor Electric, Valley Distributors/Bud Light, A Maine Wedding, Pinnacle Vodka, Braeon, Boothbay Harbor Country Club, Breakaway Fishing Charters, Nathaniel Wilson Sailmakers, Maine Magazine, Maine Home and Design, WHOM Radio, Yankee Magazine. ### Were always thrilled to support our local WordPress community and we look forward to meeting old friends and making some new ones at WordCamp Detroit. Nexcess, a leading provider of performance-optimized WordPress and WooCommerce hosting, is sponsoring WordCamp Detroit, a community-organized one-day conference for WordPress users, developers, and professionals. WordCamp Detroit brings the local WordPress community together for an accessible mix of talks for everyone from beginners to experts. WordCamps are also a great opportunity for new WordPress users to meet and learn from members of the community in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Nexcess team members attending WordCamp Detroit are happy to talk about WordPress and WooCommerce hosting, including the brand new Nexcess Cloud, an innovative WordPress hosting platform with predictive auto-scaling, rapid deployment, and a host of built-in developer tools. Nexcess was founded in Michigan almost 20 years ago. Today, were a global hosting provider with data centers all over the world, but our headquarters and largest US data center are in Dearborn, just down the road from WordCamp Detroit, said Chris Wells, President and CEO of Nexcess. Were always thrilled to support our local WordPress community and we look forward to meeting old friends and making some new ones at WordCamp Detroit. WordCamp Detroit takes place on April 28 at the Grand Circus Detroit. With over twenty sessions, attendees from the novice to the expert will learn something new. Highlights for WordPress users include Using Images and Fonts Legally on Your WP Site by Kim Kachadoorian and Organizing your Content by Al Davis. Developer-focused talks include How to build themes using the WordPress REST API by Anthony Montalbano and Theming With Components! by Adam Stogdill. About Nexcess Nexcess is a Southfield, Michigan-based WordPress and WooCommerce hosting provider founded in 2000, with data centers distributed throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. Nexcess offers a variety of WordPress and WooCommerce hosting services, including shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and cloud hosting, with an emphasis on achieving maximum performance for high-traffic WordPress sites. For more information, visit http://www.nexcess.net. This item is available in full to subscribers. Attention subscribers We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription. If you had an active account on our previous website, then you have an account here. Simply reset your password to regain access to your account. If you did not have an account on our previous website, but are a current print subscriber, click here to set up your website account. Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. Oil rose Thursday morning as markets poised themselves for the possibility of a US exit from the Iran nuclear deal. West Texas Intermediate was up about 1% to $at 8:45 a.m. ET. Brent the international benchmark was trading flat, but held near three-year highs. French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that it's his "bet" that President Donald Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Macron visited Washington this week in an effort to convince Trump to the preserve the deal, but was seemingly unsuccessful. If Trump withdraws from the deal, the US would could reimpose hefty sanctions on Iran, who would in turn lose incentive to curb its nuclear program. Some experts think that could put up to 350,000 barrels of crude at risk, CNBC reports. Ghanaian legislators have publicly opposed perceived pressure on the executive to propose and legalise homosexuality in the gold coast. The legislators under the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship have condemned the moves to legalise homosexuality following the UK Prime Minister Theresa Mays backing at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. In a submission by the members of the Ghana Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, the lawmakers conveyed its total disapproval to promote homosexuality in the country. I write on behalf of the Christian Community in the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to convey our total disapproval or attempts to promote and pressurise the government of Ghana to accept lesbianism, Gayism, Bisexual and Transgender practices (LGBT) as human rights, President of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah said in a statement. The Christian MPs further noted that: It is common knowledge that such abominable practices have no place in our cultural norms as Africans. It is also true that quite apart from Christianity none of the known Religions in Ghana accepts these practices as normal human behaviour. The forbearers and founding fathers of our dear nation have great respect for the countrys value systems and under no circumstance should we betray their legacy, toil, and trust by allowing a rather backward practice using the legislative arm of government. The dynamism of any culture should positively impact on its existence and not to lead to its destruction. The lawmakers also appealed to H.E the President of the Republic Ghana, not to allow any form of pressure being exerted on him and his government to introduce and or sponsor a bill to parliament for the legalisation of any indecent practice that the vast majority of Ghanaians frown upon. I also urge the President to be resolute and reject in whole all enticement, juicy promises and pressures from the west to accept this, dehumanising practice let alone forward same to the highly respected Parliament of Ghana for consideration. It is imperative that the President follows the examples of his predecessors by publicly stating the collective will of the people of Ghana, the legislators submitted. The legislators also pointed out that: The good book states in Matthew 16: 13 that : lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Let it not be said that it is the current Parliament or any other Parliament in the future that would lead our dear country into temptation. We will support any bill that seeks to promote the dignity of our culture, health, and prosperity or humankind. The US military and its NATO partners have been looking to reassert their presence in Europe in the wake of Russian action in Crimea. NATO has deployed multinational units to Eastern Europe, and the US Army has been looking to boost its armor for more rotational deployments. Armored units on the continent are also expanding their training repertoire. Soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, from the 1st Infantry Division, arrived in Europe in September 2017, with roughly 3,300 personnel, 87 tanks, 125 Bradley fighting vehicles, and 18 Paladin self-propelled howitzers for a nine-month rotation at locations in Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. NEW YORK Joanna Hendon, the attorney representing President Donald Trump in an ongoing three-way legal dispute involving his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen and the FBI, was about to speak into the microphone in federal court Thursday when she was interrupted. "I think it's my turn," said Stephen Ryan, the white-collar defense lawyer representing Cohen. The courtroom fell silent. Hendon flushed, and US District Judge Kimba Wood said she would leave it up to the two sides to decide who would speak. Hendon turned to Ryan and said that as the counsel representing Trump, she should go first. A few moments later, Ryan relented and indicated she could speak before him. "As the privilege-holder, I appreciate your courtesy, Mr. Ryan," Hendon replied. The tense exchange underscores an increasingly divergent relationship between Trump's and Cohen's interests since the FBI raided Cohen's property earlier this month. Investigators obtained various documents and tape recordings during the search, including communications between Trump and Cohen and records of payments made to two women who say they had affairs with Trump. Cohen has been described at various times as Trump's fixer, pit bull, and consigliere. He has been acquainted with Trump for decades and joined the Trump Organization in 2007, eventually leaving in 2017 to work as Trump's personal lawyer. While Cohen has demonstrated intense loyalty to Trump since they first met, media reports indicate Trump has not always shown him the same kindness, often brushing Cohen off and deriding him in front of others. Following the raids, Trump publicly praised his lawyer as a "good guy" and declared that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. The president's defense of Cohen comes as his advisers grow increasingly worried that Cohen will flip against Trump. Now, Cohen and Trump find themselves on opposite ends of a protracted battle over how much access the government should have to documents and records it seized this month. The raids were approved as part of the Manhattan US attorney's office's investigation into whether Cohen committed wire fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in connection to his work for Trump and other clients. The FBI initially appointed a filter team, a group of investigators walled off from prosecutors working on the Cohen case, to review the seized materials and separate out anything that could be privileged. Both Cohen and Trump mounted an aggressive defense against that strategy. They diverged, however, on its most critical facet: who should have first go at reviewing the documents. Cohen's lawyers argued that an independent attorney known as a special master should be appointed to review the records and set aside those that fall under attorney client privilege. Hendon, who represents Trump's interests, came out in staunch opposition to the proposal, arguing that as the privilege-holder, Trump himself should be able to look at the documents first and determine what is privileged and what is fair game in the Cohen case. Meanwhile, the US government believes a filter team would suffice but signaled that it was okay with the appointment of a special master. Attorneys representing the Southern District of New York requested, however, that a filter team be allowed to review the documents in congruence with the special master to determine whether they need to file any objections to specific records that have been set aside. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Two US B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew within 155 miles of the southern Chinese coast on Tuesday, according to media reports that described the operation as a response to recent Chinese military exercises in the area. The flight was first noticed by Aircraft Spots, a Twitter account that tracks aircraft and US Air Force flights. The account identified B-52s with the call signs HERO01 and HERO02 departing Anderson Air Force Base and heading toward the South China Sea, refueling along the way from US Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft. Related content The bombers passed over the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines and flew over the South China Sea, coming as close as 155 miles to the coast of China's Guangdong province, according to Taiwan News, which cited Chinese-language United Daily News. The bombers circled over the Pratas Islands, also called the Dongsha Islands, for about an hour before heading to the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, according to Asia Times. The islands are controlled by Taiwan but claimed by China. Reports cited by Taiwan News said the flight brought the bombers well within cruise-missile range of military targets in China. Chinese news portal Sina said Thursday that the B-52s were vulnerable to Chinese radar and early-warning systems, as well as to S-400 antiaircraft systems imported from Russia. The Taiwan-based news site Liberty News said that US strategic bombers rarely flew over waters close to China's coast, where Chinese military aircraft fly frequently. A spokeswoman for US Pacific Air Forces described the operation as routine. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced the name of their newborn baby boy as Louis Arthur Charles. Kensington Palace announced the name in a tweet on Friday. Related content Kate Middleton gave birth to the baby boy weighing 8lbs, 7oz at 11.01 a.m. on Monday April at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London. The couple took time to show off their newborn royal to photographers outside the hospital as they made their exit later on Monday before heading back to Kensington Palace. Middleton looked radiant in a red dress from British designer Jenny Packham. Kensington Palace tweeted a thanks on behalf of Their Royal Highnesses to all of the staff at the hospital "for the care and treatment they received." Their Royal Highnesses woul... @ Kensington Palace Their first two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were born in the same hospital. Here's the moment they arrived at St Marys to meet their little brother. Related content The new baby is fifth in line to the throne, bumping Prince Harry to sixth place. His title will be HRH Prince of Cambridge. The baby is also Queen Elizabeth II's sixth great-grandchild. After the arrest of Ghanas young 'millionaire' Ibrah One, he he vowed to expose some famous names allegedly engaged in money laundering in Ghana. He mentioned some popular names like Nana Appiah Mensah, Becca, Moesha Boduong, Yvonne Nelson, Davido, Tekno among others. READ MORE: Over thousand people attend mass at a church to worship Beyonce But, Yvonne Nelson has come out to deny the claims. Yvonne, who seems angry, took to her Twitter Friday, April 27, to deny ever meeting Ibrah One, questioning why some Ghanaians are recently trying hard to drag her name into bad lights. Its either Ive become an easy target, or my name seems the easiest to roll out of everybodys tongue. I have never met the said person in question I don't know Ibrah, never met the guy. Bloggers, watch it! My lawyer is on standby. Might not take an apology next time she said. The actor and entrepreneur was arrested at the Ejisu Market Thursday, April 26, after verbally abusing a police officer for demanding a permit for selling a fruit juice called 'Drop'. An eye witness divulged that "Kwaku Manu was selling a fruit juice called 'Drop' in a Kia vehicle at the market when a police officer on duty approached him to demand for a permit. At first, he thought it was an alcoholic beverage until he was proven wrong and Kwaku Manu even provided his permit." The eye witness further told Pulse.com.gh that Kwaku Manu was later gave him the permission to continue selling his product but a few minutes later, ten police officers arrived in a patrol car to pick up the actor. A report by the News Agency of Nigeria indicated that Muhammad Suleiman lured the toddler into an isolated classroom where he perpetrated the sexual assault on her and harmed her in the process. The suspect who is a resident of Rimin Gata Quarters, Kano is being prosecuted under Section 283 of the Penal Code. Prosecuting, Inspector Pogu Lale told the Kano Chief Magistrates Court presided over by Chief Magistrate Muhammad Jibril that: The accused had sexual intercourse with her, which caused her harm. He added that the victims father, Rijiyar Zaki filed a complaint at Police Division, Kano, on April 14 which led to the arrest of the suspect. Cry closet a step towards alleviating the effects of depression and other heartbreaking situations such as exam failures, family and relationship matters that normally compel students to become suicidal on campuses. According to odditycentral.com, the cry closet is lined with a black interior, and features plush stuffed animals inside that students can hug and squeeze as they cry. However, just as with every facility, the cry closet has rules that guide its usage in order to avoid its abuse by some students who for some reasons might want to lock themselves up there for too long. The news portal further reported that: only one person may enter at a time, you have to knock before entering, you cant stay in for more than 10 minutes, and you need to turn off the light when you leave. The said rules are boldly written and pasted on the door of the cry closet. According to Accra-based Citi FM, the new introduction is due to the increase in mobile money services in the country. Even though this may affect the vendors, it is unclear how many people will be jobless. The new module is to help customers transact business at odd hours and also reduce the pressure on merchants in some instances. Aside from the mobile money services, the self-service kiosk will allow customers to withdraw money from an Ecobank or Stanbic account without an ATM card. This is because the system allows a customer to withdraw a token by accessing the account via his or her mobile money pin. READ ALSO: 2 former staff of GIS wrongfully paid GHS89K In addition, MTN customers could buy or change MTN SIM cards. Many have raised concerns over the unemployment this new module will create but sources say that may least be the case for introducing the new system. In 2017, the total active agents reached 151,745 with total volume of transactions reaching 981, 564, 563. Meanwhile, the total value of transactions amounted to GH155,844,840,000. In an interview with Accra-based Starr FM, the spokesperson for the Coalition of Textile Workers John Ackon said this situation has left most of the textile companies laying off workers and reeling under huge debts. We want government to give the old mandate that was given to the task force back to be able to go to the market and seize all the pirated cloths like they were doing in 2010 and that was what we have been telling government and they are refusing to do, because we realized that when they started the influx of the pirated wax reduced because when the women had their prints seized they stopped buying the pirated ones, Ackon noted. He said Wireko-Brobbey, popularly known as Tarzan, should advocating for the rights of homosexuals in Ghana as it is against our laws. Amoaning, who was speaking to Mamavi on Joy FM said, "So if you are a homosexual let us help you out of it rather than using vestiges of colonialism to support this degenerate moral behavior". READ ALSO: Man blames this painkiller for changing him from heterosexual to gay Tarzan has advocated for the rights of homosexuals to be respected in Ghana since it will cause any harm to anybody. Wireko Brobbey was speaking on the recent controversy of whether Ghana should allow for homosexuals to have legal rights in the country. This controversy arose from a comment by the Prime Minister of Britain, Theresa May of helping former colonies eliminate anti gays laws. However, an incensed Foh-Amoaning who is also National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights, says the customary law of Ghana which is recognised by the Constitution- abhors homosexuality and that is the position of Ghana which must be respected by the international community. And Dr. Charles Wereko Brobby, you say you belong to the Ashanti Kingdom; can you go there and say that you want to practice homosexuality or you want to support it? You will be rejected by the community that you come from" Amoaning barked. According to them, it is totally unacceptable to pressurise the government of Ghana to accept lesbianism and gayism as a human rights. In a statement signed by its President, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the Christian MPs strongly kicked against calls to even entertain the idea. I write on behalf of the Christian Community in the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to convey our total disapproval or attempts to promote and pressurise the government of Ghana to accept lesbianism, Gayism, Bisexual and Transgender practices (LGBT) as human rights, sections of the statement read. This comes after United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister, Theresa May, described anti-gay laws as outdated whiles urging Commonwealth nations to legalise homosexuality. According to her, "nobody should face discrimination or persecution because of who they are or who they love". Whiles some African countries have accepted to legalise gay rights, same-sex relations are still illegal in 36 Commonwealth countries. The Parliamentary Christian Fellowship believe such practices are abominable and have condemned moved to force Ghana to legalise homosexuality. It is common knowledge that such abominable practices have no place in our cultural norms as Africans. It is also true that quite apart from Christianity none of the known Religions in Ghana accepts these practices as normal human behaviour. The forbearers and founding fathers of our dear nation have great respect for the countrys value systems and under no circumstance should we betray their legacy, toil and trust by allowing a rather backward practice using the legislative arm of government. The dynamism of any culture should positively impact on its existence and not to lead to its destruction, the statement from the Christian MPs further indicated. The called on President Akufo-Addo not to allow any form of pressure being exerted on him and his government to introduce and or sponsor a bill to parliament for the legalisation of any indecent practice that the vast majority of Ghanaians frown upon. I also urge the President to be resolute and reject in whole all enticement, juicy promises and pressures from the west to accept this, dehumanising practice let alone forward same to the highly respected Parliament of Ghana for consideration. It is imperative that the President follows the examples of his predecessors by publicly stating the collective will of the people of Ghana. The statement added: The good book states in Matthew 16: 13 that: ... lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Let it not be said that it is the current Parliament or any other Parliament in the future that would lead our dear country into temptation. We will support any bill that seeks to promote the dignity of our culture, health and prosperity or humankind. He said this is due to the gross incompetence of the Akufo Addo-led administration. Brogya made this assertion ahead of NDC's "Unity Walk" scheduled to take place in the Ashanti Region tomorrow. According to Brogya Genfi, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led government has deceived Ghanaians hence there is the need for John Dramani to come back and redeem his people. I urge people of Asanteman to join us this Saturday at our unity walk in the Ashanti Region. His Excellency John Dramani Mahama will appear with his shining star in the Region this Saturday, he said. Asiamah-Adjei has been under a lot of criticism in the media for her lack of experience and incompetence. However, Hamid thinks such comments are unfair and so far she has held her role perfectly well. Shes doing a great job, Mustapha Hamid said. On the question whether Asiamah-Adjei should be shuffled, he categorically stated that he will not be in support of such a decision. Nana Ama Dokua took a swipe at ex-President John Mahama last month when he said President Akufo-Addo needs an "Obinim Sticker" to perform. In a sharp rebuttal, Nana Ama Dokua wondered whether Mahama had the moral right to jab Akufo-Addo as she described the former President as the suspect and beneficiary of malpractices in the 2012 presidential elections in Ghana, as well as the worst and most incompetent election observer to have monitored polls in Kenya and Sierra Leone. She said as part of the campaign promises of the NPP, job creation is key therefore such a move is in line of fulfilling a campaign promise. Agyapong said there's a strong propaganda against President Akufo-Addo in the region and if it is not addressed, it can lead to major damages in the 2020 general elections. The controversial NPP Member of Parliament for Assin Central said the grounds in the Ashanti Region is no longer fertile for the ruling party based on his first-hand information he gathered when he visited the region. I went to the Ashanti Region on Friday. I went there and I deliberately went to do underground and listened to their feelings and truthfully, it is not good. (3ny3)", Agyapong lamented. Go to Kumasi and see. There are some issues they are trying to use against the President Akufo-Addo in Ashanti Region, I dont agree with them complete. I am going to mention some names to draw their attention to something.. Boakye Agyarko, he is half half he is from Jamasi Frimpong Boateng says he is from Western Region and Ashanti. Kyei Mensah, Asiamah, Napo, Cecilia Dapaah, Kan Dapaah he added. Ken contends the lack of development in the region has nothing to do with the President but his appointees. This is the outcome of the Senate Committee on Public Account investigation on all subsidy funds spent by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation without recourse to the National Assembly. Senator Matthew Urhoghinde, Chairman House Committee on Public Accounts made the committees' findings known on Thursday, April 26, 2018, during the plenary. The upper legislative committee revealed that the House had not approved those payments by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation last year, and any further spending on subsidies should be halted with immediate effect. The recommendations of the Senate committee include: 1. The NNPC should stop the illegal payments without appropriation henceforth; 2. The NNPC through the President should make a formal request to the National Assembly for 2018; 3. There is the need for the Federal Republic to pay all marketers their standing arrears of subsidy owed in 2017; 4. Local refineries should be given maximum attention to enable them to function at full capacity; 5. That Maikanti Baru, the DG of the NNPC should carry out a full audit of the state oil firm; and 6. Direct the committee to recommend appropriate sanctions for officers and personnel who have carried out this illegal payment. Bukola Saraki, the Senate president in his speech directed the Chairman on Appropriations to follow up to ensure that the government submits the budget for the fuel subsidy. He said: "We also need to ensure that the Office of the Auditor General is properly funded in the 2018 budget so that they can carry about these jobs properly. "Chairman Appropriations should follow up to ensure that the Government submits the budget for the fuel subsidy over the next few days so it can be submitted to us next week. Thank you very much Chairman Public Accounts & thank you all for your contributions. NNPC on fuel subsidy payment The NNPC in a statement issued by its Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, on Sunday, March 4, 2018, said payment on fuel subsidy cost the state oil firm the sum of N777 million daily. Following Kanye Wests decision to support President Donald Trump and Make America Great Again, John Legend has advised his the rapper against his decision. John Legend had reached out to West via a text message which was shared by the rapper on his Twitter account. "So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the hurt that Trump's policies cause, especially to people of color," John Legend noted in his message. West had evoked reactions from fans across the world after he declared his support for Trump following a meeting with the President at the Trump Tower in New York. You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought, West tweeted. Kanye takes a swipe at Obama As Kanyes support for President Trump rises, the controversial father of three kids with Kim Kardashian, has taken a swipe at ex-President Barack Obama. He queried the impact of the activities of the Obama led administration in Chicago. Nigerian Senate President, Bukola Saraki has revealed that the Senate was aware of the President Muhammadu Buhari led executive arm's decision to acquire 12 Tucano fighter jets. He, however, said the Senate didn't give a go ahead before the jets were paid for. In a video of the plenary session on Thursday, April 26, 2018, Saraki informed members of the Senate that he got a message from the US congress wanting to meet with the NASS leadership over President Buhari's request for the purchase of the Tucano jets. The Senate President said he learnt about the request to purchase between August and September 2017 when he was in the US and he met with the US congress alongside the leadership of the House of Representatives. Saraki stressed that between the time he was informed of the request to purchase and the time of payment by the executive arm, he believes the President should have consulted adequately with the lawmakers before going ahead to make the payment. "From what has been proposed to us, we all agree that there is a breach of constitution, the question is what are the circumstances surrounding the breach of constitution and whether those circumstances surrounding the breach of constitution justifies the breach of constitution," Saraki said. However, the Senate President admitted that there are serious concerns on security of the nation, hence the need for the legislative and executive arm to move towards arresting the situation. The Coordinator of the University, Dr Sulait Kabali, who is also secretary of the disciplinary committee told Daily Monitor that the students were found guilty of breach of the university rules and regulation. Kabali said, The students were found guilty of coupling and having sex on campus, which is contrary to the University rules and regulations, adding that other students were also found guilty of theft of property, consuming alcohol and other narcotic drugs, pregnancy and staging acts of violence at the campus''. ALSO READ: Moreover, in a letter obtained by Daily Monitor, it was stated that the students were found in the dark corners on different occasions having in love affairs. The letter partly reads: During the cross-examining to which you were subjected to, the above Disciplinary Sub-Committee and based on your oral and written submission in which you stated that you were found in darkness engaging in love affairs, you were found guilty of having committed the above-stated offence hence having violated the above-cited rule, 1. "Avengers: Infinity War" marks the beginning of the end "Avengers: Infinity War" is the beginning of the end for the first major story arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and features almost every main character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. It marks the beginning of the conclusion of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began a decade ago with the first "Iron Man" film." 2. What is "Infinity War" about? In the anticipated superhero movie, the Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to confront Thanos, who is trying to collect the Infinity Stones. 3. Who is Thanos? Thanos made his first appearance in the 2012 "The Avengers" when he hired Loki to retrieve the Tesseract after he found out it was on Earth. He has 'adopted' children who are trained for his own gain. They are Gamora and Nebula. Referred to as the Dark Lord by his most loyal followers, Thanos is in charge of the Black Order: Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw. In 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," Thanos formed an alliance with Ronan the accuser, who betrayed him and used the Power Stone for his own gain. In the "Avengers: Age of Ultron" post-credit scene, Thanos decided to acquire all six Infinity Stones by himself. And as explained by The Collector in "Guardians of the Galaxy," six singularities which existed before the creation of the Universe. The Big Bang transformed those entities into six separate Infinity Stones. With those stones, Thanos can destroy half the universe. 4. What are the infinity stones? The Space Stone, which is also known as the Tesseract, controls space. It is currently with Loki, who stole it from his father's vault in "Thor: Ragnarok." The Mind Stone was seen for the first time in Lokis scepter in 2012s "The Avengers." In "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Tony Stark and Bruce Banner used it to create Ultron, an artificially intelligent peace-keeping program, which eventually turned against them. Finally, the Avengers used the Mind Stone to create another android called Vision. The stone is currently in Visions forehead. The Reality Stone grants the user the power to manipulate matter. At the end of "Thor: The Dark World", two Asgardians gave the stone to The Collector because they couldn't keep the Space Stone and Reality Stone in the same room in Asgard. The Power Stone can destroy anyone who touches it and can be used to level an entire planet. The Guardians of the Galaxy seized it from Ronan and gave it to the Nova Corps to keep it safe. The Time Stone grants its user the power to re-wind or fast-forward time. In "Doctor Strange," Stephen Strange used it to trap the villian, Dormammu. It is currently worn by Doctor Strange. Soul Stone, which allows the owner to control other souls - living and dead- is yet to appear in any of the films, and its location is unknown. 5. Cast and crew of "Avengers: Infinity War" Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, returned to direct Avengers: Infinity War, which also sees Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, and Mark Ruffalo reprising their roles. 6. What critics are saying about the film Critics' first reaction to the anticipated superhero film has been intensely positive. "Infinity War" has been described as funny, weighty, epic, incredible and intense. In condemning the attack on St Ignatius Catholic church in Ayar-Mbalom village, Benue State by Fulani herdsmen, Buhari had described the act as 'satanic.' The herders murdered two Catholic priests and 17 others in the attack which took place on April 24, 2018. President Buhari's statement apparently offended a religious organization which is based in the United States and dedicated to Satanism. Satanists defend belief Reacting on Twitter, the organization said the killings have nothing to do with satanism. "President Buhari is ignorant. Infighting between two different Abrahamic religions is just that, theists killing theists. It has nothing to do with us or Satanism - a life cherishing atheistic religion. Shame on the media for furthering this superstitious nonsense," @thechurchofsatan tweeted. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the church's High Priest until his death in 1997. In 2001, Peter Gilmore was appointed to the position of high priest, and the church's headquarters were moved to Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. As part of activism centered on procuring privileges for individuals affected by the Nigerian government's stance against people with an unusual sexual orientation, Oriogun condemned a mob attack on the unidentified man who was assaulted in Imo State Nigeria. The activist employed the use of sarcasm to make his point known when he asked rhetorically if queer people are responsible for the country's numerous challenges in respect to providing qualitative healthcare in rural communities, discouraging looting of public funds and addressing security problems. He didnt steal, he didnt molest anyone, he didnt rape anybody, he didnt hurt anybody. He was lynched because he dared to love, because he dared to be himself. "Fuck! It is 2018 and homosexuals are still treated as animals, are still treated as people without rights. "Nigeria will break you till you forget you are human. Who gave people the right to lynch a human being? Damn! This is stupid, this is so stupid. "Nobody deserves to go through this kind of hell. Just imagine after lynching him and his partner, they were almost set ablaze before the police arrested them and they were only released to a lawyer because of their injuries. "They looted their properties; phones, cash, motorcycle, everything. Nigeria is a sad excuse for a country. "Nigerians will blame Queer people for everything yet it is in this country that Catholic Priests and their parishioners were killed by herdsmen. "It is in this country that politicians loot our treasury and walk freely as they are hailed, it is in this country that health care in rural areas is nothing to write home about, despite our many problems Nigerians are not bothered, they reserve their anger for Queer people because they are the cause of everything, because what they do with their bodies will make the economy crumble," Oriogun wrote in a Facebook post. ALSO READ: Lagos State Govt seize twin boys caught having sex from mother LGBTQ activism in Nigeria In Nigeria's popular culture, UK-based Nigerian Bisi Alimi, is the main attention when it concerns gay rights activism. He has been connected on numerous occasions to controversies relating to a bid to get equal freedom for individuals who have unique sexual interests. In 2017, Alimi criticized his countrymen over the hero's welcome given to homosexual CNN reporter, Richard Quest, who visited Nigeria at the time. ALSO READ: Gay rights activist criticizes Nigerians for welcoming Richard Quest In what he terms as hypocrisy, Alimi expressed displeasure over the incessant attacks on his personality. He wonders why such treatment was not directed at the English journalist. On the first Monday of May, taste-makers, style icons, and the industrys most famous faces come together to celebrate a new fashion exhibition and raise money for the Here's everything you need to know about the 2018 Met Gala, including when it takes place and the all-important theme and the guests to look forward to. When Is It? The 2018 Met Gala takes place on May 7, and you can catch live red carpet coverage on E! before the main event, beginning at 6pm EST. Whats the Theme? 2018s theme is possibly the most controversial ever: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination Previous themes have ranged from China: Through the Looking Glass; Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty; Punk: Chaos to Couture and last years Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons. The Catholic imagination exhibition will focus on religious visuals and their influence in fashion. According to Vogue, it will include designs by Coco Chanel, John Galliano, Cristobal Balenciaga, and more, as well as 40 pieces on loan from the Vatican. Andrew Bolton has curated the exhibit and it will be spread across three spaces, the Anna Wintour Costume Centre, the medieval galleries, and The Cloisters. Who is Going? Anna Wintour, US Vogue editor-in-chief has been the chairman of the event since 1995, and this year has enlisted Amal Clooney, Rihanna, and Donatella Versace as co-chairs for the event. Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, National Secretary of the movement, Malam Kashim Yahaya, said they briefed the president on the successful hosting of the 32nd Maulud of Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse in Kaduna. He said that Niasse had identified with the aspiration of Nigerians and worked tirelessly for the countrys unity, peace and stability. He said they were on the visit in solidarity with the President in his efforts to make Nigeria great. We came to declare our solidarity and support for Mr President in his concern to put Nigeria in the right track, fighting against corruption and trying to revive and put Nigeria on the path of justice. We have come after the celebration of the 32nd Maulud of Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse in Kaduna. All the delegations that came from Senegal, Morocco, Mauritania and the world over, decided to come and pay this courtesy visit because of the concern shown to us by Mr President. According to Yahaya, the movement which has more than 60 million members in Nigeria, plans to establish educational institutions, including a university in Abuja, which would be named after Niasse. He said the movement also planned to establish vocational centres for the groups trainees, popularly called the Almajiris. Yahaya reiterated the movements determination to partner with the Federal Government in ensuring the security of life and property of all Nigerians. The call comes in the wake of an attack on St. Ignatius Quasi Parish Ukpor-Mbalom in Ayar-Mbalom community of Gwer East local government area of Benue state on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, where suspected herdsmen killed two Catholic priests and 17 other worshipers. In a communique signed by CBCN's president, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze, and secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, on Thursday, April 26, 2018, the religious organisation argued that President Buhari has left Nigerians feeling exposed and vulnerable while faced with dark clouds of fear and anxiety. The communique noted that the federal government has failed in its primary responsibility to protect lives with security agencies accused of deliberately turning a blind eye to the cries of helpless and harmless citizens. CBCN also accused the president of failing to reconfigure the nation's security structure while deliberately placing security agencies "in the hands of the adherents of only one religion". The statement read in part, "Since the President, who appointed the heads of the nation's security agencies has refused to caution them even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. "If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. "He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become. Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation have fallen on deaf ears. "It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse." The CBCN also urged the government to tread carefully on disarming Nigerians who legally procured weapons of self defence. Justice Emilia Eyamba gave the permission following a request by prosecutor Eno Nyambia, to file criminal charges against the lecturer. Mensah of the Department of Linguistics and Communication, alongside five others, including students have been under investigation following a petition of certificate forgery. According to the prosecutor, after investigation and analysis of the petition, there was sufficient evidence that the persons involved be charged with conspiracy and forgery, in accordance with extant laws of the state. In his reaction, Mensah, who was not in court, said he would not comment on the matter until he was duly served with a court summon. President Buharis condolence messages will no longer assuage or suffice. The full weight of the nations security forces should be brought to bear on these murderers and cowards without further delay. On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, killer herdsmen invadedAyar-Mbalom village of Benue State, made for a Catholic church where worshipers had converged to bury a loved one, and gunned down two priests and some 17 worshipers. On Thursday, April 26, 2018, killer herdsmen A primary school was also razed by the rampaging herders. In two days, herdsmen killed over 20 persons in one State. Herdsmen have probably murdered some 500 persons since the turn of the year. It's a jarring, unacceptable state of affairs. Catholic priests call on Buhari to resign In the wake of recent herdsmen attacks, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) called on President Buhari to tender his resignation. In a communique signed by CBCN's president, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze and secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, on Thursday, April 26, 2018, the CBCN said: Since the President, who appointed the heads of the nation's security agencies has refused to caution them even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. "If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. "He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become. Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation have fallen on deaf ears. "It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse." Buhari has to go hard or go home While we wont go as far as asking the president to resign on the heels of incessant killings by herdsmen in Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa and elsewhere, the statement from the Catholic bishops accusing Buhari of not taking very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence, is right on the money. The primary purpose of government is to secure the people. Buhari has to do more than direct a recalcitrant Inspector General of Police to relocate to the middle belt. At the moment, Nigeria is at war with killer herdsmen or invaders from Libya (or wherever). When a group of brigands take to killing civilians on a whim, it becomes clear that the rules of engagement should no longer apply. What is required in the middle belt and Benue trough is a deployment of soldiers around border towns and communities. What is needed to tame the killers is an all guns blazing, bare-knuckled approach. Boots on the ground, if you would. These killings have been going on for far too long for the presidency not to have a handle on things. Terrorists, not cattle farmers There is a school of thought that says these killers arent even pastoralists in the truest sense of that occupation. Which implies that we now have another insurgency on our hands aside the Boko Haram menace. We have to nip this madness in the bud before it becomes full blown. I expect Buhari to deal with these herders the same way hes been dealing with Boko Haram. We are past the stage of pretending that these killers arent terrorists. They are. We are past the stage of handling these herdsmen crisis with kid gloves or calling the herders some of us. They are not. These herders are bloody murderers. They are the very scums of the earth!! They are blood thirsty scoundrels and nihilists. President Buhari swore to protect the people of the federal republic of Nigeria. Well, at the moment, hes doing a very bad job of that and he hasn't got that much time left to fix this. The money was allegedly looted from the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) due to the State from 2012 to 2015. SURE-P was a scheme put in place by former President Goodluck Jonathan after the Occupy Nigeria protests of 2012. Funds meant for the payment of petrol subsidy by the federal government were funneled into SURE-P for the provision of infrastructure and social amenities instead. However, pundits say, the scheme became slush funds for a couple of State governors. Shema was succeeded by former House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Bello Masari in Katsina govt house in 2015. He has been hounded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since he left power. 'Not guilty' Shema pleaded not guilty to all 26-count charges read to him this week. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had dragged Shema before the court months prior, but his plea couldn't be taken due to issues raised by his counsel, Emmanuel Ukala SAN. One of the charges read: "You Ibrahim Shema whilst being the executive governor of Katsina state and one (now at large) between June, 2014 and May 2015 at Katsina, Katsina state within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, did conspire to commit an offence to wit: money laundering and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the money laundering (prohibition) Act 2011 as amended by the money laundering (prohibition) amendment act 2012 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same act". Shema alongside three others, are facing another 24-count charge at the State High Court on alleged financial misdemeanour to the tune of N11B. Shema and Masari relationship Gov Masari recently told Pulse thathe isn't on a witch-hunt for his predecessor. "Shema had 8 years. Even his own 8 years, I can spend another 4 years probing and not achieving much in terms of governance. It will be a waste of time, unless the financial mismanagement could become so obvious that nobody could do anything about it", the Governor said. "The record from the bank shows us that ALGON was removing from the bank 9.5, 9.5, 9.5. The money was withdrawn by ALGON in cash. Thats local government money. And some of the funds were withdrawn by ministry of local government by the cashier. "So, these are the funds were we said, Ok, since you have taken these funds without any records of spending....ALGON is like any other umbrella association. Can you take government money and give these associations? Theres no rule that says you should do that. "And if you gave them the money, how was it spent? And you know, government created SURE-P. We discovered that throughout, there was not a single purchase order, contract, job order given to use funds from SURE-P. These funds were taken. Cash. "Some of the cash money, we couldnt trace what they said they had procured. "So, we arent probing the previous government in terms of contracts. We are asking about money that was taken in cash from the treasury. We are asking, where is the money?" The NEC is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. This week, the technical sub-committee set up by the NEC working group submitted its interim report to Osinbajo. The NEC sub-committee is headed by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State. Here are 5 things the NEC sub-committee proposed: 1. No ban on the movement of herdsmen Contrary to what was reported in some sections of the local press, NEC did not discuss or pronounce a ban on the movement of herdsmen. 2. Scarce land is the root cause of herdsmen crisis The sub-committee visited 5 out of 7 frontline States affected by the herdsmen/farmers clashes. The States visited were Zamfara, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue. In its report to NEC, the sub-committee noted that the root cause of the crisis is the struggle for scarce land resource. 3. The 5 affected States were asked to donate land for ranching The report from the sub committee recommended that the State governments of the five affected States donate land to herdsmen for ranching purposes. Gov Umahi says: "So, in all we agreed that there is a more profitable and modern way of raising these cows which is by ranching. So, we have agreed that the States involved are going to give lands. Niger and Kaduna have given lands and Plateau is also giving land. "Ranching is being practised in Mambila in Taraba State and they have success stories with regards to that." 4. NEC says farmers need to be educated on the benefits of ranching According to the NEC sub-committee, ranching would enhance the production of healthy cattle in the country. Governor Umahi says: "In all, we agreed that movement is not profitable to the herdsmen because they value the milk from the cow even more than the cow itself. "So, movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and give less than two litres of milk per cow per day. "We also agreed that these movements have to stop and occasionally by those who have settled and integrated from other parts of the country like the middle belt, they sometimes go into conflicts with farmers". 5. NEC says its recommendations will transform livestock farming in Nigeria NEC identified the need to transform the livestock industry into a model for cattle production in order to curb constant clashes between herdsmen and farmers. The late Ickechukwu, with NYSC registration number KW/18A/0135 and who hailed from Rivers, died on Thursday at a hospital in Ilorin she had been referred to. The NYSC Public Relations Officer in the state, Dipo Morakinyo, confirmed the death of the corps member in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday. The NYSC State Coordinator, Mr Amaefule Remigius, had already expressed his condolences to the family of the corps member. He appealed to members of the public to avoid unnecessary speculations about the circumstances that led to the death of the corps member. This is not the time to hastily jump into conclusion about the root cause of her death, Amaefule added. He said the NYSC was waiting for medical findings and report from the NYSC referral hospital to ascertain the cause of her death. The state coordinator prayed that God should grant her immediate family and the NYSC the fortitude to bear the colossal loss. NAN reports that late Ichechukwu was among the 1,937 2018 Batch A corps members recently deployed to Kwara. In an interview with The Punch on Thursday, April 26, 2018, the Director, Defence Information, Brigadier-General John Agim, said the military is currently in the process of implementing a change of approach in its operations to apprehend killer herdsmen and their sponsors. He said, "The military is strategising on how to go after the herdsmen and their sponsors. We will get both the herdsmen and their sponsors. We want to say this to the killers and their sponsors that the military is coming for them. We are going to get both the killers and their sponsors very soon. "The military is continuing with all its operations in the areas. Nigerians will soon see a change of approach in our operations." Political opponents sponsoring herdsmen attacks - Presidency Earlier this week on April 22, President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, alleged that some politicians in opposition to the president's administration are behind the ongoing herders and farmers conflict in the Middle Belt. The president's aide said the federal government has evidence that most of attacks were sponsored by politicians who are trying to blackmail the government. He wrote, "Today, government has irrefutable evidence that much as most of these killings are arising from herdsmen-farmers attacks, some of it is driven by politicians. "The recent arrests by the army in Taraba State point to a clear political sponsorship, and the kingpins, some of whom have been arrested have been handed over to the DSS for further investigation. "Others who are being sought have either gone into hiding or they are pulling strings of blackmail to force the hands of government to abandon the search for them. "It is clear by now that the Middle Belt killings even if they are not caused by the opposition are no doubt seen as a political opportunity to set the tone for the 2019 elections." President Buhari was subjected to heavy criticism weeks ago when he blamed some of the conflict on former Libyan president, Muammar Gaddafi, who died in 2011. According to President Buhari, the conflict escalated due to Gaddafi's army of trained gunmen who escaped into Nigeria and started causing problems to local populations with their sophisticated weapons. The suspect, Aminu Yaminu also known as Tashaku, was said to have been arrested Friday, April 27, in Makurdi, by a combined team of troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade, Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services. The army disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday by the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 707 Special Forces Brigade in Makurdi, Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni. "Following an intelligence report, it was gathered that Aminu has concluded plans with his cohorts in Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Nasarawa states to launch a major attack on innocent citizens in Benue State," Ayeni said. He said the Nigerian Army is working tirelessly to clamp down on the criminals wreaking havoc in Benue. "As earlier reinstated, Nigerian Army will ensure enemies of peace in the state are brought to justice. Nigerian Army encourages all law-abiding citizens to go about their lawful businesses without fear," he added. The army also urged Nigerians to provide it and other security agencies with timely information that could lead to the arrest of criminals in the society. Benue has been under attack since January 2018 when suspected herdsmen massacred 73 persons. The people of the state have been living in fear as the herdsmen practically launch fatal attacks every week. On Tuesday, April 24, gunmen attacked a Catholic church in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state, killing two priests and 17 worshippers. Hours after, a community in Guma LGA was also attacked and 13 persons were killed. Buhari blames Libya'sGaddafi Following the incessant killings, both the House of Representatives and the Senate this week summoned PresidentMuhammadu Buhari to address a joint session of lawmakers over what is being done to stop the attacks. Buhari, during his official visit to the UK last week, had blamed Muammar Gaddafi, the late Libyan president, for the ongoing killings across the country. Gaddafi was killed in October 2011 following weeks of violent uprising across Libya, ending his 42-year reign. He was 69. Prior to his death, which was aided by Western invasion into Libya, Gaddafi reportedly armed his supporters to ward off the rebellion against him. Libya subsequently plunged into a civil war that still lingers nearly seven years later. Buhari said the arms Gaddafi provided to his supporters had filtered into Nigeria where they are now being used to fuel killings across the middle-belt. "The problem is even older than us," Buhari said of killings. "It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region." "These gunmen were trained and armed by Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram. "Herdsmen that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons", the President added. President Buhari had paid for the jets for the purpose of fighting insurgency before writing to the National Assembly of his intention. A move, Senators who spoke, largely condemned. Speaking at plenary on Thursday, April 26, 2018, Senator Matthew Uroghide urged the Senate to invoke Section 143 of the Constitution against President Buhari over his action. Uroghide maintained that the President had breached Section 80 of the Constitution which stipulates that all governments spending must be appropriated by the legislature. There are serious consequences for violation of our constitution, he said. As a consequence, the only thing we can draw from on this is that we call on you, Mr President, to invoke section 143 of the constitution. Because, what it means is that this matter is not to be investigated. It is clear that this offence has been committed by Mr President. I want this senate to resolve that what the president did is procedurally wrong and a violation of our constitution, it must be condemned and of course, the consequences of section 143 of our constitution should be invoked. I so move Mr President, Uroghide added. ALSO READ: Nigerian parliament in rowdy session over call for the impeachment of President Buhari Senator Chukwuka Utazi spoke in a similar vein. A time has come when this senate has to rise up and do the job which the constitution has stipulated that we have to do. If we have a chief executive who doesnt want to behave according to the constitution, we follow the constitution to handle such chief executive. There is no other name to call this than this is an impeachment offence. Its an impeachable offence and we cannot allow that. We cannot stay here and this assembly will be taken for granted, he noted. But Katsina lawmaker, Senator Abu Ibrahim said the call for President Buharis impeachment was politically motivated. This is a PDP conspiracy. I will like PDP to tell us which of their governors have taken the money released from excess crude oil account to the state assembly for approval. If this is a PDP conspiracy to tarnish the image of Muhammadu Buhari, they will not be able to do it because we are coming out with figures, Ibrahim said. But Senator Shehu Sani called for the refund of the monies for due process to be followed. I believe that the monies that are spent on security is worth it, Sani said. But, we should be calling for the refund of that money and for due process to be followed. We have seen so much bloodshed but there is the need for us not to circumvent the laws of the land. I believe that we should not impeach the president but ask that the money be returned and due process be followed, he added. Deputy Senate leader, Bala Na'Allah advised the Senate to refer the matter to a committee to determine weather the President had committed an impeachable offence or not. Imam has been Special Adviser on Media to Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal since 2015. Reports say he died from Pneumonia in the early hours of Friday, April 27, 2018. He had been hospitalised for a few days before his passing, was told. "Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilahirraji'un. The only thing certain in this world is death, we know it's inevitable, yet today words have failed me. I couldn't find the words to type that my brother and friend @imamdimam is gone for good. Ya Allah bless his soul and forgive his sins. Amin", the Director General of Communications in Kano State, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, tweeted. President Buhari's social media aide, Bashir Ahmad said he's in shock over Imam's passing. Friends and colleagues of Imam have taken to social media to share their grief. TVC journalist Sunmer Shagari Sambo said: "departs our sinful world. Until his death, Imam was spokesman to Governor Tambuwal. "I woke up to receive a rude shock on the sudden death of our beloved journalist-colleague, PR professional/Spokesman, Mal. Imam Imam". The Geneva-based WTO is tasked with arbitrating trade rows between its 164-country membership, but has become a source of anger to Trump, who says the body is unfair to the US and soft on China. "We are ready to open a discussion with our American friends on the future of the WTO, on the improvements of the WTO and the whole multilateral trade system," Le Maire said. "But first of all we have to get rid of that question of new tariffs," he added as he arrived for talks in the Bulgarian capital Sofia with his eurozone counterparts. Le Maire said French President Emmanuel Macron made the case to Trump earlier this week as the EU pushes hard to win a permanent exemption from the metals tariffs before next week's deadline. Macron "made very clear that we are open to working on the future of the trade system because we have to build a new multilateral system as far as trade is concerned," Le Maire said. Trump has repeatedly expressed scepticism about multilateral bodies -- from the WTO to the United Nations to NATO -- believing they constrain US power. The tycoon believes that the WTO has been especially easy on China, which receives "tremendous perks and advantages" despite breaking the rules. Myanmar's military insists the campaign was justified as a means to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border guard posts and killed about a dozen police officers. The UN delegation will speak to refugees in the Bangladeshi camps before they head to Myanmar early next week to visit conflict-scarred Rakhine state. They will also meet with Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been denounced in the West for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless minority that has faced decades of persecution in the largely Buddhist nation. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told reporters in Yangon on Friday that the Security Council should issue a resolution to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or else no one will be held accountable. "The lack of a UN Security Council resolution has left the Myanmar government convinced that it has literally gotten away with mass murder," he said. He also called for targeted sanctions on perpetrators and an arms embargo. Myanmar has rejected nearly all allegations that its security forces committed atrocities in Rakhine. Earlier this month it dismissed an attempt at the ICC to open a probe into the crisis, saying the court has no jurisdiction. It took months for Myanmar to agree to the delegation's visit after the UN levelled accusations of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine. The visiting delegation is led by Britain, Peru and Kuwait, whose ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi has said the trip is not about "naming and shaming" Myanmar, but rather to show the country that the "international community is following the situation and has great interest in resolving it". The United States and its European partners in the council have faced strong opposition to action on the Rohingya crisis from China, which has key economic interests in the neighbouring country. The council adopted a statement in November that called on Myanmar to rein in its military, but there has been no resolution, which could face opposition from China. But Roth said this should not be assumed. "If China wants to veto it should pay the price of turning its back on the crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya." Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition in 2015 to battle the Huthi rebels in its southern neighbour and restore the internationally-recognised Yemeni government to power. The Huthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as well as much of Yemen's north and the key Hodeida port on the country's western coastline. Riyadh on Wednesday confirmed it was behind an air strike on the Yemeni capital that killed Saleh al-Sammad, president of the Huthis' Supreme Political Council, on April 19. The rebels will hold a public funeral for Sammad in Sanaa on Saturday. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen conflict, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Yemen now stands at the brink of famine. The alliance imposed a total blockade on Yemen's ports earlier this year in retaliation for the rebel missile attacks. The blockade has since been partially lifted, but access to the impoverished country remains limited. In March, an Egyptian labourer became the first known fatality in a rebel missile attack on Saudi Arabia. iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it will end the humanitarian protection known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal with a delay of 12 months to "allow for an orderly transition." An immigrant advocacy group said the White House was turning its back on "vulnerable people." There are roughly 9,000 people from Nepal living in the United States with TPS - a federal program used to allow people to remain in the U.S. and work if they are unable to safely return to their home countries due to armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extreme circumstances. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who is responsible for making the final decision on whether to extend or terminate these programs, wrote that the department had determined that "since the 2015 earthquake, conditions in Nepal have notably improved." "Additionally, since the last review of the countrys conditions in October 2016, Nepal has made substantial progress in post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction," she said in a statement. The decision to terminate TPS for Nepal was based on whether the "originating conditions continue to exist." In this case, the conditions that prompted the original designation was the April 25, 2015 earthquake left approximately 9,000 people dead, 22,000 injured and 755,000 homes significantly damaged or destroyed. Roughly 25 to 33 percent of Nepals population - eight million people - were affected by the earthquake three years ago. Nielsen concluded that the disruption of living conditions stemming from the earthquake "have decreased to a degree that they should no longer be regarded as substantial, and Nepal can now adequately manage the return of its nationals." The announcement comes after DHS also moved to terminate status for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan an estimated 300,000 people or more who will either need to leave the U.S. or face residing illegally, unless Congress passes legislation. The deadline to make a determination for Honduras is next week. Many TPS holders have been in the U.S. for years, even decades, like Pema Lama, who arrived in New York City in 1994, leaving her children ages 4 and 6 in Nepal. Lama told ABC News that the humanitarian protection allowed her to travel to Nepal this year and "touch my kids and celebrate my daughter's birthday after 24 years." While TPS does not offer a pathway to citizenship, it does allow many people to obtain work authorization and in some cases get authorization to travel internationally and return to the U.S. "It was really devastating. I don't know how to react. I dont know how to tell my kids," she said Thursday of the administration's decision. Advocates and beneficiaries have argued for an extension, arguing that Nepal has not fully recovered from the devastating earthquake. "This White House has yet again turned its back on vulnerable people that our nation pledged to protect. Terminating TPS for our Nepali brothers and sisters and forcing their return to a country still recovering from a devastating earthquake is unfounded and heartless," said Amanda Baran, consultant to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in response to the decision. A recent Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) report found that safe return of Nepali TPS holders and their families remains impossible at this time due to the severe lack of adequate shelter, food, water, healthcare, education and jobs as well as other risks. It is critical for the TPS designation for Nepal to be extended, in light of the slow pace and numerous obstacles to reconstruction and recovery from the 2015 earthquake, said Jennifer Ruddle, CLINIC staff attorney. When Lama visited Nepal in March, she says she witnessed the country "still struggling" with clean water and air. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. That bombardment intensified on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as regime forces advanced against IS inside the districts. "Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes" in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajar al-Aswad, "after breaking through terrorist defences", state news agency SANA said. The advance "inflicted great human and material losses" on the jihadists, it said. Syrian state television said the army has seized control of buildings and a "network of trenches and tunnels" from IS in Hajar al-Aswad. In the adjacent neighbourhood of Qadam, two children were killed in "mortar rounds fired by terrorist groups", it said. The Observatory said pro-government forces took control of "buildings and streets in Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn". Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with IS fighters on Friday morning, the monitor said. Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmuk and the edges of Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning. IS has held parts of Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmuk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month. At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting in southern Damascus, the monitor said. The latest civilian deaths bring to 36 the number of non-fighters killed in regime bombardment in that same period, it said. Yarmuk and the surroundings are now IS's largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighbouring Iraq. The jihadists have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014. Yarmuk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees has said. President Bashar al-Assad's regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month. Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria. Dozens of young men burned tyres and threw stones a few hundreds metres from the border, with Israeli soldiers occasionally firing at them. Fifty people were injured by gunfire or teargas inhalation, Gaza's health ministry said. A 22-year-old freelance photographer was among those shot, the ministry said. Forty-one Palestinians have been killed since the demonstrations began on March 30, with hundreds more injured. Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948. Israel says that allowing the refugees in would mean the end of the Jewish state, and accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as a pretext for violence. Demonstrations are expected to spike again in the lead up to May 14, when the United States is expected to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decision has infuriated Palestinians, who see the annexed eastern half of the holy city as the capital of their future state. Another Laikipia County employee identified as Mr Ikinya Matindi, was also shot and seriously injured during the 6.50pm Thursday attack. Confirming the incident, Nyahururu OCPDP Mr Ezekiel Chepkwony said the officials had visited the conservancy ran by Italian-born conservationist Kuki Gallmann to help him identify some mature trees he wanted to cut down when they met with their assailants. ALSO READ: How Kirinyaga Deputy Governor landed in police cells after kidnapping woman The on Friday reported that the OCPD said among the dead was a driver attached to the county government and a Nyahururu-based forester. The bandits, who had stolen livestock from Kieni village in Wangwaci area, met the workers whom they thought were security personnel pursuing them before they indiscriminately shot at them, said Mr Kihara. Mr Matindi was rushed to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital for treatment. A contingent of General Service Unit personnel are pursuing the six rustlers who escaped with 19 head of cattle and one goat. City of Blythe Mayor Dale Reynolds formally presented Carol Schaudt, Riverside's District 4 Behavioral Health Commissioner, with the official Mental Health Month proclamation at City Hall on April 24. (Photo by Uriel Avendano/Palo Verde Valley Times) British Steel is investing in new plant at Scunthorpe to increase the production of its Zinoco zinc-coated corrosion-free rails, which is due to be commissioned later this year. The premium rails are intended for use in corrosive areas such as coastal lines, wet tunnels or level crossings and can be ... USA: Californias San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission has ordered four SC-44 Charger diesel locomotives from Siemens, with an option for four more, to support an expansion of its Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service. Rantoul, IL (61866) Today Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 74F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Supreme Court upholds sentence of Russian citizen for financing terrorism RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko 13:42 27/04/2018 MOSCOW, April 27 (RAPSI) The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a 7-year prison sentence passed on the native of the Republic of Dagestan Shamil Nurmagomedov for financing the Islamic State terrorist organization (ISIS) banned in Russia, the courts press service told RAPSI. As reported earlier, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges stating that he sent money to ISIS to return his brother, who had joined the terrorist organization, to his homeland. According to case papers, in 2013, Nurmagomedovs brother Marat came to Syria through Turkey to join terrorists. In January 2015, Marat Nurmagomedov was put on the wanted list on charges of participation in illegal armed groups. In the winter of 2013, Shamil Nurmagomedov transferred 200,000 rubles ($3,200) from his bank account to an unidentified person located in Turkey. Investigators believe the money was spent on financing ISIS. Moreover, according to the indictment, the convict has bought a ticket from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Istanbul (Turkey) for a Dagestani woman born 1959, who was later charged with participation in illegal armed groups as the defendants brother. Investigation into high-profile theater embezzlement case completed RIA Novosti, Valery Melnikov 15:57 27/04/2018 MOSCOW, April 27 (RAPSI) The Investigative Committee has completed investigation into a high-profile embezzlement case involving the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, RAPSI reports Friday from the Basmanny District Court of Moscow. On Friday, the court is considering a motion by investigators seeking to release ex-general producer of Seventh Studio stage company Alexey Malobrodsky from detention and put him under house arrest. Earlier, the court extended house arrest for Serebrennikov and ex-official of Russias Culture Ministry and current director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum until July 19. House arrest of the former head of Seventh Studio stage company Yury Itin was extended until May 24, while detention of Malobrodsky was prolonged until June19. Serebrennikov was arrested in late August 2017 and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($6,000), over 60,000, and $4,000. Investigators believe that he was an organizer of the budget money embezzlement. He allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize the Platforma project for promotion of art and invited other defendants into the organization. The defendant denied wrongdoing. Investigators claim that Itin, Malobrodsky, and former Seventh Studio chief accountant Nina Maslyayeva were falsifying data for the Platforma projects plans in 2011-2014 on request of the theater director. This data was provided to the Ministry of Culture as the rationale for financing from the state budget. Earlier, Maslyayeva has testified against Serebrennikov. She said that Serebrennikov, Malobrodsky and Itin organized embezzlement of money allocated for a cultural event. Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky cashed the money with the assistance of Maslyayeva. The woman also said that she entered falsified data in financial reports. Apfelbaum has been also arrested and put under house arrest on embezzlement charges. According to investigators, from 2011 to 2014, she signed contracts on state grants in the amount of more than 214 million rubles ($3.7 million) with Serebrennikovs Seventh Studio on behalf of the Russian Culture Ministry, and provided further agreement of received reporting documents, which contained overstated information on quantity and cost of the held events. Thus, she has abetted the embezzlement of about 68 million rubles ($1.2 million) by Serebrennikov and his alleged accomplices, investigators claim. Apfelbaum admitted that she controlled the movement of cash but pleaded not guilty to embezzlement. One more defendant, producer Yekaterina Voronova, has been arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list. Moskalkova calls world community to protect rights activist Gaponenko detained in Latvia 11:19 27/04/2018 MOSCOW, April 27 (RAPSI) - Russias Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has called the international community and ombudsmen to protect the rights of activist Alexander Gaponenko, who was arrested and detained in Latvia on suspicion of anti-state activities, the ombudsmans website reads. Moskalkova in particular asked her colleagues to call Latvian authorities to dismiss criminal proceedings against renowned public man Gaponenko, the statement reads. According to the Russian ombudsman, the leader of the Center for the Protection of Russian Schools was arrested and placed in detention for his publications on Facebook. Gaponenkos detention discords with basic principles of democracy, infringes rights of national minorities in Latvia including the right to freedom of expression and information distribution. Gaponenko was arrested on April 20. A court in Riga detained him on suspicion of illegal activity against the state on April 21, according to media reports. Gaponenko believes that his arrest is connected with his human rights activity and posts on social media. The activist complained of inhuman treatment and went on hunger strike, he told journalists. Porterville, CA (93257) Today Mainly sunny. Expect widespread areas of smoke and haze, reducing visibility at times. High 87F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Hood is described as a white male adult, 5-foot, 3-inches tall, and thin build weighing 145 pounds. Hood was last seen driving his 2003 silver, Chrysler mini-van, bearing California license plate number 4XSW480. Shareholder advisory companies are raising eyebrows at the ICICI Bank board not being aware of Firstlands investment in NuPower Firstland Holdings, a company based in Mauritius owned by the Kanodia family, did not make any return on its investment in the cumulative convertible preference shares (CCPS) that it made in NuPower Renewables, which it held for over two years. Under the original resolution, Kanodias investment would have resulted in 49 per cent stake in NuPower, which it relinquished in favour of DH Renewables Holding, the company that bought the CCPS from Firstland. NuPower Renewables had received Rs 325 crore infusion by way of CCPS from Firstland Holdings in 2011 and in 2012. Firstland, part of the Matix Group run by Yogendra Kanodia and son Nishant, sold the CCPS to another Mauritius-based entity DH Renewables, a subsidiary of Accion Diversified Strategies Fund, based in Cayman Island for Rs 325 crore. It was a no profit, no loss exit from NuPower and the money received from Accion Diversified Strategies Fund was then invested in a fertiliser plant in Bengal, said a source close to the development. Firstlands CCPS were to be converted into equity shares of the company. Post-conversion of all the CCPS into equity shares of the company, the investor will hold equity shares representing 49 per cent of the share capital of the company calculated on a fully diluted basis, the original resolution had said. Kanodias received neither dividend nor capital gains on its NuPower investment. The original resolution on the CCPS did not provide any details on dividend payments. Nishant is Essar group promoter Ravi Ruias son-in-law. The antecedents of DH Renewables and Accion Diversified Strategies Fund are not known and the Indian income tax department has sent letters to Mauritius government and to Cayman Island authorities seeking more information on the fund. While raising funds from Axis Bank and Central Bank of India, NuPower Renewables had said Accion was a private equity fund with $250 million corpus. DH Renewables also put in additional funds of Rs 128 crore in NuPower and after the conversion of the CCPS it acquired from Firstland; the fund owned 55 per cent stake in NuPower Renewables in March 2017, and the next-biggest shareholder was Deepak Kochhar. While ICICI Bank did not give funds to Kanodia-owned companies, the bank did lend funds to Essar groups foreign subsidiary in Minnesota United States which has now turned into a non-performing asset (NPA). ICICI Bank was among the seven banks - mainly foreign banks, which had lent funds to Essar Minnesota. Meanwhile, the ICICI Bank board, consisting bank executives, independent directors and nominees from the government and Life Insurance Corporation of India, was not aware of Firstlands investment in NuPower. An ICICI Bank source said the Kanodia family was not a borrower of ICICI Bank, and hence the banks board was not informed as the conflict of interest guidelines were not applicable. Shareholder advisory companies are raising eyebrows at the ICICI Bank board not being aware of Firstlands investment. No party has denied that there wasn't any connection between the borrowers - Essar, Videocon group, and NuPower. The conflict of interest seems to be apparent, said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director, InGovern Research Services, a shareholder advisory. NuPower Renewables is owned by Deepak Kochhar, husband of ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar. NuPower made news after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a preliminary enquiry against the company and Videocon group that the latter gave a Rs 64 crore loan to NuPower via a subsidiary. ICICI Bank board, Nupower and Videocon have denied any wrongdoing. Emails to NuPower and Kanodias sent on Wednesday did not elicit any response. An Essar group spokesperson declined to comment. Thousands of unlisted companies registered with RoCs will soon go under watch on lines similar to the oversight by the Securities and Exchange Board of India of listed companies. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com The ministry of corporate affairs is planning to scrutinise functioning companies to weed out shell firms. While there will not be any investigation, the registrar of companies will use artificial intelligence to keep a close eye on the numbers companies report. The ministry has so far identified or taken action against dormant companies, those that have not filed statutory returns. We will use artificial intelligence to alert us if any suspicious activity takes place in a company, a source in the know of the matter said. After the first alert, investigating agencies will be put on the job, officials said. Another official said misappropriation or diversion of funds could be established by tracking the flow of money in a balance sheet. If this move is executed, thousands of unlisted companies registered with RoCs will be under watch on lines similar to the oversight by the Securities and Exchange Board of India of listed companies. The ministry has also identified another 225,000 companies that have not filed statutory returns. Notices have been issued to them. Under the Companies Act, 2013, companies can be struck off the register if they do not file financial returns for a continuous period of three years. In the first phase, 226,000 companies were struck off the rolls. Of these, bank details of 168,000 firms were received by the ministry and 73,000 companies were found to have deposited Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion) in banks in the post-demonetisation period. Bank details of 58,000 companies have not been revealed yet. Sixty-eight shell firms are being probed, including 19 by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. Some of the companies have moved court and have succeeded in getting their names registered again. The ministry is also probing through its investigating arm the Rs 130 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank allegedly perpetrated by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi group companies. The SFIO is probing 107 companies and seven limited liability partnerships belonging to Nirav Modis Firestar Diamond Group and Choksis Gitanjali Group. 'Some cases do not get a single hearing for 6 to 8 months, while some have been pending for as long as 8 years.' Sanjay Kumar Singh reports. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 was a landmark development. It was meant to bypass the overburdened civil and criminal courts and offer speedy and inexpensive redress for consumers' grievances in a simplified format. Consumer activists say the initial promise of the Act remains only half fulfilled. Many of the pro-consumer rulings of state commissions have strengthened the cause of consumer protection. To cite a couple of examples, the Maharashtra state commission was the first to rule that telecom-related complaints come under the Consumer Protection Act. The matter went to the national commission and subsequently to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Maharashtra state commission's order. Similarly, the Maharashtra state commission ruled that the student is also a consumer. Several educational institutes conduct unrecognised courses, or claim affiliations that are non-existent. Sometimes they have inadequate teaching faculty and other amenities. The commission's ruling meant that victims of such institutions could get redress through consumer courts. However, there are a number of systemic issues that make it difficult for consumers to get justice. As with civil and criminal courts, consumer courts in India, too, are now overburdened with cases. The number of cases pending in various consumer fora is over 450,000, according to media reports. Many posts in consumer courts remain vacant. All this means that it can take a long time for cases to be decided. "Some cases do not get a single hearing for six to eight months, while some have been pending for as long as eight years," says Nitin Saxena, founder, All India Consumer Education Society. Sometimes, consumers' complaints get rejected because they are said to be filed in the incorrect format. Time and again, the format keeps getting changed depending on the notions of the presiding officer. "In reality, there is no specified format either in the Act or in the rules. In reply to my RTI (right to information) query, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission replied that there is no assigned format for filing a consumer complaint in District Consumer Forums," says Arun Saxena, president, International Consumer Rights Protection Council. The problem is particularly pronounced in the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane consumer courts, says Saxena, who files complaints on behalf of consumers across the country and does not face this problem elsewhere. At present, which consumer forum -- district, state or national -- the consumer will file his case in depends on the combined value of goods or services and the compensation sought. If this value is up to Rs 2 million, the case has to be filed in a district forum. If it is above Rs 2 million and up to Rs 10 million, it has to be filed with the state commission, and for values above Rs 10 million, with the national commission. Consumer activists say the criterion should be based only on the amount of compensation sought, as the following example will make clear. Suppose that a person purchases a flat for Rs 9.9 million. There is a defect in the flat, whose rectification will cost Rs 200,000. What the consumer is trying to claim through the courts is only Rs 200,000. For such an amount, it would be ideal if the case were to go to the district forum. But since the value of the goods or service also has to be considered, the total value comes to Rs 10.1 million, and hence the case has to be compulsorily filed in the national commission. "In a vast country like India, a consumer may have to fly all the way from, say, somewhere down south to Delhi, spending on airfare, hotels, etc, just to get a claim of Rs 200,000. This is unfair on the consumer," says consumer activist Jehangir Gai. While the Consumer Protection Act has been amended a few times, activists say it still lags behind times. "We need provisions in the Act to address new-age cases, such as those arising in the domain of e-commerce," says Nitin Saxena. The setting up of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities in the states has been a landmark development towards protecting homebuyers' rights. A report from Ambit Capital notes that due to the authority's pro-consumer stance and punitive penalties, developers are now afraid to delay possession. Says Vivek Agarwal, co-founder and principal partner, Squareyards.com, a technology-enabled transaction platform and aggregator: "The developer community has definitely turned more responsible and professional." "Deadlines for possession are now treated as sacrosanct," adds Agarwal. "The requirement to put 70 per cent of the money collected from homebuyers into an escrow account means that this money is used to complete the project, and not to buy land elsewhere." However, quite a few issues have arisen with RERA as well. "In many states, the central regulation has been diluted. Many states have yet to set up an authority," says Nitin Saxena. Consumer activists cite other instances as well where the authority's rulings have not favoured the consumer. Sometimes, in the agreement letter signed between the builder and the buyer, the date of possession is left blank. In some such cases, RERA has not entertained the customer's complaint, citing contributory negligence on his part. Moreover, when the authority passes an order, the mechanism for ensuring that it is complied with is inadequate. If a developer disobeys RERA's order, the flat purchaser has to get the authority to issue a recovery certificate, which then has to be executed by the collector to recover the amount as arrears of land revenue. Consumer activists say this can be a tedious procedure as the collector's office is an independent authority and there is no provision for exercising control on it for such recovery proceedings. The proposed campus will come up on around 125 acres, which the company will acquire from airport authorities, and would house as many as 3,000 employees. Infosys has said it its largest campus outside of India is going to be in Indianapolis, US. The company is already aggressively expanding its capacity in US while stepping up hiring to localise the workforce. The proposed campus will come up on around 125 acres, which the company will acquire from airport authorities, and would house as many as 3,000 employees. The announcement made in the presence of the US Vice President Mike Pence comes a year after the company announced that it would establish an innovation hub in Indianapolis. Infosys, Pence said "brings new chapter in the life of the growing Indiana economy." The development is a reflection of President Donald Trump's focus on job creation and making policies focused in this regard, he said. Pence thanked Infosys for joining Trump's agenda on job creation. Observing that this centre will deepen roots of Infosys in Indiana, its president Ravi Kumar said last year Infosys made an announcement of committing 2,000 American workers in Indiana. This centre would add another 1,000 local American employees in Indiana. Since last May, Infosys has hired 4,000 American workers out of the 10,000 it plans in the next few years. "We have announced additional technology and innovation hubs in North Carolina, Connecticut and if one of its kind design hub in Rhode Island. "We have announced educational partnerships with Perdue, North Carolina community college system, and we're continuing to bear on bridging the skills gap in the United States," Kumar said. In March, the Bengaluru-based company launched a technology and innovation hub in Indianapolis, the capital city of the state of Indiana. This was one of the four such centres the company is planning to run in the country. For now, the hub operates out of OneAmerica Tower in the city where the company had leased 35,000 sq ft space. Parts of the land, according to reports, were used by the Indianapolis International Airport before it was shut for relocation. Till now, the only campus Infosys had planned to set up outside India was in Shanghai, China. The work for a centre across 15 acres is currently on. Infosyss Mysore 350-acre campus is the largest for the company, while its corporate headquarters in Bengaluru is housed on 81 acres. With an increase in regulatory pressure, Indian IT outsourcing companies are fast increasing their local presence in the US. Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Infosys and HCL Technologies have announced specific plans to hire local talent and set up innovation centres in the US. During a recent analysts meet, Infosys had said that the company had started recruiting fresher talent from US universities and were planning to do so in other key markets like the UK. The one thing that we are closely focusing on is building talents closer to the clients, Ravi Kumar S, president and deputy COO of Infosys said to the analysts last week. We already have announced the launching of four technology hubs in the US of which three will be operational this year. We will work with community colleges, local academic institutions as to hire local talents in these places. Infosys had earlier said that the company had added 2,500 US employees to its workforce in the past one year, and was planning to hire over 10,000 more over the next two years. Additional inputs from PTI Image used for representation purpose only Photograph: Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters Europe still a favourite among Indians for summer, says survey. With temperatures soaring in the country, Europe continued to be the hot favourite destination among Indians this summer, however, there is a preference for shorter holidays, according to a survey by travel company Cox and Kings. Overall, the demand for summer holidays has increased by around 20 per cent compared to the same period last year, the survey said. 'This summer, there is a subtle shift in travel pattern. 'We have observed that those opting for a two-country or three-country holiday, which translates to a seven-night or an eight-night holiday have risen by almost 50 per cent compared to the same period last year,' the survey said. The main reason for this is that now Indians are taking more than one holiday in a year and they would like to space out their vacations, it added. The survey is based on actual bookings on Cox and Kings for this summer. France and Switzerland are the two hot-selling European destinations this summer, with some people combining these two with one more country like Austria, Italy, Netherlands or Germany, it added. Destinations such as Iceland, Ukraine, Greece and Croatia are popular with individual travellers. People from western India such as Gujarat and Maharashtra are mostly heading for cooler beach destinations overseas like Mauritius, Reunion Islands and Seychelles. The demand for these destinations from these two state have gone up by 15 per cent compared to the same period last year, it added. 'Travel trends have become extremely volatile nowadays because travellers are always in pursuit of new destinations. 'While the demand for Europe during summer season continues this year as well, lately island hideaways such as Mauritius, Reunion Island and Seychelles are also catching the attention of summer travellers from India. 'Improved air connectivity and simplified visa processes have fuelled the interest even further for the Indian Ocean Islands,' Cox and Kings head, relationships, Karan Anand said. Another reason why Indian travellers are finding these islands attractive is 'ease in visa processes', he said. 'Both Mauritius and Seychelles offers visa on arrival to Indian travellers. 'While for Reunion Island, Indian nationals no longer need a visa for stays of up to 15 days,' he added. 'The need of the hour is to build on the positives and control the negatives,' says Colonel (Dr) Anil A Athale (retd). IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi greets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, May 14, 2015. It was the first time a Chinese leader had welcomed a visiting leader outside Beijing. Photograph: MEAIndia/Flickr As Prime Minister Narendra D Modi travels to China for the first informal summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, there is palpable excitement in India amongst those who have been long advocating making the 21st century as the Asian Century. In Mr Modi's persona, India has after a long time a leader who thinks big and out of the box. The summit in Wuhan is taking place amidst the turmoil in the world caused by a dysfunctional United States under a maverick and accidental leader. The ancient nations of India and China have shown great statesmanship to rescue the world from international anarchy. Whatever the ambitious agenda of the two leaders, Mr Modi and Mr Xi will have to deal with some bilateral issues before they can offer the world leadership. The first on the agenda would be the future of Tibet. As someone deeply impressed by the earthy wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I am a natural sympathiser of the Tibetan cause. Yet at the same time, as a realist, one has to understand that 'independent Tibet' is a pipe dream. Even in the 1950s and 1960s, when China was a weak power, it considered Tibet as part of China. What could not be achieved in the 1960s is virtually impossible to achieve in the 21st century when China is on its way to become a superpower. To be fair to the Chinese, it is my understanding that the Chinese have in the past offered substantial internal autonomy to the Tibetans in what is called 'Little Tibet' consisting of the present boundaries of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Unfortunately, the Tibetan government in exile hankers after cultural autonomy not just for present Tibet but 'Greater Tibet' that has parts of neighbouring areas with a Tibetan population. Partly this is out of sentimental reasons since His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself was born in what is called Greater Tibet. But by insisting on the maximalist solution the Tibetan government in exile is frittering away an opportunity to solve the Tibetan problem. Almost ten years ago, I discuss this issue with the 'foreign secretary' of the Tibetan government in exile. My point was and remains so is that it is better to accept less than an optimal solution before it is too late. In the rigidity of some Tibetan positions, one can see a clear Western hand that wants to keep the issue of Tibet alive. But time and tide wait for none and it is certain that the support that the Tibetan cause gathers around the Buddhist world will evaporate after the current Dalai Lama is no more. Much of the popular support to the cause has much to do with the personality and prestige that His Holiness the Dalai Lama enjoys in the Buddhist world. I have seen it first hand in the Buryat republic of the Russian Federation, a Buddhist majority province of Eastern Siberia. To expect similar adoration and support for the next Dalai Lama, as and when the current one leaves this world, is to hope for the impossible. If the Tibetans in exile in India accept a compromise solution and return to Tibet, a major irritant in Sino-Indian relations will be removed. A relaxed China can then let the border areas return to their centuries-old tranquility. The second issue that can be an obstacle in the Sino-Indian partnership is the vexed border issue. Last year's Doklam standoff nearly derailed bilateral relations. As a student of the Sino-Indian border issue for over 30 years, I have been advocating a 'gradual' or a graded approach -- contrary to the Indian stand. The very approach that India favours vis a vis Pakistan is jettisoned when it comes to the Sino-Indian border. The issue has been further complicated by Chinese aggression in the 1980s when assured of American support, China began to claim the whole of Arunachal Pradesh. Military logic based on geography dictates that militarily it is beyond the Chinese capability to 'conquer' the Himalayan state. This move by China to describe Arunachal as Southern Tibet has now come to be a major obstacle in the path of peace. In the 1960s when Sino-Indian tensions led to war, it was Ladakh and the Aksai Chin plateau that was at the centre of the dispute. The questioning of the border in the east, the MacMohan Line was seen as a tactical ploy. But as the recent Doklam crisis has shown, the Chinese rhetoric has its own momentum. In an earlier agreement, both countries accepted that the border 'adjustments' will be confined to unpopulated areas. By upping the ante on Arunachal, China has violated this understanding. In the Internet era, a Chinese equivalent of the Trump constituency has arisen. Internet trolls and China's Global Times newspaper often reflect these extreme nationalist and xenophobic views. But to establish trust between the two countries is not such a difficult task. While the northern portion of the border is indeed disputed, on large tracts of areas in the central sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) there is not much divergence between India and China. By recognising and demarcating the border in these areas, India and China can take the first step to demilitarise the border. This will serve as a much better trust building measure rather than the few low level military exercises that the two countries hold periodically. But even after all these steps are taken, the 'elephant in the room' remains Sino-Pakistani ties. Here, India needs to be pragmatic and learn a lesson from the fact that despite serious double dealing, the US has not abandoned Pakistan. China has even less reason to do so. India should be confident enough to deal with Pakistan on its own. In fact, some degree of Chinese influence on Pakistan ought to be welcome as a necessary check on the jihadi tendencies in that country. Mr Modi and Mr Xi are worthy of praise for overcoming old prejudices and making a bold move to reach a basic understanding between two ancient civilisations. The recent success of Hindi films in China is an indicator that culturally we have much in common as fellow Asians. The need of the hour is to build on the positives and control the negatives. 'There are enough funds to solve this problem.' Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters The tragic death of 13 schoolchildren on Thursday, April 26, in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, has once again brought the issue of unmanned railway crossings to the forefront. In the wake of the accident, Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has said that all such crossings will be eliminated by March 2020. Statistics, says Haldwani-based Right to Information activist Gurvinder Singh Chadha, reveal that 613 people died at unmanned level crossings during the years 2011 to 2016. In 2016-2017, there were only 20 deaths. In 2017-2018, there were four deaths. The Railway Convention Committee Report (external link) submitted to the Parliamentary standing committee, on unmanned level crossings as on April 30, 2017, stated that 'there were 27,054 level crossings on the Indian Railways network out of which 19,504 were manned level crossings and 7,550 were unmanned level "As a country we have failed because we don't value human lives in India," Chadha tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. You filed an RTI query over unmanned railway crossings. Why, and what did you find out? I had seen the data and found out that more people die at unmanned railway crossings than in rail accidents. Therefore, I filed an RTI. I also wrote to the National Human Rights Commission about it. I got a reply from the railways last year that they had begun work on unmanned crossings. When I saw the news of this (Kushinagar) accident, I felt sad as these incidents should not happen. Where do you think the system failed to control deaths at unmanned crossings? There is no will shown by the government to stop these accidents. They have to spend money on such projects. These things should be done on a priority basis. Such accidents cause so much loss for the railways. Zone-wise number of accidents at unmanned level crossings and deaths therein during 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 (up to July 15, 2017): Railway 2016-17 2017-18 No. of UMLC accidents No. of Persons killed No. of UMLC accidents No. of Persons killed Central East Coast East Central 4 6 1 2 Eastern 1 1 North Central 1 1 2 6 North Eastern 2 9 1 5 Northeast Frontier 3 4 Northern 4 9 North Western 2 3 South Central South East Central South Eastern 1 1 Southern South Western 2 6 West Central Western Konkan Metro Total 20 40 4 13 As a country, do we fail to protect the lives of our citizens? As a country we have failed because we don't value human lives in India. A human life is considered very cheap. I stay in Uttrakhand where so many people die because of there being no hospital facilities. Yesterday (April 25) there was a girl who had pain in the stomach and had fallen ill in a hilly region. It took six hours for us to take her to a good hospital and get treatment. The cheapest commodity in India is human life. India is such a huge country. Don't you think it is difficult to man every rail crossing? There are enough funds to solve this problem. In the early days of Independent India, railway ministers used to feel morally responsibly for accidents. But nowadays nobody bothers. Ministers go and lament at the site of the mishap for one day and then everything comes back to normal. Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned as the railway minister when there was an accident. Nowadays, there is no accountability. New technology has come in. Why do such accidents occur? Prime Minister (Narendra D) Modiji is doing a great job in making digital India and it is really praiseworthy. But the implementation on ground is not happening. The Indian Railways is still running on the old system. Isn't Digital India changing the way government functions, and hasn't the railways too adapted to these changes? There is no implementation of Digital India in the railways. Max, one can get milk for their child at the next station if they tweet about it to the railways. This is the best they can do. But they have not done anything for human safety. Did you give any suggestion to change the system? I wrote about safety to the railway ministry, but nothing was done from their side. What are the reasons for these accidents on unmanned railway crossings? Plugging earphones causes maximum accidents. (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht claimed that, prima facie, the Khushinagar accident occurred because the van driver had his earphones plugged in for music.) Many a time, people busy talking on mobile phones while crossing railway tracks meet with an accident. These things are common. Drivers in air-conditioned cars or those playing loud music also fail to hear the train sound, which results in accidents. Earphones are the most dangerous, though. Then there are bullock carts which take time to cross the track and if they fail to judge the train's speed their fate is sealed. State-wise number of unmanned level crossings on broad and narrow gauges as on April 01, 2017 S.N. State Number of Unmanned Level Crossings on Broad Gauge Number of Unmanned Level Crossings on Meter/Narrow Gauge 1 Andhra Pradesh 272 0 2 Assam 141 0 3 Bihar 540 269 4 Chandigarh 0 0 5 Chhattisgarh 15 25 6 Delhi 1 0 7 Goa 0 0 8 Gujarat 791 1104 9 Haryana 92 0 10 Himachal Pradesh 2 4 11 Jammu & Kashmir 1 0 12 Jharkhand 113 0 13 Karnataka 253 0 14 Kerala 7 0 15 Madhya Pradesh 46 336 16 Maharashtra 76 192 17 Manipur 0 0 18 Mizoram 0 0 19 Nagaland 0 0 20 Odisha 223 0 21 Puducherry 2 0 22 Punjab 334 0 23 Rajasthan 472 333 24 Tamil Nadu 333 111 25 Telangana 37 0 26 Tripura 0 0 27 Uttar Pradesh 904 208 28 Uttarakhand 26 9 29 West Bengal 262 167 Total 4943 2758 Did you give any particular example to the government for taking action? I wrote to them that there are unmanned railway crossings near Moti Nagar and Lal Kua in Haldwani, but no action was taken. You complain or do whatever, it doesn't matter to the authorities. I also give them the data about such railway crossings that need to be manned. I now send all these details to the NHRC which served notices to the railway authorities. Only then they take action. There have been some good results because of the NHRC stepping in. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said the government has ordered a detailed inquiry and appropriate action would be taken in case anything is 'found wanting'. Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has set up a two-member committee to probe the incident of technical snag in a chartered plane that was carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi, a senior official said. The incident happened during landing of the flight from New Delhi at Hubballi in north Karnataka on Thursday. Alleging 'intentional tampering' with aircraft, the Congress party had on Thursday demanded a probe into the 'suspicious and faulty performance' of the 10-seater Falcon 2000. "The Directorate General of Civi Aviation (DGCA) has set up a two member panel to investigate the incident. While one member is from the Directorate of Air Safety, the other member is from the Directorate of Airworthiness," a senior DGCA official told PTI. The panel has been asked to submit its report in the next 2-3 weeks, the official added. Cops probing the incident also said they are waiting for technical experts to examine the flaws and submit a report, even as a senior airport official maintained that there was nothing 'unusual' in the aircraft's landing. As part of the probe, the DGCA official said the panel would call cockpit crew and also engineers for questioning about the incident. If required, the committee might also call the operations staff of the particular aircraft to gather details, the official said. On Thursday, a senior DGCA official had confirmed that the aircraft had suffered 'technical snag'. "According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and landed (the aircraft) safely," he had said, adding that shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. "For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official had said. In a letter to Karnataka State DGP Neelmani N Raju, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi had said the weather was normal. 'It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...,' the letter had said. On Vidyarthi's complaint, a first information report was lodged under Indian Penal Code Sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), the police said. "We are waiting for the experts from the DGCA to come as we have no technical knowledge on the subject. "Based on their report, we will take further action," Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), North Hubballi, H K Pathan, who is the investigating officer in the case, said. Meanwhile, Hubballi Airport Director Ahalya S K continued to maintain that there was nothing unusual in the manner in which the plane had landed on Thursday. "The plane had landed safely and nobody had complained to me about anything," she told PTI. In Bengaluru, state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the police was investigating the matter. In his complaint, Vidyarthi had demanded a probe into the 'suspicious and faulty performance' of the aircraft before it landed. 'Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are requested to be addressed and investigated,' the complaint said. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Shakir Sanadi has also filed a complaint with the Hubballi police, naming the two pilots of the plane. PM called Rahul after the incident Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China on Thursday to enquire about his safety after the incident, Congress sources said. Gandhi received the call around 2.30 pm, the sources added. "It was a private conversation between the two (over phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the prime minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine," a source told PTI. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said the government has ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident and that appropriate action would be taken in case anything is 'found wanting'. "As soon as I heard about this issue, I directed the DGCA to conduct a detailed inquiry and to find out the cause of it. "If there is anything found wanting and whoever is responsible for it, we will take appropriate action," he told reporters. A Civil Aviation Ministry official said in Delhi: "It would be premature to comment on anything now including the tampering theory. We will await the (DGCA) probe report." The official said the DGCA would probe all the angles like in any such case involving a VIP aircraft. After his Internet in the Mahabharata era remark, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb claimed that international beauty pageants were a farce and questioned the rationale behind crowning Diana Hayden Miss World 21 years ago. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, however, was all praise for Aishwarya Rai, who won the Miss World crown in 1994, saying she represents the Indian women in the true sense. Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country, he said. Debs comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the BJP leaders to steer clear of controversies and not offer masala to the media by making irresponsible statements. The Tripura chief minister also claimed that the international beauty contests were a farce as the results were all predetermined. Whoever contested the international beauty pageants won. For five consecutive years, we won the Miss World/Miss Universe awards. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title? Deb said. Addressing a day-long design workshop on handlooms and handicrafts at the Prajna Bhavan, Deb spoke in a mixture of Bengali and Hindi: Bitorko ho jayega... Aap kya bolte ho Biplab Deb? (There will be a controversy. What are you saying Biplab Deb?) They make the girls walk with fabric on the ramps. Those who give the certificates are all international textile market mafia. They plan beforehand who will get the award and this is 100 per cent true, the BJP leader said. He said he failed to understand the process of judgement of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Diana Hayden had got the award. We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and thats all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden, Deb, who became the chief minister last month, said. Why are there no more beauty pageant winners from India? They (the jury) have captured the market in the country and have gone elsewhere, he claimed. Earlier this month, Deb had claimed that Internet and satellite communication existed in the days of Mahabharata. Shortly after his statement, Twitteratis slammed Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. Activist Kavita Krishnan termed his comments as stupid, sexist and communal. If Biplab Deb didnt exist, a comic writer would have invented him, columnist Salil Tripathi tweeted. Delhi CM advisor Nagendar Sharma in a tweet said, Though we are still in April, this most likely could qualify for the most ridiculous quote of 2018. A senior journalist tweeted, One reason for which I should cheer the verdict in Tripura is that the nation found a new entertainer. The Madras high court on Friday dismissed a petition by the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam seeking disqualification of 11 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, in a huge relief to the Palaniswami government which could have otherwise been reduced to a minority in the state assembly. A bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose rejected the petition by DMK whip Sakkarapani, citing pendency of a petition in the Supreme Court on the powers of a court to issue directions to the Speaker of a state assembly. The petitioner had sought disqualification of Panneerselvam and 10 others for having voted against the Edappadi K Palaniswami government last year when they were in the rebel camp. The petitioner had contended that by voting against the trust motion these MLAs had violated the whip issued by the ruling party and hence attracted disqualification under the anti-defection law. Panneerselvam and other MLAs, who had then revolted against the AIADMK leadership, voted against the trust vote sought by Chief Minister K Palaniswami on February 18, 2017. Palaniswami eventually won the vote 122-11. Panneerselvam had opposed the petition saying the whip was issued only to the 122 MLAs who were then camping in a resort and not his erstwhile group. He was made deputy chief minister after the group and the faction led by Palaniswami merged in August after sidelining jailed leader V K Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dinakaran. Their disqualification would have brought down the strength of the ruling AIADMK in the 235-member House to 105 from 116, excluding the Speaker and a nominated member. The opposition DMK with 89 MLAs, has the support of 8 lawmakers of the Congress and one of IUML. There combined strength stands at 98. There is one independent MLA and 18 seats are vacant. V K Sasikala's nephew Dinakaran, who launched Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam recently and got elected to the assembly from late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's R K Nagar seat, has been claiming that he had 'sleeper cells' among the AIADMK MLAs who could pull down the government. The ruling party would have faced a tough situation in the event of its strength depleting following the disqualification of its 11 MLAs. The 18 MLAs loyal to Dinakaran were disqualified by the Speaker after they met the state's then Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao seeking removal of Palaniswami as the chief minister, a day after the factions led by him and Panneerselvam announced a merger. The disqualified MLAs moved the Madras high court challenging the Speaker's decision. The court reserved its judgment on January 23 and it is yet to be pronounced. The Election Commission had allotted the 'two leaves' AIADMK symbol to Palaniswami-Panneerselvam led group, rejecting the claim of the faction led by Dinakaran of majority support in the party. Palaniswami said he was happy about the verdict. DMK working president M K Stalin said he had faith in the judiciary, but asserted his party's legal battle will continue in the Supreme Court. DMK's plea for removal of Jaya's portrait from assembly also rejected The Madras HC also rejected the plea seeking removal of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait from the state assembly. The bench of Chief Justice Banerjee and Justice Quddhose dismissed the petition filed by DMK MLA J Anbazhagan seeking removal of the portrait, unveiled on February 10. He had sought removal of the portrait on grounds that Jayalalithaa was found guilty on corruption charges. The bench observed that in the absence of any law prohibiting the display of portraits of a person convicted for corruption, 'this court cannot interfere in the matter'. The decision to unveil the portrait in the House was taken by assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. The petitioner had submitted that Jayalalithaa was convicted by a special court on graft charges. Later the same was set aside by the Karnataka high court and on appeal the Supreme Court found all the accused guilty of the charges. In view of her demise, appeals against Jayalalithaa were treated as abated, the petitioner said. A court in Bhopal has issued summons to Facebook and its Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg on a petition filed by a city-based start-up which accused the social networking giant of hampering and interfering in its business. Civil Judge Parth Shankar Mishra on April 23 asked United States-based Zuckerberg to appear in his court on June 20. The judge directed that the summons be sent by email. The judge was hearing a civil suit filed by Swapnil Rai, who runs a web portal, thetradebook.org, which he claimed is a business networking platform. In the suit, Rai said Facebook had stopped midway his paid advertisement campaign aimed at promoting his portal. The campaign was scheduled to be run between April 14 and April 21, 2018, but it was 'abruptly and wrongfully' stopped on April 16, the petitioner's counsel Ravi Kant Patidar said. The campaign aimed at promotion of the webpage www.thetradebook.org containing registered trademark 'tradefeed', he added. Patidar said Facebook stopped the paid campaign without citing any reason and in the process 'hampered' his client's business which was benefiting from the campaign. The suit demanded that Facebook be restrained from infringing the trademark and interfering in the business of thetradbook.org, Patidar said. Besides, it demanded that thetradebook.org page be restored and Facebook take corrective measures to ensure its rightful business is not hampered, he added. "I hold Mark Zuckerberg in high esteem. He has done a remarkable job by connecting people (through Facebook), but I had no option but to move the court to get my grievances addressed," Rai said. Eight Naxals, including six women, were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday, the police said. It was a joint operation of the Chhattisgarh police, the special anti-Naxal Greyhounds unit of their Telangana counterparts and the Central Reserve Police Force, a senior police official said in Raipur. The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter, he said. Friday's operation comes in the wake of another joint operation of the Greyhounds force and the Chhattisgarh police in Bijapur district last month, in which 10 Maoists had been killed. Early on Friday morning, gunfight broke out on a remote hillock under the Ilmidi police station limits of Bijapur district which borders on Telangana, Chhattisgarh Special Director General (Anti-Naxal Operations) D M Awasthi said. Acting on specific intelligence, teams of the Greyhounds, the CRPF and, Chhattisgarh Police's Special Task Force and District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched operations in forests along the inter-state border, around 500 km from Raipur, since the night of April 23, he said. When the security forces were cordoning off the forested hillock, 13 km from Ilmidi, on Friday morning, the gun-battle broke out, he said. The exchange of fire lasted for about two hours following which the Naxals fled from the spot, the DG said. "During the search, bodies of eight ultras, including six women, were recovered. All of them were in uniforms," Awasthi said. Besides, an SLR rifle, a .303 bore rifle, four .12 bore guns, a single-barrel muzzle loading gun, a .315 bore gun, three hand grenades, six rocket launchers and Maoist literature were seized, he said. A few more Naxals were injured in the encounter, but the other ultras managed to drag them away from the spot, Awasthi said, adding, "No harm was reported to any personnel of the security forces in the gunfight." Bodies of the slain Naxals were airlifted to Bijapur town by an Indian Air Force chopper and the process to identify them was underway, he said. The rebels were reportedly active in Usoor and Basaguda areas of Bijapur district, and once they are identified, it can be found out which Maoist squad they were part of, Awasthi said. According to a senior police official, the Greyhounds and the Telangana police's intelligence unit played a crucial role in this operation, a first in this area. Another joint anti-Naxal operation is being carried out by the STF, DRG and CRPF in the core Naxal areas of Sukma district, and it will continue for a few more days, he said. In early March, 10 Maoists, including seven women, were killed in an encounter during a joint operation of the Greyhounds and Chhattisgarh police in Bijapur district. Earlier this week, at least 39 Maoists were killed in the operations carried out by police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, which also borders on Bijapur. Image only for representation. The social media giant promised that news and views will be checked for veracity and pejorative content will be weeded out. Archis Mohan and Karan Choudhury/Business Standard report Political parties in India will find it difficult to influence voters through Facebook unless their content is accurate -- at least that is what the social networking giant has promised. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg was grilled by United States senators, following revelations in the press of how data mined by it was used by the United Kingdom-based analytics firm Cambridge Analytica to influence voters in the 2016 presidential elections. Zuckerberg promised to ensure that Facebook would ensure data privacy more strictly and come down on fake news. Now, it has promised to keep track of the money spent by Indian political parties on advertisements they post on the website. Also, all content will be carefully vetted to ensure that false information is not being disseminated to influence voters. State elections in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled over the next few months. The next Lok Sabha elections are slated for 2019. In a first, Facebook on Tuesday made public the guidelines its moderators use to decide which post and news article it would remove for violence, spam, harassment, self-harm, terrorism, intellectual property theft, and hate speech. The government has already pulled up Facebook for allowing its site to be used to influence elections. Consequently, it has stated that political news and views will be checked for veracity and pejorative content will be weeded out. Also to ensure that it is not accused of influencing elections to increase advertisement revenue, Facebook will keep track of how much money is being spent by each political party to advertise on its portal. This is part of the companys Advertisement Transparency initiative. A source in Facebook said, It is possible that some of the advertisement is posted by a political partys supporters. But, in any case, Facebook will have an idea of how much money each party is spending on its campaign on the portal. This will maintain transparency in the system. The company wants to ensure that no one can use its portal to sway voters. Political parties welcomed this initiative. Aam Aadmi Party social media strategist Ankit Lal said, Transparent funding of social media promotion for political purposes will be an important step towards creating a level playing field. To scan political content, Facebook has hired a slew of moderators who are proficient in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati and other languages. The source said, In the past, some people have gamed the system by posting in regional languages. But now, the company has hired moderators for these languages to weed out content that hurts religious sentiment or has racial or other slurs written in languages other than English. In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Facebook wants to ensure that no misinformation is spread through it. So, besides using internal checks, it is also using third parties. There is an election integrity effort going on in Facebook. We are dealing with misinformation and disinformation on our service. We are internationalising the tools. We rely on third-party fact-checking. We have launched one such service in India, Monika Bickert, vice-president, global product management, Facebook, said recently. As a pilot, Facebook is working with a third party to check facts on content for the Karnataka elections. We have partnered with BOOM, an independent digital journalism initiative. The pilot programme will be rolled out in Karnataka, the company stated. When a fact-checker rates a story as false, Facebook will show it lower in the news feed, significantly reducing its distribution. The historic peace talks are aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and come weeks before Kim is due to meet United States President Donald Trump. Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to cross into the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953 for a historic summit with his southern counterpart. South Korean President Moon Jae-in personally greeted Kim with a hand shake at the border truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone between the countries. The leaders posed for a photo together before crossing the demarcation line hand in hand, kicking off the first leadership summit between the divided countries in more than a decade. The meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and easing tensions over the Norths nuclear weapons program, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet United States President Donald Trump. Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30am (local time). Official talks were scheduled to start at 10:30 am at the Peace House, which was recently updated for the summit. Kim was accompanied by nine officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong, who led the Norths delegations to the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea earlier this year. The Souths delegation included Moons ministers for foreign affairs, defence and unification. Kim invited Moon to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. The two were handed flowers by a South Korean boy and girl from a village in the demilitarised zone. Walking on a red carpet rolled out for the two heads of state, the pair were met by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music. Kim stopped to sign a guest book in the Souths Peace House before the two leaders met for a private discussion. A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history, Kim wrote in Korean in the book, dating and signing the entry. Moon and Kim are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas, and will also plant a memorial tree at the border truce village. The United States is hopeful talks between Kim and Moon will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit. The White House also said it looked forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. Photographs: Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool/Reuters Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. Xi said they can meet in a format like this from time to time. IMAGE: Modi and China's Xi Jinping met in Wuhan, a favourite of Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong. Photograph: MEAPhotogallery/Flickr Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held 'extensive and fruitful' meetings in Wuhan on the first day of an unprecedented two-day informal summit to 'solidify' the India-China relationship and exchanged views on how the two countries can work together for the benefit of their people and the world. The 'heart-to-heart' summit in Wuhan -- the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong -- is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff last year. Modi who arrived in the central Chinese city early on Friday for the summit began talks soon after Xi received him with a warm shake hand and hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. WATCH: Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum He was welcomed with a classical Chinese dance opera performance after which Xi took him around some of the most historic art collections and cultural relics of China's ancient civilisation. The museum walk scheduled for 20 minutes lasted over 40 minutes after which they began one-on-one talks. Delighted to meet President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Our talks were extensive and fruitful. We deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues, Modi tweeted at the end of first day of talks. He also thanked President Xi for the wonderful gesture of personally accompanying me in the Hubei Provincial Museum. IMAGE: The two leaders during the delegation-level talks. Photograph: @MEAPhotogallery/Flickr Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship. Their one-on-one talks were followed by delegation-level interaction with six top officials each from both sides took part, giving an impression that some of the critical issues were on the table for discussion. The talks lasted for over two hours overshooting scheduled half-an-hour time, hinting the seriousness of the discussions, officials said. IMAGE: The two leaders are to hold a series of one-on-one talks after the lunch. Photograph: MEA/Flickr National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Indian envoy to China Gautam Bambawale were also present in the meeting. Xi headed a high-powered delegation which included Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Ding Xuexiang, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Yang Jiechi and State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi. The talks between the two leaders on the first day ended with dinner diplomacy. Xi hosted a banquet in honour of Modi at the famous East lake. Xi in a gesture of warmth and friendship walked with Modi to the car to see him off. The summit was stated to be unique as the two leaders have no pressure and obligation to strike any agreements nor make big announcements but focus mainly on candid discussions on solutions to some of the vexed problems like the boundary question and other issues. WATCH: Modi at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan Modi offered to host the next informal summit with Xi in India next year. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," he told Xi. Xi said they can meet in a format like this from time to time. Modi hailed the centuries old Sino-India ties and said India and China have the responsibility to work for 40 per cent of the world population and the two sides have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. He recalled that during the 2,000 years of history, India and China together provided momentum and strength to the world economy and dominated it for around 1,600 years. "The two countries together constituted for about 50 per cent of the world economy for 1,600 years, the prime minister said. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. IMAGE: Xi and PM Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure displayed at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Photograph: @PIB/Twitter Xi emphasised the two sides should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from a strategic angle and ensure their relationship continue to move forward in a positive direction. "The friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like the Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever, China's state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying. "We see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation, Xi told Modi, who is in China on his fourth visit after he came to power in 2014. "China and India need to maintain a strong focus on national development, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, work together for our respective national revitalisation to build the stability, development, prosperity and make positive contributions for global peace and development, Xi said, adding that in the past five years China-India relations have maintained a good momentum. WATCH: Modi-Xi hold delegation-level talks India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. Our two countries' influence in the world and region is steadily on the rise, looking ahead we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation, Xi told Modi. As we meet, the international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world, he added. Modi also underscored importance of people-to-people contact through STRENGTH : S-Spirituality; T-Tradition, Trade and Technology; R-Relationship; E-Entertainment (Movies, Art, Dances etc.); N-Nature conservation; G-Games; T-Tourism and H- Health and Healing. IMAGE: Modi and Xi at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Photograph: @PIB/Twitter/span> On his part, President Xi said the two countries have established closer partnership and made positive progress in recent years. In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions, he said. Our two countries have established closer partnership and cooperation. We have have made positive progress. India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. The influence of our two countries is steadily rising in the region and the world, Xi told Modi. Xi's comments assume significance as it came at a time when the United States and other major economies have taken a number of protectionist measures. IMAGE: Modi has gone to Wuhan to resolve several issues between the two countries. Photograph: PIB/Twitter The Trump administration has recently announced hefty import tariffs on aluminium and steel besides about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products to counter Chinas trade practices. India maintains that protectionism in all its forms should be rejected. Modi gifted to Xi reprints of two paintings made by a famous Chinese artist during his stay at Santiniketan between 1939 and 1940. Modi presented Xu Beihong's paintings to Xi during their informal summit. Xu was known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds. He was one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a modern China at the beginning of the 20th century. IMAGE: Modi will be in Wuhan for two days. Photograph: PIB/Twitter The paintings depicted a horse and sparrows on grass. Xu made those paintings during his stay in Visva Bharati, officials said. The paintings were specially ordered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the summit. Titled 'The Horse and Sparrows and Grass', these paintings are in the collection of Visva-Bharati, and their single reprints were especially commissioned by the ICCR on the occasion of the informal summit between the two leaders at Wuhan, sources said. Xu came to Santiniketan and taught at the Kala Bhavana as its first visiting professor from China. During his stay, Rabindranath Tagore inaugurated an exhibition of more than 150 paintings of Xu Beihong in December 1939, they said. On Saturday, the two leaders will resume their one-on-one talks. They will begin their day with a walk around the East Lake and then go for a ride in a double-decker boat and end their first-ever informal summit with a one-on-one lunch. IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi addresses a rally at Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district on Friday. Photograph: Courtesy @INCIndia/Twitter Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his China visit, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said today he would remain silent on the Doklam issue during his talks with President Xi Jinping, and wondered where his '56 inch chest' has gone. He also slammed Modi over his 'silence' on alleged corruption by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including its chief Amit Shah's son and for declaring B S Yeddyurappa, who had 'gone to jail' as its chief ministerial candidate. "I have heard that he (Modi) is visiting China. You just see, take it in writing from me. China's army is sitting in Doklam and he will not utter a word on Doklam in China, you just watch." "He (Modi) won't utter a word, this is 56 inch chest. Only hollow words, false promises," Gandhi,who is on a two day election campaign tour of Karnataka, told a public rally in Bantwal in Karnataka. The Congress president spoke of how Modi had hosted Xi in his home state Gujarat and the Chinese troops made an incursion into Indian territory. "In Gujarat, on the banks of a river, Narendra Modiji sits on a swing with the Chinese president. Chinese president goes back home and puts Chinese army in Doklam. I don't know where his (Modi's) 56-inch chest had gone, Narendra Modi ji did not utter a word," he said. Chinese soldiers had intruded into Indian territory in Chumar area of Ladakh in September 2014 during Xi's India visit. The Congress chief, who released the party's election manifesto for the Assembly polls in Mangaluru earlier in the day, said, "Modiji, wherever he goes, speaks his Mann ki Baat, but our manifesto is not our mann ki baat.... it is the mann ki baat of Karnataka's youth, women and poor." He said the manifesto was not prepared by two or three Congress leaders in a closed room, and that people of every district and region were consulted. Gandhi also said, "Modi ji folds his hands in front of (12th century social reformer) Basavanna's statue, garlands it, and then he gives eight tickets to Reddy brothers." "He says he stands against corruption.... but then he stands with Yeddyurappa (the BJP's chief ministerial nominee), who has spent time in jail, on one side, and four MLAs who have savoured jail food on the other," he added. Taking a jibe at the prime minister over Bharatiya Janata Party allotting party tickets to the Reddy brothers and their supporters, he said, "Modi ji likes changing names. Earlier it was Planning Commission. He changed it to NITI Ayog. Now he has changed the CBI's name to Central Bureau of Illegal Mining." The influential Reddy brothers of Ballari were accused of involvement in illegal iron ore mining in several states, and two of them have been fielded by the BJP in the polls. "It (CBI) is an agency that gives clean chit toReddy brothers, it does whatever Modiji asks it to do. If you want theft to happen from Karnataka, Modi ji will get it done. Amit Shah and Modi ji will give them (Reddy brothers and their men) eight tickets and then they will give speeches that they are against corruption," he said. He alleged the Reddy brothers had looted Rs 33,000 crore from Karnataka by way of the mining scam. The Congress president also accused the prime minister of keeping quiet over atrocities against women. "Narendra Modi gave the slogan 'Beti Bachao,Beti Padhao'. Now the slogan has changed, wherever you see parents in India are trying to save their daughters from BJP leaders," he said. Referring to the alleged involvement of an Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA in a rape case, he said, "The new slogan is only 'Beti Bachao, Beti Bachao' (save your daughters) from BJP leaders. Narendra Modi, the country's chowkidar, did not utter a word on their MLA indulging in rape." Gandhi said when a rape incident happened in Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister only said there should be no atrocities against women. "Modi ji, we know, but you do something about this, the whole country is burning, there are atrocities against Dalits, minorities are being attacked, women are being attacked, and you are just watching," he said. Addressing a public meeting at Gonikoppal in Kodagu district, Gandhi, without making any specific reference, said Modi was told at a conference abroad that he and his government were not working towards protecting women and said 'it is a shameful thing'. He questioned how Modi could speak about corruption when BJP had projected a 'tainted' person like Yeddyurappa, who had been in jail, as the chief ministerial candidate. The people who know Tibet will continue to fight the good fight. Long, hard, less than hopeful, but always peaceful. Veer Arjun Singh reports. IMAGE: A Tibetan monk walks past Rapid Action Force troopers at Majnu Ka Tila, a Tibetan camp in New Delhi, during then Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit to India in March 2012. Photographs Reuters The promised land of Chushi Gangdruk looks like the Shangri-la of fable. Snow-capped mountain peaks piercing through clouds, sparkling blue streams rushing through gorges and mists enveloping a fairytale township. But like a distant dream overwhelmed by gritty reality, this is a picture contained in a wooden frame. It hangs on a wall of Jangchup Dorjee's coffee shop in the settlement of Majnu ka Tila, the heart of everything Tibet in Delhi. "This is where I lived," Dorjee points to a monastery in the picture, a modest hut on a hill top. The photograph of Ga-Kyegu city in Chushi Gangdruk, which means 'six ranges and four rivers', dates from Dorjees trip to Tibet in 2005. The place is better known as Kham province, a historic region in eastern Tibet where Dorjee's family once lived, and which now stands divided between the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan under the Chinese administration. Dorjee had gone to Tibet to meet his uncle Somdup Chophenl, a Khampa warrior who fought with the Tibetan army during the uprising of 1959. Thousands were killed and Chophenl was captured and jailed for 25 years. Dorjee's father, a local king sworn to protect the Dalai Lama, fled Tibet in 1958 with his wife and two daughters following the Dalai Lama and his entourage. One of the two girls died en route. The group entered India in Assam, where Dorjee was born seven years later. The family moved into a refugee settlement in Delhi's Majnu ka Tila a few years later where Dorjee now owns a coffee house as well as a popular guest house. While he has built a life for himself in India, Dorjee says he would readily give it up if the Dalai Lama were to return to Tibet. "India is a home away from home," he says. The photo on the wall continues to enchant him. IMAGE: A young Tibetan is detained by Delhi police during a protest outside the hotel where then Chinese president Hu Jintao was staying in March 2012. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters The Free Tibet Movement has been emblazoned across the minds and bodies of three generations of Tibetan exiles over the last 60 years. Although they remain united in the battle cry for a freedom that would vindicate their peaceful stand against injustice, it has been a steep climb with the peak nowhere in sight. In the 1970s, Dorjee and his college mates would take to Delhi's streets to raise pro-independence slogans. This job is now his nephews'. Dorjee concerns himself with strengthening the community economically and bequeathing Tibet's rich history and Buddhist faith to the next generation. His 86-year-old warrior uncle is writing a book that documents the freedom struggle. Unlike the Dorjee family, though, what was once a cause celebre among students and radicals, young and old, Tibetan and not, can appear to have lost steam along the way, both within and outside the community. China's occupation of Tibet is no longer news; intellectuals and arm-chair rebels are more likely to be found discussing Taiwan and Hong Kong's chafing at their own Chinese reins. Human rights violations in Syria and Myanmar, the repressiveness of West Asia, statelessness in Gaza, poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and the conundrum that is North Korea keep foreign correspondents and humanitarian organisations busy. The Tibetan movement is losing its radical recall value. ' Search for 'Free Tibet' merchandise today and you'll get exactly zero results on Amazon, Flipkart or Myntra. Five out of six shops in Majnu ka Tila do not stock a 'Free Tibet' T-shirt. Among a certain set till just a few years ago, it was virtually obligatory to own one, a prized possession along with that other classic of radical chic, a Che Guevara tee. While at Delhi University a couple of decades ago, 43-year-old Ugyen Tsewang wore his Free Tibet T-shirt proudly at an anti-China street protest. He spent the next three days in Tihar jail, in the same clothes. "It felt like a free Tibet was in sight," says Tsewang, who now lives in South Delhi's Kalkaji with his wife and daughter and works as a manager at the government's Tibetan medical and astrology unit. Delhi has always been the epicentre of the pro-Tibet struggle. It consolidates the national and international media, houses the obvious target in the form of the Chinese embassy and hosts offices of Chinese technology firms. "Chinese censorship is robbing the Tibet movement of its newsworthiness," says Tsewang. He hasn't lost hope, but the dream of a fully independent Tibet is becoming dimmer. Tsewang occasionally helps activists bargain for better living conditions for the six million people in Tibet. IMAGE: Tibetan monks in Majnu Ka Tila at a prayer meeting for Jamphel Yeshi, who set himself on fire during a protest against then Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit in March 2012. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters People in Tibet have restricted communication with the rest of the world. Exiles who have families in Tibet communicate mostly though WeChat, a Chinese messaging app. The conversations, activists say, are monitored by the Chinese government. The Chinese State proscribes the possession of as much as a photo of the Dalai Lama -- the man whom India deems a 'most esteemed and honourable guest' and whom the Chinese refer to as a 'wolf in monk's robes' and 'secessionist chief'. The Dalai Lama's 60 years in exile have long been a sore point in relations between the two countries. But recent events such as the 73-day standoff in Doklam near Tibet and Chinese President Xi Jinpings further solidification of power are reverberating in Indian political circles. Few now speak against the Chinese government and the job of building international pressure on China is left to the 192,000-strong Tibetan Diaspora. But till recently, freedom of expression was not a challenge for the 94,000 Tibetans living in India. IMAGE: Despite a government directive, Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma and Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav attended the 'Thank You India' event in Dharamshala, organised to mark 60 years of His Holiness The Dalai Lama's exile. The Indian government recently spurned a 'thank you, India' event for providing shelter to the Dalai Lama and his followers. A communique from Cabinet Secretary V K Sinha asked 'senior leaders' and 'government functionaries' to decline attendance, keeping in mind the 'sensitive time' and the upcoming high-level meetings with Chinese officials. "India and China have an understanding when it comes to Tibet, which is to not talk about it," says Lobsang Sangay, president, Central Tibetan Administration. The Dalai Lama was to preside over a prayer-meeting at Rajghat, which was unceremoniously shifted to McLeodganj (Dharamsala) in Himachal Pradesh, where Sangay runs a government in exile. "This was done out of respect for India and keeping in mind its diplomatic position with China," says Sangay, at pains to defend India's stance on Tibet, which he maintains has not changed. Dharamsala, too, has a large population of Tibetans. The hill town is proxy for a paradise lost. It is home to the Dalai Lama, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, has the oldest Tibetan settlement in India and attracts Tibetan Buddhists from around the world. It is affectionately called 'Little Lhasa'. Tenzin Tselha, national director of Students for a Free Tibet, a non-government network of students and activists headquartered in New York, works out of its office in Dharamsala. The 30 year old has been spearheading advocacy and nonviolent direct action campaigns for the last seven years and is unaffected by India's tiptoeing around the Tibet issue. "We protest against the illegal occupation of the Chinese in Tibet and the police detains us. Both are just doing their jobs," says Tselha. SFT has 200 chapters across India with over 5,000 Indian members. She agrees that some Tibetans are finding a way out of India for education and better life prospects, but says the movement continues to get great support from Indian students. "The activism today has become multi-faceted by way of social media. We are reaching out to more people than ever, even though you don't see them on the streets every day," says Tselha. Revathi Hariharan, 24, a Delhi-based journalist, interned with SFT in Dharamsala while in college. She created content for SFT's campaign, organised film screenings and documented interviews with exiled Tibetans who had served jail terms. Her enthusiasm for the cause is now tempered by nuance. "The Chinese government is not loosening its grip over Tibet. The messaging should focus on pushing through smaller reforms like religious freedom rather than asking for complete independence," says Hariharan. IMAGE: A Tibetan youth in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila. Photograph: Rishabh Gupta In Delhi, Dharamsala, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh or even Karnataka, children in Tibetan settlements have received education within the large network of Tibetan schools. They are taught about the Tibetan struggle in different scripts of the Tibetan language. Participating in the Tibetan National Day of Uprising on March 10 begins with scholarly dutifulness, but grows to emotional involvement. Thousands take to the streets to protest peacefully every year. Even as the Tibetan Diaspora continues to fan out in search for a better future, the strength of their bond lies in their identity. The Indian government issues a registration certificate to every Tibetan who comes to India or is born here, which has to be renewed every year. A Tibetan refugee can't get an Indian passport, buy land in India, study in Indian government schools or apply for Indian government jobs. But in 2016, the Delhi high court ruled that all Tibetans born in India between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987, as well as children born post that date to India-born Tibetan parents, be considered Indian citizens and issued passports under the Citizenship Act. IMAGE: A Tibetan exile shouts Free Tibet slogans from a police vehicle after being detained during a protest against then Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit in March 2012. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters But even the lure of having a country to call their own, which also affords easier access to the rest of the world, has not induced most Tibetans to trade their RCs for Indian passports. Tenzin Zedhen, 32, a mother of two in Delhi; Tenzin Tedekyong, 22, born and resident in Karnataka; and Pema Wangchuk, 31, a cafe owner in Dharamsala, and several activists and students who were contacted for this report have not considered giving up their Tibetan identity. All said they would leave for Tibet if the Dalai Lama did. Tenzin Dechen, 31, works for the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala, where she learned traditional Tibetan craftsmanship. Dechen says a lot of Indian-born Tibetans don't feel quite at home in India. And Tibet, the home they have never known, is a land they don't yearn for either. "Third-generation Tibetans, who did not go to Tibetan schools, never experienced the Buddhist way of life and have never been part of the freedom movement see Tibet as an unprogressive and alien place," says Dechen. Yeshi Dolma is one such 19 year old, who has a tourist visa to France where she plans to seek political asylum. She knows Tibet only as a place where her grandparents once lived. She attended a private school in Delhi, then NIFT in Bengaluru and never participated in protests. "Neither have my friends and a lot of them are Tibetan," she says. But 22-year-old Lobsang Dawa, an undergraduate at Delhi University who leads the Delhi chapter of SFT, remembers Tibet as a beautiful life he and his family had to abandon abruptly in 2008. He paints a picture of a utopian land, not dissimilar to the photograph in Dorjee's coffee house. Dawa and the people who know Tibet like he does will continue to fight the good fight. Long, hard, less than hopeful, but always peaceful. Some names have been changed on request. Title Response of the Government of Cyprus to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to Cyprus Publication Date 26 April 2018 Country Cyprus Citation / Document Symbol CPT/Inf (2018) 17 Cite as Council of Europe: Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Response of the Government of Cyprus to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to Cyprus, 26 April 2018, CPT/Inf (2018) 17, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ae2ddbc4.html [accessed 5 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/27/2018 --Over the years, the digital communication between employees and customers has got better, thanks to the remarkable advancements in technology. This does not mean that there is no need for printed documentation, contracts, marketing materials and more. When it comes to selecting an office copier, printer or multifunction device for your office, there are a wide variety of options. Document Solutions is one of the leading resources of quality printers and copiers that possess the great potential to keep the operation of one's business run smoothly. Upon determining how many employees in the office needs access to the printer and copier on a daily basis, one can order for the office equipment at Document Solutions. The expert technicians will optimize one's copier and print management so one can get the most value from one's services. 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About Voila Caterers Voila Caterers is a well-known catering company that is located in New York and at present it serves a varied range of customers. The company has been able to grow through the referrals that they receive as a result of their extraordinary customer satisfaction rate. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. D'Policeautoriteiten aus den USA an aus der EU hunn eegenen Aussoen no IS-Propaganda-Kanal a mei Lanner zerschloen. Dest wier en zolitte Coup geint d'Propaganda-Moyene vum IS, esou heescht et um Freideg vum Chef vun Europol. D'Aktioun huet sech virun allem geint d'IS-Agence Amaq geriicht, dei reegelmeisseg Deklaratioune vun der Organisatioun verbreet. Pressecommunique Islamic State propaganda machine hit by law enforcement in coordinated takedown action On 25 April 2018 law enforcement authorities of the European Union Member States, Canada and the USA launched a joint action against the so-called Islamic State (IS) propaganda machine in order to severely disrupt their propaganda flow. The takedown operation was coordinated by the European Union Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) within the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) at the Europol headquarters. Led by the Belgian Federal Prosecutors Office and with the support of Eurojust, the operation involved authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Romania, the United Kingdom and the USA in a coordinated effort to hinder ISs central capability to broadcast terrorist material for an undetermined period of time. The case started at the end of 2015 when Europol informed all EU Member States about the rise of the Amaq News Agency and the technical resilience of the terrorist online infrastructure. Since then law enforcement agencies have, in a continuous joint effort, taken down the web assets of the media outlet. In August 2016, thanks to contributions from EU Member States and non-EU countries, a first takedown was launched against Amaqs mobile application and web infrastructure. This action forced the propagandists to build a more complex and secure infrastructure to prevent further disruption from law enforcement. In June 2017 a second strike, led by the Spanish Guardia Civil and supported by Europol and the USA, targeted part of the news agencys web assets and infrastructure. The servers seized by the Guardia Civil allowed for the identification of radicalised individuals in more than 100 countries worldwide. On 25-26 April 2018 a simultaneous multinational takedown, coordinated by Europols EU IRU and with the support of Eurojust and the Belgian Federal Prosecutor, led to the seizure of digital evidence by law enforcement from Bulgaria (Cybercrime Department in General Directorate Combatting Organised Crime), France (SDAT-SDLC), Romania (Directorate for Countering Organised Criminality Terrorism Investigation Unit with the support of the Romanian Intelligence Service), and the seizure of IS servers in the Netherlands (Dutch National Police Internet Referral Unit together with the Belgian Federal Judicial Police East-Flanders), Canada and the USA. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit) took the lead in the referral process of top-level domain registrars abused by IS. With this takedown action, targeting major IS-branded media outlets like Amaq, but also al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nashir news, IS's capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material has been compromised. Rob Wainwright, Executive Director of Europol, commented: With this ground-breaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe. I applaud the determined and innovative work by Europol and its partners to target a major part of the international terrorist threat prevalent in Europe today. Main mouthpiece of IS Initially giving the impression of an independent media outlet providing factual information on IS, Amaq was used in 2016 to claim the attacks in the Levant and all over the world, including the attacks in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin, and more recently in Trebes (France). Amaq News Agency is the main mouthpiece of IS. It was officially endorsed by the terrorist organisation in July 2017 and has since become the primary source of information regarding the remaining activities of IS worldwide. Since 2015 Amaq News Agency has been launching its own software and has developed highly resilient online infrastructure hosting. As of December 2017 the entire range of IS propaganda is available in at least nine different languages, as well as a wide range of online services, such as mailed newsletters and add-on extensions for the most common browsers. Law enforcement agencies involved expect that the data retrieved as a result of the takedown will help to identify the administrators behind IS media outlets and potentially radicalised individuals on European soil and beyond. In the context of the EU Internet Forum, the EU IRU proactively monitors online propaganda activities of the listed jihadi terrorist organisations in the EU on a daily basis, including related websites, servers and applications disseminating IS propaganda. Commissioner Julian King said: 'This shows that by working together we can stamp out the poisonous propaganda Da'esh has used to fuel many of the recent terror attacks in Europe. For too long the internet has been open to terrorists and those who seek to do us harm: those days are coming to an end thanks to this type of coordinated global work.' Amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia, President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton and Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov held a meeting on Thursday. A statement from the White House said Bolton reiterated that it is in the interest of both the U.S. and Russia to have better relations. "But this will require addressing our concerns regarding Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the reckless use of a chemical weapon in the United Kingdom, and the situations in Ukraine and Syria," the White House said. The meeting between Bolton and Antonov marked the first time that the two men had met since assuming their current roles. Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush., officially replaced H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser earlier this month. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Calling it "the right thing to do," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has announced plans to introduce legislation decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. A statement released by Schumer on Friday said the legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. "The time has come to decriminalize marijuana," Schumer said. "My thinking - as well as the general population's views - on the issue has evolved, and so I believe there's no better time than the present to get this done. It's simply the right thing to do." He added, "This legislation would let the states be the laboratories that they should be, ensure that woman and minority owned have a fair shot in the marijuana industry, invests in critical research on THC, and ensures that advertisers can't target children - it's a balanced approach." The announcement from Schumer comes on 4/20, an unofficial holiday celebrating marijuana use and culture. In a post on Medium, Schumer noted a disproportionate number of African-American and Latino citizens continue to be arrested for something a majority of Americans agree should not be a crime. "Meanwhile, those who are entering into the marijuana market in states that have legalized are set to make a fortune," Schumer wrote. He added, "This is not only misguided, but it undermines the basic principles of fairness and equal opportunity that are foundational to the American way of life." The move by Schumer comes as President Donald Trump's administration has made efforts to limit the proliferation of legislation to decriminalize and legalize marijuana at the state level. (Photo: John J. Meola) For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News Smartphone shipments in China have significantly declined in the first quarter of 2018, according to a report from research firm Canalys. According to the report, smartphone shipments in China suffered their biggest ever decline in first quarter, down by more than 21% annually to 91 million units. Eight of the top 10 smartphone vendors were hit by annual declines, with Gionee, Meizu and Samsung dropping to less than half of their respective first quarter 2017 shipments. Market leader Huawei, including Honor, was able to grow shipments by a modest 2%, maintaining its lead and consolidating its market share to about 24% by shipping over 21 million smartphones. Shipments of second-placed Oppo and third-placed Vivo shipments dropped by 10% to 18 million and 15 million respectively. Xiaomi was the only company to improve its shipments by double-digit margin of 37% to 12 million units, thus overtaking Apple to take fourth place. "The level of competition has forced every vendor to imitate the others' product portfolios and go-to-market strategies," said Canalys Research Analyst Mo Jia. "But the costs of marketing and channel management in a country as big as China are huge, and only vendors that have reached a certain size can cope. While Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi must contend with a shrinking Chinese market, they can take comfort from the fact that it will continue to consolidate, and that their size will help them last longer than other smaller players." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Revolut, a British digital banking startup, announced that it has raised $250 million in the latest round of funding, giving it a valuation of $1.7 billion. The company further said Revolut Crypto will add two new currencies to the existing lineup, including Ripple and Bitcoin Cash, alongside the current Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ether. The latest Series C investment round was led by Hong-Kong based DST Global, an early investor in Facebook and Spotify, and made Revolut one of the fastest companies in Europe to reach unicorn status. Existing investors Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital also participated in the new funding. In a blog post, the company said, "Revolut is now backed by a portfolio of investors who helped nurture and grow the likes of Airbnb and Spotify." Further, the startup announced that it is hiring a lot of engineers and designers, as it begin to scale the company globally. The company also said it is expanding to United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zeland this year, with many more countries in the pipeline. "By expanding overseas, we will be empowering millions of people to take control over their financial lives, and in the process, we will be reducing the cost of international transfers by partnering with the best players in the financial world," it said. Revolut, which provides a debit card that allows people to spend money in 150 currencies at a real-time exchange rate, with no fees, added that it has launched new features to its offerings. Revolut Platinum offers a bespoke contactless metal card made entirely from stainless steel and coated with a custom shade of metallic black paint. Further, Revolut Wealth's services will be expended to allow users to invest their funds into stocks, indexes and exchange traded funds or ETFs, alongside a variety of other financial instruments. Revolut said over 1.5 million people have used its platform. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Mike Pompeo has a very busy schedule in the international arena on Day 1 as U.S. Secretary of State, leaving for a multi-nation tour, hours after assuming Office. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sworn in Pompeo as America's 70th Secretary of State in a ceremony held at the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 57 to 42 to confirm President Donald Trump's nomination of Pompeo as Secretary of State. He replaces Rex Tillerson, who was fired last month. Most Democrats opposed Pompeo's nomination due in part to comments he made against Muslims and homosexuals, but six Democratic Senators voted in his favor. Shortly after swearing in, Pompeo left for Brussels to participate in the NATO Foreign Ministerial session, where Allies will discuss preparations for July's NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government meeting. Trump's new Chief Foreign Policy Adviser is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The United States' focus for the ministerial will be on increased burden sharing, strengthening deterrence and defense, and strengthening NATO's role in counter terrorism, the State Department said. After the NATO Foreign Ministerial, Secretary Pompeo will travel to the Middle East, where he will meet with Saudi, Israeli, and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues. In a statement, President Trump said, "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history. He will always put the interests of America first. He has my trust. He has my support." Pompeo, who once served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall, was chosen to the top post while he was serving as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. A four-time Congressman, he served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee. Prior to his service in Congress, Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade. He later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by 24-hour trading volume, said Thursday that the allegations raised by Venture capital Firm Sequoia has been denied by its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Zhao Changpeng. Binance was providing an update on the Hong Kong High Court's legal proceedings between Zhao and a subsidiary of Sequoia Capital China (SCC). Binance said, "After a hearing attended by both parties' legal representatives in April 2018, the High Court of Hong Kong has now determined that this injunction should not have been granted, as it had been improperly obtained and constituted an abuse of process by SCC." Binance noted that Sequoia had obtained an ex-parte injunction without notice against Zhao at the end of December 2017. According to reports, Sequoia has alleged that Zhao breached an exclusivity agreement while negotiating for an investment deal which broke down in December. Zhao is reportedly accused of breaking the exclusivity agreement by talking to another potential investor IDG Capital. Sequoia then appealed to the High Court to secure an ex-parte temporary injunction in December last week to bar Zhao from negotiating with other investors. However, the court had second thoughts on the injunction after the hearing in April 2018. Binance said Sequoia is now ordered to pay Zhao's costs for legal proceedings. The statement adds that Zhao will make no further comment on the matter as the issues in dispute are subject to confidential arbitration proceedings. Hong Kong-based exchange Binance is also in the process of opening in Malta after it fell out of favor with the Japanese financial regulator for failing to get a license to operate in the country. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News In posts to Twitter on Friday, President Donald Trump praised an historic meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump struck a somewhat cautious tone, however, as North Korea has been criticized for failing to live up to past commitments. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump tweeted. "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" The tweet from Trump comes after Kim crossed the heavily fortified border to meet with Moon, becoming the first North Korean leader to walk on South Korean soil. A joint declaration released following the meeting indicated a commitment to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and formally ending the Korean War. While an armistice ended fighting in 1953, the two Koreas technically remain at war due to the lack of an official peace treaty. Moon and Kim agreed to hold meetings involving the two Koreas, the U.S. and China in an effort to officially end the war and establish a "permanent and solid peace regime." In a subsequent tweet, Trump said Americans should be proud of what was accomplished at the meeting, an apparent reference to his belief that his policy of applying "maximum pressure" on North Korea helped bring Kim to the table. "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" Trump tweeted. Trump also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for his role in bringing the leaders of North and South Korea together. "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea," Trump tweeted. "Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" The meeting between Moon and Kim comes ahead of another historic meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader that is expected in May or early June. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution calling on China to respect human rights and religious freedom in Tibet. The bipartisan resolution, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), addresses the right of the Tibetan Buddhists to determine their own leadership, including the future 15th Dalai Lama, without any interference from the Chinese government. "We stand by the Tibetan people, Sen. Leahy said in a statement. "We also stand by the rights of Tibetan Buddhists, not just in Tibet but around the world, who should be able to determine their own religious leadership in accordance with their inalienable right to religious freedom." The Chinese authorities call the Dalai Lama a wolf in monk's robe and a devil with a human face, hell-bent on breaking Tibet away from China, while the international community questions Beijing's notorious legacy of suppressing human rights in the Communist country. The Senate called on the Secretary of State to implement fully the provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002. The resolution also commemorates the 59th anniversary of Tibet's 1959 uprising against Chinese rule as "Tibetan Rights Day." China has ruled Tibet since 1951. On March 10, 1959, Chinese troops suppressed an uprising against Chinese rule. U.S. Representatives Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) have introduced a companion resolution in the House of Representatives. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News A North Carolina jury on Thursday awarded over $50 million in damages to neighbors of pork producer Murphy-Brown LLC for nuisance caused by intense smell, noise and other disturbances. Jurors awarded the 10 neighbors of a 15,000-head swine operation a total of $750,000 in compensation, plus $50 million in damages. The case was the first in a series of twenty-six federal lawsuits filed by neighbors of hog farms against Murphy-Brown LLC, a subsidiary of food giant Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods said it would appeal the decision. The plaintiffs had sued Murphy-Brown for the company's waste-management practices. According to the neighbors, they stored excess hog waste in open-air cesspools and sprayed the remains onto nearby field. The odors and mist from the spray drift onto their property and produced a pungent stink. The plaintiffs also argued that a big company like Smithfield has enough money to use a better alternative waste-management on its farms that would reduce the stench. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee have released a heavily redacted version of a report claiming their investigation found "no evidence" of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. The report released Friday said the investigation found "poor judgment and ill-considered actions" by Trump campaign officials but "no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government." Trump cheered the public release of the report in a post on Twitter, reiterating his call for an end to the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. "Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. "No evidence" that the Trump Campaign "colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia." Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!" Trump tweeted. The GOP report agreed with the intelligence community's assessment that Russia sought to interfere in the election but disputed the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred Trump. Democrats on the committee took serious issue with the findings, however, with ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accusing Republicans of failing to seriously investigate evidence of collusion. In response, Democrats released a report of their own claiming the Republican report reflects a lack of seriousness and interest in pursuing the truth. Democrats claimed the GOP members hobbled the committee's ability to conduct a credible investigation by refusing to call in key witnesses, request pertinent documents, and compel and enforce witness cooperation. "Their report, as with their overall conduct of the investigation, is unworthy of this committee, the House of Representatives, and most importantly, the American people, who are now left to try to discern what is true and what is not," the Democrats wrote. The public release of the report marks the end of the House Intelligence Committee's investigation, although separate probes are still being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Can an Estonian meat packing house morph into a Russian laundromat? 26.04.2018 Analysis Russian business is a headscratcher for Western Europe. How does it work out that Russians are poor while they're spending more money on food and purchases abroad than Europeans? What is going on with democracy in Russia when voters vote in mass for a never-changing candidate to become president without any alternative? In any case, residents of the EU are more concerned with their own problems than what's going on behind the velvet curtain. Special forces, meanwhile, are a whole other animal on their own. Give them welfare and theyll take the keys to the city! Particularly when it's not a myth, but reality. Recently, UralinformBureau Information Agency found out that Estonian citizen Natan Mekler received two debt securities for a total sum of 18 million euros. How did the 77-year old toast master come across such luck? Judging by donations to the Jewish community of the capital of Estonia, he is just able to make do 5-10 euro contributions testify to that. Photo Dimitri Dubinin The luck came from Russia. Debt securities made out by GazEnergoStroy Ekologicheskye Tekhnologii, LLC. The company is registered in Moscow and is part of GazEnergoStroy Corporation of the former member of the Public Chamber of Russia Sergey Chernin, announced persona non grata in Latvia. The issuer of the debt securities with a registered capital in the amount of 10,000 roubles (150 euros) in 2016 on a non-competitive basis, in shady fashion, received a government contract from the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for the elimination of poisonous dumps in the Nizhny Novgorod Region next to the Volga in the amount of 7 billion roubles. About 1 billion of that sum had already been credited to the account of GazEnergoStroy Ekologicheskie Tekhnologii. Sergey Chernin is not disclosing his Corporations income amount of this profitable contract. Lets assume that its 20%, or 1.5 billion roubles. Converted to euros, thats about 18 million euros. Judging by the data on Lursofts website, the debt securities were written out on March 15, 2018, and on March 16th they arrived in Riga for appraisal by lawyer Normunds Slitke. He conducted a groundbreaking evaluation of the capitalization of GazEnergoStroy Ekologicheskie Tekhnologii and established the value as 7 million euros each. Immediately that rose the question How did the securities cross the border? They were supposed to be declared in Russia and the EU as well. There is of course the possibility that the director of the Russian company made a trip to the Baltics with his companys seal and signed the documents there. A debt security is essentially a delayed payment. What services for the amount of 14-18 million euros could possibly the Tallinn toast master render to Sergey Chernins company? If one were to assume that he supplied some sort of equipment to Russia, then where is this foreign trade agreement by GazEnergoStroy Ekologicheskie Tekhnologii, LLC, that was registered with a Russian bank subject to currency control? And who originally extended credit to Natan Mekler? Photo facebook S. Chernin The ensuing loop of Russian debt securities puts in doubt the hypothesis that the Corporation of Sergey Chernin used them to pay for some type of delivery. Natan Mekler deposited the debt security as the authorized capital of two firms registered on March 21 in the Latvian town of Valmiera: Granulated Glass Group and Baltic Utilization Group (Production Group). Then, two days later, these companies were transferred to the disposal of a new investor, also with Estonian roots Vicarelli AS. The authorized capital of this Tallinn company was comparatively small 25,560 euros. It was founded in the year 2000 as a meat processing business. It is currently headed by 52-year-old Eduard Kozlik. There also was a time when the CEO of Vicarelli AS was Natan Mekler. The eyebrow-raising connections and coincidences don't stop there. The two companies with dubious debt securities in their authorized capitals were registered in Valmiera at the same address where Biogazenergostroy Baltic is listed (founded in 2012 with the authorized capital of 3.5 million euros). This firms main asset is the Valmiera meat packaging house Trials, which was going bankrupt and which Sergey Chernin had promised several years ago to bring back to life by receiving grants from the European Union. But the promises turned out empty, as did an array of Chernin's other projects in Russia. Judging by the ads online, the premises of the meat packaging house are being rented out. This seems to suggest that there is the Chernin-Mekler-Kozlik chain. What plans could these businessmen be cooking up? RusBusinessNews surveyed an array of experts in the financial and law enforcement fields. They proposed an array of hypotheses. Photo facebook Eduard Kozlik The first was that thanks to the debt security capitalization of the two companies, Sergey Chernin's Corporation could have obtained cheap European credit. It was unknown what the later received 5-10 million euros were spent on. The second hypothesis was that 18 million euros would be extracted in the form of payment for the debt securities from Russia into Latvia. That would provide the basis to believe that the companies just created by the Estonians were laundromats. The third hypothesis was that the person holding the debt securities would submit them for immediate acquittal and apply for the bankruptcy of GazEnergoStroy Ekologicheskie Tekhnologii, LLC, which would cause the failure of the continued implementation of the ecological project on the Volga. It might very well be that Sergey Chernin is completely content with the money he received out of the Russian budget and he is planning to take a French siesta. It must be noted that in Chernin's business scheme that UralinformBureau disclosed to public, companies are listed that are registered in Great Britain and the Seychelles. Could it possibly be that the businessman, presenting himself as a doctor of technical sciences (which fact has still not been officially confirmed), is using the Baltic region corridor to pump money farther away from the control of the Kremlin? Andrey BELYI Back to news Mondays, 11-11:30 a.m. Continues through Dec. 13 Lincoln Library 326 S. Seventh St., Springfield Downtown Free Children's Corner A story time experience for our youngest library users and their caregivers. These 20-to-30-minute story times introduce books, songs, rhymes, tickles and bounces developmentally appropriate for children from birth to when they start walking. Babytime is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the joys of reading in a positive and fun atmosphere. This story time is designed so the baby will be in their caregivers lap and the grownup is actively involved in the program; it is recommended that each child have their own adult with them. 217-753-4900 ext. 5612 Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday discussed ways to cement their bilateral relationship as they opened a two-day informal "one of its kind" summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. After being warmly welcomed by Xi on his arrival at Hubei Provincial Museum, the two leaders had a one-on-one meeting "during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship", the Indian External Affairs Ministry said. "The Prime Minister was welcomed at the museum with an impressive cultural performance," Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. "India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, yoga and other aspects of Indian culture." He said Xi took Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Modi arrived at the museum at around 3.30 p.m. and warmly shook Xi's hand for 30 seconds. Both leaders then took a tour of the site for around an hour. They saw an exhibition of fine relics from the Chinese civilization -- with special focus on the culture of Hubei. Modi and Xi also exchanged views on the relationship and communications between the two ancient civilizations of China and India. They will hold another meeting at 6 p.m. with delegations from both sides being present. This will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Chinese President. The talks between the two leaders will be more substantive on Saturday with a walk by the East Lake, a boat ride and discussion at the East Lake guesthouse, which was once Mao Zedong's private villa. India and China, who fought a brief war in 1962 and have a history of mutual distrust, nearly came to an armed conflict near their border in 2017, taking their ties to a new low. However, the rendezvous between Modi and Xi at the heart of China was a sign enough that the two countries were willing for a new start in their tense relationship. The meeting was an offshoot of Xi-Modi discussions just after the resolution of the Doklam crisis on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Xiamen in China. "It is an important meeting between both the leaders. Development is the most important topic for the leaders of these two countries," Long Xingchun, Director of the Centre for Indian Studies at China West Normal University, told. "India can achieve its goal and become a global power in the world with the help of China. China is rich and stronger than India but we also have so many domestic problems to deal with. "The two countries need to prioritize development. Now, America's protectionist policy is not a good news for India and China," Long said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on early Friday arrived in the Chinese city of Wuhan for a two-day informal summit with President Xi Jinping. The two leaders will have several rounds of talks during the two-day summit. Modi and Xi will visit the Hubei Provincial Museum and have a one-on-one talk there. There will also be a meeting of delegations comprising one plus six on each side the same day. Besides, they will also have a boat ride and walk by the East Lake. The dinner will be at the guest house by the lake. They are scheduled to have more talks on Saturday. India and China will look to re-set their strained ties as during the informal Modi-Xi summit. SNc Channels: Search About Salem-News.com Apr-26-2018 17:12 TweetFollow @OregonNews Surviving Syrian Refugees Shut Out by Lebanon's Politicians Lebanons politicians insist Syrian refugees "Return to Syria Now!" But to what? Above: A Syrian refugee encampment in Lebanons Bekaa Valley. Increasingly Syrians who fled the carnage in their country next door are under pressure to return to Syria despite grave dangers from a variety of sources if they do. According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, 1,300 Syrian families were evicted from their settlements in the Bekaa Valley in 2017. It said close to 60% of the evictions were ordered by Lebanese military intelligence while another 30 percent were ordered by local officials. All of these forced evictions violate international laws relating to Non-refoulement as defined in the UNs 1951 Refugee Convention: No refugee shall be returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution or torture. Photo: Maher Salloum 4/24/2018 (Syrian-Lebanon border) - Uridu an aouda ela bayti fi Sourya! (I want to return home to Syria!) These are the words perhaps most regularly heard by Meals for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon (MSRCL) volunteers and other NGOs who work with Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. The same yearning is expressed by orphan childrens fellow squatters and remaining extended family members. One of Lebanons most insistent advocates for Syrians seeking safety from the war in their own country next door, to return whence they came without further delay, is Lebanons Maronite Catholic Church Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi. His holiness claims to represent all the Patriarchs and Christians of the Middle East his spokesperson Walid Ghayyad advised this observer following a meeting with the self-styled Vicar of Christ. Considered by many in the run-up to Lebanons May 6, 2018 Parliamentary election as rather more politician than prelate, not unlike most of the other leaders of half a dozen Lebanese religious sects these days, there are few partisan political issues the Patriarch wont jump into. This is because the gentleman eschews any notion of the Separation of Religion and Government (Church and State.) During our meeting, the Patriarch donned what must have been perhaps 40 pounds of thick impressive bright colored robes, and a huge gold cross as he sat below a large painting of Jesus Christ. He had just arrived from a religious event and did not bother to change into something more layman-like. The Patriarch had been advised that I asked to see him to seek his support for Lebanons Parliament to take 90 minutes of its time to grant Palestinian refugees in Lebanon the same elementary civil rights to work and to buy a home that every refugee on our planet is granted, except Palestinians in Lebanon. I had heard his electoral stump speech a couple of times about how the 500,000 Palestinian refugees were ruining Lebanons economy, social order, morality and politics and must leave Lebanon and find other host countries to populate. As the Patriarch is surely aware, last years first in-depth population count of Palestinians in Lebanon is half his preferred figure or 270,000 at most. In addition, there are probably 15,000 Palestinians from Syria still here. Most Palestinians who were forced from the war in Syria to Lebanon have returned and my friends from Yarmouk camp in Damascus, now nearly destroyed, all express how shocked they were to find the conditions their countrymen are forced to live under in Lebanon. Yet, like the Syrians still seeking refuge in Lebanon, most cannot return at this time for a variety of political and security reasons, some of which are noted below. His holiness was not amused when this miscreant gestured toward the painting of Jesus Christ the Righteous above him and inquired: Sir, with respect to the Palestinian gentleman in the painting above you who the Bible reports enjoyed visiting Qana and Sidon in Lebanon, what shall we do about him? The Patriarch glared and ignored my impudent query and abruptly turned the subject to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon whom he sees as an even a greater existential threat to Lebanons 18 oft-feuding sects. As is the case with virtually every politician in Lebanon, Patriarch al-Rahi knows the Palestinian civil rights issue and I was sure he would be a tough sale. But the gentleman did give this observer a fair hearing on the facts as I see them, and I could not have asked for more. But clearly, he is opposed, like most of his Christian sisters and brothers in Lebanon, to granting Palestinians even the most elementary civil rights and has done nothing to encourage his flock to apply to Syrian refugees Jesus Christ's plea, found in Luke 6:31: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. For many in Lebanon, including Patriarch al-Rahi, the return of refugees to Syria is vital to the very future existence of the Lebanese state. Nearly every Lebanese political party, irrespective of their current alliances, have called for the repatriation of refugees, whether they are pro or anti the Assad regime. Some Lebanese authorities mistreat Syrians to pressure them to return home Lebanons Prime Minister Saad Hariri recently promised that Syrian refugees would not be forced to leave Lebanon until it was safe for them to return. But this week, while seeking billions in grants from countries attending the Brussels conference, he stressed to would-be donors that Lebanon has become one big Refugee camp as he inflated by one-third the UN estimated number of Syrians here. In fact, UN agencies report that the number does not exceed one million with 70% living in poverty. The increasingly toxic Lebanese electoral environment in which the current debate is taking place increases pressure for the forced return of vulnerable refugees to Syria despite unsafe conditions. Probably most of the Lebanese population approve because they are influenced by fear-mongering and anti-refugee campaign speeches. The latter are intensifying and becoming ever more strident with national elections less than two weeks away and politicians making the refugees a main ballot box issue. Lebanons Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who leads President Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement party and is the president's son-in-law, has been stridently insisting since last January that its past time for all Syrian refugees to return home. He and other Christian politicians warn voters that the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Syrian refugee population is a threat to Lebanon's national identity. Many Shia Muslim politicians tell their voters that there must not be more Sunni Muslims in Lebanon. Iran and its Shia basij brought into the region, for among other reasons, to seek to help shrink the Sunni population of Syria by as many as ten million to give Tehran better control for its projects. To achieve this goal there continues to be evermore illegal civilian ethnic cleaning and population transfer schemes in the name of reconciliation agreements or deconfliction zones. Long story made short, if one supports the Assad regime (most Shias) the person wants the refugees seeking safety in Lebanon pushed back into Syria to face whatever is to be their fate. If one opposes the Assad regime (a majority of Sunni) the person is more apt to want the Syrian refugees to receive international refugee status and humanitarian assistance until they can safely return home. The U.N. and human rights groups insist that Syria is not safe for refugees to return. The country has suffered catastrophic damage, and many men say they are afraid they will be arrested when they return, on charges of fleeing military conscription or having family members who support the opposition to the Assad regime. Nevertheless, according to Human Rights Watch, local officials in Lebanon are forcing Syrians out of their towns in a violation of their rights as refugees and residents. HRW has also reported this week that: Local officials in several municipalities ordered Syrians out en masse, posting eviction notices on their doors, and sometimes sending the police to physically intimidate the refugees if they did not comply. Syrian refugees also face numerous barriers to employment, education and housing in Lebanon, with many forced to survive in an informal economy without documentation because Lebanon ordered the U.N.'s refugee commission to halt refugee registrations in 2015. Even as donor nations raise money at the Brussels gathering for Syria's neighbors to host refugees from the country's civil war, a leading international rights group and the U.N.'s refugee agency claim that Lebanese authorities are evicting refugees from towns and camps in the country on questionable legal grounds. Some Syrian refugees have reported this week that if they ask for help from local officials to stop summary evictions they are being told, Go back to Syria. Human Rights Watch has documented evictions in 13 towns and villages putting more than 3,600 Syrians on the streets since 2016. It said the Lebanese Army uprooted another 7,500 refugees near a military base around Christmas 2017. Meanwhile, earlier this month, Lebanons General Security police agency, which handles border security, escorted 500 refugees in the Shebaa farms area of South Lebanon with instructions to return to their villages in western Syria. The U.N. did not participate in the operation claiming that it did not believe Syria was safe enough for returnees. According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, another 1,300 Syrian families were evicted from their camps and homes in the Bekaa Valley in 2017. It said close to sixty percent of the evictions were ordered by Lebanese military intelligence. Another 30 percent were ordered by local officials. Unfortunately, there are serious barriers for millions of Syrians in surrounding countries and Europe wanting to return to their country. More than 3 million refugees from Syria are estimated to be wanted by various regime security agencies and its very difficult to learn if ones name is listed. Many who returned to Syria have disappeared without a trace with their families worrying that they ended up in one of Syrias security slaughter houses widely reported on by human rights organizations and regime deserters. Millions of displaced Syrians stand to lose their homes and property Under a new property law issued by the Syrian government on instructions from Irans Qassim Soleimani, Syrians have just 30 days to prove ownership of these houses. Introduced on April 2, 2018, Law 10 sets in motion a massive overhaul of the government land registry across Syria. Law 10 as it is commonly called, gives property owners both in Syria and abroad just 30 daysstarting 4/11/2018to present their deeds to local council offices in the country. Otherwise, the state can liquidate their titles and seize their holdings. Once the registration window closes, the remaining plots will be sold at auction, according to Article 31 of the law. Billions of dollars in real estate are expected to go to certain regime approved investors while millions of Syrians, mainly Sunni, lose their property in Syria. An estimated 5.7 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, and a further 6.5 million people are displaced inside Syria, thus more than 12 million Syrians risk losing their homes. The UN estimates that only approximately 9 % of Syrians who fled the slaughter have in their possession or access to documentation showing ownership. Most Syrian refugees lost them during the war. But there are many other barriers that await the 9%. Perhaps most ominously for opponents of the regime, who constitute a large majority of the Syrian population who were forced to flee, as well as those who cannot now flee, all property owners wishing to register their lands must first obtain approval from various regime security officials. The need for security clearance could exclude a majority of the Syrian population inside and outside the country with outstanding arrest warrants or anti-government sympathies from registering their property. Lacking security agencies approval, Syrian refugees are not allowed to prove ownership of the property and it end is sold at auction or claimed by another person who supports the regime or is part of a certain pro-government sect. Law 10 comes in the immediate wake of the Syrian governments recapture of East Ghouta, one of the last major rebel-held areas near Damascus, in early April. The forced transfer of more than 60,000 residents to opposition territory leaves the fate of thousands of properties near Damascus uncertain. Under the new law, former residents of the enclave would now need family members to register property on their behalf or go to government territory themselves and risk arrest. One Damascus lawyer reports that the timing of Law 10 makes its motives suspect. The timing of the decree, in light of the war which has seen millions displaced and the creation of refugees who cannot return to their homes because of the security situation, certainly raises doubts, she said. Even before the latest property law, international aid agencies warned of legal ramifications surrounding the issue of lost or damaged property in Syria. A Norwegian Refugee Council report this past February estimated that the state could face more than 2 million lawsuits from Syrians seeking restitution for lost or damaged property in the wake of the civil war. As reported in a recent Carnegie Middle East Center report, the subject of property titles and deeds in Syria is greatly complicated by the existence of parallel administrative systems that sprang up across a patchwork of opposition areas during the conflict. When government forces recapture these areas, documentation produced by opposition is often destroyed. The Syrian conflict has resulted in the destruction of many Syrian land registries also based on sectarian motives. For example, when a Sunni area has been depopulated the Property Registry Office is often burned by Shia regime supporters to facilitate population transfers. This practice has been carried out extensively from Damascus north to Homs and Aleppo on to Latakia Governorate to secure the area to assure future control by non-rebel sects and for the Tehran to Mediterranean corridor project. This observer believes that it will be several years before most Syrian refugees forced into Lebanon or other countries will be able to return to their own beloved but largely destroyed country. The war is far from over as defeated militia and rebels regroup and launch asymmetrical and guerrilla warfare that will likely last indefinitely until a new order is in place that grants the average Syrian citizen dignity, full civil rights, economic opportunities and participation in Syrias local and national government. Intense military operations are ongoing in several regions, resulting in new waves of population displacements. Syria remains fragmented into multiple zones of influence, making future conflict very likely. Even de-escalation zones have proven unstable, with numerous violations being recorded in recent months. Approximately one-quarter of Syrians live in exile and almost one-third have been internally displaced. Yet, their priorities are not being represented in the claimed negotiations over a postwar political settlement. The Geneva process and talks in Astana have focused on stabilization and de-escalation efforts, while largely ignoring the plight of refugees and internally displaced populations. From the perspective of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and in view of the current conditions in Syria, their return over the next few years is increasingly unlikely. And contingent on issues beyond their control. Lebanons government should continue to receive international aid to help host Syrian refugees if it accounts for how the funds are spent and treats Syrian refugees consistent with the principles and standards laid out in the 1951 UN Refugee Convention Article 33 (1) that provides: "No Contracting State shall expel or return (refouler) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." While Lebanon has refused to sign the Refugee Convention, it is nevertheless fully bound by its provisions under standards of International Customary Law including the prohibition of forced return (non-refoulement). STAY TUNED TO SALEM-NEWS.COM FOR CONTINUED REPORTS BY DR. FRANKLIN LAMB _________________________________________ Syria | World-peace | Most Commented on Articles for April 25, 2018 | Articles for April 26, 2018 | As the sun rose over the clock tower in Apia on Wednesday, children were remembering their family members who contributed to the ANZACs. The dawn service began at 5:30am with a march to the clock tower where dignitaries laid wreathes at the foot of the tower in honour of fallen servicemen. These children took time to pay tribute to their ancestors who fought in the world wars. Among the crowd were sisters, Louise and Sophie Mann, and Kirra and Jasmine Bragg. They joined their parents to honour their grandparents and great grandparents who fought for Australia. We have to respect the people who gave their lives for us, said Kirra. Sophie added: Quite a few people in our family fought in the wars, so we came to remember them and what they did for us. Hailing from Canberra and Sydney, the four girls had pride in their voices talking about their ancestors, who luckily survived the wars and returned home. Jasmine said the sacrifices of soldiers in the wars meant people like her were saved from danger. We respect the people who gave their lives for us. New Zealand High Commissioner, David Nicholson, said ANZAC Day is a critical part of history. This morning we meet as the original New Zealand and Australian ANZACS did 100 years ago on ANZAC Day 1918 to honour the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli and to remember and acknowledge the service and sacrifice that has over the course of more than a century, come to define the ANZAC spirit, Mr. Nicholson said. Despite the bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity and mateship displayed by New Zealand and Australian forces during WW1, the impact on our small, still emerging neighbouring nations was at best momentous, worst and catastrophic. Along with California criminalizing the Bible, Google is now banning ads from Christian publishing companies Google has a frightening amount of control over the internet, and although one of their past mottos was Dont be evil, they seem to have a different set of rules when it comes to dealing with Christians and conservatives. The firm recently informed the CEO of Concordia Publishing House, Bruce Kintz, that they were banning ads related to their cph.org domain, which sells religious books, music and other items related to their conservative Lutheran denomination. He was told that the problem was related to the fact that items featured in the ad and on their website refer to the Bible and/or Jesus and that such references would need to be removed before they could be considered for reinclusion. Kintz posted on Facebook: [A CPH associate] was told, as an example, that things like our bible challenge on our [Vacation Bible School] webpage would clearly need to come down before they could consider us for ads. Interestingly, the ad type in question is remarketing ads, which are shown to people who once visited a website but didnt buy anything later on in hopes of attracting them back. In other words, the people who saw these ads in the first place would have already visited their site and presumably dont find the idea of Jesus or the Bible offensive. A steadfast Kintz said his firm refuses to compromise their beliefs to meet Googles demands. On the contrary, he feels its now even more important than ever to spread the word as societys hostility toward Christians grows. This is all pretty typical behavior for Google, who regularly abuses its power in this and many other ways. They might not be able to remove websites they dont agree with from the internet entirely, but they can certainly ensure these sites are buried so far down the search results that few people ever see them. Google also likes to wield its power to bury conservative sites, and this bias is also seen in their corporate culture. The firm is currently facing a class action lawsuit filed by former employees for discrimination based on political views and the fact that they were white males. One engineer said he was fired after he wrote a memo expressing concerns about the firm alienating conservatives at its head office. The suit also indicates that managers at the firm created blacklists of employees known to have conservative beliefs so they could avoid working with them on projects and pass them over for promotions. Earlier this year, they were accused of censoring conservative media sites like Breitbart and WND by giving them fake news warnings. Last year, Google blacklisted Natural News from its search results for six days without justification; it was only restored after very vocal backlash. Christianity under attack in California In California, where Googles headquarters are situated, lawmakers are considering a new bill that could essentially criminalize the Bible. The amendment would outlaw goods like religious texts that deal with topics related to gender and sexual orientation. Presumably, if certain sections were not edited out of the Bible, it would become illegal to sell it there. It will be interesting to see if something like this can pass because it looks like a clear violation of the constitutional freedom of religion. Kintz is right: Christianity is indeed under attack, and the great irony is that those who accuse Christians of being intolerant are not practicing what they preach. See Antichrist.news for more stories about attacks on Christianity. Sources for this article include: ChristianJournal.net WND.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com More than 10 schools joined the National Science Fair competition to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day yesterday. Based on the theme Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity, the event was held at the National University of Samoas (N.U.S.) Gymnasium. There were three categories of the competition, category one was an essay competition for Years 9-10 students, category two was an exhibition competition for Years 9-13 and category three was the science fair which was for the senior level just Year 12 and 13. Through the collaboration of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour together with the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (S.R.O.S.) and N.U.S, students from different colleges had a platform to showcase their research as young scientists in the making. Present in this event was Lautafi Fio Selafi Joseph Purcell, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour. With the theme this year, he said: Imagine how life would have been if Grace Hopper did not invent the first computer. Every day women come up with game changing inventions and life enhancing creations that transform lives and advance human understanding from astrophysics technology, medicine to artificial intelligence and robotics. In the field of creative sphere be it movies, animation, music, fashion designs etc. Women are reimagining culture, testing the limits of artistry and creative expressions drawing us into new worlds of experience and understanding. The important and inspiring contributions of countless women around the globe are powering change in our world. Their can do attitudes serve as an inspiration to us all. And their remarkable achievements are an invaluable legacy for young girls of today who aspire to become inventors and creators, said Lautafi. He explained: So, whilst todays theme may be a cause for celebration, it also issues a challenge to the women of today that the world still needs your contributions to science, inventions and creations. How many lives would have been lost in the area of combat and law enforcement if Stephanie Kwolek did not invent the Kevlar a material that is five times stronger than steel used in bulletproof vests, or Madam Marie Curie discoverer of radiation and radioactivity which we now use in x-rays. Womens innovation and creativity have fueled important changes to everyday life. From life rafts, solar powered homes, internet, fibre optics and telecommunication in general, in laboratories the stem cell isolation process the list is endless. The judges were Moon Chan from S.R.O.S, Annie Toailoa from S.R.O.S, Aleluia Taise from N.U.S. and Houlton Faasau of M.C.I.L. with S.R.O.S. providing consolation prices totalled up to $1000 tala. RESULTS Science project/invention category: 1st Place - Vaiola College, 500 tala 2nd Place - Vaiola College, 300 tala 3rd Place - Leifiifi College, 200 tala Exhibition/ Display category: 1st Place - St Marys College, 300 tala 2nd Place - RLSS, 200 tala 3rd Place - Vaiola College, 100 tala Essay Writing category: 1st Place - RLSS, 300 tala 2nd Place - RLSS, 200 tala 3rd Place - Le Amosa College, 100 tala Dear Editor, I write with regards to your editorial titled God blesses people who are prepared to work. Great editorial and kudos to the scrupulous parlance that you surely impel the lazy people syndrome being the evil caused of poverty in our country to help make themselves more productive. A countrys economy is measured by its gross domestic productions and being of course the essence of her local citizens contribution to help drive it into prosperity. Failing that then its doomed to weakness. I whole heartedly agreed 100 per cent infinite with every aspects of your piece to praise all who are making a positive effort to earn as well as those who need to make an effort to provide for survival. You mentioned people being tangled up to the trap of luxury over necessity hence a very serious problem surely had handicapped many in Samoa; a cellular phone over food etc.? As a country with a responsible government, to help stimulate the economy the focus is to invest in the people. The small businesses being the backbone of any economy they need the government assistance. A couple or so days ago I saw herein the Liquor Board and Minister made a round in Savaii waving fines rather education first and foremost; obey the law or face the law. That same characteristic way of thinking is needed by the villagers in the pecking order of how to spin the dough to get necessity before luxury; you cant have a television if there is no electricity; you cant have electricity if there is no food; you cant have food unless you work hard to earn; you cant work hard to earn if you dont know what and how to plant. The very same scale applies to 9 to 5 workers; you cant earn your wages unless you have a fare to reach work; you cant survive work unless you have a lunch. The government employee in the villagers (Mayor) had to be utilised to deliver the educational message to the people. Hence the pecking order; educate the Mayor first to understand his or her mission rather throwing the sheep to the hungry wolves. And when you have all the money in the world within your disposal, then you can have all the luxuries; a car a boat and a whatever you had wish, We ought to sweat the forehead to work the organic fertile green pasture land of Samoa for food and a gold mine to earn comfort for a prosperous family future. With my utmost respect Tofaeono Misatauveve Iosefo Joseph Hollywood Palisi The Acting Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, has issued a very brief response to concerns expressed by the former Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua, about customary lands and Samoas land laws. He signed the law, Fiame said. I dont know what more to say other than I have no comment. She did not elaborate. In a public address last week, His Highness Tui Atua warned that the wording of Article 102 of the Constitution is ambiguous. He fears that this could be negatively exploited and could lead to the alienation of customary lands. The law Fiame is referring to is the Land Titles Registration Act 2008, which was signed into law by Tui Atua when he was the Head of State. Last week, His Highness Tui Atua said he was assured by the Office of the Attorney General that the Land Titles Registration Bill (L.T.R.) 2008 would not alienate customary lands. His Highness Tui Atua said he had asked for clarity on the matter when he was given the L.T.R. Bill 2008 to sign. The advice was given in a letter from former Attorney General, Aumua Ming Leung Wai. In 2008 as Head of State, I was assured by the Attorney General that the provisions of the L.T.R. Bill would not impact in any way on the customary land rights of suli, Tui Atua said. The Attorney General and his or her office is tasked with a sacred duty to provide the Head of State with the best legal advice possible. It was with this assurance that Tui Atua signed the bill. Asked for a copy of the letter from the former A.G., Tui Atua said he could not find it. Aumua has reportedly told the media that the advice he issued at the time is confidential and could not be released. During a media event at Tuaefu, Tui Atua said there is ambiguity in Article 102 of the Constitution that needs to be dealt with. Today we have the responsibility of admitting that there is a problem with Article 102; that the ambiguity within is serious enough to warrant the attention of our best minds in order to make Article 102 unambiguous, he said. These minds, however, must be able to locate the principle of alofa in their custom law and statutory law assessments and have it sing in harmony alongside their assessments of pule, and of legal certainty and transparency. The Article 102 in question reads: No alienation of customary land It shall not be lawful or competent for any person to make any alienation or disposition of customary land or of any interest in customary land, whether by way of sale, mortgage or otherwise howsoever, nor shall customary land or any interest therein be capable of being taken in execution or be assets for the payment of the debts of any person on his decease or insolvency: Provided that an Act of Parliament may authorise (a) The granting of a lease or licence of any customary land or of any interest therein; (b) The taking of any customary land or any interest therein for public purposes. Said Tui Atua: In laymans terms the Article says that it is illegal to alienate customary lands unless an Act of Parliament allows for 1. a lease or licence to be granted over customary land, or 2. customary land is to be taken for public purposes. I do not have any problems with the taking of customary land for public purposes, assuming of course that such public purposes are indeed valid public purposes. What I have a problem with is the ambiguity that arises as a result of reading the sub-clause that states that an Act of Parliament may authorise the granting of a lease or licence of any customary land or of any interest therein alongside the wording of the main text of the Article which says no alienation of customary land whether by way of sale, mortgage or otherwise howsoever. He added that the debate about Samoan customary land and land laws is the most dangerous issue facing us since our fight for the return of our Independence". The land law issue we are embroiled in now has the potential to strip us of our soul. There is a divisiveness here that we must avoid at all costs, he said. But to avoid this we must re-locate, re-inscribe and re-inspirit in the heart and mind of our laws the wisdom of our tu ma aganuu Samoa and our tofi paia tuufaasolo. This we cannot do without finding and reviving the principle of alofa in law. We have faced many challenges as a nation since regaining Independence but this is the most serious. To overcome this challenge, we must first recognise that the challenge now comes not from outside but from within. We must recognise that, like Joshua and the Israelites, the only way to cross the river as a nation with our souls intact is to find understanding in the wisdom of our forebears and their trust in God. Chocolate is no doubt one of the worlds favourite food, but growing cocoa is no simple task. In Samoa, Saena Tialino Penaia, a smallholder cocoa farmer and President of the Samoa Farmers Association, tells his story to the business team of how he grew his cocoa plantation on his 50-acre land in Lafi. The 73-year-old from Malie and Tuana'i has been growing cocoa since 1988. According to him, in the beginning he was mainly focused on increasing the volume of cocoa beans production. Saena said at the time, the lack of proper equipment to help speed and maintain a consistent supply of beans for his markets was a challenge. However, despite the time and energy consumed while employing the traditional methods of maa and tanoa to produce cocoa beans, Saena knows the benefits of hard work and dedication. Previously at the very beginning, I mostly supply the local market. The price of the local market is really high its $20 tala per kilo of dried beans. I supply to the street vendors, sometimes I would get $500 a week from selling the cocoa beans, he said. They demand a lot and my reply to them is that I cannot supply their demand because the volume of production here in Samoa is really small, but I can supply them only when I am able to produce a lot. The reason I prefer to supply the local market is because when you export overseas, the freight is really high, thats the biggest problem the exporters are facing at the moment. Thanks to the China-Samoa Agricultural Project, Saena was able to receive machineries and now not only continues producing beans, but also Koko Samoa (cocoa paste). The Chinese team helped me around the end of last year during their phase II of the agriculture project and this year, they provided me with roasting and grounding machineries. Before they provided me with the machineries, it took me about a week to produce no more than 50 cocoa cups. The assistance really saved time and now I produce about 100 cocoa cups. The difference is one is known to us as Koko Samoa and the other is dried beans. The production only stops when there are dried beans, but now I am able to turn cocoa beans into cocoa paste. According to Saena, people who export cocoa beans overseas sometimes rely on him to fill the container and also source their dried beans for export. Now I still sell dried beans for $20 tala per kilo and for Koko Samoa $10 tala a cup, he said. Saena was once involved in public accountant firms, government departments, a lecturer at Samoa College and a financial registrar at the National University of Samoa, but in 2000 he decided to become a full commercial cocoa farmer. You may wonder why he didnt continue making the tala from inside his air conditioned office, its because he knows theres more value in the land. I went into farming because my father was a big cocoa farmer and my schooling was supported from money made from these cocoa. So I decided that even though I was doing a white collar job, at the back of my mind, I had the intention of going back to the farm because I know there is a great potential, especially in terms of consumption. The more you plant the more variety you choose from to eat. Investment and challenges At the beginning, the only money I spent was out of my pocket, until now I did not make any loans. We all understand that Rome was not built in one day, so at the very beginning I spent more than $50,000 because those were the hard days. I still spend money over the years, like for instance I was budgeting to build two houses for cutting of the pods and fermentation, but those two projects were not implemented because I spent the money I saved for that project for my recovery post-Gita. As we all know, cocoa needs a lot of shade so Cyclone Gita uprooted all the big trees that provided shade and caused it to fall on the cocoa trees. I face a lot of difficulties with cyclones since 1988. Apart from spending a lot on rebuilding after cyclones, Saena also faces labour shortage. The biggest problem I face is human resources, theres a scarcity, so if there are no labourers then its just a waste of time to engage in other forms of agriculture. We have got to concentrate in one area and my area is the production of cocoa. If you grow cocoa, yams, taro, and bananas and you have a lot to choose from. My farm is a mixed farm. I sell my coconuts and taro, which is also called a palagi taro because they are needed for making taro chips. The father of three explained: At the moment, the sale of Koko Samoa is far too slow because there's a lot of cocoa around, but once the cocoa season is about to end, then my sale increases. So for my Koko Samoa, usually people book the number of cups they are willing to take over to Australia or New Zealand. I know theres a great demand for Koko Samoa not only in Australia but also here in Samoa and New Zealand. Cocoa farming process Saena explained the only lengthy process of making Koko Samoa is skinning the roasted beans. He plants three types of cocoa trees: criollo, white bean and trinitario, which is a mixture of white and pink beans. I make my own cocoa nursery. For one acre, there are more than 600 cocoa plants. It takes three months to nurse cocoa before transplanting, so from the nursery to planting is about six months. The cocoa tree takes 12 months to branch out and three months for these branches to be strong and bear fruits, so it takes about 18 months to bear fruits. When I moved to where I live now, there were cocoa trees there already, so I picked the pods from there and nursed them and then transplanted them. Saena has this to say to all cocoa farmers in Samoa. You need to start replanting and understand that theres a great demand of cocoa from overseas. The advice for those who have cocoa trees is for them to clean them because then they will start bearing fruits so that the volume of production of cocoa increases. On Samoas agriculture sector, he said: Verbally, agriculture is one revenue generator for Samoas economy because when you look at the Government budget, no incentive has been provided for the farmers to improve their production and encourage them to work hard to export their produce. Award: Cocoa Excellence Award - Paris. The award means a lot to me because it shows that I am producing quality cocoa. "And since I got that award, my international markets overseas have increased, two from New Zealand, two from Australia and one from Japan. Samoa joined the world to celebrate Intellectual Property Day on Thursday. The theme this year Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity, celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courage of women who have and are still contributing to the world of Innovation and Creativity. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (S.R.O.S.) and the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.) hosted the 2nd Secondary School Science Fair to celebrate the World Intellectual Property Day. The organisers received interest from 15 Secondary Schools from around Samoa for the three categories. Three of the competitors came from Vaiola College, Itu Asau College and Amoa College. Newcomers this year included Robert Louis Stevenson, Papauta Girls College, Vaimauga College and Anoamaa College. One of the many outcomes of last years competition includes the registration of the 1st Innovation Patent in Samoa and the Pacific Region by Jorim-Paul Tagutugutu Philips of Faatuatua College. Jorims entry won 1st Prize for the Invention Category. The organisers are exploring the possibility of incorporating other areas such as artistic designs and other sciences and are confident that with the number of sponsoring interests and support they believe that this will be realized in the nearest future. Finding our roots is one part of discovering ourselves. For Paige Boonen, her trip with her mother to Samoa is more than just a normal holiday. The 14-year-old college student from New Zealand came to Samoa with her mother, Rhonda. It is their second trip to Samoa. It is just us, mother and daughter. Paiges great great grandmother, Frieda Schwenke, is buried here in Apia at the Magiagi cemetery. So Paige has Samoan heritage, Rhonda explained. Last time we came, we had difficulties in finding the grave. We did not find the family members to show us. This time we are very happy because we found one relative and she took us to the cemetery where we left some flowers. For Paige, this trip was a very special experience. All I ever wanted was to come here because of my background. Last April, a year ago, was the first time I visited the island with my mom. I guess it has been a special place with the connection I have. I love walking around and I recognise it is so different to New Zealand. It is more down to earth. The houses are so different. Everyone is so humbled and relaxed. I really do like it. This time around, they have been blessed to meet their relatives. We now know some of our relatives here. We stayed at another resort and one of the staff members offered to look after the names. So she found one of our relatives and drove us to her. It was the first time we met her and she has been very lovely, Rhonda said. It is something special and different to meet the family here, Paige added. They are considering coming to Samoa and this time maybe stay for a year. I thought about living here, maybe after I finished with school. I am still in college, Paige shared. As tourists, they explained the difficulties they are confronted with while staying here. When you go to the trench for example, it is hard to see the sign, they are very small and it is hard to not miss them especially while driving from the road, Rhonda explained. Paige added: What I would like is maybe more opportunities for tourists to try local food. Here in the resort, theres more normal food. Bacon and eggs for breakfast for example. A little bit more culture in the resort would be great. They both agreed that the highlight of their stay is meeting their family members here. Firefighters routinely put their lives on the line to preserve the lives of others. It comes with the job. But they also have a higher incidence of heart disease and cancer, and thats not a job requirement. To help reduce that disease risk, a team led by pioneering genomics research J. Craig Venter at Human Longevity Inc. has offered free comprehensive health assessments to 100 San Diego city fire and rescue responders. La Jolla-based Human Longevity is offering the assessments through its Health Nucleus center. The assessments are offered through an agreement with FirefighterAid, a San Diego-based nonprofit that supports firefighters. Were trying to see if early detection can be of any benefit, Venter said. Were looking at early hints of cardiac disease and their chemical exposure, and just anything that would help improve their health. Advertisement To be eligible, San Diego city firefighters must be 50 or older, with no history of serious cancer or cardiovascular disease, said Kurtis Bennett, FirefighterAid vice president. Also a city firefighter, Bennett spoke in his capacity with Firefighter Aid. About 30 firefighters have undergone the assessments so far, Bennett said Thursday. Participants get their whole genome sequenced at the La Jolla company. They also get MRI scans, cardiac and blood exams. Human Longevity normally sells the Health Nucleus assessments for thousands of dollars. Besides giving personalized risk assessments, Human Longevity can use the data to improve its understanding of how genomic and environmental conditions affect health. After participants go through the assessments, they get a consultation with a doctor. Theyll either speak to them on the phone or in person, whatever they prefer, and give them a really detailed breakdown in terms of their blood work, coronary artery CT scan, and full-body MRI, and discuss the implications, Bennett said. Later, participants will meet with a genetics expert to learn the results of the genomic sequencing, and what it means. Were really grateful to Dr. Venter and HLI, Bennett said. Were a high-risk population, and they thought we might benefit from the newest in technology for screening. Hopefully, we can establish theres benefit in screening firefighters who are presumably healthy to detect disease at the earliest stages, long before symptoms appear. Advertisement The assessments are separate from another firefighter health program recently launched by the Salk Institute and UC San Diego. Firefighters have long been known to incur a heightened risk of heart disease, which is believed to be linked to their jobss unpredictable patterns of stress. In addition, their eating patterns are disrupted, something the Salk/UCSD program aims to address by restricting eating to a 10-hour-period daily. Researchers say the health problems this causes might be reduced by establishing a more predictable eating pattern that matches the bodys circadian rhythm. Advertisement Science Playlist On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds Advertisement bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1020 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute say they have recruited an unexpected ally in the mortal struggle against cancer: The very cells of the cancer itself. In lab experiments, a team led by Richard Lerner, M.D., turned leukemia cells into normal immune cells with up to 80 percent efficiency. What's more, these "natural killer" cells seek out and destroy their unchanged cancerous brethren, the scientists say. If all goes well, a human clinical trial will be launched next year, Lerner said. The study is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lerner is senior author, first author is Kyungmoo Yea. When posted online, it will be available at: j.mp://fratricidins. Rajesh Grover, a scientist and assistant professor, works in the Richard A. Lerner lab at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in San Diego. Nelvin C. Cepeda Researchers experimented with cell cultures of acute myeloid leukemia, also called acute myeloblastic leukemia. Using a rare antibody selected from a pool of 100 billion candidates, the team caused the acute myeloblastic leukemia cells to mature, Lerner said. This method may also work with prostate cancer and certain other solid tumors, and such trials are being planned. A blood cancer researcher not involved with the work said it could prove important for therapy, but needs confirmation, ideally including animal tests. If Lerner and colleagues are right, they will have invented an entirely new kind of cancer therapy. And it will also represent another milestone in Lerner's research on the unexpected roles antibodies can play in biology. Noting that the converted cells attack their own kin, Lerner has coined the term "fratricidins," to describe the antibody and other substances that have a similar effect. The study was supported by the JPB Foundation and Zebra Biologics. A beneficial transformation Researchers are using antibodies to convert leukemia cells into natural killer cells that then attack and destroy other tumor cells. Heres how it works: Making cancer grow up Traditional cancer treatments like surgery, radiation and chemotherapy damage healthy tissue along with the cancer. They also may promote the evolution and survival of tougher cancer cells, which can hide out in the body and reconstitute a tumor from just a single cell. In theory, educating cancer cells to act normally should be easier on patients who struggle with the toxicity of harsh treatments. And because the cancer cells are not killed, there should be less evolutionary pressure to develop resistance. Cancer cells are known to resemble immature stem cells in a number of ways, such as using genes normally active only in embryonic stem cells. The cells move around the body in a way normal cells do, and fail to respond to signals that tell them to settle down and grow up into a functional tissue. If these immature cells can be made to differentiate into normal adult cells, they will no longer dangerous. Lerner said. This is more than a concept, Lerner said, it was demonstrated in another blood cancer, acute promyelocytic leukemia, by Chinese physician-scientist Chen Zhu. Previous research had revealed the genetic mechanism behind APL, a defect in Vitamin A metabolism. So Zhu's team dosed patients with a variety called tretinoin. In most cases, this induce the leukemic cells to differentiate, sending patients into remission. Antibody-based therapies, first developed by biotech companies in the 1980s, are common today. With an established infrastructure for developing and manufacturing antibody drugs, testing of this new potential therapy in humans has a well-established path. And further research could uncover small molecules that have the same effect, Lerner said. Dr. Rafael Bejar, a physician-scientist at UCSD Moores Cancer Center, said the studys findings could be important, but more research and verification is needed. "These results are truly intriguing. We await better characterization of how the antibody is working and how the derived cells would function in a living organism," said Bejar, who was not involved in the study. "If what the authors report can be replicated and better understood, it could have important implications for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia." Terri Jones a scientific associate working in the lab of Dr. Richard A. Lerner at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in San Diego. Nelvin C. Cepeda The results could be strengthened by replicating them in a whole animal, Bejar said. "If turning leukemia cells into mature cells of any kind were all the authors report, it would be a noteworthy finding," Bejar said. "However, the authors go on to claim that the leukemia cells become functional NK cells that actually recognize remaining leukemic cells as abnormal and kill them. This is where the public interest aspect of this story may lie, but this is also the most tentative finding. This effect is shown only in the petri dish." Lerner said animal models of this disease are tricky to produce, and would probably not add significant useful information. Were trying to go straight into man, Lerner said. Of course, we have to do lots of things first, to make sure its not harmful. When these cells are converted, they make a lot of bad stuff. One way to do the trial would be to administer the antibody into the patients. In that case, very small doses would be used at first, to look for signs of any harm. Previous experiments with immune therapy have produced dangerous reactions from naturally produced chemicals called cytokines. The substances trigger an immune response that produces even more cytokines, known as a cytokine storm. This complication caused serious illnesses in patients being treated with CAR T cell therapy, in which their own immune cells are genetically engineered to fight their cancer. Another way would be to extract some of the leukemia cells, convert them in the lab and reinfuse them into the patient. This is the method used with CAR T cell therapy. This could supplant all the CAR T cells, if it works, Lerner said. Conversion to NK cells would be less costly, because there would be no need to perform custom genetic engineering on the patients immune cells. Rather, the antibody would be supplied as an off-the-shelf-drug. Affinity for antibodies A former president of Scripps Research and a self-described "lab rat," Lerner specializes in finding unconventional uses for antibodies. These large protein molecules are best known for their role in attacking invading microbes and, when they miscarry, the body that made them. But antibodies can also activate cellular receptors, molecular portals that turn off and off various cell activities. Moreover, antibodies that link to a receptor can cause a far different response than the receptor's normal partner. In a predecessor study published in 2013, Lerner and colleagues converted bone marrow cells into neuron precursor cells with an antibody. The new study extends that work. The antibody Lerner's team found was already known to stimulate the receptor for thrombopoietin, which regulates production of platelets and their precursor cells, called megakaryocytes. This receptor is abundant on acute myeloid leukemia cells. Early testing found that the antibody caused the AML cells to turn into immune cells called dendritic cells. Longer exposure to the antibody, combined with certain cell culturing methods, caused the cells to resemble natural killer cells. More extensive testing revealed that the cells functioned as NK cells, which stick tendrils into the cells they attack, pumping them full of toxic chemicals. These cells only attacked AML cells, ignoring breast cancer cells. To get the antibody, researchers started with a library of about 100 billion individual antibodies, Lerner said. These were screened for binding, yielding 100,000 antibodies. These were next selected for function by testing with reporter cells, genetically engineered so they become fluorescent if a functional antibody is expressed. The entire process took about six months from start to finish, Lerner said. Rapid advances in technology have since cut down the time needed. "But today? We would do the same thing in a few weeks," he said. Whole Foods 7th Avenue Pub in Hillcrest, where customers could grab a beer and a meal, has closed, and the space is now a staging area for Amazon Prime grocery delivery. The unexpected closing, which occurred earlier this month, coincides with the debut this week of Amazons two-hour free delivery of Whole Foods merchandise to Prime subscribers in San Diego County. San Diego is one of 10 metro areas across the country now eligible for Amazon delivery of Whole Foods merchandise. The closure of the Hillcrest pub, which opened in 2013, marks a departure from the practice of many Whole Foods locations to include in-store dining venues customized to the neighborhood. The Del Mar store, for example, is home to the Trifecta Tavern and La Jolla to Torrey Pints. Those restaurants and bars are still open. Advertisement A spokeswoman for Whole Foods declined to comment on the reason for the closure, saying only, We often make updates to our stores and currently the 7th Avenue Pub is closed. Amazon as well did not return calls seeking comment. A visit to the space on Thursday shows that it is now a hub for grocery delivery. The former restaurant space has coolers, and there are large brown paper Whole Food bags being readied for delivery. Amazon, which purchased Whole Foods last year for nearly $14 billion, already has integrated its Amazon lockers, which are used by online customers to retrieve their orders, into the grocery stores. The closure of the Hillcrest pub caught customers and purveyors by surprise. So recent is the change that the store has not yet removed the restaurant from its website, which says the pub offers 32 beers on tap and a creative menu. Richard Barry, a Hillcrest resident who lives within walking distance of the Whole Foods on University Avenue, said there was no advance notice of the closure. One day he saw the windows into the pub boarded up with a sign that said renovations were under way. Later on, once the window coverings were removed, Barry could see that the restaurant was gone. It was nice to have a craft beer there and theyd have a lunch special every day, said Barry, who frequented the store and pub with his partner Jose Clem. I cant second-guess Amazons business decisions but I just wish they would have put up a notice and say, thank you loyal customers, but there was none of that. Mike Hess, founder of Mike Hess Brewing, whose beers were on tap at the pub, said he was sorry to see the pub go. Grabbing a beer while going grocery shopping was a pretty cool thing, Hess said. We went over there for a couple of tap events and supported the brand there. It was just fun, unique. Advertisement At the time the 7th Avenue Pub opened in 2013, a supervisor there described it as just another avenue to get people in the door. The convergence of Amazon and Whole Foods already is proving to be financially lucrative by offering up another way to entice shoppers to come inside. The installation of the lockers has boosted short visits to the stores by 11 percent, according to a study released last month by the Los Angeles-based digital advertising firm inMarket. By comparison, brief visits to Whole Foods stores with no lockers were up 7 percent, the firm said. The lockers are what inMarket calls a magnet for micro visits, which it defines as store visits of three to five minutes. Advertisement Theyre the best example today of online-offline convergence, and retailers need to think about that in their planning, said Dave Heinziger, vice president for communications at inMarket. Its almost like a convenience store approaching a gas customer. Its up to that convenience store to figure out how to get that gas customer inside that store instead of just paying at the pump. A similar thing is happening with the visits at Whole Foods. The lockers are clearly succeeding and now its about turning those short visits into larger spending opportunities. Advertisement Business lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2251 Advertisement Twitter: @loriweisberg It is no secret that Qualcomms lucrative patent licensing business has been a lightning rod for legal attacks by Apple and antitrust regulators over the past year. But last week during its fiscal second quarter earnings conference call, Qualcomm jolted investors anew by reducing the revenue outlook for its patent licensing division that makes up the bulk of the chipmakers profit. The lower forecast stems in part from recent changes Qualcomm made in its global patent licensing framework that essentially ease royalty terms for its cellular intellectual property portfolio. The new framework appears aimed at smoothing some of the criticisms of Qualcomms past practices ahead of negotiations over new 5G technology licenses namely that it charges too much. Advertisement The question is will this licensing change serve as a jumping off point for talks to settle the damaging legal war with Apple? I think it breaks down some of the walls in the differences between the two companies, said Mike Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. It is clearer cut. Steve Mollenkopf (Qualcomms chief executive) said on CNBC that there is still an open dialog between the two companies. Court cases are coming. They hope they can settle beforehand. Both Qualcomm and Apple appear entrenched for now, based on court filings. So the lower revenue forecast for patent licensing wasnt cheered by most Wall Street analysts. We cant help but shake our heads, wrote Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein Research in a note. Basically Qualcomm appears to be offering 5G licenses on top of the current 3G/4G and getting paid less for their efforts. While Qualcomm derives the bulk of its $22.3 billion in annual revenue from designing semiconductors that link smartphones to cellular networks, it earns much of its profit from licensing its trove of 130,000 mobile technology patents to device makers. Qualcomms semiconductor division continues to deliver but the outlook for royalties is negative, said Tim Long of BMO Capital Markets, in a research report. Above and beyond ongoing disputes with Apple and Huawei, Qualcomm now sees reduced royalty rates from other licensees, including a lower effective rate from Samsung following an (updated) agreement and higher uptake of Standard Essential Patent-only contracts among other vendors. Qualcomm on Wednesday reduced its estimate for patent licensing revenue for the June quarter to around $950 million below the $1.26 billion analysts were expecting. Advertisement Moreover, it said patent licensing revenue excluding Apple and Huawei will remain around $1 billion to $1.1 billion per quarter going forward. Half of the June quarter decline stems from slower sales in the saturated smartphone market. But the other half comes from a new licensing framework and an updated agreement with Samsung that in effect reduces its payments. What weve done is we purposely built the program to facilitate a transition to 5G in a way that successfully enables us to bring on new licensees and extend their agreements for longer terms, said Alex Rogers, executive vice president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing. So this creates tremendous stability. Advertisement But it comes at a price, said Raymond James Analyst Chris Caso. The bad news is we believe this results in permanently lower licensing rates. The new framework is complicated. It offers two types of patent licenses and is based off of a 2015 settlement with Chinas National Development and Reform Commission. For its full portfolio of standard essential and non-standard essential patents, Qualcomm charges royalties that top out at 5 percent of the bill for materials for smartphones and other devices. That will continue. But under the new framework, Qualcomm also will offer a license to only its standard essential patents at a 3.25 percent rate worldwide. Advertisement Standard essential patents are critical to devices and networks being able to work together; so a text message from an iPhone can be read on a Samsung device and a Verizon customer can speak with a friend on T-Mobiles network. Non-essential patents cover implementation of technologies think power saving techniques in chips, mobile camera image processing technologies, location for turn-by-turn directions, airplane mode for flights and so on. Qualcomm is adding 5G technologies to its patent portfolio, with difficult negotiations already underway with customers. Though it is not raising rates for 5G, Qualcomm said it expects a good number of customers to sign up for the 3.25 percent standard essential patent only license instead of the full portfolio license. Advertisement Frankly (they) did not really answer the question as to why any customer would ever do otherwise, said Rasgon, the Bernstein analyst. Qualcomm also has lowered the top price on which royalty rates are calculated. Its now $400, down from the previous cap of $500. With so many of the smartphones today priced above $400, that change alone is likely contributing significantly to the lower revenue forecast, said Walkley, the Canaccord Genuity analyst. Its the first time in my memory that they have shared the cap on phones, said Walkley. They shared a (royalty) rate flat out. It is very transparent and probably makes sense because there are very few players left in the industry. You have a market that has played out with six healthy Chinese companies, Samsung and Apple. Advertisement Finally, Qualcomm recently inked a new full-portfolio licensing deal with Samsung that includes 5G technologies. But the result is lower royalties from Samsung possibly because it also owns 5G patents and entered into a cross-licensing arrangement with Qualcomm that reduced its payments, say analysts. One reason Qualcomm may be willing to live with lower royalty rates today is the expected explosion of cellular connected devices beyond smartphones that will be enabled by 5G, including health care monitors, cars, smart cities infrastructure, factory floors and last-mile fixed wireless broadband, among others. While some industries such as automotive will have industry specific royalty rates, the volume of new connected gadgets could eventually result in many more licensees signing up. But in the near term, will all these moves help spark talks to end Qualcomms bitter legal fight with Apple its largest customer? Apple stopped paying Qualcomm patent royalties during the legal battle, which has cost the San Diego company about $500 million per quarter. Advertisement Qualcomm has lowered the cap, which is part of Apples complaint, said Walkley. They have made it very transparent. They have included 5G. The No. 2 guy in the world (Samsung) is signed up with this rate. So it gets harder for Apple to say why we should be treated differently. Advertisement Business mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com; Twitter:@TechDiego 760-529-4973 . () , , ... Stretched-thin yet savvy caregivers know they need to make every moment count. Thats where the Internet comes in. Dad taking a nap? You can finally fill out that online form on the VA website. Waiting with Mom at the pharmacy? Youve got time to check the link to local support group meetings. Whether youre looking for help or inspiration, your computer, tablet and smartphone have become essential caregiving tools. Advertisement Here are a few online resources to check out when youve got a moment to spare. AARP The robust video offerings of this boomer- and senior-centric organizations website include everything from practical advice, such as a Family Caregiver Video Guide to Managing Medications, to motivational videos, like A Day in the Life of an American Caregiver. AARP also holds regular webinars on various topics of interest to caregivers (for example, tips for juggling your two jobs work and caregiving). Past sessions can be watched on demand. The site also allows you to download Prepare to Care Guides in English, Spanish, Chinese, English for Asian Americans, as well as an LGBT planning guide. See: aarp.org ElderHelp This local nonprofit has produced a series of webinars on issues ranging from Family Caregiving 101 to Creating a Needs Assessment and Plan, as well as Caregiver Stress, Fall Prevention, Organizing and Planning for the Future, and more. ElderHelp has also developed an online learning series to help family caregivers better understand their role and prepare them for the journey ahead. Learn more and sign up here. See: https://elderhelp.thinkific.com Family Caregiver Alliance This leading San Francisco-based caregiver education and advocacy group has its own YouTube channel devoted to videos that offer hands-on, practical information. Called Caregiver College, it offers tips on everything from bathing to transfer skills, toileting to dental care and behavioral issues. FCA also has what is arguably the most extensive caregiver webinar offering of any website, with dozens of topics covered. See: https://elderhelp.thinkific.com/ Southern Caregiver Resource Center The countys largest caregiver support organization has produced a series of videos that are fairly brief but full of useful tips and helpful guidance. The Caregiving Corner videos are hosted by Martha Ranon, director of government and community affairs for Southern Caregiver Resource Center. The videos are subtitled in Spanish. Topics include Caring for the Caregiver, Asking for Help, Holding a Family Meeting and The New Normal. See: caregivercenter.org michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @sdeditgirl Memory loss. Confusion. Wandering. Belligerence. Paranoia. These are just some of things caregivers can expect if they are taking care of a family member with Alzheimers or other type of dementia. Even with these many potential challenges, its important to remember that these behaviors are often coping tactics for a person with deteriorating brain function, according to the Family Caregiving Alliance. Theres no question that dealing with these behaviors can make caregiving especially challenging. The already-stressful demands of caregiving are compounded when dementia is involved, so its even more important that caregivers reach out for help. Below are some of the resources available. Alzheimers-related organizations can also recommend other ways to find assistance. Advertisement Alzheimers San Diego A local nonprofit organization serving the more than 84,000 San Diegans living with Alzheimers disease and the 292,000 people who care for them Alzheimers San Diego offers a wide range of services. Among them are educational workshops, support groups, respite care, counseling, access to dementia experts, personalized action plans and a new six-week program called Coping with Caregiving. That specialized series focuses on understanding dementia-related changes, building a support team and planning for the future. The organizations website also offers detailed, authoritative information about the disease. Contact: (858) 492-4400; alzsd.org Alzheimers Association San Diego/Imperial The local chapter of the national organization has a 24/7 Helpline that caregivers can call with questions about the disease, medications, treatment, brain health and care resource options. Offered in 200 languages, the Helpline also offers emotional support. The Alzheimers Association provides tips on caregiving, how to get respite care and referrals for services. The website has a community resource finder, online educational tools in English and Spanish, and a calendar of local classes and information sessions. Contact: (619) 678-8322; 24/7 Helpline (800) 272-3900; www.alz.org/sandiego AARP With its focus on the needs of baby boomers and seniors, AARPs website offers extensive information and advice on the various challenges associated with caregiving for someone with Alzheimers or other dementia. It also has a useful, well-organized online guide to Help Caring for Someone with Dementia. Contact: aarp.org Read more: The Family Caregiver Alliance has a comprehensive fact sheet on caregiving and dementia. Advertisement The National Institute on Aging website explores the many challenges facing dementia caregivers and offers solutions and resources. Choose Well San Diego If the person with dementia is no longer able to live at home, youll want to find a community that you can afford and also provides quality care. Choose Well San Diego is a county-funded website that can help you compare over 600 licensed assisted living and memory care facilities side by side. The facility finder is a searchable database that lists licensing information, capacity, pricing, SSI and financial assistance information, specialty care details, staffing levels, facility amenities, other on-site services and more. Facilities that volunteer to be rated by Choose Well get a profile page that includes a computed score. Scores are based on 11 Quality Measures, including civil penalties, basic care and supervision, resident rights, medical needs and responsiveness and food and nutrition. Citations, violations, complaints and other information about nonparticipating facilities can be researched on the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. (The records of licensed paid caregivers and adult day care centers can also be searched there.) Contact: (619) 795-2165; choosewellsandiego.org Take Me Home Statistics show that six out of 10 people with dementia will wander. The San Diego County Sheriffs Departments Take Me Home program is a photo-based information system accessible to all law enforcement agencies in the region. It is designed to assist law enforcement during contacts with members of the community who have autism, dementia, Alzheimers disease, Down syndrome, deafness, developmental disabilities or any other special need. Advertisement Enrollment on the San Diego Sheriffs Department website is free. For more information, contact Alzheimers San Diego or a Crime Prevention Specialist, located at any Sheriffs station. The University of California San Diego, Shiley-Marcos Alzheimers Disease Research Center (ADRC) One of the original Alzheimers Disease Centers supported by the National Institute on Aging, the primary mission of this ADRC is researching the causes, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimers disease. But it also offers resources to people with Alzheimers, their family and caregivers. Among the centers programs are caregiver support groups (for Alzheimers caregivers and non-Alzheimers dementia caregivers) and Memories at the Museums, monthly docent-led tours of four Balboa Park art museums for people with mild-to-moderate dementia and an accompanying caregiver or friend. Contact: (858) 822-4800; adrc.ucsd.edu Adult day care San Diego County has a number of licensed adult day programs for the cognitively impaired that offer not only a safe, engaging place for someone with dementia to spend the day, it provides a needed break for caregivers. See a list of adult day care centers here. Advertisement Read more: For a checklist on how to choose an adult day care center, click here. Elder-proofing your house San Diego County caregivers can request free or low-cost minor home modifications, such as the installation of hand rails, grab bars, smoke detectors and handheld shower heads, from at least three nonprofit organizations. Read more: Alzheimers San Diego fact sheet on safety notes that as Alzheimers disease progresses, increased supervision, assistance and safety precautions will be needed. This fact sheet explains how dementia impacts safety at home. AARP has compiled an extensive resource list on the safety hazards to be aware of and how to remove them from the home. See the full list list here. Jewish Family Service provides a home safety checklist to help caregivers dementia-proof the home. michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Twitter: @sdeditgirl The challenge: When we take responsibility to provide care for a loved one, its a huge step. Caregiving adds a new layer of complexity into our lives on top of jobs, families and routines. In fact, routine quickly can be replaced by a new normal that can be overwhelming in time, effort and emotional involvement. In order to avoid burnout, resentment and feelings of guilt, its important to know that setting boundaries is necessary and important for your health. Where do I start? First, acknowledge that you need to create some boundaries. Those drawn lines might be about the days or hours you can commit to caregiving or certain times you need to be away. If youve been the primary care provider, have a conversation with your siblings about all you do in that role be specific about time and tasks and ask for help, either for them to become more involved or offer financial help for professional caregivers to take over some duties. Suggested reading: How to ask for caregiving help. The next step: Ask yourself, What do I need? Take time to write down your weekly schedule: when can you provide caregiving, and when do you need to step away? What tasks will you do and which will you delegate? Once youre clear about what help is needed, check with family and friends to see what can be delegated. Suggested reading: Dont do it alone! Heres how to build a caregiving team. Things to consider: Advertisement Remember, by setting limits, you are not saying, I dont love you. You are respecting your own life, which will allow you to be a happier, better caregiver. Know, too, that if you are the primary caregiver, you and your loved one may need a break from one another. It might make both of you feel better. Make caregiving a smaller part of your life by making other parts bigger. When you have time away from caregiving, use it wisely on things you love. Make taking care of yourself a priority when you get away. Get rest, exercise and eat healthfully. In her book, Juggling Life, Work and Caregiving, author Amy Goyer says its important to stay organized as a caregiver. Keep your tasks organized make lists to quiet your mind and feel more in control. Youll also be able to better see what you need help with. Read more: Setting Limits and Healthy Boundaries, by Zanda Hilger, a longtime caregiver counselor, provides an overall look at the need to set boundaries, with recommendations. Take action: If family and friends cant take some of your load, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) provides a guide to seek help that will allow you to step away. The bottom line: Setting boundaries and honoring them is difficult. You are taking care of one of the most important people in your life, someone you love, so you naturally want to do all you can. You dont want to disappoint the care receiver. But setting limits is vital to keeping you refreshed, free of resentment and committed to the time you do spend with your loved one. Doug Williams is a freelance writer in San Diego The search for an assisted living facility is one of the most daunting responsibilities a caregiver can take on. All the things to consider can make your head spin: price, cleanliness, safety, adequate staffing, location, size, nutritious and appealing food the list goes on. A tool to use: Choose Well San Diego is a county-funded website that can help you compare details on over 600 licensed assisted living and memory care facilities side by side. How does it work? Choose Wells facility finder is a searchable database that lists licensing information, capacity, pricing, SSI and financial assistance information, specialty care details, staffing levels, facility amenities, other on-site services and more. What else does it offer? Facilities that volunteer to be rated have a profile page, with a map and photos, that includes the facilities Choose Well score. A facility can receive a score between one and 100. According to the site, the higher the score, the better the facilitys compliance with state regulations or Health and Safety Code. The more citations a facility has received, the lower their score. (Volunteer facilities scoring a 69 or below, receive a Participant designation instead of a numerical score.) Advertisement How are facilities rated? Scores are based on 11 Quality Measures, including civil penalties, basic care and supervision, resident rights, medical needs and responsiveness and food and nutrition. Choose Well researches public records on a facility for you. This passage from the Choose Well website helps explain how caregivers can view the score in a way thats right for them: The best way to understand a Choose Well Score is to know what care and services your loved one needs. You want to match these needs with what the facility can provide. If you review the 11 Quality Measures, you can better match your residents needs with the care a facility provides. For example, if you know your loved one needs help with medications, then you want to know the number of citations a facility has received in Quality Measure 11 (Medical Needs and Responsiveness). This Quality Measure tells you how well the facility assists with medications, among other services. If your resident has dementia and wanders in the evening, then you want to know the number of citations in Quality Measure 7 (Staffing), and Quality Measure 9 (Specialty Care). These Quality Measures tell you about these aspects of care. What if a facility doesnt agree to be rated by Choose Well? Citations, violations, complaints and other information about nonparticipating facilities can be researched on the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. (The records of licensed paid caregivers and adult day care centers can also be searched there.) What if I have an issue with an assisted living facility? Choose Well links to the San Diego County Long Term Care Ombudsman program, as well as the state and federal ombudsmans offices. What does the county Long Term Care Ombudsman do? According to Choose Well, The ombudsman listens to a residents concerns, provides information and assistance when requested, and will investigate and resolve complaints related to care or personal rights. A residents conversations and communications with an ombudsman are confidential. How to contact Choose Well: (619) 795-2165; choosewellsandiego.org Advertisement michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @sdeditgirl The hugs, smiles and apparent mutual admiration between the leaders of the estranged Koreas at a summit Friday set the stage for President Trump to move ahead with his own plans for a face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The challenge, however, will be to turn the bonhomie seen at the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea into an actual deal in which the isolated government in Pyongyang takes tangible steps toward denuclearization. Among those most enthusiastic about the prospects seemed to be Trump, who reacted to the meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in by telling reporters at the White House he was finalizing plans to meet Kim. Two or three locations were under consideration, he said. Hopefully, we are going to have great success, said Trump, who was hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is going to be a great thing for the world. Advertisement Trump, once among Kims harshest critics, said the North Korean leader seemed sincere about negotiations. Oh, I dont think hes playing. You know, its never gone like this. It has never gotten this far, he said. The United States in the past has been played like a fiddle. Thats not happening to us. We will, I think, come up with a solution. Trump repeated a threat that he would walk out of a summit with Kim if they were making no progress. Read the Panmunjom Declaration During Fridays summit at Panmunjom, the so-called peace village straddling the North-South border, Kim and Moon signed a joint statement in which they solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun. They promised to work toward an eventual peace treaty to end the Korean War, which was halted by an armistice in 1953. They also confirmed a common goal of denuclearization, a key point for South Koreas main ally, the United States though they stopped short of a firm commitment. The days events were rich in pomp and symbolism. Moon wore a light blue tie in the color of a flag meant to symbolize Korean unification, while Kim stuck to a Mao suit, affirming his countrys commitment to socialism. Advertisement In one unplanned moment, Kim invited Moon to step across the border into North Korea just after their historic greeting, and the South Korean president warmly obliged. You have crossed over to the South, but when will I be able to cross over to the North? Moon said, according to his spokesman. Kim responded, Why dont you cross now? and held Moons hand as they stepped over the line. Among the days activities, the two leaders donned white gloves and ceremonially poured soil and water onto the base of a pine tree symbolizing peace and prosperity an event rich in irony given the history of the location. (Among the many skirmishes over the years at the spot, there is the infamous axe murder incident from 1976, in which two U.S. soldiers trying to prune a poplar tree were killed by North Korean troops.) After the tree ceremony, the pair walked along the east side of the compound, sitting down for a discussion under clear skies and temperate weather, birds chirping in the background. The two men seemed engaged, nodding and smiling as they talked away from their staffs and nearby cameras. Advertisement Later, after a historically themed honor guard reception at the complex, as the leaders stepped into their meeting, two of Kims security guards twice sprayed a guest book and pen with sanitizer, wiping them with a white cloth. I have crossed the dividing line at Panmunjom with the determination that we should build a new future, Kim wrote in the guest book. And open a path so that all of our people can live in peace and prosperity. To longtime North Korea watchers, the summit evoked a sense of deja vu. In 2000, then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung went to Pyongyang to meet Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader, a trip for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize later that year. That summit preceded a giddy period of rapprochement with joint concerts, soccer matches, cross-border tours and economic ventures before it all fizzled. Weve seen this show before, not for a while, but its not so much different from what happened before, said Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said she doubts whether Kim Jong Un is truly willing to give up the nuclear weapons and missiles that have been so far the crowing achievement of his government. Advertisement The North Koreans have said they need their nuclear weapons as a deterrent to protect their leadership from being toppled along the lines of Iraqs Saddam Hussein and Libyas Moammar Kadafi. I dont want to rain on the parade, but we dont have a single indication that Kim is really willing to put his nuclear weapons on the table, said Terry. This could be more of a tactical shift. It was a pretty dramatic aspirational moment. It pulled at all the heart strings, Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations said of Fridays meeting. But he added that, practically speaking, the hard work is just beginning. What Kim has done so far is bring us back to the starting line for talks. The question is whether the talks can lead anywhere or if this is all we get. Advertisement Some observers said the latest developments could signal a new era in inter-Korean relations, perhaps ending the decades-long tensions, and an end to the missile and nuclear testing by the North that prompted worldwide condemnation and heightened economic sanctions last year as well as the bombastic comments Kim and Trump made about each other. John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, saw promise in the exchanges between Kim and Moon. I saw a lot of spontaneity what I would say was an authentic dialogue between these two leaders, Delury said. Theres a serious burden on both of these leaders shoulders, in a place where many of us thought this was slipping toward a serious military confrontation. ... Kim Jong Un is shattering our expectations that he wont do this stuff. Hes doing it. He said the restraint in the agreement showed prudence ahead of Kims expected meeting with Trump in several weeks. Advertisement The agreement signed by the two leaders focused on three main goals: improving strained inter-Korean relations, reducing military tensions and working toward a peninsula free of nuclear weapons weapons that the North has sought for years in spite of United Nations resolutions barring the effort. Kim has promised not to conduct further nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile tests while talks are pending and has offered to close down the test site where six underground nuclear tests have been conducted since 2006. But he has not offered to freeze production of nuclear material or more importantly to dismantle his existing arsenal of up to 60 nuclear warheads. At the very least, the flurry of diplomatic activity has given the Korean peninsula a reprieve from what looked like imminent war after Trump hinted at military action through a series of tweets and statements. North Korea and South Korea may view tension reduction and proclamations of peace on the peninsula as a crisis-avoidance measure [that will] tie the hands of U.S. hawks who might want to consider military actions against North Korea, said Victor Cha, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, in a videotaped statement. Advertisement The summit between the two Koreas is another positive step in diplomacy that keeps the situation around the Korean peninsula peaceful, moving away from last years atmosphere of crisis, he said. Cha was considered by the Trump administration for the U.S. ambassadorship in Seoul but was dropped, he has said, after he criticized contingency planning by the administration that included a preemptive bloody nose military strike on North Korea. Special correspondent Stiles reported from Seoul and Times staff writer Demick from Washington. Times staff writers Tracy Wilkinson and Noah Bierman in Washington contributed to this report. UPDATES: Advertisement 4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction, background and analysis. 10:50 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting. This article was originally published at 2:40 a.m. Last weeks decision by a San Diego-based Navy admiral to nix an investigation into the use of a Christian Bible in a Missing Man display in Okinawa apparently did nothing to quash a controversy that now has engulfed at least 31 other military units worldwide. At issue is whether exhibits by the Navy, Marine Corps and Army that use the Bible to honor POW/MIAs prisoners of war and those missing in action suggest official endorsement of Christianity as a religion. Critics say that would run afoul of the U.S. Constitution and Pentagon regulations barring religious discrimination. To drive their point home, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is now demanding that the display inside U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa the Navys largest overseas hospital be amplified to include similar sacred texts from more than a dozen other faiths, plus books championed by atheists and agnostics. To claim that the Bible isnt there for something religious is patently ridiculous, said Michael Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and the foundations founder. Either the Navy will agree with us, and the table will collapse from too much weight, or he wont and the table will be moved to the chapel or somewhere else. Advertisement The controversy stems from a complaint made to Weinsteins nonprofit in early April by 26 service members, Department of Defense civilian workers and their families in Okinawa. Initially, an official at Navy Medicine West told the foundation that the San Diego-based department overseeing all Navy hospitals in the Pacific region would probe the complaint. But last week commander Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen reversed course, telling the foundation in a letter that neither further review nor an investigation of this matter is necessary. On Thursday, Pearigens staffers said that they were assessing the foundations late Wednesday request to add other religious texts to the table but worry that theyre hamstrung by military regulations. A Navy protocol manual drafted nearly 17 years ago mandates a Bible on the Missing Man table and doesnt mention substitutes or accompanying books. As one of nine symbolic references on the table, the purpose of the book and accompanying description is not to promote religion, but to commemorate the strength and resolve required of POW and MIA personnel in the most difficult of times. Each item on the table contributes to an atmosphere of remembrance and solemnity, without emphasizing the book as a religious text, explained Navy Medicine West spokeswoman Regena E. Kowitz in an email to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Weinstein countered by saying the bottom line is that the Constitution is going to trump whatever is in a manual by the Army or the Navy or the (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). In recent years the Air Force, American Legion, VA and other agencies and organizations quit featuring a Christian book in their displays. Partly thats because the Pentagon requires the armed forces to honor the religious diversity of all troops, Weinstein said. To truly honor it, he wants the Okinawa Missing Man display to include texts sacred to Roman Catholics, Protestants, Satanists, Muslims, Jews, Shintoists, Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons and others, plus several humanist and secularist works that nonbelievers favor. Pearigen hasnt responded, but its a tactic thats worked for the foundation in the past. Advertisement In early 2016, the VA removed a Bible from a similar display in Youngstown, Ohio, after patients demanded equal treatment for the Torah and the atheist manifesto The God Delusion. VA officials replaced the Bible with a generic book designed to represent many faiths or none at all. Weinstein said that since news of the Okinawa controversy broke, his foundation has received complaints from troops at 31 other units worldwide who say theyre bothered by Bibles in displays. They include an exhibit aboard an unnamed Navy submarine and another at the Armys Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, he said. Even without the religious controversy, Pentagon rules already ban implied command endorsement to any private organization, which is why Weinstein is targeting the Camp Arifjan display. The Bible at the Kuwait base is emblazoned with the logo of Operation Worship, a Placer County-based nonprofit group that distributes free holy books and Christian music to troops worldwide. Weinstein said that tells troops that commanders favor Operation Worship over other groups. Advertisement If the military cant endorse Ford over Chevy, then it cant endorse Operation Worship over other Christian groups, much less Jews, Muslims and others, Weinstein said. In an email to the Union-Tribune, Operation Worship co-founder Jeff Hilliard said that he was unaware of any complaints about his organizations Bibles. We have been providing free military Bibles to chaplains for years with no complaints, he said. With respect to deliveries overseas, we do deliver some at times but are unaware as to where they end up. We have never asked for or received military endorsements for our Bibles either. Weinstein said that he doesnt blame the organization. We blame the command that put it there. Advertisement He also says its a sign that the military too often fails to take seriously the religious sensitivities of citizens overseas, where many American bases are located. Several Shinto and Buddhist spouses of American personnel objected to a placard on the Missing Man display in English and Japanese that said the Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded one nation under God, according to Weinstein. As for Camp Arifjans exhibit, Weinstein worries it could insult citizens in a Middle Eastern country thats overwhelmingly Muslim. What if Kuwaitis think we should put a Koran there? he asked. Advertisement Soldiers at the Pentagon did not return messages seeking official comment on Thursday. Soldiers have complained about a prisoner of war display at the Armys Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, which they believe favors Christianity over other faiths (Military Religious Freedom Foundation ) cprine@sduniontribune.com Despite providing evidence that he never intended to stab to death a fellow Marine at Camp Pendletons School of Infantry, a student there has been charged with murder. According to the military court docket, Pfc. Raymond W. Begay was arraigned last week on murder and manslaughter charges tied to the Jan. 16 death of Ethan Barclay-Weberpal, 18, of the schools Lima Company, Headquarters and Services Battalion. Marine Corps Combat Development Command spokesman Capt. Joshua Pena confirmed the charges. In late March, Begay appeared before an Article 32 hearing which functions like a grand jury in civilian criminal courts. Led by Marine Maj. Nelson Candelario, his defense team highlighted witnesses who said the death was caused by horseplay, not intentional murder. Advertisement Prosectors countered that there was evidence Begay threatened to stab other Marines before Barclay-Weberpal died. Messages left for Candelario and other senior court officials at Camp Pendleton were not returned. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, there are four types of murder. A Marine is guilty of murder if he or she had a premeditated design to kill the victim, but the crime also could turn on an intention to inflict great bodily harm or any other action that is inherently dangerous to another person and evinces a wanton disregard for human life. A Marine also can be charged with murder if a victim dies while the suspect is committing another very serious felony, like rape. A Marine is guilty of manslaughter if he or she slays another in the heat of passion or if the perpetrator never intended to kill the victim but was recklessly negligent in the actions leading to the death. Barclay-Weberpal was buried on Jan. 29 at his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. The court-martial is being convened by Virginia-based Marine Corps Training Command called TECOM by the troops although the homicide case will play out in a Camp Pendleton courtroom. Advertisement On Jan. 22, The San Diego Union-Tribune filed a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act to identify the Marine suspect being held in pretrial confinement in the case without charges. TECOM officials never responded. After more than a month, the Union-Tribune filed an appeal with a special internal court at the Navy Yard. The Navy remanded the case back to TECOM, but only after Begays Article hearing 32 began and made Begays identity public making the Union-Tribunes efforts irrelevant. The Union-Tribune tried to obtain basic information on Begays arraignment and service history from TECOM officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, including directly calling commander Maj. Gen. Kevin Iiams in Virginia. No one responded to numerous messages. The Begay case isnt the only disciplinary headache bedeviling Iiams TECOM. Advertisement Over the past two weeks, authorities have arraigned three other Marines at Camp Pendletons School of Infantry on criminal conspiracy, drug possession and other charges. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service also continues to probe another suspicious death there. Pfc. Michael Michael Philomeno Giannattasio, 22, of Armada, Mich., was found unresponsive during land navigation training on the Basic Reconnaissance Course in August. Both TECOM and NCIS have rebuffed multiple Union-Tribune Freedom of Information Act requests in his case, too. Advertisement Military Videos On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal cprine@sduniontribune.com Who is Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., the 72-year-old former police officer charged with eight counts of murder and accused by authorities of being the Golden State Killer? The decadelong trail of the notorious serial killer led officers from a task force of local and federal law enforcement agencies to DeAngelos suburban ranch house outside Sacramento on Tuesday. Big parts of his biography remain unknown, including how he traveled around the state during his alleged reign of terror in the 1970s and 80s. A federal law enforcement source said he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. That led to a short law enforcement career that ended in scandal, and then to a seemingly quiet life working for a supermarket chain. Advertisement Here is a rundown: Booking photo of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr.. (Sacramento County Sheriffs Office ) What do we know about his early life? A New York native, DeAngelo graduated from Folsom High School outside Sacramento in June 1964 and joined the Navy that September, according to an August 1973 article in the Exeter Sun. He did his naval training in San Diego. He served 22 months in combat in Vietnam, including duty on the gun line off North Vietnam. DeAngelo graduated with honors from Sierra College in Rocklin with an associates degree in police science in 1970, according to a newspaper article dated that year. He received his bachelors degree in criminal justice from Cal State Sacramento. DeAngelo was married to Sharon M. Huddle, according to a 1973 announcement in the Auburn Journal. He joined the police department in Exeter in Californias Central Valley that same year, according to the Exeter Sun article. James DeAngelo Jr. believes that without law and order there can be no government and without a democratic government here can be no freedom, the article reads. Law enforcement is his career, he says, and his job is serving the community. Advertisement He later joined the Auburn police force. What do we know about his work as a police officer? Sean Ragan, special agent in charge of the FBIs Sacramento office, said DeAngelos stints as a police officer in Exeter, near Visalia, and Auburn, near Sacramento, matched those of some of the slayings he is accused of. The time frame of the crimes supports that the suspect was a police officer when he committed some of these crimes, Ragan said. The locations of his work are notable because the Golden State Killer struck in both the Sacramento and Visalia areas. The Auburn Journal reported in a front-page article on Aug. 29, 1979, that DeAngelo had been dismissed from the Auburn police force for stealing a can of dog repellent and a hammer from a Sacramento drugstore. Advertisement What did he do after his law enforcement career? This is where there are holes in his biography. Officials have not said how they determined that he was in the other various locations across California where and when the attacks occurred. Victoria Castro, a spokeswoman for Modesto-based Save Mart Supermarkets, said he worked for the chain for almost 30 years. Joe DeAngelo was a 27-year employee of the Roseville distribution center, having retired last year., Castro said. None of his actions in the workplace would have lead us to suspect any connection to crimes being attributed to him. We are working with the Sacramento County district attorneys office on their investigation. How was he captured? Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said the task force had been conducting surveillance on DeAngelo and secretly retrieved his DNA from a discarded item, such as a soda can. The DNA matched specimens left by the killer at crime scenes. Authorities would not say how they initially came to see him as a suspect. Advertisement On Tuesday, when they were ready to act, authorities staked out DeAngelos house. When he came out of his residence, we had a team in place that was able to take him into custody, Jones said. He was very surprised by that. He said investigators were scouring his house for physical evidence. There is a lot of material in his house, Jones said. Were looking for mementos, things that might tie him back whether its a firearm, whether its ammunition. Whatever it is, were going to be looking for it. Advertisement Does he have a criminal record? Jones said he knew of no recent criminal record for DeAngelo. He has a couple of minor things in his past . Nothing of the magnitude that would raise a red flag. Sacramento County court records show a single criminal case against DeAngelo, a July 2012 charge for driving under the influence for which he was ordered to spend 48 hours in jail and three years on informal probation. A Tijuana man was sentenced in San Diego federal court Friday to 30 months in prison for conspiring to smuggle and sell pharmaceuticals that were either counterfeit or unapproved for use in the United States. Alejandro Hernandez, 54, told an undercover private investigator that he used to be a pharmacist in Mexico and began to sell drugs illegally in the U.S. as a side job about four years ago, according to the complaint. The investigation started in 2015 when the private investigator who worked for a U.S. drug manufacturer began communicating with Hernandez about how to obtain the medications. The investigator met with Hernandez on multiple occasions, often in a Chula Vista parking lot, to buy various drugs for cash. The drugs included counterfeit Viagra and Cialis, which are both used to treat erectile dysfunction, as well as several medications that are considered prescription drugs in Mexico but arent approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe. Those include Buscapina, used to treat menstrual cramps; Prodolina, an anti-inflammatory pain reliever; and Neo-Melubrina, marketed as a stronger form of aspirin, according to court records. Advertisement The investigator ordered thousands of dollars of drugs over several months. Hernandez told the investigator that hed have the drugs smuggled in by others, and then hed meet customers in the U.S. for the sale, the complaint says. A U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agent conducted surveillance of Hernandez in 2016 and 2017 and discovered he stored the drugs in three self-storage facilities near the border, the complaint says. In June 2017, an undercover HSI agent made a $1,580 purchase for several drugs from Hernandez, including counterfeit Viagra, Cialis and Terramicina, an antibiotic not available in the U.S. Agents arrested Hernandez in November as he made a delivery, prosecutors said. A search of one of his storage units turned up more than $250,000 in pharmaceuticals, as well as ledgers recording sales. Hernandez pleaded guilty in February. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay $9,750 restitution to Cialis maker Eli Lilly and Co. U.S. consumers rely on the FDAs scientific review to ensure that their drugs are safe and effective, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Special Agent in Charge Lisa Malinowski said in a statement. The mission that drives our investigations is protecting patients from unsafe drugs. Advertisement kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis Rapper Kanye West returned to Twitter last week, announcing that he was writing a philosophy book and that we were all already reading that book, because the book was just his tweets. But one Saturday morning tweet was a bit different, because West was endorsing thoughts from a mind that was not his own: I love the way Candace Owens thinks -- April 21, 2018 Those familiar with Owens may already know why this tweet led to the pro-Trump internet losing their collective minds. Owens, who once used the social media handle Red Pill Black, is an African-American activist in the pro-Trump internet. She joined YouTube about nine months ago and has nearly 200,000 subscribers. Among her biggest hits: a video mocking concerns over rising white supremacy after August 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one counter-protester was killed. Its obviously the medias fault, she says in the video, which has more than a half million views. The media is creating this entire narrative. Its crazy to me. . . that people havent figured this out yet. Advertisement Wests tweet, along with others, have left many online wondering whether hes been red-pilled, a term that comes from the film The Matrix and used in the various corners of the Mens Rights and far-right internet to describe a conversion experience to their point of view. It is a term Owens has adapted for her own worldview. She has appeared on Infowars and Fox News to promote her thesis that the media have brainwashed black people to vote for Democrats, and that blacks would vote for Republicans if only they could be red-pilled by recent converts like her. Has West been red-pilled? For the curious and confused, heres a step-by-step guide: Step 1: The Context West is not a brand-new figure of interest to the pro-Trump Internet. I told yall I didnt vote, right? West said at a mid-November 2016 performance in San Jose, California, but if I wouldve voted, I wouldve voted for Trump. West said of Trumps style, That method of communication has proven that it can beat a politically correct way of communication, Politico reported. During the monologue, West also told black people to stop focusing on racism, un Owens-esque thing to say. Advertisement West and Trump met a month later, at Trump Tower. Trump said theyd been friends for a long time. For instance, at a 2015 political rally, Trump said of West: He loves Trump. He goes around saying Trump is my all-time hero. He says it to everybody. West explained the reasons behind that visit in a series of now-deleted tweets. They met to discuss multicultural issues, he wrote, and the pair talked about bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change, he said. The meeting happened after weeks of West lying low, following the early cancellation of his tour and some time in the hospital. Advertisement Step 2: The Anticipation More than a week ago West said he was going to write a philosophy book called Break the Simulation. Mike Cernovich, a popular figure on the pro-Trump internet who has lately been tweeting about consciousness and energy, then told fans to pay attention to Wests new philosophy book and tweets. Kanye could bring the races together, Cernovich tweeted last Wednesday. Kanye pretended to be who he wasnt -- To show you who he really is. Thats what he means by leaving the Simulation. On Friday night, Cernovich responded to a question from a fan by saying Kanye was the most positive thing the world could look forward to in 2018. Advertisement A binding idea of the pro-Trump internet is the sense that the world is on the verge of a mass conversion away from liberalism, with a mainstream figure who might become an advocate. Last summer, for instance, Infowars Alex Jones appeared to believe that PewDiePie, a YouTuber with more than 50 million followers, had been red-pilled and courted his attention aggressively after PewDiePie followed him on Twitter. Step 3: The Tweet What pushed West from potential messiah to #MAGA Neo on the pro-Trump internet was his tweet praising Owens. The night before, Owens had a tweet that went viral: Black Lives Matter protesters showed up to my @UCLAevent to protest. Here is a video clip of me smacking them down with the truth; theyre a bunch of whiny toddlers, pretending to be oppressed for attention. -- April 20, 2018 Advertisement In the video, Owens says: What is happening right now in the black community. . .there is an ideological civil war happening. Black people that are focused on their past and shouting about slavery, and black people that are focused on their futures, OK? Thats what it really comes down to. Step 4: The Celebration Wests tweet was met with celebration from the pro-Trump Internet, including from one of its current best-known celebrities: actor Roseanne Barr, who tweeted bingo on April 21. Owens appeared the next day on Fox and Friends to explain to a wider audience what had just happened on Twitter and why conservatives should be celebrating. Advertisement Step 5: The Backlash There was also a wave of anger and disappointment. A market has always and will always exist for men and women like this who say what bigoted white folk love to hear. They will always have a seat at somebodys table, progressive activist Shaun King tweeted. Among the angriest was Barrs ex-husband, comedian Tom Arnold, who tweeted at Owens: Good luck glomming onto @kanyewest His family already told him you were a phony & fraud. A former democratic bad actress doing video bits to get on TV anyway she can. Enjoy it now. Youre so inauthentic even your white power fans are going to get bored with you. In another, more vulgar tweet that has since been deleted, Arnold likened Owenss appeal to conservatives to a sexual act. #MAGA Twitter responded by saying Arnold was the real racist. Advertisement Step 6: The Dilbert By April 23, speculation about Wests possible ticket aboard the Trump Train had quieted a bit -- until he tweeted several videos from pro-Trump internet celebrity Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon. Wests tweets appear to be videos from a hand-held camera pointed at his laptop, capturing clips of Adams. People are breaking out of their mental prisons. People are realizing that there are things that used to hold us back, that used to limit what we could do, Adams says in one clip, that much of these were psychological. In another clip, Adams says: These two people [West and Owens] that shouldnt be in the same conversation, in seven words, Kanye just changed that. ... He just freed a lot of people from a mental prison. Advertisement After the videos, West tweeted: new ideas will no longer be condemned by the masses. We are on the frontier of massive change. Starting from breaking out of our mental prisons. The Washington Post asked West to comment on whether he has been red-pilled. Whether he has, or whether West simply likes praise from any source, his approving tweets are amplifying the voices of some of the pro-Trump internets biggest personalities to a huge audience. West has 15 million Twitter followers, and his videos of Adams garnered hundreds of millions of views in just a few hours. RELATED STORIES: What will the philosophy of Kanye West sound like? Advertisement J. Cole is the most divisive rapper in the world. Which side are you on? A Pulitzer smartly recognizes the virtuosic power of Kendrick Lamars DAMN. Advertisement On stage at a genetics conference Thursday, 16-month-old Sebastiana Manuel tried to snag the mic out of her moms hand. She shifted back and forth in her dads lap, alternating between excited hand-clapping and attempts to wiggle free. It was normal toddler behavior, but also something of a miracle for this dark-haired pixie in a bright pink dress. Sebastiana and her parents found themselves at the third annual Frontiers in Genomic Pediatric Medicine Conference in La Jolla because doctors once thought she would never walk and certainly would never be a happy, funny little kid. Shortly after her baby was born on Dec. 6, 2016, Sebastiana began having uncontrollable and unexplained seizures, recalled her mother, Dolores Sebastian of Fallbrook. Advertisement She would just scream and turn purple and, right after that, she would pass out, Sebastian recalled. The damage done by so many seizures so young usually has such a lasting effect on the brains internal wiring that, by the time doctors find a medication that can make the symptoms stop, the damage is done. But Sebastiana is one of a handful of babies at Rady Childrens Hospital that has participated in a new medical investigation that uses rapid genetic sequencing to drastically reduce the amount of guesswork involved in diagnosing unexplained seizures and other mysterious symptoms. In just a few days, rather than weeks or months, sequencing found a defect in gene KCNQ2, which is known to cause seizures. Working with the Rady Childrens Institute for Genomic Medicine, doctors were able to determine that a drug not usually used in children should be able to stop the seizures. Rady is one of a handful of organizations able to do its own sequencing and, in close collaboration with San Diego-based sequencing powerhouse Illumina, recently set a world record for sequencing speed, decoding a pediatric patients whole genetic code in just 19 hours. Sebastianas father, Pascual Manuel, said the day his daughter rolled over, even though her doctors said she probably never would, was unforgettable. Now shes getting ready to crawl, and I see her feet are getting stronger. There are a lot of stubborn people in my family, and I think that stubborn streak is a good thing for her, Manuel said. Its a transformation that impressed Dr. Howard Kelfer, a pediatric neurologist at Cook Childrens Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas, who was among the hundreds of medical and genetic experts in the audience Thursday, the second day of the three-day conference. Advertisement Unaffiliated with Rady or the other hospitals working with the genomic institute to explore rapid genetic sequencing for babies in neonatal intensive care units, Kelfer said diagnosing seizures is some of the most painful work in his field. Its usually a trial-and-error process that involves running tests and trying different drugs in different combinations until the correct combination makes the seizures go away. Kelfer said he has a patient, now 7 years old, who suffers daily from the damage caused by the same disorder that Sebastina has. My patient with that disorder is devastated. Shes in a wheelchair with home care, he said. The thought is, he added, that ending seizures as quickly as possible clears the way for the brain to continue growing and making critical connections between its billions of neurons that are necessary for babies to develop normally. Advertisement But the research is a little unclear, he added, on just how much damage is avoided by an earlier cessation of seizures. In this sense, Kelfer said, babies such as Sebastina are advancing medical knowledge. Her development will help understand the true lifetime effect of the early intervention provides. With these disorders, there is an underlying wiring diagram mishap with the brain, and that is still there, he said. By controlling the seizures, youve quieted down the situation where all of the wires were firing off at the same time, but you still havent put them back where they belong. He added that, at the moment, its very difficult to get health insurance companies to pay for the kind of rapid sequencing and analysis that Rady has in-house. A big advantage of sharing patient stories like Sebastiana, he said, is showing insurance companies that genetic analysis can lead to changes in the treatment that patients receive. As the stories begin to pile up, they go from being interesting anecdotes to a solid evidence of medical efficacy. Advertisement If you have enough cases, you can cross the threshold and show that, not only will this impact patient outcomes, but it saves money, Kelfer said. You can show that kids who would otherwise be in the hospital for weeks or months undergoing diagnostics are able to go home. The genomics institute recently published a study of sequencing 42 infants with unexplained symptoms. Eleven avoided significant health consequences and, looking at just six of those, early genetic diagnosis resulted in between $800,000 and $2 million in avoided health care costs. Advertisement Health Playlist On Now Video: Why aren't Americans getting flu shots? 0:37 On Now Video: Leaders urge public to help extinguish hepatitis outbreak On Now San Diego starts cleansing sidewalks, streets to combat hepatitis A On Now Video: Scripps to shutter its hospice service On Now Video: Scripps La Jolla hospitals nab top local spot in annual hospital rankings On Now Video: Does a parent's Alzheimer's doom their children? On Now Video: Vaccine can prevent human papillomavirus, which can cause cancer 0:31 On Now 23 local doctors have already faced state discipline in 2017 0:48 On Now EpiPen recall expands On Now Kids can add years to your life paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1850 Advertisement Twitter: @paulsisson Teachers in Arizona and Colorado turned their state Capitols into a sea of red Thursday as they kicked off widespread walkouts that shut down public schools in a bid for better pay and education funding, building on educator revolt that emerged elsewhere in the U.S. but whose political prospects were not clear. Tens of thousands of teachers wearing red shirts and holding Money for Schools signs launched the first-ever statewide strike by marching 2 miles in 90-degree heat to a rally at the Arizona Capitol. They plan to walk out again Friday to press lawmakers for their demands as will Colorado educators. Educators in both states want more classroom resources and have received offers either for increased school funding or pay, but they say the money isnt guaranteed and the efforts dont go far enough. The walkouts are the climax of an uprising that spread from West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Most of Arizonas public schools will be closed the rest of the week, and about half of all Colorado students will see their schools shuttered over the two days as teachers take up the Arizona movements #RedforEd mantle. Advertisement I feel like funding for the schools should be at the top of the list, said Brandon Hartley, a charter school teacher from the Phoenix suburb of Peoria who brought his 7-year-old son to the Arizona rally. Other parents who brought their children to the protest in Phoenix expressed support despite school closures that led makeshift day care operations to open at schools and recreation centers to help working parents. Food banks and some schools also were providing free meals that many students rely on. Mariaelena Sandoval brought her 11-year-old daughter and held a sign that said, Im a Republican, Im voting and Im #RedforEd. She said she had a wake-up call when she learned a teacher paid out of pocket for a field trip. Im walking for her, Sandoval said of her daughter. The crowd, many of whom carried water jugs and umbrellas to combat the heat, streamed through the streets of downtown Phoenix as employees at courthouses and office buildings left work to watch. Phoenix Police Department estimated the crowd size at 50,000. In much cooler Colorado, several thousand educators rallied around the Capitol, with many using personal time to attend two days of protests expected to draw as many as 10,000 demonstrators. They chanted, Education is our right and Were not gonna take it anymore, getting honks from passing cars. Were not asking for a lot of money, said Danielle Rose, a first-grade teacher from Westminster, Colorado. Were just asking to be able to live in Colorado, where the cost of living is much higher. Lawmakers there have agreed to give schools their largest budget increase since the Great Recession. But teachers say Colorado has a long way to go to recover lost ground because of strict tax and spending limits. Advertisement Because lawmakers cannot raise taxes without voter approval, theyre not expecting an immediate fix. The teachers union is backing a ballot initiative to raise taxes on corporations and those earning over $150,000 a year. Arizonas Republican governor, Doug Ducey, has proposed 20 percent raises by 2020 and said he has no plans to meet with striking teachers or address other demands, including about $1 billion to return school funding to pre-Great Recession levels and increased pay for support staff. Teachers and some lawmakers are concerned Duceys proposal relies on overly optimistic revenue projections. It also doesnt address educators other demands. A key legislative leader said Republican leaders in the House agreed Thursday to support Duceys proposal that doesnt address other teacher demands. Rep. David Livingston, head of the House Appropriations Committee, said the deal should result in a formal budget plan next week, but details must still be worked out. Advertisement But its not clear how it will affect the walkout, which has no end date and began because teachers found the plan insufficient. Joe Thomas of the Arizona Education Association, the states largest teacher membership group, said educators may have to consider a ballot initiative seeking education funding if a plan by lawmakers isnt successful. School districts closed and teachers protested across Arizona. South in Tucson, educators waved signs on sidewalks, while up north, protesters marched to Flagstaff City Hall and others gathered on the Navajo reservation. But schools were open in Lake Havasu City, where Karen Flenniken has two grandchildren in grade school. Advertisement The teachers signed a contract, and they need to honor the contract, said Flenniken, describing the walkout as blackmail. More than 840,000 Arizona students were expected to be out of school Thursday, according to an analysis from The Arizona Republic that tallied up at least 100 school districts and charter schools that were closing. Many school districts also planned to close Friday, possibly sending kids to another day of day camps or other care options at community organizations. Addie Martinez dropped off her 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter at a Phoenix Salvation Army that was offering child care before she rushed to her medical assistant job. The facility has room for up to 100 kids and provides breakfast, lunch and snacks for $25 per child. Advertisement Martinez said she was prepared to take her children back Friday and next week to the center, which has activities such as arts and crafts and dodgeball. Despite the inconvenience, she said she supported the teachers because they are educating our future. Associated Press writers Colleen Slevin in Denver, Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Terry Tang, Bob Christie and Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report. The first round of 2018 campaign finance reports for county races were due Thursday evening, giving a glimpse of the candidates strength before vote-by-mail ballots get sent out early next month. The reports cover a period from January 1 through April 21 and show who gave to which candidates, and how much they contributed as well as campaign expenses, loans and debts. Donors can give $800 per candidate per (the primary and general are considered separate elections) in district races, while political parties can give $25,950 to supervisor campaigns, and $51,850 to countywide races. All of the county offices are non-partisan but elections often follow party lines. The last report before the June 5 primary is due on May 24. Advertisement Heres how the candidates did in the period: District Attorney Appointed incumbent Summer Stephan, a Republican, raised $148,208 in her first race for district attorney. Including funds raised last year, she has $241,627 on hand. Her report puts her solidly ahead of Genevieve Jones-Wright, a public defender, who raised $95,188 in the period and has $144,691 left. Real Justice, a political committee based in San Francisco, has announced it will back Jones-Wright, although its not clear to what extent. With just two candidates running, this race will be decided through the June 5 primary. Sheriff Incumbent Republican Sheriff Bill Gore out-performed Democrat Dave Myers, a department commander, by a slim margin in the period but still has a significant cash advantage. Gore raised $68,276 in the period and has $96,911 left, while Myers raised $65,020 and has $49,795 in his account. This race will also be decided in the June 5 primary. Board of Supervisors District 4 Supervisor Ron Roberts is leaving office because of term limits and there are four candidates running to replace him in a seat that represents about half of San Diego city on the board. Democrat Nathan Fletcher, a former assemblyman, raised $140,051 in the period and has $256,896 left in his account, the strongest financial standing of all the candidates. Advertisement Former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican, raised $85,757 and has $224,055 left. Democrat Omar Passons, an attorney making his first run for office, raised $70,340 in the period and has $13,268 in his account. Hes also carrying $39,138 in campaign debt. Democrat Lori Saldana, a former assemblywoman, raised $16,744 and has $726 left. Saldana, however, is receiving outside support from the San Diego Working Families Council, a labor organization, which formed a committee to support her. The pro-Saldana group has received one contribution, a $50,000 donation from the Laborers International Union of North America Local 89. Not all of the labor community, however, is backing Saldana. Records also show that a group dubbed San Diegans Opposed to Hyprocrites & Lori Saldana has raised $20,000 through a single contribution from the United Domestic Workers of America. Advertisement Retired San Diego Deputy Fire Chief Ken Malbrough, a Democrat, raised $4,800 and has $15,422 left. Unless a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top-two contenders will face each other in the November runoff. Board of Supervisors District 5 One Republican and one Democrat running to succeed Supervisor Bill Horn in the North County seat have significantly outraised their opponents. San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond, a Republican, raised $55,717 in the period and has $220,756 in his campaign account, a solid advantage. He lists $51,714 in campaign debt. Advertisement Jacqueline Arsivaud, a Democrat, raised $31,956 and after expenses has $18,173 left. Oceanside Councilman Jerry Kern, also a Republican, raised $17,100 and has $85,398 left. Democrat Michelle Gomez, a policy analyst, raised $5,040 and has $4,486 left. Unless a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top-two contenders will face each other in the November runoff. Advertisement Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Democrat Matt Strabone is trying to unseat Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg, a Republican. The incumbent did considerably better in the period. Dronenburg raised $75,096 and has $86,221 cash-on-hand. Strabone raised $40,758 and has $20,466 left in the bank. With just two candidates running this race will be decided through the June 5 primary. Advertisement Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com Advertisement (619) 293-1841 A proposed apartment complex for homeless people is causing an uproar in Clairemont. Residents want to know who would live there, how security would be handled and other details. The nonprofit developer says opposition is based on misperceptions about the homeless. Some Clairemont residents are in an uproar over plans to build 50 apartments for previously homeless people in the mostly residential community. A vocal group of residents is criticizing San Diego officials and the nonprofit developer of the proposed housing complex for lack of transparency about who would live there, possible drug use at the site and how security would be handled. The developer, Wakeland Housing, says it cant answer some of those questions yet, blaming the outcry on bias against homeless people. City officials say they cant do anything until Wakeland submits official plans, which hasnt happened. This is likely to be the first of many similar controversies, as city officials strive to solve the local homelessness crisis by subsidizing housing projects all over San Diego that aim to help homeless people get back on their feet. Advertisement In addition to including modest apartments for the formerly homeless, such housing complexes will typically feature on-site supportive services such as mental health counseling, drug treatment and job placement help. The citys plan, based on a relatively new national model called housing first, likely faces turbulence and opposition in every community where such housing complexes would be built. Plans to convert a motel near Imperial Beach into housing for chronically homeless low-level criminals prompted similar public outcry last fall before eventually getting City Council approval. A leader of the angry Clairemont residents says her community is willing to do its part to solve the regions homelessness problem, they just want details on exactly what they would be welcoming into their community and why. Clairemont has a huge heart and they want to be part of the solution, Eden Yaege, president of the Clairemont Town Council, said by phone. But we need those answers first. A Wakeland official said by phone this week that the company isnt being secretive or uncooperative, but that some of the answers community members want arent yet available. The uproar began earlier this month when Wakeland hosted an informational forum about the proposed complex, which would replace an aging office building on Mt. Alifan Drive near the intersection of Balboa and Genesee avenues. Advertisement We realized people want a lot more detail than we have. Were very early in the process with this, said Rebecca Louie, Wakelands chief operating officer. Were going to come back when we have it a little more fleshed out. Louie said company officials have decided on the general concept and wanted to share that with community leaders and nearby residents as soon as possible. We know big picture that our goal is to build a 52-ish unit apartment complex to provide homes with supportive services for people who have been homeless or at risk, she said. Councilman Chris Cate, whose district includes Clairemont, said in an interview this week that he appreciates Wakeland seeking community input early, but not when there are so many unanswered questions. Advertisement Theres a lot of misperceptions out there about this project, and I definitely share the frustration of a lot of community members and the concerns they have, said Cate, who lives in nearby Mira Mesa. It was definitely not thought all the way through -- the rollout of this. In addition to lack of detail, Cate said Wakeland seems to have presented construction of the proposed housing complex as inevitable to the residents. No one likes to be told what its going to be, Cate said. They shouldnt be left with the impression this is a done deal, and for what its worth, a lot of folks felt that way. Louie said backlash against such projects is based on misperceptions. Advertisement Theres a stigma associated with homelessness, so everyone sort of pictures that person who is severely mentally ill on the street and they think I dont want that to be my neighbor I dont want my kids going by a place where that person lives, she said. You cant judge how someone is going to behave once theyre housed, based on how they were living on the streets. Louie said these would essentially be traditional apartments where tenants have to obey the rules and be good neighbors or face eviction and other potential consequences. She said the location is ideal because its near hundreds of entry-level retail jobs in large shopping plazas at Balboa and Genesee. Wakeland operates two similar complexes that have opened in recent months in City Heights and downtown San Diego, and Louie said they have blended well into those neighborhoods. Advertisement Clairemont residents, however, arent just questioning the specifics of the proposal, but whether the citys entire housing first model makes sense. To build the complex, Wakeland would need to secure financing from the citys Housing Commission and federal tax credits. Louie estimated the earliest Wakeland could break ground would be 2020, with construction potentially complete in 2022. Residents in opposition have created the website clairemontcares.com Advertisement david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick A woman suspected of robbing a Hillcrest bank was arrested about 30 minutes after the robbery when a San Diego police officer spotted her walking in the neighborhood Thursday. The robbery occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. when a woman walked up to a teller at Wells Fargo Bank on Cleveland Street and handed a teller a note demanding money, San Diego police Officer John Buttle said. The robber did not display a weapon, Buttle said. She was described as a heavy-set Latina wearing a black shirt and pink hat. At about 6 p.m., an officer driving in the neighborhood near the bank spotted a woman matching that description and stopped to detain her, police said. Advertisement Witnesses later identified the woman as the robber, and she was arrested. Homeless Playlist On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 A recent 2017 crime report had good news for residents San Diego County remains one of the safest regions in the country. According to the report released last week by the San Diego Association of Governments, the county logged 17 property crimes per 1,000 residents in 2017. Thats the lowest property crime rate the region has seen since the association started tracking crime statistics 38 years ago. Larceny and motor vehicle thefts both fell between 2016 and 2017. Burglaries decreased for the fifth straight year. Although the violent crime rate increased about 2 percent, it was still the fourth lowest rate the county had logged since 1980. Advertisement That tracks with FBI data released in late September, that pegged San Diego County as one of the safest large counties in the United States in 2016, with less violent crime and property crime than all but four of the largest metropolitan areas. Cynthia Burke, director of SANDAGs Criminal Justice Research Division, said that while San Diego should be proud of the overall safety of the region, victimization surveys show that not all crime is reported to law enforcement, and crimes such as identity theft are not included in the statistics cited in the recent SANDAG report. Most forms of violent crime increased between 2016 and 2017 including rape, robbery and aggravated assault, the report says. Homicides, however, decreased after three straight years of increases. The county logged 80 homicides in 2016, according to the report. In February, the Union-Tribune reported there were 76 homicides last year. Why the discrepancy? According to the report, police departments in La Mesa, Oceanside and San Diego and the San Diego County Sheriffs Department all logged one more homicide than the statistics kept by the Union-Tribune. San Diegos 35th killing offers a glimpse at the sometimes delayed nature of homicide reporting. On Aug. 13, two elderly men got into a fight at Oakmont of Pacific Beach, a retirement community on Grand Avenue. Advertisement During the altercation, John Boyle, who was 83, shoved Stuart Edelson. The 77-year-old man fell, suffering injuries to his upper and lower body. In November, Boyle died of natural causes. Edelson never recovered from his injuries and died in December. San Diego police detectives launched an investigation into the death, but it wasnt until the Medical Examiners Office ruled the death a homicide in March that the killing was added to San Diegos numbers. The other departments that logged an additional homicide couldnt be reached for comment. Advertisement Among other observations, the report notes that of the reported rapes, 88 percent were categorized as completed rather than attempted the highest percent in the past five years. As for theft cases, officers and deputies only recovered about $1 of every $3 stolen in the county in 2017. The report also points to an increase in violent crimes against seniors, hate crimes and domestic violence incidents between 2016 and 2017. Specifically, there was a 41 percent increase in violent crime against people aged 60 years and older between 2013 and 2017, while the senior population itself had only increased by 20 percent. With the jump in the number of violent crimes against seniors and an aging population, it is important that we work together to bring attention to this issue, as well as how this group may become property crime victims, Burke said at the time the report was released. Advertisement Staff writer Gary Warth contributed to this report. Advertisement Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com Firefighters rescued a motorist trapped in a burning car Friday morning after it crashed into a tree in San Diegos Miramar Ranch North area near Scripps Ranch, authorities said. That driver was trapped inside the fiery, mangled sedan when rescue crews arrived at Spring Canyon Road and Scripps Creek Drive, San Diego police Officer Steve Bourasa said. The driver was transported to a hospital and sustained a broken arm, escaping more serious, life-threatening injuries, Bourasa said. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened about 7:10 a.m., Bourasa said. Advertisement Investigators from the San Diego Police Departments traffic unit were investigating the cause of the crash. Authorities in Georgia have accused a Campo man of supplying officials there with forged military discharge documents as part of his bid to be the fire chief in an Atlanta suburb. An arrest warrant for Robert Kenneth Hume accuses him of submitting paperwork to officials in Marietta, Ga., showing hed earned military honors including a Silver Star that he did not actually receive, and showing that hed achieved a higher rank than he did while serving in the U.S. Army. An email to Hume on Thursday was met with a call from attorney David S. West, Humes lawyer in Georgia. West said his new client will go to Georgia to surrender himself and address the matter. Right now we dont have any comment on the reason this occurred or what may have happened but I can tell you that he retained me, and we are going to appear and address this, West said. Advertisement Hes not running away from this. He wants to deal with it. Within the next couple of days we are going to have a chance to get the warrant taken care of. He said that, to his knowledge, no Marietta authorities had contacted his client to discuss the accuracy of the information. The warrant, which has a $10,000 bond, was signed by a Georgia magistrate on April 17. It charges Hume with forgery and false statement or representation as a military veteran. The accusations are made under Georgia state law, not as a violation of the federal Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to make fraudulent claims about military service with the intent of obtaining a tangible benefit. According to the warrant, Hume is accused of altering a military discharge document known as a DD214 to show that he had earned a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and other medals including a Purple Heart during his Army service. The warrant also accuses Hume of presenting paperwork stating that hed earned the rank of master sergeant, when the highest rank actually obtained was sergeant. The investigation started after Hume submitted an application in early April for consideration to become the towns fire chief, a job that comes with salary ranging roughly from $91,000 to $140,000. Marietta spokeswoman Lindsey Wiles said Thursday that the citys director of human resources himself a retired military man caught anomalies in Humes documents while going through the stack of application packets for the chiefs job. He did human resources in the military as well, and he is quite well-versed in what (discharge documents) should look like, Wiles said. Advertisement Marietta police Officer Chuck McPhilamy said the human resources director reached out to police and asked for help investigating. Once the detectives verified what they say was forgery and misrepresentation of military records, they secured a warrant. They did not seek Humes extradition from San Diego County. Details about Humes background were not immediately clear. A Campo resident with the same name served as a member of the Campo Planning Group after his election to the body in 2010. According to a short biography in a November 2010 story in East County Magazine, candidate Hume had 22 years of experience in the US Army as a medic, and had been a full-time paramedic/firefighter in Georgia, was also a member of a fire department in Campo. The Union-Tribune could not immediately verify whether that candidate was the same Robert Hume. Advertisement Marietta is about 20 minutes outside of Atlanta, and has a population of about 65,000. The fire chief runs a department with an annual budget upwards of $12.5 million. The previous chief retired in November after 40 years with the department, the last 18 in the top job. A total of 66 people applied to replace him. The city is in the interview process. We are confident we will get the right person, Wiles said. Advertisement teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Advertisement Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT A security guard found a body in a steep canyon in Balboa Park early Friday, San Diego police said. The area was difficult to access, so authorities were waiting for sunup to try to reach the area, Officer Steven Bourasa said. The guard called police about 1 a.m. to report finding the body in a canyon near Florida Street and Zoo Drive. Bourasa said officers would evaluate the situation to decide whether it appears to be a natural death, which would be a Medical Examiners case, or a homicide. Advertisement He had no information about the gender, age or condition of the deceased. pauline.repard@sduniontribune Twitter: @pdrepard A San Diego Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the San Diego City Attorneys Office cannot go on defending the city in a lawsuit by a San Diego police detective because the office violated the detectives right to confidential communications with her lawyer. The ruling came Friday in the 2014 lawsuit by Detective Dana Hoover on allegations that she was retaliated against after sending an email about false statements another detective made about a police line-up during a murder trial four years ago. Her attorney, Dan Gilleon, asked the court to disqualify the City Attorneys Office from handling the lawsuit because of its conduct during a police internal affairs investigation to identify leaks to the media about an SDPD sexual assault case from 2016. According to Gilleon, a deputy city attorney improperly asked Hoover about her communications with Gilleon. Gilleon wrote in court papers that Christina Milligan, the deputy city attorney representing SDPD in Hoovers civil litigation against the city, attended one of the internal affairs interviews and directly questioned Hoover about the lawsuit even though Hoover asserted attorney-client privilege. Advertisement In her ruling granting Gilleons request for disqualification, Judge Katherine Bacal wrote that the court agreed with Gilleons arguments, adding, In fact, it is not even a close call. Bacals ruling went on to say, Disqualification is warranted to preserve the publics trust in the integrity of the judicial process and to prevent future prejudice. The judge agreed to delay implementation of her ruling so the city could decide whether to appeal. If the ruling stands, the city would likely be required to hire an outside law firm to take over the case which was scheduled for trial on June 8. At the hearing Friday, the city argued that the questions asked in the internal-affairs interview were not about the lawsuit itself and therefore should not have been protected by attorney-client privilege. Gilleons motion to disqualify the City Attorneys Office referenced questions asked by Milligan, such as, So this investigation were talking about would be encompassed in your civil case? Is that your position? Gilleon told the court Milligan questioned his client without his permission, in what he alleged was a violation of the State Bar of Californias Rules of Professional Conduct, according to court records. Bacal said that once Hoover asserted attorney-client privilege during the internal affairs interviews, the question of whether the protection applied was for the court to decide. The city made the decision, on its own and without a court order, to go ahead and find this objection overruled, she said. Advertisement Cheryl Nolan, a spokeswoman for the City Attorneys Office, declined to discuss the lawsuit, saying the office does not comment on pending litigation or claims. Milligan did not respond to emails requesting comment on the lawsuit or the allegations against her. If the ruling stands, the city and all of its employees will be barred from sharing or using privileged information Hoover divulged in the internal affairs interviews. The leak police were hunting down in the internal affairs investigation was related to an alleged sexual assault of a mentally disabled boy by another mentally disabled boy while the two were in alone in a bathroom at Lincoln High School in 2016. As first reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, Gilleon filed a claim against the city on behalf of the alleged victims mother in November, accusing police of failing to properly investigate and report the alleged assault. In a follow-up story in March, the online news outlet Voice of San Diego said it obtained a police report of the incident the leak investigated by the police internal-affairs probe. Advertisement Questions police asked Hoover during the internal investigation had to do with whether she and Gilleon had discussed the sexual assault case and, if so, what they had discussed, according to court records. In the filings, Gilleon said he had been working to obtain information about possible coverups and investigative failures at the department with an eye toward developing potential evidence for Hoovers case. Advertisement Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35 morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com State law calls on government officials to respond to public-records requests within 10 days. They get two extra weeks if the demand is complicated. But one request to the California Public Utilities Commission has stretched past 1,200 days and remains unresolved even though an appeals court decided more than five months ago to examine the disputed emails in private. The records, more than 100 exchanges to and from Gov. Jerry Browns office and the utilities commission president, relate to the San Onofre nuclear plant failure in 2012 and the way regulators assigned billions of dollars in premature shutdown costs to customers rather than to utility shareholders. Advertisement State officials said the emails are not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, but San Diego attorney Michael Aguirre disagreed and sued for access to the records. In October, the 1st District Court of Appeal ordered the commission to turn over the emails so appellate judges could review them in chambers and decide whether they should be released. But the court has yet to rule on the issue. These delays first by the CPUC and now by the appellate courts inaction run afoul of the California Constitution, said Attorney Maria Severson, Aguirres law partner and lawyer in the case. The court has had the records for more than five months, she said. Justice delayed is justice denied. Cathal Conneely, a spokesman for the 1st District court in San Francisco, declined to comment on when the judges might issue a ruling. Instead, he forwarded an annual report that said the average length of time it takes to resolve a case before the appellate court is 842 days. For a case to reach this level means that the issues are more complex and the rulings have a greater impact on the law, hence the extended timeframes, he said by email. At least one legal scholar questioned whether the 1st District has handled the case appropriately. Robert Fellmeth, who runs the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego, said there is no excuse for the appeals court to spend months determining whether emails related to the San Onofre proceeding should be released under the California Public Records Act. Advertisement I think it is too long, way too long, Fellmeth said. But its not uncommon, he said. I have never seen a judicial decision that ever acknowledged the serious ramifications of judicial delay, Fellmeth said. Never. That delay is often determinative simply through inaction, or renders the matter moot. The judiciary finds ways to get around deadlines. State lawmakers have tried for years to allow public-records disputes with the utilities commission to be adjudicated first by Superior Court judges, instead of having to go directly to busy appeals courts, but the changes have run into opposition. Advertisement The San Onofre emails could be important to a criminal investigation opened into utilities commission practices in 2014. The state Attorney Generals Office have executed at least six search warrants at the commissions San Francisco offices and other locations since 2014, when other emails between regulators and utility executives surfaced as part of an unrelated lawsuit. Those exchanges showed that commissioners and officials from companies they oversee regularly met in private to discuss business that was supposed to be conducted in public. The criminal case has not resulted in any charges being filed. Aguirre, who filed his California Public Records Act request in January 2015, suspected there may have been backchannel communications about the San Onofre case before commissioners voted to charge utility customers $3.3 billion of the $4.7 billion in estimated closure costs. Advertisement The nuclear plant north of Oceanside was shut down in 2012 after newly installed replacement steam generators leaked radiation. It was closed for good the following year. A separate lawsuit filed in federal court challenged the commission vote assigning billions of dollars in closure costs to ratepayers. A proposed settlement in that case would reduce $775 million of the burden on customers, although the commission yet to approve the plan. Commission lawyers provided Aguirre some documents in response to his January 2015 request, but announced in August 2015 that they were withholding 128 emails under various exemptions to the Public Records Act. Aguirre challenged that assertion at the 1st District, which ruled in October that the commission should provide the disputed emails to the court for review in chambers. Advertisement In November the commission turned over 98 emails, explaining that it wrongly counted the emails it decided to withhold in August 2015. Severson requested the appellate judges order the commission to provide a sworn declaration addressing the discrepancy but the court declined. Background Advertisement Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35 jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald Democrats Jacqueline Arsivaud and Michelle Gomez and Republicans Jim Desmond and Jerry Kern are running to replace termed-out San Diego County supervisor Bill Horn in the countys fifth supervisorial district, which has about 620,000 residents and spans nearly 1,800 square miles of North County. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board conducted extended, separate interviews with all four candidates. Here are those interviews, lightly edited. The two top vote-getters in the June 5 primary will advance to a runoff election in November. Q: Tell us why run for County Supervisor? KERN: Yeah, Ive been an Oceanside City Council member for 12 years. You know I have the skill set that Ive acquired running being on the board for the largest city in North County and its a full service city, so we have our own police, our own fire, our own water, we have our own harbor, we have our own airport. So all those things that the County does, I have done at, but not on that scale, except for one thing and thats the social service side. The social service side we defer to the County on that for Child Protective Services, you know, probation and all those other things that we defer to. So I feel that I have the skills to go forward and do this. Ive been on the Council for 12 years, so I feel that Ive learned enough to go forward. I also feel that Ive been on the Council 12 years and thats enough. You know I think I dont believe in term limits, but I think at a certain point in time it is time to move on and heres an opportunity for an open seat to either, you know, like move up or basically maybe retire. I dont know. I mean the idea that, you know, heres an opportunity that presented itself and so I took it and I think Im well qualified for the job. I think I can be of service. Ive always been in service to the people of Oceanside. Advertisement My basic philosophy of government is were the service delivery business. My basic philosophy of government is were the service delivery business, so the idea that well bring those services to people, you guys give us or Oceanside residents or North County residents give us their tax dollars and they expect services in return, they want roads, they want public safety, they want all of those things that we get together and recognize as government to do, so, you know. RELATED: Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Jacqueline Arsivaud Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Jim Desmond Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Michelle Gomez Q: Twelve years is a long time on any council. What would you say is your biggest accomplishment in that span? KERN: Actually if you really look at it, if youve been down to Oceanside in the last two years of how much we have come back. You know obviously I got on in 2006, we went through the recession, weve come back. Our reserves were at zero. Were now probably $66 million total reserve without a tax increase. The biggest political accomplishment, besides beating the recall which was quite the feat and I dont wish that on anybody. But I think the city charter, you know, the charter came about and its really helped and actually in ways you dont understand. We went in a JPA with Tri-City Hospital and were saving them tens of thousands of dollars on their building of their parking structure because we went in the JPA. The City has design build authority as a charter city. So we are using our design build authority with Tri-City Hospital so they can build their parking structure and so instead of the design, bid, build which costs us tens of thousands more and plus the fact that when you have a design and you out and bid it and only get half way through, oh no, the design was all wrong. You have all these other things to design and build. You say, okay, I want a parking structure and heres your money. At the end of the day, give me the keys and were done. So thats thats helpful. I mean I think thats a that saved the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars within the Tri-City Medical Center area, so as far as political accomplishment, I would probably put that as number one well number two. Number one is really defeating the recall. That was probably the hardest campaign Ive ever run. Advertisement Q: Yeah, since you brought that up, obviously thats kind of ancient history, that KERN: Its nine years, yeah, 2009. Q: in Oceanside, but as someone who now maybe lives outside the city and is looking to you for this seat, what should they take away from the fact that people came kind of gunning for bear with you? KERN: Well not people, the unions. You know in 2008 or 2006 when I first got elected, I finally started looking at all the numbers within the city, you know, a lot of people do that and I realized this pension system in 2008, I realized the pension system is not sustainable, you know, theres a real problem here and so I started questioning a lot of whats going on and the unions at that time did not like it. So they launched a recall, they spent a quarter of a million dollars to recall me and its, you know, a freshman council member. So I was quite taken aback, but you know we fought it and so that was a million dollar race for a council seat and not only that, I had to run for reelection like 11 months later. So I dont understand why they just didnt wait and put all their weight on trying to defeat me in the election instead of doing a recall, so and I have never got a straight answer why they did that, you know, they all seemed afterwards its all buddy, buddy and lets make up. They realized Im going to be there and stuff, so I think thats one of the strange things about politics, I guess, yeah and why they would do that, but I understand that was just at the beginning when people started pensions and long term viability of cities and so cities have gone bankrupt. San Bernardino, Vallejo, in San Bernardino, in Stockton. Stockton went bankrupt because their council just spent money like crazy doing their Downtown River Walk and things like that. San Bernardino is the true picture of what happens when you have out of control pensions. You know they, you know, the recession, you know, they couldnt keep up with their pension payments, so they had to basically restructure. Advertisement Q: You mentioned reserves, thats becoming one of the defining characteristics of this race. You mentioned you grew Oceansides from zero to $66 million I think you just said? KERN: Yeah, total, yeah, so Q: So what is your philosophy on reserves and particularly how is it different from your Republican opponent who seems to have the hardest line on on opening those reserves and spending some money. If were going to accumulate money in government just to accumulate money, you know, and we dont use it to provide services, give it back to the people. Advertisement KERN: And I think it goes back to my basic philosophy, the idea that were the service delivery business. If were going to accumulate money in government just to accumulate money, you know, and we dont use it to provide services, give it back to the people that gave it to you. Its not governments money. I mean if youre not going to spend it on services, it would look better in their checkbooks than in ours. I mean the idea that, you know, thats why we organize into different jurisdictions and cities and counties and states that get those services that people want. You know just to accumulate money to say at the end of the day, weve got $1.7 billion reserve in cash, sitting in the bank someplace, how does that help the guy in Fallbrook that cant get a pothole fixed you know? How does it help the homeless people with, you know, the hepatitis A outbreak you know? How does it help people by you accumulating money, you know? I just dont I understand a little bit about that, but I think you, just like personally, you keep a lot of money, you know, rainy day funds, I can understand that. But keeping more money in government than needed is not I dont think its a valid reason. Q: Whats the appropriate level of reserves for the county? KERN: I would probably say, you know, the City of Oceanside, our reserves are about two, two-and-a-half, three months worth. The idea that so if the big one hits and we have to go out and hire private contractors for dump trunks and cranes and clearing things up, that we have the cash on hand to do that. After about that, I think the whole system will come back online and you can actually start collecting money through taxes and the regular payments, but for obviously the seismic event would probably be the big one, but the idea that why would you need more than three months. I think 90 days cash reserves to handle whatever comes forward is probably enough. Obviously weve never touched it in all these years. So I think thats the appropriate level. Q: And what would you say the level is at now? Because Jim Desmond had a very methodical way of looking at the reserves and he did some math to show that its about a 70 day kind of operating reserves. Advertisement KERN: $1.7 billion, thats more than I mean their whole budget is $5.7, so where does he get that $1.7? Q: Some of that is encumbered right? KERN: Yeah, but the idea that still a reserve account, you know, that you can actually utilize, so I think they have too much they ought to spend some of that to like I said, for services. Yeah, you can and Im sure they go through all these justifications that that, okay, we need this money just in case we get hit by a meteor or something, you know, we have the meteor account or something and they start squirreling money away. A lot of government, they squirrel money away in position control, that they fund these positions and never fill them and so they have money just sitting there and they claw back at the end of the year which I put an end to in Oceanside when I started to see how that worked, you know, position control is that you have fully funded positions, you never fill the position. Oh were at the end of the year, we have this $100,000 that we havent funded, lets go out and buy a new copier or lets go out and do this, so I thats no longer sits with the departments, that comes back to the general fund. Q: How would you draw the reserves down? What specifically not necessarily each specific program, small program, but generally speaking what areas do you think should have more money spent on them? Advertisement KERN: Probation needs their funding restored. You know the idea that with all these realignments and they cut Probation by 20 million bucks, but now you have probation officers that are their client base is 80 to 100 people, you know, we are the only reason that we are staying as safe as we are without with this realignment is Probation is working really, really hard to stay on top of their client list, you know, for those people to not to re-offend. I think day one is to restore the funding for Probation because those guys are really the frontline and try to keep us safe and keeping the residents or their clients from re-offending. Q: Are you talking specifically more money? More salaries or more bodies? KERN: More bodies and actually I have met with them a couple times and its funny that Ive met with labor unions a lot in the last 12 years, police, fire and its always about more money, more money. When I met with Probation, not one of them asked me for more money. They wanted more staffing. They wanted more help and that was their number one priority and once they started telling me what that realignment has done and then having the County cut their budget, I dont that doesnt serve the citizens well, you know, I think thats probably the day one thing, hey, lets fully fund our probation department. Q: Your Republican opponent, you mentioned endorsements, what do you think cost you the endorsements you hoped you had, and what do you think is the difference between the two of you? Advertisement KERN: The number one reason I lost the Republican endorsement at the county level is the cannabis issue. You know I heres again a philosophical statement. You know 57 percent of the people in California voted for cannabis, 57 percent of the people in Oceanside voted for it. I voted against both, but its my job as a public official to carry out the will of the people and to have somebody like well my opponent in San Marcos that just outright banned it, San Marcos voted 55 percent for it, I think its the height of hubris almost to the point of arrogance, in fact, beyond arrogance, its elitism to say well they didnt know what they were voting for, they didnt really mean it, were just going to ban it for their own good. So when you say take it upon yourself to interpret what the voters did without actually reading the vote, I dont think thats the kind of person that you want at the county level. You know you want somebody that actually follows the will of the people, so and I keep telling my colleagues, my Republican colleagues that say, look, you can either stand on the track and have the train run you over or you can climb in the cab and try to control it, and thats what I did. Thats why I worked with Deputy Mayor [Chuck] Lowery to try how do we control this? And I thought we have good ordinances, you know, the cultivation is only in the ag zones. I dont want anything in the industrial parks, you know? I want industrial property used for jobs. I dont want to use it for plants. So put it out in the ag zone, I, you know, as far as manufacturing, if theres, you know, edibles and in fact theres a chocolate company in Oakland that employees 200 people making edibles. You know that would be appropriate for an industrial building, I dont mind that, so and obviously all in fact, we have our second reading tonight and we the only thing that we struggled with and tried to get everybody on board with is the dispensaries, thats the public face. So I dont know where we go from there, its very, you know, theres certain a lot of trepidation on my colleagues parts on the council about the dispensaries. Thats the concern of the people, but when you cultivate a South Morro Hills in Oceanside is about 3,500 acres of agriculture within the city limits. So thats where were that were trying to bring in cultivation. People are never going to see it. You know theres going to be they have greenhouses out there already. Theyre just converting their greenhouses from growing flowers and hot house tomatoes to cannabis. So as far as the visual of that, its going to be zero and then industrial, tilt up industrial buildings and they bring stuff in, they make it and they ship stuff out. Theyre not going to notice it either. Its the dispensaries that have people worried. So I think eventually we will get there, but its going to be a long road. But Im not in any hurry, you know, Ive told people Id rather do this right than do this quickly. So the idea that we have this ad hoc committee, Ive been at it for over a year. Weve had public hearings, weve had input from people within the industry. You know weve heard from the other side with the detractors, but I think we came up with a good set of ordinances about cultivation and distribution, testing, and I would probably advocate bringing those things to the County. Q: We had the Sheriffs candidates in here discussing the very issue of pop-up dispensaries and whether it to what level does it rise in the legal world? Is it a kick the door down, guns drawn situation or is it send them a note, tell them to shut down? KERN: Well weve been every city has been playing this whack-a-mole with pop-up dispensaries, you know, we do it through a code enforcement action, you know, we dont we serve notice with them, we send code officers down, then we start and code has this level of how much pain can you stand, you know, okay, look, you got to shut down, if you dont shut down tomorrow its 100 bucks. You know we come back the next time, youre still open, okay, now its $200, then it goes to $500, then it goes to $1,000, then it goes to $1,000 a day and at a certain point in time, the pay level is so high, they say, look, we got to close. So weve been doing that in Oceanside and Im sure other cities have been doing that too. We I think the number one thing, if we get legal dispensaries, zoned correctly, going through the process, getting their permits, getting their licenses and stuff, theyre going to be your number one advocate for closing down the pop-ups because theyre the ones who are going to go, hey, theres a pop-up that opened up three blocks away and we need to close that down. So I think as we go through this, its just like any other regulated use, the people that go through the process, get all the background checks and pay all the fees and do it the right way, theyre very mindful of having illegal competition, so I think in the long run by legalizing and this and normalizing this as industry over a period of time a lot of those pop-up ones will go away. The biggest problem is the illegal ones are the ones that have problems with police and people hanging out, since its an all cash business, you know, thats the real issue that they have about crime and so people have that perception in their mind about a dispensary is a haven for crime. You know youre going to have people stoned people hanging around and, you know, doing that. I have found in my year of research that the professionals are different than what you think they are. The idea that I went to the Santa Ysabel grow up there because the casino shut down and they converted it to cannabis and you walk in and you see these guys in khaki pants and polo shirts and two out of the three had MBAs. I mean theyre these are professionals and so I think thats what youll see going into this is the people that actually know how to write a business plan, how to operate a business. I think thats what youre going to see in the future of this industry. Q: Correct me if Im wrong, but you voted against recreational and medical marijuana? Advertisement KERN: Yep. Q: So its interesting kind of big picture question. Do you vote your track record and your conscience or vote the will of the public with this issue? And are there other issues that you would do that or, you know, like how malleable is your support for something? KERN: Well, if it goes to a vote and the people say something, its my job to carry out the will of the people. Now up until that point, were in a representative democracy. So Im going to say this is how I stand for, I go out to the electorate, they elect me because this is the platform Ive run on and I will vote my conscience on all of those and do those things, until theres a vote of the people that basically says something different. An example of that and I got hammered on is I was opposed to rent control in Oceanside. I wanted vacancy decontrol for the mobile home parks. Im a property rights guy. I think, you know, having government interject itself in between the tenant and the land owner is wrong. It went to a vote of the people and they turned my idea down. I have not touched it since. You know I if the people want rent control in mobile home parks thats what I will back up their decision, so you know Q: Thank you. Another issue that is kind of dividing public and government agencies is immigration, sanctuary cities and states particularly. How would you vote if you were on the Council excuse me the Supervisors now, its coming obviously, Kristen Gaspar has put it on the agenda for discussion. Do you think that she should have? Is that a good discussion to have and how would you vote? Advertisement KERN: At a macro level, immigration is too good an issue to solve. Each side gets to beat the other side up on it, so nobody really wants a solution, you know, so I always say to people, this is too good an issue to find the solution for because it gives us something to fight about and to talk about. I firmly believe that this is a federal issue, the idea that it is a failure of Congress to do their job. You know the whole reason that President Obama did DACA was because Congress wasnt moving and now President Trump is rescinding DACA and I I taught history, civics and economics. President Trump is completely within his rights to rescind an executive order. Hes the executive, he rescinds other executive orders and hes still within his rights. It doesnt solve the problem. I dont know whatswhat good it will be is other than we get talking points and we get to beat the other side up because we filed a lawsuit with the federal government. The City of Oceanside, were not taking a stand on it. You know what what is one more amicus brief in this whole ball of wax? I mean the idea that is that really going to sway the courts? Oh, the City of Oceanside weighed in with an amicus brief about immigration. You know, no. Yeah, the court should settle it. The court should take their time and weigh it, you know, judiciously I guess is the right term, but having people out there screaming and yelling at each other and trying, you know, to make their points without coming up with a solution, I dont think it its worth it. I dont think it works for us. I dont think it solves anything. Q: But if it was on the agenda and you had to vote, would you you have to you cant abstain, right? You have to come down with a decision. KERN: I would come down on the side of the federal government, the idea that so if it was, okay, were going to align ourselves with the state of California or the federal government, I would align myself with the federal government. So whenever, you know, thats the case, but you know if I was forced to vote on it, thats the vote I would take. Q: But you would prefer not to address it or stay out of it? Advertisement KERN: I dont think it solves anything. I, you know, Im for solutions. You know I work in city government, we dont beat each other up a lot on issues other lets get things solved. Lets get, you know, get that development built or not built, get people answers, get roads done. So Im a solutions oriented person, you know, we waste, you know, wasting your time yelling and screaming at the other side doesnt solve stuff. It just doesnt get stuff done and I I think people expect us to get stuff done. Q: You would be a new voice on a very entrenched, longstanding Board of Supervisors. When I worked in North County, North County felt kind of out on an island, far away from the center of ... KERN: Well you have a reporter who doesnt really know where the new North County Bureau is, we still Q: Were not exactly sure. Advertisement Q: We have a North County bureau? KERN: Were still out on an island. I mean and thats been the biggest concern, it to address the first part of your question. You realize that in 2020 if Kristen Gaspar doesnt move to the 49th [Congressional District] and she gets reelected to Supervisor in 2020, she will be the senior supervisor. Everybody else will be gone. So in the next two years if Bill Horn is any example, those supervisors are going to start checking out. Theyre going to just start going through the motions and planning the next part of their life. Bill Horn has basically disappeared. You know I Bill has done a good job, Im not going to do that, but Im on the Community Engagement Panel for the decommissioning of San Onofre. Bill is on that panel, in three years hes only shown up twice, you know, so Q: How many meetings is that, how often does that group meet? KERN: Once a quarter. Advertisement Q: Okay. KERN: So in fact I no good deed goes unpunished. I am now the secretary of the committee and I because I worked really hard to to move that nuclear fuel out of San Onofre. Ive Darrell Issa was my concern about Darrell leaving, he was a champion for that and the legislation that he carried and pushed through. Ive talked to Scott Peters about it. Scott, you know, was very supportive of it and Im sure Scott will remain. Ive given briefings to all the Republican leading candidates for the 49th and Ive offered to do the same for all the Democrats. On that particular issue, I am not partisan at all. I want a solution. I want to move that fuel to a consolidated interim storage site. When its ready to go in 2023, I want it moved and so I Im working really, really hard for that because I think thats thats an issue throughout the region that we need to get resolved. Q: How likely is it that that will move and it wont just stay in those containers? KERN: Im sorry, what? Advertisement Q: How likely is it that that will be moved and it wont just stay on that beach which is a fear that some have. KERN: Well right now theres two sites, one in Texas and one in New Mexico, theyre only 25 miles apart. So if you can imagine Texas, El Paso to Odessa where that corner of New Mexico clips into Texas. Thats where those sites are at. One is in Eddy and Lea County in New Mexico, and the other one is in Anderson County, Texas, and so theyre going through the process right now and the permitting. One is actually done by Holtec, which is the people that designed the canisters here, but it literally takes an act of Congress to move it. The Nuclear Waste Act of 1982 says the Department of Energy will only take possession of it when it goes to permanent storage, which is Yucca Mountain. I dont care if Yucca Mountain gets open or not. Im if it gets open fine, if not fine. I just want the stuff moved. I dont want to go all our eggs in one basket and Yucca Mountain gets the rug gets pulled out from Yucca Mountain again. So, like I said, itll literally take an act of Congress to move that and so once that change comes in that they can actually move it to consolidated interim storage, I think itll be moved. Now some of that fuel at San Onofre cant be moved until 2030, but most of it can be moved about 2023. Ironically the stuff that cant be moved until 2030 is the stuff from unit one that decommissioned years ago because Q: Oh wow. KERN: Well because they changed from zirconium rods to stainless steel rods and the stainless steel rods are still too hot to do that, so Advertisement Q: So other North County issues, its a very diverse district obviously, very different needs from east to west. KERN: Yep. Q: How do you balance that in terms of things like transit and? KERN: Well actually transit ridership in the North County has declined because, you know, part part of it is housing, you know, weve been so tough on housing that people are moving further and further out. Theyre moving in to south Riverside County and if you listen to the radio every morning you start hearing that backup. It used to be all Rancho Bernardo Road, now youre hearing at the 78. Now youre hearing Gopher Canyon, you know, is starting to backup. So, you know, we we have a lot of problems in that that we dont want to build any housing. I think, you know, [former Union-Tribune columnist] Dan McSwain, I think he hit the nail on the head. I cant remember when that was, last August, last September when he did that article that the people that have houses dont want any more houses. You know that fight in the back county is just as fierce inside the cities, you know, we do a an infill project of 50 or 60 homes, we have people with torches and pitchforks coming to city council and saying, we dont want it. But then philosophically, oh, we need more housing. Where are our children going to live? Everybody wants housing in your neighborhood, right, but they dont want it in my neighborhood, they want it in your neighborhood. Advertisement Q: But youre on the record as being pro growth We need housing because if we do not solve that problem, you will see a stagnation in San Diego County. KERN: I am on the record that we need housing because if we do not solve that problem, you will see a stagnation in San Diego County. We are already starting to see it. Were starting to see a lack of talent in North County because a lot of the millennials are leaving, you know, were one of the things that we export in North County is talent now because they are moving to Texas and Arizona. They want that and this philosophy that the millennials want to buy a condo in a 25-story apartment building to raise their kids and have to go down 25 stories and three blocks to a tot lot, thats just not going to happen. They want the same things that we had. They want a place to live and a backyard for their kids and so theyre going to go find it and if they cant find it here, theyll find it someplace else. You know its a quality of life issue for them. So right now were in this quandary here as a community of how are we going to treat housing? I am pro housing, you know, I, you know, I the Lilac Hills project, Im sure Im going to get beat up in Valley Center when we go to that forum, but I was for that because, hey, this is one step closer to a housing solution. Housing all the way across. Theres also a state bill thats actually sponsored by the California Association of Realtors about the portability of Proposition 13. So we have people trapped in these four bedroom house, my age or older, you know, just empty nesters. So theyre sitting in these 22, 24, 2,500 square foot houses, but they cant sell and move to a condo because the property the property tax would be too high and if they can take that property tax with them, that basis with them, they buy the small condo, it frees up a family home for a family and that property tax is going to go up on that family home when another family buys it. So I think in the end run I dont think we lose any money, but we also free up some housing. So I think its a its not a solution, but its one arrow in the quiver of getting things done. Q: Well in housing oh Im sorry. Advertisement KERN: Go ahead. Q: You probably were asking the same question. How do you reconcile that then with something like a Lilac Hills with what you said earlier about Gopher Canyon Road backing up, the project on Lilac Road would have been KERN: Well if we dont well if we dont build Gopher Canyon, theyre going to still continue building in south Riverside County and now its going to be backed up at [State Route] 76. You know the idea that we need to put people close to their work, because people, you know, they work down in Rancho Bernardo, they work down in the Mesas and theyre living and their driving commutes. The average commute in North County is at least 30 minutes and its getting longer because people get pushed further and further out. The reason that I was against Measure A is because the public transportation portion came all down to San Diego, it did not benefit North County. We in fact I think the total benefit for North County was like 14 percent of the money. You know were 20 percent of the county as far as population wise, area wise were probably 30 percent of the county if not more, but everything is focused down here. I think theres becoming more and more resentment in North County about the City of San Diego. Q: More? Advertisement KERN: That they suck up well Im sure that they will suck up all the ink and I want you guys to do this. I want you to keep track of this. How many column inches youre going to write on the Dumanis, Fletcher race versus the North County race? Q: Oh, yeah, thats not a bad idea. KERN: You know you at the end come November, go back and see how much youve written about this race versus the North County race. Q: Are you saying you want Nathan to run in your neck of the woods? Advertisement KERN: Im sorry what? Q: Are you saying you want Nathan to come over and run in your race? KERN: I no, but it would be interesting. Actually [Doug] Applegate tried to come over and run. Q: Oh, thats right and he messed it up. Advertisement KERN: He couldnt read a calendar. Q: Yeah. KERN: The idea that he because the filing deadline is March 9, so he goes down on February 9 to change his registration because he lives in Oceanside, he lives out in Arrowood. Well the county is not a month, the county is 30 days. February only has 28 days. So somebody on his team screwed up by two days, so which tells you what his and Im sure this is kind of bird walking, but the idea of what his his chances are at the 49th [Congressional District], so but again I we were talking about how I think our side is screwed up, how tribalism within the Republican Party. The Democrats are worse because I hear that theres petitions to get [Sara] Jacobs and [Paul] Kerr to drop out and then people are no, no, no, we have petitioned to get [Mike] Levin and Kerr to drop out because, you know, Jacobs and Applegate are the stars, so as screwed up as we are, theyre screwed up too, so like I said weve come back from these, the cohesive part is to were now divided into tribes, so Q: How about the Democrats in your race? Theyre not as kind of high profile as you and Jim Desmond. Advertisement KERN: Michelle [Gomez] I like, Ive met Michelle, you know, we when she was running for the 76th we did the street fair circuit together. We had our booths out in the street fairs and actually (unintelligible) is coming up on Sunday and so I met with her and talked to her and she was nice. She was running for the 76th. Well Im sure they responded to the same type of email that [San Diego County Republican Party chairman] Tony Krvaric sent out on our side saying, look, we have these races. Theres nobody in our team running, we need a couple team players just to jump in, so she literally jumped in the filing deadline was on a Friday, she jumped in Wednesday afternoon. She pulled her papers Wednesday afternoon, came back with her 20 signatures on Thursday I think. Jacqueline not Jacquelyn, Jacqueline literally pulled her papers on a Thursday and filed them on a Friday. I dont know her. Shes and I cant say too much about her, except it seems like shes just a one-trick pony, no building, no building, no building. Q: The ballot measure. KERN: Ballot measure, no building, you know, I I dont know if she understands social service or public safety or roads or any of that other stuff, so I but that may resonate with people because people, you know, when [Rick] Caruso project in Carlsbad and now you have this county measure, I mean, you know, [Carlsbad Mayor] Matt Hall always cruised to reelection and then, you know, Matt feels like hes in trouble because of the Caruso thing. It kind of galvanized the opposition. Q: The other Matt Hall for those listening on the tape. Advertisement KERN: No this Matt this Matt Hall is not well I dont know, Jeff, is he in trouble or not? Q: I do have one of the signs that says, Elect Matt Hall for City Hall, he means business. KERN: Yeah, so so yeah I mean, but thats that changing demographic that we talked about earlier and about how North County and especially North County coastal is changing, you know, more purple and probably within the next two cycles itll be blue. I mean its its the reality there and a lot of the people are retiring and leaving the area, you know, you have younger generation. So how we deal with that as a party, but I think I think in California the Republicans are third in registration behind decline to states, so again I think even even though the Democrats are losing more people every month to decline to state than Republicans because they have a larger base to start from, so its not just the people that are Republican and going to decline to state, its people from both parties just abandoning the party system. Q: Oceanside is a full service city. Advertisement KERN: Yep. Q: Youve got your own police force, all that sort of thing. Is that the best way to do it for most of the cities in San Diego or ...? KERN: As far as the police force, yes, because, you know, we are a city of 42 square miles and we do have pockets of very high calls for service. You know we have Eastside neighborhood. We had a murder in Eastside this morning. We have the Mesa Margarita out towards the back gate where we had a police officer killed years ago. So I like a local police force because when I mentioned Mesa Margarita to a police officer, they know exactly what and they know the history of it and they have the background. The Sheriff does a very good job. The only problem I have with the Sheriff being all encompassing that, okay, youre a motorcycle sheriff in Encinitas and you make sergeant. Okay, now youre a sergeant and youre an administrator, youre going to Fallbrook. Okay, now what about Fallbrook. You dont even know all the street names, you dont know where the problems are and things like that and you do a good job, youre at Fallbrook and you kind of get settled and okay, you make lieutenant. Okay, now youre going to San Marcos. So I have a real problem with that as far as that. Now the sheriffs do a good job at that and they do have some background, but as far as the City of Oceanside, I would prefer a police force that thats really in tune to the community, especially when we have community policing ... and [Oceanside Police Chief] Frank McCoy has done a great job. They because now those officers are in the neighborhood, so theyre not calling police officers or the police department, theyre calling Ed, the officer on the beat. Theyre calling, you know, so that has worked really well for us and I think thats something that I would maintain if I stayed on the city council. Fire we could probably integrate more. In fire, were trying to integrate more, you know, the problem with fire, you know, because we have boundary drops. The idea we go we all belong to the Rancho Santa Fe dispatch and so whoever the closest unit is goes. So theres kind of this no real (unintelligible) distinctions on fire. So Ocean Hills which is that southeast corner, they probably get serviced more by Vista than they do by Oceanside. South Oceanside its nothing to see a Carlsbad ambulance in south Oceanside or Oceanside ambulance in north Carlsbad. So as far as they goes, I would be in favor of integrating that totally, but the problem is that we have different pay scales and different [Cal] PERS things and stuff like that, so that the unions are kind of resistant of that, so, but I think fire for all practical purposes, you know, for Tri-City weve basically done away from the city lines. The police Id like to keep that way. Q: And how are your retention numbers? Advertisement KERN: For what? Q: For officers and policemen. KERN: Well nobody wants to be a police officer anymore. We are were authorized 211 officers on our budget. We run usually about 196, 197. We are working as hard as we can just to keep up. When we have a wave of retirements, the problem is now that a lot of with this bad publicity, you know, police nobody wants to be a policeman. Weve had an officer actually go through the academy and ready to get sworn in and his family talked him out of being a police officer. Q: Wow. Advertisement KERN: They said dont do this, you know? The idea that, you know, the danger and things like that, so and I dont know how you solve that. I just dont. You know we have a speaking of the county, you know the sheriffs have a huge wave of retirements coming and so the idea that theyre going to face that issue here. I mean San Diego Police Department because their pay was so low and the one which was nice for us because we can come grab, you know, we would go out and recruit San Diego police officers. You know we talking about bankruptcies of cities, when Stockton went bankrupt, we picked up nine officers. Q: All from Stockton? KERN: Stockton, yeah. The idea that Stockton laid off 29 police officers in one day, so yeah they did and its funny because, you know, they came down to Oceanside and two of them became Harbor Police Officers, they get to ride on the boats. They said, the best decision ever made from Stockton and to be in the Oceanside Harbor, especially on a day like today. Q: So you mentioned the Sheriffs race, Im curious have you endorsed in the Sheriff, District Attorney and Assessors races? Advertisement KERN: Ernie Dronenberg I support and Summer Stephan I support. I havent really endorsed in the Sheriffs race. You know I think Bill Gore has done a good job. Again Im to the point now that maybe its time for some fresh eyes on it, nothing against Bill, I think hes done a great job, but you know Im a Second Amendment guy and him slow playing the [Carry a Concealed Weapons] CCW [permit] stuff, I dont think was appropriate. I think hes come around now, you know, all he needed is a clear set of rules to apply and if you qualify, you qualify. It seemed like he was arbitrary in his permitting, so hopefully Q: You mentioned how the San Diego County GOP endorsed your opponent, you think because marijuana is one issue. Are you saying that the one issue that makes you either not endorse Bill or endorse Dave is the Second is 2A? KERN: Yeah. You know Im Im on the San Diego County Gun Owners. Ive been an NRA member for 20 years and I got my first gun when I was 12 years old. I mean Ive always been Im a hunter. I dont own a handgun, you know, I I personally never see the need to have one, you know, I do have a hard time convincing my wife I need another shotgun. She says, well you have five. Well I still need this one more. No. But and I go to elk hunting in Utah every year and stuff. So Im more of that hunter side, but but Im also a Second Amendment right guy. Q: So San Diego County Gun Owners has endorsed Dave. Are you not endorsing Bill? Advertisement KERN: Im not endorsing Q: Are you endorsing anyone or no? KERN: No, I havent. Q: Okay, I just wanted to be clear. Advertisement KERN: Yeah, so Im just kind of watching that one, so I I dont hopefully that doesnt appear wishy-washy, but I just Im kind of focused on my race instead of theirs. Q: And you mentioned on the county level hep A, what could the County, should the County done differently? What would you have done differently if you were a supervisor? KERN: I think they needed to get involved with the homeless issue quicker. I mean that was the whole thing why hep A kind of exploded, then they finally did that. The problem with government and Im going to put myself in that same boat is that were reactive, you know, we dont proactively do much. We wait until, you know, we go wait until the squeaky wheel appears and then well go fix it. Instead of going out there and seeing that theres a problem and understanding theres a problem and say, look, we need to get out in front of this before it becomes a crisis. The County waited until it became a crisis to fix it instead of trying to fix something when it was just a problem. I brought the Homeless Outreach Team to Oceanside four years ago. I wish I could say I got out in front of this, but it was actually the squeaky wheel, you know, our Downtown Business Association, Main Street, Oceanside came to me and said, Jerry, were having a huge influx of homeless people in downtown Oceanside and for some reason in like October four years ago, we just inundated. I dont know what it was, but we just seemed like we got suddenly within a period of a couple months, weve got 30, 40 percent more homeless people downtown Oceanside. I we had some money left over from a grant and Frank McCoy, the police chief, and I said, okay, lets figure out what the problem is. So we did a survey and we actually went out and tried to survey homeless people and to find out why theyre there and whats happening. We found that if we can reach people within the first six months of homelessness we can connect them to services. Its just like you or I, if we became homeless tomorrow and somebody offered you a way out, you would take it. Once you hit that year mark, that becomes your lifestyle and its they know where to get food, they know where to sleep, you know, they become that urban outdoorsman so to speak. But theres two issues with homelessness. One, the economic homeless is easy to solve, you know, people who want work, the people get them connected. The real chronic homelessness, I do not know if you can solve it and thats the people with substance abuse and mental illness. Obviously substance abuse is something that if you can get them into treatment and get them cleaned up and get them moving, you can solve that. The mental illness portion, I do not know and basically that goes back to the Reagan administration when they changed the rule and basically, you know, the least restrictive environment instead of having these people in institutions for help. So I dont know how you reach those people, you know, but thats one of those services that if we have that reserve, then it probably should deserve some attention how we deal with homeless issue. Not just, lets build tents and warehouse them for a winter. How do you serve it long term? Q: Well in terms of Advertisement KERN: And I dont know the answer to that, I mean I its its a long winded way to say I dont know. Q: Yeah, we asked Jim Desmond the same thing and he said that San Marcos homeless population grew from 10 to 50 which I kind of quipped with you know them all by name, unlike in San Diego where theres thousands and its kind of more of a mass of humanity. How many are there in sheer numbers in Oceanside? KERN: Oh, Id probably say well over 100, maybe, you know, because we have and its not just Oceanside, its all the coastal cities, you know, I dont want to be detrimental to Jim Desmond, but Oceanside is a better place to live than San Marcos. So even if youre homeless its a better place to live. We had and you noticed this last year we really had a problem because, you know, we had a contract with Army Corps to mow the river, the San Luis Rey River. Years ago we started mowing a third, a third, a third, well this last year we mowed that last third of the river, so a lot of those homeless people got pushed out of the riverbed and now theyre in the community. Now theyre in the canyons behind Loma Alta neighborhood and south Oceanside and Henie Hills and Fire Mountain, so my calls of complaints for homelessness has gone up tremendously this last year. Not that weve got anymore homeless, but theyre more visible now because weve basically taken away their home in the river. Q: So how have you been dealing with homeless? Have you been arresting, citing people and then arresting people? Advertisement KERN: Actually the homeless actually theres in our budget this year were adding a social worker to our Homeless Outreach Team, so how that works is that we have a police officer, he gets a call for service, usually down on the beach, the bandshell, wherever they like to sleep and the police officer will come the Homeless Outreach Team. The Homeless Outreach Team will come out, interview the person and then if it if they can get him or her into to go to Interfaith for shelter and to move that way and plus now were having a social worker talk to them. So were addressing the problem, but its almost overwhelming. Our Homeless Outreach Team is only two officers and a social worker, so were trying to do this one person at a time and hopefully one person at a time were making a dent, but I its a tremendous issue here and so, like I said, theres more problem than solution on that one. And I and it just continues to grow. Now the economic homeless stuff is growing because housing is so expensive now. The idea that, you know, what is a one bedroom, two bedroom apartment in downtown San Diego now? You know probably Q: 1800 bucks. KERN: How much? Q: $1800. Advertisement KERN: Yeah. Q: Its more than that. Q: Thats the average. KERN: Yeah, I mean so a lot of people theres a lot of people theyre one paycheck away from being homeless and so, you know, that economic insecurity is there all the time and so again I thats a social problem that I think its going to take the City and the County and the state and federal Government to try to figure out how to solve it. Advertisement Q: Speaking of regional cooperation, you talked a little bit about Measure A, but a SANDAG question for you. If you had this big friction between transit and transportation and North County has the 78, has the 76 and a lot of freeways, more freeways than maybe in other parts of the county. How do you sort of envision that getting squared away? KERN: Im not enamored with SANDAG. Transnet One, were going to complete the 76, right? So Transnet One, they started to run out of money, well wait a second, you havent even started on the 76, okay oh Transnet Two, thatll be our top priority, Transnet Two. So Transnet Two passes and then what happens is were going to complete the 76, they dont use Transnet money, they use Recovery Act money from the Obama administration to do the 76. Does that money stay in North County that they were promised? No. It gets sucked back down to San Diego. So weve always been the very tail end. We have always been an afterthought for SANDAG down here. We have the only interchange in the state of California with two freeways that are controlled by a stoplight and SANDAG and in their infinite, hey, were going to fix this in 2035, you know? But what are we doing? Oh were expanding the freeways down south, you know, were going through Del Mar and Solana Beach and were building wider freeways and they always start from south to move north and by the time they get north, oh, weve run out of money. So okay, so we need mark my word, quote me on this, within four years there will be a Transnet Three, you know, because we just need to build it and theyre going to say, oh, we promise that interchange is going to be done. I dont believe them. So when we talk about, you know, we are different in North County, like I said, more people drive, less and less people use public transportation. I was opposed to Measure A, so why if youre living in Fallbrook should you pay for a bike path around Mission Bay? You know? If youre going to spend money, spend it on the people that gave you the money. I think my problem was that I think it was like 14 percent was spent in North County. If were going to have another Transnet tax, 20 percent has to be set aside for North County at least, you know, that they get their fair share or District 5. So other issues out there, every community is different, theres 22 communities, you know, 120,000 people, 300,000 voters, 80,000 veterans in North County. We have 22 communities, theres probably more people in this building than live in Ranchita and it goes up from there and they all have different issues. Borrego Springs issue is water. You know they are overdrafting their aquifer out there almost 3 to 1. Their aquifer is rated at 750 acre feet a year, theyre pulling about 1,800 acre feet a year. Theyre going to have a real water problem here in the next few years if they keep overdrafting. So I dont know how that goes, but I was on the Water Authority, but the Water Authority doesnt cover Borrego Springs. It just covers this side of the mountain, so thats... Q: We were talking about an earlier interview just the sheer size, the geographic space of District 5, Oceanside to Borrego Springs. KERN: Yeah. Advertisement Q: Is it too big? KERN: Thats hard to say, you know, the idea that I know theres something at the State Legislature to take these large counties and go from five to seven supervisors. L.A. County is one of those. Maybe theyd be better served to have somebody thats closer to their interests. I because, you know, your voice gets lost. I mean the idea that Fallbrook is about 55,000 people in the greater Fallbrook area and theyre unincorporated. You know theyre a city unto them..., theyre larger than Solana Beach, but Solana Beach is incorporated. God knows theyre bigger than Del Mar and their interests are different. You know thats something I do not know, but I think probably if youre going to go to a level of representation, you probably should go to seven supervisors to have somebody representing more of those urban uh, rural areas out there, so, but I havent thought much about it, but when you bring that up about, you know, are they getting fairly represented, you know, it takes me longer to get to Borrego Springs than it takes me to get down here. Q: Oh, yeah, thats... KERN: And then Ive actually had meet with a group of people in Warner Springs, you know, their big issue is transportation, you know, they a lot of retirees out in Warner Springs. They have their mobile home park and in order to get to services, they actually have to take a bus down through Riverside County and back around, so I mean not a much of a direct line. Their county issue and I actually helped solve some of this even just because I knew Darren [Gretler], Bill Horns Chief of Staff, that they were having issues with a shower because they are that way stop on the Pacific Crest Trail and they are having trouble with the regional water quality people about having that shower there for people to shower as they walk up the Pacific Trail. Little issues like that, just those oddball things that come about, so and then I helped people in Rancho Santa Fe on their building because I called the fire marshal because, you know, they were trying to add on to their building, but because of the fire issues in Rancho Santa Fe they had to they knew they had to sprinkler their new portion of the building, but Fire was wanting them to go back and sprinkler the whole house. So I got the fire people to say, lets look at this realistically and so they they did they brought the new building up to code, their existing house is to code when it was built, so Advertisement Q: One more issue question for you before we kind of throw it to you for a close, I know we got to get out of this Q: Theres another group waiting, yeah. Q: The Climate Action Plan for the county, the Sierra Club is suing over that. What do you think of this countys climate action effort? KERN: I believe that there is climate change happening, you know, being along the coast and seeing whats happening with sea level rise. Thats one of the things with San Onofre deal were talking about planning for sea level rise to do that. I do not know the Climate Action Plan that well. I dont know why theyre suing, if theyre not strong enough, theyre not doing it correctly, I dont know what that issue is on the Climate Action Plan. You know Oceanside is going through the same process. Were doing through the committee system and doing staff and were going to come up with our Climate Action Plan and well probably get sued on it because the idea that, you know, were probably going to offend somebody or somebody doesnt say we go far enough in stopping cars or whatever, so I think thats one of these things that again we all need to work towards a solution instead of yelling at each other, saying youre doing it wrong, so Advertisement Q: Give us your 20 second elevator pitch for why you. KERN: Quite frankly I think Im the best qualified. The idea of coming from the largest full service city in North County, you know, having to deal with police and fire negotiations and public servant or public safety negotiations. Having our own water department that Ive dealt with, having a harbor. I testified in front of the Coastal Commission probably four or five times, the Lands Commission, worked hard on the Poseidon project to do that. Ive been up to the FAA in L.A. about our airport. So all of those issues that the County faces, I have faced, so I my other all three of my other opponents have do not have the background that I have, you know, Desmond does not have a police force. Yeah, he just writes a check to the Sheriff. Hes not in negotiations with them, he hasnt had to face them across the table. He they dont have their own water department. They just Olivenhain does their or Vallecitos does their water for them. So all of those issues that I have dealt with over the last 12 years Id like to deal with at the County that hes never had to deal with. Democrats Jacqueline Arsivaud and Michelle Gomez and Republicans Jim Desmond and Jerry Kern are running to replace termed-out San Diego County supervisor Bill Horn in the countys fifth supervisorial district, which has about 620,000 residents and spans nearly 1,800 square miles of North County. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board conducted extended, separate interviews with all four candidates. Here are those interviews, lightly edited. The two top vote-getters in the June 5 primary will advance to a runoff election in November. Q: Tell us why youve decided to run for this seat. GOMEZ: Ive decided to run for County Board of Supervisors District Five because I really want to make a difference for working families. I believe our current supervisors are sitting on a stockpile of money and reserves. And that is not benefiting our communities, its not benefiting our working families. We need to ensure that our working families are paying, being paid a livable wage. Theyre getting their cost of living increases and their benefits and that were filling vacancies when vacancies become available, because them not filling vacancies overburdens and overworks our current county employees. But it also impacts all of us and the level of service that we receive. So thats just one of the main issues. Advertisement Ive decided to run for County Board of Supervisors District Five because I really want to make a difference for working families. Aside from that, Im running for this particular office because I think its critical that we do something about our affordable housing crisis, our homelessness crisis. We had a hepatitis A outbreak that we all know about that went all the way up to San Jose and resulted in a state of emergency. Something that was preventable. We could have put the resources into that problem and prevented it from doing that, but we did not do that. I think its critical that we put money into our infrastructure, our roadways, affordable housing, homelessness and really working with our working families. RELATED: Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Jacqueline Arsivaud Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Jim Desmond Interview with Board of Supervisors candidate Jerry Kern Q: So are you saying specifically the reserves should go to some of those issues? GOMEZ: I am. Advertisement Q: Which of those? GOMEZ: I do believe that were currently sitting on about 49 percent, where most counties sit on about 15 to 20 percent. And theres about I dont know, $1 to $2 billion that could go towards these needs that we are not addressing. Now I understand that the current supervisors have held onto these reserves and its helped in their triple A bonding rating. But I still believe that we can knock that reserve down to 15 to 20 percent like other counties and still maintain that rating. And I think that those reserves need to go and be allocated towards those types of services. Q: I know theres a lot of talk about those reserves in this campaign particularly when we had Jim Desmond in, he walked us through his mindset on why that is a good amount they have now because it gives you like two months cushion in case heaven forbid theres some major catastrophe. What do you think about that? GOMEZ: With all due respect I disagree with Mr. Desmond. I think that we need to focus on our residents and within our community here and now and today and not hold onto resources for a what if. I think we need to put that money where its best used. And not just sit on it waiting for something to happen. So I disagree with him. Advertisement Q: You have any specific plans about what specific dollar amounts should go to specific programs? GOMEZ: You know, I dont. But I know that the issues that I really feel strongly that need to be addressed is really making sure that our county employees are being taken care of, and were addressing affordable housing and homelessness. I think those are the critical issues but I havent formulated exact dollar figures to where those funds should be allocated in that regard. Q: How would you help county employees? GOMEZ: Again I think that they need to be ensuring that they are getting their cost of living increases. That theyre paid livable wages. That they have the benefits that they deserve. We have a whole segment of home healthcare providers that are getting paid minimum wage, dont have benefits, cant get overtime. And theyre not taken care of, so we need to really look at that segment especially with an aging population. Were going to need more people going into the home healthcare service, but theyre not going to do that if they dont have the, if they cant make a living doing it. Advertisement Q: San Diego County has no trouble attracting workers. Why would you say increase their pay if they have no trouble attracting workers? How is that in the taxpayers interest as opposed to in the employee interest? GOMEZ: Well, in the last, since 2000 our housing has gone up 36 percent. And our wages have gone up 4 percent. So we have workers but they cant afford to live here. So were pricing them out. Q: But once again why should any entity offer more money than is necessary to attract workers? Isnt the point of being a taxpayer guardian being a taxpayer guardian and trying to minimize the amount of money? If you dont need to offer these wages to attract workers, why is it on the county to increase the amount its paying people and it doesnt need to pay them more to attract workers? GOMEZ: I understand your question, but I think what were seeing is that were not paying employees enough and its forcing them onto the street. So they dont have housing options. I think that thats critical. They need to be able to live, have housing. Stable housing. We have children that arent in stable housing and thats a crisis that were seeing thats affecting them in their education, and on their lives going forward. I do understand your question, yes we do have people that are struggling and staying here and being paid minimum wage. But wouldnt it be better if we paid them a little bit more because those people would put that money back into our economy? Advertisement Q: Talk about housing, how would you secure more housing? Tens of thousands of units were behind in the county alone. GOMEZ: Right. And we need to build, its density, and we need to be making sure that were building in smart growth areas, near infrastructure, near transportation corridors. We need to be making sure that were preserving our pristine open space, but at that time building and developing affordable housing units. Part of that is inclusionary. And part of that is incentivizing developers to ensure that every time they build a project that they put some affordable housing units into that project. Q: How, in the North County particularly that tension between development and open space seems very high, right? Kind of a lot of conflict there. So how do you, what would be your approach as a supervisor, to building it, I mean how do you do that? Thats the million dollar question right? GOMEZ: That is the million dollar question across the state really. Is how are you going to develop the housing, because theres so many people that dont want the housing in their neighborhoods. And how are you going to develop that? And I think we need to really incentivize developers and really work with our communities to make them understand that housing is critical. I dont presume that we build twelve story you know, residences, nobody wants to live in that type of development. But we do need to start developing in the areas that are most feasible that are not fire hazards. That have accommodations, that have roadways and those sorts of things. And I think what we have to do is we need to start working with our city councils, and really educating our residents about what they need is and how we can develop it. And develop it in such a manner that its not taking away from what their communities have already been looking like and what they believe that they should look like. Advertisement Q: You say incentivize developers, how would you incentivize development? GOMEZ: Tax credits. I think we need to start providing tax credits or better tax credits to incentivize because we have so many developers that want to build luxury housing or luxury development we need to start incentivizing with tax credits to build those affordable housing units and going back to inclusionary where youre doing a little bit of both. Because we definitely dont want to take away from our luxury building as well. But specifically in Oceanside, we have all of these luxury hotels that have been built, on land that could have been utilized for housing. Q: You mentioned transit, building housing near transit. What did you think of Measure A? GOMEZ: I opposed Measure A. Advertisement Q: On what grounds? GOMEZ: Just wasnt feasible. I just didnt think that it was the right thing at the time, the right way, the direction to go. Just it wasnt right for the community. Q: Why? GOMEZ: A lot of the reason was because a lot of the people didnt want it, and they felt that it was going to really change the way that theyre living and their style of life was going to be impacted. Advertisement Q: The Washington Post had a story recently about how mass transit ridership is down almost across the nation. Los Angeles Times had a story recently about how its down in Los Angeles County. So do you ever wonder when you see these stories, I dont know if you saw these stories? That were just missing the boat? This commitment to mass transit at a time when the public is less interested in mass transit than its been in decades? Do you worry that the quality of thinking that were doing here is kind of stuck in the past? GOMEZ: I think the reason its down is because you dont have reliable trans- Q: Across the nation. GOMEZ: Right. Advertisement Q: Isnt just Los Angeles. GOMEZ: And I think that, well I dont know about across the nation. Im focusing on San Diego County specifically but also California. And I think that our transportation here in San Diego County is sorely lacking because of reliability. And the amount of availability or time schedules. Youre not going to take a train or a bus to work if it cant get you there on time. And I think thats the biggest issue were facing here. Q: But the economists will look at it and say we shouldnt keep trying to put the New York City map on the rest of the world. That density is what makes transit, mass transit work. And we really dont have that density by and large in California. And you know, Bay Area BART, subsidizes per trip, $9 per customer. GOMEZ: Right. Advertisement Q: So I once again return to the idea that everyone focuses on transit. Wheres the beef? Wheres the evidence it would work in California when we dont have the density that certain East Coast cities that, and like Chicago and non-East Coast cities, that made it work? We dont have the density to make it work. GOMEZ: Well I think thats part of it, is that we need that density so that we can go, we need that housing. And that density needs to be developed and then that transportation would be required. Q: Another transportation issue thats come up recently is the airport, who should control that. What do you think about the way the airport is being managed currently? GOMEZ: Are you specifically talking about the Carlsbad Airport? Or the Advertisement Q: Im sorry, San Diego International Airport. GOMEZ: Okay. And who should manage that? I believe its currently managed if Im not mistaken by the FAA. And the Airport Authority I think? Im not really familiar with it. Im focused heavily on the Carlsbad Airport. Im not that familiar with whats going on with that airport in San Diego. The Carlsbad Airport though, theres a lot of push and pull, lot of tug of war over who should be responsible for that. And I think that were seeing that a lot of people are opposing the idea of developing that and turning it into the next John Wayne Airport. For a variety of reasons, mostly dealing with noise issues. How its going to impact residents. Forcing residents out of their homes. Those types of issues. So Im very familiar with that airport. Im not so much familiar with the other. Q: How about SANDAG, what are your thoughts of how well theyre managing regional transportation and the growth of that? GOMEZ: Like everything else I think that they can do a better job. And I know that theyre doing some educational workshops coming up. And I think thats really going to be beneficial to the general public to understand what it is that theyre doing, and why theyre doing what theyre doing. Advertisement Q: Weve been asking all the candidates this question. I think we accidentally skipped it. Could you give us a little bit of your background in terms of what are the accomplishments youve had in your career or in your public service that really stands out? GOMEZ: Im currently a Commissioner with the Oceanside Housing Commission. And Im also a Commissioner with the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls at the county level. And at the county level that commission focuses on human trafficking, domestic violence and homelessness. So thats what Ive been really involved with in the city and county level. Aside from that for over half a decade I was a Family Readiness Assistant working with our deported, well, active duty and deported military. As well as their families and making sure that they have the resources available to them for you know, deployments, homecomings that they knew the resources that were available to make sure that they could transition that life. A lot of times we have new military members that show up at Camp Pendleton, with new families, theyve never left home before. They dont know whats available to them. They dont have a network and so I was responsible for helping them build that network. And really making sure that our military was able to be mission ready. Q: Just wanted to clarify you said deported military? GOMEZ: Im sorry, deployed. Advertisement Q: Okay got ya. GOMEZ: Im also doing work with deported veterans but thats another issue but yes I meant deployed. Q: Is that a federal job? GOMEZ: No its, its a volunteerism. Advertisement Q: And so is there one effort that really stands out as a major accomplishment in this? GOMEZ: I would say probably the biggest accomplishment really out of all of that is working, what Im most proud of, is working with our active duty military and their families. And for that service I was awarded four times by the Obama Administration. Q: What did you receive? GOMEZ: The Presidents Volunteer Service Award. Advertisement Q: A lot of the criticism of the county goes beyond the idea that theyre hoarding money and theyre stingy. To the point that theyre arrogant. They appoint people behind closed doors. They give themselves pay raises on the way out the door. They make big decisions and never admit error like hepatitis A. Does the culture need change and can one supervisor bring about such change? GOMEZ: The culture absolutely needs to change and I think were in a unique position right now with having term limits and seats four and five up for election. And it would be my desire to have seats four and five really build a coalition on shared values to bring conversation to the table that hasnt been brought before. And potentially open those doors to other ideas and other ways of doing things. Knowing that theres another election in 2020 where they could potentially all be replaced at some point. And I think that first layer really is developing that coalition with whoever is elected in four and five to really drive change and dialogue. Q: What would happen, what would your response be if the CEO proposed that her successor be named behind closed doors without public debate? As the last CEO did and got the entire board to go along? GOMEZ: Can you repeat that please? Advertisement Q: A few years ago when they replaced the CEO. GOMEZ: Yes. Q: They did it behind closed doors. No public session. If the current CEO came to you and said Im leaving, I really think my assistant should get the job, lets just push this through. What would you tell the current CEO? GOMEZ: I believe thats not the way things should be done. I think that, that should be, we should have openness and transparency within our communities with our residents and our constituents. And I would absolutely be opposed to that decision. I would let them know that I think that we need to have everyone at the table that can direct that decision. Advertisement Q: What did you think of the interim district attorney appointment process? GOMEZ: I was opposed to that, I thought that we should have had a special election in that regard. Q: And getting back to districts four and five, working as a team? Are you endorsing someone in the fourth district supervisors race? GOMEZ: I havent specifically endorsed anyone, but both Nathan Fletcher and I are, have been endorsed by the Democratic Party. But we have not endorsed each other officially. Advertisement Q: Are you saying youre kind of more aligned with him than with the other candidates or GOMEZ: I would say so. I think that he and I share a lot of the shared values and shared visions. We also both do a lot of work with deported, thats where I got that idea, deported veterans. And we tend to, he has military background. My military connection seems to really connect. And I think that we do have in fact, have a lot of shared values. I do know the other candidates in that race but I would say that he and I are probably most aligned. Q: How about the person youre trying to replace in this district, what are your thoughts on Bill Horn? GOMEZ: I think hes been ineffective. And I think hes been in the seat too long to the point where he became stale. And I think that he really he doesnt share my values. I think that he really focuses on things that are important such as public safety. But he seems to be very narrow-minded. And I think that we should do more for working families. And I think we should do more for addressing affordable housing and homelessness and those types of issues. I think hes really been ineffective and I think hes been in office far too long. Advertisement Q: Specifically how was he ineffective? GOMEZ: I think that he became stale. And just his way of thought and he wasnt challenged because these supervisors have been in office for so long that they just really from my perception just go through the motions. Theres no dialogue. Theres really no, you know, idea sharing, theres no ideas of doing things differently. Theyre just going through the motions. And not really opening their minds to other ideas of whats out there. And what could be possible. Q: How do you feel about the prospect of the vote this fall, give city voters or county voters a yes or no vote on large projects? GOMEZ: Are you referring to the SOS Project? I am in favor of that. Advertisement Q: How do you reconcile being in favor of that, with the idea that we need more housing and less obstacles to putting in housing? GOMEZ: Thats a really good question. I think that its while we definitely need housing we also need to make sure that theyre preserving our open space and our habitat. And I think that we really need, there is a general plan that has been developed and I think that we need to really try to adhere to that general plan. Without amendments as much as possible. But we also need to be building affordable housing. If theres going to be amendments they have to really make sense and not just you know, go against it for the sake of going against it, because we want to build something over here. Because the land is cheap. If it doesnt make sense if its in a fire zone, if its a fire hazard or its not safe then we obviously shouldnt be building there. So its kind of a tug, tug of war there in working with both of those. Q: California voters passed Proposition 64 18 months ago. San Diego County has a policy that to my mind is bizarre. It opposes letting dispensaries set up, but yet it doesnt crack down all that hard on illegal dispensaries. Thereby undercutting the legal dispensaries operating in the City of San Diego. We had the district attorney candidates in here. We had the sheriff in here. Im still waiting for someone to grasp the fact that theres a disconnect between we dont want to allow it, and allowing these illegal ones to operate undercutting the legal ones. Whats your opinion about how the countys handled Prop 64 and the aftermath? GOMEZ: Prop 64 is challenging, I really do believe that we should, the county should, allow for dispensaries. And I do believe that we should, but we have to regulate it. My biggest concern is, is that the State of California has legalized all this. If San Diego County doesnt put its own regulation into place, its going to be forced on us. And we may not like what the state provides. So lets go ahead and put our regulation in place ahead of that. And thats where I think we should really go. Advertisement Q: How would it be forced on the county? GOMEZ: If the state decides that its going to regulate across the board, then we would have to go by state law unless we can put our own ordinances in place. Q: But didnt the state law specifically allow carveouts for communities who didnt want to allow it? GOMEZ:It did, but I think that were doing ourselves a disservice by doing that. And not allowing it, within our communities because we do have people that need it for medical purposes. And I very strongly feel that if you need medical cannabis, that you should have access to it. And whether thats storefronts, dispensaries, delivery, whatever that is, I think that we need to make it easier for our medical patients to receive that medicine. And right nowI know a number of patients that have extraordinary issues in trying to receive that medication. Because its just been withheld for so long and were not putting anything in place, that makes it easy for them to get to what they need. Advertisement Q: The other issue that the county is tackling or has just voted on was this Trump immigration lawsuit. How would you have approached that if you were on the board? GOMEZ: I would have voted against it. I dont think that we should have joined that lawsuit. I think that its inviting a lot of problems for us. Specifically I think that its really going to harm us in ways of people reporting crime. I think its going to really affect our children, our children are going to school. Theyve developed PTS because they dont know if they get, when they get home if their parents are going to be home or deported, or whats going on. I think were doing ourselves a disservice and I think its going to cost us a lot of money to be part of this lawsuit. When its completely unnecessary and we should be welcoming. I think that most specifically, its going to really impact law enforcement in the regard that people are not going to be reporting crime. Q: Is there a situation where you would support signing up to support a lawsuit by anyone against anything? Or are you saying that the county should not be in the business of kind of virtue signaling with its ohamicus brief? GOMEZ: I wouldnt be opposed to a lawsuit that I thought made sense. I dont think this particular lawsuit makes sense. I think its harmful to our people. I mean theres a number of instances where weve had lawsuits in regard to environmental issue. And Im not opposed to that necessarily but I am opposed to this particular lawsuit because I think its very harmful. Advertisement Q: Mm-hmm. Fire protection in the North County is a big issue. What needs to be done? What can the county be doing to better protect its residents? GOMEZ: I think weve seen in the recent fires that weve had various agencies really pull together and come together and work together. I think thats really good. I think weve also seen advances in technology. I think where we can improve is better education of the residents on how to better protect their own homes and their own properties. Whether its cutting down brush or whatever it is? But I think theres an educational piece that could be beneficial but I think that weve done a really good job of bringing different departments. We had you know Camp Pendleton in the last fire, couple of fires. We had you know various agencies that were truly working together and developing new technology to fight these blazes that were dealing with. I also think that we should be of a mentality that were in a constant drought even if the drought has been lifted and it rained yesterday, were still in a desert and we need to remember that California is, we should always think of ourselves as, in a constant drought and thats an issue. That were going to have dry lands, were going to have you know, those types of issues. So I think its an educational piece that would be very helpful. Q: Ive house sat in Carlsbad for the last four summers and if I lived in the North County the 78 freeway would be the first, second, third, fourth, fifth most important issue to me. It just seems so much more horrible, so much more like Los Angeles. Is there anything the county can do to relieve the 78? The 78 is a horrible freeway. It truly is. It goes back to getting people out of their cars. Honestly. Advertisement GOMEZ: The 78 is a horrible freeway. It truly is. It goes back to getting people out of their cars. Honestly. Because I dont think that widening the freeways is the answer. I think its just going to bring more vehicles. I think its really, we have to work on getting people out of their vehicles. That interchange between the 5 and the 78, is horrible. Its always been horrible. I know that were not currently putting funds into improving that. So and I dont know that thats what we should be doing. I think the ultimate goal is to get people out of their cars. Q: Do you think... North County first of all is a very diverse community. From the coast to the inland. Second its very large. Do you think it has a big enough voice in the county and on the board of supervisors? GOMEZ: No. I think North County gets shoved aside quite often by the City of San Diego. And I think we need somebody really strong and vocal and in that seat thats going to really advocate for North County. I think for too long North County has really been pushed aside. Q: So how would you do that? How would you accomplish that advocacy? Advertisement GOMEZ: Again it goes back to transparency and interacting with the constituents and your residents in your community. What is it, what are their concerns? And bringing those concerns to light, I think that were talking about an airport in Carlsbad. Were talking about developments in Lilac Hills. All of these things if we can bring, if we have somebody whos really working with the communities to understand their concerns, we can take that back to the board of supervisors and really lay out all the issues like I said, I think San Diego, the City of San Diego really takes over and really kind of pushes everyone else aside. Q: We talked to some of the other candidates about whether the North County District is too big and GOMEZ: Its too big. Q: Should it be split? I mean Advertisement GOMEZ: Its too big, it should definitely be I think, be split. And theres not, I mean theres comparable residents, but the problem is, is that its so large in land area. That I think that it should be split. Q: One way to do that is to increase the size of the board. Whats the ideal size of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors? GOMEZ: Thats a really good question. And I think that you cant just add a seat because then you need an odd number for voting purposes so just adding one seat is not the answer. I would like it see the whole thing redistricted and perhaps we go to seven. But we, I mean we cant go to six, it wouldnt make sense. We would need to go to seven. Q: I understand the idea of adding members because of population. I dont understand the idea of adding members because of geographic size. Alaska is represented by one person. Advertisement GOMEZ: Right. Q: San Bernardino has, has got like San Bernardino, the county to the north of it are represented by one person. Why is geographic size so unmanageable? GOMEZ: I think, I understand what youre saying, and a lot of Alaska is unpopulated but land mass is very large. So I do understand what youre saying however I think that when youve got populations out in Oceanside and then youve got populations out on Borrego Springs, thats quite a haul for one person to make sure that theyre actually interacting and having a face with their constituents. So its that, for that reason I think that it would be nice to have it split into smaller chunks. But I do understand your point that Alaska is very large as well. But most of Alaska is unpopulated. Q: You brought up the hepatitis A outbreak. So if you were a supervisor when that was unfolding what would you have done differently? How would you have tried to make sure that that didnt evolve into the situation that it did? Advertisement GOMEZ: I would have gotten in front of it. I think what we should have been doing is we should have been sending units out to, uh, with immunizations. We needed to be opening up public restrooms and wash stations. And, but I think the biggest piece was getting in front of it and having those teams going out there and providing those immunizations. Q: All of which happened, youre just saying you would have done it GOMEZ: Quicker. Immediately, as soon as we had even heard that this was a possibility we should have been going in that direction. Q: Even before the first death youre saying? Advertisement GOMEZ: Absolutely. Q: So how then would you approach the flu situation, which is more, many more people dying and kind of in a slightly unprecedented way. I mean, how would you combat that? GOMEZ: Absolutely. But I think with a hepatitis A outbreak we all know that thats due to sanitary conditions and the flu isnt necessarily sanitary conditions. The flu can be any type of virus thats airborne or otherwise. And a hepatitis A situation we need to look at sanitary conditions, and we know that we need to be providing, we have a huge homeless population. We need to be providing sanitary conditions, I mean its, its not the same in my mind. You need to be moving a little bit quicker knowing that, that has the potential to really effect a lot of people very quickly and that we have the ability to prevent that. Where with the flu or, anything of that nature, sometimes an immunization for that isnt even going to help. Because it may not be the right strain. Q: How does, you talked a little bit about not having enough public restrooms and things like that. How does particularly in beach communities, how do you deal with the homeless population, without becoming a magnet for the homeless population? Advertisement GOMEZ: Thats a very interesting question and you mean utilizing those restrooms for shelter and that sort of thing, is that what youre saying? Q: Or just in general, if you, one of the arguments I hear is if you make life too easy for the homeless theyre very quickly going to figure out this is a great place to be homeless if I am homeless. GOMEZ: Right. Q: How do you keep that from happening in places, particularly Oceanside is now very happy with the way its dealing with homelessness according to the people running Oceanside. Advertisement GOMEZ: Right. Well I think first and foremost we need to alleviate homelessness, we need to be putting our homeless into housing and giving them housing, giving them adequate, safe housing. So that they can get the services that they require maybe its substance abuse, mental illness, job placement. But I think the first thing that we need to be doing is not necessarily making it easy for someone to be homeless. But taking our homeless populations off the streets and getting them into housing. And so I dont know that were making it easy for them, but I think were protecting public health. So I think it has to be tandem. Yes provide them with adequate restrooms but also at the same time, get them off the streets and get them into you know, services. Q: You have the mayor of, uh, Jim Desmond in this race and a councilman from Oceanside. What do you think of the homeless situation in those two cities, specifically? How its been handled? GOMEZ: I live in Oceanside. I think that weve done a fairly good job of addressing our homeless issue in Oceanside. We do have a soup kitchen, Brother Bennos, which I think attracts some of that homeless population but it makes sense and then that theyre congregating in that area because of the Brother Bennos. But I think weve done a very good job of addressing homelessness in that city. Im not really familiar honestly with San Marco and how theyve addressed the issue. Q: Do you think the region is doing enough to handle it on a regional basis? It seems like a lot of focus is on the City of San Diego and the county now with the hepatitis A outbreak particularly, but the, even still theres not a lot of you know, or as much as could be, kind of regional support for that. Lot of San Diego kind of seems to bear the brunt of shelters and tents and services? Advertisement GOMEZ: And I dont necessarily think that, that should be the case, I think that we should have, it should be the county as a whole should bear that brunt. I dont think that we should be pushing all of our homeless to the City of San Diego. But they seem to have a very large population there. But thats not the answer. They need to, we need to be providing shelter and services in all of our cities across the county to handle the homeless issue while were also transitioning them into housing. Permanent housing I should say. Q: This editorial page has written many, many times over the years about what we like to call Supervisors Slush Fund. The other day I was driving to work and I saw a van that said, Thank you, Bill Horn, on the side. And yet when we actually talked to individual board members they all say oh, you guys missed the boat. We did really good work with this. Everything is vetted, this is on the up and up. But yet you still see things like paintings on the sides of vans thanking supervisors. What do you think about the slush fund and have the controls that have been put in over the years, are they adequate? GOMEZ: I dont think the controls are adequate, and I would like to see auditing practices really, in regard to where that money is going and how its being utilized. I personally would like to see more money go into public health and human services. But I think that we need better auditing practices to really understand where that money is truly going. Q: You mentioned the reserves, you mentioned now social services. What social services would you like to see more money spent on? And is it a question of more money or is it a question of spending whats being spent now better? Advertisement GOMEZ: Both. Spending more money and spending what we are spending better. Really because I feel like we have a lot of resources out there, a lot of organizations doing similar or the same work. Is there a way to really understand what theyre doing and what that crossover is? Because if were paying all of these different, all these organizations are doing all of these different things, but theyre really somehow doing the same thing, we really need to get our arms around that. Thats part of it. Also I think that I would like to see more money go into like I said home healthcare workers. I think that they are paid really low wage they dont necessarily have benefits. They dont get overtime, and we have an aging population. And Id like to see more money go into that type of service. And again going back to filling vacancies when theyre becoming vacant rather than sitting on vacancies and not you know putting people into those jobs. Q: On that point, for 30 years, going on 30 years the McKinsey Consulting Group has put out reports every year that says the technology revolution, productivity revolution that took over the private sector in the 90s never reached government. So I just wonder why you think we need more workers as opposed to why cant we be like the private sector and get more out of less? GOMEZ: I, I just, I dont see how we can do that with home healthcare. I think that home healthcare needs to be a county employee job. And I think that we really need to focus on making sure that were giving adequate attention to that area. Because if were not paying enough people arent going to enter that field. We have veterans that are coming out of service and they need home healthcare. And they dont necessarily want healthcare from a stranger or a private company. They want home healthcare from a family member or trust someone they trust. So we need to be able to provide that for them. And we need to do that through the county because private sector is not going to be there, you know, someone that they know and trust personally, its going to be a corporation. Q: Im not talking about that specific issue, Im talking about like white-collar jobs. Like we have one HR, one HR person for this entire company. When I got here we had like 20. Advertisement GOMEZ: Oh okay. Q: I mean its just, according to the McKinsey study if you look at almost all white collar things, procurement, vehicle management things like that, the private sector does more with less, than it did 20 years ago. And yet such consolidations almost never happen at the government level, so Im just seriously asking why have a mindset that says we should fill these vacancies as opposed to why dont we have, use technology to, to get by without them? GOMEZ: If technology is available to do that, I think that thats great, but if its not then I think that if youre not filling vacancies simply because you dont want to pay an employee thats wrong. If an employee is doing two or three jobs, because that vacancy didnt get filled and its not being addressed through technology or another means, I think thats wrong, youre putting an undue burden on that employee and its also resulting in the consumer, or us, not getting the level of service that we should be getting. So if that technology is available, absolutely, but if its not and its just sitting vacant because we dont want to pay it? I dont believe in that. Q: Anyone else got any other questions? Advertisement Q: No more questions. Q: Thank you for coming in. Give us your closing elevator pitch on why you should get this job over the other candidates. I believe Im the best candidate in the race because I genuinely care about the welfare of people. GOMEZ: I believe Im the best candidate in the race because I genuinely care about the welfare of people. I have a solid background in working in affordable housing and working with human trafficking, domestic violence survivors, and that sort of thing. And my professional capacity, Im a legislative analyst and I review and analyze legislation with, from all 50 states and draft and educate on policy to keep our employees compliant with all federal, state and local laws. So I have that legislative policy making background. And then again, my work with the military, I think is huge especially for District Five. Because we have such a huge military population there. The failure of Congress and the Obama and Trump administrations to aggressively address the opioid epidemic is a bipartisan indictment of our political establishment. Thats not just because opioid overdoses have killed more than 250,000 people over the past decade. Its because of the growing reasons to think other drugs could have been used much more safely for pain relief in place of habit-forming drugs like OxyContin and Percocet that have created so many American addicts. Thats a key takeaway from a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Associations Internal Medicine magazine that lays out the evidence for medical marijuanas potential value as a painkiller. Now theres more evidence from our own backyard that opioids have been grossly overprescribed. A recent report in The San Diego Union-Tribune detailed how county jail officials had cut back opioid prescriptions from nearly 1,000 in early 2013 to 23 last month after adopting best-practices standards that focused on the risk prisoners face from opioids and the effectiveness of far less potent medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. This was done, reassuringly, with relatively few complications. As concern has grown over opioids, defenders of their heavy use havent just included the drug companies profiting from such prescriptions nearly quadrupling from 1999 to 2014. The libertarian Reason Foundation says thewar on painkillers ignores how much they help those in constant pain, and some doctors agree. But its not hard-hearted to push those in pain to first try to get such relief from less dangerous drugs. This common-sense approach could sharply reduce a national scourge. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Advertisement Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Re EPA limits use of scientific studies (April 25) and the cartoon We burn heretics at the stake (April 25): Imagine the uproar if Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the EPA now would use studies that were not transparent, i.e. for which the data was not available for review, for making policy? They would claim that he was trying to open the EPA up to junk science, and they would be right. The real scandal here is that such studies apparently have been used to make policy. The arguments for using non-transparent studies are as bogus as a $3 bill. That some are long-term studies that cannot be practically repeated is exactly why the raw data and the full details of the methodology must be available for review. The argument that the data cannot be revealed because privacy was promised to participants is a complete sham since the data can be made anonymous, and should have been from the start. Jim Herber Advertisement Spring Valley If Pruitt does not want to believe scientists repeated conclusions that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet, will he believe the oil companies? Exxon-Mobil says, The risk of climate change is clear and the risk warrants action. Increasing carbon emissions in the atmosphere are having a warming effect. Chevrons lawyer said, in U.S. District Court, Chevron accepts the consensus in the scientific communities on climate change, and Theres no debate about climate science. Shell says, We recognize the significance of climate change ... A key role for society and for Shell is to find ways to provide much more energy with less carbon dioxide. And British Petroleum says, We believe the best mechanism to drive a shift to a lower carbon future is to put a price on carbon. Larry Peranich Scripps Ranch Pruitts decision to bring science into the sunlight spells the end of junk science, which has fueled over-regulation by the EPA for years. Advertisement Up until now, the EPA could rely on results without any public scrutiny of the underlying methodology or data sets. This is about taking politics out of science. The ability to test, authenticate, and reproduce scientific findings is vital for the integrity of the rule-making process. Americans deserve to assess the legitimacy of the science underpinning EPA decisions that may impact their lives. Gregory Barnes San Diego Scott Pruitt should be asked to resign his office. If the GOP wanted to give the impression that it is somehow cleaning up Washington, maybe it better start with somebody whos wasting so much taxpayer money. Forty-three thousand dollars for a soundproof area in his office is hardly practical. Advertisement As a tax-paying American, I respectfully request that Rep. Duncan Hunter call for his resignation and encourage your president to appoint someone who is more in line with what the American people deem prudent. Please look closely to all of the other inappropriate actions Pruitt has been involved in up to this point. If the D.C. swamp is being drained, this crafty croc has to go first! Deanna Hesford Temecula Advertisement Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Congratulations to Susan Olney for winning the top spot! She will receive Steve Breens signed original in the mail. Thanks to all those who participated. Next weeks cartoon is below. Please remember to limit your submissions to three and keep em brief. Good luck! Winner OK, you can skip touching your finger to your nose, but I still need you to slither in a straight line. Susan Olney, San Diego Finalists How is it even possible for you to have a lead foot? Sharon Bair, El Cajon Your shedded skin is not considered another passenger for the carpool lane. Ken Biblowitz, Solana Beach I suppose you are headed to Bal-boa park. Ruth Gatch, San Diego I thought that hissing sound I heard was a flat. Larry Gach, San Diego So you are rushing to the hospital with a human bite? Ross Lewin, Lakeside Just because youre a sidewinder does not mean you can weave all over the road. Lee Cording, San Diego I dont think reptile dysfunction will be a good defense. Burt Smith, Oceanside I know youre a racer but not on this road, buddy. Steve Lake, Carlsbad Do you have a middle initial, Ms. Ana Conda? Patti Ceyba, Oceanside Samuel L. Jackson bumped you off your flight? Debra Jean Hopkins, Vista Im only doing my job, please quit the tongue flicking. Linda Hughes, Lakeside Driving at that speed no wonder youre an endangered species. Jamo Jackson, Rainbow Being a civil serpent wont get you any wiggle room from me. Shirley Miller, San Diego Youre rattled ... how do you think I feel? Mary Rhoades, San Diego K-12 Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? Bode Lamb, sixth grade, Dana Middle School You have the right to remain silent. Anything you can hiss can and will be used against you in a court of law. Bryce McCarthy, sixth grade, Dana Middle School Dont try to wiggle your way out of this one. Nathan Griffith, sixth grade, Dana Middle School Jimmy, is that you? I thought you were at the Diamondbacks game. Wyatt Evans, sixth grade, Dana Middle School Next weeks cartoon Advertisement (Steve Breen ) To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@sduniontribune.com by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Please remember to limit your submissions to three and keep em brief. View last weeks winners. Gallery and exhibit openings in San Diego during the month of May include 3UP: Special Edition, Ode to Frida and CONNECTIONS: Juried Art Show. 5.3-16: Spring 2018 Student Art Exhibition and Art Sale Students in Mesa Colleges studio art classes have created more than 100 works in various media, including original art and handmade jewelry, ceramics, glass and works on paper. San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, 7250 Mesa College Dr., Ste. D-101, Clairemont Mesa, 619.388.2829, sdmesa.edu/art-gallery Maddy Hill, Untitled, 2018, watercolor on paper, 6" x 8 1/2" (Courtesy photo) 5.4-27: 3UP: Special Edition The spring edition of this popular exhibition features the works of artists Eleanor Bell, Czarina Scolari-Ortiz and Benjamin Dehart. The Studio Door, 3750 30th St., North Park, 619.255.4920, thestudiodoor.com 3UP: Special Edition. (Courtesy photo) 5.4: Ode to Frida Artist June Rubin celebrates Frida Kahlo through various watercolor paintings of the famed Mexican artist in her difficult marriage, and another in relation to Dia de los Muertos, with Kahlo in a colorful dress with a monkey and a paintbrush. June Rubin Studio/Gallery, 2690 Historic Decatur Rd., Ste. 214, Barracks 19 (upstairs), Liberty Station, 858.229.4571, junerubin.com Ode to Frida. (Courtesy of June Rubin) 5.4-7.1: The Big White Dress: Evolving Traditions of the American Wedding See the evolving styles of American wedding dresses from the 1860s to the present, with a display of 12 dresses from varying decades. Womens Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Rd., Ste. 103, Liberty Station, 619.233.7963, womensmuseumca.org The Big White Dress: Evolving Traditions of the American Wedding. (Courtesy photo) 5.5-6: 25th Annual Reflections of Nature Exhibition and Sale This annual showcase of wildlife art and landscapes features artwork in oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pastels, scratch board, photography and bronze in multiple styles. Fallbrook Art Center, 103 S. Main Ave., Fallbrook, 760.728.1414, fallbrookartcenter.org 25th Annual Reflections of Nature Exhibition and Sale. (Courtesy photo) 5.12-13: Art Glass Guild Show & Patio Sale More than 30 juried, local glass artists will display their work using various techniques, including blown, fused, torch, stained, cast, etched and mosaic art glass, as part of the Art Glass Guilds nonprofit work to support local glass artists. Spanish Village Art Center, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park, 619.233.9050, spanishvillageart.com Art Glass Guild Show & Patio Sale. (Susan Balestri) 5.12-6.2: Michael Manares Depth and Dimension Self-taught artist Michael Manares traded in his electrical and engineering work for the visual art talent that hed unlocked when he was 5, building images with computer software, using stencils on canvas and using multiple layers of resin, ink, dye and pigment to complete his pieces. Distinction Gallery, 317 E. Grand Ave., Escondido, 760.781.5779, distinctionart.com Michael Manares Depth and Dimension (Courtesy photo) 5.19-8.19: Student Craft: Form and Function This biennial, juried exhibition features work created by local high school students over the past school year, making beautiful art with a functional purpose. Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park, 619.239.0003, mingei.org Student Craft: Form and Function. (Katie Gardner / ) 5.20-6.17: Seventh Annual Fallbrook Art Centers Artist Guild Show Exhibition More than 90 works of art in a variety of media are on display, including paintings, printmaking, jewelry, ceramic sculptures, photography, mixed media and more. Fallbrook Art Center, 103 S. Main Ave., Fallbrook, 760.728.1414, fallbrookartcenter.org One Forty-Six, monotype, chine colle, digital print, stamps & colored pencil, 12 x 24, Dixon Fish, California. (Courtesy photo) 5.26: Solana Beach Grand Opening The opening of this second Madison Gallery location features its inaugural exhibition, New Generation, featuring the work of artists James Verbicky and Olivia Steele, focusing on the evolving methods of conversation and communication between artist and viewer. Madison Galleries, 320 S. Cedros Ave., Ste. 200, Solana Beach, 858.459.0836, madisongalleries.com Solana Beach Grand Opening. (Courtesy photo) 5.31-6.30: CONNECTIONS: Juried Art Show The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild will feature two-dimensional works in all media, juried by Ariel Plotek, curator of modern and contemporary art for the museum, with an expertise in 19th- and 20th-century painting and sculpture. Poway Center for Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway, 858.668.4693, sdmaag.org We finally know that, yes, the royals eat fast food - from one chain, at least. Britains Prince William recently admitted that hes a fan of Nandos, a South Africa-based chicken chain that he was introduced to by one of his protection officers. But while this may come as no surprise to those who live in the U.K. (where there are nearly 300 locations, and its quite beloved), most Americans havent even heard of the chain, as there are only about 40 locations in the U.S. So to get up to speed on this royal favorite, here are five quick facts about Nandos. It Was Founded by a Portuguese-Born Engineer Near Johannesburg When a Portuguese-born audio engineer named Fernando Duarte discovered that a Portuguese-style chicken joint had opened in a Johannesburg suburb, he took his friend, an entrepreneur named Robert Brozin, to check it out. They were such big fans that they bought the restaurant outright in 1987, and renamed it Nandos after Duartes son. Within 10 years, more than 100 locations had opened in South Africa. Advertisement Its All About Peri Peri Chicken Nandos success is due to its flavorful chicken, which is marinated for 24 hours in a Portuguese chile sauce called peri-peri (also called piri piri), made with African birds eye chiles, garlic, and lemon (heres a recipe), and basted with it as it grills over an open flame. Chickens are sourced locally for each location, and are never frozen. https://www.instagram.com/p/BSwi0swjcL2/?hl=en&taken-by=nandosusa They Work With 1,400 Farmers Nandos sources its birds eye chiles from more than 1,400 farmers in 18 growing regions in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. They provide these farmers with education on the latest farming techniques, seedlings, a fixed outlet for their crops, and stable incomes. Nandos Owns a Huge African Art Collection Many Nandos restaurants display South African art from emerging artists, ranging from oils and sculptures to weaving and beadwork. In fact, the chain is the worlds largest purchaser of contemporary South African art. You Can Buy the Sauce If you dont have a Nandos near you but want to recreate its chicken at home, you can buy its lemon herb, garlic, medium, hot, and extra extra hot sauces at many retail locations, including Walmart. But be careful: The extra extra hot sauce is right up there with the hottest hot sauces on earth! Advertisement View slideshow Related Articles Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join The students were taught by a master But the dance class became a disaster Cried one little mister, Im paired with my sister! So cant we please dance any faster? Congratulations to Linda Neukrug of Walnut Creek, California! For her limerick describing Albert W. Hampsons illustration Cotillion, which appeared as a Post cover on May 23, 1936, Linda wins $25 and our gratitude for a job well done. Subscribe and get unlimited access to our online magazine archive. Subscribe Today If youd like to enter the Limerick Laughs Contest for our upcoming issue, submit your limerick via our online entry form. Lindas was only one of a bunch of great limericks! Here are some of our favorites from our runners-up, in no particular order: Were lined up, all in our places To practice polite social graces. Some day this dance May lead to romance, But today wed rather make faces. Christine Coates, New Berlin, New York They went to the junior cotillion, Where she wore a dress of vermillion. But what are the chances These kids have more dances? Id say about one in a million. Pat Cunningham, Cheektowaga, New York Theyve probably practiced all day To perform in this delicate way, But the two kids in front Add their own little stunt To an otherwise perfect display. Chet Cutshall, Willowick, Ohio Dad said, Just so that we are clear, You will dance with your sister this year, Or lose, if you like, The use of your bike, Which explains the real reason Im here. Paul Desjardins, West Kelowna, British Columbia The childrens performance was fine, Their costumes and dancing divine. One had to award em High marks for decorum Except at the front of the line. Michelle Gordon, Airway Heights, Washington The French masters class in the dance Quite often would spark a romance. But Sally and Sonny Are nobodys honey! Which shows in their combative stance. Lynn Johnson, Green Valley, Arizona This girl who is dressed up in pink Doesnt know quite what to think: Does this boy really hate her Or wish he could date her? Shell obsess about this with her shrink. Neal Levin, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Excuse me, theres no time to laugh. Bow and curtsy and straighten the calf. This is a cotillion; You will look like a million Or my salary will likely be half. Dolores M. Sahelian, Mission Viejo, California Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/27/2018 -- Scope of the Report The report entitled China Express Delivery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2018-2022), provides analysis of the China express delivery market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth, and volume of the industry. The analysis includes the market by value, by player analysis and by volume. Moreover, the report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall China express delivery market has also been forecasted for the years 2018-2022, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. ZTO Express, YTO Express, Best Inc., STO Express and SF Express are some of the key players operating in the China express delivery market, whose company profiling has been done in the report. In this segment of the report, business overview, financial overview and business strategies of the companies are provided. Get the sample copy of this report @ https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1743173 Company Coverage ZTO Express YTO Express Best Inc. STO Express SF Express Executive Summary Delivery is the process of transporting goods and packages from one place to another destination as mentioned by the client. Delivery on the basis of transportation duration is divided into two categories i.e. standard delivery and express delivery. Express delivery was originated in 1970s. In express delivery, the express delivery company delivers the parcel within 24-72 hours. Express delivery facilities are used by different industries such as electronics and electricals, textile & clothing, automotive & transport, manufacturing industry, pharmaceuticals, financial services, e-commerce industry along with individual customers for their personal work. Express delivery business model is of two types: Franchiser Model and Direct Operator Model. In Franchiser model, express delivery company is partnered with third party network for delivery of packages. Direct operator model is the type where the company is entirely responsible for the delivery of the packages, from inventory to transportation. The china express delivery market is supported by various growth drivers, such as increasing focus on service quality, growing e-commerce penetration, differentiated service offerings by companies, increasing retail m-commerce, etc. The market faces certain challenges, such as, reduction in prices (revenue per parcel), risks associated with the franchise model, etc. few new market trends are also provided such as, rising demand for cross-border supply chain services, emergence of non-express diversification, etc. Request for complete report TOC @ https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1743173/china-express-delivery-size-trends-market-research-reports/toc 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 2.1 Delivery Services: An Overview 2.1.1 Delivery: Meaning 2.1.2 Delivery on the Basis of Transportation Duration 2.2 Express Delivery: An Overview 2.2.1 Express Delivery: Meaning 2.2.2 Express Delivery Industry in Brief 2.2.3 End Users of Express Delivery 2.2.4 Types of Express Delivery Business Model 2.2.5 Key characteristics of Direct Operators and Franchisers Model 2.2.6 Delivery Chain of Typical Franchiser Model 2.2.7 Franchisee Partner Business Model: Economics Split 3. Market Sizing 3.1 China Express Delivery Market: An Analysis 3.1.1 China Express Delivery Market by Value 3.1.2 China Express Delivery Market by Volume 3.1.3 China Express Delivery Market by ASP 3.2 China Express Delivery Market: Player Analysis (ZTO Express, YTO Express, Best Inc., STO Express and SF Express) 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Growth Drivers 4.1.1 Increasing Focus on Service Quality 4.1.2 Easing Pricing Pressure 4.1.3 Growing E-Commerce Penetration 4.1.4 Differentiated Service Offerings by Companies 4.1.5 Increasing Retail M-Commerce 4.1.6 Organic Growth of the China Retail Market 4.1.7 Merging of Online-Offline (O2O) Retail Markets 4.2 Challenges 4.2.1 Reduction in Prices (Revenue Per Parcel) 4.2.2 Customers Complaints on Service 4.2.3 Risks Associated with the Franchise Model 4.3 Market Trends 4.3.1 Introduction of Cainiao Network 4.3.2 Rising Demand for Cross-Border Supply Chain Services 4.3.3 Emergence of Non-Express Diversification 5. Competitive Landscape 5.1 China Express Delivery Market: Competitive Landscape 5.1.1 China Express Delivery Market Players by Share 5.1.2 China Express Delivery Market Players by Expected Share 5.1.3 China Express Delivery Market Players GP Per Parcel 5.1.4 China Express Delivery Market Players Comparison 6. Company Profiling 6.1 BEST Inc. 6.1.1 Business Overview 6.1.2 Financial Overview 6.1.3 Business Strategy 6.2 ZTO Express 6.2.1 Business Overview 6.2.2 Financial Overview 6.2.3 Business Strategy 6.3 YTO Express 6.3.1 Business Overview 6.3.2 Financial Overview 6.3.3 Business Strategy 6.4 SF Express 6.4.1 Business Overview 6.4.2 Business Strategy 6.5 STO Express 6.5.1 Business Overview 6.5.2 Financial Overview 6.5.3 Business Strategy Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/27/2018 -- Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled"Global Market Study on Casein and Caseinate: Western Europe, Japan and MEA Regional Markets to Witness Decline in Revenue Share by 2025" The report on the casein and caseinate market delivers valuable insights on how the said market will progress in the near future, with the period of evaluation being 2017 and 2025. The report is a useful instrument for casein and caseinate manufacturers globally as the projections shared in the study can help them make informed business decisions with respect to investing in novel production techniques, cost-effective procurement of raw materials, and penetration into new markets beyond domestic market. Click here For Free Sample Report @ https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4745 Comprehensive Research Methodology Offers a Multitude of Valuable Information The making of the report involved collaborative research methodology to obtain data from multiple sources. The data obtained has been scrutinized employing a multidisciplinary approach that traces the evolution of casein and caseinates, links consumer requirements to demand for casein and caseinates, and offers presumptions on how this demand will evolve in the upcoming years. Supply chain of the global market for casein and caseinates has been split and examined to identify the challenges. In addition, analysis of the casein and caseinate market with respect to consumers reveals the impact of micro, macro, and socio-economic factors on the demand for casein and caseinate. The research process involved two extensive phases, namely primary and secondary. Secondary research phase involved gathering data to obtain a high level of intelligence of the market. Following this, the data collected in secondary phase is used in primary research to validate the credibility of the data. Thereafter, the data undergoes several rounds of accuracy validation until the research concludes. The final data related to market segments reflects close to 100 percent accuracy that depicts an accurate market scenario. For More Info, View Full Report with TOC @ https://www.mrrse.com/casein-caseinate-market In-depth Analysis of Market Segments Serves to Make Informed Business Decisions The expansion of the global casein and caseinate market has been predicted across multiple geographies. The section throws light on distinct buying trends between consumers in developed economies and developing economies. The report provides projections on the lucrativeness of a region, which has been obtained by identifying their value with respect to sales, outsourcing, product development, and production. Regions that exhibit high profits for manufacturers of casein and caseinate have also been identified. The report also contains a multicultural regional analysis of the casein and caseinate market. Key players in the global casein and caseinate market have been profiled to assess the competitive landscape. Details on competitive outlook is of great value for casein and caseinate manufacturers vying to outperform their rivals. The competitive landscape covers established market players, industry leaders as well as new market entrants. The objective of the report is to provide manufacturers with first-hand information on key competitive strategies that can help them gain competitive advantage. The report aspires to serve as a credible business document that can help casein and caseinate manufacturers plan their future growth strategies. Enquire about this Report @ https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/4745 About Market Research Reports Search Engine Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords. MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSE's repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting. Contact Us State Tower 90, State Street Suite 700 Albany, NY - 12207 United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559 Email: sales@mrrse.com Website: https://www.mrrse.com/ Read More Industry News At: https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ : , () , , . , - . : - , , , , ? : , . . . - , - . , , . , , , , , . . , . , . : , ? : , . . . , , , . , , , , . , , , . , , , . , . - . , . . - - , , . . , , , , . : . , ? : 14- , (). , , . , . , - , . . : , . . , - , , . , , , , , . , , . : , , ? : , - - , . , . , , , . . : , ? ? : . , , , , , . We use cookies to ensure we provide you with the best user experience. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive cookies from our site. Learn more. 1,350-guest Balmoral sailed on a seven-night German Cities & the Kiel Canal cruise, and 804-guest Black Watch departed from Liverpool on an eight-night Norway itinerary. Balmoral will undertake 15 cruises from the Port of Tyne, Newcastle in 2018 an increase on the 13 departures offered in 2017 to Norway, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Baltic. Balmorals ex-Newcastle cruise season will extend from April to May, from where the ship will reposition to Edinburgh (Rosyth), before returning to Newcastle from July to October. Black Watch will be offering a record 18 departures from Liverpool between April and November 2018, ranging from a five-night Scottish Lochs, Highlands & Islands sailing in July, to a 26-night Canada in the Fall adventure in September. Clare Ward, director of product and customer service for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: The appealing combination of choice and value offered by Fred. Olsen has already seen many first-time cruisers and repeat customers from Newcastle and Liverpool make the decision to sail from their convenient local port. At the launch of its new 2019/20 cruise programme in March 2018, Fred. Olsen confirmed that it will be offering even more ex-Newcastle itineraries in 2019/20, with a total of 16 sailings between April 2019 and March 2020, on board Balmoral. Liverpool will also be seeing a bumper number of Fred. Olsen cruise departures in 2019/20, with a total of 22 sailings between April 2019 and March 2020 on Black Watch. A low-profile deputy of Panamas National Assembly discreetly introduced, in a bill on the sale of liquors in residential area, an article repealing a contract-law agreed in 2015 between the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) and the PSA-Panama International Terminal for the construction and operation of a $400m, 2m teu container terminal on the east bank of the Panama Canal Pacific entrance. More disturbing was that the article introduced by Deputy Roberto Ayala, from the opposition Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD), went totally unnoticed during the debate about Bill 53 and was approved by the legislative plenary session of 19 April without any reference to the article annulling the contract-Law. Contract law In the Contract-Law, PSA is obliged to develop an investment of not less than $350m worth in four industrial estates of the former Rodman naval base, granted by the AMP for a renewable period of 20 years. In return, the State receives a fixed monthly fee of $ 44,400.73, at a rate of 14 cents per sq m. This royalty will have an annual increase of 5%. The contract was signed on 28 October 2014 by the then director of the AMP, Roberto Linares and a representative of PSA-Panama International Terminal; it was approved by the Assembly on 28 January 2015. On February 10 of that year, it was sanctioned by President Juan Carlos Varela and became Law 2 of 2015. Read More: PSA Panama awards contracts for expansion PSA-Panama had negotiated and signed its concession agreement in full transparency with the AMP and the Panama Canal Authority and went through the formal approval process to obtain its Contract-Law in the Assembly, where the project was debated at length. The process was carried out between 2014 and 2015 under two separate governments; first of former President Ricardo Martinelli and then current President Juan Carlos Varela. PSA-Panama has invested close to $800m, between the original terminal and the now expanded facility and created over 1000 jobs in the construction and currently 500 for the operations of the expanded terminal, and spent three years (May 2015-May 2018) building and investing. PSA-Panama started trial operations 3 April with the first post-Panamax box ship 13,100-teu MSC Renee part of the ANDES service and is ready to open full operations in May this year. Read More: First post-panamax containership calls PSA-Panama Even though some deputies condemned the article for being irresponsible, it remains, nevertheless, that the plenary approved Bill 53 without giving the reading full consideration and with it, giving full backing to the abnormality. Uproar from the maritime community When the full text was disclosed, it created uproar in the maritime and trade community, raising again the question of the integrity of the legal security of investments and the damage it would do to Panamas international image when the country makes all efforts to become a maritime and logistics hub promoting its unique location for transhipment in the Americas. President Varela has promised on Twitter that he would veto Bill 53 when it arrives at the Executive branch for its sanction. Jorge Barakat, minister of maritime affairs and administrator of the AMP complained that Panama, for more than 20 years, has been developing its port facilities in Panama and Colon, through a series of national strategies based on joint work between concessionaires and various state institutions. The AMP strives to attract foreign companies and investments, to continue consolidating our platform of international services and generate more jobs for Panamanians. However, these nefarious actions of some deputies of the National Assembly, endanger these efforts to the detriment of the maritime sector, affecting the creation of decent jobs and the legal security of the country. It is indispensable an investigation of these facts by the competent authorities and we must work to promote legal and constitutional mechanisms that avoid repeating these illegitimate actions against the national economy and all Panamanians. The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) said in a statement that it believes that the cancellation of the Contract-Law for the construction and operation of a container terminal in Rodman by the company PSA Panama International Terminal is a legislative knee jerk reaction that threatens the legal security of investments in the country. In the view of the CCIAP, including this type of actions in a bill on the opening of companies and the sale of liquors in residential area sends a message to the national and international community of a lack of legitimacy and commitment on the part of the Panamanian State. At the moment, PSA-Panama continues with normal operations as usual, receiving weekly two post-panamaxes services. In order to avoid such actions in the future - a Sword of Damocles hanging over the terminal even after the bill is vetoed the AMP and Jorge Barakat have requested legal changes in the Assembly procedures for protecting the Contract-Laws subscribed by the State. The Greater China area still accounted for the bulk (79%) of the groups volumes, and during the first quarter this rose 38% to 21.3m teu. Among the individual regions within the sector, throughput of the Bohai Rim region recovered strongly and dominated this year, accounting for 33% of the groups total from just 18% in the previous corresponding quarter. In absolute numbers, this more than doubled to 8.9m teu from 3.6m teu previously. The Yangtze River Delta made up 17% of total throughput and amounted to 4.6m teu in the first quarter, sliding slightly due to the Lunar New Year break and prolonged foggy days at Shanghai Mingdong Container Terminals, CSP said. The Southeast Coast saw the groups second highest growth in the first quarter, rising 27% to 1.4m teu, although it only accounted for 5% of total revenue. In particular, the throughput of Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal saw a 92% spike on increased calls from the OCEAN Alliance. The Pearl River Delta region saw small but consistent gains, rising 6% in the first three months of the year to 6.2m teu. The throughput of Yantian International Container Terminals especially benefited from the growth in US and European exports, rising 9% to 2.9m teu. Read More: HPH Trust cautiously optimistic for 2018, barring trade, geopolitical tensions The overseas terminals continued to do well, with total throughput rising by 36.0% to 5.9m teu. Among these Piraeus Container Terminal was boosted by increased calls by the OCEAN Alliance and THE Alliance and saw volumes rise 20% to break the 1m teu mark. Meanwhile, increased calls from the OCEAN Alliance, of which both CSP parent China Cosco Shipping and Singapore-based APLs parent CMA CGM are members, helped boost throughput of COSCO-PSA Terminal 67% to 788,240 teu). The announcement was made by assistant ce (Operations) M Segar at the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) Asia Gala Dinner, part of Singapore Maritime Week 2018. The use of the MFM system will enhance transparency in the bunkering process, improve operational efficiency and increase the productivity of the bunkering industry, MPA said. Similar to the use of MFM for marine fuel oil (MFO) delivery, the use of MFM for distillates will provide better assurance to both the bunker buyers and suppliers on the quantity of bunker delivered, and safeguard Singapore's reputation as the world's top bunkering port. The Singapore Shipping Association and the IBIA support this initiative. Positive feedback The industry has given positive feedback on the mandatory use of MFM for MFO. As the worlds top bunkering port, it is important that we continue to set the highest bunkering standards to ensure fuel quality and reliability and this can be achieved through the use of MFM. This will also prepare the industry for an expected increase in delivery of distillates with the introduction of a 0.5% global sulphur cap from January 1 2020 by the International Maritime Organization. We will continue to work closely with all our stakeholders to prepare the bunkering industry for the future, said Segar. To ensure that the MFM system is suitable for delivery of distillates, the MFM Working Group jointly initiated by MPA and Enterprise Singapore and consisting of members from Weights and Measure Office (WMO) of Enterprise Singapore, National Metrology Centre @ A*Star (NMC) and various stakeholders in the bunkering industry had tested the system on five bunker tankers, and tests were completed in October 2017. With effect from 1 July 2019, all existing distillates bunker tankers supplying to ocean-going ships in the Port of Singapore must be fitted with an MPA-approved MFM system. All new bunker tankers applying for the Harbour Craft (Bunker Tanker) licence will be required to be fitted with the MPA-approved MFM system. Since 2014, MPA has invested close to SGD17m ($12.8m) to help the industry adopt the use of the MFM system for delivery of bunker in the Port of Singapore. Read More: MPA pumps in another $9m to LNG development programme To defray part of the cost in installing the MFM system, companies may apply for co-funding of up to SGD60,000 from MPA for each existing distillates bunker tanker and MPA has set aside SGD9m to co-fund this initiative. Segar added that MPA is also keeping up with the trend towards digitalisation, leveraging on the electronic-Bunker Delivery Note (e-BDN) to further improve the efficiency and productivity of bunkering operations. The e-BDN could also lead to exploring the use of new technology to promote further transparency, such as Blockchain. To date, we have completed preliminary assessment of data transmission from one bunker tanker installed with MFM to MPAs server. We will be embarking on a pilot run to test another five bunker tankers and we encourage interested industry players to come forward if you are keen to participate in the pilot run, Segar urged. Sulphur cap challenges Finally, Segar also took note of the challenges the industry will face with the 2020 global sulphur cap coming up. As a leading global hub port and international maritime centre, Singapore is committed to provide a broad range of solutions to meet the energy needs of the global shipping industry, he said. As ship owners have recognised Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as one viable solution, MPA last December invested a further SGD12m in LNG bunkering to ensure the availability of LNG supply in Singapore. Half of this will be used to co-fund the construction of new LNG bunker vessels (LBVs) to facilitate the development of ship-to-ship LNG bunkering while the other half will be used to top up its existing co-funding programme to support the building of LNG-fuelled vessels. Read all the news from Singapore Maritime Week on our dedicated Live From Singapore Maritime Week 2018 page New Zealand posted its first trade deficit for a March month in a decade as a jump in fuel imports outweighed higher exports of butter and logs. Goods imports rose 14 percent to $4.94 billion in March compared with the same month a year earlier, mainly driven by imports of crude oil, petrol and diesel, aircraft, computers, and tractors, Statistics New Zealand said. Petroleum and products surged $297 million, or 88 percent, to $634 million in March 2018, the largest increase since a $453 million rise in December 2013. Crude oil rose $198 million, while petrol and diesel rose $94 million. Stats NZ noted that monthly imports of petroleum and products can be volatile. Meanwhile March exports increased 5.8 percent to $4.85 billion, led by increases in butter and untreated logs. The total value of butter exports rose $95 million, or 76 percent, to $221 million, with quantity up 47 percent compared with the same month of the previous year. Butter exports to Iran rose $36 million, and to China rose $23 million. Exports of forestry products rose $70 million, or 18 percent, to $460 million, led by a rise in untreated logs to China, up $54 million. "Imports rose much more than exports, leading to a March month trade deficit of $86 million (1.8 percent of exports)," Stats NZ said. "This is the first deficit for a March month since 2008." The annual trade deficit for the year ended March was $3.42 billion, compared with a $3.71 billion shortfall in the year to March 2017. Annual goods imports were valued at $58.07 billion, ahead of the $52.40 billion a year earlier, while annual exports increased to $54.65 billion from $48.69 billion. 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Related News: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM) Market Update - COVID-19 Impacts QEX Logistics Limited (NZX: QEX) NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal Censure 5th October 2021 Morning Report 4th October 2021 Morning Report Auckland International Airport Limited (NZX: AIA) Announces New Chief Executive Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes TASK Deal and Announce New TASK Clients Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Clears First Hurdle in Orangewood Amalgamation Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP) Announces Debt Refinance and Facility Limit Increase Restructure of Cannasouth Cultivation Limited (NZX:CBD) 1st October 2021 Morning Report Veritas Investments says it's in negotiations with a new lender and has again been granted a debt extension by ANZ Bank New Zealand. The food and beverage investor is operating under the close watch of ANZ, which has effectively been overseeing a wind-down of the business to claw back as much as possible of the $27 million it is owed. ANZ has extended the tranches of the company's bank debt, which was due for repayment today, until June 30, Veritas said. This is the fourth time that ANZ has extended the debt since October 2017. Veritas said this extension has been done to enable its board "to continue its active discussions with a new funder regarding a refinance" of the entire debt. "At this stage, while an indicative term sheet has been signed with the new funder, the specific terms and conditions of the refinance proposal remain confidential, incomplete, and subject to certain conditions including finalisation of due diligence and transaction documentation," the company said. "The Veritas board considers that shareholder approval will be required for the refinance transaction, if it proceeds. A further market update will be provided when the details of the refinance are finalised." When the debt deadline was last extended, in February, Veritas said it was in discussions with external parties on potential transactions including asset sales, mergers and refinancing, but all proposals were incomplete. In March, the company cut its 2018 guidance after shareholders voted to sell the business and assets of the Mad Butcher franchisor to its chief executive Michael Morton. Revenue is expected to be between $23 million to $24 million, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation $4.2 million to $4.6 million, and underlying net profit $1.5 million to $1.7 million. Veritas has been selling assets to repay debt it took on to buy a series of businesses since embarking on a strategy of building a food and beverage business with the backdoor listing of the Mad Butcher business five years ago. The company paid $40 million for Mad Butcher, half in cash and the rest in scrip, raising $25 million to help fund the deal. It previously said if approved, the Mad Butcher sale proceeds would go to repaying the money owed to ANZ Bank New Zealand and leave the Better Bar Co as its sole remaining asset. The shares last traded at 3 cents, compared to 31 cents this time a year ago. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM) Market Update - COVID-19 Impacts QEX Logistics Limited (NZX: QEX) NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal Censure 5th October 2021 Morning Report 4th October 2021 Morning Report Auckland International Airport Limited (NZX: AIA) Announces New Chief Executive Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes TASK Deal and Announce New TASK Clients Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Clears First Hurdle in Orangewood Amalgamation Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP) Announces Debt Refinance and Facility Limit Increase Restructure of Cannasouth Cultivation Limited (NZX:CBD) 1st October 2021 Morning Report Abano Healthcare's former shareholder Healthcare Partners Holdings has been ordered to pay the listed medical services investment firm $429,000 in dispute costs that arose from a failed partial takeover bid. Justice Mathew Downs today ruled in favour of Auckland-based Abano, all-but ending a five-year running dispute with what was its biggest shareholder, and ordering Healthcare Partners was liable for costs claimed. Those costs would have been higher if Abano hadn't offset the expenses by withholding a dividend payment to Healthcare Partners. Under the Takeovers Code, a company can seek reasonable costs that arise from an unsuccessful bid. Among the fees claimed, were $375,000 for Forsyth Barr to provide investment bank advice, $67,000 for Ellis & Co to provide public relations, $74,400 for extra work borne by Abano's directors, $277,000 in legal fees from Harmos Horton Lusk, $21,000 for financial services from Abano's former financial controller Brendan O'Sullivan, $2,900 for Red Consulting Group for information services, $2,700 for Merlin Consulting to identify shareholders, and $6,000 for an investor roadshow. "To recapitulate, the true boundary between properly incurred expenses and other unrecoverable expenses lies not with an elusive common law distinction, but rather with articulated behaviours expressly prohibited by the Code: defensive tactics and misleading or deceptive conduct," Justice Downs said. "It follows conduct hitherto regarded as 'resisting' should not, without more, disqualify as unrecoverable otherwise properly incurred expenditure of the target company in relation to an offer or takeover notice." The judge encouraged the parties to reach an agreement on costs but reserved his decision with Healthcare Partners seeking to be heard on the matter. Healthcare Partners was set up by Peter and Anya Hutson and James Reeves, who pooled their Abano stock into the one entity before mounting a partial takeover to seize control of the listed company. Peter Hutson and Reeves had lobbied for change at Abano for several years, including an earlier takeover bid with Australian private equity firm Archer Capital in tow. The judgment showed Healthcare Partners would have paid a fee of more than $3 million to the investment bank it retained in partial takeover had it been successful. Abano shares slipped 0.6 percent to $8.40 and have dropped 16 percent so far this year. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM) Market Update - COVID-19 Impacts QEX Logistics Limited (NZX: QEX) NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal Censure 5th October 2021 Morning Report 4th October 2021 Morning Report Auckland International Airport Limited (NZX: AIA) Announces New Chief Executive Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes TASK Deal and Announce New TASK Clients Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Clears First Hurdle in Orangewood Amalgamation Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP) Announces Debt Refinance and Facility Limit Increase Restructure of Cannasouth Cultivation Limited (NZX:CBD) 1st October 2021 Morning Report Summerset Group has opened an office in Melbourne as it mulls expanding into Australia as it continues to buy and develop across New Zealand. At the retirement village developer and operator's annual meeting this afternoon, chair Rob Campbell said the new Melbourne office is being headed up by its former general manager of development Paul Morris who is now the company's general manager of development for Australia, according to speech notes published to the NZX. "Last year I indicated we would commence investigating Australia as a potential market for expansion. Since that time we have been working through assessing this market and how we would position ourselves and operate within it," Campbell said. "We continue to work through the appropriate due diligence required before entering a new market. We have no further announcements to make at this time, suffice to say we are taking this very seriously and have dedicated the appropriate resource and focus to the opportunity." Chief executive Julian Cook said the company sees further growth likely to come from Australia, which was an exciting opportunity but "it is important that we plan carefully to ensure we succeed and we are committed to doing just this." Campbell first raised the prospect of moving into Australia at the company's annual meeting in 2017, when he said it was a possibility which would require extensive research, among other considerations of how Summerset could expand its core model of services. Today, Campbell said the company, which houses over 4,700 residents, has more than doubled in size since it listed on the NZX in 2011 and is "likely to double again in the next five years as we continue to grow and as the 70-plus population continues to increase." In February, Summerset reported it had lifted annual earnings for calendar 2017 by 44 percent to $81.7 million, ahead of forecast. Net profit jumped 54 percent to $223.4 million, as the value of the company's investment properties increased by $218 million, compared with a $143.5 million gain a year earlier. Summerset built a record 450 retirement units in 2017, up from 409 units the previous year, and plans to match that level again this year. At year's end, Summerset's land bank represented about 2,841 retirement units and 396 care beds, or about six years' supply. It has 23 villages being developed or completed across New Zealand, and seven sites ready for development. Cook said the company still expects its New Zealand build rate to rise to around 600 retirement units over the coming two-to-three years, and doesn't expect to increase it beyond that unless it sees particularly strong demand, but will increase its land bank to support that building rate. "We are a New Zealand-wide operator and our land bank acquisitions are likely to reflect this," Cook said. "The diversity of our operations has been a strength for us in the past as we have seen different dynamics at play in different parts of the country over time, for example currently the Auckland residential market is flattening despite a still heated construction market. This is in contrast to much of the rest of the country." The company's shares were unchanged at $6.86, and have gained 33 percent in the past 12 months. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM) Market Update - COVID-19 Impacts QEX Logistics Limited (NZX: QEX) NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal Censure 5th October 2021 Morning Report 4th October 2021 Morning Report Auckland International Airport Limited (NZX: AIA) Announces New Chief Executive Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes TASK Deal and Announce New TASK Clients Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Clears First Hurdle in Orangewood Amalgamation Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP) Announces Debt Refinance and Facility Limit Increase Restructure of Cannasouth Cultivation Limited (NZX:CBD) 1st October 2021 Morning Report The Commerce Commission is launching a formal study into the country's fibre services to get a better handle on the nature of New Zealand's networks and operations in anticipation of a new policy framework currently being considered by legislators. Telecommunications Commissioner Stephen Gale today announced the study under the Telecommunications Act, which lets the regulator investigate any industry matter or the long-term benefit of consumers. The commission wants to start gathering information from Chorus and the local fibre companies to help it get ready for the new regulatory framework to be set up by the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Bill. Parliament's economic development, science and innovation select committee is scheduled to report on the bill next week. The duration and scope of the study will depend on when the bill is passed, and the regulator expects to gather information on assets and capital spending on fibre networks, operating costs, quality dimensions of fibre services, and products, pricing and revenues of fibre services. "Sharing this study now under our market studies power in the Telecommunications Act gives us a head start on gathering information from Chorus and the local fibre companies," Gale said in a statement. "We expect the information about fibre services to be useful regardless of the form that regulation might take." The Commerce Commission will hold an industry workshop next Wednesday on how fibre will be regulated in the future and will provide more information about the study at the time. The regulator will publish a summary of its findings at the end of the study. "We expect this information will further our understanding of fibre service providers' networks, fibre services, network operations and business practices," Gale said in a letter to interested parties. "The information is likely to include data on management of fibre networks, planning for future growth and improvements, product development, and accounting systems." Legislators are reviewing a bill proposing a new regulatory regime for fibre networks, applying a similar pricing methodology to energy networks and airports. The previous government launched a review of the existing law in 2015 to gauge the crossover with broadcasting and to have a look at the way network service pricing was regulated, after Chorus underestimated the extent it would have to cut wholesale prices when it was carved out of Telecom Corp, now Spark New Zealand. The new regime also seeks to improve the information available to consumers, imposing greater oversight of the development and maintenance of consumer codes and empowering the Commerce Commission to act if those guides are inadequate. The lobbying took a late turn last month when Vodafone New Zealand chief executive Russell Stanners wrote to the committee after delivering his oral submission, accusing network operator Chorus of a "cynical move" to hike the price of a service likely to become an anchor broadband service before the price was locked in. In an interview earlier this month, Stanners told BusinessDesk the lack of competition in fibre meant the local fibre companies hadn't invested in upgrading the speed of the networks, opening the way for wireless technology to be a viable alternative. "What were saying to the government is you need to make sure there are incentives on these guys because at the moment there's a danger of having the best new fibre network overtaken by wireless," Stanners said. "Thats why the current review is a big step - its an inflexion point where the government can continue to build a successful model or watch while it withers on the vine." A key element to Vodafone's formal submission is for strong incentives to innovate over the ultrafast broadband network, with unbundling to allow direct access to the fibre central to generating competition. Rival retailer Spark New Zealand's submission generally sought greater restrictions on network operator Chorus and urged an easing of retail regulations. Two Degrees Mobile supported the thrust of the bill but said it was concerned about locking in the advantage to monopoly fibre suppliers over the supply of non-fibre services and that it was concerned about access to terms to dark fibre access services that feed into non-fibre services. While Chorus supported the bill, it suggested faster deregulation of its existing copper-line services and more flexible legislation to allow for new technologies and service providers getting fibre access. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM) Market Update - COVID-19 Impacts QEX Logistics Limited (NZX: QEX) NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal Censure 5th October 2021 Morning Report 4th October 2021 Morning Report Auckland International Airport Limited (NZX: AIA) Announces New Chief Executive Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes TASK Deal and Announce New TASK Clients Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Clears First Hurdle in Orangewood Amalgamation Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP) Announces Debt Refinance and Facility Limit Increase Restructure of Cannasouth Cultivation Limited (NZX:CBD) 1st October 2021 Morning Report Cherry red velvet pumps, wooden rocking horses and golden pocket watches were some of the many items being sold during the Antiques and Collectibles Sale at Shepherdstown Community Club on Saturday and Sunday. A steady stream of shoppers visited the semi-yearly sale, featuring six vendors selling recycled, reused and repurposed antiques and collectibles. We used to be up at the train station, but we have a lot more foot traffic here, said Nellie Umbaugh, of Nels Antiques, which sells antique accessories from the Victorian era through the 1980s. She loves finding Bakelite items, and has even won first prize from the National Button Society for a collection of Bakelite animal buttons. Bakelite came out right after the Great Depression. It was something fun and affordable for the office girls, but now its extremely hard to find, Umbaugh said, mentioning she loves the people she meets at antique shows. I like to meet with other people who appreciate the workmanship of vintage jewelry, and having that special piece for someone who collects vintage jewelry. Personally, here in Shepherdstown, Ive sold for about five years, said event coordinator Kim Lowry, who has bought and sold antiques for about 25 to 30 years. Lowry said she likes antiques because theyre uncommon. Its so much more fun to find unique items, as opposed to something everyone else will have, Lowry said. Its always fun when someones face lights up, and says, This is what Im looking for!' Sue Ulland, who primarily sells primitives and kitchenware, said finding antiques isnt as simple as it might seem. Finding these antiques and collectibles is fun, but not easy. They dont just appear-it takes work, said Ulland. Antiques are getting scarcer and scarcer and more expensive, so thats why people go to flea markets and events like this to get a bargain. Nancy Ellen Adams, who owns Yesterdays Lace: In the Wind Somewhere in Virginia, said she got the name of her business because she sold textiles when she started. Adams was invited to sell at the event for the first time this year, and said she hoped to be invited back for the fall sale. Her business, which originally sold quilts and linens, moved to selling refurbished antique furniture before she realized customers were most interested in buying jewelry. I dont have a shop or anything. I just do shows, but I love doing this, Adams said. Friends, family, faculty and staff gathered in the Frank Center at Shepherd University for the 70th annual Student Recognition Ceremony on April, 17. Tom Segar, vice president of student affairs, kicked off the ceremony with an anecdote about silencing cellphones, which was interrupted by a ringing cellphone. Dont worry, I wont dock that from your final grade, he joked. He then introduced the presenters of each award, which included, Dow Benedict, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities; Benjamin Martz, dean of the College of Business; Stacey Kendig, co-dean of the College of Education and Professional studies; Robert Warburton, acting dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Ann Marie Legreid, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral sciences. The academic awards, class scholarship awards and students of distinction awards were presented by Scott Beard, acting provost. Segar presented the student leadership awards. It is an honor to not only present these awards to these students, but to know how hard they have worked personally as leaders in their respected organizations, said Segar. The Mentzer Award for Inspirational teaching was presented to Stephanie Slocum-Schaffer, associate professor of political science. The award was presented by Susan Mentzer-Blair and her husband, William Blair, as well as Spencer VanHoose, the student who nominated Slocum-Schaffer. The $1,000 award goes to a full-time professor recognized for being particularly inspiring and having a profound effect on his or her students. The Lowe Family Award, which is given for outstanding service to the university and high academic achievement, went to Morgan Breeden, of Summit Point. The award is funded by the Lowe family of Shepherdstown. The Oliver S. Ikenberry Distinguished Human Services award was presented by Jane Ikenberry and awarded to Taylor Bird, a social work major from Charleston, and DaShawn Long, an R.B.A. student from Winchester, Virginia. The $250 cash award goes to one female and one male graduating student for exemplary human service to Shepherd as evidenced by campus leadership, community service and overall achievement. CHARLES TOWN A Shepherdstown woman has been identified as the individual who died Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle accident on U.S. 340. Abby Northrop, 67, died as a result of the accident, according to a Facebook post by the Charles Town Police Department. At approximately 2:44 p.m. Monday, emergency personnel responded to the accident involving an entrapment on Berryville Pike and Augustine Avenue near Washington High School. Charles Town Police Department Chief Chris Kutcher confirmed Monday evening two patients were transported by ambulance to Jefferson Medical Center, and one victim died. Northrop was transported to a local medical facility, where she subsequently passed. Steven Lee, 51, of Kearneysville, was also transported to a local medical facility for injuries sustained in the crash, according to the post. The extraction of the entrapped individual took approximately 15 minutes, according to emergency services records. Citizens Volunteer Fire Department assisted and completed the extraction at the scene, according to a spokeswoman with the Jefferson County Emergency Center. Preliminary reports indicate that Northrops vehicle traveled through a red traffic signal while traveling southbound on U.S. 340, according to the post. In doing so, Northrop struck Lees vehicle, which was turning left from Augustine Avenue onto U.S. 340, according to the post. Prior to the crash, dispatch received a reckless driving report from a concerned citizen regarding Northrops driving actions, the post said. Investigation into this incident continues. The BJP leader, however, was all praise for Aishwarya Rai, who won the Miss World crown in 1994, saying she "represents the Indian women" in the true sense. : After his "Internet in the Mahabharata era" remark, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today claimed that the international beauty pageants were a farce and questioned the rationale behind crowning Diana Hayden "Miss World" 21 years ago. "Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country," he said. Deb's comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the BJP leaders to steer clear of controversies and not offer "masala" to the media by making irresponsible statements. The Tripura chief minister also claimed that the international beauty contests were a farce as the results were all predetermined. "Whoever contested the international beauty pageants won. For five consecutive years, we won the Miss World/Miss Universe awards. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title?" Deb said. Addressing a day-long design workshop on handlooms and handicrafts at the Prajna Bhavan here, Deb spoke in a mixture of Bengali and Hindi: "Bitorko ho jayega...Aap kya bolte ho Biplab Deb?" (There will be a controversy. What are you saying Biplab Deb?) "They make the girls walk with fabric on the ramps. Those who give the certificates are all international textile market mafia. They plan beforehand who will get the award and this is 100 per cent true," the BJP leader said. He said he failed to understand the "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Diana Hayden had got the award. "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden," Deb, who became the chief minister last month, said. "Why are there no more beauty pageant winners from India? They (the jury) have captured the market in the country and have gone elsewhere," he claimed. Activist Kavita Krishnan termed his comments as 'stupid, sexist and communal'. 'If biplab deb didn't exist, a comic writer would have invented him,' columnist Salil Tripathi tweeted. Delhi CM advisor Nagendar Sharma in a tweet said, 'Though we are still in April, this most likely could qualify for the most ridiculous quote of 2018.' A senior journalist tweeted, 'One reason for which I should cheer the verdict in Tripura is that the nation found a new entertainer.' Deb's comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the BJP leaders to steer clear of controversies and not offer 'masala' to the media by making irresponsible statements. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, and other senior party leaders were also present for the launch. In a brief speech in English, Rahul Gandhi said, "Five years ago the government of Karnataka promised you something and we delivered on it. Our manifesto contains the Mann Ki Baat of the Karnataka people. "Whatever the manifesto says will be done. Ninety-five per cent of what was mentioned in the last manifesto has been done. The BJP manifesto will be decided by three or four leaders. It will have a certain amount of corruption hidden in it. It will have the idea of the Reddy brothers hidden in it." He said the manifesto was drawn up after going to every single block, district and community in the state. He said the party went to the people of the state, asked them what they wanted and put it in our manifesto. "I believe in the philosophy of Karnataka and that is what the Congress wants to bring to the state," the Congress president says. During his two-day seventh leg of campaigning in the southern state, which starts tomorrow, Gandhi would also visit parts of Uttara Kannada like Ankola city, Mastikatte Circle (Kumta), Saraswati Circle (Honnavar) and hold a corner meeting at Bhatkal, the party said in a statement today. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- He gambled, and he won. A New Brighton man, accused of holding up a St. George deli two years ago while his brother acted as lookout, broke down in tears in court on Friday, after prosecutors dismissed charges against him in that case and he resolved another matter by pleading guilty to a non-criminal violation that spares him jail time. Obediah Tarr, 22, had opted to go to trial even after his brother Abraham Tarr, 24, was sentenced on Tuesday to 42 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to attempted first-degree robbery for his role in a heist at the Fort Place deli on Aug. 30, 2016, which authorities alleged Obediah Tarr had committed. But opening statements scheduled for Thursday were adjourned after the victim saw the younger Tarr in court and told prosecutors he was not the man who had held him up, said defense lawyer Mario F. Gallucci. The victim had previously identified Tarr in a lineup. Gallucci said Tarr, from the day of his arrest, had vehemently denied robbing the victim. In fact, earlier in the week, Tarr had recognized the victim's name when a list of potential witnesses was read in court. The lawyer said Tarr told him then he had gone to high school with the victim and was friendly with him. Gallucci said he passed that information along to prosecutors. Prosecutors moved to drop the felony robbery charges on Thursday after the victim's revelation in state Supreme Court, St. George. The defendant potentially faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted of first-degree robbery, the top count against him. What remained against Tarr were misdemeanor resisting arrest and obstruction charges stemming from an incident on Dec. 27 of last year. Authorities allege Obediah Tarr unlawfully tried to intercede when officers arrested his brother, Abraham, for possessing a loaded .380-caliber handgun on Richmond Terrace in New Brighton. Obediah Tarr pleaded guilty on Friday to disorderly conduct to resolve those charges and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. His court file was sealed, said Gallucci. The dismissal of the robbery charges and Tarr's plea obviated the need for a trial. "The D.A. in this case truly did justice and determined there was a prior relationship (between Tarr and the victim) and dismissed the robbery case," said Gallucci. "My client was very excited. He walked into court on Thursday looking at the possibility of 25 years in prison and walked out today without a criminal record and (with) a certificate of relief from civil disability." "He's ready to continue as a student at the College of Staten Island, where he's entering his sophomore year," said the attorney. "He almost went to jail for something he didn't do." A certificate of relief restores the rights a person lost or could lose as a result of a conviction, such as working in a government job or obtaining a state occupational license. Assistant District Attorneys Michael Tannousis and Matthew Mobilia prosecuted the cases. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The 29-year-old man accused of wildly firing shots into the Stapleton Houses had a near fatal encounter with police last weekend. The footage shows Marcus Washington sitting on the ground and surrounded by officers with their guns drawn at around 1:16 p.m. "Put your hands in the air," an officer said. "Put them up now." Then Washington appears to be reaching for the gun before things escalate. A woman in the background screams "NO" as officers yell "Stop." "Drop the gun," cops said. "Put your hands in the air," they said again. Washington is then seen slowly putting his hands up before cops swarm him and place him under arrest. One officer then removes the clip from the gun and throws it to the side. "Loaded," he said. "I was a second away," the cop says. Authorities were responding to the shooting incident in Stapleton Sunday afternoon. Washington allegedly fired the two shots, one of which entered an apartment of the Warren Street building around 1:10 p.m. No one was injured in the incident, but a bullet was found in the apartment's kitchen along with broken glass in the woman's living room. Police said the victim and Washington don't know each other. When police responded they identified Washington from a description, and stopped him in front of the building, the spokesman said. Police recovered a loaded firearm at the scene, and charged Washington with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of stolen property, and criminal mischief. Washington, of Coursen Place, was arraigned Tuesday and held in lieu of $150,000 cash/bond bail, according to online court records. He is due back in court May 1. On Jan. 28, the suspect allegedly cursed and threatened cops in the 121st Precinct stationhouse before bolting outside and leading police on a dangerous foot chase across a nearby highway, authorities said. He barged into the stationhouse in Graniteville and demanded they return the property taken from him during an arrest two days earlier, police said. "I want my money back. I just want my property. I'm going to kill all you cops," a criminal complaint quotes him as yelling. "Give me the arresting officer's phone number and address. I'm going to kill him." That case is still pending in Criminal Court. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The man arrested Thursday in connection to pushing a Mexican immigrant to the train tracks of the Union Square subway station has a previous robbery conviction in Staten Island. Willie Ames, 47, allegedly pushed the 24-year-old man to the train tracks around 8:15 p.m. on Friday after they got into a verbal dispute on a northbound No. 4 train. Police allege Ames also repeatedly punched the man, and made several derogatory statements about the victim's ethnicity, while wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, which were made famous by President Donald J. Trump. After pushing the man to the track bed, Ames allegedly fled to the L train platform at the same station. A friend, and a good samaritan helped the victim from the tracks. Both the New York Daily News and New York Post reported Ames was picked up in Staten Island, but police could not confirm that Thursday night. He was arrested at the 7th Precinct station house in Manhattan, an NYPD spokesman said. Cops said Ames currently lives in Brooklyn, but public records indicate he has multiple previous addresses in Staten Island. State Department of Corrections records indicated the same Willie Ames served a 3-year stint for a Staten Island robbery, and was released in 2014. Police could not provide information on that arrest. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A city Department of Transportation employee from Meiers Corners is suing the city after a demotion that he says was related to his on-the-job singing. Mariano Scotto claims he received a letter from DOT brass on March 8, 2017, asking him to keep his singing to a professional level, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court. The next day, Scotto, who has worked for the department for 34 years, sang during a meeting, and was reprimanded by a DOT engineer, according to the complaint. One of Scotto's colleagues testified that the 58-year-old man sings all the time, and that when the engineer spoke to him about his crooning, it was like she was discipling a child, according to the complaint. On March 13, 2017 he was called into a meeting with supervisors, who told him to stop singing, according to the complaint. Scotto's complaint claims he had never been explicitly told to stop singing before that day. The singing pavement marker supervisor was told to report for a medical examination a little less than two months after that meeting. A doctor, who performed a May 17, 2017 mental health examination on Scotto, determined he was "'psychiatrically unfit,'" according to the complaint. In addition to two separate singing incidents, the doctor cited a 311 complaint filed after Scotto allegedly drove a DOT vehicle in a reckless manner. Scotto claims that 311 complaint wasn't properly investigated. The doctor recommended Scotto be given a leave of abscence. That recommendation was brought to fruition by an agency adovcate for the DOT, who is also named in the suit. Scotto's own psychiatrist, who he has seen for 11 years, refuted the city psychiatrist's conclusion, and a judge in the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings reinstated Scotto. Scotto is still being denied his overtime and driving priveleges. In the suit, he is claiming his due process rights were violated, as well as his protected status under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Scotto is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. A spokesman for the city Law Department said they're reviewing the case. CITY HALL -- In his quest to make New York City the "fairest big city in America," missing in Mayor Bill de Blasio's more than $89-billion fiscal 2019 executive budget released Thursday: Property tax relief for New York City residents. Highlighted in the mayor's $89.06 billion executive budget was more than $343 million in "responsible investments to improve the lives of New Yorkers" which included: $125 million for additional student funding; $103 million for 3,000 permanent security barriers; $41 million for cybersecurity; $30.5 million for expanding student literacy programs; and $20 million to eliminate thousands of work order backlogs at the city's public housing authority. The mayor's priorities follow the City Council's budget recommendations they released earlier this month. The council called for everything from a $400 property tax rebate for homeowners earning below $150,000 and the formation of a property tax commission to funding for a program that would give half-fare MetroCards to people living below the poverty line. From the Council's wish list, de Blasio agreed to add fair student funding to his executive budget which he called "one example of becoming fairer," when pressed on why he did not include property taxes and fair fares Thursday. De Blasio said the best way to fix property taxes was to form a commission to look at inequities in the current system -- a task he has been promising to do since prior to being re-elected and recently said he would form by the end of April. "We're going to most importantly go at the heart of the property tax problem and have a commission working closely with the Council to try and reform fundamentally the property tax to be more fair for everyone," the mayor said. "I would argue the best way to address the property tax question is the fix the whole system. Everyone loves a rebate, but it doesn't fix the root cause. Most rebates are pretty small, and then you never see them again." But the mayor was reluctant to endorse the property tax rebate or the fair fares when asked. "We're going to go into negotiations and as everyone knows we've got between six to eight weeks ahead, and we will talk about each of those," he said. "We're going to be really concerned about the price tag and the impact on our future on each of those choices, but we have not concluded anything on any of them yet." ISLAND REPS SLAM MAYOR Following the release of his executive budget, Staten Island's Republican councilmen blasted the mayor for not including property tax relief in his executive budget. "I am extremely disappointed that in the $89 billion spending plan the Mayor presented today, there is no property tax relief to help seniors, retirees, and middle- and working-class families who are struggling to make ends meet as their taxes have skyrocketed and their incomes have stagnated," said Councilman Steve Matteo (R-Mid Island). "There also is no indication of how this administration intends to address the glaring inequalities of a property tax system that charges the owner of a modest home in Staten Island or Queens more than the owner of a multi-million brownstone in Brooklyn." Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) said it was "extremely discouraging" to see neither the property tax rebate nor additional funding for a new FDNY squad company for Staten Island included in the mayor's executive budget. "The budget dance will continue," Borelli said. Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) too expressed frustration over the lack of property tax relief and funding for after school programs in the mayor's budget. "While I am pleased that the mayor's executive budget includes $125 million for school equity and investments in literacy, NYCHA developments and career training, I was disheartened to see that it did not include a restoration of summer SONYC youth programs, an expansion of Summer Youth Employment nor property tax relief for our homeowners," Rose said. AN INCREASE OF NEARLY $5 BILLION The mayor's latest executive budget increased by nearly $5 billion from the previous fiscal year, which he defended and said was bigger to ensure the success of city services and initiatives. "We have the highest reserves we've had in the history of New York City and we have not been dipping into them," de Blasio said. "We have a very clear commitment to accounting for everything, we're spending and to constantly improving our savings effort." "At the same time, we've got things we have to invest in to ensure the success, like that success you saw laid out in the low crime, lots of jobs and all that, didn't happen accidentally," he continued. "Some of that came from investment obviously and the fact is we have to keep up with legitimate costs of making sure this government can achieve that kind of success for New York City." De Blasio's executive budget also includes $754 million in savings which he said was the result of partial hiring freezes, agency efficiencies and debt service re-estimates. He also said the budget gave the city a fiscal cushion from the more than $530 million in looming threats from Albany and Washington. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While shopping centers shutter across the country, the Staten Island Mall is growing its footprint to meet the demand for brick-and-mortar retail in the borough. The redevelopment of the Staten Island Mall, which began in 2015, adds 242,000 square feet of retail space to the nearly 1.3 million-square-foot New Springville mall. "While malls across the country are closing, the Staten Island Mall is expanding," said James Easley, senior general manager of the Staten Island Mall. "We have plenty of space that is being demanded by the retailers and that's the biggest reason for our expansion. The market here on Staten Island has one of the best kept secrets in the whole country -- it's New York City, it's a very densely populated area and it's a great market," he added at the opening of the new wing Thursday. The first store to open in the new wing was European retailer Zara, an approximately 40,000-square-foot operation featuring woman's, men's and children's apparel and accessories. Easley noted that the majority of the businesses will open and most of the construction will be complete by the end of the year. MORE NEW RETAILERS OPENING Adding to the already announced roster of new retailers are Lands' End and Barnes & Noble. Both are slated to open later this year. On Thursday, patrons were able to dine in the new Food District, which includes a lounge with leather sofas, large-screen televisions, free WiFi and more. The area will soon be home to several new and existing Mall eateries. A centrally located, 11,000-square-foot exterior plaza for community gatherings and seasonal events also opened Thursday. Coming soon to the Mall will be a new AMC Movie Theater, Ulta Beauty, Ono Bowls, Lidl, Shake Shack, Dave & Buster's and Chipotle. The only retailer with a definite opening date is Ulta Beauty on May 18. Staten Island Mall expansion now open 32 Gallery: Staten Island Mall expansion now open EXCLUSIVE: Staten Island Mall expansion complete Posted by Staten Island Advance on Thursday, April 26, 2018 FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island has been know to have some of the longest commute times in the country, but it appears as though the problem extends throughout the city. New York City is home to over 616,000 "super commuters," or those who travel 90-plus minutes each way during their daily commutes, according to an analysis of census data by Apartment List, an online real estate marketplace. The number accounts for nearly 7 percent of the city's working population, and about 15 percent of the country's approximately 4 million super commuters -- making New York City home to the most in the United States. While New York City's dense population contributed to its total, the city also ranked fourth in highest share of super commuters at 6.7 percent, the analysis found. The only cities with a higher rate of super commuters were Stockton, Calif., at 10 percent and Modesto and Riverside, Calif., at 7.3 percent each. According to the analysis, the number of super commuters nationwide rose 15.9 percent from 2005 to 2016. The increase was attributed in part to a reliance on public transportation networks. New York state, meanwhile, was found to have the highest percentage of super commuters at 5.5 percent. One possible explanation for the rate is that workers are being drawn toward job opportunities in New York City, but cannot afford the surrounding housing markets, the analysis said. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rep. Daniel Donovan released his tax returns to the Advance and challenged his GOP primary challenger, Michael Grimm, to do the same. "The hardworking people of Staten Island and South Brooklyn are struggling to pay their taxes, but Michael Grimm doesn't think the same rules apply to him," said Donovan spokeswoman Jessica Proud. "He's hiding the truth about his shady deal with a D.C. swamp lobbyist and he's hiding his taxes. Voters deserve full transparency from a candidate who served prison time for felony tax evasion; enough with the excuses." Grimm declined to release his returns, according to campaign spokesman Joe Shikhman. "Congressman Grimm will release his taxes when Dishonest Dan has his first substantive bill signed into law," said Shikhman. "We won't hold our breath." Grimm's campaign acknowledges that the former congressman reportedly owes $442,243.62 to New York in penalties, fees and interest. He has hired a tax attorney to dispute the debt. "It is very sad that a sitting congressman can only get press with stunt after stunt rather than doing something for his constituents," said Shikhman. "Whether it's absurd post office art legislation, shamelessly flip-flopping on sanctuary cities, or a pathetic campaign ad ... Dishonest Dan cannot stop lying and putting on a circus act to deflect from his campaign's free-fall." "Grimm has paid all back taxes in full for his business hiring delivery boys off the books," Shikhman said. DONOVAN'S RETURN Donovan earned $366,855 in 2017, according to a copy of his tax filings. He earned $200,000 from pensions and annuities, $161,342 from his congressional salary, and $5,319 from IRA distributions. Donovan deducted $43,677 in state and local taxes that he paid. Next year, due to the GOP tax bill that he voted against, he'll be limited to a $10,000 deduction. The GOP congressman collected $28,800 from renting out a Staten Island property, but claimed a loss of $3,873. Donovan also donated $5,350 to charity. The congressman received a $3,440 federal tax refund and received a $4,639 refund from New York state. A VERY HEATED RACE While internal polls from both campaigns showed opposing results, a recent poll released by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed that Grimm leads among GOP voters at 49 percent, while Donovan is at 39 percent. Donovan and Grimm's campaign have been feuding in recent weeks as the GOP primary is only two months away. On April 2, Donovan denied using his political status to help the son of his girlfriend, Serena Stonick, receive a desk appearance ticket for a heroin arrest and blamed Grimm for filing a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics. Grimm denied filing the complaint. Donovan's campaign unveiled a website on April 16 titled "The Grimm Reality." The website highlights Grimm's past political scandals and prison sentence for tax fraud. It also cites Grimm's 2012 vote against making individuals with high amounts of delinquent tax debts ineligible for federal employment. Donovan has been endorsed by the Staten Island GOP, and the Staten Island Independence Party, New York state Conservative Party and New York state Reform Party. The primary election is on June 26th. FOLLOW CLIFFORD MICHEL ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. BROOKLYN, N.Y.-- He wanted to die. But quick-thinking federal agents spared him. And a federal judge gave him hope. After facing the rest of his life in a cellblock, Fareed Mumuni, the 23-year-old Mariners Harbor man busted on terrorism-related charges three years ago, was sentenced to 17 years in prison Thursday in Brooklyn federal court. "I feel like I've woken up from a trance," he told the court before U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie handed down her decision. "I've really grown. I can't explain how sorry I am for what I've done." That's a drastic turnaround from the self-proclaimed brainwashed man who vowed to die for a misguided understanding of the Muslim faith. Mumuni had previously said he discussed traveling overseas to join the Islamic State, and kept a knife in case the FBI showed up. He repeatedly expressed his intent to defend himself if officers kept him from going abroad, and vowed to kill them if they showed up at his home, authorities said. On June 17, 2015, the American-born Mumuni tried to plunge a kitchen knife into the chest of an FBI special agent executing a search warrant at his Mersereau Avenue home, according to federal prosecutors. The agents could have fired their weapon when they saw him draw the nine-inch blade, but wrestled him to the ground and handcuffed him without as much as a scratch, said defense attorney Anthony Ricco during the proceeding. "I was not your enemy," FBI agent Kevin Coughlin told Mumuni in court. An hour after his arrest, Mumuni told officers he wanted to die, Ricco said. "I thank God, over and over again, I wasn't killed," Mumuni wrote in a letter to the court pleading for mercy. "I want to thank the agents for saving my life." "It's foolish to lose a life over an idea you don't know anything about," Ricco told the court. "Fareed Mumuni has a life worth giving an opportunity to ... a young person capable of redemption." Before addressing the court, Mumuni, garbed in beige prison clothes and a black religious cap, turned to a large group of family members and expressed his remorse, especially to his mother. "I'm sorry I put you through this," he told her. Sala Mumuni then buried her face in her hands, valiantly holding back the tears. Mumuni was facing 100 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, conspiracy to assault a federal officer, assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon and attempted murder of a federal officer. Prosecutors asked for 85 years in prison Thursday, but Brodie opined it was excessive. "I hope while you're incarcerated, you take the opportunities provided to you, including education, so when you're released, you can become a contributing member of society," Brodie told Mumuni. Ricco and Mumuni's mom declined to comment after the proceeding. Knife attacker kills nine children in China Beijing, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 A knife-wielding man with a grudge killed nine middle school children and injured at least 10 others as they returned home in northern China on Friday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest such rampages in the country in recent years. The 28-year-old suspect was detained and the injured children were receiving hospital treatment, the Mizhi County public security bureau in Shaanxi province said on its official social media account. Seven girls and two boys were killed, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local police. The ages of the children were not given, but middle schoolers are usually between 12 and 15 years old in China. The incident took place at around 6:10 pm local time, the department said. A man surnamed Zhao from Zhaojiashan village in Mizhi County was arrested, the public security bureau said. The suspect confessed that he had been "bullied" when he attended the same Number Three Middle School when he was a child, "hated" his classmates and decided to use a "dagger" to kill people on Friday, the bureau said. A video posted by The Paper, a daily, on video-sharing website Miaopai.com shows two or three bodies lying on the ground in a narrow lane. A person is heard shouting "hurry, call the police!" Police are seen running and later frogmarching a man down the street. AFP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Knife attacks are not uncommon in the country. In February, a knife-wielding man with a personal grudge killed a woman and injured 12 others in a busy Beijing shopping mall -- a rare act of violence in the heavily policed capital. In the southern city of Shenzhen, a man armed with a kitchen knife killed two people and wounded nine others in a supermarket last July. - History of attacks - Attacks have also targeted schoolchildren in the past, forcing authorities to increase security around schools. In January 2017, a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The previous February a knife-wielding assailant wounded 10 children in Haikou, in the southern island province of Hainan, before committing suicide. The man had entered the school in the afternoon, claiming that he was there to pick up his son. The attacks have led to calls for more research into the root causes of such acts. Violent crime has been on the rise in China in recent decades as the nation's economy has boomed and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly. Studies have also described a rise in the prevalence of mental disorders, some of them linked to stress as the pace of life becomes faster and support systems wither. In June last year, a bomb blast that killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kindergarten in Fengxian, eastern China, was blamed on a 22-year-old introvert with health problems who had written the words "death" and "destroy" on the walls of his apartment. Material to make a homemade explosive device was found in the home. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree Labor unions face hard road in Silicon Valley San Francisco, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 Well paid and in high demand, it would appear that engineers in Silicon Valley have scant reason to join forces in labor unions. And yet there are signs that interest is on the rise. Engineer Bjorn Westergard and a dozen colleagues were fired early this year by Lanetix. The startup specializing in professional software cited economic reasons for the staffing cut. But axed employees suspect their effort to create a worker union was a factor in the move. The dismissals came a few days after an application join with the Communications Workers of America was sent, Westergard told AFP. "I think it is the first time that software engineers in a software company have filed (to unionize)," Westergard said "It's not hard to find a job, and it pays relatively good so there is the idea that if you have any problem at all you just leave and get another job." Some 10.7 percent of US workers are unionized, according to a January report by the Labor Department, about half the percentage from 1983. The highest levels are in public-sector jobs, including teachers and firefighters. The report found just 1.7 percent of "professional and technical services" workers in the private sector are union members. Silicon Valley talent is notorious for flitting from one well-paying job to another, with high turnover in workplaces weakening the potential for worker solidarity. Westergard contended that colleagues in the industry are giving increasing weight to the option of staying put and fixing what they see as problems in workplaces instead of quitting. It's not that engineers are anti-union, Westergard maintained, "they just don't know anything about organized labor." - Libertarian outlook - Tech companies, on the other hand, have long been cool to the idea of unions. Internet titans like Facebook and Google are known for pampering engineers: high salaries, stock grants, comprehensive health insurance, unlimited meals, bicycles, dance classes, special commuter buses, limitless espresso and more in offices with the feel of playful college campuses. It would seem daunting for engineers on picket lines to win public support. Silicon Valley employers are said to have a "libertarian" mindset that deems unions a brake on freewheeling progress, with the viewpoint conveniently playing into their business interests, according to David Judd of the Tech Workers Coalition. The organization describes itself as " a coalition of tech industry workers, labor organizers, community organizers, and friends cultivating solidarity among all workers in tech." According to Time magazine article in 2014, retail colossus Amazon has taken pains to prevent even warehouse workers from unionizing, advocating a "direct relationship" between management and employees. For the Tech Workers Coalition, the interest of Lanetix employees in a union was a sign of growing awareness in the technology sector that they are very much a part of the rest of society and their creations are touching the lives of most people. Lanetix did not respond to a request for comment. "There is a lot of activity among workers who are working for websites and digital media and trying to organize," author and union specialist David Bacon told AFP. "It is partly a product of the insecurity in this industry," he added, noting that if a startup fails, employees rewarded with shares for countless hours of labor can wind up with nothing. The response from employers, however, has been a consistent 'unions not allowed,' according to Bacon. There has been a wave of unionization in recent years among employees of subcontractors tech giants hire for jobs such as cleaning offices or preparing meals, noted Judd. Computer scientists have yet to follow suit with a passion, but interest is healthy, according to Judd. Work hours for engineers can be grueling, with long days routine under the pretext of changing the world for the better, Judd said. And, there can be workplace concerns about sexism or racism. The election of Donald Trump as US president may be ramping up interest in unions, with tech workers worried they may be serving as drones for an evil empire. "We don't want our employers to get away with building surveillance tools for Trump to go after our neighbors and colleagues, or with screwing over their users by selling data, ignoring security holes, or manipulating content," Judd said. "Fundamentally, it's about democracy: we want a say in our lives and our impact on the world. We want technology to be a tool for people, not a power over them." 'Jedi' calls on Europe to find innovation force Paris, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 An association of firms and research centres in France and Germany said Friday they intend to spur technological innovation by emulating the US agency used to fund development of defence technologies. Calling themselves the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI), the association intends within three months to launch its first appeal for projects to finance. "JEDI is a financing tool for breakthrough innovations," said a spokesman. "Follower strategies, of being number two or three, is becoming less and less interesting ... there is a bonus for being first," he said, indicating that Europe can't be content following the United States and China. JEDI is inspired by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is an agency of the US Defense Department that funds the development of technologies that have military applications. But projects that DARPA funds can also spur innovation in the civilian sector. It funded the development of a computer network called Arpanet from which the internet developed. JEDI, however, will target developing civilian technologies, with four main areas of research: reducing carbon emissions, health, digitalisation and space. The association includes the head of the France's CNRS national scientific research centre as the president of the Fraunhofer Society, Europe's largest application-oriented research organisation. The chief executive of Airbus Defence and Space is also a member. JEDI plans to tap into government funding as well as private donors to support research projects. str/els/rl/boc NAVAL GROUP US judge orders GPS monitoring for house-bound Cosby New York, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 Convicted sex offender Bill Cosby was ordered Friday to be fitted with a GPS monitor and undergo a violent sexual predators' assessment, allowed to leave home only for medical treatment or to meet his lawyers. Judge Steven O'Neill signed the order, clarifying the terms of the disgraced icon's $1 million bail, one day after a Pennsylvania jury found Cosby guilty on three counts of sexual assault. The frail, 80-year-old Cosby -- once beloved as "America's Dad" -- faces a sentence of up to 30 years for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004. Prosecutors on Thursday demanded his bail be revoked, arguing he was a flight risk -- but an irritated O'Neill refused to "simply lock him up right now." The judge confined Cosby to his palatial residence in Cheltenham, the same home where the actor assaulted Constand 14 years ago, and instructed probation officers to fit him with a GPS monitor. Cosby can travel only within the greater Philadelphia area, and solely for medical treatment or to meet his legal team upon written request, O'Neill said. The disgraced megastar's passport has already been impounded. He must also submit to an assessment by a sexual offenders board to determine how much of a danger he poses, before being sentenced by O'Neill in 75 days' time. His conviction ends the career of once towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, the first black actor to grace primetime US television, hitting the big time after growing up as the son of a maid. Cosby's lawyers have vowed to appeal. Canada's Freeland skips NATO to pursue NAFTA deal Ottawa, April 26 (AFP) Apr 26, 2018 Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will skip a NATO summit in Brussels in order to continue continental trade negotiations with the US and Mexico in Washington, her office said Thursday. This comes as Washington upped the pressure on its neighbors to reach a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by May 1 or face tariffs on steel and aluminum. "The minister will remain in Washington for all of Thursday to continue NAFTA negotiations," Freeland's spokesman Adam Austen told AFP. She will be represented at the NATO meeting by her parliamentary secretary, Omar Alghabra. Major differences remain to be settled in the NAFTA negotiations, but Freeland said late Wednesday that good progress had been made on the issue of auto parts. She also underscored Canada's strong objection to inserting a clause into the agreement that would allow a party to exit the pact after five years, saying it would create uncertainty for investors. Earlier, senior White House advisor Larry Kudlow said the United States would continue to exempt allied economies from new steel and aluminum tariffs -- if they make concessions on trade. Canada and Mexico -- as the main suppliers to the US -- had been exempted indefinitely from the punishing import duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. But Washington on Thursday lumped them in with the EU, Brazil, South Korea and others in an order lifting the exemptions at month's end. The parties had previously said they hoped to reach a new NAFTA deal before campaigning revs up for US midterm and Mexican presidential elections later this year. The latest US move to push for a quick deal comes also as the United States now looks to focus on its trade disputes with China. Its chief NAFTA negotiator, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, is to travel next week to Beijing for talks. US President Donald Trump triggered renegotiation of NAFTA last year after labeling it a "disaster" that has destroyed US jobs. He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory deal is not reached. Pentagon addressing Niger attack issues: Mattis Washington, April 26 (AFP) Apr 26, 2018 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday the Pentagon has started tackling the problems that led to a deadly attack in Niger that killed four US soldiers. Investigators have completed a comprehensive probe into the October 4 incident, and officials are expected to announce its findings in the coming days. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis said several factors contributed to the disaster. "We have found what we believe to be the crux of the problems -- not problem -- but problems that contributed to this," Mattis told lawmakers, saying the final report was 6,300 pages long. "We know immediately how to address (those problems) and we are doing that right now," he added. President Donald Trump last year gave military commanders around the world greater leeway to strike without first seeking approval from Washington, but Mattis said this "delegation of authority" was not an issue in this case. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that poor training, complacency and a culture of excessive risk were in part to blame for the deaths of the four soldiers. Citing officials familiar with the report, the Journal said low-level commanders had taken liberties when describing the mission so as to get it approved by higher ups. The October attack occurred as a unit of American special forces soldiers together with 30 Nigerien troops returned from the village of Tongo Tongo, near the border with Mali. A day earlier, they had met local officials on what was considered a low-risk mission. But on October 4, they were ordered to look for Adnan Abu Walid Sahrawi, the leader of a group calling itself the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, according to multiple US reports. The troops were clearly unprepared for the scale of the ambush, which saw them attacked by a group of some 50 jihadist fighters equipped with small arms, grenades and trucks mounted with guns. Video of the attack, captured by a fallen US soldier's helmet camera, shows them wearing only limited body armor, desperately seeking cover behind an unarmored SUV while coming under heavy fire. The United States currently has approximately 6,000 troops stationed across Africa, and Mattis said he did not anticipate that number growing much. "There could be temporary increases as we work with a counterterrorism force in one of the countries that need to be brought up to a higher level of capability," he said. 'Golden State Killer,' an ex-cop, US Navy vet, warehouse worker Washington, April 26 (AFP) Apr 26, 2018 It was one of the most notorious unsolved crime sprees in US history -- a decade-long series of sadistic rapes and murders that terrorized tranquil California neighborhoods. They began in the summer of 1976 and ended abruptly in 1986 with the rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl. Along the way, the meticulous masked assailant was given a number of nicknames: the East Area Rapist, the Original Nightstalker, the Golden State Killer... After a 40-year search, California authorities on Wednesday announced that they had finally caught their man -- a 72-year-old named Joseph James DeAngelo. On Thursday, it was revealed that plugging DeAngelo's DNA profile into a commercial geneaology website led investigators to the killer. "There were upwards of 50 rapes, 12 murders, crimes that spanned 10 years across at least 10 different counties," Sacramento County district attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in announcing the arrest. DeAngelo was a former policeman, officials said, but they released little other information about him and how he was eventually tracked down. Neighbors, co-workers and newspapers were filling in some of the details Thursday about a man who eluded law enforcement for more than four decades. DeAngelo appears to have spent most of his life in and around Sacramento in central California apart from a stint in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. He went to high school in a Sacramento suburb and obtained a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Sacramento State after serving in the navy, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said that from 1973 to 1976 DeAngelo served as a policeman in Exeter, south of Sacramento. Exeter is near the town of Visalia, and DeAngelo is suspected of being the "Visalia Ransacker" who was burglarizing homes in the area. - 'Don't scream' - From 1976 to 1979, DeAngelo worked for the police department in Auburn, California, until he was fired for shoplifting a hammer and a can of dog repellent. The first rape committed by the man who would come to be known as the Golden State Killer took place in June 1976, when he broke into the home of a young girl while she was sleeping and her father was away. "He had a ski mask on," the victim recounted years later in a tape recording released by the FBI two years ago in an effort to revive interest in the case. "(He) jumped on the bed and had a knife," she said. "I don't exactly remember what he said. Something to the effect of, you know, 'Don't scream,' don't, you know, whatever. And tied my hands behind my back." According to the Sacramento Bee, DeAngelo retired last year after working since 1989 as a truck mechanic at a warehouse for a grocery store chain. Jason Calhoon, a co-worker for the past 27 years, told the newspaper DeAngelo was a "regular Joe" although he never smiled. For more than 20 years, DeAngelo has lived in Citrus Heights, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. His tidy ranch house with a neatly manicured lawn in a suburban neighborhood has been cordoned off by police and FBI agents carting away boxes of evidence. According to the Bee, DeAngelo was married in 1973 and Jones, the sheriff, said he has "adult children." Jones said the authorities have interviewed some family members and they have been "cooperative." "It's quite a shock to them as you might expect," he said. DeAngelo's next door neighbor, Cory Harvey, told the Sacramento Bee that the man she knew as "Joe" was divorced and lived with a daughter and granddaughter. She said he was a good neighbor "except for that quirkiness of getting mad" and swearing out loud, after which he would apologize. - DNA was key - California authorities credited DNA technology with helping identify him. The Sacramento Bee reported Thursday that investigators compared DNA from one of the crime scenes to profiles available on genealogical websites to which people curious about their family history submit samples. By exploring family trees, investigators were led to DiAngelo via his distant relatives. Sheriff Jones said DNA from the crime scenes was ultimately matched to a "discarded item" from DeAngelo recovered by law enforcement. "Over the last few days as information started to point towards this individual we started some surveillance," Jones said. "We were able to get some discarded DNA and we were able to confirm what we thought we already knew, that we had our man." "The answer was, and always was going to be, in the DNA," Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert added. "We knew we could, and should, solve it using the most innovative DNA technology available at this time." "This was a true convergence of emerging technology and dogged determination by detectives," Jones said. "In this case justice was delayed," he said. "It wasn't swift but I can assure you it will be sure." Kim, Moon set off for historic Korea summit Seoul, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 South Korean president Moon Jae-in arrived in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas Friday for a historic summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un, the highest-level encounter yet in a recent whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy. The meeting on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom -- only the third of its kind since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War -- is intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Moon will greet Kim at the concrete blocks that mark the border between the two Koreas in the Demilitarized Zone to begin the symbolism-laden occasion. And when Kim steps over the line he will become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended 65 years ago. Kim earlier left Pyongyang for the DMZ, the North's official KCNA news agency said. In the most detailed direct reference to the process by Pyongyang so far, it said Kim will "open-heartedly discuss... all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula". It did not mention denuclearisation, but the North's atomic arsenal will be high on the agenda at the talks. Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. But Seoul played down expectations Thursday, saying the North's technological advances with its nuclear and missile programmes meant any deal would be "fundamentally different in nature from denuclearisation agreements in 1990s and early 2000s". "That's what makes this summit all the more difficult," the chief of the South's presidential secretariat Im Jong-seok told reporters. - Peace and denuclearisation - Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. When Kim visited the North's key backer Beijing last month in only his first foreign trip as leader, China's official Xinhua news agency cited him saying that the issue could be resolved, as long as Seoul and Washington take "progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace". In the past, North Korean support for denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula" has been code for the removal of US troops from the South and the end of its nuclear umbrella over its security ally -- prospects unthinkable in Washington. "The big issues we know are peace and denuclearisation," Yonsei University professor John Delury told AFP. The two Koreas "can do a lot more on peace than on denuclearisation", he said, but the post-summit statement will give "a lot of chance to analyse every word, reading between the lines, look for things that are there and not there". Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles, adding it would dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. But it also said it had completed the development of its weapons and had no need for further tests. Seoul has also promoted the idea of opening talks towards a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, when hostilities stopped with a ceasefire, leaving the neighbours technically in a state of conflict. Reunions of families left divided by the war could also be discussed at the summit, and Moon has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he will raise the emotive subject of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North. Merkel in Washington to make Germany heard again Washington, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to the White House on Friday for talks with Donald Trump, facing an uphill struggle to save the Iran nuclear deal, avoid a trade war and make her relationship with the US president functional again. The German leader's visit has already been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of "fraternite" between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron this week. Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed -- in vain -- for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations, officials told AFP. When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host -- clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. This time around, the tricolor French flags were only just removed in time for Merkel's arrival for a one day, run-of-the-mill "working visit." The stylistic differences between the Macron and Merkel visits are "very telling" according to Mona Krewel of Cornell University. It points, she said, "to the much more difficult relationship Trump has with Merkel." That is a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven -- along with centrists claiming her as the new "leader of the free world" -- to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Shortly after his nomination, Richard Grenell -- who is known for his pugilistic conservatism and combative defense of Trump's "America First" policies -- told AFP it was "humbling" to be chosen for a post once held by John Quincy Adams, and he vowed to work diligently. "There is a special responsibility that all US officials have to reject partisan politics when they take government service jobs," he said. - Damage limitation - Merkel this week stressed that, despite the differences, she wants to preserve the bedrock strategic partnership. "The transatlantic alliance, given the many non-democratic developments in this world," she said, "is a great treasure that I certainly want to cherish and nurture." Despite her more sober style, she is unlikely to diverge much from Macron on substance. She will be trying to persuade Trump to back off his dual threats of punitive metal tariffs that could spark a transatlantic trade war and his instinct to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Trump last month announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, claiming foreign imports were harming US national security by undermining the domestic production needed for military readiness. After an outcry from US allies, he granted a temporary exemption to key partners including the European Union -- but this expires on May 1. Trump's National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC Thursday that Washington would continue to exempt allied economies, including the EU, if they make concessions, citing the example of "equal treatment of automobiles." On the eve of Merkel's US visit, Berlin's hopes were dim. "From today's perspective, we must assume that the tariffs will come on May 1," said a German government source. "And then we will see how we will handle it." - 'Juggling act' - The next looming deadline is May 12, the date by which Trump has threatened to tear up the landmark 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions. Trump has called the agreement, which Germany helped negotiate, "insane" and the "worst deal ever," demanding that its "disastrous flaws" be fixed. Macron came away from his meetings speculating that Trump would kill the deal, but debate continues to rage. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Thursday said Washington was yet to make "any decision" on tearing up the deal, but stressed that some aspects needed to be improved. It is unclear how Mike Pompeo's confirmation as Secretary of State will tilt the debate. Despite his hawkish views on Iran, his criticism of the deal had been somewhat tempered in internal discussions, officials said. As head of the CIA, for instance, he had relayed the spy agency's institutional assessment that Iran was broadly complying with the terms of the agreement, despite Trump's public pronouncements. The German foreign ministry has insisted that "the biggest priority is maintaining the existing nuclear accord," while Merkel has also called Iran's ballistic missile program a "cause for concern." EU, US police cripple Islamic State media mouthpieces The Hague, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 EU and US police forces have crippled the main mouthpieces of the Islamic State jihadist group in a coordinated transatlantic takedown across several countries, the European police agency said Friday. "With this ground-breaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe," the head of Europol Rob Wainwright said. The two-day operation on Wednesday and Thursday was the latest stage of a campaign first launched in 2015, and targeted in particular the Amaq news agency used by IS to broadcast claims of attacks and spread its message of jihad. "With this takedown action, targeting major IS-branded media outlets like Amaq, but also al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nashir news, IS's capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material has been compromised," Europol said in a statement. The "simultaneous multinational takedown" was coordinated via Europol's headquarters in The Hague with the support of Eurojust, the EU agency for judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It was led by the Belgian federal prosecutor, while national police forces seized servers in the Netherlands, Canada and the United States as well as digital material in Bulgaria, France and Romania. Britain's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was also involved in identifying "top-level domain registrars abused by IS," Europol said. Europol began warning about the rise of Amaq in late 2015, stressing "the technical resilience of the terrorist online infrastructure". "Since then law enforcement agencies have, in a continuous joint effort, taken down the web assets of the media outlet," it said. IS used Amaq in 2016 to claim attacks all over the world and the Middle East, including the deadly assaults in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin. It also used Amaq to claim the March supermarket siege in Trebes, France where a 25-year-old gunman killed four people, including a policeman who took the place of a hostage. New US envoy Pompeo tackles NATO on spending, Russia Brussels, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 President Donald Trump's brand new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to NATO on Friday to hammer home one of his boss's oldest themes -- demanding that other members pay their way -- as the allies sought a common front against Russia. There was broad agreement in Brussels on the need find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. But divides remain on spending commitments, with Germany in particular holding out against the large military spending increases demanded by Trump, and on how to balance a stern response to Moscow with keeping open a door to dialogue. Welcoming former CIA chief Pompeo to the NATO headquarters less than 24 hours after the top US diplomat was sworn in, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of the need to adapt the 29-member Western alliance "to a more demanding security environment." Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. Stoltenberg said much of the alliance's military expansion in the Baltic was geared towards countering hybrid threats, and ministers discussed how to do more, but concrete proposals are not expected before July's NATO summit. "As we prepare for the summit we wil look at how we further strengthen our ability to respond to those threats which don't trigger Article 5 but at the same time are a challenge to NATO allies," Stoltenberg said. Pompeo's US delegation came out satisfied with the discussion on Russia. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," a senior State Department official told reporters after the session. - Money talk - But Pompeo brought a second, tougher message on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, as he arrived, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. "Germany plays a very important role," Maas said. Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany -- which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence -- for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. "There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so," he said. Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told AFP Pompeo had got his point across without causing upset. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkel's meeting will be less warm than Macron's. - Troops for Iraq - Stoltenberg will say a few words to mark the end of the final meeting of ministers in the historic North Atlantic Council room where Article 5 was invoked for the first and only time, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. Syria regime bombardment kills 17 civilians in south Damascus: monitor Beirut, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 Syrian regime air strikes and shelling killed 17 civilians including seven children on Friday in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus, a Britain-based monitor said. Regime forces have pounded southern districts of the capital since April 19 to try to expel the Islamic State group from the area, after the jihadists refused to leave under an evacuation deal. That bombardment intensified on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as regime forces advanced against IS inside the districts. "Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes" in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajar al-Aswad, "after breaking through terrorist defences", state news agency SANA said. The advance "inflicted great human and material losses" on the jihadists, it said. Syrian state television said the army has seized control of buildings and a "network of trenches and tunnels" from IS in Hajar al-Aswad. In the adjacent neighbourhood of Qadam, two children were killed in "mortar rounds fired by terrorist groups", it said. The Observatory said pro-government forces took control of "buildings and streets in Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn". Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with IS fighters on Friday morning, the monitor said. Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmuk and the edges of Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning. IS has held parts of Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmuk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month. At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting in southern Damascus, the monitor said. The latest civilian deaths bring to 36 the number of non-fighters killed in regime bombardment in that same period, it said. Yarmuk and the surroundings are now IS's largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighbouring Iraq. The jihadists have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014. Yarmuk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees has said. President Bashar al-Assad's regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month. Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. EU, US police cripple Islamic State media mouthpieces The Hague, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 European and US police forces have struck at the heart of Islamic State's propaganda machine, seizing servers and "punching a hole" in its ability to spread its radical jihadist message online. The transatlantic takedown was spread over eight countries and was coordinated by the EU's police agency in "a major operation over a two-year period", the head of Europol, Rob Wainwright, told AFP on Friday. Wednesday and Thursday's operation was the latest in a campaign targeting in particular the Amaq news agency used by IS to broadcast claims of attacks and spread its message of jihad. "With this takedown action, targeting major IS-branded media outlets like Amaq, but also al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nasher news, IS's capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material has been compromised," Europol said in a statement. The "simultaneous multinational takedown" was coordinated by Europol from its headquarters in The Hague, and led by the Belgian federal prosecutor. "Dozens and dozens" of police fanned out in their countries, seizing servers in the Netherlands, Canada and the United States as well as in Bulgaria, France and Romania. - 'Technically challenging' - The goal was "to destabilise this apparatus by seizing and dismantling servers used to diffuse IS propaganda and to identify and arrest its administrators," the Belgian prosecutor said in a statement. "With this groundbreaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe," Wainwright said. Britain's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was also involved in identifying "top-level domain registrars abused by IS", and the Bulgarian interior ministry confirmed "access was blocked to four servers, used for disseminating information" by Amaq in its country. "It was so technically challenging that we were only really able to do it because of our experience in major cybercrime takedowns," Wainwright told AFP. "We basically ran the cyber playbook against IS," he said, adding police forces around the world had spent years gathering intelligence to locate the servers being used by the jihadists. - 'Squeezed' in battle and online - While a US-led international coalition has been combatting IS on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria taking back territory it had seized in 2014, nations have also warned that a multi-pronged effort was needed, including choking off funding and its online access. "They've been squeezed on the battlefield, and now they've been really badly squeezed, badly hit, on the online platform as well," said Wainwright. IS used Amaq to claim "every major attack since 2015 in Europe", he said, including the deadly assaults in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin. "The technical infrastructure which allows it to put these terrible propaganda videos and messages out has been knocked offline," Wainwright told AFP, speaking on his last day as Europol chief. But Europol's investigation is still ongoing, and arrests could follow. At its height, the IS media portfolio included smartphone apps for children, websites, and a glossy magazine, full of post-apocalyptic prophesies and articles declaring the "caliphate" was the only legitimate and viable home for Muslims. But as IS's structure has crumbled, its media empire has waned too. Al-Bayan radio, which once broadcast on frequency mode and offered a wide range of statements, news and talks in several languages, had long moved online and reduced its activities. On Friday, however, Nasher news -- the main Telegram account on which Amaq statements are posted in the region -- remained active, claiming jihadist fighters had damaged three Syrian army vehicles in fighting in southern Damascus. "We are realistic in recognising that there still might be a retained possibility of re-establishing the network," Wainwright said, highlighting that this week's action was the third in a series of such takedowns. "But we're getting stronger every time, and narrowing the space for them to re-create their online presence." NATO puts on united front against Russia despite funding rows Brussels, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 NATO put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression" on Friday, despite differences on defence spending, as new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed allies to shoulder a bigger military burden. There was agreement among foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on the need to find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Despite the hawkish reputation of US President Donald Trump's new top diplomat, the 29-member alliance agreed to continue its dual-track policy towards the Kremlin of defence and deterrence coupled with an offer of dialogue. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. Minsters discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATO's full summit on July 11 and 12. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. "We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one," Stoltenberg said. "When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever," he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. - Money talk - Former CIA chief Pompeo flew in to Brussels barely 12 hours after he was sworn in, which Stoltenberg hailed as a sign of NATO's importance to Washington -- despite Trump's regular barbs directed at the alliance. But, away from the bonhomie of his welcome, Pompeo also came with a tough message on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member. Some allies, notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. He said Merkel's coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO." Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany -- which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence -- for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. "There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so," he said. Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told AFP Pompeo had got his point across without causing upset. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkel's meeting will be less warm than Macron's. - Troops for Iraq - Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. New US envoy Pompeo targets Germany over NATO spending Brussels, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday took aim at Germany over its defence spending, saying it was not doing enough to meet its commitments to NATO. Echoing a regular theme of his boss President Donald Trump, Pompeo said European countries needed to do more to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance's biggest member. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2016 to spend two percent of their GDP on their military by 2024. Asked if Germany was doing enough to meet the commitment, former CIA director Pompeo said bluntly: "No. They should meet the goals that they agreed to." Pompeo's comments came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heading to the White House for talks with Trump. "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfil their obligations on defence spending," Pompeo told reporters after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, with US officials regularly singling out Germany -- Europe's richest country -- for criticism. A senior US official said Germany spends only 1.24 percent of its GDP on defence and plans only to increase this to 1.25 percent by 2021. At NATO, US again warns Turkey on Russian missiles Brussels, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 The United States' new top diplomat met his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of a NATO meeting Friday and warned Ankara against choosing a Russian air defence system. If Turkey goes ahead and deploys the Russian S-400 system, its radars and missile batteries will not be integrated with those of its NATO allies. And such a purchase could also be judged a breach of a 2017 US sanctions law designed to punish customers of Russia's arms and aerospace industries. Washington wants its NATO partners focused on threats from Russian hybrid warfare and on counterterrorism, and sees Ankara's decision as a mistake. On Friday, a day after he was sworn in as US secretary of state, former CIA boss Mike Pompeo raised the issue in talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. After their talks, a senior State Department official told reporters Pompeo reminded his opposite number Turkey could face sanctions if it bought the S-400. "He urged Cavusoglu to closely consider NATO interoperable systems," the official said, adding that the meeting had been cordial and workmanlike. "And there was also a shared desire to find a common way forward on air defence for Turkey," the official said, sounding optimistic. Immediately before the meeting, however, Cavusoglu had been dismissive. Asked by a reporter whether Turkey would indeed buy the S-400, he referred to an already announced memorandum of understanding with Russia, asking rhetorically: "You mean in addition to the ones we already bought?" And, pushed on when Moscow might actually deliver the system, he said simply: "Russia is speeding up the process." Washington and Turkey are longstanding allies but have fallen out over US support for Kurdish forces in Syria and the asylum granted to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Last year US lawmakers, seeking to punish Russia for its efforts to undermine Western democracy, passed the Counter America's Enemies Through Sanctions Act. Under CAATSA, any entity doing business with Russia's state, semi-state and private defence and intelligence sectors could face economic sanctions. New US envoy Pompeo targets Germany over NATO spending Brussels, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took aim at Germany over its defence spending Friday, using his first NATO meeting to push President Donald Trump's call for allies to shoulder a bigger burden. As a meeting of alliance foreign ministers put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression", Pompeo hammered home one of Trump's oldest themes -- demanding that NATO members pay their way. Some allies, including Europe's economic powerhouse Germany, have been reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend two percent of GDP on defence by 2024. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and former CIA boss Pompeo carried a tough message to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked if Germany was doing enough to meet the target, Pompeo said bluntly: "No. They should meet the goals that they agreed to." "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfil their obligations on defence spending," Pompeo told reporters after the meeting. Pompeo's comments came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heading to the White House for talks with Trump. "NATO is wonderful, but it helps Europe more than it helps us," Trump said ahead of his meeting with the German leader. - 'Fulfilling our obligations' - His stark language contrasted with what Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said was a more diplomatic approach in the meeting itself. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As he arrived for the talks Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. He said Merkel's coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO." Away from the harsh words on funding there was agreement among foreign ministers on the need to find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Pompeo sought to ease lingering concerns about Trump's commitment to NATO, saying the alliance was "more indispensible than ever" due to Russia's "unacceptable" actions, from Georgia to Ukraine to political meddling. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. - 'Russian aggression' - Ministers discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATO's full summit on July 11 and 12. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. "We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one," Stoltenberg said. "When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever," he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Ministers also debated plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. Israel Defense Minister: Russia is "very pragmatic" actor in Syria Washington, April 27 (AFP) Apr 27, 2018 Israel is not concerned by Russia's military presence in neighboring Syria because Moscow is a "pragmatic actor" with whom deals can be struck, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Washington on Friday. "What is important to understand is that the Russians, they are very pragmatic players," said Lieberman during a discussion on the alliance between Russia, Syria and Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "At the end of the day, they are reasonable guys, it's possible to close deals with them and we understand what is their interest," said Lieberman, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union. "Their interest is very different from our interest but we respect their priorities," he said. "We try to avoid direct frictions and tensions." The Russian military has an air base at Hmeimim, in the northwest of Syria and has maintained port facilities at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast in the west for several decades. But Lieberman said the expanded Russian presence in Syria was "not our business. We try only to protect our own security interests." Lieberman was talking three days after the Israeli news site Ynet published an interview in which he threatened to attack Russian S-300 anti-aircraft batteries that could be delivered to the Syrian military and used to target Israeli aircraft. In 2010, Moscow signed a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the delivery of S-300 batteries but Damascus has yet to take possession of the anti-aircraft systems, in large part due to Israeli pressure, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Even though Israel has insisted it will not get drawn into the Syrian civil war, it has carried out dozens of air strikes on regime positions and has targeted weapons convoys it says were coming from Iran and were destined for Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla organization that has frequently clashed with Israel. The Macron Dilemma Why Merkel Must Act on Paris' Eurozone Reform Proposals Germany has been sitting on eurozone-reform proposals from French President Emmanuel Macron for months. If Berlin doesn't act soon, a historical opportunity may go to waste. And that could spell doom for the common currency. From Paris with Love Inside Macron's Bromance with Trump French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the U.S. put his affection for President Donald Trump on full display. The trip was good for the Macron brand and it didn't hurt Trump either. But are there any benefits for the rest of the world? New York, April 27, 2018 (SPS) - Negotiations about the draft resolution on occupied Western Sahara, continue Thursday in Security Council where member countries demanded a text oriented towards the political settlement of the conflict. The text presented by the U.S. has not got any consensus within this UN body. The US delegation is working on a third version that is likely to be the last one, and details of which will be known this afternoon, sources close to the question told APS. The vote on the resolution will take place on Friday. The UN Security Council may need to extend the mandate of the mission by six months instead of one year, according to the same sources. However, so far this proposal has not been confirmed. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS New York, April 27, 2018 (SPS) The United Nations Security Council will vote Friday on the draft resolution on six-month extension of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The draft resolution provides for six-month extension of the MINURSO's mandate until 31 October 2018 instead of one year and calls on the two parties to the conflict, Polisario Front and Morocco, to resume direct talks without preconditions. It also reaffirms Security Council's full support for the efforts of the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, as well as its commitment to assisting the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. Taking note of the four rounds of negotiations held under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, the draft resolution recognizes the importance of the parties committing to continue the negotiations process without preconditions and in good faith. It also underlines the need for MINURSO to fully implement its mandate, including its role in supporting the UN Personal Envoy to achieve a mutually acceptable solution. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS New York, April 27, 2018 (SPS) - The UN Security Council called on the parties to the conflict, Morocco and Western Sahara to resume direct negotiations, dubbing "unacceptable" the status quo resulting from the stalled peace process. In its draft resolution on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to be voted Friday night, the Security Council has affirmed that the progress in the negotiations is necessary for improving the life of the Sahrawi people. The draft Resolution, finalized after a great deal of negotiation, insists on the need to re-launch the peace process stalled since 2012, calling on the parties to the conflict to engage in "direct negotiations without preconditions and in good faith. The blockade of the peace process for six years is a source of concern for the Security Council, which mentioned in the first two versions of the draft resolution a situation "of stalemate." But this reference directly designating Morocco as the party responsible for halting negotiations was removed from the final draft, under the influence of France. In this regard, the Security Council reaffirmed "its full support" to the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy, Horst Kohler, to revive a fifth round of negotiations through a new dynamic "with a view to achieving a mutually acceptable political solution that guarantees the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination." The final version has not undergone significant changes in comparison with the first version under negotiation for several days. The six months prolonging of MINURSO mandate instead of a year should give the opportunity to the Security Council to put the Sahrawi issue back on the table in October. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS New York, 27 April, 2018 (SPS) - Today the UN Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for a period of six months. The Frente POLISARIO takes note of this development and in particular the short renewal period which reflects the need for an urgent resumption of the UN political process. The POLISARIO reiterates its commitment to enter into a time-bound process of direct negotiations with Morocco to finally allow for the exercise by our People of our inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the United Nations doctrine on Decolonization. The FrentePolisario notes that through this resolution, the Security Council is insisting on the resumption of the negotiations without any precondition and in good faith. It is a clear and strong message to Morocco which has always subjected any engagement in the negotiations to preconditions, and has always put obstacles to alter any progress toward a political solution that guarantees our right to self-determination, as it was underlined three times in the current resolution. We hope that the six-month mandate renewal will be used as a lever to ensure a swift return to the negotiating table; and we wish to reiterate, on behalf of the people of Western Sahara, that we will accept nothing less than the full respect of our right to self-determination and independence. We remain hopeful about the efforts of Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Mr. Horst Kohler, but the Security Council must stand up to Moroccan bullying through firm action to make real progress and put an end to Moroccan permanent blackmail. However, the POLISARIO regrets that this years Security Council resolution on Western Sahara has given undue credence to Moroccos fabrications, although it was crystal clear, to all that such baseless allegations are an obvious and predictable tactic that is designed to distract attention away from the political process. It should also be recalled that, as reaffirmed by the spokesman of the Secretary-General on 19 April 2018, the locality of BirLehlou where the UN has a team site is not located in the buffer strip nor in the restricted areas as defined by the ceasefire and the Military Agreement No. 1, signed by both parties under UN auspices. Frente POLISARIO administrative functions and military forces have always been present in BirLahlou and other parts of the liberated area of our country. This presence is not in contravention of the terms of the ceasefire or the Military Agreement No. 1. Furthermore, it is the Frente POLISARIO institutions that ensure the security and water supply of the MINURSO team sites in these areas. We urge the Security Council and the International Community to call on Morocco to stop its violations of the United Nations resolutions and the agreement we both signed with UN and to refrain from its actions aimed at changing the status quo in the occupied territories west of the berm of shame. The Security Council needs to address the Moroccan threat to resort to force communicated to it officially. This is indeed the destabilizing action the whole international community need to stand against. MINURSO Coordinator MhamedKhadad Frente POLISARIO (SPS) 062/SPS English26/04/2018 SRNA News Roundup /I/ April 26, 2018 REPUBLIKA SRPSKA BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic has stated that Srpska is more visible on the political scene in the Balkans and the world, following the visit of Valentina Matviyenko, the Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council, Upper House of Russian Parliament. BANJALUKA - The Government of Republika Srpska should review today the Bill on Property Confiscation that resulted from the commission of criminal offense. BANJALUKA Memorial service will be held and wreaths will be laid at the central memorial in Sipovo today to mark the 26th anniversary of the formation of the First Sipovo Infantry Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army. BANJALUKA - The Republika Srpska economy sector is increasingly turning to innovation as a way of improving its own business, thus it is necessary to establish a better institutional link between the economy and the education and scientific research sectors, said Andjela Pepic, the head of the Entrepreneurship and Transfer of Technologies Centre of the Banjaluka University. SREBRENICA - The Municipality of Srebrenica has announced the results of a public call for the allocation of incentives to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as craft-entrepreneurial shops for creating new jobs and employment and self-employment of a total of 29 workers. SOKOLAC - A debate titled "EU Visiting Local Communities", hosted by the Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, will be held in Sokoc tomorrow, Sokolac Municipality Mayor Milovan Bjelica told SRNA. ISTOCNO SARAJEVO - Five migrants from Iraq and Syria, who illegally entered the territory of Republika Srpska from neighboring countries, were found in the AOR covered by the Rogatica Police Station. ZVORNIK - Members of the Zvornik Police Administration found 12 persons from Iran and Syria, suspected of illegally crossing the border, in Kozluk. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BELGRADE - The crimes committed by Muslims against their own people were numerous during the war, and among the first one was the shooting of their snipers at the gatherings outside the BiH Parliament in Sarajevo to provoke war, said the first president of the Republika Srpska Assembly, Momcilo Krajisnik. SARAJEVO - President of the European Council, Donald, Tusk is staying in BiH today, where he will attend the signing of a contract on the financing of Vc Corridor - Zenica North and Mostar South, between BiH and the European Investment Bank. FEDERATION OF BiH BANJALUKA FBiH President Marinko Cavara has said that the FBiH Parliament can dissolve whenever he wants, but he has not because he believes it could cause far-reaching consequences for everyone in this entity. SARAJEVO - US Ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack stated Wednesday evening flowing the meeting on amendments to the Election Law between the party leaders in FBiH that she was aware of the deadlines and that elections would soon be announced, but that she hoped that that important issue would be solved before. SARAJEVO - SDA Deputy Leader Sefik Dzaferovic has stated flowing the meeting on amendments to the Election Law between the party leaders in FBiH, that the HDZ BiH does not accept a joint proposal by the SDA, the SBB, the SDP and the DF, but that it did not make any suggestions. SERBIA BELGRADE Following the meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated that Serbia could accept every compromise when it comes to Kosovo issue, but that it would never accept humiliation. BELGRADE - France will send a protest note to any state in case of withdrawal of Kosovo independence recognition in the future, reports Belgrade-based daily Politika. REGION ZAGREB - If Serbia declares any of Croatian ministers persona non grata, the Croatian government will withdraw its ambassador to Serbia, Gordana Bakot, for consultations. WORLD MOSCOW - The US crossed a red line when the State Department officials forcefully entered the premises of the closed Russian consulate in Seattle, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. /end/vos The FORTERRA model range was dispatched from the premises for the first time in late 1998. The name originated by merging two words: FOR and TERRA (terrain), which suggests a robust tractor suitable for difficult terrain. It was based on the tractors from Unified Series III, the first prototypes of which go back as early as to 1974. Originally, FORTERRA had a metal bonnet which was replaced by a plastic one in 2000. Just like other model ranges, FORTERRA was also subject to a number of innovations: the original emission standard Stage IIIA went through IIIB all the way down to the current Stage IV. The year 2018 is a breakthrough year for the tractor: the innovations include brakes with hydrobooster, the HD model is equipped even with air brakes, front suspended axle while the HSX model includes a number of other innovations. FORTERRA model range is characteristic for its robustness and power. The creation of FORTERRA meant covering the demand for such type of tractors on the markets worldwide. The jubilee is a good proof that the decision was right: FORTERRA has been with us for 20 years. We appreciate the interest of its owners and we believe that the innovations will attract even more fans, and the tractor will be here with us for many more years, says Marian Lipovsky, Managing Director, ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. As a birthday gift, ZETOR FORTERRA got a number of innovations. The innovated models CL and HSX were launched early this year; HD shall be launched in early autumn. The new FORTERRA model range uses more effective braking systems; however, the biggest innovation is ECO 40 transmission which keeps the engine of FORTERRA HSX and HD in optimum revolutions (1,750 rpm) at higher speed (up to 40 kph). By this, the tractors save operation costs by up to 18 % depending on the performed activity. The models are further equipped with a new dashboard and higher pressure in cabin, which prevents particles of dirt from entering the cabin. As an option, FORTERRA HSX can be equipped with suspended front axle, which improves the comfort of the operator. Customers in the Czech and Slovak Republics can make use of a special offer: when they purchase the new FORTERRA HSX, they get suspended front axle free of charge. Tom Brokaw denies sexual misconduct claim by NBC reporterAssociated PressMore from Associated PressPublished:April 26, 2018Updated:April 26, 2018 11:55 PM EDTA woman who worked as a war correspondent for NBC News says Tom Brokaw groped her, twice tried to forcibly kiss her and made inappropriate overtures attempting to have an affair. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo/File)NEW YORK A woman who worked as a war correspondent for NBC News said Tom Brokaw groped her, twice tried to forcibly kiss her and made inappropriate overtures attempting to have an affair, according to two reports published Thursday.Linda Vester told Variety and the Washington Post that the misbehaviour from the longtime news anchor at the network took place in NBC offices in Denver and New York in the 1990s, when she was in her 20s. Variety reports that Vester, now 52, showed them journals from the time that corroborated the story.Brokaw, who is 78 and has been married since 1962, denied doing anything inappropriate.related linksBill Cosby lashes out at DA after being found guilty at sexual assault retrialStan Lee accused of grabbing masseuses foot, rubbing it on his crotchI met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC, Brokaw said in a statement to the two outlets issued through NBC News. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other.Another woman, who was not identified, made similar claims about Brokaw to the Post.Vester, who had reported from the Middle East and covered the Gulf War for NBC, was 28 when she was in Colorado in 1993 with Brokaw to cover Pope John Paul IIs visit to the U.S.We were in the Denver bureau, and there was a conference room. Im standing there, and Tom Brokaw enters through the door and grabs me from behind and proceeds to tickle me up and down my waist, she told Variety.Vester said others were in the room, but no one acted like anything wrong was happening.He was the most powerful man at the network, and I was the most junior person, she said.Vester said the following year in New York, Brokaw sent her suggestive computer messages in the office before later announcing on the phone that he was coming to her hotel room.Vester said she felt powerless to tell him not to come.He grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him, she told Variety. I was shocked to feel the amount of force and his full strength on me.She said Brokaw left when she broke away and made it clear she did not want any more.Vester left NBC in 1999 to work at Fox News, where she remained until 2006.Brokaw is the most recent of many media personalities to be accused of sexual misconduct in recent months, including his former colleague Matt Lauer, who left the Today show and the network after several women came forward with allegations.Lauer has admitted that he acted inappropriately, but denies any coercive or abusive behaviour. This is a video from Yusufeli, Turkey of a truck carrying a mobile home (although it looks like a construction trailer to me) across a river using a tiny hanging wooden bridge. Man, you could not have paid me enough to drive that truck. "I'll give you $100." You set the bridge on fire, I'll back up that hill so I can hit it at max speed. Keep going for the video. Thanks to Tom, who's surprised that truck driver didn't insist the view from the other side of the river is better anyways and they should just set up the house there. 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(Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Film... As we have since July 2006, each Friday well post our sampling of cigar news and other items of interest from the week. Below is our latest, which is the 576th in the series. 1) Want to upgrade your cocktail game? One of the easiest ways is to upgrade from those unnaturally neon cherries you are putting in your cocktails. Traverse City Whisky Companys Premium Cocktail Cherries is easy to recommend for your Manhattan, old fashioned, or sour. (Not coincidentally, Traverse City is the home of the tart cherry festival.) Its great that it doesnt use any artificial colors, but really youll know the difference when you taste it. Traverse City Whisky Companys Premium Cherries can now be found at all Meijer grocery locations and numerous other retailers including Amazon. 2) Camacho has announced the national reintroduction of Coyolar. The blend and formats remain the same as the original Coyolar, but the packaging reflects Camachos modern, bold look. Born from the volcanic soils of a small 15-acre farm found at the base of the mountains joining Nicaragua and Honduras, this spicy and flavorful smoke is built from single farm vintage Criollo tobaccos, reads a press release. The lands distinctive and mineral-rich soil provides the tobacco its unique color, texture, and intense flavor. Not for the faint of heart, this Honduran Puro is one of Camachos most respected blends, a true powerhouse cigar that provides blasts of leather, pepper, rich coffee, and oak. Coyolar is made at Oettinger Davidoffs new Camacho facility, Diadema Cigars, located near Danli, Honduras. The line will begin shipping this week in five formats that range in price from $8.50 to $10. 3) Chris Tarr, a regional sales manager at General Cigar, has been named vice president of marketing. Chris is the right person to lead the marketing organization and I am very pleased he accepted the position, said Regis Broersma, president of General Cigar. He brings a strong background in on-premise marketing, having worked for seven years at Coors Brewing Company before joining General Cigar in 2008. Together with his expertise in managing our 16-state West sales region and his firsthand knowledge of retailer and consumer preferences, Chris has the skills to support me and the executive team in driving the business forward. Chris is also not shy about pushing for his ideas and I am confident that he will be a strong leader for our marketing organization. Tarrs responsibilities include brand marketing, innovation, public relations, social media, and events. He will lead the marketing team remotely from Dallas. 4) Inside the Industry: The J.C. Newman Cigar Company has renamed its Nicaraguan cigar factory from PENSA to J.C. Newman PENSA. This change, while symbolic, reflects the shift that we are making as a company to elevate the J.C. Newman name and use it to tell our story as a 123-year-old, four-generation family business, and Americas oldest family-owned premium cigar maker, said Eric Newman, president. Eric and Bobby Newman built Puros de Esteli Nicaragua, S.A. (PENSA) in 2011, and the factory has since tripled in size. Today, it employs 840 workers who hand roll 100,000 cigars each day (making it the secord largest Nicaraguan factory next to La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate). J.C. Newman rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, Quorum, and other cigar brands at J.C. Newman PENSA. 5) From the Archives: Though it should be obvious, a true StogieGuys.com fan respects all cigar smokers and certainly wouldnt be disrespectful to our fellow cigar smokers who are women. Thats the topic covered in this 2014 commentary, which calls out some (hopefully very rare) bad behavior. 6) Deal of the Week: StogieGuys.com recommends Bespoke Post, a monthly collection of awesome items (think fine bar accessories, shaving kits, workout gear, and more) delivered for just $45. Of note is the Churchill box, which features four exclusive cigars, an ashtray made of reclaimed wood, an odor-eating candle, cedar spills, and a cutter. Once you are signed up, there is no obligation; you can skip or purchase each month. Sign up by Monday to be eligible for the May box. The Stogie Guys photo credit: Stogie Guys / Camacho English French Amundi: 1st quarter 2018 results A strong start to the year, confirming Amundi's growth trend Net inflowsof 40bn, bringing AuM to 1,452bn Sharp improvement in results: Accounting net income of 221m, up 54% (vs. Q1 2017 reported) Adjusted net income of 240m, up 15% (on a comparable basis) Business activity Assets under management: 1,452bn at 31 March 2018, +5.8% vs. 31 March 2017 Strong and diversified net inflows1: +39.8bn, driven by each client segment, region and investment expertise Results Sharp improvement in results: Accounting net income of 221m, up by a strong 54.3% vs Q1 2017 reported Adjusted net income2 of 240m, up 15% vs. Q1 2017 on a comparable basis3, with: Net asset management revenue up 6.8%3 Operating expenses down 5.2%3 to 336m, reflecting the rapid implementation of Pioneer-related synergies A cost/income ratio2 of 50.7%, an improvement of 3.7 pts3 over Q1 2017 Integration of Pioneer and synergies Rapid implementation of the Pioneer integration plan: workforce reduction already achieved by more than 50% legal merger achieved in eight countries first IT migrations successfully completed, others expected to take place by first-half 2019 In all, the 150m amount of synergies has been confirmed, and the phasing is set to be faster than announced, with 60% of synergies accounted for in 2018 (versus 40% projected) Paris, 27 April 2018 Amundi's Board of Directors, chaired by Xavier Musca, convened on 26 April 2018 to review the financial statements for the first quarter of 2018. Commenting on the figures, Yves Perrier, CEO, said: "Amundi's very good performance in the first quarter of 2018, driven by all business lines and investment expertises, confirms the value of its business model, further strengthened by the acquisition of Pioneer, whose integration is on track with objectives but in advance with the announced timeline". High level of activity in Q1 2018 strong and diversified net inflows of +40bn, bringing assets under management to 1,452bn Amundi's assets under management amounted to 1,452bn at 31 March 2018, reflecting excellent business activity (net inflows of +39.8 billion in Q1 2018), partially offset by a negative market effect (-13.5 billion). These strong net inflows were driven by both client segments, Retail and Institutionals, by all regions, and by all investment expertises. This demonstrates the strength of Amundi's diversified business model. Note: all variation figures below are computed vs a combined Q1 2017 (3 months Amundi + 3 months Pioneer). The Retail segment enjoyed a high level of activity with net inflows of +21.7bn in Q1 2018 (versus +13.4bn in Q1 2017 combined), generated by all distribution channels. The French networks continued to ramp up (+2.6bn), driven by the higher proportion of unit-linked life insurance policy subscriptions (confirming the recovery observed since mid-2016). Inflows in the international networks remained strong (particularly in Italy with +2.7bn in Medium/Long Term products), reflecting the success of the partnership with UniCredit. Inflows were very brisk for third-party distributors (+4.1bn), with an excellent trend in Europe in particular (primarily in Italy and Germany) as well as in Asia. Inflows in the Asian joint ventures were particularly strong (+12.1bn, with an especially high amount in China). The Institutionals segment once again recorded significant net inflows, at +18.1bn in Q1 2018 (versus +15.8bn in Q1 2017 combined), balanced between treasury products and MLT products. Commercial activity during the quarter was robust, in particular for sovereign clients, with significant inflows in MLT assets, and for Corporate clients in treasury products. Net inflows were also evenly split by asset class, driven by all investment expertises, and were of high quality, with a significant MLT asset component (+28.1bn, or 71% of the total). This high level was above the average observed in previous quarters (average quarterly net inflows for MLT assets of +9.1bn in 2017). These inflows, which include active products (+9bn) and passive products (+7bn7), were boosted by particularly high net inflows in China. Inflows for treasury products were driven by the Institutionals and Corporates segment. From a geographic viewpoint, net inflows were once again driven by the international segment (+25.4bn), which accounted for 64% of the total. Business activity was strong in all regions, with a significant contribution from Asia and Italy. Over one year, international assets under management increased by 9.9%, and they now represent 41% of Amundi's total AUM, and 57% of AUM excluding Credit Agricole and Societe Generale insurance companies. In France, Amundi has further reinforced its leadership position by achieving in the first quarter 2018 more than two thirds of the net inflows in open-ended funds domiciled in France. Q1 2018 results increased significantly Solid gains in net asset management revenue and an improved cost/income ratio (-3.7 points) Sharp growth in accounting net income (221m, up 54.3%) Adjusted net income of 240m9, up significantly (+15.0%) Amundi's Q1 2018 results reflect a very strong start to the year and confirm the Group's ability to grow while keeping costs under control, thanks in particular to Pioneer-related synergies. Accounting data Accounting income in Q1 2018 (including integration costs and the amortisation of distribution contracts) amounted to 221m, up by a sharp 54.3% compared with Q1 2017 reported, benefiting from the contribution of Pioneer (consolidated as from 1 July 2017) and the Group's strong financial performance. Adjusted data Net asset management revenue grew steadily (667m, up 6.8%11), thanks to: A 2.9%11 increase in net management fees (615m), in line with the growth in AUM over 12 months; A very high level of performance fees (52m, up 95.3%11), reflecting the funds' strong performance over the last 12 months. The negative contribution of net financial income (-5m) was linked to interest expense and to the mark-to-market effect on the investment portfolio. As a reminder, financial income in Q1 2017 included investment capital gains in view of the Pioneer acquisition. Operating expenses fell significantly (336m, down 5.2%11), reflecting the rapid implementation of the Pioneer integration plan and thus of the announced synergies (workforce reductions in particular). The cost/income ratio therefore stood at 50.7%, a 3.7 point decrease11 from Q1 2017, and gross operating income reached 326m, up 9.9%11 vs. Q1 2017. Taking into consideration the contribution (up 54,3%11) from equity-accounted entities (primarily the Asian joint ventures) to income, and a tax charge of 95m, net income, Group share totalled 240m, up 15.0%11 compared with Q1 2017 on a comparable basis. Pioneer integration The Pioneer integration plan is being implemented quickly: more than 50% of the workforce reductions had already been completed at end-March 2018, several major legal mergers have taken place (Germany, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Japan and Taiwan) and the first IT migrations have been successfully completed in Germany and Czech Republic. The IT migration processes are underway for the other platforms and are expected to be completed in 2018 in Europe and in the first half of 2019 in the United States. The good progress on the Pioneer integration suggests that the phasing of the synergies will be faster than announced, with 60% of synergies generated in 2018 (versus 40% projected). *** Financial communication calendar 15 May 2018: General Shareholders' Meeting 22 May 2018: Ex-dividend date 24 May 2018: Dividend payment date 2 August 2018: Publication of first-half 2018 results 26 October 2018: Publication of results for the first nine months of 2018 Amundi's financial disclosures for the first quarter of 2018 consist of this press release and the attached presentation, which are available on http://legroupe.amundi.com. *** Combined income statement1 m Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Change Q1/Q1 Net revenue2 663 652 1.7% o/w net management fees 615 598 2.9% o/w performance fees 52 27 95.3% o/w Financial income and other net income 2 -5 27 NS Adjusted operating expenses 3 -336 -355 -5.2% Adjusted gross operating income 2-3 326 297 9.9% Adjusted cost/income ratio 2-3 50.7% 54.4% -3.7 pts Cost of risk & Other -4 -3 = Equity-accounted entities 12 8 54.3% Income before tax 2-3 334 301 11.1% Taxes 2-3 -95 -93 2.4% Adjusted net income, Group share 2-3 240 208 15.0% Amortisation of distribution contracts after tax -12 -3 NS Pioneer integration costs after tax -6 -4 NS Net income, Group share 221 202 9.3% 1- Combined data in Q1 2017 and Q1 2018: 3 months Amundi + Pioneer. 2- Excluding amortisation of UniCredit, SG, and Bawag distribution contracts. 3- Excluding costs associated with the integration of Pioneer. Change in assets under management from end-December 2016 to end-March 2018 (bn) AuM Net inflows Market effect Scope effect At 31/12/2016 1,083 Flows in Q1 2017 +32.5 +12.5 / At 31/03/2017 1,128 Flows in Q2 2017 -3.7 -3.1 / At 30/06/2017 1,121 Integration of Pioneer Investments / / / +242.9 Flows in Q3 2017 +31.2 +5.3 / At 30/09/2017 1,400 Flows in Q4 2017 +13.1 +12.7 / At 31/12/2017 1,426 Flows in Q1 2018 +39.8 -13.5 / At 31/03/2018 1,452 Combined assets under management and net inflows by client segment AuM AuM % chg. Inflows Inflows Inflows (bn) 31/03/2018 31/03/2017 vs. 31/03/2017 Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Q4 2017 French networks* 108 103 +5.2% +2.6 +1.3 +1.0 International networks & JVs 250 220 +13.5% +15.0 +9.2 +8.4 Third-party distributors 177 167 +5.6% +4.1 +2.9 +4.8 Retail 534 490 +9.1% +21.7 +13.4 +14.2 Institutionals** & sovereigns 366 349 +4.9% +14.4 +7.8 -5.3 Corporates & employee savings 129 126 +2.3% +2.1 +6.9 +5.0 CA & SG insurers 423 408 +3.6% +1.5 +1.1 -0.8 Institutionals 918 883 +4.0% +18.1 +15.8 -1.1 TOTAL 1,452 1,373 +5.8% +39.8 +29.2 +13.1 o/w JVs 129 111 +16.2% +12.1 +8.1 +6.0 * French networks: net inflows on medium/long-term assets +1.7bn in Q1 2018 (+1.1bn in Q1 2017). ** Including funds of funds Combined assets under management and net inflows by asset class AuM AuM % chg. Inflows Inflows Inflows (bn) 31/03/2018 31/03/2017 vs. 31/03/2017 Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Q4 2017 Equities 234 212 +10.1% +8.9 +1.3 +3.7 Diversified 256 240 +7.1% +5.8 +5.3 +5.7 Bonds 658 644 +2.2% +13.3 +0.7* -0.2 Real, alternative and structured assets 70 66 +5.0% +0.1 +0.9 +1.2 Medium/long-term assets 1,218 1,162 +4.8% +28.1 +8.2 +10.4 Treasury products 235 211 +11.3% +11.7 +21.0 +2.7 TOTAL 1,452 1,373 +5.8% +39.8 +29.2 +13.1 * Impact of the ECB's reinternalisation of a mandate for -6.9bn in Q1 2017. Combined assets under management and net inflows by region AuM AuM % chg. Inflows Inflows Inflows (bn) 31/03/2018 31/03/2017 vs. 31/03/2017 Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Q4 2017 France 851* 825 +3.1% +14.3 +19.8 -8.3 Europe excl. France 327 297 +9.9% +6.6 -0.1 +10.8 Asia 190 166 +14.4% +14.8 +8.4 +8.3 Rest of world 85 84 +0.6% +4.0 +1.1 +2.3 TOTAL 1,452 1,373 +5.8% +39.8 +29.2 +13.1 TOTAL International 602 548 +9.9% +25.4 +9.4 +21.4 * of which 40bnfor CA et SG insurers Methodological appendix Q1 2018 Income statement Accounting data In Q1 2018, the data corresponds to three months of activity for Amundi and three months of Pioneer's activity. This Q1 2018 is compared with a reported Q1 2017 that included only Amundi for three months. Adjusted data To present an income statement that is closer to the economic reality, the following adjustments have been made: In Q1 2018: restatement of Pioneer-related integration costs and amortisation of distribution contracts (deducted from net revenues) with SG, BAWAG and UniCredit. In Q1 2017: restatement of Pioneer-related integration costs and amortisation of distribution contracts (deducted from net revenues) with SG and BAWAG only (as the contract with UniCredit did not start until Q3 2017). The combined data is different from the pro forma data (as presented in the 2017 Registration Document), which included restatements for the financing assumptions of the acquisition of Pioneer: additional financing costs, reduced financial income. Costs associated with the integration of Pioneer Investments: Q1 2018: 9m before tax and 6m after tax Q1 2017: 5m before tax and 4m after tax Amortisation of distribution contracts: Q1 2018: 18m before tax and 12m after tax Q1 2017: 4m before tax and 3m after tax Overview of amortisation of distribution contracts with UniCredit When Pioneer was acquired, 10-year distribution contracts were entered into with UniCredit networks in Italy, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic; the gross valuation of these contracts came to 546m (posted to the balance sheet under Intangible Assets). At the same time, a Deferred Tax Liability of 161m was recognised. Thus the net amount is 385m which is amortised using the straight-line method over 10 years, as from 1 July 2017. In the Group's income statement, the net of tax impact of this amortisation is 38m over a full year (or 55m before tax), posted under "Other revenues," and will be added to existing amortisations of the SG and Bawag distribution contracts of 11m after tax over a full year, or 17m before tax. Alternative Performance Indicator To present an income statement that better reflects the economic reality, Amundi publishes adjusted data, defined as follows: excluding the Pioneer integration costs and the amortisation of the distribution agreements with SG, Bawag and UniCredit since 1 July 2017 (see above). Moreover, to show the new Group's performance on a like-for-like basis, Amundi also publishes combined data for Q1 2017, which includes 3 months of Amundi activity and 3 months of Pioneer activity in 2017 This adjusted and combined data is reconciled with the accounting data as follows: Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Change Q1 2017 Change M Actual Combined* Q1 2018/Q1 2017 combined* Published Q1 2018/Q1 2017 published Net revenue (a) 645 647 -0.4% 432 49.3% + Amortisation of distribution contracts after tax 18 4 NA 4 NA Adjusted net revenue (b) 663 652 1.7% 436 51.9% Operating expenses (c) -345 -360 -4.1% -228 51.4% + Pioneer integration costs before tax 9 5 NA 5 NA Adjusted operating expenses (d) -336 -355 -5.2% -223 51.0% Gross operating income (e) = (a)+(c) 299 287 4.2% 204 46.8% Adjusted gross operating income (f)=(b)+(d) 326 297 9.9% 214 52.8% Cost/income ratio (c)/(a) 53.6% 55.6% -2.0 pts 52.8% +0.8 pt Adjusted cost/income ratio (d)/(b) 50.7% 54.4% -3.7 pts 51.0% -0.3 pt Cost of risk & Other (g) -4 -4 = -2 NS Equity-accounted entities (h) 12 8 54.3% 8 54.3% Income before tax (i) = (e)+(g) +(h) 307 291 5.5% 209 46.7% Adjusted income before tax (j) = (f)+(g) +(h) 334 301 11.1% 219 52.6% Taxes (k) -87 -89 -3.1% -66 30.5% Adjusted taxes (l) -95 -93 2.4% -70 36.0% Net income, Group share (i)+(k) 221 202 9.3% 143 54.3% Adjusted net income, Group share (j)+(l) 240 208 15.0% 149 60.4% * Q1 2017 combined = 3 months Amundi + 3 months Pioneer About Amundi Amundi is Europe's largest asset manager by assets under management and ranks in the top 10 globally. Thanks to the integration of Pioneer Investments, it now manages more than 1.45 trillion euros of assets across six main investment hubs. Amundi offers its clients in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle-East and the Americas a wealth of market expertise and a full range of capabilities across the active, passive and real assets investment universes. Headquartered in Paris, and listed since November 2015, Amundi is the 1st asset manager in Europe by market capitalization. Leveraging the benefits of its increased scope and size, Amundi has the ability to offer new and enhanced services and tools to its clients. Thanks to its unique research capabilities and the skills of more than 4 700 team members and market experts based in 37 countries, Amundi provides retail, institutional and corporate clients with innovative investment strategies and solutions tailored to their needs, targeted outcomes and risk profiles. Amundi. Confidence must be earned. Visit www.amundi.com for more information or to find the Amundi team closest to you. Press contact: Natacha Andermahr Tel. +33 1 76 37 86 05 natacha.andermahr-sharp@amundi.com Investor contacts: Anthony Mellor Tel. +33 1 76 32 17 16 anthony.mellor@amundi.com Thomas Lapeyre Tel. +33 1 76 33 70 54 thomas.lapeyre@amundi.com DISCLAIMER: This document may contain projections concerning Amundi's financial situation and results. The figures given do not constitute a "forecast" as defined in Article 2.10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 809/2004 of 29 April 2004. This information is based on scenarios that employ a number of economic assumptions in a given competitive and regulatory context. As such, the projections and results indicated may not necessarily come to pass due to unforeseeable circumstances. The reader should take all of these uncertainties and risks into consideration before forming their own opinion. The figures presented were prepared in accordance with IFRS guidelines as adopted by the European Union. The information contained in this document, to the extent that it relates to parties other than Amundi or comes from external sources, has not been independently verified, and no representation or warranty has been expressed as to, nor should any reliance be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, correctness or completeness of the information or opinions contained herein. Neither Amundi nor its representatives can be held liable for any negligence or loss that may result from the use of this document or its contents, or anything related to them, or any document or information to which the document may refer. Hamilton, Bermuda, 27 April 2017 - Please find attached the annual report for 2017 for Hoegh LNG Holdings Ltd. The report is also available on our web site www.hoeghlng.com. * * * About Hoegh LNG: Hoegh LNG provides floating energy solutions and operates world-wide with a leading position as owner and operator of floating LNG import terminals; floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and is one of the most experienced operators of LNG Carriers (LNGCs). Hoegh LNG's vision is to be the industry leader of floating LNG solutions and the strategy is to continue to focus its growth plans in the FSRU market, with the objective of securing long-term contracts with strong counterparties at attractive returns. Hoegh LNG is a Bermuda based company with established presence in Norway, Singapore, the UK, USA, South Korea, Indonesia, Lithuania, Egypt, Colombia, China and Turkey. The company employs approximately 125 office staff and 500 seafarers. Contacts: Sveinung J. S. Sthle, President and Chief Executive Officer, Telephone +47 975 57 402 Steffen Freid, Chief Financial Officer, Telephone +47 975 57 406 Erik Folkeson, VP IR & Strategy, Telephone +47 414 21 769 This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act or the Continuing Obligations of Oslo Brs. Attachment Staff at St Bernard's held an hour-long protest outside the hospital on Wednesday at what they described as the government's stealthy privatisation of the Gibraltar Health Authority. About 400 doctors, nurses, auxiliary and admin staff joined the protest about the use of supply workers. In response, the government said Unite the Union must have been entirely misled if it had been informed that any aspect of the GHA or any health services are to be privatised, as this is not the case. On 27 April 1928, during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, Spain's first National Tourist Board was founded to encourage Spanish people to explore their own country more and to attract visitors from abroad. It had a short and somewhat eventful life: it was dissolved after the proclamation of the Second Republic in April 1931, reconstituted in December the same year but disappeared completely when the Civil War began in 1936. Short-lived it may have been, but the Patronato Nacional de Turismo was the starting point for Spain becoming the mega tourist destination it is today. It was the National Tourist Board which opened more 'paradores', which were State-run hotels, and created 'albergues de carretera', a more modest type of overnight accommodation for travellers. It also opened museums, such as the 'Casa del Greco' in Toledo, restored monuments and produced the first travellers' guides to different provinces in Spain, complete with photographs which have since become a useful record of the history of the country. In those days, the main focus was to raise Spain's profile abroad, rather than the economic possibilities of foreign tourism. During the early years of the Franco dictatorship, tourism was still seen as a good way of improving the country's image elsewhere, but from the 1950s the emphasis changed as the authorities realised the financial potential of attracting visitors from other countries. The National Tourist Board was reborn with another identity in 1951, as the 'Direccion General de Turismo', which was part of the Ministry of Information and Tourism. It was in this decade that mass tourism began, but whereas in the past it was Spain's history and culture that had attracted tourists, the new visitors discovered the delights of the seaside, especially on the Costa del Sol and Costa Brava. In 1959 Franco abolished tourist visas and devalued the peseta to make the country more attractive to foreigners. The number of tourists rose from fewer than one million in 1950 to 4.3 million in 1960, 18 million in 1967 and 30 million by 1975. Last year Spain received 82 million tourists, and became the second most popular destination in the world after France. Those tourists spent 87 billion euros, an average of 137 euros per person, per day. Born with a rare genetic condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa, Dunia's life has never been easy. EB, also known as 'butterfly skin', causes the skin to be extremely fragile. According to medical evidence gathered by Debra, a charity raising funds and awareness to help butterfly children, the condition manifests itself in the form of blisters, ulcers and sores on the skin. Infections caused by alterations to the skin can pass through the blood to the heart or other organs. Since she suffers from respiratory issues and various other problems, Dunia needs daily medical attention and constant treatment in order to ensure that she lives a normal life. Another complication brought about by this illness is that the skin can start to grow over the fingers, restricting movement and stunting muscle and bone growth. This means that sufferers could lose their hands. In order to avoid irreversible damage, Dunia's father Carlos has been searching for a hospital that is willing to operate on her since 2011. My daughter could lose her hands forever, he explains. The surgical procedure has been passed up by most medical centres. First, the children's hospital put us on a waiting list, but once they had decided to operate on her, they quickly changed their mind. The hospital did not want to be in charge of such a complex case. Golf and gala fundraiser On 2 and 3 June, Debra will host its sixteenth annual charity golf tournament and ball which raise crucial funds in aid of butterfly skin sufferers. The dinner will take place at Aloha Golf Club in Marbella on 3 June. Tickets are currently being sold at www.butterflychildrenball.org for an early-bird price of 60 euros until 19 May. Golfers are invited to take part in the friendly competition on 2 June at the Aloha golf course. Tickets are 80 euros until 19 May from the website above. The funds will help to expand the capacity of Debra's healthcare team so they can continue to provide essential care to young patients. From there, the family from Alhaurin de la Torre began a tour of Spain in search of a solution that is yet to be found. After Seville's Virgen del Rocio hospital rejected their case, Carlos and Dunia travelled to Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona, who promised to treat the child. In May 2017 we gave them the tests they asked for and they told us that they would seek advice in order to evaluate the situation. Time passed and nobody called. When the hospital finally did make contact, they told the family that they did not have the right team of doctors at their disposal to take on Dunia's case. Upon the recommendation of other patients with the same condition, Carlos decided to try his luck at La Fe hospital in Valencia. After a long period of consideration, they finally decided to set a date for the operation. There was just one problem. They wanted to operate on her in the middle of summer, which would be unfeasible since the high temperatures can make treatments last for months and cause serious infections. This might just worsen Dunia's situation, he said. More than 20 years before the city's university opened its doors, young people from all over the world were already being drawn to post-civil war Spain and especially Malaga, where they could attend Spanish language classes designed for foreigners. During its early years the Centro Internacional de Espanol (CIE) was affiliated with the Spanish council for scientific research (CSIC). However when the University of Malaga (UMA) was established in 1972, the language school was incorporated into its Faculty of Humanities. On Monday this week, the rector of the UMA, Jose Angel Narvaez, hosted a ceremony to celebrate the language school's 70th anniversary. There he recognised the work of students, staff, associates and former teachers, who, he said, have helped to transform and modernise the city of Malaga. Antonio Pelaez, director of the CIE, explained that the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language in Malaga was a very bold thing to do 70 years ago. Back then, he said, the city was already showing signs of claiming a place at the forefront of culture. CIE celebrates 'Cervantes Week' The 70th anniversary celebration marked the start of the CIE-UMA's third annual 'Cervantes Week'. The event pays tribute to the legend of Don Quixote and its creator Miguel de Cervantes. The week of workshops has included a literary activity led by Granada poet Alejandro Pedregosa discussing Cervantes' daily life and a musical production of Don Quixote from Malaga's Acuario Theatre Company. Today (Friday) sees a multilingual reading of the first chapter of the novel by teachers and students. Today, the centre's union with the UMA means that some CIE courses can offer students ECTS credits, counting towards their university studies in other European countries. Today the centre, located in El Palo, is still expanding, explained Pelaez, and currently welcomes some 2,000 students every year. Looking to the future, Pelaez said that the school faces two challenges: to bring innovation into the classroom and to adapt the courses on offer to suit a heterogeneous public. The rector expressed his gratitude to Manuel Alvar, who took the risky decision to come to Malaga and begin teaching Spanish 70 years ago. According to Narvaez, those courses transformed this city, encouraging international students to come to Malaga to learn the Spanish language and culture. The rector thanked the students for putting their trust in the school and said that the university was committed to supporting the CIE and quality teaching. Recognition During the ceremony, awards were given to teachers, students and members of staff at the centre. Among those recognised were Gino Norani, figurehead for former students; Jose Antonio Mesa Tore, in representation of former teachers; and Helga Dobler Stelzer, a representative for the administration staff at the CIE. The centre's partner universities around the world were represented by Mark Aldrich of Dickinson College, Pennsylvania (US), whose programme with CIE is one of the oldest. Heidi Mae Doerr received regonition for the workd of International Studies Abroad; Juan Carlos Izquierdo Villaverde, for the work of the firm Gestion Educativa Consultores; and Christian Gutierrez Samuelsson for the collaboration of Accom Consulting Spain (UniSpain). Situated in the middle of a region where loss of population is the norm (with five out of eight provinces in Andalucia in decline), Malaga and the Costa del Sol's ability to attract new residents continues. According to the last padron, (the local town halls' official census), the province gained 9,171 new residents last year (a 0.6% increase). On 1 January 2018, the number of residents stood at 1,639,786. This increase is greater than the sum of the changes in the other provinces combined. Without Malaga and the Costa del Sol's pulling power, Andalucia would have lost almost 12,000 residents. The decline elsewhere in Andalucia was mostly felt in Jaen (-5,802 residents) and Cordoba (-3,367). Malaga province's population growth accelerated in 2017. In the year it achieved its largest increase since 2012. In national rankings, the number of new residents was the sixth largest. Venezuelan presence has grown most, with 820 more residents The diminishing UK population: the Brits have gone down by 40% since 2013 This increase is a result of changes to both the native and the foreign populations. In concrete terms, last year Malaga province gained 4,755 new Spanish residents and 4,416 of other nationalities. This last figure signals a reversal of the recent trend of a diminishing foreign population. What has changed? To answer this question we need to look back over the last few years when the number of European residents on the Costa del Sol and in Malaga province decreased drastically, especially the British population, which was and still is the biggest nationality. Since 2013, the number of British people registered on the censuses at town halls has fallen by 40%. Other nationalities, such as the Finnish have also diminished. This trend has been explained as due to a mix of the ever-increasing age of foreign residents and a decrease in local purchasing power forcing them home, plus the new rule imposed on town halls which states that if a foreign national fails to renew themselves as a resident for a certain number of years, town councils must take them off the census even if they still live here. Population statistics as of 1 January 2018 And this trend continued last year. The large British population continues to fall (at least according to the official statistics): last year saw 1,614 fewer registered Brits. Numbers from Ireland and Finland are also dwindling. Overall, Malaga province lost 1,000 residents net from EU member countries. Venezuela leads the way If these nationalities have diminished, which have grown? The biggest arrivals are the Venezuelans. Last year, more than 800 people came to Malaga seeking refuge status from Venezuela. This number is striking, especially when compared with past figures, as it represents an increase of 30% in just one year. Alejandro Cortina, director of Malaga Acoge, a charity which helps to integrate immigrants into Malaga, doesn't have any doubts about their motive: The exodus is linked to the political situation in Venezuela combined with the fact that Spain has a policy of accepting refugees into the country. Of those nationalities seeking asylum in Spain in 2017, the largest proportion were from Venezuela. Of the 3,600 people that solicited the services of Malaga Acoge last year, 260 were from Venezuela. Moroccans are the organisation's most frequent visitors. Cortina worries for those who have arrived here in order to escape war or political hardship. Decisions regarding immigration documents are often made slowly or delayed. This means that people will live here uncertain about their future. Ukraine is another country whose natives are moving into the province. In 2017, Malaga gained 449 more Ukrainians, the third largest population increase by nationality, after Venezuela and Colombia. The Ukrainian population in Spain has always been numerous on the Mediterranean coast, originally made up of women who came in search of domestic service jobs and later brought their families. This recent increase in immigration has been brought about by Ukraine's political situation, affirms Cortina. In terms of continents, the largest influx of migrants came from the Americas, with 3,060 new residents coming from this continent, the majority being Venezuelan, Colombian, Paraguayan, Brazilian and from the US. Second is those from Asia (1,184 more registered residents). African immigration has grown at a moderate pace, with 147 new registered immigrants. Moroccans are the most common African nationality in Malaga. The celebration of the 15th Day of the Province took place in the church of Santiago Apostol in Monda, built in 1505 on the site of a former mosque. Held on 26 April every year since 2004, the event commemorates the date the first democratic provincial corporation was constituted after the dictatorship, and highlights Malaga's identity and roots. This year's winners Regino Hernandez On 15 February this year Regino Hernandez made sporting history by winning a bronze medal for snowboarding at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. It was the first time in 26 years that a Spanish athlete had won a medal at these games. Regino, who was born in Ceuta but has lived in Mijas most of his life and says he is a 'malagueno' by adoption, was the third Spaniard to achieve it. The Malaga gold medal with which he was presented on Thursday is the latest in a number of awards he has received in recognition of his skill and talent at his chosen sport. Every year gold medals and other distinctions are presented by the provincial government to outstanding individuals and institutions in the fields of culture, the arts, science, research, education, sport, charity, environmental protection and economic entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Federico Beltran With sales totalling 200 million euros a year and a production of 200,000 hams and 4,500 tonnes of cured meats which are sold in the EU, Russia, China, Africa and south-east Asia, Famadesa is one of the ten biggest meat companies in Spain. Its president is Federico Beltran, one of the most important businessmen in Malaga province and standard-bearer of the Malaga food and agricultural industry. These are the qualities which were taken into account by the provincial government when deciding that he merited one of the coveted gold Malaga medals. This year the recipients of the awards were the Hermanitas de los Pobres, the newspaper El Sol de Antequera, Olympic bronze medallist Regino Hernandez and businessman Federico Beltran, all of whom were presented with the gold medal of the province. There was also a special award for the UK's Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, after the proposal was approved by the provincial government with votes in favour from the PP, Ciudadanos and the PSOE. The IU and Malaga Ahora parties abstained. On receiving the award the ambassador highlighted the links between Malaga and the UK. This province is in the hearts of the British, he said, adding that Brexit would not stop Britons visiting and investing in the province They tried to turn him into Dr Death but anaesthetist Luis Montes insisted that, in fact, he was fighting for life. He used to say that a decent life deserves a good death. Dr Montes died last week as he was travelling by car to Murcia to give a conference as president of the Association for the Right To A Dignified Death. He was 69. The Luis Montes case hit the headlines on 8 March 2005. The Madrid health authority had received anonymous reports that terminally ill patients were being given excessive sedation; the reports spoke of 400 deaths. The head of the Emergency Department, Luis Montes, the medical director and hospital manager were dismissed by the regional government, whose president at the time was Esperanza Aguirre; investigations were carried out and cases were filed with the prosecution authorities. Staff at the Severo Ochoa hospital held several protest demonstrations in support of Montes and his colleagues and different medical associations insisted that the sedation was commonly used in many hospitals. Different technical reports concluded that there had been unsuitable or contraindicated sedation, but none could prove that it had caused the patients' deaths. The case was finally shelved in June 2007 because there is no absolute certainty of a cause and effect relationship between the administration of sedatives and the deaths. A year later, the provincial court determined that there had been no medical mispractice at the Severo Ochoa hospital, and the case was shelved definitively. As soon as he received notification of this Dr Montes declared that he had no intention of forgiving and forgetting, because he considered that the treatment he and his colleagues at the Severo Ochoa hospital had received was an attack on the public health system, had discredited him and led his patients to lose confidence in him. Despite having been exonerated, Dr Montes was not readmitted as emergency coordinator in Leganes, although he did return to work as an anaesthetist at the hospital. In 2009 he and another of the doctors involved started legal proceedings against the regional Health minister Manuel Lamela and other politicians in Madrid for falsely accusing them. The case was shelved. The same year, he became the president of the Association for the Right to a Dignified Death. Medicine must prevent suffering and guarantee the quality of death, an expression that I prefer to 'dignified death'. We all have the right to die well. Life is a natural right and a lucid adult should be able to make their own decisions about it. It is a right which should be protected, he used to explain in lectures. Churriana is preparing for its annual celebration in honour of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers and land workers. This year's festivities will begin at 10am on Sunday 6 May, when the town will participate in the traditional pilgrimage to the shrine of the saint. The celebrations will include concerts and street performances, but the highlight of the week, the Procession of San Isidro Labrador, takes place on Sunday 13 May at 7pm. San Isidro was a Spanish farm worker known for his piety toward the poor land workers and animals. His real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana and he was said to have possessed mysterious powers because he was often accompanied by a pair of angels. The festival finishes on Tuesday 15 May, when the choir of the Hermandad de la Romero performs a concert in the San Antonio Abad Church in Churriana. This festival is celebrated in many towns and villages in Andalucia. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (MGX or the Company) (CSE:XMG) (FKT:1MG) (OTC:MGXMF) is pleased to provide an update on North and South American lithium operations. In North America, the Company reports completion of brine analysis and pilot plant processing of samples originating from an industrial wastewater stream and geothermal lithium brine samples. The Companys investment bank Capstone Headwaters LLC is assisting in negotiations. In South America, the Company has completed pilot plant testing on brine samples originating from multiple salars located in Chile. MGX has entered into a joint brine testing agreement with a number of South American mining companies. The parties are now working to identify potential joint-venture locations that will utilize the Companys lithium extraction technology. The Companys rapid recovery process concentrates lithium, magnesium and other minerals from a variety of brines, including oil and gas wastewater, natural brine and industrial plant wastewater. The process uses a nano-filtration technology that utilizes a proprietary design process currently covered under patent and patent-pending applications. MGX and its engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. (PurLucid) have integrated this rapid recovery design process with PurLucids exclusively licensed and patented nanoflotation technology that purifies wastewaters. Combined, this technology can be utilized in a variety of different scenarios, ranging from oilfield operations to municipality treatment centers, or as standalone lithium and mineral extraction units with clean water by-product. Qualified Person The technical portions of this press release were prepared and reviewed by Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument (N.I.) 43-101 Standards. MGX may decide to advance its projects into production without first establishing mineral resources supported by an independent technical report or completing a feasibility study. A production decision without the benefit of a technical report independently establishing mineral resources or reserves and any feasibility study demonstrating economic and technical viability creates increased uncertainty and heightens economic and technical risks of failure. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic or technical failure. About MGX Minerals MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com. Contact Information Jared Lazerson President and CEO Telephone: 1.604.681.7735 Web: www.mgxminerals.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA ("EMGS" or the "Company") will release its first quarter 2018 results on Thursday 3 May 2019. CEO Christiaan Vermeijden and CFO Hege Veiseth will present the results from 10:00 CET.The presentation will be broadcasted live over the Internet, and the webcast can be accessed on www.emgs.com. It will be possible to post questions through the webcast. The quarterly report and the presentation will be available for download on the Company's website (www.emgs.com) and published through the Oslo Stock Exchange (www.newsweb.no) from about 07:30am. Contact Hege Veiseth, CFO, +47 99 21 67 43 About EMGS EMGS, the marine EM market leader, uses its proprietary electromagnetic (EM) technology to support oil and gas companies in their search for offshore hydrocarbons. EMGS supports each stage in the workflow, from survey design and data acquisition to processing and interpretation. The Company's services enable the integration of EM data with seismic and other geophysical and geological information to give explorationists a clearer and more complete understanding of the subsurface. This improves exploration efficiency and reduces risks and the finding costs per barrel. EMGS operates on a worldwide basis with offices in Trondheim, Oslo, Houston, Villahermosa, Rio de Janeiro and Kuala Lumpur. For more information, visit www.emgs.com Geddes, N.Y. -- A roofing company in Geddes has agreed to pay $175,000 in penalties to settle allegations of workplace safety violations with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The settlement resolves four separate citations for fall protection violations issued against The Roofing Guys, of 3570 Walters Road, in 2016 and 2017. All of the violations were based on inspections conducted in 2016. Among the allegations, OSHA said an employee of The Roofing Guys working on a bay window without fall protection at 2293 Markland Road in LaFayette fell 20 feet to the ground on Oct. 6, 2016. The worker suffered multiple fractures to both ankles and required hospitalization, OSHA said. OSHA had previously cited the company for similar safety violations at job sites on Lathrop Drive in Marcellus and Ashfield Terrace in Onondaga. Workers engaged in residential construction activities six feet or more above lower levels must be protected by guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, OSHA said. The agency also cited the company for failing to report the LaFayette accident within 24 hours of the worker's admission to the hospital. The settlement also requires company to Improve fall protection safeguards, comply with OSHA's fall protection requiremen Provide 10-hour OSHA training to all employees Certify that all safety officers and supervisors receive a 30-hour OSHA training course. The company must also arrange annual reviews by the New York State On-Site Consultation Program and hold accountable safety officers and supervisors who do not comply with OSHA fall protection standards. It also agreed to sponsor a fall protection presentation or public service announcement for area roofers, provide OSHA with its fall protection plan and a list of its upcoming roofing jobs every month, and allow OSHA unfettered access to its work sites. "This agreement provides for effective and ongoing safeguards to protect the company's employees against deadly or disabling falls," Robert Kulick, OSHA's New York-area regional administrator, said in a statement. Jeffrey Rogoff, the U.S. Department of Labor's regional solicitor of labor, said he hoped the settlement "serves as a template for other employers that strive to protect their employees against a common and often deadly construction hazard." Company owner Michael Flynn said in a statement Friday that he decided to settle the case "not because of guilt, but because of the amount of energy and money spent on fighting these unnecessary fines." He said an "overzealous OSHA employee" used "high powered lenses" to scope out one of the company's job sites for hours at a time. "We have and always will take employee safety seriously," he said. "We can proudly say that all OSHA inspections since 2016 have passed with flying colors." The settlement was signed by Flynn and OSHA officials on Feb. 16 and became a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission on Thursday. The Roofing Guys Stipulated Settlement 2-16-18 by rickmoriarty on Scribd Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 PULASKI, N.Y. -- A Pulaski man was arrested for having child pornography, according to New York State Police. Christopher D. Hoyt, 32, of 5 James St. in Pulaski, was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and three counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, police said Friday. Police investigated Hoyt because of a cybertip sent to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, police said. The task force includes representatives from New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service, police said. Hoyt was arraigned in Town of Albion Court and was remanded to the Oswego County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash or $50,000 bond, police said. He is scheduled to return to court on May 2 at 7 p.m. in Town of Richland court. EMERALD ISLE, N.C. -- An Oswego firefighter saved three girls caught in a current off the coast of North Carolina while on vacation Thursday. Oswego Fire Department firefighter Sean O'Gorman was on the beach in Emerald Isle, when he saw two girls drifting on boogie boards. The two girls' older sister swam out to bring the teenagers to shore, but all three became stuck in a current. Sean O'Gorman The girls' mother had called 911, O'Gorman said, and their father brought a surfboard out to try to reach his daughters. Before their father went out, O'Gorman told him to wave his hands if he had any trouble. "He started to go out in the water and turns and says, 'I haven't been on a surf board in 30 years. Do you want to go?'" O'Gorman said. O'Gorman swam out to the three girls. The oldest of the three, who had swam out to help the other two, swam back to shore on her own. The other two held on to O'Gorman's feet as he guided them back to the beach. He and another firefighter from the Oswego Fire Department had recently taken a four-day swift water rescue course in Aurelius, New York. O'Gorman said he had used some of the techniques in the course to save the girls. Shortly after O'Gorman swam back to shore, the Emerald Isle Fire Department arrived with a pick-up truck with a jet ski. "The girls were calm, they were just stuck," O'Gorman said. "I'm pretty sure the Emerald Isle rescue team would have gotten them had I not." Fear in the woods The Adirondacks serves as the setting for Jenny Milchman's latest novel, providing atmospheric tension in a tale of newlywed bliss gone awry. In "Wicked River," what is meant to be a romantic, isolated adventure for Natalie and Doug, soon turns into something more dangerous as it becomes evident that there is someone in the Adirondack forest who would like to make sure that they never leave. With six million acres of of dangerous and complicated woods keeping them from easily reaching the outside world while they are treated like prey, survival becomes the greatest goal. Milchman has been living in the Catskill Park area for almost five years, which helps serve as inspiration for her work. "As I listen again to the tree boughs swaying at night, I feel the sense of peace that New York state has always inspired in me. And when the wind whistles and the coyotes bay--no joke, right here on our property--I feel the tingle of a thrill that usually portends a new novel!" Milchman is also the founder of "Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day," a special holiday that the author started in 2010 that has grown to over 800 participating bookstores across five continents. When Milchman's own children were small she wondered if all children knew what a pleasure it could be to spend time in a bookstore, attending storytimes and perusing the shelves to find their own treasures. Now, TYCBD works to share this experience with as many children as possible. "Wicked River" goes on sale May 1, and will be sold through most book retailers, including Barnes and Noble. You can learn more about Milchman's previous works, and keep up with her latest news, by visiting her website. Searching the past for clues Joe Congel currently calls the beautiful city of Charlotte, NC home, but the author is proud to have been born and raised in Syracuse. Readers get to visit both Syracuse and Charlotte in Congel's latest publication- the second full novel, and third book about PI Tony Razzolito. The first book, "Dead is Forever," introduced readers to the salesman turned PI, who is tasked with looking into the murder of his own wife. Congel expanded Razzolito's world in a collection of short stories, that highlight the PI's desire to "balance life, love, and the pursuit of the bad guy." Now, in the newest book, "Deadly Passion," Razzolito is tasked with solving a twenty-year-old cold-case murder, as it seems to have ties to a recent murder. While investigating details of the past Razzolito has to deal with the original detective of the case, who was never able to solve the case. For Congel, part of the appeal about writing these characters is seeing how they live their lives day to day lives as they go about solving the case. Congel says he likes writing thriller for the escapism, saying, "Thrillers, for me, whether in the form of a mystery or detective story have a knack for taking me to a place I wouldn't go to in real life. When I'm lost in a good thriller I become the protagonist--I feel what they feel and become one with the story. It's a fantasy world where I can be the hero or the bad guy, be engrossed in the action, experience love, or feel the pain, without ever leaving the comfort of my reading chair." "Deadly Passion," as well as Congel's other books are available from Amazon. Author event Cayuga Community College with be hosting author Lena Bertone for two special events. Bertone, the author of two books and currently a writing professor at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, will doing a reading the Auburn Campus on April 30 at 11 am, followed by a writing seminar at noon in the college library. And at the Fulton Campus on May 2, the reading and writing seminar begins at 11 in the Learning Commons Classroom. Both events are open to the public. Bertone agreed to attend after receiving a request from the students in the Cayuga Creative Writing Club. Cayuga English Professor Mark Montgomery says that Bertone was chosen after the students reviewed the work of several writers, and found that Bertone's work spoke to them in a "wondrous" way. "They loved how she created such narrative depth in such an abbreviated form, and her use of both strange and familiar figures," says Montgomery. "Her stories imagine a world where the mundane collides with the miraculous and ancient myth steps into the here and now." Bertone says she is planning to read several selections, including short pieces from "Behind This Mirror." She has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, and her second book, "Letters to the Devil," won Lit Pub's second annual prose contest in 2015. For more information on the events, visit the Cayuga Community College website. Have a book to share? Are you a local author or have you come across a book set in Central New York? Tell us about it. Send a brief description of the book and the author and we'll add it as a candidate for coverage. Write us at features@syracuse.com. Syracuse, N.Y. -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says he has joined forces with House Speaker Paul Ryan to end what he said were Canadian government policies that keep most U.S. dairy products from being sold in Canada. Schumer, D-NY, said he is working with Ryan, R-Wis., as well as Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., to urge U.S. trade officials to make improved access to the Canadian dairy market part of any renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA. "With Speaker Ryan's and Senator Baldwin's help, we now have a real opportunity to churn the tide and hopefully fix the unfair Canadian dairy trade barriers that have plagued dairy farmers and producers from the Finger Lakes to Central New York to Wisconsin," Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said in a statement Friday. Dairy farmers say Canada has imposed pricing policies and high tariffs that have created a "dairy wall" preventing most U.S. dairy products from accessing Canadian markets. Schumer said dairy farmers and producers like O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. in Batavia, Cayuga Milk Ingredients in Cayuga County and dairy producers in Wisconsin have been severely hurt by Canada's practices. "As trade officials near a deal to renegotiate NAFTA - a bipartisan issue President Trump, Senator Baldwin, Speaker Ryan and I agree on - we must make it a top priority to begin reversing restrictive dairy pricing policies in Canada that are hurting our dairy producers at their core, and now is a real opportunity to do just that," Schumer said. Ryan has accused Canadian dairy producers of dumping low-cost products on the market to compete with Wisconsin farms. Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 WASHINGTON - The House passed legislation Friday that reauthorizes a national drone test site in Central New York for six more years and will prioritize the type of drone research led by the Syracuse-based NUAIR consortium. The test site is one of seven nationwide designated by the Federal Aviation Administration to figure out how to safely integrate drones into the national airspace. The House of Representatives reauthorized funding for the test sites in the FAA Reauthorization Act, which passed the House on Friday by a vote of 393-13. U.S. Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, said the five-year bill will allow for NUAIR's test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome to continue serving as a hub for national drone research. The test site was initially authorized for five years beginning in 2014. NUAIR, or the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, is also developing a 50-mile drone airspace research corridor stretching from Griffiss to Syracuse. New York state is providing $30 million in funding for the corridor, where companies can test "sense-and-avoid" technology that would prevent drone collisions with manned aircraft. More than 100 companies and institutions in New York, Massachusetts and Michigan are part of the NUAIR alliance. The legislation passed by the House includes provisions authored by Katko to establish a test program for remote air traffic control towers. The test will give the FAA a chance to study technology that would allow planes to land at small, remote airports without the presence of air traffic controllers in the tower. The program would test remote tower technology developed by companies such as Saab Sensis in DeWitt. That technology would allow air traffic controllers in Syracuse to remotely guide planes coming in for a landing at a small airport, such as the one in Ogdensburg. Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 State Sen. John DeFrancisco said Friday he will not seek re-election under any circumstance, and plans to end his 40-year career in politics when his term expires at the end of the year. DeFrancisco, R-DeWitt, had previously left the door open a crack to changing his mind if he didn't win the GOP nomination for governor. But the 71-year-old said Friday that he has made a firm decision to retire from the Senate. "World events change and things happen, but I'm definitely not running," DeFrancisco said in an interview. "The Republican Party will find a candidate to run in my place." DeFrancisco, the Senate's deputy majority leader, said he will play a significant role in helping Republicans try to keep his seat and majority control of the 63-member Senate. "Of course, I will help whoever the candidate is because it's essential to have a Republican majority," DeFrancisco said. "I've been involved in Republican politics for 40 years, so I'm not going to vanish." His decision to give up a seat that has been under Republican control for 52 years comes in the same week he suspended his campaign for governor. DeFrancisco acknowledged Wednesday that Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has enough votes from GOP state committee members to lock up the nomination. New York Republicans will nominate a candidate for governor and other statewide offices at a convention May 23 and May 24 in New York City. DeFrancisco, who has represented the 50th Senate District for 25 years, said he will actively work to help the GOP keep the seat and majority control in the Senate. The Assembly is controlled by Democrats, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is favored to win a third term. "We need a counterbalance," DeFrancisco said. "We don't need a one-party state." Two Democrats (John W. Mannion and Joseph Chiarenza) and one Republican (Rick Guy) have already declared as candidates for the 50th District seat. Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 North Syracuse, N.Y. - The molcajete is one of the popular dishes served at Camino Real Mexican Restaurant II, a new spot on Brewerton Road. The meal is served in a stone bowl, just like the ones used to mix guacamole or salsa tableside. At Camino Real, the molcajete comes with a choice of steak, chicken, shrimp or catfish (or you can get a mix), plus vegetables, avocado and cheese. It sounds big enough to share, but Alejandro Gonzalez wasn't so sure. "I can eat one by myself," he said, laughing. Camino Real Mexican Restaurant II opened in North Syracuse in February 2018. Gonzalez opened Camino Real at 3811 Brewerton Road in February, just two weeks after he says he helped open the Rio Grande in Camillus. Gonzalez said he's a partner in three restaurants - the ones in North Syracuse and Camillus and another Camino Real in Watertown. (He said he's not associated with the Rio Grande in Liverpool). But he described the North Syracuse place as the restaurant he's sunk his heart into. "I consider this one as my baby," he said. He started working on the place in November, picking the paint colors and decor himself. The menus at the three restaurants are a similar mix of Mexican favorites: burritos, tacos, fajita and chile rellenos, served with traditional red or green sauces. Camino Real is open for lunch and dinner daily. The restaurant does also does take out orders and, in some cases, delivery. Gonzalez said he expects the state to issue a liquor license for Camino Real any day. "They've cashed the check," he said of the state's Liquor Authority. DUBLIN, Ireland, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corvil today announced the opening of its Krakow-based Innovation Hub to support heightened design and development of new solutions and features across its entire product range. As part of its continued growth, the firm plans to create up to thirty specialist roles spanning software architects, developers and QA engineers. The Krakow Hub extends Corvils Dublin engineering Center of Excellence with both teams focused on harnessing machine learning, advanced analytics and AI expertise to realise the Corvil vision of building a new generation of AI powered networks that can see. Availing of Polands top programming talent, which according to HackerRank[1], is third highest in the world, Corvil continues its tradition of building exceptionally talented high-performance teams working at the cutting edge of science and technology. Corvil has a strong track-record in anticipating market changes and evolving its streaming analytics platform to leverage machine learning and AI to provide greater depth of insight from the network to empower IT, security, and business operations teams. This differentiator has propelled the firm to become the gold standard network analytics platform for the top performing banks, brokers, and stock exchanges of the financial markets and beyond. In the past 12 months, Corvils growing enterprise footprint has been enabled by new product launches including: a software-defined sensor technology for real-time packet visibility and forensics in the cloud; a virtual security expert to address automated cybersecurity surveillance in financial markets and most recently, a user-centric network traffic analysis solution for accelerated insider threat detection and response. Corvil SVP of Engineering, James Henry, said, Our Krakow team brings new skills and additional diversity to a passionate and accomplished engineering team, all crucial components of high-impact innovation. Corvil is now primed to build an even stronger future enabling businesses to move fast and stay secure in the digital world. Corvils new Hub is located close to Krakow's Old Town in the new state-of-the-art Kotlarska 11, office building. To find out more about open roles visit Corvils Careers>> About Corvil Corvil is the industry leader for deriving Security, Operational, and Business intelligence from network data. As companies adopt faster and smarter machine technology, it becomes critical to tap into richer and more granular machine data sources to safeguard the transparency, performance and security of critical infrastructure and business applications. The Corvil streaming analytics platform captures, decodes, and learns from network data on the fly, transforming it into machine-time intelligence for network, IT, security and business teams to operate efficiently and securely in this new machine world. Corvil uses an open architecture to integrate the power of its network data analytics with the overall IT ecosystem providing increased automation and greater operational and business value outcomes for its users. The Corvil solution is trusted by leading financial institutions to safeguard their businesses across the globe involving 354 trillion messages with a daily transaction value in excess of $1 trillion. Learn more about Corvil: Corvil.com | Twitter | LinkedIn Notes to editor: [1]https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/polish-programmers-among-best-world-cezary-piotr-dmowski Media Contact Press Office at Corvil +353 1 859 1040 pressoffice@corvil.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/45dd1f7f-a193-4630-951b-02a2ab6d99ac GOYANG, South Korea (AP) -- The leaders of North and South Korea played it safe Friday, repeating a previous vow to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons but failing to provide any specific measures or forge a potential breakthrough on an issue that has captivated and terrified many since the rivals seemed on the verge of war last year. In a sense, the vague joint statement produced by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to achieve "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization" kicks one of the world's most pressing issues down the road to a much-anticipated summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Even so, the Koreas' historic summit Friday might be remembered as much for the sight of two men from nations with a deep and bitter history of acrimony holding each other's hands and grinning from ear to ear after Kim walked over the border to greet Moon, and then both briefly stepped together into the North and back to the South. Standing at a podium next to Moon after the talks ended, Kim faced a wall of cameras beaming his image live to the world and declared that the Koreas are "linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately." What happened Friday must be seen in the context of the last year -- when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North threatened and raged as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests -- but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century's bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that's still technically in a state of war. It marks a surreal, whiplash swing in relations for the countries, from nuclear threats and missile tests to intimations of peace and cooperation. Perhaps the change is best illustrated by geography: Kim and Moon's historic handshake and a later 30-minute conversation at a footbridge on the border occurred only meters (feet) from the spot where a North Korean soldier fled south in a hail of gunfire months earlier, and within walking distance of where North Korean soldiers axe-murdered two U.S. soldiers in 1976. The latest declaration between the Koreas, Kim said, should not repeat the "unfortunate history of past inter-Korean agreements that only reached the starting line" before becoming derailed. Many will be judging the summit based on the weak nuclear language. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. The North, which has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium, claims it has already risen to that level. But the Koreas made inroads on a raft of other points of friction between them. They agreed to settle their disagreement over their western maritime border by designating it as a peace area and securing fishing activities for both countries. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, sometime in the autumn, and both leaders said they'd meet on a regular basis and exchange calls via a recently established hotline. They said they'd open a permanent communication office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and resume temporary reunions of relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Both Koreas will also jointly push for talks with the United State and also potentially China to officially end the Korean War, which stopped in an armistice that never ended the war. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Kim told Moon as they sat at a table, which had been built so that exactly 2018 millimeters separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a "big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world." Kim acknowledged the widespread skepticism over their summit. "We have reached big agreements before but were unable to fulfill them. ... There are skeptical views on whether the meeting today will yield meaningful results," Kim said. "If we maintain a firm will and proceed forward hand in hand, it will be impossible at least for things to get worse than they are now." Kim, during their talks, joked that he would make sure not to interrupt Moon's sleep anymore, a reference to the North's drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year, according to Moon's spokesman, Yoon Young-chan. Kim also referred to a South Korean island that North Korea attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living in fear of North Korean artillery have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. Kim said he'd visit Seoul's presidential Blue House if invited. The historic greeting of the two leaders, which may be the images most remembered from the summit, was planned to the last detail, though the multiple border crossings may have been impromptu. As thousands of journalists, who were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly controlled pool reporters at the border, waited and watched, Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They smiled broadly and shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and, after Kim did so, Moon said, "You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across?" Kim replied, "Why don't we go across now?" and then grasped Moon's hand and led him into the North and then back into the South. Moon then led Kim along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave Kim flowers. An honor guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of "Hail to the Chief." They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit took place, in front of a painting of South Korea's Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion and where dozens of North Korean commandos trying to assassinate the then-dictator in Seoul were killed in 1968. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, was by Kim's side throughout the ceremony, handing him a pen to sign a guestbook, taking the schoolchildren's flowers from his hand and scribbling notes at the start of the talks with Moon. Expectations were generally low on the nuclear issue, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions -- giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement, however, say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas tried Friday: Sit down and see what's possible. The White House said in a statement that it is "hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. ... (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks." Candidates named in city and school elections With the passing of the filing deadline for the upcoming city and school election, several area governing bodies including the City of Tama and ... Ballast water equipment suppliers have a voice A new association has been formed for ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) manufacturers and stakeholders. The Ballast Water Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA) first met on 19th April, 2018 to elect an inaugural board. The need for this association arose from the growing demand for well-founded information on the practicability of BWTS technologies, as well as on the technical and environmental aspects of implementing ballast water management regulations worldwide, the association said. Following the announcement of a further delay of the 2004 IMO Ballast Water Convention implementation dates, which occurred at MEPC 71, a small group met in New York to draw up the framework of what was to become BEMA. BEMA moved from concept to reality with its first official meeting on 9th March, 2018. Those attending, who included equipment manufacturers representatives, industry stakeholders, and component suppliers from all technologies worldwide, voted on and adopted a set of draft bylaws, as well as other formation documents, setting the stage for selecting the organisations board and electing the first group of association officers. The idea to form an association of ballast water equipment manufacturers dates back many years. What makes this time different, said Mark Riggio of Hyde Marine who was elected BEMA President and was a member of the initial formation committee, is the realisation that we needed to have a unified voice in the conversation. It has been encouraging to see how enthusiastically the equipment manufacturers have embraced the organisation, said Marcie Merksamer, BEMA secretary general and member of the formation committee. We have had a quick and energetic response from suppliers representing all of the major technology types in the industry and from every region of the world. BEMA is truly a global enterprise. During the initial formation meeting in London, held during the IMOs PPR5, the organisers discussed applying for non-governmental organisation (NGO) observer status at the IMO this year. After consulting with the shipping industry and prospective members, their focus quickly turned to ensuring that the association first provides value to the industry and then revisits the effort of obtaining IMO acceptance as an NGO. There is a lot of value that [BEMA] can provide even before we achieve NGO status at the IMO, said Steve Candito, Ecochlor CEO, member of the formation committee, and newly elected member of BEMAs board. We have already been approached by ICS, BIMCO, and other shipowner associations to discuss the important implementation challenges. The industry wants to discuss solutions and we are ready to talk. Representatives from Cathelco, Coldharbour, DESMI Ocean Guard, ERMA FIRST, Evoqua, Optimarin, Panasia, and W?rtsil? were also elected to the board. The other elected officers of the association are - vice president Efi Tsolaki of ERMA FIRST, treasurer Birgir Nilsen of Optimarin and Coldharbours Andrew Marshall as secretary. Tanker Operator is planning a BWTS feature for the June/July issue. Governments must acknowledge enormity of IMO agreement - ICS The IMOs agreement to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 should dispel any attempts to put in place regional measures, a leading shipping figure said. Speaking on Thursday at Singapore Maritime Week, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) chairman, Esben Poulsson, said the adoption by the IMO of a comprehensive strategy to phase-out shippings greenhouse gases should be more than sufficient to discourage those who mistakenly advocate regional measures, which would greatly damage global trade and would not be effective in helping shipping to further reduce its total CO2 emissions. Poulsson was commenting on the IMOs plan to cut shippings total GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050, compared to 2008 with an agreed efficiency goal, as an average for the sector, for a 40% improvement by 2030, compared to 2008 and a 70% improvement by 2050 so that the entire sector will be in a position to de-carbonise completely, consistent with achieving the 1.5 deg climate change goal identified by the UN. Its important that governments recognise the enormity of what has been agreed by IMO. While the ultimate goal is zero emissions, a 50% total cut by 2050 is very ambitious indeed, especially when account is taken of current projections for trade growth,Poulsson said. He added;To put this in context, the aviation sectors regulators have so far only agreed to hold its total CO2 emissions at 2020 levels, with no clear plan for absolute reduction. Moreover, compared to the 50% cut agreed by IMO, the commitments made by governments under the Paris Agreement with respect to the rest of the global economy will not see total CO2 emissions begin to reduce until the 2030s, while shippings total current CO2 emissions are already about 8% lower than 10 years ago, despite a 30% increase in trade demand. The shipping industry deserves great credit for persuading IMO member states to respond to the Paris Agreement in such an ambitious manner. This includes the detailed proposals which the industry made about what the IMO strategy might look like within weeks of the Paris Agreement being adopted. The shipping industry, very unfairly, is often criticised for foot-dragging. But this new IMO agreement makes it absolutely clear that shipping is now far and away ahead of the rest of the world economy in the scale of its ambition,he said. ICS is confident that new technology will eventually deliver; whether through the use of fuel cells or batteries powered by renewable energy, new fuels such as hydrogen, or some other solution not yet anticipated. To be clear, while LNG and biofuels will probably form a part of the interim solution, the very high goals IMO has now set for 2050 can only be achieved with the development of zero CO2 propulsion systems,Poulsson stressed. The new IMO strategy includes a list of possible candidate measures to achieve further CO2 reduction while shipping is still dependent on fossils fuels, including additional measures that could be ready for implementation before 2023. ICS is currently developing detailed input to IMO on all these proposals. But most controversial is further consideration of applying some kind of market based measure (MBM). ICS position is that it remains deeply sceptical of MBMs as a means of further incentivising CO2 reduction. Fuel is already by far the largest cost for shipowners and this is expected to increase dramatically as a result of the new mandatory global IMO sulfur cap in 2020. As IMO debates how best to implement its strategy, we would much prefer that it concentrates on further technical CO2 reduction measures, not least promoting the development of zero CO2 fuels. However, should IMO decide there is a political need to develop an MBM, the clear preference of the global industry would be for a bunker fuel levy payable to some kind of IMO climate fund. If such a levy was developed, the funds should be deployed to support research into new low carbon technologies or to support the roll-out of the expensive new bunkering infrastructure that will be required to supply zero CO2 fuels,Poulsson concluded. IBIAs best practice to form basis of IMO guidance The first edition of IBIAs Best practice guidance for suppliers for assuring the quality of bunkers delivered to ships was welcomed at MEPC 72. At the meeting, it was agreed that it would be a good basis for the development of IMO guidance. For the past few years, an IMO Correspondence Group on Fuel oil quality (CG) has been working on developing draft guidance on best practice for assuring the quality of fuel oil delivered to ships. The initial aim was to produce three guidance documents: one for bunker purchasers/users; one for bunker suppliers; and one for member states/coastal states. However, at MEPC 69, the CGs work on best practice for suppliers was postponed and the committee agreed that IMO should encourage the supply industry to develop a best practice document and present it to MEPC at a future date. Introducing its document to MEPC 72, IBIAs IMO representative, Unni Einemo said: We have developed an IBIA best practice guidance for bunker suppliers, which, simply put, aims to ensure that the quality of bunkers delivered to ships meets the agreed purchase specifications and applicable global and local regulations. While the vast majority of bunkers delivered meet these requirements, quality can be unintentionally adulterated at various stages in the supply chain. The underlying principle when developing IBIAs guidance was to identify and mitigate quality risks at all stages from the production of bunkers to delivery to ship, she explained. IBIA proposed that the paper could form the base document if the Committee wished to have a trinity of IMO best practice guidance documents with regards to fuel quality. There was broad consensus that this was desirable and that IBIAs document should form the basis for developing the IMO guidance for suppliers. Several member states complemented IBIAs best practice document, however, some raised concerns about it making references to ISO 4259 in the chapter on testing and interpretation of test results, arguing that only appendix VI of MARPOL Annex VI (sulfur verification procedures for the MARPOL sample) should be referenced. There was also resistance to making references to ISO standards in the chapter on representative sampling, as many believe only the IMO Guidelines in Resolution MEPC.182(59) for taking the MARPOL sample should be referenced. MEPC 72 agreed to use IBIAs best practice document as the basis and invite member states and organisations with IMO observer status to submit their comments to MEPC 73 (October, 2018), so that development of an IMO best practice guidance can progress at that session. MEPC 73 will also discuss draft best practices for member states/coastal states developed by the IMO Correspondence Group on Fuel oil quality, in which IBIA is a participant. IBIA has called upon its members to implement the best practices and then give feedback to enable the document to be amended if necessary. On a separate note, IBIA said that the draft best practice for bunker purchasers/users which the association co-sponsored with ICS and INTERTANKO was approved at MEPC 72, with only minor amendments made. This will be issued along with an MEPC circular asking IMO member governments to bring it to the attention of their administrations, industry, relevant shipping organisations, shipping companies and other stakeholders. English Swedish The Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") of Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ) (the "Company") was held on 26 April 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden. Change of the name of the Company In accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal, the AGM resolved to change the name of the Company to Radisson Hospitality AB (publ) by amending the Company's articles of association. The new articles of association will be registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Sw. Bolagsverket). Adoption of the profit and loss accounts, the balance sheets and resolutions on dividend and discharge of liability The AGM resolved to adopt the profit and loss account, the balance sheet and the consolidated profit and loss account and the consolidated balance sheet for the financial year 2017. It was further resolved, in accordance with the Board's proposal, that no dividend be paid for the financial year 2017 and that the distributable funds are brought forward. The Board of Directors and the President & CEO were discharged from liability for the financial year 2017. Board of Directors and Auditor In accordance with the Nominating Committee's proposal, Mr. Di Xin, Mr. Daoqi Liu, Mr. Charles B. Mobus, Jr., Mr. Xiang Song, Mr. Wolfgang M. Neumann, Mr. Kin Ching Lo, Mr. Andreas Schmid and Dr. Thomas Staehelin were re-elected as members of the Board of Directors by the AGM. Mr. Di Xin was re-elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. PricewaterhouseCoopers AB was re-elected as the Company's Auditor by the AGM. Remuneration to the Board of Directors and the Auditor The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Nominating Committee's proposal, that the remuneration, calculated on an annual basis, to the members of the Board of Directors elected by the AGM shall be as follows: (a) EUR 42,000 to each of the members of the Board of Directors, (b) EUR 9,500 to the Chairman of the Audit Committee, (c) EUR 6,900 to the other members of the Audit Committee, (d) EUR 6,300 to the Chairman of the Compensation Committee and (e) EUR 4,200 to the other members of the Compensation Committee. Directors employed by Rezidor or HNA shall not receive any remuneration. The AGM also resolved that the Auditor shall be entitled to a fee corresponding to the amount invoiced and approved. Principles for compensation In accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal, the AGM approved the principles for compensation of the Company's key management for 2018. New bunker contract to boost harmonisation BIMCO's Documentary Committee is expected to adopt a new version of the standard contract Bunker Terms in New York on 2nd May. Bunker Terms 2018 has been drafted by representatives from across the bunker industry. It is claimed to be a balanced set of terms and conditions designed to be fair for both buyers and sellers. The aim is to reduce the large number of supplier's terms and conditions used in the industry which slow down the contractual process and creates uncertainty, due to differing terms. Standard terms and conditions will also help reduce the number of bunker-related contractual disputes. "We are quietly confident that the Bunker Terms will be adopted in the first week of May. A lot of work has gone into developing a contract that strikes the right balance between the needs of the bunker suppliers and the buyers, and I believe we've been successful," said Francis Sarre, BIMCO Documentary Committee chairman. Drafting a new version of Bunker Terms has been a complex process with discussions going back and forth between the committee members and the experts on the sub-committee that worked on the document for nearly three years, the organisation said. The committee consists of over 60 persons from across the shipping industry, including: shipowners, ship operators, representatives from P&I clubs and national shipowner and shipbroker associations. It also has several observers, including the International Group of P&I Clubs, ICS, INTERTANKO, FONASBA and the Maritime Law Association of the US. Each sub-committee is composed of relevant industry and legal experts. Shipowners Norden and J. Lauritzen also participated in the drafting process, as did three major bunker suppliers, the North of England P&I Club, an IBIA representative and James Kennedy of law firm Clyde & Co. Trader representatives who also helped draft the contract together accounted for 25% of the total bunker volume sold globally, which BIMCO sees as a very strong sign of support for the final result. Bunker Terms 2018 also has the support of IBIA. The new form contains detailed delivery provisions for when the bunkers must be delivered, both in situations when the vessel is ready to receive fuel within the agreed delivery window and when it is not. In terms of payment, the default credit period is 30 days, which corresponds to general market practice. To remove the credit period altogether would not be realistic considering that it is estimated that the bunker industry today is financed by $10-20 bill and buyers would not have the liquidity to cope without the credit. It also includes comprehensive provisions regarding claims management for quantity, quality and delay claims. The main stumbling block to the previous BIMCO Terms 2015 gaining a stronger foothold in the market was that it did not include a maximum limit of the parties' liabilities. This is something that is invariably negotiated and included in bunker contracts. The new terms therefore includes a default limit of the invoice value or $500,000, whichever is higher. This is just a default minimum figure that can be discussed by the parties and increased if appropriate. Scorpio Tankers hit by takeover costs and falling market conditions For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Scorpio Tankers (STI) reported an adjusted net loss of $31.5 mill, and a net loss of $31.8 mill, compared with an adjusted and net loss of $11.5 mill in 1Q17. The adjusted net loss excludes the net loss $0.3 mill and diluted share, of transaction costs related to STIs merger with Navig8 Product Tankers (NPTI). Adjusted EBITDA was $57.6 mill in 1Q18, compared with $46.9 mill in the previous period. STI has signed term sheets or agreed main terms for a series of bank loans and sale leasebacks to refinance some of its outstanding secured debt. These transactions, if firmed up, will raise $334 mill in aggregate of new liquidity, after the repayment of the existing secured debt related to vessels. The company said that it expected to make detailed announcements on the individual transactions in the coming weeks. Below is a summary of the average daily TCE revenue and duration for voyages fixed for STIs tankers thus far in the second quarter of 2018 as of this week. LR2s in the pool: about $14,000 per day for 37% of the days. LR1s in the pool: about $13,500 per day for 43% of the days. MRs in the pool: about $13,800 per day for 38% of the days. Ice Class 1A and 1B Handymaxes in the pool: about $11,400 per day for 35% of the days. During 1Q18, STI took delivery of two MRs - STI Esles II and STI Jardins from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. As a result of these deliveries, the company drew down $21.5 mill in December, 2017 and $21.5 mill in January, 2018 from its 2017 credit facility to partially finance these vessels. STI also timechartered-in two vessels, a 2013 built LR for six months at $14,300 per day, and a 2012 built MR for one year at $14,000 per day. These vessels were delivered in February and March, 2018, respectively. In February 2018, STI agreed a new timecharter-in agreement for a 2013 built LR2 for six months at $14,300 per day. The company has an option to extend the charter for an additional six months at $15,310 per day. The vessel was delivered in the same month. In January, 2018, the company chartered-in a 2012 built MR for a year at $14,000 per day. STI also has an option to extend the charter for an additional year at $14,400 per day. She was delivered in March, 2018. TCE revenue for 1Q18 increased $32.8 mill to $153.1 mill, from $120.3 mill for 1Q17 driven by the growth of the company's fleet to an average of 128 operating vessels from an average of 92.9 operating vessels during 1Q17. This growth was the result of the merger with NPTI, which resulted in the delivery of four vessels in June, 2017 and 23 vessels in September, 2017. In addition, the company took delivery of eight vessels under its newbuilding programme through 2017 and two vessels during 1Q18. The TCE revenue increase due to the increased fleet size was partially offset by a reduction in TCE revenue per day, which fell to $13,331 during 1Q18, from $14,408 per day during 1Q17, reflecting the challenging market conditions, driven by an unfavourable global supply and demand imbalance, that persisted throughout 2017 and 1Q18, STI said. Latvian English Riga, 2018-04-27 10:44 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 1. Appointment of an auditor and determining the remuneration for the auditor. 1) To elect SIA Revidentu birojs Gatis Sviklis Lasma Svikle (license No.181) as the sworn auditor for the audit of Annual report of joint stock company Baltic Telekom for years 2017 and 2018. 2) To determine 1 600 EUR, VAT not included, as the annual remuneration for the sworn auditor for the audit of Annual report for years 2017 and 2018. 2. Reports of the Management Board, the Supervisory Council and the auditor. To get acquainted with the reports of the Management Board, the Supervisory Council of joint stock company Baltic Telekom and the statement of the sworn auditor. 3. Approval of Annual report for the year 2017. To approve the Annual report of joint stock company Baltic Telekom for the year 2017 drawn up by the Management Board and considered by the Supervisory Council of joint stock company Baltic Telekom. 4. Covering of the losses for the year 2017. To cover the loses for the year 2017 of joint stock company Baltic Telekom in the amount of 763 325 EUR from profit of next years. 5. Election of the Supervisory Council. 1) To recall Ingrida Rozenfelde, Jolanta Medne and Ludmila Nikitina from position of member of the Supervisory Council of joint stock company Baltic Telekom. 2) According to proposals submitted by shareholders, to elect as members to the Supervisory Council of the joint stock company Baltic Telekom for a period of three years: 1. Arta Snipe, 2. Guntis Lauskis, 3. Andris Rektins. Riga, April 27, 2018 Member of the Management Board G.Zolotarev Scientists have just been able to look back in time to see the collision of young galaxies as it happens. Astronomers have dated these events to happen about 12 billion years ago or one billion years after the Big Bang. Originally, scientists thought that what they were witnessing happened three billion years after the Big Bang. A Mega Galaxy Cluster Researchers from Dalhousie University, Yale University, and the University of Edinburgh used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) to view the galaxies as they are colliding. They had to view 90 percent across the observable universe to be able to see how these galaxies are combining. Scientists have named the protocluster SPT2349-56. This is the most active region that scientists have observed in space. Just in this region thousands of new stars are formed every year, whereas in the Milky Way galaxy just one new star is born every year. The light produced by these galaxies began traveling towards Earth when the Universe was only one billion years old. Scientists used computer simulations to forecast that with time the galaxies will form a massive galaxy cluster. This would make the structure one of the largest things in the universe. Researchers published their findings in the journal Nature. Co-author of the study Chris Hayward says that this finding is the closest that scientists have been able to get to see a galaxy cluster form. He calls it the missing link in understanding how galaxy clusters are formed. Tracing The Galaxy Clusters Scientists still don't know how galaxy clusters are formed in the universe. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures that are caused by gravity in the universe, and can be made up of thousands of galaxies. Clusters grow as the gravity draws more objects into the cluster. Researchers stumbled upon the galaxy cluster while doing follow-up research for a project to examine almost six percent of the sky. Those observations were made with the South Pole Telescope in Antarctica but they were fuzzy. It wasn't until they used ALMA that they were able to get a look at what they were actually witnessing. SPT2349-56 contains the mass of around 10 trillion suns. Computer simulations show that the 14 galaxies will combine into one massive galaxy cluster rather than move away from each other. They would combine over the next one billion years, growing into an elliptical galaxy. Researchers say that the amount of star formation in one region could be an indicator of a cluster forming. Hayward says that the gravitational pull from the other galaxies may be compressing gas in galaxies, triggering the formation of stars. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Motorola's Moto Z3 Play has been in the news recently thanks to a series of leaked images that started circulating online. These leaked images were either concept images based on the phone's known specs, features and design, or case renders that hid the phone behind a case. Moto Z3 Play's First Official Render The first official render of Motorola's Moto Z3 Play has finally arrived, giving the tech world a good clean look at the Chicago-based company's upcoming third-generation smartphone. Leaked by an unnamed source, the image showcases the front and rear side of the device in great detail, confirming some of the rumors about the phone's design. pic.twitter.com/TeLwPHnEvU This might be our first official look at the Moto Z3 Play https://t.co/tLLuQjGGd7 Android Authority (@AndroidAuth) April 25, 2018 Fingerprint Sensor Moved To The Side The render image confirmed rumors that Motorola has removed the home button/fingerprint sensor from the front panel, where it was located on the Moto Z Play and Moto Z2 Play. Instead, it placed it on the side to make room for a nearly bezel-less screen. There is a possibility that Motorola will follow Sony's footsteps and have the fingerprint scanner built into the Moto Z3 Play's power button as the render image shows an elongated button on the phone's side, under the volume rocker. This has been backed up by a report published earlier this month. The relocation of the home button/fingerprint sensor has allowed Motorola to offer a 6-inch display with Full HD+ (2,160 x 1,080) resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Dual Camera Setup And No Audio Jack The image also revealed a large, circular dual camera setup on the rear panel of the Moto Z3 Play. According to reports, the upcoming smartphone will feature a main 12-megapixel sensor alongside a secondary 8-megapixel lens, coupled with a dual-tone LED flash. The rear panel also includes a 16-pin connector, so it's safe to assume that the Moto Z3 Play will be compatible with Moto Mods. What's missing from the image is a headphone jack but that's probably because the render does not provide a clear look at all sides of the handset. However, on the Z2 Play, the audio jack was located on the left-hand side of the charging port and previous reports have pegged its absence. Other Specs And Information According to the Moto Z3 Play's FCC listing, the phone will be equipped with the Snapdragon 636 chipset, 4 GB of RAM, and 32 GB or 64 GB of storage. The Snapdragon 636 is a notable upgrade from its predecessor; Snapdragon 630. According to Qualcomm, the Kyo 260 CPU in the 636 is up to 40 percent more powerful than Snapdragon 630. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A team of scientists projects that many of the low-lying atoll islands will be uninhabitable by mid-21st century due to rising of sea levels resulting from climate change. Experts from the U.S. Geological Survey, Deltares, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Hawaii at Manoa note that sea-level rising and wave-driven flooding will lead to scarcity of the freshwater resources among the chain of islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The extent of the damage will make the areas squalid and hostile toward human population by mid-2030s to 2060s. The projection was based on the observed "overwash," which is happening yearly due to the combination of greenhouse gas emissions, sea-level rising, and storms waves over coral reefs. Overwash is the amount of seawater and sediment deposited on sand dunes after storms and flooding. Overwash accumulating each year will also damage the infrastructure on these islands, making it much harder for potable water resources to recover from storm events. Overwash and Potable Water The rain is the major source of groundwater on the atoll islands. When rain pours, the water penetrates the ground and it remains in there, afloat over saltwater. Groundwater flows through an aquifer or the permeable layer of soil, sand, silt, and rocks. After freshwater enters aquifer, it flows through the springs, streams, or wells where humans can acquire them. When there is overwash, salty water seeps into the aquifer layer, contaminating the freshwater that could have streamed through the aquifer. Naturally, this saltwater deposit should be flushed out by rainwater. However, due to climate change, the amount of seasonal rainfall becomes insufficient to flush out the salty water deposits. The overwash will then reside and will continue to accumulate every time stronger storms arrive, says Stephen Gingerich, USGS hydrologist. If this persists, it will reach a point where saltwater will overcome freshwater. "The tipping point when potable groundwater on the majority of atoll islands will be unavailable is projected to be reached no later than the middle of the 21st century," highlights Curt Storlazzi, USGS geologist and lead author of the report published in Science Advances. Uninhabitable Islands The focus of the study is the Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll. It is located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which has 1,100 low lying islands on 29 atolls. While the study has only focused on this location, the experts highlight that their finding could reflect similar situation happening on other habited atoll islands. Potable water resources may soon be a problem on people living in the Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Society Islands, Spratly Islands, Maldives, Seychelles, and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The experts add that their findings can also be applied for atolls located anywhere the globe because most of the atoll islands have the same morphology and structure. Ultimately, the information contained in their study will be significant in increasing the resiliency of communities across all atoll islands. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SpaceX is continuing its partnership with satellite communications company Iridium Communications, Inc. The aerospace organization is expected to launch several Iridium NEXT satellites in May. Preparing For Takeoff On Wednesday, April 25, Iridium revealed in a statement that five Iridium NEXT satellites are now in SpaceX's possession. The companies plan to launch the five satellites from SpaceX's west coast launch site, Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. To prepare for the launch, the SpaceX staff will have the opportunity to inspect each Iridium NEXT satellite. For this upcoming launch into space, the five Iridium NEXT satellites are joined by the NASA and the German Research Center for Geosciences' latest collaboration. The two science organizations have created a new measurement system called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO. GRACE-FO is expected to measure several movements of the mass within and between the Earth's atmosphere. Enter The Falcon 9 Rocket Both GRACE-FO and the five Iridium NEXT satellites will be launched into space by SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket. The Falcon 9 had launched ten of Iridium's satellites earlier this year and several times in 2017. The company outlined that once the Falcon 9 Rocket reaches space, it will first deploy the GRACE-FO spacecraft. After the GRACE-FO spacecraft exits, the next part of the rocket's mission is to focus on releasing the five satellites. The launch is scheduled to take place on May 19. An Iridium Exclusive Tech Times spoke exclusively with Iridium Communications, Inc. CEO Matt Desch, who stated that the two companies have worked closely with each other since 2006 and that Iridium developed respect for SpaceX during its early years. Desch credits SpaceX in helping Iridium launch 75 satellites into outer space and in its mission of tracking items that cannot be tracked through traditional methods such as animals, buoys, people, and planes. "Our vision is to connect all the important things around the world that cannot be traced through terrestrial communications systems," said Desch. SpaceX Corner In addition to continuing a partnership with Iridium, SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, continue to make headlines. On Wednesday, April 18, the SpaceX Falcon 9 launched NASA's planet-hunting satellite, TESS, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The satellite will go on a two-year mission to find planets outside of the solar system. The company also announced that it willbe building the next rocket to Mars in Hawthorne, California. Musk has claimed that the SpaceX BFR spacecraft would send people from Earth to Mars and wants to start sending people to the red planet sometime next year. Tech Times reached out to SpaceX for a comment about this story. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A lot of factors can contribute to a urinary tract infection, including stress, not practicing good hygiene, and hardly wearing breathable undergarments. Certain activities apparently worsen it, too. Sex Aggravates UTI Though there are ways to cure and prevent a UTI, having sex while still having the infection definitely won't help. Yes, it's normal for anyone to want to get intimate with their partner even at the most unexpected times, but one should hold off in instances of UTI simply because it is a bacterial infection in the bladder that has to be treated immediately. According to Nicole Williams, founder of the Gynecology Institute of Chicago, having sex with your significant other with a UTI would only make matters worse as it could further irritate the infection. "The bladder sits right above the vagina, and any pressure on it while it is infected could really hurt," Williams stated. Is UTI Contagious? Williams makes it clear that having sex with an untreated UTI would not be the smartest idea, but women will be relieved to know that if they were to have intercourse with their partner, the infection would not be transmitted. According to Jason S. James, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Baptist Hospital in Miami, it is normal for a female to think that she might have transferred a urinary tract infection to her other half. However, in reality it could potentially be a sexually transmitted disease as STDs have similar symptoms as UTI's. STDs remain contagious, so partners should always practice safe sex. James explained that STDs such as herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea share something in common with UTI: constant and painful urination. Wait Until You Are Off Of Antibiotics Normally, when a woman is confirmed to have a urinary tract infection, the doctor tests the woman's urine and, depending on the results, would prescribe antibiotics with a specific length of time of taking them. This is why it would be best to wait until the prescribed antibiotics have been finished before a woman gets intimate with her significant other again. In the meantime, there are several ways to enjoy each other's company during the healing process, such as teasing each other by kissing, which build up the sexual tension, and working out together to release the sexual frustration. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA is about to take significant financial hits. The space agency will need to pay additional funding to send items up to the International Space Station. A New Report On Thursday, April 26, the space agency's Office of Inspector General released a report regarding the future changes to how NASA pays for delivering cargo to the ISS. Since NASA shut down the Space Shuttle program in 2011, it has been using three different aerospace companies to assist it in bringing items into space. The OIG discovered that NASA divided the assignments into two different groups under Commercial Resupply Services: CRS-1 and CRS-2. NASA assigned both Orbital ATK and SpaceX to CRS-1. Both companies were awarded over $5.9 billion to complete 31 missions. Following the completion of the CRS-1 assignments, NASA leaders decided to keep both companies on their payroll and brought in the Sierra Nevada Corporation to complete the CRS-2 tasks. The regulators pointed out that the space agency gave them $14 billion for their services. As of publication, there have been only eight CRS-2 missions, and those assignments already cost $2.6 billion. Expensive Reasoning NASA's auditors dug deep into the organization's paperwork and discovered several reasons why the space agency was paying more for the CRS-2 assignments. First, SpaceX's prices increased by 50 percent. SpaceX did tell NASA that the increase was due to the company upgrading its signature Dragon spacecraft. The updated version of the rocket is expected to be able to carry additional cargo up to the ISS. Secondly, the Inspector General noted that NASA was contracting three different companies for their services. The space agency's leaders indicated that it was becoming hindersome to have three companies on this project. They also noted that both SpaceX and Sierra Nevada have rockets with capability to return the cargo to and from the ISS. A Potential Dream Chaser Headache NASA is concerned that Sierra Nevada is gambling with the development of its Dream Chaser rocket. The Inspector General reported that the company built only one version of the rocket. Also, NASA is anxious that Sierra Nevada has refused to conduct a demonstration flight and that the Dream Chaser has a lack of flight history. Possible Solutions The Inspector General recommended several solutions to help NASA save money. The office believes that if the space agency uses just one contractor, it would be able to save the agency $300 million. The report also suggested for agency officials to organize the ISS Program Planning and Control Office for the 2020 Fiscal Year. It also advised that by January 2020, NASA should have already decided whether to continue business with its three contracted companies or not. Tech Times reached out to NASA for a comment about this story. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 27 April 2018 Acron Group's Output Up 7% in Q1 2018 Group's Consolidated Output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and North-Western Phosphorous Company) Product, '000 t Q1 2018 Q1 2017 YOY, % MINERAL FERTILISERS Ammonia 667 648 2.8 Incl. in-house consumption 558 492 Nitrogen fertilisers 1,064 976 9.0 Incl. in-house consumption 271 271 AN 499 475 5.0 Incl. in-house consumption 135 142 Urea* 249 204 22.5 Incl. in-house consumption 136 129 UAN 316 297 6.3 Complex fertilisers 699 674 3.7 Incl. in-house consumption 16 17 NPK 586 541 8.4 Incl. in-house consumption 16 17 Bulk blends 113 133 -15.2 Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 1,584 1,518 4.5 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Organic synthesis products 115 111 3.3 Incl. in-house consumption 58 55 Methanol 26 25 7.2 Incl. in-house consumption 21 20 Formalin 42 41 2.3 Incl. in-house consumption 36 35 Urea-formaldehyde resins 47 46 2.0 Incl. in-house consumption 199 193 2.8 Non-organic compounds 41 40 1.9 Low-density and technical-grade AN 27 15 84.6 Industrial urea* 119 126 -5.8 Calcium carbonate 10 11 -4.9 Liquid carbon dioxide 2 1 15.6 Argon 256 249 2.7 Total commercial output for Industrial Products 115 111 3.3 PHOSPHATE INPUTS Apatite concentrate 312 226 38.1 Incl. in-house consumption 253 220 Total commercial output for apatite concentrate 59 5 increased 11 times TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT 1,900 1,773 7.1 Note: Commercial output is output less in-house consumption. * Q1 2017 data is adjusted due to reclassification of a part of urea as an industrial urea Chairman of Acron's Board of Directors Alexander Popov commented on the results: "In Q1 2018, commercial products output increased 7% year-on-year to 1.9 million tonnes, setting yet another record. Mineral fertiliser output was up 4.5% to 1.6 million tonnes. "The Group's facilities increased ammonia output 3%. Output at the new Ammonia-4 unit was 208,000 tonnes, up 5% year-on-year. In 2017, the unit reached its capacity of 2,300 tonnes per day, and we plan to increase that to 2,500 tonnes per day following further improvements. Additionally, the total ammonia output growth at the Group's sites made it possible to increase production of nitrogen and complex fertilisers. "In 2017, Acron's site in Veliky Novgorod implemented a number of measures to modernise its urea units, and that boosted output in Q1 2018 to 249,000 tonnes, up 22% year-on-year. Further expansion in the works: our Veliky Novgorod site is building a sixth urea unit with capacity of 600 tonnes per day. Once the new unit is launched this autumn, total urea capacity will increase to 3,650 tonnes per day. There was also a significant increase in high-quality industrial urea production (including for AdBlue), which was up 85% to 27,000 tonnes. "AcronGroup's complex fertiliser production was up 4% year-on-year. NPK output was up 8% due to a project implemented in 2017 that increased capacity at the two Veliky Novgorod-based NPK units. Blends production at the Dorogobuzh site was down 15% to 113,000 tonnes. "In Q1 2018, apatite concentrate output was up 38% year-on-year, mainly due to decreased overburden operations at the open-pit mine compared to Q1 2017. Production at the underground mine is up: in the reporting period, 159,000 tonnes of ore were produced." Market Trends Following a slump in December 2017, urea prices recovered in Q1 2018 as seasonal demand picked up. In March, prices reached USD 230 FOB Baltics. It should be noted that the price of coal, which is the main feedstock for urea production in China, continues to grow, which makes most of that country's producers uncompetitive in foreign markets at the current price level. As a result, China is expected to post a further decrease in capacity utilisation and lower exports, as its focus moves to the domestic market. These developments support global prices for urea. AN prices were down as the premium decreased following the strong autumn season. At the same time, UAN was in high demand and its prices remained stable. In Q1 2018, NPK prices continued their climb that started in autumn 2017 due to an upward trend in potash and phosphate feedstock prices and strong seasonal demand. The premium over the product basket remained the same. Average Indicative Prices, USD/t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea Q1 2018 Q4 2017 Q1 2017 Q1 2018 / Q4 2017 change Q1 2018 / Q1 2017 change NPK 16-16-16 284 271 262 +4.6% +6.6% AN 186 218 202 -14.6% -7.8% UAN 162 162 158 0.0% +2.7% Urea 224 239 237 -6.4% -5.5% Ammonia 284 286 302 -0.7% -6.0% Media contacts: Sergey Dorofeev Anastasiya Gromova Tatiana Smirnova Public Relations Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196) Investor contacts: Ilya Popov Investor Relations Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252) Background Information Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and the Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It has a wholly owned transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licenses for 13 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe. In 2017, the Group sold 7.3 million tonnes of various products to 65 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets. In 2017, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 94,342 million (USD 1,617 million) and net profit of RUB 14,260 million (USD 244 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs approximately 11,000 people. For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en. English French Paris, April 26, 2018 During its meeting today under the Chairmanship of Michel Grass, the Groupe BPCE Supervisory Board decided unanimously and in line with the opinion rendered by the Appointments Committee, to designate Laurent Mignon as Chairman of the Groupe BPCE Management Board as a replacement for Francois Perol as from June 1, 2018. Prior to the decision, Francois Perol had informed the Supervisory Board of his intention to pursue other professional projects, after having devoted almost 10 years to the creation, development and growth of Groupe BPCE, and considering that all factors were in place to permit a smooth transition at the head of the Group. The Supervisory Board wished to pay tribute to Francois Perol for his exceptional engagement since 2009 and the services rendered to the Group, its cooperative shareholders and clients, and all its staff. Under his impetus and authority, BPCE managed to overcome the 2008-2009 crisis, such that the Group now ranks as the second-largest banking and insurance group in France and one of the top 10 in Europe, while posting a high level of solvency and solid profitability. Michel Grass, Chairman of the Groupe BPCE Supervisory Board, declared: "I am very pleased that the succession at the head of our Group is to take place in such an exemplary fashion, in the interests of the 9 million cooperative shareholders of the Banques Populaires and Caisses d'Epargne, and of our 31 million clients and 106,500 staff. Without the determination and engagement shown by Francois Perol for almost the last 10 years, our Group would not be what it is today. Along with all the members of the Supervisory Board, I would like to pay him the tribute he deserves. I am sure that Laurent Mignon, who has successfully transformed Natixis, knows our Group perfectly well and is acknowledged by all for his professionalism, will be able to build on the work accomplished so far and ensure the Group and its constituent companies continue to expand in the future". Francois Perol, Chairman of the Groupe BPCE Management Board, declared: "I took the emotional decision to leave Groupe BPCE after taking over the managerial reins in the depths of the financial crisis in 2009 and contributing everything within my power to its creation and subsequent growth. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to our Group's 106,500 staff. I have been proud to be at their sides and wish them the greatest success for the future. I was able to take this decision today because I am convinced that the Group remains solid, bold and true to its values. I am also certain that Laurent Mignon possesses all the human and professional qualities needed to build on the existing momentum". Laurent Mignon, Natixis Chief Executive Officer, declared: "I would like to thank the Supervisory Board for the trust and confidence placed in me. I am well aware of the responsibility I am assuming by succeeding Francois Perol and taking over the helm of the second-largest banking and insurance group in France. After devoting close to 10 years to turning round and then developing Natixis, I am keen to ensure the Group continues to make progress in all its business lines, and eager to develop all our brands - the foremost of which are the Banques Populaires and Caisses d'Epargne - and to lead our teams and ensure they work cohesively for the benefit of our 31 million clients". Biography of Laurent Mignon, Natixis Chief Executive Officer Laurent Mignon, 54, has been Natixis Chief Executive Officer since May 2009. He has been a member of Groupe BPCE's General Management Committee since 2009 and a member of its Management Board since 2013. Laurent Mignon is Chairman of Coface and Natixis Investment Managers, and lead director of Peter J. Solomon Company in New York. He also sits on the board of Arkema. After graduating from HEC in 1986 and the Stanford Executive Program, Laurent Mignon worked for Banque Indosuez for over 10 years, initially in capital markets, then in corporate & investment banking. In 1996, he joined Banque Schroders in London, then AGF (Assurances Generales de France) in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to the AGF Executive Committee in 1998, then as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Banque AGF, AGF Asset Management and AGF Immobilier in 2002, then Chief Operating Officer in charge of life insurance & financial services and credit insurance in 2003. In 2006, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Committee. From 2007 to 2009, he was managing partner at Oddo & Cie. About Groupe BPCE Groupe BPCE, the 2nd-largest banking group in France, includes two independent and complementary cooperative commercial banking networks: the network of 14 Banque Populaire banks and the network of 16 Caisses d'Epargne. It also works through Credit Foncier in the area of real estate financing. It is a major player in Asset and Wealth management, Insurance, Corporate & Investment Banking and Specialized Financial Services with Natixis. Groupe BPCE, with its 106,500 employees, serves a total of 31 million customers and enjoys a strong local presence in France with 7,800 branches and 9 million cooperative shareholders. News release Nanterre (France), April 27, 2018 Faurecia 2017 registration document Faurecia filed its 2017 registration document with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers on April 26, 2018. It is available for consultation on the corporate website of the Company: www.faurecia.com/en/finance/amf-regulated-information as well as on the website of the AMF : www.amf-france.org. The registration document contains: the annual financial report ; information on the fees paid to the statutory auditors ; the description of the share buyback program. Contacts Media Eric Fohlen-Weill Head of Corporate Communications Tel: +33 (0)1 72 36 72 58 Eric.fohlen-weill@faurecia.com Analysts/Investors Marc Maillet Vice-President Investor Relations Tel: +33 (0)1 72 36 75 70 marc.maillet@faurecia.com About Faurecia Founded in 1997, Faurecia has grown to become a major player in the global automotive industry. With 290 sites including 30 R&D centers and 109,000 employees in 35 countries, Faurecia is now a global leader in its three areas of business: automotive seating, interior systems and clean mobility. Faurecia has focused its technology strategy on providing solutions for smart life on board and sustainable mobility. In 2017, the Group posted total sales of 20.2 billion and value-added sales of 17.0 billion. Faurecia is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC Next 20 index. For more information, please visit www.faurecia.com BANGOR, MAINE, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Husson Universitys School of Nursing announced today that they will be holding a pinning ceremony honoring the graduates of their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs. Traditionally, this ceremony was dedicated to honoring Husson University/Eastern Maine Medical Center baccalaureate graduates. This year, for the first time, this ceremony will also honor graduates from Husson Universitys Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on May 4, 2018 at Hussons Newman Gymnasium in Bangor. Deborah Sanford, MBA, MSN, RN, a Baldrige Executive Fellow, and vice president of nursing and patient care services at Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) will be this years keynote speaker. Her speech will focus on professionalism, civility and professional boundaries. During pinning ceremonies, undergraduate and graduate nursing students are symbolically welcomed into the nursing profession. They are presented with Husson University/Eastern Maine Medical Center BSN or Husson University MSN nursing pins by a family member. As part of the ceremony, graduate nurses and registered nurses (RNs) receiving a higher degree will be asked to recite a pledge based on an oath originally created by Florence Nightingale, a renowned nurse and the founder of the first professional training school for nurses.1Pinning ceremonies are different from graduation and licensure examinations. At graduation, students are recognized for completing their degree requirements. Passing licensure exams demonstrates that students have met the state requirements to become professional healthcare providers, said Donna Beuk, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, chair of Husson Universitys School of Nursing. In contrast, a pinning ceremony serves as an acknowledgement by our faculty that a student is ready to fulfill the requirements of being a nurse. Our ceremony marks an important milestone where students are recognized as members of an elite fraternity of men and women dedicated to caring for others, noted Beuk. Need for Nurses in Maine: These graduates will be needed, according to a study by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Their projections indicate that Maine could face a shortage of 3,200 registered nurses by 2025 due to an increased number of patients over age 65 and the retirement of nurses who are currently employed.2History of the Pinning Ceremony: The pinning ceremony has been a part of Husson Universitys nursing school tradition since 1986 when the first class of BSN students graduated. This rite of passage can be traced back to the Crusades of the 12th century. During this time, the Knights of the Order of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist tended to injured and infirm Crusaders. When new monks were initiated into the order, they vowed to serve these sick soldiers in a ceremony where each monk was given a Maltese cross, the first badges given to those who nurse.3The modern ceremony dates back to the 1860s, when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George in recognition for her tireless service to the injured during the Crimean War. To share the honor, she in turn presented a medal of excellence to her brightest graduates. By 1916, the pinning new graduates was a standard practice throughout the U.S.4The Pledge: As part of the pinning ceremony, Husson nursing students will be asked to make the following pledge, based on one originally crafted by Florence Nightingale: Before those assembled here, I solemnly pledge; To adhere to the code of ethics of the nursing profession; To co-operate faithfully with the other members of the nursing team and to faithfully carry out and to the best of my ability, the instructions of the physician or the nurse who may be assigned to supervise my work; I will not do anything evil or malicious and I will not knowingly give any harmful drug or assist in malpractice. I will not reveal any confidential information that may come to my knowledge in the course of my work. And I pledge myself to do all in my power to raise the standards and prestige of the practical nursing; May my life be devoted to service and to the high ideals of the nursing profession. About Husson University: For more than 100 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine, Wells, and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu. # # # 1 Florence Nightingale Biography, Florence Nightingale Museum, http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/resources/biography/?v=7516fd43adaa 2 New report reveals where Maines looming nursing shortage will hit hardest, Bangor Daily News, https://bangordailynews.com/2017/09/28/news/new-report-reveals-where-maines-looming-nursing-shortage-will-hit-hardest/ 3 In the know: The history and importance of the pinning ceremony, HCPro.com , http://www.hcpro.com/NRS-250713-4931/In-the-know-The-history-and-importance-of-the-pinning-ceremony.html 4 Ibid Attachments U.S. Army veteran Wilton Craft was 75 and suffered from severe Alzheimer's disease when he was transferred from a Baton Rouge assisted living center in 2014 to the Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jackson for a "higher level of care." What he got instead was a punch in the face last April from a now-former employee of the state-run home for war veterans in East Feliciana Parish, his five surviving children allege in a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. Craft, a veteran of the Army's 101st Airborne Division and the 6th Special Forces Group, died Dec. 1 at the age of 78. The lawsuit filed April 18 in the 19th Judicial District Court is not a wrongful death suit, but it seeks monetary damages from the state Department of Veterans Affairs for the "severe physical and emotional damages" that affected Craft "until the day he died." The suit contends the department is legally responsible for all of Craft's injuries, damages and losses "resulting from the assault and battery" committed on him by Kearia Wright. 77-year-old veteran with dementia punched in face by employee at state-run home A 77-year-old veteran with dementia who was living in a state-run home for war veterans in East Feliciana Parish was punched in the face and h Wright, of Ethel, was fired after the April 28, 2017, incident in which she punched Craft in the face, and pleaded guilty in September to a charge of simple battery of persons with infirmities. She was given a suspended 90-day jail term and put on probation for two years, and ordered to attend anger management classes. She also is prohibited from working in any job in which she would have contact with the elderly or infirm. Ben Mouton, an attorney for the Craft family, said Friday the family is satisfied with how the criminal justice system resolved the criminal matter and looks forward to working with the state Attorney General's Office to resolve the civil case. Joey Strickland, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, said Thursday in a written statement that the department "does not tolerate abuse of any of our Veterans." "The now former employee who carried out this unexpected and unacceptable event, which we do not condone, was immediately dismissed as soon as we were made aware of the incident," he said. Department staff was in the courtroom alongside the Craft family when Wright was sentenced last fall, Strickland noted. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "In all five of our veterans homes across the state, our veterans' safety and security continues to remain our highest daily concern," he added. "We expect and train each of our employees to treat all of our residents with respect, dignity, and as individuals to be honored." A 2015 audit found that employees had failed to report potential crimes against veterans at the state-run veterans homes in at least three incidents. Head of Louisiana Veterans Affairs steps down after probes look at conditions, oversight at nursing homes Dual investigations into conditions at nursing homes for veterans apparently led the Cabinet-level head of the state Department of Veterans Af The suit by Craft's children claims the department was negligent and failed to provide timely and adequate medical care to Craft, call a doctor to report the eye injury, report the incident to his family, and transport him to an emergency room for a comprehensive medical assessment and treatment. The punch occurred on a Friday. Craft was not taken to a hospital until the following Monday. Craft's daughter, Tammie Faul, said in an interview last year that she received a call on May 1, 2017, notifying her that her father was being taken to the hospital. She said staff told her he was brought to the hospital because of swelling feet and because his eye was "leaking," and they wanted him to see a neurologist. When Faul arrived, she noticed he had a black eye. After Wright punched Craft on that Friday, he was escorted back to his room and placed in his bed "where he remained for much of the weekend," the suit alleges. He developed multiple medical complications in response to the punch, the suit says. Craft was finally transferred to the Our Lady of the Lake emergency room on Monday, May 1, 2017. The staff at the Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jackson did not inform the emergency room staff of the punch to Craft, a punch that two Jackson staffers witnessed, the suit says. A police report said Wright punched Craft with a closed fist. An employee told investigators that Wright reported Craft was found in a room he was not supposed to be in and tried to remove him. The report stated Craft came out of the room and was "swinging/moving his arms in a punching motion nonaggressively towards Wright" before Wright reared back back and punched him. Craft was recognized in 1963 as one of the top 100 soldiers in the United States and was honored at a luncheon with President John F. Kennedy while stationed in Germany. Man tried to get student in vehicle before leading police on chase, Southern University police say The woman accusing Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler of sexual harassment described her longtime boss as a "nightmare" and a "creep," telling an interviewer on Friday that she has felt like "a prisoner in a cave" for the past decade. Exclusive: Emails show Secretary of State Schedler made sexual advances toward secretary for years Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler used his state email account for years to send sexually suggestive messages to a subordinate, includ In her first interview since filing a lawsuit, the woman, Dawn Ross, said she tried to be Schedler's friend and hoped "he would get that message, because most people do." She said she was disgusted when Schedler claimed publicly that the two had a "consensual sexual relationship." "I just never was" interested, she told Louisiana Radio Network. "I had told him to leave me alone multiple times. I know I said more than that." Ross' comments came the day after The Advocate published a series of sexually suggestive emails Schedler sent to Ross over several years. The emails showed he would make advances toward his onetime secretary during the course of regular business exchanges. He also invited her on cross-country trips and propositioned her with wine and hand-written Christmas and birthday cards. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy called Friday for Schedler, a fellow Republican, to resign from office, saying the emails "show that he crossed the line and abused his position." Kennedy joined state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, and a number of Democrats, including Gov. John Bel Edwards, in calling for Schedler to step aside. "It saddens me to say this, but Tom needs to resign," Kennedy said in a statement. "There is no place in Louisiana for sexual harassment in the workplace." Schedler has not commented on the emails, and his spokeswoman, Meg Casper Sunstrom, declined to comment on Ross' remarks Friday. Schedler has kept a low profile since the allegations surfaced in February and told reporters last month that he will not seek re-election to a third term in 2019. Read the suggestive cards, letters, emails at heart of lawsuit against Secretary of State Tom Schedler Emails, Christmas cards, birthday greetings and other notes obtained by The Advocate offer the first glimpse of Louisiana Secretary of State T Ross' remarks closely tracked the allegations she made in a lawsuit that accuses Schedler of retaliating against her after she rebuffed his repeated advances. In the interview, Ross said Schedler crossed the line years ago when he began "leaving cards in my chair" at work. She said she tried "to keep it on a friendship level" and "would ignore a lot of the comments he would make and emails, texts." "He would come and sit in my cubicle and just kind of make me really uncomfortable," Ross said. "I think a lot of people were aware that Tom had a thing for me at work. But I don't know, I never talked about it. I tried to just ignore it, because it was uncomfortable. It was kind of insulting and embarrassing." The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Ross said she knows "for a fact" that Schedler has "never taken a sexual harassment course at our office even though he said he did because secretaries always took that for him." "Some days I felt like we were friends," she said. "Other days he would yell at me. Other days he would ask me to dinner, lunch, whatever, show up with wine and stuff on my doorstep." Ross said she felt even more uncomfortable after Schedler purchased a residence near hers in Baton Rouge and began keeping close tabs on her and her visitors. "I feel like he's already taken 10 years of my life, where I've been a prisoner in a cave at work and at home," she said. "I just really want it to be over. I want to get him out of my life totally." Ross gave the interview to Jim Shannon, a Baton Rouge journalist who is married to Ross' attorney, Jill Craft. Shannon asked Ross at one point whether she had ever been "a little flirty" toward Schedler. "I don't think I come off as too flirty," the woman replied. "I tried to always be nice through the whole thing." She described a final "blow-up" in which Schedler began screaming at her after she asked to take a couple of days off. She said she told Schedler that "you're not going to do this to me anymore. I said, 'I'm gone.' " "He got right up in my face and said, 'Get out of this office and don't ever come back here again,' " Ross said. She said she was transferred to the Capitol the following day and "sat there with nothing to do." "I basically sat in my office for 2 or three months and just couldn't do it anymore," she said. "I just left and I called my attorney." Republican Senator John Kennedy has issued a renewed call for the resignation of Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler, after sexually suggestive emails and messages emerged Tuesday, directed toward a subordinate. Copies of unredacted emails obtained by The Advocate offer the first glimpse of Schedler's on-the-clock exchanges with Dawn Ross, a longtime employee who recently sued him for sexual harassment, claiming the secretary of state sent her love letters and then retaliated when she rebuffed his repeated advances. Exclusive: Emails show Secretary of State Schedler made sexual advances toward secretary for years Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler used his state email account for years to send sexually suggestive messages to a subordinate, includ Kennedy issued a statement Friday morning, citing the new revelations as cause for him to resign. Secretary Schedler has claimed the truth about the sexual harassment allegations against him by his employee can be found somewhere in the middle. The emails published today tell a different story. They show that he crossed the line and abused his position, Kennedy said in the statement. It saddens me to say this, but Tom needs to resign. There is no place in Louisiana for sexual harassment in the workplace. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Schedler, 68, has claimed he had a "consensual sexual relationship" with Ross an assertion the woman denies. He has refused to step down in the wake of the allegations but said last month he will not seek re-election to a third term in 2019. Exclusive: Emails show Secretary of State Schedler made sexual advances toward secretary for years Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler used his state email account for years to send sexually suggestive messages to a subordinate, includ Can't see video below? Click here. Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler used his state email account for years to send sexually suggestive messages to a subordinate, including one exchange in which he told the woman he was attempting to "undress" her with his mind, records show. The state emails offer the first glimpse of Schedler's on-the-clock exchanges with Dawn Ross, a longtime employee who recently sued him for sexual harassment, claiming the secretary of state sent her love letters and then retaliated when she rebuffed his repeated advances. The emails were obtained by The Advocate through a public records request. Read the suggestive cards, letters, emails at heart of lawsuit against Secretary of State Tom Schedler Emails, Christmas cards, birthday greetings and other notes obtained by The Advocate offer the first glimpse of Louisiana Secretary of State T A number of the emails released by Schedler were partially blacked out, concealing parts of his communications with Ross. The redactions were done to hide communications that "were purely of a personal nature," according to Schedler's office. But The Advocate was able to obtain complete versions of some of those emails, and those suggest the Secretary of State's Office blacked out sections that contained suggestive or otherwise embarrassing remarks by Schedler. Schedler, 68, has claimed he had a "consensual sexual relationship" with Ross an assertion the woman denies. He has refused to step down in the wake of the allegations but said last month he will not seek re-election to a third term in 2019. Can't see the video below? Click here. +2 Embattled Secretary of State Schedler: I'll finish term, won't seek re-election in 2019 After nearly a month of silence, Secretary of State Tom Schedler announced Wednesday that he will finish his current term but not seek re-elec Not all of the secretary of state's overtures arrived in the woman's work inbox. Schedler, who is married, also sent Ross stacks of Christmas cards, birthday greetings and other notes obtained by The Advocate, expressing a "no strings attached" love and inviting her on cross-country trips. "I will be making a trip to Napa soon," he wrote in one note. "If you're interested you need to (let) me know. If I don't hear I will assume no. So don't be bashful!" But many of Schedler's rambling communications to the woman occurred during business hours and through state email. In December 2011, for instance, he told Ross, via email, that she was "nuts" after she complained that Schedler had been mistreating her at work. Days earlier, Schedler told Ross she had yet to fully grasp the duties of an executive secretary, writing that she "couldn't keep my schedule if your life depended on it." He complained that she "should have invited me over for supper and plenty of refreshments to get to know me better." "Who knows you may have re dug the s*** out of me all over again and who knows what the hell would have happen (sic)," he wrote. In the same exchange, Schedler berated Ross for reneging on her promise to cook him a "last supper." She had written, "Never promised a last supper. First time I heard of it since Jesus sat down." Our Views: The people who elected Tom Schedler deserve an accessible public servant, not a stonewaller Disgraced Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler has cast his refusal to resign as a profile in courage. But his decision seems defined by Ross' attorney, Jill Craft, said the emails "prove my client's point," and she called on Schedler to release all of his communications with Ross who agreed to be named publicly without redactions. Craft has denied that her client ever had sex with Schedler or said anything to lead him on. "She would send him something innocuous like 'the office furniture has arrived,' 'I had to get my phone fixed,' etc.," Craft said, "and his response would be to ask her out again or tell her he is in love with her or that he knows she doesn't love him." Schedler declined to comment Thursday, citing advice from his attorneys. The records do not offer a complete picture of the exchanges between Schedler and his longtime employee. The Advocate last month requested three years of text messages between Schedler and Ross that have not yet been released by the Secretary of State's Office. But the thousands of emails provided show that Schedler, without provocation, made sexually suggestive remarks to the woman over a span of several years. Schedler once wrote a message to the woman saying he loved her and was always hoping "you would love me back!" In one August 2015 exchange, Schedler responded to a routine note from Ross, then his executive office manager, after she requested five minutes of his time. "No I demand much more including lunch and dinner," he wrote. Our Views: Tom Schedlers response to lawsuit shows lack of integrity, judgment Americas national reckoning on sexual harassment has now reached a corner of the culture that seems a surprising place for a scandal, the off The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A few months later, in February 2016, Schedler referred to Ross as a "hot gal" in response to a note she sent him about office parking. That remark was among the exchanges the Secretary of State's Office blacked out in the thousands of pages of emails it provided to The Advocate this month, saying it was "purely of a personal nature" and had "no relation to the function of the Department of State." That email was one of a number of instances where the newspaper was able to obtain unredacted copies of the state emails that included flirtatious and at times derogatory language on Schedler's part. But other communications remain unclear because Schedler's office redacted his responses, sometimes in mid-sentence. In a March 2017 email, for instance, Ross forwarded Schedler a WAFB-TV article with the headline "Midday naps boost workers' productivity." Much of Schedler's response was redacted in the state records provided to The Advocate. "We work for government these types of ideas are tried in private industry," Schedler wrote. The rest of the sentence was blacked out as was Ross' response. Scott Sternberg, an attorney who has represented The Advocate and the Louisiana Press Association, took exception to the state's redactions, saying Schedler had been performing his taxpayer-funded duties as secretary of state when he sent the messages. "He's never off the clock," Sternberg said. "The public-records law should be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, when there's any question as to whether the communications are of a personal or business nature." Also redacted were the names of several supporters who wrote to Schedler following his announcement that he would fight the allegations and remain in office. Schedler told reporters last month that the "truth about all this can be found somewhere in the middle," adding "the facts will be revealed in the proper place, in the proper time." The prominent St. Tammany Parish Republican received a number of notes of encouragement, with one friend insisting the allegations were part of a "political vendetta." "There is NO need for you to resign," one wrote. "Hang tough and I am pulling for you. This too will pass." The secretary of state told another supporter that the allegations amounted to the "(toughest) thing aside from dealing with my family that I have ever done." He thanked another writer for "the Hayride article," a reference to a conservative political website that has been supportive of Schedler throughout the scandal. Schedler also thanked the New Mexico secretary of state, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, for "stepping up to the plate due to my current situation," an allusion to the low public profile Schedler has attempted to keep over the past two months. Schedler and Oliver serve as co-chairs on the elections committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State, which last month voiced concern about a piece of federal legislation the association said raised the "possibility that armed federal agents will be patrolling neighborhood precincts and vote centers." Schedler has made few public appearances since the allegations were made public. But lawmakers this week questioned his aides about the Secretary of State's sexual harassment policies during a committee hearing. The agency is looking to enhance its policies, even as lawmakers weigh a law that would apply across state government. "There should be a consistent harassment policy across all agencies," Schedler told the committee Wednesday. "It should start right here, and it should be something consistent." The state emails revealed that, in addition to the lawsuit, Schedler's office is facing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination claim lodged by Ross. The commission's New Orleans field office notified Schedler of the claim Feb. 22, giving his office 30 days to provide a "position statement setting forth all facts which pertain to the allegations in the charge of discrimination under investigation." The emails also open a window into the damage-control efforts within the Secretary of State's Office, including the scheduling of emergency meetings and warnings to staffers not to delete any emails or text messages due to pending litigation. Employees have kept a close watch on the news in recent weeks, sending Schedler articles and opinion columns about Ross' lawsuit. "Please be advised that at least one television station is doing live shots outside the Commercial Division entrance this afternoon," Kyle Ardoin, Schedler's first assistant, wrote in an "urgent" email to staffers. "While we do not anticipate the reporter questioning any employee, if you are approached, you can politely say, 'Have you talked to Meg Casper Sunstrom?'" Sunstrom is Schedler's press secretary. Ross' lawsuit against Schedler also refers to various undated cards she received from the secretary of state over the years. The cards, copies of which were obtained by The Advocate, were flattering musings in which Schedler described his feelings and the chemistry he believed he shared with Ross. In one greeting, Schedler wrote that he realized, "after an email volley earlier today," that he was "as complicated you, and I have my nerve, guess that is part of the whatever between us is!" Craft said the secretary of state gave her client a sex toy with one of the cards. "Hope you keep my cards and items I give you long, long time," Schedler wrote. James Caillier, executive director of the Patrick Taylor Foundation, explained Thursday the difference between TOPS curriculum pathways that students take in high school. Calvin Duncan poses for a photo with two stacks of legal paperwork filed under "Notification of Direct Appeal Decision" and Non-unanimous Jury Verdict issues" in his Central Business District office in New Orleans, La., Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Duncan is a former Angola inmate who is pushing the United States Supreme Court, through repeated petitions on behalf of inmates convicted on non-unanimous jury counts, to overturn the state's unusual law allowing murder convictions of a 10 to 2 jury serious felony cases. United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal turns away after greet each other after opening statements of the First Round of NAFTA negotiations held at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C., United States of America on Aug, 16, 2017. (Ting Shen/Xinhua/Sipa USA) ORG XMIT: 1222365 SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heroin Detox Clinics releases new information about drug rehabilitation centers in California. The senate health committee held an informational hearing to examine the conditions of the rehabilitation centers and the services provided to the individuals with substance disorders. The hearing was held in wake of substantive reports of abuse and financial corruption within the rehab industry of the state of California. According to Senator Ed Hernandez, Chair of the senate health committee, the demand for rehabilitation and substance abuse treatment services through licensed clinics, social-model recovery and group homes are increasing as the use of substances is increasing state and nationwide. Rehab Centers in Los Angeles The state of California has experienced surge in demand of not only the rehab centers in general but many specific demands have also increased. Besides the individuals, many families also look for drug treatment programs for couples or pet friendly drug rehabs. Due to increasing demand for couples rehabs, drug treatment facilities in Los Angeles, California are offering this type of service for their patients. The city of Los Angeles has witnessed the growth of many couples rehab centers, but the fact is that the overall supply is still far less than the demand. The city of Los Angeles not only has various rehabs that accept couples but also has various centers which provide couples addiction counselling. With the senate health committee seriously pondering on the issues of irregularity in the rehab industry, it can be hoped that the rehab centers will provide better and more effective services in future. HeroinDetoxClinics.com provides nationwide information about treatment for opioid and heroin addiction. Finding the right type of treatment can be the difference between success or failure. Different rehab centers offer a variety of recovery methods, not all centers are alike. Heroin Detox Clinics offer a no cost helpline to connect struggling addicts to treatment facilities. Author: William Leonard Organization: HeroinDetoxClinics.com Address: 402 West Broadway,#400,San Diego,CA9 2101 Phone: 888-325-2454 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/da2568e4-d18d-41e5-992e-fa02a49d1c0b ADVOCATE PHOTO BY KEITH SPERA -- Smoke and flames billow from a burning building near the corner of Basin Street and N. Villere Street in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. The 3-alarm fire heavily damaged the building. The old saying about financial common sense is that when in a hole, stop digging. The House Appropriations Committee agreed, killing two Senat Okay, I think weve all heard enough. There are no two sides here, no innocent way to read the internal documents obtained by The Advocates Jim Mustian documenting Republican Secretary of State Tom Schedlers on-the-job pursuit of longtime employee Dawn Ross, whose lawsuit against him launched calls that he resign from some female legislators of both parties and from Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. Other politicians, including many longtime associates of the onetime Republican state senator, initially responded to the suit with caution, suggesting he deserves his day in court. Schedler himself claimed he and Ross has a consensual relationship, which she denies, and later insisted that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Under fire, he announced that he wouldnt run for reelection in 2019 but refused to resign, citing important work still to be done. That position was barely tenable then. Its not at all tenable now that the evidence is out. Schedler spent years sending sexually inappropriate emails to Ross on official time using his official account. He said he was undressing her in his mind. When she asked for a few minutes to discuss work, he demanded she have lunch and dinner with him. He called her a hot gal. His office blacked out many of these exchanges when it complied with a public records request, calling them personal in nature, but the paper obtained unredacted copies. Needless to say, theres nothing personal about abusive treatment of an employee on the job. Upon reading the news, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy became the first Congressional Republican to say Schedler needs to go (state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, who shares Schedler's Slidell base, had previously done so, back when Kennedy was still withholding judgment). He shouldn't be the last. In opting to stay on, Schedler argued that hes just too vital to the offices operations to step aside quickly. But if this is what hes doing at work, he should not be a public employee at all, let alone leader of a major government department. And if this is how he treats even one subordinate, he should not be the boss of anyone. Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, center, gestures using air quotes in response to a comment about whether 'jurors have agendas,' during debate on his SB243 by in the House Criminal Justice Committee at the State Capitol, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. At left is Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, and at right is Alexandria attorney Ed Tarpley, left, former District Attorney for Grant parish, who had earlier testified in favor of the bill. It was voted on favorably by the committee, and concerns a constitutional amendment that would require unanimous jury verdicts for serious crimes in Louisiana. The Saints have made it to the end of the first quarter of the 2021 season. Well, technically were not quite there since the NFL changed to a 17-game schedule, but were close enough. The Saints are 2-2. Saints beat writers Amie Just and Luke Johnson and columnists Jeff Duncan and Rod Walke Read the full story A young traveler returns eager to share experiences and determined to work some lessons from abroad into daily life at home. Its a common enough tale. It happened to Richard Brennan III too, though hes found a unique way to follow through. Brennan, the son of restaurateur Dickie Brennan, recently finished an internship in Italy with Dario Cecchini. He's the Tuscan butcher who has gained global acclaim for his devotion to craft and his advocacy for the role of the small-scale artisan in a big-box world. In some culinary circles, Cecchini is a rock star who slings a cleaver instead of a guitar, or an opera tenor whose voice uplifts the pleasures of the table, tradition and their mindful pursuit. Now, Cecchini is headed to New Orleans, where hell lead a butchery workshop and a pair of special dinners showcasing not just the skills and flavors but also the philosophy that have together fueled his following. Hell be working here with his former apprentice and other chefs in the Dickie Brennan & Co. group, especially at Dickie Brenanns Steakhouse and Tableau. The ticketed events double as fundraisers for local culinary and cultural groups (see details below). I am in the phase in my life as an artisan where I feel the need to give away everything I have learned and sow the seeds for the future, Cecchini said through a translator. Richard Brennan himself, now 25, sees his mentor's visit as a chance to galvanize an evolving approach to beef in particular and butchery in general across his family's restaurants, and maybe even further through the dining scene. Were going to re-create a small version of what I got to experience working with Dario in Italy, said Brennan. Its not about reinventing the wheel, its about going back to the original way we cooked. Cecchini is an eighth-generation butcher from the small hilltop town of Panzano in a part of Italy renowned for its beef and its butchery. If you think Texans really love their steak, just talk to a Tuscan. Cecchini initially picked a seemingly divergent path in life and trained to be a veterinarian. Instead, after the death of his father in the 1970s, he picked up the family mantel, and the butchers knife, at the butcher shop Antica Macelleria Cecchini. He espouses a whole animal approach, elevating the use of cuts unfamiliar and sometimes discarded in American kitchens. Hes known as a butcher who talks as much about how the animals lived in the field as how theyll be used on the plate. For Richard Brennan, a culinary school graduate and who grew up in restaurants, working at Cecchinis butcher shop and his eatery in Panzano was eye opening. It was a feeling of making a connection by going backwards, said Brennan. I found so many things that in America weve lost. Back home, Brennans job at Dickie Brennan & Co. takes him through its four restaurants, with a particular focus on charcuterie. At his urging, Dickie Brennans Steakhouse recently added an unusual item to its regular menu the oyster steak, a cut from around the hip of the cow with a distinctively rich flavor (this Creole steakhouse pairs it with fried oysters for full effect). He and the restaurant group's other chefs have now begun exploring ways to get more of the non-prime cuts into rotation in their kitchens. Brennan sees it as a way to offer diners more experiences on the plate and to build better ties to suppliers, who benefit when they can sell more of the animals they raise to their restaurant clients. Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up He saw how that plays out up close in Italy, and hes excited to see where it can go in New Orleans too. Its not going to be about any one person or restaurant, but maybe we can help accelerate the re-emergence of traditional butchery here, said Brennan. Arent we a great food city? Wouldnt it be something if we could bring butchery back into the dining scene in a big way? During his visit Cecchini will lead a butchery tutorial and a pair of dinners with the Dickie Brennan group. "It gives me great joy to share my work. I look forward to the pleasure of returning to your wonderful city, full of positivity and energy, good food, good wine, and lots of music," he said. "What do you want more from life?" It starts on the morning of May 8 at Dickie Brennans Steakhouse, where the dining room will be turned into a demonstration area as Cecchini prepares a side of Wagyu beef from Raines Farm in north Louisiana as well as a pig. The workshop is an educational event aimed at culinary professionals and enthusiasts. Tickets are $100. The meat cut that morning will be served that night at the steakhouse at the Butchers Dinner. Cecchini and his team from Italy will prepare the dinner with Richard Brennan and Geordie Brower. Tuscan winery Castello de Ama provides pairings. Tickets are $200. The following day, May 9, the same team will lead the "Florentine steak picnic" dinner at Tableau served around a flight of steaks, showing a range of different cuts and styles across the meal. Tickets are $170. A portion of proceeds from Cecchinis events will benefit the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Fund and the American Italian Cultural Center. Dickie Brennans Steakhouse 716 Iberville St., 504-522-2467 A federal jury in New Orleans late Thursday convicted one man of stealing two cars at gunpoint before he teamed up with a second man days later to rob a pair of banks, prosecutors said. Jurors found Dwayne Butter Winans Jr., committed the carjackings in question on Aug. 12, 2016. Then, three days later, both he and Bryson Tuesno, 23, wielded guns while they robbed a Regions Bank branch in the 3800 block of Elysian Fields Avenue in Gentilly Avenue and a Gulf Coast Bank branch in the 1900 block of Oak Harbor Boulevard in Slidell. Winans faces at least 82 years in prison but could spend the rest of his life behind bars, the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Orleans said. In a prior bank robbery, he had been accused of dressing up as a woman during the heist. Tuesno faces at least 32 years in prison but could also be sentenced to life behind bars. U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown did not immediately set date for their sentencing hearing. Prosecutors Michael McMahon, Jeff Sandman and David Howard Sinkman built the case against Winans. In other matters recently handled by local authorities: A suspended judge from a small-claims court in Marrero previously charged with ratcheting up defendants wage garnishments and pocketing the proceeds is facing additional counts that he falsified documents he was forced to hand over to a federal grand jury investigating the case, according to documents. Patrick Hale DeJean also didnt turn over some documents that grand jury had subpoenaed from him, the documents filed Thursday said. Federal prosecutors had announced they would make that move in a filing earlier this month. DeJean has been suspended from his duties as justice of the peace for Jefferson Parishs 2nd Justice Court since August 2016 while his case plays out. Meanwhile, his former constable, Antoine Tony Thomassie, pleaded guilty in state court earlier this month to doing his job unlawfully over the last nine of his last 27 years in office. Thomassie received one-year probation. Documents dont say exactly what he did, but he had previously acknowledged violating the states anti-nepotism rules for public officials by hiring his wife to handle wage garnishments for more than a year. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up New Orleans police investigated two armed robberies and an attempted robbery that didnt involve a weapon between Thursday evening and Friday morning. About 11:30 p.m., three 24-year-old women and a 35-year-old man surrendered their property to a man wielding an assault-style rifle at the corner of Dauphine and Marigny streets in the Marigny, police said. About 4:40 a.m., a 35-year-old man walking with a woman in the 3400 block of Esplanade Avenue near the Fair Grounds turned over property to another man who approached them with a gun. The victim and his companion fled before his property was later. The robbery attempt occurred about 5:15 p.m. at the corner of North Broad Street and St. Bernard Avenue, which is also near the Fair Grounds. A 64-year-old woman fought off a man who tried to snatch her cellphone, police said. She sought refuge inside a store. A 14-year-old boy was arrested on allegations that he pistol-whipped a woman, pointed a gun at her, and robbed her of property before fleeing in a stolen car during an April 18 attack at the corner of Morrison Road and Marywood Court in New Orleans East, police said. The boy, who was not identified because of his age, was arrested the following day wearing the same clothes he had on to steal the car used in the hold-up, police alleged. Jamiron Barnes, 22, and Sean Briggs, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday to a drug and gun conspiracy in Central City, according to federal prosecutors in New Orleans. They face between five years and life in prison. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier tentatively set sentencing for July 12. A third defendant in the case, Brandon Butler, awaits trial. Prosecutors said the three men were linked to a gang that sold drugs out of the 2400 block of Josephine Street and protected their business with guns. Butler faces serious charges in state court as well. An Orleans Parish grand jury charged him with second-degree murder and other counts in April in connection with a shooting at South Claiborne Avenue and First Street on Sept. 11 that left five people wounded and one man dead. About 11 p.m. Thursday, at the corner of Eastview and West Catawba drives in Harvey, a man was robbed at gunpoint, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said. There were no injuries reported. Three U.S. Marines based in Algiers have been arrested after a Tulane University student and her friend reported being raped by multiple men at a home near the campus earlier this month, authorities said. Lance Cpl. Alexander Davenport, 20, is accused of raping both the woman who lived at the home in the 6100 block of South Claiborne Avenue and her guest, according to court records. Pfc. Antonio Landrum, 18, is accused of raping the woman who lived at the home, records show. Lance Cpl. Jared Anderson, 18, is accused of raping the guest. The women were both intoxicated at a local bar the night of April 14 when they met Landrum, according to the records, which cite interviews with the women and two of the suspects. Court documents don't identify either victim, though officials have previously described one as a Tulane student. Landrum was at the bar with a group of a friends, and the women took an Uber ride home with him. Accounts of what happened next differ widely. The woman who lived at the home where the group ended up said Landrum raped both her and her guest. He then called for a ride from his friends, including Davenport and Anderson, who went inside once they showed up, according to police. The resident said Davenport shoved his penis into her mouth and forced himself onto the guest, who later described passing out during the encounter. At some point, Anderson noticed the woman who lived there had grown upset. They left the room together, talked and had consensual sex elsewhere in the house, police said, citing the woman's version of events. The guest told police that before the other two men arrived, she and the resident woman both had consensual sex with Landrum at the same time, according to police. While the guest said she eventually blacked out, she told police that other men later came into the room and forced her to have both oral sex and intercourse. Police spoke with Landrum and Anderson after the women reported the incident on April 15. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The major difference in Landrum's account is that he claimed he completed sex only with the woman who lived at the home. He said he initiated sex with the guest but stopped a short time later, police said. As for Anderson, police allege that he admitted to having sex with the guest after finishing his encounter with the other woman. That statement appears to be incriminating because the guest said she consented to sex only with Landrum. Davenport didnt make a statement, police said. But the woman who lived at the home picked him out of a photographic lineup as having attacked them both, police said. Police booked Davenport on Thursday on two counts of first-degree rape, which can involve using force to overcome a victim's resistance to sex. They booked Anderson on one count of first-degree rape and Landrum on one count of third-degree rape, which usually occurs when participants are too intoxicated to legally give consent. First-degree rape convictions in Louisiana carry mandatory life imprisonment. Third-degree rape can carry up to 25 years in prison but has no mandatory minimum. Davenports bail was set at $100,000 on Friday. Andersons bail was set at $50,000 and Landrums at $25,000. Chief Warrant Officer Georgie Hernandez-McCloud said the three men are based at the Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, which is headquartered in the Federal City section of Algiers. Davenport belongs to the 4th Marine Logistics Group; Landrum and Anderson are with the Force Headquarters Group, Hernandez-McCloud said. Hernandez-McCloud said the Marine Corps is cooperating with investigators but couldn't comment beyond that. A detective learned the suspects' names in part because Anderson and Landrum had used their phone numbers to send text messages to one of the women, the court documents show. The detective learned that Anderson and Landrum had also told their supervisor that a police report might have been filed against them. All three men were seen at the bar on security camera footage, police said. if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's true! No two people are alike. Sometimes, we all require a bit of special attention. When a person finds them self in a situation such as a detox or withdrawal from alcohol or other drugs, there is no better time for some particular attention. That's why women's detox protocol requires gender-specific alcohol and drug detox facility and individualized treatment planning. Gender Specific Detox Care Separate Women's Detox Units Some alcohol and drug detox centers offer both medically-supervised and non-medical detox services for men and women. It's a well-known fact in the health-care industry that women have different circumstantial needs, as well as various physical, emotional and psychological needs as those of men. Therefore, all alcohol and drug detox services should be gender specific and housed in completely separate units. Detox Doctors Upon arrival, each new woman needs to be examined by an Addiction Medicine Physician, and at that time the doctor will order the proper woman's detox protocol for each's situation. When the new client enters the unit, typically bed rest and proper nourishment are what takes place for at least the next 2-5 days, depending on the client's physical condition. Also, if the doctor has prescribed any medications, the staff carefully monitors them and sees that the doctor's orders are followed to the letter. Detox Safety, Privacy, and Comfort Each unit is nicely furnished and offers a warm, safe and comfortable environment, unlike that of a sterile and impersonal hospital setting. The units are staffed 24 hours per day with experienced detox professionals who will monitor each resident progress every half hour until she regains some of her strength and is clear of any complications. The staff's priorities are to protect the client until she's strong enough to maintain her safety, determine her immediate needs and report them directly to the doctor, who provides the client and the staff with whatever is required to make the remainder of the women's detox period as comfortable, safe and complication free as possible. Don't put the beginning of a new life off another day! If you're suffering from an alcohol or drug addiction related problem, don't wait another day to do something about it! The plain and simple truth is, the longer you put off making the call, the more severe your withdrawal symptoms are likely to be. Also, alcohol and drug detox centers should welcome calls from friends and family members of those in need of a detox. Many lives have been spared when a friend or family member picked up the phone and dialed a detox centers number when the alcoholic or addict wouldn't or couldn't. Visit the Alcohol and Drug Rehab in Sacramento to locate a women's detox center. Contact Info: Author: Kevin Leonard Organization: TheRecover.com Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590 Phone: (888) 510-3898 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/4f948ce9-b8e5-4582-a020-f5c88f2b7248 The mistake I made when I was younger was I thought you shook shame loose one time and that was it, and I didn't realize the shame underneath the shame. So much of me starting to have these conversations with myself in different ways now was because I had to have the eight other conversations about the eight other kinds of shame with myself before I could get to other conversations or what I knew was there. It's like cleaning your house: You can't sweep your floors without until you get all the shit off the ground. DS: The slogan "silence equals death" is popping up in my head. In so many ways, too, not even just in illness, but stigmas towards people with different gender identities. All these stigmas that we as queer people carry, and I don't understand why we tend to propagate them ourselves. Nothing good has ever come from it. I've never heard a conversation about stigma that left me with a smile on my face or feeling good. Shame is such a big thing, and so much of my work has been about what it means to shake loose that shame. What his case shows us is that we still ostracize people living with HIV. Especially when you think about where you live, because that has so much to do with it. Because so much of queer culture is locked up in these metropolitan cities, having a conversation about stigma, safety, our justice, and about how free we can be is a lot different in a New York, LA, or Atlanta than it is in the middle of Missouri. That n***a was in the middle of fucking Missouri fucking with these white boys. The poem also reminds me of the many different conversations that we have to have about these shared bodies that we have and these shared narratives of illness that we have and how they differ. Even though they are shared and we all know something because we are brothers and sisters, in these ways, across queerness, race, and illness, it's different depending on where you are at. DS: There are a lot of different fears in that poem because he is a prisoner: a political prisoner. The poem is complicated. It's trying to hold space for him and his justice that I believe he deserves, but also space for what it means to be scared of HIV. There is a little bit of tenderness for his accusers, too, in the poem and what it means to I don't know. It's weird. It's about prison, the jail cell, the T cell, and also stigma as a type of prison. I know when I was caught in that prison of stigma at various points of my life, when I was younger and less informed, I was scared as shit because they make you scared as shit. I think holding space for that fear, too, and the fear I don't do the. You know, I am always upfront with everybody about my diagnosis when I'm trying to sleep with them, but I also had to hold space for the possibility, because there is so much. The n***a who wrote those poems is dying in his mind. It takes a while in the book, very late, for the idea of living to feel possible. I have a lot more poems now that are going to make it in later collections that are more about what it actually means to live with HIV. Maybe the question of Don't Call Us Dead is not what is to live with HIV but what does HIV mean, and what does it mean to be made aware. The poems are more about diagnosis and seroconversion than they are about what it means to be a bitch that's had it for 10-20 years and is living their life -- than what it means to actually walk with it and not live in fear of it. DS: I was diagnosed in April 2014. April 30: I remember that. A lot of the poems that made it into the book were poems that were written closer to my diagnosis, which means that I was thinking about my mortality in a major way, even though I knew, because I had done my research, that I don't have to die. But at the same, touching your possible death in some way or being made aware of your own mortality in a different way is shell shocking. I went through the depression that is common for folk first finding out they are positive. The more I learn to live with my own complexity and contradictions, the more I'm willing to also allow those contradictions to be seen in the work. Danez Smith: A more mature and self-aware self. I was trying divide [Insert] Boy into categories. What I realized is that you can't really separate all your "black poems" from your "gay poems" because you be black and gay at the same time, and they be popping up on each other, or they influence too much. I learned this lesson again in a different way with Don't Call Us Dead because it was two books: one was more focused along the line of thought about police brutality, and violence, and racism in America and the other was more about queerness, HIV, and sexuality. Don't Call Us Dead wouldn't be what it is if it were either of those conversations happening isolated. Jamal Lewis: I read in a previous interview where you said, "You can't divide the body without ruining it," and I wonder, is there a difference in the self you brought into Don't Call Us Dead that is not present in earlier works? Danez Smith doesn't mince words. As a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for his second book, Don't Call Us Dead , Smith has chosen to paint literary pictures of life as a black, queer, HIV-positive person living in the world. Smith spoke to me about his work, and the following excerpt of that interview is being published on TheBody to celebrate National Poetry Month. JL: What do you think the role of poetry today is in the HIV/AIDS activism world now centered on class ascension? How do you see your work connected to the lineage of black queer literature and activism like In the Life, Brother to Brother, and Other Countries? DS: There was energy around those '80s and early '90s conversations that felt different when looking at the scope of poetry. I was cleaning my house the other day, and I picked up Brother to Brother, and so much of that work is about us -- it's about black queer folk -- and because of the time it was written, it is about HIV. It'd be dishonest to make a collection of black queer writings today if there weren't a significant amount of work around HIV because it still affects our community like, whoa. But I think it's weird, and I didn't really realize this, but I have homies telling me that, as my book is coming out, I'm one of few black queer writers publishing right now that is talking about this as forwardly and uncoded. There are some folks who, if you read the work, you have to be in the know a little bit to be able to see. They mention Atripla [efavirenz/tenofovir/FTC] here, and if you know what Atripla is, then you know what the poem is about. I think it's weird to be writing about this thing that I know so many people live with, but not to see that narrative pulled out a lot in writing. I wonder how much of that is from stigma. I wonder how much of that is urgency. I wonder how those two things play into each other. I wonder how much medical culture and undetectableness has changed our relationship to it in writing, too. It is two different conversations. I do know so many writers who are positive, and it's like, wow, there is a community here, but it's not mourning in the same way. You mention class ascension, and it's funny, too, because it's inescapable from what you said. All the poems I'm writing now about HIV are actually about class. I can afford these pills. This is the n***a I know that can't. Or where stigma keeps him from even wanting to go get a test, and I can see this n***a is wasting away. He doesn't want to go get a test because that means health care and because it is expensive. The poetics of it has to have a different conversation, because we are having to have a different conversation nowadays. My hope is that more people who live with HIV, or who have HIV as part of their lives in some way, do write about it. The "silence is death" thing is huge, and I wonder what would happen if we as black queer poets would address this more urgently in our writing. But that's not to say that folks don't. JL: Folks are addressing it, but time, space, and location are very important factors in understanding how it spills over on the page. Writing in the '80s and early '90s confronted mortality in a different way. DS: One thing that HIV/AIDS did was that it made sure that this conversation, in many ways, always stayed with new voices because a lot of people didn't mature into the later parts of their career. You read queer zines, you read anthologies, and you find (which is sort of the sad part) some folks where it is three poems and then nothing. No first collection. No second collection if they have one. And this is because [HIV] took so many people so young. What happened with a lot of queer poets and writers writing about HIV is that we don't have access to our ancestors in living, breathing ways, which then makes it difficult to explore the fullness of a conversation as to what it means to have a poetics be different at two different points of time. I'm thankful forever that D.A. Powell is still in the world, and I love him, but the fact that we don't have access to Essex or Assotto, and so many writers that I have questions for that I can't -- or I have to find my answers in what they have left for us. I think it's a different time. And what I think is different, too, is that (this is completely opposite of what I'm saying) we are writing about it, but also black queer writers have a higher profile than we did back in those days, too, and so we're not writing into shadows; our writing is in demand in poetry right now, and I think that's a very free thing. I'm excited to see what happens with that. It's a very interesting class of black gay/queer writers, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s, and I think it's going to be interesting to watch 10-15 years as we all start to mature and get older. It's going to be fun. JL: I'm often angered by Essex Hemphill's lack of an archive other than Ceremonies, Earth Life, and other things scattered around us, possibly present at the Schomburg Center for Black Research and other places. There is such a weird tension between the public that are fans of his work and met him that way and his family that reared him but also cared for him in his death. I hate that we have no access to this archive or that we may never have access to it because his estate is in the hands of a family who is wrestling with what it meant for him to be black and gay. I'm curious to know what are the questions you have for him? DS: I have questions around his relationship to the erotic and the divine, and how I see those two going hand in hand. Or what they have to teach each other. I want to know how he would see today. I want marching orders from him. He was such a brilliant, political mind that was also so enamored with love and tenderness. I feel like it's a time. I want to know how he would have laid a hand in the Black Lives Matter movement. I want to know how he would reposition us. I have been having a lot of thoughts about the necessity of enclaves or what we do with our smaller communities as this bigger shit tends to be falling apart. Essex always had an eye on the tribe in a really beautiful way. I just want to lay at his feet for a little bit, ask him all the random questions that come to my mind, and just hear him talk. Cause that's the thing, I don't know what question I have that is worthy of him, but I do want to be sort of greedy in that way and just take in his voice. JL: How do you bring your work back home to Minneapolis, to your family, your cousins? DS: I'm proud of my family. There are a lot of different conversations -- both between ourselves and about our personal relationships, and also about the world -- we were able to have a couple years ago. My family has really blessed me, and they see me as an adult now and lean on me for things, which feels important. I just try to keep it as real and honest with them as I can, and try to translate the world as best I can to them. My family is older, and there's not a lot of young folks in my family. I am one of the youngest on my mom's side. I'm really just trying to be a better caregiver in my family and start to step into that role more as folks in my family get older and their bodies change, or maybe they pass away. There is a lot more physically that I have to take up, in the family, being a young, able-bodied person that can come over and do the 80,000 chores that a 70 year old cannot. That's the way that I'm starting to take up space, to just be there, which I think is the greatest kind political act. JL: Simply powerful and moving. One of the things I want to do better in 2018 is learn new ways to care for my family and friends as a love language, especially care that is about presence. And not a presence that looks towards digital interventions in the meantime, but presence that is someone showing up to clean your house, to cook you a meal, to rub your feet, to wash your body when you are unable to. I hope that we might be able to talk about how to care for each other in those ways as people whose bodies and histories carry what it carries. Given that, what is something you want to say in the work or the world that you haven't said? DS: I would leave folks with one little thing that I have been chewing on for the last year or two, which is thinking about the ways to make our lives as small as possible. So much of American ambition had me for so long thinking about the bigness of everything and wanting more -- to multiply, to magnify (ugh they be saying that in church so much). [giggles] I think there is a blessing in smallness and closeness. And it has a lot to do with care. What is the smallest way in which you have the biggest change and impact? Like you were saying, we get so caught up in fighting these big topic issues, and that type of change feels so far away. How do you pour yourself into being massive in a way that can be felt even by a few? That's one of the most powerful things we can do as humans. Think small. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. It's no secret that when it comes to sex, an HIV diagnosis has been known to throw a wrench in the works. But navigating this new landscape is possible -- with the right information and support. Allison Carter talks sexual satisfaction with two HIV-positive women. Now Margarite describes her sex life as more relaxed and spontaneous, free from her previous worries about passing HIV. This medical strategy of treatment as prevention, she points out, has de-medicalized her sexuality. "It was really nice, for once in our relationship, to have one less obstacle between us," Margarite says. The problem wasn't so much the physical barrier of the condom, but what it signified. "To have something lifted, instead of another concern added on top, felt really good." But times are changing, and so is Margarite. Science now shows that it is possible for people living with HIV who take their medication as prescribed and maintain an undetectable viral load to have condomless sex without risk of passing HIV. This reality is captured by the slogan U=U (undetectable=untransmittable). After 15 years of using condoms religiously with no viral breakthrough, Margarite and her husband decided, as a couple, to do without them. Margarite was also fully menopausal at that time and in a long-term, monogamous relationship, so she wasn't worried about getting pregnant or getting other sexually transmitted infections. A small but growing number of studies document such feelings and the impact of HIV on women's sexuality and sexual well-being. A 2017 review of surveys involving 11,552 women living with HIV around the world found that after being diagnosed, it is common for women to experience reduced pleasure during sex. Fear of transmitting HIV to their partners, anxiety and depression, and broader societal stigma and discrimination are just some of the factors that can put a damper on the deed. Never feeling safe enough, it seems, is a common theme. But her husband wouldn't hear of it. "Why should I leave the best relationship of my life?" he said. Margarite goes on to reveal something that many women with HIV have experienced as a barrier to achieving a pleasurable and satisfying sex life: her huge fear of transmitting HIV. This is not to say that Margarite didn't face challenges after being diagnosed. "I went through all those things women go through," she says. "At first I felt like I was damaged goods. I told my husband to leave. I figured I would be alone for the rest of my life. I just didn't think there would be much more of that." Sex, she explains. Margarite Sanchez , a self-described artist, activist and agriculturist who lives on Salt Spring Island, was in her mid-30s when she was diagnosed with HIV. She was newly married at the time, with a partner who was HIV negative. Today, at 60 years young, she is still in that relationship, and her partner is still HIV negative. He is also a loving and caring husband and father to their two children. Their life is good, Margarite tells me. And sex is a very important part of their relationship. Valerie Nicholson is 62 years old and lives in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. She is an Indigenous woman and a proud grandmother. Like Margarite, Valerie describes the scientific discovery of U=U as liberating -- not only when it comes to her ability to have close relationships with an HIV-negative partner but also for how she feels about herself as a sexual being. But the changes she went through to get to this point -- the kind that happen internally and externally -- didn't happen overnight. "When I was first diagnosed, I don't think my sexuality changed at all," Valerie says, "because I wasn't really dealing with it." She was in a relationship at the time, and it was in that relationship that she acquired HIV. She was also struggling with substance use. She describes her sex life back then as routine: "Do drugs, have sex, do drugs, have sex." The drugs, she says, numbed any feelings she had about her diagnosis and about her sense of sexual well-being. Valerie decided to stay in that relationship because she felt it was easy even though, she says, "it was an abusive relationship." But the risks of having to disclose her HIV status to someone new, which could open up a whole host of different harms, felt greater to her at the time than the dangers of staying with her partner. "It's kind of a weird feeling," Valerie says, reflecting on the tensions she faced. And, unfortunately, it's one that far too many women have to grapple with. Of the 1,422 women who participated in the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS), 80 percent reported having experienced some form of violence and 67 percent said they believe that most people with HIV are rejected when others learn of their status. Over 50 percent reported suffering from depression. These social factors -- violence, stigma and depression -- can increase stress levels and greatly affect women's sexuality, reducing both sexual desire and arousal as well as increasing pain and anxiety with sex. On the flip side, this means that women's sexual well-being can be improved if their social context is improved. When I ask Valerie about her experiences with sex and sexuality today, she replies, with joyful laughter, "Well, that's changed a lot." For many years after leaving her abusive relationship, she immersed herself in her HIV research and advocacy work and became known and much loved for her activism and her teaching as an Elder. This work led her to re-evaluate what it could look like and how it could feel to be single, HIV positive and happy with her sex life. "I had my toys, of course," Valerie says confidently, "because it was easier to have a toy than a man some days." Valerie has since started dating again and has enjoyed a few meaningful relationships, with both HIV-positive and HIV-negative men. Currently, she is rekindling a romance from her past. Whether it's because of a new partner, a broader range of sexual activities or her reduced self-criticism and shame, she finds it much easier to climax during sex nowadays. She also attributes her newfound sexual freedom to U=U. And she's not alone. Many women she has spoken to describe "getting a piece of their sexual life back." What's clear in both Valerie and Margarite's stories -- and likely those of many other women -- is that women are on a sexual journey. From coming of age to the golden years, dating to marriage to divorce, diagnosis to today, women's experiences of love, sex and relationships are diverse and always evolving. There is not one path, but rather, many paths. What advice do Margarite and Valerie have for other women who are newly diagnosed and struggling with their sexuality? "It will get better," Margarite says assuredly. "When you're first diagnosed you go through all these feelings -- you feel that no one is going to want you, that you're never going to want to have sex again. But once you start to regain your confidence in living life, get your health straightened out and become stable on your medications, there's absolutely no reason why you can't live a complete and fulfilling life in every facet, including your sexuality." Valerie, reflecting on her journey, says: "You're a woman first. HIV is just something that you're living with. You could be living with a cold, cancer or the flu -- it doesn't matter. You're a woman first. And we have to honour ourselves as women." In terms of supports, both women emphasize the importance of having a safe place to talk with other women about sex and sexual pleasure. "I really envy gay men," Valerie says, "because they often talk more openly about sex." This contrasts with traditional female roles in which women are taught to keep their experiences and issues related to sex a secret, behind closed doors. Such talk is necessary, Margarite and Valerie say, for women to know that they're not alone and to chart the course of their own sexual fulfilment. Allison Carter is an HIV-negative ally conducting sex-positive research with Margarite, Valerie and other women living with HIV. She is also working with them to create a new online resource dedicated to building conversation and community around sexuality and relationships for women and couples living with HIV: www.lifeandlovewithhiv.ca. [Note from TheBody: This article was originally published by CATIE in April 2018. We have cross-posted it with their permission.] English Latvian Riga, 2018-04-27 13:29 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The first Supervisory Council meeting of AS Baltic Telekom was held where Guntis Lauskis was elected as chairman of the Supervisory Council and Arta Snipe as his deputy. Guntis Lauskis has acquired master degree in law at University of Latvia and also MBA at Riga Technical University. He is sworn attorney, currently practicing in Law Office Spridzans, previously was engaged with SAO Rektina un Mieze. He does not own shares of AS Baltic Telekom. Arta Snipe has acquired LLM degree in law at Riga Graduate School of Law and currently is doctor student at Turiba University. Since 2016 she is head of sworn attorney office Amicus Curiae, previously she sworn attorney and partner in sworn attorney office iLAW. She does not own shares of AS Baltic Telekom. Anda Rektina has acquired M.LL.P. degree at Humbolt Univerity in Berlin and since 2010 she is sworn attorney at SAO Rektina un Mieze. She does not own shares of AS Baltic Telekom. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Venzee Technologies Inc. (TSX-V:VENZ) ("Venzee" or the "Company") reports that it has filed its audited financial statements and related managements discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017. Both are available under the Companys profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Kate Hiscox, President of Venzee states, 2017 was a transformative year for Venzee as it finished its commercialization and completed the go public transaction in late December which allowed Venzee to commence large scale marketing and sales initiatives in January 2018. We are very pleased with the results to date and continue to see strong industry acceptance by both retailers and suppliers which puts Venzee is a very strong position to grab significant market share. First quarter financials will be posted before the end of May 2018 and the Company will host a conference call to discuss Q1 results followed by a Q&A period. About Venzee Venzee is a SaaS (software as a service) company that launched in 2014 to help e-commerce vendors and retailers easily share product information in a US$23 trillion retail industry (source: Statista). Traditionally, this was achieved by using spreadsheets, which created a labor-intensive, error inducing process that delayed products from reaching the marketplace. Venzees technology streamlines product information management, allowing vendors and retailers to seamlessly share information, avoiding delays and getting products to market faster than ever. To learn more about Venzee, visit https://venzee.com. On Behalf of the Board, Peter Mackay, CEO Contact Investor Relations Caleb Jeffries Investor Relations, Kin Communications Inc. 1-866-684-6730 VENZ@kincommunications.com Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the execution of the Companys growth strategy. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; and regulatory risks. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained under Risk Factors in the Companys filing statement dated December 12, 2017, which is available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and in other filings that the Company has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The three-day Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam festival will take place August 31 September 2, 2018 and will be headlined by Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, and Thomas Rhett Recent weeks have seen Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line take to the UK charts with hit song Meant To Be. Last week, the American country duo, Florida Georgia Line, were announced as headliners of Panama City Beachs annual country music festival, the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam More than 64,000 music fans are expected to attend the festival, which was recently included in Billboard Magazines The 10 Best Country Music Festivals feature. As well as world-class country music, festival goers can enjoy 27 miles of pristine beaches, two state parks and endless attractions on Floridas northwest coast. 3-day general admission tickets are on sale now and cost from 215. For more information visit: http://www.gulfcoastjam.com/ Get there: America As You Like It offer a 7 night trip to Panama City Beach from 1429.00 per person including return flights from London Heathrow to Panama City via Houston with United Airlines, 7 days economy car hire and 7 nights at the Hampton Inn at Pier Park. Price based on two people sharing. For more information contact 020 8742 8299, sales@americaasyoulikeit.com or visit www.americaasyoulikeit.com English Lithuanian The Annual General Meeting of APRANGA APB (hereinafter Company) shareholders held on 27 April 2018 has resolved the following: 1. Consolidated annual report on the activities of the Company in 2017. Resolution: Taken for the information consolidated annual report of the Company for the year 2017, prepared by the Company, assessed by the auditors and approved by the Board. 2. Auditor's report on the Companys financial statements and annual report. Resolution: Taken for the information. 3. Approval of the Consolidated and Companys financial statements for the year 2017. Resolution: Approve the annual Consolidated and Companys financial statements for the year 2017 (Annex 1). 4. Company's profit (loss) allocation for the year 2017. Resolution: Approve the Company's profit allocation for the year 2017 (Annex 2). 5. Election of firm of auditors and establishment of the terms of remuneration for audit services. Resolution: Elect UAB ERNST & YOUNG BALTIC as APB APRANGA firm of auditors for the year 2018. Set the amount of the fee payable for audit services for the year 2018 - not more than EUR 23 000 (twenty-three thousand euros) plus VAT. Authorize the Company's General Director to sign the audit services agreement with firm of auditors. 6. Election of board members. Resolution: Elect members of the board of the Company for new 4-year term from the candidates nominated by Companys main shareholder (UAB MG Baltic Investment, which has more than 50% of votes): 6.1. Darius Juozas Mockus; 6.2. Vidas Lazickas; 6.3. Marijus Stroncikas; 6.4. Rimantas Perveneckas; 6.5. Ilona Simkuniene; 6.6. Ramunas Gaidamavicius. 7. Amendment of the Companys Articles of Association. Resolution: 7.1. To amend Article 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3 of the Companys Articles of Association and word it as follows: 10.1 The Companys notice of convocation of the General Meeting shall be published by Manager of the company in the manner defined in the Law on Securities of the Republic of Lithuania. 10.2. The periodical and current information defined in the Law on Securities of the Republic of Lithuania (including disclosure of inside information) which the Company should disclose shall be announced in the manner defined in the mentioned law. 10.3. Other information and notices not indicated in Clause 10.1 and 10.2 which the Company should announce publicly shall be announced in the electronic publication published by the registrar of legal entities for announcement of public notices. In cases when notices cannot be announced in such publication due to technical obstacles, such notices shall be announced in the daily Lietuvos rytas. 7.2. To approve to new edition of Companys Articles of Association according to amendments listed above (Annex 3). 7.3. To authorize the Director General of the Company Rimantas Perveneckas to sign the new edition of Companys Articles of Association, granting the right to delegate. 8. Change of Companys residence address. Resolution: 8.1. To change Companys residence address and register new address at Ukmerges street 362, Vilnius City, Vilnius City Municipality. 8.2. Authorize the Company's Director General to register change of residence address according to applicable laws, granting the right to delegate. 9. Amendment of Charter of Audit Committee. Resolution: 9.1. To amend Clause 2.8. of the Charter of Audit Committee and word it as follows: 2.8. Remuneration may be set for Committee members for their activity in the Committee. The amount of remuneration and payment procedure is set by Board. ENCLOSED: Annex No.1. Consolidated and Companys financial statements for the year 2017; Annex No.2. Company's profit allocation for the year 2017; Annex No.3. Articles of Association of the Company. Rimantas Perveneckas Apranga Group Director General +370 5 2390801 Attachments His family released a statement today saying: "Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions. An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress. When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most music. He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace. Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight. Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed. The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive. We love you, Your family." VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. , April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labelling holds immense significance in the healthcare industry and laboratories, owing to the crucial information contained by the industry components ensuring the safety of their usage and alerts about the associated risks. A new research report recently published by Future Market Insights has come up with the key insights on the global healthcare and laboratory labels market . According to the exhaustive research report, titled Healthcare & Laboratory Labels Market Global Industry Analysis 2013-2017 and Opportunity Assessment 2018-2028, the market is expected to progress steadily at the rate of 4.6% during the forecast period, reaching a market value of over US$ 8,300 Mn by the end of 2028. Global Healthcare and Laboratory Labels Market: Segmental Analysis The report divides the global market for healthcare and laboratory labels into the materials used for labeling of healthcare and laboratory labels. Paper is revealed to be the leading segment which is expected to reach a market value of over US$ 5,100 Mn by the end of 2028. However, the future of the global healthcare and laboratory labels market also holds fastest growth rate for polyester in the upcoming years, which is anticipated to register a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period. The report also projects a clear and in-depth scenario of the market in different regions. According to the regional analysis, North America is expected to account for the highest value by the end of 2028. However, in terms of growth rate, India is expected to showcase growth at the fastest pace, registering a stellar CAGR of 7.3% during the forecast period. Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-6624 Global Healthcare and Laboratory Labels Market: Trends The report provides in-depth assessment of the key trends observed in the global healthcare and laboratory labels market, which are most likely to influence the market growth throughout the forecast period. The rising need for advanced pharmaceutical products for improved healthcare services has led to the development of new drugs and formulations, boosting the clinical research market in Europe. This trend is anticipated to create sustainable market opportunity for pharmaceutical labels, primarily due to the dominant presence of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the European and Asia Pacific region. Preview of Healthcare & Laboratory Labels Market Segmentation by Product type-Pharmaceutical, Nutraceutical, Medical Devices, Blood Bank, Hospital Services, Laboratory Labels; Material- Nylon, Polyester, Polyolefin, Vinyl, Paper and Others; Region- North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, SEA & Pacific, India, China, Japan, Middle East, and Africa: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/healthcare-laboratory-labels-market Such dynamic trends of global healthcare and laboratory labels market are also expected to bring barcoding into limelight. Barcoding with cryogenic vials is expected to come into existence with growing importance of products that are easily visible and identifiable. Barcode labels include printed characteristics on either side of the cryogenic vials that enhances readability to consumers. Cryogenic vial barcode scanning eliminates issues caused while identifying the stored content and eliminates duplicity of the sample as well. The market trends mentioned in the report have also highlighted the companies that are efficient enough to rule the market in the projection period. Some of the leading companies mentioned in the report are Multi-Color Corporation, UPM Raflatac, BRADY Germany, Diagramm Halbach GmbH & Co. KG, Schreiner Group GmbH & Co., The Aenova Group, Weber Packaging Solutions, and Adampak Private Limited. Our advisory services are aimed at helping you with specific, customized insights that are relevant to your specific challenges. Let us know about your challenges and our trusted advisors will connect with you: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-6624 More from FMIs Packaging Market: Rotomolded Containers Market Segmentation By Material Type - Polyethylene (PE),Polypropylene (PP),Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC),Polyamide (PA),Others; By Product Type Cases,Tanks,IBCs,Trays,Others; By End Use Type - Consumer Electronics,Material Handling,Chemicals & Fertilizers,Food & Beverages Processing,Petroleum & Lubricants,Others: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/potomolded-containers-market Octabin Market Segmentation By Product Type - Standard octabins,Base discharge octabins,Self-assembly octabins,Telescopic octabins,Free flow base octabins; By End Use Type - Food industry,Consumer Goods,Chemical industry,Others; By Capacity Type Standard,Customized: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/octabins-market About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Browse More: Packaging Market Contact Us SANDAL PLC ("Sandal" or the "Company") SHARE BUY-BACK AND NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING 27 APRIL 2018 The Board of Sandal is pleased to announce that the Company has reached agreement in principle with one of its shareholders, Greenbrook Industries Limited ("GBI") for GBI to provide to the Company a term loan of up to 500,000 (the "Loan"). The commercial terms of the Loan include that it will bear interest at a rate of 7% per annum (accruing daily) and that the Loan will be repaid in full on or before 28 February 2025. As part of the commercial conditions for advancing the Loan, GBI requires that the Company acquires 862,068 ordinary shares of 0.02 each in the capital of the Company (the "Shares") for a total aggregate consideration of 249,999.70 (the "Consideration"). The Consideration will be satisfied from the distributable profits of the Company (as opposed to from its capital or the proceeds of a fresh issued of shares) but will be financed by using part of the Loan. Following the advance of the Loan in full the Company will have an additional 250,000.30 (less costs of the acquisition of the Shares other than the Consideration) to invest in its business. It is anticipated that these sums will be used for development expenses and new product launches. It is therefore proposed that the Company enter into an off-market agreement GBI, to purchase from GBI the Shares for the Consideration (the "Purchase Agreement"). Once these shares have been purchased, it is proposed that they be cancelled. It is anticipated that the utilisation of the Loan amount (net of costs of the buy-back of the Shares) to be provided by GBI to the Company, together with the reduction in the issued share capital of the Company will result in an increase in its earnings per share. Until GBI has entered into legally binding agreements with the Company there can be no guarantee that the advance of the Loan or the Company's acquisition of the Shares will complete. It is currently anticipated that the legally binding agreements will be entered into on or before 30 June 2018. A circular has been posted to shareholders today convening a General Meeting to be held at 10.30am on 16 May 2018 at the offices of Edwin Coe LLP, 2 Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, London WC2A 3TH, at which a resolution will be proposed to approve the purchase of the Shares. A copy of this circular will be shortly available on the Company's website: http://www.sandal-plc.co.uk/reg-info.html This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. The directors of Sandal Plc accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. Ends Enquiries: Sandal Plc 01279 422022 Alan Tadd, CEO Oliver Tadd, Director www.sandal-plc.co.uk Cairn Financial Advisers LLP David Coffman/Jo Turner 020 7213 0880 MB Communications Maxine Barnes 07860 489571 Notes to editors: Sandal plc commenced business in 1996 and joined NEX in March 2015. The Company designs, develops and manufactures consumer electronics products. Its business is divided into two distinct product groups, PowerConnections, a long established wholesaler and reseller of a successful and patented range of converter plugs and power cables, and Energenie, which sells a newer product range that includes energy saving products, portable charging devices and the new Energenie MiHome range of products aimed at the "Home Automation" and "Internet of Things" marketplace. The range of Energenie MiHome home automation products makes the remote operation of everyday household appliances and energy monitoring more accessible through integration with smartphone and tablet connectivity. The Energenie MiHome range is also integrated with the major players in the home automation market including Google Nest and Amazon Echo. Energenie MiHome products are available through a number of mainstream retailers including Amazon, Argos and Sainsbury's. In addition Energenie also offers Eco and electrical, travel and energy saving products for homes and offices, reducing energy usage and the Home Automation sector. It has store listings for its current products with several large retailers including Homebase, Amazon, Screwfix, Toolstation and ASDA. PowerConnections is a supplier to customers, in the UK and abroad, of single-phase electrical connection products. The products are manufactured in three partner factories in the Far East and have distributors worldwide for its range of patented converter plugs. The Company's product portfolio consists of International Power Leads, Rewireable Plugs, Converters and Connectors. These products are stocked in the Far East, Australia and UK. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 08:24 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0d7a5a 4 Editorial #Editorial,ASEAN,#ASEAN,Rohingya,#RohingyaCrisis,Rohingya-Muslims,humanitarian-crisis,Myanmar,Aung-San-Suu-Kyi Free The absence of Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi from this weekends 32nd ASEAN summit in Singapore is alarming because it signals that Myanmar may return to its previous isolationist policy. The Rohingya problem is very likely the reason behind her non-attendance at the bi-annual meeting. The newly sworn-in President Win Myint will represent Suu Kyi, who has not explained her absence. However, during the recent ASEAN-Australia summit in Sydney, other leaders pressed her on the Rohingya issue. Nevertheless she has declined to join the regional meeting amid mounting global pressure and condemnation of the systematic and massive assault on the Rohingya, which the United Nations human rights chief regards as acts of genocide. The well-orchestrated scenario by the military to ethnically cleanse Rakhine of the minority ethnic group has also angered the world. Suu Kyi should recall what she said in her delayed Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 11 years after she received the award in 1991. I thought of that great mass of the uprooted of the earth who have been torn away from their homes, parted from families and friends [and] forced to live out their lives among strangers who are not always welcoming. The Rohingya now are facing the same misery. As the current ASEAN chair, Singapore could invite the heads of state to discuss a new approach on Myanmar during their retreat. Along with the host, Singapores Prime Minister Hsien Loong Lee, we urge President Joko Jokowi Widodo to share his views and experience from his diplomatic engagement on the Rohingya. Consciously or unconsciously, ASEAN members tend to judge the humanitarian tragedy only from their own perspectives or interests. Now they need to be more willing to listen to Suu Kyis difficulties in dealing with the powerful military. Harsh words, boycotts, threats and humiliation alone will only harden the hatred in Myanmar against the Rohingya minority, regarded by many Myanmar people as illegal Bengalis. ASEAN needs to consider more intensive participation by Buddhist-majority member states Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in dealing with Myanmar, especially their Buddhist leaders. Naturally they will empathize more with the majority Myanmar population, who are also Buddhists. The Myanmar people are largely faithful in practicing their faith; and Buddhism teaches peace, love, tolerance and respect for human dignity. Concerted persuasive efforts to convince the Myanmar people should be based on deep trust by both sides. Overcoming the humanitarian crisis should involve the whole nation. Military generals from the four countries and also from Indonesia need to hold regular exchanges of views with Myanmars military leaders to share their experiences in facing domestic unrest. Many international organizations and countries have expressed an interest in providing all necessary assistance to enable the Rohingya to return home. ASEAN is in the right position to coordinate these inter-country efforts. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Vasuki Shastry (The Jakarta Post) London Fri, April 27, 2018 09:46 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0dfb19 3 Opinion reformasi,Indonesia,#Indonesia,economy,politics Free Two decades ago, Indonesia was on the cusp of becoming a failed state. Southeast Asias largest nation looked like a splintering Yugoslavia on steroids. Indonesia was buckling under a triple tsunami the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, a devastating El Nino drought and social unrest, which toppled president Soeharto. Famine looked imminent and Indonesias neighbors were preparing for long regional instability, a replay perhaps of the bloody Vietnam era. The worlds largest archipelagic collection of islands, diverse ethnicities and beliefs and a population of 260 million only magnified the risks. The fact that none of these fears materialized and Indonesia two decades later is a thriving democracy with a stable economy is a tribute to its political leaders, policymakers, and ultimately its people. Faced with near collapse, they responded with maturity and audacity. As illiberal democracy and one-man rule is becoming the norm, Indonesia is the stand-out exception by proving it is possible to be the worlds largest Muslim nation and simultaneously embrace democracy and globalization. Indonesias remarkable political and economic transformation, imperfect in many ways and still a work in progress, has received little global attention. This proves what I have been told over the years that Indonesia is the largest country which very few people have heard of. What was the secret sauce which enabled Indonesia to transform and thrive, while many other nations, notably in the Middle East, have failed in the difficult transition from revolution to good governance? Indonesias secret sauce, in my view, is composed of three Ds democracy, decentralization and development. Democracy was not a new concept for Indonesians when they started debating the post-Soeharto political architecture. The 1945 Constitution provided important protections for human rights and the formation of political parties, protections subsequently undermined by presidents Sukarno and Soeharto in their combined five-decade stewardship of the country. Yet when the time came in 1998 for Indonesias fractious leadership to determine the countrys post-1998 political architecture, they had no hesitation in embracing democracy, built on the foundational principles of fixed terms for the president, a fully-elected parliament which would exercise legislative powers, and a free press. Indonesia has had four successful presidential and parliamentary elections since 1999, with the fifth scheduled for next year. Although electioneering has become more toxic and divisive, Indonesias democratic process is still a sight to behold. Indonesians will acknowledge that it was not democracy alone which helped embed stability, decentralization played an equally critical role. The defining feature of the Dutch colonial period and the Sukarno-Soeharto eras was over-centralization of power. This became unsustainable in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Soeharto dominant Java and Jakarta had to share power with the countrys large periphery. Indonesian leaders feared that in the absence of a grand political and fiscal bargain with 27 provinces and over 300 regencies and cities, the center would not hold and the unitary state would be undermined. East Timor had voted to secede in 1999 in a bloody referendum and uppermost in the mind of then president BJ Habibie and his successors was to ensure that other provinces did not follow. In a political master-stroke, they decided that power would be devolved to regencies and municipalities rather than the provinces. This has enabled Jakarta to retain political leverage with the provinces, curbing secessionist tendencies. Elections have been held successfully at the ground level, throwing up new leaders like President Joko Jokowi Widodo, whose impactful stewardship of a small Central Java town captured the imagination of Indonesia and catapulted him to the highest office of the land in 2014. Voters have repeatedly demonstrated little fealty to provincial governors, all-powerful during the Soeharto era, and have placed their faith in home-grown leaders like the President, whom they hold accountable for good governance. While decentralization has served as the glue holding the country together, it has been a mixed blessing in other areas. Resources for development are fragmented, particularly for desperately needed infrastructure, and more than a few local leaders have shown a proclivity for building trophy projects and poor governance. Indonesias report card since the fall of Soeharto will show a few As for building secure democratic foundations and a scattering of Bs, Cs, and even Ds in many areas needing radical improvement. Three areas needing radical improvement, which I call the three Cs, are combating corruption, dealing with climate change and fostering an inclusive culture. The country has a strong institutional framework in dealing with corruption via an independent Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). which has shown little hesitation in going after corrupt political leaders and bureaucrats. The KPK has, however, become a victim of its own success with the parliament making successive efforts in diluting its remit and independence. President Jokowi, elected in 2014 on a platform to combat corruption, should stand up to his political peers by protecting the independence of the KPK. Corruption has enabled the destroying of vast swathes of Kalimantan rainforests and Indonesias timid response represents a major setback for global efforts to combat climate change. Like the Amazon, Kalimantan could be a giant factory to capture carbon and contribute to climate mitigation like few other countries can. Indonesias climate strategy has been half-hearted with serious implementation gaps. Protecting Indonesias rainforests, if done well, could be the most powerful manifestation of the countrys soft power. Speaking at the University of Indonesia in 2010, then United States president Barack Obama waxed nostalgic about his childhood in Jakarta and proclaimed that in the years since the country had charted its own course through an extraordinary democratic transformation from the rule of the iron fist to the rule of the people. He added that the spirit of tolerance, as written in the Constitution, is the foundation to Indonesias example to the world. Indonesias inclusive culture, fostered by each of its post-1998 presidents is at risk because of divisive politics fuelled by increased religiosity and dog-whistle politics. The jailing last year of Jakartas former Chinese-Indonesian Christian governor over spurious blasphemy charges is a sign that next years elections will be vicious in tone and messaging. President Jokowi, still incredibly popular if opinion polls are to be believed, has the historic task of fighting divisive politics and remaining true to his vision of an open and inclusive Indonesia. If he fails, the doomsayers of 1998 will be back. *** The writer, a former journalist who covered the fall of Soeharto, is the author of Resurgent Indonesia From Crisis to Confidence. He lives in London and works for Standard Chartered Bank. Views expressed in the article are personal. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin - (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Fri, April 27, 2018 Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H Laoly inaugurated the Immigration Checkpoint (TPI) at Marina Ancol Pier, Jakarta on Wednesday. In his speech, Yasonna said TPI Marina Ancol Pier was expected to facilitate services for foreign tourists who want to travel to Indonesia, especially Jakarta. "As the President expects, we will continue to provide services to the public, especially in regard to looking after foreign guests who travel to Indonesia," said Yasonna. West Jakarta Special Class I Immigration Office collaborated with PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol in establishing TPI Marina Ancol Pier. Yasonna expressed the hope that TPI could increase the number of visits by foreign-owned yachts. He added that their presence could affect the economy of the local community because the owners of yachts generally are higher-income tourists. "We are trying to initiate collaboration with Ancol. Weve opened [TPI] here because there already are yachts, foreign guests, who come here so were facilitating them with TPI Marina Ancol Pier, "he explained. . (./.) Jakarta Law and Human Rights Agency head Bambang Sumardiono said the operation of TPI Marina Ancol Pier was implemented based on Ministerial Decree No. 3/2018 issued in March. "All this time, many cruise ships that entered or transited in Indonesia anchored in Tanjung Priok Port, while Tanjung Priok is a freight port. So from now on cruise ships are expected to be transferred to Ancol," he said. In attendance at the inauguration were ministry secretary general Bambang Rantam Sariwanto, Director General of Immigration Ronny F Sompie, Jakarta provincial secretary Saefullah and PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol president director C. Paul Tehusijarana. TORONTO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT) (TSX:REF.UN) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50% interest in a development parcel in Toronto, Ontario to develop a purpose-built rental project. The property is approximately 0.9 acres, located at 27 Grosvenor Street/26 Grenville Street, near the intersection of Yonge Street and College Street (the Property). The Property is in an exceptional location that is within walking distance to College TTC subway station, the University of Toronto, the hospital network and the downtown financial core. The Property is being acquired in partnership with Greenwin Inc. (Greenwin) as part of the first phase of the Provincial Affordable Housing Lands Program, which was established to leverage provincial land assets in order to develop a mix of market and affordable housing across the Province of Ontario. CREIT and Greenwin plan to deliver a two-tower, purpose-built rental community with approximately 700 units, 30% of which will be maintained as affordable rental housing for a period of 40 years. The closing of the acquisition of the Property is scheduled to occur in the first half of 2019. Typical due diligence conditions have been satisfied and the agreement is subject only to severance and other standard closing conditions. Cary Green, Chairman of Greenwin, said, Our city is in need of affordable housing and we are excited to partner with the Ministry of Housing and the City of Toronto to deliver on this important objective in creating sustainable, affordable housing in a mixed-income setting. Together, with our partner CREIT, we are looking forward to executing on this unique opportunity. Rael Diamond, President and Chief Operating Officer of CREIT, added, We are delighted to enter into another partnership with Greenwin on this well-located property. Development projects of this calibre are difficult to acquire, so we are very pleased to have the opportunity to add this project to our development pipeline. About Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust CREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating and aggressively managing a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to unitholders. The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing monthly cash distribution. CREIT owns a diversified portfolio of retail, industrial, office and residential properties. About Greenwin Greenwin is one of Canadas largest privately owned, full-service property management and development firms. Headquartered in Toronto, Greenwin is known as a leader in multi-family housing, non-profit and affordable housing, social housing and commercial properties. Greenwins portfolio includes more than 15,000 residential units and 1,000,000 square feet of commercial space. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "strive", "will", "may" and "should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements reflect current estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on CREIT's perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, beliefs and assumptions expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. CREIT disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For further information Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust Rael Diamond President and Chief Operating Officer 416-628-7861 rdiamond@creit.ca Mario Barrafato Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 416-628-7872 mbarrafato@creit.ca John Hoatson's home is a shrine to Princess Diana, with everything from a wedding day portrait to a plush doll and miniature replicas of her wedding shoes. Hoatson's passion for all things Diana began when he was 8 and shows no signs of fading at the age of 45, with Diana's son Prince Harry scheduled to wed retired American actress Meghan Markle on May 18 at Windsor Castle. The wedding will give Hoatson the opportunity to add to a collection that numbers 13,000 items. A museum valued it at about $500,000 in 2011, he said. As a child, Hoatson was an American history buff, collecting antiques related to the first U.S. president, George Washington. He became hooked on the royal family and Diana after seeing her wedding to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. "My mother woke me up the morning of the royal wedding of Charles and Diana and told me I needed to watch it for historical reasons," he told Reuters during an interview in his home surrounded by objects from his collection. "I was fascinated how they still used all the carriages and still had all that pomp and pageantry even after so many centuries," said Hoatson, who is single. Read also: Famed UK royal biographer says Diana would approve of Meghan One wall in his small Pompano Beach, Florida, home is covered by a black-and-white photo of Diana gazing into the camera. A wall-covering portrait of Diana and Charles from the wedding day hangs nearby and a National Geographic documentary about her life plays on a loop on his television. Other items include signed cards, handwritten notes to her staff, porcelain trinkets bearing the Windsor family crest, the tiny replica shoes, the plush doll in a powder blue satin dress and sparkling tiara, and coffee mugs, plates, and bowls bearing Diana's image. He even has a bar of soap Diana used on a Caribbean vacation. Hoatson considers his prized possession a sliver of fruitcake in its original box from the wedding day, which he acquired in 2004 from an auction house for $300. "That was when Diana became a member of the royal family," he said. Now, Hoatson is organizing an office watch party for Prince Harry's nuptials and plans to begin adding mementos from the day as soon as they become available. Ahead of May Day, AFP reporters, video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. - The last street clerks of Bogota - Inserting a blank sheet into her Remington Sperry, Candelaria Pinilla de Gomez starts typing. One of Bogota's street clerks, she has spent the last 40 years typing up countless thousands of documents. Aged 63, she is the only woman among the street clerks who have set up their tiny tables on the pavement outside a modern office block in Bogota. Wearing suits but no ties, the writers work in the open air, under a parasol, seated on a plastic chair with the typewriter on their knees. Once upon a time, these clerks played an essential role -- with public deeds, tax documents and contracts all passing through their hands. Pinilla de Gomez learned the trade from her husband when they arrived in the Colombian capital in the 1960s. He had a farm "but the guerrillas took it off him," she says. Ecuadorean washerwoman Delia Veloz, 74, is pictured next to clothes hang-drying at the municipal laundry of the Ermita neighborhood, in Quito, on March 5, 2018. Veloz has been a washerwoman for over 50 years and earns around four dollars a day. (AFP/Rodrigo Buendia) "In Bogota, he told me I should learn how to type... and to spell. He taught me (the job) and then he died." Cesar Diaz, now 68, prides himself on being the pioneer of a trade which has ended up becoming a "refuge" for pensioners looking to top up their monthly allowances. They work from Monday to Friday and earn less than $280 which is the minimum wage. Until now, they have managed to survive pretty much everything -- except perhaps the advent of the internet. "These days, a mother will ask her son to download a form, fill it in and send it by internet," admits Pinilla de Gomez. "That really screws things up for us." Read also: Here's what job seekers should look out for in 2018 - Washerwomen, their trade disappearing like soap in water - Delia Veloz's hands have almost lost their fingerprints from the constant rhythmic motion of rubbing dirty clothes against rough stones at an old public laundry in Quito. With a mop of curly grey curls, this 74-year-old is one of the few people left in Ecuador who still practises the ancient and demanding work of a washerwoman -- a trade which is increasingly rare due to the widespread use of domestic washing machines. "I don't like washing machines, they don't wash very well. You can scrub things better by hand," Veloz tells AFP with pride as she pours a jar of freezing water from the Andes over a jacket. Photo taken on April 21, 2018, shows Samson Muli, a 42-year old father of two who has been a water vendor for the past 18 years, in Nairobi. (AFP/Simon Maina) For more than five decades she has been working at the Ermita, a public laundry in the colonial centre of Quito with her rectangular stone, tank of water and various wires for hanging things out to dry. For every 12 articles of clothing, she earns $1.50 from her increasingly few customers -- mostly those who don't have a washing machine or who prefer things to be washed by hand. On a good day, she can make between $3 and $6. In Quito, there are still at least five public laundries which were built in the first half of the 20th century. There are also those who come to use the laundry to wash their own clothes or those belonging to their employers -- for which there is no fee. And once a month, they all get together to keep the premises neat and tidy. - Waterboys beginning to run dry - The lack of running water in Kenya's poorest neighborhoods have, for the last 18 years, meant a living for Samson Muli, a water seller in Nairobi's Kibera slum. "Growing up I wanted to be a business man," says the 42-year-old father of two, who supplies water to butchers, fishmongers and restaurants in the crowded Kenyatta market. Dressed in a dun dustcoat Muli uses a hose to fill his array of cylindrical 20-litre jerrycans with water from three freestanding 10,000-litre tanks. He loads 15 at a time onto a trolley, and hauls them off to his clients. Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (AFP/Dibyangshu Sarkar) The margins are tiny -- Muli buys water at five shillings ($0.05) a can and sells for 15 -- but it can add up to 1,000 shillings a day, enough to make a difference. "This job has changed my life because my children are able to go to school and I am able to afford to pay school fees for them," he says. But Kenya's gradual development and the spreading provision of basic infrastructure, including piped water, means Muli's profitable days are numbered. -- Pictures by Simon Maina. Video by Raphael Ambasu - Rickshaw pullers fade from India's streets - Mohammad Maqbool Ansari puffs and sweats as he pulls his rickshaw through Kolkata's teeming streets, a veteran of a grueling trade long outlawed in most parts of the world and slowly fading from India too. Kolkata is one of the last places on earth where pulled rickshaws still feature in daily life, but Ansari is among a dying breed still eking a living from this back-breaking labor. The 62-year-old has been pulling rickshaws for nearly four decades, hauling cargo and passengers by hand in drenching monsoon rains and stifling heat that envelops India's heaving eastern metropolis. In this picture taken on April 16, 2018, neon sign maker Wu Chi-kai looks at one of his works. (AFP/Philip Fong) Their numbers are declining as pulled rickshaws are relegated to history, usurped by tuk tuks, Kolkata's famous yellow taxis and modern conveniences like Uber. Ansari cannot imagine life for Kolkata's thousands of rickshaw-wallahs if the job ceased to exist. "If we don't do it, how will we survive? We can't read or write. We can't do any other work. Once you start, that's it. This is our life," he tells AFP. Sweating profusely on a searing-hot day, his singlet soaked and face dripping, Ansari skillfully weaved his rickshaw through crowded markets and bumper to bumper traffic. Wearing simple shoes and a checkered sarong, the only real giveaway of his age is a long beard, snow white and frizzy, and a face weathered from a lifetime plying this trade. Twenty minutes later, he stops, wiping his face on a rag. The passenger offers him a glass of water -- a rare blessing -- and hands a bill over. "When it's hot, for a trip that costs 50 rupees ($0.75) I'll ask for an extra 10 rupees. Some will give, some don't," he says. "But I'm happy with being a rickshaw puller. I'm able to feed myself and my family." -- Pictures by Dibyangshu Sarkar. Video by Atish Patel - Hong Kong's neon nostalgia - Neon sign maker Wu Chi-kai is one of the last remaining craftsmen of his kind in Hong Kong, a city where darkness never really falls thanks to the 24-hour glow of myriad lights. During his 30 years in the business, neon came to define the urban landscape, huge flashing signs protruding horizontally from the sides of buildings, advertising everything from restaurants to mahjong parlors. But with the growing popularity of brighter LED lights, seen as easier to maintain and more environmentally friendly, and government orders to remove some vintage signs deemed dangerous, the demand for specialists like Chi-kai has dimmed. Rodrigo Benavides a 58-year-old Venezuelan darkroom technician poses for a picture at his darkroom in Caracas on April 19, 2018. (AFP/Federico Parra) Despite a waning client-base, the 50-year-old continues in the trade, working with glass tubes dusted inside with fluorescent powder and containing various gases including neon or argon, as well as mercury, to create different colors. He bends them into shape over a powerful gas burner at a scorching 1,000 degrees Celsius. "Being able to twist straight glass materials into the shape I want, and later to make it glow -- it's quite fun," he tells AFP, though it is not without risks. Chi-kai works without a safety visor and has been scalded and cut by glass which sometimes cracks and explodes. "The painful experiences are the memorable ones," he adds philosophically. His father used to scale Hong Kong's famous bamboo scaffolding while installing neon signs across the city. Believing the installation work too dangerous for his son, he instead encouraged him to learn to make the signs as a teenager. Chi-kai became one of only around 30 masters of the craft in Hong Kong, even in neon's heyday. Although demand is now significantly lower than at neon's peak in the 1980s, he says, there has been renewed interest and nostalgia for its gentler glow, immortalized in the atmospheric movies of award-winning Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai. Some of Chi-kai's clients are now requesting pieces for indoor decoration. "I've been working with neon lights all my life. I can't think of anything else I'd be better suited for," he says. Read also: The highest paying jobs in Indonesia revealed - Developing film as if digital didn't exist - With an ancient 50-year-old Olympus camera and an enlarger that he bought in 1980, Venezuelan photographer Rodrigo Benavides works his "magic" inside a tiny improvised darkroom at home. Although working with equipment and techniques that have virtually disappeared, he carries on as if digital photography doesn't exist. Street clerk Candelaria Pinilla,63, types a letter on her typewriter, in front of the district taxing office in Bogota, on April 9, 2018 Street clerks are experts in filling out forms, documents and even in typing letters, to help their clients with paperwork. (AFP/Luis Acosta) "Doesn't interest me at all," he says. Using his bathroom as a makeshift lab, he develops negatives, turning them into black and white prints. And it still fascinates him every time as the image slowly emerges on coming in to contact with the chemicals. "I have always tried to be economical with my resources, always have done, always will do," he says, extolling the wonders of his Olympus 35 SP which uses a reel of film, doesn't need batteries and is completely manual. Born in Caracas 58 years ago, he still remembers the excitement when, at the age of 19, he bought the enlarger in London. And it was there that he became a keen follower of Group f/64, an influential movement of photographers who championed sharp-focused, unretouched images of natural subjects. He thinks technology has "upended" photography, turning it into a work of "fiction". "We have become desensitised to reality, which is much more interesting than fiction," he says. Some 400 of his pictures taken over 30 years have been compiled into a book on the Venezuelan plains. Others are stacked up in his living room, forming a towering pile, some two meters high. "They are like my children," says Benavides, who describes himself as a documentary photographer practicing a trade on the verge of extinction. Up to 5,000 dancers are set to perform the gambyong dance in Surakarta, Central Java, on Sunday as part of the Solo Menari (Solo Dance) event to celebrate World Dance Day. Among the performers are students of elementary to high school, members of dance studios as well as professional dancers. Three dance compositions will be presented at the event, namely the gambyong dance, gambyong pareanom and tari pergaulan (relationship dance). The main street of Surakarta city will be closed to vehicles for six hours starting from 5 a.m. as the dancers will use up to an 2-kilometer-long space from Bundaran Gladag to Simpang Empat Nonongan. Due to the high number of performers, the colossal dance is said to be included in the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI). "While dancing, [the performers] will invite the audience to dance along by giving them a shawl," the Surakarta Culture agency's literature and historical art division head, Maretha Dinar Cahyono, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. Performed by an all-female ensemble, the gambyong dance was the brainchild of King Pakubuwono IV. Until today, the Javanese dance is usually performed to greet guests or during official ceremonies. Read also: Headscarved students banned from performing 'gambyong' dance Held in conjunction with the Solo Menari event, hundreds of dance groups will also present "Solo 24 Jam Menari" (Solo Dances for 24 Hours) at the Surakarta Arts Institute (ISI Surakarta) campus area. Dancers from across the country as well as abroad, such as France and China, are set to participate in the event. "This year the event will be joined by 160 art groups from inside and outside the country. There will be tens of dancers from several palaces, arts institute students and lecturers, dance studios as well as dance groups from France and China," said ISI Surakarta public relations Esha Karwinarno. Among the art groups involved are those from Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara; West Nusa Tenggara; Sintang, East Kalimantan; Cirebon, West Java; Indramayu, Central Java; Yogyakarta; Riau; Belitung; Bangka Belitung; South Kalimantan; Sumbawa; Nias; Papua; and Jakarta. "[These participants] come from all over the regions with the spirit of togetherness, brotherhood; using their own money. Their enthusiasm are amazing," said Esha. Themed "Menguak Peradaban" (Invoking Civilization), the 12th installment of the 24-hour festivity is more than just a dance event, "it is a place to build relations with one another and gather," said Esha. As the peak event on Monday, filmmaker and humanist Garin Nugroho will conduct a culture oration at 6 a.m. (kes) The artwork of a commissioned artist has colored the entrance to the ARTJOG venue each year since 2010. Initially, the artworks were intended to enliven the stiff facade of the venue, but as time has gone by, the artworks by each years commissioned artist have become icons of the annual event. The approach is somewhat unusual in Indonesia, and such works were not featured at ARTJOG when it was first established in 2008. The artworks first appeared at ARTJOG 2010 when Eko Nugroho draped the facade of the Yogyakarta Cultural Park (TBY) with murals. Since then, the annual art event has sought out notable artists to physically alter the appearance of the venue. One year, the commissioned artist even had to excavate soil in front of the TBY building to decorate the entrance. Another year, the commissioned artist covered the entire facade with iron sheeting to create a huge installation. These undertakings all send the same message; that the festival continues to have something different to offer. The tradition continued when the venue was moved to the Jogja National Museum, (JNM) in Gampingan, Wirobrajan district, Yogyakarta, some 2 kilometers to the west of TBY, in 2016. This year, the organizers have invited Mulyono to work on the entrance to the exhibition area at JNM to capture this years theme, Enlightenment: Toward Various Futures.Mulyanas artwork will be an icon of the 11th ARTJOG, which will be held for one month from May 4 to June 4. After a long discussion with the curator team, we finally chose Mulyono and his knitted works to realize the enlightenment theme, ARTJOGs initiator Heri Pemad said. We will create a diamond shape containing the undersea world along with a 7 meter-long model of a whale, he added. Pemad said that by adopting the spirit of enlightenment, art could help develop the critical powers of viewers so that they became aware of the problems that surrounded them and could take human beings toward various futures. One of ARTJOGs curators, Bambang Toko Witjaksono, said a long discussion was always held to choose a theme that best captured the present moment. This time around, they considered the present social and political situation, both nationally and globally. The theme of enlightenment seems to be very suitable with the present situation in Indonesia, Bambang said. All eyes: Floating Eyes by Wedhar Riyadi is on display for the 10th annual ART|JOG in Yogyakarta. The month-long contemporary art event is centered at the Jogja National Museum. (JP/Bambang Muryanto) He said it was the task of an artist to participate in criticizing the nation through quality artworks. Last year, under the theme of Changing Perspectives, commissioned artist Wedhar Riyadi transformed the front yard of the JNM into a pool, where he displayed his work entitled Floating Eyes. Through the sculpture, Bambang said both the curators and the artist wanted to critique those parts of Indonesian society that remained narrow minded in terms of religious perspectives. We wanted to expand the views and the horizon of those who still show fanaticism against a particular ideology, he said, adding that people needed to open their eyes so they would not become fanatical. The same critique was also made at ARTJOG 2014, amid the chaotic social, economic and political condition the country faced ahead of the years presidential election. To describe the situation, Bambang said the organizers of ARTJOG 2014 chose Legacy of Power as the theme, and commissioned artist Samsul Arifin, who changed the facade of the TBY building to resemble the State Palace in Jakarta. Samsul also used figures made of fiber sacks, also known as goni, to reflect the photo session held after a new cabinet is announced and inaugurated. The work was entitled Goni Cabinet. The work of each years commissioned artist is also expected to serve as an introduction to visitors as they engage with other artworks conveying the same theme. It functions as somewhat of a symbol for the event. This tradition has added an extra dimension to the event since ARTJOG 2010 with Eko Nugroho as the first commissioned artist, followed by Eddy Prabandoro in 2011, Angki Purbandono in 2012, Iwan Effendi featuring Papermoon Puppet Theater in 2013, Samsul Arifin in 2014, Indieguerillas in 2015, Venzha Christ in 2016, Wedhar Riyadi in 2017 and now Mulyono. Bambang said the curator team and the commissioned artist sat together to discuss the artwork, its placement, construction, lighting, and other small details such as whether it would look good for taking selfies. Bambang said the commissioned artworks had become a special character of ARTJOG. They have become a showpiece and entrance gate to viewing the latest contemporary Indonesian art, Bambang Toko said. Indonesian film Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts was featured during a special weeklong screening in Bristol, United Kingdom, where a discussion was also held on the sidelines of the event. According to a statement from the Indonesian Embassy in London, which also coordinated the discussion on Monday, speakers emphasized the film's role in triggering discussion on gender issues, which is illustrated through Marlina's story in the film. Hana Satriyo, a gender and women's participation expert, in the discussion said the portrayal of Marlina in the film provided a look into the importance of understanding and implementation of gender-based policies, particularly to empower women. "Marlina fought to maintain her integrity, however when she admitted responsibility for her actions, the local authorities are depicted as not handling the case properly," Hana said, as quoted in the statement. Read also: 'Marlina' redefines womens strength through polar extremes Directed by Mouly Surya, the movie tells the story of Marlina, a woman who leads a quiet life in Sumba until one day a man named Markus and his gang tries to rob her house and she eventually kills him. Meanwhile, film expert Ekky Imanjaya, who earned a doctoral degree in film studies from East Anglia University, pointed out that the film celebrated the rapid development of the Indonesian film industry. "Prior to reformation, there were only four female directors or producers in Indonesia's film industry," Ekky said, referring to Indonesia's transitional political period in 1998. "It's interesting how a woman's story, directed by a woman, is filmed using a western-style backdrop, which is usually perceived as very masculine," he added. The Marlina special screening was held at Watershed, a media center in Bristol that has an emphasis on arthouse cinema. The movie was previously first screened in the UK at the Glasgow Film Festival. In April, Marlina was screened in London during the East End Film Festival and at the British Film Institute, where director Mouly also attended a discussion. (liz/wng) Smartphones put the world at users fingertips, along with the capability to wreak havoc or do something good at the tap of the screen. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar noted that smartphone owners also served as bearers of news. The most important thing we can gain from smartphones is that they strengthen public participation, Siti said during a workshop on Thursday organized alongside an exhibition held to celebrate The Jakarta Posts 35th anniversary. The exhibition runs until Sunday at Lotte Shopping Avenue mall in South Jakarta. Put forward by the papers photography team, it displays 100 photographs taken throughout the years. At Thursdays workshop, the Post brought up the role of smartphones and their users in highlighting environmental issues whether through capturing important images to record natures beauty or its plight, or simply by sharing hashtags to raise awareness on environment causes. The workshop also featured several illustrious figures as speakers, from Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti to EcoNusa Foundation founder and chairman Bustar Mait. Also present were Akhadi Wira Satriaji (Kaka) and Mohammad Ridwan Hafiedz (Ridho), respectively the vocalist and guitarist of legendary rock band Slank, who are environmental activists in their own right. In the discussion, Siti highlighted the ubiquitous use of smartphones at her ministry, citing the use of the phones to monitor and control forest fire hotspots by detecting air quality and other issues. She said smartphone users could report issues affecting them to relevant ministries, recalling an event when someone reported the sale of protected animals via her Facebook account. We at the ministry require strong accuracy and validity of information, so photos can greatly help, as they provide tangible and authentic evidence to follow up on. The important role of smartphones in environmental campaigns was also highlighted by Susi, who on Wednesday forwarded a WhatsApp message on alleged illegal fishing practices to National Police chief Tito Karnavian, which resulted in the confiscation of 50 tons of explosives in Selayar Islands, South Sulawesi, by the police on Thursday. This [example] shows the importance of public sharing of vital information through smartphones. I receive nearly 50 percent of the information on current issues via WhatsApp or Twitter. We then ask regional representatives of the ministry to follow up on the reports, Susi said, adding that most of the reports were true, as opposed to being hoaxes. The minister also stressed the importance of photos as a means to convey information, saying pictures could visualize things more effectively than words could. I have been looking at a photo [at the exhibition] of garbage buildup at sea, and it makes me sick to my stomach. The sea is like a second home to me, and it makes me angry just looking at the photo, Susi said. For Kaka, the smartphone is a trusted tool to capture breathtaking scenery and to record both the good and the bad concerning the environment. We should train our sensitivity to nature. For example, a picture of a lone horse in a scenic desert should have the same importance as a picture of a garbage pile in the same desert, Kaka said. Smartphones are also powerful tools to share positive and useful information, Kakas bandmate Ridho found. Whenever I want to post a picture, I always think of memorable words, so that my followers like it. This can be used to highlight environmental issues, such as plastic waste, for example, Ridho said. The Posts chief editor Nezar Patria concluded the discussion, pointing out that smartphones had become an effective medium of communication. Smartphones could also stand to gain from mainstream media outlets like The Jakarta Post, for example. The traditional media could help spread the word around, and The Jakarta Post is ready to help. (jlm) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 08:05 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0d74fe 1 City South-Jakarta,farming Free Residents of Pengadegan neighborhood in South Jakarta have turned the drains in their neighborhood into fish farms. Neighborhood unit (RT) 1, community unit (RW) 1 of the subdistrict has turned two of the drains into fish ponds and has created good business cooperation with local food sellers. RT 1 head Saparno said the ponds were mainly filled with catfish. For now, were breeding catfish because their maintenance is easier than other fish, Saparno said as reported by kompas.com. The RT 1 community has cooperated with pecel lele [fried catfish] vendors in the neighborhood by becoming suppliers, as well as selling the fresh fish to residents. Saparno said that one of the ponds had been used for red tilapia fish-farming, but these had never been harvested. The first tilapia fish pond failed, because right after we painted the pond we immediately filled it with the fish. They died because of the paint, he said. A catfish farmer, Wasro Mukrodi, said he harvested the catfish from one of the ponds once and earned Rp 400,000 (US$28.90). Using some Rp 300,000 of the revenue he bought 400 catfish eggs, he added. Aside from creating fish ponds, the residents are also using open spaces to grow vegetables using the hydroponic system. (ami) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Washington, United States Fri, April 27, 2018 07:00 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0d659d 2 World #NorthKorea,#USA,#KimJongUn,#DonaldTrump,#PeaceTalks Free US intelligence experts are trying to build a profile of Kim Jong Un to give President Donald Trump a competitive edge in one of the most consequential summits since the Cold War, but they face a huge challenge figuring out a secretive North Korean ruler few people know much about. Following a long tradition of arming US presidents with political and psychological dossiers of foreign leaders ahead of critical negotiations, government analysts are gathering every new bit of information they can glean about Kim and making adjustments to earlier assessments of what makes him tick, US officials told Reuters. They will rely in part on the impressions drawn by CIA director Mike Pompeo, who just weeks ago became the first Trump administration official to meet Kim. Pompeo, Trumps pick to become secretary of state, came back from Pyongyang privately describing the young North Korean leader as a smart guy whos doing his homework for the meetings, according to one US official, who described Pompeos personal view of Kim for the first time. The profile will also include intelligence gathered in past debriefings of others who have interacted with Kim, including ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman, Kims former classmates at a Swiss boarding school and South Korean envoys, other US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Our coverage on life in North Korea, the countrys relations with the rest of the world, its missile program, and the economic sanctions that have been imposed on it. All of this is being used to update the US governments classified file on Kims behavior, motives, personality and leadership style to help Trump and his aides develop a strategy for dealing with Kim at the expected first-ever meeting of US and North Korean leaders. A White House official declined to confirm any specifics about the drive to better understand Kim, except to say: There is a robust whole of government effort under way to prepare for the presidents summit, which is targeted for late May or early June. Despite that, direct knowledge of Kim remains limited a black box, according to one U.S. official familiar with the profiling efforts - especially given the scarcity of spies and informants on the ground and the difficulties of cyber-espionage in a country where Internet usage is minimal. When Kim first came to power, the CIA predicted that Kims rule might be short-lived. Seven years later that prediction has been dropped and he is now seen as a shrewd and ruthless leader. More recently, many US experts were caught off-guard by how nimbly Kim shifted from his saber-rattling drive to build a nuclear missile arsenal to diplomatic outreach. The emerging US consensus on Kim is similar to what many outside experts have publicly concluded. He is seen as a rational actor, said US officials not the total nut job that Trump once branded him. He craves international stature but his main aim is regime survival and perpetuating his family dynasty, suggesting it will be hard for him to agree to full nuclear disarmament, the officials said. He is ruthless enough to have had relatives executed but now feels secure enough in power to gamble on Trump, they said. In terms of personality, he is seen more like his charismatic grandfather, Kim Il Sung, than his more camera-shy father. His dispatch of his sister to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February and a rare appearance by his wife when South Korean envoys visited in March demonstrates an effort to humanize his leadership abroad, they added. Shielded by North Koreas extreme opaqueness, Kim has posed a special set of profiling problems for US spy agencies. US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a speech earlier this month that North Koreas leadership was one of the hardest collection components out there for intelligence gathering. US experts will be closely studying both Kims words and body language at his historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday, officials said. US intelligence analysts have spent years examining Kims family history, speeches, photos and video, and they are now closely analyzing images and reports of his recent high-profile meetings with South Korean and Chinese officials. US authorities have also interviewed North Korean defectors and even resorted to second-hand sources such as the memoir of a Japanese sushi chef who once worked for the Kim family, several officials and experts said. Amid the scramble to put together the Kim profile, the US officials said another challenge was determining how much information to give Trump - known to have little patience for detailed briefings or lengthy documents - and then persuading him not to act purely on gut instinct, as he often does with foreign leaders. Briefers are expected to limit their presentation to an abridged version, accompanied by photos, maps, drawings and video, the officials said. It will not be the first time intelligence officers have relied on visual aids to help get him up to speed on North Korea. Early in his administration, Trump was shown a scale model of North Koreas sprawling nuclear bomb test site with a removable mountaintop and a miniature Statue of Liberty inside so he could grasp the size of the facility, two US officials said. A White House official declined comment on the episode. Trumps defenders say he is adept at absorbing facts visually. His successful building career means he was very good at studying architectural renderings and floor plans. So hes a visual learner, and it works well for him, the White House official said. For decades, US administrations have ordered up profiles of foreign leaders, especially those of adversaries such as Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Fidel Castro of Cuba. Many other governments conduct similar studies. Such assessments, which originated with the US governments efforts to better understand Germanys Adolf Hitler, have sometimes been deemed helpful to US policymakers. Former President Jimmy Carter wrote in his memoir Keeping Faith that in-depth profiles of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat paid rich dividends in helping him reach a 1978 peace accord. But the know thy enemy practice has been far from fool-proof. For instance, initial bare-bones assessments of Kim put together soon after he took power in 2011 suggested he was possibly too inexperienced to survive internal struggles but that if he did he would likely be more interested in reforming North Koreas battered economy than pursuing nuclear weapons. Its never perfect, acknowledged Jerrold Post, a psychiatrist who founded the CIAs center for the study of political personality and has profiled both Kim and his father. But we need to do our best to understand how Kim sees the world. Post, now in private psychiatric practice in Maryland, said he was consulted recently by a Trump aide who was due to brief the president. He declined to elaborate on what advice he gave. We all listen to the forensic psychiatrists of the intelligence community, said Wendy Sherman, a former US negotiator with North Korea who traveled to Pyongyang with then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2000 to meet Kims father, Kim Jong Il. But she suggested face-to-face contact was the best way to take the measure of a North Korean leader. Im sure Mike Pompeo, having gone with an intelligence team, came back with a lot of useful information, she told Reuters. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 15:07 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0e9579 1 City Thousand-Islands-regency,Transportation Free Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has instructed his subordinates to learn from neighboring country Singapore and the United Kingdom on how to develop a safe and reliable yet low-cost water transportation system in the Thousand Islands regency. The National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) said recently that most boats operating in the regencys waters failed to meet the safety standards set by the commission. Invite someone from the United Kingdom Embassy in Jakarta to give a presentation on how they manage water transportation in England and Scotland. They are all archipelagic states and they have low-cost water transportation [systems], Anies said in a meeting on April 16. Footage of the meeting was posted on YouTube. He said that Singapore had established routes to Batam. It works. If needed, we will invest much in the area, the governor said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Friday. Of more than 100 islands that make up the Thousand Islands regency in Jakarta, many have become popular tourist destinations. The increasing demand for maritime transportation to the islands, however, has not been accompanied by an improvement in safety. Boat incidents occasionally occur in the region. Last Sunday, a boat operated by the Jakarta Transportation Agency exploded near Panggang Island, injuring nine. Last year, 24 people were killed aboard the Zahro Express boat when a fire caused an explosion en route to Tidung Island from Muara Angke Port in North Jakarta. (vny) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 10:54 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0e279d 1 Business BI,rupiah,defense Free Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo has said that the central bank has prepared a second line of defense for the rupiah, with pressure against the currency expected to continue. Indonesia would cooperate with other countries through bilateral swap agreements and bilateral currency swap agreements (CSAs), Agus told journalists at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday evening as reported by kontan.co.id He said such cooperation existed in the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), which is a multilateral currency swap arrangement between ASEAN+3 members. It came into effect on March 24, 2010. The three non-ASEAN countries are China, Japan and South Korea. This is a form of defense that we will implement to ensure that we can handle the world economy, which is heating up due to the increase of the US Treasury yield, trade disputes and geopolitical risks, Agus said after speaking at the press conference. He said such global economic dynamics would continue due to improvement in the United States economy from the consumption and investment sides as well as the assumption that the Federal Reserve would increase its reference rate more than three times. Pressure against the rupiah also came from an increase in the global oil price and the threat of a trade war between the US and China, he said. There is uncertainty over the state of the global economy, but Indonesia is doing better economically, so we see this state as temporary, he said. In March, BIs foreign exchange reserve reached US$126 billion. (bbn) MIAMI BEACH, Fla., April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via OTC PR WIRE -- SNM Global Holdings (OTC:SNMN) is excited to announce the assembly of a group of medical cannabis industry experts from the financial, medical, and legal sectors. During the recent legislative session in the Maryland legislature, a bill was passed to authorize the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission to reopen the application process and grant several additional Medical Cannabis Grower and Processor licenses throughout the state. We will be working diligently over the next several months to complete the application process, identify key areas within the state of Maryland for suitable facilities, and engage horticulture experts, as well as seasoned medical operations personnel to position SNM to be awarded either one or both of these new license opportunities. "SNM is excited to have become involved with industry experts in each stage of the medical cannabis arena, from grow operations all the way down to retail sales at the dispensary level," stated SNM CEO Troy Lowman, "the legal counsel we have retained to assist us with our Grower and Processing applications to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has a proven track record of assisting their clients in acquiring various medical cannabis licenses." It is very humbling to realize we will be a part of a rapidly developing industry that will help so many people achieve quality of life living while with cancer and so many other diseases, says Lowman. The process from application to becoming fully operational is expected to take approximately 365 days. Contact Information Troy Lowman, CEO Phone (410)733-6551 Email: info@snmholdings.com Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the companys current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the companys business prospect s and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commissions. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 13:53 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0e7109 4 Business coffee,Book,launching,Darmin-nasution Free Coordinating Economy Minister Darmin Nasution has said that Indonesia and other major coffee-producing countries only saw 10 percent of the value of world coffee consumption. Darmin explained that total global exports of the commodity was US$24 billion, but world coffee consumption reached $240 billion. So, coffee-producing countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and Colombia only enjoy about 10 percent of the total value of the coffee they produce, Darmin said on Thursday in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com. The coordinating minister was speaking during the book launch of Arah Kebijakan Kopi Indonesia Menghadapi Tantangan Kompetisi, Perubahan Iklim dan Kondisi Kopi Dunia (Indonesian coffee policy guidance in facing the challenges of competition, climate change and world coffee conditions). Darmin remarked that the book was the coffee roadmap for increasing the countrys coffee productivity. Darmin said most coffee producers could only export dried coffee beans, because the roasted coffee had a relatively short shelf life. While we can only export dried coffee beans, those in developed countries turn them into [expensive] ground coffee, he said. Darmin also spoke about the low productivity of coffee plantations in the country, which lagged far behind the plantations of other coffee producers like Vietnam, so that Indonesia ranked as only the fourth largest coffee producer in the world. Therefore, the government is trying to increase coffee productivity by developing quality coffee seeds, he said. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hotli Simanjuntak and Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Peureulak, East Aceh Fri, April 27 2018 Thousands of Acehnese people whose livelihoods rely on illegal mining were shocked by an explosion at an oil well in Peureulak, East Aceh, on Wednesday, that claimed the lives of 22 people and badly injured 37 others. It is difficult to stop illegal crude oil mining, as it provides a livelihood for many people, the head of the Aceh Energy and Mineral Resources Agency, Akmal Husein, told the Jakarta Post on Thursday. Jamaluddin, secretary of Pasar Putih village, said illegal oil mining had improved the economic situation of numerous villagers, as it had allowed them to earn a good living. A drum of crude oil can be sold for Rp 860,000 (US$62). One person can get six drums every day. Of course, such a fortune encourages many people to take advantage of the opportunity, he said, adding that the presence of illegal oil wells had attracted people from other... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 18:47 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0f2bb2 2 Business Bulog,Budi-Waseso,management-shakeup Free The government shook up the top management of state-owned logistics firm Bulog on Friday following a series of similar moves on other state-owned enterprises recently. Former National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso replaced Djarot Kusumayakti, who had served as Bulog president director for nearly three years. The government also dismissed Bulog finance director Pardiman and appointed Triyana to fill the position, while assigning former presidential chief of staff Teten Masduki as its supervisory board member to replace Sudar Sastro Atmojo. The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry's undersecretary for industrial, agriculture and pharmacy affairs, Wahyu Kuncoro, said the decision was taken to strengthen Bulogs role in stabilizing the prices of basic commodities. It is one of the ways to refresh Bulogs management. On the other hand, we are also pushing Bulog to fortify its role in maintaining the prices of grain from farmers, stabilizing [the supply of] food commodities and distributing rice for the subsidy program that targets the poor, he said in a statement. Wahyu further said that the government had also taken into consideration a recurrent problem of commodity price hikes during Ramadhan fasting month, which this year will fall in May. We hope the new management can support the governments effort to manage food prices and the stocks, especially during religious holidays, he added. (lnd) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27 2018 A man identified as KM, 39, has been accused of hitting his friends with his car out of anger and jealously, killing one and injuring two others. One of the victims, DP, died following the incident, while CK, 30, and IM, 32, were severely injured, West Jakarta Police criminal division chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edy Suranta said. KM reportedly grew angry after being teased by his friends. The three victims and another friend of KM were reportedly under the influence after consuming alcoholic beverages on Jl. Kopi in Tambora, West Jakarta, in the wee hours of Thursday last week. The case was initially reported as a traffic accident, however, police later claimed that KM had hit his friends deliberately. After investigating the case, we found out that it was murder, Edy said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com. Edy said several women had al... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Vela Andapita, Apriadi Gunawan and Gisela Swaragita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Medan Fri, April 27, 2018 10:17 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0e1472 2 Business 212-mart,212Rally,Muslim-economy,alfamart,Indomaret Free Indonesia has seen growth in Islamic convenience stores that tap into Muslim consumers wish to buy halal products and their dream of the glories of a Muslim economy. Nunukan resident Fahira Putri, 22, said she preferred buying personal items at Islamic convenience stores, or minimarkets, because she could be sure the items were halal. The area where she lives in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, is home to several Islamic minimarkets Fahira, who wears a niqab, said she was happy to find easy alternatives to shopping at conventional stores for Muslim customers like herself. I feel relief [knowing] that the items I bought are alcohol free, she told The Jakarta Post recently. Such stores operating under Islamic economic principles are not new to the country. However, growing Muslim conservatism and identity politics have seen a renewed surge to these businesses. Some of the stores even use 212 in their branding, as in 212 Mart, in reference to the Dec. 2 protests in 2016, when hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Jakarta. The protesters had demanded the dismissal of then Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese-Indonesian of the Christian faith who was later convicted for blasphemy against Islam. The diverse groups of these Defend Islam rallies, from conservative Muslims to hardliners, later branched out into various economic and political movements that they dubbed the Spirit of 212. One of these economic movements was Sharia Cooperative 212, under which the 212 Mart brand was established. The Sharia Cooperative 212 boasts prominent Muslim figures in its all-male board, including the Nahdlatul Ulamas Maruf Amin, celebrity preachers Arifin Ilham and Abdullah Gymnastiar and economist Ichsanuddin Noorsy. Aside from 212 Mart, Sodaqo Mart is also a relatively popular brand. Such stores are popping up in small towns and big cities alike, growing primarily in middle-class communities. Unlike regular stores, Islamic stores usually do not sell cigarettes, condoms or products containing alcohol, including cosmetics. Their employees also take breaks for the daily prayers, closing the stores when they do. Opportunities for small Muslim businesses Most of these Islamic stores still sell regular products from secular brands or from producers that are owned, partially or fully, by non-Muslims or Chinese-Indonesians. It sells instant noodles from publicly listed Indofood Sukses Makmur and toiletries from publicly listed PT Unilever Indonesia, a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Chinese-Indonesian Sudono Salim, also known as Liem Sioe Liong, founded Indofood and the companys current CEO is his son, Anthoni Salim. However, the stores have a vision to build Muslim-only trade networks and are trying to accommodate small Muslim-owned businesses. The website of Sharia Cooperative 212 stated that one of their goals was to close the gap between the small number of Muslim-owned national productive assets and the 87 percent majority Muslim population. The website also provides a directory of Muslim businesspeople and encourage them to support each other. Up to Apr. 24, the directory listed about two dozen entrepreneurs providing goods and services, from sterile underwear to homeschooling. Fahira said that she opted for Islamic brands whenever possible, such as purchasing Wardah cosmetics over those with a secular image. She believed that in buying goods at Islamic stores and consuming products from Muslim producers, she would contribute to the development of the Islamic economy. Fahira also intends to contribute more directly by starting her own business. I have a dream of starting my own Islamic business. I want to start a sharia cafe, she said. In her dream cafe, instead of music, she would play the recorded sermons of her favorite preachers. Sharia investment Thousands of kilometers from Nunukan in Sumatra, 212 Mart head Sehrin Hamonangan Damanik has observed an increasing demand in Islamic outlets. Sehrin operates the store in Medan, North Sumatra, and aims to open 25 new stores this year, in addition to the five 212 Mart outlets currently in Medan. People respond [to the business] well here, so we have a pretty good target market. We want to expand so that there is at least one store in each district, he said. Sharia Cooperative 212s partner, PT Berkah Anak Negeri, ran all 212 Mart stores in Medan, said Sehrin. Outside of Medan, 212 Mart has opened in several regencies in North Sumatra. More people were motivated to join the 212 Mart businesses, Sehrin claimed, because of its sharia profit-sharing scheme. Every Muslim can gain ownership in 212 Mart by buying 20 shares, which are Rp 100,000 [US$7.30] per share, he said. Alhamdulillah, one 212 Mart in Medan can earn up to Rp 9 million per day. Were not afraid of competition [from mainstream convenience stores]. Our customers are Muslims and our goal is to improve the Islamic economy, said Sehrin. Islamic economy expert Adiwarman Karim said Islamic stores had the capability and potential to compete with established stores such as Alfamart and Indomaret, even though they played in a different league. Its cheaper and easier to open Islamic stores, said Adiwarman. The more people put their money into the business, the more sense of ownership they will have, as well as the desire to shop at such stores, he said. Political concerns The promising business concept and market, however, could see a backlash if their operators failed to maintain their focus on improving the Islamic economy, Adiwarman added. Dont allow political interests to piggyback [Islamic convenience stores], he said. Gadjah Mada University sociologist Arie Sujito said that the rise of Islamic convenience stores was indeed connected to political motives, especially with those of 212 groups. Some people want to keep the [212] spirit alive through economic symbols, he told the Post. Its anyones right to start any kind of business, but dont let it trigger political sentiments that could potentially divide the people ahead of the 2019 presidential election, said Arie. Even though he considered such minimarkets as a new form of religious movement, Arie believed that many people still cared to preserve the nations heterogeneity. He called on moderate Muslims, interfaith figures and rights activists to raise their voices in keeping the country united. We cant counter the [Islamic] stores with other faith-based minimarts. We should instead embrace them, while at the same time ensuring that were not being lured to embrace certain political views through their existence, Arie said. --- Interested in more premium articles like this? Click here to subscribe for full access, which starts from $11 a month. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin N.Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan, East Kalimantan Fri, April 27, 2018 09:32 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0deb31 1 National KNKT,oil-spill,#environment,Balikpapan,Balikpapan-Bay,East-Kalimantan,MV-Ever-Judger-2 Free The National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) said on Thursday that it was analyzing data on the black box of the MV Ever Judger, a Panamanian flag cargo vessel that has been accused of breaking an undersea pipeline on March 31 in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan. The burst pipeline caused an oil spill that covered 127,000 hectares of Balikpapan Bay and the Makassar Strait. KNKT head Soerjanto Tjahjono said the vessels black box recorded conversations among the ship's officers on the raised stern platform, between the ship's officers and crew, and between the ship and port officials. The ship's officers comprise the captain, the helmsman and the chief engineer. Tjahjono said the commission was trying to obtain a clear recording by removing ambient noises, after which it would take down a written transcript of the recorded conversations. We will focus our work on cleaning the conversations recorded from March 30, when the MV Ever Judger dropped anchor in Balikpapan Bay, until early Saturday, March 31, when all crew members had to leave the vessel because it caught fire, said Tjahjono. However, he said, the results of the KNKT's investigation, including the transcripts of the conversations, would not be used as evidence in a legal process. The commission would use the information it gathered to draft a recommendation to prevent similar incidents from happening. Tjahjono said the KNKT would need around four months to complete its investigation. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 18:28 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0f176f 1 Business Matahari-Department-Store,capex,2018 Free Lippo Groups PT Matahari Department Store has allocated Rp 500 billion (US$36 million) in capital expenditure (capex) for 2018. Matahari Department Store chief financial officer Maria Clarissa Fernandez Joesoep said on Friday the capex would be primarily used to open new stores, renovate existing stores and finance product development. "Around 30 percent of the budget will be used to open new stores. We might open one to two stores in Java and three to four others outside Java," she said during a public presentation in Jakarta. Last year, the company opened eight new stores but closed four. It currently has 153 stores across the country. The capex is bigger than the Rp 323 billion in 2017 as the company needs to renovate up to 20 stores, while last year it only renovated 15 stores. Clarissa added that the company would also use the capex to develop new products, particularly Disney apparel as it signed a licensing agreement with an American company last year. "We will also work with designers from the British government-backed Indonesia Fashion Forward program to design exclusive Muslim clothing for us," she said. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andrew Beatty (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Fri, April 27, 2018 08:46 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0d7e1c 2 World Angela-Merkel,Washington,Germany,US,politics,diplomacy Free German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to the White House on Friday for talks with Donald Trump, facing an uphill struggle to save the Iran nuclear deal, avoid a trade war and make her relationship with the US president functional again. The German leader's visit has already been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of "fraternite" between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron this week. Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed -- in vain -- for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations, officials told AFP. When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host -- clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. This time around, the tricolor French flags were only just removed in time for Merkel's arrival for a one day, run-of-the-mill "working visit." The stylistic differences between the Macron and Merkel visits are "very telling" according to Mona Krewel of Cornell University. It points, she said, "to the much more difficult relationship Trump has with Merkel." That is a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven -- along with centrists claiming her as the new "leader of the free world" -- to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Shortly after his nomination, Richard Grenell -- who is known for his pugilistic conservatism and combative defense of Trump's "America First" policies -- told AFP it was "humbling" to be chosen for a post once held by John Quincy Adams, and he vowed to work diligently. "There is a special responsibility that all US officials have to reject partisan politics when they take government service jobs," he said. - Damage limitation - Merkel this week stressed that, despite the differences, she wants to preserve the bedrock strategic partnership. "The transatlantic alliance, given the many non-democratic developments in this world," she said, "is a great treasure that I certainly want to cherish and nurture." Despite her more sober style, she is unlikely to divert much from Macron on substance. She will be trying to persuade Trump to back off his dual threats of punitive metal tariffs that could spark a transatlantic trade war and his instinct to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Trump last month announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, claiming foreign imports were harming US national security by undermining the domestic production needed for military readiness. After an outcry from US allies, he granted a temporary exemption to key partners including the European Union -- but this expires on May 1. Trump's National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC Thursday that Washington would continue to exempt allied economies, including the EU, if they make concessions, citing the example of "equal treatment of automobiles." On the eve of Merkel's US visit, Berlin's hopes were dim. "From today's perspective, we must assume that the tariffs will come on May 1," said a German government source. "And then we will see how we will handle it." - 'Juggling act' - The next looming deadline is May 12, the date by which Trump has threatened to tear up the landmark 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions. Trump has called the agreement, which Germany helped negotiate, "insane" and the "worst deal ever," demanding that its "disastrous flaws" be fixed. Macron came away from his meetings speculating that Trump would kill the deal, but debate continues to rage. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Thursday said Washington was yet to make "any decision" on tearing up the deal, but stressed that some aspects needed to be improved. It is unclear how Mike Pompeo's confirmation as Secretary of State will tilt the debate. Despite his hawkish views on Iran, his criticism of the deal had been somewhat tempered in internal discussions, officials said. As head of the CIA, for instance, he had relayed the spy agency's institutional assessment that Iran was broadly complying with the terms of the agreement, despite Trump's public pronouncements. The German foreign ministry has insisted that "the biggest priority is maintaining the existing nuclear accord," while Merkel has also called Iran's ballistic missile program a "cause for concern." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 14:09 1257 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0e8a6c 1 City app-based-transportation,crime,sos-system Free The Jakarta Police have urged ride-hailing companies to add an emergency system to their apps to prevent criminal incidents involving ride-hailing drivers from taking place. We need an SOS system in ride-hailing apps, West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hengki Haryadi said on Thursday as reported by tempo.co. He said the police wanted an emergency system to be introduced following a recent criminal incident in which a GrabCar passenger was robbed and trapped in a ride-hailing vehicle for seven hours on her way from her house in Tambora, West Jakarta, to her office in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. He also said the operators of ride-hailing apps should develop a system that prevents fraudsters from posing as a driver. On Thursday, the Jakarta Police shot dead the alleged mugger of the female GrabCar customer. Hengki said the suspect borrowed his step fathers GrabCar vehicle and used his account to pose as a ride-hailing driver. Jakarta Citizens Forum head Azas Tigor Nainggolan said the police should be tougher in holding ride-hailing companies accountable for crimes involving their drivers. Grab Indonesia managing director Ridzki Kramadibrata said the company had cooperated with the police during the investigation and urged Grab users to file reports to the police or the company's customer hotline +6221-8064-8777 or email support.id@grab.com if they received unwanted treatment from their drivers. (ami) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 16:38 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0ec651 1 City PT-Delta-Djakarta,commissioner,Sandiaga-Uno Free The Jakarta administration has appointed deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Sarman Simanjorang as president commissioner of PT Delta Djakarta, replacing Jakarta Financial Management Board head Michael Rolandi. Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said the appointment had been recommended by the region-owned enterprises governing board selection committee. Sandiaga, who served as vice president of small and medium enterprises at Kadin from 2009 to 2010, acknowledged his friendship with Sarman. I wasnt involved with the appointment, Sandiaga said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. The appointment was made amid the administrations plan to release its stake in the beer firm, which produces various beers, such as Anker, Carlsberg and San Miguel. Deltas marketing director, Ronny Titiheruw, said Michael had been replaced because he was also a commissioner at city-owned Bank DKI. According to Deltas corporate regulations, the commissioner cannot hold a position in another company, Ronny had said. Delta says it will distribute Rp 208 billion (US$14.9 million) in dividends. The company contributes Rp 40 billion to the citys income. Jakarta, which has owned a stake in the company since 1970, currently holds 26.52 percent shares, with 2.91 percent of the shares owned by the Equity Investment and Management Board (BP-IPM Jaya). During the campaign period, Anies and Sandiaga promised to release the stake, saying the company had not contributed to the livelihood of many people. Anies said even though Delta had contributed profit to the citys revenue, the amount was insignificant compared to other income. (cal) English Lithuanian The April 27, 2018 general meeting of shareholders of Vilkyskiu pienine, AB (company code 277160980, address: P. Lukosaicio str. 14, Vilkyskiai, Pagegiu co. LT99254, Lithuania) resolved to distribute the Companys profit of the year 2017 and allocate dividends amounting to EUR 0.14 per share. Dividends will be paid to the shareholders who are shareholders of Vilkyskiu pienine, AB at the end of the tenth business day after approval of the resolution by general meeting of shareholders, i.e. May 14, 2018. Dividends will be paid starting from May 23, 2018. Dividends will be paid in the following procedure: Dividends to the shareholders whose securities accounting are performed by public exchange brokers or credit institutions providing services of securities accounting, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania will be paid out by the representative financial or credit institutions having deducted the income tax (profit tax) to the account indicated by shareholder. Dividends to other shareholders will be transferred to the personal account indicated by shareholder. The requests may be supplied in written and sent to the companys address (Vilkyskiu pienine, AB, P. Lukosaicio str. 14, Vilkyskiai, Pagegiu co. LT99254, Lithuania) or e-mail address sigitam@cheese.lt The dividends are subject to taxes as follows: Dividends paid to physical bodies resided in the Republic of Lithuania as well as to physical bodies residents of foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of residential income tax. Dividends paid to juridical bodies of the Republic of Lithuania as well as juridical bodies residents of foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of profit tax unless it is provided differently by law. Authorized persons of the company capable to provide additional information: Economics and Finance Director Vilija Milaseviciute, ph. 8-441-55102 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 27, 2018 20:22 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0f66c8 1 National #mental-health,mental-health,workplace,safety,creative-economy,journalist,Sindikasi Free The International Labor Organization (ILO) and Sindikasi, a trade union for media and creative workers, has expressed concern over work-related stress among employees in Indonesia. Mental health is becoming a rising cause of concern, especially for those who work in the creative and media fields, Raisya Maharani of Sindikasi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Raisya said based on research by Sindikasi in January, advertising agencies and production houses were among the most stressful workplaces. This happens because management policies do not apply a balanced work organization, so they work overtime, she said. Overtime has become the norm in some workplaces, she said. ILO said it was a risk to health and safety when work load and hours exceeded workers capability, resources and ability to cope. A dangerous working environment covers not only biological, technical and physical aspects, but also work organization. Poor work organization becomes the root cause of an unsafe and unhealthy work environment, said Lusiana Julia, national program officer of ILO in Indonesia. In conjunction with the commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, the ILO in collaboration with Sindikasi is holding the Occupational Safety and Health Festival titled Safe and Healthy Generation on April 28 at Gedung Kerta Niaga, Kota Tua, Jakarta. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Beirut Fri, April 27, 2018 23:09 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0f9921 2 World #Syria,Syria,Palestinians,Damascus,war,IS,Islamic-State Free Syrian regime air strikes and shelling killed 17 civilians including seven children on Friday in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus, a Britain-based monitor said. Regime forces have pounded southern districts of the capital since April 19 to try to expel the Islamic State group from the area, after the jihadists refused to leave under an evacuation deal. That bombardment intensified on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as regime forces advanced against IS inside the districts. "Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes" in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajar al-Aswad, "after breaking through terrorist defences", state news agency SANA said. The advance "inflicted great human and material losses" on the jihadists, it said. Syrian state television said the army has seized control of buildings and a "network of trenches and tunnels" from IS in Hajar al-Aswad. In the adjacent neighbourhood of Qadam, two children were killed in "mortar rounds fired by terrorist groups", it said. The Observatory said pro-government forces took control of "buildings and streets in Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn". Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with IS fighters on Friday morning, the monitor said. Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmuk and the edges of Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning. IS has held parts of Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmuk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month. At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting in southern Damascus, the monitor said. The latest civilian deaths bring to 36 the number of non-fighters killed in regime bombardment in that same period, it said. Yarmuk and the surroundings are now IS's largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighbouring Iraq. The jihadists have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014. Yarmuk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees has said. President Bashar al-Assad's regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month. Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kanga Kong and Andy Sharp (Bloomberg) Seoul, South Korea Fri, April 27, 2018 17:27 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0efe39 2 World #NorthKorea,#SouthKorea,#NorthKoreaNuclear,#NuclearDisarmament,#KimJongUn,#MoonJae-in,#PeaceTalks Free North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed Friday to finally end a seven-decade war this year, and pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders embraced after signing the deal during a historic meeting on their shared border, the first time a North Korean leader has set foot on the southern side. They announced plans to formally declare a resolution to the war and replace 1953 armistice that ended open hostilities into a peace treaty by years end. We have agreed to share a firm determination to open a new era in which all Korean people enjoy prosperity and happiness on a peaceful land without wars, Kim said, in his first remarks in front of the global press since taking power in 2011. The two sides confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement. It didnt elaborate on what that would entail. The commitment to complete denuclearization is ambiguous, and subject to different interpretations, said Youngshik Bong, a researcher at Yonsei Universitys Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. It can be interpreted as North Korea getting rid of all warheads, or North Korean demands on the US military in South Korea. The agreement follows a rapid thaw of tensions on the peninsula after a flurry of North Korean missile tests and a hydrogen bomb detonation last year. Kim plans to meet US President Donald Trump soon, which would be the first summit between a North Korean leader and a sitting American president. The question now is whether the commitment will lead to lasting change. Previous agreements have collapsed over inspections, weapons tests and disputes over economic aid. Much of the agreement mirrors previous deals between North Korea and Moons liberal predecessors. It appeared aimed at restoring cooperation that had deteriorated over the past decade. Kims official Korean Central News Agency issued a tersely worded commentary after the announcement urging the US to respond with sincerity. What is needed for the US is to learn how to observe good manners and how to respect the party concerned, not resorting to high-handed practices and arrogance, the piece said. Reaction in markets was limited given the South Korean stock market had closed for the week when the deal was announcement landed. The cost of insuring South Koreas sovereign bonds against non-payment fell 1.75 basis points to 44.75 basis points as of 6:10 p.m. in Seoul, Barclays Plc prices showed. The credit-default swap contracts, are on track for their lowest close since March 14, according to data provider CMA. The stakes remain high, with Kim on the cusp of developing a missile capable of delivering one of his estimated 60 nuclear bombs to any city in the US -- a step Trump has threatened war to stop. Kim and Moon said they would hold military talks next month and seek a phased disarmament, without providing more details. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sohn Ji-young (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Seoul, South Korea Fri, April 27, 2018 16:49 1256 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e0ed45f 2 World #NorthKorea,#SouthKorea,#PeaceTalks,#Panmunjeom,#KimJongUn,#sister,#KimYo-jong Free North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un crossed the border to the South on Friday for the first historic inter-Korean summit in 11 years on Friday. Accompanying Kim at the truce village of Panmunjeom was a nine-member entourage, only one of whom is a woman. For those wondering, she is not the first lady. She is Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leaders sister and the first vice department director of the North's Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea. She is the only daughter of North Koreas late supreme leader Kim Jong-il and his wife Ko Yong-hui, a Japanese-born Korean dancer. She has two older brothers, Kim Jong-un who is the eldest and Kim Jong-chol. Kim Jong-nam, who was assassinated in Malaysia last year, is her half brother. Kim Yo-jong, 30, is considered a close and powerful confidante to Kim Jong-un and was sent to the South as Kim Jong-uns special envoy during the recent Winter Olympics held in South Korea. She currently remains on a US sanctions list over alleged links to human rights abuses in North Korea. On Friday, Kim Yo-jong was seen closely accompanying her brother as he started his historic meeting with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in. After Kim Jong-un crossed the Military Demarcation Line, he passed the flowers he had received to his sister, who was waiting behind him. Afterwards, she was the fourth person from North Korea to shake hands with President Moon, after the Norths ceremonial head of state Kim Young-nam, Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers Party of Koreas Central Committee in charge of inter-Korean affairs, and North Koreas Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. Kim Yo-jong, who had already met with Moon two months ago, greeted the South Korean president with a bright smile. Nice to see you, she said. She closely followed the North Korean leader in the events that followed, and security guards had to ask her to step aside when the two leaders were posing for photos. Kim Yo-jong was also seen personally handing over a pen she had prepared to Kim Jong-un, as he was about to sign the guestbook at the Peace House where the summit is taking place. She was seen sitting to the left of her brother as the summit began. Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Sat, April 28 2018 Tight contest: A couple rides a motorcycle past the flags of Malaysias ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Alliance), and opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) ahead of the upcoming 14th general election, on Langkawi Island on Friday. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is contesting a parliamentary seat in Langkawi. (Reuters/Lai Seng Sin) Malaysia is heading toward General Election 14 (GE14) on May 9, with the opposition breaking away, forming two separate coalitions against the solid Barisan Nasional (National Alliance) that rules the country. The split and the return of a former prime minister onto the political stage is believed to be a turning point. The Jakarta Posts Novan Iman Santosa visited Malaysia recently to get a picture of the political dynamics in the negara serumpun. Candidate... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stevie Emilia (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, April 28 2018 Seri Tara (Courtesy of The Palace Jeweler) The word traditional in the sphere of luxury jewelry has been given a contemporary twist by renowned designer Samuel Wattimena. As one of the most ethnically diverse societies, Indonesias rich culture is irrefutable, with the countrys cultural elements, from batik and kris to the traditional Papuan noken bag gaining international recognition. Its jewelry traditions, however, barely scratch the surface, with many precious pieces, found across the archipelago and mostly used in religious or traditional rituals, remaining hidden. Jewelry, historically and even until today, often serves as a symbol of status and wealth and is quietly passed down through the generations, becoming heirlooms that are worn only for important ceremonies. When studying mot... State Sen. Brian Kavanagh will be hosting a Community Convention in Lower Manhattan Sunday, May 6. Its an opportunity for constituents in the 26th Senate District to weigh in with their legislative and funding priorities for the next year. Late last year, Kavanagh succeeded Daniel Squadron, who made a tradition of holding these annual conventions while he was in office. You can RSVP here. Theres a list of topics to be covered here. SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quizam Media Corporation (the Company) (TSX-V:QQ) is pleased to announce that it has signed a deal with AC3, a notable player in the digital content marketplace. AC3 will market ontrackTV to its growing global market. John Fields, AC3 co-founder, commented, We are thrilled to have ontrackTV on board. Their contemporary bit size learning format and high quality content fits perfectly on our digital content marketplace. Weve targeted OTV as a partner from the start since we are both market leaders with growth velocity. Russ Rossi, CEO of ontrackTV, commented, AC3 is a crypto currency leader. Their cryptocoin consistently gains value week after week. We see this partnership as a super charged new chapter for ontrackTV. Under the terms of the agreement all revenues derived from sales of ontrackTV subscriptions go to ontrackTV in AC3 cryptocurrency. About AC3 AC3 is a multi-purpose blockchain marketplace that allows content creators and educators to distribute, protect and monetize their content. AC3 is the global leader in secure decentralized digital content transactions. The AC3 team are content creators and educators themselves reaching over 2.5 million creators, designers and software developers every month. AC3 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hacksaw International Incorporated. About ontrackTV.com ontrackTV is a wholly owned subsidiary of Quizam Media Corporation. ontrackTV uses high quality video and live instructors to deliver computer training online. Easy to follow lessons are structured into a library of hundreds of bite size, task led tutorials that support individuals with the training they need wherever and whenever they need it. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and nature of potential acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, business dealings and financings, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements made in this Press Release. We're sorry, you encountered a page that doesn't exist. Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, speaks with The National Student about the manner in which the British Government facilitated the perpetration of mass crimes against humanities, war crimes, and possible genocide in Burma. According to Mark, not only did the UK government ignore prior warnings, but actively participated in a training programme for Burmese soldiers and is currently failing to push for an arms embargo or for senior military officials to face trial at the International Criminal Court. Our conversation concludes with a discussion on how students can pressure the government to change its policies and help alleviate the suffering in Burma currently. Could you begin by describing who Min Aung Hlaing is and his importance in Burmese Military atrocities? Min Aung Hlaing is the head of the military, he is the commander-in-chief of the defence services. This makes him the most powerful person in Burma. He is more powerful than the President or Aung San Suu Kyis created post of State Counsellor, where is she is the de facto leader. The military brought in this new constitution in 2008, which was meant to address the pressure they were facing domestically and internationally; they knew they had to have more openness and democracy with freedom of expression within the country to alleviate some of that pressure domestically, and to get sanctions lifted to allow for trade and investment. Min Aung Hlaing has been commander-in-chief since the reform process. The changes began in 2010-2011, and during that time we have seen a dramatic escalation in violence and human rights violations, particularly human rights violations that would be considered serious violations of international law, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and now the UN is saying possibly genocide In 2011-2012 with the military offenses there was a much greater intensity and a higher level of human rights violations, including a very high level of the use of rape as a weapon of war by the military. What we are seeing now with the Rohingya in Rakhine state, they are taking it to a completely different level again, first in October 2016 and then in August 2017. His soldiers are committing a much more intense violations of human rights, and it seems to be a deliberate tactic to instil fear into the population to drive them out. The media has mostly ignored Min Aung Hlaing; he sometimes gets the occasional reference, but when this military offensive began in August 2017 a lot of the attention was on Aung San Suu Kyi. Min Aung Hlaing was the one who was ordering those soldiers to do that, and he was not getting the attention, which means he was not getting the pressure to stop. A lot of what we were trying to do was make sure media and others were aware that this was the person who was responsible. There needs to be focus on him, and we were partially successful in that. You wrote in your report to Parliament that Every time new abuses were perpetrated against the Rohingya, the British government, along with the rest of the international community, failed to act. Not only did they fail to act, they relaxed pressure, and gave more support to military and the government even as they perpetrated these abuses. Could you explain that statement? The military were very lucky, in that, as they were introducing their new system it coincided with Obama in the White House, who was very weak on human rights, and who had other priorities in the region. In the UK we had the conservative led government here that took over in 2010, which dropped human rights as a priority. Once they stopped pushing within the EU, all those countries within the EU that had wanted a softer approach were given free reign. This ended up with the international community agreeing to life sanctions, and a mini-race to get business contracts in the country. European countries and others that had not been there scrabbled to set up trade offices and representatives, and the British government in particular wanted contracts from the government on services, advising them on developing agriculture, transport infrastructure, energy, things like that. They were bidding for contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to advise the government, so the UK were being particularly obsequious on these matters. Every time something happened with the Rohingya it was an inconvenience; the British Government didnt want to know about it, so they pushed it aside. (During) the first violence against the Rohingya in 2012, the UK and the EU tried to present it as a policing problem, that the police didnt have the experience and the capacity to control what was communal violence, not something the government was perpetrating. So the UK and the EU went with a policing programme. This meant that the police that were backed by the military government and were getting training and support from the international community. When the EU suspended sanctions in 2012, they had set one of the conditions for the permanent lifting of those sanctions as the improvement of the condition of the Rohingya. Things obviously were not improving; they got worse, there were two large scale waves of violence, 140,000 people displaced, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed according to a legal analysis by Human Rights Watch. Yet the UK and EU continued with its training programme and lifted the sanctions. So consistently the message was sent to the Burmese government that the Rohingya is merely a talking point, we are interested in trade, and basically the Rohingya are expendable. The ministers who visit are effectively in a subservient sales position, they are not going to be asserting the promotion of human rights. During the relaxing of pressure on the Burmese government and military was there any forewarning that this was a bad idea? Organisations like ourselves, Burma Campaign UK, (and) other human rights organisations - Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights, and Rohingya organisations - were all saying this is a dangerous downward spiral, it is getting worse and worse. We were doing everything we could to try to get the international community to wake up to what was going on. Ultimately we were ignored. Not just ignored, the British government cut off access to British ministers for these human rights groups. They didnt want to hear what we were having to say. We were proven right, but they did not want to hear it, they did not want to know. You had the British government not just denying the problems, and looking the other way, they were actively downplaying it. They cannot claim they had no idea this was happening, they knew. They knew it was so serious that if it was accepted they would not be able to justify their policies: giving military training, giving their business, so they downplayed it. They were wilfully ignoring what was going on. No one has lost their job for it. We are talking about thousands of lives, thousands of women raped, this is a colossal atrocity, and not one government official, not one government minster has been held accountable for doing such a terrible job in such a way that has led to and facilitated what has happened. One of the things noted on your website was your success in lobbying the British Government to stop the military training. Yes, the military training was announced in 2013 and this is a programme that was normally only given to countries that had already gone under a transition to democracy, which Burma had not done. They tried to spin it as human rights training, and we fought a yearlong battle with the Ministry of Defence to get the details, and it turned out that out of 60 hours only one was on human rights. So it was not human rights training at all. They lied. It was only after this latest offensive began, and 157 parliamentarians wrote to the government about it. It appears Downing street has overruled the foreign office and have cancelled the programme. We saw quite a strong reaction from the Burmese military, who said they would never ever accept training from Britain ever again. But what was incredible is that this was cancelled at the end of September 2017; it was a month on from the atrocities, by then everyone was clear there were hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in Bangladesh. The details of the human rights violations taking place were very clear, and even as the British government finally belatedly cancelled this programme there were Burmese army military officers in the UK at British taxpayers expense that had arrived just a couple of days before. How can students in the UK stay informed and help the situation in Burma? social media; Well our organisation is onwe have an email list which people can subscribe to where we have regular updates and campaigns. Burmese Rohingya Organisation, In the UK there are organisations likewhich the Rohingya community here have established, and they have a global reputation to brief governments and to speak at public events because of the reliability of their work. Rohingya Vision, There iswhich has people on the ground reporting what is going on. But the thing is I see people sometimes who roll their eyes when they ask what can I do? and I say talk to your MPs, but it really makes a difference. We have seen time and time again when we are trying to get the British Government to do something and they are refusing, if we can mobilise enough support in Parliament then the British government feels the heat. It is rare that we have found that the Foreign Office will do something because it is the right thing to do. Logic and morals do not seem to be the primary driving factor in their decision making, but at some point you have a minister who is being questioned in Parliament all the time, he is walking down the corridors in Parliament and he has got MPs coming up and talking to him about something and he is going back to his officials and asking why the government is not doing anything about it. Writing to MPs, or going to meet your MPs, really does make a difference. We have had MPs standing up in Parliament really putting a boot into the minster, based on the fact that they have had constituents meeting them and writing to them. The other thing is that we are going to be producing a dirty-list of companies that are arming or doing business with the military at some point later this year. This will include the contact details of all those companies in order to contact those arms manufacturers, or any other companies that are involved in human rights violations against the Rohingya, or any other ethnic people in Burma. All these companies will be named and shamed on this list with their contact details. When we had a dirty list in the past more than 100 companies pulled out, so we know this is an effective tactic. One of the other goals your organisation mentions is a UN global arms embargo - is there any movement towards that end? We have been really surprised how hard it has been to get any country to support this; we thought this was a no-brainer. I mean this military is committing what the UN says is ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide - not selling them guns should be a no-brainer. If ever there is a good reason for having a UN mandated global arms embargo this would be it, yet it has gained no traction whatsoever. We have been calling on the European Union, the British government, and others to support this, and it seems countries are not willing to go there. The EU has its own arms embargo but is not willing to support a UN mandated arms embargo. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries that have been so outspoken have not been willing to support it, because their member states are still supplying the military with equipment. At the end of the day it is another one of those things that would require the UN Security Council to act, and China and Russia are both selling huge amounts of equipment to the Burmese military, so the problem of a veto is present. But this is another example where just the process would put pressure on the Burmese military. With more and more countries coming out supporting a UN-mandated arms embargo it starts to become a thing that countries are not going to want to ignore, because of the potential controversy around its human rights implications. Really anything that makes the militarys life more difficult will save lives on the ground. Latvian English AS "Latvijas balzams" publishes Annual report of 2017. The audited net turnover of the Company for the year 2017 reached EUR 78.3 million, up 3.4% against 2016. The increase was achieved owing to the growth of orders from our biggest private label customer SPI Cyprus and the significant increase in sales of AS Latvijas Balzams brands on the local market through SIA Amber Distribution Latvia. An additional positive effect on turnover came from warehouse and logistics services provided to both external customers and related companies. The audited net profit for the year 2017 is EUR 8.6 million, which represents 11% of turnover, up 15% from 2016. The growth of profit was considerably affected by changes in the corporate income tax system stipulated by the Law on Corporate Income Tax of the Republic of Latvia, which entered into force on 1 January 2018. As a result of these changes, the Company has reversed deferred tax liabilities and recognized a gain from reversal through the income tax expense caption of the income statement. AS Latvijas balzams is one of the largest local taxpayers. During the reporting period, the Company paid taxes of EUR 59.7 million to the state budget, including excise duty amounting to EUR 47.5 million. Chairman of the Board Intars Geidans Riga, 27 April, 2018 FORM 8.3 PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code") 1. KEY INFORMATION (a) Full name of discloser: Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a): The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates: Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Sky plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 26 April 2018 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer? If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" 2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security. (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any) Class of relevant security: 50p ordinary Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: (2) Cash-settled derivatives: 25,316,119 1.4727 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: TOTAL: 25,316,119 1.4727 All interests and all short positions should be disclosed. Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions). (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options) Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: 3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in. The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated. (a) Purchases and sales Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit 50p ordinary CFD Increasing a long position 520,000 13.5696 GBP 50p ordinary CFD Increasing a long position 400,000 13.5794 GBP 50p ordinary CFD Increasing a long position 233,000 13.5763 GBP 50p ordinary CFD Increasing a long position 167,000 13.5650 GBP (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options) (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit (ii) Exercise Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities) Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) 4. OTHER INFORMATION (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer: Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" NONE (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to: (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced: If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" NONE (c) Attachments Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO Date of disclosure: 27 April, 2018 Contact name: James Gange Telephone number: 212-446-4029 Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129. The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk. They must have it out for us. Source: Comic Con In an unprecedented event, The Eisners have snubbed The Outhouse, the comics journalism the comics industry deserves, for the 37th year in a row. Outhouse Editor-in-Chief Tim Midura told us, "It's astounding really. They must be waiting until we die to give us a lifetime achievement award. And I bet they're hoping it's sooner rather than later." The full list of nominees is below. Best Short Story Ethel Byrne, by Cecil Castelluci and Scott Chantler, in Mine: A Celebration of Liberty and Freedom for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood (ComicMix) Forgotten Princess, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Antonio Sandoval, in Adventure Time Comics #13 (kaboom!) A Life in Comics: The Graphic Adventures of Karen Green, by Nick Sousanis, in Columbia Magazine (Summer 2017), http://magazine.columbia.edu/features/summer-2017/life-comics?page=0,0 Small Mistakes Make Big Problems, by Sophia Foster-Dimino, in Comics for Choice (Hazel Newlevant) Trans Plant, by Megan Rose Gedris, in Enough Space for Everyone Else (Bedside Press) Best Single Issue/One-Shot Barbara, by Nicole Miles (ShortBox) Hellboy: Krampusnacht, by Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes (Dark Horse) Pope Hats #5, by Ethan Rilly (AdHouse Books) The Spotted Stone, by Rick Veitch (Sun Comics) What Is Left, by Rosemary Valero-OConnell (ShortBox) Best Continuing Series Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and David Rubin (Dark Horse) Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Liz Fleming (BOOM! Box) Hawkeye, by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, and Mike Walsh (Marvel) Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image) The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image) Best Limited Series Black Panther: World of Wakanda, by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Alitha E. Martinez (Marvel) Extremity, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image/Skybound) The Flintstones, by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Rick Leonardi, and Scott Hanna (DC) Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC) X-Men: Grand Design, by Ed Piskor (Marvel) Best New Series Black Bolt, by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward (Marvel) Grass Kings, by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins (BOOM! Studios) Maestros, by Steve Skroce (Image) Redlands, by Jordie Belaire and Vanesa Del Rey (Image) Royal City, by Jeff Lemire (Image) Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) Adele in Sand Land, by Claude Ponti, translated by Skeeter Grant and Francoise Mouly (Toon Books) Arthur and the Golden Rope, by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye/Nobrow) Egg, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books) Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books) Little Tails in the Savannah, by Frederic Brremaud and Federico Bertolucci, translated by Mike Kennedy (Lion Forge/Magnetic) Best Publication for Kids (ages 912) Bolivar, by Sean Rubin (Archaia) Home Time (Book One): Under the River, by Campbell Whyte (Top Shelf) Nightlights, by Lorena Alvarez (Nobrow) The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie ONeill (Oni) Wallace the Brave, by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel) Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17) The Dam Keeper, by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi (First Second/Tonko House) Jane, by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramon K. Perez (Archaia) Louis Undercover, by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi) Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image) Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second) Best Humor Publication Baking with Kafka, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly) Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, by Tom King, Lee Weeks, and Byron Vaughn (DC) The Flintstones, by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Rick Leonardi, and Scott Hanna (DC) Rock Candy Mountain, by Kyle Starks (Image) Wallace the Brave, by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel) Best Anthology A Bunch of Jews (and Other Stuff): A Minyen Yidn, by Max B. Perlson, Trina Robbins et al. (Bedside Press) A Castle in England, by Jamie Rhodes et al. (Nobrow) Elements: Fire, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color, edited by Taneka Stotts (Beyond Press) Now #1, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics) The Spirit Anthology, edited by Sean Phillips (Lakes International Comic Art Festival) Best Reality-Based Work Audubon: On the Wings of the World, by Fabien Grolleau and Jeremie Royer, translated by Etienne Gilfillan (Nobrow) The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui (Abrams ComicArts) Calamity Jane: The Calamitous Life of Martha Jane Cannary, 18521903, by Christian Perrissin and Matthieu Blanchin, translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (IDW) Lennon: The New York Years, by David Foenkinos, Corbeyran, and Horne, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger (IDW) Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second) Best Graphic AlbumNew Crawl Space, by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama Press) Eartha, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics) My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics) Stages of Rot, by Linnea Sterte (Peow) The Story of Jezebel, by Elijah Brubaker (Uncivilized Books) Best Graphic AlbumReprint Boundless, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly) Fantagraphics Studio Edition: Black Hole by Charles Burns, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics) Small Favors: The Definitive Girly Porno Collection, by Colleen Coover (Oni/Limerence) Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, by Michael DeForge (Drawn & Quarterly) Unreal City, by D. J. Bryant (Fantagraphics) Best Adaptation from Another Medium Beowulf, adapted by Santiago Garcia and David Rubin (Image) H. P. Lovecrafts The Hound and Other Stories, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translated by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse) Herman Melvilles Moby Dick, adapted by Christophe Chaboute, translated by Laure Dupont (Dark Horse) Kindred, by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts) Best U.S. Edition of International Material Audubon: On the Wings of the World, by Fabien Grolleau and Jeremie Royer, translated by Etienne Gilfillan (Nobrow) Flight of the Raven, by Jean-Pierre Gibrat, translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (EuroComics/IDW) FUN, by Paolo Bacilieri, translated by Jamie Richards (SelfMadeHero) Ghost of Gaudi, by El Torres and Jesus Alonso Iglesias, translated by Esther Villardon Grande (Lion Forge/Magnetic) The Ladies-in-Waiting, by Santiago Garcia and Javier Olivares, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics) Run for It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought for the Freedom, by Marcelo DSalete, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics) Best U.S. Edition of International MaterialAsia Furari, by Jiro Taniguchi, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) Golden Kamuy, by Satoru Noda, translated by Eiji Yasuda (VIZ Media) My Brothers Husband, vol. 1, by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii (Pantheon) Otherworld Barbara, vol. 2, by Moto Hagio, translated by Matt Thorn (Fantagraphics) Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories, by Junji Ito translated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media) Best Archival Collection/ProjectStrips Celebrating Snoopy, by Charles M. Shulz, edited by Alexis E. Fajardo and Dorothy OBrien (Andrews McMeel) Crazy Quilt: Scraps and Panels on the Way to Gasoline Alley, by Frank King, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press) Foolish Questions and Other Odd Observations, by Rube Goldberg, edited by Peter Maresca and Paul C. Tumey (Sunday Press Books) Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Dailies, by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Daniel Herman (Hermes Press) Star Wars: The Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, by Russ Manning et al., edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW) Best Archival Collection/ProjectComic Books Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha) Behaving MADly, edited by Craig Yoe (Yoe Books/IDW) The Collected Neil the Horse, by Arn Saba/Katherine Collins, edited by Andy Brown (Conundrum) Fantagraphics Studio Edition: Jaime Hernandez, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics) Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017, by Paul Gravett, Denis Kitchen, and John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse) Best Writer Tom King, Batman, Batman Annual #2, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, Mister Miracle (DC) Matt Kindt, Grass Kings (BOOM! Studios); Ether (Dark Horse); Eternity, X-O Manowar (Valiant) Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Descender (Image) Marjorie Liu, Monstress (Image) Mark Russell, The Flintstones (DC) Best Writer/Artist Lorena Alvarez, Night Lights (Nobrow) Chaboute, Moby Dick (Dark Horse); Alone, Park Bench (Gallery 13/Simon & Schuster) Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics) Cathy Malkasian, Eartha (Fantagraphics) Jiro Taniguchi, Furari, Louis Vuitton Travel Guide: Venice (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Isabelle Arsenault, Louis Undercover (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi) Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC) Gary Gianni, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (Dark Horse) Ramon K. Perez, Jane (Archaia) David Rubin, Black Hammer #9 & #12, Ether, Sherlock Frankenstein #13 (Dark Horse); Beowulf (Image) Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) Federico Bertolucci, Love: The Dinosaur, Little Tails (Lion Forge/Magnetic) EFA, Monet: Itinerant of Light (NBM) Jean-Pierre Gibrat, Flight of the Raven (EuroComics/IDW) Cyril Pedrosa, Portugal (NBM) Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image) Best Cover Artist Jorge Corona, No. 1 with a Bullet (Image) Nick Derington, Mister Miracle (DC); Doom Patrol (DC Young Animal) Brian Stelfreeze, Black Panther (Marvel) Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image) Julian Totino Tedesco, Hawkeye (Marvel) Best Coloring Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics) Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC) Ed Piskor, X-Men: Grand Design (Marvel) David Rubin, Ether, Black Hammer, Sherlock Frankenstein (Dark Horse); Beowulf (Image) Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, BPRD: Devil You Know, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea, Sherlock Frankenstein, Shaolin Cowboy (Dark Horse); Maestros (Image) Rosemary Valero-OConnell, What Is Left (ShortBox) Best Lettering Isabelle Arsenault, Louis Undercover (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi) Clayton Cowles, Bitch Planet: Triple Feature, Redlands, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Bolt, Spider-Gwen, Astonishing X-Men, Star Wars (Marvel) Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics) Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Groo: Slay of the Gods (Dark Horse) John Workman, Mother Panic (DC Young Animal); Ragnorok (IDW) Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows) The Comics Journal, edited by Dan Nadel, Timothy Hodler, and Tucker Stone, tcj.com (Fantagraphics) Hogans Alley, edited by Tom Heintjes Jack Kirby Collector, edited by John Morrow (TwoMorrows) PanelXPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, panelxpanel.com Best Comics-Related Book Deconstructing the Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, by Jean Annestay and Christophe Quillien (Humanoids) How Comics Work, by Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher (Wellfleet Press/Quarto Group) How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden (Fantagraphics) Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini, by Richard Pini (Flesk) Monograph, by Chris Ware (Rizzoli) To Laugh That We May Not Weep: The Life and Times of Art Young, by Glenn Bray and Frank M. Young (Fantagraphics) Best Academic/Scholarly Work The Comics of Charles Schulz: The Good Grief of Modern Life, edited by Jared Gardner and Ian Gordon (University Press of Mississippi) Ethics in the Gutter: Empathy and Historical Fiction in Comics, by Kate Polak (Ohio State University Press) Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics, by Frederick Luis Aldama (University of Arizona Press) Neon Visions: The Comics of Howard Chaykin, by Brannon Costello (LSU Press) Picturing Childhood: Youth in Transnational Comics, edited by Mark Heimermann and Brittany Tullis (University of Texas Press) Best Publication Design Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, designed by Phil Balsman, Akira Saito (Veia), NORMA Editorial, and MASHROOM (Kodansha) Celebrating Snoopy, designed by Spencer Williams and Julie Phillips (Andrews McMeel) Monograph, designed by Chris Ware (Rizzoli) My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics) Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017, designed by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse) Best Digital Comic Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology) Barrier, by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin (Panel Syndicate) The Carpet Merchant of Konstaniniyya, by Reimena Yee (reimenayee.com/the-carpet-merchant) Contact High, by James F. Wright and Josh Eckert (gumroad.com/l/YnxSm) Harvey Kurtzmans Marleys Ghost, by Harvey Kurtzman, Josh ONeill, Shannon Wheeler, and Gideon Kendall (comiXology Originals/Kitchen, Lind & Associates) Quince, by Sebastian Kadlecik, Kit Steinkellner, and Emma Steinkellner, translated by Valeria Tranier (Fanbase Press/comiXology) Best Webcomic TORONTO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECN Capital Corp. (TSX:ECN) (ECN Capital) confirmed today that the seven nominees listed in its management information circular (the Circular) dated March 19, 2018 were elected as directors at todays Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the Meeting). The detailed results of the vote for the election of directors at the Meeting held earlier today in Toronto, Ontario are set out below. At the Meeting, the following seven individuals nominated to serve as directors of ECN Capital were elected by show of hands. Proxies were received as follows: For Withheld William Lovatt 95.63% 4.37% Steven Hudson 97.08% 2.92% Paul Stoyan 95.67% 4.33% Pierre Lortie 97.47% 2.53% David Morris 99.66% 0.34% Donna Toth 99.94% 0.06% Carol Goldman 96.00% 4.00% Furthermore, at the Meeting, an advisory resolution on ECN Capitals approach to executive compensation, as set out in the Circular, was passed as an ordinary resolution of ECN Capitals shareholders by a vote conducted by ballot. The results of the ballot were 181,077,673 common shares (76.07%) voting in favour of the say on pay resolution. The re-appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the independent auditors of ECN Capital was also approved at the Meeting by a show of hands. The results of these matters considered at the Meeting are reported in the Report of Voting Results as filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on April 27, 2018. About ECN Capital Corp. With total owned and managed assets of more than C$5.5 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX:ECN) is one of North America's leading finance companies. ECN Capital operates in four verticals: Home Improvement Finance, Manufactured Housing Finance, Rail Finance and Aviation Finance. Contact John Wimsatt 647-649-4634 jwimsatt@ecncapitalcorp.com Lane Martodam, grade 3, son of Jason Martodam and Crystal Martodam was selected as Wolfords Student of the Month for February. Emily Yoder, grade 8, daughter of Kim and Laura Yoder was selected as Wolfords Student of the Quarter. Halle Handegard, grade 4, daughter of Erick and Tara Handegard was selected as Wolfords Student of the Month for March. WOLFORD FBLA Members of the Wolford Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter attended the 51st annual ND FBLA State Leadership Conference in Bismarck, March 25-27, 2018. Over 60 FBLA chapters from across the state participated in this conference, where approximately 1,300 students had the opportunity to test their business skills against other students from around the state. The most exciting aspect of the conference is the competitive events program. Students have the opportunity to test the business skills theyve learned in the classroom in a variety of individual, team, and chapter events. Students can enter events such as accounting, computer applications, public speaking, job interview, website design, or business ethics. The culmination of the competitive events program is the awards ceremony where winners are recognized for their accomplishments. In addition to the competitive events program, students had the opportunity to attend workshops, vote for the 2018-2019 state officer team, and network with members from around the state. The Wolford Chapter brought home a tremendous amount of awards. The students participated in a couple events that happened before the SLC. They placed in the following events. Virtual Business Finance Challenge 1st Round ?Koby Marchus 6th, Ashton Wendland 7th, Cole Slaubaugh, Zach Morrow, & Justin Yoder 10th Virtual Business Finance Challenge 2nd Round ?Kaitlin Slaubaugh & Sierra Tofte 5th Virtual Business Management Challenge 1st Round ?Kyle Yoder 6th, Justin Yoder, Zach Morrow, & Cole Slaubaugh 7th, Koby Marchus 9th, Elijah Clay 10th Virtual Business Management Challenge 2nd Round ?Cole Martodam 8th, Justin Yoder 10th Stock Market Game?Zach Morrow 3rd, Ashton Wendland 6th The following awards were received at the State Leadership Conference: Intro to FBLA?Kaitlin Slaubaugh 2nd, Cole Slaubaugh 5th, and Cody Yoder 9th Computer Problem Solving?Koby Marchus 4th and Kyle Yoder 6th Cyber Security Kyle Yoder 10th Securities and Investments Justin Yoder 5th Kaitlin and Koby qualified for the National Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Maryland in June. Justin and Kyle were alternates and recently found out that they are able to compete at the NLC as well. Congratulations to all. Journey to meet May 16 The next meeting of The Journey, a cancer support group, will be held Wednesday, May 16, in the Fox Auditorium at the Heart of America Medical Center. Guest speaker Pamela Holwegner, an advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner with the Trinity Cancer Care Center in Minot, will cancer survivorship and relationships during and beyond treatment. The group will also celebrate their survivors at the time, as they will not meet in June. The group will also discuss cancer awarenesses for the month of May, which are melanoma/skin cancer and brain cancer. Tribune Staff Report Rugby named Tree City USA Rugby, North Dakota was named a 2017 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to effective urban forest management. Rugby achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the programs four requirements: a tree board or department; a tree care ordinance; an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community first hand, said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. Additionally, recognition brings residents together and creates a sense of community pride, whether its through volunteer engagement or public education. Trees provide multiple benefits to a community when properly planted and maintained. They help to improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs. remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits. More information on the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCityUSA. About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org. Arbor Day Foundation Rugby jr. high students compete at MathCounts Rugby High school took the following students to Fessenden to compete at the Junior High MathCounts on February 2: Brooke Anderson; Alyssa Harmel; Annika Johnson; Taya Rameden; Amy Volk Amy Volk qualified for state and competed at the State competition in Bismarck on March 5, 2018. Stephanie Halvorson, owner of Balta Bar and Grill, 202 Main Street, Balta, ND, celebrates her 5th anniversary this month in this small town which hosts only one bar and restaurant. But the Balta Bar and Grill is not to be underestimated; it has some of the best food in the county. I know this for a fact, I ate there on Thursday. Spring was here, weather was great Thursday and it was time to get out of Rugby and report on the rest of Pierce County. I looked at the map to see what my options were, and Balta blinked out at me. Balta it was. Balta lies about 20 minutes south of Rugby, and off Highway 3 about two miles west. The locals congregate here at noon for lunch. They can smell the gas grill barbecuing ribs clear out on the farm on a nice spring day. I could smell them on the way into town, and it smelled good. Four local eaters all told me that I could not take their pictures, cause they werent suppose to be there for lunch. They pointed out the sign above the bar, that they all adhere to What happens in here, stays here. In honor of the code at the Balta Bar and Grill, I put down the camera. The bar is adequate size, amazingly light environment with a big grill in the kitchen, and has a huge outdoor BBQ which was simmering some ribs since early morning. I had the prime rib sandwich with french fries. The portions were plentiful and the food fresh, and hot. The prime rib dissolved in my mouth without chewing. The fries were the best I ve ever had. North Dakota has some good food! Five years ago, after managing the Rugby Cobblestone Inn, and having been a cook in her career, Halvorson bought the bar and opened it with a full menu for lunch and dinners. Halvorson makes all her soups fresh from scratch, and are served daily. The Balta Bar and Grill is open six days a week noon to one am, and closed only Monday. Halvorson does all the cooking and only has help on Friday and Saturday night. She needs it those nights, Because we are busy on Friday and Saturday, she said. We serve prime rib and Steaks. We use the best and freshest local meats I can find, and I have a secret ingredient for my fries and I ve had no complaints. We have a street dance once a year in the summer. We have darts, 2 x 4 Junga, and a great pool table, Halvorson added. Balta Bar and Grill also provides appetizers for parties, and special occasions. They can be reached online at Facebook or call 701-542-3322. Next week I travel north, to Wolford, to the Corregidor for lunch. I cant wait. University structure in South Dakota could get a major overhaul The South Dakota Board of Regents is considering everything from selling buildings in Sioux Falls to redefining university missions. IRVINE, CA, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and its partner, Cali RX, are pleased to announce the CBIS Cali RX location at 14006 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, California 91423 will launch the Cannabis Science to End Opioids Deaths Now Campaign! to address the serious opioid issue. Presented as another iCannabinoid, We the People Campaign!, this new initiative will be presented at the Companys upcoming Educational Expo at the new CBIS Cali RX location on Ventura Boulevard. We believe we need to take the opioid fight to the streets! stated Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, Cannabis Sciences President, CEO, and Co-founder. We will be discussing the Companys major initiatives, the newest Cannabis Science to End Opioids Deaths Now Campaign! presented as another iCannabinoid, We the People Campaign! We will also discuss Cannabis Sciences drug-development consortium, and iCannabinoid, the Companys social media and educational interactive online platform. We will bring in special guests to discuss scholarship programs and special opportunities available through Cannabis Sciences educational partners, including American States University, American Heritage University School of Law, and the Raymond C. Dabney University. This opioid fight just got serious! Cannabis Science will implement its Cannabis Science to End Opioids Deaths Now Campaign! This will be another iCannabinoid, We the People Campaign! All CBIS pharmacy locations will implement special programs to educate the people and help eradicate opioid deaths by replacing opioids with Cannabinoids, pills, extracts, tinctures, sprays, inhalers, and many more options that all have serious potential to end opioid additions. It has been known that Cannabis is used as a Gateway out of opioid addiction. This is not new, stated Mr. Dabney. Why arent the people educated? This is where we can step up our game and help educate on the potential benefits of cannabinoids. Sign up in iCannabinoid and set up your own Action Group or join an existing End Opioid Deaths Action Group, or come on down to our Ventura Boulevard location and well come up with some ideas and solutions for you to try. We the people can make a change. One saved life at a time is more than enough to motivate me to start making a difference right now! concluded Mr. Dabney. A CNN SPECIAL REPORT: Dr. Sanjay Gupta WEED 4: Pot Vs Pills Please click here to view the whole report: http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2018/04/18/a-cnn-special-report-dr-sanjay-gupta-weed-4-pot-vs-pills/ Politicians promise to lead the country out of the worst drug crisis in its history, but opioid abuse continues to kill Americans in record numbers. Are our leaders ignoring a lifesaving solution? Over 115 Americans die every day from opioid overdoses, more than those killed in car accidents, from breast cancer or even guns. Nearly 2.5 million Americans struggle with opioid addiction, and though controversial, some people believe a potentially lifesaving solution may lie in medical marijuana. In the fourth installment of his groundbreaking series, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes an in-depth look at marijuanas potential as both an alternative to opioids in treating pain and in ending opioid addiction. WEED 4: POT VERSUS PILLS will air on CNN, Sunday, April 29th at 8pm ET. WEED 4: POT VS PILLS will stream live for subscribers on Sunday April 29th via CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. The documentary will also be available the day after the broadcast premiere on demand via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps. Weed 1-3 is now also available for subscribers via CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. The CBIS Cali RX location on Ventura Boulevard will benefit from being located on one of the primary east-to-west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley, as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions). Historically, local and small shops have concentrated and thrived along Ventura Boulevard. Cannabis Science encourages its customers to inquire about iCannabinoid, the Companys online, high-tech social platform, at all locations. Cannabis Sciences aim is to have a fully-integrated community, by providing the experience of brick-and-mortar locations, as well as an online community for sharing experiences with medical marijuana and learning about the industry. SIGN UP NOW! Build and your own Cannabis Science to End Opioids Deaths Now Campaign! as another iCannabinoid, We the People Campaign! or join-in other Action Groups to help make a difference now one person at a time. Connect, Learn, and Share; http://icannabinoid.com/ About Cannabis Science, Inc. Cannabis Science, Inc. takes advantage of its unique understanding of metabolic processes to provide novel treatment approaches to a number of illnesses for which current treatments and understanding remain unsatisfactory. Cannabinoids have an extensive history dating back thousands of years, and currently, there are a growing number of peer-reviewed scientific publications that document the underlying biochemical pathways that cannabinoids modulate. The Company works with leading experts in drug development, medicinal characterization, and clinical research to develop, produce, and commercialize novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment for illnesses caused by infections as well as for age-related illness. Our initial focus is on cancers, HIV/AIDS, and neurological conditions. The Company is proceeding with the research and development of its proprietary drugs as a part of this initial focus: CS-S/BCC-1, CS-TATI-1, and CS-NEURO-1, respectively. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing words such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc., does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Safe Harbor Statement. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a 'safe harbor' for forward looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts are forward looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involved risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ae4fd7a-7959-4b46-be4c-8564281e1c90 Attachment Turn the lights off and carry me home, cause Blink-182 members Travis and Mark have recently posted snaps to their Instagram story's showing Blink back in the studio. Bloody exciting stuff. This is the first time we've seen the boys back in the studio since they released California in 2016. At this point it looks like Travis and Mark will be working with Matt Skiba again as vocalist, while former vocalist and founding member, Tom DeLonge continues his pursuit to expose the US government's extra terrestial secrets. #AliensExist. Although, neither Matt OR Tom are seen in these recent snaps - Not to mention Tom's laid some heavy hints about working with his old bandmates in recent social posts... Either way, we'll be getting some new Blink-182 in the not so distant future. Check out the snaps below. By Vera Kahn kahnvera@grinnell.edu On Wednesday, April 18, President Kington sent an all-campus memo detailing the Colleges refusal to endorse an expansion of the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW). Among the Colleges chief arguments was the cost that such an expansion would entail. The College states that dozens of unions would be necessary to address the variety of campus employment opportunities. According to the memo, it would be unduly burdensome and expensive to administer such a system. The resources spent doing so would necessarily be drawn from the mission of the College. This could have an adverse impact on our students who receive financial aid through the work-study program. The next day, on a private Facebook group for Grinnell students, Tim Burnette 19 posted that President Kingtons assertion posed a threat to the well-being of low-income students. Burnette, who is not a member of the union, penned a letter in concert with other First Generation and Low-Income (FGLI) students expressing their outrage and demanding an apology. They sent the letter early in the morning on April 22. I, as well as many others, did not welcome the threat, Burnette wrote in an email to The S&B. Burnette is currently in Copenhagen and helped organize the FGLI response in spite of the time difference. They said that the group of FGLI students will continue in their advocacy work and that another letter is on the way. Quinn Ercolani 20, the UGSDW vice president, also believes that the language in the campus memo came across as threatening. [President Kington] mentioned that a good place for [the costs of unionizing] to come from is financial aid or student programming budgets. How is that anything other than a threat? Ercolani said. Ercolani also refuted the idea that collective bargaining would ever result in such cuts: The union would never engage in something that is going to make people worse off. Although the school is resistant to the demands for expansion, the administration showed a willingness to engage in the civil and inclusive discourse mentioned in President Kingtons memo. On Monday, April 24, the College provided UGSDW the email platform to send out an all campus memo in response to the schools memo. The UGSDW memo, prefaced by the Colleges statement that in the spirit of fairness and equity, Grinnell has made a one-time allowance to distribute the UGSDW letter in the same manner as the message to which it responds, begins by stating that the schools arguments are unsupported by the facts and the law. In the memo, UGSDW rejects the schools assertion that student employment is too varied to be covered by one single union. Instead, the memo emphasizes the common background of all Grinnell workers, namely that they live on the same campus, get paid the same low wages, and face the same issues at work. Finally, the letter signs off affirming that the school may not be able to control what organizing happens on campus: the decision to unionize is not left up to the administration. Regardless of your opinion on unionization, its up to us, as workers. Ercolani expressed gratitude to the schools openness on two fronts. Purely selfishly, it benefits us. They came out and threatened financial aid, student programming, they said that students arent workers and arent deserving of [the right to unionize], they said that students dont share a community of interest. Additionally, Ercolani is appreciative of the schools efforts to help facilitate open conversation. Its hard to have [civil discourse] when there is only one side of the story being portrayed, either when its just our side, or just the administration. In keeping the spirit of open conversation, President Kington promptly responded to the FGLI email on Tuesday, April 24. In his response, he thanked the students for reaching out and addressed the perceived threat to financial aid. I was referring to a long-term impact of increased costs from operations that would affect allocations within the whole budget, of which financial aid is one of the largest components, Kington wrote. I have used very similar language in other situations when there have been potential hits to our budget. The financial aid of current students would not be affected by the creation of multiple or a single union of student workers. The College declined an interview with The S&B, and instead issued this statement: Given the ongoing interest some students have to pursue expanded unionization, commenting any further beyond the Special Campus Memo would be inappropriate at this time. By Alice Herman hermanal17@grinnell.edu Ben Guenther, who has designed aircraft and space models for the NASA Langley Research Center, spoke to a full house at the Drake Community Library on Wednesday, April 25. In his talk, entitled NACA-NASA Wind Tunnels at Langley Research Center, Guenther explored the history of wind tunnels in flight tests since the inception of the United States National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915. Wind tunnels, cavernous concrete channels occupied by floor-to-ceiling mechanical fans, have served as the testing site for air and space machines from the Wright brothers earliest gliders to rockets developed for the space race of the later 20th century. The first wind tunnel for flight testing, called a whirling arm, was developed in the early 18th century by Benjamin Robins, a British mathematician. However, as Guenther wrote in an informational pamphlet distributed at the talk, it was clear that these whirling arms devices created excessive turbulence that interfered with accurate testing. The result was the development of the wind tunnel, a device in which air could be moved past a stationary model under relatively controlled conditions. During the presentation, Guenther elaborated on the military and technological significance of the development of wind tunnels; the flight testing technique was critical for aeronautical development during World War I and was employed by England, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia but not in America. In response to the United States relative slowness in adopting the newest technique for flight testing, and [a]fter several years of bureaucratic in-fighting, Congress agreed to fund NACA. After the high demand for testing of military aircraft during WWI, NACA witnessed the expansion of its flight testing program and eventually transformed into NASA as military technological development was adapted to the Cold War period. According to the NASA website, Concerns over potential Soviet domination of space transformed the NACA into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: NASA. As a moon landing became Americas Space Race goal, Langley tackled the many challenges of spaceflight, train astronauts, managed Project Mercury, and assumed major roles in both the Gemini and Apollo programs. Despite the name change, the Langley Research Center remained critical to the development of rockets and served as the training site for astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. Guenthers lecture, part of a series of Bucket Course Talks held by Grinnells Community Education Council, highlighted not only the impressive launch of the U.S. space program but the career of Guenther himself. After graduating from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelors in History, Guenther dedicated himself not to the study of history, but the making of it: in addition to work on-site at wind tunnel flight tests, according to the Our Grinnell webpage, he fabricated aircraft and space models used in several different wind tunnels, as well as models presented before Congressional Committees. Guenthers love of history was apparent during the talk on Wednesday as he explained the trajectory of the Langley Research Center, drawing claps, laughs, and gasps from the audience as he detailed the drama of flight. The talk, which was free and open to the public, will be followed by a second one in which Guenther will delve deeper into the more recent use of wind tunnels for rockets intended for outer space. A video recording of his first lecture can be found online at http://www.grinnellcecbucketcourses.org/ and the next lecture will be held on Wednesday, May 2. On March 20, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) published changes to the regulations for researchers using human subjects. It will go into effect January 21 of next year for all institutions of higher learning. Many of these changes were made to the Common Rule for human subjects testing that receives federal funding. Grinnell College is affected by these changes as research done at the College is federally funded. Professors and students will experience the change in regulations differently, due to the nature of their research. However, the effect of the changes for student research, like MAPs, will streamline the review process and actually allow for more exemptions to the regulations. Changes include new and revised exemptions to human subject regulations, specifically highlighting what is not counted as human subject research. It is the responsibility of each college or university to implement and adhere to the changes. Norm Braaton, research compliance manager for Grinnell College, ensures that all research done at the College is in line with federal policies. Previously, this work was done by an IRB Chair. Because of high turnover in IRB Chairs, Braaton was put in this position to provide continuity. One of my major tasks has been with the human subjects committee. [Administration] thought if we get someone who has that expertise and can provide that, it takes quite a bit of burden off the faculty, Braaton said. If research is exempt from IRB oversight, it means that it is of such low risk that the IRB does not need to monitor what is studied. If expedited, it means that the research is also minimal risk, but it does have oversight at the college or federal level. Another change that helps to make research more streamlined is what is and is not considered research. These activities include oral history, journalism, biography, literary criticism, legal research, historical scholarship, health surveillance, criminal investigation, operational activities (as determined by each agency) in support of intelligence, homeland security, defense or other national security missions. We hope that the process becomes a little bit more streamlined as a result of this, Braaton said. Ann Ellis, chair of the psychology department, also feels that the changes in the human subject testing will streamline minimal risk student research. We wont need to check back with the IRB if the research is exempt. It makes it more likely for minimal risk to not require any oversight by the College IRB, Ellis said. In psychology, low-risk surveys and interviews and low-risk psychology experiments will now be exempt. More things will be able to be exempt from review, but that doesnt mean you dont have to submit IRB proposals, because the only way a piece of research can be deemed exempt if someone puts in a proposal, Ellis said. Despite these many changes, student research is not seriously impacted. Student research will most likely be more streamlined if it is minimal risk and may otherwise go unaffected. I dont think theres going to be a really big impact, because youll still have to develop your proposal, send your proposal to the IRB, make sure youre following all the ethical standards for research with human participants. It just means from the college level that there will be less watching of peoples different projects, added Ellis. I dont think its going to have much of an effect on MAPs, honestly. TORONTO, Ontario, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RTDNA Canada is pleased to recognize Sandie Rinaldo as an outstanding individual who has distinguished herself through exemplary service and continued excellence during the course of her career in journalism. In her 45 years with CTV News, calling Sandie Rinaldo an icon would be a major understatement, said RTDNA President Ian Koenigsfest, adding, her trailblazing work as a journalist has inspired dozens of people in our industry. Her list of career achievements stands in an esteemed class of its own. This RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award epitomizes Sandies consummate professionalism and recognizes her outstanding contribution to journalism in Canada. Sandie Rinaldo will be presented with her award during the Awards Gala Dinner on May 26, 2018 at the 2018 National Conference & Awards Gala. Sandie Rinaldo For nearly 40 years, Sandie Rinaldo has anchored weekend broadcasts of CTV NATIONAL NEWS, Canadas most-watched national newscast. Additionally, Rinaldo reports for CTVs W5. Rinaldo has received national recognition for her news stories. Rinaldo was named on the 2013 Womens Executive Network list of Canadas Most Powerful Women in Arts & Communications. Additional awards include the Canadian Veterinary Award 2005; the Canadian Association of Journalism Award 2001 for Best Overall Newscast; several RTNDA Awards for Best Newscast; and numerous Canadian Screen Award nominations. In 1980, Rinaldo became the first woman in Canadian history to anchor a daily network newscast, when she was promoted to News Anchor of CANADA AM just four years after beginning as a story producer. This year, Rinaldo marks 45 years with CTV. Rinaldo first joined the network in 1973, one week after graduating from York University where she earned an Honours B.A. in Fine Arts. RTDNA CANADA RTDNA Canada is the voice of electronic and digital journalists and news managers in Canada. The members of RTDNA Canada recognize the responsibility of broadcast and digital journalists to promote and to protect the freedom to report independently about matters of public interest and to present a wide range of expressions, opinions and ideas. The RTDNA Canada Journalistic Code of Ethics, adopted by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, is used to measure fairness and accuracy in our profession. Become a Member: https://rtdna.wildapricot.org/join-us CONTACT INFORMATION Ian Koenigsfest President, RTNDA Canada president@rtdnacanada.com Jennifer Nguyen RTDNA Canada Awards info@rtdnacanada.com http://www.rtdnacanada.com By Will Telingator telingat@grinnell.edu On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico and wreaked havoc and destruction across the island. The damage was catastrophic, and millions of people across the country are still struggling to recover in the aftermath of the event. This week, the Wilson Center hosted a panel discussion entitled Blue Tarps and Platano Shortages: Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria in an attempt to open up a dialogue surrounding Hurricane Maria within the College community. Broadly, this event aimed to provide an interdisciplinary perspective into the pretext that led to Puerto Ricos vulnerability before the hurricane and the islands recovery and healing process afterwards. This event was organized by Vivienne Kerley-de la Cruz 20 in partnership with the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership and the department of Global Development Studies. Kerley-de la Cruz has a strong personal connection to Puerto Rico, as she has family that lives on the island and spent the summer of 2017 working for a local art museum on a project that strives to promote community engagement in neighboring areas. In the wake of the hurricane, Kerley-de la Cruz looked to continue her work within her community and give back to those who had been affected, and received funding through the Wilson Center to go back to Puerto Rico over winter break. In an email to The S&B, Kerley-de la Cruz wrote, After Hurricane Maria, I began trying to design a project in partnership with the museum and El MAC en El Barrio [the museums community project] to bring some aid to the communities I was so deeply connected to. I hoped that this work would help the relief effort in a way which might ultimately reach rural areas such as those where my grandparents lived. Of the panel, Kerley-de la Cruz wrote that she would love for my peers to understand the greater crisis in Puerto Rico which allowed for Maria to be so devastating as well as what is happening on the island to heal. In addition to introducing Kerley-de la Cruzs work to the campus community, the panel discussion also featured Professor Tess Kulstad, anthropology, and Professor Alfredo Rivera, art history. Kulstad and Rivera helped to provide an interdisciplinary perspective to the discussion, and although they both have different academic backgrounds and specialties, they also share a personal connection to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Kulstad has done extensive work surrounding disasters. Having grown up in the Dominican Republic, she is personally familiar with the response to hurricanes in the region. My role is to contextualize Viviennes project to contextualize from my own experience, but also from the point of view of anthropology and disasters, Kulstad explained. She emphasized the idea that disasters are not natural but rather they are the result of the interaction between the natural world and human action or inaction. Rivera, who is of Puerto Rican descent, specializes in Caribbean art, architecture and visual culture. In the discussion he gave a brief overview of the social and economic context in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria. In particular, he illustrated the role that Puerto Ricos history of colonization has played in the islands relationship to Hurricane Maria. It is the peculiar colonial condition of Puerto Rico that exacerbated the devastation felt throughout the island, Rivera wrote in an email to The S&B. Professor Rivera also explained how Puerto Ricos current economic crisis has resulted in a mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States, a trend which has only continued to increase in the wake of the hurricane. BURNABY, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TELUS is partnering with the Neil Squire Societys Makers Making Change to host six TELUS Days of Giving LipSync Buildathons in Canada. Locations include Calgary, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and Toronto. More than 150 TELUS employees will be volunteering at these events alongside technical mentors from Makers Making Change to build over 100 LipSync devices. The LipSync, a mouth-controlled joystick, furthers the accessibility of Android smartphones and touchscreen devices for people with little or no arm movement. Each LipSync thats built will be donated to people with disabilities in the regions they are made. Media are invited to attend the following events: Makers Making Change has hosted LipSync Buildathons across Canada and the United States, producing over 350 LipSyncs ready for use by people with disabilities. TELUS Days of Giving is TELUS global volunteer movement that inspires team members, retirees, and their family and friends to give back in the communities where they live, work and serve. This year, more than 22,000 team members will volunteer at 1,700 activities across Canada. In 2017 alone, the TELUS team volunteered a remarkable one million hours, and team members are feeling more invigorated than ever to give back again this year. TELUS is committed to ensuring their products and services are accessible to all of their customers. For more information about accessible products and services, please visit TELUS accessibility centre. About Neil Squire Society We use Technology, Knowledge, and Passion to Empower Canadians with Disabilities. The Neil Squire Society is a national not-for-profit organization that empowers Canadians with disabilities through the use of computer-based assistive technologies, research and development, and various employment programs. The Society has served over 40,000 people since 1984. About Makers Making Change Makers Making Change is an initiative by the Neil Squire Society. It connects Makers to people with disabilities, to create access solutions. It also features a library of various open-source assistive technology projects, with parts, instructions and reviews to support makers and people with disabilities. Their first major project is the LipSync. Media inquiries: Suzanne Wiens Neil Squire Society 604-473-9363 suzannew@neilsquire.ca @NeilSquireSoc remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Things to do in the Attleboro area and beyond Your application will be reviewed if you have fulfilled all the requirements including submission of standard file types such as Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) in a single attachment (No Zipped files, Links or Multiple Attachments) and should not exceed 10MB. Please clearly indicate the position number and title you are applying for on the DS-174 form. SURREY, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oh young people these days. Theyre self-involved, entitled and the reason that our communities are in trouble, right? Not so fast. A recent study conducted by Insights West in partnership with Coast Capital Savings indicates that the myths about young people that we are bombarded with may be just that myths. To mark B.C. Youth Week (May 1 7), Coast Capital Savings partnered with Insights West to undertake a survey of young British Columbians to understand their level of community involvement. The results debunk the predominant opinions on the youth of today. Close to four in five (79%) 18-29 year olds in the province believe we are all part of a community and everyone should give back with their time and active participation. More than half 57% assert that a key priority for them personally is volunteering their time in the local community. An image accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/96d57952-a8f0-44d6-8231-5efe6455b737 Youth issues are of particular interest to the British Columbian credit union, which has a community leadership mission of building a richer future for youth. Through its Youth Get It signature programs, Coast Capital Savings fosters youth leadership, education and community involvement. Of specific note, this year, Coast Capital Savings Youth Get It Community Council program celebrates its five-year anniversary. The program, comprised of three geographically independent councils (Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island), recruits young community-minded people to make the credit unions investment decisions for Coast Capital Savings Community Investment Grants program. In 2018, that represents an impressive $1.5 million. Who knows better the challenges and issues facing young people today than other young people, said Wendy Lachance, Director, Community Leadership with Coast Capital Savings. It makes sense that a group of young community leaders decide where Coast Capitals youth-focused community investments are best spent. It helps ensure that this money over $1.5 million is having the biggest impact on our young people. Lachance said that Coast Capital commissioned the Youth Week study to shine the spotlight on the good work that young people are doing in their communities and spread some good news at a time when society is quick to write young people off for a perceived apathy towards volunteerism, community leadership and important social causes. In fact, young British Columbians seem to walk the talk when it comes to engagement in their community. According to survey results, in the past 12 months, of the young British Columbians surveyed: 48% made a donation of goods (food, clothing, etc.) to a charity or non-profit organization 43% made a financial donation 43% posted on social media about a community organization or charitable organization 37% participated in a community or volunteer activity 22% engaged in fundraising on behalf of a charity or non-profit organization. An image accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/28b05a17-1de6-4131-bed2-26b8f94f8a04 Of note, young people are motivated to get involved in their community for more than just supporting a particular cause; close to half (49%) say they are more likely to participate in charity or community events for the social aspect of having a good time and meeting people than for the charitys cause itself. Overall, a majority of 18-29 year old British Columbians (60%) say it is easy for them to find a charity they can believe in. This is far more than the number who find it easy to find inner peace (41%), true love (35%), or a politician they can trust (28%). Under 30s are in that stage in life where they often dont have enough money to do exactly what they want says Insights West President Steve Mossop. But, even as they face these challenges, young British Columbians are getting involved and giving back to their communityespecially when it comes to their time and social engagement. About Coast Capital Savings Coast Capital Savings is Canadas largest credit union by membership. An Imagine Canada Caring Company, the credit union invested $5.6 million into local communities in 2017, focusing on empowering and engaging youth. Coast Capital is one of Canadas Most Admired Corporate Cultures, and is a winner of the Canadas Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation. It has 52 branches serving its 555,000 members in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Okanagan regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. To learn more, visit coastcapitalsavings.com. About Insights West: Insights West is a progressive, Western-based, full-service marketing research company. It exists to serve the market with insights-driven research solutions and interpretive analysis through leading-edge tools, normative databases, and senior-level expertise across a broad range of public and private sector organizations. Insights West is based in Vancouver and Calgary. About this Release: Results are based on an online study conducted from April 10 to 13, 2018, among a representative sample of 820 BC adults. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of errorwhich measures sample variabilityis +/- 3.4 percentage points. Click here to view the detailed data tabulations. For further information, please contact: Erin McKinley Manager, External Communications Coast Capital Savings erin.mckinley@coastcapitalsavings.com (T) 604.517.7657 (C) 604.836.6924 Border Policeman Ben Deri has been convicted in the shooting death of 17-year-old PA (Palestinian Authority) resident Nadim Nuwara. Deri reached a plea bargain that dropped the charge from manslaughter to causing severe bodily harm and death through negligence. The incident took place four years ago on Nakba Day during violent Arab clashes and confrontation with security forces at the Bituniya Checkpoint. Nuwara is believed to have been throwing rocks at officers when he was shot. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment by the Jerusalem District Court, which also ordered the young soldier to make monetary restitution to the family in the amount of 50,000 shekels. The court ruled that Deri unjustly opened fire as Nuwara did not pose an immediate threat to his life. It said Deri exhibited a high degree of negligence when he loaded his weapon with a live bullet rather than the rubber coated bullets typically used to disperse Palestinian demonstrations. Honenu calls the conviction a disgrace, as was the sentencing of the soldier to prison, adding it has undertaken Deris defense. Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi condemned the length of the sentence as ludicrous. She compared its severity to that of a Palestinian teenager, Ahed Tamimi, who is serving an eight-month prison term for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers outside her West Bank home. This unwarranted and unjust decision represents a double standard in Israels outrageous sentences passed against Palestinians by Israeli military courts while Israeli occupation forces and illegal and extremist settlers are given free license to act with complete impunity, she said in a statement. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Unilever's boss faces a humiliating shareholder revolt over lavish pay proposals and a decision to ditch its UK headquarters. Paul Polman, 61, is set for a showdown with investors on Wednesday at the companys annual general meeting. Unilever is trying to push through controversial changes which could see the 11.6million-a-year chief executive handed even more cash. The company, which makes Marmite and Dove soap, is also fighting to quell a rebellion against the decision to scrap its Anglo-Dutch structure. Unilever, which makes Marmite and Dove soap, is set for a showdown with investors on Wednesday at the companys annual general meeting The consumer giant has kept joint headquarters in London and Rotterdam for 89 years but the overhaul would see the Dutch city named as its sole headquarters. That has concerned shareholders because it could put its prized listing on the FTSE 100 index at risk something Unilever bosses are scrambling to protect. A spokesman for the company yesterday said it remained in talks about the restructure. The firm has also defended its pay proposals, claiming they will make the rewards of executives simpler and require them to buy more Unilever shares. Votes on the pay changes are due to be held on Wednesday in London and Thursday in Rotterdam, amid growing speculation the firm could lose. Moving the headquarters is expected to be put to a vote by the end of summer. The pay plans prompted the Investment Association to issue its most stern warning, a so-called red-top alert, to shareholders. Unilever's boss Paul Polman, 61, is set for a showdown with investors on Wednesday at the companys AGM over lavish pay proposals and a decision to ditch its UK headquarters Influential advisory service ISS has also waded in, urging investors to reject the pay overhaul. The changes would see executives base salary, benefits and allowance lumped into a single fixed-pay figure. But ISS said that meant percentage increases to the fixed figure in future would lead to a bigger final figure than if the components salary, benefits and allowance had each been increased separately. Because bonuses would be calculated as multiples of the fixed pay, it warned those could get bigger more quickly as well. Polmans proposed pay for 2017 is already being increased by 40 per cent to 11.6million, while finance chief Graeme Pitkethly will take home 3.1million a 50 per cent increase on 2016. That was despite Unilever missing expectations for sales growth last year, ISS said, which raised some questions about the operation of the scheme. However, it welcomed proposals for long-term incentives which would encourage executives to invest up to 67 per cent of their bonuses into the company to get the maximum amount. Unilever said the pay changes already apply to 3,000 of its top executives and it was only seeking to use the same approach with Polman and Pitkethly. The company said the policy is simpler, longer term and requires greater personal commitment through share ownership to drive reward. Meanwhile, the company has been meeting with its top investors to allay concerns about its proposed move to Rotterdam. Unilever says only a small number of its 7,300-strong UK workforce will be affected and that it would keep its primary listing in London. Columbia Threadneedle, one of Unilevers top-ten shareholders, has accused the firm of not giving enough convincing reasons for the change. A Unilever spokesman said it had spoken extensively with shareholders about the restructure. Sector 5s CEO lays out the use of these proceeds for expansion and growth in the market for wireless charging and wider exposure for the company ALEXANDRIA, VA, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sector 5, Inc. (OTC: SFIV), a fast-growing computer maker and distributor, secured a $350,000 loan pursuant to the terms of a 10% convertible promissory note due in nine months with Auctus Fund, LLC on April 19, 2018. The Company also issued warrants to Auctus Fund to purchase up to 350,000 shares of common stock at $0.50 per share for five years. Erick Kuvshinikov, the Chief Executive Officer of Sector 5, announced: This round of financing was essential. We are finishing up our 15-watt wireless charging solution for laptops and other electronic devices. The funds are being used to secure patents, FCC and UL certifications, as well as equipment and devices to demonstrate this solution with a broad array of technologies. Mr. Kuvshinikov continued: We believe this round of financing will increase investor awareness. Sector 5 has demonstrated the ability to get products that the business and education communities want in a cost-efficient way. These new innovations continue to spread awareness on how much we can utilize technology in our daily life, our schools, and our businesses. Shareholders should be made aware that simple ideas can be extremely important tools for the public. The key is to produce something that has ease of use, with innovations that seamlessly incorporate into our daily lives and speed-up critical thinking are essential for us to frontier. Sector 5 is working hard to create what we think is the next step in the evolution of computing. Wireless charging is something we see as that next step. How many times have we been someplace and cant find the correct cord to plug-in a computer, tablet or smart phone? In many cases, teachers need to manually connect 30+ computers or tablets to charge their students learning tools. Some businesses and professional organizations have multiple devices for inventory, check-ins, point of sale and countless other applications. Wireless charging would give back that extra 5 to 15 minutes per class to connect and disconnect every unit. It would save organizations countless hours waiting for units to charge. Sector 5 is developing a wireless charging solution to do just that. We want to make it easy for students, teachers and business professionals to keep their devices charged and ready to use at a moments notice, he concluded. Sector 5 is developing and bringing forth new innovations, growing its company through helping schools and its B2B customers. Sector 5 is working on getting its common stock traded on the OTCQB venture marketplace. In its filing with the SEC, Sector 5s Form 8-A is extremely useful to investors considering the purchase of any newly issued or soon-to-be issued shares. Since many new companies do not immediately receive analyst coverage, savvy investors know that additional reporting due to filing this form will fill in the gaps in their research. About Sector 5, Inc. Sector 5, Inc. is a Nevada corporation, publicly traded (OTC: SFIV), that creates, manufactures and sells Sector 5 branded electronics utilizing Chrome, Android and Windows Operating Systems, focused on the educational and consumer electronics markets. Sector 5 and its manufacturing partners, "best in class" suppliers, and tier-1 designers are working together to combine American ingenuity and Chinas manufacturing strengths to create products with the latest technology, innovative features (rugged designs, spill/drop resistant, portable) and fair pricing, exceeding market expectations. Sector 5s distribution strategy centers on its competitive advantages in the B2B, retail, e-commerce, K-12 and higher education markets. Sector 5s foundation of success and promise to the world is defined by a pursuit of simplicity and a commitment to innovation. Quality, reliability and excellent customer support is an integral component of that commitment. Further information can be found at www.sector-five.com and sectorfiveblog.wordpress.com. Forward-Looking Statement Certain statements made in this release are "forward-looking statements" regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are based on current expectations that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our plans and objectives are based, in part, on assumptions involving judgments with respect to, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions and future business and financial decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control. Although we believe that our assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove inaccurate and, therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this website will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein particularly in view of the current early stage of our operations and lack of sufficient financing, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a statement by us or any other person that our objectives and plans will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in our periodic reports and other filings we make with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by federal securities law. WHEN leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries meet on issues of peace and security in member states and reports are delivered about the status quo of the troubled nations, you always wish that your own country never degenerates to the level of needing to be pushed to do what is right. The common trait with all these issues is the conflict that arises when the people become unhappy with the way they are being governed by those they elected to power. Those in power retaliate, sometimes using extremely violent means of silencing the vocal. Take the case of Lesotho, which was on the agenda at this weeks Double Troika Summit in Angola. Members of the army attempted to kill Lesotho Times Editor, Lloyd Mutungamiri. Thanks to SADC pressure, five suspects from the army have been arrested and charged, one of whom is the head of military intelligence. The arrests are welcome, but we shall celebrate after they have been convited. Several other army personnel have also been arrested in the mountain kingdom and charged for the murder of at least nine people and attempted murder of three, a bombing and treason. These are all politically motivated. Notably, most of these arrests came after SADC intervention. Essentially, Lesotho is now being administered by SADC. Major decisions and recommendations for reforms in Lesotho were taken at SADC level, and are now being implemented under the watchful eye of a SADC Oversight Committee that needs over E60 million over the next six months to ensure implementation. A similar amount was extended to the team for the past six months of monitoring. The costs associated with employing corrective measures are astronomical and could be better served to uplift the poor. We do not wish this situation for the Kingdom of Eswatini as it would effectively see us become re-colonised, only this time by SADC. The good thing is, we still have a tolerant society to help us avoid it, but only if we are willing to do what is right. The country finds itself in a precarious economic position because of poor decisions affecting our economy and everybody sees the need to get our house in order. We have started to put things right by dumping the colonial name Swaziland, and adopting the Kingdom of Eswatini. Well, this is the perfect tone to set us off in the right trajectory as far as service delivery is concerned. We have a lot more dumping to do than the old name. We need more accountability in the use of taxpayers money. We need to see those entrusted with positions of authority being taken to task for violating procedures. We need to see a change in the awarding of tenders. How can we have a national celebration, like the Golden Jubilee, where people were handpicked to provide services instead of going the tender route? This opens the door wide open for corruption. Sadly, it is the name of the King that is used to flout tender procedures. We need to change the view that job creation is about bulging the civil service wage bill with annual recruitments in the security forces. Job creation is for the private sector. For this to be realised, we need to change how the country does business. Our economy is in the red but the policies we have in place are designed to put out more red tape rather than roll out a red carpet for investors. We need to change our retrogressive taxation, which is targeted at making the people poorer. Government should be working towards lowering the cost of doing business to encourage the growth of SMEs and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from which quality jobs and increased tax revenue could be derived. We need to discourage tenderpreneurship. We need to change the way we develop the national budget. It is pretty evident that this has become the prerogative of Cabinet. The end result has always been misguided priorities and poor allocation of resources. This has also caused chronic shortages of essential medical supplies and health services, poor or insufficient provision of agricultural services, inadequate funding of our education system leading to a serious decline in quality and standards. We need to revisit the number of parastatals we have. The minister of Finance is on record saying there are one too many. However, he has failed to do anything about it. The minister has also decried the levels of expenditure when it comes to travel. Civil servants are spending more time outside the country in order to supplement their income. These trips are approved at Cabinet level, which means serious changes are needed at top government level to put a stop to this. The list is endless. All the above issues are nothing new but so long as they keep appearing in columns like these as troublesome issues for the country, it can only mean nothing has changed. If things dont change, then we run the risk of testing the tolerance limits of the people. The trouble with that approach, is that there is never a warning as to when the tolerance bubble will burst. We would hate for that will happen and find ourselves governed by SADC. EmaSwati can also do themselves a favour this time around, come election time, by changing the culture of voting with their stomach. MBABANE Its victory for the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA)! The Industrial Court has ruled that ATUSWA is a union formed through an amalgamation process which was started by the Swaziland Processing, Refining and Allied Workers Union (SPRAWU), and the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU). The judgment comes after an application was filed in court seeking an order declaring that SMAWU be merged with various trade unions to form ATUSWA. The main issue that the court had to make a decision on was whether or not SMAWU was dissolved and its membership taken over by ATUSWA as a result of the amalgamation. The judgment states that in its papers and during the leading of viva voce evidence, SMAWU tried hard to deny the existence of the resolution to dissolve and be part of the new trade union, ATUSWA. SMAWUs case in its papers was that there was no resolution taken by the workers during a meeting held on August 31, 2013 and that there was a dispute about the number of workers who attended the meeting. Furthermore, the judgment states that SMAWUs witnesses told the court that there was no resolution taken on the day because the meeting was postponed due to poor attendance and was poorly constituted. Amalgamation Before passing judgment, Judge Nkosinathi Nkonyane touched on the provisions of the law, where he stated that the amalgamation of trade unions in Swaziland was regulated by Section 41 of the Industrial Relations Act No.1 of 2000 as amended. The section provides that, An organisation which is registered under Act may, in the manner provided for in its constitution and subject to the provisions of the Act, amalgamate with any other organisation. MBABANE It is getting tougher by the day for lawyers who are failing to comply with the Legal Practitioners Act by not submitting audited trust certificates. This is so because Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo has now requested the accountant general to assist his office by nominating a public accountant that his office could use to inspect the books of account of any practising attorneys. The attorney general made this request to the accountant general through a memorandum dated April 24, 2018. Following recent reports on misappropriation of clients funds by attorneys, the office of the Attorney General, duty and legally bound to do so, in ensuring compliance to the Legal Practitioners Act, intends to inspect the books of accounts of attorneys , in terms of Section 24 (2) of the Act, reads part of the memorandum. The above section provides that the attorney general may himself inspect the books of account of any practising attorney, to satisfy himself that the attorney is keeping proper books of account. Not only has the attorney general sought the assistance of the accountant general but he has also given the lawyers until May 31, 2018 to comply. He said failure by the lawyers to comply would result in his office instituting legal proceedings against them. In another letter he wrote to the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS), Khumalo stated that he noted that his letter dated April 16, 2018, lacked the retributive bite and might readily be mistaken for an idle threat which it was not. He informed the LSS that its members practice was imperilled if his advises were ignored. I believe the integrity of the profession, which is under threat, can be restored if we can all stay within our assigned roles in this shared enterprise, said Khumalo. MBABANE The Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, was yesterday buried alive by members of the public. As early as 5am, the leader of government had been declared dead following his admission to the Mbabane Government Hospitals ICU wing on Wednesday morning. Tongues were set wagging throughout the day and the Times newsroom was inundated with calls from people who wanted to find out the true position of the PMs health state. The calls came from politicians, high ranking government officials and even ordinary members of the public, who were convinced that Dlamini, the longest serving PM, had passed on. Malicious However, despite all the rumours some of which were malicious, the PM is alive according to Government Spokesperson Percy Simelane. Social media was also abuzz, with many claiming that the premier had passed on. Popular social media network Facebook, was flooded with posts from people sending their condolences, while others just expressing disbelief of the news. However, it was later revealed in the evening that the PM was in a stable condition and monitoring of the hospitals Intensive Care Unit (ICU), by reporters from this publication who indicated that Dlamini was definitely alive. Since morning, the PMs personal protection officers were seen around the ICU. They included his Head of Security, Senior Superintendent Enock Zulu. The officers mood seemed to have improved yesterday as they were constantly seen smiling at times. By mid-morning, the ICU became a hive of activity with the National Commissioner of Police, Isaac Magagula,who was first to arrive at around 11am, in the company of three police officers. Magagula went inside the unit together with the officers and spent over 30 minutes inside. He left at around 11:30am. Shortly after his departure, the PMs wife Primrose Simelane, arrived with Superintendent Schoolboy Simelane, who is one of the premiers personal protection officers. The PMs youngest daughter, Busi Johnson, was also seen leaving the hospital with an unidentified female relative at around 2:30pm. One of the PMs elder daughters was also seen at the hospital with other unidentified relatives. She was at the hospital since early morning and left at around 6pm. The PMs elder daughter was constantly on her mobile phone. At 6:20pm, Simelane, the Government Press Secretary, arrived at the hospital and parked at the Out Patient Department (OPD). Lawyer He walked all the way to the ICU where he met with the PMs lawyer Musa Dlamini. Musa was the first to arrive but later left and he was called immediately after Simelanes arrival. English French OTTAWA, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This National Day of Mourning, Canadas unions are calling on the federal government to do more to address workplace violence and harassment. Every April 28, Canadas unions join workers and their families to mourn those who have been injured or killed on the job. Workplace violence and harassment have also led to worker deaths, as well as significant mental and physical injuries. Yet they are often less frequently talked about. Workplace harassment and violence are often overlooked hazards of the job, said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). In the era of #metoo and #timesup, we need to talk about the negative, even deadly, impacts these hazards can have in the workplace. Canada has strong violence prevention regulations that were developed by unions, employers and the federal government working together in a tripartite process. Federal Bill C-65 promises to finally recognize sexual harassment as a workplace hazard. However, workers are also calling for new measures: First, to make it safe for workers to report harassment and violence by implementing anti-reprisal measures, including whistleblower protection; Second, to ensure federal health and safety officers can be as effective as possible by hiring more officers and ensuring they receive the robust training they need; And finally, to recognize domestic violence as a workplace hazard. This will raise awareness around the need for employers to conduct workplace risk assessments, training and safety planning, and to ensure supports are in place for workers experiencing domestic violence. We encourage the federal government to take meaningful steps to further protect workers from harassment and violence, said Yussuff. This impacts every sector. Supporters are encouraged to add their voice to this campaign at dayofmourning.ca. To find Day of Mourning events happening across Canada, visit the CLC website here. For more information, please contact: Chantal St-Denis CLC Communications 613-355-1962 Email : cstdenis@clc-ctc.ca [April 27, 2018] CE China 2018 (May 3-5): First Hand E-Commerce Insights from Major International Retailers and Global Brands At CE China 2018, a global IFA brand, visitors will have the opportunity to get deep insights into latest e-commerce trends. On May 4th, the second day of this retail trade show, the E-Commerce Export Forum will be hosted by the Shenzhen E-commerce Service Center, partner of CE China. From morning to late afternoon experts from consumer electronic brands, major global online retailers as well as global network experts will present information about how to best use e-commerce for successful distribution and sales. Among others, Chinese consumer electronics brand Pisen Electronics will share its experiences in effective online marketing. Global network retailers like Amazon (US), eBay (US), DHgate (China), Linio (South America), Jumia (Africa), Kilimall (Africa), Amanbo (Africa), Mercado (News - Alert) Libre (South America), JollyChic (Middle East), Daraz (West Asia) will address online opportunities for consumer electronics and home appliances brands. The forum is open toall visitors of CE China 2018. Presentations will be in Chinese only. The E-Commerce Export Forum is yet another opportunity for brands, manufacturers and retailers to learn about latest trends at CE China 2018. During the first day, the new IFA Retail University offers a wide range of power-briefings from market research companies, international brands, manufacturers and innovators. About IFA and CE China As a global IFA event, CE China is a welcome addition to Messe Berlin's portfolio for the Chinese market. Based on the IFA concept, CE China focuses on comprehensive cooperation with leading trade groups, strong global industrial partners, and the emotional presentation of innovative branded products. In 2017, 120 exhibitors presented their latest products, innovations, and services to more than 11,500 visitors from 38 countries, covering 15,000 square meters of exhibition space. The range of global brands inspired the more than 140 journalists, 15 percent of which came from abroad. IFA is the world's most significant trade show for consumer electronics taking place from 31 August to 5 September 2018 in Berlin, Germany. http://www.cechina-ifa.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005787/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 27, 2018] Waterpower Project Expansion Completed on the Mississippi River OWA celebrates official Grand Opening of the Enerdu Generating Station ALMONTE, ON, April 27, 2018 /CNW/ - The Ontario Waterpower Association (OWA) congratulates Enerdu Power Systems Ltd. on the completion of the Enerdu Generation Station. OWA, community supporters and industry partners joined in on the celebration of the grand opening of the facility on Friday April 27th, 2018 in Almonte Ontario. This upgraded facility will supply renewable reliable energy to for decades to come. "Enerdu Power Systems Ltd. is to be commended for the completion of this project," said Paul Norris, President of Ontario Waterpower Association. "This is a great example of the opportunities that exist across the province to expand the contribution of waterpower to provide economic, environmental and reliable energy benefits for present and future generations." In order to maximize the waterpower potential of the Mississippi River at Almonte, Enerdu Power Systems Ltd. constructed a new powerhouse to accommodate larger turbines and to increase the plant's generating capacity by seventy percent (70%). Canadian Hydro Components Ltd. (OWA member) provided water-to-wire equipment. The generators were custom designed to connect directly to the turbine shaft using the pit wall as the generator shell. The direct connect feature eliminates the need for gearbox connection and provides better efficiency while decreasing costs. "Ontario will need more and more reliable electricity within a decade," added Norris. "More waterpower projects like this should begin now to help meet those requirements." For more information on Enerdu Power Systems Ltd., visit: www.enerdu.ca For more information on the Ontario Waterpower Association, visit: www.owa.ca SOURCE Ontario Waterpower Association [April 26, 2018] Dealer Teamwork Adds Alexandra Patty as Director of Marketing EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealer Teamwork is thrilled to announce the completion of a thorough search for a Director of Marketing. With great excitement, Dealer Teamwork welcomes, automotive professional, Alexandra Patty to the family. CEO Sean Stapleton comments, "We have been looking to fill this position for a long time, and I'm proud to say we have found the perfect fit for our culture in Alexandra. From the moment we met, I was extremely impressed by her attitude, effort and ethics, and it is a great benefit to bring another director on board with dealership experience and a successful track record!" Alexandra is honored to accept the position and adds, "I am beyond excited for the opportunity to join Dealer Teamwork. To be part of one of the fastest growing and innovative tech companies in the automotive space is an adventure. It is truly humbling to be amid so many talented team members. Not only does Dealer Teamwork have phenomenal technology, but the culture is one of the best I have ever experienced." "As we continue to round out the team, this was one of the last critical positions needing to be filled." Said Gary Cootes, COO at Dealer Teamwork. Alexandra is a Minnesota nativ and has extensive dealership experience from multiple stores. In addition to 12 years of advertising sales experience across automotive and retail verticals, Alexandra was most recently the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Lupient Automotive Group from 2013-2018 (an 8-rooftop dealer group with locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin) and graduated from the NADA Academy in 2016. She was also voted chairperson of her Digital 20 Group, which she was a member for four years. With experience on both the vendor and the dealership side, she brings a holistic approach to reaching modern customers and meeting their needs. Alex is very eager to market Dealer Teamwork to the dealership world stating, "finally there is a digital solution worth believing in!" Alex will further help Dealer Teamwork accelerate market penetration and brand awareness to establish Dealer Teamwork as one of the most revolutionary Digital Marketing Companies in the industry - as they partner with Dealerships, Large Dealer Groups and OEMs to grow and enhance their Loyal Customer Base! About Dealer Teamwork: Dealer Teamwork is one of the fastest growing SaaS Companies creating first-class solutions for the retail automotive industry. Dealer Teamwork created the automotive industry's first MPOP, a patented Merchandising, Personalization, and Optimization Platform. The Platform creates a significant competitive advantage for Dealers by distributing their transactional data to more in-market shoppers effectively and efficiently. For more information, please visit DealerTeamwork.com or visit the FAQ. Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12705324 Press release distributed by PRLog View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dealer-teamwork-adds-alexandra-patty-as-director-of-marketing-300637785.html SOURCE Dealer Teamwork LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 26, 2018] Singapore broker arranges first Crypto Currency Storage Insurance Insuring Private Keys stored at Singapore vault SINGAPORE, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Market, Singapore's first online broker, has arranged insurance for customers that store crypto currencies with The Safe House, a vault facility owned by Singapore bullion dealer Silver Bullion Pte Ltd. "It is the first of its kind and will allow holders of crypto currencies the safest way to store their private keys to protect their wealth," says Otbert de Jong, CEO of Insurance Market. Owners of crypto currencies have "Private Keys" that act, simply said, as a password to their account. Who holds the private key can avail of the balance in an account, so the safekeeping of Private Keys is of the utmost importance. Loss or theft of a private key is disastrous. The Safe House has developed a unique safe "cold storage" process that has become widely recognised standard, known as the Gregersen-Gono standard. That process has been assessed by Lloyd's underwriters, who have given it the thumbs up by insuring the stored private keys and the account balances they represent. Insurance Market worked intensely with Silver Bullion, the Safe House and the Lloyds underwriters to structure this facility to enable people to safeguard theirassets. The standard is named after Gregor Gregersen, the Founder of The Safe House and its parent company Silver Bullion and Clint Gono their lead developer. Although the focus of our brokerage activities is digitised online insurance, this type of insurance will also serve the needs of personal clients with digital interests. Crypto currency holders run risks that they need to protect and that is the essences of what both Silver Bullion and Insurance Market enable here: to protect people's wealth and health, says Insurance Market CTO Nelius Strydom. Insurance Market was in the news last month when it announced that it will act as sponsor and lead of a group of insurance companies and distributors that will participate in the further development and roll-out of the new pilot insurance eco system "Inmediate" that will make insurance cheaper, easier and more accessible, using blockchain smart contracts. "The insurance we have obtained has comprehensive coverage that protects crypto currency owners from loss of their stored private keys. I believe it will give our customers peace of mind knowing that their crypto wealth is truly secure with us," says John Tay, Director of The Safe House. "We have had this type of insurance in place for bullion for years but private keys insurance for crypto accounts is a novelty." Physical crypto storage is used in the cryptocurrency world by investors who want to preserve their digital assets for a long-term investment. Keeping them at exchanges and hosted wallets puts them at risk of losing all coins in an instant. Physical crypto storage entails generating and storing the crypto coin's private keys in an offline environment such as a vault, away from the internet. About Insurance Market Insurance Market (IM) was founded in 2014 to bring a bit of Zen to the chaotic world of general insurance in Singapore. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), IM are the first online insurance broker to serve customers by bridging the distribution gap with insurers. To do so, IM provide every customer online with as much information as possible to make well-informed insurance choices based on price, service and policy conditions in an easy, simple and instant way. For more information, please visit https://insurancemarket.sg/info/ SOURCE Insurance Market [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] English French Albioma announces that the French version of its Registration Document for the 2017 financial year has been made available to the public. It has been filed with the French Financial Market Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) on 27 April 2018, under number D.18-0433. The 2017 Registration Document includes: the Annual Financial Report for the 2017 financial year; the report of the Board of Directors on corporate governance for the 2017 financial year; the information pertaining to fees paid to Statutory Auditors for the 2017 financial year; the description of the share buy-back programme submitted for approval at the General Meeting of shareholders of 30 May 2018. The Registration Document may be consulted on Albioma's website, www.albioma.com ("Financial publications" tab) and is available upon simple request at the Company's head office at the following address: Albioma, Company Secretariat, Tour Opus 12, 77 esplanade du General de Gaulle, 92914 La Defense Cedex, France. The English version of the Registration Document shall be available shortly. Next on the agenda: annual General Meeting of shareholders, on 30 May 2018 at 3 pm (CET). About Albioma An independent responsible energy producer, Albioma is committed to the energy transition thanks to biomass and photovoltaics. The Group, which is established in Overseas France, Mauritius and Brazil, has developed a unique partnership for 20 years with the sugar industry, to produce renewable energy from bagasse, a fibrous residue from sugar cane. Albioma is also the leading generator of photovoltaic power overseas where it constructs and operates innovative projects with integrated storage capabilities. For further information, please visit www.albioma.com Investor contact Julien Gauthier+33 (0)1 47 76 67 00 Media contact Charlotte Neuvy+33 (0)1 47 76 66 65presse@albioma.com Albioma shares are listed on Euronext Paris (sub B) and eligible for the deferred settlement service (SRD) and PEA-PME plans. ISIN FR0000060402 - Ticker: ABIO [April 27, 2018] A new friendship between Australian and Chinese Millennials has bloomed BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennials aren't smartphone junkies who speak fluent Emoji and care only about their Instagram influence. Millennials are the single largest age group in both Australia and China and they will have an enormous impact on the globe's future. Last week, eighty millennials from Australia and China, travelled to Beijing for an intense innovation boot camp as part of the CAMPx2018 program. The China Australia Millennial Program (CAMP) is in the third year of the award-winning 100-day training program for young innovators. The goal is to apply the principals of design thinking in order to identify sustainable solutions to global issues. CAMPx2018 Beijing week was five days of in-context learning on how to disrupt their industry by connecting with new technologies, all right in the heart of Beijing's start-up hub. While in Beijing, CAMPers met and learned from innovation leaders including Allan Chou , CEO - RAIDiCAL Shanghai Song Wei , TusStar Park Vice-President , TusStar Park Vice-President Kerryn Ross , Director Of Innovation for EY Oceania Fan Hongyi (Troy), International Business Manager at Tsinghua SEM X-celerator, Cross-cultural Content Creator, Weibo KOL The week included visits and workshops at some of Beijing's best start up incubators and accelerators and technology universities such as: Plug'n Play - Beijing's office for international investment institution jointly founded by Sias International University and Amidi Group. - office for international investment institution jointly founded by Sias and Amidi Group. Innoway - China's $36M government-backed start up village which has incubated a total of 878 companies including 121 overseas teams with a total financing of 7.65B RMB ( $1.22B ). - China's government-backed start up village which has incubated a total of 878 companies including 121 overseas teams with a total financing of ( ). Tsinghua SEM X-celerator - a start-up acceleration platform promoted by the Tsinghua University which has accelerated more than 150 start ups and has invested nearly 100 million RMB in those businesses - a start-up acceleration platform promoted by the Tsinghua University which has accelerated more than 150 start ups and has invested nearly in those businesses UCAS (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences) with over 15,000 continuing students among whom more than half are doctoral students and 4 campuses in Beijing UCAs is the heart of China's research and development in sciences. "Being a mentor at CAMPx2018 Beijing Week really puts across the importance of physical presence on the ground for the Australian teams to experience the Chinese culture in its truest form. The group was open minded and has now has a better sense of understanding of the Chinese people and their environment. I am very thankful and proud to be a part of the CAMPx2018 Beijing Week," said Allan Chou, Founder of RAIDiCAL and mentor for CAMPx2018. "CAMP has opeed up my eyes to the innovation landscape outside of Australia. I have learnt to be more confident in an idea and from my own peers alone have grown in one week from someone who felt they were too young to create waves of change to someone with the new found ability to be challenged and succeed in the face of that. Beijing and it's innovators have showed me the resources available and what a potential collaboration can bring to life," commented Emily Crozier, Final Year Civil Engineering Student at UTS, CAMPx2018 participant. "CAMP Beijing was a complete eye-opener! We were able to see first hand how China is tackling a range of global problems with innovation and the tools of tomorrow. We were also able to engage with future focused entrepreneurs and individuals and share their insights on the importance of cross cultural understanding and China's place in the global economy," shared Amy Lego, Recruitment Team Leader at Macquarie University, CAMPx2018 participant. "I've been blown away by the calibre and good intentions of this incredible new movement of young people. These are people who are not waiting for permission to lead their own futures, rather shaping it in real time, with real outcomes, and real bonds between each other. Over the next 50 days, we'll see innovation 'millennial style', digital and mobile first, created with a global mindset. No other group innovates quite like Australian and Chinese millennials. Watch this space!" said Andrea Myles, CAMP CEO and organizer of CAMPx2018. Why China and Australia? China is facing now a crucial challenge in its development and Australia can help to bring a new breath into global issues. The Chinese wealthy middle-class is urgently requesting higher life standards. Baby formula, nutrition supplements, food security are sectors where Australia got some of the highest standards in the world and can share it with China. Defining itself as a Western country in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia needs a better understanding of its largest trade partner for eight straight years. China is committed to peaceful development through win-win cooperation and they are no reasons why Australia should not say yes. CAMPx2018 start up training program brings together 100 young Australian and Chinese leaders from all industries for 100 days to design industry solution, up-skill their cross-cultural communication, learn design-thinking and strengthen the Australia-China relationship. To know more about their development, contact us: General: info@australiachina.org or follow CAMP's social media on: Twitter: twitter.com/china_australia Facebook: facebook.com/chinaaustraliamillennialproject/ Website: www.australiachina.org Few words about CAMP (China Australia Millennial Project): "CAMP delivered direct commercial business outcomes, a connection with leading edge influencers and were extremely useful in rounding out our stakeholder positioning and marketing to policy makers including politicians and bureaucrats," said Justin Howden, Head of Government Relations. Being heralded as part of the solution to 'future-proofing' Australia , CAMP is equipping the next generation of Australian entrepreneurs with the Asia literacy and networks. , CAMP is equipping the next generation of Australian entrepreneurs with the literacy and networks. CAMP is proudly powered by incredible international partners such as Swisse, EY, Alibaba and China Eastern . . CAMP gain the trust and support of Australian institutions such as Macquarie University, the City of Sydney and the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade via the Australia-China Council. and the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade via the Australia-China Council. CAMP or China Australia Millennial Project is an Australian-Chinese privately owned company. What does CAMP solve? China/Western countries cultural miscomprehension: can we find solutions? This Australian start-up decided to create a platform where millennials can connect with governmental and industries to find better ways to work and life together. CAMP aims to build the bridge between China and Australia millennials through innovation. How? By being a platform connecting Chinese and Australian millennials. CAMP gives them a voice, a stage. With CAMP they can express their vision, connect and develop. Together and with CAMP they find solutions for global issues. CAMP allows them to employ their inner potential. With CAMP participants connect with other brilliant innovative minds, coming from different industries and culture. What's its impact? CAMP helps millennials' speeches to scope a higher level and reach the right person to solve cross-cultural issues. The start-up is strongly connected to governmental and international private companies which are following the progress of CAMP's Millennials. What is their service? Each year CAMP organises a 100 days training for 100 participants. An award-winning cross-border innovation program unites dynamic young leaders who are passionate about business, social innovation and strengthening the Australia-China relationship, and provides them with the tools to address real-world global challenges. The program, with mentorship, workshops, design panel, design thinking tool and lectures work both online and offline between Australia and China. Few Words about Andrea Myles, CEO and Co-founder: Since her first encounter in 2002, Andrea Myles loves China and has pursued every opportunity to gain a deeper insight into this fascinating country. loves China and has pursued every opportunity to gain a deeper insight into this fascinating country. Driven by her passion, slight frustration of the transactional nature of the Australia -China relationship and impatience for positive change, Andrea co-founded the China Australia Millennial Project, which connects leading talent in both nations. -China relationship and impatience for positive change, Andrea co-founded the China Australia Millennial Project, which connects leading talent in both nations. Possessing a working proficiency in Mandarin, she has two bilingual Masters degrees, a BSc in Neuroscience and is a fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs. She has been named one of Australia's 100 Most Influential Women by Westpac and the Australian Financial Review. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180427/2117223-1 SOURCE China Australia Millennial Project (CAMP) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 27, 2018] Directorate General of Water Resources Sets Rawa Pening and Citarum as Pilot Project for Water Conservation Program in Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In closing the World Water Day 2018 "Nature for Water," Ministry of Public Works & Housing of the Republic of Indonesia, through the Directorate General of Water Resources, today concluded movements through the National Dialogue "Build a Collective Commitment" on 25 April 2018. Other institutions participated in the discussions, including Commission V of House of Representatives of Republic Indonesia; Directorate General of Watershed Management and Protected Forest, Ministry of Environment & Forestry of Republic Indonesia; Directorate General of Human Settlements (Cipta Karya); Wisdom Park by University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) Residences; and Green Building Council Indonesia, to discuss innovation and water conservation movements within areas of water scarcity in Indonesia, including Rawa Pening and Citarum. According to National Development Planning Agency, around 72 million people of up to 262 million (total population in Indonesia) have no access to clean water. To overcome this challenge, the government plans to build 65 dams, furthermore targeting to finish 15 lake restorations in Indonesia by 2019. "Specifically, we are focusing on the restoration within Rawa Pening Lake in , also cleaning up the upstream area of Citarum River in West Java from waste and wastewater. For the program to succeed, we applied the Natural-based Solution approach. Thus, we expect all communities to participate as well," said Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Public Works and Housing of the Republic of Indonesia. The government initiated movement to undertake the Rawa Pening Lake. Previously, more than two-thirds of the area was covered by water hyacinth. "Apart from restoration, we applied two other actions, including preservation and rebuilding process or conservation. Alongside communities, we take further actions such as dredging the lake, constructing the border dyke system, as well as regularly cleaning up the water hyacinth," said Ir. Sujadi, Commission V of the House of Representatives Republic Indonesia. Currently, only 30% of area covered by water hyacinth. "Even more, the location has now become a popular tourist attraction in Central Java," Sujadi added. Government to Set Goals on Making Citarum River Drinkable by 2025 The World Bank declared Citarum River as one of the most polluted rivers in the world over a decade ago. Ironically, the Citarum currently provides water supply for more than 27 million in West Java. "Hence, the government made it a priority to restore the Citarum River, through the Citarum Harum program," said Basuki Hadimuljono. According to priority programs conducted by President Joko Widodo, the Citarum Rive's water will be drinkable by 2025. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing of Republic Indonesia initiated real movements to banish any waste from the lifeline river. "As a waste management effort of accumulated waste around the riverbank, we build new final trash disposal site in Legok Nangka, Bandung, West Java, which is able to load up to 1,500 tons of garbage per day. Right before entering the municipal solid waste landfill, we sort the water through 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) method, in order to reduce solid waste volume at the source. The waste water, we collect then flows into the water purification plant and proceeds through chemicals and filters to remove most toxins and hazards, thus the water will become potable again," said Sri Hartoyo, Directorate General of Human Settlements (Cipta Karya). Alongside the rainwater, waste water may also be used to generate electrical energy, as well as to support irrigation systems. As stated in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6 by the United Nations, all communities are encouraged to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, by 2030, to create a better future and world. About Directorate General of Water Resources The Directorate General of Water Resources, under the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, has critical roles in formulating and implementing water resources management policies, provided in compliance with relevant legislation. In order to perform their duties in accordance with the Directorate General of Water Resources, their functions are: policy formulation in the field of water resources conservation, utilization of water resources and to control water damage on surface water resources, and utilization of groundwater in accordance with the provisions of legislation; implementation of integrated water resource management in compliance with the provisions of legislation; preparation of the norms, standards, procedures, and criteria in the field of water resources management; provision of technical guidance and supervision related to water resources management; implementation of evaluation and reporting regarding to water resources management; implementation of the administration of the Directorate General of Water Resources; and implementation of other functions provided by the Minister. Media Contact: Komunikasi Publik Setditjen SDA Kementerian PUPR Kety Fillaily 08158952069 021-7398614 kompu.sda@gmail.com Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180427/2117230-1 Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180322/2086659-1LOGO SOURCE Ministry of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 27, 2018] Sahil Khattar to Host the Yamaha FZ25 Expedition MUMBAI, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Expedition, a creation of Beanstring, to start from April 27 Comedian Sahil Khattar is all set to rock the Internet with a new show he's hosting, called the Expedition. Expedition features 12 young Voyagers, who embark on a road trip across 'Bharat', the India that lives in her villages and small towns. Created by Abhishek Talwar, Founder of Beanstring, this is a first of its kind show where viewers can not only vote for their favourite contestant, but also interact with them on a real-time basis, using the Beanstring App. "Young people living in big cities have a perception of rural India that may or may not be true. The Expedition is a platform for them to test their understanding - we're not judging them, just giving them a chance to see the truth for themselves, and in this process of exploration, hopefully embark on a journey of self-discovery," said Abhishek. On Sahil hosting the show, Abhishek said, "We couldn't have found a better fit than Sahil Khattar for this show. With his quirky, clean and fun brand of humour, he adds a whole new dimension to the content. Also, Sahil's personal journey from starting off as a RJ at age 17, to hosting some of the country's biggest shows and lie events like 'Dance and Dance' and 'Pro Wrestling League', besides launching his own YouTube channel, Khattarnaak , is in itself an inspiration for aspiring Voyagers on the Expedition. Sahil presents the most mundane of everyday tasks from a totally unexpected and hilarious perspective, which I am confident audiences and brands will find very appealing." Along the journey, at each destination the Voyagers are given a 'mission' to complete by Sahil, the Mission Commander. Besides completing the task at hand, the voyagers also capture their experiences in the form of pictures and videos on their smartphones, which they then share on the Beanstring app. Each time these pictures and videos are viewed on Beanstring, the Voyagers earn Beans - the Voyager with the highest Beans earned at the end of the journey is the winner of the show. "This is a first of its kind concept, and I am super excited to be an integral part of this show," said Sahil. Adding further, "The fact that the viewer has total control over which Voyager they want should win, is awesome. We are leveraging the power of social media, where the viewer is an integral part of the decision-making process." Speaking about his YouTube channel partnering Beanstring on this show, he said, "We are looking at creating new and differentiated content for Khattarnaak, and I am very happy that the Expedition will be a first of its kind show to debut on my YouTube channel." The Expedition, presented by Yamaha FZ25, and co-powered by ZTE Smartphones and Cadbury Fuse, is an 18-episode weekly show, which starts from 27 April, 2018, 16:00hrs onwards on Khattarnaak YouTube channel. About Beanstring: Beanstring is a first-of-its-kind social rewards platform. Users on the platform earn Beans each time they publish or upload content like pictures, vides etc., and share the same. These Beans are 'currency' which can be redeemed against merchandise and vouchers in the BeanMall section of the App. The App is available on the Apple App Store and Google PlayStore. Media Contact: Suraj Wadhwani, beanstring@tspl.co +91-9819849727 TSPL [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 27, 2018] Titan Medical's Presentation Date at the 2018 Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference Moved to May 3 TORONTO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titan Medical Inc. (Titan or the Company) (TSX:TMD) (OTCQB:TITXF), a medical device company focused on the design, development and commercialization of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), announces that David McNally, President and CEO of Titan Medical, now will present at the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference on Thursday, May 3 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. Mr. McNally will provide a corporate overview discussing the Companys SPORT Surgical System. The conference is being held May 2-3, 2018 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. To access the live webcast of the presentation, please click here. A reply will be available following the conclusion of the live presentation. About Titan Medical Inc. Titan Medical Inc. is focused on research and development through to the planned commercialization of computer-assisted robotic surgical technologies for application in minimally invasive surgery. The Company is developing the SPORT Surgical System, a single-port robotic surgical system. The SPORT Surgical System is comprised of a surgeon-controlled patient cart that includes a 3D high-definition vision system and multi-articulating instruments for performing MIS procedures, and a surgeon workstation that provides an advanced ergonomic interface to the patient cart and a 3D endoscopic view inside the patients body. Titan intends to initially pursue focused surgical indications for the SPORT Surgical System, which may include one or more of gynecologic, urologic, colorectal or general abdominal procedures. For more information, please visit the Companys website at www.titanmedicalinc.com. Contacts: LHA Investor Relations Kim Sutton Golodetz (212) 838-3777 kgolodetz@lhai.com or Bruce Voss (310) 691-7100 bvoss@lhai.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [April 27, 2018] CanCode funding Code Mobiles to give young Canadians digital skills needed for jobs of the future The mobile truck fleet will travel across Canada teaching more than 140,000 young Canadians and their teachers how to code MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 27, 2018 /CNW/ - Coding and digital skills are essential tools for the well-paying middle class jobs of today and tomorrow. That's why the Government of Canada has made a historic investment to help more than one million young Canadians and their teachers learn digital skills like coding. During a visit to Whitehorn Public School in Mississauga today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, joined by Melissa Sariffodeen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Learning Code, celebrated the launch of a cross-country tour by Canada Learning Code's Code Mobile fleet. The Code Mobile is a computer lab on wheels and is equipped with laptops, robotics kits and invention kits. Thanks to support through the Government of Canada's $50-million CanCode program, Code Mobile was able to expand its fleet from one to 13 vehcles and will teach over 140,000 Canadian students from kindergarten to grade 12 and their teachers coding and computational thinking. The Code Mobile is one of many funded CanCode initiatives now rolling out across Canada. CanCode is one of the many digital skills programs offered by the Government of Canada to help Canadians access digital technology and the training to use it. It aligns with the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to create well-paying jobs and ensure Canadians have the skills to succeed. Quotes "Launching the Code Mobile fleet is literally putting innovation into motion! Our government is committed to investing in our number one asset: our talent. We want young Canadians to succeed, so we are helping equip them with the right skills for the middle-class jobs of the future." The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development "We're hitting the road in a big way. Thanks to the investment from the CanCode program, we're launching a fleet of 13 Code Mobiles with one bold mission: to introduce more than 140,000 youth and educators across Canada to the power of tech. Book your visit at CodeMobile.ca today!" Melissa Sariffodeen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Learning Code Quick facts CanCode will invest $50 million over two years, starting in 201718, to provide almost one million young Canadians, from kindergarten to Grade 12, with opportunities to develop their coding and digital skills. The program aims to encourage more girls, Indigenous Canadians and other under-represented groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It will also equip more than 63,000 teachers across the country with training and tools to teach digital skills and coding. Associated links CanCode Funded CanCode Initiatives Follow the department on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] English French Paris, April 27, 20182/2 Francois Riahi appointed CEO of Natixis Natixis' Board of Directors gathered today under the chairmanship of Francois Perol and appointed Francois Riahi Chief Executive Officer of Natixis. He succeeds Laurent Mignon, appointed Chairman of Groupe BPCE's Management Board on April 26, 2018. Francois Riahi's new role will become effective on June 1, 2018. Simultaneously, Laurent Mignon will become Chairman of Natixis' Board of Directors. Natixis' Board of Directors pays tribute to Laurent Mignon for his exceptional commitment to Natixis' successful transformation and development as Chief Executive Officer since 2009; development he will continue to ensure as Chairman of Natixis' Board of Directors. Natixis now is a solid and innovative company, entirely dedicated to its clients, with strong business activities and expertise, very closely anchored to Groupe BPCE. Francois Riahi's appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Natixis comes in a sense of continuity in Natixis' strategy and development. Fancois Riahi joined Groupe BPCE when it was first established in 2009 and participated in the major milestones of its constitution and development. He was a significant player in defining the strategy of the group as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, in charge of strategy, then joined Natixis as CEO, Corporate & Investment Banking, Asia Pacific Platform which he developped significantly. Then he became co-Head of Corporate & Investment Banking, member of the Senior Management Committee, alongside Marc Vincent. In this role, Francois Riahi has been committed in the development of our New Dimension strategic plan. "I am particularly proud of all we have accomplished at Natixis since 2009 driven by Francois Perol and thanks to the strong commitment of all employees. Natixis has become a company recognized and envied for its expertise and performance, as well as its strong entrepreneurial culture. I would like to pay a warm tribute to all the Natixis teams and in particular to the members of the Senior Management Committee. Francois Riahi who has significantly contributed to this success will ensure that the ambitions of the New Dimension strategic plan are carried out. I will remain very committed to Natixis' development" stated Laurent Mignon. "I would like to thank the Board of Directors for the trust they have placed in me today. I remain committed to pursuing what makes the success of Natixis, creating value across all our businesses: Asset and Wealth Management, Corporate & Investment Banking, Insurance, Specialized Financial Services and Payments. Together with all Natixis teams, in all our businesses and throughout the world, we will continue Laurent Mignon's remarkable work by resolutely implementing the New Dimension strategic plan" indicated Francois Riahi. Francois Riahi began his career as an Inspecteur des Finances (auditor at the French Treasury) at the Inspection Generale des Finances from 2001 to 2005. He was then appointed to the Government's Budget Department, first as a charge de mission reporting to the Budget Director and subsequently as Head of the Budget Policy Office. In 2007, he was appointed as an advisor to the President of the French Republic, responsible for the reform of State institutions and Public Finance. In March 2009, Francois Riahi joined Groupe BPCE as Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy Officer. In May 2012, he was appointed Head of Corporate & Investment Banking's Asia Pacific Platform for Natixis, based in Hong Kong and became member of the Natixis Executive Committee. In February 2016, he joined Natixis' Senior Management Committee as Co-Head of Corporate and Investment Banking. On January 1st 2018, Francois Riahi became a member of the Groupe BPCE Management Board, in charge of Finance, Strategy and Corporate Secretariat. Francois Riahi (45) is a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris school of engineering, the Paris Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po), the Stanford Executive Program, as well as a former student of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA). About Natixis Natixis is the international corporate and investment banking, asset management, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the 2nd-largest banking group in France with 31 million clients spread over two retail banking networks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne. With more than 17,000 employees, Natixis has a number of areas of expertise that are organized into four main business lines: Asset & Wealth Management, Corporate & Investment Banking, Insurance and Specialized Financial Services. A global player, Natixis has its own client base of companies, financial institutions and institutional investors as well as the client base of individuals, professionals and small and medium-size businesses of Groupe BPCE's banking networks. Listed on the Paris stock exchange, it has a solid financial base with a CET1 capital under Basel 3(1) of 12 billion, a Basel 3 CET1 Ratio (1) of 10.65 % and quality long-term ratings (Standard & Poor's: A / Moody's: A2 / Fitch Ratings: A). (1)Based on CRR-CRD4 rules as reported on June 26, 2013, including the Danish compromise - without phase-in . Figures as at December 31, 2017 Press contacts: Sonia Dilouya Berthaut Laure Sadreux Tel.: +33 1 58 32 01 03 Tel.: +33 1 58 19 34 17 E-mail: sonia.dilouya@natixis.com E-mail: laure.sadreux@natixis.com www.natixis.com Daily Mail: Adriana Lima shows off her sculpted legs in three different looks during NYC photoshoot The Blast: Adriana Lima Gets Paid to Sit on Top of Things If You're Gonna Get Hit By A Car In KC Proper, This Is Probably The Spot New traffic light system in Brookside aims to keep pedestrians safe Crosswalks are not new technology, but it's new in Brookside, and the goal is to help keep pedestrians safe. If you've walked along 63rd Street in the area, it's easy to see why a more dedicated crosswalk was needed. "Lots of traffic, lots of confusion ... Swedish Persecution In Kansas City!!! Midtown's Krokstrom Klubb & Market hit in burglary KANSAS CITY, Mo.- A midtown restaurant didn't open for lunch Friday after someone broke in overnight. The owners of Krokstrom Klubb & Market, Katee McLean and Josh Rodgers, said they discovered the door to the front and back of their restaurant busted when arrived to open at 10:30 a.m. Have You Seen This Golden Ghetto Drugstore Cowboy Suspect??? Overland Park police ask for help identifying man in Walgreens robbery Overland Park, Kansas, police released surveillance pictures from a robbery early Friday at a Walgreens store. The store at 7500 Metcalf Ave. was robbed about 5 a.m., police said. Authorities said the man walked into the store and back to the pharmacy, pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded OxyContin. Sleaze Scummit Getting Worse 2 men charged in Lee's Summit convenience store robberies Two Independence men, who fled from Lee's Summit police on Thursday until it ended after a short standoff, have been charged in recent armed robberies in Lee's Summit. Billy J. Standley, 21, and William C. Crawford, 33, each face three counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of armed criminal action. Elite Local Good Life Rehab Epoch unveils repurposing progress at Kansas City Club [PHOTOS] - Kansas City Business Journal Craig Slawson and his firm, Epoch Developments, hosted a ribbon-cutting event at the old Kansas City Club building, which Slawson bought for $1.76 million at a bankruptcy auction two and a half years ago. Here's a look inside the former social club that now serves largely as event space. Local Tech Cash Giveaway Kansas City companies win 3 of 21 gigabit app awards so far Two Kansas City startups each recently earned $10,000 awards through a program promoting gigabit app development in the metro. A third firm won previously. OnTimeSocial and PlanIT Impact were among 11 companies honored this spring by , which seeks to leverage networking technologies to build stronger smart communities. At Least Somebody Is Trying To Clean Up Jackson County Area volunteers aim to breathe new life into forgotten cemetery Leaves, sticks and debris from a south Kansas City cemetery were stuffed into 297 bags on a recent Saturday morning. The cemetery, tucked inside the Timber Hill Estates subdivision at 125 th and Wornall, is an old community burial ground, holding generations-old memories that have long since been forgotten. For Kansas City workers on their way out the door, take a look at some news highlights along with this bit of newsworthy career inspiration:Closer to home and concerning the local discourse . . .And this is thefor right now . . . "Mike Shanin talks to KCMO's Chief Innovation Officer Bob Bennett about making Kansas City the world's most connected Smart City. Terry Riley, Lisa Johnston, Laura McConwell and Steve Rose discuss the latest details in the Eric Greitens saga including a new felony charge, the Kansas school finance bill and correcting the $80 million error and the mounting problems in Jackson County government." For the evening hours we offer this glimpse at theof Kansas City discourse featuring a collection of local opinion-makers discussing the politics which pervades our lives.Description . . .You decide . . . English French Annual General Meeting set for May 17, 2018 Wendel informs its shareholders that the Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Annual General Meeting will be held on May 17, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. at Salle Wagram (39-41 avenue de Wagram, 75017 Paris). The notice of meeting was published on April 9, in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales et Obligatoires (www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/balo). The convening notice is published today in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales et Obligatoires (www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/balo) and the Affiches parisiennes. It is also available on the Wendel website, www.wendelgroup.com, in the "Finance" section, "Annual General Meetings" section It includes the agenda and the conditions to attend and vote to the AGM. A new resolution is added to the agenda of the General Meeting proposing the appointment of Franca Bertagnin Benetton as independent Supervisory Board member, for a 4 years mandate. This new resolution becomes the 8th resolution. Consequently, the resolutions numbered 8 to 27 become the resolutions numbered 9 to 28. Shareholders will be asked to approve a dividend of 2.65 per share, with ex-dividend date on May 22, 2018 and dividend payment date on May 24, 2017. Other documents and information concerning this meeting are available to shareholders and also published on the Wendel website today, under legal and regulatory conditions. Agenda 5/17/2018 Shareholders' Meeting / Publication of NAV and trading update (before Shareholders' Meeting) 9/6/2018 H1 2018 earnings / Publication of NAV (pre-market release). By conference call 11/29/2018 2018 Investor Day / Publication of NAV and trading update (pre-market release). About Wendel Wendel is one of Europe's leading listed investment firms. The Group invests in Europe, North America and Africa in companies that are leaders in their field, such as Bureau Veritas, Saint-Gobain, Cromology, Stahl, IHS, Constantia Flexibles and Allied Universal. Wendel plays an active role as industry shareholder in these companies. It implements long-term development strategies, which involve boosting growth and margins of companies so as to enhance their leading market positions. Through Oranje-Nassau Developpement, which brings together opportunities for investment in growth, diversification and innovation, Wendel is also a shareholder of Mecatherm in France, Nippon Oil Pump in Japan, Saham Group, PlaYce and Tsebo in Africa, and CSP Technologies in the United States. Wendel is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris. Standard & Poor's ratings: Long-term: BBB-, stable outlook - Short-term: A-3 since July 7, 2014. Wendel is the Founding Sponsor of Centre Pompidou-Metz. In recognition of its long-term patronage of the arts, Wendel received the distinction of "Grand Mecene de la Culture" in 2012. For more information: Follow us on Twitter @WendelGroup Has Kansas City given the American Jazz Museum a fair shot at success? We've seen this play out before: A Kansas City institution clinging to life is rescued, revamped and saved by private and public dollars. That's our city's usual game plan. But this time, it feels like Kansas City has collectively given the acclaimed American Jazz Museum the stiff arm. Let's not forget that the 18th & Vine District hasbut still has yet to turn a profit. Meanwhile, here's the latest newspaper screed lamenting the fact that nobody likes jazz. "Kander made the comments last night while appearing at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa. The former Democratic opponent of Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt said GOP party members should share his wish for Greitens to step down. Im very much of the opinion that he should leave office, and that any Republican elected official in Missouri that hasnt also come to that conclusion should probably follow him, said Kander. A quote from Kansas City's favorite native politico on the hot mess in Jeff City attempts to share the spotlight in a debate that is now mostly among Republican factions.Checkit:Deets:Accordingly, here are the latest news links related to the Guv who is currently making his last stand. Take a look:Developing . . . WORD OF TALL WHITE DUDE G-MEN TAKING JACKSON COUNTY DOX TRAVELS FAST AS DENIZENS OF THE COURTHOUSE PREP FOR ANOTHER PAINFUL PROBE THREATENING ELECTION OUTCOMES!!! - Jackson County Exec Frank White's sketchy home financing. - Distribution of COMBAT funds amid the debate over control. - Residue from the kinky tenure of Former Sheriff Mike Sharp. - Continued jail questions & the ongoing effort to clean it up. - Campaign finance misdeeds and questionable connections. The Feds are pulling files at the Jackson County Courthouse amid the outset of election season and their mere presence has everyone concerned.To wit . . .Overwhelming negative perception from voters & the media confront every incumbent and the news keeps getting worse.Of course, as with all things related to the Courthouse, there's a fair bit of speculation. Even worse there's a litany of ongoing disasters worthy top level inquiry up to and not including . . .All of this drama casts an ominous cloud over the Courthouse . . .Meanwhile, "Skippy" awaits sentencing, there's talk OFand tension among the Exec's office & the legislature have worsened.Developing . . . Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten, , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei, , holidays in Turkey, , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas, This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, at a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768. AI Projected to Replace Thousands of Banking Jobs Say it ain't so, Joe. Anthony Jenkins, former CEO of Barclays Bank, predicts that over the next 10 years, advances in financial technologyespecially in artificial intelligence (AI)could cause the number of people employed by the financial services sector to decline by as much as 50%, providing the industry with huge cost savings and enabling a much more competitive atmosphere.1 Thats the vision, says James DArezzo, CEO of Condusiv Technologies. The reality is more complicated. Unless banks deal with the performance issues that AI will cause for ultra-large databases (typically run on Microsoft SQL servers), they will not be able to take the money gained by eliminating positions and spend it on the new services and products they will need in order to stay competitive. Looming technical issues notwithstanding, senior banking executives increasingly agree on the inevitability of AI-based services and an accompanying major reduction in industry workforce. Former Deutsche Bank CEO, John Cryan, predicted a bonfire of industry jobs as automation takes hold across the sector, noting that increased processing power, cloud storage and other developments make possible tasks that had previously been seen as too complex for automation.2 More recently, Vikram Pandit, who ran Citigroup during the financial crisis from 2007 to 2012, said that developments in artificial intelligence and robotics could reduce the need for banking staff in support roles by as much as 30% over the next five years.3 Industry observers note that there is significant demand for new automated capabilities. Among the potential use cases for AI in financial services are data-driven management decisions at lower cost; automated customer support; fraud detection and claims management; insurance management; automated virtual financial assistants; predictive analysis in financial services; and wealth management advisory services offered to lower-net-worth market segments.4 DArezzo, whose company is the world leader in I/O reduction software, notes that providing the IT capability to support this wave of AI will not be a trivial matter. Financial industry CIOs are already under pressure to provide timely responses to increasingly complex requests for data analysis,5 and AI applicationswhich are far more demanding in terms of both data throughput speed and quality6will vastly increase that pressure. Intensive hardware upgrades, often cited as a solution to this problem, may often simply make matters worse. DArezzo cites as an example a recent announcement that the Tokyo Institute of Technology Global Scientific and Computing Center has begun the development of a new supercomputer, the Tsubame 3.0, to meet the demands of artificial intelligence and big data applications. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has committed to investing $1.9 billion in the project.7 This machine is not on the market yet, says DArezzo, and we have no idea what it will cost when it becomes available. Existing supercomputers, however, tend to weigh in at $50 million to several hundred million, plus implementation and data transition costs. For most financial institutions, this approach to the AI challengethrowing hardware at itnot only negates the cost-reduction advantages AI has to offer, but is unnecessary. A much better way for the industry to manage AI is to increase the performance of its existing infrastructure, particularly SQL databases, which could produce the same efficiencies at a small fraction of the cost of new hardware. For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: English German THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE RELEASED, PUBLISHED OR DISTRIBUTED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT INTENDED AS AN OFFER AND IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Curetis to Raise EUR 4.1 Million in Equity Offering with Access to Additional USD 10 million in Equity Over 36 Months Company to Issue 854,166 New Shares at EUR 4.80 Per Share This announcement contains inside information within the meaning of article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Directive. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Holzgerlingen, Germany, April 27, 2018, 18:30 CEST. - Curetis N.V. (the "Company" and, together with Curetis GmbH, "Curetis"), a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that it has obtained commitments from qualified investors in Europe and the United States to subscribe for 854,166 new ordinary shares (the "Offer Shares") of the Company (the "Offering"). Total gross proceeds from the Offering for the Company are expected to be EUR 4.1 million, before deducting fees and expenses. The Company also secured an additional USD 10 million equity facility offered by Global Corporate Finance (GCF), New York, NY, USA, allowing the Company solely at its request to raise additional equity over a period of up to 36 months subject to certain pre-agreed floor pricing. Curetis expects to use the proceeds from the Offering as well as potentially from the equity facility by GCF to advance key commercial and R&D initiatives and for general corporate purposes, including: support of the U.S. commercial launch and roll-out of the Unyvero platform and Unyvero LRT Application Cartridge; driving the continued commercial roll-out of the Unyvero platform and Unyvero Application Cartridges in key EMEA markets; ongoing research and development projects aimed at expanding the product menu and platform capabilities of Unyvero and Ares Genetics. "This offering strengthens our shareholder base in both the U.S. and Europe through the addition of several high-caliber healthcare-focused institutional investors. Also, with the additional USD 10 million equity facility offered by Global Corporate Finance we have added great flexibility to raise additional equity. We believe that the success of this offering reflects the progress we have made in advancing the Company since its IPO and investors' excitement over the opportunities that lie ahead," said Oliver Schacht, Ph.D., CEO of Curetis. "We have seen a number of significant catalysts for growth, notably the recent U.S. FDA clearance of our Unyvero System and LRT cartridge. The proceeds of this financing will provide us with the means to ensure an optimal U.S. commercial launch for Unyvero, further accelerate the EMEA commercial roll-out of the Unyvero platform and continue innovating by supporting the ongoing evolution of the Unyvero platform and Ares Genetics' activities." Settlement and Admission of the Offer Shares Payment for the Offer Shares is expected to take place on 30 April 2018 with delivery expected on 2 May 2018 or shortly thereafter, at which date the Offer Shares are also expected to be admitted to listing and trading on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels under ISIN NL0011509294 and ticker symbol CURE. Following completion of the Offering, the Company's issued share capital amounts to EUR 163,925.77, consisting of 16,392,577 ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 each. ### About Curetis Curetis N.V.'s (Euronext: CURE) goal is to become a leading provider of innovative solutions for molecular microbiology diagnostics designed to address the global challenge of diagnosing severe infectious diseases and identifying antibiotic resistances in hospitalized patients. Curetis' Unyvero System is a versatile, fast and highly automated molecular diagnostic platform for easy-to-use, cartridge-based solutions for the comprehensive and rapid detection of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance markers in a range of severe infectious disease indications. Results are available within hours, a process that can take days or even weeks if performed with standard diagnostic procedures, and thereby facilitates improved patient outcomes, stringent antibiotic stewardship and health economic benefits. Unyvero in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products are marketed in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the U.S. Curetis' wholly owned subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH offers next-generation solutions for infectious disease diagnostics and therapeutics. The ARES Technology Platform combines the world's most comprehensive database on the genetics of antimicrobial resistances, ARESdb, with advanced bioinformatics and artificial intelligence. For further information, please visit www.curetis.com and www.ares-genetics.com. Contact details Curetis Max-Eyth-Str. 42 71088 Holzgerlingen, Germany Tel. +49 7031 49195-10 pr@curetis.com or ir@curetis.com www.curetis.com - www.unyvero.com International Media & Investor Inquiries akampion Dr. Ludger Wess / Ines-Regina Buth Managing Partners info@akampion.com Tel. +49 40 88 16 59 64 Tel. +49 30 23 63 27 68 Legal Disclaimer This announcement contains inside information. This is a public announcement pursuant to article 17 paragraph 1 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). This document constitutes neither an offer to buy nor to subscribe securities and neither this document nor any part of it should form the basis of any investment decision in Curetis. The information contained in this press release has been carefully prepared. However, Curetis bears and assumes no liability of whatever kind for the correctness and completeness of the information provided herein. Curetis does not assume an obligation of whatever kind to update or correct information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or for other reasons. This press release includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", or "should", and include statements Curetis makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Curetis' actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. Curetis undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Not for release, publication, distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada or Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. This announcement is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Directive (as defined below). This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities of Curetis N.V. (the "Company") in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or in any other jurisdiction. This announcement should not be regarded as an opinion or recommendation concerning the purchase or sale of securities of the Company. Persons into whose possession this communication comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdictions. The securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act or an available exemption from, or transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States. In the United Kingdom this announcement is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, and any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with, Qualified Investors who are (i) investment professionals falling with Article 19(5) of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"); or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iii) other persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Persons who are not relevant persons should not take any action on the basis of this announcement and should not act or rely on it. The Company has not authorized any offer to the public of securities in any Member State of the European Economic Area. With respect to any Member State of the European Economic Area and which has implemented the Prospectus Directive other than the Netherlands (each a "Relevant Member State"), no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of securities requiring publication of a prospectus in any Relevant Member State. As a result, the securities may only be offered in Relevant Member States (i) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; or (ii) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive. For the purpose of this paragraph, the expression "offer of securities to the public" means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable the investor to decide to exercise, purchase or subscribe for the securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State and the expression "Prospectus Directive" means Directive 2003/71/EC and amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EU. In the Netherlands, the Offer Shares are not and may not be offered other than to persons or entities who or which are qualified investors (gekwalificeerde beleggers) as defined in Section 1:1 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht). The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness. vinaymishra188@gmail.com New Delhi: The government is likely to release the National Telecom Policy daraft on May 1 to seek public comments, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on Thursday. The direction of the new policy, that we hope you will see as early as on May 1, will be reform-oriented, investor friendly and bring down the cost of compliances, she said at the AGM of US industry body Amcham. She mentioned that the proposed NTP will be placed for public comments for 15-20 days. It (NTP) will trigger innovation, focus on Make in India and provide opportunities for partnerships, she said. PTI editorial@tribune.com Mumbai/Delhi, April 27 The government plans to split state-run gas utility GAIL by March next year to create two companies one for marketing gas, and another for operating pipelines that can be used by consumers who buy direct from producers the head of the sectors regulator said. By splitting GAIL, the regulator of Indias oil and gas sector hopes to increase the number of gas consumers and attract the billions of dollars needed to expand the pipeline network and build more liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. All this un-bundling should be done within this fiscal year (to March 31, 2019), said DK Sarraf, chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Board. GAIL already keeps separate accounts for its gas pipeline and marketing businesses, making it easier to split them into two entities before a change of ownership, he said. Sarraf did not say which business GAIL would retain. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in January had said the company should focus on laying pipelines, suggesting it is the marketing side that would be hived off. By splitting GAIL and opening the sector, the government hopes to increase gas use and meet its objective of raising the share of a cleaner, cheaper fuel as a part of the energy mix to 15%, from 6.2%, in the next 12 years. Reuters pardeepdhull@gmail.com Wuhan, April 27 As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping began their two-day summit, an official status report here on India-China relations said a closer economic relationship is now part of bilateral ties. Economic ties between China and India have become closer in recent years, the report by state-run Xinhua news agency said. The two economies are highly complementary and have good potential for increased cooperation, it said. The report pointed out that bilateral trade reached a record high of USD 84.4 billion last year, up 20.3 per cent from 2016, the fastest growth for five years. It said China has become the largest trading partner of India, with imports rising by more than 40 per cent in 2017. Bilateral trade in Q1 hit USD 22.1 billion, up 15.4 per cent year-on-year. Chinese and Indian businesses signed 101 trade agreements in March, with a total contract value of USD 2.4 billion, it said. The report said Chinese investment in India added up to more than USD 8 billion by the end of 2017, with India an important destination for infrastructure cooperation and investment. Indian investment in China has grown by an average of 18.5 per cent during the past three years, it said adding, Chinese smartphone brands are popular in India. It said Xiaomi has a market share of 27 per cent and shipped nearly 8.2 million units in Q4 of 2017. The report said China and India are home to over 35 per cent of the worlds population and contribute about 20 per cent of global GDP. PTI SALABERRY-DE-VALLEYFIELD, Quebec, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noranda Income Fund (the Fund) (TSX:NIF.UN) announced today the voting results from its Annual General Meeting (the AGM) of unitholders held this morning. At the AGM, there were 6 holders of Priority Units and Special Fund Units (Units) of the Fund represented in person or by proxy, holding 19 488 733 Units and representing 38,98% of the Funds 49,989,975 issued and outstanding Units. The results of the vote for the election of trustees was as follows: Class Nominee Votes For % Proxy Votes Withheld % Proxy Priority and Special Units Chris Eskdale 16,706,745 86,73 2,556,052 13,27 Yvan Jost 16,699,095 86,69 2,563,702 13,31 Anthony P.L. Lloyd 16,819,267 87,31 2,443,530 12,69 Jean Pierre Ouellet 17,124,023 88,90 2,138,774 11,10 Francois R. Roy 17,237,057 89,48 2,025,740 10,52 Barry Tissenbaum 17,132,728 88,94 2,130,069 11,06 Dirk Vollrath 17,049,530 88,51 2,213,267 11,49 Noranda Income Fund is an income trust whose units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "NIF.UN". Noranda Income Fund owns the electrolytic zinc processing facility and ancillary assets (the "Processing Facility") located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. The Processing Facility is the second-largest zinc processing facility in North America and the largest zinc processing facility in eastern North America, where the majority of zinc customers are located. It produces refined zinc metal and various by-products from sourced zinc concentrates. The Processing Facility is operated and managed by Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore Canada Corporation. Further information about Noranda Income Fund can be found at www.norandaincomefund.com. For further information, please contact: Michael Boone Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited Noranda Income Fund's Manager 416-775-1561 info@norandaincomefund.com vinaymishra188@gmail.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 It took an aspiring pilot over 20 years to get a commercial pilot licence (CPL), that too after fighting a sustained legal battle. In the meantime, the Kansal resident studied law to become a lawyer as he did not have enough funds to bear the charges of a good lawyer. As he was caught in a legal tangle, his wife and daughter left home due to poverty. However, Lakhbir Singh continued to fight for realising his ambition, and finally, he was issued a commercial pilot licence last week. Even as the June 1975-born is now a valid CPL holder, he is overage for applying for a fresh post of pilot with commercial airlines, which have fixed 35 as the upper age limit for applicants. Now, the only option left with the wannabe pilot is to become a flying instructor, but for that he requires a minimum flying time of 200 hours. However, he has not flown since September 1999 when his 25-hour flying time requirement for getting a CPL was fulfilled. To fulfil this 200-hour flying condition, Singh will have to shell out at least Rs 24 lakh as the present per hour flying charge is Rs 12,000. My entire career and life have been spoiled by the authorities at the office of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), who delayed my flying condition without any fault of mine and hence I had to fight a long legal battle, said Singh, sharing his tale of woe with The Tribune here on Thursday. On the contrary, Singhs batchmates are now trained pilots with different airlines and are leading a lavish lifestyle with average monthly salaries of Rs 10 lakh each. It was on July 20, 1995, that Singh was selected for flying training for the CPL course at subsidised rates by the Adviser, Civil Aviation, Haryana, at the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation in Pinjore. The duration of the course was three years. As per the prospectus for the CPL, a candidate was required to undergo flying training for a total of 250 hours and was also required to pass six technical papers. The validity of the papers was two years from the date of passing. As per the prospectus, the duration of the course was three years, following which the CPL holder was eligible to seek commercial employment in any airline. The Haryana Government and the Centre were paying almost 70 per cent of the flying training cost of Haryana domicile candidates, including Singh. Singh cleared the technical papers for the CPL well in time, but his flying training was not completed in time as per the prescribed schedule and policy because some other candidates had been given flying training at subsidised rates in place of Singh. Since the sanctioned funds for Singhs flying training were utilised on other candidates, his flying training was delayed and completed on September 13, 1999, but at that stage, the validity of two of his papers had lapsed by over 10 months. On this ground, the DGCA refused to issue the CPL to Singh and cited the Union Civil Aviation Ministrys guidelines that extension of validity period for the lapsed papers could not be granted beyond six months. This forced Singh to knock at the doors of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which decided the case in his favour in 2010, but the DGCA filed an appeal, which was also dismissed. We are not inclined to interfere with the judgment passed by the single judge as there is no illegality which requires our indulgence. The appeal, therefore, stands dismissed. However, it is clarified that the directions, as issued to the appellant, shall be read as directions issued to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, the competent authority under the 1937 Rules even as per the appellant, which shall be complied with by the said respondent within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, the HC double bench, headed by then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising Justice Augustine George Masih, had ordered on October 8, 2013. However, when Singh still failed to get justice, he preferred a contempt plea in 2014, which was disposed of after the Civil Aviation Ministry undertook to comply with the HC order subject to fulfilment of the conditions by Singh. It was in December last that Singh passed all papers and tests once again and submitted them to the DGCA that he was issued a CPL last week. In the whole process, I passed all papers five times, the yet-to-fly CPL holder lamented. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 27 Maj Gen Vetsop Namgyel, Bhutan Ambassador to India, visited Panjab University on Friday. Namgyel, who pursued his education from Darjeeling, talked about his bond with the country. This visit also marked the 50th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan. India is one of the closest friends and Bhutan has benefitted from India in all spheres, especially education, said the Bhutan Ambassador to India. He specially emphasised on various scholarships and cost-effective education while referring Panjab University as a reputed university for which scholarships were given to Bhutanese students for studying in the PU. He also mentioned about Study in India programme offered to students from Bhutan in India. The brief session concluded with the Ambassador promising to strengthen educational ties with India. Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Arun K Grover introduced the Ambassador of Bhutan to various activities of the PU. He said Panjab University would be happy to receive students from Bhutan for research and higher studies. The idea of signing an MoU between Panjab University and Bhutan was proposed to allow exchange of faculty in both countries. The Vice-Chancellor offered to have college teachers from Bhutan to participate in trainings run by the PUs Human Resource Development College (HRDC) and come to Panjab University for workshops. vinaymishra188@gmail.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 A serious manpower crisis is staring at the face of the authorities of the PGI as nearly 4,000 members of the PGI Contract Workers Union have threatened to observe a strike on May 3. The strike will adversely affect the health and hygiene on the hospital premises as a majority of the union members working on contract are safai sewaks. Besides, staff of the medical records department, lift operators, clerical staff, hospital administration and drivers will also observe a strike. Dev Raj, general secretary of the employees union, said, The PGI authorities are not caring two hoots to the notification of the government issued in December 2014 wherein it has been stated that the services of all contractual employees should be regularised. He said representatives of the union had made efforts to meet the PGI authorities, but the latter were not paying heed to their repeated requests. We have been forced to take such a step as the authorities are not addressing our grouse, said Dev Raj. The patients will face a lot of inconvenience if the matter is not resolved. Despite repeated attempts, the PGI Director, Prof Jagat Ram, was not available for comments. New MRI, CT scan machines soon In a move that will provide a major respite to hundreds of patients who have to stand in long queues in front of the MRI counter at the New OPD of the PGI, the authorities have decided to install a new MRI machine to cater to the growing rush of patients. Similarly, a CT scan machine will also be installed in the emergency for speedy testing of patients. Dr N Khandelwal, Professor and Head, Department of Radiodiagnosis, said the new MRI machine would be equipped to conduct standing spine test, hip, wrist, elbow and all small joint tests. KV Prasad KV Prasad Last week generated considerable excitement in national politics with tidings emanating from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that two divergent views in the party converged in its approach towards the Indian National Congress. For a party that split from the parent Communist Party of India 50-odd years back over differences with the formers willingness to accommodate the Congress, the CPI (M) at Hyderabad preferred to endorse a nuanced stance of having no political alliance with the Congress without being categorical on the possibility of an understanding, with the Grand Old Party (GOP). In the process, hardliners led by former general secretary Prakash Karat who were advocating no truck with the Congress(the Kerala line) as opposed to the pragmatic Bengal line pursued by general secretary Sitaram Yechury, were successful in arriving at an agreed political line that remains valid till the next triennial party congress. The denouement was a perfect compromise for the proponents of these approaches, which the majority Kerala line had effectively rejected in earlier rounds while the minority Bengal line continued to pursue tenaciously until the last. Either camp could claim victory and general secretary Yechury succinctly articulated the tightrope walk formula that unity remains preserved. In the run-up to the Hyderabad Party Congress, the Bengal line pursuers faced a series of reverses in party fora, starting with the Politburo and later the central committee that actually voted to reject the understanding with the Congress formulation. Determined opposition to this came mostly from comrades in Kerala and others in the South who thought the idea bordered close to blasphemy of the Marxist ideology. After all, Kerala, one of three strongholds of the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front, is always in direct contest with the Congress-led United Democratic Front. Adding punch to this argument was the miserable result from the 2017 West Bengal Assembly elections experiment, where the CPI (M) under Yechury and the Congress under Rahul Gandhi arrived at a pact; something that was unthinkable for a party that came up in the 1970s vigorously fighting the GOP in the state. Yet, as the days progressed and as comrades began trickling in at Hyderabad, situation was altering dramatically for the hardliners what with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uprooting the CPI (M) government in Tripura after three decades. The massive jolt in the Northeastern state now meant that there was just one citadel to defend Kerala, while in all other places, the Left in general and the CPI (M) in particular have lost a lot of political ground. The options were extremely limited and the hardliners pushed into a corner. With the general election just a year away and the BJP under the dual leadership of PM Modi and president Amit Shah creating a pan-Indian presence, the principal opponent was clear. The question was how best to counter and mount a formidable challenge. Pushing the idea of a third alternative comprising secular and democratic forces sans the Congress was unworkable, even though the CPI (M) saw some green shoots emerging in the form of limited success in heralding struggles, as in the case of Maharashtra farmers march to Mumbai, farmers stir in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, tribal people in Jharkhand, or similar mass movements elsewhere. These would require greater thrust and effort to replicate on a national scale. Just as in the previous edition of the 21st congress, the CPI (M) recognised that the BJP under PM Modi is the central target, holding it responsible for the intensification of neo-liberal policies, pursuit of the Hindutva agenda, and erosion in the secular democratic framework of the Constitution. Differences with the Congress remain over its pursuit of neo-liberal policies but the similarity with the BJP ends there. The CPI (M) discerns that the BJP under the RSS is frontloading the Hindutva agenda and attack on the Dalits and minorities, which must be resisted with all political might. The task requires maximising or pooling of all secular and democratic forces to challenge the BJP-led NDA in a three-pronged manner cooperation in Parliament on agreed issues; broad mobilisation of people against communal threat outside Parliament; and work on joint actions of all class and mass organisations, including trade unions, intellectuals, academia, artists et al. A distilled outcome of the political resolution now reads: Thus, the main task is to defeat the BJP and its allies by rallying all secular and democratic forces. But this has to be done without having a political alliance with the Congress party. [In place of the now deleted sentence, However, this has to be done without having an understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress party.] Now, comes the practical part of how this could play out. For one, the Left parties under the CPI (M) realise that after the rout in Agartala, the party faces an uphill task even in retaining the two Lok Sabha seats from Tripura. In West Bengal, the CPI (M) managed to win just two seats in the 2014 general election as against four by the Congress. The BJP has managed to emerge as the principal opponent to the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee, with the Left and the Congress taking the other two slots. The real battleground for the Left will be Kerala, where it is essentially a direct contest with the Congress-led UDF. Here, the BJP, supported by the RSS, remains a distant third. In all other parts of the country, the CPI (M) fields candidates to register its presence, and promises to campaign for secular parties where it has little or no stake. In the case of regional parties, some remain aligned with the BJP. With the others, as in the past, the CPI (M) and the Left can continue to have an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in UP, the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar and the DMK in Tamil Nadu. These regional players will be the lead parties in challenging the BJP juggernaut in the respective states. Except presenting a broad picture of unity among the parties in the Opposition on the single agenda of taking on the BJP, the possibility of having a seat adjustment, or an open understanding with the Congress, remains a distant proposition. Of course, despite the limitations of the 2015 party line, general secretary Yechury worked out an unlikely arrangement with the GOP in Bengal, surprising many political pundits. As the 2019 general election approaches, who knows how parties team up. After all, as the saying goes, politics is the art of possibilities. Vishavjeet Chaudhary Vishavjeet Chaudhary Assistant Professor, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat The Cabinet has cleared an ordinance to allow for capital punishment in case of rape of minors. An ordinance is a law that is passed when the Parliament is not in session. It is an executive order that receives the President's assent without discussion in Parliament. The ordinance is widely seen as a reaction to the horrifying rape cases in Kathua, Surat and elsewhere recently. It is important to visit jurisprudential principles and the issues in this ordinance. First, the question of how effective the new law will be is open to debate. In a study published in the United States in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, an overwhelming 87 per cent of the criminologists who took part said that the capital punishment is unlikely to have an impact on crime. The subject of this study was murder. There have been other studies, too, that show that enforcing capital punishment does not necessarily reduce crime. Take the example of the European Union. Crime rates, in most countries, have gone down despite the fact that all the European countries (except Belarus) have abolished capital punishment. Further, the purpose of a criminal justice system is to stop crime. To put the entire burden of this on the punishment stage is not entirely satisfactory. In the study quoted above, 75 per cent of the respondents also believed that the debate around death penalty 'distracts' the legislature from 'focussing on real solutions to prevent crime.' Knee-jerk reactions, and hastily passed laws make a firm statement on the state's commitment to punishing the guilty. It does not necessarily bring about a cultural shift which is mandatory to stop crime. Most countries are in the process of abolishing capital punishment. One of the arguments against capital punishment is one of morality. Does the state have the moral right to take away its own citizen's life? More imminently, the argument against death penalty revolves around the inherent problems in the justice system. Whilst conviction and acquittal is done after great deliberation, it is not beyond imagination for the justice system to have made mistakes. In fact, in the United Kingdom for instance, in numerous cases, like that of Evans, the convicts who were executed were later posthumously pardoned. A system that is unquestionably and beyond all doubt perfect can, perhaps, impose a penalty which is as permanent as death. A system that is not perfect has its problems. In a study done by the National Law School, Delhi 38 out of 39 (retired) judges interviewed said that torture was 'rampant.' Torture can lead to fabrication of evidence, false testimony and ultimately miscarriage of justice. Thus, in a system where imperfection is so widely acknowledged, we have to be very careful in cases of death penalty. The Law Commission, in 2017 had recommended the abolition of death penalty. The report cited various international commitments and acknowledged that there was now a possibility to use more advanced methods of crime control and punishment. The chilling crimes and the aftermath have left the country in a shock. There is understandably an uneasiness in our minds. We must act to ensure the safety of each and every person. However, what is needed is a broader discussion and uniform implementation of engaging models that work and change the mindset of society. Mythili Bhusnurmath Mythili Bhusnurmath Economist and former central banker The best laid schemes of men and mice oft go awry. This oft-quoted line from English poet Robert Burns' 'To a mouse' might have been written for the much-awaited, much-debated stake sale by the government in the national carrier, Air India (AI). With less than a month left to go before the deadline (May 14, 2018) for the submission of EOI (expression of interest) and domestic airlines showing no interest, the government's much-vaunted plan seems headed for an ignominious end. Despite the fact that, unlike most disinvestments where the government, typically, sells a small stake, here it is willing to cede control, reducing its stake to just 24 per cent, post divestment. So why are there no takers for what was once regarded as the jewel in the crown and cherished as the Maharaja? What ails the Maharaja and, in turn, is apparently souring the offer government has put on the table? Does the plan need a 'recalibration', as an un-named government official is quoted as saying in a news report? What kind of 'recalibration'? Is there a fine line between being flexible and conceding too much? A danger of being carried away by the (mistaken?) view that privatisation will be construed as a measure of government's commitment to reform? There are no easy answers. Most, apart from Leftists caught in time warp, will agree there is no case for the government to run an airline. More so, one that's been losing money hand over fist for years now and needs costly infusion of scarce taxpayer resources to stay airborne. Remember, AI has been the subject of not one, but many attempts to turn the airline around; the latest being the turnaround plan approved by the previous UPA government, under which Air India was to receive a bailout package of up to Rs 30,231 crore for a period of 10 years, starting 2012. However, all that changed with the new government. With the airline not showing any sign of improvement despite infusion of funds and Niti Aayog opining that 'further financial support to an unviable non-priority company in a matured and competitive aviation sector would not be best use of scarce financial resources of the government', the die was cast. In what was hailed as a landmark decision, in June 2017, the Cabinet approved strategic disinvestment of the airline. The government, it was announced, would sell 76 per cent in AI, after hiving off a substantial amount of debt to a special purpose vehicle, along with 100 per cent stake in Air India Express and 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd, a joint venture services company managing airport logistics. Only to find that, contrary to expectations of huge investor interest, the announcement seems to have left potential buyers cold. So, what are the sticking points? Principally, two, (apart from the huge debt): one, the 24 per cent stake that the government intends to retain, post divestment, and two, the employees. Take the first. It does not take much intelligence to realise that no potential buyer will relish the idea of the government retaining 24 per cent. True, company law requires a minimum of 26 per cent to block special resolutions, so the scope for interference is limited. Nonetheless, this is unlikely to reassure potential investors. Governments are not like other shareholders. They can, and do, interfere even with much smaller stakes. Agreed, the bid document does contain a clause that the government will sell the balance 24 per cent 'in time'. However, 'in time' has not been defined. Granted, the aviation sector is notoriously cyclical and few airlines anywhere in the world have made profits on a sustained basis. So it is extremely difficult to specify a timeframe upfront. But the alternative of leaving it open-ended is just as problematic. Especially given government's track record in strategic divestments like Balco and Hindustan Zinc Ltd, where the government residual share is yet to be transferred. In that case, is selling the entire stake, ie 100 per cent rather than 76 per cent a better option? On paper, the argument of retaining 24 per cent is that the government will be able to cash in on the upside of a higher share price once the airline is listed. In practice, however, it is not possible to quantify the likely gain from selling 24 per cent later or the higher price one might get from selling 100 per cent today. At the same time, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush; especially when oil prices are on an upward trajectory. So there is a strong case for the government to exit, totally. The second sticking point, AI's huge staff, is just as tricky, if not trickier. Any potential buyer is bound to want a free hand to deal with the, admittedly, bloated staff strength. But can a government, especially one that is headed for elections in little over a year, afford to antagonise powerful labour unions by giving potential buyers a free hand to rationalise (retrench?) staff? Will the promise to give stock options to employees act as a sweetener? A generous VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) could be an option. But how will it be funded? Again, there are no easy answers. What is certain is that some flexibility in the terms and conditions is essential if the sale is to elicit greater interest. What is also certain is that given the tepid response, the proposed timelines selecting the winning bid by September 2018 and completing legal transfer of ownership by December 2018, are both unrealistic and overly ambitious. Yes, as Jitendra Bhargava, former executive director, AI, and vociferous advocate of complete government exit, says, "For last two decades, the Air India's turnaround plan failed to work. This is the perfect time to disinvest as the airline will only go from bad to worse in future if it remains under bureaucratic control." But what if the present proposal does not attract meaningful bids? Should we act in haste and sell the Maharaja for a song? As the experience of Alitalia and Japan Airlines has shown, there is no guarantee that once an airline is in private hands, the government will be able to wash its hands off and let it sink if it is no longer viable. Merely because we have tried and failed to turn AI around in the past, we should not compound the error and settle for a distress sale. Having waited so long, it is better to bide time. By all means sell AI, fully. But make haste, slowly! vermaajay1968@gmail.com Himachal can heave a sigh of relief over some kind of a closure to the Gudiya case, a crime of heinous proportions that the hill-folk thought was alien to their land. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had to considerably bend its back and was clueless for a long period despite a dedicated team of crack investigators and none of the distractions that hobble state police forces. The aftermath of the rape and murder of a Class X student, Gudiya, was theatre of the bizarre at its most painful. The investigations began promisingly: a Himachal Police special investigation team (SIT), headed by an Inspector General (IG), duly solved the case and arrested six locals. The state elections were approaching and public sentiment sought the transfer of the case to the CBI after the ruling Congress stirred confusion and suspicion by posting wrong photographs of those arrested. Suddenly, the story went wrong. One of the accused died in police custody and the CBI arrested the entire Himachal Pradesh SIT including the IG for murder. Suddenly, all earlier police investigations were under a cloud and the accused let off. The Left and the BJP found themselves on the same side of the barricades: crucifying the state police meant proving the ineptness of the Virbhadra Singh regime. Swayed by emotions, Shimla lawyers even tried to deny advocates to the arrested policemen. The unhealthy pressure of public sentiment and the absence of a specialised wing for investigations in the state police forces are the prime reasons why the Gudiya case tormented our soul for so long. The absence of significant scientific tools of investigations with the Himachal police meant it must have resorted to inspired guesswork and strong arm methods while constantly under public pressure of quickly resolving the case. The Gudiya case makes it even more important to quickly implement the police reforms suggested by a succession of committees. The increasingly complex demands on the police forces and mounting societal expectations of fairness and transparency mean that structural changes in state police forces cannot be delayed anymore. sanjiv@tribunemail.com The higher judiciary could have done without another distraction in the form of government differing with the Supreme Court collegiums recommendation for the appointment of two judges. The Centre has no beef with one appointment but has dragged its feet on the elevation of Uttarakhand Chief Justice CJ Joseph. In the past too, the government has segregated the appointment to high courts and the Supreme Court. What is extraordinary is the current divisive and vitiated atmosphere in which the Centre announced its preferences: the Vice-President has turned down an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) while four senior judges have questioned the CJIs allocation of cases with far-reaching consequences to junior judges and Benches. The rift between the executive and the judiciary over judicial appointments is not of recent vintage. Neither is the gripe by some senior judges against the CJI. But the politicians intervention in the form of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasads explanation may have further muddied the waters. The government did well to disclose its position on judicial appointments, just like it kept itself away from the internal conflict in the judiciary. But the ministers attempt to gain the upper hand in the narrative may have led to indiscretions that can cast a long shadow on the institution in the longer term. Appointments to the apex court have studiously avoided any spotlight on regional and caste considerations. But the minister chose to justify the governments disapproval of Justice CJ Josephs elevation on the basis of more-than-adequate representation to Kerala. This has the potential to open up a Pandoras box and may invite much more scrutiny from the politician into the affairs of the Supreme Court than is warranted. The time has come for the Supreme Court to rise up to the challenge confronting its credibility as a republican institution. One proposal is to thrash out the differences in a full court meeting of all the Supreme Court judges. Whatever be its chosen course, the judiciary owes it to the esteem it enjoys in society to end its internal state of ferment. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Jhajjar, April 26 Private schools affiliated to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) here have decided to get verified the income certificates submitted by parents to avail Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota under Section 134-A of the Haryana Schools Education Rules. The schools have also decided to lodge police complaint against ineligible parents for obtaining the certificate. The Rule 134-A provides free admission to students belonging to the EWS in private schools. A certificate issued by the tehsildar that the income of the parents is less than Rs 2 lakh per annum is a proof of eligibility. Nearly 99 per cent children availing the EWS quota are those who have already been studying in private schools, but they became eligible to get the benefit as their parents managed to obtain the income certificate. Hence, verification of the certificate must to be done to ascertain the genuineness, said Ramesh Rohila, chief of Sahodya, an association of the CBSE affiliated schools here. Rohila claimed there were many parents who dropped their wards at school by car, but managed to get free enrolment of their children in private schools on the basis of EWS certificate. Hardly 1 per cent children from government schools get admission under Rule 134-A in private schools, he added. We want that only genuine children should avail the EWS quota and misuse of Rule 134-A should be curbed, he said, adding that all eligible children were being given admission. Rohila rued that the state government had not reimbursed the fee of the EWS students for past two years causing acute resentment among owners of the private schools. In Jhajjar district, Rs 8 crore is still pending with the state government, he claimed. editorial@tribune.com Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 27 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made the Haryana and Punjab pollution control boards respondents in a petition on the issue of stubble burning. Haryana, too, has been made party in the ongoing case. Taking up the matter, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain issued notice to the newly added respondents for the second week of July. The developments took place after the petitioner, Bharatiya Kisan Union, moved an application through counsel Charanpal Singh Bagri. The petitioners counsel had earlier sought issuance of directions to the respondents to pay adequate compensation per acre to farmers as the state government had issued orders, restraining them from burning paddy straw, stubble and residue. Bagri told the Bench that the farmers burning paddy straw were fined between Rs2,500 and Rs15,000. He stated that criminal action was initiated and red entry made in the revenue record as well. Bagri said the state policy was, as such, resulting in oppression of farmers and discouraging them from paddy cultivation. He submitted that paddy straw remained in the fields and decayed if not burnt. He told the Bench that the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Delhi High Court had laid down guidelines for state governments to follow for avoiding situation where farmers were not able to carry out agricultural activity. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had, in fact, directed the state government to take proactive measures by providing affordable and readily available solutions. The intention was to save the farming community and the general public from hazards of straw burning. Certain steps had been suggested. He added that the Delhi High Court had issued certain guidelines and sought status report from the governments. Despite this, coercive measures were being taken against the farmers, he stated. He prayed for appropriate directions to the state government to rescue farmers in view of the guidelines laid down by the courts. Taking up the matter in its initial stages, Justice Rajan Gupta had asked the Chief Secretary to depute an officer not below Joint Secretary level to assist the court in the matter. 27 April 2018 Acron Posts 2017 Annual Report on its Website Today, Acron (Moscow Exchange and LSE: AKRN) has released 2017 Annual Report preliminary approved by the Board of Directors on its website http://www.acron.ru/en/. To comply with the Russian law, the report is subject to approval by the annual general meeting. Media contacts: Sergey Dorofeev Anastasiya Gromova Tatiana Smirnova Public Relations Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196) Investor contacts: Ilya Popov Investor Relations Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252) Background Information Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and the Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It has a wholly owned transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licenses for 13 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe. In 2017, the Group sold 7.3 million tonnes of various products to 65 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets. In 2017, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 94,342 million (USD 1,617 million) and net profit of RUB 14,260 million (USD 244 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs approximately 11,000 people. For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Dharamsala, April 26 Two girls doing MBA from Dharamsala Government College died after allegedly consuming banned drug nimesulide. Sources said Vandana and Diksha, final-year students, were living in a rented accommodation at Sakoh. Vandana belonged to Neri while Diksha was from Badsar in Hamirpur. On Wednesday night, they took nimesulide and reportedly fell ill. They were immediately taken to the Dharamsala Zonal Hospital. While Dikhsa died at the zonal hospital, Vandana was shifted to the Tanda medical college. Vandana later died at the medical college. Santosh Patial, SP, Kangra, said both girls, in their dying statement to the police, had stated that they had consumed nimesulide. The owner of the house in his statement to the police said Diksha came to him around 1.40 am and said Vandana was ill and was vomiting. The owner brought Vandana to the hospital. By the time, Diksha was alright and accompanied Vandana to the hospital. However, suddenly Diksha also felt unwell. Doctors referred both girls to the Tanda medical college. However, Diksha died at 3.35 am. Vandana was taken to the Tanda medical college where she also died at 6 am. Doctors said both died due to cardio-respiratory failure. The SP said they had seized the tablets found at their room. Some other painkillers and anti-allergic drugs were also recovered from the room. The SP said nimesulide was a banned drug and they were trying to find out from where the girls had bought it. The viscera of the girls had also been sent for examination. Drug controller Navneet Marwah was not available for comments despite repeated attempts on the phone. A professor at Government Pharmacy College said nimesulide was never permitted to be used in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. The professor said 25 per cent of banned drugs were still being sold in India. editorial@tribune.com Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Dharamsala, April 27 The death of two MBA girls after consuming painkiller drugs on Thursday here has sparked a debate over the supply of substandard drugs in the region. Kangra SP Santosh Patial said the painkiller and anti-allergic drugs recovered from the rented room of the deceased girls would be sent to laboratory for testing. Besides, the viscera was also being sent for chemical examination. The Himachal chapter of the India Medical Association (IMA) has questioned the drug policy of the state and the union government. A spokesperson of the association Amit Gupta, who served in Tanda medical college, while talking to The Tribune said that it was a matter of concern that 240 samples of drugs being supplied through government supply had failed. We have applied to the Ethics Committee of the Tanda medical college to allow us test the drugs being supplied through government and other supply, he said. Dr Amit Gupta said the government was forcing doctors to write generic medicine which meant the salt name of medicine while the power of giving medicine had gone in the hands of chemists. Presently, three types of drugs are being supplied in the state -- generic medicines, generic brand and generic trade. For example, if a doctor writes Amoxicillin generic brand name of a medicine to the patient, the chemist is free to give him branded generic that may be in the name of Novamox. While the generic Amoxicillin cost about Rs 5 the other may cost up to Rs 100, he said. Dr Gupta further said that the logic of the state government for forcing the doctors into writing generic medicines was that patients should get them cheap. However, it can only be done if the government fixes the rates of generic salts of medicines. There are 650 single salt generic medicine and some with two salts. However, by allowing sale of generic medicines under different brand names the government was not helping the patients, he said. Meanwhile, the Drug Controller of Himachal Pradesh Navneet Marwah clarified that Nemesulide drug was banned for pediatric use for children below 12 years of age in 2011. In 2016 the Government of India banned its combinations along with other 343 drugs. However, the notification through which the drugs were banned was quashed by the Delhi High Court. The government has challenged the decision of Delhi High Court in the Supreme Court and matter was pending before the court. Nimesulide was never permitted to be used in the USA, Canada, Britain and Australia. IMA questions drug policy The Himachal chapter of the India Medical Association (IMA) has questioned the drug policy of the state and the Union government. A spokesperson for the association, Amit Gupta, said it was a matter of concern that 240 samples of drugs had failed. editorial@tribune.com Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, April 27 The free heli-ambulance services likely to be started by a Switzerland based charitable institution Heli Mission will cover the entire state of Himachal Pradesh and not just during the winter months but all through the year. The tripartite agreement will be signed between Department of Health, Heli Mission and the Willingdon Hospital, Manali, shortly for which the Cabinet gave its nod on Thursday. The services will prove to a boon for the people of remote and inaccessible areas as it takes several hours for them to reach to a health institute which can handle the medical exigency. We intend to start with one helicopter by the end of this year and after some time it could be increased to two choppers, revealed Dr Bishan, Community Consultant at the Lady Willingdon Hospital, Manali. He said the Switzerland-based NGO runs the heli-ambulance in several countries in Africa. The heli-ambulance service is being run by the Uttarakhand Government and a team from Himachal visited the neighbouring state to study the service being provided by them. The NGO will bear the entire cost of the project and the government will only provide them with land for setting up the hanger for parking of choppers, said Pankaj Roy, Director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). He said to begin with this facility has been provided to them at Bhuntar airport in Kullu temporarily where an unused hanger made for the NCC exists. Later, a permanent hanger, workshop and office area will be provided to the NGO in Manali. As per the protocol, the call for medical emergency will be made to 108 which will be diverted to the Control Room that will be set up in Manali. It is the team of doctors at the Willingdon Hospital, which will decide whether the patient needs immediate air lifting for critical care. Moreover, the patient will be airlifted to the health institute where facilities for his treatment are available. This could be even the PGI, Chandigarh or Indira Gandhi and Tanda Medical Colleges at Shimla and Kangra. Normally one chopper trip from Keylong to Bhuntar in Kullu costs about Rs 2 lakh. So far the only option with the state government to deal with medical exigencies in the far-flung areas, especially in the tribal district, is to tackle them through telemedicine services which have been started for Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti. The consultation by Apollo doctors have been given at the remotest health centres at Lossar, Korik, Lalung, Hull and Rangrik in these tribal districts. Patients are also air-lifted through the government chopper service but then that is only for tribal areas in the winter months when the area is under heavy snow cover. Service already in Uttarakhand editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Shimla, April 26 A Class VI student of Government Middle School near Kali Bari temple on Thursday alleged that her teacher had been molesting her for the past one-and-a-half year. The issue came to light when the girl had a heated exchange with the teacher in the classroom. As the news travelled, the parents of the minor also reached school and demanded strict punishment for the teacher. The parents and the teacher indulged in a verbal duel and they lodged a protest following which the police reached the spot. In a complaint given to the police, the minor victim said the teacher had been molesting her and had indulged in vulgar acts. Sources said this was not the first case against the teacher as he had earlier also apologised for such an act. The police have registered a case under Sections 354 of the IPC and Section 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act and arrested the accused. gspannu7@gmail.com Ajay Banerjee & Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service New Delhi/Jalandhar, April 27 Two Kashmiri youths, who are believed to be a part of a group of website hackers targeting websites of India, have been arrested from two separate places in Punjab. Several Indian intelligence agencies, including a unit of military intelligence, were tracking these youth in the past few months. They were allegedly part of a hacking group called Team Hackers Third Eye which claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. Read: College shocked by arrest of Kashmiri student for hacking Indian websites The arrests were made on Thursday night by a raiding party which consisted of teams from Delhi. Shahid Malla, who hails from Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, was nabbed from Rajpura while Adil Hussain Teli, who hails from Anantnag, was nabbed from Jalandhar. Both are students in private colleges. In Jalandhar, the youth was picked up from a paying guest accommodation. Sources said during April and May last year they were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed ban on social media sites by use of VPN (virtual private network). The two were found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-Indian hackers. The posts made by the duo were found to anti-India. Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from them will be examined by the Delhi Police. editorial@tribune.com Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, April 26 Even though the overall pass percentage in the recently declared result of the higher secondary part II (Class XII) J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) examination for the summer zone stood at 55 per cent, 47 schools, including 20 government and 27 private, of Jammu province performed poorly with 0-20 per cent pass percentage. As per the data, 1,546 candidates of government schools who appeared in the examination, only 242 passed and only 43 of 395 candidates from private schools passed. What is more shocking is that 19 private schools had zero pass percentage. The pass percentage of the rest of the eight private schools was also very poor. Private schools with zero pass percentage are Shiva Public Higher Secondary School (HSS), Digiana (Jammu), Indira Memorial HSS, Galwaday Chak; Suman Shiksha Kendra HSS Marc, Oriental HSS, Akhnoor; Prince Doll HSS, RS Pura; Kailash Shiksha Academy HSS, Chak Murar; Sun Rise HSS, Sikander Pur, Bishnah; SPM Convent HSS, Udhampur; National Academy HSS, Chadwal; Rainbow Modern HSS, Kathua; SRM Institute of Education HSS, Kathua; Swami Vivekanand Memorial HSS, Chadwal; Shiv Shiksha Kendra HSS, Gho Brahmana; Modern Public Institute of Education HS, Muradpur; National Institute of Education HSS, Darhal; Sher-e-Kashmir HSS, Darhal; Gandhi Memorial HSS, Raipur; Guru Teg Bahadur HSS, Lakhanpur, and Gandhi Memorial College, Raipur, Bantalab. A total of 42 candidates from Unique Academy HSS, Barnoti, had appeared in the examination, of which only five passed. The pass percentage of the school was 11.9 per cent. editorial@tribune.com Our Correspondent Anantnag, April 26 A civilian was killed after car-borne militants opened fire at a road opening party of the Central Reserve Police Force here on Thursday. The civilian had been identified as Shakeeb Shabir Shah from Shopian district. A hunt had been launched to nab the militants, said the police. At 2.20 pm, the militants, travelling in a Santro car, opened fire at security forces in the Laizbal area of the town, along the Khannabal-Pahalgam road, Senior Superintendent of Police Altaf Khan said, adding that one of the bullets hit Shakeeb, who was passing by in a Tata Sumo. Shakeeb succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Srinagar. Meanwhile, the Army fired in air and burst teargas shells when some students of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Awantipora threw stones at Army personnel near the campus. University students threw stones at an Army party while it was laying and repairing cables near the campus, a police spokesperson said. He said the Army fired in air and the police rushed to the spot. However, students and university administration refuted the police claims. They termed the Army action as completely uncalled for and unprovoked. Mushtaq A Siddiqui, VC, took note of the unprovoked use of teargas shells. There was no provocation from the students as normal classwork was on in the varsity when the incident occurred. Protests started only after the firing incident, Siddiqui said in a press release. Three hurt in Kulgam grenade attack Anantnag: Two policemen and a civilian were injured in a grenade blast in Kulgam district on Thursday evening. The injured have been rushed to a hospital. A police official said militants hurled a grenade at a police station at the main town in Kulgam around 8.10 pm. The grenade exploded outside the premises of the police station, the official said. OC editorial@tribune.com Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, April 27 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Leh on May 19 to address a public gathering to mark conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, the architect of modern Ladakh. The Prime Minister will address the gathering at Polo Ground, Leh. Minister for Cooperatives and Ladakh Affairs Chering Dorjay said the programme of the Prime Ministers visit had almost been finalised. The public function will be jointly organised by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, and Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) to mark the conclusion of the year-long celebrations, Dorjay said, adding that preparations had already been started after getting a green light from the Prime Ministers Office. Although the centenary celebrations started in May 2017, a formal function was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on November 23, 2017. While the event at Leh would be organised by the LAHDC, Leh, and LBA, the Kushok Bakula centenary celebrations are being held across the country jointly by the Jammu Kashmir Study Centre and Himalayan Sanskriti Sanrakshan Sabha. The Jammu Kashmir Study Centre is an independent think tank dedicated to research and studies relating to Jammu and Kashmir. To address public gathering Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public gathering to mark conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, the architect of modern Ladakh. About Kushok Bakula The acclaimed Buddhist saint was a statesman and diplomat. Bakula was engaged in welfare, education and rights of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes of India. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, which also functioned as the first state Assembly under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah. However, he never shied away from raising his voice for the rights of the people of Ladakh, even at the cost of angering Sheikh Abdullah. Later, he remained MP for 10 years. He was appointed as an ambassador to Mongolia, where he stayed for almost a decade. In 2005, the Leh airport was renamed as Kushok Bakula Airport. editorial@tribune.com Jammu, April 26 Principal, staff and students of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, on Thursday congratulated Japleen Kour for topping the science stream in the Class XII J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) examination, the result of which was declared on April 25. Japleen Kour secured 98.2 per cent marks. Celebrations were held in the school on Thursday. Principal Tahira Shawl said: I am immensely proud of the result of Class XII students of our school, especially Japleen Kour for bring laurels. I acknowledge my staff, students and their parents for this achievement. Meanwhile, Japleen Kour, while talking to The Tribune, said she was expecting around 95 per cent marks. The way I had prepared for the examination, I was expecting around 95 per cent marks, but I am happy that I got more than that and more importantly secured the top position, an elated Japleen Kour said. TNS editorial@tribune.com Amit Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, April 27 The J&K Cable Car Corporation Limited on Friday successfully conducted a trial run of the ropeway from Bahu Fort to Mahamaya Park in Jammu. The ropeway, which is the second such project in the state, will be inaugurated soon. The first cable car project of the state was commissioned in 1988 at Gulmarg in Kashmir. It took the state 30 years to construct another such project. Planned in 1995, the Rs 75-crore project was to be operated from Bahu Fort to Mubarak Mandi Complex initially. The project was modified and relocated when Mubarak Mandi and Bahu Fort were declared protected monuments. The cable car corporation on Friday evening successfully conducted the trial run of the first phase of the project. It said both phases of the ropeway project would be started in July this year. The trial of the first phase was successfully completed on Friday. We are working on it with a commitment to give the best and safest ropeway to Jammu in a time-bound manner, said Shamim Ahmed Wani, Managing Director, J&K Cable Car Corporation Limited (JKCCCL). It will be a major tourist attraction in Jammu. We have taken care of all facilities and the safety of the tourists. A world-class restaurant is also under construction at Bahu Fort. Its tender will be given to a reputed hotel, Wani said. To give the best services to the tourists, the JKCCCL has procured critical components of the cable car from Turkey, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The 1.57-km-long cable car project has two phases, first from Bahu Fort to Mahamaya Park, which is 447 metre long, and the second from Mahamaya to Peerkho over the Tawi with a total length of 1,118 metre. Minister of State for Tourism Priya Sethi, who was also present at the trial run of the ropeway, appreciated the work of the JKCCCL. The project will give a boost to the tourism industry of the Jammu region and people will spend more time in Jammu during their visit to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, Amarnath shrine, Patnitop and other tourist destinations in Jammu province, said Sethi. The PDP-BJP government is committed to giving the feel of good governance to each and every person of society. Other tourism projects will also be completed soon, she said. The cable car project is aimed at connecting heritage sites in the city. To connect heritage sites Latvian English The Group has closed the reporting period with a net turnover of EUR 20 039 219 that shows 21,1% increase in comparison with the same period in 2016. The largest net turnover was reached in Spain where the net turnover has increased by 63%; the second largest turnover was reached in Sweden by 55%, the third in Poland where net turnover increased by 17% in comparison with data reported to December 31, 2016. Companys EBITDA in 2017 has reached EUR 2 900 866 and has ensured the net profit of EUR 1 182 522. According to audit company BDO sugession Group has changed cost accounting principle, in result net profit for 2016 has decreased from 1 109 449 EUR to 420 282 EUR, however net profit for 2017 has incresed from 831 134 EUR to 1 197 104 EUR comparing to unaudited financial statements for 2017. During 2017 the Group has made investments in newly established subsidiary in Romania, digital payment services provider VIA Payments, as well as developed new consumer lending brand in Poland Cashalot. VIA SMS Group has also invested in the further development of the peer-to-peer lending platform VIAINVEST. The net loan portfolio as per December 31, 2017, was EUR 18 022 102 which shows 23% growth in comparison with December 31, 2016. The largest portfolio increase was reached in the Czech Republic where the difference between reporting period and the same period last year amounts to 41%. The Czech Republic is followed by Poland with 32% growth, Latvia with 25% growth and Spain with 24% growth. JSC VIA SMS group Since the 2009 VIA SMS Group core activity has been providing consumer lending services for private individuals. The company has been operating under several brands - VIA SMS, SAVA.card, VIAKREDIT, VIA CONTO - and is offering consumer loans with a maturity term up to 12 months in Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Spain. VIA SMS Group has more than 1mio registered clients and the total amount of issued loans has reached 95.8 million EUR within the year 2017. In 2017 VIA SMS Group was mainly focused on strengthening its positions in existing markets, acquiring new ones, as well as intensive product development. Following the strong performance in existing markets and growing demand for consumer lending services across Europe, VIA SMS Group has obtained a license allowing to operate in the Romanian consumer lending market. The newly established consumer lending company operating under the brand name VIACONTO.ro is providing online lending services in Romania. To expand existing operations in Poland, in July of 2017, VIA SMS Group has launched a new consumer lending brand Cashalot that is offering short-term online lending services for Polish residents. VIA SMS Group has also established new daughter company VIA Payments that has obtained the electronic money institution license and is planning to develop and launch digital payment services brand within the Q2 of 2018. During the 2017 VIA SMS Group has been working on improving the quality of creditworthiness evaluation and customer service effectiveness in all markets. The company was also focused on further development of the peer-to-peer lending platform VIAINVEST. 2017 marked a milestone of loans with a total value of 43 million EUR funded through the platform. On September 7, 2017, VIA SMS Group has successfully finished the reorganization of the company and changed its legal form from Ltd. (Limited Liability Company) to JSC (Joint Stock Company). editorial@tribune.com American rapper Kanye West on Wednesday said he supported President Donald Trump and called him his brother. In a series of tweets, the 40-year-old rapper said, You dont have to agree with Trump but the mob cant make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I dont agree with everything anyone does. Thats what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought. Hours later, Trump quoted Wests tweet and wrote Thank you Kanye, very cool! The American rapper later posted two pictures a Make America Great Again hat and a selfie with the hat on. Minutes later, the US President quoted Wests Make America Great Again hat and wrote - MAGA! West added that he neither identified himself as a Democrat or a Republican, adding that he was not political. Free thought In a second tweet, the husband of American TV actor Kim Kardashian wrote, I love when people have their own ideas. You dont have to be allowed anymore. Just be. Love who you want to love. Thats free thought. Im not even political. Im not a Democrat or a Republican. West further tweeted that he also loved former US Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for 2016 US presidential election, Hillary Clinton. If your friend jumps off the bridge you dont have to do the same. Ye being Ye is a fight for you to be you. For people in my life the idea of Trump is pretty much a 50-50 split but I dont tell a Hillary supporter not to support Hillary. I love Hillary too. Hours after posting his series of tweets, West clarified his comments following a call from Kardashian. My wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I dont agree with everything Trump does. I dont agree with anyone but myself. ANI editorial@tribune.com Mona Young and helpless, as 14-year-old Himanshu Kalia kneeled down and prayed for his father's life, he wished no one had to go through the same plight as his. He also asked God not to put anyone in the position that he was in and make him capable enough to lend a hand to anyone in need! Twenty five years on, he is living his promise. His family, including his father, being a significant part of it! Famously called the Ambulance Man, Himanshu was in Chandigarh on Wednesday to garner support for another of his initiatives to have a 15-lakh blood donors directory. This initiative stemmed from yet another experience. A three-year-old child lost his life in a city like Delhi just because her family could not arrange for blood. As a father to a three-year-old girl myself, I thought its time for action. I cannot wait for another tragedy to strike my home before I make something work in this direction. Tragic turn Back to 25 years; Himanshu came to know that his father had met with an accident in Delhi and he rushed to spot. Taking him in a rickshaw (thats all he could afford) to a hospital, he got to know his father needs be taken to a bigger hospital. Confused, not able to get an ambulance, he called from an STD, numbers on his fathers diary...only no one came to help. An auto-rickshaw driver offered to drive him without any money (Himanshu had none on him) to AIIMS, but by then hours of delay made his father slip into coma. That was the moment my childhood, my studies, my career and my future too slipped away. It took two-and-a-half years before his father could come out of coma and a few more of his becoming fit, but Himanshu kept his promise. The beginning When he got married and his in-laws would hear none of his no-dowry stance, they mutually agreed to have an ambulance as a wedding gift. From then on, the family today runs 20 ambulances in Delhi, available to anyone free of cost, and 47 more in partnership. And he and his father get behind the wheels of an ambulance as need arises, his wife Twinkle does it too and his mother is learning to drive an ambulance as well. What I went through was horrific. I do not want any other person to suffer like this. Himanshu also organises blood donation camps, runs hearse vans to take the dead to crematoriums and also performs last rights of unclaimed bodies. Working as insurance consultants, he and his wife fund most of it all by themselves. That it has been rather tough, he doesnt deny. I have two daughters. There are months when I cannot pay the school fee, but I got to pay the salary to the ambulance driver. Strong resolve In Chandigarh for an awareness campaign to enlist donors, he intends to put it online so that help is just a click away. When you save a person, you are saving an entire family; their hopes, their future, says the man who has been honoured by different nations. But more than that, he wishes for volunteers who can take his mission forward. mona@tribunemail.com editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 27 Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) has initiated an Indian stroke clinical trial network. This network will work with Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India, to develop research projects for problems in Indian stroke patients. It will directly improve quality of life of patients suffering from stroke. The main focus of the network is to develop low-cost or no-cost solutions to reduce the overall cost burden on patients. SPRINT India study (Secondary Prevention by Structured Semi-Interactive Stroke Prevention Package in India) is the first study under this network, which has been initiated from CMCH, Ludhiana. Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Stroke is preventable in 80 per cent cases. However, lack of knowledge about prevention is a major hurdle to reduce incidence of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular morbidity. It is further compounded by the non-compliance to medications and lack of exercise, said Dr Jeyaraj Pandian, Principal and Professor of Neurology. The stroke incidence in India ranges from 135 to 145 per 100,000 people. From the recent Ludhiana population-based stroke registry, 25 per cent of patients are below 49 years. Hypertension, smoking, alcohol, diabetes, heart disease and lifestyle-related problems are the common causes of stroke in India, said Dr Mahesh Kate, HOD Neurology Department. Out of the population of 1.3 billion 14 lakh people suffer stroke in India each year. Out of this 14 lakh people, 20 per cent (approximately 3 lakh) will again have a recurrent stroke within year of suffering the first stroke. This risk is 15 times higher than in the general population, he added. The recurrent stroke makes a person physically and mentally disabled, he added. The study will be coordinated from the CMCH under the supervision of Dr Jeyaraj Pandian, Principal and Professor of Neurology, and Dr Mahesh Kate, HOD, Neurology Department. As 6,000 patients from all over India will be included in the study, which will go on five years. The study team hopes to help patients without making them pay additional cost. Sumit Paul Sumit Paul A FEW memories remain etched in the heart and mind forever. I came to India in 2003 in search of Persian and Turkish documents in central and western parts of the country. I got a few of them at Ahmednagar near Poona. Poona being a much bigger city, I soon shifted my base from Ahmednagar. I started teaching Sanskrit and Urdu diction and enunciation at institutes. Being fluent in Urdu, I easily got an ad-hoc lecturership at a Muslim institute where I used to teach Urdu to undergraduate students. I was superciliously proud of my command of Urdu and was subtly scornful of students whose Urdu was weak. Id often criticise their knowledge of Urdu. One day, I got so exasperated that I blurted out, Aap logon ko kaunsi zabaan theek se aati hai? Hum toh Musalman bhi nahin hain aur Urdu humari zabaan bhi nahin hai. Phir bhi dekhiye hum kitni saaf-suthri Urdu bolte hain. Aap sabko sharm aani chahiye... (Which language can you speak properly? Im not even a Muslim and Urdu is not my mother tongue. Yet, look at my Urdu. You should be ashamed of yourselves). I said it with disdain. The students were stunned. Suddenly a girl stood up and said, Janaab, mujhe aapse kuchh kahna hai. Khahiye. What she said politely, transformed my life. Aap hi toh kahte hain ke zabaan kisi qaum ki nahin hoti. Phir aap ye kaise kah sakte hain ke Urdu aapki zabaan nahin hai? (You say a language doesnt belong to a particular community, how then can you say Urdu is not your language?) I had no answer. She further asked me: Was Munshi Premchand a Muslim? Why did he always write first in Urdu and then in Devnagari? Does Sampooran Singh Kalra Gulzar ever say condescendingly that he knows Urdu despite being a Sikh? Does he separate Urdu from his religious and cultural identity? Does Gulzar blow his own trumpet? Why do you make it a point to impress upon others that despite being a non-Muslim, you know Urdu so well? She opened my eyes. I remained silent for a while because I was defenceless. She rendered me speechless and taught an invaluable lesson of my life. All my so-called knowledge and enlightenment dissipated. I realised my mistake. I needed a severe jolt and a reality check. And that girl shook me like a soda water bottle. I said sorry and thanked her for teaching me a lesson in humility and hubris. I also realised the limitations of my vision and the ingrained community consciousness (if not outright hatred). I still get to meet that girl whos now a young woman and is reasonably outspoken. She taught me what I was supposed to teach her. That was my last day in the college. Not because I felt humiliated and slighted before a bunch of students, who I criticised. I resigned because I understood that I was not good enough to become a teacher students could look up to. I was not a model teacher students could idolise and learn from. Seerat Kaur Gill Seerat Kaur Gill Happiness is elusive. Philosophers and clerics have been trying to explain it through religious and spiritual texts; each churning out mantras to happiness. However, if so many babas knew the key to happiness, wouldnt our country with a massive number of babas and diverse places of worship be the happiest? Researchers the world over have tried to capture and define happiness. They have quantified it and compiled a list of the happiest countries in the world! Using a tedious process of taking into account the emotional and physical wellbeing of citizens, their incomes, employment status, environment and the community they live in, and applying appropriate statistical tools to compute the happiness quotient, the scores of the countries are compared with one another. Contrary to popular belief, the worlds happiest nations are not the ones whose citizens fast and pray every day, neither are those capitalist countries that wield global power with the might of their dollar. The worlds happiest countries are Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Iceland and New Zealand. This year, Finland topped the list. These seemingly small countries have beaten capitalist giants like the US and the UK in the World Happiness Index. The harsh climate doesnt seem to have dampened their spirit. These countries boast of one of the best education and healthcare programmes. A professor, who completed his doctorate from Denmark says, Denmark is an egalitarian society where a janitor and an associate professor used to sit together for a beer after college hours. It was a shocker for a caste-conscious Tamil Brahmin like myself! The Nordic countries seem to be doing something right to keep their citizens happy. They are happy despite the lack of sun and the biting cold. Although these countries have some of the highest taxes in the world, the citizens have access to social security and personal freedom. They have converted wealth into wellbeing for the people of their country. This means that happiness is not a matter of choice. It is greatly influenced by the country one lives in. Having high income, access to luxury, enough sunshine, fasting every day for different gods is probably not enough. Maybe that is why India is placed 133rd among 156 countries on the list. Even if we earn well, but live in a corruption-ridden society which doesnt allow personal freedom and hampers social security, happiness will continue to remain elusive. Happiness is more than a six-digit salary. It is more than reading heavy religious texts. It is more than bright sunshine and the tropics. It is about creating strong social foundations. It is about living and letting others live. It is about making choices without judgment. Till then, happiness will remain an illusion. editorial@tribune.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 27 Attorney General KK Venugopal on Friday defended the Chief Justice of Indias power to allocate cases to judges/Benches as master of roster and opposed shifting it to the collegium, saying it would be a recipe for chaos. This is not like the appointment of judges. This exercise is different from selecting judges for elevation. This requires decision on several aspects and that is not something that five or all of them (judges in collegium) can sit and thrash it out, Venugopal told a Bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan. This is not an exercise that can be taken by multiplicity of persons, the Attorney General said opposing a PIL filed by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan who wanted the collegium to allocate cases to judges/Benches, instead of the current practice of the CJI doing it. Having a collegium to allocate cases among themselves would be a recipe for chaos, he added. The roster issue has been in the news since January 12 when four senior-most judges Justices J CHelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph addressed the media to highlight their grievances over the manner of allocation of cases by the CJI. In his petition, Shanti Bhushan questioned the absolute discretion given to the CJI in deciding the roster. The Bench said at times judges themselves express anguish as to why I was not given this or that matter. However, it said there may be difficulties in the collegium allocating cases but the primary concern would be if the Constitution intended such an arrangement. On behalf of Bhushan, senior advocate Dushyant Dave contended that in the 1998 judges appointments case the top court itself interpreted the term Chief Justice of India to collectively mean the CJI and his four senior-most judges. The Bench reserved its verdict, which will be the third one in recent times on the controversial issue of roster. It had delivered two verdicts in November 2017 and April 2018 upholding the CJIs authority as master of roster to allocate cases and constitute Benches. Both judgments were pronounced by Benches headed by CJI Dipak Misra. Congress asks judiciary to assert itself After the government returned the SC Collegiums recommendations to elevate Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph as SC judge, the Congress on Friday asked the judiciary to put its foot down and assert its independence. rchopra@tribunemail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 27 Attorney-General KK Venugopal on Friday defended Chief Justice of Indias power to allocate cases to judges/Benches as Master of Roster and opposed shifting it to the collegium, saying it would be a recipe for chaos. This is not like the appointment of judges. This very exercise is different from selecting judges for elevation. This requires decision on several aspects and that is not something that five or all of them (judges in collegium) can sit and thrash it out, Venugopal told a Bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan. This is not an exercise that can be taken by multiplicity of persons, the Attorney-General said opposing a PIL filed by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan who wanted the collegium to allocate cases to judges/Benches, instead of the current practice of CJI doing it. Having a collegium to allocate cases among themselves would be a recipe for chaos, he added. The roster issue has been in the news since January 12 when four senior-most judges Justices J CHelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph addressed the media to highlight their grievances over the manner of allocation of cases by the CJI. In his petition, Shanti Bhushan questioned the absolute discretion given to the CJI in deciding the roster. Venugopal, who appeared following the courts April 13 request, talked about Justice CS Karnan of the Calcutta High Court who was given a six-month jail term by the top court for contempt of court used to complain that he was not given bail matters. He said there could be internecine disputes among judges and someone will have to take a final call. The Bench said at times judges themselves express anguish as to why I was not given this or that matter. However, it said there may be difficulties in the collegium allocating cases but the primary concern would be if the Constitution intended such an arrangement. On behalf of Bhushan, senior advocate Dushyant Dave contended that in the 1998 judges appointments case the top court itself interpreted the term Chief Justice of India to collectively mean the CJI and his four senior-most judges. After hearing arguments from Venugopal and Dave, the Bench reserved its verdict, which will be the third one in recent times on the controversial issue of roster. It had delivered two separate verdicts in November 2017 and April 2018 upholding the CJIs authority as Master of Roster to allocate cases and constitute Benches. Both judgments were pronounced by Benches headed by CJI Dipak Misra. editorial@tribune.com Mangaluru, April 27 The Congress manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls on Friday promised to create one crore jobs and spend Rs 1.25 lakh crore on irrigation over the next five years, if re-elected to power. Releasing the peoples manifesto at a function here, Congress president Rahul Gandhi described it the voice of the people of Karnataka and not a document prepared by three or four persons in a closed room. He took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying while the PM likes to tell people his mann ki baat, this manifesto contained the mann ki baat of the people of Karnataka. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said the BJP manifesto will not be for the people of Karnataka and reflect the views of the RSS. The Congress chief claimed that the Siddaramaiah government had fulfilled 95 per cent of the promises made in the manifesto released ahead of the 2013 polls. The Congress said it would endeavour to raise the employment level of women to 50 per cent in the government workforce and supply free sanitary napkins to girl students, besides abolishing tax on sanitary pads. The elections in the state are scheduled on May 12. The strength of the Assembly is 225, including one nominated member. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, KPCC president G Parameshwara, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state KC Venugopal and former Union minister Veerappa Moily were present on the occasion. PTI pardeepdhull@gmail.com Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service New Delhi/Hisar, April 27 Durishetty Anudeep, a serving Indian Revenue Service officer, has topped the prestigious civil services 2017 examination, whose results were declared on Friday by the Union Public Service Commission. Anu Kumari and Sachin Gupta bagged the second and third positions, respectively, in the coveted examination. Sachin Gupta, belonging to small trader family based in Sirsa town, ranked third in his third attempt. Presently working as Assistant Director in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, he said he was inspired to join the civil services by his father who is a farmer in Sirsa town. His mother Sushma Gupta is a government schoolteacher. Talking to The Tribune, Gupta said his elder brothers Ravi Gupta and Jitender Gupta are in the business of wholesale trade in Sirsa town. After completing my school from DAV school in Sirsa, I have completed Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Thapar University, Patiala. I got a good salary package from Maruti Suzuki of Rs 6.5 lakh during my stint from 2013 to 2015. Later, my father urged me to go for civil services. My mother is passionate about education especially for the underprivileged communities. Thats why I decided to leave my lucrative career in the private sector, he said. He said that his parents and teachers equally contributed and supported him in shaping his career and later preparing for the civil services. I used to study 10-12 hours a day. This is like a dream come true. This feeling has still not sunk in. My first preference will be IAS as I want to stay in my country & serve the people here: Anu Kumari, Second rank holder of the Civil Service examination 2017 #Haryana pic.twitter.com/9a1E9QQHkU ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2018 Initially, my colleagues in the private sector advised me against leaving the job in the private sector. But constant support from my parents encouraged me to give my best in my efforts for the civil services examination, he added. Topper Anudeep, an OBC candidate from Metpally in Telangana, is posted in Hyderabad as an Assistant Commissioner. A total of 990 candidates 750 men and 240 womenhave been recommended by the Commission for appointment to various Central Government services, UPSC said in a statement here. Of the candidates recommended for appointment, 476 are from the general category, 275 from OBC, 165 from scheduled caste and 74 from scheduled tribes category. The recommended candidates also include 29 physically disabled persons (9 orthopedically handicapped; 8 visually challenged and 12 hearing impaired), it said. Saumya Sharma, a physically disabled candidate, with hearing impairment, secured an overall ninth rank, the UPSC said. An officer of IRS (Customs and Central Excise) of 2014 batch, Anudeep qualified the examination with Anthropology as his optional subject. Anudeep has graduated with BE (Electronics & Instrumentation) degree from BITS, Pilani. Anu Kumari, the topper among the female candidates, has graduated with BSc (Hons) in Physics from the Delhi University and has done an MBA (Finance and Marketing) from IMT, Nagpur. Nandini KR, Tina Dabi and Ira Singhal had topped the civil services examination 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. A total of 1058 vacancies were to be filled through Civil Services Examination, 2017, which included 29 vacancies for physically handicapped candidates, the statement said. Result of two candidates has been withheld, it said. Among the top 25 candidates, there 17 men and 8 women, it said. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 was conducted on June 18, 2017. 9,57,590 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 4,56,625 candidates actually appeared. 13,366 candidates qualified for appearance in the written (Mains) examination held in October-November, 2017. Of them, 2,568 candidates qualified for the Personality Test conducted in February-April, 2018, it said. With PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Wuhan, April 27 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday offered to host the next informal summit with Xi Jinping in India next year, a proposal which elicited a positive response from the Chinese President. During his delegation-level talks as part of an unprecedented informal summit with President Xi in the central Chinese city, Modi said such informal summits should become a tradition between the two countries. Ill be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India, Modi told Xi. On his part, President Xi said the two countries have established closer partnership and made positive progress in recent years. In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions, he said. The Chinese President said he believes in future and they could meet in format like this from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your Excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level, he said. The first informal summit between Modi and Xi in Wuhan the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. This is the fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014. He is again due to visit China to take part in the SCO summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10. Earlier on Friday, Modi and Jinping exchanged views on solidifying the India-China relationship as they began an unprecedented two-day informal summit here during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focussing on bilateral, global and regional issues. #WATCH 'When I was CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit this province. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed with which you constructed it and the scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour, spent a day at the dam': PM Modi to President Xi Jinping pic.twitter.com/zLMkRrR9kO ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 Prime Minister Modi who arrived here in the central Chinese city early on Friday for the informal summit began talks soon after President Xi hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him. The summit in Wuhan the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. And the much awaited Informal Summit gets underway! PM @narendramodi warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi on his arrival at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. Kumar said they will review the developments in the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective during their meetings. Modi and Xi shook hands and posed for photographs before witnessing a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. PM @narendramodi was welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture, Kumar tweeted. During their one-on-one coversation, Modi told Xi that when he was the Gujarat chief minister, he had an opportunity to visit Hubei Province on a study tour to learn about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed with which you constructed this dam and its scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour and spent a day at dam, Modi said. As the worlds largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges project is a multifunctional water control system on the mighty Yangtze river. It comprises a dam stretching 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, 32 hydropower turbo-generators, a five-tier ship lock and ship lift system. The two leaders later visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Spending time together! In a special gesture, Chinese President Xi took PM @narendramodi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure displayed at the Hubei Provincial Museum, Kumar tweeted. The museum has a large number of state-level historic and cultural relics. Officials said Modi and Xi would focus on global, regional and bilateral issues. The two leaders will later hold delegation-level talks accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow at 10 a.m (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch, official sources here said. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. But this will be their heart-to-heart informal summit. There will be no agreement signed or a joint statement issued. It is a summit, according to the officials, to forge consensus to resolve the issues with follow up actions by officials than announcing any agreements. This is something the leaders of the two countries have never tried so far, they said. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/nLIy9P8mjV ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 This is fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014. He is again due to visit China to take part in the SCO summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10. Chinas state media said the informal Xi-Modi meeting heralds new chapter in Sino-Indian relations, an article in the state-run Global Times said. The Xi-Modi meeting in 2018 following the 2017 Dokalam standoff will without doubt promote mutual trust and reciprocity between the two countries, and will be a cornerstone of a stable long-term relationship between China and India, the article said. PTI English French MONTREAL, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transcontinental Inc.s (TSX:TCL.A) (TSX:TCL.B) (TSX:TCL.R) Media Sector, TC Media, announced today the sale of 30 publications, including 21 weeklies in the Montreal area, the Metro Montreal weekday newspaper, as well as 8 publications in the Quebec City area to a Canadian corporation of which Mr. Michael Raffoul, a Montreal-based businessman, is President. The transaction includes all web properties related to the titles sold as well as the Quebec Hebdo website. In total, 119 employees of the various publications and 20 employees from TC Medias Production team are transferred to the acquirer. TC Transcontinental also concluded a multi-year agreement for the printing of all of these titles, as well as for the distribution, with the exception of Metro Montreal, which is already under contract with Mr. Raffouls print media distribution company. In addition to the Metro Montreal newspaper, the Montreal-area publications included in this transaction are: Ambiance/Rendez Vous, LAvenir de lEst, Cites Nouvelles, Courrier Ahuntsic, Courrier Bordeaux-Cartierville, Corriere Italiano, LExpress dOutremont LExpress Mont-Royal, Le Flambeau Mercier-Anjou, Le Guide Montreal-Nord, Le Magazine de lIle-des-Surs, LInformateur de Riviere-des-Prairies, Journal de Rosemont, Messager Lachine & Dorval, Le Messager LaSalle, Le Messager Verdun, Nouvelles Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Les Nouvelles Saint-Laurent News, Le Plateau, Progres Saint-Leonard, VillerayParc-Ex Petite Patrie and La Voix Pop. For the Quebec City area: LActuel, LAppel, LAutre Voix, Beauport Express, Charlesbourg Express, Le Jacques-Cartier, Journal Habitation and Le Quebec Express, as well as the Quebec Hebdo website. It is with much pride that we have served the Montreal and Quebec City communities for many decades with the local newspapers and the reputed Metro Montreal weekday newspaper, said Francois Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental. Today, we hand over these publications to Michael Raffoul, an entrepreneur who is active in print media-related services. He and his team will be able to deploy their business plan and will be supported on a daily basis by the people of these publications who bring outstanding expertise. I take this opportunity to thank all our employees for having put their passion and dedication to the service of our print media and our customers in the Montreal and Quebec City areas and wish them the very best for the future in Mr. Raffouls team. Michael Raffoul, the acquirer of these titles, said: The print media industry has been at the heart of our business for a long time. Because of this unique relationship that binds us together, we truly understand the importance of newspapers in the communities. The acquisition of these quality publications thus reinforces our position in the industry, furthering our growth and development opportunities. We are extremely enthusiastic about taking this step today and becoming the publisher of this exceptional portfolio alongside the talented TC Media team. With rigour and respect, we will carry on this tradition of excellence together. To conclude, I would like to mention how satisfied and pleased we are with the outcome of the ongoing sale process for our local newspapers in Quebec and Ontario launched a year ago, noted Francois Olivier. With the transaction announced today, only 5 of the 93 newspapers up for sale are left in the process and we continue to have discussions with potential buyers. We would like to thank all of these local owners who took the lead by acquiring our publications and who will, in turn, perpetuate the kind of quality information necessary to the vitality of the regions. We are especially proud of the results of this process since the vast majority of jobs have been maintained within the communities and in TC Medias Local Solutions teams in Montreal. ABOUT TC TRANSCONTINENTAL TC Transcontinental is Canada's largest printer and a key supplier of flexible packaging in North America. The Corporation is also a leader in its specialty media segments. TC Transcontinental's mission is to create products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers. Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are strong values held by TC Transcontinental and its employees. TC Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner. TC Transcontinental currently has over 6,100 employees in Canada and the United States, and had revenues of approximately $2.0 billion for the fiscal year ended October 29, 2017. For more information, visit TC Transcontinental's website at www.tc.tc. For information: For TC Transcontinental Nathalie St-Jean Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications TC Transcontinental Telephone: 514-954-3581 nathalie.st-jean@tc.tc www.tc.tc Financial Community Shirley Chenny Advisor, Investor Relations TC Transcontinental Telephone: 514-954-4166 shirley.chenny@tc.tc www.tc.tc For the acquirer Yves Bedard General Manager, Metro Montreal Telephone: 514-572-6879 yves.bedard@Journalmetro.com Sylviane Lussier Regional General Manager Montreal-Quebec Telephone: 514-770-8101 sylviane.lussier@tc.tc rchopra@tribunemail.com Washington, April 27 Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday appealed to Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimated USD 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours, Mattis told lawmakers. There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, were going to paralyse ourselves, he said. So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of stateIm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show its in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians, Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense, he said. At this moment, when were in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations? Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA, he said. So, youre suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower soon-to-be-Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right? Cotton asked. Thats correct. And there are other countries. Indonesia, for example, is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But theyve got to do something to keep their legacy military going, Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the Indo-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers on Thursday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster, who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India, Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event. PTI vermaajay1968@gmail.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 A senior judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Krishna Murari, is set to take over as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His name has been cleared for elevation as the Chief Justice and formal notification in this regard is expected to be issued soon. Justice Murari will take over from Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar, who retires early next month upon attaining the age of superannuation. Known for his integrity, hard work, dedication and liberal attitude, Justice Muraris understanding and deep appreciation of the judicial system has been honed over a long career as a practising lawyer and as a High Court judge. His uncle, Justice GN Verma, was also a renowned Judge. Before being called to the Bench, Justice Murari was known for practice on the civil side and was considered proficient in company matters and consolidation cases. Born on July 9, 1958, Justice Murari was elevated as Additional Judge on January 7, 2004, and took oath as a permanent judge on August 18, 2005. His elevation comes at a time when the High Court is facing acute shortage of judges. As of now, the HC has 50 judges, including the Chief Justice, against a sanctioned strength of 85. uttara@tribuneindia.com Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service Hyderabad, April 27 Seeking to paint both the BJP and Congress with the same brush for failing to put the country on high growth, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the proposed Federal Front would give a new direction to development agenda and demonstrate to the world what India could do. For 70 years, the Congress and BJP have ruled the country. But what have they done? India lags behind on so many fronts. Farmers suicides still continue, he said at the 17th plenary of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) at Kompally on the city outskirts. Although he outlined how the Federal Fronta perceived alternative to both the BJP and the Congresscould transform the countrys infrastructure, irrigation, agriculture and industries sectors, he did not spell out which parties would join the front. We will set off tremors that will jolt the two national parties, KCR, as the chief minister is known in political circles, said. He had first mooted the idea of an alternative front in March last and met TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and JD (S) chief HD Deve Gowda to take it forward. The TRS plenary, which coincided with the partys foundation, adopted a unanimous resolution, authorising KCR to take further steps to forge the non-Congress, non-BJP front at national level. Asserting that farmers welfare and infrastructure development would be the cornerstones of the Federal Fronts agenda, he said, We will place before the country our plans to irrigate every acre in the country. We will show how this can be done in a matter of six to seven years. The Congress and BJP owed an answer to the people as to why they had failed to provide even the basic facilities, he said, blaming the two national parties for the unresolved inter-state river water disputes and farmers suicides. A political resolution adopted at the plenary said that KCR had begun taking steps to bring together like-minded parties. However, it did not specify who those parties are. It is inevitable that the direction of politics in the country will veer towards a qualitative change, the resolution moved by the party general secretary and Rajya Sabha member K Kesava Rao said. What our leader has proposed is not an opportunistic cobbling together of a new political outfit but a genuine alternative. We are not trying to seek power. It is an alternative agenda, Rao said. He claimed India had so far emerged a unitary state, instead of a true union of states as envisioned by the Indian Constitution. It is time to realise that development of states will lead to nations development, the senior TRS leader said. editorial@tribune.com Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 26 When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold an informal summit at Wuhan on Friday, the 150-year British-era boundary dispute at the core of tensions between the two neighbours will surely play out. Disputes over the alignment of the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto boundary between India and China, are much bigger in scale than Doklam, located on the edge of south-eastern Sikkim, which witnessed a 73-day military standoff in June last year. Either side of the Himalayan divide is now militarised with thousands of gun-toting soldiers, pre-positioned tanks, missiles and fully equipped air bases. As of now, 14 core disputes remain along the LAC, all due to British cartography dictated by fluctuations of its forward policy of 1800s. PM Modi and President Xi will need to move out of the chessboard of disputes. Since May 2014, the two leaders have met 11 times (including a brief meeting at Hamburg on July 7). PM Modi, in September 2014, suggested demarcation of the LAC on ground, but China was less enthusiastic. The LAC is not marked on the ground and it largely runs along the east-west axis, in contiguity with the Himalayan ridgeline. India and China fought a war in 1962. The two had an armed skirmish in 1967 at Nathu La and an eight-month standoff at Sumdrong Chu in north-western Arunachal Pradesh in 1986. On February 2, Minister for State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Rajya Sabha that Chinese troops were involved in 426 transgressions along the LAC during 2017 a huge jump from 273 transgressions in 2016. Eastern Ladakh tangle India has militarily tailored eastern Ladakh, which shares a 826-km frontier with China, to include real-time updates on Chinese; countering patrols along the LAC with own patrols; maintaining a minimum level of firepower and future stationing of fighter jets at Leh the key air base in Ladakh. The Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) conduct joint patrols along the LAC at 65 designated points. China in 1960 bizarrely expanded its claim on another 5,100 sq km of territory in eastern Ladakh. In March last year, Beijing made another bizarre suggestion asking India to cede its own territory in Tawang tract in Arunachal and also in eastern Ladakh. An option for India is to agree to demarcate the LAC, possibly along the Macartney-MacDonald line proposed by the British in 1899 or the 1873 line proposed by the British Foreign Office. Conversely China also fears Indias intentions at interdicting the Aksai Chin G-219 highway the only road access from Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province to Tibet. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 27 The Congress has demanded a probe into an unexplained technical snag in an aircraft carrying party president Rahul Gandhi from Delhi to Hubli and said the violent shuddering of the aircraft endangered the life of passengers, including Rahul Gandhi. In a letter to Karnataka DGP Neelmani Raji, Rahul's aide Kaushal Vidyarthee, a co-passenger, said the aircraft descended rapidly while tilting to one side and shuddered severely until descent at Hubli at 11.25 am. Rahul and four co-passengers boarded the special flight, VT-AVH, at 9.25 am and were to land at Hubli at 11.25 am. Around 10.45 am, the aircraft titled to one side and the altitude dipped steeply combined with heavy shuddering. For some time, the flight was out of radar as the auto pilot was not functioning, Vidyarthee said. He claimed the possibility of intentional tampering could not be ruled out. Congress media head Randeep Surjewala said normally, flight details of an SPG protectee is submitted to the DGCA and only then the flight is cleared. What happened in this case was very serious, he said as the Congress added that the snags were not related to weather. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Lucknow, April 27 The CBI is likely to take BJPs Bangarmau MLA and accused in the Unnao gang rape case Kuldeep Singh Sengar to Delhis All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for potency test. According to an official of the central investigating agency, the potency test is to establish if the MLA facing rape charges is physically capable of committing the crime. It is also to rule out the possibility of the rape accused pleading not guilty in court on the grounds that he is physically unfit to commit the crime. The decision to take Sengar to Delhi was taken after the two top medical institutions of Lucknow expressed their inability to conduct such a test. According to sources, both the King George Medical University and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences referred to the lack of expertise to conduct the test. In a similar case of a BSP MLA raping a minor in Banda in 2011, accused Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi had pleaded not guilty on the grounds of impotency. His wife had even testified in court that Dwivedi was 50 years old and a diabetic who was not capable of sexual relations. However, the potency test conducted on him proved otherwise and in 2015, he was convicted for 10 years. On April 13, soon after the case was handed over to the CBI, Sengar was arrested for reportedly raping a young woman from Unnao in June 2017. Early this month, the rape survivors father had died in judicial custody after being brutally beaten up by the MLAs brother and their henchmen. monicakchauhan@gmail.com New Delhi, April 27 Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having "no agenda", but reminded him to raise the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops last year and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with the leadership there. Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. Thats Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 27, 2018 Gandhi mocked Modi, saying "you look tense" on the visit. However, extending his party's support, he told the prime minister that India wants to hear him talk about these crucial issues - Doklam and CPEC - with China. "Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through POK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said on Twitter. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam area last year. The face-off ended through negotiations after 72 days. The CPEC, a part of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India opposes the controversial project. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. During the visit, the two leaders will have a series of one-on-one conversations on bilateral, global and regional issues. PTI vermaajay1968@gmail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 26 The government on Thursday asked the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider its recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the top court, saying it may not be appropriate at this stage. In a letter to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on the all-India high court judges seniority list, Justice Joseph was ranked 42 and there were 11 Chief Justices of high courts who were senior to him. The decision had approval of the President and the PM, Prasad wrote. It also pointed out that SCs/STs had no representation in the top court since long. It would not be fair and justified to other more senior, suitable and deserving Chief Justices and senior judges of various high courts, Prasad wrote. The governments decision to send back Justice Josephs name coincided with the official notification for appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court. Malhotra is the first woman to make it as the SC judge from Bar. Currently, the Supreme Court is functioning with only 26 judges against a sanctioned strength of 31 judges. Malhotras appointment will take the number of judges in the top court to 27. Within hours, lawyers led by senior counsel Indira Jaising moved the Supreme Court seeking stay on the appointment of Malhotra who is expected to take oath on Friday. However, a three-judge Bench headed by CJI Misra refused to stay Malhotras appointment, terming it unthinkable. What kind of prayer is this? It is unthinkable, unimaginable, inconceivable and never heard of, the Bench, which also included Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, told senior advocate Indira Jaising. Is it a demolition matter or a question of personal liberty? There is no question of staying the warrant of appointment, it said. Malhotras name was recommended by the collegium in January along with that of Justice Joseph for appointment as SC judges, but the government chose to segregate her name for elevation while sending back the Uttarakhand HC Chief Justices name to the collegium for reconsideration. Accusing the government of cherry picking, Jaising said the government withheld Justice Josephs appointment because he had delivered an unpalatable verdict with regard to President rule in Uttarakhand. But the Bench said the government was well within its rights in sending back Collegiums recommendation. The Bench told Jaising that her prayer was problematic. Often the collegium recommended 30-35 names for bigger high courts and the government withheld a few while going ahead with appointment of the rest, it pointed out. More judges senior to him: Law minister Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held that on the HC judges seniority list, Justice KM Joseph was ranked 42 and there were 11 Chief Justices senior to him. Justice Joseph had quashed Presidents rule in Uttarakhand. Ball in collegium court If the collegium reiterates its recommendation, it would be binding on the government which will have to appoint Justice Joseph as SC judge. CJI-led Bench has said the govt can send back collegiums recommendation for rethink. Cong sees conspiracy "Whats holding up Justice Josephs appointment? His state or his religion or his judgment in Uttarakhand case? (had ruled in favour of Cong petition against Presidents rule." P Chidambaram, Cong leader US President Donald Trump afforded German Chancellor Angela Merkel a warm welcome at the White House Friday, calling her an "extraordinary woman." But Merkel's "working trip," which follows French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the United States, did not appear to bring significant progress on a range of disagreements, including US tariffs and Trump's opposition to the Iran nuclear deal. Iran: Trump said "we must make sure that this murderous regime does not get nuclear weapons." Merkel said the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran was a "first step" toward curtailing Iran's ambitions in the Middle East. "But we also think ... that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran's ambitions are curbed and contained," she added. US tariffs: Merkel said the two leaders had "an exchange of views" on whether the US would extend an EU exemption for US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, but gave no further details. "The decision [on whether to grant the extension] lies with the president," she said. Defense spending: Trump said NATO allies need to "spend 2 percent and hopefully much more of GDP on defense," he added without explicitly mentioning Germany. Merkel said Germany's defense budget would increase in 2019 and that it was on its way to meeting the 2 percent goal. Trade deficits: NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation (Macquarie or the Company) (NYSE:MIC) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 18-cv-03744, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Macquaries securities between February 22, 2016, and February 21, 2018, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased Macquaries securities between February 22, 2016, and February 21, 2018, both dates inclusive, you have until June 25, 2018, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation owns, operates, and invests in a portfolio of infrastructure businesses. The Companys businesses consist of bulk liquid terminals, airport services, gas processing and distribution, and a portfolio of contracted power and energy investments. Macquaries International-Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT) business provides bulk liquid storage and handling services at 12 marine terminals in the United States and Canada, is Macquaries most important business segment. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) IMTTs performance and utilization were at risk of significant decline due to ongoing industrywide changes in the market for heavy residual oils, and in particular, declining demand and pricing for No. 6 fuel oil; (ii) IMTT relied significantly on demand for storage of heavy residual fuel oils, including No. 6 fuel oil; (iii) Macquarie needed to undertake significant capital expenditures to repurpose IMTT storage tanks to accommodate alternative products; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, Macquaries shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, and class members suffered significant losses and damages. On February 21, 2018, after the market closed, Macquarie surprised the market by announcing disappointing fourth-quarter earnings of $0.43 per share, well short of analysts estimate of $0.51 per share, and that the Company would be slashing its dividend by 31%. Macquarie blamed its poor performance on the declining use of heavy residual oil products, declining demand and prices for No. 6 fuel oil. On this news, Macquaries share price fell $26.21, or 41.19%, to close at $37.41 on February 22, 2018. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 Ext. 9980 rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, April 27 A special court here on Friday held Gondwana Ispat Limited and its director guilty of cheating and criminal conspiracy to get a coal block in Maharashtra allocated to it. Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar, who was appointed exclusively to deal with the coal scam cases, directed that the firms director Ashok Daga be taken in custody. The firm and its director were earlier summoned as accused for misrepresenting facts to get the Majra coal block in Maharashtra allocated to it. Daga and the firm have been convicted under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and also for the substantive offence under Section 420 of the IPC. The court has put the case for hearing on the quantum of sentence at 2 pm on Friday. The firm was allocated the Majra coal block in 2003 and an FIR was lodged against it in 2014. The CBI had alleged in the chargesheet that it was found during the probe that Daga had made unsubstantiated claim even towards financial preparedness and tie-up regarding iron ore with the Odisha government. It had alleged that as the Ministry of Coal (MoC) then was not following any system of checking the falsity of information provided by an applicant company, M/S GIL and Daga in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy misrepresented to various government authorities and induced them to reserve or allocate the Majra coal block in their favour. According to the CBI, on April 22, 2000, Daga applied to MoC for allotment of the Ekarjuna Extension coal block in Maharashtra for setting up a washery cum sponge iron plant of 60,000 tonne per year capacity in Warora area but it was rejected. On September 25, 2001, Daga applied for allotment of Warora West coal block in Maharashtra for setting up 1.2 lakh tonne per annum washery cum sponge iron plant. It said that in continuation of its earlier application, M/s GIL requested MoC to consider allotment of Majra-Belgaon coal blocks having extractable reserve of 8 to 10 million tonnes as an alternative to the Warora North coal block. MoC, in its 18th Screening Committee meeting held on May 5, 2003, considered the application of M/s GIL and Chandrapur Ispat Ltd for allocation of Majra-Belgaon coal block. The agency had said that based on the documents and representation submitted by the company, the ministry on October 29, 2003, reserved Majra coal block for M/s GIL subject to certain conditions regarding development of the coal block and specific end use of coal extracted from there. The CBI had claimed that during the probe it was found that though after allocation of the coal block in 2003 Daga had filed an undertaking to MOC that he would install a plant or carry out its extension and develop the coal mine, he sold off the company to Nand Kishore Sarda while earning huge profit in October 2005. PTI editorial@tribune.com Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service Hyderabad, April 26 After snapping ties with the BJP and exiting the NDA over denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has now found a new weapon to expose the bias and duplicity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Dholera smart city project. The Prime Ministers dream project in Gujarat has been sanctioned Rs 44,000 crore by the Centre, while ignoring the basic requirements of APs new capital city Amaravati, the TDP alleged. The Centre had sanctioned a mere Rs 2,500 crore for Amaravati and released Rs 1,500 crore during the past four years, while Dholera, a smart city being developed in Modis home state, has been sanctioned Rs 44,000 crore out of which Rs 5,000 crore had already been released, TDP spokesperson and MP K Ramamohan Rao said. The TDPs contention is that Gujarat has a well-developed capital city in addition to other four big cities and now Dholera is being developed on a massive scale, while AP has no capital city after the states bifurcation. In all fairness, AP should get priority over Dholera in Gujarat, Rao said. Charging the BJP leaders with duplicity, he said while the BJP leaders question us for acquiring 33,00 acres for building Amaravati, the Gujarat Government is acquiring around one lakh acres for Dholera. If it does not respect the sentiments of the Andhra people, the BJP will face the same fate as the Congress in the state and will get wiped out, the TDP leader warned. vermaajay1968@gmail.com Smita Sharma tribune news service New Delhi, April 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flew to Wuhan in central China for the first informal summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. As PM Modi emplaned for China, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, A relationship with a common responsibility for peace, stability and prosperity in the world. In the last four years, the PM has visited China thrice, including Xis hometown of Xian during his first state visit, Xiamen for the BRICS summit and Hangzhou for the G20 summit last year. According to local media reports, in the erstwhile summer retreat of Chairman Mao Zedong, the hotel in Wuhan where PM Modi is staying is under a security clampdown. Over the next two days, he and Xi will engage in one-on-one talks, without aides, and hold some delegation sessions for overarching broadbased conversations. Prior to his departure, PM Modi stated: President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation. Top official sources say that specific contentious issues, including Indias membership of the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) or Chinese veto in the UN Security Council shielding Pakistan-based terror masterminds are unlikely to be raised during the one-on-one talks. However, the leaders are expected to take up larger global dynamics, including US trade protectionism, WTO (World Trade Organisation) issues, climate change, regional connectivity and security issues. We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, PM Modi added. editorial@tribune.com Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 Less than three years after the police fired at Sikhs protesting peacefully in Kotkapura against the incidents of sacrilege, the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission has made it clear that the then CM Parkash Singh Badal was cognisant of the happenings hours before the firing and had issued some directions for handling the situation. The directions were issued through the then DGP, the commission has recorded on its order. The firing took place between 6 am and 7 am on October 14, 2015. Evidence with the commission indicates that the then CMs office was contacted around the midnight prior to the police action. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted that evidence had also surfaced that the then local MLA Mantar Singh Brar had spoken to Badal directly or through his secretary Gaggandip Brar. He, in turn, exchanged as many as 21 SMS messages with the Faridkot DC starting from 1.51 am on October 14. Gaggandip Brar also spoke to Faridkot DC during this time. Brar and Gaggandip also spoke to each other four times between 2.28.55 am and 15.11.41 pm. Available information suggests the evidence available on record with the commission has already been brought to the former Chief Ministers notice for him to respond. Even details of calls exchanged between his staff and the district administration were also referred to in the notice. Badal, so far, has declined to furnish information sought from him. He has told the commission that his party has rejected the panel. editorial@tribune.com Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 27 The Ministry of External Affairs have asked the Embassy of India in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and the Consulate General in Dubai to immediately help trace whereabouts of a Bholath youth, Khushwinder Singh, missing for the last five months, and 26 others youths trapped in the UAE. All of these are fresh victims of human trafficking from the state, which is yet to recover from the death of 29 youths, who got trapped in the war zone in Iraq after being duped in a similar manner. However, the state government and the Punjab Police have not stepped up efforts to help the families of these youths even though the matter was reported in these columns on April 13. No action has been taken against any travel agent. The Punjab NRI Commission had on April 13 issued directions to the Centre and the state government taking suo moto notice of the news item and the petition of a human rights activist Kulwant Singh Nagra, who sought help for the youths. Nagra argued that the state government was responsible for checking the activities of the fraud travel agents who indulged in human trafficking. The External Affair Ministry has informed the NRI Commission that it was concerned about the safety of the youths and was trying to help the youths through Indian embassies. The NRI Commission has specifically noted that the Nawanshahar DC and SSP have not replied to its notice regarding the case. Most of the trapped youths belong to Nawanshahr district. Some of the trapped youths had via a video message narrated their plight. They said they were trapped in a place called Ajman near Dubai and had no place to stay or papers and money to move back to India. They said they were dumped at this place by local agents who operated with the help of Punjab-based agents. Satinderjit Kaur Taggar, sister of missing youth Khushwinder Singh, said no action had been taken against the agents who duped her brother. She said even External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had not responded to her SOS tweets for help. She said her brother had gone to Dubai in May last year through a Ludhiana-based travel agent, who assured that he would get a lucrative job soon. We suspect foul play as my brother learnt in November that he will have to go back or stay illegally. He talked to us last on November 14, 2017. AAPspokesperson Harjot Singh Bains had taken up the matter of all these youths with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. He said the youths would lose their lives if the government did not intervene immediately. gspannu7@gmail.com Gagan K Teja Tribune News Service Patiala, April 27 The arrest of Shahid Malla, who is believed to be a part of a group of website hackers targeting websites of India, by the cyber cell of the Delhi Police special cell has come as a shocker to the officials of Aryans College of Engineering. They say they were absolutely clueless of his involvement in any such activities as they had official confirmation of his character and antecedents by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Jammu and Kashmir Government. As per information, Shahid Malla was a fourth semester computer science engineering student of Aryans Group of Colleges, Rajpura. He was the CEO and founder of thehostz since 2011. In this FB account, he has flaunted hacking many websites. BS Sidhu, Director, Aryans College of Engineering, said the student has not been coming for his classes since the past few months. His arrest in such a case is equally shocking for us because as a routine exercise every year we send the detailed data of all Jammu Kashmir students to the JK Police for verification. We had received a letter from Criminal Investigation Department of Jammu and Kashmir Government confirming that Shahid had not come to any adverse notice so far, he said. He says he had been informed that Shahid had been staying in Kashmir only since past few months and had returned to Rajpura just few weeks back. However, he did not attend the college. Meanwhile, DSP, Rajpura, Krishan Kumar Panthey when contacted confirmed that the Delhi team had officially informed the local police that they were in Rajpura for investigations in the case and have arrested Malla and were taking him to Delhi. vermaajay1968@gmail.com Parvesh Sharma Tribune News Service Sangrur, April 26 In the past three days, farmers of various villages in the Dhuri subdivision have collected 1,000 quintals of wheat to help those whose crop was destroyed in a major blaze recently. Even as more help is on the way, committees have been set up to distribute the grain among the fire-hit farmers. The eagerness to help seems almost contagious, with villages vying to outdo one another in the task. In Benra village, 59 families have lost their crop. In nearby Benra, at least six families have been affected. The figures in other villages are being collected too. While Kanjhla, Kakkarwal, Katron, Bhalwa, Punnawal Dhandra, Bardwal and Dhadogal have sent tractors laden with wheat bags, some others, such as Ranike, Dhura, Bhadawad and Hasanpur, have sent dry fodder for the cattle too. The camaraderie is heart-warming. We decided to lend a helping hand as government aid is invariably delayed. But these farmers needed immediate help, explains Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Kanjhla village. The farmers have been mobilised by Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy. We started a special campaign on April 23. Farmers hit by the blaze will not have to purchase wheat. We have already collected 1,000 quintals and expect another 700-800 quintals in the coming days, he says. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Resources Gurpreet Singh Kangar on Thursday said the state was not power surplus. The Rampura Phul MLA was here to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple along with family and supporters. Kangar said, They (previous government) had been saying something, but the books show something else. The minister said the claims by the previous government were false. He said the government was committed to providing enough electricity to farmers and households. On the recent hike in electricity tariff, the minister said it was required as the government needed revenue. Talking about the CMs poll promise to end drug menace in four weeks, Kangar claimed that the drug problem in Malwa had decreased by 80 per cent in the last one year. He admitted that there was widespread corruption in his department. It has been just two days for me. But I would surely work to check it, he said. The minister said he would hold a meeting with senior officials of the department on Tuesday and issue instructions in this regard. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 27 With the Union Government having set aside Rs 685 crore for the in situ utilisation of paddy straw in Punjab, the state Agriculture Department would constitute advisory groups to suggest ways to stop stubble burning. This was disclosed by Suresh Kumar, Chief Principal Secretary to CM, during a stakeholders workshop to check stubble burning organised by Tata Trusts here on Friday. Kumar said the advisory group would decide the action plan and the technical workforce on the ground would carry out the decisions taken by them. He urged Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore to be the patron of the state advisory group. Kumar said there would be no extra financial burden on the farmers for the paddy straw management and urged them to use technology for in situ (in the farm itself) crop residue management. He also highlighted that farm machinery banks would be set up and farmers could hire machinery from there. Badnore, while delivering the keynote address, said there was an urgent need to take more suggestive measures if we seriously need to arrest the issue of crop residue burning in Punjab. He said there was an urgent need to give options to the farmers to adopt alternative practices thereby ensuring proper disposal of paddy residue instead of burning. The Governor also suggested that there was a need to promote horticulture, fruit cultivation and cultivation of mushrooms in a big way in Punjab to break the usual paddy-wheat cycle. He also laid emphasis on giving incentives to the farmers who had already adopted other alternatives and not burning straw. The Governor has also offered to visit every district of Punjab along with the entire team of officers concerned to educate and motivate the farmers to stop burning the crop residue and go in for sustainable solutions. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Kuljit Nagra, Ravi Singh, SG and CEO, WWF India, Arun Pandhi, programme director, Tata Trusts, Ajayvir Jakhar, chairman, Punjab State Farmers Commission, Dr BS Dhillon, Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, KS Pannu, Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board, and Dr Balwinder Singh Sidhu, Commissioner, Agriculture. rchopra@tribunemail.com Ludhiana, April 27 The toll in the gas cylinder explosion in Giaspura locality here went up to three after two more persons succumbed to their injuries, the police said on Friday. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The gas cylinder exploded in Samrat Colony of Giaspura locality in which a woman was killed and 34 people were injured on Thursday. Sunita Rani (40), wife of Ashok Yadav, who is the owner of the house where the cylinder exploded on Thursday morning, died in CMC hospital here in the evening after suffering 100 per cent burns. Their 13-year-old son Raj, too, succumbed to his injuries at the same hospital on Thursday night, the police said. Another woman, Shashi, a neighbour, who had suffered about 80 per cent burns, died at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, they said. Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharam Pal said 34 people were injured in the incident and six among them, who are admitted to various local hospitals, are stated to be critical. Police said migrant labourers resided in the locality where the cylinder exploded. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered an inquiry into the incident, an official spokesperson said in Chandigarh. He directed the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner to extend all possible assistance to the injured and ordered medical treatment for them free of charge, the spokesperson said. The Chief Minister extended his sympathies to the family of the deceased and prayed for the early recovery of the injured. PTI SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prescription drug detox is said to be the most challenging detox to complete. This is not because prescription drug detox is uncomfortable or unsafe, on the contrary, prescription drug detox tends to be safer than an alcohol detox. The reason that many people tend to not complete prescription drug detox is that oftentimes persons addicted to prescription drugs hold on to the legitimacy of their drug use and point out that they go to doctors to receive medication and nothing more. It can be difficult to convince someone that needs prescription drug detox to go through with the process. Completing prescription drug detox is not difficult, staying off prescription drugs is. Many people that use prescription drugs feel that since they receive their drugs through legitimate means, i.e., through a doctor that they do not have the same type of problems that a person who uses cocaine, for example. The truth is that persons that abuse prescription drugs often can do this by manipulating physicians into believing that they have legitimate ailments that require these drugs. Sometimes these persons may have had these ailments in the past, but they may hang on to the symptoms as long as they can. The signs of needing prescription drug detox include but are not limited to being in possession of prescription bottle received from more than one doctor, prescription bottles from numerous pharmacies, seeking other doctors that are willing to write prescriptions that their primary physician wont, pills in plastic bags, and mixing medications with other prescription medications or alcohol to increase the effect. Some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States are pain medications and anxiolytics. These are also the most widely abused. Drug detox from pain medications is done using medications, although this detox is not considered life-threatening. Detox from anxiety medications can be life-threatening, especially when these medications are used with alcohol. It is for this reason that it is important to monitor these detox clients medically as well as provide the appropriate medications. The huge variety of medications and the combinations preclude discussion of specific effects. For more specific prescription drug detox information, please contact us by telephone or email, we are glad to provide assessments at no charge. Contact Info: Author: Kevin Leonard Organization: TheRecover.com Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590 Phone: (888) 510-3898 editorial@tribune.com Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 Due to bumper produce this season, Punjabs major concern is storing the procured wheat. Almost 50 per cent of the wheat procured this year will be stored in the open in mandis. The covered storage space has all been used by the paddy from the last kharif season. The wheat is still arriving in mandis. This wheat will be subjected to vagaries of weather in case it is not lifted immediately, and could go waste. The matter was raised by a Punjab government delegation, led by Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, during a meeting with Secretary, Food, GoI, Ravi Kant here on Thursday. Raising the issue of anything between 55-60 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat that would have to be stored in the open, the state pressed upon the Centre to run more trains next month (Centre has already assured of running 400 special trains for transporting wheat from Punjab to recipient states), so that this wheat stored in the open is first lifted. Punjab is expecting production of 180 LMT wheat this year, of which 118 LMT will be procured by the government agencies. Till date, 102 LMT of wheat has been procured by the agencies and the FCI. Of this, 70 per cent of wheat that has arrived in mandis in the past 72 hours has been lifted. Punjab government officials are learnt to have told the Central delegation that the glut in the mandis happened only in the past week when the wheat arrival peaked. But they were following the norm of lifting wheat within 72 hours of its arrival. The main problem this year will be the storage of the grain being produced, the state is learnt to have told the Secretary, Food. Officials say that Ravi Kant has told the state government that a consultant for the storage gap analysis and need for creating more silo storages in Punjab is being appointed, and the report would come out soon. Sources say that the Central government delegation said after lifting the wheat stored in the open in mandis, they would ensure maximum movement of wheat stored on raised plinths and then move the remaining wheat stocks to other states. This movement would allow the state to have sufficient storage space for the paddy procurement season that begins in six months from now. Why the shortage rchopra@tribunemail.com Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 27 A major fire broke out at hosiery factory on Bhadurke Road in the wee hours of Friday. Following the fire in the two-storey building there were multiple blasts owing to the petroleum products stored there. The fire at JM Hosiery started around 1.35 am and fire tenders were rushed to the place. Firemen are still trying to douse the blaze. A month ago, a fire had broken out in the same factory. The entire building had suffered huge cracks and a portion of the building had also collapsed. Videos by Nikhil Bhardwaj Ram Ashish, a factory worker, went missing in the factory and his son was frantically looking for him. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Sangrur, April 26 Public Works Department (PWD) and IT Minister Vijay Inder Singla on Thursday inspected the Kalajhar toll plaza on the Sangrur-Patiala road. He said working of many plazas across the state had been under the scanner for lack of mandatory facilities. Singla announced a quick audit of all plazas to curb harassment of motorists. The minister stayed at the plaza for around 20 minutes and took stock of facilities such as ambulance, crane etc. He found that the ambulance was not properly equipped, while the staff failed to give a satisfactory reply to his queries. Singla directed senior PWD officers for action against the plaza authorities. We will conduct a thorough audit of facilities of all plazas. In a couple of days after taking charge, I have got numerous complaints against plazas, he said. Singla said he had learnt that plaza men had blocked some roads illegally, forcing motorists to use toll roads. We will check this menace. We will also ensure that motorists get exemption from toll if they have to stay wait in queues beyond the prescribed time, he said. Some villagers approached Singla, alleging that the Kalajhar toll plaza authorities were not issuing concessional passes to the residents of surrounding areas. The ministers directed the officials to ensure redressal of their complaint. We thank the minister for a quick action. We demand strict action against the plaza authorities to prevent any harassment in future, said Gurmeet Singh of Channo village. editorial@tribune.com Amarjit Thind Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 26 Even as the wheat procurement season draws to a close, tardy lifting of grains has choked mandis across the state. So far, only 30 per cent of the wheat has been carted to warehouses. The remaining is lying in the open. Not allowing cartelisation by truckers following the order of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had the desired effect, but the fallout was that it fell on the commission agents to use tractor-trailers to ferry the procured wheat to its destination. Charankamal Singh, a commission agent, said there was no space to keep wheat and they were using all available spaces near the mandis, including roadsides. The movement of traffic is a problem and security of the procured grain is a nightmare. Tractor-trailers can only carry a limited quantity. Inclement weather can cause serious trouble, he pointed out. Farmer Kulbir Singh said he had to wait till 2 am on Tuesday for auction officials. BKU chief BS Rajewal said procurement officials were reluctant to procure fresh arrivals citing fulfilled targets. Is it the farmers fault if there is a bumper crop? Many officials claim that they have run short of gunny bags, he added. Arhtiya Gurmail Singh said the non-availability of labour, too, was hampering operations. Many times trucks or tractors-trailers are loaded but unloading them due to the paucity of labourers is a headache. In many cases, the vehicles are not unloaded for days disrupting smooth ferrying operations, he said. The problem was severe in districts where truckers have so far had a monopoly on all lifting operations. Smaller districts also faced a problem, but as truck operators were small-time operators, losing out on the earnings of an entire season was beyond their capabilities, he added. The only saving grace is that arhtiyas are getting money after the produce is auctioned. Ever since the smart card system is started, officials feed the amount in the cards which are used by arhtiyas to disburse payments to farmers. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 26 Nearly 10 days since Sultanpur Lodhi resident got an FIR lodged against a self-styled godman for allegedly raping, filming and threatening her for 13 years in his dera, the 36-year-old woman on Thursday accused the police of inaction. The FIR under Sections 376, 506 and 34 of the IPC was lodged at Sultanpur Lodhi police station on April 16 against Pritpal Singh Pali, who is also a sitting councillor of the local MC. The accused is absconding. Having won from the seat as an Independent about three years ago, he had earlier supported the SAD, but now siding with the Congress. At a press conference here on Thursday, the victim, who was with her elder brother, broke down several times as she shared her story. I studied till Class XII and when I was 22, my parents wanted to get me married. Since I had some health issues, some neighbours told my parents about this baba. We started visiting him, she said. Later, his two daughters also started visiting our place. One day, When I went to his dera, his children were not present. The babas wife locked me with him. He then raped me at gunpoint and filmed the incident. Then he started blackmailing me, she alleged. The victim, who is quite frail, had her hands trembling and eyes moist all the time. She said she kept on facing the sexual assault on her for 13 years. Pointing towards her NRI brother, who works in Manila, she said, It was his birthday a few days back. When I wished him, he said he wanted me to get married. I could not hold things any longer and told him about the exploitation. Her brother said he immediately took up the matter with the police. The victim has alleged that many other women were also the victims of the baba. The dera reportedly has about 4,000-5,000 followers. Sultanpur Lodhi SHO Sarbjit Singh said: We have done everything we could to help the complainant. We got her medical conducted. We got the dera man booked. We have issued lookout notice against him and also conducting raids to nab him. editorial@tribune.com Sabrina Barr Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, which is why the idea that one type of body should be celebrated above another sounds so preposterous. However, plus-size model Jessica Vander Leahy has experienced discrimination on numerous occasions throughout her career. Shes had enough of being included as the token curvy chick in modelling campaigns and has spoken out about challenging beauty norms in the fashion industry. Leahy is a 30-year-old model from Australia who grew up in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney. Despite having modelled for more than a decade, Leahy still faces prejudicial treatment in her line of work. On a recent shoot, she was allegedly told to just smile and look happy, while another model with a skinnier frame was told to pose sexily with a male model. We want to do the sexy things too, Leahy said on the Healthyish podcast. We want to do the same as what our thinner counterparts are doing. We dont want to be the one token curvy chick. Leahy believes fashion campaigns should reflect the real world by embracing different kinds of bodies equally. Everyone deserves to look and feel beautiful and enjoy what theyre wearing, she said. We really have to be more considerate in what we are labelling as healthy and what we push as an ideal of beauty. In July 2015, Leahy launched Project WomanKIND, an initiative which aims to highlight the amazing stories of inspiring women. Facing criticism can be difficult, but Leahy advises trying not to take offensive remarks to heart. Its still hurtful when someone wants to put you down, but at the end of the day its a reflection on them, she said. The Independent editorial@tribune.com Purnima Sharma It was a journey that began more than 30 years ago. Despite leading a fairly low-key existence away from the Page 3s and cut-throat competition of the fashion world, Madhu Jain had been quietly working and earning for herself an enviable reputation as a craft revivalist and textile conservationist. And last year, coinciding with her landmark third decade in the fashion business, she unveiled a brand new fabric created by her bamboo silk ikat. Its the first of its kind in the world. The birth of a new textile is always something special, so, I am glad that something that took me 15 long years to create is being cherished and will be part of my legacy, says the 57-year-old who has worked relentlessly with artisans in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu besides collaborating with BRAC in Bangladesh and has been instrumental in bringing the focus back on weaves such as Dhaka muslin that the country had lost after the Partition. This needed to be done we couldnt have let these fabrics die. They needed to be resurrected, given a fresh lease of life and preserved for posterity, she says, sitting in her tasteful home in Noida as a craftsperson who has come a visiting from Ahmedabad nods in agreement. The beginning With no formal background in fashion design, Jain knew she had to put in effort that was several notches higher. And there were moments, she confesses, when she felt dejected and really apprehensive about moving on in this field. But my friends who had seen me design and wear my own creations to college were determined that I will not give up, she smiles. And so her journey began. Honed by her mothers exquisite collection of saris and fathers taste for all things fine, her aesthetic sensibilities zeroed in on handwoven textiles. I started work with ikat and was the first to show it on the ramp in 1989. It was a big hit, she informs. Needless to say, the creators of this fabric, who were there at the event, were thrilled with the response. This was particularly great because many among them were almost giving it all up to take to some other profession, says Jain who has since worked hard to revive fabrics such as nakshikantha, kalamkari, upadas and Dhaka muslin (in India), among others by giving them a contemporary touch. A fabric is created The bamboo story began more than 15 years ago when she, together with her partner, actor-model Milind Soman, who joined hands to create a new label, Projekt M, was asked to create bamboo textiles for the VIIth World Bamboo Congress to be hosted in Delhi in 2004. As we put our heads together, a new set of creations emerged with the use of bamboo fibre woven with chanderi, khadi and wool and we presented them before international delegates, she says. However, she says that convincing the craftspeople and weavers was no mean task. It was only after she placed an order of more than a thousand metres that they started creating exactly what she wanted. Six years later, among the high-points of the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 was the 115-feet high installation, Tree of Life, which Jain created with bamboo fibre and raw silk together with kalamkari craft. After she launched the bamboo silk with ikat last year, theres been no looking back. As we are the second largest producer of bamboo in the world, we need to make full use of it as it will help provide immense livelihood options for its growers. Being biodegradable, it has so many advantages. Also, it does not leave any carbon footprint, is soft on skin, easy on the pocket and is sure to be the fabric of the future, says the designer who is constantly working to create new patterns and designs by taking inspiration from similar genres originating in Thailand, Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Handspinning hope Through her work, and seeing a growing interest in handspun fabrics among the city folk, she hopes that the younger generation of weavers who are mulling over moving to other more lucrative streams to earn their livelihood will continue to do the work thats been part of their families for generations. The government needs to chip in its bit too and just as the way countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan take pride in their own heritage, ensure that our countrymen do too, she adds. vinaymishra188@gmail.com Tribune News Service Dehradun, April 26 The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Thursday approved a policy for harnessing forest pine needles an alternative source of energy for generating power and it also approved the allocation of a piece of land in Haridwar to Uttar Pradesh in lieu of Alaknanda resort. The Department of Power and Department of Forest will be the nodal agencies for the implementation of the policy. Pine needles are spread in an area of around 4 lakh hectare, which is around 16.36 per cent of the forest land. Upon the implementation of the policy, we would be able to produce around 100 mega watt of electricity per year and also set up units for producing Pine Needle Briquettes (PNB) and bio fuel oil, said Madan Kaushik, Uttarakhand government spokesperson and Minister for Urban Development. He said the government intended to steadily increase the production of pine needle biomass beginning with 1 mega watt in 2019 and scaling it to 100 mega watt in the coming years. Further, the policy proposes to fix a base price (maximum) of Rs 5.36 paise for buying electricity generated through the pine needle biomass from individuals. The individuals setting up units through self help groups, registered firms, etc, would also be eligible for a subsidy as mandated in the states MSME policy. Kaushik said that along with encouraging the effective use of pine needles, the collection of pine needles ensured that the chances of forest fires are minimal. The needles are chopped into fine pieces to increase density, before being fed into the plant. The material is then burnt with limited oxygen supply. In another important decision, the Cabinet also gave its nod for allocating 2,964 sq m of land which is part of Kumbh Mela area in Haridwar to Uttar Pradesh in exchange of Alaknanda resort that would come to Uttarakhand. The total Kumbh mela land comprises of 1.29 lakh sq feet, out of which 2964 sq m land would be given to Uttar Pradesh. We have already started the process of denotification of land into commercial land, said Kaushik. Significantly, with an eye on the civic body elections, the Uttarakhand Cabinet also announced hike in salaries of the employees deployed through UPNL on non-permanent basis in different government bodies. The hike is in the range of Rs 1,500 in the basic pay of these employees. They have been pressing for an increase in salaries for the last several years. We have categorised the employees into four categories. Upon implementation of the proposal, the employees falling under unskilled will receive Rs 6,796, those falling under semi-skilled category Rs 7,958, those falling under skilled category Rs 8,939 and those falling under higher skilled category Rs 10,045, said Madan Kaushik. The Cabinet has also approved an increase of Rs 50 per day in the emoluments of former PRD jawans who have been re-deployed. Salary hike announced vinaymishra188@gmail.com The handshake between the two leaders marked the latest milestone in a rapid rapprochement after months of global fears about a nuclear conflict. Here are some other handshakes that shook the world Arafat-Rabin, 1993 After months of secret negotiations in Norway, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stood in the South Lawn of the White House on September 13, 1993 to witness the signing of the Oslo Accords. And then, in one of the most dramatic moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with US President Bill Clintons arms stretched around both leaders, Arafat and Rabin shook hands. Queen-McGuinness, 2012 In a landmark moment in the Northern Ireland peace process, Britains Queen Elizabeth II met Martin McGuinness, a former top commander in the Irish Republican Army during the many years of bloody hostilities with British forces. The IRA wanted an end to British rule in the province, and for it to be merged with the Republic of Ireland. McGuinness later became one of the figures that helped negotiate an end to the violence. Obama-Castro, 2013 At a memorial service for Nelson Mandela in 2013, US President Barack Obama made headlines when he shook hands with Cubas Raul Castro, the first such public greeting between leaders of the bitter neighbours after decades of enmity. Within months, there was a rapid thaw. Full diplomatic relations were restored in July 2015, followed by once-unthinkable steps to mend ties after more than half a century of enmity. Xi-Ma, 2015 After decades of estrangement following a traumatic split at the end of a civil war in 1949, the presidents of China and Taiwan met for the first time ever in Singapore. In unprecedented scenes, Chinas Xi Jinping and Taiwans Ma Ying-jeou shook hands for more than a minute and smiled for a mass of reporters before holding talks. The summit led to the setting up of a hotline between Beijing and Taipei. COMMENTS The UN chief applauds todays truly historic summit. Guterres salutes the courage and leadership that resulted in the important commitments and agreed actions and counts on the parties to swiftly implement all agreed actions. He looks forward to these gains being consolidated and advanced at the summit between the leaders of the US and the DPRK expected to take place in the near future. UN statement After a furious year of missile launches and nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Donald Trump, US President The Norths announcement of a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches are very significant and an important step towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Moon Jae-in, South Korean President A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history. Kim Jong Un, North Korean Leader This is a first step, it is encouraging, but we have to realise there is still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Chief pardeepdhull@gmail.com LONDON: The number of elections across the world has reached an all-time high but it has done little to increase the quality of democracy, according to a new study. The study by researchers from the University of Birmingham and the London School of Economics said that a remarkably high proportion of national elections are not free and fair enabling authoritarian leaders to remain in power with the emergence of new technology playing a part in the process of manipulation. The researchers revealed their findings in How to rig an election published by Yale Books. Based on more than 500 interviews and their own experience of watching elections on the ground in countries including; Belarus, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Thailand and Tunisia, Professor Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas reveal the extent of the democratic decay that has benefitted dictators around the world, the Birmingham University said in a release today. Most worryingly, the research demonstrates that not only do elections often fail to remove authoritarian leaders from power, but in many cases they actually give ailing authoritarian regimes a boost, making them appear more legitimate and opening up new funding streams. As a result, authoritarian systems that hold elections turn out to be more stable than those that do not. Professor Nic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham said: The finding that many authoritarian leaders are using the image of democracy to strengthen their hold on power should act as an important wake up call for everyone who cares about political inclusion, accountability and human rights. The manipulation of elections is becoming increasingly hi-tech and subtle following the emergence of new technology and strategies that makes it easier than ever before to create fake news, marginalise opponents, and hack the electoral system. To fight back, those who want to defend democracy need to update their own playbook and fast. In documenting these processes, the study provides an engrossing analysis of the pseudo-democratic methods employed by leaders around the world to retain control. More specifically, the researchers expose the limitations of national elections as a means of promoting democratisation, and reveal the six essential strategies available to dictators the authoritarian toolbox to undermine the electoral process in order to guarantee victory for themselves. These include, invisible rigging gerrymandering and exclusion; buying hearts and minds; divide and rule strategies and the use of political violence; stuffing the ballot box in ways old and new; hacking the election using new technology and tricking the international community into endorsing the result. This eye-opening study offers a sobering overview of corrupted professional politics, while providing fertile intellectual ground for the development of new solutions for protecting democracy from authoritarian subversion. The conclusion to each chapter, and to the book itself, provides numerous suggestions of ways to defend democracy and strengthen elections based on first-hand experience. PTI TORONTO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toromont Industries Ltd. (TSX:TIH) (Toromont) is pleased to announce that all the nominees listed in its Management Information Circular dated February 28, 2018 were elected as directors of Toromont, until the next annual meeting of shareholders. The detailed results of the vote held Thursday, April 26, 2018 are set out below. Election of Directors On a vote by ballot, each of the following eight nominees proposed by management was elected as a director of Toromont: Nominee Total Votes For Percentage of Votes In Favour Total Votes Withheld Percentage of Votes Withheld 1. Jeffrey S. Chisholm 64,046,096 98.6% 930,089 1.4% 2. Cathryn E. Cranston 64,784,307 99.7% 191,878 0.3% 3. Robert M. Franklin 64,018,437 98.5% 957,748 1.5% 4. James W. Gill 64,913,033 99.9% 63,152 0.1% 5. Wayne S. Hill 63,796,790 98.2% 1,179,395 1.8% 6. Scott J. Medhurst 64,365,621 99.1% 610,564 0.9% 7. Robert M. Ogilvie 62,884,712 96.8% 2,091,473 3.2% 8. Katherine A. Rethy 64,315,112 99.0% 661,073 1.0% About Toromont Toromont Industries Ltd. operates through two business segments: The Equipment Group and CIMCO. The Equipment Group includes one of the larger Caterpillar dealerships by revenue and geographic territory - spanning the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba in addition to most of the territory of Nunavut. In addition, the Group includes industry leading rental operations, a complementary material handling business and an agricultural equipment business. CIMCO is a market leader in the design, engineering, fabrication and installation of industrial and recreational refrigeration systems. Both segments offer comprehensive product support capabilities. This press release and more information about Toromont Industries can be found at www.toromont.com. For more information contact: Paul R. Jewer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Toromont Industries Ltd. T: (416) 514-4790 monicakchauhan@gmail.com Goyang (South Korea), April 27 The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearisation of their divided peninsula at a historic summit laden with symbolism. The North's leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in embraced after signing what they called the Panmunjom Declaration, following a day that began with an emotional handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that splits their countries. The pair issued a statement confirming their common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. They agreed they would seek a permanent end to the Korean War this year, 65 years after hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Moon would visit Pyongyang in "the fall", the two leaders said, pledging to hold "regular meetings and direct telephone conversations". But Kim did not mention denuclearisation and analysts warned that while the summit was a good first step, similar promises had been made before and much remained to be done to resolve the issue of the North's atomic arsenal. In coming weeks, Kim is due to hold a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trumpwho has demanded Pyongyang give up its weaponsthat will be crucial in shaping progress. Trump hailed the Korea summit as historic but warned "only time will tell". He implicitly claimed credit for the meeting, tweeting: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" But he also offered a nod to his "good friend", Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had provided "great help". The Panmunjom Declaration capped an extraordinary day, unthinkable only months ago as the nuclear-armed North carried out a series of missile launches and its sixth atomic blast, earning itself new sets of UN Security Council sanctions. Kim and Trump had traded personal insults and threats of war, sending tensions soaring before Moon seized on the Winter Olympics to try to broker dialogue, beginning a dizzying whirl of diplomacy that led to today's meeting in the Demilitarised Zone. Kim said he was "filled with emotion" after stepping over the concrete blocks that mark the border, making him the first Northern leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ceasefire in 1953. At his impromptu invitation, the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before beginning the summit, only the third of its kind. During another symbolic gesture, the two men took part in the ceremonial planting of a pine tree. It was a far cry from the last tree-related operation Moon was on duty for in the DMZa monumental show of force after North Korean soldiers killed two US officers trying to prune a poplar in 1976, when he was a special forces soldier. The truce village of Panmunjom was the "symbol of heart-wrenching division", Kim said, but if it became "a symbol of peace, the North and South that have one blood, one language, one history and one culture, will return to becoming one". He pledged the two Koreas would ensure they did not "repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korea agreements... fizzled out after beginning". In the declaration, the two sides said they would seek meetings this year with the US and possibly Chinaboth parties to the 1953 ceasefire"with a view to declaring an end to the war, turning the armistice into a peace treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime". But agreeing a treaty to formally close the conflict will be complicated -- both Seoul and Pyongyang claim sovereignty over the whole of the Korean peninsula. The two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both of them in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. Moon welcomed the North's announcement of a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches as "very significant", calling it "an important step towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". But how much progress was made on the nuclear issue remained unclear. Pyongyang has always insisted it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against a US invasion, and is demanding still unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal, while Washington is pressing it to give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Affirming a commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula was "not new", said MIT political science professor Vipin Narang, "historic summit notwithstanding". But he added: Reaffirming it is better than not reaffirming it." Paul Haenle of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing said it was "really just the first step in broader diplomatic efforts". "Similar to a game of chess, this move opens up a series of possible developments but in many ways, the hard work really begins now." After an early dispatch saying that Kim was heading for the summit, the North's state media offered no new coverage of events throughout the day, even as the leaders' handshake was beamed around the world. But at a farewell ceremony, the two men watched images of their landmark encounter beamed onto the summit venue in a sound-and-light show, standing hand-in-hand for several minutes. AFP gspannu7@gmail.com Washington, April 27 The parents of American student Otto Warmbier filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the North Korean government charging that the country's regime tortured and killed their son, according to lawyers for the family. Warmbier the 22-year-old American student who was detained in North Korea for 17 months was returned to his family "with severe brain damage and in a non-responsive state" in June 2017, reports CNN. He died on June 19, 2017. "Otto was taken hostage, kept as a prisoner for political purposes, used as a pawn and singled out for exceptionally harsh and brutal treatment by Kim Jong Un," his father Fred Warmbier, said in a statement on Thursday. "Kim (Jong-un) and his regime have portrayed themselves as innocent, while they intentionally destroyed our son's life. This lawsuit is another step in holding North Korea accountable for its barbaric treatment of Otto and our family," the statement said. The suit comes at a sensitive moment for US-North Korean relations, with President Donald Trump due to meet face-to-face with the North Korean leader sometime next month. In the lawsuit, Warmbier's attorneys outlined how escalating tensions between the Obama and Trump administrations and North Korea coincided with the student's detention. Congress passed banking sanctions in response to Warmbier's death late last year, and Trump re-designated the country as a sponsor of terrorism in November, which allowed the Warmbiers to sue the foreign government. Otto was taken into custody by North Korean authorities during a five day sightseeing tour of the reclusive state, who accused him of stealing a political poster from a restricted floor on his hotel, CNN reported. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. When Otto arrived back in the US he was in a persistent vegetative state but North Korea claimed he had contracted botulism while in prison. The Hamilton County Coroner's office in Ohio released a report in September 2017 outlining the findings of an external examination of the student's body. The lawsuit filed on Thursday describes in detail their encounter with their son when he landed in Cincinnati after his medical evacuation from North Korea. The parents noticed he was blind, deaf, had a shaved head and a feeding tube, "was jerking violently and howling" and had misaligned teeth, the lawsuit added. IANS. sanjiv@tribunemail.com Seoul, April 26 With a giant TV screen in its capital, and a break from classes for students to watch live coverage, much of South Korea will hit the pause button on Friday to watch history unfold the first time a North Korean leader crosses the border to visit South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will welcome Kim Jong Un as he walks across the military demarcation line between the neighbours, still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. It is an important moment of our history and a very good chance to feel the history, said Park Sung-il, vice principal at Baekun Elementary School in the southern city of Gwangju, which is letting students watch events unfold on television. Our kids can get live education about unification by watching South and North Korean leaders shake hands in real time. It is only the third time the leaders of the countries have met, and previous summits in Pyongyang, the Norths capital, were not broadcast live. There is the sense of excitement in Seoul that almost everybody is preparing for celebration on Friday, said Victor Cha, a U.S. expert on Korea who was visiting Seoul this week. If the summit goes well, perhaps people in Washington may be more optimistic that Kims meeting with US President Donald Trump, expected in May or June, will go well, he added. The leaders of the two sides will meet at the South Korean border village of Panmunjom, the only place along the heavily fortified border where soldiers face off directly against each other. In Seoul, a gigantic TV screen will broadcast footage outside city hall. The plaza has been festooned in flowers arranged in the shape of the Korean peninsula to create a conducive environment, a city official said. In Gwangju, a theatre is offering free admission for people to watch the broadcast on its movie screen. Think about South Korean honour guards escorting the leader of our enemy state, said Lee Shin, the head of a reunification research group in the city. This is a very significant moment of our history. The world must maintain sanctions on North Korea until concrete changes in its actions are seen, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned today on the eve of a historic inter-Korean summit. Reuters Trump says 3 or 4 dates possible for Kim summit US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that three or four possible dates were being considered for his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. We have a decision to be made. We have three and four dates. That includes five locations. That will be narrowed down, Trump said on Fox News Trump had previously said his much-anticipated meeting with Kim would take place in May or early June, within weeks of Fridays historic inter-Korean summit. The tension-wracked peninsula has seen a dramatic diplomatic detente, with the nuclear-armed North last week announcing a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests Moon to greet Kim on military demarcation line sanjiv@tribunemail.com Washington: The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve former CIA director Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State after a bruising battle by Democrats against President Donald Trumps nominee. Pompeo, who has earned Trumps confidence after a year at the CIA, was accused by Democrats as being too bellicose and harbouring deep anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ sentiments. The approval came in time for Pompeo to arrange a summit between Trump and Kim in the coming months. AFP Norcross, GA, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wii Auto Sales has been selected to be the only dealership in Van Nuys, CA, able to certify its pre-owned vehicles with the exclusive MOTOR TREND Certified designation. MOTOR TREND Certified vehicles meet the highest standards in the pre-owned market, with every vehicle vigorously inspected, upgraded and backed by a MOTOR TREND Certified seal of approval, plus comprehensive vehicle protection from EasyCare. MOTOR TREND Certified dealers are carefully selected and appointed based on their focus on quality and a positive customer experience. They must have a history of excellent customer reviews and outstanding service. "Our mission at Wii Auto Sales is to earn our customers loyalty by delivering sales experiences with high quality, excellent value, integrity and enthusiasm. We strive to exceed the expectations of our customers. With that being said, we are excited to partner with MOTOR TREND and offer a certification that nobody else can offer, said Phil Makertichian, General Manager of Wii Auto Sales. Steve Richards, Vice President of the MOTOR TREND Certified program driven by EasyCare, said Wii Auto Sales strong commitment to the Van Nuys areas consumers made them a natural choice to be named a MOTOR TREND Certified dealer. Wii Auto Sales began offering MOTOR TREND Certified vehicles in March 2018 at 16161 Raymer Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406. For more information on Wii Auto Sales, visit www.wiiautosales.com. About EasyCare EasyCares mission is to help dealers succeed at every customer touchpoint by creating passionate employees and customers. Whether its protecting the dealerships customers on their behalf or helping deliver the ultimate driving experience, EasyCare is fully engaged. Since 1984, the company has provided leading-edge benefits that have helped nationwide dealers deliver an outstanding ownership experience to over 7 million customers. EasyCare provides the only F&I benefits that are named a MOTOR TREND Recommended Best Buy for franchised dealers, in addition to a full suite of training programs, management development, and proprietary software. For more information, please visit www.easycare.com. About MOTOR TREND MOTOR TREND, a media brand of Motor Trend Group, was founded in 1949 and is internationally recognized as one of the leading names in the automotive category. The MOTOR TREND brand is composed of Motor Trend magazine; the award-winning website MotorTrend.com; the Motor Trend subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, Motor Trend Auto Shows; Motor Trend Audio; Motor Trend en Espanol; and the renowned Motor Trend Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, Truck of the Year, Person of the Year, and Best Drivers Car awards programs. About Motor Trend Group Motor Trend Group is the largest automotive media company in the world, bringing together Discoverys fast-growing Velocity network and a vast automotive digital, direct-to-consumer, social and live event portfolio, including MOTORTREND, HOT ROD, ROADKILL, AUTOMOBILE, and more than 20 other industry-leading brands. With a cumulative reach of more than 131 million, the company encompasses televisions #1 network for automotive superfans, a leading automotive YouTube Channel, and the Motor Trend app, the only auto-dedicated subscription video-on-demand service. For more information, visit motortrendgroup.com. Attachment Malaysian foundation 'Dignity for Children' has won the 2nd Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support. Big Heart Foundation & UNHCR 26 April 2018 - Malaysian foundation Dignity for Children has won the 2nd Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support. The Dignity for Children Foundation (DCF) was selected for its performance as a leading humanitarian institution in Asia, providing support and advocacy services to refugees and the displaced. The award was also given to them in recognition for their role and commitment towards thousands of refugee families in Sentul, Malaysia, by providing a safe environment for their childrens education. It recognises DCFs achievements over the past two decades in caring and supporting refugees. DCF received a prize of USD136,000 to support its humanitarian efforts, and was officially honoured in a ceremony in Sharjah on 26 April 2018. Education is the building block of any childs future. Without it, children cannot have a horizon of hope and aspiration. In particular for refugee children who have lost so much in their journey to find asylum, education provides an opportunity to regain a semblance of normalcy in their lives and regain hope for their future, said Richard Towle, UNHCR Representative in Malaysia. UNHCR congratulates our partner, the Dignity for Children Foundation (DCF), on receiving this Award. We see every day in DCFs work with refugees and marginalised communities in Malaysia, their excellent humanitarian commitment. For nearly two decades now, DCF has worked at an exemplary level to not only bring education to refugee children who have no access to formal education in the country, but to also incorporate practical, vocational training programmes to help prepare children for a world beyond their classrooms. The award, organised by The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) the Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity dedicated to helping refugees and people in need worldwide in cooperation with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offered to the most outstanding contribution made during the year in developing and implementing a pioneering initiative or project that has had a positive and tangible impact on refugees within Asia and the Mena region. We believe that philanthropic efforts need inspiring role models who can provide examples of how important humanitarian work can be, said Shaikha Jawaher, who is also the Chairperson of TBHF and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children. The award recognises these role models and highlights their efforts and their selflessness while making a significant difference to the lives of refugees and the displaced. Whatever the size of your contribution, it is the value that matters, and the effect it creates to encourage others to follow in their footsteps, she said. The award was launched last year by Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah, and comes in line with Sharjahs efforts to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons around the world. Press Contacts For Dignity For Children Foundation Renee Koo Mobile: 017 378 7579 Email: [email protected] Liew Tong Ngan Mobile: 012 299 3033 Email: [email protected] For UNHCR Yante Ismail, Associate External Relations Officer Mobile: 013 352 6286 Email: [email protected] It emerged from the milestone New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in 2016. This laid out a vision for a more comprehensive response to these crises, known as the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, or CRRF. The compact calls for greater support to refugees and the countries that host them, often among the poorest in the world, and also aims to help refugees become more self-reliant so that they can contribute more to their own future and to that of the host community. The stories below explore the many facets of the global compact on refugees. Train tracks alongside the river Evros land crossing from Turkey to Greece where refugees have lost their lives UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling on the Greek Government to urgently improve conditions and expand reception capacity, following a recent rise in arrivals at Evros via the land border with Turkey. Hundreds of people are at present being held in police detention facilities. Some 2,900 people have arrived in Evros so far this month, mostly Syrian and Iraqi families. This is equivalent to half the estimated arrivals for all of 2017. According to figures compiled by UNHCR, in April land arrivals have outpaced sea arrivals. At least eight people have died since the start of the year attempting to cross the Evros River. The increase in new arrivals is placing strain on the only Reception and Identification Centre in Evros, which is located at Fylakio. The centre is filled beyond its 240-person capacity, including 120 unaccompanied and separated children. See also: Sixteen people drowned attempting to cross the Evros river border between Turkey and Greece With the Reception and Identification Centre overwhelmed, and struggling to conduct timely registration and identification, or to provide services such as medical and psycho-social care, and interpretation, the authorities initially place people, including many children, in inappropriate police detention facilities in the area while they wait for places at the centre to open up. Some of those in police detention have been held for more than three months. Conditions are dismal and services are limited. A UNHCR visit found families in one facility sleeping on the floor beside a row of cells. Only one doctor and four nurses were available for more than 500 people in another police facility. The hundreds of people kept in these conditions include pregnant women, very young children and people in need of medical and psycho-social care. While we welcome the recent release from detention by the authorities of more than 2,500 people, we are also concerned that this is being done without vulnerability screening and provision of proper information on asylum and other options. Their situation must be urgently addressed to enable access to care and asylum procedures. We welcome the efforts of the police and the Fylakio Reception and Identification Centre to address the challenges however, with their resources increasingly stretched, the situation has become untenable. UNHCR is proposing: Urgently enhance the reception capacity of the Reception and Identification Centre with additional space, and improve conditions and services. Identification of open transit sites where arrivals from Evros can be directed to and go through registration and identification procedures. Set up reception and identification mobile units. Immediate transfer of families in detention to safe shelter and referral to services as required. improve conditions in police facilities for even the shortest stay, ensuring access to open space and basic services, with health care a priority. Increase the registration capacity of the competent Greek authorities to ensure access to asylum and timely registration of asylum applications. Prompt transfer of unaccompanied children to safe accommodation and prompt assessment of family links. UNHCR continues to provide protection support at the Fylakio Reception and Identification Centre, and remains in close and constant contact with the Greek Government in order to address this exceptional situation. UNHCR will continue to assist the Greek authorities through the provision of technical and material support, including blankets, clothing, hygiene items, solar-powered lamps and other non-food items. For more information on this topic, please contact: West Palm Beach, FL, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Its almost the end of the school year and graduation events are coming up fast as thousands of Palm Beach County college and high school seniors get ready to complete their education. Its also the time to plan and begin a search for employment. The good news is that the job market for graduates is the best that it has been in nearly a decade, said Steve Craig, president and chief executive officer of CareerSource Palm Beach County, the nonprofit organization chartered by the state to lead workforce development in the county. Last month, Palm Beach County added 6,100 jobs over the year and there were nearly 20,000 advertised jobs available. Besides the improving job market, retiring Baby Boomers are vacating jobs faster than young workers can replace them, especially in occupations such as health care, skilled trades and manufacturing. With some 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 years old every day, employers are looking to replace this talent with Millennials and Generation Z graduates. With these encouraging developments, read these tips for graduates starting their job search: Tip #1 - Start now! Visit CareerSource Palm Beach Countys website, www.careersourcepbc.com, to start looking for jobs and to get more information about programs and services, including hiring events and their summer youth program. You can also visit any of CareerSources three career centers in Palm Beach County. You can also register in the EmployFlorida database at www.employflorida.com to search for jobs throughout Florida. You can search for businesses that are hiring and the types of job openings available. You can also set up a dashboard and job alerts that are texted to your phone. Not sure which jobs best match your skills and aptitude? CareerSource offers assessments to help you clearly define your skills, determine the types of work you might enjoy and find occupations that match your strengths and abilities. Click here for the rest of the article. How regional cooperation between Mali, Morocco and Niger will help in the fight against migrant smuggling Niamey, Niger - 27 April 2018 - Under the framework of the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT), UNODC organized a sub-regional workshop from 16-18 April 2018, bringing together 32 representatives of the national authorities of Mali, Morocco and Niger responsible for combating the smuggling of migrants (SOM). As far as transnational organized crimes go, SOM significantly affects the Sahel and North Africa region. Mali, Morocco and Niger are three countries particularly impacted by this crime, which, in recent years, has not only increased but has also become more complex. In terms of locations, Niger represents a crossroads for irregular migration and trafficking in persons (TIP). Niger's position as a key transit country is unquestioned. In 2016, an estimated 330,000 people passed through the country, mainly through the Agadez region. Mali is also a country of origin and transit for migrants, characterized by significant population movements within its borders and beyond its borders. Morocco - a country of origin, transit and destination - is part of the migration route to Europe because of its borders to the east with Algeria and to the south/southeast with Mauritania. Only 15 kilometres separate the shores of Morocco with those of Spain. It is estimated that between 25,000 to 40,000 sub-Saharan migrants currently find themselves in an irregular migratory situation in Morocco. There can be no doubt, that smuggling networks play a central role in continuously fuelling this phenomenon. Actively engaged against these threats, regional institutions and governments in West and North Africa have initiated policies and actions to combat SOM. Mali, Morocco and Niger are parties to the United Nations Convention against Organized Crime ( UNTOC) and its additional Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. Considerable progress has been made in the transposition and implementation into national law of the obligations arising from the convention and the associated protocol. It is in this context and with a view to strengthen the work of the respective governments that UNODC, under the framework of GLO.ACT, organized the sub-regional workshop. The opening ceremony was attended by the Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice of Niger, as well as representatives of the Malian and Moroccan delegations, the European Union in Niger and UNODC. Addressing the participants, Mr. M. Chaibou Mamane, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Justice of Niger, stressed the importance of increased coordination and cooperation between the three countries in order to provide a coherent, effective and sustainable response to these destabilizing elements. During the meeting, each delegation presented the major advances and challenges encountered in the establishment and strengthening of national structures to combat SOM. This exchange of experiences and best practices was complemented by a practical exercise based on the Glauco case, relating to the 2013 shipwreck that killed 366 migrants off the coast of Lampedusa. Conducted on a pilot basis for the first time in French, this exercise based on a real case allowed participants to work on techniques for identifying and dismantling a criminal network of smugglers. Working in small groups, representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Human Rights, Employment, Social Development, Health, Foreign Affairs, Women's Promotion, Child Protection, as well as members of civil society in each country looked through numerous transcripts of telephone recordings of smugglers and interviews records of migrants who survived in order to identify elements that would allow progress in the investigation. This practical exercise and the use of an actual case available on UNODC Trafficking in Persons Case Law Database also provided UNODC representatives with the opportunity to introduce its Sherloc portal to the audience. Sherloc is a portal for sharing electronic resources and laws on crime. Participants confirmed that working on an actual case reinforced the importance of transnational cooperation and the need for an approach that takes into account security, justice and human rights of migrants. Upon conclusion of sub-regional meeting a set of recommendations were finalised. These recommendations will serve as a basis for the next sub-regional meeting. The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT), a four-year (2015-2019), 11 million joint initiative by the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and reaches thirteen countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. Workshop Report: Sub-regional Workshop on the Smuggling of Migrants: Recommendations (English) For more information, visit: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/index.html Email: glo.act@unodc.org Twitter: @glo_act For more information on Sherloc, visit: https://www.unodc.org/cld/v3/sherloc/ For more information on the Glauco case, visit: https://www.unodc.org/cld/en/v3/htms/index.html Media articles on Glauco/Lampedusa: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10355661/Italy-mourns-300-dead-in-Lampedusa-migrant-boat-tragedy.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/02/tunisian-gets-18-years-in-jail-over-italian-shipwreck-that-killed-366-migrants VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Contact Gold Corp. (the "Company" or "Contact Gold") (TSXV:C) is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2017. All dollar amounts are presented in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. 2017 Highlights and Recent Developments Closed a series of transactions on June 7, 2017, including a reverse take-over ("RTO") transaction, and the acquisition of a portfolio of exploration properties located on Nevadas Carlin Trend, to establish Contact Gold Raised $19.6 million, net of transaction and financing costs on June 7, 2017 Trading of Contact Golds common shares began on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") under the symbol C on June 15, 2017 Expanded the total land position of the Pony Creek gold property ("Pony Creek") by 47% through the addition of 34.5km 2 of strategic claims of strategic claims Successfully completed the 2017 drill program at Pony Creek, including: completion of 10,390 metres in 42 reverse circulation ("RC") and core drill holes continued validation of a robust gold system with widespread oxidized gold mineralization at Pony Creeks Bowl Zone definition of a significant corridor of shallow oxidized gold mineralization measuring approximately 1 km by 300 metres at Pony Creeks North Zone Generated multiple, high priority, previously undrilled targets, and announced the 2018 drill program, expected to comprise 16,000 metres of RC and core drilling at Pony Creek Highlights from initial results received to date, including assays from RC and core drill holes include1: 2.82 grams per tonne ("g/t") Au over 45.72 m, including 5.45 g/t Au over 21.34 m in drill hole PC17-010 0.78 g/t Au over 79.25 metres in drill hole PC17-007 1.36 g/t Au over 43.74 metres in drill hole PC17-024 0.65 g/t Au over 65.53 metres in drill hole PC17-003 (Oxide) 0.61 g/t Au over 47.24 metres in drill hole PC17-017 3.95 g/t Au over 6.10 metres in drill hole PC17-019 0.41 g/t Au over 47.24 metres in drill hole PC17-001 (Oxide) 0.82 g/t Au over 19.81 metres in drill hole PC17-014 (Oxide) 0.92 g/t Au over 15.24 metres in drill hole PC17-009 1.03 g/t Au over 7.62 metres in drill hole PC17-008, including 0.87 g/t Au over 10.67 metres 2.12 g/t Au over 22.86 metres, including 4.53 g/t Au over 9.14 m, in drill hole PCC17-040 (Oxide) As of December 31, 2017, the Company had approximately $6.2 million available in cash and cash equivalents, with no significant balance of accounts payable or accruals due. Outlook Exploration activities and the related budget for 2018 will continue to focus on creating value at Pony Creek. The 2018 drill program will focus on four priority target areas at Pony Creek: the Moleen Target; the West Target; the North Zone; and the Bowl Zone. For a map of the 2018 Targets at Pony Creek please click: http://www.contactgold.com/_resources/news/2018Apr24Drill-Start_PonyTargetMap.jpg The 2018 program objectives have been designed to: Add additional oxide mineralization at the Bowl Zone and North Zone Discover new zones of mineralization at the Moleen and West targets Generate and drill test other targets in the district The approved 2018 exploration budget is approximately $4.7 million. Selected financial data The following selected financial data is derived from the Consolidated Financial Statements, as prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Consistent with IFRS for a reverse takeover (RTO) transaction, the number of common shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 (50,346,986)(and that which is reflected at December 31, 2016, having adjusted retrospectively for the 8-for-1 share rollback: 2,769,486) are those of Contact Gold, the legal entity, while the values reflected are those of Carlin Opportunities Inc. (Carlin), the accounting acquirer. Similarly, the comparative financial information presented herein and in the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the Consolidated Financial Statements), reflects only the assets, liabilities and operations of Carlin since its incorporation. The Consolidated Financial Statements, and the corresponding MD&A are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Attributable to shareholders: Three months ended December 31, 2017 Year ended December 31, 2017 For the period from incorporation on November 23, 2016 to December 31, 2016 Loss for the period $ 2,237,579 $ 3,238,190 $ 274,048 Loss and comprehensive loss for the period $ 1,959,019 $ 6,028,565 $ 274,048 Basic and diluted loss per share $ 0.04 $ 0.10 $ 0.05 As at December 31, 2017 As at December 31, 2016 Cash $ 6,176,258 $ 250 Working capital/(deficit) $ 6,239,022 $ (1,001,710 ) Total assets $ 45,424,278 $ 731,673 Current liabilities $ 524,212 $ 1,005,471 Preferred shares $ 9,466,747 $ -nil Shareholders equity/(deficit) $ 35,348,230 $ (273,798 ) Losses attributable to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2017 of $3.2 million, reflect primarily (i) non-cash expenses arising from the RTO transaction ($2.2 million listing expense), (ii) exploration and evaluation of the Companys exploration property interests ($4.3 million), and (iii) costs incurred for professional, legal and advisory fees, wages and salaries and for investor relations activities (in aggregate, $3.2 million), net of (i) a fair value adjustment recognized on the embedded derivatives within the Preferred Shares (gain of $5.8 million) and (ii) foreign currency gains of $0.6 million). Losses from the period from incorporation on November 23, 2016 to December 31, 2016 relate to the professional, legal and advisory fees incurred in order to secure the transactions that gave rise to the establishment of Contact Gold (the Transactions). During the year ended December 31, 2017, exploration and evaluation expenditures predominantly related to activity at the Pony Creek property with the commencement of an active drill program in July. Approximately $4.0 million in expenditures had been incurred through year end for exploration at Pony Creek. Other comprehensive loss attributable to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2017, was $2.8 million, and reflects the foreign currency impact arising on the post-acquisition carrying value of the Contact Gold Properties. Net cash operating outflows for the year ended December 31, 2017 of $6.1 million reflects the commencement of an active exploration program at Pony Creek, marketing and investor relations activities, and the settlement of balances due to service providers and vendors after closing of the Transactions. The Companys has elected to capitalize mineral property acquisition costs, and expense exploration expenditures as incurred. Total assets at December 31, 2017 comprise primarily: exploration and evaluation assets of $38.5 million, including the acquisition bump of $35.01 million attributed to, and subsequently allocated across, the individual properties and assets acquired by Contact Gold, net of a $2.9 million foreign currency adjustment, and $0.4 million in cash. At December 31, 2016, total assets included $0.73 million in expenditures deferred in advance of closing the Transactions. Some of the deferred balance at year end was subsequently included as part of the $0.59 million in cost capitalized to the acquisition of the Contact Gold Properties, while a portion was included within the total of $1.56 million share issue costs, offsetting the value of share capital. Total liabilities at December 31, 2017, include the value of the Preferred Shares ($9.46 million), and accounts payable and accruals ($0.52 million). The Preferred Shares were concluded to be a form of obligation and have been included as a non-current liability. The terms and conditions of the Preferred Shares are detailed in the Consolidated Financial Statements. The accounting value of the Preferred Shares reflects both a host component of the instrument and certain embedded derivatives. At inception these were determined to be $8.14 million and $6.85 million, respectively. The fair values of each will change from period to period, reflecting (i) an accretion to the host, (ii) a fair value adjustment, and the (iii) the impact of foreign exchange on the embedded derivatives ($0.9 million, $0.6 million gain, and $5.8 million gain, respectively in the period from issuance to December 31, 2017). The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Vance Spalding, CPG, VP Exploration, Contact Gold, who is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Drill intercepts were calculated using a minimum thickness of 3.05 metres averaging 0.14 ppm gold and allowing inclusion of up to 4.57 metres of material averaging less than 0.14 ppm gold for low grade intervals and higher-grade intervals were calculated using a minimum thickness of 3.05 metres averaging 1.00 ppm gold and allowing inclusion of up to 4.57 metres of assays averaging less than 1.00 ppm gold. True width of drilled mineralization is unknown, but owing to the apparent flat lying nature of mineralization, is estimated to generally be at least 70% of drilled thickness. Quality Assurance / Quality Control consists of regular insertion of certified reference standards, blanks, and duplicates. All failures are followed up with additional investigation whenever such an event occurs. Multi element geochemical assays are completed on composites using the MEMS 61 method. All assays are completed at ALS Chemex; an ISO 17025:2005 accredited lab. Check assays are being assayed for gold by Bureau Veritas Pony Creek is an early stage exploration property and does not contain any mineral resource estimates as defined by NI 43-101. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource estimate at Pony Creek or on any of Contact Golds properties. The information contained herein is subject to all of the assumptions, qualifications and procedures set out in a technical report entitled Technical Report on the Pony Creek Gold Project, Elko County, Nevada, USA dated April 18, 2017, and effective March 15, 2017), prepared by Michael M. Gustin, C.P.G. of Mine Developments Associates of Reno, Nevada (the Technical Report), which can be viewed under Contact Golds issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and reference should be made to the full details of the Technical Report. About Contact Gold Corp. About Contact Gold Corp. Contact Gold is a gold exploration company focused on leveraging its properties, people, technology and capital to produce district scale gold discoveries in Nevada. Contact Golds extensive land holdings are on the prolific Carlin, Independence and Northern Nevada Rift gold trends which host numerous gold deposits and mines. Contact Golds land position comprises 265 km2 of target rich mineral tenure hosting numerous known gold occurrences, ranging from early- to advanced-exploration and resource definition stage. Additional information about the Company is available at www.contactgold.com. For more information, please contact (604) 449-3361 for either: John Wenger, Chief Financial Officer wenger@contactgold.com John Glanville Director, Investor Relations glanville@contactgold.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to planned expenditures through the remainder of the year, and the anticipated exploration activities of the Company at Pony Creek. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. 1 See news releases dated October 4, 2017, November 2, 2017, January 16, 2018, and February 14, 2018. Laramie Student Named UWs Top Graduating Man Gabriel Selting Excellence as a University of Wyoming honors student, service as a volunteer and key leadership roles at UW and around the world have resulted in the selection of Gabriel Selting, of Laramie, for the 2018 Tobin Memorial Award as UW's outstanding graduating man. The annual award is based on academic excellence and achievement, service to the university, participation and leadership in the community and campus activities, and citizenship qualities. Sophia Kwende, of Cameroon, is this years Rosemarie Martha Spitaleri Award recipient as UW's outstanding graduating woman. Selting, the son of Marsha Knight and Leigh Selting, both UW faculty members, will graduate May 12 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies, and with minors in French and through the Honors College. He also studied Arabic. His studies at UW focused on Africa/Middle East governance and conflict resolution. He completed study-abroad courses in France, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and London. He also completed international volunteer experiences in Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti and with Syrian refugees in France; plus completed internships in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and Washington, D.C. My years at the University of Wyoming are characterized by a powerful commitment to internationalization and to public service, Selting says. I have been fortunate in that study abroad, international service and internships throughout Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South America have allowed me to cultivate a global perspective as a student and as a future immigration/humanitarian lawyer. He says UWs International Studies Program has been amazing, in that it complements its diverse curriculum with myriad opportunities for students to see the world and connect the world back to UW. Selting also adds that his internships rooted my lifes ambitions in immigration and public service. I have tried to do so with an emphasis on public service, Selting says. My most substantial projects in public service span both the public and the private sector, shaping my vision of service and my commitment to marginalized groups. Seltings commitment to public service globally has not gone unnoticed at UW. Simply put, this is a young man who will change the world, says Thomas Seitz, who is the faculty adviser to the International Studies Student Club, in which Selting served as president the past three years. Gabe has been a natural leader in his classes from the very beginning of his time at UW, Seitz adds. My colleagues observed that, even as a freshman, Gabe would always be the one to draw shy students into class discussions. And, in group assignments, he could be counted on to lead his team to success. Even those outside UW praise Seltings leadership ability. Last year, working for the EPIC (Education for Peace in Iraq) Center in Washington, D.C., Selting gained a substantial understanding of the political landscape in Iraq and how it affects humanitarian assistance and the security situation, says Mark Seaman, EPIC director of development and communications. As an example, Seaman describes Seltings idea to geographically map the locations of bombing attacks in Iraq. The center has always compiled this information for its monitoring service subscribers, but the UW students innovation helped EPICs readers more readily visualize areas, intensities and impacts of improvised explosive device use across the country. It is a method we continue to employ and which has won praise from journalists, academics, fellow nonprofits and government agencies, he adds. Serving full time at the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, last year, Selting helped to advance U.S. national interests by promoting human rights, fostering a more effective workforce and contributing to high morale at a mission facing terrorist attacks and a harsh climate, says U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young. I look forward to future opportunities to see his achievements, with a hope that one day I will see him representing the United States as a diplomat, Young adds. Sophia Kwende Receives Spitaleri Award at UW Sophia Kwende Sophia Kwende, of Cameroon, is the recipient of the Rosemarie Martha Spitaleri Award as the University of Wyoming's outstanding graduating woman. The award, established in 1964, recognizes Kwende for exhibiting the finest leadership, academic integrity and citizenship qualities. She graduated last December with dual degrees in molecular biology and chemistry. Gabe Selting, of Laramie, received the Tobin Award, honoring UWs outstanding graduating man. As a 17-year-old, Kwende began her UW career in 2015 and quickly settled in the sciences, especially molecular biology. As my career goal has always been medical research, I found undergraduate research an essential avenue to explore, to further inform and affirm my conviction to this career path, Kwende says. She says receiving a Wyoming INBRE (IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) fellowship reaffirmed her conviction that she not only emulate theoretical scholarship, but also have a vision worth pursuing. Throughout my research projects, it became increasingly evident that rational thought informed social processes, and ironclad scientific research could combine science and humanities to holistically unify the physical, ethical, intellectual and social interfaces of each project, she says. Kwende says she has been fortunate to experience an environment at UW that cultivates creative scholarship. I was elated at the thought of having all students presented with the opportunity to not only be aware of their potential, but to maximize it, she adds. Not only has she excelled in the classroom, but Kwende also has learned valuable lessons at UW, taking on issues outside the classroom. Hailing from a developing nation, Kwende is familiar with the need for global volunteers whose services make a difference in the communities where they live in and the world around them. That is partly why she is a nationally registered EMT and certified wildland firefighter. I found the most beneficial way to give back to the community was to be part of a volunteer fire department, she says. In the same light, I applied for and was honored to be granted the position of Peace Corps ambassador for UW. Rachel Watson, a molecular biology senior lecturer, and Kwendes adviser, lab supervisor and mentor, has high praise for her student. In my nearly 17 years as an educator at the University of Wyoming, I do not think that I have ever encountered a more inspirational, more holistically well-rounded, high-achieving student than Sophia, Watson says. Her intelligence is surpassed only by her willingness to assist others and her ability to critically apply theoretical knowledge. Kwende took two chemistry classes from Senior Lecturer Michael Sommer, but her curiosity outside of her normal courses caught his attention. Many of the questions were asking me about questions she got right on homework problems and exams. The level of questions reaffirmed what I had already known about her: She was more interested in understanding why things were a certain way than knowing how to get the right answer, he says. This is the kind of thing that teachers hope for but rarely ever experience. Sophia is just that exceptional. Watson adds that she knows Kwende will be a successful doctor someday. Sometimes, late at night, I try to envision a world in which our physicians and surgeons all embodied the type of holistic understanding of human health that Sophia has, Watson says. Such a utopia is impossible to see. However, I will settle for just knowing that there is one phenomenal woman like Sophia who will be going to medical school next year. I will be moving on to the next phase of my life after graduation, in pursuit of a rewarding and impactful life through scientific research clothed in social awareness and the understanding that we all have a role to play in the development of our community and holding together the social fabric of the world we live in, Kwende says. I hope to make a difference, remembering that we all have the potential for infinite human progress. CALGARY, Alberta, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marksmen Energy Inc. (TSXV:MAH) (OTCQB:MKSEF) (Marksmen or the Company) announces that it has completed the second and final closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement. The Company issued 1,431,428 units (the Units) of Marksmen at a price of $0.21 per Unit for gross proceeds of $300,600, bringing the aggregate raise to 3,458,409 Units for gross proceeds of $726,266 (the Offering). Each Unit is comprised of one (1) common share (Common Share) and one-half of one (1/2) share purchase warrant (Warrant) of Marksmen. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.42 per share expiring two (2) years from the date of issuance. Marksmen did not pay any commissions in connection with the second closing of the Offering. Further to its press release of February 28, 2018, Marksmen intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to pay for capital expenditures associated with its 60% working interest in the Leaman #1 horizontal well, including up to $266,266 for remaining drilling cost overruns, approximately $330,000 for estimated hydraulic stimulation costs and the remaining $130,000 to equip the well. Completion of the Offering is subject to regulatory approval including, but not limited to, the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. (TSXV). The securities issued are subject to a four month hold period from the date of issuance. Related Party Participation in the Private Placement Insiders subscribed for an aggregate of 160,000 Units in the second closing of the Offering. As insiders of Marksmen participated in this Offering, it is deemed to be a related party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101-Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). Neither the Company, nor to the knowledge of the Company after reasonable inquiry, a related party, has knowledge of any material information concerning the Company or its securities that has not been generally disclosed. The Offering is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 (pursuant to subsections 5.5(c) and 5.7(1)(b)) as it was a distribution of securities for cash and neither the fair market value of the Units distributed to, nor the consideration received from, interested parties exceeded $2,500,000. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Offering because the details of the participation therein by related parties of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to closing of the Offering and the Company wished to close on an expedited basis for business reasons. Annual Financial Statements The Company also announces that it has filed the following documents on SEDAR: Audited Annual Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 Managements Discussion and Analysis Form NI 51-101F1 Statement of Reserve Data and Other Oil and Gas Information Form NI 51-101F2 Report on Reserves Data by Independent Qualified Reserve Evaluator Form NI 51-101F3 Report of Management and Directors on Oil and Gas Disclosure Annual Information Form These documents can be found in Marksmens disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Operational Update Leaman #1 Horizontal Well, Hocking Hills, Ohio Marksmen is pleased to announce that completion and equipping operations are proceeding at the Leaman # 1 Horizontal Clinton Sandstone well. Announcements will be made as results are received. Appointment of Director The Company further announces that, subject to regulatory approval, Donald D. Jones has been appointed to the board of directors of the Company effective as of today. Mr. Jones is a CPA and CA and is currently Partner of ALW Partners LLP Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta. Mr. Jones has past experience as an independent director and audit committee chairman with Canadian entities, both public and private. The management and directors of Marksmen welcome Mr. Jones to the board and look forward to working with him going forward. Stock Option Grants Finally, the Company announces that it has granted 1,400,000 stock options to purchase common shares of Marksmen to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company subject to regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approval. The stock options were issued with an exercise price of $0.22 per share, vest as to 1/3 immediately, and 1/3 on each of the first and second anniversary dates, and have a five year term. For additional information regarding this news release please contact Archie Nesbitt, Director and CEO of the Company at (403) 265-7270 or e-mail ajnesbitt@marksmenenergy.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements, including without limitation, statements pertaining to the use of proceeds, the Company's ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and approvals from the TSXV and the ability of the Company to maintain the schedule with respect to the stimulation process on the Leaman #1 Horizontal well. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Marksmens disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Marksmen does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. According to a recent study titled ASEAN FinTech Census 2018 by Ernst & Young (EY), Vietnam currently ranks second amongst ASEAN member states in the number of incubators, accelerators, and innovation labs in the region. Singapore leads the rankings with 52 incubators, accelerators, and innovation labs, followed by Vietnam at 24. Vietnams fintech industry With its young demographic, the rise in consumers spending, and growing smartphone and internet penetration, Vietnam has emerged as a significant market for fintech developers. As of now, 90 percent of transactions in Vietnam are conducted in cash, and this has led fintechs to focus primarily on the development of payment services. Around 47 percent of Vietnamese fintech startups are only focused on payments, the highest concentration in the region. According to EY, there are currently around 77 fintech firms in Vietnam. The total investment in 2016 in Vietnamese fintech startups was US$129 million, accounting for 63 percent of all startup funding value, according to Topica Founder Institute. In 2017, the fintech market reached US$4.4 billion and is estimated to reach US$7.8 billion by 2020, driven by growing bank penetration. Industry challenges One of the major challenges faced by Vietnamese fintech startups is the lack of government policies and regulations that can support the development of the ecosystem. In addition, Vietnamese banks are reluctant to work with fintech firms, without realizing that technology can help the bank to expand their services and increase their reach to those currently without a bank account. Furthermore, according to EY, startups in Vietnam also face other issues such as lack of talent and funds. Optimistic future Overall, fintechs are highly optimistic about the future of the industry in the region, in terms of adoption, expansion, and revenue generation. According to EY, 89 percent of the firms believe that users are keen on adopting fintech services, while 87 percent are planning to expand beyond their current markets in the next 12 months. Along with Southeast Asia, other regions such as the US, UK, and China are a priority for firms for achieving growth. As for revenue generation, 61 percent of the firms believe that it is their immediate future goal for 2018, according to the survey. Going forward With cash as the major form of transactions and a growing smartphone penetration, fintech firms have an opportunity to develop solutions for consumers related to payments to make it easier, efficient, and secure. The fintech sector has a very high growth potential in Vietnam and will continue to attract funding, especially from venture capital funds. In addition, M&A activity is also expected to increase as consolidation occurs and firms try to expand, introduce new technologies, and increase service offerings. However, the fintech industrys growth will not only depend on investments, new technologies, or smartphone penetration but will also require a robust legal framework. The government has started to take note of the rise of fintech and last year it established a steering committee on fintech to improve the ecosystem. They also issued a plan to reduce cash transactions by 2020 to less than 10 percent of total transactions, which seems ambitious. Going forward, the government needs to continue promoting the adoption of such technologies amongst the citizens and government institutions, work closely with private players, increase access to digital services, and develop a positive legal framework to facilitate the growth of fintech throughout the country. British Prime Minister Theresa May (left) will welcome US President Donald Trump to the UK for a working visit in July. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski) The visit had been repeatedly delayed amid a series of diplomatic spats and fears that it could be overshadowed by opponents' pledges to swamp the streets of London to decry Trump. "The President of the United States will visit the UK on 13 July," Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said in a statement, adding Trump would hold bilateral talks with the British leader. May controversially offered Trump a state visit - which would involve meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace - when she was the first foreign leader to visit him shortly after entering the White House. The invitation provoked uproar in Britain, where the US president's "America First" agenda, including a proposed ban on immigration from a number of Muslim-majority countries, is unpopular. British lawmakers called on May to withdraw the offer, while protesters have promised to turn out in record numbers - reiterating the vows on Thursday. "Anybody any good at making placards?" British opposition lawmaker David Lammy asked cheekily on Twitter. Amnesty International UK said Trump had overseen "a deeply disturbing human rights roll-back". "We and thousands of our supporters will definitely be making our voices heard about this," it added. Meanwhile, Guardian columnist Owen Jones, a prominent leftwing activist, called for "everybody out on the streets". "Let's make Donald Trump's visit ... a carnival against hatred," he added, sharing a link to a "protest Trump's visit" Facebook event that 31,000 people had signed up to attend. WORKING VISIT The July trip is set to be a working visit, with the US president expected at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Jul 11 and 12. Meanwhile the offer of a ceremonial state visit remains on the table, according to a Whitehall source. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reacted enthusiastically - imitating the US commander-in-chief's distinct Twitter style with the use of some capital letters. "FANTASTIC news that President @realDonaldTrump will at last come to Britain on 13 July," he wrote. "Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the GREATest visit ever." However, May has faced repeated calls to withdraw the state visit offer following diplomatic fallouts with the American leader, who has already visited several other European capitals. Relations turned particularly testy last November after Trump shared three inflammatory anti-Muslim videos posted by far-right group Britain First. The retweeting caused consternation in Britain and further calls to scrap any visit. When May condemned Trump for sharing the messages, he tweeted at her "don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom." Trump later made a rare apology, saying he did not know the group's background before sharing. The US leader was expected in the British capital for the opening of the new American embassy on the banks of the River Thames in a former industrial area that is being regenerated. But Trump again caused potential offence when he disparaged the neighbourhood and announced that he would not be coming. He blamed his no-show on the decision to sell America's old embassy in Mayfair for "peanuts" while the new US$1.2 billion site was in "an off location". "Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!" he tweeted. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who clashed with Trump on social media amid last year's terror attacks on the British capital, said the president "will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear". Locals and visitors to Hoi An are willing to join a long queue in front of the Ms. Phuong bakery to buy a loaf of bread. Ms. Phuongs bread has been named the best bread in the world by chef Anthony Bourdain, who ate with US President Barack Obama in a Bun Cha (Pork pie noodle) small restaurant in Hanoi in May 2016. Tran Thi Thu Trang, a customer at Ms Phuong bakery said, "I have visited Hoi An several times. I like the local cuisines like Quang noodle, and Cao Lau, but I like bread in Ms Phuong bakery the best. Its taste and flavor are special. The bakery is always crowded. Sometimes it takes me half an hour to get a loaf of bread. Cao Lau noodle, chicken rice, fried hen, and corn sweet soup are also popular food in Hoi An. The diverse local cuisines attract visitors and also globally-recognized chefs. That might be the reason for Hoi An to host the annual International Food Festival. Thomas Gugler, President of the World Association of Chef Societies said more work needs to be done. "I think the nature in Hoi An is fantastic. This helps Hoi An to be recognized internationally and well-known. The infrastructure in public areas should be more shaped up, more clean, and higher standard of food safety. The food here is fantastic", Mr. Thomas Gugler noted. Trinh Diem Vy, Director of the Hoi An Food Event Company, learned to cook local traditional dishes when she was young. She has opened a number of restaurants to introduce Hoi An food. In 1996, she was the first person in Hoi An to open a Vietnamese food cooking class which drew many foreigners. During her work, Vy has met many foreign chefs, gained experience from them, and introduced them to Hoi An cuisine. Ms. Vy said, Hoi An food is easy to be accepted by foreigners. Hoi An has pure local food and fusion food thanks to its exchanges with foreigners, its people, climate and location. Hoi An was a famous commercial port in the 17th and 18th centuries. Trade exchanges have enriched local culture and the culinary in particular. Nguyen Van Son, Vice Chairman of the Hoi An Municipal Peoples Committee, outlines a plan to develop cuisine into a special tourism product. Hoi An will focus on ensuring the quality of ingredients, which must be clean, fresh and have clear origins. We are preparing to establish the Hoi An Chefs Association and connect it with fishermen and farmers in order to reduce intermediary costs, helping farmers to sell their products directly to processors, said Mr Son. The city also plans to upgrade its infrastructure and train its chefs in a professional manner as an effort to ensure Hoi An food tourism remains attraction. The Vietnam Maritime Administration is taking comments for a draft on a possible increase of 10 per cent in container handling charges, except for the Mekong Delta. This means that shipping lines might follow a rise in terminal handling charges. According to Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in recent years, many shipping lines increased their charges way above their previous rates. Since 2013, Mearsk/MCC Line, which has the largest market share in Vietnam, increased a series of its charges. For example, THC increased from VND4 million ($177.77) to VND5.2 million ($231.1) per container, while delivery order fee rose from VND550,000 ($24.44) to VND730,000 ($32.4). What is more, shipping lines also applied new charges, such as container imbalance charge (CIC), which goes at $60 per container. Differences in the application of the same charges are also a problem. For example, THC for 20-feet container varies from $90 to $105 and occasionally reaches $110 and even $120. Although many import-export firms have been raising objections, the situation remains unchanged. The director of a seafood company in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau's Vung Tau city said that shipping lines all raised charges. If firms reject their business, they would not be able to make shipments. "Each month, we export dozens of containers to Japan, meaning that we have to pay charges of several tens of millions of dong," he added. According to a general director of a seafood company in Vung Tau, shipping lines have announced that from late April 2018 they would increase some charges by 3-5 per cent, or $70-100 per container. "Each month, we export around 140 containers to the EU, Japan, and South Korea. With the new increase in charges, production costs will increase by VND210-300 million ($9,333-13,333) a month, significantly denting our profit," he admitted. According to statistics from the Vietnam Maritime Administration, around 40 foreign shipping lines are operating in Vietnam, handling 88 per cent of all imports and exports. The Vietnamese government issued Decree 146 in November 2016, asking shipping lines to publicise container handling charges by sea, surcharges, and service charges at seaports. However, import-export firms still complained about the unreasonable collection of charges and surcharges. Leading Vietnamese ocean shipping enterprise flooded by losses One of Vietnams leading ocean shipping companies, Vietnam Ocean Shipping JSC (Vosco), a subsidiary of Vietnamese shipping group Vinalines, has been operating with massive losses. Foreign shipping lines must now publicise fees Foreign shipping lines will have to publicise charges, surcharges of freight services for containerised goods, and port service charges from July 1, 2017. An auto part production line in Thang Long Industrial Park in Hanoi.-VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam The promise was the ministrys first action in response to the associations series of proposals including a cut in special consumption tax on locally-produced parts, a reduction or exemption of import duties on materials used to produce parts and components as well as an extention to the duration of tax payment guarantees. The change in the special consumption tax on locally-produced parts could violate the World Trade Organisation commitment, according to experts from the finance ministry. Thus, it is necessary to review and evaluate the implementation of tax laws including special consumption tax and value-added tax. It will submit to the National Assembly amendments and supplements to the laws. A representative of Hyundai Thanh Cong Company was quoted by online newspaper plo.vn saying exemptions from special consumption tax for locally-produced auto parts have been applied in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia for a long time. This is to encourage their domestic auto industries to invest in parts and components production and to increase locally produced products. Chairman of the Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Company Tran Ba Duong said the exemption would not only facilitate localisation but also create more advantages to offer competitive prices and benefit customers. Related to the petition to reduce the import tax on materials for parts and component manufacturers, the ministry asked VAMI to provide details of materials that are not domestically available and must be imported. The ministry would co-ordinate with the relevant agencies to study the handling plan and report to the Government for consideration. Currently, the auto producers and manufacturers in Vietnam have to pay material import tariffs of 15-25 per cent, which is one the reasons why auto production costs in the country are higher than those in Thailand and Indonesia, online newspaper plo.vn reported. As for the VAMIs proposal to extend the duration of tax payment guarantee, which is a maximum 30 days from the date of customs declaration, the ministry said it will consider amending the Law on Export and Import Duties. According to the latest statistics from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam spent US$78.5 million on importing auto parts and components last week from April 13 to April 19. The imports from Japan were worth $20.9 million, from South Korea $15.7 million, from China $14.6 million, from Thailand $11.2 million and from Germany $6.5 million, respectively. The import of auto parts and components from the five markets occupied 88 per cent of the countrys total auto parts and components imports. Phu Yen Culture-Tourism Week opens This is also one of the events marking the death anniversary of Hung Kings (the 10th of the third lunar month, which falls on April 25 this year) and the 43rd anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30). The programme, to last until May 1, will take place in Tuy Hoa city, Song Cau town and Tuy An district with ten major activities, including a tour to Dai Lanh Cape, the easternmost point of the country which is the first place in Vietnam to see the sunrise, and a Bai Choi singing festival. On this occasion, ceremonies will be held to receive the title of Special National Relic Site granted to Hon Yen (Yen Islet), and announce Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs decision on the master plan for Xuan Dai Bay national tourism site. Phu Yen is one of the most beautiful provinces in the central region of the country. It has nearly 190km of coastline bordered with zigzag mountains and dotted with many bays, lagoons, cliffs and reefs. One of the best known destinations in the province is Dai Lanh Cape, which offers visitors a special feeling. There, one side is the green mountains and forests while the other side is the deep ocean with its blue colour combined with the light blue colour of the sky as well as multi-shaped vertical cliffs. Under the cape is Mon Beach, a very clean and stunning beach where freshwater flowing from high mountains creates a lovely picture. Another favourite place for visitors is Da Dia Reef which was recognised as a national heritage site. Looking like an orderly beehive, the reef is made of thousands of pentagonal rocks, causing passers-by to stop and contemplate the unusual and magnificent work of nature. The province has many large and small beaches that are described as primitive. Some beaches untouched by visitors are where local fishermen set sail to catch fish. Long Thuy Beach has swaying coconut trees while a fishing village is located in Vung Bau Beach. Bang Beach runs along the rock reef. Phu Yen also offers visitors unique dishes using local food, such as the signature Ninh Hoa Nem (Ninh Hoa meat roll), girdle-cakes served with muong fish, O Loan cockles and Phu Yen steamed savory rice cakes. All these dishes have unique flavours of Phu Yen province where human and nature are closely bonded. SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When speaking in terms of secular treatment, a Christ-centered drug addiction treatment program incorporates extra tools and weapons that better serve a recovery patient as they begin their journey of healing and recovery. For a drug addicted person that is seeking the services of a drug treatment program, there are certain advantages in choosing a Christ-based treatment program instead of a secular treatment program. There are several advantages a recovery patient will receive when enrolling in a Christian Drug Rehab Center. Not only are traditional treatment methods used, but going one step further a faith-based treatment program offers something more, God. When a person finally admits to the problem that drugs have caused in their life, the need for treatment is of the utmost importance. Many families may not know where to turn when faced with the daunting task of finding the right treatment program. Some programs only offer limited services, while others only treat specific forms of addiction. A Christian rehab program provides many different programs and methods which are utilized with the teachings of God and the Bible. A person with a drug addiction who comes seeking help will find exactly what they need within the structure and love of a faith-based drug treatment program. The addicted person will not be faced with humiliation, shame or judgment, but rather welcomed into the fold and treated like family. A Christian community is a loving environment, willing to help those who genuinely seek it. Admitting to their needs and asking for help is the first step in the recovery process. When speaking with someone or visiting a Christian rehab program, many people are surprised to find they are willing and happy to welcome anyone, anytime and from any walk of life. The power, love, and glory of God are offered to all those who seek him, walking with God can help a recovering drug addict experience a renewed sense of faith and hope. There is a path that leads to a better tomorrow, and it is the one in which an addicted person walks with God. A Christian Drug Rehab Center has led many people to a path of personal fulfillment and spirituality; they can finally overcome the grips of gut-wrenching drug addiction. There are many reasons why a Christian rehab program works so well, and some people think it is because of the love and kindness experienced, others feel a faith-based program is successful because of the gentle guidance and structure. Whatever the reasons, a religious program does genuinely work and has helped countless numbers of people find a better, healthier way of life. Contact Info: Author: Kevin Leonard Organization: TheRecover.com Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590 Phone: (888) 510-3898 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/bc0a73ba-2368-4ea8-b901-7f6c37fdf894 PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Food & Hotel Asia 2018 (FHA2018), April 26, 2018 - Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu The event, organized every two years, has attracted the participation of more than 4,000 businesses from 70 nations and territories. This is the first time Viet Nam has launched the Viet Nam Food Pavilion at the trade event on the area of nearly 200 square meters, introducing products from 14 businesses operating in food production and processing. In addition, some Vietnamese enterprises operating in fields of services and hotel joined the FHA this year. Viet Nam gives priority to introducing small and medium-sized enterprises and start-up ones operating in agricultural processing in such areas as coffee, cacao, cashew, fruits, rice and aquatic products. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc lays a wreath at President Ho Chi Minh statue in the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, April 26, 2018 - Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu Earlier the same day, the PM laid a wreath at President Ho Chi Minh statue in the Asian Civilizations Museum. During Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs April 25-28 official visit to Singapore, TH Group, the owner of Vietnam's leading milk brand, TH true MILK, met with potential Singaporean partners to market its food products in the island nation. The group has showcased its products at the Food and Hotel fair held in Singapore, and worked with the leaders of the Sheng Siong supermarket chain about a plan to sell its products, including TH true MILK, TH true Herbal, and TH true NUT. TH true MILK products have received avid attention from foreign customers TH Group has also inked a co-operation deal with Singapores UBMone of the nations leading B2B exhibition and conference organisers. Under the deal, the two firms will boost co-operation in business development. PM Phuc has also visited the fair and TH Groups booth. He said that TH Group is a typical example of local firms boosting investment in the Vietnamese agricultural sector, and that the group is among the many domestic firms supporting the country in promoting Vietnamese products in foreign markets. In a bid to expand its penetration of the fresh milk market in Vietnam, this year TH Group is planning to invest hundreds of millions of US dollars in the construction of many new high-tech agricultural projects nationwide, focusing on producing fresh milk, organic vegetables, herbs, and fruit. The group is now fast-tracking the construction of its large-scale hi-tech dairy farm in the south-central city of Phu Yen. The projects first stage, worth $53 million, covers 82 hectares of land. We will also implement many other foodstuff projects, said Thai Huong, founder of TH Group. The group is also boosting the construction of two other dairy farming and fresh milk processing facilities in Ha Giang and Thanh Hoa provinces, with the total investment capital of $287 million. Since 2008, TH Group has been operating a $1.2-billion high-tech concentrated dairy and fresh milk production project in the central province of Nghe An. Currently, while constructing a $2.7-billion hi-tech concentrated dairy and fresh milk production project in Russia, TH Group is also constructing a similar major project in the Republic of Bashkortostan, a federal subject of Russia. All these projects receive financial consultancy from BAC A BANK. Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and two other airlines has got exemption from import tax. - Photo cathaypacific.com These include Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Federal Express Corporation and Japan Airlines. Hue has assigned the Ministry of Finance to implement the proposal and has instructed the customs forces to supervise and closely control the import and use of duty-free goods of the three airlines to ensure that they are used for the right purposes and are consistent with the law. Under the direction of the Deputy PM, the import and use of duty-free goods by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited must be for the right purposes as described in Article 8 of the Agreement on Air Transport, signed between the Vietnamese Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, dated September 10, 1999. For the Federal Express Corporation, the goods must also be used for the right purposes as specified in Article 9 of the Air Transport Agreement, signed between Viet Nam and the United States on April 14, 2004. For Japan Airlines, goods must be used for the right purposes as stated in Article 5 of the Air Services Agreement between Viet Nam and Japan, signed on May 23, 1994. Earlier, the Deputy PM had also agreed to exempt the import tax for imported goods of Singapore Airlines. Top ex-HSBC trader gets 2 years in 'front-running' fraud, illustration photo - source AFP British national Mark Johnson, 51, also will pay a $300,000 fine following his October conviction on nine wire fraud and conspiracy charges. The foreign exchange trader "cheated his client out of millions and now he's going to prison for it," Justice Department officials John Cronan said in a statement. Prosecutors accused Johnson of a scam called "front-running," in which he used confidential information from a client in late 2011 to purchase British pounds for HSBC, ramping up the price before executing a $3.5 billion transaction for the client. Johnson and traders acting at his direction generated $7.3 million in profits for HSBC at the expense of the unidentified client, the Justice Department said. The sentencing follows HSBC's $1.6 million settlement in January with US derivatives market regulators over "spoofing" precious metals futures markets, a scheme in which traders placed and then aborted trades to drive up prices. Representatives of ST Aerospace and Vietnam Airlines at the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum in Singapore. (Source: channelnewsasia.com) Taking place at the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum in Singapore, the signing of the MOU was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is on the second day of his official visit to the country. The joint venture is earmarked to be headquartered at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and to provide Vietnam Airlines and other airlines across the region with ST Aerospaces Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) solutions, with an average capacity of 17,500 aviation machines a year. The partnership will enable Vietnam Airlines to save time and costs as its planes maintenance and repairs will be done in Vietnam instead of sending abroad like at present. Both sides also entered a component Maintenance-By-the-Hour (MBH) contract to support Vietnam Airlines fleet of A321 planes. Under the MBH contract, ST Aerospace will set up an inventory base in Vietnam to provide timely services to the national flag carrier. Vietnam Airlines Executive Vice President Dang Ngoc Hoa said the partnership represents a major step forward for Vietnams aviation industry in general, with Vietnam Airlines being at the forefront of the process. He added his belief that it will contribute significantly to Vietnam Singapore ties in economics-trade and aviation development. ST Aerospace President Lim Serh Ghee said robust growth of the economy and middle class have created an ideal environment for the development of the aviation industry in Asia Pacific, noting that Vietnams double digit growth in the air travel sector is the best reflection of the situation. Strategic partnerships with established industry players such as Vietnam Airlines will help ST Aerospace increase its foothold in the region and high-growth markets, he said. OMAHA, Neb., April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Many Omaha residents are choosing chiropractic care for whiplash. Whiplash is a painful neck injury that can begin in a matter of seconds and last for years without proper treatment. Drs. Mark, Andrea M., and Justin M. Eiler of Chiropractic Health Clinic offer the latest in chiropractic care for those suffering from whiplash from an auto, sports, work, or personal injury. Our motto is family first, says Dr. Mark Eiler. Here at the Chiropractic Health Clinic at Oakview Medical Building, our family has all focused on chiropractic as a career so that we can help your family to feel their very best. We treat patients of all ages, from infants up to super seniors, because we believe that feeling great is something that should be achievable at each and every stage of your life. Prior to coming to Chiropractic Health Clinic, many of Dr. Eiler's patients have wasted their time with therapies and medications that didn't work, seen multiple doctors, and even experienced failed spinal surgeries. Because an injury like whiplash is an invisible injury, many have even had their pain questioned. Dr. Eiler wants people suffering from whiplash in Omaha to know that there is an answer to your pain that doesn't require medication or surgery. Family first is more than a motto at Chiropractic Health Clinic. Dr. Mark Eilers son and daughter-in-law (Dr. Justin and Dr. Andrea) work with Dr. Mark Eiler to provide the best possible care for those who suffer from whiplash and other injuries. Dr. Mark Eiler has a doctorate of chiropractic degree from the prestigious Palmer College of Chiropractic and earned an additional 100 hours of post-graduate studies in radiology with a specialty in spinal and skeletal disorders. In the past, he has served as clinical director of the Integrative Medicine Program for the University Nebraska Medical Center at Clarkson West. We don't give patients a quick fix, says Dr. Eiler, but rather a long-term solution that will leave patients pain free for good. Further, our chiropractors will help their patients achieve greater wellness. Our specialized care helps our patients achieve the health they always wanted. Dr. Eiler is currently doing extensive research on ancient civilizations' hidden knowledge of the spine and its relationship to health and hopes to publish his findings to the world! Chiropractic Health Clinic is located next to the Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital inside the Oakview Medical Building. The doctors and staff consider it their job to help their patients beat pain in a totally natural and non-invasive way. They look for the reason that the pain happens so they can stop the problem causing pain right where it started. Contact Chiropractic Health Clinic today at 402-778-5470 or visit their website at https://www.eilerchiro.com/ for more information. Greensboro, N.C., April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greensboro residents are seeking chiropractic care for auto accident injuries more often, according to Healing Hands Chiropractic. This shift is being driven by a desire to avoid the side-effects and addictive potential of painkillers as well as a general trend toward more natural healing methods. The fact that insurance often covers chiropractic treatments is another factor motivating patients to see Greensboro chiropractors. Auto accident injuries often lead to long-term pain and disability that persists after any conventional emergency care has ceased. This leaves patients looking for ways to alleviate these problems through a variety of other methods. One of the most popular of these is chiropractic care. The forces of a car collision often harm the vertebrae and discs in the back and neck, causing whiplash, other neck pain, and back pain. The chiropractor's ability to move the vertebrae and discs back into their proper positions is key to the effectiveness of his or her treatments. "Many people know about whiplash, but fewer realize that other types of back and neck pain are also common effects from car accidents. A collision from any direction sends forces into the body that it was never meant to endure, and any joints that take too much of this force are likely to be damaged or moved out of position. Since the purpose of chiropractic adjustment is specifically to get the vertebrae into the right positions, it is the perfect treatment for these problems. I believe that more and more people are realizing this, and that they don't necessarily need surgery or drugs to get their pain-free lives back," said Dr. Damien Rodulfo of Healing Hands Chiropractic. Residents are also learning that chiropractic centers treat more than the back and neck. They also treat pain in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and other joints. This is important for those who have been in collisions, especially those in which the impact came from the side. Such collisions often direct most of the force into one arm, and this can cause long-term pain to those joints if the right treatment isn't obtained. Chiropractors can get these joints aligned properly, address any co-occurring spinal issues, and administer therapeutic massage to address soft-tissue stiffness. Those who have been in car accidents and want to see what Healing Hands Chiropractic can do for them may contact the clinic at (336) 235-4530. About Healing Hands Chiropractic: This chiropractic center is home to three chiropractors and one acupuncturist. It treats auto accident injuries and other painful conditions hand hinder body function and pain. Healing Hands Chiropractic also offers sport injury treatments and Active Release Techniques for athletes and active individuals. To learn more you can visit their website at http://www.healinghandsgreensboro.com/ CONTACT Healing Hands Chiropractic Dr. Damien Rodulfo 2105-C W Cornwallis Dr. Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 235-4530 Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanatana Resources Inc. ("Sanatana" or the "Company") (TSX-V:STA) is increasing the size of the private placement announced in its April 19, 2018 news release. The Company now plans to undertake a non-brokered private placement of up to 12,000,000 flow-through shares (the "FT Shares") at $0.05 per FT Share for gross proceeds of up to $600,000 (the "Offering"). Each FT Share of the Company will be a "flow-through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (a "FT Share"). In connection with the Offering, the Company may pay finder's fees to certain arm's length parties in accordance with the rules of the TSX-V in consideration for their efforts in introducing subscribers to the Company. Closing is subject to a number of prescribed conditions, including, without limitations, approval of the TSX-V. The securities to be issued under the Offering will be offered by way of private placement in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario and such other provinces or territories of Canada as may be determined by the Company, in each case, pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. Securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period which will expire four months and one day from the date of closing of the Offering. The proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration on the Company's Jackfish Property. For details on the Company's Jackfish Property and the terms governing the option earn-in, see Sanatana's news release dated February 7, 2017. About the Company Sanatana Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company that has optioned the Jackfish gold property in northwestern Ontario. With an experienced management team and board of directors, the Company has the ability required to identify, develop and fund economic mineral properties. Sanatana is based in Vancouver and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V:STA). SANATANA RESOURCES INC. (signed) "Peter Miles" Peter Miles President and Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information Some of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "intends", "is expected", "potential", "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond Sanatana's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The authorities are warning anyone with a cellphone not to fall for calls from the "Chinese consulate" demanding payments. And pretty much everyone is being hit, even people who aren't Chinese: "I get them also," Officer Donald McCaffrey of the Queens Grand Larceny Division told WNYC. "I have an NYPD department cell phone and I get them on the cell phones also. It is out of control." According to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office, "Some consumers reported receiving calls or messages instructing them to pick up a package, while others received threats urging them to provide information to avoid being in trouble with the Chinese Consulate. Several consumers were led to believe that if they did not offer up information or pay a fine they would suffer negative consequences, including arrest upon traveling to China. In order to resolve the matter, the scammers asked consumers for their bank or credit card information or demanded that they make a bank transfer to the consulate." The calls also sometimes have a caller ID with the Chinese Consulate's number, which has been "spoofed." Never, ever, ever send money over the phone (or Moneygram) to a stranger who is calling. Many people have been swindled, especially as the scammers have also created elaborate fake consulate websites. Earlier this month, The Sing Tao Daily reported, "Since December, 21 Chinese immigrants have fallen into the trap, and they lost $2.5 million in total." McCaffrey also told the newspaper that most of the victims, whose ages ranged from 24-68, were senior citizens (and scammers love to target them) and many were in the 109th Precinct, though others were from Manhattan and Brooklyn. WNYC reports that the scam comes from mainland China, where this has been established for years: Once the scammers get a Chinese speaker on the line, they often carry out what's known as a "parcel scam." That's where the caller pretends to be from a courier company and claims that a parcel addressed to the victim is connected to a criminal case. The phone call is then transferred to a supposed police officer who closes the con by telling the victim it's a money laundering issue and if they transfer money to a Hong Kong bank account, police will investigate and resolve the case. Hong Kong-based lawyer Ben Yates, who specializes in cyber security, explained, "The reason it works is people from mainland China, who are using shopping platforms from China, are vulnerable to those type of accusations that there's something wrong with what you're doing, you're not entitled to make that type of transaction. It plays on people's fears...Weve really seen this problem growing and growing here in Hong Kong." It's gotten to the point where the Chinese Consulate in NYC has had to warn the public. However, some scammers gave a phone number that, according to Schneiderman's office, "rerouted consumers to a 911 emergency call center in Polk County, Arkansas. Beginning [Wednesday] morning, the call center received 500 calls from New Yorkers targeted by the scam. Fortunately, none of the consumers who reported receiving this call paid the scammers any money." If you receive a call like this, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or file a complaint online. 1. The Second Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" took place on 24-25 April 2018. It was hosted by the European Union and co-chaired by the United Nations. 2. One year after Brussels I, and following the previous three pledging conferences in Kuwait as well as the London Conference in 2016, the Conference renewed and strengthened the political, humanitarian and financial commitment of the international community to support the Syrian people, the neighbouring countries, and the communities most affected by the conflict. Brussels II brought together 86 delegations including 57 States, 10 representatives of regional organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) as well as 19 UN agencies. More than 250 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were also associated throughout the preparations and the two days of the Conference. 3. The former co-chairs of Brussels I: Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar and the United Kingdom (UK) brought substantial input to the preparations and the proceedings of the Conference. Jordan and Lebanon were closely associated, in a spirit of partnership and in full acknowledgement of their tremendous efforts since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. Turkey also provided important contributions, both as the country hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees and as a key regional actor. 4. Civil society and NGOs were very closely and substantially associated to Brussels II and its preparations, including through extensive consultations with NGOs implementing humanitarian and resilience programmes in the region. The first day of the Conference was devoted to a high-level dialogue with representatives from 164 NGOs, including 15 from Syria and 72 from the three main refugee-hosting countries. 5. In addition, Syrian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from across Syria and neighbouring countries discussed their role in the future of Syria in a closed-door side event undertaken by the EU and the Office for the Special Envoy for Syria. The CSOs views were further presented during the ministerial plenary on 25 April. The international community, and the EU in particular, will continue to work with Syrian civil society as essential stakeholders towards reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict and in its legitimate aspirations to contribute to the countrys future. 6. Syrias artistic community was also given prominence through a string of cultural events, including a Syrian art space, "Tourab", that ran for ten days in central Brussels around the dates of the Conference. These events were meant as a tribute to the remarkable individual efforts of the Syrians since the start of the conflict. 7. The Conference reaffirmed that only an inclusive, comprehensive and genuine political solution in accordance with UNSCR 2254 and the Geneva Communique, that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people for dignity and freedom will ensure a sustainable end to the Syrian conflict, prevent regional escalation and a return of ISIL/Daesh, and guarantee a peaceful and prosperous future for Syria and the region. It reiterated the international communitys commitment to Syrias sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and safety and security for all citizens. Participants stressed the importance of womens engagement in the political process, including through their adequate representation within the delegations of parties to the conflict. 8. The humanitarian and resilience needs of people inside Syria and in the region remain enormous. Current UN appeals are severely underfunded. In 2018, the UN-coordinated appeal for Syria requests to cover assistance and protection needs inside Syria amounts to US$ 3.51 billion. In addition, through the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), an appeal of US$ 5.6 billion, inclusive of US$ 1.2 billion already committed, is required to support refugee and host community humanitarian and resilience related assistance in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. 9. The Conference acknowledged the continuing generosity of neighbouring host countries and their communities in providing refuge to millions of displaced people. Participants pledged, for both Syria and the region, $ 4.4 billion ( 3.5 billion) for 2018, as well as multi-year pledges of $ 3.4 billion ( 2.7 billion) for 2019-2020. In addition, some international financial institutions and donors announced around $ 21.2 billion (17.2 billion) in loans, of which elements are on concessional terms. The Conference noted that pledges made at Brussels I in 2017 had been largely fulfilled, and in some cases excedeed. Co-chairs and main donors agreed to widen the resource base and ensure greater predictability, coherence and effectiveness of the aid. The attached fundraising annex sets out the pledges made at this Conference. Political 10. The Conference expressed its strong support for the work of the UN Special Envoy for Syria in his mandate to facilitate the political process, with a view to a lasting political settlement based on the Geneva Communique and the full implementation of relevant UNSC Resolutions, including UNSCR 2254 (2015). It welcomed the twelve "Living Intra-Syrian essential principles" developed as commonalities in the Geneva process, offering a perspective of a vision of a future Syria that can be shared by all. It also welcomed the parameters on the constitutional and electoral baskets and the importance of a safe, calm and neutral environment, as outlined by the UN Special Envoy for Syria in his Security Council Briefing on 19 December 2017. Participants gave their full support to the Special Envoys efforts to facilitate, in consultation with all concerned, the implementation of the Sochi Final Statement (as circulated to the Security Council on 14 February 2018) for the establishment of a Constitutional Committee for Syria in Geneva, under UN auspices and in accordance with UNSCR 2254 (2015). 11. The Conference reiterated the importance of preventing and combating terrorism in Syria in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. They took note of considerable progress in military operations to combat ISIL/Daesh since the last Brussels Conference, while underscoring the continuing need to combat terrorism in accordance with international law. Efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede other obligations under international law 12. The co-chairs expressed their strong condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by any party to the conflict and under any circumstances. Their use is abhorrent and a clear violation of international law. It is very important that any alleged use be followed by an impartial, independent and effective investigation. Ensuring accountability for the use of chemical weapons is our responsibility, not least to the victims of such attacks. Co-chairs called upon all participants to use their influence to prevent any further use of chemical weapons. Humanitarian 13. Violence and human suffering have increased in Syria, with military escalation by parties to the conflict further increasing to an alarming extent in 2018. The civilian population has continued to endure the bulk of the suffering caused by the conflict, including severe, constant and blatant violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and human rights law, in particular: deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, reported and ongoing use of chemical weapons, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and torture, including sexual exploitation and abuse and gender-based violence. More than 12 million people have now been displaced, including more than 5.6 million refugees hosted in neighbouring countries and 6.6 million displaced inside Syria. Nearly 13.1 million people, almost half of whom are children, urgently need humanitarian assistance and protection inside the country. 14. The co-chairs, together with all participants, reiterated their appreciation for Kuwaits and Swedens efforts in drafting UNSC Resolution 2401 (2018) and called for its immediate and full implementation, as well as all other relevant resolutions on Syria. They urged all parties to the conflict to strictly adhere to their obligations under IHL. Attacks against civilians, humanitarian workers as well as any civilian infrastructure, particularly health facilities and schools, violate the most basic human rights, may amount to war crimes under international law, and must stop without delay. They also requested that humanitarian mine action programming be accelerated as a matter of urgency. 15. The Conference reconfirmed the importance of delivering needs-based humanitarian assistance to all civilians, in line with humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. Participants stressed the critical link between protection and access. They called for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access through the most direct routes, including to the 2.3 million people still living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas across Syria through all aid modalities: cross-line, cross-border and regular programme, in line with UNSC Resolution 2393 (2017). 16. Particular concerns were noted over the escalation of fighting and dramatic humanitarian situation still faced by civilians in many parts of Syria. The Conference stressed the need to ensure that any evacuation of civilians must be safe, informed, temporary, voluntary in nature and a solution of last resort including the destination of their choice, the right to return and the choice to stay, as per IHL. All efforts should be made to ensure the unconditional medical evacuation of those in need of urgent medical treatment. Denials of medical supplies and of access to healthcare are violations of international law and should be stopped at once. The systematic removal of life-saving medical items from humanitarian convoys is unacceptable and needs to be addressed once and for all. 17. Participants agreed that present conditions are not conducive for voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity. Significant risks remain for civilians across the country as the situation remains characterised by continued fighting and displacement, with 2.6 million people displaced in 2017 alone. Conditions for returns, as defined by the UNHCR and according to international refugee law standards, are not yet fulfilled. Any organised return should be voluntary and in safety and dignity. Regional/development 18. The international community acknowledged and commended the huge efforts made by the neighbouring countries and their citizens, in particular Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, as well as Iraq and Egypt, in hosting millions of refugees from Syria. Participants recognised the deepening vulnerability of Syrian refugees, Palestinian refugees from Syria and host communities, which should be addressed through sustained humanitarian and resilience support. 19. Participants committed to remaining fully engaged, in a spirit of partnership, in supporting neighbo uring countries to address the challenges they face. Substantial progress has been made by governments, donors and the UN in implementing the commitments undertaken in London in 2016 and in Brussels in 2017, including through the EU Compacts with Jordan and Lebanon. However, more should be done to ensure the continued and effective protection of refugees against risks of forced evictions and returns and improvement of their legal residency status. 20. While the countries of the region continue to face enormous humanitarian challenges, the Conference agreed that increased focus is required to support reform and longer-term development in a sustainable manner. It remains critical to support health and education, economic development, job creation and integration into labour markets, for both host communities and refugees, especially vulnerable groups such as women and youth. The Conference underlined the essential need to reach all children and young people, who will one day have a key role in the recovery and rebuilding of the region, with quality education and skills training. It expressed support for targeted resilience programming and an increase in allocations to women and girls. Extremely vulnerable refugees and host communities will continue to require support through cash assistance and enhanced social protection mechanisms. Resettlement was recognised as an essential protection tool for refugees with heightened protection risks and its importance was highlighted, together with other legal pathways, in offering safe and dignified access to safety beyond the immediate region. 21. The Conference welcomed the Lebanese Governments Vision for Stabilisation, Growth and Employment including the Capital Investment Programme together with its commitment to establish a timetable for reforms that were presented in Paris on 6 April 2018, whose implementation and follow-up with the support of the international community is critical. The Conference also welcomed the Rome II ministerial meeting in support of Lebanons armed and internal security forces that was held on 15 March 2018. 22. The Conference equally welcomed the fiscal and structural reforms that are being implemented by the Jordanian Government in a difficult economic environment, with a view to ensuring fiscal sustainability and improving the investment climate in line with the "Jordan 2025" vision document and with the Economic Growth Plan for 2018-22. The Conference also welcomed the UKs intention to host an international Conference with Jordan in London later this year to showcase Jordans economic reform plans, its aspiration to build/enable a thriving private sector, and mobilise support from international investors and donors. 23. The Conference commended the Turkish Government for its generous and large-scale efforts in hosting millions of Syrian refugees and integrating them into national services, including health, education, employment and other municipal and social services. Joint frameworks have been established with the international community under programmes such as the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey and the UN Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan 2017-2018. Addressing the protracted refugee situation will require continued co-operation along those lines. 24. Participants committed to supporting further investments to foster inclusive economic growth and social development in Lebanon and Jordan, including through concessional financing, blending of grants with loans and the use of the EU External Investment Plan in cooperation with the support of European Financial Institutions and the private sector. They commended the efforts made by host countries to open access to education, water and sanitation and health services and encouraged further progress. Investment in infrastructure and in human capital is necessary to improve the quality of services and will continue to be supported. Participants also noted the importance of vocational training for refugees and host communities, closely aligned with private sector labour needs. Protection measures, in particular the provision of legal residency, should be reinforced. 25. Inside Syria, support to inclusive and accountable service delivery and to livelihood opportunities for the affected populations, particularly women and youth, should continue while ensuring that it does not condone, or indirectly entrench, social and demographic engineering as a result of forced displacement and intentional creation of obstacles to return. Work will address needs related to safe and equal access to civil documentation, housing and property rights to ensure that the rights of Syrians are protected and that those displaced are provided the basic conditions to be able to return to their homes in a dignified, safe and voluntary way when conditions allow. It is also important to support Syrian civil society, social cohesion/dialogue and seek to promote accountability and transitional justice. Funding decisions shall be conflict-sensitive and shall in no way benefit or assist parties who have allegedly committed war crimes or crimes against humanity. The UN reiterated that its Parameters and Principles for UN assistance in Syria will guide UN assistance beyond emergency life-saving aid in Syria. Future steps 26. The EU and the UN committed to tracking the commitments made during the Conference and reporting regularly on their delivery, including through reviews at key international events during the year. 27. Donor countries present at the Conference reiterated that reconstruction and international support for its implementation will only be possible once a credible political solution, consistent with UNSCR 2254 and the Geneva Communique, is firmly underway. A successful reconstruction process also requires minimal conditions for stability and inclusiveness, a democratic and inclusive government, an agreed development strategy, reliable and legitimate interlocutors as well as guarantees in terms of funding accountability. None of these conditions are fulfilled in Syria. In the meantime, participants agreed to regularly review post-agreement plans, including those produced by the UN-led post-agreement planning process initiated by the 2016 London Conference on Syria. 28. Participants also called upon all parties to release all persons who are arbitrarily detained, in line with UNSC Resolutions 2254 (2015) and 2268 (2016). Access to all detention facilities should be granted to independent monitors and information provided on cases of forced disappearances. Ongoing work on the release of detainees and abductees by all parties is valuable and can help build confidence between them. Participants expressed support to the UN proposal for a Standing Secretariat under UN auspices, recently proposed to support the working group formed by the Astana guarantors. 29. Finally, participants recalled that transitional justice and accountability are required for sustainable peace and an inherent part in any meaningful process of reconciliation. War crimes and violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses need to be investigated. Any entities and individuals guilty of such violations, including the use of chemical weapons, must be held accountable. The co-chairs commended the role of the Commission of Inquiry and welcomed progress in the work of the International Independent and Impartial Mechanism (IIIM) and called for continuous efforts to ensure the necessary means for its functioning. They called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the ICC. Laia Costa and Alia Shawkat. Photo: The Orchard Some spoilers below for Duck Butter. What if, instead of wasting days or months or years of your life wondering whether somebody was The Right Person, you condensed an entire romantic relationship into 24 hours? Thats the concept behind Duck Butter, which premiered at Tribeca and hits theaters Friday: Los Angeles 20-somethings Naima (Alia Shawkat) and Sergio (Laia Costa) spend a full day and night figuring out if theyre supposed to be together. Oh and having sex every hour, on the hour. Over the course of Duck Butter (a large portion of which was filmed in real-time over 24 hours), Naima and Sergio fall in and out of love, try all manner of sexual positions, fight dirty and make up minutes later, and fling unmentionable items at one another. Its a raw, funny, deeply intimate and utterly unique film, co-written by Shawkat and directed by Miguel Arteta, the man behind The Good Girl and last years Beatriz at Dinner. Even more impressive is the fact that it was almost entirely improvised and was originally written to star a heterosexual couple. Vulture caught up with Shawkat and Costa in downtown Manhattan to talk about filming dozens of sex scenes in a row, falling in love with one another in real life, and putting together a movie full of lesbians as far as the eye can see. As a bisexual woman, this movie seemed like a queer utopia to me. There were barely any men in it, and almost every character was gay. You two, your friends, the women at the bar where Sergio performs. What was behind that choice? Alia Shawkat: Miguel always said, I want lesbians as far as the eye can see! Especially when I first meet Sergios character at the show, theres only one guy there, but otherwise its all lesbians. We were at the oldest gay bar in L.A., Oil Can Harrys, and we wanted older lesbians, too. It was just really important to Miguel: No hipsters. He just kept saying, Lesbians as far as the eye can see. Where did the idea come from? Have either of you ever had sex on the hour, every hour, for 24 hours? AS: When we first started writing, we were focusing on the idea of these relationships that you throw yourself into without questioning, and how they usually end in disaster. Miguel had done not 24 hours, but a similar thing with his wife. He made a website about how many times they had orgasms before they said, I love you. They had to have 100 orgasms. And so his friends would be able to go online to see how many orgasms they had. Laia Costa: I didnt know they had a website! AS: Theyre an amazing couple. So Miguel and I we were like, Wouldnt that be amazing to have a 24-hour [relationship], where you have sex on the hour every hour? To condense it. Originally that was just the first part of the movie, and then the relationship was supposed to be a year and a half when we first started writing it and then we ended up just making it all about the 24 hours. You first wrote the script as a relationship between a man and a woman, and then you later shifted it and cast Laia. When was the moment that you decided, Okay, this isnt working with a man? AS: It wasnt working when we were meeting with a lot of male actors. They were talented, but they werent understanding it as much. And the script wasnt working the idea of seeing a penis that much on camera was bothering us. Nobody wants that. AS: Nobody wants that. It was also reading as being too much about male and female dynamics. The thing about heterosexual stories is that weve seen so many of them, where its all about, Men and women, theyre different! Any characteristics wed given Sergio as a guy, people would interpret it as him being feminine, or him being more masculine. Whereas if its about two women, its just about two people. When we met Laia, we had offered her a smaller part, and then when we Skyped with her and talked with her about the 24-hours idea and the way she responded to the material, Miguel was like, You know whos Sergio? Laia is. We werent like, We need it to be a woman. We were like, It needs to be Laia. And then it just solved all these problems in the story, and it just came together. LC: So the movie is for me. AS: We made this movie for Laia! [Laughs.] LC: I saved the story. Bad writing. [Laughs.] You needed a muse and I was your fucking savior. AS: Damn straight. You saved our ass. Got me in the WGA, baby! Youve said before that men were frightened of the intimacy that the role required. Laia, why didnt it scare you? LC: I dont know why they were scared. Why were they scared? AS: I would have loved to film one of the meetings I had to show you how they reacted. LC: I dont know why. But Ive done sex scenes with men they are scared. Why? AS: I have some ideas. LC: When youre acting and you cry, youre crying. And when youre laughing, youre laughing. But when youre having sex, youre not having sex. Its the lie. Its the biggest lie you can [tell]. And instead of enjoying it, for example, they just freak out. And then sometimes I go, like, Lets have fun! Lets have fun! And when you go like that, they get more scared, even. Thats so interesting. Why do you think that is? AS: In general, for men and women and in my opinion, sadly, even a little more for women theres a performative nature to sex: How you come, and pleasing the other person, especially in heterosexual dynamics. I think women have always been like, Ive got to please you. And, like, Im coming. This is what it looks like Right? When in actual, healthy sexual dynamics, youre really exposing yourself, so youre the most vulnerable. Acting, in general, is very vulnerable. But what I found when we were meeting with these men, there wasnt a layer they could hide behind. When you think about sex scenes that youve seen a lot, its over-sexualizing the woman, so the guy seems like hes taking the power over the woman. In all the 007 sequences or whatever, its like, hes lying in bed and she presents herself and then she takes it off and hes just sitting there reacting like, Oh, boy! So its like, for men to do that, its super easy because theyre like, Im the one whos getting it. And then its almost like theyre winking at the camera: Arent I the lucky one? Whereas this movie is not about that at all. Related Stories 17 Films You Should See at This Years Tribeca Film Festival Its about exposing yourself, and these two people having sex a lot and getting through that stage. It was really important, too, that the nudity was not sexualized. So I think a lot of the guys got weirded out by that. They were like, So Im gonna be naked, but how am I gonna be naked? And Id say, Well, you on the toilet naked. Getting a beer naked. I think just all of it really confused them. And thank god it did, because that fucking would have ruined the movie. Laia, you said you were able to have fun filming these sex scenes. Which is surprising to me, because usually when you talk to actors, theres always a little bit of nerves or awkwardness. LC: I just get nervous if I see the other one nervous. And then I try just to make him or her soft, you know? For me, a sex scene, its never about sex. Its always about something else. Sex is an art, and no one is an expert with sex because its not about sex only and thats what I like. You need to be connected, so you need to be very vulnerable. Maybe thats why some people dont want to do it. I remember I was doing a sex scene once, and the director was like, Okay, cut. But did you come? And I was like, No, Im not coming because hes not connecting with me. And he was like, What do you mean connecting with me? And I was like, Because youre not here with me. Thats what I like about Duck Butter. Every single sex [scene], something is going on. How did you build that chemistry, become so comfortable with each other? AS: Laia came to L.A. two weeks before we started filming, and we pretty much just hung out every day with Miguel and then with the DP, Hillary. We just hung out at my house and had every meal together and just talked through the whole outline and the beats of the film. A lot of it is luck. As people, our energies are different, but we balance each other, very similarly to the characters. And we both trusted each other a lot. Laia threw herself into it so much, like Sergio throws herself in, and Naima is just kind of like, Ill follow your lead. So, it was kind of a similar dynamic. LC: Also, I think its something about instinct, because the first time I knew Alia was [in the movie], I Googled her, and then I was like, Mmm. And just by the picture, I was like, Theres gonna be chemistry there. [Laughs.] AS: Ive got some good Google images! AS: Sometimes you have to act more than other times. I really thought that I didnt have to act that much in this. Other [projects] are like, Okay, Im gonna have to really act. Im gonna have to fake it a little bit. But thats okay. It is fake. Its not real. But this one, we were really lucky. What struck me too about the sex scenes beyond the fact that they felt so vulnerable and real and not exploitative was that each one was totally different. How much of that was blocked and planned, and how much of it was spontaneous? AS: The idea is that theyre dating for a year and a half, but in 24 hours, so we wanted to show how all the sex scenes are like a year-and-a-half relationship: It starts off really just physical, wanting each other, and then it gets really intimate and soft, where youre really just looking at each other, really connected. And then its emotional and then its kind of angry makeup sex, and then you dont have sex for a while, and then you do again, then one person wants it and the other one is like, Im not feeling it so much. We talked about that even in rehearsing: This is the intimate sex, this is the post-mom-visit sex, this is the blah-blah-blah sex Its kind of like a dance. Youre not thinking, Okay, Im going to move my left arm. Its just natural. LC: And its so amazing to do a sex scene not knowing whats the next move. Its so playful. Its so much fun. I fell in love with her. AS: We shot a lot with just the DP, Hillary Spera, and us two. So Miguel wasnt in the room. I was like, You dont need to be here. Weve got this. Okay. [Laughs.] Her instincts were so good, about how to show our bodies interlaced in the right ways. Obviously there was no male gaze. I was like, That isnt about that at all. I want that completely out of this film. You filmed this in only a few days, right? AS: Ten days. LC: Twenty-four hours. We were awake 24 hours. AS: The second act was filmed in 24 hours. Like a live play. Was it exhausting? LC: It was amazing. AS: Yeah. It was so fun, though. It was like a sport. What was the darkest point for you guys during those 24 hours? LC: After the nap. AS: We took a 20-minute nap after the first 12 hours, and then we had a second crew, because you cant have a crew work that long. But we had the second crew setting up at my characters house, and right when we woke up from the 20-minute nap, I was like, Oh, Im fucked. I cant do this. Its over. And then Miguel made us take a little jog and we came back, and then all of a sudden we were fine. Spending that much time together, did your characters changing dynamics bleed into your actual dynamic at all? LC: Oh, I hate her. [Laughs.] AS: Because we were doing it 24 hours, we were acting for 24 hours straight. I wouldnt say we were being super-method, where its like, Only call me Naima! But we were still in the mode the whole time. But we were having so much fun. And it wasnt about maintaining angry dynamics. We actually got closer, because the more fun wed have, the easier it was to get emotional. It wasnt like, So now Im pissed at you, so Ive got to be pissed at you! It was like, Oh, my god, lets do it again! The energy was just there to [help us] get upset. And then the last scene, the real kind of ending moment, that was the most powerful. And Laia is such a fierce actress. I remember, we did the first take, and she goes, That wasnt it, Alia. Thats not real. And I was like, Oh, my god! We had been literally awake for 24 hours and out of it, and its the peak scene, and Miguel is like, I hope it works out. And Laia is just like, Thats not real! Lets do it again! [Laughs.] And she leaves and comes back in, and then we did that last take, and she was like, That was the one. Exactly how much of the movie was improvised? I know there was an outline, but AS: All of it. It was a detailed outline, meaning each scene had a little write up about the beats that needed to happen, or where it was going, but all of the dialogue was improvised Im really proud of it, because I really dont think it seems like an improvised movie, which some people have said. I think thats the best compliment. What improvised moments are you both particularly proud of? AS: One of Laias is my favorite the knock knock, fuck you. When shes over, convincing me to write. For our wrap party, we had a hat that said, Knock knock, fuck you. Its the most brilliant thing ever. LC: [Laughing.] I prefer the fart. AS: The fart that was real. Was there anything that came out of your mouths when you were improvising that really surprised you? LC: You know what surprised me a lot? Theres a moment that they are fingering themselves, and they are imagining some ex-boyfriend watching them. That was not planned and we are watching at the same point, and we didnt talk about where we should watch. So we were so connected. Related Stories Duck Butter Is an Almost Overwhelmingly Intimate Romantic Comedy I was like, I should improv this game in my real life, because its working more here than in real life. [Laughs.] AS: It felt so real. I was like, Holy shit, were both just like, doing this on camera. Like it was very alive in that moment. Were not actually like, you know, touching our clits, but it was like, we were both LC: Oh, you were not? [Laughing.] AS: Wait, no. I mean, I was, but LC: Roasted! You remember, I was washing my hands all the time [Both laugh.] What about the scene where youre screaming at your imaginary moms? That must have been rough for your own moms to hear. AS: I know. I had to tell my mom, You need to know this is not you, this is not based on you. And Sergios dynamic with her mother is very specific to the character. And maybe its just me, but I think the relationship with your mother is so definitive to how you are with friends and lovers. When you first get to know someone, especially romantically, youre like, So, whats your relationship like with your parents? My moms great, for the record. Naimas mom is someone whos kind of a bully. And Sergio talks about how great her mom is, and then you meet the mom and you realize her moms a fuckin weirdo. LC: And actually we met the mom, the actress, onscreen. Wow, why? AS: I had met her before because we had cast her and Miguel, but Laia met her onscreen. LC: Miguel was like, Should we rehearse? And I was like, No. And it was perfect. AS: And also, they both speak LC: Catalan. And it was perfect. Because Sergio, she has all these masks. So when I met this actress speaking to me as my mom, in my moms language, its like suddenly like, Oh shit, this is not a good idea, because my mask is gonna fall down. AS: One of my favorite scenes is how you react at that table. And you come back with the banana. My favorite. [Laughing.] After this weird meal, and shes just teary-eyed, eating a banana. LC: You only had bananas in your kitchen. That was your actual house? AS: Yeah. Naimas house is my actual house. LC: She has a cool house, huh? Thats a good house. So talk to me about the poop scene. How much of that was improvised? And what was the poop made of? LC: The poop, the poop, the poop? Its chocolate. AS: We were throwing it at each other at the end. That was always written in the script. I dont think I can say its true to life not for me, personally. But in the way that Duck Butter is the gross shit that gathers, uh, inside of you its like, show me your grossest shit. Show me your duck butter, show me your poop. Do it, trust me, I will love you anyways. And then you show it, and youre like, Whoa, whoa. Actually, Ive changed my mind. Miguel and I like to talk about poop. I think its healthy. LC: Sandra, my agent, told me the first time she read this script, Im just worried about two things: the title I guess its a working title and the poop. [Laughs.] When did you decide, okay, this is the real title, not the working title? AS: It was always the title. We knew it would be, How are we gonna convince people about the title and the poop? But Miguel always said, Once we get to that poop, if we make it to the poop scene and it makes sense, the whole movie makes sense. But yeah, everyone thought we would change the title. But the Duplass brothers were like, Fuck yeah, youre keeping Duck Butter, we love that name. They gave us the money, so if theyre cool, then we are. How did they end up doing cameos in the movie, playing themselves? AS: They were always originally written in, before we even approached them to produce it, which is really funny. We kind of manifested it, because we always wanted Naima to get [cast] in something that was gonna be a big deal for her, and be an improvised movie. We thought, Oh, who are the coolest improvised-movie people? The Duplass brothers. The end of the movie is very sad, but also a little bit hopeful. Theyve both changed in a specific but small way, but theyre not together. Or did you see it as leaving the door open for them? LC: I really dont know. AS: I dont either. We had different endings. There was a version where Naima kinda begged for Sergio back. When Miguel and I started writing it, it was an accumulation of relationships where youre like, Oh my god, youre crazy! I have to get away from you. And then being like, Oh, I fucked up. I miss you, I need that high back. Its like a drug, those kind of relationships, where you know its not good for you but you want it anyways. But throughout the whole process, everything had to get leaner and leaner, so by the end, it was about showing how they both change not completely, but just a little. And thats what we wanted to show: In a relationship, you change. Not always a hundred percent, but a little bit, and thats all you can do. Has making this film changed the way that either of you look at relationships at all? AS: Definitely. It was a very personal movie for me, [working through] how to be honest in relationships. I relate to Naima a lot, even though I hadnt been in that exact dynamic. And by making it, Miguel taught me, Make a movie about the shit you wanna work on. It definitely gave me a different perspective on how to be more honest with myself and other people. By acting it out, I was going through emotions that were still very fresh from things I had been through. It was great therapy. LC: I was all the time having this feeling of, Why cant they be together and be happy forever? But the problem was about [them as individuals], not together. Naima, shes not honest with herself, but Sergios not honest with herself either, and in a very different way. And it made me think: In how many ways I am not honest with myself because its comfortable, because its easier? And that affects relationships mom relationships, friends. Because you put this shit into everyone. Alia, youre spoken a little bit publicly about being queer, and youve played a lot of queer characters lately. Im curious if thats something that youre specifically looking for in your roles these days. AS: I think its definitely important to tell those stories, just because theres not enough stories. It was important to me, too, once we shifted this to a story about to women, to make a movie that was about two people, but not about them coming out, or how many men they had slept with before, or When did they realize they were gay?Or What did it mean that they were gay? Thats an important story, but weve seen that. Eventually I want to get to the point where were watching movies and the storys not about the fact that theyre gay, or about the fact that theyre black, or about the fact that theyre trans they just are. And were just watching that persons life. Thats how it becomes more normalized. Growing up in my parents generation, when someone was gay, it was like a whole thing. And for us, you dont blink. Youre just like, Right, okay. Great. Youre attracted to whoever. That wasnt your experience of coming out that it was a big deal? AS: No. Not for me. I dont want to belittle that journey, but I want to tell stories where its normalizing it, because I think thats as powerful. A lot of the characters I get offered or scripts I read, theres just more stories for gay characters that are better written and Im like, Yeah. Im gay. I want to play those roles. But Im open to all kinds of shit. This interview has been edited and condensed. Ross Marquand. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images Warning: This post contains one minor spoiler for Avengers: Infinity War. There are many actors who treasure their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And then theres Hugo Weaving, whose experience was more fine. Though his stint as Red Skull, the villain of 2011s Captain America, came with a multi-picture deal, Weaving told Collider the following year that he was not exactly jazzed with the idea of reprising the role: [I]ts not something I would want to do again. Im glad I did it. I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldnt want to force someone to do it, if they didnt want to. I think Ive done my dash with that sort of film. It was good to do it and try it out, but to be honest, its not the sort of film I seek out and really am excited by. Four years later. Weavings thoughts on the matter had evolved from nah to meh. As he told Yahoo, With Marvel, its pretty basic stuff: accept the deal and enjoy the ride. Its not a major stretch for an actor In terms of me going back and doing another one, I dont know. Which is why it might be surprising when, midway through Infinity War, Red Skull does indeed make his grand reappearance in the MCU. (I wont spoil exactly how or why.) Has Weaving had a change of heart? Check the films credits, and youll discover no! Instead, the role of Red Skull has been recast with actor Ross Marquand. If youre a fan of The Walking Dead, youll know Marquand as the affable, out Aaron, but its his non-zombie sideline that gets the most workout in his brief appearance in Infinity War. Over the years, the actor has frequently gone viral with his string of celebrity nano-impressions split-second scenes like George Clooney trying to get a word in, or John C. Reilly winning an Oscar. Is it fair to say that Marquands Red Skull performance is just him doing a Hugo Weaving impression? I think so. (Id say its the worlds best Hugo Weaving impression, but there was a kid at my middle school who was amazing at saying Mr. Anderson.) In any event, this casting is proof that sometimes, charming late-night segments can lead to big Hollywood work. Someone get Amber Ruffin in Aquaman! Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images When Bill Cosby was found guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent sexual assault yesterday, a flood of questions followed, particularly, what happens next for the comedian? In many ways this case and the subsequent verdict is breaking new territory. Cosby is the first famous man accused of sexual misconduct to be tried and found guilty of his crimes in criminal court during the era of #MeToo. Hes also going to turn 81 next month and he has been diagnosed as legally blind two factors that likely influenced the judges decision to place Cosby under house arrest yesterday rather than sending him directly to a jail cell. We know you have questions about this very complicated case, so weve tried to answer them all. Bill Cosby Found Guilty of All Charges in Sexual-Assault Retrial What was Cosby found guilty of exactly? Cosby was found guilty of three different felony indecent assault charges, each carrying sentences up to ten years in jail. Hes now considered a sex offender. The first count found Cosby guilty of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004 without her consent. The second found that she was unconscious or semiconscious at the time of the assault. And the third found that Cosby gave Constand an intoxicant that severely impaired her ability to give consent. What makes his crimes indecent? Pennsylvania has a separate charge from sexual assault known as indecent assault. Its similar to sexual assault, which is defined as engaging in sexual activity with another person without his/her consent, but its different in that it considers whether this is done under threat of force or when a person is incapacitated and/or intoxicated. Okay, so what happens next? The District Attorneys Office initially asked that Cosbys $1 million bail be revoked yesterday so that he would have been incarcerated directly following court proceedings. The judge disagreed and opted to honor the comedians bail. This means the 80-year-old can stay under house arrest with GPS monitoring at his estate in suburban Philadelphia until he faces sentencing, within 60 to 90 days. The sentencing gives Cosbys defense team and prosecutors the opportunity to present any evidence that may influence the next penalty phase. So Cosby just gets to sit in his big beautiful home after being found guilty of drugging and raping a woman? Yes. But Cosby cannot leave his home and/or jurisdiction as he awaits sentencing or he risks having his bail revoked and therefore being sent immediately to jail. The prosecutors were initially concerned that Cosby, because of his means, might try to flee. He was asked to surrender his passport and agree to the terms of his bail, which includes wearing a monitoring device to track his movements. Next, the court will assess Cosby to determine whether hes a risk to society. They will also consider factors like his age and health to help determine his sentencing later this summer. Being almost 81 and legally blind could certainly impact the sentence. Is Cosby living at the same house where he drugged and raped Constand? Yes. Is Cosby a felon now? Yes. He must also register as a sex offender for life. Can Cosbys lawyers appeal the verdict? Absolutely. In fact, right after the verdict was announced, Cosbys lead attorney, Tom Mesereau, said he would appeal. What happens in an appeal? For Cosbys legal team to appeal the verdict, they must have a legal basis for doing so. In other words, his attorneys cant simply appeal the verdict because they dont like it. The defense will need to pinpoint an incident or statement from the retrial to suggest it may have led to an unfair verdict. Cosbys legal team can appeal in a few different ways in the state. They can submit a motion asking the judge to overturn the jurys verdict or they can move for a new trial. They could also ask a higher court to reconsider the conviction. In Pennsylvania, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of sentencing. Do Cosbys lawyers have anything to actually appeal? Thats debatable. Cosbys defense attorneys could potentially appeal on the grounds that the five women who testified that the comedian drugged and raped them prejudiced the jury. They may also point to any of the judges rulings during the retrial as reason for appeal. Why does Cosby face ten years in jail for each count? Did they make up that number? Indecent assault is considered a felony in Pennsylvania, making it punishable by up to ten years in jail. These sentences vary from state to state. Whats the minimum and maximum Cosby could get? Sentencing depends on a few factors beyond simply being found guilty. After the court has assessed Cosbys health and whether he is ultimately a threat to society, the judge will hear evidence from both prosecutors and the defense. This gives both sides the opportunity to make their cases for everything from incarceration to house arrest. Ultimately, since felony sexual-assault charges have a mandatory state prison term, Cosby could end up spending a few years to as much as 30 years behind bars. At his age, that would be a life sentence. Where do his other lawsuits stand? Cosby faces several other lawsuits that are expected to move forward this summer on the West Coast. In the first civil case, Judy Huth has accused Cosby of raping her when she was 15, in 1974, making her a minor at the time of the alleged incident. Although Californias statute of limitations has long since passed for any criminal charges to be considered, Huth is pursuing this in a civil court. She could ultimately seek damages from Cosby, who has already given a sworn deposition in this case. The case is expected to proceed at the end of July in Los Angeles. Janice Dickinson, one of the five women who testified against Cosby during the retrial, is pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Cosby, also in Los Angeles. In March, the California Supreme Court refused Cosbys latest appeal and ordered that the case move forward. Dickinson has publicly accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1982. Shes suing him for defamation after Cosby and his representatives accused her of lying about the incident. Has Cosby paid out any money to accusers? It was established during the retrial that Cosby paid Andrea Constand $3.38 million in a settlement in 2006. If there are other settlements, they have not been made public. Could more accusers sue Cosby now that hes been found guilty? Yes. Since Cosbys been convicted as a felon in criminal court he may end up facing even more civil suits seeking damages from accusers. To date, more than 60 women have publicly accused Cosby of drugging and/or raping them. Can Cosby stand trial for another case while hes in jail? Yes. He could be subpoenaed to attend other trials. But he would remain incarcerated, meaning he would be transported by authorities and unable to move about freely during these trials. Where will he serve his sentence? If Cosby is sentenced to prison, his age and health will likely mean hell serve time in a lower-security prison. He may even be sent to a facility with an assisted-living home that either has medical facilities or is located near a hospital. Does Andrea Constand get any damages? Since this was a criminal trial, Constand does not receive damages. It should be noted that the case against Cosby was brought by the Commonwealth, and not Constand; she was not the plaintiff in this case. As we mentioned, Cosby already paid Constand $3.38 million in a settlement in 2006. She could pursue damages from Cosby for any number of reasons, like mental anguish and stress caused by the two trials. Constand has not commented either way. Does he have to pay for the trial? The Montgomery County Court where both trials took place will likely request that Cosby reimburse the county for expenses related to the trials, which total well into the millions. What was the biggest change in deliberations from the first trial to this one? The jury in the first trial deliberated for six days, about 52 hours overall, without being able to reach a verdict. The first trial ended in a hung jury. In the retrial, the jury deliberated for less than two days for a little over ten hours before reaching a verdict of guilty on all three charges. Why was he convicted this time but not last time? This is a question we will all be debating for years to come, but two of the big differences between the first and second trial have to do with the climate in which each case was tried and the number of witnesses who were called. In the first trial, Constand was the lone witness accusing Cosby of drugging and raping her. In the retrial, five other women in addition to Constand told their stories about Cosby drugging and raping them during the past 30 years. Also noteworthy to this case is that even though the first trial occurred less than one year ago, it was a very different cultural climate. It happened before men like Harvey Weinstein were publicly accused of sexual assault, and it was before the #MeToo movement really gained momentum. For his part, Cosby employed different legal teams for each case and each team used a different strategy in court. Where is Cosby now? At his home in suburban Philadelphia. Photo: Bob Henriques/Bob Henriques/Magnum Photos One of the most heartbreaking moments Ive recently seen on television happens in the third episode of the four-part Netflix docuseries Bobby Kennedy for President. During one of many on-camera interviews, Representative John Lewis, who famously marched for civil rights alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and worked as a campaign aide to Robert F. Kennedy, recounts how shattered he felt while traveling from Los Angeles back to Atlanta after Kennedy was shot and killed in the summer of 1968. As he speaks, he completely breaks down. I thought, what is happening in America? he says. To lose Martin Luther King Jr., and then two months later, Bobby Kennedy? Thats when Lewis, the distinguished civil-rights leader and veteran Congressman from the state of Georgia, just starts sobbing. It was too much, he manages after a few seconds. The loss of Kennedy is still a fresh wound for Lewis and others, 50 years after the fact, and Bobby Kennedy for President, directed by documentarian Dawn Porter (Gideons Army), spends four hours showing us why. While it may seem like American culture has given us way more than enough explorations of the Kennedy family, this project distinguishes itself by tracing RFKs journey from attorney general to senator to presidential candidate in a way that stands out from accounts that often focus on either his relationship to his older brother, or on June 6, 1968, the night he was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The crucial difference makes Bobby Kennedy for President feel necessary, especially for those who either dont remember the era or werent alive when it all happened. The danger in any documentary about a political figure is that it will glorify him too much, but Porter mostly keeps that impulse in check. While Kennedy is certainly treated with great reverence, his flaws and shortcomings are not ignored. The first episode, A New Generation, addresses the fact that when JFK was seeking the presidency, the younger Kennedy argued against getting too involved with civil rights issues because he thought it would alienate white voters in the South. As attorney general, RFK also signed off on the FBI wiretapping of Kings home and offices, which is acknowledged in the series and is something that made many skeptical of his politics. Even after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, when Robert Kennedy sought public office first by getting elected as a senator from New York (and later by seeking the presidency), we see that not everyone was pro-Kennedy: The extensive news footage included in Bobby Kennedy for President includes several voters saying they definitely would not vote for him for president, including one woman who says she thinks America has had enough of the Kennedy family. But this docuseries is most interested in showing how its subject evolved against the backdrop of his own grief and an incredibly divisive time in American history. Through archival film that shows Kennedy visiting poverty-stricken neighborhoods in Mississippi and meeting with activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta during the 1965 farm workers strike in Delano, California, as well as conversations with people who worked for and alongside him, the series depicts Kennedy as a politician who eventually stood up for the poor, working-class, and minority Americans while voicing concern about U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The way that cameras capture him, often in close-up, brushing his boyishly flipping bangs off his forehead, makes him seem accessible, gentle, and, at times, unmistakably sad. D.A. Pennebaker, who made a short film called Jingle Bells that followed Kennedy and his children as they sang Christmas carols in New York City schools during his Senate campaign, points to a moment he captured in which Kennedy, while observing the festivities, suddenly looks distant and downcast. I felt him torn in the camera, says Pennebaker, who is convinced that he caught Kennedy thinking of his dead brother in the midst of a celebration. As intimate as these moments are, we only get so close to the real Robert Kennedy in the docuseries. No members of the Kennedy family speak to Porter on-camera. Although we see home movies of him playing with some of the 11 children he had with wife Ethel Kennedy, there is still a thin veil of privacy thats never fully lifted. Bobby Kennedy for President also maintains an air of mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death, which, inevitably, is dealt with in two episodes that retrace the assassination and trial of perpetrator Sirhan Sirhan. The docuseries subscribes to the well-trodden conspiracy theory that at least one other assailant fired the gunshots that felled Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. But it doesnt go far enough down any rabbit holes to make a definitive case. Instead, it reaches the same conclusion voiced by NYU law professor Kim Taylor Thompson in the series: that well never really know what happened. When engaging in any political flashbacking right now, its tempting to reflect on our current moment. That, too, is a hard-to-avoid impulse in Bobby Kennedy for President. When Kennedy initially says he cant imagine serving in his brothers White House administration because of nepotism, then later becomes attorney general anyway, its a reminder that Donald Trump is not the first president to give a family member a job. (Also worth noting: As an attorney and someone who had worked for the Department of Justice, Kennedy at least had some qualifications for his position.) When others encourage Bobby Kennedy to run for president because the United States is splintering in two, that opinion is supported by images of white men holding white power signs with swastikas on them. Even a third-grader would see that and draw a straight line from 1968 to 2018. Similarly, when journalist Pete Hamill says of Kennedy, He would never think of blaming people for their own poverty the way some of these swine today act about the poor, we know exactly who he means. Bobby Kennedy for President reminds us that it was, and maybe still is, possible for politicians to change their thinking and act based on the courage of their convictions. When Kennedy tells a reporter, We shouldnt just deplore the violence, deplore the lawlessness. We should pass the laws that remedy what we are fighting about, you may nod your head and wish that we had more Bobby Kennedys in Congress right now. Moments like that make you understand what John Lewis is still crying about five decades later. Chance. Photo: Rick Kern/WireImage Chance the Rapper is sorry. After wading into the Kanye WestTrump debate on Twitter with the controversial stance that West can support whomever he wants, even Donald Trump, the president then proceeded to make Chancess tweets all about him. On Friday, Trump tweeted his thanks for what he perceived to be Chances support of Trumps politics (particularly, whatever it is he thinks hes done for black people during his term). Chances response: Thanks but no thanks. Nah that aint it yo https://t.co/hqA1NYGxE2 Chance The Rapper Owbum (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018 Chance then followed up his Trump rejection with a lengthy apology to fans explaining that his original tweets were meant to defend his good friend from what Chance felt was an attack one Chance says he was brought into by people asking him to speak up but that he was in no way ever defending Trump. Id never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism, and discrimination, he writes, noting Trumps damaging language about Chicago. He also says he doesnt agree with Kanyes attitude toward Trump either; he merely wanted to stick up for a man he considers to be family. As for his comment that black people arent limited to the Democratic Party, he stands by that belief, but is also aware that he said that shit at the wrongest time. He claims that his apology will be felt in his future actions and that he plans to speak to Kanye in private. Photo: Getty Images Its not every day you hear the phrase that Claire Denis movie was pretty funny. But her latest, Let the Sunshine In, could be described that way. The legendary French directors 12th feature film is an adaptation of sorts of French theorist Roland Barthess 1977 collection A Lovers Discourse: Fragments, following divorced painter Isabelle (played with beautifully complex perfection by Juliette Binoche) as she traverses the highs and (mostly) lows of the dating scene, entering romantic entanglements with a collection of men whose overall lousiness varies from scene to scene. The films main source of humor comes from the cringes elicited by those interactions, its relative horrors (drunk-dial booty-call attempts and all) a shift from the intense images and themes that Denis has dealt with in her body of work, from the gruesome cannibalistic terrors of 2001s Trouble Every Day to the postcolonialist brutality of her 2009 masterpiece White Material. We spoke with Denis on the week of Let the Sunshine Ins North American theatrical release about shifting to comedy, her own history of heartbreak, and releasing a film featuring male aggression in the current social climate. Many have already pointed out how different this film is from the rest of your filmography, but Im interested in hearing you talk about if theres any similarities to your other films. Each film is like a wagon is attached to another wagon. I dont have a vision of my work. This film was a proposal from a producer, and I made it in a very light spirit. I was happy, I was working with a writer that I like a lot, and it was great. In its own way, this film is a comedy. Its a comedy, but theres also tragedy. When I saw this film in a theater, the audience was laughing fairly frequently. When it was screened at Cannes last year, it was the first time itd been screened for an audience it had just been finished. That opening night, people were laughing like crazy. I was there with the actors, part of the crew, and the writer, and we were amazed. We had been laughing during shooting, but we thought, Maybe no one would laugh. Have you ever witnessed an audience reaction to one of your films that surprised you? When Trouble Every Day screened at Cannes, two or three women fainted, I guess. Ive never made a film to make the audience suffer. If I do, its a mistake. I think films are made to share something. With comedy, you share a vision of life, because life is a comedy. If you look at it closely, you can see that every situation even the worst can be turned into a comedy. But its also a tragedy, and if youre in between, like me a contemplative person what do I expect? I expect people to see, to feel what is in the film. Im not the kind of person where the pattern would be so strict that the audience would feel that. I like when the pattern is strict for me, but open for the audience. The film Robert Pattinson was in last year in Cannes, Good Time its a comedy. And yet, its painful. Its the beauty of the fight of the two brothers. People were laughing, but its pain too. You could technically refer to Let the Sunshine In as a romantic comedy a genre of film thats sort of disappeared over the last decade. Maybe not in South Korea or Japan. But in many countries it has disappeared because the media and the news have such a strong impact on people that people want to be told something that is either a severe judgment of the world and the way it is, or a compassionate look on the misery of life. Im not so sure films should be made to soothe peoples pain, or comfort the rights against wrong. Its a strange situation in France, to be almost obliged to be a social worker. You have to say, This is wrong. This is good. No. I dont want to be a social worker. I want to share something that is a vision, or a feeling. Are there any romantic comedies that have stayed with you over the years? I always give the example of a film I saw at the New York Film Festival, [Hong Sang-soos] On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate. I remember I was almost crying, and yet laughing all the time. Its the disaster of this guy looking for love disaster after disaster. Even when true love shows up, he doesnt see it. For me, thats a very good example of what a romantic comedy could be. Theres a scene in the film where Isabelles ex-husband licks his fingers during lovemaking, and she points out that by doing so hes trying to be someone she knows hes not the idea that knowing someone intimately means also knowing when theyre being dishonest about who they are. This is something [writer Christine Argot] worked on with me when youre married or have been in a relationship for a long time and you think youre not going to be surprised about the way lovemaking is going to be. Maybe shes not so hot if I can say so and is trying to get a little help. Its the kind of thing where, suddenly, you just refuse it for the bad reason. This film follows the romantic travails of a woman whos a little older than the type of protagonists typically featured in romantic comedies. But not too old to be very sexy. It also makes dating look terrifying almost like a horror film. As we were writing the script, we were laughing a lot, because we should cry. Theres a scene where Gerard Depardieu is in the car with a woman in the middle of the night and she says, Its finished it wont work between you and me. Hes so upset and in shock, and this is something Ive experienced: suddenly, the person you trust looks at things thinking, I dont think this is the right [relationship]. For me, its terrible and of course, its also terrible to be the one who has to say that. But to be the one who is told is not right? For me, thats the most horrible thing. Are there any similar experiences from your personal life that stand out in your mind? Ive been in every horrible situation possible. Even today I stopped a love affair 20 years ago, and Im still suffering. Im still in love with the person. Im still in pain. Sometimes, I could bump my head on the wall [mimes bumping her head against a wall], saying, Oh! Oh! What a fool I was. Related Stories Zadie Smith Is Writing a Sci-fi Script With Claire Denis One aspect of modern dating the film chooses not to explore is the digital aspect. Like the internet? Yeah, apps and online dating services. Whats your level of familiarity with those? I have to tell you, I have friends who use it, but they use it because they are more interested in lets say fuck, or having a relation. Maybe they lie to themselves, but I dont think they believe theyre going to meet the person. Theres still a dream that it could happen one day: to meet someone and fall in love, with the true love. But meeting online is like either its because youre old and you dont want to be alone for your last days on Earth, so its like a companionship for old age like, youre looking for a nurse or something like that, which is horrible. Or its something where its like, Ive been alone for months, lets meet someone. It doesnt create this strange situation where if I can say a crazy anecdote from my youth. I was driving my car in the summer. Paris was empty, it was August. I was not particularly happy, just driving by the river. At the red light, a Volkswagen coupe stopped, and it was a young man driving and I myself was a young woman driving. I felt like I was going to faint. He was for me. Then, the traffic light turned to green, and this car took advantage on me, and I was following him in Paris until I lost him. I was like, This is him, this is him. Its a crazy thing, you know, but its the kind of thing where I understand, even now at my age. Of course, maybe I wouldnt believe that I could drive fast enough with my car and block him and say, Hey! But almost. On my way to this interview, I saw the news that Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault in court today. Hes in jail? Hes awaiting sentencing. One element of this film is how men can be aggressive to women in relationships. How do you think it fits within the current and increased focus on the ways men are aggressive towards women, and the consequences they do or dont face as a result? I see it as a situation where when youre not in the position of power, or when youre in a social class, or youre a maid, and someone can tell you Come here. Its not only the power of a man over a woman, because I think me, because I was educated in a way where I felt fragile, depressed, but never inferior. Sometimes, when a man was trying to force me it did happen at least twice, really I was always so sure I would be able to fight. I did fight, and I was not afraid or being weak. I thought, No, this is not possible. And it is not true, but I was raised not to be weak. Not to feel inferior. I was raised in a way where my father always told his children daughters and sons we could do many mistakes, but not submit ourselves. I think if I was in a situation where a young girl in the street in the night, and three boys jumped on her of course, to resist and to fight back is impossible. But it doesnt mean that she submits it means theyre stronger, or they are in the social position to submit her, to give her work. If youre going to lose your job and youre not sure youll find one, and you need the money to raise a child or two, me? Frankly, I will accept. Not to be degraded, but to have sex with someone to obtain something its not submissive. People are raised no, society makes people slaves to others. Its not their parents, its society. I think its terrible. This interview has been edited and condensed. A discussion last night about the subway with MTA Chairman Joe Lhota at the Museum Of The City Of NY was disrupted, and ultimately cancelled, after disability rights activists protested the lack of public transit accessibility. The event, part of NY Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir's ongoing "Only In New York" series at the museum, also featured MTA Board Member Veronica Vanterpool, and was intended to delve into "what can be done to ensure the future success of the New York subway system." However, just as the event was getting started, members of the group The People's MTA started chanting to drown out the introductions. With less than one-quarter of the city's 472 subway station handicap accessible, The People's MTA have attended several recent MTA meetings pushing for more elevators and general accessibility around the city. In a press release, the group had written: Thursday night, wheelchair users, disability rights groups and anti-racist activists will protest the MTA outside the City Museum of New York, where MTA board members Joseph Lhota and Veronica Vanterpool will hold a $30-a-head forum on the future of the subway with a fancy craft beer reception afterwards. "Recently a transit worker died on the job because of rotting wooden infrastructure in the subway," said Teresa Gutierrez of The People's MTA. "Should the MTA Board members be allowed to hold a genteel wine-and-cheese discussion of life and death matters without a peoples response?" Nir and museum officials were apparently aware that the protest had been planned. Before prematurely ending the event, Nir addressed the crowd, noting, "We thought this would happen, and we were so excited we could share your perspective." "[Nir] did give them the microphone, but the protesters were not content to be bottled inside of two minutes," said Brian Van Nieuwenhoven, who attended the event. "The protesters spoke loud and forcefully about the issues regarding accessibility on the subway, and it seemed that the crowd was very sympathetic to their position. Not very long after Sarah tried to take back control of the event, the protesting continued and grew louder until Sarah made a surprise announcement that the whole event was canceled and that everyone would be getting refunds." While Lhota did not speak for the entirety of the event, Vanterpool attempted to do so at one point: The meeting is devolving. Protestors getting louder, angrier. Raising great points about the MTA letting them down completely. #mcnylive pic.twitter.com/kXSaVTSu0w brianvan (@brianvan) April 26, 2018 Nir told us she was disappointed that an opportunity for discussion on these issues was squandered: "I am a First Amendment absolutist. I believe in everybody's right to free speech," she told us. "Last night I stepped from the stage and handed the mic over to very passionate protesters with a very worthy cause. I offered them the opportunity to engage in dialogue. They didn't. They chose to shut the event down and I think that was a missed opportunity." "I believe in their cause," she added. "It's a travesty of justice that only 23% of the New York subway system is accessible. Other big cities do it, we should be able to do it." Tony Murphy, an activist with The People's MTA, explained, "The everyday frustrations experienced by riders, which are so much worse for people who use wheelchairs, exploded last night because people didn't want to allow the MTA to pull off a public relations stunt." He confirmed that Nir had reached out to the group before the event, but they felt it was just an attempt to get the group not to protest. "The MTA has had a lot of time to do what it's supposed to do with the subway," he said. "If we responded to the insincere attempts to include us in the conversation, we would have been helping the MTA pull off its public relation stunt. We want action, not talk." According to a recent report, the MTA's elevator performance has declined rapidly over the past five years. amNY reports that the MTA is facing at least three lawsuits arguing that they're not doing enough to maintain elevator service or make more stations accessible, as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The MTA Board recently approved additional funding for ADA accessibility projects around the city, but Murphy remains skeptical. "They announced more money for possiblythe language is very tepidmaybe five stations which would get more elevators out of the hundreds that need them," he said. "It's hard to know what this all means because they announce plans, then they don't follow through on them." "It kind of looks like they announced plans to get people off their backs, then abandoned them," he added. "They've announced a 'Bus Action Plan,' and announced more money for elevators, but until we see it's actually happening, it's hard to trust what they're really gonna do. They seem to be a lot better at public relation ploys than actually coming through for people." The subway talk with Lhota and Vanterpool will not be rescheduled. As Nieuwenhoven noted, the MCNY reached out to last night's attendees and offered to transfer their tickets to the next "Only In New York" talk, which is on "Writing The City" (this is the final talk of this season). They were offered a refund otherwise. The MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the disruption. Conversations about the efficacy of last night's protest continued on Twitter: I was there. We found that the Subway protesters did not help their cause through the alienation of the audience who came to hear a conversation about the status of the subways and our hopes for the future. viviane topp (@vivianetopp) April 27, 2018 Some of the protestors may even be congratulating themselves for showing the MTA they have power, but I doubt their actions tonight will actually do much to advance toward their worthy goal. (((Jeremy Posner))) (@jmp_nyc) April 27, 2018 @SarahMaslinNir Reflecting on tonights #MCNYlive event. I learned about an issue I hadnt taken time to acknowledge: accessibility in the @MTA subway system. I appreciated your poise and attempt to create an opportunity to learn, and I appreciate the voices I heard. Micah Elggren (@micahsknowings) April 26, 2018 I guess the fundamental question for me is: how many decades of ignoring the city's public transportation accessibility crisis is too many before behavior like this is warranted? https://t.co/yIp80NIgLE Aaron W. Gordon (@A_W_Gordon) April 27, 2018 2/2 Pervasive clear discrimination is harming NYers w/disabilities everyday while other NYers standby and ignore it Joe Lhotas dismissal of disability issues is a record worse than Trump. No one questions why protestors disrupt his dialogue. I see implicit ableism in your upset. pic.twitter.com/jYkE7ZHi8U RJK (@DachaDoma) April 27, 2018 This morning, at the Regional Plan Association's assembly, NYC Transit President Andy Byford promised that full accessibility would be part of a big plan, to be unveiled next week: A second statement has been released by the family of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, following his sudden death last week at the age of 28. In it, the family speaks to the artists conflicted relationship with the music industry and his personal struggles. According to Variety, the statement implies heavily, when read in the original Swedish, that the EDM artist died by suicide. Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions. An over-achieving perfectionist who traveled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress. When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most music. He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace. Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight. Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed. The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive. Greys Anatomy Bad Reputation Season 14 Episode 21 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * * Previous Next Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC Although Grey Sloan Memorial is perpetually in crisis mode, this time it feels different. There are reporters swarming the parking lot, Meredith Grey is returning both her and her mothers Harper Avery Awards, and a ruthless crisis manager is advising Catherine to attack her father-in-laws victims who, by episodes end, total 37. The situation is getting out of control (the doctors finding out that Jackson secretly funded the Innovation Contest and then entered it doesnt help ease tensions, either). Since there is no way in hell the Averys are going to blame the victims, many of whom left medicine because of what happened to them, they need to come up with another plan. For Catherine, it is simple: Shell take the blame. She signed the NDAs, after all. This doesnt sit well with Jackson, who doesnt want to see a strong black woman take the fall for a rich white man. Jackson doesnt have much time to persuade his mother otherwise, as he is given his own job: a PR-friendly surgery on a very nice boy from Venezuela who has been brought to the U.S. through the Angels of Humanity charity. Yes, they are using children with life-threatening tumors in their faces to make the Averys look a little better. Neither Jackson nor his surgical partner, Meredith Grey, are happy about this slimeball move. But their attitude changes once they meet Diego and his face tumor. They genuinely want to help. Okay, Meredith genuinely wants to help Jackson does have the fate of the entire Avery Foundation weighing on him and he knows this surgery could be beneficial to him. Its why he wants to do a less invasive surgery on Diego, have a good outcome, and deliver something positive to the press. Meredith, on the other hand, thinks the best course of action is to do a full resection of the tumor. It is risky, but surgery is always risky. A full resection now is better for Diego in the long run. Jackson needs to put Diego first. Meredith is the perfect person to pair Jackson up with in this situation because she is REAL MAD, both about the terrible things Harper Avery did to women, and the fact that the award she worked her entire life for is tarnished she isnt afraid to call Jackson on his bullshit. She knows he is playing it safe in order to avoid more bad press for the foundation. Who cares about the foundation, she remarks. The dozens of women who were hurt by Harper Avery sure dont. Jackson isnt trying to be callous or self-serving here (later, when April reassures Maggie that shes dating a really good guy, she means it), he is thinking about the 72 hospitals that the foundation funds, and the people who work there. If the foundation goes under, it affects more than just people with the Avery name. The two argue all day. They argue over the surgery. They argue over Harper Avery. Even after they almost lose the surgery because the charity doesnt want to be associated with the Avery name and Meredith defends Jackson, they argue. But really, they are both angry about the same thing: that this privileged man hurt so many people and got away with it. That he ruined lives and suffered no consequences. Jackson and Meredith have always shared a special bond, both understanding what it is like to be a surgeon with a family legacy following them around, and now they have something else in common: Harper Avery is undoing all of the hard work done by their strong-willed, boundary-breaking mothers. Of course Jackson wants to help the victims, and he can do that through the foundation. Meredith warns him that to rebuild that foundation, Jackson will first have to break it all the way down. So after they kick ass in surgery, going all in on that face tumor and changing Diegos life, Jackson and Meredith come up with a plan to do just that. Step one: Fire that terrible crisis-management woman (sorry! She is probably very good at getting results, its just like, read the room lady!). Step two: Give Catherine a new statement to read to the press. A statement that talks about how the foundation is going to support all of Harper Averys victims by giving them first, a voice, and then money, or training, or a job whatever they need. A statement that announces the dissolution of the Harper Avery Foundation, and in its place, the formation of the Catherine Fox Foundation. This way, they get to help Harpers victims and Catherine gets to keep her lifes work intact, this time under her maiden name. This is the house that Catherine Fox built. There is one visitor at Grey Sloan who is not surprised to hear about Harper Avery, because she had to work with lots of pigs while employed at this hospital. Hey! Its Nurse Olivia! Her kid has a whistle stuck in his throat. That seems emergent. Olivia discovers her son will be treated by one of the pigs she was referring to, Dr. Alex Karev. Ah yes, if you dont remember Nurse Olivia, she reminds you exactly who she is when she asks Jo if Alex is still giving nurses syphilis or has he moved on to gonorrhea? The nurse who knew Alex back when he was Evil Spawn showing up at this moment, sharing some less than stellar memories of her time spent with him, is really, really bad timing. Alex and Jo are trying to plan their wedding, but when Alex gets a look at his bank account, he shuts down. He transforms into moody, silent Alex. The mood swings paired with the stories of Alex cheating on Izzie really throw Jo (somebody get this woman Greys Anatomy seasons through eight on DVD, please). She isnt going to put up with angry, brooding Alex anymore. She wants to know whats going on. After a very long day, Alex comes clean to Jo: Hes not upset about the wedding and no, he isnt having money problems. He took a look at his bank account and realized that the checks hes been sending to his mom havent been cashed in awhile. That is a very bad sign. Alex has been living his life, totally oblivious to whats going on with his mother. Is she dead? Is she off her meds and in trouble? All of the questions and guilt mean one thing: Were going on a road trip. Laughter Is the Best Medicine, Except for Real Medicine Praise Shonda, our More DeLuca Sibling Prayers have been answered! Andrew has been moping on Merediths couch for a week, skipping work, poorly playing terrible songs on his guitar, and generally freaking out Queen Zola. Meredith calls for backup, so Carina comes over to give her whiny little brother the tough love he needs. It involves a lot of Italian, clapping, and calling him disgusting. Just what the doctor ordered! Little Sofia is very sad and hates her school is this laying the groundwork for Arizonas departure? April Kepner would be an excellent wedding planner is this laying the groundwork for Aprils departure? Just kidding! We all know itll be a tragic nightmare death of some sort. Fun! Miracles do happen: I am into this Amelia takes in a young junkie story line. This is the kind of Amelia I can get on board with! You know what I cannot get on board with, though? The fact that said junkie is the birth mother of Owens foster baby and now all four of them are going to live together. Havent we suffered enough Owen-Amelia drama? Oh boy, you guys. You know whats not funny? The look on Baileys face when Intern Roy shows up at the hospital with Lawyer Roy to inform the Chief that theyll be suing the hospital for wrongful termination. Yeah, you never want to be on the receiving end of one of those looks. Is it hard to learn how to play guitar? Apparently, yes. Virginie Ledoyen in Cold Water. Photo: Pan-Europeenne The writer-director Olivier Assayas found his voice in his fifth feature, a high-strung teenage love story called Cold Water that was released in 1994 in France but not, until now, in the United States. Youll understand why midway through, when the film is suddenly flooded with the kind of classic 60s and early-70s rock songs that give producers strokes. Who had the money to pay for them? Janus Films has taken care of that now, and so Cold Water (with a 4K restoration) is ready to be seen (and heard) on the big screen prior to its release on DVD/Blu-ray. Hot dog. Assayas originally made it for a TV series called Tour les garcons et les filles de leur age, which was built around filmmakers re-creating their adolescence using music theyd listened to at the time. Assayas must have seen his future in his past: Eureka! He seems to have been born with a peculiar kind of nostalgia, a longing for a place and time that even if reaccessed is breaking up, dissolving. To reach his Eden involves an attempt at self-obliteration. Cold Waters dissolute Eden is outside Paris in 1972, when the counterculture had changed everything but its aims were becoming foggier and more chaotic and its energy to turn weirdly inward. The teen protagonists, Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet), are attractive delinquents. Her divorced father whom she despises has just won custody of her and plans to put her in a treatment facility with the cheerful name Beausoleil. His family is more stable but he simply doesnt speak their language. Its not that the kids and adults are in conflict. Its that they inhabit different realms, different time-space continuums. The grown-ups beloved Rousseau and Caravaggio mean nothing to Gilles. Hed rather shoplift a bunch of albums and play with sticks of dynamite. Yes, Gilles acquires dynamite sticks and fuses, which prepares you for something literally incendiary that Chekhovs conviction about what happens when you introduce a gun in the first act notwithstanding never comes. But Cold Water is always on the brink of an explosion. Spotted by store detectives with his pilfered LPs, Gilles escapes but Christine ends up sitting in the office of a detective, whom she tests, lies to, mocks. Beausoleil cant hold her. After she escapes, she and Gilles meet at a party at night outside a dilapidated country manse at which point the narrative leaves one set of tracks and takes off into the ether, becoming freer, louder, more entrancing. The first thing you notice is that Janis Joplins stupendous, from-beyond-the-grave cover of Me and Bobby McGee goes on longer than you expect while the camera zigs around, picking up teenagers as they move from one pocket of light to another. Then theres the whole of Alice Coopers Schools Out, followed by Dylans sublimely fatalistic Knockin on Heavens Door as teens pour gasoline on the ground and start an immense bonfire. Christine and Gilles are dancing and kissing lightly by themselves when we get to Leonard Cohens Avalanche. A chill blue dawn comes with a long shot of male and female teenagers squatting along the ridge, apparently pissing and shitting to Nicos plaintive dirge Janitor of Lunacy. As the song with its haunting organ continues, Christine and Gilles take off for a distant artist commune. Their journey ends along a frigid, rushing river a blue-gray that chills your bones. Assayas would develop the themes and motifs that he sets forth here over the next two decades: the dissolving past, the ache for a communal existence, the misty imprecision of rebellion, the transporting power of music, the fragility of identity. He has gotten more daring, more inventive, more sophisticated in his formal tricks. But Cold Water has the kind of emotional purity that puts it in a class by itself. Its blue fog envelops you. From left, Liam Neeson, Steven Spielberg, and Ben Kingsley. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival The distant sound of sobs drifting down Broadway last night began at the Beacon Theatre, where the Tribeca Film Festival held a screening of Schindlers List in commemoration of the Holocaust epics 25th anniversary. After three brutal hours of respectfully stifled sniffles, the audience was treated to a rare Q&A with director Steven Spielberg along with his stars Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, and Caroline Goodall. Spielberg did most of the talking, regaling the crowd with remembrances from his time working on the production, some humorous and some solemn. One particular tidbit was a little of both: As one might expect, spending long hours re-creating one of the grossest violations of human rights in history took quite a toll on the personnel involved. Spielberg divulged that he was in such a rut that hed arranged a once-a-week phone appointment with Robin Williams, who would cheer up the filmmaker with a tight 15-minute stand-up set. He was very thoughtful, knew exactly what time it was in Poland, Spielberg recalled. I would laugh hysterically, because I had to release so much. And Robin, the way he is on the telephone, hed always hang up on you after the loudest, best laugh you give him. But the tone of the panel was predominantly somber, fittingly. Kingsley remembered an incident in which a German businessman staying at their same hotel asked cast member Michael Schneider if he was Jewish, and after Schneider answered in the affirmative, the man pantomimed a hanging-by-noose gesture. Kingsley did not take this sitting down; Spielberg claims Kingsley took him to the ground. Kingsley, ever the proper English gentleman, said only that I stood up. With a grin, Spielberg shot back, You did more than stand up! In another disturbing anecdote, a woman in Poland called out from her apartment to actors in SS costumes how much she loved seeing those uniforms again, and that she wished all of them were back to protect us again. Spielberg, with a nervous laugh: I may get arrested if I go back to Poland. The night ended with a deeply moving description of a Passover seder that the cast and crew put together while shooting: Somebody organized a seder, with Haggadahs on the table in front of us. As the cast came in, the German cast sat right next to the Israeli cast. They read from the same Haggadah sitting German, Israeli, German, Israeli and I just started crying. That broke me. Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh. Photo: Photo: Julieta Cervantes The revival of Eugene ONeills The Iceman Cometh now at the Bernard B. Jacobs under the direction of George C. Wolfe and strapped with heavy star power in Denzel Washington is the kind of production that puts prospective audience members off classics for good. Whether youre a card-carrying member of the ONeill Society or you simply flipped a coin at the TKTS booth, youd be within your rights to run screaming from the theater by the first of the shows two intermissions. If, however, you decided to stick around for the whole moribund, infuriating ride, you might find yourself wondering why this play is considered a classic at all, how its earned a place on a shelf so high that, these days, we cant get to it without sending up little hot-air balloons of reverence. You might be angry not only at the clumsy production but blasphemy! ONeills play itself. The Iceman Cometh wasnt always untouchable. Heres a 1985 essay from the Eugene ONeill Newsletter, detailing the plays ascent from problematic behemoth by a much-lauded writer (ONeill had three Pulitzers by the time Iceman, which failed to win him another, premiered in 1946) to canonical mainstay and regularly revivable star vehicle. The New York Posts assessment in 1946 Action draggeth, dialogue reeketh, play stinketh is a far cry from the Times reaction to the production that starred Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy and visited BAM in 2015. Charles Isherwood wrote that he was floored by ONeills harrowing drama, one of his very best, and had to scrape myself from my seat, innards churning in its wake. Coincidentally, so did I, but not in a good way. ONeills play is an infernally difficult beast, painfully long-winded and often despite his own insistence that the first act is hilarious comedy a self-serious emotional slog, and in Wolfes lumbering production these issues feel exacerbated rather than addressed. It hardly matters that, uncut, the play is closer to five hours in length, or that the current revival clocks in at just under four: It feels like eight. The productions dragginess isnt improved by Santo Loquastos dingy-ornate, period-accurate 1912 barroom set, which goes through four complete transformations (one for each act), requiring the heavy gray fire curtain to come down so that scenery can be shuffled around behind it. Not only does this feel indulgent and thematically maddening like a Greek tragedy, ONeills play requires a single location for its end-of-the-road story of fate and self-recognition it also leads to real logistical problems. A note in the program tells us that there are intermissions after Acts One and Three and a pause after Act Two, but when the curtain comes down and the lights go up for that pause, audience members start heading out to pee and are told they dont have the time. Its like a scene from Noises Off. Whats going on between intermissions and ill-planned pauses is more irksome still, as Wolfe, despite his long and lauded directorial career, doesnt seem to have something specific to say about the play. This Broadway season has spurred ongoing debate about revival and reinterpretation, but that debate has focused largely on musicals. Its questions are of no less import, though, for classic plays. For instance, has a woman ever directed a major revival of Iceman, a play that hangs its entire emotional arc on the violence done to two women by men who claim to love them and are in fact driven by festering hatred? Might a woman director or simply another director be able to make something out of the plays final revelations, which ONeill clearly intends as classically tragic moments of anagnorisis but which are in danger of coming off (and they do, in this production) as noxious blasts of misogyny? Is there a way to channel Icemans deep, deep rage into something revelatory, not an enactment of the delusional, infantile anger (specifically anger at women) of disappointed American men, but a piercing commentary upon it? If there is, this production doesnt find it. It also fails to vivify the plays dense, voice-y language. Like many attempts on ONeill, Wolfes interpretation insists on treating his dialogue basically as naturalism, like the way people really talk and interact. But ONeill isnt natural, and playing his gnarly, spiky, endlessly repetitive texts as normal speech leads to a show that feels stalled even before its engines get a chance to rev. In the brilliant production of The Hairy Ape that visited the Park Avenue Armory last year, British director Richard Jones attacked ONeills text like weird, heightened choral music, highlighting its over-the-top dialects and relentless refrains to stunning effect. He catapulted it out of the real, where it never really lived to begin with, and thus paradoxically found its humanity. Wolfe, however, has his actors grind through each monologue with broadly accented verisimilitude, and the ironic effect is to render the actions artificiality all the more pronounced. Real drunks dont snooze in a convenient lineup, awaiting their turn to wake up and rhapsodize for several paragraphs, before conveniently falling back to sleep to make room for the next guys aria. These drunks, the Greek chorus of Iceman, are the deadbeats of Harry Hopes public house. Its a grungy dive on the Lower West Side that one of its regulars refers to as The No Chance Saloon Bedrock Bar, The End of the Line Cafe, The Bottom of the Sea Rathskeller! ONeills not one to use one phrase where four will do, and in moments like these theres a moody vitality to his prolixity. But often in Iceman it feels like his late-in-life Great Playwright status is letting him get away with things we wouldnt accept from a writer trying to make it through a first workshop these days. Characters spout his central theme word, pipe dream, no fewer than 46 times. Those dozy pipe dreamers include bartenders, streetwalkers, and a whole list of formers: a policeman, a reporter, a circus conman, a Harvard Law dropout with the DTs, a couple of Boer War vets, a casino proprietor, and a pair of one-time anarchists, all now tenants in Harry Hopes house of foreclosed futures. The ex-reporter, whose name is Jimmy Tomorrow (hell get his old job back tomorrow) and Harry himself (who hasnt even been outside since the death of his wife 20 years ago) carry around ONeills most heavy-handed names, but everyone in the bar lives on delusion and whiskey. Dont waste your pity though, advises Larry Slade, one of the ex-anarchists and the house Foolosopher, as he introduces a new arrival, the young Don Parritt, to the bars Whos Who in Dipsomania. Harrys gang manage to get drunk and keep their pipe dreams, and thats all they ask of life. Says Larry dryly, Ive never known more contented men. The sodden, sanguine monotony is all set up to have a wrench thrown into it, and one drops in near the end of ONeills first act in the form of Theodore Hickman, a traveling hardware salesman known fondly as Hickey to his friends. Wheres Hickey? Aint he come yet? asks Joe Mott, the former gambling-house dandy and the bars only black regular, near the plays beginning. Hickey visits Harry Hopes twice a year and he always brings the party, but this time, when he finally does arrive (and in this production it really does feel like finally), the partys not so much fun. Something has changed the slick, smiling salesman. Not only is he off the bottle; hes seen the light, found real peace, somehow awoken from the damned lying pipe dream thatd been making me miserable and he wants to inspire the wastrels at Harrys to wake up too. Frustratingly, Wolfes production never once feels like a party, not before Hickeys arrival and not after it. While hilarity is never really the order of the day no matter what ONeill might have thought a manic, menacing vitality should be. In fact, Hickeys no sunny reform evangelist but an angel of death, and with his coming, the play should feel alive and dangerous. Washingtons central performance, however, doesnt ultimately give the show a shot in the arm. In certain ways, his casting makes sense: ONeill described Hickey as having a salesmans winning smile of self-confident affability and twinkling eyes that can take you in shrewdly at a glance. The role has a history of going to charismatic showmen, from Jason Robards to Nathan Lane, but its a monster in a menschs clothing. Like Oedipus Rex, Iceman is the story of a man whos done something unthinkable, who moves from hubristic claims of self-awareness to shattering disillusionment and, if only for a flickering moment, true self-knowledge. And, as with Oedipus despite a play structure that suggests three-and-a-half acts of denial followed by a bolt of revelation the actor playing Hickey must find some way to take a journey in the role, a simmering, step-by-step descent into the pit that we can sense under the smiling surface. Washingtons eyes twinkle and his smile is winning, but like the production around him, he often feels static and impenetrable. The veneer of smooth camaraderie never allows us flashes of the sickness underneath. As the play goes on, and various characters start to find Hickey fishy or even frightening, their protestations that hes brought death here with him feel like unsubtle road signs on ONeills part, rather than reactions bubbling up out of an atmosphere that truly feels increasingly dire. And Wolfe hinders Washington by giving him the full celebrity treatment. One of the most infamous aspects of the role of Hickey is the characters final aria a monolithic speech he gives in the final act that leads to his moment of tragic discovery and the plays climax. As Washington begins this tortuous climb, Wolfe actually has him pick up a chair, carry it to downstage center, plunk it down with the entire company behind him, and sit. Its a shocking move like letting Pavarotti go stand center-stage for an aria, story be damned, because hes Pavarotti. Hickey wants desperately to communicate something to his fellow barmates here (Ive got to tell you! he says, When you know the story youll see there wasnt any other possible way out of it.) but Washington isnt talking to them. Hes talking to us, and he doesnt need our absolution, just our applause. He even leans back in his chair, launching into his story with a kind of complacent repose. The cast twiddles their thumbs in the background while we in the audience are treated to story time with Uncle Hickey. When, during the telling, Harry Hope bursts out in frustration Give us a rest, for the love of Christ! Who the hell cares?!, the words ring way too true. Theres something else causing a tricky hiccup in Washingtons performance, and its not his fault, but the fault of a production that hasnt made clear how this actor resonates in this story. Like James Earl Jones before him, Washington is a black actor playing the role of Hickey, a white Irishman whos even referred to by one of the deadbeats as a flannel-mouth, flatfoot Mick (that lines still around in this revival). In his recent review of Carousel, Hilton Als touched on the difficulty when black actors are dropped into white roles in established theatre works: He concludes that, in that show, in the case of Joshua Henrys Billy, the choice works and develops meaningful resonances. But here in Iceman, the world of Wolfes play seems weirdly blind when it comes to Washingtons race. Its jarring because the character ONeill actually wrote as black, Joe Mott (Michael Potts, dousing his characters anger in glad-handing tipsiness), is the brunt of all sorts of racism, from the casual to the viciously pointed. In his cups, he himself brags about once being de only colored man dey allows in de white gamblin house (yes, this is how ONeill writes his dialect) and crows that the men there accepted him by negating his race: Youre all right, Joe, they said, Youre white. When hes sober, though, Joes ashamed at himself and enraged at the white men who made an Uncle Tom out of him. He even ends up drawing a knife on the two bartenders, Chuck and Rocky, both nasty pieces of work whove just thrown unrepeatable slurs at him. What are we to make of a world that acknowledges and denigrates Joes race, but seemingly cant see Hickeys? I dont know how the James Earl Jones production handled this question, and I dont want to assume that Wolfe and Washington have given it no thought. They must have but I cant see the results of it on stage. I also cant fully see the potential of much of Wolfes cast. Its full of top-notch actors, but theres a heavy pall on the production that doesnt quite let any one of them shine. The nimble, rubber-faced Bill Irwin is intermittently enjoyable as Ed Mosher, the former circus hustler, and Neal Huff manages to get a bit of frenzy into Willie Oban, the unhinged ex-Harvard man. The usually excellent Colm Meaney does his best to hold down the fort as Harry Hope, though neither he nor David Morses Larry Slade the plays morose, self-flagellating moral center can save the enterprise. Morse with his head down and his big shoulders hunched, like a man trekking through a bog where his boots are getting sucked down into the mud is so resolutely dour that its hard to stick with him, even though hes the only character to make it through ONeills tragedy both awake and alive. The rest go back to sleep, and in this production, you dont blame them. Especially if youre a woman, its a major bummer to find that Icemans three-hour-plus buildup is leading to the emotional explosions of two different men who had to commit heinous crimes in order to be able to do what they really wanted to do all along: call a woman a bitch. (Seriously, its like this Key & Peele sketch, only deadly serious.) The women actually onstage in Iceman are all tarts (they prefer that to whores), played bravely but stereotypically here by Tammy Blanchard, Nina Grollman, and Carolyn Braver. The women offstage are the crux of the plays actual dramatic action, and their fates reveal that, if youve got a vagina in this world, one way or another youre pretty much screwed. One of these offstage female victims meets her fate because she dared, on political principle, to live nonmonogamously; the other meets hers because she was monogamous to the point of saintliness. Her goodness made her bad husband feel even worse. Damned if you do, damned if you dont. Though Im willing (barely) to believe that theres a production out there that reveals the men at the would-be tragic center of Iceman, the men who destroyed these women, as the rageful, delusional children they are, while also still granting them their humanity and pathos, I havent seen that production yet. Wolfes revival feels full of untackled problems, unmet challenges, and untapped dramatic energy. Its enough to make you agree with Rocky the bartenders sour assessment of the troubling night following Hickeys arrival: Jeez, what a funeral! Brokaw. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images After a former NBC employee accused Tom Brokaw of sexual harassment this week, the veteran anchor has responded, calling the allegations a drive-by shooting. In a thousand-word email sent to select NBC News colleagues and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Brokaw denied the allegations and defended himself. I am facing a long list of grievances from a former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom. She has unleashed a torrent of unsubstantiated criticism and attacks on me more than twenty years after I opened the door for her and a new job at Fox news, Brokaw wrote in the email. Former NBC reporter Linda Vester told the Washington Post that in 1994, Brokaw allegedly showed up uninvited to her hotel room and tried to kiss her. An anonymous second accuser said Brokaw also allegedly sexually harassed her. In his email, Brokaw recounts his memory of his encounters with Vester, and suggests that she is a character assassin, leveling a false accusation that is much more Look At Me than Me:Too. See the full email below: It is 4:00 am on the first day of my new life as an accused predator in the universe of American journalism. I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship. I am angry, hurt and unmoored from what I thought would be the final passage of my life and career, a mix of written and broadcast journalism, philanthropy and participation in environmental and social causes that have always given extra meaning to my life. Instead I am facing a long list of grievances from a former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom. She has unleashed a torrent of unsubstantiated criticism and attacks on me more than twenty years after I opened the door for her and a new job at Fox news. Linda Vester was given the run of the Washington Post and Variety to vent her grievances, to complain that I tickled her without permission (you read that right), that I invaded her hotel room, accepted an invitation to her apartment under false pretenses and in general was given a free hand to try to destroy all that I have achieved with my family, my NBC career, my writing and my citizenship. My family and friends are stunned and supportive. My NBC colleagues are bewildered that Vester, who had limited success at NBC News, a modest career at Fox and a reputation as a colleague who had trouble with the truth was suddenly the keeper of the flame of journalistic integrity. Her big charge: that on two occasions more than 20 years ago I made inappropriate and uninvited appearances in her apartment and in a hotel room. As an eager beginner, Vester, like others in that category, was eager for advice and camaraderie with senior colleagues. She often sought me out for informal meetings, including the one she describes in her New York hotel room. I should not have gone but I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair in language right out of pulp fiction. She was coy, not frightened, filled with office gossip including a recent rumor of an affair. As that discussion advanced she often reminded me she was a Catholic and that she was uncomfortable with my presence. So I left, 23 years later to be stunned by her melodramatic description of the meeting. A year or so later, as I passed through London after covering end of WWII ceremonies in Moscow, I saw her in the office, chatted and agreed to a drink later. (If NY was so traumatic, why a reunion?) She knew a bar but by that late hour it was closed so she suggested her nearby apartment (not, Well, no where to go. See you tomorrow). Again, her hospitality was straight forward with lots of pride in her reporting in the Congo and more questions about NY opportunities. As I remember, she was at one end of a sofa, I was at the other. It was late and I had been up for 24 hours. As I got up to leave I may have leaned over for a perfunctory goodnight kiss but my memory is that it happened at the door on the cheek. No clenching her neck. That move she so vividly describes is NOT WHO I AM. Not in high school, college or thereafter. She came to NY and had mixed success on the overnight news. As I remember her try out on TODAY did not go well. Her contract was not renewed. Here is a part of her story she somehow left out. I think I saw her in the hallways and asked how it was going. She was interested in cable start up and I said I didnt think that was going anywhere. What about Fox, which was just building up? She was interested and followed me to my office where, while she listened in, I called Roger Ailes. He said, send her over. She got the job. I never heard from her or saw her again. I was aware that she became a big fan of Ailes, often praising his considerable broadcasting instincts in public. But when he got in trouble on sexual matters, not a peep from this woman who now describes her self as the keeper of the flame for Me:Too. I am not a perfect person. Ive made mistakes, personally and professionally. But as I write this at dawn on the morning after a drive by shooting by Vester, the Washington Post and Variety, I am stunned by the free ride given a woman with a grudge against NBC News, no distinctive credentials or issue passions while at FOX. As a private citizen who married a wealthy man she has been active in social causes but she came to Me:Too late, portraying herself as a den mother. In the intervening years since we met on those two occasions, she had no reason to worry I could affect her career. Some of her relatives by marriage are very close friends. She couldnt pick up the phone and say, Id like to talk. I have issues from those two meetings 20 years ago? Instead she became a character assassin. Strip away all of the hyperbole and what has she achieved? What was her goal? Hard to believe it wasnt much more Look At Me than Me:Too. I deeply resent the pain and anger she inflicted on my wife, daughters and granddaughters - all women of considerable success and passion about womens rights which they personify in their daily lives and professions. Well go on as a family that pursues social justice in medical emergency rooms, corporate offices, social therapy, African womens empowerment and journalism. And no one womans assault can take that away. I am proud of who I am as a husband, father, grandfather, journalist and citizen. Vester, the Washington Post and Variety cannot diminish that. But in this one woman piece of sensational claims they are trying. Tom Brokaw Three Wilson High School students were killed and two Florence High School students were hospitalized after a wreck Thursday night. Tyler Nelson, 16, Coby Hines, 16, and Braden Turner, 17, were all killed in the wreck on County Road 30 around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, St. Florian Police Chief Jason Brewer said. The driver of the vehicle, Kate Boggus, 16, was hospitalized at UAB. Another passenger, Kaylee McGee, 16, was taken to Huntsville Hospital. Both were in serious condition, according to Brewer. Police said two of the teens were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. One of them was killed, police said, but they did not specify who. Their vehicle was the only one involved in the wreck, Brewer said. They are still trying to determine what led to the crash. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Police say a student made a video threatening an Alabama high school and posted it on social media. Montgomery Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Martha Earnhardt says the female student was taken into custody Wednesday evening and charged with making a terrorist threat. Earnhardt did not elaborate on the specifics of the threat. The student's identity has not been released. Earnhardt says the student was taken to the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Facility. Tom Salter, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Public School System, said the threat involved Jefferson Davis High School. The student attended school there. Salter said a tipster contacted the high school's principal about the video, and the school system contacted police. Security was increased at the school Thursday as a precaution. (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 4/26/2018 5:54:28 PM (GMT -5:00) WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is tweeting "KOREAN WAR TO END" after a historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea. Trump is responding to the meeting of North Korea's Kim Jong Un with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in South Korea. They pledged in a joint statement to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons - but didn't identify any specific new measures to achieve that. Jung Jeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images Jung Jeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images MGN Online Photo MGN Online Photo Trump is expected to meet with Kim in late May or June. He tweeted: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" In a separate tweet sent minutes earlier, Trump said "good things are happening, but only time will tell." (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) It seemed like everyone who was within the city limits decided to take a stroll along the High Line last weekend. The enormous crowds don't always make for a peaceful experience, and they certainly aren't ideal for art viewing. Still, there is an engaging new exhibition in the elevated parkAgora, a site-wide group show that was just installed last week and will run through March of 2019. Which means you have ample opportunity to check it out during off-hours, like weekdays, early mornings, and (because several of the works light up) at night. Just a leisurely stroll in the park. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) If the above image is scaring you off, here's a look at a few of the exhibition's highlights, all of which in some way explore how art can define, create, enhance, and/or educate within a public space. Los Angeles artist Sable Elyse Smith created the over-sized IRONWOODLAND sculpture at 24th Streetthe piece is actually called C.R.E.A.M., like the Wu Tang songstyled after the famous sign in her home city and alluding to both the Ironwood State Prison and the original, aggressively-segregated Hollywoodland real estate development. Andrea Bowers, another LA-based artist, has focused on the plight off DREAMers, the undocumented immigrants who arrived here as kids, have grown up in this country, and are now threatened with deportation by a cruel government. Bowers's High Line piece, located near the Standard, is a two-sided neon sign that reads Somos 11 Milliones / We Are 11 Million. An Omaskeko Ininiwak artist from Moose Cree First Nation, Duane Linklater has installed a series of white wood tripods along the tracks from about 27th to 31st Streets, structures that evoke teepeesan example of simple, sustainable, mobile architectureand stand in sharp contrast to the relentless construction of luxury housing that towers over this stretch of the park. Beneath the High Line's southern terminus at Gansevoort Street, Italian artist Marinella Senatore has built a public piazza of sorts simply by adding festive lights to the elevated structure. And when people stop and congregate there, they have this message installed into the ceiling to contemplate: "Give your daughters difficult names," the first line of a poem by feminist Warsan Shire. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) Not part of the Agora show but also new this season is Dorothy Iannone's mural I Lift My Lamp Beside the Golden Door, which is the last line of Emma Lazarus's poem The New Colossus, promising refuge, opportunity, and freedom for immigrants. The mural is located near the lawn at 22nd Street. And if you need some refreshment while you're up there, the High Line food vendors are all back in business, led by the paletas (ice pops) at La Newyorkina, the empanadas at La Sonrisa, the Venezuelan-style hot dogs at Perros y Vainas, and the ice cream sandwiches at Melt. A 118-year-old statue depicting the writer of the song "Oh Susanna" was removed from a Pittsburgh park because it shows Stephen Foster with a man, believed to be a slave, strumming a banjo at Foster's feet. WTAE-TV interviewed the spokesman for the city's mayor who said, "It's been a long process. There have been criticisms about this statue for decades, and it finally came to a head last year in the context of other controversies around the country of Confederate statues. Obviously this is a little bit different, but the city's Art Commission found that it was no longer appropriate in a city space." Foster is a native of Pittsburgh and wrote songs like "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Sewanee River" in addition to "Oh Susanna." The statue was dedicated in 1900 and then moved to a different location in 1940. The spokesman said the hope is to replace it with a state of a prominent African American female. Meetings are planned for coming weeks to decide who it will depict. US satellites, surveillance aircraft, drones and ships have stepped up operations to monitor the movement of suspected Iranian anti-air and ballistic missiles inside Syria due to rising concerns they could be used to strike Israel in the coming days, according to half a dozen US officials CNN has spoken with in the last 24 hours. US officials confirm internal assessments of the situation have contributed to the level of concern but say they have no concrete sense when and if Iran might use its position inside Syria to strike Israel. The US continues to recognize Israel's right to self-defense and its view that Iranian weapons inside Syria could threaten Israel directly. But they are concerned that any Israeli strike could result in a counterstrike by Iranian elements inside Syria. Defense Secretary James Mattis acknowledged the rising tensions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday. In answer to a question from Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) about whether there's a risk tensions could escalate to engulf not only Syria but the rest of the region Mattis replied, "I believe the short answer is yes senator. I can see how it might start, I'm not sure when or where, I think that it's very likely in Syria because Iran continues to do its proxy work there ... I could imagine this sparking something larger." "We have seen them trying to bring advanced weaponry into Syria on its way to Lebanese Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Israel is not going to wait until those missiles are in the air. Will it be cataclysmic? I hope not, I hope Iran pulls back," Mattis told the committee. Days after a viral video showed a dog owner, his pit bull, and a woman involved in a physical altercation on a 4 train, police have made an arrest. Brooklyn resident Ruben Roncallo was arrested on Thursday and now faces charges of reckless endangerment and assault. A passenger on the train, Tahysi Kyng, said that the April 20th confrontation began when the victim, 22, asked Roncallo, who had let his leashed dog sit on a subway seat, to move his dog. According to Kyng, she told Roncallo, "The dog don't belong on the seat, that's an animal, people belong on the seat, put the dog on the floor." Roncallo, 53, reportedly refused, and according to Kyng, the woman repeatedly pushed the dog off the seat. Roncallo allegedly allegedly responded by punching her, and then the dog bit her. Kyng started filming the incident as other subway riders were trying to pull the victim away from the dog. "He was like, 'Don't touch my dog,' and he started hitting. They started fighting, and everybody tried to break it up. The dog latched onto her," Kyng recalled. While the victim was able to walk off when the train car got to Wall Street, police say that she was treated for dog bites to her arm and foot at New York Downtown Hospital. Her mother said to WCBS 2 that she is still hospitalized. Roncallo told reporters, "She attacked me first, she attacked me first," and insisted his dog was a service dog. An NYPD spokesman told Gothamist the arrest report characterizes Roncallo's dog is a service animal. 53-year-old Ruben Roncallo from Brownsville charged with reckless endangerment and assault. Cops say his pit bull is a service dog; on video attacking rider during argument Fri on 4 train in Manhattan. Witnesses say woman pushed dog off the seat repeatedly before the man hit her. pic.twitter.com/Z0vzOCLdkx CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) April 26, 2018 Dogs are only allowed on NYC subways if they are in a carrier or if they are service animals. The MTA specifically defines "service animals" as "a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability that such person is unable to perform due to such disability, such as guiding persons with impaired vision, alerting persons with impaired hearing to sounds, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items or providing rescue assistance. The term service animal does not include a therapy animal or animal used for emotional support." Kyng's girlfriend, who also witnessed the incident, said, "That dog was not vicious. It was just an incident that could have been avoided." Upper Manhattan residents who own cars arent just competing with their neighbors for parking. The area is also popular with New Jersey motorists who drive over the George Washington Bridge, dump their cars, and hop on the A train. Or New York suburbanites who come down 9A, lock their cars north of Dyckman Street, and get on the 1. Local drivers say they're sick of endlessly circling the block searching for parking because these interlopers are using Washington Heights and Inwood as their free parking lot. Now some local legislators think they have a solution: residential parking permits. Commuters from other parts of the region do not have a God-given right to park for free on our residential streets, said City Council member Mark Levine at a press conference this week. Levine represents part of Washington Heights as well as other areas along the west side of Manhattan. He and other Council members introduced a bill yesterday that would reserve 80 percent of local parking spaces for residents, from 60th Street to 220th Street in Inwood. It wouldnt include main arteries like Broadway, metered spots, or spots reserved for deliveries. A second, similar bill that would cover all of New York City and would have permit fees was introduced by Council member Ydanis Rodriguez , who chairs the Transportation Committee and represents parts of Washington Heights and Inwood. Any residential parking permit plan would need to be authorized by Albany. Brooklyn Assemblymembers Jo Anne Simon and Walter Mosley introduced a bill that would do just that a year ago. Upper Manhattan Facebook groups were peppered with comments from residents in favor of the bill. One of these was Inwood resident Jesse Levit, who says he can circle for up to an hour looking for parking. He said permits work well in his hometown of Oakland, Calif., where there are regulations during business hours that exempt permit holders. People say its important to have out-of-the-area businesses supporting our neighborhood, but its also important to support residents paying taxes, who need to own cars for whatever reason, Levit said. Levit said he himself needs a car, because hes a musician who plays out of town gigs, sometimes hundreds of miles away. And parking garages are just too expensive. But he said permits may not actually solve the problem in Inwood, where many out of state cars visit the parks and clubs on evenings and weekends, not during business hours. Cars with out of state plates taking up precious curb real estate isnt a new issue, and it isnt limited to Upper Manhattan. About 10 years ago, the Department of Transportation conducted a study on the parking situation in Park Slope. Between 23 percent and 34 percent of license plates were from out of state. Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, points out that the cars with non-New York plates MAY actually be from out of state but they also might be owned by New Yorkers who are fraudulently registering their cars elsewhere in order to avoid higher fees. A 2011 State Senate report found that these drivers cost the city almost $73 million in unpaid parking tickets and $1 million annually in license plate, title and registration fees. Parking permits would hopefully curb those scofflaws, too. But the important thing, White said, is that permits would establish a cost for parking at the curb for residents. Right now its a total free-for-all its not regulated, its under-priced. Half of all traffic is motorists circling the block incessantly, and permits discourage that and encourage turnover, White said. Its an opportunity to usher in long-overdue parking reform...and a prerequisite for a politically palatable congestion pricing plan. So, residents are for it; some city council members are for it; and some safe streets advocates are for it (some have reservations about the legislation). But city leadership seems...conflicted. On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, I think its a really complex idea, meaning I think theres some real merit, and I think theres some big challenges at the same time. He said its worth studying, but there are some good things, but theres also a lot of unintended consequences. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said something similar yesterday: I think there are pluses and minuses.I understand there are many folks that live in communites across the city who find it very frustrating that they cant find parking in their neighborhoods, but were also trying to disincentivize cars in New York City. He was looking forward, he said, to reviewing the bills. White is encouraged by Johnsons remarks and agrees with Johnson that its important to discourage car use. And residential parking permits will begin to set a fair price. Theres no cost associated with motor vehicle storage on city streets right now which is what it is and there should be, he said. WATERFORD is marking time with a new museum in the Viking Triangle. The Irish Museum of Time is the first of its kind in the... ... but you will need to show proof of jab get into bars STUDENTS heading to college in September will not have to be vaccinated... Its that time of year again! Summer in Waterford, with plenty of sunshine, and if you look carefully you may spot the odd artist atop... Waterfords Welcome Ambassadors will make their much anticipated return to the city and county in 2022. The programme will be coordinated by Waterford Area... One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and international students have inadvertently united in opposition to a senate inquiry's handling of proposed changes to Australia's citizenship laws. While airing different concerns, Senator Hanson and the Council of International Students Australia have slammed the use of survey generator SurveyMonkey to gather opinion on toughening the requirements for Australian citizenship. Each has questioned the validity of the poll, which asked people to provide their email address and name then vote "yes" or "no" on whether they supported Senator Hanson's proposed bill. Senator Pauline Hanson. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The Queensland senator's proposed citizenship legislation is similar to that voted down in the senate last year but would increase the qualifying period of residence from four years to eight. Matthew Suckling wraps up Dale Thomas. Credit:AAP W Bulldogs 11.14 (80) d. Carlton 8.11 (59) This was a Friday-night horror show at Etihad Stadium that had to be seen to be believed. Amid the turnovers, sloppy decision making and wasted shots at goal, the Western Bulldogs emerged victorious against Carlton by 21 points but they will not return to the finals on a performance like that. With just the one win heading into the contest, the equation was simple for the Bulldogs. Win, regardless of the manner, and remain in contention for the top eight, or lose and face the reality their aspirations were all but quashed. They did taste victory but we still don't know whether they are legitimately in the September hunt or a team in transition. There is every chance wins will come in the next fortnight against the Gold Coast Suns in Ballarat and Brisbane at Etihad Stadium but with the youngest side to take to the field in this round, questions abound. AMP is facing criminal prosecution and possibly millions of dollars in civil penalties, with the royal commission also being urged to pursue the nation's biggest banks for a raft of breaches of corporate law. Capping off a sensational fortnight of evidence, senior counsel assisting the commission Rowena Orr, QC, on Friday said AMP had breached criminal provisions for misleading the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over its charging of clients fees for no service. AMP charged for services Ms Orr said it knew it could not and would not provide. Credit:Eddie Jim The criminal sanction for the potential breach identified Ms Orr is a maximum of $210,000 per charge and $1 million for each civil breach. AMP turned a profit of more than $800 million last year so any penalty would be dwarfed by the reputational hit from the unprecedented criminal action against a major financial institution in this country. In the wake of the damning finding AMP will convene an emergency board meeting this weekend which is tipped to discuss the future of chairman Catherine Brenner. AMP chief executive Craig Meller resigned last week ahead of his planned retirement at the end of the year. To have one bank go rogue may be regarded as unfortunate but to have them all go rogue smacks of carelessness. Or, to put it another way: one rogue bank is a bank scandal, when they all go rogue it is a failure of regulation. What we are looking at now playing out in the Hayne royal commission is the final indictment of Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) complete and utter failure as a regulator over the past two decades. The revelation that AMP deliberately misled ASIC on no less than 20 occasions may be shocking but its deeper significance is what it says about the major players attitude towards ASIC as a regulator. At a minimum it would suggest that they are not as afraid of ASIC as they should be. No, you wouldnt do that, youre not a monster. Then, on their 18th birthday, you boot them out of the family home. Victoria turns off support to young people in state care when they turn 18. Credit:Angela Wylie Until your little duck reaches adulthood you house them, clothe and feed them, schlep them to school and do everything within your power to give them a decent start in life. But we (the collective state) do it with the young people legally in our care. Thats terrible parenting. Victoria turns off support to young people in state care when they turn 18, despite a wealth of economic, social and even neurological evidence for a more generous approach. For all the talk of our progressive state, we should be embarrassed that we now lag behind Tassie and South Australia, which have both recently announced bipartisan support for extending state care until 21 years of age. Each year, about 500 young Victorians leave care and many are poorly equipped for the challenges of adult life. Overwhelmingly, theyve lived in unstable, often dangerous, settings. And they have endured trauma often due to child abuse and neglect before they entered care, and sometimes while in care. Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer has apologised for not calling the banking royal commission earlier, a week after she refused to answer questions about whether the government had got it wrong. The backdown is the culmination of a mea culpa at the highest levels of the Turnbull government over its two-year resistance to the royal commission, which on Friday recommended criminal prosecutions of AMP for deliberately and repeatedly misleading the regulator after it charged clients for advice they never received. "Many people have asked why the government opposed a royal commission for so long and it is a legitimate question," she said on Friday. Kelly O'Dwyer on Insiders "With the benefit of hindsight we should have called it earlier." You announce your separation from your wife only months before photos of a heavily pregnant Campion make the front page of the nations papers. You then go on to question your paternity, thus slut shaming your partner. You humiliate your devastated wife and daughters. You are pilloried by the PM, who gave a blistering speech in February stating, Barnaby made a shocking error of judgment in having an affair with a young woman working in his office. In doing so he has set off a world of woe for those women and appalled all of us, leading Malcolm Turnbull to introduce a new clause to the ministerial code that makes sex between ministers and staff a sackable offence. And then you lost the support of your own party and stood down from your role as party leader and deputy PM. And now you dare to lecture about what constitutes a conflict of interest in the workplace, alleging there is none if one romantic partner works for another. Hmmm, I wonder how you judge key performance indicators in that situation Barnaby. What happens at bonus time? And what are other staff members supposed to think? Can they complain about their colleague to their boss, aware he or she sleeps with her? Have you forgotten you are paid to serve the public, not yourself? But what riled me the most about your comments this week is how you blame distance for the demise of your marriage, that spending time in Canberra was the problem. Well, let me tap you on the shoulder old mate and tell you what really killed your marriage - you put your penis inside a woman other than your wife, an employee no less - and impregnated her. End. Of. Story. And if you expect me or any other constituent to feel sorry for you that you have to travel to Canberra on a nice allowance to do your job, get a grip. Tell that to a long-haul truck driver or families juggling shifts to feed kids, meaning partners rarely see each other. Tell it to those in our armed services deployed for long periods who still manage to keep their vows and respect their spouses and offspring, who manage to maintain your notion of marital security. So, here is my advice to you Barnaby. If you think Vikki is so competent in the workplace, why dont you step back and raise your son with her and let her have the protection and security of a loving husband you deem so vital for women? Because while you may believe she is good at her job, I can let you know the public left gaping at the stupidity of your comments of late do not feel the same way about you. The Westin is joining an extremely competitive market after the former Barnett governments hotel incentive program started as a reaction to undersupply during the mining boom. About 2000 additional hotel rooms opened in Perth in the past five years, including Crown Towers in Burswood and Como in the old Treasury building. A further 2000 rooms are on the way. Hotel room occupancy rates declined 4.6 per cent in 2017, but Westin Perth general manager Peter Brampton is confident they have the right product to take advantage of an impending improvement in the market. This is a huge leap of faith into the Perth market and the industry going forward, he said. Its all cyclical and I think were on the upswing now from what Ive seen. The advantage we have is we have the newest product and best product and that helps us get established in the market I think any new addition to the market is a good thing. We have a responsibility too to help drive business in the city, so were working closely with the convention bureau and the tourism authorities to do that. The sentiment is the same elsewhere in the tourism sector. Tourism Minister Paul Papalia took credit for anecdotal evidence that occupancy was starting to pick up. In the last State Budget we committed $425 million over five years - or $85 million dollars annually - to marketing and events and earlier this year Tourism WA released a two-year action plan to outline how it would attract more visitors to WA, he said. As part of the plan we developed a major tactical advertising campaign to address lagging perception of Perth as being expensive. That campaign, Hotel Perth, was launched in Sydney and Melbourne in February. The Hotel Perth campaign highlights the changing face of Perth and repositions the city as a vibrant destination on natures doorstep. Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said the Westin's opening was fantastic news for Perth. In order to attract high-value visitors it is essential that the city has a number of world class accommodation options and the Westin Perth will certainly enhance the offering, he said. Having a wide selection of quality hotels available at reasonable prices will help make Perth and WA a more attractive destination for travellers. Ancient Rome in Perth Busy preparing for his first lunch service at Garum, celebrity Italian chef Guy Grossi is razor-focused but still takes the time to appreciate the beautiful Hibernian Hall, where his first Australian restaurant venture outside of Victoria is located. When the boys first told me about the project I thought, yeah that sounds ok, so I came over and had a look, he said. Chef Guy Grossi at Garum. It was still a bit of a construction site, but we walked into here and I thought, this is where I want to have my restaurant, and it went from there. It was meant to be, you know sometimes things just work out for a reason, it just feels right and thats what this has been. The original ceilings, brickwork, hardwood floors and history behind the building all make for a stunning backdrop to an Italian feast and Mr Grossi let those aspects drive the menu. The actual building, the bones, is magnificent. It actually spoke to us about the concept and what it was going to be, he said. We thought: what are we going to do? We didnt really want to make just another Italian restaurant and because of the buildings history and Italian character it became a Roman-style restaurant. Hibernia being the name that the ancient Romans used for the Irish and Hibernian hall was built for the Irish Catholic immigrants, so it had this Roman Catholic thing going on and we decided on a blend of ancient Rome and modern classic Rome. Police have charged another two men over a vicious brawl which left a young woman with a fractured skull after a brick was thrown at her head. Police have charged three men over a vicious brawl in Mandurah, during which bricks were thrown at the victims. They are still looking to speak with the man on the left. Credit:WA Police The fight took place in Mandurah in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and police have already charged one man over the incident. The 23-year-old man from Dudley Park has been charged with unlawful act with intent to harm. He has been refused bail and was due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday. UPDATE: The family at the centre of a horrific violent incident in Kelmscott on Friday have issued a statement. "The family of Keith and Estelle would like to thank everyone for the love and support they have received," it said. "We ask that our privacy be respected during this very difficult time." Police have charged a 42-year-old man from Mount Lawley with murder after the incident at the Kelmscott home. He has also been charged with attempting unlawfully to kill. A Perth mother who murdered her husband as he slept and stabbed two of her children was suffering from a psychotic episode both prior and after the crime, a Perth court has been told. Cara Lee Hall, 38, killed her 33-year-old husband Glenn Hall in December 2015 at their Leda home south of Perth, stabbing him at least 16 times while he was asleep in the lounge. Cara Lee Hall, pictured here with her late husband, was found guilty of the murder last year. Credit:Facebook The couple's young sons, aged four and 11, also suffered knife wounds in the attack. Hall pleaded not guilty to murder and two counts of attempted murder. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged an "historic" $3.2 billion in the 2017-18 budget that will see rail, road and infrastructure commitments like the Morley-Ellenbrook line finally get off the ground. Mr Turnbull made the announcement alongside Premier Mark McGowan on Friday morning after taking the train from Bayswater to Perth. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with WA Premier Mark McGowan in Perth on Friday. The funding builds on the $2.3 billion allocated in last years federal budget. Of the money, $1.05 billion will go towards the McGowan governments flagship Metronet projects including the Morley-Ellenbrook line, Midland station project and Byford line extension. Mikser, 44, is a high-octane politician: half an hour late for our interview, he makes up for it by talking at a million miles an hour in near-faultless English. We sit in a metaphor: the ministry is housed in the old Communist Party headquarters, its Soviet history obvious in the marbled, echoing lobby, but up on the top floor it has been renovated like a corporate boardroom with a commanding view of ancient Tallinn. Estonian foreign minister Sven Mikser on the balcony of his office in Tallinn. Credit:Nick Miller Mikser says Estonia was remarkably successful in dealing with the 2007 attacks. The country learned lessons and worked to build up safeguards. The country has become a world-leading innovator in e-government: each citizen has a digital identity that can be used for everything from online voting to claiming tax refunds to buying movie tickets. But obviously there are vulnerabilities that come with a dependence on digital, Mikser says. They recently set up a so-called data embassy in Luxembourg: a digital vault for backups of its digital registers, so the country can survive technical failure or an attack. You need to take precautions, you have to build up safeguards so you would be able to keep these critical services running even under severe pressure, Mikser says. We probably should not expect all future wars to be fought in the internet but there will be a cyber dimension to any conventional conflict, thats pretty sure. Estonia knows a thing or two about cyberwar with Russia. Pictured: Locked Shields 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia is the world's biggest 'live fire' cyber war exercise. It is run by NATO with partners from around the world. Credit:NATO/CCDCOE But while a 2007-style attack would be less likely to succeed these days, the threat has evolved. The buzzword is hybrid threats. As seen in Ukraine and elsewhere, an aggressor can fight on an information front: an attack to undermine a countrys will to resist. Mikser says Estonia has taken it very seriously for those more than 25 years that we have enjoyed our restored independence. And now the world is waking up to it. He points to the propaganda that surrounded, followed and attempted to justify or distract from aggression against Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, the downing of MH17, the Sergei Skripal poisoning and the Syrian chemical weapons incidents. This is something that needs to be taken very seriously [propaganda operations] have been more recently used extensively in order to either influence the outcomes of democratic elections in [Western] societies and countries, or just to undermine peoples confidence in those democratic processes. Estonia has had to devise strategies to resist bigger neighbour Russia. Pictured: Locked Shields 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia is the world's biggest 'live fire' cyber war exercise. It is run by NATO with partners from around the world. Credit:NATO/CCDCOE We [in Estonia] have seen those attempts to interfere in our own democratic process throughout this period of restored independence and we have developed pretty good defences, I would say. The key, Mikser says, is situational awareness. When you do not expect anything like this to happen you end up with a pretty disastrous outcome the strategy that weve seen utilised particularly by Russia but not only by Russia is to create confusion not just to contest the factual account, the intention is to put out many flares, to put out an infinite number of alternative truths. He points to MH17, when Russia spammed social media and Russia-friendly media with alternative explanations for the crash. He points to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal: you just say well we never had this Novichok programme, or perhaps we did and we ended it and got rid of all the poison, or perhaps we didnt but then there might be other countries that have a stockpile of this agent. Every day you come up with a new version and you create a lot of confusion it happens so much its difficult to believe that its accidental. In the face of this, Mikser says unity is vital. When you talk to a leader like [Putin], and obviously we need to talk with Russia, then you need to talk from a position of strength and unity and determination. Because any sign of hesitation is interpreted in the Kremlin as weakness to be exploited. NATO countries have done more military positioning on their eastern flanks, and run exercises close to Russias border. The Kremlin has portrayed it as provocation. Mikser says it is pretty modest and definitely not escalatory [it's] the way to preserve peace. And Australia has a role, too, despite its being on the other side of the world, Mikser says. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit DEA Opening Office in Paducah Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 27, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 27, 2018 | 03:19 PM | PADUCAH, KY The Drug Enforcement Adminstration is opening an office in Paducah. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell announced Friday that the DEA will open a Post of Duty office in Paducah after he contacted DEA Administrator Robert Patterson to advocate for the facility. He said in a press release that it is great news for Paducah and the surrounding counties. McConnell said, Additional federal resources in Paducah, in coordination with state and local narcotics enforcement agencies, can make a significant difference in combatting the recent spike in illicit drugs in Western Kentucky and in helping to better protect rural communities in that region. Over the years, a number of law enforcement officials, including Paducah Police Chief Brandon Barnhill, have expressed to me the need for the DEAs presence in Paducah. The city is well positioned to host substantial federal law enforcement responsibilities that would benefit the many rural communities in the area. In a letter, the DEA told McConnell they took several factors into consideration in deciding to open the office. They include, "the tremendous upsurge in the amount of methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoids imported and distributed in Western Kentucky, and the challenges of supporting the 22 counties in the region solely from DEAs Madisonville POD. Paducah Police Chief Brandon Barnhill welcomed the office, saying the federal presence reaffirms the DEA's partnership with local police to battle the surge in illegal drug use. He thanked Senator McConnell for helping bring the office to the area. By bringing our needs to the attention of the decision-makers in Washington, Senator McConnell helped bolster the safety of our community," Barnhill said. "The worsening opioid epidemic and the resurgence of methamphetamine abuse demand a strong law enforcement response, and this new DEA office, working in conjunction with our current federal partners already in Paducah, will help provide the needed resources to protect our area and to save lives. Trigg Co. Man Charged with two counts of murder from July shooting By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 26, 2018 | 10:27 AM | GRAVES COUNTY, KY Graves County's Empty Bowls Event is this weekend. Twenty restaurants in Mayfield and Graves County will offer samples of their tasty cuisine this Saturday, from 11:00 am 1:00 pm, in the Family Life Center at Trace Creek Baptist Church. Jackie Puckett says the yearly event raises money for the Mayfield-Graves County Food Pantry. There will be hundreds of bowls there, and participants will pick out their special bowl, Puckett said. Twenty of Graves County's best restaurants will be there, and participants will walk around and get some of the fine cooking from those local restaurants. After eating, participants take the bowls home as a reminder of hungry people around the world and in their own community. Tickets are $15. Advance tickets can be purchased at the church office, The Good News Shoppe or the Food Pantry. Tickets will also be available at the door on Saturday. The past four years the event has raised about $50,000 for Mayfield's Food Pantry, which last year served over 13,000 individuals in Graves County. Marshall Co. Sheriff's Department Hiring Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 26, 2018 | BENTON, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 26, 2018 | 05:21 PM | BENTON, KY The Marshall County Sheriff's Office is hiring a Court Security Officer and a Deputy Sheriff. In a press release, the department says security officer applicants must pass a psychological and suitability screening, a polygraph and drug test, and a background investigation. They are also required to be a 21-year-old U.S. citizen and high school graduate, and must be certified as a court security officer or be able to complete court security training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training. Applicants for Deputy Sheriff in the patrol division must be a lateral transfer of a Kentucky certified officer or be able to gain certification, or must be a retired officer who is able to meet requirements for a contract position. Applications for both jobs will be accepted between May 1 - 8 at the Sheriff's Office at 52 Judicial Drive in Benton. Anyone with questions about these jobs should contact Sheriff Byars or Major Maddox during the department's business hours. The telephone number is 270-527-3112. The Marshall County Sheriff's Office is an equal opportunity employer, and hires without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, etc. By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 26, 2018 | 11:10 PM | MAYFIELD, KY A Mayfield woman was arrested early Thursday on a burglary charge. According to the Mayfield Police Department, officers responded around 3:00 am to a report of a burglary at a home on West Lochridge Street. Police say the resident awoke to find an intruder in her home. The resident identified the intruder as 40-year-old Emily Ann Johnson of Mayfield. Soon after the incident, the resident found that a large sum of cash and her cell phone had been taken. Johnson was interviewed by police and later arrested on a charge of 2nd degree burglary. She was taken to the Graves County Jail. Overnight Closure on I-24 at Calvert City Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 27, 2018 | CALVERT CITY, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 27, 2018 | 08:39 AM | CALVERT CITY, KY A contractor plans to close westbound lanes of Interstate 24 in Marshall County Friday night until early Saturday morning. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says westbound lanes of I-24 will be closed to allow a traffic shift to the new westbound to southbound connector in the Purchase Parkway work zone at Calvert City. The westbound lanes of I-24 will be closed between Exit 27 and Exit 25 starting at 9 p.m. Friday. Traffic will be detoured via US 62 westbound and the Purchase Parkway southbound to return to I-24. The detour is expected to be in place until 6 a.m. Saturday. The new traffic pattern will require a merge to the left instead of taking an exit ramp to the right at the existing cloverleaf. Police will assist with detouring westbound traffic off at the Calvert City Exit 27 Interchange to US 62. The Kansas Supreme Court helped celebrate the state's newest attorneys Friday. The group of 20 hails from Overland Park to Wichita and even Illinois. They were sworn into the Kansas Bar and Federal Bar with a ceremony. One new lawyer was inspired by his family to pursue her career and hopes to help the greater good. "I have always wanted to be a lawyer, the earliest I can remember is about the fourth grade," said Madeline Imlay of Overland Park. "My brother is special needs and so I've always wanted to help people that couldn't always help themselves and really advocate for those people." Imlay says the hardest part of being a lawyer was passing the bar exam. She says she wanted to give up at times, but always pushed through. By: Paige Cline The hills are still green for the most part, but a little[Read More] Cindy Axne Over the past few months, my colleagues and I in Congress have engaged in discussions about investments we can make at the federal level to support our local economies, create... Julian B. Garrett Iowa Economy Steady Iowas economy remained basically steady in August with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.1% according to Iowa Workforce Development. However, the labor participation rate declined slightly from... Charles Grassley U.S. Senator The debt limit is the amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow to meet spending obligations. The Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse... WiGBits Headline News Would you like to receive our WiGBits? Signup today! WiG Entertainment News Would you like to receive our WiG Entertainment News? Signup today! Digital Issue Would you like to receive our Digital Issue? Signup today! "Freedom," said Bob Goodlatte, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, quoting President Ronald Reagan as he began a hearing Thursday morning, "is never more than one generation away from extinction." Goodlatte was suggesting that freedom was under dire threat because Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, two pro-Trump social media personalities most commonly known as "Diamond & Silk," claimed they had been censored by Facebook. They had not been censored. Hardaway and Richardson's claims had been thoroughly debunked. But Goodlatte and his committee nevertheless went on to spend several hours on the issue. At times, watching the surreal spectacle unfold, it felt as if the doors to room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office building had transported those who walked through them to a place where facts came second to political narrative and outlets known for misinformation could be held up as gospel truth. The affair was a fitting end to weeks of right-wing media fueling a false narrative that Facebook is censoring conservatives. Related: Led by Fox News, pro-Trump media fuels false narrative to accuse Facebook of censorship Earlier this month, Facebook erroneously told Hardaway and Richardson that their content had been deemed "unsafe for the community." Facebook quickly said the message had been sent in error, and immediately sought to contact both Hardaway and Richardson. But since the incident, the two sisters from North Carolina have used it to accuse the company of censorship, becoming lightning rods on the right for their campaign against the big tech company. If Facebook, which declined an invitation to attend the hearing, was counting on Congress to be responsible and hold Hardaway and Richardson to the truth, the company was mistaken. The Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee seemed to very much enjoy having brought the social media celebrities to Capitol Hill, and seemed OK with their hearing room being effectively used as a YouTube set for an extended episode of the Diamond & Silk show. Over the course of nearly three hours, Republicans on the committee allowed the social media stars to pummel Facebook, and to do so unchallenged, even when some of their claims were so absurd that Democrats on the committee could be seen laughing in response. Hardaway and Richardson were given license by Republicans to repeatedly claim that Facebook had "censored" their page, even though the social media company did not do so. When asked if their page was "blocked," Richardson answered in the affirmative, despite Facebook having never blocked or restricted access to the "Diamond & Silk" page. At one point, after Hardaway and Richardson denied receiving a payment from the Trump campaign, in contradiction to Federal Election Commission records showing that they had, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries reminded the sisters that they were testifying under oath and, thus, "subject to the penalty of perjury." The committee's Republicans themselves spread misinformation about Facebook's policies and practices. Goodlatte, for one, falsely suggested Hardaway and Richardson had been censored on Facebook. Others did as well. Rep. Steve King entered articles about supposed social media censorship written by Jim Hoft, the founder and publisher of The Gateway Pundit, into the congressional record. King said he hoped Hoft, who is currently named in at least two lawsuits that accuse him and his site of defamation, might one day testify before Congress on the topic because he has found his personal conversations with him to be productive. The hearing left Democrats angry and upset. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she was "embarrassed" by the whole thing. Rep. Ted Lieu went even further, saying, "This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing." Asked for comment on the testimony from Hardaway and Richardson, a representative for Facebook only pointed CNN to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's previous testimony before Congress, in which he said he is "very committed to making sure that Facebook is a platform for all ideas." Before the hearing, Hardaway and Richardson had gone on "Fox & Friends," an outlet that had been integral in pushing the false narrative about supposed social mediacensorship, and said Facebook's avoiding them at the hearing "proves they're guilty." After the hearing, Hardaway and Richardson posed for photographs with Republican members of the committee. When reporters, including this one, approached them for comment, the duo left the room. On the heels of an aggravated assault conviction against Bill Cosby, some Connecticut colleges are debating whether or not to revoke the degrees they gave the comedian. One of those schools is Wesleyan University in Middletown, which bestowed the degree upon him in 1987. The university's president asked the Board of Directors to consider taking it away. The board will discuss it during a meeting in May. It's a debate that's happening in college boardrooms across the country. Even before Thursday's verdict, more than 20 colleges and universities across the U.S. took away Cosby's honorary degrees in light of the allegations against him. The University of Connecticut did it in 2016. Yale University hasn't done it, despite calls from alumni and students to do so. Thursday, however, the school's Board of Trustees said it will be reviewing it. The 80-year-old Cosby was on Trial for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in Pennsylvania in 2004. He first faced charges for the attack in 2015 after deposition from Constand's 2005 civil case against the comedian was unsealed. In the case, Cosby admitted to giving quaaludes to women with whom he wanted to have sex. That trial ended in a hung jury in 2017. The second trial started just three weeks ago. Five additional accusers were allowed to testify against Cosby. There was just one additional accuser in the previous trial. "It is also a victory for womanhood and it is a victory for all sexual assault survivors, female and male," said Lili Bernard, one of Cosby's accusers. "We are very disappointed in the verdict," said Tom Mesereau, Cosby's attorney. "We don't think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything and the fight is not over." Cosby faces 30 years in prison. Thousands of Colorado teachers gathered at the Capitol building in Denver on Friday for the second day of walkouts and rallies calling for better pay, more school funding and pension reform. About 2,000 people took part in Thursday's rally, chanting "Fund our schools!" and meeting with state lawmakers to discuss bills still being hashed out that will make changes to the state's pension program and what most teachers said is an underfunded K-12 education system in Colorado. The teachers wore red as part of the #RedforEd campaign that has swept across states like West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona where teachers also were holding rallies Thursday and Friday. In all, the state's 10 largest districts will be closed between Thursday and Friday, most of them on Friday. Approximately 502,000 students attend those districts, according to state Department of Education records. Friday's events kicked off at 9 a.m. at Civic Center Park. There will be activities planned throughout the day at the Capitol Building. A formal rally is scheduled for 2 p.m. Near the onset of the day's activities, Denise Hart, a Loveland teacher, said she was most concerned about PERA, class sizes and a lack of school buses in Loveland. "We need funding for class size, it makes all the difference. I also feel like I pay over $800 a year out of my own pocket to fund things in my classroom to meet the needs of kinds that aren't being funded by the state," she said. Hart said she was impressed at the large crowd sizes Friday morning. "This is incredible. It was all we hoped for," Hart said. "It is so uplifting to know that all these voices are standing together for our students and our kids." Fourth-grader Jay Campbell said he attended the rally with his mom and "a bunch of school teacchers." He said he was there "so they (teachers) get paid more, because they should." "They're doing a lot more and they're not getting paid enough," Campbell said. A Colorado Springs teacher at the rally said she thought teachers felt newly empowered by other teachers and by the support they've received in Colorado. "They care for our education. They care for us. It's cool they're supporting our schools and what they do for us," said Caleb, one of her students. "Not a lot of kids feel like they're supported enough, or they don't get the care at home they deserve." Another student, Cayden, said he was out to support his mother and grandmother, who are both teachers. Chad, whose wife is a preschool and special education teacher and whose children attend Emerald Elementary in Broomfield, said he and his family regularly attend rallies. "We've gotten used to it the past couple of years -- devoting our time to good causes and whatnot. And this one hits pretty close to home," he said. "It's her livelihood, and they're underpaid, under-respected. So we're out here trying to take care of that." "I want my mom to have her own retirement house. I don't want her to have to live with me," one of their daughters said. "I love going on field trips, but if there's no funding, we can't go on them. And we learn a lot on the field trips!" "It's just great to see everyone out here supporting our students. We're really out here for the kids, making a difference for our future," said another teacher. "We want equitable access to education for all ages and all abilities." "My school is going to a four-day week because of funding cuts next school year," said Cavin Johnson, a sixth-grader at Vikan Middle School in Brighton. "I'm not very happy. I prefer a five-day school week so I'm not getting home late every day." Gov. John Hickenlooper addressed the teachers shortly after 11:30 p.m. and tried to explain what his administration has done to try and pay down the so-called "negative factor" in school funding, which currently sits around $670 million, Hickenlooper said. "When the state went through the recession...in essence, the state borrowed over $1 billion for education. I know it's not enough. We share that frustration," Hickenlooper said, but he added that he wanted lawmakers to pass plans to pay the negative factor down to zero over the next few years. "That's still $670 million that you guys are owed," Hickenlooper said, to chants of "Where is it?!" Hickenlooper said he was working with the state pension system, PERA, to "secure $225 million into PERA every year, year after year." "We see you. We hear you. We are working with you -- not just today. And I understand that there is debt going back that we are paying down," Hickenlooper said. "We're here to make that commitment as long as we can -- get that negative factor down to zero so you can all keep inspiring the next generation of Coloradans, the next generation of Americans." A Utica man is facing a felony charge after he was allegedly found to be driving with more than six pounds of marijuana in his vehicle, according to New York State Police. Around 2:10 a.m. Thursday, state police stopped a vehicle driven by 42-year-old Carlloyd Gowe of Utica on I-87 in the town of Coeymans for a traffic violation. Police say while they were interviewing Gowe, they had probably cause to search the vehicle and its occupants, and they found approximately 6.5 pounds of marijuana. Gowe was taken into police custody and charged with felony second-degree criminal possession of marijuana, and vehicle and traffic violations. Police say he was scheduled to be arraigned on the Town of Coeymans Court on Thursday. ONEONTA- The City of Oneonta hosted their annual Arbor Day celebration at the Historic Swart-Wilcox Park. Students from Riverside Elementary joined in on the fun by planting a white birch tree early Friday morning. Its time to educate the youth, said Jeffrey Bell, State Vegetation Expert. Its time to teach them about trees and how to care for them in the years to come. The City demonstrated to the kids the importance of caring for trees. Bell gave each student a mini tree to take care of. During the demonstration, the Mayor of Oneonta, Gary Herzig, shared with students how important their roles are in mother nature. He expressed to the students now is their time to shine. These young kids are going to be taking care of these trees, said Herzig. It is good for them to understand the importance of [Arbor Day] and what it stands for. After the students planted their tree, a special presentation took place behind the Swart-Wilcox House. At this presentation arborist, Craig Vollmer of Forecon, Inc. explained a new treatment to kill off the Emerald Ash Borer. To protect against this insect, Vollmer injected an ash tree behind the house with a repellent to fight the Ash Borer. We are looking to do this for the next three years on these trees, said James M. Hawver, Oneonta City Engineer. We have to keep them as historic landmarks. The City of Oneonta will be planting more trees in the months to come. It is all part of a $142,000 grant from New York State. Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and many local police departments will be participating in the event. The Drug Enforcement Administrations Take Back Day is an opportunity for people in the community to safely turn in their unused or unwanted prescription drugs. According to the DEA, a total of 912,305 pounds of prescription drugs were collected in last Octobers Take Back Day, at 5,321 different collection sites. "Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment," the DEA's website says. Take Back Day is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Here is a list of local law enforcement agencies where you can drop off your prescription drugs: - New Hartford Police Department - 32 Kellogg Rd., New Hartford, NY 13413 - Utica Police Department - 413 Oriskany St. W., Utica, NY 13502 - Hamilton College Campus Safety - 198 College Hill Rd, Clinton, NY 13323 - Kirkland Police Department, at Kinney Drugs - 12 Franklin Ave, Clinton, NY 13323 - Oneida County Sheriffs Office - 6065 Judd Rd., Oriskany, NY 13424 - Ilion Police Department, at Kinney Drugs - 40 First St., Ilion, NY 13357 - Herkimer Police Department - 120 Green St., Herkimer, NY 13350 - Herkimer County Sheriffs Office -320 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY 13350 - Sherrill Police Department - 373 Sherrill Rd., Sherrill, NY 13461 - Rome Police Department - 301 N. James St., Rome, NY 13440 - Oneida Indian Nation Police Department, at Turning Stone Casino Event Center Entrance - 5218 Patrick Rd., Verona, NY 13478 - Otsego County Sheriffs Office - 172 County Highway 33 W., Cooperstown, NY - Chenango County Sheriffs Office, at North Norwich Fire Department - 108 Beach Ln., Norwich, NY 13815 - New York State University Police at SUNY Oneonta - Alumni Hall, Oneonta, NY 13820 - Oneonta Police Department - 79 Main St., Oneonta, NY 13820 To search for drug take back locations in other areas, click here. UTICA -- Local restaurants are on high alert after the recent recall of romaine lettuce. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the newest romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak is the biggest outbreak in the United States in 12 years. Since the outbreak began, the CDC alerted distributors in order to prevent more tainted lettuce mixes from being sent out. Some concerns were raised about local bars and restaurants serving romaine lettuce. Local restaurant owner Sam Tornatore is the owner of Babe's Macaroni Grill & Bar. He says he's very careful about where he buys produce. Two of his top vendors were alerted of the E. coli outbreak weeks ago. Tornatore wants to assure customers that none of the lettuce the restaurant received came from the original source of the outbreak. "As soon as the outbreak became public, these two sources were already ahead of it, Tornatore said. In fact, I would guess they knew before anybody knew. And now the consumers are all hearing about it, and it's still an epidemic, and it's still out there because there's product that is being handled that got shipped around and somebody may have it in a different state, and they say oh, now it's broke out in another state. But the source of the problem has already been remedied. They know where it was. Now they're just trying to find where this product, if there's any more left, went." The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning against eating all romaine lettuce. Health officials say the E. coli outbreak has grown, affecting 84 people throughout the U.S. Forty-two people have been hospitalized, including nine that are battling kidney failure. Officials say they have not yet identified the source of the tainted lettuce but they do know it is from the Yuma, Arizona region. There haven't been any local cases of E. coli reported. The Associated Press contributed to this story. It's now time to meet the newest members of our Morning Mug Club...brought to you by Holland Farms Bakery and Deli. On May 4th and 5th Your Neighbors Inc. will be hosting their Annual Garage Sale. It's their biggest fundraiser of the year as they fill the entire gym at the Our Saviour Lutheran Church with donated items. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. T They will accept donated items on May 1st and 2nd. Please call 315-235-7149 if you need items picked up or if you have any questions. I am person who is uncompromisingly black and unapologetically gay. Deal with it. I am person who is uncompromisingly black and unapologetically gay. Deal with it. Alvin McEwen [image: china bans games, Activision Blizzard lawsuit]Activision Blizzard Settle One Of Many Discrimination Lawsuits After a summer defined by copious alle... Dear Readers, Stonewall Gazette is being placed on an indefinite hiatus due to my health. I have stage four peritoneal cancer. Life's journey can be a roug... Donald Trumps former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, is currently promoting her new book, Ill Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White... Deadline Hollywood reports: Nafessa Williams has been tapped to play Robyn Crawford in the biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody the upcoming feature about ... China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Wrexham supermarket reopens after undergoing two week transformation This article is old - Published: Friday, Apr 27th, 2018 A Wrexham supermarket reopened its doors to customers yesterday after undergoing a two-week transformation. The Aldi store, on Ruthin Road, underwent the works as part of the companys 300m investment into improving its stores and service across the UK, and is based on feedback from more than 50,000 customers. The company say the new look aims to improve customers convenience and overall shopping experience. As part of the improvement works several developments now feature at the store, including: New and improved chillers and freezers including a Food to Go section at the front of the store Increased space dedicated to fresh, British meat products Relocation of fresh bakery items to the final aisle, so products dont get squashed under shopping Relocation of Beers Wines and Spirits into a dedicated fixture along the back wall A dedicated section full of award winning Health & Beauty products The store, which is one of two Aldi supermarkets in Wrexham, employs 22 members of the local community and the refurbishment has created an additional job. Aldi Store Manager, Spencer Kearmey, said: The store is looking fantastic, and we cant wait to welcome our loyal customers back so they can see it for themselves. We know that the value and quality of our products is unbeatable, and were committed to making sure that the shopping experience each customer enjoys in our stores is on a par with the products and services theyre used to. We were voted Britains favourite supermarket in the Which? 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey voted for by UK shoppers and were delighted that our commitment to fantastic value and quality products is being recognised. Weve got some great Specialbuy deals on throughout our opening week, so were set for a busy opening week. This is the third in a series of articles on the recent San Francisco International Film Festival, held April 4-17. The first part was posted April 18 and the second part on April 20. I Am Not a Witch I Am Not a Witch More than 86 percent of Zambias 14.6 million people are living on less than a dollar a day, according to a March 2017 United Nations Development Program report. In 2015, Zambian Watchdog ranked Zambia the poorest country in the world, ahead of such impoverished regions and nations as Gaza Strip, Zimbabwe and Suriname. Burdened by the weight of the populations extreme deprivation, Zambian cinema faces enormous challenges. Despite this, Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni has delivered a strikingly imaginative debut film, I Am Not a Witch. Cast with non-professionals and shot in and around the countrys capital city of Lusaka, the movie features stunning composition with a surrealistic flair to comment on the countrys grinding poverty and the oppression of its population. As the movie opens, to music by Vivaldi, a busload of tourists arrive at a remote Zambian village to gawk at and snap photos of elderly women seated behind an improvised barrier. The women have painted faces, are dressed in blue and white ragged clothing, and each is tethered to a long white ribbon attached to a giant spool. They have been branded as witches and the ribbons are their makeshift chains. An eight-year-old female orphan (Margaret Mulubwa), who comes to be named Shula, meaning uprooted one, is randomly accused of being a witch by superstitious villagers. The police contact a government official (Henry BJ Phiri), who is excited by the prospect of new opportunities to make money. Shula is offered the choice to remain a witch or become a goat. Bewildered (she is virtually silent throughout the movie), Shula chooses the first option, initially making her a local celebrity. Now a tool helping the corrupt, wealthy politician to get on television talk shows and sell his brand of eggs, Shula is also forced to pick out alleged criminals from a line-up. When she calls a senior witch for counsel, she is advised to pick the one with the darkest skin color. But, above all else, she is expected to bring rain to a parched, drought-plagued country. It is not long before Shula laments her decision not to become a goat, an animal that has more freedom than do the witches. It becomes clear that the witches are essentially slave labor, hoeing the rocky, scorched fields for the landowners. In one comic/tragic scene, a well-dressed woman approaches the witches with a selection of wigs. There is a Madonna wig with natural curls, a Sim Kardashan and a Beyancey (sic). Yet another way to fleece the women. Nyoni has elegantly crafted a tale that points to the exploitation of Zambias poor by an elite that shamelessly promotes superstition and backwardness. As the witches toil and grow old in penury, or in the case of Shula die in misery, their captors grow ever greedier and more inhuman. Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable Photographer Garry Winogrand is the subject of a documentary, Garry Winogrand: All Things A re Photographable, directed by Sasha Waters Freyer. Born in the Bronx, Winogrand was considered, in the words of John Szarkowski, curator of photography at New Yorks Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from 1962 to 1991, the central photographer of his generation. Freyers film is the first documentary on Winogrands life and work, and is scored by his son Ethan Winogrand. Winogrand (1928-1984) produced hundreds of thousands of photographs with his 35mm Leica, creating a chronicle of life in America from the late 1950s to the early 1980s that focuses on New York City, later on Texas and eventually on Hollywood. When he died suddenly at age 56, Winogrand left behind more than 10,000 rolls of filmmore than a quarter of a million undeveloped pictures! In the movie, bolstered by Winogrand images and interviews with colleagues and family, the photographerwho was greatly influenced by Robert Frank (b. 1924) and Walker Evans (1903-1975)offers his view of photography: What does photography do better than anything else but describe? Youve seen enough corruption of language. Its why you get the politicians you get in office. Thats why every time a politician mentions the word peace, theyre talking about soldiers moving. You should learn to call a thing what it is. According to the film, the MoMAs New Documents exhibition in 1967 (curated by Szarkowski), featuring Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Diane Arbus, reset the course of photography. The Workshop The Workshop With a subtle touch, French filmmaker Laurent Cantet (The Class, 2008) takes on xenophobia, racism and alienation (and presumably support for the National Front) among young people in his fiction film, The Workshop. On Frances Mediterranean coast, six students from La Ciotat, a former working class shipyard town rebuilt as a resort whose facilities now harbor yachts, are involved in a workshop led by Olivia (Marina Fois), an author of popular thrillers. As the students bicker over what kind of story they want to write, a brooding loner, Antoine (Matthieu Lucci), introduces racist notions and disturbing anti-social formulations, offending particularly the black and Muslim students. In his spare time, Antoine listens to fascistic rants from a television shock jock and believes he is defending Frances values, on whose behalf he wants to become a Marine. Olivia, attempting to challenge Antoine to rethink his ideas, risks her life. The history of the area (near Marseilles) has some bearing on Antoines right-wing bent. The movie points to the demise of the once-thriving shipyard, which, as one worker explains, used to employ 10,000 people. In the first year after its closure, 50 people committed suicide, others suffered divorces and alcoholism. Some fought back and occupied the yards. A towering crane still stands as a monument to the La Ciotats industrial demise. Cantet is obviously concerned about the growth of National Front sentiment and correctly places it in the context of deteriorating economic conditions and the bleakness of life for French young people. However, the real key to the rise of extreme nationalist and semi-fascistic tendencies lies in the role of the miserable French official left, which, with all its energy, has blocked the road of mobilizing workers against capitalism. The Rescue List The Rescue List From Ghana, the documentary The Rescue List, by Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, deals with children forced into slavery by fishermen on Lake Volta. The movies introduction explains: In 1965, foreign mining companies built a hydroelectric dam on Ghanas Volta River, creating the largest manmade lake on earth. Traffickers began to pay families facing extreme poverty to send their children to the lake for short term work. But the children often disappear. There are now an estimated 20,000 children enslaved to fishermen in remote regions of Lake Volta. Receiving little government aid, Challenging Heights is a refuge and school for rescued youth who have been held captive, often for years. The facility is headed by Kwame, who was himself a child slave: I think about the tortures and abuses I went through when diving to untangle nets. Some of the children get trapped and die. He obtains his rescue list from others who have been rescued and sets off to track the children down. While Kwame and his team have rescued more than 1,000 children, there are thousands more not on his list. One scene shows a boy being plucked out of scores of miserable children still languishing in the traffickers barracks. Any juvenile rescued by Kwame is seen as a lost investment by the former captors. Kwames work is admirable, but it seems overwhelmed by the dimensions of the problem, and the broader question of poverty and social misery in Ghana. Louise LecavalierIn Motion Louise LecavalierIn Motion The feature-length documentary by French Canadian Raymond St-Jean is a fast-paced, fascinating portrait of dancer and Montreal native Louise Lecavalier, whose work with Canadian choreographer Edouard Lock in La La La Human Steps (1981 to 1999) influenced contemporary dance. [For an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRt5Y439dvU] During that time, she worked with the likes of David Bowie. Now nearly 60 years old, Lecavalier (present in San Francisco for the showing of the film) is amazingly vibrant and creative. Since 2016, when she founded her own company, Fou Glorieux (Glorious Madness), she has continued her quest to push the limits of body movement. In 2012, she created her first choreography, So Blue, which has toured internationally. In the movie, one dance partner comments that Lecavalier is like holding a bomb in your hand. In an impressive sequencea dance called Battlefield, which premiered in Germany in 2016she and a partner stylishly contort inside a steel cube. Lecavalier is passionate, supremely energetic and her work has won her many distinctions. St-Jean has done a remarkable job of capturing this human dynamo in action. The Distant Barking of Dogs The Distant Barking of Dogs Danish documentarian Simon Lereng Wilmonts The Distant Barking of Dogs concerns itself with the life of children growing up in a war zone. It centers on Oleg and Yarik who live with their grandmother in Hnutove, a village in Donetsk Oblast of Eastern Ukraine. In voice-overs, the grandmother makes comments like: The war came to us last summer. It seems as if our lives are frozen. We are like animals hiding from the winter and waiting for the cold to end and Caught between two fires we hear explosions and the whistle of projectiles flying right above our heads. The fear gripped the entire villagenext door, a child overwhelmed by stress, started vomiting after every explosion. The plight of the children and the entire population, living with bombings and gunfire, is terrible, but the filmmaker is not some neutral observer hovering above the events. He has chosen a Ukrainian protagonist and setting for a reason. The movies press notes state: Precipitated by the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, a string of rising tensions in Eastern Ukraine erupted in armed conflict in 2014 between pro-Russian separatist forces and the Ukrainian government. The armed conflict quickly grew into an international feud, as the separatists continue to receive Russian support and the Ukrainian government the backing of NATO countries, leading many to label it a proxy war between East and West. The notes go on: Through Olegs perspective, the film examines what it means to grow up in a war zone. It portrays how a childs universal struggle to discover what the world is about grows interlaced with all the dangers and challenges the war presents. But the war is not some timeless, inexplicable event, nor is it a response to Russian actions. In reality, as the WSWS wrote August 2016: The crisis in Ukraine and the developments in Crimea are the direct outcome not of Russian aggression, but of the US- and German-orchestrated coup to topple the elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. Spearheaded by fascist militias, this operation, funded and directed by Washington and Berlin, brought to power an extreme right-wing, anti-Russian regime under the oligarch Petro Poroshenko. Mired in corruption and under constant threat from the neo-Nazi thugs who were the coups shock troops, it has presided over a deepening economic crisis and an ongoing war against the civilian population in the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbass region. In the immediate wake of the coup, Crimea, whose population is predominantly Russian-speaking, voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to break with Ukraine and become part of Russia. The director presumably belongs to the cohort of human rights filmmakers whose concerns happen to coincide almost exclusively with the geopolitical aims and interests of the Western powers. City of the Sun City of the Sun Georgian director Rati Onelis City of the Sun is set in Chiatura in the central part of the former Soviet republic. It was once a center of manganese mining (important in steel production), which employed up to 10,000 workers and supplied nearly 50 percent of the worlds manganese. Today, it is a ghost town, whose despairing residents attempt to survive in the midst in its ruins. The industrial decline has caused high unemployment, which in turn has caused a severe decline in population: about half of Chiaturas inhabitants have left since the late 1980s. (Le Monde Diplomatique) Oneli goes in pursuit of complex humanity (I really believe that humans need humans, he told an interviewer), and finds it. But his filmmaking is an extreme example of the passive objectivity that one finds so often these days in documentaries about the poorest and most oppressed people. Since protest and anger, much less social upheaval, are beyond the given filmmakers social imagination, finding happiness in wretched circumstances, in other words, making a virtue out of necessity, becomes the watchword. Almost silent, City of the Sun seems intent on prettifying misery and treats the few, nearly pulseless townspeople it follows like creatures running in place. The films title is taken from Tommaso Campanellas (1568-1639) utopian treatise La citta del Sole (The City of the Sun). Campanella, an important Renaissance philosopher, wrote: They are rich because they want nothing, poor because they possess nothing; and consequently they are not slaves to circumstances, but circumstances serve them. With these words, Oneli ends his film. A little water has flowed under the bridge since the seventeenth century, including the growth of modern production and a modern working class, many revolutions and also counter-revolutions. To imply that the residents of Chiatura, victims of capitalist restoration and economic collapse, are fortunate to be destitute, is the height of petty bourgeois blindness and light-mindedness. To be continued A Texas couple with deep political connections in the West African country of Guinea was charged Thursday with forced labor after a young woman they allegedly enslaved for more than 16 years managed to escape their home in Southlake with help from neighbors. Mohamed Toure and Denise Cros-Toure, both 57, allegedly brought the victim from Guinea to Texas in 2000, when she was just 5 years old. She has not been named. They allegedly then forced the girl to do housework and care for their children, subjecting her to emotional and physical abuse, the Department of Justice said in a press release. "Although the victim was close in age to the children, the defendants denied her access to schooling and the other opportunities afforded to their children," the department alleges. The couple originally hail from Guinea, where Mohamed Toure is an influential figure and son of Guinea's first President, Ahmed Sekou Toure. The younger Toure was also a leader of the political opposition party in Guinea, although he has no diplomatic immunity or status, according to a source familiar with the matter. Following his father's death in 1984, Mohamed Toure was imprisoned along with other members of his family, according to the authors of Historical Dictionary of Guinea. He was later exiled to Morocco and Ivory Coast before settling in Texas with his wife and children. He later returned to Guinea, where he was named secretary general of his father's old political party. Now, Toure and his wife face up to 20 years in prison on the forced labor charge. "As part of their coercive scheme to compel the victim's labor, the defendants took her documents and caused her to remain unlawfully in the United States after her visa expired," the Justice Department alleges in its press release. "They further isolated her from her family and others and emotionally and physically abused her." In the criminal complaint against the Toure, the lead investigator alleges that the victim -- referred to only as Female Victim 1 or FV-1 -- was forced to sleep on the floor for years, and was only taken to see a medical professional once. The complaint also alleges disturbing incidents of physical abuse by Cros-Toure, who allegedly beat the victim, sometimes with a belt or electrical cord. In one incident, the victim alleged an earring was pulled out of her ear by Cros-Toure with such force that it tore her earlobe, leaving a visible scar. The victim allegedly was also frequently yelled at or kicked out of the house without money, identification, or the ability to communicate in English. On one occasion, the victim was discovered in a park by a police officer and returned to the Toure family as a suspected runaway. "Eventually, in August 2016, the victim escaped the defendants with the help of several former neighbors," the release also alleges. The case was investigated by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, which is often involved in criminal cases that have an international dimension. The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a redacted version of the Republican report on the committee's year-long Russia investigation, in which GOP members say they found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and disputed the intelligence community's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to help elect Donald Trump. The committee released the report with redactions from the intelligence community, along with a redacted Democratic dissent. saying collusion exists and that there were key aspects of the probe Republicans failed to investigate. The report's release marks the conclusion of a yearlong committee investigation that devolved into a partisan brawl between Democrats and Republicans, fighting over the decision by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to step aside from the probe, the subpoenas that were and were not issued and dueling memos over a surveillance warrant for a former Trump campaign adviser. The Republican report itself, which is 253 pages long, had "overzealous redactions" from the intelligence community that the committee plans to fight, according to Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican who led the committee's Russia probe. "Many of the redactions include information that is publicly available, such as witness names and information previously declassified," Conaway said. The committee ended its investigation into Russia's 2016 election meddling last month, concluding they found no evidence that Trump's team had colluded with Russians. "We found no evidence of collusion, and so we found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings," Conaway said when they submitted their report for declassification. But Democrats say Republicans failed to interview key witnesses and issue subpoenas to obtain necessary information, charging their colleagues were not interested in uncovering collusion. They are now continuing their own investigation without Republicans into Russia's election meddling. They released a 98-page document that pushes back on the Republican conclusions. "Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate - or even see, when in plain sight - evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses," California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement. Trump has seized on the Republican findings, claiming multiple times that the committee found no collusion, despite Democrats disputing that finding. He tweeted again on Friday that the Republican report found "no evidence" of collusion. "Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. 'No evidence' that the Trump Campaign 'colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.' Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!" Trump tweeted. Trump later said Friday that he was "honored" by the report. "We were honored. It was a great report, no collusion, which I knew anyway, no coordination, no nothing. It's a witch hunt, that's all it is," Trump said. The Republican report details the major revelations of the past year over connections between Trump's team and Russia, from the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting to contacts with WikiLeaks and meetings with Russians, repeatedly clearing Trump's associates of trying to collude in the election. Though it found no collusion, the Republican report does fault the Trump campaign over several key events during the campaign. It states that the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting that a Russian lawyer and had with Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort "demonstrated poor judgment." It also states that the Trump campaign's "periodic praise for and communications with Wikileaks-a hostile foreign organization-to be highly objectionable and inconsistent with U.S. national security interests." The Republican report also faults Hillary Clinton's campaign for its role in the opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia, stating that the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee "paid for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources, including a litany of claims by high-ranking current and former Russian government officials." New details about the Trump Tower meeting Much of the Republican report, as well as the Democratic response, reviewed the major news events that have occurred over the past year, from the Trump Tower meeting to revelations about contacts with WikiLeaks and meetings with Russians to the Trump Tower Moscow discussions. There was some new information embedded in the documents. Aras Agalarov, the Russian oligarch who orchestrated the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, sent Trump "an expensive painting for the candidate's birthday" one day after the meeting, the Democratic report states, citing an email from music promoter Rob Goldstone, who organized the Trump Tower meeting, to Trump's assistant Rhona Graff. "There are few things better than receiving a sensational gift from someone you admire -- and that's what I've received from you," Trump responded to Agalarov a week later, according to the Democratic document. Democrats also cite testimony of Trump Jr. and others about the Trump Tower meeting. "I'd say we spent less than, you know, 5 minutes of the 20 minutes, again, speaking through a translator about the quote/unquote 'dirt,' and the rest was a quick segue, bait-and-switch, whatever you want to call it, to speak about Russian adoption and the Magnitsky Act," Trump Jr. told the committee. "But it's fair to say you were hoping for something more useful than what you got?" Schiff asked. "That's fair," Trump Jr. responded. Explaining Trump-Russia connections The Republican report clears Trump's team on a number of fronts that Democrats have pointed to as signs of possible collusion. The Republicans say they did not find any evidence, for instance, that Trump associates were involved in the publication of hacked emails by WikiLeaks and others, including Roger Stone, the Trump confidant who had appeared to predict releases of hacked emails. The report cites emails exchanged between Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Russian-American business associate Felix Sater over building a Trump Tower Moscow while Trump was running for president, in which Sater suggested "our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it." Sater, whose name is redacted, suggested he had contacts in the Russian government to help move the project along, but he told the committee his comments were ''mere puffery." "The Committee therefore assesses that (redacted) was attempting to leverage political contacts for business purposes, rather than the other way around," the report says of Sater. The committee Republicans also found no fault with the change to the Republican platform in 2016, in which support for lethal weapons to Ukraine was removed. In fact, the Republicans say the change strengthened the platform. "After reviewing the Republican Party platform amendment process, Interviewing those involved, and reviewing document productions, the Committee determined that the original plank was strengthened, rather than weakened-and there is no evidence that language advocating for the provisions of 'lethal defensive weapons' was Improperly removed," the report states. In the case of the meeting that Blackwater founder Erik Prince took with Russian government investor Kirill Dmitriev, which has been alleged to be an attempt to set up a "back channel" with Russia, Republicans take the novel approach that it shows the absence of collusion during the campaign because in that case, a back channel would not be needed. The report says that Kushner and Prince disagreed with the purpose of a back channel, while saying it "potentially reflected an absence of such channels during the campaign." And in the case of the two Trump campaign aides most closely associated with Russia - George Papadopoulos and Carter Page - the report downplays their roles on the campaign. "There is no evidence that anyone on the Trump campaign was aware of Page's past ties to Russian intelligence services-or Papadopoulos' more recent contacts with a Russian-connected professor-when these two individuals were included among the advisers that were publicly announced on March 21," the report states. "In fact, as Kushner candidly put it, 'we put together that list because we were getting a lot of pressure from the media to put out a list of foreign policy advisers.'" Putin's goals disputed The report does take issue with the Obama administration's response to Russia's election meddling, as well as the intelligence community's public assessment over Russia's interference. One of the main disputes over the Republican report when it was first summarized last month focused on whether Putin was seeking to help Trump get elected president, as the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment concluded. The Republican report cites "significant intelligence tradecraft failings" in that assessment, which they argue "undermine confidence" in the judgments about Putin's objectives in the 2016 election, saying that the draft was "subjected to an unusually constrained review and coordination process." Republicans plan to issue a follow-up report with more detail on the matter. Schiff, however, said Democrat "watered down" their findings about the intelligence community, and argued there was "no evidence that calls into question the quality and reliability" of the assessment. The Republicans also take aim at the opposition research dossier compiled on Trump and Russia by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The dossier was the subject of the Republican memo spearheaded by Nunes, a California Republican, accusing the FBI of illicitly obtaining a surveillance warrant on Page. The report notes that the Clinton campaign and DNC indirectly paid for the dossier through Fusion GPS - and raises the prospect that the Kremlin was trying to influence Steele. "The Committee is concerned with the degree to which the Kremlin may have sought to influence information that was ultimately provided to Steele-through the potential provision of disinformation or otherwise-consistent with its ongoing efforts 'to undermine public faith in the US democratic process,'" the report states. The Republicans also devote a section of their report to leaks in the intelligence community, which is heavily redacted but concludes the leaks "may have damaged national security and potentially endangered lives." Next steps Conaway says that even though the report was released Friday, he intends to push the intelligence community to declassify more of the report. Some of the redactions are obviously known, including names of key figures like former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Page's name is redacted in some areas and not in others. While this report marks the end of the Republican Russia investigation, Republicans are continuing other investigations and reports. They are still planning a fuller explanation of the intelligence community assessment in the coming weeks, and Nunes has said he will continue his investigation into the dossier and the State Department. The Democrats, meanwhile have made clear they plan to continue probing the matter. In addition to writing a fuller report, they are continuing to call more witnesses. They spoke to a former Cambridge Analytica contractor earlier this week and plan to seek others who are willing to speak to them. This story has been updated. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Gibson Family Center will be opening it's doors on Monday. All to help those right here in our community. The center has been a work in progress since 2013. Founders raised more than $2.1 million to bring the facility to the community. The center will provide hospice care for patients in the Wabash Valley, including Illinois. "We will be able to provide around the clock care to those patients who need hospice, but it cannot be managed at home," said Tracee Hines, inpatient unit manager. For one director, this facility means more. Having lost a loved one, she's decided to dedicate her time and effort to him. "We took him to the hospital, and at the time there were no units like this, so he spent the remainder of his two weeks in an ICU unit. It was at that point when I'm like, 'Oh, we need something like this'," said Tracy Rippy, business development director. The center believes hospitals have a different goal than hospice. "Their staff is focused on cure. Our staff is focused on comfort," said Trudy Rupska, Hospice of the Wabash Valley CEO. This is the first hospice center in the Wabash Valley. Before, patients had to travel for care. "This is a resource that wasn't available. You had to go to Indianapolis. You had to go to Bloomington," said Rippy. Hines says it's important to be able to serve those who live in our community and their families. "Let them know that they're not alone in this. End of life care is something that really needs to be recognized, and my goal is that our community understands how important that care is," said Hines. The center provides a number of resources for families. Rippy says time spent with loved ones is the main focus. "They just have to spend precious time and not worry about giving medications or anything like that," said Rippy. The center is located on the fifth floor of the West wing at Union Hospital. The center will open and begin accepting patients Monday, April 30. CLINTON, Ind. (WTHI) - People in Clinton, Indiana can rest easier thanks to a new addition. Clinton Police officially welcomed a new officer into the fold. He's fast and fierce. He's also a dog. K9 Ivan has already been patrolling alongside his handler Officer Justin Nelson but Thursday he became an official employee. The swearing-in ceremony was an opportunity to acknowledge the team's success so far and their promise to serve and protect moving forward. Ivan put his paw on the Bible during the ceremony with the help of the police chief and mayor. Officer Nelson says, "He's a really good asset that's already making headway in the City of Clinton. I hope that they'd (the public) feel safer that we have this ability to use him to find what we're looking for and help keep the public safer." Officer Nelson estimates Ivan has helped get seven grams of meth and sixty-two grams of marijuana off the streets. He has also aided in twenty-eight arrests. "This dog really likes to do tracking. It's one of his favorite things to do. He also likes his bite work. He enjoys looking for narcotics, too but I would have to save his favorite thing is probably tracking." Ivan is just sixteen months old and comes to Clinton for Takoma, Washington. Officer Nelson says it cost around nine thousand dollars to get Ivan and go through training. "Ivan was purchased with funds donated by local businesses as well as local area families that came to us and really helped us get it taken care of. Had they not done so we would've had a little bit different issues because there's not really money budgeted at the time for the K9 program and new K9s are not cheap." The department can still use donations to maintain Ivan. If you'd like to donate to the K9 fund just call the Clinton Police Department. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Vigo County School Corporation (VCSC) has filed a motion for a Partial Summary Judgement in its case involving a kickback scheme. The civil lawsuit is against Frank Shahadey, Paula Shahadey, Franklin Fennell, and Michael Pick, and Picks business, M & P Properties, LLC. Fridays documents ask for a Partial Summary Judgement against Mike Pick. This kind of judgment means a court could order Pick to pay damages and penalties without a full trial. A court can order a summary judgment when there is no dispute about the material facts in a case. The court documents filed Friday state the criminal scheme at the center of the case is undisputed. The documents cite trial transcripts in which Pick admitted to his role in the conspiracy. In the court documents, the VCSC maintains the entire scheme wouldnt have been possible without Pick. The VCSC believes Pick should have reported the criminal scheme when Fennell and Shahadey asked him to join. Co-conspirators, Shahadey and Fennell, both faced punishment for their roles in the scheme. Shahadey pleaded guilty. His sentence included 16 months in prison and two years of probation. A jury recently found Fennell guilty, but on Friday, Fennell appealed that conviction. A judge had previously sentenced him to 24 months in prison. Pick has not been criminally charged for his involvement. The Indiana Crime Victims Relief Act allows a person or entity to bring a civil action against the individuals who caused the damages. Under that act, Fridays motion asks for damages three times the amount established in Shahadey & Fennells criminal proceedings. Their restitution amount was $110,600. The minimum amount asked for in Fridays motion is $331,800. In Fridays filing, the VCSC counsel states the defendants had perfected a vicious cycle. Federal investigators uncovered that scheme involved inflated and made up invoices from M & P Properties for the VCSC to pay. It involved 40-50 jobs over a two year period. Watching Republican Senate candidate Don Blankenship on the campaign trail, he does not immediately come across as someone his party leaders would be concerned about. He is soft spoken and lacks the charisma of even the most remotely formidable political figures. Yet beneath this low-key exterior is a candidate with a controversial history in West Virginia. Blankenship, a coal baron, was just released from prison last May after serving a year sentence following his misdemeanor conviction for his involvement in the deadliest US mine explosion in four decades. On the campaign trail, he has compared Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the Russians and accused McConnell of being soft on China because his father-in-law is a "wealthy China person." A recent poll shows that Blankenship - who is campaigning on the same themes President Donald Trump did in 2016 when he won the state by 42 points - is trailing two other candidates in a three-way primary race. All of this has national Republicans who are clinging to their narrow Senate majority terrified that Blankenship will win the GOP primary here because that could mean losing an opportunity in November's midterms to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats. "They don't really believe that," Blankenship said of GOP warnings that having him as their nominee would blow their chances of winning the Senate seat here. "That's what they're telling you so you'll tell the public that. What they believe is I'm gonna win. They don't want me to be there because they know I'm a extreme Trump supporter and that we have to make a change, and that they don't want that change to be made because they're personally benefiting from it," Blankenship told CNN. He may not be the showman that Trump is, but Blankenship is a wealthy businessman whose message is Trump 2016 on steroids. "You cannot continue to give American jobs to illegal immigrants. You cannot continue to drive all of the manufacturing jobs out of this country to Asia and pollute the world much more if those jobs and manufacturing facilities had stayed here," he argues. The president is still very popular here, and it's why all six candidates vying for the GOP Senate nomination are tripping over themselves to align themselves with his agenda. During a debate in Wheeling this week, the moderator began to ask whether there is anything they disagree with the President about, and one candidate, Jack Newbrough, screamed "no" before the question was even fully asked. But if Blankenship sounds the most well-versed in Trumpism, it's because he has been espousing a more populist GOP approach for years. He even took out his phone and showed us a video he had made in 2012 in order to try to convince the Koch brothers to sign onto a more isolationist approach for the GOP. He chuckled about the fact that the Koch's wouldn't go for it, but then Trump won the presidency with the same message. Disdain for Republican leaders Another similarity between Blankenship and the President is his disdainful rhetoric about GOP leaders in Washington. But while Trump's rhetoric sometimes sounds like he's whacking the so-called establishment because it played to his base, Blankenship really seems to mean it. This week, Blankenship lobbed a racially charged accusation at McConnell, saying he's soft on China because his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was born in China and has family business ties there through her father. "I have an issue when the father-in-law is a wealthy Chinaperson. There's a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China," Blankenship told West Virginia radio host Dimitri Vassilaros. McConnell shot back by saying he has no comment on "ridiculous observations like that." "My father-in-law is an American who lives in New York." McConnell told Fox News. Longtime McConnell political aide Josh Holmes was less restrained, taking to Twitter to call Blankenship "as contemptible a human being as you will find." Blankenship released a statement calling Holmes one of "D.C. Swamp Captain McConnell's lieutenants" "When someone is about to drain the swamp, all sides of the establishment unify to keep the District of Corruption in place," said Blankenship. Blankenship's heavy baggage Senate Republicans' biggest concern with Blankenship isn't so much the way he rails on them personally and calls them corrupt, but that he recently got out of prison. Blankenship was CEO of Massey Energy when the Upper Big Branch Mine exploded in 2010, killing 29 people. In 2015, he was convicted conspiracy to violate mine health and safety standards -- a misdemeanor -- and was later sentenced to a year in prison before being released in May of 2017. What does he say to voters who believe he has blood on his hands from the mining tragedy? "The thing I would say to 'em is, Upper Big Branch deadly explosion is one of the biggest reasons they should vote for me if they're, have family members or are involved in the coal industry. Unlike any other person that I know of, I stood up against the establishment when they falsely claimed that the explosion was caused by the coal miners," he argued. Blankenship insists the mine exploded because of federal regulators. "These miners have had 400 years of experience and they were forced to change the ventilation by a guy that was hardly old enough to shave, and by God, that has got to stop," he said. He also argues that he was not given a fair shake in court - set up by Democratic-backed judges and politicians like the Democratic Senator he wants to unseat, Joe Manchin. Blankenship even wrote a short book while in jail, which he and aides hand out at campaign events, called "An American Political Prisoner." "I prepared and distributed this booklet in order to reveal that our justice system is broken and how our government has not told the truth about the West Virginia coal mine explosion that it may have caused," he wrote in the introduction. Flipping through the book, we asked if this was his manifesto. "I don't know if manifesto has a negative tone or not. It sounds like it does since some of the really bad guys had manifestos," Blankenship responded. "I would describe it as a common sense explanation that I was a political prisoner," he added. Sen. Manchin's wife, who attended a Chamber of Commerce candidate breakfast here, calls that laughable. "Don Blankenship is not a victim," Gayle Manchin told us flatly. Getting hit from both sides A Fox News poll out this week shows Blankenship trailing two other Republican candidates ahead of the May 8 primary, Evan Jenkins and Patrick Morrisey, both of whom GOP leaders think have a good shot at beating Manchin. While Blankenship is reaching into his deep pockets to run ads trying to reintroduce himself to West Virginia Republican voters, he is up against a tough ad paid for by the Mountain Families PAC, which has ties to the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, the same that spent millions in Alabama's GOP primary last year in an unsuccessful attempt to keep Roy Moore from being the Republican nominee. The ad accuses "convicted criminal Don Blankenship" of getting caught with his company "pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry contaminating water supplies." "Don Blankenship has 91% name recognition in West Virginia," he shot back, speaking of himself in the third person. "People that know Don Blankenship will vote for him in huge numbers. And that all I have to do is get better and better known as well as point out to things that Joe Manchin has not done that he should have done. He's been in office for 36 years and we're last in every good category and first in every bad one." The field Some Democrats worried about Manchin's ability to keep his seat are jumping into the GOP primary race as well. They, too, see Blankenship as the most beatable Republican, and are therefore, trying to help him in the GOP primary with ads tearing down Jenkins and Morrisey, two leading GOP candidates Democrats consider bigger threats to Manchin. Morrisey is the state's Attorney General and the only candidate who has won a statewide race. "I'm not nervous about Don winning. I think we have the best, the most proven, conservative record out there," Morrisey told us. GOP Congressman Evan Jenkins was a Democrat until 2013, when he switched parties to run against an incumbent Democratic congressman. He is slightly ahead in the latest polls, and insists Republican voters won't hold it against him that he was a Democrat until 5 years ago. "I've always been conservative. I've always been a believer in our values as West Virginians. Staunchly pro-life, 100% voting record with the national right to life. Staunch defender of the second amendment. 100% voting record with the NRA. My values haven't changed," Jenkins said in an interview. This is the first time Blankenship is on the ballot, but he spent years using his millions of considerable wealth to help build the West Virginia Republican Party, which he says gives him goodwill with GOP voters. How much of his own money is he planning to spend to win this Senate GOP primary? "I don't really know because I'm not keeping track of it," he said. "If I started keeping track, I'd probably stop. So I better wait until after May 8th to figure it out." Editor's Note: This article has been updated since its publication BELMONT, Miss. (WTVA) - Belmont police are searching for those responsible for stealing 16 chainsaws from a local store. Photo: Belmont PD Photo: Belmont PD Belmont Investigator Donald Thomas says the burglary happened at Southeast Surplus either last night or early Friday morning. He says the chainsaws were valued at $500 a piece. He says there is no surveillance video and no suspects at this time. However, investigators later said they have a vehicle-of-interest. Thomas says locations in Alabama and Tennessee were hit as well. "When we got here this morning, the complete glass had been broken out, shattered all over the ground," said Edwin Bolding, the store's manager. He says with a small business such as his, it's tough to recover after something like this. Belmont police say they are making good progress in the case with the help of law enforcement in Alabama and Tennessee. Investigators say the burglaries in Tennessee and Alabama happened during the course of one month. Bolding says his store is investing in surveillance cameras effective immediately. JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) - A Corinth man has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods. Russell Wayne Haynie, 44, is accused of shipping knock-off merchandise from China in 2016 and 2017. He was arrested on Sept. 1, 2017, after investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office raided his home. They recovered nearly $2 million in counterfeit products with brand names like Michael Kors and Louis Vuitton. Haynie is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. TUNNEL HILL, Ga. (AP) - A northwest Georgia high school teacher is accused of possessing heroin on campus and having a yearlong sexual relationship with a student. News outlets report 28-year-old Raquel Eleana Spencer was arrested Wednesday when a school resource officer found an illegal substance in her belongings at Northwest Whitfield High School. Whitfield County Schools spokesman Eric Beavers said the search was triggered by a report of unusual behavior. Sheriff's Office Capt. Paul Woods said Thursday that an investigation revealed Spencer had a sexual relationship with a student that began at least a year ago, when the student was a juvenile. She's charged with possession of heroin and sexual assault by persons with supervisory or disciplinary authority. Beavers said Spencer submitted her resignation Wednesday. It's unclear whether she has a lawyer. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A woman beaten to death with her body dumped in an underdeveloped Eastpoint subdivision has been identified. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as 30-year-old Aileen Seiden on Friday. FCSO says they were finally able to reach her sister to notify her of the incident. Deputies say they delayed in sharing this information due to respect for the next of kin. According to FCSO, friends of the victim have planned a vigil for May 3 at 7 p.m. in South Florida. For more information on the vigil click here. FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Two people have been arrested by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, accused of beating a woman to death and dumping her body in an underdeveloped Eastpoint subdivision. The two, Zachary Ray Abell, 30, and Christina Marie Araujo, were arrested Tuesday night at a South Florida home and have been charged with second degree murder and tampering with evidence. They are currently being held in the Broward County jail without bond. The suspects and the victim, who FCSO says were all friends, were passing through the community on their way back from Texas and stopped at Sportsmans Lodge in Eastpoint. Somehow an altercation occurred and the victim was beaten to death. The suspects left early Monday morning and discarded the woman's body in an underdeveloped subdivision just east of Eastpoint. The woman's body was found Monday around 5 p.m. FCSO says they received a BOLO from South Florida alerting them about a body that may have been dumped in North Florida. Once the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators identified the suspects, they assisted in the arrest. We were able to close this case fairly rapidly a really horrific case of a woman who was severely beaten to death and just a very very sad, just a very sad case," said Franklin County Sheriff A.J. "Tony" Smith. Investigators say the two were planning on fleeing the country before being arrested, but someone who claims to know the suspects tells WTXL that's not the case. Authorities are not releasing the victim's name until next of kin are notified. FCSO says the suspects don't have any local ties to the area. FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a body was found dumped in an underdeveloped subdivision. Few details have emerged since after a womans was discovered late Monday evening. WTXL ABC 27 has learned that fishermen located the body to the east of the Eastpoint area of Franklin county and reported it after 5 p.m. Officials say the body had not been there long. The identity of the woman has not been released, but the sheriff's comments suggest that there may be multiple suspects. Give is time to conduct the investigation we will let all of the information out just right now its critical to keep a lot of things that are sensitive within the investigation so that we can have a succession outcome," said Sheriff A.J. "Tony" Smith. "Thats the main thing is to have a successful outcome and bring the guilty people to justice. The Sheriff says that the Franklin county community is presumed to be safe at this time. The investigation is ongoing. This is a developing story. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) - After feeling they were close to a long-sought victory, supporters of voting rights for ex-felons in Florida felt a stinging defeat this week. An Atlanta-based court handed Governor Rick Scott and the other members of the Board of Executive Clemency a decisive victory mid-week by blocking a federal judge's order that would have required the state to overhaul Florida's process of restoring the right to vote to felons. Less than 24 hours later, ministers and civil rights leaders rallied at the state capitol in support of a proposed constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights for most Florida felons. According to Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the best chance for change to happen will be through the ballot box. "More than anything, y'all, on November 6 we have got to show up to pass Amendment 4 and make sure that we automatically restore rights to that class of former felons who are only seeking the dignity around the right to vote," said Gillum. Mark Schlakman with Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights feels most people were unaware of the current clemency process. He says the recent publicity given to the felons voting rights issue will only help the chances of the amendment's passage. "There are a substantial number of people who have completed their sentences, and have no voice in their governance," said Schlakman. "I think that is becoming more clear to the public at large." To pass, Amendment Four needs more than 60 percent of voter approval in November. There are an estimated 600,000 convicted felons in the state who could have their voting rights restored if the measure is approved. PLANTATION, Fla. (WTXL) - The Broward County Sheriff's Deputies Association overwhelmingly voted that they have no confidence in Sheriff Scott Israel. His deputies responded to the Parkland high school shooting. A vote showed 85 percent of the union members have no confidence in Israel. Although the result is largely just symbolic, since there is no action that will be immediately taken. The catalyst for the public show of hostility was the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in February. A deputy assigned to the school did not confront the gunman and gave other arriving officers wrong information. The head of the deputies' union says Sheriff Israel has refused to take responsibility and department morale has been "crushed." Israel said the no confidence vote was quote "unfortunate and appalling." The deputies' union plans to discuss the results of the vote with Florida's department of law enforcement and Gov. Rick Scott. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-26 21:41:26|Editor: pengying Video Player Close NEW DELHI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The two-day informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi beginning Friday in Wuhan city of China is being seen with much anticipation and awe in India. Analysts here are in an upbeat mood vis-a-vis the forthcoming meeting, the first of its kind between the two countries, saying it is expected to lay a strong foundation for a brighter relationship between the two countries in future. According to Prasoon Sharma, founder of the think tank "India Global Centre for China Studies" (IGCCS), there are so many areas where the two countries could work together, like tourism, pharmaceutical commodities, information technology, Artificial Intelligence and digital connectivity, among others. "Nearly 130 million Chinese tourists go out every year, but we are getting just one percent. So there is ample scope of India getting Chinese tourists if we promote our tourism in China," he said, adding, "With regard to trade, now there are opportunities for us. Recently we mentioned about trading soybean with China .... " Professor B. R. Deepak of Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University said that the Xi-Modi informal meeting, as an attempt to iron out differences, would be very meaningful. "I think there will be heart-to-heart talks between the two leaders ... India and China need to engage in a pragmatic and constructive way so that the frictions are done away with and stage is set for India-China relationship for the future," he told Xinhua. According to the Sinologist, though differences would remain between the two countries, both sides can try working around them. Deepak suggested India learn from "China's 40 years of reform experiences during which they accumulated huge capital and made breakthrough in technologies also." "So we can build our capacities on these strong points and prepare ourselves for the economic take-off which is necessary in this country," he said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in waves upon his arrival at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 30, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) by Zhu Dongyang, Liu Chen, Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming meeting between top leaders of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) could start the process of ending the current confrontation, rather than be an endpoint in itself, U.S. experts said. A positive momentum around the Korean Peninsula has been built up in recent months ahead of the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un that is slated for April 27 at the border village of Panmunjom. WHAT MADE THE MEETING POSSIBLE? Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), speaks during the Second Plenum of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, capital of the DPRK, Oct. 7, 2017. (Xinhua/KCNA) Analysts said that the inter-Korean good faith resulting from the inter-Korean diplomacy around the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Peninsula denuclearization has helped make the Moon-Kim meeting possible. Pyongyang's statement on Saturday to halt its nuclear and long-range missile tests, together with the good faith efforts in recent months, has removed potential obstacles to dialogue and further enhanced mutual trust. Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that the push around the Olympics by the two top leaders has lowered tension on the Peninsula and led to the dialogue. Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Korea Economic Institute, a Washington-based non-profit policy research institution, said that enormous credit should go to related countries like China "for creating the environment needed for the upcoming inter-Korean summit." Without these continuous efforts to push for dialogue with the DPRK, the world "might not be where we are today," he added, explaining that Pyongyang's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics helped "shift the narrative of confrontation on the Korean Peninsula to one of dialogue." Michael J. Mazarr, a senior political scientist at the U.S. RAND Corporation, told Xinhua that the primary factor that made the meeting possible was Kim's "apparent appetite for improved relations with the region and possibly the U.S., and thus by extension with South Korea." "My own sense is that the 'maximum pressure' campaign may have affected the timing but didn't change the fundamentals of Kim's strategy," he added. Mazarr noted that South Korea's appetite for better relations has also played a crucial role. "Obviously, the Moon administration has taken a very different line than its predecessor, and the summit might not have happened without that change," Mazarr said. WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE MEETING FACE? According to Mahaffee, efforts to continue lowering tensions and reversing specific tensions related to the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs are essential for the success of the meeting. "How Kim and Moon work together will set a foundational tone headed into the proposed U.S.-DPRK meeting, but that will also have a broader range of factors to consider," he added. In the eyes of Stangarone, the upcoming Kim-Moon meeting is "about starting a process rather than resolving issues." "The most pressing areas for the two Koreas to begin discussions are on denuclearization and creating peace on the Korean Peninsula," he said. There have been reports and indications that the two leaders would declare an end to the Korean War, he said. "But we should think about this more as beginning the process of ending the conflict that has taken place rather than an endpoint in itself." He further noted that the most significant challenge to moving the process forward could come from Pyongyang's requests for sanctions relief or economic aid in exchange for abandoning its nuke storage. But for RAND's Mazarr, the single key issue of the Kim-Moon meeting will be the precise shape of the denuclearization component and "whether there's a deal to be had there." The good news is that all parties concerned are open to a big geopolitical and diplomatic settlement of the Peninsula issue. "The question is whether the U.S. will be able to live with something short of immediate, complete, verifiable disarmament, and what exactly it conveys to South Korea before the inter-Korean meeting," said Mazarr. HOW WILL THE MEETING DEFINE FUTURE? Stangarone told Xinhua that the Kim-Moon meeting's influence on the inter-Korean relations might be "subtle" initially. "With sanctions likely to remain in place for a while," the DPRK and South Korea will "need to be creative in improving inter-Korean relations," he explained. "The most pressing goal for the summit will be creating an environment conducive to the U.S.(-DPRK) summit," he said. As for Mazarr, the most important influence of the meeting -- if the two leaders agree to end it with an agreed roadmap on the nuclear issue and a set of larger initiatives to surround it -- will be the setting of a very specific context for the meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. "I would not expect Seoul to do anything that surprises the U.S., but we'll have to see," he said. Experts added that the meeting might even create the space for dramatic conventional arms reductions, a real boost for global disarmament. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-26 23:12:17|Editor: pengying Video Player Close A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force formation conducts island patrols during training on April 26, 2018. The formation was made up of fighters, early warning and surveillance aircraft, and H-6K bombers, which took off from various military airfields. The formation flew over the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, completing an island patrol, the subject of the training. (Xinhua/Wu Yuepeng) FUZHOU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)air force formation conducted island patrols during training on Thursday morning. The formation was made up of fighters, early warning and surveillance aircraft, and H-6K bombers, which took off from various military airfields. The formation flew over the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, completing an island patrol, the subject of the training. The air force has conducted a number of island patrols since April 18, in order to exercise and enhance its capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Via real combat training at sea, the air force's combat preparedness has undergone historic changes, air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said at a military base in Fujian Province. "The PLA air force has the resolve, faith, and capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. Also on Thursday, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense was questioned on the island patrols at a press briefing. "As to which island they patrolled, it was definitely China's Taiwan Island," he said. The series of actions were targeted at the "Taiwan independence" elements and their activities, and aimed at protecting the livelihood of the people in Taiwan from such activities, Wu continued, promising further action if the secessionists continue to act recklessly. "'Taiwan independence' separatist activities are the biggest real threat to the peace and stability across the Strait, and damage the fundamental interests of our compatriots in Taiwan," he noted. "Promoting 'Taiwan independence' is leading to nowhere," Wu warned. "We are willing to strive for the peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts." VALLETTA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch city of Leeuwarden-Friesland announced on Thursday its decision not to send any official representatives to Valletta 2018 celebrations in light of comments passed by Valletta 2018 chairman Jason Micallef. Leeuwarden-Friesland holds the title of 2018 European Capital of Culture, along with Valletta. The LF2018 foundation said it would not send any more official invitations to Valletta 2018, unless it distanced itself from the offensive tone used by Micallef when speaking about the Caruana Galizia family. Micallef has been a vocal critic of those still mourning Caruana Galizai and civil society activists demanding justice for the murdered journalist. He has called for the clearing of the makeshift memorial in her honour set up in front of the law courts, and mocked Caruana Galizia's last printed words when commenting on the number of people attending last month's St Patrick's day celebrations. "LF2018 believes that V18 representatives have put the values of a European Capital of Culture under pressure as a result of the way in which the V18 organisation has presented itself in the (social) media regarding the journalist," the Dutch foundation said. Over the last weeks, more than 100 local artists signed a petition demanding Micallef's resignation. And 72 MEPs and 250 international authors that form part of PEN International have also voiced serious concerns about Micallef's behaviour. When confronted by journalists, the minister responsible for V18, Maltese Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici, said he had contacted the regional minister responsible for the Dutch European City of Culture and offered to clear up any misunderstandings, adding that his request had been well received. Bonnici, however, insisted that Micallef had a right to his opinion, and that freedom of expression could not be applied selectively. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 02:28:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close CHENGDU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A giant panda started rehabilitation in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday after receiving a complex stomach operation last month. The panda, Cheng Jiu, will receive two hours of rehabilitation every morning in his enclosure at a zoo in Hangzhou, according to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Last month, the four-year-old panda had the surgery for acute stomach distention, the first time the surgery has been conducted on a panda. He has survived three dangerous bouts of gastric reflux since the surgery. The panda's keeper monitored him eating less and suffering from low energy in late February. Veterinarians at the zoo and the panda base as well as doctors from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou conducted a group consultation to diagnose the illness and formulated a plan to operate. According to the base, it was the world's first stomach incision surgery to eliminate indigestible food on a giant panda. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was used to supplement the panda's recovery following the surgery. A four-member team from Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of TCM prescribed medication for the panda. "He is more than 100 kg, so we gave him a high dosage three times that used for an adult human, and blended the medicine powder into his bamboo," according to doctor Xu Zhiying. It was for the first time a panda has been treated with a combination of Western and Chinese therapies, said Zhang Shuo, deputy head of the hospital. The panda was healthy before the base sent him to Hangzhou Zoo in September, 2016. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 02:28:51|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Workers process almond at a processing plant of Travaille and Phippen, an almond growing and processing enterprise, in Modesto, the United States, on April 25, 2018. California's vast San Joaquin Valley, known as the breadbasket of America (and many points beyond) is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Farming, though an ancient and noble profession that is literally responsible for the rise of civilization as we know it, is facing serious challenges in California. Between regulatory quagmires and persistent 6-year drought that the journal of Geophysical Research Letters cited as the driest in over 1,000 years, California growers are now facing another potentially debilitating challenge: The U.S.-China trade war. During an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, when asked what impact the trade war might have on his family's firm, California almond grower Dave Phippen responded, "No shipments to China have been cancelled yet, but, the new crop will be coming in August and if this disagreement isn't settled by then, it will have more impact on the new crop." (Xinhua/Gao Shan) by Julia Pierrepont III, Gao Shan MODESTO, the United States, April 26 (Xinhua) -- It's verdant almond groves for as far as the eye can see. In California's beautiful San Joaqiun Valley, rank-upon-rank of hearty young nut trees, laden with ripening, green-hulled almonds, basking in the California sun, cover thousands of acres of fertile heartland. Weddings and picnics may take place beneath their tranquil, leafy canopies, but make no mistake, this is business - very big business. This delicious nutmeat, nurtured within a fuzzy outer shell, has spawned an industry with a value of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars in foreign sales and employs more than 100,000 people, accounted for nearly 25 percent of California farm exports in 2016. Travaille and Phippen, an almond growing and processing enterprise co-owned by "the five families," a collection of siblings and cousins, have 1,600 acres under cultivation and are still optimistic about the future of farming. They use specialized irrigation systems to reduce water usage, advanced soil testing techniques, and even high tech drones to aerially survey their acreage, all in efforts to optimize their harvest yields. A 4th generation farming family, they're close to hitting the coveted 100-year recognition threshold given to the most-honored founding farm families in the region. The family enterprise was founded by their grandfather from the Netherlands who had the foresight to gift each of his 9 children with 40 acres each (minus the mule), which his descendants have, through hard work and dogged determination, managed to increase to 1,600 acres today. When asked about the crop of younger generations following in their footsteps, co-owner, Dave Phippen, quipped, "They're going to need more dirt." California's vast San Joaquin Valley, known as the breadbasket of America (and many points beyond) is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Farming, though an ancient and noble profession that is literally responsible for the rise of civilization as we know it, is facing serious challenges in California. Between regulatory quagmires and persistent 6-year drought that the journal of Geophysical Research Letters cited as the driest in over 1,000 years, California growers are now facing an other potentially debilitating challenge: The U.S.-China trade war. During an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, when asked what impact the trade war might have on his family's firm, Phippen responded, "No shipments to China have been cancelled yet, but, the new crop will be coming in August and if this disagreement isn't settled by then, it will have more impact on the new crop." He added, "The 15 percent tariff the Chinese are talking about levying on top of the 10 percent tariff we already pay would have a significant impact on our business." As the scion of a well-respected farming family that relies on a global marketplace, Phippen takes trade seriously. "Any impediment to trade is a challenge for a Californian almond grower and something we're worried about. If a larger percentage of our product was consumed in North America, we'd probably be less concerned, but China is already our third biggest market." China buys roughly a third of their harvest each year. California almond growers are a feisty lot who aren't afraid to get down in the dirt and duke it out. They pull no punches where their economic interests are concerned, "Any impact on foreign trade with any country is a concern to us," Phippen made plain. "The people who represent us in Washington have heard from us," he grinned. "They are well aware of their California constituents, well aware California is an exporting state, well aware that almonds are NO. 1." California grows 80 percent of the almonds consumed by not just Californians, not just by Americans, but by the entire world. It's a mega industry. There is no doubt there's a lot at stake. Including direct, indirect, and induced economic output, the total economic impact of the almond industry on California output is about 21.5 billion dollars. Of that 21.5 billion, about 11 billion is value added to the California state economy. Of that 11 billion dollars, about 7.6 billion dollars comes directly from almond farming. The remaining 3.4 billion dollars is derived from the almond manufacturing and processing sectors. "We've been in China for nearly 20 years and we've spent almost 70 million dollars (in marketing). Not a small investment," explained Emily Fleischmann, Senior Director of Global Marketing for the powerful California Almond Board. "And we've seen years of steady growth." She discussed the Almond Board's mission to spread the news in China about their nuts versatility, as well as its nutritional and health benefits. "We market to Chinese consumers in the 1st and 2nd tier cities, especially during the Spring Festival, with promotions that say, "Go home. Feel good." We focus on professional young women, especially around beauty, with ads like "Bring inside beauty outside." After posting continuous year-over-year sales gains in China as their harvest yields continue to increase, Phippen told Xinhua, "We look at China as our big opportunity and it hasn't disappointed us so far." Like an elder statesman, he cautions a less heated, wait-and-see attitude, "We would all be remiss to think these tariffs are permanent. American and China are important trading partners, not just for almonds - for all of our industries. Look at where we were many years ago versus where we are today. I don't think anyone in business wants to go back to where we were." And he has high hopes everyone will see reason. In fact his best case scenario for the trade dispute resolution is, "A zero trade tariff. That should be the goal that both China and the U.S. - and CA in particular - are after." When asked if situation might get worse rather than better, he was quick to contradict the notion, "I don't expect that. This is just a 'dust up.' (The U.S. and China) recognize each other as important global traders and we are going to respect that." "In the end, it's important for both the American and the Chinese companies that we settle this dispute," he pointed out. Looking at it from the Chinese point of view, he added, "And I don't think we want the Chinese consumer to ever be denied this safe, tasty product - a nutrient-rich one for every person in China who wants to avail themselves of it. "How would countries serve their people well if they increased the tariffs to such high levels that it strangled trade?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't see it going there, because I think the people that lead us both here and in China, are smarter than that." "If you have a disagreement with someone you care about, you go there. You share your concerns and you listen to theirs," Phippen stressed. by Alessandra Cardone ROME, April 26 (Xinhua) -- More mafia groups run illegal business in Rome and in the surrounding Lazio region, according to a recent report shedding light on the latest developments and structure of mafia organizations operating here in Italy's capital region. At least 93 different clans currently run their illegal business in the region in the last four years, according to the study issued by Lazio's regional government and Observatory on Legality. The figure included both clans belonging to Italy's three traditional mafias -- Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Naples-based Camorra, and Calabrian 'Ndrangheta -- and local crime groups. It marked an increase against the 88 clans registered in 2015. Another crucial indicator to assess the presence of organized crime is usually the number of assets confiscated by authorities following mafia investigations and sentences. The Lazio region counted 512 firms and 1,732 assets (mainly estate) seized from mafia groups and currently managed by public entities, the report showed. Six judicial investigations were launched against 29 defendants on charge of mafia association in 2017 only, according to data provided for the research by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate. UNUSUAL SCENARIO Released on April 24, the "Mafia in Lazio" report was based on statistics, judicial findings, and records from police and anti-mafia prosecution offices. The research is now in its third edition. Rome and its region, in fact, have never been traditionally subjected to mafia -- not since lately, at least -- and both authorities and anti-mafia groups believe awareness must increase. "Rome is a very complex scenario, where the presence of mafia has different characteristics compared to other non-traditional mafia areas, such as northern Italy," Observatory on Legality chairman Gianpiero Cioffredi told Xinhua. He explained organized crime in Lazio showed at least two specific trails: first, traditional mafias did not reproduce the structure they have in their strongholds in southern Italy, but remained more "flexible". This was a change compared to what occurred in Italy's northern financial hub Milan, for example, where judicial verdicts confirmed mafias have re-created local units to oversee illegal activities. Yet, these units remained under the full control of southern Italy's mafia bosses. "Traditional mafias in Rome maintain a more fluid structure, because they benefit more by allying with local crime groups, or at least coexisting with them," Cioffredi pointed out. This would depend on Rome's own nature, where about 50 of the overall 93 clans registered in the region would operate. "The chances to blend in, the hardship to dominate the entire territory, and the overlapping of economic, administrative, and social activities make the reality of Lazio and Rome extremely fluid and dynamic...impossible to put under the control of a single syndicate," the report stated. The second worrying feature was that local crime groups rooted in Rome's criminal world have begun operating with so-called "mafia methods" in latest years, according to Cioffredi. A major example was provided by the so-called "Mafia capital" scandal in 2014-2015, which exposed a ring of local gangsters and corrupted officials that stole millions of euros by rigging public contracts. The group was genuinely rooted in Rome, and not subordinate to any of Italy's three traditional mobs. IN WHAT SECTORS THEY INVEST MORE The economy in Rome and surrounding region was mainly based on tourism, commerce and real estate, and those were precisely the sectors suffering from the strongest infiltration, the report revealed. That meant illicit revenues were especially reinvested in bars and restaurants, retail (both small-scale and large-scale), construction, and real estate. Indeed, some three quarters of all firms confiscated for mafia by Lazio authorities from 2007 to January 2016 belonged to such sectors, according to another study unveiled by the Observatory on April 20. Taking companies confiscated between 2011 and 2016, data showed 30.4 percent of them were accommodation and restaurant activities, another 19.8 percent were retail businesses, and 12.7 percent real estate. The report also analysed such data with respect to the profile of the group involved, which highlighted an actual balance of power. Some 41 percent of the firms seized in 2007-2016 were in fact controlled by "traditional mobs" -- 26.4 percent by Camorra, and 14.6 percent by 'Ndrangheta -- and 40.7 percent of them by local mafia gangs (the rest by unknown groups). "This third report has allowed an in-depth analysis of the presence of mafias, while the first and second ones had provided a historic and a current picture, respectively," Cioffredi said. The official deemed the effort was crucial for society, despite the possible risk of projecting a "bad image" of the Italian capital and its region. "The fact that Rome is not historically subjected to mafia has led to a dangerous undervaluation of the problem over the last 20 years, both among the ruling class and the public opinion," he stressed. "We need to boost awareness on the current situation, and on the risk of spreading of 'mafia methods' among local crime groups," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 02:38:58|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Chairman of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Bakir Izetbegovic (2nd R) holds talks with European Council President Donald Tusk (1st L) in Sarajevo, BiH, on April 26, 2018. The European Union (EU) will aim to improve the road connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the region, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk said after meeting with the members of BiH tripartite presidency here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Haris Memija) SARAJEVO, April 26 (Xinhua)-- The European Union (EU) will aim to improve the road connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the region, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk said after meeting with the members of BiH tripartite presidency here on Thursday. BiH will be a "part of the transport arteries of a re-united Europe, helping to connect Mediterranean regions with Central European regions," said Tusk. While underlining the importance of the EU-Western Balkans summit to be held in Bulgarian capital of Sofia on May 17, Tusk said the improvement of road infrastructure and connections, human and digital, will connect the Balkans and the EU. According to Tusk, EU is the biggest investor and trading partner of the whole region, including BiH. "More than 70 percent of your exports go to the EU," said Tusk. The Chairman of BiH Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic said that the EU-Western Balkans summit represents a historic opportunity for sending strong political messages regarding the European perspective of the countries of the region. Tusk's meeting in BiH's capital is part of his tour of Balkan countries prior to Sofia summit which will reaffirm the EU's commitment towards the Western Balkans and repeat its belonging to the European family. BERLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The German government expressed concern on Thursday that a solution to the trade conflict unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump remains elusive as Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is preparing her visit to the United States. German media cited government sources warning that an extension of the European Union's (EU) current exclusion from new U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel imports was unlikely be achieved prior to the lapse of the current agreement on May 1. Merkel is set to travel to the U.S. on Thursday evening and is widely expected to launch a last-ditch attempt there to convince President Trump to reverse his protectionist stance. Merkel has repeatedly emphasized that the partnership between Washington and Berlin remains central to German foreign policy despite some disagreements between Trump and her. However, the chancellor is still anticipated to reiterate Europe's united stance in opposition to Trump's "America First" doctrine. Speaking to the newspaper "Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger" on Thursday, Peter Beyer, the coordinator for transatlantic cooperation in the German Foreign Office highlighted that Merkel was most likely to succeed in altering Trump's stance on trade by working together with French President Emmanuel Macron. "Macron is closer to Trump on a personal level" Beyer said. The French president has just concluded his own multi-day trip to Washington. The economic council of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) cautioned that the upcoming meeting between Merkel and Trump would set the trajectory for future trade relations between the U.S. and Europe. Council secretary Wolfgang Steiger consequently urged Merkel to demand a permanent exclusion of the EU from tariffs once again. Aside from trade, the future of the Iran nuclear agreement is another subject which Merkel will raise in Washington. Germany and Russia have both rejected suggestions by Trump that the existing agreement could be renegotiated. The U.S. president is threatening to withdraw from the landmark deal entirely by May 21 unless its scope is expanded significantly. Commenting on the issue, Greens (Gruene) foreign policy spokesperson Juergen Trittin called on Merkel to remain firm on the issue during her visit. Trittin told press on Thursday that "flattery will not result in American concessions." Instead, the chancellor would have to "speak a language that Trump understands", namely that of "cost-benefit calculus." Nevertheless, a poll published by the "Funke" media on Thursday found that most Germans have little faith in an improvement of diplomatic relations between Berlin and Washington. More than two thirds of respondents (68.1 percent) indicated that relations were likely to deteriorate further despite Merkel's effort of persuasion. PARIS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the international community should conduct "perfect" coordination to forge "concrete" acts against terrorist cells' financing. "What we have succeeded on the ground militarily, we must do in the fight against the financing (of ISIS and al-Qaeda) with the same strength, determination, clarity and solidarity," Macron told a gathering at "No money for terror" conference. Macron, who made combating terrorism his top priority, called for "coalition of states and international organizations that accept to work together and decide to cooperate to dry up any financing resources of these groups (ISIS and al-Qaeda)". To Macron, terrorists were using "all contemporary forms of financing "which required "another step in the fight against terrorism". Addressing the gathering, he invited concerned countries to put aside their territorial interests and "make the commitment of transparency and mobilization", to dry up terrorism funds at roots. In this context, the French president called for better information exchange to create a cooperation network that facilitates information's flows. Adding to that, he pledged to tackle the anonymity of financial transfers in cooperation with the country's main partners and key allies. Representatives from 70 countries and regions and hundreds of experts gathered in Paris for the two-day conference on ways to fight terrorism financing. In a final statement released on Thursday by Macron's office, participants underlined the crucial need of an integrated approach to combat terrorism financing, vowing to improve domestic legal and operational frameworks to collect, analyze and share information by national authorities. Furthermore, they pledged to strengthen the effectiveness by allowing financial intelligence units, and concerned services to gather and share data on the financing of the individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with terrorist groups. They also agreed on criminalizing terrorism financing, including that of terrorist travel and recruitment and applying effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal sanctions, even in the absence of a link to a specific terrorist act. Effective implementation of asset freezing mechanisms to hinder terrorist activities was also recommended at the conference, according to the statement. Participants will meet in Australia next year to evaluate progress of the implementation of Paris meeting's commitments. An Iranian military truck carries parts of a S-300 air defence missile system during a parade on the occasion of the country's annual army day on April 18, 2018, in Tehran. (AFP photo) MOSCOW, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif the situation around the Iran nuclear deal after the United States and France threatened to scrap it, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday. She said at a news briefing that the two top diplomats will meet on the sidelines of an extraordinary trilateral meeting of Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers on Syria scheduled for April 28 in Moscow. "There will be an exchange of views on current international and regional issues, including the aggravation of the situation around the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program," Zakharova said. She said Russia is "seriously concerned" with the recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on the Iran nuclear deal, or the JCPOA. Zakharova said that the deal is a balanced mechanism that takes into account the interests of all its participants. "The destruction of this fragile balance of interests will lead to serious consequences for international security and the non-proliferation regime," she said. She said Russia will continue to fulfill its obligations under the JCPOA as long as other participants remain committed to it. On July 14, 2015, Iran and six international mediators (Russia, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany) signed the JCPOA in Vienna to solve the long-standing problem of Iran's nuclear program. Speaking in a joint press conference with Trump on Tuesday in Washington, Macron said that the current Iran nuclear deal was not "sufficient" and a new pact should be worked out. Trump said Macron's suggestion was "a pretty good idea," yet remained unsure "whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations." "Because this (the current Iran nuclear deal) (is) a deal with decayed foundations. It's a bad deal. It's a bad structure. It's falling down. Should have never, ever been made," he said. Trump is expected to decide whether to leave the JCPOA on May 12. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that his country would consider withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if Washington scraps the JCPOA. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 07:15:16|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close LIMA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Peru's ex-president Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and his wife Nadine Heredia are to be released from prison after the Constitutional Court (TC) on Thursday overturned an 18-month preventive detention order against the couple. In a vote of four-to-three, the court accepted their lawyer's habeas corpus petition against preventive detention sentence handed down in July 2017. "Friends, we did it! The TC ruled in favor of Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia's habeas corpus and they will be released," their lawyer, Cesar Nakazaki, announced via Twitter. The two are being investigated for illicit enrichment, including accepting money from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to fund Humala's 2011 presidential campaign. Humala is at a national police holding facility some 7 kilometers east of the capital Lima, and Heredia is at the wing of a women's prison in the capital's southern district of Chorrillos. In February 2017, the former representative of Odebrecht in Peru, Jorge Barata, told prosecutors he contributed 3 million U.S. dollars to Humala's campaign at the request of Brazil's Workers' Party. Odebrecht's former president, Marcelo Odebrecht, verified the allegation. Humala and Heredia are expected to be released in the coming hours, but will continue to face charges. Humala's successor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned shortly after taking office amid similar allegations of corruption. S. Korean President Moon leaves for Panmunjom for summit with DPRK leader Kim Source: Xinhua 2018-04-27 07:30:19 GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in left his office for the border village of Panmunjom Friday morning for his first summit meeting with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Blue House of South Korea said. Editor: ZD Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 07:45:20|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Federal Police (PF) on Thursday said they arrested at least 14 suspects in a nationwide operation against child pornography. The operation took place in seven states, including Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, where officials detected the sharing of pornographic material involving minors. Three suspects were caught in flagrante, while the remaining 11 were detained on arrest warrants, the PF said. Those detained face charges of rape and torture, the agency said, adding they have identified at least 15 victims ranging in age from infants to 11. Thursday's arrests marked the second phase of Operation Underground, which was launched a year ago, when officials arrested 18 suspects in eight states. In Brazil, child pornography carries a jail sentence of three to six years in prison, while rape of minors will be sentenced to 8 to 15 years in prison. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 07:45:20|Editor: pengying Video Player Close HOUSTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The world has benefited and will benefit more from China's continuous commitment of reform and opening up, Chinese Counsel General in Houston Li Qiangmin said Thursday. Delivering a keynote speech titled "New Era, More Open, Greater Vision", Li said China is committed to pushing its economic development from "rapid growth" to "high-quality growth". The promotion of high-quality economic development depends on reform and opening up. The four new measures on reform and opening up are a new starting point, a road map planned by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Li said. Li held a luncheon Thursday introducing Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech during his attendance at the annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia held earlier this month. Around 300 guests from Houston's political, economic and academic circles attended the luncheon. According to Li, over the past four decades, China's reform and opening up recorded a history of Chinese win-win cooperation with other countries. China has made huge contributions to overcoming the Asia financial crisis in 1997 and the International financial crisis in 2008. "China has been a major engine and stabilizer of the world's economic growth, with its economy contributing 30 percent of the world's economic growth for many years. China offered and will continue to offer aid, trade and investment opportunities to developing countries while adhering to the principle of noninterference," said Li. During a time of globalization and in a world aspiring for peace and development, only cooperation can truly bring win-win or all-win results, he argued. Charles C. Foster, current chairman of U.S.-China Partnerships, an organization promoting ties between the two countries, told Xinhua that the world should applaud China taking a greater responsibility for international aid and helping other country develop. "China has its model and has a lot of say for it. The United States has its model. There is so much work to do and we can all work together in terms of providing aids and assistance," he said. S.Kroean president arrives at Panmunjom for summit with DPRK leader Source: Xinhua 2018-04-27 08:15:28 GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning at the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit meeting with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Editor: Yurou Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 08:40:36|Editor: ZD Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) meets with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom on April, 27, 2018. Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un. (Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps) GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Moon's motorcade came to the South Korean side of Panmunjom around 30 minutes before Kim's scheduled arrival in the border village at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT). Before leaving his office, Moon got off his black sedan for minutes to say hello to and shake hands with ordinary people waiting just outside the presidential compound, called Blue House, to wish for the success of the third-ever inter-Korean summit. The Moon-Kim summit is to be held at Peace House, a three-story building on the South Korean side of the truce village. Kim would become the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The first and second inter-Korean summits were held in Pyongyang, the DPRK capital, in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Kim left Pyongyang for Panmunjom earlier in the day to attend the summit, according to the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency. S. Korean president Moon greets DPRK leader Kim after Kim walks across border Source: Xinhua 2018-04-27 08:40:42 GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Friday after Kim walked across the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the border village of Panmunjom. Editor: ZD Related News Back to Top DHAKA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The leading mobile financial services provider of Bangladesh, bKash Limited ("bKash") and Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial"), operator of China's Alipay, have announced a strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked communities in Bangladesh on Thursday in Dkaka. The partnership involves Ant Financial investing into bKash and increasing its technological capabilities, allowing it to provide greater convenience and security in mobile financial services throughout Bangladesh. Established in 2010 by founding shareholders BRAC Bank Limited and Money in Motion LLC, bKash is running a network of more than 180,000 agents throughout urban and rural areas of Bangladesh with over 30 million registered accounts. "Along with its investment, Alipay brings the best payment technologies built by thousands of engineers and the knowledge of applying those technologies to economies like China which went through a massive transformation in recent years. Such track record makes Ant Financial a fitting partner for bKash since Bangladesh too has a large population of 160 million and an economy that is advancing rapidly," Kamal Quadir, chief executive officer of bKash was quoted as saying in the statement. "This investment opens many new opportunities for bKash and demonstrates the confidence a world-class player is placing in Bangladesh," said Quadir. "As part of Ant Financial's global strategy, we are keen to share our technology know-how with partners like bKash, who has successfully brought financial services to the largely unbanked population in Bangladesh ... We are confident, together with bKash, we can bring highly secure and inclusive financial services to address the needs of local people and small businesses here," said Eric Jing, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Ant Financial. "bKash, a company taking financial services to the doorsteps of millions of unbanked people in Bangladesh, will benefit immensely from this landmark partnership with Ant Financial. It will help bKash significantly step up its activities in changing and positively impacting on the lives of millions," said Selim R. F. Hussain, managing director and CEO of Bangladeshi BRAC Bank. bKash and Ant Financial were both named in Fortune Change The World 2017 list, a recognition given to companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy. International Finance Corporation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have been shareholders in bKash since 2013 and 2014 respectively. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 09:20:51|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DHAKA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League (AL) party has welcomed the informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be held on April 27-28 in China's Wuhan. "We welcome the meeting between the leaders," retired Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Faruk Khan, AL presidium member, told Xinhua over mobile phone on Thursday night. Khan, also a former commerce minister, expressed the hope that the meeting will improve understanding of their (India and China) each other... which will benefit both of them and the region at large. He said Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has always emphasized understanding, respect and cooperation among neighbors. "In light of that we welcome this meeting and the meeting to be held between them in June during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in China." Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 09:56:04|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China and Nepal will enhance cooperation in mountain sciences, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment under the CAS, Nepal's Tribhuvan University, and China's Yunnan University signed an agreement on April 22 to push forward science and technology cooperation between China, Nepal, and South Asian countries using the platform of the Sino-Nepal Joint Research Center for Geography. China and Nepal will also cooperate in geographic education and talent cultivation, according to the agreement. Established in 2014, the Sino-Nepal Joint Research Center for Geography focuses on the study of mountain geography including hazards, ecology, environmental monitoring, and the development of mountainous areas. KIEV, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian state-run aircraft producer Antonov stands ready to fully perform the airlift services contract with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) if its Russian partner withdraws from it, local media reported Thursday. "Since the Russian company Volga-Dnepr intends to withdraw from (NATO's) Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS) program, Antonov is ready to provide the full range of services to the countries participating in this program," Antonov said in a press release. The SALIS program allows NATO member countries to pool their resources to charter special aircraft that give the alliance the capability to transport heavy cargoes across the globe by air. Under the SALIS contract signed in 2006, Ukraine's Antonov and Russia's Volga-Dnepr jointly provide cargo planes to the participants of SALIS program. Earlier, Russian media reported that Volga-Dnepr intends to withdraw from the deal at the end of 2018. Antonov is capable of independently supplying the required number of transport planes for strategic airlift in the interests of NATO and the EU, Antonov said. Antonov has nine transport planes on its commercial fleet, including the An-225 Mriya, the longest and the heaviest airplane ever built, which is capable of carrying up to 250 tons of cargo on transcontinental routes. TRIPOLI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army commander Thursday said Thursday he was "in good health" after returning to the eastern city of Benghazi from a medical treatment trip to France for over two weeks. "We want to assure you that I am in good health," General Khalifa Haftar said as he addressed a group of tribal elders and government officials. He vowed to "eliminate all groups that disturb the life of the Libyans." On April 11, media reports said Haftar was sent to Paris for treatment after a sudden stroke, a trip that his spokesman said, however, was intended for a "normal checkup." Libya has been torn apart by protracted conflicts following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. A former commander under Gaddafi who later turned against him, Haftar took full control of the eastern part of the country last year. He is opposed to the United Nations-backed transitional government in Tripoli. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 10:26:13|Editor: pengying Video Player Close TAIPEI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The 14th Cross-Strait Book Fair will be held in Taiwan from Aug. 16 to 23, organizers announced Thursday. The main exhibition due on Aug. 17 in Taipei will feature hundreds of publishers, copyright agencies and libraries from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, four parallel sessions will be held in the city of Keelung, and Chiayi, Pingtung and Nantou counties in addition to a newly introduced online portal for the event. As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the start of cross-strait copyright exchanges, a special exhibition on the exchanges will be arranged, said the organizer. Hubei Province, this year's guest of honor, is expected to bring a list of activities to promote its intangible cultural heritages and traditional food. Founded in 2005, the annual book fair is held alternately in Taiwan and Fujian's coastal city of Xiamen. A total of 2,360 cooperation agreements have been signed at the previous book fairs. Photo taken on April 27, 2018 at the media center in Goyang, South Korea, shows a screen broadcasting South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) shaking hands with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic ofKorea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) by Yoo Seungki SEOUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's initiatives of double suspension and dual-track approach are the best idea, until now, to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and build peace, said an influential South Korean lawmaker who counsels President Moon Jae-in on the third summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a member of the presidential elder advisory group. "Double suspension and dual-track approach, proposed by China, are the best idea ... I actively support those ideas," Rep. Park Jie-won of the Party for Democracy and Peace said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Park is a former chief of staff for late President Kim Dae-jung who held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with then DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, father of current leader Kim Jong Un, in 2000 in Pyongyang. Park officially and unofficially contacted DPRK officials in early 2000 to arrange the first summit as a culture minister at the time. Moon is set to hold the third summit with Kim, the current DPRK leader, at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday. It is expected to be followed by a summit in May or early June between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. The double suspension, which requires the DPRK to halt nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large-scale South Korea-U.S. military exercises, is being unfolded on the peninsula as Pyongyang paused such tests this year while the South Korea-U.S. springtime war games were reduced in scale and shortened in period. The dual-track approach, which pursues the peninsula's denuclearization and the establishment of peaceful mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, is being pushed for as Kim indicated the denuclearization up for negotiation during the inter-Korean and DPRK-U.S. summits while the Blue House of South Korea is reviewing ways to turn the armistice agreement into a peace regime. The double suspension was demanded by the DPRK in 2015 and 2016, while the dual-track approach was reflected in the Joint Statement, signed on Sept. 19, 2005 after the six-party talks in Beijing to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, build a permanent peace, and normalize ties between the DPRK and the United States. "Regarding North Korea's nuclear issue, China is one of the biggest parties directly concerned. The denuclearization talks cannot succeed without China," said Park. The Korean Armistice Agreement, which paused the 1950-53 Korean War, was signed on July 27, 1953. The peninsula remains technically at war without any peace treaty inked. Seoul and Pyongyang already agreed to push the meeting among leaders of three or four parties directly concerned to declare a formal end to the war. It was written in the Oct. 4 Joint Declaration, which was signed in 2007 by then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and then DPRK leader Kim Jong Il after the second inter-Korean summit. Park, who accompanied then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000 to Pyongyang for the first inter-Korean summit and had unofficially visited Pyongyang several times, said the third summit would be successful as it serves as a stepping stone to the DPRK-U.S. summit in which denuclearization is to be a key agenda. Kim Jong Un, the top DPRK leader, said his country will commit to denuclearization talks. What should be cautious preparing for the summits, Park said, is the difference between Pyongyang and Washington in defining denuclearization. The DPRK wants the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while the United States wants the denuclearization of the DPRK, he noted. What the lawmaker sees as the most important in the denuclearization process is building trust between the DPRK and the United States. For the DPRK-U.S. trust building, Park proposed a three-stage way of denuclearization. The first is to put a moratorium on the DPRK's nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the U.S. halt of sanctions. The second is to freeze the DPRK's nuclear program in return for its establishment of diplomatic ties with the United States and a peace treaty on the peninsula. During the freezing process in which the DPRK returns to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and is inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency while the U.S. side lifts sanctions, Pyongyang and Washington can build trust and eventually leads to a complete denuclearization, said Park. WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Thursday that the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un is historic, and extended good wishes to the Korean people. White House said that on the occasion of the inter-Korean meeting on Friday, the United States is "hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula." Washington appreciates the close coordination with South Korea, and "looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks," said White House. Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new secretary of state earlier on Thursday, met with Kim earlier this month. The meeting was confirmed by Trump on April 18 who tweeted that it "went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed." Pompeo's trip aimed to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and Kim, which are expected to take place in May or early June. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 11:01:22|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BUDAPEST, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Government spokespersons from China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) gathered here on Wednesday for the 2nd China-CEEC Spokespersons's Dialogue under the theme "Openness and Communications: Building a Community with a Shared Future of Mankind". "The theme of this dialogue suits the current trend, meets expectations from all sides, and reflects our historical thinking and undertaking as spokespersons," said Guo Weimin, deputy chief of the State Council Information Office of China, at the opening of the dialogue. "Notwithstanding China and CEEC have different domestic situations, our jobs in promoting transparency in government information are the same, our functions to connect government and society, connect home and abroad are the same, our goals to cultivate societal consensus and push forward communication and cooperation are the same," he added. "In recent years, China and CEEC have been engaged in more comprehensive cooperation, including cooperations in humanity and journalism. The exchange and cooperation among spokespersons play a vital role in deepening such cooperation," Guo said. Guo also told that China and CEEC have established a very good foundation for spokespersons' dialogue. "As the press service of the Chinese government, Chinese State Council information office will adhere to the principle of open communication, and promote the cooperation and dialogue with CEEC, in order to strengthen mutual understanding and build consensus," he added. Levente Magyar, state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, said that China-proposed Belt and Road initiative is "very important for Central and Eastern Europe and presents great opportunities." Noting that many Central and Eastern European countries have expressed their willingness to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, "In the future, we will strengthen the promotion and interpretation of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe and expand this cooperation." He also explained that Hungary was willing to serve as an engine for China's cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe, linking our goals with the "Belt and Road". The spokespersons of CEEC participating in the dialogue came from Albania, Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Croatia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. "16+1" PLATFORM FOR COOPERATION Participants shared their views and opinions on the role of the spokespersons in national governance and crisis communication, press and communications under the new media environment, and cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. "Albania reaffirms its full commitment to China-CEE initiative, sharing the common aspiration to turn this cooperation into a success story," said Donika Hoxha, director of Economic and Public Diplomacy and Diaspora, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania. "In our assessment, '16+1 cooperation' continues to be a very important platform that serves primarily economic cooperation, but at the same time it is also a communication and cultural understanding platform between east and west." GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un at the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday morning for the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. Followings are the major developments relating to the Korean Peninsula in 2018. Jan. 1: Top DPRK leader Kim expressed, in his New Year's address, readiness to send athletes to Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Jan. 3: South Korea reopened a communication hotline with the DPRK in Panmunjom, the heavily armed demilitarized zone between the two countries. Jan. 4: The United States and South Korea decided to postpone annual joint military exercises until after PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Jan. 9: The DPRK and South Korea held ministerial-level talks and agreed to send the DPRK athletes and cheerleaders to the Olympics. Feb. 9: The DPRK and South Korean athletes marched together under a unified flag of the Korean Peninsula at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics. Feb. 9-11: A high-ranking DPRK delegation led by Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, visited South Korea and attended the opening ceremony of PyeongChang Olympics. During the meeting with Moon, Kim Yo Jong, younger sister and a special envoy of the DPRK's top leader, delivered Kim's invitation for the South Korean president to visit Pyongyang. Feb. 25: A high-level DPRK delegation led by Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, visited South Korea for Olympics' closing ceremony and met with Moon in PyeongChang. March 5-6: The DPRK's top leader Kim met with visiting South Korean special envoys in Pyongyang. The two countries agreed on a summit in late April. March 9: Visiting South Korean envoy said in Washington that U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to meet Kim by May. March 25-28: On his first overseas trip, Kim visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. March 29: South Korea and the DPRK agreed at a high-level dialogue to hold a summit on April 27 at the Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, the first between the two sides in 11 years. April 2: Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju watched a performance given by a visiting South Korean art troupe in Pyongyang. April 7: South Korea and the DPRK held a working-level talks to discuss setting up a hotline between the two countries' leaders. April 9: Trump confirmed that he expected to meet Kim in May or early June. April 18: Trump confirmed then CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is now the U.S. Secretary of State, made a secret visit to the DPRK over the Easter weekend as an envoy for the president to meet with Kim. April 20: South Korea and the DPRK opened their first-ever hotline of direct dialogue between leaders of the two sides ahead of an inter-Korean summit. April 21: The DPRK decided to discontinue its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. HAVANA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Almost 90 years after it first opened, Havana's iconic Capitol building has been restored to its original splendor as it recently began to function as the National Assembly after a mammoth renovation project. Inaugurated in May 1929, the colossal Capitolio was built to house the Congress, which was abolished following the Cuban Revolution in 1959. The building had since then hosted the Academy of Sciences for five decades. Today, following six years of meticulous restoration work, it has regained its sense of historic purpose, housing the administrative offices of the National Assembly, Cuba's legislature which just a week ago elected the country's new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel. "This is the first time the building has been restored since it opened. Some specific repairs have been made (before), but this is the first full renovation," Mariela Mulet, chief executive of investments at the Capitol, told Xinhua. The building was declared a national monument in 2010 and handed over to the Havana Historian's Office, which immediately launched the costly renovation effort. "About 90 percent of the materials used to restore the building were imported, making it expensive and difficult for us," Mulet said. More than 500 people participated in the massive project. Mulet and her team decided to undertake the restoration in stages, prioritizing the repair of all the roofs, interior yards and the facade, which was severely damaged by the passage of time. Inspired by the Pantheon in Paris, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the building has been given many striking features, including a monumental 36-meter-wide granite staircase flanked by two bronze statues made by an Italian artist. Walking in, visitors are met by a magnificent statue that represents the republic. Almost 20 meters high and weighing 49 tons, it is considered the third largest indoor sculpture in the world, after the Golden Buddha of Nara in Japan, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Carved in bronze, laminated in gold and standing on a solid base of Egyptian onyx marble, the sculpture stands guard at the entrance to a 120-meter-long hallway called "the Hall of the Lost Steps." Overhead is the Capitol's dome. Being 91.7 meters in height, it was the fifth tallest in the world at the time of the building's inauguration. One of the most popular and solemn places in the building is the tomb of the unknown independence fighter, a crypt dedicated to those who fought for independence from Spanish colonialism in the 19th century and a symbol of the democratic spirit of the Caribbean nation. The north wing was opened to the public in March, with guided visits becoming an attraction for locals and foreigners alike, but there is still work to be done, said Marisol Marrero, general designer of the restoration work. "The most difficult task has been to conserve the delicacy with which this building was built and at the same time install modern technological systems like surveillance, alarms, air conditioning, Internet and communications without doing damage," said Marrero. The challenge was overcome thanks to the expertise and dedication of the contractors, she said. "It has been a good professional experience because we've had to invent solutions, like concealing or hiding air conditioning pipes inside the walls in order to maintain the original decoration of the premises," she said. The Capitol is expected to be fully renovated by November 2019, in time to mark the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana. SKOPJE, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia and Iran signed a memorandum of cooperation here on Thursday, vowing to enhance bilateral trade relations. Branko Azeski, president of the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, and Gholamhossein Shafei, chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, highlighted the traditional trade partnership between the two countries while attending a business forum in Macedonia. Shafei said the two countries need to launch an initiative to facilitate visa issuance and expressed the hope that Macedonia could support Iran's bid to join the World Trade Organization. "We propose cooperation between private companies in the two countries by setting up joint companies that would produce goods as a joint brand," Shafei added. Azeski said it is time for Macedonia "to make a step forward and boost cooperation with Iran in many fields." In 2017, Macedonia imported a total of 4.76 million U.S. dollars worth of goods from Iran and exported 401,000 dollars worth of goods to Iran. BERLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The 6th Sino-German Culture Festival themed "Her" kicked off on Thursday, gathering almost 100 female artists from the two countries. "The theme of the 6th Sino-German Culture Festival is 'Her,' which should not be understood as being feminist," said Wolfram Wickert, chairman of the event organizer Bambuspforte Association. "It should only be taken as a good occasion that female artists from both China and Germany gather for intercultural communication." The 11-day festival features operas, art and photo exhibitions, concerts, dance performances and readings. During the opening ceremony, Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller said the Sino-German Culture Festival has contributed greatly to the cultural exchanges between the two countries. "The theme for this year is a heated political and social topic, which is already at the center of many discussions," he said, adding that the festival offered a unique opportunity for female artists to have trans-cultural communication. Chen Ping, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany, said that over the last 70 years, especially since the beginning of China's reform and opening-up, the status of women in China has been largely improved. Women are playing a more and more important role in the Chinese society, and the festival is a good opportunity to show that to the German society, he added. After the opening ceremony, artists from China Federation of Literary and Art Circles played Chinese traditional music instruments like Konghou, Guqin and Pipa, while artists from Berlin performed ballet and choruses. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 13:16:52|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The share of people aged 60 and above in Brazil's population rose 18.8 percent from 2012 to 2017, the country's official statistics agency IBGE said Thursday. According to an IBGE study, the number of aged people grew from 25.4 million to 30.2 million in the five-year period. Put in percentage terms, it expanded from 12.8 percent of the total population in 2012 to 14.6 percent. IBGE data also suggested that Brazil's total population rose 4.2 percent from 2012 to 2017, jumping from 198.7 million to 207.1 million. The 169 million women make up 56 percent of the overall population, the data showed. IBGE analyst Maria Lucia Vieira said Brazil's population is aging in general, whose reasons include a rising life expectancy and the decline in birth rates. A census showed the proportion of children aged nine or younger slid by 3.6 percent, from 14.1 percent of the population in 2012 to 12.9 percent in 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 13:31:54|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities in northeast China's Jilin Province have released 430,000 salmon fry into the Tumenjiang River on the border with Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The fry are expected to migrate into the Sea of Japan and then to the northern Pacific before returning to the river in three to four years to spawn. Years of release of the salmon fry and other fish species have helped to curb the shrinking of fish stocks in the border river. Between 2010 and 2017, fishery authorities in Jilin released 5.3 million salmon fry and a large amount of other species into the river. More releases are expected this year. CANBERRA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers have unlocked the ability to engineer new enzymes for use in medicine and industry. In a study published on Friday, a team from Australian National University (ANU) detailed how they retraced the evolutionary history of a modern enzyme. The team, led by Ben Clifton, used a technique called ancestral protein construction. "This technique allows us to resurrect, in a sense, proteins that have been extinct for millions of years, so they can be studied in the lab," Clifton said in an ANU media release on Friday. Researchers studied an enzyme called cyclohexadienyl dehydratase, discovering the molecular processes that create new enzymes. "Enzymes are proteins that are essential for life because of their ability to speed up specific chemical reactions," Clifton said. "Understanding the evolutionary processes that create new enzymes is important because we can then mimic those processes to design or engineer enzymes for our own purposes in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industries. "Our work gives the most detailed example, to date, of a natural evolutionary process that can create an enzyme from scratch." Up until now using enzymes in medicine or biotechnology proved difficult because they couldn't be engineered to do specific tasks. "The big problem we face when engineering enzymes is first understanding of how they work, and how they can gain new functions," senior researcher Colin Jackson said. "Previous studies on enzyme evolution have shown how it is possible for new enzymes to evolve from existing enzymes -- but we still knew very little about how enzymes evolved in the first place." Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 14:07:01|Editor: ZD Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) shakes hands with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un. (Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps) by Chen Jian, Yoo Seung-ki GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Panmunjom, a truce village straddling the heavily fortified inter-Korean land border, captured the global spotlight on Friday as leaders of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) met for a historic summit. Smiling top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un was greeted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and they shook hands right above a concrete slab on a narrow aisle between the blue pavilions inside Panmunjom, which actually serves as an inter-Korean border roughly along the 38th parallel dividing the two Koreas. After walking across the inter-Korean land border, or the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT), into the South Korean side, Kim, in a dark blue suit, invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side. They returned to the South Korean side of Panmunjom grasping hands with each other, marking a historic moment in inter-Korean relations. Kim became the first DPRK leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice. The two Koreas are technically still at war. The two leaders shook hands again in front of cameras at 10:15 a.m. local time (0115 GMT) before their talks at the Peace House, a building on the South Korean side of Panmunjom inside the 4-km-wide, 250-km-long Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "A new history begins now - at the starting point of an era of peace," read the message Kim wrote in a guestbook at the Peace House. "The moment Chairman Kim crossed the Military Demarcation Line, Panmunjom, became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division," Moon said before their talks. Panmunjom, located around 50 km north of Seoul, is a painful reminder of division of the peninsula as the Korean Armistice Agreement, which halted the Korean War, was signed in 1953 at a building on the DPRK side. The truce village is also the place where the two Koreas had more than half of some 660 inter-Korean talks over the past decades. In the afternoon, Moon and Kim are expected to plant a pine tree at Panmunjom, using a mixture of soil from mountains and water from rivers of both sides. The commemorative tree was sown in 1953 when the armistice agreement was signed. Engraved on a stone plaque for the pine is the phrase "Peace and prosperity are planted," as well as the signatures of both leaders. Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is high on the agenda of the talks between the two leaders. Kim Jung-gil, a 65-year-old Seoul citizen, said he hoped the South and North sides have more communication and exchanges of views on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. "I hope the summit could push forward the process of denuclearization of the peninsula." Ending the state of war on the peninsula is forecast to be another topic after the South Korean presidential Blue House confirmed it was reviewing ways to switch the armistice agreement into a peace regime. "I'm very glad that the summit is held. I want to know how the two sides can discuss a lasting peace on the peninsula and the reunion of separated families," said Oh Sun-myeong, a 47-year-old housewife in Seoul. After their summit, Moon will host Kim with a banquet on Friday night, which is expected to be highlighted by the Swiss fried potato dish rosti, and grilled fish with rice produced in Busan, the hometown of Moon. The signature cold noodles from Pyongyang's famous Okryugwan restaurant will also be served, according to the Blue House. A chef from Okryugwan will cook the noodles with a noodle-making machine installed at Tongilgak on the DPRK side of Panmunjom. The summit came after detente between Seoul of Pyongyang before and during the Winter Olympics that ran from February to March at South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. It will be followed by a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May or early June. The top-level meeting, under a slogan of "Peace, a New Start," marks the third summit between the two Koreas, with the previous two held in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007 respectively. A recent poll, conducted by the Research View among 1,000 South Koreans, showed 68 percent of the respondents believe the Moon-Kim summit will yield positive outcomes. "I think through the summit the two leaders could move the divided Korean Peninsula toward reunion, and usher in a new chapter of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation," Oh said hopefully. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 14:07:01|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) meets with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom on April, 27, 2018. Moon Jae-in arrived Friday morning in the border village of Panmunjom for his first summit with Kim Jong Un. (Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps) GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Under intense global spotlight, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un met in the border village of Panmunjom Friday in the hope of starting an era of peace on the peninsula. The Moon-Kim meeting, the third inter-Korea summit, came 11 years after a previous one, at a time of warming ties between the two Koreas following initiatives by both Seoul and Pyongyang and other related parties of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The first two summits of this kind took place in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007 respectively. On Friday morning, Moon's motorcade arrived at the South Korean side of Panmunjom some 30 minutes before Kim's scheduled arrival at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT). Kim showed up at the DPRK side of Panmunjom around the schedule time and walked across the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the border village. The two leaders chatted and had a long handshake standing on the two sides of a low cement slab marking the land border of the two Koreas. Kim then walked across the MDL into the South Korean side, making him the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil after the end of the 1950-1953 Korea war. They posed for the media facing both sides of the MDL and then Kim invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side. The episode aroused applause from people at the scene. The leaders returned to the South Korean side of Panmunjom grasping hands with each other. Beaming smiles were on their faces. Escorted along a red carpet by a traditional South Korean honor guard, they walked to a square located between the Freedom House and the Peace House, a venue for the historic summit. Moon and Kim inspected the honor guard there. After that, they greeted the official delegates from both sides accompanying them. Kim walked inside the Peace House and signed a guestbook at the reception. "A new history begins now - at the starting point of an era of peace," he wrote. The two leaders took a commemorative photo on the first floor of the Peace House and then went on the second floor for a formal talk. "The moment Chairman Kim crossed the Military Demarcation Line, Panmunjom, became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division," Moon said before their talks. After the formal talks, Kim returned to the DPRK side of Panmunjom for a lunch break. The second round of formal talks between them, to be followed by a banquet, will take place in the afternoon. The summit came after relations between Seoul and Pyongyang took a turn for the better since the start of this year, especially around the Winter Olympics in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. The two leaders are expected to discuss denuclearization and turning their truce agreement into a peace regime. "I'm very glad that the summit is held. I want to know how the two sides can discuss a lasting peace on the peninsula and the reunion of separated families," said Oh Sun-myeong, a 47-year-old housewife in Seoul. Commenting on the "warm breeze" blowing on the Korean Peninsula, Troy Stangarone, senior director of the Korea Economic Institute, a Washington-based non-profit policy research institution, said earlier that enormous credit should go to related countries like China "for creating the environment needed for the upcoming inter-Korean summit." As a main stakeholder, China has been dedicated to the development of peace on the Korean Peninsula and proposed a "dual-track" approach -- advancing denuclearization and meanwhile establishing a peace regime, to relevant parties. It has urged all parties involved to promote smooth talks between the South Korean and DPRK leaders as well as the DPRK and U.S. leaders in order to reach a political settlement on the Peninsula. On March 25-28, Kim visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Moon Jae-in has a vision of peaceful coexistence with the DPRK. It is the right vision," Adam Mount, director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told CNN after a live broadcast of the pre-talk activities. Friday's summit will be followed by a meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May or early June. Related: S.Korean, DPRK leaders confirm common goal of complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Friday signed a joint declaration confirming their common goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Full story China praises political courage of DPRK, ROK leaders BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday applauded the political resolve and courage of the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK), wishing them positive results for their meeting. Full story CANBERRA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday cautiously welcomed talks between South Korea President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un, praising them for entering into negotiation. "We welcome, with caution, these meetings and the remarks that have been made by Kim Jong-un," Turnbull told reporters. "This will be the beginning of steps that lead to denuclearization of the peninsula. That's everybody's goal." Kim Jong-un on Friday became the first DPRK leader to cross the border into the south since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Earlier on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop held a press conference to mark the occasion. "It is the first time in 65 years that a leader from North Korea (DPRK) has crossed the border into South Korea. And it is the first time in over 10 years that the leaders of North (DPRK) and South Korea have met," Bishop said. "We see this as an opportunity for North Korea (DPRK) to demonstrate verifiable steps that it will take to denuclearization," he noted. "We await with anticipation the outcome of these talks." The two leaders were expected to discuss denuclearization and securing peace on the Korean Peninsula ahead of everything else. Bishop said she had a conversation with her South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha earlier this week, with the latter reassuring Bishop that denuclearization will be on the table of the summit. Bishop also said that she had a phone conversation earlier on Friday with newly sworn-in U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Inter-Korea talks were part of their conversation. Kim has already committed to suspending his country's nuclear and long-range missile tests as well as dismantling the country's only known nuclear test site. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 14:27:05|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Economic ties between China and India have become closer in recent years. The two economies are highly complementary and have good potential for increased cooperation. The following are some facts and figures about China-India trade and investment. -- Bilateral trade reached a record high of 84.4 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 20.3 percent from 2016, the fastest growth for five years. -- China has become the largest trading partner of India, with imports rising by more than 40 percent in 2017. -- Bilateral trade in Q1 hit 22.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.4 percent year on year. -- Chinese and Indian businesses signed 101 trade agreements in March, with a total contract value of 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. -- Chinese investment in India added up to more than 8 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2017, with India an important destination for infrastructure cooperation and investment. -- Indian investment in China has grown by an average of 18.5 percent during the past three years. -- Chinese smartphone brands are popular in India. Xiaomi has a market share of 27 percent and shipped nearly 8.2 million units in Q4 of 2017. -- China and India are home to over 35 percent of the world's people, and contribute about 20 percent of global GDP. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 14:27:05|Editor: ZD Video Player Close JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 27 (Xinhua) -- At least six Taliban militants were killed after Afghan Special Operations Forces waged a raid in eastern province of Nangarhar overnight, the provincial government said in a statement on Friday. "The operation was launched in Adwar locality, Khogyani district. A Taliban bomb-making expert named Zarin was among the killed. One militant was injured and two others were arrested by the security force," the statement added. No security force member was hurt and a AK-47 gun, five gun's magazines, a telecommunication radio, together with ammunition and explosives, were found, the statement added. The Afghan security forces, alongside the U.S. and NATO-led coalition troops, have increased ground and air offensives against the militants in the last few months as the militants frequently attack government interests across the country. The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments. KABUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan Special Operations Forces killed three Islamic State (IS) militants and captured three insurgent suspects in two separate operations, the command of special forces said Friday. Three members of IS terrorist group were killed following Special Operations Forces-related airstrikes in Shaygal and Shultan districts of eastern Kunar province on Thursday, Operational Coordination Group Afghanistan said in a statement. In northern Balkh province, three suspected militants were captured and one assault rifle was seized after the special forces waged an operation in Chimtal district on Thursday night, according to the statement. Afghan forces and the NATO and U.S.-led coalition troops continued in mopping-up operations as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near in the mountainous country. by Xinhua Writer Huang Heng LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Xinhua) -- There's a palpable fear in California that the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States could bring major losses to farmers here. "No shipments to China have been canceled yet, but, the new crop will be coming in August and if this disagreement isn't settled by then, it will have more impact on the new crop." Dave Phippen, a key member of the Almond Board of California, told Xinhua on Wednesday. STEEP DUTIES California grows 80 percent of the almonds consumed by the entire world, and the Golden State was responsible for all U.S. almond exports in 2015 and 2016, according to data provided by California Department of Agriculture and Food (CDAF), Phippen agreed that California's almonds have dominated the import markets of China and even the world, but the co-owner of Travaille and Phippen, Inc., which has 1600 acres of almond orchards and a 70-worker processing plant, said that, facing the trade disputes between the United States and China, the industry practitioners "can not say we do not worry at all." The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong were the destination for 12 percent of the U.S. almond exports, reaching a farm gate value of 518.1 million U.S. dollars, said the CDAF. According to calculation of the Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan campaign to rebuild support for trade at the grassroots level, California's almond exports to China amounted to 184 million U.S. dollars in 2017, and after China announced early this month a tariff on American agricultural goods including almonds in response to U.S. duties on imported steel and aluminum in March, U.S. almonds exported to China could see 28 million dollars in potential additional duties. Another U.S. commodity that could be hit by the trade dispute is pistachios, which could see 99 million U.S. dollars in potential additional duties In the most recent shipping season, Chinese mainland and Hong Kong were the destination for 55 percent of the U.S. pistachio exports, which were worth 660 million dollars and were mostly from the states of California and Arizona. Overall, the volume of Californian products directly shipped to China is low, said a report published last week by Rabobank, a Netherlands-based food and agriculture financing and sustainability-oriented banking. About 4 percent of U.S. fruit and nut exports and 2 percent of vegetable exports go to the Asian nation. But the potential loss of future income as the Chinese economy continues to grow is what really worries many Californian farmers. HURTING U.S. FARMERS The Farmers for Free Trade on Tuesday released a report named "Farmers pay the price: steel & aluminum retaliation," which concluded that in a trade dispute, "American farmers are the first casualty," saying it will "incentivize trading partners like China to look to other markets for their imports. That means that trading relationships that took decades to develop can evaporate overnight." "And as many farmers and trade experts know, once you lose an export market it doesn't come back immediately. In fact, it often takes many years for trading relationships to recover," said the report. The Farmers for Free Trade and the California Farm Bureau hosted an event Thursday in Sacramento, which gathered farmers from across California and Secretary of the CDFA Karen Ross, to highlight the negative impacts of China's tariffs on California exports. Ross tweeted after the event, "Thank you Farmers for Free Trade and Farm Bureau for sponsoring an event to get the word out about the importance of international trade." The Almond Board of California has been expanding its business in China for over 20 years, spending more than 7 million dollars in teaching chefs how the nut can be used as a food ingredient and developing among consumers a taste for almonds. "We've seen years of steady growth and we don't want to lose the great opportunity," Emily Fleischmann, senior director of global marketing for the group told Xinhua. Daniel Sumner, who leads the University of California-Davis' Agricultural Issues Center, expressed similar concerns, saying if the U.S.-China trade standoff lasts too long, California exports could suffer long-term damage as the state will lose its reputation as a reliable source of agricultural products and end up benefiting U.S. competitors. "Many in the nut industry and the fruit industry have put a lot of resources, time and efforts into providing information about the commodity and developing the market," said Matt McInerney, Western Growers' senior executive vice president. "They've done their diligence in going to China to promote it." Founded in 1926, the Western Growers is an organization representing local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. The group claims that members and their workers provide over half the nation's fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. Efforts like the Almond Board's have given California a reputation "a reliable supplier of healthy products," which "is crucial," Sumner told the Western Farm Press this week, adding that the Golden State's commodities could lose their sterling reputation "through no fault of their own." "It could take a while for California to regain customers it lost to competitors, even after the tariffs come down," he warned. GAZA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Palestinians are preparing to join the 5th Friday of a six-week protest, known as "the Great March of Return," and this Friday was called "Friday of angry youths." The rallies are held in eastern Gaza Strip, several hundred meters far from the fence of the border with Israel. Over the past four Fridays, 42 Palestinians have been killed and around 5,000 injured, many with live ammunition. Hamas activists called on the people Friday morning throughout mosques' loudspeakers to join the rallies and the symbolic funeral of Fadi al-Batsh, a Hamas scientist killed in Malaysia by unknown militants last Saturday. The Israeli army, meanwhile, announced Friday that it had sent more forces to the border area to prevent Palestinian protesters from infiltrating into Israel. Witnesses said that masked young men Friday morning managed to cut through the fence of the border east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A villager killed a leopard to save his family including children Friday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said. The clash between the big cat and man took place at Awoora village of Kupwara district, about 110 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "This morning at around 5:00 a.m. (local time) a leopard which ventured into village Awoora entered house of Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh, who in a bid to save lives of family members attacked the wild animal apprehending it would kill the inmates," a wildlife department official quoting family members said. "During the clash the big cat was killed as Sheikh suffered critical injuries." Sheikh according to forest officials was referred to Srinagar for specialized treatment. Following the incident police and wildlife department officials were intimated, who reached the spot to take away carcass of the leopard. According to wildlife officials, a case has been registered into the incident and investigation would soon be carried out to ascertain the actual details. There are strict laws in force in India against the killing of wild animals. Wildlife officials said leopards stray into residential areas usually in search of food. However, the human presence makes them insecure, following which they resort to attacking people. At times these creatures are attacked by scared villagers in retaliation which also proves fatal for them. Wildlife experts said mass urbanization, denudation of forests, encroachment of forestland, vanishing of buffer zones in the forests and extraction of medicinal plants are some of the reasons responsible for increasing conflicts between humans and animals. GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) promised to meet more often after Friday's summit, a senior official with South Korea's Blue House told reporters at noon. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un made the promise before the start of their formal, closed-door talks, Yoon Young-chan, Moon's senior press secretary, told reporters at the Panmunjom press center at the border village. The formal talks lasted for over an hour and a half in the morning at the Peace House, on the South Korean side of Panmunjom which has divided the Korean Peninsula since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Before the formal talks, Moon stood right in front of the military demarcation line (MDL) to greet Kim who appeared from a DPRK building at Moon's opposite side. After making a historic handshake, Moon led Kim across the MDL onto the South Korean side of Panmunjom. Unexpectedly, Kim invited Moon to cross over to the DPRK side and then returned back to the South Korean side together. Moon briefly crossed over to the DPRK side as Kim suggested after Moon expressed hope that he can once set foot on the DPRK territory as the South Korean president, according to Moon's press secretary. It was an unscheduled event for the official welcoming ceremony which included the inspection of an honor guard. While Moon and Kim were being escorted by a traditional South Korean honor guard to the Panmunjom square on the South Korean side, Moon told Kim that if the DPRK leader visits the presidential compound in Seoul, he could witness a more elaborate welcoming affair. Kim replied to Moon that he would accept an invitation to visit the Blue House. During a chat at the Peace House reception room before the formal talks, Kim said expectations ran high for his meeting with Moon at the place symbolizing confrontation between the two sides, noting the border line could be rubbed out if enough people walk over it. Moon agreed, saying he wished to make the Panmunjom summit a starting point that will lead to summits in Pyongyang, Seoul, South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju and the DPRK's northeastern mountain of Paektu. The South Korean president said he hoped to climb Mount Paektu via the DPRK route. Kim said he would welcome such a visit. After the formal talks, Kim returned to the DPRK side of Panmunjom for a lunch break. The second round of formal talks between the two will take place in the afternoon, followed by a banquet. LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Apple Association (USApple) on Thursday expressed concern over U.S. trade disputes with China and other countries, saying escalating tensions will only hurt domestic agricultural producers. At a press event, USApple Secretary Jeff Colombini spoke about the impact of China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural commodities, including a 15-percent tariff on apples, which were announced earlier this month in response to Washington's duty proposals on imported Chinese goods. "This is a tremendous concern as China has significant growth potential, because it doesn't grow the many apple varieties we grow and Chinese consumers are excited to experience those unique taste profiles," he told reporters. Colombini warned that the trade dispute will "hurt apple growers' ability to maintain and expand this emerging market," according to a press release of USApple. The U.S. apple industry achieved full access to the Chinese market in 2015, it said, adding that since then, apple exports have grown to 2.5 million boxes per year and China is the apple industry's sixth largest export market. "Trade is critical to the health and future of the entire apple industry," Colombini said, adding that trade barriers will lead to supply issues and impact everyone's bottom line. Thursday's event, held in Acampo, some 620 km north to Los Angeles of California state, was organized by the Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan group co-chaired by two former U.S. Senators and supported by many leading agricultural organizations. The Farmers for Free Trade released a research report at the event, saying that apple exports to China could see 8 million U.S. dollars in potential additional duties. Colombini also stressed in his speech the importance of maintaining the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying growers have benefitted greatly from NAFTA. "Under the agreement, the apple industry has quadrupled its exports to Mexico and doubled its exports to Canada with combined purchases of nearly 450 million U.S. dollars per year," he said. GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) discussed denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, the establishment of a permanent peace pact and the improvement of inter-Korean ties, South Korea's Blue House said Friday. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un sincerely and candidly talked about the issues during their formal closed-door dialogue, which lasted for about 100 minutes, Yoon Young-chan, senior press secretary for Moon, told a press briefing at the border village of Panmunjom. Working-level officials from the two sides have been working to reach an agreement on the joint declaration of the Moon-Kim summit. After the first session of their talks, Kim returned to the DPRK side of Panmunjom for a lunch break. The second session will be resumed in the afternoon, with a welcoming banquet included in the list of official events. Ri Sol Ju, Kim's wife, is slated to arrive in Panmunjom at around 6:15 p.m. local time (0915 GMT) to attend the state banquet, hosted by Moon and his spouse Kim Jung-sook, according to the joint press corps. Kim became the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil after the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Before the start of the formal talks, Moon stood right in front of the military demarcation line (MDL) to greet Kim who appeared from a DPRK building in Moon's opposite side. After a historic handshake, Kim walked across the MDL into the South Korean side of Panmunjom. Unexpectedly, Kim invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side and then returned to the South Korean side together. The episode was suggested by Kim following Moon's expressed desire to set foot on DPRK territory as the South Korean president, according to Moon's press secretary. It was an unscheduled event for the official welcoming ceremony, included an inspection of the honor guard. While Moon and Kim were being escorted by a traditional South Korean honor guard to Panmunjom square on the South Korean side, Moon told Kim that if the DPRK leader visits the presidential compound in Seoul, he could receive a more impressive welcome. Kim replied that he would accept an invitation to the Blue House. During a chat at the Peace House reception room before the formal talks, Kim said expectations ran high for his meeting with Moon at the place symbolizing the confrontation of the two sides, noting the border line could be rubbed out if enough people walk over it. Moon agreed, saying he wished to make the Panmunjom summit a starting point that will lead to summits in Pyongyang, Seoul, South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju and the DPRK's northeastern Mount Paektu. Moon said he would like to visit Mount Paektu, something Kim welcomed. Moon said the most important thing in resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula is speed. In response, Kim proposed to meet more frequently to meet the world's high expectations of peace on the peninsula. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 16:17:22|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday applauded the political resolution and courage the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have showed, wishing positive results for the meeting. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing. The DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un and the ROK President Moon Jae-in began formal talks Friday morning in the ROK side of the border village of Panmunjom. The summit, 11 years after a previous one, comes at a time of warming ties between the two sides following initiatives by both Seoul and Pyongyang and other related parties of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 16:32:31|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ISTANBUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Friday captured a suspected sub-leader of the Islamic State (IS) and three other militants in an operation in the western province of Izmir, local media reported. The so-called sub-leader was a close friend of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Hurriyet daily said, noting he was shown as the successor of al-Baghdadi. There are conflicting reports, however, about the status of al-Baghdadi, with some saying he was wounded or killed in airstrikes while some say he is alive and in hiding. According to Hurriyet, the IS sub-leader has been the commander of the city of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria and was involved in the massacre of 700 people in the country on Dec. 14, 2017. The suspects were caught by police among a group of Syrian refugees who had been waiting in the city of Izmir to illegally cross into Europe, the report said. Turkey, hit by a series of deadly attacks by IS militants over the last two years, has been tightening operations against the group in recent months as it is suffering defeat in neighboring Iraq and Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 17:07:53|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close TIKRIT, Iraq, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces Friday killed two suicide bombers and were hunting for the third after they tried to attack troops in Iraq's central province of Salahuddin, a local police officer said. The incident occurred before Thursday midnight when three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts approached the security outposts in Tal al-Thahab area near the town of Balad, 80 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Colonel Mohammed al-Jubouri said. The troops discovered the attackers and opened heavy fire on them, killing two after blowing up their explosive belts, Jubouri said, adding that the third fled the scene and hid at nearby orchards. The security forces launched a search operation into the area for the third attacker, Jubouri said. The predominately Sunni Arab province has been an area for Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi units to drive out Islamic State (IS) militants from key cities and towns in the province, including its capital Tikrit, 170 km north of Baghdad. In a separate incident, a force from the intelligence of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) raided a house of IS group in Baghdad and arrested a wanted IS leader, said Brigadier General Saad Maan, spokesperson of the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The captured IS leader is believed to be involved in seven terrorist attacks near Baghdad, including roadside bomb attacks on security forces and killing of civilians, Maan said. On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group. However, small groups and individuals of IS militants melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas in Iraq. They carried out attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 17:38:05|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close COLOMBO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Friday approved a loan of 100 million U.S. dollars to support and modernize Sri Lanka's education system, the bank said in a statement. The General Education Modernization Project (GEM), for which the loan has been approved, will modernize and diversify the curriculum of general education, keeping with the transformation taking place in Sri Lanka's society and economy. The World Bank said greater emphasis will be on strategic subjects that are key for economic development such as English and Mathematics. Learning material for English language and Mathematics will be developed digitally and the focus will be on children from schools located in more disadvantaged regions, the World Bank said. "Sri Lanka has made impressive progress in expanding access to education. However, to reach the status of an Upper Middle-Income Country, it needs to further improve the overall learning outcomes," said Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank country director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. "Sri Lanka's education policy makers recognize that a high-quality general education system will enable students to meet the demands of 21st century jobs," Idah added. The project will benefit school students both at the primary and the secondary levels. Technical education and vocational training institutes, academic and managerial staff of the schools will also benefit from this project. "GEM will support the government to modernize the primary and secondary education system in line with international standards established in middle-income and high-income education systems," said Harsha Aturupane, World Bank's lead economist and team leader for the project. "Successful implementation of the overall general education reform program and the key priorities supported by GEM should lead to improved learning outcomes and higher socio-emotional skills among students" he added. SUVA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Fiji Police Force will send for the first time a Formed Police Unit to the United Nations and regional peacekeeping missions after they signed a Letter of Agreement with the United States to assist the training and deployment of Fijian Police Peacekeepers. The agreement was signed Friday by Fiji's Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho and the United States Embassy's Charge d'affaires Michael Goldman to establish and support a project designed to assist the Fijian government's training and deployment of police peacekeepers, including Formed Police Units and Individual Police Officers. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sitiveni Qiliho said this has come after Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama made a commitment to the UN and they will now have to relook at their training to meet that commitment. Training for the deployment of a formed unit will start next week. 120 to 150 officers would be trained for the missions and the first batch will only be deployed after an assessment has been conducted on the training processes. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 18:08:15|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close A staff member of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon watches screens displaying the voting site of Lebanese expatriates in the Arab and Gulf states in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 27, 2018. Lebanese expatriates kicked off Friday the parliamentary polls by voting at the Lebanese embassies in the Arab and Gulf states, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) BEIRUT, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese expatriates kicked off Friday the parliamentary polls by voting at the Lebanese embassies in the Arab and Gulf states, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. It is the first time in Lebanon's history that expatriates cast their votes, after the Lebanese parliament approved in June 2017 a new electoral law based on proportionality which allows the expatriates to participate in the elections. According to the NNA, 12,611 Lebanese voters registered in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt will be the first to cast ballots for the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament. Voters elsewhere in the world will vote on Sunday, a week before the May 6 polling in Lebanon, which has not renewed its parliament since 2009. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 18:18:18|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close MOGADISHU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy in Somalia has called on the international community to support a transitional plan that seeks to transfer security responsibilities from African Union (AU) troops to the country's own security forces. Michael Keating, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, said the success of the transition plan depended on its endorsement by three constituencies -- the Somalis, the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and international partners. "The most important of those three constituencies is the Somali one," Keating told a high-level meeting of Somali authorities and international partners in Mogadishu on Thursday. Participants at the meeting formally adopted the transition plan ahead of a high-level conference on Somalia's security scheduled to take place in Brussels next week. According to a statement issued on Thursday night, the UN envoy noted that the transition plan is on the UN Security Council's agenda, and he urged international partners to back it. Efforts to advance Somalia's progress on the security front were the key topic at the meeting which saw participants underline the need for continued momentum on the implementation of the Comprehensive Approach to Security, which is part of a security pact agreed by Somalia's leaders in 2017. Francisco Madeira, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia, urged the international community to fund the transition plan and prepare the Somali National Army (SNA) and other national security forces to replace AMISOM to maintain security. "We need to know when the money that is going to buy the enablers, the multipliers, the barracks, the cars for the SNA is coming," Madeira said. Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ali Khaire said that much had been achieved since December 2017 when the Somalia Security Conference began working on a transition plan to transfer security responsibilities from AMISOM to Somalia's own security forces. "The transition plan focuses on a number of key elements. First it stresses local delivery as a key component for success. Second, the plan outlines the necessary supporting activities in recognizing that there is no purely military solution to our problems," Khaire said. He said the plan also places great emphasis on institutional capacity building and reaffirmed Somalia's commitment to undertaking reforms needed to move the country forward. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- African governments should enact policies that promote gender parity in school enrollment to help catalyze economic growth and social renewal, a senior UN official said late Thursday during the launch of 2018 Global Education Monitoring Report Gender Review. Manos Antoninis, a senior policy analyst with UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) challenged African countries to prioritize gender equality in access to basic and post secondary education as a means to achieve sustainable development. "Countries across the African continent must level the playing field using new and policy and legislative incentives to ensure that both boys and girls have access to learning opportunities," said Antoninis. African education ministers, policymakers and campaigners attended the launch of 2018 Global Education Monitoring Report prepared by UNESCO and partners during the ongoing high level Pan African Conference on Education taking place in Nairobi. The report noted that many African countries are yet to achieve gender parity in basic and tertiary education thanks to rampant poverty, cultural barriers and policy gaps. Antoninis said a radical policy shift coupled with robust financing and public education is an imperative to boost school enrollment among girls in Sub-Saharan Africa. "There is need to address cultural norms that prevent young girls in Africa from acquiring basic education. Governments must allocate resources to programs that address literacy and acquisition of life skills for the female gender," Antoninis added. African countries should address gender disparities in education as a matter of urgency in order to achieve sustainable development goals linked to poverty, health, nutrition and food security. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, the Director at UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, said that Africa's quest to achieve inclusive growth, peace and stability hinges on improving literacy rates for women and girls. "We need to create opportunities for young women in the African continent to excel in education. This objective is at the heart of realizing sustainable future for the continent," Ndong-Jatta said. She urged African countries to domesticate global best practices in order to hasten realization of gender parity in the education sector. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 18:43:24|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A three-day workshop named China's South-South Assistance to Disaster Recovery Efforts concluded Friday in Beijing. The workshop was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and co-hosted by the Chinese Academy of Governance. In 2017, China, under the framework of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, worked with the UNDP to provide support for recovery and reconstruction efforts for half a million people in five affected countries: Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda. "China's support has been essential to restore lives and livelihoods of disaster-affected people, reconnect them to development and strengthen their resilience," said Xu Haoliang, United Nations assistant secretary-general and UNDP director of the regional bureau for Asia and Pacific. About 150 officials and professionals from more than 10 countries attended the workshop, to share results of China's support in these five countries and draw expertise from China's disaster recovery experience. China's efforts have been fruitful. According to UNDP, over 470,000 people in Nepal and Bangladesh have received shelter, emergency kits and relief packages. In Pakistan, 18,750 children and 80,269 internally displaced people received new school facilities and aid packages. More than 850 houses have started the roof rebuilding process in Dominica and Barbuda. In 2017, Nepal suffered the worst flood seen in the past 60 years, which caused extensive damage and displacement. Over 80 percent of land in its southern Terai region was under water. In this context, China partnered with UNDP to provide 4 million U.S. dollars for recovery. "China's help was useful and timely to our flood-affected community," said Suman Kumar Karna, chief of flood recovery and reconstruction projects at Nepal's national reconstruction authority. "China shows its responsibility as a friendly, thoughtful and responsible neighbor." China's support reached more than 31,800 households in Nepal. "The supplies enabled these people to live in better conditions, putting smile back to their faces," Karna said.. "China has a well-organized disaster recovery system. There is a lot that we can learn from China's knowledge and information," Karna told Xinhua, predicting China's support would have a long term impact. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 18:53:26|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close MANILA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Airlines will start flying daily between its home base Hong Kong and Manila starting June 1 to cater to the growing number of travellers, the airline said at a launching ceremony held here Friday. Michael Ma, Director of Commercial at Hong Kong Airlines Ltd, said the move is to meet the increasing demand for flights between the Philippines and Hong Kong. "We are pleased to offer customers more travel options than ever. Our entry into a new market marks an exciting milestone for us, and we look forward to developing this even further," Ma said. According to official figures by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, visitor arrivals from the Philippines climbed to 894,489 in 2017, up 13 percent from 2016. Hong Kong Airlines' new service will meet the increasing travel demand from the Philippines to Hong Kong and beyond, the company said in a statement. Hong Kong Airlines will deploy an Airbus A320 on the new route, which will be outfitted with a single-class configuration and offer 174 seats in Economy Class. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 19:13:30|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close GUIYANG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Few people like to rent an old tumbledown house, but if it is in a village only 4 kilometers away from the UNESCO world natural heritage site Libo karsts it is a different story. Soon after Wei Zhenqi, a 75-year-old farmer of the Bouyei ethnicity, moved out of his run-down wooden house to a new brick house last year, a Swiss person "adopted" the shack and renovated it. Wei's house is among 96 ancient stilt houses that have been rented by outsiders in Hongjiang Village, Guizhou Province, as the local government is finding a novel way to give a new life to poor farmers. With a price ranging from 5,000 yuan (around 800 U.S. dollars) to 30,000 yuan, the abandoned old houses have been adopted by 52 artists from home and abroad, and some of them were redesigned into painting studios, family inns or pubs. The leases usually last 10 to 20 years. When they expire, the renovated houses will be returned to their original owners. Attracted by the unique architecture, Feng Jiali, a painter from Beijing, rented three houses in the village, which is home to multi-ethnic groups such as the Bouyei, Shui and Miao. One of the houses has no roof and large parts of the walls have collapsed. Feng intends to restore its original features while adding a modern touch. Feng was attracted to Hongjiang Village by aspects of its culture such as traditional tie-dyeing, an ancient dyeing technique practised by many women in the village. "The local culture can give me some insights on artistic creation," she said. "Meanwhile, I can give back by bringing changes to Hongjiang residents too." Feng needs bricklayers, carpenters and other skilled workers for the renovation project, which she estimates will cost up to 500,000 yuan. "It will provide new jobs for villagers," Feng said. "More importantly, the arrival of outsiders will bring more resources and information that are useful to the economic and cultural development of the poor village." Hongjiang is home to more than 1,400 residents. More than half of them leave home for cities and better pay. Ma Lihua, a poverty relief official stationed in the village, recalled the scene when she first walked into Hongjiang -- there were few young villagers and the only primary school had three students left. But the old houses abandoned by villagers who had moved to new homes and traditional crafts gave her hope to help the village out of poverty. In 2016, Ma and other village cadres started sorting architectural relics, customs and folktales, and introduced Hongjiang to artist communities in Beijing's Songzhuang art colony and 798 Art Zone. Since then, hundreds of painters, writers, directors, architects and dancers have arrived at the small village, seeking tranquility or inspiration. The changes even shocked Qin Yongjun, Hongjiang's village chief. "In the past, I felt that the old houses could only be left rotten and damaged. I didn't expect they could increase farmer incomes." The village now has six family inns, and more art workshops and homestays will open soon, Ma said. As the village revives, over 300 migrant workers have returned since last year. Once abandoned farmland has been ploughed and planted with vegetables and traditional Chinese medicine herbs. The average income for the villagers has more than tripled to 8,486 yuan over the past three years. "Using art to rejuvenate villages is really good," said Xu Jia, an oil painter from Beijing. "The arrival of the artists will wake up this remote ancient village." YANGON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP), one of the remaining armed groups in Myanmar negotiating peace with the government, agreed on Friday to continue efforts for the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA) with the government. According to a joint statement of the Myanmar government's Peace Commission and the KNPP following two-day peace talks in Loikaw, Kayah state, KNPP agreed on some undertakings to be carried out in a short-term period before it reaches the stage of signing. KNPP is the third armed group negotiating with the incumbent government for joining the ceasefire pact after the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) entered the NCA on Feb. 13. NCA was initiated with eight armed groups on Oct. 15, 2015 during the previous government tenure. As a follow-up, two meetings of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference were held in August 2016 and May 2017, respectively. The second meeting of the peace conference was able to incorporate a total of 37 adopted principles into a union accord in the country's peace process. MOGADISHU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Friday it has kicked off a two-day training on biometric registration for Somalia government staff to help spearhead the integration of pro-government militias into the national security forces. The course which is being conducted by AMISOM Police is aimed at training officials from the ministry of internal security to acquire the necessary skills needed to register members of armed pro-government groups operating in Galmudug state in central Somalia. "This particular exercise is being done to capacitate the officers to go to Galmudug state to also register the regional forces there," Paul Kissi Frimpong, AMISOM Police Deputy Coordinator in charge of Reform, Restructuring and Development said in a statement released in Mogadishu. Frimpong said the pan African mission's Police decided to train Somali officers to be part of the exercise after the Federal Government requested the AU Mission's aid in registering the pro-government armed groups. "Apart from the Somali National Army, some of these states have some security forces that have been supporting them to fight the al-Shabab. These forces are outside the SNA and (those are the ones) we are going to register," he added. Frimpong said the exercise was part of AMISOM's plans to develop capacity of the Somali national security forces to enable it take over security responsibilities once AMISOM exits. "We want to capacitate them (Somali officers), give them the skills to be able to assist in the ongoing exercise of registering the regional forces. As you are aware AMISOM is transitioning which means that the Somali security forces must take over all security responsibilities," said Frimpong. The AU mission has already trained a team of officers in Jubbaland and South West states to perform the same function. In March, AMISOM and Somali security officers commenced the registration of Darwish militia in Jubbaland to pave way for their integration into the Somali national security forces. The Darwish militia group has been helping the Jubbaland administration fight al-Shabab militants and restore law and order. ADDIS ABABA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia is to legislate a two five year term limit for the prime ministerial position, new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was quoted as saying on Friday. Speaking to an audience of political and civil leaders in Hawassa city, capital of Ethiopia's Southern regional state, Ahmed said legislation is underway to amend the Ethiopian constitution to adopt the two term limit on PM position, reported state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency (ENA). Ahmed told the audience the term limit is needed to ensure smooth power transfer, strengthen the democratic system and fight corruption. Ethiopia follows a parliamentary political system with the position of PM being more powerful than the President who has largely ceremonial powers. The Ethiopian constitution has a two term limit on the President's office, but presently allows an indefinite period of time for a Prime Minister to stay in office. Ahmed, 41, was sworn in as Prime Minister before Ethiopian parliament on April 2, replacing Hailemariam Desalegn, amid anti-government protests and strikes in various parts of Ethiopia. Persistent protests over allegations of economic and political marginalization since 2016 in Amhara and Oromia regional states which together account for about 65 percent of Ethiopia's estimated population of 100 million had caused fears about the stability of one of Africa's star economies. Many Ethiopians hope Ahmed will bring about political and economic changes as the country moves closer to a general election in May 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 19:43:40|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close RIYADH, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Saudi air defense intercepted on Friday a ballistic missile shot towards border city Najran, Al Arabiya local news reported. It is a fresh attack, as Houthi militias have targeted various Saudi cities, mainly those near the Saudi-Yemeni border, for the last three years. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition in support of the exiled Yemeni government against Iran-backed militias. On Monday, Saudi air defense intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthi militias targeting Jazan. The air defense intercepted a missile targeting the Najran region while another one fell in a desert area on Sunday. The militia has fired more than 100 ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabian land, according to an Arab Coalition statement on April 16. Saudi air defense has intercepted most of them. TRIPOLI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- After more than two weeks of rumors about his death, Libya's eastern-based army commander, General Khalifa Haftar, returned on Thursday to Benghazi, the country's second largest city, after a successful treatment trip in France. Upon arrival, Haftar ended the uncertainty and controversy that accompanied his absence over the past two weeks. "The return of General Khalifa Haftar from his medical trip came at a perfect time to end all doubts and all the media rumors that tried to split the military establishment and show that the army is divided and has no (strong) leadership," Mohammed Abdullah, member of the eastern-based parliament, told Xinhua on Thursday. "There are countries that want Haftar out in any way and tried repeatedly to take him out of the scene, but he foiled their plans by gaining more popular and military support, as shown in the reception ceremony upon his arrival to Benghazi," Abdullah said. Haftar arrived at Benghazi's Benina international airport at 19:15 local time (1715 GMT), and was received with a large ceremony by a number of senior army officials and tribal elders. Haftar's return ended more than two weeks of speculation about his health condition. Army spokesman Ahmed Mismari had denied sending Haftar to Europe for treatment. Shortly after arrival, Haftar confirmed that he was "in good health," calling the Libyan people to "trust the army." "I want you to trust this army because it will bring you what you wish," he said, vowing to "eliminate all groups that disturb the life of the Libyans." On April 11, local and international media said Haftar was sent to France's Paris for treatment after a sudden stroke. Despite that secrecy of Haftar's medical trip, French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, revealed last week that Haftar "is in a military hospital on the outskirts of Paris" and his "health condition is better." Libyan military analyst and retired army general, Ahmed al-Hesnawi, said the army was consistent throughout the absence of Haftar. "Several media and political parties have tried to topple the army's leadership during the four-year war on terrorism. However, their attempts fail to undermine the army's determination and cohesion, which have survived the attempts of rumors. The senior army officials showed mental strength. All their statements were supportive of the army and insisting on fighting terrorism," al-Hesnawi told Xinhua. "Even when Haftar was absent recently, preparations were continuing for the battle to liberate Darna from terrorism. This indicates that the army's leadership may be affected by the absence of its commander, but the army will not stop its plans to liberate Libya from terrorism and militias," he said. Since 2015, the eastern city of Darna has been besieged by the army which demanded the armed group of the Shura Council of Mujahideen of Darna to leave the city. The army accuses the group of being loyal to al-Qaida. Libyan political analyst, Abdullah al-Rayes, said that parties opposing the army in Libya tried to create division between army officials, and they are involved in the recent assassination attempt of the army's chief of staff, Abdarrazzag al-Nathuri, and the recent clashes between an army unit and security forces in Benghazi when Haftar was abroad. "There is information that political parties, specifically the political Islam movement, are behind the assassination attempt of al-Nathuri last week, which is intended to divide the army officials and show that the army is solely dependent on Haftar," Al-Rayes told Xinhua. He pointed out that the rumors aimed to undermine Haftar's credibility, especially before the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya. "This campaign against Haftar gained him additional popularity, instead of weakening him. It may even make him a strong candidate for the presidency of the country," Al-Rayes added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 19:48:43|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close SHIJIAZHUANG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A freight train service has been launched from a port in north China's Hebei Province to Belgium, a further line for freight between China and Europe. A train carrying 41 containers of local products, such as kaoline and yeast, departed around noon Thursday from Jingtang Port District in the city of Tangshan, marking the inauguration of the service. The train will travel 11,000 kilometers to the Belgian city of Antwerp, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, said Xu Fengyi, head of the Tangshan Customs. The train service will cut transport time from the usual 45 days by sea, to just 16 days. Tangshan, 150 km from Beijing and sitting on the north of the Bohai Sea, has just develop 32 km of its 230-km coastline for commercial use, where two port districts -- Jingtang and Caofeidian -- are located. It handled 573 million tonnes of freight last year, according to the city government. The new freight service offers a new way not only for the freight of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to Europe, but also for that of Japan and the Republic of Korea to Europe via China, according to Xu. KIGALI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-one passengers aboard a public transport bus escaped unhurt on Friday morning when the vehicle burst into flames along the way in northern Rwanda, said the Rwandan police. According to local media, the vehicle of a public transport company with registration number RAD 248K was heading to the Rwandan capital Kigali from Musanze district in Northern Province before it caught fire around 8 a.m. along the way in Gakenke district, Northern Province. After the driver noticed that the bus was on fire, he put the vehicle to a stop and urged the passengers to jump out, according to reports. Fire fighters from the police rushed to the spot to put out fire before the bus could completely burn off, local media reported. People along the road alerted the driver after realizing the lower part of the bus had fire sparks, Rwandan police spokesperson for Northern Province Hamdun Twizeyimana told Xinhua on phone. All passengers and the driver escaped unhurt and no injuries were reported, said Twizeyimana. The fire is most likely caused by a technical problem, the spokesperson said, adding that the cause of the accident is still unknown and the investigations have started to ascertain the cause. "We always tell the drivers to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition ahead of any journey. But they have not paid much attention," he added. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Kenya's capital of Nairobi to lakeside town of Naivasha is safe despite the emergence of fault-lines and flooding along the Mai Mahiu area in northwest Kenya, a Chinese firm which is undertaking the project said on Friday. The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), however, admitted that the ongoing rains had affected the extension of the line mainly along the Mai Mahiu-Narok road. Steve Zhao, the spokesperson for the Kenya SGR Head Office, said the railway line was safe and on course. Zhao noted that they had made all the necessary measures to make sure that there was no flooding around the railway that is currently under construction. "We have constructed culverts after every 500 meters for drainage and since the rains started we have not recorded any flooding around the railway line," Zhao said at the construction site. "The rains have, however, affected the speed which we would have liked to use but the project is on course and we are still within the set time lines," he added. Zhao's remarks came in the wake of reports by geologists that sections of the area had underground fault lines which could affect the stability of the modern railway line. Zhao thanked the government for the continued support adding that on their part, they had assisted local communities through water, roads and job opportunities. "We have managed to construct some modern houses for the Masais and we shall continue working with the communities around," he said. During the visit to the site, one of the few women SGR operators Betty Muthuka expressed her delight in working in a male-dominated sector. The 27-year-old said she had worked in the first phase of the project from Mombasa and had brought the expertise to Naivasha where she was operating an excavator. "I am glad that I am among the few women operators working for the Chinese contractor and am challenging other ladies to join me in this sector," Muthuka said. The mother of one admitted that there were challenges due to her gender but was quick to note that through the work she was able to support her family. "Just like other job opportunities, this one has its own challenges but am happy that the managers and my fellow workers have embraced me," she said. DUBLIN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China-Ireland goods trade for the first quarter of this year reached 3.149 billion U.S. dollars, up 15 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the official statistics released here on Friday. The Chinese embassy in Ireland quoted the latest Chinese customs' data as saying that during the January-March period of 2018 China imported a total of 2.38 billion U.S. dollars of goods from Ireland, up 9.65 percent over a year ago, while its goods exports to the latter totalled 769 million U.S. dollars, up 37 percent year-on-year. The trade deficit that China suffered against Ireland for the first three months of this year stood at 1.611 billion U.S. dollars, up 0.14 percent compared with the corresponding period of 2017, revealed the statistics. Last year China-Ireland goods trade posted a record high of 11.05 billion U.S. dollars. Nevertheless, the bilateral trade between the two countries only accounted for less than 5 percent of Ireland's total goods imports and exports in 2017, which stood at 199.028 billion euros (about 240 billion U.S. dollars), according to the data of the Irish national statistics bureau. Facing the possible negative impact of Brexit on the Irish imports and exports, the Irish government has stepped up its efforts in helping local companies to explore and develop new markets outside of their traditional markets in Europe and North America. Currently Britain is the second largest trading partner of Ireland only next to the United States, with the bilateral goods trade between the two countries totalling 34.987 euros in 2017. "We believe there is a huge potential for the Irish exports in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in China," said Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, at an international conference held here on Wednesday. As a government agency tasked to help Irish companies to market their goods and services overseas, Enterprise Ireland believes that with its rapidly growing middle-class population and its transition to a more quality- and services- oriented economy, China has offered immense opportunities for Ireland, especially for its sectors of agriculture, information and communications technology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as education. Enterprise Ireland predicts that China will become a major trading partner of Ireland by the year 2030 with the bilateral trade to grow about 10 percent annually in the coming decade or so. (1 euro=1.208 U.S. dollars) Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 20:08:57|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) meets with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjom on April, 27, 2018.(Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps) by Xinhua writers Chen Jian, Tai Beiping, Yoo Seung-ki GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom for a historic summit. The summit, 11 years after a previous one, comes after relations between Seoul and Pyongyang took a turn for the better since the start of this year and rekindles hope for a lasting peace on the peninsula. LANDMARK HANDSHAKE A beaming Kim was greeted by Moon and shook hands with him right above a concrete slab at Panmunjom, which serves as an inter-Korean border roughly along the 38th parallel dividing the two Koreas. After walking across the military demarcation line (MDL) into the South Korean side, Kim, in a dark blue suit, invited Moon to briefly cross the border into the DPRK side. The episode aroused applause from people at the scene. Their hand-shaking marks a historic moment in inter-Korean relations. Kim became the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice. The top-level meeting under a slogan of "Peace, a New Start" is the third summit between the two Koreas after the first and second ones in 2000 and 2007. After their formal, closed-door talks at the Peace House, on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom, the two leaders pledged to end the Koran War and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a joint declaration. They also agreed to reduce their conventional weapons pending the outcome of their joint efforts to reduce military tensions and promote a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. "A new history begins now -- at the starting point of an era of peace," read the message Kim wrote in a guestbook at the Peace House. "The moment Kim crossed the military demarcation line for the first time in history has turned Panmunjom from being a symbol of division into one of peace," Moon said before their talks. "This is a very important meeting, especially as it is now clear that the possibility of a peace treaty, formally ending the Korean War, might be discussed and process to complete it agreed," said professor Hugh White, a strategic studies expert from the Australian National University. BUD OF LASTING PEACE The face-to-face summit marks a potential turning point in the long time hostility between the two Koreas in history, and sent the hope of lasting peace on the peninsula. The leaders confirmed the common goal of making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free via complete denuclearization in the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. "The South and the North affirmed their mutual goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization," the released statement said. The leaders also agreed to formally end the Korean War, which will be declared later this year, 65 years after hostilities ceased. The two Koreas technically remain at war as the 1950-1953 war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. To formally end the Korean War, the two Koreas agreed to push for three-way or four-way talks involving the United States and China to replace the Korean armistice with a peace treaty. But achieving the goal of denuclearization could be a bumpy journey ahead given the difference between Pyongyang and Washington in defining denuclearization. The DPRK wants the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while the United States wants the denuclearization of the DPRK. Denuclearization "largely depends on North Korea (the DPRK) and American relations rather than inter-Korean relations," Leonid Petrov, a Korean Peninsula expert at the Australian National University, told Xinhua before the summit. According to Park Jie-won, a lawmaker from South Korea's Party for Democracy and Peace, the most important thing in the denuclearization process is building trust between the DPRK and the United States. To discuss additional measures, the two Koreas will hold general-grade military talks before the end of May. Further, the leaders agreed to a range of measures aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation between the divided Koreas. ALL EFFORTS NEEDED The much-anticipated summit is the culmination of rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang. The two leaders agreed to meet again later this year. In fact, the rapprochement has long been planed and prepared by all sides concerned. The peace opportunity has been snowballing at a rapid pace. In his New Year's address, top DPRK leader Kim expressed his readiness to send athletes and cheerleaders to the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics, a peace overture responded to by South Korea with alacrity. The 2018 Winter Olympics became a peace festival "as we made the Seoul (Summer) Olympics an opportunity to build peace about 30 years ago," South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has told reporters. Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, D.C., told Xinhua that the push around the Olympics by the two top leaders has lowered tensions on the peninsula and led to the dialogue. The ongoing positive developments are actually in line with China's "dual-track" approach of advancing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while establishing a peace mechanism. Ukeru Magosaki, a former senior official at Japan's Foreign Ministry, said China is likely to persuade the DPRK and the United States to reach consensus. "China could play an important role in creating favorable conditions for Pyongyang and Washington," he said. Jeong Se-hyun, chairman of the Institute for Peace and Cooperation and a former South Korean unification minister, opined that to sign a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula, China must not be excluded. "The peace treaty must be signed to achieve the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and North Korea (the DPRK)." "There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it will not be all smooth sailing ahead of us," Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, urging relevant parties to promote the peace process step by step and meet each other half way with the precondition of denuclearization. (Xinhua reporters Geng Xuepeng in Seoul, Wu Qiang in Pyongyang, Yan Lei in Tokyo, Xu Haijing in Canberra and Zhu Dongyang in Washington also contributed to the story.) (Video editor: Liu Xiaorui) SINGAPORE, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from 10 member states of Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) will meet and exchange views on regional and international issues, forge consensus and provide direction to build a resilient and innovative ASEAN at its 32nd summit to be held here on Saturday. Singapore is the chair of ASEAN in 2018, and its chairmanship tagline is "Resilient and Innovative." The two words encapsulates the vision for ASEAN to be united in the face of growing uncertainties in the global strategic landscape. ASEAN faces increasingly complex strategic challenges, including competition between superpowers, trade friction, terrorism, cyberthreats and natural disasters, said Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs, in his article published at local media The Business Times on Thursday. The foreign minister said the digital revolution has also fundamentally disrupted the way ASEAN people live, work, play, communicate, mobilize and organize their societies. Thus, ASEAN needs to be innovative and adaptive to remain united and relevant in the face of these challenges. The regional and international issues that will be discussed at Saturday's summit are likely to have relations with these challenges. One of these issues could be an ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN), which, according to Balakrishnan, is "one of the key deliverables for the upcoming summit." The foreign minister said the ASCN will be a collaborative platform for member cities to exchange best practices and urban solutions, as well as to catalyze bankable smart city projects. "Our goal is to leverage technology to improve the lives and livelihood of our people," he said. The cooperation with external partners could be an important issue to be discussed at the summit. Because Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his opening remarks at the ASEAN Summit working dinner on Friday evening that the leaders "have a full agenda ahead, both within ASEAN as well as our external partners." Lee added that ASEAN would pursue the initiatives under the three pillars and make progress towards the goal of "One Vision, One Identity, One Community." He said Singapore hopes to work with ASEAN partners to tackle shared concerns. These concerns include strengthening ASEAN's collective resilience against growing trans-boundary threats, such as terrorism, climate change and cyber security; and making use of technology and innovation as source of growth and development to improve people's lives. "We hope to prompt a productive discussion and develop a consensus on an overall approach, as crystalized in our Vision Statement, to take ASEAN forward," said Lee. "We also hope to put forth tangible initiatives that will contribute to a resilient and innovative ASEAN." The prime minister said the ASEAN leaders will discuss their shared ideas over the next two days to take on the challenges as well as the concrete steps to realize their vision. ASEAN's three community pillars include the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and ASEAN Political-Security Community. As for the ASEAN Economic Community, Singapore's objective for its chairmanship this year is to deepen regional connectivity to position ASEAN as the region for increasingly seamless economic activity and growing opportunities, especially in the areas of innovation and the digital economy, the Business Times quoted several Singaporean ministries as saying. Economic issues in five key areas could be discussed at the summit as they are the focus. These issues include promoting innovation and e-commerce, improving trade facilitation, deepening services and investment integration, cultivating a helpful regulatory environment, and progressing ASEAN's external relation. WINDHOEK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's first grid-connected wind farm that would supply 5 megawatts of electricity to the national power grid was commissioned on Thursday by the country's Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo. The official opening of the Ombepo wind farm by Innosun Energy Holdings in partnership with the Luderitz Town Council took place in the southern part of the country. Speaking at the event, Alweendo said the recent development is a testimony that the enormous wind resources in this area can be harnessed to provide much needed power. "As you all know, Namibia is still heavily reliant on importing electricity from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but the picture is changing slowly but surely. Solar and wind electricity are the answer and a lot has been done over the past few years which will take us on a path of electricity independence," he added. According to Alweendo, the country is moving towards the use of sustainable, green and clean energy as different corporations across the country have taken to harnessing the sun's energy and solar panels can be seen on many roofs. Alweendo said currently the Namibian government has already approved a number of policies, including the National Renewable Energy Policy, the National Energy Policy and is in the process to finalize the Independent Power Producers (IPP) policy. These policies are all aimed at encouraging investment in Namibia's renewable energy sector and the development of clean, green energy for our country, he added. The Namibian government's target is to provide 70 percent of the country's energy mix from renewable resources by the year 2030. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 20:19:00|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close THE HAGUE, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A joint operation by European and U.S. law enforcement has hit the propaganda machine of the Islamic State (IS) and hindered the terrorist group's capacity to spread radicalization online, Europol said on Friday. "With this ground-breaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalize young people in Europe. I applaud the determined and innovative work by Europol and its partners to target a major part of the international terrorist threat prevalent in Europe today," said Rob Wainwright, Executive Director of Europol. The case started at the end of 2015 when Europol informed all EU member states about the rise of the Amaq News Agency and the technical resilience of the terrorist online infrastructure. Initially giving the impression of an independent media outlet, but providing factual information on IS, Amaq was used in 2016 to claim the attacks in the Levant and all over the world, including the attacks in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin, and more recently in Trebes (France). Amaq News Agency was officially endorsed by the terrorist organisation in July 2017 and has since become the primary source of information regarding the remaining activities of IS worldwide, according to Europol. Since 2015 Amaq News Agency has been launching its own software and has developed highly resilient online infrastructure hosting. As of December 2017, the entire range of IS propaganda is available in at least nine different languages, as well as a wide range of online services, such as mailed newsletters and add-on extensions for the most common browsers. In August 2016, a first takedown was launched against Amaq's mobile application and web infrastructure. This action forced the propagandists to build a more complex and secure infrastructure to prevent further disruption from law enforcement. In June 2017, a second strike targeted part of the news agency's web assets and infrastructure. The servers seized allowed for the identification of radicalized individuals in more than 100 countries worldwide. On April 25-26, 2018, a simultaneous multinational takedown led to the seizure of digital evidence by law enforcement from Bulgaria, France, Romania, and the seizure of IS servers in the Netherlands, Canada and the USA. Meanwhile, Britain took the lead in the referral process of top-level domain registrars abused by IS. With the action targeting major IS-branded media outlets like Amaq, IS' capability to broadcast and spread terrorist material has been compromised. Law enforcement agencies involved expect that the data retrieved as a result of the takedown will help to identify the administrators behind IS media outlets and potentially radicalised individuals on European soil and beyond, said Europol. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 20:24:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close NEW DELHI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- India's mainstream media is agog with high expectations for the two-day informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi beginning Friday in China's central city of Wuhan. Almost all the newspapers carried front page reports highlighting the first-of-its-kind meeting. One of the leading English dailies The Indian Express carried a photograph on the front page showing Modi being welcomed at Wuhan airport by Chinese officials. The report filed from Wuhan said Modi's clear goal during this visit is to make attempt to "bridge the trust deficit between the two countries." "Xi is travelling out of Beijing to central China to spend over two days with the Indian PM, the first time he is extending such a gesture to a visiting foreign leader," said the report. In another article, The Indian Express said the meeting "is not centered on outcomes but on greater understanding of the other." "In this multi-polar world, several countries have emerged as important poles," it said. "India and China are two such pivots commanding critical balance in the new global multi-polar order." Another leading English daily Hindustan Times also carried a full page highlighting the meeting. A report titled "In Wuhan, Modi, Xi to talk ties on boat ride, walks by lake" on its front page said "though there is no structured agenda for the meetings on Friday and Saturday, Modi, Xi are expected to talk freely tied to their national interests." The most circulated English daily in northern India The Times of India carried a single column report titled "Modi, Xi will meet 6 times in 24 hours". Before flying to Wuhan on Thursday evening, Modi tweeted: "I will be visiting Wuhan, China on 27-28 April 2018 for an Informal Summit with Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China. President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation." Modi also tweeted that he and President Xi will review the development of India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, while India is at a critical period for its development and rejuvenation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on April 22 in Beijing, after talks with visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. On this background, Xi and Modi decided to hold this informal meeting, which will help deepen mutual trust between the two leaders and guide the two countries to set new goals and open up new prospects for bilateral ties, Wang said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 21:04:13|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ISTANBUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggest that Ankara may give up its plan to clear eastern Syria of Kurdish militia amid signs of rapprochement with the United States in the Syrian theater, according to analysts. Turkey would not move to eliminate the Kurdish militia along its border unless the militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara sees as a terror group, poses a threat and stage attacks against Turkey, Erdogan said last weekend. The president's remarks and the latest development strongly imply that the Turkish military would not launch further operations against the militia, Cahit Armagan Dilek, head of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Xinhua. Ankara is not eager to shed blood in those areas held by Kurds if there is no threat, Erdogan said. In contrast, top Turkish officials had repeatedly vowed until recently that Ankara would expand its military operations against the U.S.-backed YPG into northeastern Syria as well as to Manbij, where the United States has a military presence. The Turkish military announced a "full control" of the YPG-held Afrin region in northwestern Syria on March 24 following a two-month campaign. Turkish officials have stopped, roughly for about a month, talking about launching fresh campaigns against other YPG-held areas. In the view of Dilek, a former staff officer in the Turkish military, recent U.S.-led missile strikes on Syrian sites have indicated that Ankara's vision for war-torn Syria is actually similar to that of its Western allies rather than Russia. The United States, Britain and France carried out a wave of missile strikes against the Syrian government on April 14, accusing it, without convincing evidence so far, of having used poison gas against civilians. Ankara, which has coordinated its Syrian policy more with Russia rather than with its NATO ally the United States since mid 2016, immediately expressed support for the air raids. All signs indicate that Ankara will again pursue policies that are in line with the United States in Syria, Hasan Koni, a professor of public international law at Istanbul Kultur University, told Xinhua. Ankara had earlier supported, together with Washington, rebel groups fighting to topple the Syrian government. It changed partners and started to cooperate with Moscow, a staunch ally of Damascus in the war, when Washington continued to heavily arm the YPG despite Ankara's vehement opposition. Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has been fighting for an autonomy if not an independent Kurdistan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. Dilek said that some bargaining and favors by the United States may also be included in Washington's efforts, in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey slated for June 24, to dissuade Ankara from another operation against the YPG. Some believe that the United States could hand over, ahead of June elections, some Turkish nationals in the United States who are accused by Ankara of being linked to a failed military coup in Turkey in 2016 in return for the release of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed pending trial in Turkey. "The United States could also provide intelligence to Turkey for operations against the PKK at home and in northern Iraq to bolster the perception it is at Turkey's side," said Dilek. "Such moves by the United States would make it easier for the Erdogan administration to accept U.S. plans regarding Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria." Many feel the United States wants a federal or a state-like Kurdish entity along the Turkish border, while Russia claims that Washington aims to disintegrate Syria. As Turkey was conducting its two-month Afrin operation, Ankara had resolutely stated that all those who would stand by terrorists in Syria would be targeted by Turkish troops. In response, the United States had made clear that its troops would fight back an attack against Kurdish-controlled areas other than Afrin. As signs of rapprochement between Ankara and Washington emerged lately, Erdogan's discourse towards the United States has significantly changed. Addressing a crowd on April 12, he said Turkey would never think of pointing a gun at the soldiers of its allies, although he also underlined Ankara's resolve to eliminate the YPG threat. Erdogan's remarks came the same day when local media quoted an unnamed high-level U.S. official as saying that "the United States wants to find a way of eliminating Turkey's security concerns in Syria." The moment Ankara sees a U.S. effort for rapprochement, it would stop getting too intimate with Moscow and Tehran, Koni said, referring to the fact that Turkey not only has deep-rooted military ties with the West, but its economy is highly dependent on it. The United States, disturbed about growing Iranian influence in Syria, may well try to pull Ankara to its side in the Syrian theater. Ankara, Moscow and Tehran struck a deal last year in the Kazakh capital of Astana to seek a political settlement of the Syrian conflict. If the United States ensures that the YPG poses no security threat to Turkey, then Ankara could again start causing problems for Damascus by supporting the Free Syrian Army rebels and the rebels in the province of Idlib, Koni said. "That would deal a blow to both the Syrian regime and the Iranian influence in Syria," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 21:09:15|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China Friday called for the Iran nuclear deal remain intact and be treated seriously. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a regular press briefing when responding to a question about Russia's concerns over the situation facing the deal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Russia is "seriously concerned" with the recent statements by U.S. and French leaders on the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Zakharova said that the deal is a balanced mechanism that takes into account the interests of all participants. "The destruction of this fragile balance of interests will lead to serious consequences for international security and the non-proliferation regime," Zakharova said. The JCPOA is a multilateral agreement jointly negotiated and signed by six international mediators (Russia, the United States, Britain, China, France, and Germany), the European Union and Iran. It was adopted by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. "China calls for all related parties to strengthen dialogue and coordination over the situation facing the Iran nuclear deal, to keep the deal intact and treat it seriously," Hua said. China will continue to safeguard and implement the deal in an objective, fair, and responsible manner, she said. SOFIA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel here on Friday said ensuring cyber security and developing IT skills are crucial for the digitalization of the European Union (EU). "Security is a top priority for European citizens, but digitization adds one more dimension to it -- cyber security," Gabriel said while addressing a conference on e-government. According to the EU Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems, which has to be implemented by May 9 this year, all member states should have a computer security incident response team working around the clock in order to react as quickly as possible against cyber attacks, Gabriel said. "I dare to say that this is one of the biggest challenges," she said. The WannaCry ransomware attack last May, which affected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide, was a wonderful example of what could happen with personal data in many sensitive areas, Gabriel said. The attack happened on Friday, and the truth was that, due to the lack of departments that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, many EU member states did not react until Monday, she said. In addition, according to the general regulation on personal data protection, consumers would be alerted within a specified timeframe when an attack occurs, Gabriel said. The possibility of this attack being targeted at departments where administrative information is kept should not be ignored, she said. Meanwhile, the development of digital skills should be the number one priority for all, because "if we do not invest in people's skills, we will not be able to take advantage of the benefits of the digital transformation," Gabriel said. "Currently, the numbers are more than scary," she said. "Eighty million Europeans can not use the Internet. The risk to these people of more poverty, more social exclusion, more fragmentation and polarization in our society is very high," Gabriel said. "One hundred and sixty-nine million Europeans do not have basic digital skills, and we already know that after 2020, 90 percent of jobs will require basic digital skills," she added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 21:19:17|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GAZA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Clashes broke out Friday afternoon between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip on the fifth Friday of a six-week protest, known as "the Great March of Return," eyewitnesses said. Paramedics said that the soldiers fired dozens of tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators who burned tires to make shields of black smoke that would protect them from the fire of Israeli snipers. The clashes broke out after demonstrators walked closer to the fence of the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, where dozens of Israeli soldiers and snipers were seen at the other side of the border into Israel. The witnesses said that demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli armed forces, where soldiers fired back tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. No injuries were reported, according to the paramedics, who are in the area with ambulances and first aid. Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians were preparing for the rallies this week called "Friday of angry youths." The rallies, starting from March 30, will last until May 15 and are held in five areas in eastern Gaza Strip, several hundred meters far from the fence of the border with Israel. Over the past four Fridays, 42 Palestinians have been killed and around 5,000 injured; many with live ammunition. The health authority said 40 killed people have been recorded in register, while two corpses are held by the Israeli army. The health ministry in Gaza announced in a press statement that it had sent medical workers to the area in eastern Gaza Strip in case of emergency and more casualties during the protests. Hamas activists called on the people Friday morning throughout mosques' loudspeakers to join the rallies and the symbolic funeral of Fadi al Batsh, a Hamas scientist who was killed in Malaysia by unknown militants last Saturday. The Israeli army, meanwhile, announced Friday that it had sent more forces to the border area to prevent Palestinian protesters from infiltrating into Israel. Witnesses said that masked young men Friday morning managed to cut through the fence of the border east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 21:39:24|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks at an event at a DRB-Hicom complex in Pekan in the eastern state of Pahang, Malaysia, on April 27, 2018, one day ahead of the Nomination Day of the general election. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei) PEKAN, Malaysia, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday highlighted the capacity of China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, saying Geely will help the Malaysian national car brand Proton retain its competitiveness locally and internationally. Najib made the remarks at a DRB-Hicom complex in Pekan in eastern state of Pahang. The Malaysian conglomerate sold a 49.9-percent stake in Proton to Geely last June. "Geely is highly advanced and has huge research and development funds up to billions (of U.S. dollars) a year, apart from having large markets for its vehicles," Najib told hundreds of DRB-Hicom employees, adding Geely also owns the Swedish car brand Volvo and a 10 percent stake in German carmaker Mercedes Benz. "Just imagine the benefits when we become a strategic partner to a company that is strong and solid like that. It's not only a company based in China, but also a multi-national company," he added. Najib also defended DRB-Hicom's move to sell part of Proton, saying it was a business decision based on Geely's merit and the decision was made by DRB-Hicom and Proton, instead of the government. During the event, Najib announced a series of generous handouts, including an incentive bonus of 500 ringgit (127.7 U.S. dollars) for each of DRB-Hicom's 60,000 employees. Proton, which was founded in 1983 by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has been under-performing in recent years and relied heavily on government loans to continue its operation. After Geely bought into Proton, the new management pledged to cut costs and redundancy in order to re-claim Proton's position as Malaysia's best-selling car. OSLO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Norway's sovereign wealth fund posted a negative return of 171 billion kroner (21.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2018, the fund said on Friday. Equity, fixed-income and unlisted real estate investments returned -2.2 percent, -0.4 percent and 2.5 percent respectively in the quarter, according to a statement of the fund, formally known as the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) and ranked as the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund. The quarter was colored by increased volatility in global stock markets, the fund said. "The most important expression of the risk in the fund is that the strategic equity share is set to 70 percent," said Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which is the part of the Norwegian central bank that is responsible for managing the fund. "This means that fluctuations in the fund's value are predominantly determined by the development in global stock markets," he said. In the first quarter, 11 billion kroner was withdrawn from the fund. The krone appreciated against several of the main currencies during the quarter, which decreased the value of the fund by 183 billion kroner. The fund had a market value of 8,124 billion kroner as at March 31 2018, of which 66.2 percent were invested in equities, 2.7 percent in unlisted real estate and 31.2 percent in fixed income, it said. (1 U.S. dollar=7.95 kroner) Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 21:39:26|Editor: pengying Video Player Close NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference after NATO foreign ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 27, 2018. NATO foreign ministers agreed that NATO's dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defense combined with meaningful dialogue with Russia "is the right one", said Jens Stoltenberg Friday. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan) BRUSSELS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- NATO foreign ministers agreed that NATO's dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defense combined with meaningful dialogue with Russia "is the right one", said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Friday. Speaking at the press conference following their meeting, Stoltenberg said ministers discussed the implications of Russia's foreign and defense policies and NATO's relations with Russia. "We need to further strengthen our resilience. At the same time, NATO remains committed to dialogue with Russia," he said. Stoltenberg added the two sides continue to work towards the next meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Ministers also made decisions in preparations to launch a new training mission in Iraq, due to be launched at the summit in July. The mission will include several hundred personnel, who will train Iraqi instructors and develop Iraqi military schools. A tourist sits inside the Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Jan. 27, 2009. (Xinhua/Yu Yang) ADDIS ABABA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia recorded 169.6 million U.S. dollars in revenue from 45,307 Chinese tourists that visited the country in 2017, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday. Chinese tourists are the largest group of tourists to Ethiopia. The 2017 Chinese tourists figures have shown a steady increase from 2016 numbers, which stood at 41,659. Speaking to Xinhua, Gezahegn Abate, Public and International Relations Director at Ethiopia Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT), said despite a steady increase in Chinese tourist numbers over the last several years, insufficient food and accommodation facilities are hampering further growth. "MoCT is encouraging Chinese investment in Ethiopia's hospitality sector with a view to dramatically increasing the number of Chinese tourists," Abate said. With a view to making tourism a major hard currency earner, Ethiopia is implementing incentives for entrepreneurs involved in the tourism and hospitality industry, including duty free arrangements for construction materials. The national flag carrier Ethiopian airlines already flies to five destinations in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu and Guangzhou and plans to start flights to Shenzhen in June. MoCT hopes the increasing flight connection between Ethiopia and Chinese destinations will help sustain the steady increase of Chinese tourists to Ethiopia. Turkey's President says Turkey would not move to eliminate the Kurdish militia along its border unless the militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara sees as a terror group, poses a threat and stage attacks against Turkey. (AFP photo) ISTANBUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggest that Ankara may give up its plan to clear eastern Syria of Kurdish militia amid signs of rapprochement with the United States in the Syrian theater, according to analysts. Turkey would not move to eliminate the Kurdish militia along its border unless the militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara sees as a terror group, poses a threat and stage attacks against Turkey, Erdogan said last weekend. The president's remarks and the latest development strongly imply that the Turkish military would not launch further operations against the militia, Cahit Armagan Dilek, head of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Xinhua. Ankara is not eager to shed blood in those areas held by Kurds if there is no threat, Erdogan said. In contrast, top Turkish officials had repeatedly vowed until recently that Ankara would expand its military operations against the U.S.-backed YPG into northeastern Syria as well as to Manbij, where the United States has a military presence. The Turkish military announced a "full control" of the YPG-held Afrin region in northwestern Syria on March 24 following a two-month campaign. Turkish officials have stopped, roughly for about a month, talking about launching fresh campaigns against other YPG-held areas. In the view of Dilek, a former staff officer in the Turkish military, recent U.S.-led missile strikes on Syrian sites have indicated that Ankara's vision for war-torn Syria is actually similar to that of its Western allies rather than Russia. The United States, Britain and France carried out a wave of missile strikes against the Syrian government on April 14, accusing it, without convincing evidence so far, of having used poison gas against civilians. Ankara, which has coordinated its Syrian policy more with Russia rather than with its NATO ally the United States since mid 2016, immediately expressed support for the air raids. All signs indicate that Ankara will again pursue policies that are in line with the United States in Syria, Hasan Koni, a professor of public international law at Istanbul Kultur University, told Xinhua. Ankara had earlier supported, together with Washington, rebel groups fighting to topple the Syrian government. It changed partners and started to cooperate with Moscow, a staunch ally of Damascus in the war, when Washington continued to heavily arm the YPG despite Ankara's vehement opposition. Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has been fighting for an autonomy if not an independent Kurdistan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. Dilek said that some bargaining and favors by the United States may also be included in Washington's efforts, in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey slated for June 24, to dissuade Ankara from another operation against the YPG. Some believe that the United States could hand over, ahead of June elections, some Turkish nationals in the United States who are accused by Ankara of being linked to a failed military coup in Turkey in 2016 in return for the release of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed pending trial in Turkey. "The United States could also provide intelligence to Turkey for operations against the PKK at home and in northern Iraq to bolster the perception it is at Turkey's side," said Dilek. "Such moves by the United States would make it easier for the Erdogan administration to accept U.S. plans regarding Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria." Many feel the United States wants a federal or a state-like Kurdish entity along the Turkish border, while Russia claims that Washington aims to disintegrate Syria. As Turkey was conducting its two-month Afrin operation, Ankara had resolutely stated that all those who would stand by terrorists in Syria would be targeted by Turkish troops. In response, the United States had made clear that its troops would fight back an attack against Kurdish-controlled areas other than Afrin. As signs of rapprochement between Ankara and Washington emerged lately, Erdogan's discourse towards the United States has significantly changed. Addressing a crowd on April 12, he said Turkey would never think of pointing a gun at the soldiers of its allies, although he also underlined Ankara's resolve to eliminate the YPG threat. Erdogan's remarks came the same day when local media quoted an unnamed high-level U.S. official as saying that "the United States wants to find a way of eliminating Turkey's security concerns in Syria." The moment Ankara sees a U.S. effort for rapprochement, it would stop getting too intimate with Moscow and Tehran, Koni said, referring to the fact that Turkey not only has deep-rooted military ties with the West, but its economy is highly dependent on it. The United States, disturbed about growing Iranian influence in Syria, may well try to pull Ankara to its side in the Syrian theater. Ankara, Moscow and Tehran struck a deal last year in the Kazakh capital of Astana to seek a political settlement of the Syrian conflict. If the United States ensures that the YPG poses no security threat to Turkey, then Ankara could again start causing problems for Damascus by supporting the Free Syrian Army rebels and the rebels in the province of Idlib, Koni said. "That would deal a blow to both the Syrian regime and the Iranian influence in Syria," he added. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan political, civic and religious leaders are pulling apart over the form of government the country should have both at the national and county levels. While some of the political leaders believe the current presidential system is perfect for the country, others say Kenya needs a three-tier form government. Religious leaders, on the other hand, have backed those calling for amendment of the current system noting it is divisive. At the county level, some leaders want 14 regional governments created, noting the current 47 are economically unsustainable. The proposals and counter-proposals have led to an unending push and pull as the issues dominate public discussions. Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his lieutenants believe the country should change national and county government structures. At the national level, Odinga is further calling for introduction of the prime minister and deputy prime minister offices. The president, according to the veteran opposition leader, should be elected by the people and the prime minister parliament. "As a matter of lasting solution to the problem posed by sizes of devolved units, we need to bite the bullet and revisit the structure of devolution. The Bomas draft divided Kenya into 14 regions, it is time to look at how to recover this original spirit. My proposal is we adopt a three-tier system of government," said Odinga. Deputy President William Ruto and MPs in his ruling Jubilee Party are, however, opposed to the proposal. "Rearranging devolution cannot be by creating another layer. It should be by taking the counties to the wards. We cannot take devolution upwards. It should be taken downwards. That is where devolution has to go," he said. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday did not directly dismiss calls to change the form of government but noted that it was too early to effect changes. "Changing systems or constitution is not an answer to all our issues. We should focus on development and less on politics," he said. Citizens are divided on the pros and cons of the proposed changes to the structure of government. While some believe the changes at the national level would cure division, those opposing note an expanded government would burden taxpayers. "I believe we need an inclusive government but what the country needs is not the prime minister's office but the office of the leader of opposition which was scrapped under the new constitution," said Martin Kisorio, a digital marketer in Nairobi. Kisorio noted recognition of the opposition leader would improve democracy as he would be able to check the government's excesses. "For me, the prime minister would make the country have two centers of power which would lead to conflict," he said. Those supporting the regional governments said they would help counties pool resources for better economic growth. "I believe regional governments are the way to go, but we should not retain the county governments because they are unsustainable. We should establish 14 regional units and scrap the 47 counties," said government auditor Helsen Okirwa. The National Council of Churches of Kenya and the Catholic Church have in the last weeks called for change of form of government by creating the office of prime minister to enhance "inclusivity in the executive". Analysts noted that the push and pull is healthy and shows the country is not at peace with the current system of government. "The fact that the discussions are ongoing points to the fact that a problem has been detected. But Kenyans should not listen to politicians more but alternative voices like church leaders," said Ernest Manuyo, a business management lecturer in Nairobi. He noted that while those politicians proposing or opposing the changes have vested interests, religious leaders are a voice of reason. "Myself I believe we need to change our systems of government as the current one has not cured ills in the country including ethnic divisions," he said. File Photo: Containers full of granny smith apples are seen in an apple orchard of Auvil Fruit Company in Wenatchee, Washington State, the United States, on Nov. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Apple Association (USApple) on Thursday expressed concern over U.S. trade disputes with China and other countries, saying escalating tensions will only hurt domestic agricultural producers. At a press event, USApple Secretary Jeff Colombini spoke about the impact of China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural commodities, including a 15-percent tariff on apples, which were announced earlier this month in response to Washington's duty proposals on imported Chinese goods. "This is a tremendous concern as China has significant growth potential, because it doesn't grow the many apple varieties we grow and Chinese consumers are excited to experience those unique taste profiles," he told reporters. Colombini warned that the trade dispute will "hurt apple growers' ability to maintain and expand this emerging market," according to a press release of USApple. The U.S. apple industry achieved full access to the Chinese market in 2015, it said, adding that since then, apple exports have grown to 2.5 million boxes per year and China is the apple industry's sixth largest export market. "Trade is critical to the health and future of the entire apple industry," Colombini said, adding that trade barriers will lead to supply issues and impact everyone's bottom line. Thursday's event, held in Acampo, some 620 km north to Los Angeles of California state, was organized by the Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan group co-chaired by two former U.S. Senators and supported by many leading agricultural organizations. The Farmers for Free Trade released a research report at the event, saying that apple exports to China could see 8 million U.S. dollars in potential additional duties. Colombini also stressed in his speech the importance of maintaining the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying growers have benefitted greatly from NAFTA. "Under the agreement, the apple industry has quadrupled its exports to Mexico and doubled its exports to Canada with combined purchases of nearly 450 million U.S. dollars per year," he said. Elephants walk at Queen Elizabeth National Park in the western Ugandan district of Kasese, January 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Ronald Ssekandi) KAMPALA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Ephraim Kamuntu, Ugandan Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, has warned that proceeds from wildlife trafficking could be used to sponsor other global crimes like terrorism. Kamuntu was speaking in Kampala, Uganda's capital on Thursday during a meeting on enhancing co-ordination among law enforcement agencies to combat wildlife crime. "Let's enhance our efforts in combating wildlife crime and not allow these criminals to use Uganda as a conduit," Kamuntu said. He reminded the law enforcers that the United Nations had classified illegal wildlife trade and trafficking alongside money laundering and terrorism. "We still have co-ordination gaps amongst law enforcers. This meeting will help us take stock of efforts in combating wildlife crime and agree on how to strengthen synergies that will make our response to wildlife crime robust," he added. Some of the parts trafficked from Uganda include ivory and skins of hippos, warthogs, monitor lizards, leopards and pythons among others. Bashir Hangi, Communication Manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority told Xinhua by telephone on Thursday that wildlife crime was "a serious issue globally so it is no wonder if UN comes in to classify it together with terrorism". "People will no longer take it lightly. It gives global solidarity against such crimes. We really need punitive measures to curtail such," he said. He added that wildlife trafficking was likely to cut down on government foreign earning. Tourism is Uganda's top foreign exchange earner, generating 1.35 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. by Eric J. Lyman ROME, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Struggles to find a buyer for beleaguered flagship air carrier Alitalia may suffer from a new road block after the European Commission this week announced it was looking into whether or not Italian government loans to the carrier constituted illegal state aid. Alitalia, which has finished in the red every fiscal year since 1998, received a 900 million euro (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) "bridge loan" last year to help underwrite a restructuring effort to make the company more attractive to potential buyers after a major shareholder pulled out. Now, the European Commission is looking into whether those loans might have been illegal. "The commission's duty is to make sure loans member states give to companies are in line with European Union rules on state aid," Margrethe Vestager, commissioner for competition, said in a statement. State aid rules are designed to guarantee that government support does not give a European company an unfair advantage compared to its rival. Vestager said her office has received multiple complaints that Italian government loans to Alitalia might have run afoul of EU rules, which allow short-term emergency measures. On Thursday, Italy's cabinet met to extend time allowed for Alitalia to repay the bridge loan. "At a certain point extending the repayment time for a loan like this makes it less of a bridge loan and more of a superhighway," Andrea Giuricin, a management professor at the University of Milan-Biocca and a fellow with the Bruno Leoni think tank, told Xinhua. Giuricin and others said the commission's investigation into the loan could make Alitalia an even less attractive target for a potential buyer since any new owner could end up being liable for any sanctions or penalties that come along with a ruling of illegal state aid. "I would think that any potential buyer would have to consider the implications of this investigation," Francesco Rossi dal Pozzo, a European law professor at the University of Milano, said in an interview. German air carrier Lufthansa is the most visible potential buyer for Alitalia, but Ulrik Svensson, Lufthansa's chief financial officer, said this week the company has "absolutely no interest" in Alitalia until it is restructured. Earlier in April, Lufthansa said it had submitted a plan for Alitalia's restructuring. The company did not say whether the commission's investigation into the Italian carrier would dampen its interest in a takeover. Lufthansa has some experience taking over troubled rivals kept afloat with government help: The European Commission gave its OK to a Lufthansa takeover of Air Berlin last year, after the smaller company benefitted from a 150-million-euro (185-million-U.S.-dollar) loan from the German government. But Giuricin said there were no charges that the loan constituted illegal state aid since it was paid back within two months. In addition to Lufthansa, a consortium led by British discount carrier EasyJet and Hungarian carrier Wizzair have expressed interest in taking over Alitalia. The last company to acquire a large share in Alitalia was Etihad Airways, based in the United Arab Emirates, which acquired a 49-percent stake in 2014. But Etihad pulled out after Alitalia rejected dramatic plans to reduce the size of the company, setting the table for last year's loan. Alitalia has received at least 6 billion euros (7.3 billion U.S. dollars) in public and private outside funding since 1998. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 22:44:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) sign for their joint declaration, titled the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, on April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps) GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), confirmed a common goal of complete denuclearization and agreed to push for multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty after their first summit meeting in Panmunjom Friday. Moon and Kim held a signing ceremony for their joint declaration, the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, the border village dividing the rival Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The leaders confirmed their common goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula via complete denuclearization. They agreed to push for talks, which would also involve China and the United States, to establish a permanent, firm peace regime with a view to ending hostilities and turning the armistice agreement into a peace treaty this year, the 65th anniversary of the agreement. Ending the current unactual state of armistice and establishing a firm peace regime on the peninsula is a historical mission that cannot be delayed any more, the joint declaration said. The two sides shared the view that the measures initiated by the DPRK are very meaningful and crucial for the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization, and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. They also agreed to seek the international community's support and cooperation for the peninsula's denuclearization. Kim walked across the military demarcation line into South Korea, becoming the first DPRK leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the Korean War ended with the armistice. With Kim's visit, the 800-meter-wide Panmunjom dividing the two Koreas became a symbol of peace and dialogue from a symbol of confrontation and division. After signing the joint declaration, Moon and Kim hugged each other and smiled. Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang this fall and continue to have frequent discussions with Kim through regular meetings and direct telephone conversations to build mutual trust. A hotline between the two leaders was set up a week earlier, the first such communications channel between the leaders of the two Koreas. The Panmunjom declaration has three main themes: establishing a peace regime, making efforts to ease military tensions, and prosperity and unification of the two Koreas. Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to carry out a phased disarmament in accordance with the eased military tension and the progress in military trust-building, reaffirming the non-aggression agreement that precludes the use of force in any form toward each other. Moon and Kim declared that there will be no more war on the peninsula, sharing a commitment to bring a swift end to the Cold War legacy of division and confrontation and approach a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity. The two Koreas agreed to completely stop all hostile acts against each other on land, in sea and air that are the source of military tension and conflict. In this vein, the two sides agreed to transform the four-km-wide demilitarized zone into a peace zone by ceasing as of May 1, all hostile acts such as loudspeaker broadcasts against each other and distributing leaflets across the border. The two sides will devise practical measures to change the areas around the Northern Limit Line, which serves as the de-facto maritime border in the West Sea, into a maritime peace zone to prevent accidental maritime clashes and guarantee safe fishing activities. They also agreed to take various military measures to ensure active mutual cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts. The two sides agreed to hold frequent meetings between military authorities, including the defense ministers' meeting, in order to immediately discuss and resolve the military issues that arise between them. They agreed to convene a general-level military meeting in May. To resolve humanitarian issues, the two Koreas will hold a reunion of families separated across the border around the Aug. 15 Liberation Day, when the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. The two sides will discuss overall issues regarding the separated families via Red Cross meetings. To achieve balanced growth and co-prosperity on the peninsula, the two sides will implement the projects agreed upon in the Oct. 4, 2007 declaration by then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and then DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, father of the current leader, following the second inter-Korean summit. As a first step, South Korea and the DPRK will connect and modernize railways and roads in the eastern transport corridor and between Seoul and the DPRK's northwestern city of Sinuiju. To raise the sense of national reconciliation and unity, the two Koreas agreed to encourage exchanges, cooperation, visits and contacts at all levels. To secure close consultations between the authorities of the two Koreas and smooth exchanges and cooperation among their private sectors, the two sides will establish a joint liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong. Related: Spotlight: S. Korean, DPRK leaders meet in Panmunjom to usher in "new history" on peninsula GOYANG, South Korea, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Under intense global spotlight, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un met in the border village of Panmunjom Friday in the hope of starting an era of peace on the peninsula. Full story China applauds DPRK, ROK leaders' political resolution and courage BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday applauded the political resolution and courage the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have showed, wishing positive results for the meeting. Full story Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 22:49:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Clashes broke out Friday afternoon between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip on the fifth Friday of a six-week protest, known as "the Great March of Return," eyewitnesses said. Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza told reporters that at least 50 demonstrators were injured, 18 with live ammunition and the rest are those who inhaled tear gas and were treated in the field by the health ministry paramedics. The witnesses said clashes erupted after Friday prayers and that the soldiers fired dozens of tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators who burned tires to make shields of black smoke that would protect them from the fire of Israeli snipers. The clashes broke out after demonstrators walked closer to the fence of the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, where dozens of Israeli soldiers and snipers were seen at the other side of the border into Israel. The witnesses said that demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli army forces, where soldiers fired back tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. Paramedics are present in the area with ambulances and first medical aid. Meanwhile, teenagers and youths flew kites carrying flaming pieces of clothes near the border aiming at keeping it flying and falling on Israeli agricultural fields, while dozens of young men set fire to dozens of tires and others cut and pulled parts the barbed wire of the fence of the border. Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians were preparing to join the 5th Friday of rallies called "the Great Marches of Return." Organizers of the rallies announced that this Friday was called "Friday of angry youths." The rallies, which have been going on since March 30 and will last until May 15, are held in five different areas in eastern Gaza Strip, several hundred meters far from the fence of the border with Israel. Over the past four Fridays, 42 Palestinians killed and around 5,000 injured; many with live ammunition. The health ministry in Gaza said 40 killed are registered in the records and two corpses are held by the Israeli army. The health ministry in Gaza announced in a press statement that it sent its medical crews and teams of rescue to the areas in eastern Gaza Strip in case of emergency and more casualties during the protests. Hamas activists called on the populations Friday morning throughout mosques loudspeakers to join the rallies and the symbolic funeral of Fadi al Batsh, a Hamas scientist who was killed in Malaysia by unknown militants last Saturday. The Israeli army meanwhile announced Friday that it sent more forces to the border area to prevent any attempt of cutting the fence and infiltrating into Israel. Witnesses said that masked young men Friday morning managed to cut through the fence of the border east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 22:54:41|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Wang Yang on Friday called for efforts to unite with Taiwan compatriots to advance peaceful reunification of the motherland, and realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks while meeting with representatives of the first meeting of the new council of the Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). Describing the current cross-Strait situation as complex and grave, Wang asked the new ARATS council to take the initiative to improve communication with Taiwan compatriots, promote cross-Strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and properly handle problems and emergencies arising during the process. BERLIN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The profitability of German automotive parts supplier Continental AG (Continental) was undermined by negative currency effects during the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, the Dax-listed company revealed on Friday during its Annual General Meeting. Earnings before interest and taxes at the Hannover-based automotive parts supplier declined by 9 percent over the same period last year to about 1.1 billion euros (1.3 billion U.S. dollars), while quarterly gross revenue stagnated at 11 billion euros. Continental largely blamed the development on adverse exchange-rate effects and emphasized that sales rose by 550 million euros (4.3 percent) on a currency-adjusted basis. Continental warned that currency effects were likely to continue weighing negatively on the firm's earnings in 2018 and consequently lowered its forecast for operative return slightly to 10.5 percent after 10.9 percent in 2017. The firm's tire production unit, in particular, was likely to be adversely affected by the trend. Nevertheless, chief executive officer Elmar Degenhart argued that the currency-adjusted increase in revenue provided evidence for a "strong growth dynamic" at the start of the year. Degenhart emphasized that Continental received new orders worth 11 billion euros from customers in Q1, marking "another record" for the company. "This is a proof of our customers' confidence in us and demonstrates our substantial strength," a statement by Degenhart read. Furthermore, the CEO highlighted that annual sales in 2017 increased by more than 8 percent compared with the previous year. As a consequence, revenue at Continental grew faster than global production of cars and light commercial vehicles which rose by around 2 percent, a performance which Degenhart described as "an excellent achievement." Continental confirmed an earlier objective to grow gross annual revenue by around 7 percent to 47 billion euros in 2018. Degenhart also predicted that "organic growth" could lift the figure to as much as 50 billion euros in 2020 and 65 billion euros in 2025. Continental is the world's second largest automotive parts supplier after German rival Bosch. The Hannover-based firm employs 224,000 staff across the world. BERLIN, April. 27 (Xinhua) -- The German energy provider E.ON made a formal offer to remaining minority shareholders in its planned acquisition of the RWE-subsidiary Innogy on Friday. RWE published an official takeover bid shortly after receiving an approval to do so from Federal Agency for Financial Services Supervision (Bafin). Earlier, the Essen-based energy sector firm reached a widely-publicized agreement with rival RWE to acquire its 76.8 percent stake in the renewable energy provider Innogy. The deal would witness E.ON's takeover of Innogy's lucrative grid business, while renewable energy generation became concentrated under the corporate umbrella of the RWE. As a consequence, the only two-year-old subsidiary Innogy would cease to exist. The deal worth around 20 billion euros (24.2 billion U.S. dollars) has largely been welcomed by policymakers and trade unions as an example of positive corporate restructuring. In order to complete the transaction, however, E.ON must also persuade the investors holding the remaining 23.2 percent of Innogy shares to sell their stocks as well. E.ON revealed that it is offering investors 38.4 euros per share, more than the current market rate of 37.65 euros per share. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether minority shareholders will accept the offer after signalling their disappointment with plans to break-up Innogy at a recent Annual General Meeting (AGM). Innogy was well progressed on the path to independence. Now the company is being betrayed, sold, and robbed of its future", Thomas Hechtfischer, director of the German Society for the Protection of Securities Holders (DSW) complained. Hechtfischer urged shareholders to reject E.ON's first bid, being confident that a second and better offer would be given. Innogy chief executive officer Uwe Tigges has stated that he is less than enthusiastic about his company's looming break-up. "The fact is: Innogy today is an economically-independent and strong energy company," Tigges said. Given that there was virtually no chance to avert the sale due to RWE's controlling stake in Innogy, however, the CEO had no choice but to "focus on what we can influence" and "approach the challenges we face with confidence." The minority shareholders now have until early July to accept the offer. If successful, the corporate restructuring process resulting from the E.ON-RWE deal would make E.ON one of Europe's largest energy corporations in the areas of sales and grid operation. The Essen-based has announced plans to eventually ensure supply to 50 million customers along a grid running to a total of 1.5 million km in length. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 23:24:49|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has hailed the "truly historic" summit between the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea and is ready to offer further assistance, his spokesperson said Friday. "The Secretary-General salutes the courage and leadership that resulted in the important commitments and agreed actions outlined in the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula," Stephane Dujarric said. "He counts on the parties to build on their first meeting and swiftly implement all agreed actions to further inter-Korean trust-building and reconciliation, sincere dialogue, and progress towards sustainable peace and verifiable denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula," Dujarric added. The UN chief is ready to further assist in these important processes, he said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un held their first summit meeting on the South Korean side of the border village Friday. Kim became the first DPRK leader to cross the border onto the South Korean soil since the end of the Korean War in 1953. WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, "historic". "After a furious year of missile launches and nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump tweeted. Speaking of the inter-Korean declaration to transform the armistice into a peace treaty, Trump said the United States and all of its people should be very proud of what is now happening on the Korean Peninsula. He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for the progress, saying, "Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new secretary of state on Thursday, met with Kim earlier this month in his capacity as CIA chief. The meeting was confirmed on April 18 by Trump, who tweeted that it "went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed." Pompeo's trip aimed to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and Kim, which are expected to take place in May or early June. Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Most U.S. voters believed former FBI Director James Comey more than they believed President Donald Trump, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday. Though Comey's overall approval rating was negative, 54 percent of the polled said they believed Comey over the president. Meanwhile, 35 percent said they believed Trump more than they believed Comey. The poll found 76 percent of Republican respondents backed Trump. Forty-seven percent of white men and white voters without college degrees also said they trusted Trump more than Comey. The poll surveyed 1,193 U.S. voters from April 20 to 24 with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points. Comey has said that Trump's leadership style is "strikingly similar" to that of a mob boss in his new memoir. In his tell-all memoir, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership" which hit the shelves earlier this month, Comey described people around Trump as having a mob or a "Cosa Nostra" quality. Comey was appointed as FBI director in 2013, and fired by Trump in May 2017. ADDIS ABABA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) and the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) have expressed commitment to strengthening their cooperation in different arenas, including security and economic development among others. This came on Friday during the meeting between Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, and Michaelle Jean, Secretary General of OIF, on the premises of the headquarters of the pan-African bloc in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The two sides have deliberated on ways of further enhancing their cooperation on peace and security, economic development, climate change, migration, education, and multilateralism among others. The AU and the OIF signed two agreements in 2000 and 2005, which have enabled them to cooperate in different fields, including among others, peace and security, good governance, elections, education, and culture. After their meeting, the officials told a joint press conference that in light of the changing global situation the two institutions are keen to enhance their partnership to cooperate on various areas. "The prevention and resolution of conflicts are also part of the cooperation that we have. In fact, we also cooperate in the economic field; the AU has its Agenda 2063, and we have projects and programs; and therefore, we are also cooperating with OIF in that area," said Mahamat. In their partnership to address challenges faced by African youth, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, said, "We need to work for them (the youth); we need to ensure education, training, vocational training, creation of jobs for them. These are the problems on which we are working together." "And also to fight against terrorism and extremism, it is ambitious program but we are working together with the IOF," he said, "We are going to update the instruments of the cooperation that we have looking at in the light evolution in the world, as well as the evolution of our strategies." OIF was created in 1970, with mission of embodying solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations' member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers. Michaelle Jean said OIF is keen to enhance its partnership with the AU to address the various social, political and economic challenges on the African continent. Reiterating that the two sides are working together on issues of common concern, the Secretary General said OIF attaches great importance to the partnership it has forged with AU. "We want to enhance this cooperation, build the capacity so that on the ground we can work together, because there are so many dangers out there," she said, "We want the various crises to be ended, we want to carry out advocacy and pull our efforts and looking at the situation in the world we believe that it is the necessary to enhance our cooperation." "And we do advocacy for robust multilateralism so that we coordinate our actions and also ensure that the youth get education, vocational training, create jobs, entrepreneurship for them because it is the stability and security of countries that stake," "We are going to mobilize other partners also to ensure economic growth and also the sense of human growth and development that is there, which is viable," she noted. MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Moscow is willing to contribute to practical cooperation between Pyongyang and Seoul after the leaders of the two Koreas met to seek reconciliation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. Welcoming the successful meeting between the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the border village of Panmunjom earlier in the day, the ministry said in a statement, "We regard it as a significant step by Seoul and Pyongyang toward national reconciliation and the establishment of strong relationship of independent values." Russia positively assessed the agreements made in the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, saying, "We are ready to facilitate the establishment of practical cooperation between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea, including through the development of tripartite cooperation in railway, electricity, gas and other sectors." The summit has confirmed the desire of the parties to intensify the political and diplomatic process to resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula, including its denuclearization, the statement said. Moscow will continue, in coordination with the countries involved, to exert efforts in this direction following the Chinese-Russian roadmap for settling the Korean Peninsula issue, it said. After their meeting, Moon and Kim signed the joint Panmunjom declaration at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, which has divided the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two leaders confirmed a common goal of complete denuclearization and agreed to push for multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty. MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Friday that it has "suppressed" four members of a sleeping cell of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, who had planned a series of attacks in the Moscow region. The FSB did not disclose details about the operation conducted last month, including whether the suspects were detained or killed, only saying that the group came from the city of Novy Urengoy in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Their activities were said to have been coordinated by terrorists in Syria with the help of instant messaging service Telegram, which Russia is attempting to block. On Thursday, as a sequel, the FSB in conjunction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted a special operation in Novy Urengoy, detaining 20 people. During the operation, law enforcement officers reportedly seized a large number of religious extremist literature and video materials promoting IS activities, as well as communication equipment. CAPE TOWN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed on Friday that South Africa will accelerate land expropriation without compensation "where it is necessary and justified." "Economic freedom means that the land that was taken from black South Africans needs to be returned," Ramaphosa told a crowd in Bloemfontein, Free State Province at an event marking the Freedom Day, which falls on April 27. South Africa is committed to accelerating the redistribution of land, both in urban and rural areas, to ensure that poor South Africans are able to own land and have the means to work it, the president said. Expropriation without compensation will be one of the measures to be used, he said. "We call on all South Africans to be part of the broad process of consultation on how we should implement this decision in a way that makes redistribution meaningful and which contributes to a stronger economy, greater agricultural production and improved food security," Ramaphosa said. This is a measure that aims to extend property rights to all South Africans, he emphasized. In his first State of Nation Address in February, Ramaphosa made a commitment that the government would continue the land reform program that entails expropriation of land without compensation, making use of all mechanisms at the disposal of the state. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) made a resolution at its 54th National Conference late last year to pursue expropriation of land without compensation as a matter of urgency. South Africa's Parliament has begun the process to review Section 25 of the Constitution and other clauses where necessary to sufficiently cater for the principle of land expropriation without compensation. The Constitutional Review Committee of Parliament has been directed to prioritize this issue and report back to Parliament by August 30 this year. The government has assured that land expropriation without compensation should be pursued without destabilizing the agricultural sector, endangering food security in the country, or undermining economic growth and job creation. Since taking power in 1994, the ANC has made land redistribution from whites to blacks without compensation one of its main policies. But land remains predominantly in white hands more than two decades after the end of apartheid, sparking growing discontent among South African blacks. However, opponents argue that land expropriation without compensation will drive away white farmers, kill jobs and threaten food security. RIGA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Crown Princess of Sweden, Victoria, and her spouse, Prince Daniel, arrived in Riga on Friday on an official visit to reaffirm the close Latvian-Swedish relations in the year of Latvia's centenary. Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, who met with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel at Riga Castle, noted that Latvia and Sweden are united by close bilateral ties and long-term cooperation in "virtually all areas" and by values of "democracy, freedom and solidarity." "I am confident that we will be able to overcome future challenges by cooperating in security and defense, as well as in the defense of our information environment and cybersecurity," Latvian presidential spokespeople quoted Vejonis as saying. Vejonis mentioned innovation, digitalization and new technologies as the most perspective areas for further cooperation between the two countries. Also, building a consolidated and strong European Union and developing transatlantic cooperation is equally important to Latvia and Sweden, Vejonis said. Regarding education cooperation between both countries, the Latvian president also praised Sweden's role in establishing such leading education institutions in Latvia as the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) and Riga Graduate School of Law, which are training future business and public administration leaders not only for the Baltic states by also countries involved in the EU's Eastern Partnership program. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-27 23:49:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close ANKARA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The relations between Turkey and Greece have always been marred by tensions. The NATO allies are now again face-to-face over the ownership of tiny islands and destiny of soldiers detained in both countries. A Greek fighter jet crashed into Aegean Sea on April 12, its pilot killed, making matters worse in the already strained ties between the two neighbors. Greece said that the aircraft was returning from a mission to intercept Turkish fighter jets, citing intensified dogfights in recent months amid increased tension. But Ankara denied having played any role in the incident, saying that "there were no Turkish warplanes nearby when the accident occurred." Following the fatal incident, three young men sailed in the Aegean and placed a Greek flag on a disputed islet near the Turkish town of Didim, in order to "honor the pilot." In response, Turkish Coast Guard immediately intervened to remove the flag as Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim urged Athens to avoid escalating tensions. The neighboring countries have been at war with each other several times in the 20th century and were close to military conflict over the disagreement on the ownership of islet Kardak (Imia in Greek) in 1996, before the United States and its then President Bill Clinton stepped in to avert disaster. But this time Washington has other fish to fry with President Donald Trump entangled in domestic burdens, and there is an absence of a mediation from other global powers. "The issue of the inhabited islet whose status is undefined reveals the fact that it (a conflict) is not to be ruled out," said Birgul Demirtas, professor of international relations at Ankara TOBB University. The expert argued that "the escalation of tensions will be harmful to both Greece and Turkey as well as to the stability of the whole region," which lies at the eastern point of the European Union. To make things worse, the Trump administration lacks the desire and experience in crisis management compared with the Clinton's government, said Demirtas. Besides the disputed islets in the Aegean, there is also the issue of soldiers detained in both countries creating another rift between the two nations. Only days after announcing snap elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a controversial proposal of soldiers swap between the two countries. He said that Ankara would consider returning two Greek border guards detained in Turkey if Athens first extradited eight Turkish asylum seekers in Greece, who had allegedly participated in the botched military coup in July 2016. In a statement released late on April 22, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras strongly rejected Erdogan's proposal, calling it "unacceptable." Other recent developments have also added to the decades-long rift. Talks have broken down over the status of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which is divided into a Greek-backed and internationally-recognized state in the south, and a Turkish-backed state in the north. Hydrocarbon explorations by the Greek-backed state was opposed by Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots, a solution is yet to be found on the division of the island. Moreover, there is an atmosphere of lassitude in Turkey towards what it called the "Greek populist policies." "The Greek government coalition's populist faction is trying to exploit the situation at their benefit by nationalist remarks. This will lead nowhere. We need mostly dialogue to solve our differences," said a diplomatic source speaking on the condition of anonymity. The comment was referring to the junior partner of the coalition, the Independent Greeks, whose leader Panos Kammenos is the current minister of defense. As Turkey is bracing for crucial early legislative and presidential elections which will shift the parliamentary system to a presidential one, a wave of nationalism is likely to awake that could lead to a public demand for reclaiming the disputed islets on the Aegean. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday pledged to rally his counterparts in Africa to support transformation of education sector in the continent in the light of evolving socioeconomic and cultural dynamics. Kenyatta said at a Pan African High Level Conference on Education held in Nairobi that governments should rally behind a system of learning that addresses contemporary challenges facing the world's second largest continent. "Education plays a critical role in human development and we must therefore reform it as part of efforts to uplift the living standards of people in this continent," Kenyatta said. Kenya hosted a three-day Pan African Conference on education attended by ministers, senior policymakers, representatives of multilateral agencies and campaigners. The conference which was co-hosted by the country's ministry of education, African Union and the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), sought to inject fresh momentum in the quest for universal access to quality and affordable education in Africa. Kenyatta said African countries have an opportunity to realign their education sectors with a continental vision to eliminate poverty, conflicts, hunger, disease, youth unemployment and ecological disasters. "Our education systems must provide solution to our perennial challenges. We therefore require a skilled and educated population to confront these challenges effectively," said Kenyatta. He added that Kenya has supported a continental strategy to re-invent the education sector through capacity building, domestic resources mobilization, teacher training and deployment as well as modernization of learning facilities. Kenya is among Sub-Saharan African countries that have accelerated progress towards attainment of the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) on universal access to quality and affordable education. Kenyatta said the ongoing curriculum reforms coupled with improved budgetary allocation are geared towards addressing access gaps in basic and post secondary education. "We are reviewing our curriculum to ensure it is responsive to the needs of the market," Kenyatta remarked, adding that strategic partnerships have boosted access to basic education and vocational training in Kenya. ADDIS ABABA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto wrapped up his three East African nations tour on Friday here with a pledge to boost economic and security ties with Ethiopia. Yamamoto, who started his East Africa tour in Eritrea on Monday and then went to Djibouti on Wednesday, arrived in Ethiopia on Thursday with economic, peace, security issues being priorities for discussion. Speaking to reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Yamamoto said the U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump sees Ethiopia as a key partner in economic and political issues. "We discussed a wide range of issues particularly initiatives President Trump is looking at positioning the U.S. in making it a clear and critical partner not only for Ethiopia but for all of Africa on economic development, trade and investment," he told reporters. Yamamoto especially singled out Ethiopia's ambitious industrialization drive which aims to make the country of around 100 million an industrialized middle-income economy by 2025. "The U.S. government has expressed keen interest to engage in Ethiopia's industrialization drive, in addition they want to help Ethiopia add value on agriculture, to help Ethiopian goods be able to be exported to U.S. market," he said. Meles Alem, Spokesperson of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), told journalists that the U.S. is very keen on partnership with Ethiopia on specific sectors. "Yamamoto and his Ethiopian counterparts have reached agreement on how they can proceed on energy and aviation partnership," said Alem. The discussion between Yamamoto and Ethiopian officials also touched upon regional and continental peace and security issues. Alem mentioned discussions focusing on how to end the civil war in the world's youngest nation, South Sudan, and to counter the threat of Islamic militancy in Somalia. Ethiopia has been the main base for South Sudan peace talks ever since civil war broke out in December 2013 and is currently hosting about half a million South Sudanese refugees. Ethiopia is also a major troop contributing nation to a peacekeeping force in Somalia known as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which since 2007 has been trying to counter the threat of Al-Qaida linked militant group Al-Shabab and support a fragile Somalia federal government based in Mogadishu. Yamamoto commended Ethiopia's efforts to bring about peace in South Sudan through its chairmanship of the East Africa Bloc, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). He pledged full U.S. support for efforts led by Ethiopia and IGAD to end South Sudan's brutal civil war which has killed tens of thousands and displaced about 4 million people. Yamamoto also told journalists the U.S. is keen to partner with Ethiopia to help Somalia build institutions and to help security coordination between Somalia federal government and regional administrations. KIGALI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed on the outskirts of Rwanda's capital Kigali after a huge mound of garbage collapsed on Wednesday and buried them under debris, a local official said on Friday. The victims had gone to look for scrap metals from the garbage dump in Kicukiro district when it collapsed, Kagarama sector executive secretary Nathan Kanyesigye told Xinhua. They include two women and a child, whose bodies were retrieved by residents and the police, said Kanyesigye. He said the dump site has not been in use for about five years after it got filled and was closed by city authorities. Authorities and residents had believed more bodies could have been buried under the garbage but a search was completed on Friday without finding any other victim, he added. The official said it was not the first time the dump site had collapsed as one was killed in a recent collapse. Authorities have hence resolved to seal off the area to prevent people from going to search for scrap at the site, he said. The accident at the Nyanza dumping site happened around 5 p.m. following heavy rains, according to local residents. Residents were attracted to the dump site after one other person who was there screamed calling for rescue, said a resident. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 00:05:04|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Li Zhanshu (R), chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), holds talks with Sean O'Fearghail, chairperson of the Dail Eireann, lower house of the Irish parliament, in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China and Ireland on Friday agreed to further strengthen parliamentary cooperation to contribute to the strategic partnership for the mutual benefit of the two countries. The agreement came as Li Zhanshu, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with Sean O'Fearghail, chairperson of the Dail Eireann, lower house of the Irish parliament. Communication and cooperation between legislature bodies is an important channel to enhance mutual trust between countries, said Li. China's NPC stands ready to have exchanges of visits with the parliament of Ireland at various levels, conduct cooperation and dialogue on the basis of equal treatment and mutual respect, and enhance exchanges of experiences on state governance, said Li. He called on the two sides to know and respect each other's stances and concerns on major issues and maintain the political foundation of bilateral relations. Li also encouraged both countries to boost understanding and friendship between the two peoples. O'Fearghail, for his part, said the Irish parliament supports mutually beneficial cooperation with China in different areas and is willing to enhance friendship with the NPC. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up policy, while next year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Ireland. Li said China hopes both sides can take the opportunity to further promote cooperation in areas including trade, investment, and science and technology, explore new forms of cooperation in the construction of experimental free trade zones and free ports, and create new growth points within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. As both China and Ireland are firm supporters of economic globalization and free trade, the two countries need to jointly safeguard the multilateral trade system, oppose protectionism, and build an open economy, Li said. On China-EU relations, Li said China has always viewed the ties from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, and firmly supported a united, stable, prosperous, and open European Union (EU). China hopes Ireland can continue to play a unique and constructive role in and make greater contributions to the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations, Li said. Also on Friday, China's top political advisor Wang Yang met with O'Fearghail. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said Ireland is China's good friend and partner in the EU. Bilateral ties have maintained a healthy and sound momentum of development in recent years and both countries have expanded their pragmatic cooperation in various areas, said Wang. The CPPCC is willing to work with the Irish parliament to continue frequent contact, enhance trust, and promote cooperation, he said. O'Fearghail said Ireland and China have huge cooperative potential in economy, culture, and social fields, and the Irish parliament is ready to play a positive role in promoting bilateral ties. O'Fearghail is paying a visit to China from April 24 to 29 at the invitation of Li. LUANDA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSDEA) intends to remove the company Quantum Global from the management of its assets, according to a statement released Friday, in Luanda by the Angolan Ministry of Finance. FSDEA, which until January was headed by Jose Filomeno dos Santos, son of the long-term and former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, said in the document that it has "great concerns about how Quantum Global, a Swiss-based company, invests its resources." Quantum Global, a Group of Companies in areas of Investment Management, Private Equity, Active Management and Research with focus on Africa was contracted by former FSDEA CEO to manage 3 billion U.S. dollars of its 5 billion U.S.dollars assets from the country's oil revenues. The document added that based on expert inquiries conducted by specialized international consultants, FSDEA is taking appropriate steps to remove Quantum Global from the status of manager of its assets. On April 22, an Angolan delegation headed by the current CEO of the Angolan Sovereign Fund, Carlos Alberto Lopes, travelled to the Republic of Mauritius for a round of negotiations with the local financial authorities as part of an ongoing investigation into the institution's assets. Several bank accounts of the Angolan Sovereign Fund were recently frozen in Mauritius on suspicion of misappropriation of funds during the administration period of its former CEO, Filomeno dos Santos. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 00:10:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-Mongolian Culture and Education fund awarded scholarships to 38 Mongolian students here on Friday. The "Dream Star" and "Future Star" scholarship programs of China are meant for secondary school students. Each recipient received 3,000 yuan (473.32 U.S. dollars). A competition for the programs began on March 11. More than 250 students took part. The Chinese-Mongolian Culture and Education fund was established in 2014. Since then, 2,347 Mongolian students have been involved in the scholarship programs with 304 receiving scholarships totaling 1.5 million yuan (236,723 dollars). KIGALI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Strong Africa integration and unification holds key to the continent's accelerated structural transformation and development, experts said on Friday. "Integration transcends all aspects of life. Strong Africa integration means prosperity for Africans since there will be wide markets for trade, competitive industries and job opportunities for youth," said Donald Kaberuka, former president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), at a panel session on the sidelines of Mo Ibrahim Foundation's Ibrahim Governance Weekend in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda. Kaberuka urged African countries to work together and promote integration in order to drive the economic prosperity on the continent. No country can achieve sustainable economic growth without opening up its borders to other countries, said Moise Katumbi, former governor of Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Africa has its own recipe. It's called the continental free trade agreement. We must unite and integrate in order to achieve the strong economic development on our continent," he said at the panel session on the necessity of the African Union. Africa needs to finance its own development if it wants to take control of its own destiny, said Carlos Lopes, former Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. "Africa integration should be prioritized by African leaders as they look to ensure that Africa delivers on its promise," said Lopes. The three-day event will convene prominent African political and business leaders, representatives from civil society, multilateral and regional institutions as well as Africa's major international partners to debate issues of critical importance to Africa, according to organizers. It includes a leadership ceremony, followed by Ibrahim Forum, a high-level discussion forum. This year's forum will focus on public service in Africa. Established in 2006, the non-grant making organization focuses on defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa through its four main initiatives including Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Ibrahim Forum, Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership and Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships. BANGKOK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Thai police on Friday arrested a Nigerian man for allegedly luring Thai women to transfer money to him. In the haul of the romance scam, police seized a computer, a mobile phone, ATM cards and bank books with more than 16 million baht (about 485,000 U.S. dollars) in the accounts, according to local media. The arrest came after tip-offs from several victims who have been looking for love. According to them, the Nigerian posted a handsome western man photo on a dating website. Disguising to be a rich man, he chatted with a Thai woman for a while and promised her that he would fly here to marry her. He claimed that he has sent valuable gifts to the victim, however, the package could not clear the customs in Thailand and needs the victim to wire money for the customs clearing. The woman transferred money to an account several times but failed to receive the package. As a result, she filed a complaint with the police. Police said the man, who has previously entered the country for 13 times, has made more than 130,000 baht (about 4,121 U.S. dollars) this way, adding that the arrest is part of an overhaul of a Nigerian romance gang. Police busted another Nigerian man who tried to flee the Kingdom at an airport in Bangkok on Wednesday. He was believed to be the ring of the Nigerian romance scam gang. The gang has allegedly deceived more than 30 Thai women over 10 million baht (317,000 U.S. dollars) during the past five years, according to police. Thai police encouraged victims to ferret out the the scam and cooperate with police. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 00:35:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, and Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov agreed to strengthen bilateral military cooperation during their meeting in Beijing on Friday. Xu said China is willing to join hands with Azerbaijan to consolidate their friendship and strengthen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Xu, who spoke highly of the military friendship between China and Azerbaijan, also said the militaries of the two countries should push forward further exchanges and cooperation, to contribute to the in-depth development of the bilateral relationship. Hasanov said Azerbaijan is willing to coordinate strategies with China and play a greater role under the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe also met with Hasanov to discuss military cooperation on Friday. KIEV, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A major military exercise was held at a military facility of the Ukrainian army located on the Azov Sea shore in the southeast of Ukraine, the country's Defence Ministry said Friday in a statement. According to the statement, the combined tactical and special drills, which were the largest military training of the Ukrainian army so far this year, were held due to the situation in eastern Ukraine, where armed conflict is underway since April 2014. The exercises involved more than 500 military troops and about 200 units of equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and airborne assault vehicles. The Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8 transport helicopters were also mobilized. In April 2014, the Ukrainian government started a military operation against armed groups, who seized cities and towns in eastern Ukraine and declared independence from Kiev. The confrontation has snowballed into the violent conflict, which has killed more than 10,000 civilians and combatants and left about 24,000 injured. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday praised increased trade and stronger bilateral relationships Kenya has with China. Kenyatta thanked Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa for the personal role he has played in strengthening the relationship between Kenya and China. "I am committed to ensuring that Kenya and China continue strengthening their partnership for the benefit of both our peoples," he said when he bade farewell to Liu in Nairobi, according to a statement issued from Kenyatta's office. Kenyatta said the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which stands out as the largest single infrastructure project in the region, was started and completed during the tenure of Liu in Nairobi. He said the Chinese envoy has also played a leading role in the elevation of the bilateral relations between Kenya and China to the level of strategic cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 00:55:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close YINCHUAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has highlighted the role of "Internet Plus" in improving medical care in rural areas. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, from Wednesday to Thursday. "The combination of Internet Plus and medical care is a significant solution to the problem of imbalanced and insufficient supply of medical resources," she said when visiting local hospitals and medical service centers. She asked for the faster implementation of tele-medicine and wider coverage of high-quality medical resources, and other online services such as medical consultation, treatment appointments and one-stop payment to improve the people's experience with medical care services. "The Internet should be further integrated into the service of family doctors, who should give priority to groups including left-behind children, the empty-nest elderly and chronic disease patients," Sun said. "Social forces should also be encouraged to set up online platforms for medical care." Moreover, medical care institutions at the grassroots, especially those in impoverished areas, should be further connected to bigger hospitals with the support of medical unions and tele-medicine to enjoy better talent and technology. She also called for the promotion of healthier lifestyles in rural areas as well as a project to better the nutrition of students before high school, so as to lower the frequency of illness. The calls were in response to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council earlier this month, which asked for the expansion of the role of Internet Plus in medical care. SINGAPORE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced their commitment to building a resilient and innovative ASEAN, which is able to navigate the challenges related to the increasing change and growing uncertainties in the global strategic landscape in a coordinated, integrated and effective manner. The ASEAN Leaders' Vision for a Resilient and Innovative ASEAN was released on Friday's late night at the ASEAN 2018 website. ASEAN leaders reaffirmed the commitment to implement the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025; ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025; ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025; the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III; and the Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity 2025, towards realising the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the statement said. The leaders reiterated 10 key principles that will underscore ASEAN member states' collective vision and commitment to build a Resilient and Innovative ASEAN in 2018 and beyond. These principles are related to ASEAN's unity and centrality, rules-based order, peace and security, cooperation against terrorism and non-traditional threats, economic integration and openness, embracing technology, investment in youth and elderly, strengthening ASEAN identity, sustainable and inclusive development, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The document also said the leaders agreed to a number of items in aspects of peace and security, terrorism, non-traditional threats, economic integration, regional connectivity, resilience and safety, smart and sustainable development, and people and institutions. The items include completing the Model ASEAN Extradition Treaty and commencing the work on an ASEAN Extradition Treaty, conduct the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus on an annual basis, enhancing regional cooperation on countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, working towards an ASEAN Joint Statement which affirms the importance of rules-based order for cyberspace, implementing measures to boost intra-ASEAN trade and enhancing trade facilitation, establishing an ASEAN Agreement on E-commerce, implementing the ASEAN Declaration on Cruise Tourism, establishing an ASEAN Agreement on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Cooperation, establishing an ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and renewing the Singapore-ASEAN Youth Fund. Together with the ASEAN Leaders' Vision, two other documents were released online, which are the Concept Note for an ASEAN Smart Cities Network and the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on Cybersecurity Cooperation. ASEAN leaders met and had a working dinner on Friday evening. The formal ASEAN Summit will kick off on Saturday evening. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 01:00:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations said that Israel's aggressive policies are the root cause of all conflicts in the Middle East, Press TV reported on Friday. "Indeed, Israel is a rogue regime, by definition - this is an undeniable fact for the international community," Gholamali Khoshroo said in a statement on Thursday. "Illegal occupation, illegal settlements, apartheid, siege, and regular attacks of mass murder" are the actions of Israel, he added. Khoshroo criticized the United States and some members of the UN Security Council for what he called granting Israel a sense of "exceptionalism" that has allowed Tel Aviv to constantly undermine peace in the region without ever having to worry about the consequences. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday that his country will hit Iran in response to any attack from the Islamic state. If Iran attacks Tel Aviv, Israel "will strike Tehran and destroy every Iranian military site that threatens Israel in Syria, whatever the price," Lieberman said. On April 8, Israel targeted Syria's T4 air base, killing 14 people including seven Iranian military advisers. Iran's Foreign Ministry said on April 16 that Israel will be punished for killing Iranian military advisers in Syria. To expose media falsehoods, guerilla journalist James OKeefe created Project Veritas, an independent news organization whose reporters go where traditional journalists dare not tread. In his latest book America Pravda: My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News, OKeefe takes the reader on an undercover thrill ride with him and his fearless journalists as they infiltrate political campaigns, unmask dishonest officials, and expose voter fraud. The Heartland Institute hosted OKeefe for an event at The Cotillion in Palatine last week a venue they had to book because demand to hear him speak was too great to hold him in their office event space, the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center. The 200-plus individuals in attendance at the Cotillion on April 18 were not only eager to hear what award-winning journalist and writer James OKeefe had to say, but it was also obvious that most were well aware of Project Veritas and OKeefes role in exposing corruption in government, institutions our federal government supports, our voting system, and the media itself. OKeefes controversial work has earned him both praise and condemnation from fans and critics, alike having been a thorn in the mainstream medias side since 2009 with his investigation of ACORN, one of the first groups Barack Obama embraced in his community organizing career. What cannot be disputed is that James OKeefe has become an influential voice in the political sphere. He has demonstrated what one man is able to do to fight back against the forces of the MSM and the establishment to arrive at the truth. Even so, OKeefes enemies have attacked with lawsuits, smear campaigns, political prosecutions, and false charges in trying to shut down Project Veritas. Undaunted, OKeefe has not been intimidated. Instead, as he made clear in his presentation at Heartlands event, he considers every one of these attacks a sign of success. Regarding the title of OKeefes book, it refers to the Soviet propaganda newspaper Pravda, which translates as truth, but spread fake news the official Communist Party line to the Russian people. However, as OKeefe stated in his presentation, there is a difference between the current American press and the Soviet state newspaper Pravda. The Russian people knew they were being lied to. This is not true for many Americans who believe the negative and blatant political propaganda agenda being promoted by the MSM, whose goal is to destroy the Trump presidency. Using Project Veritas, OKeefe is employing the same tactics the Leftist MSM is using against him to ferret out the truth. Welcoming Remarks Jim Lakely, communications director of The Heartland Institute, asked in his welcoming remarks how many in the 200 assembled were attending their first Heartland event. About half in attendance raised their hands. Lakely then detailed some of Heartlands history as an organization and encouraged all to learn more about its 34-year history, to consider supporting their agenda of spreading the message of smaller government and greater liberty, and learn about more upcoming events. Lakely then introduced Heartlands president, Dr. Tim Huelskamp, to introduce speaker James OKeefe to the assemblage of eager guests. Huelskamp, who was installed by Heartlands Board of Directors at president in July 2017, came to Heartland from Congress from Kansas as a member of the Freedom Caucus, Victory Caucus, and the Tea Party Caucus. He was part of the Tea Party surge of candidates who were elected to office in 2010. Prior to his introductory remarks, Dr. Huelskamp thanked founding Heartland President Joseph Bast for laying the groundwork for President Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, which is Heartland claim to fame as the #1 denier of Al Gores catastrophic predictions about global warming due to the burning fossil fuels for energy. James OKeefes Presentation Receiving a warm and heartfelt welcome, James OKeefe proceeded to clarify the nature of the work of Project Veritas, which is the only truly independent undercover investigative team in the nation. OKeefe offered this perspective: Project Veritas goes behind the scenes to expose lies and fraud. Posing as something we are not to get to the truth is necessary, but we would never be believed if not for the videos. The hidden videos have become our weapons in exposing the truth. In relating truth to a lion, truth doesnt have to be explained. The following is an account of OKeefes perspective in his Heartland presentation on key issues of the day: About justice: People find outrageous the absence of a moral consensus about anything. With no equal justice under the law, we live in an unjust and corrupt society which OKeefe experienced first-hand when the government tried to shut him down through retaliation lawsuits. About propaganda:The Left believes people are too stupid to understand the truth, whereas OKeefe believes the people can make the right decisions only if they know the full truth and not just media-approved propaganda. About social technology: Social media giants like Facebook, YouTube (owned by Google), Twitter, and Instagram (owned by Facebook) are in the business of censoring conservative ideas. They believe the general public to be a bewildered and easily led herd cant be allowed to receive dangerous information. The termshadow ban has been around since 2006, but its only recently that its gone mainstream A shadow ban is the act of blocking a user from an online community in such a way that they dont realize that theyve been banned. On Instagram or Twitter, for instance, a shadow ban hides your posts from users who dont actively follow you. Meanwhile, accounts that promote left-wing views have their posts broadcast to the whole network. About journalism:OKeefe talked about other undercover investigators who preceded him. The Chicago Sun-Timeswas praised for engaging in some good undercover journalism in years past which led to firings and disciplinary action. But that kind of journalism what Project Vertias does every day is considered out of bounds. OKeefe spoke about an undercover operation in the late 70s namedThe Mirage, in which Sun-Times investigative journalist and Chicago legend Pam Zekman and Better Government Association chief investigator Bill Recktenwald purchased a tavern at 731 N. Wells Street in under aliases, using it to expose corrupt payoffs, tax scams, and other Chicago-centric strains of corruption. As to what happened to journalism why todays MSM didnt employ these tactics against the Obama administration OKeefe blamed greed, laziness and fear. Exposing ACORN In partnership with Breitbart in 2009, exposing the ACORN scandal which no other journalist organization found the impetus to do for decades provided the jump start that launched OKeefes truth-finding career. As OKeefe related, in 2009 he was dirt poor and living with his parents hardly the profile of a soon-to-be-famous revolutionary journalist. Taking down ACORN was a two-person operation. The undercover camera operation required one journalist posing as a pimp who was also a candidate for Congress, and another journalist posing as a prostitute, looking for help to make the partnership legitimate in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. OKeefe played the pimp trying to fund his campaign on pimp money reluctantly, when he couldnt get a friend the play the role and the brave Hannah Giles, a conservative activist and daughter of a pastor, played the role of a prostitute. OKeefe explained how he and Giles visited ACORN offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and New York City, and recorded employees of the organizations providing earnest (and corrupt) answers to the pairs questions about avoiding detection and tax evasion, among other things. Fox News and Andrew Breitbarts website helped to push the story beyond conservative media outlets and drew national MSM attention to the pairs findings. As a result, Congress cut off all federal funding to ACORN. The Washington Post pushed back at OKeefes expose by writing lies about his methods and the facts he exposed. The newspaper printed two front page retractions about their reporting on OKeefe. Thats an extremely rare occurrence, but OKeefe rightly note that the fact of the retractions let alone their rarity is not reported in the MSM when they even take the time to write about his revolutionary reporting. Maybe thats because they are embarrassed that they didnt expose the misconduct themselves, or maybe because they never wanted to do it in the first place. Exposing the Ease of Crossing the Mexican Border In another expose, OKeefe wanted to reveal the vulnerabilities along the Mexico-Texas border. So he crossed a narrow section of the knee-deep Rio Grande River. Dressed, absurdly like Osama bin Laden. Wading across the border from Mexico into the United States wearing a camouflage military jacket, of Osama bin Laden, and a white turban, he found not a single Border Patrol agent to stop him. The ones he saw, OKeefe said, turned and moved away. Thousands of people have stood in my footsteps right now, OKeefe said. Theyve come from South America, Honduras, Guatemala, and theyve all crossed the border. And if they can cross, anybody can cross. And anybody could including OKeefe dressed as Osama bin Laden. This outrageous OKeefe project set off a congressional hearing. Despite videos, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and President Barack Obama all declared that the border was secure. Exposing Voter Fraud In another Project Veritas episode to uncover voter fraud, an undercover journalist sent by OKeefe was able to persuade a Washington D.C. poll worker to offer him Eric Holders ballot. This incident forced Obamas Attorney General, Eric Holder, to go under oath to protect himself. The final result: The institution of a photo ID to vote for Eric Holder (or anyone claiming to be Eric Holder) but for no one else. By the way, Attorney General Eric Holder was an outspoken opponent of photo ID laws, and had publicly stated there was no proof of in-person photo fraud in the U.S. Score another one for Project Veritas. Exposing a Chicago Connection This Project Veritas investigation has a Chicago connection. Bob Creamer, husband of congressman Jan Shakowsky, listed as the founder and partner on the website of the Democratic consulting firm Democracy Partners, told a Project Veritas investigator: Wherever Trump and Pence are going to be, we have events and we have a whole team across the country that does that both consultants and people from the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party apparatus and the people from the campaign. The Clinton campaign and my role with the campaign, is to manage all that. Democracy Partners was the tip of the spear of the deep money going to the Foval Group which then executed the riots against Trump and Pence. Exposing CNN and Russia In going undercover at CNN to expose the networks fixation on the Russian collusion thing, CNN producer John Bonifield is caught on film admitting that the networks constant coverage of the Trump-Russia narrativeis mostly b*****hit and the president is probably right to say [CNN] is witch-hunting [him]. Van Jones called the Russian coverup saga a nothing burger but he never would say that on TV. Final Thoughts OKeefe stressed the importance of having his Project Veritas and its videos, which you can see you YouTube, capture the attention of the media, so his truth telling is far reaching and results in positive governmental and legislative action. As to the future of Project Veritas, OKeefe hinted of more to come. In preparation for this increased activity, OKeefe spoke about hiring more people. In the past year OKeefe received 1,000 applicants to do undercover work. James O'Keefe with Nancy Thorner Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 01:05:23|Editor: Liu Video Player Close Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (1st R, Front), Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock (2nd R, Front) and other guests inspect a new China-Europe freight train from Chengdu to Vienna at the Vienna South Freight Center in Vienna, Austria, on April 27, 2018. A new China-Europe freight train arrived in Vienna on Friday, which Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen described as a symbol of the cooperation between China and Austria. The train -- carrying 41 containers of goods valued at 1.5 million U.S. dollars, including LED displays, tires and lamps -- departed from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 12. (Xinhua/Pan Xu) VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A new China-Europe freight train arrived in Vienna on Friday, which Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen described as a symbol of the cooperation between China and Austria. The train -- carrying 41 containers of goods valued at 1.5 million U.S. dollars, including LED displays, tires and lamps -- departed from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 12. It traveled a 9,800-kilometer-long journey for 15 days through Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia, and slowly pulled into Vienna South Freight Center. From the station, the goods will be transported to the destination. "This is really a symbol of the cooperation between China and Austria," Van der Bellen told Xinhua. "We really hope this train is the first step of closer cooperation between China and Austria." With the new train, Austria is included into the network of China-Europe freight train service under the Belt and Road Initiative. China-Europe freight trains have made 1,000 trips in the first three months, up 75 percent compared with the same period last year, according to China Railway Corporation. The cross-border rail network links 43 Chinese cities with 41 European cities in 13 countries. Chengdu has 16 routes to cities including Nuremberg, Milan and Prague. The first direct freight train came after Austria's largest delegation visited China from April 7 to 12, during which both sides enhanced bilateral ties, especially Belt and Road cooperation. Chinese Ambassador to Austria Li Xiaosi told Xinhua that the Austrian President had paid a successful visit to China. After the new China-Europe cargo train in Vienna, both nations would work closely to facilitate more cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative, said Li. Austria will build a new station as a terminal for the Belt and Road in the middle of the Europe, according to a memorandum of cooperation signed by Austrian OBB Holding AG and Chengdu International Rail Port Investment & Development (Group) Co., Ltd. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the total trade volume between the two countries reached a historic high of 8.39 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 15.5 percent from 2016. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- African ministers for education on Friday endorsed a comprehensive strategy to revitalize formal learning and skills development in line with the continent's quest to achieve the UN 2030 goals and Agenda 2063 on socioeconomic transformation. The ministers declared support for the new pact to transform education sector in Africa through policy reforms, private sector investments, capacity building for teachers and gender parity in school enrollment at the end of a three day Pan African Conference on Education held in Nairobi. Amina Mohamed, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Education, said at the forum's closing ceremony that African governments will dedicate greater efforts towards the realization of education for all goals. "We agreed to support creation of resilient and responsive education systems as part of concerted efforts to rebuild our economies and improve people's livelihoods," Mohamed remarked. Kenya's Ministry of Education in conjunction with African Union and the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organized the Nairobi forum to review milestones in the attainment of universal access to formal education from primary to tertiary levels. Mohamed said there was a consensus on the need to reform education policies in Africa, increase budgetary allocation and forge strategic partnerships to eliminate illiteracy and skills gap in the continent. "Our declaration calls for joint action and enhanced coordination to promote life-long learning as a basis to achieve socioeconomic transformation," said Mohamed. "The Nairobi declaration also calls for intra-African collaboration to realize our highest education aspirations," she added. African ministers in their communique reaffirmed commitment to tackle bottlenecks to the realization of education for all goals including poverty, shortage of teachers, dilapidated learning facilities and archaic customs. "We reaffirm our commitment to ensure access to equitable, inclusive quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all," said the ministers. They pledged support for policies that advance early childhood education and greater enrollment of girls in secondary and tertiary institutions. Multilateral agencies hailed the renewed commitment by African leaders and policymakers to bridge access gaps in basic education. Getachew Engida, the UNESCO Deputy Director General, said African countries are well positioned to reap from investments in competence and skills based learning. "Africa is on the verge of a monumental take off and should prioritize education and skills development to solve its economic, social and environmental challenges," Engida remarked. He underscored the role of science, technology and smart innovations to catalyze Africa's transformation. NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday urged Kenya to enhance family planning measures in order save on health costs. Ademola Olajide, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Kenya, told a health forum in Nairobi that the cost of family planning is substantially lower than that of child delivery. "By increasing uptake of family planning to prevent unwanted or unintended pregnancies, Kenya can use the savings to fund its universal health care program," Olajide said during the Seventh Kenya Medical Women Association (KMWA) Annual Scientific Symposium which was jointly organized by UNFPA. Olajide noted that in the 2016/17 financial year Kenya had 1.6 million births out of which approximately 380,000 were born with mothers of 19 years and below. He noted that ideally girls under the age of 20 should not become mothers and so the public expenditure used on their maternity services could be used to cater for other critical health services. The UNFPA official said that the government should embrace innovative ways to raise funds to finance universal health coverage. He noted that increased taxation is only one of the options to raise funds from domestic sources to pay for health expenditure. "However, the approach of using new taxation on a particular sector can fail to realize the funds if the sector declines due to the additional taxes," he said. Olajide said addressing the issues of women's health in a broad away can help Kenya achieve universal health coverage as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Health. "This is because women account for about 50 percent of the population and so are central to the well being of society," he added. He observed that improved women's health also has immediate positive benefits on the health of children. UNFPA official noted that the well being of women and girls is one of the most sensitive development barometers in any society or nation. "A nation or society cannot develop beyond the level of welfare of its women and girls, as incontrovertible evidence abounds that the empowerment of women is one of the surest strategies to enhance family health, improve child well being and education as well interrupt trans-generational poverty," Olajide said. He also urged the government to partner with the private sector in order to accelerate achievement of universal health coverage. "The private sector could have innovative technologies and competencies that governments use to enhance access of health services," he added. Christine Saadia, National Chairperson of KMWA, called on the government and stakeholders in the health sector to prioritize the achievement of universal health coverage to improve the health of women and especially the reproductive health for women and girls in the country. Saadia noted that despite efforts made in addressing women and girls' special health needs, inherent barriers still prevent them from accessing and benefiting from quality health services and attaining the best possible level of health and well being. "These barriers include gender related disparities economic, legal and social determinants such as low education," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 01:10:24|Editor: yan Video Player Close GENEVA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The "unilateral nature" of U.S. "Section 301" is revived and now challenging the foundation of the rules-based multilateral trading system, a Chinese diplomat said Friday during a meeting of Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The diplomat delivered a statement outlining China's concerns regarding the U.S. Section 301 conclusions on China's alleged violations of intellectual property rights and proposed measures, including imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports. He recalled that since the enactment into law of Section 301 in 1974, a large number of WTO members, including the European Union, Japan, Canada, Korea, etc., have been subject to Section 301 investigations, and some were later forced to open their markets to the U.S. companies or became the target of retaliatory measures. "23 years after the establishment of the WTO, Section 301 continues to serve as the tool of the U.S. to take unilateral actions against other WTO members," said the diplomat. The United States on April 3 announced tariffs on a proposed list of Chinese goods worth 50 billion U.S. dollars, covering industries in aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics and machinery. The list was authorized by the U.S. Trade Representative's office, which in August 2017 initiated an unfounded investigation under the Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 to probe China's intellectual property and technology transfer practices. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 01:15:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday expressed opposition to a U.S. Senate resolution on the reincarnation of Dalai Lama, saying it has interfering in China's internal affairs. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a question regarding Tibet issue and China's human rights. The U.S. Senate on Thursday agreed to a resolution which claimed that the responsibility for identifying a future 15th Dalai Lama only rest with officials of the 14th Dalai Lama's private office and any interference from the Chinese government is invalid. "The resolution reflects that some people in the United States have always been inexplicably ignorant and arrogant," Hua said. It is known to all that the reincarnation of a living Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism is a unique inheritance system that has a history of hundreds of years, and follows an integrated religious rituals and historical conventions, said Hua, emphasizing that a living Buddha's reincarnation should follow those rituals, conventions and China's laws and regulations and should not be interfered by anybody or any foreign country. "The U.S. congressmen and officials should had focused on serving their own people, however, it's a pity that they have always selectively ignored the problems they face at home and expressed unusual enthusiasm for meddling in other country's domestic affairs," Hua said. As for the human rights issue, the U.S. State Department recently issued the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017, criticizing China's human rights condition and ethnic issues. "The United States faces many problems at home," said Hua. Citing the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2017 released by the Information Office of the State Council, she said systematic racial discrimination has intensified social split in the United States. China urges the relevant people in the United States to properly handle their own problems before irresponsibly criticizing other countries, Hua said. BERLIN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A motion filed by Alternative for Germany (AfD) to alter the definition of sedition in German law has been met with firm resistance from other political parties in the federal parliament (Bundestag) on Friday. The AfD parliamentary faction sparked a heated debate among delegates by proposing to change paragraph 130 of the German penal code which defines the criminal offense of sedition. The party wants to change the wording of the paragraph to ensure that "hate-speech against Germans" on behalf of migrant groups would also become punishable. Under existing law, paragraph 130 prohibits individuals from endangering the public peace, for example by calling for violence or inspiring hatred against a group of individuals with a different ethnicity or "parts of the population". The AfD interprets the wording as not covering sedition against Germans and consequently urged lawmakers to clarify that "parts of the population" henceforth also described "native" citizens. This interpretation was widely rejected on Friday. Other parties accused the AfD of simply trying to generate hostility against migrants, as well as attempting to making it harder for judicial authorities to take action against AfD members who regularly stirred anti-immigrant sentiment. German Social Democrat (SPD) delegate Sarah Ryglewski accused the AfD of trying to gut the sedition paragraph in its legal favor. The Left party (Linke) delegate Martina Renner also pointed out that several members of the AfD had already been found guilty of sedition. Kay Nerstheimer for example had been convicted on six independent criminal charges, including sedition for agitating against homosexuals. The Left party delegate further described the proposed changes as an attack by "notorious racists" against minorities living in Germany. As long as AfD politicians continued to spread hate-speech, an effective law was needed to protect the victims thereof. Renner's emotional speech led to a tumultuous exchange between the AfD and other parliamentary factions on the floor, forcing the president of the federal parliament Wolfgang Schaeuble to issue a call to order. Jens Maier, the AfD politician who had filed the motion, is considered to be among the members with the most extreme right-wing views in the controversial party. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) delegate Ingmar Jung argued that the AfD's claim that the German justice system only awarded protection to foreigners was without any legal substance. JUBA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday agreed to end the bickering over the operations of the UN-owned radio in the strife-torn country after previously being ordered to shut down. Head of UNMISS David Shearer told journalists that they reached positive resolution with South Sudanese Minister of Information Michael Makuei on the operation of Radio Miraya after the media regulator ordered its shutdown on March 9 over failure to register. "I just had a very good meeting with the minister of information, it was cooperative we set out both sides of the issue around Radio Miraya. We came to a resolution about moving forward in terms of looking at it from a legal point of view," said Shearer in Juba, adding that the UN legal team from New York will be coming in the country over the issue. South Sudan has 38 radio broadcasters which have been registered but Radio Miraya is covered under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the government and UN in the wake of South Sudan winning independence from Sudan in 2011. Radio Miraya focuses much of its programs on peace, culture and nation building. The director of international organizations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andruga Duku denied shutting down the radio as it continued operating on the air waves despite the shutdown order by the South Sudan media authority. "I am saying that it (Miraya) has not been shut down even this morning I listened to Radio Miraya. We hope that this process will be resolved and of course the decision has been taken by the authorities concerned because of lack of cooperation," said Duku, urging further cooperation between the two parties. He expressed hope that there will be mutual understanding between the management of radio Miraya, UNMISS and the ministry of information. "What has been misunderstood here is the regularization of Radio Miraya does not mean censorship. The frequency 101 was given before South Sudan came into existence, but now if this frequency is not given to Radio Miraya legally it becomes difficult any other person can interfere," Duku said. He also disclosed that the local laws of South Sudan must work hand in hand with the Status of Forces Agreement between government and UNMISS. South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to split within the SPLA, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines. The 2015 peace agreement to end the conflict was weakened after the outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 01:25:28|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with representatives of the first meeting of the new council of the Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Wang Yang on Friday called for efforts to unite with Taiwan compatriots to advance peaceful reunification of the motherland, and realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks while meeting with representatives of the first meeting of the new council of the Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). Describing the current cross-Strait situation as complex and grave, Wang asked the new ARATS council to take the initiative to improve communication with Taiwan compatriots, promote cross-Strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and properly handle problems and emergencies arising during the process. The meeting also approved Zhang Zhijun, former director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, as the new president of ARATS. Long Mingbiao was approved as executive vice president of ARATS, and Sun Yafu and Li Yafei as vice presidents. Liu Jieyi, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, also attended and addressed the meeting. More than 170 council members attended the meeting. ABUJA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari will visit the United States later this week and meet with President Donald Trump over economy and security issues, a spokesman of the Nigerian president said on Friday. The two leaders will discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries and to advance shared priorities, such as promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security, said Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman. Buhari's official working visit to the U.S. is at the invitation of Trump, according to the spokesman. Buhari will leave the Nigerian capital Abuja on Saturday for the visit and have a bilateral meeting with Trump on the same day, said Adesina. The presidential spokesman said other meetings have been scheduled between senior Nigerian government officials and executives of major U.S. companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation, and transportation. In the area of aviation, Nigerian officials are scheduled to meet with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on Nigeria's national carrier project. "On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with a focus on harvesting and post-harvesting equipment," Adesina said, adding in the area of transportation, the Nigerian officials will meet with the General Electric-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession in Nigeria. ST. PETERSBURG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia needs flexible legislation for developing high technologies in all areas, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. He made the remarks at a meeting with members of the Federal Assembly's Council of Legislators in St. Petersburg. The main topics for discussion at the meeting were measures to implement the president's message to the Federal Assembly, legislative support for quality control of medical care and development of the digital economy in the regions. Putin said it is necessary to expand the space of freedom for entrepreneurship, scientific and creative research, and innovation. He also stressed that improving the legislation will open new opportunities for both the domestic business and foreign investors. On March 1, the Russian president addressed the Federal Assembly with a message. He said that the coming years would be decisive for the future of the country, and Russia needed to make a leap in improving the quality of life, modernizing the economy, infrastructure and public administration. There are few authors that live and breathe their subject as Samuel Eliot Morison did. To prepare for Admiral of the Ocean Sea he recreated the voyages of Columbus in a similar size ship to see what Columbus saw and experience the voyage as he might have known it. He did all this in a North Atlantic teeming with U-Boats as war began to consume the globe in 1939. His depth of knowledge of all things nautical shines through. The skill of Columbus as a navigator is made comprehensible to those like this reviewer with no seagoing experience. Every year as October rolls around you are likely to hear howls of outrage of one sort or another as Columbus Day approaches, should it be instead Indigenous Peoples Day? Should Columbus Boulevard in Downtown Chicago be renamed? Education is so sparse on Columbus and the early explorers that even the most ardent conservative among us may find themselves shaking their head not knowing what to believe. This is a story of a man driven by a singular idea. All Europe accepted a spherical globe. The Greeks and Egyptians had proven it. But believing that in theory and wagering anything on its practical truth are very different. Yet you can almost sense the hand of providence as you read of Columbus campaigning for his theory of a shorter route to the Indies to the crowned heads of Europe from England to Italy to Spain. He wagered all on this scheme, his reputation was wedded to it. He devoted uncertain years in persuading Ferdinand and Isabella to finance the venture. At one point, he gave up, and began his journey home dejected. The head of the crowns finances heard he had left however, and sent after him. He explained to the downcast Columbus that the time was now ripe for Ferdinand and Isabella to reconsider. This courtiers instincts were true, and the voyage was at last granted. Now the theory Christopher had been preaching for years would prove him either a prophet or a failure. He was given the grand title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and three small caravels to back up that lofty command. Columbus was an experienced commander but his men were more divided in their loyalty, Christopher despite his reputation for seamanship was a foreigner. He was the fleets commander, but most of the crew were Spanish. His latitude was limited by their trust in him. By October 10th 1492, that trust was nearly exhausted, here the men lost all patience and complained of the length of the voyage, the captains log notes. Columbus then tried to divert their thoughts to those of riches they would soon find. For the preceding week he could sense their unease and worry building. To keep the pot from boiling over, he had been keeping separate accounts of how far they had traveled on any given day. There was how far they had actually sailed, and a lesser figure he told the crew. The ships log dutifully records this falsehood. After sunset on the following day, land was spotted, and a new Eden was found. The world, forever changed. The natives were friendly, worshipful even, they thought the Spaniards gods. It was a joyful and happy first meeting. Some natives wanted to come with and the crew happily obliged, taking them back with them to learn Spanish and to be shown off to the court of Castile. The crew found many fruits they had never yet tasted, and the old world was introduced to sweet potatoes and the hammock. The natives had some gold, and they happily gave it to these gods appearing in the flesh. From their first landfall at San Salvador the crew spent the next several months in Cuba and then Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti presently). In March they finally reached home. Their first landfall back from their earth shattering voyage was in Portugal, not quite an enemy of Spain but more a rival. The crew disembarked and roused a bleary eyed priest at a small chapel for a service of thanksgiving, their first since changing our conception of the globe. The men showed their lowly station before God wearing only their nightshirts. It was in this state of dress and at this moment, that a Portuguese commander learning of Spanish sailors and caravels on the scene burst upon their moment of thanksgiving and arrested them all in their nightshirts. Columbus salvaged this farcical scene and got his men freed along with himself. Eventually the Portuguese shared in their joy of discovery and congratulated the Admiral and his men. Back in Spain, Columbus vindicated and triumphant was met and exalted by his sovereigns. He was granted a title, a pension for him and his heirs, and one almost wishes that the curtain closes on the story here. Leave it to others to debase this wonderful feat. But to Columbus, his discovery was not yet complete, he had found land, yes, and plenty of it, but not the lands explained by Marco Polo, perhaps they were over the next horizon? But alas as Morison shows there was venality in the court of Castile that soured the scene. For context Columbus first voyage cost his sovereigns less than a court ball. Yet in subsequent voyages Ferdinand and Isabella demanded these ventures be profitable. The drive to yield gold on subsequent voyages colored their dealings with the natives from then and after. They required the Caribs to mine a certain amount of gold per month. And ultimately savagery ended this Eden, when a native killed the first Spaniard. Despite dutifully trying to find gold among the natives for his monarchs, on his last journey home after discovering the continent of South America, he was not even given an audience with Ferdinand and Isabella. As his health deteriorated, the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, discoverer of half the world, was compelled to debase himself to seek a license to be conveyed around via a mule to ease his gout. Columbus enemies whose pride hated a foreigner making such discoveries for their crown, sought in his later years and upon his death to denigrate his memory and discredit his accomplishments. That no gold artifacts survive from any of these first voyages is a testament to the venality of the Spanish crown. In a supreme irony, the Spanish ultimately found so much gold that its price plummeted in the next century, and the Spanish empire fell into the same traps of perverse incentives that other resource-rich nations have in the last hundred years. Their folly allowed a nation who valued human capital higher, England, to eclipse them and pave the way for all we know and cherish today. Daniel Brinkman In a later work Morison compares the accomplishment of Columbus to that of the moon landing, On the lunar voyage we knew where we were going and the resources of a nation were employed to get us there, plus, we could see the target. Men like Columbus did not, they navigated using rudimentary math as their primary guide, and sailed most of the way on an ocean their depth soundings determined to have no bottom. Yet through faith and fortitude they achieved the impossible. ACCRA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Some stakeholders in Ghana's mining sector want the government to set aside a portion of Ghana's mineral revenue to cater for the developmental and livelihood needs of poor mining communities in the country. Speaking to Xinhua on the sidelines of a one-day workshop on Ghana's proposed Mineral Revenue Management Law on Thursday, Georgette Sakyi-Addo, President of Women in Mining, an advocacy group in the sector, said the proposed law was a necessity just like the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA). "It is important that as we are doing this, we recognize that there are vulnerable people in some of these mining areas. And Women in Mining will be happy that the policy actually lays out the framework and we do not leave these decisions to be made by others because we have seen that up till now a lot of women are still at the bottom," she urged. As a lot of Ghanaians can claim they are politically independent, Sakyi-Addo asserted that economic empowerment was the next necessary thing all citizens needed. "And so if the fund is able to allocate money to the districts (local government assemblies) and there are clauses in there which say people who are affected because of diseases; because they are women; they can be given some funds to do some economic projects, that will help them live better lives, that will be a positive impact," she added. In 2016, Ghana, the second largest gold exporter in Africa after South Africa, raked in 1.6 billion Ghana cedis (357 million U.S. Dollars) in mineral revenue. The proposal is to ensure that 20 percent of annual mineral revenue is targeted at pro-poor interventions in rural mining communities to alleviate the plight imposed on them mostly by mining activities. Executive Director of the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, who took participants through the proposal for the bill, said in an interview that the plan was long overdue as large scale mining had imposed hardships on communities over the years. "People see gold extracted and taken out of the community and they are impoverished by the day. So you have to send back a portion of the revenue to develop the community. That is what has been lacking over the years. What we do is to just send money to the assemblies and the assemblies use it for recurrent expenditure," Boakye pointed out. He argued that when the law was passed, it would enable stakeholders to track specific activities that the funds were being used for, adding that ACEP's proposal based on consultation with communities and other stakeholders was that these resources should go to invest in the pro-poor sectors of agriculture, education, as well as critical infrastructure in roads and rail-lines dealing with development. "That way, you can be sure that revenues are used efficiently and to the benefit of the people. And in every community the diagnoses are different. If people are losing lands and they do not have the land for farming, what economic activity, for example, can result from the investment of the revenue so that you can keep people busy and working?" he said. Boakye was therefore confident that the proposed Minerals Revenue Management Act strategy would deal with issues to improve upon the livelihoods of people. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 02:30:45|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, speaks at the closing meeting of the bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature on Friday concluded its bimonthly session, unanimously passing a landmark law to protect the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs among other pieces of legislation. Activities that defame heroes and martyrs, or distort and diminish their deeds will be banned under the new law, which takes effect on May 1. The law also outlaws acts that glorify invasions, with offenders facing administrative or criminal punishments according to the severity of their actions. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said heroes and martyrs are the spine of the Chinese nation. Their deeds and spirits epitomize a key part of socialist core values. Li called upon efforts to enforce the law to promote heroism, patriotism and rally behind the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Yue Zhongming, an official with the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said at a press conference on Friday that it is correct to outlaw acts that praise invasions, noting that a handful of young people recently dressed in Japanese WWII army uniforms and spread the photos online to glorify the war. The lawmaker said schools will be a priority area to enforce the law, giving young students correct guidance on history and culture to prevent such incidents from happening. On Friday, the legislature also passed a law on people's assessors, adopted revisions to six laws, and approved two decisions including one to set up a specialized financial court in Shanghai. The court, at the intermediate people's court level, will be responsible for commercial cases such as those involving securities, bills, financial lending, and administrative cases. It will be inaugurated by the end of August, according to a Supreme People's Court official. In the past three days, lawmakers have also heard and reviewed reports on environmental protection, agriculture, and rights protection for overseas Chinese. Li said despite positive results China still faces prominent environmental problems. More work is needed to fight and win the arduous battle to control pollution. He spoke of the importance of boosting agriculture and strengthening protection for overseas Chinese. The NPC Standing Committee also released its legislative priorities in 2018, with laws on vehicle purchase taxes, farmland occupation taxes, community correction top on agenda. The property tax law, personal income tax law, and minors protection law have all been put on the waiting list, although drafts may still make it to the top legislature for review this year. The legislature will begin deliberating on individual books of a civil code in 2018. Compiling a civil code was a decision made by the central leadership. It is expected to be completed by 2020. Li said the workload is heavy for the incumbent NPC Standing Committee in its first year. He urged lawmakers to work hard and not fear difficulties. ADDIS ABABA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Secretary General of La Francophonie (OIF), Michaelle Jean, has pledged cooperation with the African Union (AU) in tracking and prosecuting those involved in auctioning of African migrants in Libya. Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and the OIF chief on Friday held talks on the premises of the headquarters of the pan-African bloc in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Jean said that many African youths risk their lives by crossing deserts and the Mediterranean Sea seeking better opportunities abroad. She said her organization works in close cooperation with AU to address the root cause of migration by African young people who depart their own countries, risking their lives out there. "We have to deal with the root cause of this problem; why these youth leave their countries; and as you have seen in Libya, how they have been sold in the slave trade," she said. Libya has been embroiled in a civil after the fall and death of longtime leader Muammer Gadhafi in 2011. The AU was dismayed about reports on the auctioning of African migrants in Libya as slaves in November last year, which the pan-African bloc strongly condemned as "despicable acts." The tripartite taskforce forged by the AU, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN) is endeavoring to support stranded African migrants in Libya, while consolidating efforts to dismantle organized networks of human traffickers and migrant smugglers. "So we have to fight that. We have appealed to the world; we have appealed to the UN; we have been working in that area; we are also advocating for prosecuting these criminals and dismantle these criminal groups and also to enable to track these people who have been involved," said the OIF chief. "We look for those people who have been sold and try to give them back their dignity and human status so that they will be free," she added. VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The arrival of the first China-Europe freight train to Austria on Friday was "a symbol of the cooperation between China and Austria", Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen told Xinhua. "This is really a symbol of the cooperation between China and Austria," Van der Bellen said. "We really hope this train is the first step of closer cooperation between China and Austria." Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock echoed his view, saying the new China-Europe freight train service marked an opportunity for a boost in mutual cooperation. Speaking to media at Rosiwalgasse in Vienna where the train reached its final destination, Schrambock said the site represented one end of the Silk Road. From there, it was possible to exchange quality goods that will travel in both directions, she added. The train -- carrying 41 containers of goods valued at 1.5 million U.S. dollars, including LED displays, tires and lamps -- departed from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 12. It traveled a 9,800-kilometer-long journey for 15 days through Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia, and slowly pulled into Vienna South Freight Center. From the station, the goods will be transported to the destination. With the new train, Austria is included into the network of China-Europe freight train service under the Belt and Road Initiative. China-Europe freight trains have made 1,000 trips in the first three months, up 75 percent compared with the same period last year, according to China Railway Corporation. The cross-border rail network links 43 Chinese cities with 41 European cities in 13 countries. Chengdu has 16 routes to cities including Nuremberg, Milan and Prague. The first direct freight train came after Austria's largest delegation visited China from April 7 to 12, during which both sides enhanced bilateral ties, especially Belt and Road cooperation. During the state visit, an e-commerce agreement was signed, which should in particular make it easier for medium-sized businesses to gain access to a market of the size of China's. Schrambock said that trade would not be a "one-way" proposition, and that Austria is looking forward to having its goods reach China via the train network also. The developing partnership is subject to intensive dialogue exchanges between the two countries, she added. And it is a goal for both sides to see it further strengthened. She noted that in terms of digitalization and technology, her field of expertise, China is making strong advancements forward, and there are opportunities to be examined on how both nations could make forward progress together. As part of exploring this further, Schrambock said she will return to China in November, where she will join numerous Austrian companies in attending China's largest fair -- the China International Import Expo -- in Shanghai. She also said that further opportunities for mutual cooperation are being worked on, such as for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, for which Austrian companies can provide much expertise. Austria's approach to such mutual trade projects are not based on protectionism and isolation, she noted. She quoted China's ancient military strategist Sun Tzu as saying "the greatest victory is that which requires no battle". Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 02:45:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Members of a "spying team" linked to Britain have been arrested in Iran, Tehran Times reported on Friday. "Recently members of a network affiliated to Britain, who sought to launch espionage activities in Iran have been detained," an informed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying. The detained had contacts with some anti-Iran groups and with some people who were involved in the 2009 unrest in Iran, the source said. According to the report, Abbas Edalat, a British-Iranian citizen and a professor of computer sciences and mathematics at London Imperial College, is among those arrested. Edalat had travelled to Iran to attend an academic workshop, the reports said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 02:50:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) stressed the study of The Communist Manifesto and called for promotion of theoretical study on Marxism at a symposium Friday. Huang Kunming, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at the symposium on The Communist Manifesto, an 1848 pamphlet by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and its significance in contemporary time. Huang stressed understanding how The Communist Manifesto has guided the CPC's revolution, development, and reforms while reviewing it. He also required widespread promotion among the public of the study of classic works of Marxism, as well as how to adapt Marxism to a Chinese context and the current times. This year marks the 170th anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifesto and the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth. RABAT, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The 5th Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development will be held on May 2 in the Moroccan city of Marrakech. The conference will bring together ministers and high-level representatives from 60 countries from North, West and Central Africa and Europe, as well as the European Commission (EC) and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This high-level conference will discuss various issues related to migration and define the priority actions for the period 2018-2020. It is expected to adopt a multi-annual cooperation program as well as the Marrakech Declaration on migration and its action plan. The conference is part and parcel of the Euro-African Ministerial Dialogue on Migration and Development, also known as the Rabat Process. Launched since 2006, the Dialogue is a platform for political cooperation among the countries along the migration route between Central, West, North Africa and Europe. The latest Euro-African Conference on Migration and Development was held in Rome, Italy in November 2014, while the first conference took part in July 2006 in Rabat. TALLINN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of 12 Chinese young professional farmers for a China-EU exchange program ended their 14-day trip to Europe on Friday for agricultural expertise and capacity building. "Both EU's and China's agriculture is facing challenges in the 21st century," said Antonia Moreno, head of Unit A4-Asia and Australia, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, at the closing meeting of the young farmers' study tour. "For example, more than 50 percent of our farmer population is above 55 years old. This is crucial, and young farmers are the key for vitalizing agriculture with elements of policy support by policy-makers to make agriculture competitive and sustainable," Moreno said. She expected the positive people-to-people exchange program to achieve positive results and enhance EU-China cooperation. Illar Lemetti, Secretary General of Estonian Ministry of Rural Affairs, said that Estonia welcomes the Chinese young farmers to enjoy Estonian food and countryside. "We share our experience and achievements in agriculture for your domestic practice," Lemetti said. Luo Ming, head of the Chinese delegation and an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the delegation members were impressed by the trip to Belgium, Britain and Estonia with modern agriculture business in Western Europe and the agricultural development in Eastern Europe, which will be modified and applied in accordance with the Chinese local circumstance. He said that the key of China's rural vitalization strategy was talents and the China-EU exchange program of young farmers to share knowledge and farming experience came at the right time for cooperation in the agricultural sector. Chosen from 11 Chinese provinces and regions, the 12 Chinese young farmers is knowledgeable with business and management expertise in various sectors of tropic fruit planting, flower cultivating, aquaculture, poultry, warehouse and distribution, as well as agricultural training among others. Announced in April 2017, the project is co-funded by EU and China, and will last for 18 months. It comprises two study tours in China for European young farmers, and two study tours in Europe for Chinese young farmers and young professionals in agriculture. LONDON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of senior leaders from China's Southeast University (SEU) have visited the University of Birmingham to explore setting up a joint research institute. Led by Executive Vice President Professor Wang Baoping, delegates from the Nanjing-based university visited Birmingham to discuss how a joint institute might benefit research collaboration in biomedical engineering and big data. The delegates from the university met their British counterparts in computational biology and biomedics, as well as discussing collaboration opportunities in Chemical Engineering. Discussions also took place with experts from the School of Engineering to enhance collaboration in Electrical Engineering in both joint education and research. The SEU delegation was welcomed by University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood, the university said Friday. In a welcoming speech, Eastwood said: "We already enjoy a close collaboration with SEU and we believe that establishing a joint institute could lead to high-quality research that has global impact." "We very much hope to establish research and teaching collaborations that allow Chinese students to pursue academic achievement at a top British university, whilst our academics help to solve major health problems facing China and the wider world." Discussions also focussed on how the two universities might collaborate in the proposed Nanjing Health Data Center, an initiative led by SEU to establish a large-scale biomedical big data infrastructure platform in Nanjing. Wang said SEU is establishing a large-scale biomedical big data infrastructure platform in Nanjing. "SEU has been made aware of the great capability of University of Birmingham in this area, especially through the Center for Computational Biology, and is very keen to establish links for both setting up the system in Nanjing and for future research collaboration." The University of Birmingham recently joined the UK's prestigious Alan Turing Institute, which was set up to advance the world-changing potential of data science. MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Friday it had an operation together with the Interior Ministry, destroying a major network that trafficked drugs from European Union (EU) countries to Russia. The cross-border ring delivered narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances "on an especially large scale" from EU to Russia and sold them in the country's Northwestern Federal District, the FSB said in a statement. It said six active members of the gang -- all Russian citizens -- were caught red-handed in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region. A large amount of drugs of various types as well as firearms and ammunition were seized. The Interior Ministry's Investigation Department has launched two criminal cases against the detainees. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 03:41:09|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Daylong protests and clashes between hundreds of angry Palestinians and Israeli soldiers near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel had left three Palestinians killed and 883 wounded, medics said. Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, told reporters that three were killed, adding that 427 were slightly injured and were treated in the field clinics, while 456 were treated at major hospitals in the Gaza Strip. He said that 174 were injured by live gunshots, 19 by rubber-coated metal bullets, 58 by fragments of exploding gunshots and the rest were injured by tear gas. The death toll since March 30 grew up to 45 and 6,500 were wounded, the spokesman said. This is the fifth round of weekly protests for Palestinians to gather on the Gaza border with Israel. The rallies are part of what the Palestinians called the "Great March of Return" organized in the Gaza Strip against Israel. The marches are organized in five different areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel, and are scheduled to end on May 15, the day after the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence but marked by the Palestinians as the Nakba Day, or "Day of the Catastrophe. Meanwhile, the United Nations condemned the Israeli army's excessive use of force against the Palestinians. Al-Qedra said Israel used various kinds of ammunitions to disperse non-violent and peaceful protests. The joint committee of the rally organizers also accused the Israeli army of using excessive force and various kinds of forbidden weapons against the demonstrators, which can be seen from the wounds of the demonstrators. Eyewitnesses said clashes erupted after Friday prayers and the soldiers fired dozens of tear gas canisters and live gunshots to disperse the demonstrators who burned tires to make black smoke as shields, which would protect them from the fire of the Israeli snipers stationed at the borderline area. The witnesses said that demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli army forces, while soldiers fired back tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. Paramedics are present in the area with ambulances and first medical aid. Meanwhile, teenagers and youths flew kites carrying flaming pieces of clothes near the border, trying to set ablaze the Israeli agricultural fields. Also, some young men set fire to dozens of tires, and others cut and pulled parts of the barbed wire of the fence. Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians were preparing to join the fifth Friday of the rallies, which is called by organizers Friday of angry youths. The health ministry in Gaza announced in a press statement earlier Friday that it sent its medical crews and teams of rescue to the areas in eastern Gaza Strip in case of emergency and more casualties during the protests. Hamas activists called on the populations Friday morning throughout mosques loudspeakers to join the rallies and the symbolic funeral of Fadi al Batsh, a Hamas scientist who was killed in Malaysia by unknown militants last Saturday. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced Friday that it sent more forces to the border area to prevent any attempt of fence-cutting and infiltrating. Eyewitnesses said that masked young men managed this morning to cut the fence of the border east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip. Hamas chief of the Gaza Strip Yehya al-Sinwar arrived Friday afternoon to the area east of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip to join the rallies. "We are ... sticking to the right of return and we will seek to make it true by all means and capabilities. We are going ahead until making the goals of our people true and defy the siege," he told the demonstrators. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who visited the area east of Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip, joined young demonstrators in pulling the barbed wire of the fence of the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel. He said with outraged voice that "we applaud the unit of burning tires, the unit of cutting the barbed wire, the unit of flying kites," saying that the moves have terrified "the occupier." "So if kites are terrifying the enemy, what would be the case of our missiles and bombs," he added. "We will not hesitate and we will not retreat," Haniyeh said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 03:56:13|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu (R) addresses the high-level symposium "Strengthening Multilateralism and Multilateral Trading System in the Age of Globalization" at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on April 27, 2018. The Chinese envoy Friday called on the international community to jointly support multilateralism, uphold the multilateral trading system and its rules, for the global economic growth. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy Friday called on the international community to jointly support multilateralism, uphold the multilateral trading system and its rules, for the global economic growth. Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu said at a high-level symposium "Strengthening Multilateralism and Multilateral Trading System in the Age of Globalization," that to safeguard a rules-based, universal, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an earnest practice to support multilateralism and an important guarantee for global economic growth. At the symposium, co-hosted by the Chinese Mission and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Chinese envoy said that the international community should jointly support multilateralism, uphold the multilateral trading system and its rules, and actively build an open world economy. "We need to expeditiously push for substantive progress in the Doha Round of negotiations and add new momentum to world economic growth." Ma said. At the symposium attended by representatives from Russia, Sinpapore, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Bangladesh, Greece, Pakistan, European Union, Group of 20, United Nations Development Program and professors from Columbia University and other institutions, the Chinese diplomat said that in the spirit of win-win cooperation and common development, "we should properly handle trade frictions through dialogue and consultation, take concrete actions to oppose all forms of unilateralism and trade protectionism, and firmly advocate and support free trade, adding that parties need to uphold the basic principles of the WTO and to improve trade finance and help countries in special situations integrate into the multilateral trading system. At present, Ma said, the world economy continues to maintain the momentum of recovery, but its foundation is not solid, as unilateralism, isolationism and trade protectionism are on the rise, which give a heavy blow to multilateralism and multilateral trading system and add to the instabilities and uncertainties of global economy. As a crucial engine of world economic growth, trade has a vital role to play in economic globalization and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Chinese ambassador said, adding that "China has always been actively promoting multilateralism and firmly upholding the multilateral trading system and its rules." Since its accession to the WTO in 2001, China has honored its commitments across the board, made all its WTO concessions and opened its door wider, he said. In terms of trade in goods, China has fulfilled all its tariff reduction commitments, lowering its overall tariff level from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent. In recent years, China has taken the initiative to further cut the import duty on some commodities. As regards trade in services, China has opened up nearly 120 service sectors categorized by the WTO, exceeding the 100 sectors promised at its accession and approaching the average levels of developed countries, Ma said. Since the international financial crisis in 2008, China has contributed over 30 percent of global growth every year on average. In 2017, China contributed around 34 percent of global growth and accounted for 15 percent of the world economic aggregate. In the coming five years, China is expected to import eight trillion U.S. dollars of goods, attract 600 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment and make 750 billion U.S. dollars of outbound investment, the Chinese ambassador said. Over the last four decades of reform and opening up, China has been committed to supporting multilateralism and actively upholding the multilateral trading system and its rules, Ma said. "China is ready to work together with all parties to dedicate ourselves to openness and win-win outcomes, strengthen multilateralism and multilateral trading system, and keep striving for a community with a shared future for mankind," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 04:31:25|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara for six months, till Oct. 31, 2018. Resolution 2414 won the support of 12 of the 15 members of the Security Council while China, Ethiopia and Russia abstained. The resolution emphasizes the importance of a renewed commitment by the parties to advancing the political process in preparation for a new round of negotiations. Western Sahara was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania at the end of Spain's colonial rule in 1976. When Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, Morocco moved to occupy that sector and has since asserted administrative control over the whole territory. Fighting broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which is fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. A cease-fire was signed in 1991. The UN mission, known by its French acronym as Minurso, was deployed that year to monitor the cease-fire and to organize, if possible, a referendum on self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. RABAT, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A Belgian national was arrested in Morocco's Marrakech Menara Airport for financial fraud, local media reported on Friday. The 36-year-old Belgian citizen is subject to international arrest warrants issued by the United States and International Criminal Police Organization for involvement in a fraud to collect huge sums of money from victims in the name of charity between 2013 and 2016. According to Hespress.com news site, the suspect was remanded in custody and under an investigation awaiting his extradition procedure, the same source said. LOS ANGELES, April 27 (Xinhua) -- California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross has said that the Golden State's agriculture exports to China is important, voicing concern about fallout from the trade dispute between the United States and China. Ross, who is a former chief of staff for then-U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, made these remarks at a media event hosted by the interest group Farmers for Free Trade at a winery, 620 km north to Los Angeles. California is the largest agricultural producer and exporter in the nation, Ross was quoted by the Western FarmPress on Friday as saying, adding that about 20 billion U.S. dollars in California's 46 billion dollars in farm gate receipts "goes to ports and onto trucks" and employs many people in the shipping industry. China has become the third biggest destination for California agricultural products behind the European Union and Canada, Ross said. However, the China market is facing big challenges as China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture commodities early this month in response to the Trump administration's duty proposals on imported Chinese goods. The retaliation will impact some of the state's top agricultural exports, including almonds, wine, dairy, walnuts and pistachios and others. Ross revealed that she has met earlier this week with Ted McKinney, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, to voice concerns. "California has been very successful at growing new markets," she said, noting the state's Mediterranean climate makes it uniquely suitable for all sorts of crops. "Being able to make bilateral and multilateral trade agreements is critical to us." Meanwhile, Rob Neenan, president and chief executive officer of the California League of Food Processors, said that he would prefer the administration work through the World Trade Organization to resolve disputes "rather than risk a global unwinnable trade war." LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards' Aaron Lange, who hosted Thursday's event, said that the 15 percent additional tariff on wine has already resulted in one order being cancelled and another being put on hold while price negotiations occur. "This hurts California's ability to compete with other nations," Lange said, urging a quick solution to the trade dispute. VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A recent upswing in mutual cooperation between Austria and China bodes well for future relations between the two nations, an Austrian official has said. Austrian top leaders' visit to China in early April appeared to hit the right notes for both sides, Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Matznetter told a Sino-Austrian seminar in Vienna on Thursday. It was marked by a pleasant atmosphere based on mutual cooperation, that sought friendship and harmony over a more confrontational approach as is presently seen elsewhere in the world, he said. China has also made its core values clear, including putting free trade over protectionism, recognizing a need for environmental protection rather than engaging in climate change denial, and putting possibilities for global cooperation first, Matznetter said. The Belt and Road initiative is a major means of boosting such cooperation, with its first direct goods train from Chengdu to Vienna to be expected on Friday. Matznetter said at present only about 2.5 percent of all Austrian exports go to China, leaving "much room for improvement." It is positive however that being presently situated at one end of the Belt and Road's rail network between Europe and China, huge opportunities exist for both sides, he said. In addition it is encouraging that a small country like Austria is being cooperated with "at eye level" by such a large country. Both nations are also advanced in the research, technology, and environmental sectors, providing further capacity for cooperation, and a chance for Austrian companies to both export goods, and share related know-how in these areas, he said. Many developing countries along the Belt and Road routes such as Central Asia, and also in the Balkans, can benefit from the infrastructure and expertise both sides can provide. China is however not a competitor, he noted, but a partner. LONDON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Once a familiar sight over Germany during the Cold War era, Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter has made a nostalgic return to take part in the Berlin Show. The Chinook, based at RAF Odiham has deployed to take part in the Berlin show as part of the RAF's 100th anniversary celebrations. Pictures of the visit were released Friday by the Ministry of Defense in London. On the way to Berlin the crew also visited the locations of the former RAF Germany airbases. Co-Pilot of the Chinook, Flight Lieutenant Andy Donovan said: "We are incredibly proud to be visiting Germany in the 100th year of the Royal Air Force, firstly in association with the show, but also as a good proportion of our service operating Chinooks was spent here between 1981 and 1997 so this gives us an opportunity to reflect on a little bit of history." Co-Pilot of the Chinook, Flight Lieutenant Andy Donovan said: "We are incredibly proud to be visiting Germany in the 100th year of the Royal Air Force, firstly in association with the show, but also as a good proportion of our service operating Chinooks was spent here between 1981 and 1997 so this gives us an opportunity to reflect on a little bit of history as part of the RAF100 celebrations." The Chinook visited the former RAF Wildenrath base, once home to eleven RAF squadrons over the years, but now the Wegberg-Wildenrath railway test and validation center. The Chinook also paid a nostalgic visit to RAF Laarbruch where it was once based. Later Donovan said: "It dawned on me as we climbed out that we may well be the last crew ever to land an RAF aircraft at Bruggen. A sad thought for a base with so many years of service behind it." Flight Lieutenant Stuart Kynaston, the pilot said; "It was really good to be able to bring RAF aviation back to some of our former stations, especially returning the Chinook to its former home at RAF Laarbruch. During the weekend the Chinook Display Team will be performing role demonstrations at the Berlin Show. The Chinook is regarded as a flying workhorse for the RAF, working in every environment from tropical jungles to the Arctic. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 06:11:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara for six months, till Oct. 31, 2018. Resolution 2414 won the support of 12 of the 15 members of the Security Council while China, Ethiopia and Russia abstained. The resolution emphasizes the importance of a renewed commitment by the parties to advancing the political process in preparation for a new round of negotiations. It emphasizes the need to make progress toward a "realistic, practicable and enduring political solution" to the question of Western Sahara based on compromise. The resolution expresses concern over the presence of the Polisario Front, which is fighting with Morocco for the independence of Western Sahara, in the buffer strip in Guerguerat in the southwestern tip of the disputed territory, and calls for its immediate withdrawal. Moroccan ambassador to the United Nations Omar Hilale said after the adoption of the resolution that there would be no political process without the withdrawal of the Polisario Front from Guerguerat. The resolution also voices concern over the Polisario Front's announcement of the planned relocation of its administrative functions from Algeria to Bir Lahlou in the northeast of Western Sahara, and calls for the Polisario Front to refrain from "any such destabilizing actions." After the vote, Russia and Ethiopia expressed disappointment at the United States, which drafted the resolution, for not incorporating their concerns in the final text. Western Sahara was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania at the end of Spain's colonial rule in 1976. When Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, Morocco moved to occupy that sector and asserted administrative control over the whole territory. Fighting broke out between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. A cease-fire was signed in 1991. The UN mission, known by its French acronym as Minurso, was deployed that year to monitor the cease-fire and to organize, if possible, a referendum on self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 06:16:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli war jets struck Hamas naval forces military targets with six missiles on Friday night west of the central Gaza Strip city of Deir el Ballah, Hamas security officials said. Residents of the western area of central Gaza Strip said they heard a series of big explosions, which were a result of the Israeli airstrike on Hamas facilities. Medical sources said no injuries were reported. Israeli army on Friday night fired two missiles at a Hamas post close to the fishermen harbor in western Gaza city, destroying a building and two military vessels, Hamas interior ministry said in a statement. The statement said that the building and two boats, severely damaged, belong to Hamas naval police. An Israeli army spokesman said in a statement published in the Israeli media and sent to reporters that the Israeli army air forces targeted military facilities that belong to Hamas movement in western Gaza Strip. The spokesman said the airstrikes on Hamas movement's posts in the Gaza Strip were a response to the earlier attempt of cutting the barbed wire of the border fence and infiltrating the Gazan-Israeli border. The Israeli airstrikes on Gaza came as tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been mounting in the coastal enclave since March 30, the start of anti-Israeli rallies. Daylong protests and clashes between hundreds of angry Palestinians and Israeli soldiers near the border in eastern Gaza Strip Friday had left three Palestinians killed and 883 wounded, medics said. Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, said that 43 Palestinians were killed and 6,500 were wounded since the start of the rallies, besides another two Hamas militants killed in a tank shelling on eastern Gaza are held in the hands of the Israeli army. The six-week protests dubbed the "Great March of Return" are expected to peak on May 15, the day after the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence but marked by the Palestinians as the Nakba Day, or "Day of the Catastrophe." Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-28 06:41:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Members of the UN Security Council were headed on Friday to see for themselves the more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh while UN officials remind donors that 951 million U.S. dollars are still needed for the refugees and impoverished local residents. The council entourage made a stopover in Kuwait before flying to Bangladesh on Friday where they were to visit the capital Dhaka and refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar area in the extreme south of the country, officials said. On Monday, they were to reach Myanmar. Chief UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported the overall population of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh is currently estimated to be over 1 million people. Some 670,000 of them arrived since a deadly Aug. 25, 2017 Rohingya militant attack on security posts was met with alleged severe retribution by Myanmar government forces and militia, the UN Refugee Agency said. New refugees are still arriving with some 8,000 new arrivals since January, said the UN spokesman. "The government and people of Bangladesh have displayed extraordinary generosity toward Rohingya refugees, with support by the international community," he said. "The latest round of food distribution reached over 470,000 people," he said. "Over 5,000 tube wells and 47,000 latrines have been built, and more than 90,000 children have received primary school education." Humanitarian partners on the ground also conduct protection monitoring missions to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and are also strengthening preparedness efforts to the incoming cyclone and monsoon season, Dujarric said. Officials have been trying to prepare the sprawling camps situated on hills and valleys from the imminent, flooding monsoon rains. "Over 65,000 households have received supplies to make their existing shelters monsoon-proof," the spokesman said. "More than 15,000 refugees in particularly at-risk areas will soon be moved to safer ground, and construction of access roads is also progressing." He said that so far the Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, launched in mid-March, is only 9 percent funded. It requests 951 million dollars to respond to the needs of some 1.3 million people, both Rohingya refugees and vulnerable members of the host community until December 2018." It is this crisis that members of the council hope to see first hand. The 15-member panel has been trying for months to get to Myanmar and see first-hand northern Rakhine State -- just across the border from Bangladesh -- from where the refugees have fled. Finally, the Myanmar government, which had said timing just yet wasn't right, gave the green light. The Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh already had been playing host to hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who had fled Rakhine State before the Aug. 25 incident. After visiting the camps in Bangladesh over the weekend the council mission is expected to visit Myanmar's capital of Nay Pyi Taw and areas in northern Rakhine State that were affected by the violence beginning last August and from which most refugees fled. Refugees arriving in Bangladesh have said the forces they had fled raped and killed women and children as well as attacking men. Then, they said, their villages were burned to the ground. The Rohingya are ethnic Muslims living in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar. Most of the refugees do not have Myanmar citizenship and are expected to face hurdles at least on that count if they wish to return to their villages. One of the foremost objectives of the Security Council is to allow the Rohingya to return -- when and if they want to -- in a safe and dignified manner. MEXICO CITY, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Mexico, Canada and the United States have agreed to extend negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and resume talks on May 7 "to speed up the process," Mexico's Economy Ministry said on Friday. Negotiating teams from the three countries held a series of technical meetings in Washington on April 4-27 that culminated with the agreement, the ministry said in a statement. "Over a period of more than three weeks, the teams deepened the technical work on all of the topics of the negotiation," said the ministry. The chief negotiators, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, "held various weekly meetings in Washington to follow up on the progress of the talks," the ministry said. After U.S. President Donald Trump insisted NAFTA be renegotiated in a bid to secure better terms for his country, Mexico and Canada agreed to talks to modernize the 1994 trade deal. Talks began in August 2017 and following seven rounds, the three sides have reached agreements on six of approximately 30 chapters. Certain issues have proven more intractable than others, including rules of origin that limit the number of foreign-made parts that can go into an automobile manufactured in North America if it is to be eligible for preferential NAFTA rates. A visitor looks at exhibits during the press preview of Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People and Practices and On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co. in the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, the United States, April 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) By Xinhua writer Yang Shilong NEW YORK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has traveled a difficult road toward legitimacy and integration in the United States, reflective of many aspects of the Chinese immigrant experience. This is why the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York City puts on two groundbreaking exhibitions, which run from April 26 to Sept. 9, attempting to trace the complex story of Chinese medicine in the country. "Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People and Practices" tells a cross-cultural story of Chinese medicine and practices in America through historical medical artifacts, contemporary art, and profiles on notable figures in Chinese medicine history to create an engaging space for exploring how medicine, philosophy and history are linked. On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co.: General Store and Apothecary in John Day, Oregon, is an immersive historical exhibition that celebrates the medical practice of Ing "Doc" Hay who became a prominent figure in eastern Oregon after the California Gold Rush. Journalists look at exhibits during the press preview of Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People and Practices and On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co. in the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, the United States, April 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) THROUGH LENS OF CHINESE MEDICINE "I think it's important to celebrate the culture and history of the Chinese in America through the lens of Chinese medicine," Donna Mah, a faculty member of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York, told Xinhua at Wednesday's press preview. "We have really worked hard to put together a prism to shine the light of Chinese medicine, and have Chinese culture and history sort of blasted in a beautiful rainbow on the wall," said Mah, guest curator of the exhibitions. "By seeing how we treat illness and maintain our health, we hope visitors can learn about the ancient philosophical concepts that are the backbone of Chinese culture," said Herb Tam, MOCA's curator and director of exhibitions. Only four states in America to date do not have legislation on professional practices of TCM. It has grown into an industry with 40,000 licensed therapists, and treats over 380 million patients every year. Yet, until the 1970s, practising acupuncture in America could land you in jail. This happened to Miriam Lee, an acupuncturist who treated patients in her Palo Alto, California home. She was arrested for practising medicine without a license in 1974, but many of her patients appeared at her trial to attest to the benefits of acupuncture. Days later, Governor Ronald Reagan legalized acupuncture as an experimental procedure and 1976, it was officially legalized in the sunshine state. Lee, who died in 2009 in Southern California where she lived after retirement, recorded her experiences in her 1992 book "Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist." Herb Tam, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)'s Curator and Director of Exhibitions, introduces exhibits during the press preview of Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People and Practices and On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co. in the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, the United States, April 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) GLIMPSE INTO EARLY CHINESE IMMIGRANTS LIFE Ing Hay, better known as Doc Hay, was the first documented acupuncturists and herbalists in the United States. Hay did "ku li" (a Chinese term meaning "muscle strength") work in the Walla Walla area before he moved to the mining town John Day, eastern Oregon, in 1887. Hay met his life-long friend and business partner Lung On on the streets of John Day, a small town nestled in the higher elevations of the Blue Mountain range. They purchased the Kam Wah Chung & Company (literally, the "Golden Flower of Prosperity") building, which soon became the center of the Chinese immigrant community in John Day. The number of Chinese in John Day at that time might have exceeded 2000 - mostly men - making it the third largest Chinatown in the United Sates then. It was a time the Chinese were openly treated as second-class citizens. As the railroads were built and the need for cheap muscle began to fade, the U.S. government slammed the door and started encouraging Chinese to leave. By 1900, less than 100 Chinese remained. Patrons at Kam Wah Chung shifted from predominantly Chinese to mostly non-Chinese. Despite the prevailing anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States, the store not only survived, but flourished. This was due to the remarkable skills of its two proprietors. Hay and On were both arrested several times for practising medicine without a license but due to their popularity in the community, each case brought against them was dismissed. All their patients survived the fatal Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919, according to an interesting side note. CONVERSATION BETWEEN HERITAGES "The Chinese-American population is a vital part in the making of this country. Unfortunately, it's been under-recognized," Nancy Yao Maasbach, MOCA's president, told Xinhua. "One of its (MOCA) main goals is to help people understand the contributions by Chinese in the formation of this country." MOCA, which has about 50,000 visitors a year, aims to engage audiences in an on-going and historical dialogue, in which people of all backgrounds are able to see American history through a critical perspective, to reflect on their own experiences, and to make meaningful connections between the past and the present, the global and local, themselves and others, she said. Mah noted the Chinese medicine exhibitions are exactly a good space for initiating conversations between cultures. "I think the more that we have conversation, genuine conversation, genuine curiosity, interest, respect will all benefit," she said. "That reflects the benefit of having been of Chinese heritage living in America." "Through the conversations you have realized that we share so much in common and we need to make it not only a local phenomenon, but a global phenomenon, finding the places we really can connect, learn and benefit one another," Mah said. "You know, wondering who are we, what is our place in the world and how it relates to us and one of the ways that we can do so beautifully is through art of the landscape painting," said Mah. "The classical Chinese landscape paintings have big, big landscape, but a very very tiny person." "On the one hand, you might say we're so small and insignificant. The other perspective to look at it is that we have a place in this big landscape, and that we can so definitively see that we fit in there in a very specific way," she said. "And that I think it is the importance of history, the importance of culture and really the importance of medicine." (Xinhua reporters Zhang Mocheng and Zhang Yichi contributed to the story) NATO will step up its engagement in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist organisation with a focus on training, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said after meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday. Szijjarto told MTI that Stoltenberg had expressed his appreciation for Hungarys role in the organisation. Hungary has deployed 200 soldiers in the international coalition fighting IS, some of whom are carrying out training, he noted. Szijjarto said that at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Friday, the NATO-Ukraine ministerial committee would not be taking place due to Hungarys veto. MTI Photo: KKM ClickforWork, founded in 2017 provides an online trusted marketplace enabling users to outsource their everyday tasks to local students. The idea behind the service is that many of the jobs that had to be done could be outsourced to students, who have some spare time and always welcome extra cash. Take control of your day-to-day, and find a student, either it is for example shopping, or guiding you through Budapest, or just bring anything to you form a certain part of the town. Simply post a task for free and then choose one from our rated, verified students to let them help you out. Trust is No. 1, therefore the platform includes a verification system, meaning that every student registered in the platform are verified by us, and besides that, our users can also check Students Profile photo & bio, and also their reference letter (which is optional to be uploaded). In addition to that the platform also has a rate and review system which ensures you to get through and find the best applicants. The process begins with posting a task on the platform, a job that is needed completed, setting a suggested payment as well as any details needed to make a decision. Students can apply accordingly their interest in completing the task. The user who posted the task can make a decision on whom to award the task based on the student's profile, task history and ratings. Once a task is completed users can rate and review each others on the platform. ClickforWork allows private communication, where every question can be discussed users might concern. ClickforWork is completely free to register check it out here. Phone: +36 30 534 9854 Email: admin@clickforwork.hu Judith Sargentini (pictured top), the Green Partys rapporteur, said the European Parliaments Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) had examined not only how EU legislation is implemented in Hungary but also how the fundamental rights of Hungarians are enforced and how the state treats its citizens. In light of its findings, she said the EU must act. She said the views of the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the judgments of international courts had been taken into consideration and underlined the committees concerns. Istvan Ujhelyi, an MEP for the opposition Socialists, called it regrettable that the Fidesz government representing Hungary has to give an explanation over and over again for its policies that dismantle democracy and the rule of law and go against common European undertakings. He called it pathetic that officials of the Hungarian government and its MEPs had only managed to come up with empty propaganda sound bites instead of sound reasoning in the debate while holding up the entire Hungarian nation as a shield to protect themselves. Shadow rapporteur Roberta Metsola of the EPP addressed the issue of Hungarys law on foreign-supported NGOs, saying it had had a huge impact on their operations and violated EU values. Social Democrat Josef Weidenholzer said the issue of the rule of law in Hungary had long been on the agenda and now was the time to act. He said liberal democracy was in grave danger, adding that without liberal principles, democracy was an empty vessel. Marek Jurek, a representative of the European Conservatives and Reformists, said Hungarys government was pillorised for issues which other EU member states had escaped censure. He cited minority rights, saying that Hungary had done more to improve the situation of the Roma than many other European countries. MEPs may submit amendments to the draft by mid-May, and the EP committees on constitutional affairs, culture and education, budget control and womens rights will attach their opinion. The report is expected to be put to the vote in June and will go before an EP plenary in the autumn. It is at this point that Article 7 may be launched against Hungary for violating the rule of law. Iverna McGowan, AIs Head of European Institutions Office and Advocacy Director, stated concern over Hungarys Stop Soros bill, which she said would lead to the closure of NGOs like AI and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee that protect human rights and peoples freedom. She stated solidarity with Hungarian people, particularly with those who address the causes of freedom, justice and the rights of marginalised groups. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in response told MTI that AI is a political player that openly participated in Hungarys election campaign, openly calling for a vote against the incumbent government and siding with the opposition before finally suffering an ugly defeat. Hungarys natural population decline fell in the first two months of the year as the number of births edged down by 0.3%, and the number of deaths was down by 15% compared with the same period last year. Figures show that there were 14,602 births in January-February, down by 41, or 0.3%, from the same period a year earlier. The number of deaths was 23,263, KSH said. The rate of natural population decline (8,661) was 32% lower compared with the same period in 2017 (12,726). The number of marriages was virtually unchanged in January and edged down by 0.6%, to 1,840 in February, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) also reported. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea - and also Serbia - have placed a temporary ban on pork and pork products from Hungary because of the discovery of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the north of the country. Serbia has extended the ban to live hogs, the paper said, citing the website of national food safety agency Nebih. By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] Ironwood What better way to launch the summer reading program at the Ironwood Carnegie Library than to bring the Brainstormers? From lower Michigan, the group will launch Ironwood Area Schools student creative juices for 350 students. Lynne Wiercinski, Ironwood Carnegie librarian, said over the winter the library wrote a grant proposal and was awarded a grant. The project is supported by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Program, administered by Region 1A Copper Country Community Arts Council. The program is also receiving funding assistance from the Irene Banfield Foundation. Wiercinski said the Brainstormers are coming for two and a half sessions with area students. The first session is May 2 for second through sixth grade students. On May 2, the students will focus on creative writing as a group. The Brainstormers will return home, while asking the students to write their own creative stories. They will then select six stories from the group and turn them into full-fledged productions. Upon returning June 4, the Brainstormers will return with props and all the production gear they need for the six chosen stories, while interacting and using tstudents in the production. Wiercinski said the program captures two of the librarys areas of emphasis, writing and creative arts, and is an excellent way to close out the school year and launch the summer reading program. The Brainstormers will stick around after the production and put on a writers camp for 30 select students after the two assemblies. The Brainstormers website at brainstormersfun.com/home lists the program as having inspired over 2 million young people to write stories, perform as actors, fend off bullying, and experience the joy of creativity. This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs 07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0) Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na... Agartala: Former Miss World Diana Hayden does not represent Indian women, but Aishwarya Rai does. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb's latest statement on beauty pageants, Indian women and "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World has stirred a fresh controversy. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden," said the 46-year-old BJP leader, who became the Tripura CM last month. Deb's statement comes barely days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked all party members to stop making 'irresponsible statements'. Speaking at a day-long design workshop on handlooms and handicrafts at the Prajna Bhavan in Agartala, the BJP leader said, Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country," he said. Terming the international beauty contests a farce, the Tripura CM said that the results of such contests are all predetermined. "Whoever contested the international beauty pageants won. For five consecutive years, we won the Miss World/Miss Universe awards. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title?" Deb said. "They make the girls walk with fabric on the ramps. Those who give the certificates are all international textile market mafia. They plan beforehand who will get the award and this is 100 per cent true," the BJP leader said. He, however, was full of praise for another Miss World winner and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai. She represents the Indian women in the true sense, said Deb. "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden," Deb, who became the chief minister last month, said. "Why are there no more beauty pageant winners from India? They (the jury) have captured the market in the country and have gone elsewhere," he claimed. Deb's comment didnot sit well with the social media, with several Twitteratis slamming the Chief Minister. Activist Kavita Krishnan termed his comments as "stupid, sexist and communal". Delhi CM advisor Nagendar Sharma in a tweet said, "Though we are still in April, this most likely could qualify for the most ridiculous quote of 2018." Earlier this month, Deb had claimed that Internet and satellite communication existed in the days of Mahabharata. He also attacked Trinamool Congress Chief, saying that the West Bengal CM should "should go to a temple and then get her brain examined at a hospital." With PTI inputs On the face of it, the indignation of Asaram Bapu's followers over his conviction in the Jodhpur rape case may appear enigmatic, indeed stupid. How could the bhaktas claim that he is innocent, people ask. His guilt has been proved in the court of law. So why not accept the bitter truth that their guru is a rapist? We can reach the heart of the enigma if we view a completely different scenario: intellectuals' unending fascination with communism and socialism. But let's begin with the reaction of the devotees of Asaram. A young and passionate Jyoti (name changed), who said she had been a follower of Asaram for 15 years, refused to believe that her 'gurudev' could ever have committed a crime like rape, PTI reported on the day the verdict was announced. "Even if Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh came and told me that Bapu had done this, I would not believe them. I would say, 'no, no, no' an infinite number of times," she said. Jitendra Malik from UP's Shamli, who became Asaram's follower 15 years ago, said. "What has happened [to Asaram] is completely wrong. Our Bapu is an all-knowing saint. He is not like Ram Rahim. We will continue to pray for him." In a similar vein, yoga instructor B Mukesh, who served as an ashram in-charge in Bhilwara and Aligarh for over a decade, termed the allegation a "conspiracy" against Asaram. Karan (name changed) is an Asaram bhakta I have known personally for some time. In his late thirties, he is a slightly built man-and looked slighter on the day Asaram was pronounced guilty. I asked him about his growing frailty. "How can I be good? How can anything be good for people like us? Our bapu has been convicted and maligned, and we can do nothing," his voice was choked with anguish and anger. He was visibly distraught. A middle class guy, he was doing well in business till a few years ago and planning to marry. But then the charges against Asaram surfaced. Being one of the active followers of the godman, Karan almost immersed himself in his defence. His business suffered; the wedding plans got shelved. To what avail, he agonizingly asks. It is easy to dismiss or ridicule Asaram's bhaktas as irrational people who can't, or don't want to, see the writing on the wall and in the court judgment. But then most Asaram followers are simple folks in search of guidance from and solace in the wisdom of a guru. What, however, do you make out of the fellow-travellers of communists and socialists? Why did they continue their affair with the theories propounded by Marx, Lenin, and Mao even after the horrors of communism in Russia and China became widely known? Over a million people perished under communist regimes. And why do so many intellectuals still swear by the supposedly humanitarian message of Marxism? This despite the fact that parlour pinks are very educated people; usually they are thought leaders in any country; they certainly are in India. Let's begin our discourse on the self-imposed blindness of liberals and intellectuals with a glimpse of the global scene. A passage from the historian Paul Johnson's Modern Times is worth quoting here: In the outside world, the magnitude of the Stalin tyranny - or indeed its very existence - was scarcely grasped at all. Most of those who travelled to Russia were either businessmen, anxious to trade and with no desire to probe or criticize what did not concern them, or intellectuals who came to admire and, still more, to believe. If the decline of Christianity created the modern political zealot - and his crimes - so the evaporation of religious faith among the educated left a vacuum in the minds of Western intellectuals easily filled by secular superstitions. There is not other explanation for the credulity with which scientists, accustomed to evaluating evidence, and writers, whose whole function was to study and criticize society, accepted the crudest Stalinist propaganda at its face value. They needed to believe; they wanted to be duped. (emphasis added) For such worthies, the Soviet Union was their pilgrimage-and you don't go on pilgrimage with a questioning mind. When the devout Hindu doctors, engineers, and scientists go to the Kumbh, they know that the Ganges is polluted and yet they take a dip. Not much dissimilarly, their Left wing counterparts also take a dip - not in the holy Ganges but in the hallowed ideology of Marx and Engels and Lenin and Mao. The result is same in both cases: absolute disregard for the pervasive stench. And yet, the list of Left-leaning intellectuals reads like the who's who of India's leading lights in every field: there have been writers like Mulk Raj Anand, Munshi Premchand, Sarojini Naidu, Krishan Chander, KA Abbas, Ramananda Chatterjee, and Ram Bilas Sharma; historians like Bipan Chandra and Romila Thapar; economists like Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze; filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak and Shyam Benegal, and long is the list of luminaries. But none of them got illumination enough to see the defects of the ideology they admired or the consequences it led to; they didn't let experience and reason rob them of their belief. As Johnson wrote, they needed to believe; they wanted to be duped - just the followers of Asaram. If the most educated men and women, the persons of heightened consciousness, love to believe at the expense of reason and common sense, simpler folks can scarcely be accused of blind faith. Perhaps, there is a gull in all human beings, even among the wisest, screaming to get out. His easiest way out is faith, which could be offered by a god-man or the god that failed. (Ravi Shanker Kapoor is a journalist and author. He has spent around 25 years in the media. As a freelance journalist, Kapoor has written for a number of leading publications. He has written four books on Indian politics and its associated institutions.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the author of "Devdas", must be cringing every time an adaptation of his simple romance novel hits the big screen. This time, Sudhir Mishra, in his retelling of the classic novel, literally spins the title to offer us "Daas Dev" - a romantic triangle set in power dynamics in a small incongruous town of Jahana UP. And going by the original text, we expect a revolutionary story of a brooding, self-destructive Dev who pines for Paro while being in the arms of Chandramukhi. Here, Dev Pratap Chauhan (Rahul Bhat), the scion of a politically strong family is perennially knocked off his senses, either on drinks or drugs. But he is emotionally and utterly dependent on his childhood girlfriend Paro (Richa Chadha). So after a bad night out in Delhi, she coaxes him to return to their native Jahana, which he reluctantly agrees to. In Jahana, he immerses in politics and she in social service. But fate tears them apart, when they fall prey to the political motives of Dev's uncle Avdesh (Saurabh Shukla). On the other hand, Chandni aka Chandramukhi is an unscrupulous, political strategist who helps Dev build a strong political image. She inadvertently falls in love with Dev, but Dev's heart is all Paro's. So, needless to say, the actual film comes as a shock, for the off-kilter romance though meticulously constructed, is set in a convoluted plot where the centre-stage is retrograde politics. The romance is lost in the political maze. Also, the story seems to be set in some bygone era, for today's rural India is not as how it is portrayed here. The characterisation too, seems forced and fabricated. Also the direction in some scenes appears amateurishly mounted. Case in point is witnessed when, Paro after being shot, lands in the driveway of the hospital wounded. There is no reaction from her co-actors. On the performance front, Rahul Bhat offers a fairly decent portrayal of Dev but you fail to empathise with him, simply because of his poorly chalked character graph and his equally weak onscreen chemistry with both the leading ladies. His performance fluctuates from forceful to hamming, at regular intervals. Richa Chadha as Paro is equally lacklustre. Adding no nuances to her character, she walks through her role unenthusiastically. As Chandni, Aditi Rao Hydari does offer a bit of intrigue to her character, but her poorly etched role does not help her make the part memorable. The trio is aptly supported by; Saurabh Shukla as Dev's chacha - Avdesh, Vipin Sharma as Paro's husband and member of the opposition - Ram Ashray, Dalip Tahil as the industrialist - SK, Deep Raj Rana as Avdesh's party worker - Prabhunath and Sohaila Kapur as Dev's mother - Sushila Devi. But their performances, by no stretch of the imagination, elevate the viewing experience. While the film boasts of decent production values, overall it fails to engross you. (Ratings: 2.5/5 Stars) New Delhi: The trailer of one of the most-awaited thrilling film, 'Phamous' was released on Friday and the fans are going crazy due to its stellar cast. The film stars Jimmy Sheirgill, Jackie Shroff, Kay Kay, Pankaj Tripathi, Shriya Saran and Mahie Gill in pivotal roles and revolves around a power-struggle in the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh. "There are no dangerous weapons, there are only dangerous men," announces the trailer as the camera takes across the arid landscape of the state. In the film, Menon plays a local gangster whereas Pankaj Tripathi plays a corrupt politician. Shergill will be seen in the role of a short-tempered man who is living under difficult circumstances. Earlier in the day, Jimmy released the trailer of the film on his Twitter handle and wrote, "The gang from Chambal is here to tell their story of power and love! Presenting the #PhamousTrailer: http://bit.ly/PhamousTrailer The film is all set to be released on June 1 and will clash with Kareena Kapoor Khan-Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Veere Di Wedding'. 'Phamous', a crime comedy film, has been directed by Karan Lalit Bhutani. New Delhi: Ever since the team of 'Race 3' has landed in Jammu and Kashmir, there have been several photos coming from the sets of the film. In the latest, actor Salman Khan along with the entire cast and crew of the film has checked in at the renowned Grand Dragon Ladakh in Ladakh. The 'Sultan' actor was accompanied by Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah and Bobby Deol and the rest of the crew. A report said that all the stars were given a warm welcome by Gulam Mustafa, the hotel owner and other staff in true Ladakhi style. Check out some of the photos here: Salman was also accompanied by his bodyguard Shera. This is Salman's second visit to the hotel. As per sources, Salman along with the entire crew is expected to stay at the hotel for the next six days. Earlier in the day, Salman was seen taking a bike ride with co-star Jacqueline as pillion rider with him to Ladakh. Salman, who finished shooting in Sonamarg in Jammu and Kashmir, is all set to shoot for the next schedule of the film in Ladakh. Jacqueline too shared several videos and photos during the bike ride with Salman on her Instagram account. Directed by Remo D'Souza and produced under the Tips Films, 'Race 3' also features Anil Kapoor, Freddy Daruwala, Saqib Salim and Amit Sadh. Actress Sonakshi Sinha will be seen doing a cameo in the film. Washington: India's major IT company Infosys today announced that it would open its US Education Center in Indianapolis, which the company said would train American workers and create 1,000 additional jobs. The announcement made in the presence of the US Vice President Mike Pence comes a year after the company announced that it would establish an innovation hub in Indianapolis. In all, Infosys efforts in Indianapolis would create 3,000 new jobs in this state of Pence. Infosys, Pence said "brings new chapter in the life of the growing Indiana economy." The development is a reflection of President Donald Trump's focus on job creation and making policies focused in this regard, he said. Pence thanked Infosys for joining Trump's agenda on job creation. The US Education Center of Infosys spread over 125,000 sq feet at an unused terminal of the former international airport of Indianapolis. Observing that this center will deepen roots of Infosys in Indiana, its president Ravi Kumar said last year Infosys made an announcement of committing 2,000 American workers in Indiana. This center would add another 1,000 local American employees in Indiana. Since last May, Infosys has hired 4,000 American workers out of the 10,000 it plans in the next few years. "We have announced additional technology and innovation hubs in North Carolina, Connecticut and if one of its kind design hub in Rhode Island. We have announced educational partnerships with Perdue, North Carolina community college system, and we're continuing to bear on bridging the skills gap in the United States," Kumar said. New Delhi: Banks will remain closed four consecutive days in several parts of the country starting from Saturday (April 28). Banks will be closed on Saturday, since it is the fourth Saturday of the month. Banks are only closed on second and fourth Saturdays. On April 30, the banks will remain shut for Buddha Purnima while May 1 is labour day. Though most of the bank ATMs will continue to operate as usual and there would be hopefully no cash crunch, which was witnessed in the recent past, it is advisable for the customers to withdraw cash in advance should there be an urgent requirement. If you are having some pending bank-related work, you could do so by the end of working day at the banks. Though some companies have informed their employees about the late credit of salary, some have said that they will credit it today itself. Here are the important dates to remember for this week and the upcoming week Date: 29 April 2018 Day: Saturday Second Saturday holiday Date: 30 April 2018 Day: Sunday Banks closed for Sunday Date: 30 April 2018 Day: Monday Holiday on Account of: Buddha Purnima Date: 01 May 2018 Day: Tuesday Holiday on Account of: May Day United Nations: India has informed the UN that the Goods and Services Tax reform implemented by it, coupled with the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, has brought 1.8 million more people into the income-tax net. Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs A Gitesh Sarma, addressing the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow Up, said India is currently implementing a wave of reforms. Apart from encouraging digital over cash transactions, India introduced the Goods and Service Tax regime which provides for uniform taxes. He said this has led to a 50 percent increase in the number of indirect taxpayers. "Coupled with demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the GST brought 1.8 million more people into the income-tax net, he said at the forum here yesterday. He added that India stands firm on its stand on the fundamental principles of the World Trade , including multilateralism, rule-based consensual decision-making, an independent and credible dispute resolution and appellate process, the centrality of development, which underlies the Doha Development Agenda, and special and differential treatment for all developing countries. He said the global economic recovery is progressing gradually, with improved resilience and emergence of new sources of growth. "However, there are concerns that a durable recovery may remain constrained by factors such as the persistence of low productivity and debt overhang problems in advanced economies as well as in some emerging market economies, rising populism and protectionism, and the slow pace of structural reforms, he said. India has also committed to remaining mindful of new gaps in the domestic resource mobilisation that may result from financial innovations, including digital finance, and the implications of fin-tech and the weightless economy on financial inclusion and access to finance, Sarma said. Further, stepping up its cooperation with the southern countries in the spirit of solidarity, last year India established the India-UN Development Partnership Fund that supports Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world, with a focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). "I would like to reiterate that the international community must step up its efforts to fulfill the commitments already undertaken not as a charity but with full realisation that it will be in our collective interest, he said. Actress Karisma Kapoor, who is often seen sashaying down the ramp, on Friday walked the runway at Asian Designer Week. The three-day long fashion event is being held at Bikaner House in the national capital. Decked up in an ethnic outfit, Karisma looked every bit royal as she walked the runway as the showstopper. Check out her photos here: The actress was wearing a light peach-pink floral-embroidered lehenga choli. She teamed her look keeping her open and let it rest on the one side. In addition, she did not experiment much with her makeup and had no accessories apart from golden earrings. Well, Karisma shines like a true star in this ethnic outfit. Earlier in the day, the actress was spotted along with her sister Kareena Kapoor Khan at the Mumbai airport. The Kapoor sisters had arrived in Delhi together for their respective projects. New Delhi: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping - scheduled for Friday afternoon in Wuhan city, the Chinese defence ministry expressed a strong desire to build close ties between Chinese and Indian military. Underlying tensions have persisted between India and China since the face-off between forces in Doklam last year. The meeting between Modi and Jinping then promises a thaw in relations with the Chinese defence ministry stating that deeper ties are in the best interest of both countries. "Despite some difficulties and obstacles in the bilateral military relationship, we are willing to deepen understanding, enhance mutual trust, properly handle differences, and incessantly accumulate positive energy for the healthy and stable development of military ties under the guidance of the important consensus reached between leaders of both countries," Wu Qian, spokesperson with China's Ministry of National Defense, was quoted as saying by news agency Xinhua. (Also read: Chinese media, officials soften stance ahead of Xi-Modi meet) This is not the first time that a call has been made to lessen tensions. Leaders from both sides have emphasized just why both India and China need each other to fast-track development works. Both countries have also shown a positive intent on resolving border issues even if progress at the ground level has been at a snail's pace. Several points of friction though remain with China's strong support to Pakistan - especially in developing its military arsenal - being of key concern for India. Wuhan: Thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping for a warm welcome, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the need for India and China to work closely for the benefit of world's 40% population. He also listed out five common elements which could bind both nations closely in the times to come. PM Modi is here on an 'informal meeting' with Xi - a visit that comes on the backdrop of tensions caused primarily by the Doklam standoff and Beijing's growing ties with Pakistan. PM Modi though said that the bond that India and China have shared is one that has existed for centuries and one that will give direction to the world in the times to come. "This is not just an informal meeting but a historic meeting as well. Both our countries have shared close ties since ancient times. It is time we build on those ties for the benefit of world's 40% population," he told Xi. "I have observed that there are five common elements that can bind India and China together. They are common thinking, common relations, common co-operation, common aspirations and common dreams." While also inviting Xi to India, PM Modi emphasised that people-to-people contact between the two countries can ensure long-lasting peace and mutual respect. Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has sent a notice to husband and co-accused Peter Mukerjea, seeking an amicable and mutual consent divorce to their 16-year-old marriage. The notice, reportedly dispatched via speed post, was sent to Arthur Jail road where Peter is currently lodged after he refused to accept it by hand in court premises. The notice, sent on April 25, reportedly sought an amicable financial settlement by April 30 on pre-agreed terms. It further states that the duo's relationship has hit rock bottom without any chance of reconciliation and that neither of them will interfere in each other's life or make a claim on movable or immovable assets. While Indrani sent the notice via her advocate Edith Dey, Peter's lawyer Amit Ghag refused to comment on the matter. The duo reportedly has properties in Spain and London, fixed deposits and investments in several banks. On Thursday, during a hearing before a special CBI court, Indrani sat sandwiched between Peter and former husband Sanjeev Khanna. However, they did not talk to each other. Talks of divorce among the couple has previously done rounds, however, at the time it was considered part of their legal strategy. Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was killed in April 2012. The murder came to light in August 2015 after Mukerjea's driver Shyamvar Rai, arrested in another case, spilled the beans. The Mumbai police arrested Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Rai for allegedly killing Sheena. Later, Indrani's husband and media baron Peter Mukerjea was also arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy. Indrani, in an application, said that the former media baron manipulated circumstances to frame her with the help of driver Shyamvar Rai, who has now turned approver in the case. Indrani, her ex-husband Peter and driver Rai have been accused of strangling the 24-year-old girl, Sheena. Her burnt body was dumped in a bag in the dense forests in Raigad district near Mumbai. The CBI, which took over the case, claimed that a financial dispute was the reason for the murder. WUHAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met for an informal summit in central China's Wuhan city. During their summit, the two leaders are expected to work out a consensus between the two countries to resolve a host of issues, including the boundary question. However, no agreement is likely to be signed during the informal talks. Recalling his earlier visit to China, PM Modi told President Xi Jinping: "When I was the CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit Wuhan. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed with which you constructed it and the scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour, spent a day at the dam." The two leaders are expected to hold a series of one-on-one talks after lunch at the Hubei Provincial Museum which has a large number of state-level historic and cultural relics. Before the meeting, the two leaders attended a cultural programme at the museum. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/nLIy9P8mjV ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 The PM was received by the Chinese President at the guesthouse. PM Modi had arrived in China in the wee hours of Friday for a two-day visit to participate in an unprecedented 'informal' summit to re-establish the Sino-India ties, which took a hit post the two-month-long Doklam standoff. The one-to-one discussions will be followed by talks between the two leaders accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow at 10 a.M (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. The meeting comes amid efforts made by both India and China to move past the tensions, which rose out of the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017. The informal talks are likely to be over arching with no specific issues to be discussed. The idea is to open strategic communication channel at the highest level. Visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's one on one meeting in #China's Wuhan. pic.twitter.com/j0VFwc6yQz ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 Ahead of his visit, the PM tweeted that the priority of the meeting will be national development. "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation. We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective," he tweeted. WUHAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Wuhan late on Thursday night for a two-day informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is scheduled to hold one-to-one talks with Xi. Ahead of his visit, the PM tweeted that the priority of the meeting will be national development. "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation. We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective," he tweeted. During their summit, the two leaders are expected to work out a consensus between the two countries to resolve a host of issues, including the boundary question. However, no agreement is likely to be signed during the informal talks. The meeting comes amid efforts made by both India and China to move past the tensions, which rose out of the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017. The informal talks are likely to be over arching with no specific issues to be discussed. The idea is to open strategic communication channel at the highest level. Prime Minister Modi will commence his meetings with Chinese President Xi at 3:30 pm on Friday at the Hubei Provincial Museum. After touring the museum for about an hour, the two leaders, accompanied by six top officials from each side, will hold talks at the sprawling East Lake Guest House, where Xi is staying. This will be followed by the leaders' walk. Dinner will be hosted by Chinese President Xi at the guest house in central Wuhan. On Saturday, the two leaders will spend time without their aides as with Xi taking Modi for a lakeside walk and a boat ride on the picturesque East Lake. This will be followed by a private lunch hosted by the Chinese President. CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday rejected the plea of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination convict Nalini Sriharan in which she had sought premature release. The court had earlier this week said it will announce its decision on Friday on the appeal filed by Nalini. A division bench, comprising Justices K K Sasidharan and R Subramanian, had reserved the order on April 24 on the plea by Nalini, challenging the order of a single judge rejecting her prayer for premature release under a 1994 state government scheme under Article 161 (powers of Governor to grant pardon). The Tamil Nadu government had in November 2017 informed the Madras HC that it cannot entertain a plea of Nalini Sriharan as a similar case was pending before the apex court. Deputy Secretary of the state home department filed a counter affidavit to Nalini's petition. In response to a habeas corpus petition pending before a Division Bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher in the Madras High Court filed by Nalini, the government had in its counter said, "She is a party respondent in a plea pending before the Supreme Court in connection with remission of sentences of all seven convicts in the case, moved by the central government. Meanwhile, the former PM's son and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had recently said during an event in Singapore that his family has "completely forgiven" the killers as they find it "difficult to hate people". '' I and my sister Priyanka have completely forgiven our father's killers,'' Rahul had said. Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991, and seven persons---Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran---were convicted in the case. Payas and Jayakumar were sentenced to death for their role in the assassination, but their sentence was later commuted to life by the Supreme Court in 1999. Nalini was first awarded death sentence, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court and subsequently the Tamil Nadu government under Article 161 of the constitution commuted her sentence to life on April 24, 2000. Jammu: More chilling details of the horrific Kathua incident in which a minor girl belonging to the nomadic community of Jammu and Kashmir was kidnapped, drugged, tortured, raped and eventually killed, have now come to fore. Sanji Ram, the alleged mastermind of rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, had two motives for committing the crime. First, he wanted to save his son Vishal, who was one of those who had kidnapped and gang-raped the minor girl, and second, he wanted to scare away the nomads from his village. During his grilling by the Crime Branch officials, Sanji Ram had reportedly told them that after knowing that his son had also raped the abducted minor girl, he thought the only way to protect his son was to kill the girl. By doing this, he also wanted to give a strong message to the members of the nomadic tribes staying in his village. Sanji Ram also told the investigators that he came to know about the crime and that the victim was being raped by some, including his son, four days later, according to the Crime Branch sources quoted by IANS. "After he came to know that his son Vishal was among those who had raped the victim, Sanji Ram decided that the victim could not be left alive," a source was quoted as saying. Besides Vishaal, Sanji Ram's nephew was also involved in the crime. Sanji Ram's nephew a juvenile - had actually raped the victim on January 10 - the same day she was abducted. Sanji Ram's nephew told him that his son Vishal too had raped the victim and this revelation was enough for him to achieve his twin motive of scaring the nomad community out of the village and killing the girl to save Vishal from being implicated in the crime. Sanji Ram told the investigators that he had asked one of his friends to bring a car so that the body of the minor could be disposed of. After his friend refused to bring the car, Sanji Ram told his son and other accused to dump the body away from the 'Devasthan' where the victim was held hostage, repeatedly raped and finally murdered, the sources said. The body of the girl was discovered on January 17 nearly a week after she went missing - in a forest area in Kathua. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch had also charged two policemen - a sub-inspector and a head constable - as co-accused in the crime. The policemen had allegedly been paid Rs 4 lakh by Sanji Ram to destroy crucial evidence in the horrendous crime. During his interrogation, Sanji Ram revealed that the drug which was used to sedate the minor victim was a cannabis extract. During the course of its investigation, the J&K Police's Crime Branch, citing medical experts, had confirmed that the minor victim in the Kathua incident was actually sedated, sexually assaulted and subsequently murdered. The Kathua rape-and-murder case had triggered a national outrage and protests from across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also condemned the Kathua incident in the strongest terms during an event in London last week and urged the countrymen to respect women and girls. (With IANS inputs) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed till May 7 the trial in the Kathua gangrape and murder case, after being seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra said it will deal with the prayer of the victim's father for shifting the trial to Chandigarh and the plea of the accused seeking handing over the probe to CBI. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on May 7. The child from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later. During the hearing, the apex court witnessed heated exchanges between senior advocate Indira Jaising, who appeared for the victim's family, and advocate Harvinder Chaudhary, who was representing the accused. Jaising said the case be transferred to Chandigarh due to proximity to Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the incidents of obstruction of police personnel by lawyers of the local court. She said that attempts were made to intimidate the presiding judge of the court and the crime branch officials were heckled by the lawyers, as is evident in the affidavit of Jammu and Kashmir government. Chaudhary said his clients do not have faith in police investigation and the probe should go to CBI. She alleged that the police was hand-in-glove with vested interests to falsely implicate the accused while the real culprits were someone else. Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Ganai, along with standing counsel Shoeb Alam, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir, opposed the prayer for a CBI probe and said the SIT of the crime branch was investigating the case. Ganai said the trial could be shifted from Kathua and Jammu to some other district in the state as there were 221 witnesses and most of the statements recorded so far were in Urdu. Alam said that Jammu and Kashmir has its own penal law and if the trial is shifted to Chandigarh, then it may create several problems. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the Centre, said the government was ready to provide any assistance if required but the call has to be taken by the Jammu and Kashmir government. The apex court had on Thursday given a stern warning and said it would transfer the Kathua gangrape and murder case from the local court in the "slightest possibility" of lack of fair trial, saying the "real concern" was to hold proper prosecution. The eight-year-old's father had moved the apex court earlier, apprehending threat to the family, a friend and their lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat. A separate plea was also filed by two accused seeking that the trial in the case be held in Jammu and the probe handed over to the CBI. The state police's Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district last week. The charge sheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed. New Delhi: Delhi Police on Friday arrested two Kashmiri students from Punjab who were involved in hacking over 500 Indian websites, including those of the government, police said. The accused have been identified as Shahid Malla, a CSE student at Aryan Group of College in Punjab`s Rajpura and Adil Hussain Teli, a BCA final year student at St. Soldiers Management and Technical Institute in Jalandhar. They are natives of Baramulla and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir. "Following a tip-off, Shahid Malla and Adil Hussain Teli were arrested on Friday when a team of Cyber Cell of Delhi Police raided their rented accommodation in Punjab," a senior police officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. "During the investigation, it was found that their online activities were part of an anti-national hacking group called `Team Hackers Third Eye` which has hacked more than 500 Indian websites, including some government websites," the officer said. The officer said the accused were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed social media ban during April and May in 2017 by using VPN. "During the investigation, they were found continuously in touch with several Pakistani-based anti-Indian hackers while hacking the websites and sharing the personal information of government websites with them. Some of them are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies," he added. "Through their seditious social media posts, Malla and Teli were found to be pro-Pakistan and anti-India," the officer said, adding that some laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, Internet dongles, memory devices and other instruments were recovered from their rooms. The officer said the team was trying to ascertain their further plan and also their source of money. "The probe in underway." London: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya said on Friday that it was his democratic right to vote in the Karnataka assembly elections scheduled for May 12. He, however, added that prevailing conditions mean that he won't be able to. Mallya, who fleed to UK, is on trial at the Westminster Magistrates' Court which will rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores. Previously, he was a MP in Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. "Yes, it is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK," the 62-year-old was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments." Although he has been in the UK since March of 2016, Mallya previously held the post of MP apart from being a business magnet. His first term in Rajya Sabha was between 2002 and 2008, and then was re-elected in 2010 before resigning in 2016. Mallya is wanted in India on charges relating to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on loans from various Indian banks amounting to Rs 9,000 crore. Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant in April, 2017 and has been out on bail on a bond worth 650,000 pounds. MANGALURU: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who's in Karnataka for the seventh leg of poll campaign, will release the party's election manifesto for upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections on Friday. The single-phased polls are scheduled to be held on May 12, with the counting on May 15. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leader KC Venugopal are expected to be present at the event. The Gandhi scion will later address public meetings in Bantwal and Gonikoppal towns in Dakshina Kannada district and in Mysuru's Periyapatna later in the day. According to sources, Congress may announce several sops in it's manifesto, including reservation for Lingayata and 33% reservation for women in elections. The party could also dole out laptops to students. Rahul Gandhis itinerary 09:45 hrs: Release of Election Manifesto at TMA Pai Convention Hall, MG Road, Mangaluru 11:00 hrs: Corner Meeting at Bantwal, District Dakshina Kannada 13:15 hrs: Visit to Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple, District Dakshina Kannada 15:30 hrs: Corner Meeting at Gonikoppal, District Kodagu 17:45 hrs: Corner Meeting at Periyapatana, District Mysuru Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting mining baron Reddy brothers. Thursday made yet another attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving hugs to foreign leaders and dignitaries by saying that there were "some things a hug can buy", but for US visas "you're on your own". The Gandhi scion also described the proposed changes in US visa rules as a "huge setback" for India, which he felt would make it extremely difficult for Indians to obtain a US permit to visit or stay in the country. Rahul took to micro-blogging site Twitter and tweeted, ''New US Visa Rules, huge setback for India...There are some things a hug can buy. For visas, youre on your own. Foreign Policy by Narendra Modi, Foreword by Donald Trump. New US Visa Rules, huge setback for India... There are some things a hug can buy. For visas, youre on your own. Foreign Policy by Narendra Modi, Foreword by Donald Trump.https://t.co/K2Mchgqwpk Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 26, 2018 Gandhi has earlier attacked the Prime Minister over what he termed 'hugplomacy' after Pakistan released 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind and Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest. New Delhi: The last time Congress released its manifesto for the state of Karnataka - in 2013, the party was in opposition and looking to gain power. Five years on, the party has once again released its manifesto for the state in a bid to retain power it got thanks to what had been promised earlier. So, what were the promises made then and what is the Siddaramaiah-led government now proposing to do to help Karnataka and its people progress and prosper? 2013: Congress'manifesto focused on the poor and the young and while launching it, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G. Parameshwara had accused the then state government of ignoring basic needs of people at large. The party, therefore, had promised 30 kilos of rice at Rs 1 per kilo for BPL families, loan waivers for farmers and laptops for college students. "Our manifesto is a solemn commitment to the people of Karnataka for time-bound implementation and not mere promises like many other political parties make," Parameshwara had said at the time. The manifesto had also promised 75 per cent subsidy for irrigation pump sets powered by solar energy and 100 per cent subsidy for drip irrigation. Interest-free loans to farmers for up to Rs 2 lakhs and Rs 4 subsidy per litre of milk for farmers were some of the other highlights. 2018: This year, the Congress manifesto is all about what the party claims it achieved while in power as well as what it proposes to do if voted for another term. "Whatever the manifesto says will be done and 95 per cent of what was mentioned in the last manifesto has been done," said Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday while releasing the manifesto which has 'Progress with Congress' as its slogan. "During the preparation of every budget, I would check our party's 2013 Manifesto, and fulfill the promises we had made. As we have Delivered as Promised, there is no anti-incumbency against our Government": CM @siddaramaiah #NavaKarnatakaManifesto pic.twitter.com/0gdfos7tMJ Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 27, 2018 Focus on farmers in the state continues to be highlighted with the manifesto also mentioning plans to develop education, sports, culture, IT and governance, among others. The elections - scheduled for May 12, are being seen as a prestige battle between Congress - a party which has been routed in almost every state, and BJP - a party looking at gaining momentum ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A win in Karnataka, many say, could also give BJP pivotal stepping stone in south India where its presence remains limited. Williamnagar: Polling in the Williamnagar Assembly seat in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district began on a peaceful note at 7 am on Friday amid tight security arrangements. Polling for the seat was postponed after the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED attack on February 18, days before the February 27 Assembly election in the state. The key candidates are ruling National Peoples Party's former MLA Marcuis N Marak, Congress candidate Deborah C Marak and NCP's Krenila Marak, who is the wife of Jonathone S Sangma who died in the IED attack on February 18. While the National People's Party (NPP), the BJP, the United Democratic Party and the NCP are a part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, they are contesting the polls independently. Backed by the BJP and regional parties, NPP chief Conrad Sangma took over as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya in March this year. His win ended the 10-year rule of the Congress in the state. The BJP, with just two seats, had outmanoeuvred the single largest party Congress in cobbling up numbers to form the coalition government. Congress had bagged 21 seats in the 60-member assembly. Meghalaya had thrown up a fractured mandate with the Congress marginally ahead of the NPP, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Manipur. Here are the updates: ## Ahead of the elections, Krinilla Marak had said that she was confident of winning the polls. "Jonathone's incomplete dreams are my guiding light. He wanted to change the situation for better in Williamnagar. He wanted to empower the people of the constituency - the same people who he loved and died for. I wish to take it up from where he left," she had said. The NCP candidate has been holding campaigns across the constituency with party president Saleng A Sangma by her side. ## As per reports in local media, a group of Congress leaders were on Wednesday escorted out of the Williamnagar constituency after they were seen in the area despite the time of the campaigning officially coming to an end. ## While campaigning for the seat, CM Conrad Sangma had thanked people for the support for NPP candidate Marcuise Marak. Campaign for Williamnagar bypolls. Overwhelmed with the support from the people of Rongsak and Samanda for NPP candidate Marcuise Marak. Positive response from all areas. #VoteforNPP #VoteforMarcuiseMarak #NPPforaNewMeghalaya #StrengthenNPP #NPPforGrowthandDevelopment pic.twitter.com/fLJ3rE2I7f Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) April 24, 2018 Meghalaya Chief Minister & NPP chief Conrad K. Sangma campaigned for NPP candidate for Williamnagar constituency Marcuise Marak on 23rd April 2018 which goes for by-poll on April 27 2018 along with DC Minister Prestone Tynsong etc. (https://t.co/0LcMmNIZXl) pic.twitter.com/zA6jgBr00z MegNIC (@MeghalayaGov) April 24, 2018 ## Four companies of central armed police forces have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the elections. There are over 32,000 registered voters in the constituency, of which 16,713 are male voters and 15,632 females. ## Women voters in Garo costumes were seen queueing up at various polling stations across the constituency since morning and shopkeepers are doing brisk business in the vicinity of polling booths. ## Altogether nine candidates are in the fray. Voting will end at 4 pm in all of the 58 polling stations, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said. MUMBAI: Thane Anti Extortion Cell on Friday arrested underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim's special aide Tariq Parveen in connected to Sara Sahara illegal shopping complex case. The 51-year-old, who's reportedly in touch with Dawood aide Chhota Shakeel, was arrested from south Mumbai, near the Mumbai police headquarters. Parveen took care of Dawoods real estate business in Mumbai for years, and that he was in touch with gangster and another Dawood aide Chhota Shakeel. Praveen was previously arrested by Lucknow police. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the central government to seize properties belonging to terrorist Dawood Ibrahim - D-Company boss and mastermind of 1993 Bombay blasts. A bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal dismissed a plea filed by Dawood's mother Amina Bi (the plea was filed by her legal representative as she is no more) and sister Hasina Ibrahim Parker against the taking over of their residential properties in Mumbai. The two women had said that the seizures were illegal as they had not been duly served with the forfeiture notices. They had filed the appeal in the apex court after a Delhi High Court had rejected their appeal to stop the taking over of their properties under the Smugglers And Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture Of Property) Act (SAFEMA). A day after Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb questioned the "beauty" of Diana Hayden, the former Miss World has slammed the thought that 'light skin is better', and said she is proud of her exotic brown skin colour. Deb reportedly said in Agartala on Thursday that international beauty contests were a farce as the results were all predetermined. He also said he failed to understand the "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Diana was crowned. "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden," Deb said. Diana is hurt. "That's some strong disapproval of me winning the Miss World title," Diana said in a statement. "With regards to me winning the Miss World, it's a pity and shame, that when you win the biggest and most respected beauty pageant in the world, you get criticised and put down as opposed to being appreciated and respected for bringing more accolades back home and further appreciation of our Indian brown exotic beauty. "It's also hurtful," she added. Pointing out at the bigger issue, Diana said: "Being brown skinned, I've had to fight the 'light skin is better' issue we have in India. I felt so strongly about it that I turned down a fairness cream ad because it went against my belief. We are Indians and predominantly our skin colour is brown and we should be really proud of it and learn to appreciate it like it's appreciated around the world. "It's obviously that our skin colour difference is on his mind as he is comparing me to Ash (Aishwarya) and not Priyanka (Priyanka Chopra) or Manushi (Manushi Chhillar) who currently holds the Miss World title, and very deservedly so. "Shame on him as our beautiful, exotic brown colouring is to be proud of. I sure am!" Celebrities from the film industry took a dig at Deb's comment. "Is Lara Dutta (Miss Universe 2000) an Indian beauty? (Just trying to confuse him)," tweeted film editor-director Shirish Kunder. Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted: "I condemn the irresponsible statements issued by Biplab Deb, the CM of Tripura on Diana Hayden. He should realise that it takes lots of hard work to be Miss World. He has not insulted Diana Hayden, but the entire women fraternity." New Delhi: Former Bigg Boss contestant and model-actress Mandana Karimi is breaking the internet with her latest steamy photoshoot. The svelete actress recently posted some of her pictures from her latest photo shoot on social media site Instagram. And as expected, the photos have taken the internet by storm. Focus _ Coming _ _#summer A post shared by Mandanakarimiofficial (@mandanakarimi) on Apr 25, 2018 at 11:07pm PDT In one of the photos, Mandana is seen wearing a red bikini and looking at the picture, one can say that the Iranian beauty is a pro when it comes to give some amazing poses during the photoshoot. Check out her other photos: It is to be noted that Mandana had injured her leg some time back and therefore, had been out of the action all these while. In another photo, the lady is seen wearing a leg support. Coming _ _ #summertime @mudindia A post shared by Mandanakarimiofficial (@mandanakarimi) on Apr 25, 2018 at 2:46am PDT Mandana grabbed the headlines last year over her troubled marriage with husband Gaurav Gupta. It was earlier reported that the Iranian beauty has filed a domestic violence case against her in-laws. However, as per the latest report, Mandana has reportedly withdrawn the complaint against him in a bid to save her marriage. Meerut: A minor girl allegedly raped by an elderly man in Meerut recently is being pressurised by the local police to get 'married' in order to resolve the matter. According to the details of the shocking incident, which have emerged now, the minor girl was offered a cold drink mixed with a sedative by an old man recently, and, when she became unconscious, she was raped. The Meerut Police is now allegedly pressurising the victim's family to get the girl married as soon as possible. Narrating her ordeal to reporters, the girl said that she is a minor and can't get married. The matter comes under the Sadar Bazar Police Station where a case of rape has already been registered against the old man. The accused is believed to be the father of a high-ranking military officer and lives in the Bank Colony locality. While the police has registered a case against the accused, it has not taken any action against him as yet, the victim alleged. Frustrated with the inaction of local policemen and their repeated advise to her to get married, the girl's family had now approached the SSP Meerut for help. After listening to the victim's plight, the SSP had assured them of speedy justice and strict action against the accused. Noida: The victim in Greater Noida gang-rape case was allegedly forced to consume alcohol in the cab, before being taken to a forest area near Jarcha, reported news agency ANI. At least six people have been detained so far, said the police. The victim has been sent for medical test, they further added. A class 11 student in Greater Noida was allegedly gang-raped in a car by a relative and a school friend on April 18. The girl was reportedly abducted after school and raped. Later, she was found in an unconscious state near Galgotia college. Meanwhile, the medical and pathology reports of the victim did not show any signs of rape or injury, officials said on Wednesday. Investigators say they are proving other facts related to the alleged case to uncover the truth. Following a massive outrage across the country over rapes of minor in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, UP's Unnao and Gujarat's Surat, the Union Cabinet on Saturday cleared the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance that stipulates strict punishment for rapists, particularly of girls below 16 and 12 years. The ordinance was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday. In case of rape of a girl aged under 16 years, the minimum punishment to be awarded has been increased from 10 years to 20 years, which is extendable to life imprisonment. The minimum punishment to those raping a girl aged under 12 will be 20 years imprisonment. The Cabinet has also decided to put in place measures for speedy investigation and trial of rape cases. Currently, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, the maximum punishment for "aggravated assault" is life imprisonment and the minimum sentence prescribed is seven years in jail. New Delhi: A 34-year-old cleric has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a minor girl at a madrasa in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The minor was allegedly raped by a juvenile at the madrasa after kidnapping her from east Delhi's Ghazipur. According to reports, the 'maulvi' or Muslim cleric, identified as 'Ghulam Shahid', was taken into custody since he was aware of the crime committed on the 10-year-old girl at the madrasa premises, the UP Police said. The investigation into the incident was transferred to the Crime Branch on Thursday. The 10-year-old girl was rescued from the madrasa by a Delhi Police team on April 22. The police took the action after the girl's father reported to them that his daughter had gone missing after she went to the market on April 21. Subsequently, the girl was rescued from the madrasa and the juvenile was apprehended, the police said. On April 23 the statement of the minor girl was recorded in front of a magistrate. In her statement, the girl said that she was taken to the madrasa by the juvenile accused to meet his friends. The girl's parents had also been demanding the arrest of the cleric as they alleged that the man was fully aware of the crime. (With PTI inputs) KUSHINAGAR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday faced massive protests when he went to Kushinagar to visit the site where thirteen children were killed when a school van collided with a train on an unmanned railway crossing. However, the manner in which he tried to calm the protestors has raised even more eyebrows. Trying to pacify the angry crowds, he shouted through a megaphone: "Narebazi band karo, nautanki band karo" (stop raising slogans, stop this drama). I have come here to express my sympathies." The angry protestors refused to bow down and some even squatted on the railway track. They demanded that railway personnel be posted at the unmanned crossing to avoid such accidents. He also announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims. He assured the protestors that the state government will take strict action against those found responsible for the laxity. As the CM faces ire over the language used against the protestors, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Minister Shrikant Sharma said that the issue was being politicised. "It is unfortunate that people are politicising it. The accident is very unfortunate but what's worse is that attempts were made to block the CM's path when he went there and slogans were raised by SP-BSP," said Sharma. "The CM went to the spot and the hospital. He told people of SP-BSP to not politicise matter. It's being taken in a different way. The CM's intentions were clear. He had left all his work to go to accident spot," he added. Members of Bar Council, Kushinagar, also complained about the "irresponsible attitude" of the district hospital staff. "As soon as they saw 13 bodies, senior officials of district hospital at Kushinagar referred four injured children and the driver to BRD Hospital without even administering first aid," members of the Bar Council complained to the Chief Minister, according to an official. Four officials faced suspension and police registered a case against van driver Nayaz Ansari and Kushinagar's Divine Mission School under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Orders were issued to register an FIR against the manager and principal of the school for running it without valid registration. Some eyewitnesses told police that Ansari was talking on his mobile phone and refused to stop the van as a train approached the unmanned level crossing. Certain provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act are also likely to be invoked, DIG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said. The case against the driver and the school was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by Zaheer, the father of one of the children killed in the accident. The DIG said the van belonged to the school. NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation may make rape accused MLA Kuldeep Sengar undergo a potency test. Sengar, who is the main accused in the horrific Unnao gangrape case, is in 12-day CBI remand which ends today. He will be presented in court on Friday. According to sources, the CBI was earlier planning to give an application to the court seeking permission to conduct a lie-detector test on Sengar. He has reportedly been changing his statements repeatedly during CBI interrogation. He is giving different answers to same questions before different teams of the agency. Sengar's 'Y' category security was removed last week after the outrage that followed the Unnao gangrape. The survivor had alleged that UP Police did not register an FIR against Sengar because he was a powerful politician. She attempted to immolate herself - twice - to draw attention to her plight. Under pressure, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had to order an SIT probe into the matter and the case had to be handed over to the CBI. Three FIRs have been filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the case. The first FIR pertains to the alleged rape of the girl in which Sengar and Shashi Singh have been named as accused. Sengar's arrest came after the Allahabad High Court rapped the police for its inaction against the BJP lawmaker who was influencing the "law-and-order machinery". "The disturbing feature of the case is that the law and order machinery and the government officials were directly in league and under the influence of Kuldeep Singh," a bench of Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale and Justice Sunit Kumar had said. SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South`s President Moon Jae-in shook hands Friday over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism ahead of a historic summit. "I am happy to meet you," Moon told Kim before the visitor stepped over the line, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago. WATCH: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, crosses the southern border to meet rival Moon Jae-in for the summit on nuke crisis in Panmunjom. #SouthKorea pic.twitter.com/hq58iYQcUz ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 The two men briefly stepped back over the line into the North before walking to the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom for the summit -- only the third of its kind since hostilities ceased in 1953. It is the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy, and intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between Kim and US President Donald Trump. In the most detailed direct reference to the process by Pyongyang so far, the North`s official KCNA news agency said Friday that Kim will "open-heartedly discuss... all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula". It did not mention denuclearisation, but the North`s atomic arsenal will be high on the agenda at the talks. Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South`s Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. But Seoul played down expectations Thursday, saying the North`s technological advances with its nuclear and missile programmes meant any deal would be "fundamentally different in nature from denuclearisation agreements in 1990s and early 2000s". "That`s what makes this summit all the more difficult," the chief of the South`s presidential secretariat Im Jong-seok told reporters.Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. When Kim visited the North`s key backer Beijing last month in only his first foreign trip as leader, China`s official Xinhua news agency cited him saying that the issue could be resolved, as long as Seoul and Washington take "progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace". In the past, North Korean support for denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula" has been code for the removal of US troops from the South and the end of its nuclear umbrella over its security ally -- prospects unthinkable in Washington. "The big issues we know are peace and denuclearisation," Yonsei University professor John Delury told AFP. The two Koreas "can do a lot more on peace than on denuclearisation", he said, but the post-summit statement will give "a lot of chance to analyse every word, reading between the lines, look for things that are there and not there". Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles, adding it would dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. But it also said it had completed the development of its weapons and had no need for further tests. Seoul has also promoted the idea of opening talks towards a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, when hostilities stopped with a ceasefire, leaving the neighbours technically in a state of conflict. Reunions of families left divided by the war could also be discussed at the summit, and Moon has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he will raise the emotive subject of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North. Assembly is concerned that in an environment where several member States have assumed extra surveillance and law-enforcement powers in the name of countering terrorism and protecting the public, the medias capacity to conduct difficult and lengthy investigations, relying on confidential sources of information Read the original text at 112.ua. Open source Modern media have faced a number of challenges, in some countries state-owned media have turned into propaganda machines for spreading fake news. The level of public trust to the journalists has dropped dramatically. European states should review their legislation and ... continue to resist the disinformation, which, in particular, comes from the Russian side. This is stated in the PACE resolution (2212) "Protection of editorial integrity", unanimously adopted on April 25. An interesting point in this context is that the only country mentioned in terms of propaganda, fake news, and disinformation is Russia. The PACE recalls that media are accountable to the public and therefore must adhere to high editorial standards and codes. They should be truthful, accurate, independent, fair, and impartial. In this context, the Assembly supports the Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists. At the same time, the PACE recognizes that the media have recently faced a number of challenges: the emergence of new Internet media and the rapid dissemination of information. "The reduced audience and less profitable obsolete business models, but also increased threats from organized crime, terrorism, and armed conflicts, compromise both the independence of the media and their editorial integrity," the text of the resolution says. It is noted that the laws on the criminal liability of journalists for defamation are effective in most countries. In this regard, the threat of fines and imprisonment is another obstacle for investigative journalism. The Assembly emphasizes that journalists and the media should be able to freely investigate and publish their materials without fear of violence or other acts on the part of the authorities. "Assembly is concerned that in an environment where several member States have assumed extra surveillance and law-enforcement powers in the name of countering terrorism and protecting the public, the medias capacity to conduct difficult and lengthy investigations, relying on confidential sources of information, has been significantly reduced," as said in the document. It is noted that journalists are increasingly threatened, harassed, intimidated, monitored, imprisoned, physically attacked, tortured and even killed. In addition, the Assembly is concerned that in some states authorities directly interfere with the media sphere, not only through ownership but also through the distribution of licenses, the promotion of selected media and the negative impact on others. The resolution notes that in some cases, the state media have been turned into propaganda tools and are used to broadcast fake news or incite hatred against minorities and other "vulnerable" groups. "This leads to a lack of independence and low ethical standards of a number of media outlets and explains the increasing lack of trust from the public. In this respect, the Assembly reaffirms its support for the decision of the European Council 2015 to counteract a stream of disinformation and inflammatory falsehoods emanating from media outlets and online accounts in the Russian Federation by setting up the East StratCom Task Force. It furthermore welcomes the Joint Declaration by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and three regional rapporteurs in 2017, affirming that State actors should not make, sponsor or disseminate disinformation or propaganda," the resolution says. The Assembly considers that in the present challenging context, the need for journalists to protect their editorial integrity and to keep high professional and ethical standards has become particularly topical. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that member States: fully implement Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 on the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors, with a view to fulfilling their positive obligation to protect media professionals and guarantee freedom of the media; actively support the goals of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which calls on State authorities to put an end to impunity for physical and verbal attacks against journalists and create a safe and enabling environment for the media to do their work; fully respect Council of Europe standards regarding independence and pluralism of public service media, putting an end to the widespread attempts to influence them or to turn them into government media; review their national legislation on: defamation and its practical application in accordance with Assembly Resolution 1577 (2007)and with a view to ensuring its compatibility with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5); extra surveillance and law-enforcement powers in the name of countering terrorism and protecting the public, with a view to safeguarding the capacity for media to play their watchdog role; regulatory authorities in the media field, with a view to ensuring via their independence vis-a-vis political and economic forces increased transparency of media ownership and media content diversity; examine the issue of the enormous imbalance in revenues between news media outlets and internet corporations, and find legal and practical solutions to rectify this imbalance, including by: channeling some of the great profits from digital advertising placed on search engines and social media back to the media that invest mainly in reporting the news; this could be done for example via changes in taxation and copyright rules; finding appropriate ways for the internet companies to take more editorial responsibility as publishers and not merely as digital platforms; legally prohibit propaganda for war and advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence; consider establishing a national observatory to track dissemination of disinformation, propaganda and fake news and propose adequate measures to counteract these phenomena. The Assembly invites media professionals and media outlets to: increase voluntary adherence to, and respect for, professional codes of ethics in order to maintain high journalistic standards and editorial integrity, and restore public trust in the media; use their effective right to refuse to carry out work that infringes on their professional ethical codes and editorial integrity; maintain a clear separation between the activities of their editorial staff and the work of their advertising and commercial departments; clear rules should be followed to avoid conflicts of interest and self-censorship; develop internal oversight mechanisms such as a readers editor or ombudsperson, as well as self-regulatory mechanisms, to ensure that persons considering themselves targets of unreasonable press intrusion and inaccurate reporting have ready access to an effective system of complaints and redress, while safeguarding editorial integrity and independence; establish or strengthen responsibility for disseminating fake news, to flag such false information whenever it appears either in traditional or social media and, in this connection, develop within the profession strong and tight co-operation in combating disinformation, propaganda and fake news; organize adequate training to enhance journalists skills to meet editorial challenges, including skills regarding data management and other technologies, and their knowledge of journalists rights and duties under the domestic and international law. The Assembly invites: The fight against the Chornobyl disaster became a struggle for victims' rights and their social protection Read the original text at 112.ua. April 26, 1986, 32 years ago, a notorious accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant took place, which was the largest technogenic catastrophe in the history. Thousands of people were involved in the elimination of the consequences of the accident, those who would later be called Chornobyltsi, Chornobyl people. Many of them received a lethal dose of radiation, and their families were left without breadwinners, many have deteriorated their health and were forced to undergo treatment for the rest of their lives. Many had to leave their homes and evacuate away from the accident, yet a part of the population had to put their health at risk due to work in the 30-kilometer zone, better known as the "exclusion zone". The fight against the Chornobyl disaster became a struggle for Chornobyl people rights and social protection. Over the years since the disaster, privileges for Chornobyl people are periodically cut back, partially returned, and cut back again. And all this happens against the backdrop of promises of support and worthy social guarantees from the state. What are the categories of Chornobyl? Category 1 Persons with disabilities from among the liquidators of the consequences of the Chornobyl accident and those who suffered from the disaster, patients with radiation sickness. At the moment, the Verkhovna Rada plans to expand this category. Category 2 Participants in the elimination of the consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident, who worked in the exclusion zone for a certain period of time, as well as persons permanently residing in the mandatory resettlement zone from the moment of the accident to the adoption of the resettlement order. Category 3 Other participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident, as well as victims of the disaster, which are not assigned to the second category. Category 4 Persons permanently residing (working, studying) in the zone of enhanced radioecological control, provided that they have lived, worked or studied in this zone for at least 4 years as of 01.01.93. To date, privileges for this category of Chornobyl victims have been abolished, the Law on the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Catastrophe has been withdrawn from Art. 23, which concerned the fourth category. What are their benefits (for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd categories)? - Free purchase of medicines on the prescription of doctors; - Priority service in medical and preventive institutions and pharmacies; - Payment of assistance for temporary incapacity (100% of the average salary), regardless of the insurance period length; - Extraordinary mandatory provision of children with places in pre-school institutions, regardless of departmental accountability; - Extraordinary arrangement in social protection institutions, social protection services at home, if the patient does not have close relatives living with him. A full list of benefits for both all and certain categories of Chornobyl victims is published on the website of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine. Much has changed in recent years. For example, in 2015, the item on the annual free provision of sanatorium and resort permits and holiday vouchers for the second and third categories was excluded. In November 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to pay monetary compensation instead of permits to citizens affected by the Chornobyl disaster. However, the amount of compensation, in this case, is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers. In fact, the issue of pensions and their revision is the most frequent requirement, voiced by Chornobyl victims during the rallies. Since October 2017, the minimum pension for Chornobyl victims of the first category is 160 USD, the second category 142 USD, the third category 125 USD. At the moment, Verkhovna Rada has several bills aimed at increasing the payments of Chornobyl victims. One of them (bill No. 4442) was considered on April 19 and was eventually sent for revision. From the very beginning of April, Chornobyl victims periodically organize rallies under the Verkhovna Rada, demanding increased payments. In fact, the struggle for rights and social protection of Chornobyl victims has been topical for many years. Some of the benefits are "optimized", some are canceled, and some are added. The government plans to strengthen social protection and recalculate pensions to certain categories. "We do not provide any cuts or benefits or social protection of the Chornobyl victims as of today ... On the contrary, we must do everything to strengthen their social protection," Minister of Social Policy Pavlo Rozenko said to Ukrinform. "Security Zone with Areas of Restricted and Denied Access": The Joint Forces Operation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions will replace Anti-Terrorist Operation on April 30 this year After the beginning of the Joint Forces Operation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions on April 30, the territories of these regions will be divided into several zones. This was stated in the order of Command of the Joint Operation Headquarters, which will enter into force on April 30, Interfax-Ukraine reports. Thus, the security zone adjacent to the combat area is: - Vynohradne, Kurakhove, Ocheretyane, Rozyvka, Vovcheyarivka, Bila Hora, Novoaidar, Sadky, Makarivka, Prostyane, along the administrative border of Luhansk and Kharkiv regions; - Olhivka, along the administrative border of Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, Znamenivka, along the administrative border of Donetsk and Dnipro regions, - Komyshuvakha, along the administrative border of Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, Urzuf; - along the sea coast, Prymorske. In the security zone, by the decision of Joint Force Commander, areas with restricted and denied access can be established. "Joint Force Commander decides on admission to the restricted area for persons not involved in ensuring national security in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Commanders of operational-tactical groups and commanders ensuring and maintaining the order of in areas of the Joint Forces Operation can also make such decisions, "the document says. Admission to the area of denied access will be possible for people who obtain special passes on the Joint Force Commander decision. The access of unauthorized persons to such area is prohibited. The area of combat operations is an area with ongoing military operations along the contact line where the Armed Forces units, other military formations and law enforcement bodies carry out combat missions to prevent the enemy from penetrating deeper into the territory of the state. The document also establishes the regimes of stay in the security zone in Donbas for persons not involved in ensuring national security: - "green" (the stay and movement is unlimited, except the areas of restricted and denied access); - "yellow" (the stay and movement is possible with documents, personal inspection of a person and things, vehicles; this regime is established on the borders of isolation and restricted access areas); -"red" (the stay is temporarily restricted or prohibited; citizens and officials with documents can access; vehicles and citizens are not allowed to some areas and some objects). "These regimes can be temporarily introduced in certain areas, or in the entire security zone by the decision of the Joint Force Commander," the order says. The grounds for admission to the area of operation for persons not involved in ensuring national security: - residence in the area of the operation of a person or his close family (if there are relevant documents); - the area of operation is the burial place of close relatives or family members; - death of close relatives or family members in the area of the operation; - ownership of the real estate objects located in the area; - acting in the national interests of Ukraine for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, or with humanitarian missions; - diplomatic or consular functions, including activities of international organizations of which Ukraine is a member (upon an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine), and some others. As we reported, the law On the specifics of the state policy on ensuring state sovereignty of Ukraine on the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as Donbas reintegration law came into force on February 24. The law declares the political and diplomatic ways as the main ways of resolving the conflict and restoring the sovereignty of Ukraine. The law defines Donetsk and Luhansk regions temporarily occupied territories as the territories over which Russias armed groups and Russian occupation administration have established control (including land, water, subsoil and air). The boundaries of such territories should be determined by the president on the proposal of the Defense Ministry based on the recommendations of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The total absence of Russian servicemen in the occupied territories should be confirmed by the Defense and Internal Ministry - they must together submit a communication to Ukraines president, who shall take the decision. The president will decide on the beginning and completion of measures to ensure national security and counteract Russian aggression. Also, the Russian Federation is officially recognized as an aggressor country. Ukraines Armed Forces joint operation headquarters is going to replace the Anti-Terrorist Operation (which is the official name of the operation in the conflict zone now) and be the main body in the conflict area. It is going to command the military assets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military groups, the Interior Ministry, the National police dedicated to combating the Russian aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Law enforcement officers, servicemen and everybody else involved in fighting the aggressor, are going to be subordinate to the Joint Force Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Related video: NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss increasingly bitter relations with Russia. Tensions have led the United States to move back into an Icelandic air base it left more than a decade ago dw.com Captain Jon Gudnason, commander of Iceland's Keflavik Air Base for the last 30 years, chuckled when recalling the brief phone call he got from US officials in May 2014. They informed him they wanted to reinstall some personnel in the base they'd left eight years earlier. "[They said] 'can we come tomorrow?'" he told DW in his office at the air base. Gudnason said he didn't ask any questions, just started preparing. "We are used to things like this," he shrugged. "This is what we are here for." The Americans would later explain that Washington wanted to restart submarine surveillance due to a surge in Russian deep-sea activities, a plan that would be formalized in a bilateral government agreement in 2016. Four years after that phone call, Keflavik Air Base is not and the Icelandic government says it never will be the massive military outpost it was during the Cold War, when the heavily resourced US naval station there was staffed by some 3,000 American service members, deemed critical for keeping an eye on the Russians. Those forces departed in 2006, more than 50 years after the US first established a presence in Keflavik, as Russian submarine activity was no longer dynamic, and sub-hunting the major task of the facility was no longer considered crucial. Related: NATO to not return to usual relations with Russia until fulfillment of Minsk Agreements But times have changed, and Iceland's strategic significance with them. An allocation by the US Congress last year of $14.4 million (11.8 million) to upgrade a hangar and other facilities at Keflavik illustrates how worried Washington has become about its lack of surveillance capability in the High North. "We all know why this is happening," Iceland's Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson told DW from his office in Reykjavik. "We have seen activities from the Russian military which we haven't seen for a long time. All these things that we were all familiar with ... This is something we could say is relevant again." Russia's more aggressive military stance with its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea is also happening underwater. Thordarson explained that in 2014 the US used the Icelandic base for submarine surveillance for 20 days; in 2017 it operated there for 150 days. But he said it's more than that. "You will see NATO as an organization looking more into the North Atlantic [now] than for a very long time," the minister added. Related: Russia should cease aggression in Donbas, - U.S. Department of State NATO wants low-tension High North NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed a NATO tracking spike in Arctic traffic, with the highest number of submarines seen since the end of the Cold War. "At the same time I think it is important that we try to keep the tensions low in the High North," Stoltenberg said earlier this month in a speech at Leiden University. "It's in our interest and in Russia's interest. But the message is the same: that we have to be firm, we have to be capable of delivering credible deterrence, and therefore NATO also needs more, for instance, naval capabilities." NATO Deputy Spokesman Piers Cazalet explained further that "[Russian] submarines could pose a challenge to NATO's freedom to operate at sea, and could undermine the alliance's ability to move reinforcements between North America and Europe in a crisis." Related: Russia to not fulfill PACE resolution on Ukraine, - State Duma MP Threats like this are one reason NATO is creating a new "Atlantic Command" to ensure smooth coordination. There's also concern that critical deep-sea communication cables there could be compromised or sabotaged. "Rebuilding anti-submarine capabilities is one of NATO's top priorities," Cazalet told DW. The door's always open for the US at Keflavik The new US cash will be used to renovate one of the military hangars at Keflavik Air Base to accommodate the P8, a bigger and heavier aircraft than the P3s that were used in decades past, and to install a washing rack to deal with the salt and sand that are Icelandic conditions. Despite Iceland's geographic isolation and its lack of a military Gudnason said he doesn't fear that the return of both American surveillance planes and the Russian submarines they're tracking mean the island is in the middle of a new military standoff. Related: Expelled Russian diplomats prepared attacks similar to Salisbury incident, - mass media "I think we are in no danger. This is not a question about a dangerous situation," he said. "This is a question about situational awareness ... about knowing what 'the neighbor' is doing." Russia's upgraded subs worth watching Magnus Nordenmann, director of the Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative, has been studying this area for a book he's writing on the role of the North Atlantic in the new European security environment. And Nordenmann isn't quite so sanguine about developments. "The Russian navy of today is not the Soviet navy. It is far smaller, has far fewer ships and submarines," he explained to DW. "On the other hand it is far more sophisticated and far more skilled than it was during the during the Cold War, and it has added new capabilities including launching cruise missiles, which they have shown repeatedly off the coast of Syria." Related: PACE adopts resolution on counterwork to Russian propaganda Nordenmann noted this is a capability only the US and UK used to possess. "But this is now very much a Russian capability," he underscored, "so one of my key concerns with the resurgent Russian submarine force is their ability to launch long range cruise missiles against targets in northern Europe." Peace activists suspicious Longtime Icelandic anti-military activist and repeat presidential contender Thor Magnusson is worried for other reasons. He fears this US presence at Keflavik is a harbinger of military escalation with Russia. Magnusson, who founded the humanitarian organization Peace 2000, believes his fellow Icelanders feel the same way. He accuses the Icelandic government of hiding plans for a buildup. "They know that public opinion is absolutely against this Icelandic people do not want the military in Iceland," he told DW in telephone interview from his home in Spain. "They oppose this and if they knew what the true plans of the Americans are they would absolutely be disgusted." Related: International Inuit group angry with Russia's rocket splashdown in Arctic Waters There's been very little outcry in Iceland so far and the government has reiterated that the base will not be rebuilt to Cold War levels. Magnusson fears having American personnel there again will make Iceland a target if armed conflict breaks out between the US and Russia. Just in case "This is just nonsense," said former Icelandic ambassador to the US Albert Jonsson, who insists there's no reason for alarm. Iceland will always have an enduring strategic interest for the US, Jonsson explained. Now retired from the diplomatic service, Jonsson helped negotiate the US departure from Iceland in 2006, a process that was quite difficult since Iceland was not keen on the US departing after five decades. "This is all about being prepared if in the very, very unlikely scenario we have an international crisis in Europe, in the Baltics, in Syria," Jonsson explained, "a very serious international crisis between the US and Russia, which touches upon the strategic nuclear balance." Related: Donbas: Russian mercenaries disrupt disengagement of forces in Luhansk region He noted the most critical Russian capabilities missile submarines are primarily deployed in the Barents Sea anyway, far from Icelandic waters. Foreign Minister Thordarson said everyone in Iceland hoped things wouldn't ever go in this direction again. He emphasized these are not the bad old days of finger-on-the-trigger tension. In the meantime, he said, Iceland feels secure. "I think we can see that both this bilateral agreement [with the US] and also being a member of NATO is a cornerstone of our security," he said. "In a perfect world you wouldn't need to have any military activities, but we are not there yet." Read the original text at DW. Open source Russian citizen who headed the so-called Supreme Court of the Donetsk Peoples Republic was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in absentia, as Andriy Lysenko, the Spokesperson of the Prosecutors General Office, wrote on Facebook. As it was determined during the investigation, convicted Edward Yakubovsky headed the so-called the Supreme Court of the Donetsk Peoples Republic since September 2014. It was noted that he is still coordination the work of judicial system on the occupied territory. According to the speaker, the Supreme Court of the Donetsk Peoples Republic under his control rendered a series of illegal sentences and sentenced several people to death. There is a soldier, who was taken captive in the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic, among the illegally convicted. He was accused of espionage on behalf of Ukraine and sentenced to 30 years of in the high-security prison. Selydove District Court justified Yakubovsky in June 2017. The Prosecutors Office addressed the Court of Appeal which sentenced the militants to 12 years of imprisonment in absentia on April 26 for the crime under the Criminal Code Ukraine article on the creation or participation in a terrorist group or terrorist organization. The 59-years-old terrorists accomplice is on the temporarily occupied territory, a special pre-trial investigation was conducted on his case, Andriy Lysenko wrote. Donetsk criminal intelligence units exposed more than 2,000 militants in Donetsk region since 2015. During this time the police detained more than 460 murderers and 500 perpetrators who committed grave bodily harm, solved 350 armed assaults, emanated 38 groupings involved in 183 felonies and extremely serious crimes among which kidnapping, tortures, murders, 2,070 militants were served with charge papers. Ukraine has been exerting considerable effort over the last several years to forge closer links across the Black Sea with Turkey, which Kyiv views as a counterbalance to Russia in the region. The two countries leaders have been meeting regularly of late. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to Kyiv last October, and his counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, paid a visit to Turkey this month. Kyiv has been trying to turn Ankara into an ally against Moscow, and to change Turkish policies on natural gas transit routes in Ukraines favor. Kyiv also hopes to successfully complete free trade talks with Ankara this year. Kyiv tried to use the last major crisis in relations between Moscow and Ankara, which was prompted by the downing of a Russian bomber by a Turkish jet in 2015, to develop closer geopolitical ties, including in the military-technical field (see EDM, March 14, 2016). However, with the rapprochement between Russia and Turkey continuing since 2016, it has become clear that Turkish-Ukrainian relations will not be based on opposition to a common enemy. Along with nearly all other countries, Turkey condemned Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. But at the same time, Turkey did not join the Wests sanctions against Russia for the annexation. Turkey, which has maintained strong links with the Turkic nation of the Crimean Tatars, helped Ukraine to free from Russian captivity two Crimean Tatar activists, Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov, last fall (see EDM, November 2, 2017). Following Erdogans visit to Ukraine and subsequent talks with Vladimir Putin, Russia transported the two men to Turkey, from where they arrived in Kyiv (Ukrinform.ru, October 25, 2017; Interfax, November 30, 2017). At the same time, the Turkish authorities, in spite of objections from Kyiv, have frequently turned a blind eye to Turkish commercial ships calling at Crimean ports, at least until last October (Segodnya.ua, January 17, 2018). Ukraines appeals to Turkey to reject the Russian Turk Stream gas pipeline project have fallen on deaf ears. In January, Turkey issued to Russias Gazprom permission to build the second string of Turk Stream to the Turkish coast (Gazprom.com, January 19). While the first string is intended to bring Russian gas to the Turkish market only, the second is designed to divert gas bound for European consumers from the Ukrainian transmission network starting in 2020, when the current gas transit contract between Ukraine and Russia expires. With the help of Turk Stream and a new joint pipeline with Germany, Nord Stream Two, Moscow threatens to make Ukraines pipelines useless, undermining its economic security (see EDM, April 11, 24). At the same time, Turkey continues to hinder Ukraines efforts to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation from Qatar, which would diminish its dependence on Russian energy. Poroshenko, on his visit to Qatar last month, received new assurances of Qatari readiness to ship LNG to Ukraine (President.gov.ua, March 20). However, Ankara does not allow tankers bound for Ukraine to pass through the Turkish Straits. Poroshenkos press service, reporting on his meeting with Erdogan in Istanbul after the trip to Qatar, only mentioned in passing that trilateral cooperation involving Qatar was discussed, which must mean that an agreement with Turkey is still far from being reached (President.gov.ua, April 9). More progress is likely in bilateral trade. Kyiv expects that a free trade agreement will be launched before the end of this year. Importantly, Turkey was Ukraines third-largest export market after Russia and Poland last year, accounting for 5.8 percent of exports; while Turkeys share in Ukrainian imports was less significant, at 2.5 percent (Ukrstat.gov.ua, accessed April 26). With the help of a free trade deal, Ukraine hopes to return to the levels reached in the pre-crisis year 2008, when bilateral trade turnover amounted to $8 billion. Although last year, trade between the two jumped 16 percent compared to 2016, the sum total was only $4 billion. Free trade talks have continued for more than seven years already, and 90 percent of its provisions had been agreed by 2018, Ambassador to Turkey Andry Sybyha said in an interview early this year (Segodnya.ua, January 17). The next round of talks is scheduled for May. In a notable achievement for Ukraine, Turkey has agreed that the upcoming free trade deal will cover not only industrial, but also agricultural goods, Ukraines trade representative Natalya Mykolska noted recently (Interfax, April 11). Ukraine has been increasing agricultural exports over the last several years, thanks to bumper harvests, so easier access to the Turkish market of 80 million people would be an important success story. Given the irreparably spoilt relations with Vladimir Putins Russia, tense relations with Belarus, as well as the disputes over history with Poland and over minority language rights with Hungary and Romania (see EDM, April 25), Turkey for the moment appears the least problematic among Ukraines big neighbors. Ankaras attitude has been cooler and rather independent of its relations with third parties, given the wealth and influence gaps between the two countries. Turkey apparently is not inclined to view Ukraine as an important geostrategic partner, but Kyiv and Ankara can be expected to continue building intensive economic ties, particularly since the two neighbors have rapidly developing economies and relatively large markets. Read the original text at The Jamestown Foundation. Radio Liberty screenshot Four years after Crimea's annexation, Ukraine is still struggling to get its defense capabilities back on the sea. On April 4, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that Ukraine will receive two American Island class boats, which previously were in the service of the US Coast Guard. This offer dates back to 2014. Related: NATO to not return to usual relations with Russia until fulfillment of Minsk Agreements According to Poroshenko, Ukraines Ministry of Defense is currently working on internal procedures for the completion and approval of a draft contract. The president announced that a meeting between the parties will take place in May 2018 to finalize the details. This statement follows the March 30 airing of a Schemes investigation, a joint project of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and UA:Pershyi TV Channel. Why is it taking so long for Ukraine's leadership to finalize the deal? Related: Russia should cease aggression in Donbas, - U.S. Department of State Ukrainian Navys vulnerability Four years agoin March 2014Russia annexed Ukrainian Crimea, and therefore, most of the Ukrainian navy still remains in the hands of the Russian military. This means, as military experts say, that the Black Sea is vulnerable and it is possible to cut off and isolate Odesa at any time. Thus, the arrival of the Island boats could be the best way to renew the might of Ukraines fleet quickly and relatively cheaply. Ukraine has decided to develop a new, so-called Mosquito Fleeta combination of small but maneuverable warships. And the United States has expressed its readiness to help Ukraine by giving it the Island-class boats. However, they still remain in the port of Baltimore, and not in Odesa. Related: US Congressmen concerned about anti-Semitism in Poland, Ukraine Private interests of state leadership? We revealed that the official correspondence on the Island boats between the relevant authorities in Ukraine and the United States has gone on for several years, resembling a game of bureaucratic ping pong. One of the main obstacles is that the US side insists on a direct contract between Ukraines Ministry of Defense and the US Coast Guard. Ukrainian law gives this right only to the state giant Ukroboronprom. At the same time, Western partners and investors increasingly express unwillingness to work with such a middleman. One of the explanations, diverting from the official line, is that the gift hasnt yet reached Ukraine reportedly due to the commercial interests of Ukraines leadership. Its no secret that Poroshenko is the owner of the only operating enterprise that builds the fleet. d Related: Ukraine urges IMO not to recognize Russia's actions in Black Sea waters, adjacent to Crimea As we have discovered from sources at Ukraines Ministry of Defense, money is already being allocated in the State Defense Order for the following years for boats produced by Poroshenkos Kuznya na Rybalskomu shipyard. Thus, it is entirely possible that the transfer of US Islands could partially change the commercial plans of that shipyard. We calculated whether domestic production of these boats would be more beneficial for the state. The Islands were to be transferred to Ukraine free of charge within the framework of a US program that transfers excessive defense property, but according to its terms, the receiving party has to bear all of the associated costs like maintenance and crew training. As our investigation has revealed, such associated costs would reach about $10 million for the two US boats, while the domestic equivalent would cost nearly six times more$27-35 million each. Related: PACE recognizes partial occupation of Donetsk, Luhansk regions by Russia Searching for betrayal or major improvement Neither Poroshenko nor the prime minister or the defense minister were able to provide comments on the issue during the investigation. On April 4 the president said that the mass media has created confusion from "a clear situation." Furthermore, he called journalists "betrayal backers" (zradofily in Ukrainian). Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry through Navy officials has claimed that such an investigation benefited the "aggressor state" and "twisted facts." In the meantime, the original TV story stated that both types of vessels are needed by Ukraines naval forces. Related: G7 countries to support Ukraine during elections amid Russian aggression, - Freeland On April 18, in interview with RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service, the United States Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch said that transfer of Island boats will not only double the number of ships that Ukraine has available, but majorly improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy. In her view, the sides are moving forward in what we have considered to be the right direction. However, it is still unclear how the Ministry of Defense and the Cabinet of Ministers will receive the Island boats. The issue is currently with Ukraines Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. The saga of American Island class boats, destined for Ukraine, is perhaps far from finished. Read the original text at Atlantic Council. On 14 April, the FSB border administration in Simferopol confirmed that Steshenko was in their custody, but would not allow a lawyer to see him, with this repeated on 16 April State Border Service 27-year-old Oleksandr Steshenko from Kharkiv has become the latest Ukrainian to suffer the cost of visiting Crimea under Russian occupation. Steshenko first disappeared on 11 April, with the story he was still able to give his mother by phone radically different from the occupation authorities version when he was finally tracked down ten days later. He has now disappeared again, after being held in administrative arrest, and lawyer Aider Azermatov believes that this must be viewed as an abduction. Steshenkos mother first rang the Crimea SOS helpline on 12 April, saying that her son had been detained by Russian border guards (part of the FSB) at the Chonhar crossing between mainland Ukraine and Crimea. He had managed to phone her in the morning of 11 April and told her that he had been stopped by the border guards who doubted that he was the person on the photo in his passport. Related: Ukraines MFA demands Russia to tell reasons for detention of Ukrainian Steshenko Crimea SOS had information then that the taxi driver waited for Steshenko at the border crossing for around four hours before a Russian official came out, took Steshenkos things from the car and told the driver not to wait. On 14 April, the FSB border administration in Simferopol confirmed that Steshenko was in their custody, but would not allow a lawyer to see him, with this repeated on 16 April. At this stage, the lawyer was given the same reason, that Steshenko had mentioned when he last spoke with his mother on 11 April. The pretext was implausible, since Steshenko had travelled to Crimea several times using that same passport, and in any case it soon changed. Related: FSB holds massive searches of Crimean Tatars On 24 April lawyer Edem Semedlyaev reported having discovered Steshenkos whereabouts. He had been told that the young Kharkiv man had been detained for smoking at the bus station, with the term of administrative arrest due to end at 22.00 on 24 April, i.e. that evening. Semedlyaev was, fortunately, able to see Steshenko, and says that he was in a satisfactory condition. The young man did not want to give any details, but said that the official version was that hed been detained for smoking at the station, but that he had not been shown the court order. Semedlyaev did mention then that it was widespread practice for the FSB to first place somebody in administrative arrest, and then to bring more serious criminal charges. There appeared no grounds for fearing this, but anything is possible, the lawyer said. Related: Four people mysteriously died in remand center in annexed Crimea That anything is possible under Russian occupation has now been confirmed by Semedlyaevs colleague Aider Azamatov, who spent all day on 26 April trying, in vain, to find Steshenko. The latter, he explained had been abducted by unidentified individuals after serving administrative arrest. Azamatov finally tracked down some information in the Zheleznodorozhny District Court in Simferopol, with this yet again different from the first two versions (1 that they suspected that the photo didnt match; 2 that he had been smoking at the station). This time, the charge was under Article 19.3 of Russias Code of Administrative Offences disobeying the legitimate demand of a police officer. Supposedly at the bus station, near the railway station, he was approached by police officers who said he was smoking in a place where this is not allowed, and told him to come with them to the police station. He refused and, according to the police, tried to push them away when they tried to force him into their car. Related: Russia flouts Hague Court order to reinstate the Crimean Tatar Mejlis and education in Ukrainian in occupied Crimea According to the documents, Steshenko said that he didnt want a lawyer, would represent himself, admitted guilt and was supposed to get a copy of the court ruling. As Azamatov notes, all of this is simply perfect for the police and courts and he believes it possible that Steshenko was promised a fine if he rejected a lawyer and admitted the charges. If this was the reason for such behaviour, he was deceived. He was sentenced to 12 days administrative arrest and did not receive a copy of the court ruling.. All of this is particularly ominous as the jail term has ended, and Steshenko has vanished. Both the Russian border administration and the FSB are claiming that they have no idea where he is, and Azamatov has no choice but to report his abduction to the police. There have been many cases, such as those of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and three other opponents of Russias annexation of Crimea, Yevhen Panov and Andriy Zakhtei and others, where men have been kept hidden until the most obvious torture marks have disappeared. Steshenko was seen just two days ago, so this may not now be the reason, but his disappearance is obviously of great concern. Related: Crimean 'government' decides to pass Russia Tuzla sandspit According to Steshenkos mother, her son is not politically active, and has not been a soldier nor volunteer in the zone of military conflict in Donbas. He was hoping simply to visit a female friend originally from Kharkiv who lives in Crimea, and seemingly not for the first time. Back In 2016, the Crimean Human Rights Group published advice to Ukrainians visiting Crimea in which they noted that Russias anti-extremist and counter-terrorist legislation was dangerously vague, applied selectively and for political reasons. For that reason, it was impossible to hope for any fair judicial assessment in Crimea at present. Read the original text at Human Rights in Ukraine. Germany has appealed to Assads allies, particularly Russia, with a demand to prevent the implementation of the order Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria has signed an order that deprives the refugees of the rights of their property. Suddeutsche Zeitung reported this on April 26. According to the order, if the owners of the land plots do not come to the local authority bodies with the documents that confirm the ownership in 30 days, they will lose the rights for the property and the land plots will be transferred for the construction to the new owners. Particularly, Public Works and Housing Minister Hussein Arnous is one of the first people who intend to distribute the land plots in Baba Amr region, Homs, number of regions of Aleppo and Harasta for the construction. All mentioned territories were the key regions of the rebels. The representatives of the German government have already commented the situation, expressing their outrage over such situation. Germans Foreign Ministry claimed that the order is ungrounded legislative norm that doubts the property rights of many Syrian refugees. The German diplomats suppose that Assad tries to create the preponderance of his allies at the places and complicate the return of people who have already left the country. We strongly urge the allies of the regime, first of all, Russia, to prevent the implementation of the law, the Foreign Ministry claimed. Also, official Berlin plans to begin the consultation with other EU countries to find the ways for the counteraction against Damascus actions. Moreover, it is planned to involve UN and Security Council in this issue. At the moment, there are 5.1 million of the Syrian refugees in the world. 500, 000 of them are in Germany. The German authority counts that at least, part of them will return to Syria after the end of the combat actions. Open source Pro-Russian mercenaries in Donbas got more active in terms of shelling Ukrainian positions in the combat area. Heather Nauert, the official representative of the U.S. Department of the State posted this on Twitter. 22 Ukrainian soldiers wounded in last 48 hours in eastern Ukraine - highest number since July. Russia-led forces have intensified artillery attacks on Ukrainians defending their country. #Russia must end its aggression and fully implement the Minsk agreements. Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) April 26, 2018 As we reported earlier, since Thursday morning till 6 p.m., four Ukrainian servicemen sustained combat injuries in the combat area in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military observed mortar strikes in the area of Novotroitske, Donetsk region; in this sector, the enemy also used IFVs, RPGs and small arms to open fire. 82 and 120 mm mines hit Lebedynske; RPG fire was reported near Avdiivka, Mariinka and Kamyanka. The enemy opened fire from large-caliber machineguns near Nevelske and Talakivka. Small arms fire was observed in the vicinities of Lomakyno and Opytne. Hostile snipers shot at Ukrainian positions not far from Novomykhailivka. Fighters of illegal armed units in Donetsk region shot at residential quarters in Zaitsevo. According to the local police department's press service, the militants damaged nine houses in this area. Also, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, LiveInternet, Yahoo, Selectel and a dozen of companies are on the list too Open source The IP-addresses of Yandex, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki appeared to be in the register of the prohibited sites as IT Security Telegram channel reported on April 27. According to the copy of the register unloading, five addresses of Yandex, one address of Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki were blocked. Also, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, LiveInternet, Yahoo, Selectel and a dozen of companies are on the list too. The authors of the channel suppose that the problem with the access to the social networks will take place during the daytime when the providers and operation will unload these addresses and begin to block them all over Russia. Philipp Kulin, the Director General of Diphost provides confirmed the information on the block to The Bell. At the moment, it is not known whether Roskomnadzor that attempts to block Telegram Messenger in Russia is involved in the YouTube failures. As we reported Roskomnadzor blocked the number of Google IP-addresses. This is reported by experts in the field of cybersecurity, and the consequences of these actions are proved by users in social networks. On April 6, Roskomnadzor filed the lawsuit on the blocking of Telegram in Russia. Earlier, the ultimatum put forward by Roskomnadzor to Telegram ended. Roskomnadzor threatened with the trial if Telegram would not pass the encryption keys to the FSB. On April 13, the court in Moscow ruled to satisfy the lawsuit of Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media or Roskomnadzor and block Telegram in the territory of Russia. As we reported the Russian mobile phone operators has started to block Telegram on April 17. Donbas conflict in Ukraine, Chornobyl disaster anniversary, PACE spring session, G7 meeting, news from Crimea and situation in Syria - main events of the week on one page Donbas conflict in Ukraine Chornobyl disaster anniversary PACE spring session News from Crimea Ukraine at G7 meeting Situation in Syria Donbas conflict in Ukraine This weeks developments in the combat area of Donbas included several attacks on residential quarters, another shelling incident at Donetsk water filtration plant. A provocation by Russia-backed militants in Luhansk region put the end to an attempt to disengage troops and forces near Stanytsia Luhanska. The Ukrainian military reported that on Wednesday noon. The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Ukrainian side added that the government troops are ready for disengagement if the militants fully abide by the conditions of Minsk agreements. A blast thundered at the police station in occupied Makiivka, Donetsk region on Wednesday. According to Telegram channel VMakeevke, the local residents heard a loud explosion at about 8.30 p.m. Tuesday. 'A powerful blast thundered not far from a local shop. The unknown people set the charge near the window of a police station and blew it up!', reads the message. 'The window glass is shattered, but it seems there are no casualties'. On Thursday, residents of Lysychansk (Luhansk region) had the water supply system back online - after it had been shut down several days ago. The press service of Luhansk regional state administration reported this on Facebook. The regional committee for environmental safety recommended to launch the water supply system - three days after the 'Luhansk Energy Union' enterprise cut nine water infrastructure objects off the grid for debts. The Supreme Court of the Czech city of Olomouc confirmed its decision to disband the self-styled 'honorary consulate of Donetsk People's Republic'. Ceske Noviny outlet reported this on Thursday. The jury declined the appeal filed by Neli Liskova, the official representative of the 'consulate' of the Russian militants in eastern Ukraine. According to the decision of the court, the organization and its activity are illegal. The U.S. and NATO urged Russia to cease the armed aggression against Ukraine specifically that in Donbas, which, inter alia, foresees living up to Minsk agreements provisions. Heather Nauert, the official representative of the U.S. Department of the State reported that on Twitter. Mike Pompeo, the new U.S. Secretary of State arrived at the NATO meeting to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Syria and Georgia. The recently appointed Secretary of State urges the NATO members to increase their military budgets to reach 2% of the GDP for the defense purpose until 2024. A territorial defense unit will appear in Donetsk region. The brigade's main task will be to join efforts with the Ukrainian army in case the pro-Kremlin militants get too aggressive and the combat situation gets out of control. Pavlo Zhebrivsky, the head of Donetsk regional civil and military administration posted this on Facebook. The contact detachments of the brigade will be placed in the towns of Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk and Bakhmut. Another two will be stationed in Mariupol. Measures to boost the security level on the Ukrainian border also take place. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has begun the main stage of the joint special operation Border-2018 on April 24. It aims to decrease a level of an illegal activity at the state border areas and regions and the Border Guard Service reported. The special operation will last from April 24 until November 30. The situation stabilization at the state border and in the central regions of the country will cover 15 border regions (excluding ATO zone) and Kyiv, the message said. Chornobyl disaster anniversary April 26 is commemoration date of the disaster of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, - one of the most terrible technogenic catastrophes in the history of mankind. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov paid tribute to the liquidators of the disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine has observed one minute of silence in the tribute to the memory of the victims of the Chornobyl disaster. The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant took place on April 26, 1986, at 1:23:47 am. Only one person died during the explosion at the 4th reactor, one person died in the morning from the injuries. On April 27, 104 suffered persons were evacuated in 6th Moscow hospital. Later, 134 workers of the nuclear power plant, fireman and rescuers got the radiation sickness. 28 of them died during the next few months. The new safe confinement at Chornobyl nuclear power plant will be put into service in December 2018. President Petro Poroshenko said this during his visit to the working ground of the NPP. He added that the mounting works on the object are almost over. April 26, 1986, 32 years ago, a notorious accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant took place, which was the largest technogenic catastrophe in the history. How does state support for Chornobyl victims change? Yunkom mine flooding in Donbas might become the second Chornobyl. Ukraine has frozen in panic expectation of the militants flooding of the Yunkom mine, located in the occupied part of Donetsk region, where an underground nuclear explosion was conducted in Soviet times. The reason is quite simple: the separatists have no money to pump the water. With reference to "scientists" (including from the Russian Federation), DPR is assured that the mine flooding will not have a radiation impact on the environment and will not pollute the groundwater. However, scientists from Kyiv consider only "bad or very bad consequences", declaring the threat of the emergence of the "second Chernobyl" and ask international partners to prevent a serious environmental catastrophe. PACE spring session The week has begun with PACEs decision to refuse to hold the urgent debates on the request of Ukraine on illegal election in annexed Crimea. However, on April 24, PACE has recognized the occupation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine by Russia. In the adopted amendment, the formulation uncontrolled by government territories was replaced by the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian occupation administration. Moreover, a resolution on the support of the counterwork to Russian propaganda at the EU level was adopted at the PACE session on April 25. Also, PACE approved the resolution about counteracting the hybrid war. In its turn, Ukraine reported that editorial integrity and the independence of the media are today put at risk by a dramatic decline in revenues of the traditional media and by increased threats from organised crime, terrorism, armed conflicts and authoritarian excesses in certain States. Journalists are often subject to harassment and intimidation, arbitrarily deprived of their freedom, physically attacked, tortured and even killed. Also, Ukraines delegation head Volodymyr Ariev made a report concerning the Legal challenges in hybrid war and human rights obligations. And on April 27, Ukraine reported on the drug-resistant tuberculosis in Europe. News from Crimea This week a lot of things happened in Crimea or concerning Crimea. On April 23, the PACE refused to hold the urgent debates on the request of the UK, Ukraine and other countries on the poisoning of ex-GRU officer Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury and illegal election in annexed Crimea. Also, Ukraine asked the member countries of the International Maritime Organization not to recognize the illegal actions of Russia in the waters of the Black Sea. At the same time, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced a coin dedicated to annexed Crimea. The coin is issued within the program dedicated to the regions and the territorial organization of Ukraine. Also, on April 23, the Ukrainian law enforcers detained a woman who was the 'confidant' of Vladimir Putin at the recent election of Russia's president in the peninsula at the administrative border with annexed Crimea. On April 25, the City Court of Kherson decided to arrest a detained woman for two months. On April 26, Russias FSB held another wave of the search of the Crimean Tatars in annexed Crimea. Crimean Solidarity group reported that Ali Bariev was detained in the result of the searches. Ukraine at G7 meeting One of this weeks most anticipated events was Ukraines appearance at the meeting of foreign ministers of G7 countries. This countrys leading diplomat Pavlo Klimkin paid visit to Canada in order to participate in an outreach session dedicated to Ukraines situation within the meeting of Foreign Ministers of G7 member countries. Specifically, the minister focused on the issue of deployment of UN peacekeepers in Ukraine; after the respective session in Toronto, he claimed that Foreign ministers of G7 member countries are standing with Ukraine in terms of the peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine. Canadian Foreign Ministry confirmed their respect for the world order based on the norms of the international rights, adding that the sanctions against Russia for its unacceptable actions remain in place. Later that week, several announcements followed from G7 sidelines about the Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria. Heiko Maas, the German Foreign Minister expressed doubts that Russia would re-join the line-up of the G7 in the near future. 'Currently, it is not even on the agenda; the fact that Russia is not here is tied to the annexation of Crimea in breach of the international law... Lately, Russia became a complicated partner', he said, cited by Deutsche Welle. Boris Johnson, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs added that G7 Foreign Ministers agreed to create a special group to monitor Russias actions in foreign policy and security area. Christine Freeland, the foreign minister of Canada expressed traditionally strong support for Ukraine, which is all too familiar with the real consequences of Russia's bad treatment. The G7 countries will continue to support Ukraine during the next elections in the face of aggression," she said. The official added that G7 members will also contribute to "carrying out the necessary anti-corruption and economic reforms" in Ukraine. Situation in Syria On 23 April, various media outlets reported that Russia would supply the Syrian government with Favorit S-300 missile systems free of charge. Syria requested Russian S-300 missile systems back in 2010. Now, the issue was raised again by Sergei Rudskoy, the Chief of the Operational Director General of the Russian Armed Forces on 14 April. Then, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister mentioned it twice on 16 and 20 April. On that day also, the Russian president held a meeting with the heads of the General Staff and Defense Ministry. On 24 April, Ian Martin, who is a former UN official and Amnesty International chief called for bypassing the Russian veto at UN Security Coucil, which has been used 11 times since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis. On 25 April, the press service of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reported that its experts had visited the second possible site, from which the Douma chemical attack might have emerged. The next day, the Russian delegation brought supposed eye witnesses to the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, claiming that the Douma chemical attack was a hoax. UK and French representatives denied this, saying that the OPCW is not a theatre. On Thursday, 26 April, the Suddeutsche Zeitung reported that the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had signed a decree effectively confiscating land rights from Syrian citizens. The decree obliges landowners to confirm their estate to the land by the local authorities within a 30-day period, or they would lose their property rights to their land. The U.S. State Department also reported on the necessity to return Crimea to Ukraine NATO will not return to the usual business with Russia until it fulfills the commitments on the Minsk Agreements, withdraw the forces, stop the support of the militants in Donbas and return the control over Crimea to Ukraine. Heather Nauert, the spokeswoman of the U.S. State Department reported this on Twitter. Sec. Pompeo and NATO Foreign Ministers reaffirm: #NATO will not return to business as usual with #Russia until Russia fulfills its commitments under the Minsk agreements, withdraws forces and support for proxies in the #Donbas, and returns control of #Crimea to #Ukraine. Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) April 27, 2018 Today, Mike Pompeo, the new U.S. Secretary of State has arrived at the NATO meeting to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Syria and Georgia. The recently appointed Secretary of State also will urge the NATO members to increase their military budgets to reach 2% of the GDP for the defense until 2024. As we reported U.S. Senate committee approved the nomination of President Donald Trumps choice for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, on April 26 after a Republican senator who had been opposed threw his support behind the CIA director in the face of party pressure. Earlier the U.S. State Department claimed that the pro-Russian mercenaries in Donbas got more active in terms of shelling Ukrainian positions in the combat area. Open source The representative of Ukraine in the Parliamentary Assembly Serhii Kiral during the PACE spring session of April 23-27 has spoken about drug-resistant tuberculosis in Europe. This was reported on the PACE website where the meeting is broadcasted. According to the report, the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the process by which bacteria evolve to become resistant to medicines used to treat the infections they cause, thus rendering these medicines ineffective. In an introductory memorandum presented in April 2017, I stressed that tuberculosis was at the origin of one third of deaths from AMR worldwide, and that Europe was home to the worlds fastest growing drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) epidemic. In September 2017, the committee held a hearing with the participation of a former TB patient from Ukraine, Ms Olga Klymenko, experts from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Global TB Caucus.3 The hearing revealed the true magnitude of the suffering caused by the disease and in particular its social, economic and psychological impact on patients. In December 2017, in view of the increasing political exposure in recent and upcoming years of the fight against TB (see below) and Europes particularly high disease burden with regard to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), I proposed focusing on drug-resistant TB in the report, which the committee ultimately agreed to. "In preparing the report, I carried out fact-finding visits to Azerbaijan and Norway, where I held meetings with a range of stakeholders working in the national TB response, including parliamentarians, government and civil society representatives, and medical experts. These visits allowed me to grasp how these two countries with very different levels of TB incidence are addressing this issue and to identify some best practices. I should like to thank all the parties involved in the discussions for their valuable contributions, and the delegations of both parliaments and their secretariats for the excellent organisation of my visits," he said. Serhii Kiral thanked Norwegian and Azerbaijani delegations for the support. "Some difficulties also result from the geopolitical context. For example, just a small number of TB patients in Ukraine can currently access the above-mentioned two drugs because the regional distributor authorised to request their registration and supply is a Russian-owned company. The sanctions put in place since the Russian aggression prohibit the procurement of goods and services from Russia paid for by public funds, including for foreign goods supplied through Russian companies. Despite efforts by the Ukrainian authorities, who have approached the relevant pharmaceutical companies requesting them to change their distributor, the problem has not yet been solved, leading to an unacceptable delay for TB patients in Ukraine," the report also stated. As it was reported earlier, the PACE has approved the resolution about counteracting the hybrid war. Volodymyr Ariev, the head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Assembly said. The document says that currently, states more and more frequently face the 'signs of hybrid war', which 'creates a new kind of threat based on the mixture of military and non-military means, such as cyber attacks, campaigns of mass misinformation, including fake news and communications disruption'. Also, Ukraine observed a minute of silence in memory of the perished border guards The Ukrainian border guards will celebrate their professional holiday on April 30. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine claimed this at the event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the creation of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine as 112 Ukraine broadcasted. As the president of Ukraine and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, I made a decision to change the date of the celebration of the border guards professional holiday. I signed an order on the establishment of the Border Guards Day on April 30, the president claimed. According to Poroshenko, this holiday should become consonant with the real events in Ukraine. Also, the Ukrainian president noted that 825 soldiers-border guards got the State awards for their courage and heroism, one of them was awarded the order of Golden Star. Today I have the great honor to award one more Hero of Ukraine Star to the relatives of Colonel Yevhen Pikus, to his mother and brother who is also a border guard. Yevhen died bravely in August 2014 near Talove, Stanytsia-Luhanska region during the fight against the Russian diversion intelligence group that acted under cover of the armored personnel carriers, combat helicopters of Russias Armed Forces. Despite the advantage of the enemy, its personnel and equipment, our border guards forced the invaders to step back, he added. Moreover, Ukraine observed a minute of silence in memory of the perished border guards. 70 courageous Ukrainian border guards, the faithful sons of Ukraine died in the heavy fighting with the Russian occupants. I ask to honor their solemn memory with the minute of silence, Poroshenko said. We remind, today the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the State Border Guard Service takes place in Ukraine. The cost of the tickets is 29, 99 euros in one direction including all taxes and mandatory levies The Hungarian low-cost Wizz Air Company will open three new flights from Kyiv to the European countries. Stephen Jones, the executive vice president and deputy CEO claimed this as RBK-Ukraine reported. The flights will start since July 2018. On July 1, the daily flights from Kyiv to Germany Berlin and Frankfurt will begin. On October 28, the Wizz Air will begin the flights to Vienna, Austria. It also will be the daily flights. The cost of the tickets is 29, 99 euros in one direction including all taxes and mandatory levies. Moreover, the company updated the schedule of the flights from Kyiv to Lisbon, Portugal and Tallinn, Estonia. Both flights will start on June 21. They will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Last autumn Wizz Air increased the number of the flights from Ukraine to Poland. On March 23, the largest airport in Ukraine, the state-owned Boryspil and the Danylo Halytskyi Lviv airport signed agreements to operate Ryanair flights. The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that Ryanair would launch 15 flights from Ukraine to cities across Europe in October 2018, with tickets as cheap as 10 and an average airfare as low as 40. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair Michael OLeary, the corporation is in the middle of negotiating the introduction of flights from four airports in Ukraine, apart from Boryspil and Lviv. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) A 90-minute Zumba class with all proceeds benefitting Our Lady of Fatima school. Join Sabrina's Z CREW instructors (Alisa, Rita, Jenn and Sabrina) as we raise money for Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School! This will be a 90 minute Zumba class and ALL PROCEEDS will go to Our Lady of Fatima school. We recommend a $10 donation for adults and a $5 donation for students, but feel free to give more if your heart desires! This event will be held at Our Lady of Fatima in the gym. It is an ALL AGE, ALL FITNESS LEVELS dance fitness class where we can all come together to do something great for this fantastic school. Come join the fun and do it for a good cause! All donations will be taken at the school on the day of the event. A logistics powerhouse in Africa, the French company allegedly provided discounted communications advice in Guinea and Togo in exchange for licenses to operate container ports. Bollore Group, which has extensive logistics and port operations in Africa, is denying charges of corruption in a probe linked to port concessions in Guinea and Togo. Vincent Bollore, the chief executive officer of the conglomerate, was placed under formal investigation by a French judge, said a BBC report. BBC added that investigators are looking into whether the Bollore subsidiary Havas, an advertising agency, provided discounted communications advice to Guinean President Alpha Conde and Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe during elections in 2009 and 2010. In return, the Bollore Africa Logistics company allegedly was given licenses to operate container ports in Conakry and Lome. Bollore confirmed the investigation in a press release but said it won the concession in Togo in 2001 long before it started to invest in Havas. In Guinea, Bollore Group won the concession in 2011 following the failure of the winner of the tender (Bollore Group came in second in the bidding process), which was recognized before the presidential election. Attempting to link the attribution of a port concession with communication services translates a great misunderstanding of this economic sector and economic activity in general. Bollore Group executives welcome this opportunity to fully cooperate with the judicial authorities to restore the truth about those facts. The company also alleged that the investigation is the result of a claim filed against Bollore Group by a former employee who has been sentenced by a court to three years and nine months in prison without parole and around 10 million euros of damages to the Bollore Group for misappropriation of assets. The hearing of its executives should provide the judicial authorities with useful clarification regarding these issues that have been assessed by an independent expert. This expertise led to the conclusion that these transactions fully complied with all laws and regulations, said Bollore. The 195-year-old company is one of the 200 largest companies in the world and is involved in transport and logistics, communications, and electricity storage and solutions. Bollore operates on five continents but is particularly strong in Africa. It said Bollore Africa Logistics is the biggest transport and logistics operator in Africa, where it has a network without equal with 250 subsidiaries and almost 25,000 employees in 55 countries, including 46 in Africa. It operates 16 container terminals on the continent through public-private partnerships. YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump will have a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II during a working visit to the UK, Daily Mail reported. UK Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump for a state visit when she became the first world leader to meet the president in the White House in January last year. It was downgraded to a working trip after huge public opposition to the visit and MPs said Trump should not be given the opportunity to address parliament, The Guardian reported. Donald Trump will make arrive to the UK on Friday 13 July, the UK and US have both confirmed. Fantastic news that President Donald Trump will at last come to Britain on 13 July. Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the greatest visit ever, foreign secretary Boris Johnson said. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. During the inter-Korean talks North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns sister Kim Yo-jong proposed to speed up the unification of two Koreas, South Korean Presidential spokesperson Yoon Young-chan said during a press briefing on April 27, TASS reports. Kim Yo-jong said its necessary to speed up the unification of Koreas, the spokesperson said, adding that those present during the talks had endorsed this remark with laughter of approval. The first inter-Korean summit is being held in the border village of Panmunjom over the past more than ten years. Before the launch of talks the two leaders expressed readiness to hold a constructive dialogue aimed at establishing peace and prosperity in the Korean Peninsula. According to TASS, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spent an hour and a half at the negotiating table before taking a break. They are expected to continue their joint program shortly. English translator/editor Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan says he had a meeting with President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian in the evening of April 26. Yesterday evening I had a meeting with President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian. We discussed the situation in Armenia and possible directions for solution. PS Mr. Sarkissian had also brought documents with him [showing] that he had renounced his British citizenship in December 2011, Pashinyan in part said on Facebook. Armen Sarkissian was elected President on March 2, 2018 by the Armenian parliament. Sarkissian was sworn into office on April 9. Before the election, when the ruling coalition named Sarkissian to be their candidate for President, the opposition expressed concern regarding citizenship issues. Sarkissian served several terms as Armenias Ambassador to the UK, most recently from 2013 to 2018. The Armenian Constitution requires a presidential candidate to have held solely Armenian citizenship for the past 6 years during the time of nomination. Armen Sarkissian rejected the oppositions claims and said that he had renounced his British citizenship in December, 2011. But the opposition continued demanding from Sarkissian to produce official documents proving the renunciation records. Thus, having renounced the British citizenship in December of 2017, Sarkissian was eligible to become President and the oppositions claims have been debunked. On April 23, at 16:00, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned as widespread protests entered the 11th day. On the same day, as required by law, the government resigned. First Deputy PM Karen Karapetyan was named acting PM at an emergency Cabinet meeting. Later it was announced that Mr. Karapetyan will have a meeting with Mr. Pashinyan leader of the opposition on April 25. But around midnight of April 24, the government said that the meeting has been cancelled because the opposition leader unilaterally made new demands. Acting PM Karen Karapetyan addressed the President to organize a meeting in a format of his preference, with participation of a wide spectrum of political parties within and outside the parliament. On April 25, the President announced he is starting consultations with both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political parties. Later in the day Serzh Sargsyan, President of the ruling party the Republican Party of Armenia HHK said he has requested a meeting with members of the Republican faction of the parliament. At the meeting, Sargsyan presented the reasons of his recent resignation in detail and spoke about different formats of working in the parliament urging to prioritize domestic stability and security of the country in everything, which in case of any decision can be implemented only through unity of Republicans. An agreement was reached to announce that the Republican faction is ready to discuss any issue with all sides without preconditions. An agreement was also reached to start discussing in the HHK executive bodies the issue of changing the partys president. The Speaker of Parliament announced that elections of a new Prime Minister will be held May 1. In accordance to paragraph 3, article 140 of the constitutional law on the parliaments rules of procedure, I announce that the issue of election of a Prime Minister will be debated on May 1 at 12:00, in an extraordinary session of parliament convened by virtue of law, Speaker Ara Babloyan said. According to the Constitution, parliamentary factions are entitled to nominate candidates for PM within 7 days after the resignation of the PM, after which the election is held through an open voting in the parliament. The opposition Yelk faction announced that their candidate for PM is Nikol Pashinyan. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has signed the bill on ratifying the Additional Funding for Water Irrigation Improvement Project agreement between Armenia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) into law on April 27, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS. Earlier on April 3, the committee on financial-credit and budgetary affairs of the Armenian parliament gave a positive conclusion to the 2 million dollar loan agreement between Armenia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The bill on ratifying the agreement on additional funding for improving irrigation systems was included in the plenary session agenda. The agreement was signed on November 20, 2017. On April 12 the parliament approved the 2 million dollar loan agreement for improvement of irrigation systems between Armenia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on April 12. 62 lawmakers voted in favor of the agreement, while 31 voted against. The opposition Tsarukyan and Yelk factions voted against. The agreement is an amendment to the 2013 loan agreement of improving irrigation systems which was ratified by the World Bank and Armenia. The program planned 30 million dollars in loan, an additional 7,5 million dollar co-financing for the improvement of the mechanical irrigation systems namely in Meghri, Kaghtsrashen and Baghramyan-Norakert. But the new program will not be directed to the previous one, as it is a completely new project. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a congratulatory letter to President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian on assuming office, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The letter says: I convey my congratulations and best wishes to you on your election as President of the Republic of Armenia. I expect close cooperation with you on all matters of bilateral interest between Armenia and the UN, including through the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN team in Armenia. The United Nations continues relying on Armenias support and commitment to jointly confront the global threats, especially in the fields of peace, security and sustainable development. English translator/editor Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Acting foreign minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on April 27 received Ambassador of Chile to Armenia Rodrigo Nieto (residence in Moscow) who arrived in Yerevan to convey the message of Chilean foreign minister Roberto Ampuero on the 25th anniversary of establishment of the Armenia-Chile inter-state ties, the Armenian MFA told Armenpress. Welcoming the guest the acting Armenian FM noted with satisfaction that over the past quarter century the two countries have formed a partnering, mutually beneficial relations and there is a readiness from both sides to further develop them through joint efforts. During the meeting the two officials touched upon a number of issues relating to the bilateral agenda, discussed issues on deepening the political dialogue, holding consultations between the foreign ministries, intensifying the cooperation within the frames of international organizations, expanding the legal framework and boosting the contacts between the parliaments of the two countries. Edward Nalbandian and Rodrigo Nieto attached importance to the opening of honorary consuls office of Chile in Armenia scheduled today, stating that it will create new opportunities for further deepening the bilateral ties. After the meeting the acting FM and the Chilean Ambassador signed the agreement on abolishing visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders between the Armenian and Chilean governments. English translator/editor Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Nikolai Ryzhkov, member of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) of Russia, who holds the title of National Hero of Armenia, has expressed hope that the situation in Armenia will be settled exclusively within the constitutional, legal framework. The senator released a statement during his visit to Armenia. Armenia and Russia are tied with friendly relations of many centuries. The friendly peoples of the two countries have passed through numerous trials, theyve been together in moments of both happiness and sadness. This is why we arent indifferent with the fate of the Armenian people and this is why I am in Armenia today, Ryzhkov said. The Russian senator noted that today Armenia is experiencing a very difficult phase of its history. And Russia, being the closest partner of Armenia, is closely following the developments with sincere empathy. We are sure that the wisdom which was gained throughout centuries will contribute for the country to quickly returns to normal life. We hope that the situation will be settled exclusively within the constitutional, legal framework, all political forces will display responsible approach and willingness for constructive dialogue. Peace and prosperity to the brotherly Armenian people, the senator said in the statement. After the devastating Spitak earthquake in Armenia, on December 7, 1988, Nikolai Ryzhkov was appointed chairman of a USSR commission dealing with coordination of operations for elimination of consequences and providing aid to the victims. Nikolai Ryzhkov visited the disaster zone and carried out immense organizational works for providing immediate aid to the affected population and restoring the destroyed villages and towns. Ryzhkov, is attaching importance to the need of the Armenia-Russia strategic allied relations. Ryzhkov is honored with a bust in Gyumri, Armenias second largest city, and in Spitak. In 2008, Ryzhkov was bestowed with the National Hero of Armenia title, Armenias highest title. On April 23, at 16:00, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned as widespread protests entered the 11th day. On the same day, as required by law, the government resigned. First Deputy PM Karen Karapetyan was named acting PM at an emergency Cabinet meeting. Later it was announced that Mr. Karapetyan will have a meeting with Mr. Pashinyan leader of the opposition on April 25. But around midnight of April 24, the government said that the meeting has been cancelled because the opposition leader unilaterally made new demands. Acting PM Karen Karapetyan addressed the President to organize a meeting in a format of his preference, with participation of a wide spectrum of political parties within and outside the parliament. On April 25, the President announced he is starting consultations with both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political parties. Later in the day Serzh Sargsyan, President of the ruling party the Republican Party of Armenia HHK said he has requested a meeting with members of the Republican faction of the parliament. At the meeting, Sargsyan presented the reasons of his recent resignation in detail and spoke about different formats of working in the parliament urging to prioritize domestic stability and security of the country in everything, which in case of any decision can be implemented only through unity of Republicans. An agreement was reached to announce that the Republican faction is ready to discuss any issue with all sides without preconditions. An agreement was also reached to start discussing in the HHK executive bodies the issue of changing the partys president. The Speaker of Parliament announced that elections of a new Prime Minister will be held May 1. In accordance to paragraph 3, article 140 of the constitutional law on the parliaments rules of procedure, I announce that the issue of election of a Prime Minister will be debated on May 1 at 12:00, in an extraordinary session of parliament convened by virtue of law, Speaker Ara Babloyan said. According to the Constitution, parliamentary factions are entitled to nominate candidates for PM within 7 days after the resignation of the PM, after which the election is held through an open voting in the parliament. The opposition Yelk faction announced that their candidate for PM is Nikol Pashinyan. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Romania Klaus Iohannis called on Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to resign after the government approved a secret memorandum to move the countrys embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and failed to consult the president on it, Reuters reports. Mrs. Dancila does not cope with her position of Prime Minister of Romania and thus it turns the government into a vulnerability for Romania. That is why I call publicly for her resignation, the President said in a statement. The Romanian government was formed on January 29, 2018. The PM was scheduled to meet with the President on April 27 to discuss the current conflict between the Romanian government and the National army. Romanias government has backed moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, drawing a warning from the president - who has the final say - that the move could break international law. According to the Romanian Constitution, the President has no right to fire the PM, but this issue is going to be discussed by the parliament. English translator/editor Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received Ambassadors of Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland and charge d'Affaires of Romania, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The Armenian president attached a great importance to the further development and deepening of the relations with the European countries and the European Union. He also talked about the celebrations of this year to be held on the 100th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia and the May heroic battles and the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan, as well as properly holding the upcoming Francophonie Summit. The meeting participants exchanged views on the current situation in Armenia. The Ambassadors expressed hope that everything will be settled within the Constitution and highlighted the Presidents role in this matter. English translator/editor Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. The Russian State Duma lawmakers expressed readiness to meet with the Armenian Parliaments Yelk faction head Nikol Pashinyan, Konstantin Zatulin - First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (lower house of Russian parliament) Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, told Interfax. We ask to organize a meeting with the Yelk faction leadership, as well as other factions. If Nikol Pashinyan is ready to meet, we will meet with him with pleasure. As far as we know, he is not in Yerevan today, but if he wants, we absolutely will not refuse from that meeting, Zatulin said. The members of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots led by chairman of the Committee Leonid Kalashnikov arrived in Yerevan. Konstantin Zatulin said the group consisting of the State Duma MPs and members of the Federation Council met with Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan and the Russian Ambassador to Armenia. Our goal is to get acquainted with the current situation [in Armenia]. We are discussing the future parliamentary action plan. Of course, we ask what can be expected, the Russian official noted. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. At the initiative of President Armen Sarkissian, a telephone conversation took place with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on April 27. President Sarkissian informed the UN Secretary General about the political processes in Armenia and thanked for the announcement of the Secretary General, where he had particularly emphasized the necessity of ensuring exclusively peaceful political processes, demonstrating restraint and solving the existing issues through dialogue, in the framework of the Constitution, rule of law and human rights protection. President Sarkissian reaffirmed the commitment of the leadership and all the political forces of Armenia to those principles. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, the interlocutors also paid special attention to the issues of regional peace and stability. The President of the Republic reaffirmed Armenias commitment to the peaceful negotiated process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and thanked for the unconditional support to the negotiated settlement of NK conflict in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. The sides once again stressed the necessity of ruling out the possibility of escalation on Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line. President Armen Sarkissian underlined the effective cooperation with the UN Office in Armenia with satisfaction and noted its important role in Armenias development and reforms. The President of Armenia reconfirmed the invitation to the UN Secretary General to participate in the 17th summit of the Francophonie in Yerevan in October 2018. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan gave an interview to Shant TV referring to the domestic political situation in the country. ARMENPRESS presents the interview. - Mr. Karapetyan, this morning you declined Nikol Pashinyans invitation for negotiations, assessing it as unpromising, considering that the agenda and the format is in the interest of just one side. What do you think, when will it be possible to hold meaningful negotiations? - We have commented on that in our announcement and there are no changes in our position and I think the logic is quite obvious. Negotiations are meaningful in the case when the sides have the wish to listen to one another. Whether they will reach an agreement or no, they will be flexible as a negotiator or no is a process. But when its announced that this is the agenda and the other side has no right to bring his own agenda, this is not a negotiation, I do not even know how to call it. - No negotiations took place, instead, a press conference took place, since some dozens of media outlets were present and during that press conference Nikol Pashinyan said that Karen Karapetyan just does not trust his ability to negotiate, so how can he negotiate, say, over Nagorno Karabakh issue. How would you comment on this? - First of all, I do not know if Mr. Pashinyan has great experience as a negotiator, or no, but I have an interesting experience of negotiations. Moreover, my experience is in different cultural, religious, linguistic domains. And up till now I have never been defeated in negotiations. Being an orator, enjoying high reputation does not mean being a good negotiator. For that reason my answer was that. _Yesterday evening, during the rally, Pashinyan noted that either he will be the Prime Minister, or no one will be. He also mentioned during another rally that if he does not become the Prime Minister, the crisis will worsen. How will you comment on this? And in general, how do you see the solution of the problem, irrespective of who will be the Prime Minister? - Look, I want everyone to hear me. He says my agenda is on the negotiation table and there is no other agenda, I am the only Prime Minister, or no one else is We are speaking about democracy, pluralism, ability to listen to one another, tolerance, Constitution and a parliamentary country, but this is like a monopoly, monopoly of the political field. Afterwards he says I am the candidate of the Prime Minister. In reality I have very deep respect towards the citizens who express their distrust, disagreement and dissatisfaction and that everything goes on peacefully, thank God, and I hope it will continue the same way. We have to develop the political culture that one should listen to another. Now our citizens gathered in one place say that this person is our Prime Minister, others gathered somewhere else say the Prime Minister is that one. How will we chose who the PM is? For that there is a platform where the PM must present his program. I think Mr. Pashinyan has his program of what kind of country he wants to build, what targets he will outline in terms of security, foreign relations, economic growth, social, justice and so on. But its we who will choose the program. We do not elect a good, moral person with high reputation, but we choose the idea and I do not rule out that those fellow citizens who are dissatisfied with todays policy, maybe all of them want him to be the PM, but maybe not. Maybe they are dissatisfied with todays management, but if you give them an opportunity to choose between this or that person, his program and team, maybe its not Mr. Pashinyan. For that reason we say that the Constitution has regulated all that. Come to the National Assembly with your program, and if you have enough supporters you can become the Prime Minister. But I do not think we had wished to create a society where one could monopolize, saying I am the only Prime Minister, there is no other candidate, I dictate the agenda during the negotiations, you have no right to bring your agenda. -And finally, these days it can often be heard that the authorities are not consolidated. To what extent do you share this opinion? - What does it mean that the authorities are not consolidated? If saying authorities you mean government bodies, they function normally. But if you speak about the party, I think its consolidated. - How do you see this consolidation against those opinions? -Frankly speaking I do not know under what factors they say so. -Because no one spoke about that before this movement. - You know so much is said by the media, about my resignation, we deny it, again resignation. If we respond to all that, we may spend the whole day on that. But in reality I think the solution in this way. In reality we have a crisis, accumulated problems and we have to clearly decide which force or consolidation of forces will take the country to a better future. What kind of programs there are, because we will not elect an individual, we have to elect a team, we must have the ability to listen to one another and we have to be tolerant. We do not conceal that we have our share of guilt, maybe very large share for this intolerance, so much problems, but we have to overcome this situation by speaking to one another, accepting the mistakes and listening to other opinions. Nothing should be monopolized; it will not lead to good things. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Union of Armenians in Russia urges Armenian media outlets not to spread misinformation on behalf of the organization. ARMENPRESS reports, citing the official website of the Union, a statement has been issued sating that in the recent days unidentified persons spread information in Armenian media on behalf of the organization that have no relation with the reality. Information that allegedly the Union of Armenians in Russia has expressed support to the movement launched by head of Yelk bloc parliamentary faction Nikol Pashinyan is spread in some local media outlets of Armenia. The statement also underlines that any announcement of the Union is posted in the official website of the organization www.sarinfo.org . English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan Armenia's acting head of government Karen Karapetyan on Friday rebuffed talks proposed by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, further escalating tensions after two weeks of protests. Karapetyan's refusal to negotiate came after he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday. Pashinyan, who has been leading the mass anti-government protests, defiantly declared himself the only suitable candidate for prime minister in the Moscow-allied country. Armenia was plunged into crisis over the fate of veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian, who finally quit on Monday after a decade in power. Pashinyan has issued an ultimatum to the authorities, saying he should be elected prime minister in a vote by lawmakers on May 1. But a spokesman for Karapetyan dismissed Pashinyan's demands. "The acting prime minister believes that negotiations where one side dictates the agenda and the other cannot do so, cannot be considered negotiations," the spokesman said Friday. Instead, Pashinyan should discuss ways to tackle the crisis together with all political forces, the spokesman quoted Karapetyan as saying. Deputy speaker of parliament, Eduard Sharmazanov, called Pashinyan's demand to negotiate with the ruling party in front of the press "absurd", saying this would play into the hands of Yerevan's foes Azerbaijan and Turkey. "Not only will protesters and the opposition be watching, but also (Azerbaijani president) Aliyev and (Turkish president) Erdogan," Sharmazanov said. - 'Total disarray' - Pashinyan accused Sarkisian's ruling Republican Party of seeking to increase the turmoil and urged his supporters to stage new rallies to pile pressure on Karapetyan. "The fact that Karen Karapetyan refused to negotiate means that the Republican Party is in total disarray," Pashinyan told reporters on Friday. "The question is, does the Republican Party want to settle the crisis or not?" he said, suggesting the ruling elites could not conduct free and fair elections. "We should have a guarantee that an election will be really free, really transparent, really democratic," he said in English, wearing his trademark camouflage T-shirt. He earlier told supporters he needed to become the next leader to oversee snap parliamentary elections and clean up the political system. "If I am not elected prime minister, then Armenia will not have a prime minister at all," the 42-year-old former newspaper editor said. The crisis erupted over Sarkisian's election as prime minister by parliament last week after a decade as president. He resigned on Monday on the 11th day of the protests. The opposition has accused Sarkisian's party of clinging onto power after he failed to tackle widespread poverty, corruption and influential oligarchs close to the authorities. But the ruling party has a majority of seats in parliament and Pashinyan does not have enough support from lawmakers to get elected. - 'Elites must go' - Pashinyan has called a halt to protests in Yerevan to give demonstrators some rest after two weeks of nearly non-stop rallies, saying people should return to the streets on Sunday. But on Friday he headed a column of cars carrying hundreds of his supporters from Yerevan to Gyumri, the second largest city north of the capital where he planned to hold a rally later Friday. The city also hosts a Russian military base. An AFP reporter travelling with the protest leader said villagers on the way gave Pashinyan a hero's welcome, offering him traditional bread and salt as well as fresh fruit. Another rally is planned for Saturday in the third largest city of Vanadzor. A previous attempt at talks between the opposition leader and the acting prime minister collapsed earlier this week. Observers have warned the crisis could destabilise the South Caucasus nation, which is involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. A number of top Armenian officials held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials in Moscow on Thursday. Putin has stressed the importance of the May 1 vote, the Kremlin said after his phone talks with Karapetyan. Analysts said the situation in Armenia was hugely unpredictable. "It's impossible to tell if the country will come out of this chaos on May 1," analyst Ervand Bozoyan said, adding that frantic negotiations were under way among political parties. Another analyst Stepan Safaryan said that while the core of the Republican Party has no intention of backing down, it was possible that some of its lawmakers would vote for Pashinyan. Anti-government supporters have staged two weeks of demonstrations in Armenia Armenia's protest leader Nikol Pashinyan has declared he is the only possible prime minister The heartbroken family of Swedish DJ Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, have revealed the struggles he was enduring in the lead up to his death that shocked fans around the world. The Grammy-nominated electronic dance performer was found dead last week in Muscat, Oman at the age of 28. In a statement released Thursday (local time), his family said he could not go on any longer. Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions, the statement read. Avicii death: Family reveals he could not go on any longer and wanted to find peace. Source: Getty His family said the beloved DJ was not made for the business machine he found himself in. Source: Getty An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress. Bergling retired from touring in 2016. His family said he stopped because he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most music. He really struggled with thoughts about meaning, life, happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace. Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight, the statement added. He is survived by his parents, Klas Bergling and Anki Liden, his sister Linda and his brothers Anton and David. The creator of beloved tracks Hey Brother and Levels passed away in Oman last week. Source: Getty In the past he had suffered acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. After having his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014, he cancelled a series of shows in attempt to recover. After he stopped gigging altogether in 2016, the Swedish performer continued to produced albums and songs. Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed, the statement read. The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive. If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or a loved one, seek support and information by calling LifeLine on 13 11 14. Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate have named their baby son Louis, royal officials said Friday, prompting online comments on popular culture references and even an anti-Brexit message in the unusual moniker. "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles," said a statement from Kensington Palace, the couple's London residence. "The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge," it said. The name likely pays tribute to William's great-great uncle Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA in 1979, while Charles is the name of William's father. But the Daily Mail tabloid pointed out it was also a favourite for French kings and had "a distinctly Gallic royal flavour". "In a defiant two fingers to Brexit, William & Kate have given their baby a French name: Louis," TV presenter Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter. The French embassy to London tweeted: "We're delighted that you've been given such a lovely French name!" Louis is currently only the 71st most popular name for a baby boy in England and Wales. Other commentators joked the royal couple may have been inspired in their choice after meeting One Direction star Louis Tomlinson. Pottermore, author JK Rowling's publishing company, instead pointed out that Louis, Arthur and Charles were all members of the Weasley family from the bestselling Harry Potter books. "You were named afer three iconic Weasleys," it said. Arthur had been the bookmakers' favourite for the couple's third child, while Charles is the name of William's father. - Sixth great-grandchild - The baby was born weighing eight pounds and seven ounces (3.8 kilogrammes) at 11:01 am (1001 GMT) on Monday with William, the Duke of Cambridge, present for the birth. The couple stepped out of St Mary's Hospital in central London to cheers from a crowd of supporters and global media outlets gathered outside. Their two other children -- Prince George, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte -- were also taken to meet the latest addition to the family. Louis is fifth in line to the throne and a sixth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth, who turned 92 on Saturday, and her husband Prince Philip. He will hold the title of prince after the Queen changed the rules in 2012 to ensure that all of William's children would be entitled to the style, not just his eldest son. Prince Louis is also the first male royal who will not overtake his sister in the line of succession after a reform that ends male primogeniture. - 'Uncle Dickie' - Louis Mountbatten was the beloved great-uncle of Prince Charles, and the uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh. Known to Charles as "Uncle Dickie", Mountbatten was the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947. He was assassinated by Irish republicans when his boat was blown up on a fishing trip off the coast of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Louis is also a middle name of Prince George. William, who is destined to become king after Charles, met Kate at St Andrew's University in Scotland. They tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011, in a ceremony watched by up to two billion people worldwide, helping to breathe new life into Britain's monarchy after years of crisis. The birth kicks off a busy summer of royal celebrations, with Prince Harry set to marry his US actress wife Meghan Markle on May 19. The Sun newspaper has reported that Kate's sister Pippa Middleton, 34, is pregnant with her first child, while William's cousin Zara is set to give birth towards the end of the summer. Prince William and Kate named their third child after Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA in 1979 Louis is a sixth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth, who turned 92 on Saturday, and her husband Prince Philip. Family tree of the British royals Human Rights Watch called Friday for Myanmar's Rohingya crisis to be referred to the International Criminal Court, days before a UN Security Council delegation is due to arrive in the country. Myanmar has come under intense pressure since the start of a military campaign in August that has driven some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh, where refugees have provided consistent testimony of murder and rape by security forces and local mobs. Myanmar's military insists the campaign was justified as a means to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border guard posts and killed about a dozen police officers. The UN delegation will speak to refugees in the Bangladeshi camps before they head to Myanmar early next week to visit conflict-scarred Rakhine state. They will also meet with Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been denounced in the West for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless minority that has faced decades of persecution in the largely Buddhist nation. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told reporters in Yangon on Friday that the Security Council should issue a resolution to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or else no one will be held accountable. "The lack of a UN Security Council resolution has left the Myanmar government convinced that it has literally gotten away with mass murder," he said. He also called for targeted sanctions on perpetrators and an arms embargo. Myanmar has rejected nearly all allegations that its security forces committed atrocities in Rakhine. Earlier this month it dismissed an attempt at the ICC to open a probe into the crisis, saying the court has no jurisdiction. It took months for Myanmar to agree to the delegation's visit after the UN levelled accusations of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine. The visiting delegation is led by Britain, Peru and Kuwait, whose ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi has said the trip is not about "naming and shaming" Myanmar, but rather to show the country that the "international community is following the situation and has great interest in resolving it". The United States and its European partners in the council have faced strong opposition to action on the Rohingya crisis from China, which has key economic interests in the neighbouring country. The council adopted a statement in November that called on Myanmar to rein in its military, but there has been no resolution, which could face opposition from China. But Roth said this should not be assumed. "If China wants to veto it should pay the price of turning its back on the crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya." Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a repatriation deal for the refugees but no Rohingya have returned from the camps across the border, fearing a lack of safety back home. The UN delegation will speak to refugees in Bangladeshi camps before they head to Myanmar early next week to visit conflict-scarred Rakhine state Syrian regime air strikes and shelling killed 17 civilians including seven children on Friday in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus, a Britain-based monitor said. Regime forces have pounded southern districts of the capital since April 19 to try to expel the Islamic State group from the area, after the jihadists refused to leave under an evacuation deal. That bombardment intensified on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as regime forces advanced against IS inside the districts. "Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes" in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajar al-Aswad, "after breaking through terrorist defences", state news agency SANA said. The advance "inflicted great human and material losses" on the jihadists, it said. Syrian state television said the army has seized control of buildings and a "network of trenches and tunnels" from IS in Hajar al-Aswad. In the adjacent neighbourhood of Qadam, two children were killed in "mortar rounds fired by terrorist groups", it said. The Observatory said pro-government forces took control of "buildings and streets in Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn". Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with IS fighters on Friday morning, the monitor said. Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmuk and the edges of Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning. IS has held parts of Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmuk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month. At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting in southern Damascus, the monitor said. The latest civilian deaths bring to 36 the number of non-fighters killed in regime bombardment in that same period, it said. Yarmuk and the surroundings are now IS's largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighbouring Iraq. The jihadists have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014. Yarmuk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees has said. President Bashar al-Assad's regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month. Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Smoke billows from the area of the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus during Syrian army shelling and air strikes on April 27, 2018 A picture taken in the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on April 27, 2018 shows smoke billowing during Syrian army shelling and air strikes A Syrian army helicopter drops barrel bombs over the area of Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on April 27, 2018 Three people have been arrested in Israel in connection with the deaths of 10 young hikers in flash floods during a programme to prepare them for military service, police said Friday. The ten students, mostly aged 17 and 18, were caught up in floods while hiking in the Arabah desert in southern Israel following exceptionally heavy rainfall. They were part of a group of around 25 hikers taking part in the training. "Police questioned three staff members from the academy that organised the trip," Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement. Two remain in detention and the third is under house arrest, he added. The hike was organised by a Tel Aviv-based institute that offers a one-year programme for young people wishing to postpone their military service, compulsory in Israel, in order to strengthen themselves mentally and physically. The hikers were taking a break in the middle of the Nahal Tzafit Gorge when they were taken surprise by the rains, Israeli media reported. Flash floods can turn the picturesque gorge into an instant death trap, they said. Some speculated that organisers may have ignored weather warnings. Israeli media on Friday morning broadcast photos of the ten killed, nine girls and a boy, most of whose funerals are expected during the day. The arid Arabah desert is prone to flash floods. In Whatsapp communications before the hike, one of the teens warned conditions were dangerous. "I cannot believe I'm going on a trip in such weather," said the teen, who later died. "It doesn't make sense for us to go to a place where everything is flooding. It's tempting fate -- we're going to die." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted his condolences to the families on his Facebook page. Separately police in the area were searching for the missing driver of a truck that was caught in the floods after a road accident. On Wednesday a Bedouin teenager died in southern Israel, while east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl was found dead after being swept away. Israeli rescue services search for several young people who went missing near Arava in southern Israel after flash floods swept through the area while they were hiking on April 26, 2018 NEW YORK Yahoo News Unfiltered staffers Brian Prowse-Gany and Joyzel Acevedo recently video-interviewed cam performer and sex worker advocate Ginger Banks. In the segment titled "Society Treats Sex Workers as Second-Class Citizens," Banks spoke to the duo about FOSTA/SESTA, sex worker rights, and her life as a cam performer in a sex-negative world. When I read comments on articles about sexual assault happening to sex workers, it breaks my heart," said Banks during the interview. "Because a lot of the people say, Well, shes a sex worker. She gets f***ed for money. Why cant I grab her right now?" Which makes no sense," she observed. "If you are going to run into a UFC fighter on the street, youre not going to punch him in the face and say, Thats your job, right? Those interested may read the article in its entirety here. Fans may follow Ginger Banks on Twitter @gingerbanks1, and on Instagram @gingerbanksmfc. NEW YORK CITYCockyBoys has released the final chapter of their latest series Love, Lost and Found, featuring Jake Jaxson and RJ Sebastian. Shot on the lush beaches of Mexico, this beautifully shot summer series harkens back to some of the aesthetics of CockyBoy's 2013 summer hit A Thing Of Beauty. Love, Lost and Found features some of CockyBoys biggest stars, including Sean Ford, Allen King, Taylor Reign, Cory Kane, Levi Karter, Jasen Zhu and Troy Acolla with a special appearance by porn legend Francois Sagat. This series has it all: heartbreak, new beginnings, sandy beaches, blue skies, beautiful boys, big dicks, and much more. In the finale, which is playing now only on CockyBoys.com, Francois Sagat seduces Sean Ford with his words and actions, effectively chasing away all the demons and ghosts from Sean's past. Sean's future suddenly looks brighter once he meets Francois. It was just one more day at the beach for Sean Ford in the fourth scene from Love, Lost & Foundone more day sitting near Francois Sagat and staying silent. But this day will be different. Sean dresses more provocatively and chats with Francois, opening himself up to the kindly sympathetic stranger. While Sean invites Francois over and shows him around, he's still shy and nervous about making any moves... but Francois Sagat is not. He takes a hold of Sean and kisses him sweetly and says, "You're so beautiful"a sentiment he will repeat often as Sean just melts. One thing leads to another and Francois ends up topping Sean in a passionate and chemistry laden duo scene. Sean may have come to Mexico feeling sorry for himself over a previous failed relationship but Francois ends up erasing all of that in one magical encounter, showing Sean Ford that when all seems lost you can still find love after losing it. CockyBoys' owner and director Jake Jaxson said of the finale episode, "I'm so proud of this movie and everyone in it. It's a great story about love and redemption and never giving up on love. The chemistry between Sean Ford and Francois Sagat in the finale is off the charts and one of our best duo scenes released so far this year." This finale and all episodes of Love, Lost and Found are now playing exclusively on CockyBoys.com. Allied Bakeries, Premier Foods and Speedibake are among 42 business to sign up to the UK Plastics Pact, a collaboration to tackle plastic waste. Spearheaded by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the initiative brings together major food and drink players, manufacturers and retailers as well as plastic reprocessors and packaging suppliers to reduce the amount of plastic used in the UK. The Pact members are responsible for 80% of the plastic packaging on products sold through UK supermarkets. A further 15 organisations have also showed their commitment to the pact. The collective, which includes the major supermarkets, Birds Eye and Coca-Cola European Partners, has committed to hit a series of ambitious targets by 2025. They are: Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging. WRAP said the UK Plastics Pact was the first of its kind in the world, and will be replicated in other countries as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundations New Plastics Economy initiative. Our ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste will only be realised if government, businesses and the public work together. Industry action can prevent excess plastic reaching our supermarket shelves in the first place, said environment secretary Michael Gove. A spokesperson for Allied Bakeries added: "We readily signed up to the WRAP UK Plastics Pact as part of our commitment to being a responsible business. We are in the process of looking at what we can do to reduce plastic waste and look forward to updating consumers in due course." Premier Foods said it strives to reduce packaging and encourage recycling where possible. "We strongly believe that in order to effectively address the global issue of plastic packaging waste, we must work collaboratively across industry, governments and with consumers. We are therefore delighted to be a founder member of the UK Plastics Pact; a unique collaboration bringing together the entire value chain under a common set of ambitions, to keep plastic in the economy and out of the environment," a spokesperson said. Frozen specialist Iceland, which has not signed up to the pact, announced in January that it would eliminate all plastic packaging from its own-label products by the end of 2023. We've detected that JavaScript is not enabled in your browser. You must enable JavaScript to use craigslist. Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency? No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples. Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist ideals. Anthony Mascolo, lay minister. Education: Attended New York Institute of Technology, behavioral science/criminal justice major. Occupation: Retired lieutenant, New York City Transit Police. Career highlights: Chairman, Libertarian Party of Brunswick County. Randy Crow. Education: Sam Houston State University, business administration; Texas A&M, studies of advanced real estate. Occupation: Investor. Career highlights: Former business owner, upper management in various sales corporations. Libertarian primary, Senate District 8, Bladen, Brunswick, Pender countiesIt's been 10 years since the Libertarian Party had a candidate on the ballot for the state Senate District 8 seat in southeastern North Carolina. This year there will be a contested primary.Randy Crow of Kelly is running against Anthony Mascolo of Shallotte. The winner will face incumbent Bill Rabon of Southport, a Republican who has held the seat for four terms and chairs the Senate Rules Committee, and David Sink Jr. of Winnabow, a Democrat, in the Nov. 6 general election. Both are uncontested."It's highly unusual," N.C. State University political science professor Andy Taylor said of having a third-party primary.Rachel Joiner Merrill was the last Libertarian candidate to run in District 8. She received 5.54 percent of the votes in a three-way race in the 2008 general election, won by former Sen. R.C. Soles, a Democrat.The district is rated "leans Republican" by the N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation.Statewide, more than 50 Libertarian candidates statewide filed to run for county, state, and congressional races this year.said Susan Hogarth, chairwoman of North Carolina's Libertarian Party.Crow, 72, said he is running because the countryHe has run unsuccessfully for office more than 20 times including races for mayor of Wilmington in 2001, and for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008.Mascolo, 59, said he is making his debut run for office to give voters an alternative to "the extremes advocated by the major parties."The Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement lists 670 of the district's 166,939 registered voters, or about 0.4 percent, as Libertarian. The district includes Brunswick, Bladen, and Pender counties, and a slice of New Hanover County.Crow said he generally does not oppose pipelines such as the planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline that would carry natural gas from West Virginia to eastern North Carolina. He said he was not familiar with House Bill 90, which took away Gov. Roy Cooper's control of a $57.8 million fund he secretly negotiated with pipeline developers. The General Assembly passed H.B. 90, shifting the fund to school districts in the eight counties through which the pipeline would pass.Mascolo said he opposes Cooper's foiled plan to use the money to pay for environmental damage related to the pipeline, economic development, renewable energy projects.Mascolo said.In other issues, Crow said he is concerned about problems caused by animal farming.Crow said.Mascolo said the General Assembly should act to stop the Chemours plant in Fayetteville from releasing GenX, an unregulated chemical.Mascolo said.Mascolo contributed $500 to his campaign, according to a report filed with the state elections board. Crow told the state board he won't raise any money and will only spend $1,000 or less of his own money. Seeks aid for Guilford and Rockingham counties to repair tornado damaged properties Contact: Ford Porter Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov RALEIGH: Yesterday, Governor Roy Cooper sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting a federal disaster declaration for Guilford and Rockingham counties to help recover from the tornado that left a path of damage through the two counties on April 15. If granted, the federal individual assistance disaster declaration would provide loans or grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help homeowners, renters and business owners replace essential belongings and repair property.Gov. Cooper said.Teams from local, state and federal emergency management agencies spent the past week surveying storm damage in both counties. In Guilford County, damage assessors found 36 destroyed homes or businesses, 180 with major damage, 289 with minor damage and 316 affected. There was one fatality in Guilford County in connection with the storm. In Rockingham County, there were five destroyed home or businesses, seven with major damage, 21 with minor damage and 19 affected.Gov. Cooper declared a state of emergency for both counties Friday in preparation for further state or federal disaster aid. Numerous relief groups are at work helping local residents clear debris and begin repairs to homes.Gov. Cooper also spoke with Vice President Michael R. Pence about the storm's impact. Vice President Pence, who toured damage in Greensboro last week, pledged his support as the community works to recover from the storm.If the federal declaration is granted, home and business owners in Guilford and Rockingham counties would be eligible to apply for federal low-interest disaster loans or grants through FEMA to help them repair their homes, rebuild their businesses and begin the long recovery process.The National Weather Service determined that an EF2 tornado with winds up to 135 miles per hour touched down in east Greensboro just after 5 p.m. Sunday and traveled north into Rockingham County. The storm's damage path is 33.6 miles long and about a quarter mile wide, ending at Ruffin in Rockingham County. Three schools in Greensboro were extensively damaged to the point that they will not reopen this year. As many as 85,000 homes and businesses were without power after the storm, but power crews have now restored most customers.To read the Governor's letter, please click HERE If the tax plan were truly a plan for the middle class and not a plan for the rich, it wouldn't lavish nearly as many benefits on the wealthiest Americans: phasing out the estate tax, eliminating the alternative minimum tax, cutting the business pass-through tax rate. The Trump-GOP plan would also chop the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 20% - a move that heavily favors affluent people because they own a disproportionate share of corporate stocks. We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness. (emphasis added) When it comes to debates over tax reform or tax cuts (rarely for tax increases), it is quite typical for questions of fairness and justice to be part of the conversation. During and after deliberations over the 2013 tax reforms and cuts in North Carolina, opponents of the plan vociferously argued that the results were "unfair." The same arguments are being made regarding recent cuts made at the federal level. While accusations of unfairness in the tax code are thrown around quite liberally in such debates, rarely, if ever, do they define or defend the meaning of "fairness." Yet, without a clear definition of the concept, it cannot act as a meaningful guide to tax policy.While those who embrace the rhetoric of tax fairness in their arguments regarding tax policy have not put forth a rigorously defined standard, there is one thing that tends to come through in nearly all of their arguments, namely that those who are making relatively higher incomes are not paying enough. (As an aside, it is rarely argued that lower-income people are paying too much.) Or, in the case of recent tax cut plans, the complaint is that those at higher incomes, i.e., the rich, are getting too large a cut relative to those at lower income levels. Complaints such as this one from The Guardian are typical:Leaving aside the accuracy of the statement, including (and maybe especially) the assumption that it is rich shareholders who benefit from corporate tax cuts primarily, the question that is not addressed, in this article or anywhere else in these writings, is why. Why should the issue of fairness be based on how much higher-income taxpayers pay, or, in this case, save, relative to lower income taxpayers? In fact, why should the fair treatment of one group depend on the fair treatment of another group?I guess that, consciously or not, the typical "tax fairness" advocate sees the world through the lense of class struggle. The distribution of incomes is, at best, a zero-sum game where people do not receive higher incomes because they provide more desirable goods or services to society and therefore are rewarded for their greater contribution to social well-being. It is, instead, because they are simply able to exploit others because they are better at gaming the capitalist system. Therefore, the gains of higher income people come at the expense of lower-income people and are therefore unjustly acquired.Taxation, particularly the income tax, is seen, not simply as a way to raise money to fund the government, but as a way to right a wrong or to correct an injustice. The tax system should be used to equalize incomes. That is, to coercively transfer revenues from higher income individuals, typically using a steeply progressive rate structure, to those with lower incomes. Typically, this is not done through tax reductions for lower-income families, which would allow them to keep more of their own money, but through government-run social programs. In other words, this concept of fairness is based on the ability of the state to use its coercive powers to reorganize the social outcomes that had been determined by the voluntary exchanges made in the market.Unfortunately, those that continuously complain about the relative fairness of recent tax changes, at both the state and federal level, force us to speculate about the true foundations of their arguments because they are unwilling to make them explicit and defend them.So, is there an alternative way to think about the issue of tax fairness, one that is more consistent with individual liberty and the moral principles that form the foundation of American society? The answer is yes, and it is generally stated in Article 1, Section 1 of the North Carolina Constitution . The full section should sound mostly quite familiar. It states:What is added to the familiar statement of rights, made explicit in the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, is the idea that people have a Creator-endowed right to the enjoyment of the fruits of their labor. And in a free market economy such as ours, the fruits of one's labor are their income. The N.C. Constitution simply makes explicit the obvious, namely that without the right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness really have no meaning. Clearly, to the extent that the government denies a person the right to his income, which is his means of pursuing his other rights, he is also denied the right to these other rights. Indeed, in the limit, slavery is the 100 percent denial of the right of someone to the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor - his income.This leads to a very different perspective on tax fairness or justice. If what is fair or just is viewed through the lenses of the Creator-endowed rights as made explicit above, then a tax system is fair to the extent that it minimizes the injustice, i.e., the denial of rights to one's income. The lighter the tax burden, the fairer the system. If a tax change increases the burden on some people, regardless of their income level, and reduces it on others, then the change can be said to increase the injustice on the former group and reduce it on the latter. Note that fairness is not about how one group is treated relative to the other. In this sense, it is an absolute standard of fairness of justice, not a relative one.Also, it should be noted that embedded in this standard is the notion that all people have the same rights. In the case of their income, it is equality under the law. So, again, contrary to the more standard way of looking at fairness, based on an exploitation theory of income, a progressive rate structure should be viewed as unjust. This is because such a structure is based on the idea that higher-income people should have fewer rights to their income then lower-income taxpayers. As your income increases, your rights to that income are reduced. The concept of equality under the law suggests that the fairest or most just tax structure would be one that utilized a flat rate, similar to what North Carolina implemented in 2013.The standard view of tax fairness, to the extent that it is explicitly defined at all, is inconsistent with America's founding principles. Its implementation depends on a fundamental denial of rights. The entire approach depends on the justness of using government coercion to rearrange the distribution of incomes across individuals. In other words, it depends on the blatant denial of one's right to life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of one's labor, and the pursuit of happiness. This perspective needs to be challenged, but not without offering an alternative, one based on the fundamental notions of justice upon which this country was built. The N.C. Constitution points us in that direction by recognizing that the right to one's income is a fundamental right. And to the extent that that right is violated an injustice, an unfairness is perpetrated. William Lloyd Russ Sheriff Ernie Coleman Beaufort County Sheriff's Office On 04/02/2018 at about 3:00 am members of the Pinetown, Bunyan and Bath Volunteer Fire Departments responded to a reported abandoned house fire on North White Post Road in the Pinetown area of Beaufort County. The fire was immediately believed to be suspicious and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office responded to begin an investigation.About 2 weeks later on 04/21/2018 at about 9:30 am members of the Pinetown Volunteer Fire Department and the NC Forestry Service were dispatched to a brush fire in the area of 1125 North White Post Road. That fire was also believed to be suspicious, as area residents saw and described a suspect seen coming out of the woods near the fire and leaving the area on a bicycle.On 04/24/2018 at about 4:30 am an elderly resident of North White Post Road, while sleeping, heard noises in her garage. She armed herself and went to investigate. She saw a man standing at her door attempting to gain entry into her residence. Once the suspect realized he had been detected he turned and ran from the scene. While the Sheriff's Office was investigating that incident, area residents awakened to find someone had broken into their cars and stolen a number of items including money, glasses and cell phones. Acting on a tip from an area resident, the suspect was identified and located. His residence was searched and multiple stolen items from the car break-ins and from the garage of the homeowner who confronted him at her door, were recovered.After conducting interviews, collecting the stolen property and interviewing the suspect himself, Beaufort County Sheriff's Investigators charged William Lloyd Russ, age 37 of Pinetown with 1 count of First Degree Burglary, 1 count of Burning of Other Buildings, 1 count of Setting Fire to Grass or Woods, 1 count of Breaking and Entering, 2 counts of Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle and 4 counts of Larceny After Breaking and Entering. Russ was ordered held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $75,000.00 secured bond. Russ is likely facing more charges in this case. Computer Weekly 1 May 2018: Making music with AI In this weeks Computer Weekly, we look at how artificial intelligence is being used in the creative industries such as music and books and ask whether AI can ever replace human creativity. TSBs IT meltdown is symptomatic of the tech challenges facing UK banks we examine the issues. And our latest buyers guide analyses the trends in big data. Also featured: Open University research assesses the women in IT landscapes in the UK and India. Jussi Sorvali, head of IT at Finland-based smartphone manufacturer HMD Global, explains how the new company turned to the cloud to get its entire IT department up and running quickly. Hybrid cloud object storage products are an emerging category. We look at the use cases driving their emergence and the suppliers that are leading the way. Some vintners have installed owl boxes to attract barn owls because they are known to assist with rodent control. Unfortunately, this practice attracts the owls to precisely the venue in which they can easily be poisoned by rodenticides. Photo by Kathleen McManus/The HSUS 741 shares The Humane Society of the United States has two affiliated wildlife centers that rescue and rehabilitate thousands of orphaned and injured animals each year. Holly Hazard, our senior vice president of programs and innovation, visits these facilities for discussions with their management teams about the state of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and about the current challenges facing those who work in this important area of direct care. Recently, on a visit to the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, Calif., Holly found staff colleagues dealing with an unusual problem an increase in the number of barn owls coming in with symptoms of poisoning. Today, on the blog, Ive invited her to share her observations. At the Fund of Animals Wildlife Center near San Diego, our staff treats and releases native California wildlife, including opossums, skunks, raptors, bobcats and bears. On a recent visit there, Christine Barton, director of operations at the wildlife center, told me about this seasons disturbing increase in barn owl poisoning intakes. Barn owls are a predator species, native to California. Christine believes the burgeoning wine industry in San Diego County, which has doubled since 2010, may be the cause of the problem. Many vineyards, committed to traditional rodent control to protect their crops, use cruel and environmentally damaging rodenticides to poison rats and other animals foraging on grapes. Newer poisons act slowly and owls have an opportunity to prey on the dying animals and then become poisoned themselves. Worse yet, they may bring their prey back to the nest and feed the poisonous rat, squirrel or gopher carcasses to their owlets. After eating the poison, the victim can suffer internal bleeding, which eventually leads to a slow, painful death. If the mother is the victim, the situation leaves the owlets behind as starving orphans. Christine also worries that larger predators, like bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions, while not poisoned directly, are also eating the bodies of poisoned animals, and succumbing to mange and other ailments in increasing numbers. Ironically, some vintners have installed owl boxes to attract barn owls because they are known to assist with rodent control. Unfortunately, this practice attracts the owls to precisely the venue in which they can easily be poisoned by rodenticides. There are other vintners, however, warning of the negative impacts of rodenticides and promoting alternatives that could both protect crops and spare native wildlife. Ramona Ranch Vineyard and Winery, for instance, is working with the wildlife center to educate the public and other wineries on the successful and environmentally friendly pest-control options its managers successfully use at their vineyard. These options include owl boxes, beneficial bugs and snakes. There are many organic and biodynamic wineries that do not use pesticides. Im pleased to know that the wildlife center and other non-profits in California are working to sensitize wine growers to the indirect cost of using poisons. Its a good example of the vital role that wildlife sanctuaries play in helping to identify and address inadvertent and unintended threats to animals. By detecting the nature and scope of such dangers, we can forge strategies to spare wild animals from harm. Portland, Maine Consider Paid Sick Leave Requirement for All Businesses Many businesses offer paid sick leave to their employees, but not all businesses can afford to. However, a growing number of states and cities are making paid sick leave a required cost of doing business within their borders. Portland, Maine has become the latest city to do so, with a new ordinance receiving some fierce support and opposition before the city council. The Proposed Ordinance Portland's mandatory sick leave ordinance would force employers to give their full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked (for a total of 48 hours per year). It could be used for physical or mental health, victims of sexual assault or stalking, and caring for a family member. Every absence that lasts three days or more would require a doctor's note, and unused time would roll over to the following year. Employers violating the ordinance could be forced to pay up to three times the amount of back wages owed in addition to a city fine of $100 per day. Proposal "Socially Just" Proponents of the ordinance argue that without sick leave, employees feel forced to go to work even if they're sick or injured. They also say that the lack of mandatory sick leave is especially hard on immigrants, low-income workers, and people who live paycheck-to-paycheck. Eliza Townsend of the Maine Women's Lobby, which helped draft the proposal, argued that the ordinance would primarily affect women and minorities in retail, home care, and hospitality. She called the proposal "needed, reasonable, and socially just." Proposal Needs More Thorough Discussion However, some business owners argued that while the aim of the ordinance is commendable, it would impose unaffordable costs on small businesses. They stressed the fact that profit margins are already thin for small businesses, and that it would force some to stop offering other popular benefits already in place, such as general paid time off. Quincy Hentze of the Chamber of Commerce opposed the proposal, arguing it should be the result of a more thorough discussion that includes business owners. "Good policy comes when all parties sit down at the table, determine if there's a there's actually a problem that needs to be addressed, and have an honest conversation and work towards common goals." Paid Sick Leave in Other States, Cities Nearly 30 cities and nine states already have mandatory paid sick leave rules similar to Portland's proposal. Some municipalities, such as Austin, TX, have recently passed compulsory paid sick leave laws despite stiff opposition. The laws vary with regard to how many days of leave are required and how many employees a business must have in order to be subject to the law. Whether you're an employer accused of violating employment laws, or an employee whose rights have been violated, speak with an attorney who knows the relevant laws and can advocate for you. Related Resources: Woman Injured in Oregon Natural Gas Explosion First to File Lawsuit On October 19, 2016, a powerful explosion ripped through Portland's Northwest 23rd Avenue area. A natural gas line maintained by Loy Clark Pipeline exploded, leveling some buildings, and shattering windows in many others nearby. Gail Needham was working in one of those nearby buildings as a dental hygienist. The force of the explosion shattered the windows of the examination room where she was working with a patient, pushing her to the floor, sending glass shards into her back, and giving her a concussion. Needham filed a lawsuit against Loy Clark this week -- the first such suit following the blast. Explosive Effects Needham is still suffering the effects of the blast today. She still has trouble seeing, experiences ringing in her ears, and has suffered hearing loss, according to her lawsuit. Her doctor said Needham could only then started reading again a year after the explosion, but still has "bad days" when she couldn't read at all. She also still suffers from headaches and post-traumatic stress disorder, and has only been able to return to work part-time. Needham is suing Loy Clark for $20,000 in lost wages, $19,000 in medical bills, and an additional $650,000 for pain, suffering, and interference with her daily activities. Blast Settlements Loy Clark, for its part, has admitted fault in the explosion, and spokesperson Andrea Blessum told the Oregonian that the company and its insurer have settled or closed around 88 percent of all claims filed in response to the explosion. "I'd like to believe the number of claims we've closed is a sign that we're working with people who've been impacted to do what we can to help them recover." Needham's attorney, Jason Kafoury, said settlement talks with the company's insurer have been unsuccessful because his client's medical bills are still accumulating and her physical condition hasn't stabilized yet. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined Loy Clark Pipeline dug into a sidewalk without first checking to see if there were natural gas lines underneath, and fined the company $4,900 for safety violations. Related Resources: Yahoo! JAPAN Yahoo! JAPAN A measles outbreak in Kansas continues to spread. Health officials warn folks who are potentially contagious to call ahead and find locations where they can safely be treated. Vaccinate your kids. Via the Kansas City Star: With two doses, the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR vaccine, is about 97 percent effective at preventing measles. But the illness is highly contagious and can be spread several days before the telltale red rash that follows the other, more ambiguous symptoms. That has made it difficult to keep it out of hospitals and doctors' offices during the two outbreaks that have hit the Kansas City metro area in the last two months. In addition to St. Joseph Medical Center, the University of Kansas Hospital, Children's Mercy Hospital in Overland Park and Olathe Health clinics in La Cygne and Mound City have also been potential exposure sites. Robyn Livingston, a Children's Mercy doctor who specializes in infectious disease, said it's particularly concerning when measles shows up in medical settings unannounced, because hospitals often serve patients who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. "If you think your child has measles, don't just show up to one of our locations," Livingston said. "Which has happened." Livingston said it's imperative that people who suspect measles call ahead, so doctors and hospitals can arrange to segregate them from others. Though most people who get measles fully recover, it can cause potentially fatal complications like pneumonia and, more rarely, encephalitis. School isn't always fun. In fact, during the weeks of back-to-back midterms and finals it can make you want to scream or break down and have a good ol' fashioned cry. Enter the Cry Closet, Utah University's therapeutic stand-alone tiny room complete with cute plushies you can cuddle with while you let it all out. Rules posted on the Cry Closet include: Knock before entering Only one person in the closet at a time Limit your time in the closet to no more than 10 minutes Turn lights and timer off before leaving Use #cryclosetuofu if posting on social media The Cry Closet wasn't built or funded by the university, but instead is a student project. According to Oddity Central: Created by University of Utah student and visual artist Nemo Miller in woodshop class, the cry closet is lined with a black interior, and features plush stuffed animals inside that students can hug and squeeze as they cry. Whether it's midterm exams, getting dumped via text message or just having a bad day, students can cry in peace, at least for 10 minutes. Check out these photos tweeted by @aJackieLarsen: so my school installed a cry closet in the library LMFAOOOOOOOOO what is higher education pic.twitter.com/6rGcJv9qjr jacks (@aJackieLarsen) April 24, 2018 Image: pxhere In 1912, Don the dog took American vaudeville by storm. A European immigrant, Don spoke German, or at least 8 words of it. He reportedly said things like kuchen ("cake"), hunger (same word in English and German), and his own name. A celebrity and media darling, Don went from the stage to starring in newspaper ads for Maltoid Milk-Bone dog treats. Over at Smithsonian, Greg Daugherty tells the whole story of this curious canine: Off stage, Don's purported ability to talk was taken seriously even in academic circles. Lending some credence to the notion that a dog might actually converse, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell had once claimed that as a young man he taught his Skye terrier to say "How are you grandmamma?" On a 1913 visit to San Francisco, Don and his handlers called on J. C. Merriam, a respected paleontologist at the University of California at Berkeley, who, if contemporary newspaper accounts are to be believed, was "astonished" and "declared his belief that the dog can reason and think for himself." Earlier, the respected journal Science had another explanation, based on statements by a University of Berlin professor who had also examined Don. His conclusion, the journal reported in May 1912, was that "the speech of Don is to be regarded properly as the production of sounds which produce illusions in the hearer." Business / Companies by Agencies With the Zimbabwean economy opening up and new possibilities for trade emerging, Zimnat has established a specialist division offering trade credit insurance to cover the risk of payment default that a trader supplying goods on credit faces.The new stand-alone division, which is located at 71 Mull Road in Harare's Belvedere suburb, also offers surety bonds and guarantees.Trade credit insurance protects traders who supply goods or services on credit against the risk of payment default. Zimnat's trade credit insurance is available to protect against such default in respect of both local and foreign trade.The General Manager of Zimnat's Trade Credit, Bonds and Guarantees Division, Mr Shepherd Tembo, said the division hoped to facilitate exports through the trade credit insurance it offered."The division expects to promote and facilitate international trade through export trade credit insurance, which will give local companies the confidence to export to different international markets, knowing that the risk of non-payment is offset by the insurance cover they have."Because Zimnat will be taking over that risk, it obviously has to undertake due diligence and thoroughly vet the companies that are being supplied with goods on credit."That means that the company taking out the insurance policy has the added benefit of a free vetting service. Often such vetting, particularly when it is of a company abroad, is costly," he said.He added that the insurance would also be useful to exporters seeking a bank loan to finance their exports. Where a bank loan was involved, the insurance provided the bank too with some protection.One of the barriers there had been to the growth of companies' operations and the country's economic development had been lack of access to credit, he pointed out.Companies taking out trade credit insurance did not have to worry about debt collection, in the event of default, as Zimnat would take care of recovering the money from the debtor, he said.Mr Tembo said the new division, which is staffed by experienced trade credit insurance and surety bonds and guarantees experts, intended to remodel the way trade credit insurance and suretyship are transacted in Zimbabwe through tailoring what otherwise would be generic products to suit particular circumstances in order to facilitate trade and unlock value.Domestic Credit Insurance is available to local suppliers to cover the risk of non-payment when they offer trade credit to local companies.Export Credit Insurance covers the risk of non-payment when exporters offer trade credit to foreign buyers.Zimnat offers Supply Chain Finance Credit Insurance, also knowns as Reverse Factoring, to trade finance companies or the trade and finance department of a bank that is willing to settle supplier invoices in advance before the invoice payment due date."In this way the insurance provides suppliers with access to advantageous financing facilities by leveraging on the buyer's stronger credit rating," Mr Tembo said.Zimnat also offers Services Credit Insurance against the risk of payment default by a service provider's customers.It offers Receivable Purchaser of Trade Finance Credit Insurance to trade financers and banks when they provide invoice discounting and debt factoring services. This covers the risk of payment default posed by the underlying debtors on factored or discounted invoices.Zimnat's Trade Credit, Bonds and Guarantees Division also offers Salary Based Loans Insurance to financial institutions providing consumer finance to salaried individuals and Lease Finance Insurance to leasing institutions and banks providing asset finance and leasing services.The division offers trade facilitation bonds as well. These are bonds and guarantees requested by suppliers of goods and commodities when they extend deferred payment terms to traders under a trade-related contract or by purchasers who advance payments to suppliers under a supply contract.These Performance or Advance Payment Bonds guarantee the successful execution of the underlying trade contracts by the traders or suppliers.The division also offers Surety Bonds and Guarantees to assist prospective clients within the construction, shipping and freight forwarding sectors as well as estate executors and administrators in conducting their business, by providing the necessary bonds and guarantees required by those engaging or considering contracting them. Entertainment / Arts by Staff reporter TOP poet Albert Nyathi yesterday unveiled a Mzilikazi musical that previously set him on a collision course with theatre producer Cont Mhlanga and South Africa's Mbongeni Ngema who also claimed to be originators of the concept, although they had not yet produced it due to financial constraints.Nyathi told NewsDay Life & Style that he came up with the idea of Mzilikazi: The General Who Dared Shaka Zulu in the mid-1990s before sharing it with Mhlanga and Ngema.He said he had finally ironed out his differences with the duo."I thought about this project in the 1990s. It was more like a musical at a university directed by my lecturer and I was playing the lead role as (South Africa's founding president Nelson) Mandela. After that, I realised that I wanted to do something about Mzilikazi because he is a well-known person in Southern Africa," he said.Nyathi said he would be consulting Mhlanga and Ngema should the need arise.A few years ago, Mhlanga lashed out at Nyathi over the project which he said was based on his idea."It's not an issue anymore. We have resolved everything. Mhlanga has said I should go ahead. He will support me and I think he would play a role in directing in it. We spoke with Ngema last year. I think I will romp him in," Nyathi said.He said the production was international and in the mould of outstanding productions like Iph' iNtombi, King Kong and Sarafina."Mzilikazi aims to place Zimbabwe firmly on the regional and international map as a musical force to be reckoned with," he said, adding that the production was full of surprises and riveting revelations about the historical Ndebele king.He said discussions on the cast were currently underway with some of the region's biggest names in musical theatre.Although Mhlanga confirmed that they had given Nyathi the greenlight, his version of the musical was "lighter" than theirs."The way we wanted to do ours was different from Nyathi. We have agreed that he can go ahead with the production as ours needs a bigger budget. He called me and said he wanted to go ahead and I told him it was okay as the production can be told in many versions," he said. News / International by Tidi Kwidini Zimbabwe Achievers International has announced that Funeral Service Provider, Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan (DFCP) have come on board as one of the events' major sponsors.Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan is a cash based life insurance cover, paid in US dollars, and underwritten by reputable specialist life insurance companies in different niche markets, targeted at diaspora communities.DFCP spokesperson, Roda Williams said: "We are proud to be coming on board as a key partner to sponsor the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards. It is an initiative, which has for almost a decade, brought the Zimbabwean community together and, through it we have celebrated, networked and grown in our respective businesses.""We are committed to supporting community initiatives like ZAA because it brings the community together and gives a sense of purpose. Our aim is to continue to develop that community spirit," she added.Executive Director for DFCP, Dr Sibert Mandega welcomed the partnership and said he looked forward to a promising journey with the organisation.Mandega said that the organisation is committed to supporting, engaging, building and being a source to the community in the diaspora."To date we have settled thousands of claims to help bereaved families give their loved ones a dignified send-off," he said."We pride ourselves as an organisation whose service is structured to assist the public and that is able to bridge a social crisis.We are always striving to work with the community to provide a bespoke solution, to an age old problem where bereaved families financially struggle," he added.The bespoke Funeral Cash Plan is available on a guaranteed acceptance basis to every Zimbabwean and Zambian worldwide. The insurance is inclusive and covers repatriation, burials abroad, as well as cremations.Meanwhile, the organisation announced earlier in the campaign that Fintech Company, WorldRemit would be this year's global partner, sponsoring the South African, UK, USA and Australian editions. Other sponsors announced for the UK edition include, Steward Bank, Ndasenda, Propertyend, Vaka Buildings,Savannah Freight, Starcover and eZimtech.The awards are taking place on Saturday 12 May 2018 at the Grange City Hotel in London.Limited tickets for the gala are still on sale and the organisers have encouraged those still wanting to attend to purchase them as soon as possible, as there may not be any tickets available on the day. They are being sold exclusively from www.zimachievers.com/uk and priced at 85.The ZAA annual gala is now in its eighth year and has become the society red carpet event of the year, bringing together business leaders and innovators from all sectors to celebrate the achievements of Zimbabweans living in the UK. Opinion / Columnist Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. Albert Einstein once said: "Truth and trust are vital ingredients for any politician and would-be leader.Mr Nelson Chamisa, throughout his career, has been used to saying the wrong thing and getting away with it largely because he wasn't considered a significant enough leader.However, now he is a candidate for president everything he says can potentially make headlines and recent events haveshown how careless he is with his language.Mr Chamisa has already got himself in hot water over a lie that put him in direct opposition to the American Administration.Earlier in the year, the United States had to publicly distanceitself from claims by the MDC Alliance leader when he claimed that President Donald Trump promised the opposition party a $15 billion kitty should they win the forthcoming elections.Rather than apologising for the careless mishap, Mr Chamisadenied ever saying it, compounding his error and embarrassing himself further. Among a long catalogue of other careless and inaccurate statements by Mr Chamisa, another involved the family of Dr Joshua Nkomo, whose family Mr Chamisa said had offered him the former's sceptre."I was so touched when I went to Dr Nkomo'sMatsheumhlophe house. I was going there to see the history of this nation. However, the family told me one thing, they said ever since the death of Dr Nkomo, I am the first national leader to visit the house, they even offered to give me Dr Nkomo's traditional sceptre (intonga)," Mr Chamisa claimed. Dr Nkomo's son, Mr Sibangilizwe, dismissed Mr Chamisa'sutterance, questioning "that a young man like Chamisa can speak such an abomination?""It's not a matter that you can joke about. It's an abomination that he can talk cheaply about intonga ka baba. It's the property of our ancestors. It represents our family's ancestry and it is unacceptable for him to joke around with such matters," said Mr Sibangilizwe Nkomo. Other, far more dangerous lies was when Mr Chamisasensationally claimed that "Zanu-PF plants" were behind the assault on his bitter rival Dr Thokozani Khupe during the burial of Morgan Tsvangirai in February. These are just a few examples.He has stretched the truth to the limit too many times, so much that internationally-acclaimed Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono has coined the term "Wambalogy of the Week", pertaining to the lie Chamisa will spin over the next seven days."Chamisa's lies have become so outrageous and frequent that we need to examine his unsavoury habit from a psychological perspective looking at both compulsive and pathological lying," Harare base columnist lConway Nkumbuzo Tutanirecently wrote.He goes on to explain that getting a compulsive liar to admit he or she lied can be nearly impossible. Indeed, some people get so accustomed to lying that they do so even when there is no clear purpose, and when their lies are easily disproven, leaving everyone scratching their heads over the point of their deceptions. Unfortunately, more and more Zimbabweans, even many MDC supporters are asking questions about Mr Chamisa'serratic behaviour and propensity for lies and untruths.These are seriously worryingly character traits for someone who wants to gain our trust enough to achieve our vote so that he might be in charge of our national affairs, economy and army.These continued lies are not just harming his chances in the upcoming elections; they are creating massive mistrust in the man by his own followers.There is growing disappointment, rather than anger among some of Chamisa's supporters. It is reminiscent of the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who once said: "I am not upset that you lied to me, I am upset that from now on I can't believe you." Millennial Men Are Not Selfish and Self-Obsessed, Science Says Trending News: Millennial Men Aren't Selfish and Entitled, According To Study Long Story Short Millennial men. Selfish, self-obsessed and entitled, right? Wrong, according to a new study. Long Story Sometimes it feels like every second day theres someone taking shots at millennials. Theyre lazy, entitled, selfish, commitment-phobes or so the thinking goes (of course, many of those opinions come from the baby boomer generation that still tends to control the reins in media.) But what if, contrary to popular stereotypes, young men today are actually selfless, socially engaged and health-conscious? Because thats the finding of a new collaborative study from Canadas University of British Columbia and Intensions Consulting, a Vancouver-based market research firm. Researchers spoke to 630 Canadian men aged 15 to 29 and found the value they most strongly endorsed was selflessness. Ninety-one percent of men thought a man should help other people, with 80 percent believing that a man should give back to the community. Openness was also highly valued, with 88 percent saying a man should be open to new ideas, experiences and people. Related: Cougar Town? Plenty Of Millennials Are Willing To Date Someone Older The other value that scored high was health, with the majority of participants in the study saying men should be healthy or in good shape. Interestingly, this didnt mean more traditional male values were a total waste. Seventy-five percent of men said physical strength was important its just that the number doesnt stack up against the 87 percent who valued intellectual strength, or the 83 percent who valued emotional strength. Young Canadian men seem to be holding masculine values that are distinctly different from those of previous generations, said lead author John Oliffe. Oliffe heads up the men's health research program at the University of British Columbia. These values may run counter to long-standing claims that young men are typically hedonistic, hyper-competitive and that they risk or neglect their health. Oliffes comments tap into one major issue with the study. It surveyed Canadians. And we all know how great those northerners are. Oliffe says one of the next steps would be to include other age groups and geographical locations into the study. Still, this goes a long way to neutering some of the incessant inter-generational sniping when it comes to millennials. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Are Canadians a good barometer for the rest of the western world on this issue? Drop This Fact Millennials recently eclipsed Gen X-ers as the largest share of the American workforce. 56 million are either working or looking for work in 2017. By Julie Gordon and Anirban Paul (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp (Toronto:TRP.TO - News) on Friday beat profit estimates and said it does not expect major changes in throughput on its Keystone pipeline once pressure restrictions related to a leak in South Dakota are removed. Net income rose to C$734 million, or 83 Canadian cents per share, in the first quarter from C$643 million, or 74 Canadian cents per share, for the same period in 2017. (https://bit.ly/2r4qjZn) Excluding items, TransCanada earned 98 Canadian cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate by 14 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Pressure has been restricted on the 590,000 barrel per day Keystone pipeline since late last year, after the line leaked some 9,700 barrels of oil in South Dakota. Canadian producers had hoped a return to full capacity on the line would help relieve a bottleneck in the oil-rich province of Alberta, where increased output has run up against a shortage of pipeline and rail capacity. The restrictions "really did have a minor impact on our throughput and so consequently, I don't anticipate seeing a tremendous increase in our throughput once it's lifted, based on some of the changes we've made already," said TransCanada's head of liquids Paul Miller on a conference call. Miller also said the company was continuing to work towards starting construction on the Keystone XL expansion in 2019 and that $8 billion remains "a good number" for capital costs. The long-delayed Keystone XL project has pitted environmentalists, who worry about spills, against industry, who say the project will shore up discounted Canadian oil prices and attract investment to Canada's energy sector. The company also said the LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export project was looking positive following news the company had selected a contractor to lead construction. TransCanada, which is building the pipeline that would connects the export terminal to Canadian gas fields, said the bulk of its capital spending will be in 2021 and 2022, assuming the project goes ahead. Story continues The company expects to invest C$21 billion in the near term, down from the C$23 billion it had earmarked earlier. TransCanada said earnings from its oil pipelines, of which Keystone is the biggest contributor, rose 50 percent to C$341 million ($264.90 million) in the first quarter . TransCanada said earnings from its Canadian natural gas pipelines fell 10.2 percent to C$253 million in the reported quarter. Revenue rose marginally to C$3.42 billion from C$3.41 billion. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan and Anirban Paul in Bengaluru and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Cynthia Osterman) B.C. is asking its highest court to decide if the government has the right to bring in stricter rules for companies looking to ferry more heavy oil like diluted bitumen through the province. That would include crude flowing by way of an expanded pipeline, such as Kinder Morgan's expanded project. As part of its reference case filed Thursday morning, the province put draft legislation before the court that would amend the Environmental Protection Act with the new regulations. The province is essentially asking the B.C. Court of Appeal if it has the jurisdiction to bring that draft into reality. "In other words, can we do it?" Attorney General David Eby said Thursday. It's the latest move in B.C.'s resistance to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Under the draft, companies hoping to bring more diluted bitumen through B.C. would need a permit from the province. Companies could also be required to show a spill-response plan in advance. An independent director would grant the permits, making the decision based on the best scientific research available. The director would also consult with Indigenous groups and the broader public before making a choice. The new legislation would only apply to the movement of heavy oils, which the province considers to be the highest risk in the event of a spill. The proposed legislation would not affect current shipments of diluted bitumen through B.C. It would only apply to companies seeking to expand shipments. There is no estimate on how long it will take the court to hear the reference case. In Canadian law, governments submit reference questions to the courts to ask for advisory opinion on major legal issues. Kinder Morgan issued a statement in response to B.C.'s announcement, saying the company is "clear and steadfast" in its goals: clarifying its ability to build in B.C. and protecting its stakeholders. An emailed statement said the proposed legislation signals the province's "continued intention to frustrate the project." Story continues Premier John Horgan has long said B.C.'s coastline and jobs could be at risk if the pipeline expansion goes through, tripling the capacity of an existing pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C. "We know that British Columbians have a deep, personal connection with our coast, with our fish, with our wildlife," Horgan said Thursday. "It's our responsibility to defend the interests of British Columbians." Asked what he'd have to say directly to Kinder Morgan, Horgan said: "I don't work for Kinder Morgan. I work for the people of British Columbia we have set ourselves on a course and I'm going to continue to do that." Pipeline politics Alberta is in favour of the project, as is the federal government. The provinces have been sparring over the pipeline for weeks, in a battle that has sparked trade wars and a national summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said B.C.'s explanation of its reference case "makes no sense." "If bitumen were so hazardous, why would we only be looking at the incremental bitumen that's in the new pipeline?" she said Thursday. "This isn't about environment, this is about the new pipeline." Notley, a lawyer, said she doesn't believe B.C. has jurisdiction "to do what they are proposing to do." Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also reacted to the draft legislation, saying the B.C. government is using "whatever tactics they can to slow or stall or stop the investment into the Trans Mountain pipeline." "With the inaction we see from the federal government in asserting their jurisdiction in this area, the government of British Columbia is having their way if you will," he said. Ahead of the announcement, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna reiterated Ottawa's intention to get the pipeline built. In a statement addressed to B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman, she outlined environmental measures she says the federal government has already taken to mitigate the damage in the event of a spill, including increased capacity to tow ships and five new emergency response stations. McKenna also floated the idea of a joint Ottawa-B.C. panel of scientists to enhance existing research on oil spills to address the province's concerns. The panel would make use of the science available on oil spills, including current examples of how to respond, should a number of different petroleum products spill. McKenna also says B.C.'s environment consultations ignored federal programs and policies, which she says explain why Ottawa believes the pipeline is sound. Kinder Morgan curtailed spending on the $7.4-billion project earlier this month, blaming opposition and delays in B.C. The company set May 31 as the deadline for the B.C., Alberta and federal governments to find a solution to the impasse. Trudeau has repeatedly vowed that the project will go ahead. Canada and Britain have reached a formal agreement on ownership of the Franklin expedition wreckage which allows the U.K. to keep all 65 artifacts already discovered by Parks Canada's diving teams. The wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, along with any yet-to-be-discovered artifacts, will be formally transferred to Canada and the Inuit Heritage Trust. Canada will not be seeking compensation from Britain for the recovery and restoration the Franklin relics, which cost millions of dollars. During a news conference at the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., Environment Minister Catherine McKenna expressed gratitude for the "generous" gift. "It's an exceptional step that the government of the U.K. has taken. It's a recognition of the strong relationship between the two countries," she said. The agreement ensures the historic treasures will be available to Inuit, the public and researchers in Canada and the U.K. The 65 items recovered are fragments of the doomed Franklin Expedition's story everything from pieces of the ships themselves to shards of pottery. British High Commissioner to Canada Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque said it's important to keep some of the historical items in U.K.'s custody. "This is part of our history too," she said at the news conference. "And the important thing was to have a representative selection of the artifacts so that people in the U.K. would also be able to remain in touch with this story and understand our shared history. "Because it's not just a Canadian story, it's not an Inuit story. It's a story that affects us all." Marc-Andre Bernier, manager of underwater archeology for Parks Canada, said the next step is to explore and excavate the ships, which are well-preserved. He said he anticipates "amazing surprises," and hopes to find written documents that could shed new light on the historic journey. Story continues "It's also the human story behind every object that we find," Bernier said. "We can talk about people, some of the crew members, who were there who lost their lives trying to find the Northwest Passage and our hope is to bring those back to life." A news release from U.K. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson called it a "historic milestone" in the long-standing cooperation between both countries on the issue. "We have deep historic links with Canada and this gift is testament to our prospering relationship," he said. "The story behind these vessels is both fascinating and incredibly important to the history of both our nations. The U.K. joined forces with the Canadian government and Inuit population to search for these ships for 172 years and I'm delighted they will now be protected for future generations." Both sides announced in October 2017 that ownership of the mid-19th century ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror and their contents, legally owned by Britain's Royal Navy under international law, would be formally transferred to Canada, but details of a formal agreement had not been worked out. Officials have been in negotiations since May 2016. Talks were hampered, in part, by the sensitive question of which artifacts the British would keep, and how Canada would be compensated for their recovery and restoration. Canada and Britain signed a non-binding deal in 1997 before the wrecks were located that confirmed the Royal Navy's ownership but committed Britain to transferring ownership to Canada eventually. Artifacts of 'outstanding significance' An exception was made for any artifacts of "outstanding significance" to the Royal Navy, which Britain would keep after paying Canada compensation. A Parks Canada document obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act said those costs would be difficult to quantify. The Liberal government already has committed to eventually sharing ownership, and management, of the Franklin wrecks and artifacts with the Inuit Heritage Trust, which represents Inuit claims to the historic finds. Protected historic sites The government of Nunavut has also laid claim to ownership of the Franklin ships and artifacts. Nunavut was able to exercise some control over the underwater archeological site where HMS Terror was found in Terror Bay, off King William Island because Parks Canada divers needed permits from the government in Iqaluit to investigate the sunken wreck. The federal cabinet later declared a 57.8 square-kilometre area around HMS Terror part of a protected National Historic Site, which effectively removed it from Nunavut's jurisdiction and gave the wreck legal protection from souvenir hunters. The seabed wreck of HMS Erebus, discovered further south in 2014, was given such federal protected status in 2015. The Royal Navy mounted the 1845 expedition to find a northwest passage under Sir John Franklin. All crew members died after the two ships were trapped by ice, though their exact fate has remained a mystery. The Glace Bay, N.S., man who fell during a vacation in Cuba and fractured his skull is now recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, but it's unclear if he will ever be able to return to his job as a police officer. Brad Maxner, 38, a constable with Cape Breton Regional Police, slipped and fell in his hotel room bathroom April 5. It was the first day of the family's trip to Cuba for a wedding. His wife, Lindsey Maxner, heard the bang and went to check on him. "Just by looking at him I knew something was really wrong," Lindsey Maxner said in an interview. Her husband was unconscious for a short time and disoriented when he woke. Doctors in Havana removed a part of his skull to allow the brain to expand and heal. During the surgery, doctors discovered a bleed on his brain, which they also repaired. The piece of his skull will be put back in six weeks after the swelling diminishes; at that time he will start rehab. Lindsey Maxner said her husband is up and walking, can answer questions but cannot yet carry on a conversation. "His mind isn't exactly where it needs to be but he's where the neurology team wants him to be," she said. Future uncertain It's uncertain if Brad Maxner will be able to return to his job as a police officer. "His job is very physical so that's a worry," said Lindsey Maxner. She said if her husband recovers and returns to work she doesn't want him to be injured if he is put in a rough situation. At this point the doctors aren't telling them what the future holds, she said. There is no timeline on when the couple can go home to Glace Bay. Lindsey Maxner has been with her husband every step of the way and had taken time off work so she can stay with him until his homecoming. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $19,000 for the family. "We're here for the long haul," she said. Drivers in Ottawa watching gas prices creep higher and higher shouldn't expect to see much relief at the pump anytime soon, says one industry analyst. Dan McTeague, a senior analyst with the website GasBuddy.com, told CBC News that it's going to be an expensive summer for Ottawa drivers. "If we can get to $1.37 or $1.38 right now, we're likely to see a dip, but during the summer we'll see heavy, robust demand for gasoline, which could see prices moving another five to seven cents a litre higher than what we're seeing now," McTeague said. Potentially $1.42, $1.43 in Ottawa, perhaps higher elsewhere." That dip will likely come before the May long weekend, he said, but after that the forecast isn't pretty. "I'm not thinking there's going to be a lot of days where we see prices heading below, say, $1.25. $1.25 to $1.35 looks like the new normal." McTeague noted there's been a rise in the price of oil since Christmas from about $50 a barrel to about $67 or $68 now. The Canadian dollar usually moves in lockstep with the price of oil as prices go up, so does the value of the Canadian dollar but this hasn't happened in this case, he said. "If the Canadian dollar were the same trading level as the U.S., you'd be saving 15 cents a litre," he said. Demand up McTeague noted refineries in Sarnia, Ont. and Quebec are out of commission for spring maintenance which is putting some tightness on supply. Also putting pressure on supply is the big picture of oil consumption globally. "The world is consuming more oil, not less," McTeague said. "Increasing amounts of oil and gasoline are being diverted to other parts of the world where demand is increasing no matter what the price is." There won't be any relief in the cost of gas for the foreseeable future, McTeague predicted. Drivers will likely absorb the cost over the next few months but won't be happy about it. The only thing for drivers to do now, he said, is to keep an eye on the Canadian dollar and cross their fingers something will change. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna has written an open letter to B.C.'s environment minister proposing the creation of a joint scientific panel to study oil spills and response measures. "Such a panel would build on our science investments and results, take stock of work on the fate, behaviour and effects of various oil products in different spill conditions and under extreme Canadian climates in order to inform further scientific work under the [ocean protection plan] and spill response modelling, preparedness and response measures," McKenna said in the letter. The joint federal-provincial-Indigenous panel would be made up of independent experts, would have a national scope and would look at a variety of oil products, the letter said. McKenna said in the letter that the initiative is a result of government officials looking for a way to "alleviate any ongoing concerns regarding spill response capacity" associated with the planned construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline. B.C. Premier John Horgan and his coalition partners in the B.C. Green Party have been vehemently opposed to the construction of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the B.C. coast. Their primary stated concern is the threat of a spill of diluted bitumen off the province's coast. Plugging ocean protection gaps Earlier this month, Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa to discuss the standoff between Alberta which wants the pipeline and B.C., which is against it. After that meeting, Horgan said he would continue to push the federal government to plug the gaps he sees in the federal oceans protections plan touted by Trudeau as a measure to address the threat of a spill. "We have asked officials, our officials in British Columbia, to work with the federal government to ensure that, for example, when they're applying more resources to the oceans protection plan that they focus on the gaps that we see up the coast," Horgan said at the time. Story continues McKenna's proposal seems designed to address Horgan's concerns. The letter says the joint science panel would "articulate a seamless land-to-sea system to protect British Columbia from spill risks through integrated work on planning, preparedness, response, and recovery and critical alignment of safety and response systems in our respective jurisdictions. "Initial steps would include identifying any potential incidents whose impacts are most likely to cross jurisdictions, and improving upon joint systems and protocols to address environmental risks and incidents, including spills." Horgan seemed to welcome the move Thursday when questioned about it at an event announcing that B.C. is seeking a court decision on whether the provincial government has the power to bring in stricter rules for companies looking to ferry more heavy oil like diluted bitumen through the province. "That demonstrates that cooperative federalism has been going on, despite the confrontation we've seen on some days when this issue arises," Horgan said. "We have been working diligently at the officials level to protect B.C.'s interests." B.C.'s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman said he only heard about McKenna's offer when he saw the federal government's "press statement," but is happy to work with federal officials. "We intend to continue to work cooperatively and collaboratively with the federal government. Ultimately it's in all Canadians' interest, as well as in all British Columbians' interest, to ensure we have the knowledge we need to defend our coast," Heyman said. A group of Canadians has sent an urgent request to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen asking him to help a Syrian man who has been stuck in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport for 50 days. Hassan Al Kontar, 36, has been living in the transit section of the airport since he was turned away from a Turkish Airlines flight in March. "I'm worried about being deported to Syria, or being stuck here forever," Al Kontar said, speaking on a fuzzy cellphone connection from the long, stark stretch of hallway that has become his home. Touched by predicament Laurie Cooper, who lives in Whistler, B.C., said she got in touch with Al Kontar when she heard of his predicament humorously documented on his Twitter feed and began sending him money to buy food. Now, Cooper and a group of Whistler residents have raised the money required to sponsor him, and set him up with a job and accommodations in Whistler. She said she hopes Hussen will allow Al Kontar to travel to Canada while his application is processed. "Originally we were just trying to find a safe place for him to go," Cooper said. "But when we started researching his options, there really weren't any good [ones] and it occurred to us that probably the simplest thing to do was to sponsor him to come here," she said. She said Al Kontar also has three cousins living in Canada. Refugee claimants in Malaysia currently face a 26-month processing period. 'I'm stuck here' Al Kontar, who is from Dama, Syria, said he worked as an insurance marketing manager in the United Arab Emirates between 2006 and 2017. When the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011, he lost his work permit and was sent to a deportation centre. Al Kontar was then sent to Malaysia with a three-month work permit. When, after 90 days, he tried to fly to Ecuador, Turkish Airlines did not let him fly, causing him to overstay his Malaysian visa. He was also denied entry to Cambodia. Because he overstayed his Malaysian visa, he cannot re-enter the country for five years. Story continues He said Malaysian authorities have now given him two choices: be deported to Syria, or find a country that will issue him a visa. "Unfortunately for Syrians, it's impossible to [get] a visa to anywhere," he said. "So I'm stuck here." 3 airplane meals a day The transit area where Al Kontar is stuck consists of a long hallway, marked by rows of chairs and two bathrooms. "Things you never thought would be a problem become a huge problem how to take a shower and if I'm going to clean my clothes, where should I hang them to dry them?" said Al Kontar. He said Malaysian Airways has been providing him with airline meals chicken and rice, every day, three times a day. He said occasionally he is able to give cleaning staff money to bring him a cup of coffee or food from McDonald's. Cooper, who is in regular contact with Al Kontar, said she's become concerned about his mental and physical health. "As a mom, I notice that he's getting skinnier and skinnier, which worries me," she said. "I would say that his nerves are getting frayed, I've noticed that in the last few days. It's a very bleak, lonely existence." Al Kontar says he can't return to Syria, where he's wanted for military service, and fears he'll be arrested upon landing. He's also Druze, a minority religious group in Syria that has been targeted by extremist groups. "I keep telling myself it's not my fault, that I'm paying the price for not wanting to kill other people and destroy my own home," he said. At the airport terminal, losing one small comfort is what Al Kontar fears the most. "I'm always worried about my mobile, because it's the only way to feel like I'm not in a prison. It's my only window to the outside world and it gives me a hint of freedom that I'm still a normal person." With files from Laura Lynch Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..Abu Yehuda..27 April '18..A hot potato today in Israels Knesset is the so-called(literally, the overriding law) which would provide a way for the Knesset to pass a law over the objections of the Supreme Court. Various versions of such a law have been considered, which require larger or smaller majorities in the Knesset to override a Court decision to throw out a law. Another approach would be to require more than a simple majority of justices of the Court in order to reject a law passed by the Knesset. The precise form the law might take is still up in the air.The issue that is presently driving the controversy is a series of Court decisions that have made it impossible for the government to deport any of the 38,000 African migrants that entered the country illegally since the early 2000s. Those who want such a law say that the unelected Court rides roughshod over the views of the majority of the citizens, which are expressed by the votes of their representatives in the Knesset. Thats undemocratic, they say. Opponents argue that in a liberal democracy it is necessary to protect minority rights, which is what the Court has done.Critics of the Court have been complaining for a long time that it is biased leftward, and that it sticks its nose where it shouldnt, like the proposed deal regulating the concession for the natural gas recently discovered off Israels shores; or the ownership of property in Judea and Samaria, decisions that forced the demolition of communities and the removal of people from their homes.But the intricacies of the gas deal were understood by only a small percentage of Israelis, and the inhabitants of the razed settlement of Amona did not find a lot of empathy in the general population, many of whom thought of them as extremists. The migrant question, on the other hand, resonates more broadly. It pits the residents of South Tel Aviv who say that the migrants who are concentrated in their neighborhoods have brought crime, dirt and fear to them against a coalition of organizations that claim to be defending the human rights of the migrants. In fact, many of these groups are funded by unfriendly foreign governments, or groups with a political motive to embarrass our government (e.g., the Israel Religious Action Center ).A balance between the powers of the various branches of government is important to protect minoritymajority rights. A comparison with the Supreme Court in the US will be helpful in understanding just how unbalanced the situation in Israel is.The American court only hasjurisdiction, which means that it can only rule on cases that have been appealed from lower courts. It can decline to hear a case, but it does not havejurisdiction in which it can take up a case that has not already been heard by a lower court, except in special circumstances (such as one state suing another). The Israeli court is the highest appellate court, but it also acts as the High Court of Justice which can rule on anything done by any branch of government, including the army, municipalities, and importantly laws passed by the Knesset, whether or not they have been ruled on by a lower court.The American legal system includes a doctrine of, which means in particular that a person cant challenge a law or government action unless they can convince a judge that they could be directly injured by it, or that they would be prevented from exercising their legitimate rights by threat of legal sanction . But in Israel, anyone can petition the Supreme Court if he believes a law or government action is illegal or not in the public interest. As a result, anyone can paralyze the government by paying a couple of thousand shekels to file a petition. For example, several foreign-funded NGOs have recently petitioned the Supreme Court to force the IDF to stop using snipers to defend the border fence with Gaza.In America, some matters are consideredand not legal, and are therefore not taken up by the courts (they are considered not). Two such areas are foreign policy and impeachment. In Israel, the limitations on justiciability are much weaker.American Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the President and then confirmed by the Senate, after which they serve for life unless they are impeached, resign or retire. Interestingly, there are no constitutional requirements for a justice to have judicial experience, or even a law degree!In Israel, the justices are appointed by a committee which includes members of the Bar Association and sitting Justices, as well as the Justice Minister and representatives of the government and opposition Knesset factions. There is a mandatory retirement age of 70, which in practice means that Israeli justices tend to serve for shorter terms than American ones. There are specific qualifications of legal experience. The President of the Court is the most senior of the Justices.The method of appointment of justices in Israel tends to make the Court reflect the views of the legal establishment, which critics say is biased toward the left end of the spectrum. It tends to prioritize what it perceives as the rights of individuals over the needs of the state, and Israels democratic character over its Jewish one.An associated issue is the Attorney General. In the US, the Attorney General is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serves as the governments lawyer. He or she is required to defend the government in the courts, including the Supreme Court, and on several occasions attorneys general have been fired by the President for refusing to do so.In Israel, the Attorney General is appointed by the Justice Minister from a list of candidates drawn up by a commission whose majority also represents the legal establishment. The Attorney General can prevent the government from taking an action by saying that he or she believes it to be illegal, and will not defend it before the Supreme Court. The authority of the Attorney General is, like many things in Israel, unclear.One example of the possible conflicts involving the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and the government, is the legal peril faced by PM Netanyahu. The police have recommended that he be indicted in several corruption cases, and it is up to the Attorney General to decide whether to indict him. The law is not clear whether an indicted PM is required to resign his position, although the Attorney General has expressed the opinion that if indicted, he should resign. But supposing he is indicted, Netanyahu could refuse to quit. Then the Supreme Court would undoubtedly take up the question, and the Attorney General likely would not defend him before it!There is also the Nation-State Law which has been debated for several years now. It is intended to explicate the sense in which Israel is not only a democratic state, but the state of the Jewish people. Various versions of the bill did not get off the ground because the Attorney General said that they were not constitutional (Israel doesnt have a constitution, but it haswhich serve some of the purposes of a constitution). Even if the Attorney General doesnt object, the Supreme Court is expected to be very tough on any non-vacuous Nation-State Law. A former President of the Court who inspired the activist judicial philosophy that characterizes it today, Aharon Barak, famously opined that the meaning of the phrase Jewish State should be identical to the democratic nature of the state. In other words, a Nation-State Law would have to be so trivial as to be meaningless.A version of the law that will permit the Knesset to override the Supreme Court will be voted on by government ministers this Sunday, after which it will be submitted to the Knesset. The Opposition, which has come to depend on the Court to make up for its lack of seats in the elected Knesset, is pushing very hard against it.The deportation of illegal migrants, the Nation-State Law, and numerous other important issues depend on the ability to take control of the state away from the legal establishment and return it to the elected government. Israelis voted for a right-wing government they should be able to get right-wing policies. This is a bill that needs to pass. Lauren Akins announced the launch of Lauren Akins X Ladybird , a custom fine jewelry line that supports the children of Uganda through Love One International. With a longtime passion for philanthropy, Akins has devoted countless hours to helping others through volunteering, events and charitable initiatives. Love One International grew from the work of 147 Million Orphans, where Lauren initially fell in love with the people of Uganda, and plans to continue their efforts and restorative community work. The impact Love One International is making on kids lives in Uganda is truly indescribable, Akins shared. Were helping shape communities and rebuild families through these children. Their bellies are full and more importantly, so are their hearts. I know it is impossible to care for every childs needs in the world, but we each can love one. This is the idea behind Love+1 and why we created this jewelry line. In collaboration with Ladybird designer Emily Dee, pieces from Lauren Akins X Ladybird are made to order, with seven necklace options currently available: Sterling Silver ($99), 14K Gold pieces in White Gold, Rose Gold and Yellow Gold for $449 and each Gold variation with diamonds for $749. All necklaces include three delicate charms, LOVE, + and 1, honoring the spirit behind Love One International. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Sao Paulo, April 27, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Brazilian authorities to drop anti-state charges against Felipe de Oliveira Araujo Rodrigues, a Rio de Janeiro-based journalist who infiltrated a Brazilian group of supporters of the Islamic State militant group in 2016 to report on their activities. Prosecutors in the indictment, which was issued on January 18, accused de Oliveira of promoting the terrorist organization Islamic State, and said the journalist sustained contact with several people who glorified the Islamic State militant group in WhatsApp and Telegram messaging channels. A Parana judge, Marcos Josegrei da Silva, accepted the case on February 16, 2018, and has the authority to throw it out or bring it to trial, according to a Public Ministry spokesperson who declined to be named per procedure. De Oliveira, who said that he cooperated with authorities investigations into the militant group after his articles were published, could face between five and eight years in prison under Brazils 2016 anti-terrorism law if he is found guilty. It is absurd that Brazilian authorities are equating reporting on supporters of the Islamic State militant group with active participation in this group, said CPJs Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna from New York. Investigative reporting is not a crime, and journalism is not terrorism. Authorities should immediately and unconditionally drop the charges against Felipe de Oliveira, and stop punishing him for reporting on an issue of public interest. De Oliveira began researching the militant group in early 2016 and his article on their attempts to recruit members in Brazil was published in Folha de S. Paulo, one of the countrys leading dailies, on March 3, 2016. The journalist then went undercover using the pseudonym Abdu Khani to continue reporting and on July 22, 2016 he was invited to join their social media group, the journalist told CPJ. On July 24, de Oliveiras piece on the groups activities aired on TV Globos top-rated Sunday night show Fantastico. The journalist told CPJ that he reported his findings on the groups activities to federal police the same day. De Oliveira said that he cooperated with the polices anti-terrorism unit and continued to monitor the Islamic State group militants for several more weeks before abandoning the contacts for fear of exposure. De Oliveiras lawyer, Beno Brandao, told the CPJ that the journalist notified authorities about his work and handed over all the information they requested, including recordings and phone numbers for their investigation into the groups activities in Brazil. He never had any intention of promoting the Islamic State, Brandao said in a phone interview. He wasnt encouraging them. These are people who supported ISIS. They were not some blessed devotees of the church at a funeral service. He had to ask those questions. Thats what an investigative reporter does. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Cumhuriyet trial ends, defendants sentenced An Istanbul court on April 25 convicted 14 people affiliated with the independent daily Cumhuriyet on terrorism-related charges, the newspaper reported. The court placed the journalists and newspaper staff on probation and banned them from traveling until the appeals process has ended, according to reports. More details on the sentencing can be found here. CPJ has signed a joint letter condemning the verdict. Journalist sentenced, released for health reasons A court in the southern city of Antalya sentenced to prison Tuncer Cetinkaya, a former reporter for the shuttered outlets Zaman newspaper and Cihan News Agency, for 7 years and 6 months on charges of being a member of a [terrorist] organisation, the daily Hurriyet reported on April 24. The court ordered him Cetinkaya released on probation to receive treatment for kidney failure, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Journalist sentenced for insulting the minister An Istanbul court on April 25 sentenced to prison Ismail Kucukkaya, a host with Fox TV Turkey, and his show guest, lawyer Fidel Okan, to 16 months and 20 days each for insulting a public servant and humiliating the institutions and agencies of the Republic of Turkey, the daily Cumhuriyet reported. The court suspended the sentences for five years, according to the report. Kucukkaya, who regularly hosts a morning news show on Fox TV, said during a broadcast on October 16, 2017, that the husband of Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya is on a list of people who have the Bylock app on their smartphones, CPJ documented. Bylock is an encrypted messaging app that Turkish authorities claim is evidence of being a member of the Gulen movement, which authorities labelled a terrorist organization. Okan was a guest on Kucukkayas show when the host mentioned Kayas alleged ties to the Bylock app. The minister has denied using Bylock. The Turkish broadcasting regulator RTUK ordered Fox TV to pay three percent of the channels monthly advertising revenue, according to the T24 report from October 15, 2017. Under Turkish law, the money from fines will go to the government treasury. Social media crackdown continues Turkeys Interior Ministry announced on April 23 that 710 social media websites were investigated the week of April 16- 23 for promoting terrorism, insulting government officials, and hate speech; 208 people were being prosecuted because of their postings, the daily Evrensel reported. Turkish government prosecutors frequently use social media posts as evidence against journalists, CPJ research shows. Union Cabinet has approved renewal of long-term agreements (LTAs) for export of iron ore (lumps and fines) of grade +64% Fe content to Japan and South Korea for another five years (2018 to 2023) through state-owned trading firm MMTC. The range of quantity of iron ore to be exported will be 3.8 million tonnes per annum to 5.5 million tonnes per annum. Contents Benefits Background Benefits Export of iron ore under LTAs will help India to strengthen its bilateral ties with long-standing partner countries, Japan and South Korea by securing export market and result in inflow of foreign exchange. It will enable India to secure international market for its ores and ensure stable economic ecosystem which provides direct and indirect employment in mining, logistics and related sectors. Background India has been exporting iron ore to Japan for almost past six decades and it has been consistent component of Indias bilateral relations with Japan. MMTC has been supplying iron ore to Japanese Steel Mills (JSMs) since 1963 and to South Korea since 1973. The current LTAs with JSMs and South Koreas POSCO for supply of iron ore for period of three years had expired on 31 March, 2018. The Union Cabinet, in its meeting held in June 2015 had authorized MMTC to engage in LTAs with JSMs and POSCO, South Korea for supply of iron ore for a period of three years from 2015 to 2018. Gazprom board will discuss 2017 dividend recommendation in May. Gazprom PJSC reported a 25 percent decrease in profit last year, adding fuel to the debate about the dividends that the Russian government will demand from the world's biggest natural gas producer. Net income for 2017 dropped to 714 billion rubles ($11.4 billion), hurt by a booked loss in its long-running dispute about gas pricing with Ukraine. That was less than the average estimate of 759 billion rubles from 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Read alsoNaftogaz on Gazprom's new claim: They still owe us US$2.56 bln plus interest Management at the energy giant recommended keeping dividends flat from the previous year, citing its intense investment program, while Russia's Finance Ministry keeps pushing for a higher amount. That means management's proposal to pay out 190.3 billion rubles would be 27 percent of profit, compared with the ministry's demands that state-controlled companies, including Gazprom, distribute 50 percent of profit. "Plenty of intrigue remains as discussions are apparently ongoing," said UralSib Capital LLC analyst Alexei Kokin. The state may agree to exempt Gazprom from the dividend rule sought by the Finance Ministry, Tass news service reported Wednesday. The ministry may return with demands for interim payments on 2018 profit, which may rise on higher gas exports to Europe and a price recovery, Kokin said. Gazprom, which plans to match or beat last year's record European exports, has fought government demands to raise its dividend for years. Management has said theres no need to change the payout level dramatically until about 2020 when Gazprom passes its "peak phase" of spending. Gazprom board will discuss 2017 dividend recommendation in May. What do you think about our new website? Share your opinion Ukraine ready to help Egypt's steelmakers modernize Trade between Ukraine and Egypt hit US$2 billion in 2017. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine sees inflow of $100 mln in investment, outflow of $300 mln in dividends monthly in Q1 EBA According to Fiala, the acceleration of economic growth to 5-7% per year, the government focuses on, is possible only if domestic investment increases to 25% of GDP from the current 15%. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine, Israel technically initial free trade deal Ukrainian-Israeli talks on the creation of a free trade area ended on March 28. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Antonov unveils Ukrainian-Turkish project of new military aircraft (Photo) The program was launched nearly two years ago on the initiative of the Turkish side. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter The legal costs were reflected in other operational costs in Gazproms 2017 report. Russian gas giant Gazprom took a 213 billion rouble ($3.4 billion) impairment in relation to its legal row with Ukraine, it said on Friday. Gazproms full-year net income fell by a quarter to $11.4 billion, it had said on Thursday, citing higher debt and the legal costs related to the dispute with Ukraine over gas supplies and transit to Europe, according to Reuters. The legal costs were reflected in other operational costs in Gazproms 2017 report, deputy chief accountant, Mikhail Rosseyev, said in a conference call with investors on Friday. The legal dispute in the Stockholm arbitration court is a byproduct of a broader political row between ex-Soviet states, Russia and Ukraine. Gazprom has to pay Ukraine $2.56 billion after a Stockholm arbitration court found in Naftogazs favor in the final stage of a long-running legal battle in February. That ruling is being challenged by Gazprom in the same court and it also lodged a filing seeking to terminate contracts with Ukraine on gas supplies and transit. Ukraine is the main route for Russian gas exports to the European Union. Gazproms Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said on the call that the company sees its gas price for Europe at about $230 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2018. So far Russia has only been exporting pipeline gas to Europe. Gazprom plans to start supplies to China via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in December 2019. Medvedev said that China will not prepay for the gas, while exports of gas to China will be as efficient as gas exports to Europe, Gazproms key source of revenue. The negotiations among major trading nations about global trade policies are driven by knowledge about the magnitudes of trade, what goods and services are traded and their multi-national flows, as well as current tariffs, quotas, and other barriers. While Trumps proposed tariffs on all U.S. imports of steel and aluminum are misguided and the Administrations aversion to bilateral trade deficits makes no economic sense, the Administration has provided exemptions to Canada, Mexico, and other U.S.-friendly nations. The focus of the trade negotiations has shifted to Chinas blatantly unfair trade practices. Every major nation relies heavily on international trade and has room to negotiate on some of their barriers to trade. As a result, the trade negotiations could actually result in a reduction of trade barriers. Trumps erratic and unorthodox negotiating tactics could come at a cost. Certainly, he has upset normal diplomatic channels and practices and diplomats. In light of the need of every major trading nation to maintain channels of international tradei.e., China relies heavily on Europe and the U.S. markets; Europe relies heavily on the United States and China (and would benefit if China eased its trade and investment barriers); and the United States relies heavily on Europe and China the risk of a jarring trade war is minimal, but the biggest risk is a hit to confidence that harmed economic activity. Global leaders have publicly stated willingness to negotiate and reduce select barriers. The confidence numbers have remained elevated in the United States, but have declined in Europe. Chinas leaders have stated their willingness to lower select trade and investment barriers. The Trump Administration has backed down on its earlier demands for renegotiating NAFTA; requiring arbitrary U.S. content requirements on select U.S. imports (autos, et al) made no sense and would not increase U.S. jobs or wages. And European leaders are offering reductions in select trade barriers as a quid pro quo for being exempted from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and as a means of coordinating with the United States to extract more entrance into China with lower investment and trade barriers. A reduction in trade barriers seems to be unfolding and following a lot of uncertainty and volatility in the markets, negotiations are likely to come to a favorable outcome, despite their poor beginning and the ruffled diplomatic feathers. Although the United States is likely to see favorable outcomes in terms of lower barriers to trade and investment, particularly with China, any gains will likely fall short of what could be accomplished through multinational trade negotiations and agreements. International trade volumes have accelerated to all-time highs. Trade volumes grew faster than global output in 2017, for the first time in six years. This decided pick-up in trade volumes reflects the synchronized global economic growth following the 2015-2016 slump. Both advanced and emerging nations are experiencing healthy growth in international trade. Since 2000, the total value of Chinas imports and exports has risen dramatically. Its current exports are 900 percent of their value in 2000, while their imports are 800 percent. In contrast, growth in the total value of imports and exports of Europe, the United States and Japan has been significantly more modest. EU imports and exports have recently accelerated significantly and the EU has run a trade surplus over the last six years. Europes exports and imports center heavily on machinery, manufactured goods, and industrial materials. The United States and China are Europes largest trading partners. Germanys exports have soared relative to imports, resulting in a trade surplus (and current account surplus) near 8 percent of GDP. Chinas imports are growing more rapidly than its exports, reflecting its strength in domestic purchases. Its trade surplus has receded toward 1.5 percent of GDP. The largest portion of Chinas exports is machinery and transportation equipment and manufactured goods. China imports a large amount of machinery and transportation equipment and other durable goods and industrial products used in its industrial sectors. Chinas largest export destination is the United States, and it relies heavily on imports from other Asian and emerging nations with moderate amounts from the United States and Germany. U.S. imports and exports have risen and its trade deficit has remained large at 3 percent of GDP, even as its reliance on imports of petroleum products has fallen significantly. The United States imports and exports comprise a wide array of capital goods, automobiles, consumer goods, nondurable goods and industrial supplies and materials. The United States is also the worlds largest exporter of services, including business, financial and insurances services, and intellectual property. Canada, Mexico, and China are the United States largest trading partners. The United States has a very large bilateral trade deficit with China and much smaller trade imbalances with other nations. While the United States has become increasingly reliant on goods from China, China has become less reliant on goods imported from the United States. Bilateral trade imbalances should not be the focus of trade policy. China's ongoing economic strength relies heavily on trade with the United States and Europe, and it will agree to reduce some of its obviously unfair investment barriers and trade practices in order to keep trade channels open. Leading European economies Germany and France are potentially large beneficiaries and support Trump's efforts to pry open China. In response to Trump's aggressive trade tactics, the WTO will modify and modernize some of its governance and operating procedures, making it a more effective and responsive mechanism for resolving future trade disputes. Mickey Levy is the chief economist for the Americas and Asia of Berenberg Capital Markets, LLC, and member, Shadow Open Market Committee. Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief. Chaotic Trade Negotiations Will Likely Result in Lower Barriers Mickey Levy, E21 The negotiations among major trading nations about global trade policies are driven by knowledge about the magnitudes of trade, what goods and services are traded and their multi-national flows, as well as current tariffs, quotas, and other barriers. While Trump's proposed tariffs on all U.S. imports of steel and aluminum are misguided and the Administration's aversion to bilateral trade deficits makes no economic sense, the Administration has provided exemptions to Canada, Mexico, and other U.S.-friendly nations. The focus of the trade negotiations has shifted to China's blatantly unfair trade practices. Read more here.... In late April, the U. S. Department of State released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the year 2017. These reports are a natural outgrowth of our values as Americans, said John Sullivan, who was serving as Acting Secretary of State at the time of the Reports rollout: Promoting human rights and the idea that every person has inherent dignity is a core element of this administrations foreign policy. It also strengthens U.S. national security by fostering greater peace, stability, and prosperity around the world. The United States does not rank countries by their human rights record, nor do we pass judgment. However, we would like to point out a few countries with the most egregious human rights records, said Mr. Sullivan. Syria has committed horrendous human rights abuses in 2017, including barrel bombing of civilians, attacks on hospitals, widespread reports of rape and abuse by Syrian Government personnel. In Burma, ethnic cleansing has caused nearly 670,000 Rohingya people to flee to Bangladesh in recent months. Thousands have died. Those responsible for the violations, abuses, and attacks must be held accountable. The North Korean regime systematically neglects the well-being of its people to finance its illicit weapons programs via forced labor, child labor, and the export of North Korean workers. China continues to impose restrictions on activists, civil society, freedom of expression, and the use of arbitrary surveillance. Iranian authorities continue to deny their people the right of peaceful assembly and freedoms of association and expression. In Turkey, the detention of tens of thousands of individuals under an ongoing state of emergency has undermined the rule of law there. In Venezuela, the Maduro regime represses the human rights of the Venezuelan people and denies them their right to have a voice in their government through free and fair elections. Finally, the Russian Government continues to quash dissent and civil society, even while it invades its neighbors and undermines the sovereignty of Western nations. America leads the way globally to promote human rights. We will also continue to impose consequences on those who abuse human rights, Mr. Sullivan declared.No human rights abuser, no matter where in the world, is out of our reach. The Human Rights Reports are a significant part of that overall effort. Wizz Air to start flying from Kyiv to Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt on the Main instead Frankfurt-Hahn Hungary's low cost airline Wizz Air is expanding its flight network from Kyiv, boosting the total number of destinations from 21 to 23. According to the booking system of the airline, the new flights are scheduled for Vienna, Berlin and Frankfurt on the Main, although WizzAir would not fly to Frankfurt-Hahn. Wizz Air Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Stephen Jones said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday that last year the airline carried around 30 million passengers, and in 2018 it plans to carry 35 million passengers using 100 planes. "Our fleet consists of 96 Airbus aircraft, the 100th will come in June this year. We have about 4,000 employees. We have 28 bases in 16 countries, and the next base will be opened in Vienna," he said. With regard to Ukrainian flights, Stevens said that in Frankfurt the company will fly to the main airport, going from the Frankfurt-Hahn airport. According to the booking system, it is planned that flights to Frankfurt and Berlin (Schoenefeld) will be launched from July 1, and first two week will be made four times a week, and then on a daily basis. The flights to Vienna will start from the winter navigation schedule at the end of October and will be serviced daily. He recalled that the airline will expand the fleet in the base in Kyiv from two to three aircraft, which will add $100 of investment and create about 100 jobs in the crew and support staff. Ukraine and Israel have technically initialed an agreement on the free trade area (FTA), Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska has said. "This is a technical but important procedural issue that enables us to conduct legal reconciliation of the text of the agreement for further translation it into three languages and prepare the agreement for signing," she wrote in the Facebook social network on Friday. Mykolska said that before signing the agreement, the parties have no legal obligations. As reported, Ukraine and Israel completed talks on the signing of the FTA agreement. The agreement foresees the annulment of import duties for 80% of industrial goods from Ukraine to Israel and some agricultural products within quotas. There will be a gradual cancellation of import duties during the transitional periods - three, five and seven years. After these terms end, the duties will be leveled to nil. A certain category of goods falls under partial liberalization. In turn, Ukraine opens 70% of the industrial goods market for Israeli producers and also abolishes duties on a number of agricultural products immediately after the FTA agreement enters into force, for some products - within three or five years. In particular, Ukraine will partially reduce tariffs for certain seasonal vegetables and fruits from Israel. Foreign investors actively study materials, come to look at assets and meet with owners, which is evidence of gradual resumption of the interest to Ukrainian assets, according to the 18th edition of the Ernst & Young Global (EY) Capital Confidence Barometer (CCB). "So, we should hope for the return of foreign investors to the capital market of Ukraine," EY said in the press release. EY conducts CCB study twice a year. Over 2,500 senior executives across 43 countries took part in it. More than half of respondents (52%) indicate that they plan to acquire in the next 12 months. The number of executives expecting to complete more deals in the next year has more than doubled (67% in April 2018 versus 33% in April 2017). According to the analysts, this shows trends of rising economic and corporate confidence. According to the press release of EY, although the global level of activity of mergers and acquisitions has already exceeded the peak period set before the financial crisis in 2007, Ukraine is still lagging behind in terms of investment activity. However, it shows a positive trend: foreign investors, who before the crisis invested money in the Ukrainian business, for the first time since 2014 begin to compete with local companies for attractive assets. This was thanks to the fact that Ukrainian companies owned by foreign investors joined Ukrainian companies, which are fully owned by local businessmen, since 2017. On Friday, April 27, at 10.30, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference, entitled "Public Prevents Crime by Ukrainian Education Ministry." Violations during the elections of the rector of the National Aviation University resulted in a judicial ban on the recognition of their results, but the Education Ministry ignored the court ruling. The participants will include President of the All-Ukrainian NGO "MOLFAR" Yulia Votcher, Head of the Public Council under the Kyiv Svyatoshyn District State Administration Olha Kvasova and Head of the Public Council under the Defense Ministry of Ukraine Petro Haraschuk (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. More information by phone: (067) 321 79 01 and (067) 505 1583. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the law introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on ensuring border security of the state, according to a report posted on the official website of the head of state on Thursday, April 26. "The implementation of the legislative act will help effectively counteract administrative violations on the state border of Ukraine, in government-controlled border areas, as well as at government-controlled checkpoints on entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine," the report says. The law improves the measures applied by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine to counter illegal migration on the state border and other offenses in the border sphere. In particular, a number of changes are made to the Code of Administrative Offenses, and two new types of administrative responsibility are introduced. In addition, amendments are made to the laws on ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens and legal regime in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, on the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, on the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons, on the creation of a free economic zone "Crimea" and on the peculiarities of the implementation of economic activity in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. As reported, the Verkhovna Rada supported bill No. 5442 on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and other laws on securing the state's border security at second reading and as a whole on February 27, 2018. According to amendments in Article 185, the penalty for malicious disobedience to a lawful order of a serviceman or employee of the State Border Guard Service, who are responsible for protecting the state border, will range from 50 to 100 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (now the penalty is from five to ten minimum incomes). Such actions committed by a group of persons will be punished with fines from 100 to 300 (from 10-20 now). Penalties for violation by foreigners of the rules of staying in Ukraine and transit passage through its territory will amount to 100-300 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (now from 30 to 50 minimum incomes). The same increase in fines is provided for non-compliance by foreigners with the established procedure for registration or residence in Ukraine under invalid or expired documents, as well as for violation of the established period of stay in Ukraine. In addition, a new Article 203 appeared in the Code of Administrative Offenses, according to which the deliberate non-compliance by a foreigner or stateless person with a decision of an authorized state body regarding a ban on entry to Ukraine entails a fine of 100-300 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens. Crossing or attempting to cross the state border outside a checkpoint or through a checkpoint without documents or forged documents entails a fine of 200 to 500 minimum incomes (now it is 100-200). The code was also supplemented with Article 204, which concerns the violation of the order of entry into or exit from the area of the anti-terrorist operation. Crossing or attempting to cross the contact line in the ATO zone or non-government controlled section of the state border in this area outside the checkpoints, but without documents, or without permission of the authorities, will be fined from 30 to 50 non-taxable minimum incomes. If such an offense is committed by a group of persons or an offender against whom an administrative penalty was imposed the fine will be 50-70 minimum incomes. The bodies of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will be authorized to consider cases of administrative violations related to violation of the ban on entry into the country, violation of the rules for crossing the border, as well as entry to the ATO area and departure from there. The law, with the exception of certain clauses, comes into force on the day following the day of its publication. The non-taxable minimum income of citizens is UAH 17. The official exchange rate of the NBU as of April 26 was UAH 26.2705 per U.S. dollar. The army of the aggressor nation is ready at any moment to launch a massive invasion, and this is why Ukraine faces colossal challenges to strengthen its defensive capabilities, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said. "Ukraine's State Border Service has many functions and tasks. The most important of them is defending Ukraine's eastern borders from Russian invaders," Poroshenko said during ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Ukraine's State Border Service on Friday in Kyiv. Poroshenko said during his speech that Ukraine's military is among the best among non-NATO countries and reiterated arguments for Ukraine to join the military bloc. "We are knocking on their doors, and our hands are not empty," Poroshenko said, adding that it is important to continue feeling the ground under one's feet in order to avoid getting dizzy. "For us Russia's armed forces represent the army of the aggressor country, which illegally annexed Crimea and occupied part of Donbas and which is ready at any moment to launch a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. That's why we face a massive challenge to strengthen the military preparedness of our country," the president said. Since the beginning of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, human rights defenders have recorded 15 deaths, 39 forced abductions of people and other crimes on ethnical grounds, coordinator of the Crimea SOS public initiative Tamila Tasheva has said. "Since 2014, speaking about dry figures, we have a minimum of 15 deaths that have been documented and that we know of. There have been 39 facts of forced abductions, more than 150 cases of torture and inhuman treatment of people, 96 cases of politically motivated persecution and more than 167 cases of administrative persecution, according to the administrative legislation [of the Russian Federation]," Tasheva said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday. She drew attention to the ethnic persecution of the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in the occupied Crimea and to the persecution of Muslims on religious grounds. "Now we see that [the prosecution] on ethnic grounds, which is supported... by allegations about extremism and terrorism, can fuel ethnic enmity and this is very dangerous," Tasheva said. According to lawyer of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Anastasia Martynovska, in the occupied Crimea there is a tendency when people disliked by the occupation authorities at first are subjected to less severe repression and then to more and more serious up to accusations of complicity in terrorism and extremism. She stressed that the application of the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation in the territory of Crimea is an international crime and a violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, which in the future will help bring Russia to justice. "Such obvious gross violations by the Russian Federation should be assessed not only at the international level... but also at the national level," Martynovska said. According to her, despite the fact that for four years Crimea has been occupied by Russia and during this time people were repeatedly brought to criminal responsibility for political reasons, many of them are in prisons and serve their sentences in the territory of the Russian Federation, Ukraine has not yet passed a law, which would regulate the policy of the state with regard to the assistance to political prisoners and their families. Iranian security forces on April 6 arrested two Iranian political activists, Kamran Ayazi and Maryam Shariatmadari, near the site where a mummy believed to be Reza Shah Pahlavis body was unearthed on April 23, say incoming reports from Tehran. Meanwhile, as the controversy about the whereabouts of the body continues in Iran and abroad, two Tehran city officials have said that the body has been re-buried somewhere close to where it was first located. The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Hedayatollah Jamalipour the local governor of Shar-e Rey as saying that unearthed bodies are buried in appropriate places. However, he did not elaborate on the precise location of the body of the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, the man who effectively modernized Iran in early 20th century and is respected by many Iranians as it was evidenced during massive demonstrations across Iran in January. Tehran City Council member Mohammad Javad Haghshenas has also said based on unconfirmed reports that the mummy has been reburied. Earlier Rouzarouz, the website that first broke the news of the mummys sighting, had quoted a local official as saying that the mummy has been put in a metal coffin and then buried in the same area near the holy shrine of Hazrat-e Abdolazim in southern Tehran. Thousands of Iranians on social media have called for a respectful burial and a monument the monarch deserved. With Reza Shah allegedly "physically" back, tens of thousands of Iranian social media users are posting mostly sympathetic messages to the monarch who passed away in 1944 at the age of 66. "People called his name and he rose from ashes like phoenix", one Twitter user wrote in Persian on the day the mummy was found which was, perhaps ironically, one day before the anniversary of his coronation on April 24, 1926. In his statement posted on April 24 on his official website, Reza Pahlavi, the grandson of Reza Shah has urged the Islamic Republic authorities to respect the exhumed body "if not as the father of modern Iran or a monarch" but at least "as a soldier and servant to the nation and the homeland". "This is not only the concern of a person or a family, it is an issue with national and historic aspects. Reza Shah belongs to all people of Iran and his admirers", Prince Reza wrote. He also called upon "all Iranians as the true guardians of [Reza Shah's] legacy" to assist the Pahlavi family through social media campaigns and peaceful rallies across the nation "to hold the government accountable and help lead this matter to a transparent and suitable conclusion". Heeding to the princes call, Iranians on social media reminded the Iranian government what Reza Shah the Great did for the country. Iranian people and historians have characterized only four of Iranian monarchs, Cyrus the Great, Darius, and Shah Abbas as great, to pay tribute to their services. Since then the prince has maintained silence and Radio Farda's attempts to speak to him have not been successful. Professor Mohsen Ranani, a well-known economist, commented that Reza Shah is not only part of Irans history, but he is also a symbolic asset that can attract tourists to Iran in the future, ISNA quoted him as saying. The controversy about the whereabouts of the mummy and its possible new burial place appears to have been fueled by concerns about a probable public action to show support for monarchy. In the meantime, as massive riot police presence has been reported around the site where the mummy was unearthed, police has arrested at least two activists. Iranian Human Rights News Agency reported on April 25 that the police have arrested Kamran Ayazi, a medical doctor and a former political prisoner at the site. The Twitter account of the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran later reported the arrest of Maryam Shariatmadari at the site. She had been in jail previously for publicly protesting compulsory hijab. On April 23, the head of the Tehran council's cultural heritage and tourism committee, Hassan Khalilabadi, was quoted by government news agency IRNA, conceding that it was "possible" the gauze-wrapped body found at the site belonged to Reza Shah Pahlavi. "Some believe it is possible that the body belongs to the first Pahlavi that was transferred to Tehran after being mummified and buried in the shrine of Abdol Azim," he said on April 23. But the head of the public-relations office of the shrine was quoted by local media as dismissing the reports about the body as "rumors" created on social media. "The area surrounding the shrine was previously a cemetery, so discovering a body in this area is natural," the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Mostafa Ajorlou as saying. Amid uncertainty about the future of the Iran nuclear deal, the deputy chief-commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has said Tehran should be clear that it will resume an unlimited nuclear program if the U.S. pulls out of the deal. Addressing a session attended by a group of judicial authorities, IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami said April 26 that government officials should be more authoritative in their comments on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and wipe out the conception that regardless of Washingtons decision on JCPOA, Iran will remain loyal to it, according to a report in the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Iran signed with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany, curbed Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Salami said he speaks for Irans military elites in calling on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to be tougher on the U.S., adding his own prediction that Washington will preserve sanctions and try to agitate the people of Iran into a confrontation with the IRGC and the Supreme Leader. If Iran threatens to restart its nuclear program, however, the Americans and Europeans will be deranged and will have to submit to Irans authority, Salami said. Although IRGC is Irans main military force but it frequently intervenes in political and even cultural matters. It claims that since it is designated as Islamic Revolution Guards, it has a duty to protect the revolution from all sorts of threats. General Salami is not the first Iranian official to make threats in response to talk of the U.S. possibly scrapping the nuclear deal. Speaking April 24 about the consequences of U.S. President Donald Trump pulling out of the deal, IRGC Rear Admiral and Secretary of the Islamic Republics Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said If that happens, Tehran will add startling actions to its agenda. The same day, in a speech broadcast live on national state-run TV, Rouhani cautioned Trump to remain in the nuclear deal or face severe consequences. I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments the Iranian government will react firmly, Rouhani said, adding that his government is prepared for various scenarios. A day later, in an interview with the AP, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that if Washington leaves the JCPOA, Tehran might also leave Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Joining the chorus, former chief commander of the IRGC and current Secretary of Irans Expediency Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei said at a press conference April 26 If the U.S. leaves the JCPOA, we will pull out from the NPT because we have paid too high a cost for the JCPOA and we are not going to pay for nothing. However, President Trump has repeatedly insisted that the JCPOA is a bad deal, and that it should have addressed broader concerns about Iran's activities in the Middle East. "They should have made a deal that covered Yemen, that covered Syria, that covered other parts of the Middle East," Trump said April 24 after a meeting at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. "No matter where you go in the Middle East, you see the fingerprints of Iran behind problems. Macron and Trump are now calling for a new deal, but Tehran has repeatedly rejected any renegotiations on its nuclear deal with world powers. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Theresa May April 26. May congratulated President Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election. She expressed gratification with the meeting with President Aliyev and stressed that this visit of the Azerbaijani president will create a good opportunity for discussing the issues in the field of economy, trade, energy and security. May stressed the importance of the agreement signed between Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR and BP in terms of expanding cooperation. She expressed gratitude for the participation and support rendered by Azerbaijan for peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. President Aliyev expressed gratitude for the congratulations and stressed that the agenda of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the UK is very wide and the two countries are actively cooperating in various directions, namely, political, economic, energy, trade and investment spheres. The Azerbaijani president stressed that active work is being carried out to expand and diversify trade ties and there is great potential for that. Many companies from the UK have been operating in Azerbaijan for many years, and the cooperation of SOCAR and BP is of strategic nature, he added. Stressing that bilateral relations are based on partnership ties, the Azerbaijani president expressed confidence that his visit to the UK will serve expansion of cooperation. During the conversation, the sides also discussed regional development and security issues. Details added (first version posted on 12:10) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Theresa May April 26. May congratulated President Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election. She expressed gratification with the meeting with President Aliyev and stressed that this visit of the Azerbaijani president will create a good opportunity for discussing the issues in the field of economy, trade, energy and security. May stressed the importance of the agreement signed between Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR and BP in terms of expanding cooperation. She expressed gratitude for the participation and support rendered by Azerbaijan for peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. President Aliyev expressed gratitude for the congratulations and stressed that the agenda of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the UK is very wide and the two countries are actively cooperating in various directions, namely, political, economic, energy, trade and investment spheres. The Azerbaijani president stressed that active work is being carried out to expand and diversify trade ties and there is great potential for that. Many companies from the UK have been operating in Azerbaijan for many years, and the cooperation of SOCAR and BP is of strategic nature, he added. Stressing that bilateral relations are based on partnership ties, the Azerbaijani president expressed confidence that his visit to the UK will serve expansion of cooperation. During the conversation, the sides also discussed regional development and security issues. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Samir Ali - Trend: Political and economic situation in Azerbaijan and Armenia is incomparably different, Azerbaijani MP Elman Mammadov told Trend April 27. Despite that Azerbaijan is in the state of war and that 20 percent of its territories are occupied, thanks to the successful policy pursued by the countrys leadership, Azerbaijans international authority is growing, the MP noted. The policy pursued by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has strengthened the statehood of Azerbaijan, internal stability has been achieved, the economy and the army have strengthened, he said. This dynamic development continues today. This is why the presidential election in Azerbaijan was held in a stable and transparent manner, and the people made their choice by having chosen a worthy candidate, he added. As for Armenia, because of its aggressive policy, this country takes a hostile attitude towards its neighbors, and therefore is isolated from the development in the region, from all international projects, interstate cooperation, the MP said. Today 80-90 percent of the Armenian economy is under the monopoly control of foreign countries. The "Karabakh clan", which seized power in Armenia, by its actions brought the country and it people to the lowest level. The consequences of such policy are obvious, and this is not the end. I think that protest rallies in the country will continue and they will lead to civil war," he said. Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned on April 23 amid protests. He was elected president of Armenia twice, in 2008 and 2013. Protest rallies against his election as the prime minister began on April 13. The opposition accused Sargsyan of poor governance and deteriorating economic situation in the country. On April 17, the opposition announced the beginning of a "velvet revolution". Details added (first version posted on 12:47) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Ammunition, modern small arms and artillery weapons, drones, armored vehicles and other defense products manufactured by Azerbaijan are exported to more than ten countries, Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry said in a message April 27. This information was mentioned during the meeting of the Azerbaijani Defense Industry Ministrys board dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2018, according to the message. It was noted that in comparison with the same period last year, the volume of exported products increased twice. At the meeting, it was mentioned that 89 percent of the total output account for defense and special-purpose products, while 11 percent accounts for products of civilian use. The assortment of the manufactured defense products, has reached 120 types. This year at the facilities of the ministry it is planned to conduct development work regarding 127 products of 118 kinds. The products to be developed include machine guns, automatic weapons of various calibers, barrels for large-caliber machine guns, automatic grenade launcher system, optical sights for sniper rifles, etc. During the meeting, it was noted that Azerbaijans Ministry of Defense Industry will participate in the Eurosatory, the international land and airland defense and security exhibition, in France this June, where Azerbaijan, participating for the first time, will showcase 268 products, as well as several new types of defense products. At the meeting, it was mentioned about the work carried out in connection with the ADEX 2018 - Azerbaijan International Defence Industry Exhibition, to be held in Baku September this year. Negotiations are conducted with the relevant structures of foreign countries, and the organizational work is being carried out. Details added (first version posted on 13:35) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: US President Donald J. Trump has sent a letter to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. "Dear Mr President, I look forward to working with you on the many areas of mutual interest for the American and Azerbaijani people," Trump said in his letter. "Together we can make progress defeating terrorism, creating jobs, and improving Europes energy security," he said, adding that progress on fighting corruption and peacefully solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will help these efforts. "Best wishes to you and the people of Azerbaijan," reads the letter. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: A regular meeting of the Council of CIS Interior Ministers will be held in Azerbaijan, during which it is planned to transfer the chairmanship of this organization to Azerbaijan. The issue was touched upon during the meeting of the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Tajikistan Hasan Mammadzade with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, Colonel-General Ramazon Rahimzoda, the embassy said in a message. During the meeting, it was stressed that the existence of sincere friendly relations in the political sphere between the two countries will help to raise economic and trade relations to a higher level. During the meeting, the sides also discussed the issues of improving the legal framework of relations between the two countries, the solution of migration problems of citizens of Azerbaijan and other issues. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to newly elected President of Montenegro Milo Dukanovic. I sincerely congratulate you on your election as the president of Montenegro, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter. The relations between Azerbaijan and Montenegro are on the path of dynamic development. I hope that in the subsequent period of your activity as the head of state we will continue further expansion of friendly relations between our countries and peoples and will deepen our cooperation of mutual interest. I wish you strong health, happiness, success in your activity for the well-being of the people of Montenegro. Details added (first version posted on 14:59) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group in the Senate of France, Senator Alain Houpert. Noting that Houpert visits Azerbaijan as the head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group, Mrs. Aliyeva touched upon relations between the two countries and expressed her satisfaction with the very successful development of the Azerbaijani-French relations in all spheres. Mrs. Aliyeva said that successful cooperation in political, economic and other spheres has been established between the countries, further adding that the Azerbaijani-French inter-parliamentary relations play an important role in strengthening of these relations. The First Vice-President said that many events have been held in this regard over the recent years. Touching upon the economic relations, Mrs. Aliyeva noted the very successful cooperation in the energy sector, and said that along with that, cooperation was established in the fields of transport, agriculture, ecology and other spheres. Mrs. Aliyeva stressed the successful activity of many French companies in Azerbaijan. Details added (first version posted on 14:59) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group of the Senate of France, Senator Alain Houpert. Noting that Houpert visits Azerbaijan as the head of France-Caucasus Friendship Group, Mrs. Aliyeva touched upon relations between the two countries and expressed her satisfaction with the very successful development of the Azerbaijani-French relations in all spheres. Mrs. Aliyeva said that successful cooperation in political, economic and other spheres has been established between the countries, further adding that the Azerbaijani-French inter-parliamentary relations play an important role in strengthening of these relations. The First Vice-President said that many events have been held in this regard over the recent years. Touching upon the economic relations, Mrs. Aliyeva noted the very successful cooperation in the energy sector, and said that along with that, cooperation was established in the fields of transport, agriculture, ecology and other spheres. Mrs. Aliyeva stressed the successful activity of many French companies in Azerbaijan. Speaking about the importance of humanitarian ties, Mrs. Aliyeva stressed that successful cooperation has been established in this sphere, adding that humanitarian ties unite countries and peoples. Reminding that Azerbaijan Culture Days were successfully held not only in the capital city Paris, but also in other cities of France, and were met with great interest, the First Vice-President highlighted the activities carried out in Azerbaijan in this regard. Mrs. Aliyeva further noted the successful activity of the French Lyceum and the Azerbaijan-French University in Azerbaijan. "Huge work has been done in this area, but there is still potential," Mrs. Aliyeva said, voicing confidence in further development of relations between the two countries. The French senator, for his part, said that meeting with First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva is a great honor for him. Houpert stressed that development of relations between France and Azerbaijan is satisfying. Houpert highly appreciated the work carried out by Mrs. Aliyeva to promote Azerbaijan in France, and touched upon the importance of continuing activities in this direction. Expressing satisfaction with the cooperation between Azerbaijan and France over the recent years, he said these ties will serve to further development of the relations. The senator emphasized that Azerbaijan is an important country for the world. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Samir Ali - Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Turkey and the United Kingdom after the presidential election is of great importance, MP Tahir Karimli told Trend on April 27. Karimli said that President Aliyev's visit to Turkey once again proved to the world the brotherhood between the two countries. "The president visited Turkey as soon as he formed the government. During the visit, important documents were signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Once again it was confirmed that there are no closer countries in the world than Turkey and Azerbaijan. President Aliyev, during his speech in Turkey, said that Azerbaijan and Turkey have made mutual investments in such a volume that only brother countries can invest so many funds. This is because Azerbaijan and Turkey are natural allies. In other words, this cooperation is an alliance coming from the genetic code," he said. As for the London visit of President Aliyev, the MP said the visit shows the high level of partnership between the two countries and opens up new opportunities for cooperation. Karimli also assessed the London visit as a response to negative views voiced by some in the international community regarding Azerbaijan. "Those forces claimed that after the April 11 presidential election, big powers would not recognize Azerbaijan, they would be indifferent and so on. However, the invitation to Azerbaijani president to visit Britain, meetings held there, as well as special congratulations of leaders of the leading countries - Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to President Aliyev showed that Azerbaijan has great value for the big powers," he said. "I assess this visit as an extraordinary event, because this is a very important visit for Azerbaijan. This visit once again demonstrated Azerbaijan's reputation on the international arena. Mr. President has once again proved to the world that the attempts of the hostile states are in vain," the MP said. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Samir Ali - Trend: It is clear that the "report" of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on corruption, which mentions Azerbaijan, is biased and made upon order, Azerbaijani MP Tahir Rzayev told Trend April 27. The MP noted that PACE is no longer an absolutely objective structure for Azerbaijan. "If the PACE was a structure assuming an objective attitude, its reports could be trusted. Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories, there are more than one million refugees and internally displaced persons in the country, and if PACE was objective, it would show concrete attitude on this issue. Both the Council of Europe and PACE have always treated Azerbaijan from the position of double standards and did not support Azerbaijan," Rzayev said. He noted, that PACE did not react harshly to the obvious falsification of the election results in Armenia, to protests, confrontation, and illegal arrests. "Why does PACE not have an objective attitude to these issues? And when it comes to Azerbaijan, PACE makes fabrications, claims that human rights are allegedly violated in Azerbaijan. First, participation in election is the will of the people, the right to make their choice. The Azerbaijani people see, appreciate the situation in the country, which has existed for the last 15 years, and voted for their leader. The people chose their president. President Ilham Aliyev's activities are welcomed not only in Azerbaijan but also on the international arena. First of all, the head of state ensured stability in the country and created democratic conditions. The Azerbaijani president wants to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully. Secondly, the development and growing authority of Azerbaijan in the international arena over the past 15 years are clearly visible," Rzayev said. The MP stressed that be it a journalist, an MP or state official - they all held accountable in Azerbaijan, if they break the law. "The law is same for everyone. Without studying the situation in Azerbaijan, PACE, using the data provided by the anti-Azerbaijani forces, creates a negative opinion about the country. This is a new provocation of PACE, by which it wants to put pressure on Azerbaijan," the MP said. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: A delegation headed by Azerbaijani defense minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov is on an official visit in Beijing at the invitation of Colonel General Wei Fenghe, Chinese defense minister, member of the State Council of China, the press service of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a statement April 27. Following the official welcome ceremony for the Azerbaijani defense minister in the Ministry of National Defense of China, a meeting of the defense ministers of the two countries was held April 27. Fenghe noted that despite the remoteness of China and Azerbaijan from the geographical point of view, the two countries have friendly relations since the ancient times. He also stressed the important role of the historical Silk Road in the creation of these relations. Speaking about the diplomatic relations between the two countries established 26 years ago, the Chinese minister added that over the past period the cooperation between the two countries in various fields has expanded and mutual trust has strengthened sufficiently. Fenghe noted with satisfaction the creation of new opportunities for cooperation between China and Azerbaijan as part of the 'One Belt One Road Initiative' and the huge support of Azerbaijan for this strategy. Touching upon the cooperation of the two countries in the military sphere, Fenghe noted great potential in this direction. Fenghe reminded that Chinas position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict hasnt changed, adding that China, as before, supports the conflicts settlement in accordance with the norms and principles of international law within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Expressing gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov stressed that friendly relations between Azerbaijan and China have deep roots. These relations form the basis of modern relations between the two countries, Hasanov said. Comprehensive cooperation with China is one of the top priorities of Azerbaijans foreign policy, he noted. Highlighting great merits of the great leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev in the creation and deepening of mutual trust in the Azerbaijani-Chinese relations, Hasanov noted that these friendly relations under the leadership of the head of state, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev entered a new stage of development and were brought to high level of cooperation. The visits of heads and officials of two states have acquired regular nature, Hasanov said. This, in turn, is a huge contribution to strengthening of friendly relations and cooperation, he noted. Touching upon the military and political situation in the South Caucasus, Colonel General Hasanov noted that Armenias aggressive policy against Azerbaijan for more than 25 years poses a serious threat not only to Azerbaijan, but also to peace and security in the entire region. He expressed gratitude to his Chinese counterpart for his countrys support of Azerbaijans fair position in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The defense minister stressed that Azerbaijan also respects Chinas "One Belt One Road Initiative", supports this concept and recognizes organizations representing China on the international arena. During the meeting, which took place in a friendly atmosphere and in the conditions of mutual trust, the sides discussed prospects of development of cooperation in military, military-technical, military-educational and other spheres of mutual interest. At the end of the meeting, a document on military assistance was signed between Azerbaijans Defense Ministry and the Ministry of National Defense of China. Details added (first version posted on 18:26) Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has today signed an order to appoint Ulvi Mehdiyev as the chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations. The Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to develop proposals within two months on bringing the acts of the Azerbaijani president in line with this order and submit them to the head of state, and in a three-month period to ensure bringing the regulatory and legal acts of the Cabinet in line with this order and inform the President. The order takes effect from the date of its signing. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: The groundless allegations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), corruption claims, attacks and information "shots" are surely politicized, expert Fikret Sadikhov told Trend on April 27. He made the remarks commenting on the so-called anti-corruption report of the PACE. Sadikhov stressed that such a report should be supported by figures and facts and be based on specific investigations. "Surely, we are not talking about individual MPs, but about the attitude to the country and its image, which certain circles want to spoil by throwing an additional portion of negative information. This information is aimed at discrediting Azerbaijan's image, creating a negative image of the country in world politics and in relations with other states," Sadikhov said. He said that the Azerbaijani parliamentarians at the PACE should give a decent response to such attacks. "Professionally trained members of the Azerbaijani Parliament represent the country at the PACE and they have already spoken out. I think they will demand concrete facts on the sidelines, because such unfounded statements cannot serve as ground for such serious accusations," Sadikhov said. Answering the question on expediency of reviewing the relations with PACE, the expert noted that although this organization has not helped Azerbaijan during the country's 17-year membership, there is no need to rush to leave it as this will hardly help solve the current situation. "Earlier a resolution was adopted on supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but the document is still "in the air". I did not see further development of the topic so that the document would be followed by concrete steps that would help resolve this issue and make accusations against the aggressor country - Armenia," Sadikhov said. He reminded that Azerbaijan is a member of many international structures and before taking radical steps it is necessary to carefully determine the extent of claims and then think about reviewing relations with this structure without leaving it. -- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Russia and Japan will discuss pressing issues concerning the two countries trade and economic relations at the fourth bilateral forum dubbed The Points of Convergence, which is set to be held in Moscow on April 27, TASS reports. At least 150 Japanese businessmen are expected to take part in the forum. Russias First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin and Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Oleg Safonov will particularly attend the event. Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary general of Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who will be the forums special guest, is expected read out Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes address at the events opening ceremony. Participants will discuss the two countries tourism cooperation, investment projects for the Far East and other Russian regions, as well as interaction in the areas of infrastructure, technology and energy industry. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Ambassadors and experts from Russia and Central Asian countries discussed the prospects for regional integration processes at a round table in Dushanbe, RIA Novosti reported. The oldest and most important dialogue platform for resolving issues in various fields in the post-Soviet space is the CIS. The CSTO and the SCO have been established for cooperation in the military-political and security spheres, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Igor Lyakin-Frolov said at the meeting. He added that the Eurasian integration is actively asserting itself, which at this stage is represented by the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), based on the deep economic interests of the EAEU member countries in creating a common economic space. Tajikistan, as a sovereign state, has the right to independently decide on membership in a particular association in the post-Soviet space. There are various forms of cooperation with the EAEU, one of which is the status of an observer in the Union that was recently offered to our Tajik friends, the ambassador said. The observer status in itself does not imply any obligations to the EAEU. The diplomat noted the importance of the fact that participation in this organization does not imply rejection of cooperation between its members and the entire Union as a whole with other countries and integration associations at all. An example is the idea of pairing the EAEU with the Chinese One Belt - One Way project, Lyakin-Frolov explained. Ambassadors of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, representatives of the expert and scientific communities of Tajikistan also took part in the event. The heads of the diplomatic missions spoke in detail about their vision of the integration processes in the region and reaffirmed the consistent line of their states to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation among the countries of Central Asia across the entire range of interstate relations, which is linked to the desire of the peoples for close cooperation based on common culture, history and religion. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Ali Mustafayev - Trend: Kazakhstan exported more than 925,000 tons of barley in September-February of 2017/18 marketing year (MY), which is 75 percent more than in the previous season (527,400 tons in 2016/17 MY), Kazakh media outlets reported. The present indicator is already 32 percent more than barley exports for the entire 2016/17 marketing year (about 700,000 tons). However, in February 2018, the rate of Kazakhstans barley exports decreased. The volume of external supplies amounted to 170,900 tons in the mentioned month, which is 15 percent less than in January 2018, but 108 percent more than in February 2017 (82,000 tons). The largest market for Kazakh barley is Iran, which accounted for 96 percent of the total supply in the first half of 2017/18 MY, which is, in turn, 42 percent more than Irans share in the entire 2016/17 MY. A characteristic feature of the current season is the expansion of the geography of exports at the expense of the EU countries, which accounted for 2 percent of total supplies. At the same time, Great Britain imported 1 percent of the total volume of Kazakhstans barley exports. Meanwhile, traditionally, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan remain in the list of the main importers of Kazakh barley. In 2017, Kazakhstan reached a historic maximum in the gross harvest of barley. According to the Committee of Statistics of the Ministry of Economy of Kazakhstan, the gross harvest of barley in the country following the results of the harvest campaign-2017 amounted to 3.3 million tons, which is 2.3 percent higher than the previous year's figure and is the historical maximum for this crop. The yield of barley in 2017 approached the level of 16 centners per hectare. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend: The development of transport infrastructure will help to bring cooperation between the border regions of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to a new level, the Kazakh media reported. The message of "24kz" Agency says that akim (head) of Mangistau region of Kazakhstan Eraly Tugzhanov, recently noted that the construction of a highway from Kazakhstan's Kenderli to the border of Turkmenistan - 164 kilometers would probably start in September. "They [Turkmenistan] also have the same understanding. If we start construction, this work should be mutual," the Kazakh regional head is cited in the message. It is expected that this project will create zones of cross-border trade and increase trade between the border countries. "Besides, Aktau and Turkmenbashi are port cities. The second international trade port will open in Turkmenbashi in a month, from where the goods will be transported to Kazakhstan's harbors", said Tugzhanov. In many respects, Mangistau of Kazakhstan and Balkan velayat (region) of Turkmenistan are similar. Oil and gas and chemical industries dominate in these regions, and both regions are large transport and logistics hubs. The regions are connected by sea, rail and road. The issue of establishment of common flight connection is also under consideration. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: In 2018, Mexico intends to increase the trade turnover with Azerbaijan up to $25 million, Ambassador of Mexico to Azerbaijan Rodrigo Labardini said. Labardini made the remarks during the event on the occasion of the Mexican trade mission's visit to Azerbaijan on April 27. In 2015 -2017, the average trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $9.6 million, he said, adding that this figure was $1.2 million in 1993-2014. The ambassador further said that bulk of the Mexican products are exported to Azerbaijan via third countries. "Given this, indicators of the customs departments of Azerbaijan and Mexico on mutual trade do not coincide. When importing to Azerbaijan, the producer country of the good is registered. In Mexico, during the export operation, only the country where the good is exported first is indicated. Due to this, it is necessary to coordinate the statistics," he said. According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover with Mexico in 2017 amounted to $19.3 million. Almost the entire trade volume fell on imports of te Mexican products to Azerbaijan. -- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: Mexican producers of tequila intend to export their products to Azerbaijan, Lourdes Siordia, a representative of the Mexican tequila producing company, told Trend. To this end, a trade delegation from Mexico arrived in Baku on April 24, she said, adding that businessmen from Mexico held talks with Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, importers of alcoholic beverages. We hope to start exporting our products to Azerbaijan as soon as possible, she said. We see great potential in the Azerbaijani market, there are great opportunities here. Azerbaijans trade turnover with Mexico amounted to $19.3 million in 2017, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Almost the entire value of trade turnover accounted for the imports of Mexican products to Azerbaijan. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: During the official visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Uzbekistan, the countries will sign a significant package of interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents in various fields, as well as a number of investment agreements, the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry stated on April 27. According to the press service, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a state visit to Uzbekistan on April 29 - May 1 at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In continuation of the political dialogue at the highest level, held on Oct. 25-26, 2017 within the framework of the state visit of the Uzbek president to Turkey, both parties plan to discuss in Tashkent further building up cooperation, consolidating and developing new promising trends in bilateral relations. Special attention will be paid to the international and regional agenda, including issues of countering global and regional challenges and threats. In accordance with the format of the visit, the president of Turkey will speak at a joint meeting of both houses of the Uzbek parliament. The presidents of the two countries will also take part in a joint business forum of leading banks, companies and enterprises of Uzbekistan and Turkey. The program includes a visit of the Turkish delegation to the city of Bukhara. Following the Uzbek-Turkish summit, the sides plan to adopt a joint statement with assessment of the current state of bilateral relations and their dynamic development. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov [Provisional Translation] On April 26, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 37th meeting of the Urban Renaissance Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office.At the meeting, discussion took place on a review of urban renaissance work to date and future trends.Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,Today we are joined by Mayor Takashima of Fukuoka City and President Komoda of Mitsui Fudosan. Mayor Takashima gave us a brief explanation, in a very easy-to-understand manner, on how Fukuoka City has changed over the past five years and what needs to be done in order to become a leading city in Asia. He also illustrated how Abenomics has contributed to these achievements. Meanwhile, President Komoda explained about some initiatives for the revitalization of urban areas aiming at increasing international competitiveness and their future prospects.In order to ease the excessive concentration of the population in Tokyo, it is crucial that we revitalize central and core cities, which are the engines of their respective regions. Connecting central and core cities to the rest of the world and incorporating global growth will create further momentum for regional revitalization, with the expansion of inbound tourism consumption and other developments, at a time when the distance between Japans various regions and the world continues to grow ever shorter.We will actively attract investment from abroad. We will support the global expansion of core companies in each of the regions. We will also advance efforts to implement the revolutionary technologies of Society 5.0, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. At the working level, we will also completely eliminate the silos among ministries and agencies, and work together hand in hand with each city to implement such initiatives.The Government must work as one to strongly promote world-leading efforts for the revitalization of urban areas and I would like the relevant ministers to take thorough actions based on the basic policies that were revised today. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: In March 2018, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) completed the reconstruction of the Mbrostar water supply system in the Municipality of Fier, Albania, said a message from the TAP AG consortium. The new water supply system an investment amounting to approximately 556,500 euros now serves more than 10,000 residents in six villages in this region, according to the message. TAPs Country Manager for Albania Ad-Interim, Michele Elia said that TAP supports the development of local communities along the pipelines route via numerous social and environment investments. The Mbrostari water supply system is one of TAPs largest investments in Albania and we are pleased that it will improve the living conditions of more than 10,000 people. We will continue to support local communities in partnership with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and local authorities, added Elia. TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries. Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network. The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016. Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe. TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend: Turkmenistan and Switzerland have agreed to continue work in the field of investment activity, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry stated April 27. The topic was raised during consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Ashgabat. The delegation from Bern was headed by Ambassador Nicolas Bruhl, assistant Secretary of State of Switzerland for European and Central Asian countries. "Stressing the importance of continuing the established dialogue that meets mutual interests for further diversification of fruitful cooperation, the parties noted the role of mutual visits of official delegations," the Foreign Ministry's message said. Turkmenistan is interested in partnership with Switzerland in such spheres as mechanical engineering, chemical, processing and food industry, pharmaceutical and biochemical production. The visit of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Switzerland in October 2012 gave impetus to the relations between the two countries, following which a solid package of documents was signed. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: A single tariff will be introduced in Azerbaijan for connecting subscribers to the power grid, the head at Azerishig OJSC department for work with ASAN Service, Elsever Rustamli, said at a press conference on April 27. He noted that the issue is currently being considered at the Cabinet of Ministers. "So far, the tariff for connecting to the power grid depended on distance between the facility [which will be connected to the power grid] and the grid itself. However, in the near future we plan to apply a single tariff that will not depend on this factor," he said. Rustamli noted that maximum five days are required for connecting subscribers to the power grid. However, according to the legislation, this work can be performed within 15 days -- Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of April. The day was declared by International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations agency on information and communication technology in 2010. On this occasion, the Ministry of Transportation, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan has organized the excursion of female school children of secondary school No.55 with the view to contribute to increasing womens role in ICT field. The teenagers had a chance to visit Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of Azercell Telecom LLC, the leading mobile operator which plays a special role in the development of professional individuals in ICT. During the excursion, the representatives of Human Resources Department of Azercell made presentation about the projects carried out by company to support woman in ICT and told about the opportunities for them in this sector. They also gave information to the young visitors about Student Bursary and Internship Programs, Summer and Winter schools of Azercell. At the end of the event, a seminar on Idea generation was held for the schoolchildren in order to help them to get the insight of innovative process while learning the behavior of an entrepreneur as a group. Notably, Azercell LLC taking the leading position in advanced technologies, always conducts various projects aimed at increasing the involvement of women in ICT and growing in this sphere professionally. Such projects also included various programs and meetings for women in IT and training events about the programs such as IT fundamentals, LINUX, CISCO, ORACLE. Over 9 years of its activity, Barama Center of Azercell has supported more than 70 startup projects and 45 of them have built successful businesses. For more information, please contact [email protected] The leader of the mobile communication industry, the largest taxpayer and the biggest investor of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 48% share of Azerbaijans mobile telecom market Azercells network covers 80% of the territory (excluding 20% of the occupied territories) and 99,8% of population of the country. Currently, 4,5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, mobile internet services, Metro coverage, 24/7 call centre service, 7 day/week Front Office service, M2M services, one-stop-shopping approach Azercell Express offices, Online Customer Care and Social Media Customer Care services, Mobile Customer Care office, mobile e-signature service ASAN Imza etc. Azercell deployed first 4G LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality surveys of Global Wireless Solutions company and international systems specialized in wireless coverage mapping such as Opensignal and Testmy.net, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend: IT companies of Azerbaijan and Belarus will discuss prospects of cooperation in the field of telecommunications and information technologies, a source in the telecommunications market of Azerbaijan told Trend April 27. The meeting will be held in Minsk within the framework of the fourth Belarus-Azerbaijan business forum in the field of high technologies and telecommunications, which will be held in the framework of the XXV international forum on information and communication technologies TIBO-2018 (May 14-18). In addition, Azerbaijan's achievements in the field of ICT will be demonstrated at the TIBO-2018 exhibition. Visitors to the national pavilion will be able to get acquainted with such projects as the construction of a regional innovation zone, as well as achievements in the field of space industry, and the establishment of "Electronic government", etc. TIBO forum is held annually in Belarus and is a platform for the exchange of new achievements and best practices in the field of IT. A number of thematic areas are highlighted in the structure of the TIBO exhibition: "National information infrastructure", "Digital economy", "Mobile technologies", "Electronic government", "Robotics", etc. Over 100 exhibitors from more than 20 countries will participate in the exhibition. Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Chinas Huawei is providing support to ICT specialists in Tajikistan within the Seeds for the Future Program, Tajik media reported on April 27. Under this program, Tajik specialists in information and communication technologies (ICT) have taken a two-week training course in China. Initiated by Huawei in 2008, the Seeds for the Future Program seeks to develop local ICT talent, enhance knowledge transfer, promote a greater understanding of and interest in the telecommunications sector, and improve and encourage regional building and participation in the digital community. Sponsored by global ICT leader Huawei, the all-expense-paid program provides participants an opportunity to spend two weeks in China (one week in Beijing and one week in Shenzhen) gaining first-hand knowledge and technical training at Huaweis global headquarters and receiving an introduction to Chinese language and culture. Designed to bridge the gap between ICT instruction at universities and the practical knowledge and skills needed in the workplace, the program combines hands-on training and the opportunity to learn from veterans in the field. Founded in 1987, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational networking, telecommunications equipment, and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012. In 2017, Huawei became 83rd of Fortune Global 500 in Fortune Magazine. Huawei reportedly has over 170,000 employees, around 76,000 of whom are engaged in research and development. It has 21 R&D institutes in China, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Finland, France, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, Sweden, Ireland, India, Russia, Israel, and Turkey. From July to September 2017, Huawei surpassed Apple and became the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world after Samsung. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The Minister of culture and tourism of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmus and the Minister of culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky will discuss the prospects of development of tourism between the two countries, Ministry of culture and tourism of Turkey told Trend April 27. The ministry stated, the meeting between Kurtulmus and Medinsky will take place on 27 April in Istanbul. The Ministry announced that Russia and Turkey will also sign a Protocol on the establishment of a Committee on consultations in the field of tourism. 134 201 Russian tourists visited Turkey in the first two months (January-February) of 2018. In total, during January-February, 2 988 640 foreign guests visited Turkey. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: In January-March 2018, 5.1 million tourists visited Turkey, which is a record figure, the Turkish media cited the countrys Minister of Culture and Tourism Numan Kurtulmus as saying April 27. The minister also stressed that Turkey has an important tourist potential, which attracts foreign tourists. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that according to the forecasts, 36 million tourists will visit Turkey in 2018. "Turkey has a great tourist potential and tourism is one of the important sectors in the development of the country's economy," Erdogan said. Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that more than 30 million foreign tourists are expected to visit the country in 2018. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Ali Mustafayev Trend: Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Turkey Ibrahim Zhunusov met with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavusoglu, the press service of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said in a message. During the meeting, the sides discussed Kyrgyz-Turkish relations in the political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres, as well as joint steps to implement the agreements reached during the official visit of the Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov to Turkey on April 9-11. The officials also touched upon the possible dates for holding the 9th meeting of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic, concerning cooperation in the field of health, as well as, the opening of direct flights on the Bishkek-Ankara-Bishkek route and the resumption of regular Osh-Istanbul-Osh flights. Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev_ Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a video-conference on improvement of countrys villages in line with the Obod qishloq [Comfortable village] program, the press service of the president said on April 26. No practical measures have been taken on improvement of villages over the past 25 years, apart from construction of standard housing. The necessary financial resources have not been allocated. Streets, social facilities, drinking water, electricity and other important utilities in most of the villages worn out and ceased to meet modern requirements due to lack of required attention, the president said. He said that disorderly and unauthorized construction without observing the norms and modern requirements by the population has become commonplace. The villagers got used to this state of affairs and have stopped paying attention to the improvement of their streets, houses and yards. It is easy to imagine what the mood of people living in places with deplorable infrastructure is. And why should our citizens live in such places? Mirziyoyev said. He noted that the improvement of villages will change the world outlook of people, strengthen their desire to live better, raise the economy of villages. As a result, the economy of the entire country will receive a powerful boost to development. In 2018, improvement projects for 368 villages were approved. They provide for the repair and improvement of 127,000 houses, laying of 1,900 kilometers of drinking water supply networks, nearly 2,000 kilometers of power and 263 kilometers of gas supply line, construction and repair of 850 social facilities and 2,400 market objects, overhaul of 440 kilometers of roads, purchase of 470 buses, construction of more than 330 bus stops and the opening of new bus routes. Some 3.45 trillion soums will be allocated for this purpose. The president touched upon aspects of organization, financing, design and implementation of the planned work. Instructions are given to develop general layouts of villages. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Baku, Azerbaijan, April 24 Trend: The Islamic Republics official statistics indicate that Iran is gradually increasing its share from African markets. Farzad Piltan, an official with Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), said that the countrys exports to Africa has increased by 23 percent, the press office of the TPO reported. Piltan said that Irans non-oil exports to Africa accounted to $752 million in the last fiscal year, ended March 20, 2018, compared to $608 million worth of exports in the preceding year. He further said that Egypt was the main destination of Iranian goods in Africa during the period, followed by Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Somalia, Djibouti, Morocco and Nigeria. According to Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Iran exported 754,775 tons of goods to Egypt, worth $257.5 million in the last fiscal year, which is 23.7 and 15.8 percent more in terms of value and volume respectively, year-on-year. Butane, steel products, bitumen, liquid propane, methanol and cement formed the most important exports of Iran to Africa in the last fiscal year. The Islamic Republic plans to annually add 20 percent to the countrys exports to Africa. Iranian officials are dissatisfied with the level of banking cooperation between Iran and African countries and see that as an obstacle in boosting trade ties. Irans non-oil exports accounted to $47 billion in the 12-month period based on the early estimates. Meanwhile the country imported $54 billion worth of various goods in the last fiscal year, which is $10 billion more compared to the preceding year. Tehran, Iran, April 27 By Kamyar Eghbalnejad Trend: An Iranian expert believes that the possible decision of the US President Donald Trump on leaving the 2015 nuclear deal is very unlikely to leave a negative impact on the Islamic Republics oil deal with the French giant, Total. "Despite the diplomatic crisis concerning the nuclear deal, I do not think that Irans oil contracts would face a particular problem in the future. I assume that the Total agreement will remain intact," Mohammad Ali Sadeghi, an expert on gas, oil, and energy affairs told Trend. He further touched upon oil prices and forecasted that the oil prices will stay in the current level. European officials have already held several talks with Tehran, Moscow and Washington as part of a drive to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran that President Donald Trump is threatening to scuttle. So far, Iran has adhered to the terms of the nuclear deal, as verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in previous reports since the pact was implemented in January 2016. But the economic benefits Iran is receiving in return have fallen short of expectations, even after energy and financial sanctions were lifted. Major banks and companies have avoided engaging with Iran from fear of running afoul of remaining US restrictions or seeing a "snapback" of sanctions given Trumps threats. Trump has told the Europeans that they must agree to "fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal" or he would re-impose the sanctions that Washington lifted as part of the pact. Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh said Friday the global market has the capacity to absorb higher oil prices, drawing a swift reaction from US President Donald Trump, who accused OPEC of inflating prices. June Brent crude on Monday dropped 79 cents, or 1.1 percent to $73.27 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after a 2 percent gain last week. US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons but declined comment on whether he may consider the use of force against it, Reuters reports. I dont talk about whether or not I would use military force, Trump told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. OK? They are not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it. Armenias acting prime minister, Karen Karapetyan, has rejected a proposal by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan to hold talks on Friday as anti-government protests continue to rock the country, Reuters reported. Armenia, a close ally of Russia, faces a crisis after two weeks of protests against the ruling elite led to the resignation of Serzh Sarksyan as prime minister on Monday. Protesters have not stopped at Sarksyans resignation, making clear they consider the whole government tainted by his drive to shift power to the premier from the president. The acting prime minister considers taking part in talks that have no chance of finding a solution to be useless, Karapetyans press service said in a statement. Pashinyan, who has led the demonstrations, said earlier on Friday he had met President Armen Sarkissian to discuss a political solution. Protesters have called for Pashinyan, a former journalist turned lawmaker, to become Armenias new interim prime minister and for him to organize fresh parliamentary elections. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: Communication with the representatives of Armenia, who visited Moscow, was focused on the need for a speedy constitutional settlement of the crisis in that country, said Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, reports TASS. "There were talks between the state agencies, and there was also a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and acting Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan. This communication was mainly focused on the need for a speedy settlement of the crisis situation that has now arisen in Armenia, the settlement, of course, within the constitutional framework, so that a consensus can be found among all the parties concerned," the Kremlin spokesman said. "In this regard, everyone is waiting and watching the election of the Prime Minister to be held in the Parliament on May 1," he added. "I don't have any information, I can't answer any of your questions," Peskov said when asked which of the Russian high-ranking officials visited Armenia on April 25, as reported by the Armenian media. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: The leader of Armenian opposition Nikol Pashinyan demanded the government to resign, as well as appoint an extraordinary parliamentary election in the country, RIA Novosti reports. He also put forward an ultimatum, stating his intention to boycott early parliamentary elections, if the candidate does not take the post of prime minister "from the people". Pashinyan also said that if the opposition comes to power, Armenia will maintain good relations with Russia, remain a member of the CSTO and will be "faithful to international commitments," including on the EU and the EEU. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 Trend: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a phone conversation with Armenian President Armen Sargsyan April 27, official spokesman for the Secretary-General Stefan Dujarrik told reporters, according TASS. Guterres stressed the importance of resolving the crisis in the country through a dialogue of the parties to the conflict and in the constitutional framework. "The Secretary General spoke with the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sargsyan this morning. The Secretary-General stressed the need for a peaceful settlement of the situation in the country through dialogue and in the constitutional framework", Dujarrik said. Georgias defence officials and military commanders hosted Lieutenant General Jan Broeks, Director General of the NATO International Military Staff this week, for talks and meetings on cooperation between the alliance and the country, Agenda reports. The high-ranking official of the alliance was received by the Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Colonel Nikoloz Janjgava and other military commanders in series of meetings. Briefed about defence reforms, prospective plans and ongoing security challenges for Georgia, the visiting official reviewed subjects such as the participation of over 870 Georgian service members in NATOs Resolute Support peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Following his acquaintance with reforms and efforts for a new systemic defence approach in Georgia, Broeks told reporters he was "impressed with the developments in the country. The NATO general Broeks also presented a talk about the alliance and its partner countries at the defence ministrys Army Hall venue. His audience included ministry officials, service members, diplomatic corps, foreign advisors of the ministry and non-governmental organisation representatives. As part of his agenda Broeks paid a visit to Georgia and NATOs Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, where Colonel Grigol Tchelidze, head of the centre, held a briefing about the institutions work for the visitor. Tchelidze also informed Broeks about ongoing preparatory work for next years NATO-Georgia joint defence exercise, before the JTEC event concluded the Lieutenant Generals trip to Georgia. South Korea-based CJ 4DPLEX has signed a new partnership with Cinemacity to open three locations in Saudi Arabias capital city, Riyadh, and other major Saudi cities by the end of 2018, Al Arabiya with reference to the Variety reported. Al-Qasr Mall will be the first CJ 4DPLEX multiplex in Riyadh, featuring 19 screens. Cinemacitys parent company, Xclusive Cinemas SAL Holding, says it will operate 116 screens by the end of 2018 in five countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. 4DX is like 3D on steroids. Its an interactive experience, one in which audiences seats move along with the on-screen action auditoriums have a variety of synchronized special effects, such as rain, wind, fog, and various scents, according to the report. Growth in Chinas vast manufacturing sector is expected to have eased slightly in April, as factory-gate prices stayed subdued in a possible sign of slowing domestic demand, while a simmering Sino-U.S. trade row heightened risks for the industrial sector, Reuters reports. Asias economic powerhouse has led a synchronized uptick in global growth over the past year and a half, led by solid exports and a booming construction sector, though Chinese policy makers have had to walk a tight rope between defusing financial risks and keeping output broadly stable. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is seen down at 51.3 in April from 51.5 in March, according to the median forecast of 26 economists in a Reuters poll. The 50-mark divides expansion from contraction on a monthly basis. Rising tensions between China and the United States threaten to hit billions of dollars in cross-border trade. Analysts say these risks seem to have encouraged some Chinese exporters to ship out goods in early 2018, helping bump up Chinas export numbers for January-February. Exports are expected to have rebounded in April from a weak March outcome, as shipments normalized thanks to still-solid global demand. [nL3N1RU1Z6] We expect April economic indicators to have improved from March, particularly in exports where we are very likely to see a reversal of Marchs negative growth, said Lisheng Wang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Nomura. Risks to growth, however, have risen in the wake of the U.S.-China trade dispute. While analysts say it is too early to gauge the potential fallout of the tariff standoff with the United States, a dent to business confidence could impinge on economic momentum. Indeed, while the economy has displayed remarkable resilience in 2017 and early this year, signs of stress have shown up in softer industrial demand, slower investment growth, and a subdued property market. This is backed up by expectations that weaker producer prices will have persisted in April in line with a broader cooling in output.[L3N1S23AA][nL3N1S23AA] Economists expect growth in the worlds second-largest economy to ease to 6.5 percent this year, from 6.9 percent in 2017, with a regulatory crackdown on the countrys finance sector and the Sino-U.S. trade row seen as key risks, a Reuters poll showed. [nL3N1RU2FP] Separately, a private survey on Chinas factory activity for April is forecast to show a similar easing trend as the official reading. The private Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers index (PMI) is expected to have eased to 50.8 in April versus 51 in March. The official PMI survey is due out on April 30, along with a similar official survey on services. The private Caixin manufacturing PMI will be published on May 2, and the Caixin services PMI on May 4. Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Friday that China will not provide the company with advance payments for gas supplies, Reuters reprots. The company added that the efficiency of its gas supplies to China will be on par with that of its exports to Europe. Galia Maor, Dan Suesskind and Gabrielle Sulzberger are set to leave the board of directors of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) according to the invitation to the annual shareholders meeting put out by the Israeli company last night, Globes reports. During the meeting that convenes on June 5, shareholders will be asked to approve their choice of two directors to serve an additional term of three years: Rosemary Crane and Gerald Lieberman; and to approve that Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro join the board - the new candidate is a professor in Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Medicine. At the same time Maor, the former Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) CEO who has served on the Teva board since 2012 has decided not to stand for re-election. Suesskind, the former Teva CFO has also decided not to stand again even though he only returned to the Teva board several months ago. Sulzberger who has served on the board since 2015 is also not standing again. The shareholders meeting in June will also include a non-binding vote on remuneration for Teva's senior executives, as is the practice for US companies. Teva began reporting as a US company this year and is bound by the various American reporting rules. Hainan Airlines is launching a direct route from Tel Aviv to Guangzhou. The airline will operate three weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Guangzhou starting in August, Globes reports. The launch comes two years after Hainan began its first route to Israel from Beijing and six months after its second route (from Shanghai). The airline will receive a 750,000 grant for the new route, which is expected to renew tourist traffic from China, which has recently declined. Round trip tourist class tickets on the new route will be sold from $500 for the first three flights and afterwards for $622. Price for business class tickets will start at $2,582. The UN's special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has called for de-escalation in the region, Al Jazeera reports. In his briefing to the Security Council, Nikolay Mladenov, urged all parties to step back from the brink. There was wide ranging criticism of Israel's action against demonstrators in Gaza, but also a spirited defence from the Israeli Ambassador and his US ally. North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un on Friday left Pyongyang for the much-awaited summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Sputnik reported citing state media. A statement by the KCNA news agency said Kim will "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae In all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula," according to Yonhap. Kim Jong Un is set to cross the military demarcation line between the two Koreas at 9:30a.m. Seoul time (00:30GMT) and will be greeted by President Moon. The summit in the demilitarized zone will begin an hour later. At the end of the historic talks, the two leaders will sign an agreement and make a joint statement. Panamas Foreign Ministry said Thursday it would resume flights to Venezuela after the countries severed air links in a row earlier this month, Sputnik reported. The governments of the two nations have vowed to "restore air connectivity" and keep diplomatic channels open in order to maintain "constructive bilateral relations," the statement read. Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro said earlier his country would lift the ban on Panamas air carrier Copa starting Friday. They will also restore diplomats to each others capitals after recalling them in early April. Flights from Panama were grounded on April 6 as part of a three-month freeze on ties with Panamanian businesses after Panama put Maduro on a money laundering watch list. Panama responded days later by banning all flights by Venezuelan airlines. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko, responsible for the development of economic relations with Moscow, will visit Russia on April 28-29, as he himself said at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, TASS reports. "My visit to Russia, which will take place on April 28-29, will be aimed at advancing the economic cooperation plan ahead of the May meeting of the Japanese and Russian leaders," he said. Seko is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings during his visit, particularly with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. "Russian-Japanese relations have been rapidly evolving. At the end of the week, a working meeting between the [Russian] first deputy prime minister and [Japanese] Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko, responsible for economic cooperation with Russia, is going to take place with the parties discussing issues concerning trade and economic cooperation," a source in Shuvalovs office told TASS earlier. Dialogue between Moscow and Tokyo has been increasing in the past two years. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came up with an eight-point plan during his visit to Russia in May 2016, which stipulates that Tokyo and Moscow should strengthen relations in the energy sphere, small and medium-size business, the industrialization of Russias Far East, as well as expand exports. The plan also envisages that the two countries should enhance interaction in the cutting-edge technologies field, including the nuclear energy sphere, as well as humanitarian cooperation. The construction of the North-South natural gas pipeline with capacity of 12.4 bln cubic meters in Pakistan may be launched in 2018, Rostec Corporation Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy Viktor Kladov told TASS, adding that the launch might be delayed beyond this year due to the lack of agreements on gas transit fees. "We still plan to launch the construction of the North-South gas pipeline in 2018. However, the date may be postponed as negotiations on transit tariffs have not been completed. Our position is clear: tariffs should ensure return on investment. Respective agreements have not been reached yet," he said. Russia and Pakistan signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the North-South gas pipeline in October 2015. The 1,100 km long gas pipeline should link liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the port of Karachi in the south of Pakistan with the city of Lahore in the north of the country. The project in Pakistan is being carried out by RT-Global Resources, a subsidiary of Russia Rostec corporation. Initially the commissioning was planned in 2018, but the projects implementation period was postponed several times because of disagreements between Rostec and the Pakistani government over the issue of gas transit tariff. In September 2017, Yuri Sentyurin, who was then Russias Deputy Energy Minister and now is head of the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, said that the implantation of the project would start in 2018. In November 2017, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov voiced hope that Russia and Pakistan would reach an agreement on the transit tariff issue by the end of the year, however, the sides have not reached a consensus as of yet. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: As a result of a special operation carried out by the Turkish intelligence service (MIT), three members of the terrorist organization Islamic state (IS) were detained, Turkish media reported April 27. It is reported that one of the detained terrorists is the so-called "Emir" (leader) of the IS. Information on the nationality and identity of detained terrorists has not been disclosed. On April 13, Syrian citizen Riyadh Haji Osman - one of the IS executioners was detained in a special operation in the Turkish province of Adana. On January 24 this year, so-called "Minister of health" of IS Kefah Basher Hussain was detained in the province of Sanliurfa in the Southeast of Turkey. On January 12 this year, Turkish police detained the so-called "Minister of agriculture" of IS Tarik Ahmed. In December 2017, one of the famous executioners of IS, 28-year-old terrorist nicknamed "Mahmud" was detained in the Turkish province of Hatay on the border with Syria. Baku, Azerbaijan, April 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels on April 27 explained to him why Turkey is buying Russian S-400 Triumph air defense systems, Turkish media reported April 27. Pompeo has been recently appointed to the post of the US secretary of state, and therefore he didnt know the reason for purchasing Russian S-400 Triumph air defense systems, Cavusoglu said. Turkey previously wanted to purchase the US Patriot missile defense system, but the US refused to sell it, and we had to turn to Russia, Cavusoglu noted. On Dec. 29, 2017, Turkey signed a loan agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumph air defense systems. The total purchase price was $2.5 billion and the first supplies are scheduled for July 2019. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Britain in July for a working visit with Prime Minister Theresa May, after months of back-and-forth over when the U.S. president would visit what traditionally has been the United States closest ally, Reuters reported. Representatives for the White House and 10 Downing Street said Trump would visit the United Kingdom on July 13 and hold bilateral talks with May but gave no other details. It was also not immediately clear how long Trump would stay on his visit, which would come more than a year after taking office. The delay has raised questions about the U.S.-UK relationship, and the working visit signals a more low-key affair than an official state visit. Trump had planned a trip to London to open a new U.S. embassy there but canceled in January. Many Britons have vowed to stage protests if Trump visits. Three U.S. senators introduced a measure on Thursday aimed at blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martins F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, a NATO ally and one of nine partner nations involved in producing the high-tech, radar-evading aircraft, Reuters reported. The bill, by Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, comes at a time of deteriorating relations between the United States and Turkey, which supported the fight against Islamic State but has become increasingly worried about U.S. backing for Kurdish fighters in north Syria. Turkey plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 aircraft. Turkish companies have been involved in producing parts for the fighter, and Ankara is scheduled to begin receiving its first aircraft within a year. The Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Aaron Wess Mitchell is going to visit Georgia and provide a keynote address at a NATO-Georgia public diplomacy forum to be held in Tbilisi on April 30 May 1st, Agenda reports. During his visit Dr. Mitchell will meet with senior government officials as well as with other political leaders, representatives of civil society, and the American Chamber of Commerce to reinforce U.S. support for Georgias aspirations to integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions. Dr. Mitchell is attending the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels today with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Dr. Mitchell had a phone conversation with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili on March 8, during which Mitchell praised Georgia as the regional leader in reforms. During the conversation the two leaders discussed bilateral US-Georgia defense cooperation, Georgias Euro-Atlantic integration and the US role in the consolidation of support for Georgia ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit. More than 70 countries on Thursday committed to bolster efforts in the fight against terrorism financing associated with the ISIS group and al-Qaida. Participants at an international conference on terrorism in Paris vowed to improve international coordination and enhance transparency of financial flows. Advertisement In a final declaration, they agreed to fully criminalize terror financing through effective and proportionate sanctions even in the absence of a link to a specific terrorist act. The two-day event was convened by French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate efforts to reduce the terror threat in the long-term. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar were all present. Macron, who has returned to France from a state visit to the U.S., welcomed the decision of participants to form a coalition with the aim of choking off financing for IS and al-Qaida. Our enemies are mobile and innovative. They are all the time changing tactics ... they use all the modern technologies, he stressed in his closing speech. That is why we must combat (them) with total determination. Macron praised efforts of participants to cooperate despite their differences of approach and competing interests. Thursdays meeting included countries that have accused each other of funding terrorism, notably in Gulf. Macron said too many countries have nourished movements with direct or indirect links to terrorism. There will be no more ambiguity regarding ISIS and al-Qaida, he insisted. Experts and ministers attending the conference noted terror groups are using increasingly hard-to-track tools like prepaid cards, online wallets and crowdfunding operations. They called for better information-sharing between intelligence services, law enforcement, financial businesses and the technology industry. They also agreed to improve the traceability of funds going to non-governmental organizations and charity associations. Daniel Lewis, executive secretary of the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force, said he is hoping that words would be put into action. When we have information for example the U.N. list of individuals and entities financing terrorism we need to make sure measures like asset freezing are implemented fully and quickly, Lewis told The Associated Press. The French organizers noted that IS military defeats on the ground have not prevented the group from pursuing its terrorist activities, along with al-Qaida especially in unstable regions of Afghanistan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Yemen, Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa. ISIS has also invested in businesses and real estate to ensure its financing. IS revenues alone were estimated at $2.5 billion between 2014 and 2016, according to the French presidents office. Micro-financing French counterterrorism prosecutor Francois Molins told FranceInfo radio that IS uses micro-financing techniques to collect a great number of small amounts of money. Work with the financial intelligence unit helped identify 416 people in France who have donated money to IS over the last two years, he said. Money, he said, went to 320 collectors mostly based in Turkey and Lebanon from whom jihadis in Iraq and Syria could receive funds. Funding to extremist groups in the Middle East once flowed freely across the regions informal money-transfer shops and in donations made in mosques when traveling clerics issued special appeals during sermons. In recent years, the U.S. and other Western nations have encouraged Middle Eastern nations to close off such sources. However, allegations over extremist funding in part sparked a near-yearlong boycott of Qatar by Arab states. Participants agreed to hold a similar conference next year in Australia. Dupa inscrierea pe site-ul HotNews.ro, poti deschide sectiunea MyHotNews ca sa completezi sau sa schimbi profilul de utilizator. Atentie! Logarea pe site se face cu adresa de email, nu cu nickname-ul. Adresa ta de email va ramane confidentiala si nu va fi niciodata data unor terte persoane sau institutii. Inainte de a te inscrie pe site te rugam sa parcurgi termenii si conditiile atasate unui cont HotNews.ro. KYODO NEWS - Apr 27, 2018 - 23:34 | World, All Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday hailed the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and the leaders' pledge to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. "I welcome (the outcome) as the earnest discussion on denuclearization and other issues was a move toward the comprehensive resolution of various challenges surrounding North Korea," Abe told reporters at his office. The prime minister said he will be briefed directly by the South Korean leader on the outcome very soon. "I'm going to hear about (the summit) directly from President Moon Jae In by phone, and I want to ask him about the specific details, including his take on it," Abe said. According to a diplomatic source, Moon is likely to call Abe as soon as Saturday. Abe moved his initially planned departure to the Middle East from Saturday to Sunday to make sure he can take Moon's call, the source said. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is also expected to visit South Korea in early May to meet with his counterpart Kang Kyung Wha and be briefed by the South Korean side on the results of the summit, according to a government source. It is unclear whether Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, as they did not touch on it in their joint statement or press conference. Abe's government views resolving the abduction issue as a priority. In a phone conversation earlier this week, Abe asked Moon to raise the issue during the summit with Kim. The Japanese government officially recognizes 17 people as having been kidnapped by the North in the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them were returned in 2002, but North Korea insists eight have died and the other four never entered its territory. Abe recently agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain "maximum pressure" on North Korea until it addresses concerns about its nuclear weapons and missile development programs in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" way. Trump is also expected to hold a summit with Kim by early June. (Korea Summit Press Pool) There are no apparently no plans right now to arrange summit talks between Abe and Kim. Abe brushed off concerns that Japan has become isolated amid the diplomatic developments related to North Korea, saying Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on policy toward Pyongyang. On the abduction issue, he said in a parliament committee session Thursday that "while cooperation with the United States and South Korea is important, in the end we must resolve it (ourselves)." After the summit, Kono released a statement saying there is no change to Japan's position that it will seek to normalize diplomatic relations with North Korea based on a joint declaration signed in Pyongyang in 2002 by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Kim's father Kim Jong Il. Kono said this would mean "comprehensively resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile (issues) and settling our unfortunate past." The unfortunate past mentioned in the declaration is understood to refer to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. Later, before departing from Tokyo's Narita airport on a trip to Jordan, Kono hinted at the possibility of resuming stalled negotiations with North Korea on the abduction issue. "Japan's thoughts have been communicated to North Korea. I think there will be all sorts of movements from here on," Kono told reporters. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stressed the need for "drawing concrete steps" by Pyongyang to resolve the abduction, nuclear and missile issues. Read more on inter-Korean summit: Koreas confirm goals of "complete" denuclearization, ending war Kim Jong Un voices hope for start of new chapter of Korea's history Moon, Kim shake hands, raising hope for formal end of Korean War Kim becomes 1st North Korean leader to cross inter-Korean border South Korea's Moon no stranger to inter-Korean diplomacy North Korea's Kim remains an enigma on world stage Inter-Korea summit media center booming, some feel let down KYODO NEWS - Apr 27, 2018 - 16:57 | World, All Exactly one month after elementary school students found a camera washed up on a beach in northeastern Taiwan, they returned it to its Japanese owner on Friday. The Canon G12 digital camera, which was found after floating at sea for one and a half years, was reunited with Serina Tsubakihara, a third-year English major student at Sophia University in Tokyo. Tsubakihara, who flew in with her mother earlier in the day, said she was deeply touched by the selfless efforts of the students of Yue Ming Elementary School in Suao Township, Yilan County. (Waterproof case that housed the camera, Central News Agency/Kyodo) "Of course, they could have mailed it to me, but I wanted to come here to thank the students personally," Tsubakihara said at a welcoming ceremony. Tsubakihara recounted how she lost the camera in September 2015 while on a diving trip in Okinawa. Tsubakihara said she felt sad after losing the camera, which was a gift from her parents to celebrate her admission to the university. "It's a miracle that I could get it back," she said. Tsubakihara, who is taking a one-year absence from school, said she will spend the time figuring out life and serving as a bridge between Japan and Taiwan to help improve bilateral relations. The students found the camera, still housed in its waterproof case, while on a beach cleaning trip on March 27. Despite the accumulation of marine organism deposits on the case, the camera inside did not suffer water damage. (Central News Agency/Kyodo) A local newspaper broke the story and it soon went viral, leading to an online search via social media to find its owner. At Friday's welcoming ceremony, the students and their teacher performed a traditional Taiwanese hand puppet show to tell the amazing journey of the camera. Seizing the opportunity to promote its products, Canon donated 10 cameras to the school, among other products. Shortly after the welcoming ceremony, Tsubakihara joined the students on a trip to clean a nearby beach, the same one where the students found her camera. In addition to thanking the students, Tsubakihara thanked a travel agency for sponsoring her and her mother with free airline tickets and a hotel for providing free accommodation and organizing a farewell party scheduled for Sunday. Related story: Japanese owner of camera washed up on Taiwan beach found KYODO NEWS - Apr 27, 2018 - 15:39 | Feature, All Friday's inter-Korean summit drew a mixed reaction from relatives of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago, with some hopeful for the return of their loved ones and others anxious about the outlook, including the lack of a reference to the abduction issue in the leaders' joint declaration. "The scene where both leaders shook hands at the border was conducted in an atmosphere that has never occurred before. I strongly feel that the opportunity (to move forward on the abduction issue) is there," Fumiyo Saito told a press conference in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan. (Fumiyo Saito) Saito was referring to the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the border village of Panmunjeom. The 72-year-old, whose younger sister Kaoru Matsuki was abducted at the age of 26, also expressed anxiety, citing the advanced age of the abductees' relatives. "I want to bring back Kaoru as soon as possible while my health is still good," she said. Shigeo Iizuka, the 79-year-old head of a group representing abductees' families, said, "The summit was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. I hope there will be a mood to (realize) the return of the victims of abduction." But he expressed disappointment as Kim and Moon did not mention the abduction issue in their joint statement. "North Korea won't raise the abductions as it doesn't want to appear as a villain before the international community," said Iizuka, whose younger sister Yaeko Taguchi was kidnapped when she was 22. "I hope things will take a turn for the better," said Sakie Yokota, the 82-year-old mother of Megumi, who was abducted in 1977 at age 13. While expressing hope for an early resolution of the issue out of concern for the health of her 85-year-old husband Shigeru, Sakie Yokota said she is remaining level-headed in "seeing how things will unfold" given that North Korea has previously backtracked every time there were apparent signs of progress on the issue. (Sakie Yokota, right, and Shigeo Iizuka at a meeting in Tokyo on April 22, 2018) Kayoko Arimoto, the mother of Keiko who was abducted at age 23, said the most important meeting will be that between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, set to be held by early June. "There is little time remaining. I think the U.S.-N. Korea summit is the last chance," the 92-year-old said. Kayoko's husband Akihiro, 89, said, "For South and North Korea, (Friday's) summit may be a success but I cannot trust in it unless there are results." "If the United States and South Korea, along with Japan, confront North Korea with the abduction issue, I believe the issue can be resolved this time around," he added. Hajime Matsumoto, the 71-year-old older brother of Kyoko who was abducted at age 29, praised the inter-Korean summit but remained cautious as to whether the abduction issue will be resolved. He said he will have to wait and see the results of the U.S.-North Korea summit. In the joint declaration signed following the first inter-Korean summit in over a decade, Kim and Moon agreed to pursue "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strive to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War. Both the declaration and joint press announcement did not mention the abduction issue. At a Japan-U.S. summit in Florida last week, Trump pledged to raise the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and the 1980s at the envisioned meeting with Kim. (Japan PM Shinzo Abe, right, and families of Japanese abductees) Tokyo officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea and suspects Pyongyang's involvement in other disappearances. Five of the 17 were repatriated to Japan in 2002 but no major progress has been made since then. Pyongyang maintains eight have died and the other four were never in the country. Ahead of the inter-Korean summit, Iizuka met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday, calling on him to "respond effectively" to the rapidly changing situation to resolve the abduction issue. At a rally held after the meeting with Abe, Nobuhiro Matsuki, 45, said he wants Pyongyang to retract its statement that some of the abductees are already dead. "My brother is now 64. I just wonder how he is feeling now," he said, referring to his older brother Kaoru. "We will not be able to reunite and hug each other or talk about the old days if they return after our health deteriorates. I cannot wait anymore," said Shoichi Osawa, 82, whose brother Takashi may have been abducted by North Korea when he was 27. All the facts that the chief minister laid down in the Assembly seemed to eventually turn around and point accusing fingers at the police force under his command. Cybersecurity DHS cyber strategy to land by mid-May The Department of Homeland Security will issue a national cybersecurity strategy in mid-May, the DHS chief told a key House committee oversight hearing. "It will be shortly, within the next two weeks," DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee on April 26 during a full committee hearing on the agency's fiscal 2019 budget request. The strategy's release has been anticipated in the last month, but the official deadline has long passed. The National Defense Authorization Act in 2016 directed the DHS secretary to develop a departmental cybersecurity strategy and submit it to Congress within 90 days of the act's passage. The strategy's official due date was over a year ago. Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) pressed Nielsen on a firm date for the strategy's release. Earlier this month, Defense Department officials had said it could be released this summer. Nielsen referenced the strategy in an April 17 speech at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. "We wanted to make sure we had stakeholders involved" in the strategy, she said. Nielsen said the strategy will rest on four pillars, including identifying risks, reducing threats, reducing vulnerabilities and mitigating consequences. Nielsen also said DHS was also paying attention to bug bounty legislation wending its way through Congress. The Senate passed such a bill. Homeland Security Committee member Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.) is sponsoring similar legislation. Langevin noted that some at DHS "have criticized the idea as being premature without robust vulnerability triage processes." Nielsen said that "a bug bounty program is a very important tool. It's not a silver bullet, but nothing is. Its an important tool. We look forward to learning the lessons that [the Defense Department] has learned in their own [program]. We're watching the legislation that's going through Congress very closely, and we will prepare on our side the resources and planning to respond to what we find out through the bug bounty program." Langevin also pressed Nielsen on whether the DHS was currently able to accept bug reports for vulnerabilities within DHS networks and systems. Nielsen said she would work with Langevin and Congress to develop a vulnerability disclosure program to cover DHS systems, but she also said that National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center and US-CERT can field inquiries about possible DHS vulnerabilities. Back in 2014, WTI crude oil prices were north of $100/barrel. This was also a great time for oil stocks. But oil stockpiles got too high at the same time that demand started to waver. The oil market was left with this massive oversupply glut, and that sent oil prices tumbling. By early 2016, WTI crude oil prices had fallen to below $30/barrel. They rebounded off those lows, but oil prices have largely been stuck in the $40 to $50 range ever since May 2016. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Until recently. Oil prices are now starting to break out to highs not seen since the big crash of oil in late 2014. The catalysts? Mostly steady production cuts from OPEC and others. But the rally has been given some extra fire-power recently thanks to global economic strength (which has firmed up demand) and rising geopolitical tensions (which has threatened global output). All together, WTI crude oil prices are closing in on $70/barrel, and the rally looks like it will continue. One way to play this rally is simply by jumping into oil futures. But another way to play the oil rally is through buying energy and oil stocks. Heres a list of my 3 favorite oil stocks to buy as oil prices keep rising. Oil Stocks to Buy #1: Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) Exxon Stock Is Too Cheap to Ignore Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr (Modified) As a company that naturally benefits form higher prices at the pump, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is a stock that is set to win as oil prices rise. Historically speaking, XOM stock tends to track oil prices closely. As oil prices fall, so does XOM stock. As oil prices rise, so does XOM stock. Importantly, though, XOM stocks volatility in these moves is relatively muted compared to oil price volatility. This is because XOM is a giant business with tons of cash flows, big buyback power, a healthy dividend, and a long history of success. Those stable attributes help smooth out the volatility in oil prices. Story continues From this perspective, XOM stock is a less volatile, less risky way to play a rise in oil prices. XOM also has a big, stabilizing catalyst going forward in Guyana. Exxon Mobil hit a gold mine when they found oil in Guyana. For years, no one had been successful in this region. But in 2015, Exxons Liza-1 well discovered 90 meters of oil-bearing sandstone. Over the next several months, Exxon found more and more oil. One of the finds was so promising (Turbot) that Exxon expects to drill another well there in 2018. Oil from these sites will begin flowing in 2020, so Guyana isnt a near-term tailwind, but it could be a sizable long-term tailwind. Meanwhile, the valuation on XOM stock is attractive. The company is cheap by historical standards, with its trailing cash flow multiple currently hovering around 17 versus a 5-year average of 20. The dividend yield is also higher than normal at 4.2% (the 5-year average dividend yield is 3.2%). Overall, XOM stock isnt really priced for a comeback in oil prices. Thus, the risk-reward asymmetry on the stock skews towards the upside in the event that oil prices keep rising. Oil Stocks to Buy #2: General Electric Company (GE) GE stock Source: Shutterstock Industrial conglomerate General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) has seen better days. Over the past several quarters, the company has become the poster child for how not to run a business. Revenues have dropped. Profits have dropped. And the stock has dropped. But on its way to becoming one of Wall Streets most hated stocks, GE plunged into deep value territory. The company, after all, is still behind some of the biggest and most recognizable businesses in the world. One of those businesses is the companys oil & gas business. That business has been one of GEs biggest losers over the past several quarters. The company took a big bet on rising oil prices by merging with Baker Hughes A GE Co (NYSE:BHGE) in mid-2017. That didnt pan out, and GEs oil & gas business kept dropping. But now oil prices are reversing course and heading higher. That means a turnaround in GEs oil & gas business, which could be huge for the overall growth trajectory of this company. Oil & gas comprised roughly 14% of GEs total revenues last year. Therefore, a turnaround is meaningful to the companys overall performance and could help get the business on the right track. Such a turnaround doesnt seem priced into GE stock at these levels. The stock trades at just 15-times this years hugely depressed earnings base. If oil prices bounce back, earnings wont be depressed for long, and neither will this stock. Oil Stocks to Buy #3: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) anadarko petroleum corporation Source: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement via Flickr Perhaps the purest (and riskiest) energy stock to play the oil rebound is Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC). As an oil and gas exploration and production company, APCs business is heavily reliant on the price of oil. When oil prices are high and climbing, times are great and the stock does well. When oil prices are low and falling, times are awful and the stock does poorly. That is why over the past 5 years, APCs stock price has closely tracked the price of oil. There hasnt been much variance. Big drops in oil prices are accompanied by equally big drops in APC stock price. Likewise, big rises in oil prices are accompanied by equally big rises in APC stock price. Because of this, APC stock is a high-risk, high-reward play on rising oil prices. If oil prices keep climbing, APC stock will inevitably keep rising. But if oil prices tumble, so will APC stock. There is also a strong argument that APC stock is undervalued here with oil prices being where they are. APC stock currently sits at $67 with WTI crude oil prices closing in on $70. The last time WTI crude oil prices were at this level, it was November 2014, and APC stock was trading in the $80 to $90 range. Therefore, the argument for an $80 and up price tag on APC stock seems have some merit. If you are willing to take on the risk that is inherent to APCs reliance on oil prices, then this stock could be the right pick for you. As of this writing, Luke Lango was long GE. Compare Brokers The post 3 Energy Stocks to Play a Breakout in Oil appeared first on InvestorPlace. Altria Group (NYSE: MO) has given its long-term shareholders strong returns, but it hasn't always been easy for investors to hold onto their resolve. The tobacco giant has faced numerous obstacles over its long history, including litigation, consumer advocacy attacks, regulatory restrictions, and a general downtrend in smoking over the past several decades. Yet despite all those obstacles, Altria has always managed to produce impressive growth in earnings. Still, the potential transformation in the tobacco industry seems to pose a much different threat, and uncertainty about whether Altria can successfully make a transition toward less of an emphasis on cigarettes has held the stock back in recent months. Coming into Thursday's first-quarter financial report, Altria investors had their usual expectations for solid earnings performance despite top-line sluggishness. Altria's results on their face had a lot of encouraging signs, but that still didn't fully satisfy shareholders who had perhaps hoped for more definitive details about how the tobacco giant expects to sustain growth in the years to come. Outdoor sign with Altria name and corporate logo. Image source: Altria Group. Altria starts 2018 strong Altria's first-quarter results were consistent with what investors have seen recently from the company. Revenue net of excise taxes was higher by 1.8% to $4.67 billion. Net income jumped 35% to $1.89 billion, and after making allowances for extraordinary items, adjusted earnings of $0.95 per share climbed 30% from year-ago levels and was higher than the consensus forecast among investors for $0.93 per share. Looking more closely at Altria's divisions, the smokeable products unit continued to see challenges in producing growth. Revenue net of excise tax was up just 0.4%, as higher pricing was able to offset reduced volume and higher investments in promotional activity. Yet the 4.2% drop in cigarette shipment volume played a key role in pulling down adjusted operating company income by 2% from year-ago levels. The result was a half-point drop in Marlboro's total retail market share to 43.2%, and that pulled down Altria's overall market share to 50.3%, down from 51% in the first quarter of 2017. Story continues By contrast, the non-cigarette side of the tobacco business was strong. Smokeless tobacco revenue jumped 13% net of excise tax, producing a staggering 27% jump in adjusted operating company income. The comparison against last year's period was favorable, given the recall of certain smokeless products in early 2017. The unit was able to boost its market share slightly, based largely on strength in the Copenhagen brand. Altria's wine unit had mixed performance. Revenue climbed 0.7% net of tax, but operating company income fell by nearly a fifth. Rising shipment volume helped lift the business, but one-time employee bonuses were costly to the unit's bottom line. Finally, the tobacco giant's holdings in beer behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev contributed positively to performance. Earnings from the roughly 10% equity investment stake amounted to $342 million, and although that doesn't get included in earnings attributable to Altria, it's still money that flows into its coffers. What's ahead for Altria? CEO Marty Barrington didn't have much to say about the tobacco company's gains. "Altria is off to a fast start to the strong year of EPS growth to which we've guided," Barrington said, pointing to the 30% bottom-line growth in the quarter. The CEO also noted the 6% dividend increase earlier this year, which he referred to as being "out-of-cycle" in reflecting the positive benefits of tax reform immediately rather than waiting until its usual late-summer time frame to increase its payout. Altria repeated its previous guidance for the full year. The company still expects 15% to 19% growth in adjusted earnings per share, taking full advantage of lower tax rates to add to its typical high-single-digit percentage growth target for the bottom line. The bigger concern that many investors have is about the growth in the e-vapor category and its competitive threat to cigarettes. Barrington expressed his belief in the conference call following the report that as technology improves, demand for vapor-based products should rise. That makes it essential for Altria to follow a strategy that encourages innovation in areas like e-vapor while still preserving the success of the Marlboro brand. Yet Altria wasn't able to offer any details on its joint efforts with Philip Morris International to gain FDA approval for the iQOS heated tobacco system for sale in U.S. markets, and that seemed to disappoint some investors despite Altria's portfolio approach toward alternative products. Altria shareholders saw their uncertainty affect the stock price, as shares fell 2% on Thursday following the announcement. The tobacco giant has been able to overcome obstacles like this in the past, but even long-term investors see the current challenge as being fundamentally different and requiring a more aggressive approach in order to assure continued success for Altria. More From The Motley Fool Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. All things considered, it could have been worse. After Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) delivered disappointing first quarter numbers last week, Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) shareholders were tacitly waiting to hear their serving of quarterly bad news on Thursday morning. But, they didnt get it. Thats not to say MO stock is bulletproof. Its still down 26% since the middle of last year, and knocking on the door of lower lows as the company runs out of ways to keep revenues propped up and keep profits growing. Altrias gotten very, very good at keeping more and more plates spinning though, shrugging off a smoking cessation movement thats just never going to go away. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Altria Earnings Recap For the quarter ending in March, Altria earned an operating profit of 95 cents per share on revenue of $6.1 billion, up from a year-earlier top line of just a bit less than $6.1 billion, when it posted a profit of only 73 cents per share. Adjusted revenue, which strips out excise taxes that make its products more expensive to buy, rolled in at $4.67 billion, up 2% year over year and higher than the $4.62 billion analysts were expecting. Perhaps most important, earnings topped the figure of 93 cents per share of MO stock analysts were modeling for Altrias first fiscal quarter of 2018. Profits per share of MO were given a boost by the $513 million Altria spent to buy back eight million shares of Altria Group stock. Revenue produced by smokeable products cigarettes fell less than a full percentage point year-over-year, with higher cigarette prices largely offsetting the 4.2% dip in the raw number of cigarettes shipping during the quarter. Adjusted for trade inventory movements, shipment volume fell 7%. Smokeless tobacco product sales, meanwhile, grew nearly 13% year-over-year, but with a footnote Altria underwent a voluntary recall of chewing tobacco products in the same quarter a year earlier, crimping sales during the first quarter of 2017. Story continues CEO Marty Barrington commented on the first quarter results Altria is off to a fast start to the strong year of EPS growth to which weve guided, with adjusted diluted EPS growth of 30.1% in the first quarter of 2018 Within the reporting segments, income performance reflects the timing of previously announced investments for the long-term strength of the business. A Slow Burn The Altria Group earnings report and the markets response to it was markedly different than that of rival Philip Morris posted just a few days ago. PM stock fell 4% last week following a fairly significant revenue shortcoming and a warning that demand in China wasnt as robust as hoped. MO stock fell sharply at the time too, in step with the Philip Morris tumble, but Thursdays report suggests Philip Morris headwind dont universally apply to the industry. And yet, theres an 800 pound gorilla in the room that does apply universally a well funded anti-tobacco industry that continues to get traction. Altria reported that, domestically, industry-wide cigarette volumes declined by 5.5%. Sales of smokeless tobacco products, by volume, were off to the tune of 1%. On both fronts, the recent declines are part of a long-standing trend. Altria has managed to continue growing the top and bottom line, to its credit. A closer look at the details, though, makes it clear that the bulk of that top-line growth has been the result of acquisitions, while stock buybacks have produced most of the improvement in per-share profits. Cash flow and total net income growth have been stale and struggling for years now. You can (not surprisingly) blame the headwind on the rise of e-cigarettes. Altria has been and continues to address that market, but its a market presently dominated by a company called Juul Labs. Its also a market that isnt terribly profitable. As Mad Moneys Jim Cramer pointed out following Philip Morris first quarter report, While the tobacco companies can get into the vaping business, their own vape pens tend to be money losers. Who would want to swap out of an incredibly profitable business and into one thats losing money? Still, the cigarette giant remains a cash cow, paying a decent dividend it can actually afford to pay. This may be a trade with a time limit it on it, but for the time being, its expiration date is further down the road than most investors can see. Looking Ahead for MO Stock For all of 2018, Altria Group said its now looking to post earnings of between $3.90 and $4.03, versus the consensus estimate of $3.98. That figure would be well up from 2017a total profit of $3.39 per share, though analysts only expect revenue to grow a little less than 2%, to $19.76 billion. Earnings growth is expected to outpace sales growth at least in part because the company still has a little more than $500 million left to spend of a previously-announced $1 billion stock buyback. Altria Group expects that remaining budget to be used to that effect by the end of 2018. Of that consensus estimate of $3.98, $2.80 will be dished out as dividends given Altrias recently-increased payout. That translates into a dividend yield of right around 5.0%, given the current value of Altria Group stock. As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him on Twitter at @jbrumley. More From InvestorPlace Compare Brokers The post Altria Group Inc (MO) Stock Hangs On for Another Quarter appeared first on InvestorPlace. Amazon (AMZN) posted first-quarter 2018 earnings on Thursday afternoon that blew past Wall Street expectations. The Seattle tech giant reported earnings of $3.27 per share on $51 billion in revenues for the quarter. Wall Street analysts were generally expecting $1.27 per share on revenues of $49.96 billion. In the same quarter last year, earnings were $1.48 per share on $35.7 billion in revenue.ca The stock surged over 6% in after-hours trading. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pointed to Amazon Web Services, or AWS, as one of the companys ongoing, key revenue drivers. The rapidly evolving service remains one of the most widely used go-to cloud computing services for over 1 million businesses and organizations, including McDonalds (MCD), Netflix (NFLX), Spotify (SPOT), and UnderArmour (UAA). AWS had the unusual advantage of a seven-year head start before facing like-minded competition, and the team has never slowed down, Bezos said in the earnings release published on Thursday . As a result, the AWS services are by far the most evolved and most functionality-rich. AWS lets developers do more and be nimbler, and it continues to get even better every day. Thats why youre seeing this remarkable acceleration in AWS growth, now for two quarters in a row. A huge thank you to all our AWS customers, and you can be sure well keep working hard for you. One of the biggest bit of news Amazon dropped on Thursday? Itss raising the price on its popular Amazon Prime program, from $99 a year to $119 a year, effective May 11. Previously, the company announced Prime had over 100 million subscribers. The last several months have been busy for Amazon. In late March and early April, President Trump criticized Amazon via Twitter and said Amazons agreements with the U.S. Postal Service are not a level playing field and that Amazon is putting many thousands of retailers out of business. Amazon stock temporarily took a hit in the immediate wake of President Trumps unfavorable tweets but has since recovered. Story continues President Trumps current anti-Amazon stance could affect AWS odds of landing an exclusive 10-year multibillion-dollar contract its competing for alongside Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) that would modernize the U.S. Department of Defenses information technology system. In an interview with Yahoo Finance this month, Amazon CTO Werner Vogels declined to offer an update on the process, other than to suggest that the company remained unfazed by Trumps attacks. Regardless, Amazons chances of scoring the government contract are pretty good, given the company already hosts classified systems with the CIA, as well as other top defense contractors like Lockheed Martin. Amazon executives have also been preoccupied in recent months with its ongoing search for a second U.S. headquarters, dubbed HQ2. Since Amazon announced last year it planned on opening a new $5 billion headquarters outside of Seattle, the company has narrowed its search down from 238 U.S. cities and towns to 20 finalists, with news outlets speculating Washington D.C. and Boston could have the edge, based on those markets local talent pool, Amazons significant presence in those areas, not to mention the fact Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchased a $26 million home in D.C. JP Mangalindan is the Chief Tech Correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Email story tips and musings to jpm@oath.com. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook. More from JP american airlines Mike Blake / Reuters American Airlines passenger Brittany Oswell died after a flight on which she suffered an embolism and went into cardiac arrest, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the airline by Oswell's husband and parents. Attorney Brad Cranshaw claims a doctor on the flight examined Oswell and asked for an emergency landing multiple times. The flight crew allegedly didn't follow the doctor's request, and Oswell later died at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. American Airlines passenger Brittany Oswell died after an April 15 flight from Hawaii to South Carolina with a stop in Dallas-Fort Worth on which she suffered an embolism and went into cardiac arrest, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the airline by Oswell's husband and parents. The lawsuit claims Oswell began to feel unwell while the flight was near Los Angeles and fainted after becoming disoriented and slurring her speech. A doctor who was a passenger on the flight allegedly talked to Oswell after she regained consciousness and determined she was having a panic attack. According to the lawsuit, within three hours of the doctor's initial conversation, Oswell vomited and defecated on herself in the bathroom. The doctor then allegedly examined Oswell and told flight attendants to let the flight crew know it should land the plane at the nearest airport so Oswell could receive further medical attention. Brad Cranshaw, the attorney representing Oswell's husband and parents, told The State that the doctor asked for an emergency landing three times, but the flight crew never attempted one. The lawsuit alleges the doctor tried to use medical equipment on the plane, but the equipment didn't work properly. Oswell's breathing and pulse stopped about five minutes after the doctor went to the cockpit to speak with the pilot, according to the lawsuit, which claims the doctor then made three unsuccessful attempts to use a defibrillator on Oswell. Story continues According to the lawsuit, Oswell was taken to Baylor Medical Center after the plane landed in Dallas-Fort Worth, where she was diagnosed with brain damage and an embolism. Oswell was removed from life support and declared dead on April 18. "We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we are looking into the details of the complaint," an American Airlines representative told Business Insider. NOW WATCH: Theres a major shift occurring that could signal the end of the historic bull market See Also: SEE ALSO: A one-year-old child flying on American Airlines was struck in the head after part of the plane's ceiling collapsed american airlines dead rat in luggage Merry Cannon An American Airlines passenger found a dead rat in her checked luggage after a trip to Europe. The passenger, Merry Cannon, said in a Facebook post that the airline didn't respond to her for at least 41 days as she "called & emailed numerous times," and she told Inc magazine that a local health department official suggested she burn the bag because of concerns about bubonic plague. An American Airlines representative told Business Insider that Cannon was given $1,600 as a result of the incident. Cannon indicated to Inc that her bag and the clothing in it were worth more. An American Airlines passenger found a dead rat in her checked luggage after a trip to Europe. The passenger, Merry Cannon, told Inc magazine that she was joining her husband on a business trip to Europe when a series of delays, cancellations, and missed flights disrupted their plans. Once they arrived in Belgium, she said, they were told their luggage was still in the US, and it arrived near the end of their trip. When they returned to Arkansas, Cannon noticed an unpleasant smell coming from her bags she told Inc it smelled "like a dead body." According to the Inc report, an American Airlines customer-service representative told Cannon that the bag may have developed mold after being left in the rain before it reached Europe, but Cannon said she hadn't noticed a similar smell before coming back to the US. The representative then said the luggage may have been exposed to sewage from the airplane bathroom on the flight home and told Cannon the airline would compensate her for the damaged luggage only if she could prove that her efforts to wash its contents were ineffective, Inc reported. Cannon says that when she returned home, she started washing clothes from the bag and still noticed the smell. Then she found the rat. "I screamed, ran inside, started washing my hands over and over," she told Inc. "I was just crying." Story continues Cannon said in a Facebook post that American Airlines didn't respond to her for at least 41 days as she "called & emailed numerous times." She told Inc that a local health department official suggested she burn the bag, citing concerns about bubonic plague. "The whole bag was destroyed as the health department requested," Cannon told Business Insider. An American Airlines representative told Business Insider that Cannon was given $1,600 as a result of the incident. Cannon suggested to Inc that the bag and the clothing in it were worth more. "We have apologized and are not aware of any similar issues of a rat making its way into a checked bag before," the representative said. "While we are unable to determine if the issue occurred in the United States or overseas, we did apologize to the customer, and they were compensated earlier this month." NOW WATCH: The chief economist at a $163 billion firm dispels one of investing's biggest myths See Also: SEE ALSO: An American Airlines passenger died after a flight during which a doctor allegedly asked crew for an emergency landing three times * Armenia in political crisis for nearly two weeks * Street protests forced PM's resignation * Country is close Russian ally * Parliament to choose new PM next week (Adds Pashinyan's comments) By Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Margarita Antidze YEREVAN, April 26 (Reuters) - Armenia will get a new prime minister next week after nearly two weeks of street protests, with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, who has led the demonstrations, emerging as the protesters' unequivocal favourite. Although the demonstrations have been peaceful, the upheaval has threatened to destabilise Armenia, an ally of Russia, in a volatile region riven by Armenia's decades-long, low-level conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Moscow has two military bases in the ex-Soviet republic, and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Karen Karapetyan, the acting prime minister, on Thursday and made it clear Moscow was watching and did not want mob rule. "It was emphasised that resolving the political crisis in Armenia must take place exclusively through legal means in the framework of the current constitution," the Kremlin said. Its statement also appeared to suggest that Putin wanted the next prime minister to come from the ruling party, which has been the focus of popular anger, saying he thought the crisis needed to be addressed on the basis of what he said were legitimate parliamentary elections in 2017. That appeared to conflict with the demands of protesters who have said they want Pashinyan to be the new interim prime minister and for him to organise fresh parliamentary elections. Protest leader Pashinyan said that results of 2017 election could not be regarded as legitimate. "It's a misunderstanding," Pashinyan told reporters commenting on Putin's statament. "I think it's a wrong interpretation as Russia as well as other countries does not intervene in Armenia's internal affairs." The situation in Armenia is awkward for the Russian leadership. It has kept a tight lid on protests in its own country, but is now watching as demonstrations in a close ally are forcing the ruling Armenian elite to make concessions, setting a regional precedent it is unlikely to welcome. Story continues The demonstrations, driven by public anger over perceived political cronyism and corruption, looked to have peaked on Monday when Serzh Sarksyan, a close Putin ally, quit as prime minister, a post he had held for just six days after serving for a decade as president. Demonstrators have made clear they view the whole system as tainted after Sarksyan's sought to shift power to the office of premier from that of president. They want a sweeping political reconfiguration before ending their protests, which continued on Thursday. In a further sign of growing Russian interest in the crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow on Thursday with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian, while Armenia's acting vice premier, Armen Gevorkyan, met Russian presidential administration officials. Pashinyan said on Wednesday he had received assurances from Russian officials that Moscow would not intervene in the crisis. Earlier this week, Pashinyan ruled out challenging the presence of Russian military bases in Armenia or its membership in Russia-led military and economic alliances. 'A PEOPLE'S PRIME MINISTER' Armenia's ruling elite has been scrambling to try to appease the protesters for days. The parliamentary speaker said on Thursday parliament would elect a new interim prime minister on May 1. Pashinyan, a former journalist turned lawmaker who has been instrumental in organising the protests, has demanded the job. "We expect that all forces in the parliament will recognise the people's victory .... Either I will be elected as prime minister or there will be no prime minister elected in Armenia," Pashinyan told protesters gathered in Republic square in central Yerevan. He offered to meet acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Friday. Pashinyan, if elected, wants to reform the electoral system to ensure it is fair before holding new parliamentary elections. "We will have a people's prime minister and after the election a people's government and parliament," said Anna Agababyan, a 38-year-old teacher who was protesting in Yerevan, the capital, on Thursday, holding a small national flag. Armen Sarkissian, the president, on Thursday hailed what he called "a new page" in Armenia's history and called on lawmakers to help forge a new country while respecting the constitution. Pashinyan and his allies have been busy trying to build support for him with the ruling Republican Party and other parties in parliament where Pashinyan, before the protests, was part of a small opposition bloc with no chance of power. (Writing by Andrew Osborn and Margarita Antidze, Editing by Richard Balmforth and Peter Graff) NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 27, 2018 / Banco Santander (Mexico) SA Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Class B (NYSE: BSMX) will be discussing their earnings results in their Q1 Earnings Call to be held on April 27, 2018 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. To listen to the event live or access a replay of the call - visit https://www.investornetwork.com/company/2949 To receive updates for this company you can register by emailing info@investornetwork.com or by clicking get investment info from the company's profile. About Investor Network Investor Network (IN) is a financial content community, serving millions of unique investors market information, earnings, commentary and news on the what's trending. Dedicated to both the professional and the average traders, IN offers timely, trusted and relevant financial information for virtually every investor. IN is an Issuer Direct brand, to learn more or for the latest financial news and market information, visit www.investornetwork.com. Follow us on Twitter @investornetwork. SOURCE: Investor Network (Adds comment from Boeing, background) April 27 (Reuters) - Boeing Co is nearing a deal to buy aerospace parts company KLX Inc to expand into the aircraft-services business, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies are expected to announce a deal on Monday, though the plans could be derailed, the report said, adding that the terms and structure of the deal could not be determined. https://t.co/NyQTIDPhSU KLX's shares jumped about 8 percent to $78.98 while Boeing's shares were flat at around $341.74. KLX was not immediately available for comment, while Boeing declined to comment. KLX said in December it was exploring strategic options, including sale of its divisions or the whole company. Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said on Wednesday its services growth would be complemented by strategic acquisitions. Last year, Boeing launched a services business as it looks to capture more of the higher-margin services and spare-parts revenue after a plane is sold. The plane maker's global services revenue rose 8 percent to $3.94 billion in the first-quarter, pointing to growth in commercial services. The company expects to generate $50 billion a year in revenue within the next five to 10 years from the services unit that had annual revenue of $14.6 billion in 2017. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) The logo of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is pictured in the company headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker BRASILIA (Reuters) - Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA and Petroleo Brasileiro SA are close to agreeing on a deal to solve a dispute involving 20 billion reais ($5.75 billion) worth of Eletrobras debt, newspaper Valor Economico said on Friday. Eletrobras, as the state-controlled power company is known, owes state oil firm Petrobras for fuel supplies used in thermal generation in northern Brazil. The dispute has been a hurdle for Eletrobras' privatisation, a landmark proposal of President Michel Temer's administration. The details of the agreement could be unveiled as soon as Friday following an Eletrobras board meeting, Valor said, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. Representatives for Petrobras and Eletrobras were not immediately available to comment. ($1 = 3.48 reais) (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) TORONTO, April 27 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada, Canada's biggest lender, on Thursday said it had lifted the posted rates on some of its fixed-rate mortgages, following the lead of its biggest rival Toronto-Dominion Bank on Wednesday. The move will make it even harder for borrowers to obtain home loans, coming after Canada's banking watchdog introduced new rules at the start of the year compelling banks to test if borrowers can afford to repay loans at a level 200 basis points the contracted rate. RBC said that rates on its one year to four year fixed rate mortgages would rise by 15 basis and rates on its five year to ten year fixed rate mortgages would rise by 20 basis points from April 30. The bank's current posted fixed five year mortgage rates is 5.14 percent and it will rise to 5.34 percent. However, RBC's five year variable mortgage rate will fall to 3.3 percent from 3.45 percent. TD Bank lifted its five-year closed rate by 45 basis points to 5.59 percent. Canada's third-biggest lender, Bank of Nova Scotia, declined to say if it was considering hiking rates. CIBC said its rates remained unchanged. Bank of Montreal did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham) By David Lawder and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Much remains to be done before a new North American Free Trade Agreement is reached, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Thursday, tempering hopes for a quick deal as ministers met in Washington for a third successive day. Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada have been working constantly for weeks to clinch a deal, but major differences remain on contentious topics such as autos content. Complicating matters, the Trump administration has threatened to impose sanctions on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum on May 1 if not enough progress has been made on NAFTA. President Donald Trump, who came into office in January 2017 decrying NAFTA and other international trade deals as unfair to the United States, has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the agreement with Canada and Mexico, which took effect in 1994. "It is going, it's going, but not easy - too many things, too many issues to tackle," Guajardo told reporters after a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Now underway for eight months, the talks to revamp the accord underpinning $1.2 trillion in trade entered a more intensive phase after the last formal round of negotiations ended in March with ministers vowing to push for a deal. Lighthizer is due to visit China next week, and when asked if a deal was possible before the USTR left, Guajardo said: "It will depend on our abilities and creativity. We are trying to do our best, but there are still a lot of things pending." Although Washington is keen for an agreement soon to avoid clashing with a July 1 Mexican presidential election, the three NAFTA members remain locked in talks to agree on new rules governing minimum content requirements for the auto industry. Still, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland rejected the notion that discussion of the so-called rules of origin for the automotive sector was holding up the process. "I would very much disagree with the characterization of the autos conversation as being log-jammed," she said as she entered the USTR offices. "This is a week when very good, significant progress is being made on rules of origin for the car sector." Freeland said she would skip a planned visit to a NATO summit in Brussels on Friday, and vowed to stay in Washington for "as long as it takes." Guajardo, too, said he was ready to remain in Washington this week for more talks. The three sides are also trying to settle disagreements over U.S. demands to change how trade disputes are handled, to restrict access to agricultural markets and to include a clause that would allow a country to quit NAFTA after five years. Bosco de la Vega, head of Mexico's National Agricultural Council, the main farm lobby, said he believed the three would be able to reach an agreement on agricultural access. But the auto sector rules were still contentious, he added. "It's the most important issue there," he said, adding that he had earmarked May 10 as the deadline for a quick deal. Separately, Canada on Thursday unveiled details of how it plans to prevent the smuggling of cheap steel and aluminum into the North American market in a bid to avoid the U.S. tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced the plan last month, said Ottawa would hire 40 new trade officers to probe complaints, including those related to steel and aluminum. (Reporting by Jason Lange and David Lawder; additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Dave Graham in Mexico City; editing by Grant McCool and Dan Grebler) bill cosby Mark Makela / Getty Images Bill Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in his retrial on Thursday. Cosby was ordered to remain in Pennsylvania after prosecutors argued that he should be taken into custody immediately because he owned a private plane and could flee the state. "He doesn't have a plane, you a--hole!" Cosby yelled, according to multiple reporters who attended the trial. Bill Cosby gave a bizarre response after his retrial on Thursday, where a jury found him guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby was ordered to remain in Pennsylvania after prosecutors argued he should be taken into custody immediately because he owned a private plane and could flee the state. "He doesn't have a plane, you a--hole!" Cosby yelled back, according to multiple reporters who attended the trial. While it's unclear whether Cosby does, in fact, own a private plane, he has been photographed boarding and departing private aircraft over the past few years. Cosby's defense lawyers had presented logs from flights he took on a private jet in January 2004 as evidence that he wasn't in his suburban Philadelphia mansion during the month Constand said he sexually assaulted her there. Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though he is not likely to serve the maximum sentence. A mistrial was declared in Cosby's first trial in June when the jury failed to yield a unanimous verdict. While more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, Constand's is the only allegation to have become a criminal case. NOW WATCH: Facebook's recent struggles have investors in a panic and looming regulation could forever change how it does business See Also: SEE ALSO: Moving video shows women embracing and crying in courthouse after Bill Cosby's guilty verdict was announced FILE PHOTO: The logo of U.S. mobile network operator Sprint Corp is seen at a Sprint store in San Marcos, California FILE PHOTO: The logo of U.S. mobile network operator Sprint Corp is seen at a Sprint store in San Marcos, California August 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Greg Roumeliotis, Liana B. Baker and Pamela Barbaglia (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carriers T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp have made progress in negotiating merger terms and are aiming to successfully complete deal talks as early as next week, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The combined company would have more than 127 million customers and could create more formidable competition for the No.1 and No.2 wireless players, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc , amid a race to expand offerings in 5G, the next generation of wireless technology. T-Mobile majority-owner Deutsche Telekom and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp <9984.T>, which controls Sprint, are considering an agreement that would dictate how they exercise voting control over the combined company, two of the sources said. This could allow Deutsche Telekom to consolidate the combined company on its books, even without owning a majority stake, the sources added. Deutsche Telekom owns more than 63 percent of T-Mobile, while SoftBank owns 84.7 percent of Sprint. Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile are also in the process of finalizing the debt financing package they will use to fund the deal, the sources said. There is no certainty that a deal will be reached, the sources cautioned. The companies came close to a merger agreement in November before SoftBank's chief executive officer, Masayoshi Son, pulled out of the talks at the last minute. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Sprint, T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sprint and T-Mobile have market capitalizations of $24 billion and $55 billion, respectively. Sprint shares rose 9 percent in afterhours trading in New York, while T-Mobile shares were up 4 percent. When the previous round of talks between the companies ended in November over valuation disagreements, Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Officer Tim Hoettges left the door open by saying: "You always meet twice in life." Story continues Failure to clinch a deal had left SoftBank's Son, a dealmaker who raised close to $100 billion for his Vision Fund to invest in technology companies, in search of other options for Sprint. SoftBank has been looking to trim its debt, which reached 15.8 trillion yen ($147 billion) as of the end of December. It has said it is planning to raise cash by taking its Japanese mobile phone unit public this year. Even though Sprint's customer base has expanded under CEO Marcelo Claure, growth has been driven by discounting. Analysts have said that without T-Mobile, Sprint lacks the scale needed to invest in its network and to compete in a saturated market. T-Mobile, under its Chief Executive Officer John Legere, has fared better than Sprint, even if it remains a distant third to Verizon and AT&T. It has managed to score sustained market share gains, as innovative offerings, improving network performance and good customer service attract new customers, according to Moody's Investors Service Inc. T-Mobile became the first major U.S. carrier to eliminate two-year contracts, a shift quickly embraced by consumers and copied by competitors. The company has also unsettled rivals with its unlimited data plans. Another roadblock to the deal could be regulatory hurdles. Sprint's and T-Mobile's first round of merger talks ended in 2014 after U.S. President Barack Obama's administration expressed antitrust concerns about the deal. It is not clear how the Trump administration would view the combination. AT&T agreed to acquire U.S. media company Time Warner Inc in October 2016 for $85 billion. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued to block the deal over concerns about the companies' pricing power in the media market. AT&T and Time Warner are currently defending their deal in court. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker in New York and Pamela Barbaglia in London; Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York and Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt; Editing by Leslie Adler and Tom Brown) California police tracked down serial murder and rape suspect Joseph DeAngelo by comparing DNA from crime scenes with genetic profiles stored on genealogy websites, the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office said Thursday. DeAngelo, a former cop himself, is thought to be the criminal known variously as the East Area Rapist, Golden State Killer and Visalia Ransacker. While most people are naturally glad the 72-year-old was eventually caught after allegedly killing 12 people and raping 50 between 1974 and 1986, the case does highlight how much can be revealed through consumer DNA tests--not only about the person having their DNA tested, but about their relatives too. DeAngelo wasnt caught because he sent his own DNA swab off to a genealogy site for analysis, but because someone related to him did. The investigators took a DNA sample from one of his many suspected crime scenes, and compared it with the information stored on genealogy sites, many of which offer DNA testing as part of their portfolio of services. We all share genes with our relatives, in diminishing amounts as the relationship gets more distant--you share around half your genes with each parent and sibling, 12.5% with your first cousin, and so on. So, when the investigators found a match between the sample they had and a user of the genealogy site, they then searched the users family tree for people who might be potential suspects, based on clues in the case. Once they established DeAngelo as a firm suspect, an investigator got his DNA from something he discarded while under surveillance, tested it against the DNA from the crime scene, and found what Sacramento district attorney Anne Marie Schubert told reporters was overwhelming evidence that it was him. RT if u r terrified of both serial murderer rapists dna exploitation by govt https://t.co/OHEdA8RrYC Xeni Jardin (@xeni) April 27, 2018 The Federal Trade Commission warned consumers several months ago that the increasing popularity of DNA testing kits comes with privacy implications. The data can be very enlightening personally, but a major concern for consumers should be who else could have access to information about your heritage and your health, the FTC said. If youre thinking about buying an at-home DNA test kit, you owe it to yourself-and to family members who could be affected-to investigate the options thoroughly. Story continues The Sacramento DAs office did not identify the site or sites involved in the case, but 23andMe and Ancestry, two of the most popular consumer DNA-testing services, told Mashable it wasnt them. 23andMe said it would resist law enforcement inquiries in order to protect privacy, and has never shared genetic investigation with the cops. Ancestry, which has in the past helped investigators in a murder and rape case in Idaho, said it would only share information with investigators that follow valid legal process. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com A woman spreads paddy crop for drying at a rice mill on the occasion of International Women's Day, on the outskirts of Agartala, India March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's rice exports surged 18 percent from a year ago to a record 12.7 million tonnes in 2017/18 on good demand for non basmati rice from Bangladesh, Benin and Sri Lanka, a government body said in a statement. The country's buffalo meat exports in the year ended March 31 rose nearly 2 percent to 1.35 million tonnes on upbeat demand from Vietnam, Malaysia and Egypt, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said. Guar gum exports during the period rose nearly 18 percent to 494,126 tonnes as U.S. shale oil producers raised buying, the data showed. India is the world's biggest exporter of rice, buffalo meat and guar gum. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) TipRanks Stock markets have been rising steadily from their corona trough in the spring of last year thats no secret, in fact, its been a huge boon for investors. Stocks have consistently shown the best returns, as central banks have been holding rates low. But theres been an unintentional consequence of the stock boom, one that wasnt foreseen but has given a boost to both companies and investors alike. The sustained gains in stocks has encouraged a surge in IPO activity. Companies are taking adv An international team of scientists funded by the National Geographic Society has discovered what appears to be the largest instance of mass child sacrifice in human history on a site known as Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, on the northern coast of Peru. The mass sacrifice, in which more than 140 children were ritually killed, took place roughly 550 years ago, near the capital of the Chimu Empire, which ruled much of Perus Pacific coast before being overtaken by the Incas, according to National Geographic. This childs face was painted with a red cinnabar-based pigment and the archaeologists believe that their chest was cut open to remove the heart as part of a sacrificial ceremony. The scientists findings, reported today (April 26), are not for the weak of heart. Their evidence that the killings were part of a ritual sacrifice include the fact that the victims chests were systemically cut open and pulled apart, perhaps to facilitate the removal of the heart, evidently by well-practiced hands. The 140 young victims were between five to 14 years old, and were buried facing the Pacific Ocean, along with 200 llamas. What makes this discovery so unprecedented is its scale, Kristin Romey, National Geographics archaeology editor, tells Quartz. Before the Las Llamas discovery, the largest known mass child sacrifice was the Templo Mayor event, in which 42 children were killed in the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, sometime between 1481 and 1486. While many early empires and civilizations practiced human sacrifice, child sacrifice was rare. So what could have motivated the Chimu to resort to it? The researchers have different theories. The most prominent one suggests that heavy rains were flooding the generally arid coastline of Peru. Scientists from the team, along with others not involved with the project, posit that the Chimu may have taken the drastic step of sacrificing children to convince the gods to stop the torrential rains, which were destroying their livelihoods and political system. Story continues The sacrifice of 140 children feels heart-wrenching in contemporary times. But its useful to remember that the Chimu relied extensively on a sophisticated agricultural and marine infrastructure that could have been destroyed by the climate disaster. As Haagen Klaus, an anthropologist at George Mason University, told National Geographic, when faced with imminent destruction, people sacrifice that which is of most and greatest value to them. This reporting is part of a series supported by a grant from the Bernard van Leer Foundation. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Subway says that it is planning to close down 500 of its stores in the U.S. Subway Closing 500 Locations in U.S. Source: Shutterstock According to the restaurant chain, it will be closing down the 500 stores as it looks for the best locations for its business. Subway notes that it will also be relocating some of its stores in an effort to maximize its potential in the U.S. Subway doesnt yet have a list of the 500 U.S. stores that it will be closing. However, the closures also may not be a surprise to those following the company. It has been struggling to overcome its competition and closed over 800 U.S. restaurants in 2017. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips While 500 Subway locations closing down may seem like a large amount, the chain still had a total of 25,908 stores after the closures from last year. Even with the new closures, its store number in the U.S. wont drop below 25,000. Subway says that it will also be refocusing its efforts outside of the U.S. This will have the chain opening a total of 1,000 new locations in countries outside of North America. It is also updating several restaurants to give them a more modern look, reports Bloomberg. I saw the handwriting on the wall with the focus being on opening as many units as possible, even if it angered franchisees, Scott Godwin, a former owner of three Subway locations, told Business Insider. One insider at Subway believes that the company was focusing more on store count that supporting those businesses. This person claims that it was pushing for more stores to collect more franchise fees. More From InvestorPlace As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Compare Brokers The post Subway Closing 500 Locations in U.S. appeared first on InvestorPlace. WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Bahrain of attack helicopters for an estimated cost of $911 million, a Pentagon agency said in a statement on Friday. General Electric Co and Textron Inc unit Bell Helicopter are the principal contractors, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. (Reporting by Eric Beech Editing by David Alexander) April 26 (Reuters) - The Labor Department is examining whether Wells Fargo & Co pushed participants in low-cost corporate 401(k) plans to roll their holdings into more expensive individual retirement accounts at the bank, according to a person familiar with the inquiry the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Labor Department investigators are also examining whether Well Fargo's retirement-plan services unit pressed account holders to buy in-house funds, the WSJ reported https://on.wsj.com/2HsEVgq. Wells Fargo was not immediately available for a comment. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru) INDUSTRY INSIGHT How agencies can improve the reliability of cloud-based email The Air Force recently awarded a $1 billion cloud migration contract -- not for an aircraft-related system, but for email. Not to be outdone, the Office of Management and Budget is forming an interagency taskforce to standardize email requirements based on the recommendation of the American Technology Council, a White House panel that is helping set deadlines for updating federal agency IT infrastructures. These initiatives show how eager the federal government is to fully migrate to a cloud-based email system, and for good reasons. Cloud-based email offers huge operational benefits, especially considering the sheer number of users and the broad geographical footprint of the federal government. It is also much simpler and cheaper to secure and manage than on-premises email servers. While cloud email offers a number of advantages, it also poses some unique challenges. IT managers must carefully track their email applications -- much as they do other applications -- to ensure cloud-based email platforms remain reliable, accessible and responsive. They must also continuously monitor for threats and vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, even the major cloud-based email providers have had performance problems. Last year, Google suffered a massive and systemic issue across multiple platforms that impacted all of its applications, including Gmail. This past February, a Yahoo Mail outage affected customers around the world for days. And the solution that many agencies rely on, Office 365, has been subject to service outages in Europe and in the United States. While its difficult to measure the cost of all that downtime, the fact is that any amount of downtime or lost productivity is too much for federal agencies. Government employees rely on instantaneous communication to make decisions that can impact the course of the country. Though not typically considered a mission-critical application, email is a technology that most federal organizations cannot live without. Fortunately, many agencies are already actively monitoring their cloud environments. They simply need to apply similar practices, with some email-specific strategies, to help ensure a high level of performance and reliability. Gain visibility into email performance Email servers can fall victim to many of the same hiccups that affect the performance of other applications. Sporadic issues, which can include network latency and bandwidth constraints, for example, can directly influence the speed at which email is sent and delivered. Much like everyday problems, these can take root and be hard to identify without the proper tools and processes in place. Administrators must have clear visibility into everyday key performance metrics on the operations of their cloud-based email platforms. They must proactively monitor email usage throughout the agency, including the number of users on the systems, users who are running over their respective email quotas, archived and inactive mailboxes and more. The cloud and cloud-based email systems can fall victim to many of the same threats that cause cybersecurity problems in a traditional environment. Ideally, administrators should set up an environment that allows them to get a complete picture of their cloud-based email platform as it relates to whatever on-premises server they may be using. For example, administrators whose agencies use Office 365 in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange should be able to monitor both simultaneously, allowing them to more easily identify and fix issues as they arise. Monitor mail paths When email performance falters, it can be difficult to tell whether the fault lies in the application or the network. This challenge is often exacerbated when the application resides in the cloud, which can limit an administrators view of issues that might be impacting the application. Application path monitoring can be crucial in gaining visibility into the performance of email applications, especially those that reside in a hosted environment. Administrators must be able to monitor the hops that requests take to and from their email servers to better understand service quality and identify any factors that may be inhibiting email performance. This visibility can help them troubleshoot problems without spending time trying to determine if the application or network is the source of the problem. While administrators have little control over when a server goes down at an email host location, they do have many options to manage and optimize their cloud-based email platforms on a daily basis. By applying their standard network monitoring solutions and strategies to their email platforms, they can gain better insight into the performance of cloud email servers and help keep communications up and running smoothly. NEW YORK, April 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global nuclear power market is projected to witness a CAGR of 8.9%, and is likely to reach USD 205.2 billion by 2024. Rise in the worldwide demand for clean energy , particularly from residential and industrial sectors, also the decreasing fossil fuel reserves and is expected to foster the market growth from 2018 to 2024. It has been observed that there is a clear demand for new generating capacity to replace old fossil fuels, especially the ones which emit lot of carbons in order to meet the demand of the consumers in the coming years. Nuclear energy being a low carbon alternative for conventional sources of energy such as coal and other fossil fuels has expanded its application across a wide range of industries. Increasing technological advancements with regard to power generation as well as decommissioning of nuclear facilities after the end of their life span has further actuated the market demand over the forecast period. PWR segment was the largest owing to increasing installation rates across the world. Nuclear reactors can be classified into two major types, namely, water-cooled reactors as well as gas-cooled reactors. Water-cooled reactors such as pressurized water reactors (PWR), boiler water reactors (BWR), and pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) have been witnessed to be in significant use. However, owing to the expanding installation rates along with their ease of operation, PWR segment dominated the market in 2017 and is anticipated to continue its dominance over the next seven years. As per the World Nuclear Association currently there are 450 nuclear power reactors under operation, and majority of which constitute of PWRs. Nuclear Power Market - Regional insight Europe region accounted for the largest share of the global industry on account of the presence of key nations such as France, Russia and Germany. Moreover, presence of stringent government regulations in the region so as to limit the carbon emissions has promoted growth in Europe. However, North America is anticipated to propel at a fastest CAGR over the forecast period due to the U.S. being a primary market with largest number of nuclear power reactors in the world. The report segments nuclear power market on the basis of reactor type, application and region. To view a summary of this report, go to the link provided below: https://www.energiasmarketresearch.com/global-nuclear-power-market-outlook/ Key findings from the report: The global nuclear power market is likely to reach USD 205.2 billion by 2024 Pressurized water reactor (PWR) segment accounted for the major share of the market in 2017, and the trend is expected to continue over the forecast period Electric power generation segment held the maximum share of the market in 2017 North America is anticipated to witness the highest CAGR over the forecasted period, whereas, Europe held the major share of the market Some of the key companies operating in the industry include Studsvik AB, China General Nuclear Power Corporation, Bruce Power, Orano Group, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, CEZ, a. s., EDF Energy, Duke Energy Corporation, Magnox Ltd., Tokyo Electric Power Company, among others As of 2017, Duke Energy announced its plan to invest $30 million in the installation of North Carolinas two largest energy storage systems as part of the companys Western Carolinas Modernization Plan. This has been done in order to continue the companys commitment towards building a smarter energy future By Reactor Type Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Boiler Water Reactor (BWR) Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Gas Cooled Reactor (GCR) Others By Application Electric Power Generation Industrial Medical Food & Agriculture Others By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World (ROW) About Energias Market Research Energias Market Research Pvt. Ltd. publishes high quality reports, in-depth market research studies, to help clients obtain investment level clarity on current business scenario, trends and segmentation for their future developments. We are committed to our clients needs, by providing high quality custom reports solutions best fit for strategy development and implementation to high return of invest (RoI). We believe that exceptional problems need expertise to solve, and with the help of our industries expertise we are able to offer an in depth understanding of whats crucial, whats applicable, and what it takes to ensure accomplishment in any business or venture. With a wide range of expertise from various industrial sectors and more than 50 industries that includes energy, chemical and materials, information and communication technology, semiconductor and electronics industries, healthcare and daily consumer goods, etc. We strive to provide our clients with a one-stop solution for all research and consulting needs. Contact: Mr. Manas Nagi Business Development Manager For any queries email us: info@energiasmarketresearch.com To purchase report: sales@energiasmarketresearch.com Call us: +1-716-239-4915 Visit: https://www.energiasmarketresearch.com/ English Lithuanian Equity of the Company and the Company's net asset value as of 31 March 2018 was EUR 23,35 mln or EUR 1.9180 per share (in the end of 2017 EUR 23.81 mln and EUR 1.9557 respectively). Investments of the Company into managed companies amounted to EUR 20.48 million at the end of March 2018 (EUR 20.808 mln - at the end of 2017). The net loss of the Company for 3 months of 2018 was EUR 460 thousand (net loss for the same period in 2017 was EUR 468 thousand). Additional information: The equity of INVL Technology, a company that invests in IT businesses, was EUR 23.352 million, or EUR 1.92 per share, at the end of the first quarter of this year, and decreased 1.93% from the start of the year. The companys investments in businesses it owns totalled EUR 20.48 million at the end of March, which is EUR 328 thousand less than at the start of the year. INVL Technologys net loss in the reporting period was EUR 460 thousand, a bit smaller than its loss of EUR 468 thousand in the same period last year. We started the year with a consolidation of business holdings, which we see as not just helping create competitive advantage in the Baltic countries, but also enabling an expansion of INVL Technologys activities in countries of Northern Europe and making its businesses more attractive for potential investors. In addition, we continue actively looking for new investment opportunities, giving priority to acquisitions in Norway, Sweden or Lithuania, said Kazimieras Tonkunas, INVL Technologys managing partner. He said the results for the start of this year were due not just to the fact that some projects are still ongoing, but also to changes in the US dollar exchange rate. Taking a longer-term perspective, the increases in most of the businesses revenues early this year are a basis for expecting a good year, Tonkunas said. Looking at the businesses first-quarter results, NRD Companies had revenue of EUR 1.4 million, or 49.1% more than in the same period last year (EUR 0.97 million), while its EBITDA was EUR 105 thousand, up from a negative EUR 99 thousand. NRD CSs revenue, meanwhile, grew 30.6% to EUR 303 thousand (from EUR 232 thousand in the first quarter of 2017), as its EBITDA fell to negative EUR 80 thousand (from negative EUR 69 thousand last year). Andmevara ASs revenue, at EUR 266 thousand, shrank 13.6% compared with the first quarter last year (when it was EUR 308 thousand), and its EBITDA fell to negative EUR 61 thousand (from negative EUR 23 thousand). The revenues of BAIP and Acena this year decreased 20.4% to EUR 1.96 million (versus EUR 2.5 million last year); their EBITDA was a negative EUR 46 thousand (versus a positive EUR 104 thousand last year). The revenue of Algoritmu Sistemos, meanwhile, grew 51.7% in the first quarter of this year to EUR 525 thousand (from EUR 346 thousand in the same period last year), while its EBITDA was negative EUR 36 thousand (versus negative EUR 86 thousand last year). A previous division of INVL Technologys business holdings into four operating areas was replaced this year by three functional groups: a business climate improvement and e-governance group (to which the NRD Companies group belongs), a cyber security group (to which NRD CS belongs), and an IT services and software group (formed by combining operations in the areas of IT infrastructure and solutions for IT-intensive industries, and including Novian, BAIP, Acena, Algoritmu Sistemos and Andmevara AS). INVL Technology has invested in the Norwegian company Norway Registers Development AS with subsidiaries NRD UAB and Etronika UAB in Lithuania, Norway Registers Development East Africa Ltd in Tanzania, Norway Registers Development Rwanda Ltd in Rwanda and NRD Bangladesh Ltd in Bangladesh, and the associate company Infobank Uganda Ltd in Uganda. It has also invested in Novian UAB (named Vitma until Feb. 2018) with subsidiaries BAIP UAB and Acena UAB as well as NRD CS UAB and Algoritmu Sistemos UAB, all in Lithuania, and Estonias Andmevara AS with subsidiary Andmevara SRL in Moldova. On its receipt of a closed-end investment company license in July 2016, INVL Technologys management was assumed by INVL Asset Management a part of Invalda INVL, one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltics. INVL Technology will operate as a closed-end investment company until 14 July 2026. The person authorized to provide additional information: Kazimieras Tonkunas INVL Technology Managing Partner E-mail k.tonkunas@invltechnology.lt Attachments Can you give us a brief overview of your path to HBS? How did you like the shift from advising to, in your words, owning the solution? Why do you feel you need an MBA? What did you find most difficult in the application process? Did you get the Harbus essay guide as an applicant When you interviewed at HBS, what was the hardest or most memorable question? Do you remember what you wrote about in your Interview Reflection after your interview? What has surprised you about HBS? How is the case method changing the way you think about business or product management? Earlier, you mentioned your reason for pursuing an MBA was mainly related to the network/community, but it sounds like youve gotten much more out of it that you value. Is that fair to say? Can you tell us about your experience as a summer intern at Google? Do you feel aspects of your Harvard education have helped in your role as product manager? You mentioned the perception that the MBA is a two-year party. There have been rumors that you need a lot of money for the social life and extracurriculars at HBS, that it is elitist. Have you found that to be true? Youre the product manager for the Harbus. What does that mean? What motivated you to become product manager? What are your plans for after graduation? What will you miss about HBS? What other Harbus products are in the pipeline? Related Links: Related Shows: you Whats it like to be a Harvard Business School student and Google Intern? Lets find out in todays podcast! Our guest today is Shantanu Misra, currently a 2nd-year Harvard Business School MBA student who just completed a summer internship at Google and will serve this year as the product manager for the Harbus, the independent, non-profit news organization of Harvard Business School.A little background about Shantanu Misra. He graduated from IIT Kanpur in India with a BTech and M Tech in Civil Engineering focused on geoinformatics. He worked for BCG in Mumbai and Singapore until 2014. Then he made a fairly major switch and moved to Switzerland where he became the program manager for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. About one year ago, he started his MBA at Harvard.Shantanu, welcome to Admission Straight Talk![1:45]I did my undergrad in engineering I learned a lot of tech skills, and then pivoted to more of a business role, because I was fascinated by the idea of trying out different industries and solving strategic problems. Thats what attracted me to BCG after undergrad. I got a lot of exposure to different industries, different geographies, and different types of problems. But like any consultant, I wasnt owning the solutions so I was attracted to the opportunity in Switzerland with Gavi.The role I had there was very interesting. Living in a new country gave me space to reflect on my career, and thats when I decided to do my MBA. And that brought me to Harvard Business School.[3:20]Its a major shift. People asked me how I was adjusting to living in Switzerland, and I would say living in Switzerland was easy adjusting to the job requirements was a little more tricky.One difference is that as a consultant, you take for granted the buy-in of the partner organization the machinery runs very fast. But when youre in an operational role, youre part of that machinery you dont have that senior leadership-driven mandate all the time.Another big difference is the level of detail in talking about your solutions. As a consultant you work at a high level. But operationally, you need to be detailed and practical.[7:00]I dont think of an MBA as an investment in the next 10 years of my career its an investment in the next 30,35, 40 years of my career, in terms of the community and resources Ill gain. That for me was the biggest reason.Also, I have interests in public health, public education, etc, and in the MBA Ive been able to work with people who are interested in social enterprise.[8:48]The most difficult thing by far is the essay.The rest of the package is ready youve done the jobs youve done, you have the grades you have, but the thing you can change is how you represent yourself.There are a lot of people who have a similar educational background to mine, and probably similar grades. So I spent a lot of time thinking about how to differentiate myself Its a high risk event, applying for an MBA you only get one or two stabs at it. So you want to do it well.It helps to talk to people you know whove made it, so you can understand how you can stand out in your essay.? [11:13]Yes, I did! For context, we at Harbus publish a guide with 20-25 successful essays.When you read these essays you get a sense of what people do, and what are the content choices people make. Every year when I read the essays, theyre so different.[14:55]I was really surprised when the interviewer opened with a question about one of the hobbies Id mentioned in my application not even in one of the essays about my experience doing street plays in India. Of course I was not prepared for that question, but it really helped me relax, because I was talking about things Id experienced in my college life.[15:55] Interview Reflection is an important part of your application . Reflection is a huge part of HBS pedagogy in general. So I think Interview Reflection is important because it helps give them a more holistic picture of you, and also shows how youll fit with the HBS culture.What I wrote about was the question I just mentioned how it made me relax, thanking the interviewer for that. And then I just reflected on some of the other parts of the conversation.[18:35]You hear a lot of stories about the social life that its a two-year party. What surprised me was the focus on the classroom. The amount of effort the faculty put in for each single class surprised and impressed me the way they design and structure the discussion. The richness of the conversation that happens in the classroom is amazing.[20:50]I think before an MBA the roles you do are more designed to be you contributing as an individual contributor and I think b-school is great for helping you transition to being a team leader. And thats applicable to product management as well.The other thing for me is respect for diversity that comes from being in a room with multiple nationalities, and you realize how valuable that diversity is.[23:30]When you apply youre focused on what you think youll take away from it, and once youre there you end up taking away a lot more. Im really enjoying my experience.[24:25]Its been great!I was working as a product manager. I was building on some of the skills I learned as a consultant you have to be analytical, you have to take everyone along, get initiatives through, etc. At the same time, youre in an operational role, so you have to be really detailed.The muscle Google has to design products is amazing. Brainstorming about solutions that will impact billions of users is fascinating. Its an experience I couldnt have gotten anywhere else.[26:10]The biggest help is that Im from HBS I can reach out to all the other HBS grads working at Google. HBS has the strongest MBA network.The pedagogy of HBS is case-based. When I came to Google I worked with game developers. I remembered Id done a case on game developers it helps build context on real world issues.[29:00]Its a bit unfair to call it elitist or say you need a lot of money. There are people from different financial backgrounds some are on financial aid, and some have a lot of money.But what Ive found is that there is a strong sense of community, especially within your section, and that people are respectful of boundaries. So if youre on a budget, people are respectful of that.[30:30] The Harbus is one of the oldest campus news organizations, operating since 1937. As product manager, I basically own some of Harbuss products, such as the essay guide. We also have an interview guide.Were thinking of launching some other new products. We also have an editorial team that manages our monthly newsletter.[31:40]I had used the product, which was the biggest motivation!Id always had an interest in student journalism, and coming to HBS where we have this great historical asset, the Harbus, I wanted to be involved. And the team is great. So when I was deciding which extracurriculars I wanted to devote my time to (since you cant do everything!), I chose the Harbus.[32:45]The plan is for me to make a plan.A two-year MBA gives you a lot of opportunity to reflect on your career. I want to use this year to reflect on my internship and my interests in tech, public health, etc.[35:20]Being full time in an educational program, the kinds of things you can explore and the opportunity to participate in extracurriculars.The second big thing will be the community. Ive made a lot of close friends. Ill miss that a lot.[37:00]Were coming out with an interview guide, probably next month.It will have real life interview questions from successful HBS students.There are three or four other ideas in the pipeline. We may be coming out with a guide for 2+2 students, since that program has its own unique demands. Get Accepted to Harvard Business School , an on-demand webinar HBS Post-Interview Reflections , a video This article originally appeared on blog. .Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help_________________ Sakshamachiever wrote: I think this question needs to be reworded as the conclusion which is derived from the facts is that the Spotted mole poses no threat. No is too extreme here and according to choice A) even if a small fraction of moles survive (e: 7/1000) we cannot conclude that these moles pose no threat.If it was negligible threat,A) could be eliminated but no threat is too extreme and thus A cannot be eliminated. Is there any mistake in my reasoning here ? Thanks, Saksham. Hi mikemcgarry I think this question needs to be reworded as the conclusion which is derived from the facts is that the Spotted mole poses no threat.No is too extreme here and according to choice A) even if a small fraction of moles survive (e: 7/1000) we cannot conclude that these moles pose no threat.If it was negligible threat,A) could be eliminated but no threat is too extreme and thus A cannot be eliminated.Is there any mistake in my reasoning here ?Thanks,Saksham. I think this question needs to be reworded really X is negligible Magoosh Test Prep Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats (1865 1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats (1865 1939) Signature Read More " " A diver attempts to raise Ted Kennedy's car hours after it plunged into a pond, killing Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended two-month jail sentence. Bettmann/Getty Images The late Ted Kennedy was a beloved senator who served his country for decades. He's known for having worked across the aisle to pass landmark legislation that earned him a legacy as one of the most respected and hard-working members of the Senate. But his record wasn't squeaky clean. It had one major blip and it's likely what kept him from a successful presidential bid: the death of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts in 1969. Recently, a Hollywood movie, aptly named "Chappaquiddick," recounted the shocking event and Kennedy's involvement in Kopechne's death. Stuff They Don't Want You To Know hosts Ben Bowlin and Matt Frederick sat down with the film's screenwriters, Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan, to talk about the movie and scandal in the podcast What was the Chappaquiddick Incident? Advertisement The same weekend America was watching the first man land on the moon, Ted Kennedy threw a party at a cottage on Chappaquiddick Isle. It was a reunion for the people who worked for his late brother Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. Six women, known as "Boiler Room Girls" because of the hot, windowless room where they worked, were there, including Kopechne. Kennedy's story was he and Kopechne left the party around 11:15 p.m. because she was tired and wanted to get the last ferry back to Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy says almost immediately he took a wrong turn onto Dike Road and traveled for about a half mile (.8 kilometers) and crashed into the water beneath Dike Bridge. Kennedy managed to escape through his car window. In his court testimony, Kennedy says he tried to dive down several times to save Kopechne but was unsuccessful. However, several of the Boiler Room Girls testified that Kopechne left her purse and hotel room key at the Chappaquiddick cottage when she left with Kennedy. And a police officer said he saw a car similar to Kennedy's heading toward the ferry at 12:45 a.m., more than an hour after they left the party together, making Kennedy's story difficult to believe. But it was Kennedy's behavior after the accident that really raised eyebrows. He didn't report the accident for more than 10 hours, only calling the police after the car was discovered by a passerby. And after the crash, Kennedy walked 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from Dike Bridge back to the cottage on Chappaquiddick Isle without ever stopping for help at any of the residences or the fire station he passed along the way. And it became clear after Kopechne's body was recovered that had the police been called immediately, she may have survived. So what happened during that "missing hour" between the time Kennedy says the car crashed into the water and when the police officer claimed to see the car at 12:45? Why did Kennedy wait so long to report the crash? Was he trying to hide something? Did the Kennedy family's political machine help him cover something up? Not many of the conspiracy theories concerning this case hold up to investigation, but the accident certainly changed Ted Kennedy's life, and put a period on the all-too-short life of the intelligent and well-liked Mary Jo Kopechne. The details of the story are fascinating, and the screenwriters Allen and Logan reveal more details about this tragedy in American political history. But you'll have to listen to the entire podcast to get the complete story. Writing a resume was one of the most challenging projects I worked on during my college and high school career. However, it was probably the most important. A resume is more than a piece of paper. It tells people who you are without a face-to-face interaction. Here are some of my tips for shaping your resume and getting your dream internship! 1. Make a document for all activities, work experiences, and skills to date. Having a specific and up-to-date resume will make it easier when deadlines approach. I have a document with all my accomplishments and jobs, so I can pull information from this page to make a specific resume for each position I apply to. 2. Write an objective. At the top of the resume, add what your goal is and why you are submitting an application. For example, Objective: To obtain the Hoards Dairyman Summer Editorial Internship. 3. Add a skills section. My resume in high school did not have this section at the bottom, but in college I wanted to highlight my skills. A skills section tells the employer where you are most proficient. In addition, it explains what areas most interest you such as calf care or animal husbandry. A few of the skills listed on my resume are social media, communication, and attention to detail. 4. Print out and review. Have a friend review your resume and check for spelling errors. Read your resume out loud to catch any errors. Elise Regusci grew up on her family's farm in Modesto, Calif. Regusci attends Cal Poly University, majoring in dairy science with an agricultural communication minor. On campus, she is the Los Lecheros Dairy Club Ag Council representative and a member of the Cal Poly dairy judging team. Regusci was the 2016 Brown Swiss Youth Ambassador and was the 2017 Hoard's Dairyman summer editorial intern. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Kabul, Apr 27 (IBNS): A doctor was gunned down by unknown men in Hassankhel area of Bagramai district in central of Kabul province of Afghanistan on Wednesday, media reports said on Friday. Hashmat Stanikzai spokesman for 101 Asmayee Police Zone, told Afghanistan-based Pajhwok Afghan News that the doctor named Mutiullah was killed while he was working in his private health clinic late on Wednesday. The identities of attackers involved in the incident are not known so far. The motive behind the incident is still unknown. Hashmat Stanikzai told the news agency that investigation into the incident has started. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. About 130 migrants from Central America have arrived at the United States border with Mexico seeking asylum. The group has been called a caravan and it has been sharply criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump and other U.S. government officials. The Associated Press, or AP, reports that two buses, carrying mostly women and children, arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana. They stopped at two migrant shelters close to the border. U.S. lawyers planned to lead informational meetings later this week on U.S. asylum law. They will tell the immigrants what to expect when they seek asylum. The first groups plan to try to enter the U.S. on Sunday at a border crossing near San Diego, California. Trump opposes entry of caravans Trump and other officials have described the caravans and asylum seekers as evidence that security at the border with Mexico is a serious problem. The president tweeted this week that he opposed permitting such groups into the country. Activist organizations have used caravans for years to bring attention to the issue of Central American asylum-seekers. Many migrants travel to the U.S. hoping to receive asylum. They say they are escaping political persecution or threats from criminal gangs. The latest caravan began on March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near Mexicos border with Guatemala. It has received the most attention since the president has said the groups efforts are an example why a border wall is necessary. The asylum-seekers said they plan to turn themselves in to U.S. officials at the border. Taxi driver Jovanne Torres is from El Salvador. He arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday. He told the AP that the U.S. presidents criticism of the caravan makes him believe he will not get asylum for himself, his wife and his two young daughters. But he still plans to try. Torres said he fled his hometown near the city of San Salvador and joined the caravan after a gang threatened to kill him and his wife. He said this was because he had refused to give a free ride to a gang member. He said he could be killed if he goes home, and wants to join family members in Houston. Trumps words have made it difficult for us, he said. A history of busy borders This caravans numbers are relatively small. However, in 2014, about 200,000 people were arrested at Mexicos border with the state of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. And in 2016, thousands of Haitians seeking to enter the U.S. turned themselves in to U.S. border agents at the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing. The San Diego border crossing was overwhelmed by Haitians. U.S. officials then worked with Mexican border officials to create a ticketing system. This let the Haitians in over time. Some waited their turn in Tijuana for more than five weeks. Pete Flores is director of the San Diego field office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He says his office has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing. Then, asylum-seekers are sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials of that agency decide if people should be held for a longer period or if they can be released until their trial date. Recently, asylum seekers wait only a few hours, never overnight, Flores said. Asylum-seekers first need to establish with asylum officers that they have a credible fear of returning to their homeland. If they pass, they are permitted to enter the U.S. and face a sometimes long process before U.S. immigration judges. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Wednesday that anyone who makes false claims to immigration officials could face criminal prosecution. She said that is the case for anyone who helps immigrants to make false claims. The secretary also said asylum seekers in the caravan should seek protection in the first safe country they reach. That includes Mexico, she said. Im Phil Dierking. Elliot Spagat reported this story for the Assoicated Press. Phil Dierking adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. What is the policy for asylum seekers in your country? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story caravan - n. a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together disgrace - v. to cause (someone) to feel ashamed gang - n. a group of criminals persecute - v. to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs overwhelm - v. to cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with prosecution - n. the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty ticket - n. a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle, etc. tweet - n. to write a brief message (called a tweet) on the Internet using a service called Twitter The leaders of North and South Korea held talks in the border village of Panmunjom on Friday. The talks began with a historic first step as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the line that has divided the Korean peninsula for over 60 years. At the end of the meeting, the two countries released a joint declaration in support of peace and removal of nuclear weapons from the area. South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced what the sides are calling the Panmunjom Declaration. He said, Today, Chairman Kim Jong Un and I confirmed that the realization of the nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearization is our common goal. Kim also expressed support for the joint declaration and earlier agreements between the two Koreas. He said, We have decided to open this transitional phase of improvement in relations and development through thoroughly implementing the North-South Declarations and all the agreements that have already been adopted. He spoke without explaining or providing details of the deal to end his countrys nuclear program. Historic crossing Kim Jong Un is now the first North Korean leader to enter South Korea. He was greeted by Moon, who waited on the South Korean side of the demilitarization line between the two countries. The Korean War armistice was signed 65 years ago in Panmunjom. The armistice ended the fighting, but a peace agreement was never signed. The two leaders smiled as they shook hands along the line dividing North and South Korea. Kim then stepped over a cement marker into the South. Kim said he was excited to meet at this historic place and later wondered "why it took so long" to get there. It really has a strong emotional impact on me, said Kim about the warm welcome he received from South Koreans. President Moon told Kim he would like to visit North Korea one day. Laughing, the two together momentarily stepped over the border marker into the Norths side of the demilitarized zone. The two leaders agreed to continue efforts to expand contacts. Ties had grown increasingly tense over North Koreas nuclear and missile tests, especially efforts to develop nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. When fully ready, those weapons would have the ability to hit targets on the United States mainland. We declared together that there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula, and that a new era of peace has begun, said Moon. The joint declaration confirmed the common goal of realizing complete denuclearization, and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula. It also recognized as meaningful and crucial North Koreas recent offer to suspend nuclear and missile tests, and to close its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. However, some observers have questioned whether these measures are meaningful since they only suspend, not reduce the countrys nuclear activities. Trump-Kim summit The declaration is meant to prepare for talks between the North Korean leader and U.S. President Donald Trump. The two men are expected to meet in May or June. South Korean officials have told the Trump administration that Kim is prepared to promise to completely undo North Koreas nuclear program. In exchange, he reportedly wants security guarantees from the U.S. government, development aid and an easing of international sanctions against the North. Later Friday, President Trump praised the promises of peace and denuclearization. But he noted on Twitter that "only time will tell" if those goals are reached. While Trump has expressed hope of reaching a nuclear deal with North Korea, he has said he will walk out of the meeting with Kim if there are signs it is not going to be fruitful. I'm Mario Ritter. Brian Padden reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted his report for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story transitional adj. of or involving change phase n. a step in a process; a short period of time thoroughly adj. completely; exactly implement v. to carry out adopt v. to take up; to officially accept and put into effect impact n. a major or powerful effect zone n. area ballistic adj. relating to or involving the science of moving objects in flight crucial adj. important sanction - n. a measure designed to punish a country for failure to obey international laws or rules We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. An American doctor recently gave an emotional speech about his son to Senate lawmakers in Washington. Chris Brann told lawmakers on Tuesday about the abduction of his son Nicholas, whose mother moved him to Brazil in 2012. Brann said his experience of the loss is best described as a living death. Nicholas mother, who was born in Brazil, is no longer married to Brann. Such kidnapping is not unusual. In the United States, hundreds of international child abductions by parents are reported each year. The rate of return of children is said to be about 45 percent. Lawmakers of both American political parties say the U.S. can and must do a better job of recovering its youngest citizens. They say such abductions must be prevented. Chuck Grassley is the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He said Congress and the administration can do more to end the kidnappings. Laws against abductions The United States is one of 82 countries that have signed the 1980 Hague Convention to fight international child abduction. The agreement requires nations to quickly return minors illegally taken to other countries by a parent. In the U.S., the 1993 International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act is a federal law. It established federal punishments for a parent who violates another parents rights of custody. Another law on the issue is the 2014 International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act. It permits the State Department to punish nations that fail to help in solving international abduction cases involving American children. Punishments include public condemnation, suspending U.S. development aid or cancelling state visas. However, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Carl Risch said the department did not often use such measures. Continued diplomatic engagement is our best tool to promote long-term institutional changes in foreign governments, he said. Chris Brann is dissatisfied with efforts to bring back his son. He said the State Department is not using all the tools it can use. Noelle Hunter also spoke to the committee. She told of how her former husband took her daughter Muna to Mali in 2011. The Senates Republican leader Mitch McConnell led an effort to push Malian officials to return Muna. She came back to America in 2014. Hunter said, If every member of Congress with kidnapped constituents would begin to regularly inquire of federal agencies and the [foreign] nations in which they are held, these children are going to come home. The committees top Democratic Party member, Dianne Feinstein, supported efforts by lawmakers on the issue. But she said her state, California, had hundreds of parents with a child missing in another country. Feinstein called for more power for the State Department and other to deal with the issue. Federal officials say preventing abductions is the best way to deal with the problem. They note that a program is in place to have U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents act if a child is at risk of abduction. Don Conroy directs the agencys National Targeting Center. He said, Returning a child is sometimes very complex. Prevention is a key piece of this. On the issue of abductions, both Democrats and Republicans said they want to see more done. Im Mario Ritter. Michael Bowman reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story abduction n. to take someone away by force or against their will custody n. the responsibility to take care of a child engagement n. involvement in something promote v. to give support to something, to make people aware of something institutional adj. of or about an established organization constituents n. people who live and vote in an area regularly adv. usually inquire v. to ask about key adj. major; important We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Thousands of black people in America were murdered between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Some were hanged or shot. Others were beaten to death or burned alive. The attacks were called lynchings. Most of the murders took place in the American South. More than six million African-Americans fled north as a result. Very few of the killers were officially charged with the lynchings. Those who were charged were rarely punished. Now, a memorial has opened in Montgomery, Alabama, to remember that dark time in American history. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is a project of the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative. The organization says the site is the nations first to document racial inequality in America from slavery to the issues of today. Bryan Stevenson leads the EJI. He said, "In the American South, we don't talk about slavery. We don't have monuments and memorials that confront the legacy of lynching. We haven't really confronted the difficulties of segregation. Stevenson said the United States is still troubled by the history as a result. The memorial brings to mind the image of a racist hanging. Hundreds of brown metal rectangles are suspended from the ceiling of a large outdoor site. The 800 objects represent 800 areas of the United States where lynchings were known to take place. Each rectangle is about two meters tall, around the height of a person. Each includes the names of known lynching victims, around 4,400 in all. The lynchings took place between 1877 and 1950. Visitors enter the site at eye level with the monuments. As they walk down into the site, the rectangles seem to rise higher and higher above them. Identifying as many victims as possible was very important. Stevenson said, "Most people in this country can't name a single African-American who was lynched between 1877 and 1950 even though thousands of African-Americans were subjected to this violence. The EJI says one idea was common to lynchings that made them different from other murders overlooked by the law: They demonstrated a desire to terrorize minorities and protect white rule. Some lynchings drew huge crowds and were even photographed. However, police and other officials usually ruled that they were carried out by persons unknown. The memorial and a joint museum nearby tell a story that covers slavery, racial separation, violence and today's overcrowded prisons. The United States has almost 7 million people in prison or on conditional release. The rates of minority imprisonment are much higher than imprisonment rates of white people. E.M. Beck is sociology professor emeritus at the University of Georgia. He has studied lynching for 30 years and has written books on the subject. He said the memorial might understate the amount of lynching, even though it lists thousands of victims. "I think it's an underestimate because the number and amount of violence in early Reconstruction in the 1870s will probably never be known, he said. There was just an incredible amount of violence taking place during that period of time. The EJI searched old newspapers, libraries and court documents to find the stories of lynching victims. The metal monument is a memorial to all of them, with room for names to be added as additional victims are identified. Many people cried during their visit to the memorial. Toni Battle had three ancestors who were lynched. She travelled more than 3,700 kilometers from San Francisco to attend the opening. I wanted to come and honor them and also those in my family that couldnt be here, Battle said, as tears fell from her eyes. Angel Smith Dixon came from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She said the memorial marks the first time the nation has publicly mourned the tragedy of lynching. You cant grieve something you cant see, she said. That is the first step in healing, she added. The crowd included black and white visitors. Launch events included a Peace and Justice Summit with celebrities and activists like Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman and Gloria Steinem. I'm Caty Weaver. The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English.Ashley Thompson was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story confront v. to deal with (something) in an honest and direct way legacy n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past segregation n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other rectangle n. a four-sided shape that is made up of two pairs of parallel lines and that has four right angles grieve v. to feel or show grief or sadness celebrity n. a famous person Chinese researchers say the mountain above North Koreas main nuclear test site has likely collapsed. If so, the collapse would make the test site unsafe for future testing, and the area would need to be examined for any leaking radiation. Scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China carried out the research. Their findings may give new meaning to North Korean President Kim Jong Uns recent announcement. He said this month that his country was ending its nuclear testing program ahead of planned meetings with the leaders of South Korea and the United States. The results also support findings of an earlier study by a group of Chinese researchers. That report was published in March by the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The latest study has also been accepted for publication by Geophysical Research Letters. What could have happened? The data in the most recent Chinese study was collected following the most powerful of North Koreas six nuclear device tests, on September 3. That test was at least 10 times stronger than anything the country had tested before. Scientists say the explosion may have helped cause four earthquakes in the following weeks. Earthquakes do not naturally happen in the area around the test site. The report by University of Science and Technology researchers said the first of those earthquakes was an onsite collapse toward the nuclear test center. They urged officials to continue to watch for leaks of radioactive material. Special concern to China North Koreas nuclear tests are of special concern to China; the test site is less than 100 kilometers from the China-North Korea border. North Korean nuclear tests have caused seismic events in Chinese border towns and cities. The explosions have led to evacuations of schools and offices, and fears of wind-carried radiation. Chinese officials have said they have not measured any radiation risk from recent samples collected along the China-North Korea border. Relations between China and North Korea have been worsening. Last month, North Korean President Kim Jong Un made a visit to Beijing, after Chinese officials put United Nations economic sanctions against the North in place. The sanctions reduced trade between the two countries by as much as 90 percent. On Saturday, North Korea announced it would close its nuclear testing site and suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. U.S. President Donald Trump called the moves big progress. However, the North did not say whether it would give up its nuclear weapons or limit its production of missiles and their related parts. Im Jonathan Evans. The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story journal - n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people leak - v. to let something (such as a liquid or gas) in or out through a hole in a surface onsite - adv. at the place where a business or activity happens seismic - adj. of, relating to, or caused by an earthquake sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from sanctions - n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc. usually plural 6 hours ago Biden tells GOP to 'get out of the way' on debt limit WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Monday urged Republican senators to get out of the way and let Democrats suspend the nations debt limit, hoping to keep the U.S. government from bumping dangerously Read Article Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada. Read More Direct Line Insurance Group plc provides general insurance products and services in the United Kingdom. It operates through Motor, Home, Rescue and Other Personal Lines, and Commercial segments. The company offers motor, home, rescue, travel, creditor, and pet insurance products, as well as insurance for mid-to-high-net worth customers; and commercial insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises. It also provides management, motor vehicle repair, insurance intermediary, support and operational, legal, and breakdown recovery services. The company sells its insurance products directly through price comparison Websites and phone, as well as through partners and brokers under the Direct Line, Churchill, Green Flag, Direct Line for Business, DLG Partnerships, NIG, Privilege, Shotgun, DLG Legal Services, Darwin, and DLG Auto Services brands. The company was formerly known as RBS Insurance Group Limited and changed its name to Direct Line Insurance Group plc in February 2012. Direct Line Insurance Group plc was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Bromley, the United Kingdom. Read More Lenovo unveiled a new 2-in-1 tablet in January called the Lenovo Tablet 10. At the time, about all we knew was that it would be a business-friendly tablet with a 10 inch display, up to 9 hours of battery life, a detachable keyboard, pen support, and a fingerprint reader and Trusted Platform Module. Now Lenovo has released spec sheets and pictures showing that the tablet will ship with a choice of dual-core or quad-core Intel Gemini Lake processors, up to a full HD display, up to 8GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of storage. Unfortunately were still waiting on the official price and release date. Heres a run-down of the key specs/options: 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 or 1920 x 1200 pixel IPS display Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core or Celeron N4100 quad-core processor 4GB or 8GB of LPDDR4-2133 memory 64GB or 128GB of eMMC storage 802.11ac WiFi Bluetooth 4.1 5MP rear camera with autofocus + 2MP fixed-focus front camera USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.1 Type-A, HDMI, headset Dual microphones Fingerprint reader microSD card reader 39 Whr battery 45W or 65W USB Type-C adapter Stereo speakers Windows 10 Home 64-bit or Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Optional Lenovo 10 travel keyboard Optional Lenovo Active Pen Optional 4G LTE & nano SIM reader Optional NFC The tablet measures 10.3 x 7 x 0.4 and weighs about 1.5 pounds. According to Lenovos documentation, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so theres no way to upgrade the memory or storage. If you want 8GB of memory or 128GB of storage youll have to pay for it up front. The Lenovo Tablet 10 is definitely headed to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. I havent seen confirmation that the tablet will be coming to North America anytime soon. thanks Andrew! Share this article: Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pocket Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Email Biratnagar trials Nepals second cargo train route The first cargo train has been flagged off from Kolkata Port to Bathana, Bihar in India, near the Jogbani-Biratnagar bordering point. This is part of a trial to create a second cargo train route linking Nepal. Chinas Air Force conducted training flights yesterday around the self-governing island of Taiwan that it said mark an historical shift in its combat ability. A post on the Air Forces official microblog said multiple missions were launched from separate bases featuring aircraft including fighters, early warning planes and the H-6K long- range bomber. The planes circled Taiwan, transiting the Bashi Strait to the south and Miyako Strait to the north along the sea border with Japan, it said. China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Military threats have grown more prominent in recent weeks through war games and sharply worded statements from China seen as a response to what it perceives as the Taiwanese governments efforts to assert its de facto independent status. The training flights aim to send a clear and distinct message to forces on the island promoting its formal independence, defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian told reporters at a monthly news briefing yesterday. It needs to be pointed out that Taiwan independence activities are doomed to failure and any attempt to use force to resist unification will go nowhere, Wu said. Wu also repeated earlier statements that China was prepared to take further actions if Taiwans government continued to act however it likes but gave no details. China severed ties with Taiwan almost two years ago, after independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen refused its demand to recognize the island democracy as a part of Chinese territory. Christopher Bodeen, Beijing, AP Former billionaire Wang Jing, who agreed to build a canal across Nicaragua to rival the Panama Canal, has abandoned his office in Hong Kong islands tallest skyscraper. HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., a subsidiary of a company owned by Wang, surrendered its lease agreement on April 18 for suites on the International Finance Centres 18th floor. The company had renewed a three-year lease for the offices in January 2016, with the option to extend for a further three years, according to Hong Kongs land registry. The lease agreement was initially for HKD2.1 million per month. A receptionist at Two IFC, which counts UBS Group AG and Blackstone Group among its tenants, said HKND moved out last week and didnt leave information about its new address. A representative for Wang said by phone that the move reflected a change of strategy, and added that the company will maintain operations in Hong Kong, but declined to provide details about the new location. The companys registered address is an accounting office in Kowloon. HKND didnt respond to requests for additional comment. Wang signed a $50 billion deal to build the rival canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in 2013 with the Nicaraguan government of President Daniel Ortega. A series of protests against Ortega that began with opponents of the canal project in 2014 has grown into widespread unrest that forced the Nicaraguan leader to back down on his controversial social security reform last week. Nicaraguas main daily La Prensa said in an April 23 editorial that Ortega lost control of the streets and called for his resignation. The Nicaraguan Center of Human Rights said more than 30 people have died in the protests. Wangs business empire faces other setbacks, including a stock suspension of his Beijing- based telecom company and a court fight in Ukraine. Ukraines Security Services conducted searches at the countrys biggest maker of aircraft and helicopter engines this week in an investigation into a buyout bid by companies linked to Wang. The Chinese tycoon has explored several options to shore up investment for the canal project, but five years after Nicaraguas legislature greenlighted the project, it remains unclear how he plans to fund it. Blake Schmidt, Bloomberg During 2017, the Macao Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) handled 1,365 cases concerning labor rights, the federation reported this week during a press conference. The cases were registered in the FAOM headquarters in two of FAOMs rights protection centers, and across various service centers that belong to the union. A total of 3,141 people were involved in these cases. Some 365 cases out of the total were related to labor affairs, involving 919 individuals. Most of the remaining cases concerned housing issues and social welfare protection. Among all the labor disputes handled by FAOM, the majority are linked to the construction industry, with the disputes mainly caused due to a reduction in the number of construction projects, which in turn leads to a decrease in job vacancies provided within the sector, resulting in severe unemployment. Moreover, disputes regarding the salaries of construction workers also increased compared to the previous year because of the conclusion of several construction projects. FAOM received more than 200 requests for help from workers trying to collect their salaries. Some of these cases were resolved, however FAOM did not disclose the exact number. When addressing matters of future work, FAOM claimed that it would urge the government and gaming operators to implement a full range of tobacco control measures to ensure workers have a healthy work environment. In addition, Choi Kam Fu, director general of the Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff Association (under FAOM), said that the association cares about the safety of employees within the gaming industry. According to Choi, some of the casinos gaming tables have an improper design, with a few casinos requiring workers to wear specific kinds of high- heels while working. FAOM noticed that some casinos still require employees to work while standing. The union is now cooperating with them, hoping that [casinos] can provide seats for these workers, revealed Choi. In 2017, FAOM also solved cases where a security company required local employees to take unpaid holidays, and also cases where a cleaning company did not pay salaries to its employees. The association highlights its long-standing calls, urging the government to not hire non-local occupational drivers in order to improve the transportation industrys retirement system. In particular, Choi noted that they hope the government can consider allowing occupational drivers to work even after they turn 65 years old. Besides reporting the above-mentioned data, FAOM also noted that, in 2017, in 653 instances, it provided suggestions to the government about livelihood rights in communities. Iconographic Research, a Facebook community, published an image depicting the view from the stairway of the Ruins of St. Paul, taken by Oswald Lubek in 1911. Images from the same photographer also feature street views of Hong Kong back in the same year and an image of an urban canal strewn with rubbish in Guangzhou. The pictures source was a university library in Dresden, Germany. Launched in 2015, the online page prospects historical images for printed publication in books, magazines and catalogs. In a statement released by its editor to the Times, Luiz Estrella explained that the choice to publish material produced before 1920 is that works older than 100 years are in the public domain, without any restriction of use. It is possible to affirm that we are a vector in the diffusion of the education and the culture, especially in encouraging the debate and the reflection on the preservation of these collections, Estrella said. The Iconographic Research page showcases images pertaining to iconic events such as the French Revolution and the American Civil War. Meanwhile, the community also started to publish moving images depicting the period between the end of the 19th century and the 1920s in August 2016. Initially, the objective was to eventually promote postings of this type of material, but due to the reach obtained with the first videos, we conclude that we should do it regularly, said the editor. By October 2017, Iconographic Research had published over four hours of original footage produced between 1899 and 1918. The techniques of photography and capture of moving images were respectively pioneered in the 1820s and 1890s and reproduce with fidelity urban and rural landscapes of that time. I understand that this page makes it possible for the public to access content that is often restricted to the academic community, said Estrella. The catalogue collection currently consists of more than 10,000 images depicting at least 1,600 locations around five continents. This material was produced by over 1,100 authors including renowned visual artists Alfred Stieglitz, Alice Austin, Bernardo Bellotto, Eugene Atget and Jan van der Heyden. In over three years of research, 810 sources were identified in 56 countries on five continents with good quality visual material available online that meets the pages publishing criteria, the editor said. Sixty percent of the cataloged research sources are located in Europe and 33 percent are located in in the Americas, while sources from institutions located in Asia, Oceania and Africa account for only 7 percent of the total. It is possible to affirm that practically all our vast iconographic collection comes from public and private, national and international institutional sources; some of which are considered as references in their areas of activity, Estrella added. The 84 albums on its Facebook page are organized according to geographical criteria, with each image stored in the folder corresponding to the country in which it was produced. The material, organized according to the thematic criteria, is grouped in four albums: two dedicated to the First World War, an album with portraits of personalities and another with photographs of astronomical observations. LV Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a visit that some experts believe could reset a complicated relationship that faced several tests last year, including a tense border standoff. The meeting between the leaders of the worlds two most populous nations is to take place in the central Chinese city of Wuhan today and Saturday. Our common interests far outweigh our divergences, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said about the meetings prospects. And the divergences are many, the most complicated being a lingering border dispute. The two countries fought a monthlong border war in 1962 and have been trying to settle the boundary since the 1980s. Each side accuses the other of occupying its territory. China claims some 90,000 square kilometers of territory in Indias northeast and cites the regions cultural affinity with Tibet as evidence that the area is part of what it calls southern Tibet. India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas. Over the last three decades or so, officials have met at least 20 times to discuss the competing border claims. Minor skirmishes, often little more than shouting matches between soldiers, occur fairly regularly, but the most aggressive confrontation in decades took place last summer where the Himalayan borders of India, China and Bhutan come together. It started in June when Indian troops moved in to stop China from constructing a road in the Doklam region in Bhutan. For 10 weeks, soldiers from the two nuclear-armed nations eyeballed each other. The two countries finally agreed to pull back their troops on Aug. 28, though neither Beijing nor New Delhi offered any explanation of how the crisis was resolved. There are other annoyances too. Last year India refused to be part of Xis grand initiative to build a new Silk Road of ports, railways and roads to expand trade in a vast arc of countries across Asia, Africa and Europe. India is unhappy that Chinese state-owned companies are working in the Pakistani-held part of Kashmir, the Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Indian leaders see that as an endorsement of Pakistani control over the area. For India, Chinas ever-growing influence in the neighborhood, with significant strategic presences in Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives and close ties with Pakistan, is a constant irritant. For Beijing, Indias playing host to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile is a source of friction. The goal of the meeting will be to put China-India ties on a better track as the relationship has been strained in recent years due to Chinas increased focus, investments, and activity in South Asia outside of India, the consulting firm Eurasia Group said. The first signs that Beijing and New Delhi were trying to mend their relationship came in February when India publicly ordered officials to stay away from events marking the Dalai Lamas 60th year in India. Since then, diplomats from the two sides have held meetings and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, earlier in the week before announcing the Wuhan summit. Modi will be traveling to China again in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Along with China and India, that group includes the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan. The Wuhan meeting comes at a crucial time for both leaders. Beijing is dealing with U.S. tariff threats on Chinese products, which have led to fears of a trade war. Modi needs steady economic growth ahead of a national election next year. The world is now faced with rampant unilateralism as well as rising protectionism in the process of globalization, Lu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said this week, explaining the backdrop of the talks between Xi and Modi. No one expects the two men to work out all the tangles in the complicated diplomatic relationship. Given the depth and breadth of the problems between India and China, it will be unwise to expect dramatic breakthroughs, C. Raja Mohan, director of Carnegie India, wrote in the Indian Express. The most likely outcome of the meeting, according to the Eurasia Group, is the resumption of diplomatic exchanges that will reduce the risk of a flare-up in the short term but is unlikely to result in any real bilateral solution to these areas of tension. Muneeza Naqvi, New Delhi, AP German development bank pulls out of heritage rebuilding project German Development Bank (KfW) has pulled out from heritage reconstruction task in Bhaktapur following a dispute whether to rebuild the earthquake-damaged temples and monuments through local users committee or by calling international tender. The cooks, hotel workers and other Filipinos who served tourists at the countrys most popular beach headed home and started looking for other work Thursday as police guarded the empty beach on the first day of a shutdown intended to let Boracays waters recover from overcrowding and development. Police on the empty, white-sand beach turned away tourists trying to take a dip in the turquoise waters, and once-busy stores and restaurants stood closed. Its painful for us to lose our jobs and its so sudden, said canteen cook Marlon Laguna, 47, outside the closed beachfront restaurant. Even though I dont have my own family, I support my siblings. [] We cannot do anything but to accept it. The island will be shut to visitors for up to six months while sewage containment and other work is done to clean up the waters President Rodrigo Duterte had called a cesspool. The work was already underway yesterday. Police and residents were collecting seaweed in a cleanup drive on the beachfront, pipes were being laid, and construction had begun to widen the islands main road. Some roadside structures were being demolished to make way. Workers now out of jobs said they will look for other work to ride out the time the island is shut to tourists. About 17,000 are employed in Boracays tourist establishments, and 10,000 to 12,000 others benefit from the bustling tourism business. Displaced workers flocked to the Department of Social welfare operation center to get travel allowance for them to go home to their provinces. I am thankful that the government gave us travel allowance, even if we do not have a job anymore, said construction worker Jomar Incierto, 27, who was among those receiving the cash assistance. More than 2 million tourists visited Boracay last year, generating about 56 billion pesos (1 billion US dollars) in revenue. But the influx, neglected infrastructure and growth of resort establishments and poor settlements have threatened to turn Boracay into a dead island in less than a decade, according to a government study. Settlers whove built illegal structures in forests and wetlands have added to the problems. Less than half the establishments are connected to the islands main sewage treatment plant, with many of the rest possibly maintaining crude septic tanks and others discharging their waste directly into the sea, said Frederick Alegre, assistant secretary at the Department of Tourism. Parts of the island could re- open earlier than six months if sewage treatment systems could be built earlier and beach resorts comply with environmental regulations, he said. Joeal Calupitan, Boracay, AP Sands China Ltd honoured around 6,200 team members who are celebrating 10 years of service by hosting more than 60 departmental celebrations that began in March and continue through April. With Sands China established in Macau for over 13 years now, a total of more than 8,500 Sands China team members have been with the company for 10 years or more. This latest group of 6,200 individuals have reached their 10-year milestones in 2016, 2017 or 2018. More than 75 per cent of them are local residents. Dr Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd, praised their commitment to outstanding service, both toward fellow team members and to guests and visitors, reaping benefits for the company and supporting Macaus continued development as a world centre of tourism and leisure. Sands China is incredibly grateful for the continued loyalty, dedication and hard work of our team members celebrating this important milestone their 10-year anniversaries with the company, said Dr Wong. We now have 8,500 team members who have been working for the company for a decade or more; that represents nearly one-third of our workforce. We consider this to be a very significant achievement and it is a great source of pride for the company, he remarked. Sands China has always viewed its team members as the companys greatest asset, recognising their daily commitment to service excellence as a crucial component in delivering outstanding experiences to guests and visitors. As we pause to express our gratitude to our long-serving team members, we remain ever-mindful of our responsibility as the largest private employer in Macau to take care of our team members and their families, Dr Wong highlighted. The company continues to invest in their career development, and in the broadening of their professional horizons, resulting in thousands of local residents advancing in the company. One such valued staff member is Ronald Leong, executive director of transportation, who has been with Sands China for 11 years. Leong, who participated in the first intake of the Management Trainees Advanced Management Program in 2008, was given a series of horizontal development opportunities resulting in five promotions. He currently leads a transportation team of over 500 team members. Leong pointed out that transportation service is one of the key components in the overall integrated resort experience for all tourists, as transportation is the first touch point upon their arrival in Macau. The executive director emphasized Sands Chinas commitment to bringing out the best in their team members, providing them with a series of training programs to assist in their career growth. For him, work experience in different departments has been beneficial to his personal development. I am happy to work for Sands China because of the culture: we have the support we need, and opportunities for career growth, he shared. Leong thanked Sands China for prioritizing the training of local talent, and for allowing them to explore the companys different departments. The company not only provides training, but also follow-up action. The human resources department conducts mentor and mentee sessions and gives us a platform to share our ideas and concerns regarding our work progress, he said. Agnes Cheang, a convention and exhibition services associate director, has been in the company for over 10 years and echoed the same sentiments. Promoted four times since she joined The Venetian Macao in November 2007, Cheang lauded the commitment of Sands China in providing team members a series of opportunities to continually expand their career growth. Sands China always makes sure that we are up to date and that we keep our professional standards. They really support us in our career growth, she said. According to Cheang, Sands China is continually working on developing talented local staff, giving them access to opportunities to broaden their horizons. This benefits us, local people, and it gives us chances to further advance in our careers, she added. Cheang is proud to be a Sands China team member as she has been given various opportunities to handle international large-scale meetings and events, which have not only expanded her understanding of the industry, but have also made her feel she is growing together with Macaus MICE industry. Another team member that was honoured was Grace Tam, a chief steward, who is currently leading a team of approximately 220 staff. Tam first joined the company in 2007 and has been leading the team as a chief steward, responsible for kitchenware and tableware preparation and cleaning. For large scale events, she and her team prepare thousands of pieces of tableware, and coordinate with various departments, including food and beverage and facilities management. This requires experience, communication skills, and accurate calculation. The company pays a lot of attention to training and really puts its resources into the team members, shared Tam. The company gives me opportunities to explore my abilities. At Sands China, I feel a sense of being successful and belonging as the company continues to prosper, she added. As the company has been growing over the years, Tam said she feels excited about the new challenges and is thankful for the support and opportunities given by Sands China. Tam was a winner of the Best Leadership Award in Sands Chinas Because We Care Team Member Awards, which serves as significant encouragement for her and her fellow colleagues to excel in their workplace. She was also the winner of the Outstanding Elder Employee Award by the local government, following a nomination submitted by Sands China. In 2017, Sands China provided over 1.66 million paid training hours for its team members, equivalent to an average of 64 learning hours for each team member. Since 2015, over 2,000 team members have participated in the companys horizontal career development programmes. To date, Sands China has made nearly 18,000 promotions, involving over 10,000 local team members; more than 3,300 local team members have been promoted twice or more. Sands Chinas management team currently employs over 2,500 local residents, over two-thirds of whom have been working with the company for more than 10 years a testament to the success of Sands Chinas investment into its team members. In acknowledgement of the companys faithful team members, each employee received The Perfect 10 commemorative service pins and award trophies, and food and beverage vouchers to the value of MOP500 (a total of more than MOP3 million in vouchers overall) for them to enjoy Sands Chinas restaurants with their families as a token of gratitude for their continuous support. In addition, the company will give away more than 5,000 complimentary tickets of La Parisienne show in April and May to interested 10-year-service team members. This article was sponsored by Sands China Ltd. Zhuhai has launched new measures to attract talented human resources to the region, the Zhuhai government announced this week. The regulations, which include 16 articles, are said by many experts and talented people to be the best talented human resources policy in the Pearl River Delta, according to a report by Macao Daily News. The new policy includes a supportive development program for talented people from Hong Kong and Macau. It further states that those from the SARs can enjoy the same treatment as Zhuhai residents in terms of buying properties, childrens education, and medical treatment. When a company hires talented people from Hong Kong or Macau who hold a bachelor or higher educational degree, they can also enjoy benefits regarding residential rent for the young talented people. For the talented SARs residents who work in the Hengqin free trade zone, their employment certificate can be waived, and they can enjoy both the Hong Kong people, Hong Kong tax and Macau people, Macau tax policy. The new measure also suggests encouraging talented people from Hong Kong and Macaus qualified and certified financial, accounting, educational and medical industries, among others, to work in the Hengqin free trade zone. However, even though such articles concerning the SARs residents have been included in the new measures, the latter still focus primarily on attracting mainland human resources. For instance, Zhuhai has plans to establish a group to build 30,000 houses for talented people from mainland China. KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More Gigantic enclaves are not a solution Resource-rich lands are being fenced off from those who need them most (HealthDay)For patients with traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), pre-hospital advanced life support (ALS) provided by a physician is associated with increased likelihood of one-month survival, according to a study published online April 25 in JAMA Surgery. Tatsuma Fukuda, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, and colleagues examined data for patients who experienced traumatic OHCA after a traffic collision. Outcomes were compared for individuals provided pre-hospital ALS by a physician (828 patients), individuals provided ALS by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel (1,591 patients), and those with only basic life support (BLS; 1,963 patients). The researchers found that 2.2 percent of patients survived one month after OHCA, including 3.1, 1.6, and 2.3 percent, respectively, of those who received ALS by physician, ALS by EMS personnel, and BLS. ALS by physician was associated with significantly higher odds of one-month survival compared with ALS by EMS personnel and BLS, after adjustment for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratios, 2.13 and 1.94, respectively); there was no significant difference between ALS by EMS personnel and BLS. Compared with ALS by EMS personnel, ALS by a physician was associated with increased chance of one-month survival in a propensity score-matched analysis (risk ratio, 2). "In traumatic OHCA, ALS by physician was associated with increased chance of one-month survival compared with both ALS by EMS personnel and BLS," the authors write. Explore further Time to epinephrine tied to survival in non-shockable OHCA Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Three bacteriophages (pink dots) were tested against a huge collection of Escherichia coli strains representing different serotypes. In combination the three bacteriophages kill most of the tested strains. Credit: The graph was generated using proprietary PhageSelector program developed by Intralytix, Inc. New research from the Department of Food Science (FOOD) at the University of Copenhagen suggests that in the not-too-distant future, it might be possible to drink a cocktail of selective viruses (bacteriophages) that travel directly into the gut and kill the disease-causing bacteria without the use of antibiotics, and without harming the beneficial commensal intestinal bacteria. "The research shows that we have an opportunity to kill specific bacteria without collateral damage to otherwise healthy intestinal flora," says Professor Dennis Sandris Nielsen from Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen. He emphasizes that the result was created in a model of the small intestine, so the next step will be to test the study on mice and later on humans if such treatment is to be implemented. Model of the small intestine 3-D representation of the TSI in vitro model. TSI consists of five elements: main unit, water bath, syringe pump station, nitrogen tank and computer which controls the whole setup. In the main unit, there are multiple reactors capable to test up to five samples at the same time. Credit: Maja Czesnik The model in which the research has been conducted, TSI, was developed at FOOD by postdoc Tomasz Cieplak, in connection with his Ph.D. project, with Professor Dennis Sandris Nielsen as his supervisor. "The novelty of the TSI model is that it simulates the presence of the small intestinal microbiota, which has largely been overlooked in other models of the small intestine. Other models existing on the market simulate only the purely biophysical processes, such as bile salts and digestive enzymes or pH, but here we included this important aspect of human gut physiology to mimic the small intestine more closely," says Cieplak. The composition of the intestinal flora in the model is representative of how the intestinal flora could look in a healthy person. In the study, researchers have added E. coli bacteria to the intestinal flora, which they then attempted to kill by utilizing a targeted cocktail of viruses (bacteriophages) developed by the company Intralytix. New research in an old method "Using bacteriophages to kill pathogenic bacteria is not new, and has actually been used to treat food-borne illnesses and other diseases in Eastern Europe for almost a century, but it was not until relatively recently that this approach started to attract more widespread research interest," says Dennis Sandris Nielsen The research into combating infectious diseases with viruses was not as interesting because you already had an effective treatment with antibiotics. "It is different today, where resistance to antibiotics is an increasing problem in modern medicine. At the same time, we have become more aware of how important the commensal bacteria in the gut are for our health," says Nielsen. Phages (bacteriophages) are viruses that attack bacteriain this context, bacteria in our intestinal microbiome. The classic lytic phage attacks bacteria by attaching to the surface of the bacterium and injecting its genetic material into the bacterium. It takes over the bacterium's metabolism and redirects it to create new viruses. The bacterial cell, now taken over by the phage, will explode and send a lot of new phages into the surrounding area, which can then attack new bacteria. More information: Tomasz Cieplak et al, A bacteriophage cocktail targeting Escherichia coli reduces E. coli in simulated gut conditions, while preserving a non-targeted representative commensal normal microbiota, Gut Microbes (2018). Tomasz Cieplak et al, A bacteriophage cocktail targeting Escherichia coli reduces E. coli in simulated gut conditions, while preserving a non-targeted representative commensal normal microbiota,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2018.1447291 Considerably more cases of suspected cancer can today be identified early within primary care. Partly based on symptoms but also statistics on the patients' visits to health centres, indicates research from Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sweden. "When patients seek care more frequently, as opposed to previously when they maybe just came in to check their blood pressure, it could be a sign that something else is wrong, even if the symptoms can be initially interpreted as benign," says Dr Marcela Ewing, at the Institute of Medicine and specialist in general medicine and oncology. Her thesis is based on information on 4,500 adult patients who sought primary care in the Vastra Gotaland region, Sweden in 2010-2011 and were diagnosed with one of our most common forms of cancer. The group was compared to some 18,000 gender and age-matched control patients at the same health centres, who had no ascertained cancer. The majority of the patients sought primary care with different complaints the year before they received their cancer diagnosis, but for more than half of them, it took four or more doctor visits at the health centre before the diagnosis was made. A significant number of symptoms that these patients sought help for, that turned out to be associated with cancer were presented as early as in the first two consultations, but the patients had to visit primary care doctors at least twice more. Symptoms before spreading "Cancer and cancer diagnosis are difficult, and it is something very unusual in the everyday work of a general practitioner. In a year, a general practitioner may only diagnose four or five cases. But you can increase attentiveness and ask yourself more often whether or not it is cancer, especially if the patient returns many times," says Marcela Ewing. The research focused on seven common forms of cancer; breast cancer, gynaecological cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. The latter specifically, colorectal cancer, was classified separately concerning symptoms and predictability. It turns out that patients that sought care for bleeding bowels in combination with diarrhoea, constipation, change in bowel habit or abdominal pain constituted the group that could be associated most strongly with early stage cancer, in their case, colorectal cancer that had yet not spread throughout the body. General practitioners are key people "The value of a single symptom is often insignificant. If you seek primary care for bleeding bowels, the risk is approximately 4 per cent that it is cancer and 96 per cent that it is haemorrhoids or something else that is treatable. What we have shown is that it is the combination of symptoms that is important, even if they do not appear at exactly the same time, and attention must be focused on this. If we can identify cancer at an earlier stage, the patients' prognosis is better, and less of society's resources are required," says Marcela Ewing. "A cancer diagnosis is made at a hospital, but it is often the general practitioners that introduce the idea and start an investigation," she goes on to say. "They are key people and it is important that they stay on their toes. The thought of cancer should always be in the back of your mind since the consequences of a late diagnosis can be so serious." Explore further Colonoscopy significantly reduces mortality from colorectal cancer in Veterans Affairs study More information: Marcela Ewing et al. Increased consultation frequency in primary care, a risk marker for cancer: a casecontrol study, Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care (2016). Marcela Ewing et al. Increased consultation frequency in primary care, a risk marker for cancer: a casecontrol study,(2016). DOI: 10.1080/02813432.2016.1183692 Marcela Ewing et al. Diagnostic profile characteristics of cancer patients with frequent consultations in primary care before diagnosis: a case-control study, Family Practice (2018). DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmy012 M. Ewing et al. Identification of patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer in primary care: a case-control study, British Journal of General Practice (2016). DOI: 10.3399/bjgp16X687985 Marcela Ewing et al. Clinical features of patients with non-metastatic lung cancer in primary care: a case-control study, BJGP Open (2018). DOI: 10.3399/bjgpopen18X101397 Journal information: British Journal of General Practice Two years ago, Dr. Daniel Cole's 85-year-old father had heart bypass surgery. He hasn't been quite the same since. "He forgets things and will ask you the same thing several times," said Cole, a professor of clinical anesthesiology at UCLA and a past president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. "He never got back to his cognitive baseline," Cole continued, noting that his father was sharp as a tack before the operation. "He's more like 80 percent." The old man likely has postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) - a little-known condition that affects a substantial number of older adults after surgery, Cole said. Some patients with POCD experience memory problems; others have difficulty multitasking, learning new things, following multistep procedures or setting priorities. "There is no single presentation for POCD. Different patients are affected in different ways," said Dr. Miles Berger, a POCD specialist and assistant professor of anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine. Unlike deliriuman acute, sudden-onset disorder that affects consciousness and attentionPOCD can involve subtle, difficult-to-recognize symptoms that develop days to weeks after surgery. Most of the time, POCD is transient and patients get better in several months. But sometimeshow often hasn't been determinedthis condition lasts up to a year or longer. Dr. Roderic Eckenhoff, vice chair for research and a professor of anesthesiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told of an email he received recently from a 69-year-old man who had read about his research. "This guya very articulate mansaid he was the intellectual equal of his wife before a surgery 10 years ago, a significant operation involving general anesthesia. Since then, he's had difficulty with cognitively demanding tasks at work, such as detailed question-and-answer sessions with his colleagues," Eckenhoff said. "He noticed these changes immediately after the surgery and claims he did not get better." There are many unanswered questions about POCD. How should it best be measured? Is it truly a stand-alone condition or part of a continuum of brain disorders after surgery? Can it be prevented or treated? Can it be distinguished in the long term from the deterioration in cognitive function that can accompany illness and advanced aging? Some clarity should come in June, when a major paper outlining standard definitions for POCD is set to publish simultaneously in six scientific journals and scientists will discuss the latest developments at a two-day POCD summit, according to Eckenhoff. Here's what scientists currently know about POCD: - Background. POCD first began to be studied systematically about 20 years ago. But reports of patients who appeared cognitively compromised after surgery date back about 100 years, Eckenhoff said. An influential 1955 report in The Lancet noted common complaints by family or friends after someone dear to them had surgery: "He's become so forgetful. ... She's lost all interest in the family. ... He can't concentrate on anything. ... He's just not the same person since.How to recognize the condition. There is no short, simple test for POCD. Typically, a series of neuropsychological tests are administered before and after surgerya time-consuming process. Often, tests are given one week and again three months after surgery. But the tests used and time frames differ in various studies. Studies also define POCD differently, using varying criteria to assess the kind and extent of cognitive impairment that patients experience. - How common is it? The first international study of older adults with POCD (those age 60 and older) in 1999 suggested that 25.8 percent of patients had this condition one week after a major non-cardiac surgery, such as a hip replacement, while 9.9 percent had it three months after surgery. Two years later, a study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 53 percent of adults who had heart bypass surgery showed significant evidence of cognitive decline when they were discharged from the hospital; 36 percent were affected at six weeks; 24 percent, at six months; and 42 percent, five years after their operations. Another Duke study of older adults who had knee and hip replacements found that 59 percent had cognitive dysfunction immediately after surgery; 34 percent, at three months; and 42 percent, at two years. Other studies have produced different estimates. A current research project examining adults 55 and older who have major non-cardiac surgeries is finding that "upwards of 30 percent of patients are testing significantly worse than their baseline 3 months later," according to its lead researcher, Dr. Stacie Deiner, vice chair for research and associate professor of anesthesiology, geriatrics and palliative care, and neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. - Vulnerabilities. The risk of experiencing POCD after surgery is enhanced in those who are older, have low levels of education or have cognitive concerns that predate surgery. Adults age 60 and older are twice as likely to develop POCD as are younger adultsa development that increases the risk of dying or having a poor quality of life after surgery. "People who are older, with some unrecognized brain pathology, or people who have some trajectory of cognitive decline at baseline, those are the patients who you're going to see some change in one, two or three years out," said Charles Hugh Brown IV, assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Researchers have examined whether the type of anesthetic used during surgery or the depth of anesthesiathe degree to which a patient is put underaffects the risk of developing POCD. So far, results have been inconclusive. Also under investigation are techniques to optimize blood flow to the brain during surgery. - Mechanisms at work. What's responsible for POCD? The drugs administered during anesthesia or the surgery itself? Currently, the evidence implicates the stress of surgery rather than the anesthesia. "Most surgery causes peripheral inflammation," Eckenhoff explained. "In young people, the brain remains largely isolated from that inflammation, but with older people, our blood-brain barrier becomes kind of leaky. That contributes to neuroinflammation, which activates a whole cascade of events in the brain that can accelerate the ongoing aging process." At Mount Sinai, Deiner has been administering two-hour-long general anesthesia to healthy seniors and evaluating its impact, in the absence of surgery. Older adults are getting cognitive tests and brain scans before and after. While findings haven't been published, early results show "very good and rapid cognitive recovery in older adults after anesthesia," Deiner said. The implication is that "the surgery or the medical conditions surrounding surgery" are responsible for subsequent cognitive dysfunction, she noted. - Advice. Currently, most patients are not told of the post-surgical risk of POCD during the process of informed consent. That should change, several experts advise. "Beyond question, patients should be informed that the 'safety step' of not undergoing surgery is theirs to choose," wrote Dr. Kirk Hogan, professor of anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, in an article published earlier this year. "Each patient must determine if the proposed benefits of a procedure outweigh the foreseeable and material risks of cognitive decline after surgery." "Surgery is a good thingit improves quality of lifeand most older patients do really well," said Brown of Hopkins. "Our trick is to understand who we really need to identify as high-risk and what we can do about modifiable factors. "If you're older and suspect you have cognitive issues, it's important to let your family physician as well as your surgeon and anesthesiologist know that you're concerned about this and you don't want to get worse. That should open up a conversation about the goals of surgery, alternatives to surgery and what can be done to optimize your condition before surgery, if that's what you want to pursue." "We want people to know this does happen but not be too concerned because, typically, it does go away," said Eckenhoff. "That said, don't try to make cognitively demanding decisions in the first 30 days after an operation. And make sure your caregivers are prepared to help with anything from paying bills and balancing the checkbook to ensuring that you're caring for yourself adequately and communicating well with your doctor." 2018 Kaiser Health News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. By the time Ann Marie Owen turned to marijuana to treat her pain, she was struggling to walk and talk. She also hallucinated. For four years, her doctor prescribed the 61-year-old a wide range of opioids for her transverse myelitis, a debilitating disease that caused pain, muscle weakness and paralysis. The drugs not only failed to ease her symptoms, they hooked her. When her home state of New York legalized marijuana for the treatment of select medical ailments, Owens decided it was time to swap pills for pot. But her doctors refused to help. "Even though medical marijuana is legal, none of my doctors were willing to talk to me about it," she said. "They just kept telling me to take opioids." While 29 states have legalized marijuana to treat pain and other ailments, the growing number of Americans like Owen who use marijuana and the doctors who treat them are caught in the middle of a conflict in federal and state lawsa predicament that is only worsened by thin scientific data. Because the federal government classifies marijuana a Schedule 1 drugby definition a substance with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuseresearch on marijuana or its active ingredients is highly restricted and even discouraged in some cases. Underscoring the federal government's position, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently pronounced that there was "no such thing as medical marijuana." Scientists say that stance prevents them from conducting the high-quality research required for FDA approval, even as some early research indicates marijuana might be a promising alterative to opioids or other medicines. Patients and physicians, meanwhile, lack guidance when making decisions about medical treatment for an array of serious conditions. "We have the federal government and the state governments driving a hundred miles an hour in the opposite direction when they should be coming together to obtain more scientific data," said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, who is researching the effects of cannabidiol, an active ingredient of marijuana, on epilepsy. "It's like saying in 1960, 'We're not going to the moon because no one agrees how to get there.'" The problem stems partly from the fact that the federal government's restrictive marijuana research policies have not been overhauled in more than 40 years, researchers say. Only one federal government contractor grows marijuana for federally funded research. Researchers complain the pot grown by the contractor at the University of Mississippi is inadequate for high-quality studies. The marijuana, which comes in a micronized powder form, is less potent than the pot offered at dispensaries, researchers say. It also differs from other products offered at dispensaries, such as so-called edibles that are eaten like snacks. The difference makes it difficult to compare the real-life effects of the marijuana compounds. Researchers also face time-consuming and costly hurdles in completing the complicated federal application process for using marijuana in long-term clinical trials. "It's public policy before science," said Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, a primary care doctor who is the lead investigator on one of the few federally funded studies exploring marijuana as a treatment for pain. "The federal government's policies really make it much more difficult." Cunningham, who received a five-year, $3.8 million federal grant, will not be administering marijuana directly to participants. Instead, she will follow 250 HIV-positive and HIV-negative adults with chronic pain who use opioids and have been certified to get medical marijuana from a dispensary. "It's a catch-22," said Cunningham, who is with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "We're going to be looking at all of these issuesage, disease, level of painbut when we're done, there's the danger that people are going to say 'Oh, it's anecdotal' or that it's inherently flawed because it's not a randomized trial." Without clear answers, hospitals, doctors and patients are left to their own devices, which can result in poor treatment and needless suffering. Hospitals and other medical facilities have to decide what to do with newly hospitalized patients who normally take medical marijuana at home. Some have a "don't ask, don't tell" approach, said Devinsky, who sometimes advises his patients to use it. Others ban its use and substitute opioids or other prescriptions. Young adults, for instance, have had to stop taking cannabidiol compounds for their epilepsy because they're in federally funded group homes, said Devinsky, the director of NYU Langone's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. "These kids end up getting seizures again," he said. "This whole situation has created a hodgepodge of insanity." The Trump administration, however, has resisted policy changes. Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration had been gearing up to allow facilities other than the University of Mississippi to grow pot for research. But after the DEA received 26 applications from other growers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions halted the initiative. The Department of Veterans Affairs also recently announced it would not fund studies of using marijuana compounds to treat ailments such as pain. The DEA and HHS have cited concerns about medical supervision, addiction and a lack of "well-controlled studies proving efficacy." Patients, meanwhile, forge ahead. While experts say they don't know exactly how many older Americans rely on marijuana for medicinal purposes, the number of Americans 65 and older who say they are using the drug skyrocketed 250 percent from 2006 to 2013. Some patients turn to friends, patient advocacy groups or online support groups for information. Owen, for one, kept searching for a doctor and eventually found a neurologist willing to certify her to use marijuana and advise her on what to take. "It's saved my life," said the retired university administrative assistant who credited marijuana for weaning her off opioids. "It not only helps my pain, but I can think, walk and talk again." Mary Jo, a Minnesotan, was afraid of being identified as a medical marijuana user, even though she now helps friends navigate the process and it's legal in her home state. "There's still a stigma," said Mary Jo, who found it effective for treating her pain from a nerve condition. "Nobody helps you figure it out, so you kind of play around with it on your own." Still, doctors and scientists worry about the implications of such experimentation. In a sweeping report last year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine called on the federal government to support better research, decrying the "lack of definitive evidence on using medical marijuana." The national academies' committee reviewed more than 10,000 scientific abstracts related to the topic. It made 100 conclusions based on its review, including finding evidence that marijuana relieves pain and chemotherapy-induced nausea. But it found "inadequate information" to support or refute effects on Parkinson's disease. Yet those who find that medical marijuana helps them can become fierce advocates no matter what their doctors say. Caryl Barrett, a 54-year-old who lives in Georgia, said she decided to travel out of state to Colorado to treat her pain from her transverse myelitis and the autoimmune disease neurosarcoidosis. "I realized it worked and I decided to bring it back with me," she said. "I broke federal law." Georgia, meanwhile, permitted limited medicinal use of marijuana but did not set up dispensaries. As a result, patients resort to ordering it online or driving to another state to get it. The conflict in the law makes her uneasy. But Barrett, who had been on opioids for a decade, said she feels so strongly about it working that "if someone wants to arrest me, bring it on." Others experience mixed results. Melodie Beckham, who had metastatic lung cancer, tried medical marijuana for 13 days in a clinical trial at Connecticut Hospice before deciding to quit. "She was hopeful that it would help her relax and just kind of enjoy those days," said her daughter, Laura Beckham. Instead, it seemed to make her mother, who died in July at age 69, "a little more agitated or more paranoid." The marijuana "didn't seem effective," nor did it keep her mother from hitting her pain pump to get extra doses of an opioid, her daughter said. The researchers running the trial at Connecticut Hospice spent two years getting necessary approvals from the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the DEA. Started in May, the trial has enrolled only seven of the 66 patients it plans to sign up because many patients were too sick, too close to death or simply couldn't swallow the pills. So far, the trial has shown "mixed results," said James Prota, director of pharmacy for the hospice. Researchers point out they are still exploring the basics when it comes to marijuana's effects on older adults or the terminally ill. "We just have no data on how many older adults are using medical marijuana, what they are using it for and most importantly what are the outcomes," said Brian Kaskie, a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health. "It's all anecdotal." Kaskie, who specializes in public policy and the aging, received grants from the state of Colorado and the Chicago-based Retirement Research Foundation to survey the use of medical marijuana by older Americans. In many quarters, there's a growing appetite for solid information, he said. "When I first started this, my colleagues joked we were going to find all the aging hippies who listen to the Grateful Dead," said Kaskie, who has been studying medicinal marijuana for years. "Now, they're starting to realize this is a legitimate area of research." Twenty researchers received marijuana from the federal program last year, which was more than any previous year since 2010, according to NIDA statistics. In a recent funding announcement, the National Institutes of Health requested grant applications to study the effects of marijuana and other drugs on older adults and pain. NIH, however, continues to funnel much of its funding into studying the adverse effects of marijuana, researchers said. Although NIH acknowledged in one of the announcements that some research supports "possible benefits" of marijuana, it emphasized "there have not been adequate large controlled trials to support these claims." Explore further How can medical marijuana benefit older adults? 2018 Kaiser Health News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes (pictured here), can contain live Zika virus in saliva, according to new UF/IFAS research. To date the mosquito species Aedes aegypti is considered the primary carrier of Zika virus. Credit: Lyle Buss, UF/IFAS Another mosquito may carry the zika virus, but more research is needed to confirm the early lab tests, University of Florida scientists say. UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers detected zika in the saliva of southern house mosquitoes collected in Florida. Chelsea Smartt, an associate professor at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Lab in Vero Beach, Florida, said her study's finding supports that the mosquito species, known scientifically as Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes, can contain live Zika virus in saliva. To date the mosquito species Aedes aegypti is considered the primary carrier of Zika virus. Still, Smartt stresses researchers must perform more experiments to know whether and how much of a role Culex quinquefasciatus plays in spreading zika. In 2016, zika caused cases of microcephaly a rare neurological condition in which an infant's head is significantly smaller than the heads of other children of the same age and genderin some newborns in the United States, due in part to traveler-related global spread of zika virus. Scientists worldwide, including Smartt, have been studying the origins of zika and how to control it. Culex quinquefasciatus is common in the southern U.S. and is abundant in Florida, she said. The mosquito is found in tropical and sub-tropical areas, including Brazil, Africa and Southeast Asia. In areas of the world where these mosquitoes feed on humans, there may be populations of Culex quinquefasciatus that can spread zika, Smartt said. Her research is published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. With mosquito season starting soon, faculty at the UF/IFAS FMEL give the following recommendations to avoid mosquito bites: Get rid of containers in your yard or outside your business, because they collect water and become perfect habitats for immature stages of these mosquito species. Inspect windows and doors for holes and tears, and repair them to keep out mosquitoes. Use repellents when you plan to be outdoors when mosquitoes are biting. The longest lasting repellents contain DEET and picaridin. Whatever type of repellant you use, read the label to make sure you're putting on a product registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Explore further Brazil scientists: Culex mosquito not transmitting Zika More information: Chelsea T. Smartt et al. Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) From Florida Transmitted Zika Virus, Frontiers in Microbiology (2018). Chelsea T. Smartt et al. Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) From Florida Transmitted Zika Virus,(2018). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00768 Provided by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Credit: CC0 Public Domain In one of the first data-driven, population-based genomic studies among African populations, an international team of researchers, co-led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, have found significant diversity in the genetic makeup of a population from the southern region of the African continent. The study appears in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Looking at a subset of HIV-positive children from Botswana, the research team's objectives were to characterize the genetic variation of the population and gain insight into genetic variations that may be important to disease progression. "This study demonstrates the need to get a better handle on the genomic makeup of the continent and its individual countries, because this population is just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Neil Hanchard, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor. The comparison of whole exome sequencing data from 164 Batswana and 150 similarly sequenced HIV-positive Ugandan children revealed that 13 to 25 percent of the variations observed among Batswana had not been previously captured or recorded in public databases. Hanchard and the research team were surprised by the amount of undocumented information they found, leading to two key takeaways from the study. "Firstly, this study demonstrates the breadth of variation throughout the continent, which is also observed across more than one particular region more and more variation is being discovered as we look at other populations and groups," Hanchard said. "Secondly, through this research, we have developed a greater appreciation for the challenges and opportunities of doing genomic research in Africa." Not only was it discovered that the Batswana are genetically unique, but there are also higher levels of similarity among the group that are not seen in other populations. This may make it easier to map genes related to HIV in this population. "The genetic structure of subcultures in Southern Africa is highly complex and diverse, which clearly shows that we cannot rely solely on single small samples of ethnic, tribal or lingual groups to categorize such diverse populations or reliably inform study design," Hanchard said. "African populations are largely underrepresented in genetic research, but they face an elevated burden of disease. Characterizing genome variation across communities will provide a greater understanding of population movement and shape the future genomic studies on the continent." "The genetic diversity in Africa is greater than any other region in the world, and accurate mapping and identification of new disease loci can be confounded without an appropriate understanding of this diversity. This is the first study that has examined genome structure in the Batswana and will be invaluable to future efforts to understand the genetic basis of human disease," said Dr. Graeme Mardon, James R. Davis Chair in Pathology and professor of pathology and immunology and member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor. This study is the result of a unique collaborative effort sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust in the UK to bring genomics to Africa. The research was conducted by trainees from Uganda and Botswana who spent two years at Baylor analyzing the data and learning genomics and involved a close collaboration with academic health science centers and universities in Uganda and Botswana, where the grant is centered. Explore further Recovering population of Zimbabwean African lions show low genetic diversity More information: Gaone Retshabile et al. Whole-Exome Sequencing Reveals Uncaptured Variation and Distinct Ancestry in the Southern African Population of Botswana, The American Journal of Human Genetics (2018). Journal information: American Journal of Human Genetics Gaone Retshabile et al. Whole-Exome Sequencing Reveals Uncaptured Variation and Distinct Ancestry in the Southern African Population of Botswana,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.03.010 Credit: Monash University A report released today sheds light on the enormous impact of injury and illness in Australia's working population. The report, led by Monash Professor Alex Collie, shows that 786,000 workers accessed income support from a private or government source in the 2015/16 financial year, in addition to at least 6.5 million workers who used sick leave. The total direct costs amounted to $37.2 billion for the year. The report was commissioned by the Collaborative Partnership, a national effort by government, private and not-for-profit organisations to improve work participation by investigating the link between work and health. Professor Collie mapped Australia's systems of income support for people with health conditions that affect their ability to work. "Ill health and injury has an enormous impact on society and on the productivity of Australia's workforce. For the first time, this project has allowed us to calculate both the number of people whose health affects their ability to work, and the costs to employers, insurers and government," Professor Collie said. "Australia has a complex and fragmented approach to supporting workers with illness. This includes employer provided sick leave, workers compensation, life insurance, our social security system and a range of other stand-alone income support systems. There are literally hundreds of regulatory authorities, government agencies and private insurers involved, as well as tens of thousands of employers." The project was conducted by Monash University's Insurance Work and Health Group. The team also mapped the services provided to workers through the support systems, and identified opportunities to improve both participation in work and health. CEO of Comcare Jennifer Taylor said the report described the enormous scale of health-related lost productivity in Australia. "There are opportunities to reduce this burden, but they require cooperation between the many systems," Ms Taylor said. "These include better aligning approaches to service delivery, greater information and data sharing, earlier intervention and support, and focusing on more efficient transition between systems of people with long periods off work." The report shows that while the majority of people return to paid employment following a period of temporary incapacity, a significant minority experience longer periods of work incapacity and access income support from multiple systems. "There is a big discrepancy in the type and extent of support provided through these systems," Professor Collie said. Professor Collie said personal and family resources such as personal savings and partner income were also important. "These personal resources are essential for many people with long periods off work, as there are multiple gaps and waiting periods where our formal systems don't provide income support," Professor Collie said. Explore further GPs unlikely to recommend alternative duties for injured workers (HealthDay)For African-Americans, sickle cell trait (SCT) seems not to be associated with the incidence of ischemic stroke, according to a meta-analysis published online April 23 in JAMA Neurology. Hyacinth I. Hyacinth, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., from Emory Children's Center in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine whether SCT is associated with increased risk of incident ischemic stroke among African-Americans. Four prospective population-based studies with African-American cohorts were assessed, including 19,464 individuals (1,520 with SCT, 17,944 without SCT, and 620 with ischemic stroke). The researchers found that the distribution of risk factors for ischemic stroke did not differ when they compared participants with versus those without SCT at study visit 1 in each cohort. The crude incidence of ischemic stroke was 2.9 and 3.2 per 1,000 person-years for those with and without SCT, respectively. In the meta-analysis of all four cohorts, the hazard ratio of incident ischemic stroke independently associated with SCT was 0.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.47 to 1.35; P = 0.82), after adjustment for stroke risk factors. Similar results were obtained for the individual cohorts. "The results of this study suggest performing a more thorough clinical evaluation of a stroke patient with SCT rather than assuming that SCT is the etiologic factor for the stroke," the authors write. Explore further Greater benefit for pioglitazone in high-risk patients post stroke Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)Over the past decade, smartphones and social media have blanketed the planet like a technological tsunami. The result is that nearly 70 million new photos and 5 billion new posts are uploaded to Instagram and Facebook every day, respectively. But a new study suggests that constantly sharing the moments of your life online may undermine your ability to remember the very events you want to preserve. "We didn't find it surprising that using media impaired memory," said study co-author Emma Templeton. "After all, multitasking in general can be a source of distraction, shown to interfere with memory." Still, she added, "just recognizing that pulling out our phones might change the way we experience events in our lives is worth keeping in mind." Templeton is a graduate student in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In the first of three experiments, Templeton and her colleagues enlisted nearly 400 people to watch one of two short video lectures. Some simply watched, while others made notes that they thought were either for their eyes only or to be shared with others later. A "distracted" group was told to make note of their surroundings, rather than the lecture. Follow-up surveys revealed that those who recorded their thoughtswhether for themselves or for othersappeared to have distanced themselves from the experience. And their memory of the lecture suffered as a result. Two additional experiments involved a half-hour church tour. First, about 130 people did a self-guided tour alone; then a second group of 240 did the same tour in pairs. Some took photos only for themselves; some took photos to post to Facebook; and others took no images at all. Tests completed immediately after the tour and again a week or two later showed that those who took no photos when touring solo retained the best memory of the event. In the paired tour, the no-photo group also tested better than the Facebook-sharing group, though no better than those who took photos for private use. Participants were not given a chance to review their photos or notes before testing. "It is possible that looking at photos might help jog our memory of an experience," Templeton acknowledged, though she stressed that photos cannot capture key memory triggers, such as smells and sounds. Her team's conclusion? The process of digitizing your life likely impairs your memory. Nevertheless, Templeton stressed that she "would hesitate to say that the 'case is closed' on exactly when and how media use impacts memory." For example, she noted that some research has found that photography can actually enhance recall by encouraging people to "zoom in" and pay better attention to detail. But Joe Bayer, Ohio State University assistant professor of communications, thinks the study "provides strong evidence that sharing content detracts from your memory of real-world experiences" in distinctive ways. "In other words, there could be different pros [and] cons in the short-term and long-term," said Bayer. "Hence, someone could remember an event worse with some of their attention pulled away from the live experience, but later on enjoy and consolidate that memory better than individuals without any records." Arshya Vahabzadeh, chief medical officer of Brain Power Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, had a similar take on the results. "When we multitask, our attention becomes scattered across multiple different objectives, and this appears to apply to the taking of photographs, as well as to the use of social media," he said. But Vahabzadeh cautioned that social media is typically much more distracting than photo-taking alone. Why? "The latest social media platforms involve far more than just sharing an experience," he observed, coaxing users to immediately devote brain power to a whole host of distracting tasks, such as hash-tagging, image-filtering and live feeds. "Whether people then go back to the digital copies of such experiences to help develop their memory is a completely different question," he added. The findings were reported recently in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Explore further Taking photos of experiences boosts visual memory, impairs auditory memory More information: Emma Templeton, graduate student, department of psychological and brain sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.; Arshya Vahabzadeh, M.D., chief medical officer, Brain Power Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Joe Bayer, assistant professor, school of communication, Ohio State University, Columbus; Feb. 22, 2018, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, online Emma Templeton, graduate student, department of psychological and brain sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.; Arshya Vahabzadeh, M.D., chief medical officer, Brain Power Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Joe Bayer, assistant professor, school of communication, Ohio State University, Columbus; Feb. 22, 2018,, online There's more on experience and memory at National Public Radio. Journal information: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Grade 12 examination starts across nation The final examinations of Grade 12 has started across the nation from Friday. One of the biggest names in cryptocurrencies is boycotting one of the highest-profile conferences in the space. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted Thursday that hes boycotting this years Consensus conference after CoinDesk, the news website that organizes the event, linked to a fraudulent website in one of its stories. Buterin, with almost 750,000 followers on Twitter, said he encourages others to say away from the event. CoinDesk corrected the story on the jump of a digital token called OMG to remove the link Buterin referred to in his tweet. We were disappointed to learn of Vitaliks tweet today regarding a CoinDesk reporting error, for which we apologize, CoinDesk CEO Kevin Worth said in an email. One of our reporters included an unverified link in an article; we quickly identified the error and fixed it. We strive to maintain the highest level of unbiased, ethical journalism in order to provide the best possible coverage of the blockchain industry. Buterin has complained before about how some media coverage of cryptocurrencies has helped legitimize scams. New York-based Satis Group found that 81 percent of ICOs are scams, according to a report last month. In a thread of tweets, Buterin also said he didnt like how the news site covered a proposed update to Ethereums code, said he disagrees with CoinDesks policy on reader comments, and suggested the $2,000-$3,000 price-tag on the ticket is excessive. CoinDesk expects more than 4,000 people to listen to over 250 speakers at its May 14-16 summit in New York, according to its website. Now read: Coincheck was making big money before hack Re-entry We heard a success story from an American Canyon High School graduate who recovered from failure at San Jose State University by returning home to attend NVC. With the help of counselors who connected her with Kaiser Permanente, she discovered her purpose in life is to become a physician for underserved women. Guaranteed transfer I know a father whose daughter could not complete her UC course work and returned home to Napa. He is now searching for a way to help his daughter continue her university education. After completing a series of courses at NVC known as transfer pathways, she can be guaranteed a transfer to UC. A similar guarantee for placement in the California State University system is available under the Associate Degree for Transfer program. Transfer success We heard from the Vice President of Instruction Erik Shearer who said that students who transfer to CSU and UC from community colleges like NVC get better grades because they have been acclimated to college and are more focused about what they want to achieve. Indian cops detain 4 Nepalis for 10 hours in Motipur Four Nepalis, who had gone to Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to purchase daily commodities, were detained for 10 hours by Indian police in Motipur for allegedly buying woods from smugglers. Maria Diaz, the Heritage Eats manager, said taking classes at the college has helped her develop essential time-management skills. Ive been here since Day One, she said. When this opportunity came up, I took it. I worked the front of the line, moved up to become a baker, took on more responsibility and was promoted to manager. I multi-task. The college (restaurant-hospitality course) is teaching me time management how to be a full-time worker and still go to school and manage my personal life. As a result, I have learned to love the culinary arts. Koenig said he has chosen Diaz to manage the new outlet in Walnut Creek. Maria has been a huge success story for our brand and she is really a terrific example of the type of person we are trying to retain and cultivate as we expand, Koenig said. I have always told the team that culture is a huge component to our story and we will look to give opportunities to those who desire them and who deserve them. There is no better example of this than Maria and we are excited that she wants to be a big part of our growth. Diaz says her long-term goal is to become a leader in the food service industry. Since I came here from a 9-to-5 minimum wage job, a lot of responsibility has been given to me. I now see myself as a manager. COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH As the vines in our beautiful valley branch out so, also, do we as we listen to the Gospel of John 15:1-8 this week. The Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris has chosen the title Offshoots of Love for her sermon. Liturgist, Russ Kindig, will assist, and Ted Lassagne is our organist this week, his music like water for our roots. Children stay in church to create at the Arts in Worship area and the Covenant Choir has new hymns to share. Worship at 10:30 a.m., 1226 Salvador Avenue, all are welcome to worship and lead. cpcnapa.org. CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266. CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH New Series from Adam Hamiltons book Unafraid, Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times. Join us on Sundays at 9 or 10 a.m. as Pastor Pete teaches on this message. Childrens programs available during the 10 a.m. service. CrossWalkNapa.org. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH While some of the favorite olive varieties have naturally small stature, others can grow to shade tree size. There have been instances in Napa Valley, where olives were planted for production, then abandoned, surviving as larger trees. I saved an article from this very newspaper (Jan. 29, 1999) describing how Ted Hall discovered olive orchards on property he acquired south of St. Helena. He did not know he owned the olive trees because they were enveloped in oaks and madrones that filled in after the olives were neglected and forgotten. The olive plantings dated back to the 1880s. In The Angel Tree, The Enchanting Quest for the Worlds Oldest Olive Tree, author Alex Dingwall-Main describes ancient olive trees he found in Crete. Believed to be 3,000 years old, the trees were of the variety Throumbolia. They had not been maintained or pruned and grew to heights of about 30 to 40 meters. That is about 130 feet. He was told that the fruit of this variety was of poor quality for oil making, so the trees were just left to grow on their own. Until the archeological report is completed, Teague said he cannot comment on anything recovered. We are waiting for the scientific process to conclude, said Teague. The final report will be submitted to the appropriate government agencies such as the Army Corp of Engineers. It will also be sent to the California State Historic Preservation Officer as well. That document could be done in as soon as six months, he said. The final home of the artifacts has yet to be determined, Teague said. Scott Gabaldon, chairman of the Mishewal Wappo Tribe, could not be reached to comment on this story. Meanwhile, at the site, the Palm Hill team is currently implementing erosion control measures that are required while the group finalizes infrastructure permits, said Teague. The city first approved the luxury hotel in 2008, clearing the way for a resort with a restaurant, spa, boutique shopping and underground valet parking. The project was to have been a Ritz-Carlton property. But the Great Recession cut off financing and stalled the project, which has passed through several ownership changes since. Representatives of three autonomous Ohlone family bands Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Himre-n-Ohlone, and Medina Family spent years negotiating with the developer over the size and configuration of the development, but most recently have stated their opposition to any development there, the only empty land remaining at the former shellmound site. Vincent Medina, a spokesman for the groups, said recently: Our sacred sites were never given up by our families not legally, nor in theory. They are not properties or parcel numbers that can be bought and sold. ... Where we draw the line is when you propose to dig up and desecrate the most sacred places where our ancestors are buried. So far, in the clearing of the fire debris in the North Bay, Sarris said, there hasnt been any friction. Members of the tribe monitor work anytime theres a major construction project in areas known to be sacred sites, he said. If tribal artifacts are found, contractors stop work to document and investigate to ensure they have removed everything, said Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers. The next steps are coordinated by the tribal monitors, archaeologists, the Army Corps of Engineers and others. Residents in the June 5 election will decide whether to ban new personal-use heliports and airports from being built in most of Napa County, with both proponents and opponents ready to give them voting advice. Proponents say helicopters flying to and from houses in unincorporated areas is a bad mix with the vineyards and rural neighborhoods of Napa Valley. They see Measure D and its restrictions as the answer. The more helicopters we have, the more noise we have, said George Caloyannidis, who has spearheaded the measure. But Measure D has opponents, among them state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa and the Helicopter Association International. Opponents say Napa County hasnt approved a personal-use heliport in three decades. Measure D is a solution in search of a problem, said political consultant Matt Rexroad, who is also a Yolo County supervisor and is associated with the No on Measure D effort. Both sides say they will have campaigns, though the profiles look to be much lower than the battle over Measure C, the oak and watershed initiative, also on the June ballot. The partnership could also help recruit more doctors to the area, such as primary care doctors and specialists, Eller said. There is a significant shortage of primary care doctors in Northern California. It will also be much faster and easier to share medical records and test results between St. Joseph and Adventist patients, Klockenga said. Tests done within one system wont have to be duplicated at the other. For those who have a harder time getting to a hospital or health care facility, telehealth services could be expanded, said Klockenga. Another advantage is that patients will be served from within a bigger network, said Eller. There will be more resources to pull from. More resources means better coordinated care and better health outcomes, he said. Patients can get in to see the right physician sooner because there is a bigger network of care, he said. And when it comes to Medi-Cal costs, We believe we can begin to move the dial on the health status of our Medi-Cal population in Napa County, said Eller. Medi-Cal is Californias Medicaid program. The public health insurance program provides health care services for low-income individuals. Others have had that ambition, certainly. For instance, when Ronald Reagan was governor and his lieutenant governor resigned, he chose a little known congressman, Ed Reinecke, to fill the vacancy, hoping that Reinecke would succeed him. However, Reinecke became enmeshed in an aspect of the Watergate scandal and was forced to resign. In his effort to boost Reineckes public standing, Reagan had created a Commission for Economic Development for him to chair. It never did much but continues to this day, still not doing much other than giving the lieutenant governor a title that sounds impressive and a few additional staff positions. The current lieutenant governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, has maximized the offices scant ability to garner public attention after publicly complaining about its lack of authority and is the leading candidate to succeed Brown, so he might break the jinx which brings us to the 11 men and women who are running to succeed Newsom this year. For months, Ed Hernandez, a Democratic state senator from Azusa and an optometrist in private life, seemed to have it sewed up, but before the filing deadline, two other seemingly viable Democrats, both of them former Obama administration ambassadors, jumped in. But that doesnt dictate the kind of wholesale changes Wiener proposed, changes that could have altered the way of life of many millions of Californians. His bill failed because a solution to the problems of hundreds of thousands should not create new problems for many millions of other people. Thats why the plan was opposed by environmental groups and every city that took a position. As originally proposed, Wieners SB 827 called for cancellation of existing single-family zoning within half a mile of light rail stations and within a quarter mile of frequently traveled bus routes. Approval for new buildings of five to eight stories would have been mandated in those areas, covering up to 95 percent of some cities. Existing requirements for parking space would also have been greatly reduced. The reasoning for this was that planners believe virtually all residents of new transit-adjacent projects will ride the nearby buses and trains, while very few will drive cars. That presumption is flatly wrong. Reports over the last year show public transit ridership has not risen significantly since 2014, even though several new rail lines and extensions opened in that time. Yes, rail ridership is up, but there are fewer bus riders, suggesting some folks likely switched from buses to the much faster trains. "You are the one now who has to help preserve and reinvent it," he added, calling on Washington to help build a new world order "based on a more effective, accountable, and results-oriented multilateralism." What that looks like in practice is less clear, nor is it certain that Macron's efforts (and those of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrives in Washington on Thursday) to dissuade Trump from scuttling the Iran deal will work. And so Macron used the weighty moment to frame himself in opposition to the White House before returning to Europe, where he faces tough political tests both at home and in Brussels. Macron "solidified his standing as leader of the West (to the extent there still is a West) by his call today before Congress for an updated liberal world order to meet regional, global challenges," tweeted Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a doyen of the Washington policy establishment. "His problem is a lack of partners in Europe and here in U.S." Jhapa Rebellion leader missing for two weeks A leader of Jhapa Rebellion, a communist movement launched against then Panchayat regime in 1971-72, has been missing for the last two weeks. Harka Khadka, 70, of Gherabari is missing after he left his home saying he would travel to Kathmandu. Hey, Mr. President you always applaud the actions of our brave police when they stop shooters; so why not personally thank James Shaw Jr. the guy who stopped yet another (white guy with an AR-15) mass shooter at the Waffle House in Nashville. That was really something, wasn't it? The good guy without a gun stops the bad guy WITH a gun and he did it with his bare hands. Most of America sees him as a real hero. So why not invite him to the White House and award him with a medal or something, maybe one of your five-minute macho handshakes? I see you are considering a PR move to pardon the black boxer Jack Johnson for dating a white girl in 1913. Hell, he's long dead, almost 75 years now. Why not award someone (a very brave young black man) who is a real hero that young Americans can admire and look up to? Hello? Sir? Crickets. Ron Rogers Napa In early March 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that trade wars are good and easy to win. His comment was directed toward China, and since then there has been a tit for tat back and forth between the two countries, each threatening retaliation if the other increases tariffs on goods and services. China tariffs on U.S. wines raise concerns among Napa Valley vintners China on Monday followed through on threats to raise tariffs on U.S. wines and a range of other American products, retaliating against the rat The core of Trumps efforts centers on a real concern that China is engaging in unfair trade practices and intellectual property abuses. He would not be alone as past Presidents Obama and Bush also sought ways to address these very same concerns to little avail. However, the current administrations approach has increased global trade tensions and given the Chinese government a rationale to retaliate, with the importation of American wine being one of the targets. The future of China wine tastes a lot like France and Australia Iran official: We are ready to assist Armenia in building new alternative road 891 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh patrol line of contact Sargsyan to Aliyev: I will come to any Artsakh region once you no longer have Capitulator as your Armenian counterpart Armenia President: School is starting point from which, as well as from family, realization of our identity begins Artsakh President: We must defend our security, together with Russia Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Italy, to meet with Pope World oil prices on the rise Facebook announces reason for system outage Armenia legislature convenes regular sessions Newspaper: How Armenia opposition MPs also traveled to Moscow as part of delegation? Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gently reprimands teammates after well-known parliament brawl Sri Lanka prosecutor's office charges architect of 2019 terrorist attacks UK nurse denies charges of killing 8 newborns Ilham Aliyev personally insults Armenia 3rd President, is embarrassment of MGIMO University Armenia PM's official visit to Lithuania is over France and Spain call on Europe for a coordinated response to rising global energy prices Armenia FM: There was no word or agreement about so-called "Zangezur corridor" Armenia President congratulates 2021 Nobel Prize laureate Ardem Patapoutian Indonesia to partially reopen resort island of Bali to international travelers Armenian, Iranian FMs discuss a broad range of issues related to regional developments Armenia premier: We consider resumption of peace process within scope of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs format necessary Garibashvili, Hasanov discuss 'strategic partnership' between Tbilisi and Baku Lithuania to share experience with Armenia in waste recycling sector Armenia Security Council Secretary, Iran Ambassador discuss regional security issues UAE tries to manage long-standing rivalry with Iran and Turkey through dialogue Azerbaijan President threatens to 'break the heads of Armenians and not care what others say' Armenia revenue committee chief meets with his counterpart in Karabakh 11 horses of resident of Armenia's Shurnukh cross over into territory under Azerbaijan's control Armenia MOD receives EU Ambassador, presents Azerbaijan's destabilizing actions Digest: Armenian PM visits Lithuania; David Julius, Ardem Patapoutian win 2021 Nobel Prize Armenia premier blames former government for fall of Shushi again Kremlin confirms news about preparation for Putin-Pashinyan meeting Armenia PM pays respects to those who fell for Lithuania's independence Vahidi: Enemies do not want good relations between Iran and its neighbors Amir-Abdollahian: Iran will not let foreigners interrupt ties with neighbors including Armenia Armenia Supreme Judicial Council terminates powers of judge due to entrepreneurial activities Russia, Iran FMs to discuss situations in Caspian Sea and Transcaucasia Armenian minister, Russia Ambassador discuss activities of Russian mining companies in Armenia Simonyan thanks Lavrov for his considerable contribution to development of Armenia-Russia collaboration Dollar somewhat steady in Armenia Some unresolved issues remain between Azerbaijan and Armenia, says US ambassador to Baku Ardem Patapoutian, David Julius win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Iran says has good ties with Azerbaijan, Armenia Armenia Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Ministry on Russia widening road near Lars checkpoint Armenia deputy minister on amendments to law on financial equalization and subsidies for communities Robert Kocharyan on Armenia being entangled in processes and Iran's perception of the country Armenia Parliament Speaker in Moscow pays tribute to those who fell in the Great Patriotic War Russian FM: Russia and Armenia will resume interparliamentary cooperation soon Cmilyte-Nielsen: Lithuania ready to support democratic reforms in Armenia Armenia premier, Lithuania President speak about processes in South Caucasus Ex-president: Armenian authorities are ready to cooperate even with Pakistan - if it helps to stay in power California oil spill kills animals Simonyte: I hope Karabakh conflict will be settled under OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs auspices Pashinyan to Lithuania PM: Armenia will continue taking decisive steps to strengthen democracy Kocharyan speaks on sale of arms to Azerbaijan by Russia: The question is more on a moral plane Armenia ex-Prosecutor General, Investigative Committee former chief to remain in custody Drills kick off in Tbilisi with participation of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia Pashinyan: Lithuania can play important role in promoting Armenia-EU cooperation Armenia ex-president says he never 'disrespected' Azerbaijani ex-president Lithuania premier: Vilnius, Yerevan will soon be connected by direct flights Azerbaijan MFA announces 'positive signals' from Armenia regarding border delimitation Ex-president: I can't imagine the delimitation process in the interests of Armenia Pashinyan: Karabakh conflict settlement should be based on OSCE Minsk Group-supported principles Armenia premier announces condition for starting border delimitation, demarcation with Azerbaijan Armenia ex-president: OSCE MG never had a mandate to enforce peace Kabul: 95% of libraries, bookstores, and publishing houses closed in 2 months Paris mayor: France may recognize Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Kocharyan: Armenian authorities are not responsible for Aliyev, as there may be something unknown behind this Armenias Pashinyan: No time, place restrictions on meeting with Azerbaijans Aliyev Putin bestows order upon Russian Armenian historian Armenia PM: I hope we will make progress with Azerbaijan in opening of roads, railways 627 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Lithuania PM: European organizations play very important role in Armenia Armenia FM meeting with Iran counterpart World gold prices increase somewhat Prophet Muhammad sketchs creator dies in Sweden road accident Armenia parliament speaker travels to Russia on 3-day official visit Japan parliament elects new PM Armenia FM heading for Iran Monday on working visit Aging Japanese decide to pay for early retirement pension More than 10,000 children fallen victim to pedophile clergy in France since 1950 Drone video records storm from inside for first time Planet with 3 suns discovered Erdogan shares basketball video after rumors of serious illness Armenia will never be involved in a conspiracy against Iran, PM says Plane crashes on building in Italy Media: Kabul explosion leaves 12 people killed European companies file for bankruptcy over record gas prices Nikol Pashinyan arrives in Lithuania on official visit Azerbaijan and Turkey to hold exercises near Armenian border Ali Sayyid Khamenei: Events in Northwest Iran must be resolved without foreign interference Iranian Foreign Minister expresses concern over Israel's provocations near Iran-Azerbaijan border 19th century bridge partially collapsed due to fire in southern Rome China sends dozens of military aircraft to Taiwan's air defense identification zone Nikol Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to Angela Merkel Armenian President congratulates his German counterpart on the day of German unity Algeria recalls ambassador from France due to Macron's irresponsible statements Artsakh Defense Army blesses khachkar in memory of those killed in 44-day Karabakh war (PHOTOS) 907 COVID-19 new cases reported in Armenia per day YEREVAN. Virtually all MPs were in attendance to Wednesdays meeting of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), according to Hraparak (Square) newspaper. The RPA members telling about the session were in admiration by [ex-President, ex-PM, and party leader] Serzh Sargsyan. We hadnt seen him that much humane, that much emotional. Every word was balanced and lived; it was very touching. We really love him, said our interlocutor. Serzh Sargsyan primarily spoke about the unity of the RPA, said that they have enough votes [in parliament] that they can elect, without the support of anybody, their [own] candidate [for PM], [acting PM and RPA Vice Chairman] Karen Karapetyan, and to whom he is handing over the RPA leadership. () there shall be no deserters [from the party, he noted, in particular], wrote Hraparak. After 11-day nationwide protest actions by the movement, led by opposition Civil Contract Party Political Council member and National Assembly Way Out (Yelk) Faction head Nikol Pashinyan, ex-President Serzh Sargsyan on Monday resigned from his recently-elected post of Prime Minister. Subsequently, Pashinyan announced that they will continue negotiations with the incumbent authorities on Wednesday, and toward achieving a smooth transfer of power in Armenia. But it became clear on Tuesday evening that this talk would not take place. Acting PM Karen Karapetyan stated that Pashinyan had posited new, unilateral demands. Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, announced that they are resuming their protests as of Wednesday, since the ruling Republican Party of Armenia wants to retain power at the expense of Serzh Sargsyans resignation. Malla is pursuing a PhD in disaster management from Kagawa University, Japan and was involved in the Bara-Parsa reconstruction programme. YEREVAN. The talks about the return of Armenias second President, Robert Kocharyan, are not serious. Nikol Pashinyan, opposition Civil Contract Party Political Council member and National Assembly (NA) Way Out (Yelk) Faction head, said the aforementioned at a press conference on Friday. In his words, if the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) does not step down, the current crisis in the country will grow deeper. We will not allow [the RPA] to take away the peoples victory, Pashinyan assured. Commenting on his statement that either he will become the next prime minister, or Armenia will not have a prime minister at all, Nikol Pashinyan said he had meant that the political crisis will either be resolved or will deepen. The issue is not who will be Prime Minister, but that the crisis be resolved, he added. We are convinced that there has been a citizens awakening. And if we dont use every opportunity to de jure secure the results of that victory, we would betray the movement. After 11-day nationwide protest actions by the Nikol Pashinyan-led movement, ex-President and RPA leader Serzh Sargsyan on Monday resigned from his recently-elected post of Prime Minister. Subsequently, Pashinyan announced that they will continue negotiations with the incumbent authorities on Wednesday, and toward achieving a smooth transfer of power in Armenia. But it became clear on Tuesday evening that this talk would not take place. Acting PM and RPA Vice Chairman Karen Karapetyan stated that Pashinyan had posited new, unilateral demands. Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, announced that they are resuming their protests as of Wednesday, since the RPA wants to retain power at the expense of Sargsyans resignation. And on Thursday, Pashinyan invited Karapetyan to start the second round of negotiations on Friday, and before the media. But Aram Araratyan, the spokesperson of Karen Karapetyan, on Friday issued a statement, according to which the acting PM considers negotiations with Nikol Pashinyan viewless, and therefore he refused to take part. PM Oli directs Nepal Telecom to improve service quality Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has expressed his dissatisfaction with the service of the Nepal Telecom. YEREVAN. The negotiations should be conducted without the media, and as a result of free speech. Vahram Baghdasaryan, head of the parliamentary faction of the Ruling Republican Party (RPA) of Armenia, on Friday stated the aforesaid to reporters at the National Assembly (NA). He recalled that they had called on the Armenian president to organize political consultations. We [the RPA] are open for negotiations and ready to discuss any agenda matter, Baghdasaryan said. But we will not go into ultimatums, compulsions, and we will not go with such negotiation called format. To the remark that opposition Civil Contract Party Political Council member and NA Way Out (Yelk) Faction head Nikol Pashinyan had called on people to flood the streets of capital city Yerevan and block the parliament building on May 1, when the NA will elected the next Prime Minister, Baghdasaryan responded as follows, in particular: We [the RPA] will go with the constitutional way. If that is his [Pashinyans] constitutional way, let him do so. And when asked whether this will lead to clashes, Vahram Baghdasaryan noted: If we [the RPA] were not worried, we would have gone to clashes long ago. All our worry and objective is that there will be no clashes. Negotiations are announced when political forces will give their consent; we are ready for negotiations. After 11-day nationwide protest actions by the Nikol Pashinyan-led movement, ex-President and RPA leader Serzh Sargsyan on Monday resigned from his recently-elected post of Prime Minister. Subsequently, Pashinyan announced that they will continue negotiations with the incumbent authorities on Wednesday, and toward achieving a smooth transfer of power in Armenia. But it became clear on Tuesday evening that this talk would not take place. Acting PM and RPA Vice Chairman Karen Karapetyan stated that Pashinyan had posited new, unilateral demands. Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, announced that they are resuming their protests as of Wednesday, since the RPA wants to retain power at the expense of Sargsyans resignation. And on Thursday, Pashinyan invited Karapetyan to start the second round of negotiations on Friday, and before the media. But Aram Araratyan, the spokesperson of Karen Karapetyan, on Friday issued a statement, according to which the acting PM considers negotiations with Nikol Pashinyan viewless, and therefore he refused to take part. The talks between opposition leader, MP Nikol Pashinyan and acting PM Karen Karapetyan did not take place. Speaking during the rally on Thursday, Pashinyan said he is inviting Karapetyan to Marriott Hotel at 12pm. Spokesperson for Karapetyan said Pashinyans new invitation practically does not differ from the previous one, and the acting PM rejected an invitation. Speaking during the media briefing, Pashinyan said they have mandate of the Armenian people. The MP believes that the meeting did not take place because Karapetyan is not confident in his skills as a negotiator. The leader of protest movement urged everyone to come to Yerevan on May 1 when the PM will be elected by the National Assembly. We will not allow [the RPA] to take away the peoples victory, Pashinyan emphasized, adding that they would boycott election if RPA manages to have its candidate elected the next PM and decides to hold a snap parliamentary election. He added that they had met with Gagik Tsarukyan and ARF representatives to discuss the situation. Pashinyan also assured that Russia will not intervene in Armenias internal affairs. A rally of the protest movement led by MP Nikol Pashinyan will hold rallies in Gyumri and Vanadzor. The actions in Yerevan will be suspended for a while, so that the activists can have a rest. The actions in the capital city will be resumed on April 29. Armenia's acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss internal political situation in Armenia. It was underlined that the settlement of the crisis situation in Armenia must take place exclusively in the legal framework, in the framework of the Constitution and the legitimate parliamentary elections of 2017. In this context, the importance of the election of the Prime Minister by the National Assembly was emphasized. Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan met with President Armen Sarkissian on Thursday evening. Yesterday evening I had a meeting with RA President Armen Sarkissian Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page. We discussed the [current] situation in Armenia and the possible avenues for a solution. South and North Korea agreed to sign a peace treaty and cease all hostile actions against each other. The sides confirmed that their overall objective is the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. After the signing of the joint declaration, South Korean leader Moon Jae-in embraced North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The deal was welcomed by U.S. President Donald Trump. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Trump tweeted. The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mike Pompeo as the new Secretary of State. The Senate voted 57-42 to approve former CIA director Pompeo for the job of a Secretary of State. The American dollars exchange rate against the Armenian dram comprised AMD 483.32/$1 in Armenia on Friday going up by AMD 1.36 from previous day. The exchange rate for one euro was AMD 583.90 (down by AMD 2.98) PM Oli to address Province 5 assembly meet on Sunday Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is addressing the province assembly meeting of Province 5 on Sunday. The province assembly meeting scheduled for April 27 has been postponed for 9 am on Sunday due to PM's address. Home | News | Crime/Legal | Fake Police Busted in Kano After Doing This Evil Thing to a Woman A fake police officer who dared to harass a woman in Kano, has been nabbed for the criminal act by real officers. One Yakasai Mohammed who posed as a cop and extorted N100,000 from the mother of a suspect, has been arrested by the police in Kano. Punch Metro reports that the illegal activities of the impostor was brought to an end after a complaint was made to the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit on July 27, 2017 by a female Kano resident. The resident was said to have contacted the PCRRU after picking a PCRRU leaflet she found on the ground a day before. The Head of the PCRRU, ACP Abayomi Shogunle, explained on Tuesday in Abuja that the leaflets were dropped over the city from a helicopter, adding that the flyers were in English, Hausa and Kanuri languages. Shogunle stated that the complainant had reported to the police that her son was arrested as a robbery suspect in the Kwana Hudu area of Kano and remanded in Kurmawa Prison by the court. According to Shogunle, the complainant had met the fake policeman, Mohammed, in court where he collected N100,000 from her on the promise that he would release the complainants son, which he failed to do. Shogunle said, The case was immediately registered and the matter referred to the Commissioner of Police, Kano State for investigation and report. The said Mohammed was arrested and it was discovered that he is not a police officer or court official but an impostor who goes around courts in the Kano metropolis, pretending to be a police officer and a court worker. The ACP said the suspect confessed to the crime, while the N100,000 he obtained from the complainant had been recovered. The money has since been returned to the complainant and Yakasai has also been charged to court for prosecution accordingly and remanded in prison custody, he explained. Shogunle advised the public against paying for bail, stressing that it is free. We urge members of the public to immediately report any demand for bribe to the PCRRU, which is available 24/7 via telephones, emails and social media platforms, he added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will stay in close touch with US President Donald Trump on the Iran nuclear deal, which he could scrap. Mrs Merkel described the 2015 international accord as a "first step" that prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Mr Trump vowed to never let Iran have nuclear weapons, but would not say if he would consider military force. Mrs Merkel was in Washington for a brief "working visit" with Mr Trump. The optics of her trip contrasted starkly with the pomp and ceremony rolled out for French President Emmanuel Macron during his glitzy state earlier visit this week. The German leader's differences with the US president on trade were laid bare at their Friday afternoon press conference. She hoped to persuade Mr Trump not to impose US tariffs on European steel and aluminium products. Senior citizens want easy access to allowance Senior citizens of Mangalsen Municipality say they are facing hardships while travelling to the district headquarters every month to collect their social security allowance. Home | News | General | HERDSMEN ATTACKS: Buhari has lost battle against insurgency FAYOSE By Rotimi Ojomoyela ADO-EKITIGOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, yesterday, expressed worry over the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to take actions that would stop the series of killings across the country. Fayose The governor maintained that the incessant killings by Boko Haram and herdsmen are evidence that the President has completely lost the battle against insurgency. Reacting to the latest killings by herdsmen in Benue State, Fayose said: It is beyond dispute that the Buhari administration has lost the battle against insurgency and the herdsmen. Buhari is helpless as he is reduced to offering condolences on a daily basis. Nigerians are dying on a daily basis. Innocent souls are being wasted by herdsmen and the Buhari administration has lost all moral right to continue in office. Why is he still sitting in the office? Doing what, if I may ask? Fayose, in the statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said this was a government that lambasted the PDP administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for cluelessness and incompetence on security matters but the same Jonathan administration era is now looking like the golden age of security of lives and properties in Nigeria. He said: At no period since 1999 has life been this cheap. Life has become nasty, brutish, and short under the Buhari administration. The situation is getting so bad that we do not know whether the Constitution of the country has been unofficially suspended. Nigerians have been unlucky with Buhari as president. He is too old, too analogue and is not ready to admit and yield to a competent leader. This country has never had it this bad. Gradually, Buhari is becoming a maximum ruler. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Nigeria Police explains why IGP Idris shunned Senate invitation over Dino Melaye's ordeal - The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, was absent at the Nigerian Senate on Thursday, April 26 - The Senate had earlier summoned the IGP over the ordeal of Senator Dino Melaye who was arrested by the police - The police spokesperson has explained why the IGP was represented by senior officers for the invitation The Nigeria Police Force has explained why IGP Ibrahim Idris was represented at the Senate on Thursday, April 26. The Senate had earlier summoned the IGP over the ordeal of Senator Dino Melaye who was arrested by the police. The IGP who is on an official visit to Bauchi state, was represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations, Habila Joshak. The IGP is currently on an official visit to Bauchi state. Photo credit: Mohammed Baba Busu PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app The Senate however failed to grant the DIG audience and insisted that the IGP must show up himself. In a statement sent to NAIJ.com, the police spokesman, ACP Jimoh Moshood said the Police Act and Regulation permits a senior officer of the force of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police and Assistant Inspector General of Police to represent the IGP in an official capacity when permitted. It is on the basis of the above that while the Inspector General of Police is on an official assignment in Bauchi state that he delegated the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations to represent him and honour the invitation of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect of the felonious offenses for which Senator Dino Melaye was taken into police custody, investigated and to be arraigned in the Federal High Court, Lokoja without further delay. Consequently, the general public are hereby implored to note that the Inspector General of Police acted rightly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Police Act and Regulation and other extant laws The Nigeria Police Force is a law abiding organization and holds the Senate and its leadership in high esteem, however the Force wishes to impress on the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not to personalize or trivialize the criminal offenses indicting Senator Dino Melaye, the statement said. READ ALSO: Senate adjourns plenary to visit Dino Melaye in hospital Meanwhile, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, has said that Senator Melaye has been in intensive unit and has not eaten in 24 hours. Saraki said this shortly after vising the Kogi senator at the National Hospital on Wednesday, April 25, in Abuja in a that meeting lasted for one hour. Kogi West senatorial district to recall senator Dino Melaye from the Nigerian Senate - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General SJVN to get Arun-3 generation licence Investment Board Nepal (IBN) is ready to grant the generation licence for the Arun-3 Hydroelectric Project to Indian firm SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company. The 900 MW run-of-the-river scheme is located in Sankhuwasabha district in north-eastern Nepal. Home | News | General | Benue killings are sponsored - Military discloses; vows to apprehend killer herdsmen, sponsors - The spokesman for the Defence HQ, Brig Gen John Agim, has said the killings in Benue are being sponsored - However, he assured Nigerians that they would soon see a change, as he said the military is going after the killer herdsmen and their sponsors - He also disclosed that guns and other weapons had been seized from herdsmen and locals in several areas of Benue and Taraba states The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, has reacted to the fresh round of killings in Benue state; saying that they were being sponsored, Punch reports. The militarys assertion was made by the director of defence information, Brig Gen John Agim, on Thursday, April 26. READ ALSO: Aircraft purchase: Buharis action in national interest - NEC NAIJ.com learnt that Agim however stated that the killer herdsmen and their sponsors would soon be apprehended, as he insisted that the military would not support any side in the violence that had been going on in the state. On Monday, April 23, a soldier and passerby were killed by suspected herdsmen who blocked the Gbeji-Anyinn Road in the Logo local government area of Benue state. Suspected herdsmen also killed two Catholic priests and 17 other worshippers when they invaded a church in Mbalon in Gwer-East local government area of the state on Tuesday, April 24. The killing spree continued on Wednesday, April 25, as 22 people were reportedly killed by suspected herdsmen in the Guma area of the state. Also, suspected herdsmen killed seven internally displaced persons when they invaded the Africa Church in Mbamondo clan of Ukemberagya Gaambe-Tiev, in the Logo local government area, on Thursday, April 26. The defence spokesman was asked if troops in Benue were overwhelmed due to the daily spate of killings; and if additional troops would be deployed to the state. He stated: The military is strategising on how to go after the herdsmen and their sponsors. We will get both the herdsmen and their sponsors. We want to say this to the killers and their sponsors that the military is coming for them. We are going to get both the killers and their sponsors very soon. The military is continuing with all its operations in the areas. Nigerians will soon see a change of approach in our operations. Agim also disclosed that guns and other weapons had been seized from herdsmen and locals in several areas of Benue and Taraba states, by the military. He said: Some of the weapons we recovered were seized from the herdsmen. Others are not from the herdsmen. The Dane guns we seized were not from the herdsmen. The military cannot go into an environment to support any side. We seized weapons from everyone who had weapons. Some of the weapons were also obtained during engagements with these criminals. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app In a related development, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign, following concerns about the recent killings by suspected herdsmen in various parts of the country, including two Catholic priests and 15 other worshippers in Benue state. The CBCN made the call on Thursday evening, April 26, in a communique signed by its president, Most Rev Augustine Akubeze, and secretary, Most Rev Camillus Umoh. In the communique titled, When will this barbarism end? the clerics urged the president to choose the honourable path and step aside to save the nation from total collapse, instead of presiding over the killing fields and mass graveyard that the country had allegedly become. Time to take up arms against herdsmen attacks? - on NAIJ.com Street Gist: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Buhari acted in national interest - NEC defends president over $496m withdrawn to purchase aircraft without NASS approval - The National Economic Council has said President Buhari acted in the nations interest when he withdrew $496m to purchase fighter aircraft without approval from NASS - The Council recalled that Nigeria had been trying to purchase the equipment since 2014, and said Buhari had to act quickly because there was a deadline - According to NEC, the president did what he did, to protect Nigerians The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday, April 27, defended President Muhammadu Buharis decision to purchase fighter aircraft from the United States without National Assembly approval, NAN reports. The National Economic Council at its 83rd meeting in 2017 had approved one billion dollars to be sourced from the countrys excess crude account for the fight against insurgency and other violent criminal activities across the country. READ ALSO: Killings: Consider stepping aside - Catholic bishops to Buhari NAIJ.com notes that the minister of defence, retired Brig Gen Mansur Dan-Ali on April 4 revealed that President Buhari had granted assent for the release of the one billion dollars fund for the procurement of security equipment to fight insecurity in the country. Dan-Ali disclosed this when he spoke to State House correspondents after a security meeting involving President Buhari, heads of security agencies and Service Chiefs which was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Senate on Thursday accused President Buhari of spending $496 million (out of the approved $1billion) on acquiring aircraft without the National Assemblys approval, and hence called for his impeachment Senator Matthew Uroghide had moved the motion, claiming that President Buharis action was a violation of the constitution and thus, he should face the consequences. However, Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, who spoke to State House correspondents after the monthly NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the presidents decision to order for the payment of the aircraft was in the national interest. He said: We forget easily. If you recall we have been battling with approval from America to buy these equipment since 2014. We have been begging Americans to sell this equipment to us. We tried Dubai, they could not allow us because it is patented. There is another factory in Brazil; the federal government tried, we couldnt get. Then luckily President Donald Trump said `its okay to buy. So, we had to quickly pay the money for the equipment before they change their minds because there was also deadline, and this is state-to-state transaction. We are all here concerned about security and then raising questions on how and manner in which you protect people this is an emergency situation. So, this thing has to be understood clearly, and look at the situation from the fuller perspective not a narrow perspective. The president did what he has to do to protect his people and this is what happened and you know something might just happen and then the Americans will say (no stop the sale) but we have paid already, they have to supply. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that senators at the upper chamber were engaged in protests on Thursday, following the recent purchase of the 12 Super Tucano aircraft from the United States of America by President Muhammadu Buhari. Raising a point of order, the senator representing Edo South, Mathew Uroghide declared the president's action illegal. He said the letter from the president which was read by the Senate president was a violation of some of the provisions of the constitution. The senator also said he was taken aback on the payment made for the Tucano aircraft. President Buhari commissions first Nigerian drone - on NAIJ.com TV: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Citizens have become sitting ducks - Catholic bishops express outrage over killings; tell Buhari to consider stepping aside - Following concerns about the killings in various parts of the country, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign - The bishops chided the president for the bloodletting and destruction of homes and farmlands which they said had increased with intensity and brutality - According to the clerics, Buhari has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens; and as such, should consider stepping aside The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign, following concerns about the recent killings by suspected herdsmen in various parts of the country, including two Catholic priests and 15 other worshippers in Benue state, Punch reports. The CBCN made the call on Thursday evening, April 26, in a communique signed by its president, Most Rev Augustine Akubeze, and secretary, Most Rev Camillus Umoh. READ ALSO: Benue lawmakers summon Ortom over killings NAIJ.com notes that in the communique titled, When will this barbarism end? the clerics urged the president to choose the honourable path and step aside to save the nation from total collapse, instead of presiding over the killing fields and mass graveyard that the country had allegedly become. He CBCN also described the killings that claimed the lives of 19 people including two priests in Benue on Tuesday, April 24, as a carefully planned dastardly act. The statement read in part, That our two priests, Fr Joseph Gor and Fr Felix Tyolaha, along with their parishioners were waylaid in the course of the celebration of the Holy Mass early in the morning, suggests very clearly that their murder was carefully planned. This wicked act cannot be said to be a revenge attack (as is often claimed). Whom have these priests attacked? Indeed, we have just discovered that on January 3, this year, Fr Gor tweeted, We are living in fear. The Fulani are still around here in Mbalom (where they (priests) were killed). They refuse to go. They still go grazing around. No weapons to defend ourselves. Their desperate cries for security and help went unheeded by those who should have heard them. They could have fled but, true to their vocation, they remained to continue to serve their God unto death. We are sad. We are angry. We feel totally exposed and most vulnerable. Faced with these dark clouds of fear and anxiety, our people are daily being told by some to defend themselves. But defend themselves with what? The federal government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their own hands. But how can the federal government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wailings of helpless and harmless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in sacred places of worship? The Catholic bishops lamented that in spite of several calls on the president in the last two years to reconfigure his security apparatus and strategy, which the president has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion, and the lack of confidence expressed by the CBCN in the security agencies, the bloodletting and destruction of homes and farmlands had increased with intensity and brutality. They also disclosed that it had become difficult for the Catholic body to continue giving excuses about the continuous killings in the country, as they pointed out that the rate of insecurity in Nigeria had become an embarrassment in the international community. In their words: We are sad and fear that the clock is ticking. The bomb must be defused quickly before it explodes. They continued: Since the president, who appointed the heads of the nations security agencies has refused to caution them even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. If the president cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become. Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the president to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation have fallen on deaf ears. It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse. Nigerians were also urged by the bishops to be courageous and stand for their fundamental rights to life and security. The communique added: Government should encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments. This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self defence. These are not normal times, since those we pay to protect us have failed to do their duty. Nigeria can return to normal times, if we put our heads together with sincerity. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that following the killings of two priests and 17 worshipers in a Catholic church in Benue state, the Nigerian Senate resolved to summon President Muhammadu Buhari to address the legislature on the spate of killings in the country. However, the senators agreed to hold a joint session with the House of Representatives on the matter. Going further, they expressed their reservations about the competence of security chiefs and the need to declare a state of emergency in the states experiencing security crises. Time to take up arms against herdsmen attacks? - on NAIJ.com Street Gist: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Panic in Borno as Nigerian soldiers repel Boko Haram's daring incursion into Maiduguri - The Nigerian Army continues to have the upper hand over insurgents in the northeast - Another Boko Haram incursion into Maiduguri was foiled by the gallant troops - The army was assisted by the Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have in the late hours of Thursday, April 26, successful repelled Boko Haram terrorist incursion in the outskirt of Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. NAIJ.com gathered that the troops with the support of the Air Task Force, Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies including the Civilian Joint Task Force quickly mobilised to the area and cleared the terrorists incursion. According to a statement sent to NAIJ.com by the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, Major-General Rogers Nicholas, the troops are currently in pursuit of the Boko Haram Terrorists and have dominated the area while also patrolling the general area of Jidari. The statement the urged residents of the area that have earlier fled to return to their residence and report any suspicious persons to security agencies currently patrolling the area. READ ALSO: Nigerian Air Force special forces foil bombing attempt at UNIMAID On Sunday, April 22, troops of 27 Task Force Brigade in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force and Civilian Joint Task Force while on clearance operation destroyed the terrorists enclave at Buk in Damboa local government area of Borno state. According to a statement sent to NAIJ.com by the director army public relations, Brigadier-General Texas Chukwu, some members of the Boko Haram terrorists were neutralised while others fled the scene during the operation. Nigerian Air Force operations against Boko Haram on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Stakeholders of Nigerias ICT sector turn up for CloudCover Abuja unveiling On April 24, 2018, CloudCover Distribution, pioneer of virtual SIM technology in Nigeria, brought together stakeholders of the telecommunications sector at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja as it unveiled its flagship 4G/LTE device called the CC1 MiFi. CloudCover is a provider of multi-network mobile data services that is contributing to solving challenges of constant connectivity for Nigerians with the portable CC1 Mi-Fi device which allows you to access the best available network anywhere in Nigeria and in over 100 other countries. Members of the House of Representatives including Honourable Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma amongst others were present as the CEO of CloudCover, Nick Dixon, discussed the benefits of owning the CC1 device for entrepreneurs, technocrats and other forward-thinking individuals. In his speech, Dixon noted that virtual SIM technology was already being adopted in other countries and that the concept has been deemed the future of mobile technologies. Constant Connectivity to the Internet in todays world is priceless. With so much innovation being shared and discovered in the cyberspace, it has become imperative for one to stay connected regardless of time and location. People in todays generation are relying in the internet to do a lot of many different tasks. This is why we created the CC1 MiFi that keeps you constantly connected locally and internationally. Also in attendance at the CloudCover Abuja Unveiling were Rt. Honorable Minister for Communications Technology, Barr. Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, and Chairman, House Committee on Telecommunications, Hon. Saheed Akinade Fijabi who expressed their support for CloudCover; saying it was a necessary enabler for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria. To learn more about CloudCover, visit www.cloudcover.ng See more photos from the event below: [Sponsored] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | FG responds to fresh attacks in Benue; bans open grazing by herdsmen The major headlines in mainstream newspapers, today, Friday, April 27, are focused on the Senate and federal governments response to the fresh wave of herdsmen attacks in Benue; and the Senate's reaction to the withdrawal of $496m by President Muhammadu Buhari, to purchase aircraft from the USA, without their approval. The Guardian is reporting that the National Executive Council (NEC) on Thursday, April 26, approved the recommendation of its sub-committee, calling for open grazing to be banned across the country. The governor of Ebonyi state, Dave Umahi, who is the chairman of the federal governments three-man sub-committee on herdsmen/farmers clashes, made the disclosure known to newsmen. The committee was specifically mandated to find out the causes of the clashes between farmers and herdsmen, and to engage relevant stakeholders in dialogue, with the aim of bringing an end to the crisis which has claimed many innocent lives. Umahi said that the panel submitted its report to the Council, which agreed to the recommendation to ban open grazing, opting for the establishment of ranches in states affected by the herdsmen onslaught. Front page of The Guardian, Friday, April 27 (Photo credit: NAIJ.com) READ ALSO: I might have been part of herdsmen/farmers clashes - Buhari The Nation is also focused on the response of the National Economic Council to the herdsmen attacks. It reports that the Council supported the immediate creation of ranches across the country and agreed to stop herdsmens movement, starting with five states Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau which are most affected by the crisis. According to the publication, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi said the five states are expected to provide land for ranches. The governor said that through ranching, the nomadic herdsmen and their families would have access to schools and medical facilities. Front page of The Nation, Friday, April 27 (Photo credit: NAIJ.com) Still on the issue of the fresh wave of attacks in Benue, Vanguard is reporting that President Muhammadu Buhari was summoned by the Senate on Thursday, April 26, to address it on the spate of killings in the country. The publication pointed out that the summons was given on the day suspected herdsmen invaded the African Church, Mbamondo Ukemberagya in Logo local government area of Benue state, killing seven persons who were taking refuge in the church after being displaced by the raging herdsmen crisis in the area. Dr Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, said the leadership of the red chamber would meet with its counterparts from the House of Representatives, to fix an appropriate date and time for President Buhari to appear and intimate the National Assembly on the security challenges in the country. At the emotionally charged plenary, the upper legislative chamber also observed a minute of silence for the dead. Front page of Vanguard, Friday, April 27 (Photo credit: NAIJ.com) On its part, Punch is reporting that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign, following concerns about the recent killings by suspected herdsmen in various parts of the country, including two Catholic priests and 17 other worshippers in Benue state. The CBCN made the call on Thursday evening, April 26, in a communique signed by its president, Most Rev Augustine Akubeze, and secretary, Most Rev Camillus Umoh. In the communique titled, When will this barbarism end? the clerics urged the president to choose the honourable path and step aside to save the nation from total collapse, instead of presiding over the killing fields and mass graveyard that the country had allegedly become. The CBCN also described the killings that claimed the lives of 19 people including two priests in Benue on Tuesday, April 24, as a carefully planned dastardly act. Front page of Punch, Friday, April 27 (Photo credit: NAIJ.com) PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, This Day is focused on the Senates reaction to the withdrawal of $496m by President Buhari, to purchase 12 Super Tucano aircraft from the US, without approval from the National Assembly. The publication reports that Senate President Bukola Saraki revealed that there was enough time for President Muhammadu Buhari to seek the approval of the National Assembly for the purchase. He stated: It was August last year, we were on recess when I got the message from the US ambassador that the Senate Committee at the Congress of the United States, wanted to visit us, because they got a request from President Trump to approve the payment of Tucanos, but they need approval. Their congress wanted to come to Nigeria to speak with their counterparts, and we all had to come back from our vacation, and I led the team with the House of Representatives members, and members here, and we met the members of Congress on this issue. So definitely, we were aware at that time of this issue, between September (2017) and February (2018), with all due respect, there was ample time for the executive to have carried us along on this issue. The disclosure from the Senate president came as senators called for the presidents impeachment for his willful violation of sections 80 (1-4) of the 1999 Constitution. Front page of This Day, Friday, April 27 (Photo credit: NAIJ.com) Time to take up arms against herdsmen attacks? - on NAIJ.com Street Gist: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Read how much Nigeria has in her Excess Crude Account as AGF gives detail - Ahmed Idris, the accountant-general of the federation, has said that Nigeria has $1.8 billion in its Excess Crude Account (ECA) - Idris made this revelation on Thursday, April 23 - He further said that the current balance in the natural resources development fund account stands at N134.9 billion Ahmed Idris, the accountant-general of the federation, has revealed that the balance in Excess Crude Account (ECA) as at Monday, April 23 is $1.8 billion. Idris disclosed this on Thursday, April 26, at the recent National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Yemi Osinbajo, Premium Times reports. READ ALSO: Police recover rocket launcher, 13 rifles in Kebbi community Idris further informed the NEC that the balance in the stabilisation account stands at N14 billion, adding that the current balance in the natural resources development fund account stands at N134.9 billion. Giving an update on budget support loan facility, he reported to the Council that 35 states commenced in 2016 and collected N1.39 billion, after which they collected N1.11 billion. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Idris remarked that the repayment of the facility was extended from one year to two years. He highlighted that an analysis of compliance level indicates that 52.5 percent was the highest, while 13 per cent was the lowest, with respect to the conditionalities for the budget support loan facility. Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that Idris had said that allocations from the federation account to the three tiers of government had declined. He attributed the decrease in revenue to crude oil production setbacks caused by sabotage and shutdown of installations, especially in the Niger Delta region. Minister of industry says economy is improving; Nigerians disagree - On NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Address grievances of NDU students, IYC tells Dickson By Samuel Oyadongha YENAGOAIjaw Youth Council, IYC, worldwide, has called on Bayelsa State governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to address the grievances of students of the state-owned Niger Delta University, Amassoma, which led to a protest and eventual closure of the institution. Dickson The university has lately experienced, among other challenges, workers protests against their purported sack as well as the massive protest by students against the alleged increment in tuition fees by the authorities. Reacting to Wednesdays closure of the university by the senate of the institution, the Ijaw Youth Council, led by Eric Omare, expressed serious concern over the development. He said: The Niger Delta University, Amassoma, established by the first governor of Bayelsa State and Governor General of Ijaw nation, the late Chief D. S. P. Alamieyeseigha, is very pivotal to the development of the Ijaw nation. Before the creation of Bayelsa State and the eventual establishment of NDU, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, RSUST, Port Harcourt, was the epicentre of the educational pursuit of the Ijaw people; hence most leaders of the Ijaw nation were trained in RSUST including the present governor of Bayelsa State. However, with the creation of Bayelsa State and establishment of the NDU by late Chief Alamieyeseigha, the educational epicentre of the Ijaw nation moved from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt to the Niger Delta University, Amassoma. Now, the greater percentage of Ijaw people desiring university education attend the Niger Delta University, Amassoma. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | No going back on recovery of looted fundsBuhari By Suzan Edeh BAUCHIPRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari said in Bauchi yesterday that his resolve to ensure the recovery of looted resources was unshakable, saying his administration would also ensure the judicious utilisation of the funds. The President also reiterated his intention to seek a second term in office in next years presidential elections. Addressing a mammoth crowd at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, the President, who is on an official visit to the state, said the recovered funds would be used to develop the Education, Health, Agriculture and Security sectors, among others. President Buhari Any person that loots governments fund will be made to return it to the treasury for utilisation on the education, health and security sectors, among others, he said. On his decision to re-contest, Buhari said: When I came into power as a military Head of State during the military era, there was nothing like insurgency in the North East, although I re-contested several times during the democratic era and lost. I contested again in 2015 and God in his infinite mercy, gave me victory. I have already made my intentions known to Nigerians that I will still contest again in 2019 and am happy for the support you are already giving to me today. The President further said that the present administration had improved agricultural sector through the provision of Agricultural loans for Nigerian farmers. The present administration has reduced the price of fertiliser and provided agricultural loans through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which improved farm yields in the recent past, he said. He said that as a former military Governor of the North-eastern State that comprised the entire North-east sub-region about 42 years ago, he was conversant with the challenges of the area. He stated that some years ago, he was a military leader, but that now, he was a democratically elected civilian president and therefore called on the people to be patient with the difference in the approach to governance. He then thanked the people of the state for their continuous support. Earlier in his remarks, Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi said that the state government was committed to boosting agricultural activities and reducing unemployment among the teeming youth in the state. The president later flagged-off the distribution of farm inputs and implements to farmers in the state. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | NLC, TUC, ULC differ on minimum wage at public hearing As govt begs Labour to demand implementable minimum wage By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Joseph Erunke, Monsuru Olowoopejo & Fredrick Okopie THE division in the nations labour movement yesterday manifested openly at the South-West zone, at the Public Hearing on National Minimum Wage for Nigerian workers, held in Ikeja, with United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, insisting on N96, 000 minimum wage, while Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, maintaining its fresh demand of N66,500 minimum wage. minimum wage This came as the federal and state governments, pleaded with labour to demand an implementable minimum wage that government could afford. ULC had over a year ago broke out of both NLC and TUC and has been seeking registration as a labour centre. The public hearing was organized by the Tripartite Committee of the National Minimum Wage. Speaking at the Lagos hearing, President of ULC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, contended that the cost of living in the country prompted the demand for new minimum wage. Ajaero who was represented by Secretary General of Nigerian Union of Railway, NUR, Mr. Segun Esan, lamented that eight years after the last minimum wage review the price of goods have skyrocketed. According to him, What N18,000 would have bought in 2010, you will need a minimum of N72,000 to buy it this year 2018. To therefore maintain the same standard of living that the average Nigerian worker enjoyed in 2010 this year, he needs to be paid at least four times his 2010 wages. After factoring ability to pay, we reached the understanding that instead of demanding N113,000 as the national Minimum wage which we believe will guarantee a Living wage for Nigerian workers, we demanded for N96,000 (Ninety-six thousand Naira) as national minimum wage. Presenting the memoranda for NLC and TUC, Chairman, Political Committee, NLC, Lagos State Chapter, Agnes Sessi, said NLC and TUC were insisting on their demand for a new monthly national minimum wage of N66,500, which is approximately the average of the implied minimum wages derived under three approaches. However in the Abuja hearing, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, who is the Chairman of Technical Sub-committee of the tripartite committee on minimum wage set up by President Buhari, said: We have all along been concentrating on cost of living which is also important. However, in your contribution, let us also look at productivity index so as to get the best for the economy. By so doing, we will be enriching the outcome of this debate and making it less controversial and more amenable to implementation. In his presentation, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, however, said the new proposal of N66, 500 was fair and implementable if government was serious about welfare of workers, vowing that the Nigerian workers would not accept anything less. Wabba lamented that each time the issue of minimum wage was raised, governments at different levels have always complained about issue of ability to pay, contended that the idea of the minimum wage was to protect the most vulnerable worker which he noted, cut across both the public and private sectors. He said: The minimum wage means the minimum below which no employer of Labour should pay. We all know that workers work to earn a living and not just for the purpose of working or because you want to be a Good Samaritan. Every worker work to earn a decent living and that is the context of the minimum wage. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Borno APC blocks Sheriff, as Folarin, Uzodinma, Gulak, Gbemi Saraki, Gada others defect to APC By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJAConfusion yesterday marred the planned defection of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, erstwhile chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, as stakeholders from his native Borno State blocked him. Ali Modu Sheriff Nevertheless, some of Sheriffs associates in the PDP from other states were welcomed into the APC at the national secretariat of the party yesterday. Among those who were welcomed were Senator Hope Uzodinma from Imo State and Senator Gbemi Saraki, younger sister of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Senator Teslim Folarin, Ahmed Gulak, who served as political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan among other allies of Sheriff were welcomed to the APC. Sheriff was, however, not seen around the national secretariat to be welcomed into the APC as had been planned for yesterday. His absence Vanguard gathered followed strenuous efforts made by APC members in Borno State who had protested his bid to re-enter the party from the national level. Sheriff who was a pioneer member of the APC had left the party shortly after formation for the PDP and eventually became the national chairman of the opposition party. His exit from the APC followed irreconcilable differences with his onetime political protestopgee, Governor Kashim Shettima who he had vowed to stop from returning to power in 2015. Giving fillip to the move from the Borno APC stakeholders, APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abudullahi, in a statement, yesterday, said; Our attention has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media that the former factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress APC today (Thursday) at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja. While we are aware of such intentions, we wish to restate our earlier position that anyone who wants to join the Party should do so at the ward level. We are happy to welcome new members to our party, but membership cards are not issued at the Party National Secretariat, the statement stated. Sheriff, a founding member of APC had reportedly left the party due to what he described as ill-treatment at the partys national convention in 2014. Reacting to the development in a statement in Abuja, Borno state APC chairman, Hon. Ali Bukar Dolori, said Sheriff was only trying to fly a kite by announcing his intention to join te party. We have read news on the Social Media yesterday evening and in some National dailies this morning, that the former Governor of our State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff will be received by our National Chairman today at the Headquarters of our great Party. I want to assure you that the news remains rumour because somebody is only trying to fly a kite, that is capable of causing dangerous confusion during the State Congresses in Borno State. The defectors were welcomed by the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha and other senior officials of the party. Welcoming them yesterday, Odigie-Oyegun said they had come at the appropriate time as he said the party was about to commence congresses saying that they were free to join the process. He nevertheless asked them to go to their respective wards to formally join the party. Senator Gada who spoke on behalf of the defectors said: We have joined the party to make it a formidable fighting force not only in Nigeria, but in Africa. Mr. Mustapha on his part said the defection had defined the course of the 2019 elections to the favour of the ruling party. From tonight, the narrative and trajectory of what will happen in 2019 has been defined. I once said that any party that does not grow, it is just a matter of time before it fizzle out. Governor Ganduje on his part said: Today is a historic day because we have received a great faction. Infact the biggest faction of the PDP and I can say it is our luck that we are taking a better part of the PDP today. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Trial run boosts tri-nation bus, cargo services plan Two buses with delegates from Nepal, India and Bangladesh on board arrived Kathmandu on Thursday. We havent accepted constitution yet: Upendra Yadav Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal (SSFN) Chairman Upendra Yadav has expressed dissatisfaction over the behavior of the federal government. Home | News | General | 2 religious clerics release strong messages over Benue killings, call for serious probe - The clerics want an urgent and very strong investigation into the killing of the Catholic priests and other church worshippers in Benue - The clerics say if the perpetrators are not brought to justice, then the country is in danger - One of them advises President Muhammadu Buhari not to be distracted by his re-election bid over the issue Two religious leaders, on Friday, April 27, reacted separately in Imo state over the killing of Catholic priests and some church worshippers in Benue just as they also called for serious probe by the government into the matter. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that one of the two clerics, Pastor Ben Asimobi, the general oversea of Christ Arena Ministry, urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow the issue be swept under the carpet like others. READ ALSO: I might have been part of herdsmen/farmers clashes - Buhari According to him, Nigeria is in for very big trouble if the perpetrators of this evil act are not brought to book. Nigeria is prone to serious trouble if things continue like this and we all must work together to ensure that peace and unity thrive. The pastor said that if care was not taken, Nigeria might end up fighting a religious war and but this could be averted if perpetrators were brought to book. The other cleric, Pastor Obinna Izuchukwu, appealed to Buhari to focus on the security challenges in the country and not re-election. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Now we are having problem of security and people are talking about reelection of the president. Mr President should not be distracted by his reelection bid; he must first face the problem of insecurity squarely, he said. NAIJ.com earlier reported that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has placed a curse on the gunmen who attacked St Ignatius Catholic Church, Ayar-Mbalom in Gwer East local government area of Benue state and killed two reverend fathers and other church members. The gunmen, believed to be suspected herdsmen, had invaded the church and killed 15 worshippers including two Catholic priests, whose names were given as Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha. Herdsmen attacks: Benue's Attorney-General explains anti-grazing law | NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Tonto Dikeh extends love to helpless pregnant woman in Abuja (photos) Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh is definitely touching a lot of lives through her foundation. Nigerian celebrities are known for giving back to the society in various ways and Tonto Dikeh is no different. Time and again, she has shown her fans what a huge heart she has. The beautiful actress whose foundation known as Tonto Dikeh foundation has reached out to several people in need, feeding children and clothing the poor. April 14 was no different for the residents of Kubwa. The foundation had its medical outreach at Kubwa Primary school where several people were given free medical aid. A lot of heart warming activities took place at the event. One of which stood out was when Tonto Dikeh rescued a nursing mother's child and even went on to give them cash gifts. READ ALSO: BBNaija: Miracle caught on camera flirting with Ahneeka The event pulled huge crowd that wasn't expected as village kings, chief cabinets and indigenes from both far and near villages showed up in numbers to participate in the free intensive and detailed medical aid carried out by experienced Medical practitioners and doctors. 24-year-old Hadiza Ayuba and her unborn baby will forever be indebted to Tonto Dikeh as she was more or less saved by her intervention. READ ALSO: BBNaija: Alex speaks on getting negative vibes from Nina Hadiza who was abandoned by her husband, narrated how she got pregnant for the first time and how the child unfortunately died in her womb after 3 months due to the effects of stress and hard work she went through in order to earn a living. However, it turned out the baby was alive after a doctor interviewed her and gave her a full scan. she was actually 8 months pregnant and not 9 months as she assumed. In addition the baby was a girl and very much alive and not dead. The doctor discovered she has peptic ulcer and also suffered from undernourishment. The foundation took care of her medical bills up until she eventually gave birth and also a token to assist her with taking care of the baby. Hadiza was filled with immense gratitude for the good deed carried out by Tonto Dikeh Foundation. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News on NAIJ.com News App Omoni Oboli Interview: About the Nigerian Movie Industry | Star Chat on NAIJ.com TV: [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | President Buhari departs for USA to hold talks with Donald Trump - President Muhammadu Buhari departs Abuja on Saturday, April 28, on an official working visit to the United States - The president will hold a bilateral meeting and a working lunch with Donald Trump - The meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between Nigeria and United States President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Saturday, April 28, on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump. The presidents special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, April 27, said Buhari while in America would hold bilateral meeting with President Trump and a working lunch on April 30. According to Adesina, the meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries. READ ALSO: Those against Buharis re-election behind attacks in the country He said the meeting would also advance shared priorities, such as: promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security. The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigerias economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership. Later in the day, President Buhari will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry, he added. He said that ahead of the visit by the President, meetings had been scheduled on April 26 and 27, between senior Nigerian Government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation. He said that in the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials would be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. The presidential aide said: On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment. In the area of transportation, the officials will meet with the GE-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession. In the interim phase, a substantive concession agreement will be negotiated and finalized to provide the consortium the opportunity to invest an estimated $2bn, to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line). During the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements are expected to be signed. He further disclosed that Nigerian officials would also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements. It is noteworthy that in 2017, Nigerias Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the United States Department of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote and encourage commercial and investment ties between Nigeria and the United States. This is with initial focus on infrastructure, agriculture, digital economy, investment and regulatory reforms. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app NAIJ.com previously reported that the United States president, Donald Trump, invited President Muhammadu Buhari to a meeting at the White House on April 30, 2018. According to a statement released by the US government, Trump is expected to discuss issues such as promoting economic growth and fighting terrorism with Buhari, The Nation reports. The statement read: "President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to enhance our strategic partnership and advance our shared priorities: promoting economic growth and reforms, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security, and building on Nigerias role as a democratic leader in the region. Nigerian youths reply to President Buhari over 'lazy' comment | NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Alleged N5.7bn fraud: Court grants Katsina ex-governor bail A Federal High Court sitting in Katsina, on Friday granted the former governor of Katsina state, Ibrahim Shema bail on self recognition. Shema was governor of the state from 2007 to 2015. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Shema is standing trial before the court on 26 count charge bordering on money laundering, amounting to N5.7 billion SURE-P funds during his tenure. The counsel to the defendant, Mr Joseph Daudu, SAN, filed a bail application of the defendant under section 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. He also told the court that the defendant relied on sections 158, 162 and 165 sub (1) of the Criminal Administration Justice Act (ACJA) to solicit for the bail. READ ALSO: 5000 APC members defect to PDP in Bayelsa Daudu said that the defendant is presumed to be innocent until the determination of the case by the court. He also drew attention to the fact that the defendant was a former governor of Katsina State for two terms. Therefore, has right to bail and would not breach the bail conditions if granted. He urged the court to grant the bail application, as the defendant was ready to comply with the terms and conditions of the court. The prosecution counsel, Dr J.O Olatoke, SAN, objecting to the bail application, said that there are intelligent reports that the defendant might jump bail if granted to him. He said that Shema had already applied to a Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking for the release of his international passport, which is in the complainant custody (EFCC). Olatoke urged the court to refuse the bail application. In his ruling on the matter, the judge, Justice Babagana Ashigar, granted the bail to the defendant on self recognition. Ashigar also said that bail was based on the conditions stipulated in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). "The court considered section 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sections 162, 163 and 158 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to grant the bail, he said. He, however directed the defendant to deposit his international passport at the court registry, if in possession of it. He adjourned the case to June 12 for further hearing on the matter and for the defendant to comply with the conditions. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Shema is also standing trial before Katsina State High Court for allegedly misappropriating N11 billion belonging to the State/Local Government Joint Account during his tenure. Recall that NAIJ.com earlier reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Katsina on Tuesday, April 24, ordered that the former Katsina state governor, Ibrahim Shema be remanded in EFCC custody until April 27, for alleged money laundering. Shema pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him. What does Nigeria need right now? (Nigerian Street Interview) | NAIJ.com TV: [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | More trouble for Dino Melaye as observer groups endorse INEC recall process - The recall process of embattled senator, Dino Melaye, is still ongoing in his home state of Kogi - Melaye is the current senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate - His constituents kick-started the process of recalling him last year Civil society observers duly accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given their verdict on the recall process of the embattled Senator Dino Melaye. Melaye, 44, is the current senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate. His constituents kick-started the process of recalling him last year, after accusing him of abandoning them after he was elected. Senator Melaye's constituents kick-started the process of recalling him last year READ ALSO: 4 major reasons we want Dino Melaye recalled - Kogi West constituents The observers are Northern Patriotic Front, Global Development Centre, African Initiative for Sustainable and Positive Development and Centre for Credible Citizens Awareness. In a statement sent to NAIJ.com today, Friday, April 27, the groups stated that: Having keenly observed the process leading to the April 28 verification of signatures of legible voters calling for the recall of the said senator, we wish to make our position and findings thus far clear as thus: 1. The demand by the electorates and citizens in Kogi West Senatorial District to recall their senator is in order and constitutional, hence should not be interrupted. 2. INEC in line with our relevant enabling laws as a democratic nation have so far shown transparency, fair-play and credibility in the entire process 3. Distribution of sensitive materials for Saturdays verification exercise is strictly ongoing without any hitch. 4. In showing transparency, INEC accredited ten (10) reputable civil society organizations as observers for the exercise with the mandate for them to observe the entire process and report accordingly without bias. Based on the fact that the Kogi West Senatorial District Recall is one of its kind and will also help in strengthening our democratic values and promote credible, accountable and quality representation, we therefore make the following demands: a. Every eligible electorate in Kogi West Senatorial District should come out en-mass to participate in this exercise without fear. b. The electorate in the district should as well conduct themselves in an orderly and peaceful matter. c. INEC, having commenced well, given cognizance to the rule of law, electoral process and constitutional rights of citizens should also finish well without blame. d. Security agents in the state should ensure a peaceful atmosphere while the exercise last. We the INEC duly accredited Civil Society Observer Groups are seriously monitoring the recall process across the seven local government areas in Kogi West Senatorial District, as it will help in shaping further our democratic principles by giving back constitutional powers to the electorates to both elect and recall their representative as the case may be. Finally, we state that the Kogi West Senatorial Recall has clearly demonstrated that in democracy, power ultimately belongs to the electorate. Politicians and elected representatives of the people should take note. READ ALSO: Dino Melaye recall: 4 politicians that might save him Last year, INEC received 188,588 signatures out of the 360,098 registered voters for the recall of Dino Melaye from the Senate. The commission received six bags, which contained the signatures of 52.3% of the electorates from the zone and other petitions. Kogi West senatorial district to recall senator Dino Melaye from the Nigerian Senate - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Unity of Nigeria will remain my paramount objective - Buhari - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has promised Nigerians unity in the country - The president reassured Nigerians that his paramount objective and that of his government is the unity of the country - Buhari promised to do everything within his powers to unite Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, April 27, in Abuja reassured Nigerians that the unity of the country will remain his paramount objective and that of his government. NAIJ.com gathered that the president stated this while receiving a delegation of the Tijjaniya Movement led by Sheikh Muhammadu Mahi Ibrahim Inyass at the Presidential Villa. The president said: I will continue to do everything within my powers to unite Nigeria. In a statement by the special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the president commended the religious group for the peaceful conduct of their annual convention and urged them to bring the same to bear in promoting peace, unity and inter-religious harmony in Nigeria. READ ALSO: Those against Buharis re-election behind attacks in the country President Buhari also lauded the group for complementing government efforts in bringing social, economic development, and stability in the country by encouraging discipline, unity and spirituality among its members. Reiterating his remarks on Thursday at the palace of Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, after he was presented with the Holy Quran, the president said the gift of Holy Quran is the highest anyone can receive and a reminder to seek and uphold justice in the service of the nation. Sheikh Muhammadu Mahi Ibrahim Inyass, the leader of the group, in his remarks, told the president that members of the group would continue to support and appreciate his noble agenda for the benefit of all Nigerians, because they believe elected officials must be accountable, incorruptible and God fearing. It has never been easy. Even our Holy Prophet (SWA) was never totally accepted in his lifetime. It was only after he had long gone, people saw the wisdom in his preaching and sacrifices. We, therefore, urge you not to relent in your efforts. Therefore, it is pertinent for you to note, Your Excellency, that majority of us are with your government and would ensure a total support for you in your effort to return Nigeria to the path of greater progress and development, Sheikh Inyass said. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app NAIJ.com previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, April 9, in Abuja declared his intention to seek re-election in 2019. Malam Garba Shehu, the presidents senior special assistant on media and Publicity confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja on Monday. He said that the president made the declaration at a closed-door meeting of the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja. The presidential aide quoted President Buhari as saying that he was responding to the clamour by Nigerians to re-contest in 2019, adding that he wanted to give the NEC, the honour of notifying them first. Nigerian youths reply to President Buhari over 'lazy' comment | NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Oyo Govt. declares 3-day mourning for late Oyo speaker Oyo State Government has declared three-day mourning in honour of the late Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr Michael Adeyemo. Mr Bolaji Tunji, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Ibadan. Newsmen report that Adeyemo died on Friday morning in Ibadan at 47. The state government said that the three-day would be observed from April 30 to May 2, with flags flown at half mast during the period. Meanwhile, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi has described the death of Adeyemo as a tragic loss for him and the people of the state. I received the news of the untimely passage of my brother, friend and dependable political ally with grief and utter shock, this morning (Friday). He was a fine gentleman and bridge builder, who was committed to the development and progress of the state. His death has left a gaping void that will be difficult to fill, he said. Ajimobi said death had again taken away one of the brightest, dutiful and committed political leaders in the state, with the demise of Adeyemo. He noted that Adeyemo used his sagacity to pilot the affairs of the assembly without rancour in the last three years. As the leader of the legislative arm of government with members from different political parties, Adeyemo ensured that the relationship with the Executive was very robust. He was my bridge builder. He was an energetic young man that was always prepared to sacrifice his time, expertise and resources to ensure that the relationship between the Executive and Legislature remains cordial. He said Adeyemo was a man of candour, gentleness, respect, with amiable disposition to all; young and old. He was a rallying point for the Assembly leaders who held him in high esteem because of his unassuming nature My thoughts and prayers are with his family, honourable members of the State House of Assembly, his political associates, friends and the loved ones. This is a loss too sudden and tragic for me to bear. My prayer is that, his very gentle soul will continue to rest in peace. I will surely miss him, he said. Newsmen report that Adeyemo, who hailed from Lanlate area of the state, was also a legal practitioner. Adeyemo made his foray into politics in 2007 and had been a member of the State House of Assembly from 2011 till his death. He was prior to his position as Speaker, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House in the seventh House of Assembly. The late Speaker was also the Vice- Chairman of the Nigerian Conference of Speakers and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee of the forum. NAN CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | FCMB shareholders approve N1.98bn dividend Shareholders of FCMB Group Plc on Friday at the Annual General Meeting approved a dividend of N1.98 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2017. They also approved commended the board for consistent dividend payment. FCMB shareholders approve N1.98bn dividend The shareholders at the companys fifth Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, approved the payment of N1.98 billion dividend which translated to 10k per share. Speaking at the meeting, Mr Boniface Okezie, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), lauded the company for its consistency in dividend payment in spite of the economic headwind. Okezie urged the companys management to work very hard to maintain the tempo, while assuring the cooperation of shareholders support. He said the management must ensure adherence to regulatory rules to avoid payment of sanctions that would have been used to pay dividends. Okezie said the company should be more careful going forward, noting that N28.26 million paid as penalties for various infractions should be avoided. Mr Sunny Nwosu, the former National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said that shareholders of the bank were not happy with the levy being imposed on banks by the Asset Management Corporation (AMCON). Nwosu said the N5.66 billion AMCON levy paid by the company in 2017, was unacceptable by the shareholders. He said the shareholders would resist moves by AMCON to extend its life line. Mr Oladipupo Jadesimi, the companys Chairman, told the shareholders that it would continue to shore up the capital of the bank through profit retention in preparation for the growth opportunities expected as the economy recovers. Jadesimi expressed gratitude to shareholders for their continuous support. Although, we met a number of challenges as a Group in 2017, I am pleased to say that we were able to surmount them, thanks to the commitment of all the personnel of our Group companies, he said. Also speaking, Mr Ladi Balogun, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group, said the groups performance was an improvement over the previous year in spite of the reduction in headline numbers. Balogun said the key drivers of the groups performance included increase in income from non-banking activities, lower impairment charges from the bank and its subsidiaries and improved operating efficiencies through more pervasive use of technology. He assured that the companys successful acquisition of majority (88.2 per cent) stake in Legacy Pension Managers would go a long way in helping to achieve further diversification and earnings within the FCMB Group. We see significant growth opportunities in the Pension management industry and will support and facilitate strategic growth initiatives that will position Legacy in the top-tier of its industry over the next few years, he said. Newsmen report that the company posted gross earnings of N169.88 billion during the review period as against N176. 35 billion achieved in the previous year. Profit before tax stood at N11.46 billion compared with N16.25 billion in 2016, while profit after tax closed lower at N9.41 billion in contrast with N14.34 billion in the previous year. NAN CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Supreme Court will affirm NASS powers to re-order elections Lawmaker Abuja A House of Representatives member, Mr Peter Akpatason (Edo-APC), has expressed optimism that Supreme Court will upturn Abuja High Courts ruling that National Assembly has no powers to alter elections sequence. Cross section of delegates casting their votes for candidates during the 2017 PDP National Convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 10/12/2017 Akpatason said on Friday in Abuja that the courts ruling was an attempt to obstruct legislative process. According to him, the courts ruling negates the provisions of the law. He said that the court would have allowed the national assembly to complete the entire process of election sequence before offering its opinion based on the position of the law. I think in the first place, it is expected that the court should have allowed the entire process to be completed and then, they can go ahead and give an opinion about it based on the position of law. Ideally, this is an ongoing process, and until a bill becomes law, an attempt by the court to adjudicate over it will amount to obstructing legislative process and its against the provisions of the law. In any case, as a person, I dont think it is right; I dont think it is correct that the legislature does not have the powers to legislate on the sequence of elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they are talking about is a creation of a piece of legislation and we have the power to review, improve upon and to abrogate any piece of legislation, the lawmaker said. He disclosed that leadership of the national assembly would appeal the courts verdict at the Supreme Court. I dont see how it can be defended anywhere that the legislature does not have the powers. I am one of those legislators who believe that the matter should be taken to the Supreme Court. We have seen situations like this in the past where the lower courts intervention to solve a particular problem even when it is clear to them that ultimately, at the Supreme Court, the situation is going to change. I want to believe that is what we have in our hands right now. Definitely we are going to reverse it at the level of the Supreme Court, he said. (NAN) CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Eight-count charge filed against Shiite leader, El-Zakzaky The Kaduna state government filed an eight-count charge of homicide against leader of the Islamic movement of Nigeria, (IMN) Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and three others. The charges were filed on April 18. El-Zakzaky with Gov. El-Rufai The defendants are Mr El-Zazaky, Zeenah Ibrahim, Yakubu Katsina and Sanusi Koki. The prosecution in the case is the Kaduna State government. The first count, the defendants are accused of allegedly conniving to block the Sokoto Road in Sabon Gari district, Zaria while they were in possession of guns, knives and other dangerous weapons. The offence is punishable under section 59 of the Kaduna state penal code law, 2017. Count two of the charge borders on the alleged commission of homicide. According to the charge, the IMN members were accused of killing a military officer, Yakubu Dankaduna, when the officer alighted from the convoy of the army chief to disperse the group. The allegation of homicide is punishable by death, under section 190 of the same law. The third count of the charge contains alleged involvement of the group in unlawful assembly. According to the charge, the members of the IMN committed the alleged offence by blocking Sokoto road, under the guise of performing religious functions, while the group wielded dangerous weapons. Count four of the charge bothers on allegations of blocking the same road and preventing the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff from gaining access. According to count five, the IMN members are accused of disturbing public peace by preventing other residents in the area from passing the road. Count six involves an allegation against the four defendants, of inciting the IMN members to commit the alleged offence of homicide. Count seven contains an allegation against the IMN members for inflicting harm on a military officer, Faggo Babayo, without provocation; while count eight contains an allegation of inciting disturbance of the peace in Zaria. The latest controversy between the Shiite group and the Nigerian army began on December 12, when a convoy of the Nigerian army Chief, Tukur Buratai, was prevented from accessing Sokoto Road in the Sabon Gari District of Zaria. Following the clash, the army under Mr Buratais watch attacked and killed over 300 members of the IMN. The figure was confirmed by various reports including outcomes of investigations by the human rights watch and the Kaduna state government. After the clash, Mr El-Zakzaky was arrested alongside his wife and detained by security operatives. Despite a court order for their release in December 2016, the IMN leaders have remained in military custody till date. Shortly after the court ruling, state governments outlawed the group, banning any form of gatherings by the IMN members. Members of the IMN group began a daily protest early April to demand the release of their leader who was not charged, despite being detained for over two years. Source premiumtimes CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Breaking: FG declares Tuesday public holiday The federal government has declared Tuesday, May 1, 2018, as a public holiday to celebrate the 2018 Workers Day. The minister of interior, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) who disclosed this in Abuja on Friday, April 27, congratulated Nigerian workers on their loyalty, strength of character, hard work, sacrifice and dedication to building a greater Nigeria, Punch reports. READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed reveals those allegedly sponsoring attacks in parts of the country The minister in a statement by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr M. Umar, appreciated the central role workers play in government activities and decisions, and for keeping faith with the present administration in its resolve to build a better Nigeria. Dambazau solicited the continuous support of Nigerian workers in governments effort to re-position the economy and uphold the shared legacy of all Nigerians. The minister wishes all Nigerian workers a successful May Day celebration, the statement said. Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the minister for labour and productivity, Chris Ngige, on Monday, March 5, assured Nigerian workers that implementation of a new minimum wage in the country would be done. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app He said the committee set up for that purpose by the federal government had already started work. Ngige gave the assurance while speaking with journalists shortly after witnessing the swearing in of newly-elected chairmen of the 18 local government councils in Edo at the Government House, Benin. Who should get higher salary - doctors or teachers? - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | I dont have hands, but my brain is not disabled - Man without arms inspires many with his determination (photos) - Mpho Mathabi has no arms but he won't let that get him down or stop him from living his life to the fullest - The 24-year-old decided he was not going to let his disability get him down and he is going to help others - So, the young man from Dididi, just outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo, started the Vhumatshelo Hashu organisation The organisation aims to empower young people in his community, with or without a disability, Daily Sun reported. Mathabi founded the organisation in March last year, and has since helped young people in the Vhembe district achieve their dreams. He said: I dont have hands, but my brain is not disabled and I lead a normal life like any other person. I can look after myself, do my school work, use a computer and even write using my feet." Man without arms shares inspiration, says I dont have hands, but my brain is not disabled READ ALSO: Beautiful cancer warrior shares inspiring story to celebrate her birthday I started this organisation not for the disabled but for all youth. We are doing our bit in empowering young people." Mathabi, who studied marketing at the Vhembe FET College, since they started, visited several schools to motivate the youth. "Our most recent project was career guidance where we invited local colleges to come and interact with the youth. Mathabi said he wanted to show other people a disability does not have to limit you- anything is possible through dedication and hard work. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News on NAIJ.com News App He said: My message to the youth is that they stay focused and think positively. Nigerian youths reply to President Buhari over 'lazy' comment trailer. - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Court grants EFCC permanent forfeiture of N1.4bn Paris club fraud' money allegedly linked to Saraki - The EFCC has been granted permanent forfeiture of N1.4 billion Paris club fraud money - The money forfeited was found in the accounts of three firms which, through false claims, laundered N3.5 billion traced to the Paris Club loan refund - The judge had last year granted EFCC interim forfeiture and asked anyone interested in claiming the funds to appear with 14 days A Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Friday, April 27, ordered the permanent forfeiture of N1.4b billion found in the bank accounts of three firms which allegedly impersonated the consultants engaged by the Nigeria Governors Forum to analyse the Paris/London Club loan refunds due to the states. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which obtained the forfeiture order on behalf of the Nigerian government, claimed that the defendants obtained N3.5 billion from the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) by making false claims, Premium Times reports. Listed as defendants in the final forfeiture application filed before the court were Melrose General Services Limited, WASP Networks Limited, and Thebe Wellness Services. READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed reveals those allegedly sponsoring attacks in parts of the country NAIJ.com gathered that the firms were accused of impersonating a consortium of consulting firms engaged by the NGF for the verification, reconciliation and recovery of over-deductions on Paris and London Club loans on the accounts of states and local governments between 1995 and 2002. According to EFCC investigators, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, enlisted the services of a consultant, Robert Mbonu of Melrose General Services Limited and Kathleen Erhimu, a staff of Access Bank, to liaise with his aides and associates to allegedly launder N3.5 billion traced to the Paris Club loan refund to states. In the suit filed before the federal court, the EFCC said the original firms engaged by the NGF were GSCL Consulting and Bizplus Consulting Services Limited. But according to Usman Zakari, an investigator with the EFCC, the alter ego of the first defendant, Melrose General Services Limited, Mr Mbonu, made a false representation to the NGF causing the forum to pay N3.5 billion to his company on December 14, 2016. Zakari said the money was credited into the Access Bank account of Melrose General Services Limited, adding that the respondents dissipated and laundered about N2.3bn out of the money between December 15, 2016, and January 20, 2017, leaving a balance of N1.2bn. Zakari said the anti-graft agency had recovered N220 million out of the laundered sum from the second and third respondents. The EFCC had on October 13, 2017, obtained an interim order from the judge, Mojisola Olatoregun, placing a Post No Debit order on the accounts containing the N1.2bn and N220m. The judge had made the order following a plea by counsel for the EFCC, Ekene Iheanacho, who said it would best serve the interest of justice for the respondents to be ordered to forfeit the N1.4 billion temporarily to prevent them from dissipating same. The judge, after granting the interim freezing order last year, directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily. She further gave anyone interested in the funds 14 days to appear before her to show cause why the funds should not be forfeited permanently. Subsequently, one Godwin Maduka and Linas International Limited showed up before the court, praying separately that the funds should be forfeited to them. Maduka claimed that his firm, Udemgaba Maduka & Associates, had been engaged in 2011 as a consultant by Zamfara state government to help the state recover some hanging funds, with an agreement that it would be paid 20% of the recovered funds. He urged the court to forfeit the N1.4 billion to his company to cover Zamfara states alleged indebtedness to him. But the EFCC opposed Madukas claims, contending that the suit was not a debt recovery suit and that Zamfara state was not a party to the suit. In her ruling, Olatoregun upheld the EFCCs argument and dismissed Madukas claims. On its own part, Linas International Limited said it was entitled to the payment of $6 million from the NGF. The judge also dismissed its claims on the same grounds: that the matter was not a debt recovery suit. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Having dismissed both claims, the judge ordered the permanent forfeiture of the N1.4 billion to the federal government. Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, said the fight against corruption is a do or die affair. Magu made the statement at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja after leading a rally to commemorate the International Anti-corruption Day. He said corruption is Nigerias number one enemy and urged Nigerians to take a bold stand against corruption. The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Tragedy as 47 people drown in Congo River At least 47 people have drowned in a river while trying to flee an attack by rebels in north-west Congo, a state official said on Friday, April 27. Joachim Taila, governor of the Sud-Ubangi Province, said rebels from neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville had attacked the Congolese town of Dongo, located near the border. Crowds of people then tried to cross the Ubangi River in wooden boats, several of which capsized. So far, 47 bodies have been recovered from the river, Taila said. A rescue operation is still under way, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. Congo is dogged by myriad conflicts, with numerous rebel groups active in the region. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app NAIJ.com previously reported that tragedy struck in northwest China when five people died attempting to rescue a suicidal woman. According to the social media account of the government of Dunhuang city, China, the five people who were colleagues drowned while attempting to rescue a woman who was trying to commit suicide in a river in northwest China. According to the officials, the 19-year-old woman was drinking with colleagues by the river early when she jumped in. Her workmates rescued her initially, but she jumped in again. My life after the plane crash Nigerian plane crash survivor Kechi Okwuchi speaks to NAIJ TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Find out the interesting facts about accounting in Nigeria Today we are going to tell you about history of accounting in Nigeria. This is very important area in economic development of any country, including Nigeria. Thats why its necessary to discuss history of the nation to understand a history of its accounting. Lets find out something about history of Nigeria before we start to analyze the main issue. Nigeria is a state in West Africa that ranks first by population. Nigerian people account for 1/8 of the inhabitants of the continent. It has the presidential system of government and the biggest democracy in the world. In addition, its is characterized by a dual economy, which in turn based on its trade sector, rich natural resources and traditional agriculture. Frankly speaking, there wasnt need for the accountants before Nigerias development. Nobody even knew what it was and how to use it. However, a role of accountant became significant after the emergence of a modern economy stimulated by international trade. It became necessary for servicing of the expanding modern sector. As we can see, an accounting is very important for economic development in any country. Its applied in reporting and measuring. Accounting theory Accounting as a profession can include micro economic activities and contain different subsystems associated with economic activities and decisions. The subsystems are the main accounting areas: government accounting, auditing and taxation, business accounting and social accounting that contribute to capital formation, economic planning and other social and economic activities. This profession emerged as the need for creation of a system of recording financial transactions. In the old days, accounting was necessary for enumeration and control of assets, tax-gathering, evidence of trade, control of production and doing business. The increasing of capital, enlargement of trade and production caused a necessity of financial control. Thus, accounting is a decision of financial and economic issues of society. History of accounting The idea of establishing a professional accounting body appeared after Nigeria got its independence. It was provided by few accountants who coordinated the foundation of The Association of Accountants in Nigeria. The major goals of this organization were creation of a central organization for accountants in Nigeria, a maintenance of a strict standard of professional ethics and realization of training, examination and local qualification of students in accounting. In 1965 Chief Akintola Williams had a significant influence on establishing the first professional accounting organization in Nigeria - The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAN) The organization was established by Act of Parliament No. 15 of 1965 to: determine the standards of knowledge and skills that are necessary for those who want to master a profession of accountant; and from time to time to increase these standards depending on circumstances; provide according to the provision of the Act the establishment and maintenance of the registers of fellows, associates who have the right to practice in this profession; and from time to time to publish the list of these persons; perform through the Council of the Institute the other functions entrusted to it by the Act. The Institute of Chartered Accountants was the major accounting body in West Africa. In 1982, ICAN made a very important step for the formation of the Association of Accounting Bodies in West Africa (ABWA). Except the professional practice, this organizations members are included in 3 tiers of public and private service. When ICAN was established, it had about 250 members. However, later the number of certified chartered accountants grew to 38,000. This institute was the first and only organization in Nigeria that regulated the accounting profession until first of January, 1979. The other body that had to perform the similar duties was founded later. It was called the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). This was the only Nigerian chartered organization in accounting area for which the teaching and examining of its students were permitted by law. In addition, ANAN was the only organization that had a power and right to advance accounting as a science. As it was said earlier, it was founded on first of January 1979, and registered on 28 of September, 1983 and on 25 of August, 1993 the organization was decisively chartered by Decree 76 of 1993. ANAN is a truly national body of accounting that have programs of training and education reflecting the national Nigerian environment. The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria was established to make it a Premium Brand of Choice in Professional Accounting Practice in Nigeria and to influence education and practice in accounting at a high level. The Association makes everything possible to advance accounting as a science in the country due to highly qualified professionals. READ ALSO: No going back on $1b withdrawal from excess crude account - Ahmed Idris insists Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria The other organization formed in 1982, was closely associated with ICAN. It was called Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. Originally, its name was Nigerian Accounting Standards Board. The major functions of the organization were the developing, publishing and updating Statements of Accounting Standards for financial statements of various companies. The report of the International Monetary Fund in 2010 claimed that NASB did not have enough funding for its statutory role. The organization needed to hire new employees, retrain already existing employees and increase the salaries. Thus, the new organization to set accounting and auditing standards was established in June, 2010. It considered as independent body from ANAN and ICAN. The full history of accounting in Nigeria is saturated and rich. The education in this area implies the action of giving systematic studying to enlighten the professionals. It offers the directions that are necessary for the future accountants to get the profession in Nigeria. This is very important for updating and increasing of skills and knowledge. The major components to become a successful accountant in Nigeria are training, learning, consistency, acquisition of skills and just hard work. This education needs to develop from a continuing relationship between accounting profession on one side, and academic on the other side. It shouldnt be considered as a goal itself, particularly in training professionals. Its necessary to promote accountability in private and public sector of the economy in Nigeria. Our country is well-developed, thats why, there is an urgent need to get highly developed accounting professionals for its subsequent growth. READ ALSO: Treasury single account in Nigeria - 10 benefits [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Kogi is free from Yellow Fever in the next 40 years Govt By Boluwaji Obahopo Kogi State government has disclosed its plans to establish a model health centre in each of the 21 local government areas of the state to improve healthcare delivery at the grassroots. Gov Yahaya Bello Executive Director, Kogi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency ( KSPHCDA) Dr Abubakar Yakubu, who disclosed this yesterday at an interactive section with newsmen also boosted that the state concerted effort on yellow fever immunisation has yielded positive result that will curtailed yellow fever outbreak in the State for the next 40 years. Dy Yakubu who briefed newsmen on the activities and success stories of the agency, said their has been a huge improvement on the fortunes of the primary healthcare system in the state. He said in an effort to reposition the state primary healthcare system and make it more effective, an executive bill for the take off of the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) has been sent to the state assembly awaiting passage. He said, When the PHCUOR becomes effective, it will bring all primary healthcare departments of local governments under the control of the agency for purpose of ensuring a single line of authority, better coordination, efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare delivery On curtailing yellow fever outbreak, Yakubu said the feat was achieved through the Agencys collaboration with the Ministry Health and World Health Organization (WHO) as well as other development partners that conducted yellow fever reactive vaccination across the 21 local government areas of the state. In course of the continuous investigation on vaccination and feedback on yellow fever outbreak in the state, the agency scaled up the vaccination to cover all the 21 local government in the state. WHO was impressed and scored the state high on the success of the exercise. All things being equal, we dont expect any yellow fever outbreak in Kogi State in the next 40 years. He also noted that the agency last year November successfully conducted Cerebrospinal Meningitis vaccination as part of efforts to boost primary healthcare delivery at the grassroots where the population is large, Only last week, the agency inaugurated 21 Routine Immunization Officers (RIOs) as staff of Local Government Emergency Routine Immunization Coordinating Centre (LERICC). The intervention, would go a long way in improving immunization coverage and check preventable child killer diseases and as well, prevent morbidity and mortality in the state CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Safety, major component of our work place reforms Obaseki World Day for Safety and Health at Work: The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the ongoing reforms in the states critical institutions place high premium on workers safety. Godwin Obaseki According to Obaseki, Safety is a critical component of our overall work design and execution and it is a major point of reference by our local and international partners in project analysis. We have intensified the safety campaign because it is essentially about the life of a worker. The governor stated this on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, celebrated on April 28 each year, by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote safe, healthy and decent work. According to the United Nations, A national occupational safety and health culture is one in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels. The global body notes that such culture includes where governments, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties, and where the highest priority is accorded to the principle of prevention. Obaseki explained that the state governments multi-sector reforms have commenced with institutional framework being strengthened to ensure safety rules are adhered to at construction and other project sites. We are committed to a bouquet of robust health and safety rules as well as the regular retraining of safety and health officers that monitor and supervise jobs to ensure that laid down safety rules are not compromised at the work place. We will blacklist contractors that fail to adhere to safety rules. Other aspects of the reforms according to the governor includes project certification by credible international safety and health organisations, to sustain the tempo and raise the safety bar from time to time, in line with global best practice. Obaseki lauded the wisdom of the ILO in the choice of this years theme: Occupational Safety Health (OSH) Vulnerability of Young Workers and the agencys decision to combine the celebration of the World Day Against Child Labour with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. By bringing the growing exploitation of children and young workers under the global spot light, all stakeholders will interrogate labour laws, policies and practices and carry out the needed reforms, he added. The governor challenged employers of labour with obnoxious practices that render the work place a killing field for young and older workers alike, to put the right structures in place to guarantee workers safety. In some work places, there are no safety rules and where some rules exist, they are observed in breach. Workers protection against hazard is under-estimated and incidents and accidents are rampant. My administration will not tolerate such inhuman practices and we will stop any job that exposes workers to any danger, he said. He assured that the state government frowns at child labour and has commenced the deployment of education marshalls to ensure children of school age are in school and not hawking or loitering. He further said that Our Child Right Act and policy are legal bulwarks for children in Edo State and we are committed to implementing their provisions. The UN notes that the joint campaign to improving the safety and health of young workers and end child labour, aims to accelerate action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 8.8 of safe and secure working environments for all workers by 2030 and SDG target 8.7 of ending all forms of child labour by 2025. The 541 million young workers (15-24 years old) which includes 37 million children in hazardous child labour account for more than 15 per cent of the worlds labour force and suffer up to a 40 per cent higher rate of non-fatal occupational injuries than adult workers older than 25. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Washington Post, Boston Globe BUSTED for quoting totally make-believe financial expert who doesnt even exist Fake news has become a cornerstone of the mainstream media in recent years but the latest scam involving The Washington Post and the Boston Globe (among others) surely takes the cake. It turns out that an oft-quoted expert on student loans, supposedly named Drew Cloud, is actually a fake. Worse, the so-called news website this imaginary expert ran is tied to a student loan refinancing company, LendEDU. After being quoted and featured in a myriad of news outlets, even scoring his own interviews, its been revealed that Drew Cloud does not exist. LendEDU CEO Nate Matherson recently disclosed his companys massive deception to The Chronicle. Drew Cloud is a pseudonym that a diverse group of authors at Student Loan Report, LLC use to share experiences and information related to the challenges college students face with funding their education, Matherson reportedly explained. Had that been all that Drew Cloud had done, perhaps this little snafu wouldnt be so shocking but the makers of Student Loan Report made every effort to make Drew Cloud seem real. Before the pseudonyms presence was scrubbed from their website, Chronicle explains that Cloud had his own detailed biography featured right on the site. His story indicated that he was the founder of the website, which masqueraded itself as an independent, authoritative news outlet covering student loan news. Cloud claimed to be inspired to start his venture after he had difficulty finding the most recent student loan news and information all in one place. His biography mentioned that Cloud had a knack for reporting that was first discovered in high school, and that he had graduated college with the hopes of creating his own independent news outlet. The Boston Globe even quoted Cloud. LendEDU did their best to make the existence of Drew Cloud believable but much to the chagrin of the irresponsible mainstream media, it turns out hes nothing more than a farce. After being pressed by the Chronicle, Clouds byline disappeared from the Student Loan Report website, his name replaced by SLR Editor instead. It did not take very long for the Chronicle to uncover the truth, which leads one to wonder: How did this facade go on for so long? When asked by the Chronicle if he regretted deceiving multiple news outlets and the sites readers, Matherson dodged the question. He stated that Cloud was created as a way to connect with our readers (ex. people struggling to repay student debt) and give us the technical ability to post content to the WordPress website. Apparently, choosing the term SLR Editor to begin with was too difficult? Matherson contended further that the company wasnt that interested in monetizing Student Loan Report, noting that the site had a limited number of ads. Either way, LendEDUs relationship with Student Loan Report was not readily disclosed and according to reports, certainly not discernible from the website. It seems every effort was made to make the site seem like a real, independent news website. Much like other news outlets we see today, SLR was owned by a corporation looking to influence its readers. As Chronicle notes, Cloud often suggested that students refinance their loans which is a service offered by LendEDU. Earlier this month, President Trump accused Amazon of using similar tactics in the Washington Post. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought out WaPo several years ago and according to Trump, Bezos has been using the publication as a lobbying platform. Trump also noted that the U.S. Postal Service is losing money on every Amazon package that it ships. Ultimately, this means American taxpayers are paying billions of dollars to ship packages for Jeff Bezos. Amazon has also come under fire this year for other illegal actions. Fake news is everywhere and the act of making up totally bogus stories is even being rewarded by society. When will the sheeple wake up? [Read more stories on the fake news journalism of the corporate-run media at Journalism.news.] Sources for this article include: Chronicle.com CBSNews.com Mystery: Two Broward County Sheriffs deputies have died since the Parkland, Florida shootings and no one knows why A rising number of questions surround the rather mysterious deaths of now two Broward County sheriffs deputies in the weeks following the Valentines Day mass murder at the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Fla. As noted by the Fellowship of the Minds blog, the first deputy, Jason Fitzsimmons, was found dead around April 1 after calling in sick to work. At 42, the blog noted, Fitzsimmons was in [an] excellent state of mind and health, and yet he was found dead on his sofa. On April 16, Sunshine State News columnist Nancy Smith, who wrote that conspiracy theories have always turned me off, nevertheless raised questions about Fitzsimons untimely death. She writes: Deputy Fitzsimons, 42, described as in an excellent state of mind and health, called in sick sometime April 1 and then died his obituary read unexpectedly. Apparently he was found on his sofa. Thats pretty much the extent of the death report. Smith wrote that she contacted the Sheriffs Office and was assured someone would get back to her, but no one did. An email posted to the Fellowship of the Mind blog by writer James F. Tracy from the departments public affairs division, most likely, inquiring about Fitzsimons employment there contained this truncated response: Good morning. Deputy Jason Fitzsimons worked for BSO until his passing earlier this month. A scan of Fitzsimons Facebook page left no doubt how he felt about what had occurred at the high school and in particular all of the Left-wing anti-gun activism that took place after the shooting and before many of the victims were even in the ground. Smith noted that Fitzsimons was all over social media after the shootings questioning the motive behind them. It was obvious he believed the tragedy was being used to promote the Democratic Partys gun-control agenda in a bid to promote the partys candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. (Related: The buck stops elsewhere: Broward County Sheriff Israel REFUSES to accept responsibility despite multiple leadership failures during Parkland shooting.) He even posted a picture of anti-gun student and media darling David Hogg in a meme featuring him dressed in a Nazi SS uniform raising his right arm with the caption, We will march until we disarm every American. There has also been a virtual media blackout concerning Fitzsimons untimely and unexpected death. Smith wrote that she wanted to do a story featuring Fitzsimons and ask why he was so publicly speaking out against high school student survivors who were grieving. She adds that she didnt even know he had died until she came across the Memory Hole Blog. James Tracy, the sites creator, wondered same as I do now how come the complete news blackout of this curious and untimely death? she wrote. Tracy said that the official cause of Fitzsimons death was cancer, but how can someone who dies of cancer summarily die unexpectedly a phrase reserved for when a loved one dies from a sudden illness, an accident, or suicide. Now, another young-ish Broward County deputy has died unexpectedly. The Sheriffs Office tweeted out on April 25: It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Deputy Marshall Peterson, a 28-year veteran of the Broward Sheriffs Office, Department of Detention. Deputy Peterson, 53, died at his residence. Thank you for your service, Deputy. It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Deputy Marshall Peterson, a 28-year veteran of the Broward Sheriff's Office, Department of Detention. Deputy Peterson, 53, died at his residence. Thank you for your service, Deputy. pic.twitter.com/ytEwtINkWp Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) April 25, 2018 A scouring of the Web turned up a similar dearth of reportage not even a report from local media. And wouldnt that be a story two Broward deputies within a span of weeks, and after one of the most politically tumultuous shootings in the countrys history? Conspiracies run a dime a dozen and if a person tries hard enough they can create a conspiracy involving just about anything. But this cant be just a coincidence can it? See more about conspiracy theories at RealInvestigations.news. J.D. Heyes is also editor-in-chief of The National Sentinel. Sources include: TheNationalSentinel.com FellowshipOfTheMinds.com SunshineStateNews.com U.S. government used chemical weapons to murder children in Texas does that mean its okay for other nations to bomb us? American foreign policy has long been characterized by a precedent of bombing and overthrowing countries that elected officials accuse of committing major human rights abuses. But the United States government has been guilty of many of these same acts of domestic terror over the years, which begs the question: Should other countries also be allowed to overthrow our government in order to protect American citizens from similar harm? (We ask this rhetorically, of course, and the answer is no, but the twisted logic persists among U.S. interests trying to justify bombing Syria.) Shortly after the Syrian city of Douma was allegedly hit with a chemical weapons attack back in early April, President Donald Trump and many in the mainstream media quickly blamed the incident on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This was the pretext by which President Trump almost overnight made the decision to start lobbing bombs into Syria, despite a lack of credible evidence that President al-Assad was even the guilty party. Its a shoot first, ask questions later approach to dealing with alleged foreign threats, either real or manufactured, and it usually results in the U.S. becoming indefinitely entangled in the affairs of other countries most often in the Middle East, and typically to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in military spending. Remember with the FBI gassed and murdered 80 Americans in Waco, Texas? But again, why is the American government never held similarly accountable? Take the infamous Waco, Texas, raid as a prominent example. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent tanks into a Central Texas compound occupied by dozens of people, many of whom were children. The FBI proceeded to blast the private property with CS gas, which left more than 80 men, women, and children dead in its wake. This was an act of cold-blooded murder by our own government, and yet nobody was ever held liable for this egregious crime against humanity. The Feds had no business being at Waco in the first place, let alone making the decision to burn alive innocent children and babies with chemical weapons. And yet, again, justice was never served, and the guilty parties were let off the hook because our federal officials can do no wrong. Its one of the most horrific human rights abuses in American history and one that many would argue was far worse than what allegedly occurred in Douma. If President Trump and the many other politicians calling for war against Syria are at all interested in being consistent in their convictions, theyd similarly call for countries like Russia to intervene whenever children are injured or killed by American domestic policies. When the FBI used CS gas, banned in 100 nations for use even in war, against men, women & children where was the outrage by the media? asks David Knight from InfoWars. Did any nation bomb America for using chemical weapons? And 25 years later, mainstream media still focuses on the heresy of David Koresh if they cover Waco at all. Do we still burn adults & children for heresy? Mandatory vaccination is chemical violence against children should Russia bomb the CDC, then, according to twisted logic? Or how about the continued destruction of childrens lives with mandatory vaccinations, which injure and kill tens of thousands of babies and infants every single year? Vaccines are a form of chemical violence that is far more destructive than alleged isolated chemical gas attacks in the Middle East, so does that mean, by the same twisted logic, that Russia should get involved by bombing the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia? Of course not, but this would be consistent with those supporting the U.S. bombing of Syria. Its only fair for there to be one standard in dealing with chemical violence of any type, no matter whos committing it. This would necessitate the American government also be held to account for harming American citizens whether its done overtly with tanks and chemical gas, or covertly with public health initiatives like forced vaccinations loaded with harmful chemicals like monosodium glutamate, aluminum salts, thimerosal, formaldehyde and other ingredients the CDC admits are still found in vaccines. Sources for this article include: InfoWars.com HealthRanger.news The Philippine government is welcoming nearly a dozen cryptocurrency companies to operate in a special tax-friendly economic zone situated in close proximity to a number of neighboring countries. According to a Reuters report, the Philippines will legalize the entry of 10 blockchain and cryptocurrency companies to operate in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), a government-controlled economic zone that is within an hours flight away from the likes of Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. The government aims to woo cryptocurrency companies to operate out of the economic zone with tax benefits to help generate employment opportunities locally, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority chief Raul Lambino told Reuters. Notably, the official confirmed that the government will also license in effect legalize the cryptocurrency firms in the special zone. The companies will also be allowed to operate exchanges, offer initial coin offerings (ICOs) and engage in cryptocurrency mining within the zone, he added, stating: We are about to license 10 platforms for cryptocurrency exchange. They are Japanese, Hong Kong, Malaysians, KoreansThey can go into cryptocurrency mining, initial coin offerings, or they can go into exchange. There is a caveat, however. Any exchange of fiat money into cryptocurrencies or vice-versa should be conducted beyond Philippines borders to avoid infringing the countrys laws. To aid in bringing jobs to those companies, the economic zones regulator is also considering establishing a new financial technology university in the economic zone with a specific focus on blockchain technology, Lambino added. The embracive stance follows newly introduced rules by the CEZA in February which allowed cryptocurrency companies to legally establish offices and facilities in the special zone. To gain a license, companies must invest at least $ 1 million in the zone over two years and pay up to $100,000 in licensing fees. Meanwhile, in the mainland, the Philippines central bank was previously known to be reviewing the applications of a dozen operators vying to register and launch cryptocurrency exchanges in the country as recently as December. It remains to be seen if these operators have since switched tact to register in the economic zone instead. Story continues The Philippines became one of the earliest nations in the world to publish regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges in early 2017. The deputy director of the central bank, appearing in a televised interview in October 2017, lauded the pioneering regulation and said bitcoin, as a monetary instrument, is fast, near real-time and convenient. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Philippines Legalizes Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Economic Zone appeared first on CCN. This must be a local artist. Reply Thread Link Hopefully she copes well with being a one-hit-wonder. Reply Thread Link She had a hit? Reply Parent Thread Link #2 song in the country for like the 2nd week straight! Reply Parent Thread Link Appropriate icon, OP, lol Reply Thread Link I mean as much as it pains me to say: Taylor Swift. But that heifer aside: Carrie Underwood. Sh*nia. Faith. Etc Edited at 2018-04-27 04:04 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link Seriously - I dont pay attention to country music at all and I heard You Beling With Me almost everywhere in 2009. Also all the other ladies you mentioned. Reply Parent Thread Link LeAnn Rimes, The Dixie Chicks, Olivia Newton-John and Dolly motherfucking Parton. Country crossover women are nothing new, Bebe. Reply Parent Thread Link The general population still has no idea who you are but lol ok Reply Thread Link Neither does Rihanna and Bebe wrote a #1 song for ha! Reply Parent Thread Link I'm not up on either pop or country but after listening to the song, its just a generic country song and she just sounds like every other generic female country singer current out there. And its probably only hit the top because of Florida Georgia Line, not her. Reply Thread Link Like... this atrocity was 5 years ago. Even if you limit it to artists who collaborated with Florida Georgia Line she has no point. She's showing her ignorance about the history of the genre. Reply Thread Link lmaoooo it's even the same group she's collaborated with how can she not know Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah even tho she wrote Meant to Be or whatever, doing the song with Florida Georgia Line just reinforced them as the crossover/feature band everyone runs to when they want country coins. Like I fucking hate what's going on in country right now and songs like Meant to Be aren't particularly helping even if I actually like that song so I just find her statements here really dumb Reply Parent Thread Link ummm ok but sucessica simpson says hi Reply Thread Link aww, she's so cute. Reply Parent Thread Link <3 her Reply Parent Thread Link LMFAO surejan.gif Reply Parent Thread Link Should have kept it to yourself, I'm already sick of hearing country music on pop radio after managing to avoid it for 21 years. Reply Thread Link lmao i didn't even know she had a hit Reply Thread Link I just found out she was American. For the longest time I thought she was British or European or something lol. Reply Thread Link Lmaooo I did too. Oops. Reply Parent Thread Link Welp...based on these replies I guess no one knows where tf she's from Reply Parent Thread Link she is technically albanian lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I couldve sworn she had a British accent too dafuq Reply Parent Thread Link i thought she was swedish... Reply Parent Thread Link She is British unless she changed nationalities. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link that's how they market these heauxz Reply Parent Thread Link Oh in that case it kinda makes sense although Zedd wanted a pop girl (Demi said no and Camila backed out last second) and Maren happened to have the best demo out of all the other singers. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, even taking this into account I just googled and The Backstreet Boys had a song with Florida Georgia Line go number one on country airplay last year. FGL even had a single with Hailee Steinfeld and Alesso before Meant to Be was released as a single, and they were featured on The Chainsmokers album. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao Zedd passed Bebe over on "The Middle" Reply Parent Thread Link Niche fad that's been going on for at least 10 years or more And if we're being real Kelly Clarkson/Nelly really kicked off the whole crossover country thing so... Reply Parent Thread Link shes talented so i never understood why she didnt break through now i get it Reply Thread Link lol mte Reply Parent Thread Link I always though Shania, Reba, Dolly Parton, et Al were the pioneers of country/pop/rock crossover?? Reply Thread Link She's probably making a move since Shania is in a vulnerable position Reply Parent Thread Link Taylor Swift was following a Shania Twain playbook up until 1989 so yeah I'm starting to think Bebe doesn't even know country music like that Reply Parent Thread Link Amazon premiered a clip from the upcoming Suspiria remake (to be released in the fall) at the Cinema Con luncheon, causing some audience members to thrown down their napkins and nope out of the room. To invoke the original film's colorful aesthetic, the luncheon had cool lighting for the clip premiere: Luca Guadagnino brought a SUSPIRIA presentation for which the Amazon luncheon is turned red. pic.twitter.com/xrn48cb0JJ Russ Fischer (@russfischer) April 26, 2018 "disturbing body horror" Luca Guadagnino presented a scene from his #Suspiria remake; theres a 70s sepia tone ... and seriously some of the most disturbing body horror. They went for it and the #CinemaCon audience is gasping. Just brutal but with a gentle melody. Holy crap... call me by your bent body. Fandango (@Fandango) April 26, 2018 "one of the most fucked up things i've ever seen at CinemaCon" Amazon just world premiered a scene from Luca Guadagnino's 'Suspiria' remake and it's one of the most fucked up things I've ever seen at #CinemaCon. People at my table turned away from the screen. All I can say is it's beyond extreme and gross and I need to see more. Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) April 26, 2018 "incredible ... gnarly" Things @russfischer and I said out loud to no one in particular while watching that scene from SUSPIRIA: Whaaat Jesus Christ Holy fuck Wow Scott Wampler @ CinemaCon (@ScottWamplerBMD) April 26, 2018 responding to someone's claim that an audience member threw down their napkin and walked out during the clip: I believe it. The SUSPIRIA scene they just showed at this luncheon was *gnarly*. https://t.co/dbqtTW1M3u Scott Wampler @ CinemaCon (@ScottWamplerBMD) April 26, 2018 "will haunt me for the rest of my life" They are showing the #Suspiria clip now. I had to look away but it wasnt enough. The sound effects alone will haunt me for the rest of my life. #CinemaCon Lauren Cox (@Iaurencox) April 26, 2018 "now the thing i need to see" Reactions to the Suspiria clip shown at CinemaCon just now have been CRAZY. If I didn't much care for the movie before, it's now the thing I need to see maybe more than anything else. Doesn't hurt that it's from an Oscar nominated director! https://t.co/dnsUdzG25f John Squires (@FreddyInSpace) April 26, 2018 LOVING THIS CONCEPT! Luca Gudagnino's #Suspiria is Black Swan meets The Exorcist in a 70s Berlin Marc Jacobs ad Matt Donnelly (@MattDonnelly) April 26, 2018 IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE CLIP WAS... SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY! Ummm I am traumatized after seeing a scene from "Suspiria" in which Dakota Johnson controls the body of another woman as she dances. The woman's body literally cracks in half. She is like, torn apart. Spitting, urinating, bleeding. It's... A lot. #CinemaCon Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) April 26, 2018 First clip from Suspiria invokes a dancer being thrown around like a rag doll telekinetically in a mirrored rehearsal space, bones breaking, becoming a contorted mess. Very gruesome and hard to watch. This film will make most people feel uneasy. #CinemaCon Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 26, 2018 FIRST POSTER FOR THE FILM REVEALED! Open your mind and stretch your imagination. #Suspiria is coming to theaters this fall. Starring Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, @ChloeGMoretz, Mia Goth and Jessica Harper. From director Luca Guadagnino. pic.twitter.com/67O57kJWQD Suspiria (@suspiriamovie) April 26, 2018 SOURCES Her statement brings up an interesting point about the law. Apparently being exposed to lesbianism is ok as long as it's shown as an outsider only thing? THEY (the rest of the world) can be gay, but Kenyans can't? Hopefully the exposure they are allowed leads to progress towards legalization. I hope this movie makes its way to a release worldwide. Reply Thread Link oh goodness. Didn't 'the wound' also face some issues? I'm interested in both but I need to know the endings TBQH I don't need more sad gay endings Reply Thread Link i'm definitely looking forward to this movie although i'm with pikapika217 that blowsi'm definitely looking forward to this movie although i'm withon needing to know whether the ending is sad or not. Reply Thread Link [ Spoiler (click to open) ] "The film ends by showing the two girls together, but it remains unclear whether they have maintained a relationship." The NYT interviewed Wanuri Kahiu and they talked about the ending: Reply Parent Thread Link smh as a kenyan-american this makes me sad, but not surprised. i'm extremely excited to watch this, the film looks beautiful Reply Thread Link That's depressing. I've always heard from different filmmakers across Africa how difficult it is not only to get their films produced but to get local distribution. If anything though I think (and hope) this will help get it distribution in Europe and North America. In addition to saying it's a Cannes film they can now market it as being banned in Kenya. Reply Thread Link That's shitty. :/ The film looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Reply Thread Link a colonial era national law ugh throw it away Reply Thread Link that's really sad. i'm excited for this movie, so i'm hoping it's able to do well Reply Thread Link that really sucks Reply Thread Link is there any way people outside of kenya can support the film? i'm from the US, would definitely pay to see it. Reply Thread Link Why are you so afraid, Kenyan authorities Reply Thread Link oh wow that's disappointing Reply Thread Link thats just sad and depressing. Reply Thread Link Eat shit. Reply Thread Link Why? You Turkish? Reply Parent Thread Link Why so angry, genocide denier? Reply Parent Thread Link i agree with u except this is probably one of the ONLY things she has done thats actually Good Reply Parent Thread Link Good for her. I got into a crazy argument with these two Turkish girls the other day who were denying it ever happened and that some things were fabricated. Was like an out of body experience. Reply Thread Link My school holds a remembrance for the many murdered in this genocide. This past week a Turkish guy came and completely went nuts destroying all the crosses and flowers placed as a tribute. Reply Parent Thread Link They are fucking idiots. Reply Parent Thread Link I went to a charter school that had a lot of Turkish staff and I remember I first learned about the Armenian genocide after doing a presentation on genocide in general, and i got in trouble for including it in the presentation. I made it a point to research everything I could about it after bc I thought the reaction was weird. Reply Parent Thread Link That must have been chilling, tbh. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link whoa! was this in the US? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol i wonder if those girls think my great-grandfather's entire family just up and murdered themselves, or.... Reply Parent Thread Link disgusting. i'm turkish myself but moved to belgium when i was young and talking to childhood friends that are still in turkey, they're truly brainwashed over this entire thing. the history they're being taught in class is so incredibly skewed. Reply Parent Thread Link "Similar Situation" my ass. Don't talk about it sis if you don't know about it. Reply Parent Thread Link sis, you are not going to tell me there aren't some similarities with what enacted this genocide to policies trump is creating ... of course i don't Trump going to such extent (i hope not) but similarities are there. Edited at 2018-04-27 07:23 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link As of 2017, Israel, the United Kingdom and United States do not recognize what happened a century ago as a genocide Obama throughout his two terms as U.S. President, abstained from using the term "genocide". Despite a large number of direct descendants of the Armenian Genocide living in Jerusalem, specifically in the Armenian Quarter, Israel still refuses to recognize the genocide It's always these countries tbh Reply Thread Link Yeah, this is not surprising at all. Fuck Obama x100000. Reply Parent Thread Link fr Reply Parent Thread Link that icon op with this post .... Reply Thread Link nnn Reply Parent Thread Link omg Reply Parent Thread Link oop Reply Parent Thread Link nnnnnn Reply Parent Thread Link OH MY Reply Parent Thread Link Gal Godot, who plays Wonder Woman, is Israeli. Reply Parent Thread Link Gal defends the IDF in other words she defends the right wing of Israel Edited at 2018-04-27 07:51 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Edited at 2018-04-27 07:47 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol Reply Parent Thread Link oop Reply Parent Thread Link I shrieked Reply Parent Thread Link Not gonna happen while Trump is president. And probably not under any future Dem president unless things in Turkey change. Reply Thread Link Yet, shes still "fighting" for peoples rights to appraise him. Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao for sure. Reply Parent Thread Link Lmaoo omg this sounds like something that would be on an episode of Veep Reply Parent Thread Link lmao honestly these are where the only redeeming parts of the Trump administration could happen Reply Parent Thread Link Ha ha I think if someone lets him know Obama didn't acknowledge it then that might be enough for him. Reply Parent Thread Link things in turkey won't change, unfortunately. if anything i think it'll get worse. i'm not even in turkey rn but because of my dual citizenship i get erdogan propaganda in my letterbox on the weekly. Reply Parent Thread Link The only right thing she has done in her career is to shine light on the Armenian Genocide. Reply Thread Link Well, maybe now that Kanye and Trump are besties, he can get him to acknowledge it. Reply Thread Link Trump swoons over Erdogan. He might accidentally post something on Twitter, but Scavino will fix it as soon as he sees it. Reply Parent Thread Link I went to the Armenian Genocide museum a couple years ago and I thought it was very well done. I hope the US and all remaining countries recognize it as a genocide. Reply Thread Link dont care for her in general, but i do appreciate her consistency in talking about this subject. most people i know who are my age don't know about it or treat it as if it wasn't a big deal. Reply Thread Link yeah, say what you want about the kardashians but at least kim has been pretty vocal in raising awareness for the armenian genocide which is such a little known tragedy in most of the world. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah she mentions it every year Reply Parent Thread Link Yep, I think she took out a full page ad in the NYT about it a couple of years ago. Reply Parent Thread Link yup, I learned about it because one of my Armenian high school friends always posts about it on social media. Reply Parent Thread Link very true, i only know about it from living in the little armenia part of hollywood and then glendale the past few years. never had even a clue about it until then. Reply Parent Thread Link yeah this is a really good platform for her, since it's so often overlooked and is a part of her identity. like she is by far the most famous Armenian-American there is (sorry Cher) and if people can make that association they are much more likely to be aware Reply Parent Thread Link I mentioned this among my turkish friends once and lord what a trip ... Reply Thread Link Deep breath. Reply Thread Link It should be remembered. The only way I ever learned about it as a kid was my dad fixing computers at the Armenian Archdiocese. It's insane we don't learn it in school. Reply Thread Link Part 1/2 Today marks the 103rd year since the horrific events of the #ArmenianGenocide began. Dr. Richard Hovannisian's collection of survivor interviews is among the most significant community initiatives for members of the diaspora like myself who live in CA @USCShoahFdn pic.twitter.com/k4svrfFvpn Serj Tankian (@serjtankian) April 24, 2018 Reply Thread Link It's good that she keeps drawing attention to it. My country (Finland) hasn't recognised what happened as genocide, either. I wish ppl and the press challenged them but so far, that hasn't really happened. Edited at 2018-04-27 07:36 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link IAEA Hosts First Meeting on Estimating Nuclear Plant Construction Costs The meeting focused on the prospective capital and operating expenditures associated with pre-construction, construction, and operation of new, commercial-scale plants, including first-of-a-kind concepts, as well as identifying critical cost drivers and options to reduce costs. The International Atomic Energy Agency hosting its first-ever technical meeting on nuclear power plant cost estimation April 24-26 in Vienna, Austria. Nuclear experts from around the world took part to discuss the challenges of nuclear power construction projects. IAEA provides technical support to Member States on various aspects of developing nuclear infrastructure, including cost estimation of nuclear power plant construction. This meeting gave senior managers, analysts, energy planners and others involved in nuclear power cost estimation, nuclear technology development, and nuclear power plant operations/ownership a chance to discuss issues associated with cost estimation and cost management in new plant construction projects. The meeting focused on the prospective capital and operating expenditures associated with pre-construction, construction, and operation of new, commercial-scale plants, including first-of-a-kind concepts, as well as identifying critical cost drivers and options to reduce costs. There are two new reactors under construction in the United States at Southern Nuclear Energy Co.'s Vogtle plant in Waynesboro, Ga. Vogtle units 3 and 4 will be the first in the industry to use the Westinghouse AP1000 advanced pressurized water reactor technology and the first new nuclear units built in the United States in the past three decades, according to the company. Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power announced March 29 that the 35-foot-tall nuclear reactor vessel had been successfully installed inside Unit 4 containment at the Vogtle plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its annual assessment letter for Vogtle 3 and 4 on March 2, 2018, covering calendar year 2017. NRC determined that the units "were being constructed in a matter that preserved public health and safety and met all cornerstone objectives," the letter said, adding that all inspection findings during 2017 had very low (green) safety significance. NRC issued annual letters to all 99 commercial nuclear power plants in the United States around that time. All but three plants were in the two highest performance categories, according to the agency's March 5 announcement. Grainger Donates $50,000 to Educational Nonprofit The donation came about from the 2018 Grainger Show in Orlando, Fla.; for every dollar of sales made through its Big Red Store during the show, Grainger pledged to donate one dollar -- up to a total of $50,000 -- to Folds of Honor. Grainger has donated $50,000 to Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization based in Owasso, Okla., that provides educational scholarships to families of fallen and disabled service members. The organization announced April 26 that the donation will go toward its Higher Education Scholarship program. The donation came about from the 2018 Grainger Show in Orlando, Fla.; for every dollar of sales made through its Big Red Store during the show, Grainger pledged to donate one dollar -- up to a total of $50,000 -- to Folds of Honor. "We couldn't do what we do for our amazing military families without the generosity of organizations like Grainger," said Maj. Dan Rooney, Folds of Honor's founder. "We are incredibly grateful for this commitment. With Grainger's donation, we will be able to make a difference in the lives of brave military families nationwide immediately, as this contribution will be allocated in our 2018 scholarship distribution." Grainger CEO DG Macpherson is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and the company's founder, William W. Grainger, served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. (The Grainger photo in this article shows Macpherson, left, sharing a stage with Rooney at the 2017 Grainger Show.) "Not only is the U.S. military a huge part of our company DNA, but Grainger also has a passion for education and job training that creates positive changes and new opportunities in our communities," Macpherson said. "That's why we are honored to support Folds of Honor and help educate the families of those who serve our country." Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello IIII SINGAPORE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III is set to fly to Kuwait after Labor Day, May 1, to clarify issues concerning the Philippine Embassys rescue of Filipino house workers that sparked a diplomatic rift between the Philippines and Kuwait. Bello specifically wants to be enlightened of the alleged abuse and maltreatment that Filipino workers experience from employers in the Gulf State that led to the rescue mission, as directed by President Rodrigo Duterte. Still, Bello maintained that he sees nothing wrong with the rescue effort as the situation, as claimed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, was between life and death. Kasi nakita ko ang mga pictures (Ive seen the pictures). Ang isa bleeding ang tenga (One had a bleeding ear). Ang isa (Another one) with so many marks on the backHindi ka pwede magisip-isip pa ng coordination (There was no time to think about coordination) . If you were in the shoes of the ambassador, I wonder what will be your action, the Secretary explained. Despite the ongoing tension, Bello is confident that the matter will be resolved soon and eventually, the signing of the bilateral agreement will push through. Itong (this) incident ay (is) very isolated so with some diplomatic moves from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor, maaayos ito (we can fix this), Bello concluded. Meanwhile, DOLE distributed Friday to its ASEAN counterparts a copy of the agencys handbook. This is to serve as guide to other ASEAN member states on the welfare and protection of migrant workers in the Southeast Asian region. Mon Jocson | UNTV News & Rescue The post Bello to fly to Kuwait to clarify Embassy rescue mission appeared first on UNTV News. Phuket, Thailand 26 April, 2018: JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, part of Marriott International, announced today it has participated in Journey Week from 26 April 4 May. The initiative is taking place in all Marriott International properties across Asia Pacific to attract new talent while inspiring current associates to aim high. Journey Week encourages and inspires associates of the worlds largest hospitality group to create their own future and shape the company, and also show potential employees why Marriott International is an employer of choice. Marriott International believes that a great career is a journey of self-discovery: people achieve personal fulfilment through new adventures. The companys founders J. W. and Alice Marriott saw life as a journey from the day they set out to Washington, D.C. to open their root-beer stand, they never stopped exploring and reaching for new opportunities. Marriott International is equally committed to each associates journey, enabling them to grow personally and professionally with careers that flourish. Journey Week is a platform that reinforces our companys global employer brand To The Journey. The week-long series of events bring to life our value proposition: that Marriott International offers unmatched opportunities coupled with a culture that empowers associates to live their best lives, said Regan Taikitsadaporn, Chief Human Resources Officer at Marriott International. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa hosts numerous events for associates such as To The Journey day with Marriott International. Executive associate in senior leadership role, Matthias Y. Sutter, General Manager shares his own career journeys to inspire others to reach their own career destinations. The associates also had an opportunity to learn more about Marriott culture and history throughout the fun games and activities after the hotel tour. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa has been taking an active role in working with universities to offer students to internships, voyage or direct placement opportunities and open up the chance to attract young talent and help them grow their hospitality careers. On May 4, the 7 representative culinary teams of young and talented chefs from JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa, Marriott Resort Phuket Merlin Beach, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, The Naka Island Resort & Spa Phuket, Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa and The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa Phuket will showcase their kitchen skill and creativity at the culinary challenge. Mr. Norraphat Plodthong, Phuket Governor and Miss Kanokkrittika Kritwutthikorn, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office will be the guests of honour and be part of the judge panel on that day. Furthermore, The Marriott International Job Fair as part of Journey Week will take place during August, 10 am 6 pm, more details of the event to be announced at the further stage. Interested candidates should bring along a copy of their resume. There will also be a focus on female leadership roles the Female Leadership Event where inspiring associates such as Khanisthanee Kanthanit, Director of Human Resources, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa will showcase and emphasize their progression and journey throughout each stage of their career. With over 600 hotels in operation and a further 80 hotels slated to open in 2018, Marriott International in Asia Pacific presents a plethora of job opportunities as well as career growth prospects for our existing associates. Marriott is poised to add approximately 19,000 job positions across Asia Pacific by the end of 2018. BME Assistant Professor Jeremy Rogers, Associate Professor Chris Brace and PhD students Sevde Etoz and Ryan Niemeier pose behind a custom-built optical coherence tomography instrument that uses visible light to view tissue. Credit: Renee Meiller With a thin probe and a burst of microwaves, doctors can eradicate cancer cells without opening up a patient for surgery. But when you're trying to cook a tiny amount of precancerous tissue to death in an area as delicate as, say, the esophaguswhere muscles control the flow of food into the stomachprecision is paramount. A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineers is working to hone new imaging techniques that could allow for finer monitoring of this kind of minimally invasive ablation treatment. In an exploratory study recently published in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, College of Engineering graduate students Ryan Niemeier, Sevde Etoz and Daniel Gil and faculty members Jeremy Rogers, Melissa Skala and Christopher Brace analyzed how two different methods of optical coherence tomography (OCT) could provide valuable, quantitative imaging data on tissue that's been ablated and the surrounding areas. Unlike ablations of tumors in organs such as the liver or lung, where the measurements are in centimeters, procedures in areas like the esophagus work in scales of fractions of a millimeter. "Traditional medical imaging doesn't really work well for that," says Brace, an associate professor of biomedical engineering who led the ablation side of the study. "Traditional optical visualization might give you a sense of what's happened on the surface, but you can't quite tell how deep it got." To explore an alternative method, the UW-Madison engineers used a traditional weakness of optical technology to their advantage. When light is beamed into tissue, it scatters, limiting the depth and contrast of the resulting image. This custom-built optical coherence tomography instrument uses visible light to view tissue. Credit: Renee Meiller "At the same time, it's also an opportunity," says Rogers, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering whose lab focuses on biomedical optics. "Scattered light actually contains a lot of information. So by making use of that scattering signal, we can actually turn that into a source of contrast." OCT, which Rogers likens to the optical version of ultrasound, typically uses near-infrared light, which scatters less and penetrates deeper than visible light. But since the group was expressly interested in examining changes in scattering, the visible wavelength offered intriguing potential. Rogers and his optics team custom built an OCT instrument that uses visible light and then compared the images to those taken with a commercially developed system employing near-infrared light. "What we've seen with this is that they actually contain complementary information. Each has certain advantages and disadvantages," says Rogers, noting the near-infrared tool sees deeper and has a better signal-to-noise ratio, while the visible instrument yields a higher resolution. "We also know from theory of scattering that these different wavelength ranges are going to actually be sensitive to different structures in the tissue." Thus, detecting changes in scattering could indicate physical tissue changes, such as cell death in the case of ablation treatments. With further exploration, that could mean real-time monitoring of procedures, which could increase efficiencyno more waiting on lab work to confirm results. "It suggests we might be able to use this type of technique to look more interactively at what's happening in the tissue," says Brace. Explore further Researcher looking to shed light deeper into the human brain More information: Ryan C. Niemeier et al. Quantifying optical properties with visible and near-infrared optical coherence tomography to visualize esophageal microwave ablation zones, Biomedical Optics Express (2018). Journal information: Biomedical Optics Express Ryan C. Niemeier et al. Quantifying optical properties with visible and near-infrared optical coherence tomography to visualize esophageal microwave ablation zones,(2018). DOI: 10.1364/BOE.9.001648 Army researchers and their academic partners find artificial intelligence techniques that allows US soldiers to learn 13 times faster. Credit: US Army illustration New technology allows U.S. Soldiers to learn 13 times faster than conventional methods and Army researchers said this may help save lives. At the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, scientists are improving the rate of learning even with limited resources. It's possible to help Soldiers decipher hints of information faster and more quickly deploy solutions, such as recognizing threats like a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial war zone images. The researchers relied on low-cost, lightweight hardware and implemented collaborative filtering, a well-known machine learning technique on a state-of-the-art, low-power Field Programmable Gate Array platform to achieve a 13.3 times speedup of training compared to a state-of-the-art optimized multi-core system and 12.7 times speedup for optimized GPU systems. The new technique consumed far less power too. Consumption charted 13.8 watts, compared to 130 watts for the multi-core and 235 watts for GPU platforms, making this a potentially useful component of adaptive, lightweight tactical computing systems. Dr. Rajgopal Kannan, an ARL researcher, said this technique could eventually become part of a suite of tools embedded on the next generation combat vehicle, offering cognitive services and devices for warfighters in distributed coalition environments. Developing technology for the next generation combat vehicle is one of the six Army Modernization Priorities the laboratory is pursuing. Kannan collaborates with a group of researchers at the University of Southern California, namely Prof. Viktor Prasanna and students from the data science and architecture lab on this work. ARL and USC are working to accelerate and optimize tactical learning applications on heterogeneous low-cost hardware through ARL's - West Coast open campus initiative. This work is part of Army's larger focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning research initiatives pursued to help to gain a strategic advantage and ensure warfighter superiority with applications such as on-field adaptive processing and tactical computing. Kannan said he is working on developing several techniques to speed up AI/ML algorithms through innovative designs on state-of-the-art inexpensive hardware. Kannan said the techniques in the paper can become part of the tool-chain for potential projects. For example, a new adaptive processing project that recently started where he's a key researcher could use these capabilities. His paper on accelerating stochastic gradient descent, a technique ubiquitous to many machine learning training algorithms, won the best-paper award at the 26th ACM/SIGDA International Symposium on Field Programmable Gate Arrays, the premier international conference on technical research in FPGAs, held in Monterey, California, Feb. 25-27. Explore further Army researcher uses math to uncover new chemistry Credit: Angel Soler Gollonet, Shutterstock New studies show that the seven planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 are made mostly of rock, and some could hold more water than Earth. The quest to see if there's life in other solar systems led to the astonishing discovery over a year ago of seven Earth-sized planets around TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star less than 40 light years from Earth. The scientists who made this remarkable find then went on to further explore the secrets of these planets, resulting in a number of new studies that give insight into their nature and make-up. As astronomers search for potentially habitable planets around other stars, the EU-funded SPECULOOS project's focus on the smallest and dimmest neighbouring stars has a purpose. The size and faintness of these ultra-cool dwarf stars make them ideal for studying their orbiting planets with the technology available. But the TRAPPIST-1 planets also have other advantages. Their short orbital periods range between 1.5 and 18.7 days, offering many opportunities for observation from Earth as they pass in front of their star. Taking advantage of the qualities of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, researchers used terrestrial telescopes TRAPPIST and SPECULOOS and space telescopes Hubble and Spitzer to intensify their study of the planets' nature and potential habitability. Their observations yielded more accurate estimates of the distance, temperature, radius and mass of the dwarf star. This is an important step in gaining a better understanding of the planets orbiting it. A closer look at the TRAPPIST-1 planets Other explorations revealed the seven Earth-sized planets of TRAPPIST-1 to be rocky overall and have more water than Earth. In fact, based on their densities, up to 5 % of the mass of some of these planets could be water, which is about 250 times more water than is found in Earth's oceans! Studies also showed that the hotter planets closest to the dwarf star may be surrounded by dense, steamy atmospheres, and the more distant ones could have icy surfaces. More importantly, the absence of a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in three of the planets suggests they're not gaseous and inhospitable like our solar system's gas giants. This further supports the theory that they may be similar in composition to Earth, and therefore likely to support life. What next? These discoveries are just the beginning, as astronomer Dr. Michael Gillon from the University of Liege, Belgium, suggests in an article published on the European Research Council website. The new James Webb Space Telescope that will be launched by NASA and the European Space Agency in early 2020 will allow scientists to probe deeper into the atmospheres of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, "notably to measure their composition and detect possible molecules of biological origin," says Dr. Gillon. "In the temperate and potentially habitable Earth-size regime, SPECULOOS's detection potential should be significantly better," Dr. Gillon notes in 'Science Magazine'. "The next years are going to be very exciting!" Yet, the hunt for more information on this star and its planets doesn't mean that the search for other potentially habitable systems has been abandoned. As part of his SPECULOOS research, Dr. Gillon will be using the partly EU-funded observatory he's setting up in Paranal, Chile, to study around a thousand stars as he searches for other planetary systems like that of TRAPPIST-1. With the successful detection of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, SPECULOOS (SPECULOOS: searching for habitable planets amenable for biosignatures detection around the nearest ultra-cool stars) is continuing with its goal to discover planets outside our solar system that could support life. Explore further Trappist-1 exoplanets may have too much water to support life The Belle II detector records and analyses particle collisions produced by SuperKEKB. Credit: Shota Takahashi/KEK In the new SuperKEKB accelerator in Japan the first collisions of matter and anti-matter particles have been detected. Scientists from LMU and the Universe Cluster are involved in the experiments. Particle physicists have been waiting for this moment for a long time: On 26 April 2018 at 0:38 GMT+09:00 at KEK (Japan's High Energy Accelerator Research Organization) in Tsukuba, beams of matter and anti-matter particles collided for the first time in the new SuperKEKB accelerator. News of this success came from the detector, too: The Belle II instrument, which is also a new development, "saw" and recorded the particle tracks produced in the collision. Scientists hope the experiment will help them to understand why the original balanced ratio of matter to anti-matter in the Universe changed, so that it now contains virtually none of the latter. What is the key to solving the matter/anti-matter mystery? Scientists are trying to find it in the decay patterns of short-lived particles, B-mesons in particular, where a slight excess of matter can be observed. B-mesons are pairs of quarks with a particular characteristic: One of the two quarks is either a beauty (B-) quark or the corresponding antiparticle. B-mesons are produced when electrons and positrons (anti-electrons) collide and annihilate each other. Search for special decays SuperKEKB accelerates electrons and positrons circulating in opposite directions before they are brought into collision in the Belle II detector. Belle II records and analyzes the consequences of these collision events. "The particle tracks must be measured very precisely if we are to detect decays that deviate from the norm," explains Dr. Hans-Gunther Moser from the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP). "This task falls to a high-sensitivity pixel detector, which is sited directly at the collision point in the center of Belle II." Prof. Dr. Thomas Kuhr from the LMU adds: "In addition to improved detectors, sophisticated algorithms are also required in order to find the smallest deviations when analyzing the large amounts of data recorded." Eight years ago, upgrade measures began on the KEK accelerator and the Belle detector in Tsukuba. The objective of this major project is to increase the previously attainable yield of B-mesons by a factor of 40: During the next 10 years, the SuperKEKB-Belle II combination is expected to produce and evaluate around 50 billion B-mesons. This enormous increase in the volume of data also enhances the chance of finding the sought-after decay pattern. Scientists from LMU, the Excellence Cluster Universe, the Max Planck Institute of Physics and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are involved in the construction of the innermost detector and in the development of the software for evaluating the data. A ring accelerator on the home stretch A crucial innovative feature of the SuperKEKB is a newly designed positron ring and a complex system of superconducting magnets that keep the particle bunches on track. The new Belle II detector, whose functions are perfectly matched to the facility, will be commissioned at the same time as the upgraded accelerator. A few weeks ago, one electron and one positron beam were fed in. Since then, scientists and technical staff have been working to align the particle beams to the collision point inside the Belle II detector. Additionally, instruments built at the MPP are currently being used to measure background signals that would interfere with future analyses. After this test phase, the final components, including the pixel detector in whose development the MPP has played a crucial role, will be installed and calibrated. The current plan is for the scientific program to get underway early next year. Credit: Fauna & Flora International When someone says Caribbean, I am sure most people think idyllic beaches, sunshine and relaxation. When I hear the word, I think remarkable wildlife and lush habitats teeming with a delightful array of animals and plants. Reflecting on Charles Darwin and his groundbreaking discoveries about how species evolve differently on islands compared to on the mainland, I found myself heading to Anguilla, a UK overseas territory, to work on the conservation of one of these remarkable species the Lesser Antillean iguana. The Lesser Antillean iguana can be found on the islands of Anguilla, St Eustatius, St Barths, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Dominica. Sadly, its population has declined by over 70% and the species is now endangered. It has actually become extinct on St Martin, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. The overall population continues to fall at an alarming rate. Like other native iguanas in the Caribbean, the Lesser Antillean iguana is threatened by invasive species, especially the green iguana from Central America. Green iguanas are bigger and more aggressive, and they interbreed with the native iguanas, resulting in hybrid offspring that dilute the unique genetic make-up of the native iguanas. Other introduced species such as feral cats and dogs prey on the iguanas, killing many individuals every year. But probably the most important issue the native iguanas have to face is loss of habitat and the lack of connectivity between the different areas they need to survive, as they feed and lay their eggs in separate places. The development of the islands for tourism is allowing less and less space where the iguanas can feed and live in peace, and the roads that bisect their traditional habitat are often a death trap for them collisions with cars are a major cause of mortality. A juvenile caught on the Anguilla mainland if it proves to be a purebred Lesser Antillean iguana it will become part of the reintroduction programme to the cays. Credit: Isabel Vique/FFI Last month, representatives from three territories (Anguilla, St Barths and St Eustatius) came together with the support of the BEST Initiative (European Commission), Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and guest experts from neighbouring islands to create a strategy to conserve their native iguanas. Over the course of a week, the Anguilla National Trust, Agence Territoriale de l'Environnement de Saint-Barthelemy and St Eustatius National Parks discussed the threats that menace the Lesser Antillean iguana in the islands, and how to mitigate these problems, coming up with a set of actions that will be implemented in the next few years and that will lead to the stabilisation or even increase in Lesser Antillean iguana numbers in the different territories. The participants also had the chance to learn from each other and discuss how to face common challenges by working together. But not everything was hard work! We found the time to visit Anguilla's British Governor, Mr Tim Foy, who is particularly interested in the work developed by the Anguilla National Trust to save the iguanas. In order to stretch our legs, we went out on two nights to visit one of the locations where the iguanas live in Anguilla. We visited the Prickly Pear Cays, where a reintroduction programme is underway to save the iguanas from the threats on the main island. One of our nocturnal incursions led to the capture of a juvenile on the Anguilla mainland that, if it proves to be a purebred Lesser Antillean iguana, will become part of the reintroduction programme to the cays. It is always a pleasure to work hand in hand with our partners on the ground, but in this case I also had the opportunity to get involved in a peer-to-peer learning process and to witness people from the different islands engaged in complementary projects and supporting networks geared towards a shared conservation goal. The experience provided me with a feeling of hope for the future of the Lesser Antillean iguana and other species in the Caribbean. The iguanas couldn't be in better hands! Explore further Possible hybrid threatens native iguanas in Cayman Islands Dr. Matthew Niemiller, an assistant professor of ecology at UAH, conducts field research in caves throughout the Tennessee Valley and around the country to better understand species that are rare, threatened, endangered, or relatively unknown. Credit: Alfred Crabtree As a cave ecologist, Dr. Matthew Niemiller is a frequent visitor to the dark, damp caves of the Southeastern U.S., where he chases millipedes, beetles, and other diminutive creatures through tight spaces. Hours spent breathing cool, heavy air and wading through chilly underground water are necessary for him to gather enough material for further analysis. After he removes his helmet and muddy boots, however, Dr. Niemiller dons a crisp white lab coat to analyze his collected samples using cutting-edge technology in starkly different surroundings. Dr. Niemiller joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in August of last year. As an assistant professor of ecology, the speleologist divides his time between the classroom and the field. "My research ranges broadly from evolution, speciation, and biogeography to spatial ecology and conservation. The work I'm doing here often deals with species that are rare, threatened, endangered, or relatively unknown," he says. "It's hard to detect these subterranean species directly due to the size limitations imposed by caves. We can use cameras, but it still gives us a limited view." In an effort to overcome these limitations, Dr. Niemiller has turned to a novel method of detecting wildlife: environmental DNA, or eDNA for short. "All these organisms are shedding DNA constantly into their environment, so we can potentially leverage that information to detect species that may go undetected by traditional means," he explains. By collecting samples from the potential environment of an elusive creature, Dr. Niemiller can extract DNA, design a genetic assay to identify the species, and make inferences if there is a positive detection. eDNA is being used by other researchers across the state to confirm the presence of a variety of threatened and endangered aquatic organisms, such as Black Warrior Waterdogs and Hellbenders, two species of aquatic giant salamanders. "Hellbenders have not been detected in many streams and rivers in the state for several decades," he says. "But eDNA may confirm the continued persistence of historic sites and perhaps detect new populations." Dr. Niemiller is also using molecular genetic approaches to better distinguish between groups of cave species, such as cave-dwelling millipedes. "We want to get a better understanding of the 15 or so species in this species complex. What are their species boundaries? Are there cryptic species?" he says, referring to those that are similar in appearance but genetically distinct. Cave beetles are another example. "They're a crazy diverse group with 150 species," he says. "Are they truly restricted where one species is unique to a cave or did past experts oversplit them?" Assisting Dr. Niemiller in this effort is a team of three graduate students. The first, doctoral candidate Joseph Benito, is focused on the genetic differences between cave- and surface-dwelling species. "Morphologically," he explains, "cave species often lack eyes and have longer antennae. But what genes account for this?" At the same time, master's students Carson Woodward and Spencer Boyd are developing eDNA assays to detect cave fishes and evaluating the likelihood that water is capable of carrying microbiological contaminants into cave systems. Of particular interest is the fungus responsible for white-nose syndrome, which has resulted in the recent declines in bat populations nationwide. "The ever-increasing risk of biodiversity loss from a plethora of threats, such as urbanization, groundwater pollution, and climate change," he says, "adds urgency to our need to understand the ecological and evolutionary responses and resiliency of subterranean biodiversity." At present, Dr. Niemiller is working on publishing two papers about his research and looking into possibly expanding his use of eDNA analysis to local fauna. But when it comes to studying living things, time is of the essence. "How long is DNA persisting in cave habitats? Days? Weeks? Without light, does it last longer?" he asks. "So this summer, we are going to look at the retention time of DNA in these subterranean caves." As for Dr. Niemiller's own habitat, he's relieved that his career has led him to the ideal one here in Huntsville. "Climatewise," he laughs, "this is so much better than central Illinois!" Explore further Researchers sample a DC swamp to study a spineless creature More information: Matthew L. Niemiller et al. Rediscovery and conservation status of six short-range endemic Pseudanophthalmus cave beetles (Carabidae: Trechini), Insect Conservation and Diversity (2017). Matthew L. Niemiller et al. Rediscovery and conservation status of six short-range endemic Pseudanophthalmus cave beetles (Carabidae: Trechini),(2017). DOI: 10.1111/icad.12263 Hot hot heat. Credit: TWStock You walk through a park in a city on a warm day, then cross out to a narrow street lined with tall buildings. Suddenly, it feels much hotter. Many people will have experienced this, and climate scientists have a name for it: the urban heat island effect. Heavily urbanised areas within cities are between 1 and 3 hotter than other areas. They are contributing to global warming and damaging people's health, and it's set to get worse as urbanisation intensifies. Numerous cities around the world are trying to do something about this problem. But there is a very long way to go. So what is holding us back, and what needs to happen? Urban heat relates to how most cities have been designed. Many rows of tall buildings are organised into blocks which resist any natural breeze. Streets and roofs are clad in dark materials like asphalt and bitumen, which retain more heat than lighter materials and natural surfaces like soil. Natural ground absorbs rain, which is evaporated by the sun's rays on a warm day and released into the air, cooling everything down. In a city, the rain just runs into the sewer system instead. Urban areas tend to lack trees. Trees help reduce the air temperature by blocking the sun's rays, while cutting the levels of pollution by absorbing harmful particles. Cities are also warmer because they are full of human activity. Everything from transport to industry to energy output makes them hotter than they otherwise would be. Cause and effect Urban heat has various consequences. Combined with heatwaves and global warming, both of which are also on the rise, these hotspots are producing conditions that kill and hospitalise growing numbers of people. The worst affected are the elderly and other vulnerable groups like the homeless. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that increased city temperatures lead to more pollutants in the air. These can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly among children. As cities get bigger, more and more people will be affected by these threats to their health. Higher city temperatures are one reason why we are using more and more air conditioning. One US study found that the urban heat island effect in Florida was responsible for over $400m (287m) of extra aircon, for example. Lofty shoots. Credit: Alison Hancock Aircon feeds climate change by producing more carbon emissions through the extra electricity demand, creating a vicious circle where it gets hotter because more aircon is required. The increased energy demand means a greater risk of summer blackouts, causing both human discomfort and economic damage. Hotter city roads and pavements also raise the temperature of storm-water runoff in sewers. This in turn makes rivers and lakes warmer, which can affect fish and other aquatic species in relation to things like feeding and reproduction. Finally, there are major economic consequences to hotter cities. One paper from last year predicts that all the extra wear and tear caused by the excess heat would amount to between 1% and 10% of lost GDP in thousands of cities around the world. How we're reacting The solutions to the problem are clear enough: they include using paler more reflective building materials, and wiser urban planning that incentivises more parks, tree planting and other natural open spaces. When it comes to taking these steps, however, it's a very mixed picture. Countries and municipal authorities have typically become very good at adopting plans to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. They are not so good at taking steps to adapt to climate change. A study from 2014 found that most European cities had failed to introduce urban heat plans, and the situation looks little better today. This being the case, city administrations that have gone the extra mile look particularly enlightened even though they tend to be somewhat sporadic. Melbourne, for instance, has substituted its trademark bluestone pavements in several areas with a permeable version that absorbs rainwater, thereby increasing the amount of evaporation. New York City's Cool Roof Initiative has seen thousands of volunteers painting some of the city's flat bituminous roofs with a reflective polymer material. Lately, Los Angeles has launched an initiative to paint roads white, part of a pledge by city hall to lower the temperature by 3 in the next 20 years. Beijing, meanwhile, has been introducing zoning measures to reduce smog. Other administrations have been encouraging green roofs rooftops covered in vegetation: they are a legal requirement for big new developments in Toronto; there are floor area bonuses for developers who include them in Portland, Oregon; and Chicago had a funding scheme for a while. In Swiss cities and regions, green roofs have been a legal requirement for many buildings for years. These are all just pockets of activity, however. Many other mayors and city administrations need to start implementing the kinds of bylaws and incentives to adapt to the reality of hotter cities. The cities of the future can still be green and cool, but only if they move up the agendas of many city halls. The laggards need to follow the example of those that have been leading the way. The reality is that the social, environmental and economic costs of urban heat islands add up to a bill that is too high for humanity to pay. Explore further Why is it so hot at night in some cities? This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Detectives in California used DNA left at crime scenes, combined with genetic information from a relative who joined an online genealogy service, to catch an alleged rapist and murderer who eluded authorities for four decades. The arrest this week of 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelobelieved to be the "Golden State Killer" responsible for 12 murders and more than 50 rapes in the 1970s and 1980swas hailed as a victory for cutting-edge science and old-fashioned detective work. "The answer was, and always was going to be, in the DNA," said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. Here's how it unfolded. Crime scene DNA Schubert opened a cold case investigation into the Golden State Killer two years ago, according to The New York Times. Investigators started with DNA samples from crime scenes that were in storage to build a genetic profile of the suspected attacker, which they then uploaded into an online genealogy database to see if they could find a match. A Lake Worth, Florida-based company called GEDMatch acknowledged on Friday that its database "was used to help identify the Golden State Killer... although we were not approached by law enforcement or anyone else about this case or about the DNA." The company warned customers in a statement that even though the site was intended for genealogical research, possible uses of their DNA include "identification of relatives that have committed crimes or were victims of crimes," and that they should delete their profiles if they had any concerns. Although DeAngelo himself had not sent his own DNA to GEDMatch, at least one distant relative of his had done so, and possibly more. GEDMatch is a website that "pools raw genetic profiles that people share publicly," Paul Holes, a retired district attorney inspector, told the East Bay Times. "No court order was needed to access that site's large database of genetic blueprints." Larger companies including Ancestry.com and 23andMe denied any link to the investigation and said they had not given any customer data to law enforcement officials. Online family trees People who are related share chunks of identical DNA, which is interspersed with sections of different DNA. Identifying these shared patterns can point investigators to people who are distant or close kin, depending on the extent of the match. The crime lab began exploring online family trees that appeared to mirror the suspect's DNA profile. Then, they hunted for clues about various individuals in those families, to see if they were possible suspects. On April 19, detectives decided that DeAngelo might be the one because a number of factors aligned: the DNA, his age, and the fact that he lived in the area where the crimes occurred. Investigators set up surveillance in the tree-lined suburb where DeAngelo lived. Then, Schubert said, "abandoned" DNA samples were acquired from him. Officials have not said what was used, but it could have been a soda can, a hairbrush, or anything containing DeAngelo's saliva, hair or blood. "You leave your DNA in a place that is a public domain," she said. This allowed experts to compare the newly collected sample to the old DNA from the crime scene, and it was a match to more than 10 of the murders. The sample provided "overwhelming evidence that it was him," Schubert said, according to the Sacramento Bee. 'Astronomical evidence' Schubert asked the sheriff's office to collect a second sample, to be sure. So they did. "The second sample was astronomical evidence that it was him," she said. DeAngelo was arrested outside his home Tuesday and charged with murdering two people in 1978 in Rancho Cordova, California. He is expected to face more charges. "This was a true convergence of emerging technology and dogged determination by detectives," Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said. Explore further Genealogy site didn't know it was used to seek serial killer 2018 AFP A UAlberta researcher is testing drone technology during the 2018 growing season to find out whether it can help farmers and insurance adjusters get better estimates of crop damage caused by weather. Credit: University of Alberta Farmers and insurance companies may soon get more accurate estimates of weather-related crop damage thanks to a University of Alberta researcher working with existing drone technology. Post-doctoral fellow Virginia Garcia Millan is testing whether algorithms used in drones for existing applications, such as hydrology and forestry, will also work for crop damage estimates. The idea is to better quantify crop damages and improve an online app called SkyClaim, developed by Skymatics, a startup offering remote sensing solutions and drone services, co-founded by U of A science alumnus Cassidy Rankine. The results so far are encouraging. "(The agricultural and insurance sectors are) telling us they find it very useful for their daily work," she said. "Particularly, we've had high interest from agronomists and adjusters who would like to use this tool. "It's a project that reflects where modern farming is headed," she added. The algorithms use drone data collected in the skies over 20,000 acres of wheat, canola, barley, corn, potatoes and hemp crops stretching between Edmonton and Lethbridge, along with data from nearly 100,000 acres worldwide, recorded through a crowdsourcing campaign for drone users online. The high-tech, bird's-eye approach offered by drones can be tailored to different crop loss situations while largely automating the estimation process, reducing human subjectivity. Traditionally, adjusters visually estimate crop damage from the edges of the fields or by walking them in an M-shaped pattern, but drone data gives a wider-ranging perspective to show the true extent of yield losses over much larger areas of farmland, said Garcia Millan, who is on a team in the Faculty of Science exploring new uses for unmanned aerial vehicles. "Sometimes there are disagreements between what adjusters declare and what farmers consider they lost. A good estimation of crop damage is fair for both. Having an objective and accurate estimation of crop damages measured in acres for the entire field, rather than just a few sample locations, can save thousands of dollars to insurance companies or ensure farmers get fair compensation," she explained. Insurance companies can also be overwhelmed with claims in a massive weather event, meaning delays in viewing damaged cropland, which in turn can result in less accurate estimates. But drones collect an aerial overview almost immediately after a destructive event, using advanced image analysis techniques and machine learning algorithms. "We then have an objective and accurate quantification of the damage," she noted. The algorithms Garcia Millan is testing generate an ultra-high-resolution digital map of the field, a 3-D model of the crop surface and a table with damage estimates broken down into hectares, percentages of loss and monetary values, all delivered on the user's mobile device by Skymatics in a report that's quick and easy to interpret. "Crop damage can differ, depending on several factors," Garcia Millan said. "This level of detail is tailored to the type of damagehail, wind, wildlife, fire or frostthe intensity of the damage, the type of crop and its growth stage," she said. The next step is to integrate Garcia Millan's 3-D crop loss algorithms into the Skyclaim web app in beta form for the 2018 growing season, Rankine said. "We'll get user feedback, then go into widespread commercial use by the end of the year," he added. "It's an app we feel is going to really show how drones can serve industries like the insurance and agricultural sectors." Explore further Using drones to estimate crop damage by wild boar Credit: Nils Faber & Angelo Vermeulen A group of students and researchers at Delft University of Technology are designing a starship capable of keeping generations of crew alive as they cross the gulf between stars and they've turned to ESA for the starship's life support. DSTART, the TU Delft Starship Team, is bringing together a wide variety of disciplines to perform advanced concepts research for a resilient interstellar space vehicle, to be constructed from a hollowed-out asteroid. The aim is not just to focus on the necessary technology, but also to consider the biological and social factors involved in making such a gargantuan voyage feasible. "We need self-sustaining and evolvable space technology capable of enduring the many decades needed to journey from our Solar System to another," explains DSTART leader Angelo Vermeulen, currently studying for his systems engineering Ph.D. at TU Delft. "As part of that, we are looking at the kind of regenerative life-support system pioneered by the ESA-led MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) programme." The 11-nation MELiSSA programme seeks to build a system, inspired by a natural aquatic ecosystem, to efficiently convert organic waste and carbon dioxide into oxygen, water and food. A MELiSSA pilot plant in Spain's Autonomous University of Barcelona hosts an airtight multi-compartment loop with a 'bioreactor' powered by light and oxygen-producing algae to keep 'crews' of rats alive and comfortable for months at a time. While the algae yield oxygen and trap carbon dioxide, the rats do exactly the reverse. The bioreactor with oxygen-producing algae was recently demonstrated on the International Space Station. "The MELiSSA concept gives the starship its baseline life support," adds Angelo, a biologist and artist who in 2013 served as crew commander of the NASA HI-SEAS Mars simulation base in Hawaii. "Meanwhile, we're also integrating other technologies such as 3-D printing and asteroid mining into our design." Next month the DSTART team will present the first version of their starship-scale MELiSSA computer simulation at the AgroSpace-MELiSSA workshop in Rome. The simulation allows the team to test the robustness of the MELiSSA system as it travels through deep space across extended periods of time. Explore further Life-supporting pilot plant Credit: CC0 Public Domain When hackers struck the Colorado Department of Transportation in a ransomware attack in February and again eight days later, they disrupted the agency's operations for weeks. State officials had to shut down 2,000 computers, and transportation employees were forced to use pen and paper or their personal devices instead of their work computers. Staffers whose computers were infected didn't have access to their files or data, unless it was stored on the internet, and the attack affected the payroll system and vendor contracts. It could have been a lot worse: The Colorado hacks didn't affect traffic signals, cameras or electronic message boards, and state information technology officials, who refused to pay the ransom, said the system had been 95 percent restored as of last week. Transportation systems are ripe targets for cybercriminals, according to cybersecurity experts, and many state and local government officials are only now waking up to the threat and realizing they need to beef up their defenses. "A cyberattack or threat could affect everything from municipal transportation to high speed transit rail that operates between cities," said Srini Subramanian, a state cybersecurity principal at the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP. "It could create crashes or chaos on the highways or even on city streets." The Colorado incidents have transportation officials, who normally busy themselves with more routine matters, thinking more critically about system security. "DOTs are traditionally built around building and maintaining asphalt and concrete. That's our bread and butter," said Alan Davis, an assistant state traffic engineer for the Georgia transportation agency who serves on a national panel researching the best ways to prepare transportation systems for cyberthreats. "But there's also this other world that operates that infrastructure. This world is a new thing for a lot of DOTs." In February, Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn told a meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials that security breaches are a big concern for his agency, which oversees public transit, highways, tolls, a port, an airport and the motor vehicle administration. If hackers get into the network, he said, "they can play with our trains, traffic signals, variable message boards. We've never had to think about these things before." Rahn's fears are not far-fetched. It's not uncommon for hackers to take control of electronic messaging signs on roads, often as a prank. Some will display obscene language, jokes or personal messages. Usually, they access the signs remotely through a network connection in which a password may not be reset or even used at all. But hacking into a transportation system can have more serious consequences. In 2008, a 14-year-old computer whiz used a device to hack into a tram system in Poland, derailing several trains and injuring at least a dozen people. State and local governments face growing threats from hackers and cybercriminals, including those who use ransomware: malicious software that hijacks computer systems, encrypts data and locks machines, holding them hostage until victims pay a ransom or restore the data on their own. In 2016, a ransomware attack struck San Francisco's light rail system, disrupting its computer system and email. Hackers requested about $73,000 in bitcoin to unlock the agency's computers, which the Municipal Transportation Agency refused to pay. As a precaution, it turned off ticket machines and fare gates in its stations, allowing customers to ride free during some of the weekend. Last fall, Sacramento's regional transit agency was hit with a ransomware attack demanding it pay a single bitcoin, then worth about $8,000, to get control of its website back. Transit service continued, but the website took two days to restore, and city officials met with federal security officials. Atlanta has been reeling from a ransomware attack in March that crippled several city offices and interrupted services. Residents couldn't pay bills or traffic tickets online, the municipal court couldn't view cases, police had to file paper reports, and inmates had to be booked by hand. Many cyberattacks on state and local government have disrupted day-to-day operations or targeted the personal data of millions of residents. But cybersecurity experts and transportation officials caution that in today's digital world, where everything from traffic lights and road sensors to trains and ports are connected to computer networksjust as self-driving vehicles will behackers could do a lot more damage. "There's a real emerging concern about this in state DOTs because everything is becoming more connected," said Doug Couto, a cybersecurity and transportation consultant and former chief information officer for the Michigan transportation department. "Anything on a network or on the internet becomes vulnerable to hackers. "We need to guard against cyberattacks because they're exponentially increasing," Couto said. "It would be fair to say that they hadn't been thinking about it a lot in DOTs." Georgia's Davis said states' traffic operations centers, which monitor traffic signals, electronic message signs and incident response units that help disabled motorists, could be crippled by cybercriminals. He said his agency, which has its own IT department and cybersecurity team, has bolstered its defenses against hackers. He thinks it's a good idea for state transportation agencies to have their own IT and cyber staff so they don't have to share a common network with other agencies and can be protected if the statewide system is breached. Many transportation agencies, including Colorado's, are consolidated into statewide IT departments that handle cybersecurity, or have a hybrid setup in which IT is centralized but agencies may have a cyber analyst on staff. And many state IT officials think it's better for one statewide department to manage the entire network, both for efficiency and to ensure that every agency is equally prepared for cyberthreats. Regardless of where IT is located, officials say cybersecurity funding remains a serious challenge for state governments. A 2016 survey of top IT security officers from 48 states found that in most states, spending on cybersecurity was a fraction of the overall IT budget, ranging from zero to 2 percent. Another challenge for state transportation agencies is how to protect information when working with local governments on regional transportation projects, Davis said. Sharing information on networks that aren't entirely secure can leave agencies vulnerable to hackers. "You can build as high a wall on your side as possible, but they can go around that wall on the other side," he said. "When Atlanta had their ransomware attack, I thought, 'Uh-ohwhat's our connection to the city? Do we have to pull the plug?' It turned out we were OK, but that was alarming." Explore further Hackers demanding bitcoin ransom attack Atlanta city computers 2018 Stateline.org Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. About 1.7 million acres of forest land in Idaho is family-owned, representing about 36,000 landowners and 56 percent of all privately-owned forest land in the state. As much as 560,000 acres, or 33 percent of family owned forests in Idaho, are likely to have new owners within five years, according to a new survey released today. The Policy Analysis Group (PAG) in the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources conducted an extensive survey in 2016 of Idaho's family forest landownersforests privately owned by families, individuals, trusts, estates and family partnerships. "The objective of the study was to better understand Idaho family forest owners' management decisions and preferences, and to compare the management activities of landowners who participated in forestry assistance programs with those who haven't," PAG principal researcher Philip Cook said. The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), which provides planning, technical and educational assistance to landowners through its Forest Stewardship Program, contributed primary funding to the study. "The survey's findings will improve delivery of technical assistance programs that help landowners manage their forests to reduce fire risk and insect and disease infestations," said Mary Fritz, IDL Forest Stewardship Program Manager. The survey found a potential for many family forests to change ownership in the next five years. "This change raises questions as to how new owners may use or alter management of these forests, which provide numerous benefits like timber for wood products, recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat and clean water," said Dennis Becker, PAG director and one of the study's authors. Forests cover approximately 21.2 million acres of land in Idaho, or 40 percent of the land base. Privately owned forests make up 3 million acres, with family forests totaling approximately 1.7 million acres, about 8 percent of all the forests in the state. Other findings of the survey include: Most family forests in Idaho are less than 50 acres and are in the northern part of the state. Idaho family forest owners actively manage their lands, with more than 60 percent of the estimated 36,000 owners taking actions to improve forest health. Owners with a written management plan are more likely to take actions to improve forest conditions. One-third of owners reported having commercially harvested timber. Over half of Idaho's family forestlands are owned by someone at least 65 years old. A low percentage of all ownersaround one-fifthreported having received information or assistance from IDL or UI Extension, a figure that can be increased by designing programs to meet the future needs of forest owners. Explore further Survey describes values, challenges of largest shareholder in US forests More information: Idaho's Family Forest Owners: 2016 Survey Results: Idaho's Family Forest Owners: 2016 Survey Results: www.uidaho.edu/-/media/UIdaho- rch/PAGreport38.ashx Prof. Francesco Billari, Bocconi University, Milan. Credit: Paolo Tonato In the early 2000s, Turkey was a country in full demographic transition. Fertility rates had dropped to replacement level and were heading toward the lower levels of Southern Europe and Iran. Unexpectedly, Turkey has been able to stop, and in some areas even reverse, this trend in subsequent years, also recording an increase in marriage rates. A newly published paper asserts that politics, and in particular the Islamist AKP party, played a decisive role in this reversal, through the provision of local welfare policies directed to families. "As demography, policies and religion evolve together, it is usually difficult to find evidence on their mutual effects," says co-author Francesco Billari, a Professor of Demography at Bocconi University, Milan, "but the unique features of the majoritarian Turkish local election system provided us with a natural experiment." The paper compares the evolution of fertility and marriage rates in the electoral districts where the AKP barely won the 2004 local elections and those where it barely lost. The two groups of districts were virtually indistinguishable and had the same marriage prevalence and fertility rates before the elections. The paper concludes that after 2004, compared with non-AKP district, AKP districts had five to eight more children per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 (an increase of around 10 percent) and about four more marriages per 1,000 individuals of the same age range. Though four more marriages for every 1,000 women doesn't sound dramatic, in a country where only 3 percent of women aged 44 to 49 have never been married, the difference is rather significant. The AKP supports an original mix of religion-motivated and neoliberal policies. The Turkish President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is, on the one hand, vocally pro-natalistfor example, in one speech, he said, "No Muslim family can understand and accept birth control and family planning." He and the party, on the other, promote the decentralization of welfare policies. A big part of welfare provision is based on charities with strong ties to local governments, funded by pious donors and corporations that do business with local governments. Mayors and local authorities frequently serve on social assistance and solidarity foundation boards. With this capillary welfare system, in the years following the success of the AKP, funding for socioeconomic assistance has increased and poverty rate decreased dramatically until about 2011. "A local AKP governance seems to affect demography through lifting constraints on fertility and marriage with effective welfare policies at the local level," says co-author Ozan Aksoy, a lecturer in social science at University College London. "Our analyses rule out alternative channels such as economic development, an increase in religiosity, and the migration of mothers or young couples toward the AKP-ruled areas, where welfare provisions are more generous." "Our findings emphasize the role that institutional and structural factors, as opposed to individual norms and values, play in shaping the link among religion, politics and demography," Prof. Billari says. "The effects of the Turkish policies are surprisingly similar to Swedish welfare, but in a completely different setting." "However, so far the reversal of fertility decline has happened in areas governed by the AKP. It remains to be seen if non-AKP districts will also benefit from effective welfare provision to catch up with their AKP counterparts on demographic trends" Dr. Aksoy says. Explore further U.S. social policies helped keep child poverty rates from climbing during Great Recession More information: Ozan Aksoy et al, Political Islam, Marriage, and Fertility: Evidence from a Natural Experiment, American Journal of Sociology (2018). Journal information: American Journal of Sociology Ozan Aksoy et al, Political Islam, Marriage, and Fertility: Evidence from a Natural Experiment,(2018). DOI: 10.1086/696193 Provided by Bocconi University Reddit is opening an office in Chicago, the tech company's first outside the coasts. The website, known for its massive community of users that can make content go viral, is building out its advertising platform. There are major brands and advertising agencies with a presence in Chicago, and opening an office will give Reddit better access to that community, said Rob Sprungman, senior director of central brand partnerships. "We need to be a part of the fabric of the marketing community here," said Sprungman, the first employee of Reddit's Chicago office. "The market has incredible talent ... but also some great digital tech we can pull from, as well as people moving here to be a part of it all." Sprungman plans to work out of a co-working space as he builds up the Chicago team. He expects to have a permanent office and nine employees by the end of the year. Launched in 2005, Reddit has built its user base to about 330 million active monthly users. Redditors, as the users are often called, subscribe to communities that discuss different topics and interests. Those communities are referred to as subreddits, and users can post or comment within each one. There are about 138,000 active subreddit communities. The topics they coverfrom niche to generalare vast. There's one called The-Donald ("a never-ending rally dedicated to the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump") and one called Contagious Laughter ("videos and audio of people laughing infectiously"). There are Chicago-centric subreddits, and several on puppies. When people post in a subreddit community, the other users know what they're talking about, Sprungman said. He pointed to a subreddit community on investment, in which people ask questions like what they should do with their 401(k) after a job change. That's not a question most users would take to another social media platform. "It's the kind of community where brands can do something really interesting," Sprungman said. Some companies are already tapping into Reddit's reach. Reddit is known for hosting sessions called Ask Me Anything, where users can pepper celebrities or participants with questions. To promote the new Audi Sport performance models, Audi and its advertising agency partnered with Reddit to host a live Ask Me Anything session in which actors Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks took questions from Reddit users as they sped around a race track. Opening an office in Chicago will give the social media platform better access to the companies it already works with, such as McDonald's and auto companies in Detroit, said Zubair Jandali, vice president of brand partnerships. It also will place it closer to brands and agencies it hopes to build relationships with, including those in dining, retail, consumer packaged goods and quick-service restaurants. Reddit, which bills itself as "the front page of the internet," has made other moves to bolster its ad platform. It started rolling out a redesign to its users at the beginning of April, which Jandali said could make the site easier to navigate for new users and help grow existing communities. It also hired Time veteran Jen Wong as chief operating officer this month. Reddit said in an announcement on its blog that one of Wong's goals would be to help the company build out its offerings for advertisers. The company also plans to roll out video advertising in the coming months. It launched video hosting for its users last year. San Francisco-based Reddit employs more than 350 people, about 75 of whom are on the brand partnership team, Jandali said. That team is expected to grow 50 percent this year. The privately held company announced its latest funding round of $200 million in July, which valued it at $1.8 billion. Advance Publicationswhich owns Reddit's onetime parent company Conde Naststill owns a majority stake. Reddit declined to disclose financial information. It makes sense Reddit is expanding its advertising platform, and longtime users likely won't be surprised, said Adrienne Massanari, an assistant professor in the Department of Communications at University of Illinois at Chicago who has written a book on Reddit culture. Users are so passionate about the interests they discuss on the platform that they're like evangelists within the communities, she said. But they also can be suspicious of advertisers or other authority figures. Massanari said she has seen politicians or celebrities that host Ask Me Anything sessions face a poor reception because users felt a product or message was being pushed on them. Reddit users also tend to be passionate about privacy, which advertisers will need to consider. "The brands have to be really aware of how they're engaging in the space," she said. 2018 Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Desert ants (Cataglyphis) at the nest entrance. Credit: Foto: Pauline Fleischmann Desert ants (Cataglyphis) spend the first weeks of their lives exclusively in the nest. For around four weeks, they nurse the queen and the brood, dig tunnels, build chambers or tidy up. At some point, they leave the nest to start their outdoor career, working as foragers until death. Pirouettes lead the way Before an ant sets out to forage, it has to calibrate its navigational system. For this purpose, the insects exhibit a peculiar behaviour lasting two to three days: They perform so-called "learning walks" to explore the vicinity of the nest entrance and frequently turn about their vertical body axes while doing so. High-speed video recordings show that the ants stop repeatedly during these pirouetting motions. What is special about the longest of these stopping phases is that at this moment, the ants always look back toward the nest entrance, even though they are unable to see the tiny hole in the ground. Researchers from the Biocenter of the University of Wurzburg have now made the surprising discovery that the desert ant uses the Earth's magnetic field as an orientation cue during these calibration trips. This ability had been previously unknown for desert ants. Pauline Fleischmann and Robin Grob, research assistants of Professor Wolfgang Rossler, who holds the Chair of Zoology II at the Biocentre of the University of Wurzburg, conducted the tests in the summer of 2017. The scientists designed the experiment together with Professor Rudiger Wehner from the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zurich and physicist Valentin Muller from the University of Wurzburg. They present their research results in the current issue of the journal Current Biology. "While they are foraging for food, desert ants venture several hundred metres away from their nest, pursuing a sinusoidal path that includes larger loops. Once they have found food, they return to the nest entrance in a straight line," says Wolfgang Rossler, describing the ants' astonishing navigational abilities. The researchers had previously known that the ants rely on the position of the sun and landmarks as orientational cues and integrate this information with the steps traveled. Looking for the nest entrance, Desert Ants use the geomagnetic field for orientation (black). This can be concluded from experiments, in which the geomagnetic field was artificially rotated (red). Credit: Current Biology Experiments in Greece Recent research results have shown, however, that the desert ant also looks back to the nest entrance during its learning walks in the absence of solar information or landscape cues. "This sparked the idea that the insects might navigate using the Earth's magnetic field as a cue, as some birds do," Pauline Fleischmann says. To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers traveled to the south of Greece, where Cataglyphis ants are native. They took a 1.5-m-high pair of Helmholtz coils with them. A defined current passed through the coils creates an almost homogeneous, precisely known magnetic field between the coils. This enabled the researchers to study the behaviour of the desert ants during their learning walks in their natural habitat under controlled conditions. A surprising outcome The result was unambiguous: When the scientists changed the orientation of the magnetic field, the desert ants no longer looked towards the real nest entrance but toward a predictable new locationthe fictive nest entrance. "Their path integration provides them with a new vector to the nest based on the information of the magnetic field," Wolfgang Rossler explains. The scientists admit that they were surprised by this finding. They say that although individual ant species are known to respond to changes in the magnetic field under certain conditions, the necessity and distinct influence on navigation in Cataglyphis ants was unexpected. With this result, the researchers raise further questions. For instance, when do desert ants use their magnetic sense? It might well be that they rely on it during the first weeks of their life underground. After all, a navigational aid can be quite useful in total darkness. But this is only a hypothesis at this point. The second question the scientists want to tackle is how and whether the ants switch between the different navigational cues of the position of the sun, landmarks and the magnetic field. Experienced foragers are already known to perform re-learning walks when they are forced to do so, for example, by changing the environment at the nest entrance. It is unclear, however, whether they also rely on magnetic field cues in this case or whether they use their solar compass as during the foraging trips. And ultimately, there is the overarching question of where the magnetic field sensor is located and how it works. According to Wolfgang Rossler, this question takes you deep into the field of orientational and navigational research in insects. How does the comparably small ant brain manage to store navigational information on the position of the sun, the magnetic field and landmarks, and integrate this information with distance data from their step counter? Rossler believes that this question goes far beyond the field of behavioural research and neurosciences and is of great interest for computer science and robotics, too. Explore further Desert ants are able to assess the reliability of landmarks as they search for the way home More information: Pauline Nikola Fleischmann et al, The Geomagnetic Field Is a Compass Cue in Cataglyphis Ant Navigation, Current Biology (2018). Journal information: Current Biology Pauline Nikola Fleischmann et al, The Geomagnetic Field Is a Compass Cue in Cataglyphis Ant Navigation,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.043 3-D-image of RNA virus (Dengue virus). Credit: Vadim Agol An employee of Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology (RI PCB), MSU, together with a Russian colleague, analyzed ways of increasing the survivability of RNA-containing viruses as well as the mechanisms that help them get rid of adverse mutations. The study was published in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews journal. The work is an overview of the authors' own studies, as well as publications on conservation and variability in the genomes of viruses that store their genetic material in the form of RNA molecules. The authors put together previously discrete facts and formulated general trends that explain the sustainability of genomes and their ability to quickly change and preserve beneficial mutations. In the course of reproduction, RNA virus genomes develop lots of mutations. This is explained by low precision in the activity of viral RNA polymerases, the enzymes that synthesize daughter molecules on the genome RNA matrix. Due to these inaccuracies, the populations of these viruses have enormous genetic variety. Some mutations can dramatically reduce the viability of viruses or even kill them. However, the population usually preserves its main properties. This is due to the work of natural selectionthe carriers of adverse features have a lower chance of survival, and therefore, future generations are unlikely to inherit their properties. The stability of genomes is so high that the populations remain almost identical, even if the viruses are grown for 30 years in different countries. The coexistence of viruses with different genomes helps the population survive in rapidly changing conditions, for example, when a patient develops tolerance or starts taking antiviral medications. In this case, the viruses that possess necessary properties as a result of genetic errors will live. However, when viruses spread within a body or between bodies, they often face obstacles that only a small number of viral particles can overcome. Occasionally, they may be mutants with reduced survivability rates. Ironically, it may increase due to copying errors that, among others, may create favourable mutations. Viruses have two ways of restoring their survivability: They can either "repair" a damaged element or change another functional site to compensate for the damage. Both scenarios lead to restoration of the main biological properties or cause a new variety of the virus to emerge. "Therefore, the recovery of viruses is based on inaccurate genetic copying. Moreover, it is an important factor that helps viruses adapt to adverse conditions, including protective mechanisms of the body and antiviral medications," says Vadum Agol, a co-author of the work and the head of the Department of Virus-Cell Interactions at RI PCB. Explore further Viruses can evolve in parallel in related species More information: Vadim I. Agol et al, Emergency Services of Viral RNAs: Repair and Remodeling, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews (2018). Vadim I. Agol et al, Emergency Services of Viral RNAs: Repair and Remodeling,(2018). DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00067-17 The giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) is a species introduced from North America. It is considered invasive in Switzerland because it can dominate environments bordering agricultural fields. But favourable biological interactions with pollinators take place and the plant has medicinal properties. Current biodiversity and sustainability indicators ignore these positive contributions. Credit: UNIGE Nature is intimately connected with human well-being of current and future generations which is why an array of reports track the state of biodiversity and predict the impact of our way of life on its evolution. These reports are based on several indicators that only take indigenous i.e. "original" species into account for each region. Yet today modern environments are made up of indigenous and introduced species. The introductions are either deliberate as is the case, for example, with agricultural crops or accidental, as was the case with the Asian hornet or the box tree moth. Although these introduced species play important roles, they are ignored by specialists, a fact that partly distorts the international nature reports. The study by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), published in the journal PLOS Biology, recommends that the positive and negative contributions made by these species should be included so that the public has an accurate view over the surrounding nature and its evolution. Biodiversity protection at present is intimately linked to protecting the indigenous species and environments that are specific to each region worldwide, the aim being to safeguard the "authenticity" of landscapes and their ecosystems. The indicators used by biologists are based exclusively on species of origin; in other words, they overlook the presence of introduced species. These indicators inform international reports on biodiversity, introducing a bias at the source, argues Martin Schlaepfer, a researcher at UNIGE's Institute of Environmental Sciences (ISE). In short, a section of nature is deliberately ignored. Why? Fear of the invader Biologists generally favour the protection of native species. By contrast, introduced species are viewed as undesirable by the conservation community because a subset can generate undesirable effects. "But around 88% of species introduced to Europe are not problematic," explains Schlaepfer. "And among those that do create a problem, we generally only look at their flaws, without factoring in the positive features they can also generate." For example, the giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) is a species of plant introduced from North America. It is considered invasive in Switzerland because it can dominate environments bordering agricultural land. However, in addition to boasting medicinal properties, the giant goldenrod also facilitates favourable biological interactions with pollinators. In a similar manner, American crayfish which are invasive in European lakes provide the catering industry with an important source of food. By deliberately omitting introduced species, biodiversity reports do not accurately reflect nature as it really is. "If you focus on trees in the Canton of Geneva, there are 88 indigenous species. But there are 597 introduced tree species in the canton!" points out Schlaepfer. A large part of the natural world surrounding the people of Switzerland is knowingly excluded from the indexes. "If we want to remain relevant for political institutions, we now need to consider nature in its entirety," insists the UNIGE biologist. But what would the impact be on the results of the reports? In 2012, the High-Level Group on Global Sustainability produced a UN-validated report that identified 12 indicators for measuring planetary boundaries, i.e. the limits that humankind must not exceed in order to enable life to continue on Earth. One of these indicators is biodiversity. Biologists observe the average abundance of species originally present in a region; if the average abundance drops by more than 10%, experts consider that nature has been altered too extensively and that the health of future generations is in danger. "But these reports do not include the potentially useful functions brought about by species that were not originally present, even though they are constantly interacting with the indigenous biodiversity," says Schlaepfer. "If they included these factors, then the percentage of the land area deemed to be in poor condition would decrease from 58% to 48%, reducing the severity of humankind's impact on nature." In his study, Schlaepfer challenges the indicators used in international reports on biodiversity. "Understanding nature and its links to human well-being means assessing every species at its fair value, because they all interact with humans and form part of the reality of the evolution of biodiversity", points out Schlaepfer. Furthermore, introduced species may also be in the majority, mainly in urban areas. "Trees that are culturally important for the public are often introduced species, and they illustrate why we must include the positive aspects of these species that contribute to the well-being of humans, even if they contradict the values of some biologists." Explore further The conflict between males and females could replace the evolution of new species More information: Martin A. Schlaepfer. Do non-native species contribute to biodiversity?, PLOS Biology (2018). Journal information: PLoS Biology Martin A. Schlaepfer. Do non-native species contribute to biodiversity?,(2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005568 If Arjun Ganesan had been accepted to Stanford University, Connecticut would have missed out on a technology company that has grown to 23 workers so far, with ambitious plans. Ganesan, who started his first company 14 years ago while an undergraduate in India, applied to prestigious MBA programs around the United States, intending to become a venture capitalist that would help start-up companies expand into Asia. Stanford didn't accept him, but Yale did. In 2012, he completed his MBA there. While he was at Yale School of Management, Ganesan realized he could do more as a founder than an investor, and looked for science ideas developed by Yale professors that could be commercialized. He convinced former Yale professor Hur Koser to join him in starting Ancera, a company that builds machines that can test more quickly for salmonella than the current methods. Eventually, Ancera intends to use the same machine to screen for listeria, e. coli, or campylobacter bacteria. The company raised its first investments in November 2012, and has since raised $12.3 million, including $556,000 from Connecticut Innovations, the state-funded venture capital agency. The Process Ganesan plans to solicit another multi-million round of funding this year. Ancera makes a machineabout the size of a printerthat uses an electromagnet to draw fluid to it. That fluid is infused with nano particles of iron as well as the sample from a chicken carcass. Chicken slaughterhouses are the first application, but the technology could be used with pork, produce or even liquids. The fluid is moved to a sensor, which can identify if there are live salmonella cells present. This is an advantage over current technology, which requires growing a culture until it is large enough to use a microscope to detect bacteria on the slide. That process takes 30 hours or more. The Piper is able to detect bacteria more quickly because the MagDrive technology, as Ancera calls the fluid/magnet method, is able to move the relevant cells to the sensor, which means it can detect contamination when there are far fewer cells present. In less than eight hours, Piper will be able to tell if there's a spike in the presence of salmonella. Ancera chose to start its research targeting salmonella in chicken processing plants because it's the fastest-growing protein source in the world. Ganesan said Americans eat 8.5 billion chickens a year. Packer Sanitation Services Inc., a cleaning services company that serves 450 food processing plants daily, is one of Piper's primary investors, and has been testing its machines. In February, Ancera started offering its machines to other customers (though not to competitors of PSSI). It hasn't had any sales yet. Ancera contracts with manufacturers to make its machines and disposable cartridges. So far, 10 Pipers have been made, including prototypes, and 35 will be delivered this year, he said. The company also augments its 23-person staff with about 65 contractors across the last year. They include designers, software coders and more. Ganesan said hiring people for specific projects helps contain costs, which is important when you don't have revenues yet. He said about five of the 65 contractors are in Connecticut. Nearly all of the staff is in Branford, and the company just moved to a 28,000-square-foot space to make room for additional staff. Ganesan said they should grow to 35 people by the end of the year. His chief of operations and head of engineering are local, but the vice president of biology and chief financial officer are in Boston, and the chief commercial officer is based in Jacksonville, Fla. Ganesan said it's hard to convince senior-level people to uproot their lives and move to Connecticut when the cash on hand will last about a year and a half to two years. And, he said, Connecticut is not the booming hub of pharmaceutical research it used to be, as Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb downsized, so those job candidates don't have confidence they'll find another job if Ancera doesn't take off. Naturally, Ganesan is optimistic Ancera will succeed. He's projecting the company will break even as soon as 2018, and he's already anticipating the challenges of hiring to reach 100 employees. He has no regrets about settling in Connecticut rather than the Silicon Valley. At Yale, he met his wife, a Public Health graduate student who is now in medical school at Quinnipiac University. Explore further Bay Area still dominates U.S. venture capital industry but cracks may be showing 2018 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Berkeley Haas Assistant Professor Mathijs De Vaan. Credit: UC Berkeley Haas A small number of scientists stand at the top of their fields, commanding the lion's share of research funding, awards, citations, and prestigious academic appointments. But are they better and smarter than their peers? Or is this a classic example of success breeding successa phenomenon known as the "Matthew effect"? Mathijs De Vaan, an assistant professor in the Haas Management of Organizations Group, believes it's clearly the latter. In a paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "The Matthew Effect in Science Funding," De Vaan presents the results of a study of Dutch research grants that shows precisely how much of an advantage early achievement confers, and identifies the reasons behind the boost. De Vaan, who came to Haas in 2015 after earning a PhD in sociology from Columbia University, co-authored the paper with Thijs Bol of the University of Amsterdam and Arnout van de Rijt of Utrecht University. "To those who have, more will be given" The term "Matthew effect" was coined by sociologist Robert Merton in the 1960s to describe how eminent scientists get more recognition for their work than less-well-known researchersthe reference is to the New Testament parable that, to those who have, more will be given. Previous attempts to study this phenomenon have yielded inconclusive results, in part because it is hard to prove that differences in achievement don't reflect differences in work quality. To get around the quality question, De Vaan and his co-authors took advantage of special features of the main science funding organization in the Netherlands, IRIS, which awards grants based on a point system. Everyone whose application scores above the point threshold gets money, while everyone below is left out. The authors zeroed in on researchers who came in just above and just below the funding threshold, assuming that, for practical purposes, their applications were equal in quality. First off, they found the benefits of winning an early-career grant were enormous. Recent PhDs who scored just above the funding threshold later received more than twice as much research money as their counterparts who scored immediately below the threshold. The winners also had a 47 percent greater chance of eventually landing a full professorship. "Even though the differences between individuals were virtually zero, over time a giant gap in success became evident," De Vaan notes. Status and participation De Vaan says that two main mechanisms may explain the Matthew effect in science funding. First, winners achieve status that can tilt the playing field in their direction when it comes to funding, awards, and job opportunities. The second is participation, meaning that successful applicants continue seeking grant money, while unsuccessful applicants often give up, withdrawing from future competition. De Vaan and his coauthors argue that the Matthew effect erodes the quality of scientific research because projects tend to get funded based on an applicant's status, not merit. Groundbreaking work may not get done because the researchers are unknown or too discouraged to compete for funds. They recommend several reforms to the funding process, including limiting information grant application reviewers have about previous awards. They also suggest that rejected applicants learn their scores, which might encourage those just below the threshold to try again. These findings may apply in many areas beyond science. For example, the Matthew effect may also widen a gulf between winning and losing entrepreneurs in the race for venture capital. Even the Academy Awards may favor big movie industry names over lesser-known talent. "There are a lot of social settings with large amounts of inequality, which could be ripe for the study of the Matthew effect," De Vaan stresses. Explore further Inequality in science funding A team of scientists from across Canada are combining new data sources to get a fuller picture of how changes in glacier flow may affect sea level, ecology and infrastructure. Credit: Martin Sharp Using advanced mapping techniques, scientists are trying to predict when and where fast-flowing glaciers in Western Canada could change the surrounding ecologyand put nearby infrastructure and fisheries at risk. "There is a type of behaviour we call surging, where the glacierwhich has been flowing slowly for a long period of timesuddenly goes nuts and starts flowing up to an order of magnitude faster than before," explained University of Alberta glaciologist Martin Sharp. "You then get a mass of ice travelling very rapidly down the glacier, probably because of the buildup of water trapped beneath the glacier, on which the glacier effectively floats." The changes in flow can result in flooding and damage to infrastructure when the stored water eventually escapes from the glacier, explained Sharp. He added that the changes can also affect sea levels and iceberg production (see sidebar), as well as the ecology of critical headwater streams, glacier-fed lakes, and fjords at lower latitudes. The escaping water tends to be highly charged with fine sediment that was eroded from the glacier bed during the period of fast flow. The sudden input of this sediment into the glacier-fed streams can affect everything from downstream water temperatures to fish ecology and rates of sedimentation in proglacial lakes and even reservoirs. Sharp explained the scientists are trying to understand whether these surges and other less dramatic changes in glacier velocity are a direct response to changes in climate or a result of dynamic instabilities in the ice. A multi-temporal mapping approach is allowing them to identify which glaciers pose the most risk. "The technology has developed so much that we can now map the flow rates of the entire Canadian ice cover, providing the possibility of routine monitoring to track exactly where and when rates of flow are changing," he said. Sharp, who has been studying the ice dynamics of glaciers in Canada since the early '90s, noted there have been big changes in the approach used to do the research. Thanks to the open availability of data from satellite radar and optical remote sensors, scientists are now able to automate the mapping and monitoring of large glaciated areas to provide a more holistic perspective on changing glacier behaviour. "Because we now have regular data streams, we can start to see events that probably went largely unnoticed in the past. While not all glaciers have very variable flow rates, a surprising number do. We now see there's a much bigger spectrum of flow variability than we used to think, even though we don't necessarily understand exactly what's driving it at this point." The new study provides the first picture of how fast all the glaciers in Western Canada, from Yukon to British Columbia to Alberta, are flowing. It is the final piece of a 13-year effort by scientists from the universities of Alberta, Ottawa and Lethbridge, and Natural Resources Canada, who combined data from both optical and radar-based remote sensing to present a fuller picture of change in the ice and how it potentially affects everything from sea level to infrastructure and ecology. "Surface Velocities of Glaciers in Western Canada From Speckle-Tracking of ALOS PALSAR and RADARSAT-2 Data" was published in the latest issue of the Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing. Explore further Sea level fears as more of giant Antarctic glacier floating than thought More information: Wesley Van Wychen et al. Surface Velocities of Glaciers in Western Canada from Speckle-Tracking of ALOS PALSAR and RADARSAT-2 data, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (2018). Wesley Van Wychen et al. Surface Velocities of Glaciers in Western Canada from Speckle-Tracking of ALOS PALSAR and RADARSAT-2 data,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/07038992.2018.1433529 UC Davis biomedical engineers have developed a new technique that could be used for measuring blood flow in the brains of patients with stroke or traumatic brain injury. Light shined into the head is returned to a detector, and the signal is boosted by a reference light beam. Credit: Srinivasan lab, UC Davis Biomedical engineers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a new technique for measuring blood flow in the human brain, which could be used in patients with stroke or traumatic brain injury, for example. The new technique, based on conventional digital camera technology, could be significantly cheaper and more robust than prior methods. The work is described in a paper published April 26 in the journal Optica. "Our setup is very promising, and the cost should be lower," said Wenjun Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher working with Vivek Srinivasan, associate professor at the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. If you shine a light into a cloudy solution, light particles, or photons, will be scattered in different directions. An experimental technique called diffuse correlation spectroscopy, or DCS, uses essentially this approach to look inside someone's skull. Laser light is shined on the head; as photons from the laser pass through the skull and brain, they are scattered by blood and tissue. A detector placed elsewhere on the head, where the photons make their way out again, picks up the light fluctuations due to blood motion. These fluctuations provide information about blood flow. The light signal is very weak, and the further it passes through the skull and brain tissue, the weaker it gets. So DCS requires a number of very sensitive, expensive single photon counting detectors. Boosting the light going in risks burning the patient's skin. Interference to boost signal Zhou and Srinivasan took a different approach, based on the fact that overlapping light waves will reinforce or cancel each other out, like overlapping ripples on a pond. They first split the light beam into "sample" and "reference" paths. The sample beam goes into the patient's head and another, stronger, reference beam is routed so that it reconnects with the sample beam before going to the detector. This boosts the signal, meaning that instead of needing about 20 photon-counting detectors that cost a few thousand dollars each, the researchers could use a single CMOS-based digital camera chip for a fraction of the price. "The strong reference light enhances the weaker signal from the sample," Zhou said. They call the method interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy, or iDWS. An added advantage is that they do not need to turn off the room lights while making measurements with iDWS, Zhou said. Eventually, they may even be able to monitor brain blood flow outdoors, under bright sunlight. So far, the team has tested their device by making brain recordings from volunteers in the laboratory. They are working with Dr. Bruce Lyeth and Dr. Lara Zimmermann in the UC Davis Department of Neurological Surgery to validate and adapt the technology for eventual use in neurocritical care. UC Davis has applied for a provisional patent on the technology. Explore further Travelling through scattering tissue with far less light More information: Wenjun Zhou et al, Highly parallel, interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy for monitoring cerebral blood flow dynamics, Optica (2018). Journal information: Optica Wenjun Zhou et al, Highly parallel, interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy for monitoring cerebral blood flow dynamics,(2018). DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.5.000518 Credit: Antiquity (2018). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2018.48 A team of researchers in Germany has found evidence suggesting that the famous wooden Shirgir Idol is actually 11,500 years old. The team has documented their efforts and findings in a paper published on the Cambridge University Press site Antiquity. The Shigir Idol was discovered in an ancient peat bog by miners in Russia back in 1890. Early analysis showed that it was made entirely of larch wood and was constructed from several chunks. It remained preserved for thousands of years because of antimicrobial properties found in the peat. The idol was also covered extensively with markings, some of which depicted tiny human faces. To this day, no one knows what most of the markings depict. It was also noted that some of the original pieces of the idol had been lostit is believed that it originally stood approximately five meters tall. In 1997, a team in Russia used radiocarbon dating to estimate the age of the icon and found it to be approximately 9,500 years old. Experts have studied the carvings on the idol over the years, and many have suggested they likely represent a form of art, possibly linked with spiritual or religious activities. Recently, the team in Germany expressed interest it taking a closer look at the idol, which is normally housed in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum, in Russia. Arrangements were made for the idol to be shipped to Germany, where it was studied, along with other original material found in the peat bog. Using accelerator mass spectrometry, the team found the true age of the idol to be approximately 11,500 years old, placing its creation at around the time of the end of the Ice Age. That age also makes it the oldest known wood monumental sculpture ever found and more than twice the age of the Egyptian pyramids. The researchers report that they also found another face carved into the wood, bringing the total to eight. Their findings suggest that researchers looking to better understand very early human behavior perhaps need to widen their search beyond the Fertile Crescent. Credit: Public Domain More information: Mikhail Zhilin et al. Early art in the Urals: new research on the wooden sculpture from Shigir, Antiquity (2018). Mikhail Zhilin et al. Early art in the Urals: new research on the wooden sculpture from Shigir,(2018). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2018.48 Abstract The carved wooden object uncovered from the Shigir peat bog in the Sverdlovsk region towards the end of the nineteenth century remains one of the oldest, known examples of monumental anthropomorphic sculpture from anywhere in the world. Recent application of new analytical techniques has led to the discovery of new imagery on its surface, and has pushed the date of the piece back to the earliest Holocene. The results of these recent analyses are placed here in the context of local and extra-local traditions of comparable prehistoric art. This discussion highlights the unique nature of the find and its significance for appreciating the complex symbolic world of Early Holocene hunter-gatherers. Journal information: Antiquity 2018 Phys.org Credit: Curtin University Australian researchers have discovered what is thought to be the world's oldest recorded spider, unlocking key information about the mysterious eight-legged creature. The research, published in Pacific Conservation Biology, suggests the 43-year-old Giaus Villosus trapdoor matriarch, who recently died during a long-term population study, had outlived the previous world record holder, a 28-year old tarantula found in Mexico. Lead author Ph.D. student Leanda Mason from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences at Curtin University said the ongoing research has led to new discoveries about the longevity of the trapdoor spider. "To our knowledge this is the oldest spider ever recorded, and her significant life has allowed us to further investigate the trapdoor spider's behaviour and population dynamics," Ms Mason said. "The research project was first initiated by Barbara York Main in 1974, who monitored the long-term spider population for over 42 years in the Central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. "Through Barbara's detailed research, we were able to determine that the extensive life span of the trapdoor spider is due to their life-history traits, including how they live in uncleared, native bushland, their sedentary nature and low metabolisms." The team at Curtin University continued Barbara's research, now aged 88, and were able to gather information regarding the spider's age, cause of death, and a better understanding of its life history. Co-author, Associate Professor Grant Wardell-Johnson, from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences and the Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre for Mine Site Restoration (CMSR), explained how the spider's behavioural characteristics contributed to its survival in the Australian outback. "These spiders exemplify an approach to life in ancient landscapes, and through our ongoing research we will be able to determine how the future stresses of climate change and deforestation will potentially impact the species," Associate Professor Wardell-Johnson said. The recent death of the 43-year-old trapdoor spider, not only breaks the record for the world's oldest spider, but also demonstrates that long-term research is essential to understand how different species live in the Australian environment. Explore further Trapdoor spiders of Perth More information: Leanda Denise Mason et al. The longest-lived spider: mygalomorphs dig deep, and persevere, Pacific Conservation Biology (2018). Leanda Denise Mason et al. The longest-lived spider: mygalomorphs dig deep, and persevere,(2018). DOI: 10.1071/PC18015 China Hydroelectric Corporation is a developer, owner and operator of small hydroelectric power projects in China. The projects are located in Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Sichuan. As of December 31, 2012, wholly owns 22 operating hydroelectric power projects and have controlling interests in three operating hydroelectric power projects. In March 2012, the Company sold 100% of the Yuanping hydroelectric power project. In April 2013, the Company sold the Yuheng hydroelectric power project, a 30 megawatt (MW) project located in Fujian province. In July 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the merger with CPT Wyndham Sub Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CPT Wyndham Holdings Ltd. Read More Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The Cheapest & Most Expensive Areas to Live in Singapore Singapore is recognized as an exceptionally expensive city, especially when it comes to price of cars and properties. Below, we compare the cost of renting and buying HDBs across different areas on the island to help renters and homebuyers conceptualise real estate prices across Singapore. Additionally, we analyse trends in the rental and resale markets and discuss what they mean for consumers. Singapore's Hottest Rental Areas Top 5 Most Expensive Rental Areas in Singapore (4 Room HDB) Central, Bukit Merah, and Queenstown were the most expensive rental markets in 2017. Followed by Kallang/Whampoa and Clementi, these areas all share close proximity to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the downtown core. The rental price of a median 4-room HDB in all of these areas was at least S$200 more expensive than the national average. Singapore's Cheapest Rental Areas Cheapest Rental Areas in Singapore (4 Room HDB) Bukit Panjang remains the cheapest area in Singapore for renters. It is followed by Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sembawang and Sengkang. The median rental price of a 4-room HDBs in all 6 of these areas is more than S$300 cheaper than the national average. Singapore's Most Expensive HDB Resale Areas Singapore's Top 5 Most Expensive HDB Resale Areas (4 Room HDB) The Central Area, Queenstown and Bukit remain the most expensive areas within Singapore. From 2015 through 2017, prices increased by 17% in Toa Payoh, making it the 4th most expensive town in Singapore. Bishan rounds out the top 5 with median resale prices of S$560,000. The median resale price of a 4-room HDB in all 5 of these areas exceeded the national average by at least S$90,000. Singapore's Least Expensive HDB Resale Areas Singapore's Top 5 Least Expensive HDB Resale Areas (4 Room HDB) Woodlands was the cheapest area within Singapore at the end of 2017, with median 4 room HDBs priced at S$330,000. Woodlands was followed by Choa Chu Kang, Sembawang, Yishun and Jurong West. Median prices in all 5 areas were at least S$100,000 cheaper than the national average. A Boon to Renters: Recent Decline in Rents Much to the delight of Singapore's renters, the average median rent of 4-room HDBs decreased by 3.67% to S$2,120 in 2017 and by 13.16% over the past 3 years. Areas further from the downtown core experienced the biggest decline in rents. For instance, Jurong West, Punggol and Sengkang experienced the most significant declines in rental prices of around 20%. Meanwhile, areas closer to the downtown core experienced less significant declines. Rents in Geylang declined by 5% and rents in Kallang/Whampoa declined by 7%. Story continues Declining Rents in Singapore 2014 - 2017 The decline appears to be driven by both government intervention and market dynamics. For example, in recent years the government has introduced measures to cool the housing market. Simultaneously, there has an increase in the supply of HDB flats. From 2013 through 2016, the number of HDB and DBSS units increased by 8% to 1,142,015, outpacing population growth of 4% during those years. It seems that these two factors have lead to cheaper rents around Singapore. Renters that are willing to move may be able to capitalize on the decreasing rents. For instance, neighborhoods such as Jurong East have seen a significant decline (-16%) in rents since 2014 and are still reasonably close to NUS and the downtown core. Living in this neighborhood would allow prospective renters to live in a convenient location while also saving money compared to more expensive areas. Buyer Beware: Fall in Resale Prices HDB Resale Price Index (RPI) 2013- Q1 2018) While renters can enjoy a decrease in rental prices, property owners and real estate investors should take heed when purchasing a property due to recent trends in the HDB resale market. HDB prices followed a similar trend to the rental market. The Resale Price Index (RPI), which measures price changes in the HDB housing market, has consistently decreased from the end of 2013 (145.8) through 2017 (132.6). Areas like Bedok and Woodlands exemplified this decline, experiencing the most significant declines with resale prices down 27% and 25% from 2014 through 2017, respectively. That being said, there are exceptions. For example prices increased by 17% in Toa Payoh between 2015 and 2017. The HDB resale market is influenced by many of the same factors as the rental market. For instance, both government policies and an increase in the supply of HDBs likely impacted resale prices. Declining rents also negatively impact property values directly. This is because landlords receive less rental income, or returns, from their investment properties. While individuals seeking a good deal might view this decline in prices as a good time to purchase a HDB, there is also reason for caution. First, declining property value and rental income is especially bad when rate is also rising. Recently SIBOR rates have gradually risen along with the U.S. rates, making home loans more expensive. Additionally, there is some uncertainty regarding the future of HDB leases that are soon to expire. These factors should not completely discourage prospective homebuyers, but are important to take into account when making a major financial decision, like purchasing real estate. The article The Cheapest & Most Expensive Areas to Live in Singapore originally appeared on ValuePenguin. ValuePenguin helps you find the most relevant information to optimise your personal finances. Like us on our Facebook page to keep up to date with our latest news and articles. More From ValuePenguin: Let us begin by telling you a tale. Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past (2008, to be precise), a young writer started a crowdfunding experiment called The Omikuji Project. She needed earnings to supplement her household income between novels and wanted to thank those supporting her budding career. So each month, she wrote a new story for paying subscribers. The Omikuji Project became a unique way for you to read stories unavailable in any other venue, in any other way and ran for five years. Perhaps emboldened by her projects outcome, she started a crowdfunded novel. New sections were added to her website every Monday and eager readers donated to read more. That novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, became the first online, crowdfunded book to win a major literary award: the Locus Andre Norton Award. It was also picked up for traditional publishing. Catherynne M. Valente herself is now famous, with critical accolades and commercial success. Her work has made it to the New York Times bestseller and she has been nominated for the most prestigious science fiction and fantasy awards. Let us continue by telling you a different tale. Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past (2009, to be precise), a crowdfunding project called Floating Doctors launched on the platform Kickstarter. The project was completely funded in less than a month. Floating Doctors is a sea-faring medical group that provides free health care and medical supplies to needy communities in remote coastal regions. It is the brainchild of Dr. Benjamin LaBrot. He first came up with the concept after running out of supplies when treating villagers in Africa. He resolved to bring a bigger backpack next time. Today, LaBrots backpack is a sailboat named The Southern Wind, capable of carrying 20,000 pounds of medical supplies. The Kickstarter campaign paid for The Southern Winds maiden voyage to Haiti in 2010. The money was used for the sailboats final prep, along with medical supplies and equipment. Today, Floating Doctors has expanded their mission to Honduras and Panama. Their operations are still currently running. Story continues Witness the magic of crowdfunding. Many creative projects by promising yet unknown artists were born thanks to this mode of alternative financing. Crowdfunding has also funneled funds to social causes and charities. Funding Societies translates the concept into a peer-to-peer lending platform meant to help grow and strengthen local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Did you know that according to The Singapore Department of Statistics, 99% of Singapore enterprises are SMEs? SMEs are the backbone of our economy. And yet a Visa and Deloitte Digital SME Banking Study shows that four in ten SMEs in Singapore lack banking support this despite a Singapore Business Federation National Business Survey that shows 72% of Singapore SMEs requires funds to better manage their working capital and aid cash flow. Funding Societies aims to achieve three goals: empowering SMEs, providing new investment opportunities in Singapore, and growing the economy. This may sound like a fairy tale, some of you might think. Indeed, there is a touch of rags-to-riches in most success stories. Some stories are so breathtaking that one can get suspicious. Great. We are not here to tell you let your guard down. Be aware. Be sensible. Beware of fraud. These are good rules to keep in mind. Once crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and alternative financing have better regulations, they will be easier to trust. Let us end these tales simply. Grounded in sound checks and balances, crowdfunding and alternative financing are forces for good. In fact, as evidenced by many examples, they are helping to make the world a better place. So do your research, ask questions to your hearts satisfaction, and start crowdfunding when the answers are positive. Youll play a role in growing the arts, growing the community, and growing the economy. (By Funding Societies) Related Articles - Invoice Finance vs Term Loans The Basics - Funding Societies raises US$25 Million in over-subscribed Series B funding led by SoftBank Ventures Korea KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's largest bank, PrivatBank, said on Friday it expects to post a profit in 2018, recovering from losses of the two previous years during which time it was nationalised. The Ukrainian government took over Privatbank in December 2016 after finding a capital shortfall of more than $5.5 billion (4 billion pounds). According to the central bank, over 95 percent of corporate loans extended by the lender before nationalisation had gone to companies linked to the former owners and their affiliates. Its supervisory board has now approved a five-year development strategy that envisages preparing the lender for selling to foreign investors, the bank said in a statement. "Our key strategic objective is profitability. The Bank's Development Strategy, approved today, sets out a clear and efficient road map towards the achievement of this goal," the head of the board, Engin Akchakocha, was quoted as saying. The bank did not give the exact amount of profit expected in 2018, but hopes to post profit of 8 bln hryvnias in 2020. The lender reported losses of almost 24 billion hryvnias (662 million pounds) in 2017 and 176.6 million hryvnias in 2016. PrivatBank's nationalisation was the culmination of a swingeing clean-up of Ukraine's financial system, backed by the International Monetary Fund. Dozens of lenders have closed since a pro-Western government took office in 2014. Its former main shareholders reject the Ukrainian authorities' assessment of the health of PrivatBank's loan portfolio and accuse them of unfairly targeting the bank. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Editing by Adrian Croft) We have new developments from global major players such as Grab and WeWork, to newcomers such as Mecapan and EmasDigi GrabGerak driver-partner Suwarto (left) with Difa Bike founder Triyono. Image Credit: Grab Grab launches new service for passengers with disabilities Press Release Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab teamed up with Unilevers deodorant brand Rexona to launch GrabGerak, a service that aims to ease mobility for disabled passengers. GrabGerak features 118 GrabCar fleet marked with GrabGerak sticker in Greater Jakarta Area; the service also includes specially trained driver-partners to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities. Rexona has also recently launched Gerak, a mobile app that enables users with disabilities to discover disability-friendly places and book GrabGerak service to get there. Grab also launched a campaign on crowdfunding platform KitaBisa to support Difa Bike, a Jogjakarta-based transportation provider specialising in people with disabilities. Gold trading app EmasDigi launches in Indonesia Press Release Gold trading platform EmasDigi officially launched in Indonesia on Wednesday. Launched in form of a mobile app, EmasDigi enables users to buy, sell, and even transfer gold to fellow users. As an affiliate of financial services company PT PG Berjangka, which works on multilateral comodity trade, all transactions on EmasDigi platform are will be listed on the Indonesia Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX). The startup was founded by CEO Claudia Kolonas, a Harvard graduate who returned to Indonesia in 2016 to start the company. EmasDigi_Photo.2 Left to right: EmasDigi Country Manager Damien Ngai, DOKU Senior VP Consumer Product Ricky Aldien, EmasDigi Founder and CEO Claudia Kolonas, ICDX Managing Director Lamon Rutten. Image Credit: EmasDigi Also Read: Is Grab making a grab on your wallet? WeWork to launch in Indonesia by Q3 2018 e27 US coworking space chain WeWork is set to launch two locations in Jakarta on the third quarter of 2018. Story continues The first space will be located in the Sinarmas MSIG Tower, and the second will be housed in the Revenue Tower. The company is also set to expand to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila by the end of 2018. NuMoney expands to Indonesia Warta Ekonomi Singapore-based cryptocurrency marketplace NuMoney officially launched its service in Indonesia, Warta Ekonomi reported. With a focus on Enthereum, in an addition to an online platform, NuMoney also opened an outlet at FrenchWalk, Mall of Indonesia. Already available in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, NuMoney is looking to expand its presence in Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, and Australia within the next one year. Mecapan launches in Indonesia as it completes equity crowdfunding campaign e27 Neauty services marketplace Mecapan launched its service in Indonesia as it completes equity crowdfunding campaign on Ata Plus with MYR300,000 (US$75,000) funding secured from 20 investors. The startup also secured two strategic investors partners Hong Kongs Midana Capital and Malaysias Ant Internet who discovered the startup through the Malaysia-based equity crowdfunding platform. The startup plans to use the new funding to support their regional expansion plan, particularly to Malaysia and Taiwan. It will also allocate the funding for product development. Also Read: Todays top tech news, April 10: Vietnam orders Grab to prove it is not a monopoly post-Uber deal Online Pajak implements blockchain on its operations Kompas Tekno Indonesian fintech startup Online Pajak, which enables users to file for annual tax reports on its platform, today announced that it has begun implementing blockchain technology on its operations, reported Kompas Tekno. With the goal to help the Indonesian government in increasing annual tax payment, the technology is expected to simplify the companys administrative process and push for greater transparency on every transaction performed on Online Pajaks platform. The post Happened in Indonesia: 6 new services launched in the market this week appeared first on e27. The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearisation of their divided peninsula at a historic summit laden with symbolism. The North's leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in embraced after signing what they called the Panmunjom Declaration, following a day that began with an emotional handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that splits their countries. The pair issued a statement confirming their "common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula". They agreed they would seek a permanent end to the Korean War this year, 65 years after hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Moon would visit Pyongyang in "the fall", the two leaders said, pledging to hold "regular meetings and direct telephone conversations". But Kim did not mention denuclearisation and analysts warned that while the summit was a good first step, similar promises had been made before and much remained to be done to resolve the issue of the North's atomic arsenal. In coming weeks, Kim is due to hold a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump -- who has demanded Pyongyang give up its weapons -- that will be crucial in shaping progress. Trump hailed the Korea summit as historic, but warned "only time will tell". He told reporters he would not be "played" by the North's leader at their upcoming meeting, with "two countries" now in the running to host the summit. Trump also implicitly claimed credit for the Korean meeting, tweeting: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" But he also offered a nod to his "good friend", Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had provided "great help". - 'Filled with emotion' - The Panmunjom Declaration capped an extraordinary day, unthinkable only months ago as the nuclear-armed North carried out a series of missile launches and its sixth atomic blast. Kim and Trump had traded personal insults and threats of war, sending tensions soaring before Moon seized on the Winter Olympics to broker dialogue, beginning a dizzying whirl of diplomacy that led to Friday's meeting in the Demilitarized Zone. Kim said he was "filled with emotion" after stepping over the concrete blocks that mark the border, making him the first Northern leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ceasefire in 1953. At his impromptu invitation, the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before beginning the summit, only the third of its kind. During another symbolic gesture, the two men took part in the ceremonial planting of a pine tree. It was a far cry from the last tree-related operation Moon was on duty for in the DMZ -- a monumental show of force after North Korean soldiers killed two US officers trying to prune a poplar in 1976, when he was a special forces soldier. - 'Heart-wrenching division' - The truce village of Panmunjom was the "symbol of heart-wrenching division", Kim said, but if it became "a symbol of peace, the North and South that have one blood, one language, one history and one culture, will return to becoming one". He pledged the two Koreas would ensure they did not "repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korea agreements... fizzled out after beginning". In the declaration, the two sides said they would seek meetings this year with the US and possibly China -- both parties to the 1953 ceasefire -- "with a view to declaring an end to the war, turning the armistice into a peace treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime". But agreeing a treaty to formally close the conflict will be complicated -- both Seoul and Pyongyang claim sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. The two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. - 'First step' - Moon welcomed the North's announcement of a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches as "very significant", calling it "an important step towards complete denuclearisation". But how much progress was made on the nuclear issue remained unclear. Pyongyang has always insisted it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against a US invasion, and is demanding still unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal, while Washington is pressing it to give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Affirming a commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was "not new", said MIT political science professor Vipin Narang, "historic summit notwithstanding". But he added: "Reaffirming it is better than not reaffirming it." Paul Haenle of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing said it was "really just the first step in broader diplomatic efforts". "Similar to a game of chess, this move opens up a series of possible developments but in many ways, the hard work really begins now." After an early dispatch saying Kim was heading for the summit, the North's state media offered no further coverage of events, even as the leaders' handshake was beamed around the world. But at a farewell ceremony, the two men watched images of their landmark encounter beamed onto the summit venue in a sound-and-light show, standing hand-in-hand for several minutes. sh-ckp-jhw-ric-slb/amz/it Most first-time Chinese visitors to Europe pack several countries into their itinerary The UK was the preferred European travel destination for customized Chinese travel, thanks in large part to attractions like the filming locations of the "Harry Potter" movies and "Sherlock Holmes." That's according to the findings of a new wide-ranging report from the Chinese Outbound Tourism Research Institute, which looked at trends in European travel among Chinese travelers in 2017. After Asia, which made up of the bulk of outbound Chinese travel (77 percent), Europe was the second most-visited continent among the Chinese outbound market in 2017, accounting for nine percent of total trips. That translates to about six million Chinese visitors. In the report, which was conducted in partnership with travel services provider Ctrip, researchers draw a distinction among independent Chinese travelers and Chinese "customized" tourists, who seek out tailor-made travel itineraries. In the latter category, the most popular European destination was the UK, which authors attribute to the variety of diversions and attractions, including "diverse natural and cultural offerings." The top attractions on British tour itineraries include the filming locations of popular franchises, and guided tours of prestigious universities like Oxford and Cambridge. The UK is also perceived as one of the most suitable European countries for solo Chinese travelers. After the UK, the most popular destinations for customized travel were Italy, France, Russia and Greece. For independent travelers, however, Italy tops the charts, followed by France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland. Authors also broke down top interests and themes for European travel. They found that newlywed Chinese couples are most enamored with Switzerland and Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland for their honeymoons, while Austria, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Spain are the most popular countries for getting married and shooting wedding photography. Story continues France, Italy and Spain are the top three destinations for Chinese travelers looking to eat their way through Europe. The report also found that Chinese tourists spend an average of 12 days in Europe and visit no more than two countries per trip. The average expenditure is RMB 2,500 (US $394) per person, per day. Here are the top 10 European destinations among Chinese travelers in customized tours: 1. United Kingdom 2. Italy 3. France 4. Russia 5. Greece 6. Spain 7. Germany 8. Switzerland 9. Czech Republic 10. Austria And here are the most-visited countries by independent Chinese travelers: 1. Italy 2. France 3. Germany 4. Russia 5. Switzerland 6. Austria 7. Spain 8. Czech Republic 9. United Kingdom 10. Netherlands Being a gang member seems like a cool thing when you are young. You get to hang out with a bunch of friends who show no regards for the authorities and do whatever they want; you get to bully people and abuse others; you dont need to work hard to make money, but instead, get it through illegal means like stealing and extortion. If you like to live on the wild side and waste away your future, its always a good idea to join a teenage gang. Finding a good gang leader to follow is an important decision when you decide to join a gang and Singapore gangster, is an example of an epic fail gang leader whom nobody should be following or trying to emulate. If you have following the news lately, Charles Koh Rong Guang, 25, was the leader of a youth gang when he repeatedly raped a girl when she was 13. This legendary character is now working as a salesman and has been sentenced to 28 years jail and 24 strokes of the cane this week. Koh commited his offences when he was 21 and was convicted of three counts of rape, along with eight other offences, including sexual assault by penetration, sexual exploitation of a child, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation. Why is Charles Koh Rong Guang such a failure? The numbnut is going to jail for 28 years and will be over 40 when he is released. We are not too optimistic about his future prospect as an aging salesman after his release. Will his gang members still be there to welcome him home after he is released from prison like in those Hong Kong triad movies? If you are thinking of joining a gang or aspiring to become a gang leader like Koh, here are some life lessons you can learn from him on how not to be a gang leader. 1. Dont rape your own gang member The 13-year-old girl was a member of Kohs teenage gang. You would expect gang members to take care of each other, but heres a gang leader who is comfortable to rape and abuse is own gang member. The prosecutors described that Koh treated the victim as a f*** buddy someone to have sex with and throw once he was done using her. Story continues Once, with a spanner, he forced her to fellate him in addition to raping her at a staircase landing in Choa Chu Kang Centre near a karaoke outlet. 2. Dont rape an underage girl The penalty are pretty harsh in Singapore for rape crimes, and particularly (as well as rightfully) so if the victim is underage. Koh not only rape a girl who was a member of his gang, he also raped her despite knowing she was underage. The girl was also a victim of an abusive father and was very staying away from home to avoid his father. Little would she know that the gang she associated with would have a gang leader who is even more abusive. 3. Dont offer your gang member to other people for sex After raping the victim, Koh was unrepentant and even offered the victim to others for sex. Luckily, his other gang members were more humane and nobody took up his generous offer. Unfortunately though, in a separate incident, a teenage gangster, Alson Tan Yu Seng, 15, who probably aspire to be like Charles Koh Rong Guang, went on to rape the girl while two of his friends pinned her down. In a Straits Times report, Tan was said to have told his friends Bryan Ong Jing Chong and Tan Wei Guang he had seen his headman rape the girl and suggested that they have sex with her. The trio played a game of scissors-paper-stone to decide who would go first. But the two friends did not go on to rape the girl as the trio were interrupted. All the three numbnuts have been arrested and sentenced. 4. Dont post photos of your crime online To ensure that the victim did not reveal the offences committed against her, Koh took naked photos of her, and told her to pose in a compromising manner with his second-in-command in the gang, Fu Yiming, 20. For some unknown reasons, Koh went on to circulate the photos online via a photo collage. The victim would have likely quietly suffered in silence with regards to the rapes, but Koh had to push it further and make his own crime public. The victim finally made a police report and that was where the lid was blown off. This guy totally deserves a Darwin Award for stupidity as a gang leader. How can you be a leader of a criminal syndicate and be so dense as to deliberately expose yourself and draw attention to your own crime? 5. Dont abuse your second-in-command The victim was introduced to the gang by Kohs second-in-command, Fu Yiming, who tried to pretend the girl on several occasions. Instead of giving face to his trusted assistant, the gang leader threatened to beat him up instead and went on to rape the girl. Never ever follow a leader who is going to disrespect you in this manner. 6. Dont commit crime when you are on probation Koh committed his rape offences while serving a two-year probation for rioting with a deadly weapon in 2013. When you know the police are on your tail, the dumbest thing to do is to go out and commit more crime so they can charge you with more offences. Koh did exactly just that. Koh is currently out on bail for S$100,000, posted by his father, and is appealing against his sentence. Maybe he will try to get his IQ checked so he can plead that he is of extraordinarily low IQ and may not know about the severity of his crimes and how dumb his actions were. Our recommendation is for Koh to be sentenced to share a cell with former China tour guide turned crook, Yang Yin (), so the two of them can exchange tips on how to beat each other to the title of Singapores dumbest crook. Remember kids, if you want to join a gang, dont follow a leader like Charles Koh Rong Guang. If you want to become a gang leader, dont be like Charles Koh Rong Guang. Actually, if you really die-die want to join a gang for camaraderie and friendship, consider joining the Peoples Association Youth Movement (PAYM) the largest gang in Singapore. The PAYM network currently consists of 107 Youth Clubs based at the various Community Centres all over Singapore. I am pretty sure their network is much more extensive than 369 gang or Ang Soon Tong or whatever. You will get to enjoy free buffet, participate in nation-building activities like the National Day Parade and maybe even meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong! Header image via Today Online. The post How Not to Be A Gang Leader as Demonstrated by Singapore Gangster Charles Koh Rong Guang appeared first on Alvinology. Peru's Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered that former president Ollanta Humala and his wife be released from preventative detention and allowed to remain free for his corruption trial, his lawyer said. Cesar Nakazaki said on Twitter the court had accepted a petition by Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia for a habeas corpus, allowing them to remain free while they attend trial. The pair have been in prison since July awaiting trial on charges of money laundering. They allegedly received millions of dollars in illegal campaign donations from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht ahead of the 2011 election. In February 2017, Jorge Barata, Odebrecht's former Peru chief, told prosecutors he gave Humala $3 million in cash at the request of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was himself jailed for corruption earlier this month. Several months later, Peruvian judge Richard Concepcion Carhuancho ordered that the couple be held in pre-trial detention on grounds there was a "high probability" they would try and evade justice. Humala, who ruled between 2011 and 2016, is one of four former Peruvian heads of state caught up in the vast Odebrecht corruption scandal that has engulfed Latin America -- although he is the only one who had been jailed so far. The other three also implicated in the scandal are Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Alan Garcia and Alejandro Toledo, who is currently in the United States fighting off Peruvian efforts to have him extradited. Japanese airline ANA on Friday posted record profits, while the bottom line worsened for rival JAL, and both carriers said they expected higher costs to eat into this year's earnings. ANA Holdings reported its largest-ever net profit of 143.9 billion yen ($1.3 billion) for the year that ended in March, up 45.6 percent from the previous year. It was the third consecutive year that ANA has posted record profits. Strong earnings were "underpinned by robust demand, strong performance in international passenger services and international cargo services, and the addition of revenue from (budget carrier) Peach Aviation Ltd," ANA Holdings said in a statement. Operating profit rose 13.0 percent to 164.5 billion yen as revenue grew 11.7 percent to 1.97 trillion yen. For the current year to March 2019, however, ANA expects its net profit to slip 29 percent to 102 billion yen, and it forecast operating profit would stay almost flat at 165 billion yen, missing the lowest analyst estimate of 167 billion yen in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue was projected to edge up three percent to two trillion yen. But an ANA spokeswoman put a bullish spin on the forecast, dismissing views that the company's earnings are in descent. The company is "stepping up investment for the future while maintaining a high level of profit," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. She said the firm was investing more in maintenance and safety measures, developing human resources, and introducing new aircraft. Japan Airlines (JAL) meanwhile said net profit fell 17.5 percent to 135.4 billion yen, while sales rose 7.3 percent to 1.38 trillion yen in the latest year. Net profit is forecast to fall nearly 19 percent to 110 billion yen for the current year despite a five percent increase in revenue to 1.46 trillion yen. Fuel costs are likely to rise on higher oil prices while expenses related to newly introduced aircraft weigh, JAL said. Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar returned Thursday to the eastern city of Benghazi after a long stay abroad, including for treatment in a Paris hospital, an AFP correspondent reported. The 75-year-old, smiling and dressed in a black suit, greeted generals from his self-styled army after descending from a plane, in his first public appearance for weeks. After walking down the red carpet, Haftar entered the airport lounge where officers, politicians and tribal dignitaries gave speeches of welcome. "I assure you that I am in good health," he told the gathering, thanking them for their support and loyalty. Among them was his chief of staff, General Abdelrazak al-Nadhuri, who survived a car bombing in Libya's second city Benghazi on April 18. Haftar was hospitalised in Paris in mid-April for what his spokesman said at the time was "normal checkups" after he fell ill during a scheduled trip abroad. Conflicting reports on his absence fuelled rumours in the press and on social media in Libya about his health and possible death. Libya has been gripped by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations and multiple militias vying for control of the oil-rich country. Haftar supports a parliament based in the east of the country, while a UN-backed unity government in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority nationwide. Last summer, Hafter announced the "total liberation" of Benghazi, after a three-year campaign to seize the city from jihadists who had made it a stronghold following the revolution. He is accused by his rivals of wanting to establish a new military dictatorship in Libya. Jihadists with the Islamic State group remain active in central and southern Libya despite being forced out of their northern stronghold Sirte in 2016. Guatemala's former police chief Erwin Sperisen was slapped with a 15-year prison sentence on Friday after being reconvicted for the deaths of seven inmates in his home country. Sperisen, who holds dual Swiss and Guatemalan citizenship, had been sentenced to life by a Geneva court in 2014 over his role in the deaths of 10 prisoners. But the Swiss Federal Tribunal set aside the conviction last year, saying the Geneva court relied on faulty evidence and did not give Sperisen's lawyers sufficient opportunity to confront his accusers. Prosecutors in the canton of Geneva retried the case this month. The court on Friday found him guilty of complicity in the murders of seven people in Pavon jail in September 2006. He was however cleared in a separate case involving the alleged summary executions of three prisoners who had escaped from El Infiernito jail in 2005. Sperisen resigned as Guatemala's police chief in 2007 and moved to Geneva, where his father Eduardo Sperisen-Yurt serves as Guatemala's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2008, several Swiss rights groups acting on behalf of Sperisen's alleged victims began lobbying for his arrest, under rules that allow Swiss citizens to be tried at home for crimes committed abroad. We also have updates from Huawei, Go-Jek, and how blockchain technology helps the #MeToo movement in China Bangladeshi ride-hailing startup Pathao raises pre-Series B e27 Dhaka-based ride-hailing startup Pathao today announced an undisclosed pre-Series B funding round from a number of investors including Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek. Go-Jek has previously participated in a Series A funding round for the company. Openspace Ventures (formerly known as NSI Ventures), Osiris Group, and Battery Road Digital Holdings also participated in the current round, which is said to put the startups valuation to over US$100 million. Pathao CEO Hussain M. Elius said that the funding will be used to support growth in more cities in the country, expansion of its food delivery vertical, and the launch of its cashless payment feature PathaoPay. Indonesia urges ride-hailing companies to add SOS system to app Tempo.co West Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Hengki Haryadi urged ride-hailing companies operating in Indonesia to include an emergency system in their app in order to prevent criminal incidents, according to Tempo.co. The call followed a recent criminal incident when a GrabCar passenger was robbed and trapped in a vehicle for seven hours, on a journey between her home in West Jakarta to her office in Central Jakarta. Haryadi also called for companies to develop a system that will prevent fraudsters to pose as GrabCar driver, as the alleged robber is reported to have borrowed his stepfathers GrabCar vehicle and logged in to his account to pose as a driver. The police had shot dead the alleged robber on Thursday. Also Read: Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek to launch online content production house, streaming service Huawei mulls building Android alternative following US-China trade tensions South China Morning Post Chinese smartphone giant Huawei is developing its own smartphone OS, according to a South China Morning Post report. Story continues Citing four anonymous sources, Huawei is said to have been developing the OS following an investigation into the company and ZTE in 2012. The development of the OS is seen as a worst case scenario as the US government tightens scrutiny over trade relations with China. The OS was not released as it was considered not as good as Android. #MeToo activists in China utilise blockchain to defeat censorship AFP Proponents of the anti-sexual harassment movement #MeToo in China has been using the Ethereum service to dodge censorship against the movement on local social media channels, AFP reported. The case began when a student named Yue Xin wrote an open letter calling Peking University to release details of an investigation into a sexual harassment case that had happened in 1998. Yue then began receiving threats from the university to take down the petition; the student then decided to move the letter into the blockchain to prevent it from being censored. Leonhard Weese, president of The Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, commented that in order to see the letter, users would need to download the entire blockchain and search for it with special software tools. He sees the action as a symbolic move to keep the message up forever, though it may not help with the distribution of the message itself. Image Credit: Stefan Stefancik on Unsplash The post Todays top tech news, April 27: Indonesia urges ride-hailing companies to add SOS system to app appeared first on e27. New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took aim at Germany over its defence spending Friday, using his first NATO meeting to push President Donald Trump's call for allies to shoulder a bigger burden. As a meeting of alliance foreign ministers put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression", Pompeo hammered home one of Trump's oldest themes -- demanding that NATO members pay their way. Some allies, including Europe's economic powerhouse Germany, have been reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend two percent of GDP on defence by 2024. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and former CIA boss Pompeo carried a tough message to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked if Germany was doing enough to meet the target, Pompeo said bluntly: "No. They should meet the goals that they agreed to." "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfil their obligations on defence spending," Pompeo told reporters after the meeting. Pompeo's comments came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heading to the White House for talks with Trump. "NATO is wonderful, but it helps Europe more than it helps us," Trump said ahead of his meeting with the German leader. - 'Fulfilling our obligations' - His stark language contrasted with what Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said was a more diplomatic approach in the meeting itself. "Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression," Asselborn told AFP. "On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions." As he arrived for the talks Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. He said Merkel's coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO." Away from the harsh words on funding there was agreement among foreign ministers on the need to find ways to counter Russia's adoption of "hybrid warfare" techniques -- subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare -- to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Pompeo sought to ease lingering concerns about Trump's commitment to NATO, saying the alliance was "more indispensible than ever" due to Russia's "unacceptable" actions, from Georgia to Ukraine to political meddling. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. "How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response?" he asked, referring to the alliance's mutual self-defence pact. - 'Russian aggression' - Ministers discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATO's full summit on July 11 and 12. "There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response," the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. "We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one," Stoltenberg said. "When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever," he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Ministers also debated plans to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called "importance as key allies and partners in the region. MARINA VILLENEUVE Maine, US | April 26 A sheriff on Thursday urged a man sought in the killing of a deputy to turn himself in and warned a community to stay vigilant during a manhunt in what is believed to be the first slaying of a law enforcement officer in Maine in nearly 30 years. The fatal shooting of Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole on Wednesday in Norridgewock triggered an intensive search for 29-year-old John Williams in and around the heavily wooded rural community about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Bangor. Tambien te puede interesar: Explosion rocks Wisconsin refinery, forcing evacuations Im asking John Williams, personally, if you are listening to my words today, I implore you to turn yourself in, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said at a news conference. He said authorities have had no contact with Williams. Officials said Williams, of Madison, Maine, was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face gun charges when he killed the 62-year-old Cole, stole his cruiser and robbed a convenience store. "Im asking John Williams, personally, if you are listening to my words today, I implore you to turn yourself in Authorities told residents to keep their doors and cars locked, and said officers have been assigned to areas schools. They believe Williams is still in the area. Lancaster said 175 to 200 officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have been working on the case and are being assisted by law enforcement in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. State Police Lt. Col. John Cote asked the public for help and stressed the safe return of Williams. He is the only one who can answer the questions we have, Cote said. Helicopters, armored vehicles and police cruisers were spotted around Norridgewock, and schools were locked down as federal, state and local law enforcement poured into the region to look for Williams. Law enforcement officials said he had arrest records in Maine, Tennessee and Massachusetts. That image contrasts with Williams days at Skowhegan High School, where a yearbook showed he once served as a class officer. When in school he was a nice, funny and an all-around good guy, said classmate Casey Sprout-Costa. New research, April 16-22, 2018 Posted on 27 April 2018 by Ari Jokimaki A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below. Climate change Temperature, precipitation, wind 1. Time Scales and Sources of European Temperature Variability (open access) "We find that eastern Europe is dominated by subdecadal SAT variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, whereas interdecadal and multidecadal SAT variability over northern and southern Europe are thermodynamically driven by ocean temperature anomalies. Our results provide evidence that temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic Ocean are advected over land by the mean westerly winds and, hence, provide a mechanism through which ocean temperature controls the variability and provides predictability of European SAT." 2. A possible recovery of the near-surface wind speed in Eastern China during winter after 2000 and the potential causes 3. Mechanisms Controlling Global Mean Sea Surface Temperature Determined From a State Estimate 4. Uganda rainfall variability and prediction 5. An analysis of spatial representativeness of air temperature monitoring stations 6. Global temperature definition affects achievement of long-term climate goals (open access) 7. Concurrent increases in wet and dry extremes projected in Texas and combined effects on groundwater (open access) Extreme events 8. Facing climate change-related extreme events in megacities of China in the context of 1.5 C global warming "These extreme events have shown an uptrend in China's megacities and are projected to further increase in the future. Notably, the projected intensity of extreme temperature and precipitation events in China's three urban agglomerations is lower under 1.5 C global warming compared with 2 C." 9. Global Changes in Drought Conditions Under Different Levels of Warming "Results show that two thirds of global population will experience a progressive increase in drought conditions with warming. For drying areas, drought durations are projected to rise at rapidly increasing rates with warming, averaged globally from 2.0 month/C below 1.5C to 4.2 month/C when approaching 3C. Drought magnitudes could double for 30% of global landmass under stringent mitigation. If contemporary warming rates continue, water supply?demand deficits could become fivefold in size for most of Africa, Australia, southern Europe, southern and central states of the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, north?west China, and parts of Southern America." 10. Drought Indices, Drought Impacts, CO2, and Warming: a Historical and Geologic Perspective 11. Risk assessment of precipitation extremes in northern Xinjiang, China (open access) 12. Increased Frequency of Summer Extreme Heat Waves over Texas Area Tied to the Amplification of Pacific Zonal SST Gradient 13. Changing urban risk: 140 years of climatic hazards in New York City (open access) 14. Climate Change and Drought: the Soil Moisture Perspective Forcings and feedbacks 15. The Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Variations in Incident Infrared Radiation "Ocean warming trends are observed and coincide with the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activities. At the ocean surface, most of the incoming infrared (IR) radiation is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface where the thermal skin layer (TSL) exists. Thus, the incident IR radiation does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. This paper investigates the physical mechanism between the absorption of IR radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air?sea boundary. The hypothesis is that given the heat lost through the air?sea interface is controlled by the TSL, the TSL adjusts in response to variations in incident IR radiation to maintain the surface heat loss. This modulates the flow of heat from below and hence controls upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is tested using the increase in incoming longwave radiation from clouds and analyzing vertical temperature profiles in the TSL retrieved from sea?surface emission spectra. The additional energy from the absorption of increasing IR radiation adjusts the curvature of the TSL such that the upward conduction of heat from the bulk of the ocean into the TSL is reduced. The additional energy absorbed within the TSL supports more of the surface heat loss. Thus, more heat beneath the TSL is retained leading to the observed increase in upper ocean heat content." 16. The influence of internal variability on Earth's energy balance framework and implications for estimating climate sensitivity (open access) "One of the most important parameters in climate science is the equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS). Estimates of this quantity based on 20th-century observations suggest low values of ECS (below 2 C). We show that these calculations may be significantly in error. Together with other recent work on this problem, it seems probable that the ECS is larger than suggested by the 20th-century observations." 17. Insights into the diurnal cycle of global Earth outgoing radiation using a numerical weather prediction model (open access) 18. Toward Global Mapping of Methane With TROPOMI: First Results and Intersatellite Comparison to GOSAT (open access) 19. Trends and variability of cloud fraction cover in the Arctic, 19822009 20. Increased importance of methane reduction for a 1.5 degree target (open access) 21. Climatology and long-term evolution of ozone and carbon monoxide in the upper tropospherelower stratosphere (UTLS) at northern midlatitudes, as seen by IAGOS from 1995 to 2013 (open access) Cryosphere 22. Grounding line migration through the calving season at Jakobshavn Isbr, Greenland, observed with terrestrial radar interferometry (open access) 23. A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High?Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data 24. Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea 25. Seasonal and Interannual Variations of Sea Ice Mass Balance From the Central Arctic to the Greenland Sea 26. Subglacial drainage patterns of Devon Island, Canada: detailed comparison of rivers and subglacial meltwater channels (open access) 27. Evaluating Impacts of Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss on the Northern Hemisphere Winter Climate Change 28. Changes in flow of Crosson and Dotson ice shelves, West Antarctica, in response to elevated melt (open access) 29. Modelling the climate and surface mass balance of polar ice sheets using RACMO2 Part 2: Antarctica (19792016) (open access) Hydrosphere 30. Bias in Estimates of Global Mean Sea Level Change Inferred from Satellite Altimetry "We demonstrate that using satellite altimetry records to estimate global ocean volume changes can lead to biases that can exceed 15%. The level of bias will depend on the relative contributions to sea level changes from the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets." 31. The response of vegetation to rising CO2 concentrations plays an important role in future changes in the hydrological cycle 32. The sign, magnitude and potential drivers of change in surface water extent in Canadian tundra (open access) 33. A dual model for emulation of thermosteric and dynamic sea-level change 34. Risks for the global freshwater system at 1.5 C and 2 C global warming (open access) 35. Observational evidence for the relationship between spring soil moisture and June rainfall over the Indian region Atmospheric and oceanic circulation 36. The Effect of Arctic Freshwater Pathways on North Atlantic Convection and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation 37. Relationship between El NinoSouthern Oscillation and the Symmetry of the Hadley Circulation: Role of the Sea Surface Temperature Annual Cycle 38. The Influence of ENSO Flavors on Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Activity 39. Multi-decadal timeseries of the Indonesian throughflow 40. Unprecedented 2015/2016 Indo?Pacific Heat Transfer Speeds Up Tropical Pacific Heat Recharge 41. Decadal variability of the meridional geostrophic transport in the upper tropical North Pacific Ocean Carbon cycle 42. Hurricane Arthur and its effect on the short-term variability of pCO2 on the Scotian Shelf, NW Atlantic (open access) 43. Vascular plant?mediated controls on atmospheric carbon assimilation and peat carbon decomposition under climate change 44. Global effects of plant litter alterations on soil CO2 to the atmosphere 45. Interannual drivers of the seasonal cycle of CO2 in the Southern Ocean (open access) Climate change impacts Mankind 46. Climate-related displacements of coastal communities in the Arctic: Engaging traditional knowledge in adaptation strategies and policies 47. Sea Level Rise Impacts on Wastewater Treatment Systems Along the U.S. Coasts 48. The Effects of Social Connections on Evacuation Decision Making during Hurricane Irma 49. Climate security assessment of countries 50. Integration anxiety: The cognitive isolation of climate change 51. Global change effects on land management in the Mediterranean region Biosphere 52. Ocean acidification changes the structure of an Antarctic coastal protistan community (open access) "This study shows a shift in a natural Antarctic microbial community, with CO 2 levels exceeding 634 atm changing the community composition and favouring small cells. This would have significant flow effects for Antarctic food webs and elemental cycles." 53. Natural ocean acidification at Papagayo upwelling system (north Pacific Costa Rica): implications for reef development (open access) "Local coral reefs are exposed to acidic and undersaturated waters in upwelling and non-upwelling events. These restrictive conditions occur alongside local stressors, potentially decreasing reefs' resilience and increasing their vulnerability under future OA." 54. Mass coral bleaching causes biotic homogenization of reef fish assemblages 55. Coral bleaching is linked to the capacity of the animal host to supply essential metals to the symbionts 56. Time lag and negative responses of forest greenness and tree growth to warming over circumboreal forests 57. The response of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) to interannual climate variation changes across its range (open access) 58. Nitrous oxide emissions could reduce the blue carbon value of marshes on eutrophic estuaries (open access) 59. Balancing trade-offs between ecosystem services in Germany's forests under climate change (open access) 60. Hatching delays in great tits and blue tits in response to an extreme cold spell: a long-term study (open access) 61. Elevated CO2 did not affect the hydrological balance of a mature native Eucalyptus woodland 62. Is there a substitution of Pinaceae by Fagaceae in temperate forests at the global scale? "Our results indicate a widespread increase in dominance of Fagaceae species at the expense of Pinaceae across northern temperate forests, with the exception of Eastern North America." 63. Plants and Drought in a Changing Climate Climate change mitigation 64. Independent data for transparent monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions from the land use sector What do stakeholders think and need? (open access) 65. Large uncertainty in carbon uptake potential of land?based climate?change mitigation efforts 66. Enhancing global climate policy ambition towards a 1.5 C stabilization: a short-term multi-model assessment (open access) Emission savings 67. Avoided economic impacts of energy demand changes by 1.5 and 2 C climate stabilization (open access) 68. Global radiative effects of solid fuel cookstove aerosol emissions (open access) 69. Economic drivers of telecoupling and terrestrial carbon fluxes in the global soybean complex 70. CO2 abatement goals for international shipping (open access) Energy production 71. Comparing future patterns of energy system change in 2?C scenarios to expert projections 72. Emerging energy sources for electric vehicle charging station 73. How households adapted their energy use during the Zambian energy crisis Other papers General climate science 74. A Dynamically Consistent, Multi-Variable Ocean Climatology (open access) Palaeoclimatology 75. Coral?Derived Western Pacific Tropical Sea Surface Temperatures During the Last Millennium "Reconstructed coral Sr/Ca?sea surface temperatures indicate that the Little Ice Age (17111817 CE) period was ~0.7C cooler than the Medieval Climate Anomaly (913?1132 CE) and that late 20th century warming of the western Pacific is likely unprecedented over the past millennium." 76. Farming data: Testing climatic and palaeoenvironmental effect on Neolithic Adriatic stockbreeding and hunting through zooarchaeological meta-analysis 77. Accumulation patterns around Dome C, East Antarctica, in the last 73?kyr (open access) 78. Ice Core Records of West Greenland Melt and Climate Forcing 79. An inverse approach to the course of the Little Ice Age glacier advance and the following deglaciation at Austerdalsisen, eastern Svartisen, northern Norway By any normal standards, a quarterly profit of $1.6 billion is an astonishing feat. But a company with a market capitalization of $814 billion should not be judged by normal standards. Amazon is flying high on Thursday, after a blowout earnings report. Its valuation has gone up by some $78 billion just since the close of trade on Wednesday, which will fuel any number of stories about how world-beating and unstoppable it is. Those stories, in turn, will reinforce the tale being told by the stock market, in a virtuous cycle that is music to CEO Jeff Bezos ears. Advertisement The best gift you can give to any CEO is an overvalued stock. An ever-rising share price effectively obscures any number of sins: It cheapens the cost of debt, makes it easy to keep your employees happy by giving them options, and reassures the market that everything is fine. It also sets the tone for media coverage, which can then provide a tailwind, helping the company do even better on the stock market. The combination of a great story with a high-and-rising share price is the perfect recipe to ensure that the default tone for journalism surrounding the company ends up being some form of why is this company so successful, and what does that mean for the rest of us? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nowhere is this syndrome clearer than in the FANG stocksFacebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google. (Yes, I know the corporate name is technically Alphabet; the acronym wasnt my idea.) Its a constant drumbeat: These companies, with their soaring valuations, are transformative, disruptive, revolutionary. And, to a large degree, thats true. But when that assumption becomes unexamined, sometimes both the stock price and the narrative can start looking a bit unsupported. Amazon is a perfect case in point. For one thing, its market capitalization of $814 billion compares to net income, over the past 12 months, of $3.9 billion. That means its trading at a price-earnings ratio somewhere north of 200. Compare that to a ratio of about 24 for the stock market as a whole. If Amazon traded on the same multiple of earnings as everybody else, its stock would fall by roughly 90 percent. Advertisement The stock is supporting a narrative, which in turn is supporting the stock. And the narrative is, frankly, looking a bit shaky these days. And its stock can fall by 90 percent! In the summer of 2000, Amazon was similarly valued at stratospheric levels, until a 29-year-old Lehman Brothers convertible bond analyst named Ravi Suria put out a report that said Amazon was facing a creditor squeeze that would endanger its ability to pay its debts. Surias analysis sent the companys stock plunging by 20 percent in a single day. Suria soon was dubbed the giant killer: Surias analysis, which had a profound effect on the way that the markets viewed many technology companies, helped to precipitate the dot-com crash, and a year later, Amazon stock was trading at just 10 percent of its former level.* Advertisement Amazon is very, very unlikely to fall that much ever again. But theres no doubt that the stock is supporting a narrative, which in turn is supporting the stock. And the narrative is, frankly, looking a bit overstretched. Advertisement Advertisement For instance: Look at the the size of the Amazon Prime membership base in the U.S. alone. Last year, a company called Consumer Intelligence Research Partners put out a series of widely cited estimates, often reported as fact by media outlets. They pegged Prime membership at 80 million people in April 2017, 85 million in July, and 90 million in October. At that rate, it should be 100 million by now. But in his annual letter to shareholders, Bezos revealed that Prime membership worldwide has now passed the 100 million mark. Given that Amazon is estimated to be closing in on 20 million Prime members in Germany and is also huge in the U.K. and Japan, that number was lower than expected. And yet the general reaction to the news was Oh, wow, thats amazing, what a big number. Advertisement Amazon similarly never fails to appear in just about any story about the so-called retail apocalypsea phenomenon that is much, much bigger and more complicated than people used to shop at stores, but now they just order from Amazon. After all, Amazon still accounts for only 4 percent of American retail sales. Indeed, with its Whole Foods acquisition, Amazon clearly considers in-person shopping to be entirely aligned with its mission of customer service and convenience. The retail apocalypse is, at heart, a real estate story (too many malls built in areas where no one wants to shop), much more than it is an Amazon story. Advertisement Heres a game you can play along at home: Pick a story, more or less at random, about any company that sells consumer goods and that is doing badly or worse than expected. Then count the paragraphs before the word Amazon appears. Take this story about Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Nestle, for instance; the fourth paragraph has the requisite clause about Amazon.com Inc.s rising prowess in selling more household staples. But there are no numbers attached to that claim, maybe because Amazon, even if its growing, still has less than 1 percent of household-staples sales. Advertisement Advertisement And while Amazons entry into the fashion business is certainly noteworthy, that doesnt automatically mean its disrupting fashion retail, as the Financial Times would have you believe. That would be hard, with just $25 billion or so in revenuesjust 2.5 percent of a $1 trillion market. A version of this game can even be played with Donald Trumps tweets. When Trump rails against Amazon on Twitter, the proximate cause is probably personal animosity toward Bezos, who owns the Washington Post. But the broader context is that Trump has bought in to the narrative of an all-powerful, all-dominant Amazon. Thats why his allegations, even though false, have the ring of truthiness. No narrative lasts forever, as the storm over Facebooks relationship with Cambridge Analytica demonstrates. Its impossible to predict whats going to cause the view of Amazon to change or when thats going to happen. But given the shifting sense of the role that big tech plays in our lives, its reasonable to expect that, when that day arrives, the change will be negative. For the company, for its narrative, and for its share price. How is the Ford Fiesta like the Apple Newton? Both of them, it seems, are deadweight products that their manufacturers would be better off without. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, one of his first actions was to slash the companys product line by 70 percent. No more Newtons, no more fine gradations of different Macs for different people. Going forward, Apple would make just four computers: a desktop and a laptop for consumers and an equivalent pair for pro users. That decision turned Apple around and set the stage for the biggest comeback in corporate history. Advertisement Fords announcement that it will phase out most of its car models by 2020 is not quite as drastic, but the impetus is the same: Its much better to do one thing really well than it is to try to be all things to all people. All the top-selling sedans in Americathe Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, and Nissan Sentraare Japanese. Ford could try to compete with those, but to what end? Over many decades it has learned that its not going to build a category-killing sedan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats more, even if Ford did manage, against all odds, to build a car that outsold the Camry, it would be able to do so only with the slimmest of profit margins. The investment would be huge, while the payoff would be minimal. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Ford F-series has been the top-selling truck in America for 41 years. The company sells a new F-series pickup truck every 42 seconds, at an average price of $49,439. The franchise is a license to print money: Each truck, its been estimated, nets Ford more than $13,000. Fords decision applies only to North America; the calculus in Europe is different, for many reasons. Ford sells few trucks there and would essentially be leaving the market entirely were it to stop selling cars. Also, its much more difficult, both legally and politically, to close down car-manufacturing plants in Europe. Besides, the Ford Fiesta is the fourth most popular car in Europe: Ford is more competitive there than in its home market. Advertisement In corporate America, bigger is not always better. If Ford wants to improve its profit margins, the easiest way to do so is to stop making cars. The Ford Fiesta will never be very profitable: It just doesnt sell for enough money, and it appeals to extremely price-sensitive consumers. Trucks, by contrast, are much more expensive, and frequently get upgraded by purchasers wanting specialized bells and whistles. Advertisement Most CEOs look for growth, but in a competitive area like autos, sometimes shrinking makes more financial sense. A smaller Ford, with higher margins, will have fewer employees and much more scope for buybacks and dividends. Shareholders across the sector will win: Ford will become more profitable, and so will the Japanese carmakers, which will see diminished competition and higher sales. Advertisement Advertisement The losers, of course, will be the workers. If youre working on the Ford Taurus production line today, your future is far from rosy. Ford CEO Jim Hackett is working for shareholders; the old paternalism of the Ford family has fallen by the wayside, destroyed by financial logic. People will always buy cars. But fewer and fewer peopleand fewer and fewer companiesare going to make them. Were living in a winner-takes-all world, where Ford has won in trucks and the Japanese carmakers have won in sedans. So dont be surprised if, in a few years time, the Japanese companies start getting out of the truck game. Being fourth or fifth in a market is almost never a financially sensible place to be. Update, Apr. 28, 2018: Ford sent Slate the following statement about its employees who work on the Taurus: As the Kanye/Trump Twitter debacle wearily unfolds, everyone from Kim Kardashian to John Legend has been weighing in. When Kanye posted photos of his signed MAGA hat and tweeted about his love for Trump on Wednesday, the Internet lost its damn mind. Eager to quell the firestorm, Kanyes fellow artist and Chicagoan Chance the Rapper denied rumors about Wests mental health and seemed to affirm the controversial rappers political choice. Talked to him two days ago. Hes in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health. Same Ye from the Vmas, same Ye from the telethon. https://t.co/2zY3KpllV2 Chance The Rapper Album in July (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Black people dont have to be democrats. Chance The Rapper Album in July (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018 Now, Chance is eager to clarify. In a statement written on his phone and posted to Twitter, the Rapper apologized for not challenging Kanye more. I didnt speak up because because I agree with what Kanye had to say or cause I fuck with trump [sic], I did it because I wanted to help my friend and cause I felt like I was being used to attack him Id never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination. Advertisement The Rapper also took this opportunity to clarify his tweet about black Republicans and frame it in relation to Chicago politics. You can read his full statement below. My fault yo pic.twitter.com/TIWhG8o1ST Chance The Rapper Album in July (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement As for Donald Trumps attempt to glom onto Kanyes statements, Chance had a much simpler response. Set phasers to newsworthy: Paramount Pictures announced on Wednesday that it has two more Star Trek movies on the way, including one from Quentin Tarantino, but now new details are emerging about the other. Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter are both reporting that British director S.J. Clarkson is in talks to direct the fourth installment in the Star Trek reboot franchise. Paramount has not publicly confirmed Clarksons involvement, but Variety suggests that she already has the job. Clarkson is best known as a veteran television director who has worked on EastEnders, Life on Mars, Dexter, Orange is the New Black, and many others. She has superhero credibility, too, having directed the first two episodes of both Marvels Jessica Jones and The Defenders. Clarkson would be the first female director at the helm of a Star Trek movie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details about that movie are still pretty scarce, but we do know that it has a script by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Paramount announced in 2016 that Star Trek 4 would bring back Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk, who died in the first several minutes of Star Trek. At the time, I had my own theories about how the movie would go about having Kirk cross paths with his adult son, but sources tell Variety that the plot will be driven by a good old-fashioned time travel ploy. Time travel is, of course, a Star Trek staple, but I was still hoping for something a little more interesting. To quote the inimitable Captain Janeway: The future is the past, the past is the futureit all gives me a headache. Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America. My experience of having a child was so destabilizing, says Clarissa Doutherd, now the executive director of Parent Voices Oakland. As a new mom running my own business, paid leave was not an option. The pressure to immediately go back to work, for survival, moved to the center, instead of caretaking for my son and ensuring he was healthy. Within months of her sons birth, Doutherds independent bookkeeping business had folded and she found herself without a home or stable employment, and with a sick baby. I couldnt just bond with my child and I couldnt take time and enjoy him. It was very isolating. He had many health issues in those early years, and I have no doubt my stress, and inability to be with him was a factor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The birth of a child should be filled with excitement and the natural worries that come with caring for a newborn. But for too many families in the United States, this time is weighed by heavy economic burdens. After delivery, parents are torn between providing the best care for their child versus earning money to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Mothers push through postpartum pain and ignore doctors recommendations by returning to work too early. An investigation featured in In These Times found that about 25 percent of women in the U.S. return to work within 10 days of delivery, a time when they are still literally bleeding. Its not like this in other countries. Of the 193 countries in the United Nations, the U.S. is one of two (along with Papua New Guinea) that does not provide paid leave for mothers. Brazil provides 17 weeks. Norway provides 25 weeks. The United Kingdom provides 52 weeksa full year. Advertisement Mounting evidence shows the social and economic benefits of paid leave. Paid leave increases womens labor participation and boosts overall gross domestic product. And paid leave is an urgent health issue. It carries many public health benefits for moms and children, including reducing postpartum depression and improving breastfeeding initiation and duration. Paid leave is an urgent health issue. Advertisement In California, where paid leave has been in place since 2004, the duration of breastfeeding doubled for new parents who took leave. According to 1,000 Days, an advocacy organization to ensure women and children have the healthiest first 1,000 days, exclusive breastfeeding provides babies the perfect nutrition and everything they need for healthy growth and brain development. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that breastfeeding reduces risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, and infections in children and protects against ovarian and breast cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease in women. Breastfeeding not only improves health, it saves money. And, a 2016 study estimated, the U.S. would save $17.2 billion in costs associated with medical expenses and premature deaths, if mothers were able to meet the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for six months. Advertisement Advertisement And there are benefits to mental health as well. An adequate paid maternity leave policy would lead to both better mental health outcomes in children and fewer instances of postpartum depression, according to Erica Komisar, psychoanalyst, parent guidance expert, and author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters. A maternity leave that facilitates a mothers presence in the early years can have an enormous impact in protecting her children from developing long-term social and emotional disorders. Komisar argues that maternity leave could be a preventive measure which might offset massive mental health costs. Advertisement But the benefits of paid leave are not limited to moms. When dads and nongestational parents take paid leave, evidence shows the whole family benefits. A Swedish study found infants whose fathers did not take paternity leave were less likely to be breastfed at 2,4, and 6 months of age. Longer paternity leave means dads have more time to bond with their child and share household chores and child care, like changing diapers, feedings, and getting up at night. This increased engagement leads to improved health and developmental outcomes for children. Advertisement Research shows that paid leave can literally save lives. A 2000 study analyzing data from 16 European countries found that, a 10-week increase in paid leave is predicted to reduce infant mortality rates by between 2.5% and 3.4%. These benefits should come as no surprise, because when parents have paid leave, they are more likely to ensure children get timely vaccinations, pediatric visits, and better management of chronic conditions. Despite the public health benefits of paid leave, and the economic savings it brings for businesses, families, and society, only about 14 percent of U.S. workers currently have access to paid leave. For these reasons, the U.S. needs a national equitable paid leave policy. Equitable means not just any paid leave policy, but job-protected leave with adequate time off, wage replacement that allows low-wage workers to take leave (so they dont just receive a fraction of their already low income on leave), broad employee eligibility criteria, and a gender-neutral, expansive definition of family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A prominent argument against paid leave in the U.S. is that paid leave is bad for business, but the evidence shows exactly the opposite. Leave policies have negligible costs and, in fact, benefit businesses both large and small. Businesses gain from increased productivity, employee satisfaction, and employee retention thereby avoiding the sizable cost of finding and training new employees. A survey of Californias employers found that 87 percent reported no cost increase associated with the states paid leave program and 9 percent reported cost savings due to reduced turnover and benefit costs. At the Make Family Leave Not Suck Policy Summit at the MIT Media Lab this weekend, we are hosting more than 60 thought leaders to discuss what policies it would take to ensure all families have access to equitable paid leave. In the process, we are centering traditionally marginalized voices and ideas of low-wage workers and parents of color, who are so often left out of developing solutions to problems that affect them most of all, but also inventors of creative policy solutions. This is exactly what motivated Doutherd to lead Parent Voices Oakland, a grass-roots organization dedicated to economic and educational justice for families. In a country with so many resources, I found it unbelievable that there was nearly zero support for a family like mine. she says. My experiences have motivated me to organize other parents to advocate for smart policymaking that provides support for children and parents universally. On this weeks episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke to Amy Chozick, a writer-at-large for the New York Times and the author of the new book Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling. In it, she chronicles her years on the Clinton beat, all the way up through Clintons devastating loss to Donald Trump in November of 2016. Along the way, she paints a portrait of an unhappy candidate, surrounded by unhelpful and unfriendly aides, whos unable or unwilling to ever truly be herself on the campaign trail. Advertisement Chasing Hillary is also an examination of the choices made by the pressincluding the Timesin how it covered Clinton. The book itself has engendered a fair bit of controversy, with Chelsea Clinton calling certain facts into question and with at least one of Chozicks own colleagues taking issue with some of her opinions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Below is an edited excerpt from the show, in which we discuss how Clinton reacted on election night, why the Clinton campaign was so prone to making mistakes, and whether the Times erred in its election coverage. You can find links to every episode here; the entire audio interview is below. Please subscribe to I Have to Ask wherever you get your podcasts. Isaac Chotiner: When did you first start reporting on Hillary Clinton? Advertisement Amy Chozick: I had been a foreign correspondent in Japan for the Wall Street Journal when my editor there became Washington bureau chiefthis was 2007and he said, How would you like to go to Iowa and cover Hillary Clinton? I was 28. I went to Iowa. I was having as much culture shock going there as I had when I moved to Tokyo. I thought, Oh my God, Americans are huge. I didnt know what a caucus was, which I admitted to Hillary Clintons aides a couple years later, and they said, Thats OK. We didnt know what a caucus was either in 2008. Do you think its weird that newspapers send people to cover the Iowa election without knowing what a caucus is, or is that par for the course of how reporting works? Advertisement Advertisement Actually, I dont think thats par for the course. I think that was an exception and I think it was a good one because I went to Japan without knowing anything about Japan. My editors idea was that fresh eyes would find new angles and new perspectivesthings that either Japanese reporters or reporters who had lived there for decades didnt think were strange. I thought it was a story and was interesting to readers. And I think it was the same thing getting to IowaI noticed things that I think when you cover politics and thats all you cover For instance I wrote a Page 1 feature about campaign hookups. This is something that, if you have covered campaigns, of course people hook up, and thats just a normal thing, but for me it was an interesting thing to see. Secret Service and reporters and all kinds of hookups. So I dont know. I think you find stories with fresh perspectives and there can be a danger in the opposite way when you start getting too cynical and things just dont start seeming like stories, and things dont seem exciting anymore. Its like, Yep, this is my fourth caucus, and I know everybody and know everything and I am writing just to impress my friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To turn to 2016, when you were covering her campaign for the Times: You had a piece ready to go if Hillary had won, and you quote from it in the book, writing, No one in modern politics, male or female, has had to withstand more indignities, setbacks and cynicism. She developed protective armor that made the real Hillary Clinton an enigma. But if she was guarded about her feelings and opinions, she believed it was in careful pursuit of a dream for generations of Americans: the election of the countrys first woman president. This is written to suggest that what made her enigmatic, and what in turn led to her being such a flawed candidate, was the fact that she had been so mistreated over many years. Do you think that was the case? Advertisement Yeah, all of the scandals and meshugas that surrounded the Clintons for decades I think added to her building up a lot of protective scar tissue that in turn made her into an enigma and made her even more reluctant to kind of share the authentic parts of herself. Hillary was known for many years to have a close circle of women advisers, but many of the paramount characters in your book are who you call The Guys. Do you think her circle became increasingly male, and what effect do you think that had on the campaign? Advertisement No, I think the women, her close coterie of her girlfriends they called Hillaryland in the White House, was with her throughout the campaign. The final day of the election, I saw Cheryl Mills, Maggie Williams, and Huma [Abedin], and these women who had been with her for years. So they were always there. I think the people who protected HillaryI called it her court of flattering men, the people who interfaced with us, the reporterswere largely male, and a lot of that was before she became a candidate, after the State Department [when she] had some very protective aides controlling her coverage, or trying to. Advertisement Advertisement You portray The Guys as often rude and condescending, telling you about a target on your back and just generally being obnoxious and misogynistic. But you also grant them anonymity. They are given nicknames, even as the media has had a parlor game of trying to figure out who they are. What is the point of not naming them, especially when some of their comments seem pretty gross? The idea of calling them The Guys wasnt really a journalistic one. It was more of a literary one. I was thinking about these characters and they all sort of looked the same: white men, clean-cut. And they all performed the same job, which was to control Hillarys image and the campaigns press coverage. I was thinking not of the reader in New York or Washington who knows who these people are, but of my moms book club in Texas. Do they need to have eight different characters who are all very similar and perform the same duties, or can I create this? What I wanted to create was this sort of tragicomic Greek chorus of this kind of multiheaded monster of The Guys, which I thought would resonate more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You say in your authors note that having to remember the names of dozens of political operatives who all essentially perform the same purpose is boring. But if there is a top aide to Hillary Clinton who makes a misogynistic comment to you, it seems newsworthy to say who these people are. Yeah and I think my literary device is not about protecting anonymity. Its not about granting anonymity. Its pretty easy to guess if you know these characters. It wasnt done to protect sources. It was done to create an image in peoples minds and keep these characters straight. Advertisement The politics editor of the New York Times during the campaign was a woman named Carolyn Ryan, who you thank in your acknowledgements effusively, and about whom you write had a more natural ability to get the best out of her reporters than any editor I have ever worked for. And you also write that she had a more innate sense of what people wanted to read than other editors, and Talking to her set every brainstorming session off on rollicking tangents that included gossip collected in the congressional dining room, on the Washington softball field, and while waiting for the Times vending machine to spit out some stale Twizzlers. Unsubstantiated tidbitsparticularly involving Bill and Hillary, Elizabeth Warren, and anything related to New York politicswould cause Carolyn to leap across her desk with a No way! and We gotta get that in the paper. You add that she could weed through two thousand words of crap, pulling out a priceless treasure of an anecdote buried in graph fifteen. I thought this was an interesting way of introducing the politics editor of the most important newspaper on Earth as it covers one of the most important elections of our lifetime, because it fits with a lot of critiques of the Times coverage, especially around the Clintonsthat it was too gossipy and not focused enough on policy. But I thought you meant it basically as a compliment. How do you respond to that? Advertisement Advertisement Oh, thats interesting. I more meant it how enthusiastic Carolyn got about breaking news. Of course, the unsubstantiated tidbits would have to be reported out, effectively reported out, and sourced in order to get them in the paper. It is not that she wanted to put gossip in the paper. I just think she has a real excitement for breaking news, and we covered every one of Hillary Clintons policies, and all the charactersIm sorry, all the candidates policiesbut I think, yeah, I was there just trying to show she had really an innate sense of what people wanted to read. I talk about tension, and how the good story always has to have tension. And I would say, to Carolyns credit, the tension doesnt have to be, Oh Hillary is going to hate this story. Sometimes the tension is my deep dive into her relationship with her father, who was a kind of difficult character, or the tension was when I went to Alabama and did a story about Hillary Clinton going undercover to investigate school segregation when she was working for the Childrens Defense Fund, and she could have been caught. So I dont think the tension always had to be gossip, but there was something innate that captured the reader that she was good at. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it comes to the issue of the emails, and the FBI investigation of Hillary Clintons handling of it, you say about the Times that there was an insatiable appetite for email-related stories. I cant explain it exactly except to compare it to a fever that spread through every newsroom and made us all salivate over the tiniest morsels. You say you regret and resent this, but what role do you think the Times had in how big a story it became? And do you connect the way you describe the salivating over the tiniest morsels to your description of Ryan and the type of political stories the Times wanted? I dont say that it spread through the Times. I say it spread through everythe insatiable appetite is clearly across all media. Its not specific to the Times in the book. Advertisement You say it spread through every newsroom and made us all salivate over the tiniest morsels. That presumably includes the Times. Us, the media, yeah, the media including the Times. I think a lot of the furor over the emails came from cable news and what was feeding cable, so I want to make clear that that section wasnt just about the Times. Look, I understand Hillarys supporters complaining about the veracity and volume of stories around the email server. But I think its hard to say that the leading candidate for the presidency of the United States being under FBI investigation is a nonstory, which seems like what some of her supporters have argued. You can debate the legitimacy of the FBI investigation, but it was definitely a big story. There is an easy sense of comparing it to the scandals on the other side, on Trumps side, and saying, Well, compared to what Trump has done, its nothing. I think its a dangerous proposition to say, well, because the other guy is beyond the pale, we are going to ignore this other big story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, I do write in the book that I regret and even resent that it became the only story. We would go to see these press conferences when Hillary did thembecause she rarely didand reporters would just scream at her about emails. There would be people trying to get other questions in and it just got completely drowned out. My best example of this is that I spent a year trying to talk to this woman Sarah Ehrman, who was this feminist firebrand Democrat who Hillary lived with after law school when she was working on the Watergate committee and she was moving down to Arkansas to marry Bill Clinton. And Sarah Ehrman offered to drive her down and on the three-day road trip she tried to talk her out of it. She said, You are throwing your life away. You are the most gifted woman I have ever met. You could do anything you want to do. So I had wanted to re-create this road trip to show readers this vulnerable, different side of Hillary, and it took me a year to convince Sarah Ehrman to speak on the record. I had to bring her babka and wine, and finally I get the story together, and it posts [online] and three hours later Comey sends his letter to Congress, so the story never even made it into the paper. It was impossible to get other sympathetic stories to break through in the environment we were in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You write that, Hillary and her campaign never had a strategy to change the conversation. Can you expand upon that? Look, I dont want to blame the victim here. I do think the coverage was voracious about her emails. But I also think the campaign was not great at changing the conversation. I counted 47 interview requests that were turned down. We asked her for interviews about national security, about her work on the Childrens Defense Fund, about her economic policies. Every single time was either ignored or turned down, and I have to think that some of those interviews would have knocked emails off the front page and made news. So it was a frustration. At the same time, I understand their instincts: They were thinking that all anyone wants to talk about are emails, and she is in the lead, so why risk it? But I think some of those stories, if we had been able to get interviews, would have made the front page and put policy on the front page. Advertisement Advertisement Even if the campaign is not cooperatingand we agree, as you catalog in the book, that the way her campaign behaved was not great in most waysand even if they werent agreeing to interviews and giving access to certain things, the Times as an institution is still allowed to put other stories on the front page. Advertisement Yeah, and we did. One of my first stories out of the gate was how Hillary Clinton was consulting 200 advisers to craft her economic policy. We did cover all of her policies, all of her debates. Coming from the Wall Street Journal, where I interviewed her extensively during the financial crisis, I was very drawn to policy stories, and we did those. It was just very hard to get them to break through. Advertisement Right, its just You are saying we could have put that on the front page even if there was no interview? Yeah. I agree, but when you get a press release that the entire press corps gets on some policy that is being rolled out, its much harder to argue that this is huge news that needs to be highlighted in an important way. I dont, obviously, make those decisions, or I would put all of my stories on the front page. But I do think, you know, you need news. You need something new. We covered all of it. A lot of the Times coverage was fantastic. It just feels like when you talk to people at places like the Times, or people like myself at an admittedly smaller institution, we have some role in setting what the conversation is as well as writing about what the conversation is. The Times is an active actor here as well as a passive actor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would agree, and I dont want to act like we are perfect. I am very self-reflective in the book. But there is a frustration that theres this narrative that All you covered was emails. You never covered policy. And Im like, Well, you didnt read my story about her tax plan or infrastructure plan. I think you are right that the onus is on news organizations, and I think the Times has been really good about highlighting policy stories in new ways now with The Daily and with new digital tools. Advertisement But yeah, the onus is on us to get those stories to break through. We covered them, but I feel like we could have done a better job for sure. Advertisement You describe Hillarys initial response when learning that she wasnt going to win as her saying, They were never going to let me be president. What do you make of that response and what do you think it tells us about Hillary Clinton? Yeah, I mean that response, initially, I thought, made a lot of sense for Hillary. She has been through these political storms her entire professional life, ever since she has been on the national stage, and she talked about that vast right-wing conspiracy and deep-rooted misogyny and this Hillary hate machine that has existed ever since she first came onto the national stage. So initially I thought they were all of these forces, and I would throw political reporters into it, who she called big egos and no brains, obsessed over salacious gossip and uninterested in policy. Advertisement Advertisement I knew what they she was referring to, and then, as we have had more distance from the election, I have also seen they as these other outside forces: the Russian involvement, the Facebook ads, fake news. I dont think thats what she was referring to then because we didnt know the extent of it. I think Hillary knew she was up against forces. All of her aides have said the person who was least surprised was her. Do you believe that? Yeah, I do. I think she thought she was going to win because in that final day I had really never seen her so happy. But I also think something sort of endearing about Hillary that people dont really realize is that she is really insecure, even though she is so successful and so pulled-together. She would have an amazing debate and as soon as she got backstage would say, How did I do? How did I do? So I think she was probably the least surprised. Advertisement Advertisement Chelsea Clinton has been tweeting about your book, saying a couple facts are wrong, like that she has never gotten hair keratin treatment. You have said the book was fact-checked. Do you know if the fact-checker reached out to Chelsea Clinton in the course of the fact check? I can say I have a lot of respect for Chelsea. I have covered this family for a decade and I kept copious notes and am very confident in my reporting. Most books arent fact-checked, so I hired an independent fact-checker to go over all of my reporting. While I have got you, do you mind if I expand on that a little? Sure. Growing up in Texas, I really saw myself in Chelsea. So I am just going to read a part [of the book]: I even saw myself in Chelsea then. We were about the same age from neighboring southern states, both avid readers and uncomfortable in our own skin, with smiles full of braces, curls we couldnt control, and frilly dresses with bubbly shoulder pads. Flash-forward to 2015 and I run into her again and I write, I no longer saw myself in Chelsea. She had grown into her celebrity with flowing straight hair and a permanent strawberry glow. Chelsea told Elle magazine that in her early 20s her curls had just naturally subsided, an affront to frizzy haired women everywhere. I also happened to know her New York hairdresser and a keratin job when I saw it. So I think it is hard on Twitter when misinformation is being spread, but I did want to get the context in. Update, May 8, 2018: President Trump has announced the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran. Last month, Ilan Goldenberg and Ariane Tabatabai warned what would happen if Trump was to choose this path: In May, President Trump will once again determine the fate of the nuclear agreement with Iran. European leadersfirst French President Emmanuel Macron, followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkelrecently traveled to Washington to convince Trump to stay in the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Macron proposed a plan for a more comprehensive response to Irans nefarious activities, which would build on the JCPOA and address U.S. concerns surrounding Tehrans long-term nuclear plans, missile program, and regional policy, but by his own assessment has likely failed to sway the president. It remains to be seen whether Merkel can do any better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Trump walks away, do not expect an immediate emergency but instead a slow-motion crisis that would play out over years and most likely result in the United States and its partners eventually being forced to choose between accepting a nuclear-armed Iran or pursuing military action. The president has thus far refrained from walking away from the JCPOA due to the opposition of his own Cabinet members, chiefly Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. This despite the fact that during the campaign Trump deemed the JCPOA one of the stupidest agreements America has entered into and pledged to dismantle it. These advisers rightly argued that if the United States is seen as shirking the agreement, it would find itself internationally isolated, making it difficult to re-impose sanctions devastating enough to affect Irans calculus on pursuing nuclear weapons. Advertisement Instead, the president has done everything in his power to raise the uncertainty surrounding the JCPOA, threatening every few months to re-impose sanctions or walk away from the deal. And while many of Irans post-JCPOA economic struggles are due to deeper systemic problems within the countrys economy and inflated expectations of what sanctions relief could bring, there is little question that Trumps threats have exacerbated the situation. The fear that sanctions could return has deterred businesses from entering the Iranian market and deprived the country of some of the economic benefits it had expected in exchange for halting and limiting key elements of its nuclear program. Advertisement Trump has also used the threat of withdrawal as leverage with Americas European partners and Congress to negotiate fixes addressing his chief concerns with the deal. In reality, it seems that the president is hoping to frustrate the Iranians to the point of abandoning the deal so he can then shift the blame for the agreements failure onto them. But negotiations with the Europeans and Congress have yet to yield any major breakthroughs. And with Tillerson and McMaster out of the Cabinet and replaced respectively by hawks Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, and with an impatient president looking to get out of the deal, the JCPOAs days seem numbered. So what comes next? Advertisement Advertisement One rosy scenario is that Iran would stay in the deal with Europe, Russia, and China and choose not to resume sensitive nuclear activities. Iran would be able to blame the United States for the collapse of the JCPOA and isolate America from its European allies. Indeed, the Iranians have stated that theyd consider sticking to the deal should the United States pull out as long as its European partners continue abiding by the agreement. Unfortunately, this new reality is unsustainable beyond a few months. Pragmatic officials like President Hassan Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Javad Zarif would favor this course to gain the diplomatic benefits of isolating the United States and engaging Europe. But pressure in Tehran is already building from hard-line opponents of the agreement. And even if European governments commit to doing business with Tehran, European companies wont risk being sanctioned and blacklisted by Washington. This is why in recent weeks Irans government has escalated its rhetoric, noting that it, too, would either withdraw from the agreement or resume key elements of its nuclear program if the United States bails. Advertisement Advertisement But this does not mean that Iran would immediately and furiously start the dash to a nuclear weapon. One need only look at the strategy Iran pursued since the 1980s to understand how it might respond. Prior to agreeing to the JCPOA, Tehran spent years making steady but slow progress toward a nuclear weapon capability. It avoided activities that it assumed would galvanize the international community and potentially prompt an American military response. Instead this incremental progress allowed it to master the uranium enrichment process and amass an enriched uranium stockpile that left it with an option to quickly move to a nuclear bomb if it decided to do so. Likewise, today the Iranians are unlikely to respond by kicking out all the international inspectors on the ground or by enriching weapons-grade uranium. They probably would not withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as some officials have been threatening recently. Instead, they are much more likely to incrementally resume the sensitive nuclear activities currently limited by the JCPOAsuch as operating more and more advanced centrifuges and surpassing the limits on their enriched uranium stockpiles. And they may not submit to the same intrusive inspections that they have been complying with under the JCPOA. This would be a huge blow to the international communitys knowledge of Iranian nuclear activities as the current increased access is the JCPOAs most important accomplishment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We should expect a similarly complicated and confusing picture when it comes to the re-imposition of sanctions. To be sure, many businesses will flee Iran. But political backlash in Europe will keep European governments from vigorously abiding by U.S. sanctions. And several key countries, especially Russia and China, are likely to resist the sanctions. Most importantly, China, a major consumer of Iranian oil, is unlikely to curb its purchases. Beijing would also assume that Washington wont impose penalties on it that could lead to a global economic crisis. In 2012 and 13, the United States was able to take off the market half of Irans 2.5 million barrels per day of international oil sales. This measure was absolutely critical to bringing the Iranians to the table. Without Chinese buy-in, the United States is unlikely to come close to imposing that kind of economic pain this time. And Washington would not be able to effectively coerce or compel Tehran to return to the negotiating tableand certainly would not be able to negotiate an agreement that is more restrictive than the JCPOA. Advertisement In fact, the United States is unlikely to successfully re-engage Iran diplomatically for the foreseeable future, as the Iranians will view any breach of the JCPOA as a clear indicator that diplomacy with America doesnt pay off. Hard-liners are likely to gain ground in Iranian politics, and pragmatists and reformists will find it difficult to sell any negotiations on key contentious issues domesticallyincluding the countrys ballistic missiles program and support for surrogates and proxies including Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad, Hezbollah, Shia militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. Lastly, hard-liners are likely to increase their provocative actions, including ballistic missile tests and imprisonment of dual nationals (particularly Iranian Americans) to project power inside the Iranian political system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So where will all of that leave us? A U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA wont lead to an immediate crisis. But, over time, Iran will get closer to a nuclear weapon as it will begin to slowly restart elements of its program currently halted or limited by the deal. And America will lose leverage over both Tehran and our international partners, leading to a weakened sanctions regime that will fall short of imposing enough pain to alter Irans course. In particular, America walking away from the deal will result in a domestic political climate in Iran that overwhelmingly opposes the resumption of any negotiations with the United States. For their part, U.S. partners in the Middle East, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia, will grow increasingly anxious and call for action. And eventually the United States will find itself having to choose between tolerating a nuclear-armed Iran or taking military action to thwart its nuclear development. It would be the height of folly to go down this path instead of continuing to implement the JCPOA. The lawyer who set up the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, and several Russian individuals has admitted that she works closely with Vladimir Putins government, the New York Times reports: Ms. Veselnitskaya also appears to have recanted her earlier denials of Russian government ties. During an interview to be broadcast Friday by NBC News, she acknowledged that she was not merely a private lawyer but a source of information for a top Kremlin official, Yuri Y. Chaika, the prosecutor general. I am a lawyer, and I am an informant, she said. Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general. Advertisement (Its not clear, incidentally, why the Times is reporting NBCs scoop.) Chaika is a key law-enforcement figure in Russia, which means practically that he is (reportedly) involved in embezzlement and the distribution of propaganda. Chaika is specifically one of the leaders of Russias effort to posthumously smear Sergei Magnitsky, the whistleblowing lawyer whose death in custody triggered the passage of sanctions laws in the U.S. and elsewhere that target Russian money laundering. (Alleged involvement in money laundering seems to have been the common link between the various Russians who attended the Trump Tower meeting.) Veselnitskayas admission appears to have been provoked by the release of emails that show her collaborating with Chaikas office on its response to the U.S. governments recently settled suit against a company called Prevezon that was connected to Magnitskys case. (Veselnitskaya represented Prevezon.) The emails were released by an organization created by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Putin rival who lives in Switzerland; Khodorkovsky told the Times they were leaked to his group anonymously. In a Friday morning conference meeting that was ostensibly about appropriations bills, Speaker Paul Ryan addressed members about a more divisive matter: his reasons for forcing out the House chaplain, the Rev. Patrick Conroy, earlier this month. Conroys dismissal has opened up an old-fashioned schism in the House, with Catholic members up in arms that a Protestant faction may have forced out the father. Ryan, who is Catholic, told his members that the dismissal was not because the chaplain had delivered a floor prayer that could be perceived as overly critical of Republicans tax reform agenda, as Conroy himself had suggested in an interview with the New York Times. Instead, members exiting the meeting told reporters, Ryan said that a number of lawmakers had approached him and said that Conroy was not meeting their pastoral needs and that they needed a replacement who could offer more spiritual counseling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones, a convert to Catholicism who joined three Catholic Democrats on Thursday in circulating a letter demanding more information from the speaker, wasnt at the meeting, but he had read reports about Ryans explanation. He didnt buy it. The justification was really bogus, he told me in a phone interview Friday afternoon. He felt Ryan should have surveyed the entire Congress before acting. If theres been a problem with Father Conroy, he said, why in the world didnt you get your staff to email every member of the Congress435 memberswith the question: Do you like the chaplain and his service, or do you not? He says its not political, Jones said. I cant find any other reason. Advertisement Well, there could be another, messier reason. One line in particular jumped out from the letter that Jones had co-authored Thursday. Not revealing more details about the ouster could also risk resurrecting prior questions of religious bias, it read. I asked Jones what he had meant by this. Nobody can read anybodys mind or heart, he said. But if theres some people that are concerned that they dont feel as free to talk to a Catholic priest instead of a rabbi or a Protestant chaplain, that I cant read Advertisement He changed gears. Ive been there 22 years, he said. Weve had Protestant chaplains, weve had Catholic chaplains. So the point is, we need to make sure that if a decision was made, that there was not any faith bias involved in it at all. Advertisement The touchiness with which some Catholic Republicans have responded suggests that religious bias within the House GOP conference is a sensitive issue. Though Ryan himself is a conservative Catholic, much of the GOP conference is dominated by Southern evangelicals who were, perhaps, the ones concerned that their pastoral needs werent being met. As Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Methodist minister from Missouri, told the Washington Post on Friday, the frictions between Conroy and conservative evangelical members are at work here, an ugly dynamic thats blown an internal, administrative issue into a testy feud in the Capitol. Advertisement Late Thursday afternoon, North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker, a Southern Baptist pastor, touched the nerve directly when he said that he was looking for somebody who has a little age, that has adult children, that kind of can connect with the bulk of the body here, Republicans and Democrats who are going through, back home, the wife, the family. Advertisement Advertisement Having someone whos walked in those shoes, he continued, I think, allows you to immediately relate a little bit more than others. The remark struck Catholic members on both sides as bordering on anti-Catholic. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, brought up the remark at Fridays meeting. To be excluding one religion up front, that has all sorts of connotations coming from the evangelical community, he said, according to the New York Times. Walker apologized for his inartful language. Democrats have seized on the issue. Friday morning, dozens of Catholic Democrats, led by Democratic Caucus chairman Rep. Joe Crowley, introduced a privileged resolution to establish a select committee to investigate Conroys firing. If that sounds like a little much, its probably because it is. The motion was tabled mostly along party lines, though two Republicans, New Yorks Tom Reed and Pennsylvanias Pat Meehan, sided with the Democrats. (A Slate interview request with Meehans office shortly after the vote went ignored, in part, perhaps, because Meehan had just resigned from Congress.) Democrats outrage may not be entirely spontaneous. Its not a stretch to observe that Democrats, in publicizing a schism between evangelical and Catholic Republicans that led to a priests firing, might be able to tarnish the GOPs reputation among Catholic voters in certain Northern and Midwestern swing districts. The House goes on recess next week, but the holy war awaits their return. Theres something here that Im not sure well ever put our finger on, Jones told me. The race-and-IQ debate is back. The latest round started a few weeks ago when Harvard geneticist David Reich wrote a New York Times op-ed in defense of race as a biological fact. The piece resurfaced Sam Harris year-old Waking Up podcast interview with Charles Murray, co-author of The Bell Curve, and launched a Twitter debate between Harris and Voxs Ezra Klein. Klein then responded to Harris and Reich in Vox, Harris fired back, and Andrew Sullivan went after Klein. Two weeks ago, Klein and Harris released a two-hour podcast in which they fruitlessly continued their dispute. Advertisement Ive watched this debate for more than a decade. Its the same wreck, over and over. A person with a taste for puncturing taboos learns about racial gaps in IQ scores and the idea that they might be genetic. He writes or speaks about it, credulously or unreflectively. Every part of his argument is attacked: the validity of IQ, the claim that its substantially heritable, and the idea that races can be biologically distinguished. The offender is denounced as racist when he thinks hes just defending science against political correctness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know what its like to be this person because, 11 years ago, I was that person. I saw a comment from Nobel laureate James Watson about the black-white IQ gap, read some journal articles about it, and bought in. That was a mistake. Having made that mistake, Im in no position to throw stones at Sullivan, Harris, or anyone else. But I am in a position to speak to these people as someone who understands where theyre coming from. I believe I can change their thinking, because Ive changed mine, and Im here to make that case to them. And I hope those of you who find this whole subject vile will bear with me as I do. Advertisement Heres my advice: You can talk about the genetics of race. You can talk about the genetics of intelligence. But stop implying theyre the same thing. Connecting intelligence to race adds nothing useful. It overextends the science youre defending, and it engulfs the whole debate in moral flames. Im not asking anyone to deny science. What Im asking for is clarity. The genetics of race and the genetics of intelligence are two different fields of research. In his piece in the Times, Reich wrote about prostate cancer risk, a context in which theres clear evidence of a genetic pattern related to ancestry. (Black men with African ancestry in a specific DNA region have a higher prostate cancer risk than do black men with European ancestry in that region.) Reich steered around intelligence where, despite racial and ethnic gaps in test scores, no such pattern has been established. Advertisement Advertisement Its also fine to discuss the genetics of IQtheres a serious line of scientific inquiry around that subjectand whether intelligence, in any population, is an inherited social advantage. We tend to worry that talk of heritability will lead to eugenics. But its also worth noting that, to the extent that IQ, like wealth, is inherited and concentrated through assortative mating, it can stratify society and undermine cohesion. Thats what much of The Bell Curve was about. Advertisement The trouble starts when people who write or talk about the heritability of intelligence extend this idea to comparisons between racial and ethnic groups. Some people do this maliciously; others dont. You can call the latter group naive, credulous, or obtuse to prejudice. But they might be open to persuasion, and thats my aim here. For them, the chain of thought might go something like this: Intelligence is partly genetic, and race is partly genetic. So maybe racial differences on intelligence tests can be explained, in part, by genetics. Advertisement There are two scientific problems with making this kind of inference. The first is that bringing race into the genetic conversation obscures the causal analysis. Genes might play no role in racial gaps on IQ tests. But suppose they did: To that extent, what would be the point of talking about race? Some white kids, some black kids, and some Asian kids would have certain genes that marginally favor intelligence. Others wouldnt. Its still the genes, not race, that would matter. Advertisement This is a rare point of consensus in the IQ debate. In his interview with Harris, Murray notes that in The Bell Curve, race was a crude proxy for genetics. Since the books publication in 1994, our ability to assess genetic differences has come a long way. Today, scientists are evaluating thousands of genes that correlate with small increments in IQ. The blurriness of race is noise in the signal, Murray tells Harris. Its going to obscure genetic differences in IQ. Advertisement Race science, the old idea that race is a biologically causal trait, may live on as an ideology of hate. But as an academic matter, its been discredited. We now know that genes flow between populations as they do between families, blurring racial categories and reshuffling human diversity. Genetic patterns can be found within groups, as in the case of prostate cancer. But even then, as Ian Holmes notes in the Atlantic, the patterns correlate with ancestry or population, not race. Advertisement When you drag race into the IQ conversation, you bring heat, not light. The second problem with extending genetic theories of IQ to race is that it confounds the science of heritability. Sullivan and Harris cite research that indicates IQ is, loosely speaking, 40 percent to 80 percent heritable. It can seem natural to extend these estimates to comparisons between racial groups. Thats what I did a decade ago. But its a mistake because these studies are done within, not between, populations. They measure, for example, the degree to which being someones twin or biological sibling, rather than simply growing up in the same household, correlates with similarity of IQ. They dont account for many other differences that come into play when comparing whole populations. So if you bring race into the calculation, youre stretching those studies beyond their explanatory power. And youre introducing complicating factors: not just education, income, and family structure, but neighborhood, net worthand discrimination, which is the variable most likely to correlate directly with race. Advertisement Advertisement Murray and others have answers to these objections. They argue that education programs have failed to close racial gaps, that studies havent proved that getting adopted has much lasting effect on kids IQ scores, and that collective increases in IQ scores are based on factors other than general intelligence. These are complex disputes full of nuances about replicating studies, interpreting test questions, and extrapolating from trend lines. But notice how far weve drifted from biology. The science here is oblique, abstract, and tenuous. Are you still comfortable speculating about genetics? Are you confident, for instance, that studies that compare black children to white children properly account for family assets and neighborhood, which differ sharply by race even within the same income bracket? Advertisement Its one thing to theorize about race and genes to assist in disease prevention, diagnosis, or treatment, as Reich has done. But before you seize on his essay to explain racial gaps in employment, ask yourself: Given the dubiousness of linking racial genetics to IQ, what would my words accomplish? Would they contribute to prejudice? Would they be used to blame communities for their own poverty? Would I be provoking thought, or would I be offering whites an excuse not to think about the social and economic causes of inequality? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murray, Sullivan, and Harris try to soften their speculations by stipulating, as I once did, that even if racial differences in IQ are genetic, you shouldnt make assumptions about any individual. Theyre correct that its both wrong and irrational to make such inferences from aggregate data. But its also easier to treat people as individuals when you dont start with racial generalizations. Advertisement If youre libertarian or conservative, you might think Im calling for censorship. Im not. Im just asking for precision. Genes are the mechanism under discussion. So talking about the genetics of race and the genetics of IQ is more scientific, not less, than pulling race and IQ together. Many progressives, on the other hand, regard the whole topic of IQ and genetics as sinister. That, too, is a mistake. Theres a lot of hard science here. It cant be wished away, and it can be put to good use. The challenge is to excavate that science from the muck of speculation about racial hierarchies. Whats the path forward? It starts with letting go of race talk. No more podcasts hyping gratuitous racial comparisons as forbidden knowledge. No more essays speaking of grim ethnic truths for which, supposedly, we must prepare. Dont imagine that if you posit an association between race and some trait, you can add enough caveats to erase the impression that people can be judged by their color. The association, not the caveats, is what people will remember. Advertisement Advertisement If youre interested in race and IQ, you might bristle at these admonitions. Perhaps you think youre just telling the truth about test scores, IQ heritability, and the biological reality of race. Its not your fault, you might argue, that youre smeared and misunderstood. Harris says all of these things in his debate with Klein. And I cringe as I hear them, because I know these lines. Ive played this role. Harris warns Klein that even if we make certain facts taboo and refuse to ever look at population differences, we will be continually ambushed by these data. He concludes: Scientific data cant be racist. Advertisement No, data arent racist. But using racial data to make genetic arguments isnt scientific. The world isnt better off if you run ahead of science, waving the flag of innate group differences. And if everyone is misunderstanding your attempts to simultaneously link and distinguish race and IQ, perhaps you should take the hint. The problem isnt that people are too dumb to understand you. Its that youre not understanding the social consequences of your words. When you drag race into the IQ conversation, you bring heat, not light. Your arguments for scientific candor will be more sound and more persuasive in a race-neutral discussion. The biology of intelligence is full of important questions. To what extent is it one faculty or many? How do we get it, grow it, maintain it, and use it? If its heritable, should we think of it less as merit and more as luck, like inheriting money? To what extent does a class structure based on intelligence duplicate or conceal a class structure based on family wealth? Is intelligence truly supplanting other kinds of inheritance as a competitive advantage? Is it unleashing social mobility? Or is it, through assortative mating, entrenching inequality? These are much better conversations than the one weve been stuck in. Lets get on with them. This weeks historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea set a bar so bold, yet so low that even President Donald Trump might be able to leap it and declare success at his own upcoming summitas long as he doesnt get too ambitious. I dont mean this to be the slightest bit sarcastic. The fact that Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in met at allsmiling, shaking hands, talking in high spirits of harmony and peace, on South Korean (and, for one step, North Korean) territoryis extraordinary, probably the most awe-inspiring piece of diplomatic theatrics since Richard Nixon met Mao Zedong Advertisement And the breakthrough was not simply theatrical. The outcomea joint statement of vague goals and no specifics, except for a schedule of further meetingsis as positive as anyone could have hoped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Probably the most awe-inspiring piece of diplomatic theatrics since Richard Nixon met Mao Zedong. This, after all, is how Soviet-American arms-control talks began a half-century ago, during the Cold War, and the history of those talks could serve as a useful model for the Korea talks to come. The first accords on offensive nuclear weapons, in the 1970s and 80s, simply limited the number of U.S. and Soviet missiles and bombers, and those limits exceeded the number that the two sides possessed at the time. Nukes were a diplomatic tokensomething that the superpowers could talk about when political conflicts made it too hard to talk about anything else. But in the course of those talks, relationships were formed, trust was built, forums were created to solve small problems before they got out of hand. When the politics changed, and it became possible to discuss bigger things, those forums and that history of accords eased the transition out of the Cold War in a peaceful fashion. Advertisement Where inter-Korean relations go from here, no one can say. But it was shrewd of both countries leadersand perhaps a good sign for the Trump-Kim summit to cometo weave an atmosphere of transformation while keeping the agenda modest. In the formal statement, released after the meeting, the two nations confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. (Italics added.) There was no attempt to define this goal or to set a timetable for its realization. (Many skeptics have noted that the North Koreans have defined a nuclear-free peninsula as including the withdrawal of all nuclear-capable U.S. weapons within firing range of the peninsulawhich would mean a sizable portion of U.S. air and naval forces in the Far East.) Advertisement Advertisement The two leaders also agreed to meet again this fall in Pyongyang, followed, no more than a year from now, by a trilateral conference with the United States, possibly a four-party forum including China, all with the aim of declaring an end to the Korean War and replacing the armistice with a peace treaty. (A cease-fire was declared in 1953, but the war itself is formally still going on.) Advertisement Here, too, there were no manipulative efforts, from either side, to define what a peace treaty would entail. Nor was there an attempt by Kim to drive a wedge between South Korea and its main ally, the U.S.not yet. However, these statements do create a foundation in which Trump could drive a wedge of his own. Moon and Kim have agreed on a process for working toward peace, however the term is defined. Kim has called it phased, synchronized measures. Moon calls it action for action. Either way, the idea is that the two sides will back away from their confrontational stance one simultaneous step at a time: For instance, the North Koreans might dismantle some of their nuclear arsenal as the United States lifts some of its sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps take on this process is unclear, but his new national security adviser, John Bolton, is avidly opposed, pushing instead for a big bang approach, in which North Korea has to get rid of its arsenalpretty much all at oncebefore the United States eases its pressure campaign. If Boltons view prevails, if Trump rejects the Moon-Kim formula from the get-go, then the summit will be a disasterand the chances of reduced tensions between North and South Korea, which require U.S. support, are nil. The Moon-Kim meeting sets up a still broader challenge for all the countries involved. For the United States and South Korea, if the next steps go well, the challenge will be to maintain the military aspect of their defensive alliancecontinue to hold joint exercises, keep the pressure on Kims regime, and assure allies (including Japan) of our security guaranteesuntil change really happens. Advertisement For Kim, the challenge may be more daunting. The legitimacy of the Kim dictatorship for all these decadesthe oppressive state created by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and perpetuated by his father, Kim Jong-ilhas relied on the claim (and often the reality) that North Korea is surrounded by heavily armed enemies. With the footage of Kim merrily shaking hands with the president of South Korea (which he had previously denounced as an outlaw regime) and perhaps soon with President Trump (whom he recently ridiculed as a mentally deranged U.S. dotard), how can he maintain this rationale for his brutal rule and for his countrys impoverishment? Advertisement Advertisement The short answer is he cant, not for very long anywaywhich means he may have to shift gears, at least to some extent, and paint himself as the savior who brings his people peace and prosperity. That path, which would open up the country to the outside world, carries its own risk. Popular revolts, after all, are often sired by rising expectations and a wider exposure to what is possible. (Ask King George or Mikhail Gorbachev.) Then again, its worth noting that, as of midday Friday, North Korean television had not shown any images from the meeting. Kim is trying to control the domestic repercussions for as long as he canwhich suggests that he understands what those repercussions might be. Advertisement In the meantime (and that could last a long time), Trump would do well to go into his summit with a spirit of gradualism. The best result would be for Trump and Kim to reaffirm the statements of the Moon-Kim meeting and to commit the United States to working toward the same goals. A couple of extra frills could be added: Kim could agree to extend his suspension of nuclear and missile tests (which he has said, rightly or wrongly, that he doesnt need to conduct anyway since he now believes North Korea has acquired its long-sought nuclear deterrent); Trump could invite North Korean generals to observe the next U.S.-led military exercises in the region (a harmless confidence-building gesture). Trump could then tell Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to prepare a team of diplomats for the multilateral forum to discuss the gamut of issues now on the tabledenuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, a peace treaty. And then, everyone should just let things simmer on the back burner: watch the pot closely, to make sure nothing boils over, but otherwise, as much as possible, move on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This move, of course, would be out of character for Trump, who thrives on drama and views himself as an historic figure. But this is the task before him. He needs to quash Boltons demands for a big bang and dampen his own tendency to embrace leaders who have figured out how to push his very big buttons. Already, simply because Kim and Pompeo had an apparently good meeting over Easter weekend, Trump has praised Kimthe dynastic leader of the worlds most closed and brutal dictatorshipsas very open and very honorable. Can Donald Trump behave like a normal world leader, even for a little while? The answer may determine whether the upcoming summit is a success or a disaster. Two female former staffers accused former NBC News anchor and icon Tom Brokaw of sexual misconduct, the Washington Post reported Thursday. A former correspondent and a production assistant both said Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances while they were starting their careers at NBC in the 1990s. Both say they did not report the incidents to the network at the time; Brokaw denies both accusations. Linda Vester, now 52, was a young reporter for the network when, she says, Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances, once in a New York hotel room and another in London. Vester says Brokaw pursued her out of the blue via NBC News internal messaging system. She rebuffed his initial offer to get a drink, but Brokaw showed up at her hotel room uninvited later that evening and forcibly tried to kiss her. What do you want from me? Vester said she asked Brokaw. An affair of more than passing affection, Brokaw responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vester presented two pieces of corroborating evidence, including a journal entry recounting the evening. My gut told me his intentions were not good, she wrote later that evening. In addition, she made phone calls to a friend and mentor at the network in Washington, D.C. seeking help navigating Brokaws advances. At one point after Brokaw said he was coming to Vesters room, the friend told Vester she would stay on the phone to make sure the young reporter remained safe. Brokaw, now 78, disputed Vesters account of their interaction in a statement. I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC, he said in a statement issued by NBC. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other. Vester, who did not file a complaint at the time out of fear of retribution, told the Post that she was not planning on filing suit against Brokaw or the network. I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division, Vester said. Advertisement Advertisement The second woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Post that Brokaw stopped her in the hallway when she arrived at work one day in the mid-1990s, and the anchor called the then-24-year-old aside. The production assistant [-] had been looking for a more permanent role as a researcher on one of NBCs shows. He took her hands in his and commented on how cold they were, the woman recently recalled. He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, How is your job search going? She looked up at the man she had habitually called Mr. Brokaw, and mumbled a reply, she said. Then he said, in her recollection, Why dont you come into my office after the show and lets talk about it. The woman says the intention behind Brokaws invitation was clear and she did not visit the network stars office and left NBC altogether shortly after. Brokaw denied the incident took place. A frequent line of criticism of the war on terrorism framework that the United States has operated under for the past 17 years is that its not clear what would need to happen for this war to end. But now it appears its not clear when the forever war began, either. As Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald reports, a military judge at Guantanamo Bay ruled this week that the United States was already engaged in armed conflict with al-Qaida at the time of the 9/11 attacks. Attorneys for Mustafa al-Hawsawi, a Saudi detainee at Guantanamo who is on trial alonside alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and several other defendants, had filed a motion to dismiss charges against their client. They argued that Hawsawis alleged offenseshelping some of the hijackers with funding and travel to the United Statestook place before the U.S. was formally at war with al-Qaida. Therefore, they reasoned, he should not be charged by the military commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his ruling on the motion, which was obtained and published by Just Security, the judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, wrote that it is unnecessary to decide a date certain for the commencement of hostilities and that for the purposes of this ruling, armed conflict between the United States and al-Qaida existed as of September 11, 2001, and for an indeterminate period before that date. This makes some sense. Osama Bin Laden issued his fatwa titled Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places in 1996, which Rosenberg notes is what prosecutors in this case consider the wars starting point. Al-Qaida carried out attacks against the U.S. embassy in Africa in 1998 and the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. The U.S. conducted missile strikes against al-Qaida targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998. Advertisement But still, its a strange assertion. As attorney Steve Vladeck asks, [H]ow many people (even inside the U.S. government) would seriously have thought, on September 10, 2001, that the United States was engaged in an ongoing armed conflict with al Qaeda? Whats more, Blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were convicted in civilian courts. (Bin Laden, then a little-known figure in the U.S., was identified but not indicted by the government as a potential co-conspirator in that attack.) Had the 9/11 attacks not occurred, and had Congress not passed an authorization for the use of military force against its perpetrators several days later, it stands to reason that captured al-Qaida members would have continued to be tried as civilians, fatwa or no. Advertisement Advertisement That military authorization is, controversially, still in effect today and has been used as the legal basis for the detentions and prosecutions at Guantanamo as well as military actions against a number of groups around the world, some of which, such as ISIS, did not exist in 2001. Advertisement The concept of acts or declarations of war have become more complex and ambiguous in an era when more armed conflicts are typically fought not between states but between states and nonstate actors. (Though, as this weeks renewed hopes of a formal end to the Korean War remind us, countries can be in states of ambiguous semi-war with each other as well.) The legal framework of the war on terror has given the government an extraordinary amount of leeway to decide where and against whom the United States is engaged in armed conflict. It can apparently apply that framework retroactively as well. While it may make some limited legal sense in this particular case, the ruling is a further reminder of just how muddy our distinctions between wartime and peacetime are becoming. The legal academy has long been engaged in a fascinating conversation about how big constitutional ideas can shift from being, as Yale Law professor Jack Balkin has put it, off the wall to on the wall. The question there is, when and how do initially fanciful ideaslike that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, or that the Second Amendment is an individual rightstart to gain traction and become serious questions for serious people? The corollary to that debate is this one: When do ideas that have been on the wall for so long that they are basically trophies suddenly become subject to debate and dispute? It turns out that for Donald Trumps judicial nominees, its easy enough to eviscerate a seminal, enduring legal proposition. Advertisement Consider Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark school desegregation case from 1954, which has long been celebrated by legal thinkers across the political, ideological, and temperamental spectrum as one of the most transformational constitutional statements of equality in American history. Conservative luminaries, when asked about their views of Brown, have tended to wax poetic about its position in the civil rights firmament. At his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 2006, Samuel Alito called it one of the greatest, if not the single greatest thing that the Supreme Court of the United States has ever done. Only a year ago, Neil Gorsuch said at his confirmation hearing that Brown was a seminal decision that got the original understanding of the 14th Amendment right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was an uncontroversial proposition for nominees for 60 some years, and even judges who might grumble in private about Browns originalist flaws or its methodology didnt feel the need to perform their doubts before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Until now. Two weeks ago, Wendy Vitter, who Trump nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, refused to answer a question from Sen. Richard Blumenthal as to whether Brown v. Board was correctly decided. I dont mean to be coy, she said, but I think I get into a difficult area when I start commenting on Supreme Court decisions which are correctly decided and which I may disagree with. Vitter said Brown was binding and that she would uphold it from the bench but also insisted that if I start commenting on I agree with this case or dont agree with this case, I think we get into a slippery slope. Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, another Trump nominee, Andrew Oldham, took the same position as Vitter. Oldham, who Trump nominated for a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, insisted at his confirmation hearing that the canons of conduct precluded him from discussing the merits of Brown. Advertisement Advertisement Oldham cited Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs rule from her own confirmation about offering no forecasts, no hints about cases likely to come before her to make the novel claim that he could not discuss the merits of any case evereven cases that will likely never come before the courts again because they are considered settled law. In response to this reply, Blumenthal looked incredulous. I cant believe that you just gave me that answer, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Blumenthals incredulity is warranted. Neither Justice Ginsburg nor any pre-Trump judicial nominee in recent memory has given such an answer. Even if you believe nominees have spent decades telling polite lies about the enduring importance of Brown, the fact that we are now dispensing with those polite lies is extraordinary. But pretend for a moment that Vitter and Oldham arent simply distorting the Ginsburg Rule to develop a blanket admonition against saying anything about anything. Are Vitter and Oldham suggesting they may not discuss Brown because they believe its conceivable that a case questioning its prohibition on de jure racial segregation may come before them? Shouldnt we find out what that case is? Advertisement Preposterous legal theories crawl out of the fever swamps when they find their way into the courtrooms of federal judges who reject bedrock legal principles. As the Trump administration continues its all but unimpeded march to appoint as many bloggers, non-practicing lawyers, and increasingly, it seemsmimes as possible to the federal bench, ferreting out their fringiest views becomes an even greater imperative. And because the pace of confirmations has not merely accelerated but become the raison detre for continued support of the Trump presidency, we should be even more vigilant in our quest to determine what these barely vetted candidates really believe. Advertisement If nominees refuse to give their views about whether Brown was correctly decided, will they also refuse to give their views on Dred Scott, which refuted the very humanity of black Americans? What about the internment of Japanese Americans, which the court held lawful in Korematsu but has since been recognized as one of the most shameful moments in American political or legal history? If nominees refuse to give their views about whether Brown was correctly decided, will they also refuse to give their views on Dred Scott, which refuted the very humanity of black Americans? Judges, especially district court judges, also have to deal with stubborn things called facts. A nominee who accepts conspiracy theories and rejects science is not qualified to do the basic job of weighing evidence. Senators can and should inquire whether a nominee believes the overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is manmade and rejects the completely baseless assertion that there is widespread voter fraud in our elections. Does the nominee believe in evolution or does she believe The Flintstones was a documentary? Is the nominee precluded from commenting on science because it might come up in a case before them? Advertisement The answers to these questions should not be controversial. But in the Trump era, facts are met with alternative facts, Islamophobia and xenophobia become the basis for public policy, and white supremacy continues its creep into the mainstream. Since the first orders blocking the travel ban on Jan. 28, 2017, the federal judiciary has been a bulwark against these pernicious forces. But Trump and the ultraconservative ideologues to whom he has outsourced his nominations threaten to undermine those protections as they confirm judges at record rates. Democrats cant filibuster Trumps nominees, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassleys decision to selectively ignore the long-standing blue slip traditionwhereby senators from a nominees home state can block a hearing by withholding their endorsementsDemocrats have lost all but one tool for stopping the worst of the worst from receiving lifetime appointments. All Democrats can do at this point is subject nominees records to close scrutiny and aggressively question them at hearings to expose their most radical views and/or lack of qualifications. But this strategywhich has forced the withdrawal of three of Trumps most controversial nomineesonly works when the public takes notice and puts pressure on the few Republicans willing to defy the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The egregious, the unbelievable, and the heartbreaking continue to occur at unprecedented and accelerating rates. With each new outrage, a little more fatigue sets in and a little more awfulness gets normalized. Some of these outrages may die with the midterms, others with the 2020 election. But long after Trump has ceased to be president, his confirmed judges will affect the course of American law for generations, dragging off-the-wall views out of anonymous blogs and closed-door speeches and into the nations courtrooms. Its frightening and destabilizing to watch ridiculous notions about pregnant migrants and transgender service members make their way into the legal discourse. But lets remember to pay careful attention as well to whats fallen out of the legal discourse under the pretextual guise of neutrality and sobriety. Basic ideas about equality and race are slipping out of the canon of universally accepted legal truths. That shouldnt be met with silence. When Olivia got a text from a co-worker a couple weeks ago that Backpage.com had been seized by the FBI and shut down, she panicked. Olivia is a sex worker specializing in body rubs and domination who is based in New York City, and for years shes relied on Backpage, a website for posting online personals, to find and vet new clients without having to go through a pimp or work on the streets. I just told my roommate that Ill maybe have to move out, she told me in an interview. I relied on Backpage because it is really well-known with clients. I tried using other sites without much luck; they were not as lucrative. She would buy ads on Backpage for about $7 apiece between 3 and 10 times a day when she was working, she told me. She was one of countless sex workers whose presence on Backpage, which investigators say grew from making $11.7 million in 2009 to $135 million in 2014, amounted to a hugely profitable business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shuttering of Backpage came after a long Senate investigation into the sites founders, Michael Lacey and John Larkin (who also previously ran Village Voice Media, a chain of alt-weeklies that included the Village Voice) for facilitating prostitution and sex traffickingand after the Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and facilitating prostitution. In their investigation, authorities pointed to internal emails that allegedly show how the sites administrators edited posts to hide illegal activity by using software that scrubbed words that signaled illegal sex work with minors, like amber alert and Lolita, from ads rather than passing the information on to law enforcement. In other words, they allegedly knew their platform was being used for abhorrent ends and helped those uses to continue. Advertisement But what Olivia used Backpage for and what sex traffickers used Backpage for arent the same thing: Unlike sex trafficking, consensual adult sex work that isnt prostitution is not necessarily illegal. But because the executives of Backpage appear to have been breaking the law by hosting ads they allegedly knew were helping people engage in illegal acts, the entire site was shut down. It isnt the first time a website that hosted sex-industry ads has been seized by law enforcement. MyRedBook.com, a site used by sex workers, was shut down in 2014 for facilitating prostitution, too. Many of the people who used MyRedBook switched to Backpage; the question now is where sex workers like Olivia will go next. Nothings going away, said a woman who goes by Josie; she runs a business in New York that rents space to sex workers, and gives sensual massages herself. (Josie isnt her real name, and Ive used pseudonyms for the sex workers I spoke to for this article to protect their identities.) Josie has been in the sex-work business for eight years. It will just take time for the next thing to come along where people can find girls. While Josie is certainly right that sex workand the existence of websites that facilitate itwont ever go away, it will be a lot harder now for the next site, whatever it may be, to get going. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats because just days after Backpage was seized, President Trump signed into law a combination of two bills, the Stop Enabling Online Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which makes websites that knowingly allow sex trafficking to happen on their site liable for hosting the illegal activity and open to civil lawsuitswhich, in turn, is supposed to make it much easier for prosecutors to go after the proprietors of websites like Backpage. The new law chips away at the Communications Decency Act, which has ensured that websites generally arent liable for what their users post. And the impact of that has been immediate and chilling. Days after the Senate version of the bill passed but before Trump signed the bill into law, Craigslist shut down its personals section, where people would post ads looking for love or sexads that could easily include posts from pimps engaged in sex trafficking without the company having any idea whats going on. Advertisement Any tool or service can be misused, reads the Craigslist landing page that shows up when you attempt to navigate to a personals board. We cant take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day. To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness! Advertisement The Communications Decency Act is widely considered to be one of the most important laws governing the web. Without it, thered likely be no YouTube or Reddit or Myspace, and the early investors who poured millions into startups that laid the foundation for the internet we use today probably wouldnt have done so, since so many online platforms would be vulnerable to getting sued out of existence for any awful thing one of the millions of people who used their services posted, like defaming a celebrity or hosting hate speech or something even worse. Simultaneous conversation and moderation isnt possibletheres always going to be a lag. Policing everything posted on a global message board is untenable, which is why immunity from what users do has been so important for companies that run communications services. Advertisement Advertisement And its also why the Internet Association, which represents companies like Facebook and Google, didnt support the new antisex trafficking act until it included language that websites will only be liable for content that facilitates sex trafficking if they do so knowingly. Still, website owners still feel the new law leaves some ambiguityand their anxiety has been amplified by the drama surrounding the shuttering of Backpage.com. Now sex workers are scrambling, unsure how theyll be able to stay in business, pay rent, or take care of their kids. Worst of all, theyre worried theyll now be unable to use the web to find clientsand as a result they may instead have to find work on the streets. Advertisement When it comes to sex work, those who are affected by these laws often cant advocate for their own needs to begin with. People dont know how theyre going to eat next week, said Hunter Leight, who has worked as an advocate for prostitutes and sex workers for more than a decade in San Francisco. Leight has worked on previous campaigns to decriminalize prostitution and has worked for years to help sex workers find the resources they need to stay safe. Its like people saying I just showed up at work and the building was burned down and everything was gone. Now, without a safe place for sex workers to find clients online, two women I spoke to told me that they are seeing clients they dont like and whom they would like to not see anymore. It creates a buyers market, rather than a sellers market where clients get to set their prices, Leight said. More importantly, that shift in dynamic puts sex workers who dont have experience doing street-based work, or people who were able to escape pimps or get off the streets, in a position where theyre considering going backand that means more women could be sexually assaulted, raped, or otherwise harmed. Advertisement Advertisement It is true that Backpage and other sites like it have been used by pimps and others engaged in forced or coerced sexual activities. And the protection these sites were granted under the Communications Decency Act did apparently make it harder for prosecutors to go after websites that were hosting ads for sex trafficking and sex with minors. In case after case, we successfully prosecute traffickers, but we cannot pursue the websites that profited from the ads placed by these vile operations, said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in March, urging the Senate to pass the antionline sex trafficking act. FOSTA-SESTA would finally enable action against what are essentially online, open-air bazaars. Advertisement Advertisement Much of the discussion around the shuttering of Backpage has been intertwined with discussions around the new amendment to the Communications Decency Act, largely because the freedom from liability offered by the CDA for years hamstrung prosecutors who tried to go after the website, and the Senates investigation into Backpage helped inspire the new sex-trafficking bills. The CDA undoubtedly gave websites cover to look the other way while victims of sex trafficking were marketed on their sites, which has placed these victims at the center of a debate about free speech online. Advertisement That it could strand people engaged in consensual sex work without an online hub isnt the only problem with FOSTA-SESTA. Another is that it wont necessarily prevent sex traffickers from using websites to peddle their victims. Thats because the new law only allows individuals to seek civil remedies if the website is knowingly facilitating nonconsensual sex workbut in criminal law, proving such awareness is a pretty high bar. At the criminal level, knowing something has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and that provides a lot of protection, says Mary Anne Franks, a University of Miami law professor specializing in tech policy, criminal, and First Amendment law. Franks, who is the policy director at the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, makes the point that the requirement to know something actually incentivizes companies that are afraid of being held liable for sex trafficking happening on their sites to not look for illegal activity at all. Which paradoxically, amplifies what was problematic with the Communications Decency Act to begin with: When companies dont have any liability for what their users do on their platforms, its easy to just not pay attention. Its one reason why hate speech flourished on Twitter for so long, why YouTube has allowed abusive videos of children to be monetized for years, and why neo-Nazi groups have long found a place to gather on Facebook. These companies had no legal incentive to keep watch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other words, the Communications Decency Act might be in dire need of a broad update that would incentivize platforms to pay more attention to what users do on their sites and take more responsibility for the host of problems (read: fake news, Russian interference, neo-Nazis, hate speech, revenge porn, and harassment) that large internet companies have publicly grappled with over the past year and a half. But this new law doesnt do that. Instead, it limits what could be a conversation about making the internet a safer place into a discussion about sex traffickingand might not even do much to help. Victims of sex trafficking deserve to seek redress from those who profited off their abuse, which often takes the horrific shape of a mix of rape and slavery and other forms of physical violence, but FOSTASESTA might not be the silver bullet its proponents hoped. What it will probably do, though, is push sex workers further underground, as well as the websites where pimps posted ads (that could be used by law enforcement to find traffickers) even deeper into the shadows. And it probably wont make website owners any more likely to watch for and report illegal activity on their sites, either. Advertisement Advertisement When it comes to sex work, those who are affected by these laws often cant advocate for their own needs to begin with. The only way progress gets to be made is that we get to go out into the streets and speak our mind and protest, but we cant go out into the streets and protest because the nature of our work is illegal, Olivia told me. Eventually, Olivia said shed like to go into sex education and fight for the decriminalization of consensual sex work, which she hopes would make her chosen profession saferand make it easier for people in the industry to report when they notice someone might be working against their will. Now, she and the four other sex workers I spoke with for this story all say theyre afraid. Advertisement Advertisement Some of my girls have kids, and I mean, its horrifying, said Amy, another woman who runs the business in New York City that rents rooms to professional sex workers. This is punishing consenting adults that have been supporting themselves through sex work. The general public thinks that sex workers are victims that were forced into it or that were drug addicts, she continued. And sometimes thats true, but even if that is true, I still have a right. Even if I am on drugs, and Im struggling, I have a right to do what I want with my body, how I choose to make money for services. I cant pay taxes without lying about it. In this country, I think its very sad that certain occupations dont have rights. And if sex work wasnt criminalized in the first place, then a bill intended to help victims would be less likely to unintentionally victimize people who affirmatively choose the profession. The people who support the antisex trafficking bill in the hope that it will help survivors, and victims of sex trafficking, find justice need to be cognizant of the lives of the people who will be hurt by this legislation, too. As we all know, Kanye West is having a big week on Twitter, having spent much of Wednesday tweeting about his admiration of President Trump and showing off his signed MAGA hat. On Thursday, West followed up on his previous posts by tweeting some screenshots of a text conversation with fellow musician John Legend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Say what you will about the actual content of the exchange, it also offers a fascinating glimpse into the digital habits of the rich and famous. Its pretty weird how much we can learn about people from context clues hidden in their screenshots! Here are several takeaways. Advertisement The conversation used to be on iMessage, but switched to SMS. Members of the jury, draw your attention to the blue bubble at the top of the first screenshot, aka the last text exchanged between West and Legend before today. We dont know when it was sent, but at that time, both men had iPhones, because bubbles only show up blue when all parties are on iMessage. Now, though, either West is roaming or Legend got a new, non-iOS phone. The latter seems likely, because Legend has some kind of business relationship with the Google phone, having shot his most recent video with a Pixel 2. (Legends wife, mega-tweeter Chrissy Teigen, later joked that the whole thing was an elaborate ad.) Advertisement This is the most elaborate and complex google pixel phone ad I have ever seen. https://t.co/RYSZcJxUk3 christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 26, 2018 Advertisement Could the lack of iMessage compatibility have exacerbated the tension between Legend and West? Stranger things have happened: We know West to be the particular sort, and people really do seem to hate those green bubbles. Advertisement West is posting from an iPhone, and its relatively well-charged. West is a great admirer of Applesome of his other recent tweets refer positively to both current CEO Tim Cook and late founder Steve Jobsand hes clearly still an iPhone guy. If the running-out-of-battery screenshot is the province of the person who cant get his or her shit together, Wests nearly fully charged iPhone might bolster the case that hes more in control than we think. Advertisement John Legend is in Kanyes phone as JL, but Legend also identifies himself at the beginning of his text. Does Kanye call Legend JL? Is JL a cool nickname that only VIPs use for Legend? Does Kanye use initials as some kind of security policy in case his phone gets stolen, so the thief cant tell who all the people in it are? (Unlikely, KKW would be a dead giveaway.) [Update, April 27, 2018: Further investigation has revealed that if you have your iPhone set to show contact photos but you do not have a photo for said contact, the contacts initials will appear at the top of the text exchange instead. So Kanye probably has John Legend saved in his phone as John Legend. We still dont know why John Legend calls himself JL.] Legend identifying himself at the beginning of the text also indicates that the two havent texted lately or maybe just that celebrities have to constantly change their phone numbers, just like Beyonce has to constantly change her email address, and thus dont expect anyone to know who they are over text. Are some celebrities so famous that they dont text that much at all? Or are some so insulated that they dont know you dont have to start every text by IDing yourself? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both of them text in relatively formal, complete sentences. Capital letters at the beginning of sentences and everything. Is this because this is a Very Serious Matter? Because phones capitalize stuff for us? Are they both just into proper grammar regardless of medium? Kanyes Twitter suggests otherwise. Celebrities dont necessarily like when their private digital ephemera is revealed. Chrissy Teigen certainly seemed a little annoyed by it, at least initially. (Sorry, Chrissy, I know you said to stop writing about your tweets, but youre just really good at Twitter.) From Legends perspective, he was trying to reach out to a friend privately, and then that friend put him on blast. But maybe it shouldnt have been so much of a surprise: Revealing receipts is a common trick in the Kardashian playbookand after all, West is married to the woman who pioneered this tactic when she exposed tape of a phone call between the rapper and Taylor Swift two years ago. So maybe in this age of hacks and leaks, we all need to start communicating like any of our messages could be revealed at any moment. By this measure, Legend comes off well in the screenshots: thoughtful, respectful, and caring, as opposed to West, whose response accuses Legend of using fear to manipulate him. Celebrities are self-promotional masterminds. In the second screenshot West posted of his exchange with Legend, Legend responded generously and without animus to Kanyes harsh words and indicated that he knew his message would make it to Twitter. So he plugged his new single. The one whose video was shot on a Pixel 2. It all comes full-circle. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday entitled Filtering Practices of Social Media Platforms, which was mainly meant to probe allegations that big tech companies censor conservatives on their platforms. Among the guests invited to testify were Diamond and Silk, pro-Trump social media pundits who have accused Facebook of labeling their page as unsafe to the community. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his testimony before Congress earlier this month that Facebook had made an enforcement error regarding the pair, but Republican lawmakers have taken the incident as proof that Silicon Valley is out to get conservatives. (Subsequent reporting has raised questions about whether the drop in viewership was connected to the alleged suppression of their videos.) Advertisement Thursdays hearing was highly volatile compared to most other congressional hearings, with the duo repeatedly sparring with Democratic members of Congress, who themselves consistently complained that the hearing was pointless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are the most entertaining and explosive moments from the hearing. Diamond and Silk Argue with Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson About Making Money Advertisement Johnson grilled Diamond and Silk on whether they had made a lot of money on Facebook and suggested that the hearing was simply giving the duo a platform to make even more money by raising their profiles. Diamond, whose real name is Lynnette Hardaway, responded that they hadnt because Facebook censored them. Silk, whose real name is Rochelle Richardson, also accused YouTube of demonetizing their videos. The exchange devolved into a shouting match, and Diamond at one point yelled, If illegal aliens can come over here and build businesses, why cant we? Diamond and Silk Argue with Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee about the Facts of the Case Advertisement Advertisement Lee began her questioning by asking whether the pundits have ever been paid by the Trump campaign, which Diamond denied five times under oath. However, FEC records show that the campaign paid them $1,274.94 for field consulting. Lee also took issue with Diamond and Silks claims concerning whether and when Facebook contacted them about the unsafe label, which led to another heated exchange over the exact timeline of events. Advertisement Diamond and Silk Say That New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries Bought into Fake News Advertisement Jeffries continued to press the duo on whether they had been paid by the Trump campaign, bringing up the FEC records, to which Silk responded, Were familiar with that particular lie. We could see that you do look at fake news. She then claimed that the Trump campaign had actually reimbursed them for plane tickets they bought to attend a Women for Trump event in Ohio in 2016 and then made a mistake in their FEC filings by labeling them as field consultants. Jeffries also asked about the money they make on social media, to which Diamond exclaimed, I dont see you walking up to a white person saying, Oh, you shouldnt monetizing that. So why are you as an African American making it seem like theres something wrong with us monetizing our platform? Advertisement Advertisement California Congressman Ted Lieu Says The Hearing is Stupid and Ridiculous Near the end of the hearing, Lieu used most of his time to rant about the uselessness of the proceedings, arguing that claims of conservative censorship on social media are merely anecdotal and that private companies do not have a constitutional obligation to host content that they dont want to. Pro-Trump pundits Diamond and Silk faced questions about their relationship to the Trump campaign at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, and their answers led to suggestions they had lied under oath. The duo may not have been forthcoming in their answersand they may have yelled a lotbut there looks to be more nuance to the situation than it initially appeared. The hearing, titled Filtering Practices of Social Media Platforms, was called to discuss accusations that Facebook and other social media platforms suppress conservative content. Diamond and Silks Facebook page had briefly been labeled unsafe to the community, which many Republicans took as proof of censorship despite the company saying it was simply a mistake. That made the duo a popular subject during Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs testimony earlier this month and got them invited to testify on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the hearing, Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee asked whether Diamond and Silk had ever received money from the Trump campaign. Advertisement Diamond, whose real name is Lynnette Hardaway, said five times under oath that she had not. Later, New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries pointed to FEC records that showed the campaign had paid them $1,274.94 for field consulting. He reminded them that they would be committing perjury if they lied under oath. Silk, whose real name is Rochelle Richardson, responded, Were familiar with that particular lie. We could see that you do look at fake news. Advertisement She then went on to claim that the payment was actually a reimbursement for plane tickets they purchased to fly to a Women for Trump event in Ohio and suggested that the campaign may have made a mistake in their FEC filings. Advertisement Trump campaign treasurer Bradley Crate sent Slate a statement that supported their version of events: The issue regarding Diamond and Silk is merely one of semantics, resulting from a reasonable misunderstanding of the Campaigns reporting obligations. The Campaigns payment to Diamond and Silk for field consulting was based on an invoice they submitted reflecting their costs for air travel to a Campaign event. The invoice was not supported by accompanying receipts, so as a technical matter, could not be reported as a reimbursement even though its purpose was to make them whole for their out-of-pocket costs. Its unclear whether other parts of their testimony were accurate, such as their claims that YouTube had demonetized their videos or that Facebook had intentionally censored them for being conservative, but the discrepancy around payment could reasonably have been caused by the nuances of campaign finance laws. Over two days of testimony before Congress earlier this month, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg dodged a litany of questions from lawmakers about how the data of 87 million Americans ended up in the hands of voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica. The spectacle put a spotlight on the companys murky data-collection and sharing practices, and sparked a much-needed discussion about if and how to hold companies accountable for their handling of user data. However much deserved, Facebook has, so far, born the brunt of public scrutiny for what has unfortunately become standard practice for web platforms and services. As the Ranking Digital Rights 2018 Corporate Accountability Indexan annual ranking of the some of the worlds most powerful internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies that was released this weekshows, companies across the board lack transparency about what user data they collect and share, and tell us alarmingly little about their data-sharing agreements with advertisers or other third parties. (Disclosure: I work with RDR and worked on this report. RDR is a project of New America, which is a partner with Slate and Arizona State University in Future Tense.) The majority of the 12 internet and mobile companies we evaluated for this index also failed to give users clear choices about how their data is used, or options to control how they are being tracked and profiled, and why. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In practice, this means the intrusive data harvesting practices that led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal could be far more common, and more pervasive, than we know. This not only exposes the massive amounts of intimate information these companies collect on us to a bevy of privacy and security risks, but also likely sets us up for more attempts by bad actors to use our data against usas weve seen with political ads aimed at spreading propaganda and fomenting division. That is, unless were able to hold companies accountable for these bad practices and pressure them to reform. Not surprisingly, our analysis found that Facebook was less transparent than the five other U.S.-based internet and mobile platformsApple, Google, Microsoft, Oath (formerly Yahoo), and Twitterabout its handling of user data, such as what information it collects, shares, with whom, and why. The company also offered fewer disclosures than any other internet and mobile platform in the entire index, including two Chinese companies and two Russian companies, about options users have to control whats collected about them and how that data is used. Over the past several weeks, Facebook has clarified some options users have to control their data, but these measures have not fundamentally changed the companys existing policies. Advertisement Advertisement Facebooks poor showing on these questions is notable given the current controversy, but no company fared especially well on these issues. Because these companies are collecting such personal data on youpotentially who youre messaging and when, your browsing and search history, your online purchases, your public profile information, among other details of your digital lifethey should be transparent about what theyre collecting, how theyre share it with advertisers and third parties, and how its being used to serve you targeted ads. Ideally, companies should give users a clear choice to opt in to receive these targeted ads, rather than having the sometimes-creepy personalized content served by default. They should similarly give users options to control what personal data the company collects and how its allowed to be used and shared. Advertisement Advertisement But our research shows that most internet and mobile companies we evaluated, including Facebook, only gave users the option to opt out of receiving interest-based ads, should they wish to do so and manage to navigate through often-labyrinthine settings pages to toggle them off. None clearly informed users if and when they were being automatically tracked and profiled. Nor did any appear to operate on the ideal opt-in model. This problem goes beyond corporations recording what users do on their platforms. The companies we evaluated also proved especially evasive about clearly advising users if and how they track users across the internet, whether it be deploying cookies to follow and collect data on individuals across websites and devices, or casting similar data-collection nets via widgets or plug-ins, like social media buttons, or via other types of web-tracking tools embedded on other websites. For instance, Google Analytics, a tool that records website visits and feeds that information back into the companys ad-targeting system, is embedded on a vast majority of the internets most-visited websites. Advertisement Advertisement To platforms like Google and Facebook, these types of tracking tools and practices are worth big bucks. Combined, the pair, nicknamed digital duopoly, controls nearly 60 percent of total U.S. online ad investmentslargely because the pair can sell more highly-targeted ads on systems that use the detailed individual behavior and preference profiles theyve been able to amass (including on people who arent even registered on the platforms). But the companies lack of forthrightness about these practices means theyre making massive profits on tracking, recording, and sharing our information without meaningful consent. Advertisement Its an issue that was on full display during Mark Zuckerbergs congressional testimony, when he deflected multiple inquiries from representatives asking him whether Facebook tracks people around the web who arent logged into Facebook. As Slates Will Oremus pointed out in his piece detailing the most dishonest answers Zuckerberg gave, the CEO mostly deflected such questions. It would probably be better to have my team follow up afterward, he answered to one. To another: Im notIm not sure of the answer to that question. Really? the senator replied. Yes, said Zuckerberg, despite the fact its been the subject of lawsuits and is buried in Facebooks own user policies. (In fairness, his team did follow up on this question in a post on the companys Hard Questions blog, and has since updated its privacy policy and ad settings to make them easier to navigate.) Advertisement But, once again, Facebook wasnt the only internet or mobile company that lacked clear disclosure about whether and how they track users across the internet. Ten other internet and mobile systems that we evaluated in our rankingincluding Google, Microsoft, and Twittereither said little about these tracking policies or provided no information at all. Only Apple clearly stated that it does not track users on third-party websites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These results should come as no surprise to rights groups and experts, many who have warned of the privacy and human rights risks posed by surveillance capitalism, a goliath industry of monetizing user data that has flourished with little oversight, accountability, or public awareness. Many of worlds most powerful companiesincluding Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoftrely on this advertising-based revenue model to varying degrees. For those who havent had the time to read the legaled-up language of every single privacy policy we encounter (which, considering Carnegie Mellon researchers estimated it would take the average user the equivalent of 76 work days per year to do, is most of us), and even for people like me who do it for a living and still find disclosure gaps, the FacebookCambridge Analytica scandal managed to shed a bit of light on the otherwise obscure relationships between some tech companies and advertisers. But it only exposed a sliver of the harm and potential harm wrought by the opaque profit-over-privacy business model that continues to dominate tech. Advertisement Advertisement In the U.S., calls for tougher regulations are growing louder. Policymakers and the public seem fed up waiting for tech companies to rein themselves in. Yet even in the European Union, often looked to as a model for the stricter data protection rules it imposes on companies, EU-based telecommunications companies measured still lack transparency about key policies affecting users privacy, as our index shows. Many privacy advocates now see the regional bodys forthcoming General Data Protection Regulations, or GDPR, (the reason youre getting notifications on sites like Twitter about privacy policy changes starting May 25), as a step in the right direction. The rules require companies to give users clear options to control the collection and use of their personal data, and include stricter standards about transparency. Yet there is no telling how the GDPR will be enforced, and whether or how companies outside the EU will comply. The GDPR and new proposed legislation in the U.S., like Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2018, may help establish some baseline data controls and transparency for users. Yet its not hard to imagine these powerful companies using their compliance with these minimum legal standards as a cover to say were doing everything we can, while continuing with a host of shady but profitable data-harvesting practices. Whether this is a moment of reckoning remains to be seen. What is certain is that that unless tech companies work to improve transparency and accountability about what they do with user data, public trust in these companies will continue to erode. But given that most major companies are at present are not telling people enough about their data collection and tracking practices, its likely that, in the meantime, well see more of our personal data caught up in controversies like the FacebookCambridge Analytica fallout. Slovak University grants honorary degree to American professor The worldwide expert gave two lectures at the Slovak University of Technology. American professor Bebo White was granted honoris causa by the Slovak University of Technology (STU). It is an honour for us that Bebo White accepted the honorary degree. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and visionaries of the World Wide Web , one of the founders of web engineering and the first American webmaster, said rector of STU Robert Redhammer, as quoted by press release. The scientific council of STU has granted honorary degrees to 36 personalities since 2003, among them astronaut of Czechoslovak origin Eugene Andrew Cernan and laureate of Nobel prize for physics Douglas Dean Osheroff. We dreamed about a web that would bring global cooperation, close digital scissors and that access to the Internet would become one of the elementary human rights. Instead, the web is the aim of attacks from those who want to profit from it, said Bebo White in his speech, as quoted by a press release. He also asked students and graduates to preserve what they dream of for the next generations. Bebo White currently works as emeritus departmental associate in SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory operated by Stanford University. The laboratory focuses on research in the fields of physics of high energies and physics of elementary particles. 27. Apr 2018 at 11:05 | Compiled by Spectator staff Tree-cutting on the Danubes bank angered nature conservationists Water management company cites anti-flood measures The Slovak Water Management Company (SVP) has cut all the vegetation on the banks of the so-called old Danube from Bratislavas Cunovo up to Dobrohost within its anti-flood measures and maintenance works. Local state nature conservationists consider the cutting to be a violation of valid legislation and plan to file charges. The Environment Ministry has turned to nature inspection to check the logging. This is making the country lose exceptionally precious floodplain forests that are a habitat for endangered species, said the conservationists from the Bratislava arm of the Protected Area (CHKO) Dunajske Luhy. The goal of this cutting is, in terms of todays level of scientific knowledge, unjustifiable and we consider this to be a violation of the water law. The water management company has cut the vegetation on an about a 10-km-long stretch of the old Danube River basin flowing parallel to the man-made channel bringing Danube water down to the turbines of the Gabcikovo hydropower plant. The company argues that the old river basin also serves for channelling excess water during high water discharge on the river as well as when it is not possible to channel needed amounts of water via the Gabcikovo power plant. 27. Apr 2018 at 14:29 | Jana Liptakova RTVS management started laying off external reporters Reporters of the public broadcasters news team recently wrote an open letter describing their distrust for the new RTVS management. After an open dispute between part of the news team and the management of the public-service broadcaster RTVS, several external reporters signed an open letter expressing worries about the current direction of the Slovak public Radio and TV (RTVS). Reporter and host Zuzana Kovacic Hanzelova is among those who no longer works at RTVS. Recently, she founded the news teams labour unions and even more recently, she confirmed on social networks they have received notices. As of today, the management announced layoffs of external reporters, Kovacic Hanzelova writes. Or, as our management describes it, they ended cooperation. I suppose the argument will be that we want to boost internal capacities, she added. Who is out and why? So far, foreign reporter Matus David, reporters Matus Banovic, Kristian Cekovsky and culture reporter Jana Masarova, who worked in RTVS for five years, were dismissed. The management allegedly does not need to give her reasons, Kovacic Hanzelova comments. The reason is she is an external worker (without a full-time employee contract). Other colleagues will meet management in the course of today. We expect three, four more will get immediate notices, too. Despite the status of external journalists, they are regular reporters working on the newscast every day. RTVS has not explained in detail why the management did not prolong the contracts of external journalists. The external cooperation contracts of several journalists ended and the newscasts management decided not to prolong it in three cases, as of today, RTVS spokesperson Erika Rusnakova commented. In a press statement, she added that they would not comment on internal managerial decisions connected to the securing of the programme service in the newscast. RTVS news editor Jozef Matej publicly defended the sacked journalists, writing on social media that he stands behind them fully. As their superior and someone who was in daily contact with them, I see no sensible reason not to prolong cooperation. The value of the company lies in the people, he opined. The radio journalist Jana Matkova and dramaturgy editor Nikola Bajanova quit in protest of the management. Kovacic Hanzelova: In RTVS, normalisation is going on The journalists involved are those who signed an open letter, in which 59 news reporters and journalists mention a hostile atmosphere and criticised the fact that former spokespersons who were appointed to managerial positions have so far adopted no mechanism to rule out possible conflict of interests involving the contents of news. In RTVS, normalisation is going on real, hard normalisation, Kovacic Hanzelova claims. Maybe we have communicated softly so far, maybe we have wanted to be correct and cautious all along. But you should know the truth, she writes on social network. The reporter opines that the management has tried for several weeks to smuggle nonsense into live broadcasts. For example, chief editor Vahram Chuguryan proposed that reporters broadcast unchecked conspiracies. He pushed through for the live broadcasts a story about Syrian children using effervescent pills to fake spume so they looked like they had experienced a chemical attack, she specified. Chuguryan, who worked as a spokesman at the Education Ministry, recently banned reporters from wearing badges that showed solidarity with the murdered journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova. Several reporters left earlier Recently, several reporters left RTVS. Reporter of the Slovak Radio, Gabriela Kajtarova, handed in a notice and long-time reporter of the foreign department, Olga Bakova, ended her position as well. Programme director Tibor Buza also announced his notice. Igor Zemanovic worked for RTVS as an editor. While in this position, hosts of the political talk show O Pat Minut Dvanast / Five Minutes to Twelve, Beata Oravcova and Michal Dyttert, publicly rebelled against the show because Oravcova was instructed by the management in writing to include then-chairman of coalition party ANO, Pavol Rusko. RTVS CEO Jaroslav Reznik, who was pushed into a leadership position in the public-service medium by coalition parties SNS and Smer, claimed at the April 25 RTVS Council meeting the situation was not as bad as it looked from the outside. Kovacic Hanzelova argues that they had repeatedly called on the management to meet for a debate and calm down the situation. Thus, we were supposed to meet yesterday (i.e. Thursday) in a smaller circle, she claims. Jaroslav Reznik left us sit and wait there for 30 minutes, only to write us then that he wasn't coming. This is the dialogue he cited as recently as yesterday, at the RTVS Council, but we knew with all probability what would happen today with the news team, she added. Concerns abroad The tense situation in RTVS is being watched closely abroad. The International organisation Reporters without Borders (RSF) called on Slovak authorities to stop interfering with the operation of the TV. It criticised Reznik, too. Instead of boosting the freedom of press at a time when Slovak media experienced tensions, he undermined it continually, one of the biggest journalistic organisations writes. Beginning this year, Reznik halted the investigative show Repoteri / Reporters, and two authors of the radio show Dejiny.sk were stripped of their positions, too. Before the dismissals, SNS MP Anton Hrnko criticised the show on social media. 27. Apr 2018 at 19:46 | By Lucia Krbatova Grupo Supervielle SA operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Treasury, Consumer, Insurance and Asset Management and Other Services. The Retail Banking segment involves in granting of loans and other credit products such as deposits of physical persons. The Corporate Banking segment focuses in advisory services at a corporate and financial level, as well as the administration of assets and loans targeted to big clients. The Treasury segment operates with Government Securities of the Group, syndicated loans, and financial lease. The Consumer segment consists of loans and other credit products targeted to middle and lower-middle income sectors and non-financial products and services. The Insurance segment comprises insurance products, with a focus on life insurance. The Asset Management and Other Services segment offers mutual funds and other products and services. The company was founded on October 8, 1979 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Read More On Sunday morning, shofars will be blown from over 100 locations across New Zealand, as the start of a wave of blessing around the world towards Israel. Katikati residents Trevor Harvey, Rob Holding and Shimshon Chaddock will join others in blowing their shofars from Lindemann Lookout. Last year, about 30 joined their gathering, and this year they are expecting more. Its a coordinated event up and down the country, says Rob, who is the pastor of Katikati Christian Centre. Showing support for the nation of Israel. Trevor brought his rams horn back from a trip to Israel, after visiting the Sea of Galilee and Bethlehem. My grandfather was born in Russia, says Shimshon, who moved to NZ with his family in 2009. He escaped from the Czars who were killing Jews, to the USA, and later moved to Israel. Israels Independence Day is May 14, commemorating becoming a nation 70 years ago in 1948, but April 29 was chosen as the day to release a blessing of love and unity from around the world. We are called to love all people, says Nations Bless Israel NZ national coordinator Jane Troughton. Blessing Israel does not mean we do not want to see blessing, wholeness and Gods best purpose for all others too. Were responding to the call in Genesis 12:1 I will bless those who bless you. Theres something that happens as we bless others. We recognize that Christians havent always blessed the people of Israel, and that there have been injustices that the Jewish people have suffered. This is part of a journey of reconciliation and looking for the wellbeing of others. The release of blessing will start in NZ and move from nation to nation, from the ends of the earth to Israel. Gatherings on Sunday evening will also be held at 7pm at St Andrews Presbyterian in Te Puke, and Bethlehem College Performing Arts Centre, linking in to the live stream of the NZ National Gathering in Auckland. More information about the event and locations can be found on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NZBlessIsrael or website http://nationsblessisrael.website Vietnamese motorbike and scooter drivers are constantly looking for ways to make their prize vehicles standout. Unfortunately, that often means sacrificing safety for style, as is the case with many drivers who opt for brighter headlights which can create dangerous situations after night falls. To further investigate dangerous motorbike customizations, Tuoi Tre (Youth) reporters visited a mechanic shop on Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City to ask about replacing their stock headlights with custom options. In the blink of an eye, the shops employee presented a trove of different headlight options, all of which were advertised as ultra bright. Way too bright According to the employee, xenon headlamps are currently the most highly demanded headlight customization option for Vietnamese drivers. Once more, theyre also cheap. For just VND250,000 (US$10.94) a customer can have a Chinese model installed on their bike. The installment process requires serious modification procedures to the bike, including drilling several holes into the vehicles electric circuit. All of this extra work seems trivial compared to the potential results: a headlight so bright its owner will surely standout amongst the rest. An employee installs ultra bright headlamp on a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi tre The same can be said for cars. An employee named Can at an automobile mechanic shop on Ba Thang Hai Street, District 10, also greeted the Tuoi Tre correspondents with a collection of headlights at least three times brighter than normal stock lights. Among them, bi-xenon headlamps were by far the flashiest, with an illumination rate of at least five to seven times greater than conventional halogen bulbs. With just a few customizations, mechanics can install the these lights in either the high or low beam section of a cards headlight well so that a driver can light up all four if they so desire. Compact LEDs are joining the fray as a quicker and safer alternative to xenon. Unfortunately, the ease of their installment means that more and more drivers are chosing to amp up their lights. According to Nguyen Hau Truong from Binh Thanh District, white or blue xenon headlamps are the easiest to find. Their medium-ranged prices make them an easy option for anyone looking to show off. Truong also advised not turning on the high beam frequently, so as to avoid attracting unwanted attention from traffic officers. Instead drivers should only use their souped-up lights as a countermeasure against high beams from vehicles traveling in the other direction. A motorbike is seen with its original headlamp replaced with a LED alternative in this photo taken in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi tre Precarious blinding effect Augmenting a motorbikes headlamp with strong light is not only against the law, but also decreases overall traffic safety. Bus driver Le Minh Toan complains about the rising number of vehicles with augmented headlamps swarming the streets and blinding his sight. I swear they made me feel partially blinded. I couldnt see anything even though I was trying to drive dozens of passengers. Who knows what would have happened if an accident had occurred? Toan wondered. The cheap thrill is also double edged. Vu Tuan Thanh, an employee at an official motorbike distributor in Ho Chi Minh City, reflects on the dubious origins of customized bulbs, with made in China stickers. Installing them can potentially damage the inner workings of a vehicle, making it easier for the electric system to short circuit and lead to fires and even explosions. The bulbs circuits are also often incompatible with those of the motorbike; hence the chances of a battery explosion skyrocket. Additionally, extreme lighting permeates more heat, making the vehicle more prone to overheat, which ultimately could lead to a fire. When there is trouble with your headlamp, taking the motorbike to an official mechanic shop is the fail-safe approach. You should also have the lamps regularly and appropriately checked for a safer traffic experience, Thanh said. Ultra bright headlamps are seen on a motorbike in this photo taken in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi tre In an interview with Tuoi Tre, lieutenant colonel Nguyen Van Binh, a top traffic police official in Ho Chi Minh City, disclosed that the citys traffic police force is waging war against ultra-bright headlights. Additional laws have also been proposed to aid the battle. Automobiles without proper lighting may be fined up to VND400,000 ($17.46), and VND 1 million ($43.6) if police identify any customizations. For motorbikes, the fine is around VND200,000 ($8.73) for all offenses related to lighting. Besides fines, revoking of drivers license is also possible if officers deem it necessary. SEOUL, April 27 - Smiling and holding hands, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries on Friday in the first summit for the two Koreas in over a decade. The meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and easing tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters The two were handed flowers by a South Korean boy and girl, residents of a village situated in the demilitarised zone. Walking on a red carpet rolled out for the two heads of state, the pair were met by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music. Kim wore glasses and his trademark black Mao suit, while the rest of the North Korean delegation appeared in military uniforms or Western attire. Kim stopped to sign a guest book in the South's Peace House before the two leaders met for a private discussion. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in the book, dating and signing the entry. Moon and Kim are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom. The United States is hopeful talks between Kim and Moon will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit. The White House also said it looks forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrive at the Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. Earlier Friday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. Moon travelled to the meeting in a large motorcade, stopping briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House. Hundreds of demonstrators were seen gathering in downtown Seoul from early morning to protest or support the summit. Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion. The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a U.S. official. The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, were broadcast live. Besides capturing the two leaders' candid interactions, the live feed broadcast a few hiccups, including when a key photo op blocked was blocked by a photographer's backside. SEOUL - The leaders of North and South Korea embraced on Friday and pledged to work for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula on a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War. But their commitments were short on specifics and failed to clear up key questions about Pyongyangs intentions ahead of an even more critical summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that is expected in coming weeks. The declaration from the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean President Kim Jong Un included promises to pursue phased arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the United States. The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun, the two sides said. The summit was held at the village of Panmunjom in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone at the border that has divided the Koreas for more than six decades. But even as the Koreas agreed on a common goal of a nuclear-free peninsula, they stopped short of spelling out how that might come about. The Trump administration defines denuclearization as Kim giving up his nuclear arsenal, something he has been unwilling to do. North Korea has historically demanded the United States withdraw its troops and remove its nuclear umbrella of support for the South. Moon agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, the leaders said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border. Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last years barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of war. Their meeting was meant in part to lay some of the groundwork for Trumps meeting with Kim, which would be the first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Trump, who has exchanged nuclear threats and personal insults with Kim in the past year, welcomed the Korean talks while injecting a small note of caution. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! he said on Twitter. He later added: KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! China, North Koreas main ally, welcomed the leaders statement and said it was willing to keep playing a proactive role in promoting political solutions. China is wary of being sidelined by a thaw between the two Koreas and by the upcoming summit between Trump and Kim. Russia said it was ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea, including in the fields of railway transport and energy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the summit and said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps to carry out its promises. Global markets were lifted by hopes the summit would pave the way for the end of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Shares in Seoul briefly rose more than 1 percent to a one-month high and Japans Nikkei share average also gained. It is not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared hopes for peace. Two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the Norths weapons programs or improve relations in a lasting way. We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today, Kim said after the agreement was signed. First across the line Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands. In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person, Kim said, wearing his customary black Mao suit. A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history, Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the Souths Peace House before talks began. During a private meeting in the morning, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, a senior presidential official said. Moon and Kim released their joint declaration before a dinner banquet. Later, with their wives, they watched a music performance and held hands as they watched a montage of photos from their summit set to a K-pop song that included the words be a family again. After warm farewells, Kim was driven back to North Korea. The United States said earlier it was hopeful talks on peace and prosperity would make progress and it looked forward to discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in coming weeks. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as the North made rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The war pitted the South, U.N. and U.S. forces against the North, backed by China and Russia. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June. Trump said on Thursday he was considering several dates and venues. A Vietnam - Singapore business forum has been organized to cement the two countries economic partnership, within the framework of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs official visit to Singapore from April 25 to 27. The event took place on Thursday and was attended by about 700 delegates including officials and business leaders from both nations. Speaking at the gathering, PM Phuc highlighted the practical foundation for the bilateral collaboration between two countries. Singapore has had more than 2,000 projects worth a combined investment capital of over US$43 billion in Vietnam and two-way has reached nearly $8.5 billion, the premier stated, adding that up to 280,000 Singaporean tourists visit Vietnam each year. Vietnam has invested in nearly 100 projects valued at more than $200 million in Singapore, he continued. Vietnam is exerting its efforts to improve growth quality, increase productivity and innovation, utilize opportunities generated by the fourth industrial revolution, and improve its domestic and foreign-invested sectors. He also said the Vietnamese government is committed to creating the best possible conditions for start-up initiatives and intellectual property rights protection. PM Phuc called on Singaporean partners to continue sharing their experiences and achievements in start-ups with Vietnam. According to Douglas Foo, President of the Singaporean Manufacturing Federation, Vietnam has become a destination for Asian manufacturers, opening up opportunities for Singaporean enterprises, especially those operating in civil electronics, garment-textile and food production, to provide their logistics services. Many Singaporean companies have invested in seaport, logistics, housing, urban and industrial park projects in Vietnam thanks to the support of the local government, Foo continued. Seven Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) have been established in Vietnamese localities, serving as symbols of the economic links between the two countries, the official stressed. The first VSIP opened in the southern province of Binh Duong in 1992. At the event, Singaporean Minister for National Development and Finance Lawrence Wong suggested both sides cooperate in energy, oil and gas, and smart city building, along with developing their digital economies. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! About 400 Agribank debit accounts were hacked on Wednesday night, allowing criminals to withdraw money from the compromised accounts through ATM machines without the cardholders consent, the Vietnamese lender confirmed on Thursday. The bank has yet to release the total amount stolen in the heist. According to N.T.M.H., one of the victims, the financial department of her company in Hanoi informed her that many employees discovered money missing from their debit accounts at around 11:00 pm that day. H.s firm also reported the money losses to Agribank, which issues the ATM cards for the staff members at her company. The lender then put a temporary freeze on all ATM accounts belonging to the companys employees. Despite the freeze, H. received multiple text messages later that night indicating that some of the money in her account had been withdrawn. A total of eight transactions were made within six minutes, resulting in the loss of VND24 million [US$1,056] from my account, H. recalled. She said she was so worried that she immediately rushed to the nearest ATM to withdraw what remained in her account. To her surprise, she was able to withdraw what remained in her account despite the bank's assurance that it had been locked. An Agribank customer checks his debit account using a mobile app. Photo: Tuoi Tre About 10 of H.s colleagues were also affected, with their losses ranging from VND3 million ($132) to more than VND20 million ($880). The Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that hackers could have installed skimming devices to steal customers information in order to gain access to their money. A skimming device is a type of card reader which is often disguised to appear as part of the ATM. The device saves the users' card number and pin code, which are then used by counterfeiters to make a fake card. According to Agribank, about 400 ATM accounts were hacked and the bank began working with competent authorities on Thursday morning to investigate the situation. Many of the lenders ATM booths have been closed and surveillance footage has been extracted to assist the investigation. In the meantime, new ATM cards will be provided to the affected customers. A result of the probe is expected to be announced by Friday. The bank also promised to return the stolen money to its clients following the investigation. Founded in 1988, Agribank, or the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, is the largest bank in Vietnam in terms of total assets, operating networks, and customer base. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today, April 27 Politics -- On the occasion of his April 25-27 official visit to Singapore, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday attended the Vietnam Singapore Business Forum, which saw the participation of 700 representatives. -- Vice Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Vo Thi Dung on Thursday received Jean Charles Negre, Politburo member and former standing member of the French Communist Party Secretariat, who is visiting the city on the occasion of celebrating the two countries 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the fifth year of the Strategic Partnership. Society -- Around 400 ATM accounts of Vietnamese lender Agribank were hacked and got their money stolen in the night of April 25. -- Tons of fishes have died en masse, allegedly due to oxygen depletion, at the Binh Ha irrigation lake in the southern province of Binh Phuoc since Tuesday. -- Police have seized 30kg of methamphetamine hidden in tea packages, transported from the northwestern provinces to Ho Chi Minh City, officers said on Thursday. Business -- France currently has 215 investment projects with a total value of US$217 million in Ho Chi Minh City. -- Women should take the lead in fostering economic connectivity and international cooperation, said Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh in her remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney on Thursday. -- After a five-year strategic partnership, Singapore has had more than 2,000 projects invested in Vietnam with a total capital of $43 billion, with the two countries bilateral trade topping $8.5 billion. Lifestyle -- An exhibition on Thursday kicked off on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 1, featuring 83 photos capturing the Vietnams path to reunification. -- The renowned 2018 Hue Festival kicked off tonight, April 27, in the central city of Hue, running until May 2, with the participation of thousands artists of 36 troupes from Vietnam and 20 countries. Customs officials in a port in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday seized nearly 3.8 metric tons of pangolin scales from Congo, in the biggest haul of the animal parts ever smuggled to the southern metropolis. The pangolin scales were stored in two containers, declared as logs imported from Congo, that arrived in Cat Lai Port on Sunday. Vietnamese authorities had received a heads-up from Congolese customs about the suspicious shipment and had been keeping a close watch on the two containers since their arrival from a transit port in Singapore, according to Dinh Ngoc Thang, deputy chief of Ho Chi Minh City customs. Cargo scanning at Cat Lai Port following the containers arrival at 4:00 am on Sunday revealed suspicious empty spaces at the center of each container, surrounded by logs. As no recipient has since come to claim the shipment, customs officials opened the containers on Friday to inspect their content and found 107 sacks containing nearly 3.8 metric tons of pangolin scales. A pangolin scale is seized by customs officials in Ho Chi Minh City from a shipment originating in Congo, April 27, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre The scales are estimated to have been removed from thousands of pangolins, believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal accounting for as much as 20 percent of all illegal wildlife trade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The animals are trafficked mainly for their scales, which are believed to treat a variety of health conditions in traditional Chinese medicine. Fridays haul is the largest ever seizure of the animal parts by Ho Chi Minh City customs, Thang said. Customs officials seize metric tons of pangolin scales at Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City, April 27, 2018. Clip: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese police announced on Thursday that they have confiscated around 30 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in tea packages in northern Vietnam. A drugs squad from the Ministry of Public Security discovered a ring moving meth from northwestern Vietnamese regions to central north areas and finally to Ho Chi Minh City. Nearly 20 policemen in plain clothes stopped the white Toyota Fortuner, which they had identified as the means of transport used by the ring, in an ambush in the northern province of Ninh Binh. Having subdued the driver, Phang A Nha, the team found meth contained in 29 packages of tea that collectively weighed about 30 kilograms. The 45-year-old driver said he purchased the substance from a Laotian and intended to sell it at US$7,500 per kilogram to another man identified as Nguyen Van Ve, 46, residing in the neighboring province of Nam Dinh. Police later found and caught Ve, seizing US$400,000 in cash from him. The two men have been detained on charges of buying and selling drugs. Tea packages containing methamphetamine are seen in a car. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! In the flurry of Royal Wedding titles on our screen TEN will air a US special, Meghan Markle: A Modern Princess, fronted by CBS presenter Gayle King next Wednesday. Presented by CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King, Meghan Markle: A Modern Princess is an engaging and inspiring behind-the-scenes look at the woman who will soon marry Prince Harry. From child activist to future Royal, Meghans story is told through personal interviews with her sorority sisters, high school teachers and fellow actors. It focuses on her passion for humanitarian work and successful acting career, and gives viewers a glimpse into Prince Harry and Meghans life behind the cameras. Gayle King said: Meghan Markle is not like anyone the Royal family has known. The ultimate modern day couple, their love caught the world off-guard, everyone except for Harry and Meghan, who knew exactly what they were looking for. An engagement that will modernise the monarchy, Royal experts will weigh-in on the couple and what their fairytale relationship means for Britain and the world. Do not miss the television event, Meghan Markle: A Modern Princess, to celebrate the sophisticated and successful woman who is Meghan Markle. 7:30pm Wednesday on TEN. Filming of the eighth series of Death in Paradise is underway in Guadeloupe, with Ardal OHanlon reprising his role as lead detective DI Jack Mooney. But while Josephine Jobert (DS Florence Cassell), Tobi Bakare (Officer JP Hooper), Don Warrington (Commissioner Selwyn Patterson) and Elizabeth Bourgine (Catherine Bordey) all return Danny John-Jules (Officer Dwayne Myers) is not. New cast member Shyko Amos (A Very English Scandal) joins as Officer Ruby Patterson. There is nothing quite like Death in Paradise on TV and it hasnt quite sunk in yet that Ive joined such a massively popular show. Its given me a butterfly or two but Im very excited! Officer Ruby Patterson is a bundle of joy! I am very excited for Death in Paradise viewers to experience her as the new member of the already amazing law enforcement team of Saint Marie, she says. Executive Producer, Tim Key, says: Were delighted to welcome Shyko to the team. Shes a really exciting young actor who has already made a huge impact on set as Officer Ruby Patterson. Were very sad to have said goodbye to Danny, whos brilliant performance as Dwayne has helped make the show such a success. We wish Danny all the very best and look forward to working with him again. But its wonderful to be back in Guadeloupe with our fantastic cast and crew to get stuck in to some more intriguing murder mysteries in the Caribbean sun. We cant wait for the audience to see what weve got in store. ABC has screened 6 seasons in Australia. On Mondays Four Corners Michael Brissendens Tipping the Scales investigates the power of Big Sugar and its influence on public policy. How did the entire world get this fat, this fast? Did everyone just become a bunch of gluttons and sloths? Doctor The figures are startling. Today, 60% of Australian adults are classified as overweight or obese. By 2025 that figure is expected to rise to 80%. Its the stuff of despair. Personally, when I see some of these young people, its almost hard to imagine that weve got to this point. Surgeon Many point the finger at sugar which were consuming in enormous amounts and the food and drink industry that makes and sells the products fuelled by it. This isnt about, as the food industry put it, people making their own choices and therefore determining what their weight will be. It is not as simple as that, and the science is very clear. Surgeon Despite doctors calls for urgent action, theres been fierce resistance by the industry to measures aimed at changing what we eat and drink, like the proposed introduction of a sugar tax. We know about the health impact, but theres something thats restricting us, and its industry. Public health advocate On Monday night Four Corners investigates the power of Big Sugar and its influence on public policy. The reality is that industry is, by and large, making most of the policy. Public health is brought in, so that we can have the least worse solution. Public health advocate From its role in shutting down debate about a possible sugar tax to its involvement in the controversial health star rating system, the industry has been remarkably successful in getting its way. We are encouraged by the government here in Australia, and indeed the opposition here in Australia, who continue to look to the evidence base and continue to reject this type of tax as some sort of silver bullet or whatnot to solve what is a really complex problem, and that is our nations collective expanding waistline. Industry spokesperson We reveal the tactics employed by the industry and the access it enjoys at a time when health professionals say we are in a national obesity crisis. We cannot leave it up to the food industry to solve this. They have an imperative to make a profit for their shareholders. They dont have an imperative to create a healthy, active Australia. Health advocate Monday 30th of April at 8.30pm. 2017 Pete Evans-produced paleo documentary Magic Pill has been sold to Netflix. Evans, who only appears briefly in the doco, self-funded the special, which filmed in Arnhem Land, as well as USA, Canada, UK, South Africa. The doco copped some criticism from the Australian Medical Association but Evans defended the work in a Sunday Night interview. It was also awarded at the People Of Passion (POP) International Film Festival. What if most of our modern diseases are really just symptoms of the same problem? The Magic Pill follows doctors, patients, scientists, chefs, farmers and journalists from around the globe who are combating illness through a paradigm shift in eating. And this simple change embracing fat as our main fuel is showing profound promise in improving the health of people, animals and the planet. Well, its finally happening. Hes finally coming to the UK. After a ton of protests and controversy and petitions and Parliamentary debates, US President Donald Trump will be stopping by the UK on 13 July of this year. While its not an official state visit, and therefore he will not be getting the traditional celebrations or fanfare of one, he is still coming to the UK after so many signatures on petitions and British political figures tried to stop him. In order for it to become an official state visit, the President would have to stick around for more than a day, but he will be getting here and leaving within the same day this summer. So, hes found a nice little loophole in the demands of all of those protestors. They said no state visit they didnt say he couldnt come for a day trip. During his day in the UK, which is more of a formality than anything else (why else would you fly from Washington to London and then back to Washington in the same day if it wasnt so you could tell people that youd been there, no matter what anyones petition says?), Trump will be speaking to Queen Elizabeth II for a meet-and-greet and maybe some chit chat, before hopping over to Downing Street to shake hands with the Tories over there and talk business with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has tangled with a number of times and maintains a love/hate relationship with. Trump lashed out at May for, in his eyes, allowing terrorism into the UK when she called on him for retweeting posts from the vicious anti-Muslim hate group Britain First. But he has also praised her recently for joining him and French President Emmanuel Macron in launching those controversial air strikes against Syria specifically the Assad regime, which was under fire (no pun intended) at the time for launching a chemical attack on their own people. The regime denied the attack and said that it was staged, but aid workers on the scene confirmed that there had in fact been a chemical attack there and that many innocent Syrian people had died. And then the tensions rose. Some British politicians are pleased about the visit The response to Trumps visit to the UK has been mixed, but some British officials are pretty excited about it. British diplomat Kim Darroch, who has been trying to ease the tensions and sort this visit out for a while, has said that he is delighted that the President finally managed to get it all together. Hes particularly excited about the bilateral talks that he will be sharing with the Prime Minister. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson this is his area, international relations has said that the announcement of this visit is fantastic news. Johnson added that the US President is Britains closest ally and friend and promised that this will be the greatest visit ever. Is that a little presumptuous? Who knows but at least hes happy. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was tasked with announcing the UK visit to a tough crowd, in her words. Basically, it was "Take Your Kids to Work Day" in America and so the reporters had all taken their children into the Press Room. While Sanders was trying to tell the kids the exciting news that Trump was going to be visiting Britain, the kids were all more interested in asking her why he has been bombing Syria or why he fired James Comey simply for investigating his campaigns alleged ties with the Russian government. Public opposition turned this visit into a working trip Trumps UK visit was downgraded from a state visit to a working trip thanks to all the opposition to a visit taking place at all from the British public. The idea behind it was that all of those people who didnt want him to come wouldnt mind if it was more of a business trip, but as it turns out, thats not the case and theyre still not happy. Well have to just wait and see what happens on the 13 of July. The announcement of US President Donald Trumps visit to the UK happened to land on the same day as Take Your Kids to Work Day, so a crowd of children who came into the Press Room at the White House with their journalist parents were the first to hear about it. They also took the chance to grill the typically shifty and evasive Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, starting with a topical question about the recent air strikes on Syria in the childs words, Why did our country bomb another country? followed by I made that one up by myself. Sanders dodged the kids intelligent questions. The children were asking about how the current administration would make the education system in America better and improve their schools, or why the President fired James Comey (which has been seen as an act of obstruction of justice and therefore grounds for impeachment). Instead of honestly answering them, the Press Secretary was said to avoid the questions and kept asking each kid who their parents were. Sanders called the kids a tough crowd Sanders was struggling to maintain her composure as she was grilled by all of these reporters intelligent kids, but theres a very important reason for this that we need to keep in mind. The kids knew exactly what questions to ask and exactly what a fake answer sounded like because theyre young and innocent and they just see good and bad, right and wrong their minds havent been polluted by grey areas yet. EU Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis shakes hands with Bulgaria's Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov as he arrives for the Informal meeting of economic and financial affairs ministers (ECOFIN) in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria wants to apply to join the ERM-2 mechanism, a waiting room for the adoption of the euro currency, in the first half of this year, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said on Friday. "There is nothing that enforces a change in our strategy... The timeline, which we have set together with the Bulgarian National Bank is the first half of the year, " Goranov told a news conference after a meeting of EU finance ministers. He said that timeline for the application did not clash with expectations of Bulgaria's prime minister that the Balkan country would be allowed into the ERM-2 -- a stability test for the currency -- within a year. Goranov said he expected Bulgaria would join the euro after spending the 24 months in the ERM-2 required by EU laws. There are now 19 countries that share the euro currency. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova) TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian media say American movie director Oliver Stone is in Tehran to attend an international film festival. Monday's report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency says Stone briefly visited the historical city of Isfahan the previous day. According to the report, Stone will host a workshop for filmmakers during the Fajr Film Festival and hold a news conference on Wednesday. French actor Jean-Pierre Leaud and Italian Giovanni Spagnoletti are also attending. This is the Hollywood director's first visit to Iran. In 2007, Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected a proposal by Stone to make a film about him. Ahmadinejad said at the time that Stone is part the "Great Satan" cultural establishment, a reference to the United States. In 2012, Stone's son Sean Stone visited Iran and converted to Shiite Islam. See Also: The Electrolux logo is seen during the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany September 4, 2014. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo By Niklas Pollard and Johannes Hellstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs helped raise raw material costs at Electrolux , denting first-quarter earnings and sending shares in Europe's largest home appliances maker down 11 percent on Friday. The Swedish maker of brands such as Electrolux, Frigidaire, AEG and Anova has raised its profitability - a key ambition for chief executive Jonas Samuelson - through greater efficiency and cutting lower-margin products. But it has faced mounting costs, mainly for steel, which risk undoing its improvement in margins and which took a toll on U.S. rival Whirlpool Corp this week. "Prices have come up in the market since our last outlook, partly due to the announcement of trade barriers for steel in the U.S., but also in other commodities like oil," Samuelson said a conference call with investors and analysts. "This is affecting our cost for carbon steel, plastics, chemicals and transportation." Electrolux, which also competes with Asian firms such as LG Electronics <066570.KS> and Haier Group, said it expected a hit of 1.6 billion to 1.8 billion crowns (1.3 billion to 1.5 billion pounds) this year from higher raw materials costs, up from a previous forecast of 1.2 billion. It posted adjusted operating earnings of 1.36 billion crowns, down from 1.44 billion and short of the 1.48 billion expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. BIG QUESTION Electrolux has been building a reputation for being able to offset cost increases during Samuelson's two years in charge, but analysts questioned whether it could do the same in 2018 given the rise in costs. "There is a big question following these results," Handelsbanken Capital Markets analyst Karri Rinta said. The United States set duties of 25 percent on steel in March and while it provided temporary exemptions for most allies, U.S. steel prices have risen this year, becoming a headache for white goods makers for which it is a key raw material. Story continues Prices for the steel used to make white goods have jumped, with U.S. NYMEX hot rolled coil futures up by roughly a third this year. Samuelson said that Electrolux, which sources it steel in the United States, still expected to be able to make up for the rise in raw material costs this year. "For the full year 2018 we continue to plan to offset these raw material headwinds with our cost efficiency measures in combination with price increases," he said. Samuelson told Reuters he saw further potential for savings in production which has increasingly harnessed auto industry techniques such as modularisation. "There appears to be some kind of worry that these cost efficiencies have an end point. But they don't," he said. Besides seeking to raise prices for its own products, which include fridges, freezer and washing machines, the company has taken steps to shield its business in the face of cost rise. Last month, Electrolux said it was putting a $250 million (181.3 million pounds) investment to expand and modernise its Springfield, Tennessee plant on hold due to rising steel prices. The first-quarter results and analysts' estimates excluded a charge related to consolidation of freezer production to its plant in Anderson, South Carolina. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard and Johannes Hellstrom; additional reporting by Maytaal Angel in London; editing by Alexander Smith and Jason Neely) File photo shows workers who check a car at Renault's assembly plant in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Darley Shen/File photo By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume PARIS (Reuters) - Renault's revenue rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in the first quarter as the French carmaker suffered sales setbacks in India, China and South Korea, compounded by the effects of a stronger euro. Revenue advanced to 13.16 billion euros (11.54 billion pounds), Renault said on Friday, well short of the 13.77 billion expected by analysts, according to an Inquiry Financial poll. The company's shares fell as much as 4.4 percent in Paris. Sales in key growth markets showed a "mixed situation", Renault said, with Chief Financial Officer Clotilde Delbos blaming a "massive currency headwind" for the weak quarter. "We were expecting a negative effect from that front, but to be honest, not of that magnitude," she told analysts. The euro has gained about 11 percent against the U.S. dollar over the past year. But the revenue slide also reflected lower deliveries in more volatile overseas markets. While Europe and Russia showed solid gains, price-sensitive Indian registrations tumbled almost one-third as the Kwid mini-SUV's early success gave way to decline and the larger Captur subcompact struggled to make inroads. Chinese deliveries also fell 16.8 percent amid a continuing slump in sales for the recently consolidated Jinbei and Huasong commercial vehicle brands, acquired through a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Brilliance <1114.HK>. Sales by South Korean unit Renault Samsung Motors fell more than a quarter. The quarter offers a "perfect example" of the ups and downs brought by Renault's rapid overseas expansion, said one London-based analyst. "The economic risk is always above average." Renault shares were down 3.7 percent at 88.62 euros as of 0844 GMT, paring their gain this year to 9.7 percent. The stronger euro cut automotive revenue by 4.8 percent or 575 million euros, further weakening the value of overseas sales. The overall volume increase contributed 275 million euros to revenue growth, and pricing improvements another 140 million. Renault reiterated its 2018 market outlook and earnings guidance. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter) By Herculano Coroado LUANDA (Reuters) - The most powerful body in Angola's ruling MPLA party said on Friday it had approved the candidacy of state president Joao Lourenco to become head of the party, replacing his predecessor as head of state Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The move coincided with an announcement by Angola's $5 billion sovereign wealth fund that it was sacking Swiss-based Quantum Global as its asset manager because it was concerned about the way its capital was being invested. Both developments will further cement the political grip of Lourenco, who has taken action against dos Santos' allies and removed family members from key positions while pledging to root out endemic corruption and clean up public finances in Africa's No. 2 crude producer. Dos Santos' son Jose was formerly head of the fund but has since been removed by Lourenco, who has also overseen the sacking of his daughter Isabel as head of state oil company Sonangol. Lourenco took over as state president in September last year when dos Santos stepped down after almost four decades in power, but the latter remained head of the MPLA, which has ruled Angola since it won independence from Portugal in 1975. The MPLA's politburo, the highest-ranking organ in the former Marxist party that was aligned to Moscow during the Cold War, said in a statement that it had "approved the candidacy of Comrade Joao Lourenco, currently Vice-President, to the position of MPLA President." The next MPLA president will be formally appointed at a party congress in September. Dos Santos' position as head of the party was widely regarded as an attempt to maintain control of the state but Lourenco has shown he is in charge. The action against Quantum Global follows this pattern as the new administration seeks to weed out the influence of dos Sanstos' appointees in a bid to woo investors and key lenders. Angola's sovereign wealth fund FSDEA said in a statement that it had "great concerns about Quantum Globals approach to investment of the FSDEA funds." Story continues "As a consequence of investigations through leading international global consultants and advisers, FSDEA is taking steps to remove Quantum as its asset manager," it added. Quantum Global said all Angola's money under its management was accounted for and that the dispute was a contractual issue. QG was appointed in 2012, with most investments made in 2015. Friday's announcement comes just weeks after Mauritius froze bank accounts and suspended business licences linked to QG Investments Africa Management following a visit by Angolan officials. QG Investments Africa Management, which said it was cooperating with authorities in Mauritius, is run by Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, QG founder and group chairman and a business partner of dos Santos' son. Quantum Global has demanded that Mauritius authorities explain their decision to suspend its business licenses on the Indian Ocean island nation. (Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Richard Balmforth) By Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Margarita Antidze YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia will get a new prime minister next week after nearly two weeks of street protests, with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, who has led the demonstrations, emerging as the protesters' unequivocal favourite. Although the demonstrations have been peaceful, the upheaval has threatened to destabilise Armenia, an ally of Russia, in a volatile region riven by Armenia's decades-long, low-level conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Moscow has two military bases in the ex-Soviet republic, and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Karen Karapetyan, the acting prime minister, on Thursday and made it clear Moscow was watching and did not want mob rule. "It was emphasised that resolving the political crisis in Armenia must take place exclusively through legal means in the framework of the current constitution," the Kremlin said. Its statement also appeared to suggest that Putin wanted the next prime minister to come from the ruling party, which has been the focus of popular anger, saying he thought the crisis needed to be addressed on the basis of what he said were legitimate parliamentary elections in 2017. That appeared to conflict with the demands of protesters who have said they want Pashinyan to be the new interim prime minister and for him to organise fresh parliamentary elections. Protest leader Pashinyan said that results of 2017 election could not be regarded as legitimate. "It's a misunderstanding," Pashinyan told reporters commenting on Putin's statement. "I think it's a wrong interpretation as Russia as well as other countries does not intervene in Armenia's internal affairs." The situation in Armenia is awkward for the Russian leadership. It has kept a tight lid on protests in its own country, but is now watching as demonstrations in a close ally are forcing the ruling Armenian elite to make concessions, setting a regional precedent it is unlikely to welcome. Story continues The demonstrations, driven by public anger over perceived political cronyism and corruption, looked to have peaked on Monday when Serzh Sarksyan, a close Putin ally, quit as prime minister, a post he had held for just six days after serving for a decade as president. Demonstrators have made clear they view the whole system as tainted after Sarksyan's sought to shift power to the office of premier from that of president. They want a sweeping political reconfiguration before ending their protests, which continued on Thursday. In a further sign of growing Russian interest in the crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow on Thursday with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian, while Armenia's acting vice premier, Armen Gevorkyan, met Russian presidential administration officials. Pashinyan said on Wednesday he had received assurances from Russian officials that Moscow would not intervene in the crisis. Earlier this week, Pashinyan ruled out challenging the presence of Russian military bases in Armenia or its membership in Russia-led military and economic alliances. 'A PEOPLE'S PRIME MINISTER' Armenia's ruling elite has been scrambling to try to appease the protesters for days. The parliamentary speaker said on Thursday parliament would elect a new interim prime minister on May 1. Pashinyan, a former journalist turned lawmaker who has been instrumental in organising the protests, has demanded the job. "We expect that all forces in the parliament will recognise the people's victory .... Either I will be elected as prime minister or there will be no prime minister elected in Armenia," Pashinyan told protesters gathered in Republic square in central Yerevan. He offered to meet acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Friday. Pashinyan, if elected, wants to reform the electoral system to ensure it is fair before holding new parliamentary elections. "We will have a people's prime minister and after the election a people's government and parliament," said Anna Agababyan, a 38-year-old teacher who was protesting in Yerevan, the capital, on Thursday, holding a small national flag. Armen Sarkissian, the president, on Thursday hailed what he called "a new page" in Armenia's history and called on lawmakers to help forge a new country while respecting the constitution. Pashinyan and his allies have been busy trying to build support for him with the ruling Republican Party and other parties in parliament where Pashinyan, before the protests, was part of a small opposition bloc with no chance of power. (Writing by Andrew Osborn and Margarita Antidze,; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Peter Graff) A translation gaffe has caused a furore in Fiji after promotional video about the island nations native language confused the words "church" and "toilet." The videoa primer on conversational Fijian phrasesquickly went viral after Fijis tourism board posted it on social media. Many users noted that the term "Vale ni Lotu," which in the iTaukei language means a "place of worship" or a church, as the English-language word toilet, Australias ABC broadcaster reported. Outraged and disgusted that an organization like Tourism Fiji would allow the release of a promotional video on their social media platforms without proper vetting or proof reading, opposition leader Ro Teimumu Kepa wrote on Twitter. Trending: E. Coli Symptoms: Outbreak Grows, 84 Sick After Eating Romaine Lettuce A gross insult and humiliation to the first settlers of this country and the people of Fiji. Read More: Fake Starbucks vouchers are spreading on social media after racism scandal It's an insult to Christianity, another user raged. This is a tactic used deliberately to desensitize the sanctity of religion. Don't miss: PUBG Test Server Update Adds Map Selection, SLR & New Car - Patch Notes Many users tweeted at the board, asking to know who is responsible: Who the hell is translating Fijian for you guys?! The tourist board responded quickly, issuing a statement and adding that the social media content of the board has been outsourced. 04_26_Fiji Jason Reed/Reuters Most popular: Dead Hamas Engineer Negotiated North Korean Arms Deals, Spies Say "We would like to apologise for an incorrect translation of an iTaukei word which was posted within a video earlier," Tourism Fiji posted Twitter, after the incident. Story continues We sincerely regret any offence this post may have caused our fellow Fijians. "Our social media is currently undertaken by a firm in Australia," Tourism Fiji CEO Matt Stoeckel, adding that the board is reviewing the processes that led to the post. "As a tourism body, we certainly don't go by the mandate that any publicity is good publicity," he said. "This is publicity that essentially, may have offended Fijians and for that reason we are deeply sorry for any disrespect it's caused and it was not by any means intentioned to get publicity." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek This article originally appeared on the Foundation for Economic Education. Strikes and blockades have spread across France as President Emmanuel Macron spends his time touring Europe with a new EU agenda. The French state-run railway service, SNCF, is currently dealing with massive strikes on both the regional and the high-speed inter-city lines. The unions CGT and SUD-Rail are striking in opposition to any change in the status of SNCF (the public rail service) personnel. It should be noted that government reform is very moderate since current employees of the SNCF hired to that professional status will keep all the benefits and privileges associated with it. The changes are merely affecting new employees. Massive Public Infrastructure Strikes Trending: Michael Avenatti: Trump Made Hugely Damaging Admission That Michael Cohen Represented Him In Stormy Daniels Case 01_05_EmmanuelMacron French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his New Year wishes to the press at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on January 3, 2018. GETTY/Ludovic Marin The labor union activists are equally upset by the liberalization of the rail market which is being initiated by the European Union. Through the "Mobility Pack" coming from Brussels, Paris will be obligated to open regional train travel to competition from next year on. With a highly inefficient public service in this area, the SNCF is right to be worried about the potential price competition on its major lines. As of now, the service is confronted with the fiscal burden of both massive debts and deficits. Given the monopoly on all transport lines, this is actually a phenomenal "achievement. It truly takes a government-run system to produce services that operate this poorly. And yet, SNCF employees seem determined not to let the government change a thing. Out of spite, the union plans to run fewer trains than normal until June. However, when the decision to reduce the number of operating trains was made, the union didnt consider how that might affect their own cause. Story continues After planning a rally in support of these new changes, the union realized that the lack of trains meant fewer people had access to the transportation needed to attend the rally. One union leader commented on this, saying: For this rally, we thought about everything, except the fact that the trains weren't running. You couldn't make it up. Don't miss: How Old Is Melania Trump? Birthday Tweets Are a New Presidential Tradition The strikes in the public railway sector are paired with equally intrusive strike actions on France's publicly held airline AirFrance. After more than nine days of strikes, the board had suggested a deal to the union: 2 percent of salary increase in 2018, then a 5 percent over a period of three years. The union responded by demanding an immediate 5 percent increase and announced that the strike would continue. With AirFrance being one of the few airlines that connect the country by air, and with almost all train lines paralyzed, the behavior of the AirFrance union seems deliberately coordinated. This trade union behavior only seems confirmed by the fact that in a number of cities, union activists blocked the inter-city buses run by private companies. The German bus travel provider Flixbus had seen a massive spike in reservations following the strikes, and even ran ads online, saying "during the strike, take Flixbus!" Being the second-largest strike-friendly country in Europe with 125 days of strikes per 1,000 employees is one thing. Blocking the access of private companies which are merely trying to get people to their workplaces, that is having true resentment for those who work. Universities Blocked by Their Own Students While paid employees decide not to show up for work, unpaid people also go on strike. A number of French universities, notably that of the Sorbonne University in Paris, are being occupied by their own students. Radicalized students are blocking the entrance for professors and other students and hold general assemblies in which they "vote" regularly on continuing their protest. What are they protesting against? They oppose the government's new "Law for the orientation and success of students" (ORE), through which the Macron administration suggests to select students more through their performance in high school. Until now, no qualifications apart from a baccalaureate were needed to get accepted to a university. This, paired with the fact that French students pay virtually no tuition fees and benefit from large student and housing subsidies, has made faculties considerably over-crowded. Most popular: Nearly 60 Percent of Republicans Don't Want a Woman President in Their Lifetime, Poll Finds At a large student protest in the streets of Toulouse, one interviewed student bemoaned the fact that new reforms could lead universities "to choose the students it prefers" and that students that performed better would have better chances. The mere notion of merit seems absolutely foreign to French students. Any form of merit-based system is antithetical to their convictions, which have been built over years on three premises: The government's responsibility is to make people more equal Government interventionism improves society There is a social heritage (welfare) that needs to be protected no matter what Why the Upset? Don't They Already Have Socialism? The reforms on public rail and in the realm of universities are minimal reforms compared to what France would actually need. The protests are more of a power play by trade unions and student groups, to see how far they can push the Macron administration. And in fact, they notice that they can indeed push very far. Strikes that began in early April are still continuing right now. But why isn't a society built on this social-egalitarian mantra promoted by what Bernie Sanders calls "democratic socialism" (we still call it socialism in Europe), so discontent with its benefits? French people get all the perks that the Vermont senator asks for, including government-run health care, pension systems, tuition-free universities. And yet, they spend a fifth of their work-time on the streets, bemoaning the overtaking of the "neoliberal order." Here's the truth: there is no end goal in socialism but to take more and more. No demand is big enough, no social welfare program extensive enough. If you believe that you could satisfy those who argue for any kind of social welfare program by giving it to them, is fundamentally mistaken. On the same side, the result is more devastating for the poorest in society, with larger unemployment, and economic opportunities. Those who fail are unanimously seen as victims of the capitalist system, and those who succeed must have done so through vicious greed and reckless exploitation. This is why the innovators and creators of the world reside in the United States, and not in France. So you want to be more like France? This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek (Reuters) - An explosion at Husky Energy's refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, injured at least 20 people, as smoke billowed into the sky over the facility, a local fire official and local media reported on Thursday. At least 20 people were injured in the incident, the local ABC affiliate reported. A local fire official confirmed the blast. The company was responding to an incident at the refinery and emergency crews were on site, Husky spokesman Mel Duvall said, adding, "We are aware an individual has been transported to the hospital." Roads around the refinery have been blocked and employees evacuated, local media reported. "It shook our store. Everyone was wondering what was going on. You could see the lights flickered, it knocked out one of our computers, it shook the ceiling," said Tammie Carroll, an employee at Super One Foods in Superior. Husky had purchased the 38,000 barrel per day refinery from Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP last year. Husky shares were down more than 3 percent at C$18.43 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru and Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Scott Malone) See Also: FILE PHOTO: Peru's former President Ollanta Humala leaves the Nationalist Party headquarters in Lima FILE PHOTO: Peru's former President Ollanta Humala leaves the Nationalist Party headquarters in Lima, Peru, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo/File Photo LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's top court ruled that ex-President Ollanta Humala and his wife must be freed from jail, where they have been spent the past nine months awaiting trial over money laundering allegations that they deny, the president of the court said on Thursday. Ernesto Blume warned that the use of "preventive prison," or pre-trial detention, must not be overused as the country grapples with its biggest corruption scandal in nearly two decades. Humala and former first lady Nadine Heredia are two of several politicians, former government officials and business leaders who have been jailed pending trial in connection with Odebrecht, a Brazilian builder that has admitted to paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes across Latin America. "Preventive prison is not the general rule but an exception," Blume said as he announced the court's decision. The court "must guarantee the right to personal liberty as well as the presumption of innocence." The comments were a rare rebuke of the work of public prosecutors amid widespread outrage over Odebrecht's bribes, and the ruling could mark a precedent as criminal investigations continue against other former presidents and politicians. "We have to be very careful." Blume added. "Media justice is not justice. The only way to strengthen institutions and fight against corruption coherently is by acting constitutionally." Former President Alejandro Toledo has been fighting extradition from the United States to serve up to 18 months in preventive prison over allegations he took a $20 million bribe from Odebrecht. Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who resigned amid mounting graft allegations last month, has been barred from leaving the country while his ties to the company are probed. Opposition leader Keiko Fujimori and her right-wing party are also under investigation. Humala, Heredia, Fujimori, Toledo and Kuczynski all deny wrongdoing. Story continues Prosecutors accused Humala and Heredia, who was the leader of Humala's nationalist party, of taking $3 million in illicit funds from Odebrecht to finance Humala's 2011 campaign. They argued the couple might flee or obstruct their work unless jailed. But as Humala and Heredia languished in prison without any formal charges against them, some in Peru argued their jailing was unfair, especially as other political leaders, such as Humala's former rival Fujimori, remained free. Blume stressed the court was not weighing in on the accusations against Humala and Heredia and that the couple will have to comply with court-mandated restrictions while investigations continue. Humala had been sharing a prison with Fujimori's father, former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, until December, when Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori amid a political crisis. (Reporting By Mitra Taj and Ana Maria Cervantes; Editing by Dan Grebler) Raeanna Rosencrans Police in Colorado have launched a major appeal to help find a missing 12-year-old girl who is believed to have been abducted as she walked home from school. Raeanna Rosencrans, described as developmentally delayed, but high functioning, was last seen around 3 p.m. on Wednesday (April 25) getting into a green boxy sedan in the area of D 1/2 Rd and Larrys Meadow, Grand Junction. Trending: Remains of 140 Children Who Had Their Hearts Ripped Out Suggests Largest Child Sacrifice Event in History Police said the car was being driven by a white male, late 40s to early 50s, bald, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8 inches, medium build, wearing a green button down shirt and dark pants. The man inside the vehicle reportedly called Raeanna by her name before she got into the car. Following discussions with the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, the Grand Junction Police Department raised the search for Raeanna to an Amber Alert. Don't miss: Hearthstone Monster Hunt Guide: How to Slay Hagatha Raeanna is 12-years-old, 5 feet 1 inch, 137 pounds, blue eyes and light brown/dark blonde hair. She was last seen wearing black jeans, a black shirt with white designs, Adidas shoes, and carrying a black and white backpack with southwest designs on it. Raeanna Rosencrans Grand Junction Police Department Detectives with the Grand Junction Police Department, as well as partnering agencies, have worked through the night, and are continuing to work to follow up on tips and develop leads into the whereabouts of Raeanna Rosencrans, officers said in a statement. We appreciate the assistance of the public and media in continuing to share information about this investigation. Most popular: Einstein's 'Spooky Action': Bizarre Quantum Phenomenon Demonstrated on Massive Scale in World First Jennifer Marsh, principal of Grand Mesa Middle School, wrote to parents to confirm the 12-year-old attended school the day she was allegedly abducted, reports KJCT. Story continues Students are likely to hear rumors about what happened, but rumors can be hurtful and untrue, and spreading any information that is not confirmed by law enforcement is harmful, the letter adds. The information above is all of the information we have at this time. Parents, students, and staff will experience a range of emotions during this time. Please encourage your child to come to the counseling office at any time if they need to talk. Extra counseling will be available at the school as long as students need it. We will also provide you any updates we receive. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Singapores last polar bear was euthanized at the Singapore Zoo in Mandai on Wednesday, April 25, despite extensive efforts to save his life, the zoo announced. The bear, named Inuka, suffered from age-related ailments such as arthritis, dental issues and occasional ear infections for the past five years, a zoo spokesman said. Zoo vets decided to euthanize the 27-year-old bear after his declining health failed to significantly improve over the last month, despite various treatments. Further treatment would have prolonged his suffering, Dr Cheng Wen-Haur told Channel NewsAsia. This video shows Inuka at the zoo on April 24 in the final hours before his death. Credit: Wildlife Reserves Singapore via Storyful By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal judge rejected the University of California at Berkeley's bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it discriminated against conservative speakers like Ann Coulter by imposing unreasonable restrictions and fees on their appearances. In a decision late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney in San Francisco said two conservative groups could pursue claims that the school applied its "high-profile speaker" and "major events" policies in a manner that unfairly suppressed conservative speech. But the judge also said she was "unpersuaded" by claims that the school engaged in intentional viewpoint discrimination, and said the plaintiffs could not seek punitive damages. The Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America's Foundation, a Tennessee group, had sued after the university canceled Coulter's scheduled speech last April 27, citing security concerns. UC Berkeley is known as the birthplace of the student-led Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. Like other schools, it has tried to welcome different views without jeopardizing safety or its educational mission. Spokespeople and lawyers for the school did not immediately respond on Thursday to requests for comment. University of California President Janet Napolitano is also a defendant. The major events policy was adopted in July, and gave school officials discretion to take various steps to ensure security. While saying the policy was not too vague, Chesney said the plaintiffs may pursue an equal protection claim over a security fee charged for an appearance by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro that was well above a fee at the same venue for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, part of the court's liberal bloc. "It is good news that the case is going forward," Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview on Thursday. "The First Amendment is a core constitutional principle, and every government policy that restricts, censors or bars otherwise legal speech is unconstitutional." Story continues The case is Young America's Foundation et al v Napolitano et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 17-02255. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) See Also: Donald Trump will "definitely" visit London during his upcoming trip to Britain, the US ambassador to the UK has insisted. Woody Johnson said the prospect of widespread protests during the working visit on 13 July will not deter the US President from spending time in the capital. There have been reports Mr Trump would spend most of his time outside of London to avoid demonstrations, with even conservative backers of the US leader urging him to stay away because of the risk of "major protests, crime and disorder". But speaking to LBC, Mr Johnson said: "He's very thick-skinned. He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians. "Most politicians don't weigh it out the way he does and so he is going to get a lot of criticism for that as people interpret where he is taking everything. "But I think in the end, people are starting to, even now, realise that where he is going is a good direction." The ambassador said it would be "all hands on deck" as preparations are made for the trip, adding: "He will definitely be coming to London." Mr Johnson said exactly who Mr Trump will meet during the visit was still being finalised. Although the trip is being billed as a "flying visit" rather than an official state one, which would have seen Mr Trump hosted by the Queen, the President will still reportedly meet Her Majesty on the 24-hour trip. Mr Johnson said Mr Trump "really wants" to meet the Queen, adding: "I think he has a really positive view, he knows that the value-added of the royal family and what they bring to the table is enormous. "You can really see it from an American perspective maybe even clearer than you can see it here." It will be Mr Trump's first visit to Britain since he was elected in 2016. He had been due to open the new US Embassy in London in February, but cancelled. Story continues Theresa May's spokesman said the US President will hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister, with further details to be "set out in due course". Boris Johnson - who once said he would not go to New York because of the "real risk of meeting Donald Trump" - hailed the "fantastic" news. "Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the GREATest visit ever," the Foreign Secretary wrote on Twitter. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whom Mr Trump criticised for his response to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack, said if the President visits the capital he "will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear". Mr Khan added: "He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear." Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson has urged that the "scaled down trip not be met with scaled down protests". "Protesting against a man with dangerous, misogynistic and racist views is our responsibility," she said. "It is our opportunity to stand in solidarity with all the people he has abused and denigrated." US Coast Guard US Navy go-fast smuggling drug bust The US Coast Guard, US Navy, and Colombian navy caught a go-fast boat in the Pacific earlier this month. After putting out a fire on board it, they rescued over 1,000 pounds of cocaine. The eastern Pacific Ocean is a major transit hub for drugs headed to the US. Members of the US Coast Guard, US Navy, US Customs and Border Patrol, as well as the Colombian navy, intercepted a go-fast boat laden with cocaine in the eastern Pacific Ocean earlier this month. The various forces fought a fire on the smuggling vessel before off-loading more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine. A CBP Air and Marine Operations P-3 patrol aircraft spotted the boat, technically called a low-profile go-fast vessel, in the waters of the eastern Pacific on April 7. Go-fast boats are specially made vessels, typically made of fiberglass, designed to carry large quantities of drugs with a low surface profile, which helps them avoid visual or radar detection. The crew on the P-3 reported the go-fast boat to the Joint Interagency Task Force-South, which directed the crew of the US Navy coastal patrol ship USS Zephyr to make an intercept. After spotting the Zephyr, the crew of the go-fast boat began to throw their cargo overboard. They then jumped overboard themselves when their boat caught fire. US Coast Guard Navy go-fast smuggling boat drug bust fire US Customs and Border Protection A US Coast Guard law-enforcement team launched from the Zephyr caught up with the go-fast boat and rescued four suspected smugglers. Coast Guard and Navy personnel then fought the fire aboard the suspected smuggling vessel, extinguishing it in about 90 minutes, according to a Coast Guard release. Coast Guard personnel and other US law-enforcement personnel were then able to recover about 1,080 pounds of what is believed to be cocaine. The Colombian navy ship 07 de Agosto arrived during the recovery to assist with documenting the case. The go-fast boat, which was severely damaged, was intentionally sunk. "There was no doubt in our minds what needed to be done to salvage the evidence needed for a successful prosecution even if it meant laying Zephyr alongside a burning hull, with the intense heat and acrid smoke hindering our 90-minute firefight," Lt. Cmdr. Grant Greenwell, commanding officer of the Zephyr, said in the release. Story continues 'We're basically giving all of this illegal activity a free pass' The waters of the Pacific along South and Central America have become a particularly busy venue for traffickers. Colombia, the only South American country with both Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, is the world's largest producer of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine. (Bolivia and Peru are the only other major producers.) US Coast Guard go-fast smuggling boat drug bust rescue US Coast Guard Traffickers typically launch from secluded areas on the Pacific coast in Colombia, Ecuador, or Peru and head north. Limited government presence and corruption allow traffickers and criminal groups to operate with relative freedom in these areas, particularly in the coastal areas and inland waterways in western Colombia. In recent years, trafficking routes have moved farther out, sometimes going around the Galapagos Islands, likely to avoid detection in waters closer to shore. "During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel is initially located and tracked by US and allied, military or law enforcement personnel," the Coast Guard said in its release. "The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are conducted by Coast Guard members." The cargoes that make it through are typically off-loaded somewhere in Central America Coast Rica in particular has become a busy drug-transit hub and then they're moved up the coast via another ship or overland through Central America and Mexico toward the US border. More than 90% of the cocaine that makes it to the US comes through the Central America/Mexico corridor, though there are signs that traffickers are trying to increase production in Central America itself. US Coast Guard go-fast boat drug bust fire US Customs and Border Protection The US and international partners have stepped up their operations in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, including Operation Martillo, a US, European, and Western Hemisphere initiative launched in 2012, and through the US Coast Guard's Western Hemisphere strategy, which started in 2014. The US Coast Guard has warned repeatedly in recent years that its resources fall short of what is needed to fulfill its interdiction responsibilities in the US's southern maritime approaches. "In 2014, we knew where about 80% to 85% of the activity was taking place, to include when a go-fast [boat] was leaving Colombia or Ecuador or somewhere in Central America with a shipment ultimately destined for the United States," Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft told Business Insider in December. "But on the best of days we could probably put a ship over next to and a plane above maybe 10% of that 80% to 85%. We're basically giving all of this illegal activity a free pass." Zukunft said the ultimate goal was deter traffickers and the people who sign on to transport drugs and contraband. "We want these smugglers to look at that same risk calculus and say, 'You know, you can't pay me enough to move a shipment of illegal drugs, because I don't want to get arrested. I don't want to spend the next 10-plus years of my life in a US prison, where I'm severed from my family in isolation.'" NOW WATCH: Here's what $1 billion worth of cocaine looks like See Also: Specialist medical imaging technology company Feedback has signed a new agreement with Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, for its Cadran picture archiving communication system (PACS), which provides decision support for scan analysis. The two-year agreement has been signed by Feedback's subsidiary company, Feedback Medical Limited, to support and maintain the existing Cadran PACS system. The Trust is due to move from the existing site in Papworth Everard to a new custom-built hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus during 2018. The new agreement will provide continued support for the existing systems and data management and will ensure a smooth transition and continuity of service as the Trust moves to the new Papworth Hospital. Feedback said the agreement further supports its mission to create and supply evidence-based imaging software, arming clinicians with innovative tools to improve patient outcomes. Feedback Medical has been providing PACS technology and support to the Trust for over 15 years and was involved in the early development of digital image management for radiology scans as the implementation of PACS was rolled out within the UK's National Health Service (NHS). Chief executive officer David Crabb said: "The development of the new site and facilities is an exciting new chapter in the history of the world-leading expertise of Royal Papworth Hospital and we are pleased to be part of this journey." At 0930 BST, the shares were up 2.6% to 3p. Marketing and PR group Porta Communications announced a boardroom rejig on Friday as the company plans to merge two parts of its UK operation. Group chief executive Steffan Williams has left the group with immediate effect and will cease to be a director by 5 May at the very latest. Emma Kane, chief executive of Redleaf Communications, and Brian Tyson, managing partner of Newgate Australia, have been appointed as joint chief executives of Porta and will respectively manage the groups UK and Australian businesses. Kane will be tasked with combining Newgate and Redleafs UK operations as she founded the latter company in 2000 and successfully oversaw the integration of PR agency Polhill into the business in 2010. Chairman John Foley said: Redleaf has been a great acquisition for Porta and it now makes absolute strategic sense to combine the business with Newgate and create an enlarged business to capitalise on the expertise and proven track records of the exceptional people at both firms. The combination of Newgate and Redleaf will spawn a company with over 100 employees and offices in London, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, while the wider Newgate network includes other offices in Europe, Australia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East. Tyson, meanwhile, will continue his work with Newgate Australia, which has become the largest and most profitable part of the group since Tyson oversaw the conception of the business in 2013. In Australia, from start up five years ago with a core group of 8 people in offices in Sydney and Melbourne, the business now has more than 100 professional staff and opened additional offices in Canberra, Brisbane and Perth, said Foley. Together, Brian and Emma will give us the leadership we need on both sides of the world to help roll out an integrated offering in our major markets, by learning from each other, replicating the specialist skills and services that exist in some markets, and adopting best practice in all markets to the benefit of clients internationally, said Foley. As of 0930 BST, Porta Communications shares were up 15.56% at 2.60p. US President Donald Trump has implored the United Nations to ditch bureaucracy in order to maximise its potential. Making a speech ahead of his first appearance at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump also said that it was unfair that the US pays 28.5% of the organisations peacekeeping bill. "It has not reached its potential because of the bureaucracy and mismanagement," Trump told those in attendance at UN headquarters in New York.. "Focus more on people, less on bureaucracy," Trump added. The former reality television host said the UN should abandon its 'business-as-usual' approach, and called on member states to take a bold stand against its current operations. Trump repeatedly criticised the UN during his presidential campaign, commenting on the bodys 'utter weakness and incompetence' ahead of his election victory last year. All eyes will be on the US President on Tuesday as he makes his first address to UN delegates, particularly after a turbulent few months in which the nuclear threat from North Korea has increased significantly. Trump has talked tough on Pyongyang in recent weeks, promising to bring fire and fury if Kim Jong-uns regime steps out of line with its missile tests. HICL Infrastructure Company announce the completion of two investments on Friday - one in Diamond Transmission Partners BBE, and another in its existing joint venture company with Kajima Partnerships. The FTSE 250 firm said Diamond Transmission Partners, in which it held a 50% interest, would acquire the transmission assets associated with the Burbo Bank Extension Windfarm located in Liverpool Bay on Friday. It said the transaction was part of Tender Round 4 of Ofgem's Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) programme. HICL announced its status as preferred bidder for the OFTO in July last year, alongside its partner, Diamond Transmission Corporation - a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corporation. Under the OFTO regime, Diamond Transmission Partners takes ownership of the operational transmission asset and receives contractual, availability-based revenues over a 20-year period, the HICL board said in its statement. Diamond Transmission Partners does not have exposure to construction risk, electricity production or power price risk. Renewable Energy Systems (RES) will provide certain operations and maintenance services for DTP under a long-term subcontract. The second investment was in HICL's existing joint venture company with Kajima Partnerships, in which it held a 75% interest, which acquired the Belfast Metropolitan College private finance initiative project from the Titanic Property Development Group. HICL said the project was a 27-year public-private partnership project that involved the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of a further and higher education college and associated basement car park. The project was signed in April 2009 and had been fully operational since August 2011. Soft and hard facilities management services were undertaken by Amey Community under a subcontract for the remaining life of the concession. The HICL Group's total investment in the two acquisitions was 16.3m, which was funded from HICL's cash resources, the board said. The investments formed part of HICL's planned funding commitments and therefore were included within the forecast drawings on the revolving credit facility, as announced in February 2018, of approximately 130m at 31 March. Police in Colorado are currently searching for missing 12-year-old Raeanna Rosencrans. Rosencrans was last seen on Wednesday, April 25 in Grand Junction, Colorado. According to the New York Post, police said that Rosencrans was likely abducted by an unidentified male around 3 PM The male suspect has been described as middle-aged (in his forties or fifties), balding, and of medium build with a height somewhere between 5'7" and 5'8". The man apparently called Raeanna by name before she entered his vehicle near her home at D 1/2 Road and Larry's Meadow. The authorities believe that Raeanna is most likely in some kind of danger and would like the general public to be on the lookout for her. Rosencrans was last seen wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt with some white configurations on it, and a pair of white Adidas shoes. Rosencrans, who has been listed at 5'1" tall and weighing 135 pounds, was also wearing a black backpack with white designs on it. On their Facebook account, the Grand Junction Police Department claimed that they have called in other law enforcement agencies in order to help them find Raeanna. The Colorado Bureau of Investigations has already issued an Amber Alert for the missing girl, as well. Grand Junction police officers would like anyone with any information regarding Raeanna to call a tip line at (970) 242-8206. Few details So far, little has been published about Raeanna Rosencrans. Besides what she was wearing yesterday, investigators also know that the suspect, who Raeanna appears to have known, picked her up as she walked home from school. FOX31 in Denver has also reported that the suspect's car has been described as "boxy." The one picture that has been released of the 12-year-old shows a girl with strawberry blonde hair and a fair complexion. Frightening statistics Child abductions are far more common in the United States than most realize. According to Parents Magazine, a child is abducted or goes missing every forty seconds. In 2001, the FBI found that as high as 90-percent of all missing person cases in the US involve children. A majority of these cases (about 49-percent) can be described as family kidnappings. These crimes involve family members abducting their own relatives for various reasons. The second most common type of kidnapping is an acquaintance kidnapping, which involves friends or acquaintances kidnapping people they know. The most fearsome type of abduction, the "stranger kidnapping," occurs about 24-percent of the time. It appears likely that the case of Raeanna Rosencrans falls either into the family or acquaintance kidnapping categories. However, federal law enforcement studies have shown that 80-percent of stranger kidnappings occur within a quarter mile of the victim's home. This fits with what we know about Raeanna's abduction. The one good news here is that only one out of every 10,000 missing children is found dead after the disappearance is first reported. However, the longer a person goes missing, the likelihood of a fatality increases. It was just last week in Nashville, Tennessee when a gunman opened fire inside a Waffle House restaurant that resulted in four people being killed. After days of silence, the White House has finally responded in the form of a tweet by Vice President Mike Pence. Tragic shooting in Tennessee earlier this week. Thanks James Shaw Jr. for your courageous actions to save lives and your continued efforts to help others. Youre an American HERO! https://t.co/vyA6B3N1eu Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 26, 2018 Pence on Waffle House It happened early Sunday morning around 3:30 a.m. in Nashville, Tennessee when 29-year-old Travis Jeffrey Reinking walked into a Waffle House wearing only a green jacket and arming himself with an AR-15-style rifle. Over the course of the next few minutes, Reinking opened fire, killing four and injuring four others before civilian James Shaw Jr. rushed at the shooter while wrestling away the weapon. Reinking then fled the scene before being captured 34-hours later by law enforcement. Since then, Shaw has refused to accept the label of a hero, despite helping to raise over $150,000 for the families of the victims. In the days that have followed, Donald Trump has not offered a comment through Twitter or via a presidential statement. With the silence in the White House, Mike Pence took time to tweet out his thoughts on April 26. "Tragic shooting in Tennessee earlier this week," Pence tweeted. "Thanks James Shaw Jr. for your courageous actions to save lives and your continued efforts to help others," he wrote, before concluding, "You're an American HERO!" As expected, it didn't take long before critics of the administration decided to sound off with opposition. Twitter reacts Following Mike Pence's tweet about the Waffle House shooting and James Shaw, those who oppose current White House made sure not to hold back with their own thoughts. "What took you so long? You have tweeted over and over again re: tax cuts and birthday wishes since then. But until now, not a single tweet about the Waffle House massacre by the white guy with the AR-15," one tweet read. What took you so long, and why hasnt the president acknowledged this hero? Oh yeah, the hero is black and the shooter is white. Ralph Feaster (@ralphfeaster) April 26, 2018 Wow was he on the bottom of your to do list? Almost a week later. Crystal Kia-Paul (@AlohaCrystal) April 26, 2018 Took your administration nearly a week to mention this. Guess it didnt fit the agenda. Jeff (@jamfan40) April 26, 2018 "Took your administration nearly a week to mention this. Guess it didnt fit the agenda," a Twitter user wrote. "What took you so long, and why hasnt the president acknowledged this hero? Oh yeah, the hero is black and the shooter is white," another tweet stated in reference to Donald Trump's silence on the issue. "What took the white house so long to recognize this hero? Trump mentions a hero French cop at his conf but no mention of our hero..could it be because he's black?" an additional tweet added. What took the white house so long to recognize this hero? Trump mentions a hero French cop at his conf but no mention of our hero..could it be bc he's black? Patti Ann (@pattiparalegal) April 26, 2018 Are you just learning this????? Wanna let your boss know? Beth Patton Kauten (@kauten_beth) April 26, 2018 What took you so long?? You have tweeted over and over again re: tax cuts and birthday wishes since then. But until now, not a single tweet about the Waffle House massacre by the white guy with the AR-15. I guess better late than never.. Wheres Donny, too?#WaffleHouseHero Artie Vandelay (@ArtieVandelay1) April 26, 2018 "Took you long enough! Where's POTUS response?" a social media user wondered. "Are you just learning this????? Wanna let your boss know?" a follow-up tweet read. News out of London on April 25 was supposed to be good news for women something for them to celebrate. But if you think about it, elation won't necessarily be your state of mind. See what you think. A report by Art Daily provided much of the information shared in this article. A bronze statue by British artist Gillian Wearing was unveiled on a piece of prime real estate in London opposite the Parliament building to honor Millicent Fawcett, who got the women of England the right to vote a century ago. No other statue of a woman has stood on the site, which is filled with 11 male figures from history, like Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela. Given the momentousness of Fawcett's achievement, why did it take 100 years to acknowledge her with statuary? Heroine worship At the unveiling, British Prime Minister Theresa May didn't seem to notice the century-long time lapse and spoke only of her gratitude to Fawcett: I would not be here today as prime minister, no female MP's would have taken their seats in parliament, none of us would have the rights we now enjoy. The struggle to achieve votes for women was long and arduous. Does that make you glad, ladies? Are any of you asking why there was a struggle in the first place? Why now? These questions mounted when the prime minister noted that Fawcett faced fierce opposition. Again, why was a struggle necessary. Why weren't women allowed to vote? The same question goes to the struggle in the US. What made women so unworthy in the voting booth that special arduous efforts had to be exerted to allow them in? Long haul And even today, Fawcett statue wasn't easy to bring off. Petitions advocating it had to be circulated for two years! Courage Calls To Courage Everywhere, says the placard held by the statue. Why must courage be mustered to get a right to vote or to get a statue of a woman on Parliament Square? Are you getting this the silliness of it all? Who decided that women weren't up to the task of voting? And what was the reasoning? The art world offers clues. Art historian Karl Scheffler wrote of women asbeasts without souls. Edgar Degas called them "animals." And Picasso got the message about female beastliness when he painted Woman with Stiletto, which pictures a hungry cavernous mouth. Joan Miro joined in with his painting Head of a Woman baring pterodactyl-like teeth. Founding father speaks When Thomas Jefferson said, We hold these truths To be self-evident," he was talking about equality. But such truths haven't been as obvious as he suggested - even to him. Didn't he get his daughter's teenage chambermaid pregnant? Likely, women should be as grateful as the British prime minister is about the statue of Fawcett in Parliament Square. But I'm not. There's such a thing as taking too long to apologize. At long last, the much-awaited meeting between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in is taking place in the demilitarized zone. Radio NZ reports that Kim is accompanied by his sister Kim Yo-jong, who led the North's delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Kim and Moon shook hands on both sides of the border and were met by a guard of honor in traditional costume on the South Korean side. The talks will be held in the Peace House in Panmunjom. All eyes will be focused on this historic event between North Korea and South Korea which is expected to herald in peace in the korean peninsula. This meeting will set the stage for the summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un for which the date and venue are yet to be finalized. The agenda for that summit will be denuclearization of the North. The tentative program CNN adds that the meeting will begin in the morning and after the lunch break, the two leaders will plant a pine tree using a composite soil from different mountains of South Korea and North Korea to express their good intentions. A banquet is also on the cards with a menu consisting of cuisine from both the sides. The main item on the agenda will be the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, along with improving bilateral relations. Kim Jong-un had set the tone by reactivating the hotline in January. Moon Jae-in reciprocated by inviting his neighbor to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. He has been hoping to reunify the two Koreas. If that really happens, it will be a major achievement. Signs are positive Kim Jong-un has indicated his willingness to suspend programs related to nuclear weapons. His continued missile launches and claims of having the ability to reach the US mainland with nuclear-tipped missiles had led to global tensions. That resulted in the imposition of sanctions on his regime that would have affected the economy. China is the main ally of North Korea and trade with it has collapsed due to sanctions. Apparently, Kim has to sacrifice something to survive. This could be a reason for the leader of North Korea to have had second thoughts on his nuclear ambitions. He appears to be in a mood to come out of isolation and join the mainstream. South Korea is an ally of the United States, and the inter-Korean summit is expected to set the pace for the more important summit between Kim and Donald Trump. The main objective is to bring peace to the Korean peninsula. Virginia Tech's College of Engineering inducted six new members at its 19th annual Academy of Engineering Excellence. The academy consists of 152 alumni out of Virginia Tech's approximately 67,000 living engineering alumni who have achieved exceptional career successes. The alumni who are inducted into the academy are standouts in their respective careers, embodying the character and caliber of engineers we aspire to produce at Virginia Tech, said Julia Ross, Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. This year, were excited to see prestigious alumni from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, reflecting the broadening of the field of engineering as a whole. The academy inductees are: Dan Sable, of Blacksburg, Virginia Jeff Babione, of Colleyville, Texas Kevin T. Crofton, of Bristol, United Kingdom Lucy Nowell, of Highland, Maryland Kirk H. Schulz, of Pullman, Washington Dushan Boroyevich, of Blacksburg, Virginia The academy was founded in 1999 by F. William Stephenson, former dean of the College of Engineering and by the college's advisory board. 2018 Academy of Engineering Excellence inductees: Fifteen Virginia Tech faculty, undergraduates, and graduate engineering students will travel to Yuma, Arizona with an autonomous vehicle they built for the first-ever AutoDrive Challenge Competition, happening April 30-May 5, 2018, and sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) and General Motors. Virginia Tech is one of eight schools in the United States and Canada to be selected to compete. This isnt the first iteration of the team: 11 years ago, a Virginia Tech team called Victor Tango began working on autonomous vehicle technology and competed in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge. The autonomous vehicle was one of three vehicles in the competition to successfully traverse across a 60-mile terrain through challenging obstacles. Virginia Tech began a partnership with Torc in 2005. Together, they have been improving autonomous vehicle technology since. Building on what was started by Victor Tango, professors in the College of Engineering helped launch the Virginia Tech AutoDrive team in August 2017. Al Wicks, associate professor of mechanical engineering, along with several other faculty members, pitched the team to SAE. Because of Virginia Techs previous success in the DARPA competitions, the team was selected to compete. This new team is composed of about 60 undergraduate students studying a wide range of disciplines primarily engineering, computer science, and business. 1. Yes. There should be absolute certainty that the election was free and fair. 2. Yes. The audit could and should lead to stronger laws governing elections in the state. 3. No. Former President Trump wants the audit to further cast doubt on the 2020 vote. 4. No. Its a waste of money, an attempt by Abbott to gain favor among Trump backers. 5. Unsure. It seems unnecessary but it may provide some worthwhile findings. Vote View Results Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV. Read More Man working at Hazel elevator dies after 50-foot fall 50-year old man fell to his death while working on an elevator. Babies will race for the crown and pets will compete in their regal attire during the 2018 Albuquerque Renaissance Faire. The debut of the Crawl to the Crown baby race will take place at the faire on Saturday, April 28, at Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. Parents and guardians with crawling babies can enter their wee ones for free. Babies will take to the battlefield on their hands and knees, and try to outcrawl the competition for rights to the crown at 2 p.m. Just prior to the crawl race will be a pet fashion show at 1:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their pets dressed in their best Renaissance attire. The fashion show has become quite popular at the faire, according to Bree Ortiz, events and operations manager for the city of Albuquerque. It is free to sign up pets to enter the fashion show. Prizes will be awarded. Colorados Order of Epona will put on jousting shows. They put on a few 30-minute jousting shows, Ortiz said. Its a skit. The horses are huge. Its really fun, really entertaining and it draws a really big crowd. The city of Albuquerque also partners with the Society for Creative Anachronism local chapter to conduct Renaissance re-enactments. They put on all the era-appropriate educational pieces for us, so theyll have a whole village, and they really have displays and re-enactments of kind of how it was in the Renaissance era, Ortiz said. They also are the ones who oversee the battlefield and do all the battles. Inside (the balloon museum), we have living history, which is a lot of displays; theres games, fiber arts, they have a scribal section. Its not only fun. Its very educational. There are plenty of childrens activities and adults can enjoy libations from several New Mexico breweries. Local wine and spirit offerings also will be available. About 15 food vendors will offer faire favorites people have come to love, including turkey legs, meat pies, Celtic baked goods and shortbread, desserts and kettle corn. Some vendors also will be getting creative with their offerings. Some of them are just theming it really cute, Ortiz said. Like theres a Kings Plate thats a leg of lamb, potatoes and vegetables. A Queens Plate, which is smoked chicken, potatoes and vegetables. Weve asked all the food vendors to theme it up and make it really cute. Theres cheese platters and Bratwurst. Theres something for everybody. An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty Thursday in a July 2017 beating that left his 11-day-old daughter with 26 fractures, according to the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office. Larry Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree child abuse before state District Judge Benjamin Chavez. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces 18 years in prison at sentencing, which has not been set. According to court documents, hospital staff contacted police when the child was brought in with bruises on her chest, back, foot and genitals. Her father told police that he was cooking macaroni when he heard the newborn crying. He said he carried the pot of water with him as he went to check on her, and dropped it on her chest. The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday announced it is installing temporary mailbox units in Pie Town until a new location for a full service post office can be identified. This measure comes just before todays deadline previously announced by the USPS for suspending service at Pie Towns only post office, which a maintenance inspection found to be unsafe and beyond repair. Installation of the temporary mailbox units also bypasses the need for Pie Town residents to travel 22 miles to Datil to receive and send mail. The mailboxes are being installed outside the current post office building at 17 Frontage Road. P.O. box customers with valid identification may obtain keys for their temporary boxes at the post office today from 8 a.m. to noon, and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Starting Monday, keys can be obtained from 8 a.m. to noon on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays. A public meeting on a site location for a new Post Office will be held Wednesday, May 9, starting 5 p.m. at the Pie Town Community Center, 6 Beanery Road. The USPS previously said they intended to install the temporary mailboxes, but they didnt offer a timeline until the Thursday announcement. Catron County Commissioner Anita Hand, whose district includes Pie Town and Datil, said Thursday that she was pleased that the temporary mailboxes are being installed so quickly and that residents of Pie Town wont have to travel to Datil for their mail services. I had hoped the USPS would hold off on closing the post office in Pie Town until a new one could be built, Hand said. If they knew for years that the building was falling apart, whats another year? She also said she had concerns that the cluster boxes might be seen by USPS as an adequate and permanent replacement for a full-service post office. However, after having recent conversations with the senior real estate specialist for the USPS, Greg Shelton, who is based in Denver, Hand said, Im cautiously optimistic that they will build a new post office, Hand said. She added that Shelton was expected to be at the May 9 meeting in Pie Town. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal When Joseph Romero walked into Costco last month, it appears he was looking to get his hands on more than free samples or a 96-roll pack of toilet paper. The 57-year-old man is behind bars after police say he hid in the hardware section of the Costco warehouse store near Interstate 25 and Montano until past closing time and made off with more than $80,000 in diamonds and other goods. Romero is charged with commercial burglary and felony shoplifting in the heist. However, the accused jewel thief picked up additional charges of robbery and attempt escape from the custody of a police officer when deputies say they caught him in a stolen car outside a northwest Albuquerque grocery store and he later tried to escape from the hospital after complaining of chest pains during his arrest. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, police responded to a report of a burglary at Costco on March 31. Police say the store alarm had been tripped the night before but responding officers found nothing amiss and left, only to return the next morning after an employee found a jewelry case shattered and high dollar diamonds missing. The complaint said Romero is seen on surveillance footage entering the store with another man around 8 p.m. the night before. Police say the men browsed the jewelry cases as if they were window shopping before walking around the store at some point Romero is seen walking down the hardware aisle before he stops and disappears. Police believe Romero hid until the store was closed and empty of employees while the other man, who has not been identified, stayed in the store until an employee escorted him out when the store closed at 8:30 p.m. The complaint states Romero emerged after the store closed and headed to the jewelry cases, where he struggled to break the glass over several attempts. Its unknown what was used to break the glass, but he was eventually successful, an officer wrote. Police say Romero tried, and failed, to break into another jewelry case before stealing some phones and walking out the front door with $82,000 worth of merchandise. Police released surveillance footage to Crime Stoppers and a tipster called in identifying Romero, who has a distinctive hair line, as the burglar. Romero remained free until deputies were called to a Smiths grocery store in northwest Albuquerque on Tuesday afternoon. There, police say, Romero tried to walk out with a cart full of merchandise worth more than $1,000. When a Smiths employee confronted him, Romero said he had a pistol and reached for his waistband as he left the store, the complaint said. Deputies say they found Romero with two others inside a stolen car in the parking lot. Two Smiths bags in the back seat had over $200 in shoplifted items. Police said Romero complained of chest pains during his arrest and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he tried to escape. When asked if the diamonds were returned, Costco officials declined to comment. Weather in high-elevation terrain makes northern New Mexico a challenging place to grow an orchard with apples, apricots, cherries or peaches for market. Such a landscape creates significant daily temperature swings with frosts occurring late into the spring, resulting in challenging conditions for fruit growing. Changes in climate patterns add to these challenges. In particular, warm periods arrive earlier in the spring, causing the budding process in fruit trees to start earlier. This leads to two disadvantages for the tree: first, warmer nights can prevent internal processes in plants that harden the buds to withstand late-season frosts. In a compounding effect, the less hardy buds still have to contend with late-season frosts. In Albuquerque and Santa Fe, for example, there is no evidence that the last frost date is moving earlier in the year. Local fruit growers, such as Chris Bassett of Freshies of New Mexico in Velarde and Tim Seaman of Manzanar Los Silvestres in Abiquiu, watch weather reports and take steps to nurse their orchards through those cold spring nights after the plants have started budding. Using software developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, work is being done to measure and predict frost events to help farmers such as Bassett and Seaman protect against frost damage, and improve crop health and yield. This work is funded by the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program, a state of New Mexico tax credit for national laboratories to assist New Mexico small businesses. The NMSBA program allows for-profit small businesses in New Mexico that are facing a technical challenge to access the unique expertise and capabilities of Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories at no cost to the company. Frost damages a plant when its tissue temperature falls below a certain threshold. So the first step in detecting frost damage is to determine if and where this threshold is occurring for all plants at the farm. Scientists do this using atmospheric dynamics and plant biophysics models that take into consideration the complicated processes associated with the carbon, water and the energy cycles of a plant, as well as the local landscape. The next step of frost damage detection is to understand the localized climatic variations in the immediate vicinity of the farm its microclimate. The surrounding topography and vegetation, among other factors, influence a microclimate, including how cold air moves and potentially lingers in a specific area. By using weather sensors and instruments to measure factors such as air temperature, wind speed, light availability, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity, researchers are able to monitor and simulate the microclimate of a farm. These simulations are derived from Los Alamos-developed computer models of the atmosphere that are also used to simulate and predict forest fire behavior. That work, in turn, stemmed from fundamental laboratory expertise in supercomputer codes that model how fluids flow under extreme conditions, research that directly supports the labs national security mission. The goal is to combine the measurements and models to identify potential frost-mitigation techniques that can be applied to individual farms. By determining which part of a farm is the coldest, farmers can take better precautions against frost. Current practices at Freshies of New Mexico involve using heaters to warm the air and fans to circulate this air through a partially enclosed greenhouse where the crops are grown. By working with lab scientists, the participating farmers will be better able to identify and address flaws in this system to avoid crop damage and minimize heating costs. Model simulations could also help farmers evaluate the benefits of placing vegetation barriers to create buffer zones between cold air and valuable crops. Technology is already monitoring Bassetts orchard in Velarde to understand wind flow and predict the most vulnerable regions of frost damage. The next step is to simulate and understand the exact nature of cold wind flow through surrounding topography and vegetation canopies during cold nights. The results will be critical in making informed decisions about frost mitigation strategies and in making sure Northern New Mexicans have plenty of local fruit to enjoy this summer. For more information about the NMSBA program, visit nmsbaprogram.org. Tirtha Banerjee is an atmospheric scientist in the Computational Earth Science group at Los Alamos National Laboratory; he studies air flows in complex terrain and atmospheric turbulence, and incorporated a biophysics component to the model. Kurt Solander is a hydrologist in the Computational Earth Science group at Los Alamos. He works with weather instrumentation set-up and model simulations designed to help predict the occurrence of frost at the orchards. Gary Goddard is the team leader for Building Automation and Data Acquisition Systems, where he and Adam Drew implement novel sensors for monitoring of building HVAC systems to improve efficiency. PHOENIX Arizona leaders dealing with an unprecedented teacher strike are paying the political price for long-festering resentment among many public school teachers who say they are fed up with lagging salaries and what they see as an equally dangerous attack on their profession: school vouchers. Arizona is the U.S. leader in the movement to expand voucher programs, which give families state money to send their children to private schools. Lawmakers also have heaped tax breaks and incentives on charter schools in a state with the largest percentage of students in charters nationwide. Voucher advocates say the options are good for families with children who may be struggling in a traditional public school. Many public school teachers have vehemently opposed such efforts, especially as state education funding has dwindled since the Great Recession. They reject charter and voucher programs as an unqualified drain on money that their schools desperately need. The tense dynamic was on display when teachers walked off the job Thursday, leaving Gov. Doug Ducey to navigate Arizonas first-ever statewide strike. The Republican, whos facing re-election this year, is offering a nearly 20 percent raise by 2020 and said this week he didnt understand why teachers were still protesting. Some educators say they are fueled partly by their war with Ducey over his latest expansion of a voucher-like program a pioneering education savings account that allows virtually any family to get public dollars to pay for private school expenses. Its among the most ambitious voucher programs nationally. It completely undermines any sense of trust there could be. Its not that he hasnt managed to find money to put into public education, its that hes personally spearheaded taking money out of public education, said Dawn Penich-Thacker, leader of the group Save Our Schools Arizona that got the voucher plan onto the November ballot. If you cant pay your bills, thats one thing, but to steal from the person you wont pay back is another, said Penich-Thacker, who teaches English in Phoenix. The movement for increased teacher pay and school funding has prompted walkouts in other Republican-led states like West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky and left lawmakers scrambling to meet teacher demands. While money has been the primary issue, teachers also have pushed for systemic changes they insist are needed to protect public education. The uprising comes after teachers spent the last decade defending themselves from blame for Americas ailing school systems. Teachers unions have fought back with a war on teachers narrative, but school vouchers have gained significant ground. Its also been a prominent political issue in Colorado, and in states like Kentucky and Oklahoma, which recently saw battles over charter schools. Governors of those states insist their teacher strike talks havent been influenced by school choice options. Teachers perceive hostility from across the political spectrum, from former President Barack Obama, a Democrat who appealed for good charter schools, and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a Republican with a longtime zest for private school vouchers. Billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch also have spent heavily to get candidates elected in Arizona and elsewhere who favor vouchers. The school choice rallying cry that suggests the nations most vulnerable children are trapped by failing schools has ushered in a sentiment that it may be time to try something new, if not abandon some traditional public schools. The rights of teachers unions also have been challenged from Madison, Wisconsin, to the U.S. Supreme Court, and theres an effort to tie teacher performance evaluations to their students test scores. The Arizona governors spokesman dismissed the idea that Ducey opposes public schools by backing vouchers and believes giving parents more choices strengthens the overall education system. The governor really recognizes all our public schools as part of the solution toward making sure that every student in the state has access to a great education, and their parents have options of where they can send their student, spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said. In the middle is an unlikely player: the few charter school teachers who have joined the protest. Scarpinato, downplaying the tension over vouchers, said they are in this fight as publicly funded teachers. Pro-charter advocacy group Center for Education Reform has accused national unions of recruiting charter educators into protesting. Duceys 2017 voucher expansion is presenting him with a political challenge in November. Public school advocates gathered enough signatures to get a repeal measure on the state ballot, forcing him to navigate the fallout from teacher walkouts and an effort to overturn a signature accomplishment while asking for another term. Frank Eager, a veteran art teacher at a Phoenix-area high school, said the states expansive mix of school options has eroded the community-minded approach to nurturing kids. He said it also makes him feel like a baby sitter begging for business, which undermines his role and authority. Its been more of a stress on me, just trying to prove my self-worth every day, Eager said. As a professional, I feel insulted. Jason Bedrick, policy director for the school choice advocacy group EdChoice, said teachers groups are pitting educators against families for political gain. If theyre looking to see why theyre not earning what they think they should, school choice isnt the issue, Bedrick said. Despite the intense debate, about 85 percent of U.S. students go to traditional public schools. Karin Cather, an Arizona parent, said diverting money from public schools winds up affecting students like her son, who receives special education services. This is not something that erupted overnight, Cather said. I cant justify to myself forcing those teachers to continue to work under those conditions while the Arizona state Legislature continues to hack away at education funding. ___ Ho reported from Seattle. ___ Follow Sally Ho at https://twitter.com/_sallyho and Melissa Daniels at https://twttier.com/melissamdaniels . NEW YORK President Donald Trumps personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and the lawyers father-in-law have lent $26 million in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Semyon Sam Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohens father-in-law, created Nevada-based Cannaboss LLC the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show. He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic), according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nevada, that was obtained by the AP under the states public records law. Its not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 to finance his grow operation. Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohens hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Florida, as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman. Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cellphone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner. News of Shtayners ties to the medical marijuana industry comes as the Trump administration finds itself somewhat split on marijuana policy. Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws. Marijuana use is fully legal in Nevada, seven other states and Washington, D.C., and 38 states allow medicinal or other limited uses. It was not clear why Shtayner has decided to move out of taxis and into the grow business. But the rapid rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft has disrupted the taxi industry, and Shtayner is among a handful of prominent taxi owners who face lawsuits from creditors who once lent liberally to medallion owners. The value of medallions the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display have dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece in New York just a few years ago to nearly half that amount today. The subsequent drop has left many taxi medallion owners overleveraged. One former Cohen business partner, who managed Cohens taxis for years, is accused in a lawsuit by creditors of hiding his assets in financial disclosures to his bank including a luxury apartment in a Trump skyscraper. Another former cab manager of Cohens has declared bankruptcy and is facing criminal charges from state prosecutors in New York, who accuse him of pocketing nearly $5 million in taxes. The business relationship among Cohen, Shusterman and Shtayner stretches back years. Property records in New York show that Shtayner and Shusterman were among the investors in an upper Manhattan taxi garage and auto repair shop in the 1990s. Last August, Shusterman lent at least $12 million against properties owned by Shtayner, his wife or their companies, Chicago real estate records show. In a second series of four transactions in March, Shusterman lent the Shtayners or their companies an additional $8 million. Four of the loans were made to Shtayners wife, Yasya, and four others were directed to two Chicago taxi companies she manages, according to corporate documents. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported those transactions. Cohen has been involved in the New York City yellow cab industry since the 1990s. He has a fleet of 22 cabs in Chicago and, along with his wife and father-in-law, has owned some 30 medallions in New York after initially going into business with his father-in-law, records show. Shusterman who, like Shtayner, started as a cab driver after emigrating from Ukraine pleaded guilty in 1993 to federal money-laundering charges in a tax-evasion case involving cab drivers and a Brooklyn accountant. Shtayners Chicago cab empire has grown rapidly, though records show that 99 of his medallions are in foreclosure and 15 have some sort of violation. Forty-nine have already been taken over by the city for failure to pay taxes and fees. Although Shtayner has been sued by creditors, operates a taxi business in a harrowing time for his industry and is borrowing heavily in nontraditional loans, the city of Henderson concluded that he is adequately liquid financially. The citys business operation division found that Shtayner and his business partner, a Las Vegas-based steel and aluminum provider, each had liquid assets that exceed the states requirement that they be able to free up to $250,000 within 30 days if needed, according to the records obtained by the AP. A note with girlish, loopy, multi-colored script playfully telling visitors not to knock is taped on the door of Room 26 at the Bow & Arrow Lodge on East Central. Hey you, yea you!! If you didnt call then dont bother knocking! And if you did & we didnt answer Then get the hint we are asleep, leave us alone. Have a nice day. The note is dated April 22. On Thursday night, police say the woman staying in that room, 42-year-old Alysia Summerhill, was shot and killed. Simon Drobik, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said that around 11 p.m. officers were called to the room in the back corner of the motel parking lot on Central near Wyoming for reports that a woman had been shot. Officers arrived on scene and located a female conscious and breathing, she was immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment, Drobik wrote in an email. The female did not survive her injuries at the hospital. He said homicide detectives interviewed many people at the scene. He did not release any information about suspects or say what detectives believe led to the shooting. No one had been arrested by Friday evening. Patty Patel, the manager of the motel, said Summerhill, and her boyfriend had been renting the room for the past month. She said the woman was a good person and it was sad that she had been killed. She has stayed here before also with her dad, Patel said. She takes care of her dad. She checked out with her dad and then she came back and has been here for about a month. Patel said she and her husband live on site and she thought she heard gunfire Thursday night. But it wasnt until the police arrived and began their investigation that she learned someone had been shot. She said that about half of the motels 26 rooms were occupied at the time and that they host a mix of long-term and over-night guests. Around 4 a.m., Patel was told that Summerhill had died. She said all day Friday people called to ask about Summerhill and what had happened. Right now theyre paid for today, so were not going to touch (the room), Patel said. But tomorrow well take out their stuff unless the boyfriend comes back. ALBUQUERQUE Ultra Health acquired 200 acres of farmland in Otero County to support the states growing medical cannabis program, according to a Ultra Health press release. The company also boost that theyre New Mexicos number one cannabis company, the release states. At over 8.7 million square feet, the campus will be the largest cannabis cultivation facility in North America. According to the release, the new cultivation site also anticipates the legalization of cannabis for social use and large-scale hemp production in New Mexico. The facility will have the capacity to accommodate other New Mexico licensed producers and adjust to market and regulatory demands. Ultra Health Tularosa will employ 100 local residents and house the nations most diverse cannabis cultivation operation. The new site will include 20 acres of indoor cultivation in 20 air-supported, wind-assisted style greenhouses, 80 acres of outdoor cannabis fields, 100 acres of outdoor hemp fields, and 120,000 square feet of production buildings. Two-hundred acres represents the largest cannabis grow in North America that I know of, Hunter Wilson, Community Builder at Growers Network, a private community for cannabis professionals stated in the release. The next largest clocks in at 55 acres, not even close. From the looks of it, Ultra Health isnt putting all their eggs in one basket. Theyre future-proofing their site for a diverse consumer base in New Mexico, and potentially the U.S. The campus will blend modern agribusiness and green technologies including solar, wind and rainwater harvesting. In addition, the sustainable site will be supplemented with secured water rights of 1,000 acre-feet of water, or the equivalent of 325.9 million gallons of water per year. Addressing water requirements is a requisite to any long term successful cultivation effort, the release states. Ultra Health Tularosa was conceived to solve a challenge and to seize an opportunity, CEO and President of Ultra Health Duke Rodriguez stated in the release. This new facility will ensure the commitment of continuing to produce and deliver the highest quality, most affordable and convenient cannabis in the state. The opportunity exists to have a ready solution to address the increasing need as we move forward to the social use of cannabis by adults and the commercial production of hemp. Residents and officials in Otero County highly anticipate and are supportive of the opening of Ultra Health Tularosa, according to the release. Your company has thoughtfully considered the issues that we would be concerned about security, water supply, the impact on neighboring properties, The Board of County Commissions of Otero County wrote to Ultra Health in a signed letter. Ultra Health appears to us to be a responsible, concerned corporate citizen. Your company will bring much needed jobs and economic development to our county and we offer our support to your project. 2018 the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.) Visit the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.) at www.alamogordonews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ Its a long road ahead for Albuquerque Public Schools lowest-performing schools. But a clearer picture has been laid out for the schools futures now that the Public Education Department has decided on plans intended to lift them out of failing status. PED has conditionally approved plans to restructure and redesign two of the schools assessed as needing more rigorous interventions, or MRIs, while choosing a different route for the third. Last month, APS submitted plans to turn around Los Padillas, Whittier and Hawthorne elementaries after the districts initial proposals were denied. The three schools have received F school grades for either five or six consecutive years. On Friday, PED Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski sent letters to APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy outlining the agencys decisions and expectations for all three schools. Los Padillas and Whittier have been approved to move forward with plans to overhaul the schools, but if the district agrees to the conditions, PED plans to keep a close eye on the schools with site visits, required progress reports and tracking of development. The district has until May 4 to respond on behalf of Los Padillas and Whittier. PED laid out eight areas of focus for the two schools for implementing the reforms and has requested more clarity on parts of the proposals. PEDs conditions emphasized that all teachers at the schools must have a multi-year track record of being rated highly effective or exemplary, per the states evaluation system, by the start of the next school year. The conditions also stipulate that if students dont show a certain amount of progress by benchmark dates, the principal and assistant principal will be removed. APS already replaced all three principals at the schools earlier this year. And, ultimately, the district zone associate superintendent can be removed if the students dont show enough progress. Other conditions concerned curriculum, teacher instruction, assessments and other data with which the schools will have to move forward. But closure is still on the table for Whittier and Los Padillas. An F grade this school year and next will mean closure by the PED for the schools during the 2019-2020 school year, according to the letters. Or a combination of D and F grades by either school over the next three school years would result in closure in the 2021-22 school year. The schools must also transition out of MRI status. While the official MRI exit criteria wont be finalized until June, the letter did say the schools are required to have grades of C or better three years in a row to move out of the MRI designation. School grades for this year are expected to be made public in July. Reedy sent memos to the Whittier and Los Padillas communities about the decisions. We are carefully reviewing these conditions to determine if they are feasible and in the best interest of our students, teachers, staff and families, she wrote to both schools. She went on to say that its her hope to work with PED and Ruszkowski to implement the redesign plans, while also reflecting the communitys wishes for the schools. For Hawthorne, the department denied its restructure and redesign proposals. Instead, Hawthorne will be required to champion and provide choice in which the school outlines all existing schooling options for parents, makes sure they know of higher-performing schools their children may attend in the area and helps transfer students, if needed. The district shall match students from this school to higher-performing schools based on student and family preferences, and must provide transportation to any student who selects another school within APS, PED wrote in its letter. APS has to submit its execution plans and cost projections for Hawthorne to PED by May 11. Hawthorne will also be required to host four school choice expos that present families with information on attending other schools. Parents may choose Hawthorne for their children. For now, Hawthorne will stay open, but it may close at the end of the 2020-21 school year, unless the school can get at least three consecutive C grades. Ruszkowski told the Journal that PED selected the champion and provide choice option for Hawthorne because the agency had less confidence in that schools ability to execute its restructuring plans. And proximity to other schools was also a key factor in PEDs decision. PED wrote in the letter that 10 higher-performing schools are within five miles of Hawthorne. Reedy also sent a letter to the Hawthorne community saying in part, We still believe that the plan we submitted, which was developed with input from teachers, staff and families like yours, best reflects the passion, dedication and commitment we have for this school. In the Dulce Public Schools, a proposal for restructuring Dulce Elementary School was also rejected, and the district will have to resubmit plans again. The deadline is May 7. The resubmitted plan relies on contingencies, excuses and work-arounds in order to avoid a clear commitment to addressing the educational needs of your students, PEDs letter said. This is unacceptable for our students who are in dire need of immediate change, and uncovers systemic operational and academic failures within the district. The APS and Dulce districts had four options when informed of their schools that had received MRI designations: close the school, restart as a charter school, champion and provide choice or restructure and redesign. Both APS and Dulce had offered restructure and redesign proposals for all four schools identified as needing more rigorous interventions, the most critical status. Gone are the days when household electronic products like fans, coolers, refrigerators and air-conditioners were bought only for their functional benefits and the price factor. Today, these have become style statements, complementing the home decor, in their hi-tech avatars. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd, a market leader in fans, has rolled out the Air 360 fan and the Tricool window cooler to tap into the huge demand for such products during the long summer season. Crompton Greaves Air 360 and the Air 360 Deco range of fans have been built keeping in mind the consumers need of getting air from a fan in a larger area. While Air 360 is available at a price point of Rs 2,375, Air 360 Deco is priced at Rs 2,575. Cromptons latest innovation in the air cooler segment the Tricool Window Cooler can be fitted in a window much like a window AC. The company claims that Tricool Window Cooler delivers 60 per cent better cooling than a standard plastic cooler since it draws air from the outside rather than from inside the room. The cooler is available at a price of Rs 12,500. Talking about the two new launches, Mathew Job, CEO, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd, said, We are very excited to bring to market these unique and innovative products. The Air 360 range of fans and the Tricool Window Cooler offer very relevant consumer benefits. We have placed the consumer at the heart of our innovation process and the launch of these ranges after the highly successful anti-dust fans and LED lighting solutions give us the confidence that we are on the right track. The company has also rolled out a television campaign for the new products during this IPL season. Job further said that Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd (CGCEL) has been operating as an independent company for about two and a half years now after demerging from Crompton Greaves Ltd. Operating as an independent company, CGCEL had set itself three key financial objectives. Firstly, we aimed at increasing our sales in the market. Secondly, we wanted to expand the profitability margin. The third was to convert 100 per cent of our profit to cash, he informed. Job further said, If we look at the results of the quarters that we have announced so far post the demerger, typically, the demonetisation and GST quarters, our estimation of masses had gone to 6-8 per cent and we have gone up at the top line in all these quarters by around 11-12 per cent. We have been growing 1.5-2 times faster in the market when you look at the key categories like fans and coolers in the market. He added that two years back, the companys market share in the fans category was roughly 25 per cent, which had gone up to 27 per cent in the October-December quarter. In the LED lights and bulbs category, CGCELs market share was 2-3 per cent when it started off, but currently the company has reached close to 9 per cent share. We have moved from the fifth position in lighting to the No. 2 position, Job claimed. He added that 90 per cent share in the fans category was because of the companys Anti-Dust Fans, which it the premium collection. We can see similar kind of success that we got with other propositions, he said. With this, we have managed to improve our revenues in the market. We have expanded our profit with the line of sales and also we have managed to convert 100 per cent of our profit to cash. So, according to me, we have covered all the objectives that we had aimed when we started operating as an independent organisation, he further added. Shedding more light on the USP of the new products, Job said that last year, the company conducted a research (both qualitative and quantitative) mainly for consumers to understand their behaviour. The research revealed that the problems with fans are that they provide air in a limited area. When we conducted our research, we got to know that people wanted to have something which can provide air throughout the room. Based on that insight, we launched the Air 360 fan. The biggest advantage of this fan is that it gives air in 50 per cent more space than a normal fan. This has been accomplished by using certain advanced technology. The Tricool Window Cooler is Indias first window cooler and it provides 60 per cent better cooling as compared to normal plastic coolers, he added. As far as marketing is concerned, the company is looking at the combination of all the mediums to promote the products. It wants to generate awareness among people through TV campaigns and has launched its TVC during the ongoing IPL tournament to garner more attention. The company is shoring up its distribution network and is planning to place these products in the right stores and create more visibility for the brand so that more and more people come and sample them. Job also said that prior to the demerger, the spends on brand building was comparatively at a lower level. We use to spend Rs 10 crore in a year for ATL advertising, but we have stepped up the spends to Rs 50-60 crore in the last 2 years, he informed. Instead of focussing on select markets, the company has a pan-India approach and is selling its products across regions and markets. Job concluded by saying that the company is building a strong proposition for the brand that is relevant to the consumers, which will help it grow in the long term. For More Related Stories Visit Here. Thirty per cent of the consumers stop interacting with brands after one bad experience and 45 per cent drop out after several bad experiences, this was the observation of D Shivakumar, Group Executive President for Strategy and Business Development, Aditya Birla Group. According to him, consumers have a divine dissatisfaction with what they have. They always push you as a brand to do better. Consumers money must work harder for them and technology is not the answer for emotions in customer expectations, he added. Shivakumar also noted that consumers in India want a hi-tech + hi-touch experience. He was speaking at a marketing symposium organised by Adobe in Mumbai yesterday (April 26, 2018). Delivering his keynote address on Experience is the strategy, Shivakumar elaborated on the value of customer experience for any brand. He noted, If we look at 2017, 75 per cent of the companies had customer experience as their number one priority for 2018. Online and offline are parts of the same structure, so I would like to call online customers as online citizens. Continuing further, he said, Classically, developing nations have been weak in their infrastructure and that makes customer experience an absolutely important thing for them to consider. Speed, convenience, consistency, empathy, human touch, etc., make for a great customer experience. Meanwhile, speaking on innovations that will shape the Indian landscape in the future, Gunjan Soni, Head - Jabong and CMO Myntra, remarked, The best innovations are powered by consumer planning and not just expectations alone. Talking about the changing cultural discourse, she stated that the difference between Bharat and India is so wide that for Bharat, We < Me and for India, We > Me. This equation fundamentally changes the behaviour of the consumers and this feeling of self gratification reflects in their shopping pattern, she pointed out. Adobe marketing symposium witnessed curated keynote sessions, presentations, hands-on workshops and immersive activations from more than 40 brands across sectors. It also witnessed a multi-industry audience. The symposium saw a gathering of digital marketing experts and professionals that came together to discuss digital transformation solutions and best practices to help businesses become experience makers for their customers. Apart from D Shivakumar and Gunjan Soni, the keynote speaker line-up also included Ravi Santhanam, CMO, HDFC Bank; and Ravinder Singh, Chief Information & Innovation Officer, Vistara. It was curated by Brad Rencher, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Experience, Adobe; and Kulmeet Bawa, MD Adobe South Asia. Also on the agenda were several breakout track sessions that discussed about Customer Intelligence influencing marketing like never before, Content Velocity where discussions happened about how Creative Agility can be managed without compromising Brand Consistency to deliver outstanding experiences at a brisk pace across all channels and devices, Conversational Marketing discussing that staying relevant for customers is at the heart of customer communication, especially in the face of continuously evolving channel preferences, Digital Brand Advertising, Building Rich Audiences, Building a Digital Experience Engine, Journey Management and Customer Acquisition. The event concluded with a session by actor-director Farhan Akhtar and comedian Aditi Mittal. Brace yourselves for a sneak-peek into the biggest cinematic experience that will hit the theatres this summer. Sony BBC Earth, in association with PVR Cinemas, launches the trailer of Blue Planet II: One Ocean and The Deep, a story that will release in cinemas on May 18. The official trailer gives a glimpse into the greatest yet the most mysterious part of our planet - The Oceans, and the never-seen-before stories of the creatures that live there. For instance, New Zealands killer whales form relationships with bottlenose dolphins purely for socializing or Giant Trevally fish jumps out of the water to catch its prey mid-air! First time in India, and in the infotainment category, a tale of this caliber will release across 22 cities exclusively in PVR cinemas, preceded by a select blue carpet screening. Shot over 1406 days with 125 expeditions across 39 countries, Blue Planet II accounts for more than 6,000 hours and 8 km deep of underwater dive footage to bring unique, untold stories that will take your breath away. Narrated by the godfather of natural history Sir David Attenborough, and music by legendary composer Hans Zimmer, this grand adventure is a must-watch for everyone this summer. Bookings open soon. Customer Logins Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Baghdad is in the midst of an electoral campaign, with nearly two weeks remaining before the Iraqi parliamentary elections on May 12. Large posters of candidates line the streets of the capital, alongside pictures of members of the Iraqi armed forces and of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) forces killed in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). Prominent figures of the PMU, also known as Hashid Shaabi, allied in the Fateh (Conquest) coalition are at the forefront of the race, bolstered by the organization's role in the victory over IS in December 2017. In a conversation with Al-Monitor, Naim al-Aboudi, the spokesman for PMU Asaib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous), discussed the elections and the evolution of the group in the wake of the fight against IS. Aboudi seems unfazed by the upheaval in the Asaib Ahl al-Haq headquarters in Baghdad. The elections are attracting a lot of attention whether locally, regionally or internationally because they will create the base for a new phase of state-building and reconstruction. The 2018 elections are very different from the 2014 or 2010 elections because we are in the phase of victory over IS. There is popular trust in terms of the state's effort to stabilize security, although there are some problems linked to the economic and services sectors. There will not be a big difference between large leading coalitions [during the polls], but we believe that we [Fateh] will be competing with the Nasr coalition [headed by current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi] for a majority of seats [in parliament], said Aboudi, who pointed out that Asaib Ahl al-Haq supports candidates who are running in most of the countrys various regions, with the exception of Anbar province and northern Iraq. The Fateh coalition currently supports the election of Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the Badr Organization, to the premiership. After delegates are elected to parliament, they in turn will elect the Iraqi president and prime minister. Our first choice is Mujaheed Sayed Amiri," Aboudi said, using an Arabic honorific title to refer to Amiri when asked if the PMU would support the candidacy of Abadi. "It is nonetheless too early to say who would be our second choice. Abadi, who took over the premiership in 2014, is credited with rebuilding the army and defeating IS. In January, Abadi announced he would stand for re-election as the head of the Nasr cross-sectarian bloc, which included members of the PMU for a few hours before they broke away and formed Fateh. However, a source from the Fateh coalition told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Iranian Quds commander Qasem Soleimani had reached an agreement with the Fateh coalition and the Kurdistan Democratic Party to not support Abadi for the position of prime minister. The PMU leaders confidence in securing a parliamentarian majority stems from the organizations increased popularity after the war on IS. The PMU was formed in 2014 by then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after IS capture of Mosul and after a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite figure, who called at the time for Iraqis to volunteer in the fight against terror. According to Aboudi, Asaib Ahl al-Haq lost over 700 of its fighters in the war against IS. He noted that since 2014, Asaib Ahl al-Haq trained new PMU members and offered its experience in the fields of engineering and counter-improvised explosive device training. The political organization, which started as a militant group fighting the US occupation of Iraq, has morphed into a large network that includes a social outreach program. We are building schools and universities as we see the importance of creating a religious culture and more awareness among people," Aboudi said. The war on IS and its heavy death toll have also pushed the militant group to bolster its martyrs program. Asaib Ahl al-Haq leaders decided that every martyr family should have a house or a piece of land to build a home. We have succeeded [in this endeavor], and we will be reaching this goal by the end of the year, he added. Another byproduct of the war on IS has been the realization by Asaib Ahl al-Haq of the important role Iraqi women play in nurturing a culture of martyrdom. We are currently developing a social and political program and major projects targeting women. Unlike Lebanon, we did not have a culture of martyrdom, given wars launched by [President] Saddam Hussein were very unpopular and were deemed futile because of his destructive policies," said Aboudi. He underlined the prominent role played by women in the war on IS. Men who fought against IS were driven by religious belief and a feeling of nationalism, and the role of mothers in that regard was very instrumental, noted Aboudi, who cited a visit conducted by the organizations leader Sheikh Qais al-Khazali to a martyrs family in the city of Basra. At the end of the visit, the martyrs mother said she wanted to greet Sheikh Khazali and we expected her to ask him for help. She told him instead that she had another son she wished to send to fight against IS in order to replace her martyred son. Asaib Ahl al-Haq believes the PMU will play a prominent role in ensuring the stability and security of Iraqs future and that the next prime minister will have to tackle two important issues. First, the position of fighters should be guaranteed within the new formation, without any decrease in their numbers, amounting to over 120,000 fighters. Second, military officers in the PMU should keep their military ranks and titles and no new officers should be brought in from outside the PMU, he said. Another of Asaib Ahl al-Haq's demands is that the next parliament rejects any international presence on Iraqi soil. Aboudi stressed, The role of America is very negative and we refuse any international presence whether in the form of military bases or advisory experts in Iraq. Its the wish of the people." When the sun sets on Tel Aviv and outdoor food stalls start closing, Carmel Market, the largest and busiest market in the city, becomes the scene where men and women, mostly old but some young also, hurriedly gather to collect the unsold vegetables and fruits discarded on the ground. They are native Israelis and illegal immigrants who are united in poverty and eager to find some food that they can take home. Among those food collectors, there is now a small, new group: the volunteers who dedicate their time to battling food waste. Several associations in Israel try reducing food waste while helping to feed the poor. Leket Israel, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works closely with governmental institutions, is dedicated to lead the safe, effective and efficient collection and distribution of surplus nutritious food in Israel, to those who need it. Its vision, as stated on its website, is "an Israel where all surplus, nutritious food is rescued and directed to those who need it." A 2017 report by the BDO consulting company, commissioned by Leket Israel, estimated that 33% of all food produced annually in the country is wasted. In other words, more than 2 million tons of food end up in the garbage every year. The report further estimated that about half of this quantity is salvageable and fit for human consumption. Yael Armon of The Natural Step (TNS Israel) explains that similar to most developed countries, Israel faces food waste on a wide scale, yet there are several factors that make the problem in Israel unique. Close to 18% of the Israeli population suffers from food insecurity. On the other side of the scale, an average Israeli family throws away about 8,000 Israeli shekels [$2,200] worth of food every year. In that respect, our two main objectives are educating the public and transforming food insecurity into a high priority problem for the Israeli decision-makers. We focus on reducing food waste by the big food chains, promoting the sale of products with short expiration dates and advocating a national agenda on battling food insecurity, Armon, who heads the research at the organization's Food Waste Lab, told Al-Monitor. The Sustainability Transition Food Waste Lab was established by TNS Israel in 2016. This unique initiative includes think tanks, research activities and outreach campaigns, in cooperation with over 40 actors in both the public and private sectors, as well as NGOs and municipalities. Eran Weintrob, the CEO of Latet (Giving), a humanitarian aid NGO, told Al-Monitor that food worth 1.4 billion Israeli shekels ($400 million) is wasted in Israel annually, "Logistical organization and correct state regulations could save 30% to 50% of that food." He said that over the years Latet has developed a large network of professionals and volunteers collecting food products originally destined to be destroyed by the producer for various reasons a default in the packaging or short expiration dates. We created an efficient food collection system that also benefits the producers. They dont need to worry about transporting their unsalable products or destroying it. Their donations are tax deductible, and they get credit for social commitment and helping those in need. And on top of that, we avoid soil pollution that is generated by burying wasted produce. It is really a win-win situation for everyone. Weintrob noted that Latets nutritional security program is based on similar initiatives in France and the United States, namely establishing national food banks. We work with 180 local associations across the country, collecting food and distributing food baskets to 60,000 families threatened by nutritional insecurity. About 80% of the products we distribute are salvaged food packages we receive directly from the food industry. But there are also those operating on a smaller, more local scale. One of them is the Robin Food group. Shai Rilov, who leads the group, told Al-Monitor that Israelis love buying large quantities of food to fill the fridge. We are so immersed in the culture of consumption that we have forgotten the times Israel suffered austerity. And by overlooking that, we have forgotten to enjoy what we have. We always look for more," he said. Over the past three years, Rilov and his friends have created ad hoc events of cooking meals from salvaged produce. They would collect surplus food from supermarkets, farmers, individuals, anyone ready to give, and have a volunteer chef prepare gourmet meals from the collected produce. It really works great. People can't believe that such delicious dishes are created from vegetables that were about to be thrown out, he added. The Robin Food group is currently busy collecting funds for a community food house, as they call it. This would be a place that serves meals using only produce destined to be thrown away or destroyed. The menu will change daily according to whatever we will manage to collect. People will pay as much as they want, or even volunteer here instead of paying. We are also planning workshops, engaging people to our battle against food waste, he said. Rilov noted that several stall owners at the Haifa Central Market are already committed to this project. He and his partners are hoping to establish similar relations with other markets as well. Our activity is completely based on grass roots and voluntarism. Combatting food waste is essential not just to help the needy, but to preserve our natural resources. More so, it could serve as an engine for social activism and dialogue across Israel and even beyond, he concluded. The new party being formed by Knesset member Orly Levy-Abekasis might not have a list of candidates yet it doesnt even have a name but it is still polling at eight seats, according to survey results published April 23. As of now, it looks like it will be the brightest star in the next election. Over the next few weeks and months, after the new party files paperwork with the Registrar of Parties, Levy-Abekasis will join the growing list of party leaders emerging from the Likud. As of now, five parties are headed by people once active in the Likud. Most of them are now in the highest echelons of the center-right leadership and play important decision-making roles in the country. Levy-Abekasis is the daughter of former Foreign Minister David Levy, an icon of the Likuds social wing. She was raised on the movements politics from an infant, but she eventually decided to join Yisrael Beitenu, led by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, himself a former Likud member. Liberman served as director general of the Prime Ministers Office in 1996, during Benjamin Netanyahus first term, after having been director general of the Likud. For years, he was considered the most powerful and influential person in the Likud. After breaking with Netanyahu in 1999, Liberman left the Likud and established Yisrael Beitenu, which won 15 seats at its height, in the 2009 elections. Since then, Liberman has been a senior minister in every government. He currently holds seniority on the Security Cabinet. The chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, and his partys second highest ranking member, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also have a history with the Likud. They ran Netanyahus office when he was Likud chairman and opposition leader in 2006. When relations between them and Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, soured, they left the office and considered running for a place on Likuds Knesset list. After they realized that Netanyahu would block them from running, they decided to strike out on their own. They took over HaBayit HaYehudi and became key figures on the right and in Israeli politics in general. Now, they both sit on the Security Cabinet. A special place of honor on the list of party leaders who emerged from the Likud must be recognized for the chairman of Kulanu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who began his political career in the Likud's Haifa branch office. Like Levy-Abekasis, Kahlon had been a star in the Likud. After a particularly successful term as a popular minister of communications, he felt that Netanyahu was blocking his further advance. As Kahlon tells it, Netanyahu felt threatened by him and would not let him flourish. As a result, Kahlon spread his wings and founded Kulanu, attracting former Likud activists, including many leaders of local government. The party won 10 seats in the 2015 elections, after which Kahlon joined Netanyahus right-wing government as finance minister, one of the three most senior positions in government. Kahlon is also a member of the Security Cabinet. The last person on the list is former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who was removed from his position by Netanyahu in May 2016. He went on to establish the nonprofit organization Manhigut Acheret (Another Kind of Leadership), which is expected to evolve into a political party. Yaalon quit the Likud and became one of Netanyahus harshest critics. Most ministers in the current government are either members of the Likud, the mother party, or former members of the party, as are most members of the Security Cabinet. It doesnt end there. The speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, is also a leading member of the Likud, as is the president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin. The list can even be expanded to include the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, a key figure in the party. It is a fascinating phenomenon that members of the Likud past and present can be found in key positions throughout the government, and it explains how the right became the largest and most powerful bloc in the Israeli political system. The Likud still stands at the center of that bloc, surrounded by satellite parties whose leaders were once Likud members. They may have had their feuds with Netanyahu, but they joined his government anyway, as natural partners. There is a certain vibrant dynamic to the people who have left the Likud, usually because of some squabble with Netanyahu, and have gone on to establish new parties on the right that are becoming a rising force in Israeli politics. On the other hand, this phenomenon also has a somewhat less glamorous side, at least as far as the Likud is concerned. As long as Netanyahu heads the party, the possibility of flourishing alongside him is practically nil. Netanyahu is simply incapable of allowing Knesset members or ministers from his party to share in the spotlight. They are forced to operate in his shadow. Regardless, a quick glance at the number of parties led by former Likud members gives a sense of how powerful the party is in the political system. It is more than just the fact that the Likud has been Israel's ruling party for almost a decade without interruption. It is also because the Likud inhabits the DNA of the other parties. Even Kadima, which held power from 2006 to 2009, grew from the Likud after Ariel Sharon split from the party. Several senior members of Kadima, including Ehud Olmert, who served as prime minister after Sharon, also emerged from the Likud. In fact, after Ehud Barak lost power in 2001, Israel has since been governed by prime ministers from the Likud: Ariel Sharon, 2001-06; Ehud Olmert, 2006-09; and Netanyahu, 2009 until now. The wide reach of Likud expats in the political system and the many years they have been a major political force have made an enormous impact on the Likud itself. It ensures that it remains a vibrant and politically powerful party. The reason is the access to power, decision-makers and government authority enjoyed by Likud activists at all levels. They do more than just meet at party events. They also play an active role in government as advisers, aides and director generals of countless official organizations and ministries. This means that they are close to almost every government minister, not just those from the Likud. Likud activists are personally acquainted with Liberman, Bennett, Shaked, Kahlon, Yaalon and even Levy-Abekasis from when they were an integral part of the party. With Levy-Abekasis about to join the exclusive club of former Likudnik party leaders and likely become a senior minister in the next government, it looks like the Likud diaspora will continue to shape Israel's political system and the center-right bloc for years to come. Even before the US Senate approved the appointment of Mike Pompeo to replace Rex Tillerson, who was fired March 13, as secretary of state, his people were hard at work planning a quick visit to Israel on April 29. This will be Pompeo's first official visit as secretary of state, even though the presumed secretary held a historic secret meeting before his appointment was approved with President of North Korea Kim Jong Un, in preparation for Kims impending meeting with President Donald Trump. Within the administration, Pompeo is considered to be a fierce opponent of the Iran nuclear deal. His visit to Israel next week is probably intended to coordinate positions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on this sensitive issue. But the Iranians will not be the only issue to come up for discussion so will the Palestinian issue, including the crisis in the relationship with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, which is scheduled for May 14. Al-Monitor has learned from a senior official in the PA that last week, the PA received a request from the United States to allow Pompeo to meet with a senior Palestinian representative, so that he could clarify the US position regarding the continuation of the diplomatic process with Israel. The meeting will also attempt to lower the tension in preparation for the embassys move next month. While the request did not surprise the Palestinians, it did create some embarrassment for them. Palestinian officials had admitted that in his former position as head of the CIA, Pompeo was the American official who opened the channels of communication between them and the Trump administration, when it looked like the sky had fallen, after Trumps surprising election victory. Head of the PA's General Intelligence Service Majid Faraj is considered to be Pompeo's friend. Even during the tense crisis of trust between the US administration and the Palestinians, Faraj could always speak with Pompeo to clarify various issues. When it was learned that Trump was planning to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and later, when he declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, Faraj was sent urgently to Washington. The only person there who agreed to meet with him was Pompeo, so Faraj and other Palestinian officials think that it is worth maintaining a channel of communication with him, especially now that he is assuming such a senior position in the Trump administration. It is no secret that senior Palestinian officials headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas himself decided that the American emissaries with whom they negotiated last year were biased in Israels favor, if not borderline hostile to the Palestinian cause. Referring to the regular and frequent meetings he had with special envoys Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner, Abbas is known to have said that he doesnt know what the two men are hoping to achieve or what kind of plan they are putting together. As for former Secretary of State Tillerson, the Palestinians had almost no contact with him. Pompeo is not included in that group. The PA still has fond memories of the enormous efforts he made to clear the way for Abbas to visit the White House for a meeting with Trump in May 2017. To be fair, however, in retrospect, after receiving what he called a slap in the face from Trump, it is not certain that Abbas remembers that meeting as having instigated change favorable to the Palestinians. Despite Pompeos enormous efforts to ensure that the meeting took place, Abbas may think it wasnt worth it. But that is not the question right now. The Palestinians are debating whether they should give the Americans another chance and listen to what the incoming secretary of state has to say, since he seems to want to turn over a new leaf in the relationship. According to the Palestinian source, Pompeos staff only asked for a brief working meeting with them, since his time is limited. This would give the two parties enough of a chance to iron out some of the differences between them, resulting from the decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Among some senior Palestinian officials, not only is there strong opposition to having such a meeting but even to discussing it. The opposing camp is led by Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the PLO Steering Committee and former chief negotiator with Israel. Erekat has been engaged in some very contentious public feuds with the US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Trumps emissary to the region, Greenblatt. He recently sent a letter to diplomats in Ramallah, claiming that Greenblatt had become an Israeli spokesman. Inevitably, Faraj is in the camp supporting the meeting with Pompeo. After all, he paved the way for open channels of communication with Pompeo, together with the former and current PLO ambassadors to Washington, Maen Areikat and Husam Zomlot. He now supports a closed-door meeting with Pompeo, where the Palestinians will listen to what he has to say and express their frustration and the feeling they have that they were deceived. That camp believes that it would be wrong for the Palestinians to be perceived as having closed the door on a relationship with the United States. In other words, Faraj thinks they should act diplomatically. As of the writing of this article, this position is emerging as the predominant one. There are two reasons for this. The first is that Faraj is now considered to be the most powerful person in the PA. The second reason is that Abbas hands are tied. He failed in assembling strong international support against the Trump administration, and to garner backing for diplomatic moves toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. In fact, Abbas is now stuck in this position and isolated, while Faraj's proposal offers reopening the dialogue with the Americans. One proposal that could make a brief meeting with Pompeo possible is to present it as an official Palestinian protest to the Americans because of their unilateral position regarding the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. At that meeting, the Palestinians will certainly complain about the pro-settler views of US Ambassador David Friedman. According to the Palestinians, Friedman serves the interests of the Israeli right even more than those of the US administration. Submitting an official protest is the kind of coverage that could allow senior Palestinian officials to show that while they are against the normalization of relations with the Trump administration, they are not snubbing the hand being extended by the new secretary of state. After all, they still feel warmly toward him, at least for now. On the eve of the first general meeting of the Palestinian National Council in 22 years, the PLO is set to downsize dramatically. The PNC will convene in Ramallah April 30, and Al-Monitor has learned from PLO sources that as many as 600 of the body's staff members will be asked to take early retirement in the coming months. PLO Executive Committee members Hanna Amireh and Assad Abdel Rahman have confirmed the restructuring plan. The main objective is reducing many of the PLO departments for which there are active ministries in the Palestinian government. Amireh told the Jordanian news site AmmanNet April 20 that the PLOs departments of social affairs, youth, Jerusalem, education, diaspora affairs and military will be closed. The departments of refugees, planning, culture, media and the national fund will remain. When the PLO was responsible for all Palestinian affairs, this made sense, but now we have a government with relevant ministries and it doesnt make sense to have such duplication, Amireh, a leader with the People's Party, was quoted as saying by the Saudi Arab News April 22. Traditionally, the PLOs Executive Committee has acted as the Palestinian national leadership, with every member acting as a minister running a department with staff and budgets. Executive Committee members will still have an office, one staff person, a secretary and a driver, a PLO source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. Abdel Rahman, an independent member, confirmed to Al-Monitor that there is no need for so many staffers in the PLO when these areas are being addressed by the Palestinian government. This move makes sense and helps save money and focus our budget, he said. While on the surface the decision appears to have been for economic reasons, there is clearly a much more important political message behind it that reflects the relationship between the PLO and the Ramallah-based government. The Palestinian Authority was established when then-PLO Secretary Mahmoud Abbas signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Israel in September 1993. While the Palestinian Authority was established under the legal and political umbrella of the PLO it has grown to become much more important since. Both Yasser Arafat and Abbas have led the two organizations at the same time with the dual title of Executive Committee chairman and PA president. In addition to cutting down on PLO staff, the Ramallah-based leadership wants to reduce the number of delegates to the PNC. According to Al-Monitor's sources in the PLO, discussions are focusing on the need to cut the PNC membership in half from the current bloated number of delegates at 700. The downsizing move comes at a time some analysts had expected Palestinians to revitalize the PLO amid the faltering peace process and the lack of Palestinian trust in the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, who had threatened in 2012 to throw in the keys of the Palestinian government if the peace process didn't produce change, realized that Israel did not take his threat seriously. Reversing course, Abbas is now repeating that the Palestinian government is a great achievement for the Palestinian people which we will not give up on. PNC member Hamadeh Faraneh told Al-Monitor that closing the PLO departments will weaken the body and not bring about the desired restructuring. If the leadership were interested, it would have followed the recommendations of the preparatory committee that met Jan. 15, 2017, in Beirut with the express aim of determining how to improve the workings of the PLO, Faraneh told Al-Monitor. That meeting was attended by 13 Palestinian factions including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others. Faraneh, a Jordan-based Palestinian author and political activist, expects that while Abbas needs the PNC to convene to strengthen his legitimacy as the leader of the Palestinian people, he will also use it to centralize power for himself and for his Fatah movement. Dont be surprised if Abbas is voted on unanimously in the opening session of the upcoming PNC in the same way that he was [proclaimed] leader of Fatah when it convened its seventh congress in Ramallah in 2016, he said. The move to downsize the PLO will have a direct effect on a number of small factions that have no real public backing. Abbas is clearly aiming to get rid of some dead weight in the organization, targeting PLO factions that have used the organization to get budget appropriations and jobs for their cadres. But the big question is whether the expected downsizing and PNC meeting will further alienate the majority of Palestinians who live outside of Palestine or find a way to energize them. RAMALLAH, West Bank By winning the 2018 International Prize for Arab Fiction (IPAF) with his dystopian novel The Second War of the Dog on April 24, Palestinian author Ibrahim Nasrallah has reasserted the presence of the Palestinian novel in the Arab literary scene. Nasrallah and three other Palestinian writers had been nominated for the Arab worlds top literary award, demonstrating the variety of emerging fiction writers of Palestinian origin. Nasrallah already enjoys literary fame at home and abroad. Several of his 13 novels most of which are historical have been translated to English and other languages. He has also published 14 collections of poetry and two childrens books. Born in 1954 in the Wihdat refugee camp in Jordan, he studied in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and worked as a journalist in the 1980s and 1990s. Nasrallah has also acted as director of cultural activities at Darat al Funun, which is a home for the arts and artists from the Arab world and is part of Amman's Khalid Shoman Foundation, of which Nasrallah is vice president. The Jordanian-Palestinian writer was previously nominated for the IPAF twice. One nomination was in 2008 for Time of White Horses, which follows several generations in a village under Ottoman, British and Israeli rule. Ironically, the novel that finally took the prize on April 24, the eve of the Abu Dubai International Book Fair, was unlike any of his other works, which cover Palestine's past and present. The Second War of the Dog, a 340-page novel published by Arab Scientific Publishers, takes place in an unnamed country in a dystopian future. It focuses on human savagery through the radical transformation of its antihero Rashid from an opponent of the regime to a corrupt extremist after he befriends a security officer, a die-hard opportunist who uses the system to achieve his own interests. While it takes place in the future, the allusion to the current reality of war, murder, repression and atmosphere of fear is all too clear. Nasrallah acknowledges that his novel is a warning, saying after his nomination was announced, The novel was written to provoke the reader, to worry the reader, to even, sometimes, make them breathless. [It] is, in my opinion, a warning of what we could become in the future. The novel starts off at the moment of a loss of certainty, that loss of trust in those whom you interact closely with that neighbor, brother, father or whoever it may be. The novel suggests that if we continue on our current path, we will reach a future where we would become mostly annihilistic. The IPAF, which is run with the support of the Booker Prize Foundation in London and funded by Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism, has been awarded since 2008. The prize is often referred in the press or literary circles as the Arab Booker," although the IPAF and the Booker Prize Foundation are two separate, independent organizations. The IPAF is also not connected with the Man Booker Prize. Sometimes, though, the two have the same literary works on their lists; for example, the 2014 IPAF winner, Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, is one of the six novels shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. For winning the IPAF, Nasrallah was awarded $50,000 and funding for an English translation of the book. But this was far from the only Palestinian name among the 124 nominated novels representing 14 Arab countries this year. That list featured four Palestinian novels, and the shortlist included Walid Shurafas Heir of the Tombstones. Shurafa described his novel to IPAF as one whose mission was to reject fundamentalism and champion the experience of the Palestinian people, who paid the price for these religious narratives. The two main characters are an innocent orphan and a historian. Nasrallahs victory is a victory for Palestinian novels in the Arab world and internationally, Palestinian Authority Minister of Culture Ehab Bseiso told Al-Monitor. He added that that two novels' shortlisting attests to the strength of the Palestinian narrative and the creativity of the writers in sharing it. Bseiso asserted that this victory has contributed to drawing attention to the political and cultural challenges of the region, saying, It shows that the Palestinian people do not give up. The Palestinian novel has proven its ability to narrate different topics, evolve in the techniques it uses and gain power and momentum in the Arab and international arena. Palestinian writers who have made the IPAF list throughout the years include Rabai al-Madhoun, the first Palestinian to win the award in 2016 with his book Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba. The writer, who works as a newspaper editor in London, was shortlisted in 2010 for another novel, The Lady From Tel Aviv, which has been published in English. Jamal Naji, a Palestinian born in Jordans Aqbat Jaber refugee camp, was shortlisted in 2010 for When the Wolves Grow Old, a novel of wealth, politics and greed. Other nominations include award-winning writer Mahmoud al-Rimawi with Who Will Keep Her Company and Sahar Khalifeh with Origin and Branch. In 2016, Palestinian writers had much literary success. Nasrallahs "The Kilimanjaro Souls" and Yahia Yakhlafs "Windsurfer" were shortlisted for the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel in the published novel category. This UNESCO-sponsored and Qatar-based prize offers $60,000 to everyone who makes the shortlist. The same year, Palestinian-Icelandic writer Mazen Maarouf won the Al-Multaqa Prize, the first major pan-Arab prize for short stories, with his collection Jokes for the Gunmen. Palestinian author Ziad Khaddash was also on the short list of five with his collection of short stories, Good Reasons to Cry. Director of the Literature and Publication Department at the Ministry of Culture Abdul Salam Attari, who is a poet himself, told Al-Monitor, The Palestinian novel has regained respect and appreciation in the past years by collecting a number of international and regional awards. This proves that the Palestinian cultural discourse can still be creative. He added that Palestinian novels are part of a tradition that started in the 1960s and 70s, with internationally recognized names such as Mahmoud Darwish and Samih al-Qasim. Attari believes that what distinguishes Palestinian novels is their realism regarding the Palestinian cause and its possible solutions. Since we are under occupation, the Palestinian cultural discourse is still a resistance one, he said. Palestinian novelist Atef Abu Saif, who was a 2018 IPAF nominee for his novel Christina," told Al-Monitor that Nasrallah's victory demonstrates the strength of Palestinian fiction. "What the Palestinian narrative presented is not limited to national and political issues, but talks about love, human rights, human values and love of life in a Palestinian context," he concluded. Is Turkeys strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogans re-election as president in the snap elections to be held June 24 a foregone conclusion? Almost every Turkey observer said it was when new Erdogan ally Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of Turkeys Nationalist Movement Party, called for early elections and Erdogan heeded his call within 48 hours. The outcome of these elections is hardly in question: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will win, Turkey expert Howard Eissenstat wrote recently. The Project on Middle East Democracy fellow says the vote is part of Turkey's electoral authoritarianism, where political power is uncontested but the facade of multiparty democracy is maintained. Erdogan needs that facade and the legitimacy the elections would provide for his one-man rule. The elections are to be held under the state of emergency, which means the campaigning of Erdogans possible contenders could face serious obstacles; opposition rallies are likely be harassed. Moreover, thanks to recent legislation, election rigging could be also possible with the usage of unstamped ballots and so forth. So there has been no reason to think that Erdogan would not be re-elected. The Turkish setting has been designed to comply with his whims and political ambitions with no real institutional checks and balances remaining. The snap elections would be the last step in the consolidation of his power in what he and his loyalists call the New Turkey. However, the race took an unexpected twist when the opposition made an unexpected political maneuver. The main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) transferred 15 of its lawmakers to the nationalist Good Party to enable it to run in the snap elections. The Good Partys participation in the elections could cost the Erdogan-Bahceli coalition dearly. More important, a flurry of contacts have been established among three opposition parties, the CHP, the Good Party and the Islamist Felicity Party (Saadet), seemingly attracting the discontented of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Felicitys chairman, Temel Karamollaoglu, is known to favor his former comrade, and Erdogans predecessor, Abdullah Gul, to run for the presidency. The possibility that Gul could emerge as the opposition fronts joint candidate versus Erdogan seemingly rang alarm bells that the snap elections could turn into a trap for the president. If it is Gul who runs against Erdogan, Turkeys strongman could face defeat, indeed. Ibrahim Uslu, a prominent Turkish pollster, predicted Gul has a chance of winning 48.5% of the votes. A number of other polls also began to announce their findings that Erdogan cannot get over 50% and therefore might not be re-elected. While discussion in the last few days amid the flurry of contacts among the leaders of opposition parties caused hopes and speculation to increase among the vast anti-Erdogan circles, no concrete result has been produced, to the relief of the government. Good Party leader Meral Aksener seemingly has stubbornly persisted in her candidacy, while the leftist and secularist zealot factions of the CHP could not reconcile themselves with supporting Gul against Erdogan. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, on his way back from an official visit to Spain, did not hide his relief and happiness. On board his aircraft, he spoke to accompanying journalists, hinting at the oppositions failure to agree on Guls candidacy by saying "[political] engineering was underway but it exploded in their hands. Bahceli, in apparent panic, accused Gul of betraying his own history and making outlawed US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen happy. Guls name is not totally removed from the consideration of the opposition, but from April 26 on, it is unlikely that he would be the opposition fronts common candidate. Nevertheless, he is seen as the only name that could attract support from AKP circles and thereby diminish the chances of Erdogans re-election. At this juncture, it looks like each party will have its own candidate and force the election of the president for a second round. If no candidate gets over 50%, the top two will compete in the second round. As long as the opposition remains splintered and fractured and cannot unite around one name, the greater the likelihood that Erdogan will be elected in the first round. Yet thanks to the Kurdish wild card, Erdogan might be pushed below the required 50% threshold in the first round, preventing him from immediately consolidating his grip on power. It remains to be seen whether, in the case of a second round, the opposition could unite on whomever would be Erdogans rival. Kurds, believed to constitute around 18-20% of the electorate, have the potential to play a decisive role in sealing Erdogan's fate. The religious-conservative segment of the Kurdish population that used to vote for Erdogan and the AKP is deeply disappointed with Erdogans alliance with anti-Kurdish Turkish nationalist zealots and the Afrin operation that targeted Kurdish self-rule in Syria. Moreover, the removal of Kurdish-language signs in every corner of Turkeys Kurdish-inhabited southeast and the destruction of Kurdish national symbols also drew ire from conservative Kurdish society. If Kurds, en masse, decline to vote for Erdogan, it could be difficult for for him to secure more than 50%, particularly in the first round of voting. The imprisoned Selahattin Demirtas, the extremely popular former chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), is expected to be nominated by his party for presidency. He ran against Erdogan in 2014 and his winning more than 9% of the vote emboldened the HDP to take the risk of overcoming the 10% electoral threshold to run in June 2015 parliamentary elections. The HDP managed to cross that threshold, winning 13.7%, and sent 80 elected members to Turkey's parliament. If Demirtas runs for the presidency from prison, that could attract a considerable amount of Kurdish votes and be detrimental to Erdogans calculations. My reliable Kurdish sources tell me that if the presidential elections go to a second round, Kurds would not vote for Aksener but certainly would vote for Gul. Parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously with the presidential one; it is not a foregone conclusion that the AKP and MHP will maintain a safe majority in the upcoming parliament. Nor is Erdogans re-election to the presidency entirely assured. While Erdogans re-election is likelier now following the oppositions inability to unite around Gul, there is no guarantee how and where the election pendulum will move. The UNs committee overseeing sanctions on the Islamic State and al-Qaeda has approved an Iraqi request to include Al-Kawthar Money Exchange and its owner Umar al-Kubaysi, as well as Salem Mustafa Mohammed al-Mansour, aka Salem al-Afri, on the UN sanctions list. On April 17, 2017, the Central Bank of Iraq announced the inclusion of Al-Kawthar Money Exchange and its owner in its blacklist as a result of their support for terrorist groups. Parliament member Majida al-Tamimi, who serves in the finance committee, told Al-Monitor that Iraq is pursuing the inclusion of "other individuals and companies in the list of UN sanctions upon proof of their funding of IS. She said, I have a lot of documents that confirm the involvement of figures, organizations and banking companies in the support of terrorism. She declined to name them but confirmed that the government is looking closely at money transfer services, saying, "Funds are sent by parties in Turkey and the Gulf countries and end up in the hands of IS leaders. She went on, Money transfers are done through legal channels because those involved carry official identity cards with clear names and documented information, and they use official methods for transferring the money. Also, contacts are made through new and cheap technologies that enable them to carry out money transfers quickly and easily. She revealed that around 45 lawsuits have been filed against money transfer services "in the wake of accusations that were reinforced by Iraqi intelligence. While Tamimi predicted that Iraq will succeed in drying up the sources of terrorism, Wathiq Jabri, adviser for the Iraqi Center for Media Development, told Al-Monitor that the information in his possession indicates that the Iraqi state is working on names to include in the domestic and UN sanctions list. He added, The inclusion of these companies has a decisive impact on the Iraqi and global arenas in terms of cutting off the funds going to IS, especially as the money transfer companies and the financing means are transboundary and multinational. The inclusion of companies on the list of UN sanctions is perceived as progress by Iraqi diplomacy in persuading the international community to fight terrorism, he noted. The role of small exchange offices associated with IS seems to have been critical in securing funding, especially in 2014 and 2015, allowing IS to take part in currency auctions organized by the Central Bank of Iraq. IS earned hundreds of millions of dollars in profits this way. According to the French authorities, more than 200 exchange offices in Lebanon and Turkey finance IS activities. Furat al-Tamimi, parliamentarian for the province of Diyala, said in a 2017 press statement, After its defeat in Iraq, IS is resorting to kidnappings to fund the activities of its dormant cells, and that the ransoms it obtains from the kidnappings amounted to about $45 million in 2017 alone. Meanwhile, Iskandar Watout, a member of the parliamentary security committee, told Al-Monitor, IS has increased its kidnappings in the past couple of months through external roads, the outskirts of cities in the north of Baghdad and areas adjacent to the Kurdistan region, and these currently serve as the main source of funding for the organization. He went on, The security services have monitored antiquities smuggling and trafficking operations carried out by traders who finance IS and smuggle antiquities in the desert far from security control in Mosul and Anbar. He pointed to another source of terrorist financing: drug trafficking. He stressed, Iraqi intelligence agencies have accurate intelligence on the parties and figures that fund IS, but refused to name any, citing ongoing legal proceedings in Iraq and abroad. Al-Qadaa newspaper reported April 9, The terrorist organizations have close links with organized criminal gangs that specialize in money transfers and laundering and the smuggling of people across countries. IS seems to be financially hanging on. The Economist reported Feb. 23 that IS still had a lot of money after managing to smuggle $400 million into Turkey and other countries after its defeat in Iraq and Syria. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mohammed Shayyah al-Sudani revealed March 24, A ministry official in Mosul served as a minister within IS, and noted, There are employees at the ministry who worked for IS during its control of the city. Shia Hazaras and Christians have fallen victim to targeted killings and bombings in the city of Quetta. Islamabad, Pakistan Muhammad Ali Rezais light skin and facial features make him stand out from the crowd in the Pakistani city of Quetta. It is not often that ones face could be a death warrant. For the last several years, he dedicated himself to working for the betterment of his persecuted community of Hazara Shia, of whom about 600,000 live in the southwestern Pakistani city. The community whose physical features make them easy targets has been targeted in a sustained campaign of murders and bombings that has claimed at least 509 lives since 2013, according to Pakistans National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). On Sunday morning, he answered a call from a friend, asking him to help arrange a water tanker for his residence. Rezai, who normally travels with a police guard, was hesitant. The guard had been re-assigned just a few hours earlier, on orders from Pakistans Supreme Court that more than 12,600 policemen on personal guard duty to private citizens be withdrawn. His friend, however, was in dire need and so he decided to risk it, travelling by motorcycle with two others across the city to procure the tanker, his brother Muhammad Hussain told Al Jazeera. Within hours, he had been shot dead, on his way back home, the latest victim of a campaign against the Hazara community, many of which have been claimed by the Sunni sectarian armed group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an affiliate of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He was hit will 11 bullets on his forehead, on his hands, on his legs all over his body, said Hussain, still in shock as to why his brother left the house without protection. Rezai has never left the area on a motorcycle for years. Usually he would never leave [the neighbourhood] without a police guard. Imprisoned The killing of Rezai and one other man was the latest in a series of recent attacks on the community that mark an uptick in violence in the provincial capital of Pakistans Balochistan province. The province has seen sectarian attacks, an armed separatist movement, and Taliban attacks for years. Since last month, at least seven people have been killed in five attacks on the Hazara Shia community in Quetta, a city of roughly two million people. After one attack on a Hazara taxi driver on April 1, at least 250 members of the community held a week-long sit-in demanding the government do more to protect them. They spent days sleeping on a major road in protest against the violence, but were finally forced to wrap up their demonstration without any results. Community leaders say they see little interest from the government in bringing an end to the killings. If there was an earnest effort to target these groups, I do not think that the area of Quetta could not be kept secure, says community leader Dawood Agha. If terrorist acts are still happening, then it seems that the government is not interested in acting against the attackers. The government has taken strict security measures in the two main residential neighbourhoods Marriabad and Hazara Town where the community resides. The neighbourhoods are surrounded by high concrete walls topped with barbed wire. Entry is strictly controlled through a series of checkpoints manned by paramilitary personnel. By 8pm, there is a virtual curfew with all entrances and exits sealed, bar one at each enclave. We have been imprisoned without having committed a crime, says Agha. If Hazara citizens are attacked outside of their enclaves, community leaders say they are questioned as to what they were doing there. If we are attacked then the security forces ask us why did you leave? says Agha. When we are killed, we are the ones who are being questioned, too. On Tuesday, at least three suicide bomb attacks hit the city of Quetta [Reuters] The security is so restrictive, residents say, they have virtually been cut off from the city, forced to sell businesses and pull children out of schools outside of their own areas. People have been forced to sell their shops under threat, says Qayyum Changezi, chief of the Hazara Qaumi Jirga community organisation. They are told to leave their shops or they will be killed. Students, he says, take their lives into their hands when they leave the enclaves to take government board examinations, usually held at venues across the city. We are not getting jobs because of the threats to our security. We are rejected based on the fact that we cannot safely travel to certain parts of the city. Police officials and Pakistans interior ministry did not respond to Al Jazeeras repeated requests for comment. We can only pray The Hazara are no longer, however, the only minority community being targeted by the ISIL affiliate in Quetta. Since December, at least 16 Christians have been killed in a series of attacks, including a bombing at Methodist church, and two targeted shootings. We are peaceful people, and we love this soil. We cannot imagine that someone would target us. We cannot understand it, says Chaudhry Zubair, 41, a Christian community leader and political activist. Quetta is home to roughly 25,000 Christians, most of whom work as labourers or in domestic staff positions with the government. The latest attacks have shaken the community, Zubair says, as they had never previously come under attack. Decembers church bombing, where two suicide bombers stormed the building during Sunday services, was also claimed by ISIL. Police have now begun installing CCTV cameras in Christian neighbourhoods where the attacks have taken place, and erecting barriers in the narrow lanes to block potential attackers on motorcycles from easy escape routes. With the latest wave of violence, and the security measures that have followed, Christians say they fear they will soon be just as restricted as the citys Hazara. We want to be able to live peacefully, says Zubair. And all we can do is pray for this. We cannot pick up arms. We can only pray to God. Spike in violence The surge in violence against minorities has been accompanied by attacks against security forces as well. At least 19 security forces personnel have been killed in attacks this year, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal research organisation. On Tuesday, three suicide bombers attacked Pakistani police and paramilitary personnel in the provincial capital, killing at least six personnel and wounding 15 others. In a statement following the attack, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) took grave notice of the alarming spike in violence that has shot through Quetta. [HRCP is] extremely concerned over the continuing violence in Quetta much of which systematically targets members of religious minorities and the lack of an effective and sustained response from the state, said the statement. Analysts say while overall violence has dropped in Quetta a city that saw 84 people killed in a single sectarian suicide attack in 2013 not enough is being done to shut down sectarian groups in the province. Its no longer the same level of violence, but they are picking up easy targets for targeted killings, says Zahid Hussain, a security analyst. This is basically the work of sectarian militant organisations which have gained strength in Balochistan in the last few years. Hussain says the main reason Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is able to attack with such apparent impunity is because of the largely lawless rural areas around Quetta that offer them sanctuary, as well as the porous and ungoverned nature of the nearby border with Afghanistan. The main factor is that the sectarian organisations have developed a strong network in Quetta, despite the actions taken by security forces, and they still seem to have the capacity to carry out these targeted killings. For residents, there seems to be no respite from the violence. Police say that they are doing everything they can, that is perhaps the biggest lie I have ever heard, says Hussain, whose brother was killed on Sunday. They cannot protect themselves so how will they protect us? Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras Web Correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim Earlier this year, in mid-February, Amazon fired Emmy Award-winning actor, Jeffrey Tambor, from the show Transparent, after a speedy, three-month internal inquiry into sexual harassment claims, brought against him by two of his transwomen colleagues. Needless to say, while Tambor was unhappy with the treatment meted out to him based on false accusations, Amazon held its ground in an effort to prove its commitment to ensuring that their workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, as Jill Soloway, creator of the show, stated. This wasnt the first time that Amazon found itself in the midst of a sexual harassment controversy. Only a month earlier, the then-head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, had found himself in the eye of the Harvey Weinstein storm. He had allegedly done nothing, despite being repeatedly informed of Weinsteins reprehensible behaviour towards female colleagues. The situation was further exacerbated by sexual harassment claims made by Isa Hackett, a producer on the TV series The Man in the High Castle, against Price himself. The retail giant was quick to suspend Price (who subsequently resigned) and send out a memo to its employees, reassuring them of its zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment and abuse. In both instances, the swift action taken by the company sent a clear message to its employees, consumers and the public at large that, Amazon, as a brand, believed in supporting women in their struggle against patriarchy and sexual violence. In fact, in the aftermath of the Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo campaign, Amazons digital assistant Alexa would respond to the question Are you a feminist? with, Yes. As is anyone who believes in bridging the inequality between men and women in society. She had come a long way from thanking her master for feedback after being called a b**** or a sl**. This rewriting was more in line with Amazons progressive practices in working towards establishing a gender-equal culture, where, by 2016, they claimed to pay 99.9 percent equal wages to their female and male employees one of the only tech companies, in addition to Apple, to do so at the time. All in all, if one were to assess Amazons policies and actions in the recent past, it would be safe to say that the company, and the brand, had proactively aligned itself with a campaign for a just, fairer society. It seems, however, that Amazons progressive practices on issues of gender are reserved for women in the United States or the developed West. Last week, Amazon India allowed itself to be bullied on social media, by the fanatic Hindu right, into dissociating itself from Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker simply because she had vocally protested the horrific rape and murder of a child. The question we are all asking is how Amazon can claim to stand for one thing in an American context and the exact opposite in a South Asian context? The news of the horrific murder of an eight-year-old girl from the politically disturbed state of Jammu and Kashmir left large sections of Indias population shaken. As per police findings, she was kidnapped, heavily sedated and raped multiple times by several men for six days and finally, bludgeoned to death. All of this took place at the Devisthan Temple, located on an isolated hilltop approximately a kilometre away from the village of Rasanna. Once the child was dead, the men dumped her body in the nearby forest, where she was found two days later. What made the incident even more gut-wrenching was that the child, only eight years of age, was targeted to send out a warning and a strong message to the nomadic community of Bakarwals, to which the girl belonged. The message was that they, a Muslim community, were not welcome by the Hindu residents of Kathua district. For most, the premeditated and heinous nature of the crime was difficult to come to terms with, leading to protests across the country. Bollywood celebrities joined the movement by circulating photos of themselves holding the placard, I am Hindustan. I am ashamed. #JusticeForAasifa. 8 years old. Gangraped. Murdered. In Devi-sthaan Temple. #Kathua. Swara Bhasker too participated by tweeting this placard. Around the same time, Bhasker was approached by Amazon India to tweet about her experience purchasing a music system on the e-commerce site. Momentarily associating with celebrities on social media and piggybacking on their followers to advertise the brand and its products is a routine marketing strategy used by Amazon and others. Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce companies in India, with 31.1 percent standalone share of the market, as per the latest findings compiled by Forrester Research. I don't have an @amazonIN app installed, but I refuse to buy anything from Amazon till it stops associating with activist-for-hire @ReallySwara, who insulted my country and my temples! #BoycottAmazon Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) April 19, 2018 As Amazon retweeted her promo tweet, completely unrelated to anything controversial, a section of right-wing trolls launched an online campaign, threatening Amazon with a boycott unless they immediately dropped Bhasker. Much to our collective horror, Amazon promptly complied by deleting Bhaskers tweet, without a moments thought about the implications of such a deletion. This single move validated the entire belief system of rape apologists and rabid nationalists who succeeded in preventing yet another woman from speaking her mind against the extreme injustices that women and girls in India suffer in our deeply unequal society. Undeniably, Amazon India sided with and emboldened those who do not want justice served in a case that involves the politically motivated murder and rape of a child. The question we are all asking is: How Amazon can claim to stand for one thing in an American context and the exact opposite in a South Asian context? If, as a brand, Amazon truly believes, as Alexa the AI assistant does, that there is virtue in bridging the inequality between men and women in society, then how could it distance itself from Bhaskar and a just and worthy cause? Are our desires and struggles, as women in the Global South, for a safe, non-violent society any less legitimate than the demands of North American women? Does our location automatically disqualify us from having similar expectations from a multinational known for its carefully crafted gender-sensitive policies in the US, and possibly elsewhere? Amazon India has chosen to continue its silence on the matter, despite repeated requests for comment by the media. Clearly, explanations to the South Asian public are unnecessary. They have, however, responded to private messages sent to customer care by concerned citizens, stating that Amazon has not in fact dissociated itself from any celebrity but are waiting for an appropriate time to see to it that the needful action is taken. A message to Amazon Indias customer service by a consumer and Amazons response to it. Given that the deletion of the tweet was a public act, visible to all, what are the implications of private responses of assurance? The public stance is what the religious right continues to read as a victory. Continued silence on the issue in the public domain makes Amazon complicit in creating conditions in India they seek to alleviate elsewhere allowing public intimidation of women who speak against horrific sexual violence ultimately fosters conditions that perpetuate aggression against women in the digital and material world alike. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. This new guy hes a good guy. Very good brain. Now everything in Ethiopia is going to be OK. My taxi driver Daniel offers up this unprompted insight as we zip through the streets of Addis Ababa, letting me in on the sentiment around the unprecedented year Ethiopia had. The new guy is Dr Abiy Ahmed, the recently selected chair of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPDRF), the coalition that has been ruling Africas second-most populous country for 27 years. At 42 years old, Dr Ahmed is not just the youngest Ethiopian prime minster ever, but also the first from the Oromo community, the largest ethnic group in the country. For Daniel and others who offered their unprompted opinions, Dr Ahmed not only offers respite from nearly two years of political and social upheaval that threatened to undo Ethiopia altogether, but the hope of a more inclusive and democratic Ethiopia. Earlier in the week, Dr Ahmed offered the keynote address at the Tana High Level Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, an annual event held in the resort city of Bahir Dar, the State Capital of the Amhara region. Similar to the Davos World Economic Forum, the event brings together current and former political and academic leaders on the continent for an informal dialogue on enhancing peace and security on the continent. At the margins of the summit, hundreds of bilateral meetings between regional politicians, Addis Ababas vast diplomatic corps and numerous international organisations make this one of the more significant networking events at the continent. {articleGUID} Bahir Dar was a stopover for Dr Ahmed in the midst of a whirlwind tour of Ethiopia, uneasily calm after years of intensifying unrest that implicated three of the countrys largest regions Amhara, Oromia and the Somali region. The prime minister arrived at the forum after visiting Gondar, a historical town known for its 15th and 16th century churches and distinct orthodox Christian crosses that was the epicentre of many protests in the previous two years. By the time Ahmed arrived in Bahir Dar, internet access in the town had only just been restored after a nearly two year shut down. The air in Bahir Dar was electric with anticipation of Ahmeds arrival, with everyone waiting to hear what he has to say. Hes very young, said one driver, but hes very clever. He is [a] doctor, you know? At the summit and beyond, expectations on Ahmeds shoulders are high. Both Amhara where the forum is held and Oromia where Dr Ahmed is from have seen intense political upheaval that analysts argue may have broken Ethiopia altogether. It began with an ambitious plan to relocate poor residents of Oromia to facilitate the expansion of the capital Addis Ababa. As there would be no compensation for those displaced, a cycle of protests and state oppression began in Oromia, culminating in the alleged massacre of over 500 people at the Ireecha or Oromo New Year celebrations in 2016. Similar protests in the Amhara and Somali region soon began as a cry for greater political representation for groups, triggering unprecedented changes in the countrys leadership. Final numbers are unclear, but the Addis Standard alleges that hundreds have died and at least one million Ethiopians have been displaced in the chaos. In contrast to earlier speeches in parliament and at various stops on his tour, at the summit Dr Ahmeds speech did not touch on Ethiopias political flux, but the symbolism of his visit is unmissable for Ethiopian watchers. Outside Ethiopia, Bahir Dars most famous son is Eskinder Nega, a journalist who had, until March, been in prison for seven years because of his criticism of the EPRDF regime. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Nega was at one point the longest held journalist in the world and the recipient of numerous awards recognising him as a prisoner of conscience. {articleGUID} Negas treatment over the last three months is symbolic of the uncertainty within the EPRDF as to how Ethiopia will be moving forward: that the country seems eager to embrace the new possibilities of freedom but apparently unsure of how to do things differently. In February 2018, Dr Ahmeds predecessor, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly announced the release of Nega and hundreds of other political prisoners. The announcement was at first met with scepticism and then unbridled joy as it seemed that years of advocacy was finally bearing fruit. Since he assumed power in 2012, Desalegn, a deeply religious engineer, was expected to merely continue the EPRDFs history of suppression and state violence, not to carve out a political path for himself as an individual. In fact, in news media outside Ethiopia, the announcement was perhaps the first time Desalegn was discussed as an individual and not as the head of an amorphous, bloody political machine. Ethiopian news outlets quickly backtracked on the announcement, insisting that Desalegn had been misquoted and that only some political prisoners would be released. But the announcement seemed to prompt a leadership crisis in Ethiopia, particularly as it was soon followed with the announcement of his resignation. Then, silence, as the internal machinery of the party retreated and regrouped. From an analytical perspective, we expected a small blip it would soon be business as usual in Ethiopia only for Desalegn to once again order the prisoners release and then actually resign. For Ethiopians, Ahmed's identity and intelligence, as well as the unprecedented changes he has overseen since taking office on April 2, suggest that change is imminent. Barely a month after his release, Nega and other journalists attending an informal gathering at a private residence were arrested and sent to the infamous Maelekawi prison. Even while footage of Ahmed giving a stirring speech in parliament promising a new Ethiopia remained fresh, distressing images of the detainees in cramped cells quickly made the rounds on social media. The opprobrium and disappointment was quick was everything that Ahmed promised a lie? In fact, it was yet another symptom that after 27 years in power, the EPRDF had developed an internal modus operandi that didnt necessarily require the participation of the sitting leader to keep moving. Although no effort was made to disguise the fact of their arrest, after another two weeks, Nega and other journalists were released and according to local media, Maelekawi was closed for good. Yet two days before the Forum, Nega was scheduled to fly to New York to receive an award from Amnesty International and Ethiopian activists allege that his passport was confiscated and he was denied travel, only to have it permitted less than 48 hours later. None of this is discussed in the public discussions at the forum, even though it is held while a state of emergency is still in place and in the context of a policy of absolute candour. In fact, the public winner in the race for diplomatic access to Ethiopias new leader is Omar el-Bashir, the president of Sudan indicted for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, who jetted in for the summit but barely attended. There were quiet meetings between the two men, perhaps to establish diplomatic channels in the face of an increasingly complex relationship. Ethiopias relationship with joint neighbour Eritrea remains hostile they share the most militarised border on the continent, even while Eritrea and Sudan have warm relations. Yet the recent upswing in base building by foreign countries like China, France and the US, particularly in neighbouring Djibouti and Somalia has created an unexpected common cause between the two countries. Also, tensions between Egypt and Sudan over a shared border and the use of the waters of the Nile which rises in both Ethiopia and Sudan increase the need for diplomatic coordination between Ethiopia and Sudan. Bashir is the only other sitting African leader at the forum, signalling an urgency to connect with Ahmed at the seat of the African Union, a partner of the Forum. Some of these issues do make it onto the discussion, in an unexpected way. Desalegn is an unmissable figure, not least because of his staggering height and distinct moustache. When he speaks, he offers some of the most unambiguous defence of human rights on the continent and suggests that the militarisation of the Red Sea should be a security priority for the African Union at a session that periodically drifted into empty, bureaucratic jargon. Despite Ethiopias reputation for suppression of the public sphere, he eloquently makes the case for a robust response from the AU to ongoing crises in the region. At the end of the forum, young staffers from the hotel scramble for selfies and handshakes and although he still has security, Desalegn allows them to approach and smiles broadly for all the cameras. Where has this guy been since 2015? Desalegn declined to comment for this piece but his affable, congenial presence at the Forum suggests that he may be positioning himself for an elder-statesman role, similar to that played by the Forums outgoing chair, former Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo. In a region beset by leaders increasingly reluctant to peacefully concede power, his decision to resign allows him to easily leap over the admittedly low bar of what constitutes good governance in East Africa. He has already received the Ethiopian Medal of Honour the highest civilian honour in the country. However, of Ethiopias well documented economic growth, Daniel the taxi driver told me buildings, buildings everywhere in Addis Ababa but we cannot eat buildings! Apparently, Desalegn resigned just as Ethiopians had finally had enough of economic growth without meaningful progress. Meanwhile his successor carries the weight of knitting together a country that, despite breakneck economic growth and pride of place on the continents political hierarchy, was careening towards revolution. For Ethiopians, Ahmeds identity and intelligence, as well as the unprecedented changes he has overseen since taking office on April 2, suggest that change is imminent. In one plenary session at the Forum, Nigarias 80-year old former President Olesegun Obasanjo chastised a pair of young men who had been offered a chance to address the forum as a prize for winning an essay competition. You cannot speak for your country, he insisted, you can only speak for your colleagues. Wait your turn! Ironically, a 42-year-old former soldier with a PhD in Peace Studies who refused to wait his turn is now responsible for fundamentally reforming the country where he was speaking. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Armenias acting prime minister cancels talks with opposition for second time this week as political crisis deepens. Armenias acting head of government has pulled out of talks with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan for a second time this week, deepening ongoing political turmoil in the Caucasus nation following the former leaders snap resignation. Despite calling for a solution to the crisis through dialogue, acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan rejected on Friday Pashinyans offer of a meeting, saying the latter was trying to dictate an agenda. This invitation of Nikol Pashinyan practically doesnt differ from the previous one, Armenias Armenpress news agency quoted Aram Araratyan, Karapetyans spokesperson, as saying. The acting prime minister finds participating in negotiations, which do not have probability of finding solutions, to be unpromising, Araratyan said. The two sides had been expected to discuss the political crisis in Armenia, which erupted in the wake of former prime minister Serzh Sargsyans resignation on Monday following almost two weeks of anti-government demonstrations. Sargsyans resignation Sargsyan, 63, had vowed not to run for the post of prime minister, having served two consecutive five-year terms as president, but he was formally nominated by Armenias ruling Republican Party earlier this month. Armenia amended its constitution to change the government from a presidential to a parliamentary system in a 2015 referendum, making the presidency largely ceremonial and strengthening the office of the prime minister a position that is not constrained by term limits. Pashinyan, who led the protests against Sargsyan, accused Karapetyans ruling Republicans of seeking to deepen the crisis after Fridays meeting was abandoned. The opposition leader, a member of the Armenian parliament, told Al Jazeera on Thursday the government has lost its power and should recognise the victory of the people without any conditions. The acting prime minister cancelled a proposed meeting between the pair on Wednesday, accusing the opposition leader of unilaterally planning the format, agenda and media coverage of the talks. Government pushing back Al Jazeeras Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from Armenias capital, Yerevan, said Karapetyans cancellations show the current administration is pushing back and is not willing to relinquish power. The acting prime minister appears to be in no mood at the moment to simply hand over the reins of power to this opposition movement, Forestier-Walker said. Armenias parliament is expected to hold a special session on May 1 to elect a new prime minister, according to the legislatures website. Pashinyan has threatened to boycott new parliamentary elections unless parliament makes him interim prime minister. We want a guarantee that such an election would be really free, really transparent and really democratic, Pashinyan said at a news conference on Friday. Otherwise this vote would not have any meaning. Im calling on the citizens of Armenia to go out to the streets from early morning on May 1 and to flood all streets and squares, including around the National Assembly, Pashinyan said. Why Armenians have been protesting against the Republican Party Nikol Pashinyan and his movement are driven to end the Republican Partys grip on Armenia. Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault The 80-year-old comedian was convicted for drugging and sexually assaulting a female friend at his home in 2004. UN calls for de-escalation at Gaza-Israel border The UNs special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov has called for de-escalation in the region. Central American migrants in Mexico hoping to cross border to US Mexican volunteers are rallying to support the new arrivals and provide them with basic needs. Conference in Paris held on combatting terror financing At a conference in Paris, more than 70 countries have committed to measures to fight the funding of terrorism. Dozens of civilians have been killed in the latest bout of fighting in Syrias Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees. An estimated 60 percent of Syrias Yarmouk refugee camp for Palestinians has been destroyed as government forces and their allies escalate a military offensive against armed groups in the Damascus-area camp, according to a watchdog group. Citing an eyewitness, the UK-based Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said on Friday that the destruction has largely been caused by barrel bombs, missiles and shelling. The group said that families were buried under the rubble of their homes in Yarmouk, where an estimated 3,000 people still reside. On Wednesday, Palestinian refugee Salah al-Abayat was killed by Syrian government air strikes on the camp, bringing the total number of people killed to 31 since April 19, when the latest bout of fighting started. On April 19, the Syrian government and allied Palestinian armed groups launched a renewed military offensive against armed groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in the besieged refugee camp. On Thursday, Palestinian political party Hamas issued an appeal to all sides involved in the fighting to reach a truce. That same day, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warned of catastrophic consequences of the intensified violence in Yarmouk and the surrounding areas, including al-Hajar al-Aswad and Yalda. {articleGUID} Yarmouk and its inhabitants have endured indescribable pain and suffering over years of conflict, Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWAs commissioner-general, said in a statement. We are deeply concerned about the fate of thousands of civilians, including Palestine refugees, after more than a week of dramatically increased violence. Under fire The UN group said that there are no hospitals currently operational in the camp, which has been blockaded by government forces on the one hand, and armed opposition groups on the other for several years. The intense bombing and shelling has reportedly damaged thousands of homes, UNRWA said in its statement, calling for immediate granting of safe passage for civilians wishing to leave the camp and surrounding areas. UNRWA added: There is no more running water and very little electricity. An estimated 200,000 people Palestinian refugees, Syrians and others lived in Yarmouk before Syrias war started in March 2011. Residents queue up to receive humanitarian aid in Yarmouk [File: Reuters] Since 2013, government forces and armed groups loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have imposed a harsh siege on Yarmouk, restricting the flow of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods into the camp. As the siege wore on, residents of Yarmouk were reduced to eating grass and stray animals to survive, according to reports at the time. In March 2015, the situation in Yarmouk worsened when ISIL invaded the camp and took control of most of its territory. On April 22, Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, the Palestinian Return Centre, the France-based Democratic Republic Studies Centre and the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression published a joint report detailing the grim situation in Yarmouk. According to that report Yarmouk Set on Fire (PDF) the camp had been bombed twice every 90 seconds since the start of the latest military offensive on April 19. Last Sunday alone, Yarmouk was bombarded with 140 Syrian and Russian air strikes, 78 barrel bombs and 98 surface-to-surface missiles, the report said. Killed, missing or detained Upwards of 430,000 Palestinian refugees still live in Syria, many trapped in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, according to UNRWA. Action Group for Palestinians of Syria says at least 3,729 Palestinian refugees have been killed during Syrias civil war, while 309 are considered missing and another 1,674 are currently detained. SANA, the Syrian governments state media outlet, said on Friday that government forces were advancing in several areas in southern Damascus, including al-Hajar al-Aswad, the neighbourhood situated adjacent to Yarmouk. {articleGUID} Many Palestinian refugees from Yarmouk have been displaced to al-Hajar al-Aswad. Fridays report came just one day after SANA reported that government forces had killed dozens of terrorists in the area. Throughout seven years of war in Syria, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled Syria or are displaced within the countrys borders. EU votes for a permanent ban on bee-harming pesticides The European Union has voted for a permanent ban on pesticides that are harmful to bees. US government proposes rent raise on federally subsidised housing Under the Trump Administrations plan, some of the poorest families may end up paying three times as much in rent. Wuhan summit seen as attempt to steer ties in a new direction amid border disputes and attempts at regional dominance. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stepped-up cooperation with India during an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid border tensions and a rivalry for influence with smaller neighbours that could determine dominance in Asia. Xi greeted Modi at the provincial museum in the city of Wuhan on Friday at the start of two days of talks between the heads of the worlds two most populous nations. Conducting great cooperation by our two great countries can generate worldwide influence, Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. Xi said he hoped the meeting would usher in a new chapter of China-India relations. Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted the leaders would review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. China-India relations date back centuries, but in recent decades have been characterised by competition for leadership in Asia. The countries fought a border war in 1962 and last year engaged in a 10-week standoff in the neighbouring state of Bhutan. Rival claims New Delhi has also been alarmed by Chinas moves to build strategic and economic ties with Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indias longtime rival Pakistan. China resents Indias hosting of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and its control of territory Beijing says belongs to it. China claims some 90,000sq km of territory in Indias northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000sq km of its territory on the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas. The Wuhan summit should be seen as a conscientious attempt to steer ties in a new direction, said Wang Lian, a professor at Peking Universitys School of International Relations. This meticulously planned meeting will offer the leaders more time to discuss current issues and the future blueprint for bilateral relations, Wang said. Democrats contest findings of report citing no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion during 2016 campaign. A probe by the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trumps campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election. The committees investigation into Russias suspected interference in the election the findings of which were published in a redacted report on Friday also said there was no proof Trumps business dealings formed a basis for collusion with Moscow during his successful bid for the presidency. In the course of witness interviews, reviews of document productions, and investigative efforts extending well over a year, the committee did not find any evidence of collusion, conspiracy, or coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, the report said. Compiled by the committees Republican-majority contingent, the report described Trumps associates as having several ill-advised Russian contacts, however. Trump, who has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russian officials, published a tweet within hours of the reports release calling for an end to the witch-hunt against him. Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. No evidence that the Trump Campaign colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia. Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Democrats, who account for nine of the committees 22 members, have contested the reports findings. {articleGUID} Adam Schiff, the committees highest-ranking Democrat, accused Republican members of taking an inadequate approach to the investigation. Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate or even see, when in plain sight evidence of collusion, Schiff said in a statement on Friday. On Twitter, Schiff said there had been extensive efforts by Russia to help Trumps campaign, adding the presidents team had a litany of communications with Russian officials and had undertaken a massive effort to conceal these contacts. Mr. President, to conclude there is no evidence of collusion, you must ignore Russias extensive efforts to help your campaign, the litany of communications between Russia & your campaign, & the massive effort to conceal these contacts. Heres the truth: https://t.co/ufM7sszcxW https://t.co/k2TX7LYfU5 Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 27, 2018 Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, said on Friday that House Democrats will continue to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the US elections. She also called on House Republicans to release transcripts from the committees probe. {articleGUID} The report, which committee Chairman Devin Nunes said had been excessively redacted by US intelligence agencies, also criticised Trumps 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton for her campaigns use of high-ranking current and former Russian government officials in compiling research on the now-US president. Clinton, the report said, paid for research on Trump using a series of cutouts and intermediaries to obscure their roles. The reports findings come as special counsel Robert Mueller continues to head a separate investigation into Russia and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. In February, a US federal jury charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies as part of an investigation into alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Moscow, however, has denied all allegations that it meddled in the vote. Four Palestinian protesters killed and more than 950 wounded as Israeli forces again open fire at Gaza border. Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian demonstrators and wounded more than 950 at the Gaza border, despite the UN human rights chief urging Israel to stop using excessive force against Palestinian protesters. A fourth victim, a 15-year old boy named Azzam Hillal, died of his wounds on Saturday. He was shot in the head by Israeli military during Fridays protest. Among the wounded, 178 were shot with live ammunition on Friday while others sustained injuries from rubber-coated steel rounds, or required treatment for tear gas exposure. Thousands gathered in the besieged Gaza Strip for the fifth-straight Friday as part of a mass sit-in known as the Great March of Return movement. Palestinians have been demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948. The protests raised the total death toll to at least 45 Palestinian demonstrators, with more than 6,000 wounded since the mass movement began on March 30. There have been no Israeli casualties. Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene in Gaza, said thousands of demonstrators were seen running towards the border fence with Israel, the closest that they have ever been in the past five weeks of protests. We heard an opening of live fire [by Israeli forces] trying to push people back from that border, Dekker said. Israel has made it very clear that they want people to stay away from what they call a buffer zone. They say people will be shot. Eighteen medical personnel and journalists were among the wounded. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Gazas health ministry, said Israeli forces also targeted medical service points twice with quantities of unidentified gas east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. A number of victims experienced convulsions, severe vomiting and suffocation as a result of their exposure, he said. Tear gas canisters are fired by Israeli troops at Palestinian demonstrators during a protest demanding their right to return to their homeland [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ Reuters] People have lost their fear Known as the worlds largest open-air prison, an Israeli-Egyptian blockade has been suffocating the Gaza Strip for the past decade and residents say they have reached a breaking point. Living conditions have severely deteriorated over the years. Youth unemployment is at 60 percent and residents typically only receive four hours of electricity a day. Many medical patients die a slow death because Gaza does not have basic medical resources, and they are unable to leave Gaza for treatment elsewhere because of the blockade. The situation has become so desperate that people have lost their fear and will continue to protest at the border despite the danger of facing live fire by Israeli forces, Dekker explained, noting when demonstrators came under a barrage of fire at the border fence, they did not run back. Yes, they go to the border fence; yes, they throw stones; yes, they throw Molotov cocktails, but youre dealing with one of the best-equipped armies in the world, she said. This is their way of resisting what they call the occupation, resisting the blockade that gives them no freedom of movement. Their situation is so miserable in Gaza. Ive been reporting from the Gaza Strip for years and its never been this bad. Israeli officials have accused Gazas rulers Hamas of instigating the protests, but not a single rocket has been fired from the Gaza Strip since the demonstrations began. Palestinian protesters run from tear gas launched by Israeli forces [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency] Call for arms embargo Amnesty International on Friday called for governments worldwide to impose an arms embargo on Israel following the countrys disproportionate response to the demonstrations along the border fence. The nature of these injuries shows that Israeli soldiers are using high-velocity military weapons designed to cause maximum harm to Palestinian protesters that do not pose imminent threat to them, an Amnesty report noted. These apparently deliberate attempts to kill and main are deeply disturbing, not to mention completely illegal. Some of these cases appear to amount to wilful killing, a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime. Earlier on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein condemned Israels use of excessive force against Palestinian protesters, saying its security forces must be held to account. The loss of life is deplorable and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators not once, not twice, but repeatedly, Zeid said. Palestinians have long demanded that as many as five million direct descendants of the original Palestinian refugees be given the right of return to their ancestral homes. Israel has ruled out the demand, arguing the Palestinians returning to what is now Israel would outnumber its Jewish majority. The Great March of Return movement is officially scheduled to continue until May 15, known as Nakba Day, marking the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the creation of Israel. However, with no alternatives, many participants believe the movement will continue beyond that date. Schoolchildren attacked as they returned home in one of the deadliest rampages in recent years. The original story reported 19 children were wounded. There were 19 victims in total. A man with a knife killed nine schoolchildren and wounded at least 10 others as they were leaving their school in northern China, state-run Xinhua news agency said. Seven girls and two boys were killed in the rampage on Friday, Xinhua news agency said, citing local police. The suspect, 28, has been detained and the injured children were receiving treatment, the Mizhi county government in Shaanxi province said on its official social media account. The attack one of the deadliest rampages in the country in recent years took place at 6:10pm local time (10:10 GMT), it said. The suspect had been a student at the same school, where he had been bullied, the Washington Post reported, quoting the Mizhi county government. In spite of Chinas strict gun-control laws, there have been a number of attacks that targeted schoolchildren in the recent past. In January 2017, a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in Chinas southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In February 2016, a knife-wielding assailant wounded 10 children in Haikou, in the southern island province of Hainan, before committing suicide. In June last year, a bomb blast that killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kindergarten in Fengxian, eastern China, was blamed on a 22-year-old introvert with health problems who had written the words death and destroy on the walls of his apartment. Sociologists blame this rise in attacks on mental health disorders resulting from increased stress among the population as the pace of life becomes faster. An acute lack of psychological support mechanisms in the country compound the issue. Kim and Moon promise to sign a peace treaty this year and pursue complete denuclearisation and reunification. North Koreas Kim Jong-un and South Koreas Moon Jae-in have pledged to formally end the 1950s Korean War and pursue complete denuclearisation of the peninsula in the first inter-Korea summit since 2007. The two leaders signed a joint statement after an historic summit on Friday that saw Kim become the first North Korean leader to step into South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The peace talks were held in Panmunjom village along the demilitarised zone. A strictly choreographed day of talks and symbolic gestures momentarily gave way to some spontaneity when Kim asked his South Korean counterpart to reciprocate by briefly stepping into North Korea. The signing of the declaration came after two rounds of talks between the leaders, as well as a tree-planting ceremony symbolising peace and prosperity on the divided peninsula. In the statement, the leaders pledged to sign a peace treaty later this year and involve the United States and potentially China in the process. No more nukes? The armistice agreement that halted the Korean War in 1953 is still in place, but South Korea is not a signatory to it. Kim and Moon also promised to pursue the end of nuclear weapons on the peninsula, though the text of the statement did not include specific measures or a timetable. I feel that we are part of one family and both countries will have a new policy of cooperation. After years of disputes, we are here today to say that nothing will make us different again, Kim said after signing the declaration. Moon praised North Koreas leader for freezing his countrys nuclear testing programme, saying it would be a valuable beginning for attaining the goal of denuclearisation. Kim Jong-un and I declare that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new age of peace has begun, said Moon. As part of the agreement, the Koreas said they would refrain from the use of force and would deepen ties, working towards reunification. A communications post is to be established in Kaesong, North Korea. Loudspeaker broadcasts and distribution of propaganda leaflets will end on May 1. Moon is due to visit the Norths capital, Pyongyang, in the coming months. International approval International leaders welcomed the meeting and the joint statement. {articleGUID} US President Donald Trump tweeted his approval. After a furious year of missile launches and nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Trump is planning to meet Kim himself as early as late May or early June. He said on Friday there were now only two or three sites under consideration for the upcoming summit. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, Many around the world were moved by the powerful imagery of the two leaders coming together to advance harmony and peace on the Korean Peninsula. He added Secretary-General Antonio Guterres salutes the courage and leadership that resulted in the important commitments and agreed actions. Russias foreign ministry hailed the meeting as very positive news. Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps towards carrying out its promises. He added Japan was absolutely not being left out of the denuclearisation process, saying he would stay in close contact with the US and South Korea. Chinas foreign ministry issued a statement saying it hoped all parties could maintain the momentum for dialogue and jointly promote the resolution process. Chinas influence? Al Jazeeras Adrian Brown in Beijing said the Chinese were being very cautious but also trying to be positive. The joint declaration talks about one country, which seems to point towards a unified Korea and China really worries about a unified Korea right on its doorstep, he said. It would certainly mean potentially that China would lose influence over the Korean Peninsula. Reporting from Paju, South Korea, Al Jazeeras Kathy Novak said South Koreans would welcome the joint declaration. This is something that [Moon] has been promising for some time now; it has certainly been a big day for him, she said. After the signing, the Korean leaders were joined by their wives for a lavish banquet. The summit concluded with a ceremony with live music and a video titled, A New Spring Enjoyed Together, which was projected onto the Peace House in Panmunjom. Kim then boarded a black Mercedes Benz limousine that drove him and his entourage back to the North. Historic inter-Korean summit ends as Kim, Moon agree to work for complete denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made history on Friday as he crossed into South Korea to hold talks with President Moon Jae-in. It is the first time a North Korean leader has set foot in its southern neighbour since the end of the Korean War. The two are holding talks in the demilitarised zone as part of the first inter-Korea summit in more than a decade. The meeting centred on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and a permanent peace deal between the two countries. Here are all the latest updates: Kim Jong-un returns to North Korea Kim Jong-un returns to North Korea, ending summit that saw him make history by setting foot on South Korean soil. Moon and Kim conclude summit Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in have concluded their summit with a farewell ceremony which included live music and a video projected onto the Peace House. UK welcomes Korea summit, tells North to take concrete steps British foreign minister Boris Johnson welcomed positive developments at an historic summit between the leaders the two Koreas on Friday, saying that North Korea must now honour its commitments and take concrete steps to denuclearise. I welcome the announcement that the two Koreas will work towards the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea, improve bilateral ties and reduce border tensions, Johnson said in a statement. He added: This historic summit is not the end in itself The UK will continue to work with our international partners to strictly enforce existing sanctions until such time that North Korea turns its commitments into concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Trump welcomes historic meeting In a Tweet, US President Donald Trump has welcomed the meeting between Moon and Kim. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! he said. Minutes later, he added KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! in a separate tweet. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Russia, Japan, China respond to inter-Korea summit The Kremlin has hailed the meeting between Kim and Moon. This is very positive news, President Vladimir Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps towards carrying out its promises. He added Japan was absolutely not being left out of the denuclearisation process and that he would stay in close contact with the US and South Korea. China has welcomed the joint statement, saying they hope all parties can maintain the momentum for dialogue and can ointly promote the political resolution process for the Korean Peninsula issue. A statement by the Foreign Ministry added Beijing is willing to keep playing a pro-active role. Kim says Koreas are one nation in joint statement There is no reason why we should fight each other we are one nation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a joint statement with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in. After delivering their statement, the leaders joined their wives Ri Sol-ju and Kim Jung-sook for a banquet. Moon, Kim pledge to sign peace treaty this year Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un signed a three-part declaration in the Peace House, pledging to sign a peace treaty to formally end the war between North and South Korea this year. The declaration says the countries will work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, but does not provide any specific measures. By May 1, loudspeaker broadcasts and distribution of propaganda leaflets will be stopped, the declaration says. North and South Korea will also pursue talks that will include the United States and potentially China. The declaration states that the Koreas will work towards reunification and establish a communications post in Kaesong, North Korea. The countries will also organise a family reunion to be held on August 15. Moon will visit North Korea in autumn. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) Rallies in Paju Anti-North Korea protests have been taking place in Paju, South Korea, with demonstrators demanding Moon cancels the summit. Theres also been a rally in support of the summit with a large crowd watching the meeting unfold and waving flags with a map of a unified Korean Peninsula on it. South Koreans shout slogans during a rally opposing the summit in Paju, South Korea [Lee Jin-man/AP] Peace and prosperity tree Kims limousine, once again flanked by jogging bodyguards in suits, returned to a site close to the military demarcation line at 4:30pm (7:30 GMT). He met Moon for a ceremony in which both leaders scooped soil from both from Mount Hallasan in South Korea and Mount Paektu in the North on a commemorative pine tree. on a commemorative pine tree. The pair unveiled a stone marker that reads Planting peace and prosperity as well as the leaders names and official titles. Moon and Kim are slated to have a second session in which they will try and iron out a final declaration, to be announced later today before their joint banquet. Reporting from Paju, South Korea, Al Jazeeras James Bays said: Particularly those in Washington, DC want to see that theres real progress and a real willingness from the North Korean side to engage on all issues and of course the most important one for the US is a North Korean willingness to give up their nuclear weapons and their long-range missiles. Kim and Moon scooped soil from both sides of the border on a peace and prosperity pine tree [Korea Summit Press Pool/AP] After the tree-planting ceremony, Moon and Kim talked one-on-one [Korea Summit Press Pool via Reuters] Serious, frank talks Moon and Kim had serious, frank discussions on denuclearising the Korean Peninsula and attaining permanent peace, a South Korean official told reporters. The official, Yoon Young-chan, said the leaders are writing a joint statement which will be announced when it is finished. He added Kims wife Ri Sol-ju would join the leaders for dinner. Seoul said Kim told Moon: We wont interrupt your sleep any more, referring to missile tests. First meeting ends Moon and Kim concluded their first meeting at 12:00pm (3:00 GMT), with Kim returning to the North in a black limousine surrounded by jogging bodyguards to have lunch. The leaders will return to the negotiating table in the afternoon after planting a memorial tree at the demarcation line. The tree will be planted with soil from both the North and the South, and watered with water from the Norths Taedong River and the Souths Han River. Bodyguards jog alongside Kim Jong-uns limousine as he returns north for lunch [Korea Summit Press Pool via The Associated Press] Talks start in the Peace House Moon and Kim started their first round of talks at 10:20am (1:20 GMT) in the Peace House. In a guest book entry, Kim wrote A new history begins now. In his opening remarks, Kim said he hoped for talks that are honest, frank and with intent. I hope that there is new history written with regards to peaceful prosperity and I will approach this with the feeling of a brand new start, the North Korean leader said. Moon noted there is immense expectation for the meeting. Lets approach this discussion boldly and wishing for peace. I would like to give something very big to the people watching us. We have all day to talk and lets do so and make up for the 10 years that we have let pass, he said. Sitting to the left of Kim Jong-un is his sister Kim Yo-jong, who visited South Korea during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February [Korea Summit Press Pool via Anadolu] In the first summit between the two countries since 2007, Kim crossed the military demarcation line at 9:30am (0:30 GMT) on Friday for a meeting in Panmunjoms Peace House. Moon briefly stepped into the North as well, in an unscripted moment and at the invitation of Kim. It is only the third time leaders of the two Koreas have met since an armistice agreement ended the Korean War in 1953, and the first time a summit has taken place in the South. The truce is still in force and Kim and Moon were expected to discuss a more permanent peace treaty on Friday. In their first encounter, the leaders seemed relaxed and were smiling. But, said Al Jazeeras James Bays, an historic handshake does not necessarily lead to peace: We have not seen anything actually change in terms of any of the policies, in terms of the agreement It doesnt necessarily mean we have a breakthrough. Study shows region suffered 33 percent of worlds homicidal violence despite representing eight percent of population. Latin America has experienced more than 2.5 million murders since 2000, threatening public security and undermining economic progress, a new report warned. The sheer dimensions of homicidal violence are breathtaking, said the report, which was compiled by the Institute, a Brazilian think-tank focusing on emerging security and development issues. According to the report, published on Thursday, the region has the worlds highest homicidal rates. Latin America accounts for 33 percent of the worlds homicidal violence, despite only representing eight percent of the worlds population. The high prevalence of criminal violence is depleting physical and human capital accumulation and undermining economic progress especially in the poorest segments of society, the report warned. According to the research, young people in the region are most affected by the violence, with nearly half of all murder victims aged 15 to 29. The report also described the proportion of homicides involving guns as astonishingly high. Globally, 32 percent of all homicides were reportedly carried out with a firearm, according to the study. In Central America, about 78 percent of homicides were carried out with a gun and in South America, about 80 percent were. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela accounted for a quarter of all global homicides, according to the report. All four nations are set to hold presidential elections later this year. Veteran general declares he is in good health after reported hospitalisation in Jordan and France. Khalifa Haftar, a veteran general in Libya, has returned to the eastern city of Benghazi following an extended absence, including reported treatment in a hospital in Paris. Photos and video clips posted on social media late on Thursday showed Haftar giving a salute as he descended from a private jet, accompanied by uniformed officials of the Libyan National Army (LNA). A line of men in fatigue uniform and other officials then crowded over Haftar, with some giving him hugs and kissing his forehead. Among those who greeted him was his chief of staff, General Abdel-Razeq Nathouri, who survived an assassination attempt outside Benghazi on April 18. BREAKING: Commander of Libyan National Army (#LNA), Gen. #Haftar is well & he is back to #Benghazi. Rumours about his death werent true. Good news for people of #Libya & bad news for Muslim brotherhood, #AlQaeda, #ISIL/ #Daesh & other terrorist groups & their supporters. pic.twitter.com/YNdqGaO1lO Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) April 26, 2018 I am in good health, Haftar was quoted by news reports as saying during the welcoming ceremonies at Benghazis Benina International Airport. Touted as a possible future leader of Libya, Haftar was first hospitalised in Jordan before he was admitted at a hospital in Paris, according to reports and Al Jazeera sources. A former ally of Muammar Gaddafi, Haftar, 75, returned to Libya seven years ago from the US to join the NATO-backed revolution that ended four decades of one-man rule. After a protracted military campaign in Libyas second city, Benghazi, he promised to liberate the capital Tripoli, which split from the east in 2014. Elections, which the UN says could be organised by the end of the year despite major obstacles, may provide another route to power. Haftar has cast himself as the person who can bring stability to Libya after years of conflict, ridding the OPEC member of armed groups and reining in migrant smuggling to Europe. Some of those who have worked with him describe Haftar as a divisive military man with little time for politics. Some also believe he could try to reinstate authoritarian rule and bring more violence to the country by targeting the array of armed groups. Demonstrators across the country call on authorities to bring justice for the 15,000 missing young people in Mexico. Demonstrators in Mexico City and Guadalajara took to the streets in a march against widespread disappearances in Mexico, which groups say have reached epidemic proportions. Carrying signs with slogans like Where is the justice?, thousands marched in Guadalajara in Mexicos Jalisco state on Thursday, calling attention to the murder of three university students, who has been missing since March 19, by a cartel named the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG). The Mexican attorney generals office announced on Monday that the three students, identified as Jesus Daniel Diaz, Javier Salomon Aceves and Marco Francisco Avalos, were killed by the cartel, which then dissolved their remains in acid. Mexican Attorney General Raul Sanchez Jimenez said the three students were killed for filming at a house tied to one of the leaders of the CJNG. But Salomons aunt said it was her home and she had given the students permission to film. Online, many used #NoSomosTresSomosTodxs (We arent three, were everyone), to call attention to the increasing number of disappearances throughout the country, especially those of Mexican youth. My soul and my heart are broken again by my Mexican brothersWe cannot allow that to happen, as happened to Javier, Marco and Daniel Three young stars are turned off today #NoSomosTresSomosTodxs #Mexico #StopTheViolence Laura Jaquez (@LauraJacquez) April 24, 2018 According to statistics from Mexicos Secretariat of the Interior, the whereabouts of 15,516 people aged between 13 and 29 years remain unknown. The number of those younger than 18 is more than 7,000. The widespread disappearances and perceived lack of justice have made Mexican activists question authorities efforts to bring the people responsible presumed to be members of Mexicos powerful drug cartels to justice. 3 film students were kidnapped, tortured and killed by a cartel. pic.twitter.com/IIiA0yDjtk AJ+ (@ajplus) April 27, 2018 43 people, 43 months Demonstrators in Mexico City also marched to mark the 43 months that have passed since 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College were disappeared. In 2014, the 43 students commandeered a bus to attend a protest in Iguala an annual event that commemorates the 1968 massacre of students and civilians in Mexico City by government forces. The students bus was reportedly intercepted by police. According to federal authorities, members of the Guerrero Unidos drug gang allegedly slaughtered the students, who were delivered to them by the police, or according to other indications, state actors themselves disappeared the students, a report (PDF) by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), a global network of pro-democracy and human rights organisations, said. While more than 80 suspects, including 44 police officers, were arrested in relation to the forced disappearances, there have been no convictions in the case. Protests over the Ayotzinapa disappearancs have been ongoing since 2014. On April 23, students threw stones at the office of the Mexican attorney generals office, demanding justice. At a march in Mexico City, students from #Ayotzinapa teachers college hang portraits of their missing 43 classmates knowing very well that they too could have been disappeared. They come some of the poorest communities in all of Mexico and dream of being teachers in rural zones. pic.twitter.com/FTaWZqeTUA (@Andalalucha) April 27, 2018 Maureen Meyer, a senior associate from WOLA, an organisation that promotes human rights in the Americas, noted in a 2017 statement that over 32,000 people have disappeared in Mexico in the last decade. If the Mexican government is dragging its feet in bringing justice to the Ayotzinapa students it is heartbreaking to think of how many more of the disappeared will face a similar fate, she said. No family should have to face another year of not knowing what happened to their loved one. Former surgeon was given 33 years in jail in what US lawmakers say was punishment for helping CIA find Osama bin Laden. A Pakistani doctor who helped American intelligence track down and kill Osama bin Laden has been transferred to an unknown location because of possible threats to his life, a Pakistani official and a family member said. Shakil Afridi, who assisted the CIA in finding bin Laden, was being held in a prison in the northwestern city of Peshawar where he has languished for much of the past eight years for alleged connections to banned organisations. Afridis lawyer, Qamar Nadi, said his client had been held in solitary confinement in Peshawars central jail. A senior prison official told AFP news agency on Friday that Afridi was moved to a safer place by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency late on Thursday. The doctors brother, Jamil Afridi, confirmed that government officials informed him Afridi has been moved to a safer place. According to local media reports, the provincial government requested that Afridi be moved out of Peshawars prison because of the presence of Taliban fighters among the inmates, which they said posed a heightened threat to his life. Controversial scheme {articleGUID} Afridi participated in a fake vaccination programme in Abbottabad a city 150km north of the capital Islamabad as part of a controversial scheme by the CIA to identify the whereabouts of the former al-Qaeda leader. US special forces entered Pakistan by helicopter and killed bin Laden in a raid in Abbottabad in May 2011. Afridi was subsequently arrested by ISI agents and sentenced to 33 years in jail for alleged links to banned groups. Some US legislators believe the surgeon was being punished for collaborating with the CIA. US President Donald Trump said during his election campaign he would press Pakistan to release Afridi. Im sure they would let [him] out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan, Trump said at the time, adding Pakistan takes advantage like everybody else. In 2016, after Washingtons threat to cut aid to Islamabad, Afridis sentence was reduced by 10 years. Klaus Iohannis says PM didnt consult him before endorsing secret plan to move Romanias embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Romanias President Klaus Iohannis demanded Prime Minister Viorica Dancila resign, over a reported dispute on the plan to move the countrys embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Mrs Dancila cannot cope with the office of Prime Minister of Romania and turns the Government into vulnerability for Romania, Iohannis said in a statement on Friday. Thus, I publicly request the resignation of Mrs Dancila from the office of Premier. Earlier on Friday, Iohannis summoned Dancila to a meeting at the presidents official residence, the Cotroceni Palace. But in an unprecedented move, she refused to meet the president, according to the Romania Journal. Iohannis had complained that Dancila failed to consult him on a secret memorandum on foreign policy in violation of the countrys constitution. The Constitution reads that all decisions, for Romanias interest, should have an institutional consultation between the Premier and the President, his statement said. According to reports, the secret memorandum covers a plan to move Romanias embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Thursday, Iohannis had said he expected an explanation from Dancila regarding her visit to Israel, which he said had no mandate from the presidency. I have never heard any Romanian premier to go to a visit abroad and to announce it late in the evening, before leaving, without revealing the agenda, without anyone knowing what she is doing out there, his statement said. Anyone can go on a tourist visit, anytime, but when the person who leads the government is the one going, more should be known, the head of state added. Iohannis belongs to the centre-right, while the government is led by the ruling left-wing Social Democrat party. On April 20, the ruling Social Democrats leader Liviu Dragnea announced that the Romanian government approved a memorandum to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Dragnea, speaker of the chamber of deputies, who joined Prime Minister Dancila in her visit to Israel, denied reports that its move has been finally decided. But he was also quoted as saying that at a time when the US and Israel need support, it will count enormously and it will never be forgotten if Romania expresses its support to the two nations. Dancila has yet to comment on the presidents call. According to Reuters news agency, the Romanian foreign ministry said the memorandum was the start of a wider consultation process. The ministry added that Romanias position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has traditionally been a balanced one, including bilaterally recognising the Palestinian state. In December, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy to the city. The announcement was met with controversy and protests, as part of Jerusalem is also being envisioned as the future capital of a Palestinian state. It has been reported that following Trumps announcement, other states have also considered moving their embassies to Jerusalem. If Romania decides to move its embassy to Jerusalem, it will be the first European Union state to do so. Widespread protests over Wolf Pack case prompt the Spanish government to consider changing sex crime laws. The Spanish government has announced it will consider imposing harsher penalties on perpetrators of sex crimes following widespread protests over a recent court ruling clearing five men of gang-raping a teenager. Rafael Catala, Spains justice minister, asked legal experts to examine whether the countrys current classification of sexual crimes established in 1995 should be updated after the so-called Wolf Pack case, government spokesperson Inigo Mendez de Vigo said on Friday. Vigo, who also expressed the governments support for judicial independence, described the 2016 attack by five men on an 18-year-old female which they filmed on mobile phones as despicable. The men were also found to have joked about the attack afterwards on a WhatsApp group they belonged to titled La Manada (Wolf Pack). The government has always been, and always will be, on the side of the victims and it is going to keep fighting the scourge of violence against women, Mendez de Vigo said. Pamplona protests Protests continued on Friday in Pamplona, in northeastern Spain, where the July 2016 attack took place during the citys famous annual bull-running event. On Thursday, following a five-month trial, a Pamplona court convicted the five male attackers of sexual abuse, clearing them of rape. Under Spanish law, sexual abuse differs from rape in that it does not involve an attacker using violence or intimidation. The state prosecutor for the regional government of Navarra, a Spanish province of which Pamplona is the capital, has announced it will appeal the courts ruling. The verdict, which sentenced the five men to nine years in jail each, prompted demonstrations denouncing the decision as overly lenient in a number of cities across Spain, including the capital, Madrid. Many Spaniards also expressed outrage on social media using the Yo te creo (I believe you) slogan. Prior to the courts decision, the case had already drawn international attention with global concern regarding the sexual abuse of women seemingly heightened in the wake of a number of recent high-profile sexual abuse scandals, including the Harvey Weinstein case in the United States. Teacher protests in Arizona and Colorado are the latest in the US, where cuts to education budgets strain schools. Teachers in the US states of Arizona and Colorado left their classrooms on Thursday to call for better pay and increases in public school funding. Tens of thousands of educators marched through the streets of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, demanding that legislators fix a number of issues, including low educator salaries and overcrowded classrooms with more than 30 students per teacher. In an April 19 poll by the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and grassroots organising group Arizona Educators United, 78 percent of 57,000 educators voted in support of the walkout. It is the first in the states history. Meanwhile, teachers in Colorado also protested on Thursday, resulting in the closure of several school districts, according to local media. Schools across the United States have seen their budgets slashed since the economic downturn of 2007, known as the Great Recession. The protests in Arizona and Colorado follow similar demonstrations in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Decreased budgets not only lowered teacher salaries but also cut funding for school programmes and supplies. Teachers have been known to work multiple jobs and pay for teaching supplies out of their own pockets. Educators decided on the Arizona walkout after state Governor Doug Ducey proposed a plan to raise their salaries 20 percent by 2020. Those protesting said the proposed plan did not offer enough improvements fast enough, and that they want the state government to implement annual improvements to bring Arizona education spending in line with national averages. AEA president Joe Thomas told reporters on Thursday he doesnt expect an early end to the walkout. Teachers in Colorado will hold another Day of Action on Friday, including a march to the Capitol and displaying their graded papers to demonstrate how much work educators do outside of the school day, according to the Colorado Education Association. In Colorado, legislators from both parties have agreed to give schools the largest budget increase since the Great Recession, but teachers say it isnt enough. They also see a clear source of education funding: The taxes earned from the legalisation of cannabis. Colorado legalised the recreational use of cannabis in 2012. The move was a boon to Colorados tax income. In 2014, the first year both medical and recreational cannabis were legally available, sales reached $700m. The 2012 bill committed to delivering millions of tax dollars to the states public education budget, though educators say it has not been enough. Colorado schools say they need $18bn to cover costs through 2018. UK: Chagos Islands descendants seek citizenship Descendants of people from the Chagos Islands hope a proposed new law can grant them British citizenship. The increase of more than 7 cents is the highest jump since March, while the outright price is the highest I admit, my reaction to the plight of young Alfie Evans is colored by my experience with my own grandson, Joseph, who suffers from a similar disorder. I see Joseph's innocence in Alfie's eyes, and I struggle with the marked physical resemblance between Alfie and Joseph at that age. I also vividly recall the doctors counseling my daughter to abort her pregnancy, to save her child from suffering. "He will likely live 18 months, certainly no more than three years," they told us solemnly. Joseph celebrated his 17th birthday in February of this year. Regular readers of my columns will know his story...how the long sought diagnosis finally came after 16 years of trying, and how the discovery of his specific disorder (he is the only known case worldwide) revealed a function of human DNA previously unknown to science a function the understanding of which is changing the way medicines are made. I see Joseph's smile on Alfie's lips and recognize that look of trust and love. My heart is shredded over the arrogant, brutal indifference of the British National Health Service, willing to starve a child to death rather than risk another hospital proving its doctors wrong. In a world distressingly familiar with violence, injustice, and hatred, a circumstance such as this avoidable, by no means necessary will torture our souls, as those charged with preventing man's inhumanity toward man pivot from protector to executioner at the behest of misbegotten laws designed to empower the state at the expense of the citizen, in service to collectivism as god. Like the Nuremburg laws that made the atrocities of the Nazis all perfectly legal, even obligatory, England has adopted legislation that permits the doyens of the NHS to abrogate the rights of both patient and family with little more than a formal request to supine family courts, increasingly eager to burnish the reputation of their empty-suit, single-payer health care system. Alfie suffers from a degenerative brain disorder of unknown origin, and it is the opinion of his medical team at Liverpool's Alder Hey Pediatric Hospital that little of his brain remains and that further treatment or life-sustaining efforts would not be in the child's "best interests." In Britain's socialized medical system, second opinions are typically given by other NHS physicians, chosen not by the parents or the patient, but by the attending physician who gave the first opinion. Unsurprisingly, second opinions in the NHS rarely overturn the first. In this case, however, Alfie's parents were able to force the hospital to release records for outside review. Unsurprisingly, Alder Hey's prognosis has not been confirmed by outside medical professionals. Indeed, numerous outside experts vehemently disagree with Alder Hey's conclusions. The disturbing truth is, the physicians of Alder Hey haven't even attempted to determine the cause of Alfie's distress, having decided within months of his birth that his life was not worth living. As revealed by the attorney for Alfie's father, Tom Evans, the position of the NHS is indeed far uglier than it appears at first blush. As reported by multiple British newspapers: While the medical team have maintained that young Alfie cannot survive absent the use of a ventilator, (they predicted he would die within minutes of being removed from the ventilator, and as of the time of this writing, young Alfie has been breathing unaided for more than 60 hours) they have further argued that he would have an "insufficient quality of life," even if he managed to survive. Tom's attorney: We do not challenge the medical report ... [but it is] another thing to say that your life is futile because your quality of life is not deemed sufficient[.] Like the parents of Charlie Gard another child similarly condemned to death by a preening NHS Alfie's parents disagreed with the hospital's plans to abandon further treatment and remove life support from their son. They began to investigate alternatives for care outside the NHS system, never suspecting that the state-run system would see their love for their child as a threat to the NHS and would respond with ferocity. Alder Hey's physicians have been unrelenting in their abandonment of this child, having decided more than a year ago, in February of 2017, that Alfie should quit embarrassing them by surviving in spite of receiving no treatment and get on with the business of the afterlife. Since making that decision, the hospital has refused to perform even the most common of procedures for a patient with Alfie's needs, such as a tracheostomy to facilitate easier breathing or a gastrostomy feeding tube for nutrition and medication. For all this time, Alfie has been fed through a nasal tube, never intended as a permanent solution, but rather as a stopgap (weeks, not months) designed to be used until a g-tube can be placed. The medical treatment Alfie has received is abominable, as a direct result of the hospital's decision, and subsequent criminal obstinacy toward anyone suggesting that their prognosis might be in error. To hear the barristers for Alder Hey wax poetic about the "first class care" given Alfie by the NHS (parroted by judge after judge in court proceedings) is indeed revolting the British equivalent of Baghdad Bob. In truth, they have made no attempt to diagnose Alfie's condition, preferring instead to place him on heavily sedating anti-seizure medications, then claiming that his lethargy is further evidence of his irreversible decline. The world is witness to slow-motion murder. The perpetrators are the NHS, and the motive is not pecuniary, but rather a perverse form of institutional vanity. Italy has conferred citizenship to Alfie, and there is a medical air ambulance standing by at the request of the pope to fly Alfie to the Vatican's children's hospital, Bambino Gesu, where Alfie can be treated. But while socialism requires citizen confidence to operate, it will settle for coercion to gain compliance. This is why Alder Hey refuses to release #Alfie. Should the boy survive outside NHS care, their "infallibility" would be shattered, and (gasp!) the sheep may begin to question their shepherd. Collectivist schemes of medicine are no more sustainable (or just!) than collectivist schemes of societal order. Both require submission, even unto death. Once that logic is accepted as legitimate, the line will be pushed back farther and farther in future cases until a mere diagnosis is sufficient cause for the state to "act in the patient's best interest." I can find no difference between the rationalizations of the Nazis and the arguments being made against Alfie Evans by the NHS. A great many evils are cloaked in "compassion"; indeed, it is a rarity when evil stands naked before its victim. Nowhere is this truth more evident than in the "compassion" of Alder Hey Hospital toward Alfie Evans. Would that all of Britain rose up and demanded the release of Alfie before death has its way. I pray for him, and for the charred souls of those who will be left behind living victims of unconscionable state cruelty. The only "life unworthy of life" is that of the arrogant, self-congratulatory medical murderers of the NHS and their judicial enablers. May God's judgment be realized in the fullest. The author has written extensively on the vagaries of the British NHS and other similarly constituted single-payer systems. He welcomes visitors to his website, www.dailyherring.com. Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2004, are the largest age cohort in American history, and according to a recent poll, most of them (44%) prefer socialism to capitalism (42%). An earlier 2015 poll found an even larger number of Millennials (53%) with a "favorable opinion" of socialism. Inference: America is in trouble. Maybe Donald Trump can stem the tide for another four or even eight years, but support for socialism will continue to mount as long as Millennials remain ignorant of what socialism really is. The greatest danger to this country comes from the fact that so many Millennials don't understand politics and economics. How else to explain Millennial support for Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist? With a 75% approval rating overall, and higher among Millennials, Sanders is "the most popular politician in the country," according to the Observer. According to his official website, Sanders supports a long list of liberal causes: free health care and college tuition for all, "combating climate change to save the planet," "fighting for women's rights," "fighting for LGBT equality," "fighting for nurses," "empowering tribal nations," "fighting for the rights of native Hawaiians," "standing with Guam" (huh?) all of it paid for by "making the wealthy pay their fair share." It seems that Bernie is "fighting" for just about everybody except straight white males and that nebulous crowd he calls "the rich." Sanders intends to use the tax code to force the rich to pay more. Oddly enough, Sanders himself is one of these nefarious rich people. His net income in 2016 was over one million dollars. Nothing in the tax code prevents any taxpayer from contributing more than their required amount of tax to the federal government. So far as I know, Bernie has not done so. So it would seem that he doesn't mean it when he talks about the rich paying more, or he would have done so. Maybe Bernie is just a clever capitalist, who, along with Nancy Pelosi with her $140 million and financier husband, masquerades as a socialist. At its heart, capitalism is a liberating philosophy of life whereby individuals participate freely in markets by trading their goods or services for those of others. Under capitalism, individuals are incentivized to work by the rewards of the free market. Socialism substitutes state control and state ownership. It dictates wages and prices, creating a hugely inefficient and corrupt system that always ends in bankruptcy. Bernie's vision of the future is so hackneyed a version of all this that it would be funny if it weren't so dangerous. According to one respected website, Bernie's health care plan ("Medicare for All") alone would bankrupt America. Estimates of Medicare for All costs to taxpayers range from $3.1 to $14 trillion over the first decade. Bernie proposes to fund his proposal by raising taxes on the rich, but that revenue, even if it could be collected, would not be enough. With F.Y. 2018 federal spending at $4 trillion, the addition of another $855 billion in annual spending (based on an average of the estimates for Bernie's plan) involves a 21.4% tax increase (not counting funding for all of Bernie's other initiatives). Since they already pay 90% of taxes, and since Bernie rules out middle-class tax increases, this increase would fall exclusively on the top 10% of earners. So for those affluent taxpayers, Bernie's plan for health care alone would entail a tax increase of 23.75%. Meanwhile, Bernie's "free" college tuition plan would cost an estimated $70 billion annually. That's another 1.94% increase in federal tax for "the rich." Climate change initiatives, increased regulation, and race- and gender-based giveaways would place more burdens on affluent taxpayers. Altogether, Sanders-style socialism would drive marginal federal and state rates to at least 70% in high-tax states, not counting sales tax, property tax, and countless other taxes and fees. Meanwhile, socialism promises what amounts to income for life for those who choose not to work. This being the case, who in his right mind would strive to become a successful entrepreneur or surgeon, accountant, or business leader when he could hang out in Boulder and smoke dope for the next forty years? There are many words to describe socialism. Having lived under communism myself, I am thoroughly familiar with the idleness, poverty, and demoralization collectivism breeds. It was commonplace to visit a restaurant in Belgrade, be handed an elaborate menu listing hundreds of choices, and then be told, "Soup, salad, and bread nothing else today." Loss of power and water in communist Yugoslavia and Bulgaria was an everyday occurrence. And secret police and neighborhood spies were everywhere. Among the old, there was bitterness, and among the young, only the ambition to get out. That to me is the essence of socialism: idleness, poverty, and repression. But how many Millennials know this? How many care to know? Not many, and not many of their teachers are making an effort to teach them about socialism. Within university departments of history, among faculty who should know better, liberals outnumber conservatives by a ratio of more than 33 to 1. With the sort of education they receive, it's not surprising that Millennials are attracted by the increasing radicalism of the Democratic Party and given the radicalism of its base, it's not surprising that the Democratic Party is rapidly becoming openly socialist. According to Pew Research, Millennials tilt Democratic by a 51-to-35% margin. Interestingly, their grandparents (the "Silent Generation," aged 69-86) have now abandoned the Democratic Party in large numbers. These voters contributed to Trump's victory in 2016. What does the Silent Generation know that Millennials don't? To begin with, they know that the world is a dangerous place. They grew up in the shadow of WWII and lived through the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. They lived with the fear of all-out nuclear war, with reports of Soviet spying and the horrors of Chinese and North Korean communism. They learned of gulags, executions, and starvation and they knew how fortunate they were to have been born in America. They also know how difficult it is to maintain a decent standard of living. In their childhood, they heard tales of the Great Depression. They grew up at a time when the minimum wage was 75 cents an hour that's an hour of real labor, not chatting or surfing the internet. They built wealth patiently from small beginnings, via a 30-year mortgage, Social Security, and contributions to retirement plans. They knew how hard it was to put money away. The Silent Generation's hard-knocks wisdom is a long way from the smug assurance of those who have never lived without wi-fi. I don't wish ill on anyone, but I know that a time of testing is at hand for Millennials. With more than $21 trillion in debt America is moving toward a debased currency and a permanently lower standard of living. And despite the assurances of Millennial historians such as Yuval Noah Harari, war is not really a thing of the past. Another great war is coming one America may well lose. I doubt if our adversaries will be as magnanimous as America was following WWII. Millennials seem willfully blind to these possibilities. Millennials as a group have lost sight of a fundamental law underlying all civilization. Call it self-preservation, self-interest, or simply survival. It was the great truth that Churchill cited when he rallied Britain to defense in 1940. It was what George S. Patton meant when he said, "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." Most Millennials, I suspect, are not great Patton fans. They can't understand the wisdom underlying his salty language or his heroic life. They can't appreciate Patton because they don't accept that life involves struggle. And since that truth is at the heart of capitalist economic theory, they don't understand or accept capitalism. Socialism obscures that truth, and it does so in the service of the selfish ends of both the ruling elite and the dissolute masses. It is founded on the lie that the human species can live everywhere in peace, accepting the rule of distant bureaucracies and subsisting on an "equal" dole of crumbs. Inevitably, Millennials will learn from their mistakes, but the learning curve will be difficult and the consequences painful. If Millennials succeed in installing an Elizabeth Warren-like figure in the White House, it will be a long and uncertain road back to human freedom. After decades of socialism, aging Millennials may learn their lesson, but at the cost of a lifetime wasted, and the future ruined for the rest of us. Wouldn't it be better if they would just wake up? Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011). Image: Jorge Lascar via Flickr. In 2007, in a highly controversial move, Keith Hakim Ellison, the first Muslim congressman, swore his oath of office on a copy of the Koran. In effect, Ellison rejected the values that unify Americans and instead pledged to follow a religious text that commands Muslims to wage war against secular legal systems. Today, swearing the oath of office on the Koran and even simultaneously praising Allah have become almost commonplace. In 2016, Minneapolis Park Board member and Somalian refugee, A.K. Hassan took his oath on a massively oversized Koran and proclaimed his commitment to serve "in the name of Allah." In 2015, another Somali refugee, Ilhan Omar, elected to the Minnesota House of Representative, swore on the Koran, as did Carolyn Walker-Diallo, the first Muslim woman judge elected to Brooklyn's 7th Municipal District, and Abdullah Hammoud, a Michigan state representative. In "Muslim Brotherhood Political Infiltration on Steroids," I described how as early as 1987, FBI information revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood a Middle East political organization considered a terrorist organization by five Arab countries and Russia was seeking to "peacefully get inside the United States Government" and accomplish "the ultimate goal of overthrowing all non-Islamic governments." Several M.B. front groups, including Project Mobilize; the United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO); and Jetpac, Inc., had been created to politically exploit America's Muslim community to achieve supremacist goals set forth in the Muslim Brotherhood's strategic plan, the Explanatory Memorandum. As if taking a cue from the memorandum, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Nihad Awad, spoke in January 2016, at the 14th annual Muslim American Society-Islamic Circle of North America (MAS-ICNA) conference in Chicago. He urged Muslims to "[t]urn your centers, Islamic centers, mosques into registration centers for voters, into polling stations during election time." Awad intoned that American Muslims can determine "not only the future of you here but the future of America itself." In 2014, the United Arab Emirates identified CAIR and MAS as terrorist organizations. CAIR, referred to as "Hamas doing business as CAIR" by former FBI supervisor and M.B. expert John Guandolo, had been previously identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF-Hamas funding trial. ICNA was listed in the Explanatory Memorandum as one of the Muslim Brotherhood's likeminded "organization of our friends" with the shared goal of destroying America and transforming it into a Muslim nation. In Canada and Europe and to a more limited degree in the U.S., once devout Muslims are installed in political office, they push for anti-hate speech and anti-Islamopobia laws and even prohibitions against verbatim citing of Islamic texts. In addition, since sharia-adherent Muslims are commanded to reject man-made law such as the U.S. Constitution, they must endeavor to replace secular law with Islamic doctrine under a caliphate or Islamic government. Muslims in office also take positions against U.S. interests. For example, Ellison represents "Little Mogadishu," a neighborhood in Minneapolis with one of the highest concentrations of Somali Muslim refugees. In 2015, despite active recruiting in his district by the East African terrorist group Al-Shabaab, and the arrest of several Somalis for attempted travel to Syria to join ISIS, Ellison ignored terrorist financing concerns and opposed efforts to curb cash transfers to Somalia. Meanwhile, new Muslim candidates of questionable motivation and affiliation continue to run for office. Since my previous article, two are in upcoming races, and one, who was momentarily unsuccessful, is likely to run again. In Florida's Broward County, Altaf Ahmed is running for county commissioner in an election to be held later this year. In 2016, he tweeted his attendance at CAIR Florida's 16th annual gala and included a photo of himself with Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In 1992, Wahhaj said, "If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate." Ahmed also praised the gala's organizer, Nezar Hamze, a CAIR leader and Broward County sheriff's deputy. Hamze has denied the threat of Islamic terrorism and has conducted active shooter training at an al-Qaeda-associated Florida mosque. He has been actively involved in Islamic Relief Worldwide, an organization banned by the UAE, Israel, and several Swiss banks for funding al-Qaeda and Hamas. Another questionable candidate for office, Ammar Campa-Najjar, is running for the 50th Congressional District in eastern San Diego County and Temecula, the seat currently held by Duncan Hunter. Campa-Najjar's grandfather headed the intelligence wing of Fatah, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and other terrorist attacks against Israelis. Campa-Najjar attended an Islamic school at the Masjid Abu Bakr in San Diego but claims to have converted to Christianity. His views on the Middle East are confounding. He says he appreciates Israel's need for security but also proclaims that "Israel will have to acknowledge its wrongdoings as the sovereign state" and "Palestinians will have to renounce violence and fanaticism, acknowledge their Jewish neighbors and accept new realities." In the most recent presidential election, Campa-Najjar supported Bernie Sanders, who criticized Israel for its offensive war against Gaza following thousands of rocket attacks and questioned America's level of support for Israeli security. A third Muslim would-be politician, Dilara Sayeed, ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the Illinois House's 5th District and was endorsed by M.B. operative Ellison. Sayeed recently spoke at a Muslim religious festival (Eid) dinner at the Loyola University Chicago Muslim Student Association and was honored by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) at an event that featured M.B. and sharia-advocate, Dalia Mogahed, as the keynote speaker. The Muslim Student Association, a rabidly anti-U.S., anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel group, is the first national Islamic organization established by the Muslim Brotherhood to indoctrinate and recruit Muslim students for terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, CIOGC members include many M.B. front organizations, such as the Mosque Foundation (M.F.), which has held fundraisers for individuals and groups associated with the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas; Islamic Relief USA, which has funded al-Qaeda; and the Muslim American Society, which has propagated materials that degrade women, curse Christians, and call for the murder of Jews and homosexuals. With endorsements from the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune and as a fellow of JetPac, an organization established as an "open call for American Muslims to immerse themselves in local politics," Sayeed is likely to seek political office again and succeed. Given the new Muslim candidates and their affiliations, and the likely emergence of even more such office-seekers, Ellison's address at a 2010 MAS fundraiser, hosted by jihad supporter Esam Omeish, now seems an ominous warning. Said Ellison, "And I am telling you, that with your help, we are able to take the Muslim presence on Capitol Hill from zero to a real player. And this is what we're trying to do and we got to do it in every state house in America ... positioning Muslims in general to help steer the ship of state in America." Surely, the ongoing attempt to penetrate American society through political office so clearly documented in Muslim Brotherhood strategic documents published decades ago is proceeding apace. Despite a stated objective to destroy the United States from within and replace its system of laws and values with Islamic doctrine or sharia, ignorance or willful blindness on the part of Americans insures that their goal is dangerously within reach. Image: Rudy Herman via Flickr. In its never-ending pursuit of revelatory records meant to expose corruption, fraud, waste and evil generally in the Deep State, Judicial Watch published an interesting set of records today received from the government in its glacial response to demands for Hillary Clinton's emails. The records reflect another disturbing email exchange among Hillary's top staffers regarding Jewish Americans, this time with the subject line "Jews." Judicial Watch published an interesting analysis of this most recent batch of records, rightly focusing again on Hillary Clinton's dangerous abuse of national security information by trafficking it on her unsecure "home-brew" server. We also discuss yet more evidence of pay-for-play corruption revealed by the latest records, again illustrating the virtual melding of the State Department with the Clinton Foundation "philanthropy." Its beneficiaries were the Clintons and their vast political machine, with only six percent of their donations actually going to charitable causes in 2014, and the bulk going to "overhead expenses," like travel for the Clintons. But one particular email exchange in this latest round caught my attention because it illustrates what I believe is an anti-Semitic current running through the top echelon of the Clinton political machine, consistent with a growing global trend toward anti-Semitism that should alarm everyone in the West. On August 1, 2010, then-deputy assistant secretary of state for strategic communications and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton Philippe Reines sent an email to other Hillary confidantes, including Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan, and Lona Valmoro, with a copy to "AJS" (probably Andrew J. Shapiro, then-assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs). In his email, which had the subject line "Jews," Reines wrote: "We spend so much time talking about meetings with Jewish members, Andrew giving speeches, her [Hillary] at AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee]. But nothing to date is better than the photo of Marc with the yalkmukah [sic] and talis." "Marc" in that exchange may be a reference to Chelsea Clinton's husband (Hillary's son-in-law), Marc Mezvinsky. "Talis" is a reference to a Jewish prayer shawl, and a yarmulke (correct spelling) is a skullcap, both typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men during prayer. The flip comment seems to be expressing a sentiment by Reines that the State Department was spending an inordinate amount of attention catering to Jewish Americans. And he's even mocking Chelsea's husband (apparently) for wearing traditional Jewish garb. The subject line itself "Jews" should be disconcerting to all Americans, not least of all Jewish Americans, whom Reines is singling out here as a bloc. History is replete with examples of Jews being singled out as a bloc, often and obviously with horrendous consequences. Moreover, Reines apparently felt comfortable enough in relaying it to his colleagues that one assumes they shared his derogatory sentiment, evidence of which we have seen before among the Clinton coterie. As the Daily Caller uncovered in 2016, then-deputy chief of staff and top personal confidante of Hillary Clinton Huma Abedin had an email exchange with Doug Band on September 10, 2009. At the time, Band was the top aide to former President Bill Clinton and a senior official of the Clinton Foundation. As Judicial Watch has exposed on numerous occasions (see, for example, here, here, and here), Band and Abedin, thick as thieves, served as the bridge between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department in the Clintons' scheme to turn the State Department into a cash cow for the Clinton Foundation coffers. In that exchange, Band told Abedin and Hillary's chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, that AIPAC wished for Bill Clinton to speak at the AIPAC conference. Abedin responded, "U really want to consider sending him in to that crowd?" Abedin concludes the email thread by saying to Band, "no go to aipac," apparently after consulting with Hillary. While I detest identity politics and the ethnic grievance industry generally (two areas in which Democrats particularly enjoy trafficking), we see with these emails, and with Huma Abedin's disturbing professional and personal background, a troubling fact pattern. Abedin's involvement in both these electronic conversations, as the speaker in one and recipient in the other, should bring renewed attention to her past work and associations, and the considerable power she wielded as secretary of state Hillary Clinton's "right arm" for four years. Huma Abedin hails from a family strongly associated with Islamist groups. Her father, Zyed Abedin, wrote a book, Muslim Minority Affairs, that Islamic expert Walid Shoebat describes as "an Arab Mein Kampf." Zyed also founded the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs that, per former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy, was operated "under the management of" the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, which published a pamphlet on Islamist supremacy called "Islamic Views." McCarthy notes that that publication says it aims to "teach our children to love taking revenge on the Jews and the oppressors." As the Center for Security Policy has documented extensively, Huma and her family are closely associated with what "can reasonably be considered [Muslim] Brotherhood fronts, or, at minimum, heavily populated by Muslim Brothers or ideological Islamist fellow travelers." Huma was an assistant editor of IMMA's publication, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, which was funded by top al-Qaeda financier Abdullah Omar Naseef, who was also an assistant editor of the Journal and chairman of IMMA. Huma's brother, Hassan Abedin, was an associate editor of that journal as well. Hassan was also a fellow at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, a group that, according to CSP, includes Naseef as a board member. Huma's mother, Saleha Abedin, editor-in-chief for JMMA, founded the International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child (IICWC), whose charter, according to CSP, was written by "the infamous Hitler-praising cleric" Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Ms. Abedin's and her family's associations with radical Islamists was so concerning that it prompted five Republican congressmen to request in 2012 that the State Department's inspector general conduct an investigation into Ms. Abedin's history and security clearance. That sensible request was met with derision and ridicule, even among politicians on the right. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, writing in defense of the legislators' request, agreed that a person in such a powerful and sensitive position, with her known associations, should be re-examined, noting that the former head of Russian counterintelligence for the FBI, Robert Hanssen, turned out to have been a Russian spy for 22 years. Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world. Recently, multiple Orthodox Jews were assaulted in Brooklyn, apparently due to their Jewish ethnicity, based on their assailants' statements. Jews in Europe are reportedly facing the highest incidence of anti-Semitic assaults since World War II. Discussions like those of the Clintons' associates should be taken seriously if the world is to avoid a repetition of the darkness of an earlier era. William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and non-profit sectors for over 30 years. Presently, he is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc. (The views expressed are the author's alone and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.) Image: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons. If the Nobel Peace Prize really is about "peace," guess who wins the next one hands down? Even the lefties are admitting it. This must give the Nobel committee the shivers, forced to admit that Donald Trump of all people brought peace to the Korean peninsula after 65 years. Yes, that Donald Trump, the one they have been hating for all these years. And the war Trump ended had been rising to dangerous levels when he stopped it. The line pointing to Trump for this is obvious enough, too. When Trump made highly risky, seemingly crazy tweets declaring the North Korean dictator Little Rocket Man and, with a weird, weird, seemingly impulsive juvenile bravado, declared that his nukes are bigger than Kim's, things started to happen. Out of desperation, Kim hired Western consultants in the West to read him. Kim also watched the news about Syria and decided he didn't want it to happen to him. And he came to believe that Trump is not only serious, but even crazier than Kim is. Kim's response to run, not walk, to the negotiating table. So here we have it: the handshake between North and South Korea at the DMZ along with the call to end the Korean War, which has remained smoldering embers with no peace treaty since 1953. Who's stating the obvious about this? Kid you not, it's lefties and their press minions. Foreign policy doyen Ian Bremmer, who is probably best described as center-left and a realist, but a lefty nevertheless, came out with it. Up until now, he's had nothing positive to say about Trump. Here are his tweets: Ive been critical of Trump foreign policy missteps in past year: TPP, Paris, too many unnecessary missteps with allies to count. But todays historic North/South Korea breakthrough does not happen without priority & pressure from US President. Trump deserves full credit. ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 27, 2018 Trump, Xi, Moon and Kim together get my vote for the Nobel Peace Prize. ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 27, 2018 Obviously, still a lot of work to do before theres sustainable Peace. But its not like the Nobel Committee doesnt give Prizes in advance of accomplishment... ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 27, 2018 Trump snapped the ball and the Koreans are running with it. ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 27, 2018 There's more. Here is what one column in the increasingly left-wing London Telegraph had to say: US President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for Korean triumph From Nikkei Asian Review of Trump-unfriendly Japan: A Nobel Prize for Trump, Xi, Moon and Kim? And this one, from the #NeverTrump Washington Examiner: Why Trump deserves a Nobel Prize Is a consensus building or what? When you have Trump critics of this kind admitting the obvious, and a Nobel committee with its reputation on the line, it's going to be difficult for the smug, self-important Eurotrash running that thing to deny Trump that prize. And if Trump wins, we win. The deplorables who elected Trump, as it turns out, were right all along. At a time of ugly race-baiting in politics, a good laugh is like a ray of sunshine. For the funniest candidate of the day, conservatives owe a big vote of thanks to a gentleman named Shiva Ayyadura (pronounced ah-yah-DOO-rah) in the Commonwealth of Mass., a man who is both a real Indian (from India!) and a real American (from America!) unlike Fauxcahontas Warren, the current senator from that benighted state. So Mr. A. is running against Liz (Fakey) Warren for Senate, and naturally, the local leftist thugs are trying to shut him up. Liz Warren is the most ridiculous senator since Foghorn Leghorn, because she is such an obvious affirmative action cheat. When anybody objects that she doesn't have an particle of Indian DNA, her answer is to accuse other people of racism. (Of course!) Well, this is a chance for payback. The left has sliced and diced U.S. voters into blocs of blacks against whites, women against men, young against old, Amerindians against other Americans, on and on, regardless of sanity and common sense. The media protect race-baiting Democrats, which is why American politics has gone mad. This used to be called "segging" when Bobby Byrd did it back in the Klan days in Miz'ssippi. Race-baiting is still the left's most destructive weapon. So for Democrats, racial resentments are never allowed to fade. That's why the country can't let go of racial divisions: it's the main tool the Democrats use to stay in power. They are disgusting. Now sane voters in Massachussetts (if there are any left) can vote for a American citizen with an Indian name, whose family hails from India, against a raving left-o-nut from Harvard. People from India (in Asia) know a lot about race-hatred because it's been used by mobs and demagogues since Day One. When India declared independence in 1947, the country split apart, into current India, Pakistan and later on Bangladesh, following murderous race and religious riots between Muslims and all the other Indian religions. More than three million people died in the Partition of 1947, and Mr. Shiva Ayyadura probably knows about the downside of race baiting politics. But Liz Warren is still happy to play that card, over and over again, and I would therefore vote for Mr. A if I could. My state of California will let illegals vote for Hillary, but they would arrest me for voting for Mr. A in Mass. The radical left is the vulnerable to ridicule, especially Fauxcahontas and her kind. They are afraid of being exposed, and Mr. A is doing it just by running as a real Indian against a total fraud. So Mr. A is staging a grand campaign aimed at the worst people in politics. I hope he wins. In that Paradise of Demagogues, the U.S. Senate, we need at least one clown who is willing to go for laughs. In fact, I wish we had Mr. A in the Senate when Hillary and Bill occupied the White House and promoted the likes of Robert Mueller and other lefto-swampo-crats in the Deep State. The DNC talent-spotters might have tracked fire-breathing supporters in the swamp, and when Obama came in, he did what they always do in Chicago. You might have noticed that DOJ bureaucrats contributed to the Hillary campaign, and Bill and Hillary usually operate quid pro quo. Could you imagine the Bill and Hillary White House with Shiva Ayyadurai poking fun at them in the U.S. Senate every day? Can you imagine Ted Kennedy being laughed at by a man who would tell the truth? How about Obama the Mahdi? How about the clowns who run Iran? The world of politics is dying for lack of laughter. Liz Warren has lied all her career to get affirmative action at Harvard Law School, where people obviously knew she was a fraud. Liz the Indian served the purposes of the lefties at Harvard, the same witch-hunters who chased Larry Summers out because he wondered out loud if little boys actually do make better mathematicians (while little girls have more fun). The screamers went into high gear, and the next day, Larry was kicked out. That's the Liz Warren mob. Elizabeth Warren has suckered the voters of Mass, or, more likely, they just don't care anymore. After Teddy the K. and Vietnam John Kerry, they can't do worse. But somehow, with Liz, the voters of Mass were too drunk or delusional to think straight. Ordinary Americans are routinely harassed with false accusations of racism. When the media scream "racist," they usually know it's a lie, because they are more evil than stupid. That "racist!" accusation still scares many Americans. How do you prove you're innocent? You can't. This is how fascists operate. They make decency and honesty impossible. So I would love to vote for Mr. Shiva A. In the Indian pantheon (from India!) Shiva is an aspect of the Hindu trinity, both male and female. (This should make it trendy at Harvard.) The female aspect is a dancing goddess, a playful image of laughter and laughter is what we need to dissolve the veils of delusion pumped out by our phony media. Image: Edward Kimmel via Flickr. Arthur Laffer and Steven Moore have penned an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal that gauges the impact of the cap on state tax deductions in high tax states. Their conclusions should frighten high-tax, big-spending liberals in blue states across the country. In the years to come, millions of people, thousands of businesses, and tens of billions of dollars of net income will flee high-tax blue states for low-tax red states. This migration has been happening for years. But the Trump tax bill's cap on the deduction for state and local taxes, or SALT, will accelerate the pace. The losers will be most of the Northeast, along with California. The winners are likely to be states like Arizona, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. For years blue states have exported a third or more of their tax burden to residents of other states. In places like California, where the top income-tax rate exceeds 13%, that tax could be deducted on a federal return. Now that deduction for state and local taxes will be capped at $10,000 per family. Consider what this means if you're a high-income earner in Silicon Valley or Hollywood. The top tax rate that you actually pay just jumped from about 8.5% to 13%. Similar figures hold if you live in Manhattan, once New York City's income tax is factored in. If you earn $10 million or more, your taxes might increase a whopping 50%. About 90% of taxpayers are unaffected by the change. But high earners in places with hefty income taxes not just California and New York, but also Minnesota and New Jersey will bear more of the true cost of their state government. Also in big trouble are Connecticut and Illinois, where the overall state and local tax burden (especially property taxes) is so onerous that high-income residents will feel the burn now that they can't deduct these costs on their federal returns. On the other side are nine states including Florida, Nevada, Texas and Washington that impose no tax at all on earned income. The authors put their finger on the real meaning of SALT: it prevents the rest of us from subsidizing the blue state model. By making rich taxpayers in blue states bear the true cost of all those goodies given out by their state governments, those living in low-tax red states will no longer subsidize the irresponsible spending habits in blue states. Now that the SALT subsidy is gone, how bad will it get for high-tax blue states? Very bad. We estimate, based on the historical relationship between tax rates and migration patterns, that both California and New York will lose on net about 800,000 residents over the next three years roughly twice the number that left from 2014-16. Our calculations suggest that Connecticut, New Jersey and Minnesota combined will hemorrhage another roughly 500,000 people in the same period. Red states ought to brace themselves: The Yankees are coming, and they are bringing their money with them. Meanwhile, the exodus could puncture large and unexpected holes in blue-state budgets. Lawmakers in Hartford and Trenton have gotten a small taste of this in recent years as billionaire financiers have flown the coop and relocated to Florida. As the migration speeds up, it will raise real-estate values in low-tax states and hurt them in high-tax states. We are the most mobile society in the history of industrialized civilization. The fact that we are a federal republic with fifty individual state governments makes choosing a place to live more than just a preference for climate or scenery. High taxes generally bring with them a higher cost of living, urban decay, crime, and a lack of economic opportunity. So Americans are voting with their feet. And in this competition, it's no contest. Compelling stories kept breaking from dawn to dusk yesterday, Thursday, April 26, 2018, and the analysis on cable news and online continued well into the night. Before dawn Thursday morning on the West Coast, it was learned that Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, M.D., the White House physician who had been nominated to head the Veterans Administration, had withdrawn his name from consideration for the job in the face of withering opposition from leading congressional Democrats. Earlier, it had appeared that his going forward and seeking confirmation would occasion a political battle royale. Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade welcome President Donald Trump, April 26, 2018. Screenshot by Peter Barry Chowka. Less than a half-hour after that news broke, President Donald Trump, who had nominated and championed Dr. Jackson for the top job at the V.A., appeared live by telephone for a free-wheeling, half-hour, commercial-free interview with the three hosts of Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. (Video link, transcript.) It was a homecoming of sorts citizen Trump had appeared as a weekly phone guest on the show each Monday at 8 A.M. E.T. for several years prior to declaring for president in 2015, and he clearly considers it friendly territory to speak extemporaneously on the issues. Now, as the commander in chief, in a rare open-ended live broadcast interview, the POTUS made news volunteering that his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who is the subject of a federal investigation in New York, in fact represented him in the Stormy Daniels case. As reported in the not too friendly Philadelphia Inquirer, typical of most MSM coverage of the president's Fox & Friends appearance: In a meandering interview on Fox & Friends Thursday morning that turned at times into an angry phone rant, President Trump admitted that Michael Cohen represented him in the Stormy Daniels case and confirmed he stayed overnight in a Moscow hotel, contradicting a claim he made to then-FBI Director James Comey. In the interview itself, Trump was speaking so fast that the transcript ran over 6,000 words about twice the content usually contained in a half-hour of public speaking. Before the morning was over, Mike Pompeo, the CIA director who was nominated to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, was confirmed by a vote of 57-42 in the U.S. Senate. He had been opposed by many leading Democrats, and the outcome appeared uncertain, although several Democrats crossed over to give Pompeo a victory. He was quickly sworn in as secretary of state by Supreme Court justice Sam Alito. North Korea's Kim Jong-un and South Korea's Moon Jae-in shake hands before entering South Korea at the DMZ for talks on April 26, 2018. Meanwhile, the news from Asia where Pompeo recently played a surprising role when he secretly traveled to North Korea to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was that Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in had held their first meeting, and a cordial, photogenic one at that, on the South Korea side of the DMZ in advance of a planned Kim-Trump meeting at a location to be decided on later this spring. It was the first time a North Korean head of state had ever set foot in South Korea since fighting in the Korean War ended in 1953. Around 2:30 P.M. E.T., the news from a courtroom in Pennsylvania was that "America's Dad," Bill Cosby comedian, actor, and onetime voice on the moral decline of the nation had been found guilty on all charges of sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago. Cosby, who is 80 and is now a convicted felon, is temporarily free on bail but faces a 30-year prison term when he is sentenced within the next three months. During any other normal or slow news cycle, Cosby's stunning fall from grace would have been the unchallenged lead story of the day. But more news that challenged the Cosby story and the others for primacy was yet to come. At 6 P.M. E.T., former FBI director James Comey, a political lightning rod since the publication of his bestselling anti-Trump book A Higher Loyalty ten days ago, showed up (late due to traffic) for a live one-on-one interview with Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier on Special Report. (Video: part 1, part 2.) Like his former boss President Trump's interview on Fox News ten hours earlier, Comey's conversation made news. He disclaimed any knowledge that the infamous dossier used as evidence to obtain FISA warrants to surveil one or more aides to candidate Trump in 2016 which kicked off the ongoing "collusion with Russia" investigations on multiple fronts was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign. And last but not least, in the early evening, major news outlets announced that they had received copies of the 49 pages of the latest release of text messages exchanged between FBI agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok that had just been given to a congressional oversight committee. For a time, it was thought that the so-called missing texts were lost, but they were recovered by an FBI forensics team. Reporters taking a first look at the texts noted the significant redactions that made them barely intelligible at times and the paucity of the material in light of the fact that Strzok and Page were alleged to have exchanged 50,000 texts during their cell phone texting frenzy in 2016-17. During that time, the two were having an adulterous relationship; working on the FBI's Hillary Clinton email and Russia collusion investigations; and harboring an animus toward candidate, president-elect, and then president Donald Trump. Oh, one more thing: On Thursday evening, another story worth noting came to light when Variety published a major article complete with a video of former NBC correspondent Linda Vester, who alleged in detail that former NBC lead anchor Tom Brokaw had pressured her for unwanted sexual contact 23 years ago when he was the face of the network and at the height of his power. Linda Vester in her video about Tom Brokaw, Variety, 2018. As Vester says on camera at the start of the video at Variety: I'm Linda Vester. For a decade I worked at NBC News as an anchor and correspondent. I was groped and assaulted by Tom Brokaw, then the anchor of NBC Nightly News. In 2005, Vester retired from her on-air job at the Fox News Channel, after she left NBC, to become a stay-at-home mom. In her video statement, she describes suffering "years of shame, humiliation," and "PTSD" following the alleged incidents with Brokaw. On Thursday evening, Fox News summarized the breaking story, which was also being reported by other media, including the Washington Post: Legendary NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw allegedly made unwanted sexual advances against multiple women in the 1990s, a bombshell set of reports revealed Thursday, months after a separate set of accusations led to the downfall of longtime "Today" anchor Matt Lauer. Brokaw quickly issued a denial and gave the following statement to Variety via NBC: I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other. One can only wonder, what's next? As Linda Ellerbee, the host of NBC Overnight in the early 1980s, used to say: "And so it goes." Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran reporter and analyst of news on national politics, media, and popular culture. He is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka. In an April 24 news conference, President Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron narrowed their rift toward the current state of the Iran deal, known as the JCPOA. Macron defended discussions with Trump for a new plan to curb Iranian nuclear weapons. Speaking to reporters before leaving Washington on Wednesday night, the French president said the new four-pronged agreement would be a "very important complement" to the existing 2015 accord. This new framework will add measures curbing Iran's nuclear drive after 2025, when "sunset clauses" are set to pass away, terminating the regime's ballistic missile program and ruling in an end to its malign regional meddling as a criterion for the revised deal. By April 26, 2018, Iran's supreme leader had reacted to this news conference and called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported on Thursday. It seems that Iran's supreme leader has forgotten the meaning of the word "bullying." Bullying is a distinctive pattern of harming and humiliating others. Bullying is when someone is being hurt either by words or actions on purpose, usually more than once; feels bad because of it; and has a hard time stopping what is happening to him. We also have different types of bullying to consider: verbal bullying, social bullying, physical bullying... Iran's supreme leader must know that bullying is now institutionalized in Iran by clergymen. Let's take a glance at what has happened in Iran the last week, starting with physical bullying. Wednesday, April 18, 2018 , the suppressive forces of the Guidance Patrol attacked and badly beat up a young woman until she went unconscious. They did so under the pretext of her being improperly veiled, despite appeals by her friends who said she suffered from a heart condition. While the beating of a girl by the Iranian regime's so-called "Guidance Patrol" caused outrage, the head of the regime's judiciary said police "must not retreat a single step." According to the state-run IRNA news agency, on Monday, April 23, Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary, said: "We should not allow any person to resist the legal actions of law enforcement or insult an agent." Sadeq Larijani. "Security forces must not step back a single step at all ... because then all hell breaks loose, and the road to the law enforcement's authority and action to secure the country will be closed," Larijani emphasized. He added: "If some people were to confront the police force and thus try to polarize the community in order to make a cultural debate appear a political or social discussion, this is not acceptable at all." The release of the video of beating of a young girl by the agents of the "Guidance Patrol" has led to people's anger and a wave of massive protests. Meanwhile, the head of the judiciary also said on Monday: "When the system concludes that in order to preserve the authority of the country ... our [military] advisers should continue their presence in Syria and Iraq, no one else should question this policy, but everyone should be sympathetic altogether to defend and support it." Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said the brutality and savagery committed against a young ailing woman once again revealed the ugly, inhuman, and anti-Islamic visage of the misogynistic mullahs ruling Iran. She called on Iran's courageous youths to counter and confront such disrespect and violation of Iranian women's dignity by the clerical regime's Revolutionary Guards and mercenaries and not to allow their sisters to be insulted, suppressed, and tortured. Hassan Mahmoudi is a human rights advocate, specializing in political and economic issues relating to Iran and the Middle East. No, those loud, louder, loudest booms you hear are not nuclear bombs after all, North Korea's leader is in South Korea. But that is one reason for the booms. Those continuous loud unexplained noises are liberal heads exploding with rage after each President Donald J. Trump (R) victory. The leaders of the two Koreas are talking, and soon Trump will join them. But...but...how can this happen during the Trump administration when previous presidents failed? Boom! And now a gazillionaire black rapper, Kanye West, is praising his "brother" Trump, which, as his wife Kim Kardashian noted, is allowed in America. Bam! Bam! To prove it, West proudly tweeted his bright red Make America Great Again cap, personally autographed by none other than...Donald Trump. This received over 200,000 likes. Liberals did not take it well. Boom! Boom! my MAGA hat is signed pic.twitter.com/DrDHJybS8V KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018 The Trump free-market gurus (nastily called capitalists, as if that were a dirty word, by you know who), the same thinkers who have helped bring about low unemployment for all groups, especially among blacks and Hispanics, quickly capitalized on this unusual endorsement, sending out a text praising West while encouraging people "Don't let them silence you. Get your red MAGA hat today" and conveniently linking to the official Trump shop. People are buying them. And wearing them. And if certain establishments don't serve customers with such views, well, you don't want to give such narrow-minded, explosive owners your hard earned cash. Boom! Image: Kenny Sun via Flickr. My wife Mary and I were extremely busy in Arizona campaigning to propel Republican Debbie Lesko to victory in the congressional special election. Praise God, we won! Before flying home to West Virginia, I checked news coverage of the April 23 national parent's protest, "Sex Ed Sit Out." None of the major television networks covered this important global event with participants in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. Are you kidding me? Finally, parents have begun to say enough with the arrogant leftist craziness going on in public schools parents' values circumvented, with school boards and administrators overruling parents' God-given right to decide how their children should be raised. Using "inclusion" and "anti-bullying" as Trojan horses, LGBTQ activists have infiltrated the gates of public education with pornography, promiscuity, and dangerous sexual practices. Unbelievably, the LGBTQ curriculum teaches kids oral sex, BDSM, asphyxiation, gender-bending, and other horrible things. Students are taught to question their gender. Insidiously, teachers even include going into gay bars in math lessons. In Texas, pre-K teachers are told to explain homosexuality to four-year-olds and teach them that "gay love is beautiful." At the "Sex Ed Sit Out" rally in Vancouver, Canada, Karen Chan exposed SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) laws. If SOGI is implemented in public schools, LGBTQ indoctrination will be included in all subjects and all grades. Parents will not be permitted to opt out their children. All school administrators, teachers, support staff, students, and even parents are ordered to use gender-neutral language. They are also required to reprimand anyone caught breaking this policy. Anyone questioning SOGI will be investigated and suffer consequences. SOGI big-brother operatives will be in schools, monitoring what you say, how you behave, your emotions, your expressions, and your attitude. Students suffering with gender confusion will be affirmed, barred from receiving therapy. Students will be allowed to use dressing rooms and restrooms of their opposite sex simply by saying they "self-identify." A boy can use the girls' rest room today and the boys' tomorrow depending on which sex he identifies with that day. Boys are permitted to share overnight accommodations with girls. Parents fearful of SOGI's tyranny are branded hateful and homophobic. In the few years since SCOTUS twisted the Constitution to legally redefine marriage, LGBTQ activists are behaving like tyrannical dictators, terrorizing Americans into submission. SOGI laws threaten our freedom. A homosexual lawyer in Delaware is pushing legislation to allow students in schools to identify with whatever race or sex they choose without parental notification. If passed, schools will help students get legal enshrinement of the delusion that they are members of the opposite sex without parental knowledge. In Ohio, Judge Sylvia Hendon ordered a child removed from her parents' home because the parents disapproved of their daughter taking non-FDA-approved drugs to pretend to be a boy. Not only does the SOGI curriculum teach students that changing their sex is heroic and good, but students are taught that anyone opposing their fantasy operation is mean and bigoted. Folks, this is nuts! But how did we get here so quickly after SCOTUS redefined marriage? In the early 1990s, LGBT activists and experts on public persuasion Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen published their book, After the Ball. Kirk's and Madsen's book served as the marketing manifesto to normalize LGBTQ lifestyles and demonize all opposition. In 2015, former Republican congressman Tom Delay discovered a secret memo revealing a dozen perversions Obama's DOJ wanted to legalize, including bestiality and pedophilia. Why are leftists so obsessed with and determined to normalize every sexual perversion? Please explain the positive benefit of little Johnny's school instructing him about rimming. The "Sex Ed Sit Out" national parents' protest is a wonderful start. I am elated that parents are finally waking up and smelling LGBTQ activists' iron-fist dictatorial behavior. A great general fighting on the front line for our kids is The Activist Mommy, Elizabeth Johnston. Elizabeth has been sounding the alarm: "they are coming for our children!" Elizabeth boldly tells "mama bears" to rise up and take their kids back from social Marxists and transgender activists' subversive agenda. You can help by liking Elizabeth's Facebook page, being her friend and sharing her video with hashtag #HandsOffOurKids. The media and political elites who pose as defenders of the poor beleaguered Palestinians don't care about them at all. They are merely pawns in an effort to rid the world of Jews, starting with the half of world Jewry living in the historic homeland of Jews, Israel. This has been proven beyond a doubt by the reaction really a lack of any reaction to Syria's bombing of a large Palestinian settlement, in the course of that nation's civil war and ongoing ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims, who stand in the way of Iran's effort to establish a Shia client state in Syria, so as to be able to destroy Israel. The Gatestone Institute reports: While all eyes are set on the weekly demonstrations organized by Hamas and other Palestinian factions along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, as part of the so-called March of Return, a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus is facing a wide-scale military offensive and ethnic cleansing by the Syrian army and its allies. The war crimes committed against the Palestinians in Yarmouk camp have so far failed to prompt an ounce of outrage, much less the sort of outcry emerging from the international community over the events of the past four weeks along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The international community seems to differentiate between a Palestinian shot by an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian shot by a Syrian soldier. In the first case, Hamas and several Palestinian groups have been encouraging Palestinians to march towards the border with Israel, with some even trying to destroy the security fence and hurling stones and petrol bombs at Israeli troops. The organizers of the Gaza demonstrations say their real goal is to "achieve the right of return and return to all of Palestine." Dozens of local and foreign journalists have shown great interest in the "March of Return." Reporters from different parts of the world have been converging on the Gaza Strip and the border with Israel to report about the weekly demonstrations and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. How many journalists, though, have traveled to Syria to cover the plight of the Palestinians in that country? A small handful, perhaps? Why? Because the Palestinians who are being maimed and murdered in Syria are the victims of an Arab army nothing to do with Israel. Yarmouk camp was once home to some 160,000 Palestinians. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, however, the number of residents left in the camp is estimated at a few hundred. On April 19, the Syrian army and its allies, including the Russians, launched a massive offensive against opposition groups and Islamic State terrorists based in Yarmouk. Since then, 5,000 of the 6,000 residents left in Yarmouk have fled the camp, according to the United Nations and human rights organizations. Most of the camp's houses have been destroyed in the past few years as a result of the fighting between the Syrian army and opposition groups that found shelter inside Yarmouk. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal's editorial page blamed President Trump for not serving his nominee for the Veterans Administration, Rear Admiral Ronnie Jackson, well. Jackson had to withdraw after a series of unproven allegations about his personal behavior. In its editorial blaming Trump for the whole fiasco, the Journal wrote: The person responsible for this mess is President Trump, who did his nominee no favors Tuesday by saying he "told Admiral Jackson just a little while ago, what do you need this for? This is a vicious group of people that malign" and that it will be up to Dr. Jackson whether to proceed. Thanks for the help, chief. We wrote when President Trump picked Dr. Jackson that he had put Dr. Jackson in a rough spot, and now here we are. If the doctor is run out of town with his reputation trashed, Mr. Trump will find it even harder to find people to take these jobs. Never Trumpers still complain, against all evidence, that Donald Trump will usher in a fascist regime. The truth is that Mr. Trump's already weak executive authority is being ground down on a daily basis by the iron triangle of the permanent bureaucracy, the interest groups that support it, and the media. That is pure BS. The blame goes completely to the attacks by the media and Democrats on Jackson, which were nothing but unverified accusations turned into a feeding frenzy. Every story I heard repeated the accusations as facts and then said they were unproven or unverified. So why were they reported? That came from most of the news today: unverified stories and anonymous sources spreading rumors, many of them false. The National Enquirer, with its fear of lawsuits, does more due diligence. Jackson worked for three presidents for around twelve years, and not one of these stories came out until he was nominated to head the V.A. by President Trump. Suddenly, Democrats wanted him blocked, so they used a complicit media to run these unverified stories to essentially destroy a man. Many supposedly qualified V.A. secretaries have screwed up, no matter how much money has been thrown at the agency's problems, and somehow Jackson wasn't qualified? Obviously, Democrats and Democratic operatives, including those with bylines in the media, want the V.A.'s 370,000 bureaucrats to stay in their pocket, and they can't take a chance on partial privatization. That is what this attack on Admiral Jackson was all about, and it stank. Major carrier AT&T is about to have its annual shareholder meeting crashed by angry workers again, and this time, the workers have already pre-authorized a strike. The big shareholder meeting thats set to take place early Friday is set to be center stage for yet another protest involving hundreds or even thousands of workers, just like what happened last year. Rather than concern over contract terms and outsourcing, however, it was layoffs in the face of promises to the contrary that sparked this large protest. The meeting is set to begin at AT&Ts Dallas, Texas headquarters at 9:00 AM Central Daylight Time, whereas the protests start time is 7:30 AM, with an end time of 10:00 AM. There are expired contracts involved in this protest, to be sure; about 14,000 of them across two different contracts, one of which covers workers spread out nationwide. The big concern here, however, lies with CEO Randall Stephensons promises regarding the Trump administrations new tax law set, which is meant to put billions back in large businesses pockets, which should then, in theory, trickle down to the working class in various ways. For AT&Ts part, every $1 billion in savings on taxes under the new plan is supposed to create 7,000 jobs here in America. Just a while after the bill came into law, however, the company was hit by a massive wave of layoffs that left about 1,500 workers jobless, according to data pulled by the Communication Workers of America. Similar data from the agency points to a pattern of layoffs and closures that hit call center employees particularly hard, closing up 44 locations and alienating some 16,000 workers over the last 7 years. The Midwest, an area covered by one of the two contracts currently up for renewal, is an area that the CWA says is particularly ravaged by AT&Ts outsourcing and job elimination. What the union consistently fails to point out is that we have chosen to hire over 87,000 people in the U.S. in the last three years, including 17,000 in 2017 alone.; and were currently looking to fill thousands more this year, an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement. When tax reform was announced late last year we made $200 million in bonus payments to our frontline employees, an $800 million funding of our employee and retiree medical trust, and a nearly $100 million funding of our AT&T charitable foundation. Woot currently has the Galaxy S8 available for $399 and the Galaxy S8 Plus for $439. These are both certified refurbished models, so these arent brand new, but are definitely worth picking up at this price. These are also unlocked Verizon models. So there is a Verizon logo on them, but they will work with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. So as long as you arent on Sprint, this will work with your carrier. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus were both released last year, with 5.8 and 6.2-inch displays respectively. They are powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage. Making it a pretty good smartphone, even a year later. These have been updated to Android Oreo as well, so you may have an update waiting to be installed once it arrives on your doorstep. These are only available for a limited time, so youre going to want to pick these up before they are gone. Woot has a very limited quantity and they definitely wont last long. Currently, both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are still available in the midnight black and orchid gray colors. So you still have your choice of colors here, but it wont be that way for long. Woot does offer free shipping, but only for Amazon Prime members. So if you are not an Amazon Prime member, you will need to pay a flat fee for shipping. Although you can also opt to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime and still get free shipping here. So thats a great way to get around it, just remember to cancel your trial before it expires, or youll be paying $99. Woot does not charge taxes either, which is pretty good for those that want a great deal. The European Commission has called on the social networking sites and other internet services to help restrain the proliferation of fake news on the web as it plans to formulate a code of practice on disinformation for the European Union. The code of practice is set to be completed by July as part of a broader effort to ramp up regulation on the placement of advertisements online by instituting policies that would force online platforms to cut the revenue streams for the entities that spread fake news and limit the way political adverts reach their intended audience. In addition to the code of practice, the Commission also advocates for the establishment of an independent network of fact-checking individuals and an online portal on fake news to help curb the spread of disinformation. Advertisers and internet companies are urged to take action on the code of practice on or before October or face tougher regulations by the EU if they fail to comply with it. The EUs ongoing crackdown on disinformation in the region comes as it prepares for the European elections next year. The Commission fears the continued dissemination of fake news could have a serious impact on the outcome of the upcoming polls following the revelations that state actors attempted to interfere with the results of the 2016 elections in the United States by exploiting social media platforms such as Facebook. The Commission cited as an example the recent disclosure about how the British political consultancy and data mining firm, Cambridge Analytica, harvested the private information of up to 87 million Facebook users to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. elections, describing the incident as having tainted the reputation of online platforms in terms of guarding the privacy of their users from third-party entities. Facebook has since stepped up efforts to clamp down on organizations that misused the private data of its huge base of users, having recently closed the account of another data analytics company, CubeYou, the third company whose Facebook account has been suspended for violating the privacy of individuals. Late last month, Facebooks Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan and Deputy General Counsel Ashlie Beringer also announced that the social media platform would make its privacy tools more easily discoverable for users. HMD Global recently took to Weibo to hint at a possible revival of the Nokia N series of handsets from the pre-smartphone era, noting how this Friday will mark the thirteenth anniversary of the iconic lineup. The firm also suggested its preparing for a related product launch that will be teased from tomorrow until next Wednesday, May 2. The upcoming event will be held in Sanlitun, Chaoyang District, Beijing, and is being interpreted as the firms attempt to bring back the once-popular family of phones. The image that can be seen above was shared along with the teaser and appears to depict the Nokia N9, a device introduced in mid-2011 running MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan. Only the Chinese arm of HMD mentioned the possibility of the Nokia N lineup returning to the market, though the majority of the offerings from the company introduced in the Far Eastern country since early 2017 were eventually released in other parts of the world as well. Besides hinting at something in the vein of the Nokia N9 (2018), HMD recently also started teasing the revival of the Nokia X series, with recent reports indicating the Nokia X6 will be officially announced in China tomorrow. The product family should consist of two devices, the more premium one of which is expected to compete in the upper mid-range segment of the market, boasting 6GB of RAM and Qualcomms Snapdragon 636 silicon, thus effectively filling the processing power gap between the Nokia 6 (2018) and the Nokia 7 Plus. The other model is expected to be a more affordable mid-ranger featuring MediaTeks Helio P60 chip and 4GB of RAM. Since reviving the Nokia brand some 17 months back following its unsuccessful stint with Microsoft, HMD brought back a number of the Finnish companys iconic models, having launched contemporary revisions of the Nokia 3310 and the Nokia 8110, among other devices. The firm recently fully embraced Googles Android One program, having took to MWC 2018 to announce a wide variety of smartphones running a stock version of the worlds most popular operating system. Its still unclear whether a potential refresh of the Nokia N series would ship with Android or a feature phone OS given how the original lineup was already advertised as a smartphone family since first launching in 2005. The perfect companion for the adventurous type. OUKITEL is one of those companies that, unless you live in China or one of the few other areas that its devices are possibly sold, you wouldnt know it existed. While the companys devices are not necessarily well-known to the majority of consumers worldwide, nor is the brand, OUKITEL actually releases quite a few Android devices to market, spanning a wide range of tastes for consumers and offering up phones with plenty of features. One of its more recent offerings is the OUKITEL K10000 Max, which weve had time to check out over the past week or so. Lets take a closer look at the phone to see how it compares to other OUKITEL devices and how the phone stacks up overall. Specs Advertisement When it comes to the specifications here, there are a good few that stand out from the pack that make this a device seem like a worthy phone on paper, though right off the bat this is not a device youll want to consider if you need something for a daily use phone in the U.S. because it will not support U.S. networks. Beyond that, the OUKITEL K10000 Max is equipped with a 5.5-inch FHD display which may lead you to think that this phone is on the smaller side, but on the contrary its actually quite large. The display is not the phones main focal point though. Its biggest and baddest attributes are the battery with a 10,000mAh capacity, and its capability to be H2O submersible, a fact that OUKITEL is so keen on highlighting that it made sure to stamp it onto the back of the phone. This ability is thanks to the IP68 rating, making it dust and waterproof. Its also shockproof, so you shouldnt have any worries about dropping the device. Moving on the phone also comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and it supports expandable storage if you have a MicroSD card. Its powered by a MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor, so it doesnt exactly chug along and feels really anything but sluggish, which is a good thing if you want a phone that runs well without much lag. Camera-wise the K10000 Max comes with a 16-megapixel main camera on the back and an 8-megapixel secondary camera on the front for selfies and video chat. Though the phone doesnt work in the U.S. it does support dual Nano SIM so you can use it with two different numbers if need be. Lastly, it has a fingerprint sensor on the back for unlocking the device, and the software inside is Android 7.0 Nougat, so its a bit behind but not by much. In The Box Advertisement While some phones dont come with much in the package the K10000 Max is not one of those phones. Inside once you open the box up youll find the phone on top, and underneath it youll find the wall adapter, the charging cable which is USB Type-C, an OTG cable, and you get a free screen protector if you like putting those on. Hardware & Design The looks of this phone scream rugged, so if a rugged device is what youre looking for than the K10000 Max is just the phone for you because it doesnt just look the part as it was built specifically with the ability to be rugged in mind. Style-wise, its not the most stylish phone out on the market, but then again the rugged ones never really are. That said it does hold up well as it comes with a really nice build quality to it and it doesnt feel like its fragile so you wont have to worry about ever dropping it. Naturally youll want to try and avoid dropping it if you can, but in the event of an accident the phone should be perfectly fine. Advertisement For the hardware build material OUKITEL has used a grippy yet tough plastic exterior for the phones body, and this is what will allow it to accept the shock from drops. Youll find the volume buttons on the right side as well as a dedicated camera button at the bottom of the right side, which youll need to hold down for a second or two before it activates. On the left side youll have the power button adjacent to the camera button, and on the bottom and top youll find the charging and 3.5mm ports respectively, sitting neatly behind seals to help with the water resistance. On the back, the camera is in the top left corner, with a giant LED light bar across the top edge, and the single speaker in the bottom left corner. Overall, the design is not something youd choose if youre in the market for the most sleek-looking phone, but if youre more concerned with function than form you shouldnt be disappointed. Performance As briefly mentioned above when talking about the processor from MediaTek the K10000 Max is a decent performer. It had no problem whatsoever multitasking during the time spent with it as we routinely used it to browse the web, scroll through social feeds, and watch videos or listen to music in the background and left everything open allowing us to switch back and forth between apps effortlessly. We also tested the phone by playing some games with it and for this purpose we used Arena Of Valor, a popular MOBA game coming from Tencent which has some pretty decent graphics and fast-paced gameplay with nice special effects. During gameplay there was actually a tiny bit of lag but for the most part it wasnt too noticeable so if youre a mobile gamer the phone will work just fine for this purpose. Advertisement Display The display is Full HD so it shouldnt be expected to look terrible by any means and it certainly doesnt. Unless you absolutely despise anything below Quad HD at this point, the clarity and sharpness of picture and graphics on the display of the K10000 Max are actually pretty good. The brightness of the screen comes through nicely without having to crank things all the way up, colors are nice and vivid without being too over saturated, and of course one of the most important factors is that the screen responds well to the touch of our fingers which means OUKITEL used a nice digitzer here, something that isnt always the case with some of the phones on the lower end of the market. The short of it, this is a nice display that performs its tasks and does them well, and even outside with plenty of sun it didnt get too much glare, though if it did you could simply turn up the brightness and be just fine. Benchmarks Advertisement Like with all phones we ran this device through a few different benchmarks to see how things ran on paper, and although youll get a more accurate idea of how the device performs if you actually use it, benchmarks do serve their purpose to lay some groundwork in showing you what performance might be like. To do this we ran the phone through Geekbench 4, AnTuTu, and 3DMark for the graphics, and you can see the results from those tests in the gallery of screenshots below. Battery Life Talking about the battery life seems almost laughable because of how ridiculously high the batterys capacity is, but OUKITEL is known for putting batteries with a high capacity in its phones so this is nothing new for this company. As the name suggests it comes with a battery that has a 10,000mAh capacity and when it comes to battery life OUKITEL has squeezed the battery life of a tablet and then some into the size of a smartphone. This thing will last you for days on end with normal use and you wont have to worry about charging it. On average the phone would run for around 19 to 20 hours before nearly running out, and unless youre constantly planning to use it for around 20 hours continuously then chances are you wont be charging it for at least two days, especially considering that much of the time throughout the day the phones display might be off. If battery life is your main concern, definitely get this phone. Advertisement Sound There is only one speaker so I wasnt expecting anything spectacular in terms of sound, and while I wasnt too disappointed I wasnt blown away either. The audio quality on the K10000 Max is just ok, providing just enough output to suffice for streaming videos and games at a comfortable level and still being able to hear everything pretty clear, but the moment you need to turn the volume up a little bit more the sound starts to become just a tiny bit distorted and tinny and if youre big on audio youll notice. If youre not too worried about the sound then the quality is likely just fine. Overall the sound on the phone is decent enough and shouldnt be something that you back away from the device because of unless you want the absolute best sound smartphones can offer. Phone Calls & Network Advertisement Like many devices that come out of China and other international markets, this device was not built for U.S. networks so it cannot be used in the U.S. for voice calls over cellular. You can however use it for calls over Wi-Fi through apps like messenger, Hangouts, or even Duo, which came preinstalled by the way, and when doing this the sound quality of calling was fine according to what we were told. So if youre using this in a region where it is supported then you should have no issues. As far as the networks it supports, you can find the frequencies down below. 2G: 1800, 1900, 850, 900 3G: 2100, 900 4G FDD LTE: Bands 1, 20, 3, 7, and 8 Fingerprint Sensor The fingerprint sensor is a bit of a mixed bag. While it does work and it works pretty well in terms of recognizing the fingerprint that you record just about every time without an issue, there were a few instances where it had trouble picking things up and I had to tap it a second or third time. This didnt happen very often so it is mostly a non-issue but something to look out for. As for speed, its not the quickest but it opens up at a reasonable speed for being useful (usually), and the main thing is that it functions well. The one downside really is that the size of the phone sometimes makes this fingerprint sensor hard to touch, so if youre someone with smaller hands you might have trouble with this. Software This looks like pretty much stock Android software so you wouldnt be able to tell the difference just by looking at it or by sticking to the normal menus. Once you travel over to the settings though, youll see a few options that arent available in stock Android devices, such as the gesture wake option, the gesture motion option, and the DuraSpeed. Gesture motion will allow you to take screenshots, enter the camera, and adjust the volume all by swiping two or three fingers at the same time. Youll swipe three fingers down for a screenshot, three fingers up for entering the camera, and two fingers up or down to adjust the volume. As for the gesture wake the name should be pretty self explanatory. With this option you can launch apps or functions from the lock screen by drawing gestures on the display in the sleep state, which will wake the display and then launch the corresponding action. This comes in really useful if you want to go straight to a certain app or game the moment the screen unlocks, and there are a good few of the gestures so you can set up more than just a couple of apps for this. Other than those particular traits theres not much else thats different that you wont find in an AOSP build of software, which many people are likely to be familiar with. The software is easy to get used to and it works well without being buggy, so its a nice experience with this device which hasnt been the same for every OUKITEL phone weve ever used. Camera Every phone has to make a compromise somewhere and for the OUKITEL K10000 Max that somewhere is the camera. While pictures taken are not too bad if you have the right lighting, the moment you lose even a little bit of good lighting the picture quality starts to drop more significantly than you would expect. If youre not planning on taking a lot of photos then you may not find this to be an issue, but its something to consider. Overall though its worth reiterating that the picture quality is ok. Where the camera felt more lacking was in the amount of options it offers to users. There are almost none when it comes to extras or features. You have a standard photo mode, a standard video recording mode, and a panorama mode, and thats basically it aside from a list of filters you can apply to the photos before you take them. This is a completely bare bones experience for the camera and it leaves a lot to be desired, and if a good smartphone camera is something you want, you should probably look elsewhere as the experience with the K10000 Max is a little bland. The Good Extremely high-capacity battery Rugged build IP68 Rating Fingerprint sensor recognizes recorded fingerprints nicely Water, dust, shock proof Decent performance Decent display Picture quality is ok The Bad Lackluster camera experience due to almost no options or extra features No NFC Doesnt work with U.S. networks Fingerprint sensor can be a bit slow to unlock sometimes Wrap Up There are reasons why the OUKITEL K10000 Max is a decent phone and reasons why its a not so decent phone. The obvious reasons why you might want a device like this are the battery and rugged design, meaning youd rarely ever have to worry about damaging it from drops or dings and you wont have to charge it at the end of every day. On the other hand it doesnt have the best sound quality or the best camera experience. That said it is also a phone which only costs about $250 USD which isnt a whole lot considering all the other specs and the fact that it does function well as a smartphone overall in most areas. Should you buy the OUKITEL K10000 Max? If you need exceedingly long battery life, or a rugged phone that you can dunk under water, or both, then this is the phone for you, so long as you dont need to use it in the U.S. as it will not work here for cellular service. This also wouldnt be a bad choice for someone who is primarily thinking of using the phone internationally if it supports the above-listed network frequencies. The P20 Pro Android flagship is now Huaweis most successful smartphone in Western Europe, the Chinese original equipment manufacturer said Friday. Four weeks after becoming available for purchase in the region, the P20 Pro outsold last years P10 Plus by 316-percent, with the majority of its sales being recorded in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Huawei is also pointing to Google Trends which is showing queries related to the P20 lineup among the most popular Internet searches in the last month, with the trend being fueled by consumer interest from Germany, Spain, and Italy. The P20 product family also broke records on Chinese e-commerce platform Vmall where it generated over $15.7 million in sales revenue within the first ten seconds of its commercial availability earlier this month. Huawei is unsurprisingly painting the launch of the P20 and P20 Pro as a resounding success and a step in the right direction for the company thats still seeking to overtake Samsung and Apple on its quest to become the worlds largest smartphone maker by both shipments and sales. The newly released Android flagships are being touted by some as the best mobile cameras ever created and are generally enjoying extremely positive reviews, though both handsets are still set to miss out on the United States, the worlds largest market for high-end smartphones. Despite attempting to penetrate the stateside market for years, Huawei is still unable to do so on a significant scale, i.e. through a partnership with one of the four national wireless carriers in the country. The company came close this January when it was set to announce such a collaboration with AT&T but the telecom giant ended up succumbing to pressure from U.S. lawmakers and regulators, having called off the deal some 24 hours before the thereof was meant to be announced at Las Vegas-based CES, as per previous reports. Huawei is now committing more resources to Europe, currently one of its most promising foreign markets. The company said it isnt giving up on the U.S. but isnt expected to enter a carrier partnership in the country for the foreseeable future, with Washington still accusing it of being a national security risk due to its ties to Beijing. The police department in Scranton, Pennsylvania has received whats being dubbed the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Justice Assistance Grant, and have set up a VR training station with it. Current police training methods include a classroom setting and a shooting range, after the completion of a stint in the academy. This does not provide officers with training in the wide range of stressful situations that they can encounter in the field, and this lack of training can have tragic consequences when officers are harmed in the line of duty because they couldnt handle a situation properly, or the officer needlessly harms a civilian or animal. This gap is exactly what VR training is meant to address. The training machine set up in Scranton uses a number of HTC Vive units that can train individually, or have their inputs and outputs stitched together for group training. Using special cameras, the department can create realistic training exercises with a 300 degree field of vision, allowing officers to immerse themselves in a situation and be stressed, challenged, and tested in much the same ways that they would out in the field, but without the inherent danger. The simulations are made to be incredibly realistic, and as seen in the featured image, have officers using prop guns to practice trigger discipline and other firearm safety measures. The goal is to keep both officers and civilians safe by presenting officers with stressful situations before they happen for real. In this fashion, officers are conditioned not to fire at innocent civilians, but also to know when a situation is escalating out of control and deadly force may be needed. According to Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano, training officers is not the only implication of this technology. He wants to make his departments setup public, so that other police departments can use the same hardware for similar training, and so that the general public can gain more of an appreciation for law enforcement by going through the scenarios in VR training themselves so that they get a taste of what officers are faced with in the line of duty. A new report has just surfaced, claiming that T-Mobile and Sprint actually made some progress in merger talks, and the report actually claims that a deal could be struck as early as next week. This information comes from people familiar with the matter, and was published by Reuters. T-Mobile and Sprint are the third and fourth largest carriers in the US, and they have been negotiating a merger for quite some time now, though the last round of merger talks commenced earlier this month, on April 10. Now, if T-Mobile and Sprint actually reach an agreement, and merge, they would have over 127 million customers, and would be a much more powerful competition for Verizon and AT&T, not to mention that their 5G prospects would rise as well. Deutsche Telekom, a majority owner of T-Mobile, and SoftBank, a company which controls Sprint, are actually trying to reach an agreement when it comes to voting control over a joint company, at least according to the info provided by sources. Sources also claim that Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile are finalizing the debt financing package that they would use to fund the deal. None of the involved parties were willing to comment on said information, which is to be expected, especially if a deal is really looming. That being said, its worth noting that the last round of talks between Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank broke down due to valuation disagreements, that was back in November last year. Spring has managed to grow under the Marcelo Claure, but that growth has been driven by discounting, and analysts say that Sprint needs T-Mobile in order to invest in its network, and to offer proper competition in an already-saturated market. T-Mobiles growth has been vast under the lead of John Legere, but T-Mobile is still distant third carrier in the US, so this merger could benefit T-Mobile quite a bit as well. Now, these two companies could face regulatory hurdles on the way to a merger, but for that to happen, they actually need to agree on terms first, so it remains to be seen what will happen next week, if theres any truth to todays report. Vodafone UK is now selling Samsungs Galaxy A8 Android mid-ranger, the British wireless carrier said Friday. The company is offering the device in Black and Orchid Grey color options, with the handset starting at 9 down and 43 per month on a Red Extra 16GB plan. The overall price of the Galaxy A8 is in line with other markets, with the smartphone previously debuting in Europe at approximately 500, depending on the country, i.e. specific value-added tax rates. The Galaxy A8 is meant to be an evolution of Samsungs mid-range formula, being the first non-flagship offering from the company with an Infinity Display panel, a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED screen with an elongated 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The display of the device is of the FHD+ variety, supporting resolutions of up to 2,220 by 1,080 pixels, with the Galaxy A8 itself being powered by Samsungs proprietary Exynos 7885 chip, an octa-core silicon running at up to 2.2GHz. The variant being offered by Vodafone UK ships with 32GB of storage space, with the firm not mentioning the 64GB model that presumably wont be making its way to the United Kingdom. Likewise, the dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy A8 is only sold unlocked and hence isnt the one thats now being offered by the mobile service provider. The telecom giant also isnt retailing the Galaxy A8 Plus which ships with a 6-inch screen and 6GB of RAM as opposed to 4GB, but is otherwise mostly identical to its smaller counterpart which is equipped with a 16-megapixel camera. The Galaxy A8 series is meant to succeed Samsungs Galaxy A7 product family from last year and provide consumers with versatile mobile offerings at non-flagship prices. The South Korean tech giant is expected to continue pushing for its bezel-less design language to trickle down to its more affordable devices going forward, with the firms entry-level handsets possibly being next in line to receive such a revamp later this year. Samsung itself is still enjoying record profits and is said to be preparing its next high-end release for late summer when the phone maker is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 9 Android flagship. Chinese original equipment manufacturer ZTE has filed a patent application for a smartphone concept that features dual display notches. The patent was filed with Chinas State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) on September 13, 2017, indicating that ZTE has been considering such a cutout-equipped design for quite some time now, along with other Android OEMs such as Samsung, who filed two patents in March with SIPO, with one of them showing a smartphone with a similar design cue. As indicated by the patent image seen above, ZTEs concept includes two notches, one at the top of the display and another at the bottom. It is easy to see that the bottom cutout houses a home button instead of a speaker like the one found on the recently revealed ZTE Iceberg concept. The renders of that particular device have been published by iF International Forum Design earlier this month. According to ZTE, the company expects that it would take up to two years to commercialize the product in question, provided the idea makes it to the production phase at all. Based on those renders, the ZTE Iceberg uses a glass sandwich design meant to resemble an ice fragment so that all of its four corners are transparent. Its top display notch contains a front-facing camera, earpiece, and a proximity sensor, while the bottom cutout houses a speaker, unlike the newly patented design. It remains to be seen if the ZTE Iceberg with two notches makes it to the market, especially given the current sanctions imposed on the company by the United States government. However, even if ZTE does end up commercializing the device, it isnt expected to release it until mid-2019 at the earliest. In the meantime, the firm will be fighting off the aforementioned sanctions that saw it receive a ban on purchasing and licensing American products such as Qualcomms Snapdragon chips and Googles Android OS for the next seven years. PETITION: Urge the Vietnam government to outlaw cruelty to animals 26 April 2018 Inability to prosecute organisers of brutal animal fights sparks petition asking Vietnam to implement a specific law targeting animal cruelty. When footage of a pack of so-called hunting dogs tearing a single boar to death was uploaded to social media in March, Vietnam was outraged. Welfare groups, the media and the public expressed disgust while the authorities promised to crack down. Yet it soon became clear that any punishment wouldnt match the crime. Vietnam simply doesnt have a law specifically punishing intentional animal cruelty. Animals Asias Animal Welfare Director, Dave Neale said: This shocking case has really highlighted a hole in the legislation. Nobody wants to see this kind of cruelty taking place in Vietnam, yet no one has the authority to end it. Potential charges to be leveled at the bloodsport organisers included organising an event without a license, damaging private property, or keeping dogs without the required rabies vaccinations. A youth involved in the event told media: We will continue doing it because it isnt illegal well just not put it on social networks. While Vietnam passed its first animal welfare legislation in 2016 in the form of the Animal Health law, there is presently no provision to punish those who carry out cruelty to animals. Animals Asias Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said: Now, we are calling on the government to urgently implement legislation to guide the Animal Health law 2016 to include details of how animals must be protected. These guidelines are needed to specifically outlaw deliberately causing pain and suffering to animals, and must include strong punishments for people who commit acts of violence against animals. While amending a law is a long legal process which can take years, Animals Asia is pushing for the introduction and implementation of a Circular to guide Article 21 of the existing Animal Health law - a move which can be taken much more quickly. Animal welfare has become an increasingly important topic of public debate in Vietnam over recent years. In 2014, Animals Asia petitioned against a cruel spring festival in which a pig was chopped in half in public. As a result, strong condemnation gripped the country and calls for action resulted in numerous cruel festivals being banned. In 2017, animal welfare concerns caused the Vietnam government to sign a legally binding agreement with Animals Asia to completely end bear bile farming in the country and move all captive bears to sanctuaries within a five-year period. Dave said: When barbaric cruelty like these sick organised dog fights can go unpunished, and leave authorities powerless to act, urgent changes are needed. Thankfully, we know from experience that the Vietnamese government is willing to listen and take on board animal welfare concerns. And with tourism being an important industry, the country is very aware of its global image, meaning international criticism can be a real driver of change. Act now, call for urgent animal welfare laws in Vietnam. Sign the petition now. Serbia celebrated its Army Day on 23 April. The government wants to increase its military budget, currently set at 600 million euro. And, hence, modernize and reinforce the army. Artillery salute on Serbian Army Day (Picture source: Serbian MoD) The main official ceremony took place in Belgrade in front of ministers. Defense minister Aleksandar Vulin said in a speech that Serbia is determined to continue improving military capacities and education facilities, as well as the living standard of its officers. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in a speech that "the country will strive to have a modernly equipped soldier, and is ready to invest, but will also expect results". Currently the country allocates around 600 million euros for its army. This amount will be increased thanks to the good economic situation. "The military holiday is marked to strengthen the principle of patriotism, countering fascism and anti-Semitism, and to achieve understanding and cooperation, along with acknowledging all cultural differences in our country and the region for the sake of future and peace," he said. Serbia observes the Army Day on April 23 to mark the beginning of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman empire in 1815 that led to the establishment of the Principality of Serbia in 1817. The Army (land) is the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. There are approximately 44,000 active members. The army is composed entirely of professionals and volunteers following the suspension of mandatory military service on January 1, 2011. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th army brigades are tasked with securing the 5 km (2.5 mi) wide Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) along the administrative line between Central Serbia and the disputed territory of Kosovo. The GSZ extends 384 km long and covers a total area of about 1,920 km. There are over 20 camps and security checkpoints in the zone. Following the 2006 reorganization, the Serbian Army consists of six primary brigades. The four army brigades are larger than a conventional modern brigade, their size is more akin to a division. Each army brigade consists of ten battalions: one command battalion, one armored battalion, two mechanized battalions, two infantry battalions, one self-propelled artillery battalion, one air defense battalion, one engineering battalion and one logistics battalion. The only exception is the 1st army brigade, being one infantry battalion short. The air force fleet consists of Russian combat aircraft, consisting of a number of MiG-21s, and MiG-29s. Serbia is looking to replace its aging fleet with new multi-role combat aircraft. Before its demise, the former Yugoslav Air Force was developing the Novi Avion project which was intended as a replacement. The project was canceled in 1991 due to the collapse of Yugoslavia. Serbia, as the largest succeeding nation of Yugoslavia, took possession of the entire Yugoslav Air Force inventory. After the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control was enacted in 1996, dozens of J-22, J-21 and G-2s have been withdrawn from service. The air force operates from three major air bases, the 204th Batajnica Air Base and 98th Laevci Air Base and Nis Air Base. The 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade is a joint tactical unit of Serbian Air Force and Air Defence. It consists of three rocket missile air defense battalions, three self-propelled rocket missile air defense battalions and a command company. The BMW capsule in its prototype shape was presented at City Walk Dubai earlier this year, marking the first time a physical, full-scale hyperloop prototype was shown to a public. Now, further details about the capsule have been released.When it will be ready, together with the tunnel that will house it, the capsule would be capable of traveling speeds up to 1,080 km/h (671 mph), cutting the travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to 12 minutes. That trip usually takes nearly one and a half hours.The capsule presented by BMW Designworks is the epitome of luxury. And is has to be so, because the thing lacks any windows, so some way of keeping the passengers happy, even for the brief period of time it takes to go from one place to another, had to be designed.In the BMW capsule, theres really one thing the designers needed to have in mind when trying to create comfort for the passengers: seating. Enter the adjustable, high tech leather seats.Each of them come equipped with touchscreens for personal settings for light brightness and color, allowing each passenger to create an oasis of personally-controlled light. Integrated heating and cooling, as well as built-in displays complete the way in which the chairs have been created.Being meant for an Arab country, the capsule is adorned with cultural references, sprinkled amid the high-tech gadgets.With the Virgin Hyperloop One design, we wanted to create a new visual expression for a new mode of public transportation, said design director Johannes Lampela.The entire hyperloop system in Dubai is meant to enter operation sometime in 2020. Aside for the Arab country, Richard Bransons company will also deploy a similar system in India, which would link Pune to Mumbai.You can read BMW Designworks' press release on the capsule in the document attached below. Freed from having to worry about the rockets it is sending into space, NASA is now free to plan for the future. And their big plans are being matched by the behemoth from the Asian continent, China, which slowly but surely is making strides in becoming a space superpower as well.On April 24, China celebrated its national space day. The date is chosen in honor of the launch of Chinas first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1, in 1970. At it also a great opportunity for lifelong president Xi Jinping to present to the 1.4 billion or so subjects how their future will look like.Already considered a major player in space exploration, China plans to take things one step further, by establishing a permanent settlement on the moon. These plans were revealed in a video released by the countrys space agency on Dong Fang Hongs 48th anniversary.Unfortunately, the video is in Chinese, so theres not much we can get from it. But the images speak at times for themselves.As per the video released, China plans to send exploratory missions to the Moon and eventually set up a base there. The base is to be made up of modular cylinders, which can be attached to one another as the station expands. Inside, animation shows various activities being conducted.The Chinese have not announced a timeline for these projections to become a reality. On the other hand, their American counterparts plan to have a space station orbiting the Moon no later than 2025.With both nations racing for Earth's companion, and with the help of an increasing number of private contractors beginning to see the market value of space exploration, it is very likely that during the course of our lifetime well get to see humans return to the Moon and perhaps even living there. SUV Heres when Ford will end production of its cars: -May 2018: Focus -March 2019: Taurus -May 2019: Fiesta Fusion will stick around for at least a couple more years. Focus Active will be imported from China starting in mid-2019. Michael Martinez (@MikeMartinez_AN) April 26, 2018 The Taurus full-size sedan, meanwhile, will bite the dust in March 2019. Not to be confused with the seventh-generation model assembled in China by Changan Ford, the sixth generation of the U.S.-specification Taurus entered production in June 2009 for the 2010 model year. Built in Chicago and also available in high-performance SHO flavor, this fellow has been struggling a lot as of late. Including the Police Interceptor Sedan, the Taurus sold 41,236 examples in the U.S. last year.Regarding the C-Max, the Hybrid will follow the Energi plug-in hybrid in the automotive afterlife in mid-2018. While the Fiesta will be discontinued in May 2019, the Fusion will stick around for at least a couple more years. The Focus Active mentioned at the beginning wont be sourced from Europe, but from China, starting mid-2019.Beyond 2020, the Ford Motor Companys passenger-car lineup in the United States will consist of two models. Those would be the Focus Active (a jacked-up Focus hatchback that looks like a crossover) and Mustang, which is saying something about the automakers confidence in the increasing demand for SUVs and crossovers.The reasoning behind this rearrangement is profitability. Or otherwise said, utility vehicles are more lucrative to the Ford Motor Company in the United States than conventional-bodied passenger cars (think sedans, hatchbacks, the lot). Pickup trucks are also a priority, with the 2019 Ranger scheduled to arrive at dealers in the second part of the year.Last, but certainly not least, electrification is now a most pressing matter for the Dearborn-based automaker. An assortment of hybrids and plug-in hybrids will lead the way forward, followed by the Mustang-inspired electricknown as the Mach 1 BEV We launched very efficient architectures in the mid-size and compact [segments] proving to be good platforms going forward with fairly minor changes, declared Mary Barra , chief executive officer. During the first-quarter conference call, Barra argued to the automotive media that these we view [cars] as an opportunity.According to Wards Auto , the CEO makes a case for commercial significance despite the fact sedans and conventional-bodied hatchbacks continue to fall out of favor with the North American public. What youll see us do is play very efficiently in a segment that, although it is declining, added the most powerful woman in the biz.Be that as it may, sources claim that two Chevrolet models are on the chopping block. The subcompact-sized Sonic and full-size Impala are the culprits. The Sonic sold 30,290 examples last year (down from 55,255 in 2016) while the Impala moved 75,877 (down from 97,006). These being said, General Motors isnt a one-trick pony. The Detroit-based company is, believe it or not, playing on three fronts.First of all, passenger cars that arent going anywhere in the near future. Then theres the ongoing investment in crossovers and SUVs. This commitment is best demonstrated by Spring Hill Assembly, which will add the third shift in September 2018 to meet demand for the mid-sized GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5.Last, but not at all in the least, General Motors has promised to make profitable electric vehicles by the year 2021. At least 20 EVs will be released by the end 2023, two of them based on theII platform of the Chevrolet Bolt. The Aussie racer, who is also a Porsche brand ambassador, has recently hit the Nurburgring behind the wheel of the Rennsport Neunelfer, with the manhandling that resulted being the kind that can easily make an aficionado's day.Mind you, the course tackled by Webber is not the Nordschleife, but the Grand Prix track (you know, the one that's also used to hold the Nurburgring drifting events).After all, the 991.2 GT3 RS had nothing more to prove on the Nordschleife, since the machine has already managed to deliver an astonishing lap time on the Green Hell.Despite the fact that it is only animated by a 525 hp naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six, the rear-engined beast managed to blitz the infamous German track in just 6:56 , all in the hands of Porsche driver Kevin Estre.And, as the ring-savvy among you have noted, this means the 991.2 GT3 RS is better at playing the Ring game than the 918 Spyder.Then again, the Neunelfer also benefits from the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R, which were developed especially for this application.As for the rest of the aspects that set the Rennsport beast apart from the car it replaces, there are new springs (the rear axle gets helper springs), while you can opt for a Weissach Package and uber-light magnesium wheels.And while these two options were introduced together on the GT2 RS , Porsche changed that after bringing them to the market as separate goodies for the 3RS.Now that the atmospheric special is ready to reach its first owners, we'll keep an eye out for special configurations and bring these to you. kW ICE Most charging solutions provider target technologies that would allow at most 150of power to be sent to the cars battery. In Europe, however, the bar was set a bit higher by Swedish-Swiss company ABB.At the beginning of the week at Hannover Messe, one of the world's largest trade fairs, the company introduced the Terra High Power charger, a 350 kilowatts monster that is capable of providing electric cars with 125 miles (200 km) of power in just eight minutes. Not as fast as the time required to refuel anengine, but significantly faster than current electric car chargers.The Terra, supposedly the worlds first certified cooled-cable 350 kilowatts DC fast charger, is intended for highway rest stops and petrol stations and will be able to recharge both 400 V and 800 V cars at full power.When the charger is deployed on the worlds roads, it will come in pairs that will allow two EVS to be charged at full power simultaneously. Over time, as EVs become more commonplace and the need for additional chargers increases, the Terra locations can be expanded through the addition of other power cabinets and charge posts.We are committed to supporting the expansion of electric vehicle charging systems across the globe to drive cleaner environments, said Frank Muehlon, head of ABB electric vehicles charging.Creating innovative state-of-the-art and energy efficient solutions which are scalable to expand and flex with our customers needs is at the heart of ABBs philosophy.ABB is the supplier of choice for Electrify America , which recently announced an expansion of its charging stations to Walmart locations across 34 states in the U.S. The chargers to be deployed include the Terra High Power. Teslas shareholders are to meet in the beginning of June to get up to speed with Musks latest exploits and have a say on the future direction of the company. Included on the to-do list is the reelection of three board members and, says Electrek , a proposal to remove Musk as chairman of the company.This proposal was made by a man called Jing Zhao, who owns a whooping 12 shares in the company, the source says. By comparison, Elon Musk holds some 37.8 million shares of the automaker.Still, the man does envision a more powerful and at the same time secure future for Tesla, one in which the carmaker is led by an independent director. Such a person would protect Tesla against any potential governance issues arising from a non-independent director being chairman.An independent chairman of the board of directors is the prevailing practice in the international market, such as in the United Kingdom, said Zhao in a statement cited by the source.In the United States too, many big companies already have or began to have an independent Board Chairman. Tesla should not be exception.On Thursday, Tesla s board of directors recommended that the shareholders vote against the proposal, saying that it already has seven independent directors and complies with majority practice.The joggling Musk keeps doing with the companies he has stakes in has caused dissatisfaction before. He is currently CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and The Boring Company.He was also CEO of OpenAI, a position he left to avoid potential future conflict with his role as CEO of Tesla, a company also engaged in AI research. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) recently annnounced the export launch of the Xpander MPV from its manufacturing facility in Bekasi, Indonesia. The first country in the ASEAN region to receive exports of Mitsubishi's all-new Xpander will be the Philippines. It will then be followed by Thailand, Vietnam and other international markets in the coming months. Present during the event was Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Ministry of Industry Airlangga Hartarto. They were also joined by MMC CEO Osamu Masuko to celebrate the achievement. Coincidentally, the export launch comes a year after the Bekasi plant was inaugurated. "I am delighted that our company can contribute to the growth of Indonesia, which has been so supportive since we first arrived almost 50 years ago. The export of Xpander is an important milestone in our ongoing business plan, and adds further to our strong foundations in ASEAN, which are key drivers of our growth in the region," said Masuko. Apart from the official export launch of the Xpander, the event also marks the first time Mitsubishi Motors will export vehicles on a massive scale from Indonesia. It is expected that 30,000 units of the MPV will be exported within the year alone. Furthermore, dealers in Indonesia alone already have taken over 66,000 orders for the vehicle. Currently, the Xpander compromises 50-percent of production at Mitsubishi Motor's Bekasi plant, which is capable of producing 160,000 units units per year. To meet demands, the automaker plans to increase production to 10,000 units a month beginning July. Mitsubishi Motor Philippines expects to turn over the first batch of units of the Xpander to customers in May. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4), which will grant funding for the FAA until 2023. The legislation was introduced by chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. and passed with a vote of 393-13. Although the original House bill did not include provisions for removing ATC from FAA control, a last-minute amendment added by Shuster on Tuesday called for making the organization that manages ATC part of the Transportation Department and forming a 13-member advisory board. The change met with significant industry resistance and the controversial section was removed from the amendment before the bill went to a vote. Nearly 100 amendments were made to the bill before the final vote. The list includes one that directs the FAA to evaluate NextGen air traffic control technology and report the findings to Congress. Also included was an amendment requiring medical exams for commercial hot air balloon pilots, stemming from the 2016 crash of a hot air balloon that killed 16 people in Texas. NATA, GAMA, and other aviation organizations have already issued statements praising the passage of H.R. 4. This bill provides key provisions and language that improves safety, streamlines regulatory burdens, strengthens job creation, encourages competitiveness and innovation, and stimulates exports, said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. It is being reported that the hope is to have the legislation to the Senate in May or June and long-term reauthorization in place by August. Chinese President Xi Jinping continues to emphasize the need for China to cut reliance on foreign technology. Why it matters: China has had programs for decades to develop indigenous technologies, but the focus is rapidly intensifying as the U.S. puts more pressure on China. What's happening: 1. Xi chaired a national conference on the "work of cybersecurity and informatization" last weekend. Per Xinhua, he stressed that China will inject more resources into research, industrial development and policy making in order to achieve breakthroughs in information technologies. 2. Xi went on an inspection tour of Hubei Province. One of the main propaganda themes so far from his trip is the need to take control of Chinas technological destiny. At one stop on Thursday Xi told his audience, per the NYT's Chris Buckley tweet: "In the past we tightened our belts, gritted our teeth, and built the two [atomic and hydrogen] bombs and a satellite...In the next step of tackling technology, we must cast aside illusions and rely on ourselves." The threat: The recent U.S. sanctions that may cripple ZTE, a new Department of Justice investigation of Huawei that could lead to similar sanctions, and what appears to be a broader Trump administration strategy to thwart Chinas technology ambitions could make a U.S.-China technology war run much hotter than the overall conflict over trade. Technology CEOs the world over with supply chain dependencies in China should be increasingly nervous and focused on their firms' efforts to have viable contingency plans for a U.S.-China technology cold war. The U.S. efforts may fail, according to James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Lewis writes: "There are very few technologies where we still have a monopoly, and though it is in our national interest to prevent exports that improve Chinas technological base, we should not delude ourselves that this will frustrate Chinese ambitions. At best it may slow them ... China may not retaliate directly or immediately, as it still needs some U.S. technology for mobile phones, but it will not allow ZTE to go under. Foreign suppliers will offer ZTE substitute goods if they make them and look to build substitutes if they do not." Go deeper: Reuters reports today that the Trump administration may start scrutinizing informal partnerships between American and Chinese companies in the field of artificial intelligence. For all China's vaunted reams of data and outsized R&D spending, its development of artificial intelligence is only half as good as the United States', according to a side-by-side assessment by an Oxford University researcher. Quick take: "I think some of the rhetoric about China's AI advances has been overblown," says Jeffrey Ding at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. He tells Axios, "The U.S. still has significant advantages in talent and hardware, and it should continue to ensure that talented researchers and scientists want to work and stay in the U.S." In a long, must-read report, Ding uses an index in order to parse China's AI capabilities. He finds: The U.S. is ahead in all AI metrics except the volume of data to which it has access. Even there, Chinese AI has the benefit of much more data; but it is all Chinese data, collected at home, and thus narrow. AI metrics except the volume of data to which it has access. Even there, Chinese AI has the benefit of much more data; but it is all Chinese data, collected at home, and thus narrow. Taking into context the variables he identified, he finds that Chinese capabilities are about half the United States'. variables he identified, he finds that Chinese capabilities are about half the United States'. AI ethics are an issue in China, just as they are in the West. Be smart: China's AI experts have carved out one specialized niche: public surveillance, which uses facial and image recognition software. The state has supported a number of companies, such as Alibaba-backed SenseTime, in pushing China ahead in this AI arena, writes Quartz's Josh Horwitz. AI-based facial recognition software is at the core of China's "social credit" rating, which monitors citizens and helps to determine their freedom of movement. eligibility for a job, and access to a mortgage, writes CBS's Ben Tracy. software is at the core of China's "social credit" rating, which monitors citizens and helps to determine their freedom of movement. eligibility for a job, and access to a mortgage, writes CBS's Ben Tracy. According to Ding, Chinas Ministry of Public Security is building the world's largest archive of facial monitoring data. Ministry of Public Security is building the world's largest archive of facial monitoring data. "Chinas AI development could provide a model of 'robust authoritarianism' that might appeal to other nations," Ding writes. But he says it doesn't have to turn out that way: "China could also beneficially contribute to peaceful governance and ethical norms for AI technologies. A clear-eyed assessment of its AI strategy is essential to deciphering how China will realize its AI dream." Go deeper: An analysis of China's plan for dominating AI. Danish company rsted, whose North American President Thomas Brostrm spoke at The Atlantic Council Thursday, is among numerous firms bidding for government-administered wind leases offshore Americas mid-Atlantic coastlines. Why it matters: Offshore wind is a rare renewable energy the Trump administration is actively supporting. Theres currently only one offshore wind farm in the U.S., off Rhode Island. The big picture: rsted is at the leading edge of Europes traditional oil and natural-gas companies that are transforming into producers of cleaner energy sources. Formerly known as Danish Oil and Natural Gas (DONG), the company changed its name last year and has been shifting away from fossil fuels to renewables, particularly wind, in the last several years. Trump administration influence: Brostrm said the U.S. Interior Department is supporting the development of offshore wind, particularly by helping to streamline the permitting process. Thats an area that is a little bit more cumbersome here, Brostrm said, comparing it to Europe. He went on to say that here in the U.S., and with this administration, creating jobs and helping to produce more domestic sources of energy are paramount. We firmly believe climate change is also happening, Brostrm said. The other areas I mentioned are bigger drivers right now. Whats driving corporate interest in offshore wind: Brostrm said its more the market than the 2015 Paris climate deal: My view is that costs are coming down and it gets competitive. Ultimately [thats] what is driving the market. Where the company is looking to develop in the U.S.: Up and down the East Coast to the Carolinas and eventually California, Brostrm said. The company already has two projects under development off Massachusetts and New Jersey, with more in the works elsewhere. Israeli troops killed three Palestinian demonstrators Friday in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, according to multiple reports. There were varying accounts of wounded demonstrators, with Reuters reporting 400 and Al Jazeera reporting more than 600. The big picture: This is the fifth Friday that has seen protests, as part of the grassroots movement around the Great March of Return. Per Al Jazeera, the casualties came after Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd, and the Israeli army "targeted medical service points twice with an unidentified gas." BBC reported that the Israeli army said it acted within rules of engagement, as a result of "more than 10,000 Palestinians...rioting." Now that the initial shock has worn off from today's Korean news, here's a brief survey of the reasons for skepticism and optimism about peace and denuclearization. Why it matters: Today is only the beginning of a lengthy process, and we've been burned by early optimism in the past. Skepticism: "North and South Korean leaders have signed grand peace documents before , in 2000 and 2007, and neither lasted. In 2012, North Korea agreed not to test missiles and then weeks later fired one off but called it a 'satellite' launch." [NYT's Nicholas Kristof] , in 2000 and 2007, and neither lasted. In 2012, North Korea agreed not to test missiles and then weeks later fired one off but called it a 'satellite' launch." [NYT's Nicholas Kristof] Kim Jong-un "may also be exhibiting a degree of confidence and security because of his nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which suggests he is unlikely to give them up." [Richard Haass] a degree of confidence and security because of his nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which suggests he is unlikely to give them up." [Richard Haass] The language released today "hews to a phrase preferred by Pyongyang that critics of the rapprochement say conditions any North Korean actions on the withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea." [WSJ] that critics of the rapprochement say conditions any North Korean actions on the withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea." [WSJ] China could demand U.S. troops leave South Korea in exchange for a permanent peace treaty. [NYT's Choe Sang-Hun] in exchange for a permanent peace treaty. [NYT's Choe Sang-Hun] "We put [the odds of denuclearizing during Trump's first term] at 5 percent." [Eurasia Group's Meredith Sumpter] Optimism: The leaders of North and South Korea have pledged to seek a formal end to the Korean War, along with a shared goal of denuclearizing the peninsula, From the scene: "Smiling and holding hands, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the countries on Friday, pledging to pursue peace after decades of conflict," Reuters reports: "Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border at the truce village of Panmunjom." North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border at the truce village of Panmunjom." Watching live: "South Koreans watched Friday as history unfolded and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader they normally only see in heavily edited footage, walked across the border and had his every word broadcast live and unfiltered on airwaves across the country." (AP) "South Koreans watched Friday as history unfolded and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader they normally only see in heavily edited footage, walked across the border and had his every word broadcast live and unfiltered on airwaves across the country." (AP) The big picture, from N.Y. Times: "After a year in which tensions between the two countries reached an acrimonious pitch not seen in decades, the two leaders were careful to publicly signal a new era of rapprochement." Quick take ... Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer author of "Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism," out this week with his trademark punctuation: "trump snapped the ball .. .and the koreans are running with it." "this is the first major positive geopolitical development all year. its hard to see the united states credibility threatening military preemption when peace is breaking out across the peninsula. which is precisely the point." its hard to see the united states credibility threatening military preemption when peace is breaking out across the peninsula. which is precisely the point." "heres a 'be careful what you wish for' element to any breakthrough for the americans. after all, if an agreement ultimately means no need for the united states .. .the peninsula tilts away from security and towards economics." what you wish for' element to any breakthrough for the americans. after all, if an agreement ultimately means no need for the united states .. .the peninsula tilts away from security and towards economics." "thats a welcome development for both sides, no question. its also one future dominated by the chinese." Why it matters ... CFR President Richard Haass, author of "A World in Disarray," gave Axios AM readers his quick take on the summit: "I don't know how to say 'charm offensive' in Korean, but that is what we are seeing. What matters, though, in the context of N-S relations is what the North is prepared to do to reduce the conventional military threat it poses to the South." how to say 'charm offensive' in Korean, but that is what we are seeing. What matters, though, in the context of N-S relations is what the North is prepared to do to reduce the conventional military threat it poses to the South." "What matters in the context of [U.S. relations with South Korea] is whether the South hangs tough and does not offer up economic incentives that 1) reward the North for promises rather than actions and 2) ignore U.S. concerns, above all the nuclear and ballistic missile programs." in the context of [U.S. relations with South Korea] is whether the South hangs tough and does not offer up economic incentives that 1) reward the North for promises rather than actions and 2) ignore U.S. concerns, above all the nuclear and ballistic missile programs." "Still, we are a long ways from not all that long ago, when conflict seemed all too possible and imminent." Go deeper... Its not just nukes: What the key players want from North Korea Weeks before Trump is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Otto Warmbiers parents are suing North Korea for "brutally" torturing and murdering him, The Washington Post reports. What they're saying: This lawsuit is another step in holding North Korea accountable for its barbaric treatment of Otto and our family, Fred Warmbier, Ottos father, said in a statement. The details: A 22-page complaint was filed in D.C.s district court Thursday. A lead attorney in the case, Richard Cullen, also represents Vice President Mike Pence. The lawsuit states that "North Korea, which is a rogue regime, took Otto hostage for its own wrongful ends and brutally tortured and murdered him. Plaintiffs are Ottos parents, who bring this lawsuit on their own behalf and on behalf of Otto to obtain justice for the severe injuries North Korea has caused them to endure." The White House supports the lawsuit but did not have a role in drafting the complaint, a source close to both sides told the Post. Catch up quick: Warmbier went on a trip to North Korea in 2016 but was detained for 17 months. Last year North Korea returned him to the U.S. in a coma, he died shortly after. Natalya Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with top Trump campaign officials at Trump Tower in 2016, admitted to being an informant for a top Kremlin official, reports the New York Times. Why it matters: Veselnitskaya previously denied having ties to Russias government and insisted she was a private attorney. The revelation now raises questions about who she was working for when she met with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner in 2016. The meeting is a focus of Special Counsel Bob Mueller's investigation. What she said: I am a lawyer, and I am an informant Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general. What she did: She worked hand in glove with Russias chief legal office to thwart a Justice Department civil fraud case against a well-connected Russian firm, the NYTs Andrew Kramer and Sharon LaFraniere write. How we know: Newly released emails, obtained by Dossier, an organization run by a former tycoon and anti-Putin campaigner, reveal Veselnitskayas ties to the Kremlin official. And when presented with the emails in an interview with NBC News' Richard Engel, she revealed she had been informing the official. Sinclair Broadcast Group said on Tuesday that it would sell 23 stations if its merger with Tribune goes through, including three stations in top 10 markets Chicago, Dallas and Houston. The big picture: The deal with Tribune "further solidifies Sinclair's already massive hold on the local TV broadcast industry." President and CEO of Sinclair, Chris Ripley, said in the release: "While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan to create a leading broadcast platform with local focus and national reach. The combined company will continue to advance industry technology, including the Next Generation Broadcast Platform, and to benefit from significant revenue and expense synergies." Fresh off a Fox News interview in which he described President Trump as a fellow "maverick," French President Emmanuel Macron arrived today for the first state visit of the Trump presidency. He and his wife Brigitte dined on Dover sole, lemon ricotta agnolotti, and chocolate souffle with the Trumps this evening at Mount Vernon. The visit provides Trump with an opportunity to showcase his strong relationship with a key ally, and perhaps snag a couple positive news cycles. But given Trump's widespread disapproval in France, what's in it for Macron? Major breakthroughs seem unlikely. Ideally hed get a long-term U.S. exemption from tariffs, an agreement to remain in the Iran deal and a long-term strategy in Syria, says Jeff Lightfoot of the Atlantic Council. "While theyre at it, they might as well try to get a cure for cancer. Ideally hed get a long-term U.S. exemption from tariffs, an agreement to remain in the Iran deal and a long-term strategy in Syria, says Jeff Lightfoot of the Atlantic Council. "While theyre at it, they might as well try to get a cure for cancer. Prestige is one factor, and this solidifies Macrons status as Trump's key interlocutor in Europe. German chancellor Angela Merkel, who played that role under Barack Obama, will arrive with less pomp and circumstance later this week. and this solidifies Macrons status as Trump's key interlocutor in Europe. German chancellor Angela Merkel, who played that role under Barack Obama, will arrive with less pomp and circumstance later this week. But theres a broader message, says Lightfoot: France is back, as a leader in Europe and a key player on the world stage. The visit comes nearly a year into Macrons presidency, and as he trudges through a thicket of difficulties on other fronts. At home: Macron has undertaken a whirlwind of reforms to modernize France. While hes moved remarkably quickly, his popularity has fallen sharply and hes now engaged in a high-stakes battle with railway workers that could stall his economic agenda. In Europe: Macron wants to build a more centralized and ambitious E.U., but hes swimming against the tide at a time when Germanys appetite for such reforms has decreased and Euroskeptics are surging around the continent. Overseas, though, Macron is flying high. He has revitalized the way France is viewed around the world, says Lightfoot. French voters are very pragmatic, says Celia Belin of the Brookings Institution. The only thing theyre asking is, even if Macron cant change Trumps mind, he needs to state their differences and not appear as an enabler. says Celia Belin of the Brookings Institution. The only thing theyre asking is, even if Macron cant change Trumps mind, he needs to state their differences and not appear as an enabler. Macron has taken a similar approach with other leaders. He wants to talk to everybody Trump, Putin, Xi, Erdogan, says Belin, and show he can handle them head on. He wants to talk to everybody Trump, Putin, Xi, Erdogan, says Belin, and show he can handle them head on. And while Macron is an ardent defender of liberalism and democracy within Europe, he can sometimes speak the language of the strongman. He has repeatedly compared himself to a king, saying in a Vanity Fair interview that a strong leader is needed to decide for the country and telling Der Spiegel, The French want to elect a king, but they would like to be able to overthrow him whenever they want. Between the lines: Francois Hollande, Macrons predecessor and former mentor, writes that he is certain that reality graciously bends to his will as soon as he expresses it. That sentiment could describe either president at tonight's dinner. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the leaders dined on Dover Sole and lemon ricotta agnolotti this evening. A previous version of this post said they dined on rack of spring lamb and burnt cipollini soubise, which they will be having at the state dinner tomorrow. The parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) will not vote to elect opposition leader Nikol Pashinian the countrys new prime minister next week, a senior HHK lawmaker said on Friday. Gevorg Kostanian, the chairman of the parliament committee on legal affairs, insisted that Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisians resignation on Monday did not mark regime change in Armenia. In parliamentary republics regime change presupposes a change of the parliamentary majority, he told reporters. A change of the prime minister or other officials alone can never been deemed regime change. Asked whether HHK lawmakers will vote for Pashinian when the parliament picks the new premier on May 1, Kostanian said: I rule that out because I cant imagine such a possibility. They will back a candidate who will be chosen by the HHK faction, he said. Another senior HHK lawmaker, Vahram Baghdasarian, reaffirmed his partys readiness to discuss any issue with Pashinian. But we are not going to succumb to ultimatums and coercion, he stressed. The remarks came as Pashinian continued to press the HHK majority in the National Assembly and other parliamentary factions to install him as interim prime minister and call fresh elections. Pashinian said earlier on Friday that hundreds of thousands of people should take to the streets of Yerevan and blockade the parliament building during the May 1 session. We are following the constitutional path, and if this is his constitutional path, then let him do that, commented Baghdasarian. The HHK controls 58 seats in the 105-member parliament, compared with 9 seats held by the opposition Yelk alliance. Yelk has officially nominated Pashinian for prime minister. None of the other parliamentary parties has officially endorsed the opposition leader. Those are the Tsarukian Bloc and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). Dashnaktsutyun, which pulled out of the government following Sarkisians resignation, on Friday urged the parliamentary forces to agree on a joint candidate enjoying the trust of the people by May 1. They would also determine by consensus the composition of the new government and its policy program, it said. The party did not say who that candidate might be. Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 90 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said April 27. The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran will create a working group to integrate the energy systems of the three countries, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry said on April 26. This issue was discussed at the tripartite meeting of the countries deputy energy ministers in Baku. The working group will consist of 18 people with six people from each country. The first meeting of the group will be held in July in Moscow. The group should also prepare technical tasks for the feasibility study of integrating the electric power systems of the three countries and the draft agreement on joint development of the feasibility study. Deputy Energy Minister of Azerbaijan Natig Abbasov noted during the meeting that the current opportunities of the three countries in the field of energy export create the conditions for the formation of the North-South energy corridor. Irans Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri, in turn, noted his countrys interest in the implementation and completion of the process of integrating the Irans energy system with the systems of Russia and Azerbaijan. He added that all three countries have favorable opportunities for energy exchange. Deputy Energy Minister of Russia Anatoly Yankovsky also highly appreciated the existing cooperation in the field of electric power and noted the importance of concrete steps for this cooperation to cover all three countries. The integration of Azerbaijan, Russia and Irans energy systems will create an opportunity for expanding export-import operations. Azerbaijan will strengthen its position as an exporter and transit country for electricity. Power plants of Azerenergy JSC, Azerbaijans electricity producer, generated almost 6 billion kilowatt-hour of electricity in January-March 2018 as compared to around 6.04 billion kilowatt-hour in the same period of 2017. Currently, the generation capacity of the electric power system of Azerbaijan is 7,172.6 megawatts, which makes it possible to generate about 24 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This enables Azerbaijan to export 2.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva A seminar of the well-known Turkish businessman, writer and inventor Ataman Ozbay entitled Life, Happiness, Success (Hayat, Mutluluk, Basar) will be held at Pullman Baku Hotel on May 9, the press service of ASAN Konullulri told Trend Life. The event is organized by ASAN Konullulri with the assistance of the Istanbul University (Istanbul Sehir Universiteti) Edex and lB Club. Ataman Ozbay is the inventor of the first device for the production of wet wipes, as well as some of its varieties, the inventor of colored acetone, a number of products for eyes cleaning and hair washing, etc. He is also the creator of the following companies and brands: Selale, Premax, Lemonni, Uni Wipes, Uni Med, Uni Baby, Mentholix, Wogi, Woc, Comfort, and Uni Care. Ataman Ozbay is the author of such books as 7 Yasmda Bindigim Kamyonun Frenleri Patlad ve Hayata Yuvarlandm and ASK BU -Basar ve Mutlulugun Srr-Degerlerle Yonetmek. For more information, please contact: (+99412) 444 74 44 (26 39), (+99450) 729 95 39 Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Amina Nazarli Dating back about 90 years, almost to the earliest days of recorded jazz, this untypical genre of music for an Eastern country like Azerbaijan became an integral part of national culture. Jazz, an international language, influencing many cultures is loved in Azerbaijan, where it has a longstanding history. Once known as the Jazz capital of the Soviet Union, the musical genre is still very much alive and well in the country. Baku was one of the three-four cities best known for jazz, along with Leningrad and Riga at the time. Azerbaijani jazz, based on Mugham, traditional musical form, is a unique music, combining classical and national folklore genre and hardly any other national jazz scene has such a range of styles, traditions and techniques. The flowering of Azerbaijani jazz is associated with the names of giants such as Rafig Babayev and Vagif Mustafazade, who experimented creating unrepeatable compositions, becoming the founders of a new jazz trend jazz-mugham. This unique genre assembles both a traditional Azerbaijan music and a classic American jazz. Rafig Babayev Rafik Babayev, a unique musician, composer, and a high-class pianist Rafig Babayev today is the history and tradition of Azerbaijani jazz. Jazz for Rafig was not just a way of life, a sense of self or the possibility of embodying creative ideas, but also a subject of deep research, study, and penetration. He was worried about the jazz of his own source, not of anyone like a musical language. He never went down to ethnographic profanities and simulations. He was just sure that Azerbaijani melodies were perfectly combined with jazz. In one of his last interviews he revealed the essence of Azerbaijan jazz. National Jazz is an organic implantation of Azerbaijani intonations into the classical jazz structure ... Azerbaijani music is all built on mugham, so, naturally, knowledge of mugham, mugham intonations, knowledge of jazz standards and the ability to organically use everything it's in jazz compositions ... Quotes are completely gone, but intoning is present in the depth of each layer, in the party of each musician of the ensemble. This can be called polyphonic Azerbaijani jazz music," he said. After graduation, Babayev had to make decision between the two options to understand which path to take: musical or mathematical? It is not known whether the science has lost a great scientist, but we have no doubt that Azerbaijan have acquired a great musician. However, the tragic death of Rafig Babayev shocked not only the Azerbaijani people, but the entire world community. He, like dozens of innocent civilians, including women, old people and children, was the victim of the bloody terror committed in Baku on March 19, 1994. The explosion that took place at the metro station cut short the life of a wonderful musician and cheerful person at the most important and crucial stage of his life. He could have done a lot more for art and young people. He did not live to see his 58th birthday just a few days ... Vagif Mustafazade Known as "father of jazz" in Azerbaijan, magnificent pianist and composer, Vagif Mustafazade conquered the millions of hearts with his originality, virtuoso technique, and a peculiar harmonic language. He could create a great synthesis of jazz with national music, something majestic, something heaven. During his short but very fruitful life he was able to create almost 1,300 pieces of music, despite heart problems. After the death of Vagif, the famous American musicologist Willis Conover announced on the radio that the world lost a brilliant musician of that time ... The famous king of the blues BB King shouted in the hall, "Mr. Mustafazade, they call me the King of the Blues, but I assure I wish I could have played the blues as you do." Many people wonder, how the guy who was born in Azerbaijan, has such a brilliant knowledge of the American jazz. He knows mugham from his mother, but jazz... Mustafazade played so fantastically, because of his unmatched performance of three organs: brain, heart and hand, making the sounds so sincere and pure. Despite suddenly passing away at the age of 39, the influence of Vagif Mustafazade cannot be underestimated. Almost all jazz musicians in Azerbaijan today owe much to his legacy the youthful Isfar Sarabski, who won the Solo Jazz Piano Prize at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival regularly performs his March in his sets; Emil Afrasiyab has undertaken his own transcription of Vagifs Piano Concerto and frequently plays his compositions Aziza and March; and his daughter Aziza Mustafazadeh has taken the jazz-mugham concept even further, adopting a mystical approach in her own compositions, often ornamented by her own khanande-influenced scat singing. Today, the name of Shahin Novrasli has also become synonymous with the brand of Azerbaijani jazz. He has been able to successfully synthesize the melodies of Azerbaijani Mugham with traditional jazz rhythms. History of Azerbaijani jazz is very rich and illustrious and it continues to grow until now. Since 2002 the Caspian Jazz international festival has held in Baku every year, attracting many famous foreign musicians to the City of Winds. Baku Jazz Festival becoming a tradition since 2005, promoting jazz in Baku and discovering new names. This summer the capital city will remain committed to its traditions and from June 4 to 8 will gather many well-known jazz musicians at theInternational Mugham Center. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Trend: President Ilham Aliyev's first official visit to fraternal Turkey after the election once again shows the importance of strategic partnership between the two countries, MP Hikmat Babaoglu told Trend on April 26. "Describing the Azerbaijan-Turkey relations, the president said these relations have an ancient history and a recent history," Babaoglu reminded. "One can for surely say that if our ancestors built the ancient period of this history, and in the first years of our independence, the relations between the two countries were built by outstanding political figure Heydar Aliyev, then the qualitatively new Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in the newest political history were built by Ilham Aliyev." According to Babaoglu, under the current complex system of international relations, the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations act as a balancing factor in the region and create an important platform for cooperation of all regional countries, excluding Armenia. "Therefore, the ties between the two countries should be considered not only as bilateral relations, but as the relations creating very useful prospects for the future of the entire region," Babaoglu said. He emphasized that strategically important projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, realized upon Azerbaijan's initiative, has turned Turkey into an important infrastructure corridor. Babaoglu said that fraternal Turkey, using important energy and transport projects, has become a transit country, and also received revenues from these projects. "Azerbaijan invested $14 billion in Turkey's economy, while Turkey invested $12 billion in Azerbaijan's economy. Turkey is the second largest trade and economic partner after Russia for friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan," the MP reminded. He stressed that this important success creates new prospects. "All these issues stipulate closer cooperation and deeper integration. Therefore, all these issues were discussed in detail at the seventh meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. Several documents, which cover very broad areas from the socio-economic to the scientific, cultural and even military-strategic, were inked at the meeting," he said. "President Ilham Aliyev noted that today Turkey is a world power and has a developed defense industry," the MP reminded. "Therefore, agreements on military cooperation and production of defense products were signed between the two countries. All this is of great importance for Azerbaijan's military-strategic security," the MP said. Babaoglu went on to add that Azerbaijan and Turkey jointly fight against terrorism to ensure their security. "President Aliyev, touching upon this issue, said that anti-terrorist Operation Olive Branch, successfully carried out by Turkey, was a common issue. In fact, if numerous terrorists were not eliminated during this operation, one could not rule out that terrors would be committed in our country through terrorist Armenia. Furthermore, Turkey is the country that supports Azerbaijan most of all in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and has always sincerely stood by our country. All these and many other issues require jointly ensuring the security of the two countries," Babaoglu added. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Trend: Azerbaijan welcomes the talks between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesperson for Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, wrote on Twitter April 27. "We welcome Summit level meeting between the Republic of Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea and do hope that consultations would contribute to strengthening peace, security and stability in Korean peninsula," Hajiyev wrote. On April 27, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in and Leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un held talks, following which they signed the "Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula". The document states that the common goal of the two countries is to conduct the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula, and that Seoul and Pyongyang cease all hostile actions against each other. This is the third meeting of the leaders of the DPRK and the Republic of Korea after the formation of these countries in 1948. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva Key financial departments of Tajikistan offer the European Investment Bank to participate in financing the construction of the Rogun hydro power plant (HPP), the press service of the Tajik National Bank reported. This issue was discussed at the meeting of Finance Minister Fayziddin Kakhhorzoda and head of National Bank Jamshed Nurmahmadzoda with Vice President of the European Investment Bank Vazil Hudak. The meeting considered the existing hydropower potential of Tajikistan, a number of investment energy projects of regional importance. The implementation of the Rogun HPP was discussed in detail. Approximately $4 billion is needed to complete the major energy project. About 2 billion somoni ($227,2 million) have been allocated from the state budget for the completion of the hydroelectric power station last year. The Tajik authorities also issued securities worth $1 billion for the completion of the Rogun HPP in 2017. At the first stage, bonds worth $500 million were put up for sale on the world markets. According to the National Bank of Tajikistan, Tajik government bonds by type of investors were sold to fund managers (85 percent), hedge funds (9 percent), banks and other financial institutions (6 percent). Geographically, the bonds were acquired by investors from the U.S. (38 percent), Great Britain (24 percent), EU countries (percent) and Asia (3 percent). Recently, some media outlets spread information about the sale of a second package of government bonds worth $500 million for the Rogun project. However, there is no official confirmation of this information yet. In early April of this year, a group of investors, representatives of the American bank Merrill Lynch, investment funds Fidelity, Metlife, BNP Paribas, T.Rowe Price, Barings, Eaton Vance and Danske got acquainted with the macroeconomic situation in Tajikistan and visited the Rogun HPP. During the visit to Tajikistan, investors visited the Rogun HPP, where they got acquainted with the progress of construction work, visiting various parts of this hydro technical facility, including in the engine room. They were provided with detailed information on the significance and potential of this hydro power complex, the safety of the dam of the station, the financial attractiveness of the project. According to the National Bank, Merrill Lynch, as well as investment funds Fidelity, Metlife, BNP Paribas, T.Rowe Price, Barings, Eaton Vance and Danske are active buyers of government securities (Eurobonds) in the international financial market. The government of Tajikistan, which has suffered from electricity shortages for years, makes all possible efforts to complete the construction of dam that will solve the countrys energy problem. By implementing the project, Tajikistan will be able to generate about 13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will not only help the country to meet its domestic needs but also turn Tajikistan into a major exporter of electricity. According to the project, six units are planned to be installed at the station, each with a capacity of 600 MW. The station will become the highest rock-earth dam in the world. This HPP will generate 17 billion kWh of electricity annually. The dam should form a large Rogun reservoir with a total volume of 13.3 cubic meters. The project is criticized because of the location in the zone of high seismicity, landslide and mudflow processes, and the presence of a tectonic fault filled with rock salt under the base of the dam. The Rogun HPP will dam the Vakhsh river, which is a major tributary to the Amu Darya river, one of the region's two major water courses. The neighboring countries cautioned water could be diverted from their cotton and wheat fields. Uzbekistan claimed that water flows would be seriously decreased in case the dam is built. However, the World Bank assessment gave the go-ahead to the major project. The Italian company Salini Impregilo is engaged in the construction of the Rogun power plant. In October 2016, Tajikistan launched work on the construction of a rock embankment dam, 335 meters high and $1.95 billion worth. The cost of the entire hydro power station is $3.9 billion. At the end of January, the head of the company, Pietro Salini, after a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, told reporters that the first turbine of the Rogun hydro power plant will be launched on November 16, 2018. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva Uzbekistan has almost settled all issues related to the issuance of a certificate of Russian language and insurance to labor migrants. At this stage, we solved the problem of issuing a certificate of the Russian language, which is necessary to obtain a patent. We also worked on the issue of insurance, both for the travel period and for obtaining a patent, a representative of the Uzbek Agency for External Labor Migration said, Sputnik Uzbekistan reported on April 26. At the same time, the agency is now solving another important issue on the recognition by Russia of medical documents issued to migrants in Uzbekistan. For this, it is necessary to fulfill several requirements of the Russian Federation. This is a very difficult process. If the Uzbek Ministry of Health can fulfill them, then, I think, in the near future we will settle down this direction as well, the source said. In addition, free courses for migrants in Russian, English, German and Korean languages are launched across the country, as well as the acquisition of vocational skills in the most sought-after specialties, such as welders, builders, concreters and others. Today these courses are free for socially vulnerable categories of the population, according to the representative of the agency. Also, there is a system of incentives - if after a two-month free training a person demonstrates good results, he remains for the third month. In general, the terms of training depend on the initial level of knowledge. Classes are held in colleges that have been transferred to the Ministry of Labor. There are now 16 of them, almost two in each region, which makes it possible to provide quality training to all wishing Uzbek people, the source noted. This year, Uzbekistan intends to officially send over 50,000 labor migrants to Russia. However, if in the second half of the year the law on recruiting activities is adopted in the republic, this will significantly expand the organized set of migrants by involving private companies in the process. Earlier, Russia and Uzbekistan signed agreements under which migrant workers will have the opportunity of formal and targeted employment. The document suggests making the process of labor migration from Uzbekistan more organized. Migrants will go to Russia, knowing in advance where they will work, live and how much they will be paid. Before they leave, the migrants will have to undergo a certain test and preparation. The Uzbek Labor Ministry will have to conduct training for citizens under the programs of the Russian Education Ministry, check qualifications and experience and conduct medical examination of migrants. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will have to check the absence of citizens in the number of wanted persons and for the existence of outstanding convictions. In addition, the Russian employer will have to provide the recruited foreign workers with a place of residence, the corresponding sanitary and hygienic standards and a payment not lower than the subsistence minimum. The employer should also conclude an agreement with the sending party, where all the nuances will be prescribed. In Russia, such labor migrants will have the advantage of being employed by other temporary workers from Uzbekistan. Russia offers visa-free entry for the citizens of Uzbekistan. Once in Russia, they have 30 days in which to locate employment and obtain a work patent. Migrants from Uzbekistan are one of the most numerous groups of foreign workers on the Russian territory. According to various estimates, there are more than 2 million citizens of Uzbekistan in Russia. They annually transfer about $3 billion, which is a significant. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva The first meeting of EU-Uzbekistan subcommittee on cooperation for development was held on April 27. The parties plan to include projects in the energy sector and the mining industry in the renewed Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), RIA Novosti reported. We very much hope that the dynamics of such support will continue and we will expand not only the volumes, but also the areas of cooperation with the EU, Shukhrat Vafayev, co-chairman of the subcommittee, deputy chairman of the Uzbek State Committee for Investments, said while addressing the opening of the meeting. He noted that Uzbekistan and the EU should establish cooperation in attracting European companies to the development of mining deposits, as well as new European technologies to the countrys energy sector after 2020. Currently, the EU actively supports the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan. The co-chairman recalled that in June 2017, Uzbekistan and the European Investment Bank (EIB) established cooperation which should become an important contribution to increasing the interest of European companies in Uzbekistan. He noted that EIB delegation will visit Uzbekistan next month and the sides will be able to sign a number of agreements. Co-chairman of the subcommittee, representative of the European Commission Directorate for Development of Cooperation Raffaella Iodice noted that it is necessary to launch a dialogue for further development of cooperation at this meeting. We would like to open a window for financial investments in a bilateral and regional format. Investing in energy is very important, she added. Uzbekistan as the most populous country in the very heart of Central Asia is an important partner for the EU. The EU mainly focuses on the projects on the development of rural areas in Uzbekistan, in particular, improving irrigation infrastructure, introducing renewable energy in agribusiness, as well as assisting program on creation of jobs in the country's regions. Relations between the EU and Uzbekistan are based on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) which entered into force in 1996. Since this time, the EU has allocated considerable amount of money to develop the domestic industry of the country. Financial aid in the amount of 168 million euros was approved for this Central Asian country for 2014-2020. These funds will be used to improve the irrigation infrastructure, introduce renewable energy sources in agribusiness, and promote a program to create new jobs in the regions. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Trend: An Iranian expert believes that the possible decision of the US President Donald Trump on leaving the 2015 nuclear deal is very unlikely to leave a negative impact on the Islamic Republics oil deal with the French giant, Total. "Despite the diplomatic crisis concerning the nuclear deal, I do not think that Irans oil contracts would face a particular problem in the future. I assume that the Total agreement will remain intact," Mohammad Ali Sadeghi, an expert on gas, oil, and energy affairs told Trend. He further touched upon oil prices and forecasted that the oil prices will stay in the current level. European officials have already held several talks with Tehran, Moscow and Washington as part of a drive to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran that President Donald Trump is threatening to scuttle. So far, Iran has adhered to the terms of the nuclear deal, as verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in previous reports since the pact was implemented in January 2016. But the economic benefits Iran is receiving in return have fallen short of expectations, even after energy and financial sanctions were lifted. Major banks and companies have avoided engaging with Iran from fear of running afoul of remaining US restrictions or seeing a "snapback" of sanctions given Trumps threats. Trump has told the Europeans that they must agree to "fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal" or he would re-impose the sanctions that Washington lifted as part of the pact. Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh said Friday the global market has the capacity to absorb higher oil prices, drawing a swift reaction from US President Donald Trump, who accused OPEC of inflating prices. June Brent crude on Monday dropped 79 cents, or 1.1 percent to $73.27 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after a 2 percent gain last week. By Kamila Aliyeva Uzbekistan and Turkey will sign a weighty package of interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents in various fields, as well as a number of investment agreements following a state visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The official visit of Turkish leader to Uzbekistan at the invitation of his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev is scheduled for April 29 May 1. As a follow-up to the political dialogue at the highest level, held on October 25-26, 2017, within the framework of the state visit of the Uzbek President to Turkey, it is planned to discuss ways to further build up multifaceted cooperation, consolidate and develop new promising trends in bilateral relations. Special attention will be paid to the international and regional agenda, including countering global and regional challenges and threats. In accordance with the format of the state visit, the Turkish President will address the joint session of the chambers of the Uzbek Oliy Majlis. The leaders of the two countries will also take part in a joint business forum of heads of leading banks, companies and firms of Uzbekistan and Turkey. The program of the visit includes a visit of the Turkish delegation of Bukhara. Following the results of the Uzbek-Turkish summit, it is planned to adopt a joint statement of the heads of state with assessments of the current state of bilateral relations and their dynamic development. Within the framework of the visit, a weighty package of interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents in various spheres, as well as a number of investment agreements, are expected to be signed. Turkey is one of the most important trade partners of Uzbekistan. In 2016, the mutual trade turnover between the countries reached $1.2 billion. In February 2017, Turkey and Uzbekistan signed cooperation agreement to boost economic relations. There are currently about 700 companies in Uzbekistan with Turkish capital, 100 of which are representation offices. They carry out activities in the sectors of textile, food, hotel management, building materials, plastic, medication, and services. The investments of the Turkish side in the economy of Uzbekistan are about $ 1 billion. There are 114 companies in Turkey with Uzbek capital. Only last year more than 20 enterprises with the participation of Turkey's investments were organized and 53 companies were accredited in Uzbekistan. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Three of four candidates in the historic 2016 race for Jefferson County Sheriff were indicted Friday for allegedly accepting thousands of dollars in illegal cash campaign contributions from the owner of a Beaumont car dealership who is under federal criminal investigation. Sheriff Zena Stephens, Deputy Joe "QB" Stevenson and former Beaumont Police lieutenant Ray Beck turned themselves in to the Chambers County jail Friday morning, where they were booked and released on bond. All three were indicted in adjoining Chambers County rather than Jefferson County, as required by the Texas Election Code, according to the Texas Attorney General's office. > > PDFs: Read the indictments here Stephens, who defeated Stevenson in the 2016 Democratic primary runoff and then beat Beck, a Republican, in the 2016 general election, could be removed from office if convicted. She made national headlines as the first black woman elected sheriff in Texas. She is accused of accepting $1,000 in cash from Daylight Motors owner Larry Tillery in May 2016 and $5,000 in cash from Tillery in September 2016, according to her indictment, which was released by the AG's office. Tillery could not be reached for comment Friday. Stephens also is charged with tampering with a governmental record for allegedly reporting the $5,000 donation in the section of her campaign finance report designated for documenting donations of less than $50, "with intent to defraud or harm" Jefferson County citizens, the indictment said. On her "Campaign Contributions/Expenditure Report," filed with the Jefferson County Clerk's Office on Oct. 11, 2016, she reported receiving $5,350 in "total political contributions of $50 or less." If convicted of the charge, a state jail felony, Stephens could be sentenced to between 180 days and two years in jail and fined up to $10,000. She was released on $5,000 bond Friday. >> Related: Beaumont car dealer accused of money laundering scheme Beck and Stevenson were released on $2,500 bonds, according to the Chambers County Sheriff's Office. According to Beck's indictment, he is accused of accepting $5,000 in cash from Tillery between Nov. 4, 2016 and Feb. 15, 2017, and failing to return the illegal contribution in compliance with election law. He was indicted on two Class A misdemeanor charges, each of which carries penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. He could not be reached for comment Friday. Stevenson is accused of accepting $1,000 in cash from Tillery between Feb. 9, 2016 and May 20, 2016. He declined to comment when reached by phone Friday. The election code says candidates may not "knowingly accept" cash from a single contributor that totals more than $100. Stephens' attorney, Sean Villery-Samuel, defended her in a statement, saying "as the community will learn, Sheriff Stephens had no criminal intent in her actions. The charges, in this case, are a clear overreach by prosecutors who are willing to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater.'" Villery-Samuel said the first-time candidate "has now been accused of a technical violations of the lengthy and complex election code, in spite of her trying to cure that violation once she became aware of its existence." Villery-Samuel and his father, attorney and Beaumont City Council member Audwin Samuel, accompanied Stephens as she left the Chambers County Sheriff's Office Friday morning. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that it "is aware of the indictments against Sheriff Stephens" and "will continue to operate as usual providing dedicated service and protection to the citizens of our County." The office did not say when Stephens might return to work. The alleged violations were brought to state authorities by federal officials who discovered them "during an unrelated federal investigation," Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said. Tillery, who owns Daylight Motors, a used car dealership on Eastex Freeway and Dowlen Road in Beaumont, is under investigation for running an illegal gambling operation, according to federal court records. The U.S. Department of Justice filed paperwork last May in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas to seize nine properties from Tillery. "The investigation has found evidence that Larry Tillery is operating an illegal sports betting operation with bettors located nationwide," a special agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote in an affidavit. "The investigation has also found evidence that Larry Tillery is evading taxes associated with his gambling activities." His wife, Judy Tillery, and children, Brian Tillery and Tara Miller, are named as "criminal associates" in the affidavit, along with Raymond Duplantis and Corey Loupe. Nine properties in Beaumont, Lumberton and Phoenix, Arizona were listed in the affidavit, valued at a total of more than $5.3 million. A criminal investigation into the case is ongoing, according to court documents, and a federal judge last month issued an order halting the seizure of the properties until the investigation is complete. In a statement Friday, Paxton said, "Our election laws were established to protect the right of Texans to govern themselves through their elected representatives and to ensure fair and transparent elections, and it is the responsibility of the attorney general to enforce those protections. "No one is above the law. The conduct of the people indicted by the grand jury is illegal and erodes the public trust. Working with local and state law enforcement, my office intends to hold them accountable," Paxton said. Stephens previously was police chief at Prairie View A&M University and a chief deputy in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. She ran against Stevenson and Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll in a March 2016 Democratic primary and beat Stevenson in a run-off election in May. "I'm praying for them at this difficult time," Carroll said Friday. Stevenson is a chief deputy for Precinct 1 Constable Earl White, who was named Beaumont Fire Chief on Tuesday. White said Friday that he plans to open an administrative investigation. "I stand behind the individual as a human being and as an employee," White said. "He will receive fair and equitable treatment." He declined to say whether Stevenson will be placed on leave. Beck is a retired Beaumont Police lieutenant. Beaumont Police Chief Jimmy Singletary declined to comment Friday. "We are deeply saddened by the current allegations and put our full trust and faith in our law enforcement and justice systems," Garrett Peel, chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, said in a statement. Democratic Party chair Cade Bernsen could not be reached for comment. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement does not take action on indicted peace officers' licenses until there is a final conviction or disposition, spokeswoman Gretchen Grigsby said. If a certified peace officer is convicted of a felony, TCOLE will permanently revoke their license, she said. A class A misdemeanor conviction can result in a license suspension of 120 days to 10 years. The range is 60 days to 10 years for a class B misdemeanor. The County Commissioner's court would decide whether to pursue removing Stephens from office if she is convicted of a misdemeanor, Grigsby said. If she is convicted of a felony, TCOLE will work with the Attorney General's office on the removal proceedings. Stevenson would not be able to work as a deputy if he lost his peace officer's license. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said Friday he does not anticipate the county being legally involved but declined to comment further because the investigation is ongoing. District Attorney Bob Wortham, whose office is not involved in investigating the three officials, declined to comment. LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/LizTeitz Despite one train enthusiast's successful effort to raise thousands of dollars to purchase Port Arthur's Locomotive No. 503, the train is staying in the city's Bryan Park, at least for now. Engine 503, one of America's last surviving Ten-Wheeler locomotives, is expected to be moved today for the first time since it arrived in Port Arthur in 1957. In February, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality flagged the engine for leaking asbestos and lead paint and told the city it needed to address the issue immediately. In response, city officials suggested turning the train into scrap metal, a proposal that prompted Jason Sobczynski, owner of Next Generation Rail Services, to start a GoFundMe campaign to save the engine. In just a matter of days, Sobczynski's fundraising effort raised the more than $65,000 needed to purchase and move the historic steam train. Despite Sobcynski's effort, the train's final destination is still up in the air, according to Port Arthur City Councilman Harold Doucet. Work crews this week installed 120 feet of new track at Bryan Park that will be used to temporarily move the engine. Once the No. 503 is moved, workers will remove several layers of soil believed to be exposed to the asbestos and lead paint. The city is focused on "what TCEQ says," Doucet, 68, said. Once the soil remediation is complete, the council will "take a look at what we're going to do for this train and its preservation." While the support for the train's preservation has been "overwhelming," Doucet said its largely come from people outside of the city. "It just shows that you got people from outside the city trying to tell the city what they should do with it," said Doucet. Sobczynski, a member of the Heritage Railway Operations Society, rallied more than 1,200 train enthusiasts from around the world in February to raise $67,400 to save Locomotive No. 503. He also encouraged those donors to call and email city council members to voice their support for his group's purchase of the train. Sobczynski estimated it would cost $1 million and take three years to restore the train to its original glory. In a proposal to the city, Sobczynski offered to cover the $45,000 it is expected to cost to clean up the asbestos at the park. "This is being viewed as a win-win situation for all parties involved," Sobczynski wrote in his proposal. The train would be named the "City of Port Arthur" and Port Arthur residents would ride for free when the train, which could go to Florida or Georgia, is operational. "We admire the interest of others outside of here for that train, but to suggest we should release the train to take away from here and go somewhere else is ludicrous at best," said former councilman John Beard Jr., who has started his own preservation efforts to keep Engine 503 in the city. "It's not something we're going to consider doing." Beard's campaign, "Friends of 503," is hoping to create a public-private partnership between the City of Port Arthur and its residents in order to "restore, preserve and protect the train so that all the citizens of Port Arthur and Southeast Texas can enjoy it." The locomotive was given to the city by the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell, making Port Arthur its "rightful place," according to Beard. Stilwell also founded the city of Port Arthur. Sobczynski, a Georgia native, said it seemed to him that "nobody has cared about that locomotive in at least the last 30 years." Beard, 61, suggested "maybe Harvey was a wake up call in terms of the train." An oily substance was found near the train after Tropical Storm Harvey and TCEQ mandated the spill be remediated and the soil beneath the train be excavated, said Port Arthur City Attorney Valecia Tizeno. Hilton Kelley, activist and director of Port Arthur's Community In-Power and Development Association Inc., said he was "very upset that the 503 was threatened with being taken away from this community." Kelley, who said he visits the park often with his granddaughter, said the train is "part of our history" and that Bryan Park "wouldn't be the same without" it. Port Arthur has "so few historic landmarks," said Kelley, 57, and the train adds "a lot of value to our community." At a public hearing in Port Arthur last month, Sobczynski said "a grand total of about four people" voiced their support for Engine 503, "meanwhile, 1,200 people from around the world have spoken up and said they want to see this thing operate." While Beard said he appreciates the interest from those outside of the city to preserve the train, he said "they don't live here, they don't pay taxes here." "When the locomotive leaves and is put into operation, people will again get to experience what it is instead of walking by and wondering what it was," Sobczynski said. Councilwoman Charlotte Moses said she supports the train's future outside of Port Arthur. "While in its heyday 503 has served our community as a place where generations have visibly toured and played, the time has come for the city council and citizens to make a wise, conscious decision to do what is best to preserve the remaining lifespan of this locomotive," Moses said in a statement. "With that being said, our city is not in a position to address the long-term issues to preserve 503 to a state of excellence that it deserves." Moses cited "deteriorating" infrastructure and streets as more deserving of taxpayers' dollars rather than a "halfway" preservation of 503, which she said would be "shameful and selfish on our part." PSuy@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/PhoebeSuy A family member's mail-in DNA test led law enforcement to arrest Joseph James DeAngelo, the infamous Golden State Killer who terrorized parts of California through the 1970s and 1980s, The Sacramento Bee reports. Mr. DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, was arrested April 24 and is expected to face charges in 12 homicide cases in Sacramento, Orange, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties related to a rape and killing spree from 1974 to 1986. Authorities said Mr. DeAngelo may have raped as many as 50 survivors when he would break into their homes and torment them. Using genealogical websites such as those made popular by 23andMe and Ancestry.com which had genetic information from one of Mr. DeAngelo's relatives, investigators were able to connect DNA from one of the crime scenes collected nearly 40 years ago and compare it against a pool of genetic profiles available online. Authorities narrowed down the list of potential suspects in the family tree to Mr. DeAngelo, who lived in the area and was in the age-range of possible suspects. They then set up surveillance in his neighborhood and collected a DNA sample from something he threw away, which identified him as the Golden State Killer. The unusual way in which law enforcement went about determining the suspect has many calling into question consumers' privacy rights associated with investigators using the genetic information they willingly give up to genetic testing companies to learn more about their family histories. Privacy advocates claim law enforcement's use of the DNA-collecting websites in investigations creates an "Orwellian state overreach," STAT reports, in which many consumers may not understand what they are agreeing to and, as a result, it may pose harm. What's more, privacy advocates worry that flaws in the technology could put innocent people at risk. However, buried within the terms and conditions of many of these company's products is a note on such consent, indicating consumers are giving up their own genetic privacy, as well as that of their entire families. Although it is not clear which direct-to-consumer genetic testing service authorities used in the Golden State Killer's case, two of the industry's leaders, 23andMe and Ancestry, confirmed they were were not involved in the investigation, according to STAT. Another two, Vitagene and MyHeritage, told CNN they also played no part. 23andMe's policy explicitly states it resists law enforcement inquiries to protect consumer privacy; however, Ancestry states it may share consumers' "personal information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with valid legal process," STAT notes. In 2017, law enforcement submitted 34 requests for non-genetic user information to Ancestry, which provided information to 31 of the requests for use in investigations into credit card misuse and identity theft, according to a company report cited by STAT. More articles on data analytics & precision medicine: Miami-based Jackson Memorial Hospital filed a building permit for a 10-story, $174 million rehabilitation hospital and research center on its Miami Health District campus, reports The Real Deal. If the permit is approved, the rehabilitation center will feature 100 beds and private patient rooms. In addition, there will be research space for the University of Miami. The proposed facility, named Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center For the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, would be funded with the help of a $25 million donation from healthcare philanthropist Christine Lynn. The 225,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in 2020 if the hospital gains the necessary approvals. The following hospital and health system credit rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, beginning with the most recent. 1. S&P assigns 'A+' rating to Saint Luke's Health System S&P Global Ratings assigned its "A+" rating to Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System's proposed $93.1 million series 2018A revenue bonds. 2. S&P downgrades Coalinga Regional Medical Center's rating to 'CCC' S&P Global Ratings downgraded Coalinga (Calif.) Regional Medical Center's rating to "CCC" from "B-." 3. S&P places ProMedica's bonds on rating watch negative following HCR ManorCare acquisition S&P Global Ratings placed its Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica's "A+" rated debt on CreditWatch with negative implications after the hospital operator announced it would acquire a nursing home chain. 4. S&P revises Catholic Health Initiatives outlook to positive S&P Global Ratings affirmed its "BBB+" long-term rating and underlying rating on Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiative's outstanding debt. 5. S&P affirms 'A' rating on Dignity Health, outlook remains negative pending CHI merger S&P Global Ratings affirmed its "A" long-term rating and underlying rating on San Francisco-based Dignity Health. 6. S&P assigns 'AA' rating to Sentara Healthcare's bonds S&P Global Ratings assigned its "AA" long-term rating to Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare's series 2018 revenue refunding bonds. 7. S&P assigns 'A-' rating to Marin General Hospital S&P Global Ratings assigned its "A-" rating to Kentfield, Calif.-based Marin General Hospital's proposed $91.9 million series 2018A revenue bonds and $64.8 million series 2018B bonds. 8. S&P assigns 'A-' rating to Ballad Health's bonds S&P Global Ratings assigned its "A-" rating to Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health's $514 million series 2018A bonds. 9. Moody's affirms 'A2' on Riverside Healthcare Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "A2" rating on Kankakee, Ill.-based Riverside Healthcare's bonds, affecting $131 million of debt. Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center updated its emergency room pricing policy after a newspaper investigated a parent's concerns over her child's expensive ER visit, reports the Clarion Ledger. Amy McIntosh brought her 10-month-old daughter Macy to the ER at Jackson-based Batson Children's Hospital, which is owned by UMMC, after her child woke up with a concerning knot at the base of her skull Dec. 23, 2017. While Ms. McIntosh wanted to bring Macy to her pediatrician, it was a Saturday, and her pediatrician's after hours were booked for the day, so she headed to the ER. Physicians in the emergency department spent five minutes face-to-face with the family, confirmed the knots were swollen lymph nodes and discharged Macy with no treatment plan or medication. A few weeks later, Ms. McIntosh received the $4,661 medical bill for her child's visit. While she was only responsible for $875 of it, she was shocked at the price tag. "We asked for [a] detailed bill; something had to be wrong," Ms. McIntosh told the Clarion Ledger. The majority of the bill was an "emergency room-general classification" fee of $4,328. Even though Macy received no treatment from her visit, the family was billed for the second-highest level of severity for emergency room visits because Macy was under one year old. UMMC prices ER visits based on a "level," which is determined by the severity of a case, on a scale of one to five. A level 1 charge, the least-severe level, starts at $468. A level 3 charge jumps to $2,048 and a level 5 charge is $4,913, according to the report. Ms. McIntosh was charge for a level 4 visit because of Macy's age. "No services/treatment provided or documented in Macy's medical records justify a Level 4 ER visit," Ms. McIntosh wrote in an April 13 letter to Batson's CEO Guy Giesecke, according to the Clarion Ledger. "In our view, we are being billed excessively simply for having the perceived ability to pay." After Ms. McIntosh raised concerns over her child's ER visit, Mr. Giesecke agreed the level designation in Macy's case was an error. In response to Ms. McIntosh's concerns and a probe into the expensive ER visit by the Clarion Ledger, Mr. Giesecke said it will change its ER pricing policy that states infants under one year old will be classified at a higher severity level. "One change that will become effective immediately: adjusting the policy that infants under one year old are automatically classified at a higher severity level because of their inherent status as high-acuity patients. This designation will now be limited to patients six months old and younger," Mr. Giesecke said, according to the Clarion Ledger. Further, a team of UMMC medical and billing leaders proposed a set of changes across the network to help physicians and care teams better classify the level of care. UMMC officials said the change in policy will likely cut Macy's bill in half. Here are five recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives. 1. The Iowa Board of Pharmacy signed an enterprise license agreement with Appriss Health for the state's prescription drug monitoring program, the software provider confirmed April 25. 2. University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System plans to deploy CipherHealth's technology at its Medical West campus in Bessemer, Ala., patient experience company announced April 24. 3. MultiCare Spokane (Wash.) invested more than $25 million in a new Epic EHR that will go live on June 1. 4. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.-based War Memorial Hospital expanded its FormFast contract to encompass ambulatory facilities, the workflow solutions provider confirmed April 24. 5. Cincinnati-based Mercy Health expanded its partnership with InTouch Health to add behavioral healthcare services at hospitals across its Northwest Ohio region, the virtual care provider confirmed April 24. More than half of healthcare stakeholders cited Amazon as the technology company most likely to impact the industry in 2018, according to a Venrock survey. For the survey, Venrock polled 300 respondents from provider organizations, academic institutions, insurance companies, health IT startups, larger employers, government agencies and investment firms about their healthcare predictions for 2018. Here's what respondents said when asked: "Which of these companies will make the most progress in healthcare in 2018?" 1. Amazon: 51 percent 2. Apple: 26 percent 3. Google: 18 percent 4. IBM: 3 percent 5. Microsoft: 2 percent To access Venrock's survey, click here. Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, a 165-bed hospital in McComb, plans to lay off up to 100 employees from its 1,200-person staff, according to the Mississippi Business Journal. SMRMC CEO and Administrator Norman M. Price confirmed the layoffs to the Enterprise-Journal. He said the hospital hired a consulting firm, which recommended the institution cut roughly 90 employees to stay afloat. Mr. Price told the Enterprise-Journal cuts to federal funding, increasing uninsured populations and the hospital's $30 million price tag to make its EHR meet federal requirements have all taken a toll on the hospital's budget. However, Mr. Price confirmed no physicians or nurses will be affected by the job cuts, according to the Mississippi Business Journal. Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center for comment and will update the report as more information becomes available. Leaders from several large health systems, including Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, Boston-based Partners HealthCare and Cleveland Clinic, have been working behind the scenes to advise the Trump administration on how to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs, reports The Boston Globe. Here are seven things to know. 1. The leaders who have been involved in the discussions around the VA include Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy, MD; Partners CEO David Torchiana, MD; Cleveland Clinic's former CEO, Toby Cosgrove, MD; and Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO Paul Rothman, MD. 2. The healthcare executives have been meeting with President Donald Trump and his associates for more than a year. The conversations date back to at least December 2016, when they met at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's Florida resort, to discuss the topic with the then-president-elect. 3. "We have been working behind the scenes to help the White House and [former] Secretary [David] Shulkin, MD, to help the VA," Dr. Noseworthy told business leaders at a meeting of the Boston College Chief Executives Club, according to The Globe. "We will continue to provide advice and counsel in the background." 4. Dr. Noseworthy said he has had "quite a few" conversations with the White House and VA officials, including at least four or five discussions with President Trump. He added that the government leaders call the large health system CEOs often and they respond immediately. 5. The VA has been in the spotlight a lot recently, as Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, MD the White House physician and President Trump's nominee to lead the VA withdrew his name from the running April 26 after allegations of drunken behavior, improper prescribing and poor leadership. 6. When an audience member at the Boston College Chief Executives Club asked Dr. Noseworthy if he would consider the VA secretary role, he responded, "The next person to take that on should be someone who truly understands how complex it is. It's a very, very tough job." 7. A spokesperson for Partners confirmed to The Globe that Dr. Torchiana participated in a few meetings at the White House in early 2017 about the VA and the National Institutes of Health. Becker's Hospital Review reported on the following events related to hospital-union relationships including protests, legal issues and elections since April 13. 1. Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital workers hold picket amid contract negotiations Union nurses at Detroit Medical Center's Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Charter Township, Mich., held an informational picket April 25 amid negotiations for their first contract with management. 2. 24k U of California hospital, college workers to strike May 7-9 Tens of thousands of union workers at University of California hospitals and college campuses will strike in May. 3. Nurses at 2 Pennsylvania hospitals to hold one-day strike: 7 things to know Registered nurses at First Hospital, a private psychiatric facility in Kingston, Pa., and Moses Taylor Hospital, a 214-bed, acute care facility in Scranton, Pa., began a 24-hour strike April 25. 4. Workers at outpatient clinics affiliated with Dignity Health vote to unionize Healthcare workers at three Bakersfield, Calif.-based outpatient clinics operated by the Dignity Health Medical Foundation voted to unionize. 5. Kaiser nurses secure 12% pay increase in finalized labor deal Registered nurses and nurse practitioners at northern and central California facilities owned by Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente ratified a labor deal with the healthcare giant. 6. Nurses at Stanford's ValleyCare Medical Center to join union Nurses at Stanford Health Care's ValleyCare Medical Center in Pleasanton, Calif., voted to unionize April 18. 7. UPHS-Marquette nurses vote to put option for second strike on table Nurses at Upper Peninsula Health System-Marquette (Mich.) opened the door for another strike. 8. Workers at Tenet hospital picket in California over patient care concerns Medical technicians from Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, Calif., picketed April 18 amid negotiations with the hospital's operator, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. 9. Union says Mayo retaliated against striking employees in new NLRB charges: 7 things to know The Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota filed new charges against Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System, alleging the system retaliated against employees at its Albert Lea (Minn.) Campus following a one-day strike. 10. Chicago healthcare workers rally for higher pay Healthcare workers across Chicago rallied over wages April 19. 11. Nurse unionization effort succeeds at Albany Medical Center Nurses at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center voted April 12-13 to join the New York State Nurses Association. More articles on human capital: 24k U of California hospital, college workers to strike May 7-9 Pennsylvania hospitals block nurses from returning to work after strike Nurses at 2 Pennsylvania hospitals to hold one-day strike: 7 things to know A Maryland man is accused of making threats of violence against Hagerstown, Md.-based Meritus Medical Center, according to The Journal. Brandon Leroy Sier, 24, allegedly made the threats when visiting his girlfriend, a hospital patient, April 23, according to a Washington County Sheriff's Office news release cited by the report. Authorities said Mr. Sier allegedly told his girlfriend he wanted her to leave MMC and tried to take the woman's IV out. "[Mr.] Sier was very upset and made the statement that he would bring people with 'AKs' to the hospital," the release reads. "The female stated she did not wish to leave the hospital and is scared of [Mr.] Sier. The female explained there are shotguns, pistols and knives in their home." The woman also told authorities she thought she saw Mr. Sier carrying a revolver with him when he video chatted her from outside MMC. She said she believed Mr. Sier could and would carry out the threat, according to the report. Hospital staff and authorities were notified of the incident. Detectives later located a video on Mr. Siers' Facebook page in which he criticizes hospital staff, and, after executing a search warrant, found and seized a .22 caliber rifle at Mr. Sier's home, according to the report. Authorities note Mr. Sier is on pre-trial supervision for a separate pending case and is barred from owning, possessing, using or having under his control a dangerous weapon or firearms. Mr. Sier was arrested and charged with threats of mass violence, according to authorities. The Virginia Department of Health entered into a partnership with the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association to improve population health efforts in the state. The partnership establishes the Partnering for a Healthy Virginia Initiative, which will focus on coordinating population health efforts between the association and its member organizations as well as the state health department, local health departments, local jurisdictions and other stakeholders. The initiative will also employ numerous strategies to improve population health efforts, such as forming a multistakeholder, statewide population health committee; strengthening the states community health improvement coalitions; as well as developing strategies to combat cultural, economic, geographic and racial health disparities. "VHHA has long partnered with VDH on many successful initiatives to improve the health and well-being of the Commonwealth, such as reducing infant mortality, providing education and resources to Virginia's small and rural hospitals, reducing health care-associated infections, the Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative and the Hospital Preparedness Program, among others," said Mark H. Merrill, incoming VHHA board of directors' chair and president and CEO of Winchester, Va.-based Valley Health System. "The Partnering for a Healthy Virginia Initiative is a natural extension of these efforts." Editor's note: This article was updated April 27 to clarify Valley Health System is based in WInchester, Va., not Luray, Va. Portland, Ore.-based Providence St. Vincent Medical Center officials are warning patients that a hospital employee who was working around patients was diagnosed with active tuberculosis, according to KUOW. The hospital did not disclose the employee's department, when the employee contracted tuberculosis or how long they worked with patients while contagious. Some patients and staff may have been exposed, said Providence chief nursing officer Jennifer Burrows, RN. Providence is notifying anyone who was in direct contact with the staff member and is offering free TB testing to anyone who may have been exposed. The health system declined to comment on the staff member's condition or where they may have contracted the disease. "It seems vague now because we're still in the process of our investigation," said Rachel Plotinsky, MD, director of infection prevention for St. Vincent. "We will certainly have the information in terms of exposure time period, those who are at risk, and we will be notifying them in short order. But at this moment, we do not have that information to give." To identify the full scope of infection, Providence is working with local health departments and the Oregon public health department. Researchers from the University of Toronto developed a laboratory the size of shoebox to complete blood testing in remote environments, rapidly identifying if a patient possesses antibodies to certain infectious diseases by using only a drop of blood, according to STAT. The device is named the MR Box, short for measles and rubella, which the scientists initially tested for. The MR Box still needs some adjustments, but the researchers aim to use the device to test for numerous diseases for the purpose of outbreak control and research in areas where conventional lab support is not easily accessible. The researchers tested the device at a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, where they looked at pinprick blood samples for antibodies to measles and rubella. The researchers said versions of the shoebox lab developed in the future could test for antibodies to other pathogens and for the pathogens themselves. Antibody testing can determine if a patient has been previously infected with a disease agent or vaccinated against it, which could help outbreak responders identify which patients were or were not infected. "That is the dream, that this type of system with its flexibility could be sent out into the world and really be used very flexibly depending on the conditions on the ground," senior author Aaron Wheeler PhD, who leads the lab, told STAT. The research group's paper was published in Science Translational Medicine. To determine the device's capability, the scientists drew vials of blood and tested them in a conventional laboratory from the approximately 140 study participants. Results showed the MR Box was correct 86 percent of the time for measles and 84 percent of the time for rubella. The lab is working to boost those results and subsequently tested the device in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a second pilot project. The researchers are working to release plans for their software and hardware in the public domain, said researcher Darius Rackus, PhD. More articles on clinical leadership and infection control: Viewpoint: Why punishing care providers for admitting errors hurts everyone Hand hygiene plus hospital cleaning most cost-effective approach for combating C diff Hospital Quality Institute CEO: The facts about Stanford's patient safety record A Los Angeles County jury found William Dobkin, MD, of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Hospital, not negligent in a case involving the off-label use of Medtronic's Infuse, according to Courtroom View Network. Here are six things to know. 1. The plaintiff accused Dr. Dobkin, a spine surgeon, of using Infuse in an off-label application during spine surgery without her consent. 2. The jury found Dr. Dobkin was not negligent, and received the "proper consent" prior to performing the plaintiff's two lumbar spine surgeries to treat chronic back pain. 3. The plaintiff claimed she would not have given consent if aware that the FDA had not approved Infuse for lumbar surgeries. Her attorneys argued the biologic material created excessive bone growth leading to more chronic pain. 4. Dr. Dobkin's attorney argued the surgeon followed the standard of care by using Infuse, and the patient's current pain is from pre-existing medical conditions. 5. Medtronic has dealt with many challenges related to Infuse throughout the years, totaling about 6,000 official and threatened lawsuits. In 2017, the company reportedly reached an agreement to settle "substantially all" of these lawsuits. 6. Dr. Dobkin completed his neurosurgery fellowship at University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Association of American Medical Colleges released a new report on the careers of physician-scientists. The study analyzes the careers of MD-PhD dual-degree program graduates between 1964 and 2014. Here are five observations. 1. Of survey respondents, about 80 percent reported following career paths aligned with the goals of their training. This may include positions as full-time faculty or jobs working for the National Institutes of Health, research institutes or industry and federal agencies. 2. The report found more than 75 percent of respondents conduct research. Most of these physicians possess research grants. 3. More than half of the respondents said they spend at least half their time conducting research, and about 23 percent commit the majority of their time to clinical work. 4. The current number of MD-PhD program graduates annually will not meet the anticipated demand for physician-scientists, estimated by the NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce Working Group. 5. Find a list of 35 spine surgeons holding PhDs, here. "Physician-scientists play an essential role in academic medicine through innovative research and discovery and by linking that new knowledge to clinical applications that can improve patient care and the health of our nation," said Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC president and CEO. Shopworkers protested at Belfast City Hall over proposed longer Sunday trading hours which the city council is considering. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye A decision on extending Sunday trading hours in Belfast has once again been deferred for the second time in as many weeks. Now a summit between all interest parties will be held to try and reach an agreement. Belfast city councillors were expected to vote on the issue last week, however the decision was postponed so parties could have more time to gather information. The motion was back on the table at a meeting of Belfast City Councils Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on Friday morning, however it appeared there were still issues that needed to be resolved. At the last minute, Sinn Fein group leader Deirdre Hargey proposed deferring the decision for another week to convene a summit of all stakeholders to try and reach an agreement. Independent retail trade union Retail NI and USDAW, the shopworkers trade union, are firmly against extending the Sunday trading hours in Belfast. Others, including Hospitality Ulster and Visit Belfast, are in favour of the proposals. Councillor Hargey said there were still serious concerns and worries regarding workers rights that needed to be resolved and Sinn Fein did not have the assurances needed to make a decision on Friday. The vote is on whether to designate Belfast a holiday resort, which will allow large shops to extend their trading hours on 18 Sundays each year. In the last 12 months, there has been one committee vote and two public consultations on the issue. Combining the two consultations there is a slight majority (52.8%) in favour of extending Sunday trading hours for large shops in the Belfast district. First time round, the proposals were rejected by the SDLP , Sinn Fein and the DUP and there was little to suggest positions had changed in the run up to Fridays meeting. In a statement, Michala Lafferty, Usdaw Area Organiser, and Glyn Roberts, Retail NI Chief Executive, welcomed the idea of a summit to agree a broader strategy to grow the weekend economy of Belfast. We are committed to seeing Belfast becoming a truly global city with a competitive retail and hospitality offer to shoppers and tourists, they added. This summit should be convened sooner rather than later and we look forward to positively engaging on a new way forward for Belfast. Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary Elect, said they are delighted the council has agreed to a summit. We do not believe longer Sunday trading hours is the best way forward, so we look forward to working alongside Belfast City Council and other interested parties to explore options that would deliver a real and meaningful boost to the weekend economy of Belfast, he said. It is the sensible way forward and we thank the councillors for listening to the evidence and coming to that conclusion. The Boulevard in Banbridge formerly the Outlet has announced the opening of three new stores creating 30 jobs. Three new stores in a Banbridge shopping centre are to create a total of 30 new jobs. The Boulevard, formerly the Outlet, has marked a major rebrand with an investment of over 900,000. The new stores include the sportswear brands Adidas, and Asics as well as footwear and accessories retailer, Kurt Geiger. The boost follows a reported 26% increase in footfall thoughout the duration of its relaunch weekends. Chris Nelmes is The Boulevard's centre manager. We are continuing to make strides in our commitment to providing the premier outlet shopping experience in Northern Ireland through the introduction of three new global brands," he said. We want to make sure that we can attract both new and current customers back to the centre time and again as we continue to attract new and exciting retailers in the lifestyle, fashion and food and beverage categories. Alastair Coulson, asset and property management director of The Lotus Group, said: This latest significant investment of 900,000 closely follows our centre rebrand and aligns with our continued vision of striving to become a world-class outlet shopping destination. The addition of these brands is a testament to the confidence we have in the reshaping of The Boulevard. It is our intention to move quickly forward with further plans and build on our already growing success. Asics will arrive at The Boulevard on Friday May 4, followed by adidas in June and Kurt Geiger in July. Other key brands introduced over the past year include Jack and Jones, Ulster Weavers and the The Beauty Outlet. Barclays swung to a loss in the first quarter as further payment protection insurance (PPI) charges and a 1.4bn settlement with the US Department of Justice knocked profits. The UK bank reported a pre-tax loss of 236m for the three months to March 31, having reported profits of 1.68bn in the same period last year. Stripped of litigation and conduct charges, pre-tax profits rose 1% to 1.7bn, while attributable profit came in at 1.2bn. The bank was hit by a $2bn (1.4bn) settlement reached with the US Department of Justice earlier this month, which was related to the sale of mortgage-backed securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis. Chief executive Jes Staley said: "While the penalty was substantial, this settlement represents a major milestone for Barclays, putting behind us a significant, decade-old legacy matter." Barclays booked an extra 400m to cover PPI charges after seeing a higher number of complaints over the quarter. While the charges affected Barclays' CET1 levels - referring to the capital cushion that underpins a bank's loans - Mr Staley said he was confident in the lender's position. "This has been a significant quarter for Barclays, one in which we have shown that our new operating model and our portfolio of diversified, profitable businesses are capable of producing improved returns for shareholders." Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There's a lot not to like about Barclays' latest results, although many of the factors hampering the bank are one-off items which don't speak for the future prospects of the business." He added: "Stripping out these setbacks, performance has been a disappointment rather than a disaster, which the headline figures by themselves might suggest." The PPI charges dragged on returns from its UK business, which suffered a 17% fall in pre-tax profits to 581m, while its international business saw pre-tax profits rise 4% to 1.4bn. The bank's total income for the first quarter fell 8% to 5.3bn from 5.8bn last year. Barclays said currency movements were partly to blame, given the US dollar's depreciation against the stronger pound. The bank recently launched its ring-fenced bank, saying that together with its restructuring last year, it was now "well-positioned to deliver strong earnings going forward and remains confident of achieving its returns and cost targets". The X Factor is coming to Northern Ireland next month with early auditions taking place in Belfast and Londonderry. The long-running singing competition is currently on the look out for the next big thing and producers are searching the whole of the UK and Ireland for talented stars of the future to take part in this year's show. The open auditions will take place in Derry on Friday, May 11 at the Richmond Shopping Centre between 1-8pm. There will also be auditions at Victoria Square in Belfast on Saturday, May 12 from 10am-6pm and Sunday, May 13 between 1-6pm. Meanwhile, auditions in Dublin will be held at the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre on Friday 4, Saturday 5, and Sunday 6 May from 10am-6pm. Hopefuls who impress the show's producers will then make it through to the next stage of the competition which is to perform in front of the famous judging panel. For your chance of stardom all you have to do is show up at the scheduled times and sing your heart out. Under 18s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and proof of age will be required. Expand Close Rak-Su Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rak-Su If you are unable to make it to the open auditions, you can also apply online or via WhatsApp, send your application to 07733 222 927. For more information, visit www.itv.com/xfactor. Last year's X Factor competition was won by London four-piece Rak-Su. Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh, and Sharon Osbourne completed the judging panel - however fans are still waiting on confirmation all four will return for 2018. The X Factor will broadcast on ITV later this year. CBI chief Carolyn Fairbairn has urged politicians to take a common sense approach on border negotiations ahead of Brexit. The senior business boss was visiting Belfast to attend the annual CBI dinner at the Waterfront Hall last night. Ms Fairbairn, the body's director general, stressed that a solution that is both "practical and common sense" must be reached to enable "another step forward". She urged the British Government to be mindful of businesses that have input on both sides of the border when reaching a decision. Ms Fairbairn said: "Businesses can influence and governments present evidence but we need politicians to act." She underlined the need for "full understanding" of what it is like to be a business here. "Our recommendation is that the whole UK should remain in some form of a customs union to be negotiated, a new form of agreement, that would not only solve the issue of the border but would be a major step forward for the whole of the UK. "The early indication is that this would be of benefit to the whole of the UK, not just here in Northern Ireland. "It is vitally important to remain in a customs union. "What we aspire to see is that there is an examination of evidence in Parliament and in constituencies across the country that recognises the common sense solution. "We are not political. We are practical. This is what is coming from grassroots across the United Kingdom. "I know from businesses across Europe that this would be valued by European businesses as well. "This is a win-win situation. "A customs union would be a shared common external tariff which means we have the same tariff as Europe to the outside world. "For those who would argue that this prevents us from building our trade around the world, this is an enormous opportunity to build trade in China and India and across the Commonwealth." She has warned of damage to a "generation of progress" if a hard border is implemented which would lead to a "loss of trade, loss of growth and a loss of jobs". She reported that 160,000 jobs had been created since the Good Friday Agreement. Losing a beloved husband and father is devastating - but when it comes as a result of a rare and deadly superbug commonly known as flesh eating disease, it is even harder to bear. Those were the tragic circumstances that Belfast mum Lisa Hewitt found herself in nearly three years ago when husband Graham died of the horrific disease. It was just a normal Sunday in June 2015 when family man Graham cut his finger doing an odd job in the house. The tiny cut would lead to his death less than a week later. Lisa, a 38-year-old civil servant, found herself struggling to cope with her own grief and that of her children, Sophie (13) and Kyle (9) who were aged just 10 and six at the time. But now with the help of Cruse Bereavement Care's Get Together - Bereaved Families Discovering project, which received over 670,000 from the Big Lottery Fund thanks to National Lottery players, she's rebuilding her family and inspiring others. As Lisa tells the story of what happened, it's hard to believe how the simple injury caused such catastrophic results. Lisa says: "Graham thought nothing of it. It was only a tiny cut where his wedding ring had dug in while he was fixing a bed. By the Wednesday we assumed he'd taken a really bad stomach bug as he was being sick. Then that evening he passed out in the bathroom." A keen cyclist and motorbike enthusiast who worked at a tile company near Lisburn, the 38-year-old had hardly had a day off sick in his life. But Lisa was so worried she called an ambulance and Graham was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast at around 11pm with his wife by his side. From there, events began to spiral out of control. "The doctors told me his kidneys were failing, which they put down to dehydration from the bug. They moved him to the renal unit for treatment but they just could not understand why he wasn't responding to fluids," Lisa says. "He'd had a pain under his arm the whole time and then on the Thursday we started to see blackness and swelling. "They started to think it was an infection and at 6.30am on Friday they phoned me at home and told me to come in because he wasn't very well." With her aunt at home trying to make things as normal as possible for Sophie and Kyle, Lisa and Graham's family were met with awful news at the hospital. Expand Close Her late husband Graham / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Her late husband Graham "When I got there the intensive care team were working with him and they brought him down to theatre," she says. "When they came out, I just knew something had gone wrong because they took us into a separate room. "They told us that Graham had necrotising fasciitis, which is a flesh eating superbug. "They had tried to remove the infection but it wasn't working. It was very widespread." The condition is a rare and serious bacterial infection that affects the tissue beneath the skin, and surrounding muscles and organs. It's sometimes called the 'flesh-eating disease', although the bacteria that cause it in fact release toxins that damage the tissue. It's thought to affect an estimated 500 people a year in the UK. Lisa says: "Most doctors will only see it once in their careers, if at all. The consultant who treated Graham told me that he'd only seen it once before and he'd been a doctor for 35 years." Lisa tried to prepare herself for the shocking reality of Graham's condition. She says: "I asked the surgeon how bad it was and he said, 'Well he's the sickest person in the Royal at the minute'. I asked them was he going to die and the surgeon said, 'There's a good possibility that he's going to die. I don't want to give you any false hope'." The medical staff did everything they could to save Graham while Lisa and other family members maintained a vigil at his bedside. "They were fighting and fighting and fighting to save him but everything was going wrong and they couldn't do anything. It was too far gone," she says. "He died at 4.15am on Saturday after the machines keeping him alive were turned off. "All our family were there when he passed away. I got to be there with him at the end, I held his hand, I talked to him. "I just told him how much me and the kids loved him, and how loved we felt by him. Everyone was with him and that's the best we could do for him." Lisa had kept the children away from the hospital in a bid to protect them and now she was faced with the dreadful prospect of telling them their beloved dad had passed away. "I had to come back on Saturday morning and tell them he was gone. That's the worst part of it. That's the bit that gets to you the most," she said. Stunned by grief, Lisa, who had been with Graham since she was 15, muddled through the next few days with the support of family and her and Graham's wide circle of friends. "I was 36 when Graham died. I just thought, 'What's happening? I'm too young for this - 36 and having to arrange your husband's funeral'. I had never even arranged a funeral before. It's very surreal." Lisa stayed strong for her children but she needed to work through her own grief too. "You just go into survival mode after something so shocking and traumatic happens and all I wanted to do was protect the kids," she says. "I went into about four months of operating on autopilot. I put my grief to the side because I just had to focus on my kids. I just kept thinking, 'Pull yourself together, your children have lost their dad, they can't lose you too'. "My mum got very worried and said, 'You're not grieving, you are coping too well'. I just thought, 'If I don't do something, I'm never going to leave this house'." Encouraged by her mum and other family members, Lisa got in touch with Cruse Bereavement Care in August that year. The group work with Corrymeela Community in Ballycastle to offer individual and whole family support as part of their National Lottery funded project that's helping families like Lisa's come to terms with losing a loved one. The project gives families the opportunity to meet others facing similar issues, and Lisa and the kids went to a family activity day at Oxford Island in December 2015. "It was the first time I'd really been anywhere on my own since Graham died - even the first time I'd been out driving in the car on my own," she says. "I was petrified coming in. But we were immediately teamed up with Keith, who had lost his wife to cancer, and his sons Leon and Seth, along with a Corrymeela worker and a Cruse volunteer. The first activity we did was a treasure hunt - it was raining but we didn't care! It was lovely. The kids just got on so well. It was the first time since Graham died that I'd seen my children being children." This easy-going format of the activities, and families being able to connect with each other around shared grief, is the key to the project's success, according to Get Together co-ordinator Elaine Roub. "There's no pressure. It's all based on creative activities like glass painting, laughter yoga or a cookery class, and the subject of their loved one naturally comes up. People don't have to explain themselves," Elaine says. The support from the project and other families going through their own grief means the world to Lisa and her children. Since then they have continued to be involved with the project and they have been on more weekend residentials at Corrymeela Community. "Friends and family do their best but they are tip-toeing around you and they don't really know what to say. But when you walk into Corrymeela and meet other people in the same position as you, the conversation starts off so many steps ahead, because you understand each other," Lisa says. Although things will never be the same without their husband and father, life is starting to look a little brighter. Lisa says: "Everything we do now, I'm always aware that Graham's not with us. But I know we are doing what he would have loved us to do as a family. "I bought a caravan because he always wanted one. Now the kids love it. We got a dog called Ted who we just love. I just thought, 'My children will never miss out on anything because Graham isn't here'. We have all the wonderful memories of him, and the amazing, kind-hearted, loyal, funny person he was." For further information on Cruse Bereavement Care, visit cruse.org.uk, telephone the UK helpline on 0808 808 1677 or the Northern Ireland office on 9079 2419 A man has been taken to hospital after being attacked with a hammer, during an aggravated burglary in north Belfast. Police received a report at 10pm on Thursday evening that a group of masked men forced their way into a house in Upper Meadow Street and assaulted the resident before making off. The victim was taken to hospital where he remains receiving treatment for injuries which are not believe to be life threatening. Anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the area should contact detectives at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 1344 26/04/18. As we prepare for our departure from the European Union, the Government has an unshakeable commitment to ensure we achieve the best possible deal for Northern Ireland and maintain the positive relationship with our partners in Europe, including Ireland, that has been built up over many years. I am well aware of the importance to the economies of both the UK and Ireland of getting this right, but also conscious of the need to avoid any detrimental impact on families, friends, communities and workers who traverse the border as they go about their everyday lives. Read More This week I have been in Belfast and Dublin to underline our commitment to a positive future for Northern Ireland as we leave the EU. I have also heard from people about what they need to deliver for communities on both sides of the border. And I have been listening closely to the concerns people here have that nothing should be done to undermine the progress towards peace and prosperity that has been able to flourish over the past two decades. That progress is, of course, best advanced through re-establishing a strong Northern Ireland voice through the restoration of an Executive, something that it has been without for over a year. That is why the restoration of devolved government at Stormont remains one of our highest priorities and, as Northern Ireland Secretary, Karen Bradley will continue to work tirelessly with the parties towards that objective. Earlier this month world leaders both past and present came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998, which paved the way for the creation of the institutions we seek to see restored today. It was a moment when political will triumphed over the chaos and conflict that had beset Northern Ireland from the outbreak of the Troubles in the 1960s. Two decades later, as we leave the EU, the UK Government's commitment to the Agreement and its successors remains steadfast. Everything we do will have as one of its core aims the protection and implementation of that Agreement, including both North/South and East/West relationships. I have seen for myself on this visit the power that bringing together all communities has had on the next generation. When I visited an integrated school in north Belfast, students talked passionately to me about a vision for their future that is inclusive and forward-looking; accepting difference but refusing to be defined exclusively by difference. It has been heartening to witness this. And it has brought back memories from the four years I spent as shadow Northern Ireland secretary between 2003 and 2007, building up an understanding of the complexities and subtleties of life in this corner of the United Kingdom. As well as building on the achievements of the past, the new deep and special partnership that we are seeking with the European Union must work towards ensuring prosperity, opportunity and innovation in all parts of the United Kingdom. The progress that we have made in our negotiations has underlined that citizens are at the heart of our approach. That is why it is important that we have agreed there will be no change to the common travel area, and that discussions have continued intensively on issues including human rights and the single energy market. A sustainable deal will only be one that can be seen by all parts of the community to be a balanced agreement - one that follows the requirements of the Belfast Agreement in fully respecting and upholding the "ethos, aspiration and identity" of both communities. That vision lay at the heart of last December's joint report agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom. Both sides committed to upholding the totality of relationships within the Belfast Agreement and the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, underpinned by the principle of consent. Equally, the Prime Minister has said that no UK Government could accept the creation of new barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. As we continue to work with the EU on a future relationship that is in our mutual interests, we have been unequivocal that there can be no physical infrastructure at the border. I understand that many people have very real concerns about the border, which is an integral part of their everyday lives - whether to do business, go to school or visit family. We want people's lives to continue as before. That's why I will be meeting businesses and communities living on both sides of the border today to hear about their concerns in person. I will also listen to what it is they want to see from our future relationship to ensure the UK Government, the Irish Government and the European Union deliver on that mutually beneficial relationship we seek. It is in everyone's interest - on both sides of the border and in all communities - that we get this right. While these issues can sometimes sound abstract to people living in other parts of the United Kingdom, the Government fully understands that for people in Northern Ireland, they are matters of the most fundamental importance. The Government will never lose sight of that as we continue to negotiate a future relationship that preserves what unites us and respects the rights of all. David Lidington is Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office Former West Tyrone MLA and founding member of the DUP Oliver Gibson has passed away at the age of 83. The news of Mr Gibson's passing was announced by the DUP's Strangford MLA Peter Weir. Mr Gibson served as MLA for West Tyrone from 1998 to 2003. He also served on Omagh District Council for a number of years. His niece, Esther Gibson, was one of the 29 victims killed in the 1998 Omagh bombing. Born in Beragh, County Tyrone he attended Queens' University Belfast, worked as a teacher and also served in the Ulster Defence Regiment. He was also a member of the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry. DUP leader Arlene Foster said the party was grateful for the work done by Mr Gibson throughout his political career. I was saddened to hear of Oliver Gibsons passing today. Oliver was well known throughout the party, as one of its founding members and his character will be greatly missed," the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said. "I always enjoyed meeting up with Oliver at Party events. He was a great encourager. "He was of a certain vintage of politicians who took their place in the first session of the NI Assembly and continually worked towards making life better for all those who lived here, through his work as a DUP Councillor and an MLA for West Tyrone. "We are grateful for the faithful service Oliver dedicated to our Party and we extend our sympathies to his family. DUP MLA Peter Weir paid tribute to Oliver Gibson on Twitter. "Very sorry to hear of the passing of Oliver Gibson, former West Tyrone MLA," he said. "Had the honour of serving under him in the NI Forum Education Committee and with on the Assembly Finance Committee. "A great intellect and character. Condolences to him family." DUP South Belfast MLA Christopher Stalford also paid tribute. "Sad to hear of the passing of Oliver Gibson, former MLA for West Tyrone. He was old school DUP but with a mischievous wit," he said. Arlene Foster has said it will take a long time to rebuild trust between Stormont's two main parties after Sinn Fein behaved "in an incredibly bad way" when talks collapsed. The DUP leader yesterday accused the party of leaking confidential papers after negotiations to restore power-sharing broke down in February. She claimed the party's behaviour was unlike anything she had ever witnessed in her political career. In a blistering attack on her former partners-in-government, Mrs Foster said Sinn Fein negotiators needed to prove they could be trusted again. "They have behaved in an incredibly bad way, therefore the building up of trust is going to take a long time and it is going to take actions," she said. "We have heard a lot from Sinn Fein in relation to reaching out, it's about time they recognised the role they had in relation to the breakdown and in relation to the shattering of trust within the unionist community." Mrs Foster was speaking after she met the Secretary of State at Stormont. Karen Bradley held discussions with our five main political parties as she considers how to revive the prospects for devolution. After the last round of talks collapsed on St Valentine's Day, documents exchanged by the DUP and Sinn Fein during the negotiations were leaked to two journalists. Mrs Foster blamed the incidents on republicans. "Their behaviour after the breakdown of talks in February was quite disgraceful, quite disgraceful," she claimed. "It has never happened before in any talks process I had been involved in and I have been around in a lot of talks' processes. They gave out position papers, tried to sell them as the agreement." Speaking after Sinn Fein met Mrs Bradley, party vice-president Michelle O'Neill accused the DUP of "checking out" of power-sharing and making no effort to find a way to restore devolution. She claimed the Government's confidence and supply deal with the DUP at Westminster was now the "greatest obstacle" to the restoration of power-sharing. Mrs O'Neill said that while she had met Mrs Foster since February at several events, there had been no "meaningful" engagement between them. "Since the talks collapsed the DUP have been preoccupied by Brexit, they have been preoccupied with their relationship with the Tories at Westminster," she said. "They are not engaged in terms of trying to get these institutions up and running again. I don't think they should get carried away with their 'supply and confidence' deal, which we all know will be short-lived." Alliance leader Naomi Long expressed frustration at the ongoing political stalemate and called on London and Dublin to "bang heads together" and resolve the potentially "disastrous" situation. She said: "To me that is just unconscionable at this point. We can't allow it to extend that long into the future. We can't genuinely expect people to tolerate five years of nothing." Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann said he was glad that yesterday's meetings took place. Devolution has been left to wither on the vine for too long," he said. Local politicians across the political spectrum have a huge responsibility to get the assembly and executive back in place." SDLP leader Colum Eastwood added: "We need now a commitment to bring together the intergovernmental conference, clearing the decks of disagreement and getting on with forming a government." A former MLA who suffered serious injuries in a car crash says he feels lucky to be alive. Tommy Gallagher has little memory of the collision between his car and a lorry near Kesh, Co Fermanagh, in March. He suffered bone damage, and his ribcage was badly affected. Mr Gallagher, who was an SDLP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1998 to 2011, was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. He was travelling with his wife Eileen, who was also injured but did not require a hospital stay. After almost three weeks in hospital, Mr Gallagher (75) was discharged with a new appreciation for the health service. He said: "It's been more than six weeks now since the accident and while I still have quite severe injuries, at least I have my life, and I am very grateful for that. "I remember the crash and the first few minutes afterwards. "I remember Eileen being able to get out of the car and I could see her calling for help and I remember the very severe pain, but then I started drifting into unconsciousness "I don't remember much about what happened after that but I understand I was taken by helicopter from the scene. "I appreciate now more than most the immense contribution that facility makes, especially to people like myself who live a long distance away from our main hospitals. "It really is a lifesaver and it is a great asset for rural communities in particular, but also for everyone caught up in emergency situations." Mr Gallagher praised the emergency crews who attended the crash. "The local emergency services were at the scene as well very quickly and I understand there was a paramedic who was there within minutes," he added. "He was not on duty but happened to be travelling in the area and he was a great help to me while we were waiting on the others to come. He, like his colleagues who came a short time later, have my deep gratitude." He added: "While I don't want to go into detail about my injuries, I did have quite a lot of bone damage, my ribcage was badly damaged and injuries of that nature, but I was cared for exceptionally well. "I was brought so speedily to the hospital, where there was such a caring group of staff waiting for me. "I will have to go back to Belfast for regular check-ups from the various disciplines - the orthopaedics and plastic and others who treated my injuries and who are keeping a close eye on me. "While they haven't said I will make a full recovery, I am moving in the right direction. "I have been through a horrific trauma and it will be some time yet before I am recovered, but I am alive and that's the important thing." Two former soldiers are due to stand trial in Belfast next year, accused of murdering an Official IRA man in the city over four decades ago, a court has heard. The two men - who can only be identified as Soldier A and Soldier C - appeared at Belfast Crown Court where they were due to enter their pleas on a charge of murdering Joe McCann 46 years ago. The former paratroopers, who are now both in their 60s, appeared in court from behind a blue curtain and could only been seen by the Judge and clerk of the court. Both men, with addresses given as Salisbury House in the London Wall area of London, were due to be arraigned - but this was adjourned "in light of other proceedings". During Friday's brief hearing, Mr Justice Colton was told the "other proceedings" could affect the soldiers' case. The Judge was also informed that the defence may launch an application to stay proceedings related to Soldiers A and C. Crown prosecutor Sam Magee said a trial date of January 21, 2019 had been set aside to hear the case, which is expected to last two to three weeks. Mr Justice Colton agreed to adjourn the arraignment, and said he would review the matter on June 1 "when we will hopefully be in a position to proceed with the arraignment". The Judge also renewed a reporting restriction, under the Contempt of Court Act, which grants the two soldiers anonymity. Although no details of the charge faces by the soldiers were mentioned today, the pair have been charged with murdering Official IRA man Joe McCann, who was shot dead in April 15, 1972 in the Markets area of Belfast. While a police investigation conducted at the time resulted in no one being prosecuted, in 2013 a report by the now-defunct Historical Enquiries Team concluded his killing was unjustified, and three years later, following a case review, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) brought the murder charges. At last month's preliminary hearing it was said the ex-soldiers, granted anonymity amid fears that identification could put their lives at risk, are surviving members of the army patrol involved in the shooting. A third member of the unit has since died. Free speech campaigners will today call for urgent reform of Northern Ireland's outdated libel laws. A Belfast conference involving academics, journalists and lawyers will outline the need for our 175-year-old legislation to be updated. Read More It has been organised by the Libel Reform Campaign, a group lobbying for reform of defamation law in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The 2013 Defamation Act introduced the first substantial reform of the UK's defamation law since 1843, but it was not extended to here. The Department of Finance's report into libel law reform, carried out by Dr Andrew Scott in 2016, recommended substantive reform of the law to better protect free speech in the public interest. The report included two prepared pieces of primary legislation that could be taken through the Northern Ireland Assembly as the Defamation (Northern Ireland) Bill. Campaigners say the current law is outdated because it does not provide for the realities of digital publishing. They also say that changes in the law are needed to protect scientists, journalists and academics from litigious prosecution by corporations and public bodies. The legislative changes would also strengthen the defence of public interest, reduce the window of time defamation cases can be brought within and end so-called 'libel tourism' in Northern Ireland in which people from other countries try to take advantage of the defamation laws. It was widely hoped at the time of publication that the legislation drafted by Dr Scott would have been passed imminently to protect free speech. However, the suspension of the Stormont Assembly has led to an indefinite delay in the adoption of the recommendations. Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt, who will attend the event, has said that if a new Executive fails to take Dr Scott's recommendations forward, he will table a Private Members' Bill when the Assembly returns. Writing in today's Belfast Telegraph, Mr Nesbitt states: "The 2013 Act in force in England and Wales makes it much easier for academics to make adverse comment on products and services offered by multinational companies, whereas the same academic comment made from our local universities could result in an expensive appearance in court. "On top of that, the difference in our laws endangers current jobs in publishing and broadcasting, deters inward investment from media platforms like Twitter, Google and Facebook, and chills the warm welcome we attempt to offer the creative industries. "Should the Executive and Assembly ever return, I am ready to proceed with a Private Member's Bill to accommodate the change in the law that logic demands." Mike Harris of the Libel Reform Campaign said: "Without reform, the chill on free speech in Northern Ireland will continue and the rich and powerful will be able to use the law to their own advantage." Judge Philip Babington said while the appropriate term was three years and seven months, he was instead jailing the defendant for 20 months A judge slashed the potential jail sentence for a man caught operating a cannabis factory because of the "unsatisfactory and unexplained" delay by police and the Public Prosecution Service in finalising the case. Judge Philip Babington said while the appropriate term was three years and seven months, he was instead jailing the defendant for 20 months. Lloyd Alan Porter (42), a father-of-three from Tirruadh Road in Draperstown, will serve half of the sentence in prison and the rest on licence. Porter started cultivating cannabis after his joinery business collapsed almost five years ago. He was caught growing 250 cannabis plants with a potential street value of 125,000 when police searched his then home at Ballyhone Road in Maghera on November 7, 2013. The cannabis factory, which contained carbon filters, fans, a lighting system and a sophisticated irrigation system to water the plants, was inside a garage roof space beside the house. Porter also admitted illegally extracting 12,000 worth of electricity by digging up the main electricity supply cable to his premises and fixing a joint onto it to illegally divert power into the cannabis farm. Sentencing him at the Crown Court in Derry, Judge Babington said the defendant had 43 previous convictions, mainly for traffic offences. He said the cannabis farm "was a calculated defiance of the law" and that the defendant had shown no consideration in terms of the damage the drugs he was caught cultivating could have caused to users. The judge said Porter had engaged in offending to pay off debts and that he had been described in a pre-sentence report as a premeditated risk taker. He criticised what he described as the unexplained and unsatisfactory delay by the police and the prosecution in finalising the case. He said they had a duty to prosecute cases expeditiously. The judge said Porter was caught, arrested and charged four-and-a-half years ago, and had not reoffended since. He said the defendant deserved credit for that and for pleading guilty to the two offences. He added Porter deserved an allowance for the delay by the police and prosecution. He then imposed a 20-month jail sentence. Only a small fraction of rape cases reported in Northern Ireland result in a conviction, a report has revealed. Last year, 64 defendants appeared at Crown Court accused of rape, but just 15 were found guilty. In the same 12 month period, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) received files relating to 415 suspects charged or reported for rape. While not all the cases will have been dealt with in the same year, it underlines how few cases investigated by police and reported to the prosecution service make it to court, and then result in someone being convicted. An estimate based on the figures in yesterday's report by the PPS suggests the overall rate of convictions could be under 5% of all cases passed to prosecutors. The statistical bulletin, covering the 2016/17 year, reveals the PPS received 18% more rape files in that 12 month period - rising from 335 to 395. Some may have related to more than one suspect. Of the 64 defendants who appeared at the Crown Court accused of rape, just 15 (23.4%) were convicted. Victim Support NI has expressed concern at the figures, saying improvement is needed. Other key findings from yesterday's report include: The PPS received 1,312 files involving a sexual offence - a rise of 5.4% from 2015/16 (1,245); The files include a total of 1,399 suspects - 415 of whom were charged or reported for rape and 984 for other sexual offences; Just 36.7% of cases met the test for prosecution - slightly higher than in 2015/16 (33.7%); 267 defendants were dealt with by the Crown Court in 2016/17, of which 23.4% were convicted of rape, and 67.4% were convicted of at least one sexual offence; 148 defendants were dealt with in the magistrates and youth courts in 2016/17, of which 54.1% were convicted of a sexual offence. The Department of Justice recently announced that retired judge Sir John Gillen was set to review how sexual violence cases are handled by the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. Victim Support NI chief executive Geraldine Hanna said her group had heard "serious concerns" from victims about their experience with the system. "In recent years, we have seen improvements in the way victims of sexual violence are treated by criminal justice agencies, but there is still a considerable way to go," she said. Ms Hanna also said the group believe there is a "considerable under-reporting of this type of crime". "Victims must know that they will be believed, that they are not alone, that there is support available, and most importantly, that it is not their fault," she added. "We continue to encourage them to engage with the PSNI and other criminal justice agencies to bring perpetrators of rape and sexual violence to justice." PPS senior assistant director Marianne O'Kane explained why the conviction rate in rape cases was relatively low. "Rape is a devastating crime which presents many complexities when seeking to bring a prosecution to court," she said. "Every rape case is different, but they are all challenging to prosecute. The burden of proof is always on the prosecution to prove such allegations to a jury beyond all reasonable doubt. "That is a high bar for a jury to reach, particularly when so many of these cases hinge on the issue of consent or the suspect's reasonable belief in consent. "Although not essential to bring a prosecution, police and prosecutors will look for corroborating or supporting evidence, which is often not available as alleged offences frequently take place in private and the complainant is the only witness. "Rape conviction rates are historically and universally low across all jurisdictions when compared with sexual offences other than rape and with the conviction rates for offences generally in the Crown Court. "The PPS has been working with other stakeholders to fully understand the reasons for this and seek to address them." A traveller understood to be from Northern Ireland has been arrested in Ecuador for allegedly stabbing an Argentinian artist to death. The suspect, named locally as Alwyn Peter Millen, was held on Sunday after reportedly killing Roberto Alejandro Dominguez (37) during a row. The fatal stabbing is said to have happened on Sunday at a guest house in Vilcabamba in the south of the country. The alleged killer has been remanded in custody for 30 days pending an ongoing criminal probe. The victim had been in Ecuador for around four years and earned his living as an artist and mural painter. His sister Elizabeth told a local paper: "My brother was killed by a British man on Sunday. "He was a painter, drawer and tattoo artist. "He left Argentina to look for work. He was an artist. He had spent some time recently in Peru and returned afterwards to Ecuador." A witness quoted by local media added: "They had a violent row and the killer shouted: 'Die Argentinian'." No one was available for comment last night at Las Ruinas de Quinara, the guest house where the fatal stabbing reportedly took place. Calls to the office of the public prosecutor, named in Argentinian media as Vinicio Vivanco Aguilar, also went unanswered. A social media post by Mr Dominguez on April 16 and highlighted by an Argentinian paper which reported on his fatal stabbing, mentioned how he had concerns about the British traveller. "I'm going to try to warn the manager here about this person. We'll have to see what he's going to do," he wrote. "If you don't hear anything from me in the next few days, well, you can imagine why." A woman living locally named as Auver Villa Vasquez added in a message picked up by local media: "My brother was in the bar of the hostel Ruinas de Quinara when they heard Roberto shouting for help. When they reached him he was on the floor and this Irishman was beside him acting as if nothing had happened. "The people from the hostel, my brother and his friends were in a state of shock. "They called the ambulance and the police immediately." Some media reports had described the suspect as Irish, but it is understood he was travelling on a British passport, and is from Northern Ireland. Vilcabamba is a large village in the southern region of Ecuador about 28 miles from the city of Loja. It is a common destination for tourists, in part because it is widely believed its inhabitants grow to a very old age. The area it is in is often called the Valley of Longevity. Locals say it is not uncommon to see people reach 100 and it is claimed many have reached the age of 120. A mother and daughter from Belfast who allowed a Jack Russell and a Staffordshire bull terrier to die "painful and miserable" deaths due to starvation were yesterday banned from keeping animals for life. Sandra Mullen (56) and her 26-year-old daughter Julie Mullen, who have separate addresses at Cambrai Street in the Shankill area, were both ordered to serve 150 hours of community service after they each admitted a charge of animal cruelty. Belfast Crown Court heard the dogs were found dead at the rear of Sandra Mullen's home after an animal welfare officer from Belfast City Council visited the property on October 3, 2016. A vet who carried out a post-mortem examination on the dogs noted they were both severely underweight, and prior to a "painful and miserable" death, the bodies of both animals had broken down muscle tissue to stay alive. The mother and daughter sat side by side as Judge Geoffrey Miller QC told them they were both "utterly unfit" to look after animals due to "wilful neglect". He also told the pair he rejected "excuses" they made in the aftermath of the discovery. Crown prosecutor Michael Chambers said that while the mother and daughter initially denied a charge of animal cruelty, they subsequently admitted causing the dogs unnecessary suffering over a period from January 1, 2016 to the date the animals' remains were found on October 3, 2016. Mr Chambers revealed that when the animal welfare officer called at Sandra Mullen's home, she told the officer both dogs were dead and claimed they had died the day before. Julie Mullen arrived at her mother's a short time later. Sandra Mullen, who admitted cruelty towards the Jack Russell, said she had been putting food and water out for the dog. She also said she had never taken the dog to a vet as it was not licensed and it had never been vaccinated. She also claimed the dog had been "playing happily" the day before it died - which Judge Miller branded as "utter nonsense". Mr Chambers said that when Julie Mullen was questioned about the Staffordshire bull terrier, she "adopted the same position as her mother". The court heard that when the bodies of the two dogs were taken to a vet for post-mortem examination, both animals were severely underweight. The Staffy should have been 15 kilos but weighed just seven, while the Jack Russell should have been around five kilos but was only one kilo when it died.As well as determining that both dogs suffered painful deaths, the vet concluded the owners "abjectly failed to protect their welfare" as the "animals would have suffered right through their starvation". Telling the court it was clear the pair were incapable of looking after animals, Mr Chambers revealed it cost 5,000 to bring the case to court. A defence lawyer for Sandra Mullen said her client had the dog for around two to three years and "there didn't seem to be any difficulty up to that point". He said she came before the court with a clear criminal record. A lawyer for Julie Mullen revealed her dog was given to her by a neighbour but when it started to become unwell "she believed that if she took the dog to the vet she would be in trouble because the dog didn't have a licence". Passing sentence, Judge Miller said he did not accept the women were unaware of the suffering the two animals endured. He said it would have taken "weeks rather than days" for the dogs to starve and that it defied logic that any human would fail to detect this suffering. Judge Miller also said that while he accepted the pair didn't wilfully seek to inflict suffering, it was clear both women were "utterly unfit" to care for any animals. They were both ordered to complete 150 hours of community service but warned any breach of the order would lead to a six-month prison sentence. The mother and daughter were also banned from keeping animals for life and each ordered to pay 250 court costs. The number of people aged 65 and over is expected to increase by 25% across the region, with this proportion of the population set to outnumber children by 2028 Northern Ireland's population is expected to reach almost two million by 2026, with an explosion in the number of people aged over 65. The population here is projected to grow by 4.2% to 1,939,700, according the latest data from the Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency (NISRA). The number of people in every council area is expected to increase, with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh districts, seeing the largest rise of 8.9%. Derry City and Strabane will see the lowest growth of 0.1%. The over-85 group will expand by more than 40% in five of the 11 councils, with Mid Ulster seeing a boom of 48.1%. The number of people aged 65 and over is expected to increase by 25% across the region, with this proportion of the population set to outnumber children by 2028. Dr Ian Shuttleworth, senior lecturer in population geography at Queen's University, said we were experiencing "a second demographic transition" almost a century after the first. "If society remains structured the way it is there will be major ramifications in relation to school provision and how we care for the elderly, but it doesn't have to be a problem," he warned. He said the ageing population and declining birth rate was a common trend emerging throughout the developed world. "It's partly due to advancements in medical technology, but falling fertility rates are a bit of a puzzle, but obviously linked to lifestyle changes," he added. The number of children among the overall population here is expected to increase by only 0.1%, with six out of the 11 council areas seeing a decline. The number of pre-school aged children will fall by 7.8%. Dr Shuttleworth said the decrease was not alarming as we have a relatively high fertility rate in comparison to western countries, and the fastest growing and youngest population in the UK. "We aren't that far off the required birth rate of 2.1 children per woman which is required in order to ensure a steady population," he pointed out. In 2014 the birth rate here was 1.9, but it is projected to rise slightly to 2.0 by 2024. The academic said the population could actually start to fall in the long-term as those in the older category die. NISRA projects a 0.2% growth in the number of people who are of working age by 2026. However, six of the 11 council areas will experience a reduction. Derry City and Strabane district will see a fall of 4.5%, with the Causeway Coast and Glens district seeing a similar drop. Dr Shuttleworth said the changes presented challenges but also opportunities. "We don't know what the full impact of automation is going to be," he said. "The religious balance will also be affected, but the main issue will be how we care for the elderly - but if the older people are healthy then it won't be a problem at all. "It places huge significance on the importance of healthy living for middle aged people now, this doesn't have to be a time bomb." A Newtownabbey woman who suffered a cardiac arrest at a fitness class has been reunited with the leisure centre staff who saved her life. Joanna Ireland from Glengormley visited Sixmile Leisure Centre in Ballyclare yesterday - two months after she collapsed during an aerobics class. The 57-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during the fitness session and centre staff took quick action by performing CPR and defibrillation before the ambulance arrived. The swift action of five staff members saved her life and Joanna thanked the team of Alex Deaney, Tim Ayre, Lee Irvine, Isaiah Close and Janelle Close as they were reunited. Mum-of-three Joanna said she had exercised regularly for years and attended the class twice a week. She said: "Tuesday, February 20, was just an ordinary day. "I felt fine at the start of the class and one of the other ladies told me I wasn't following the routine properly after she saw me stumble a few times, but I had no idea what was ahead of me. "One minute I was taking part and the next I remember was two days later in hospital. I had suffered a cardiac arrest and my heart had stopped. After I collapsed the centre staff took quick action and, realising I was essentially dead on their floor, they started CPR and defibrillation while also evacuating the centre. They managed to phone my husband David who rushed there to see them working on me on the floor which must have been absolutely terrifying. "They kept my heart beating until the ambulance arrived and took me to hospital. I was later diagnosed with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition I didn't know I had." Joanna said without the bravery and professionalism of the centre staff she would not be here today. "I don't think there are really words to say how grateful I am to Alex, Tim, Lee, Isaiah and Janelle. They saved my life, there's no doubt about it. You never think a cardiac arrest is going to happen to you but it did and they gave me a second chance at life. "If my story encourages even one person to get out there and learn these skills it will be worth it." Joanna and her husband David have made a donation to the British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland (BHF NI) to recognise their lifesaving work in equipping the public with the skills to perform CPR and defibrillation. There are over 1,400 cardiac arrests every year in Northern Ireland, and less than one in 10 survive. If CPR is administered immediately before the arrival of the ambulance, the patient's chances of survival can double. Every minute without CPR or defibrillation can reduce a person's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by around ten per cent. To find out more visit bhf.org.uk/cpr The attempted murder charge in the case of Joleen Corr - who died on Thursday after being in a coma for 18 months - is set to be reviewed. The 27-year-old was severely injured after the attack at her home in Downpatrick in 2016. A spokesperson for the PPS said: "We have been informed of the very sad news of the death of the victim in this case. The attempted murder charge currently against a 32-year-old man is now to be reviewed. We will continue to keep the victims family informed of all significant developments in this case." Belfast man Michael O'Connor has been charged in connection with the attack on Joleen. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and grievous bodily harm and is currently on remand. O'Connor, originally from Westrock Grove, is understood to be Ms Corr's ex-partner. No date has yet been set for his trial. The Principal of a College is set to return to her position after nearly two years away from the role. Claire White is to return as Principal of De La Salle College in west Belfast after being on leave since May 2016. Read More In April 2016 then Education Minister John O'Dowd ordered an independent panel to review the situation at the college. Parents expressed fears over their children's education following a dispute amongst staff. Large numbers of the school's staff staged protests in the school and called in sick over the handling of a disciplinary matter. Marian O'Neill is currently acting Principal at De La Salle. In a letter posted on the school's website the Chairperson of the Board of Governors Monica Culbert confirmed that Mrs White is returning to her role. "The Board of Governors have deliberated on the arrangements for the long-term leadership of the College moving forward and have been in discussions with our substantive Principal Mrs Claire White," the letter reads. "In light of the significant improvements that have taken place within the College, the Board of Governors are in agreement that it is now the right time for Mrs White to return to her post as Principal at De La Salle College. "In discussion with Mrs White we have agreed that she will return to her post at the end of this academic year." Expand Close De La Salle College in west Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp De La Salle College in west Belfast "Mrs White has the full support of the Board of Governors in returning to her post as Principal of our College and we are confident in her ability to lead the staff as we continue our journey of improvement." Detectives from the PSNI's Public Protection Branch are appealing to the public for information on the whereabouts of two men, James White and Alexis Guesto. The two men are currently on the run and are believed to have recently travelled to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. They have been sighted in the South Armagh and Newry areas. Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffie said: These two men are wanted in Northern Ireland for a range of offences, including breach of licence and warrants. We believe these two individuals have recently travelled to Northern Ireland from the Republic as a result of a number of reports to police regarding sightings of these two men in the South Armagh/Newry areas. We have been and continue to work closely with colleagues in An Garda Siochana to establish the whereabouts of these two men Following a report of concern from a member of the public relating to a blue Peugeot parked in a car park on the Chancellors Road area of Mullaghbawn shortly after 1pm yesterday, Thursday 26 April, the vehicle was seized and the circumstances are being investigated by police. Police are also aware of comments on social media regarding this vehicle and are appealing for anyone who observed the car in the local area or anyone who observed the occupant(s) of the car after it was parked to contact police. I would urge anyone who knows where these two men are, or believes they may have seen them or come into contact with them in recent days to contact us on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference 495 of 26/04/18. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. Northern Ireland's politicians have been urged to take note of the togetherness that victims have shown. The call comes ahead of a gala evening in Belfast tonight organised by the Wave Trauma Centre, a support group for people bereaved, injured or affected by the Troubles. The event at City Hall will be attended by people involved with Wave over the last 27 years. "These people are the true giants of the peace process," victims' campaigner Alan McBride said. Mr McBride lost his wife Sharon in the Shankill bomb in 1993 and now works with Wave. He wants Stormont to sit up and take note of the progress made by victims. "These are the people who lost the most and who have now given up the most to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone," he added. "We need Stormont to offer more and not forget about the quiet ones in the background who have helped keep families together in traumatic times and have got on with their lives." Wave was set up in 1991 as a grassroots, cross-community, voluntary organisation to support people bereaved of a spouse through violence It was expanded later to include those injured or traumatised through the Troubles. The gala night will bring together people from all walks of life who have been affected in some way by the Troubles. "This is a night of celebration of how far we, and so many people who have suffered, have come," Mr McBride said. "It's a celebration of the achievement of each individual and each family who have been at the heart of the suffering in our country and who have now started to emerge out of the other side." Comedian Tim McGarry will be hosting the evening, with support from Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister and Wave patron and artist Colin Davidson. The night will feature a photographic exhibition - A Day In The Life - a series of 20 images featuring a person injured in the Troubles. Brendan J Byrne's film Hear My Voice will also be shown. "We originally wanted to put together a big night of celebration to celebrate 25 years of Wave in 2016 but wanted to hold it at City Hall," said Mr McBride. "It wasn't available at that time so the plans were put on hold until now. "We're delighted to have secured the venue this time and it should be a super night for so many people who have been involved with the group over the years, who have suffered life changing bereavements and injuries, to come together with their shared experience and look to the future in a positive and uplifting way." Another victim involved with Wave is Shauna Moreland, who was just 10 when her mother was abducted from west Belfast and killed by the IRA in Roslea, Co Fermanagh, in 1994. Now, more than 20 years later, she has found inspiration and help in dealing with the years of torment through the charity. "My initial contact with Wave came through their CEO Sandra Peake a few years ago," she said. "I had just been featured on BBC's Spotlight programme concerning the death of my mother and she invited me along for a chat. "At that time I thought it couldn't do much harm, but quickly realised chatting to someone about everything that has gone on over 30 years was exactly what I needed." She added: "Once I became involved with Wave I found I wasn't alone any more. "I had started to feel isolated but found there were so many other people who shared similar feelings, had suffered similar hurt and were going through the process of bringing those feelings out and starting to try to move on." Mr McGarry, who hosts tonight's event, said the work of Wave Trauma Centre was close to his heart. "Victims need their rights respected, their issues heard and they, and the people at Wave, deserve all our support for the brilliant work they are doing together, most of which goes unnoticed," he said. The DUP's candidate for west Tyrone Thomas Buchanan has challenged Sinn Fein's Orfhlaith Begley to answer questions on the Kingsmill Massacre. The DUP has challenged Sinn Fein candidate Orfhlaith Begley to answer two questions about the Kingsmill Massacre ahead of the west Tyrone by-election. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff after a scandal erupted when he posted a video posing with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill Massacre. Sinn Fein selected 26-year-old Orfhlaith Begley to stand as the Sinn Fein candidate for the seat. Ahead of the by-election, which takes place next Thursday, DUP candidate Tom Buchanan challenged his Sinn Fein opponent to speak honestly about her views on Barry McElduffs video and whether she supports the naming of a playground in Newry after IRA man Raymond McCreesh, who was arrested in possession of a gun used at the Kingsmill Massacre. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen in 1976. The men were then shot one by one, with one victim, Alan Black, survived the atrocity. Expand Close Tom Buchanan, DUP MLA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tom Buchanan, DUP MLA Mr Buchanan asked the following questions: 1. Does she condemn Barry McElduffs outrageous video which mocked the Kingsmills victims on the anniversary of the atrocity? 2. Does she condemn the naming of a playground after Raymond McCreesh who was arrested in possession of a gun used at Kingsmills? In response to the questions a Sinn Fein spokesperson said: Sinn Fein have already made our position very clear on both these issues. Tom Buchanan is well aware of this so we will not be commenting further on what is clearly a transparent attempt to exploit victims to generate coverage for himself in the run-up to an election. Mr Buchanan said: Sinn Fein scriptwriters are carefully managing Orfhlaith Begleys campaign. They dont want the Sinn Fein mask slipping again. They dont want west Tyrone voters seeing that they still mock innocent victims and glory in the past. I have knocked hundreds of doors in this campaign. People who have never voted DUP before are lending me their vote to send a message that innocent victims must be respected. Sinn Fein has failed to deal with victims. McCreesh Park is an embarrassment to any modern society. "A play park named after a gunman linked to the murder of ten innocent people. It is grotesque. West Tyrone neighbours may disagree about the constitutional question but unionists and nationalists alike were ashamed of their MPs outburst about Kingsmills. I am humbled by the support from all across the constituency. Next week's by-election is also being contested by SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan, Alliance party candidate Stephen Donnelly and the UUP's Chris Smyth. The leaders of North and South Korea shake hands at the line dividing their countries in Panmunjom (Korea Broadcasting System via AP) Britain has welcomed the announcement by leaders of North and South Korea that they are ready to work together on a nuclear-free future for the area. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described Fridays meeting between North Koreas Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in as historic. But he cautioned that the summit was not the end in itself and said it must lead to a change of course by the secretive communist dictatorship in Pyongyang. The UK will continue to back the strict enforcement of sanctions on North Korea until commitments made in Panmunjom are translated into concrete steps towards denuclearisation, said Mr Johnson. In a joint statement, Mr Kim and Mr Moon said that they had confirmed their goal of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation. They will jointly push for talks with the US, and potentially China, to convert the armistice which concluded the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty, formally ending the state of hostility between the two countries. This historic summit is not the end in itself. There are still many questions to be answeredForeign Secretary Boris Johnson The statement came after Mr Kim became the first leader of North Korea to enter the territory of its southern neighbour, with a highly symbolic handshake with Mr Moon in the demilitarised zone dividing their nations. Mr Kim said he felt he was firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity. Mr Moon responded that there were high expectations of an agreement that would be a big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world. Expand Close Koreas Summit AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Koreas Summit In a statement released by the Foreign Office in London, Mr Johnson said: I welcome the announcement that the two Koreas will work towards the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea, improve bilateral ties and reduce border tensions. This historic summit is not the end in itself. There are still many questions to be answered. Kim Jong Uns commitment to halt all nuclear and intercontinental and intermediate range ballistic missiles tests is a positive step. We hope this indicates an intention to negotiate in good faith and that Kim has heeded the clear message to North Korea that only a change of course can bring the security and prosperity it claims to seek. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to strictly enforce existing sanctions until such time that North Korea turns its commitments into concrete steps towards denuclearisation. British aid workers fear they may be cut off from supporting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees once the monsoon season hits Bangladesh, after a few hours of rain completely transformed parts of the camps. Last week, the first downpour descended on the cramped settlement in Coxs Bazar, while over the last four days two thunderstorms and strong winds have battered nearby areas. Those on the ground fear landslides and flooding will cause loss of life, destroy the bamboo-and-plastic shacks, block access roads and potentially turn the area into a breeding ground for contagious disease. Kenny Hamilton, who is leading a project for the British Red Cross (BRC) on mass sanitation in the camps, said there was a growing anxiety about how much danger the monsoon storms could bring to the stranded population. The 54-year-old, from Glasgow, said: We saw last week a couple of hours rain completely transformed the camp. Generally the environment is very dry and very dusty, and when the rains hit the dust on top of the ground it went very quickly to quite slick mud, and we found that teams werent able to actually move into the centre of the camp because of poor access. It's a race against time to help hundreds of thousands of people in Cox's Bazar. You can help by donating to @BritishRedCross https://t.co/R9qjMvhGhw #Bangladesh #Myanmar #Monsoon Teresa Goncalves (@TreGoncalves) April 27, 2018 One of the key features of this settlement is the topography of the camp is very hilly and shelters are being built in every area thats possible to actually have, and, when the rains come, the paths in between and up and down the various hills the shelters become completely impassable. As we move toward the monsoon period, that could significantly increase, and our worst-case scenario is that we would be put in a situation where teams wouldnt be able to get in to the community for potentially up to a week, maybe even longer. Some images from the camps in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, where I have spent the past two days. Hundreds of thousands of #Rohingya are living in the sprawling refugee settlement. Lots of construction work ongoing to prepare for the monsoon season @decappeal @BritishRedCross pic.twitter.com/QzTYmhaV3t Jemma Crew (@jemmacrew) April 24, 2018 The BRC has been using more than 1 million donated by the British public from 25.9 million raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to make conditions safer. Its mass sanitation team have been removing and decontaminating 3,000 litres of waste a day from hundreds of toilets so they do not overspill and contaminate water sources. They have also been educating 67,739 people on good hygiene in a bid to protect people from the acute watery diarrhoea and other diseases, such as cholera, that unsafe water could bring. This is the water level at some of the lowest points of the Balukhali camp in Coxs Bazar. It rained for a few hours last week which increased levels slightly. Charities supporting the #Rohingya fear these areas will flood when the monsoons arrive @decappeal pic.twitter.com/lznFrZcerU Jemma Crew (@jemmacrew) April 26, 2018 One of the community leaders who attended, 25-year-old Humaira Begum, said she was very excited to relay what she had learned to the 10 households she represents. The mother-of-four said she was so anxious, so worried about the impending weather and that she had not been given enough bamboo or plastic to make her home safe. She said: When it rains, I can spend my life averagely, but during a storm, it will be very difficult for me as well as for all the members of my family to lead a better life, because my house isnt strong enough to live properly during a storm. Expand Close Rohingya monsoon preparations Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rohingya monsoon preparations Almost 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Burma since last August amid reports of extreme violence, forming a total of more than 900,000 displaced people in the multiple camps. In one of these, Balukhali, the main thoroughfares are being paved with layers of brick to ensure aid vehicles can continue to pass. Extensive construction has been carried out by aid workers and Rohingya communities to strengthen buildings and improve drainage systems, with arrangements to deliver aid by foot if roads become impassable. Intricate bamboo bridges stretch a safe path over floodplains, where water levels rose after last weeks downpour, with pre-fabricated replacements already being constructed in case they are destroyed by the storms. Expand Close Rohingya monsoon preparations Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rohingya monsoon preparations Landslides are expected among the many steep hills, where thousands of foundation-less shacks built almost on top of each other on the sloping ground can only be reached by steps made of sandbags. In the last two weeks, 3,400 people have been moved to safer ground, with plans to relocate more than 20,000 in the coming weeks. Fiona MacGregor, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said it would be extremely difficult to secure against the possibility of loss of life given the ground conditions. Roads were already starting to be churned up and she saw people wading through water after last weeks downpour, calling it a sobering indication of whats to come. She warned that people might be temporarily cut off but that many of those most at risk did not want to move again, having already fled their homes in Burma. Expand Close Burma Rohingya crisis Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Burma Rohingya crisis Ms MacGregor, from Edinburgh, said: Within the area known as the mega-camp, what you have is over 600,000 people, mostly living under tarpaulins on highly unstable slopes. This is one of the worlds most cyclone-prone regions. Its a frightening prospect. We cannot mitigate against all disasters; what we have to do is be prepared to respond to those and to help the refugees be as resilient as possible themselves because they are the ones that are in the camp 24/7, they are going to have to be the first responders. She added: There are areas that have been flooded. the early rains will be useful, they will allow us to identify some of the areas (most at risk) and I think it might encourage people to move when they actually see the reality. British aid has helped more than 158,000 people receive reinforced shelter and sandbags, provided 5,000 extra latrines, and ensured almost 400,000 children are vaccinated against cholera, measles and diphtheria, the Department for International Development said. An appeal launched by the DEC has raised 25 million, including 5 million from the UK Government 8 million of which has been earmarked for use from April. International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: The Rohingya people have suffered so much already and now they are living in constant fear of the imminent floods causing utter devastation and destruction. Our swift response can save lives. Right now UK aid is strengthening roads and pathways to ensure vital medication and food can reach the very centre of the camps. UK aid is also reinforcing shelters to protect vulnerable families at risk of flood water and landslides. Earl Mountbatten of Burma, whose first name was Louis (PA) Louis was the first name of the Prince of Wales beloved great-uncle Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Charles will be touched that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to pay tribute to Lord Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979, by naming their son Prince Louis. The name, also one of Prince Georges middle names, is French and German in origin and means renowned warrior. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/4DUwsLv5JQ The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2018 Louis was the 71st most popular name in England and Wales, according to the latest available figures from the Office for National Statistics. In 2016, just 911 boys were given the name Louis in England and Wales. It was more popular in the early 2000s when it ranked around 39th, but was not popular throughout the 20th century. Louis has been the name of many rulers across the world, including 18 kings of France. Famous people named Louis include pop star Louis Tomlinson from One Direction and jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Expand Close Louis Tomlinson of One Direction is another famous Louis (Hannah McKay/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Louis Tomlinson of One Direction is another famous Louis (Hannah McKay/PA) Lord Louis Mountbatten was also the Duke of Edinburghs uncle and the brother of Philips mother Princess Alice. He was the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947. He was very close to Charles but Uncle Dickie, as he was known in the family, was assassinated by the IRA in August 1979. His boat was blown up on a fishing trip off the coast of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Louis is pronounced Lou-ee, rather than Lew-is Arthur, Prince Louiss second name, evokes the legend of King Arthur, the mythical leader of the knights of the Round Table. Arthur has been a popular middle name for royal born sons during the Windsor era but not a common first name. One of Charles middle names, it is also one of Williams and was a middle name of the Queens father, George VI. The Prince of Wales has released a statement following the birth of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridges third child. HRH said: We are both so pleased at the news. It is a great joy to have another grandchild, the only trouble is I dont know how I am going to keep up with them. pic.twitter.com/fZmsd72yeX The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) April 24, 2018 The babys third name Charles, of course, pays tribute to Williams father and the babys grandfather the Prince of Wales. Its meaning is man and it is derived from the German name Karl. It is considered an unlucky royal name for a king as Charles I was executed and Charles IIs reign featured the plague and the Great Fire of London. Mike Pompeo has taken over as US secretary of state after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The USs top diplomat immediately dashed off to Europe, in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea. The former CIA director secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away.Mike Pompeo Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Donald Trumps first secretary of state Rex Tillerson, who got 56. He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was proud to officiate for the occasion. Mr Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was delighted to serve as Americas top diplomat. I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away, Mr Pompeo said. Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a US government aircraft was waiting to ferry Mr Pompeo to Brussels for meetings at Nato headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralised after a tumultuous first year of Mr Trumps administration, gave a round of applause to Mr Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual hi, Im Mike. Mr Pompeo, a Republican and former Kansas congressman, is expected to guide Mr Trumps foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than Mr Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Mr Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Mr Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Mr Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled. A long list of pressing issues awaits him, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Trumps upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ongoing disagreements in the White House about the future US role in Syria. Mr Trump said he was pleased by Mr Pompeos confirmation, calling him a patriot with immense talent, energy and intellect. He will always put the interests of America first, Mr Trump said in a statement. He has my trust. He has my support. New US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has hit the ground running at Nato headquarters on his first trip abroad as Americas top diplomat. Just hours after being sworn in, Mr Pompeo flew to Brussels where the alliances foreign ministers are meeting to prepare a leaders summit in July. I did come straight away, I was sworn in yesterday and I hopped on a plane, Mr Pompeo told Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he arrived. Welcome, Secretary Pompeo! @USAmbNATO Hutchison & all of us at @USNATO are thrilled to see you at the #NATO #ForMin to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to this critical Alliance. pic.twitter.com/Pe9ZzkUwno US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 Theres good reason for that. The work thats being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important and this mission means a lot to the United States of America. The president very much wanted me to get here and Im glad we were able to make it, and I look forward to a productive visit here today. Mr Stoltenberg said Mr Pompeos presence at the meeting so soon after taking the reins of the US State Department was a great expression of the importance of the alliance and the importance we attach to the alliance. I very much look forward to talking with you, on the need to adapt Nato to a more demanding security environment, he added. A senior US official said Mr Pompeos aim is to ensure that Nato maintains a unified position of no business as usual with Russia and to prod members, particularly Germany, to meet their commitments to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024. Secretary Pompeo & his #NATO counterparts begin #ForMin with working breakfast to discuss how Alliance is responding to #Russia's pattern of dangerous behavior, including attack in #Salisbury. Read more on NATO-Russia relations: https://t.co/W0x66U3mS2 pic.twitter.com/9WIt7AbNdt US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 That commitment was made in 2014 and thus far only six of the 28 countries who made the pledge meet the goal. Nine have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024, but the rest, including Germany, have not. That spending level, frequently incorrectly referred to by Mr Trump as a contribution to Nato itself, is particularly important given the allies need to combat increased Russian aggression, said the official. The official said the US delegation would make the point that Nato is more relevant today than at any point since the end of the Cold War. Russian efforts to destabilise Western democracies as well as encroach on neighbours like Ukraine will be a major theme of the meeting, the official said. The ministers will hold sessions on Russia, Afghanistan and Natos open door policy for accepting new members. Ahead of first official session of #NATO #ForMin, Secretary Pompeo greeted SecGen @jensstoltenberg: "As soon as I was sworn in, I hopped on a plane & came here. There's a reason for that. Our work here is invaluable." pic.twitter.com/xFgomKMUhW US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 In addition, Mr Pompeo will have separate talks with the foreign ministers of Italy and Turkey. Relations with the latter are notably strained. The senior official said one of Mr Pompeos main goals with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is to refocus on co-ordination in northern Syria, where Turkey has been attacking Kurdish rebels supported by the US. That co-ordination was started by Mr Pompeos predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who was fired by Mr Trump last month, and had languished in the absence of a new secretary of state. Protests have erupted across Spain after five men were jailed for nine years each for sexual abuse in what activists saw as a gang rape during the 2016 running of the bulls festival in Pamplona. Its not abuse, its rape! shouted protesters from the gates of the Navarra provincial court when the ruling was announced. Police stopped the crowd from advancing toward the entrance to the court, with some angry demonstrators shoving officers. Thousands of protesters gathered hours later in central Pamplona and most of Spains major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao, Valencia and Zaragoza. Expand Close Spain Sexual Abuse AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Spain Sexual Abuse Demonstrators shouted slogans like No is no! while some waved homemade signs and wore red gloves as a symbol of protest. The five members of La Manada or The Pack, after the nickname the group gave themselves were found guilty of sexual abuse, which does not involve violence or intimidation under Spains criminal code. The prosecution had argued that violence was used and the 18-year-old victim did not consent to intercourse. The court on Thursday chose the lesser sexual abuse charge in contrast to the more severe charge prosecutors sought along with harsher sentences of more than 22 years in prison. The court agreed there was no consent because the defendants were in a position of superiority that curtailed the victims freedom. One of the three judges in the panel voted in favour of acquitting the defendants, the court said. Expand Close Spain Sexual Abuse AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Spain Sexual Abuse Both the prosecution and the defence announced later they would appeal against the decision. The five men, all Spanish citizens between 27 and 30, were friends who travelled to Pamplona to party during the San Fermin festival in July 2016. According to testimony at the trial, the men offered to accompany the victim to her car but instead hauled her into a building where they filmed their assault with their smartphones. They then took her mobile phone and left. The men argued that the young woman had consented to intercourse. To support the claim, their lawyers produced detectives reports on the victims behaviour after the incident, causing outrage among womens rights groups who said the victim was being judged for her behaviour rather than the attackers. The defence then withdrew the report. In addition to the prison time, the court ruled they should jointly compensate the victim with 50,000 euros and refrain from contacting her for 15 years. The five have been in pre-trial custody since they were arrested after the incident. The president of Spains Feminist Party, Lidia Falcon, told La Sexta television that the ruling means rape in Spain is practically free of punishment. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said the government had to respect the controversial ruling, while adding that authorities must respond to the public uproar. I think we have to analyse what we as public authorities must do so that incidents like this dont happen again in our country, she said. Justice Minister Raphael Catala said that the laws in question date from 1995 and should be reviewed to see if it is convenient to push for their revision. President Donald Trump shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a news conference in the East Room of the White House (Evan Vucci/AP) US President Donald Trump called German Chancellor Angela Merkel an extraordinary woman and disputed any idea that their rapport was frosty as he welcomed her to the White House. We have a really great relationship. We actually have had a great relationship from the beginning, he said. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Ms Merkels message was similar to French president Emmanuel Macrons that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. In a joint press conference on Friday afternoon, it was apparent that despite the back-to-back visits, Mr Trumps divisions with Europe are still substantial. "Today I am honored to welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel back to the White House... We are also pleased to have our newly confirmed United States Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell." pic.twitter.com/vgNEFJ6mU6 The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) April 27, 2018 He is widely expected to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear accord next month, despite pleas from Mr Macron earlier this week and Ms Merkel on Friday. Ms Merkel used her meeting with Mr Trump to try to paper over the differences, calling the Obama-era agreement a first step towards curtailing and containing Irans regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Mr Trump has said he was open to new negotiations with Iran, but has not said whether he would heed European calls for the US to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Irans nuclear efforts, while those talks are under way. His decision is expected by May 12. On trade, Ms Merkel said there was little progress on seeking permanent exemptions for the EU from Mr Trumps steel and aluminium tariffs. The decision lies with the president, she said. Expand Close President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington (Susan Walsh/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington (Susan Walsh/AP) Mr Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting its defence spending obligations to Nato, saying it is essential that our Nato allies increase their financial contribution to the pact. Ms Merkel said Germanys latest budget will take defence spending to 1.3% of GDP. She acknowledged thats far short of the 2% goal but said Germany is still aiming for that over time. In the hours before Ms Merkels arrival at the White House, Mr Trump himself took note of their limited schedule, which was to include a 30-minute Oval Office meeting, followed by a working lunch and joint news conference. Look forward to meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany today, he tweeted. So much to discuss, so little time! It will be good for both of our great countries! While Mr Macron and Mr Trump went to great lengths to display their affection through hearty handshakes, hugs and, at times, air kisses the president has not displayed the same chemistry with Ms Merkel. In their first White House meeting last spring, Mr Trump seemed to ignore photographers prompts to give Ms Merkel the traditional photo-op handshake. The relationship between the German people and the United States predates Americas independence and extends to the deep bond the two countries share today. More: https://t.co/tSWOqpC2S1 The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) April 27, 2018 And the German chancellor looked on unhappily when Mr Trump upbraided Nato nations last summer for not spending enough on defence as he stood in Natos gleaming new Brussels headquarters. This time, the two exchanged a handshake in the Oval Office. Kellyanne Conway, a senior counsellor to Mr Trump, said that the presidents relationships with Ms Merkel and Mr Macron do not need to be compared. France and Germany are great allies. I think every leader is different, every relationship is different, she said at the White House. Were very happy that Chancellor Merkel is making another trip here. Germans were culturally the same on both sides of the Berlin Wall, but Ireland is quite a different story When the Troubles began, the population of the six counties that constituted Northern Ireland still hadn't recovered to pre-Famine levels. Now, the Statistics and Research Agency projects the population of this troublesome little place is set to hit 1,939,700 by 2026, with growth in every single local government district. That's an increase of 4% on current levels and it will be over 8% in some areas. The worrying part in the figures is that the population of working-age people is only set to grow by a modest amount, while the older population is set to soar. It can rankle when increased longevity is treated as a social problem rather than an achievement. Older people have worked hard, paid their dues and are entitled to a healthy and fulfilling retirement. All the same, there's no denying that it costs progressively more to provide services to an ageing population, and that infamous magic money tree never took root in Ulster soil. Northern Ireland has few natural resources or native industries to pay for what we need. If there is going to be a united Ireland, Dublin had better have its cheque book handy. Norn Iron has never been a cheap date. Of course, a united Ireland is not inevitable in the short or medium-term. A nationalist majority has been predicted before and we're still waiting. This time does feel different, though. Unionism has fallen to a political minority in recent elections. There's also the effect of Brexit. It could be that the UK's exit from the EU will lead to an economic Golden Age, making people here, regardless of partisan identity, reluctant to risk any new surge in prosperity; but it equally remains true that, for young people in particular, Brexit has been a slap in the face - and the DUP's Gung-ho attitude has added to their discontent. In the past unionists only had to worry about those with nationalist allegiances voting for a united Ireland. Now they've managed to bring about a situation whereby even otherwise neutral or apolitical young people have a strong motive to vote for Irish unity in order to consolidate a European identity which seems to matter to them enormously. That's before even taking into consideration the growing immigrant population, largely from Europe, which would surely be expected to vote for whatever gets them back inside the EU. Nationalism, then, is in a confident, emboldened mood and that's chiefly expressing itself right now in a demand that unionists begin a dialogue as to how a united Ireland might work in practice. There's a curious assumption in all this, though, that it's unionists who must figure out how to fit into a new Ireland. There's far less discussion - if any at all - of how nationalism will need to change to adapt to the new circumstances. That's particularly true south of the border. Leo Varadkar has been sounding out the prospect of a new national holiday to commemorate the founding of the Irish Republic in 1949. These are not the words or actions of a Taoiseach who expects that he may have to deal with the reunification of the national territory anytime soon, effectively replacing the Republic itself. If this was to happen, it would not be like the reunification of Germany. People on both sides of that border may have been forced by history to live under different regimes, but they were culturally and ethnically the same. They were Germans and never thought otherwise. That is not the case here. A united Ireland would mean the pouring of around two million people, approximately a million of whom don't want to be there, onto a population which, by the mid-2020s, would at most be only six million. Around one-in-eight of the new Irish state would, in other words, regard themselves as culturally and politically British. Even if that transition is enacted peacefully - and there's absolutely no excuse for any kind of loyalist resistance to such a democratic vote, any more than there was for republican violence - it will effect enormous change in the former Republic. Gaelic, nationalist Ireland would, for the first time in its independent history, have to officially make space for Britishness after decades of downplaying, even denying, that contentious aspect of its history. It's never been altogether clear that Irish polity, or society, grasps that fact. Insofar as they think about it at all, the great and good down south have tended to imagine a united Ireland as an enlarged version of what already exists, rather than as something new. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is one of the few who's tried to engage in an open, constructive way with the complexities. The current Irish Government certainly hasn't. What's in store may come as a huge shock. The education system would need radical alteration. State-wide broadcasting would undergo a sea-change. Cherished national institutions such as An Garda Siochana and the Irish Defence Forces may look unrecognisable after amalgamation. Transition wouldn't always feel comfortable for stuck-in-their-way Southerners. That's what made the old Republican Sinn Fein proposal for a federal Ireland of largely self-governing regions - Eire Nua - so innovative. It was the one time that republicans ever seriously considered how to incorporate a large number of people of a different identity into a larger state in such a way that it respects their identity and protects their rights without compromising on the equally legitimate rights and identity of the majority population. Being so imaginative, naturally the mainstream republican movement rejected it outright. Unionists would not be under threat in a united Ireland. They would not be second-class citizens. There is no appetite outside tiny delinquent political circles to get revenge for a long history of discrimination. Rather, having unionists sitting in Dublin again, once they got over their collective sulk and took their seats, would be more like a return to an old order, pre-Easter Rising, raising the possibility of new alliances. As it stands unionists north of the border face a monolith in Sinn Fein, partly as a consequence of the Belfast Agreement's encouragement of a sectarian stand-off; but political representation is more diverse in the Republic and plenty of it is every bit as hostile to the Provos as unionists themselves. Sinn Fein seems to think it can just take its current support and drop it into a new united Ireland - and perhaps it would for a while. But politics would inevitably realign in interesting and exciting ways. Unionists are not alone in failing to prepare for that future. Nationalists have plenty of thinking to do as well. The law here has not been updated for the age of social media There is an old adage in journalism - "if in doubt, leave it out". A very good reason for editing your work before publishing is the fear of being sued. That is why the law of defamation is so important and why I feel it is imperative Northern Ireland updates and modernises its law, which currently pre-dates the invention of the internet. Surely the fact the law was written before the age of Twitter, Facebook and the other social media sites is argument enough to support a review. Read More Defamation isn't the sort of topic you're likely to hear discussed over a Friday night pint, or by the water cooler at work, yet it is important for a bunch of reasons, not least the fact that the current law in Northern Ireland makes it very difficult for individuals to seek the redress they are entitled to if subjected to inaccurate and damaging comment. Conversely, it is too easy for the wealthy to threaten media outlets with expensive court action should they publish. Assessing the number of defamation actions in our courts is no true guide to the need for reform, because that does not take account of the number of times media outlets have "left it out", rather than get embroiled in legal action with potential costs that could threaten their very existence. There is an undoubted "chill factor" at work and as a broadcast journalist there were many occasions when I did not report what I felt was a matter of fair comment and public interest simply through fear of ending up in court, arguing against a set of laws that fail to offer a proper balance between free speech and appropriate protections for the reputation of both individuals and organisations. England and Wales revised their laws with the 2013 Defamation Act. Our Executive could have followed suit, by simply adopting the same legislation, but the minister with responsibility for defamation chose not to consult his Executive colleagues. Instead, Sammy Wilson opted to make Northern Ireland a place apart with regard to defamation, for the first time since Stormont and Westminster introduced the same legislation in the 1950s. So much for consensual, coalition government. To date, Sir Patrick Coghlin's public inquiry in the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme has shocked and surprised with its steady flow of unedifying revelations about how our last Executive - or parts of it - did business. The inquiry offers a level of scrutiny previously unseen since devolution was restored in 1998. But public inquiries are rare, expensive and highly focused in scope. Normally, we have precious little scrutiny of the work of our Executive, when it sits. There is no second, reforming chamber at Stormont as there is in London and Dublin; there is no guarantee of an official opposition should the Executive reform, and for those reasons and others, the media's role is even more important than elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. We need to afford the media the tools to do the job. Law reform is equally important to our universities and research institutions. The 2013 Act in force in England and Wales makes it much easier for academics to make adverse comment on products and services offered by multinational companies, whereas the same academic comment made from our local universities could result in an expensive appearance in court. On top of that, the difference in our laws endangers current jobs in publishing and broadcasting, deters inward investment from media platforms like Twitter, Google and Facebook, and chills the warm welcome we attempt to offer the creative industries. Should the Executive and Assembly ever return, I am ready to proceed with a Private Member's Bill to accommodate the change in the law that logic demands. Unusually, there has already been a full consultation process, commissioned by the now defunct Law Commission, and a draft bill is written up and ready to go. You may call it a small step in the drive to modernise Northern Ireland. I call it essential. Mike Nesbitt is an Ulster Unionist MLA and former journalist Lady Sylvia Hermon isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last, politician to introduce a bogeyman into the Brexit debate. If there's a hard border "we will see the return of violence in Northern Ireland", she told the House of Commons yesterday. This wasn't a 'possibly', 'maybe' or 'likely'. The independent unionist didn't venture a prediction couched with caveats. She presented it as a statement of fact. Read More The danger of bombs and bullets once again becoming commonplace on our streets makes for an emotive argument. It has been employed by staunch Remainers like Tony Blair, Peter Hain and John Major. It is also useful ammunition for Dublin politicians who are understandably worried about the effect Brexit will have on their economy. There are many legitimate concerns around Brexit and its effects on both sides of the border. But claiming it's a ticking time bomb for the peace process is quite simply scaremongering. The customs checkpoints which existed along the border for almost half a decade after partition played no part in violence erupting here in 1969. That IRA campaign was firmly rooted in the denial of civil rights - jobs, housing and political equality. A return to the border as we knew it from the 1970s onwards - with British soldiers in watchtowers on the hillsides above checkpoints - is not on the cards. Of course, the introduction of any infrastructure will serve as a reminder - and perhaps an uncomfortable one for some - that partition and the border still do exist. But the youth of Ballymurphy or the Bogside will not go out to kill or be killed because of customs controls. And who exactly are expected to wage any new armed campaign anyway? The Provisionals' war is over. Dissident republicans are having some success in recruiting young people in working-class nationalist areas, but I guarantee that none of those joining up are citing Brexit and the possibility of customs posts as their reasons. Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman, who is facing terror-related charges, arrives at the South Jakarta District Court, April 27, 2018. A jailed cleric who has been widely described as Indonesias most influential Islamic State-linked ideologue denied allegations on Friday that he masterminded the deadly 2016 terror attack in Jakarta or instructed followers to kill heathens. Aman Abdurrahman, 46, issued his first public rebuttal of the latest charges against him during testimony at the South Jakarta District Court, where he is facing the death penalty over allegations that he organized a series of terror strikes while behind bars. Police said eight people died, including four militants, in two bomb explosions and shootings that unfolded during daylight hours on a busy avenue not far from Indonesias Presidential Palace. Prosecutors on Friday asked Aman if he was involved in the attack, the first terrorist act claimed by the Islamic State (IS) in Southeast Asia. "I didnt instruct them to do it, Aman replied. I learned about it from other inmates who saw the news on TV. If convicted of charges that he plotted that attack, Aman could receive a life sentence or the death penalty, lawyers said. Aman is the de facto leader of IS supporters in Indonesia, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In January 2017 the U.S. government designated him a global terrorist, alleging that he founded the militant group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), composed of two dozen pro-IS groups. Prosecutors said Aman had also inspired militants in a suicide attack that killed three police officers at a bus station in Jakarta last year and the Molotov cocktail blast that killed a 2-year-old and injured three other children at a church in Samarinda city in East Kalimantan province two years ago. The attackers were inspired, prosecutors said, by Amans writings about heathen countries, and his translations of sermons by al-Qaeda figures, on millahibrahim.net a site now blocked by the Indonesian government. Aman denied this. My view of heathenism does not authorize bloodshed, Aman told the court. Like in Samarinda, that violates what I believe about how to behave towards Christians. He said his writings assert that a Muslim living among heathens is forbidden to steal from or otherwise disturb them or to have physical contact with those who have fallen into idolatry. Thats the thrust of millahibrahim, he said, apparently referring to the blocked website. I never killed anyone. Prosecutors said they had studied Amans books and other writings known to have influenced militant groups, which were presented as evidence. There are orders to carry out jihad there, prosecutor Mayasari told the court. Inspiring militants while behind bars Aman was first sent to prison in 2004 for seven years for a failed terror plot in West Java, but he was released in 2008 for good behavior. He was re-arrested and again imprisoned in 2010 on charges that he set up a training camp for the now-disbanded militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Aceh province, at the northern end of Sumatra island. His nine-year prison term on those charges was supposed to end in August 2017 as part of an Independence Day sentence-reduction scheme, but he was re-arrested a few days before his release after officials charged him of involvement in other terror attacks. Amans trial spotlighted the loopholes in Indonesias overcrowded prison system, where terrorism plots are hatched and banned materials are smuggled in with ease, security analysts say. No question that Aman Abdurrahman is Indonesia's most important extremist ideologue, whose writings and sermons, disseminated online and over social media, influenced thousands, Sidney Jones, director of Jakarta-based think-tank Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), told BenarNews. Amans ability to reach out to his followers declined, as did his access to news about developments, when prison officials placed him in an isolation cell and took away his cellphone after the January 2016 Jakarta attacks, Jones said. In April 2016, prison officials moved Aman from the maximum-security prison complex in Nusakambangan island, to a special isolation cell at the national police special operations headquarters in Depok, West Java, a suburb of Jakarta, Jones said. The decision to transfer Aman came after police discovered that the four militants who mounted the Jakarta attack in January had visited him at least three times, officials said. Intelligence officials believe Aman also made phone calls from Nusakambangan to someone in Raqqa, Syria, which was then an IS stronghold. The phone calls were uncovered after authorities examined 14 mobile phones found in a jail cell he shared with Iwan Darmawan Muntho, who is on death row for his role in the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. Prosecutor Mayasari (left) shows the books written by Aman Abdurrahman (right) at the South Jakarta Court, April 27, 2018. [Arie Firdaus/BenarNews] A link to Zarqawi Aman, who was born in Sumedang, West Java, pledged allegiance to the militant group IS in 2014, according to court documents. Aman attended Islamic boarding schools and studied at the Saudi-backed Islamic and Arabic College of Indonesia in Jakarta, also known as LIPIA, where he received a bachelors degree and graduated cum laude, according to the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project (CEP). Aman began his career as a university lecturer but was dismissed in early 2000 for adopting a radical interpretation of Islam, CEP said. Aman rapidly rose to popularity in the countrys low-tech extremist movement, security analysts told BenarNews. Taufik Andrie, executive director of the Institute for International Peacebuilding, a Jakarta-based NGO, said Aman began promoting extremist views in 2004, after a court sentenced him to seven years in prison for bomb-making and terror activities. While in prison, Aman apparently accessed writings attributed to Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the Jordanian-Palestinian writer also known as Essam Muhammad Tahir al-Barqawi, a mentor of al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He became more active in interpreting al-Maqdisi's views and it was widespread, Taufik told BenarNews. It helped Aman gain popularity and he often received invitations to speak in many places. Solahudin, a terrorism researcher from University of Indonesias Center for Terrorism Studies and Social Conflict, said Aman started as a preacher at As-Shofa mosque in South Jakarta, and might have started gaining wider recognition in mid-2003. He is smart. He can memorize all verses in the Quran, Solahudin told BenarNews. On April 17, Solahudin told a court hearing that Aman was a source of knowledge for imprisoned IS sympathizers. The defendant is considered to be the most knowledgeable on IS ideology, he said. Those present chose an amir It was at the maximum-security Nusakambangan prison that Aman met Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists who carried out the 2002 Bali bombings. Prosecutors said that Aman later collaborated with the ageing cleric to establish a jihadist training camp in Aceh, western Indonesia. Abdurrahman was arrested for his activities later that year and sentenced to nine years in prison. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority nation, has 477 prison facilities housing more than 201,500 prisoners, including 220 who were convicted of terrorism, IPAC said in a 2016 report. The poor physical state of the Indonesian prison infrastructure and serious overcrowding facilitates radicalization, it said. Navhat Nuraniyah, a research fellow at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of Internatonal Studies, described Aman as one of Indonesias most influential jihadi ideologues and a vocal promoter of ISIS, the other name for IS. IPAC, in its February 2016 report, said about 100 members of Indonesias pro-IS groups held a meeting on Nov. 20, 2015 at a hotel in Malang, East Java, and formed a new organization named Partisans of the Caliphate (Jamaah Ansharul Khilafah or JAK). Those present also chose an amir, but it remains unclear whether it is Aman Abdurrahman, although he is clearly the groups dominant figure, the report said. Amans lack of jihad experience was a possible disqualifier. A supporter takes pictures in front of a banner showing former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (left) and jailed de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim during a campaign rally on Langkawi island, April 15, 2018. Malaysias human rights commission (Suhakam) vowed Thursday to press ahead with its plans to monitor nationwide voting May 9, after it announced that the countrys election officials had turned down its application seeking accreditation for observing the polls. Suhakam chairman Razali Ismail said it would deploy about 50 of its officials and volunteers in areas where parliamentary seats would be hotly contested in next months general election such as in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and Kelantan states although the Election Commission (EC) had denied its application for accreditation. We will, in the public interest, proceed with our monitoring plans, Razali said in a statement, without elaborating. Suhakam cannot comprehend this decision, Razali said, adding that the panel considers itself a vehicle of integrity with a legislated mandate to protect and promote human rights in Malaysia. The rejection means Suhakam representatives will not be allowed to enter polling stations. EC officials did not respond to BenarNews queries seeking confirmation on this development. Suhakams announcement came two days after the Election Commission issued new campaigning rules for the upcoming vote that exclude the opposition from using photos of its two most recognizable leaders former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and jailed Peoples Justice Party (PKR) founder Anwar Ibrahim on campaign posters and banners in most of the country. The Election Commission also came under fire from the opposition late last month after parliament passed a bill to redraw the nations electoral maps, as recommended by the EC. The opposition said the changes to the electoral boundaries would favor the ruling bloc in Malaysias 14th general election. Formal campaigning kicks off on Saturday with political parties and coalitions vying for 222 parliamentary seats and 12 state assemblies. Almost 15 million Malaysians are registered to vote. Eric See To, deputy director of strategic communications for Barisan Nasional (BN), Malaysias ruling coalition, said the EC should have approved Suhakams application. I think they should be granted, unless they were never granted before or if other NGO groups have already been granted, he told BenarNews in a text message. New rules On Tuesday, the EC issued new guidelines stipulating that only the images of party presidents and deputy presidents, or their equivalents, could be used on campaign materials, except for the photo of the candidate in his or her particular constituency. The new guidelines means that the image of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who heads the United Malays National Organization, can appear on campaign materials, but not those of the oppositions two biggest leaders, Mahathir and Anwar. Mahathir, the oppositions choice for prime minister should it win the election, heads the Bersatu party. But Malaysias Registrar of Societies (RoS) earlier this month de-registered Bersatu as a party. Bersatu and other partners in the Pakatan Harapan coalition whose application for registration was rejected by RoS later announced that they would contest the election under the logo and banner of Anwars party, PKR. But the incarcerated Anwar does not currently hold the partys position of president or deputy president. On Wednesday, Bersih 2.0, a grassroots Malaysian clean government and elections watchdog, questioned the necessity and rationale behind the new campaigning guidelines, saying there were bigger issues for the EC to resolve. In view of the other larger electoral issues that require the immediate attention of the Election Commission, it is surprising that the EC chose to focus on regulating campaign materials of political parties, it said. Why are these additional regulations suddenly needed now? Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Razak holds a copy of his partys campaign manifesto in Kuala Lumpur, April 7, 2018. [S.Mahfuz/BenarNews] Najib predicts better result Meanwhile, in an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib predicted a better result in this years election campaign, saying his political rival and former mentor in 92-year-old Mahathir would be a hard-sell for voters. In 2013, the BN coalition lost the popular vote for the first time since the country gained independence in 1957. But BN won a slim majority of parliamentary seats. Najib said he was not predicting a huge majority but that his party was reasonably sanguine about possible results. We are reasonably confident of a good result, Najib, 64, told Bloomberg. There is no movement for changing the government. I dont see that. Australian Roman Catholic nun Sister Patricia Fox poses for photographers in Quezon City, Philippines, following a news conference a day after the countrys Bureau of Immigration forfeited her missionary visa and ordered her to leave the country in 30 days, April 26, 2018. The politically influential Catholic Church in the Philippines on Friday ask President Rodrigo Dutertes administration to reconsider its decision to boot out an Australian nun who had joined anti-government demonstrations. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which represents the churchs hierarchy in the country, said it was truly saddened by Dutertes move to expel Sister Patricia Fox, 71. We sincerely make an appeal that the authorities may make a reconsideration of their order for Sister Patricia Fox to leave the country, said CBCP head Romulo Valles, who is the archbishop of the southern city of Davao, the presidents home town. The church has had an acrimonious relationship with Duterte, who has bristled at its criticism of his anti-drugs war. He has accused the church of being, in his words, full of shit and calling bishops hypocrites. Church leaders have led peaceful street marchers against Dutertes drug war and displayed huge graphic photographs of some of the people slain in the crackdown, outside some of its churches in a bid to shock the government. Valles said the immigration bureau should give Fox a chance to explain herself again and be allowed to stay in the country to serve the people as she had done the past 27 years. Immigration officials said the Australian nun was given 30 days to leave the country because she had breached the terms of her visa by engaging in activities that were not permitted under the visas conditions. The situation certainly involves legalities the authorities have said that she has been found to have violated certain laws of our land, Valle said, but noted Foxs lawyer was also filing a motion for reconsideration before the immigration bureau. We continue to pray for Sister Patricia Fox for her health and well being, he said. Dutertes government has not responded to the churchs appeal. The nun, who belongs to the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and is a longtime resident of the Philippines, has worked closely with the poor. But intelligence agents photographed her attending anti-government street protests early this month. Fox was the second foreign activist ordered out of the country, after an Italian official of the Party of the European Specialists was deported upon arrival. The Philippine police claimed Friday they had thwarted a potential terror plot in Manila by capturing two Filipinos belonging to a group sympathetic to the extremist group Islamic State (IS). The suspects, identified as Jimuel Velasco Dizon (also known Amir) and Eddie Boy Alejo Bermejo (also known as Abdullah) both Muslim converts were arrested separately on Thursday in the suburbs of Cabuyao and Sta. Rosa, an hours drive south of Manila, authorities said. The two belonged to the Rajah Sulayman Movement (RSM), one of 23 Filipino groups that the Philippine military had identified as sympathetic to IS and that were being watched, the nations new police chief said. The arrests were part of our proactive measures to prevent a terror attack particularly here in metro Manila, National Police Dir. Gen. Oscar Albayalde told reporters. They are identified as members of local threat groups which pledged allegiance to ISIS. Thats why they were subjected for case build up and surveillance, Albayalde said, referring to IS by a different acronym. This is an indication that our law enforcers and our Armed Forces of the Philippines and our intelligence operatives are doing their jobs, he said. Arresting officers recovered several guns, ammunition, grenades and improvised bombs as well as two black IS flags from the two suspects, Albayalde said. IS is said to be actively recruiting members in the southern Philippines, months after the military, with assistance of the United States, defeated Isnilon Hapilons group in the southern city of Marawi in October 2017. Hapilon, the acknowledged head of IS in the Philippines, and close to 1,000 fighters from Southeast Asia and the Middle East took over Marawi in May last year, triggering the worst fighting seen here in years. He was killed in October along with several key associates, ending the five-month battle, in which 1,200 mostly militant fighters were killed. But close to 200 others escaped and dispersed in remote areas in the southern island of Mindanao, where they are believed to be hiding out with homegrown militant groups, according to officials. Albayalde did not disclose details of the alleged plot, but said the two could have been planning to stage attacks to mark the anniversary of the Marawi siege on May 23. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, is Joe Biden lying to us? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices By Sarah-Jane Murphy A banker at Irish Life and Permanent said his ears pricked up on overhearing dealers discussing doing several billion with Anglo in September 2008. Peter McCabe, former credit manager at Irish Life & Permanent (ILP), said his initial reaction was to tell his boss, David Gantly, that things were getting dangerous. He said Mr Gantly, chief dealer at ILP, told him in no uncertain terms that his input was not required. Mr McCabe was giving evidence on day 64 of David Drumm's conspiracy to defraud trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. David Drumm (51) of Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were. The former Anglo Irish CEO has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were 7.2bn larger than they were. Mr Drumm (pictured below) accepts that the multi-million euro transactions took place in between Anglo and ILP in 2008 but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest. Today Mr McCabe told Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, that it was by pure chance he was in Mr Gantly's office on September 29, 2008, and overheard a number of dealers chatting. My ears pricked up and I brought it to his [Mr Gantly] attention. I said things were getting dangerous because my initial reaction was that it was a problem, he told the jury. He said that Mr Gantly told him the deal was triangular in nature, meaning there were three parties involved. I was told in no uncertain terms that my input as credit manager was not required. He said all the bosses knew about it, Mr McCabe told Mr O'Higgins. The prosecution then played a recorded phone call between Mr McCabe and Ger Knowles of Irish Life Assurance, from March 31, 2008. During the call Ms Knowles told Mr McCabe that a 1bn transaction between ILP and Anglo had taken place that day. She said this was for his information only, and said there was no need for documentation or credit approval. Right. Just. Is it a panic thing or something? Mr McCabe asked her. Ms Knowles replied it was something the Central Bank was encouraging ILP and other players to do. Don't worry, I won't land you in it. I know there's political considerations as well, Mr McCabe said. Ms Knowles told Mr McCabe that the transaction was a touchy feely subject. The trial has now entered its thirteenth week and continues before Judge Karen O'Connor and a jury of ten men and four women. By Ann O'Loughlin Businessman Sean Dunne's bankruptcy should not be extended because of the conduct of the official in charge of the process, it has been claimed before the High Court. Barrister Barra McGrory for Mr Dunne said it is part of their case that the behaviour of the Offical Assignee (OA) Chris Lehane during the process fell far below what was expected and should not accept his request to inflict punishment on the businessman. Counsel said any extension to Mr Dunne's bankruptcy would amount to a breach of his property rights. Mr McGrory was making submissions on behalf of Mr Dunne on what was the 8th and final day of the hearing of an application by the OA to extend the businessman's bankruptcy for alleged non-operation with the process. Counsel said Mr Dunne (pictured) had "not ignored his Irish bankruptcy," as was claimed and had, in fact, opposed it in the Irish courts, given that he was subject to a dual bankruptcy in the United States at the same time. In relation to Walford, a property acquired in 2005 for 58m by Mr Dunne in trust, he claims for his wife Gayle, counsel said it has always been the businessman's belief it never formed part of his estate . Mr Dunne should be given "the benefit of the doubt" in relation to his evidence concerning claims he had not co-operated in respect of Walford, counsel said. In reply, Mark Sanfey SC for Mr Lehane said the OA rejects all of the businessman's claims. Counsel said there had been no co-operation by Mr Dunne until early 2016, some two years after he was adjudicated a bankrupt, in order to secure his discharge from the process. Counsel said that after that date there was some co-operation but it was not sufficient. At the conclusion of submissions yesterday (Fri) Ms Justice Caroline Costello said she was reserving her decision. The Judge said she was conscious the matter was time sensitive and she would try to give her decision as soon as possible. Mr Dunne's Irish bankruptcy was due to expire July 2016 but has been extended pending the outcome of the hearing to decide if any extension, which can be for a maximum five years, should be granted. In 2013 Ulster Bank petitioned the High Court to have Mr Dunne adjudicated bankrupt here after he had defaulted on some 164m loans. Mr Dunne later filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in the United States, when he claimed to have debts of $1bn and assets of $55m. Arising out of that application a US bankruptcy trustee was appointed by a US court. In addition, the Irish bankruptcy proceedings continued and in July 2013 the Irish High Court adjudicated Mr Dunne bankrupt. Its not every day you get to reference Die Hard, Joe Duffy and Nathan Carter in the same sentence but best believe well jump at the chance when we can. A Good Day to Die Hard director, John Moore gave RTE Radio Ones Joe Duffy a surprise yesterday when he called into the show yesterday to join a discussion about, Nathan Carter. Duffy was debating with callers on whether the country music star should pay his fans for appearing in his upcoming video when Moore, who's originally from Dundalk, rang in to give his two cents on the project. Legally if you are featuring somebodys image for commercial exploitation you have to pay them in some form, but I do appreciate that budgets are tight and I think the smart solution to something like this is payment in kind" He went on to say: to expect people to turn up for absolutely nothing is really not on, its not really how the business operates They went on to talk about the movie Michael Collins which needed 5,000 extras and how social media affects this area of the industry. The conversation was concluded with the fact that fans would receive Nathan Carter merchandise and tickets for their time. MY TIME TO SHINE: Hi guys. We are seeking extras for NATHAN CARTER'S brand new music video which is being shot this Sunday 29th April near Enniskillen. To apply please email Nina@SaveeEntertainment.com with your name and a social media link or CV. No acting experience necessary sinead (@sineadaloftus) April 26, 2018 Joe, of course, didnt let the director go without fishing for some information on his new movie. So, far we know its a period thriller, set in Ireland with a budget of 15-20 million. Listen to the entire segment here A Cork man who persistently raped his step-daughter from the age of 11 to 16, impregnating her twice in the 1970s, has lost an appeal against the severity of his 12-year jail term. The 70-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 18 counts of raping and sexually abusing the woman on dates between 1974 to 1979 at their Cork home. The complainant, now a 53-year-old woman, made a statement to gardai in 2013 informing them that the man moved into their home, after her father passed away, eventually marrying her mother. She said her stepfather would take her out of her bedroom and onto the landing to have sexual intercourse with her three or four times a week. She said she dreaded Sunday evenings when her mother went to bingo because her stepfather sexually abused her for the evening and on other occasions he raped her while her mother was downstairs. She said the defendant never worked and was an alcoholic who drank all the money her mother brought into the house. The Court of Appeal heard that the woman became pregnant aged 15. She lost one child and another was put up for adoption. Sentencing the man to 14 years imprisonment with the final two suspended, Mr Justice Tony Hunt placed the offending on the highest end of the spectrum. Mr Justice Hunt chose 18 years as the headline sentence, but reduced this to 14 on account of the mans admissions, guilty plea and remorse. The final two years were suspended due to the mans age and medical issues. Mr Justice Hunt had said rehabilitation was not a relevant concept in this case. The man had already been serving a four-year sentence, handed down in February 2015, for indecently assaulting the woman's siblings. The Court of Appeal upheld the mans sentence today. On behalf of the three-judge court today, Mr Justice John Edwards said the Court of Appeal had carefully considered the legal submissions on both sides and concluded that there was no error in principle. Mr Justice Edwards, who sat with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Alan Mahon, said the court would give detailed reasons for its decision on Friday May 16. In last weeks appeal hearing, the mans barrister Orla Crowe SC, submitted that the starting point of 18 years was too high. Ms Crowe said she was relying heavily on a case known as RK, in which a sentence of 18 years with the final five suspended was reduced by the Court of Appeal to 12 with the final two suspended following an appeal. Mr Justice Hunt had specifically referred to that case in his sentencing remarks stating that the present offending was a notch above the RK case. Ms Crowe said her clients case was on a par with RK rather than being a notch above. She asked the court to consider imposing a sentence on her client along the lines of RK. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Imelda Kelly BL, said there was no evidence to suggest the mans sentence was out of kilter with other sentences because no comparator cases had been provided to the court, other than RK. Ms Kelly said the offending in RK spanned a three-and-a-half year period while the offending in this case spanned five to six years. Ms Kelly listed a number of aggravating factors present in this case, which werent present in RK. She said a 15-year-old had not been made pregnant in RK. There was an atmosphere in the household of complete fear, beatings and threats of violence. These allowed the offending to continue and were mechanisms of control. There was no evidence of any of that in RK. Ms Kelly said the cases were clearly comparable and that there was no error in the sentencing judges placement of this case a slight notch above having regard to the aggravating factors. With regard to rehabilitation, Ms Kelly said there was no demonstrable evidence or proposals for rehabilitation put before the court and the fact the man was no longer drinking was an involuntary consequence of his incarceration. By Ann O'Loughlin An application by the States corporate watchdog to examine material on computers taken from the suicide counselling charity Console has been further adjourned at the High Court. The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), having obtained the computers from the charity's liquidator, wants orders allowing it examine them for its investigation into the conduct of Console's affairs before its liquidation in July 2016. Consoles founder Paul Kelly and his wife Patricia are the only persons "materially" opposing the application, Kerida Naidoo SC, for the ODCE, said on Friday. The application has been adjourned a number of times while the couple seek legal aid to fund their opposition. Mr Justice Denis McDonald was told today they wanted a further adjournment pending a decision by the Civil Legal Aid Board on their application. Opposing a further adjournment, Mr Naidoo said the couple have a digital copy of the material and had failed to engage with the ODCE's requests to identity material they say is private, irrelevant or covered by legal privilege. The ODCE was prepared to place all that material in a black book and not look at it pending any further application, he said. The matter of accessing the material is not as legally complicated as was being suggested and it is in the public interest to have the issues concerning Console investigated, he said. Solicitor James MacGuill said he was appearing for the Kellys out of courtesy to the court. The couple's accounts remain frozen, they are dependent on social welfare and, if they get legal aid, the matter would have to be progressed by the relevant law centre because it involved intricate and complex legal issues and examination of potentially hundreds of thousands of documents, he said. This was a situation where the Kellys must get legal aid, whether on the civil or criminal legal aid side, there had been progress in processing their application and the ODCE would not be prejudiced by another adjournment, he said. In response, Mr Naidoo stressed the ODCE has not made allegations against the Kellys. In granting a further adjournment, Mr Justice McDonald said the ODCE application will ultimately have to proceed whether or not the couple get legal aid and he was very conscious the proceedings need to be heard as soon as possible. While it was hard to see how there could be an objection to the methdology proposed by the ODCE for treating the digital material, there are always arguments to be made over methodologies, he said. It was "highly desirable" the Kellys have legal representaiton if at all possible, especially when issues as to whether documents are legally privileged or not would present difficulties for a lay person. He said the balance "just about favours" a further adjournment but he expected a decision to be made by the civil legal aid board by time the case next comes before court. While aware the legal aid boards are "hugely under-resourced", this matter is pending before the High Court and the court's ability to further adjourn it was "not elastic". If there is a lacuna in the law concerning the nature of legal aid for such an application, that can be dealt with in a further way, he observed. He directed the matter be mentioned in the High Court's chancery list next Thursday for the next hearing date to be fixed. Judges at the Special Criminal Court have said they will deliver a verdict in the case of two men accused of IRA membership next month after the court heard closing speeches today from the prosecution and defence. Kevin Braney (44), with an address at Glenshane Crescent, Tallaght, Dublin 24 and Ciaran Maguire (30), of Kippure Park, Finglas, Dublin 11, have both pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA on August 2, 2017. It is the prosecution's case that on July 13 last year the two accused travelled from Dublin to an estate in Co Meath, where one of two accused men told another man that they were the IRA and if he did not drop a claim against a former employer the next time they saw him they would shoot him. Fiona Murphy BL, prosecuting, submitted to the court that it has the opinion evidence of Chief Superintendent Tom Maguire, who had given his "belief" that the men were IRA members on the date in question. She said that the "lengthy and varied experience of the chief superintendent underpins his ability to express the opinion". Ms Murphy said that CCTV evidence corroborates testimony from members of the National Surveillance Unit (NSU) that the accused men travelled from Dublin to the address in Meath on July 13 last year. She also noted the testimony of the alleged subject of the threat. Rosario Boyle SC, for Mr Braney, and Sean Carroll SC, for Mr Maguire, submitted that there was not sufficient evidence for the court to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt the men were members of the IRA. Ms Boyle said that "little or no weight" should be attached to the chief supt's opinion evidence. She said there was "no evidence as to the reliability of his sources" and that his opinion was a "bare assertion". Ms Boyle also asked the court to "consider the likelihood of two people going to a built-up area on a sunny evening to tell [the alleged victim of the threat] they were the IRA and going to shoot him". Mr Carroll said that "questions arise" in relation to how much weight court can put on the various strands of evidence. He said that "very little underpinned the belief evidence" of the chief supt. Mr Carroll also questioned the reliability of the evidence of alleged victim of the threat. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Flann Brennan, said the court will give judgement on the case on May 30. By Natasha Reid The charge has been dismissed against a 23-year-old Dublin mother, who was accused of the murder of her boyfriend. Yasmin Stephens, of Albert College Avenue in Glasnevin, was due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, charged with murdering her 33-year-old boyfriend in the capital three and a half years ago. She pleaded not guilty to the murder at Killarney Court, Killarney Street, near Portland Row on October 26, 2014. A jury of eight men and four women had been sworn in to hear her trial, but a matter arose before it was put in charge of the case. It was later discharged after her legal team succeeded in having the murder charge dropped. Mr Justice Michael White made an order, pursuant to Section 4E of the Criminal Justice Act, dismissing the charge of murder against Ms Stephens. Stephens was subsequently arraigned on the second count on the indictment, which concerned the robbery of the homeless man in the early hours of the following morning. She pleaded guilty to robbing Hugh Gildea of a mobile phone, wrist watch 520 in cash on Mabbot Lane in Dublin, where he was sleeping rough. The judge was shown CCTV footage of the attack, which lasted more than 20 minutes, and heard the statements of Mr Gildea and two other witnesses. Another man, Sean Ducque, had inflicted all the violence while Stephens had rifled through the victim's pockets and bags between the beatings. She had also threatened him and demanded the pin for his bank cards. Mr Garnet Orange SC, defending, said his client had been 19 and a heroin addict at the time. She had been living on the streets with her boyfriend and was involved in the aimless existence of spending her days sourcing drugs. He said that Sean Ducque did not come across well in any view of the circumstances. I dont think any reasonable person would consider psychopath an unreasonable description of him, he said. He said that Stephens came from a good family, lived with her mother and grandparents and now had an 11-month-old son. He asked for a probation report. Mr Justice White remanded her on continuing bail until Friday 29th June for preparation of that report. Its expected that she will be sentenced on that date. By Ruaidhri Giblin Former solicitor Michael Lynn, who was extradited from Brazil to face multimillion euro theft charges, has lodged an appeal against his unsuccessful bid to get High Court bail. Mr Lynn (aged 49), with an address in St Alban's Park, Sandymount, Dublin, is facing 21 charges at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court relating to the alleged theft of almost 30m from seven financial institutions. In one of the sample charges before the court, Mr Lynn is accused of stealing 4.1m from Irish Nationwide on April 4, 2007. In another sample count, he is charged with stealing 3.6m from Ulster Bank on October 20, 2006. In March, Mr Lynn was extradited to Ireland from Brazil, where he has been living for several years. Mr Lynn was refused bail in the High Court by Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh on April 6. He has lodged an appeal against the High Courts refusal to grant him bail which was fixed for hearing on June 14 next in the Court of Appeal. During case management proceedings in the Court of Appeal today, barrister Michael Hourigan BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Mr Justice George Birmingham that the High Court bail application had been a lengthy matter taking up the best part of a day. Barrister Karl Monahan, for Mr Lynn, asked for an order requiring his client be brought to court on that date. Mr Lynn is currently in Cloverhill Prison, the court heard. By Ann O'Loughlin A Garda informer can use sensitive material obtained in proceedings pending before the High Court in his legal battle to prevent his extradition from the UK to France. The man says he was a Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS) for gardai when he was arrested in France 17 years ago on drug trafficking offences. He has subsequently received a four-year prison sentence in France, which was never served. Arising out of the failure to serve the prison term he was detained in England on foot of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by the French Authorities. He opposes that request for his surrender and his case is due to be heard by an English court later this year. In an application to the Irish High Court, he sought to use documents he obtained from the Gardai and the State in his pending action against the Irish State over its alleged failure to protect him after he was arrested in France. The documents, which he claims will help in his bid to defeat the extradition request, were obtained from parties including the Garda Commissioner in 2016 following a ruling from Ms Justice Marie Baker Following his arrest in the UK, the man applied to the Judge for a modification of an undertaking given by him in relation to documents discovered by the Commissioner and the State permitting his lawyers to send what they consider necessary to the English court hearing his extradition case. The State opposed the application on grounds including there would be an absence of control over the use of the documents, and the application was premature. In her judgement, Ms Justice Marie Baker said she was satisfied the special circumstances do exist to justify the modification in the manner proposed and the interest of justice required that the undertaking is modified. Addressing arguments made on behalf of the respondents, the judge said that she was not satisfied that the man's application was either unnecessary or premature. The judge added she was satisfied the English court would afford sufficient protection for the confidential and sensitive nature of the documents to meet the concerns of the defendants. The judge said out of mutual respect for another jurisdiction she did not think it appropriate that she should make directions or recommendation to the English court regarding how it should deal with the documents. In his claim against the Garda Commissioner, Ireland and the Attorney General which has yet to be heard by the Irish Court the man seeks damages for alleged negligence breach of duty, breach of contract and misrepresentations. He claims in the late 1990s he entered into an agreement with the Gardai to act as an informant on suspected drug traffickers. He claims it was part of that agreement that the Gardai would take all steps to safeguard his safety, keep his identity confidential and protect him from criminal prosecution in Ireland or abroad. Following his arrest in France, he claims the Gardai failed to intervene with the French authorities to ensure his safety from prosecution The State opposes that claim. While it accepts paying him for information it rejects claims it agreed to protect from prosecution if he was arrested in another jurisdiction. Gardai are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman following an incident on a farm in Portumna, Co Galway today Shortly after 4pm a woman aged in her mid 70s was fatally injured when she was struck by an agricultural vehicle on a farm located near Boula on the outskirts of Portumna. It seems the government has scrapped plans for a student loan scheme. Junior Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor has told students it's "off the table" while the current government is in place. Opponents of the "study now, pay later" system say it would heap thousands of euro of debt on students. Michael Kerrigan from the Union of Students in Ireland says they have been campaigning against it for a long time. "We had 12,000 students on the streets in October 2016, we had 20,000 students on the streets in 2017, we've had countless meetings with TDs," he said. "This is welcome news and we're looking forward to more clarity on the statement." Labour's Education spokesperson, Aodhan O Riordain has called on Minister Mitchell OConnor to put her plans for future funding of higher education on the record of both Houses of the Oireachtas. "Last week, Minister Mitchell OConnor told a DCU student leader that a student loan scheme is off the table," he said. "This is great and welcome news but if the Minister is serious about not introducing a student loan scheme, then she needs to make a statement in either the Dail and Seanad saying as much. "The Minister needs to do more than give soothing platitudes to students protesting outside the Dail gates. Next week, Ill be calling the Minister into the Seanad for her to put her views on the record of the House. Digital Desk By Patrick Flynn Irish holidaymakers witnessed a dramatic rescue in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean today. One of whom captured dramatic footage as their cruise ship changed course to assist the crew of a yacht that had adrift for a time after sustaining damage to its rudder and running out of fuel. The incident happened at around 3pm (Irish time) today when the Royal Caribbean International cruise liner 'Navigator of the Seas' was about 3,000kms south west of Cork. The cruise ship was travelling from Miami in the US to Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The 12m (39ft) Norwegian registered yacht, with three persons on board, sustained damage in rough weather and was unable to steer or use its sails. The captain of the cruise ship changed course to intercept the stricken yacht and provide assistance. A rescue boat was dispatched from the ocean liner so that crew members could deliver diesel to the stranded sailors to allow them to use their engines and make way again. Crew members from the cruise ship also checked to ensure that none of those on board required medical attention. One Irish holidaymaker said: "The whole thing was watched by the ship's passengers who cheered and got a big wave back from the yacht crew when the diesel had been transferred from the Navigator's rescue boat. "Everyone was calm and good-humoured despite the circumstances. "The captain of the Navigator and his crew did a very professional job. A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean International said: "Navigator of the Seas assisted a sailboat with three persons on board this morning. "No medical assistance was needed. The sailboats rudder was partially damaged and had also ran out of fuel. The crew provided the sailboat with fuel so it could motor to Azores, Portugal. Update 5.22pm: Gardai in Macroom, Co Cork are appealing for witnesses following a fatal traffic collision on the N22 this afternoon. A man in his 60s, who was driving one of the cars, was pronounced dead at the scene. Gardai were called to the scene of the multi-car collision on the N22 at Carrigaphooca near Macroom at around 1.05pm. The driver of a second car, a man aged in his 20s, seriously injured in the collision was airlifted from to University Hospital Cork. They were both the sole occupants of the respective cars. The occupants of a third car were uninjured. Garda forensic collision investigators are examining the crash site and local diversions are in place. The body of the deceased has been taken to the mortuary at University Hospital Cork for a post mortem examination. The local Coroner has been notified. Gardai in Macroom are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 026-20590 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111. Earlier: Man killed, another seriously injured in Cork road accident A man has been killed in a road accident in Cork this afternoon. The 60-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene on the N22 Cork to Killarney Road outside Macroom near Carrigaphooca Castle. A second man in his 20s has been airlifted to Cork University Hospital with serious, but non life-threatening, injuries. A garda forensic team are at the site and Macroom gardai are investigating. The road is closed and diversions are in place. - Digital desk Update 7.15pm: The clinical director of CervicalCheck has today admitted that they could have done a better job of informing women about abnormalities in their smear tests. A total of 206 women who developed cancer were wrongly given the all-clear, which was only discovered when their tests were reexamined after they were diagnosed. Some of these women are yet to be informed of the mistake but now everyone who develops cervical cancer is told their smear will be reexamined. Clinical director of CervicalCheck, Grainne Flannelly, says they welcome the independent review that has been ordered. "We can all look at setting up new processes and saying 'we should have done better'," she said. "I think in this scenario we could have done better in just trying to fast-forward the processes that we needed to do "The system as it currently is.. all new women who have been diagnosed with cervical cancer have [been] given an information leaflet." Her comments comes as it emerged the Minister for Health is to send a senior medical team into Cervical Check to take charge of the situation. RTE report that the move is being done to ensure woman who may not have been told their cases have been audited will be informed after the weekend. The broadcaster has also revealed that the Minister is to launched a helpline which will be operational from tomorrow. The helpline can be contacted at 1800-454-555 from 9am tomorrow morning. Update 4pm: ICA pays tribute to Vicky Phelan in cervical cancer case The Irish Countrywomens Association (ICA) has today paid tribute to Vicky Phelan for her "strength, courage and bravery in pursuing the matter of her cervical cancer case". "Had Ms Phelan had the earlier intervention that she was entitled to, her prognosis would likely be a lot less guarded," a statement from the group read. "It is in large part thanks to Ms Phelan that the public are now aware of this debacle which affects scores of other women." The ICA has now called on the Government to ensure that the 206 patients thought to be affected are contacted immediately, with the offer of the best possible quality of care; immediately establish a helpline for women who have been affected; and to fast-track the proposal for Patient Safety Legislation to Cabinet. Vicky and Jim Phelan, pictured with their solicitor, Cian O Carroll leaving the Four Courts on Tuesday.Photo: Collins Courts. Update 3.30pm: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the Government will establish the full facts after it emerged that over 200 women may have been wrongly given the all-clear after their cancer tests. "In terms of individual personnel, like I say, the Minister has initiated a review," he said. "I don't want to be condemning any individual at this stage without knowing the facts, but we are going to make sure that we establish the facts of this affair. "We want to make sure as well as a Government, that something good comes of this." Update 1pm: The Health Minister says he cannot have confidence in the managers of Cervical Check. It has emerged more than 200 women may have been wrongly given the all clear after their cancer tests. The Taoiseach has said he thinks most of them have since been informed but they are investigating that and have written to doctors. Health Minister Simon Harris was asked if he has confidence in the managers of Cervical Check. "I have full confidence in the screening programme," he said. "It's so important that people use the screening programme, it saves lives, it has detected cancers and it helps reduce the rate of cervical cancer. Truthfully in answer to your question, I can't say that I do [have confidence in the managers of Cervical Check] currently and that's why I've ordered a review. "It is important that that review is allowed do its work." The clinical director of the CervicalCheck programme says she is confident the system will stand up on review. Grainne Flannely was asked for her response to the Health Minister's criticism of the managers of CervicalCheck. "What he did say is that he has confidence in the cervical screening programme and recommended that women still take part in the screening programme," she said. "Obviously he has considered a peer review or our programme. We would welcome that. We think that our programme, on a peer review, will stand up with any other programme in the world. Digital Desk Earlier: Simon Coveney asks women to 'continue to believe' in cervical check system By Anne Lucey, in Killarney Update 11.40am: Tanaiste Simon Coveney has appealed to women to continue to believe in the cervical check system, saying some 250,000 women each year had smear tests under it and each year cervical cancer was down 7% as a result. I do want to appeal to people to continue to believe in that system, Mr Coveney said. He was speaking on Radio Kerry during a visit to Killarney to celebrate the Liebehrr family and a 18 million refurbishment of the Dunloe Castle Hotel as part of their 60 year commitment to Killarney where they employ well over 1,000 people in engineering, manufacturing and hotels. Mr Coveney said Vicky Phelan was an extraordinary person in highlighting through very tragic personal circumstances for her and her family a flaw in the cervical check system. The policy changed in 2016 and an audit system introduced . There is an audit system to check previous smear test history. Doctors will now be required to pass information onto patients, and patients will automatically receive the information, Mr Coveney said. Both the Department of Health and the HSE were looking into decision making process around what happened in the case of Ms Phelan, he also said. There are 250,00 women every year who have smear tests as part of the Cervical Check System. That system has been very, very successful in terms of reducing the rates of cervical cancer in Ireland which is down is down 7% every year since that checking system was introduced. I do want to appeal to people to continue to believe in that system. Where there was a significant flaw here which is now being changed is that if a woman subsequently is diagnosed with cervical cancer, then there is an automatic check to see whether that person had had a smear test before that and why something wasnt shown up. Its in that audit system that unfortunately for Vicky Phelan a negative smear test was discovered but she wasnt told about that and she should have been. Earlier: Outsourcing cervical test results to US labs makes it difficult to discuss findings Update 11am: Questions have been raised about why cervical test results are outsourced to US labs. Sam Coulter Smith was the Master of the Rotunda Maternity hospital when the decision was taken to stop checking results in this country. Sam Coulter Smith He says it has made it hard to discuss findings. "There were multidisciplinary meetings which were transatlantic, across timezones, across video conferencing," he said. "[There were] language issues around it in different countries. That goes some way towards explaining how we are where we are. Not all women who have gotten incorrect test results have been informed yet. The former Health Minister James Reilly has been highly critical of the failure to inform them sooner. He says the current situation is 'untenable' and wants to know exactly who is to blame. We need to know who made the decision not to inform patients? Who made the decision not to tell their doctors? "We really need to do this urgently because this is a hugely important programme," he said. Digital Desk Earlier: Up to 200 women may have had cancers missed in smear test By Daniel McConnell and Catherine Shanahan Update 8.05am: Up to 200 women who later developed cervical cancer had the same missed smear test as Vicky Phelan, it was admitted last night. In the wake of the Phelan case, Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday ordered Cervical Check to write to the doctors of the women to ensure they communicated the error, where cancer indicators were missed. Health Minister Simon Harris has said that up to 15 women a year since 2008 should have had their cases escalated in the wake of a smear test but did not. Mr Harris and Tanaiste Simon Coveney apologised to Ms Phelan for the abject failure in informing her of her condition. Mr Coveney said: This is a shameful series of events, particularly in terms of information flow. The tragedy and challenges Vicky Phelan and her family are facing now have been made all the more difficult because of the failings in terms of the passing on of information. And for that I want to apologise to her and to her family. Mr Harris said the doctors in all of these cases would have been informed of the misdiagnosis but the letters are to ensure patients are told. What we know is that, since 2016, doctors have been receiving the results of the audits in relation to the smear tests of their patients, he said. It is absolutely essential that we establish that those doctors told their patients of the outcomes of those audits. Today, Cervical Check will write to those doctors and ask those doctors to confirm that they have informed their patients. To date, since the screening programme began a decade ago, there have been 3m scans performed and a total of 1,400 confirmed diagnoses of cervical cancer. Responding to the public outcry following Ms Phelans 2.5m settlement with the company which examined her smear, Mr Harris said the doctors would be called on to ensure all women affected were told if they have not been already. Secondly, he announced a new policy to ensure patients are told about such mistakes in a timely fashion automatically, as opposed to leaving it to the discretion of the doctor. Ms Phelan was diagnosed with cancer three years after her smear test results of 2011 were incorrectly reported as clear of abnormalities. By the time she had another smear test in 2014, she had cervical cancer. Ms Phelan, of Carrigeen, Annacotty, Co Limerick, along with her husband, Jim Phelan, has sued the HSE and Clinical Pathology Laboratories Inc, Austin, Texas, over the smear test taken under CervicalCheck and analysed in a US laboratory. She was given six to 12 months to live in January this year. The case was raised in Dail during leaders questions. Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary asked: What will change as a result of what we know now as a consequence of the bravery and courage of Vicky Phelan? In response, Mr Coveney said there will be changes as a result of what has happened. He also stressed the importance of maintaining confidence in the national cervical cancer screening service. Two separate investigations are to be launched into the circumstances of how Ms Phelan was not told of her mis-diagnosis for three years. Mr Harris has said an external review is to be conducted by the director general of the HSE. I envisage the review will be external, I envisage it will involve international expertise but I will ask the DG to further clarify that, he said. But I think what we should do with our screening programme, we should look to ensure we are following absolute best international practice. Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee is to investigate any potential breach in policy and financial loss to the taxpayer because of the mishandling of the Phelan case. The Dails spending watchdog is to write to the HSE, the Department of Health and CervicalCheck to examine what happened in the Phelan case. Irish Examiner It is understood thieves who stole an 800 year old relic from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin returned it because they thought it was cursed. The relic, which was stolen in 2012, was recovered in The Phoenix Park after Gardai received a tip-off. They feared the heart of St Laurence O'Toole was responsible for the deaths of loved ones from apparent heart attacks, The Herald reports. The heart of St Laurence O'Toole The relic was presented to the Archbishop of Dublin the Most Rev Dr Michael Jackson on Thursday evening by Garda Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy. A choir sang to mark the heart's return, with churchgoers queuing up to catch a glimpse of the relic and give prayers of thanks. Archbishop Jackson thanked those who had helped recover the relic, and described the return of the heart as a joyful moment for the people of the city. He said: "The return of the heart of Laurence O'Toole to Christ Church Cathedral brings great joy to the people of Dublin as Dubliners. "For those of us associated with the life of the dioceses, it brings again to the fore the close relationship between Glendalough and Dublin, a relationship of more than 800 years. "Laurence left the monastic city of Glendalough of which he was Abbot to become Archbishop of Dublin, hence cementing a vibrant relationship that continues unabated to this day." Rev Dunne said he was "delighted" at the relic's return. He said: "I said at the time it was stolen that the relic has no economic value but it is a priceless treasure that links the cathedral's present foundation with its founding father, St Laurence O'Toole." Assistant Commissioner Leahy commended officers who he said had "kept their radars on and their minds open in this ongoing investigation". Gardai said no arrests have been made. There will now be a shrine to St Laurence, who died in 1180, in the cathedral, the church said, noting that they had looked at their security since the theft and continue to have regular reviews. PA & Digital Desk - By Ann O'Loughlin Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman, Sean FitzPatrick, had a 22m pension fund from Anglo Irish Bank when he retired as CEO in 2005, he told the High Court. He and his wife Catriona took 5m of that out in cash and used it to help fund investments, he said. The court is deciding whether Mrs FitzPatrick has a 6m beneficial interest in 18 assets despite her husband having being declared a bankrupt in 2010 and from which he has since exited. Mr Fitzpatrick, who the court heard was cleared in a criminal trial of failing to disclose loans he had with the now collapsed Anglo, began giving evidence on Friday in support of his wife's case against Chris Lehane the official assignee (OA) in bankruptcy, claiming she has that 6m interest. Mr Lehane has has brought a separate related case against Mrs FitzPatrick and the couple's three adult children David, Jonathan and Sara. Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) which took over Anglo, has brought separate related proceedings against Mrs Fitzpatrick, in which it denies she is entitled to claim monies loaned to fund asset investments or that the loans were given on the basis there would be no liability to her. Mr Fitzpatrick was CEO of Anglo until his official retirement in 2005 and after which he remained on as non-executive chairman until 2009. In 2004, he had a 22m lump sum in pension entitlements from which he was allowed to take 5m in cash which they used to help in their investments which "accelerated" from that point on, he said. The balance in the pension fund was transferred to a limited company which was to be their employer but he said "we got bad advice and it didn't quite work out". He said because the pension money was in gilts and similar investments, it took "a pretty dramatic dive in late 2007". Before he retired as CEO however he had a "very significant shareholding" in Anglo itself provided through bonuses to executives, dividends and purchases by himself. He could not say how much those shares were worth in 2003 but he knew that at a later stage it was worth more than 100m In 2003, the couple, who had the shares in their joint names, sold half them and got around 23m after tax. Asked by the FitzPartrick counsel, Jacqueline O'Brien,to summarise what his assets were just before he retired as CEO, he said there were the shares, the family home in Greystones, Wicklow, and a number of investments. "I am afraid to say a figure because it could be way out, but we were very very comfortable". Between 2003 and 2009, he and his wife signed a number of loan facility letters whereby their loans eventually grew to some 120m. Each facility letter superseded the previous facility letters. These mostly were first examined by a junior credit committee in Anglo and then by a senior credit committee which had final approval. He said he was never on any credit committee. The facility letters were initially provided on the strength of their shareholding in the bank and the purpose was to renew existing facilities and provide additional working capital. However, some of the later letters provided a number of items, including property and other investments, as additional security for the renewed loan facilities. These included a property in Marcus Avenue, Long Island, New York, which was held in both his and his wife's names. There were also first legal charges over an apartment in Smithfield, Dublin, and an apartment in Station Road, Killiney, Dublin, which was going to be owned eventually by their son Jonathan but "that never happened", he said. Later securities included the interests the couple has in investment portfolios with stockbrokers, Bloxham, Davy, NCB, Morgan Stanley, Merrion and the Quinlan fund. Other securities, held by their children, included in relation to first legal charges over four flats in London and another in Bray, Co Wicklow, Mr FitzPatrick said. By 2007 there were 29 items of additional security, none which were part of the disputed 18 assets before the court, he said. He believed the rough value of those additional securities was some 40m but said that was an understated valuation because they also included a Nigerian oil field which was only valued at 15m for the purpose of security but was, he said, actually valued at some 38m. The case resumes on Tuesday. Its not long now until Ed Sheeran kicks off his nine-date Irish Tour in Corks Pairc Ui Chaoimh on May 4. Having previously announced that both Anne Marie and Jamie Lawson will act as the shows opening acts, hes added a third. Brazilian President Michel Temer has taken to television to deny a report that he laundered money and said he would urge his security minister to investigate how the allegations were leaked to the media. Brazil's top court has authorised an investigation into whether Temer accepted a bribe in exchange for a signing a decree favourable to operators at the country's largest port in Santos. The Folha de S Paulo newspaper reported that Federal Police suspect Temer hid the alleged bribe by purchasing properties in the names of relatives, including his wife and nine-year-old son. The paper did not name its source. In a hastily arranged televised address, Temer called the accusations lies and said his income over the past 60 years has been sufficient to justify the property purchases he had made. "Only an irresponsible person, an ill-intentioned person, would dare try to incriminate my family, my son of nine years old, as money launderers," he said to the journalists. "What world are we in? I tell you, sirs, it's incredible, it's revolting." He expressed dismay that the media received information he said his own defence team had been denied. He said he would "suggest" to public security minister Raul Jungmann that he investigate the leaks. The investigation into the ports is one of several accusations against Temer, and this is not the first time he has taken to the airwaves to declare his innocence. Brazil's attorney general has already officially accused him of corruption twice, presenting charges of bribery, leading a criminal investigation and obstruction of justice. But a sitting president can only be tried if Congress's lower house accepts the charges, and Temer survived both votes in that chamber. He can still be tried after he leaves office. He is potentially facing a third accusation in the ports case. Recently, some friends and allies were arrested in a sign the investigation was moving forward, although investigators have repeatedly asked the courts to give them more time. - PA A British teenager has died after falling from an apartment in Majorca. Police in Spain believe the 19-year-old Scottish woman, who worked in a bar in the resort of Magaluf, had lost her keys when she returned home and had attempted to climb from one balcony to another. The Guardia Civil in Palma confirmed the woman died following an incident in Magaluf on Friday morning. A spokesman said: "She had come home from work and did not have her keys to get into her flat. "She fell from quite a height as she tried to get in another way. We are investigating." A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "We are supporting the family of a British national following her death in Spain, and our staff are in contact with the Spanish and UK police regarding the incident." - PA A City worker who posted pictures of an intern on porn websites in a "perverted campaign" against her is facing jail. Davide Buccheri, 25, carried out "a calculated and malicious" harassment campaign over seven months against the woman while working at M&G investment firm. He took photos from her social media accounts and uploaded them alongside pornographic images after she rejected his romantic advances. Buccheri, of Bologna, Italy, then reported the images to the firm's Human Resources department to try and stop the woman from being offered a permanent job. He was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday of harassment between September 2016 and May 2017 and taken into custody before sentencing on Tuesday. District Judge Richard Blake warned Buccheri that a custodial sentence is "almost inevitable". He described him as "manipulative" and said he had become "infatuated" and "obsessed" with his victim and "set about to destroy her". "You conducted a quite wicked, calculated campaign against this young woman," he said. "It is shameful that I have not heard in evidence one expression of regret from you about what this young woman suffered. She is going to have to live the rest of her professional life with the potential for the snigger by the water cooler or in the lift as she goes by. "She doesn't deserve that, this young woman did absolutely nothing to bring about your disgraceful behaviour. "You conducted a perverted campaign against her." Judge Blake continued: "She did nothing to further or encourage that delusion with you and nothing to encourage your intentions, she clearly felt embarrassed by them." He said that the victim, who was a university student at the time, was an intelligent young woman at the start of her career with "every reason to be excited about the future". Buccheri admitted he was "romantically interested" in the victim but denied uploading the photos of her and said he was only looking at the images because he was concerned about the reputation of the company. Aimee Emby from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This was a sustained campaign of harassment against a young woman beginning her career in the financial services industry. "Not only did Buccheri's actions cause this victim considerable distress and anxiety, his denial of guilt forced her to relive her ordeal. I hope this conviction provides the victim with some measure of comfort and gives other victims of harassment the confidence to come forward. Detective Inspector Gary Robinson, City of London Police cyber crime unit, described the offence as "cruel and vindictive". "Many perpetrators believe they will not get caught when committing crimes from the safety of their own home online," he added. "Today we have shown that it not the case." - PA The Republican-led House intelligence committee has officially cleared the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. The committee released its final report over Democratic objections and ended its probe. The investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. Republicans had already announced the main findings last month. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House panel did find that Moscow sought to sow discord in the US through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans say they will pressure intelligence agencies to release more information. The report's conclusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats. They say the panel did not interview enough witnesses or gather enough evidence to support its finding. Mr Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion. In a statement, Republican representative Mike Conaway, who has been leading the investigation, said he was "extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions" made by intelligence agencies. He said many of the blacked-out details include information already public such as witness names and previously declassified information. Mr Conaway said the committee had pledged to be "as transparent as possible" with the report. "I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months," he said. - PA An engineer who died at a euthanasia clinic following an alleged acid attack by his former partner told emergency department staff "kill me now" after seeing his injuries in a mirror, a court heard. Mark Van Dongen, 29, made the comments when he was first admitted to hospital in September 2015 having suffered severe burns to his head, neck and chest. His former partner Berlinah Wallace, 48, is on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of murder by leaving Mr Van Dongen with such serious injuries he asked for assistance in ending his life at a clinic in Belgium in January 2017. Cornelius Van Dongen, the father of alleged acid attack victim Mark Van Dongen. Dr Rachel Oaten, who treated Mr Van Dongen in Southmead Hospital's emergency department said he was taken to a decontamination room where there was a mirror. She said even with his vision affected, by the acid Mr Van Dongen let out a "blood-curdling scream" and said: "Kill me now. If my face is going to be left looking like this I don't want to live." The court heard Mr Van Dongen suffered "full thickness" burns over 20% to 25% of his body, predominantly his head and neck but also his chest, arms and upper thighs. He suffered a number of complications, including regular septic chest infections, septic infection of his left lower leg which resulted in it having to be amputated, blindness in his left eye and critical illness neuropathy (CIN). Jonathon Pleat, a consultant burns surgeon at the hospital who was one of six involved in Mr Van Dongen's care, said CIN could affect people who spent extended periods of time in an intensive care unit (ICU) and could result in paralysis. The court heard it left Mr Van Dongen only able to move his face and tongue. Mr Pleat said Mr Van Dongen was "not able to communicate for four months or so" after the incident and spent six-and-a-half months in ICU before being transferred to the burns unit but had to go back to ICU after suffering from another infection. "In summary... he had sustained profound and severe injuries not just to skin but to every system most seriously with his recurrent chest infections," he said. "It was chest septicaemia that made him very unwell on a regular basis." Mr Pleat said Mr Van Dongen spent 14 months in Southmead Hospital and was suffering from depression and PTSD. He could become anxious, agitated and "almost paranoid", Mr Pleat said, adding: "I witnessed on a couple of occasions where he talked about the events of the time of injury and he would get understandably angry and agitated." Mr Pleat said: "Mark was incredibly frustrated and the staff were professional at all times but, yes, on occasions he was very abusive." Of his prognosis Mr Pleat said: "In my experience we have had no equivalent patient with such a horrible and extensive acid attack. "It is difficult to say definitively what his prognosis would be. "With regard to his skin I think it is likely he would have required more operations... (and) he would have required extensive care for the rest of his life." In a statement read to the court, consultant plastic surgeon Timothy Burge said Mr Van Dongen underwent numerous skin graft operations using donor skin from areas of his body not burnt by the acid, which left scars in those areas. He said: "He had been permanently, irrevocably and drastically disfigured." Mr Burge, whose statement was taken while Mr Van Dongen was still in hospital, said if he survived he would have to undergo months or years of physical rehabilitation. He added: "Mark will not be able to continue living the life he previously led." Debra Speck, a senior carer from Holmleigh Care in Gloucester, where Mr Van Dongen was taken for rehabilitation after his discharge from hospital, said he looked "sad and disappointed" when he was shown his room. She said he asked for a phone and called his father who arrived the next day and later arranged for an ambulance from Belgium to collect him and take him to the country. Ms Speck said Mr Van Dongen told her while she was caring for him: "I don't want to be here. I want to die." Wallace, of Ladysmith Road, Westbury Park, claims she believed the liquid she threw over Mr Van Dongen was water. She denies charges of murder and throwing a corrosive substance with intent. The trial continues. - PA Update 10.20am: The two Koreas have agreed to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons in historic talks between the two leaders. A joint statement issued by Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in after the summit said the two had confirmed their goal of achieving "a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation". The statement did not provide any new specific measures how to achieve the objective. North Korea has placed its nuclear weapons up for negotiations. It has previously used the term "denuclearisation" to say it can disarm only when the US withdraws its 28,500 troops in South Korea. The two countries also said they will jointly push for talks with the US, and potentially China, to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War, which stopped with an armistice and left the Koreas still technically at war. North Korean leader Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon announced after their summit that the Koreas will push for three-way talks including Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing on converting the armistice into a peace treaty and establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. The Koreas said they hope the parties will be able to declare an official end to the war by the end of this year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after planting a pine tree near the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Friday, April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) While President Donald Trump has given his "blessing" for the Koreas to discuss an end to the war, there can be no real solution without the involvement of Washington and other parties that fought in the war because South Korea was not a direct signatory to the armistice that stopped the fighting. "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Mr Kim told Mr Moon as they sat at a table, built so that exactly 2018 millimetres separated them, to begin their closed-door talks. Mr Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a "big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world". In this image made from video provided by Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. (Korea Broadcasting System via AP) Mr Kim acknowledged widespread scepticism over their summit: "We have reached big agreements before but were unable to fulfil them. There are sceptical views on whether the meeting today will yield meaningful results. If we maintain a firm will and proceed forward hand in hand, it will be impossible at least for things to get worse than they are now. The pair vowed to have more meetings, according to Mr Moon's spokesman, Yoon Young-chan, with Mr Kim joking that he would make sure not to interrupt Mr Moon's sleep any more, a reference to the North's drumbeat of early-morning missile tests last year. Mr Kim also referred to a South Korean island the North attacked with artillery in 2010, killing four, saying the residents of Yeonpyeong Island have high hopes the summit will help heal past scars. 12 security guards jog alongside Kim Jong Un's vehicle as he is driven away from the first session of the summit with South Korean Pres. Moon Jae-in. https://t.co/KknLAPkQkW pic.twitter.com/KVaCgTziog ABC News (@ABC) April 27, 2018 Mr Kim said he would visit Seoul's presidential Blue House if invited. Earlier, both leaders smiled broadly as Mr Moon grasped Mr Kim's hand and led him along a red carpet into South Korean territory, where schoolchildren gave Mr Kim flowers and an honour guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the military demarcation line to the South side at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. Kim made history Friday by crossing over the world's most heavily armed border to greet his rival, Moon, for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP) Earlier: Kim Jong Un makes history as North Korea leader crosses border to meet rival With a single step over a weathered, cracked slab of concrete, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history by crossing over the world's most heavily armed border to greet his rival, South Korean president Moon Jae-in. Mr Kim then invited Moon to cross briefly north with him before they returned to the southern side for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons. Those small steps must be seen in the context of the last year - when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North seemed at times to be on the verge of nuclear war as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests. The moment must also be viewed in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century's bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that is still technically in a state of war. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone. Photo: Korea Summit Press Pool via AP "I feel like I'm firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity," Mr Kim told Mr Moon as they sat at a table, its precise dimension of 2018 millimetres separating them, to begin their closed-door talks. Mr Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a "big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace loving person in the world". It was all smiles on Friday as Mr Moon grasped Mr Kim's hand and led him along an blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children placed flowers around their necks and an honour guard stood at attention for inspection. Beyond the surface, however, it is still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue, which has bedevilled US and South Korean officials for decades. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. North Korea claims it has already risen to that level. Mr Kim's news agency said that the leader would "open-heartedly" discuss with Mr Moon "all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula" in a "historic" summit. It is the first time one of the ruling Kim leaders has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) since the Korean War ended in 1953. The greeting of the two leaders was planned to the last detail. Thousands of journalists were kept in a huge conference centre well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly-controlled pool reporters at the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Mr Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Mr Kim appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They shook hands with the border line between them. Mr Moon then invited Mr Kim to cross into the South; Mr Kim invited Mr Moon into the North, and they then took a ceremonial photo facing the North and then another photo facing the South. Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave them flowers. Mr Kim and Mr Moon then saluted an honour guard and military band, and Mr Moon introduced Mr Kim to South Korean government officials. Mr Kim returned the favour with the North Korean officials accompanying him. They posed for a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit was to take place, in front of a painting of South Korea's Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion. Nuclear weapons will top the agenda, and Friday's summit will be the clearest sign yet of whether it is possible to peacefully negotiate those weapons away from a country that has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium. Expectations are generally low, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Sceptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions - giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Advocates of engagement say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas will try on Friday: Sit down and see what is possible. Mr Moon, a liberal whose election last year ended a decade of conservative rule in Seoul, will be looking to make some headway on the North's nuclear programme in advance of a planned summit in several weeks between Mr Kim and US president Donald Trump. Mr Kim, the third member of his family to rule his nation with absolute power, is eager, both in this meeting and in the Trump talks, to talk about the nearly 30,000 heavily armed US troops stationed in South Korea and the lack of a formal peace treaty ending the Korea War - two factors, the North says, that make nuclear weapons necessary. North Korea may also be looking to use whatever happens in the talks with Mr Moon to set up the Trump summit, which it may see as a way to legitimise its declared status as a nuclear power. One possible outcome on Friday, aside from a rise in general goodwill between the countries, could be a proposal for a North Korean freeze of its weapons ahead of later denuclearisation. Seoul and Washington will be pushing for any freeze to be accompanied by rigorous and unfettered outside inspections of the North's nuclear facilities, since past deals have crumbled because of North Korea's unwillingness to open up to snooping foreigners. South Korea, in announcing Thursday some details of the leaders' meeting, acknowledged that the most difficult sticking point between the Koreas has been North Korea's level of denuclearisation commitment. Mr Kim has reportedly said that he would not need nuclear weapons if his government's security could be guaranteed and external threats were removed. Whatever the Koreas announce on Friday, the spectacle of Mr Kim being feted on South Korean soil will be something to behold. PA New US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has hit the ground running at Nato headquarters on his first trip abroad as America's top diplomat. Just hours after being sworn in, Mr Pompeo flew to Brussels where the alliance's foreign ministers are meeting to prepare a leaders' summit in July. "I did come straight away, I was sworn in yesterday and I hopped on a plane," Mr Pompeo told Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he arrived. "There's good reason for that. The work that's being done here today is invaluable and our objectives are important and this mission means a lot to the United States of America. The president very much wanted me to get here and I'm glad we were able to make it, and I look forward to a productive visit here today." Mr Stoltenberg said Mr Pompeo's presence at the meeting so soon after taking the reins of the US State Department was "a great expression of the importance of the alliance and the importance we attach to the alliance". "I very much look forward to talking with you, on the need to adapt Nato to a more demanding security environment," he added. A senior US official said Mr Pompeo's aim is to ensure that Nato maintains a unified position of "no business as usual" with Russia and to prod members, particularly Germany, to meet their commitments to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024. That commitment was made in 2014 and thus far only six of the 28 countries who made the pledge meet the goal. Nine have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024, but the rest, including Germany, have not. That spending level, frequently incorrectly referred to by Mr Trump as a contribution to Nato itself, is particularly important given the allies' need to combat increased Russian aggression, said the official. The official said the US delegation would make the point that Nato is more relevant today than at any point since the end of the Cold War. Russian efforts to destabilise Western democracies as well as encroach on neighbours like Ukraine will be a major theme of the meeting, the official said. The ministers will hold sessions on Russia, Afghanistan and Nato's "open door policy" for accepting new members. In addition, Mr Pompeo will have separate talks with the foreign ministers of Italy and Turkey. Relations with the latter are notably strained. The senior official said one of Mr Pompeo's main goals with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is to refocus on co-ordination in northern Syria, where Turkey has been attacking Kurdish rebels supported by the US. That co-ordination was started by Mr Pompeo's predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who was fired by Mr Trump last month, and had languished in the absence of a new secretary of state. - PA The Republican-led House intelligence committee has released a lengthy report concluding it found no evidence that Donald Trump's team colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. The finding drew praise from the president and rebuttals from Democrats. The report caps an investigation that began with the promise of bipartisanship but quickly transformed into an acrimonious battle between Democrats and Republicans over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and whether there were any connections with the Trump campaign. Mr Trump quickly claimed vindication on Twitter, writing, "Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. 'No evidence' that the Trump Campaign 'colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.' Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!" But the committee's Republicans did not let the Trump campaign completely off the hook. They specifically cited "poor judgment" in taking a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Russian operatives and dubbed the campaign's praise of WikiLeaks "objectionable". "While the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, co-ordinated, or conspired with the Russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaigns," the House Intelligence Committee wrote. The report's conclusion was fiercely opposed by committee Democrats, who accused their Republican colleagues of playing "defence counsel" for the White House throughout the investigation. "Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate - or even see, when in plain sight - evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia," said Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the probe, in a statement. He cited several "secret meetings and communication" between people linked to Russia and Trump campaign officials including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. .@POTUS on the House Intelligence Committee report findings: "No collusion, which I knew anyway. No coordination. No nothing. It's a witch hunt." pic.twitter.com/y3ovh1Ans3 Fox News (@FoxNews) April 27, 2018 Mr Schiff called on the committee to publicly release the transcripts from dozens of interview with key witnesses, saying the public should be able to judge the evidence gathered by the committee. Republican Mike Conaway called on intelligence officials to clear the committee to release more information from the report that was deemed classified. The 253-page document is packed with details and assessments, but is also littered with redacted names and blacked-out passages. Democrats released a 98-page rebuttal. The House investigation is the first of several inquiries probing Russian election interference to conclude. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is ongoing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. But the probe did provide important public revelations. Former FBI director James Comey chose the March 20 2017 hearing of the House intelligence committee to publicly reveal the FBI had been investigating the Trump campaign since July 2016. A day later, the committee's chairman, Devin Nunes, took a clandestine trip to the White House grounds to review classified information that quickly drew scrutiny after he publicly disclosed that Trump associates' communications had been swept up by US spy agencies and accused Obama administration officials of misconduct. The episode drew questions about whether Mr Nunes was co-ordinating with the White House and ultimately led to him recusing from the probe amid an ethics investigation into whether he mishandled classified information. In his absence, Mr Conaway took over the probe. Mr Nunes was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, but never formally rejoined the House investigation. Instead he launched a pair of investigations on his own, taking aim at the Justice Department and FBI. The House panel did find that Russia sought to sow discord in the US through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans said they will pressure intelligence agencies to release more information. - PA & Digital Desk Three sisters were beaten until they bled and called derogatory names on their first day at an orphanage, an inquiry has heard. The claims were made by a woman in her 60s, who cannot be named, who lived at Nazareth House in Aberdeen, Scotland from 1967. Speaking at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, she told how nuns at the Catholic-run home put on a pretence of niceness when the sisters were dropped off by a social worker, but this changed as soon as they left. The witness, who was the eldest and aged 10 at the time, while the youngest was a toddler, said: "We got up to the second floor and it just started, really quite severe. "Hitting, punching, hitting you on your ears. "We were Glasgow tinks, we were whores, we were sluts." The witness added that they were "battered" until they were left bleeding all over their bodies. She described a routine of physical and mental abuse throughout her time in care. The inquiry heard that when she started her period aged 11 she was told by a nun she would "be dead by midnight", so her and other children were left watching the clock that night waiting for her to die. She described another instance where she says she was so badly beaten she started "foaming at the mouth", with her head being smashed against a radiator. She said: "I was on the ground, I was foaming at the mouth and I know I was going in and out of consciousness. Kicking, kicking, kicking, kicking, banged my head off the radiator - that's when I went down, my head was exploding. The witness said she was sent first to Nazareth House in Cardonald, which she believes to have been in 1965. She said her time at that home taught her to be "wary, be on your guard". On her experience in Aberdeen, she said: "That's the place that broke me." She left the home in 1971, according to records, and told how a nun made a final "dig" at her on her way out of Nazareth House. The witness told the inquiry: "She said the next time she'd see me I would have a squad of brats at my feet and that I wouldn't get far in life." Senior counsel to the inquiry, Colin MacAulay QC, told how one of the nuns had denied all the allegations made against her. The woman said there were some nuns at the home who were nice and would stand up for her, including one who she kept in touch with through letters after leaving care. Another witness, who cannot be named, said he had carried "hurt, pain and anguish for many years" after his time at Nazareth House in Aberdeen. The man, who is in his late 50s, entered the orphanage in 1963. He told the inquiry how nuns would take out their frustrations on children by regularly beating them. The witness said: "There was anger in it. For me, looking back, there was a lot of frustration on their parts. He added: "I stand here today not as a victim, but as a survivor of systematic abuse of that Scottish care system in the 1960s and 1970s that most definitely took place." The inquiry before Lady Smith continues in Edinburgh on Tuesday. - PA Westpac chief Brian Hartzer has hit back at calls for banks to be forced to divest their financial advice arms, saying the ownership of advice businesses is not the root cause of the sector's woes. After two weeks of royal commission hearings exposing serious flaws in the sector, including dodgy advice and fee rip-offs, Mr Hartzer acknowledged the stories had been "really confronting". But he said the problems in advice clearly went well beyond the banking industry, and responses should reflect this. Westpac's chief executive Brian Hartzer said the problems with financial advice go beyond the banks. Credit:Wayne Taylor Cases of poor advice from advisers at Westpac-owned BT were exposed by the commission, the hearings have also scrutinised the conduct of specialist advice firms including Henderson Maxwell and Dover Financial. Mr Hartzer said the commission was asking the "right questions" about financial advice, and predicted there would be "substantial" changes in the sector, which he said should look at all participants. Sydney based developer Mirvac is not proceeding with the purchase of two large, adjoining industrial sites, surrounded by parkland, in inner north Brunswick. Mirvac had quietly secured rights just over a year ago for two parcels totalling about 7000 square metres at 395 and 397-401 Albert Street, about six kilometres from the CBD. The agreement coincided with a now-approved council plan to rezone a 1.7 hectare stretch of Albert Street, configured as industrial sites, terrace homes and a timber yard, to allow for the construction of buildings, presumably apartment towers, rising eight storeys. It was speculated Mirvac was paying the two property owners a total of about $33 million for its supersite. Stories about privileged white men have attracted a lot of media coverage in recent years. This one takes that idea and turns it on its head, even though it was written four decades ago. "What's really interesting is this is a story about Harry Joy, a straight white man, who is waking up to realise his life is hellish and he's been at the centre creating it as a hell," says director Matthew Lutton. "Him waking up and realising that historic patriarchy is the cause of so much of ... the problems that surround us and that's he's been complicit in that. I think it's something that a lot of us are thinking about at the moment." Director Matthew Lutton with cast members rehearsing a stage adaptation of Peter Carey's Bliss. Credit:Justin McManus Directed by Lutton and adapted for the stage by Tom Wright, Bliss is based on Peter Carey's book, published to great acclaim in 1981 and winner of the Miles Franklin Award. Faithful to the original story yet evolving it further, the play is both very dark and very funny. The cast includes Toby Truslove as Harry, together with Marco Chiappi, Will McDonald, Amber McMahon, Charlotte Nicdao, Susan Prior, Anna Samson and Mark Coles Smith. "It's an epic production and we're laughing a lot," Lutton says. Frank Miller is as famous as any American comic book writer and inker can get. That ought to be enough but, no, Miller has also branched into filmmaking seamlessly. His Sin City comic gave birth to two fine films (which he co-directed), while Daredevil: Born Again morphed into Daredevil and tonight's spin-off, Elektra. The last two had no significant Miller input, apart from his originals, and I think they are the lesser for it. They are more Hollywood than Miller. Still, the first 30 minutes are very good, atmospheric and tense. Then the computer-generated special effects arrive with a thud and strangle the narrative of how Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is back from the dead and now an assassin for hire. Sent to an idyllic island, she meets a handsome single father and his 13-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, the Goth villains she must defeat have supernatural powers that fail miserably. They are as terrifying as plastic giveaways in a box of cereal. SM 7Mate, 8.30pm Dinky do or die, the semi-trailer drivers in this on-the-road documentary series provide an Australian perspective to an internationally popular concept that's previously produced Ice Road Truckers, MegaTruckers, and World's Toughest Trucker. The genre requires difficult and/or dangerous journeys each repeatedly recapped the most interesting of which in this episode is a dash through the north of Western Australia by married couple Nick and Jo to deliver a generator to a family before the wet season blocks roads for several months. As reality show talent goes, these veteran drivers are genial hosts, particularly the loquacious Yogi, even if most of his drama stems from earlier enforcement incidents he recounts because they weren't filmed. Nearly wiping out is a staple of the series, although there's no discussion of the economics behind these small businesses and how the biggest risk to independent driver/owners like these is often financial. CM My 600lb Life Tuesday, TLC, 8.30pm An affecting feature-length instalment of the series in which Americans dying of obesity get a last chance at life through the intervention of Texas surgeon Jonathan Nowzaradan. Tonight's patients are Missouri couple Rena and Lee, who weigh 249 kilograms and 324 kilograms respectively. It's shocking to see the pain and near-immobility in which they live Rena is on oxygen constantly and out of breath by the time she finishes washing Lee in the shower and to see the horrendously unhealthy food on which they gorge. But people don't just get like this for no reason, and Rena and Lee are soon revealing the terrible childhood traumas that took them down this path. We soon see that their own unhealthy relationship dynamic makes things even tougher. My 600lb Life does look exploitative, but it shows that there's hope for even the fattest people, and that makes it a thing of great value. BN An American hiker who failed to return from a far north Queensland bushwalk on schedule has been found safe and well, about 18 hours after being reported missing. Police and SES crews had spent Thursday night and Friday morning searching for the 25-year-old woman at Mount Sorrow in Cape Tribulation, north of Cairns. The woman went missing in Cape Tribulation in far north Queensland. Credit:Tourism and Events Queensland Authorities were notified about 7pm on Thursday that the experienced hiker, who was carrying food and water supplies, had not returned as expected earlier that day. However, the woman walked out of the bushland and into the car park of an accommodation centre at Cape Tribulation about 1pm on Friday, ending the land and air search. A Brisbane Uber driver who questioned how a lesbian passenger had sex has been fined $300 and avoided conviction. Umar Subi Gammeda was initially charged with deprivation of liberty after allegedly detaining the customer for more than an hour in August 2017. Umar Subi Gammeda leaves Brisbane Magistrates Court, on Friday. But prosecutors withdrew that charge on Friday morning due to lack of evidence. A man has been arrested in relation to the stabbing of a Hervey Bay mother and son, after fellow drivers said he was throwing objects, believed to be evidence, out of his white ute. Witnesses said a similar car was seen fleeing from the crime scene at speed as the injured victims ran out of their home searching for help and flagged down neighbours in the residential street. The injured mother and son ran out into the street and flagged down neighbours. Credit:Zoe McLaughlin - Nine News Wide Bay Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Polit said the mother, aged 82, and her 50-year-old son suffered stab wounds to their neck and torso inside a home on Mungara Court in Wondunna. Police were called about 9.15am and declared a crime scene, as paramedics rushed the victims to Hervey Bay Hospital. One was in a serious condition, the other was serious but stable. The Turnbull government's crackdown on oil and gas giants is "worth nothing" a leading expert on the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax says, warning the exemption for current projects means taxpayers won't see a benefit for decades. Fairfax Media reported on Friday next week's federal budget will tackle concerns about how energy companies are taxed by restricting "uplift concessions", which allow companies to claim back tax for the costs of exploration, construction and closing down projects. The concession reduction will only apply to future operations, a proposal Labor is understood to also back, despite new figures released on Friday that showed Australia hit a new record of $3.1 billion in liquefied natural gas exports in March. Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG plant Credit:Chevron Monash University PRRT expert Dianne Kraal said the prospective change will apply to projects that take decades to get off the ground. A senior cabinet minister has called for a strengthening of centre politics, decrying the "political fringe" and micro-parties. Queensland State Development Minister Cameron Dick said fragmentation of the political culture in democratic systems was becoming the "new norm". Queensland State Development Minister Cameron Dick says the centre of politics must hold. Mr Dick said that was evidenced in the rise of the political outsider in France and the US, and the fact it took German Chancellor Angela Merkel more than four months to form a coalition government in Germany. "In a world where a multitude of platforms promote a proliferation of opinions, it is becoming increasingly easy to find a micro-party custom-made to your own world view," he said. Sitting across the table, with his sister Kim Yo-jong taking notes and smiling, Kim told Moon: "I often wake you up in the morning because of the missiles that we launch, but I will make sure that won't happen again." The cameras were then escorted out of the meeting. The scenes that unfolded at the Panmunjom truce village on Friday would have been unimaginable last year, as North Korea in rapid succession fired long-range missile tests, exploded a nuclear device, and said it could reach the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, walk together through a honour guard. Credit:AP US President Donald Trump, taking a more aggressive tack than his predecessors in dealing with the regime, returned volley with Twitter threats. The world isolated the rogue regime, with China cutting off all meaningful trade across the border. The tempo was changed this year when South Korean leader Moon, the son of North Korean refugees who had been elected on a platform of seeking improved engagement with its neighbour, allowed the Winter Olympics to become an olive branch. Kims sister crossed the border and met with Moon. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, crosses the border into South Korea, along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom, in the DMZ. Credit:AP But North Korea analyst at Yonsei University, John Delury, also credited Fridays breakthrough to Kims readiness to take risks. It was not only a political risk to cross the border, but a security risk, he said. Kim's six-door limousine was escorted by 12 body guards running alongside. Each room he entered was sprayed by the guards, who stayed at close range. Kim reportedly even travelled with his own toilet, so as not to leave biological markers of his health state. Ahead of the meeting, Kim pledged to suspend nuclear and long range missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site which were US preconditions for talks. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walk together at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone Credit:Korea Summit Press Pool via AP The United States, South Korea and China have long maintained that talks must focus on denuclearisation. Kim has said this year he is willing to work towards this goal, but this has been greeted with much suspicion, as all previous efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program under his father had failed. Mr Delury said the major issues for denuclearisation would be "pacing, verification and then of trade-offs". Lets assume Kim Jong-un does commit, he is willing to give this stuff up. How quickly is he willing to do it? How do they know what he has and that he is really giving it all up? And what is he going to get in return? For North Korea to give up its nukes, they have to get an equal or better deal," he told the BBC. North Korea is likely to want security and economic guarantees. South Korea is offering a peace treaty, to formally end the war. Mr Delury said leadership summits are important to establish personal relationships, but they were just the starting point. The process would take months if not years. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, second from left, attend their talk, in the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone. Credit:AP Trump has agreed to meet Kim, potentially in June, and the US response to the rapidly evolving inter Korean diplomacy will be crucial. The White House on Friday confirmed its new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, and is rushing to install Pacific Fleet admiral Harry Harris as its ambassador to South Korea. Kim told Moon: "This is like the starting of the race." Earlier, his arrival on South Korean soil was greeted by an honour guard dressed in traditional silk robes and hats, blowing trumpets and banging drums. Kim and Moon posed for photographs with two children, Kim dressed in a black Mao suit, and Moon in a western suit with blue tie. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, pose with children as Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks. Credit:AP According to a read-out of the two leader's small talk, Moon told Kim that his sister "has become such a star in South Korea" but today the two men were the stars. Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have declared that they want to see a formal end to the Korean War this year. After an historic meeting, the two leaders issued a joint declaration that also pledged to pursue the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. The reunion of Korean families separated by the war would also resume, the statement said. The remarkable declaration came during the first visit by a North Korean leader to the south of the country since the war ended in 1953. Tel Aviv: Nine young people have died in flash floods that struck while they were hiking in southern Israel, local medical services said. Israeli police said that a group of 25 hikers had been hit by flash floods in Nahal Tzafit, a riverbed near the Dead Sea, but did not confirm any casualties. But Zaka, an Israeli emergency rescue service, said nine of the hikers had been killed and many others were missing. Flash floods have killed several people in Israel. Credit:File The group of hikers were aged 17 and 18, according Israel Radio. Latest News Cash rate holds again as lending controls are set to kick in Big banks, government and RBA now broadly aligned on fiscal policy What changes are APRA making, and will they avert a property bubble burst? Spiralling household debt and property prices can be helped by lending changes, but issues go far deeper On the final day of the Royal Commissions second round of public hearings, senior counsel assisting Rowena Orr, QC, has recommended AMP face criminal prosecution. AMP has been forced to apologise over the last two weeks as revelations emerged about their misconduct, which resulted in CEO Craig Meller stepping down. The group admitted to amending details in an independent examiners report which was then handed over to the Australian Securities and Investments Committee (ASIC) during a review into the major banks. Over recent weeks the Royal Commission has heard how AMP misled ASIC 20 times, denying any issues with fees for no service. In reality, customers had not been receiving the service they were paying for. In relation to this, AMP has been recommended for criminal charges under 1308 (2) and 1308 (3) of the Corporations Act. In handing down her preliminary findings, Ms Orr recommended AMP be charged for breaching Section 64 of the ASIC Act. This comes after treasurer Scott Morrison also suggested AMP and its executives be recommended for criminal charges. Ms Orr said it was down to the royal commission to find whether the group had made material breaches 1308 (4) 1308 (5) with at least four of the 20 statements, which could see fines of up to $1million for each breach. During the hearing she said, Through AMP's dealings with ASIC regarding the extent and nature of its fee for no service conduct, AMP adopted an attitude toward the regulator that was not forthright or honest, and demonstrated a deliberate attempt to mislead. She also suggested Commissioner Hayne find Commonwealth Bank of Australia has breached its financial licence provisions, the Corporations Act, by not reporting its issues around fees for no service to ASIC for two years. AMP has responded to the statement. A spokesperson said, "AMP acknowledges the seriousness of the closing submissions made by Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission today. "We are reviewing those submissions closely and will respond fully next week. The Commissioner will have AMPs submissions in relation to these matters before making any findings." Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Its not their party but theyll cry foul if they want to. The two Democratic candidates challenging Bay Ridge state Sen. Marty Golden are joining many locals in slamming the Brooklyn Republican Party for inviting former President Trump staffer Sebastian Gorka a firebrand Islamophobe with alleged ties to neo-Nazi groups to headline its spring gala next month. The Republican Party is a personality cult built around the heinous presidency of Donald Trump. Its not exactly surprising Brooklyns Republicans would invite a foot soldier of hate to our borough, said Bay Ridgite Ross Barkan. Sebastian Gorka is a neo-Nazi, an Islamophobe, and a disgraceful extremist. He doesnt belong anywhere near Brooklyn. The Republican Party of Brooklyn is fund-raising off hate, fear, and shameless bigotry. Gorka, a Fox News contributor who has denied ties to neo-Nazi groups but was photographed wearing a medal connected to a Holocaust-era white-supremacist and anti-Semitic group in Hungary, will be the guest speaker at the May 16 event at the Dyker Heights Beach Club, hosted by Grand Old Party chairman Ted Ghorra. Guests can pay $200 to attend, and those looking to shake hands with the Presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., can cough up $500 for an exclusive pre-gala reception that he will be joining. Golden who insiders say handpicked Ghorra to run the faction-riven party in 2016 after his arch nemesis, former chairman Craig Eaton, stepped down denied involvement in planning the party and said its not unusual for party organizations to invite guests not everyone agrees with. While Sen. Golden is a supporter of the Brooklyn Republican Party, hes not a party planner. This is a Brooklyn GOP event, not a Marty Golden event, said his campaign spokesman Michael Tobman. Political organizations Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families Party regularly invite political speakers that some agree with, and others disagree with. But Barkans competitor, Bay Ridge Democrats member Andrew Gounardes who lost to Golden in 2012 blasted the pol for denying his influence in the party and turning a blind eye to the problem. Shame on him for ignoring the real issue here. This is not a matter of simply disagreeing with a speaker who holds different views than you, said Goundares, whose club is hosting a protest at the venue the same night. Goldens failure to repudiate Gorka and his anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, neo-Nazi views is a slap in the face of every single person in our community. Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 2604577 or by e-mail at jcuba @cngl ocal.com . Follow her on Twitter @julcuba. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC This declining health-food store is not dead yet! Angel investors may step in to save a Park Slope emporium of feel-good fare following news that the shop would close imminently after nearly half a century in business, according to its owner. Back to the Land proprietor David Basham said more than one person expressed interest in saving the store known for its aisles of fruits, veggies, and supplements, including a longtime customer of the retailer at 142 Seventh Ave. Im getting calls from people, investors, he said. Somebody whos a longtime customer has been looking for an investment. But if he cant collect the necessary cash at the 11th hour, Basham said bidding farewell to the neighborhood wont be too hard because his decades there brought him nothing but good times. We want to tell everyone whos been part of this experience over the years that we offer our gratitude and love to them for everything we went through together, he said. The store which Basham bought an ownership stake in years after its original founder opened it in 1971 struggled to turn a profit as the increasingly bougie neighborhoods rents continued to rise, he said. And customers desires to cook less, eat out more, and buy groceries online didnt help its bottom line, according to the owner. In 2016, Basham streamlined operations as Back to the Lands sales declined, hoping business would take a turn for the better the following year but it never did. Toward the end of 2016 and into 2017, it just became too much, he said. We all said, What happened to all the people in Park Slope? Were did all the foot traffic go? Good-for-you grocers may now be a dime a dozen in the so-called progressive neighborhood, but back when founder Virginia Michael opened Back to the Land, the store stood out among the less virtuous establishments that populated Park Slope at the time, according to Basham, who started working there in 1981. This was a neighborhood of Irish bars, it was an incredibly rowdy scene of drunken abandonment every weekend night, and people would be walking by here, sticking their head in the door, saying What the f is this? he said. A growing community of artists and proto-hipsters sought out the shops supplements and untainted foods, however, supporting the business for decades before the healthy-eating craze really took off in the late 90s, Basham said. It was mostly hippies interested in this kind of thing, he said. This was a very interesting creative area at that time, and people were looking for an alternative to the mainstream everything. And regardless of Back to the Lands fate, Basham will always remember those customers fondly, and harbors no hard feelings toward them for taking their business elsewhere. Im not going to chastise the neighborhood for not supporting the store, which is what some people do, said Basham. Its more like thanks for the memories more than anything else. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC On second thought, hes staying put. A Democratic Midwood state Senator who has controversially sat with the Republican party to give them a majority broke his promise to rejoin the Dems if his rogue Independent Democratic Caucus did first. Simcha Felder announced on Tuesday that he will not rejoin the Democratic fold despite the True Blues winning a numerical, but meaningless, majority in Albany when the party secured two more seats in that days special election. Felder, who previously told this reporter that he would be happy to be back with the True Blues if he had an ability to serve with the majority, said that he will continue to caucus with the Republicans for the good of the people he represents. I always try to do what is best for my constituents and New Yorkers. Political gamesmanship must not be allowed to jeopardize the leadership, committee structure, and staff of the New York State Senate, and push this institution into turmoil, he said. Upheaval and court battles among partisans is not the preferred method of governing. Felder faces primary challenger Blake Morris in September. Walmart may not be going solo to acquire majority stake in Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart. Google's parent Alphabet is reportedly in talks with US-based retail behemoth to acquire a minority stake in India's largest e-tailer. According to a report in The Economic Times, the tech giant is likely to invest $1-2 billion after the Walmart acquisition, expected to be announced shortly. Alphabet and the brick-and-mortar major Walmart already have a partnership in the US since last year. In US, Walmart products are sold on Google Express, its online shopping mall. Google also sells Walmart products through Google Assistant on Google Home, its voice-controlled speaker which competes with Amazon's Echo. Walmart customers have the option of linking their accounts to Google. The coming together of world's two biggest corporations is being viewed as an attempt to challenge Amazon's booming retail business across the world. The partnership is also meant to leap into the voice-based shopping experience in future. Google Assistant, the AI-enabled software found in Android smartphones is expected to enhance shopping experience for Walmart customers. Moreover, the technology giant will also be able to recommend items based on past orders. Walmart is gearing up to buy a controlling stake in Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce market leader. The deal, which is in its last leg, is likely to be finalised by the end of this month. Flipkart's early investors like New York-based Tiger Global, Accel and South African internet conglomerate Naspers are likely to sell their entire stakes in Flipkart to Walmart if a deal is reached. Earlier, Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group, which owns about a fifth of Flipkart through its Vision Fund, was reportedly unwilling to sell a part of its stake as Walmart was offering to buy existing shares at a valuation of $12 billion, a price the Japanese tech investor considered low. Last August, Japan's SoftBank bought a 20 per cent stake in the country's leading etailer for $2.5 billion through its $100 billion technology-focused Vision Fund. It was the biggest ever private investment in an Indian tech firm at the time. Walmart had earlier completed its due diligence for the Flipkart deal. Both Walmart and India's homegrown e-commerce leader stand to gain much if this long-speculated deal goes through. To begin with, they get to pool resources to compete against a common enemy, Amazon, in online as well as offline retail channels. Walmart also gets to grab a foothold in India's booming e-commerce industry. Meanwhile, Flipkart stands to not only add financial muscle but also strengthen its supply chain and enhance efficiency in procurement, product assortment and retailing. India's leading e-tailer, besides, has been looking to open retail stores in India for a long time now but has been waiting for the right investment partner. As such, the partnership between Walmart and Flipkart already seems like a match made in heaven. Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Beijing, came reports that Nirav Modi is no longer holed up in Hong Kong. He had in fact left Hong Kong for the UK on February 14. It has now turned out that the absconding jeweller was in Hong Kong for a mere 12 days. The question that then arises is that if the fugitive businessman had left Chinese territory by the second week of February why did the Ministry of External Affairs move the Chinese government for his arrest as late as March end. Minster of state for external affairs, VK Singh, had in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha said, "The ministry has sought the provisional arrest of Nirav Deepak Modi by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, for which a request has been submitted to them on March 23, 2018. Singh had also stated that Nirav Modi's passports had been revoked on February 23, 2018. The businessman had been accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,600 crore, the biggest bank swindle in the country's history. India Today has accessed a detailed dossier about NiMo's activities ever since he left for the UAE from India on January 1. This dossier gives startling details of Modi's whereabouts but most importantly saves the PMO and the MEA the blushes of seeking Modi's extradition from Chinese territory. The dossier says, "the tough laws in Hong Kong made him (Nirav Modi) leave Hong Kong on February 14 for Heathrow Airport. He landed in London on February 15 and stayed there for about a month... Again he left for New York, USA, in the third week of March and has been spotted by friends and businessmen in and around New York. In fact, the dossier traces him to places he stayed in not just in Europe but the US as well. "The apartment where he stayed is in the vicinity of Four Seasons Hotel, Main Heritage Building, 10 Trinity Square and Bond Street Metro Station...He was traced in New York and seen around Loews Regency Hotel, 540 Park Avenue, 61 Street, New York City, somewhere near Times Square and close to Broadway Street." What neither the MEA nor the MHA has been able to explain is how, when his passport had been revoked, was he traversing the globe. Also, why did the authorities in either the UK or the US not hand him over at immigration itself. What hasn't also been explained is when the government had access to details of where he was staying, why couldn't it tip off the authorities. Responding to India's request for extraditing NiMo, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang had earlier this month said, "If India makes relevant request to the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administered Region), we believe the HKSAR will follow the basic law and relevant laws and under relevant judicial agreements with India with the relevant issue." This response was at best seen to be iffy and the worry in the establishment has been that Nirav Modi would take advantage of the special status that Hong Kong enjoys to fob off extradition attempts. Government sources had told India Today that Nirav Modi was actually staying in Hong Kong with his sister Purvi Mehta. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in China on a two-day informal summit. The PM and his counterpart, President Xi Jinping will be having a series of one-on-one conversations focussing on bilateral, global and regional issues in Wuhan. PM Modi arrived at the central Chinese city early on Friday and was given a grand welcome by President Jinping. Wuhan where PM Modi is meeting the President was the favourite spot of Mao Zedong. "The two leaders will review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. But this will be their "heart-to-heart" informal summit. There will be no agreement signed or a joint statement issued, according to reports. Upon receiving the PM, President Jinping said "I'm very happy to meet PM Modi. Spring is a good time to meet." Recalling his first visit to Wuhan, PM Modi told President Jinping during their one-on-one at the museum, "When I was the CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit Wuhan. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed with which you constructed it and the scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour, spent a day at the dam." "The culture of both India and China is based along the river banks. If we talk about Mohenjo Daro and Harappa civilisations in India, all the development happened along river banks," he said, as quoted by ANI quoted. Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the PM for having 'no agenda'. Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your "No Agenda" China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 27, 2018 Before heading for a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, the two leaders shook hands and posed for photographs. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/nLIy9P8mjV - ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 The museum is also home to a large number of state-level historic and cultural relics that the PM would get a tour of. The summit is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. The one-to-one discussions will be followed by talks between the two leaders accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction on Saturday at 10 am (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch, official sources in Wuhan said. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. It is a summit, according to the officials, to forge consensus to resolve the issues with follow up actions by officials than announcing any agreements. This is something the leaders of the two countries have never tried so far, they said. This is fourth visit of PM Modi to China after he came to power in 2014. He is due to visit China again on June 9-10 to take part in the SCO summit to be held at Qingdao city. China's state media said the informal Xi-Modi meeting heralds new chapter in Sino-Indian relations, an article in the state-run Global Times said. "The Xi-Modi meeting in 2018 following the 2017 Dokalam standoff will without doubt promote mutual trust and reciprocity between the two countries, and will be a cornerstone of a stable long-term relationship between China and India," the article said. (With PTI inputs) 22 May 2018, 10:59 AM PNB hunts for detectives to find whereabouts of loan defaulters The Punjab National Bank (PNB), it seems, is leaving no stone unturned to recover the dues which have been classified as NPAs. The second largest public sector lender is soliciting services of detective agencies to get hold of absconding loan defaulters. The significant move comes amid reports that diamantaire Nirav Modi may be hiding in New York. The celebrity jeweller who owns Firestar Diamond is the main accused in the Rs 13,700-crore fraud at the Punjab National Bank. In an advertisement posted on the PNB's website, the bank lists out locating 'untraceable' loan borrower(s), guarantor(s), mortgagor(s) and their legal heirs both within and outside India as one of the objectives of PNB's latest policy on engagement of detective agencies. IDBI Bank fraud: CBI books former Aircel promoter Sivasankaran, top bankers for Rs 600-crore loan scam Once he was hailed as a deal master, but now Chinnakannan Sivasankaran, better known as Siva, is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons. The CBI has registered a case against the former Aircel promoter, his son and companies controlled by him - Axcel Sunshine Ltd and Finland-based WinWinD Oy - for allegedly defaulting on loans worth Rs 600 crore taken from IDBI bank.The agency has named 15 bank officials who worked at senior levels at IDBI Bank in 2010 and 2014 when loans were sanctioned to the companies controlled by Sivasankaran in its FIR registered on a complaint from the Central Vigilance Commission. Axis Bank reports first quarterly loss due to bad loans Axis Bank Ltd reported its first ever quarterly loss on Thursday after a surge in bad loans, capping a troubled year for the country's third-biggest private sector lender by assets, as reported by Reuters. While the bulk of India's 9.5 trillion-rupee soured-loans as of end-2017 were with the country's dominant state-run banks, among the private sector lenders Axis and its bigger rival ICICI Bank also account for large chunks. The third largest private sector lender posted a net loss at Rs 2,188.74 crore in the Q4FY18, as opposed to a net profit of Rs 1,225.10 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Amazon India setting up 5 new warehouses Amazon on Thursday said it is setting up five more warehouses in as many cities including Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Mumbai, as reported by Mint. The global e-tailing giant is aiming to strengthen its delivery capabilities amid intense competition from rivals like Flipkart. With the addition of these new facilities, Amazon will have 67 fulfilment centres (FCs) in 13 states, with a total storage capacity of over 20 million cubic feet, it said in a statement. The company said these FCs will be fully operational before the festive season of 2018 but didn't disclose any investment details. FCs are warehouses where sellers can stock their inventory. Amazon.in's network of FCs will enable tens of thousands of small and medium businesses to fulfil their orders in a cost-efficient manner Nirav Modi hiding in US, flew out of Hong Kong in February Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Beijing, came reports that Nirav Modi is no longer holed up in Hong Kong. He had in fact left Hong Kong for the UK on February 14. It has now turned out that the absconding jeweller was in Hong Kong for a mere 12 days. A government investigation has revealed that Nirav, after fleeing from Hong Kong in February, stayed in London for a month before finally travelling to New York. Google to launch new India focused mentorship program Google India will launch an India-focused mentorship and boot camp program for start-ups building both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) tech products, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The mentorship initiative named 'Solve For India' was initially launched in pilot mode in India last year along with participation from Google Developers' Launchpad Accelerator team. The project will focus primarily on start-up products that demonstrate expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) In a surprise announcement, country's largest domestic carrier IndiGo on Friday said Aditya Ghosh would step down as its President and Whole Time Director. The company, after its board meeting, said promoter Rahul Bhatia would become the interim chief executive officer (CEO). According to a regulatory filing, the company's board has accepted Ghosh's resignation, but it didn't mention any reason behind the sudden decision. A letter from Bhatia, however, said Ghosh "wishes to start his own venture". According to ET, Bhatia, in an e-mail to its employees, said: "Firstly, and with mixed emotions, I wish to inform you that Aditya Ghosh is resigning and will leave the Company on July 31. Aditya wishes to start a new business venture and we respect his decision to do so." The board of directors of the company, during its meeting held on Friday, took a decision to appoint Rahul Bhatia as the interim CEO, the filing said, adding that he would also continue as a director of the company. The board has accepted the resignation of Aditya Ghosh from the post of President effective July 31, 2018, and as the Director with effect from April 26, 2018. The airline said it respected Ghosh's decision. Ghosh said his 10-year stint with the company was "the most satisfying task". "It is now time for me to step off the treadmill and sometime in the near future embark on my next adventure. I wish all my colleagues at IndiGo the very best as they move on to the next phase of growth," he said, reported PTI. The airline has also decided to appoint Greg Taylor as its senior advisor, who would also be considered for the position of President and CEO. With over 40 years of experience in several airlines across the world, Greg was serving as the Executive Vice President of the company's Revenue Management and Network Planning. "In the coming months, the Board will consider the appointment of Greg as President and CEO of the company, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals and paperwork," InterGlobe said in a statement. Greg had served in various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways in the areas of corporate planning, strategy, network planning, fleet planning, finance, cost management and airline express operations, the statement said. IndiGo has a market share of around 40 per cent in the Indian domestic market, and has a fleet of 161 aircraft. The airline operates flights connecting 50 destinations, including 42 domestic and eight international. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chennai zone, continued to come down heavy on Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd (KGPL) for a second time in three days. Yesterday, the ED attached the company's fixed deposits worth over Rs 143 crore along with the interest accrued on it under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Earlier this week, the ED had seized land, buildings along with a plant and machinery worth Rs 48 crore, available on the factory premises of KGPL in Pukkathurai village in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram district. The total properties frozen or attached in this bank fraud case stands at Rs 191 crore as on date. What was the case again? KPGL, a company that manufactured gold jewellery, is accused of defaulting on a 14-bank consortium loan of Rs 824.15 crore. The CBI had registered an FIR against the company on March 21 based on a complaint from State Bank of India (SBI), which alleged that "Kanishk Gold and its directors in collusion with statutory auditors" had a "clear criminal/malafide intent" to "cheat and defraud" the banks and to "gain illegal profit" by "misrepresenting/falsifying the record and financial statements of the company". The complaint added that the loans to Kanishk Gold date from 2007. In 2008, SBI took over the loans from ICICI and in March 2011, the entire amount was converted into a multiple banking arrangement with Punjab National Bank and Bank of India. The following year, the consortium with SBI as lead bank, sanctioned granting of metal gold loan (MGL) to KGPL. Using this option, "Kanishk used to purchase gold in the form of bullion either from nominated banks in the consortium or from the open market by utilising credit under MGL or from under current account," said SBI in its complaint. In the next few years, State Bank of India extended loans worth Rs 215 crore, Punjab National Bank gave Rs 115 crore, Union Bank of India's Rs 50 crore matched by Syndicate Bank, Bank of India and IDBI Bank gave Rs 45 crore each, and several other banks dished out comparatively smaller amounts. The list also includes Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. According to the complaint, KGPL first defaulted on payments of interests to eight banks in March 2017, and it stopped making payments to all 14 banks from April 2017. The total loss caused to the banks was over Rs 824 crore, as on December 31, 2017 and SBI had previously claimed that the security available with it to cover the "loss" is only around Rs 156.65 crore. The ED subsequently registered a case against the company, its directors as well as its auditors under PMLA. What the authorities discovered "It was later realised that stock statements were fudged with the help of chartered accountants and on inspection by the banks in May 2017, it was found that no stocks existed and effectively all the operations came to standstill," the ED said in a statement earlier. The agency added that a forensic audit was conducted to identify fraudulent statements of financial reports, diversion of bank funds, siphoning of funds and asset stripping during the period from 2009 to 2017. "But, the audit found that there was misrepresentation and falsification of records, diversion of funds and disposal of the stocks by the company which led to the total loss caused to the banks," it added. During further investigations, ED found that falsification of records was admitted and it was stated that the stock gap between the actual and reported to banks has risen to 3,000 kg of gold by 2017. According to The Times of India, the authorities also noticed that around Rs 300 crore was paid by KGPL to one jeweller's account but forensic audit observed that there were no evidences of receipt of gold for the said payments. ED investigations subsequently revealed that the beneficiary bank account was used for money laundering purposes earlier also. With agency inputs It seems another 2G-like scam is in the making if the telecom commission decides to allot the high-frequency E (71-76 gigahertz frequency and 81-86 GHz) and V (57-64 GHz frequency range) bands on fixed charges to the telecom operators. There are two different views on the issue. Telecom regulator TRAI had recommended that both E and V bands should be opened for backhaul with light touch regulation. The regulator had also suggested that the E-band airwaves should be given at Rs 10,000 per annum fee per slot of 250 megahertz (MHz) whereas the V-band airwaves should be charged at Rs 1,000 per annum for each 50 MHz slot. It further suggested that there should be initial promotional discount of 50 per cent for three years in these bands, and that prices will be reviewed after 5 years based on deployment and usage. DoT, as some reports say, is in favour of auction, which is in line with the Supreme Court's order to allocate the spectrum through auction process. E and V bands are primarily used for tower-to-tower communications (also known as backhaul), and can easily replace the need to lay optical fibre network which is the costliest way to connect towers. As technology progress from 3G to 4G, 5G and beyond, there's an urgent need to increase the backhaul capacity so that higher amounts of data traffic can move at greater speeds. In India, there are just three bands - 27 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz - which are exempt from licensing for outdoor and indoor applications. Anybody can use these bands without taking prior permission from the telecom department. The 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz airwaves are the most-widely used bands available for Wi-Fi while 27 MHz is meant for short-distance radio communications between individuals. The DoT has asked TRAI to reconsider its suggestions stating that "administrative allotment follows the principle of 'first come first served' and the same has been denounced by the Supreme Court in its judgement on the 2G case." TRAI continues to hold its fort. The regulator says that the current pricing model cannot be applied to these bands considering the quantum of available spectrum and the different characteristics of these bands. "In order to promote the usage of these links... higher prices will not help in popularising these bands," said the regulator. A first-come-first-serve allotment system will surely benefit telcos across the board. Since there has never been prior auction in these band ranges, it's difficult to ascertain the amount of notional loss to the exchequer if TC backs the method of administrative allotment. The ball is now in TC's court, and it seems that the regulator's suggestions will be overturned because no government agency would ever want to take credit for initiating an another version of the 2G scam. Xiaomi had made a special provision for buyers interested in the Redmi Note 5 Pro earlier this month. The device was earlier scheduled for pre-order at 12 pm today. However, Xiaomi India website now shows that the pre-order date as May 4. The company hasn't mentioned the reason behind the change so far but this could be due to the shortage of stock. Xiaomi has been trying to fill the gap when it comes to the supply and demand of the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Recently, Asus launched the Zenfone Max Pro in India with specifications similar to the Redmi Note 5 Pro but with a marginally smaller price tag. With competition steaming up, Xiaomi is expected to raise its game in terms of availability of smartphones. Earlier, company chief Lei Jun acknowledged the problem and claimed that they bring limited stock to avoid a major risk of bankruptcy. He claimed the profit margins are so tight that they cannot risk overstocking. Earlier this week, he reiterated his commitment to narrow profit margins by promising a maximum margin of 5 per cent on hardware. The Redmi line-up has been a major factor in the brand's hold in the Indian market and with players like Asus making leaps and bounds, Xiaomi has its goals set for the rest of the year. Here's all you need to know about the pre-order system: With the new pre-order system this problem should be resolved to a certain extent. However, the company won't provide cash on delivery option with the pre-sale orders. The buyer can chose any online payment method including credit, debit card, netbanking and online wallets. Once the payment is complete, Xiaomi claims the device will be shipped within five business days. The delivery time will vary according to the location of the delivery and the courier service. If the buyer wants to cancel the pre-order, they can do so until the order is dispatched. The Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi 5 will still be selling in the normal flash sale model. The Redmi 5 2GB RAM, 16GB storage is readily available on Xiaomi's website. The Redmi Note 5 Pro features a better camera (dual lens setup) and better processor (Snapdragon 636) in addition to Redmi Note 5's hardware. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has been priced at Rs 9,999 for the 3GB/32GB variant and Rs 11,999 for the 4GB/64GB variant. The 4GB/64GB variant of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro will be available at Rs 13,999, and the 6GB/64GB variant is priced at Rs 16,999. Both phones come with 18:9 FullHD+ screens measuring 5.99 inches. Xiaomi is taking various measures to tackle the complaints regarding its flash sale model. The pre-order method is another option which could save the buyer from a sour buying experience. Earlier, the company had stopped the Cash on Delivery option altogether. According to the company, the shortage could be due to middle men who stock the device illegally and then sell it at higher prices. From January 2019, travellers in Japan would be paying a rather aptly named 'Sayonara tax' for leaving the country. The Japanese parliament passed a legislation on Wednesday that would require travellers to pay JPY 1,000 or Rs 615. The tax would be levied on both international and Japanese travellers leaving the country by plane or ship. This would add to the air and ship fares. Transit passengers who would leave the country within 24 hours and children under 2 years would be exempted from paying the Sayonara tax. According to a report in Channel News Asia, this tax is expected to raise JPY 43 billion a year that will be pumped into infrastructure and for technological advancements such as face recognition at gates as well as provision of multilingual guides at national parks and other cultural sites. Not only that, the revenue will also be pumped into Japan's suddenly booming tourism. According to the CNA report, Japan's tourism has seen a boom in the last two years and is expected to increase by 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In fact, the Japanese government is expecting tourism to increase to 40 million by 2020, a significant leap from 2017's 28.69 million. The Sayonara tax is also the first permanent tax adopted by Japan since 1992, as mentioned in the news site. However, Japan is not the first country to impose such a departure tax. There are similar versions implemented in Australia, South Korea and UK. The latest data released from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the number of overseas visits to Ireland for the 1st quarter of 2018 was over 1.92 million, which was an increase of 6.9% compared to the same quarter in 2017. In the three-month period Jan 18 Mar 18 with the period Jan 17 Mar17, overall visits to Ireland were up by 6.9% to 1.92 million visits. Visits from North America were up by 13% to 331,600 and visits from Great Britain were up by 0.3% to 798,300. Visits from Mainland Europe increased by 13.8% to 678,300 and visits from the rest of the world increased by 1.5% to 112,500. It is estimated that last year's tourism activity sustained 235,000 jobs and generated revenue of 6.7bn with an estimated 1.6bn going to the Exchequer. Speaking yesterday, CEO of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons said, "Tourism Ireland has prioritised Mainland Europe and North America, as markets which offers a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure. While we welcome the fact that arrivals from Britain are up very slightly, this doesnt represent a turnaround in the long-term trend. The impact of Brexit on outbound travel from Britain, therefore, remains a concern." He added, "The fall in the value of sterling has made holidays and short breaks here more expensive for British visitors and has made Britain more affordable for visitors from many of our top markets. Competitiveness and value for money remain more important than ever in Britain this year." Source: www.businessworld.ie The regional shortlist for the National Startup Awards, powered by Bank of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, was announced yesterday, with 109 companies shortlisted across 14 categories. The competition recognises and rewards Irish startups for their success in business. A 15,000 prize fund is up for grabs at this years awards, with the overall winner set to walk away with a prize of 10,000 and the best early stage startup set to receive 5,000 to further grow and develop their businesses. The regional shortlist was decided by a series of regional judging panels. This regional shortlist will be judged again, to produce the national shortlist for the awards which will be announced on May 2nd. The national shortlist entrants will then be invited to pitch their businesses live to a national judging panel in Dublin in early May and the national awards will take place in Dublin on Thursday, 17th May, 2018. A full list of regional finalists can be seen on www.startupawards.ie. Startup Awards 2018 categories Category Prizes 1. Emerging Tech Startup 2. Fintech Startup 3. Agritech Startup 4. Travel & Tourism Startup 5. Food & Drink Startup 6. Social/Sustainable Startup 7. Product & Manufacturing Startup 8. eCommerce Startup 9. Retail & Fashion Startup 10. Tech Startup 11. Research Spinout / 3rd Level 12. Medtech 13. Best Startup Ecosystem [Public Vote] 14. Early Stage Startup - 2 years from date of incorporation [5K cash prize] Special Awards Grand Prix - Best of Category [10K cash prize] Startup Hero [Chosen by Organisers] Speaking this week, Founder at Startups.ie, Stephen Dillon said, "A big congratulations to all the companies that have made it to this stage of the competition. Starting a new business takes a huge amount of courage and hard work. The first few years can be really challenging and the National Startup Awards are here to support entrepreneurs who are investing so much of themselves to build businesses that will ultimately create employment and benefit the broader economy." Source: www.businessworld.ie Chinese doctor Tan Qindong, who was detained for three months for calling Hongmao Medicinal Liquor poison from heaven, is seen at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on April 19. Photo: IC The manufacturer of the medicinal liquor at the center of a recent national outrage over false advertising has issued an apology, but stopped short of commenting on the detention of a doctor who criticized the product. Hongmao Medicinal Liquor became a topic of public debate after word got out in mid-April that Guangdong-province-based doctor Tan Qindong had been detained for months by police of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region for describing the liquor in a blog post as poison from heaven. In his Dec. 19 post, Tan said the elderly should refrain from consuming Hongmao Medicinal Liquor, which is widely advertised and sold as an over-the-counter traditional medicine in China, and said the drink contained substances known to be toxic. Tan was arrested in January for allegedly damaging the Hongmao brand and taken to Inner Mongolia, home to the liquors manufacturer, Hongmao Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. He was held at a detention center for nearly three months until he was released on bail following criticism of his arrest from both social media users and Chinese state media. Advertisements for Hongmao Medicinal Liquor, which tout its health-enhancing properties and suggest that it can cure problems as diverse as irregular menstruation and heart disease, have since come under increased scrutiny from Chinas food and drug authorities, who had also previously lodged multiple complaints against Hongmaos advertising. Hongmao Pharmaceutical on Thursday issued an apology (link in Chinese) for not seriously studying risks, actively weighing in, dealing with, and responding to the publics serious concerns after the recent Hongmao Medicinal Liquor incident. The company said that it was currently conducting an internal investigation, claiming the medicinal compounds used in its product are within safe dosage levels and that recent tests had shown that its product is safe and effective. It also said its use of leopard bone in the medicinal wine is compliant with laws and regulations. Hongmao Pharmaceutical responded to scrutiny of its advertising by saying that after profound self-examination, it had realized that there were problems with the way downstream retailers and distributors marketed the product and that it was retiring a potentially misleading slogan. The company also attributed some misunderstandings about its products effectiveness to advertising by counterfeiters. Hongmao Pharmaceutical did not comment on the arrest and detention of Tan, who is currently on bail and who has submitted a request that Inner Mongolia authorities drop the case against him entirely, as Caixin learned on Thursday. Xu Ping, the Beijing-based lawyer currently representing Tan, told Caixin that Tans December blog post did not contain fabricated information, and benefited rather than harmed the public. In an interview with Caixin shortly after his release, Tan said that he did not regret writing his blog post, and wanted elderly consumers to think twice before purchasing Hongmao Medicinal Wine. Contact reporter Teng Jing Xuan (jingxuanteng@caixin.com) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend a welcoming ceremony Friday in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. Photo: VCG *Visit marks first time any top North Korean leader has crossed demarcation line *South Korean President Moon Jae-in steps briefly into North Korea before returning to the South holding hands with Kim Jong Un (Beijing) North Korea and South Korea have agreed to more talks on a wide range of issues, including a possible peace treaty, at the end of a historic summit in the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. In a joint statement released late in the day, both countries announced that all propaganda activities will be halted from Tuesday. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit Pyongyang in the autumn to match the one-day visit to the south by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. For the historic meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Kim crossed the demarcation line in the demilitarized zone separating the two countries. The visit marked the first such crossing made by any top North Korea leader. Kim, wearing his trademark black Zhongshan suit, entered Panmunjom early Friday morning for a one-day inter-Korean summit. He would open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula, North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said. A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history, Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the Souths Peace House before talks began, Reuters reported. I hope to write a new chapter between us, this is the starting point for us. We will make a new beginning, Kim was quoted by the Guardian newspaper as saying. In an improvised move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly into North Korea. He then re-entered the south while holding hands with his South Korean counterpart. Your visit makes the military demarcation line a symbol of peace, not division, Moon was quoted by the Guardian as saying. I thank you very much for your courage and we will finally have the dialogue we havent been able to have for the past decade. One section of the joint statement refers to denuclearization, but it only repeats the general idea that the South and North have confirmed their common goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, according to the Guardian. The inter-Korean summit came just a month after Kim visited Beijing in his first trip outside his country during six years in power. In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the North Korean leader said he was committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In response to the meeting, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that the government applauded the historic step that the leaders of both countries have taken. Through the ups and downs, we are still brothers. A smile when we meet does away with all grudges, said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, citing Chinese literary giant Lu Xun. We hope that both sides will take the historic meeting at Panmunjom as an opportunity to start a new journey toward long-lasting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com) April 27, 2018 Ottawa, ON Following a period of public consultation on Part II of the regulatory document from September to November 2017, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has published REGDOC-2.13.2, Import and Export, Version 2. Part II is new and sets out CNSC guidance for current and prospective licensees intending to import or export risk-significant radioactive sources (Category 1 and 2 radioactive sources). This regulatory document also provides information about the CNSCs import and export control program with respect to licence applications, the licence evaluation process and compliance with regulatory requirements. Part I of the document, which was published in September 2016, remains unchanged. It sets out guidance for current and prospective licensees who intend to import or export nuclear and nuclear-related dual-use items (also known as controlled nuclear substances, equipment and information). The CNSC regulates the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security and the environment; to implement Canadas international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Opening Automatic transmission cars are becoming a popular choice among buyers in the entry-level segment. Once it was the forte of a much higher price bracket. But today, with growing traffic woes and a road system unable to cope with the demand, having someone else doing the shifting for you seems like a boon. Thats where the Tata Tigor in this AMT (automated manual transmission) guise comes in. Its a two pedal version of the Indian automakers entry-level compact sedan and was launched here in November 2017. You can have it either in the mid-level XTA trim or the top spec XZA which is what we have driven in the review. Appearance Exterior In terms of external appearance, there are no changes to the looks of the Tata Tigor in this AMT guise. The face is dominated by the large black grille and smoked headlamps while in profile, the car continues with the notchback or Styleback design as Tata has termed it. It looks particularly European in its appearance thanks to the bright colour schemes and design of the alloy wheels. In fact, this is one of those few cars that has managed to overcome the awkwardness of the compact sedan philosophy thanks to the rear roofline. The rear gets a nice chrome strip above the number plate holder and a black insert in the bumper which contrasts well with the rest of the rear design. The automatic spec badging is visible at the rear and externally this is the only sign that this car is a two-pedal model. Appearance Interior he minimal change theme has been carried over to the interior too. You get the same layout, two-tone colour scheme, elements and space inside the cabin of the Tigor AMT as compared to its manual counterpart. The AMT spec XZA model gets a modified gear lever and a revised instrument cluster as a part of the changes. The gear lever has been covered in black fabric and been given a chrome bezel to match the chrome laden base. The dials get big displays while the upper-most section of the trip computers display now accommodates the gear readout. Performance Drive Powering the Tata Tigor AMT is the Indian automakers 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit. It produces 84bhp/140Nm with power going to the front wheels via a five-speed AMT setup. This is the same box used in the Tiago AMT and its arrival in the Tigor seems like the next logical step and is pretty much at the heart of what is going on here. After driving the Tiago AMT, this definitely feels like an improvement as harshness and vibrations have reduced. The rocking movement associated with budget AMTs has reduced quite a bit but you do still feel some jerkiness when you get off the line. There are two driving modes on offer with the Tigor AMT- City and Sport which alter the response of the throttle and gearbox accordingly. In City mode, the shifts take place at a lower RPM and its designed in such a way that you are always in the meat of the torque band. Go in a for a quick overtake and since its a mode that favours efficiency over performance, the shifts feel slow and there is significant delay between you mashing the throttle, gears dropping and the engine spinning up to give you some punch. Things improve in the sport mode as the gearbox allows you to hold the revs for a longer period and build up more steam as required. However, once you hit redline the system automatically upshifts to the next gear. Revving the engine hard produces a nice little note and can be a nice little thing to egg you on when you want to up the pace. Theres a creep function which allows the car to inch along at slow speeds and is a useful tool for bumper-to-bumper traffic as well as a manual mode for when you want to control the shifts yourself and induce engine braking for stopping better. In terms of ride and handling, nothing has changed from the manual variants of the compact sedan. The Tigors slightly stiff setup performs admirably over bad roads and will take most potholes and imperfections without unsettling the car. Its got lovely straight line stability and out on the highway, it can eat away the kilometres without struggling too much. In the spirit of bring a mildly powered front wheel drive car, it will understeer when you hit the limits of grip and it is best if you glide the car from turn to turn rather than forcing it to go through the corners. Tech Specs Make TATA Model Tigor Fuel Petrol Variant XZA Engine Capacity 1.2-litre Max. Power (bhp@rpm) 84@ 6000 Max. torque (Nm@rpm) 114 @ 3500 Gears Five Length mm 3992 Width mm 1677 Height mm 1537 Wheelbase mm 2450 Fuel Capacity (in litres) 35 Tyre size 175/ 60 R15 Features Features 2-DIN music system Yes 419-litre boot Yes 2 Drive modes Yes All black interiors Yes Projector headlamps Yes Competition All Specs Make Maruti Suzuki TATA Model Swift Tigor Fuel Petrol Petrol Variant Vxi AMT XZA Engine Capacity 1.2-litre 1.2-litre Max. Power (bhp@rpm) 82 @ 6000 84@ 6000 Max. torque (Nm@rpm) 113 @ 4200 114 @ 3500 Gears Five Five Length mm 3840 3992 Width mm 1735 1677 Height mm 1530 1537 Wheelbase mm 2450 2450 Fuel Capacity (in litres) 37 35 Tyre size 165/80 R14 175/ 60 R15 Conclusion The Tata Tigor AMT is available in two variants- XZA and XTA - and they are priced (at the time of writing this review) at Rs 6.47 lakhs and Rs 5.87 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi) respectively. The Tigor as a product is a unique offering as there are currently no other compact sedans or for that matter automatic sedans in this part of the market. Its quite good looking and with its unique styling, it will standout out in the crowd. That being said, there are issues with plastic quality as well as lack of features like a touchscreen system as well as climate control and for a car that is priced at Rs 7.40 lakhs (on-road Delhi) it will make buyers think twice. Photographs: Kapil Angane Tata Tigor 5.65 Lakh Onwards Tata | Tigor | Tata Tigor Photo: The Canadian Press Jeanne Lehman poses in this undated handout photo. An Edmonton woman says she was publicly humiliated and booted off an Air Canada flight after a rash was mistakenly labelled as contagious. Jeanne Lehman, a community activist and officer with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said she is seeing a psychologist for mental trauma she endured boarding a plane at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. "How they treated me, I didn't feel like someone who is an important client," she said in a phone interview. "I feel, like, rejected and (given a) lack of consideration, you know. This is a shame for me." Lehman is a black, French-speaking woman who calls the treatment systemic racism. Her trouble began when a rash appeared on the right side of her face during a trip to Halifax last week. Over the course of two days, the rash got worse and left her eye swollen. "At first I thought it was because I ate a lot of seafood [and thought] it was an allergy." She went to an emergency room on Friday where the doctor told her she had a non-contagious rash and was OK to travel. Upon boarding, she said she asked a flight attendant for a window seat because she felt self-conscious about her raised, rough skin. Her eyelid was nearly swollen shut. She said she told the attendant that she wasn't contagious and she was given a window seat. But before take-off, Lehman said she saw a woman wearing gloves and a face mask walk towards her. "She said 'Take all your belongings and follow me.' I said, 'for what?'" Lehman said what happened next keeps her up at night. "She said to me 'You are contagious, I cannot leave you on the plane.' I said 'Ma'am, not only am I not contagious, even if I was this isn't the way you should say it, loudly, telling everyone I am contagious.'" Lehman said passengers were taken off the plane while attendants disinfected her seat. She said the pilot announced on a PA system that a passenger was contagious and had to be removed for the safety of other passengers. "I started crying because everyone was looking at me. I was very embarrassed. I never know that this thing could happen to me." Lehman said she was escorted to Halifax's QEII hospital by Air Canada staff to get a doctor's diagnosis. She said she was told she wouldn't be able to board unless she provided a doctor's note. Lehman said the emergency room doctor diagnosed her with shingles and gave her a note confirming she is safe to travel. Air Canada staff gave her a hotel room and food vouchers to accommodate her overnight stay, and she was sitting first class on a plane to Toronto the next day. At Toronto's Pearson International Airport, she said she was asked again to provide her doctor's note before boarding another plane to Edmonton. "I wasn't treated like a first-class person," she said. Lehman said Air Canada would have treated her differently had she been white, and added that the airline should have been more accommodating by offering services in French. Air Canada responded to a request for comment via email. "We cannot provide details about individual customers for privacy reasons," the email said. "We acted out of an abundance of caution. Regrettably, the situation resulted in inconvenience for some customers." Lehman said one Air Canada employee informally apologized to her, but the airline has not formally apologized. Press Release Embargoed Until: Thursday, April 26, 2018, 1:00 p.m. ET Contact: Media Relations (404) 639-3286 About 1 in 59 eight -year-old children in 11 communities across the United States were identified as having autism in 2014, according to a report published today in CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Surveillance Summary. The data in this report come from CDCs Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network a tracking system that provides estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among more than 300,000 8-year-old children. ADDM is the largest population-based program to monitor autism and the only autism tracking system that examines health and education records. The latest estimate of 1.7 percent (1 in 59) is higher than the previous ADDM estimate released in 2016, which found a prevalence of 1.5 percent or 1 in 68 children. Some of the change in prevalence could be due to improved autism identification in minority populations although autism is still more likely to be identified in white children than in black or Hispanic children. This identification is important, because children identified early with autism and connected to services are more likely to reach their fullest potential. Autism prevalence among black and Hispanic children is approaching that of white children, said Stuart Shapira, M.D., Ph.D., associate director for science at CDCs National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. The higher number of black and Hispanic children now being identified with autism could be due to more effective outreach in minority communities and increased efforts to have all children screened for autism so they can get the services they need. The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network estimates are combined from 11 communities within Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The 11 communities surveyed in this report represent about 8 percent of 8-year-old children in the United States. Estimates of autism varied widely among the 11 communities in this report, although five reported similar estimates of 1.3 percent to 1.4 percent. The highest prevalence estimate of 2.9 percent came from a community in New Jersey. Some of the regional differences in autism prevalence estimates among the 11 communities might be due to differences in how autism is being diagnosed and documented. More work needed to identify autism early in life The data demonstrate that more work needs to be done to identify children with autism at a younger age and refer them to early intervention: Fewer than half of the children identified in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network received their first autism diagnosis by the time they were 4 years old. Although 85 percent of children with autism had concerns about their development noted in their health records by the time they were 3 years old, only 42 percent received a developmental evaluation by that age. This lag between first concern and first evaluation may affect when children with autism can begin getting the services they need. Parents can track their childs development and act early if there is a concern. Healthcare providers can acknowledge and help parents act on those concerns. And those who work with or on behalf of children can join forces to ensure that all children with autism get identified and connected to the services they need as early as possible, said Dr. Shapira. Together we can improve a childs future. CDCs efforts to track autism and promote early identification The next ADDM report will add data for children who were 8 years old in 2016 and help us better understand whether autism prevalence is changing and whether improvements are being made in early identification of autism. The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is not a representative sample of the United States, but is a detailed look at autism in these specific communities. For more information about CDCs autism activities visit www.cdc.gov/Autism. CDCs Learn the Signs. Act Early program provides parents, childcare professionals, and healthcare providers free resources, in English and Spanish, for monitoring childrens development. The program offers parent-friendly, research-based milestone checklists for children as young as 2 months of age. CDCs Milestone Tracker Mobile App can help parents track their childs development and share the information with their healthcare providers. For more information visit www.cdc.gov/ActEarly. ### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES external icon CDC works 24/7 protecting Americas health, safety and security. Whether disease start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to Americas most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world. Pakistan releases survey with cement sector update 27 April 2018 The Pakistan Economic Survey 2017-18 was released on 26 April by Dr Miftah Ismail, adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs. The report provides a detailed overview of Pakistan's economic performance during the year. According to the survey, the cement sector in Pakistan comprises 20 companies, with total listed capital of PKR72.618bn (US$518.7m) and the market capitalisation of PKR610.576bn (US$436m). The recent growth in domestic cement demand has been complemented by surging exports for the second consecutive month as cement export increased by 85 per cent in March 2018. Exports started to improve in February 2018 and have continued to increase in March 2018. There has been sudden surge to Afghanistan that increased from 0.037Mt in March 2017 to 0.106Mt in March 2018. The total cement sales in March 2018 set a historical high by 4.652Mt. This was 17.3 per cent higher than the sales of 3.965Mt achieved in March 2017. Domestic consumption was 4.26Mt out of which 3.543Mt was consumed in the north and 0.717Mt was consumed in the south part of country showing a growth of 13.5 per cent. During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the industry sold 34.76Mt of cement which is 14.70 per cent higher than 30.30Mt dispatches during the corresponding period last year. Environmental study Meanwhile, the cement Industry study for delineation of negative and positive mining areas for installation of cement plants in the salt range in Punjab has been completed.To safeguard environmental concerns and to promote new investment in cement sector through a well-crafted strategy, Director General Mines & Minerals engaged NESPAK (consortium with Sogreah Artelia Group-French) for the task. Consultants have submitted the final report along with recommendations and operational guidelines. In the light of this study report, an area of 979km2 out of 8872km2 in the salt range is notified as negative area for installation of cement plants, whereas remaining area of 7893km2 is conditionally positive area. Published under Thousands of people defect from North Korea every year. Leaving the impoverished country isnt easy or cheap, but the people escaping have good reasons to get out: The horrendous prison camps, the forced child labor, and the laundry list of crazy rules they have to follow are a few of them. When they decide to leave, this is how much defectors pay to get out of North Korea and escape Kim Jong Un. Well discuss the cost throughout the years before revealing how much it costs now (page 6), plus well discuss some interesting tidbits about defectors (pages 8 and 9). Why defect from North Korea at all? Freedom is the main reason people get out of the country. Most citizens make less than $1,000 a year. In case you havent heard, life is tough in North Korea. The ruling family, led by Kim Jong Un, hoards wealth and eats sumptuous foods while the masses starve. Meanwhile, the typical North Korean makes about $4 per day. Most people make less than $1,000 a year unless they have one of the few good jobs or are one of the elite rich kids. The rulers are repressive, there are a lot of common foods people cant buy, and health problems are widespread. In short, life is tough. Next: Door No. 1 or door No. 2? The ways people defect from North Korea and get to South Korea The direct route is extremely dangerous. Get into China, then endure a combination of south Asia border crossings. Most North Korean defectors start their new lives in South Korea, and there are basic basically two ways to get there. One method is going directly across the border, which is what a defecting soldier did in 2017. Its the most direct way to go, but its also extremely dangerous since the border is heavily guarded. The other method is crossing the Yalu or Tumen Rivers in the north to get into China, but thats just the first stage. As Global News reports, many defectors pass from China to Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar in some combination before arriving in South Korea. Next: North Korean defectors open their wallets. Getting out of North Korea was somewhat affordable in 2009 It was about $2,800, which is a lot but is far less than it is now. A defector tells her story to Al Jazeera When Um Yae-run decided to defect from North Korea in 2009, it cost her roughly $2,800. With the help of a broker, she took the northern route into China. She tells Al Jazeera that she left her mother and daughter behind in North Korea on her way to freedom. Next: Getting out of North Korea isnt getting any cheaper. The price to defect from North Korea keeps increasing The cost to defect North Korea quickly grows. One defector paid $6,000 to get her daughter out. The woman we just discussed, Um Yae-run, spent $2,800 to defect from North Korea in 2009. She left her daughter and mother behind, and when she saved up enough to fetch her daughter a few years later, it cost $6,000. That was more than double what she paid and three to six times what most North Koreans make in a year. Next: The cost to defect during Donald Trumps presidency is the highest ever. Prices spike during Donald Trumps presidency Minimum of $9,000 at the end of 2016 Most crossings cost more than that Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, the price spiked to $9,000 to defect from North Korea through China. However, thats a bare minimum. According to the defector Um Yae-run, the starting cost is more like $9,300, but as we are about to see the true cost is more than that. Next: The price to defect is out of control now. In 2018, the cost is years of a North Koreans pay The price is in five figures these days. It takes more money to bribe border guards near China now. Getting across the river into China costs anywhere between $13,000 and $16,000 per person in 2018, according to a Radio Free Asia report. In the same report, Kwang-il Jeong, the head of a defector-led organization, says that border guards require bigger bribes to help or they refuse to help at all. Increased danger and difficulty leads to higher prices for defectors. Not only that but many North Korean defectors in the south face discrimination and homesickness. Those arent monetary costs, but they impact overall well-being. Next: Weighing the risks Why do the brokers risk it and help people defect from North Korea? Theres a death penalty for anyone helping defectors. Getting paid $1,800 to $3,700 per person is too much to turn down. In North Korea, helping a defector is extremely dangerous since there is a death penalty if youre caught. Heck, even Chinese and South Korean people who help have to feel nervous given Kim Jong Uns affinity for murder across borders. But the brokers who help people defect make anywhere from $1,800 to $3,700 per person, which is too big of a payday to turn down. Next: This is who leaves North Korea. Women are the ones leaving in droves An overwhelming majority of defectors are female. More than 50% each year since 2002 Women defect from North Korea a lot more than men these days. Ever since 2002, more than 50% of the people escaping are women, according to South Koreas Ministry of Unification. In 2017, 83% of the 1,127 people who successfully defected were women. Next: The reasons it costs more to defect from North Korea. Costs arent rising just because defecting is more dangerous The number of defectors in 2017 was the fewest since 2001. More security makes it harder to get out. Data from South Koreas Ministry of Unification shows the number of North Korean defectors entering the country is declining. There were well more than 2,000 defectors every year from 2006 to 2011. The 2017 amount was the lowest since 2001. Brokers still want to make their money, but since they have fewer clients they charge more. Plus, its harder than ever to get someone out of North Korea. According to Seeker, Kim Jong Un beefed up security to cut down on the number of defectors. It seems to be working. On April 14, 2018, Britain joined the United States and France in striking several Syrian targets. They struck because they were convinced that President Bashar al-Assads regime launched a chemical attack in Douma, Syria on April 7, 2018. The attack reportedly left 1,700 civilians dead. Russia claims it has irrefutable evidence that the Britain staged the event. Because Russia is Bashar al-Assads ally, it has warned there will be grave repercussions for the illegal action. Find out the possible outcomes of a Russian retaliation and decide for yourself how scared you should be. 1. The Douma attack In February, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad forces launched a two-day chemical assault on the activist group Douma Revolution in Douma, Syria. The chemical attack reportedly left more than 1,700 civilians dead, according to BBC News. The Syrian government denies using chemical weapons in the attack and says the rebels are fabricating the reports. The Violations Documentation Center (VDC), an organization that records alleged violations of international law in Syria, announced that the Syrian Air Force conducted two separate bombings and it believed each contained toxic chemicals. Next: U.S. tensions with Russia 2. The U.S. and Russia are in a bad place The U.S. and Russian are in their most combative period since the Cold War ended, according to The Drive. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley believes in Russias culpability in the gas attack on Douma. The United States is determined to see the monster who dropped chemical weapons on the Syrian people held to account We must not overlook Russia and Irans roles in enabling the Assad regimes murderous destruction Either way, the United States will respond, said Haley. The Russian ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia fired back with a statement. We are not particularly keen to be friends with you. We are not begging to be friends with you. What we want from you is really nothing, its something that is normal: civilized relations, which you arrogantly refuse, disregarding elementary, basic courtesy And you are misguided if you think that you have friends , said Nebenzia. Next: Russias massive military 3. Putin has heavily invested in Russias military Vladimir Putin has made a massive investment in the Russian military, according to the Express. Its armed forces consist of more than 1 million active soldiers, and it has more tanks and the largest air force than any other military. In addition, Russia owns the most ballistic and cruise missiles in the world. In other words, a Russian military retaliation against the U.S., Britain, or France could be devastating. Next: Heres how much Russia spends on its military. 4. Russia comes in third in military spending The U.S. and China spend the most on their militaries, according to the Express, but Russia is catching up. It ranks third across the globe in military spending and it spends $69 billion a year in defense. China spends around $146 billion a year, and the U.S. spends around $521 billion. To put that in perspective, Britain spends approximate $47 billion a year. Next: One wicked weapon 5. Russia can launch mobile ICBM more than 6,000 miles Russias RS-12M Topol a mobile ICBM can counter missile defense systems deployed in South Korea and Europe, according to its governments claims. And according to the Express, the Topol is tipped with a 800 kiloton nuclear weapon and the Russians can launch it more than 6,000 miles. For comparisons sake, the Hiroshima nuclear bomb yielded 15 kilotons. Clearly, the Topol is a wicked retaliation weapon, should the Russians choose to use it. Next: Russias nuclear arsenal 6. Russia has around 7,000 nuclear warheads According to the Express, military officials in the U.S. estimate approximately 100 RS-12M Topol launchers are currently deployed. And Russia has approximately 7,000 warheads in its nuclear arsenal. In 2007, military chiefs tested the new RS-24 Yars ICBM, a weapon that carries multiple, small nuclear warheads as opposed to just one warhead. Its range is similar to the Topol and Russian can use it to strike any location in the U.S. Next: Russian sea power 7. Russias new submarine In 2018, the Russian navy debuted its top-secret Yasen-class attack submarine, according to the Express. Russias media says the nuclear-powered sub which contains hundreds of cruise missiles can attack the U.S. East Coast from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Yasen-class should be in full service in 2018 and Russia has scheduled six more to be built by 2023. Next: Russias ground power 8. Russian troops get plenty of tank support More than 2,500 battle tanks, including the intimidating T-14 Armata, support its ground troops, according to the Express. Russia says it developed the Armata with extra protection against NATO anti-tank weaponry. Its main body is heavily armored and its tank has a remote control turret crew members operate from inside. Should Russia decide to retaliate with troops and tanks, it would be a formidable force. Read more: 7 Things You Need to Know About Russias Shocking New Nukes Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! 'Evil and Satanic': 19 Christians, Including 2 Priests, Slaughtered by Radicals During Church Mass Christian Post Contributor | 27 April, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Tuesday's slaughter of 19 Christians, including two Roman Catholic priests, during morning mass on Tuesday is both "evil and satanic." "This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable," Buhari said, according to AFP. "Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshipers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting." The massacre occurred during early morning mass in a remote village in Benue state, when a group of radicals, which officials believe to be Fulani Muslim herdsmen, stormed the church and opened fire. Mbalom resident Terhemen Angor said the attack occurred at St. Ignatius Catholic church, where worshipers had gathered. "People started scampering and wailing," said Angor, saying that scores were "gunned down in cold blood while many sustained injuries including bullet wounds." State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN that after the shooting, the radicals began setting homes on fire. "The herdsmen burned nearly 50 houses during the attack and sacked the entire community, " Akase said. "We expect arrests to be made because they (attackers) are becoming more brazen," he added. Nigerian groups, including the Benue Valley Professional Network, called for an end to the violence, which has seen hundreds of Christians, many of them farm-owners and villagers, killed since the start of the year. "We call on all humane persons and groups around the world to come to the aid of our farming and worship communities and end these terror attacks across Nigeria and especially in Benue, our food basket, which also threatens our collective food security," the group said in a statement. Benson Abounu, acting governor of Benue state, said that citizens are "under siege." "We have been attacked from all corners and this is unacceptable," he said. Persecution watchdog groups, such as Open Doors USA and International Christian Concern, have warned that although the Fulani conflict is often characterized as one over land and cattle grazing rights, Christians have been deliberately targeted and killed en masse. As many as 225 believers were killed in March alone by herdsmen, ICC said in a report, pointing out that the attacks have happened mostly in the Plateau and Taraba states. Read more about Nigerian Christians on The Christian Post. With recent allegations of indiscretion against a prominent megachurch pastor, some Christian leaders have doubled down on the so-called Billy Graham Rule, which dictates that men and women should never meet alone. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Danny Akin tweeted, A valuable lesson we all can learn from this tragic situation: follow the @BillyGraham rule. If you are married, never be alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not your spouse. Never! This rule, in its most pristine form, renders male-female friendships impossible. However unintentionally, it communicates to women that they are fundamentally dangerous. And it bars men from meaningful mentorship or pastoral care of women and vice-versa. I, for one, give thanks for the many men I know who broke the Billy Graham Rule. My life has been enriched by male friends, mentors, coworkers, and collaborators. My husband has female friends as well and, for that, I am glad. And my husband and I are priests so we need to meet with the opposite sex often to do our job well. (But even if we werent, wed likely need to meet with the opposite sex to do any job well). Yet, I understand the motivation behind the Billy Graham Rule: a healthy and honest fear of falling into adultery, a sin as massively destructive as it is common. (The rule itself draws from Grahams Modesto Manifesto, a broader set of guidelines the evangelist used to safeguard his ministry against scandal.) One could argue the Billy Graham Rule is as natural as buckling our seatbelt in our car. It is actually wise to take measures to protect ourselves from things that can destroy us, whether it be a vehicular fatality or a one-night stand. It is not foolish or sexist to know your weakness and to flee temptation. Yet, Id submit that the Billy Graham Rule is less like buckling a seatbelt and more akin to refusing to share the road with anyone else (and then claiming thats the only truly safe way to drive). It shuts down relationships to protect oneself from the wreckage of sin and puts the burden of that primarily on othersnamely on women, who are less welcome in male spaces. (Not to mention the confusion it poses for those who are same-sex attracted: Are they supposed to avoid friendships with either sex to ward off all possible temptation?) So how do we deal with the inherent tension of wanting to preserve appropriate male-female relationships and also wanting to avoid sin and impropriety in those relationships? How do men and women cultivate self-control, trustworthiness, and transparency and take up practices that nudge them toward healthy relationships and boundaries? Between legalism and license lies the messier space of wisdom and cultivation of virtue. It is in that space where weas individuals and in relationshipsflourish. People need meaningful relationships with members of the opposite sex, and they need them to be safe, honoring, and full of integrity. Here, Ill offer some practices that my husband and I have taken up together. They fall in the realm of wisdom and prudence, not iron-clad law, not one-size-fits-all. This is in no way a rule, much less an edict from on high. Most of these practices developed organically. (We didnt even know they were our practices, until I asked my husband last week, Hey, what are the things we do to try to exercise wisdom in opposite-sex relationships?) The point of these practices is not only to guard against adultery but to build intimacy and trust in our marriage. These are part of the warp and woof of trying to love both each other and our community together: 1. We are careful about staying close to each other and talking a lot. (If we are legalists about anything on this list, its having frequent date nightsand that is a pretty fun thing to be a legalist about.) On date nights, we intentionally share how we are doing and whats happening in our hearts. 2. We have no secrets. Period. World without end. Amen. Our kids know this mantra and use it against us at Christmastime. Article continues below 3. I know all his passwords and vice-versa. We have no privacy. Privacy is overrated. 4. We rarely hang out with opposite-sex friends alone at night (say, after 9 or 10 p.m.) and never at our house or a hotel room. The only reason you need an opposite-sex buddy in a hotel room is if you need them to perform emergency CPR and even then maybe just call 911. If you must, keep the door open. 5. We have close friends of the opposite sex, but no one as close as our spouse. Which is to say ... 6. We dont tell someone of the opposite sex something we havent told our spouse first. 7. He knows every time I hang out with someone of the opposite sex and vice-versa. And we always check in or text after these meetings. (To be clear, he doesnt call me every time he walks into a female coworkers office or talk with me before he sets up a lunch meeting with a friend or takes our kids to the park for a playdate with a female neighbor, but we text and call a lot throughout the day and generally know what the other is doing. We discuss plans and tell each other about our day and what we did). 8. If Im hanging out with a male friend, my husband is always invited. Always. (And vice-versa). He doesnt always comein fact, because we have small kids and would have to get a babysitter, 90 percent of the time he does not come, but he could if he wanted to. And, if Im hanging out with a man, his wife is always invited. Always. The more the merrier. 9. The women he hangs out with are usually also my friends and the men I hang out with are his. Once, when I was out of town, he went over to my friend Andreas house after she had her fourth baby and did her dishes and swept her floor. To which Iand Andreas husband, who was at worksaid: Well done! At times, especially because I travel to write and speak, he does not know my male friends, but he knows about all of them (and Im far more intentional about telling him beforehand if I meet one-on-one with a man when Im traveling). 10. If ever there is even the faintest attraction to someoneeven distant potential weirdnesswe tell our spouse that day. This has happened once or twice in 14 years of marriage. In one case, telling broke the power of it, and we all stayed friends. This guideline raises some questions: Do you tell your spouse everytime you see a beautiful person with good hair or nice eyes? Isnt it completely crushing if your spouse is ever even remotely attracted to anyone else on earth? No and, also, no. One of the important things for adults to learn is that you can meet a member of the opposite sex and find him or her smart, funny, and even on some rational level know they are pretty or handsome, and not sexualize those feelings. In other words, my husband can find our coworker interesting and compassionate and not desire her sexually. These are healthy adult relationships. There is a continuum of feelings that lead from meeting someone to having an affair. Stage 1 is finding someone cool and smart and attractive. Stage 2 is noticing that you slightly, for a few minutes even, like that person in a slightly sexual or romantic way. And it moves on through the stages until you destroy your marriage and/or someone elses. Article continues below If we ever enter into stage 2 for even 10 minutes, we tell each other. For us, this is very rare but also not very alarming. We dont let this fester. And, if needed, we set up more rigid boundaries around that person. If you are married for a while, its likely that at some point one of you may be at stage 2. You can talk about it and work through it. This, for us, has not been a big deal. 11. We never complain about our spouse to a friend of the opposite sex. 12. We try to be very aware of the emotional and marital health of the people we hang out with. If we sense someone is less stable emotionally, we put up clearer and stricter boundaries. This goes for opposite and same-sex friends. 13. If we are alone with a member of the opposite sex, we never discuss sex or our sex life or say anyone or anything is sexy. This is an obvious one, right? 14. We pray for our marriage. One practice we picked up from an older couple is that if ever we hear about a couple we know divorcing, we stop and pray for them and also for our marriage. We have close friends, a small group, accountability, and spiritual directors and need Gods constant mercy. And we are both huge proponents of counseling. Lots of it. As often as possible. 15. If a situation arises where we need to make some weird exception to these rules, we flex. We talk about it openly and ask permission from the other. (Did I mention that we talk a lot?) Still, none of these practices make our marriage affair-proof. There are no practices or rules or even iron-clad laws that are a silver bullet for sin. I am not above an affair; I think the minute I think I am, Im in big trouble. But over the years, weve built up trust. I am grateful for that. I know it can go differently, and, if it did, we may have to adopt different practices. I also recognize that there are some men or women who, due to pornography or sexual addiction or particular patterns of weakness, may not be able to have relationships with the opposite sex. These men and women should admit that to themselves and their community honestly and seek help. But we must all recognize that those are unique boundaries for a particular area of unhealth (like alcoholics wisely avoiding bars) and not a generally applicable principle that assumes that women are an inherent threat to all men. The options are not the Billy Graham Rule or no-holds-barred. You can have healthy friendships and work relationships with the opposite sex and not be an idiot. Between legalism and license, we may find some good friends or help someone or change a life, and we may become better wives or husbands and grow in virtue, by Gods grace alone. Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, serving at Church of the Ascension Pittsburgh, and the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary. Speaking Out is Christianity Todays guest opinion column and (unlike an editorial) does not necessarily represent the opinion of the magazine. As a Christian at university, I was faced with a hierarchy of possibilities. The really holy people became missionaries, the rather holy people were ordained, and the fairly holy people became teachers; the also rans did all the other jobs in the world, so wrote R. J. Berry in his book Real Science, Real Faith. Having discovered that he either couldnt or shouldnt do any of the holy jobs, Berry, known to most as Sam, eventually realized that we have all been given different talents and callings, and that there is not (and should not be) such a thing as a typical or normal Christian. Sam Berry was anything but a normal Christian. He attended his local church regularly, went to the monthly prayer meetings whenever he could, and served on the church council. For the last 30 years of his life he was licensed to preach, and for about 20 years he took part in national synod meetings. This would have been a huge commitment on top of a regular job and raising three children, but Sam was a high-capacity person who was not content to conform to the stereotype of also-ranthose who run races but never win. He demonstrated to the best of his ability that every single Christian is in full-time ministry. As professor of genetics at University College London, Sam studied island populations (especially mice), which often involved field trips to remote Scottish islands. He was a distinguished biologist and published work on evolutionary and ecological genetics, biodiversity, and conservation biology, and was the president of several prestigious scientific societies. His final academic contribution, a book titled Environmental Attitudes Through Time was published this month by Cambridge University Press, just a few weeks after his death at the age of 84. I attended the service of thanksgiving for his life, which included a tribute from his colleague Professor Steve Joneshimself a renowned biologist and communicator. Joness contribution was all the more remarkable because he is well-known for his rejection of faith yet was able to celebrate such a well-known Christians scientific achievements and recognize that he had gone to a better place. Another hang-up for Sam as a student had been the pressure to share his faith in a particular way. Realizing that he had none of the gifts possessed by some of getting alongside people and proclaiming Christ, he recognized that this was not an excuse to avoid living and speaking for Christ at every available opportunity. One of the ways he did this was by thinking deeply about how science and faith can work together: speaking, writing, and editing books on the subject. His first science-faith book was on the compatibility of evolutionary biology and the Genesis story. This has been a difficult and sometimes painful question for many biologists in evangelical churches, and Sams first book Adam and the Ape in 1975 helped many people to think through the issues. In his 2007 Faraday paperCreation and Evolution Not Creation or Evolution he wrote, When we put together faith and reason, we can join with the whole creation in praising our maker and redeemer, and rejoice in the wholeness which is the true end of humanity. We do not have to choose between evolution or creation; biblical faith leads us to affirming both. The question of miracles can also be a tricky one for scientists, and when there was controversy over a senior bishop in the Church of England rejecting certain miracles, Sam stepped in. His 1984 letter to the Times, signed by 13 other senior scientists and academics, stated, It is not logically valid to use science as an argument against miracles. To believe that miracles cannot happen is as much an act of faith as to believe that they can. This stirred up a hornet's nest of debate in the scientific community that ran over multiple issues of the journal Nature. I am personally glad that such a senior scientist was willing to nail his colors to the mast so clearly. When he retired, the majority of Sams energy was devoted to caring for creation. He was one of a generation who realized that we will face serious problems if we fail to rein in our consumption of natural resources. Drawing on his experience as a geneticist and a naturalist, he became one of the founders of the UK Christian environmental movement. I remember his excitement when he managed to gather a group of senior leaders for a meeting where they could learn about the issues we need to face if we are to tend and keep the earth God has entrusted to us (Gen. 2:15). Sam was one of the founders of the John Ray Initiative, an organization that aims to help people understand the Christian imperative to care for creation, and he was heavily involved in the Christian conservation charity A Rocha. It is hard to defend the intrinsic value of an ecosystem without some sort of faith or philosophical commitment, and Sam taught that to a Christian, nature is valuable because it is Godscreated by him and declared to be good. He believed very strongly that caring for creation is just as much a Christian act as meeting together as a church on a Sunday. Toward the end of his career in science, Sam won the UK Templeton Award for long and distinguished advocacy of the Christian faith among scientists. The student who gave a tribute at his service of thanksgiving was just one of the many people who are very glad that Sam had not been ordained or become a teacher or an overseas missionary. When I was a graduate student, I also appreciated his example: Sam showed us that it is indeed possible to be a real scientist and have a real Christian faith. Dr Ruth M. Bancewicz is a Senior Research Associate at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, UK. Her PhD is in Genetics, and she has worked at Edinburgh University as well as the UK-based professional group Christians in Science. Ruth blogs at www.scienceandbelief.org. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment What is an "evangelical" is a question now at stake on a global level. Last week at Wheaton College, a historic evangelical site, 50 fairly diverse leaders met to pray and discern together the future of evangelicalism in the U.S. When Fox News, Breitbart, and CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) launched coordinated coverage of the meeting as "Trump bashing," featuring the Trump evangelical advisers to the president, you knew the meeting hit a nerve. I was there. The real purposes of the gathering at Wheaton, with people across the political spectrum, were, according to the co-chairs of the event: ... to have an honest dialogue about the current state of American evangelicalism and to discuss the movement's future...includ[ing] a reaffirmation of [our] shared commitment to the Greatest Commandment to love God and [our] neighbors (Matthew 22:36-40), and [our] belief in the dignity of all people as created in the image of God. The group also repented for areas in which evangelicals have not been faithful to biblical teaching, and examined how the public witness of American evangelicals has, and has not, reflected the life and teachings of Jesus. Many of us, who still call ourselves evangelicals, are dealing with these three things: How do we deal with the astonishment of evangelicals around the world about what is happening in America with white evangelical support for Donald Trump? How do we deal with the deep and painful racial division and sense of betrayal from evangelicals of color that Trump's use of racial bigotry was not and is not a deal-breaker for a majority of white evangelicals? Why has Trump received such strident and vocal support from certain white evangelical leaders that goes far beyond pragmatic policy agreements, but has descended to unfettered and uncritical adulation and praise for a man whose personal and public life has been consistently unapologetically morally corrupt? Does such blatant hypocrisy in support of a man whose beliefs and behavior have been consistently antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ risk losing a whole generation of young people for Christian faith? The best word to describe the environment of Wheaton event wasn't "bashing" rather, it was deep embarrassment and deep concern about the future of evangelical faith. My reflection on being at the Wheaton gathering, and the reaction to it by the Trump evangelicals and their far-right media allies, is that the problem was not the "political" nature of the event as they accused; the event did not have a political but a hopeful reconciling tone. Rather, the deeply concerning problem was and is precisely the political, not religious character, of the Religious Right's attack and their total identification with Donald Trump. History is very important to understand here and very few people do even many of those who were at the meeting, and certainly those in the media who lack religious literacy and too often are hostile to religion. Let me share some of the history that is crucial to understand. In 1971, the movement that became Sojourners was born at an evangelical seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. We preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is transforming both personally and socially a holistic message aimed to change our lives and the world. In 1973, I worked with Evangelicals for Social Action in a gathering Ron Sider convened, again in Chicago, which produced a document called Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern. It says in part: We acknowledge that God requires love. But we have not demonstrated the love of God to those suffering social abuses. We acknowledge that God requires justice. But we have not proclaimed or demonstrated justice to an unjust American society... Although the Lord calls us to defend the social and economic rights of the poor and oppressed, we have mostly remained silent. We deplore the historic involvement of the church in America with racism and the conspicuous responsibility of the evangelical community for perpetuating the personal attitudes and institutional structures that have divided the body of Christ along color lines. Further, we have failed to condemn the exploitation of racism at home and abroad by our economic system. ... we call our fellow evangelical Christians to demonstrate repentance in a Christian discipleship that confronts the social and political injustice of our nation ... Before God and a billion hungry neighbors, we must rethink our values regarding our present standard of living and promote a more just acquisition and distribution of the world's resources. ... we must challenge the misplaced trust of the nation in economic and military might a proud trust that promotes a national pathology of war and violence which victimizes our neighbors at home and abroad. We must resist the temptation to make the nation and its institutions objects of near-religious loyalty. We acknowledge that we have encouraged men to prideful domination and women to irresponsible passivity ... we call both men and women to mutual submission and active discipleship... We proclaim no new gospel, but the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who, though the power of the Holy Spirit, frees people from their sins so that they might praise God through works of righteousness. We endorse no political ideology or party ... [but] make this declaration in the biblical hope that Christ is coming to consummate the Kingdom and we accept his claim on our total discipleship until he comes. That was 45 years ago in 1973. Reading it again at the Wheaton meeting was heartbreaking realizing how far in the wrong direction "evangelicalism" has now gone, so diminished and distorted. In my tradition, we would call that spiritual "backsliding." Read the declaration now all of it and see how much we have gone backwards. Also take a look at the list of signers back in 1973. We were "young evangelicals," including black evangelicals, the first evangelical feminists, some global evangelical leaders, but also some of the leading establishment white evangelical leaders at the time including some who were invoked at the Wheaton meeting last week, like founding editor of Christianity Today Carl F.H. Henry. As the final editor of the Chicago Declaration, I can attest that Henry and I we went back and forth on every "jot and title" as those who knew him would expect! This was a multiracial and intergenerational statement unanimously agreed to after two days of retreat together. We all felt it was work that God had done. At the time, the "Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern" gained great attention in the evangelical world, schools, and seminaries, and it was a big news story. And until 1980, we were called the "young evangelicals" in a "new evangelical" movement. So what happened? Politics happened. A political assault and takeover was successfully executed by the Republican right wing and the "Religious Right" was born. White evangelicals, in particular, were targeted by a far-right movement steeped in racism and were deliberately politicized. It is now painfully clear that the evangelical world was strategically and politically coopted not by more conservative evangelical leaders, but by political operatives from the Republican Party who saw a real opportunity to take over the evangelical world by making particular appeals to "conservative social issues." This isn't hyperbolic rhetoric. Those right-wing political operatives like Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Kevin Phillips, and Terry Dolan would later say as much about what they did and how they did it to recruit the white evangelicals. They approached fundamentalist leaders like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and offered to make them household names if they gave them their mailing lists. It's all documented history now. Richard Viguerie, now a cordial dialogue partner of mine and ally on ending capital punishment, was the direct mail guru of the day. Richard and his fellow Republican activists created new organizations like the Moral Majority, with Falwell and Robertson as the public figures with them the political operatives behind the scenes. That politicization of white evangelicals has now culminated in their unbelievable, uncritical support for a man like Donald Trump. This was never a theological debate; it was a political take-over and it worked. While Sojourners was referenced as "new evangelicals" in the 1970s, by 1980, we were called an "alternative to the Religious Right" and those on the right have called us leftist ever since. I have always resisted being called "the religious left." Sojourners cares so deeply about poverty and racism and war because of the Bible, not because of political ideology. "Progressive evangelicals," as some of us are now called, have regularly challenged the Democrat's extreme positions on abortion, have affirmed covenantal sexuality, and consistently push Democrats to go much deeper on both racism and poverty which is why so many of us feel politically homeless. Now already, the far-right is targeting young evangelicals of color, some of whom were co-chairs of the Wheaton meeting as "political," on the left, as Democrats and Obama supporters. They continue to try to politicize us despite the historical fact that it is they and their far-right allies who have been the ones to politicize the evangelical world. Evangelical scholar and activist Lydia Bean told the Wheaton meeting last week that the far-right doesn't even need religious figures anymore to reach their evangelical targets, as Fox has captured the white evangelical audience and can reach them directly now. Even evangelical megachurch pastors wearily tell me, "I have my people for about two hours a week if I'm lucky, but Fox News has them 24/7. I can't compete with that." Is MSNBC partisan too? Of course, but they and other cable and mainstream outlets don't represent religious people, and often even neglect or disrespect them. The "liberal media" actually likes to cover the Religious Right and Trump evangelicals because of the way it paints Christianity as extreme, which confirms existing biases and gets clicks. With all due respect, I must also say that I believe the established evangelical leaders who signed the Chicago Declaration with us "young evangelicals" so long ago, like Carl Henry, Vernon Grounds, and Frank Gaebelein, would have spoken out against the rise of the Religious Right as not truly "evangelical" and I believe certainly would have stood up against the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump. But very few of their establishment evangelical successors have done so. They have remained silent. One of those exceptions has been Russell Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, who publicly opposed Trump during his campaign for his amorality, incompetence, immaturity, and racial bigotry. And he has paid a price for his truth-telling. Another courageous exception to evangelical silence spoke at the Wheaton meeting. Mark Labberton, the President of Fuller Theological Seminary, which is the largest and most diverse evangelical seminary in the country, was the only white evangelical leader who spoke the unvarnished biblical truth about racism and white supremacy in American society and the church at the Wheaton gathering. See his statement here. Labberton is listening to his students of color from America and around the world, and it has shaped his view of what the evangelical future must look like. Thanks be to God for both of them, for standing alongside and listening to the leadership of their brothers and sisters of color in the body of Christ which is the most diverse human community on the planet and will lead the future of the church. What we are now engaged in is "spiritual warfare," as described in our Scriptures. We don't finally put our trust in politics, but in God who will win with the long arc of the universe that "bends toward justice" as Dr. King reminded us. I only made one comment at the end of the Wheaton meeting when I said, "I have been listening as I hope you all have been too. The question this meeting is asking about the future of evangelicalism has been answered by the voices of color and women in this room (pointing to several of them). They are pointing us to the evangel, the good news Jesus said he would bring to the poor in his opening statement in Luke 4. That's our future, let's listen." As one of the white evangelical leaders in the Wheaton meeting had said to me before, "American evangelicalism is destroying the evangel." It is time for the evangel to turn white evangelicalism in America upside down. Jim Wallis is president of Sojourners and author of On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn't Learned About Serving the Common Good. You can follow Jim on Twitter: @JimWallis. 'A good death'? Bishop Graham Tomlin on Alfie Evans, Christian healing and why the church must defend the NHS The past week has seen emotions running high over the case of Alfie Evans: another vulnerable child made the subject of a complex debate about healthcare, autonomy, the state and even the role of religious groups. Last night in London an Anglican bishop joined healthcare professionals to discuss the National Health Service (NHS), what Christian 'healing' means, and why believers might need to rethink suffering and death. Controversial though it may seem to some Americans, there are good theological reasons to back the NHS, said Bishop Graham Tomlin, speaking at St Mellitus College in a talk titled 'Christian healing in the age of the NHS', organised by the Christian Healing Mission. Tomlin described how the NHS, which turns 70 this year, was a noble idea 'born of the suffering' of the early 20th century. It was something Christians could and can still endorse because, believing human beings are made in the image of God and are universally loved by their creator, they asserted the value and worth of each individual. A service that met a vital human need (health) irrespective of one's social or financial standing was protecting something fundamental to human life. But a nationalised health service also created challenges for the church, which had previously been a lead provider of welfare and charity. What role was it now to play? Tomlin explored how a commitment to healthcare, particularly for the weakest in society, has been fundamental to Christianity since its inception. Consider the early Christian care of abandoned infants, or their sacrificial commitment to victims of plague, such that believers took on the infirmity of those they cared for, sometimes losing their own lives ('cheerfully accepting their pain' in the words of one 3rd-century pope) so that others might be healed. Long before the science of communicable disease was medically understood, these Christians knew what it meant to share suffering in the name of love and healing. Tomlin emphasised however, that a Christian understanding of healthcare is not simply concerned with meeting material deficiencies but bringing about holistic human flourishing. He said: 'True human flourishing means not just the absence of disease and sickness but positive relations of love towards God and other people.' This is an 'essentially social vision', he added, of anthropology itself inspired by the multi-faceted, relational Trinitarian life of God that means 'we are not just bodies to be healed'. Tomlin turned to the witness of Jesus, the only world religious leader whose primary activity was that of a healer. But Jesus' miracles were not illustrations of his teaching, Tomlin said, rather it was the other way around. His teaching explained what his visible 'signs' demonstrated, that in Christ's words, 'the Kingdom of God has come to you'. A new state of divine rule was coming about in the midst of this world, a healing and restoration of a broken reality glimpsed by wonders worked by Christ. Healing miracles were 'the heart of the whole thing' a visible embodiment of God's 'good news' for humanity. And in the witness of church, stories of healing have not been limited to Christ. Tomlin spoke of the voluminous proliferation of healing claims throughout church history and the 'possibility that on occasion, seemingly in response to prayer, medical healing is somehow accelerated, disease is removed remarkably, and a measure of at least temporary healing takes place.' Healing for some of course raises more problems than it solves bringing in questions about prayer and its relation to divine action, and why God doesn't intervene more often. Tomlin cautioned that a reality in which God intervened all the time would be 'a cartoon, not a world', undoing the order of the universe by which we learn its nature, patterns and learn to live responsibly and with limits. Then again, Tomlin added, a world in which God never intervened would suggest Deism: a God far off, who abandoned reality after creating it an unChristian perspective. He suggested that miracles are nonetheless 'rare, occasional, real', and emphasised a big picture that set no dichotomies between miracles and medical professionals. 'Christians pray for healing, not just to supplement the work of doctors, certainly not to prove that somehow clergy are more powerful than consultants, but a sign of a bigger picture of human flourishing, a positive vision of what human life in society is meant to be like.' He pointed to Christ's resurrection, the 'greatest miracle' and a 'momentous interruption' into a 'world of decay', through which new life emerges from death. Neither the NHS nor healing ministries can provide certainty or complete protection, Tomlin said. Prayers go unanswered, medicines can fail. Yet, the resurrection offers an enduring hope, a 'gateway' to the God from whom we came and to whom we shall return. Tomlin concluded that the church today should 'celebrate and defend' the NHS, protecting the gift of health for all. This vocation, he said, may mean calling government to account. A later panel discussion with Tomlin, two doctors and a hospital chaplain warned of a 'shrinking' and 'exhausted' NHS, and the need for Christians to 'come back' to healthcare, be it through chaplaincy, 'para-health' work like the charity Oasis, or volunteering caring for the vulnerable. Concluding his lecture Tomlin said that because of the resurrection, Christians understand that death is not ultimate, 'not the worst thing that could happen to you', and so Christians don't fear their demise but believe in the possibility of a 'good death'. He added that this view allows Christians to set limits to healthcare: 'there does come a point when it is no longer wise nor caring to prolong life'. This perspective was raised again when the panel discussion turned to the case of Alfie Evans. The speakers were wary about making judgments without proper knowledge, but noted the issues of autonomy and interests, and how public opinion may now be shifting to individuaism and a distrust of higher authorities, whether courts, doctors or clergy. 'Life is a good thing', Tomlin said. Our relationships are immensely valuable, but 'death is not the worst thing, because it cannot separate us from God. 'And there's a difference between suffering and evil. We might even say that not all suffering is evil. Suffering that leads you back to God might actually even be a good thing.' He added: 'We have the resources within our Christian faith, to allow a friend, even a child, with great, great sorrow and [in] tragedy to allow them to go into the hands of God, and not to cling on to life at all costs.' You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter Charlie Gard's parents call for law change after watching Alfie Evans case with 'heavy heart' Charlie Gard's parents, whose campaign to save their terminally ill baby spread around the world last year, have called for a change in the law to give parents more control over the care of their sick children. Chris Gard and Connie Yates said they had watched Alfie Evans' case with a 'heavy heart' and said it is 'impossible to understand the pain' parents Tom Evans and Kate James are going through. They joined calls for a change in a law that currently demands courts take the child's 'best interests' as the 'gold standard' rather than the parents' wishes when ruling on how terminally ill children should be treated. Cases such as Charlie Gard's and Alfie Evans' are judged on what is best for the patient's welfare, rather than giving priority to what the parents think. Ruling in the Charlie Gard case, Lord Justice McFarlane said: 'The sole principle is that the best interests of the child must prevail and that must apply even to cases where parents, for the best of motives, hold on to some alternative view.' Charlie Gard went on to die on July 28 last year and his parents have now launched a campaign to change the law. 'When we were fighting for our son, Charlie Gard, to be given a chance to try a treatment that could have improved his quality of life, we realised that cases like these would keep happening until the law was changed,' they said in a statement on Friday. 'Tragically, this has proven to be true.' Alfie Evans' parents have been battling to take the 23-month-old to Rome and treated in the Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu hospital. A military grade helicopter was on stand by to fly him to Rome at the request of the pope, a court heard this week. But after a series of legal battles judges consistently ruled it was not in Alfie's best interest to travel and instead he should have life support removed and be treated with palliative care in Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool. The case bears striking similarities to the Charlie Gard case and Chris Gard and Connie Yates said they were working with doctors, lawyers and politicians to 'propose a law that will prevent parents experiencing painful and prolonged conflicts with medical professionals'. 'This involves addressing problems around the "best interests" test as well as creating a platform for transparency and openness so that cases like these can be dealt with before they ever reach the courts,' they said in a statement. 'Once cases are public it is difficult for people to be fully aware of the complexities and this often leads to ill-informed judgements on both sides and creates unnecessary conflicts. 'We want to do something that is better for everybody hospitals, healthcare professionals, families with sick children, the NHS, and the reputation of our own government,' they added. It comes after independent MEP Steven Woolfe launched a similar campaign for 'Alfie's law' to give parents a bigger say in their child's treatment. 'The cases of Charlie Gard, Aysha King, and now Alfie Evans, show a dangerous trend of public bodies depriving parents and families of the right to make decisions they believe are in the best interests of their children,' he said launching the campaign outside parliament on Thursday. 'Parents' rights should neither be ignored nor dismissed as irrelevant by hospitals and courts, who believe they know best and have the power, money and resources to overwhelm families who simply want to save their child,' he added. 'Now is the time to act. We cannot have another baby, another family, have to go through the struggle and torment the Evans family have. It's time for Alfie's Law.' Charlie Gard's parents appeared to ask Woolfe to abandon his campaign and join them as they said: 'We would ask those pushing for law change to take account of the careful work already done, and join us as we continue to push for a solution that is best for all involved.' Nigeria: 39 dead in latest Fulani attack as churches plan nationwide protest At least 39 people have died in yet another attack by Fulani herdsman on Christians in Nigeria's Middle Belt. More than 160 homes were set on fire and the death toll could rise following the attack in Benue state on Tuesday night. Residents reported the Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, as being armed with AK-47 guns. 'The herdsmen destroyed more than 60 houses in our village, and three members of my community were also killed during the attack,' Alice Terwase told Morning Star News. 'At Tse-Ali village, more than 70 houses were set ablaze and 21 Christians killed. All affected victims are members of NKST [Universal Reformed Christian Church, or Nongu u Kristu u i Ser u sha Tar] church, and the Roman Catholic Church in the affected communities.' Christians are planning a nationwide protest on Sunday as they say President Buhari's government are not doing enough to protect them. The Evangelical Church Winning All, one of the largest denominations in Nigeria, is holding three days of prayer and fasting in response to the attacks and also calling for the release of Leah Sharibu, a schoolgirl being held by Boko Haram because she won't renounce her Christian faith. Rev Supo Ayokunle, president of Christian Association Nigeria, urged all Christians in Nigeria to take part in the protests on Sunday, calling for the end of 'killings and bloodshed in the country'. 'Christians are to carry placards with inscriptions meant to address issues about sustained killings, attacks and destruction of their property in Nigeria,' he said, adding the government perform its constitutional responsibility of protecting citizens. 'No excuse should be given for this wicked act again, and perpetrators must be brought to book now,' he said. 'The association also calls on the heads of the security agencies to wake up to their constitutional role of protecting lives and property across the federation while preventing Nigeria from descending into chaos and a lawless country,' he added. Christians make up about 51 per cent of Nigeria's population and live primarily in the south, while Muslims living mainly in the north and middle belt account for 45 per cent. Suicidal man saved after 13 truckers did something astounding to stop him from killing himself Some 13 Michigan tractor-trailer drivers worked together with the police to save a suicidal man from what he was about to do on the Detroit freeway. At around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24, the police received a 911 call alerting them of a man standing on the edge of an overpass at the Interstate 696 near Huntington Woods. Authorities quickly assessed the situation and diverted traffic to the side streets as the troopers tried to stop truckers to ask them for a favor. Some 13 trucks eventually began lining up alongside each other just beneath the overpass. Lt. Mike Shaw told reporters that if the man really did decide to jump, he would have just fallen on the trucks some five to six feet below and not the concrete road 14 feet down. The Michigan State Police shared a photo of the trucks lining up on Twitter, which has gone viral. The post also included the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This photo does show the work troopers and local officers do to serve the public. But also in that photo is a man struggling with the decision to take his own life. Please remember help is available through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. pic.twitter.com/RBAlCIXT1o MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) April 24, 2018 On Facebook, a trucker name Chris Harrison confirmed that he was one of the truckers who helped prevent the suicide attempt. He posted that the incident took over two hours to be resolved and a highway patrol officer shook their hands and thanked them afterwards. The unidentified man willingly walked away from the overpass with the police and was brought to a nearby hospital for an assessment. The police said he lives in Oakland County and is about 30 years old. One in every 25 suicide attempts ends in death and at least 45,000 people die from suicide each year, according to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Statistics suggest middle-aged white men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. "You can also call a loved one, member of the clergy or 911," the Michigan State Police also wrote on Twitter. "There are so many people that can help you make the choice to get help and live!" If you are in need of support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 Who is 'the fool' in Proverbs? 7 types of modern day folly There's no character trait the Bible condemns more than folly. The fool particularly a target in the book of Proverbs is a pitiful creature, who deserves no respect and should be shunned for the harm he does. But 'fool' is never defined, except in terms of what they do. To understand what a fool is and so to avoid being one we need to pay attention to how Proverbs describes them. Here are seven types of fool. 1. How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? (Proverbs 1:22). Fools don't learn. They can't be bothered to read, to study or to listen to those who know more than they do. They think they know everything already. Knowledge confuses them, because there's so much they don't know. Rather than take the time and trouble to learn, they dismiss it all and go by what they would say is their 'gut instinct' uninformed prejudice, in other words. In the world of the social media echo chamber, this is particularly relevant. 2. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them (Proverbs 1:32). Fools think everything will be alright. Complacency is assuming tomorrow will be like today and there's no need to prepare for trouble or hard times. Sometimes fools assume God will not let anything bad happens (Christians who assume climate change doesn't matter and that we can't really harm the world because God won't let it happen are like this). But we should prepare for what lies ahead, before it's too late. 3. Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool (Proverbs 10:18). Fools are devious. Christians ought to be straightforward and truthful, but fools resent people who are wiser or more gifted than they are and work to undermine them. This can happen in churches, where foolish people frustrate the work of the gospel because they're jealous of those called to preach and teach it. 4. The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice (Proverbs 12:15). Fools don't listen. We all know people like this: they're fond of the sound of their own voices and can't really believe anyone else has anything half as interesting to say. But as an English proverb says, we have two ears and one mouth listening is far more important than talking. 5. Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright (Proverbs 14:9). Fools don't repent. One of the marks of a wise and godly person is that they're willing to admit when they're wrong. The fool will do anything rather than confess they have sinned or made a mistake. Humbly admitting our faults part of being a disciple of Christ. 6. Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly (Proverbs 17:12). Fools are dangerous. A bear robbed of her cubs is a terrible sight; the wisest thing to do is run away, as far and as fast as possible. This proverb points out one of the consequences of folly people get hurt because of self-centred, malicious, uninformed judgments. 7. The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down (Proverbs 21:20). Fools don't do deferred gratification. A famous test in the 1960s and '70s, the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, offered children a small reward immediately or a larger one if they were prepared to wait. Those who couldn't hold out for the larger reward were found to have worse life outcomes than the others. To lack self-restraint and foresight is foolish, says Proverbs. Advice about fools in the Bible isn't meant to be judgmental or mocking. It's meant to show us how to avoid folly in our own lives. Knowing how not to be a fool is the first step towards knowing how to be wise. BBVA Compass reported record quarterly earnings of $209 million for the first quarter of 2018, up 73 percent from the same three-month period last year. The bank funded $4.4 billion in new loans during the quarter, increasing its total loans 4 percent to $62.3 billion. Commercial loan growth outpaced overall loan growth with a 7 percent increase. History sure has changed since I was in grade school. This no kidding, Sherlock realization is one of the many joys of Hamilton, which turns the unlikely rise and bullet-blasted fall of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton into a story of conflict and betrayal worthy of its own Real Housewives franchise assuming any of the housewives could rap, sing and dance simultaneously. Back in the Pleistocene era that was the pre-internet 20th century, Hamilton and his contemporaries Washington, Jefferson, Adams and company often were portrayed as untouchable, almost superhuman figures who forged a nation out of iron will and the sweat of their brow. Sure, later, we learned that they were far from perfect that slave-owning, for instance, was a feature, not a bug but they still felt as remote and inscrutable as the faces on Mount Rushmore. My father told me that Hamilton might have had undeclared African ancestry, implying that someone in the Hamilton tree looked a bit more like me, but I wasnt sure I believed him. Such knowledge certainly seemed to be above the pay grade of the nuns teaching out of history books seemingly written when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Hamilton goes a long way toward flipping the script. The competition among Hamilton, Jefferson and Aaron Burr for the heart and soul of Congress and the nation comes alive on stage with the electricity of a rap battle. Their very human emotions jealousy, anger, love become the connective tissue between the audience and those hazy figures from history trying to hammer together a more perfect union. If cable news and social media had been around in the late-18th century, things would probably have been just as toxic and troublesome as today. After all, as bad as things are, no public figure is (yet) using Twitter to challenge their opponents to a duel with weapons drawn, as happened between Hamilton and Burr, resulting in (spoiler alert) Hamiltons death. Though #pistolsatdawn does have a nice ring to it. Hamilton has won many accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016, but its also earned skepticism and scorn from some historians, which, in turn, has sparked a backlash from ride-or-die fans who have creator Lin-Manuel Mirandas back like Scooby-Doo protecting Shaggy. Yet, in some ways, it doesnt matter if all the historical details in Hamilton are SAT-correct. The production succeeds in its larger goal of putting human flesh on dusty historical bones, of making these flawed men and women as real as your co-workers, if your co-workers just happened to be trying to overthrow a British monarch, write a constitution or become one of The Real Housewives. cary.darling@chron.com The annual tour of historic homes in Galveston always offers a peek into private homes and big slices of city and state history. But they also show how people lived generations ago and how history lovers blend an appreciation for century-old architecture with modern life. The nine homes on the Galveston Historical Foundation's 2018 tour range from income property meant for tenants to grand homes meant for some of the city's wealthiest and most influential residents. The tour runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. two weekends, May 5-6 and May 12-13. Tickets are $30 before May 4; purchase them at www.galvestonhistory.org. Here's the lineup: 1893 Thomas and Lillie League House, 3528 Avenue P: This home was built on land once owned by Samuel May Williams, a prominent figure in early Texas history. He was the grandfather of Lillie League and an early settler of the Austin Colony. He helped found the Texas Navy and served as secretary to Stephen F. Austin. After Texas gained independence he moved to Galveston, where he was a prominent businessman. The elegant two-story house features original woodwork and a full-width porch. The original turned porch columns and balusters were replaced by Craftsman-like elements in the early 20th century. MORE: Zach Carson and Elliott Stuart turned the League House into a show home. 1896 William and Adele Skinner House, 1318 Sealy: Architect Charles W. Bulger designed this exquisite Queen Anne house for banker William Cooke Skinner and his wife, Adele. Bulger arrived in Galveston from Indiana in 1891, and practiced architecture for several years before moving to Dallas in 1905. The home features a multi-gabled roof-line, wrap-around galleries and finely crafted details and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (2017). 1874 Smith-Hartley House, 1121 33rd St.: Architect Thomas J. Overmire designed this Italianate house for early land speculator J. Mayrant Smith. Smith resided there briefly before he sold the house in 1880 to Susan Hartley, widow of early Texas legislature Oliver Cromwell Hartley. 2018 Galveston Historic Homes Tour When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 5-6 and May 12-13 Homes: 1318 Sealy; 1121 33rd St.; 2424 Avenue L; 2123 Avenue K; 3528 Avenue P; 3608 Avenue O; 3018 Avenue O ; 1723 Mechanic; 1503 Church Parking: on street near each home; no shuttle service provided Tickets: $30 in advance; $35 May 4 and after Information: www.galvestonhistory.org See More Collapse 1883 Adolph and Regina Frenkel House, 2424 Avenue L: Bavarian immigrant Adolph Frenkel purchased this Victorian house in 1884. A year later he married Regina Marx and the couple added two rooms to the rear of the property and installed electric lights, which had recently become available in Galveston. PIRATE'S COVE: Exhale when you hit the causeway, and say hello to your weekend place. 1887 John Burnett Tenant House, 2123 Avenue K: In 1887, John Burnett, president of the Gulf City Street Railway & Real Estate Company, built four identical two-story houses south of Broadway in the working-class San Jacinto neighborhood. After the turn of the 19th century, this one was used as a boarding house, then was divided into a duplex during the 1940s. Galveston Historical Foundation purchased the property in 2014 and returned it to a single-family residence. After they stabilized the property, GHF sold it to the current owners who completed a thorough rehabilitation of the house. 1913 John and Artie Gilbert House, 3608 Avenue O: This Victorian home, built for an engineer for the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad, shows how residential design began to transition in Galveston to the revival periods of the early 20th century. The City of Galveston designated the property a City Landmark in 2017 and rehabilitation of the house was featured on HGTV's "Saving Galveston." 1895 James and Maggie Lowber House, 3018 Avenue O : The Lowbers were Kentucky natives who built this high-raised, two-story Victorian with Queen Anne features. Lowbar came to Galveston to serve as the pastor for Central Christian Church, founded in 1877. After they relocated to Austin, the Lowbers rented out the home until 1904. The original insurance record for the house notes it was "wrecked" by the 1900 Storm and repaired in 1901. 1905 Benjamin Dolson Tenant House, 1723 Mechanic: Benjamin Dolson, a partner in a maritime business, built this two-story Southern townhouse with double gallery in 1905. Moved by Galveston Historical Foundation in 2017 to save it from demolition, the Foundation's scope of work includes new pier-and-beam foundation and a replacement roof, repair and restoration of key architectural and structural elements, and new mechanical systems. 1928 Paul and Veska Chushcoff Tenant House, 1503 Church: This this high-raised, gable-front house was built by the Chushcoffs, Yugoslovian immigrants, as tenant property. In 2005, new owners rehabilitated and raised the building, adding ground-floor living space. A three-day festival celebrating sand sculptors returns for its 21st year this weekend in Port Aransas. The Texas Sandfest festival kicks off Friday morning on the beach in the South Texas town, between mile markerss 9 and 13. Tickets for adults are $10 while kids can attend Sandfest for free, according to the event's website. Sculptors will compete to create the best sand art, while attendees can look on and enjoy live music, food and activities for kids. RELATED: 7 viral, funny stories you may have missed during Fiesta's first weekend This year's Sandfest theme is "Texas Sandfest Gives Back," according to the Port Aransas website. The mission of the event this year, according to the city, is to "give back to the community by raising funds for local charities and scholarships for high school seniors." Events begin at 9 a.m. Friday. Click through the gallery to see creations from previous years. Kelsey Bradshaw is a digital reporter for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter: @kbrad5 Each year in Texas, thousands of animals are used for research that leads to better quality of life for humans and other animals, and sometimes, groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Earlier this month, Texas animal research made headlines for a different reason, when four baboons used a 55-gallon barrel to escape from their enclosure at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. But how many similar facilities house animals in the Houston area? The U.S. Department of Agriculture tracks the number of animals used for research, testing, education or experimentation, as each facility is required to report these numbers annually. The photos above show the statistics from facilities that reported animal use in 2017. Some of the animals commonly used include non-human primates, guinea pigs, rabbits and pigs. Less often, dogs, cats or even ferrets may be used. COMING TO HOUSTON: Research institutions to combine at 30-acre biomed campus Facilities are also required to state which animals were used in various types of research: No pain involved, and no pain drugs administered Pain involved, with pain drugs administered Pain involved, with no pain drugs administered. In some research and testing that causes animal pain or distress, administering pain drugs or tranquilizers could adversely affect the interpretation of the tests, according to the USDA reports. Facilities are required to report the reasons drugs were not used for these types of tests. According to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, one of the research facilities in the photos above, animal research is required by the Food and Drug Administration before medications, medical devices and other treatments can be administered to humans. Scientists at UTMB are required to use other strategies, such as computer models or tissue cultures, whenever these alternatives can get results without animal testing. Researchers also work to minimize animal discomfort and use the smallest number of animals possible, according to the UTMB website. The places shown in the photos above are listed by the USDA as the headquarters for each facility. Specific laboratory locations are redacted in the USDA reports, which are available to the public using this search tool. At the end of the slideshow, we show the total number of each type of animal listed in these reports from Houston-area facilities. Dana Burke is a digital reporter at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @danapburke. BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions and the Houston BARC Foundation invite all Houston area pet owners and pet lovers to the Third Annual BARK for BARC Pet Walk at Rice University on Saturday, April 28, at 8:30 a.m. The walk will help raise awareness and essential funds to support BARCs mission to give Houstons homeless pets a second chance at finding a home. As a dog lover and advocate for fostering and adopting shelter dogs in need of forever homes, I am thrilled to support once again this years BARK for BARC Pet Walk and encourage everyone across the city to come, said Ashley P. Turner, co-chair of the BARC Foundation Advisory Board and daughter of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. The event is a collective effort led by Houston BARC Foundation Board members in partnership with Rice University to help improve the quality of life and survival rate of all homeless animals in Houston. All animal lovers, with or without pets, are invited to attend this family event featuring food trucks, music and vendors. The Houston Strong spirit during and after Hurricane Harvey was alive at BARC as staff worked tirelessly to get more than 380 animals adopted and over 1,000 transferred to rescue groups. The generosity before and in the weeks after Harvey demonstrated the positive change donations from our community and from across the nation can make in protecting and supporting our Citys most vulnerable animals, said BARK for BARC Pet Walk Founder & Chair & Houston BARC Foundation Board Member Sofia Adrogue. The Pet Walk aims to build on this momentum so BARC can continue saving lives. My wife, Kara, and I are strong advocates of BARC and for adopting shelter pets here in Houston. Through events like the BARK for BARC Pet Walk, we can help drive awareness of the important services BARC provides for the citys homeless animals and shine a spotlight on all the shelter pups and cats longing for forever homes, said Lance McCullers Jr., Houston Astros pitcher and honorary chair. Funds raised through the walk will help complete construction on BARCs new adoption campus and will support BARC initiatives such as onsite and community adoptions, pet fostering, pet transfer and rescue as well as free and low-cost spay and neuter programs. Visit www.HoustonBARCFoundation.org for additional information or to donate or register for the pet walk. In celebration of Earth Day and to close out National Volunteer Week, more than 45 employees from local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, Silver Eagle Distributors, and Longhorn Glass facility gathered along Buffalo Bayou Park recently to help restore one of Houstons most iconic green spaces. Volunteers helped remove debris and planted more than 1,000 plants in a meadow along the bayou that was destroyed during Hurricane Harvey. A new survey shows although 62 percent of Americans see domestic violence as an extremely serious issue, roughly one-third of them believe it is a taboo subject to talk about, a number that is up 10 percent from just four years ago. The study was conducted in February by Allstate Foundation Purple Purse, which is an organization that works to raise awareness about financial abuse and offers victims the tools they need to escape their abusers and remain free. It surveyed 1,840 American adults and was compared with a similar survey conducted by AFPP in 2014. According to Ellen Lisak, AFPP program officer, financial abuse occurs in 99 percent of domestic violence cases. In the less known form of abuse, abusers control tactics are designed to keep the victim from leaving and can include preventing them from working or accessing bank accounts, credit cards and cash, Lisak said. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed in February called the discussion of domestic violence taboo, but only 24 percent said the same thing in 2014. Lisak said the finding was eye-opening, especially in light of the powerful dialogue around womens issues today. In addition, 55 percent of those surveyed said they had either been a victim of domestic violence or financial abuse themselves or had at least known someone who had. However, only 44 percent said they had talked about the subject with a friend or family member. She said abuse often goes unseen and undiscussed for multiple reasons. Domestic violence and financial abuse are highly complicated issues that usually happen behind closed doors in intimate relationships. Social norms can perpetuate these issues and allow them to remain hidden, Lisak said. For starters, home and love life are considered highly private topics, and discussing money is often considered inappropriate or uncomfortable. Further, people generally avoid sharing feelings of fear, weakness, insecurity or vulnerability. These play into the negative stigma around discussing domestic violence and financial abuse. A domestic and financial abuse survivor, identified here by the pseudonym Anna, said the abuse in her marriage began in 2003 after her now ex-husband watched his father be abusive to his mother, even as she was on her deathbed. She said it was like it gave him license to start abusing as well. The more serious abuse and violence escalated and continued for nearly seven years, she said. He started to get extremely verbally abusive. In the past it was just emotional abuse, but then it became very verbal, and he started picking arguments, Anna said. The more I would try to calm him, the worse he became. [He] started breaking items in the house [and] throwing things in rage at me and the children and telling us how useless we were. Although Anna maintained a full-time job, she said her husband made sure she did not get promoted and would not have the money to flee the situation. He always insisted that I do the minimum at work because my responsibilities were to my home and family. He wanted me to stay at an entry-level pay grade. In addition, he demanded that the house mortgage (our largest payment) be pulled from my check and the remaining money was to be used for groceries. This left me with little to no money to put aside. He did not want me to have any money to use to escape him, she said. Toward the end, Anna was beaten so badly that she wound up in the emergency room, where a police officer asked her if she was planning to go back to her abuser. She told him that she had tried to leave three times before, but her husband threatened to file kidnapping charges if she took their children. Anna said she did not have money for a lawyer to file for divorce or much less custody. The police officer told her about AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse), which is an organization in Houston that helps victims of domestic abuse. She now had an escape plan. Anna said AVDA helped her immediately get restraining orders and eventually a divorce and full custody of her children, all at no charge to her. Since 2005, Purple Purse has helped more than 1.3 million survivors toward safety and security. It has also invested more than $60 million in communities across the nation to help survivors find freedom from abuse through financial education, job training and small business programs. Lisak said people can watch for signs that others in their lives may be in an abusive relationship, such as the person being fearful or anxious to make their partner happy or the victim following whatever their partner says and does. Some signs of financial abuse include having little access to money or credit cards and having their spending tightly monitored and restricted by their partner. She said if you suspect someone is in trouble, you should support without judgment or criticism. Let them know its not their fault and that they are not alone. Dont be afraid to tell them youre concerned for their safety. Visit our website, www.purplepurse.com, for advice on how to begin the conversation with someone you suspect is being abused. Also, you can encourage them to seek assistance through the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE). Anna urged victims of abuse to take action before it is too late because there are resources out there like Purple Purse and AVDA that are ready to step up and help them escape. Do not wait. Leave when your gut tells you to. I waited too long and almost got myself killed. It will only get worse, unless of course you can convince the abuser to get professional help. In my case, it only escalated his anger, Anna said. There are people suffering who have no idea of the help and resources available to them. I would never have known if I had not ended up in the emergency room, so violently beaten, when it was almost too late but thankfully wasn't. No one should have to reach that point to find help. For more information about Allstate Foundation Purple Purse, visit www.purplepurse.com. For more information about AVDA, visit https://avda-tx.org/ or call 713-224-9911. If you need an immediate response, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the AVDA hotline at 1-800-355-8547. tracy.maness@hcnonline.com Houston ranks as the no. 2 market in the country for new home starts, following Dallas/Fort Worth, a new report shows. Houston builders started 27,675 homes in the past 12 months, a 7.5 percent increase from a year earlier, according to housing data and consulting firm Metrostudy. "The sweet spot of the market in Houston continues to be in the $200,000 $400,000 base price bands," Metrostudy said in a quarterly report. RELATED: Harvey ushered in a new reality for Houston real estate Since February, builders have started to report slight increases in sales of new homes to those whose homes flooded in Harvey. Metrostudy also noted an increase in post-Harvey demand for so-called Build-On-Your-Lot homes in such neighborhoods as Meyerland and western Memorial. The homes are being elevated on 4- to 6-foot slabs. The lot market is tight, and the building industry is concerned about development regulation changes, the company said. LISTEN: A Houston podcast all about real estate "The anxiety centers on the potential for delays in lot delivery due to these changes, in an already lot tight market," Lawrence Dean, Metrostudy's regional Houston director, said in a statement. In the first quarter, the number of new lots that were delivered "significantly undershot" the number of lots absorbed through new home starts, representing the fifth straight quarter of low lot delivery numbers relative to lot absorption, he noted. Metrostudy expects the year to end with a more modern annual increase in starts of 3 to 4 percent. Delegates from the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce returned April 18 from a four-day trip to Capitol Hill where they met with elected officials to discuss healthcare, regulations and disaster recovery. Chamber delegates met with Senator Ted Cruz and his staff; Senator John Cornyns staff; Congressman Kevin Brady; Congressman Gene Green; Speaker of the House Paul Ryan; Congressman Steve Scalises Chief of Staff; and Congressman Ted Poe. The Lake Houston Chamber is not a social club, Poe said. Theyre committed to helping the community prosper and grow. All of them had a lot of good questions, and good advice for me, which I take. Brady said healthcare was one of the major topics of discussion between him and the chamber during the legislative visit. Healthcare costs keep going up, and its getting harder and harder to afford it, Brady said. We talked about what can be done to help, including letting small businesses (work) together to buy healthcare at the same discount as larger companies. Another focus of the chamber is marketplace fairness, according to Jenna Armstrong, president and CEO of the Lake Houston Area Chamber. Brick and mortar businesses thats what makes up our community, Armstrong said. We have a large retail contingency, so we are in support of leveling the playing field against online retailers that arent charging sales tax. Poe is a co-sponsor of the Marketplace Fairness Deal bill, which is currently still in committee. Its a debate that has been going on for several years between online retailers and brick and mortar businesses, he explained. Brick and mortar businesses pay taxes and online retailers, because of a loophole in the law, they dont pay their fair share of taxes in my opinion, Poe said. Disaster relief is also on the chambers list of legislative priorities. First and foremost is infrastructure recovery post-Harvey, said Mark Mitchell, president of the Lake Houston Area Economic Development Partnership. Weve had an inch and a half rainfall and a four-inch rainfall and weve already had the San Jacinto coming out of its banks. The sand, sediment and siltation that washed down stream during Hurricane Harvey has clogged up the rivers channels and tributaries and created sandbars that have interrupted the flow of the river and displaced water, explained Mitchell. The river cannot go downstream like it used to before and we really cant afford that right now, Mitchell said. We really have to work toward these dredging issues so if you look at the work of the Lake Houston Recovery Task Force and you combine that with the DC trip, I think weve made some pretty good strides as far as addressing those issues. Weve still got a whole lot of work to do, but I think as long as were that squeaky wheel and as long as weve got elected officials like Congressman Poe and Brady, were going to be able to work through this effectively, its just weve got a short window because hurricane season starts in five weeks. Mitchell said part of the chambers legislative agenda includes lobbying for the implementation of flood-related infrastructure projects to occur in the area. We talked with our congressmen about how do we get the Army Corps (of Engineers) to accelerate, or expedite its processes because we dont have the luxury of waiting for a two to three-year study, especially when were in spring rains, Mitchell said. Weve had three 500-year plus rain events in the last 29 months and so weve got to really rethink what a 500-year flood event is and weve got to figure out how to deal with them immediately. Additionally, Armstrong and Mitchell had a meeting with the Small Business Administration to discuss the percentage of SBA aid distributed to residents, versus businesses. Ninety-one percent of it went to homes and only 9 percent went to businesses in the Houston area, Armstrong said. Weve got to do more to help businesses get back on their feet through different programs, or combination of programs, because 9 percent from the SBA is pretty low in our opinion. Thats the program designed to help businesses and only 9 percent went to help businesses. We also talked to all of our elected officials while we were there about that as well. Another important disaster relief topic addressed by the chamber was the Texas General Land Offices intention to allocate $5 billion to help with disaster recovery, with $100 million earmarked for small businesses. Theyve set it up so that much of it goes to businesses in zip codes that are economically distressed and that, in our opinion, is not the way to set it up because even if your business is in Kingwood, per se, and its not an economically distressed area, a lot of times the employees who come and work there live in economically distressed areas, so you have to take that into consideration, Armstrong said. Thats one of the things that we had a pretty good consensus from everyone that we visited with about that. Poe said that in his opinion, any area that flooded is a distressed area. Now, its a matter of determining how to most effectively allocate funding a step Poe believes needs to occur expeditiously for the sake of Harvey-effected areas. Different government agencies involved have to figure out how best to distribute, Poe said. Ultimately, the governor of the state of Texas makes that decision. How the money stream works is the federal government appropriated money. It goes to the governors office and the governors office empowered the GLO to spend the money. As a resident of the area, we need to spend the money its there; we need to spend it. Among those who accompanied the chamber on the legislative trip were Humble ISD school board trustees Angela Conrad and Nancy Morrison. The Humble ISD school board voted in March to pursue reimbursement for Harvey-related costs using the FEMA Public Assistance Alternative Procedures pilot program. The pilot program would have allowed Humble ISD to receive federal disaster relief faster than the current reimbursement procedure in place. It was a program that would have expedited that process because it was based on a fixed estimate (of damage costs) instead of an itemized procedure so that saves FEMA resources as well and it gives us a better idea of a timeline for reimbursement, Conrad said. Humble ISD was denied participation in the pilot program. We were told it was because we were too far along in our recovery, Conrad said. So again, were sitting here waiting for FEMA reimbursement, Morrison added. Conrad and Morrison brought this issue to the attention of officials in DC. We wanted to make them aware of that, Conrad said. They were all very surprised. Conrad said there was talk about a congressional inquiry possibly being submitted to further look into why Humble ISD was denied participation in the pilot program. She pointed out that the farther along a school district is in the recovery process, the better their reimbursement estimate will be. We did have a healthy fund balance, so we were able to go in right away (as far as damage recovery in the district) but now were $100 million in financial loss and we need to recoup that to be able to provide the same level of opportunities for our community that they are accustomed to, Conrad said. The chamber has been doing legislative trips to Austin for several years. They decided to start doing legislative trips to Washington, DC every other year about six years ago, making this their third trip. mfeuk@hcnonline.com Fort Bend County Commissioners Court on April 24 unanimously authorized the county engineer to retain AECOM Technical Services Inc. to conduct a high-level study evaluating the feasibility and potential cost of enclosing the back side of the Barker Reservoir with a levee system. As I stated today in court, said Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, I wish to thank County Judge Bob Hebert for his leadership in pursuing this agreement with AECOM. I support this study for several reasons but none greater than this never again, should our citizens and property owners have to solely rely on the federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for protection from the Barker Reservoir. The agreement calls for the cost of the study not to exceed $67,200. The money was transferred from the Commissioners Court Projects into an Engineering Project Account. The agreement is to end no later than Sept. 30, 2019. The study is to be completed within 90 days from the notice to proceed. The project overview in the agreement states: AECOM Technical Services Inc. will conduct a high-level study to evaluate the feasibility and potential cost of enclosing the back-side of Barker Reservoir and pumping extreme event inflows from the various upstream channels into the reservoir in order to contain the flood pool within government owned land by increasing the accessible storage volume within the reservoir. Meyers said 20 levee systems in Fort Bend County guard thousands of lives and billions of dollars in private property and infrastructure. Three years of record floods have proved those levees' worth many times over as they guarded our citizens from the floodwaters of the Brazos River and its tributaries. In this AECOM study, we will ask world-class engineers to perform the analysis and calculations of what can feasibly be done with a levee along the Barker Reservoir to protect private property from the operations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Countless homeowners, flooding experts, and drainage district directors have approached me and other elected officials in recent months and asked the County to examine a lot of different options for flood mitigation. A number of these plans would be extremely helpful to us and I fully support the third reservoir in Cypress Creek, lowering the flood pool in the Barker and Addicks reservoirs, and the need for increased downstream conveyance along Buffalo Bayou. But the costs and the required time to construct these projects are high. And frankly, as a conservative Texan, I'm losing sleep at the idea of solely trusting the federal government to fully fix the messes they've made with the reservoirs. The people I do trust are the ones I stand beside right here in our community. So when I'm asked how we can approach the Corps and the men who control the Barker Reservoir, to ask them for operational changes, more communication, and for ways they can protect us - I say that Katy homeowners can turn that premise on its head. Through this study, we want to examine what our community can do to protect ourselves from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and how a levee can be a centerpiece of that protection. Visit https://agendalink.co.fort-bend.tx.us:8085/docs/2018/CCTR/20180424_3048/30558_Agreement_AECOM_Barker_Reservoir.pdf to read the agreement. Meyers said officials spent many months soliciting informal input about this concept with the Harris County Flood Control District, Stephen Costello of the City of Houston, numerous engineering firms, and directors and legal counsel from the Willow Fork Drainage District. In choosing AECOM, we partner with a firm that is ranked No. 1 in Engineering News Record's "Top 500 Design Firms" for eight consecutive years and has been named one of Fortune magazine's "World's Most Admired Companies" for four consecutive years, said Meyers. After the study has been completed and reviewed this summer, Meyers said he will give residents the results and outline the next steps in partnership with the community and other government entities. The Lake Houston Area Economic Development Partnership rolled out a new relief effort this spring that will put more than $200,000 into the hands of Lake Houston area small business owners affected by Hurricane Harvey. The first three disbursements of the Lake Houston Area Harvey Small Business Grant Program were recently awarded, and according to the LHA EDP president Mark Mitchell, applications are currently being accepted for the next round of small business grants. This new grant program received its initial funding from the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund, which was a program that provided grants to local residents and business owners affected by Harvey. It was an initiative done in a partnership between Insperity, the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce and Humble Area Assistance Ministries. It concluded at the end of 2017 and approximately $111,000 was held over from the fund with the intention of using it to help the areas small businesses that are trying to recover financially after the hurricane. Those funds were then matched by the Rebuild Texas Fund a nonprofit created by Michael & Susan Dell and the OneStar foundations. The backdrop is that the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund had the insight to hold money back specifically for businesses because typically what they were seeing from a disbursement perspective, it was a very high percentage going to individuals which that was the immediate need, but I think the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund understood that long-term, there needed to be some mechanism there to support businesses, Mitchell said. The LHA EDP was asked to design a program that used the initial $111,000 on the disbursement of grants to small businesses in the Lake Houston area. Throughout the process of designing the program, the LHA EDP was in contact with the Rebuild Texas Fund. They essentially said that if we get dollars that are designated as a community-raised group of monies, then they will match those for us once we actually secure them and get them in hand, Mitchell said. The Lake Houston Area Harvey Small Business Grant Program was designed in the course of about six weeks, and grants have already been disbursed to three local Harvey-affected businesses Campbell Chiropractic, Hometown Chef and Shannon McIntire Skin Care. The grants range from $2,500 to $5,000. The program information, qualification criteria and grant application are available online at www.lakehoustonedp.org/lha-harvey-small-business-grant. Mitchell explained that the Rebuild Texas Fund agreed to match community-raised dollars up to $150,000, so the program has the potential to receive another approximately $38,000 in matching funds from the Rebuild Texas Fund. Community contributions would need to be made to the Humble Area Economic Development Foundation. Contact Mitchell for more information at mmitchell@lakehouston.org. The addition of the Lake Houston Area Harvey Small Business Grant Program means there are more options now as far as financial relief for small businesses impacted by Harvey, said Mitchell. Were going to continue doing the LiftFund loans, which are zero-interest loans, Mitchell said. The LiftFund, he explained, is a national nonprofit that specializes in small business loans. The tranche of dollars theyre loaning out new theyre zero-interest loans, Mitchell said. Theyve come from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Groupon, Dell Foundation. Theyve probably loaned out close to a couple-hundred-thousand dollars in the Lake Houston area and were continuing to take applications and continuing to make loans. As American negotiators push to conclude NAFTA renegotiations, they should prepare to demand stronger protection of intellectual property rights. Robust IP protections would prevent Canada, Mexico, and other trading partners from freeloading off American ingenuity particularly our medicines. Development of a new drug is an expensive endeavor, requiring top-tier scientists and equipment and years of clinical trials. There are many false starts and dead ends. Altogether, it costs $2.6 billion to bring a single drug to market. Intellectual property rights, such as patents, give inventors the chance to recoup this enormous investment. IP protections allow companies to sell drugs exclusively for a limited time. The United States has some of the strongest IP protections in the world. As a result, it is the world leader in drug development. U.S. biopharmaceutical firms invest more than $60 billion annually in research and development, and they received more than half of all drug patents granted worldwide in 2014. Unfortunately, however, other countries embrace our inventions while regularly undermining Americas IP. Take our NAFTA partner Canada. Our northern neighbor imposes price controls on drugs. Because of these artificial price caps, Canadians spend up to 55 percent less on pharmaceuticals than Americans. Thats unfair especially when you consider that the average Canadians family income is slightly above the average Americans. The Canadian price caps eat into companies research and development capabilities and shift more of the costs onto American consumers, who pay more as a result. Canada also regularly undermines American manufacturers patents. Its courts revoke American patents, enabling Canadian companies to create knockoff copies of our patented drugs. The problem is so bad that the U.S. Trade Representative put Canada on its 2017 watch list. This isnt just a Canada problem, or even just a NAFTA problem. Australia, which has a trade agreement with the United States, promised to notify U.S. patent owners if Australian drug companies want to make a generic version of a U.S. medicine that is still under patent. The notice is designed to give American companies a heads up, so they can take proactive legal action to prevent patent infringement. But Australia hasnt been giving U.S. companies this advance notice. It only alerts American firms after Australian generic manufacturers begin marketing knockoff copies of the medicine. In effect, the Australian government is aiding and abetting patent infringement. Its helping domestic firms rip off American companies. Or consider India and Brazil. These countries engage in compulsory licensing schemes. Compulsory licensing is legal under international law, but only in limited instances. It allows local companies to produce generic versions of patented medicines in desperate times such as an infectious disease outbreak. However, India, Brazil, and other nations abuse this policy and allow drug-makers to produce just about any generic without any urgent reason at all, and without the patent owners permission. When other countries steal our IP, American manufacturers lose revenues needed to invest in more research and development. Theyre forced to scale back operations or postpone new research projects thereby hurting American workers and patients. American trade negotiators ought to make strengthening IP rights their top priority. The status quo hurts American workers and undermines the creation of lifesaving drugs. Peter J. Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner, is president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. Several officers opened fire on a man who led police on a pursuit throughout Houston and crashed into several deputy and civilian vehicles on Thursday night, Houston police said. No injuries were reported in light of the gunfire, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The man, identified as William Bernard Landers, 46, will face three felony charges of aggravated assault of a police officer with a deadly weapon and one felony charge of evading arrest, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Just after 7 p.m., an HCSO deputy made a routine traffic stop on the Eastex Freeway near Will Clayton Parkway, close to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The driver was found to have a felony warrant out for his arrest and fled the scene, authorities said. The pursuit spanned throughout Houston, ending at Hammerly Boulevard and Brittmoore Road in west Houston with the driver ramming an innocent person's vehicle as well as several deputies' vehicles, the sheriff's office stated. As the driver rammed the law enforcement vehicles, two deputies and a Department of Public Safety trooper who was assisting deputies in the chase opened fire but did not strike the man. The driver got out of his vehicle after ultimately crashing into a tree and yelled for deputies to shoot him, according to HCSO. Officers instead used a stun gun to subdue him and took him into custody. Because the gunfire erupted in the city of Houston, the Houston Police Department is assisting in the investigation. Texas Rangers were also on scene investigating. Tulsi Kamath and Samantha Ketterer contributed to this report. Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan. Paul Qui, the high-profile chef/owner of Aqui restaurant in Montrose, has been under a cloud of scandal since his March 2016 arrest in Austin after an apparent altercation with his girlfriend. The details of his arrest set off a firestorm that still smoulders. The chefs restaurants in Austin, Houston and Miami Beach have been shunned by some food press, reviewers and diners, unwilling to patronize a restaurant where the chef has been accused of domestic violence. Legally speaking, Quis troubles appear to be over. With trial set to begin next week in Austin, Caldwell County District Attorney Fred Weber said Friday Quis then-girlfriend declined to participate as a witness. So we are dropping the case, Weber said. But for some, the cloud over both Quis reputation and restaurants remains. The hot debate in Houston where Qui opened Aqui last August is set against a national discourse within an industry rocked by #MeToo sexual misconduct scandals involving numerous famous chefs and restaurateurs, including John Besh and Mario Batali. The notion of atonement and redemption in such fraught circumstances has come into question, a development that Qui will inevitably face as he picks up the pieces. Qui was arrested in 2016 on suspicion of unlawful restraint and assault causing bodily injury to a family member, both Class A misdemeanors. The case was initially handled by the Travis County prosecutors but was transferred to Weber because of an undisclosed conflict of interest. In the fallout from his arrest, Qui has had to close his Austin flagship, Qui, and then its successor, Kuneho. He is no longer affiliated with the high-profile Austin sushi restaurant, Otoko, that he co-founded. His casual East Side King has shrunk from five locations to two, one of them a truck. Quis lawyer, Christopher Gunter, spoke briefly to his client on Friday. Hes got a great sense of relief that its finally behind him. This was just an unfortunate misunderstanding that was regretted by everyone involved, Gunter said. He noted that Qui entered a monthlong rehab immediately after the arrest: It was a very positive thing for him and he learned a lot about himself. Qui did not return phone calls Friday. Social media, which came alive as stories of Quis arrest broke, flared again with news of the dismissal. This is disheartening, Dallas writer and editor Bradford Pearson posted on Twitter. Throwing a woman against a wall and then still being able to run (and grow!) a restaurant empire is a hell of a privilege, he wrote, enumerating details from the police report about the night of Quis 2016 arrest. At Eater, the national food media company where editor in chief Amanda Kludt has restricted coverage of Quis restaurants in the wake of the charges, the dismissal will not change their policy, she said. Eater takes the very public and credible allegation that Paul Qui assaulted his girlfriend seriously, said Kludt. So we will continue to cover Qui in a news capacity but will refrain from including him in maps, guides and restaurant reviews. Amy McCarthy, who oversees Eaters websites in Houston and Dallas, launched a Twitter thread suggesting that domestic abuse victims frequently refuse to testify or press charges and that should not make Paul Qui or any other abuser less culpable for beating women. Significantly absent after the news broke were voices heralding any measure of redemption for the chef. Indeed, the words redemption and comeback have been denounced in debates over sexual harassers and abusers in the restaurant industry. When Mario Batali recently floated ideas of a return to public life, and the story was covered by food writer Kim Severson in the New York Times, the online backlash was swift. This is the charged atmosphere that Qui will face as he goes forward with his restaurants. In Houston where he has been a very low-key presence Qui could be on the scene more often, since he recently parted ways with opening chef de cuisine Gabe Medina. Under Medina, Aqui earned four stars from the Houston Chronicle. Quis image may continue to suffer even though criminal charges were not brought against him, said Shepard Ross, a Houston restaurant consultant and partner in the upcoming Bravery Chef Hall downtown. Even now that the charges are being dismissed, Ross said, there is still going to be a stigma hanging over the head of that restaurant. Qui will have a tough road to regaining public trust but its possible to do so, he added. You have to act 10 times better than the average citizen to win back the faith of the public. Once youve been knocked off the pedestal, its a hard climb back, Ross said. Suzy Ginsburg agreed. The owner of Global Communication Works, a public relations agency that specializes in crisis management, said the public not only can discern the truth, it has a hunger for it. Its very important that the truth be told right away so theres no deterioration of the brand, said Ginzburg, whose company has offices in Houston and New York. People are very forgiving when people are honest. Jonathan Horowitz, president of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, noted that Quis task is even more difficult in the current cultural climate. The fact that this was wrapped in the same time frame as the #MeToo movement certainly had an impact and brought more attention to it, said Horowitz. Qui may have trouble with restaurant investors in the future, Horowitz said. People who invest money want those people to have great reputations, he said. But Horowitz doesnt see the disposition of Quis case to have a lasting negative effect on his brand. The vast majority of the dining public either doesnt know anything about it at all or doesnt care. They are still going to eat where they want to eat, he said. In the industry and the food press, the debate will go on. Qui has already seen his mini-empire shrink drastically in Austin. To grow his brand, the chef has turned to Houston, with Aqui, and to an upcoming Japanese taqueria in Dallas. Aquis parking lot remains full most nights, and its sweep of glass-enclosed, high-gabled dining room well populated. In the end, it may well be the dining public in Houston, not Austin, that determines his fate. Alejandra Matos contributed to this report. alison.cook@chron.com greg.morago@chron.com New charges have been filed against three animal rights activists accused of trespassing at Fisher Ham and Meat Co. in Spring on April 18. The original charges against Shelby Gibbs and Victoria Botchett were dismissed due to lack of probable cause, Harris County court records show. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said Friday that new details were added to the criminal complaints, and the Class B misdemeanor charges were refiled. A third woman, Danielle Alexander, now faces the same charge. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Activists arrested; stats on Fisher facility Herman said the women are accused of going onto the slaughterhouse property and using a car to block a driveway, impeding commercial traffic in and out of the facility. "We really don't care why they're protesting; that's not important to us," Herman said. "We only care about them violating the law." Alexander told Chron.com on Friday that she and the two other women remained across the street from Fisher Ham and Meat on April 18 and never trespassed on the property. "In no way did we come close to being on this property," Alexander said, adding that she feels the constable's office has been aggressive toward her group. She's part of an organization called Spring Pig Save, which has held multiple "vigil" protests at the slaughterhouse in the past. "We simply hold signs and show love for the animals," Alexander said. She said she was on her way to turn herself in on the criminal trespass charge and pay her bond. Herman said teams from his office will be sent to arrest the three women if they do not turn themselves in on Friday. "The people (at Fisher Ham and Meat) have been very patient with this," Herman said. WASHINGTON - Several Texas residents have been caught up in an alleged espionage scheme, including residents of Missouri City and the greater Houston area. Two businessmen, including one who is a Chinese national, have been indicted on charges alleging that they conspired to commit economic espionage and steal trade secrets from a business in the United States on behalf of a company in China that was engaged in manufacturing buoyancy materials for military and civilian uses. The charges were announced Friday by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, Assistant Director Bill Priestap of the FBIs Counterintelligence Division, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBIs Houston Field Office, and Chief Don Fort of the Internal Revenue Services Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Shan Shi, 53, a U.S. citizen from Houston, and Gang Liu, 32, a Chinese national, were among six individuals named in a superseding indictment returned on April 26, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. All six individuals initially were indicted in June 2017 on a charge of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment includes that charge and adds the conspiracy to commit economic espionage count against Shi and Liu, as well as a federal money laundering conspiracy count against Shi. CBM-Future New Material Science and Technology Co. Ltd. (CBMF), a Chinese company based in Taizhou, and its Houston-based subsidiary, CBM International, Inc. (CBMI), have also been indicted on all three charges. The other defendants include Uka Kalu Uche, 36, a U.S. citizen from Spring, Texas; Samuel Abotar Ogoe, 75, a U.S. citizen from Missouri City, Texas; Kui Bo, 41, a Canadian citizen who had been residing in the Dallas area; and Hui Huang, 33, a Chinese national. All of the defendants pled not guilty last year to the charges in the original indictment, with the exception of Huang, who has not been apprehended and is believed to remain at large in China. A seventh defendant previously pled guilty in December 2017 to a charge of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment in this case demonstrates that we will vigorously enforce laws meant to protect against economic espionage and related offenses, said U.S. Attorney Liu. The charges also reflect the tireless dedication of the FBI, Commerce Departments BIS, IRS, and other law enforcement organizations to prosecuting theft of intellectual property. The ongoing theft of American technology is a severe threat to our national security, and this is doubly true for technology with direct military applications. As this situation demonstrates, the FBI remains committed to working with its partners to combat this threat, said FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Priestap. This indictment is a good example of the community, industry, and law enforcement working together, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Turner. Economic espionage is a growing threat that costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars and puts our national security at risk. The FBI will continue to work with its partners to bring perpetrators of economic espionage to justice. This superseding indictment alleges a vast criminal conspiracy involving everything from trade secret theft to money laundering and other financial crimes, said IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Fort. By unraveling this scheme, we were able to hold those accountable who would profit from such a scheme while sending a message to others who would commit similar crimes in the future that they, too, will be brought to justice. According to the indictment, China has promoted military, social, and economic development initiatives with a goal of making the country a marine power and has prioritized the development of engineered components of deepwater buoyancy materials. The charges in the indictment involve the development of syntactic foam, a strong, lightweight material that can be tailored for commercial and military uses, including oil exploration, aerospace and stealth technologies, and underwater vehicles, such as submarines. According to the indictment, from at least 2013 through May 2017, Shi operated on behalf of CBMF, which intended to create a facility in China to sell syntactic foam. CBMF received research funds from state funding in China and was part of a collaborative innovation center with Chinese government entities. The indictment alleges that Shi and Liu conspired with the other defendants to steal trade secrets from a global engineering firm, referred to in the indictment as Company A, that is a producer in the global syntactic foam market. In March 2014, according to the indictment, Shi incorporated CBMI, which was owned and funded by CBMF, in Houston. The indictment alleges that CBMF employees wired approximately $3.1 million to CBMI between June 2014 and May 2017. According to the indictment, Shi and others recruited and hired current and former employees of Company A in Houston, including Liu, for the purpose of aiding CBMFs capability to make syntactic foam. Liu previously worked for Company A as a material development engineer and had access to proprietary and trade secret data. He and others are accused of passing along those trade secrets. According to the indictment, the technology was ultimately destined for China, to benefit the government and other state-owned enterprises. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit economic espionage is 15 years of incarceration. The maximum for conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets is 10 years, and the maximum for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years. The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, a defendants sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case is being investigated by the FBIs Houston Field Office, Commerces BIS Office of Export Enforcement, and the IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Pearlman, Zia Faruqui, and Michael Romano of the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David Recker of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Amid questions involving city transparency, mobility and claims of secret meetings, the two candidates for Shenandoah mayor faced off on Thursday night in a forum that at times saw both men heatedly assert their opinions to an enthusiastic, oftentimes vocal audience. Incumbent Mayor Ritch Wheeler and his challenger, former council member Gary Henson, faced off in the candidate forum at the Shenandoah Municipal building on Thursday, April 26. The event was co-hosted by the city of Shenandoah and the Voter Awareness Council. While the two candidates mostly stayed within the bounds of the questions given to them by a third-party media representative, at times the two tossed accusations at one another causing some audience members to vocally express their own opinions. Within 10 minutes of the start of the forum, Henson used his opening remarks to call out the incumbent mayor by saying that the city had an increasing need for quality leadership and that there had been a lack of it for the past two years. Henson went on to say that previous city councils and mayors had laid the groundwork for creating a successful, great, small city that offers an excellent quality of life. I want to continue that success and help lead this community to new heights, Henson said, adding that his previous experience as a council member could offer residents and city staff a historical perspective. During a discussion regarding openness and transparency within city government, Wheeler said that as an elected official his job would be to represent the people and to make decisions based on what he feels the majority of residents wanted. The only way you can do that is if youre transparent about the way youre working and are given feedback, Wheeler said. More Information Shenandoah City Election Details: The only contested race is the mayor seat. Mayor: M. Ritchey Wheeler (incumbent), Gary Henson Position 1: Ron Raymaker Position 5: Michael McLeod Election Day: May 5 Last day for Early Voting: May 1 See More Collapse Addressing what he called the rumor mill, Wheeler also said the city had never violated any ordinances or the Texas Open Meetings Act, in spite of his opponent stating the contrary. Henson rebutted Wheelers comments, and said that he could show the audience at least three potential quorum notices that he alleged were in violation of the open meetings act. Henson then turned his attention to a woman in the audience and asked her to stop distracting him by wagging your finger, causing the moderator to intervene and shut down the interaction. The issue surrounding alleged secret meetings between council members and the mayor began in 2017, shortly after former City Administrator Greg Smith resigned in August. Smiths resignation led to the appointment of an interim city administrator, Kathie Reyer, who had previously been the city secretary. City staff, council members and the mayor drew ire from ex-Shenandoah officials, including former mayor Garry Watts and former a council memberJean Teagueafter they complained about potential quorum meeting notices that appeared to them as too vague and did not contain a time, date or a subject of meeting. Wheeler and City Attorney Will Ferebee denied any wrongdoing at the time and said the notices were standard practice and were sent out as an extra layer of protection for when council members or the mayor met individually with the city attorney on Fridays. During Thursday nights candidate forum, Wheeler reiterated his position about the allegations. City staff just to make sure that we are overly transparent posted a notice of a potential quorum, not that we were having a meeting but that there was potential quorum, Wheeler said, noting that the city has posted similar notices for at least 10 years. Of course, the potential quorum notice was not done correctly because there was not a time and day on there, but it was not a secret meeting. There were no meetings that werent posted. When Henson brought up city employee turnover, Wheeler said that an employee satisfaction survey conducted at the end of 2017 showed that of the 46 responses received, 40 employees had said that when considering 2017, they were better off now than at the start of the year. Five other employees were neutral, while only one did not respond to the questionnaire, Wheeler said. Henson and Wheeler both agreed conducting town hall meetings were extremely important to obtain resident feedback. Henson said the city could do much more in reaching out to elderly residents, and he suggested focusing more on sending out newsletters, improving the citys social media presence and making the city website the main focus for information on the city. Wheeler said he was proud that since he took office, he had added a second citizens comment portion to the city council agenda where residents could provide feedback to council members and the mayor after they had conducted official agenda business. The incumbent mayor also said he was proud that residents could view city council meetings via the citys YouTube channel. He also stated that the council was cohesive and worked together as a team. Wheeler also said hed like to continue working toward improving traffic and mobility throughout the city, stating that he was in talks with various county, state and city leaders to find solutions to address congestion at Research Forest Drive and Interstate 45 North. The Shenandoah city election is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, and voters have until May 1 to cast their votes early. The Woodlands Township Board of Directors has voted to oppose a proposed toll road on the extension of Texas Highway 249. In a 4-2 vote on April 25, the board approved a resolution in support of Texas State Sen. Brandon Creighton, Texas State Rep. Mark Keough, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack and Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark, to oppose the construction of toll roads without prior voter approval. Directors John McMullan and Carol Stromatt voted against the resolution, although both said they supported the belief that toll roads should not be built without prior voter approval. Director Brian Boniface was not present at the meeting. The resolution, brought forth by board Chairman Gordy Bunch, stems from a dispute over the construction of an extension of Texas 249, the funding of which is being vehemently opposed by Noack and other elected officials. The resolution has no authority or official affect on the project, but is a statement of support for Noack and other politicians who feel the toll road aspect should be approved by voters. The proposed toll road, which has been called the Aggie Expressway because it will connect the greater Houston region to College Station, home of Texas A&M University, is tentatively slated to be funded by the Montgomery County Toll Road Authority, which will vote on May 8 about possibly issuing up to $95 million in revenue bonds to fund the project. Noack and Clark are opposed to using local funds for the project, and Noack has recently stepped up his opposition to the project by calling for a citizen petition to stop the funding of the toll road. On Wednesday, Bunch lobbied for approval of the resolution, explaining he believes the toll is a form of a tax that should not be imposed upon county residents without voter approval. But fellow directors McMullan and Stromatt said they did not believe it was the role of the township to issue such a resolution. I agree with the sentiment of these elected officials, McMullan said in reference to Noack, Clark and others. Im not convinced (a resolution of support) is something this board should take a position on. Stromatt said she personally believes the Texas Legislature is moving toward making the Highway 249 extension a non-toll road. I dont want any more toll roads, Stromatt said. (But) I dont know that we in township government need a resolution. However, Director John Anthony Brown agreed with Bunch, saying he is frustrated by some Montgomery County elected officials ignoring the will of the people. I think it is imperative we support (elected officials), Brown said. Im sick and tired of some of the commissioners on the Montgomery County (Commissioners) Court for ignoring what the residents want. According to previous reporting in the Courier of Montgomery County, the $95 million cost is expected to cover toll revenue for the first year and repay the county $10 million it loaned the aMCTRA in 2015 and the $5 million approved Tuesday, April 24. The county's 3.6-mile toll road, a $76 million project, is expected to open to traffic on Jan. 1, 2020, and net about $4.4 million that first year. Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal has previously said TxDOT does not have the funds to construct the road and it has always been planned to be a toll road. Doyal has maintained that by using revenue bonds, no tax dollars would fund the projects and the county would be able to use the toll revenues to fund other mobility projects in the county once the debt of the road is retired. The resolution of support from the township has little official meaning but Bunch said he believes it is good to speak up for what the community wants. This current action by Montgomery County will put further pressure on the (Woodlands) Parkway extension, Bunch noted. Courier of Montgomery County reporter Catherine Dominguez contributed to this article. Leaders at The Woodlands Christian Academy credit the growth of the private school to one thing: their multi-faceted mission statement that aims to grow kids spiritually, socially, physically and academically, said High School Principal Stephen Clark. That mission, along with what Clark describes as an excellent teaching and support staff is why the small private school in The Woodlands is growing its student body quickly. That growth has led school officials to begin construction on a new high school building that will have a capacity for an additional 150 high school students. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new high school building is set for 7:30 a.m., Monday, May 7, with construction on the $8.4 million and 65,000-square foot facility expected to be completed within 10 to 12 months of the start of construction, said Julie Ambler, head of school for The Woodlands Christian Academy. Ambler, who has been head of school for more than 12 years, said everyone from the students to parents, teachers and extended staff are very excited about the new buildingespecially because the use of five portable classrooms will come to an end with the opening of the new three-story facility. Everyone is extremely excited, Ambler said of the new building. It will be our sixth permanent building on campus and it will enable us to eliminate five modular classrooms. The Woodlands Christian Academy currently has 650 students in grades ranging from prekindergarten 4-year-olds to 12th grade pupils. Currently, the Lower School which includes pre-K through fourth grade shares a building with the Middle School students in grades fifth through eighth, Ambler said. The new building will allow more room for all grades as each of the three levelslower, middle and high schoolwill now be in their own buildings. The academy names each building after Biblical heroes, Ambler noted, but she said the name of the new high school facility has not been made public yet. (With the new building) Lower School (students) will be able to spread out into the whole Joshua building, Ambler said. And the Middle School students will move into the old high school building, which is the Nehemiah Building. The new high school will have 15 classrooms, three advanced technology science labs, a large lecture room that will seat more than 200 people, various social areas including a coffee bar and lounge areas for students as well as staff and faculty offices, Ambler noted. More Information New Building Ceremony WHAT: The Woodlands Christian Academy New High School Groundbreaking WHERE: 5800 Alden Woods, The Woodlands WHEN: 7:30 a.m., Monday, May 7. See More Collapse Clark, who has been the principal of the academys high school level grades for four years, and Ambler both said the increased interest from local families to have their children attend the school has led to the need for the expansion project. We are full in just about every grade level with waiting lists, Ambler noted of the student population. Clark said the new high school will be able to accommodate more than 350 students in grades ninth through 12th. In the 2017-18 school year there are about 200 high school level students enrolled, he added. We seeing a good, sustained growth necessitating the need for more space. We are on one campus but we have three schools, Clark said. We have put together a great staff and programs. Our mission is at The Woodlands Christian Academy is growing kids spiritually, socially, physically and academically. Ambler said one thing she has learned over the past two years of fundraising for the project is the parents whose children attend the academy are incredibly generous and supportive. We have raised $8.4 million in gifts and pledges. We do not begin construction until we have the full funding, Ambler noted. We have such generous families. I am incredibly grateful. Layoffs will soon be happening at Houston ISD, teachers and staff learned Friday. The district sent out notifications to all employees teachers included that layoffs will begin shortly, according to HISD Media Relations Specialist Millie Quintanilla. The district did not make the exact number of layoffs available to the Houston Chronicle. The layoffs announcement comes after HISD's ongoing budget issues came to a head with a $115 million budget shortfall, according to an earlier Houston Chronicle report. In a statement, the district said it will host several workshops to help the teachers affected with career marketing, resume writing and interview tips. Other staffers affected could be shifted into new roles within HISD, the district said. The district is still unsure which staff members will be laid off. HISD trustees approved a procedural move in March that allows them to start the process of reducing the district's workforce but the layoffs were not immediate. Now, more than a month after that vote, teachers and other staff could learn their fate in the coming days. District leaders are projecting significant across-the-board cuts, although they are trying to keep any campus-level staff and program reductions at a minimum. Earlier projections showed significant layoffs to custodial, maintenance, police and administrative employees. Those estimates were based on an expected $208 million budget deficit. District leaders reduced the projected deficit to $115 million in February after determining HISD likely will benefit from a lawsuit that allows it to keep about $51 million, rather than sending that money back to the state, and getting assurances that the district's "recapture" bill will be reduced due to Hurricane Harvey. The district also is considering a change to its campus funding model, which will dictate staff reductions at specific schools. The level of teacher cuts likely will depend on the number of teachers who leave before the 2018-19 school year. About 2,000 of the district's 11,500 teachers do not return to the district each year, and HISD leaders want to trim the teaching ranks through attrition as much as possible. Jacob Carpenter contributed to this report. Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan. According to the ASPCA, about 6.5 million animals end up in shelters across the U.S. each year, with about 3.3 million of them being dogs and 3.2 million being cats. Many shelters, including Houston locations like the Harris County Animal Shelter, host special events throughout the year to try and lower that number. The last thing anyone would want is a second visit to the hospital after being discharged. One way to avoid that costly disaster is by doing some research beforehand. Ex-Houston police officer Clarence McNatt has been sentenced to five years in prison after his conviction earlier this week for hiring two men to kidnap and rape his estranged wife. McNatt, 64, was found guilty Thursday of two counts of soliciting the supposed hitmen who turned out to be undercover police officers but the jury did not find him guilty of having her killed The state court jury, after a four-day trial, found McNatt not guilty of the more serious crime of solicitation of capital murder, a crime that could have resulted in a maximum life sentence. Instead, the jury convicted him of a lesser offense and set his punishment at five years in state prison and 10 years of probation. I was hoping they would find him guilty of all three, but I respect the jurys verdict, said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Samantha Knecht. McNatts attorney, Tommy LaFon, had maintained that the former peace officer was not trying to have anyone killed but wanted the two men to scare his former wife into leaving town. The solicitation of capital murder case just didnt happen, LaFon said earlier this week. McNatt, who was a Houston police officer in the 1980s, was fired after being disciplined for violating rules about taking outside work. He has been jail since his November 2016 arrest, after undercover officers recorded him as he negotiated with them to abduct and sexually assault his estranged wife and a female co-worker, who was helping her get out of the marriage. A neighbor whom McNatt talked to about to finding someone to interrogate and torture the two women contacted police. Days later, McNatt offered to pay two undercover officers from the Pasadena police department $500 to kidnap and assault the two women. Prosecutors argued in court that McNatt wanted the two women killed, but jurors apparently decided he just wanted them beat up and then raped. He was convicted of two counts of solicitation of aggravated kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault, prosecutors confirmed. The trial, before visiting state District Judge Reagan Clark, was held in a substituted courtroom in Houstons federal dourthouse because the Harris County Criminal Justice Center remains shuttered after being damaged in Hurricane Harvey. brian.rogers@chron.com twitter.com/brianjrogers Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday will consider calling a special election for August 25 the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey to ask voters to OK a massive bond referendum for flood control projects. The amount of the referendum has yet to be determined as the county continues to assess its needs and as other funds, including as federal grants, become available. At least three members of Commissioners Court said Friday they envision a measure that could reach $2.5 billion. Commissioners Court will vote Tuesday on whether to send a letter seeking to hold the Aug. 25 special election to Gov. Greg Abbott, who by law would need to give the go-ahead. I dont want to wait too long, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. It makes sense to me. I think its something that we should do. Hopefully, the commissioners will agree. A spokeswoman for Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Friday that the decision to hold a bond election is at the discretion of Harris County. We cant comment on hypothetical decisions. The agenda item marks the first time a specific date has emerged for the highly-anticipated bond referendum, which could be the largest ever called by the county and will help finance sweeping improvements to the Houston area's flood control system. The referendum could help finance property buyouts, as well as a range of infrastructure projects, such as the widening and deepening of bayous or the construction of a much-discussed third reservoir in northwest Harris County. Tuesdays vote follows months of wrangling over the logistics of holding the bond election, including the cost of holding a special election and the ideal date to ensure voters turn out to support the measure. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Friday said he supports presenting the bond referendum to voters during the November general election, when turnout is expected to be considerable as voters weigh in on mid-term congressional elections. Without evidence of a clear path to victory for a summer-time bond election, which is likely to have low turnout, I have serious reservations about the proposed August date, Ellis said. The future of Harris County hinges on the success of this flood bond. It also is not yet clear what the bond referendum will include. Harris County Flood Control District Director of Operations Matt Zeve said that would be determined after Tuesday's discussion at Commissioners Court. County officials have said the necessity for bond money grows as federal grants pour in to prepare the Houston area for future floods or to recover from Harvey, many of which require a sometimes hefty financial match from local governments. The risk is that they may allocate the funds elsewhere and, thus, become unavailable for our region, Emmett states in the proposed letter to Abbott. Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said Friday he supports the date and a $2.5 billion price tag, but he is open to discussing both Tuesday. Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman said he would wait to hear the arguments for and against the Aug. 25 date before deciding whether he would support a summer election. Im all in favor of putting it on when it has the greatest chance of success, Morman said. Im willing to listen to everybody, on Court, and off, who has an opinion of that. The bonds likely would come with an property tax increase for county residents. County budget officials estimate that for a $1 billion bond referendum, in which $100 million in debt would be issued every year for 10 years, the average residential property owner would see their tax bill go up $5 in the first year and rise to $20 in the 10th year. Rice University Political Scientist Bob Stein said special elections typically do not bode well for bond measures, but the Aug. 25 date could work because of the attention to Harveys one-year anniversary, as well as being the beginning of the school year when many families will be around. He warned, however, that the more time passes since Harvey, the more opposition the measure could face, especially since the majority of Harris County residents did not incur serious flood damage. This will be a much closer vote than people realize, he said. mihir.zaveri@chron.com twitter.com/mihirzaveri WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps White House physician, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, withdrew his nomination to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs on Thursday, citing the distraction from a string of what he termed completely false and fabricated allegations. While I will forever be grateful for the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me by giving me this opportunity, I am regretfully withdrawing my nomination to be secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Jackson wrote in a statement released by the White House. The White House said he would remain in his current job, at least for now. Adm. Jackson is a doctor in the United States Navy assigned to the White House and is here at work today, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Nonetheless, the public airing of charges against Jackson could jeopardize his position. His case provides another high-profile example of reputation damage done to someone in Trumps orbit. Other examples include Trumps former press secretary, Sean Spicer, who became the butt of jokes, and Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Jackson served three presidents as a White House doctor and drew high praise from both Trump and former President Barack Obama. But he was an unorthodox pick for the VA job, which requires managing a federal bureaucracy of more than 300,000 employees. He had no previous experience in managing a large staff and had no known positions on the policy issues facing the VA. That lack of management expertise had led senators in both parties to question the nomination even before a rash of allegations of misconduct became public this week. Trump, speaking on Fox & Friends, blamed Jacksons withdrawal on obstructionist Democrats angry that his pick for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was headed for confirmation. Hes an admiral, highly respected and a real leader, Trump said of Jackson. He would have done a great job. These are all false accusations. These are false, and theyre trying to destroy a man. By the way, I did say Welcome to Washington. Welcome to the swamp. Senators in both parties, however, had decided this week to indefinitely postpone a confirmation hearing for Jackson after a series of witnesses, mostly current and former military personnel, contacted congressional staff members with troubling accounts of Jacksons behavior. On both sides of the political aisle, senators also had expressed concern about a lack of proper vetting of the nomination by the White House. Trump picked Jackson in late March after minimal consultation with his staff, and as former colleagues began to come forward in recent days with their accusations, White House officials seemed caught unawares. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the senior Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said this week that 23 individuals had contacted the committee with allegations against Jackson that included drunkenness on the job, poor management and overprescribing of drugs. Most of those leveling the charges were current or former military personnel, Senate aides said. Testers staff released a summary of the allegations this week, including accusations that Jackson had dispensed Percocet, a narcotic, inappropriately and that he had gotten drunk and wrecked a government vehicle at a goodbye party for a Secret Service member. Jackson has denied some of the accusations, including the one about wrecking a car. On Thursday, he issued a blanket criticism of his accusers but did not respond to the specifics. Going into this process, I expected tough questions about how to best care for our veterans, but I did not expect to have to dignify baseless and anonymous attacks on my character and integrity, he said. The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated, he added. If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years. Trump made a similar blanket denial in his Fox & Friends comments. Theres no proof of this, and he has a perfect record. Hes got this beautiful record, unblemished, Trump said. The president added that he had a replacement candidate in mind: Somebody great . somebody with political capability. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., praised two potential candidates who now serve in the House: Rep. Phil Roe, a Tennessee Republican who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican who held that job before Roe. The current acting VA secretary, Robert Wilkie, may also be a candidate, in part because hes already been vetted and confirmed as the Defense Departments personnel chief. Trump took aim at Tester, who is running for re-election this year in a state the president won in 2016. I think Jon Tester has to have a big price to pay in Montana, he said. Tester, in a statement, thanked service members who bravely spoke out over the last week, pointing to his constitutional duty to make sure the veterans of this nation get a strong, thoroughly vetted leader who will fight for them. The next secretary must have a commitment to reform a strained health care system and a willingness to stand up to special interests who want to privatize the VA, he said. Controversy over conservative efforts to turn more VA functions over to the private sector played a major role in Trumps firing of the previous VA chief, David Shulkin, who opposed that idea. Trump campaigned on improving the VA, which has faced a slew of management problems for years. Just hours after Jackson withdrew, Trump held an event at the White House honoring wounded veterans, underscoring the real-world impact the VA has. Surrounded by dozens of disabled veterans, Trump spoke about their unshakable will in the face of hardship and made a sacred commitment. My pledge to you, our noble warriors, is that my administration will support you and your loved ones and your amazing families every single day, now and always, he said. Trump, speaking from a teleprompter, did not mention Jackson. But he paused and raised his voice as he praised Wilkie, a late add to the guest list, for doing a great job over at the VA. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., devoted his morning remarks on the Senate floor Thursday to Democrats slow-walking Trumps nominees but did not mention Jackson. Ryan said he expected the House might still look into the allegations. I dont know whether these allegations are baseless or not, he said. I wont comment on his nomination, other than the fact that he probably did what he thought was in his best interest, he added. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a disabled Iraq War veteran, blamed Trump for creating needless chaos by firing Shulkin. His rash decision to replace Dr. Shulkin with someone so clearly unprepared for the job only made the problem worse, she said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the nomination another example of the culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence of the Trump administration. A former sex offender in Rosenberg is accused of possessing child pornography and has been arrested by police. James McMillan Sr., 47, is facing two counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Rosenberg Police Department. Police said they discovered the child pornography after executing a warrant at a home in the 2500 block of Bamore Road on Thursday. Dominos Pizza paid out $180,000 to a former employee who was injured while transporting 400 pounds of cheese into one of the chains restaurants in East Granby, Connecticut, about two years ago. Mohamed Hassan, a 55-year-old Meriden resident, was unloading boxes of cheese from a truck on a rainy day in June 2016, when his hand truck slipped under the weight of the food, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune. The hand truck landed on Hassan after he fell onto his back, and he injured his ankle, knee and back, according to his lawyer Brooke Goff. The Harris County Flood Control District was not consulted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the Corps' decision to release water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs and into thousands of homes downstream during Hurricane Harvey, according to a recently filed affidavit. The flood control district's chief engineer -- Steve Fitzgerald -- wrote in the affidavit filed this month that "The Corps did not ask for HCFCD's input or approval on whether or not water should be released from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs." Harris County District Clerk The document emerged as part of a lawsuit that was filed against the flood control district and the city by flooded residents downstream of the dams, blaming the local entities for the "taking" of their private property via the releases. That particular lawsuit was dismissed as both the city and the flood control district asserted that the Army Corps had sole control of the dams and releases. The Corps faces other lawsuits from homeowners upstream and downstream of the dams. Amid the various revelations that have come out since the storm, including the various shortcomings of Houston's flood defenses, Fitzgerald's admission could seem relatively minor. READ: Officials patched and prayed while pressure built on Houston's dams But it underscores the disjunct between various levels of government responsible for protecting residents from potentially deadly floodwaters, and raises further questions about the coordination between federal and local officials during the storm and beyond. The Corps runs the dams, but the flood control district is responsible for flooding along the bayous that flow into Addicks and Barker. The waterways include Bear Creek, Mayde Creek, Horsepen Creek, Langham Creek and Mason Creek. Water released from the dams flows into the flood control district-managed channel of Buffalo Bayou. Meanwhile, local officials approve development inside the reservoirs, which contributes to how much water they are forced to hold back during severe storms. The document also provides one of the best overviews of how public officials coordinated and reacted during Harvey's unprecedented deluge. Read a snippet here: Harris County District Clerk The Corps did not immediately respond to questions seeking comment. Jason Hoekema, MBO / Associated Press AUSTIN The Texas Education Commissioner has the authority to shut down charter schools that fail to meet academic or financial accountability ratings for three years, according to a court ruling by the Texas Supreme Court issued Friday. Several charter schools, based in Austin and North Texas, sued the Texas Education Agency when they were shut down in 2014 as a result of a law aimed at expanding charter schools in the state. As part of the 2013 law, the state would allow more schools to operate, but expedited closures for those that were not meeting standards. Last week Cisco held its annual Collaboration Summit under the warm skies of the Arizona sun. The event has become the primary vehicle for Cisco to showcase whats new in the world of collaboration and provide some vision as to where the industry is going. Historically, the collaboration industry was something that telecom and network managers cared about but got very little in the way of CIO interest. However, times have changed, and its become something that the C-level should take seriously. In the digital era, competitive advantage is based on business agility, and that means being able to make the best decision, with the right people and information in as short a time as possible. This means collaborating with others needs to be efficient, meetings need to start on time and end on time, information must be easy to disseminate, and users must be able to interact with one another as if they were sitting in one place. During his keynote, Rowan Trollope, Ciscos SVP and GM of Applications, discussed Ciscos vision of the future of collaboration in which things just work. The quagmire of systems, cables, dial-in numbers, long PIN codes, and other things that get in the way of working, must go away and be replaced with technology that is easy to use, buy, and manage. Its with that vision in mind that Cisco made a number of significant announcements, the highlights of which are below: Cisco Spark and WebEx rebrand to Cisco Webex Prior to the rebrand, Cisco had two cloud collaboration brands WebEx, which is best known as an online meeting provider, and Cisco Spark, their team collaboration tool. Cisco recently added a third brand, BroadSoft, which provides multi-tenant cloud-calling, but that brand is largely hidden from most users. The multiple brands seem straightforward, but there was some overlap between products that caused confusion for users as to what to use when. And the strong Cisco Spark push created the perception that Cisco was no longer investing in WebEx. Post rebrand, the products names will be as follows: Cisco Spark -> Cisco Webex Teams Cisco WebEx Meeting Center -> Cisco Webex Meetings Cisco Spark Calling -> Cisco Webex Calling Cisco Spark devices -> Cisco Webex devices This evolution actually goes much deeper than just the brand. The back-end clouds have been integrated, so theres a common platform that enables a common experience across the different applications. This enables organizations to choose from a menu of cloud options for calling, meetings, and team collaborations and easily expand into other areas as it makes sense for their business. Cisco Webex Teams and Meetings get a makeover In addition to going through a rebrand, Cisco gave both Webex Teams and Meetings a facelift. The changes to Webex Teams were designed to give Teams more tools at their fingertips versus being primarily messaging focused. Also, with Webex Teams, there is no longer a meeting leader. Instead, the tools have been completely democratized, so anyone can start a meeting, mute another individual, or do other tasks typically reserved for a meeting host. Webex Meetings also got a significant facelift. The product has been completely redesigned to be video first to better reflect how in-person meetings work. With live meetings, workers sit down and have a discussion first and then get into content or not. The previous version of Webex was mostly focused on content with the people being secondary. Now everyone joins via video as the default, creating an in-person meeting-like experience. When content is brought up, it occupies one of the panes like everyone else. Each user is able to customize their screen as they see fit. Some might focus on the active speaker, others solely on the content, and others on particular individuals. The new Webex Meetings lets workers move screens, as well as enlarge and pin the ones they want to see. The mobile version of Webex Meetings also got an upgrade. Workers using a mobile phone will see a 2x2 grid in landscape mode and can swipe to see more participants. When holding the phone upright, the display will be 1x2. Video-first is now the way for Webex Meetings regardless of device. Why CIOs should care: Meetings are more efficient with video. In fact, a recent survey by ZK Research found that meetings are 73 percent more likely to end on time with video than without. (Note: I am an employee of ZK Research.) So why doesnt everyone use video? Theres still a certain stigma about people being on video, so if the default is off, people leave it off. The new meetings interface defaults to video and ensures everyone is on so individuals wont feel so awkward. In an era where making decisions quickly is important, video-based meetings can facilitate that, and the new Webex Meetings can help. Augmented reality in Webex Meetings Topics like virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) have been hot in the consumer world, but not so much with businesses mostly because no one has figured out a practical application. At Collaboration Summit, Sr. Director Angie Mistretta gave a preview of AR running inside of Webex Meetings. In her demo, she dropped in a virtual Cisco Webex Board, making it possible for meeting participants to view it as she walked around it, rotated it, and resized it. This feature will be enabled initially on Apple devices, but Im anticipating this to eventually be available on all devices. Why CIOs should care: People dont just collaborate with people. Its common to discuss things, as well. Picture an engineer wanting to work on a jet engine with others. Virtual things make it possible for geographically dispersed teams to interact with objects as if they were in the same room and picture objects as they would exist in a new environment. This could drastically change how design teams, engineers, architects, and others work with one another. Introducing Cisco Webex Share Ciscos broad line of meeting room systems and interactive boards has changed the way people collaborate. Some Cisco customers have told me that the rooms that have been outfitted with these new devices are booked all day, every day because it makes working together so easy. However, there are literally tens of thousands of rooms all over the world that dont have one of these advanced devices and have a more traditional display or TV in it. For those rooms, Cisco created something called Webex Share, which is a small dongle that has an HDMI interface on it. Plug into the display and boom instant Webex room. Its enabled via the cloud, so theres no configuration required and can be paired just like any other Webex endpoint. Why CIOs should care: Businesses may have a desire to turn every meeting space into a rich, next-generation collaboration room, but in practicality, every organization likely has some assets that arent ready to be discarded. Webex Share is an easy, fast, and low-cost way to get an enhanced meeting experience everywhere. Cisco changes pricing model to Flex Plan When Chuck Robbins became CEO of Cisco, one of his promises was to make the companys products easier to purchase. Anyone who has purchased Cisco Collaboration technology knows their pricing was complicated and confusing and could be the reasons why companies delay moving forward with a project. For example, if a business is only one-third of the way through a three-year contract with on-premises equipment, it likely wont move to a new platform until the existing contract terminates. That might make financial sense, but staying with the old could be a mistake from a productivity standpoint. The Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan is designed to give customers the best of both worlds. With this pricing model, customers that want to switch from their current solution to Webex will receive a credit for the remainder of the contract when they make the switch. Also, the Webex meeting subscription includes bundled meetings, audio, and storage for up to 1,000 participants but only pay for what they consume. Cisco also revamped the user interface on the portal to make ordering easier. Why CIOs should care: Contracts and licensing terms should not be the reason why a business cant move forward with new technology solutions. Flex Plan gives companies the ability to adopt Webex tools without having to worry about existing contracts or licensing terms. Cisco Webex will soon have an AI assistant Many of us have been experimenting with voice-enabled AI assistants like Siri and Alexa. These might be fine to tell us the weather or who won the Red Sox game, but theyre not very useful in the workplace. Cisco introduced its assistant, Webex, that can end make meetings better. The AI assistant has many features you would expect, such as being able to say Webex, start the meeting, but it does so much more. The brains behind the AI is something called the Webex Graph that maps out a users contacts, interactions, meetings, and other information to get a better understanding of how that individual works and uses that to make decisions. For example, if a worker says, Call Christine, it will list all the Christines in the company based on information made available in the graph so that the most likely Christine shows up first. Also, if a worker wants to schedule a meeting, the AI assistant will be able to look through everyones calendar and pick the best time based on availability. Why CIOs should care: AI has tremendous potential in changing the way we meet and collaborate. So much time is spent starting technology, looking for files, calling people, and inviting individuals that its amazing we get any work done at all. AI-based voice assistants can take care of the mundane tasks so people can get to work faster and be more productive. Note: Cisco is a client of ZK Research. Some recent surveys and predictions show that an increasing number of enterprises are making investments in all forms of AI and there is a growing interest in experimenting with deep learning. One of IDCs digital transformation predictions is that by 2019, forty percent of digital transformation initiatives will be supported by cognitive and artificial intelligence capabilities. In OReillys survey on how companies are putting AI to work through deep learning, fifty-four percent of respondents predict that deep learning will play a large or essential role in future projects with twenty four percent of respondents applying it to computer vision and text mining problems. In addition, deep learning is still in early stages of adoption with only twenty eight percent of respondents already using deep learning and a majority seventy-one percent have not yet started. In another survey on the state of artificial intelligence in enterprises, eighty percent of respondents claimed they have AI capabilities currently in production with product innovation and customer service the top two revenue drivers from AI today. Insights on how enterprises are piloting deep learning I spoke with OReilly Medias chief data scientist, Ben Lorica on the state of deep learning in the enterprise to get further insights. Its a bit early to judge AI, says Ben who believes that many enterprises that have data science and machine learning groups will extend their experimentation and explore deep learning. Deep learning lies at the intersection of big data, big model, and big compute. It requires a large volume of training data and knowledge of how to configure deep learning algorithms. For this reason, Ben believes many enterprises experimenting with deep learning are following a partnering strategy. There are many startups experimenting with visual search and consulting companies that can help organizations apply deep leaning to different data problems such as discerning insights from time series data. In addition, enterprises looking to experiment with chatbots have many solution providers to select from but should be prepared to participate in developing the conversational models. In terms of deep learning technology, sixty-one percent of respondents to the OReilly survey are experimenting with TensorFlow. Ben suggests that enterprises that have already invested in a spark computing cluster may want to review Intels BigDL since it runs on top of this infrastructure. In addition, enterprises should monitor the developments of ONNX, a community project created by Facebook and Microsoft aiming to drive greater interoperability between AI tools. When deep learning is part of digital transformation Digital transformation programs center around adopting digital business models, improving customer experiences, and leveraging data and analytics to improve the competitiveness of the organization. Organizations looking to develop a competitive edge in their products should explore embedding artificial intelligence capabilities into their products and services. Sometimes this can be accomplished with more mature areas of artificial intelligence. For example, organizations can leverage natural language processing engines to identify entities and common terms on their web pages and hyperlink them. Retail organizations can leverage recommendation engines to help suggest similar products based on a customers purchasing and browsing behaviors. Organizations with legacy back office systems can explore using robotic process automation (RPAs) to automate tasks. But when products leverage large volumes of complex, multi-dimensional, semi-structured and fast- moving data it is difficult to discern patterns from the data and enable human-like and sometimes beyond human decision-making capabilities. In enterprises, examples include flagging safety issues in manufacturing plants, finding insights from large streams of IoT generated data, identifying fraudulent bank transactions, or building computer vision capabilities into mobile experiences. Deep learning is a data and technical capability for organizations looking to develop these data rich experiences into their platforms and product offerings. Preparing the organization to work with deep learning Like any new technology or data capability, CIO should consider how best to educate select members of their organization. According to the OReilly survey, seventy percent of respondents reported that their organizations had in-house training programs. In house efforts can also be coupled with programs from third parties, attending conferences, and performing pilots with startups. There is also an emerging group of local organizations such as Atlanta Applied Artificial Intelligence and Dallas AI that are offering both events and training programs around how AI is being applied in their cities. But experts agree that the start of AI and deep learning programs must start by formulating a business hypothesis around where these algorithms may provide the most strategic business value. AI, and deep learning requires a form of agile experimentation that requires running data sets through different algorithms, network topologies, and tuning strategies that optimize results and performance. This is not an investment where CIO can project quick wins or rapid return on investments. Second, CIO should be looking to catalog, cleanse, and tag data sets that are promising candidates for deep learning experiments. The adage of garbage in, garbage out very much applies to deep learning experiments and tagging data to be used to train deep learning algorithms can be an investment all in by itself. Deep learning is ushering in a new era of computing that is mathematically driven and performed at large scales. Instead of programming rules and heuristics, networks of computing nodes are tuned by complex patterns and converge on intricate decision curves. As the science matures, it will be easier for CIO to leverage talent and platforms. The question CIO must help answer for their organizations is when to get started and what opportunities to attack. Last week, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who recently told a teachers union audience that he was an undocumented person, pulled another publicity stunt with an executive order that, as the New York Times reports, could open the ballot box to more than 35,000 people. And not just any peoplefelons on parole. The move comes off as transparently political. Cuomo likely feels compelled to signal his left-wing bona fides now that the uber-liberal former Sex and the City co-star, Cynthia Nixon, has thrown her hat into the gubernatorial ring. Cuomos gesture seems to suggest that, at least as regards criminal-justice reform, the 2018 Democratic primary could turn into a race to the bottom. Cuomos order is more symbolism than substance. All it really does is make paroled felons eligible for a conditional pardon that will restore voting rights. It doesnt guarantee that they will get such a pardon, and it neither restores rights with respect to the receipt, transportation, or possession of firearms nor relieves individuals of any unpaid restitution, fine, or other financial obligation resulting from a conviction. It wont restore the right to hold public office, and it wont seal conviction records. And the order makes clear that it and all future restorations of voting rights, shall not be construed as a remission of guilt or forgiveness of the offense and shall not function as a bar to greater penalties for future offenses. More worrisome is the governors willingness to use criminal-justice issues to signal his ideological alignment with the left wing of the Democratic Party. The far Left has taken positions on criminal justice at odds with honest assessments of available data and that would likely undermine recent gains in public safety. Scholars at NYUs Brennan Center for Justice have proposed, for example, releasing 40 percent of the prison population, including many violent offenders. New Yorkers should hope that Cuomo doesnt start warming to ideas along those lines. So far, many of Cuomos proposed criminal-justice reforms are relatively mild, at least by the Lefts standards. Others resemble similar efforts spearheaded by conservative groups. The governor has proposed reforming civil-asset seizure law to require an arrest as a prerequisite to seizure. Thats an improvement, no doubt, on current law, but it doesnt go as far as many on both the right and the left would like. Along with right-leaning groups such as the R-Street Institute, Cuomo has also proposed occupational-licensing reform, to minimize the barriers that ex-convicts face in the job market. Meantime, Cynthia Nixon has prioritized marijuana legalization. Current pot laws, she maintains, are driving racial disparities among the incarceratedan argument that ignores reality. Very few people are in prison or jail for mere pot possession, and drug offenses are simply not driving racial disparities in prison. As John Pfaff explains in his informative book, Locked In, If we released everyone in prison in 2013 whose top charge was a drug offense . . . the black percentage [in prison] would fall by one point (from 38 to 37 percent). Whether Nixon can mount a successful challenge to Cuomo remains to be seen. Early signs suggest, at least, that she could influence the race by pushing the governor left on criminal-justice issues. Thats an unfortunate area for her to have an impact in, since New Yorkers are always at risk of taking the historic crime reductions of the last 25 years for grantedand forgetting how they were achieved. Photo: Getty Images Ruling Ideas: The Black Book of the American Left, Volume IX, by David Horowitz (Second Thoughts Books, 338 pp., $19.99) I knew David Horowitz in his second thoughts years, when he turned away from the Left and became a conservative; he often came to our house to satisfy his craving for Chinese takeout and to structure his new political movement. My wife Barbara worked closely with him and Peter Collier, and weve been friends ever since. Ive often seen him offstage, and much of this fascinating, significant, and highly readable new book contains important material that reflects the man. His passions and intellect are on full display. Ruling Ideas is the ninth and final volume of Horowitzs collected conservative writings, and in many ways it is the most important. It contains an invaluable guide to Horowitzs work written by Frontpage editor Jamie Glazov and several short essays on current events. Readers are also treated to two extended glimpses into Horowitzs life, one having to do with his touchy friendship with Christopher Hitchens, the other the sad end of a long relationship with Carol Pasternak, a former comrade for whom he cared deeply. The volume also contains three long letters, retelling crucial events in Horowitzs life and linking those events to his political evolution. Regrettably, diaries and letters are largely vanishing from our culture. Were fortunate that these letters have survived, because without them, readers wouldnt understand the drama and pain that brought Horowitz to anti-Communism after growing up in a Communist Party home, attending a Party school, fraternizing with almost exclusively like-minded peers, and finally becoming a leader of the New Left. Horowitzs odyssey wasnt purely ideological. His break with the Left resulted from the Black Panthers murder of a friend and comrade, bookkeeper Betty Van Patter, in the winter of 1974. This incident ended my own career in the Left. I suspected that the Panthers had done it, and some members later confirmed this. Others knew that the Panthers had killed others, like Ellen Sparer, a teacher murdered in her bed by a troubled student. In his letter to Pasternak, Horowitz mulls over Sparers case, musing: You and I were able to share our grief over the friend we had lost, but we were never able to share an understanding of why she was dead. In your eyes, Ellen died a victim of circumstance; in mine, she died a martyr of a political faith that had made her blind. Horowitzs embrace of conservatism came directly and powerfully from real eventsthe murder of people he knew and his discovery that even these powerful facts were insufficient to make many of his friends reject the cause. The Lefts ideas are essentially a political religion, and for true believers to reject them is spiritually impossible. Even Christopher Hitchens couldnt do it. Hitchens could deny God, but he could not deny leftism. Horowitzs discussion of Hitchens is respectful and affectionate but unflinching when it came to Hitchenss desire to have it both ways: a sometimes-outspoken critic of the Left, he remained a follower of the politico-religious faith that one day, the dream of freedom, equality, and true socialism would be fulfilled. Hitchenss family life contained both themes. His father was a military officer; his mother was an exotic. Thus, he was buffeted back and forth between fight or flight in family events. More accurately, Horowitz writes, it left him with a sense of flight and fight on all occasions. In a memorable passage of his essay, The Two Christophers, Horowitz reflects: The utopian romance [Hitchens] never gave up was the perfect prescription for continual fight in the present, and a never-ending flight into the future. No one with Hitchenss intellect could fail to recognize that the Left had enthusiastically imposed tyranny whenever it had the chance. Yet, in the end, Horowitz pulls back from a full-throated denunciation, not wishing to consign his late friend to the Dantean level of hell to which the great essayist had dispatched many others. Ruling Ideas offers a unique and uncompromisingly personal view into the mentality of the Left. It makes a fitting capstone to David Horowitzs magisterial work on the criminal conspiracy of American Communism, a series that deserves to be read in full. David Horowitz (Photo: Gage Skidmore) If you go to South Korea, dont expect to find a nation mobilized for imminent war. At the Inchon airport, the gateway to Seoul, the only question that a security agent asked was, have you been in contact with a camel? It seems that travelers from the Middle East brought back nasty microbes, resulting in a kind of pulmonary flu. That many Koreans wear masks as protection from airborne diseasesblack masks are preferred by fashionable womenreflects a national dread of epidemics, not of a germ-warfare attack from Pyongyang. Moreover, from Seouls point of view, North Korea is far away, and much farther mentally than geographically. The forbidding, mine-strewn border is 40 kilometers from the capital, but it might as well be on the moon. Time has put distance between the two peoples. When I visited the Koreas 40 years ago, families throughout the country had been divided by the war and the ceasefire; the desire for national reunification was strong. Two generations have now passed; people are no longer sure whether some distant cousin is still living on the other side, and indifference has set in. The border has managed to create two distinct peoples, who, it seems, no longer desire to live together. At least, this is the case in the South. In the North, those willing to risk their lives flee to China or to the South in order, mainly, to escape poverty. As for the restslaves of the Kim regimewhat do we know of them? South Koreans have, for their part, become more nationalistic; but they are South Korean nationalists. They are proud of the hard work by which they have founded one of the worlds most prosperous and creative nations, as can be seen in their globally celebrated brand names, beginning with Samsung and Hyundai, and their popular music culture, notably K-Pop, which hardly represents traditional Koreana, but which has a worldwide following. South Koreans are also proud, even vain, concerning their freedom of expression, which is often more in evidence on the Internet than in the nations mostly conservative press. And finally, they are proud of their democracy, imperfect though it is. Im not persuaded that a country best shows its democratic maturity by systematically imprisoning all former presidents of the republic. But in the Asian context, South Korea may indeed be considered quite democratic. While the worlds attention is fixed on negotiations between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un, with their rival hairdos and nuclear buttons, South Koreans are not holding their breath. The main topic of discussion is unemployment, particularly among young people. South Koreas giants of industry do little recruiting, since they are so efficient or have moved operations overseas; future jobs will be found in small businesses and start-ups that dont pay well, but these jobs are scarce, because the Samsungs and Hyundais take up so much of the employment space. Giving talks at Seouls universities, I fielded questions mainly concerned with jobs and employment. North Korea, such a worry for Americans, has long ceased to frighten South Koreans. They are accustomed to Pyongyangs saber-rattling and do not conceal their disdain for the Kim dynasty of tacky dictators. They are not afraid of a military attack, in which the North would have everything to lose. Moreover, we often forget that the function of a nuclear weapon is to deter attack: North Korea acquired its nuclear capacity not to bomb the United States or Seoul but to preserve its independence. The North counts on the Chinese more than on the Americans to maintain the status quo, which is, in fact, the preference of all the parties involved and the best outcome for all. Advocates for the South do not want reunification with their poorer cousins. In fact, theyespecially the youngfear that reunification would be too expensive and unwieldy. As for the Chinese, North Korea is a proxy that might be useful if it became necessary to destabilize the region. Pyongyang allows the Chinese to appear the wise moderator, and to marginalize the Americans. In the North, the ruling kleptocracy lives comfortably, as can be seen in the fact that, thanks to his nuclear gesticulations, Kim Jong Un has moved from being a clown to an internationally recognized statesmen. He now enters discussions on an equal footing with Chinese and American presidents. As for the Japanese, they dont want to see a unified Korea, eitherit would constitute an economic and military rival, with nuclear capacity. Finally, from the American point of view, the Korean status quo justifies the permanent American presence in the South. Legally speaking, the U.S. military in Korea represents the United Nations, which maintains its 1950 mandate to defend the South from Communist aggression. In this respect, President Trump could destabilize things by opening the door to a peace treaty between the two Koreas. Under such a treaty, proposed by the North and supported by South Korean president Moon Jae-in, a former anti-American leftist, the United States would no longer have a basis for staying in South Korea. This recalls the unfortunate precedent of Vietnam, where the Communist North invaded the South as soon as the Americans left. The South Koreans are aware of this precedent, and they entertain the unspoken hope that the negotiations between Trump and Kim will lead to nothing beyond claims of victory and self-satisfaction on both sides. The best result that can be hoped for, on this view, is that each will go home to great public praise and that the status quo will remain, under some cosmetic name changes. And yet this very status quo becomes possible only because all parties have agreed not to discuss the forgotten victimsthe citizens of North Korea, who have no voice and no defender. A potential war is averted in large part by acting as if this were not, in fact, the major issue underlying all others. Photo: Woohae Cho/Getty Images Today, the UK arm of US-based digital giving platform GoFundMe announced that fundraisers on its platform can raise money for charities for the first time, and would also be able to claim Gift Aid. That was the news, in a nutshell. However, unless you looked really closely at the announcement, you may have missed this fact. In a frankly extraordinary press release, GoFundMe used this announcement about changes on its platform to directly attack JustGiving over its fee structures. It accused JustGiving of slicing millions of pounds off of Gift Aid taken from donations on its platform. The platform also commissioned a YouGov survey, the data from which it also used to make pointed attacks against its competitor. For example: 72 per cent of people believe it is unreasonable for platforms to take a cut of Gift Aid claimed for charities on eligible donations, apparently. Arguably though, the fact that this press release has clearly been targeted at certain areas of the media namely the Daily Mail, The Sun and The Telegraph is perhaps more extraordinary still. As we all well-know by now, the red tops are no friend of the charity sector. It is at best a bold gamble by GoFundMe. At worst, it could be interpreted as a cynical and disingenuous marketing ploy. One that could even draw down further tabloid ire on a bruised and battered fundraising sector. The tabloid front pages have been rather distracted today by the historic meeting and peace talks currently underway on the Korean Peninsula. But I wouldn't be surprised if, over the weekend, one or two pick up the figures sent out by GoFundMe and run with them. The US-connection It says something at least of the aspirations of GoFundMe that they view JustGiving as a direct rival. JustGiving has been operating in the UK for nearly two decades and, in 2017 alone, raised over 450m for charities here. It is by far the best known and most used digital giving platform in the UK a monopoly of sorts that has, until now at least, only really been challenged by Virgin Money Giving. Having said all that GoFundMe has by far the more impressive global pedigree. It has raised in excess of 3.6bn globally and is well established in its native United States as the go to crowdfunder of choice. However, its UK-launch in 2017 was met with relatively little fanfare and it has been rather struggling since to carve itself out a niche in the UK digital giving market. It appears that todays attack stems from the fact that JustGiving has fairly recently been purchased by Blackbaud, another American digital company. Blackbaud spent nearly 100m on purchasing JustGiving at the end of last year, and clearly has grand designs on marketing it heavily in its native shores. This would mean effectively muscling in on GoFundMes home turf. It would seem that GoFundMes American board figure the best form of defence was a good offence. Whatever the thinking behind all of this, battle lines have been clearly drawn. In the event of a proxy-war between two American conglomerates on UK soil, the biggest loser could well be the charities and fundraisers caught up in the middle. Issues over Gift Aid GoFundMe say essentially that JustGivings 5 per cent fee on gift aid is a hidden fee that many fundraisers and donors alike arent told about and takes millions of pounds away from the good causes they are fundraising for or donating to. The hidden fees argument seems a little disingenuous given that JustGiving has an entire section on its website dedicated to explaining its fee structures. Also JustGiving is no stranger to having to defend its fees structure, as it routinely has to in the press whenever something terrible happens. Besides, GoFundMe only dropped its 5 per cent platform fee in January of this year, and introduced a tips system whereby donors could leave effectively a tip on top of their donation to cover the costs. GoFundMe said this system had worked well when it had been trialled in the US, but tips are fundamental to the way that the economy works in America in a way that it simply doesnt here in the UK. Having said that JustGiving itself unveiled a Donation Boost option on its platform yesterday, which it says will allow donors to effectively cover its platform fees by boosting 1 for every 20 they donate. This new feature doesn't do much to clarify JustGiving's already complicated fee structure, although it's perfectly likely that it will end up raising more money for charity. The folks over at JustGiving may well be gnashing their teeth in private, but theyve played this GoFundMe stuff with a very straight bat, saying that they welcome the competition. Perhaps theyre not concerned about GoFundMe here in the UK. After all theyve seen plenty of pretenders come and go in the UK digital giving sphere before. Yet, this whole argument could well be rendered moot by the increasing presence of Facebook in the digital giving sphere. Facebook has already began rolling out its donate buttons on charity pages in the UK and, given the ongoing popularity of the platform, its hard to see that it wont make a sizeable dent in the marketplace. In this fairly unedifying public spectacle, it's fair to say that neither GoFundMe nor JustGiving have particularly covered themselves in glory. Business is business after all, but whether the charity sector and the millions of Britons who use these platforms to raise money for them every year see it that way, remains to be seen. Early in the morning on Monday, April 23, members and followers of the God beat awoke to upsetting news. I am no longer at @RNS, and thats about all I can say, tweeted Jerome Socolovsky, until then the editor in chief of Religion News Service. It was an honor to lead such a dazzling news team. His departurelater revealed to be a firingseemed to come out of nowhere. But current and former staff members say it has, in fact, been a long time coming: the culmination of months of tension between Socolovsky and RNS Publisher Tom Gallagher, whom many believe has taken control over the newsroom. Jerome has seen the slow erosion of his duties as editor in chief at RNS since Mr. Gallagher was hired, says Kimberly Winston, a contract reporter who covered atheism, secularism, and humanism for RNS. She resigned on Monday in protest. I feel like journalism is a calling, and they crossed a line, Winston tells CJR. If you cross a line, its more than personal. Its my calling. I just felt that I had to go. Religion News Service was founded in 1934 as an independent, non-profit, and non-sectarian news affiliate of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It changed ownership several times, acquired first by The United Methodist Reporter in 1983 and then by Newhouse News Service in 1994, according to its website. In 2011, it was bought by the Religion News Foundation, a non-profit educational and charitable arm of Religion News Association, a 501(c)6 trade association. All of the organizationsthe service, the foundation, and the associationare based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. (Disclosure: because I am a reporter who writes about religion, I am a dues-paying member of the Religion News Association.) Religion News Service acts primarily as a wire service selling subscriptions to other publications, but it also distributes press releases and conducts polling on religious life in the United States. Sign up for CJR 's daily email The countrys awash in religious media but theres nothing else like RNS, says Laurie Goodstein, a national religion correspondent for The New York Times. Its the AP of religion news, its a daily report covering news about all religious faiths without promoting any religion in particular. The RNS staff is small but determined, covering stories that range from allegations of misconduct against a local pastor, to evangelical leaders discussing the future of the movement, to American Muslim and Jewish opposition to newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The website also publishes a range of opinion and commentary from regular freelancers and prominent figures in the religion world. While no similar religion news wire service exists, RNS often competes for attention with The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, which all have strong religion desks. ARCHIVES: Why the religion beat poses unique challenges for some reporters Publisher Tom Gallagher, who is also president and CEO of the Religion News Foundation, was hired in 2016. Gallagher, an attorney and former Goldman Sachs vice president, was a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter from 2007 to 2016. Before that, he worked as an administrator for Mother Teresas religious order, Missionaries of Charity, where he helped create a New York State not-for-profit organization, the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center. He also assisted the cause of her canonization by investigating a potential miracle attributable to Mother Teresa, according to his LinkedIn profile. Several staffers tell CJR they were wary of Gallaghers lack of hard-news experience when he was hired but believed his business acumen would be useful to the organization. It was kind of a Hail Mary pass, one we all thought was necessary at the time, because of industry issues, because were all looking for a way to survive, especially as a nonprofit, Winston says of Gallaghers hiring. Winston wasnt the only one to protest Socolovskys firing. The day after he announced he was sacked, Managing Editor Lauren Markoe, who joined the staff as a reporter in 2011, also handed in her notice. With tremendous sadness, and under no pressure to resign, I am voluntarily leaving a news organization where I have proudly served as a reporter and editor for the past seven years, she says of her decision. Socolovsky says he wasnt given a reason for his firing until nearly a week later, when he met with board members and they said the decision was based on his disagreements with Gallagher. Tom and I had serious differences over the editorial vision for RNS, Socolovsky tells CJR. He challenged the accuracy of a fact in a recent story we published and I stood by the reporter who wrote it. Nicole Neroulias Gupte, chair of the publications board of managers, writes in a statement that the decision was based on careful consideration and in the best interests of our organization. The board named G. Jeffrey MacDonald, a longtime freelancer, as interim editor while it searches for a new permanent editor. Tom [Gallagher] and I had serious differences over the editorial vision for RNS, [ousted Editor] Socolovsky tells CJR. Gallagher declined to comment specifically on the boards decision to terminate Socolovsky, saying he wasnt in the room when it was made. Its safe to say that, based on my knowledge of RNSs 84-year history, morale is at an all-time low, says Debra Mason, founding director of the Religion News Foundation and publisher emeritus of Religion News Service. Since joining the publication, current and former staff members say Gallagher has attempted to influence editorial decisions, thereby threatening the publications editorial independence and integrity. Over the months, there has been an increasing effort to centralize Toms control over Jerome and over the staff, says Mason. In his capacity as editor in chief, Socolovsky wrote a weekly email to Religion News Service subscribers called Sunday Morning Editors Note. The email typically contained a digest of the weeks most interesting stories and an introduction written in the first person by Socolovsky. On October 8, Socolovskys introduction contained a link to a CJR story about the impact that Facebook and Google have had on the news business. So heres my ask, Socolovsky wrote to readers. Dont let Facebook and Google decide what news you getwhich they do based on data youve most likely given them unwittingly, through your browsing history and other information they can track. Ten days later, Gallagher wrote to Socolovsky, in an email obtained by CJR, Given your publishing of personal opinions in the Sunday week-in-review email, e.g., the unwise public criticism of both Facebooka key partner of ours and a key relationship to the APand Google for which I received a complaint, you are now prohibited from publishing personal stories, histories or opinions in the Sunday week-in-review marketing email. Gallagher also wrote, I need to review and approve of your Friday Editors Note and any other proposed email to the staff prior to its [sic] distribution, referring to internal communications between Socolovsky and staff members. Socolovsky responded, I am more than willing to let you review any part of my weekly email to staff that affects the business side, but I cannot comply with censorship and intimidation, according to an email obtained by CJR. I am disappointed by your bullying tactics, including your repeated assertion in yesterdays call that my position here is unsustainable, he added. Asked to comment on this exchange, Gallagher tells CJR, I havent seen that email since that time, but I recall the following: Jerome did not have authority to use our marketing emails as a personal platform to issue personal opinions and public complaints on behalf of RNS. RNS does not issue editorials. Jerome apologized for doing this; after that, I said I needed to review these marketing emails prior to them being sent to our subscribers. According to former and current staff members, Gallagher was often openly critical of Socolovsky in work settings. Jerome would go on vacation and [Gallagher] would call individual reporters and badmouth Jerome and try to get us to badmouth Jerome, says Winston. Almost every one of our phone calls included complaints about Jerome Socolovsky, says Wendy Gustofson, a marketing director who worked across Religion News Association, Religion News Foundation, and Religion News Service and was let go (due to budgetary constraints, she says) from her position in November. Gustofson also says she felt Gallagher devalued and dismissed her work raising revenue and selling subscriptions. There was no plan, she says. Gallagher tells CJR that he has expressed frustrations related to our analytics, including Jeromes lack of concern. Jerome joined RNS as editor-in-chief in November 2015. We have lost 35 percent of our business subscribers since 2016 and our website traffic has suffered, he writes via email. All of this leads to a decrease in advertising and sponsored content revenue. (Several hours after sending this statement, Gallagher wrote back to CJR with an updated version of the quote, no longer mentioning Socolovsky by name.) Over the past year, Gustofson and other staff members have voiced their concerns about Gallagher to the Religion News Service board of managers, but many say their complaints have gone unheard. In August, Gallagher upset staff members by removing from the Religion News Service website an opinion column written by Richard Mouw, a prominent evangelical theologian and former president of Fuller Theological Seminary. The column was framed as a public letter to prominent evangelical Jerry Falwell, Jr., inviting him to reconsider his public support of Trump. It was removed under pressure from Falwells lawyer. In an email obtained by CJR, staff members wrote to Gallagher, We understand the pressures you face in a toxic political and journalistic environment. But we feel this action contravenes standard journalistic practice, hurts our credibility, and damages the reputation of our 83-year-old news servicethe only in the world devoted exclusively to coverage of religion. A week later, the Religion News Service board of managers weighed in, telling staff members via email that the column contained errors that needed to be corrected, and that Mouw had declined to make them. (CJR found a Washington Post story from 1980 corroborating Mouws version of the column.) Bob Smietana, who chaired the board at the time, disputes the staffs characterization of events, telling CJR it was the boards decision, and not Gallaghers, to remove the column. In September, staff members met with the board members at the annual Religion News Association conference to talk about about the Mouw column and what they viewed as other problematic aspects of Gallaghers leadership, but some felt the effort backfired. In October, Gallagher sent out a note on the organizations internal chat platform making several new policy assertions, including: RNS and RNF staff are not encouraged to contact members of the board for a host of reasons, including but not limited to, its a best practice, the staff run the risk of the perception of insubordination, avoids role confusion, and reduces the risk that the board D&O insurance may not apply to board decisions and thereby placing board members at risk of personally being financially responsible for a breach of their duties as board members, if board members are drawn into day-to-day management issues. The noteand the word insubordination in particularhad a chilling effect on staff, who took it to mean they could be fired for contacting board members. Kevin Eckstrom, who served as editor in chief of RNS from 2006 to 2015, tells CJR that he maintained total editorial independence from both the publisher and the board during his tenure. Of the relationship between staff members and the board, he says, It was an open door both ways, by design. The noteand the word insubordination in particularhad a chilling effect on staff. Also in the fall, RNS staff members were informed of a pending deal to establish a joint religion news desk with the Associated Press and The Conversation. The initiative is to be funded by the Lilly Foundation, which provides most of RNSs grant money, according to sources familiar with the deal. Some staffers said they didnt feel comfortable raising concerns about Gallagher after that, not wanting the funder to sense leadership problems and back out. We all wanted and want that deal to go through because it will mutually benefit all involved, says Winston. The whole time this conflict has gone and that deal has been in the works that has been the subtext, the underlying current. In April, Gallagher sent a note to all staff members about an RNS story covering a protest at a talk given by Reverend James Martin. In it, he said he had been contacted by the Archdiocese of Chicago, which disputed the number of protesters reported in the piece. Staff members said they felt uncomfortable with what they viewed as the publisher interjecting in the editorial process on behalf of a religious organization. Gallagher tells CJR that when he emailed Socolovsky and Markoe about the story, Socolovsky responded that the reporter was on vacation, that he trusted her, and that she did a good job. Its terribly alarming that any editor would have such a cavalier response to a disputed fact in his staffs reporting, without any effort to review, Gallagher says. Accuracy is our most cherished value. This is Journalism 101. If the top editor is dismissive of requests for corrections or clarifications, then RNS might as well shut down. On several occasions, staff members expressed concern over the possible perception that Gallagher favors Catholic-leaning coverage, something they worry could impact the publications reputation as nonsectarian. As a wire service, RNS also distributes paid press releases to a subscriber list. In 2017, Gallagher gave away three free press releases to Catholic organizations without notifying marketing director Gustofson ahead of time, she says. Giving away free press releases wasnt an uncommon practice among Gallaghers predecessors, according to Gustofson. What was different in these instances is that Gallagher gave her no explanation. When youre a 501(c)3, you should be accountable for what youre doing, and ready to explain why you give free products to some while charging full rate to others, she says. How does this look to our Buddhist press release clients? How does this look to our Jewish press release clients? Or even the author of a book who spent what they considered a great deal of money? Gallagher tells CJR of the decision, as CEO and Publisher, its in my purview to determine, based on our budget and marketing strategy, when to make this exception. According to Winston, Gallagher also tried to assign reporters specific stories, often about Catholicism. That made many of us uncomfortable, says Winston. Gallagher says he believes RNSs coverage of Catholicism has been suffering since the departure of a Catholic beat reporter in July 2017, pointing to the wires lack of a full-time reporter in Rome. (RNS currently has four full-time national reporters, and freelance correspondents in Paris, Jerusalem, and Nairobi, according to its website.) Current staff members who spoke to CJR on condition of anonymity say they believe Gallagher lacks leadership skills, is extremely slow to communicate, and has not articulated any of his plans for Religion News Service with the team. Several current and former staffers say he frequently mentions that he is a lawyer, creating a fear that he is litigious. Some staffers now fear that the legacy of Religion News Serviceproviding independent and non-sectarian reporting on religion, spirituality, and ethicsis under threat. This fear has resonated outside the bounds of the small organization. Gallagher tells CJR that he plans to share exciting news in the coming months that will be transformative, both for RNS and the journalism industry. In todays market, a news wire service that produces fewer than five stories a day and rarely breaks news is not a sustainable business model, he writes via email. Despite hearing this feedback from readers and subscribers, including a frank conversation with USA Today in late 2016, Jerome has continued to focus on producing reflective pieces rather than breaking news. RNS has had a wonderful history, but it doesnt have a sacred right to exist, he writes. Like the rest of the journalism world, we must strive for a more sustainable business model one of the key reasons I was hired to be publisher. The publications history as a secular, independent, and nonsectarian source of religion news is exactly what staff members worry about losing. Religion reporters outside of RNS hold the same fears. Thats why RNS is so vital and so delicate, says Goodstein, the New York Times religion reporter. Because to do what they do requires immense journalistic experience and judgment. To cover religion news without fear or favor, impartially. My fear now is that that could be at risk. For this to happen to RNS is a big deal to a number of people beyond our official subscribers, because were kind of the last ones standing that serve medium and small publications, says Winston. If our editorial independence goes down, thats a big loss. Update: This story has been updated to reflect a statement from Bob Smietana after publication. ICYMI: French nonprofit houses refugee journalists, defends press freedom Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Stephanie Russell-Kraft is a Brooklyn-based freelance reporter covering the intersections of religion, culture, law, and gender. She has written for the New Republic, The Atlantic, Religion & Politics, and Religion Dispatches and is a regular contributing reporter for Bloomberg Law. Follow her on Twitter: @srussellkraft. A few weeks ago, I fell prey to an outdated belief about social media editors. I made a joke on Vices Twitter account about missing 4:20, tweeting out a weed-related article at 4:21 instead (I never said it was a good joke), and one reader responded: Someone give this social media intern a raise. Someone give this social media intern a raise Sam Natale (@PubicDefender) March 14, 2018 This is a common assumption, as evidenced by dozens of tweets telling brands and publishers to fire their social media intern for various mistakes. Social media is my full-time job, yet there are those who still think a publishers account with almost 2 million followers is run by an intern. (CJR reached out to Sam Natale, the reader who offered his misguided praise, but didnt hear back.) ICYMI: Jared Kushner literally called Secret Service on me Why do these comments persist? Alana Levinsons essay The Pink Ghetto of Social Media and Alina Heims The Invisible Workforce Behind the Social CEO suggest the bias against social media editors has sexist overtones. But beyond that, what makes readers think theres an intern on the other end of an account? Sign up for CJR 's daily email Its almost like publishers want readers to think its an intern tweetingbecause an intern means someone young, funny, and relevant. Its a fantasy where only the youngest people in the office know how to do social media, and therefore the fun task of posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all day is thrust upon the person at the bottom of the totem pole. At one point, these people were right. Ten years ago, and less, when publishers didnt know the power of social media, it may very well have been an intern holding the reins. But in 2018where we now have a president who tweets out official policythe business of social media has become so complex that it is now a bona fide profession. ICYMI: The predictable outrage over the White House Correspondents Dinner As the complexities of the platforms have changed, so has the strategy. Sometimes I tweet a simple lmao as a sell for an articleand yes, people call me an intern for it. But there is legitimate thought behind those sells. When I say sell, by the way, I mean the top copy or caption written alongside a link card. Heres an example of pretty silly tweet from The New York Times; the sell in this case is Consider this less a recipe, more of a prod in a direction that you never considered. Consider this less a recipe, more of a prod in a direction that you never considered https://t.co/29eYURffPO The New York Times (@nytimes) April 6, 2018 Brands and publishers have to walk a fine line on social media. They want to be relatable, funny, reverent in certain cases, omnipresent, and all-knowing, without showing too much of a personal biaskind of like a hip, cool god. They dont, however, want to be perceived as crude or giving off a how do you do, fellow kids vibe. This push and pull goes into every sell, and every tweet. Why go through this trouble for a stupid tweet that most people scroll past? Above all, social media editors are looking for clicks, and their bossesthe publisherssupport as much. As The Onion so eloquently put it: We dont make any money if you dont click the fucking link. Social media accounts are also hungry for engagementslikes, comments, retweets (or on Facebook, shares)that lead to larger follow counts and larger influence. Finesse, thought, and keeping up with internet culture are essential when not only searching for influence, but representing yourself as the brand or publisher. And as a bottom line, more followers and engagements (namely, retweets or shares) means more clicks. But the voice on the other side of your feed also needs to be human, and that human voice may sometimes be perceived as unprofessional. Thats where the misconception about the intern comes in. Readers may hold a certain schema for what it means to be professional; when they see an account tweet lmao, it breaks that schema. A full-time, salaried employee cant do that, they think. Only an intern can do that. False! I do it all the time, because I want you to click, like, retweet, reply. Then there are memes. A meme can be considered trivial by someone older, social media professional Alina Heim tells me over email, but a young person will likely have a better understanding of the comedic value behind a meme, and how difficult it is to come up with one that truly resonates with an audience. Meme creation requires both soft (humor, empathy) and hard (photo editing, gif-making) social media skillsand those who dont make them or keep up with memes dont know the work that goes into one. Memes, like social media as a whole, have gotten more complex as the internet has aged; theres even a whole subreddit called r/MemeEconomy where people buy and sell memes based on how good they are. Memes are ever-changing, ever-multiplying, which means editors who utilize them on social mediasuch as this brilliant use of the recent American Choppermeme from the Monterey Bay Aquariumhave to stay abreast of meme trends. A more meta example is when the Washington Post used the American Choppermeme to explain why its okay for media outlets to explain memes themselves. Again, editors have to walk a line: Make and use memes to be funny and relevant, yet be careful. They cant be hokey, or appear as though theyre trying to sell something; memes also cant be stale, for the risk of the brand/publisher being called stale themselves. Social media in 2018 is a balancing act. Editors must use prowess and experience to create a precise social strategy, but make it look so easy that an intern could do it. ICYMI: Iowa newspaper uses an escape room to solve the profit puzzle Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Anna Rose Iovine is a social editor at Vice and a freelance writer based in New York City. The presidents security service issued a cease-and-desist order to the investigative reporter and his publisher. Any further publication of the expose must stop immediately. The book detailed the dark inner workings of the government, and outed loyalists who used their positions to erode federal agencies and enrich themselves. And it was flying off the shelves. Donald Trump? No, Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa. The book? The Presidents Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prisonby legendary South African journalist Jacques Pauw, who came out of retirement to report the scorching account of cronyism and corruption in the Zuma government. TRENDING: Spains most famous paper stumbles amid Catalonia independence crisis Zuma sent that cease-and-desist letter last November, just a few weeks before Trump sent his own attempting to ban Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Unlike Trump, Zuma left office, forced from power, on February14. Pauws work, and all the other reporting that paved the way for Zumas downfall, is just a recent example of long history of African investigative journalisma history that can be a source of inspiration to those of us in US media. Despite tremendous obstacles, including threats of imprisonment, legal battles, and death, African reporters have not only weathered decades of legal restrictions and an extremely difficult economic climate, but have repeatedly published important works that have shed light on everything from political corruption and corporate malfeasance to genital cutting and environmental disaster. Some of the best examples of African investigative reporting appear in a volume called African Muckraking: 100 Years of African Investigative Journalism. Anya Schiffrin, who edited the volume and is the director of the Technology, Media, and Communications specialization at Columbia Universitys School of International Affairs, spoke with CJR about the legacy of investigative reporting on the continent, the challenges faced and overcome by journalists there, and what Americans can learn from their African colleagues. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Why this book and why now? We all know about the great American muckrakers like Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Jacob Riis, journalists who wrote about the evils of the huge trusts, Standard Oil, health and safety problems, and the dangerous conditions in Chicago meatpacking factories. I began to be interested in what I call Global Muckraking, the investigative journalists in the Global South who have not received much attention. After publishing Global Muckraking:100 Years of Investigative Reporting from Around the World in 2014, South African journalist and professor Anton Harber suggested I edit an African muckraking book, and Ugandan media development expert George Lugalambi agreed to help. This is the first collection of African investigative journalismwritten by Africans, about Africaso the response has been tremendous, particularly on the continent. How far back does African muckraking go, and what has it accomplished? After much digging for stories, we came up with 41 pieces of journalism from Africa over the last 75 years. Each piece includes an introduction by a journalist, scholar, or activist explaining how the piece came to be and why it mattered. Some of the highlights include: feminist writing from Tunisia in the 1930s, hair-raising exposes of the secret tactics planned by the South African government during apartheid, Richard Mgambas searing description of albino brothers in Tanzania who fear for the lives, and the piece by Liberian journalist Mae Azango on genital cutting, which forced her to go into hiding. Drums investigative reporter Henry Nxumalo, who went undercover in South Africa to write about labor conditions on the notorious potato farms of Bethal, has a piece in the book, as does Nigerian novelist Okey Ndibe, which describes Chinua Achebes passionate writing on the war with Biafra. Some of the pieces generated outrage and had an impact, others did not change the course of history. Whats important about the book is that it documents and preserves the stories, many of which had been forgotten. American journalists should study African journalism so that Americans can understand their own future. Have African journalists had to deal with accusations of fake news, and if so, how did they handle it and what can we learn from them? African journalists have faced jail time, killing, and attacks for decades and have certainly been accused of peddling untruths and sensationalistic reporting. In part, this was because of government or political party control of much of the media in the post-colonial period, which meant reporting was often subject to soft censorship and ended up being biased and partisan. At the same time, lack of revenue led to sensationalistic reporting that boosted newsstand sales. Related to the question of trust is media credibility, and we recently finished a report on organizations around the world that try to build media trust. What can muckraking in Africa teach journalists on other continents? Ive been saying for years that American journalists should study African journalism so that Americans can understand their own future. African journalists have long had to face tremendous financial difficulties. Historically there was very little advertising, except for government advertising, and low subscription rates, too. Many outlets do not pay salaries to journalists, so they have to fend for themselves, often resorting to unethical practices. But what is most important is the unbelievable persistence, grit, and bravery shown by these African journalists who faced tremendous dangers and hardship, and kept reporting. What are some of the most compelling investigative pieces to have come out of Africa? The book is divided into the categories that are true to what can be found in African newspapers historically, so we include passionate writing about the evils of colonialism, reporting on the position of women in society, coverage of famine and disaster. There are plenty of stories about corruption, and those resonate with African audiences because its a topic that is often discussed. For me, some of the pieces that stand out are the ones from the apartheid era about the dirty tricks, surveillance, and violence of the South African government. Time has passed since the end of the apartheid era and memories dim. Its important not to forget. Is muckraking in Africa the province of larger, well-funded media outlets, or have small, modestly funded news organizations been able to undertake hard-hitting investigations? Interestingly, in many parts of the world, hard-hitting reporting has been done by journalists working outside the mainstream outlets. Some of the bravest journalists who devoted their lives to reporting hard-hitting stories were people working more or less on their own. Carlos Cardoso in Mozambique left a cushy job with state-owned media to set up a faxed newsletter that covered government corruption and the banking sector. He was killed in suspicious circumstances in 2000. Rafael Marques has his own outlet in Angola and covers the damage done by mining. He has been put on trial a number of times. Then there are people like Musikilu Mojeed in Nigeria, who have worked for prestigious papers and had fellowships and support but also launched their own outlets. ICYMI: Meet the journalism student who found out she won a Pulitzer in class Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Andrea Gurwitt is a freelance editor and award-winning multimedia journalist. She co-produced Anya Schiffrins online course on global muckraking. She has also covered the environment, the workplace, and poverty, served on the editorial board of The Record in New Jersey, and was editor of an online education magazine. A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania awarded summary judgment to an insurer accused of bad faith after denying a mans claim for losses exceeding $1 million when a fire destroyed his home. The court found that evidence suggests the insurer conducted a reasonable investigation into whether the losses actually occurred before denying the claim. The case comes after American National Property and Casualty Company denied Daniel Felixs claim for losses exceeding $1 million under his homeowners insurance policy when a fire destroyed his house in January 2016. Fraud Investigation After American National received Felixs claim, it assigned his case to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) because it identified several red flags suggesting fraud. In particular, it found that Felixs previous home had burned down less than three years earlier under similar circumstances and resulted in Felix filing an insurance claim with American National, receiving a payment of more than $400,000. The SIU assigned investigator Kip Mathena to Felixs claim, and Mathena hired attorney Joseph Hudock to represent American National in connection with the claim. Felixs homeowners policy, through American National, contained a fraud provision stating the entire policy is void if the insured willfully conceals or misrepresents any material fact or circumstance concerning his/her insurance. After Felixs claim was denied, he submitted a proof of loss to American National on March 10, 2016. He claimed a total of $744,000 in dwelling replacement costs, $60,000 in loss of use costs and $270,000 in loss of contents costs. As part of his proof of loss, Felix provided an itemization of hundreds of personal items he lost in the blaze, particularly a set of 1.5 carat diamond earrings and a Louis Vuitton purse. On his proof of loss form, Felix stated he had a receipt for his purchase of the lost earrings from Littman Jewelers for $1,906.94 using a credit card, but he did not have a receipt for his purchase of the lost purse from a Louis Vuitton store for $1,358 using a credit card. He confirmed that before the fire, he had purchased the purse for his ex-fiancee, Kelly Madison, but she returned it to Felix after their relationship ended. On May 31, 2016, Hudock spoke with Madison, who reported she was in possession of a Louis Vuitton purse and a set of diamond earrings from Felix. On the same day, Madison forwarded American National pictures of a brown Louis Vuitton purse and a pair of diamond stud earrings. Madison also informed Mathena of text messages she received in May and June of 2016 in which Felix asked about the Louis Vuitton purse. She provided the text messages to American National as well, showing that Felix had repeatedly questioned her about where the purse was and pressured her to send him a photograph. Felixs statements to the effect that the purse was destroyed in the fire were made with an intent to deceive and are material Hudock then stated in an opinion, also asserting that [a]lthough [Felix] did not testify that he took back the earrings, it is clear that they were not destroyed or lost in the fire as he claims. With this in mind, Hudock concluded these material misrepresentations entitled American National to deny Felixs entire claim because Pennsylvania follows the majority view that a single fraudulent material misrepresentation can void the entire policy. Lawsuit Filed After hearing from Hudock and reviewing information gathered during the investigation, American National decided to deny Felixs claim and file a lawsuit against Felix for a declaratory judgment that American National was not required to provide him with coverage. On June 23, 2016, American National sent Felix a denial letter that explained it was denying his claim because of material misrepresentations. American National then filed its complaint in court. American Nationals complaint contained a claim for declaratory judgment that Felixs policy is void because of his material misrepresentations, and a claim against Felix for civil insurance fraud. Felix responded by filing an answer and counterclaims against American National for breach of contract and statutory bad faith. During his deposition, Felix testified that before the fire, he had two sets of purses and earrings: one set in Madisons possession, which the fire did not destroy, and one set in Felixs house, which were lost in the fire. Felix stated he purchased the Louis Vuitton purse in Madisons possession for approximately $1,700 in December 2014. He claimed he purchased the second Louis Vuitton purse lost in the fire in cash from a woman outside a Sheetz in Greensburg for $1,358.00 in February 2015. He added that he mistakenly included a credit card payment of $1,358.00 for a Louis Vuitton purse in his proof of loss because he confused which purse he paid for with a credit card. As for the earrings, Felix explained that when he prepared his proof of loss, he may have mistakenly submitted the receipt for the earrings that Madison owned rather than the earrings that were lost in the fire. He said he obtained the second set of earrings from a goldsmith on Scalp Avenue in Johnstown, but he could not name the goldsmith or provide a receipt. Felix asserted he had purchased the second set of earrings after Madison lost the first set, but never gave them to her because Madison ended up finding the first set. In her deposition, Madison testified Felix never gave her a second Louis Vuitton purse and stated she had no knowledge about whether Felix purchased a second pair of earrings for her. Madison also stated she had no knowledge of whether Felix actually lost a Louis Vuitton purse and diamond earrings in the fire. Felixs friend Jessica Bloom and his sister Becky Shirk, however, testified that they saw a white Louis Vuitton purse and a set of diamond hoop earrings in Felixs home shortly before the fire. Felix further explained that on his proof of loss and in previous sworn testimony, he claimed the loss of a white Louis Vuitton purse rather than a brown purse. He stated this is because in February 2015, he and Madison had an intense argument over a prenuptial agreement in which he was intoxicated, and Madison passed out, hit her head and lost consciousness. He explained he reasonably believed he had presented the white Louis Vuitton purse to Madison during the argument and that she had returned it to him. However, because of his intoxication and the many items he had purchased for Madison during their relationship, he acknowledged he may have mistakenly stated during his prior testimony that Madison returned the white Louis Vuitton purse when he never actually gave it to her. [A]t the time I prepared the [P]roof of [L]oss, I may have mixed up the purchase price and/or the method of payment for the white Louis Vuitton purse with the brown Louis Vuitton purse I purchased for Ms. Madison, he stated. In an affidavit, Felix added he purchased two sets of diamond earrings for Madison a pair of studs and a pair of hoops. He clarified that the diamond earrings lost in the fire were hoops, not studs, and said he never claims to have lost diamond stud earrings in the fire. Court Decision To succeed on a statutory bad faith claim in Pennsylvania, the insured must prove the insurer did not have a reasonable basis for denying benefits under the policy and the insurer knew of or recklessly disregarded its lack of a reasonable basis in denying the claim. Under Felixs logic, rather than relying on Felixs own representations in his Proof of Loss, American National needed to confirm with Felix that he only owned one of each item he listed in the Proof of Loss to ensure that he did not actually have two (or three, or four) items similar to those he claimed on the Proof of Loss, but that were not actually destroyed by the fire,Judge Kim R. Gibson wrote in her opinion. Surely, American National cannot be faulted for failing to inquire about items that it did not know existed. Additionally, Felix seemed to require American National to ask about details of the items, such as the color of the purse and the style of the earrings, that he failed to include in the proof of loss and never mentioned in his two statements under oath, Gibson wrote in the opinion. Imposing this burden on insurers would needlessly increase costs of investigating insurance claims, Gibson wrote. And if Felix was absolutely certain he lost a white purse and diamond hoop earrings in the fire as he now claims he should have conveyed that information to American National during their investigation into his claim. In light of this, the court rejected Felixs assertion that American National lacked a reasonable basis for denying his claim. This is because Felix stated on his proof of loss that he lost a Louis Vuitton purse and a pair of 1.5 carat diamond earrings and affirmed on the proof of loss that he accurately listed the items he lost under the pains and penalties of perjury. Based on the information that American National had when it denied Felixs claim, no reasonable jury could find that American National lacked a reasonable basis for its decision, Gibson wrote. Felix further argued that to defeat his breach of contract claim, American National needed to prove Felix violated the fraud provision of his policy by clear and convincing evidence. In response, American National argued Felix committed the alleged fraud when he claimed benefits, not when he first applied for the insurance policy. The Court agreed with American National that to prevail on its declaratory judgment action and defeat Felixs breach of contract claim, it needs to prove Felix made material misrepresentations by a preponderance of the evidence. With this in mind, the court granted summary judgment in favor of American National on Felixs bad faith claim, as it found no reasonable jury could conclude that American National failed to conduct a reasonable investigation or lacked a reasonable basis for its decision to deny Felixs claim. The court also found that no reasonable jury could conclude that American National knew of or recklessly disregarded its lack of a reasonable basis for denying Felixs claim. As a result, the court granted American Nationals motion for partial summary judgment pertaining to all claims of bad faith, and Felixs statutory bad faith claim was dismissed along with his breach of contract claim to the extent it asserts a common law bad faith claim. The claims that remain are American Nationals claim for declaratory judgment, American Nationals claim for civil insurance fraud and Felixs counter-claim for breach of contract to the extent it asserts a breach of contract claim rather than a bad faith claim. The case is ready for trial, and the parties must comply with a trial order stating that 45 days before trial, each party must submit a brief containing arguments about whether the preponderance of the evidence standard or the higher clear and convincing evidence standard governs American Nationals statutory civil insurance fraud claim, Gibson wrote. Connecticut Pizza Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud Stemming From Fire The owner of a Connecticut pizza parlor has pleaded guilty to a fraud charge for setting fire to his own business and then collecting insurance money. Federal prosecutors say 32-year-old Mustafa Zabana, an Iraqi national living in Westfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty this week to mail fraud. Authorities say in June 2016 Zabana set a fire at Brunos Pizza in Enfield that caused damage to the restaurant as well as other businesses in the mall where it was located. Prosecutors say after the fire, Zabana filed an insurance claim and received a $5,000 check. He then continued to pursue additional insurance payments. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing on June 29. Zabana was lauded for his good deeds in a December 2015 story in the Journal Inquirer. Arkansas Woman Lies About Car Jacking to Claim Insurance LaShay Elmore entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Insurance Fraud and one count of Theft of Property, in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. She was sentenced to five years probation, a $1000 fine, Court Costs, 100 hours of Community Service and restitution of $5,671.53 to Allstate Insurance. In June 2016, LaShay Elmore, AKA LaShay Bone (age 37) of North Little Rock, called the Little Rock police alleging her 2004, red, Chevrolet Suburban, had been carjacked while she and Jonathan Burnett were at a party. Burnett supported her allegation. On the same date she filed a theft claim with Allstate. Allstate approved her claim and paid her $5,671.53 on the vehicle. In October 2016, the North Little Rock Police found the vehicle that she alleged had been stolen in her driveway still in her possession. Burnett previously pled guilty to Insurance Fraud in January 2018. Nevada Lead Defendant Sentenced in 24 Person Staged Accident Insurance Fraud Scam Julio Cesar Gonzalez, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for his role in a 24 defendant staged-accident insurance fraud ring, according to an announcement by Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt. In September 2017, the 24 defendants were indicted by a Clark County Grand Jury on 68 felony counts. The indictment represented the largest multi-defendant indictment in Nevada Attorney General history. In March, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of Multiple Transactions Involving Fraud or Deceit in the Course of an Enterprise or Occupation, one count of Insurance Fraud, and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Insurance Fraud. The charged conduct was committed between September 2014 and May 2017. Gonzalez and 23 co-conspirators were involved in an alleged scheme that targeted 19 random automobiles throughout the Las Vegas Valley and staged vehicular accidents in order to obtain insurance payouts from false claims. Each defendant played a different role in the conspiracy. Some defendants are accused of having provided the automobiles used to stage the accidents and thefts, driven the automobiles causing the accidents, or participated as a passenger, while others are alleged to have falsely claimed to have been the driver or passenger in order to maximize any insurance payout. In total, the indictment provides that the defendants filed 23 fraudulent insurance claims related to these accidents and thefts. Gonzalez was personally involved in causing at least 17 of the 19 total staged automobile accidents. Over the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Gonzalez perpetrated his frauds under several names including: Julio Caesar Gonzalez, Julio Caesar Gonzalez- Mejia, Christian Miramon, Cesar Gonzalez, Christian Lopez, Juan Chavez Garcia, Alejandro Reyes-Rodriguez, Roman Contreras Garcia, Eduardo Uribe Pena, Cristian Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Cristian Gonzalez, Erick Cruz, Erik Garcia, Erik Garcia-Garcia, Alberto Hernandez Torres, Yelandis Penichet Vargas, Oscar Pereira Santana, Yoel Arrastia, Lian Grave De Peralta Rosales, Jorge Ayllon-Lopez and Jose Nunez Bandillo. Gonzalez was sentenced to 24-120 months in prison for the crime of Multiple Transactions Involving Fraud or Deceit in the Course of an Enterprise or Occupation, 12-34 months in prison for the crime of Insurance Fraud, and 364 days in prison for the crime of Conspiracy to Commit Insurance Fraud. All three counts will run concurrent to each other. Gonzalez was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $173,867.51. A total of nine defendants have pleaded guilty in this case thus far. As to the other eight defendants who appeared in this matter, a trial is scheduled to commence on November 13, 2018. The Eighth Judicial District Court has issued arrest warrants for the remaining seven defendants, many of whom are suspected to have fled the country after learning that they were suspects in this case. The following defendants remain at large: Leandro Fonseca, Jose de Jesus Nunez-Badillo, Erick Garci-Garcia, Irma Yolanda Meraz-Rangel, Jesus Nunez Aranda, Eloisa Badillo Esparza, and Anilu Vianey Gonzalez. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Southwest Airlines Co. in recent days hasnt found any additional signs of the metal fatigue on jet engine fan blades that led to last weeks fatal accident, though an executive said one cracked blade was discovered during reviews last year. With the inspections we have stepped up since last week, we have had no findings at this point, which is obviously what we would expect, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in a quarterly earnings call with analysts on Thursday. Southwest has now inspected all but about 10,000 of the 35,500 fan blades in its fleet used on the same engine model that failed, Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven said. The reviews began last year, with about 17,000 finished before the accident occurred. Examinations were stepped up after the April 17 fatal incident. The carrier found one cracked blade, which was discarded and replaced, in its earlier inspections of the CFM56-7B engines, Kelly said. He didnt provide additional details about that cracked blade. The checks were recommended last year by engine maker CFM International Inc., a partnership between General Electric Co. and Frances Safran SA, after a Southwest plane experienced an engine failure in 2016 that was similar to the April 17 incident. The plane made an emergency landing, but no one was injured. The inspections of one of the most common jet engines in the world are being carried out under an emergency directive issued Friday by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of last weeks fatal accident in which a fan blade cracked and sent metal fragments flying, triggering an explosive decompression on the plane. A New Mexico woman was partially sucked through a window and died. Southwest expects to have completed checks on all its CFM56-7B engines within 30 days not just those covered under the emergency order, which applies to engines with more than 30,000 flights. The carrier has already completed inspections of the 265 engines that fall under the mandate within the specified 20 days. CFM issued a release Thursday saying that 60 percent of the approximately 680 engines covered under the order issued by FAA and other nations aviation regulators had been inspected. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. China's top court has ruled in favor of French fashion house Christian Dior, overturning rulings by lower courts and rapping the local trademark office for rejecting an application by the firm to register a perfume bottle trademark. The ruling comes as Beijing looks to play up its credentials for protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights, after being stung by criticism, including from the United States, that it does not do enough to protect against IP infringement. The United States has threatened China with tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods, in part to force Beijing to tackle what Washington calls theft of U.S. intellectual property and forced technology transfers from U.S. companies. China said earlier this month it would introduce a system of punitive damages for IP infringements in a bid to strengthen IP enforcement for foreign firms and make sure offenders "pay a big price". In a judgement on Thursday, also World Intellectual Property day, China's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dior in a suit against the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board after a multi-year court battle. The board wrongly rejected a 2015 application by Dior to register a trademark of its tear drop shaped J'adore perfume bottle, the top court said in a statement on its website. Two lower courts had ruled against Dior after an appeal. Cui Guobin, an IP associate professor at China's Tsinghua University, told the China Daily newspaper the ruling showed the country would protect IP rights "no matter where it was from," but added there was still work to do. "The ruling also implies that it is necessary to improve our trademark laws," he said. North Korea and South Korea are on the verge of an historic moment and it matters for tech companies and their investors far beyond the peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In are meeting on Friday. It's only the third time leaders from the two Koreas have ever met. The summit will help set the stage for Kim's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The event is important in of itself, especially for Koreans. But beyond the geopolitics, many investors care as well including, for example, holders of Apple stock. Kim Jong Un on Friday became the first North Korean ruler to cross the border into South Korean territory since 1953 as he met with President Moon Jae-in. The one-day bilateral summit is the third ever meeting between leaders of the two Koreas, but skepticism is high about whether they can achieve any concrete progress on denuclearization. The face-to-face meeting has been heralded as a diplomatic win following years of the North's repeated nuclear tests and missile launches. But many believe Moon will use Friday's summit to establish trust rather than broach the nitty-gritty details of the North's nuclear program. The event's real purpose, according to strategists, is to set the stage for Kim's meeting with President Donald Trump slated for May or June. The two leaders discussed denuclearization in Friday's morning session, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean official. Without making Pyongyang denuclearize, "we cannot open a new chapter of peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon Chung-In, special advisor to the South Korean president, told CNBC's Chery Kang, adding that denuclearization was certainly on Friday's agenda. "We are hoping to have peace settlements and an improvement of inter-Korean relations, they are all tied up into the issue of North Korea's nuclear problem," he continued. Main takeaways from Moon-Kim summit The two leaders are expected to sign a joint agreement at the close of Friday. Close attention will be paid to wording and potential promises Kim may make regarding matters of inter-Korean cooperation, such as family reunions, as well as nuclear policy. The special advisor to President Moon said his country was hoping to persuade Kim "to adopt a joint statement on the denuclearization of North Korea," adding that "it is very important for us to get a written statement." But such a statement is likely to be general, experts said. "It's kind of going to be like a very short-term sheet," said Jasper Kim, director of the center for global conflict management at Seoul's Ewha University. Details on denuclearization may only be fleshed out at the Trump-Kim summit, he continued. "The success metric for [Friday] should be the establishment of trust, number one. And, number two, a broad-based agenda," the professor stated. The third-generation North Korean leader came to Friday's summit to put an end to the history of the Korean conflict, Reuters reported, citing an official. North Korea has traditionally reserved denuclearization as an issue to be exclusively broached with the United States Scott Snyder Council on Foreign Relations While President Moon, who has been criticized for being too accommodative to Pyongyang, isn't expected to take a hard-nosed stance towards Kim, he's not likely to be soft either. Seoul "is under some pressure because Donald Trump has been stressing, with the likes of John Bolton, to get results quickly out of this summit process," said Chad O'Carroll, managing director of Korea Risk Group. "Compared to previous summits where there would have been a lot more discussion on incremental steps, Moon will be coming in from the position that the U.S. needs to see some very clear progress on denuclearization," O'Carroll added. Pyongyang is also aware of those dynamics, so "there may be potential for surprises that analysts may not have expected from the North Korean side," he concluded. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands at the Inter-Korean Summit April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea. Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images Kim may save nuclear talks for Trump An American flag hangs over the entrance to the law offices of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in New York. At a time when many law firm partnerships are revolving doors, the move by several partners from one large firm to another would hardly merit headlines. Unless the firms in question are the old-line Cravath, Swaine & Moore and the disruptive Kirkland & Ellis, and the money involved is so big that star partners are being valued like Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes. Kirkland said last week that a senior Cravath partner, Sandra Goldstein, a former leader of the firm's litigation department, would be joining Kirkland with a Cravath associate, Stefan Atkinson. Ms. Goldstein's move followed those of three other Cravath partners who defected to Kirkland since 2012. Read more from the New York Times: Punishing Wells Fargo: Just deserts, or beating a dead horse? With Tesla in a danger zone, can Model 3 carry it to safety? Amazon's profit swells to $1.6 billion, lifted by Its cloud business What has the legal profession's upper ranks abuzz is that for decades partners almost never left Cravath voluntarily not for other law firms, at least, let alone for a firm like Kirkland, which is in some ways Cravath's polar opposite. "It was unheard-of for a Cravath partner to go to another law firm," said David Lat, the founding editor of the legal website Above the Law. "Now it's happening with some regularity." Brad S. Karp, the chairman of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, said ''the nature of big law'' had changed. "There has been a gradual but steady erosion of both client and partner loyalty,'' said Mr. Karp, who hired Scott Barshay, the former leader of Cravath's corporate department, in 2016. "A generation ago, clients were reflexively loyal to their law firms. The relationship today is more transactional and clients tend to be more loyal to particular partners. This new paradigm creates more opportunity, but also creates more flux." On the rare occasions that Cravath partners did leave, they certainly didn't do it for money, given that they have traditionally been among the highest-paid in the profession. (I'm a former Cravath associate who took a pay cut to pursue journalism.) Yet not even Cravath partners make the kind of money that enticed Ms. Goldstein to join Kirkland: $11 million a year for five years, plus a signing bonus, according to two people who discussed the terms with her. The figure is an estimate and not technically a guarantee, since Kirkland pays partners who have equity in the firm based on their shares, the value of which can fluctuate based on the firm's performance. Ms. Goldstein declined to comment. Kirkland has been spending lavishly. It paid its former partner Robert Khuzami $11.1 million for his work at the firm from late 2016 to early 2018, according to the financial disclosures Mr. Khuzami filed when he became deputy United States attorney in Manhattan. A Kirkland spokeswoman declined to comment for this column. Mr. Barshay will earn $10 million in 2018 to lead Paul Weiss's global mergers and acquisitions practice, according to people familiar with the arrangement. That departures from Cravath would create such a stir in the legal profession is, in many ways, a tribute to its brand and reputation. Founded in 1819, Cravath will celebrate its 200th anniversary next year, only the second major American firm to reach such a milestone. (Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft was founded in 1792.) Paul D. Cravath, a patriarchal figure at the firm in the early 20th century, essentially invented the modern large law firm, where teams of lawyers apply themselves to client needs across a broad range of issues. At Cravath, young lawyers are carefully selected and then rigorously trained and promoted in what has become known as the Cravath system. At the partnership level, the firm is strictly egalitarian. In one of Cravath's most distinctive features, partner compensation is determined solely by seniority, a system known as lockstep. That compensation is and, for many years, has been extremely generous: The American Lawyer's annual survey of partnership income, which was released this week, showed Cravath partners earning, on average, $4 million last year. "Our compensation model is just one element of our approach to producing the quality that we want our brand to represent," said Faiza J. Saeed, the firm's presiding partner, when we spoke this week. "It incentivizes partners to invest in the training and development of our people and aligns partner and client interests by encouraging partners to collaborate and deliver the full expertise of the firm.'' Needless to say, it also relieves the pressure on partners to meet annual billing targets. Ms. Saeed conceded that the lockstep-compensation system removes a powerful lever of management control. It puts a high premium on partner selection and development, and requires attention to ensure that partners uphold all aspects of the social compact, not just in terms of their contribution but also in how they reflect the values of the partnership. A desire to change the Cravath system and the resulting internal friction was a factor in some of the recent departures. "Kirkland is the antithesis of Cravath when it comes to compensation," said Bruce MacEwen, president of Adam Smith, Esq., a consultant to law firms, who writes widely about their economics. "It's very individualistic and competitive, with a very big spread between the highest- and lowest-paid partners. But Kirkland has a reputation for excellence that rivals Cravath's." There is no doubt that Kirkland, which has expanded rapidly from its Chicago headquarters, has been on a roll. The American Lawyer's annual survey of the largest law firms measured by revenue shows that it took in $3.165 billion last year, displacing Latham & Watkins from the top spot an achievement Kirkland partners will celebrate next week at their annual retreat in Southern California Kirkland's 19.4 percent growth rate in revenue last year compared with the previous year was the largest of any firm on The American Lawyer's list. Although its traditional strength has been in private equity transactions a field it dominates it was also ranked first last year by the website Mergermarket in mergers and acquisitions, with 447 deals. Cravath has never aimed to be the biggest firm, in terms of revenue or number of lawyers. But it does put a premium on profitability. This year, Kirkland edged out Cravath on that count, too, with average profits per equity partner of $4.7 million, according to The American Lawyer. (The figures don't account for Cravath's gold-plated pension plan, which is among the most generous in the profession.) Kirkland has shaken up the profession and expanded its practice by poaching top partners not just from Cravath, but from other prominent, old-line firms, including Latham and Skadden Arps Meagher Slate & Flom. It has raided the venerable Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York for so many partners that one Kirkland partner, in a widely circulated email, referred to Simpson as "Kirkland's AAA farm club." In contrast to the lockstep system, which is still used by a dwindling number of law firms, albeit some of the most prestigious, Kirkland's approach is a star system known somewhat pejoratively as "eat what you kill." Kirkland has been far more successful at this than Dewey & LeBoeuf, which imploded in 2012 after poaching partners from other firms and offering outsize guarantees it could not meet. Unlike Dewey, Kirkland's equity partners know what every one of their peers makes. Still, many question the long-term viability of Kirkland's unabashed star system and lavish pay packages. "Is 'eat-what-you-kill' inherently unstable?" Mr. MacEwen said. "That's a good question. The Kirkland model risks emphasizing the star at the expense of the team. The existential risk for a Kirkland is that they go too far and forget all the B players they still really need." For now, Mr. Lat said, "Kirkland is surging, with their New York and London offices every bit as impressive as Chicago." He added: "They're a global powerhouse. What's impressive is they've grown the top line while increasing their profits and prestige. There's usually a trade off." Cravath, too, seems to be thriving. The firm said that 2015 through 2017 had been its three best years ever in terms of revenue thanks to booming mergers and acquisitions and litigation practices. Ms. Saeed said the firm had no intention of modifying its compensation system. "Our partners value both the monetary and non-monetary benefits of being here,'' she said, "which includes the opportunity to work with incredibly talented people on challenging and high profile matters." Cravath currently represents Disney in its bid to acquire major assets from 21st Century Fox, and it represents Time Warner in the high- stakes antitrust case over its planned merger with AT&T. The Huawei P20 Pro on display in London during a briefing about the device ahead of the official launch which took place on March 27, 2018 in Paris. U.S. pressure on Chinese telecom equipment giants Huawei and ZTE is causing immediate challenges for the companies in financial markets. This week, Huawei abruptly called off a planned sale of 500 million euros ($606 million) in five-year debt despite high demand, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing market participants. The news came a day after the Journal, citing sources, reported the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Huawei violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. The DOJ declined to comment. Huawei did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment. The Chinese company, which has raised security concerns in Washington for years, reported a 28.1 percent increase in net profit last year to 47.455 billion yuan ($7.5 billion). Separately, ZTE shares in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, remain suspended more than a week after the initial halt. WHEN: Today, Friday, April 27, 2018 WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" today, Friday, April 27th. Following is a link to video from the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/04/27/starbucks-ceo-on-earnings-competition-growing-sales-and-more.html?play=1. All references must be sourced to CNBC. JIM CRAMER: SHARES OF STARBUCKS ARE DOWN SLIGHTLY THIS MORNING. THE COFFEE CHAIN REPORTED QUARTERLY EARNINGS THAT I WOULD SAY THAT ARE PRETTY MUCH IN LINE, REVENUE TOP ESTIMATES. SO JOINING US NOW IS EXCLUSIVELY STARBUCKS CEO KEVIN JOHNSON. KEVIN, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE PROGRESSION DURING THE QUARTER WAS JUST MUCH BETTER. JANUARY A LITTLE BIT WEAKER THAN FEBRUARY AND MARCH IN U.S. THE TERRIBLE INCIDENT IN PHILADELPHIA THAT I KNOW YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON, AND COULDN'T GO TO PHILADELPHIA, IS THE PROGRESSION CONTINUING OF STRENGTH DESPITE WHAT OCCURRED THAT HAD NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS? KEVIN JOHNSON: WELL, JIM, CERTAINLY AS WE COMMENTED YESTERDAY, I MEAN, WE DELIVERED, I THINK, A EVERY SOLID QUARTER. WE CERTAINLY MET EXPECTATIONS. WE EXCEEDED ON THE TOP LINE. AND AS WE MENTIONED, OUR COMP ACCELERATED IN THE U.S. THROUGHOUT THE QUARTER. JANUARY, YOU KNOW, POSTED THREE COMP, AND FEBRUARY AND MARCH. YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE INCIDENT IN PHILADELPHIA. CERTAINLY I WAS ON THE GROUND IN PHILADELPHIA REALLY UNDERSTANDING EVERY ASPECT OF THAT. WE'RE GOING TO DO THE RIGHT THING TO BE A BETTER COMPANY BECAUSE OF THAT. NOW CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WE COMMENTED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT IN PHILADELPHIA WE HAVE NOT SEEN A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR NATIONAL COMES THUS FAR IN THE MONTH. CRAMER: I WANT TO TALK ABOUT CHINA FOR A SECOND. THERE'S A REMARKABLE COMMENT THAT YOU MADE CHINA THAT YOU WERE COMMENTING ON THE CALL CHINA, THEY HAVE THEY ARE USED TO HAVING A HALF TO ONE CUP OF COFFEE PER PERSON PER YEAR VERSUS 300 CUPS IN THE UNITED STATES. WHAT COULD MAKE CHINA DECIDE TO DRINK MORE COFFEE? JOHNSON: WELL, CERTAINLY, JIM WE'VE BEEN IN CHINA FOR 20 YEARS NOW AND WE ARE INTRODUCING OUR CHINESE CUSTOMERS TO PREMIUM COFFEE EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS TEA. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THAT IN THE FACT WERE OVER 3200 STORES IN CHINA. WE'RE OPENING A NEW STORE ON AVERAGE EVERY 15 HOURS IN CHINA. AND WITH THE MIDDLE CLASS POPULATION GROWING TO OVER 600 MILLION, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE HAVE A PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO REACH MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS IN CHINA AND INTRODUCE THEM TO PREMIUM COFFEE EXPERIENCES IN OUR STORES. THAT WILL LEAD TO GROWTH AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT IS THE PREMISE. I THINK OUR ASIA PACIFIC REGION GREW OVER 50% THIS QUARTER. CERTAINLY PART OF THAT WAS THE ACQUISITION OF THE JOINT VENTURE OF EAST CHINA. BUT ALL OF MAINLAND CHINA NOW IS A COMPANY-OPERATED ENVIRONMENT. AND WE'RE FOCUSSED ON THE GROWTH POTENTIAL, THE LONG-TERM GROWTH POTENTIAL THAT PRESENTS FOR STARBUCKS. CRAMER: I WAS THINKING YESTERDAY, JUST IN TERMS OF, KEVIN, YOU'VE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME. YOU'VE BEEN IN TECH, TOO. THERE'S A QUANDARY FOR ME ABOUT THE VALUATION OF STARBUCKS, WHICH HAS BEEN UNCHANGED FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, DESPITE THE FACT YOU PUT UP GOOD NUMBERS. IF YOU WERE JUST REGARDED AS A CONSUMER PRODUCTS GROUP COMPANY, YOUR STOCK WOULD BE DRAMATICALLY HIGHER. YOU HAVE MUCH BETTER GROWTH. WHY DO YOU THINK JUST BRAINSTORM WITH ME WHY YOU ARE NOT BEING RE-RATED LIKE A CONSUMER PRODUCTS STORY, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU ARE. MAYBE THE FASTEST GROWER OF ALL OF THEM. JOHNSON: WELL, JIM, I THINK YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY WE'RE IN THIS ERA WHERE WE CONTINUE TO POST GOOD SOLID GROWTH ON TOP LINE, GOOD EARNINGS PER SHARE GROWTH. YOU KNOW, WE GREW EARNINGS PER SHARE THIS QUARTER 18%. AND AT THE SAME TIME, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO INCREASE THE DIVIDEND. AND IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DIVIDEND INCREASE, OUR INCREASE IN DIVIDEND HAS SUCCEEDED THE INCREASE IN EARNINGS PER SHARE AND IT IS PART OF THE FORMULA THAT LEAD US THE CONCLUSION WE'RE RETURNING $15 BILLION OF CASH TO SHAREHOLDERS IN THE FORM OF BUY BACKS AND DIVIDENDS OVER THIS NEXT THREE YEARS. YOU KNOW, SO CLEARLY WE'RE GOING TO STAY FOCUSSED ON DRIVING THE GROWTH AGENDA THAT WE'VE OUTLINED AND AT THE SAME TIME, RETURNING MORE AND MORE CASH TO SHAREHOLDERS IN THE FORM OF DIVIDENDS AND BUY BACKS. WE THINK THAT FORMULA IS A GOOD LONG-TERM FORMULA FOR SHAREHOLDER VALUE CREATION AND WE'VE DEMONSTRATED THAT OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS AND I ANTICIPATE WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON IT FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. CARL QUINTANILLA: KEVIN, YOU MENTIONED NO IMPACT ON NATIONAL COMPS BECAUSE OF PHILADELPHIA. CAN THE SAME BE SAID BY DEMOGRAPHIC OR MARKET OR REGION AT THIS EARLY STAGE? JOHNSON: WELL, CERTAINLY, CARL, WE HAD, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT PERIOD THAT THE PROTEST AND THE INCIDENT OCCURRED IN PHILADELPHIA, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THOSE STORES WERE IMPACTED FOR A BRIEF PERIOD BUT YOU KNOW WE IT'S EARLY DAYS. AND WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON DEMOGRAPHICS AND BUT CERTAINLY NATIONALLY AND LOOK AT REGIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT BEEN A MEASURABLE IMPACT THAT WE CAN ATTRIBUTE TO PHILADELPHIA. YOU KNOW, BUT CERTAINLY IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA DURING THAT PERIOD THERE WAS SOME CRAMER: KEVIN, WHAT DO YOU DO? I OWN A RESTAURANT. WE TALK ABOUT IT A LOT. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE BATHROOM? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE IDEA THAT IT REALLY DOES SEEM REASONABLE THAT SOMEONE PAY SOMETHING TO GET TO USE THE FACILITIES. THE JUDGMENT CALL IS SO HARD FOR THE BARISTA, FOR ALL BARTENDERS. WHAT IS THE WRONG OR RIGHT THING TO DO? JOHNSON: YOU KNOW, FOR STARBUCKS, WE BUILT THIS COMPANY ON THE CONCEPT OF THE THIRD PLACE. THE PLACE THAT'S NOT YOUR HOME AND NOT YOUR WORK, BUT THE THIRD PLACE YOU COME TO GATHER, YOU COME TO SOCIALIZE, YOU COME TO HAVE CONNECTION OVER COFFEE. AND WE'VE ALWAYS STRIVED TO CREATE A WARM, WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WALKS THROUGH THAT DOOR. AND SO AS PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE REVIEWING EVERY ASPECT OF HOW THIS SITUATION COULD HAVE HAPPENED. EVERY SINGLE ASPECT FROM POLICY GUIDELINES, TO JUDGMENT, TO TRAINING. AND SO WE'VE GOT DO SOME WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO CREATE THAT WARM, WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT AND WE DO IT IN A WAY THAT ENABLES OUR PARTNERS IN ALL OF OUR STORES TO BRING THAT TO FRUITION. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND WE'RE GONNA DO THE RIGHT THING. CRAMER: "ALL OF THE STORES" IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION BECAUSE YOU ALSO HAVE FRANCHISES. I MEAN, ONE OF MY FRIENDS IS A BARISTA IN A SUPERMARKET OUT WEST. THEY HAVE CERTAIN RULES THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. HOW DO YOU CORRAL EVERYBODY INTO ONE VIEW? JOHNSON: WELL, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY, JIM, IN THE UNITED STATES, ROUGHLY 40% OF OUR STORES ARE WITH LICENSED PARTNERS, AS YOU POINT OUT. AND THESE LICENSED PARTNERS, YOU KNOW, ARE GREAT COMPANIES THAT BUILT STARBUCKS WITHIN GROCERY STORES, HOTELS, AND OTHER PROPERTIES THAT THEY OWN. WE HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. THEY WORK TO MAKE SURE THEY BRING THE BRAND TO LIFE IN THE RIGHT WAY. AND SO IT'S A BALANCE. IT'S THROUGH DIALOGUE AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THESE COMPANIES THAT WE'VE BEEN PARTNERS WITH FOR YEARS THAT WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE THINK ABOUT THIS HOLISTICALLY. BUT ROUGHLY 40% OF THE STORES IN THE U.S. ARE LICENSED. AND WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR LICENSED PARTNERS ON THAT JOURNEY AS WELL. QUINTANILLA: I'M REMINDED, KEVIN, IT'S JUST OVER A YEAR NOW THAT YOU TOOK OVER AS HOWARD STEPPED ASIDE. REFLECTIONS IN THAT FIRST YEAR, AND HOW DOES THE JOB COMPARE TO WHAT YOU THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN? JOHNSON: WELL, CARL, CERTAINLY HOWARD HAS BEEN RIGHT THERE BY MY SIDE. AND HE'S BEEN HELPFUL, SUPPORTIVE. BUT AT THE SAME TIME HE'S BEEN VERY GOOD ABOUT STEPPING BACK SO I CAN STEP UP AND LEAD. AND I THINK OVER THIS LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A LOT TO STREAMLINE THE COMPANY, TO GET MORE FOCUSED ON CORE VALUE DRIVERS, AND TO -- THE WAY I THINK ABOUT IT IS THIS LAST YEAR, MUCH OF IT IS HAVING THE WISDOM TO KNOW WHAT MUST BE PRESERVED AND HONORED FROM THE PAST, BUT ALSO HAVING THE COURAGE TO REIMAGINE AND BOLDLY REINVENT OUR FUTURE. AND THAT'S THE BALANCE WITH WHICH I'VE TRIED TO STRIKE THE WORK WE'RE DOING. I THINK THAT'S BEEN THE RIGHT BALANCE, AND HOWARD HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER IN THAT JOURNEY. CRAMER: YOU KNOW, KEVIN, SOMETIMES I THINK STARBUCKS, YOU'VE GOT THIS ABSOLUTELY GREAT, PHYSICAL PLANT. PEOPLE LOVE IT. THIRD WAY. PERIODICALLY YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT LIQUOR. PERIODICALLY TALKED ABOUT DOING FOOD. PERIODICALLY CONSUMER PRODUCTS. IS THERE SOME KILLER PRODUCT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO OFFER OR ARE TESTING NOW THAT WOULD MAKE IT SO PEOPLE WANT TO BE THERE FROM 7:00 TO 11:00 AT NIGHT? JOHNSON: WELL, FROM 7:00 TO 11:00 AT NIGHT, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT THAT EVENING/DAY PART. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT CERTAINLY IN OUR RESERVE STORES, IN OUR PRINCI STORES, WE HAVE BROUGHT MIXOLOGY, INCLUDING YOU KNOW, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND MIXED DRINKS THAT ARE IN MANY CASES BRING COFFEE INTO THOSE DRINKS AS WELL. AND SO THE PLACE WE'RE EXPERIMENTING WITH THINGS IN THAT DAY PART ARE MAINLY IN OUR HIGH-END, RESERVE ROASTERY PRINCI STORES. BUT I THINK THAT THAT EVENING DAYPART IN THE CORE STARBUCKS STORE, OFTEN TIMES IT'S PEOPLE -- STUDENTS AT NIGHT DOING HOMEWORK TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, IT IS STOPPING BY FOR AN AFTER-DINNER COFFEE ON YOUR WAY HOME FROM DINNER. AND SO I THINK OUR CORE BEVERAGES AND OUR CORE OFFERINGS IN THE STARBUCKS BRAND I THINK ARE ALSO STILL RELEVANT. BUT IN HIGHER-END STORES WE WILL BRING MIXOLOGY TO THE TABLE. CRAMER: ALRIGHT. SOME OF THE CONSUMER PACKAGE GOODS COMPANIES I TALK ABOUT LET'S TALK ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS RUN BY THE BRILLIANT ROB SANDS. HE HAS PUT AN INVESTMENT INTO -- DON'T LAUGH, PLEASE DID PUT AN INVESTMENT INTO CANOPY, WHICH IS LIQUID WITH MARIJUANA, WHICH IS GOING TO BE LEGAL AROUND CANADA AND I THINK WILL ONE DAY BE LEGAL AROUND THE WORLD. ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? JOHNSON: NO, JIM. NOT AT THIS TIME. I THINK THAT IS PROBABLY OUTSIDE THE BRAND GUARDRAILS WE WOULD CONSIDER FOR STARBUCKS. BUT I APPRECIATE THE SUGGESTION. CRAMER: I HAD TO GO THERE. I THINK ITS GOING TO BE THE KILLER QUINTANILLA: FINALLY, KEVIN, COMMODITY COSTS. I MEAN, EVERYBODY IS WATCHING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COCOA AND HERSHEY. AND YOU'VE GOT SOME RAW MATERIAL INPUT COSTS AS WELL. FORECAST FOR THE YEAR ON THAT FRONT? JOHNSON: WELL, YOU KNOW, CARL, WE BUY OUR COFFEE CERTAINLY WELL IN ADVANCE WHEN WE NEED IT. AND SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT THE SEED PRICE AND YOU KNOW, WE'LL BUY COFFEE, GREEN COFFEE, KEEP IT IN INVENTORY UNTIL NEEDED. I THINK COFFEE IS PURCHASED THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE FISCAL YEAR FOR SURE, AND A BIT INTO NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO THE MODEL WE USE FOR COFFEE AT LEAST FOR COFFEE AND THE SEED PRICE I THINK IS A SOLID MODEL. AND LIKE EVERYONE, WE WATCH COMMODITIES. AND SO I THINK WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE AS IT RELATES TO COFFEE. CRAMER: ALRIGHT KEVIN, PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOU TALK ABOUT IN THAT DAY YOU CLOSE THE STORES IN THE AFTERNOON, WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM YOU. KEVIN JOHNSON, CEO OF STARBUCKS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR, FOR COMING ON "SQUAWK ON THE STREET." JOHNSON: THANKS, GUYS. For more information contact: Jennifer Dauble CNBC t: 201.735.4721 m: 201.615.2787 e: jennifer.dauble@nbcuni.com Emma Martin CNBC t: 201.735.4713 m: 551.275.6221 e: emma.martin@nbcuni.com About CNBC: With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and CNBC World, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 409 million homes worldwide, including more than 91 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. 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Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit http://www.NBCUniversal.com. If a trade war breaks out, companies like Apple and Walmart will be caught in the crossfire, but Apple has the most to lose, CNBC's Jim Cramer argued on Friday. "You can't crack down on China without hurting large swaths of the American economy," the "Mad Money" host said. "Why? because China's our biggest trading partner." And, Cramer said, there are always winners and losers in this battle. In the case of Apple and Walmart, two of America's biggest companies, Cramer pointed out that imposing tariffs on $100 billion worth of Chinese imports about a fifth of total U.S. imports from China would adversely impact consumers and investors alike. "Likely only one of them will get shelled," Cramer said. "Basically, we can slap a big tax on a couple of important types of technology that could ultimately hurt Apple," he said. "Or, we can hit a huge basket of consumer goods a Walmart tariff," Cramer said. While both companies have a substantial base in the People's Republic 10 percent of Walmart's business is in China, as is 20 percent of Apple's Cramer said Apple is the most vulnerable. The "most straightforward" way for Trump to target $100 billion worth of Chinese goods would be to place tariffs on electronics, which could raise the cost of phones, computers and other components, Cramer said. As many of Apple's products are assembled in China, this move could cause disruptions to the supply chain and could spur other penalties such as boycotts. "Apple can try to pass that [cost] on to their customers, but a 20 percent tariff on phones means that your $1,000 Chinese assembled iPhone suddenly costs $1,200," Cramer said. Meanwhile, as key Trump aides prepare to set off for China, President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday to call Chinese President Xi Jinping his "good friend." "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea," Trump wrote. "Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" But, Cramer said, "It would be a mistake to think we've put this issue behind us." CNBC's Jim Cramer felt like he was transported back to the 1990s when he listened to Microsoft and Intel's post-earnings conference calls on Friday. "Intel and Microsoft are reigning supreme here," the "Mad Money" host said. "It's eerily reminiscent of the way things were 20 or 30 years ago when both companies struggled to meet the insatiable demand of their [consumers]." But what made these reports different from the "Wintel" days of the '90s was the central theme: today, it's all about data centers, not personal computers, Cramer said. Cramer's game plan: How to navigate a confused market Market-watchers have been on edge in recent weeks with lingering threats of trade wars and the possibility of the market turning negative. "Anything's possible these days," Cramer said Friday, "but I think that forecast is way too dire." "This market has morphed into a totally hate-able beast, not a bear, but certainly not a bull," the "Mad Money" host said. His advice? Look out for buying opportunities into weakness, but be prepared to sell into strength as the economic environment remains uncertain. With that in mind, Cramer went over his game plan for the coming week, with earnings from Apple, BP and other top companies. Apple has more to lose with tariffs Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Jason Lee | Reuters If a trade war breaks out, companies like Apple and Walmart will be caught in the crossfire, but Apple has the most to lose, CNBC's Jim Cramer argued on Friday. "You can't crack down on China without hurting large swaths of the American economy," the "Mad Money" host said. "Why? because China's our biggest trading partner." While both companies have a substantial base in the People's Republic 10 percent of Walmart's business is in China, as is 20 percent of Apple's Cramer said Apple is the most vulnerable. As many of Apple's products are assembled in China, this move could cause disruptions to the supply chain and could spur other penalties such as boycotts. Centene CEO: Either grow or get paid to stay the same Michael F. Neidorff, CEO of Centene. Adam Jeffery | CNBC Centene, a company that provides a portfolio of services to government-sponsored health care programs, like Medicaid and Medicare, is continuing to grow, with new products and additional states in its programs. "We're going to have probably a $65 billion run rate when this thing all gets closed, up from $48 billion last year," Centene CEO Michael Neidorff told Cramer in a Friday interview. "You either grow or get paid a whole lot more for staying the same. And we want to grow," the CEO said. The company beat expectations with its Tuesday earnings report, delivering a 29-cent beat off of a $1.88 basis. Revenue was slightly weaker than expected, but still up 12.5 percent year over year. Cramer also pointed out that the company doesn't have to worry about commodity prices, doesn't have exposure to China and is "exactly the kind of stock that can work if you're concerned about an economy that might be losing steam." Briggs & Stratton CEO talks long-term growth The world's largest producer of gasoline engines posted earnings on Wednesday, delivering a 1-cent earnings beat off of an 83-cent basis and revenue up just 1.2 percent year over year. But management cut their full-year guidance across the board, offering reduced estimates on revenue, margins and earnings for the coming quarters. Shares quickly fell about 11 percent on Thursday, regaining some of the losses during Friday's session. Investors were not happy. "It was pretty darn disappointing," Cramer said. But in a Friday interview with Cramer, Briggs & Stratton CEO Todd Teske said the company has a good long-term strategy with solid fundamentals. "There's some tailwinds that we start to see coming down the pipe with housing and that sort of thing, so there's a lot to be optimistic about," Teske said on Friday. "It's just you get into one of these quarters where things didn't quite work out in terms of the guidance that we had to give." Lightning round: Opportunity in T? Market-watchers have been on edge in recent weeks with lingering threats of trade wars and the possibility of the market turning negative. "Anything's possible these days," CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday, "but I think that forecast is way too dire." "This market has morphed into a totally hate-able beast, not a bear, but certainly not a bull," the "Mad Money" host said. His advice? Look out for buying opportunities into weakness, but be prepared to sell into strength as the economic environment remains uncertain. With that in mind, here's Cramer's game plan for the coming week: Allergan: The pharmaceutical company's stock has been a "huge disappointment" the last few quarters, Cramer said. He wondered if this quarter could turn things around. McDonald's: On the bright side, this company is well-run and in a "sweet spot" in terms of its defense strategy, Cramer said. But the stock remains in "no man's land," he concluded. "I just wish it yielded more than 2.5 percent, which isn't enough to attract investors who really want income and protection from the selling," said the "Mad Money" host. Tuesday: BP, Under Armour, Apple BP: Cramer bet the oil and gas company would "tell a real good growth story" in its Tuesday earnings report. He pointed out that Chevron rallied on Friday after it reported earnings. "I think the same thing could happen here, maybe even more pronounced," he said. Under Armour: The apparel company's CEO Kevin Plank has said the company is slowly pulling itself out of a slump. "I think it's a longer term turn, but maybe you can buy some before the quarter and some after," Cramer said. Apple: Cramer thinks this quarter will be a weak one for the tech giant, which reports after the bell. But there should be a good return on capital, he added. "If you can stomach a shortfall for an already cheap stock, this might be exactly the kind of thing you'd want to own during a downturn," he said. But, he added, "the fainthearted may not be able to handle the rollercoaster between the weak quarter and the strong buyback." Wednesday: Clorox, Kraft Heinz Clorox: Cramer said this stock is a buy ahead of its Wednesday earnings report. "Lots of people have been waiting for this one to pull back to safer levels from much higher levels [where] it was, and that's exactly what's occurred over the last couple weeks," he said. "Clorox is the highest quality consumer packaged goods stock that happened to slip last quarter." Kraft Heinz: The food company reports after the bell. Cramer said this stock is a tricky one. "It's got a 4 percent yield, ... [which] seems to protect the stock, but the company is a deal machine and right now it looks like no one wants to sell their company to Kraft-Heinz," he said. Still, "I bet the risk-reward is finally good here," he said. Thursday: DowDupont DowDupont: The "Mad Money" host is also conflicted about this one. He called CEO Ed Breen "amazing," but also recommended avoiding his company's stock if tariffs become a reality. DowDuPont's agriculture business could get hurt if the government pressures Brazil as part of its anti-steel dumping campaign, Cramer said. "[The] May 1 deadline to see what countries are going to get dinged by tariffs ... is going to be more important to this stock than its actual quarter two days later," Cramer said. "Let's wait and see what happens before we pull the trigger." Friday: Non-farm payrolls, Newell Brands Non-farm payroll report: Cramer said that if the number is big, the likelihood of a severe slowdown in the economy is slim, but maintained that the figure "will be even more important than usual." Newell Brands: The forecast for this quarter is dim, Cramer said. But after Newell made key changes to its board and unveiled an aggressive plan to sell some of its weaker assets, the "Mad Money" host suggested it could be bottoming. He recommended buying a small position ahead of the quarter in case the turnaround starts sooner than expected. But wait for more information about asset sales before buying more, Cramer said. WATCH: Cramer's game plan for earnings week feat. Apple Dr. Oliver Sartor has a provocative question for patients who are running out of time. Most are dying of prostate cancer. They have tried every standard treatment, to no avail. New immunotherapy drugs, which can work miracles against a few types of cancer, are not known to work for this kind. Still, Dr. Sartor, assistant dean for oncology at Tulane Medical School, asks a diplomatic version of this: Do you want to try an immunotherapy drug before you die? More from the New York Times: A lynching memorial is opening. The country has never seen anything like it. A lifesaving pump for cancer patients is being phased out F.D.A. cracks down on 'juuling' among teenagers The chance such a drug will help is vanishingly small but not zero. "Under rules of desperation oncology, you engage in a different kind of oncology than the rational guideline thought," Dr. Sartor said. The promise of immunotherapy has drawn cancer specialists into a conundrum. When the drugs work, a cancer may seem to melt away overnight. But little is known about which patients might benefit, and from which drugs. Some oncologists choose not to mention immunotherapy to dying patients, arguing that scientists first must gather rigorous evidence about the benefits and pitfalls, and that treating patients experimentally outside a clinical trial is perilous business. But others, like Dr. Sartor, are offering the drugs to some terminal patients as a roll of the dice. If the patient is dying and there's a remote chance the drug will help, then why not? "Immunotherapy is a particularly nuanced problem," said Dr. Paul Helft, an ethicist and oncologist at Indiana University School of Medicine. Cancer doctors are well aware of the pitfalls of treating patients before all the evidence is in. Many still shudder at the fiasco that unfolded in the 1980s and 1990s, when doctors started giving women with breast cancer extremely high doses of chemotherapy and radiation on the theory that more must be better. The doctors did not systematically collect data; instead, they reported patient anecdotes claiming success. Then a clinical trial found that this treatment was much worse than the conventional one the cancers remained just as deadly when treated with high doses, and the regimen itself killed or maimed women. But immunotherapy is like no cancer treatment ever seen. It can work no matter what kind of tumor a person has. All that matters is that the immune system be trained to see the tumor as a foreign invader. Tumors have mutations that stud them with bizarre proteins. The white blood cells of the immune system try to attack but are repelled by a molecular shield created by the tumors. The new drugs allow white blood cells to pierce that shield and destroy the tumors. Last week brought a yet another example of the surprising power of this approach. Lung cancer patients who normally would receive only chemotherapy lived longer when immunotherapy was added, researchers reported in a clinical trial. But the drugs are exorbitantly expensive. One that Dr. Sartor often uses costs $9,000 per dose if used once every three weeks, and $7,000 if used once every two weeks. Often, he and other doctors persuade a patient's insurer to pay. If that fails, sometimes the maker will provide the drug free of charge. Immunotherapy drugs can have severe side effects that can even lead to death. Once the immune system is activated, it may attack normal tissues as well as tumors. The result can be holes in the intestines, liver failure, nerve damage that can cause paralysis, serious rashes and eye problems, and problems with the pituitary, adrenal or thyroid glands. Side effects can arise during treatment or after the treatment is finished. For most patients, though, there are no side effects or only minor ones. That makes giving an immunotherapy drug to a dying patient different from trying a harsh experimental chemotherapy or a treatment like intense radiation. The problem is deciding ahead of time if an immunotherapy drug will help. Doctors check biomarkers, chemical signals like proteins that arise when the immune system is trying to attack. But they are not very reliable. "A positive biomarker does not guarantee that a patient will benefit, and a negative biomarker does not mean a patient will not benefit," said Dr. Richard Schilsky, senior vice president and chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. "You don't have a solid biology to go on." It was this problem, described at a medical conference a couple of years ago, that led Dr. Sartor to begin offering immunotherapy to dying patients. "I was thinking, 'My God, these tests that are used to drive clinical decision making are not worth a damn,'" he said. "These are peoples' lives here. We are playing with the highest of stakes." "For certain people it is like, bingo, you give the drug to them and they have a long-lasting and positive benefit," he added. "When our knowledge is not sufficient to inform our decisions, then we have an ethical conundrum." Out of curiosity, Dr. Sartor emailed eight prominent prostate cancer specialists asking if they, too, offered immunotherapy drugs to patients on the off-chance the treatments would help. Five said they offer it, with a variety of provisos, offering comments like, "If I was a patient, I want my doc to do everything." Dr. Daniel George, at Duke University, said he does not offer immunotherapy to every man who is dying of prostate cancer. But, he said, "for those patients who want to do everything they possibly can, that's the group where we try checkpoint inhibitors," a type of immunotherapy. To the others the majority of his patients with metastatic prostate cancer he does not mention immunotherapy. "We have to balance between hope and reality," he said. "The most difficult conversation we have with patients is when we have to tell them that more treatment is actually hurting them more than the cancer." Dr. Daniel Petrylak, a prostate cancer specialist at Yale, said his inclination was to offer immunotherapy only to those rare patients whose tumors have a genetic marker indicating the immune system is trying to attack already an approved indication for prostate cancer, he noted. But this strategy gives him a rationale for trying the drugs on patients with other cancers. With the possibility of a dramatic and prolonged response, he said in an interview, "how can you ethically deny this to patients?" At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Dr. Christopher Sweeney said he petitions an insurance company to get an immunotherapy drug when the patient has a genetic marker predicting a possible response an indicator the drug might work even if there is as yet no clinical trial evidence that it will and is strong enough to tolerate the treatment. But if those conditions do not apply, as is usually the case, Dr. Sweeney only gives the drugs to patients if he can do so as part of a clinical trial, where something can be learned from their experience. And if there is no clinical trial for the patient? "I basically say I don't have any approved therapies," Dr. Sweeney said. "Here's the truth most patients don't benefit from these drugs." He tells patients that just because he has no more drugs to give does not mean he has abandoned them. Supportive care can make patients more comfortable, even prolong their lives. Dr. Sartor disagreed with the approach. "I would love for every patient to be on a clinical trial," he said. "But does that mean I shouldn't try because I don't have a trial?" One of the first patients Dr. Sartor treated with immunotherapy was George Villere, a retired investment adviser who lived in New Orleans. Mr. Villere had bladder cancer and had tried chemotherapy. It didn't work, so Dr. Sartor told Mr. Villere that he had run out of conventional options and asked if he wanted to try immunotherapy. At the time, the drugs had not been approved for bladder cancer. Mr. Villere and his wife, Fran Villere, thought it over, asking themselves whether they would regret it if they did not try. "I thought we would," Mrs. Villere recalled in an interview. Their insurance agreed to pay, and Mr. Villere took the drug for several months. Nonetheless, he died on November 15, 2016, at age 72. "He had no side effects," Mrs. Villere said. "But the drug didn't do a damn thing." Then there is Clark Gordin, 67, who lives in Ocean Springs, Miss. He had metastatic prostate cancer, "a bad deck of cards," he said in an interview. Dr. Sartor tried conventional treatments, but they didn't work for Mr. Gordin. Finally, the doctor suggested immunotherapy. Mr. Gordin's insurer refused. But then the lab that had analyzed his tumor discovered it had made a mistake. There was a chance Mr. Gordin might respond to immunotherapy, because he had a rare mutation. So his insurer agreed to pay. Immediately after taking the drugs, Mr. Gordin's PSA level an indicator of the cancer's presence went down to nearly zero. "Makes my heart nearly stop every time I think about it," Dr. Sartor said. "Life sometimes hangs on a thin thread." The newly discovered communications between Veselnitskaya and the Russian government indicate that the lawyer held a level of influence within the Kremlin, undercutting her long-held insistence that she was merely a private attorney. The emails appear to show a correspondence between Veselnitskaya and an official in Russia's state prosecutor's office coordinating a response to a case brought forward by the U.S. Department of Justice, NBC's Richard Engel said on MSNBC. Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with Trump campaign officials at Trump Tower in 2016 on the premise of gathering dirt on Hillary Clinton , was more deeply connected to the Kremlin than previously known, NBC News reported Friday, citing emails it had uncovered. A report from The New York Times, citing NBC News' interview with Veselnitskaya to be aired Friday, identified her government contact as being Yuri Chaika, Russia's prosecutor general. In the interview, Veselnitskaya confirmed the emails were written by her, the Times reported, saying "many things included here are from my documents, my personal documents." She also said her email accounts were hacked this year, in an ironic twist. "I am a lawyer, and I am an informant," she reportedly admitted in the NBC interview. "Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general." This was not the first time Veselnitskaya has spoken about her relationship to Chaika. In a July 2017 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Veselnitskaya said she "personally" knows the prosecutor general. "I shared information with" Chaika, she told the newspaper, in the course of her investigation into a hedge-fund manager who was a driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, a U.S. sanctions law that locked certain Russians out of their overseas funds, among other punishments. Veselnitskaya first became widely known in the American media landscape in summer 2017, after reports surfaced that she and other Russians met with Trump campaign officials in Manhattan's Trump Tower in June 2016. The Trump campaign members, including Donald Trump Jr. and then-campaign chief Paul Manafort, attended the meeting under the impression that the Russians could provide damaging information on candidate Donald Trump's political opponent, Hillary Clinton. At the meeting, Veselnitskaya instead discussed what she said were unjust U.S. sanctions on Russia a hobbyhorse of the Kremlin since the passage of the Magnitsky Act in 2012. The Trump Tower meeting, which appeared to demonstrate the willingness of Trump campaign officials to coordinate with Russia in the election, has reportedly become a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian links to the 2016 campaign. Trump Jr. initially claimed that the meeting was about Russian adoption, but later released emails that showed him responding positively to an intermediary of Veselnitskaya promising "information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father." "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. responded. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Eurasia Group's Charles Lichfield said Macron's trip to the U.S. had no implications on the balance of power in Europe because the so-called "Trump-whisperer didn't actually get him to agree to very much." The Iran nuclear deal, the prospect of U.S. tariffs on European metals products and Berlin's military spending are all politically sensitive topics seen as likely to come up during Merkel's working lunch with Trump. Touching down in the afterglow of her French counterpart's three-day visit, Merkel arrives in Washington to try to find a compromise with the president on a raft of divisive issues. U.S. President Donald Trump (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) at the start of the first working session of the G-20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. John MacDougall | AFP | Getty Images German Chancellor Angela Merkel is embarking on a one-day working visit to meet President Donald Trump on Friday, harboring no illusions of matching the "special relationship" formed by France's Emmanuel Macron. Touching down in the afterglow of her French counterpart's three-day visit, Merkel arrives in Washington to try to find a compromise with the president on a raft of divisive issues. The Iran nuclear deal, the prospect of U.S. tariffs on European metals products and Berlin's military spending are all politically sensitive topics seen as likely to come up during Merkel's working lunch with Trump. "Macron has a good personal relationship with Trump and Merkel has a bad relationship with him, but it's not necessarily a problem. In fact, I don't actually think she cares that much about it," Charles Lichfield, Europe associate at Eurasia Group, told CNBC in a phone interview on Friday. "This trip is about damage limitation. We are almost in crisis mode with tariffs being threatened, so her focus has to be on that," he added. Merkel is visiting the U.S. in the hope of averting a trade war between the world's largest economy and the European Union (EU). It is thought German officials will try to convince Trump that Washington's trade deficit with Berlin is not just shrinking, but some of the factors behind their trade partnership are out of the chancellor's control. Nonetheless, Trump is seen as unlikely to shift from his current position that the trading relationship between the two is clearly biased in Europe's favor. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the first working session of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. Kay Nietfeld | Pool | Getty Images France's Macron had initially sought to persuade the Trump administration to abandon its combative stance on both trade and the Iran nuclear accord. However, some analysts questioned whether his tactile relationship with Trump had yielded any tangible results for the EU. Eurasia Group's Lichfield said Macron's trip to the U.S. had no implications on the balance of power in Europe because the so-called "Trump-whisperer didn't actually get him to agree to very much." In fact, Trump said Thursday that Macron "really came to recognize" his viewpoint on the Iran nuclear deal. "He is viewing, I believe, Iran a lot differently than he did before he walked into the Oval Office and I think that's important," Trump said on Fox News. He went onto reaffirm his belief the Obama administration had agreed to a "horrible deal" to freeze Iran's nuclear weapons program. Macron and Merkel's trips to the U.S. come shortly before a May 12 deadline, set by Trump, to improve on an international deal to curb Iran's nuclear program. The president has threatened to pull out from the accord between Tehran and six world powers, signed in 2015 before he took office unless Germany, France and Britain helped to agree on a follow-up pact by that date. Germany's 'shrinking' global role Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium May 22, 2017. Francois Lenoir | Reuters Greece might not get the complete picture of how its debt is going to be restructured before June, the head of the euro zone's finance ministers said Friday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), Greece and European creditors have been at odds over how to reduce the country's debt burden. The idea on the table is to link Greece's future growth rates to how much interest it will pay on its loans the higher the growth rate is, the more interest Greece can pay. But the IMF and Europe do not have the same growth forecasts and have therefore been unable to reach a deal on this issue. Mario Centeno, who heads the group of 19 euro zone finance chiefs called the Eurogroup, cautioned that this divergence between Europe and the IMF might not be bridged before June. "The final decision on the implementation of the debt measures will be taken, if needed, at the end of the program, conditional on full-implementation of the program," Centeno told reporters in Sofia, Bulgaria. The reference to "end of the program" means June, though the financial assistance to Greece comes to an end on August 20. Centeno also said: "On the basis of a successful review, the Eurogroup will decide in June all the elements that can help facilitate the exit of Greece from the program in August." Greece still recovering from the euro zone debt crisis of 2011 requested the current program in 2015 and it has since then been promised some debt relief. But opposition from some European countries and disagreements with the IMF have postponed the issue. The Greek government has, therefore, welcomed finally having a deadline to see the debt measures fully laid out. Failure to agree on debt relief to Greece would not only make Greece's return to the markets more abrupt but also compromise the credibility of providing financial assistance to European countries. The current impasse over debt will have to be resolved by June 20, when the finance ministers gather in Luxembourg for their monthly meeting. A new growth plan Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos presented to his colleagues Friday a growth plan that the Greek government will deliver after the end of the financial assistance in August an attempt to give creditors and markets a guarantee that the country will keep reforming the economy even without external help. He told CNBC about the specific details of his growth plan: "We (have) a strong social program because it is our program now and it has to be credible to Greece society so there's an increase in the minimum wage and return of collective bargaining." "And at the same time we have indicated three priorities for growth, because if you have 15 priorities you don't have any priorities," he said, outlining that the three points of focus will be speeding up reforms in the judicial system, reforming the public administration and improving the business environment. However, the sooner there's a deal on the debt issue the better. Stretching it out until near the end of the deadline might complicate disbursements from the IMF, due to technical reasons. During the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings last week, IMF officials said that time is running short for the institution to be able to disburse money to Greece. The IMF said last year that it would provide Greece with 1.6 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in funding, after an agreement on debt. It's not the money in itself that Greece needs, but the credibility stamp that the IMF brings to the program. Benoit Coeure, executive board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), told reporters Friday that the clearer the debt measures are, the easier it will be for Greece to regain market access. "The more frontloaded (the debt measures) can be, the more automatic they can be or the less conditional they can be, the more they can contribute to a more confidence-building exercise between Greece and the capital markets," the French economist said. Markets will treat Greece differently Greece is back on the European agenda as the country rushes to end its third bailout program in August. The Greek finance chief is due to present Friday new measures for the country, once its emergency assistance program ends. The idea is to convince creditors and the markets that the country will continue with reforms even if it's no longer relying on bailout funds. Speaking with CNBC Thursday, Klaus Regling, who oversees the European emergency bailout fund (ESM), said he had seen earlier versions of the Greek plan, but it lacked ambition. "I think (Greece) should be a bit more ambitious in some areas," Regling said, citing privatizations as an example. Though Greece has a lot of work to do in the next four months, presenting a long-term strategy is seen as being just as important. "For me it's much more critical we get a long term perspective," Regling told CNBC. "It's indeed important to continue with reforms, not to backslide on what has been achieved so far, which is quite a bit and that includes privatizations Reform(ing) the public administration, the legal system Building on what has been achieved so far," he said. While European politicians have praised the work that Greece has done since 2015, they are still reluctant in giving the country substantial debt relief. The issue has always been controversial mainly for countries like Germany and the Netherlands. Creditors want solid guarantees that Greece will not deviate from the reform path seen up until now in order to make its debt more sustainable. Greece's public debt ratio is about 180 percent of GDP (gross domestic product). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) still believes that such a ratio is way too big for Greece and will only disburse money to the country once there's a clear plan for the future of this Greek debt. Pierre Moscovici, European commissioner for economic affairs, told CNBC's Willem Marx Friday that the key to bring the IMF on board is to agree on a mechanism that links the growth rates in Greece to how much interest Athens pays back in that year on its loans. Hong Kong is jumping on the global "smart city" bandwagon, but it's seen as having far to go to catch up with leading Asian competitors. The metropolis of more than 7 million people exudes modernity with its neon skyline and bustling waterfront showcasing its history as a global trading hub. But when it comes to leveraging advances in digital information technology and data collection to improve connectivity, efficiency and the environment key aims of smart cities many judge it as lagging. The local government in December promised a remedy, vowing to make Hong Kong a "world-class smart city" with aims of increasing quality of life and attractiveness for global business and investment. Foreign businesses and investors support the smart city idea, but many say specifics are often lacking. "Of course we cannot disagree with all this, it's great," Tom Uiterwaal, CEO of Hong Kong-based Reconergy and chairman of the Environment & Energy Business Council of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said Wednesday in a presentation on the environmental aspects of the plan. "But it's not very concrete," said Uiterwaal. "It's very vague." The committee found that there was "no evidence" of coordination between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Kremlin. The summary also said that the committee agreed with a number of the intelligence community's prior judgments on the matter, "except with respect to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin 's supposed preference for candidate Trump." The final report reiterated the findings and conclusions made public last month by the committee's Republican majority. The House Intelligence Committee, led by one of President Donald Trump 's closest supporters in the House, ended its probe of the 2016 election Friday, saying it found no evidence of collusion between candidate Trump and Russia. In the final document, the committee said that "there is no evidence that Trump associates were involved in the theft or publication of Clinton campaign-related emails." It added, however, that "Trump associates had numerous ill-advised contacts with Wikileaks." The March report received a strong response from the Democratic minority, including ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the probe had been shut down too early. Committee Democrats, Schiff said at the time, would continue to investigate with or without the Republican majority. In a statement shortly following the Friday release, Schiff slammed his Republican colleagues for choosing "not to seriously investigate or even see, when in plain sight evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses." He also accused them of making material changes between the March summary and the release of the final report. Schiff highlighted the committee's initial assertion that PUtin did not show a clear preference for Trump over Clinton. By the time the draft of the final report was sent to the intelligence community, he said, the majority "could no longer defend this claim and watered down its supposed findings." Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, said in a statement Friday that the final report gives Americans "the opportunity to access the information used to draw the conclusions found in last month's findings and recommendations." However, he lamented the number of redactions made to the report by the intelligence community, or IC. "I am extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions made by the IC," Conaway said, explaining that some of the blacked-out information is already publicly available. "When we started this investigation, we set out to give the American people the answers to the questions they've been asking and we promised to be as transparent as possible in our final report. I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard," he said, vowing to challenge the redactions in the future. The president weighed in on the report in a Friday tweet, appearing to say that the investigations of potential collusion between his campaign and Russia "MUST END NOW!" Trump tweet Parents who want to raise the next visionary leader can learn a lot from looking at Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk's childhood. The billionaire's success can be traced back in part to the way he was raised, says New York University Stern School of Business professor Melissa Schilling. In her new book "Quirky," Schilling analyzes the lives of innovators like Musk, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie and Thomas Edison to identify the traits that helped them make multiple history-altering discoveries. "Letting your children pursue the path that gives them joy is intrinsically important," Schilling tells CNBC Make It. "By not forcing them to conform, you will not only make them feel better, but you will allow them to be more innovative." Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, center, participates in the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq Marketsite with his twin boys Griffin, green shirt at center, and Xavier, right in blue shirt, and his fiancee (at the time) Talulah Riley, second from right, in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Daniel Acker | Getty Images Schilling explains that although she didn't intentionally search for commonalities in the way the innovators were raised, she discovered their parents played huge roles in shaping their futures. "The more I studied Musk and the other innovators, the more it changed how I thought about my own parenting," Schilling says. "Studying these profoundly important people shows us that there are ways we can nurture the breakthrough innovation potential in us all." Here are three things she says parents should do if they want to raise the next Elon Musk. Encourage your kids to daydream It's vital to give your children space to think for themselves, says Schilling. Musk, for example, was a daydreamer. As a child, he had a tendency to ignore people and zone out. Similar to a young Einstein, Musk was so unresponsive that his parents and doctors ordered tests to check if he was deaf. His mother, Maye Musk, eventually learned this was his way of thinking things through. "He goes into his brain and then you just see he is in another world. He still does that," Maye Musk recalls in Ashlee Vance's book "Elon Musk." "Now I just leave him be because I know he is designing a new rocket or something." Studying these profoundly important people shows us that there are ways we can nurture the breakthrough innovation potential in us all. Melissa Schilling Author of "Quirky" When his parents weren't home, Musk was "off making explosives and reading books and building rockets and doing things that could have gotten me killed," he told Rolling Stone in an interview last year. Building environments where creativity can be nurtured is key to sparking your child's imagination, Schilling notes. "That means instead of scheduling the heck out of your kids, you want to make sure they have downtime and make sure it's not in front of a screen," she says. "That way, they can create their own cognitive paths of association in their minds that are unconstrained by what other people think." Don't force your kids to fit in One of the most common traits among the innovators in "Quirky" was a "sense of separateness" and a tendency to disconnect from the crowd. "Elon got bullied and beaten because he was one of the small, nerdy kids," Schilling says. "He even recited facts from the encyclopedia." The bullying continued until he was 15 years old, when he went through a growth spurt and learned how to defend himself by doing karate, judo and wrestling. "Musk responded to this sense of separation by escaping into books and computer programming, ultimately writing and selling his first video game at the age of 12," she says. This was one of the primary reasons Musk and the other innovators had a strong sense of self-efficacy. "Because they didn't belong to the social world, they didn't have to obey its rules, freeing them to develop bold ideas and stick with them even in the face of criticism," Schilling says. While you don't want to "actively turn your child into a social pariah," she says you shouldn't necessarily worry if they are more of a loner. "This highlights the value of spending some time alone, reading, writing and thinking about things that we find intrinsically interesting." Teach your kids to be fearless Shares of the aerospace parts maker KLX rose more than 9 percent on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing is nearing a deal to buy it. The report said a deal could be announced Monday, though it could also fall through. A Boeing spokesman had no comment. A spokesman for KLX wasn't immediately available. Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said in an interview with Reuters on March 8 that the company was looking into an acquisition of Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. Muilenburg said in the interview Boeing had enough cash "horsepower" to invest in its business, return money to shareholders and "make these targeted acquisitions." Muilenburg also said in a CNBC exclusive in February on the Embraer deal, "We are making progress, still have some work to do, but I am hopeful that we can bring that deal to a successful close." London Mayor Sadiq Khan's war of words with Donald Trump escalated after he called on Britons to take to the streets in a show of "freedom of speech" the president's visit. Trump is set to visit the U.K. in July, it was announced on Thursday. He had previously canceled a trip to Britain over concerns in Washington that his visit would prompt protests. "If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear," Khan tweeted Thursday. "He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear." Speaking to British radio station LBC on Friday, U.S. Ambassador Woody Johnson confirmed that Trump would "definitely be coming to London." Khan is the first Muslim mayor of any major Western capital city. Khan and Trump have a history of exchanging barbs. In November, Khan said Trump was not welcome in London after the president used his Twitter account to share anti-Islam videos from a U.K. far-right group. In June, Trump lashed out at Khan for his response to a terror attack in which eight people died. Khan criticized Trump in January 2017 over his ban on travelers from Muslim countries, despite Trump suggesting that he would consider Khan an "exception." An employee with medicinal marijuana plants in the flowering room at Tweed INC. in Smith Falls, Ontario, on December 5, 2016. DENVER Twenty years after California first legalized marijuana use for sick people, "medical marijuana" has become a billion-dollar business so cloaked in emotion that it would be virtually impossible to dismantle. Without any real national discussion, most Americans now live where it's possible to get pot for pain, nausea or other ailments. Thirty states already permit some form of medical cannabis use, and several more are poised to approve it this fall a sign this now-beloved industry has dramatically altered public opinion among both conservatives and liberals. "I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat I don't care who you are," said Kevin Murphy, the CEO of Acreage Holdings, a medical marijuana firm with operations in 11 states. "If you have a brother dying of cancer, and this is the only thing that brings him comfort you are an advocate." More from USA Today: Taking a photo may not be the best way to remember your vacation A small town in Hawaii may have just had the rainiest day in U.S. history Healing process after breast cancer surgery may trigger cancer to spread, study says Millions of Americans believe that marijuana helps them. They say it relieves pain, improves their appetite, eases the side effects of chemotherapy. Others swear by it for helping with PTSD or anxiety or seizures. Millions use it just to sleep better. But while emotions have helped drive medical marijuana legalization, it's simultaneously become a big business. As many as 135,000 people are working in the medical pot business across the country, generating $1.8 billion in income taxes and at least $300 million in state sales taxes last year, according to industry expert Matt Karnes of GreenWave Advisors. Among the most recent high-profile additions to the medical marijuana industry: Former House Speaker John Boehner, who is joining the Acreage board after decades of cannabis opposition. Those workers are buying and renting property, spending their salaries, and, also, paying a significantly higher tax rate than traditional workers, thanks to an IRS ruling that treats marijuana businesses like drug traffickers. All that has happened with a Congress that's only taken tentative steps to recognize the industry's popularity and power, and an executive branch that's refused to acknowledge that millions of Americans regularly consume marijuana in lieu of prescription medicines. The Potcast, a USA TODAY Network podcast, tells the story of America's shifting attitude toward legalizing pot: Lawmakers in March barred the federal government from interfering with any state-regulated medical marijuana system but there's been no movement on plans in Congress to lower its classification as a Schedule 1 drug. "As an industry, we have the opportunity to really get it right," said Jen Lujan of the California-based medical marijuana company Eaze. Lujan founded "Weed for Good," which connects low-income sick people with medical-grade cannabis. "We have the opportunity to de-stigmatize it, especially on the social impact side." Marijuana has long been present in the United States, and its use cuts across social and economic backgrounds. An estimated 24 million Americans ages 12 and older reported using cannabis in the past 30 days, according to a 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Of those, 90% said their primary use was recreational, 10% said it was only for medical reasons, and 36% said they were using it for both. Critics say statistics like that prove medical marijuana systems have been exploited by young men who claim medical necessity to get legal pot. Five states, including Utah, are considering whether to permit medical marijuana this fall. In announcing his opposition to granting broad access to medical marijuana in Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert said he worried allowing medical pot "would potentially open the door to recreational use." It's an obvious concern for marijuana skeptics because every state that has legalized recreational pot started out permitting only medical cannabis, and then expanded once people got comfortable. It's a pattern repeated from Colorado to California and from Maine to Nevada. And it's a strategy not lost on Kevin Sabet, who is perhaps the country's best-known legalization opponent. Sabet, who runs Smart Approaches to Marijuana, is a former senior advisor to the Office of National Drug Control Policy and a fierce critic of what he's dubbed "Big Marijuana." "They effectively changed the face of marijuana from a loser in a basement to your sick grandmother," Sabet said. "It was, frankly, a brilliant PR move." Groups like Sabet's worry the nation has moved too quickly when it comes to permitting widespread marijuana use, especially when it's wrapped in the cloak of "medicine," which is routinely how medical marijuana advocates describe what they sell. But those products haven't gone through the same federal testing as real prescription medicine or even over-the-counter drugs like Advil. In most cases, users need only a doctors' note saying cannabis use would help them with the pain of cancer or nausea, leaving it up to the user and whomever is selling the cannabis to decide how much to consume. Under federal law, doctors cannot directly prescribe marijuana, because it's still illegal, although they can prescribe marinol, a synthetic version of THC that users say is far less effective and much more expensive than real cannabis. A large reason for the lack of studies are the heavy restrictions that come with being considered a Schedule 1 drug. That list also includes heroin, but not oxycodone or other opiates, which medical marijuana advocates point out are far more dangerous to users. And a small number of medically accepted studies have shown marijuana appears to be an effective treatment for chronic pain, nausea and symptoms of multiple sclerosis. An offshore oil rig off the coast of Norway. Norway's sovereign wealth fund has reported first-quarter losses on its investments, citing falling stock markets. The fund's return was minus 1.5 percent, lagging the positive return of 3.5 percent at the end of last year. The country's $1 trillion rainy day savings pot is the biggest state fund in the world. It was established in 1990 to invest the surplus revenues of the Norwegian petroleum sector and it now owns an average 1.4 percent of the world's listed stocks. "The most important expression of risk in the fund is that the strategic equity share is set to 70 percent," Yngve Slyngstad, Norges Bank Investment Management's chief executive, said in a statement. "This means that fluctuations in the fund's value are predominantly determined by the development in global stock markets." In the first quarter, 11 billion kroner ($1.38 billion) was withdrawn from the fund. Norges Bank, which manages the fund, said the krone appreciated against several of the main currencies during the quarter, decreasing the value of the state-owned pot by about 183 billion kroner. As at March 31, the fund had 66.2 percent invested in equities, 2.7 percent in unlisted real estate and 31.2 percent in fixed income. Rep. Patrick Meehan, the Pennsylvania Republican who in January announced he would not run for re-election this fall after being accused of sexual harassment, resigned Friday from the House. Meehan, a married father of three, also said he would reimburse the federal government for a $39,000 severance payment made from his office account to a former aide who had accused him of making unwanted romantic advances. The 62-year-old's departure comes three weeks after Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas resigned from the House, also after a sexual harassment scandal scuttled his plans to run for re-election. A number of other members of Congress, among them Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who resigned in January, recently have either left before the completion of their terms or said they would not run for re-election because of sex scandals. Meehan, who had faced a pending House Ethics Committee probe, was elected to represent Pennsylvania's 7th District, which is solidly Republican, in 2010. The former federal and state prosecutor sent his letter of resignation to both Gov. Tom Wolf and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Meehan was removed from the Ethics Committee in January after the settlement with the much younger aide was revealed. A New York Times story that exposed his alleged conduct said Meehan had "professed his romantic desire for the woman," and then "grew hostile when she did not reciprocate." "With the knowledge I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve," Meehan said in a prepared statement Friday. "I have stayed to fight for important priorities like fully funding our troops, increasing support for medical research and preserving promising clean energy solutions. And now that work is accomplished." "While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry," he said. "And since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff." Meehan also said that within 30 days he will pay $39,000 to the U.S. Treasury "that was made from my office account." "I did not want to leave with any question of violating the trust of taxpayers," he said. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., resigned in December after he talked to two female staffers about his desire to find a surrogate mother to bear his child. That same month, Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, retired as the longest-serving House member in the face of an Ethics Committee probe of harassment claims by former aides. Rep. Tim Murphy, another Pennsylvania Republican, resigned in October after reports surfaced that he had asked a mistress to obtain an abortion. Around 1,500 members and supporters of the South African Federation of Trade Unions take part in a march through Cape Town city center on April 25, 2018, to protest against the government's proposed minimum wage. Disagreement over a proposed minimum wage in South Africa has led to mass protests and reassurances from the presidency this week. President Cyril Ramaphosa met with officials from the labor ministry on Thurday, following protests the previous day that mobilized workers across the country including in the cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Ramaphosa has been pushing a minimum wage of R20 ($1.62) per hour, a policy that was scheduled to be implemented on May 1 though the draft legislation was since delayed in parliament. The initiative dates back to Ramaphosa's days as deputy president under former South African leader Jacob Zuma. The minimum wage is intended to alleviate inequality and stabilize labor. But, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), the group behind the strike, described it as a "poverty wage on which no-one should be expected to live" in a press release Sunday. The minimum wage "legitimizes the unequal apartheid wage structure," it added. Starbucks sales in April were not affected by protests and calls of boycotts over the arrests of two black men at Philadelphia cafe, CEO Kevin Johnson said Friday. A video of the arrest went viral two weeks ago, showing two men being arrested for trespassing after asking to use a Starbucks bathroom. After the uproar, Starbucks management responded swiftly, meeting city officials and the men who were involved. Johnson was praised for his response, which included flying to meet the two men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia. In addition, the company told CNBC that the manager who called police "is no longer at that store." While some speculated that sales might have been hit due to the incident, Johnson told Jim Cramer on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Friday that wasn't the case. "I was on the ground in Philadelphia, understanding every aspect of that and we're going to do the right thing to be a better company because of that," Johnson said. "We have not seen a negative impact on our national comps thus far in the month." The company plans to shut its company-owed cafes on May 29 for a seminar on racial bias. The event will likely result in millions of dollars in lost sales during the afternoon closure. While mornings provide Starbucks with the majority of its sales, shuttering even for just a few hours in the afternoon could be costly. In January, Chairman Howard Schultz said the average Starbucks store makes about $32,000 a week. Using that as a benchmark, 8,000 stores would make about $260 million in that period, or about $36.6 million a day. If those locations are shut down in the afternoon, the company could easily lose 20 percent, if not more, of its daily sales, or about $7.3 million. Of course, this quick calculation doesn't take into account that morning sales are probably larger than afternoon sales or any revenue at the company's licensed stores, which will remain open. Jeff Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean for leadership studies at Yale, estimates that Starbucks will lose about $12 million during the May closure. Subaru was not immediately available for comment. The Wall Street Journal had reported the news earlier Friday. It is another revelation in an ongoing ordeal for the carmaker, which has been investigating the issue since the Japanese government first ordered it to in late 2017. The company had said in October that unqualified employees had performed final inspections on vehicles for as long as three decades. Subaru had to recall 395,000 vehicles sold in Japan and estimated the scandal would cost $177 million. Subaru executives said Friday that some employees had manipulated fuel economy data on some Japanese-made vehicles, according to a report the company released Friday . A similar inspection scandal crippled another Japanese carmaker, Nissan. The most recent report said Subaru examined available inspection data for about 6,500 cars made at two plants between December 2012 and November 2017, and out of that found about 900 instances of manipulated information. Based on interviews with employees, Subaru said the problem could date back as far as 2002, but the carmaker said it could not confirm that. It did say management was unaware of the issue. Subaru said it is possible employees were instructed by managers to manipulate the data, perhaps to keep inspection results consistent from car to car and thus avoid questions from senior management. The company said in some cases data was altered to make results worse, not better. It is also possible, the report said, that inspectors changed data to adjust errors by measurement equipment. The company said there were not any alterations significant enough to merit a recall or present other quality problems. "Subaru's management and employees will work collectively to restore lost trust and ensure that such circumstances do not recur," the company said in the report. By now, even non-bitcoin enthusiasts may have heard of a fundraising process called initial coin offerings. The Securities and Exchange Commission has cracked down with accusations of fraud and scores of subpoenas this year. But the CEO of Overstock, which is under SEC investigation, said there's a safer way to raise money through crypto: security token offerings. "It's the new term," Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said. "The industry is distinguishing very clearly now between ICOs and STOs." This week, Overstock announced a $2.5 million investment in three-wheel car start-up Elio Motors. The automaker also announced the launch of "ElioCoin" to fund production and made clear in an announcement it was a "security token offering." The process is being led by Wall Street trading firm JonesTrading Institutional Services. "It is a very clever offering, and could represent a whole new model for American entrepreneurship," Byrne said. Roughly $9.8 billion has been raised through ICOs since 2016, according to financial research firm Autonomous Next. That money flow has caught the attention of the SEC, which has warned of pump-and-dump schemes in ICOs, shut some down, and recently charged one backed by Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khalid with fraud. In an ICO, coins or tokens are put up for sale as a form of crowdfunding. Instead of voting rights or dividends that come with shares of a company, "utility tokens" promise access to a network, platform or service. But they're often backed by an abstract idea, or nothing at all. The process has facilitated the rise of cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, a Shiba Inu dog meme-turned-cryptocurrency that has a passionate following on sites such as Reddit. Whoppercoin, Pandacoin, Trumpcoin and PutinCoin have also raised money through initial coin offerings. Similarly, in a security token offering, you can buy coins or tokens. But unlike in many ICOs, these tokens must be backed by something tangible, such as assets, profits or revenue of the company. They act almost exactly like a share of a company but are "programmable," to do things like conduct proxy voting, because they're built on blockchain technology, according to one expert. "You can program a token, but a static share certificate just sits there and collects dust," said Trevor Koverko, CEO of Polymath, a platform that helps people launch securities tokens. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton made it clear in March that all ICOs constitute securities. By using the term "security token offering," issuers are being more upfront with regulators that what they're trading are actually securities, Overstock's Byrne said. Fraud and bad players in the ICO market have been a setback for those trying to raise money in a compliant way, the CEO said. "The ICO craze of last year created a toxic waste dump of financial assets. To me, that world of ICOs is a Superfund site," Byrne said. "What we're developing is a mechanism so that there will be a legal way to go forward and not create any new toxic waste." He called what some ICOs were doing "flagrantly illegal." "I think the SEC should essentially shut down the utility token world," Byrne said. "Eventually the security offerings will just be done in lieu of the IPO in lieu of shares." Overstock is also under investigation. The CEO would not comment on the charges and made it clear that he was cooperating. In an 8-K filing, Overstock said that in February the SEC requested "certain documents related to the Offering and the Tokens in connection with its investigation." The company announced its ICO launch in October and said at the time the offering would be legally compliant with SEC rules. Byrne's company is moving aggressively into the blockchain space, and the CEO has said he plans to reorganize or sell the e-commerce business to focus on the technology underpinning bitcoin. Overstock launched its Medici Ventures division in 2014 to oversee those blockchain investments. Shares of the e-commerce giant are down roughly 40 percent this year, but in the past 12 months have jumped more than 100 percent. In each location, the duo will be asked to scout out local food favorites, cultural attractions, natural sites, nightlife and transportation and create digital guides focused on how to soak up all these opportunities while traveling on a budget. As Business Insider reports , the guides should include video blogs, Instagram stories, photos and any other creative digital storytelling formats the creator comes up with. Icelandic budget airline WOW air is hiring two people to make downtown Reykjavik their home-base for the summer and make short trips to a selection of the 38 locations the airline flies to. Attention travel junkies: This airline is going to pay two people to travel the world this summer. The downtown Reykjavik apartment the WOW air travel guide winners will use as their home base in Iceland. The winning duo either two content creators or one who brings a friend, significant other or parent will have to take eight two-to-four day trips to any WOW air destinations, plus a minimum of four domestic trips in Iceland. Cities serviced by WOW airlines include Barcelona, Berlin, Montreal, New York, Paris and Tel Aviv. All of the trips must happen during the 10-week duration of the job, which runs from June 1 through August 15. Flights, hotels, travel activities and home base accommodation in downtown Reykjavik will all be paid for by WOW air. (The travelers' home-base apartment in Reykjavik pretty nice digs is pictured above.) In addition, WOW air tells CNBC Make It it will pay each guide a monthly stipend of approximately $4,000 per person. Now hiring for the world's best summer job! Get paid to move to Iceland and travel the world creating travel content this summer Travelers will have to cover their own meals, as well as their travel to the closest city WOW air operates from on their way to Reykjavik. To apply, would-be globe-trotters who are at least 18 years old and speak English must make a two-minutes-or-less travel video about their hometown and upload it to the WOW air Travel Guide website. One video will be selected as the winner and announced on May 18th on WOW air's social media channels. The airline will be accepting applications for the role until May 14th. "The expectations are high," Wow air says in a written statement about the contest. "This will likely be the biggest marketing campaign WOW air has launched." See also: The May 1 deadline for steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for U.S. allies is likely to be extended, according to sources who have been in discussions with the Trump administration. The extensions may vary in length for each country, based on the progress made in talks on this and other trade issues. For instance, Canada and Mexico would be granted an extension because they have made progress on steel and aluminum issues in NAFTA talks, which resume late next week. It's unclear where talks with Brazil, Australia and Argentina stand. South Korea's exemption from tariffs is permanent because it agreed to quotas as part of a new trade deal. Administration officials have asked other countries what level of quotas they would agree to. One person briefed by the administration told CNBC: "Quotas are an active part of the discussion with every country on the exemption list." U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is leading the process for country exemptions, except for the European Union, which Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is leading. The Department of Commerce is also spearheading to process for product exemptions. The National Security Council is overseeing the entire process. The May 1 deadline on the tariff exemptions was set in a presidential memorandum. An extension would be granted in that same way. The final decision on granting an extension will be up to President Donald Trump. The USTR declined to comment. The White House, the Commerce Department and the National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment before publication. U.S. President Donald Trump is tweeting "KOREAN WAR TO END" after a historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea. Trump is responding to the meeting of North Korea's Kim Jong Un with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in South Korea. They pledged in a joint statement to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons but didn't identify any specific new measures to achieve that. Trump is expected to meet with Kim in late May or June. He tweeted: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" Donald Trump tweet 1 In a separate tweet sent minutes earlier, Trump said "good things are happening, but only time will tell." Donald Trump tweet 2 Since then, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a Senate committee that he is encouraging Trump to reconsider joining the TPP. China has targeted American agriculture in retaliation for U.S. tariffs. Trump two weeks ago asked his advisors to look into whether the U.S. could now get a better deal in the TPP, but White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said nothing concrete has occurred, and the idea of the U.S.' return was more of a thought than a policy at this point. Trump's tweet also makes it more unlikely the U.S. will try to re-engage. Shortly after taking office, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the TPP, which was opposed by both presidential candidates during the election. It was criticized because it could add to the trade deficit and send American jobs overseas. In a tweet during Abe's visit, Trump said Japan and South Korea, not yet a TPP member, asked him to rejoin TPP but he dismissed the idea, saying it was not in the best interests of America. On a recent visit to the U.S., Prime Minister Shinzo Abe encouraged Trump to reconsider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact between 11 nations around the Pacific Rim, which excludes China. But Trump instead pushed for a bilateral deal with Japan, as he has with other nations. President Donald Trump is sending an envoy to China next week, in an effort to head off a spiraling trade battle, but policy experts say Trump may have missed out on another opportunity to take on China's trade practices and secure America's economic role in Asia. Trump is sending Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Kudlow, as well as his trade officials, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Peter Navarro to China. But it's unclear what will come of those talks, intended to head off a tit-for-tat trade skirmish. The negotiations also come as China has been cooperating with the U.S. to curb North Korea's nuclear program. Those talks also come just days after the historic meeting of the leaders of North and South Korea. "There's clearly a battle going on in Trump world between those people who understand the global economy and those who are protectionists. Larry Kudlow has a global view of the world and Mnuchin does," said Tom Block, Washington policy strategist at Fundstrat. Block said the conflicts within the group also make it difficult to know what the exact goals or outcome could be for the China talks. As for the TPP, Block said he doubts it has a chance of being revived for now, even though Trump said in front of an agricultural audience that he would reconsider it. "[TPP] was envisioned to be part of a counterbalance to growing China. It made sense then. It makes sense now, but I think it's going to be a hard sell to the Trump base," said Block. Even if Trump wanted to reconsider the TPP, there are many hurdles to the U.S. returning to it. But America may find its farmers and businesses are at a disadvantage because they are not in it. Kim Wallace, managing director at Eurasia Group, said the member countries would find it difficult to meet Trump's demands to improve the TPP in America's favor. "It was a missed opportunity, not only economically but geopolitically. That's part of the reason for developing and implementing trade blocs. You play really nicely with those in your sandbox, and with others not so much. When you look at growth trajectories in both terms of economics and demographics, it's been known for at least a decade that this is one region you had to have a foothold in," he said. New Zealand, an early member of the TPP, said the U.S. cannot simply jump back into the agreement, though it would be welcome. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said recently that she could see the U.S. rejoining but not without renegotiation, and that would have to be approved by all 11 countries. Other members include Canada, Australia, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Vietnam, Peru and Brunei. "Trump is correct that the TPP would be a big boost to U.S. agriculture. But we have seen this a few times and are not too optimistic on its chances of happening in the short run," said Daniel Clifton, head of policy research at Strategas Research. "Trump's real focus is on securing a bilateral trade agreement with Japan and to rebuild TPP from the bottom up rather than the top down." The U.S. has said it would put tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, and China responded by pledging to put tariffs on U.S. goods and agriculture. Trump also has threatened to up the ante by putting tariffs on another $100 billion of Chinese goods, and China says it will respond. "The only reason the Administration even dipped their toe in these TPP waters was because it is a full-throated anti-China move. The entire strategic point of the TPP is to fortify an economic ring fence around China," wrote Chris Krueger, policy analyst at Cowen. The payoffs from re-engaging in the TPP could be important to the Trump administration, as it works with Asian allies on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "It embeds the United States in the future of Asia. It anchors us. It tethers us. It's a strong commitment in shaping the economic future of the region," said Sheila Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. is tangling with China on one front and is trying to resolve the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico before the Mexican election in July. "Once NAFTA is done, I do think there is going to be attention paid maybe not just to Japan but to the region," said Smith. The TPP was a way to correct some of the issues that were not working or outdated in NAFTA, she added. Domestic politics could continue to be a problem for U.S. consideration of the TPP, and there are wild cards, including how the administration prioritizes it and what Congress might demand of a deal. "If you have a change in leadership in one or both houses of Congress, they may not want a new trade deal until after the next presidential election," said Jeffrey Schott, senior fellow on international trade at Peterson Institute for International Economics. "The other countries have demonstrated they are going forward without the U.S. There is this growing discrimination against U.S. farmers and exporters in the region," he said. "Certainly it will deepen once TPP 11 goes into force." The road back to the TPP could be tricky, if not impossible. "Near term there's not much that can be done, because the agreement isn't in force. The prospect for session negotiations will really only become serious next year. But the other countries are unlikely to make major revisions in the existing text that was signed in March in Chile," he said. Schott said it's not clear what Trump meant by a better deal or whether one is possible. "Bigger and better would be more countries participating, which means there would be a bigger economic payoff and that would likely occur once the agreement enters into force and other countries join. Already there's consideration in South Korea, Taiwan, Colombia and the United Kingdom, among others," he said. Wallace said it would be a "long slog" if the U.S. tried to rejoin but it's not likely. "The biggest downside of that is time, in my view, given what's going on in the region, and what has been going on in the last 15 years in the way of economic growth in the region," said Wallace. "It is possible the TPP countries look and say we're comfortable with our trade relationship once the U.S. figures out what relationship it wants to have." U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday defended his decision not to appoint a second special prosecutor to investigate Republicans' concerns about the FBI by noting that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe had already taken on "a life of its own." Speaking to a U.S. House appropriations panel during a routine budget hearing, Sessions told lawmakers that the Justice Department needed to "be disciplined and stay within our classical procedure and rules" before rushing to hire more special counsels. "I do not think we need to willy-nilly appoint special counsels," he said, after listening to a laundry list of frustrations aired by West Virginia Republican Congressman Evan Jenkins. "As we can see, it can really take on a life of its own." Sessions has often found himself in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump's wrath because of his decision to recuse himself from overseeing the probe into whether Trump's presidential campaign colluded with Russia. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia, has called the probe a "witch hunt," lamented tapping Sessions as attorney general, and mused about whether to fire Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the probe due to Sessions' recusal. Trump's ire was further provoked more recently after the FBI raided the office and home of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen. In an interview on "Fox and Friends" early Thursday, Trump hinted he might get more aggressive in trying to shake up leadership at the Justice Department, saying: "I've taken the position and I don't have to take this position and maybe I'll change that I will not be involved with the Justice Department." Republicans frustrated by the Mueller probe have since launched investigations into other matters such as the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and whether the Justice Department committed abuses when it applied to a special court for a warrant to conduct surveillance on Carter Page, a former Trump national security campaign adviser. In response to those concerns, Sessions asked U.S. Attorney John Huber of the District of Utah to independently review the issues, rather than hiring a special prosecutor. On Thursday, Sessions staunchly defended the FBI, calling its director, Christopher Wray a "man of integrity," and warned lawmakers not to "smear everybody" at the department. Jenkins urged Sessions to reconsider on tapping a second special counsel, noting his constituents are losing patience. "We are frustrated we have had a special counsel... investigating collusion over a year without a scintilla of evidence," he said. Sessions responded that he understands why some Americans and Trump may be frustrated. "I think the American people are concerned and the president is concerned," Sessions said. "He is dealing with France and North Korea and Syria and taxes and regulations and border and crime every day." "This thing, he continued, "needs to conclude." [The stream is slated to start at 1:50 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] President Donald Trump is expected to host a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House Friday. Trump sent a welcome tweet Friday morning in anticipation of Merkel's arrival, saying they have "so much to discuss, so little time!" Trump tweet Merkel's arrival marks the second meeting this week between Trump and a major European leader in the U.S., following French President Emmanuel Macron's first official state visit to Washington. But where Trump's relationship with Macron is defined by a camaraderie that prevails over their policy differences, Merkel has received much less warmth from the president. Trump has railed against Germany's refugee policy under Merkel, calling her government's decision to let in hundreds of thousands of refugees a "catastrophic mistake." The president has also criticized Germany's trade surplus with the United States and has singled out the Berlin government, a NATO ally, for not spending enough on defense. Trump tweet 2 In an Oval Office photo-op in March 2017, Trump appeared to ignore Merkel's request to share a handshake. And whereas Macron stayed with Trump for three days in Washington, Merkel will depart shortly after the press conference on Friday. "It is worth thinking about whether such an approach might ultimately be less risky and more successful than one based on continuing deep U.S. engagement?" This may be a good time for President Trump and the U.S. to get out of the way and let the two sides of the DMZ try to work things out by themselves. It may sound like a risky approach at first blush. But it is worth thinking about whether such an approach might ultimately be less risky and more successful than one based on continuing deep U.S. engagement. Under President Trump, the U.S. has careened in recent month from nuclear saber-rattling about "fire and fury" to suddenly jumping at the prospect of a summit meeting with the "honorable" Mr. Kim. Aside from subjecting our allies to strategic whiplash with our dramatic change of strategic and diplomatic course, both of these approaches by themselves pose their own risks. The clear and present danger of the former is nuclear war, or at least perilous conventional conflict. Conversely, the president's new-found enthusiasm for bilateral diplomacy with Kim risks the United States getting suckered into a fruitless series of negotiations (keep in mind that the peace negotiations at Panmunjon have been dragging on for 65 years!) that might result in an even "badder" deal than his predecessor signed with Iran or forcing him to storm out of the negotiations in a huff. Neither would be a good outcome. Admittedly, adopting a more restrained diplomatic posture is not without risk as well. There is a short-term risk that Kim will exploit his southern counterpart's peace offensive and leave President Moon with egg on his face. But better him than the leader of the free world. We should keep in mind that such an approach also poses risks for Kim. The first fan of Dennis Rodman sits atop a brittle autocracy that likely cannot survive more open relations with the South over the longer term. During the Detente period, many hawks advocated keeping diplomatic and cultural relations between East and West in the deep freeze. While they were right that containment of communism required a military sword and shield, what finally brought communism down was the power of the appeal of freedom, which greater diplomatic and cultural contact amplified. And what if the negotiations between the two sides got so serious that Kim offered to denuclearize in exchange for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Peninsula? That might not be such a bad deal either. Despite its advantages in number of troops (many of them under-armed and malnourished) and artillery, the North has no real ability to fight and win a war against the South, though it could surely cause a lot of damage in a lost war. Even without U.S. ground forces, which by the way we have considered unilaterally withdrawing on occasion over the years, the most timely and effective contribution America could make to South Korea's defense is air power which could be called in quickly from U.S. bases elsewhere in the region. Critics will reasonably object that such an American approach in which we in essence hold both sides' coats in not without risks. But they ignore the risks of deeper U.S. involvement. This might be a time in which the risks of a adopting a lower American profile are worth taking and letting the Koreans take the lead to try to work things out. Commentary by Michael Desch, a professor of political science at Notre Dame and director of the Notre Dame International Security Center. He is co-author of the book "Privileged and Confidential: The Secret History of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board" with K. Michael Absher and Roman Popadiuk. Follow him on Twitter @mcdesch. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Types of obituaries The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries family obituaries and life stories. A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Frank Yiannas, Walmart's vice president in charge of food safety, was once a "major skeptic" and "non-believer" in blockchain, the electronic ledger technology platform on which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built. "I always advise people: if you're a skeptic, stay in it; read, learn and more than that, try to do some work in it," Yiannas said. "And, I've come around and I've become a believer. For me..., it's more like a religious conversion. The more I got into blockchain, the more I thought this is the solution." The problem Yiannas wanted to solve? How to track the origin of every piece of fruit, meat or vegetable sold by a worldwide retailer of food with 12,000 stores and tens of thousands of suppliers. "There are these big, mighty food companies, but they have a weakness," Yannas told attendees at the "Business of Blockchain" conference at MIT this week. "I think the food system has one major Achilles' heel. Their Achilles' heel is a lack of transparency." Walmart and nine other food retailer giants including Dole, Driscol, Tyson, Nestle and Unilever teamed up with IBM to pilot a cloud-based blockchain technology as a unifying electronic ledger. The ledger was built using Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source blockchain platform run under the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger group. Cllr Kim Caddy is the Cabinet Member for Business, Employment and Skills on Wandsworth Council. Wandsworth is a fantastic place to live and the statistics bear me out. Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in London, our average wages are high, crime rates are the lowest for any inner London Borough, we score highly in surveys on social mobility, we have a high number of outstanding schools and most tellingly, people want to live and work here. And yet. This analysis doesnt scratch the surface of the complex and difficult lives lived by some people in our communities. In my councillor surgeries and when I visit charities, schools or foodbanks, I hear cases that make you grind your teeth with frustration at the difficulties people face trying to get on and do the right thing. As Conservatives we tend not to talk about these cases as much as our socialist friends, but we should. Because the Conservative politicians I know spend their time trying to improve things for these people, whether its through casework or through policies that will help people out of poverty, a housing crisis, unemployment, health problems or one of the myriad of other challenges people face. The truth is that there are people struggling here just as they do elsewhere, and what is important is what we are doing about it. I want zero unemployment in Wandsworth. I want every one of our residents to have the skills and training to get a job so they can earn a good living and support their families. In my work as a local politician, I have seen the transformative benefits good quality employment bring. For me, no other intervention is more successful long term in improving confidence, ambition, and crucially, financial security. Recent research also supports what has always been obvious, that regular, good quality, well-paid work also has health benefits. So how do we achieve those aims of quality employment for all? How do we make sure that everyone has the opportunity to access the skills and training to forge a career? One of our guiding principles is to make all of our provision employer led. This principle applies not just to our own in-house employment brokerage, Work Match, but also to our skills and training strategy. We need to listen to and work with the key employers in and around the Borough to make sure we have a ready-to-go pipeline of candidates to fill the jobs that will be created over not just the next two or five years, but over the next 10 or 15. In a borough like this, where we have multiple major developments such as Nine Elms or the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth Town and major infrastructure projects like the Thames Tideway Tunnel and the Northern Line Extension, we have an incredible opportunity to give our residents the skills they need to take advantage of the jobs becoming available. We also need to make sure we are engaging with residents who are finding it the hardest to get the opportunities, which is why we embed our Work Match staff in the estates undergoing regeneration. The second key principle is the need to work proactively with our further education colleges, schools and neighbouring boroughs, to make sure our goals are aligned and we are working together to deliver the right training and skills. A great recent example is our work with South Thames College to provide bespoke training courses designed to meet specific employer needs in the Borough, where course graduates can often walk straight into a job. We are also using European Social Funding to provide tailored, employer led, careers advice in our schools. We know that catering, food and hospitality is a key industry for us, and an area where employers have historically found it more difficult to recruit locally. We are working now with our schoolchildren to inspire the chefs and hoteliers of the future. Finally, Wandsworth also needs to be the Borough of choice for businesses looking to move or start-up. We need to lead the way in driving our area to be as business friendly as possible, not just for the big businesses that have chosen Wandsworth as their home, like Apple or Penguin Random House, but also for the small and medium sized enterprises which are the lifeblood of our communities. These businesses dont just provide local jobs but also make for vibrant, diverse high streets and business zones. We have a good track record, recognised by the Federation of Small Businesses as Londons most small business friendly borough last year. Our award winning business support programme, includes Enterprise Week which offers a range of free advice, seminars, networking events and guest speakers. This has recently been extended into Schools Enterprise Week where we offer inspiration to a new generation of Wandsworth entrepreneurs. We have embraced Business Improvement Districts, with successful ballots already in Putney and Wandsworth Town bringing in increased business leadership and funding to support these areas. We must also be smart about how we leverage the benefits of the businesses that are setting up here the positive effects of themed areas or zones on innovation and business growth are well known. Thats why we have decided to commit to funding a study to help the borough attract digital and new technology companies to take advantage of Apple UKs headquarters moving here, and why we will enhance the investment in our town centres to ensure they remain attractive and competitive. I believe we need to relentlessly drive support for businesses across all areas of the Council. Our Infrastructure plans must support our local economy and our desire to attract businesses the Northern Line Extension has been instrumental in enabling the areas development and the changes to the Wandsworth gyratory system will support the transformation of another Town Centre. In the strategic planning field we have led the way in the use of Article 4 directions to protect our Public Houses and other key business or shopping zones from being developed for residential purposes. We are making huge progress with our Aspirations Agenda, making sure opportunity is available to all, and no-one is left behind. Lets make those statistics on wealth and social mobility ring true for everyone who lives here, and embrace and encourage our thriving business community. ConservativeHome wanted Hillary Clinton to win Americas last presidential election. Donald Trumps flirtation with Russia, and his ambiguity about NATO, provided reason enough at the time. In suggesting that he is not really a Republican at all (the President gave more money to the Democrats until 2011), we were in sympathy with a significant slice of his own party in Congress, which distrusts his position on Putin, state spending and protection. Trump is essentially a classic American populist outsider doing more successfully what other recent ones, such as Pat Buchanan, also attempted to do. Then there is character. Bully, braggart, narcissist, liar, Islamophobe, smear merchant, serial tax avoider, supporter of torture, a failure as a businessman who inherited his wealth: we havent been shy of reproducing the litany of accusations against him. It is an unnerving experience to have a President who retweets neo-nazis, and then rebukes a British Prime Minister when she complains. Or who threatens North Korea with war by Twitter. The Trump experience may end in tears. At home, he is stoking an unsustainable boom (since he couldnt seem to care less about public spending). Abroad, he is erratic and unpredictable: his North Korean gambit, the toast of gawping broadcasters this morning, may end simply in giving a totalitarian dictator prestige while leaving him armed. Then there are those serio-comic appointments and sackings: Comey, Flynn, Priebus, Tillerson, McMasterBannon. Mueller could yet topple Trump. British voters give him the thumbs-down. Theresa May will have thought her way through all that. Hence the quick-in-and-out programme being drawn up for the Presidents working visit on the happy date of Friday 13th July. She doesnt want to risk unpopularity by association. Trump himself will be more than aware of her take and that of the punters. There will be no bunting, no parade, no cheering crowds, no American soliders marching as there were when he visited France last year, and Emmanuel Macron, that other limelighter, laid on a Bastille Day parade. To which we can only add that despite all the above this minimalism does Britain no credit, and will do it no good. For there is another way altogether of thinking about the President. As our columnist Ben Roback wrote recently, he has quietly patched up his relations with his party in Congress. His tax bill got through it a big win for him. Unemployment is low. Workers are gaining from a strong economy. Business confidence has risen. To be sure, the business and political cycles are out of kilter but, with the Democrats lurching to the left, Trump may well be re-elected in 2020. As for foreign affairs, the President is damned if he does and damned if he doesnt. If he doesnt intervene in Syria, he is allowing Putin to expand his reach; if he does, he is risking confrontation with Russia. There is a case for saying that he has found a middle way between these extremes punishing the Assad regime for crossing the chemical weapons red line without risking its replacement by fanatical jihadis. His North Korean adventure may end in failure, but when did his predecessors ever succeed? Bill Clinton, George W Bush, St Barack Obama, all praise be upon him none of them found a way through. The Kim dynasty flourished and North Korea armed. At least Trump is striving to find a way of halting an Asian arms race. In the wake of that Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in handshake, we must cross our fingers and wish the President luck. His Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis, is first-rate. Trump seems to take the good advice he gets: after some initial hesitancy, he was solid enough over the Salisbury outrage. The unavoidable truth is that we need America. We need it for security, with its massive scope, as a fellow member of the five eyes. We need it for trade. (Brexit, anyone?) We need it as a big part of Global Britains outreach. And since we need America, we also need Trump. May will be as wary as Macron of confrontation with Iran. The difference is that the French President has been agile enough to try to warn his American counterpart off it. His recent speech in Congress was part of the payback for that Trump visit to France. Leaving the EU makes our security offer to Europe all the more important in keeping us outward-facing; in underpinning Europes security. We must at least match France as a military power. Stopping Macron from stealing the show is yet another reason for May not to back off a warm welcome for Trump. This site hankers after a state visit. But if that isnt possible, May can at least roll out the red carpet in June. The only Cabinet member who seems to get the point is Boris Johnson. The Cornwall Seaway News picked up two awards at the Ontario Community News Papers (OCNA) conference on Friday, April 20. Also at the OCNA Annual General Meeting held Thursday, Rick Shaver was elected 2nd VP of the OCNA Board of Directors. Recognition at Business Excellence Awards Seaway News picked up 3 awards last weekend in Toronto at the Ontario Community Newspaper 2018 Business Excellence Awards Banquet, representing more than 300 community newspapers. General Excellence Awards recognize outstanding overall achievement in the community press. First, second, and third place winners were awarded in editorial,production and sales categories.T. The General Excellence competition helps newspapers determine their strengths and weaknesses, gives them a comparison with other newspapers, provides staff with a pat on the back, and shows them areas in which they can improve. Premier Awards were also handed out during the dinner banquet/award ceremony.Community Newspapers The Heart of the Matter was the theme. Best Vertical Product Cornwall Living won First Place. The award recognizes the product/companys use of existing staff, current and new advertisers, expanded business opportunities, potential as revenue generator, quality editorial mix, and value to community. The judges comments included Diverse topics, Photos were very good quality and worked well with the content, Polished look and while the stories were hyper local. Best Creative Ad Our entry L.A.Forgues special anniversary was a 2 page spread took second place. Criteria included to the newspaper making the best use of artwork, art/graphic service and/or photographs in the design of a single (or series of up to three advertisement(s) for a customer during the contest period). In-House Promotion Our entry won honourable mention . We submitted a series of our sales team doing self promotions. The promotion of a newspapers own business is, of course, very important. Much can be learned about a newspapers advertising and production department by looking at the material they produce promoting themselves and their newspaper. This award will recognize the best advertisement promoting your newspaper, in print and/or online. Also at the OCNA Annual General Meeting held Thursday, Rick Shaver was elected 2nd VP of the OCNA Board of Directors. CORNWALL, Ontario Marc Clement, 44, and Amanda Clement, 43, both of Cornwall, were arrested and charged with robbery, pointing a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm. It is alleged on April 22nd, 2018 the man and woman robbed a food delivery driver, all the while brandishing a handgun. Police were contacted and an extensive investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division conducted. On April 26th, 2018 both were located by police, taken into custody, and charged accordingly. The man was held for a bail hearing and the woman was released to appear in court on May 31st, 2018. UNLAWFULLY IN A DWELLING, ASSAULT WITH A WEAPON, MISCHIEF Cornwall, ON A 36-year-old Lunenburg woman and a 37-year-old Cornwall man were arrested on April 26th, 2018 and charged with mischief under $5000. The woman was also charged with unlawfully in a dwelling and assault with a weapon. It is alleged on April 26th, 2018 the woman attended the residence of the above-mentioned man and attempted to hit him with her car. During the altercation, the woman allegedly assaulted the man with a pair of goggles and damaged a lamp. Further, it is alleged the man caused damage to the womans vehicle and police were contacted to investigate. During the investigation, both were taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on May 22nd, 2018. Their names were not released as it would identify the victims in the matter. WARRANT, THEFT UNDER, BREACH Cornwall, ON Scottie Brownell-Lauzon, 26, of Cornwall was arrested on April 26th, 2018 on the strength of warrant. The man was also charged with theft under $5000 and breach of probation & undertaking for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on March 27th, 2018 the man was in possession of a stolen electronic device and a warrant was issued for his arrest. It is further alleged on March 28th and 29th, 2018 the man attended a Water Street store and removed merchandise from the store, making no attempt to pay for the items as he left the store. On April 26th, 2018 the man attended the Cornwall Community Police Service for fingerprints for an unrelated matter. He was taken in to custody on the strength of the warrant, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. FRAUD, UNLAWFUL USE OF A CREDIT CARD, THEFT UNDER Cornwall, ON A 16-year-old Cornwall youth was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a credit card, fraud under $5000, and theft under $5000. It is alleged on April 11th, 2018 the youth used a credit card that did not belong to him for various purchases. Further, it is alleged on April 21st, 2018 the youth attended a Second Street East store and removed merchandise, making no attempt to pay for the items as he left the store. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On April 26th, 2018, police located the youth. He was charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as per provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. THEFT OF MOTOR VEHICLE, POSSESSION OF PROPERTY OBTAINED BY CRIME, BREACH Cornwall, ON A 17-year-old Cornwall youth and a 16-year-old Green Valley youth were both arrested on April 27th, 2018 and charged with theft of a motor vehicle. The 17-year-old youth was also charged with possession of property obtained by crime and the 16-year-old youth was also charged with breach of undertaking for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on April 26th, 2018 the youths took a vehicle, belonging to a person unknown to them without permission, and police were contacted. On April 27th, 2018 police located the youths, at which time the 16-year-old was found to be in possession of a stolen set of keys. The youths were taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. Their names were not released as per provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE & MARIJUANA Cornwall, ON Jean Mitchell, 20, of Cornwall was arrested on April 27th, 2018 and charged with possession of methamphetamine (speed) and marijuana. It is alleged on April 28th, 2018 while investigating an unrelated matter, the man was found to be in possession of a quantity of speed and marijuana. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on May 29th, 2018. There were 50 calls for service in the City of Cornwall in the last 24 hours (8am the previous day to 8am the day of the release). To see whats happening in your neighbourhood visit our Crime Plot Map. CCPS reserves the right not to post all calls for service in order to protect the identity of the victims. CORNWALL, Ontario Local NDP organizer, freelance reporter, and former St. Lawrence College international student advisor, Marc Benoit, will be seeking the nomination for candidacy for the Ontario New Democrats for the upcoming provincial election. Benoit, 29, grew up in Russell, ON, attended Carleton University and later moved to Cornwall to study journalism at St. Lawrence College, graduating in 2015. Proudly calling Cornwall hime since 2013, Benoit believes that an individuals efforts to serve their community is essential to social wellbeing. In 2014, during his term as president of the Cornwall Student Union, Benoit worked alongside Cornwall Transit to reduce annual fees for students using local transit services by introducing the annual and semester bus passes for students. He can trace his advocacy for transit services back to 2010 when he first became politically involved advocating for light rail in Ottawa. Since that time Benoit has worked with SLCs international students to help new residents to Cornwall find housing, access employment services, and become familiar with their new community. Additionally, he has also been a freelance reporter for both the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder and Cornwall Seaway News since 2015. I strongly believe in Andrea Horwaths vision for Ontario, says Benoit. The Ontario New Democrats plan for our province is the only one that makes sense for people like me, that is people who have to work to get by, and for the provinces fiscal sustainability. You might say we have big promises that people need, but we also have a plan to fund our programs responsibly, without putting the onus on working Ontarians. Also, like Andrea, I believe that Government can and should have a positive role in peoples lives. Government should be about giving people the opportunity to build a good life, no matter where they are in Ontario, or when this province became home. If youve never voted for the New Democrats before, or if its been a couple of decades, I invite you to check out our plan for the province and take a serious look because we dont need to choose between bad or worse. We can vote for Change for the Better on June 7. The Ontario NDP EDA for StormontDundasSouth Glengarry will be holding their nomination meeting on May 8, 2018, at 7:00 pm at the Navy Veterans Association, 30 Sixth St. E., Cornwall, ON. Members in good standing can vote and encouraged to attend. Media personnel and interested members of the public are also strongly encouraged to check out the nomination meeting. Microsoft Friday said that its Microsoft 365 suite will be getting a number of enhancements for enabling simplified IT management. Launched last July, the Microsoft 365 suite brings together Office 365 productivity applications along with Windows 10, device management and security into a single comprehensive offering for businesses. Some of the updates stem from Microsoft's Windows 10 April 2018 Update, which will be rolling out Monday. Among the Windows 10 updates are enhancements to delivery optimization, which enable a single device to download an update and then deliver that update to other devices over the local network. "This significantly reduces bandwidth (by as much as 90 percent) and that results in a much better experience for everyone on the network," said Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of enterprise mobility and security at Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, in a blog post . The Windows 10 April 2018 Update will introduce a capability for monitoring the status of delivery optimization using Windows Analytics. Anderson noted that two data points that can be monitored will include the number of devices enabled and the amount of bandwidth saved. Reed Wiedower, CTO of New Signature, a Washington, D.C.-based Microsoft partner, said that his company has been working with several of the product group teams at Microsoft around the new capabilities. "The big announcements we're excited about include the updates to Windows Analytics ... around the management of delivery optimization," Wiedower said in an email to CRN. "We've seen several customers who are reluctant to move to a modern management framework, precisely because many of their sites are remote and they are concerned about bandwidth. With visibility of delivery optimization, it becomes quite easy to see which sites aren't configured to take advantage of peer-to-peer updating, and to see how much total bandwidth has been saved overall." For easier management of devices, Microsoft said that its Windows AutoPilot solution will include an enrollment status page as part of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The page will allow IT "to ensure policies, settings and apps can be provisioned on the device during that out-of-box experience before the user gets to the desktop and begins interacting with the device," Anderson wrote. "Now IT can ensure every device is compliant and secure before it is used. ... Windows AutoPilot is an absolute game-changer." Lenovo and Dell are the first OEMs to support the Windows AutoPilot deployment service on their PCs, while HP, Toshiba, Panasonic and Fujitsu will be doing so as of this fall, Anderson noted. With Windows AutoPilot, "from an end-user perspective, you'll be able to unpack a device that was shipped directly to you, plug it into a network, and have it immediately self-configure on powering up," Wiedower said. "Once it's done so, when you log in, any applications or settings that are specific to you, the end customer, will apply to the device as well." New Signature has been helping customers to deploy AutoPilot for several months, and "the experience is magical," Wiedower said. In terms of Office 365 updates, the Microsoft 365 admin center described as a common management entry point for a Microsoft 365 implementation will now be extended to users of Office 365. This means that IT professionals will no longer need to use multiple consoles, Anderson said. "Users of both Office 365 and Microsoft 365 will now have access to the same admin center with the same capabilities," he said. "For Office 365 users, this means a simpler admin experience that easily integrates with your other Microsoft services all without giving up any capabilities or control." In addition, Anderson said that managing compliance will now be easier in the Microsoft 365 suite thanks to new capabilities. The features will help with meeting regulations around data archiving, retention, disposition, classification and discovery, he said. For instance, a new data privacy tab will let users execute data subject requests for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while privileged access management will let users provide "just-in-time" access for admin roles in Microsoft 365, instead of having to give out permanent admin privileges, according to Anderson. "Overall, many of the recent changes Microsoft has made from an organizational perspective directly align to this goal: to transform customer experiences from mundane ones to magical ones," Wiedower said. "That's why it's exciting to be a Microsoft partner now, because you can help customers realize that in a modern environment, technology isn't a hindrance but a way to make your day more productive." The news of updates to Microsoft 365 comes a day after Microsoft reported strong growth of 58 percent in commercial cloud sales for its third fiscal quarter ended March 31. Microsoft reported 42 percent growth for Office 365 commercial revenue during the quarter. Analyzing real-time streaming data remains one of the biggest challenges in business analytics. The demand for event-stream processing and analytics capabilities is growing as businesses look for ways to tap into the insights that can be gleaned from sensor data, web clickstreams, financial trading information, social media and other sources of live data. This week Arcadia Data, a developer of visual analytics software for big data, unveiled Arcadia Instant for KSQL, an entry-level product that the company said makes it easier for business users to develop visualizations for data streaming through Apache Kafka systems. "It's a new way of getting started with visualizing streaming data," said Dale Kim, senior director of products and solutions at Arcadia Data, of the San Mateo, Calif.-based company's latest software. "This opens up a new world for end users and analysts to Kafka." [Related: Diving In: Arcadia Data Offers Improved Toolset For Deriving Value From Massive Data Lakes] The open-source Apache Kafka is a scalable, publish-and-subscribe messaging system that is becoming a core technology within many organizations for building real-time data pipelines and streaming applications. KSQL is an open-source SQL engine that provides an interface that allows applications to tap into and process Kafka data. But organizations that implement Kafka generally load data from the system into data warehouses or other SQL databases for analysis, rather than working with the live data. KSQL was introduced last year by Confluent, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company founded by Kafka's original developers. The startup provides the Confluent Platform, a commercial version of Kafka, and related software and services. Last month Arcadia Data unveiled a new release of its flagship Arcadia Enterprise system with KSQL integration capabilities. But that software is targeted more toward developers of business analytics systems. Arcadia Instant for KSQL, desktop software that Arcadia offers as a free download, connects to Confluent Platform 4.1, providing business users with applications for analyzing and visually displaying the real-time data flowing through Kafka. The combination of KSQL and Arcadia Instant provides Kafka access for analysts and users without the need for coding in Java or Python, according to Kim. Arcadia Data works with reseller, consultant, ISV and systems integration partners and Kim said the new Arcadia Instant offers partners a way to quickly develop proof-of-concept systems for customers, providing a way to demonstrate the value of real-time data visualization. Arcadia Data is offering Arcadia Instant with Docker images that run Apache Kafka and KSQL. Arcadia is also providing a new feature in its software called Time Warp that provides views of different time windows in the data stream. The Crystal Esprit will be based in the Red Sea for October through December 2019, the company announced. The seven- to 11-day sailings will cruise the Arabian Peninsula, the company said. The itineraries do not repeat and are easily combinable. One December voyage will be roundtrip from Dubai, as the ship will overnight in the city before visiting Sir Bani Yas Island, Bahrain, Doha and Abu Dhabi (overnight). There are also calls into Sokhna, Egypt, which offers Crystal guests a gateway to the pyramids of Giza, just 60 miles away from Cairo, and the soon-to-be-opened archaeological Grand Egyptian Museum. The resort town of Eilat, Israel is also featured, as well as Muscat, Oman. If viewed from a far enough distance, the commercial real estate markets in Fairfield and Westchester counties can be seen as one giant market trying to lure tenants seeking proximity to New York City without Manhattan-like lease prices. Many real estate firms announce quarterly reports that include data from both markets and have offices on either side of the border. At the macro level, they look the same, said Jim Fagan, senior managing director of Cushman & Wakefield of Connecticut and who manages the firms offices in Fairfield and Westchester counties. A closer look, however, reveals markets with unique characteristics and interesting strengths and weaknesses when compared side by side. Fagan said transportation is a big factor in determining where a tenant will end up signing. Westchester holds advantages over Fairfield County in that it is closer to Manhattan, has an airport and boasts an infrastructure with numerous parkways and highways. All of Westchester is about the same distance from the city, he said. Fairfield County runs away from New York City. Fairfield County, Fagan said, has only three major roads, but the numerous train stops along the coast are attractive to prospective tenants. Transit-oriented districts are dominating now. If the building is close to a train, there is more desirability, he said. The idea of a tree-lined office park is not as desirable as being close to a train now. Weighing the costs Fagan said other considerations such as cost of living, commute distance for employees, cost of doing business, access to skilled workers and incentives play a big role in where a company settles. There tends to be more meaningful incentive packages from Connecticut, depending on the sector, said commercial real estate broker James Ritman of Newmark Knight Franks Stamford offices. Millions of dollars in tax credits and rebates from Connecticut ultimately lured animation giant Blue Sky Studios to Greenwich from White Plains in 2009. Two years ago, Norwalk-based Xerox threatened to move its headquarters out of state, but stayed put with $4.4 million in incentives. General Electric reportedly had Westchester County on its short list for new homes when it left Fairfield in 2016 before landing in Boston. New York is waving carrots in front of tenants, as well, both on the state and local level. In his first state of the county address this month after taking office in January, Westchester County Executive George Latimer made a general pledge to support business, including holding the line on taxes and soliciting input from companies on other steps Westchester can take. We want to partner with our businesses large and small to meet their employment needs and their technology needs, he said. We need to attract businesses and keep business here in Westchester. While business property taxes are typically hidden within lease rates, Fairfield County has much lower residential property taxes, which Fagan said is important to companies who have employees relocating. Emerging markets The popularity of each market ebbs and flows, Fagan said. Westchester County, particularly the White Plains Central Business District, is a stronger market now, having jumped ahead of Fairfield County about 18 to 24 months ago. White Plains CBD is very hot now, he said, adding that rents are up 15 to 20 percent there over the last 18 months. New York Life and Danone, the parent company of Dannon, recently signed large leases and moved hundreds of employees to downtown White Plains from other Westchester locations. Also in White Plains, Ginsburg Development Cos. and Robert Martin Co. earlier this month purchased a two-building, 571,000-square-foot complex for $83 million. Robert Weinberg, principal of Robert Martin, said he hopes the purchase adds to the positive momentum that has been driving recent demand in the downtown office market. Fagan said Yonkers, long a sleeper in Westchester County, is also an emerging market with a Brooklyn feel to it. Fagan said Fairfield and Westchester counties also compete with Long Island and New Jersey. Stamford, despite some large vacancies, remains the hotbed for commercial real estate in Fairfield County. According to a report from Colliers International Group, Stamford had eight of the top 10 leases in Fairfield County during the first quarter of 2018. What Carl (Kuehner) has done is Stamford is remarkable, Fagan said, referring to the principal of Building and Land Technology, the developer Harbor Point in the citys South End. Harbor Point in the last year has recruited two Westchester-based businesses Walters Hot Dogs and Patisserie Salzburg to join its mixed-use development. Harbor Point is one of many live, work, play development concepts popping up throughout Fairfield County. Karolina Alexandre, research manager at Newmark Knight Frank, said those types of mixed-used developments are working in Fairfield Countys favor. Westchester is just starting, but were way ahead, she said. Another good thing for Fairfield is that its diversifying its tenant base. Trademark Fairfield is another example of a new live, work, play development in Fairfield County. The luxury apartments are adjacent to Fairfields Metro-North station. The fact is its far more difficult in Westchester County to immediately eliminate more car travel, but to anticipate that it will change tremendously is difficult, Phil Kuchma of Bridgeport-based Kuchma Corp. said. They have mostly campus-type office development so the opportunity for people to use mass transportation and still keep their schedules certainly seems to be more difficult. By the numbers As of the first quarter of 2018, Fairfield County had 9.5 million square feet of available office space, as calculated by the Stamford office of Cushman & Wakefield, with the better class A space prized by corporations carrying a countywide average asking rent of $38.12 a square foot. That compared with 6.1 million square feet of total space in Westchester, where the asking rent was $28.73 a square foot for class A space. In its own first-quarter report, the Stamford office of Colliers noted Fairfield Countys stable fundamentals and Westchesters falling leasing activity, but rising lease rates. Fairfield Countys Eastern submarket, despite its distance from New York City, has evolved into one of the most competitive submarkets in the county, with availability rates falling for fourth consecutive quarters. Lease rates, however, have fallen slightly in the submarket. The Northern market in Fairfield County, which includes Danbury, is the most competitive it has been since 2016, according to the Colliers report. The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338 Macaela Bennett, Jordan Grice, Paul Schott and Alexander Soule contributed to this article. Finding a good doctor is only part of achieving good health. You also need to be vigilant about what you eat, focusing on foods and drinks that fuel a healthy lifestyle, not inhibit it. But, let's be honest, so-called "health food" doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to taste. You want nutritious foods that also please the palate. Here we offer dining locations around the state where the food is both good and good for you. Just remember: You are what you eat. A post shared by Three Girls Vegan Creamery (@threegirlsvegan) on Aug 27, 2017 at 4:55pm PDT So big was the buzz behind this maker of nut-derived vegan "cheese" that when it opened a shop in a small plaza in Guilford last summer, people waited for more than an hour to have at the vegan selection. Some of the cheese-but-not-cheese varieties include mozzarella "di Bufala" pearls and nacho cheese sauce, both made from cashews, as well as almond ricotta. Simply put, this is the place for people who love cheese, but can't or won't eat the real thing. Meat lovers, too, likely will find something to their liking, with products such as maple bacon made from coconuts, and smoked pastrami made from beets and mushrooms. Three Girls also offers an array of prepared options such as a meatball grinder, lasagna and biscuits and gravy. In addition to their Guilford space, Three Girls products can also be found at several Connecticut food stores and online. 203-896-0411 New Morning Market, Woodbury A post shared by New Morning Market (@newmorningmarket1971) on Mar 8, 2018 at 8:53am PST New Morning Market has been fighting the good-food fight since way back in 1971, long before local and organic was hip. Its current location is a 32,000-square-foot space that serves as an inviting hub of local and sustainable food and culture. The market is also home to The Provender, an award-winning, fresh-food counter, and a full coffee bar that also offers fresh organic juices and smoothies, as well as kombucha tea. A vitality center on the second floor offers yoga classes, hosts special events and provides guests the option of scheduling appointments with a nutritionist, massage therapist and other wellness professionals. 203-263-4868 Bloodroot, Bridgeport Ned Gerard Housed in a converted machine shop on the water in Bridgeport, this is a classic Connecticut restaurant with a healthy vibe all its own. Billed as a feminist vegetarian restaurant, Bloodroot has no waitstaff; everyone orders at the counter and clears their own tables. The ultra-political spot is also a bookstore, but its the wide variety of salads and nut-and-seed meat substitutes that make this a must-try for the health conscious. Eating vegetarian food isnt always healthier, but eating more vegetables generally is. 203-576-9168 A post shared by Nature's Temptations (@naturestempt) on Dec 14, 2017 at 7:01am PST On a wooden sign, just inside the door at Natures Temptation, the words local, sustainable and organic are written in large, bold letters. These words act as the mantra for the natural grocery store, deli and juice bar. In the shop youll find items such as 100-percent grass-fed beef, local milk and a variety of herbs, spices, oils and vinegar all unrefined and organic. These ingredients also power the full-service deli and the juice and smoothie bar. Theres even a naturopathic doctor on staff to help answer nutrition questions customers might have. 203-438-5443 Photo courtesy of Jeff Skerik Nestled in the crook of East Main and Chestnut streets, G-Zen is a vegan beacon for health-focused and environmentally friendly folks with a taste for award-winning fine dining. But the philosophy of husband-and-wife chefs and owners Mark Shadle and Ami Beach Shadle is that their job isnt over when the meal is finished. Sustainability is of the utmost importance. Their solar-powered family farm in Durham provides organic ingredients for the restaurant and their Gmonkey food truck, and the waste material becomes compost for the next crops. The menu changes daily, but the mission remains the same. 203-208-0443 Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, Fairfield Ned Gerard Specializing in raw (rawking) foods, Catch a Healthy Habit offers fruit- and vegetable-forward dishes with an array of vegetarian and gluten-free options. Superfoods nutrient-rich foods that are particularly good for us power many of the smoothies and dishes. Regardless of whether health is your main concern when deciding where to eat, its hard not to have your stomach rumble when you see descriptions of foods such as chia and chocolate pudding, carrot ginger soup and the popular nut-and-seed veggie burger. 203-292-8190 Heirloom Food Company, Danielson A post shared by Heirloom Food Co (@heirloomfoodco) on Mar 8, 2018 at 8:19am PST One way to tell if an eatery serves up healthy fare: food with vibrant color. And no, were not talking about the unnatural orange of cheese snacks. One look at the Instagram page of this spot in Connecticuts rural East provides a kaleidoscope of colors. While many dishes at Heirloom are vegetarian or vegan, its this organic cafe and juice bars dedication to local sourcing that should appeal to all tastes. With a chalkboard menu and a website that list the ingredient-supplying local farms, Heirloom offers an array of mostly vegan and gluten-free items (aside from tuna and turkey options). Standouts include the Beta Burger, featuring a patty of lentils, beets, brown rice and almonds, and the Avocado Detox salad with mixed greens, chopped apples and sliced avocado topped with sesame seeds, walnuts, cranberries and lemon juice. 860-7793373 Claires Corner Copia, New Haven Catherine Avalone Another institution on this list, Claires has been serving up vegetarian and vegan food to Yale kids and other New Haven residents for 40 years. Claires offers vegetarian dishes with a sort of Tex-Mex twist, from burritos to quesadillas. Tofu abounds. Its also located on one of the nicest street corners in New Haven, diagonally across from the Green at the corner of Chapel and College streets. Big windows offer great people-watching opportunities. 203-562-3888 ION Restaurant, Middletown Catherine Avalone Its Only Natural has been on Middletowns Main Street for over a generation, serving up vegetarian and vegan cuisine long before it was cool or in vogue. Perhaps thanks to cohort after cohort of environmentally conscious and hip kids up the hill at Wesleyan, ION has grown and expanded over the years, and is now affiliated with a natural foods grocery store, also on Main Street. A lot of vegetarian and vegan places have fairly limited offerings some combination of rice, beans and lentils to supplement the veggies and make the dish something other than a salad. But IONs menu is full of adventurous concoctions. Theyve been doing it for some 30 years, so you can bet they have figured out how to keep people coming back. 860-346-9210 The Sweet Beet, Granby A post shared by @thesweetbeet on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:26am PDT While not every item on the menu here contains beets, everything at The Sweet Beet is vegan and gluten free. And those with food allergies will be happy to know that neither soy nor peanuts are used. Its all part of a clean eating philosophy that has gained a loyal following at this cafe and bakery near the Massachusetts line. Primarily a takeout spot with a cooler of prepared foods, The Sweet Beet offers a few sandwich options (No Egg Salad with chickpeas, onions, dill and seasonings), made-to-order salads (The Sweet Beet Salad with greens, carrot, shredded beet, cucumber, tomato, pea shoots and house-made shallot vinaigrette), soups such as bean chili, several creative juices (Beetlejuice with beet, cucumber, apple and ginger), and baked goods such as mini cupcakes. 860-653-2338 This article appeared in the April 2018 issue of Connecticut Magazine. State police recently hosted the Department of Homeland Security regional explosives detection dog initiative. Thursday morning, state police K9 Whim, one of the agencys explosives detection dogs, was joined by 24 other K9 teams at Rentschler Field in Hartford. Participating agencies included Stamford police, New Haven police, various Massachusetts police departments and Vermont State Police. The training, facilitated by DHS Science and Technology Directorate, is an outreach effort to state and local law enforcement to improve explosive detection canine team training efficiency and effectiveness, state police officials said. The 25 K9 teams participated in classroom and experiential training. It challenged the K9 teams with a variety of real world scenarios including a simulated motorcade that state police provided pictures of. Wizz Air, an airline that specializes in destinations to Eastern Europe, recently announced new service from Sikorsky Airport to Berlin, Frankfurt and Vienna. But dont pack your bags just yet. The Sikorsky Airport being referred to here isnt in Stratford, Conn., but Kiev, Ukraine. In March, the city council in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev also known as Kyiv renamed one of its international airports after Igor Sikorsky, the aviation engineer who founded Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and also pioneered four-engine aircraft. Nearly 79 years ago, on a spot where the vast, shuttered Avco-Lycoming plant now sits, Ukrainian native Igor I. Sikorsky changed the face of aviation by flying the VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter. Years earlier he developed the S-22 Ilya Muromets airliner, used as the worlds first four-engined bomber by the Russian military during World War I, and his name is revered in Ukraine, Russia and Connecticut. Sikorsky left Russia in 1917, during the Russian Revolution and a time of great upheaval. This was when more than 100,000 intellectuals, officers, engineers and anyone else seen as a threat to the Bolshevik revolution were rounded up and executed. Many millions more were to be purged after Joseph Stalin rose to power in 1922. Ukraine was part of the USSR between World War II and 1991. In December 1991, nearly all of what was the USSR broke up into separate republics. The Kyiv International Airport, informally called Zhuliany for the part of the city where its located, handles more than 100,000 passengers a month and is one of the most frequented business travel aviation hubs in Europe, according to officials there. The airport is owned by the city of Kiev. jburgeson@ctpost.com Imagine: You're wading through chest-high jungle in the Amazon Rainforest beside sweaty workers slashing through the brush to create the broad open fields that will grow soy for Brazil's greedily expanding cattle industry. Suddenly you're hovering over the kill chute of a slaughterhouse where a panicked cow paces back and forth, consigned to become society's next steak dinner. Related: 12 Amazing Uses of Virtual Reality Just as suddenly, you're on the bone-dry plains of Somalia where camels graze and where your guide sadly comments how, "We used to have four seasons," because what is now below your feet isn't a fertile field, but sand and endless drought. Your next stop is that which the drought has wrought: a fly-infested clinic where starving Somalian babies, cradled by desperate mothers, seem so close to you that you could almost reach out to comfort them. Finally: You're experiencing a cold snowy scene in Greenland beneath a piercing blue sky, gazing up warily as huge chunks of glacier plunge down, right in front of you, into a raging river of ice floes which could have sunk another Titantic, but now, in the modern day, are emblematic of what is sinking Planet Earth. These are some of the up-close-and-personal experiences you'll have viewing the four-part virtual reality (VR) "docu-series" This Is Climate Change, which had its premiere last week at the Tribeca Film Festival. The 11-minute segments are titled "Feast," "Famine," "Melting Ice" and "Fire." (The latter puts you aboard a plane beside brave firefighters battling last fall's disastrous California forest fires.) The series was produced by Jeff Skoll (of eBay fame) and his activist company Participant Media, And it serves to underscore once again the "you-are-there" power of VR -- as opposed to the two-dimensional flat-screen experience of a film like An Inconvenient Truth -- when it comes to getting out the message of urgency about climate change. Related: Can Corporates Save the World from Climate Change? VR intensifies that urgency exponentially because you, the viewer, are right there, in the middle of that melting ice, those starving babies, those enormous cattle feedlots, those California fires. If you've got something to sell, then, be it a product or an urgent social message, VR promises to be the wave of the future. That was the message from This Is Climate Change filmmakers Danfung Dennis (founder the VR company Condition One) and Eric Strauss during a video interview with Entrepreneur.com. If you want to experience -- yes, experience -- climate change, check out the series' trailer (password; WITHIN) or acquire the app at Within.com. Related: 'This Is Climate Change' Tells an Urgent Message Via Virtual Reality The Future of Augmented Reality (Infographic) Here's How Privacy is Threatened by AR/VR Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved It is in the DNA of most politicians and bureaucrats to keep at least some of their activities private. What people dont know... well, theyre not likely to question or criticize. At least not until its too late. The issue: The Connecticut Network, known as CT-N, since 1999 has tried to throw light on matters with its live streaming of various governmental activities. Though Connecticut has undeniable budget challenges, it was an unfortunate attempt at remedy when last year the legislature cut CT-Ns budget from $2.4 million to $1.2 million and insisted on control over the programming. Some critics thought CT-N had strayed from its original mission to cover the General Assembly and included the governor, Judicial branch and press conferences at the Capitol, plus panel discussions at places like Hartford Library. Much of that content was educational and could have been useful in school classrooms. Supporters of CT-N argue that giving the legislature say over the breadth of coverage risks turning the unblinking eye the camera into a propaganda tool. What weve written: One way to know that youre not being fed fake news is to see something with your own eyes. No one needs to spin it for you, to tell you that what you just saw and heard was not exactly what you just saw and heard, but some nuanced alternative to what you just saw and heard. In the waves of information were awash in, its a rare treat to see and hear the real thing. And we need a lot more of it not less. Editorial, Nov. 17, 2017 Anyone whos had occasion to deal with government officials knows they operate differently when they know a light is on them. At the end of the day, a democracy thrives on information. Information is the oxygen it breathes. Once again, at times the business of government can seem arcane, or too complicated, boring or meaningless. But everything these folks elected, appointed, career bureaucrats do in Hartford has some impact on all our lives. The closer we watch, the better were all going to be. Editorial, March 4, 2016 Where it stands: The Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN), the CT-N parent, citing legal concerns about government controlling a non-profit operation, stopped running CT-N last November. The legislatures Office of Legislative Management now runs it, with pared back coverage.. State Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, and state Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, are champions for CT-N and hosted a forum on the topic Monday. CT-N Godfrey said, should be independent from the legislature and other government bodies, and to achieve that were going to have to fund it appropriately. The next step is to approach legislative leaders to see where we are in the request for proposals process to secure an independent, third-party group to run CTN, said Bye. Letting Connecticut residents keep abreast by seeing and hearing for themselves how their elected officials are acting is a must goal for further compromise. Compliance issues can come up on a daily basis, but sometimes, a projects compliance implications may not be obvious to everyone at a credit union. While credit unions have experienced modest regulatory relief, the complex regulatory framework means it is helpful for a compliance officer to have a seat at the table to help evaluate the various risks of a new product or service. Sometimes, a compliance officer may be brought into a discussion at the tail end of a project or initiative which is generally not the ideal time to identify a compliance pitfall. Checking in with compliance early can save time and resources by identifying possible regulatory challenges and finding solutions before heading into a new venture or acquiring a new service. Here are three scenarios where it would be helpful to include your compliance team in initial planning: Scenario 1: A credit unions marketing team is meeting to strategize about a targeted campaign for a new credit card. A suggestion is made to target a certain audience based on zip code. It may sound like a good idea to tailor a promotion to individuals living in a certain geographic area. However, the credit unions compliance team could provide their expertise on fair lending and explain that regulatory requirements would not permit targeting by zip code. Scenario 2: A Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officer at a medium-sized credit union is tasked with training all departments on BSA and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. The credit union is looking to purchase a new BSA training module for the front office staff to ensure the BSA officer can focus on implementing the customer due diligence rule at her credit union. Even though at the moment the BSA officer is not able to train the front office staff herself, it makes sense to ensure that she has the opportunity to examine the BSA material that will be presented to the front office staff. Keeping compliance staff in the loop to vet the training modules allows them to assess whether the training appropriately represents the credit unions BSA requirements and trainees responsibilities. The compliance and BSA staff are also in a good position to identify whether certain staff may need to be retrained before a new product or service that increases the credit unions exposure to money laundering or terrorist financing is introduced. Ensuring the credit unions employees obtain the appropriate training and knowing when to consult with BSA and compliance makes the planning and implementation phase of a project more risk-focused and holistic. Scenario 3: A credit union is interested in working with an automobile dealer as its newest indirect lending partner. The dealer operates near a military base and sells add-on products like warranties and guaranteed auto protection coverage. Third party relationships can pose reputational and compliance risk for credit unions. Given these risks, regulatory guidance indicates that indirect vehicle lending relationships require both an initial assessment and ongoing due diligence to manage risk, including compliance risk. For example, rules like the Military Lending Act have steep penalties; noncompliance with the rule can mean the credit union may end up with a voided loan agreement. Compliance can help the lending team and other stakeholders understand the regulatory requirements so they can proactively audit loan files and correct any errors made by a third party lender before the loan is closed. When compliance is brought to the table early and included in new projects, a credit union is more likely to avoid operations that could put it at risk. Some credit unions even cross train business units staff in compliance which can help them prevent noncompliant activity. Credit union executive management and employees across the organization, especially those responsible for compliance, risk, auditing, legal, lending, operations and finance can attend NAFCUs upcoming fall session of its Regulatory Compliance School. This training is a great way to hone your expertise in compliance whether youre new to credit union compliance or need solid refresher of your core knowledge of credit union regulations. Regulatory Compliance School also offers the opportunity for any credit union professional to become certified as a NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer (NCCO). Currently, there are over 1,000 credit union professionals who have earned this award-winning designation and demonstrated their compliance knowledge by successfully passing four exams to become NCCOs. More will join their ranks in San Antonio, Texas, this October. NAFCU on Wednesday filed an amicus brief in support of an Alabama-based $1.4 million-asset community development credit union facing litigation over unclear website accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). NAFCU was joined in the filing by the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation). NRS Community Development Federal Credit Union is a credit union committed to financial inclusion and providing services to low- and moderate-income populations with limited access to affordable financial services. NAFCU will not stand by while a credit union is targeted by a meritless lawsuit over unclear rules, said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. NAFCU will continue to actively defend credit unions in this fight large or small as we have done from the beginning. Dont try to sleep it off get up! When you think of the job description of the chief minister of a state, the last thing that would come to mind is judging beauty pageants and their winners, especially, those that happened two decades ago. But this is exactly what Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb did while addressing a workshop for handlooms and handicrafts. The chief minister said: "We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden." There are so many things that are wrong with this statement that you'd be hard pressed to find a starting point. So we start at the beginning. Women are being likened to goddesses forgetting we are individuals with thoughts, feelings and opinions. It is much easier to slot us as divine figures without human characteristics or any taint of human flaws. But the irony is that just by glancing through a newspaper, we can quickly see that women are treated as anything but goddesses. Rapes, dowry deaths, domestic abuse, female foeticide, and so many more atrocities are committed against women every single day. Why then there exists this need to deify us? So that it restricts our ability to act independent of watertight narratives that refuse to see women as individuals beyond the structures of family, home, and religious and social morals. Mystify the woman, and keep her chained. Tie her to religion and family, and her "honour" will stay intact. Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb turns beauty pageant judge, questions how Diana Hayden won Miss World title #ITVideoFor more videos: https://t.co/Nounxo6IKQ pic.twitter.com/YIbpj7ZHfi India Today (@IndiaToday) April 27, 2018 Then, of course, there is the not-so-subtle racism inherent in seeing a fair-skinned woman like Aishwarya Rai as the ideal representation of an Indian woman. What makes Diana Hayden "less Indian"? What does it even mean to be Indian? For a country that is known for its diversity, it is dangerous to have just one interpretation of what "Indianness" means. Call it a colonial hangover, but the Indian obsession with fair skin, more so when it is tacitly endorsed by our leaders, further fuels the toxic relationship most Indians have with their skin tone. (Think matrimonial ads seeking only "fair" brides, the market dominance of fairness creams like Fair & Lovely, the prevalence of skin bleaching, to name a few). At a time when the fashion industry is witnessing a revolution centred around the idea of inclusion, and Indian models like Pooja Mor and Bhumika Arora are making a mark on the international runway, it is disappointing to note that perceptions within the country remain markedly grounded in the idea that "fair is beautiful". You would think that this madness would have stopped at that here, but it didn't. Deb went on to reveal his mindset brazenly. "Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country," he said. What is history to our political leaders? Anything can be rewritten these days. Forget that kajal has been used in India for centuries, or that the word "shampoo" comes from the Hindi word "champo". What matters here, according to Deb, is that Western beauty pageants have made Indian women vain. The proliferation of beauty parlours is a clear indication of the degradation of the moral values of the Indian woman. It is all a conspiracy to take over our culture and, in the process, our money, with women flocking to buy Western beauty products. The backlash was swift with activists like Kavita Krishnan terming Deb's statements as "stupid, sexist, and communal", and with Diana Hayden herself stating, "I am proud of my skin colour, and I am hurt with the comment." But is this enough? We can outrage and scream ourselves hoarse over all the sexist, racist, and misogynistic things that our leaders are uttering on a daily basis, but that doesn't change the fact that we are the ones who voted them to power in the first place. How can women expect to live dignified lives when the people tasked with upholding the rights of equality and dignity seem determined to undermine these very values? It's a classic damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Men objectify women. But also want women to be untainted goddesses. Here's a revolutionary thought: We are neither. Women are people. Before being somebody's daughter, sister, and mother (or goddess for that matter), women are individuals with the right to be treated with dignity and respect. And when it comes to what is "Indian" and what is not, there's this book. Our leaders should be told about it. It lists down in detail what it means to be Indian. They should give it a read. It's called the Constitution. Also read: Why Sanju is more about Ranbir Kapoor and the myth of poor star kids At a time when our institutions are going down like ninepins, the latest clamour from senior ministers in the government and those sympathetic to them, as well as "neutral" observers is that the Opposition should give up the business of opposing entirely. The fury of commentators on the Opposition parties' attempt to move a motion to impeach chief justice of India (CJI), Dipak Misra, is the latest example of this phenomenon. Those terming this as a move that will erode confidence of the general public in the judicial system, or more clearly, in the moral rectitude of the lordships in the Supreme Court need to remember that it was a group of four such eminences - justice Jasti Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph - who felt compelled to speak to the press on January 12, 2018, against Misra, who they felt had been compromised and was not in a position to discharge his duties without fear or favour. But the slide in the trust that the general public reposes in the judiciary did not begin with the historic "four judges' press conference". This slide perhaps existed since people started realising that irrespective of the quality of the judges, a judicial system that is heavily loaded in favour of the rich and influential cannot be relied upon to dispense justice. A popular or progressive judgment here or there cannot undo the frustration that ordinary people face with the judicial system. Dr Kafeel Khan, made scapegoat in the Gorakhpur tragedy where 63 children died due to lack of oxygen in a government hospital could not secure bail for eight months, while others in the administration, as well as the oxygen suppliers, seem to have evaded all accountability. One important aspect is that the public accepts the fact that the courts cannot by themselves step in every time the administration and prosecuting agencies - willingly or unwittingly - fail in their duties. This provides the lordships a certain degree of protection from the anger of people. They understand the reality of judicial processes which was best summed up by judge Sundar Lal Tripathi in the popular Bollywood film Jolly LLB when Tripathi lamented that even when the judge knows what is going on, his hands are tied till foolproof evidence is produced before him in court. But public trust is shattered when doubts are raised over the CJI's conduct. It is no doubt unfortunate and jeopardises the judiciary as an institution but to demand that opposing voices in politics, media and civil society do nothing in the face of such allegations is to bury one's head in the sand. If one were to go by finance minister Arun Jaitley's recent views, the Opposition parties should not be demanding accountability of the government in Parliament either. On March 13, 2018, during the Budget session that just passed, Lok Sabha speaker, Sumitra Mahajan, who ensured that two finance bills and 218 amendments were passed without debate in 30 minutes, was unable to admit a no-confidence motion against the government because she could not count the number of representations amid the cacophony in the House. The Lok Sabha and the Supreme Court, of course, join the Reserve Bank of India, in the growing list of institutions that have come under a cloud of doubt. Our institutions have been unable to withstand a government with authoritarian tendencies, and while they may have had internal weaknesses for long, the miraculous ability of most institutions in our country has been one to muddle along, making incremental progress. In one fell swoop, some of our most important institutions have collapsed, with no recovery in sight. Most of us today accept that these institutions are broken, but there is little consensus on what will fix them. Here is what will not fix them - not questioning their functioning. These institutions are supposed to check the excesses of the government of the day. In a highly politicised society like ours, while there will always be a role for non-political actors, it will take the will of the political class to mount a strong opposition to ensure established institutions do not fail. Finally, it is crucial to remember that this discussion is framed in terms of the government and the Opposition, irrespective of which political party happens to occupy power and which one occupies the Opposition benches. The call to "save the Constitution" is a timely one, because by upholding the Constitution in its letter and spirit, we will not be favouring any particular party, but democracy itself. The Opposition, by no means, should give up opposing. At the same time, one should not lower their guard when the political tables are turned. As we must know, eternal vigilance is the price of democracy. Also read: Of 58 MPs and MLAs accused of hate speech, 27 belong to BJP the poison must be stopped from spreading The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc.. The following companies are subsidiares of Sonic Automotive: AM GA LLC, AM Realty GA LLC, AnTrev LLC, Arngar Inc., Autobahn Inc., Avalon Ford Inc., Car Cash of North Carolina Inc., Cornerstone Acceptance Corporation, ECHOPARK: AM GA LLC, ECHOPARK: AM Realty GA LLC, ECHOPARK: EP Realty NC LLC, ECHOPARK: EP Realty SC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark AZ LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark CA LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark Driver Education LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark FL LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark NC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark Realty TX LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark SC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark TX LLC, ECHOPARK: Echopark Automotive Inc., ECHOPARK: SAI DS LLC, ECHOPARK: SAI DS Realty TX LLC, ECHOPARK: SAI Vehicle Subscription Inc., ECHOPARK: TT Denver LLC, ECHOPARK: TTRE CO 1 LLC, FAA Beverly Hills Inc., FAA Capitol N Inc., FAA Concord H Inc., FAA Concord T Inc., FAA Dublin N Inc., FAA Dublin VWD Inc., FAA Holding Corp., FAA Las Vegas H Inc., FAA Poway H Inc., FAA Poway T Inc., FAA San Bruno Inc., FAA Santa Monica V Inc., FAA Serramonte H Inc., FAA Serramonte Inc., FAA Serramonte L Inc., FAA Stevens Creek Inc., FAA Torrance CPJ Inc., FirstAmerica Automotive Inc., Fort Mill Ford Inc., Franciscan Motors Inc., Frontier Oldsmobile-Cadillac Inc., Kramer Motors Incorporated, L Dealership Group Inc., Marcus David Corporation, Massey Cadillac Inc. (TN-MI), Mountain States Motors Co. Inc., North Point Imports LLC, Ontario L LLC, Philpott Motors Ltd., SAI AL HC1 Inc., SAI AL HC2 Inc., SAI Ann Arbor Imports LLC, SAI Atlanta B LLC, SAI Broken Arrow C LLC, SAI Calabasas A LLC, SAI Chamblee V LLC, SAI Charlotte M LLC, SAI Chattanooga N LLC, SAI Clearwater T LLC, SAI Cleveland N LLC, SAI Columbus Motors LLC, SAI Columbus T LLC, SAI Columbus VWK LLC, SAI Conroe N LLC, SAI Denver B Inc., SAI Denver C Inc., SAI Denver M Inc., SAI FL HC1 Inc., SAI FL HC2 Inc., SAI FL HC3 Inc., SAI FL HC4 Inc., SAI FL HC7 Inc., SAI Fairfax B LLC, SAI Fort Myers B LLC, SAI Fort Myers H LLC, SAI Fort Myers M LLC, SAI Fort Myers VW LLC, SAI GA HC1 LLC, SAI Irondale Imports LLC, SAI Irondale L LLC, SAI Long Beach B Inc., SAI MD HC1 Inc., SAI McKinney M LLC, SAI Monrovia B Inc., SAI Montgomery B LLC, SAI Montgomery BCH LLC, SAI Montgomery CH LLC, SAI Nashville CSH LLC, SAI Nashville H LLC, SAI Nashville M LLC, SAI Nashville Motors LLC, SAI OK HC1 Inc., SAI Oklahoma City C LLC, SAI Oklahoma City H LLC, SAI Oklahoma City T LLC, SAI Orlando CS LLC, SAI Peachtree LLC, SAI Pensacola A LLC, SAI Philpott T LLC, SAI Riverside C LLC, SAI Roaring Fork LR Inc., SAI Rockville Imports LLC, SAI Rockville L LLC, SAI S. Atlanta JLR LLC, SAI SIC Inc., SAI Santa Clara K Inc., SAI Stone Mountain T LLC, SAI TN HC1 LLC, SAI TN HC2 LLC, SAI TN HC3 LLC, SAI Tulsa N LLC, SAI Tulsa T LLC, SAI Tysons Corner H LLC, SAI Tysons Corner I LLC, SAI VA HC1 Inc., SAI VS GA LLC, SAI VS TX LLC, SAI Vehicle Subscription Inc., SAI West Houston B LLC, SRE Alabama 2 LLC, SRE Alabama 5 LLC, SRE Alabama 6 LLC, SRE California 10 LBB LLC, SRE California 11 PH LLC, SRE California 1 LLC, SRE California 2 LLC, SRE California 3 LLC, SRE California 4 LLC, SRE California 5 LLC, SRE California 6 LLC, SRE California 7 SCB LLC, SRE California 8 SCH LLC, SRE California 9 BHB LLC, SRE Colorado 1 LLC, SRE Colorado 2 LLC, SRE Colorado 3 LLC, SRE Colorado 4 RF LLC, SRE Colorado 5 CC LLC, SRE Florida 1 LLC, SRE Florida 2 LLC, SRE Georgia 4 LLC, SRE Georgia 5 LLC, SRE Georgia 6 LLC, SRE Holding LLC, SRE Maryland 1 LLC, SRE Nevada 2 LLC, SRE North Carolina 2 LLC, SRE North Carolina 3 LLC, SRE Ohio 1 LLC, SRE Ohio 2 LLC, SRE Oklahoma 1 LLC, SRE Oklahoma 2 LLC, SRE Oklahoma 5 LLC, SRE South Carolina 2 LLC, SRE South Carolina 3 LLC, SRE South Carolina 4 LLC, SRE Tennessee 6 LLC, SRE Tennessee 7 LLC, SRE Tennessee 1 LLC, SRE Tennessee 2 LLC, SRE Tennessee 3 LLC, SRE Tennessee 4 LLC, SRE Tennessee 5 LLC, SRE Texas 10 LLC, SRE Texas 11 LLC, SRE Texas 12 LLC, SRE Texas 13 LLC, SRE Texas 14 LLC, SRE Texas 15 LLC, SRE Texas 16 LLC, SRE Texas 9 LLC, SRE Texas 1 LP, SRE Texas 2 LP, SRE Texas 3 LP, SRE Texas 4 LP, SRE Texas 5 LP, SRE Texas 6 LP, SRE Texas 7 LP, SRE Texas 8 LP, SRE Virginia - 1 LLC, SRE Virginia 2 LLC, SRM Assurance Ltd., Santa Clara Imported Cars Inc., Sonic 2185 Chapman Rd. Chattanooga LLC, Sonic Advantage PA LP, Sonic Automotive - 1720 Mason Ave. DB LLC, Sonic Automotive 2424 Laurens Rd. Greenville Inc., Sonic Automotive 2752 Laurens Rd. Greenville Inc., Sonic Automotive Aviation LLC, Sonic Automotive F&I LLC, Sonic Automotive Support LLC, Sonic Automotive West LLC, Sonic Automotive of Chattanooga LLC, Sonic Automotive of Nashville LLC, Sonic Automotive of Nevada Inc., Sonic Automotive of Texas LP, Sonic Automotive 1495 Automall Drive Columbus Inc., Sonic Automotive 1720 Mason Ave. DB Inc., Sonic Automotive 2490 South Lee Highway LLC, Sonic Automotive 3401 N. Main TX LP, Sonic Automotive 4701 I-10 East TX LP, Sonic Automotive 6008 N. Dale Mabry FL Inc., Sonic Automotive 9103 E. Independence NC LLC, Sonic Calabasas M Inc., Sonic Development LLC, Sonic Divisional Operations LLC, Sonic FFC 1 Inc., Sonic FFC 2 Inc., Sonic FFC 3 Inc., Sonic Fremont Inc., Sonic Houston JLR LP, Sonic Houston LR LP, Sonic Momentum B LP, Sonic Momentum JVP LP, Sonic Momentum VWA LP, Sonic Resources Inc., Sonic Santa Monica M Inc., Sonic Santa Monica S Inc., Sonic Walnut Creek M Inc., Sonic Wilshire Cadillac Inc., Sonic eStore Inc., Sonic of Texas Inc., Sonic Buena Park H Inc., Sonic Cadillac D LP, Sonic Calabasas A Inc., Sonic Calabasas V Inc., Sonic Camp Ford LP, Sonic Capitol Cadillac Inc., Sonic Capitol Imports Inc., Sonic Carrollton V LP, Sonic Carson F Inc., Sonic Carson LM Inc., Sonic Clear Lake N LP, Sonic Clear Lake Volkswagen LP, Sonic Denver T Inc., Sonic Downey Cadillac Inc., Sonic Fort Mill Chrysler Jeep Inc., Sonic Fort Mill Dodge Inc., Sonic Fort Worth T LP, Sonic Frank Parra Autoplex LP, Sonic Harbor City H Inc., Sonic Houston V LP, Sonic Integrity Dodge LV LLC, Sonic Jersey Village Volkswagen LP, Sonic LS Chevrolet LP, Sonic LS LLC, Sonic Lake Norman Chrysler Jeep LLC, Sonic Las Vegas C West LLC, Sonic Lloyd Nissan Inc., Sonic Lloyd Pontiac Cadillac Inc., Sonic Lone Tree Cadillac Inc., Sonic Lute Riley LP, Sonic Massey Cadillac LP, Sonic Massey Chevrolet Inc., Sonic Mesquite Hyundai LP, Sonic Newsome Chevrolet World Inc., Sonic Newsome of Florence Inc., Sonic North Charleston Dodge Inc., Sonic North Charleston Inc., Sonic Plymouth Cadillac Inc., Sonic Richardson F LP, Sonic Sanford Cadillac Inc., Sonic Shottenkirk Inc., Sonic Stevens Creek B Inc., Sonic Volvo LV LLC, Sonic West Covina T Inc., Sonic Williams Cadillac Inc., Stevens Creek Cadillac Inc., The Sonic Automotive Family Emergency Fund (SAFE), Town and Country Ford Incorporated, and Windward Inc.. Navigant Consulting, Inc. provides professional services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services Advisory and Compliance. The Healthcare segment offers consulting and business process management services to healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences companies. This segment helps clients respond to market legislative changes, such as the shift to an outcome and value-based reimbursements model, ongoing industry consolidation and reorganization, Medicaid expansion, the implementation of a electronic health records system, and product planning and commercialization expertise. The Energy segment provides life-cycle solutions that help clients businesses in changing energy environment, manage complexity, accelerate operational performance, and meet compliance requirements, as well as transform its organizations and systems; and various benchmarking, and data and market research services. This segment serves utility and energy companies, government and nongovernmental organizations, large corporations, product manufacturers, and investors. The Financial Services Advisory and Compliance segment provides strategic, operational, valuation, risk management, investigative, and compliance advisory services to financial services industry, including financial and insurance institutions. This segment also offers anti-corruption solutions and anti-money laundering consulting, litigation support, and tax compliance services. Navigant Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More Navistar International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells commercial trucks, diesel engines, school and commercial buses, and service parts for trucks and diesel engines worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Truck, Parts, Global Operations, and Financial Services. It manufactures and distributes Class 4 through 8 trucks and buses in the common carrier, private carrier, government, leasing, construction, energy/petroleum, and student and commercial transportation markets under the International and IC brands; and designs, engineers, and produces sheet metal components, including truck cabs and engines. The company also provides customers with proprietary products needed to support the International commercial truck, IC bus, and engine lines, as well as other product lines; and a selection of other standard truck, trailer, and engine aftermarket parts. In addition, it manufactures and distributes mid-range diesel engines, as well as provides customers with additional engine offerings in the agriculture, marine, genset, and light truck markets; sells engines to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for various on-and-off-road applications; and offers contract manufacturing services under the MWM brand to OEMs for the assembly of their engines. Further, the company provides retail, wholesale, and lease financing of products of its trucks and parts, as well as financing for wholesale and retail accounts receivable. Additionally, it exports trucks, buses, and engines. The company markets its commercial products through an independent dealer network, as well as through retail outlets; and its reconditioned used trucks to owner-operators and fleet buyers through its network of used truck dealers. It operates approximately 1,052 outlets in the United States and Canada, and 89 outlets in Mexico. Navistar International Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois. Read More Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional and non-traditional life and health reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Latin America; Canada; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Corporate and Other. The U.S. and Latin America segment markets individual and group life and health reinsurance to domestic clients for a variety of products through yearly renewable term agreements, coinsurance, and modified coinsurance. The Canada segment offers individual life reinsurance, and to a lesser extent creditor, group life and health, critical illness and disability reinsurance, through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment serves individual and group life and health products through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements, reinsurance of critical illness coverage that provides a benefit in the event of the diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness and underwritten annuities. The Asia Pacific segment comprises individual and group life and health reinsurance, critical illness coverage, disability, and superannuation thr Read More Validus Holdings, Ltd. provides reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage, and insurance linked securities management services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Reinsurance, Insurance, and Asset Management. The Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance products on a catastrophe excess of loss, per risk excess of loss and proportional basis; and aerospace and aviation, agriculture, composite, marine, technical lines, terrorism, trade credit, workers' compensation, and other specialty lines, as well as casualty and financial lines. The Insurance segment underwrites property, accident and health, agriculture, aviation, contingency, marine, and political lines insurance products; bankers blanket bond, commercial crime, computer crime, cyber- crime, professional indemnity, and directors' and officers' insurance products for various financial institutions and other companies; and commercial and institutional risks comprising general, professional, and product liability, as well as miscellaneous malpractice insurance products. This segment also underwrites marine and energy liability, and political risk insurance products, as well as insurance products for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of aircrafts and premises for small companies. The Asset Management segment manages capital for third parties through insurance-linked securities, and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments. Validus Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Barnes Group: AS Monterrey S. de R.L. de C.V., Adval Tech - Foboha Mold Making Business, Associated Spring (Tianjin) Company Ltd., Associated Spring (UK) Ltd., Associated Spring Asia Pte. Ltd., Associated Spring Corporation, Associated Spring Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Associated Spring Raymond (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Associated Spring Raymond GmbH, Associated Spring do Brasil Ltda., Barnes Airmotive Malaysia SND. BHD., Barnes Financing Delaware LLC, Barnes Group (Bermuda) Limited, Barnes Group (Delaware) LLC, Barnes Group (Germany) GmbH, Barnes Group (Scotland) Limited, Barnes Group (Thailand) Ltd., Barnes Group (U.K.) 2 Limited, Barnes Group (U.K.) Limited, Barnes Group Acquisition GmbH, Barnes Group Canada Corp., Barnes Group Finance Company (Bermuda) Limited, Barnes Group Finance Company (Delaware), Barnes Group Holding LLC, Barnes Group Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a r.l., Barnes Group Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a r.l., Barnes Group Spain S.R.L., Barnes Group Suisse Industries GmbH, Barnes Group Switzerland GmbH, Barnes Industrial Group India Private Limited, Barnes Korea Ltd., Barnes Molding Solutions (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Blitz F16-34 GmbH, Curtis Industries, Curtiss Industries (U.K.) Limited, Di-Dro Manifold System Product Line, Euro Stock Springs & Components, Foboha (Germany) GmbH, Foboha Holding GmbH, Forward Industries LLC, GF Controls GmbH, Gammaflux, Gammaflux Controls Inc., Gimatic, Gimatic Automation Engineering (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Gimatic Automation India Pvt Ltd. , Gimatic Automation Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gimatic Balkan d.o.o. Beograd Savski Venac, Gimatic Czech Republic s.r.o., Gimatic France S.a.r.l., Gimatic Japan Limited, Gimatic Korea Limited, Gimatic Nordic A.B., Gimatic Otomasyon Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Gimatic Polska sp. z o.o, Gimatic S.r.l., Gimatic Sisteme RO SRL, Gimatic Sistemi industrijska avtomatizacija d.o.o., Gimatic Spain S.L., Gimatic Vertrieb GmbH, Gimatrade S.r.l., Heinz Haenggi Gmbh Stanztechnik, Industrial Gas Springs, Industrial Gas Springs Group Holdings Limited, Industrial Gas Springs Inc., Industrial Gas Springs Limited, Kar Products, Kratz-Wilde Machine Co, MTM S.r.l., Manner Hong Kong Limited, Manner USA Inc., Orflam - Nitropush Product Line, Otto Manner, Otto Manner GmbH, Otto Manner Immobilien GmbH, Otto Manner Innovation GmbH, Premier Farnell - KENT Division, Priamus System Technologies, Priamus System Technologies GmbH, Priamus System Technologies LLC, Raymond Distribution-Mexico S.A. de C.V., Resortes Argentina S.A., Ressorts SPEC SAS, Seeger-Orbis GmbH & Co. OHG, Service Plus Distributors, Sign Holdings Limited, Spectrum Plastics Molding Resources, Stromsholmen AB, Synventive Acquisition B.V., Synventive Acquisition GmbH, Synventive Acquisition Inc., Synventive Acquisition UK Ltd., Synventive Acquisition Unlimited, Synventive B.V., Synventive Fertigungstechnik GmbH, Synventive Holding B.V., Synventive Holding Limited, Synventive Holding SAS, Synventive Molding Solutions, Synventive Molding Solutions (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions B.V., Synventive Molding Solutions Canada Inc., Synventive Molding Solutions Co. Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions GmbH, Synventive Molding Solutions Inc., Synventive Molding Solutions JBJ Private Limited, Synventive Molding Solutions K.K., Synventive Molding Solutions LDA, Synventive Molding Solutions LLC, Synventive Molding Solutions LTDA., Synventive Molding Solutions Limited, Synventive Molding Solutions Pte Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions SAS, Synventive Molding Solutions SL, Synventive Molding Solutions s.r.o., Synventive Parent Inc., Teledyne Fluid Systems, The Wallace Barnes Company, Thermoplay, Thermoplay Brasil Sistemas de Injecao Ltda, Thermoplay Deutschland GmbH, Thermoplay France S.a.r.l., Thermoplay Hot Runner Systems (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Thermoplay India Private Limited, Thermoplay Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Thermoplay S.p.A., Thermoplay U.K. Ltd., Toolcom Supplie, Windsor Airmotive Asia Pte. Ltd., and manner Japan Co. Ltd.. Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities .The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates. The Acetate Tow segment serves consumer-driven applications and is a global producer and supplier of acetate tow and acetate flake used in filter products applications. The Acetyl Chain segment includes the integrated chain of intermediate chemistry, emulsion polymers and ethylene vinyl acetate (""EVA"") polymers businesses, based on similar products, production processes, classes of customers and selling and distribution practices as well as economic similarities over a normal business cycle. The Other Activities segment consists of corporate center costs, including administrative activities such as finance, information technology and human resource functions, interest income and expense associated with financing activities. The company was founded by Camille Dreyfus and Henri Dreyfus in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, TX. Read More Siltronic AG, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells semiconductor silicon wafers with diameters of up to 300 mm worldwide. The company offers polished and epitaxial wafers. The company also provides special products, such as Ultimate Silicon, an optimal crystal for polished wafers; PowerFZ wafers; and HiREF high reflective non-polished wafers. Its silicon wafers are used in computers, smartphones, flat screens, navigation systems, and other applications. The company was formerly known as Wacker Siltronic AG and changed its name to Siltronic AG in 2004. Siltronic AG was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V.. International rating agency Fitch on Friday affirmed the ratings on the country's largest automaker by revenue, Tata Motors, at BB+ with a stable outlook. Mumbai: International rating agency Fitch on Friday affirmed the ratings on the country's largest automaker by revenue, Tata Motors, at BB+ with a stable outlook. The ratings, which includes a one-notch uplift from its standalone rating of 'BB' on its linkage with Tata Sons Limited (TSOL), reflects its leading position in the domestic commercial-vehicle market and the passenger-vehicle business, which is recovering after the success of new product launches in recent years, Fitch said a statement. The rating also reflects the strong positioning of its 100 per cent-owned subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, which has a rating of BB+/stable outlook, in the premium segment and a strong financial profile. JLR's operating profit accounted for over 85 per cent of Tata Motors' consolidated operating profit in fiscal year 2017. "The stable outlook reflects our expectations of a gradual improvement in the profitability and strong financial flexibility, which will help meet significant investment requirements, especially in JLR, without any liquidity concerns and support the company's leverage at a level commensurate with the current rating," the agency said. Fitch has cited the improving domestic business as one of the major reasons for the rating as pointed to the leading position of the company in the domestic commercial-vehicle segment after product launches that addressed portfolio gaps. Its volume grew by 9 per cent year on year in medium and heavy commercial vehicles and 23 per cent in light commercial vehicles in FY18. The overall market share rose to 47.5 per cent as of December 2017 from 44.4 per cent as of March 2017, according to the industry lobby, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, data. "We expect CV demand to remain healthy in the next 12 -18 months, supported by an improving economy and government plans to ramp up infrastructure outlays," Fitch said. On its car business, the report said, the company's strategy to increase presence in different sub-segments has helped it regain some of its lost market share which rose to 6.2 per cent as of December 2017 from 5.2 per cent as of March 2017 as volume gained 21 per cent in FY18. Its volume in the growing SUV market surged more than 150 per cent in FY18 thanks to the Nexon and Hexa. London: Nearly 800 Indian companies in Britain had a combined revenue of 46.4 billion pounds, employed nearly 105,000 people and paid 360 million pounds in corporation tax over the previous year, a new report said, emphasising that Indian investment remains integral to post-Brexit growth in the UK. The 'India Meets Britain Tracker 2018', released annually by professional services major Grant Thornton in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has identified a record 87 fast-growing Indian companies in Britain to conclude that Indian investment remains integral to post-Brexit growth in the UK. "The report clearly shows that the UK remains a highly attractive destination for Indian investors, said Anuj Chande, Head of South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK, yesterday. "Following the Brexit vote, the UK economy is in a period of flux as it looks at how to reinvigorate its role as a global trading nation and seeks to forge new trade deals. The UK cannot overlook the significance of the Indian economy (set to be the third-largest in the world by 2030) and must ensure that, beyond Brexit, it remains a leading investment destination, he added. This year's Tracker highlights 87 fast-growing Indian companies in the UK, as well as the top Indian employers, and provides insight into the evolving scale, business activities, locations and performance of the Indian-owned companies making the biggest impact in the UK. The top five fastest-growing Indian companies and employers in Britain have been identified as TMT Metal Holdings Ltd, Wipro Holdings UK Ltd, Piramal Imaging Ltd, Tata Group firm TCNA UK Ltd, Route Mobile UK Ltd. "The phenomenal growth rate just goes to show that Brexit or no Brexit, the UK remains a very important partner for India," said Y K Sinha, the Indian high commissioner to the UK. To be included in the Tracker, now in its fifth year, Indian corporates must have a minimum two-year track record in the UK, turnover of more than 5 million pounds and year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10 per cent, based on the latest published accounts filed as at February 28, 2018. The companies that made it to the tracker achieved an average annual growth rate of 44 per cent, with seven companies seeing turnover growth of more than 100 per cent. Companies in technology and telecoms and pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectors have again featured strongly and this year make up 20 per cent and 16 per cent of the list respectively. For the first time this year, companies from the engineering and manufacturing sector came joint second in the number of companies in the tracker. This year's report also identifies operating profits of 2.25 billion pounds for Indian companies operating in the UK. This year for the first time the tracker also identified that 19 per cent of these fast growing Indian companies in the UK had women on their boards. "At a time when the UK is forging a future outside of the European Union, it will be looking to strengthen its ties with long-standing partners like India. The Indian economy is forecast to grow substantially and what the UK must focus on is both creating new and maintaining existing investment opportunities as it competes for India's investment on a global platform, said Shuchita Sonalika, Director and Head of CII UK. Of the 87 companies that made the cut for 2018, 22 had featured in last year's list as well and one-third of the total number of firms recorded an impressive growth rate of over 50 per cent. ondon strengthened its dominance as the leading destination for Indian investment, with over half of the fast-growing firms now based in the British capital, up from 44 per cent in 2017 and 39 per cent in 2016. Seven companies in the ranking achieved turnover growth of more than 100 per cent, including TMT Metal Holdings Ltd, Route Mobile (UK) Ltd and Accord Healthcare Ltd, and four companies appear in the Tracker for the fifth consecutive year Accord Healthcare Ltd, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd, Milpharm Ltd, and Secure Meters (UK) Ltd. Wipro, Union Bank of India, Accord Healthcare and Secure Meters were also recognised with Grant Thornton 2018 awards for an impressive fast growth trajectory in their respective sectors. New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday exhorted insurance companies to shun "hypocrisy", asking them to focus on road safety initiatives and not just keep thriving on hefty premiums. "I am unhappy with insurance companies....they charge hefty premiums but make no contribution to road safety ...Automobile manufactures have huge profit margins...I don't buy this hypocrisy," the minister said at an event here. Insurance companies all over the world whether in the US, UK or Europe, contribute significantly towards road safety programme but their approach in India is callous, the minister said. If there are less accidents, the biggest beneficiaries will be insurers but they don't contribute in this area which is not good, he said adding the ministry had approached insurers to join hands in this regard but they failed to even respond. An official told PTI that only after several reminders GIC agreed to take up the issue seriously. Gadkari said India unfortunately accounted for maximum global road accidents at 5 lakh per annum in which 1.5 lakh people lost lives annually. But, there is sheer lack of sensitivity among insurers and automakers. "Sixty-nine per cent victims of road crashes are young. Every day 30 children lose their lives," but these fail to move the insurers, he said. The minister also asked people to take snapshots of trucks without side and back protection and vehicles with faulty designs and send them on mParivahan mobile app for action against RTOs who allow such vehicles. He said such RTOs will face FIRs. Besides, he had asked railway ministry to see whether red and green signals can be installed at railway crossings to avert mishaps, Gadkari said. He said once the Motor Vehicle Bill is passed in Parliament, widespread reforms are expected in the transport sector as the Bill has hefty penalties and stricter norms for violators of traffic norms. He said only those people were opposing the Bill who have vested interests. Indias rice exports surged 18 per cent from a year ago to a record 12.7 million tonnes in 2017-18. Mumbai: Indias rice exports surged 18 per cent from a year ago to a record 12.7 million tonnes in 2017-18 on good demand for non basmati rice from Bangladesh, Benin and Sri Lanka, a government body said in a statement. The countrys buffalo meat exports in the year ended March 31 rose nearly 2 per cent to 1.35 million tonnes on upbeat demand from Vietnam, Malaysia and Egypt, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said. Guar gum exports during the period rose nearly 18 per cent to 494,126 tonnes as US shale oil producers raised buying, the data showed. India is the worlds biggest exporter of rice, buffalo meat and guar gum. Mumbai: Karan Johar is proud of his 2010 blockbuster 'My Name is Khan' but the director says if he had a chance to revisit the film he would have made some technical changes to make the movie look better. The film was about an Indian Muslim man Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), with Asperger's syndrome who embarks on a journey to meet the President of the United States of America and attempts to change people's perception about his religion after 9/11 attacks. Johar said if he had the chance to revisit the film he would have directed the 'hurricane' sequence again. "When a film is made you do get a chance of evaluation of what is right and what is wrong. Every time I see my films, I feel there is a scope for improvement. There is a hurricane section in the film where I felt in a direction I did not do it well. It was my mistake. So, if I had (the chance to) revisit I could have changed that 15 minutes scene. I am proud of the communication of the film, I am proud of the context of the film. I am proud of Rizwan Khan, played by Shah Rukh Khan and the way he played the character, and the message. I was very proud of it. I am grateful to writer Shibani Bathija," Johar told reporters at a song launch event, where 6-Pack Band 2.0 released their new track 'Jhakkad Pakkad Dance'. The Six Pack Band first made headlines with its 'Hum Hain Happy' in January 2016. The new band focuses on mental health and disability and the filmmaker has joined the cause to change the way one perceives differently abled children. The new group comprises of six teens between the ages of 13 to 18 with special needs but incredible music skills, drive and passion. The band has been conceived and produced by Ashish Patil, Head of Y-Films, the youth wing of Yash Raj Films and curated by Shameer Tandon. "This his is not just about autism, we have kick started our campaign with this. Our intent is to try and cover the entire spectrum of mental health challenges or disabilities so be it dyslexia, down syndrome or dysgraphia or anxiety or depression. We are going to be relentless. There are six songs, six music videos hopefully with really interesting collaborations. We are not looking for sympathy but for strength," Patil said. Summer usually sees a bonanza of film releases. Saakshyam with Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas and Pooja Hegde in the lead pair is all set to release on June 14. Producer Abhishek Nama announced it officially and says that the films shooting is about to be completed soon. Director Sriwass says the films story is unique. Though he has not revealed much, he says that it is a screenplay-based film. For Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas, the film will be the best in his career as he has worked really hard on it. After a hectic schedule in USA, we are now back in India and starting our shoot at Rajahmundry, informs Abhishek. The film is a different concept with a blend of modernity and Hindu devotion in the backdrop of nature playing the part of witness, he adds. The doodle is made by guest artist Sonali Zohra, which shows the transformative poet busy penning her thoughts into beautiful verses. New Delhi: Google on Friday celebrated Hindi poet, freedom fighter, woman's rights activist and educationist Mahadevi Varma through its doodle. On this date, in 1982, Varma received the Jnanpith Award for her outstanding contributions to Indian literature. The doodle is made by guest artist Sonali Zohra, which shows the transformative poet busy penning her thoughts into beautiful verses. Also known as 'modern Meera', she was born on March 26, 1907, in Farukhabad into an orthodox family. Though she was married at the age of nine in 1916, Varma remained at her parental home and continued her education at Crossthwaite Girls' School in Allahabad. As per the Google blog, "While both parents encouraged their daughter to pursue her education, it was Varma's mother who inspired her daughter to write in Sanskrit and Hindi." While pursuing master degree in Sanskrit, she penned her first verses in secret - only to be discovered by her roommate and friend, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan (herself a well-known poet). "Today, Varma is considered one of the foundational poets of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi literature," the blog further read. "Varma's poignant poetry, and later, essays, often centered on the experience of being a woman. Her feminist work appeared in magazines and books, and her collection of short stories, "Sketches from My Past," portrays the women she encountered while principal of an all-girls school. While she was a firm supporter of women's rights, Varma also explored the topics of tradition and the past with great fondness," it added. She was also honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1956, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1979, and Padma Vibhushan in 1988. 17 years after the 9/11 horrific attacks, several studies have investigated how thousands of brave people who rushed to the scene to help have a high risk of a range of health issues from PTSD to cancer. As the victims age, new research discovers just how deadly the repercussions of the attack on New York City are still being felt for so many affected by it. Recently, two reports have found survivors of September 11 are at higher risk of cancers than previously believed, the Daily Mail reported. This is because the chemicals they were exposed to make the disease more aggressive. Researchers say surviving first-responders are developing cancer almost 10 to 15 years earlier than the general population. The second study has found that survivors are more prone to the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma. They develop a very aggressive form of it 15 years earlier than the general population. It is also challenging to treat. "If you just stick to the data and you see they are 10 to 15 years younger than the general population, it's a more aggressive myeloma, and there is a doubling of the rate of the precursor," Dr Ola Landgren, author of the myeloma study and top oncologist at of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. Adding, "Clearly, something is going on. We have learned quite a lot over the last few years about exposures to certain types of chemicals, and we are now more aware of the connection." Both reports were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, American Cancer Society doctor Otis Brawley suggests more research needs to be done to investigate how much of this is related to occupation hazard versus consequence of the attacks on the World Trade Centre. In the report, Brawley said: "The predicted increases in cancers of the prostate, thyroid, and myeloma are interesting. Excess incidence and mortality for these cancers have been previously reported in firefighters from other cities. Are the predicted increases due to WTC [World Trade Centre] exposure or a career as a firefighter?" Boston: Facebook and Twitter while cold, wet and humid days could lead to negative expressions on social media, according to a study. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found that weather patterns can influence how we express ourselves on social media, and people are less likely to post positive sentiments when the temperatures soar above 30 degrees Celsius. To examine the association between weather conditions and expressed sentiments, researchers from Vancouver School of Economics in Canada and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US gathered 2.4 billion posts from Facebook and 1.1 billion from Twitter between the years 2009 and 2016. They analysed the sentiment for each post using a special tool that categorises posts based on keywords as positive or negative. The study found that temperature, precipitation, humidity, and cloud cover each were strongly associated with an expression of sentiment, whether positive or negative. Positive expressions increase up to 20 degrees Celsius and decline as the temperature goes over 30 degrees Celsius. They also found that precipitation was associated with more negative expressed sentiment. Days with a humidity level of 80 per cent or higher were associated with negative expressions, as were days with a high amount of cloud cover. While the sentiment analysis tool used is imperfect, this study can help provide insight into how weather conditions might impact sentiments expressed via social media, which can act as a proxy for underlying human emotional states, researchers said. Understanding the potential impact of weather on our emotions is important considering our constant exposure to weather conditions. "We find that how we express ourselves is shaped by the weather outside," said Nick Obradovich from MIT. "Adverse weather conditions - hot and cold temperatures, precipitation, added humidity, and increased cloud cover - reduce the sentiment of human expressions across billions of social media posts drawn from millions of US residents," he said. Austin can only communicate through eye movement and a spelling chart - the method she used to pen her book, In the Blink of an Eye. (Facebook Screengrab/ Mia Austin) A young woman who was left paralysed from the neck down after suffering a severe stroke has written a book using only her eyes. Mia Austin, 29, was just 21 years old when a stroke left her trapped in her own body, unable to speak. Diagnosed with locked in syndrome, a condition doctors describe as the closest thing to being buried alive:, she can see, hear, and think as normal, but cannot move from the neck down and has to be fed through a tube. Austin can only communicate through eye movement and a spelling chart - the method she used to pen her book, In the Blink of an Eye. In her introduction, Austin writes: I must have woken on the morning of November 16 2009, totally oblivious as to what was going to happen because I'd been to work, as usual, nothing different, followed by the gym where I did my normal workout. She further writes, I went straight in to tell my mum how badly Id done (at the gym) and she replied Theres always tomorrow...How ironic. Welcome to my story all about me. Now you can get into the head of a stroke victim, she then elaborates. After Austin suffered the stroke at her home in Wirral, doctors told her family to expect the worst. They didnt believe Austin, who was put on a life support machine at Arrowe Park Hospital, Merseyside, would survive the night. However, as they were preparing to withdraw life support, Austin opened her eyes. Despite being completely immobile, doctors realised she could still see, hear and think as normal and she was diagnosed with locked in syndrome a week later. Speaking of his daughters book, Austins father Rick said: Personally, I feel incredibly proud of Mia. To write a book in quite literally a blink of an eye is outstanding. It took her around one year to write but it was a very laborious task, using her eyes to choose each letter. The family, including Austins bother Sam, 32, and sister Sophie, 25, all helped Austin using a spelling chart to write poems and short stories in the hospital. Carole said, As you can imagine using the spelling graph took forever, it was very tiring for her, it is so much easier now she has the special computer. The book sees Austin write about her experiences and addresses all the questions everyone probably wants to know but are too polite to ask. The book is by no means Austins only incredible feat of determination. She completed a criminology course at Wirral Metropolitan College in 2017 before signing up for a forensics course with the Open University. And this year she will begin another course in criminal justice. The fable has it that the charioteer Sanjaya spoke of the war to the king through his divine vision. Twitterati had a hearty laugh when Tripura CM Biplab Deb said the internet helped King Dhritarashtras advisers track developments in the battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas. Indians have been using internet since the times of Mahabharata. This is the only explanation of how Sanjaya could narrate the entire tale of the battle of Kurukshetra to blind king Dhritarashtra without physically being present at the event, he said. Internet existed long ago in our country. It may have got lost in the middle but India was top in technology since the times of Mahabharata. The fable has it that the charioteer Sanjaya spoke of the war to the king through his divine vision. But BJP leaders have this habit of talking of ancient India as the fount of all virtues, technology, devices like Pushpak Viman a kind of aeroplane and now internet and satellite communications. They have been expounding all sorts of theories about the great civilisation in the Indus Valley and after. Even the Prime Minister said there was plastic surgery in those times. His ministers chipped in saying Charles Darwin was wrong about evolution since no one saw man emerge from monkey. Where Biplab Deb outdid the others in his fantasising is he triggered the imagination of Twitterati into offering all kinds of humorous takes on the subject of Wi-Fi in Mahabharata. We have not had more of a laugh since the silent movies of Charlie Chaplin introduced slapstick humour into the country. Audrey Truschke @AudreyTruschke This raises a few questions. Why didn't Abhimanyu ask Quora how to escape the Chakravyuha? Why did Sanjay narrate the Kurukshetra War when Siri could have done it? Also, Krishna really should have streamed the Bhagavad-Gita on Facebook Live. #Mahabharata I only wish that they'd had the internet in the times of the Ramayana. Then Hanuman could've saved a lot of trouble carrying that whole mountain by just searching "sanjivani herb" on google images. #InternetMahabharata #Mahabharata. Krish Ashok @krishashok Of course the internet existed during the Mahabharata era. That Tiimes How handle is the one that posted the "Aswatthama is dead" tweet. And how do you think the Pandavas went incognito in their final year of exile? They deleted their Facebook and protected their twitter account Prashant Bhushan @pbhushan1 BJP's TripuraCM BiplabDeb echoes Modi&claims that internet& satellites existed in time of Mahabharata! Remember Modi claiming that we had plastic surgery in ancient India since Lord Ganesh's trunk was engrafted by plastic surgery!Must be given Nobel prize! Jayakumar@j_ayk_ay In the mahabharata had the pandavas shared their wifi password to the kauravas, then the kurukshetra war could be avoided Samir Kelekar @samirkelekar Bumped into Bhim (of mahabharat). He said he was going to buy a new mobile as he does not fit into one selfie frame! Nancy@naina4ucozy Chief minister of Tripura Biplab kumar Deb said that internet exist during Mahabharat times So was he communication Minister there at time? I don't understand what kind of weed these ministers eat? Thankgod he didnt said that he gave training to Bheem in his Gym Harsh Goenka @hvgoenka Tripura CM Biplab Deb: "Indias has been using internet since ages. In Mahabharata, Sanjay was blind but narrated all happening in the battlefield. This was due to internet and technology. Satellite also existed then." -Cocktail of exaggeration, wishful thinking and nationalism Anupam Burman @Anupamburman Ola #CancelledOlaRide & #CancelledOlaCab as they wanted me to use Mahabharat version of Internet offered by @BjpBiplab . Even I have pen drive of that time Aisi Taisi Democracy @AisiTaisiDemo More technology in Mahabharata: 1. Arjun met Draupadi on a Facebook page called 'Fish Eye vs Arrow Jokes'. 2. The thorn-bed Bhishma Pitamaha slept on was funded on Kickstarter. 3. Men disrobing Draupadi to punish her for laughing publicly was Twitter Ashwin Mushran@ashwinmushran I don't know about you but way back during Mahabharat times, me and my buddies used to order gas online... Internet connection was mad fast in those days. Cylinders used to be delivered by Pushpak Vimanas Hyderabad: Customs officials seized 445 gm gold worth Rs 14.34 lakh from a passenger at the RGI Airport on Thursday night. The passenger, who arrived from Dubai by an IndiGo flight, had concealed eight gold plates inside the battery of a chargeable lamp, called emergency light in local parlance. The lamp worked normally even with the gold stuffed in the lamp housing. Based on specific information, we opened the gadget and found the gold plates concealed in it. The passenger had coated it with black powder to avoid detection, a Customs official said. The seized contraband was sent to India by a smuggler based in Dubai through the passenger without keeping him in the loop. The main culprit had clicked a picture of the passenger who was handed over the device. The picture was reportedly forwarded to the receiver who would have collected the consignment at the airport, the official said. On Thursday night, Narasimha hit Muthamma with the axe several times till she was dead. He then surrendered before the police. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: In yet another case of a man murdering his wife, a 40-year-old fruit vendor killed his wife and later surrendered to Malakpet police on Friday. The couple had quarreled often over domestic issues. The accused, Narasimha, married to Muthamma 15 year ago and the couple had two sons. The fought over trivial matters frequently and even questioned each others fidelity. At one point, Muthamma lived at her mothers place for an year. The elders of the family counselled them after which she moved back to their residence at Pochamma Basthi in Malakpet, police inspector A. Ganga Reddy said. Two weeks ago, Narasimha bought an axe from Jummerat Bazaar and hid it at home. On Thursday night, he hit Muthamma with the axe several times till she was dead. He then surrendered before the police. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China on Thursday to enquire about his safety after an aircraft carrying the Congress president developed a snag before landing at Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka, party sources said. Gandhi received the call around 2:30 pm, the sources added. The Congress chief is on a two-day visit to the state to canvass for his party for the May 12 assembly polls. "It was a private conversation between the two (over phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the Prime Minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine," a source told news agency PTI. The plane carrying Gandhi and few more people from the national capital to Hubballi developed a technical snag on Thursday, tilting heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10:45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state Director General of Police Neelmani N Raju. Vidyarthee was also travelling with Gandhi. The plane landed at the Hubballi airport around 11:25 am in the third attempt, according to the letter, which also said that "the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers". Vidyarthee also tweeted later about the incident, saying the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down. "Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation," Vidyarthee wrote on Twitter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is examining the issue, while the state police have registered a complaint. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". On April 9, the Supreme Court criticised the Centre and asked it to frame a draft scheme by May 3 for implementation of its February 16 judgment. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Centre on Friday sought an extension of two weeks from Supreme Court, in order to frame a draft scheme for the formation of Cauvery Management Board (CMB). The apex court had criticised the Centre for neither framing the scheme in six weeks as directed by it nor approaching the court prior to the March 31 deadline to convey if any difficulty arose. On April 9, the Supreme Court criticised the Centre and asked it to frame a draft scheme by May 3 for implementation of its February 16 judgment. Earlier, on Saturday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the state government is against the formation of the CMB as it is 'unconstitutional'. In his letter, he mentioned that the Supreme Court has not directed any mechanism towards the formation of the CMB. On February 16, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, including Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar pronounced the judgement on the Cauvery Water Dispute between the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The bench directed Karnataka to release 177.25 tmc of water, instead of the 192 tmc, to Tamil Nadu. The apex court will now hear any matter pertaining to Cauvery dispute on May 3. Hyderabad: A fourth-year CSD student of the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, who watched Tollywood superstar Mahesh Babu's films to combat depression, allegedly committed suicide on Thursday. Identified as Puli Sunandh Kumar Reddy of Guntur district, he hanged himself with a bed sheet in his room at the campus hostel, said Gachibowli police. Sunandh left a suicide note for his parents, in which he stated his dislike of the behaviour of his paternal relatives who, he said, were using his family in times of need. He also wrote that he was a fan of Mahesh Babu and had watched all his films in a futile attempt to combat stress. While the walls in Sunandh's room are covered with posters of Mahesh Babu, police also found sticky notes which read, I don't want to live. Sunandh's friends and IIIT faculty members said he was doing well academically and never showed any sign of depression. According to police, Sunandh attended classes on Tuesday, but did not come out of his room on Thursday. As he had to appear for an examination at 3.00 p.m., his friend Nama Sai Sahith called him on his mobile, but there was no response. Sahith then alerted another friend, Rohith, who went to Sunandh's room and found it locked. Breaking in with the help of security personnel, he found Sunandh hanging from the ceiling. Police have registered a case of suspicious death. All angles are being probed. His mobile phone and call data records will be analysed, said SI Ch. Venkatesh of Gachi-bowli police. Vijay Mallya said, 'It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK.' (Photo: File/AP) Mumbai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases in India, on Friday said it was his democratic right to vote in the Karnataka Assembly polls but he cannot travel to India. Mallya had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha. It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK, Mallya told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court where the hearing in his ongoing extradition trial is being held. However, when asked about his opinion on the state polls, he said, I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments. Also Read: Vijay Mallya extradition trial: UK court admits all evidence given by CBI The 62-year-old had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Rajya Sabha between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008. The fugitive businessman was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka from today to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: A plane carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday developed a technical snag with the party demanding a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft before landing at the Hubballi airport in north Karnataka. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in New Delhi that it would examine the issue, while the police said they have registered a complaint. The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju. The letter said the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...," it said. "Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are requested to be addressed and investigated," the letter read. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka from today to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. "Yes, we have received a complaint about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft," Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad Police said. She said, "We have registered a complaint under Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC." The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi, she said. The letter said multiple "unexplained" technical snags coupled with the failure of the auto pilot system raised serious issues of aviation safety and possible and intentional tampering with aircraft which endangered the life of its occupants. "A thorough examination of the structural and mechanical elements of the aircraft, the surrounding circumstances of the flight and the persons attached with maintenance of the aircraft is required in order to assess the incident," it said. The letter said a "clankish noise" was clearly audible from one side of the plane throughout the shuddering of the aircraft body. "It was learnt that the autopilot of the aircraft was not functioning," it said. The plane landed at the Hubbali airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt., according to the letter. "The crew was also apparently petrified and admitted that the flight was particularly frightening and uncommon," it said. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi landed safely... a serious accident was averted today." He said a complaint has been sumbitted to the DGP Karnataka asking him to look into all aspects of the "serious, horrific incident", including foul play if any. He said it was unprecedented that a flight carrying an SPG protectee would develop a snag. Gandhi maintained his composure and tried to calm the co-passengers down, he said. Another complaint has been filed with the DGCA, demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, Surjewala added. A senior DGCA official said, "The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely. "Shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official said. Citing the report from the Air Traffic Controller, a senior official at the Hubbali airport said the plane had landed safely. On Thursday, a senior DGCA official had confirmed that the aircraft had suffered 'technical snag'. (Photo: File) Mumbai: Aviation regulator DGCA has set up a two-member committee to probe the incident of technical snag in a chartered plane that was carrying Congress President Rahul Gandhi, a senior official said. The incident happened during landing of the flight from New Delhi at Hubballi in north Karnataka on Thursday. Alleging "intentional tampering" with aircraft, the Congress party had on Thursday demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the 10-seater Falcon 2000. "The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up a two member panel to investigate the incident. While one member is from the Directorate of Air Safety, the other member is from the Directorate of Airworthiness," a senior DGCA official said. Also Read: Plane carrying Rahul Gandhi develops 'multiple' snags, Cong cries foul The panel has been asked to submit its report in the next 2-3 weeks, the official added. As part of the probe, the official said the panel would call cockpit crew and also engineers for questioning about the incident. If required, the committee might also call the operations staff of the particular aircraft to gather details, the official said. On Thursday, a senior DGCA official had confirmed that the aircraft had suffered "technical snag". "According to the operator's report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and landed (the aircraft) safely," he had said, adding that shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. "For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also," the official had said. In a letter to Karnataka State DGP Neelmani N Raju, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi had said the weather was normal. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag...," the letter had said. Rahul Gandhi on Friday released the 'Nava Karnataka' Manifesto in Mangaluru in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dr G Parameshwara, MP Dr M Veerappa Moily and other senior leaders. (Photo: Twitter/@INCKarnataka) Mangaluru: The campaigning for the May 12 Karnataka elections has gained momemtum with Congress President Rahul Gandhi returning back to the state for the seventh leg of his poll campaign. Gandhi on Friday released the 'Nava Karnataka' Manifesto in Mangaluru in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dr G Parameshwara, MP Dr M Veerappa Moily and other senior leaders. Hailing the manifesto as "Mann Ki Baat" of the Karnataka people, Gandhi said that unlike the BJP, the Congress Party's manifesto was not made by three or four people in a closed room. He said the manifesto carries the voice of the people of Karnataka. This is made by going to every single district and every single community, he said. Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Rahul said, "This is unlike the manifesto of the BJP which will have the hidden interests of the RSS and Reddy brothers". "BJP manifesto is decided by 3-4 leaders. It will be the manifesto of the RSS. I am here to listen to the people of Karnataka. That is the difference between Congress and BJP," he said. "Our opponents do not respect the culture of Karnataka. PM Narendra Modi of the BJP does not stand up to what he says," Gandhi added. The Congress president said that Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka Government has delivered as promised. On behalf of the party, Gandhi again give a commitment of fulfilling the promises made in this manifesto as well. Speaking to the party workers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said there was no anti-incumbency against his government as the party has delivered as promised by them. "Karnataka is a progressive state and this manifesto is a big step in taking the state to the next level. We will win the election and ensure that our Government will fulfill the promises made in the manifesto," he added. He also said that during the preparation of every budget, he would check the party's 2013 Manifesto, and fulfill the promises they had made. The chief minister said that the party will continue in its efforts to build a 'Nava Karnataka'. Earlier on Thursday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a graft issue, accusing him of supporting mining baron Reddy brothers. "Modi's aim is to give Karnataka's wealth into the hands of Reddy brothers, to give it to 5-10 rich people. Congress will never allow it to happen. Listen it is impossible," he said. He also accused Modi of telling "lies one after the other" and spreading anger, hate and added, "this man cannot take this country forward." Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 225-member assembly. The results will be out on May 15. Around 60 Maoists killed in different encounters in the country in last two months. Hyderabad: Eight suspected Maoists, including six women, were killed in an encounter in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday. Three security personnel were also injured in the reported gun battle, and the police recovered ammunition, six rocket launchers, kit bags, a self-loading rifle, a revolver, four smooth bore breech loading guns, 10 kit bags and clothes. According to senior police officials, a joint team of the elite anti-Naxalite force Greyhounds and Chhattisgarh police were conducing combing operations in the forest belt, based on information about the presence of suspected Maoists, when there was an EOF (exchange of fire). Deputy Inspector General (Bastar) Sundaraj P. told the media that security forces had launched combing operations based on specific information of Maoist movement in the area. "As the personnel were conducting combing operations, they came under fire from the CPI (Maoists). The Maoists were killed in retaliatory firing," he said. Police are conducting search operations in the area to find out if any more Maoists were killed, or whether any injured has sought shelter with sympathisers in the area. The bodies of the Maoists killed in the encounter were shifted to Bijapur hospital for post mortem examinations. Of those killed, officials said a few could be from Telangana and the remaining from Chhattisgarh, and added that they are attempting identification with the help of photographs and surrendered Maoists. Senior police officials in Telangana said security had been tightened in the agency areas after the two encounters in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, which resulted in the death of 40 suspected Maoists. All districts bordering Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have been put on high alert fearing retaliatory attacks. Two days ago, a group of suspected Maoists had blasted a culvert in Kottagudam Bhadadri district of Telangana. The previous month, 10 Maoists were killed in the district in a reported encounter with security personnel in the Tadapalagutta-Pujari Kanker forests, bordering Telangana. Six women were among the rebels killed in that incident. Children scale the walls of a well after collecting water from its bottom. They have mastered the skill but two of them fractured their leg and hand in a recent fall. Damoh (Madhya Pradesh): The sight of boys and girls as young as 11 years old literally practicing death- defying stunts to get a pitcher of water from a drying well has become common in village Hardua in Damoh district in the parched Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. The children seem to have honed the skill, like seasoned mountaineers, to climb down a nearly 70 ft deep open well in the village by clutching on to the small gaps between the bricks inside the walls of the well to fetch water which usually touches the ground in the well in summer. They also climb up the walls adopting the similar tactic after tying the water-filled pitcher with a rope to be drawn by people standing above the walls of the well. We have become skilled enough to climb down and then scale the walls of the well to avoid mishaps. It takes no less than 30 minutes to do so, Naresh Singh, 10, of the village told DC on Friday. The well that turns the only source of water in the summer when the hand pumps in the village become dysfunctional also starts drying up in April itself. The water level shrinks to the base of the well forcing the villagers to deploy their children to go down it to fetch water. Two children fell down while scaling the walls of the well recently. One of them suffered fracture in his right leg, the other had it on his left hand, Jamuna Devi, a homemaker, said. But we have no option but to send them. The village has three hand pumps which have gone dysfunctional. We have taken measures to make them functional and dug up a bore well to solve the crisis, Jabera MLA Pratap Singh, under whose constituency the village falls, said. Bengaluru: Even as the Bengaluru Metro Rail Employees Union gave an undertaking before the HC calling off their strike, the court has direted them not to go on strike without intimating it. Rohinis plea The HC has issued an interim order staying the Central Administrative Tribunal's order in Rohini Sindhuri case. While hearing a petition filed by the IAS officer, the HC stay order was not with regard to order of the State government transferring her from the post of Hassan DC to that of Commissioner of Department of Employment and Training in Bengaluru. The court has listed her petition for final hearing to May 30. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court has slapped cost of Rs `5,000 each on two petitioners for challenging the election of Komatireddy Venkat Reddy from Nalgonda Assembly segment in 2014 on flimsy grounds. Justice A. Ramalingeswara Rao, while dismissing the election petitions by D. Narasimha Reddy and K Bhoopal Reddy seeking to declare the election of Venkat Reddy as in valid as he furnished false information with regard to his educational qualification. The petitioners told the court that the highest qualification of the elected MLA was Intermediate, but he had claimed in his nomination that he is an engineering graduate to secure votes. They submitted that the MLA had joined B.E. course in CBIT institute and pursued the said course from 1982 to 1986 but he could not complete his degree though he has been pursuing study and writing examinations till 1989. Mr. Venkat Reddy told the court that he had joined engineering course after his intermediate education and he was under a bonafide impression that he was required to furnish the full educational qualifications the level of education pursued and with that impression in mind; he referred to B.E. course in parenthesis. He submitted that it is a common practice in the state to refer to any incomplete course in brackets and he knows that a degree is put in brackets when the degree is not completed. Chennai: In a major relief to the Edappadi Government, the Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea to disqualify Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam and 10 other MLAs of his faction who had voted against the government in February 2017. Dismissing a batch of petitions filed by DMK whip K Sakkarapani and four pro-TTV Dinakaran MLAs seeking a direction to the Speaker to disqualify Pannerselvam and others as they had defied the whip and voted against the government when it sought the confidence vote, the court said any such direction would amount to infringing on the powers of the Speaker. The First Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose held that issuing such a direction to the Speaker would amount to judicial overreach and encroaching upon the powers of the legislature. The judges held it would not be possible to issue a direction to the Speaker to act upon representations made by the petitioners when he, in his discretion, had chosen not to act. The bench also noted that the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court was seized of the issue as to whether courts could intervene in case of studied inaction by a Speaker. While the disqualification of an MLA was subject to judicial review, the court cannot come into the picture unless and until the Speaker acts on it, it said. The court, however, granted leave to senior counsel R. Shanmugasundaram, representing the DMK whip, to appeal to the Supreme Court as the case involved interpretation of constitutional provisions. Though Pannerselvam and 10 others voted against the Edappadi Government on Feb 18 on 2017 the Speaker did not take any action against them. They subsequently merged their faction with the Edappadi group in September last year and the reunited AIADMK got the frozen Two Leaves symbol. This irked TTV no end as he, along with his aunt Sasikala, had installed Edappadi in power along with 123 MLAs in the hope he would keep the seat warm for him. Paving the way for the return of the OPS fold, Edappadi expelled jailed general secretary V K Sasikala and Dhinakaran and abolished the posts and deputy general secretary at the general council last September. OPS was made Deputy Chief Minister and party coordinator while EPS became the joint coordinator of the AIADMK. TTV hit back getting his 18 MLAs to petition the Governor seeking removal of Edappadi as CM. This led to Speaker Dhanapalan disqualifying the 18, on the ground that they had voluntarily relinquished the party by petitioning against the Government. Four of pro-Dinakaran MLAs, including Vettrivel, challenged the disqualification in the High Court, citing the differing stands taken by the Speaker on identical issues to show his action were mala fide. With the High Court now refusing to interfere in the Speaker's decision, 11 MLAs have saved their seat - including not just OPS but also Tamil language and culture Minister K. Pandiarajan and Mylapore MLA and former DGP Nataraj. Thousands of TRS workers flocked to Kompally to take part in the 17th plenary meeting of TRS on Friday. Hyderabad: Leaders, who have joined the TRS recently from other parties, donated huge sums of money to the partys coffers during the plenary session held on Friday. The party earned Rs 20.41 crore through donations. With this, the TRS has Rs 42.08 crore as fund. Khammam MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who defected from the YSRC to the TRS, donated the highest Rs 2 crore and Malkajgiri MP C. Malla Reddy, who defected from the TD, donated Rs 1 crore. Mr Reddys two relatives Rajashekar Reddy and Vijayender Reddy who run engineering colleges also donated Rs 1 crore each, raising speculations over their political entry into the TRS soon. TS government advisor G. Vivek Venkata Swamy (former Congress MP who joined the TRS) and his wife Saroja Vivek also contributed Rs 1 crore each. MLC Mohd Saleem, who shifted from the TD to the TRS, donated Rs 1 crore. Another MLC Bhanu Prasad, who had defected from the Congress to the TRS, donated Rs 1 crore. The constable G. Ramesh and his lover Anusha were beaten up and handed over to Cheriyal police. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: A constable attached to Maddur police station in Siddipet district was caught with his illicit partner by his wife and her parents at a house in Cheriyal on Friday morning. High drama prevailed at the house taken on rent by the policeman as his wife and family caught him redhanded with his paramour. The constable G. Ramesh and his lover Anusha were beaten up and handed over to Cheriyal police. The accused Ramesh has been married since 12 years and has two daughters. His wife Mamatha said that since last July, he was finding reasons to avoid her. "He was staying away from the family since the past few months. I thought he went away as part of work. But whenever he used to come home, he always used to be busy over phone till midnight which raised my doubts, she said. Mamatha later found out that Ramesh was residing at Cheriyal by taking a room on rent. Later, she took the help of her family members in revealing his illicit relationship. Circle Inspector of Cheriyal L. Reghu said that Ramesh has a one-month-old daughter in his second relationship with Anusha. Anusha is already married and was planning to divorce her husband. She had approached Maddur police station with a complaint against her husband last year and has been in touch with Ramesh since then. Commissioner of Police D. Joel Davis suspended Constable Ramesh immediately. The Cheriyal police filed cases against Ramesh under Section 498 (A) and other sections. Bengaluru: With a fortnight to go for Assembly polls, big trouble could well loom for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, minister for Bengaluru development, K J George, and others in the state government with Governor Vajubai Vala, reportedly seeking specific details about controversial denotification of land in Bengaluru (North) which has been listed by BJP leader B J Puttaswamy in his petition seeking permission for prosecution of the Chief Minister and others. Official sources said the petition was handed over to Mr Vala by Mr Puttaswamy on December 20, 2017, but the Governor was unhappy with replies provided by the state government. In his petition, Mr Mr Puttaswamy alleged that Mr Siddaramaiah along with Mr George and additional chief secretary (Urban development), Mahendra Jain, denotified over six acres in favour of Ravishankar Shetty, a friend of the Chief Minister. In the wake of this petition, Mr Vala sought details from the state government but was expressed displeasure about replies provided by the authorities concerned. Sources said the Governor reportedly marked not satisfactory on the file with replies provided by the state government, and sent it to chief secretary K Rathna Prabha seeking specific details concerning denotification of land in Bengaluru (North). Lucknow: The Karnataka Assembly polls are the new battle field for political stalwarts of Uttar Pradesh including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati, who will be criss-crossing the state to turn the tide in favour of their respective parties. Mr Adityanath will be seen in action, addressing as many as 35 rallies and road shows the saffron party has organised for him as the Nath sect, to which he belongs, wields considerable clout in coastal Karnataka, BJP sources said today. As per the party's plans, the chief minister's hectic Karnataka tour will begin on May 3 and he will be there holding rallies daily between May 7 and 10, BJP spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi told PTI here. Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav will also be touring the state to champion his party's cause in those constituencies where the SP is in the fray. "The SP has fielded over two dozen candidates in Karnataka. The party president will be campaigning there for our candidates. The tour details will be finalised in a day or two," SP spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI. When asked specifically as to whether Akhilesh will campaign for the Congress too, Chowdhury said, "He will campaign for SP candidates only as of now." The Congress and the SP had contested the UP Assembly polls last year jointly, but had contested the civic body polls in the state independently. BSP supremo Mayawati, whose party has entered into a pact with former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S), has already started working in the state with her rallies starting yesterday from Mysuru. She will be addressing a rally in Chitradurga today and Belagavi and Bidar on May 5-6 respectively. The BSP is contesting on 20 seats in Karnataka and is hoping to open an account there with the JD(S) support. Polling will be held in a single phase on May 12 for all the 224 Assembly seats in the Congress-ruled state, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes. Ahead of the UP chief minister's visit, a Congress leader had made certain derogatory remarks against him. BJP leaders here say that a counter offensive from the UP chief minister is very likely. "Expect a counter (attack) for sure," a BJP leader said. In mid-April, Karnataka Congress working president Dinesh Gundu Rao had set the tone for Mr Adityanath's visit by openly asking the people of Karnataka to boycott him. He later apologised for his remarks, describing them as an "emotional outburst." Earlier, during his February visit, Mr Adityanath had taken on CM on the micro blogging site, which blew up into a twitter war between the two chief ministers. In between his rallies and road shows, Adityanath is also expected to visit temples and mutts as the BJP looks to play the Hindutva card in a state where it is anxious to regain power it lost 10 years ago. In December last, while addressing a "Parivartan Yatra" rally in Hubbali, the UP chief minister had stoked passions by asking people to choose between Hanuman Jayanti and Tipu Jayanti - a remark aimed at questioning Congress' two-year-old decision to commemorate the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler who hailed from the region. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao along with other party ministers at the 17th TRS Plenary, in Kompally, on Friday. (Photo: DC) Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samithi supremo and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said on Friday that he will cause an earthquake in Delhi, with Hyderabad as the epicentre, by floating a Federal Front to end the dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress in national politics for the past 70 years. He said his front will create political tremors across the country and free India from the wicked hands of the BJP and Congress. The CMs statement about a Congress and BJP mukt Bharat was received with thunderous applause from nearly 13,000 party delegates at the 17th TRS plenary held here on Friday, as the venue reverberated with slogans such as, Desh ka neta KCR and Desh ke liye aage badho KCR. A buoyant Rao, who normally ends his speeches with the words Jai Telangana, added Jai Bharat this time. Addressing the meeting after the plenary passed a resolution supporting Raos proposed Front calling for a movement to create qualitative change in national politics and according full powers to Rao to take party decisions, Mr Rao said, In the next two to three months, I will unite all regional parties and form a federal front to take on the BJP and Congress, which have failed to deliver in the past 70 years. He said the Fronts plan will be unveiled in the next five-six months, adding that the Fronts aim is to empower states, because only strong regional parties ruling the country together will be able to do justice to the job. Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea from the opposition DMK seeking removal of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait from the State Assembly. The court said there was no law prohibiting display of portraits of persons convicted of corruption. First bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose dismissed the petition filed by DMK MLA J Anbazhagan seeking removal of the portrait, unveiled on February 10 last. The decision to unveil the portrait in the House was taken by Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. Petitioner Anbazhagan had sought removal of the portrait on grounds that Jayalalithaa was found guilty on corruption charges. The bench observed that in the absence of any law prohibiting the display of portraits of a person convicted for corruption, "this court cannot interfere in the matter." The petitioner had submitted that Jayalalithaa was convicted by a special court on graft charges. Later the same was set aside by the Karnataka High Court and on appeal the Supreme Court found all the accused guilty of the charges. In view of her demise, appeals against Jayalalithaa were treated as abated, the petitioner said. Chennai: The Madras High court verdict on Friday dismissing a petition by the DMK, seeking disqualification of the Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister, O. Pannerselvam and ten other AIADMK MLAs' for having voted against the Edappadi K Palaniswami government in the confidence vote of February 17, 2017, when they were in the rebel camp, mainly on the ground that a petition in the Supreme Court on the powers of the court to issue directions to the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly is pending, seems to be an instance of "abdicating its (HC's) duty" in this case. All the important and crucial arguments presented before the High court by high-profile lawyers on both sides in this case, on the petitions filed by the main opposition DMK's whip, Mr Sakkarapani and four MLAs' owing allegiance to the dissident MLA, T T V Dhinakaran-, seeking the disqualification as Mr. Pannerselvam and ten other AIADMK MLAs' had then defied the party whip after their initial plea to the Assembly Speaker, Mr. P. Dhanapal went unheeded last year-, seems futile now. First, Mr. Pannerselvam and the other MLAs' who voted against did attract disqualification from the membership of the Assembly under the Anti-Defection Law, for their action was not condoned by the AIADMK whip within 15 days of that event. Mr. Pannerselvam's defense that the 'whip' was issued only to the 122 MLAs' who were then staying in a resort near Chennai and not to him and his supporters in the House, holds no water for any 'whip' is a directive to all party MLAs, elected on its symbol to the House. Such exception of inapplicability of a 'whip' to a small group is not provided for under the ambit of the Anti-Defection Law. Nor was there a 'split' within the AIADMK, that is at least one-third of its members breaking away, for Mr. Pannerselvam and the ten others to claim the 'whip' did not apply to them. Fearing that their "disqualification" was imminent, they had through one of their MLAs', Mr. Semmalai moved the Supreme Court, to stay the Madras High court proceedings, asking it to be tagged along with the case of Sampath Kumar Vs Kale Yadaiah and Others of Telangana state, which had been referred to a larger Constitution bench 2016, to examine the issue of whether a High court can direct the Speaker of an Assembly to disqualify a certain member from the House. However, the Supreme Court bench hearing Semmalai's petition, led by Chief Justice Deepak Misra, did not grant stay of proceedings before the Madras High court. The bench instead allowed for hearing of the case without the petitioners specifically asking for a directive to the Assembly Speaker to disqualify the MLAs' in question. It was in that backdrop the DMK modified its petition, deleting its earlier plea for a specific directive to the Speaker and instead pleading that the High Court itself directly "disqualify" the 11 AIADMK MLAs' for defying the whip. Though it was being said that courts could not interfere with the rights of the Speaker, deriving from powers vested by the tenth schedule of the Constitution, it must be pointed out that in the 1992 Nagaland Assembly disqualification case (Kihoto Hollohan Vs Zachillhu And Others), a Constitution bench of the Supreme court, including Justices Venkatachalaiah, Jayachandra Reddy and Verma, had ruled that, "democracy is a part of the basic structure of our Constitution and rule of law, and that free and fair elections are basic features of democracy." The SC bench had then said, "One of the postulates of free and fair elections is provision of resolution of election disputes as also adjudication of disputes relating to subsequent disqualifications by an independent authority." Just as the "final authority" for removal of Judge of the Supreme court and High court lies outside the judiciary in the Parliament under Article 124(4), that Constitution bench had said by the same principle, the "authority to decide the disqualification of an MLA is outside the House as by Articles 103 and 192." In the light of the above, even if the question of powers of the court to issue a specific directive to the presiding officer of a legislature has been referred for 'finality' to another Constitution Bench, that was no bar on the Madras High court deciding directly in this instance. Despite these precedents, the High court's ruling today makes us wonder, "Is this labyrinth of Justice?" Hyderabad: TRS Chief and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched a severe attack on the Congress and the BJP. He said that the people in the country were left with no option but to opt for either the BJP or the Congress at national-level since there is no better alternative. The BJP and Congress are getting power by default. This default politics is not good for the country, he said, while addressing the TRS Plenary session here. Rao said that the parties that ruled the country for nearly 65 years in independent India should feel ashamed for the country lagging behind others in various sectors. The TRS Chief demanded an answer from the BJP and the Congress on why water for drinking and irrigation purpose could not be provided to the people despite availability of 70,000 TMCs of water in India. He asked as to why the states were fighting for water and why the country has been lagging behind other countries such as China and Singapore in terms of infrastructure, roads, express highways, ports, airports, GDP etc. Rao charged successive Congress and BJP Governments at the Centre for bringing down the states to the level of municipalities. Why should there be a concurrent list in the Constitution? Why should the Centre have control over subjects such as agriculture, health, education, housing, rural and urban development and drinking water supply? Those subjects and powers should be transferred to the states, Rao said. Citing the example of Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana, the Telangana Chief Minister questioned the logic behind the Prime Minister involving himself in laying rural roads. It can be done by the local sarpanch. Why should the Centre hold the key to workers wage payment under NREGA? The Centre can do better by concentrating on other issues such as safeguarding our borders and international diplomacy. Dont poke your nose into states affairs, he asserted. Rao rubbished the claims of the Congress and the BJP on achieving a lot of progress in the last seven decades. He cited statistics to show how countries such as China, which were lagging behind India five decades ago, raced ahead in terms of infrastructural development, irrigation, GDP growth and per capita income. Do you consider this as development? Even now, we dont have proper road and rail networks. A toilet at the New York railway station is much better than the whole of our Secunderabad railway station. Our airports do not have sufficient space to accommodate additional aircraft. Are we not ashamed to be compared to neighbouring countries? he asked. Congress President Rahul Gandhi says KCR is a Narendra Modi agent. The BJP leaders are saying that the Front doesn't even have a tent. If that is so, why are you afraid? he asked. No change in Cabinet likely Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday ruled out a reshuffle in his cabinet before the 2019 elections, and assured all sitting MLAs of tickets in the polls. In particular, Rao singled out irrigation minister T. Harish Rao for working day and night to complete irrigation projects, especially Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Ranga Reddy. All our ministers and MLAs are doing well. There is no need to change the cabinet. There is also no need to deny tickets to our sitting MLAs, said Rao, speaking at the 17th plenary of the Telangana Rashtra Samity (TRS). Mr. Rao said the TRS government will ensure the safety and security of all Andhra residents in city, adding that all those residing in Hyderabad are Hyderabadis and children of Telangana. During the statehood agitation and 2014 elections, opposition parties ran a vicious campaign against us, saying if Telangana state was formed and TRS came to power, the safety and security of Seemandhra people in Telangana, especially in Hyderabad, wouldbe at risk. They said the assets of Seemandhra people would be taken away. But we have proved them wrong for four years. Rao said, This hall which is hosting our plenary belongs to a native of Andhra, who settled in Hyderabad long ago. We appreciate him for this. Similarly, we appreciate all those living in Hyderabad and contributing to the growth of the city and development of Telangana. The TRS will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of nativity, caste, creed or religion. Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said should the Congress come to power in 2019, an enquiry will be ordered against government corruption and that nobody will be spared, including the family of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Speaking to the media on Friday at Gandhi Bhavan, Reddy alleged that hundreds of acres of valuable land are being allotted to companies at cheaper rates, adding that while the debts of the people of Telangana are rising, the assets of the CM and his family are increasing, and the CM is travelling abroad in a private plane. Reddy said the government, led by Telangana Rashtriya Samity (TRS), has allotted 15 acres of land at Madhapur to Hetero Drugs Company at a cheaper rate, and said the company was given Rs 40 crore as subsidy. Similarly, he alleged that the Wolf Son group of companies was allotted about 800 acres, and "crores of rupees" given as subsidy. He said the company was allotted 150 acres and Rs 40 crore subsidy, while in another order, the same company was allotted 500 acres in Rangareddy district, and `80 crore subsidy at 10% of the capital. He said in addition, these companies are allowed interest subsidy, subsidy in power supply and 100 % GST subsidy, and asked who "the suitcases from these companies" were meant for. The TPCC president also alleged that Industries Department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan is cooperating with industries minister K.T. Rama Rao in corrupt practices, and asked the government the reason for not replying to Congress MLA A. Revanth Reddy's allegations on the Metro trail to Shamshabad. Cong confident of 80 seats PCC President Mr. N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that under the prevalent circumstances in Telangana, the Congress party will win 80 assembly seats out of the total 119 seats. He said that they had been conducting surveys frequently and every survey showed that the Congress strength was incrementally increasing. Speaking to the media on Friday at Gandhi Bhavan, he said that earlier they thought that Congress would sweep in southern Telangana only, but now the latest survey results showed that the Congress would sweep in northern Telangana also. 15 rooms, not 150, KCR tells Uttam Kumar TRS chief and Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday termed TPCC chief N.Uttam Kumar Reddy "a liar". Mr Rao dared Mr Reddy to visit Pragathi Bhavan along with media on Friday evening to prove his allegation that he had constructed 150 rooms in Pragathi Bhavan. He also offered to quit the CMs post on the spot if Mr Reddy proves there are rooms more than 15. Mr Rao asked Mr Reddy to be grateful to TRS which achieved Telangana State due to which he is heading Telangana PCC (TPCC) today. If not for Telangana State, you would have still worked as a coolie under Seemandhra leaders. Because, Telangana State was achieved by TRS, you could become TPCC chief," Mr Rao remarked. The sentence of life imprisonment till death handed down to Asaram should help renew our faith in the justice system. No matter how well connected such an influential person with a following in society may be, he must be pronounced guilty of a terrible crime against a woman or child if the evidence adds up for conviction. Its a sign of the clout of those held guilty and of the principal figure in this sordid drama that three witnesses were killed, others attacked and many, including police officers involved in the investigation, intimidated. Not only the justice system but the very foundation of criminal investigation was under threat when up against people of this kind who were always ready to go to any extent to fix their case. Two such trials in such depraved crimes like those of Asaram in Rajasthan and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Haryana are a victory for the forces of justice. Its a sad comment on our society that people should show such blind faith in these self-styled godmen who misuse the power of religion to hook devotees while preying upon their susceptibilities and doubts. Not all religious seers and gurus, however, should be lumped together in this category in a land that lays so much store by spiritualism. Such extreme cases of trickery and outright deception are exceptions, but they throw light on how easily the gullible are herded into cults in their search for answers that are hard to find. The very belief that learned guides can show us the way is challenged by such frauds. But then the so-called godmans background and the manner of his grand ashram aggrandisement should have served as warning signs, more as the history of faith in godmen in India has been pockmarked with suspicions of devious behaviour that is rather more temporal than spiritual. The verdict is also important in todays circumstances where the safety of women and children in India are under intense scrutiny and a matter of public debate in light of the increasing cases of sexual crimes against children. Life terms, even death if warranted as per the new ordinance, should prove a frightful enough prospect to put off those with evil designs. The political patronage that people like Asaram and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh picked up must be blamed on politicians in search of captive votebanks. But theres little merit in the war that political parties are waging by showing up the proximity of others to the godman as he was not a known sexual offender when he was attracting his clientele and leaders. These are silly political diversions detracting from the basic lesson that religion should be kept separate from politics. The fact is that theres too much politics in religion, and too little of religious virtues in politics. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misras reaction was that the executive was well within its rights to segregate the two recommendations made and accept only one. It appears that the Narendra Modi government is keen to establish that it would not permit the Supreme Court an unhindered voice in the appointment of judges to the high courts and the Supreme Court, in effect interfering with judicial independence. In January, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Uttarakhand high court chief justice K.M. Joseph for elevation as Supreme Court judges. The government on Wednesday notified its acceptance of the first name, but continued to sit tight over Justice Josephs name. Technically, it has not rejected Mr Joseph. If it does that and the collegium recommends his name a second time, the government will have to accept him under the existing procedure. Surprisingly, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misras reaction was that the executive was well within its rights to segregate the two recommendations made and accept only one. This appears a less than robust counter by the CJI amid repeated assertions by senior judges that the executive is trying to undermine the judiciarys independence, and a move to impeach him. The general suspicion is that Justice Josephs name is being sought to be blocked by the Centre as in 2016 he had held illegal the imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand. Earlier, this government also blocked his transfer to the Telangana high court. In March and April, Supreme Court judges have written on three occasions to the CJI, urging him to convene the full court to discuss ways to safeguard judicial independence. On Thursday, around 100 Supreme Court lawyers also urged the defence of judicial independence. The CJI, however, appears to be blocking such moves. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinas President Xi Jinping will meet once again this Friday-Saturday at Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province which stands at the confluence of the Han and Yangtze rivers and is recognised as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation centre of central China. It has a 3,000-year-old history and has played a significant role in Chinas recent history. Will history be made now once again in Wuhan? The significance of this meeting is not that the two leaders are meeting under the shadow of Doklam. There is a larger shadow of the looming trade war and the attendant rollback of globalisation, in which US President Donald Trump has fired the first shot with sanctions targeting $100 billion of US-China trade. The collapse of the globalisation arrangements that had set off the greatest expansion of the world economy in the past three decades threatens not just Chinas economic well-being but that of India as well. Globalisation has benefited China the most, but India too has hugely benefited by it. While China has a huge market for its manufactured goods in the United States and has a trade surplus of $245 billion, India had an IT market of $120 billion last year. We must not forget that the value addition of Indias IT exports vastly exceeds the value addition generated by Chinas export of manufactured goods to the US. The high economic growth rates in both countries owe a great deal to their trade with the United States and the huge trade deficits the US has with both countries. Thus, for the first time in decades, the most immediate and important objectives of India and China coincide. Both leaders will see the need to act in concert. Clearly this will be at the top of the Xi-Modi agenda in Wuhan. Next on the agenda will most certainly be the huge trade gap in favour of China that has resulted in India directly contributing about $350 billion to China since the turn of this century. Of this, almost $250 billion has happened in the past five years. The reduction of this will almost certainly be next on the agenda. India was hoping that China would mitigate this somewhat by investing in India, preferably by commercial FDI, instead of the debt trap OBOR investments. India has rightly been sceptical about the OBOR economic play, which is little more than a grand scheme to run down Chinese reserves in US banks and relieve Chinas industrial overcapacity in its infrastructure related sectors like cement, steel and power generation. In this manner, the zero earning reserves are converted into interest-bearing loans to hapless countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is already feeling the bite of the Hambantota investments and has to restructure the debt by giving the port and 19,000 acres on a 99-year lease to a Chinese SOE. By providing large loans on generous repayment terms, investing in major infrastructure projects such as the building of roads, dams, ports, power plants and railways, and offering military assistance and political support in the UN Security Council through its veto power, China has secured considerable goodwill and influence among countries in the region around India. The list of countries that are coming within Chinas strategic orbit appears to be growing. Sri Lanka, which has seen China replace Japan as its largest donor, is a case in point China was no doubt instrumental in ensuring that Sri Lanka was granted dialogue partner status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. China has made major inroads in Nepal and has forged ideological and pecuniary relationships with many leading Nepalese politicians and opinion makers. Anti-Indianism, always a given in Nepali domestic politics, is growing more legs now. Most recently, China has been attempting to bring a change in Indias historical and treaty relationship with Bhutan. The rise of China as the worlds greatest exporter, its largest manufacturing nation and its great economic appetite poses a new set of challenges. At a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in 2010, Chinas foreign minister Yang Jiechi, facing a barrage of complaints about his countrys behaviour in the region, blurted out the sort of thing that polite leaders usually prefer to leave unsaid. China is a big country, he pointed out, and other countries are small countries and that is just a fact. The fates of India and China in a world of rapid economic, technological and social change are inextricably linked. The GDPs of India and China within the next two decades will exceed that of the G-7. A major global power shift is underway. India and China must wake up to this reality and be prepared to play a historic role instead of living out the childish fantasies of their half-baked and under-educated strategic experts. China is bound to express its concern about joining the Quadrilateral, a quasi-alliance favoured by American strategists, of the United States, Japan, Australia and India. It is just a Western wish. We know what is in our interests and what is not. The United States, Japan and Australia are separated from China by vast oceans and enjoy a sense of security that India cannot. We have a big land border with China and it will feel the immediate consequences of any armed conflict. The US and Japan are too closely economically integrated with China to be taken as credible allies by India. If anything India knows, it knows it stands alone. India didnt take part in OBOR because there was nothing of interest to it in that. When China makes a proposal that will incorporate India into its worldview, India will respond suitably. Otherwise India has no intention of paying court to the Emperor Far Away. There are some indications that there is a belated realisation of this within China now. The greater economic integration of India and China is the best hope for Chinas and Indias sustained long-term economic growth. An itinerant journalist on four wheels in search of electoral wisdom in Karnataka may be forgiven for having been distracted not so much by the 45-year-old, hijab-wearing Nowhera Shaiks liquid black eyes as her having staked her considerable wealth on these elections. She is the CEO of the Heera Group of Companies, with its head office in Hyderabad, which she built up by her own labour and imagination, dealing with commodities ranging from building material to gold and diamond which in Hindi means Heera, the company she heads. Her obsession with diamonds permeates all. Who knows even her name, Nowhera, maybe a distortion of Naushera. It may be a contorted form of Nav-heera, which means novel diamond. Indeed, a diamond also happens to be the election symbol of her political party. She is the president of the All India Mahila Empowerment Party, which she inaugurated last year at the five-star Lalit Hotel in New Delhi. There is also consistency in the fact that Ms Shaik has headquartered herself in Bengalurus seven-star Leela Hotel. Leelas receptionist was curt: Sorry Sir, we have instructions not to connect anybody to Ms Shaik or her team. How many suites does her team occupy? In the worlds largest democracy, there will be many eccentric candidates. In Kanpur of the 1980s, an Independent candidate drew considerable attention by campaigning on horseback door to door, trotting between neighbourhoods. Ms Shaik is not a comical entrant of that genre. There has been widespread demand for her partys ticket. From over 5,000 aspirants, 224 candidates were selected on the basis of a criteria spelt out by the MEP. Her motto Justice for Humanity. She stands by equality and justice for all Indians irrespective of caste, creed and gender. Election finance is clearly not a source of anxiety for the MEP as it is for others. Full house at party offices was once the index of a partys health. Today, the absence of crowds is a good sign. It means that only those ticket aspirants who have hoarded a minimum of five to 10 crore of rupees need apply. MEP aspirants do not have to look for electoral alms. Their leader has enough. Trust malicious folk to trace sources of funds to the supposed beneficiaries of her electoral intervention. She may stand on an all-embracing platform, but a hijab-clad lady will inevitably be seen as a Muslim. She may field non-Muslims but she will not escape being imprisoned in a certain perception. This will result in her largely ending up as a spoiler for anyone on the lookout for Muslim votes. It does not require rocket science to divine that the party thus harmed will not be the BJP. Many will see her as a BJP plant. Muslim leaders who are not suitably timid have been comprehensively damned by the media the non-Urdu ones specifically. In this category are the Owaisi brothers, even Azam Khan, and so on. Indomitable in their own enclaves, these leaders have an enormous capacity outside their spheres to augment majoritarian polarisation. For the same reason, the Owaisis (not Azam Khan so much) have a considerable fan following in Muslim pockets dotted across the country. But the way the communal dice is loaded these days, such pockets of fans and admirers eventually end up as unintentional guarantors for the opposite side. Given this state of play, where does one place Nowhera Shaik? She differs in many ways from the Owasis. Asaduddin Owaisi is the most recognised Muslim face on television channels. Ms Shaik, on the other hand, has not been noticed even by the regional media in the midst of the fierce Karnataka campaign. And this despite the fact that so much exotica attends her persona. Over coffee with eight senior journalists in my Bengaluru hotel room, I was astonished to discover that none of them had met or even seen Ms Shaik. She has been placing full-page ads in Kannada newspapers. She is not fighting this election in absentia. There is sufficient communalism in the air, particularly in coastal Karnataka, for the politician to spot profit in polarisation. Here is an obvious target a woman in a black hijab, millionairess, comfortable only in seven-star luxury, dispensing money to 224 candidates, organisers of rallies and the ubiquitous computer whiz kids. But the politician is as silent on her as the media is. It is possible that the stout ones in politics do not see her as a threat despite the paraphernalia she brings to bear on this election. But, surely in an election that is so closely contested, a little polarisation here and a communal spat there would help someone in our perverse electoral fray. Why is she not being noticed? Has she been let loose only to nibble away at the Muslim support of the Congress and H.D. Deve Gowdas Janata Dal (Secular)? She is firm in her response: If the Congress and JD(S) lose their secular vote only because we are in the fray, that shows their secular credentials are skewed, and not genuine. Yes, the Congress did try to dissuade her from entering the Karnataka contest. We told them we will contest all 224 seats. No compromise on that. There is little doubt that the overall beneficiary of Nowhera Shaiks intervention will be the BJP. Her response to a question by a reporter of this newspaper is pertinent. What impact can she make in a race dominated by the major parties? Remember Arvind Kejriwal? she asked. Did he not defy conventional wisdom? It would, of course, be absurd to allocate substantive gains for MEP, but in a state where finance is known to have tilted the scales here and there, anywhere between two to five seats will enable her to find a corner seat at the table where the post-poll poker will be intense. Neither of the major parties are likely to win outright. Pardon me for mixing metaphors, but Deve Gowdas JD(S) too may need assistance to play an effective monkey between two cats. Facebook dispatched the unassuming engineer to London despite a previous request for Zuckerberg to appear. The UK parliaments media committee demanded Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appear before the panel after lawmakers said the senior executive who testified failed to fully answer their questions about the data protection scandal that has engulfed the company. Committee members didnt hide their frustration with Facebooks chief technical officer, Mike Schroepfer, who was forced to defend the company against suggestions that it was cavalier with user data and has done little to stem the spread of fake news. Facebook dispatched the unassuming engineer to London despite a previous request for Zuckerberg to appear. During a four-hour-plus session that covered many of Facebooks perceived sins, lawmaker Julian Knight accused the company of bullying journalists, threatening academic institutions and impeding investigations by legal authorities, before declaring the company to be a morality-free zone. Schroepfer said he respectfully disagreed with such characterizations. Immediately after the session, committee Chairman Damian Collins issued a statement saying that said Schroepfer answers fell short on 40 separate points, particularly in regard to Cambridge Analytica and associated companies, which allegedly misused data from 87 million Facebook accounts. The committee asked Zuckerberg to appear on May 24, during what it described as a planned trip to Europe to give testimony to the European Parliament. As an American citizen living in California, Mr Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the UK Parliament, but he will the next time he enters the country, Collins said. We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not the committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the UK Collins sharply worded statement came after a session in which lawmakers demanded specificity, particularly in regard to the social media companys actions on elections and alleged Russian interference. In one moment of candour, Schroepfer acknowledged that he himself was disappointed with Facebooks handling of Russian disinformation campaigns. We were slow to understand the impact at the time, and I am way more disappointed in this than you are, Schroepfer said to laughter from the room. Its a high bar, Collins retorted. Im sorry, I shouldnt have said that, Schroepfer replied. Its something were working very hard on. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. With the price starting at Rs 10,999, the Vision 3 Pro brings in minor changes as compared to its predecessor. Rating: In about two years Xiaomi has outshined most of its competition with a string of bang-for-buck smartphones in the budget segment. And while they may not be alone, Huawei's sub-brand Honor is also creeping up in this space to make a strong presence in India. The dominance of Chinese brands has built a tough road ahead for other smartphone brands to grab a share of the budget segment pie. American-based smartphone company InFocus made its debut on Indian shores some time back, but hasn't gained the foothold in the Indian market yet. The company had recently added one more smartphone to the fray with the Vision 3 Pro. It's an incremental update to the Vision 3, launched back in December 2017. The InFocus Vision 3 sported a good value for money with the demands of a larger 18:9 display, dual rear camera setup, and a 4000mAh battery for just Rs 6,999. However, the performance wasn't up to the mark as compared to rivals in the same price bracket. The updated Vision 3 Pro faces a tough competition with the recently launched Redmi Note 5 and Honor 9 Lite that demands a tad more than this price. With the price starting at Rs 10,999, the Vision 3 Pro brings in minor changes as compared to its predecessor. It brings in a larger 18:9 display, a slightly better camera and a little more RAM and storage. However, do these factors make the InFocus Vision 3 Pro worth investing on? Let's find out. Design, Build: The InFocus Vision 3 Pro looks almost identical to its predecessor. The Pro gets a slightly classier design compared to its older sibling, which makes it look fairly modern. The tad changes in aesthetics are noticeable the speaker moves from the rear to the bottom and a chrome band bordering the rear panel and the edge plastics. The smartphone features a unibody design as usual with a metal rear panel bordered by plastic edges on the top and bottom. The phone has a sturdy build and a decent grip - thanks to the rounded edges and corners. However, it does tend to get a little slippery at times. InFocus has equipped an 18:9 display on this variant too, coming in at an HD+ (720x1440 pixels) resolution on a 5.7-inch panel. The screen has a decent level of brightness and produces good colours and viewing angles. The speaker, micro-USB port, and primary microphone take their places at the bottom, while the 3.5mm headphone jack resides on the top edge. As mentioned earlier, the rear panel is pretty much similar to Vision 3. It features a dual camera setup, an LED flash and a fingerprint sensor that is symmetrically placed in the centre. Specifications, Performance: The Vision 3 Pro is built around a MediaTek MT6750 octa-core chipset sporting 8 Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz. It is aided by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage with options for expansion. It's disappointing to see InFocus still using the old Android 7.0 Nougat while rivals are adopting Oreo out-of-the-box. A custom skin dubbed as Smile UX caters to the user interface. While trying to mimic a stock Android interface, the UI does not sport much customisation options apart from a few gestures and skins. The UI also comes along with a few bloatware that includes Amazon shopping and Prime apps, UC news and UC Browser apps, Freeshare and a few unwanted ones, which could have been left as optional. Overall, InFocus has merely upgraded the internals. The smartphone works well for casual daily tasks. With 4GB of RAM, the phone manages to multitask pretty well. We found usage to be smooth enough and did not observe lag or stutter. However, some minor lags were witnessed and the signs of stress noticed when loading a few heavier apps such as games and alike. Simply put, this phone is not meant for gaming, though casual games run smoothly and can be retained. Extended gaming sessions of heavy duty games can work, but expect a choppy performance. Camera: The Vision 3 Pro also boasts of a 13MP + 8MP dual camera setup on the rear and clubs along a single LED flash. The rear cameras on the Vision 3 Pro are not up to the mark and fails the expectation of a smooth delivery. Probably, an area where most budget smartphones usually stumble. However, the camera quality seems improved over the Vision 3. The sensor is able to capture photos with better details, but lacks proper sharpness when you zoom in to inspect the results. Colours are vibrant, but we did get some mixed results like washed out results in broad sunlight. Images snapped in daylight turn out to be good. Move on to shaded areas and noise tends to intrude. The camera also seems a bit sluggish, especially in the autofocus area. It takes quite a while to lock the focus on a subject. Especially when your subject is very close, we ended up tapping multiple times to focus on the area we needed. Macro shots taken in good lighting condition come out well though, but we had to keep calm while trying to focus on the subject. In low-lighting, the camera struggles to get sharper images. Grainy images are well noticeable at most times. Nighttime photos had relatively more noise and also lost out in terms of details. The 13MP selfie camera delivers decent photos which can be used for social media no much complaints here. All in all, the Vision 3 Pro is just a tad better than its predecessor. Check out some images snapped from the rear camera below. Battery: The InFocus Vision 3 Pro hosts a similar battery to that on the predecessor. The battery life, as one would expect from a 4000mAh power pack, is definitely good. The smartphone easily manages to deliver an entire day's worth of usage on a single charge. The Vision 3 Pro can also last an average of 1.5 days, depending on the usage. It's a good phone for those seeking a longer battery life with casual usage for everyday apps. Verdict: The InFocus Vision 3 Pro doesn't come out as a competent all-rounder. The device offers better specifications over the Vision 3, but it probably fails to deliver in comparison to its Snapdragon rivals. A long running battery life and a large display is probably the only redeeming quality of this smartphone. The dual cameras are good enough for casual photography, but don't expect it to do much. At Rs 10,999, the smartphone does seem a bit pricey as competition phones with similar price tags are able to offer a better performance in comparison. Also read: InFocus Vision 3 Review: Bezel-less and dual camera on a budget price Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The FBI raided Cohen's office and home on April 9, infuriating Trump. Prosecutors said they had been investigating the lawyer for months, largely over his business dealings rather than his legal work. (Photo: File) New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump distanced himself from his long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Thursday, hours before a judge ruled that documents seized from Cohen by the FBI should be reviewed by an independent court-appointed official. The appointment of former judge Barbara Jones as a "special master," to review the documents and decide on the ones prosecutors should be allowed to see, was essentially a compromise that both prosecutors and Cohen's lawyers had said they would be open to, even though that option was not their first choice. The FBI raided Cohen's office and home on April 9, infuriating Trump. Prosecutors said they had been investigating the lawyer for months, largely over his business dealings rather than his legal work. Once they receive the documents from Jones, prosecutors could use them in their case. It is not clear if those documents pertain to Trump's business dealings. But earlier on Thursday in an interview with Fox News, Trump said Cohen had handled only "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his overall legal work. He said the investigation "doesn't have to do with me" and "they're looking at something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business." Trump, who has said little publicly about an adult-film star who says she was paid to stay silent about a one-night stand she had with Trump in 2006, also confirmed for the first time that Cohen had represented him in "this crazy Stormy Daniels deal." Trump and Cohen have sought to limit which of the seized documents prosecutors could see, citing attorney-client privilege. The prosecutors initially said the documents should be reviewed by lawyers within their own office, who would be walled off from the main prosecution team. Cohen argued that his lawyers should get a first look. US District Judge Kimba Wood instead decided at an hour-long hearing on Thursday to opt to ask a special master to see the documents first. The prosecutors have begun to turn all of the seized materials over to Jones, who will review them to determine what is protected by attorney-client privilege. Lawyers for Cohen and Trump will be able to review in tandem, so they can object to Jones' decisions if they disagree, the judge said. The parties are due back in court to check in on the progress on May 24. Without setting a specific deadline, Wood indicated she may intervene if it were going too slowly. Jones has served in a similar role in a number of other matters. In 2016, she was appointed the independent review officer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hear corruption charges at the labour union, and has overseen corporate compliance cases. Prosecutors have said they do not believe the papers are likely to contain many privileged documents related to Trump. In a court filing on Thursday morning, they cited Trump's comment that Cohen handled only a small part of his legal work. Cohen has admitted paying USD 130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, before the 2016 election to secure her silence about having sex with Trump, which he denies. Cohen said the payment was legal, and Daniels has sued to end her nondisclosure agreement. Prosecutors are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, possible campaign law violations linked to the payment to Daniels, and perhaps other matters related to Trump's presidential campaign, a person familiar with the probe has said. The investigation stemmed in part from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into possible collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, something that Trump has repeatedly denied. Pakistan only criminalised child pornography, as well as sexual assault against minors, for the first time in March 2017, following the passage of a bill in the Senate. (Photo: File | Representational) Lahore: A Pakistan court on Friday jailed a man for seven years in the country's first ever conviction for child pornography. Sadat Amin was found guilty by a Lahore court of being part of a global child pornography racket spread across Europe and the United States. Pakistan only criminalised child pornography, as well as sexual assault against minors, for the first time in March 2017, following the passage of a bill in the Senate. According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Amin was arrested on the complaint of the Norwegian Embassy in April 2017. Investigators recovered more than 6,50,000 photographs and videos of child pornography in his possession. Amin was also given a fine of 1.2 million rupees (USD 10,000) by the court in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. The amendment to the penal code in March 2017, also criminalised human trafficking within Pakistan, and raised the age of criminal responsibility from seven to 10. Under the revised legislation, sexual assaults against minors are now punishable by up to seven years in prison. Previously only rape was criminalised. Likewise, child pornography, which was previously not mentioned in the law, is now punishable by seven years in prison. In February, a knife-wielding man with a personal grudge killed a woman and injured 12 others in a busy Beijing shopping mall a rare act of violence in the heavily policed capital. (Representational Image) Beijing: A knife-wielding man killed seven middle school children and injured 12 others as they returned home in northern China on Friday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest such rampages in the country in recent years. The suspect was detained and the injured children were receiving treatment, the propaganda department of Mizhi County in Shaanxi province said on its official social media account. The incident took place at around 6:10 pm local time, the department said, without providing further details. The ages of the children were not given, but middle school children are usually between 12 and 15 years old in China. Knife attacks are not uncommon in the country. In February, a knife-wielding man with a personal grudge killed a woman and injured 12 others in a busy Beijing shopping mall a rare act of violence in the heavily policed capital. In 2017, a man armed with a kitchen knife killed two people and wounded nine others in a supermarket in the southern city of Shenzhen. And in January 2017, a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in Chinas southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a statement, said that the two Koreas are one united people who should work together towards reunification. (Photo: ANI) Panmunjom (Demilitarised Zone) [South Korea]: North and South Korea on Friday agreed to sign a peace treaty formally later in 2018, ending the 65-year old war between the two countries. The Korean War between the two countries took place between 1950 to 53 and ended with a ceasefire and signing of an armistice agreement. Technically, both the countries are still at war since no peace treaty has been signed between them. In a joint declaration of the third inter-Korean summit at the Peace House in demilitarised zone, the document formally called the 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula,' read, "The two leaders solemnly declare ... that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new era of peace has begun," CNN reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a statement, said that the two Koreas are one united people who should work together towards reunification. "We are not a people that should be confronting each other, we should be living in unity. We have long waited for this moment to happen. All of us," Kim said. "The road I have used today, I sincerely hope every South and North Korean citizen can use this road. We will be able to enjoy peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula without having to fear the war," he added. South Korean President Moon Jae-in also reiterated that a new era of peace has begun and there will not be any more war on the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders also agreed for denuclearisation of the peninsula. While Kim did not appear to mention denuclearisation in his speech, Moon said that the two sides wanted to achieve complete denuclearisation. "Chairman Kim Jong-un and I have agreed that complete denuclearisation will be achieved, and that is our common goal," president Moon added. The declaration on denuclearisation read, "South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea are very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula." Before the joint declaration, the two Korean leaders held a ceremonial tree-planting, wherein the two shovelled some soil onto a pine tree that was already in the ground before the leaders arrived. The tree dates back to 1953, the year the armistice agreement of the Korean War was signed. Kim used soil from a mountain on the southern island of Jeju while Moon used earth from Mount Paektu in the north to plant the tree. The two Korean leaders separately watered the tree with water from the other's territory respectively. The duo will attend an elaborate dinner, to be held around 6.30 pm local time, that will include symbolic dishes originating from both the Korean countries. This is the first time in 11 years that an inter-Korean summit is being held between the two Korean leaders. The summit is expected to set the stage for the first meeting between the United States President Donald Trump and Kim, either in May or June. In Barcelona, thousands packed into the central square banging pots and pans and jangling their keys in the air. (Photo: AP) Madrid: Thousands of protesters took to the streets across Spain on Thursday after a court cleared five men of the gangrape of a teenager at the 2016 San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona. The court in the northern region of Navarra on Thursday convicted the men, who had recorded video of the attack on their mobile phones and laughed about the incident afterwards on a Whatsapp group, with the lesser crime of sexual abuse. The decision drew immediate criticism and outrage. Thousands gathered in cities across Spain from Seville to Barcelona and outside the Justice Ministry in Madrid bearing notices reading "I believe you sister" and chanting "It's not abuse, it's rape". In Madrid, men and women packed central streets chanting "Shame! Shame!" and "'No' means 'No'". In Barcelona, thousands packed into the central square banging pots and pans and jangling their keys in the air. The so-called "Wolf Pack" case had already sparked widespread anger around Spain following concern over increased reports of sex attacks at the annual festival and over the mistreatment of women in general. It has also drawn international attention, coming at a time of heightened global concern over the sexual abuse of women in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. After a five-month trial held behind closed doors to protect the victim's identity, a judge read out the sentences in the court in the northern region of Navarra. The state prosecutor had asked for prison sentences of more than 20 years for each of the men. Instead they were given nine-year sentences. Under Spanish law, the lesser charge of sexual abuse differs from rape in that it does not involve violence or intimidation. The charge is used in cases of sexual activity between underage partners or those seen not capable of giving permission for sexual contact, such as those who are severely handicapped or under the influence of drugs or drink. Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the ruling. "As a citizen and as a father, I find it hard to understand this sentence," tweeted Albert Rivera, head of market-friendly political party Ciudadanos. "It seems to be saying to victims that if you don't take on five thugs double your size, putting your life at risk, it's not rape," said Pablo Iglesias, leader of left-wing Podemos. Stolen Phone The regional government of Navarra, where the San Fermin festival takes place, will appeal the ruling, a regional government spokeswoman said. The five men, including a former policeman and a former soldier, and the victim, who was 18 at the time of the incident, were not present in court. The men, dubbed by Spanish media "The Wolf Pack" after the name of their Whatsapp group, have been held in custody since July 2016. The judge, who did not give the reasoning behind the sentence, also ordered the men to pay the victim 50,000 euros (USD 60,825) in compensation. The ruling can be appealed in Spain's Supreme Court. The incident took place in the lobby of a building in the early hours of the morning at the San Fermin festival, which brings more than one million people to Pamplona for the nine-day-long festival in July. One of the men stole the woman's mobile phone following the attack, leaving her with no means of contacting the friend with whom she had come to the festival. She was found crying on a bench by a couple who rang the police when she said she had been sexually assaulted. She made a statement to the police, describing the five men who were later arrested. Fragments of video from the men's mobile phones taken at the scene were used as evidence in the trial, alongside witness accounts and biological tests. The defence team argued the incident was a case of consensual group sex. The Running of the Bulls involves hundreds of people dressed in white shirts and red neckerchiefs running down narrow streets in front of fighting bulls before ending in the city's bull-ring, where bullfights take place in the afternoon. The festival is just as famous for the drinking and revelry on the sidelines, with huge street parties, processions and firework displays. The event draws thousands of tourists from all over the world. Thousands of people took to the streets two years ago to protest against sexual assault at the festival and the Pamplona council has mounted a campaign against sexual harassment in recent years, increasing policing and encouraging women to report attacks. Pakistan today summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to protest against "unprovoked" ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh over "unprovoked ceasefire violations" on the LoC yesterday in Padhar sector. He said the firing killed two civilians and injured two others. Faisal claimed that Indian forces along the LoC and the international border are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons. He alleged that India has carried out more than 1,000 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the international border in 2018 that has killed 23 people and injured 107 others. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations," he said. The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws, Faisal said. He further said that the ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation. He urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the international border. He also urged India to permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Shimla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. Religious freedom conditions continued a "downward trend" in India last year as Hindu-nationalist groups sought to "saffronise" it through violence, intimidation, and harassment of non-Hindus and Hindu Dalits, a US federal government appointed commission has said. The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its latest report, has placed India in the Tier 2 countries along with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhastan, Laos, Malaysia and Turkey. "Conditions for religious minorities have deteriorated over the last decade due to a multifaceted campaign by Hindu-nationalist groups like the RSS, Sangh Parivar, and VHP to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus," the USCIRF said. The victims of this campaign include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, as well as Dalit Hindus, the USCIRF said in its latest annual report on international religious freedom. "These groups face challenges ranging from acts of violence or intimidation to the loss of political power to increasing feelings of disenfranchisement and otherness," it said. Approximately one-third of state governments enforced anti-conversion and/or anti-cow slaughter laws against non-Hindus. Forced conversions of non-Hindus to Hinduism through "homecoming" ceremonies (ghar wapsi) were reported and rules on the registration of foreign-funded NGOs were used discriminatorily against religious minority groups, the report said. At the same time, the report said that despite an overall deterioration of religious freedom conditions in 2017, there were positive developments. "Some government entities have made efforts to counter increasing intolerance in the country," the USCIRF said. The active and independent judiciary, exemplified by Indias Supreme Court, decided several cases during the year that protect the rights of religious minorities, it said. In its report, the USCIRF has urged the US government to integrate concern for religious freedom into bilateral discussions with India. The killing of a former worker of ruling PDP in volatile Pulwama district on Wednesday has sent shock waves among workers of mainstream political parties in south Kashmir with most of them heading towards Srinagar take refuge. Militants shot dead Ghulam Nabi Patel in Rajpora, Pulwama, despite the 65-year-old politician having two security guards accompanying him. Just a few hours later politics of dissociation followed over his death which has left lower rung political workers stunned in Kashmir. Barely minutes after the news about his killing spread both Peoples Democratic Party and Congress disowned him. Local militants know everything about us and we cant lie or presume they are ignorant. The irony is that even after going against the popular sentiment, political parties disown us if we are killed, said a Congress activist, who arrived in Srinagar from the south on Thursday. Giving us one or two security guards wont save us from the wrath of militants. The common demand of workers heading to Srinagar from south Kashmir is to get accommodation in the city. In the last two years, several middle rung leaders have been killed by militants, especially in south Kashmir. After every killing, the government assures us that our security will be enhanced and we will be provided government accommodation in safer places. But after few days, the promise is forgotten, he rued. In November last year, a youth BJP leader was killed by the militants by slitting his throat in neighbouring Shopian district. In another incident in the same district, a former sarpanch was killed earlier and later his house was burnt by a mob led by militants. Many a time the militants have released videos of political workers, pleading with them to spare their lives and distancing themselves from pro-India political parties. On 15 March, a personal security officer of a BJP activist was injured when militants fired at him on Srinagar outskirts, which the police later described as a failed attempt to snatch his service rifle. After the attack, the BJP had demanded security cover for its 31 activists in Kashmir. Details about these 31 persons, including eight top and 25 middle-rung leaders, all of them Kashmiris, had been provided to the police by the party. The number of locals joining militant ranks in south Kashmir has seen a steep rise in the recent years. This is leading to a sense of insecurity among those participating in mainstream political activities at the ground level. The Karnataka elections provide an opportunity for people to take a general view of the issues at stake at the state and national levels. And since parliamentary elections are just a year away, the state elections cannot fail to be a prelude of national significance. The 2,000-odd contestants provide much human and political material to educate ordinary citizens, and grist for analysts and occasion for amusement, too. Unfortunately, the campaign discourse is characterised by mutual recrimination and invectives rather than by issues of importance and welfare of the people the idea of India stands neglected, a great political loss. Despite these proclivities of contestants and their parties, people ask questions about various issues. Thanks to the constant vigil of the Election Commission, the campaign is not as boisterous as it would have been otherwise. Ordinary citizens are saved from noise pollution, though social media trolls, with all their bravado, falsehoods and exaggerations are indeed a nuisance. Karnataka has long been known for setting the trend in development industries and educational institutions have dotted the state for long and have made it one of the most advanced states in the country. Bengaluru is among the highest tax paying cities, thanks to the efforts of the central and state governments, and is inviting people from other parts of the country and abroad for employment and training. How far the civic amenities are in good shape in Bengaluru and other parts of the country is an issue that requires attention. But voters know that no party has a magic wand to solve this issue, despite partisan recriminations. Many candidates are millionaires and the rate of growth of their assets has accelerated. Thus, ordinary people are practically shut out from contesting, indeed a wrong signal regarding the promotion of democracy, equality and peoples participation on equal terms. These millionaire candidates, our future representatives, are sure to convert administration into a pro-rich, pro-contractor plutocracy and the administrations fair play cannot be reasonably expected when vested interests rule the roost. Political parties have preferred the rich, and much turmoil over seat distribution, manhandling and stone-pelting at party offices has been witnessed. In India, distributive justice is avowed, but general economic development has failed to reach benefits to the poor. Various freebies, mid-day meals, Indira canteen, anna bhagya, ksheera bhagya, arogya bhagya etc, are offered and need to be made efficient and universal. This requires to be studied and highlighted constructively, but this is being freely used as a pejorative. The larger issue of government expenditure going haywire and transfer of resources as a part of distributive justice has not received attention, a part of the socialist ideal an item for political education and closer attention at legislature committee level. These avowed acts of distributive justice are contrasted with general economic growth policies and inexorability of growth in investment, skills, allocations and taxation the trickle-down theory of growth or direct attack on poverty. The issue of sectarian violence such as the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, the murder of Mohammed Akhlak, the manipulation of legislature majorities in Goa and Bihar, the turmoil in Mangaluru-Udupi regions, burning of churches etc, the obsession with murder of political opponents/partisans as murder of patriots/nationalists, the discharge of the accused for want of prosecution perspicacity in marshalling evidence, have all to be considered, and provide benchmarks against the adherence to the ideals of peace and inclusive politics, and justice and equality. This turmoil is feared to be engineered for political gains. These have not been thought about objectively. Adding to this is the frequent reference to simultaneous elections to Parliament and state legislatures, and an attempt to enforce this simultaneity through the law and an amendment to the Constitution. What is meant by political strength and stability? Are Opposition parties obstructing development by raising legitimate questions about policy and administrative commissions and omissions? Independence of the judiciary and appointments to higher courts are worrying political questions; government is often seen as partisan. These questions have not received attention as a part of the election campaign. The question of reservations is ever present, and parties are eager to assure reservation for larger sections of people and castes, indeed a poll ploy. But the country needs to discuss the efficacy of extant reservation practices and the pace of improvement among the backward and Scheduled Castes. The Muslims and the Other Backward Classes are largely consigned to social, political and physical ghettos. Reservation policies have not helped them significantly. Prior to the ushering in of the Constitution in 1950, from almost the beginning of the 20th century, the reservation policy was practised in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These issues are central to the socio-economic and political development of the people of India. There is seldom any improvement in service delivery institutions in the country and election campaigners are not highlighting these all too important issues. Thus, contributions from 2018 Karnataka election campaign to political education are almost next to nothing. (The writer is a former professor, Maharajas College, University of Mysore) Taking a dig at those who prefer the Gujarat Model, of development in states, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka is number one in terms of investment. From the 13th position in 2013-14 in investment, Karnataka was ranked number one in 2016-17 and 2017-18, he claimed. Addressing a packed house at the release of Congress poll manifesto at T M A Pai Auditorium here on Friday, the CM sought to know if anybody would have invested in Karnataka if the law and order in the state had been poor. It is common sense, he ridiculed and added that the murders, rapes and dacoities reported during the Congress rule were far lesser than BJPs. Referring to allegations that 23 BJP activists had been murdered in the last five years, the CM said that only 12 out of 23 had some association with the BJP. Eleven others were common people. Spreading false propaganda and politicising murders is done only by inhuman people, he said. Noting that the BJP could win only 4 seats out of 19 seats in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada (8), Udupi (5) and Uttara Kannada (6), he said that the Congress had won 13 out of 19 seats (while two were won by the Independents). Thanking the audience for bringing Congress to power in the last elections, he said that he is hopeful that this time too, the people of coastal region will not let down the Congress party and will help win more seats than last time. Referring to Basavannas saying Nudidanthe Nade (Do as you say), Siddaramaiah said that the Congress had performed as promised five years ago and would continue to do so. He also said that every time he prepared the budget in the last six years, he had referred to the manifesto. I am proud that 99% of the assurances out of a total of 165 have been implemented, he said to the cheering crowd. Stating that usually, there is an anti-incumbency sentiment during elections, Siddaramaiah said that there is no anti-incumbency feeling among the people of the state this time. Referring to the program to render 159 APMCs out of 165 APMCs in state going online, he said that the Union Agriculture Minister had borrowed his idea for inclusion in the Union budget and replication all over the country. AICC President Rahul Gandhi, KPCC President Dr G Parameshwara and AICC General Secretary K Venugopal were present. SALT LAKE CITY The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would shield special counsel Robert Mueller from any attempt by President Donald Trump to fire him. Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee were among the Republicans who voted against the legislation, which the panel passed 14-7. Four Republicans joined the Democrats in favor. Hatch reiterated that though the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election should continue, the bill is unconstitutional. "Firing Mueller would cause a firestorm and bring the administrations agenda to a halt. It could even result in impeachment," Hatch told the committee. Hatch said Congress is right to send a strong message to Trump that he should not fire Mueller and that he has joined his colleagues in a resolution saying that. "But in seeking to protect Mueller, and to impress upon the president the crucial importance of allowing the investigation to run its course, its important that we not overstep our constitutional authority," he said. Lee, who also favors Mueller finishing the investigation, argued against the bill in the committee hearing. He said any attempt to restrict the authority vested in the president is unconstitutional. "If you truly are supervising someone, you have the power to stop them, you have the ability to remove them from the position they occupy if they exercise that power wrongly," he said. The Satanic Temple responded swiftly to the installation of a new Ten Commandments monument on the Arkansas Capitol grounds in Little Rock. No sooner had the monument been lowered onto the grounds by a crane on Thursday (April 26), than Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of the Satanic Temple, said his group will join a lawsuit soon to be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The Satanic Temple, which claims 100,000 members around the world, has become a vocal advocate on the issue of religious freedom. It has attempted in various provocative ways to highlight the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion. After Oklahoma installed a Ten Commandments monument on its Capitol grounds in 2012, the group tried to install its own statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed, angel-winged creature accompanied by two children smiling at it. It never got that far after the states Supreme Court ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments monument in 2015, on the grounds that it violated a provision in the state constitution prohibiting use of state property to further religions. Greaves, who flew from his home in Salem, Mass., to Little Rock to be on hand for the installation of the monument, predicted an Arkansas court would do the same. It may be compelled to make a summary judgment, he said. Members of the Satanic Temple dont believe in a literal Satan but see the biblical Satan as a metaphor for rebellion against tyranny. The groups stated mission is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice. The group believes the state is discriminating in favor of Christians. No religion gets preference over the other, Greaves said. They should all have access to whatever forums are available. The Arkansas monument replaces one that was destroyed less than a year ago when a man crashed his car into the original display less than 24 hours after it was installed. Michael T. Reed was charged with criminal mischief but found to be mentally unfit to stand trial. He had also destroyed a Ten Commandments statue in Oklahoma in 2015. The installation of the new tablet-shaped monument was livestreamed online by state Sen. Jason Rapert, a Republican who sponsored the 2015 act that approved the monuments placement on the Capitol building grounds. The act states the placing of a monument to the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol would help the people of the United States and of the State of Arkansas to know the Ten Commandments as the moral foundation of the law. It was funded by private donations. Backers of the monument say its meant to copy a Ten Commandments monument in Texas that stands on the grounds of the state Capitol. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed that monument to stand since it had been there for many years and because there were other monuments on the grounds of the Austin Capitol. SALT LAKE CITY Hit-and-run accidents are on the rise on average across the rest of the country. However, Utah sets a standard for its number of hit-and-runs compared to many other states, having the fourth lowest, according to data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In 2016 the most recent year in the foundation's data California saw a staggering 337 hit-and-run accidents. By contrast, Utah had six such incidents, the least since 2010. But that doesn't mean the Beehive State is immune to recent accidents involving pedestrians who were jaywalking or crossing the road using crosswalks. Forty-two pedestrians were killed by motorists in the state last year, according to the Utah Department of Transportation. "Last winter, there was a number of people that were actually struck by vehicles in crosswalks," said Gary Keller, spokesman for the South Salt Lake Police Department. His department ran a Crosswalk Traffic Enforcement Operation at two crosswalks Thursday where police say they've received "several complaints" that drivers aren't stopping. Among recent accidents involving pedestrians in northern Utah: In November, a man was killed when a vehicle struck him in a crosswalk in West Valley City. In December, a man died after he was struck while crossing the road in Taylorsville. Investigators said he did not use a crosswalk. In January,two teenage girls were injured when a car struck them in a crosswalk in West Jordan. Also in January, a 23-year-old man was killed when crossing the road in Midvale. Investigators said the victim was not using a crosswalk. "We just want to make motorists aware and pedestrians aware of where they're crossing, to keep everybody safe. That's our objective," Keller said Thursday. Officers ran the operation at the crosswalks on Gregson Avenue (3050 South) and State Street, and at Sunset Avenue and State Street, to help educate the public about what they should do when they approach a crosswalk, and to tell pedestrians how they can keep themselves safe. Officer Jerry Silva acted as a pedestrian, repeatedly crossing the road, as three officers on motorcycles and one in a patrol car stood by. Police set up orange traffic cones near the intersection to give approaching motorists warning. When motorists drove through without waiting for Silva to cross, the officers standing by pulled over those they could and wrote them citations. "We're not out here to write a lot of tickets, or to see how many tickets we can write," Keller explained. "Unfortunately, the best way to make people more aware is to write citations." When a crosswalk is on a divided roadway, like at Gregson Avenue and State Street, motorists must be stopped as soon as the pedestrian enters their side of the road. They can resume driving when the pedestrian has reached the median. When a road is not divided, motorists must remain stopped until pedestrians cross safely to the other side of the road. Keller said it's important for drivers to be aware of "perception time and reaction time." It takes 1 1/2 seconds for a car to physically slow down. During that 1 1/2 seconds, a car going 35 mph will travel about 79 feet, he said. "People have to be very aware. As they drive, they want to recognize where the crosswalks are on their way to work. I drive State Street to work, and so I know this is here. And so even before I get to the crosswalk, I already put my foot on the break, so I've cut down my reaction time," Keller said. Not only does failing to yield to pedestrians carry a high risk, it carries a high cost. If pulled over, the citation costs about $120, Keller said. Pedestrians also carry some responsibility for crossing the road safely. As part of the operation, police were watching for people jaywalking. "Improper use of roadway by a pedestrian," or jaywalking, carries a $50 fine. As Keller explained crosswalk safety, Silva again entered the crosswalk looking for clearance to cross. "Watch this there's one, there's two, there's three, there's four, there's five vehicles," Keller counted as cars sped through, despite Silva clearly waiting to cross. Often, motorists will fail to stop, after the example of vehicles in front of them. "They'll think: 'Well, it's OK, that car went through.' But it is not. You're responsible for your own driving," Keller explained. "And then for pedestrians, they need to watch for traffic just as (Silva) does," he said. For Silva, watching closely every time he crossed the street, "It's nerve-wracking, because you want to make sure you have eye contact. Because if they're not stopping, I need to make a decision," he said. He said factors that contribute to people failing to yield to pedestrians are distractions such as phones, and motorists following too close and speeding. With one of the nations healthiest state economies and the No. 1 ranking in current job growth, Utah has risen to a privileged place. Getting to the top is an achievement, but staying there requires a careful strategy with little room for error. To remain attractive for economic opportunity and to maintain a high standard of living, Utah lawmakers and private-sector leaders must ensure pending growth is carefully planned, and educating and retaining a high-skilled workforce is a top priority. Fueled by a thriving technology sector, the state boasted a 3.7 percent rate of private-sector job growth in March top in the country. Various assessments of economic health on a state basis consistently rank Utahs economy in the top five. But challenges lie in wait. First is the rapid level of growth Utah will continue to experience. A healthy job market brings new workers from out of state, adding to the rate of population growth. In 2016, Utah had the highest rate of population growth at 2 percent, compared to the national average of 0.7 percent. As a result, the states housing supply is in a crunch with real estate prices in many areas rising beyond the reach of low and middle-income residents. Transportation and infrastructure needs will also pose challenges to a rapidly growing economy. The Point of the Mountain and Salt Lake Citys northwest quadrant are two areas set to explode in the coming decade, and the wrong plans could halt or reverse the gains of growth. Other cities with similar rates of growth have found themselves struggling to keep up with pressures on transportation systems and other pieces of infrastructure. Grinding traffic congestion, for instance, plagues commuters in San Francisco and Seattle. In Denver, a population growth spurt over the last two decades has led to worsening air quality. What's happening in those markets is mirrored by the trends seen in nascent form along the Wasatch Front. Take, for example, the states ascending technology industry. Relatively low housing prices has been a factor in luring tech workers from the high-priced Silicon Valley and elsewhere to Utahs Silicon Slopes. But now, housing prices along the Wasatch Front have risen to levels no longer in bargain territory. According to research by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, the median price of a home in urban Utah is 20 percent higher than in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Boise cities with which Utah competes in the area of business expansion. Public education also needs to keep pace for Utah to remian viable as a tech mecca. Currently, Utah lags behind in average levels of proficiency for K-12 students in STEM education. Tech companies here are already worried about their ability to fill open positions with homegrown talent. If housing prices are high and the pool of qualified workers is low, technology firms will be less favorably inclined to consider Utah as a place for new investment. Innovative solutions, such as the state's IT Pathways Program, are promising avenues for expanding tech education. Policymakers should continue to find similar ways of bolstering student engagement and success in these fields. Utah is facing a necessary and perhaps inevitable change of priorities regarding economic development among the next generation of policymakers. Their task will be to carefully plan out infrastructure needs for key growth areas and to channel necessary resources into the states lagging educational programs. Maintaining success is never easy, but if the right plans fall into place, the Beehive State might stay on top. SALT LAKE CITY Another associate of a Cottonwood Heights man accused of running an international drug ring from his home faces federal charges for allegedly making fake prescription painkillers. Jonathan Luke Paz allegedly manufactured 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid, according to charges filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. He also allegedly made pills to look like 30-mg oxycodone tablets, in which fentanyl was substituted for oxycodone. Paz also is accused of money laundering. Prosecutors are seeking to seize a 2011 Ford pickup, a 2008 BMW sedan and $7 million in cash, including $5.3 million from the sale of 513.15 bitcoin, the charges state. According to the charges, Paz worked with Aaron Michael Shamo, who is scheduled to go to trial in August. Shamo and Drew Wilson Crandall are accused of manufacturing fake prescription-drug pills in Shamo's home and selling them on the darknet an area of the internet often used for illegal activity to thousands of people all over the country, at one point raking in $2.8 million in less than a year. Authorities are investigating 28 overdose deaths they say could be connected to the drug ring, though no charges have been filed in the deaths. Agents seized nearly 500,000 pills from Shamo's home in Cottonwood Heights, court documents state. Prosecutors say the agents found guns and more than $1 million in cash stuffed in garbage bags, as well as pills made to look like Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and oxycodone. Investigators also came upon a cache of about $500,000 worth of bitcoin, which exploded last December and reached an estimated $8.5 million in value. Prosecutors successfully motioned to sell the cryptocurrency, along with some of Shamo's other assets. SALT LAKE CITY The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah is trying to find out more about how a travel ban, issued by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office, was implemented at the Salt Lake City International Airport "during the hours before and after" it was halted via court directive. The civil rights advocacy organization said in a release this week that it has reason to believe execution of the ban nationwide was "chaotic" and "scary for a lot of people," but it is still seeking records about how U.S. Customs & Border Protection agents were instructed to act at the Salt Lake airport specifically. The federal agency has not been cooperative with those records requests, the ACLU of Utah claims, which is why the organization sued the government in April of last year seeking their release. The federal lawsuit "demand(s) emails and documents discussing how agents implemented" the ban, as well as records related to "whether they adhered to the court-ordered injunction," ACLU of Utah spokesman Jason Stevenson said in a release. In January, a judge ruled U.S. Customs and Border Protection must turn over all documents, said Leah Farrell, staff attorney for the ACLU of Utah. "We'll have the totality of those documents by the end of the year," Farrell told the Deseret News. "Of course, we believe we should've gotten these much sooner." Farrell added that "we do expect the order to be fully complied with." In response to several questions from the Deseret News, Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jason Givens said in an email that "as a matter of policy, (the agency) does not comment on pending litigation." "However, lack of comment should not be construed as agreement or stipulation with any of the allegations," he said, referring to the ACLU's claims that were asked about. The ban, issued as an executive order by Trump seven days after he assumed the presidency, included a directive prohibiting the entry of virtually all non-U.S. citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days. It also suspended the intake of refugees for 120 days and put the acceptance of Syrian refugees on hold indefinitely. Within days, amid dozens of legal challenges, enforcement of much of the ban was halted via court directive. The ban has since been superseded twice by the Trump administration, and a legal challenge to its current version which removes Sudan and adds North Korea and Venezuela to the list of countries affected by the mandated travel restriction was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Each of the Trump administration's travel bans has been criticized by the ACLU as a "Muslim ban" motivated by religious discrimination against those from countries where the majority of citizens adhere to Islam. But the Trump administration has contended the measures are rational and designed to protect national security, saying affected nations do a poor job vetting travelers' backgrounds. The ACLU of Utah lawsuit applies strictly to the first iteration of the ban, Farrell explained, but she said the organization has opposed all three versions. "It is very important to look at the initial ban and the language from President Trump's campaign to see it for what it is," she said. "(Adding) a couple countries, making the lines blurred, doesn't erase what was the initial impetus for the ban." Despite controversial accounts of travelers' detainment at airports in the aftermath of the initial ban, Farrell said "we didn't hear of anyone being detained specifically at the Salt Lake airport," adding "we don't have an absolute answer to that." She said it would "make sense knowing what we do about the routes" from the affected countries that people were not detained in Salt Lake, considering that "there isn't a lot of direct traffic" to Utah from those places. However, any interrogations at the Salt Lake airport, or unknown incidents of people being detained there, are "absolutely ... what we were looking for in the records," Farrell said. "(But) that's not the end of the inquiry," she said. "Also what's important for us to see is, what was the communication like, what was happening as the courts were making decisions, what were some of the local conversations?" The ACLU of Utah wants "to really understand what was happening on the ground" and "how we locally were affected, what our officers who work at our airports were instructed to do," Farrell said. She said it's especially important to find what happened locally because of the ban's "surprise rollout," which she termed "chaotic," adding it's possible that some of the executive order's directives may have been carried out even in the hours after it was temporarily halted in court. "That's incredibly important for us to find out," Farrell said. Farrell said the ACLU is seeking documentation about how the ban was applied in Salt Lake with the human implications of its enforcement in mind. "We're dealing with some of the most scary moments for those who were caught up in this," she said. "The intensity of the experience of being held and being unsure what's going to happen to you and unsure if you're going to be sent back to a very dangerous place it's hard to capture in words how intense that experience would have been for people." The ACLU of Hawaii and ACLU of Northern California are plaintiffs in the same records request lawsuit, which also seeks documentation about how the travel ban was implemented at Honolulu International Airport, Kona International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and San Jose International Airport. "Specifically, the request seeks records concerning (Customs and Border Protection's) local implementation ... at international airports within the purview of (its) San Francisco field office," the lawsuit states. Farrell confirmed the administrators of the Salt Lake airport itself, which falls under the stewardship of Salt Lake City's municipal government, are not believed to have the records targeted in the lawsuit. "It does come down to U.S. Customs, in the fact that they are the ones who have control over these decisions," she said. PROVO After more than six years in prison, Ben Aldana realized how close he had come to throwing his life away. While taking part in a drug treatment program behind bars, the recovering meth addict listened to other inmates talk about growing up in crime-ridden inner city environments where very few have a shot at a life. Aldana was raised in a loving Utah home where his parents had given him every opportunity to succeed. Yet to that point he had chosen a life of drugs and crime. "What's your excuse?" Aldana asked himself. "You don't have one." Eight years later, Aldana's prison epiphany has motivated him to pursue a new life in which he can help others and help bring about positive change in the criminal justice system. This weekend, Aldana will graduate from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School and upon passing the Utah Bar Exam, assume a job with the Utah County Public Defender's Office. Carl Hernandez, a BYU law school professor, says Aldana's story illustrates the power of education and giving people second chances. "Everybody is entitled to second and third chances, even multiple chances, if they are willing to put the work in," Hernandez said. "As a society, we have to give people a chance to succeed, notwithstanding the fact they may have had some blemishes. We all have blemishes on our record, every one of us. Some are just a little less visible than others. I think everyone deserves an opportunity." Although he was raised in a supportive LDS household in Mapleton, Utah, Aldana describes himself as an "angry" young man. He said he destroyed property and stole things. Part of his behavior may have stemmed from seeing his parents divorce and his mother remarry, but ultimately, he accepts responsibility for his choices. "I became one of those rebellious kids. I was an angry kid who got into fights," Aldana said. "Between the ages of 13 and 23, my life was pretty much crime, drugs and selfishness. People make their choices, and I made some pretty bad ones." As a teenager, Aldana got a job finishing concrete during the summers and was introduced to methamphetamine by his co-workers. It became his drug of choice. He barely graduated from high school, Aldana said. At age 18, Aldana was pulled over for driving under the influence and was found to be in possession of an explosive device, basically a pipe bomb, he said. This led to his first stint in jail. "From there I just dug myself into a hole," Aldana said. "Before that case was even resolved I caught another case and another one and another one, and eventually I had this whole series of cases that I was being sentenced for." After he was released, Aldana's drug use only increased because of a new network of people he'd met in prison. But meth use was an expensive habit, so at various times he would buy larger amounts and sell off smaller quantities to cover the high cost. Two unforgettable events led to serious jail time for Aldana. First, on a night in November 2003, Aldana went looking for a friend at his West Salt Lake warehouse on the same night it was being raided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Driving up at the wrong moment, Aldana said he was pulled from his car by dark-clad figures with guns and questioned. He spent three days in jail and was released when no charges were filed. But he was on the DEA's radar. On another late night in February 2004, the 23-year-old Aldana showed up at a South Jordan hotel looking to buy some drugs from his dealer but couldn't find him. The hotel receptionist thought Aldana looked suspicious and called the police. When Aldana tried to leave, a patrol car blocked him in and he was arrested. After some time in the Weber County Jail, Aldana ended up in federal court where Judge Dee Benson could have sentenced him to 110 months, but instead gave him 96 months (8 years) jail time. Aldana served out his sentence at a federal correctional prison in Sheridan, Oregon. Looking back, Aldana feels fortunate he didn't get more time, he said. "I didn't actually get arrested doing the things I was doing. I got arrested and drug into someone else's problem, which was lucky because that was lesser offensive conduct in the eyes of the law than the things I was doing," said Aldana who remembers other drug dealers receiving sentences of 15-20 years. "I kind of got lucky here." Once in prison, Aldana began to experience painful dental problems, which turned out to be a blessing. Aldana's wisdom teeth were growing sideways, pushing against his other teeth and causing headaches. He requested treatment for about a year before the problem was finally corrected by a dentist. As a result of the procedure, Aldana was in and out of the dental clinic for follow-up visits. He noticed other inmates working in the prison dental clinic. "That would be an interesting job," he thought, "I wonder how you get that?" Aldana expressed interest in a dental assistant job but didn't get an opportunity for another year. Once he did, he realized he liked helping other people and learning new things. Aldana later became involved in the medical clinic and was given the chance to teach a class. "That was the first time in my life that I'd ever been given the responsibility to help other people, and it was people that I knew and lived with. I was pretty much devoid of empathy before that," Aldana said. "Being put in that kind of position where I had to learn how to do stuff and apply it. The more I learned and the better I did my job, the more people could see the dentist. It was like walking out of prison every day when I went to work because of the environment." Completing a drug program and good behavior allowed Aldana to get out of prison after six years. He was ready to do something with this life. "That is where the motivation came from to go to school," Aldana said. At age 29, Aldana got a job in road construction and started taking classes at Utah Valley University with the goal of going to law school. His drug problem was behind him. A car accident almost derailed his plan. One day on campus, Aldana was involved in a wreck, but he left the scene of the accident, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. When tracked down by police, he felt remorse and expressed his willingness to fix the problem. Facing the possibility of returning to prison, his lawyer counseled him to get straight A's in his classes, gather letters of recommendation from as many credible people as he could and to see a therapist, which he did. His efforts to show this was a mistake and not a return to former behavior paid off. Instead of a Class A misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, along with a possible felony hit-and-run charge, Aldana received a fine and avoided going back to jail. He continued to get good grades at UVU. "The prosecutor looked at it and said I'm going to give you a chance," Aldana said. "Having somebody who could just hammer you, and squash you like a bug, say they will give you a chance, that totally changed the way I view people on that side of the criminal justice system. There are good people there and they can do good things." When it came time to apply to law school, one school's law school admissions office told Aldana he had no chance of attending their program. Others laughed. But when his application was processed at BYU, Marie Kulbeth, who then worked in admissions, said there was a moment of "Oh, this is different." "Often times when you see someone with a criminal history, it makes you hesitate and say this may be problematic, both for them taking the bar but also because at BYU we have a strict Honor Code," Kulbeth said. "But at the end of reading Bens personal statement, I felt differently." Kulbeth walked into the office of Gayla Sorenson, then dean of admission, and said she needed to discuss an applicant. Dean Sorenson also had one to review. They were both talking about Aldana, Kulbreth said. "The standard response would probably be no," said Kulbeth, now the assistant dean of communications and marketing. "But from reading his personal statement, he's clearly made this incredible life change." After a rigorous review process in which BYU law school admissions staff met with Aldana more than once, and with his full cooperation with every aspect of his troubled past, he was admitted. Kulbeth said one reason BYU's law school gave Aldana a chance was to help other students benefit from his experience. "Having students with different backgrounds means they will respond to questions in different ways and help classmates to think about questions in something other than their own traditional way," Kulbeth said. Aldana can also use his own experience and knowledge of the criminal justice system, combined now with his new skill set, to help others in similar situations, Kulbeth said. Carl Hernandez first met and became acquainted with Aldana during his first year of law school. Hernandez said Aldana reminded him of his brother who also had been incarcerated for several years. Hernandez wanted to help Aldana. In addition to having him in a few classes, Hernandez became a friend and mentor to Aldana. In his 17 years at BYU, Hernandez is only aware of one other student with a situation similar to Aldana's in the law school. "We take a really careful look at students. But we also understand there are students like Ben who have overcome significant challenges in their life and have done the very best they can to put their past life behind them and are looking forward and ready to make significant contributions to our society. Ben is one of those," Hernandez said. "That type of offer doesn't come without demonstrating significant talent and capacity in that subject area, and he has demonstrated his passion, knowledge and skill to work in that arena." Kulbeth agrees. "Throughout Bens story you see people relying on this idea that people do have the power to change. You have to put a bit of hope and faith into someone to do that," she said. "When he finally reached the place where he was ready and capable of making those changes, he reached out for every opportunity educational, professional, faith-based every connection he had who was willing to help him and relied on them as they put some faith and trust in him." More than a decade after he was sentenced to 96 months in jail, Aldana's story came full circle as he found himself taking classes from the same federal judge Dee Benson who issued his sentence. About a year ago, Aldana recalls staying after class to ask some questions. Judge Benson asked Aldana how he was doing? Of course he was fine, but the question caused Aldana to deeply reflect on where he's been and once again he realized how grateful he is for how things have turned out. "I didn't think much about it at the time," Aldana said, "but later as I was driving home I thought about how lucky I am to be out of prison, doing what I'm doing." Although there have been moments of frustration and discouragement along the way, Aldana is thrilled for the future. In sharing his story, Aldana hopes people take away a message about having compassion, giving people second chances and not wasting opportunities. "People can change. Not everybody does," Aldana said. "But you never know who is going to unless they're actually given the opportunity to show you." More than a year after announcing Apples iTunes will come to Microsoft Store, the day has finally arrived. The app is now available to download on the Microsoft Store and users running Windows 10 will be able to download and use the app. The app took its own sweet time to arrive in the store but it doesnt mean the standard desktop app is going anywhere. The Microsoft Store app will likely be popular among Windows 10S users, the stripped down version of Windows that can only run apps from the Microsoft Store. The app offers all the features that the standard desktop app does Access to Apple Music, syncing iOS devices, and double up as a media player. The UI also looks similar to the desktop app with the menus and shortcuts intact. The inclusion of iTunes will boost the popularity of the Microsoft Store that has suffered from the lack of developer support. But things are looking up for the Redmond-based company. Earlier, Spotify, that will soon launch in India, also brought its app to the Microsoft Store using Desktop Bridge, Microsofts solution to convert traditional desktop software to apps. The move is also part of Microsoft's efforts to cross-pollinate the ecosystem with the inclusion of Apple products on its store and the presence of Microsoft apps on both Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Windows 10 S, which will eventually become S Mode is being promoted as a hassle-free option to use Windows for students and businesses. It is a locked down version of Windows that can only run apps from the store. iTunes users can download the app from the Microsoft Store from today. However, if you have the desktop app of iTunes installed, the Store version will remove that and migrate your setting from there to the app when you run it for the first time. Tata Motors hit the headlines when it unveiled two new concept cars at the 2018 Auto Expo. The company is looking to offer more premium experiences to its customers in future, and the new concepts - the H5X SUV and the 45X concept were both aimed at offering better powertrain, interior quality, features and overall exterior design. Now, we have a timeline in hand. Mayank Pareek, President of Tata Motors' passenger vehicle business, stated in an interview with The Times of India that both the cars will be launched next year, with the H5X lined up for early 2019, and the 45X to follow suit soon after that in Q2 2019. Pareek also stated that Tata Motors is looking to fill in the voids in its portfolio where it does not have a product. As a result, it will be targeting segments like the premium hatchback market, mid-size and full-size sedans as well as premium SUVs for its upcoming car launches. By 2021, the company aims to have a product in at least 90 percent of all the car segments in the country. The Tata H5X SUV is being based on Tata Motors' subsidiary Land Rover's OMEGA (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced) architecture, but will be slightly tweaked to form the company's new OMEGA-ARC platform. For reference, the OMEGA platform presently underpins cars like the Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar E-Pace. The production model of the H5X SUV is touted to be powered by a Fiat-sourced MultiJet II engine, which will reportedly be paired with both 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmissions, and produce 140bhp in the 5-seater variant and the 170bhp in the 7-seater variant. The exterior will be based on Tata's Impact Design 2.0 styling language, and we also expect to see updated interior equipment list. Reports indicate that the Tata H5X SUV will be priced within Rs. 15 lac, and the 5-seater variant is expected to launch first. When launched, the H5X will be up against the likes of the Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass, the new Mahindra XUV500 and the likes. The Tata 45X will also carry the Impact Design 2.0 philosophy forward, and have similar interiors in tune with how Tata wants to design its cars over the next two years. Not much has been revealed about this one yet, but we do expect to see an updated version of the new ConnectNext interface that we've seen in the sub-compact SUV, the Tata Nexon. The Tata 45X will face stiff competition in a segment that has massive popular cars like the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo as equally compelling options. Tata Motors has always held its reputation in terms of providing excellent interior space, but questions have often risen in terms of the overall interior quality that the company's cars provide. With the new crop of cars, this is what Tata Motors will be looking to address first. Tata Motors also unveiled the EVision concept sedan at the Geneva Motor Show, which showed a glimpse at the type of premium designs that the company intends to work on. Hopefully, we will get to hear more about the company's first all-electric passenger vehicle too, now that word is out about production timelines of the company's new generation of cars. These days, everyone has easy means to figure out if they not only have the passion, but also the eye for photography. Smartphones have allowed people to explore new avenues with the artform, but if you find yourself tumbling down the photographic rabbit hole, youve obviously toyed with the idea of getting a DSLR for yourself. But be warned, as someone who is so used to using compact and incredibly light smartphones to take photos, a DSLR, in contrast, is big and heavy. Mirrorless cameras are in some ways, best of both the worlds for the given price. IF you have Rs. 60,000 to spend on a shiny new camera, here are some options, each of them being a great alternative to a full-sized DSLR. Sony Alpha A6000 The Sony A6000 may be a few years old now, with newer models in the market (which are far more expensive), but it is still very much a wonderful shooting machine. Its 24-megapixel back-side illuminated APS-C sensor has great low light performance. When it was released, it was the Sony mirrorless camera flagship in the crop sensor category with its 11fps burst mode and stellar AF performance. The kit lens is a great piece of optic for beginners and Sony offers a vast portfolio of lenses for every kind of user. The best part, the Sony A600 can be bought on Amazon for Rs. 54,680 and on Flipkart for Rs. 44,989. The Amazon kit includes two lenses while Flipkarts offering has only one, so choose accordingly. Olympus OM-D E-M10 MarkII Olympus and Panasonic together created the micro four-thirds sensor for a mirrorless camera, along with being the first ones to introduce in-body image stabilization. This is a feature that no DSLR offers and if you want image stabilization, youre going to have to invest in the more expensive variant of the lens. With the Olympus OM-D E-M10 MarkII (lets just call it the E-M10 shall we?), you won't have to worry about buying lenses with image stabilization as the body will offer it anyway. The E-M10 has a 16-megapixel sensor, perfectly adequate even for poster-size prints. It's not a flagship camera for Olympus, but even as their entry-level model, it is an incredibly refined piece of imaging gear. You can buy the Olympus OM-D E-M10 MarkII on Amazon for Rs. 57,990 with the 14-40 and 40-150mm lenses. Canon EOS M50 The Canon EOS M50 is Canons latest mirrorless camera and though not at the very top of Canons portfolio, it does offer some very interesting features. For starters, you get the ability to record 4K video in-camera. Not to mention, Canon allows you to use any of their lenses on the EO M50 by means of a lens converter which gives you 100% functionality of all the lenses. The M50 is incredibly compact and decently priced. Plus, you get a camera backed by Canons decades worth of imaging lineage. Currently, the camera is priced at Rs. 59,450 on Amazon, just a hair below our budget threshold. Fujifilm X-A3 Fujifilm made a name for itself thanks to its unique X-Trans sensors, which employ randomized pixel placement on the sensor to generate unique colour tones and grain pattern. Unfortunately, the entry-level X-A3 does not come with an X-Trans sensor, but Fuji definitely knows how to make great imaging sensors. The Fujifilm X-A3 is definitely a very unique looking camera, blending the aesthetics of a rangefinder with a modern ergonomic layout. Fujifilm is known to make cameras that make people instantly fall in love with them, including this writer whos used Fujis many cameras for over four years. Even though its an entry level camera, it is incredibly lightweight, with a 24-megapixel sensor and a 180-degree tilting touch-enabled LCD. All this along with the kit 16-50mm kit lens can be had for Rs. 47,999 from any one of the major retail electronics chains. The above four cameras are great to start off with, offering a great mix of performance, portability and convenience. Dont stress about the year these cameras were released. The laws of physics are still the same, so you should still get reliable performance from each of these cameras, far better than a smartphone, and at par with a DSLR costing Rs. 60,000. Infosys's Indianapolis hub to create 3,000 jobs as US operations expand Information technology service provider Infosys on Thursday announced plans to build a campus in Indianapolis, investing about $245 million that will generate around 3,000 jobs in the city in the coming years, as the company continues its expansion in the United States. The Bangalore, India-based company said the proposed campus to be built over 141 acres, at a now-vacant site of the former Indianapolis International Airport terminal, will house a $35 million training centre. The center will be a tech hub that teaches its American workers computer science skills such as big data and cloud technology. Its employees will include engineers, developers, analysts, architects and technology consultants, Infosys president Ravi Kumar said. Infosys will be entitled to incentives and subsidies of as much as $101.8 million from the state and the city for the project, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. This is a powerful partnership. Its going to change the way we do business, Gov Eric Holcomb said during Thursdays announcement event with vice president Mike Pence, his predecessor as governor. The Infosys project marks the largest jobs commitment the Indiana economic development agency had received since it was established in 2005, Holcomb said. The Indianapolis centre is the first among four technology hubs planned across the United states, the others to be built in North Carolina, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The company had last year revealed plans for establishing an Indianapolis tech center with 2,000 employees by the end of 2021. This has now gone up to 3,000 employees by the year 2023. But, with the overall financial incentives from the state expected to be worth as much as nearly $34,000 per worker, the partnership with Infosys has drawn some criticism. State incentives include $31 million in conditional tax credits and training grants promised last May. Holcomb said the new tech center will cultivate a unique, vibrant, high-tech ecosystem that is feeding off the colleges and universities within the state while building the best tech hub in the Midwest. Kumar, while down-playing the fiscal incentives, said it was the talent pool in Indiana that attracted the company to the state. Infosys, which employs more than 200,000 workers worldwide, has been under fire from the Trump administration over misuse of H-1B visas that tech companies heavily rely on to temporarily bring in workers from other countries at lower wages. Going abroad? Try and seek permanent residency visa A permanent residency or PR visa offers many benefits that a temporary work permit and visa (known by as H-1B in the USA) doesnt, including investment, travel, and bringing in family members, explains Ajay Sharma, president of Abhinav Oursourcings Pvt Ltd Till around the beginning of the age of information, living in a foreign country was considered a major accomplishment for an Indian. The number of people flocking to foreign countries is due to better work opportunities and a higher standard of living. This is especially true for migration from developing countries to developed countries in North America, Europe and Australia. The dynamics of visa sanctions have changed during this time. There are various visa categories that one can pick and select from, basis situation and convenience. Visas differ on the grounds of age, purpose, investment (if any), educational and work status etc. Some countries offer categories in a visa type; this is true in advanced countries like the United States. At Present, a person either moves to another country on a work permit or applies for a permanent residential visa, in a majority of cases. This is a prevalent practice due to the inexpensive process of obtaining a work permit, as compared to a Permanent Residency Visa, in countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. A Work Permit is a legal document, signed on behalf of personnel by a work sponsor that allows a foreigner to obtain a job in a country and work there legally. A Permanent Residency Visa is the status of permanent residence, and thereby related benefits, given to a person and his accompanying dependent family, hailing from a foreign country, by the immigration department of the country sanctioning the visa. The temporary work permit has different names in various countries offering work on speciality occupation basis, which is same for permanent resident status too. However, the baseline on which the conditions and clauses of the visa are established largely remains the same. In the United States, the temporary work visa is given the code H-1B, whereas in Canada it is referred to as Job/Work Visa. Similarly, the permanent residency status is called the Permanent Resident Visa in Canada and Immigration Visa in USA. Before applying, one must stringently go through the official websites for the same, to be aware of all requirements and clauses. The following is a run-down of all comparative properties between the two types of visa. Scope of Work Temporary Work Permit & Visa: This permit is received on behalf of a sponsor and hence there is no scope for change of job. This also leaves people without negotiation power and open to abuses. Permanent Residency Visa: A person with a PR Visa can change jobs as and when the need arises, along with the option to pick your city of occupation. Work scope also includes contractual working and tax benefits. In case of lay-off or job change: Temporary Work Permit & Visa: One will need to exit the country in case of lay-offs and dissolution of the company within the few designated days. In case of USA, if already applied for a green card, one can stay in the country jobless for 60 days, until they find a new job. Permanent Residency Visa: There is no time period constraint in case of a lay-off. A PR Visa holder has the added benefit to look for a new job and enjoy unemployment insurance. Scope for entrepreneurial growth Temporary Work Permit & Visa: Under this, one cannot branch out and start a business in the country of temporary occupation. Permanent Residency Visa: PR Visa holders can ideate, invest and commence a business venture after permission from the respective ministry. Benefits to family members Temporary Work Permit & Visa: There is a no direct sponsorship for spouses; there is a need to find and secure employment and sponsorship, individually. Permanent Residency Visa: No separate permits or authorization is required in case the spouse also wishes to work. This is true in case of Canada. The question of citizenship: Temporary Work Permit & Visa: In the case of USA, if the green card is not approved within the 6-year limit on the H-1B visa, return to home country is mandatory. Permanent Residency Visa: Upon arrival in the country, new immigrants and their families, without hassle, receive a PR Visa. This is especially so upon landing in Canada. Extent of sponsorship Temporary Work Permit & Visa: Excess sponsorship is only limited to the spouses and immediate dependent children. Other family members cannot enjoy the benefits of sponsorship. Permanent Residency Visa: PR holders have the benefit of sponsoring other family members, apart from spouses and children, which includes parents and siblings. Feasibility Temporary Work Permit & Visa: This is a lengthy method to receive a green card, and then further the citizenship. Permanent Residency Visa: Permanent Residents are eligible to apply for citizenship after living in Canada for three years. Travel Temporary Work Permit & Visa: Work permits often have strict renewal restrictions attached for travels within a particular country and out of country. Permanent Residency Visa: For PR visa holders, there are no restrictions of movement (exit and entry) within and outside the country of permanent residence. It is standard for prospective immigrants to take the student visa route to permanent residence via work permit. Countries like Canada and Australia offer pathways to a work permit post completion of their studies in eligible courses and then in due course apply for permanent residence visa and finally citizenship. After collective review of the above, a conclusion would be that applying for a Permanent Resident Visa is more opportune and time-friendly as compared to the temporary Work Permit. Chief Justice Misra says govt has right to reject appointments The government is well within its rights to suggest a review of the Supreme Court Collegiums decision on the appointment of a judge, Chief Justice Dipak Misra stated in reply to a letter by union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The government on Thursday told the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider its proposal to appoint Uttarakhand High Court chief justice KM Joseph to the top court, saying the elevation may not be "appropriate". Amidst signs of a fresh confrontation between the judiciary and the government, the government received immediate support from the collegium head, Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who said the executive was well within its rights to reject Justice Joseph's name. While accepting the name of Indu Malhotra, a senior lawyer, whose name was proposed by the SC collegium for a judgeship of the apex court along with that of Justice Joseph, the law ministry decided to reject the name of Justice Joseph, citing some reasons. In a letter to Justice Misra, union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government's rejection of Justice Joseph's name had the approval of the President and the Prime Minister and also flagged concern that the SCs/STs have no representation in the Supreme Court since long. "The proposed appointment of ... Joseph as a Judge of the Supreme Court at this stage does not appear to be appropriate," Prasad said in the letter. "It would also not be fair and justified to other more senior, suitable and deserving chief justices and senior judges of various High Courts." While the collegium can still reject the government's proposal and re-send Justice Joseph's name to the law ministry, the government's opposition to Justice Joseph's elevation is likely to deepen the rift between the executive and the judiciary. Justice Joseph had antagonised the government by ruling against President's rule in Uttarakhand and bringing the ousted the Harish Rawat-led Congress government back to power causing a major embarrassment to the BJP-ruled government at the Centre in 2016. The government's decision has evoked sharp reactions with the Supreme Court Bar Association President terming it as "disturbing" and the opposition Congress party asserting that the independence of the judiciary "is in danger." Meanwhile, the apex court rejected a plea of senior advocate Indira Jaisingh to stay the warrant of appointment of Malhotra. The notification announcing the appointment of Malhotra was issued this morning by the department of justice in the law ministry. Modi holds talks with China's Xi, offers to host 2019 summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday opened their two-day informal talks during which the two countries are expected to resolve a host of issues, including trade, the border stand-off and Chinas Belt and Road initiative. Modi who arrived in China on Thursday night for the informal summit with Xi in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, is leading a high-level delegation, although the two are unlikely to make any official declarations after the summit. Modi who arrived in China on Thursday night for the informal summit with Xi in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, is leading a high-level delegation, although the two are unlikely to make any official declarations after the summit. Prime Minister Modi said the two countries have a lot to gain by working together and that he would be happy to host the next informal summit between the nations in India. Since the talks are informal, no agreement is expected to be signed and, according to media reports, there might also not be any joint statement by the two leaders at the end of this summit. Modi, who arrived at the Hubei Provincial Museum at around 3:30 pm, was warmly greeted by Xi. Both leaders took a tour of the site for about an hour, during which Modi also visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng cultural relics and treasure. The prime minister said that the summit was aimed at "furthering India-China cooperation." "India and China's cultural connect goes back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said while sharing visuals of the cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. Modi also rang the 'Bianzhong', an ancient musical bell at the exhibition. In his opening remarks, Modi emphasised the global leadership role for both nations, whom he described as "two major powers". "We represent over 40 per cent of the world's population, so this is a meet between two major world players," Modi said, about the importance of the summit between the two leaders. "The economies of India and China have given shape to the global economy for 1,600 years," he added. Modi also thanked Xi for the "warm welcome" he received in Wuhan. "I am thankful to Chinese president for the grand welcome and the fruitful talks," Modi said during delegation-level talks with Xi in Hubei. "The people of India feel really proud that I'm the first prime minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese president) have come out of the capital twice to receive me," he added. During the talks, Modi also proposed a joint global leadership based on a new 'panchsheel'. "The five positive elements of this relationship are thought, communication, support, commitment and shared vision. These can be the basis for world peace and stability," Modi said. "China talks about a new era and I am working for a new India. World peace is important and both India and China have to work for the same and make all possible contributions," he added. Meanwhile, reports said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) also struck a positive note with PLA's senior colonel Wu Qian saying that it is a "common wish" of both sides to stabilise the relations between the Chinese and Indian armed forces. "Although the relations between the two militaries still face some difficulties and obstacles, we are willing to use the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries as guidelines to deepen our understanding, increase mutual trust, make proper differences, and continuously accumulate the positive energy of the healthy and stable development of the relations between the two militaries," The Economic Times quoted Wu as saying. Koreas declare end to war, denuclerisation of Korean peninsula North Korea and South Korea have ended their decades-long war with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in declaring a formal end to the Korean War this year. After an historic meeting, the two leaders issued a joint declaration that also pledged to pursue the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. After an historic meeting, the two leaders issued a joint declaration that also pledged to pursue the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to cross the border into South Korea since the 1953 cease-fire. The South and the North affirmed their mutual goal of realising a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearisation," a joint statement released after the talks said. The reunion of Korean families separated by the war would also resume, the statement added. The two leaders also pledged to push for trilateral talks involving the United States, or four-way dialogue also involving China on a peace pact to replace the armistice. The two leaders solemnly declared before the 80 million people of our nation and the entire world that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new age of peace has opened, The declaration signed at the truce village of Panmunjom said. The two Koreas agreed to stop all hostilities against each another, and set up a permanent liaison in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. They also agreed to a conventional arms reduction pending the removal of military tension. Moon will now travel to Pyongyang for a second summit later. Earlier, the pair planted a sapling of a tree that sprouted in 1953, the year the armistice was signed to end the 1950-53 Korean War, according to the South Korean presidential office. The moment Chairman Kim crossed the Military Demarcation Line, Panmunjom became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division, Moon had said in televised comments at the start of their meeting at Peace House. The two leaders also mutually committed to frequently and earnestly discuss crucial issues regarding Korean people and solidify mutual trust through regular summits and direct telephone calls. They also agreed to make joint efforts to further expand the good move towards the continued development of inter-Korean ties and reunification. The US, China and South Korea have maintained that the goal of any talks must be denuclearisation. Kim had last month said he would agree to discuss denuclearisation, but wanted a security guarantee in return and the removal of military threats against North Korea. That offer prompted US president Donald Trump to agree to meet Kim in person. The meeting is likely to happen in June. The Chinese foreign ministry said China applauded the historic steps taken by the leaders of the two Koreas and hopes the meeting will usher in a new chapter of long-standing peace. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. Korean leaders meet at border village in bid for rapprochement North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met for the first summit between the two countries in more than a decade raising hopes of a rapprochement between the two rival regimes and an end to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. South Korea, and the world at large, would dearly love to see North Korean leader Kim give up his weapons of mass destruction that his regime has so far considered as the best security for survival. But as the two sides wound up the first round of talks in the morning today, the summit had little to cheer about a likely compromise as the two Koreas seemed still wary of each other. Reports quoting South Korean officials said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described the country's transport conditions as poor and inadequate when South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed plans for a potential visit to the North. Moon' spokesman Yoon Young-chan said Kim's comments came after Moon expressed a desire to travel across North Korea to visit Mount Paektu that touches the country's border with China. Kim is said to have replied that such a trip might be currently uncomfortable for Moon because the country's transport system was deficient. Kim also praised South Korea's bullet train service, which he said, had much impressed North Korean delegates who visited the South during February's Winter Olympics. Moon in response said North Koreans would also be able to enjoy the South's high-speed trains if the rivals improve relations and reconnect their rail networks across the border. North Korea looked determined to end the nuclear missile tests that have only brought misery and disrepute to Pyongang. Kim also said North Korea was prepared to discuss denuclearisation with the United States, its sworn enemy. The inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the truce village of Panmunjom was also attended by South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon, Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong and North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho. Kim and Moon will meet later in the afternoon after they have lunch separately. Kim returned to the North in a black limousine with bodyguards surrounding the vehicle as it made its way across the border. The two are scheduled to plant a memorial tree at the border around 0430 GMT to kick off their second session of the summit. The dramatic meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump. We are at a starting line today, where a new history of peace, prosperity and inter-Korean relations is being written, Kim said before the two Korean leaders and their top aides began talks. Moon and Kim are expected to discuss denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas. Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But there is widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against US invasion. Drinking baking soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say. They have some of the first evidence of how the cheap, over-the-counter antacid can encourage our spleen to promote instead an anti-inflammatory environment that could be therapeutic in the face of inflammatory disease, Medical College of Georgia scientists report in the Journal of Immunology. They have shown that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, it becomes a trigger for the stomach to make more acid to digest the next meal and for little-studied mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen to tell the fist-sized organ that there's no need to mount a protective immune response. "It's most likely a hamburger not a bacterial infection," is basically the message, says Dr. Paul O'Connor, renal physiologist in the MCG Department of Physiology at Augusta University and the study's corresponding author. Mesothelial cells line body cavities, like the one that contains our digestive tract, and they also cover the exterior of our organs to quite literally keep them from rubbing together. About a decade ago, it was found that these cells also provide another level of protection. They have little fingers, called microvilli, that sense the environment, and warn the organs they cover that there is an invader and an immune response is needed. Drinking baking soda, the MCG scientists think, tells the spleen, which is part of the immune system, acts like a big blood filter and is where some white blood cells, like macrophages, are stored - to go easy on the immune response. "Certainly drinking bicarbonate affects the spleen and we think it's through the mesothelial cells," O'Connor says. The conversation, which occurs with the help of the chemical messenger acetylcholine, appears to promote a landscape that shifts against inflammation, they report. In the spleen, as well as the blood and kidneys, they found after drinking water with baking soda for two weeks, the population of immune cells called macrophages, shifted from primarily those that promote inflammation, called M1, to those that reduce it, called M2. Macrophages, perhaps best known for their ability to consume garbage in the body like debris from injured or dead cells, are early arrivers to a call for an immune response. In the case of the lab animals, the problems were hypertension and chronic kidney disease, problems which got O'Connor's lab thinking about baking soda. One of the many functions of the kidneys is balancing important compounds like acid, potassium and sodium. With kidney disease, there is impaired kidney function and one of the resulting problems can be that the blood becomes too acidic, O'Connor says. Significant consequences can include increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. "It sets the whole system up to fail basically," O'Connor says. Clinical trials have shown that a daily dose of baking soda can not only reduce acidity but actually slow progression of the kidney disease, and it's now a therapy offered to patients. "We started thinking, how does baking soda slow progression of kidney disease?" O'Connor says. That's when the anti-inflammatory impact began to unfold as they saw reduced numbers of M1s and increased M2s in their kidney disease model after consuming the common compound. When they looked at a rat model without actual kidney damage, they saw the same response. So the basic scientists worked with the investigators at MCG's Georgia Prevention Institute to bring in healthy medical students who drank baking soda in a bottle of water and also had a similar response. "The shift from inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory profile is happening everywhere," O'Connor says. "We saw it in the kidneys, we saw it in the spleen, now we see it in the peripheral blood." The shifting landscape, he says, is likely due to increased conversion of some of the proinflammatory cells to anti-inflammatory ones coupled with actual production of more anti-inflammatory macrophages. The scientists also saw a shift in other immune cell types, like more regulatory T cells, which generally drive down the immune response and help keep the immune system from attacking our own tissues. That anti-inflammatory shift was sustained for at least four hours in humans and three days in rats. The shift ties back to the mesothelial cells and their conversations with our spleen with the help of acetylcholine. Part of the new information about mesothelial cells is that they are neuron-like, but not neurons O'Connor is quick to clarify. "We think the cholinergic (acetylcholine) signals that we know mediate this anti-inflammatory response aren't coming directly from the vagal nerve innervating the spleen, but from the mesothelial cells that form these connections to the spleen," O'Connor says. In fact, when they cut the vagal nerve, a big cranial nerve that starts in the brain and reaches into the heart, lungs and gut to help control things like a constant heart rate and food digestion, it did not impact the mesothelial cells' neuron-like behaviour. The affect, it appears, was more local because just touching the spleen did have an effect. When they removed or even just moved the spleen, it broke the fragile mesothelial connections and the anti-inflammatory response was lost, O'Connor says. In fact, when they only slightly moved the spleen as might occur in surgery, the previously smooth covering of mesothelial cells became lumpier and changed colors. "We think this helps explain the cholinergic (acetylcholine) anti-inflammatory response that people have been studying for a long time," O'Connor says. Studies are currently underway at other institutions that, much like vagal nerve stimulation for seizures, electrically stimulate the vagal nerve to tamp down the immune response in people with rheumatoid arthritis. While there is no known direct connection between the vagal nerve and the spleen and O'Connor and his team looked again for one the treatment also attenuates inflammation and disease severity in rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research reported in 2016 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. O'Connor hopes drinking baking soda can one day produce similar results for people with autoimmune disease. "You are not really turning anything off or on, you are just pushing it toward one side by giving an anti-inflammatory stimulus," he says, in this case, away from harmful inflammation. "It's potentially a really safe way to treat inflammatory disease." The spleen also got bigger with consuming baking soda, the scientists think because of the anti-inflammatory stimulus it produces. Infection also can increase spleen size and physicians often palpate the spleen when concerned about a big infection. Other cells besides neurons are known to use the chemical communicator acetylcholine. Baking soda also interact with acidic ingredients like buttermilk and cocoa in cakes and other baked goods to help the batter expand and, along with heat from the oven, to rise. It can also help raise the pH in pools, is found in antacids and can help clean your teeth and tub. Theres nothing quite like Chinas annual motor shows. Rotated between Beijing and Shanghai each year, the shows attract just about every western brand, along with dozens of Chinese marques looking to make an impression on the world stage. Most people outside China will not know of Zotye, Bestern and Dongfeng. But those brands hope to change that with a combination of design and technology to rival the best from Europe, Japan and beyond. Its no surprise to see battery-powered, autonomous, high-riding SUVs emerge as popular themes in Beijing as the worlds most populous nation is well along the road to electrification. Carmakers selling more than 300,000 vehicles per year in China must reach targets requiring 10 per cent of vehicles to feature a hybrid or electric powertrain, while significant financial incentives encourage customers to choose green vehicles. Toyota showed off an electric version of its C-HR in Beijing, where Honda unveiled a China-only Everus sub-brand and battery-powered SUV based on the HR-V, Nissan introduced an electric Sylphy sedan blending elements of the Leaf and Pulsar, and BMWs iX3 crossover concept hinted at an electric rival to Jaguars I-Pace. Buicks Enspire electric SUV concept wears a similar face to Holdens ZB Commodore and VWs latest I.D. concept is a Vizzion for an electric future. Western brands such as Jeep, Audi and Mercedes also introduced China-only long-wheelbase versions of popular models, giving rear-seat customers premium legroom at an affordable price. Mainstream marques may benefit from a proposal by Chinas President Xi Jinping to end joint venture requirements within the car industry by 2022. Currently, car companies looking to build cars within China which imposes heavy tariffs on foreign-made vehicles have to enter into joint partnerships with Chinese companies which benefit from the profits and expertise brought by the likes of Volkswagen. Equally, Western companies might struggle to jump through Chinas cultural and bureaucratic hoops without inside knowledge Australian Ford executive Trevor Worthington told the New York Times on Wednesday it would be crazy to think you can do it all yourself, in a market that is so different. While some brands are no doubt frustrated by forced marriages, Volvo has flourished under the ownership of Geely. The Chinese giant bankrolled the development of outstanding cars such as the new XC60, along with world-class driver aids helping the comparatively tiny Swedish brand keep pace as least technically - with much larger companies such as General Motors and VW. For its part, Geely unveiled the fruit of its efforts in Beijing in the form of the Icon, a compact SUV sharing its core structure with Volvos new XC40. Among the Chinese brands with a presence in Australia, Great Wall launched a new ORA sub-brand for electric cars in Beijing, Haval championed its new Wey luxury arm and MG showed off a new SUV concept promising to push the reborn marque to new heights. Domestic shunning the SUV trend in favour of dramatic-looking coupes included Qiantu Motors stealthy-looking K50 and the 1000+kW EP9 supercar built by electric specialist NIO. Honqi, Chinas answer to Rolls-Royce, took a sideways step away from state limousines with a dramatic two-door concept with similar proportions to the British brands Wraith coupe. As mentioned earlier, the dimensions of the new 2018 Maruti Ertiga have been changed. At 4395x1735x1690mm, the new Ertiga is 99mm longer, 40mm wider and 5mm taller than the outgoing model. The MPV is based on Suzuki's HEARTECT platform; the same found in the Maruti Swift. The new Maruti Ertiga has got a revamped front design. The headlamps get projectors and extend into the chrome grille. The bumpers have larger air dams and an even more distinct fog lamp housing. The bonnet has now got sharpridges which add some muscularity. Coming to the side, it is evident that the upcoming Maruti Ertiga is longer than before. Towards the rear, the roof follows a floating design with the blackened-out D-pillar. The new Ertiga sits on a set of 15-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, wrapped with 185/65 section tyres. At the rear, the new L-shaped tail lamps with LEDs have succeeded in giving the Ertiga, a modern look. The embossed chrome garnish with Ertiga' written on it, has been replaced with a rather sleek one. The tailgate lacks a spoiler at the top. The rear design of the new model is in line with many other Japanese cars, especially some Honda products. Interior Design & Styling Inside, the Ertiga has got a beige theme overall. Faux wooden panelling is present all around the interior. The steering is wrapped in brown leather. The seats are made of beige upholstery and give decent support and comfort. The middle-row bench seats have been made as thin as possible to provide legroom for the third-row passengers. Engine & Performance The Indonesian version of the new Ertiga comes with a new 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine which makes 102bhp and 138Nm of torque. This is mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. However, when the new Maruti Ertiga is launched in India, expect it to use the existing 1.4-litre petrol or 1.3-litre diesel engine, mated only to a 5-speed manual. The current Ertiga petrol makes 94bhp and 130Nm. The diesel variant, on the other hand, makes 89bhp and 200Nm. Since the Maruti MPV is based on the new HEARTECT platform, expect better performance and fuel efficiency. The reason for this is the usage of lighter materials. Features & Practicality Inside, the new Ertiga boasts of a 6.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The design of the infotainment unit looks identical to the one seen in the Maruti Ignis and is expected to support both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Being longer than before, the 2018 Ertiga offers more interior space than before. The luggage space can be further extended by folding the rear-row in 50:50 ratio and middle-row seats in 60:40 ratio. Other features in the new 2018 Maruti Ertiga include: Dundalk woman Maureen McKeown has been recognised for her outstanding contributions to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland at the charity's annual conference which was held in the Crowne Plaza earlier this month. It's a subject that is close to Maureen's heart. She set up the Dundalk Branch in the late 1970's after her daughter, Adele, passed away from Cystic Fibrosis in the week leading up to Christmas of 1964. Tragically Adele was just short of her fifth birthday. L-r Dorothy Watters, Ann O Carroll, Adie O'Hagan, Maureen McKeown, Philip Watt, Professor McElvanney at the Cystic Fibrosis Ireland conference held in the Crowne Plaza recently. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. Approximately 1,300 children and adults are affected by CF in Ireland today and 70,000 people around the world are currently living with the condition. Speaking to the Dundalk Democrat, Maureen told how people had very little understanding of the condition back when her daughter was diagnosed in the 1960's. In my day, we didn't know what the doctors were talking about. When I was told that Adele had Cystic Fibrosis, the short life expectancy didn't register with us. We just blanked it out, Maureen explained. Around 15 years later, the Dundalk woman saw an ad in the Dundalk Democrat about a Cystic Fibrosis information evening which was coming to the Imperial Hotel and decided to attend in order to get some answers on her own daughters tragic passing. Armed with information, Maureen decided to found the Dundalk Branch of CF Ireland with herself as the secretary and her friend Theresa Donnelly as the treasurer. Maureen says it was a small enough branch with about 9 or 10 people coming to us. The pair set about gathering information and providing support to families affected by the condition in the local area. They also worked tirelessly to raise money through fundraising days. Mrs. McKeown said: Myself and Theresa started trying to help. We would raise money to cover expenses for hospital trips. Whatever we could help with. Everything else we had left over was donated to research. Thankfully, today advances in research and medical treatments, have enhanced the life expectancy for children and adults with CF. Many Irish people living with the condition can now expect to live into their 30's or 40's. There's great hope now. Back in the 1960's, we were told the life expectancy was seven years old, said Maureen. At the conference this year I saw people with Cystic Fibrosis who had lung transplants. We also saw adults speaking at the conference who are married and have families. It's great to see them looking so well and healthy. The advances in medication and physio are fantastic. After more than 40 years at the helm of the Dundalk CF branch, Maureen says she is delighted to hand the reins over to Ravensdale woman Marie Gallagher. And looking back on her 40-year legacy Maureen says that friends and family have been brilliant in terms of providing support and helping out with fundraising for the Dundalk CF branch. However, she thinks that the Government needs to provide more funding to support those currently living with CF in Ireland. I would die happy if a cure was found, Maureen concluded. See www.cfireland.ie or contact Marie Gallagher at the Dundalk branch on 086 825 9656. Despite its small dimensions, Louth boasts a rich heritage and many prominent figures are associated with the county. Not least amongst the influential characters associated with Louth is a remarkable 19th century philanthropist and champion of non-sectarian education who changed the lives of generations of young Irish people. Vere Foster, the founding President of the Irish National Teachers Organisation and a supporter of 1,400 primary schools in Ireland, was an extraordinary person with great conviction who recognised the importance of education and exhibited a passion and unfaltering commitment to improving the quality of teaching. Tallanstown, in mid County Louth a rural parish steeped in tradition, is proud of its connection with Vere Foster. On an island in the centre of this picturesque village, under the shade of a tree, is an impressive statue immortalising this truly outstanding figure. Here across from the school which was built by him, Vere Foster has a great vantage point and it is as though he sits and makes his presence felt observing the comings and goings of daily life and welcoming those entering the village. This year marks a significant important one for the Irish National Teachers Organisation as the union celebrates 150 years since its establishment. Throughout the country various branches and districts are organising an eclectic programme of events, promoting an awareness of the unique contribution the union makes to Irish education. It is fitting that such celebrations would include recognition of our first President and owing to his strong link with Tallanstown and mid-Louth, the Ardee Branch of INTO were eager to facilitate an event that honoured Vere Foster. On a glorious sunny evening the splendid scene in Tallanstown provided the perfect backdrop for a special celebration to commemorate Vere Foster and celebrate his legacy. Our special commemorative event was held on the 18th of April and the evening began in the local church where parish priest Fr Paul Clayton Lea celebrated mass to honour past and present members. A former Diocesan advisor, Fr Clayton Leas insight into the education shone through in a thought-provoking homily. He referred to the fact that, in a break from the norm, the primary school in Tallanstown is not named in honour of a saint, but rather the title bestowed upon the school is Vere Foster Memorial School. In his own way Vere Foster epitomised a saintly character, serving the poor and striving to create the opportunity for a bright future for younger generations. The powerful words of INTOs first president A nations greatness depends on the education of its people remain as the unions motto. Fr. Paul alluded to the influence that a teacher has on their pupils and had a special mention to his first teacher Mr. Padraig Lynch who was in attendance on the night. He also called to mind with fondness those INTO members who are no longer with us. During the mass the children of Vere Foster Memorial School choir provided beautiful music which greatly enhanced the liturgy and the readings were eloquently delivered by senior pupils of the school. After mass guests assembled in the nearby old school, a meticulously maintained stone building bordered by rich cast-iron railings. This original building, which dates back to 1840, was the ideal venue for this event- the beauty and authenticity adding splendour and evoking a deep sense of nostalgia. A gallery of black and white photos adorn the walls, a glimpse of the school days of yesteryear. A number of those present recalled teaching in this building, including Mr. Colm Minnock, a current teacher in Tallanstown and an active member of the Ardee Branch who spoke fondly of his memories of days in the old school. A Cead Mile Failte was extended by Aoife Mullen, Ardee Branch Secretary. The recently elected INTO President Joe Killeen was present on the evening. A Principal in Gort, Co. Galway, this was Mr Killeens first visit to Tallanstown and he expressed his delight in coming to the area, especially at a time of great celebration for INTO. He drew some parallels between his locality in the West of Ireland and the rurality of Tallanstown and spoke fondly of his childhood memories of school and how they have shaped the educator that he is today. Guests were then treated to a presentation by well-known local historian Miceal McKeown who delivered a comprehensive account of the life of Vere Foster, delving into his ancestry and charting the journey from his birthplace in Denmark to the mid-Louth region. The lecture was informative and engaging, unearthing interesting nuggets of information. Born in Copenhagen of an Irish-born father Vere worked in the UK Diplomatic Corps. He moved to Ireland spending a great deal of time on his brothers estate outside Tallanstown and developed a great affinity with the area. The sorrowful spectacle of men, women and children dying in their thousands which he witnessed during the Great Famine caused much distress to him and fuelled his determination to remain in Ireland and try to alleviate the plight of its people. He made three passages to America on emigrant ships to obtain first-hand knowledge of the conditions endured by Irish passenger and his personal evidence presented to parliamentary committees, was a catalyst in reforming legislations which led to notorious American bound ships being replaced by more humanely conducted vessels. Vere Fosters next reforming work was in the field of education. With an admirable selflessness, he used his privileged background and wealth to benefit others, building hundreds of schools across the island. Recognising the negative way in which teachers were treated and the crippling restrictions placed upon them, he identified how this could prove detrimental and cultivate resentment among people in the profession. Vere Foster helped to set up a teachers union which in time became the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO). In the current climate where the restoration of pay equality is a dominant issue for INTO, it is fitting that major problem echoes Vere Fosters concern for the teaching profession. Great recognition must be given to Mr. Brendan Murphy, Principal, and the entire teaching staff of Vere Foster National School for their major contribution to the celebratory event. The time and effort invested into the preparation of the displays was evident. Their impressive projects demonstrated integration of various curricular areas including samples of precise penmanship - a nod to the influence of Vere Foster on handwriting. The devising of a series of copy books giving instructions in handwriting, drawing and water colouring was one hugely significant educational achievement for Vere Foster, as he believed that a high standard of penmanship was an important educational attribute for children. Perhaps we have among them future INTO members who will continue to carry the flame kindled by Vere Foster! Over refreshments, the crowd interacted whilst enjoying some traditional Irish music provided by local musicians Fionnuala and Michael Kirby. On such a momentous occasion, it was a privilege to have several much-esteemed guests in attendance, including the current president Joe Killeen, ex-President John Boyle and two past presidents of District 5 Mr Gerry Malone and Ms Rosena Jordan. Deputy General Secretary Noel Ward also travelled to the event as did the Chair of the Northern Committee Dorothy McGinley. The owner of Trixie, the Yorkshire Terrier who was stolen along with a van last Monday, has appealed for the public to "keep the story alive" so that the family can be reunited with their beloved pooch. Heartbroken pet owner Tim Mullins, who owns Glen Gat Guesthouse on The Crescent in Dundalk said: Trixie is definitely the most famous dog in Ireland right now. We had 150,000 hits on the Facebook post we put up to help find her. Tragically, the family's 12-year-old pet dog Trixie was in the van when it was stolen last Monday just before 6pm. Despite huge public goodwill to locate the Yorkshire Terrier, the dog is still missing. The distinctive van, which features logos for Glen Gat Guest House, was stolen from Muckian's Filling Station on the Carrick Road when owner Tim Mullins was inside buying a loaf of bread. Speaking to the Dundalk Democrat, Mr. Mullins, said he received a call last Tuesday evening to say that his van had been used in a robbery in Crumlin in Belfast and had been found burned out on the Ballycolin Road in Dunmurry, Belfast. The Dundalk man and a pal made their way to Belfast to clear away the van however when they got there there was just scorch marks - the van was gone. The stolen van, which has since been burned out Mr. Mullin is hopeful that the adorable dog, who is microchipped and also has a contact number on her collar, could turn up. He said: We're asking people to keep an eye out and to keep the story alive. Someone might have a new dog and it could be her. "We're hoping someone's conscience might be pricked. The thing is you can always get another van, but a dog cannot be replaced. There's only one Trixie. See the Facebook Page 'Bring Trixie Home' for updates. Instantly delete email threats for Office 365 With the free app, 365 Threat Monitor, scan all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Get real-time phone alerts + security breach updates and delete threats instantly with just one click. Download now! Microsoft, Oracle and Facebook, along with 31 other companies, on Tuesday signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an agreement aimed at defending against cyberattacks, whether coming from rogue hackers or nation-states. The 34 tech firms committed to stronger defenses, no offensive attacks, capacity building and collective action. The accord is designed to protect the integrity of the 1 trillion connected devices that could be in use around the world within the next 20 years. Security remains a major issue in the tech world, with economic losses expected to reach US$8 trillion by 2022, according to Juniper Research. The companies that signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord plan to hold the first meeting during the security-focused RSA Conference taking place this week in San Francisco. The meeting will focus on capacity building and collective action. The companies agreed to mount a stronger defense against cyberattacks, regardless of the motivation underlying them. They also pledged not to help governments launch cyberattacks against innocent citizens or enterprises. They promised to protect their products and services from any tampering or exploitation that could enable their use in such attacks. The signatory companies plan to do more to empower developers, as well as the people who use technology products, to improve their capacity to defend against attacks. This could include joint work on developing stronger security practices. Finally, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord companies aim to take collective action to establish formal and informal partnerships with industry, civil society and security researchers, to improve collaboration that will ensure the disclosure of vulnerabilities and other threats. The goal is to minimize the potential for the introduction of malicious code. Not Fully Binding The Cybersecurity Tech Accord is very much a work in progress -- one that the companies noted remains open to consideration of new private sector signatories. However, one key takeaway from Tuesday's announcement is that the companies have the option to adhere to some or all of the principles. That could mean the companies still could do what is in their best interests rather than adhere strictly to the principles of the agreement. "It will be very interesting to see how this plays out, since many devils lurk in the details," said Jim Purtilo, associate professor in the computer science department at the University of Maryland. "Some companies signing this accord actively collaborate with governments in development or manipulation of technologies that are commonly part of cyberattacks," he told TechNewsWorld. "Will they no longer participate in those projects, on the theory that their efforts could result in deployment of an attack? Or will they out the white hat (ethical) hackers who help friendly governments understand the digital battle space?" pondered Purtilo. "What about researchers who study means of effecting a cyberattack at the nation-state level? I bet these collaborations will still go on," he added. More Than PR? The timing of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord announcement is noteworthy. "The agreement is probably best seen as a blend of PR, marketing and corporate vision," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. Coming during the RSA security conference and a week after Mark Zuckerberg's congressional testimony, the announcement arrives as the IT industry and media outlets are focusing on security issues, King told TechNewsWorld. "It also follows the minor brouhaha that erupted a week or so ago when 3,000 Google employees signed a petition protesting the company's involvement in 'The Business of War' via work it pursues in government contracts," King added. Taking the World Stage The 34 firms also may be digging into their respective deep pockets to solve a problem that the world powers have been unable to stop: the growing threats in a connected world. "That may be one of the underlying points to the initiative -- along with the fact that few, if any, entities exist that could or would orchestrate an effective response to cyberattacks and cyberterrorism events that have an increasingly global reach," suggested King. "It's also important to note that many or most of the signers are working in numerous global markets, so the accord could also be interpreted as an assurance to partners and customers that they won't be actively stabbed in the back," he added. What isn't clear is how these companies -- even if they won't work with the U.S. government offensively -- might sign on to help defend it. "Active defenses in cyberspace are among the assets available to our government for purposes of national defense -- said simply, these are robust cyberattacks," warned Purtilo. How might the signatories address efforts against an enemy state in a potential time of war? "A plain reading of the accord tells us that these corporate signatories would intervene to neutralize such an attack -- but would a company actively intervene in order to oppose a U.S. government operation?" asked Purtilo. "If Putin unleashes an overtly hostile action in cyberspace, then most Americans would be happy for corporate assistance in quashing it, but I doubt most would appreciate corporate interference with our military's countermeasures, as they apparently just committed themselves to doing," he explained. "The accord says they won't enable cyberattacks against the innocent; I wonder which corporate board decides which citizens are which?" Conspicuous by Their Absence Not all of the major tech giants have signed on to the accord. Notably missing are Amazon, Apple and Google -- companies that have a significant global presence. "Two points underscore their decisions not to participate: one, active programs they already have in place with defense and other government agencies that may conflict with the accord; and two, plans or efforts to work in countries that are suspected of being involved in cyberattacks, particularly China," suggested King. "Broadly speaking, it's sensible for organizations to avoid initiatives that might immediately or eventually hinder them," he pointed out. This accord -- like so many treaties and agreements over the eons -- may be worth little more than the paper, or screen, it was written on. "The accord may not be fully thought through," Purtilo said candidly. "If it was done for PR value, then they might get a little bump for one news cycle, but there will be lasting problems if the public starts to see corporate messaging contrast with corporate actions over time," he added. "The accord itself is fairly bland," noted King. "Refusing to help governments mount cyberattacks on innocent civilians and businesses is hardly controversial," he said. "The bigger question is how or whether the signers would know if their products and services were being used in such attacks. Facebook's fake news mea culpas are rooted in the company's claimed cluelessness about how partners were playing with user data the company willing sold to them." Peter Suciu has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2012. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile phones, displays, streaming media, pay TV and autonomous vehicles. He has written and edited for numerous publications and websites, including Newsweek, Wired and FoxNews.com. Email Peter. Instantly delete email threats with 365 Threat Monitor With 365 Threat Monitor, scan all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Get real-time phone alerts, real-time security breach updates and delete threats instantly with just one click - for free! Learn More. President Trump on Thursday tweeted criticism of Amazon, implying that the administration may be mulling some type of regulatory action. I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2018 Amazon's founder, CEO Jeff Bezos, is also the owner of The Washington Post, one of the top newspapers in the United States and a major thorn in the president's side since his administration came to power. The president recently has been "obsessing" over the company and exploring different regulatory possibilities, Axios reported on Wednesday. Asked during the White House press briefing on Wednesday whether the president wanted to go after Amazon, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the White House had "no announcements and no specific policies or actions" regarding the company. When asked about Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's earlier comments regarding the potential for creating an Internet sales tax, Sanders provided some additional context. "Look, the president has said many times before he's always looking to create a level playing field for all businesses, and this is no different," she said at the briefing. "And he's always going to look at different ways, but there aren't specific policies on the table at this time." It's more likely that the president's tweet reflects his issues with Bezos over politics than serious concerns about Amazon's business model, Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research, told the E-Commerce Times. Trump's concerns have more to do with politics and The Washington Post than e-commerce, Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at Poynter, also told the E-Commerce Times. Echoes on Main Street Concerns over Amazon taking business away from brick-and-mortar retailers have led to efforts in local state legislatures and in Congress to find ways to make sure e-commerce can thrive without breaking the back of local retail operations. States could gain anywhere from US$8.5 billion to $13.4 billion in additional revenue if they were allowed to mandate sales tax collection from all remote sellers, including B2B and B2C companies, according to a Government Accountability Office study released last fall. The U.S. Postal Service generated about $19.5 billion in revenue in 2017. Although the amount that Amazon accounted for is unknown, the Postal Regulatory Commission sees Amazon's arrangement with the service as profitable, according to a source familiar with the relationship. However, "Amazon is continuing to drag its feet rather than collecting taxes on the 'marketplace' portion of its business, where it partners with third-party sellers," said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. "Amazon has all the information it needs to begin charging those taxes right now, but it is delaying doing so in most states so that it can keep a price advantage over most businesses," he told the E-Commerce Times. Amazon doesn't have to pay sales taxes in many cities, Davis noted, but that is due to flaws in state and local laws rather than to Amazon flouting tax regulations. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on South Dakota v. Wayfair, which could give local and state governments more authority to mandate sales tax collection by online retailers, Davis said. "This is essential to leveling the playing field between traditional retailers and Internet retailers," he added. "States are increasingly frustrated that out-of-state businesses are not collecting the same amount of sales taxes that local businesses have been collecting for decades." Court Precedent The Wayfair ruling effectively could overturn the 1992 Quill v. North Dakota ruling, which found that only retailers with a physical presence in a state were required to collect sales taxes, observed Joyce Beebe, a fellow in public finance at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. At the end of the day, Trump's comments are unlikely to have a major impact on Amazon's bottom line, said Thad Peterson, senior analyst with the Aite Group. "If there is an economic impact on Amazon.com from Mr. Trump's comments, I don't believe it will have a significant impact on their business," he told the E-Commerce Times. "The value that Amazon delivers is variety and convenience ahead of price." Ultimately, that proposition won't change, said Peterson, and it's unlikely that Amazon Prime members, who are considered the best and most loyal Amazon customers, will change their buying habits. As for the e-commerce world at large, even if all online retailers ultimately have to collect the same taxes that local retailers do for physical transactions at the checkout counter, customers are unlikely to balk, he argued, because online commerce in general is more about convenience and variety over price. David Jones has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2015. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, e-commerce, open source, gaming, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. He has written for numerous media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business and The New York Times. Email David. Instantly delete email threats for Office 365 With the free app, 365 Threat Monitor, scan all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Get real-time phone alerts + security breach updates and delete threats instantly with just one click. Download now! One of the most powerful political organizations in the United States is the National Rifle Association. The president of the United States recently claimed he wasn't afraid of the NRA, only to have an NRA spokesperson -- not the president himself -- later announce that the president had changed his mind. It was painful to watch the most powerful man in the free world be treated like a small child. The cornerstone of the NRA's platform to sell more guns is the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Its original intent has been perverted over the years, and the language construed to mean something very different. Well, right now, the Second Amendment is on deathwatch, largely because of a passionate bunch of kids and Twitter. David Hogg, one of the survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, just disciplined one of the most powerful Fox News talking heads. The efforts by Hogg and his impressive peers have resulted in one of the retired Supreme Court Justices calling for repeal of the Second Amendment. If this trend continues to advance, I expect it will be repealed. Even in the face of substantial evidence, we still don't seem to get that Facebook was at the heart of what allowed a reality-TV star to become president, against all the odds. We still don't seem to get the scary power of social media and fake news. I'll share some thoughts on the impressive power of social media and the massive risk of underestimating kids in this new digital world, and then close with my product of the week: the HP Notebook Computer that The Wall Street Journal called the best of the best. Old vs. Young By the time I really got to know him, my grandfather had retired from his career as a petrochemical CEO and engineer. One of my least fond memories was being at a party with his friends (I'm guessing I was around 12) and listening to him pontificate on nuclear power. His position was that people were stupid because they didn't want a nuclear power plant in their back yard. I spoke up (which was unusual because I was pretty shy back then) and suggested that it likely was due to the fact that a recent movie, The China Syndrome, had shown what could happen if a plant failed, and the objectors probably didn't want to die. My grandfather's response was something to the effect that I was too young to have a clue about what was going on and I should wander off and go watch TV or something. I recall being laughed at by his friends as I walked away. I still remember that event like it was yesterday, and still feel the anger. Of course, the plant was built and then shut down, costing billions, because of safety concerns raised at the time. Regardless of my young age, I was right -- and I never thought of my grandfather as particularly smart after that. It was a pivotal moment in my life. If you examine the responses of those who are positioned against the Stoneman Douglas kids, they are similar to the one my grandfather gave me. They basically are different versions of "I'm smarter than you -- you should just shut up and go back to school." This is way too similar to the old "because I told you so" response that's been the fallback of parents who can't justify a decision. I'll bet you can recall a time when an adult failed to listen to your argument and instead implied you were too young to understand (and you and I both know it didn't matter if they were right). That approach likely didn't change your mind -- it made you mad. You dug in, and you may have thought less of the adult as a result. Unlike the kids of today, you probably had to suck it up, as I did, and wait until you were an adult. Then you may have done the same thing to your own kid, emulating the adult who treated you so poorly years earlier. Power of Social Media Social media is a massive force multiplier. It is particularly powerful as a way to change opinions and drive boycotts. An impressive number of powerful people have lost their jobs as a result of social media boycott pressure (an impressive number off Fox News in particular). Senators have been brought down, and CEOs have lost their jobs. Even companies that likely would have weathered similar storms in the past have failed. That is because individuals like David Hogg, particularly kids, couldn't get a national voice in the past. That has changed. Now, with the right set of events and a little luck, you can drive an effective national agenda with unbelievable power. It certainly helps that the leaders of the movement to implement stronger gun controls are articulate and smart, often seeming far more articulate and much smarter than the politicians who oppose them. (Some of the folks on the gun rights side aren't doing themselves any favors at the moment.) The Perfect Storm Most of us are hardwired to protect kids. Regardless of our stance on guns, I expect that if we were given the choice of protecting a child or giving up a gun, we'd hand in our gun without even thinking about it. Kids are the voice of this latest gun control effort, and they have legitimate concerns about being shot -- particularly kids who have experienced a mass shooting. Social media, particularly Twitter, has been shown to have the power to overturn governments. Kids seem to be more addicted to social media and more capable of using it, for good or ill, than adults. Republicans by and large are the greatest supporters of gun rights, and they are currently in power. However, the mechanisms that put them there have been dismantled to a great extent. Their power to swing elections -- largely thanks to Russian meddling -- has been significantly curtailed. The most visible analytics firm involved in that process, Cambridge Analytica, may not exist for much longer. (It is blocked from Facebook regardless.) The NRA has made fixing the problem binary. Unless the Second Amendment is neutralized, kids won't be safe. It is betting that repeal is simply a bridge too far. However, when it comes to kids' safety, the NRA should realize that for most of us, there is no bridge too far. Like many, I think the NRA has gone off the rails and is doing more harm to gun owners than good. If, as it now appears will be the case, there is a purge of gun supporters in Congress at the mid-term elections, then it will send a message to those remaining that they have a choice: Keep their jobs, or repeal the Second Amendment. If presented with that choice, a critical mass of politicians will emerge to get repeal done. Politicians are pragmatic; given a choice between keeping their jobs and almost anything else -- particularly given that the alternative will happen anyway if they are voted out -- they'll pick their jobs. Wrapping Up: What Should Happen Rather than disparaging (or politicizing) the kids, who are acting more adult than many of the adults at the moment, there should be a collaborative effort to address their concerns. This starts with listening to them and not attacking them. To a great extent, it appears that the problem with the most recent shooting had little to do with gun access and a great deal to do with folks not taking the threat seriously enough. The shooter could have been stopped without any additional gun regulations. The U.S. just spent billions on technology to stop terror attacks, so it would seem that same technology could be missioned to stop any attack on schools, ISIS-sourced or not. We should use every avenue to showcase the consequences for the shooters in these situations, because we know the shooters aren't thinking of them. Just think what would happen if we were to have two or more mass school shootings at once? If the kids, who rightly feel unsafe, are made to feel safe, then the likelihood of repealing the Second Amendment (and perhaps taking out the NRA in the process) would drop close to zero. If the kids continue to feel unsafe and their organized efforts increase, than the NRA and the Second Amendment are toast. Attacking the victims is not the answer, and it is failing spectacularly. Attacking the problem is. Kids are our future -- guns aren't. Let's make the right choices for once. One final thought, most of these young activists can't vote or run for office now, but I'll bet hard cash that changes. Do you really think they are going to forget? Would you? (By the way, here is the latest report I could find from the American Academy of Pediatrics on gun deaths and children. While the number has been declining, the report still showcases an unacceptably high level of gun-sourced infant mortality. This likely is why the NRA has been blocking research. You can't fix a problem if you can't study it.) It used to be that the WSJ's tech reviews, which generally were written by Walt Mossberg (who apparently really didn't like me), had one response to anything tech: Apple ruled. That was during the Steve Jobs years, and most of the top tech reporters seemed to be on Apple's leash. If memory serves, Apple had only about 6 percent of the laptop market in its best year. While it always did have good, high-quality products, users en masse just didn't favor them. That was different from consumer behavior in other markets. For instance, when the Toyota Camry polled as the best car model, it also enjoyed the highest sales. Right now, the people who live in my region seem to think the Subaru Forrester is the best car, and many buy it. Well, the WSJ has changed a lot since Walt moved on. David Pierce wrote its latest review, and he approached laptop selection as you or I might approach it. He picked a price point, mentioned what he liked, told you his reasoning, and then chose the best product. Coincidentally, it turned out to be one of the best-selling products, which suggests that most of us would agree with his choice. The winner, with the best balance of looks, price, ports and power, was the HP Spectre x360. I know the HP chief experience officer well (ex-Microsoft exec Mike Nash), and he does splendid work. HP Spectre x360 The WSJ also did nice work, and I agree with Pierce's conclusion. If you are looking for something in the US$1,000 range, the HP Spectre x360 (13-ae051nr) is the best in class and my product of the week. Rob Enderle has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2003. His areas of interest include AI, autonomous driving, drones, personal technology, emerging technology, regulation, litigation, M&E, and technology in politics. He has an MBA in human resources, marketing and computer science. He is also a certified management accountant. Enderle currently is president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group, a consultancy that serves the technology industry. He formerly served as a senior research fellow at Giga Information Group and Forrester. Email Rob. Instantly delete email threats with 365 Threat Monitor With 365 Threat Monitor, scan all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Get real-time phone alerts, real-time security breach updates and delete threats instantly with just one click - for free! Learn More. Facebook and other social networks appear to have crossed the line with respect to privacy and censorship. Facebook has been accused of helping one side while hiding the other side in many important debates. It has been accused of exposing the personal information of its users, violating their privacy. These perceptions are problems that must be fixed. What's the next step? How can we go from the status quo to living under rules that everyone will accept? That depends largely on whether those who write the rules really understand the problems from every point of view -- users and companies, right and left. However, it's possible that nothing much really will happen. The controversy may quiet down, and these issues may disappear under all the other noise of the industry. The latest Facebook circus seemed to end with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's congressional testimony, which was very interesting to watch. It was fascinating to see Zuckerberg describe how Facebook works, to acknowledge some of the far-reaching problems that needed to be solved, and to express his company's desire to play a role in that process. It was quite evident from the questions they asked that many members of Congress were confused about some of the basics. A number of them asked questions that revealed they had no idea what Facebook or other social media companies were, much less what they do. It was clear that those elected officials were not heavy Internet users. How can we expect the U.S. Congress to craft legislation to save us from problems like invasions of privacy and censorship if they don't understand many of the issues surrounding modern technology? Let Facebook Help Write New Rules Perhaps the social networks themselves should play a key role in determining how to protect users' privacy and avoid censorship. The aim is not to hurt the growth of social networking companies -- it's just to make their offerings fair and safe for every user. Their participation is one slice of the rule-making pie. I do believe the executives who run the social networks are good people. I also believe they are vitally interested in protecting the growth potential of their companies. However, we all look at the world through one prism or another. The problem is that what one thinks is right and good is wrong and bad in the view of someone else. Social Media's Explosive Growth I want company executives to participate, but I also want the involvement of intelligent and unbiased third parties who understand the industry. The companies must be free to innovate and grow. Users must be free from censorship and guaranteed privacy. Both sides are important. Users' rights have been abused -- something that should not occur in America. One side should not be able to exercise undue influence in an effort to control the way we think. We need a balance of ideas in the public square if we are to continue to succeed going forward. The social media sector is still new. It has been around only for a decade, yet it has seen an explosion of growth and change. There were no social media companies prior to a decade ago. Today, there are more than we can count. What will social media look like 10 years from now? It will be very different. To have a good tomorrow, we must make sure we protect user privacy and eliminate censorship today. Protecting Privacy and Avoiding Censorship It's great the way social media weaves us all together and lets us communicate in new ways with people we never would have been in contact with before -- either around the block or on the other side of the country or the world. Artificial intelligence offers one possibility for addressing social media's problems, but it must be developed without bias. Even AI can be a problem if its behavior is programmed by people who lean one way or the other. If AI can be completely objective, then it might be a solution. Once it is implemented -- and that won't be for a while -- we'll need to make sure it can't be hijacked by one side of a debate. Keeping AI neutral will be an ongoing challenge that we'll have to meet with checks and balances. Changing Sides As people grow and mature, it's natural to change sides about some issues. When I was 20 years old, I thought about the world differently than I did at 40. That's one reason it's important not to shut down one way of thinking. It's important to listen to both sides and adapt at your own pace. Remember, we all think we are right. However, those on the other side think they are right too. Who is the judge? That's the problem. There is no answer -- just debate. That's the way it always has been. Social networks can be great at creating a local, regional, national or worldwide stage for an ongoing debate. They can provide a way for us to improve the world by understanding each other better. Looking forward, we have a lot of ground to cover. While social networks are great, we need to fix the problem areas and keep them neutral and safe. We need to protect users from loss of privacy and from the imposition of censorship. We are at the beginning of a long trek with no endpoint. If we are lucky, we will find a path that will lead to continuing protection for users and continued growth for companies. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. Jeff Kagan has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2010. His focus is on the wireless and telecom industries. He is an independent analyst, consultant and speaker. Email Jeff. DHAKA Representatives of the European Union and Bangladesh have gathered in Dhaka as part of the biennial meeting of the Sub group on Good Governance and Human Rights in the framework of the EU-Bangladesh Cooperation Agreement. Over the course of a wide-ranging schedule, the issues which revolve heavily around the nations garment sector such as fundamental labour rights, trade unions registration and unfair labour practices were high on the agenda. Given the timing of the summit, the issue of Rana Plaza was an unavoidable topic for both sides to address, with a mixed tone being struck by the EU on progress in the five years since the disaster. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is temporarily closing all its vertical wells across northeast Colorado following a massive house explosion and fire in the town of Firestone last week that killed two people. The Woodlands, Texas-based oil and gas giant said in press release it was shutting more than 3,000 producing vertical wells, which produce about 13,000 barrels of oil per day, "in an abundance of caution." Mark Martinez and his brother-in-law Joseph William Irwin III, both 42, were killed in the April 17 explosion. Mark's wife, Erin Martinez, was injured as well her 11-year-old son. A GoFundMe page is currently raising funds for the family. In its statement, Anadarko acknowledged that the blast occurred approximately 200 feet from the family's recently built two-story home on Twilight Ave., where the company operates an older vertical well drilled by a previous operator. The tragedy has sparked concerns from local anti-fracking activists over the risks of oil and gas production in Colorado and are calling for a statewide emergency moratorium as officials and regulators investigate the cause of the explosion. The Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) are involved with the investigation. "While the well in the vicinity is one aspect of the investigation, this is a complex investigation and the origin and cause of the fire have not been determined," Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District Chief Theodore Poszywak said. The Colorado Independent reported on the possible link between the Anadarko-operated gas well and the Firestone house explosion: A source has told The Independent that personnel and trucks bearing Anadarko's logo responded soon after the explosion, and that company personnel at and near the scene over the following days came in unmarked vehicles and clothes. They were apparently paying special attention to a feeder line that may have been severed near the home. Furthermore ... News stories after the explosion reported that Irwin, a master plumber, was helping Mark Martinez install a hot water heater, apparently at or near the time of the explosion. The insinuation was that their work may have led to their deaths. But that narrative sounded immediately curious to those who knew Irwin and his work, and became less plausible when Colorado's Public Utilities Commission passed the investigation on to the COGCC, which regulates the oil and gas industry. Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen would not respond to the Independent's report or questions about the company's possible involvement. Anadarko is one of the world's largest private oil and natural gas exploration and production companies and the largest oil and gas producer in Colorado. The state is the seventh-largest oil and gas producing state in the country. "Our teams will remain actively engaged with residents in the Firestone community," said Brad Holly, Anadarko senior vice president of U.S. Onshore Exploration and Production. "Colorado residents must feel safe in their own homes, and I want to be clear that we are committed to understanding all that we can about this tragedy as we work with each investigating agency until causes can be determined." In response to the incident, Boulder, Colorado-based climate change activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is calling for immediate halt on drilling activity. "Our thoughts and best wishes go to Martinez and Irwin families, no one should have to lose a family member before their time," Martinez, who is the youth director of Earth Guardians, told EcoWatch. "We must fight to make sure that Anadarko is held accountable, if its shown their reckless behavior played a part in their deaths, so we can ensure this is the last time a tragedy like this occurs." "Unfortunately this is likely the result of a state that has completely failed to protect it's citizens from the impacts of fracking," Martinez added. "Based on the explosive danger coming from this industry and the proximity to homes, schools and hospitals we are calling for a statewide emergency moratorium, until it can be demonstrated that fracking can be done safely." In March, the Colorado Court of Appeals sided with Martinez and other youth plaintiffs that the Oil and Gas Conservation Act required it to strike a balance between the regulation of oil and gas operations and protecting public health, the environment and wildlife resources. Martinez said that the appellate court's decision "clearly states that health and safety must be prioritized with regards to oil and gas industry in the state." "Based on that decision and [the Firestone house explosion] it's clear that all drilling activity should be halted immediately and the danger of fracking should be investigated in full," Martinez said. A source pointed out to EcoWatch that "Fractivist" Shane Davis, a biologist who started the fracking resistance in Colorado several years ago, happened to live in Firestone and "literally moved out of the town for this very reason." Incidentally, Davis detailed in a January blog post about the dangers of living nearby drilling operations. One landowner's decision to lease their minerals to the fracking industry "can place hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people at risk from the dangers of the fracking industry's toxic air, groundwater contamination, fugitive emissions, failed equipment, human error, and even a blowout which is the most dangerous to communities that are close by," Davis wrote on Fractivist.org. Anadarko said the wells will remain shut in until the company's field personnel can conduct additional inspections and testing of the associated equipment, such as facilities and underground lines associated with each wellhead. The wells will not be restarted until each has undergone and passed these additional inspections. Anadarko currently anticipates the process will take two to four weeks. European governments approved Friday a proposal to widen a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides that studies have found are harmful to bees and other pollinators. The move completely bans the outdoor uses of three neonicotinoids, or neonics, across the European Union. They include Bayer CropScience's imidacloprid, Syngenta's thiamethoxam and clothianidin developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer CropScience. The EU had already opted for a partial ban in 2013 on the use of the three chemicals on flowering crops that attract bees, such as maize, wheat, barley, oats and oil seed rape (canola). "All outdoor uses will be banned and the neonicotinoids in question will only be allowed in permanent greenhouses where exposure of bees is not expected," the European Commission said in a statement. In February, the European Food Safety Authority issued a report adding to the mounting scientific evidence that neonics are a risk to wild bees and honeybees, whose numbers have been plummeting in recent years. "The Commission had proposed these measures months ago, on the basis of the scientific advice from the European Food Safety Authority," Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European commissioner for Health and Food Safety said today. "Bee health remains of paramount importance for me since it concerns biodiversity, food production and the environment." According to Greenpeace EU, the member states supporting the ban were France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta, representing 76.1 per cent of the EU population. Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Denmark voted against. Poland, Belgium, Slovakia, Finland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania abstained from the vote. BBC News noted that manufacturers and some farming groups opposed the action, saying the science remains uncertain. "The Commission hasn't been able to find that these restrictions have delivered any measurable benefits for bees," Chris Hartfield from the National Farmers' Union in the UK, told the BBC. "That has been a big question for us, and if we can't be certain they can deliver measurable benefits why are we doing this?" The ban on the insecticides received widespread public support. Almost 5 million people signed a petition from campaign group Avaaz and more than 633,000 people signed another petition from international consumer group SumOfUs. "This move is critical for protecting bees and other important pollinatorswe hope this ban will encourage governments around the world to follow suit," said Wiebke Schroder, a SumOfUs campaign manager. New Zealand's Environmental Protection Agency, for one, closely watched the vote. "When new information is released, the EPA always takes a good look at the science, evaluating it to see if there's something we need to factor into our thinking here," said Fiona Thomson-Carter, the EPA General Manager for Hazardous Substances and New Organisms. "While existing New Zealand rules around the use of neonicotinoids are working, there could still be instances where non-target organisms, like bees and insects are exposed to the insecticide." Greenpeace EU food policy adviser Franziska Achterberg welcomed the news but urged the EU to make sure the three neonics are not simply swapped with other harmful chemicals. "These three neonicotinoids are just the tip of the icebergthere are many more pesticides out there, including other neonicotinoids, that are just as dangerous for bees and food production. Governments must ban all bee-harming pesticides and finally shift away from toxic chemicals in farming," Achterberg said. Lori Ann Burd, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health program, praised the decision by European Union regulators, but added that the "EU's wisdom highlights the Trump EPA's folly." A new study published in Science Advances Wednesday has bad news for the residents of low-lying atolls: If current greenhouse gas emission rates continue, climate change will render most of these islands uninhabitable by mid-century, not by the end of the century as previously believed. This could turn the more than half a million people who live on atolls into climate refugees, The Guardian reported Wednesday. The dramatic difference between these and previous findings is because previous studies only looked at sea level rise. However, this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Deltares, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, also looked at the impact of flooding from "wave overwash" when waves from storms wash over the islands. The scientists found that this flooding would pose a serious threat to the islands' supply of fresh drinking water, rendering it non-potable between 2030 and 2060 and forcing residents to leave. "The tipping point when potable groundwater on the majority of atoll islands will be unavailable is projected to be reached no later than the middle of the 21st century," lead author and USGS geologist Curt Storlazzi said in a USGS press release. Overwash flooding will also impact infrastructure and wildlife habitats, but the danger it poses to drinking water is especially severe. "The overwash events generally result in salty ocean water seeping into the ground and contaminating the freshwater aquifer. Rainfall later in the year is not enough to flush out the saltwater and refresh the island's water supply before the next year's storms arrive repeating the overwash events," USGS hydrologist and study author Stephen Gingerich explained in the release. For this study, the researchers looked at Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. However, they said their findings would apply to atolls worldwide, which have similar shapes and lower average elevations. These include the more than 1,100 low-lying islands on 29 atolls in the Marshall Islands and atolls in the Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Society Islands, Spratly Islands, Maldives, Seychelles and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Most atolls are located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. A study published Tuesday found that climate change had not been the driving force behind the past 50 years of forced displacement in East Africa. But the atoll study is one of many that points to a looming crisis of global displacement that will come sooner than expected if the world doesn't act quickly to reduce emissions and curb climate change. "Millions of people are going to be at risk from extreme heat, extreme water shortages and flooding as well as sea level rises ... we are talking about something that is going to play a huge role in the years ahead in terms of forcing people to leave their homes," Dina Ionesco of the International Organization for Migration told The Guardian. As the nation observes National Park Week, the Interior Department released a report Wednesday touting that visits to national parks added $35.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017a nearly $1 billion increase from the year priorand supported 306,000 jobs. The National Park Service said more than 330 million visitors spent $18.2 billion in the communities near the national parks last year. "This report illustrates the incredible economic value of our national parks," Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement, "and further shows the value in President Trump's plan to rebuild park infrastructure." The annual report comes not long after Zinke backed down on his proposal to nearly triple entrance fees for some of the country's most-visited parks to pay for the parks systems' $11 billion maintenance backlog. Critics scorned the exorbitant rates for reducing park access for low-income Americans and the economic impact on national park gateway communities from decreased visitation. John Garder, the senior director of budget and appropriations at the National Parks Conservation Association, told EcoWatch that the department's announcement confirms the huge economic value of parks and is "one of many reasons to protect and repair them." In his statement, Zinke insisted on the need to close the maintenance backlog. "As parks remain a popular destination for American families, we must continue to address deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs to ensure parks remain world-class destinations," he said. "One of the ways the President and I are doing this is by partnering with Congress on a bipartisan bill to address the maintenance backlog." This proposed legislation would use up to $18 billion in new revenues from mining and drilling in America's public lands and coastal waters to pay for the delayed park projects. The Trump administration has proposed massive budget cuts to the National Park Service, including the firing 1,835 employees at a time when park visits are at record highs. One of South Korea's largest earthquakes was likely triggered by hydraulic fracturing associated with geothermal energy production, according to two studies published Thursday in the journal Science. The 5.5-magnitude temblor that struck the city of Pohang on Nov. 15, 2017 was the second most powerful on record and its most damaging, leaving the infrastructure in ruins, injuring dozens of people and leaving about 1,500 homeless. Hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, works by injecting high-pressure fluid underground to fracture rock in order to achieve increased rates of flow. Fracking is often associated with unlocking oil and natural gas deposits, but in this case, the intention was to enable circulation to produce geothermal energy. Using geological and geophysical data, South Korean researchers from one of the studies suggested that the Pohang earthquake was induced by fluid from an enhanced geothermal system site that was injected directly into a near-critically-stressed subsurface fault zone. Kwanghee Kim, a seismologist at Pusan National University and lead author of the study, explained that the well's high-pressure water lubricated an unknown fault in the rock, causing it to slip and trigger the quake. In the second study, researchers from the University of Glasgow, ETH-Zurich in Switzerland, and GFZ-Potsdam in Germany found that the mainshock and its largest aftershocks occurred within 2 kilometers or less of the geothermal site, where many thousands of cubic meters of water were injected under pressure into boreholes. They also determined that the mainshock and the 46 aftershocks detected between Nov. 15-30 all occurred at depths of 3 to 7 kilometers, which is unusually shallow compared to previous quakes in the area. "It would be a very remarkable coincidence if this earthquake were to be unrelated to the activity at the site, given that it occurred so close to it," Robert Westaway, a senior research fellow at Glasgow university's school of engineering, and one of the paper's co-authors, told The Guardian. "My own personal view is that it is highly likely there is a connection." Other research has linked fracking for oil and gas to anthropogenic, or man-made, earthquakes, including a 4.8-magnitude earthquake in 2016 in northern Alberta. The alarming swarm of quakes currently rocking Oklahoma has been connected to the disposal of large volumes of wastewater from oil and gas production into underground wells. Geothermal energy is often touted as a source of clean power, but previous studies have also found that drilling deep into Earth to tap its natural heat could cause seismic activity, thus raising questions about the long-term risks of this energy source. "If the Pohang earthquake proves to be human-caused, it would be the largest known associated with deep geothermal energy, and this would certainly impact future projects," team member Stefan Wiemer of the Swiss Seismological Service told New Scientist. School choice is having a big moment in K-12 policy. But youd never know it from reading states plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. States around the country are increasingly adopting tax-credit scholarships and education savings accounts, expanding charters, and embracing other choice programs. And the issue is getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative, thanks to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a longtime cheerleader on the topic. But an Education Week review of all state plans shows that few are taking advantage of the handful of opportunities ESSA offers to expand, lay the groundwork for, or take advantage of existing choice programs. Those include using choice or charters as a school improvement tactic, setting aside federal money for such initiatives as dual enrollment and tutoring, and offering public school choice to students in struggling schools. There were a lot of possibilities of how states could use choice really creatively, said Robin Lake, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a nonpartisan research organization at the University of Washington. But most states opted not to employ them, she added. Thats partly thanks to lack of imagination or risk aversion. Thats something we saw more generally in the ESSA plans, Lake said. Picking a Path The Every Student Succeeds Act has some limited avenues for states to champion various types of school choice options. But only a handful of states are taking advantage of those opportunities, according to reviews of the plans by Education Week and others. School Improvement At least 12 states say they want schools that are perennially low-performing to consider reopening as charter schools to boost student achievement. Those states include: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. At least one stateTexashas floated the possibility of opening new charter schools as a school improvement strategy. Public School Transfers At least three statesNew York, New Mexico, and Louisianarequire districts to offer students in very low-performing the chance to transfer to a better performing school. Direct Student Services ESSA allows states to set aside up to 3 percent of their Title I money for activities like tutoring, dual enrollment, Advanced Placement course-fees, transportation for public school choice, and more. At least two statesLouisiana and New Mexicoare planning to take this option. Source: ESSA plans, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schoolsment Whats more, many states are facing pushback on their choice proposals, such as Arizonas expansion of education savings accounts, which is being challenged in court, said Micah Ann Wixom, a policy analyst at the Education Commission of the States, a research and policy organization in Denver. Those states may not have wanted to enshrine policies in their ESSA plans that face an uncertain future. To be sure, choice fans didnt get as much as they wanted out of the federal law itself, which passed in 2015 and is the most recent update of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Some Republican lawmakersincluding Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committeepushed for Title I portability, meaning allowing federal funds for disadvantaged children to follow students to the school of their choice. But that proposal didnt make it into the final version of the law. For her part, DeVos has tried to draw attention to the opportunities to advance choice through ESSA. And she admonished states for not taking advantage of some of them in a speech to the Council of Chief State School Officers earlier this year. Charter and Turnarounds The part of state plans that mention choice most often? The section on school improvement. ESSA requires states to flag their lowest-performing schools and come up with evidence-based interventions to help them improve. Schools that dont show improvement for several years must switch to what the law calls more rigorous interventions, determined by the state. At least a dozen states mentioned charters as a possible turnaround strategy, according to separate analyses by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and Education Week. See Also: Approved ESSA Plans: Explainer and Key Takeaways From Each State States identified in one or the other analysis include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Most pitched restarting a low-performing school as a charter as a more rigorous intervention to try when other strategies have failed. Texas, though, proposed distributing a portion of its school improvement money under ESSA through a competition, giving districts a menu of possible strategies to choose from. Among the possibilities: Districts can apply to use the money to start new schools, including charters, in places with failing schools. Other options that also include less dramatic steps, like revamping instruction to put a greater focus on data. We wanted to give districts the biggest set options possible, said Joe Siedlecki, the associate commissioner for school improvement, charters, and innovation. New Mexico is giving districts with low-performing schools the option of using choice itself as a turnarnound strategy through charters, online classes, home schooling, and magnet schools. Rhode Islands list of possible interventions for long-struggling schools includes not only charter restarts but also small schools of choice. That would involve organizing larger schools into units of about 100 students per grade, with a focus on personalizing instruction and helping students develop stronger relationships with educators, according to the states plan Louisianas plan notes that low-income students who attend schools that get a C, D, or F on the states school rating system can participate in the states private school voucher program. And Louisiana gives fast-track approval to charter schools that want to serve students in districts that are rated D or F. States that emphasize charters are mostly the usual suspects, said Christy Wolfe, a senior policy adviser for the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, a research and advocacy organization. And thats not a bad thing, she added. States that we would have expected to be interested in leveraging charters did that, Wolfe said. And shes hoping the states forging ahead will study the results and help others learn from them. Its better for it to roll out in phases with high-capacity states [taking] the first steps. No state has made school improvement strategies centered on choice a requirementtheyre just an option, among several others. And its unclear how many schools will go for it. Restarting struggling schools as charters isnt brand new under ESSA. The Obama administrations School Improvement Grant programwhich yielded mixed results when it comes to student achievementencouraged states to try the strategy. But it wasnt popular. Just 4 percent of schools took the option to restart as a charter in the 2010-11 school year, the first year of the SIG program. That inched up to 9 percent by the 2012-13 school year but was still eclipsed by other improvement options. Direct Student Services The law allows states to withhold up to 3 percent of Title I funding for disadvantaged students for direct student services, including credit recovery, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, personalized learning, tutoring, and transportation for students in low-performing schools who want to exercise choice. The Trump administration likes the provision so much it has pitched ratcheting up the allowable share to 5 percent in its most-recent budget request. But only two states explicitly say in their ESSA plans that they are going to take this option: Louisiana and New Mexico. Louisiana is planning to give the money back to districts, through the Title I formula, to avoid cuts to any districts share. But districts will have to spend the money on things like credit recovery, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, personalized learning, tutoring, and transportation for kids in low-performing schools who want to exercise choice. New Mexico, on the other hand, will distribute the funds for similar purposes but through a competition. Public School Choice ESSA gives states the opportunity to use a school improvement strategy that was mandatory under the previous version of the federal K-12 law, the No Child Left Behind Act: allowing students in struggling schoolsdefined as those in the bottom 5 percent of performers in the state and those with really low graduation ratesto transfer to better-performing ones. The law says districts need to give priority to low-achieving impoverished students in deciding who gets to transfer. Join Us: Free Online Event, May 1: Keys to ESSA Implementation At least three states are making public school choice mandatory for certain schools: Louisiana, New Mexico, and New York. Louisiana will offer choice to students in schools that are rated F or academically unacceptable, as well as schools that have received a D. New Mexicos state law allows any child attending a school that has earned two Fs in the last four years to go to a different school within the district. New York is using public school choice in a more limited way. Its an option for all districts. But its only a must for those with schools that are in the bottom 5 percent of performers, where less than two-thirds of students graduate, and which have had achievement declines for two consecutive years. New Yorks plan points to what the state sees as some of the problems with public school choice. It argues that students in low-performing schools didnt always have a better-performing school to transfer to and that public school choice can lead to greater segregation and inequity. Choice shows up in some unexpected places in other ESSA plans. For instance, the District of Columbia incorporated a kind of choice metric into its accountability system: re-enrollment, or the percentage of parents who choose to return their children to a particular school for a second school year. When ESSA passed, Republican lawmakers touted a provision allowing up to 50 districts to use a weighted student-funding formula as a win for choice. The pilot program allows districts to combine federal, state, and local dollars into a single funding stream tied to individual students. English-language learners, those in poverty, students in special educationin short, students who cost more to educatewould carry with them more money than other students. In theory, adopting a weighted student-funding formula could make it easier for districts to operate school choice programs, since money would be tied to individual students and could therefore follow them to charter or virtual public schools. But for now, most districts appear to be thinking of the pilot as a means to make sure disadvantaged students get their fair of fundingnot as a way to soften the ground for new school choice programs. Three of the five districts that applied to join the pilot in the 2018-19 school yearCalifornias Wilsona, Oregons Salem-Kaizer 24J, and Pennsylvanias Upper Adamsdont have school choice programs in the works, district representatives said. Another applicantIndianapolisalready has a school choice program and uses a similar, student-based formula to distribute its state and local dollars. But participating in the pilot isnt part of an effort to bolster the districts existing choice program or create a new one, said Carrie Cline Black, a district spokeswoman. Still, there could be one applicant that has school choice in mind: Puerto Rico. The islands school system was ravaged last fall by Hurricane Maria, leading to widespread educational disruption. In response, Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed legislation that would create new alianza schools very similar to charters. The U.S. territorys participation in the pilot, if its approved, could enable those efforts. DeVos and her team have expressed enthusiasm for the pilot and the other pieces of ESSA that can bolster choice. But the Center on Reinventing Public Educations Lake thinks the department may not have done enough to help states see the possibilities in the full range of potential choice options in ESSA. There wasnt a lot of guidance given [on implementation], she said. Without that, states tend to be cautious, they want direct permission rather than taking a risk and asking for forgiveness. On a March day in Chicago, the presidents of the teachers unions in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Arizona all sat down for an in-person chat. The leaders, who were in the Windy City for a leadership summit with the National Education Association, had much to discuss: West Virginia teachers had just completed a successful nine-day strike, and there were rumblings of teacher walkouts in the other three states. Dale Lee, the president of the West Virginia Education Association, told the three other union leaders what he learned from the strike and what he wished he knew going in. It was really just a support group of leaders that are going through the same thing, said Alicia Priest, the president of the Oklahoma Education Association, in an interview. Since that conversation, teachers in Oklahoma also went on a nine-day walkout, spurred by frustration over low pay and cuts to education funding. Teachers in Kentucky walked out of their classrooms on three separate occasions to protest pension changes. And teachers in Arizona went on strike on April 26 to call for higher wages and more funding for schools. These movements have followed similar patterns: In each state, a bulk of the organizing has taken place on social media among rank-and-file teachers. These states all have right-to-work laws, meaning teachers arent required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, so the unions may be weaker. In most of the states, teachers are demanding the same things: higher pay and more school funding. All these factors have led to cross-state organizing, among both union leaders and rank-and-file teachers. In addition to the support group of union officials, teachers at the grassroots level are communicating with each other on social media, leaving comments of support and encouragement on Facebook posts, and sending advice to the teachers who have emerged as leaders of the movement. For example, West Virginia teachers told Alberto Morejon, an Oklahoma teacher who led a Facebook organizing group with nearly 80,000 members, that the first day of week two was the most important day of the strike. Morejon passed that advice on to teachers in Oklahoma, who listened: Their turnout on that Monday was the largest of the nine days. There seems to be a learning process thats evolved, said Jon Shelton, an assistant professor of democracy and justice studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. For example, he said, teachers in Oklahoma initially centered their demands around their low salaries and the need for a raise. But as the walkout date grew closer, teachers began making really profound arguments about how cuts in education funding have affected students, and that helped garner public support, Shelton said. And teachers in other states were paying attention: In Arizona, they really hit the ground running with that argument, Shelton said. Theyve been able to really dramatically connect their low salaries with the conditions of [student learning]. ... It enables working people to have a better understanding of whats actually happening. An Unprecedented Movement For the union leaders in affected states, their peers across state lines have been a source of advice, reassurance, and comfort. Unless youve been in this position, you really dont know the difficulties or the pressures or anything like that, said Lee, of West Virginia. My role with [other union leaders] is to give them encouragement and advice or things we would have done differently. Teacher strikes are rare these days, and statewide movements are even rarer, said Shelton, who wrote a book called Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order. Ive never seen anything like this, he said. That model of [a statewide strike] coming out of nowhere and then being replicated very dramatically and on this large scalethats something that at least in terms of teacher organization is really unprecedented. Because statewide strikes are so rare, the support group of union presidents has been even more important, said leaders in Oklahoma and Arizona. The union presidents are on a conference call every couple of weeks. I feel for Dale [Lee] because he had to go first, quipped Joe Thomas, the president of the Arizona Education Association. Lee said he had two main pieces of advice for union leaders in other states: Get the public involved in supporting teachers. And make sure the communication with members is strong. See Also: Why Teacher Pay Raises Can Prove So Tough to Win One of the best things we did during the nine days was start doing nightly videos, Lee said. People were getting accurate information from usit wasnt secondhand. Priest, of Oklahoma, took that piece of advice, and held near-daily livestreams via Facebook Live during and leading up to the walkout to communicate with teachers across the state. Arizona has adopted a similar strategy as well. Arizona organizers have also taken a page out of Oklahomas playbook by holding walk-ins, in which teachers rally outside their schools, to drum up community support before the walkout. Its not going to be the same in every state, but there are going to be similarities, Thomas said. The most important advice he heard from Priest and Lee, he said, was threefold: Have thick skinpeople outside the education community wont want you to succeed. Be aware that people will try to divide the movement. And most importantly, find ways to listen to the teachers. When you get thousands and thousands of teachers together, you dont know how theyre going to react to things, and you have to give up any sense of control, Thomas said. You try to put on a program that gives them information and listens to them and gives them a way to lead in, and you try to do that in a purposeful and effective way. Whats Next? The wave of teacher activism is continuing with Colorado. Thousands of teachers there demonstrated at the state capitol Thursday and Friday, forcing about a dozen districts to close their doors. Lee said hes received phone calls from union officials in other states as well who are considering orchestrating day-long actions next monththough he declined to name the states. (Some watchers, though, have said North Carolina could be next.) The momentum seems to be contagious, Shelton said, adding that he wouldnt be surprised if teachers elsewhere began to organize as well. The fact that these teachers have seen other teachers, in many cases with unions that arent particularly strong, win significant salary increases ... its really energized teachers in other states, he said. In Arizona, where nearly 80 percent of the 57,000 school employees who cast a ballot at schools voted to go on strike, West Virginia was certainly the catalyst, said Thomas. The frustration was here, the energy was here, but that type of focus wasnt, he said. And thats the gift that West Virginia gave us. As a district superintendent, I am often asked the question by community leaders about how business can best support public schools. For a long time, I answered this question by thinking about partnerships, philanthropy, or other programmatic ways businesses and communities can help public schools. But lately, my answer has tended more toward the policy front. I tell them the best way to support education is to support a fiscal policy that focuses on investments rather than taxes. In the Kentucky district I serve, where nearly three out of four students live in poverty, I have seen the ill effects of the growing inequality and eroding middle class in our society. In the five years that I have served as superintendent, our district has had to do more with less to serve the needs of our students and families. Earlier this month, Kentucky lawmakers overrode the governors veto to pass a controversial tax overhaul that unfairly targets middle- and lower-income Kentuckians with a service-based consumption tax while cutting taxes on the corporations and the most affluent. The new budget uses a modest revenue increase in per-pupil education funding as window dressing to distract from sharp cuts to textbook and professional-development funding. As bad as this plan is, the governors proposed budget would have been even more draconian, prompting the Kentucky Education Association and other education advocates to support this tax plan. In my district, we will at best break even, if not lose funding. That is particularly a concern because the U.S. poverty rate for school-age children is far higher than most other advanced industrial nations. A majority of public school children in 20 states and the District of Columbia were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2014-15 school year. As a region, Southern states, including Kentucky, have the greatest percentage of total student population represented by children from low-income families. Compounding the problem, the achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families has grown 30 to 40 percent worse among children born in 2001 compared with those born 25 years earlier, according to Stanford University researcher Sean Reardon. Behind this achievement gap is a funding gap that is growing wider. Public education in America is not so much broken as it is under-resourced to educate all childrenespecially the most disadvantaged. It has become especially acute in recent decades as growing inequality and increased poverty combined with insufficient resources that are inequitably distributed. Although state tax revenue has recovered to above 2008 levels in most states, the majority of states still provide less total school-funding support for elementary and secondary schools than before the Great Recession, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Kentuckys 15.8 percent drop in per-pupil funding since 2008 ranks the third worst cut in the nation. This persistent underfunding of public education has grave implications for teachers and students alike. Average salaries for public school teachers declined by 1.3 percent in constant dollars, from the 1999-2000 school year to 2014-15, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Kentucky teachers, much like educators of several other states, have rallied in the state capitol over the past several weeks protesting proposed cuts to education, as well as newly passed pension reform legislation that weakens the benefits for future teachers. In the five years that I have served as superintendent, our district has had to do more with less to serve the needs of our students and families." Many states have continued underfunding their public K-12 education systems in pursuit of tax breaks. Research shows, however, that investments in K-12 education, higher education, and public infrastructure are more beneficial to a states economy than offering tax incentives, according to a 2014 report from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. Reams of evidence from other states are equally unsupportive of the supply-side notion that tax cuts boost growth. Several states recently experimented with tax cuts with little obvious success. The most notorious case is Kansas, where then-Gov. Sam Brownback promised that a moderate tax cut for individuals and a big tax cut for businesses would stimulate the economy. Since the 2012 tax cut, which slashed the top personal income tax rate by 25 percent, Kansass economy has lagged behind neighboring states, and the states budget has been in tatters. In the face of poor growth and spending needs, the Republican-led state legislature reversed much of Brownbacks original tax cuts last year. Minnesota provides an interesting contrast to Kansas. They raised income taxes in 2013, investing heavily in education. While the unemployment rate in Kansas fell at a slower rate than the national average following the states tax cuts, Minnesotas drop in unemployment was above average. In fact, a 2013 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study found that states with high tax rates are outperforming no-tax states, particularly in per capita gross state product: 8.2 percent per capita growth in gross state product compared with 5.2 percent in no-tax states. A 2015 study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found similar results. In the last two decades, the report concluded, a number of states have cut taxes deeply in hopes of spurring economic gains, with unimpressive results. The fiscal policies being pursued in many statesand at the national level with the tax plan recently signed by the presidentare damaging public education at the expense of tax breaks and tax cuts benefitting the wealthiest individuals and businesses. The latest attempt at tax reform in Kentucky follows this same model. Prior to my tenure as superintendent, I served as a local economic development professional and worked closely with business leaders for more than seven years. I recognize the importance of a competitive rate for business, but the evidence simply does not point to tax policy as the driver of economic growth. Instead, we must invest in three areas: K-12 education, higher education, and public infrastructure. Business leaders know the value of a good investment. Fiscal policy that supports strong public investments will benefit our economy more in the long run than tax cuts. Police appeal for help finding missing man Police are appealing for information to help find a Douglas man who has been missing for three weeks. Christopher James Christian was last seen on April 6th. Police want to hear from Mr Christian to ensure he's safe and well. Anyone who can help the police find Mr Christian is urged to contact Police Headquarters on 631212. Government, BBC agree deal for free TV licences for over 75s The BBC will issue TV licences free of charge to those aged over 75 on the Isle of Man. The Manx Government and the BBC has agreed a new deal which will see those over 75 years old automatically issued with a new licence shortly before the renewal date. Pensioners over 75 years old currently have to buy a licence themselves before applying to the Government for a refund. The BBC will cover a third of the cost this year, two thirds next year and the full amount from the 2020-2021 financial year, with the Government making up the difference for the next two years. Chief Minister Howard Quayle welcomed the agreement, which gives those eligible the same deal as those in the UK. Fuel oil stolen from Meat Plant Police are appealing for information after fuel oil was stolen at the Isle of Man Meat Plant. The oil was taken from the site in Cronkbourne between 11.45pm on Saturday and 12.55am on Sunday. Officers are keen to hear from anyone who has been offered any fuel since the theft occurred. Anyone who has information on the theft is asked to contact Police Headquarters on 631212. Police promise full support for abuse victims Manx police insist anyone who comes forward to report historic abuse will be given full support. It was recently claimed local officers didn't respond to a complaint from a man living in Norfolk, but the case hadn't been reported to the Isle of Man Constabulary by their UK counterparts. The Manx force insists anyone who makes complaint about abuse shouldn't be discouraged as cases are always dealt with by experienced officers. Officers say the victim is given support at every stage of the investigation. 2018-04-27 Maeci Colombia: Presentation of first metro line project in Bogota' Colombian Finance Minister, Mauricio Cardenas, and the Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa, presented the first metro line project for the city, which will run entirely on a raised platform.A cofinancing agreement will ensure that the necessary funds will be available for 30 years. It also allows for loans to complete the design, construction and implementation between 2019 and 2023. The project's confirmed main international financial backers are The Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank. Negotiations are also under way with Agence Francaise de Developpement (French Development Agency) and some German banks.The estimated capital cost of the project is 4.3 billion dollars, which includes 644 million dollars allocated by the Municipality of Bogota, 1.1 million dollars from the company that wins the contract, and the remaining 2.5 billion dollars from other financiers.The project involves building a 24 km metro line, to carry three of the nine million inhabitants of metropolitan Bogota. It also includes 16 stations, some of which will be integrated with the Transmillenium Bus Line. Initially the metro line will have 23 trains, rising to 60 once it is fully operational. Jordan: industrial parks to boost exportsJordan has started a host of projects for productive sites that share a common approach to internationalisation, and integration between technology, higher education and innovative business models. This is to stimulate growth, employment and exports in productive sectors with the highest margin of development. The business accelerator "Shamal Start" is the main project which has been financed by EU funds in the north of the country. The incubator promotes innovative projects and supports SMEs in the Irbid and Mafraq Governorates. A few kilometres from Irbid, "Shamal Start" is committed to support entrepreneurial talen among Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees hosted in local communities, to create sustainable employment and accelerate the growth of the manufacturing industry and the advanced service sector. The industrial park "Jordan Gateway - Free Zone Industrial Park" is near Irbid and "Shamal Start", next to the river Jordan. It is the result of a joint Israeli-Jordanian project. It began about six months ago and is designed to establish and develop an industrial park across the river Jordan, with offices in both countries. It will operate in a Free Zone recognised by both countries. The park will cover 120 hectares in Jordan, and 27 hectares in Israel when fully operational. The building of a 400 metre-long bridge is well underway. The bridge will have tracks to link the railways systems of Jordan and Israel. So the two sides of the park will be connected ensuring the movement of goods and people. The "Jordan Gateway Park" will contribute to the development of Jordanian industry and promote new trade opportunities with the rest of the world via the trade agreements between the two countries and with other countries. 2018-04-27 Maeci The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, is in Brussels today to attend the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. On the sidelines of the meeting, the minister is scheduled to meet (at 5:30 p.m.) with the American Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to discuss NATO-Russia relations, defence expenditure, Iran and the Western Balkans. April 26, 2018--(BRONX, NY)-- A study in today's issue of JAMA Oncology reports that New York City firefighters exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster site face an increased risk for developing myeloma precursor disease (MGUS), which can lead to the blood cancer multiple myeloma. The study was conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Health System, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "With our 2011 study in The Lancet, we were the first to show that first responders were more likely to get many different types of cancer," said senior co-author David J. Prezant, M.D., a professor of medicine at Einstein, a pulmonary disease specialist at Montefiore and chief medical officer of the FDNY. "We carried out this new study to do more than just treat cancer. We wanted to find early, predictive signs of cancer that would allow us to screen people and monitor those found to be at risk. By detecting MGUS, which predicts the development of multiple myeloma, we are able to do that." In MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance), the blood's plasma cells produce an abnormal protein called monoclonal (M) protein that can be detected with blood tests. MGUS generally causes no problems but can progress to multiple myeloma, a blood cancer diagnosed in about 30,000 Americans each year. In multiple myeloma, rapidly proliferating plasma cells can crowd out the bone marrow's normal blood-forming cells, leading to problems including anemia (shortage of red cells) and leukopenia (shortage of white cells). Most multiple myeloma cases are diagnosed in people older than 65, and only 5 percent of cases occur among people under 50. Half of those diagnosed with multiple myeloma are still alive five years later. Previous studies suggest that MGUS and multiple myeloma all tend to develop after exposure to toxic chemicals. The aerosolized dust from the collapsed towers exposed FDNY and other first responders to unprecedented levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, asbestos and other potential carcinogens, as well as diesel smoke from heavy machinery used in the 10-month rescue and recovery effort. For statistical reasons, the study population was limited to 781 white, male WTC-exposed firefighters aged 50 to 79 whose blood samples were evaluated to assess the prevalence of MGUS in the group. When results were compared with MGUS prevalence in a non-exposed comparison group (men living in Olmsted County, MN), the prevalence of MGUS in the firefighters was nearly twice as high (7.63 cases of MGUS per 100 firefighters vs. 4.34 cases per 100 non-exposed persons). "We saw a significantly higher incidence of MGUS in these first responders, and they're developing it at a young age," said the study's senior co-author Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., a professor of medicine and of developmental & molecular biology at Einstein and director of hematologic malignancies at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care. Their early development of MGUS, he says, suggests that these firefighters potentially face an increased risk for early-onset of multiple myeloma as well. Indeed, in a separate analysis, the researchers examined the 16 cases of multiple myeloma diagnosed between September 12, 2001 and July 1, 2017 among all white, male WTC-exposed FDNY firefighters. Their average age of diagnosis was 57, or 12 years younger than the average age for multiple myeloma diagnosis nationally. Although not everyone with MGUS will develop multiple myeloma, the researchers recommend that physicians screen first responders exposed to the WTC site for both conditions. "Screening for multiple myeloma risk by testing for MGUS is something we can offer these first responders, which is why this study is important," said Dr. Prezant. Another study in this edition of JAMA Oncology predicts how many WTC-related cancer cases will be diagnosed among FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2031.The study, by Einstein, Montefiore, and FDNY researchers, predicts that among a subset of white males 2,714 new cancer cases will be diagnosed over the 20-year period. Led by Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., a research assistant professor in epidemiology and population health at Einstein, these studies demonstrate that this is a significantly greater cancer burden than the 2,596 cancer cases that would be predicted in a demographically similar but non-exposed population. The study also calculated that the 20-year cost for the first year of cancer treatment for the FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers will total more than $235 million. The paper is titled "Estimation of Future Cancer Burden in World Trade Center-Exposed Fire Department of the City of New York Rescue/recovery Workers." The MGUS study is titled "Multiple myeloma and its precursor disease among firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center disaster." The blood samples for this study were collected and purified under the direction of Orsi Giricz, Ph.D., a co-first author of the study at Montefiore/Einstein, and then analyzed for MGUS by Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the corresponding author for the study. Dr. Zeig-Owen was also a co-first author in this study. The other Einstein and Montefiore authors are David Goldfarb, M.P.H., George Nwankwo, B.S., Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., Kith Pradhan, Ph.D., Charles B. Hall, Ph.D., Hillel W. Cohen, Dr.P.H., Theresa Schwartz, M.S. and Mayris P. Webber, Dr.P.H. Additional authors include Malin Hultcrantz, M.D., Ph.D., Kaznouri Murata, Ph.D., Katie Thoren, Ph.D., Lakshmi Ramanathan, Ph.D., Ahmet Dogan, M.D., Ph.D., and Shani Irby, N.P., all of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Nadie Jaber, PA-C, of the FDNY; and Laura Crowley, M.D. and Michael Crane, M.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This work was supported by grants from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Byrne Fund, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Core Grant, the Albert Einstein Cancer Center, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The authors declare no competing financial interests. ### About Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, is one of the nations premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2017-2018 academic year, Einstein is home to 697 M.D. students, 181 Ph.D. students, 108 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2017, Einstein received more than $174 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and view us on YouTube. Paul M. Bevilaqua will be awarded the Daniel Guggenheim Medal on May 2 for his influential aeronautics work, which has led to such advancements as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of aeronautics. Its first recipient was Orville Wright. The medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Helicopter Society (AHS), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Bevilaqua has spent much of the last four decades working on the development of Vertical and/or Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft. He holds numerous patents and has made key theoretical contributions as well as practical innovations in V/STOL aircraft design. The competition to produce the Joint Strike Fighter was won when the X-35 technology demonstrator aircraft made a short takeoff, went supersonic, and then landed vertically, the first time any aircraft had accomplished this feat. This achievement was made possible by its innovative multi-cycle propulsion system, invented by Bevilaqua. Bevilaqua earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, which he attended on a U.S. Air Force ROTC scholarship, and then earned an M.S. in Engineering Science and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. His study of turbulent wakes identified the importance of body geometry and the dominant vortices shed from the body on the spreading of the wake, making it possible to identify re-entry bodies from their wakes and establishing a new direction for turbulence research. This led to an active duty assignment at the Aerospace Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to work on the spreading of the turbulent jets from a V/STOL Search and Rescue aircraft. The hypermixing nozzles he developed by introducing vortices into these jets were incorporated into the thrust augmenting ejectors of the XFV-12A interceptor aircraft being developed for the U.S. Navy. Bevilaqua left the Air Force to become Manager of Advanced Programs at Rockwell International's Navy aircraft plant in Ohio, where this aircraft was being developed. The FV-12A was to be deployed on the Sea Control Ship. When this ship program was cancelled, Bevilaqua accepted a position as Chief Aeronautical Scientist at the Lockheed Skunk Works. He and his team were tasked with inventing something that would lead to a new line of business for the Lockheed Aircraft Companies. DARPA and the U.S. Marine Corps subsequently approached him about adapting the XFV-12A as a supersonic strike fighter to replace both the subsonic AV-8 Harrier and supersonic F/A-18 Hornet. Instead of an ejector lift system, Bevilaqua proposed the multi-cycle propulsion system, which can be switched from a turbofan cycle to a lift fan cycle to increase thrust for vertical lift. Based on his Air Force service, he also suggested developing a variant with a conventional engine to replace the F-16 Falcon. He then led the team that demonstrated the feasibility of developing variants of this aircraft for all three military services and our allies. His team completed the demonstration program on schedule and under budget. For demonstrating this propulsion system, the team won the Collier Trophy, which each year recognizes "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America." Bevilaqua continues to provide innovation, inspiration, and enormous dedication to the advancement of V/STOL flight within industry, at universities, and through professional societies. His dedication, professionalism, and many contributions represent a benchmark for the V/STOL community. He is an AIAA Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received numerous awards for his influential work. Bevilaqua retired in 2011 as manager of the Advanced Development Programs at Lockheed Martin Corporation. He will receive the Guggenheim Medal at the 2018 AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala on May 2 in Washington, D.C. Past recipients of the medal are some of the greatest names in aerospace, including Walter Vincenti, Holt Ashley, Lawrence Bell, William Boeing, James Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Charles Stark Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Goddard, Jerome Hunsaker, Theodore von Karman, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Martin, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan and Igor Sikorsky, among many others. ### About AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world's largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 85 countries, and 95 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit http://www.aiaa.org, or follow us on Twitter @AIAA. On 26 April 2018 the European Commission took steps to tackle the spread and impact of online disinformation in Europe and ensure the protection of European values and democracies. The Commission proposed an EU-wide Code of Practice on Disinformation, support to an independent network of fact-checkers, and concrete tools to stimulate quality journalism. The JRC study on the digital transformation of news media and the rise of disinformation contributed to defining the tools for tackling disinformation online. The report contains an overview of the relevant economic research literature on the digital transformation of news markets and related impact on the quality of news. Algorithm-driven platforms shape the news landscape The report points out that two-thirds of online news consumers prefer to access it through algorithm-driven platforms such as search engines and news aggregators, and social media websites. It also states that market power and revenue streams shifted from news publishers to platform operators who have the data to match readers, articles and ads. The quality concerns in news are a result of not so much the shift from offline to online distribution, but rather the shift from direct access to newspapers to indirect algorithm-driven distribution of news. This is characterised by the mix of genuine edited news articles, user generated content and deliberately produced disinformation. True news dwarf false news Despite the much wider availability and accessibility of online news, user trust in news media, especially in online sources of news, is low and differs considerably by age, education and country. Traditional print and broadcasted news remain the most trusted sources. True news audiences dwarf false news audiences, though fake news travels faster and further on social media sites, also across echo chambers and may capture consumer attention longer than true news. Research in this field, however, is only at the fledgling stage, with findings sensitive to the sample selection of false and real news sources. Most studies analysed in the JRC report find limited impact of false news on political choices. Are digital news market failing? There are concerns about distribution platforms such as search engines, news aggregators and social media sites, because their main objective is not the provision of quality news but rather to maximize traffic and advertising revenue. They may weaken consumer trust and news brand recognition and facilitate the introduction of disinformation and false news into the market. This may contribute to news market failure when it becomes difficult for consumers to distinguish between good quality news and disinformation or fake news. Disinformation detectives The JRC is also carrying out extensive research on the issue of fake news. From identifying sources of disinformation to tracking trendy narratives, this work seeks to detect early such stories and prevent them from spreading. The European Media Monitor (EMM) developed by JRC covers about 300,000 articles per day from traditional news sites. With such an overwhelming volume of information, specific software is necessary in order to classify the information by policy area, and to cluster it in order to find the top stories. However, the monitoring cannot rely on technology alone, human analysis is ultimately necessary. The JRC has been working with the European External Action Service East StratComm Task Force, set up by the EEAS in 2015 to address pro-Kremlin disinformation. This surveillance allows capturing trends and ongoing narratives, for instance, that NATO was behind the protests in Ukraine or that the West is trying to attack Russia or to legalise paedophilia. Social media and bot accounts The JRC is also developing monitoring to cover social media, including Twitter. Around 55 million tweets circulate daily through this platform. The JRC analyses a sample of 10% of them, in order to identify trends, to see how news can quickly "go viral", and to map communities based on the information users share and on how they interact with each other. Another area of current research is the tonality of known fake news. Usually, balanced journalistic reporting presents positive and negative aspects, therefore the overall tonality is neutral. Disinformation articles, on the contrary, often push emotions to the extreme. On this topic, the JRC is organising workshops with journalists, social media managers and policy officers, in order to help them understand the use of emotions by fake news sources. ### In an article published in PLOS ONE, Brazilian researchers describe the first retrospective dosimetric study by electron spin resonance spectroscopy using human tissue from nuclear attack victims The bombing of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945 was the first and only use of nuclear weapons against civilian targets. A series of studies began in its aftermath to measure the impact of the fallout, in terms of both the radiation dose to which the victims were exposed and the effects of this exposure on DNA and health in general. Continuing research that started in the 1980s under the leadership of physicist Sergio Mascarenhas, Full Professor at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazilian scientists have published an article in the journal PLOS ONE describing a method of precise measurement of the radiation dose absorbed by the bones of victims of the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. The investigation was conducted during the postdoctoral research of Angela Kinoshita, currently a professor at Universidade do Sagrado Coracao in Bauru, Sao Paulo State. Her supervisor was then Oswaldo Baffa, Full Professor at the University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto School of Philosophy, Science & Letters (FFCLRP-USP). "We used a technique known as electron spin resonance spectroscopy to perform retrospective dosimetry. Currently, there's renewed interest in this kind of methodology due to the risk of terrorist attacks in countries like the United States," Baffa said. "Imagine someone in New York planting an ordinary bomb with a small amount of radioactive material stuck to the explosive. Techniques like this can help identify who has been exposed to radioactive fallout and needs treatment." As Kinoshita explained, the study is unique insofar as it used samples of human tissue from victims of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. "There were serious doubts about the feasibility of using this methodology to determine the radiation dose deposited in these samples, because of the processes involved in the episode," she said. "The results confirm its feasibility and open up various possibilities for future research that may clarify details of the nuclear attack." The equipment used in the investigation was purchased during a project coordinated by Baffa and supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP. Origins In the 1970s, when he was teaching at the University of Sao Paulo's Sao Carlos Physics Institute (IFSC-USP), Mascarenhas discovered that X-ray and gamma-ray irradiation made human bones weakly magnetic. The phenomenon, known as paramagnetism, occurs because the hydroxyapatite (crystalline calcium phosphate) in the mineral portion of bone tissue absorbs carbon dioxide ions, and when the sample is irradiated, the CO 2 loses electrons and becomes CO 2 -. This free radical serves as a marker of the radiation dose received by the material. "I discovered that we could use this property to perform radiation dosimetry and began using the method in archeological dating," Mascarenhas recalled. His aim at the time was to calculate the age of bones found in sambaquis (middens created by Brazil's original inhabitants as mounds of shellfish debris, skeletons of prehistoric animals, human bones, stone or bone utensils, and other refuse) based on the natural radiation absorbed over centuries via contact with elements such as thorium that are present in the sand on the seashore. On the strength of this research, he was invited to teach at Harvard University in the United States. Before leaving for the US, however, he decided to go to Japan to try to obtain samples of bones from victims of the nuclear bombs and test his method on them. "They gave me a jawbone, and I decided to measure the radiation right there, at Hiroshima University," he said. "I needed to prove experimentally that my discovery was genuine." Mascarenhas succeeded in demonstrating that a dosimetric signal could be obtained from the sample even though the technology was still rudimentary and there were no computers to help process the results. The research was presented at the American Physical Society's annual March Meeting, where it made a strong impression. Mascarenhas brought the samples to Brazil, where they remain. "There have been major improvements in the instrumentation to make it more sensitive in the last 40 years," Baffa said. "Now, you see digitally processed data in tables and graphs on the computer screen. Basic physics has also evolved to the extent that you can simulate and manipulate the signal from the sample using computational techniques." Thanks to these advances, he added, in the new study, it was possible to separate the signal corresponding to the radiation dose absorbed during the nuclear attack from the so-called background signal, a kind of noise scientists suspect may have resulted from superheating of the material during the explosion. "The background signal is a broad line that may be produced by various different things and lacks a specific signature," Baffa said. "The dosimetric signal is spectral. Each free radical resonates at a certain point on the spectrum when exposed to a magnetic field." Methodology To make the measurements, the researchers removed millimeter-scale pieces of the jawbone used in the previous study. The samples were again irradiated in the laboratory using a technique called the additive dose method. "We added radiation to the material and measured the rise in the dosimetric signal," Baffa explained. "We then constructed a curve and extrapolated from that the initial dose, when the signal was presumably zero. This calibration method enabled us to measure different samples, as each bone and each part of the same bone has a different sensitivity to radiation, depending on its composition." Thanks to this combination of techniques, they were able to measure a dose of approximately 9.46 grays (Gy), which is high in Baffa's view. "About half that dose, or 5 Gy, is fatal if the entire body is exposed to it," he said. The value was comparable with the doses obtained by other techniques applied to non-biological samples, such as measurement of the luminescence of quartz grains present in brick and roof tile fragments found at the bomb sites. According to the authors, it was also close to the results of biological measurement techniques applied in long-term studies using alterations in survivors' DNA as a parameter. "The measurement we obtained in this latest study is more reliable and up to date than the preliminary finding, but I'm currently evaluating a methodology that's about a thousand times more sensitive than spin resonance. We'll have news in a few months," Mascarenhas predicted. ### About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en. A group of Brazilian researchers confirmed for the 1st time in vivo the efficiency of Zika virus in infecting CNS tumor cells - tests even showed that the resulting viral particles were less harmful than the ones created from infection of healthy cells A Brazilian study published April 26 in the journal Cancer Research shows for the first time in vivo that Zika virus can be used as a tool to treat aggressive human central nervous system (CNS) tumors. After injecting small amounts of the pathogen into the brains of mice with an advanced stage of the disease, the scientists observed a significant reduction in tumor mass and an increase in survival. In some cases, the tumor was completely eliminated, even where the disease had metastasized to the spinal cord. "We're excited about the possibility of testing the treatment in human patients, and we're already discussing this with oncologists. We've also applied for a patent for the therapeutic protocol used in rodents," said Mayana Zatz, a professor in the University of Sao Paulo's Bioscience Institute (IB-USP) in Brazil and director of the Human Genome & Stem Cell Research Center (HUG-CELL), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs http://cepid.fapesp.br/home) supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP. Zatz led the study alongside Oswaldo Keith Okamoto, also a professor at IB-USP and a member of HUG-CELL. The research team included scientists at Butantan Institute, Brazil's National Bioscience Laboratory (LNBio) and the Federal University of de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP). "Our results suggest Zika has an even greater affinity with central nervous system tumor cells than with healthy neural stem cells [the virus's main targets in the brains of fetuses exposed during pregnancy]. When it infects tumor cells, it swiftly destroys them," Okamoto said. In his laboratory at IB-USP, Okamoto has devoted the last few years to studying a group of genes which, when expressed in malignant tumors, endow tumor cells with properties similar to those of stem cells, making them more aggressive and treatment-resistant. According to Okamoto, these tumor cells with stem cell-like characteristics have been observed in various kinds of solid tumor including those that affect the central nervous system. Data in the scientific literature suggests they help cancer spread through the organism and restore tumor growth after chemotherapy and radiation therapy have all but eliminated the disease. "Our research and studies by other groups have shown that Zika virus causes microcephaly because it infects and destroys neural stem cells in the fetus, preventing the formation of new neurons. So we had the idea of investigating whether the virus also attacked tumor stem cells in the central nervous system," he said. Methodology The study just published focused on what are known as embryonal CNS tumors. The experiments were performed with three human tumor cell lines: two derived from medulloblastoma and the third from atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). As Okamoto explained, both kinds of cancer are caused by genetic or epigenetic aberrations in stem cells and neural progenitors during embryonic development, when the nervous system is under construction. "The neural stem cells that undergo these alterations give rise to tumor cells at a later stage. They form aggressive, fast-growing tumors that can manifest shortly after birth or until adolescence," Okamoto said. In the first stage of their research, the group tested in vitro whether Zika was capable of infecting these three CNS tumor cell lines, as well as cells from other frequent types of tumor, such as breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. The researchers performed a dose escalation study, adding steadily larger amounts of Zika virus to cultured tumor cells until they found the quantity that promoted infection. Using immunofluorescence microscopy they confirmed that the virus had in fact invaded the tumor cells and begun to replicate inside them. "We observed that small amounts of Zika were sufficient to infect CNS tumor cells," Okamoto said. "They also infected the prostate cancer cells, but far fewer. On the other hand, even a large viral dose failed to cause infection in breast and colorectal cancer cells." The second experiment consisted of comparing Zika's capacity to infect healthy neural stem cells obtained from induced pluripotent stem cells (adult cells reprogrammed in the laboratory to behave like stem cells) with its infection of CNS tumor stem cells. "We infected both cell types in vitro and found tumor stem cells to be even more susceptible to destruction by Zika than healthy neural stem cells," Okamoto said. "In this same experiment, we exposed mature neurons differentiated from human neural stem cells to Zika and found that they weren't infected or destroyed by the virus." "This is very good news, since our specific goal is to destroy tumor cells," Zatz noted. The neural stem cells used in the experiment, she explained, were obtained during a previous study conducted by the group with pairs of discordant twins - cases in which only one twin was affected by the virus although both had been equally exposed during pregnancy. According to Okamoto, the AT/RT cell line was the most sensitive to infection. "We analyzed the genetic and molecular profile of these cell lines very thoroughly. This analysis included whole exome sequencing [to look for disease-causing variants in exons, the pieces of genes that code for proteins], global gene expression and chromosome alterations," he said. "We concluded that this tumor cell line was not only more sensitive to the virus than the others but also more closely resembled the molecular characteristics of healthy neural stem cells." The group's preliminary results suggest Zika can also infect and destroy other kinds of CNS tumor such as glioblastoma and ependymoma. In vivo assays In the third and last part of the project the researchers conducted in vivo assays with immunosuppressed mice, injecting human tumor cells from medulloblastoma and AT/RT into different groups. In this study model, the tumor is induced in the lateral ventricles of the brain, spreads to other regions of the central nervous system and then descends the spinal cord, mimicking advanced human cancer. After inducing the tumor, the researchers injected a small dose of Zika into the lateral ventricles of some mice. "Tumor volume was significantly reduced in the treated group. In some cases both the tumor and spinal metastases were completely eliminated," Okamoto said. The largest increase in survival time was observed in the animals with AT/RT. While the untreated group survived up to 30 days, those injected with Zika in this group survived up to 80 days. "Even when the tumor was completely eliminated the animals eventually died from complications of advanced-stage cancer," Okamoto said. "It's possible survival rates could become even longer if patients are treated at an earlier stage. This is something we need to investigate." The researchers also injected the virus into a group of immunosuppressed mice that did not have induced cancer. In this case, the virus circulated for longer in the organism and the animals died from the viral infection after only two weeks. "Immunosuppressed mice are highly sensitive to any pathogen, but we had to use this model because it's the only one in which human tumor cells are capable of proliferating," Okamoto explained. When they sought to find out why the virus was more lethal in the animals without cancer than in the sick animals, the researchers discovered that the viral particles created when Zika infected the tumor cells were less virulent, meaning they were less able to infect new cells than particles created in healthy cells. "All these results taken together suggest that various kinds of aggressive CNS tumors can be treated with some kind of approach involving Zika in future," Okamoto said. "First of all, however, we need to investigate more profoundly which tumor types respond to this oncolytic effect, what are the benefits of this treatment, and what are the side-effects of exposure to the virus." In parallel with development of the theoretical research in the laboratory, Zatz added, the group plan to move on to clinical trials in humans. "Today there are few options for treatment of these tumors," she said. "The idea is to start with two or three patients who don't respond to conventional treatment, and then embark on a larger trial with more patients." According to Zatz, the fact that thousands of Brazilians were infected by Zika during the 2015 epidemic suggests the procedure is sufficiently safe. "Some 80% of the people infected have never displayed symptoms. Most of the other 20% have displayed mild symptoms far less aggressive than those of dengue or the adverse effects of chemotherapy," she explained. Zatz stressed the importance of FAPESP's RIDC program in making this kind of research feasible. "It enables researchers with different kinds of expertise to collaborate and get results very quickly, which can make all the difference," she said. ### About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that finds the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 11 surveillance sites as one in 59 among children aged 8 years in 2014 (or 1.7 percent). This marks a 15 percent increase from the most recent report two years ago, and the highest prevalence since the CDC began tracking ASD in 2000. Consistent with previous reports, boys were four times more likely to be identified with ASD than girls. The rate is one in 38 among boys (or 2.7 percent) and one in 152 among girls (or 0.7 percent). ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, combined with limited interests and repetitive behaviors. Early diagnosis and intervention are key to improving learning and skills. Rates have been rising since the 1960s, but researchers do not know how much of this rise is due to an increase in actual cases. There are other factors that may be contributing, such as: increased awareness, screening, diagnostic services, treatment and intervention services, better documentation of ASD behaviors and changes in diagnostic criteria. For this new report, the CDC collected data at 11 regional monitoring sites that are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The Maryland monitoring site is based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. This is the sixth report by the ADDM Network, which has used the same surveillance methods for more than a decade. Estimated prevalence rates of ASD in the U.S. reported by previous data were: one in 68 children in the 2016 report that looked at 2012 data one in 68 children in the 2014 report that looked at 2010 data one in 88 children in the 2012 report that looked at 2008 data one in 110 children in the 2009 report that looked at 2006 data one in 150 children in the 2007 report that looked at 2000 and 2002 data "The estimated overall prevalence rates reported by ADDM at the monitoring sites have more than doubled since the report was first published in 2007," says Dr. Li-Ching Lee, PhD, ScM, a psychiatric epidemiologist with the Bloomberg School's departments of Epidemiology and Mental Health and the principal investigator for Maryland-ADDM. "Although we continue to see disparities among racial and ethnic groups, the gap is closing," Lee says. ASD prevalence was reported to be approximately 20 to 30 percent higher among white children as compared with black children in previous ADDM reports. In the current report, the difference has dropped to 7 percent. In addition, approximately 70 percent of children with ASD had borderline, average or above average intellectual ability, a proportion higher than that found in ADDM data prior to 2012. Some trends in the latest CDC report remain similar, such as the greater likelihood of boys being diagnosed with ASD, the age of earliest comprehensive evaluation and presence of a previous ASD diagnosis or classification. Specifically, non-white children with ASD are being identified and evaluated at a later age than white children. The majority of children identified with ASD by the ADDM Network (80 percent) had a previous ASD diagnosis or a special educational classification. In Maryland, the prevalence of ASD was higher than in the network as a whole. An estimated one in 50 children (2 percent) was identified as having ASD -- one in 31 among boys and one in 139 among girls. The data were derived from health and special education records of children who were eight years old and living in Baltimore County in 2014. Lee notes, similar to previous reports, the vast majority of children identified with ASD in Maryland had a developmental concern in their records by age three (92 percent), but only 56 percent of them received a comprehensive evaluation by that age. "This lag may delay the timing for children with ASD to get diagnosed and to start receiving needed services," says Lee, an associate director of the school's Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. The causes of autism are not completely understood; studies show that both environment and genetics may play a role. The CDC recommends that parents track their child's development and act quickly to get their child screened if they have a concern. Free checklists and information for parents, physicians and child care providers are available at http://www.cdc.gov/ActEarly. A full copy of the report, "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years -- Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2014" is available on the CDC website here. A copy of the Community Report with individual state statistics is available here. ### Kyoto, Japan -- The critically endangered Yanbaru whiskered bat, Myotis yanbarensis, has been caught for the first time on Okinawa Island since its discovery 22 years ago. Kyoto University doctoral student Jason Preble succeeded in the capture on the night of 20 February, during a survey in the Yanbaru Forest in the north of Okinawa's main island. The rare bat species was first discovered in the subtropical Yanbaru Forest in 1996, when two specimens were collected. It was later observed on a few occasions on the islands Tokunoshima and Amami-Oshima, but no sightings were reported again on Okinawa Island. This small tree-dwelling bat, endemic to these islands, thus became a serious conservation concern and was declared 'critically endangered,' the highest risk level, by both the Japanese Ministry of Environment and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. On 20 February 2018 at 20:05, Preble captured one male Myotis yanbarensis weighing 4.9 g and apparently in good health. Three nights later he caught a second male bat weighing 5.2 g. Upon release, he tracked these individuals using VHF transmitters. A third male was also caught four days later. The captures took place in the former United States military Northern Training Area, facilitated by a high-tech acoustic lure that broadcasts synthesized bat calls. Moreover, Preble was able to record the bat's echolocation call, vital data that was previously unreported. This large area of forest was returned to Japan in December 2016, and Kyoto University's Island Bat Research Group, led by Christian Vincenot, was among the first teams to be granted access by the Ministry of Environment, Okinawa Forestry Office, and Aha Dam authority. The presence of the Yanbaru whiskered bat indicates that this zone, which was off limits for over a half-century, may have served as an unintended wildlife sanctuary. This discovery revives hope for conservation of this rare species, while also suggesting that Myotis yanbarensis may be range-restricted to a small part of the Yanbaru Forest and therefore may continue to be at risk of local extinction. Extreme caution is therefore advised in the management of this area, which is currently a candidate for UNESCO Natural Heritage status. Bats are often highly sensitive to infrastructure development, as seen in the steep decline in endangered populations following the construction in 2013 of a new airport runway over bat caves on Ishigaki island, also in the Okinawan archipelago. ### About Kyoto University Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. A broad curriculum across the arts and sciences at both undergraduate and graduate levels is complemented by numerous research centers, as well as facilities and offices around Japan and the world. For more information please see: http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en Partnership between McGill and the MUHC will bring together over 250 researchers under the newly created McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity A $15-million gift from the visionary Montreal-based Doggone Foundation will launch the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity, a unique and highly collaborative endeavour that will harness the scientific expertise, resources and creativity of researchers at McGill, the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and affiliated research partners in the battle against infectious and immune-related diseases. McGill University's Faculty of Medicine and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) will each receive $7.5 million for the project. This initiative will bring together more than 250 investigators from McGill University and its affiliated hospitals and research centres to develop innovative solutions to infectious and immune threats to human health - and translate those discoveries from the lab to patients and hospitals across Canada, and globally. "We are deeply grateful to the Doggone Foundation for this extraordinary gift," says McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier. "It allows us to draw on the broader McGill community's intrinsic research strengths and mobilize our efforts around these complex health challenges." "Together, the MUHC, RI-MUHC and McGill have the experience, curiosity, network, and drive to accomplish enormous good," adds Martine Alfonso, Interim President and Executive Director of the MUHC. "This exciting initiative will help assure that the right platforms and tools are in place so that our experts may continue to collaborate on solutions to some of the world's most pressing health issues." Four major themes Infectious diseases are a leading cause of mortality worldwide and pose an ongoing threat due to uncontrolled epidemics and rising drug and antibiotic resistance. However, advances in our understanding of the immune system have opened the door for scientists to develop new ways to reprogram our natural defences against infections. The McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity's efforts will revolve around four major themes: antimicrobial resistance, emerging and re-emerging diseases, infections in vulnerable populations, and diseases of altered immunity. Each theme will be broken down into three areas: fundamental discoveries, diagnostics and solutions such as new vaccines and immunotherapies. "We think that the ambition and creativity of this network of scientists is the secret to success - and there's a need for it now," says Dr. Don Sheppard, Director in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the MUHC and at McGill University, and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill's Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Sheppard, who is also a scientist in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the RI-MUHC, will head up this new initiative. "We're gaining these unbelievable insights into how our immune system works and how it interacts with microbiology," says Sheppard. "We want to come up with innovative solutions to infectious diseases through the power of manipulating the immune system." "This unprecedented collaboration between our scientific communities will reinforce Quebec's research and innovation expertise internationally. Our world-class biomedical and research facilities and our commitment to translational patient-oriented research is redefining how our scientists, clinicians, medical staff and students conduct cutting-edge research at the RI-MUHC,'' says Dr. Bruce Mazer, Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the MUHC (Interim). In addition to infectious diseases, this new project's largest theme will focus on diseases of altered immunity, everything from cancer to inflammatory bowel disease. The McGill teaching hospital network has a powerhouse of cutting-edge immunologists at the forefront of this type of research. "The time to act is now" The late Elspeth McConnell, a former Montreal journalist, established the Doggone Foundation in 2011. Her philanthropic efforts included generous support over the years to the MUHC. "The Doggone Foundation is proud to fund health care and research in Canadian hospitals as well as university educational programs," says Paul Marchand, Executive Director of the Doggone Foundation. "The McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity is a groundbreaking project that not only perfectly fits with our Foundation's mission, it also has the potential to revolutionize and radically impact global health. The time to act is now, and the place to do it is here in Montreal, thanks to the world-leading researchers in the fields of infection and immunity at the MUHC and McGill. It is these types of transformational and collaborative initiatives that the Doggone Foundation is inspired to support." The interdisciplinary, multi-institutional initiative also benefits from the presence of 100 clinician scientists, making it possible to begin patient-centred projects as early as 2019. "The collaborative nature of this initiative motivated the MUHC Foundation and McGill University to work together to inspire a leadership donation that would lay the groundwork for the project's success," explains Julie Quenneville, President of the MUHC Foundation. "We are incredibly grateful for the Doggone Foundation's outstanding generosity and for sharing in our vision of transforming the future of global health. Today's historic partnership between the MUHC Foundation, McGill and the Doggone Foundation is only the beginning, and together, we now turn to other philanthropic leaders in Montreal for their support in tackling some of the largest health challenges facing our world today." ### About McGill University Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill is a leading Canadian post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 10 faculties, 12 professional schools, 300 programs of study and almost 41,000 students, including more than 9,700 graduate students. McGill attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% per cent of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue. http://www.mcgill.ca About the McGill University Health Centre The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is one of the world's foremost academic health facilities. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of its founding hospitals, the MUHC provides exceptional multidisciplinary patient-centric care. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, the MUHC continues to shape the course of adult and pediatric medicine by attracting clinical and research expertise from around the world, assessing the latest in medical technology, and training the next generation of medical professionals. In collaboration with our network partners, we are building a better future for our patients and their families; for our employees, professionals, researchers and students; for our community and above all, for life. http://www.muhc.ca About the Research Institute of the MUHC The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and healthcare research centre. The Institute, which is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, is the research arm of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - an academic health centre located in Montreal, Canada, that has a mandate to focus on complex care within its community. The RI-MUHC supports over 420 researchers and close to 1,200 research trainees devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental, clinical and health outcomes research at the Glen and the Montreal General Hospital sites of the MUHC. Its research facilities offer a dynamic multidisciplinary environment that fosters collaboration and leverages discovery aimed at improving the health of individual patients across their lifespan. The RI-MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de recherche du Quebec - Sante (FRQS). http://www.rimuhc.ca About the McGill University Health Centre Foundation The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation raises funds to support excellence in patient care, research and teaching at the MUHC. Firmly committed to making a difference in patients' lives, we play a pivotal role in supporting exceptional programs, purchasing innovative medical equipment, fostering groundbreaking research, and ensuring the highest level of teaching. http://www.muhcfoundation.com About the Doggone Foundation The Doggone Foundation was created in 2011 by Elspeth McConnell. A lifelong Montrealer, she believed strongly in giving back to her community, particularly in the fields of healthcare, research and education. Since its inception, the Doggone Foundation has been a generous supporter of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation and McGill University, having made contributions in the areas of: cardiology, ovarian cancer, vascular surgery, complex care, and medical simulation, among others. Although Elspeth passed away in August of 2017, her legacy and vision for making her community a better place continue through the Doggone Foundation. In addition to her philanthropic work in the medical and education fields, Elspeth was also committed to preserving and supporting Canadian First Nations art and artists. Many of the works she collected were historical pieces that had left Canada a hundred years ago or more. Thanks to her generosity, they have now been brought back to inspire new generations of artists and scholars, and are permanently on display at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. For further information: Kristina Anastasopoulos Senior Communications Officer MUHC Foundation 514 843-1543, ext. 71231 kristina.anastasopoulos@muhc.mcgill.ca Justin Dupuis Communications Officer McGill University 514 398-5909 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca Julie Robert Communications Coordinator McGill University Health Centre 514 971-4747 julie.robert@muhc.mcgill.ca Physician scientist and Hollings Cancer Center immunologist Zihai Li, M.D., Ph.D., was inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP). The prestigious honorary medical society, founded in 1885, serves as one of the nation's leading professional organizations for physician scientists. Each year, nominees for membership undergo rigorous review and a competitive selection process. An expert in the field, Li is recognized by AAP for his work in cancer immunology and immunotherapy. He and his research team have made pivotal contributions to understanding the immunological properties of heat shock proteins in cancer immunotherapy and immune tolerance. He was specifically cited for establishing the roles of GP96/GRP94 in immunity and cancer. He also uncovered the roles of TGFbeta-GARP axis on platelets in immuno-tolerance as well as discovered CNPY2 as a key initiator of the unfolded protein response. Li serves as chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina and is co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Research Program at Hollings Cancer Center, South Carolina's only NCI-designated Cancer Center. A board-certified medical oncologist specializing in bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantation, Li is the South Carolina SmartState Center of Economic Excellence Sally Abney Rose Chair in Stem Cell Biology & Therapy. "I am excited and honored to be a member of the Association for American Physicians and to have the opportunity to learn from the best and brightest physician scientists in the world," he said. Nominations which are only accepted from AAP members, are determined by the nominee's advancement of medical knowledge through translational science. Inductees were recognized at the annual joint meeting for physician scientists April 20 through 22 in Chicago. ### About Hollings Cancer Center The Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer research program in South Carolina. The cancer center is comprised of more than 120 faculty cancer scientists with a research funding portfolio of $44 million and a dedication to reducing the cancer burden in South Carolina. Hollings offers state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques within multidisciplinary clinics that include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, pathologists, psychologists and other specialists equipped for the full range of cancer care, including more than 200 clinical trials. For more information, please visit http://www.hollingscancercenter.org. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity recently approved the expansion of a state enterprise zone, designed to stimulate economic growth and community revitalization at the local level, to include North Chicago, IL-based Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Economic incentives offered to operating companies within the Waukegan-North Chicago Enterprise Zone will help the university attract investment in its new Innovation and Research Park, now under construction, and in turn create jobs for its local community and region. "The research park will help our university move its science and intellectual property out of the lab and into the marketplace to improve human health, including the health of our local populations burdened with significant health disparities," said RFU President and CEO Dr. K. Michael Welch. "It will also improve the health of our local and regional economy and bring opportunities to nearby low-income neighborhoods that are struggling to recover from the loss of industry and decades of economic decline." Nonprofit Lake County Partners estimates that the four-story building, which could be part of a multiphase development, will create an estimated 500 direct and related jobs and a total economic regional impact of $117 million per year. The expansion is rooted in a public-private partnership that in addition to Rosalind Franklin University includes the City of North Chicago, Lake County, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and developer not-for-profit TUFF, which worked with Gateway Development to complete the $53 million financing for the project. "It's an important project for the university and Lake County," said Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor. "Investments in cutting-edge facilities like this help us build on the county's strength in the life sciences and provide greater opportunities for collaboration, innovation and economic development." "Working together, we're placing the science park on solid financial footing so that it can benefit RFU, its local communities and region for generations to come," said RFU Executive Vice President of Research Ronald Kaplan. "We feel particularly driven to study diseases that affect our local population, including cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's. We can't move our science forward and leave our community behind." Strong support from local, state and federal elected officials and industry leaders has helped fuel the project. North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. said the city and RFU maintain a productive partnership. "Our support for the expansion of our enterprise zone demonstrates our commitment to the university, its scientific research and the economic growth and development of our community," Rockingham said. The new building, to be completed by summer 2019, will feature state-of-the-art laboratories meeting and office space for faculty and commercial startups and national and international biotech and healthcare firms. It will include the Brain Science Institute and its three disease-focused research centers, in addition to three centers dedicated to genetic diseases, cancer cell biology and proteomics and molecular therapeutics. Industry collaborators will work in dedicated space on each floor of the building. Chicago-based brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield will work to attract international and national bioscience companies to co-locate in the new science park, which the university envisions as the hub for the bio-startup ecosystem in Lake County, home to the largest concentration of bioscience companies in the Midwest. "The life sciences are a core part of our history and our economy," said Kevin Considine, Lake County Partners president and CEO. "Pharmaceuticals, medical products, technology and health care are in Lake County's DNA and we're ready to assist businesses in these industries through our strong network of stakeholders, which includes Rosalind Franklin University. ### About Rosalind Franklin University Formed in 1912 as the Chicago Hospital-College of Medicine, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is a national leader in interprofessional medical and healthcare education and biomedical research. RFU includes the Chicago Medical School, School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, College of Health Professions, Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine and College of Pharmacy. More than 18,000 RFU degreed alumni are active throughout the United States and around the world. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu. SAN DIEGO, April 26, 2018 - Results of the AVIATOR 2 international registry are being presented as late-breaking clinical science at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2018 Scientific Sessions. The AVIATOR 2 is a multicenter prospective observational study of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in 11 international sites. The use of a novel smartphone-based survey was used to capture physician and patient perspectives regarding antithrombotic therapies (ATT) after PCI. AF is one of the most common abnormal heart arrhythmias that affects more than 2.7 million adults in the United States (CDC). PCI is a nonsurgical procedure that improves blood flow to the heart by using a stent to open up blood vessels. Patients with AF undergoing PCI present a particular challenge for ATT selection. Finding the right balance that minimizes bleeding risk and maintains anti-ischemic efficacy remains a complex situation in these unique patients. In the era of novel antithrombotic therapy, the optimal ATT for patients with AF undergoing PCI is undetermined. The choice of ATT was made by the physician. After PCI, physicians were asked to complete a survey to rate subjective stroke, ischemic risk and bleeding risk in patients. The survey was completed via a smartphone app called AVIATOR, which was developed at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The calculated risk scores including CHA2DS2/VASc/ST/HASBLED were compared against physician rated risks. A total of 515 patients with AF undergoing PCI were enrolled with a mean age of 7310 years including 25.8 percent females. Safety (93.8 percent) and efficacy (89.9 percent) were the top two factors physicians reported as the most important factors when making the medication selection. In less than half (49.1 percent) of patients, the physician assessment showed an underestimation of risk in 26.9 percent and overestimation in 22.2 percent of patients when compared to the CHA2DS2VASc score. Physician assessment showed an overestimation of ischemic risk for ST in 71.5 percent and an underestimation in 4.6 percent for calculated ST scores. Overall, the assessment between the subjective physician assessed and objective risk scores for stroke, ischemic risk and bleeding varied. "It is the first time we are collecting subjective risk assessment and comparing it with empiric calculations based on baseline characteristics and known risk calculators," said lead author Roxana Mehran, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials at the Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY. "It is also the first time we used a smartphone application to gain perspective from both the physicians and the patients. In today's technological landscape, this type of accessible technology allows for the integration of the patient in decision-making and solidify the notion that patient concerns matter." The authors note that longitudinal follow-up will provide further insights on the correlation between risk estimation and cardiovascular events. The study was conducted by physicians from around the world including Jaya Chandrasekhar, MBBS, MS, Usman Baber, MD, MS, Melissa Aquino, MS, Birgit Vogel, MD, Clayton Snyder, BS Samantha Sartori, PhD, Annapoorna Kini, MD, George Dangas, MD, PhD, Davide Capodanno, MD. Session Details: "Late-Breaking Clinical Science II: Discrepancy Between Physician Perception and Objective Assessment of Stroke, Stent Thrombosis and Bleeding Risks in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing PCI: Results from the AVIATOR 2 International Registry" [April 27, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT, Seaport DE] ### About SCAI The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions is a 4,200-member professional organization representing invasive and interventional cardiologists in approximately 75 nations. SCAI's mission is to promote excellence in invasive/interventional cardiovascular medicine through physician education and representation, and advancement of quality standards to enhance patient care. For more information about the SCAI 2018 Scientific Sessions, visit http://www.scai.org/SCAI2018/Default.aspx. DENVER - Texas A&M AgriLife Research is poised to be a catalyst in the next major leap forward for water and energy use relating to food and landscape irrigation systems. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, or FFAR, a nonprofit organization established through bipartisan congressional support in the 2014 farm bill, announced a $5 million grant to launch the Irrigation Innovation Consortium. The FFAR grant is being matched by project partners for a total initial investment of $10 million over five years. Initial participants are creating a platform for other universities, federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, and the private sector to work together on the critical water challenges facing agriculture, municipalities and industry, according to FFAR officials. As a collaborating partner, AgriLife Research, one of five premier public entities on irrigation in the nation, will help provide research to accelerate the development and adoption of water and energy-efficient irrigation technologies and practices. The other four universities are: California State University-Fresno, Colorado State University, Kansas State Research and Extension-Kansas State University and the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At present, founding industry partners are: Irrigation Association, Jain Irrigation, Lindsay Corporation, Netafim and the Northern Water, but the FFAR research team will continue recruiting additional industry partners. "We will need to transition to a sustainable funding model fueled by marketable irrigation technologies and return on investment to our industry partners," said Dr. Brent Auvermann, AgriLife Research center director at Amarillo. Auvermann represented the Texas agency when the announcement was made April 27 at the Water in the West Symposium hosted by Colorado State University in Denver. Auvermann said AgriLife Research will distribute about $675,000 of the grant across the state with about a dozen faculty members participating. Remote-sensing using drones and satellite information, systems integration and management, and use of big data or Internet of Things will be the primary areas of focus for AgriLife Research participants. According to FFAR officials, public sector researchers and industry partners will co-develop, test, prototype and improve innovations, equipment, technology, and decision and information systems designed to equip "farms of the future" with cutting-edge technologies and optimization strategies to enhance irrigation efficiency. "We will be accelerating the development and adoption of new controls and precision application systems," said Dr. Bill McCutchen, executive associate director of AgriLife Research, College Station. "We're no longer optimizing for whole-farm averages; we are optimizing our irrigation management for year-to-year and field-to-field variability. "Weather changes such as the amount and timing of rainfall, irrigation scheduling, crop selection and management practices all make a difference when trying to improve water and energy efficiency at this stage," McCutchen said. "If we can help producers predict what is going to happen, we can help them capitalize on what eventually does happen." Water-conscious farmers have to consider water availability, crop mix, energy prices, energy sources, commodity prices, tax rates, soil types, application efficiency, operating pressure and pumping lift to manage irrigation efficiently and affordably, Auvermann said. "A large chunk of the work we will do will involve the Internet of Things, using many low-cost sensors to gather useful information and tie it all together with a user interface that permits the producer to manage his resources in near-real time," he said. Auvermann said public researchers also will work closely with private companies to commercialize products. The goal is to match up research and technology to real-time or near-real-time decision-making and put the right tools in the hands of the producer to implement new irrigation strategies for the optimization of genetic advancements. A second benefit of this is the maximization of taxpayer money, which is leveraged with federal and private funds, McCutchen said. Royalties earned from patented technologies will be fed back into the consortium to develop even more advances for producers and ultimately benefit taxpayers. "Return on investment is what drives agricultural research these days," he said. "Taxpayers expect their public research money to pay dividends in the marketplace with new, improved and affordable technologies that achieve important environmental goals, like water conservation." "The new Irrigation Innovation Consortium unites top university research talent with industry to promote practical advancements in irrigation technology and water management practices," said Dr. Sally Rockey, FFAR executive director in Washington, D.C., in making the announcement. "We are optimistic that outcomes from this collaborative effort will help producers grow more food with smart water management and strengthen the resilience of our food supply," Rockey said in her statement. The FFAR announcement said the goal is to create an internationally recognized, self-sustaining center of excellence that promotes and enhances water and energy efficiency in irrigation, ultimately creating greater resiliency in food and irrigated landscape systems. Organizations interested in joining the Irrigation Innovation Consortium are invited to contact Dr. Stephen Smith, Fort Collins, Colorado, executive director of the Irrigation Innovation Consortium and FFAR advisory council member at swsmith@buenavidafarm.com. ### Biomedical engineers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a new technique for measuring blood flow in the human brain, which could be used in patients with stroke or traumatic brain injury, for example. The new technique, based on conventional digital camera technology, could be significantly cheaper and more robust than prior methods. The work is described in a paper published April 26 in the journal Optica. "Our setup is very promising, and the cost should be lower," said Wenjun Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher working with Vivek Srinivasan, associate professor at the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. If you shine a light into a cloudy solution, light particles, or photons, will be scattered in different directions. An experimental technique called diffuse correlation spectroscopy, or DCS, uses essentially this approach to look inside someone's skull. Laser light is shined on the head; as photons from the laser pass through the skull and brain, they are scattered by blood and tissue. A detector placed elsewhere on the head, where the photons make their way out again, picks up the light fluctuations due to blood motion. These fluctuations provide information about blood flow. The light signal is very weak, and the further it passes through the skull and brain tissue, the weaker it gets. So DCS requires a number of very sensitive, expensive single photon counting detectors. Boosting the light going in risks burning the patient's skin. Interference to boost signal Zhou and Srinivasan took a different approach, based on the fact that overlapping light waves will reinforce or cancel each other out, like overlapping ripples on a pond. They first split the light beam into "sample" and "reference" paths. The sample beam goes into the patient's head and another, stronger, reference beam is routed so that it reconnects with the sample beam before going to the detector. This boosts the signal, meaning that instead of needing about 20 photon-counting detectors that cost a few thousand dollars each, the researchers could use a single CMOS-based digital camera chip for a fraction of the price. "The strong reference light enhances the weaker signal from the sample," Zhou said. They call the method interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy, or iDWS. An added advantage is that they do not need to turn off the room lights while making measurements with iDWS, Zhou said. Eventually, they may even be able to monitor brain blood flow outdoors, under bright sunlight. So far, the team has tested their device by making brain recordings from volunteers in the laboratory. They are working with Dr. Bruce Lyeth and Dr. Lara Zimmermann in the UC Davis Department of Neurological Surgery to validate and adapt the technology for eventual use in neurocritical care. UC Davis has applied for a provisional patent on the technology. ### Other authors on the paper are graduate student Oybek Kholiqov and postdoctoral researcher Shau Poh Chong. Srinivasan also holds an appointment at the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, UC Davis School of Medicine. The work was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Scientists at Oxford University have developed a light-based measuring technique that could transform our ability to characterise biomolecules. Using a microscope that detects light scattering rather than fluorescence, the researchers have demonstrated that single molecules can be observed, and their mass measured, in solution. The research, carried out in collaboration with institutions in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the US, is reported in the journal Science. Senior author Professor Philipp Kukura, from Oxford's Department of Chemistry, said: 'This research has emerged from a decade of work which involved making an ever more sensitive light microscope. 'Single molecules have been observed in light microscopes since the late 1980s, but essentially all optical techniques rely on fluorescence, which is the emission of light by a material after being "excited" by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation. As immensely powerful as that is, it is not universal.' The researchers first demonstrated the use of light scattering to visualise individual proteins - biomolecules only a few nanometres across - in 2014. But it was not until last year that they were able to improve the image quality sufficiently to compete with fluorescence. Professor Kukura said: 'We then addressed the question of whether we could use our visualisation approach to quantify, rather than just detect, single molecules. We realised, given that the volume and optical properties of biomolecules scale directly with mass, that our microscope should be mass sensitive. This turned out indeed to be the case, not only for proteins but also for molecules containing lipids and carbohydrates.' It is this generality that excites the authors. Professor Justin Benesch of Oxford's Department of Chemistry, an expert in mass measurement and co-author of the work, said: 'The beauty of mass is that it is both a universal property of matter and extremely diagnostic of the molecule under investigation. Our approach is therefore broadly applicable and, unlike traditional single-molecule microscopy, does not rely on the addition of labels to make molecules visible.' The researchers say the technique - which they call interferometric scattering mass spectrometry (iSCAMS) - could have applications ranging from studies of protein-protein interactions to drug discovery and even point-of-care diagnostics. Professor Kukura said: 'iSCAMS has lots of advantages. It measures mass with an accuracy close to that of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry, which is expensive and operates in vacuum - not necessarily representative of biological systems - whereas iSCAMS does so with only a very small volume of sample and works in essentially any aqueous environment.' Professor Benesch added: 'This enables a lot of the things that researchers want to quantify: do certain molecules interact and, if yes, how tightly? What is the composition of the protein in terms of how many pieces it contains, and how does it grow or fall apart?' Because essentially every physiological and pathological process is controlled by biomolecular interactions in solution, the researchers say this technology has considerable potential impact. Professor Kukura said: 'The universal applicability, combined with the fact that the instruments are close to shoebox size, can be operated easily, and allow the user to see the molecules in real time, is tremendously exciting.' The team is in the process of commercialising the technology to provide access to other researchers who are not experts or may not even use optical microscopy. The researchers say: 'It has the potential, we think, to revolutionise how we study biomolecules and their interactions.' ### Cocaine and other drugs of abuse hijack the natural reward circuits in the brain. In part, that's why it's so hard to quit using these substances. Moreover, relapse rates hover between 40 and 60 percent, similar to rates for other chronic conditions like hypertension and Type 1 diabetes. University of Pennsylvania behavioral pharmacologist and neuroscientist Heath Schmidt studies how long-term exposure to drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, and prescription opioids affects the brain and how these changes promote relapse in someone who has kicked the habit. A recent paper, published in the Nature journal Neuropsychopharmacology, investigated a novel treatment for cocaine addiction, something that touches 900,000 people in the United States annually. "As a basic scientist I'm interested in how the brain functions during periods of abstinence from cocaine and other drugs and how neuro-adaptations in the brain promote relapse back to chronic drug taking," he explains. "From the clinicians' perspective, they're looking for medications to try to prevent relapse. Our goal as basic scientists is to use animal models of relapse to identify novel medications to treat cocaine addiction." Schmidt and colleagues from Penn Nursing and Penn Medicine had hypothesized that the neural mechanisms and neural circuits in the brain that play a role in food-seeking might overlap with those key to drug-taking. Through several experiments, they discovered that drugs that activate receptors for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone that reduces food intake and blood glucose levels, could actually decrease the desire to seek out cocaine. What's more, there are several FDA-approved medications used to treat diabetes and obesity that already target GLP-1 receptors. "One of the first questions we had--and we were really just kind of curious--was, does cocaine at all affect circulating levels of metabolic factors like leptin, insulin, GLP-1 that have been shown to regulate food intake?" says Schmidt, whose primary appointment is in Penn's School of Nursing. The research team got its answer from a simple experiment with a rat animal model: Blood drawn after 21 days of cocaine intake revealed decreased levels of the GLP-1 hormone. Though the primary cells that synthesize and release this hormone are found in the small intestine, there's also a source in the brain called the nucleus tractus solitarius. "Knowing all of this got us interested in GLP-1," Schmidt says. "Does it actually play a role in modulating cocaine-mediated behaviors?" From there, the research team homed in on GLP-1 receptors and the drugs that activate them, what are known as receptor agonists. To test the efficacy of the medications in question, Schmidt and colleagues used an animal model of relapse with rats. For a three-week period, the rats could press a lever for intravenous infusions of cocaine as frequently as they desired. On average, the animals self-administered 28 infusions of cocaine each day. The scientists then swapped out the cocaine for saline, leading to a period of withdrawal. Lever-pressing rates dropped significantly. "At that point, we considered drug-taking to be extinguished," Schmidt says. "We then reinstated drug-seeking by re-exposing the rats to the drug itself or to cues paired with the drug during the self-administration phase, like a light that comes on when the lever gets pressed." Once again rats depressed the lever at high rates, an indication that they were seeking the drug--akin to relapse in a human who is addicted. The researchers next pretreated the animals with one of the FDA-approved drugs intended for diabetes and obesity treatment, Exendin-4, to determine whether it might reduce or altogether block cocaine-seeking. Results showed a significant decrease in drug-craving and -seeking, both after an acute injection of cocaine and from re-exposure to environmental cues during withdrawal. "This tells us Exendin-4 can block the effects of cocaine itself but also condition stimuli previously paired with cocaine," Schmidt notes. "This was really exciting because it's the first demonstration that the GLP-1 system, and the drugs that target this system, could potentially play an important role in cocaine seeking and relapse. The other really interesting aspect of these studies are the doses." GLP-1 receptor agonists are known to cause nausea and vomiting at pretty high rates in diabetic and obese patients who use them, so Schmidt and colleagues wanted to ensure that the reason for a decrease in cocaine-seeking wasn't from animals being sick. They identified doses that both reduced cocaine-seeking and did not produce adverse effects. A follow-up experiment that infused the GLP-1 agonist directly into the brain replicated the findings. Taken together, these findings indicate that low doses of a GLP-1 receptor agonist can selectively reduce cocaine-seeking without causing nausea. As a final step, the researchers isolated the brain pathway able to boost GLP-1 signaling, by using a fluorescent dye to track where the drugs actually went in the body after they were administered. "We've shown for the first time that central GLP-1 signaling plays an important role in cocaine-seeking," Schmidt explains. "We've identified systematic and intra-cranial doses of GLP-1 receptor agonists that reduce cocaine-seeking and don't produce adverse effects, and we think that if you increase GLP-1 signaling in the brain in general, you can reduce cocaine-seeking in rats and, potentially, craving-induced relapse in humans." To begin testing this, Schmidt's team is collaborating with researchers at Yale University to screen the efficacy of these drugs in a population of humans addicted to cocaine. Beyond that, Schmidt says he's hopeful these results have potential for drugs of abuse beyond cocaine, too. However, he adds, much more research is needed before this can be stated conclusively. "There is a lot we don't know about the GLP-1 system in the brain," he says. "What is the exact circuitry in the brain? Is this signaling the same as what mediates food intake or is it slightly different? Does cocaine change it in any way? We're working on that." ### Funding for the research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 DA037897, T32 DA028874, F32 DK097954, K01 DK103804, and R01 DK096139, as well as a Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania. Heath Schmidt is an associate professor of nursing in the School of Nursing and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is also part of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior. Hawaii's volcanos stand as silent sentinels. They guard the secret of how they formed, thousands of miles away from where the edges of tectonic plates clash and generate magma for most volcanos. A 2017 Nature study by Jones et al. found the best clues yet of the origin of Hawaii's volcanos through simulation of a shift in the Pacific plate three million years ago. What remains elusive is conclusive evidence that mantle plumes exist. The plumes are hypothesized, mushroom-shaped upwellings of hot rock from the deep Earth. They are hypothesized to form within the thermal boundary layer at the base of the mantle and are thought to carry heat from the Earth's core that generates a volcano's magma. Scientists have now made the best computational modeling yet of mantle plumes, according to a study made available online in January of 2018 ahead of its peer-review and publication November of 2017 in the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research, Solid Earth. The international science team showed through supercomputer simulations, for the first time, details of how plumes decelerate seismic waves and how plumes appear in seismic tomographic images of the Earth's mantle, the layer beneath the crust. What's more, the researchers say their work could help guide future experiments on the ocean floor with deep Earth imaging and help get to the bottom of mysteries like the origin of Hawaii's volcanos. "We found that mantle plumes are likely to be more challenging to seismically image than we previously recognized," said study lead author Ross Maguire, formerly a PhD student who has recently graduated from the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. "Our current picture of deep mantle plumes might be lacking," Maguire said, pointing to a lack of seismic data coverage. Seismic imaging can see rock structures thousands of kilometers below ground by listening to the echos of earthquakes. Networks of seismic stations sit on the ocean floor and measure differences in the travel time of seismic waves through rock, in essence taking a CT scan of the deep Earth. "In order to constrain the role of mantle plumes in Earth dynamics as well as to understand the causes of hot spot volcanism, we need to focus on increasing the global coverage of seismic sensors, particularly in the oceans, which currently only have sparse coverage," Maguire said. Oceanic deployments of seismic sensors are costly and tough to plan and execute, he added. "In our study, we used computer modeling to find optimal imaging scenarios, so that we can recover the most detail of mantle plumes at the lowest cost," Maguire said. "We hope that our results will help guide the design of future seismic deployments aimed at imaging the mantle beneath hotspots." "The thing that is probably new in this work is that we combine, maybe for the first time, actual numerical models of how plumes form and how they rise in the Earth with estimates of their seismic structure " said study co-author Jeroen Ritsema, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. "Secondly," he added, "we've also explored how various network configurations might change the way that we are imaging plumes. We've done extensive tests to figure out the optimal configurations of seismometers on Earth to see plumes. This is particularly important for Hawaii," Ritsema said. "Hawaii is a place where we believe there is a plume responsible for volcanism on the Hawaiian islands. We've determined what might be optimal offshore deployments on the seafloor that could lead to best images of the deep mantle beneath Hawaii." "It is a big computational challenge to simulate wave propagation through mantle plumes," Maguire said. They needed numerical codes that solve the elastic wave equation in Earth's mantle at high frequencies and in three dimensions. "What that does is it allows us to accurately account for the effects of wave propagation phenomena such as wave diffraction around plume tails, which is very important for imaging plumes," Maguire said. XSEDE, the eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, funded by the National Science Foundation, provided computational resources to the science team through access to supercomputers and experts in how to use them best. "We would not be able to do this type of work without supercomputing resources like those that are provided by XSEDE," Maguire said. "They allowed us to run our wave propagation simulations on hundreds or sometimes thousands of computer cores in parallel." The science team tackled the challenges imposed by their modeling requirements and used a seismology software package called SPECFEM 3D (GLOBE), which is a spectral element code developed by Jeroen Tromp of Princeton and his team that simulates wave propagation in the Earth's interior. They used the Stampede1 supercomputer of the Texas Advanced Computing Center through an XSEDE allocation that ran over 1.2 million core hours on Stampede1 and continues with the Stampede2 system. "We ran that code mostly on Stampede1, and it was actually quite easy to get the code configured on Stampede1, since all the modules and tools we needed to compile it were immediately available," Maguire said. The workflow management proved daunting, with many simulations that produced hundreds of gigabytes of data. "The XSEDE team was really helpful in answering all my questions about how I can optimize my workflow, for example how I can spend the least amount of time waiting in the queue for my jobs to run; or how I can efficiently transfer large amounts of from Stampede onto my local machine," Maguire said. The researchers also took advantage of the XSEDE Campus Champions program, campus information technology faculty and staff that are trained by and maintain close ties to XSEDE. "XSEDE Campus Champion Brock Palen of the University of Michigan helped us answer questions about what type of resources are available through XSEDE, and how we can get access to them," Maguire said. Another useful resource, said Maguire, was access to an allocation on XSEDE Science Gateways through the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics with the help of Lorraine Wang. "Science Gateways enabled us to test our code and really figure out how computationally demanding our project would be," Maguire said. The researchers used a computationally demanding technique called synthetic tomography, which Maguire explained was essentially a reliability test of how well scientists can trust the accuracy of images of the Earth's interior. "What we do is we simulate seismic wave propagation through a digital Earth model, which in our case contains a mantle plume," Maguire said. They do that with virtual seismograms, which are processed like actual seismic data to get an image of recovered plume structure. "It really allows us to test how a mantle plume would be imaged tomographically and how its features would either be blurred or distorted, depending on the imaging configuration," Maguire said. "Our study focuses primarily on lower mantle plume tails because it's really one of the only ways forward in terms of settling the debate on the existence of mantle plumes," Maguire said. This relates to hotspot volcanism, caused by an anomalously hot mantle away from plate boundaries. Mantle plumes that rise from the core boundary interest geoscientists because they play a role in Earth's total heat budget by moving heat from the core to the surface. "Whole mantle plumes, meaning plumes that rise from the core-mantle boundary, are also the most challenging to image seismically because our resolution is very poor in the deep mantle and deep plume conduits are likely to be thin," Maguire said. Supercomputers might finally be starting to catch up with long-standing scientific questions and help provoke new questions. "I think that the challenge remains in understanding exactly what we are looking for," said Ritsema. "In Maguire's work, we have defined a mantle plume as a purely thermal upwelling in the deep Earth. In this particular case, the plume is a fairly narrow structure -- it has a fairly narrow tail, with its complications in imaging. But there has been other work by other groups who have in fact argued that plumes might be much thicker than what we have investigated in our work. The very nature of plumes, whether plumes are purely thermal or temperature-driven, or whether there is also a compositional component to their formation, are issues that are now being addressed in geophysics," Ritsema said. The computational demands of simulations in this study of wave propagation limited the number of plume structures, which can be more varied in shape, size, composition, and temperature than the solely thermal plume cases they considered. "Our study is also the first to model wave propagation through plumes at frequencies as high as one-tenth of a hertz," Maguire said. "But we'd like to be able to push that even further to go to higher frequencies. And that means that it's going to be even more of a computational challenge. As the numerical tools that we use become more efficient, and as more high-performance computing clusters become available, that's something that we might be able to achieve in the future." Said Maguire: "Understanding Earth dynamics is of fundamental importance, because we all live here and are affected by what goes on beneath our feet. The existence of mantle plumes and the role that they play in our planet is still a big question mark. Additionally, plumes have been linked to some of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the history of the Earth. And they're thought to potentially play a role in the largest mass extinction events that we have on geologic record. There's still a lot that we don't understand about them. Doing research into probing the nature of mantle plumes is of fundamental importance." ### The study, "Evaluating the Resolution of Deep Mantle Plumes in Teleseismic Traveltime Tomography," was published in January of 2018 in the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. The study authors are Ross Maguire and Jeroen Ritsema of the University of Michigan; Mickael Bonnin of the University of Nantes; Peter E. Van Keken of the Carnegie Institution for Science; and Saskia Goes of Imperial College London. The National Science Foundation funded the study. Big, impactful science requires a whole technological ecosystem to progress. This includes cutting-edge computing systems, high-capacity storage, high-speed networks, power, cooling... the list goes on and on. Critically, it also requires state-of-the-art software: programs that work together seamlessly to allow scientists and engineers to answer tough questions, share their solutions, and conduct research with the maximum efficiency and the minimum pain. To nurture this critical mode of scientific progress, in 2012 NSF established the Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) program, with the goal of transforming innovations in research and education into sustained software resources that are an integral part of the cyberinfrastructure. "Scientific discovery and innovation are advancing along fundamentally new pathways opened by development of increasingly sophisticated software," the National Science Foundation (NSF) wrote in the SI2 program solicitation. "Software is also directly responsible for increased scientific productivity and significant enhancement of researchers' capabilities." With five current SI2 awards, and collaborative roles on several more, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) is among the national leaders in developing software for scientific computing. Principal investigators from TACC will present their work from April 30 to May 2 at the 2018 NSF SI2 Principal investigators Meeting in Washington, D.C. "Part of TACC's mission is to enhance the productivity of researchers using our systems," said Bill Barth, TACC director of high performance computing and a past SI2 grant recipient. "The SI2 program has helped us do that by supporting efforts to develop new tools and extending existing tools with additional performance and usability features." From frameworks for large-scale visualization to automatic parallelization tools and more, TACC-developed software is changing how researchers compute in the future. INTERACTIVE PARALLELIZATION TOOL The power of supercomputers lies primarily in their ability to solve mathematical equations in parallel. Take a tough problem, divide it into its constituent parts, solve each part individually and bring the answers together again - this is parallel computing at its essence. However, the task of organizing one's problem so it can be tackled by a supercomputer is not easy, even for experienced computational scientists. Ritu Arora, a research scientist at TACC, has been working to lower the bar to parallel computing by developing a tool that can turn a serial code, which can only use a single processor at a time, into a parallel code that can use tens to thousands of processors. The tool analyzes a serial application, solicits additional information from the user, applies built-in heuristics, and generates a parallel version of the input serial application. Arora and her collaborators deployed the current version of IPT in the cloud so that researchers can conveniently use it through a web-browser. Researchers can generate parallel versions of their code semi-automatically and test the parallel code for accuracy and performance on TACC and XSEDE resources, including Stampede2, Lonestar5, and Comet. "The magnitude of the societal impact of IPT is a direct function of the importance of HPC in STEM and emerging non-traditional domains, and the steep challenges that domain experts and students face in climbing the learning curve for parallel programming," Arora said. "Besides reducing the time-to-development and the execution time of the applications on HPC platforms, IPT will decrease the energy usage and maximize the performance delivered by the HPC platforms through its capability to generate hybrid code." As an example of IPT's capabilities, Arora points to a recent effort to parallelize a molecular dynamics (MD) application. By parallelizing the serial application using OpenMP at a high-level of abstraction - that is, without the user knowing the low-level syntax of OpenMP -- they achieved an 88% speed-up in the code. They also quantified the impact of IPT in terms of the user-productivity by measuring the number of lines of code that a researcher has to write during the process of parallelizing an application manually versus using IPT. "In our test cases, IPT enhanced the user productivity by more than 90%, as compared to writing the code manually, and generated the parallel code that is within 10% of the performance of the best available hand-written parallel code for those applications," said Arora. "We're very happy with its success so far." TACC is extending IPT to support additional types of serial applications as well as applications that exhibit irregular computation and communication patterns. (Watch a video demonstration of IPT in which TACC shows the process of parallelizing a molecular dynamics application with the OpenMP programming model.) GRAVIT Scientific visualization -- the process of transforming raw data into interpretable images -- is a key aspect of research. However, it can be challenging when you're trying to visualize petabyte-scale datasets spread among many nodes of a computing cluster. Even more so when you're trying to use advanced visualizations methods like ray tracing -- a technique for generating an image by tracing the path of light as pixels in an image plane and simulating the effects of its encounters with virtual objects. To address this problem, Paul Navratil, director of visualization at TACC, has led an effort to create GraviT, a scalable, distributed-memory ray tracing framework and software library for applications that encompass data so large that it cannot reside in the memory of a single compute node. Collaborators on the project include Hank Childs (University of Oregon), Chuck Hansen (University of Utah), Matt Turk (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) and Allen Malony (ParaTools). GraviT works across a variety of hardware platforms, including the Intel Xeon processors and NVIDIA GPUs. It can also function in heterogeneous computing environments, for example, hybrid CPU and GPU systems. GraviT has been successfully integrated into the GLuRay OpenGL-based ray tracing interface, the VisIt visualization toolkit, the VTK visualization toolkit, and the yt visualization framework. "High-fidelity rendering techniques like ray tracing improve visual analysis by providing the same spatial cues of light and shadow that we see in the world around us, but these are challenging to use in distributed contexts," said Navratil. "GraviT enables these techniques to be used efficiently across distributed computing resources, unlocking their potential for large scale analysis and to be used in situ, where data is not written to disk prior to analysis." (The GraviT source code is available at the TACC GitHub site ). ABACO The increased availability of data has enabled entirely new kinds of analyses to emerge, yielding answers to many important questions. However, these analyses are complex and frequently require advanced computer science expertise to run correctly. Joe Stubbs, who leads TACC's Cloud and Interactive Computing (CIC) group, is working on a project that simplifies how researchers create analysis tools that are reliable and scalable. The project, known as Abaco, adapts the "Actor" model, whereby software systems are designed as a collection of simple functions, which can then be provided as a cloud-based capability on high performance computing environments. "Abaco significantly simplifies the way scientific software is developed and used," said Stubbs. "Scientific software developers will find it much easier to design and implement a system. Further, scientists and researchers that use software will be able to easily compose collections of actors with pre-determined functionality in order to get the computation and data they need." The Abaco API (application programming interface) combines technologies and techniques from cloud computing, including Linux Containers and the "functions-as-a-service" paradigm, with the Actor model for concurrent computation. Investigators addressing grand challenge problems in synthetic biology, earthquake engineering and food safety are already using the tool to advance their work. Stubbs is working to extend Abaco's ability to do data federation and discoverability, so Abaco programs can be used to build federated datasets consisting of separate datasets from all over the internet. "By reducing the barriers to developing and using such services, this project will boost the productivity of scientists and engineers working on the problems of today, and better prepare them to tackle the new problems of tomorrow," Stubbs said. EXPANDING VOLUNTEER COMPUTING Volunteer computing uses donated computing time on consumer devices such as home computers and smartphones to conduct scientific investigations. Early successes from this approach include the discovery of the structure of an enzyme involved in reproduction of HIV by FoldIt participants; and the detection of pulsars using Einstein@Home. Volunteer computing can provide greater computing power, at lower cost, than conventional approaches such as organizational computing centers and commercial clouds, but participation in volunteer computing efforts is yet to reach its full potential. TACC is partnering with the University of California at Berkeley and Purdue University to build new capabilities for BOINC (the most common software framework used for volunteer computing) to grow this promising mode of distributed computing. The project involves two complementary development efforts. First, it adds BOINC-based volunteer computing conduits to two major high-performance computing providers: TACC and nanoHUB, a web portal for nano science that provides computing capabilities. In this way, the project benefits the thousands of scientists who use these facilities and creates technologies that make it easy for other HPC providers to add their own volunteer computing capability to their systems. Second, the team will develop a unified interface for volunteer computing, tentatively called Science United, where donors can register to participate and scientists can market their volunteer computing projects to the public. TACC is currently setting up a BOINC server on Jetstream and using containerization technologies, such as Docker and VirtualBox, to build and package popular applications that can run in high-throughput computing mode on the devices of volunteers. Initial applications being tested include AutoDock Vina, used for drug discovery, and OpenSees, used by the natural hazards community. As a next step, TACC will develop the plumbing required for selecting and routing qualified jobs from TACC resources to the BOINC server. "By creating a huge pool of low-cost computing power that will benefit thousands of scientists, and increasing public awareness of and interest in science, the project plans to establish volunteer computing as a central and long-term part of the U.S. scientific cyber infrastructure," said David Anderson, the lead principal investigator on the project from UC Berkeley. ### Ever get chills listening to a particularly moving piece of music? You can thank the salience network of the brain for that emotional joint. Surprisingly, this region also remains an island of remembrance that is spared from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the University of Utah Health are looking to this region of the brain to develop music-based treatments to help alleviate anxiety in patients with dementia. Their research will appear in the April online issue of The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease. "People with dementia are confronted by a world that is unfamiliar to them, which causes disorientation and anxiety" said Jeff Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in Radiology at U of U Health and contributing author on the study. "We believe music will tap into the salience network of the brain that is still relatively functioning." Previous work demonstrated the effect of a personalized music program on mood for dementia patients. This study set out to examine a mechanism that activates the attentional network in the salience region of the brain. The results offer a new way to approach anxiety, depression and agitation in patients with dementia. Activation of neighboring regions of the brain may also offer opportunities to delay the continued decline caused by the disease. For three weeks, the researchers helped participants select meaningful songs and trained the patient and caregiver on how to use a portable media player loaded with the self-selected collection of music. "When you put headphones on dementia patients and play familiar music, they come alive," said Jace King, a graduate student in the Brain Network Lab and first author on the paper. "Music is like an anchor, grounding the patient back in reality." Using a functional MRI, the researchers scanned the patients to image the regions of the brain that lit up when they listened to 20-second clips of music versus silence. The researchers played eight clips of music from the patient's music collection, eight clips of the same music played in reverse and eight blocks of silence. The researchers compared the images from each scan. The researchers found that music activates the brain, causing whole regions to communicate. By listening to the personal soundtrack, the visual network, the salience network, the executive network and the cerebellar and corticocerebellar network pairs all showed significantly higher functional connectivity. "This is objective evidence from brain imaging that shows personally meaningful music is an alternative route for communicating with patients who have Alzheimer's disease," said Norman Foster, M.D., Director of the Center for Alzheimer's Care at U of U Health and senior author on the paper. "Language and visual memory pathways are damaged early as the disease progresses, but personalized music programs can activate the brain, especially for patients who are losing contact with their environment." However, these results are by no means conclusive. The researchers note the small sample size (17 participants) for this study. In addition, the study only included a single imaging session for each patient. It is remains unclear whether the effects identified in this study persist beyond a brief period of stimulation or whether other areas of memory or mood are enhanced by changes in neural activation and connectivity for the long term. "In our society, the diagnoses of dementia are snowballing and are taxing resources to the max," Anderson said. "No one says playing music will be a cure for Alzheimer's disease, but it might make the symptoms more manageable, decrease the cost of care and improve a patient's quality of life." ### K.G. Jones, M. Rollins, K. Macnamee, C. Moffit, S.R. Naidu, E. Garcia-Leavitt, R.K. Gurgel, J. Amaro and K.R. Breitenbach at U of U Health and University of Utah, E. Goldberg from the Jewish Family Services of Utah, J.M. Watson from University of Colorado and M.A. Ferguson from Massachusetts General Hospital also contributed to this project. This work received support from A. Scott Anderson and the American Otological Society. University of Utah Health is the state's only academic health care system, providing leading-edge and compassionate medicine for a referral area that encompasses 10% of the U.S., including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and much of Nevada. A hub for health sciences research and education in the region, U of U Health touts a $291 million research enterprise and trains the majority of Utah's physicians and more than 1,250 health care providers at its Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy and Health. With more than 20,000 employees, the system includes 12 community clinics and four hospitals -- University Hospital; University Neuropsychiatric Institute; Huntsman Cancer Hospital; and the University Orthopaedic Center. For eight straight years, U of U Health has ranked among the top 10 U.S. academic medical centers in the rigorous Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, including reaching No. 1 in 2010 and 2016. As many countries introduce more legal protections for transgender people, Swiss politicians are examining introducing similar measures. If approved, it will be a victory for transgender rights groups, but implementation may not be easy. The latest Trans Rights Europe Index 2017 shows much of Western Europe has strengthened transgender rights in some way in the last five years in line with recommendations from the Council of Europe and international human rights standards. In mid-April, the parliament in Portugal approved a law that made the country only the sixth in Europe to allow a change of gender without medical or state intervention. A month earlier, the Austrian Constitutional Court opened proceedings to repeal state registration of sex and Sweden became the first country in the world to offer compensation to transgender people who were forced to undergo sterilisation to be allowed to change their legal gender. Malta has been at the forefront of transgender rights, recently introducing policies on inclusion in education, healthcare, and prison facilities. Next year, the Swiss parliament will decide on an amendment(in German) to the Criminal Code that would make hate speech and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity illegal. This would be in addition to race, ethnicity, and religion, which are protected at present. If passed, it would be a victory for the LGBTIQ community in Switzerland, but there is already heated debate on how such a law would be interpreted in practice and where to draw the line between hate speech and free speech. The passage in Canada last year of Bill C-16, which bans discrimination and hate speech on the basis of gender identity and expression, also unleashed a fiery debate about how to implement such protections when fixed binary gender identities (man and woman or male and female) are so engrained in everything from pronouns to birth certificates. An important signal The Swiss parliamentary initiative(in German) to amend Article 261 has been in the pipeline since 2013, when it was presented by Mathias Reynard of the Social Democratic party. The original text only referred to sexual orientation, but gender identity was later added. (See draft language, in German, here.) Following consultations in 2017, the deadline for a vote in parliament was extended until spring 2019. While transgender people are afforded some protections under current laws, Alecs Recher, head of legal services at the Transgender Network Switzerland (TGNS) (site in German, French and Italian) says passing Art. 261b would be an important signal that Switzerland does not tolerate hate speech and discrimination against LGBT. It is also a form of prevention, discouraging people from committing such acts. There are also real implications for the health and safety of transgender people, says Recher. The law would make it possible to bring a criminal case against a person who targets transgender people generally with hate speech. Current laws only protect individuals from attacks on someones personality or honour under different articles of the Swiss Criminal Code and Civil Code. The initiative also adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited grounds for discrimination in the case that a person refuses to provide someone with a service intended for the general public. Although Article 8 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination in general terms on various grounds including gender and way of life, thenew initiative, if passed, would make such acts a criminal offence with a sentence of up to three years or a fine. There are already some protections from discrimination at work under the Federal Act on Gender Equality. However, high unemployment rates for transgender people, estimated to be around 20% five to six times higher than average in Switzerland indicate that challenges remain. A study co-financed by the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality (EBG), found that around 25% of participants lost their jobs after coming out, or experienced a deterioration of their professional situation. Recher explains that what really worries him is how transgender people are starting to view discrimination as normal. When providing legal counselling, I find that people face mobbing, bullying, and discrimination so often that they have come to acknowledge it as a part of life. They dont even see the use in pursuing legal action or telling someone about the indecent behaviour. Creating more legal protections would send the message that this isnt tolerated and hopefully give people the confidence to speak up. Implementation debate One of the key points of debate of the C-16 law in Canada is whether the law infringes upon freedom of speech. This was triggered in part by criticism from a University of Toronto professor who refused to use a preferred pronoun for his students, saying it violated his right to free speech. Consultations(in French and German) in 2017 on the Swiss initiative in the House of Representatives revealed similar tensions and sharp divisions. The majority opinion argued that since transgender people are at above-average risk of suicide due to hate crimes, they warrant special protection. It also refuted arguments by the minority opinion that there are problems with interpreting concepts like gender identity. Representing the minority opinion, Yves Nidegger of the Swiss Peoples Party (SVP/UDC), in anarticlepublished in French-language newspaper Le Temps, argued that the initiative would penalize the very groups it claims to protect.No more fitness or women-only hotels since refusing men entry is like denying someone a service because of their sex. There were also questions about the implications for freedom of expression enshrined in Article 16 of the Constitution. Recher does not believe that refusing to use a preferred pronoun would qualify as hate speech in Switzerland. But, it would nevertheless be disrespectful, he says. This aside, there are still important considerations for putting such a law into practice. This includes questions about legal gender recognition and language. While Swiss law permits a change of legal gender, there is currently no legal gender recognised beside male and female. A few courts in Switzerland still require medical procedures to legally change genders despite the European Court of Human Rights finding that this violates human rights. Complicating things in Switzerland is the multiple languages in the country. Some transgender people argue that the gender neutral they for the singular in the third person makes it easier for the English language to adapt, in contrast to Switzerlands official languages, German, French, and Italian. Male, Female or X A number of countries have recently taken steps to introduce alternatives to binary gender selections. In 2017, the highest court in Germany ruled in favour of the introduction of a third gender in civil documents, making it the first in Europe to do so. The Court said that the Constitution protected the personality rights of individuals who do not define themselves as male or female, adding that the current law on civil status interfered with that right. Malta, Denmark, Australia, and several other countries allow X as an option in passports and other government documents.The Australian passport office states: We can issue a passport to sex and gender diverse applicants, identifying them as M (male), F (female) or X (indeterminate/intersex/unspecified). It also includes instructions for people who are transitioning to another sex. In June 2017, Oregon became the first US state and the District of Columbia became the first city to allow residents to identify as other than male or female on state drivers licenses. Companies are also adapting. In 2014, Facebook introduced 56 gender identities to choose from including androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid or transsexual. Other sites like Flickr allow users to put other while some social media sites have removed gender selection fields altogether. Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann will not seek another term in the seven-member government, and plans to step down by the end of next year. He told the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper on Friday that he had a clear landmark, namely the end of the 2019 legislative term, which would be his last. Aged 66, Schneider-Ammann began his career as anengineer and businessman, before being elected to the House of Representatives for the centre-right Radical Party in 1999. He took his seat on the Federal Council in 2010, and served a one-year term as Switzerlands president in 2016a mainly ceremonial post. Key political issues for Schneider-Ammann during his tenure including ensuring full employment in Switzerland and maintaining industry. One of the achievements he was most proud of was a free-trade agreement with China, which took effect in 2014. He had to negotiate more unpopular issues as well, notably the ongoing agricultural reform with the countrys main farmers organisation. His decision to step down follows that of Transport Minister Doris Leuthard last July. Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. President Donald Trump's brand new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to NATO on Friday to hammer home one of his boss's oldest themes -- demanding that other members pay their way -- as the allies sought a common front against Russia. There was broad agreement in Brussels on the need find ways to counter Russias adoption of hybrid warfare techniques subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. But divides remain on spending commitments, with Germany in particular holding out against the large military spending increases demanded by Trump, and on how to balance a stern response to Moscow with keeping open a door to dialogue. Welcoming former CIA chief Pompeo to the NATO headquarters less than 24 hours after the top US diplomat was sworn in, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of the need to adapt the 29-member Western alliance to a more demanding security environment. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britains Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response? he asked, referring to the alliances mutual self-defence pact. Stoltenberg said much of the alliances military expansion in the Baltic was geared towards countering hybrid threats, and ministers discussed how to do more, but concrete proposals are not expected before Julys NATO summit. As we prepare for the summit we wil look at how we further strengthen our ability to respond to those threats which dont trigger Article 5 but at the same time are a challenge to NATO allies, Stoltenberg said. Pompeos US delegation came out satisfied with the discussion on Russia. There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response, a senior State Department official told reporters after the session. Money talk But Pompeo brought a second, tougher message on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliances biggest member. Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, as he arrived, Germanys new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. Germany plays a very important role, Maas said. Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so, he said. Luxembourgs veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told AFP Pompeo had got his point across without causing upset. Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression, Asselborn told AFP. On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions. As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macrons triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assads chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkels meeting will be less warm than Macrons. Troops for Iraq Stoltenberg will say a few words to mark the end of the final meeting of ministers in the historic North Atlantic Council room where Article 5 was invoked for the first and only time, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATOs training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called importance as key allies and partners in the region. Israel is not concerned by Russia's military presence in neighboring Syria because Moscow is a "pragmatic actor" with whom deals can be struck, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Washington on Friday. What is important to understand is that the Russians, they are very pragmatic players, said Lieberman during a discussion on the alliance between Russia, Syria and Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. At the end of the day, they are reasonable guys, its possible to close deals with them and we understand what is their interest, said Lieberman, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union. Their interest is very different from our interest but we respect their priorities, he said. We try to avoid direct frictions and tensions. The Russian military has an air base at Hmeimim, in the northwest of Syria and has maintained port facilities at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast in the west for several decades. But Lieberman said the expanded Russian presence in Syria was not our business. We try only to protect our own security interests. Lieberman was talking three days after the Israeli news site Ynet published an interview in which he threatened to attack Russian S-300 anti-aircraft batteries that could be delivered to the Syrian military and used to target Israeli aircraft. In 2010, Moscow signed a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the delivery of S-300 batteries but Damascus has yet to take possession of the anti-aircraft systems, in large part due to Israeli pressure, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Even though Israel has insisted it will not get drawn into the Syrian civil war, it has carried out dozens of air strikes on regime positions and has targeted weapons convoys it says were coming from Iran and were destined for Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla organization that has frequently clashed with Israel. NATO put on a united front on the need to counter Russian "aggression" on Friday, despite differences on defence spending, as new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed allies to shoulder a bigger military burden. There was agreement among foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on the need to find ways to counter Russias adoption of hybrid warfare techniques subversion, propaganda, cyber warfare to undermine the West without triggering a full NATO military response. Despite the hawkish reputation of US President Donald Trumps new top diplomat, the 29-member alliance agreed to continue its dual-track policy towards the Kremlin of defence and deterrence coupled with an offer of dialogue. Noting that the talks were the first NATO ministerial meeting since Russian agents allegedly used a nerve agent to poison a former double agent in the English town of Salisbury, Britains Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summarised the dilemma. How do you deal with a military environment in which attacks come below the threshold of the Article 5 commitment to mutual support but do demand a common response? he asked, referring to the alliances mutual self-defence pact. Minsters discussed concrete proposals to address the problem, a senior State Department official told reporters, but they are not expected to be finalised and announced before NATOs full summit on July 11 and 12. There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression and this being a problem that requires a response, the official said. Tensions between NATO and Russia are running at levels not seen since the Cold War, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the alliance was still open to dialogue with Moscow. We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one, Stoltenberg said. When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever, he added, saying the alliance was working for another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Money talk Former CIA chief Pompeo flew in to Brussels barely 12 hours after he was sworn in, which Stoltenberg hailed as a sign of NATOs importance to Washington despite Trumps regular barbs directed at the alliance. But, away from the bonhomie of his welcome, Pompeo also came with a tough message on the need for other member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliances biggest member. Some allies, notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2014 to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence. Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues, and Pompeo carried this message to Brussels as his predecessor Rex Tillerson had done. But, Germanys new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the contribution Berlin was making to humanitarian work in Syria and to Iraq. He said Merkels coalition government was in the middle of budget negotiations, but held out little prospect that they would lead to a defence spending boost. And he stressed Germany has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and that we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO. Before the talks began, US diplomats had singled out Germany which spends only 1.24 percent of its large GDP on defence for criticism. After the first session, the US official was more guarded. There was a consensus by all countries to deliver their plans, including those who have not yet done so, he said. Luxembourgs veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told AFP Pompeo had got his point across without causing upset. Mike Pompeo of course insisted on the need for burden-sharing, but he did it without aggression, Asselborn told AFP. On the contrary he was attentive, he listened and took part in all the discussions. As the ministers meet in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Washington for a much-anticipated meeting with Trump, hard on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macrons triumphant three-day state visit. France and Britain took part in a recent US-led punishment strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assads chemical arsenal, but Germany has not joined recent missions and Merkels meeting will be less warm than Macrons. Troops for Iraq Ministers will also debate plans to expand NATOs training mission in Iraq. Details will be confirmed at the summit in July, but Stoltenberg said it would involve several hundred personnel. After his time in Brussels, Pompeo will head to the Middle East, with stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia countries chosen to reflect what his spokeswoman called importance as key allies and partners in the region. Russia on Friday praised a landmark summit between the leaders of the two Koreas as "very positive news", saying direct dialogue on the divided peninsula was promising. This is very positive news, President Vladimir Putins spokesman told reporters after the leaders of North and South Korea held an historic meeting at the border separating the two countries. Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place (and) it has certain prospects, he said, praising the results of the talks. The will to seek agreement can be seen on both sides, including the most important thing the will to begin and continue dialogue. That is a positive fact, Peskov said. Moscow would welcome any further meetings, he said, when asked to comment on talks being planned between US President Donald Trump and North Koreas Kim Jong Un. Kim and South Koreas Moon Jae-in agreed Friday to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula. The two leaders also shared a warm embrace, the culmination of a summit filled with smiles and displays of friendship in front of the worlds media. Russia maintains fairly close ties with North Korea, with which it shares a short land border. The father of a terminally ill British boy said Thursday he wants to rebuild his relationship with the hospital against which he has been waging a long-running legal battle over treatment. Tom Evans has been fighting Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in court to take toddler Alfie Evans to Rome for continued medical care, but vowed to now work with doctors to give him the dignity and comfort he needs. The 21-year-old, whose son suffers from a rare neurological disease, lost a series of appeals against the decision by the hospital in Liverpool, northwest England, to withdraw life support for Evans. The 23-month-old had his ventilator removed late on Monday after his parents exhausted all legal avenues to stop a February court ruling permitting the move, but has continued breathing independently this week. His parents suffered their latest court defeat Wednesday, when three judges rejected taking the boy to Rome for treatment, despite high-profile interventions in the case from Pope Francis and the Italian government. However, they trio ruled Evans could be taken home. Tom Evans said he and mother Kate James, 20, now hoped to have a positive meeting to discuss their sons care with doctors and praised the professionalism and dignity of staff. The tone was in marked contrast to previous instances when the pair have hit out the hospital. Police remained outside the hospital on Thursday, after supporters of the parents have been massing in recent days to protest. Alder Hey issued an open letter Wednesday saying its staff had experienced a barrage of unprecedented personal abuse. Bradley Taylor, one of the protesters, told AFP he believed the hospital was in the wrong. Its not even withdrawing help anymore, theyre leaving him to die, theyre causing suffering. What type of country are we living in? Josh Mazaros, another protester outside Thursday, accused the hospital of hiding something. Since hes been off the life support, he has proved every doctor and every judge wrong, he said. In a statement Tom Evans said he was grateful for all the support but asked people to return back to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it. We also wish to thank Alder Hey staff at every level for their dignity and professionalism during what must be an incredibly difficult time for them too, he added. Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire From: Ad Council For Immediate Release: Dateline: New York , NY Friday, April 27, 2018 There are times where consumer neuroscience unearths something about human nature that feels really, really good. Our clients often ask us, how do we reach consumers in such a crowded media environment? And weve found that one way is beautifully simple: care. Care about your consumers, understand the issues that affect them and where your brand can responsibly fit in, and then do something. And this impact is measurable with neuroscience. Take a look at the recent Samsung Human Nature TV spot. Neuro-Insight analyzed the ad using SST (Steady State Topography) technology to unpack its conscious and subconscious effects on consumers in NYC. This type of testing is so important for content that speaks to issues in the social-good space because traditional methods rely on self-reported answers (surveys, focus groups, etc.) that are limited by restraints such as recall and biases, and are further complicated by the nuanced nature of the subject matter itself. The time series data below shows second-by-second brain response across four key measurements: Long-Term Memory, Engagement (personal relevance), Emotional Intensity (amount of emotion), and Approach/Withdraw (feeling of wanting to approach something versus feeling of repelling from something). The measurements map back to the amount of activity in localized parts of the brain responsible for processing these responses. Building Action Initially, strong Emotional Intensity peaks with a Withdraw response. The turn happens as the mother whispers, you can do this, indicated by Global Memory (the creative memory for narrative elements such as themes, storylines, and music) and Approach. Lesson Learned: Tell the backstory This item does an exemplary job of introducing the characters stories in an authentic way that feels honest. Brands should take care not to skip this step, so as to not over-simplify complicated topics. Cant The cant theme is solidified during the classroom scene. Approach peaks, even though its a negative concept. However, in earlier cant moments we see Withdraw response. Lesson Learned: Withdraw isnt always bad Our clients often hear Withdraw and think bad. But in much social good-linked messaging, folks are introduced or reminded of concepts that may be difficult to engage with. But this isnt necessarily a bad thingas seen in several of the cant momentswithdraw drives memory. Dont be afraid to make people uncomfortable where its necessary. End Branding & Messaging Riding strong Emotional Intensity, the Do What Others Cant and Do What You Cant messages are successfully encoded into Memory. However, as the black screen and text is introduced, Conceptual Closure is triggered. Certain elements, often subconscious triggers, send signals to the brain that a story is over and it should stop storing information. However, due to successful product shots, consumers will still associate the powerful creative with Samsung. The strongest Approach peak occurs as the actor in physical therapy says I cant do it. As the Samsung VR glasses are introduced, we see strong Emotional Intensity, Approach and rising Engagementconsumers like how the brand is integrated at this moment. Lesson Learned: Authentically integrate your brand The most powerful moment of the ad comes in when the Samsung brand is integrated in an authentic, actionable way, showing the *real* application its VR glasses have. This moved viewers, as it was clear the brand wasnt just pushing productit was addressing how technology (its space) and the health space strengthen and complement each other. Human Nature was also a success based off traditional metricsaccording to The post There are times where consumer neuroscience unearths something about human nature that feels really, really good. Our clients often ask us, how do we reach consumers in such a crowded media environment? And weve found that one way is beautifully simple: care. Care about your consumers, understand the issues that affect them and where your brand can responsibly fit in, and then do something. And this impact is measurable with neuroscience. Take a look at the recent Samsung Human Nature TV spot.Neuro-Insight analyzed the ad using SST (Steady State Topography) technology to unpack its conscious and subconscious effects on consumers in NYC. This type of testing is so important for content that speaks to issues in the social-good space because traditional methods rely on self-reported answers (surveys, focus groups, etc.) that are limited by restraints such as recall and biases, and are further complicated by the nuanced nature of the subject matter itself.The time series data below shows second-by-second brain response across four key measurements: Long-Term Memory, Engagement (personal relevance), Emotional Intensity (amount of emotion), and Approach/Withdraw (feeling of wanting to approach something versus feeling of repelling from something). The measurements map back to the amount of activity in localized parts of the brain responsible for processing these responses.Initially, strong Emotional Intensity peaks with a Withdraw response.The turn happens as the mother whispers, you can do this, indicated by Global Memory (the creative memory for narrative elements such as themes, storylines, and music) and Approach.This item does an exemplary job of introducing the characters stories in an authentic way that feels honest. Brands should take care not to skip this step, so as to not over-simplify complicated topics.The cant theme is solidified during the classroom scene. Approach peaks, even though its a negative concept. However, in earlier cant moments we see Withdraw response.Our clients often hear Withdraw and think bad. But in much social good-linked messaging, folks are introduced or reminded of concepts that may be difficult to engage with. But this isnt necessarily a bad thingas seen in several of the cant momentswithdraw drives memory. Dont be afraid to make people uncomfortable where its necessary.Riding strong Emotional Intensity, the Do What Others Cant and Do What You Cant messages are successfully encoded into Memory.However, as the black screen and text is introduced, Conceptual Closure is triggered. Certain elements, often subconscious triggers, send signals to the brain that a story is over and it should stop storing information. However, due to successful product shots, consumers will still associate the powerful creative with Samsung.The strongest Approach peak occurs as the actor in physical therapy says I cant do it. As the Samsung VR glasses are introduced, we see strong Emotional Intensity, Approach and rising Engagementconsumers like how the brand is integrated at this moment.The most powerful moment of the ad comes in when the Samsung brand is integrated in an authentic, actionable way, showing the *real* application its VR glasses have. This moved viewers, as it was clear the brand wasnt just pushing productit was addressing how technology (its space) and the health space strengthen and complement each other.Human Nature was also a success based off traditional metricsaccording to iSpot , the ad had a whopping 92% positive sentiment rating and a 7.9 Engagement Rating (scored out of 10). The song used in the ad (The Killers All These Things That I Have Done) was the 6th most Shazammed song that week-as viewers listed to the ad, they were actively looking up the song. When the soundtrack is played (due to high Memory Encoding at branded moments), consumer will connect the empowering feeling the song generates with Samsung brand. When social good-linked advertising is done responsibly and genuinely, the creative helps the brand, consumers and the greater advertising industry.The post The Neuroscience of Social Good Messaging appeared first on AdLibbing.org Parking cash or Uber charge? Cartons of cascarones? Dollars here and there for medals, beads, floral wreaths and vuvuzelas? Maybe a splurge for a hotel room balcony for parade watching? A babysitter for the kiddos while the adults take in raunchy laughs at Cornyation? Or how about Fiesta street vendor food you know, turkey legs, seasoned elote, sugar-dusted beignets or tickets to eating extravaganzas like Taste of the Republic, Taste of New Orleans, Oyster Bake and A Night in Old San Antonio? It all adds up. The $340.1 million in local sales attributed to Fiesta is a number thats been kicked around a lot these past few weeks, and for good reason. Its a greater economic impact than the Indianapolis 500 Festival, said Amy Shaw, executive director of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. Its bigger than the Kentucky Derby Festival, its about three times the economic impact of the recent Final Four tournament and in San Antonio and its something that has grown up very organically and very naturally. University of Texas at San Antonio economist Thomas Tunstall, principal investigator for the study that measured the economic impact of 2016s Fiesta to come up with that $340 million, said it was important to consider not only the direct spending attributed to the plethora of events, but also the long-term effect the festive spirit has on attracting people to San Antonio. Its why when communities come to him for advice on economic development, he encourages events like Fiesta or New Braunfels Wurstfest. If they come really for any reason some percentage of those people are likely to decide to live there, he said, noting the effect local military bases have had in drawing new residents to San Antonio. And so, essentially Fiesta is a huge billboard for San Antonio. For those not familiar with the study by Tunstall, lead investigator Javier Oyakawa and a team of research assistants, the numbers are staggering. The amount of spending by 2.5 million attendees and 75,000 volunteers over the 10 or 11 days generates enough income to support 3,464 full-time equivalent local jobs and equates to $206.3 million in value added to the area. Sales tax alone contributes $3.6 million to local governments. Separated out, spending by non-local visitors who may happen upon Fiesta during a business trip or bring the family to San Antonio just for Fiesta fun equates to $188 million in sales, 1,193 full-time equivalent jobs, and $2 million in sales tax to local governments. These full-time equivalent jobs also include in a way the preparations to the events, Oyakawa said. Its not only the 10 days that it takes for the Fiesta events, but its all the preparations before and all the expenditures before that. ... Its the whole process. The numbers are if anything conservative, Tunstall said, as so many unofficial events such as spending on home parties where people may watch events on TV arent accounted for. We dont want to create an impression of an economic impact that is larger than it really is, he said. And of course this years Fiesta is expected to break records because it coincides with the 300th anniversary of San Antonio. You take the whole bump in a variety of areas, Shaw said. And a good part of that bump goes back to the 100 or so nonprofits that put on the events. Its not like an entity coming into town and putting on a festival and then taking the proceeds back to Los Angeles or wherever, she said. When youre spending your money on Fiesta, youre spending it on medical research, youre spending it on community services. Youre spending it on scholarships and educational opportunities, youre spending it on historic preservation, those kinds of things. So were different I think from a lot of festivals. Of course, its not just nonprofits getting involved. Companies large and small are increasingly using Fiesta as a time to promote their own local roots, whether new or generations deep, and give their employees a sense of involvement in one of the Alamo Citys favorite traditions. Steves & Sons, a San Antonio-based door making company whose customers include Home Depot and McCoys Building Supply, dates back to 1866, when founder Edward Steves shipped in Louisiana cypress and long-leaf Florida pine for his lumber yard. The Steves Homestead, a stately three-story building in the King William Historic District that was built in 1876, is now a museum whose proceeds go to the San Antonio Conservation Society. The Conservation Society called us and asked if we could display all of our Fiesta Order of the Alamo (dress) trains in the Steves Homestead, so I thought why not display a door as well? said Gloria Steves Dilley, a descendant of Steves who serves as company vice president. The company created a Fiesta door decorating contest for employees. Its just one little highlight that somebody can go by and see, she said. And for our employees its so thrilling. Theyre excited, they get a trophy and then all the recognition for it and theyre having a blast. So its just a win-win all around. It creates that Fiesta buzz that we all love and that fun Fiesta feeling of community. Newer companies can likewise reap the benefits of community engagement and company exposure. Attendance this year at Tech Trek, a collaboration between technology co-working space Geekdom, tech company consortium Tech Bloc, and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce was about 2,000, double the number of people who streamed through the Fiesta-themed downtown tech district open house last year. The five stops in Tuesday nights trek gave visitors inside glimpses of up-and-coming tech workplaces like Scaleworks, Google Fiber, RealCo, Assembla, Kadence Collective and Chargify. We tend to be in a bubble here in our tech district on Houston Street, said Ashley Jones, Tech Blocs operations and community director. The general citizens, the general public what have you, they dont really know all this that is going on downtown. While some contributions to the local economy are immediate and measurable technology investment firm Scaleworks stocked up on conchas from Panifico Bakery on the West Side others are more subtle. There were a lot of college students, which really was a good audience we wanted to target because we wanted to keep that young creative talent here, Jones said. When they graduate, we want them to know that theres options for them here if they want to build their careers in the tech sector. Tech Bloc, a nonprofit, also got a chance to get new supporters. We got over 50 folks to receive our newsletter, so thats going to be a wonderful way to keep them engaged, Jones said. Hopefully they stay engaged in the conversation to know whats going on in the tech ecosystem downtown. Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | @lbrezosky President Donald Trump has invited members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, the site of the deadly mass shooting that claimed 26 lives in November, to the White House on Thursday. Frank and Sherri Pomeroy, the churchs pastor and his wife, along with shooting survivor David Colbath, his son Morgan Colbath, and Sherri Pomeroys sister Sylvia Timmons, are to join the president for a prayer service at 11 a.m. for the National Day of Prayer. We did not expect a personal invitation to the White House from the President, Sherri Pomeroy said by a text message. When I received that email, I confirmed the legitimacy of the invitation and accepted, of course! This will be her first time in the nations capital, much less at the White House and, later that evening, the U.S. Capitol. The five Sutherland Springs visitors will be attending the National Day of Prayers evening services at the Capitols historic Statuary Hall. The Pomeroys will be interviewed by Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and Frank Pomeroy will lead a short prayer all live-streamed across the country. Theyll also attend a private banquet the night before hosted by the task force. One of the 26 killed in the massacre was the Pomeroys 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle. We are very honored that we are invited to the White House and asked to pray for our nation in this historic place, Sherri Pomeroy said. While this invitation is bittersweet because of the events that brought us to this place, may we never turn down a forum to share the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever it takes us. Silvia Foster-Frau is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | @SilviaElenaFF During a four year period, 934 sex crime or family violence cases assigned to various detectives in the San Antonio Police Departments Special Victims Unit could have been reviewed more thoroughly, according to an independent audit released Thursday. That does not necessarily mean the cases were mishandled, the audit said. It simply indicates that supervisors could have reviewed the cases more intently to make sure all evidence was tested and there was detailed documentation explaining the investigative process and the reasons for closing a case. Some of these process issues are being addressed, the team of auditors wrote. All of these process challenges can be addressed and refined to further reduce the possibility of detective misconduct going undetected and enhance case management and case investigation productivity. The audit, which the City Managers Office ordered after a former detective was accused of mishandling 130 sex crime and family violence cases, reviewed 10,522 closed felony cases and 1,585 closed misdemeanor cases provided by city staff. Roughly 8 percent of those cases were identified as needing more thorough review. The auditors were tasked with reviewing the units operating procedures and determining if the roughly 12,000 cases from that four-year period were handled according to policy. They did not assess the quality of the investigations or if the cases were mishandled. They said that task should be completed by detectives who are experts in criminal investigation. Overall, the 22-page audit, which was conducted by Lisa Tatum, former president of the State Bar or Texas and a former Bexar County assistant district attorney, paints a good picture of the unit, describing the roughly 45 detectives in the unit as dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to help victims, solve crime and catch the bad guys. A review of the SVU through its files and its operations indicate that the mishandling of cases by Detective Kenneth Valdez or the mishandling of cases generally, is specific to individual behavior and not attributable to the SVU as a whole, the audit says. The real fault, the audit says, is in a faulty records system, a divide between physical files and electronic records, a lack of supervisor oversight and a heavy caseload that takes detectives longer to complete due to changes in the investigative process. It addresses the need to provide continued training and support for detectives so they dont burn out due to the huge caseload and the difficult nature of the cases. Valdez told Internal Affairs investigators that he mishandled the cases because he became overwhelmed soon after joining the unit in 2010. During a news conference Thursday morning, Police Chief William McManus said the department has already implemented a number of changes. They include: Acquiring a new case and records management system that will offer more robust and detailed reporting features; Tasking 19 patrol officers currently assigned to the Crisis Response Team, which provides family violence services, with the handling of misdemeanor cases. That will allow four Special Victims Unit detectives who currently focus on misdemeanors to focus exclusively on felonies; Requesting funding for two additional sergeant positions for the Special Victims Unit, which will result in roughly eight detectives per sergeant; and Identifying and implementing changes in the units operating procedure and supervisory process. McManus, along with City Manager Sheryl Sculley, reiterated that the actions of Valdez, a 17-year veteran of the force who was fired in November, are inexcusable. McManus said he wanted to focus on moving forward and fixing the issues identified by the report. The bottom line here is that this was the result of one individual, one single individual not handling cases properly, McManus said. The unit itself has been properly investigating cases, handling those cases, interacting with victims as they should have been ... they continue to do a good job. The review The review launched on Oct. 30, four days after the city announced that an SVU detective was accused of mishandling over 130 cases. A week later, McManus issued Valdez an indefinite suspension, which is tantamount to firing, for failing to act on DNA evidence, not properly preserving evidence and closing cases without the approval from a supervisor. He later received a second indefinite suspension for allegedly disobeying a direct order to end contact with a woman he was sharing an apartment with and continuing outside employment after he was placed on administrative leave. He is appealing both suspensions. The audit team included five former Bexar County assistant district attorneys, including Tatum two of whom were employed by the City Attorneys Office. Three litigators from the City Attorneys Office also helped with the review. Each reviewer individually assessed whether a case fulfilled the requirements of SVU procedures. This approach allowed reviewers the opportunity to fully understand the units procedures and determine if there were systemic issues. Throughout the report, the auditors noted how, albeit one instance in which the City staff did not provide a random sample of case files as requested, the police department and city managers office helped provide the material they needed, while also giving the auditors space to do their job independently. The auditors met with every detective in the Special Victims Unit, along with current and former supervisors and individuals in the City Managers Office. They also interviewed three individuals who had expressed concern about either the handling of a criminal case or the operation of the unit. The individuals, they said, provided information that was not in their case file, raising concerns. A large portion of the review focused on the departments case management and records system and the operating procedures for testing evidence. There is a clear direction in which each investigation goes, and then it seems to open up into a silent abyss, the audit states. For example, during the review, the auditors learned that anyone with knowledge of a supervisors employee number could close a case in the departments case management system. In September, after the issue was identified, security levels for that section of the system was modified so only supervisors could access it. Another recurring issue, the audit found, was an information gap that existed between the physical file and any information entered into the record management system. Some information would exist in one record, but not the other, making it difficult to discern why a case was closed or what steps detectives completed. For example, in 35 percent of the felony cases reviewed, the auditors found that detectives had submitted a rape kit for testing, but that it was unclear, due to the documentation process, if additional pieces of evidence such as a buccal swab or fingerprint were tested. That could explain how supervisors did not detect some issues in Valdezs work. The way the items were submitted for evidence does not adequately lend itself to an outsider, whether the outsider is another detective, their supervisors, or the unit director, let alone an independent reviewer, the audit states. During interviews, the auditors noted the need to provide proper training to new detectives, while also offering continued support and learning opportunities once detectives have been with the unit for awhile. One aspect of the SVU detective learning curve is that many of the tactics and approaches that worked in other units or field areas do not necessarily translate as effectively into this unit, the auditors wrote. It is essential for detectives to understand the sensitivity of these cases and the victimology of family violence, sexual violence and abuse cases, the audit says. The investigative process has also changed over the years, as advances in technology mean detectives are assessing more information, like footage from mobile phones, surveillance cameras and body-cameras. The auditors said the departments operating procedures need to note the special challenges present in sex crime and family violence cases, along with the lengthy workflow process and the day-to-day demands detectives face. The reality is that more times than they would like, there is not enough time to do more, the audit states. The detectives are balancing the demands of all the victims and their other duties the best they can, prioritizing as they must. Emilie Eaton is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eeaton@express-news.net | @emilieeaton In a very San Antonio moment, members of the 323rd Army Band marched down Broadway on Friday playing the Tejano dance tune, Las Nubes. The appreciative crowd at the Battle of Flowers Parade gyrated to the music in their folding chairs. Southwest High Schools band followed close behind them, dancing to a drumbeat of the Macarena as they passed underneath the overpass near The Pig Stand restaurant. Later, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood waved to the crowd from atop a fire truck adorned in colorful flowers and placards paying tribute to Scott Deem, the SAFD firefighter killed in the line of duty at a blaze at a strip mall last year. Now Playing: Participants in Fiesta Battle of Flowers parade prepare for the start on April 27, 2018. Video: Billy Calzada Express-News Gone, but never forgotten, the signs read. He was the best of us. There were 48 floats this year, the highest the parade has had in years, John Bloodsworth, spokesman for the parade, said. Officials had estimated the parade would draw crowds of 350,000. Ticket sales were extremely strong, he said. Still, many empty chairs were visible along the three-mile route. Spectators seemed generally pleased with moving up the start time of the parade by two hours, to 9:30 a.m., largely because of the cooler temperatures, Bloodsworth said. The overcast, low humidity conditions made for perfect parade weather, he said. More Information High school band winners The 80th Band Festival competition Thursday, a Battle of Flowers event, saw 4,300 marching band students, twirlers and performers from 30 area high schools. Spirit Award: Clark High School People's Choice Award: Jefferson High School Category 4A: First Place: Navarro High School (Second Place: Nixon High School) Category 5A: First Place: Jefferson High School (Second Place: Highlands High School) Category 6A: First Place: Churchill High School (Second Place: Clark High School) In addition, the Battle of Flowers Association awarded Celebration of Music Grants to Navarro, Memorial, Kennedy and Wagner high schools for exhibiting "a high level of enthusiasm, preparation and collaboration during all rehearsals and performances. See More Collapse Alfred Martinez and his wife, Estela, had walked in with their daughter, Lisa, to buy last-minute seats, setting themselves up on Broadway near Josephine street, at the start of the route. Weve been coming for 60 years, Estela Martinez said. Each said the floats are their favorite thing That, and everybodys just so happy, she said. Yvonne Smith of Schertz, took her sons, Gilbert, 2, and R.J., 8, so they could experience their first Battle of Flowers. Smith grew up in San Antonio, and returned after being away for 10 years because her husband is in the military. Im excited to have them do what I did as a kid, she said. Show us your shoes! is the traditional shouted demand from parade-watchers, and those on the floats come prepared to oblige. Beneath some of the gowns of various queens were cowboy boots and sneakers, including at least one pair of hand-painted Spurs canvas Converse. Some entries were a single giant balloon or a decorated vehicle; others were elaborate affairs that clearly took time and effort to create. The yoked two-car float for Mi Tierra Cafe was one. It featured live music and was a crowd favorite, drawing cheers from onlookers. The detailed float sported a Day of the Dead theme, laden with multi-colored flowers, pinatas, ribbons and many portraits of ancestors. Bearers carried poles topped with papier mache characters, including an old man in a guayabera and a musician, among others. It was very much like a moving altar for the Cortez family, active community leaders who own Mi Tierra and several other area restaurants. Many spectators milling in the crowd near the Alamo proudly displayed their collections of medals. Holli Bernal, 37, who wore hers on a scarf around her neck, said shes pretty selective but still has acquired about 100 over the past three years. Im kind of picky, she said. I like for them to have a meaning. Nearby, the Martinez family sat under a purple canopy, personalized with a white stenciling of their name. Lina Martinez, a mother of four, said her husbands family had been staking out the spot for generations, starting with his grandfather, who always enjoyed the parade from the shade of a tree across from Ripleys Believe It or Not! Odditorium. Its a family affair, she said. We know were going to have a good seat and not be smooshed. Kelly Cunningham and her 6-year-old daughter, Kynleigh, were matched from head to toe as they stood near rows of chairs in front of the Hotel Gibbs. They wore off-the-shoulder red dresses, flower tiaras, gold sandals and reflective aviator sunglasses. Cunningham, who is taking advantage of the very small window in which she wants to match with me, carefully selected the outfit online and saved it for the parade. Cunningham grew up in San Antonio, but her husband and daughter are new to the celebration. The family recently moved here after work-related moves 13 times in 30 months. She said shes enjoyed teaching them about Fiesta culture. There is no place like San Antonio in Fiesta, Cunningham said. Betty Wright and her grandson, Tyler, lucked out with a spot directly at the end of the parade route at Santa Rosa and Martin streets. Wrights neighbor had been saving the spot for a week but decided not to attend because she wasnt feeling well. The neighbor posted online late Thursday evening, asking if anyone wanted her spot. Wright responded at 11 p.m. It all fell into place, Wright said. Wright has been attending the city-wide festivities since last Thursday. Her cousins were visiting from Kansas, Wisconsin and Tennessee. I was exhausted, Wright said. I still had to make it to the end of the festivities! Wright made each of her cousins a Fiesta must-have: the flower crown. She also made her 14-year-old granddaughter an elaborate flower crown adorned with Peacock feathers and bright, festive flowers. It was made to look like the ones Mexican artist Frida Kalho was famous for. On Saturday she is attending the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, which coincidentally, is on her birthday. San Antonio is throwing me a huge birthday party, she told her friends. So you have to come. Down the street from Wright, Jennifer Laflore and her family camped out under a blue canopy. They set up a BBQ nearby and grilled chicken, fajitas, sausage and hot dogs, which they paired with tortillas. Laflore was joined by dozens of family members, including her four daughters, Ziyan, Christiana, Emily and Serenity. As she finished grilling drumsticks, a gentleman walked by. He stopped and asked if he could buy some. How much? he asked. Were not selling them, Laflores mother-in-law, Sharon, said. She paused. But you can have some for free. The gentleman insisted that he wanted to pay, taking out a five dollar bill and offering it. I insist, he said. No! she replied, walking away. Its Fiesta! San Antonio has the capacity to host the next Republican National Convention with its abundance of downtown hotels, a renovated Alamodome and an open calendar for August 2020. But local leaders will soon have to decide whether pursuing the massive event is too costly. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Thursday that the City Council will discuss the matter in a private session next week and stressed the importance of objectively weighing the impacts. The issue catapulted to the forefront locally this week when President Donald Trumps campaign manager, Brad Parscale, unleashed a storm of tweets not dissimilar to his boss frequent attacks on adversaries slamming Nirenberg as weak-kneed. His tweets include calling City Manager Sheryl Sculley mayor, and a couple of GIFs one of a weightlifter passing out after a successful lift. Despite his trolling of Nirenberg, Parscale said in a text message late Thursday that he still hopes San Antonio submits a bid. Nirenberg has said he doesnt respond to tweetstorms from political operatives. The attacks seem not to have swayed him in one way or another. SEE: Basic requirements for convention facilities and services for the 2020 Republican convention Were going to have a council briefing to update everyone on where the RNC RFP (request for proposal) stands and discuss any action insofar as a response, understanding that theres major impact, positive and negative to come from our engagement with a political convention, he said. Among the considerations, he said, are the subsidies from public dollars, the benefit to local businesses and the potential community response. The whole process locally has been very confusing, and it doesnt bring confidence to the numbers were being given about subsidies and impact, especially this latest episode this week, he said. Earlier in the week, Parscale apparently began making phone calls to local leaders, pushing the matter. The selection committee is meeting soon to deliberate and Parscale indicated in an email to Nirenberg that hed put his finger on the scale for San Antonio. But a month ago, leaders here met with the chairman of the selection committee, and apparently signaled there was little interest in pursuing the event. On March 23, Ron Kaufman, the chairman, stopped in town for a lunch with a handful of GOP business leaders and several local officials at the members-only Club Giraud. The politically connected business leaders included bankers Bruce Bugg and Eddie Aldrete, and consultant Sonya Medina Williams. Nirenberg attended, along with former Mayor Phil Hardberger, Sculley, Visit San Antonio CEO Casandra Matej, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Commissioner Kevin Wolff. The presidents of the citys two most powerful chambers of commerce the Hispanic Chambers Ramiro Cavazos and the San Antonio Chambers Richard Perez attended, too. I mainly listened none of the chamber guys really talked, Cavazos said Thursday. It was really Ron and former Mayor Hardberger and the county judge who were active in the discussion, along with Bruce Bugg, who brought everyone together. Cavazos said the assembled group listened to the pitch which would require as much as $70 million in public and private funds. Based on the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the cost of meeting these basic requirements and hosting the 2020 Republican National Convention is estimated to be between $68 million and $70 million, including both cash and valued in-kind contributions, according to the Republican National Committees request for proposals. ALSO READ: The Republican National Committee's invitation to bid The city and county would need to put public dollars into the pot for the deal to work, said several people who attended the lunch. My perspective is that whether its the DNC or the RNC, we are going to be hard-pressed to provide incentives for that kind of convention, regardless of what party, Cavazos said. Republican Kevin Wolff and Nirenberg, a progressive independent, both said theyre against spending tax dollars on political conventions for either party. Still, both Kevin Wolff and Nelson Wolff say San Antonio should pursue the convention. According to several people with knowledge of the matter, the city would receive tens of millions of dollars appropriated by Congress to pay for required security. The economic impact ranged from $120 million to $180 million, according to those same sources. But theres significant worry that the convention in the era of Donald Trump could result in not just protests but bloody riots. All we have to do is remember what happened in Chicago in 68, where the picture you had was not of a great Chicago and a big boon to Mayor (Richard) Daley but the picture most people remember is police beating demonstrators, Hardberger said as much to Kaufman at the March lunch. Chicago got a terrible black eye and so did Mayor Daley, Hardberger said Thursday. I could see the same thing happening here, by the way. Kevin Wolff said he agrees that tensions are running high and acknowledges that the president is a lightning rod, but that political conventions are an essential part of American democracy. For his part, Hardberger said that while conventions are part of the American way, we have a different situation here. We have someone whos been hostile to the majority of the people who live in San Antonio, he said Hardberger a Democrat, retired judge and former mayor, now unencumbered and free to speak without filters said he thinks its a bad idea to pursue the convention both for San Antonio and for President Trump. I dont think hed get much of a welcome here. Hes spent quite a bit of time running down Hispanics in general and Mexico and Mexican Americans. Hes referred to them as murders and rapists and being lazy, and God knows what else hes said, Hardberger said. And it wasnt a one-time thing. He has continued to insult Hispanics. Well, 67 percent of this community is Hispanic. And, of course, all the things he said about Hispanics are totally unjustified and totally wrong, but nevertheless hurtful. I dont think there would be a lot of people here who would welcome him here to San Antonio. Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran said shes looking forward to weighing the various issues and working with her colleagues to determine how San Antonio should proceed. But her comments complemented Hardbergers. She underscored the citys robust opposition to the states anti-immigration bill, which penalizes government officials who limit local police enforcement of immigration laws and who dont honor immigration detainer requests at jails. Trump has also targeted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in San Antonio. As that March 23 lunch concluded, Cavazos recalled, there seemed to be a strong sentiment that pursuing the convention wasnt a good idea. I assumed theyd gotten the message, he said. I saw this as a closed chapter already. The next day, according to sources close to the matter, Nirenberg was passed a message that the RNC was no longer interested in accepting a bid from San Antonio. Visit San Antonio officials had been working on crunching numbers, trying to gather information so local leaders could decide whether to pursue the event. But they were told to cease efforts because the RNC had pulled the plug. A business leader close to the discussions said the message from the RNC wasnt that interest in San Antonio had waned but that the national organization demanded full support from the mayor and council an essential element to making a deal work. Next week, the mayor and council, seen as the most progressive group ever to sit on the dais, will meet and determine whether theres consensus to proceed, or not. Josh Baugh is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jbaugh@express-news.net | @jbaugh Picking a city to host a national political convention is a lot like picking a running mate for the national ticket. In both cases, your choice should be willing to do the job and possess some basic qualifications (hotel capacity for conventions, mental capacity for VP nominees). Once you clear those bars, it comes down to politics. A convention-hosting city, like a vice-presidential candidate, should give you a boost in a key swing state and/or enhance your bona fides with a crucial demographic. For the first time in nearly two decades, were asking how San Antonio fits into that convention calculus, because Brad Parscale, the San Antonio web designer who also happens to be President Donald Trumps 2020 campaign manager, is pushing hard for S.A. as the site for the next Republican National Convention. Parscale lashed out Wednesday at Mayor Ron Nirenberg for his apparent reticence to submit a bid for the 2020 convention. Nirenberg said he had received mixed signals about the Republican National Committees interest in San Antonio and he expressed concern about the financial cost involved. Parscale tweeted that Nirenberg was making an epic political mistake that would deprive this community of $200 million in economic stimulus. Parscales rant prompted former Mayor Julian Castro to taunt-tweet that the Trump campaign is eyeing San Antonio because it is so SCARED of losing Texas in 2020. Related: Council to discuss GOP convention bid Matt Mackowiak, the chairman of the Travis County Republican Party, said San Antonio would be an appealing host for the RNC, but not necessarily the most logical political choice, given that Republicans easily have carried Texas in 10 straight presidential races. And he doesnt buy Castros theory that Texas could go blue in 2020. If its about the possibility of a state flipping, Mackowiak said, youd focus on the midwest: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin. I dont know what cities are in the mix, but that seems far more likely of a pathway, given Trumps focus on trade, immigration, jobs and the economy. All those things fit better thematically with a city in the midwest. Back in the prehistoric days of American politics, party committees didnt give all that much thought to the political benefits of their convention choices. They just picked cities on the basis of maximum friendliness. For example, between 1936 and 1956, the Democratic Party held six national conventions: four in Chicago and two in Philadelphia. Apparently, expanding the party base was less important than providing delegates with accessibility to cheesesteaks and deep-dish pizza. These days, its different. Over the past three presidential-election cycles, both major parties unfailingly have picked convention sites in swing states. The Republicans have gone with St. Paul, Minnesota; Tampa, Florida; and Cleveland, Ohio. The Democrats have picked Denver, Colorado; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In every case, the parties selected states that had been decided by less than six percent in the previous presidential election. San Antonio made its strongest political-convention push during the 1996 cycle. With a brand-new Alamodome, it went full-force for both the Democratic and Republican conventions. In both cases, it offered a financial package of $17.5 million. The Dems picked Chicago, which had a smaller and unfinished arena, but submitted a $30 million bid. When it came to the RNC, S.A. lost out to San Diego. See also: Prospect of bringing 2020 GOP convention to San Antonio a source of controversy San Antonio tried again for the RNC in 2000, upping its bid to $21 million. By that point, Democrats had concluded that bringing their convention to a state as solidly red as Texas didnt make strategic sense. In 2004, San Antonio was one of 24 cities invited by the Republican National Committee to submit a bid, but the city passed. That was the last time a national political convention was seriously discussed in this city. Say what you want about Parscale and the candidate he represents, he is dead serious in his drive to get the convention here. Marco Barros, president/CEO of the San Antonio Area Tourism Council, said Parscale has reached out to dozens of business leaders over the past few days. Barros said the RNC would have a huge economic impact in San Antonio. Justin Holley, board chairman for the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association, said the San Antonio metro area has 44,000 hotel rooms, which he believes would handily cover the needs of the RNC. This would be a gift from the convention gods, Holley said. From Parscales mouth to the convention gods ears. Gilbert Garcia is a San Antonio Express-News columnist. Read more of his stories here. | ggarcia@express-news.net | @gilgamesh470 With the number of Texas veterans in Congress at a nearly 100-year low, Republican Dan Crenshaw is taking on a new kind of mission. Crenshaw, a retired Navy SEAL who nearly died fighting in Afghanistan, is part of a nationwide effort organized by former soldiers from all branches to get more veterans to enter the political arena and shore up their dwindling numbers on Capitol Hill. Veteran participation is at an all-time low, warns Alex Johnson, political director of With Honor, a bipartisan group that started last year to confront that reality and help former soldiers run for office. The numbers are striking. In the 1970s, 70 to 80 percent of the 435 members of the U.S. House and 100 members of the U.S. Senate were veterans, according to the Congressional Research Office. Today, less than 19 percent fewer than 1-in-5 of members are veterans. The Texas delegation falls into line. In 1971, 16 of the states 23 members of Congress were veterans, giving them a personal relationship with the nations military community and its outsize presence in the Lone Star State. Now, even though Texas congressional delegation has grown to 36, only six members from Texas have any history of serving in the military, and two of those have already announced their retirement. With only four veterans seeking re-election, Texas could end up with its lowest percentage of veterans in Congress since before the end of World War I, unless more veterans replace them in November. Before the 1916 election, not one of Texass then-18-member delegation had military experience. But two military veterans and a third man who enlisted at the end of World War I but never went overseas were elected that year. The decline in Texas veterans in Congress is particularly notable because of the military presence in the state. Texas has 15 active duty military bases and almost 220,000 soldiers deployed to the state, including active duty and reserves. Only California with 251,000 deployments has more. Texas also has almost 1.6 million veterans more than all but California, which has more than 1.8 million. Fewer veterans has real public policy implications, said Seth Lynn, the founder of Veterans Campaign, which holds regular seminars to help veterans running for office and preparing for public service. Not only do veterans bring first-hand knowledge on military and veterans experiences, but studies have shown they are typically more aggressive in challenging presidential administrations on national defense issues, no matter which party is in the White House, Lynn said. They tend to ask more questions and are slower to commit forces, Lynn said, who is also administrative director of the University of San Franciscos public leadership masters program. Its because of those tendencies that the declining number of veterans risks making Congress a tamer check-and-balance to presidential administrations on military issues, Colgate Universitys Danielle Lupton has argued in research published in the Washington Post. The Houston area currently has half of the states veterans in Congress. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, served in the Air Force from 1975 to 1979; Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, was in the Navy from 1988 to 1997, then was in the reserves until 2009; and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Atascocita, was in the Air Force Reserves from 1970 to 1976. But Poe, who represents more than 750,000 people in Harris County, announced he is not running again for the 2nd Congressional District. Crenshaw and state Rep. Kevin Roberts are in a GOP primary run off election to determine who will be the Republican nomine to replace Poe. Whoever wins that primary on May 22 will face Democrat Todd Litton in November. Crenshaw has made his time in the Navy a key focal point of his campaign, stressing it taught him valuable skills that translate well to politics. I know what it means to fight, I know what it means to lead, Crenshaw said, a statement he repeats often on the campaign circuit. His story has prompted veterans groups and other veterans in Congress to come to his aid. More Information Current Veterans in Congress from Texas U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, Air Force U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, Army U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, Air Force U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, Navy U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Astascocita, Air Force U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Midland, Army By the Numbers 1.58 million - Veterans in Texas 220,000 - Military deployments in Texas (active duty and reserve) 15 - Active duty military bases 6 - Texas Veterans in Congress 1 - Navy SEAL in Congress See More Collapse The With Honor groups political action committee donated $1,700 to Crenshaws campaign in March, and has given him a total of $2,200 since he entered the race. And SEAL PAC, a political committee run by Interior Secretary and retired SEAL Ryan Zinke, a former Montana Congressman, sent Crenshaw a $5,000 check. MONTHS LATE: Congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw flubs ethics paperwork U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, an Air Force veteran, used a political committee he runs Fund for Americas Future to give Crenshaws campaign $1,000 just weeks after Crenshaw got in the race. And U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, an Army veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, gave Crenshaw his most high-profile endorsement. Olson, who was elected to Congress in 2008, said there is a camaraderie with veterans in Congress because there are so few. He said veterans bring an ability to work with people from all backgrounds. You start out all divided but you become a team, Olson said. SEAL: A special brand But while many veterans are coming to Crenshaws side, not all veterans are applauding SEALs like him turning to politics, with some former SEALs criticizing veterans for running on the SEAL brand. Lt. Forrest S. Crowell, a SEAL, stirred the issue with a widely publicized masters thesis for the Naval Postgraduate School in which he questioned whether seeking public office was counter to the core of the SEAL ethos. Besides Zinke and Taylor, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, is among the SEALs who have won high-profile offices recently. SEALs should realize the danger in using organizational credibility to engage in partisan politics, he wrote. There is currently no commonly agreed upon line between what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior post active duty service, but the use of the SEAL brand as a political weapon or as a marketing tool is at clear odds with the SEAL Ethos. Crenshaw, for his part, does not appear in his military uniform in ads or mailers. He does wear the SEALs signature trident on his lapel and almost always talks about his service on radio programs or during frequent appearances on Fox News programs. Crenshaw said he hasnt read Crowells report, but said he doesnt think SEALs running for office should be considered in the same realm as those who are writing books and in movies. He said there are just a handful of SEALs in politics, and said their international experience can make them valuable assets in public meetings and hearings. Crenshaw, 35, grew up in the Katy area. He says he became enamored with the Navy SEALs as a young boy. After graduating from Tufts University, Crenshaw went into SEAL training in 2006 and was deployed in Iraq with SEAL Team 3 twice. In 2012, however, while deployed in Afghanistan, an Afghan interpreter stepped on an improvised explosive device that instantly dismembered him and blinded Crenshaw. I never thought I was going to see again, Crenshaw told a hushed group of Houston Young Republicans last month. Doctors were able to restore his vision for his left eye, but Crenshaw now has a glass eye for his right eye and often wears an eye patch. One of his glass eyes has the SEAL trident symbol on it. Crenshaw said his experiences give him an intimate relationship with what it means to deploy the U.S. military anywhere in the world. That is part of his selling point to voters. Nobody knows the horrors of war better than I do, Crenshaw told the Cherry Tree Republican Club. Ive lost a lot of friends and Ive been to a lot of funerals. The decline in the number of Texas veterans in Congress was never part of Crenshaws reasons for running, he said. Instead, after his military career ended, he was left trying to find a role that would similarly allow him to offer public service. It was hard to leave the military, he said. Taking on a hero For his part, Roberts has delicately tried to handle criticizing Crenshaw as the two battle it out in a highly contested primary battle without making it sound like hes disrespectful of a veteran. During a candidate forum sponsored by the Cherry Hill Republican Club, Roberts made sure to praise Crenshaws service first, and then questioned his policy positions. I respect Dan greatly and appreciate his selfless service, Roberts said, before sparring over policy issues. He acknowledged that Crenshaw is an American hero, but said hes going to continue to present himself as a guy who knows the community better than his foe and has more experience in the public policy arena, having served two years as a state legislator. CASH: Former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw gets fundraising boost in congressional race Roberts is not a veteran, but notes that his campaign is getting support from local veterans, including Gene Birdwell, founder of Camp Hope in the Houston area, which provides housing to wounded warriors. Veterans with political experience say candidates running for office have to be careful not to think their time in uniform will be enough to get them in office. Lynn said candidates who overplay their military experience risk pigeonholing themselves. It then becomes less about what the constituents want and need, Lynn said. Crenshaw has company on the ballot in Texas. In Collin County, state Sen. Van Taylor, a Marine Corps veteran, won the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. In San Antonio, Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones is an Air Force veteran running in the 23rd Congressional District and faces a primary run-off election on May 22. jeremy.wallace@chron.com twitter.com/jeremyswallace Re: Transit plan has to move San Antonio into future, Editorial, April 16. An editorial in the Express-News proposes that San Antonio build a rapid transit system that will entice people out of their vehicles, connect all parts of San Antonio, and truly free people from traffic. Thats a nice fantasy. Reality is quite a bit different. RELATED: Editorial: Rapid transit corridors could transform this community First, so-called rapid transit isnt very rapid. According to the American Public Transportation Association, true rapid-transit rail lines, also known as heavy rail, move at an average of just 20 miles per hour. Rapid bus averages 11 miles per hour, light rail averages 16 miles per hour, and streetcars average a pokey 7.4 miles per hour. Since most people will neither work nor live right next to transit stations, door-to-door speeds are even lower and hardly enough to entice people out of their cars. This is especially true in San Antonio, one of the least-congested major cities in America where average driving speeds are 33 miles per hour. Second, the average rapid-transit line planned or under construction today costs $350 million per mile. The average light-rail line costs more than $160 million per mile. Dedicated bus lanes cost at least $20 million a mile. By comparison, if right-of-way is available, existing freeways can be expanded for less than $5 million per lane-mile. If right-of-way isnt available, elevated lanes resting on pillars in the median strips of existing freeways can be built for about $10 million per lane-mile. A typical freeway lane moves several times more people per day than a light-rail line and more than most rapid-transit lines. READ MORE: Nirenberg unveils transit nonprofit, vows to bring in 70,000 new jobs in first State of the City address Third, rapid transit and light-rail lines built in the United States in the past few decades have almost all been failures. In 1985, Atlanta had 25 miles of rapid-transit lines and the regions transit system bus plus rail carried about 155 million riders. By 2017, the regions population had more than doubled, and it had doubled the number of miles of rapid transit. Yet total transit ridership had shrunk to 131 million trips. In 1984, San Francisco had 70 miles of rapid transit and the regions transit systems carried 488 million riders. By 2017, the regions population had grown by 25 percent and the region had doubled the number of miles of rapid transit. Yet transit ridership had fallen to 452 million trips. Cities that built light rail instead of rapid transit havent done much better. Before Dallas opened its first light-rail line, buses carried a meager 2.8 percent of the regions commuters to work. By 2016, with more than 100 miles of light rail, transit carried just 1.7 percent of commuters. The reason for these disasters is that rail transit is so expensive that cities cannibalize their conventional bus systems to pay for rail. Rail construction invariably has cost overruns that average 50 percent. Operations and maintenance costs are also usually much higher than projected, while ridership and fare revenue is lower. RELATED: Commentary: Transit plan just the latest example of how Nirenberg has never been afraid to lose To pay for rail lines designed to entice middle-class people out of their cars, transit agencies end up cutting bus service to low-income and minority neighborhoods. Thats not a fair trade-off. Transit carries more than 10 percent of commuters to work in only a handful of American urban areas: New York, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle. One thing all these regions have in common is that their downtowns have at least 240,000 jobs. Downtown San Antonio barely has a fourth that number, making San Antonio one of the least-suited big cities in the world for building rapid transit. Moreover, thanks partly to competition from ride-hailing services, transit ridership is falling almost everywhere, including a 19 percent drop in San Antonio between 2012 and 2017. In 1933, San Antonio became the first big city in America to convert its rail system to buses because buses were more flexible, less expensive and could share rights of way with other vehicles. Buses can still cost-effectively serve San Antonio transit riders while the billions that would be needed to build rapid transit can instead be used to relieve congestion for everyone or just left in taxpayers pockets. Randal OToole is a senior fellow with the Cato Institute and author of the forthcoming book, Romance of the Rails: Why the Passenger Trains We Love Are Not the Transportation We Need. rot@ti.org It has been called Americas largest illuminated night parade. The idea of a lighted parade was the brainchild of a civil engineer named Reynolds Andricks. He was elected to the board of the old Fiesta San Jacinto Association in 1948. Flambeau is a French word that means a tall, decorated candlestick or burning torch. Marchers use both or individual flashlights at times to give the appearance of a thousand points of light. Andricks sought help from Bill Petmecky in Fredericksburg. Petmecky had started the famed Easter Fires Pageant in that town. Andricks also proposed another line of nobility: Flambeau royalty. Flambeau had its own queen, except she was called Miss Fiesta. Petmecky and Andricks sought volunteers from the San Antonio military population and other groups that had been ignored by the high society sponsors of the Battle of Flowers and River parades, such as the Shriners, commercial businesses and civic clubs. Andricks also solicited out-of-towners to include floats in his parade, and he agreed to send floats to theirs. This exchange program helped to focus national attention on Fiesta. After Andricks death in 1984, responsibility for the parade was given to different groups including the Shriners, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Jaycees. The Fiesta Flambeau Parade Association took over in 1989. WESTPORT In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Terrah Mulligan and a few other mothers with daughters who dance at the Connecticut Dance School in Fairfield bonded over their shared despair over the election results. We wanted to channel our anger and frustration into something that would be more hopeful, so we started getting our girls together, Mulligan, a Fairfield resident and mother of 11-year-old daughter Emma, said. The mothers hoped to expose their daughters to strong female role models, activism and empowerment at a time when the world in which the women thought they lived a world in which their daughters could become anything they wanted may not be reality. . Since the election, the approximately six mothers and 12 daughters, between the ages of 7 and 11, have connected with a family of Syrian refugees through the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, met with Fairfields state Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey in the Capitol, and written letters to state legislators in support of paid family leave. The group also met with Vicki Volpano, president and CEO of the Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut in Bridgeport, and will soon see the new documentary on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mulligan, 38, said she doesnt have a background in political activism outside being raised by a die-hard hippie mom. Raised in the small Southern California town of Ojai, Mulligan attended Syracuse University on a track scholarship, but left after two years. I was done with the East Coast. Never going to come back, just didnt have the best experience. Winters were brutal and I thought, I am definitely a California girl and that is where Im meant to be, Mulligan said. After earning a teaching degree, Mulligan worked in retail management for companies such as Delias and Abercrombie & Fitch, and owned a childrens clothing store in Santa Barbara. Six years after returning to California, however, Mulligan flew to Montauk, N.Y., for a week to reconnect with a man she dated briefly at Syracuse. They had met at the university, where he attended on a lacrosse scholarship, and the pair had kept in touch after Mulligan left. We basically fell in love, she said. Within a year of her trip to Montauk, Mulligan quit her job and moved to the East Coast and married him; within another year, the couple was expecting their first child. The Mulligan clan, now a party of five, moved from Milford to Fairfield eight years ago. While Mulligan misses California, she said she enjoys raising her three kids kids in Fairfield near the beach, though she struggles with the bubble of privilege that seems to surround the town. While Mulligan seeks to empower her young daughter, she said she struggles to find her own place as a woman in society. The quintessential 1950s housewife, Mulligans grandmother came from a privileged background in which work was not an option, Mulligan said. Meanwhile, for Mulligans mother, a product of 1970s-era feminism and hippie culture, there was no choice but to work for women with a college education. A mix of two competing legacies of women in America, Mulligan said she got a college education but chose not to work and instead be fully submerged in motherhood. However, now that her daughter and two sons ages 11, 10 and 7, respectively are a bit older, she wants to return to part-time work, but sees the transition as a difficult one because the lack of precedent for stay-at-home moms returning to work. It seems very either, or. Youre either completely a stay-at-home mom or youre this ambitious career woman. Theres not a lot of in-between, so its hard to figure out how you navigate re-entry into one of those worlds without giving up your identity in the other, Mulligan said. Part of Mulligans motivation in participating in empowerment activities with her daughter and other Fairfield moms and daughters is to have the tough conversations about balancing work and life that her mother never had with her. She felt like I was going to understand these complex issues just by seeing her be an ambitious, hard-working woman. There wasnt a sense that she needed to teach me it, Mulligan said of her mother. Despite the challenges, Mulligan said she is hopeful if she and other moms come together to provide their young daughters with the awareness, voice, and foundation for political engagement, then they will plant the seeds for a generation of empowered women. I definitely think that with my daughters generation theres going to be significant changes, but I also think that is only going to happen if we stay on our A game, Mulligan said. Fairfield Theatre Company, the not-for-profit center for the arts and culture in downtown Fairfield, will host its second annual dance party fundraiser on Friday from 8 to 11 p.m. All event proceeds benefit FTCs programs, which include concerts, art exhibits, comedy, film, cultural events and childrens education. FTC Celebrates is an annual event designed to bring the Fairfield County community together. Due to last years overwhelming (and sold-out) success of FTCs 70s theme, this years theme is once again disco. FTC is deeply committed to our community, which is wonderfully diverse culturally and artistically curious. We continue to be an artistic hub and economic engine for the area, and always do our best to present a wide variety of programs that serve all age groups and interests, said John Reid, FTCs producing artistic director. Event co-chairwoman Allison Ziering Walmark said, Last years event was incredible, just incredible. The vibe, the DJ, MC and music, the swag, the decor, the outfits, all made for the perfect evening. This years event at The Warehouse (70 Sanford St., Fairfield) will be bigger, better and disco-ier. Its time to dress up and boogie down. Ticket prices are $50 and $100. Sponsorships are $1,000 and $3,000. For information or tickets, go to fairfieldtheatre.org/celebrates Music education program receives national recognition Fairfield has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. The designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the designation, Fairfield Public Schools Music Department answered questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. The award recognizes that Fairfield is leading the way with learning opportunities as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act. The legislation guides implementation in the states and replaces the No Child Left Behind Act, which was often criticized for an overemphasis on testing, while leaving behind subjects such as music. Fairfields Music Department prides itself on offering a variety of music courses to all students in grades K-12, with performing ensemble opportunities beginning in grade four with the strings program. As an elective program at both high schools, approximately 30 percent of students are enrolled. Fairfield has 1,353 students enrolled in band in grades five through 12, 2,551 students enrolled in choir in grades five through 12, and 1,503 students enrolled in the string program in grades four through 12. Day To Night exhibition opens Sunday Photographer Stephen Wilkes Day to Night series captures the ebb and flow from dawn until dark. He takes his photographs from one angle continuously for up to 30 hours, and then blends hundreds of photos into one fluid image. The result is a single surrealist landscape which integrates fleeting moments, inviting the viewer to look closer and feel the pulse of a location that never sleeps. The Fairfield Museum is opening a new exhibition of his works. Also at this exhibition will be Wilkes newest Day to Night creation featuring Fairfields beautiful waterfront. Visitors are invited to view Jennings Beach, Fairfield, Day to Night and the other Day to Night photographs from Sunday through June 3. The Fairfield Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 370 Beach Road. For information, visit fairfieldhistory.org. Fairfield resident presents at conference Forty-one Eastern Connecticut State University students presented their research at the 2018 National Conference on Undergraduate Research from April 4-7 at the University of Central Oklahoma. Among the presenters was Thomas Luckner, of Fairfield, who majors in mathematics and economics. Luckners research was titled Clean Lattice Tetrahedra. Luckners research was completed under the supervision of mathematics professor Mizan Khan. Eastern encourages its students to present their research on a national scale, which has resulted in recognition by the Council on Undergraduate Research for Easterns impressive number of presenters. Learning to conduct research is a major component of a liberal arts education, said Eastern President Elsa Nunez. That is why Eastern is committed to supporting our undergraduate students so they can conduct research and present it at regional and national conferences. To know that every Eastern students proposal was accepted at this years NCUR is a testament to the support students receive from our faculty. Chosen from more than 4,000 submissions, students were accepted if their research demonstrated a unique contribution to their field of study. Established in 1987, NCUR offers undergraduates the opportunity to present their research findings to peers, faculty and staff from colleges and universities across the nation, providing a unique networking and learning opportunity. by Alex Murray | Pelicans Correspondent | Thu, Apr 26th 1:24pm EDT Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 points on 39 percent shooting during Toront's Game 5 win over Washington on Wednesday night. Valanciunas added 13 boards, two assists, two swats and a swipe in 32 minutes of game action. Fantasy Impact: Hold onto your hats, because Valanciunas just played a season-high 32 minutes during Wednesday's victory. The big Lithuanian more than doubled his minute count from Game 4 and responded with his second double-double of the series. Valanciunas extra minutes mean extra fantasy opportunities, but the fact that he saw a 17-minute jump game over game makes his minutes less than predictable going forward. by Mike Tagliere | Titans Correspondent | Thu, Apr 26th 10:36pm EDT The Ravens traded away the No. 22 pick that they acquired from the Bills, to the Titans for the No. 25 pick, though we don't know the other compensation at this time. With that pick, the Titans selected Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans. Fantasy Impact: This is a pick that we had mocked to the Titans countless times, though we didn't think they'd have to trade up for it. It's clear the Titans were concerned about the Patriots who were sitting there at pick No. 23. Evans comes from Alabama, where most players are considered pro-ready, though there were a lot of playmakers surrounding Evans while there. Still, he's going to fill a void left by Avery Williamson in free agency at inside linebacker for them. This was clearly a pick based on team need, and that's something that the Titans don't have much of. One hundred years ago, in the muddy and battle-scarred fields and forests of France and Belgium, the war to end all wars was entering its final, desperate throes. Horses Last time I talked about the horrors of barbed wire as used in the conflict, and this time its about the equally horrible toll the conflict took on horses and mules. Ive long been a student of military history, and particularly of the British army during the 19th and early 20th centuries, so the book, The War Horses, sub-titled: The Tragic Fate of a Million Horses in the First World War, was right up my alley. The book was written by Simon Butler and published by Halsgrove House, Wellington, Somerset, in 2011. On the books dust jacket is a photo of a team of horses who had been pulling a water cart along a brush-reinforced pathway across a bog. The off horse has slipped off the edge and has sunk up to his belly in mud, while a soldier astride the near horse is tugging up the stuck animals head with the reins. The first chapter tells of the dependence of the British people upon horses and contains many illustrations of horses at work. The author points out that in 19th century England, many reformers were trying to eliminate the cruelty toward animals that had been common for centuries. Parliament passed an anti-cruelty bill in 1822, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was sanctioned by Queen Victoria in 1840. Chapters two and three explain the use of horses in wars from the Roman times through the Boer War at the beginning of the 20th century. During the latter war, an estimated 300,000 horses and mules died, many of them during the long ocean voyage from England to South Africa, and many others were eaten by the surrounded and starving British forces and inhabitants in the besieged cities of Kimberly and Ladysmith. Patriotism was high when the Great War began in 1914, and the young men of Great Britain and its dominions rushed to enlist. Demand Horses and mules werent so easy to procure, however. The British General Staff had no idea how many animals would be needed and the armed forces were chronically short of transport during the conflict. Then, too, many of the best animals were assigned to the cavalry, which generals, trained during the 1800s, expected to be the decisive arm in the upcoming battles. But, this was the 20th century and there were barbed wire entanglements, rapid-fire machine guns, and much more accurate and deadly high explosive artillery to contend with. These innovations in warfare came as a surprise to those officers, and men and animals on both sides were mowed down and blasted into oblivion indiscriminately. After the first few months of combat, when the war settled into static trench warfare, the cavalry was hardly used, but Sir Douglas Haig, the British commander and an old cavalry officer who once remarked, Aeroplanes and tanks are only accessories to the man on a horse, kept thousands of mounts ready for the decisive cavalry breakthrough that never came. Butler tells how horses were commandeered from farms and livery stables all over Great Britain, and when that supply was exhausted, were purchased at inflated prices in the United States. The chapters titled, Into the Valley of Death and The Pity of War, are a difficult read for horse lovers, describing the horrors of war that befell the animals. The descriptions of the suffering of the poor critters exposed to chlorine or mustard gas are especially saddening. The combat soldiers themselves were sensitive to the animals misery. A Lieutenant Dixon wrote: Heaving about in the filthy mud of the road was an unfortunate mule with both of his forelegs shot away. The poor brute, suffering God knows what untold agonies and terrors, was trying desperately to get to its feet which werent there. I had my revolver with me, but couldnt get near the animal. Shells were arriving pretty fast we made some desperate attempts to get to the mule so that I could put a bullet behind its ear into the brain, but to no avail. By lingering there, trying to put the creature out of its pain I was risking not only my life but also my companions. The shelling got more intense perhaps one would hit the poor thing and put it out of its misery. Losses There are many more tales about the loss of horses, which Butler estimates to have been 1 million, including those lost by the French, although he doesnt include those lost by Germany and its allies. In comparison, more than 1.1 million soldiers of the British Empire died in the war (accounts vary), while more than 2 million were wounded. The British Army Veterinary Corps reportedly treated 725,216 horses for wounds and injuries over the course of the war and successfully healed at least 529,064, many of which were returned to duty and may have died later. After the war, most of the surplus animals were destroyed or sold to the French for work on French farms or for meat, which raised a great ruckus in Great Britain whose people had more of an aversion to eating horse flesh than the French, and may not have been as hungry since most of the war was fought on French soil. This is not a book for the squeamish, but for anyone interested in how horses were used (and abused) in the past, its a must-read. The more I study The Great War, the more amazed I am that men who experienced that bloody carnage could have started another such conflict just 20 years later. War Horse As an aside, Stephen Spielberg directed a great movie called War Horse about a horse named Joey that is commandeered into the conflict and survives. Its worth watching. A year ago, the Giles Ranch lost almost everything. Thirty thousand acres of ranch land burned. Nearly half their cattle herd (around 500 head) and 80 percent of their calf herd, dead. Their barns, their storage sheds and their homes, gone in an instant. On March 6, 2017, fires swept through parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Colorado and Kansas, burning over a million acres of land and killing thousands of cattle and horses. The Giles Ranch, in Ashland, Kansas, fell victim to the flames. Our ranch burned off in about 2 hours, said Jenny Giles. Her home along with her two sisters homes were destroyed. But their family was safe. Still dry According to Giles, last summer following the fires was a good summer. The area stayed wet and allowed for some regrowth. But they have been dealing with drought-like conditions since September. Weve had no measurable moisture. Except for a half inch in March, we are extremely dry, she said. This year, we have been so dry that we are not looking good, said Walter Fick, a range management specialist for Kansas State University. Normally by now, in the middle of April, things should be greening up. A lot of our growth is two to three weeks behind normal. Fick said the first year following the wildfire, recovery depends on the amount of rainfall and producers will likely still see the effects of a major wildfire after two years. It could take up to three years to recover. Drought on top of that causes more damage, he said. I hear thunder that I havent heard in months. Theres rain on my windshield right now. -Amy France Rain According to the National Weather Service, the southwestern region of Kansas received around a half inch of rain in April. Three-tenths of that came for the Ashland area April 20. I hear thunder that I havent heard in months. Theres rain on my windshield right now, Amy France told Farm and Dairy Friday, April 20. In my part of the state, we havent had any significant, moisture since October. Its really, really good to see my windshield covered in rain drops, she said. A year ago, France served on the Kansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers committee and connected Ohio farmers with Kansas farmers in need. Over 50 trucks and trailers traveled to the state in late March, bringing hay and supplies to their fellow farmers in Ashland, Kansas. I was just one small piece of that puzzle and it still gives me goose bumps to think about it, she said. Rebuild Some of those Ohioans made it out to the Giles ranch, where Jenny said they helped take out old fence. Weve replaced over 100 miles of fence, she said. The fires hit ahead of most schools spring break, and many students volunteered their time to help on farms. Some of the students from southwest Kansas schools came back to help again this year. They were glad to see a difference and see how their work helped, said Giles. Its been over a year now, and the Giles family has almost completely rebuilt the ranch. The shop was complete right before Christmas and two hay sheds went up this year. Giles said the only thing left to finish is the farm office. Jenny and her family were also able to move into their new home before Christmas and her sister, Katie, and her husband plan to move into their new home by August. Her sister, Molly, and her husband hope to start building in the fall. Theres little things every day. You go to grab things and its not there, she said. You go to do things and cant because that piece of equipment isnt there anymore. But the Giles have a plan, and like everything else in life, it takes time and money. Were anticipating another year until we are back to normal, she said. Giles said they are thankful to those from Ohio and all over the U.S. who brought hay and supplies in their time of need. It got us through some really bad times, she said. You woke up the next day and you didnt have any hay and the neighbors didnt have any hay. The rebuilding continues, added France, because the makeup of a farmer is universal. They are resilient, they are smart and they are determined. I just dont think you can be a farmer without some of those traits. Related: Facebook spurs army of Ohio farmers headed for Kansas 7-year-old Ohio boy gathers supplies for orphaned calves in Kansas Ohioans plan second convoy to Ashland, Kansas USDA offers financial assistance for producers German agri-chemical giant BASF has signed an agreement to acquire Bayer's additional seeds and crop protection businesses and asset. The expanded scope includes Bayers entire vegetable seeds business, seed treatment products, the R&D platform for hybrid wheat and the digital farming platform xarvioTM. The transaction also includes Bayers oilseed rape business in Australia, certain glyphosate-based herbicides in Europe, the canola-quality juncea research and certain non-selective herbicide and nematicide research projects. The all-cash purchase price for the additional businesses and assets BASF agreed to acquire is 1.7 billion, subject to certain adjustments at closing. For the full year 2017, sales of these businesses amounted to around 745 million. This purchase is in addition to the agreement BASF and Bayer signed on October 13, 2017. These businesses generated sales of 1.5 billion in 2017. The purchase price for this prior transaction is 5.9 billion, subject to certain adjustments at closing. Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, said: With this acquisition, BASF will become an even better partner for farmers by strengthening our crop protection portfolio and entering the seeds business in key agricultural markets. Through the expanded scope, we are accelerating and broadening the basis for growth across all regions. All transactions remain subject to the closing of Bayers acquisition of Monsanto, expected in the second quarter of 2018. EU member states have voted for proposals to enforce an almost-complete ban on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides across the EU. On Friday morning (27 April), the European Commission asked member states to vote on a proposal to widen the ban to cover all crops grown outdoors, compared to its previous ban on flowering crops, spring-sown cereals and maize. Member states voted in favour to enforce the almost complete ban on neonicotinoids, the most widely used class of insecticides in the world. However, growers will still be free to use neonicotinoids in greenhouses across the EU. Since December 2013 three neonicotinoid pesticides - imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam - have been banned for use on crops attractive to bees in the EU. The restrictions were imposed after a previous report by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that they posed a "high acute risk" to honey bees. The UK government has overturned its previous convictions on neonicotinoids and now say an outright ban is needed. Last year, Defra Secretary Michael Gove said a total ban on the pesticide in fields across Europe will now be backed by the UK. The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our 100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood, Mr Gove told The Guardian. 'Reduce farmers' ability' German agri-chemical giant Bayer said today's decision will "further reduce European farmers' ability to tackle important pests, with no alternative treatments available to do so." Bayer said it remains convinced that the restrictions are not warranted. It says neonicotinoids are safe when used in accordance with the label instructions. The agri-chemical company said legislative measures are being implemented without a prior thorough impact assessment. In a statement, Bayer said: "There are other, better ways to support pollinator health - such as increasing pollinator foraging options or natural habitats and more efficient control of the varroa mite - than banning substances that have helped farmers effectively manage a broad range of significant pests." However, the European Commission says it closely monitors the possible relations between bee health and pesticides and is determined to take the most cautious approach possible to protect bees. 'Major victory' Environmental charity Friends of the Earth has described today's decision as a "major victory for science, common sense and under-threat bees." Sustainable farming organisation the Soil Association said the decision is welcomed, saying that "overwhelming evidence can no longer be ignored". Peter Melchett, Soil Association Policy Director, said: The clear evidence of neonicotinoids harm to pollinators, and to wildlife in general, has been mounting for some time. Almost all of the toxic neonicotinoid spray gets into the soil rather than the crop, and from there to wild flowers and hedges around the edges of fields." Neonicotinoids are active substances used in plant protection products to control harmful insects. The first neonic was approved in the EU in 2005. European farm leaders have joined forces in Brussels appealing to UK and EU politicians to prioritise food production as Brexit talks are underway. With less than a year until the UK leaves the European Union, top farming figures from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK reiterated the need for certainty for farm businesses at a high-level meeting. The leaders demanded that politicians on both sides prioritise the business of food production during the Brexit negotiations. They reiterated the importance of a strong partnership in UK-EU agri-food trade. President of German farmers' association (DBV), Joachim Rukwied, emphasised that the link between the UK and the common market must remain as close as possible. He called for a "solid, comprehensive and sustainable agreement" with the UK, with duty-free trading a top priority. Nearly two thirds of the UK's food exports go to the EU and 70% of UK food imports come from the EU, and the farming industry believes it should be maintained as much as possible post-Brexit. EU agri-cooperative Copa and Cogeca believes that the UK should remain in the single market and customs union. It spoke of "serious concerns" about the potential impact on farmers and agri-businesses on both sides as a result of Brexit. In the UK, the Farmers' Union of Wales has said the evidence supporting the need to remain in the single market and customs union after Brexit is now "incontrovertible", and calls for "common sense to prevail". The latest Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Horizon document highlights the risks faced if Britain leaves the EU without easy, tariff-free access to the single market, with Less Favoured Area livestock farm incomes particularly hard hit, falling to negative figures in the worst case scenario. However, despite warnings from the industry, the government has recently ruled out continued membership of the customs union. On Monday morning (23 April), Number 10 declared its position: We will not be staying in the customs union or joining a customs union. 'Frictionless trade' Marc Calon, President of Dutch farming union LTO Nederland, told the meeting in Brussels that the UK has always been one of the most reliable trade partners. It is fundamentally important to make workable agreements on product standards and strive for frictionless trade. This is especially vital for perishable products like flowers and fruits and vegetables, Mr Calon said. President of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council Martin Merrild said a future relationship that maintains a level playing field between the UK and EU is vital. This means protecting the standards the product standards as well as the production standards on both sides of a future border. If this is achieved we are able to continue to provide high quality, sustainably produced food at competitive prices to the consumers, Mr Merrild said. NFU President Minette Batters added: UK farm businesses are the foundation of a thriving food chain that supports vital jobs and contributes massively to the UK economy. This is mirrored across the EU. Inside or outside of the EU we need an environment that allows us to be as efficient, innovative and competitive as possible. Farm safety procedures have been cast in the spotlight following the deaths of two farm workers in separate accidents within the space of one week. Two farm workers, a man in his 40s and a 58-year-old man, have died following accidents on the farm. The man in his 40s died following an accident on a potato farm in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 17 April. It is understood the man died due to an accident with a stone separator. A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said: At approximately 8pm on Tuesday 17 April, officers were called to a farm in Rushbrooke, Bury St Edmunds, where a man, in his 40s, had suffered fatal injuries following an industrial incident. Police officers are currently leading a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive, although the death of the man is not being treated as suspicious. In the Western Isles of Scotland, a 58-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a herd of cows. The man was found dead after working in Berneray. Emergency services were alerted to the incident near Borve Cemetery on Tuesday (24 April) morning. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been notified. A Police Scotland spokesman said: "There are no suspicious circumstances and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal. "The Health and Safety Executive has also been contacted regarding the circumstances. "Our thoughts are with the man's family and friends at this time." Agriculture remains the most dangerous profession in the UK yet many of the fatalities and serious injuries reported each year can be easily avoided. Figures from the HSE have revealed that in 2016/17, agriculture had the highest rate of fatal injury, around 18 times higher than the All Industry rate. Public will pay more for food to back farmers, survey says Katrina Kaif - Jacqueline Fernandez FIGHTING because of Salman Khan | FilmiBeat Everybody knows Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif were a 'thing' back in those days until Ranbir Kapoor came into the picture. Sadly, Katrina Kaif's relationship with Ranbir witnessed the same fate as Salman and they also ended up parting ways. Though, Katrina has not come to a friendly term with Ranbir yet, she is certainly comfortable when she's with Salman. Recently, at the press conference of the Dabangg tour, their camaraderie set many tongues wagging as the duo was seen sharing a cup of coffee, in front of the entire media. Well, things are quite good between Salman & Katrina but we hear their proximity is giving sleepless nights to Jacqueline Fernandez and Sonakshi Sinha. Keep reading to go into details! Sona & Jacky Insecure Of Kat? According to Deccan Chronicle, "There were reports earlier that Sonakshi Sinha and Jacqueline Fernandez were a bit insecure because Katrina Kaif is a dear friend of Salman Khan, who is the lead performer on the show i.e., Dabangg tour." Problem Solved! "But now all the three girls (Sonakshi, Jacqueline & Katrina) have been given three songs each and same amount of time as well to perform these songs and that has made everyone very happy," adds the source. Recently, Kat Was Seen Performing At A Wedding While, there's still time in Dabangg tour, a couple of days ago, Katrina Kaif spotted performing on the stage for a high-profile wedding and boy, she set the stage on fire with her energetic performance. Jacqueline Is Busy With The Race 3 Shooting On the other side, Jacqueline Fernandez is currently shooting in Kashmir along with Salman Khan for her upcoming film, Race 3. The film is being helmed by Remo D'Souza. The actor will be going to The USA as well as Canada along with Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah, Sonakshi Sinha, Prabhudeva, Guru Randhawa, Paul and a few other artists for the Dabangg: The Tour Reloaded event. The tour will commence on June 22, in Atlanta and end on July 8, in Toronto. Karan Johar is proud of his 2010 blockbuster My Name is Khan but the director says if he had a chance to revisit the film he would have made some technical changes to make the movie look better. The film was about an Indian Muslim man Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), with Asperger's syndrome who embarks on a journey to meet the President of the United States of America and attempts to change people's perception about his religion after 9/11 attacks. Johar said if he had the chance to revisit the film he would have directed the 'hurricane' sequence again. "When a film is made you do get a chance of evaluation of what is right and what is wrong. Every time I see my films, I feel there is a scope for improvement. There is a hurricane section in the filmwhere I felt in a direction I did not do it well. It was my mistake. So, if I had (the chance to) revisit I could have changed that 15 minutes scene. "I am proud of the communication of the film, I am proud of the context of the film. I am proud of Rizwan Khan, played by Shah Rukh Khan and the way he played the character, and the message. I was very proud of it. I am grateful to writer Shibani Bathija," Johar told reporters at a song launch event, where 6-Pack Band 2.0 released their new track "Jhakkad Pakkad Dance". The Six Pack Band first made headlines with its "Hum Hain Happy" in January 2016 The new band focuses on mental health and disability and the filmmaker has joined the cause to change the way one perceives differently abled children. The new group comprises of six teens between the ages of 13 to 18 with special needs but incredible music skills, drive and passion. The band has been conceived and produced by Ashish Patil, Head of Y-Films, the youth wing of Yash Raj Films and curated by Shameer Tandon. "This his is not just about autism, we have kick started our campaign with this. Our intent is to try and cover the entire spectrum of mental health challenges or disabilities so be it dyslexia, down syndrome or dysgraphia or anxiety or depression. "We are going to be relentless. There are six songs, six music videos hopefully with really interesting collaborations. We are not looking for sympathy but for strength," Patil said. Credits - PTI Priyanka Chopra says she had suffered from a knee injury while shooting for the third season of TV series Quantico. The 35-year-old star, who reprises her role as FBI agent Alex Parrish, took to Twitter to reveal some tidbits about the ABC series ahead of its third installment's premiere. "I actually hurt my knee filming this! I had to have a physiologist on set with me and my knee wrapped for the next 3 weeks #AlexIsBack #Quantico @QuanticoTV," Priyanka tweeted. The actor also said when the crew was shooting in Italy, they relished a lot of the country's finest, Tuscan wine. "While we were in Italy, I was the only actress from the main cast, so I would go out at night with the crew. We consumed a lot of Tuscan wine!" she wrote. Priyanka also took Italian lessons for the show. Besides Quantico, the actor has Hollywood projects such asA Kid Like Jake and Isn't It Romantic, in her kitty. On a related note, rumours are rife that Priyanka Chopra might attend the Royal wedding of Prince Harry with Meghan Markle, and is struggling to find an apt gift for the couple. During a live chat on Instagram from InStyle magazine's account, Priyanka Chopra said, "I am only concerned about the hat, I don't know if I'll be cute in a hat." She then further commented, "I've been struggling with that myself! I think you just have to think about the person you're getting the gift for. Because really, what do you give a Princess?". She further commented, "You think you should give a princess a frog? Most princesses like frogs! We'll have to think about this one. I'm super excited about her and her big day. I feel like it's not just going to be life-changing for both of them. It's life-changing for the world that needs to see strong women as icons and I feel Meghan has the potential to be that." RED HOT! Elli Avram's Sizzling Pictures Raise The Temperatures To a Whole New Level (Inputs From PTI) Shakti Kapoor Spills The Beans About Shraddha's Wedding Plans The actor said, "Every father wants that his daughter to get married in a good and respected family. I wish that she grows in her personal and professional life, but I think as a parent, you have to give some kind of liberty to your children because now that period is gone when parents used to marry their children (to a person) of their choice." Shraddha Will Marry The Man Of Her Choice "Now, we have to ask them about their choices in terms of everything, including their life partners. She is right now very busy in her career, but whenever she will tell us about her marriage plans, she will marry a man of her own choice and we don't have any objection with that," Shakti further added. Link-Up Diaries Shraddha was romantically linked to her 'Aashiqui 2' co-star Aditya Roy Kapur. Later the actress was rumoured to be dating Farhan Akhtar. When asked to react to these reports, the actress had told a leading daily, "The level of fiction can go to incredible heights. I choose to ignore them and just focus on my work. The link-up rumours have not affected me at all, but this time it did as it involved my family. If you paint a wrong picture and involve family, it's not fair." Meanwhile, Papa Shakti Is Happy With Shraddha For This Reason "In today's time, every actor is taking challenges in his career. If you see actors right from Ranbir Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar, all are doing really good in biopics in which they have worked. Every actor is working hard in the film industry," Shakti said adding that he is happy that Shraddha is taking up challenging roles. He said, "Now Shraddha will play the character of Saina Nehwal. She has trained with Saina in Hyderabad and now, she is continuing her training. Apart from that, she will also head to Abu Dhabi to shoot for 'Saaho' along with Prabhas. She is also working with Rajkummar Rao in 'Stree' and 'Batti Gul Meter Chalu'... So, I am really happy that she is working in every genre of films at this point in her career." His Reaction To Dutt Biopic Teaser Shakti Kapoor who is quite close to Sanjay Dutt's family said, "I think the teaser of 'Sanju' is extraordinary. I think it's one of the finest teasers that I have seen. Ranbir Kapoor is looking and acting crazily close to Sanjay Dutt in the teaser. My real name is Sunil Kapoor but Mr. Sunil Dutt named me Shakti Kapoor. So, I am close to Dutt family." Om Swami Sent Shilpa To Bigg Boss 11 House Since Shilpa Shinde didn't want to go to the Bigg Boss 11 house, her mother and brother had met him, and it was he who made her agree to enter the house. He also made sure that nothing would be said against her and she would be declared as the winner (he also got them written in her contract). He Used Tantra Vidya To Find Out Whether Salman Khan & Hina Khan Are Dating! He even added that Salman wanted his girlfriend, Hina Khan to win Bigg Boss 11, but Om Swami ordered Raj Nayak to make Shilpa Shinde the winner of the reality show instead. He also adds that he found out that Salman was dating Hina by using his tantra vidya' (black magic). He added that Arshi Khan too, was Salman's girlfriend and the actor was secretly supporting these two. Salmans Relationship With Om Swami Turned Sour After He Slapped Aishwarya! Salman's relationship with him turned sour after he slapped his rumoured ex-girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. He even added that Salman is Dawood Ibrahim's right hand. Whoever Has Gone Against Salman, They Are Destroyed! He went on to say, "Untill Salman is given Rs 100 Crores, the film doesn't get released. Because of Salman many films haven't released. Whoever has gone against Salman, they are destroyed - be it Sonu Nigam, Vivek Oberoi or Arijit Singh." Om Swami Made Sure That Salmans Film Tubelight Becomes Super Flop When Salman Khan said Swami ji mera Tubelight superhit jayega,' Om Swami had promised that he would make his film, Tubelight super flop! In the video, Om Swami is seen telling that he not only made sure that the film flops, all over India his (Lakhs of) bhakts vandalised screens in theatres to stop them from watching the film. Salman Apologised To Him! He went on to say that Salman and Shahrukh met him in Delhi and apologised to him. They wanted to take him to Bigg Boss season 11. Since they apologised, he said that he would pray for his upcoming film. Hence, his film, Tiger Zinda Hai became a super hit. Salmans Mother Is His Jasoos He adds that the biggest jasoos' in Salman Khan's house is his mother Sushila (Salma) and adds that she is his disciple. He adds, "Bale hi Salim ne usko Salma bana diya, lekin woh puja-paat nahi chodti. Jo mantr maine diya hua hai, aaj bi japti hai, pure Hindu tareke se japti hai, bale hi apne pati ke dabav mein apna naam Salma rakh diya hai." He Sent Salman To Jail! He also went on to say that he had thrashed Salman Khan and later he also ensured that Salman is sent to jail. In the jail, Salman had got all facilities and apparently, he called Om Swami and apologised and asked him to take out of the jail. Priyanka Jagga Is Dear To Him He adds that Priyanka Jagga is dear to him and had saved her life when Salman Khan was after her life. He was quoted by India Today as saying, "She was having excessive bleeding, when I suggested her to abuse Salman and leave the house because her mother and kids were also there during that time." Om Swami Saved Priyanka Jagga From Salman He added, "It was Christmas time and I was asked to write a wish for Priyanka. I had wished that today itself Priyanka Jagga should go to Noida along with her mother and kids and it happened. I made it happen as I have attained Vaak Siddhi." Om Swamis Take On Bigg Boss 11 Controversies He says that he doesn't watch TV (Bigg Boss) or films, but got to know about the show through Bigg Boss and Salman as they used to call him. He claims that it is he who stopped the controversies. He adds that it was he who asked Salman to stop airing Bandgi and Puneesh's intimate moments. The actor lashed out at the couple after he told him. He also claims that it was he who intervened to stop Akash Dadlani from kissing Shilpa Shinde repeatedly. Just before things were looking bigger, brighter and better, the happiness seems to be sinking in and the excitement could dip. The much anticipated biopic on the legendary actor turned belligerent politician, Late NTR, has faced an obstacle. Director Teja has walked out of the project citing creative differences with the lead actor of the movie, Nandamuri Balakrishna. Grand Launch Of The Movie The movie was launched in a pompous manner with Vice-President of the country, Venkaiah Naidu, clapping the first shot of the movie. Natasimham Balakrishna, the lead actor and son of Late NTR is playing his father on-screen. Creative Differences Between Teja And Balakrishna Director Teja, who has churned out many blockbusters in his career, is said to be outspoken and upright with his cinema approach. He apparently likes to have his subject in his own way and doesn't quite entertain people involving in the process. Since the movie is not based on a fictitious character and that is of an actual personality, Balakrishna is said to have advised Teja to modify the screenplay, which rather goes largely on a positive note. Sources say that Teja is keen on retaining the originality and is not in favour of distorting history, contrary to Balakrishna's requirement. This conflict of interest has made the former walk out of the project. Possible Replacement It is rumoured that ace director, K. Raghavendra Rao, could be roped in to call action-cut to the movie. Rao not only carries abundance of cinema experience but also has a good amount of real life interactions with Late NT Rama Rao. This would help the team of NTR to bring out the best and real scenarios in the movie. Bollywood siren, Vidya Balan has been approached to play NTR's wife, Basavatarakam, in the biopic alongside Balakrishna. An official confirmation from the unit is awaited. Mahesh Babu, who is fondly called as the Prince, commands a huge fan base and he is undoubtedly one among the biggest stars of the Telugu film industry. Over the years, his stardom and popularity has reached newer heights and now, yet another big achievement has come on the way of Mahesh Babu. The actor, who is basking on the big success of Bharat Ane Nenu, recently took to his Twitter account to share a real big news. Reportedly, the wax statue of Mahesh Babu will be featured at the Madame Tussauds in London. Mahesh Babu's tweet regarding the same was read as "Super happy to be a part of the prestigious Madame Tussauds :) :) Thanks to the team of artists for their attention to detail. Incredible!".- (sic) Image Courtesy: Twitter Page Of Mahesh Babu Well, this is a big achievement indeed since not many film personalities from South India have featured in the elite list of Madame Tussauds and the Prince has gone to join the elite league in style. Apart from Mahesh Babu, Baahubali star Prabhas is the only other Tollywood actor who has a statue at Madame Tussauds. It is indeed a good time for Mahesh Babu as his recent release Bharat Ane Nenu is reaching newer heights with each passing day. The film, directed by Koratala Siva had hit the theatres on April 20, 2018 and the movie did smash many of the non-Baahubali records and did cross the 100-Crore mark in style. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 27, 2018) - Vatic Ventures Corp. (TSXV: VCV) (FSE: V8V) (OTC Pink: VTTCF) (the "Company" or "Vatic") is pleased to provide details of its drilling contract with Aztec Engineering Co. Ltd. ("Aztec") for its upcoming drilling program. Aztec undertakes all types of drilling - mud rotary, RAB, RC, DTH, auger, wireline coring and cathodic protection groundbeds. Most of its drilling work has been performed in Southeast Asia but consulting work has taken it all over the globe. Joint venturing with Geocon Co. Ltd., Aztec offers shallow high resolution seismic surveys using the minie-Sosie system, which is ideal in rugged terrain for shallow oil and gas surveys and exploration for sedimentary minerals, such as coal or potash. Aztec has extensive experience drilling for potash in the Khorat Basin, and previously was the drilling contractor for the Udon project, developed by Asia Pacific Resources Ltd., a Canadian company credited with Thailand's first commercial sylvanite discovery. The logging tools included in the drilling contract with Vatic are: Electric Log. Parameters recorded are Natural Gamma (NG), Spontaneous Potential (SP), Single Point Resistivity (SPR), 16" Normal Resistivity (16N), 64" Normal Resistivity (64N) and Temperature. This log is recorded using a Robertson Geologging winch and surface equipment. Density Log. Parameters recorded are Guard Resistivity, Natural Gamma, Caliper, Density. This equipment is sourced from another supplier and recorded using a Century Geophysical winch and surface equipment. Neutron Log. The tool does not have the slant angle and azimuth capability. This is also a Century Geophysical tool. Full waveform sonic tool. The drilling program comprises up to 10 holes and the locations for the first three holes have been confirmed. Based on information from the adjacent Dan Khun Thot project, it is anticipated that the potash zone will be encountered at depths up to 300 meters and the initial holes will be drilled to a planned depth of 350 meters. Depending upon drill penetration rates and weather conditions, it is anticipated that it will take approximately one month to complete the first three holes. The Company confirms that it has agreement from the landowners for the first three hole locations. Qualified Person. The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Pieter J. Bakker, FAusIMM, a Qualified Person. About Saksrithai Development Co. Ltd. Saksrithai Development Co. Ltd. (Saksrithai) is a private Thai company which is the holder of two contiguous Special Prospecting Licenses (SPLs) for potash exploration, issued in 2015. The licenses encompass an area of 32 km2 in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast Thailand and are adjacent to the Thai Kali Co. Ltd.'s Dan Khun Thot potash mine which is currently under construction. ASEAN Potash Chaiyaphum Plc's Bamnet Narong mine, also under construction, is located some 40 km from the Saksrithai project. The Company holds an 80% shareholding in Saksrithai and Vatic's CEO, Dr. Gerry Wright, acts as Saksrithai's Managing Director. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Nasim Tyab, Director. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Nasim Tyab 604-306-2886 info@vaticventures.com ABOUT VATIC VENTURES CORP. Vatic Ventures Corp (www.vaticventures.com) is a junior exploration company exploring and developing potash licenses in Thailand. "Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Mike Pompeo has a very busy schedule in the international arena on Day 1 as U.S. Secretary of State, leaving for a multi-nation tour, hours after assuming Office. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sworn in Pompeo as America's 70th Secretary of State in a ceremony held at the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 57 to 42 to confirm President Donald Trump's nomination of Pompeo as Secretary of State. He replaces Rex Tillerson, who was fired last month. Most Democrats opposed Pompeo's nomination due in part to comments he made against Muslims and homosexuals, but six Democratic Senators voted in his favor. Shortly after swearing in, Pompeo left for Brussels to participate in the NATO Foreign Ministerial session, where Allies will discuss preparations for July's NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government meeting. Trump's new Chief Foreign Policy Adviser is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The United States' focus for the ministerial will be on increased burden sharing, strengthening deterrence and defense, and strengthening NATO's role in counter terrorism, the State Department said. After the NATO Foreign Ministerial, Secretary Pompeo will travel to the Middle East, where he will meet with Saudi, Israeli, and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues. In a statement, President Trump said, 'Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history. He will always put the interests of America first. He has my trust. He has my support.' Pompeo, who once served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall, was chosen to the top post while he was serving as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. A four-time Congressman, he served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee. Prior to his service in Congress, Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade. He later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" of Al Ahleia Insurance Company S.A.K.P. (AAIC) (Kuwait). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable. The ratings reflect AAIC's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorises as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). AAIC's balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation, which, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is considered at the strongest level, and good financial flexibility with the absence of financial leverage. An offsetting factor is the company's significant holdings of private equity and real estate funds, which exposes its capital base to potential volatility. A.M. Best expects investment risk to remain the main driver of consolidated capital requirements in the medium term, although management's strategy to de-risk the balance sheet should translate into a more balanced investment profile and as a result potentially strengthen risk-adjusted capitalisation. The balance sheet strength assessment also considers AAIC's moderate dependence on reinsurance, as the high retention of reinsurance business written via Kuwait Reinsurance Company K.S.C.P. (Kuwait Re) partially dilutes the significant cession rate of AAIC's direct portfolio. AAIC has achieved a five-year average return on capital of 9.6%, which has been supported by solid technical performance and positive, albeit volatile, investment earnings. AAIC's direct insurance portfolio has a track record of excellent underwriting performance, benefiting from favourable inward reinsurance commissions. On a consolidated basis, technical margins are reduced by the lower profitability of reinsurance business underwritten by Kuwait Re, although the results remain at a strong level, with a combined ratio of 88.8% in 2017. Prospective consolidated earnings are expected to be supported by the excellent performance of AAIC's direct insurance operations, as well as benefiting from the strategic decisions implemented by Kuwait Re to rationalise its reinsurance portfolio. AAIC's profile was enhanced and diversified following the acquisition of Kuwait Re in the second half of 2015. The company's neutral business profile assessment is supported by its established position as a top four insurer in Kuwait's direct market, with robust market shares in the commercial segment, coupled with the international diversification brought through its reinsurance arm, Kuwait Re, which has operations spanning the Middle East and North Africa, Asia-Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. On a consolidated basis, the AAIC group wrote gross written premium of KWD 72.5 million in 2017, with Kuwait Re contributing KWD 35.1 million. Whilst AAIC and Kuwait Re have in place risk management frameworks considered appropriate for their specific risk profiles, a comprehensive group-wide ERM framework is still being developed by AAIC. As the group's risk profile continues to develop, it will become increasingly important for AAIC to enhance its ERM capabilities, particularly in areas such as capital management and market risk. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2018 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005566/en/ Contacts: A.M. Best Borja Cubillo, +44-20-7397-0306 Financial Analyst borja.cubillo@ambest.com or Ghislain Le Cam, CFA, FRM, +44-20-7397-0268 Director, Analytics ghislain.lecam@ambest.com or Christopher Sharkey, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5159 Manager, Public Relations christopher.sharkey@ambest.com or Jim Peavy, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5644 Director, Public Relations james.peavy@ambest.com MEXICO CITY, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- - Strong brandsrebound impressively with 18% total brand value growthafter sharp decline in 2017 ranking - Brazil's TV giant Globo is the highest new entry at No. 8 with a value of $4.3billion - Mexicois home to more of the most valuable brands than any other Latin American country, contributing 35%to the total ranking value Mexican beer Corona is the most valuable brand in Latin America, overtaking Brazil's Skol, which has held the title for the past two years, according to the sixth-annual BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands announced today by WPP with data prepared by Kantar. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/513554/Kantar_Millward_Brown_Logo.jpg ) Corona took the top spot in the ranking after seeing an 8% brand value growth to $8.3 billion, edging out Skol, which grew by just 1%. The brand is sold in more than 180 countries and its success and global growth have been helped by Corona's ability to generate an affiliation with the "fun-loving" attributes associated with Mexican and Latin culture. The 2017 BrandZ LatAm ranking reflected the difficult time faced by many brands in the region with a 22% decline in total brand value. In the 2018 ranking, total brand value increased by 18% to $130.8 billion, boosted by an impressive performance from the strongest and healthiest brands, those that believed in their purpose and stayed relevant to the consumers. Chilean retail giant Falabella, for example, has grown its brand value by 26% to $5.4 billion, by, among other initiatives, being the first in the category to develop an online platform with full range of products, as well as offering a valuable experience that is continuously reviewed and combined with a clear purpose of knowing and satisfying increasingly demanding consumers. "The power of strong brands to drive improved business performance can be clearly seen in this year's Latin America Ranking. While the economy may fluctuate, those brands that are strong will remain more stable in the tough times and grow faster in the good times. The success of Falabella building its retail empire across the region is ample demonstration of the value of a strong brand," said WPP's David Roth. The BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Latin American Brands 2018 Brand value 2018 Percentage # Brand Category (USD $ million) Growth Country 1 Corona Beer 8,292 8% Mexico 2 Skol Beer 8,263 1% Brazil 3 Bradesco Financial Institutions 7,018 58% Brazil 4 Itau Financial Institutions 6,198 42% Brazil 5 Telcel Communication Providers 6,048 32% Mexico 6 Falabella Retail 5,373 26% Chile 7 Brahma Beer 4,478 2% Brazil 8 Globo TV Stations 4,318 NEW Brazil 9 Aguila Beer 3,924 13% Colombia 10 Bodega Aurrera Retail 3,757 5% Mexico While the economy has undoubtedly contributed to this year's more positive ranking - GDP growth of 1.3% across the continent -- it is only part of the story. Latin American brands have also benefited from a strong affinity and pride among local consumers for brands from the region, as they believe they better understand their emotional needs. This bodes well for the growth of own-label in a region where it has struggled. Currently just 1% of FMCG goods sold in LatAm are retailer own-brands compared to 30% in Europe. However, with 70% of modern trade channels owned by local Latin American retailers rather than global names, modern chains such as Falabella, as well as the rapidly growing discounter sector, should push this figure higher. The rise of local giants with strong brands that are capable of challenging global competitors is a trend that's also been observed in other BrandZ rankings from China to Indonesia. This year's BrandZ Latin American ranking, for example, shows a strong performance for local financial institutions (up 46%) and the four beer brands in the Top 10 - Corona, Skol, Brahma and Aguila - all controlled by global giant AB InBev, have maintained and invested in their local characteristics enabling them to boost brand value. "Latin American brands have an in-depth understanding of their local consumers; the speed at which they can tap into local consumers' needs with good products and strong marketing campaigns has made many of them more successful and relevant in the region than their global counterparts. As a result, Latin Americans have great respect and pride in these brands," said Kantar's Eduardo Tomiya. Other key trends identified in the BrandZ LatAm Top 50 study include: There were eight new entries in the Top 50 this year: Globo (no. 8), Ype (no. 33), Azteca (no. 37), Embratel (no. 40), Lojas Americanas (no. 46), Net (no. 48) and Porto Seguro (no. 50). All are from Brazil , except Azteca which is based in Mexico . Communications provider Tigo Une was formed from the merger of Tigo and Une in Colombia , which were previously listed separately, and is now No 27. in the Top 50 this year: Globo (no. 8), Ype (no. 33), Azteca (no. 37), Embratel (no. 40), Lojas Americanas (no. 46), Net (no. 48) and Porto Seguro (no. 50). All are from , except Azteca which is based in . Communications provider Tigo Une was formed from the merger of Tigo and Une in , which were previously listed separately, and is now No 27. Mexico dominates but Brazil is catch ing up: For the fifth year the ranking was dominated by Mexico , which contributed 35% of the total brand value of the ranking. Brazil however was close behind at 34%, with strong performances by its retail and financial players. Chile was in third position at 16%, followed by Colombia at 7%. For the fifth year the ranking was dominated by , which contributed 35% of the total brand value of the ranking. however was close behind at 34%, with strong performances by its retail and financial players. was in third position at 16%, followed by at 7%. FinTechs threaten established financial players : In Brazil , Nubank started this revolution and became the first billion-dollar startup in the country, followed by Banco Original and Banco Neon. Well-positioned brands such as the Brazilian banks Bradesco and Itau and the Chilean bank Banco de Chile are still strong brands in the consumers' minds and are using these attributes aligned with local needs to fight back by launching their own digital platforms. : In , Nubank started this revolution and became the first billion-dollar startup in the country, followed by Banco Original and Banco Neon. Well-positioned brands such as the Brazilian banks Bradesco and Itau and the Chilean bank Banco de are still strong brands in the consumers' minds and are using these attributes aligned with local needs to fight back by launching their own digital platforms. E-commerce is a real threat to established retail: Rising internet usage and mobile access in many markets, up 14% every year across the region since 2010, represents a real threat to bricks and mortar stores. While the Retail category saw growth of 2% in this year's ranking, the transition to a mixed retail economy is still in progress. "Disruption has already spawned a new wave of brands across Latin America and while they have not yet displaced some of the more established names, rising internet access and mobile uptake is giving them greater market access. The power of a strong brand combined with its own digital platform will be required to future proof many of today's big players," said Kantar's Gabriel Castellanos. To download a copy of The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands 2018 report, charts and photography, visit this page. The mobile app can be downloaded via www.brandz.com/mobile. The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands - now in its sixth year - is part of the suite of BrandZ valuation rankings which also includes a global ranking and country rankings for China, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK and the US. Background and methodology The research behind the BrandZ Latin American Top 50 was conducted by WPP's data investment management group Kantar. The methodology mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, which is now in its twelfth year. The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands is the most robust ranking of Latin American brands available combining financial data with consumer opinions gathered from 1,000 interviews with over 54,000 Latin American consumers in 34 categories from Kantar Worldpanel. The main criteria for one brand to be included in the ranking was that the brand must be characterized as a local Latin American brand (either originating from Latin America or a relevant proportion of its business is located there). This year, besides the brands owned by publicly traded companies (Source: Bloomberg), BrandZ started to evaluate brands owned by private companies considering the market multiples approach (Enterprise Value vs Revenues or EBITDA), since these private companies release their financial information in their websites. The BrandZ rankings are the only valuations in the world that take into account what people think about the brands they buy, alongside rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. Consumer perception of a brand is a key input in determining brand value, because brands are a combination of business performance, product delivery, clarity of positioning and leadership. Consumer perception is used to determine the Brand Contribution, which measures the influence of brand alone on financial value on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being highest). It is an assessment of brand associations in consumers' minds to deliver sales by predisposing consumers to choose the brand or pay more for it. About WPP WPP is the world leader in communications services with global billings of US$72 billion and revenues of almost US$20 billion. The group provides a comprehensive range of services including advertising & media investment management; data investment management; public relations & public affairs; branding & identity; healthcare communications; digital, eCommerce and shopper marketing; and specialist communications. WPP employs over 200,000 people (including associates and investments) across 112 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com. WPP was named Holding Company of the Year at the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the seventh year running. It was also named, for the sixth consecutive year, the World's Most Effective Holding Company in the 2017 Effie Index, which recognizes the effectiveness of marketing communications. About Kantar Kantar is the world's leading data, insight and consultancy company. We know more about how people live, feel, shop, vote, watch and post worldwide than any other company. Working across the entire sales and marketing lifecycle, we help brands uncover growth in an extraordinary world. Kantar is part of WPP and its services are employed by over half of the Fortune 500 companies in 100 countries. Media contacts: Eduardo Tomiya Managing Director, Kantar Consulting - Latin America Region Tel: +55-11-3069-6920 Email: Eduardo.Tomiya@Kantarconsulting.com Kate Alexander / Alastair Ray Eureka Communications Tel: +44-(0)-7788-584413 / +44-(0)-7941-428243 Email:kate@eurekacomms.co.uk / alastair@eurekacomms.co.uk PUNE, India, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Continuous Testing Market by Service (Professional Services and Managed Services), Interface (Web, Mobile, and Desktop), Deployment Type, Organization Size, Industry Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is expected to grow from USD 1.15 Billion in 2018 to USD 2.41 Billion by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.9% during the forecast period. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg ) Browse 66 market data Tables and 48 Figures spread through 147 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Continuous Testing Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/continuous-testing-market-189840521.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report The increasing adoption of IoT-enabled devices and advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), neural networks, and machine learning technologies are expected to be the major drivers of the Continuous Testing Market. North America is expected to have the largest market size during the forecast period. North America is expected to be the largest contributor to the Continuous Testing Market in terms of regional revenue. This region comprises developed countries, such as the US and Canada. North America is open to the adoption of new and emerging technologies, and its strong financial position enables it to invest majorly in leading tools and technologies for effective business operations. The need for reducing time in software development cycle in enterprises in the US and Canada has encouraged the adoption of continuous testing. This gives organizations in North America a competitive edge over other organizations from other regions. Inquiry Before Buying@https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=189840521 The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry vertical is expected to hold the largest market size during the forecast period. The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry vertical includes commercial banks, insurance companies, non-banking financial companies, stock brokerage firms, and payment gateway providers. This industry vertical deals with critical financial data and different types of software; hence, it is a good contributor to the Continuous Testing Market. Due to continuous changes in the financial environment, companies require different software to carry out critical operations. Continuous testing in the BFSI industry vertical can help financial and insurance companies ensure business-critical software remain bug-free and stable. The large enterprises segment is expected to hold the larger market share during the forecast period. Organizations with more than 1,000 employees have been categorized as large enterprises. The use of continuous testing in large enterprises is relatively higher as compared to that of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This is due to the affordability and high economies of scale, which enable large organizations to benefit from continuous testing. Enterprises leave no stone unturned to compete in today's cut-throat competitive market. Hence, they invest significantly in automation testing and building delivery pipelines for optimizing the whole testing process. All these services are favorably welcomed and highly adopted by large organizations. The major vendors in the Continuous Testing Market include Mindtree (India), EPAM Systems (US), HCL Technologies (India), Atos (France), Tech Mahindra (India), Hexaware (India), Tricentis (Austria), Cigniti (India), Larsen and Toubro Infotech (India), NIIT Technologies (India), CA Technologies (US), IBM (US), Capgemini (France), Spirent Communications (UK), Micro Focus (UK), Syntel (US), Cognizant (US), Parasoft (US), Softcrylic (US), LogiGear (US), QualiTest (US), Testplant (UK), Vector Software (US), QA Mentor (US), and SmartBear Software (US). Know more about the Continuous Testing Market: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/continuous-testing-market-189840521.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets Results of voting on proposed resolutions Change in corporate governance Regulatory News: On April 27, 2018, the shareholders of Seche Environnement (Paris:SCHP) attended a combined Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting chaired by Joel Seche, Chairman and CEO. All the proposed resolutions were ratified, in particular those relating to the financial statements and the allocation of 2017 earnings (See the results of voting per resolution on the Seche Environnement website www.groupe-seche.com, under the "2018 Shareholders' Meeting" tab). The Annual Shareholders' Meeting was also an occasion to underscore the favorable business trend in Q1 2018. During this Annual Shareholders' Meeting, the shareholders ratified the appointment of two new directors, increasing Seche Environnement's Board of Directors to ten members, seven of whom are independent and four of whom are women. 1. Appointment of Anne-Sophie Le Lay Anne-Sophie Le Lay, 47, holds a Master's degree in Business and Real Estate Law and a Professional Lawyer's Certification (CAPA). She began her career in 1996 as a lawyer specializing in business and real estate law in Paris. She later moved overseas to Toronto, where she worked as a consultant in a law firm. In 2001, she embarked on a long career with Groupe Renault. Initially she was given responsibility for the development of a legal framework for the disposal of the site of the former Renault plant in Billancourt. In 2007 she took over the management of the Environment, Energy and Real Estate Law Department. A year later, she was placed in charge of the Europe/Mediterranean region. In July 2011, Anne-Sophie Le Lay became head of the Groupe Renault Legal Department, where she was responsible for maintaining and developing the Group's competitive edge by advising senior management, fine-tuning effective legal protection and continuing to create value for the company. In February 2018, Anne-Sophie Le Lay became Corporate Secretary of the Air France-KLM holding company. In that capacity, she supervised the legal departments, the CSR Department and the Public Affairs Department. She sits on the group's Executive Committee. 2. Appointment of Christophe Gegout Born on May 24, 1976, Christophe Gegout is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and has been serving as Assistant Managing Director of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) since September 1, 2015. In this capacity, he is responsible for the supervision of finances, strategic and economic analyses and industrial partnerships. After a two-year stint with the French Ministry for Economic and Financial Affairs, he returned to the CEA in April 2009 as Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Christophe Gegout implemented a number of procurement performance initiatives and strengthened management control of investments, in particular in the nuclear sector. In addition, in 2010 Christophe Gegout became Chairman of CEA Investissement, a subsidiary of the CEA whose purpose is to invest in ground-breaking technology firms. As such, he played an active role in the financial recovery and strategic development of SOITEC, where he was appointed chairman of the Audit Committee in 2015. He also sits on the board of directors of NEOEN, a company specializing in the development of solar and wind energy. Christophe Gegout has chaired the Coordinating Alliance of Energy Research Bodies (ANCRE) since September 2017. The Board of Directors, which was held after the General Assembly of April 27, 2018, has renewed the term of Mr Joel Seche as President Chairman of the Board for the next 3 years. Furthermore, the Board of Directors decided to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on June 29, 2018, to propose a change in the Articles of Incorporation in order to determine in which conditions a representative of the employees will be designated as a Director. Calendar Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders June 29, 2018 Consolidated results at June 30, 2018 September 10, 2018 after market close About Seche Environnement Seche Environnement is one of France's leading players in the recovery and treatment of all types of waste, from both industry and local communities. Seche Environnement is the leading independent operator in France. It is uniquely positioned as a specialist in highly complex waste, operating within regulated waste recovery and treatment markets with high barriers to entry. Its facilities and expertise enable it to provide high value-added solutions to its industrial and public authority clients, targeting the challenges of the circular economy and sustainable development requirements, such as: the material and energy recovery of hazardous and non-hazardous waste; a comprehensive range of treatment solutions for solid, liquid and gaseous waste (thermal, physical-chemical and radiation treatment, etc.); the storage of final hazardous and non-hazardous waste; eco-services such as decontamination, decommissioning, asbestos removal and rehabilitation. Leveraging its extensive expertise, Seche Environnement has successfully developed its environmental services business lines in waste management outsourcing markets for its clientele of large communities and major industrial companies both in France and abroad. Seche Environnement has been listed on Eurolist by Euronext (Compartment B) since November 27, 1997. It is eligible for equity savings funds dedicated to investing in SMEs and is listed in the CAC Mid&Small and Enternext PEA-PME 150 indexes. Important notice This press release may contain information of a provisional nature. This information represents either trends or targets at the date of the press release's publication and may not be considered as results forecasts or as any other type of performance indicators. This information is by nature subject to risks and uncertainties which are difficult to foresee and are usually beyond the Company's control, which may imply that expected results and developments differ significantly from announced trends and targets. These risks notably include those described in the Company's Registration Document, which is available on its website (www.groupe-seche.com). This information therefore does not reflect the Company's future performance, which may differ considerably, and no guarantee can be given as to the achievement of these forward-looking figures. The Company makes no commitment on the updating of this information. More detailed information on the Company can be obtained on its website (www.groupe-seche.com), in the Regulated Information section. This press release does not constitute an offer of shares or a solicitation in view of an offer of shares in any country, including the United States. Distribution of this press release may be subject to the laws and regulations in force in France or other countries. Persons in possession of this press release must be aware of these restrictions and observe them. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005278/en/ Contacts: Seche Environnement Manuel Andersen, +33 (0)1 53 21 53 60 Head of Investor Relations m.andersen@groupe-seche.com BRUSSELS, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Strictly not for UK/Irish media CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) Phase 3 psoriasis data demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvements in biologic-naive and previously treated patients, with clinical benefit maintained up to one year [1] (certolizumab pegol) Phase 3 psoriasis data demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvements in biologic-naive and previously treated patients, with clinical benefit maintained up to one year This milestone represents UCB's entry into immuno-dermatology, where there is significant unmet patient need This follows a recent European Medicines Agency (EMA) label update for CIMZIA in pregnancy and breastfeeding, making CIMZIA the first anti-TNF for potential use in women during both pregnancy and lactation in its approved indications[2] UCB today announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of a label extension for CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol), to include a new indication in adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.[3] CIMZIA is the first Fc-free, PEGylated anti-TNF to receive a positive CHMP opinion for use in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.[3] The European Commission's (EC) endorsement of the CHMP positive opinion for psoriasis is expected in the second quarter of 2018 and would further broaden the clinical value of CIMZIA. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/683106/UCB_Logo.jpg ) "The Phase 3 clinical development program for CIMZIA in plaque psoriasis demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in primary efficacy endpoints over a 48-week period, as well as improvements in important patient quality of life measures. The data established the durable clinical benefit of CIMZIA, with all three studies showing that the clinical benefit with CIMZIA was maintained for up to one year. Psoriasis has a significant emotional and physical impact on patients, and there is still a need for new therapies that effectively control skin symptoms over time. The availability of CIMZIA in psoriasis would provide healthcare professionals with an effective, broad spectrum anti-TNF with 10 years of clinical experience to help manage this debilitating condition and improve the quality of patients' lives through durable disease control," said Diamant Thaci, Professor, MD, Director of the Institute for Inflammatory Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lubeck. "CIMZIA is the first anti-TNF of its kind to receive a CHMP positive opinion for this challenging disease. We look forward to offering patients and their dermatologists a new treatment option, with best-in-class efficacy and two different doses to maximize disease control, achieve clear skin and face the serious quality-of-life challenges that often accompany plaque psoriasis. This new indication is particularly relevant following the CIMZIA label update for pregnancy and breastfeeding, as a significant proportion of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis are women, making CIMZIA an optimal treatment for women of childbearing age," said Emmanuel Caeymaex, Head of Immunology and Executive Vice President, Immunology Patient Value Unit, UCB. The CHMP positive opinion is based on data from a Phase 3 clinical development program consisting of CIMPASI-1, CIMPASI-2 and CIMPACT. The trials, which enrolled over 1,000 patients, with and without prior treatment experience with biologic products, confirmed the efficacy and safety of CIMZIA in the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.[1] Each of the three studies included an assessment of the percentage of patients who achieved at least 75% or greater disease improvement from baseline as measured by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) compared to placebo; within 16 weeks in CIMPASI-1 and CIMPASI-2, and within 12 weeks in CIMPACT. CIMPASI-1 and CIMPASI-2 also assessed the percentage of patients who achieved at least a two-point improvement on a five-point Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) scale to a final score representing clear or almost clear skin, each compared with placebo, at week 16 as a co-primary endpoint. In all three trials, CIMZIA demonstrated statistically significant improvements for all primary and co-primary endpoints compared to placebo at all treatment doses, and the clinical benefit was maintained through to week 48.[1] According to the updated label, the recommended starting dose of CIMZIA for adult patients is 400 mg at weeks 0, 2 and 4. After the starting dose, the maintenance dose of CIMZIA for adult patients with plaque psoriasis is 200 mg every 2 weeks. A dose of 400 mg every 2 weeks can be considered in patients with insufficient response.[3] Additionally, the recent European Medicines Agency (EMA) label update for CIMZIA in pregnancy and breastfeeding, makes CIMZIA the first anti-TNF for potential use in women during both pregnancy and lactation in its approved indications.[2] The update included specific pregnancy and lactation information, based on findings from two first-of-their-kind studies, CRIB and CRADLE, together with pregnancy outcomes data.[2],[4],[5] Results from the UCB-sponsored CRIB study, a prospective pharmacokinetic study, demonstrated no to minimal placental transfer of CIMZIA from mother to child during pregnancy.[4] Data from CRADLE, a prospective pharmacokinetic study, found minimal transfer of CIMZIA into breast milk during lactation.[5] Both studies included a safety evaluation.[4],[5] CIMZIA is also approved for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a frequent co-morbidity of psoriasis patients.[2],[6] About Psoriasis Psoriasis is a common, chronic inflammatory disease with primary involvement of the skin. The skin condition affects men and women of all ages and ethnicities. Psoriasis signs and symptoms can vary, but may include red patches of skin covered with silvery scales, dry, cracked skin that may bleed and thickened, pitted or ridged nails.[7] Psoriasis affects nearly three per cent of the population, or approximately 125 million people worldwide.[7] Symptoms vary from person to person, but for those who are more severely affected, psoriasis can have a major impact on their quality of life.[7] As many as 42% of patients with psoriasis will develop PsA,[8],[9] 33% will develop metabolic syndrome[10] and approximately 46% are often or always depressed because of their psoriasis.[11] Despite drug development advances in the past decade, patient survey data suggest that moderate-to-severe psoriasis is being undertreated.[12] In pregnancy, psoriasis can present a number of challenges, with 23% of women experiencing a worsening of symptoms during pregnancy.[13] Multiple studies have shown that psoriasis can contribute to an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm delivery, low birth weight, spontaneous abortion, caesarean delivery, and babies that are large for gestational age and of higher than average birth weight.[14],[15],[16] In addition, up to 65% of women with psoriasis experience a worsening of psoriasis symptoms postpartum.[13] Controlling psoriasis before, during and after pregnancy is important for the health of both mother and baby.[17] About the CIMPASI-1, CIMPASI-2 and CIMPACT Studies[1] CIMPASI-1, CIMPASI-2 and CIMPACT Phase 3 trials each evaluated the efficacy and safety of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol, CZP) in adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The three trials enrolled approximately 1,000 patients, including patients with and without prior treatment experience with biologic products. In CIMPASI-1 and CIMPASI-2, at week 16, the response rate for patients who achieved a PASI 75 response was 66.5% and 81.4% for patients receiving CZP 200 mg every two weeks (Q2W), and 75.8% and 82.6% for patients receiving CZP 400 mg every two weeks (Q2W), compared to 6.5% and 11.6% for patients receiving placebo, respectively. In addition, the response rate for patients achieving at least a two-point improvement to a final score of clear or almost clear skin on the PGA scale (PGA 0/1) at week 16 was 47.0% and 66.8% for CZP 200 mg Q2W dose-treated patients, and 57.9% and 71.6% for CZP 400 mg Q2W dose-treated patients, compared to 4.2% and 2.0% for patients receiving placebo, respectively. Responder rates for maintenance of a PASI 75 response to week 48 were 67.2% and 78.7% for patients receiving CZP 200 mg Q2W, and 87.1% and 81.3% for patients receiving CZP 400 mg Q2W, respectively. Responder rates for maintenance of a PGA 0/1 score through to week 48, were 52.7% and 72.6% for patients receiving CZP 200 mg Q2W, and 69.5% and 66.6% for patients receiving CZP 400 mg Q2W, respectively. In CIMPACT, the response rate for patients who achieved a PASI 75 response at week 12, was 61.3% and 66.7% and among patients receiving CZP 200 mg Q2W and CZP 400 mg Q2W, compared to 5.0% for patients receiving placebo, respectively. In patients who received CZP 200 mg Q2W and were PASI 75 responders at week 16, 80.0% of patients who remained on CZP 200 mg Q2W maintained their response at week 48, and 98.0% of patients who then received CZP 400 mg Q2W from week 16 maintained their response at week 48. In response to the recognized impact of psoriasis on patient experience, improvements in Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were also observed in all three trials at week 16, and maintained through to week 48. DLQI is a widely used and recognized quality of life measurement instrument used across several dermatological diseases. In all three trials, CIMZIA demonstrated statistically significant improvements for all primary or co-primary endpoints compared to placebo at all treatment doses, and the clinical benefit was maintained through to 48 weeks. The adverse event profile across all three trials appears consistent with the known safety profile of anti-TNF therapy and no new safety signals were observed with CIMZIA at any dose over 48 weeks. About the CRIB Study[4] CRIB was a pharmacokinetic study assessing the potential level of placental transfer of CZP from pregnant women to their infants. The study followed sixteen women (= 30 weeks gestation) who were already receiving CZP 200 mg Q2W or 400 mg Q4W for locally approved indications, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), axial spondylitis (axSpA) or Crohn's Disease (CD). CRIB did not include any patients suffering from psoriasis nor patients treated with a CZP 400 mg Q2W dose. In the EU, CIMZIA is not indicated in CD. The study found that CZP levels were below the lower limit of quantification in 13 out of 14 infant blood samples at birth, and in all samples at weeks four and eight. One infant had a minimal CZP level of 0.042g/mL (infant/mother plasma ratio 0.0009%). No anti-CZP antibodies were detected in mothers, umbilical cords, or infants. These data indicate no to minimal placental transfer of CZP from mothers to infants, suggesting lack of in utero fetal exposure during the third trimester. In CRIB, adverse events experienced by the infants did not show any patterns or clusters of events suggesting a specific safety signal in children. Safety data in the mothers were in line with the known safety profile of CZP and pregnancy profile of these underlying diseases. About the CRADLE Study[5] The primary objectives of the CRADLE pharmacokinetic study were to determine the concentration of CZP in human breast milk and the average daily infant dose, an estimation of the daily dose of maternal CZP ingested by the infant over the dosing interval. The study followed 17 lactating women who were already receiving CZP 200 mg Q2W or 400 mg Q4W suffering from RA, PsA, axSpA or CD. CRADLE did not include any patients suffering from psoriasis nor patients treated with a CZP 400 mg Q2W dose. Among 137 breast milk samples from 17 mothers, all samples had CZP concentrations that were minimal, less than 3 times the lower limit of quantification and less than 1% of the plasma concentration expected with a therapeutic dose. A post-hoc analysis of the relative infant dose (RID) of CZP in breast milk was calculated and ranged from 0.04% to 0.30%. The RID is a useful parameter for assessing drug safety in breastfeeding and experts consider a RID that is less than 10% to be unlikely of concern to infant wellbeing. In CRADLE, adverse events in the infants of mothers exposed to CZP were consistent with those occurring in unexposed infants of similar age. Adverse events in mothers exposed to CZP were consistent with the known safety profile of CZP. About CIMZIA in the EU/EEA In the EU, CIMZIA in combination with methotrexate (MTX) is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe active RA in adult patients inadequately responsive to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including MTX. CIMZIA can be given as monotherapy in case of intolerance to MTX or when continued treatment with MTX is inappropriate. CIMZIA in combination with MTX is also indicated for the treatment of severe, active and progressive RA in adults not previously treated with MTX or other DMARDs. CIMZIA has been shown to reduce the rate of progression of joint damage as measured by X-ray and to improve physical function, when given in combination with MTX. CIMZIA, in combination with MTX, is also indicated for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adults when the response to previous DMARD therapy has been inadequate. CIMZIA can be given as monotherapy in case of intolerance to MTX or when continued treatment with MTX is inappropriate. CIMZIA is also indicated in the EU for the treatment of adult patients with severe active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), comprising: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) - adults with severe active AS who have had an inadequate response to, or are intolerant to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) without radiographic evidence of AS - adults with severe active axSpA without radiographic evidence of AS but with objective signs of inflammation by elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and/or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) who have had an inadequate response to, or are intolerant to NSAIDs. About CIMZIA in Fertility, Pregnancy and Lactation in the EU/EEA Women of childbearing potential The use of adequate contraception should be considered for women of childbearing potential. For women planning pregnancy, continued contraception may be considered for 5 months after the last CIMZIA dose due to its elimination rate, but the need for treatment of the woman should also be taken into account (see below). Pregnancy Data from more than 500 prospectively collected pregnancies exposed to CIMZIA with known pregnancy outcomes, including more than 400 pregnancies exposed during the first trimester, does not indicate a malformative effect of CIMZIA. However, the available clinical experience is too limited to, with a reasonable certainty, conclude that there is no increased risk associated with CIMZIA administration during pregnancy. Animal studies using a rodent anti-rat TNFa did not reveal evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the foetus. However, these are insufficient with respect to human reproductive toxicity. Due to its inhibition of TNFa, CIMZIA administered during pregnancy could affect normal immune response in the newborn. CIMZIA should only be used during pregnancy if clinically needed. Non-clinical studies suggest low or negligible level of placental transfer of a homologue Fab-fragment of certolizumab pegol (no Fc region). In clinical study 16 women were treated with certolizumab pegol (200 mg every 2 weeks or 400 mg every 4 weeks) during pregnancy. Certolizumab pegol plasma concentrations measured in 14 infants at birth were Below the Limit of Quantification (BLQ) in 13 samples; one was 0.042 g/ml with an infant/mother plasma ratio at birth of 0.09%. At Week 4 and Week 8, all infant concentrations were BLQ. The clinical significance of low levels certolizumab pegol for infants is unknown. It is recommended to wait a minimum of 5 months following the mother's last CIMZIA administration during pregnancy before administration of live or live-attenuated vaccines (e.g. BCG vaccine), unless the benefit of the vaccination clearly outweighs the theoretical risk of administration of live or live-attenuated vaccines to the infants. Breastfeeding In a clinical study in 17 lactating women treated with CIMZIA, minimal transfer of certolizumab pegol from plasma to breast milk was observed. The percentage of the maternal certolizumab pegol dose reaching an infant during a 24 hour period was estimated to 0.04% to 0.30 %. In addition, since certolizumab pegol is a protein that is degraded in the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration, the absolute bioavailability is expected to be very low in a breastfed infant. Consequently, CIMZIA can be used during breastfeeding. Important Safety Information about CIMZIA in the EU/EEA CIMZIA was studied in 4,049 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in controlled and open label trials for up to 92 months. The commonly reported adverse reactions (1-10%) in clinical trials with CIMZIA and post-marketing were viral infections (includes herpes, papillomavirus, influenza), bacterial infections (including abscess), rash, headache (including migraine), asthaenia, leukopaenia (including lymphopaenia, neutropaenia), eosinophilic disorder, pain (any sites), pyrexia, sensory abnormalities, hypertension, pruritus (any sites), hepatitis (including hepatic enzyme increase), injection site reactions, and nausea. Serious adverse reactions include sepsis, opportunistic infections, tuberculosis, herpes zoster, lymphoma, leukaemia, solid organ tumours, angioneurotic oedema, cardiomyopathies (includes heart failure), ischemic coronary artery disorders, pancytopaenia, hypercoagulation (including thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism), cerebrovascular accident, vasculitis, hepatitis/hepatopathy (includes cirrhosis), and renal impairment/nephropathy (includes nephritis). In RA controlled clinical trials, 4.4% of patients discontinued taking CIMZIA due to adverse events vs. 2.7% for placebo. CIMZIA is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to the active substance or any of the excipients, active tuberculosis or other severe infections such as sepsis or opportunistic infections or moderate-to-severe heart failure. Serious infections including sepsis, tuberculosis and opportunistic infections have been reported in patients receiving CIMZIA. Some of these events have been fatal. Monitor patients closely for signs and symptoms of infections including tuberculosis before, during, and after treatment with CIMZIA. Treatment with CIMZIA must not be initiated in patients with a clinically important active infection. If an infection develops, monitor carefully and stop CIMZIA if infection becomes serious. Before initiation of therapy with CIMZIA, all patients must be evaluated for both active and inactive (latent) tuberculosis infection. If active tuberculosis is diagnosed prior to or during treatment, CIMZIA therapy must not be initiated and must be discontinued. If latent tuberculosis is diagnosed, appropriate anti-tuberculosis therapy must be started before initiating treatment with CIMZIA. Patients should be instructed to seek medical advice if signs/symptoms (e.g. persistent cough, wasting/weight loss, low grade fever, listlessness) suggestive of tuberculosis occur during or after therapy with CIMZIA. Reactivation of hepatitis B has occurred in patients receiving a TNF-antagonist including CIMZIA who are chronic carriers of the virus (i.e. surface antigen positive). Some cases have had a fatal outcome. Patients should be tested for HBV infection before initiating treatment with CIMZIA. Carriers of HBV who require treatment with CIMZIA should be closely monitored and in the case of HBV reactivation CIMZIA should be stopped and effective anti-viral therapy with appropriate supportive treatment should be initiated. TNF-antagonists including CIMZIA may increase the risk of new onset or exacerbation of clinical symptoms and/or radiographic evidence of demyelinating disease; of formation of autoantibodies and uncommonly of the development of a lupus-like syndrome; of severe hypersensitivity reactions. If a patient develops any of these adverse reactions, CIMZIA should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted. With the current knowledge, a possible risk for the development of lymphomas, leukaemia or other malignancies in patients treated with a TNF-antagonist cannot be excluded. Rare cases of neurological disorders, including seizure disorder, neuritis and peripheral neuropathy, have been reported in patients treated with CIMZIA. Adverse reactions of the haematologic system, including medically significant cytopaenia, have been infrequently reported with CIMZIA. Advise all patients to seek immediate medical attention if they develop signs and symptoms suggestive of blood dyscrasias or infection (e.g., persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, pallor) while on CIMZIA. Consider discontinuation of CIMZIA therapy in patients with confirmed significant haematological abnormalities. The use of CIMZIA in combination with anakinra or abatacept is not recommended due to a potential increased risk of serious infections. As no data are available, CIMZIA should not be administered concurrently with live vaccines. The 14-day half-life of CIMZIA should be taken into consideration if a surgical procedure is planned. A patient who requires surgery while on CIMZIA should be closely monitored for infections. CIMZIA was studied in 325 patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in a placebo-controlled clinical trial for up to 30 months and in 409 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a placebo-controlled clinical trial for up to 30 months. The safety profile for axSpA and PsA patients treated with CIMZIA was consistent with the safety profile in RA and previous experience with CIMZIA. Please consult the full prescribing information in relation to other side effects, full safety and prescribing information. European SmPC date of revision December 2017. http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/001037/WC500069763.pdf CIMZIA is a registered trademark of the UCB Group of Companies. For further information, UCB: Corporate Communications France Nivelle Global Communications, UCB T +32-2-559-9178 france.nivelle@ucb.com Laurent Schots Media Relations, UCB T+32-2-559-92-64 laurent.schots@ucb.com Investor Relations Antje Witte Investor Relations, UCB T +32-2-559-94-14 antje.witte@ucb.com Isabelle Ghellynck Investor Relations, UCB T+32-2-559-95-88 Isabelle.ghellynck@ucb.com Brand Communications Andrea Christopher Immunology Communications, UCB T +1-404-483-7329 andrea.christopher@ucb.com About UCB UCB, Brussels, Belgium (http://www.ucb.com ) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases in immunology or neurology. With more than 7 500 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of 4.5 billion in 2017. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCB_news Forward looking statements - UCB This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial information, expected legal, political, regulatory or clinical results and other such estimates and results. By their nature, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions which could cause actual results to differ materially from those that may be implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could result in such differences include: changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to obtain them on acceptable terms, costs associated with research and development, changes in the prospects for products in the pipeline or under development by UCB, effects of future judicial decisions or governmental investigations, product liability claims, challenges to patent protection for products or product candidates, changes in laws or regulations, exchange rate fluctuations, changes or uncertainties in tax laws or the administration of such laws and hiring and retention of its employees. UCB is providing this information as of the date of this press release and expressly disclaims any duty to update any information contained in this press release, either to confirm the actual results or to report a change in its expectations. There is no guarantee that new product candidates in the pipeline will progress to product approval or that new indications for existing products will be developed and approved. Products or potential products which are the subject of partnerships, joint ventures or licensing collaborations may be subject to differences between the partners. Also, UCB or others could discover safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products after they are marketed. Moreover, sales may be impacted by international and domestic trends toward managed care and health care cost containment and the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers as well as legislation affecting biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement. REFERENCES 1. UCB data on file. 2. CIMZIA. Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), 2018. Available at: http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/001037/WC500069763.pdf. Last accessed: 03 April 2018. 3. European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), 27 April 2018: http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Summary_of_opinion/human/001037/WC500248169.pdf. 4. Mariette X, Forger F, Abraham B, et al. Lack of Placental Transfer of Certolizumab Pegol During Pregnancy: Results from CRIB, a Prospective, Postmarketing, Multicenter, Pharmacokinetic Study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018:77(2):228-233. 5. Clowse ME, Forger F, Hawng C, et al. Minimal to no transfer of certolizumab pegol into breast milk: results from CRADLE, a prospective, postmarketing, multicentre, pharmacokinetic study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;76:1890-1896. 6. Oliveira Rocha B, et al. Psoriasis: classical and emerging comorbidities. An Bras Dermatol. 2015;90(1):9-20. 7. International Federation of Psoriasis Associations. Available at: https://ifpa-pso.com/our-cause//. Last accessed 22 February 2018. 8. Mease PJ and Armstrong AW. Managing Patients with Psoriatic Disease: The Diagnosis and Pharmacologic Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis in Patients with Psoriasis. Drugs. 2014;74(4):423-41. 9. Gladman DD, Antoni C, Mease P, et al. Psoriatic arthritis: epidemiology, clinical features, course, and outcome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64 Suppl 2:ii14-7. 10. Danielsen K, Wilsgaard T, Olsen AO, et al. Elevated odds of metabolic syndrome in psoriasis: a population-based study of age and sex differences*. British Journal of Dermatology. 2015;172:419-427. 11. Weiss SC, Kimball AB, Liewehr DJ, et al. Quantifying the harmful effect of psoriasis on health-related quality of life. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2002;47:512-518. 12. Lebwohl MG, Bachelez H, Barker J, et al. Patient perspectives in the management of psoriasis: results from the population-based Multinational Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Survey. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014;70(5):871-881. 13. Murase JE, Chan KK, Garite TJ, et al. Hormonal effect on psoriasis in pregnancy and post partum. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141(5):601-606. 14. Amiri N, et al. Pregnancy comorbibidities and outcomes in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: a prospective cohort study. Arthritis Rheum. 2016;68(suppl 10). Abstract 2443; p3219. 15. Bobotsis R, Gulliver WP, Monaghan K, et al. Psoriasis and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review of observational studies. Br J Dermatol. 2016;175(3):464-472. 16. Lima XT, Janakiraman V, Hughes MD, et al. The impact of psoriasis on pregnancy outcomes. J Invest Dermatol. 2012;132(1):85-91. 17. Porter ML, Lockwood SJ, Kimball AB. Update on biologic safety for patients with psoriasis during pregnancy. Int J Women's Dermatol. 2017;3(1):21-25. HQ/0318/CI/00024 April 2018 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A North Carolina jury on Thursday awarded over $50 million in damages to neighbors of pork producer Murphy-Brown LLC for nuisance caused by intense smell, noise and other disturbances. Jurors awarded the 10 neighbors of a 15,000-head swine operation a total of $750,000 in compensation, plus $50 million in damages. The case was the first in a series of twenty-six federal lawsuits filed by neighbors of hog farms against Murphy-Brown LLC, a subsidiary of food giant Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods said it would appeal the decision. The plaintiffs had sued Murphy-Brown for the company's waste-management practices. According to the neighbors, they stored excess hog waste in open-air cesspools and sprayed the remains onto nearby field. The odors and mist from the spray drift onto their property and produced a pungent stink. The plaintiffs also argued that a big company like Smithfield has enough money to use a better alternative waste-management technology on its farms that would reduce the stench. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Amazon, eBay and DHgate join E-Commerce Export Forum At CE China 2018, a global IFA brand, visitors will have the opportunity to get deep insights into latest e-commerce trends. On May 4th, the second day of this retail trade show, the E-Commerce Export Forum will be hosted by the Shenzhen E-commerce Service Center, partner of CE China. From morning to late afternoon experts from consumer electronic brands, major global online retailers as well as global network experts will present information about how to best use e-commerce for successful distribution and sales. Among others, Chinese consumer electronics brand Pisen Electronics will share its experiences in effective online marketing. Global network retailers like Amazon (US), eBay (US), DHgate (China), Linio (South America), Jumia (Africa), Kilimall (Africa), Amanbo (Africa), Mercado Libre (South America), JollyChic (Middle East), Daraz (West Asia) will address online opportunities for consumer electronics and home appliances brands. The forum is open to all visitors of CE China 2018. Presentations will be in Chinese only. The E-Commerce Export Forum is yet another opportunity for brands, manufacturers and retailers to learn about latest trends at CE China 2018. During the first day, the new IFA Retail University offers a wide range of power-briefings from market research companies, international brands, manufacturers and innovators. About IFA and CE China As a global IFA event, CE China is a welcome addition to Messe Berlin's portfolio for the Chinese market. Based on the IFA concept, CE China focuses on comprehensive cooperation with leading trade groups, strong global industrial partners, and the emotional presentation of innovative branded products. In 2017, 120 exhibitors presented their latest products, innovations, and services to more than 11,500 visitors from 38 countries, covering 15,000 square meters of exhibition space. The range of global brands inspired the more than 140 journalists, 15 percent of which came from abroad. IFA is the world's most significant trade show for consumer electronics taking place from 31 August to 5 September 2018 in Berlin, Germany. http://www.cechina-ifa.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005787/en/ Contacts: Messe Berlin Nicole von der Ropp IFA PR Manager Tel.: +49 (0)30 3038-2217 vonderropp@messe-berlin.de VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX-V: AIS) (OTCQB: AISSF) (the "Company" or "AIS") is pleased to announce it has engaged a second drilling contractor, AGV Falcon S.R.L. of Salta, Argentina to complete up to four diamond drill holes for a total of 1,300 meters across four tenements at its Chiron project in the Pocitos Salar. AGV Falcon has mobilized a drill rig onto the site and is expected to begin drilling on Saturday 29 April 2018. AIS is looking to expedite exploration at Chiron to gather all the necessary data prior to purchasing the project. Phil Thomas, Chief Operating Officer and exploration director of A.I.S., stated: "It will be exciting to see the brine results in the core and how well it correlates with the geophysics we have completed. We will drill one hole in Pocitos 2 down to 400m to examine the lithium concentration in the brine at depth. Our modelling suggests there is a significant aquifer at depth but this will give us proof. I will be overseeing the data collection and ensure that QA/QC is monitored and our local geologist will be supervising the packer testing." Qualified Person Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI-43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder. About A.I.S. Resources A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals, who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop early-stage projects worldwide, that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company's current activities are focused exclusively on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, A.I.S. Resources Limited Marc Enright-Morin ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. A.I.S. Resources Limited Marc Enright-Morin President and CEO T: 778-892-5455 E: memorin@aisresources.com Website: http://www.aisresources.com NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The requirement of large window toxicology screening for professional drivers with C, D and E class licenses just celebrated its second anniversary. As the first public policy for the prevention of drug use by drivers since the Brazilian Traffic Code entered into force, implementation of the exam is linked to the removal of more than 1 million professional drivers who are potential users of psychoactive drugs on roads and highways in the short period of 2 years. The congress, entitled "The use of technology to promote road safety: Brazilian experience," occurred on Friday, April 27, at UN headquarters in New York. Taking part were: Mauro Vieira, Brazil's Ambassador to the UN; Marcio Liberbaum, President of the Institute for Safe Traffic Technologies (ITTS - Instituto de Tecnologias para o Transito Seguro); Federal Deputy Hugo Leal, President of the Parliamentary Front for the Defense of Traffic Safety (Frente Parlamentar em Defesa do Transito Seguro); Renato Dias, General Director of the Federal Highway Police; Mauricio Alves, Director of the National Department of Transit (DENATRAN - Departamento Nacional de Transito); Paulo Douglas, Public Prosecutor for Labor; the Hon. Judge Nelson Calandra, President of the Association of Brazilian Magistrates (Associacao dos Magistrados Brasileiros - 2011-2013); jurist Marcus Vinicius Furtado Coelho, President of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB - Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil - 2013-2016); as well as institutions representing traffic victims. The congress will be concluded with an address by former President of the Republic, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who chaired the UN's Global Commission on Drug Policy. The purpose of the event was to present a panel of objective results relating to the drop in the number of accidents, fatalities and injuries on Brazilian highways during the first 24 months that the law has been in force. At the event, specialists and officials showed how, through the use of this exam, Brazil managed to implement a public health and safety policy that has contributed to a 38% drop in the number of accidents involving trucks on federal highways in just the first six months of the requirement, according to Federal Highway Police data. ITTS President Marcio Liberbaum had this to add: "We will not rest until we have transformed our highways into safe places for us and our families." Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso underscored the importance of the meeting to publicize the new legislation. "We must continue to move forward in this process of modernization. What we are seeing is the implementation of a policy based on technological advances that ensure the public's health and safety," he noted. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 27, 2018 / Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating PHH Corporation ("PHH " or the "Company") (NYSE: PHH) relating to the sale of the Company to Ocwen Financial Corporation ("Ocwen"). As a result of the merger, PHH shareholders are only anticipated to receive $11.00 in cash in exchange for each share of PHH. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/investigations/m-a/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. The investigation focuses on whether PHH and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company's stockholders by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, 2) whether and by how much this proposed transaction undervalues the Company by, and 3) failing to disclose all material financial information in connection with the shareholder meeting on June 11, 2017. Monteverde & Associates PC is a national class action securities and consumer litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders and consumers from corporate wrongdoing. Monteverde & Associates lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions, whereby they protect investors by recovering money and remedying corporate misconduct. Mr. Monteverde, who leads the legal team at the firm, has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013 and 2017, an award is given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017 Top Rated Lawyer. If you own common stock in PHH and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2018 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC ( www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE: Monteverde & Associates PC WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A woman's family is suing American Airlines after she died after suffering medical emergency midflight two years ago. Brittany Oswell from South Carolina suffered an embolism while flying from Honolulu, Hawaii to Dallas, Texas two years ago. The family has filed a lawsuit that claims the flight crew did not attempt to make an emergency landing and that the onboard medical equipment was faulty. According to Oswell's husband, he paged the flight attendants on American Flight 102 about three hours into the trip after she became 'dizzy and disoriented' and then fainted. The flight attendants then found a doctor among the other passengers who examined Oswell. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor on the flight advised the crew they needed to immediately divert the plane to the nearest airport. However, the onboard crew refused to diver the plane. A few hours later, Oswells situation worsened and flight attendants found her unconscious in one of the aircraft's toilets, having vomited and defecated on herself. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After previously indicating he would serve the remainder of his current term, Republican Congressman Patrick Meehan, R-Penn., announced his resignation on Friday. 'With the knowledge I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve,' Meehan said in a statement. He added, 'I have stayed to fight for important priorities like fully funding our troops, increasing support for medical research and preserving promising clean energy solutions. And now that work is accomplished.' Meehan said he did not want to put his staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation of his use of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim. The four-term congressman said he believes he would be exonerated of any wrongdoing but pledged to pay $39,000.00 to the U.S. Treasury to reimburse for the severance payment that was made from his office account. 'Though I wish my time in Congress would have finished in a more satisfying manner, I am proud of our accomplishments and thank the residents of my District for their confidence in me over the last eight years,' Meehan said. He added, 'I recognize that there are constituents who are disappointed in the manner in which I handled the situation that lead to my decision not to seek re-election and wish I had done better by them.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Filing of Definitive Proxy Statement Regulatory News: TechnipFMC plc ("TechnipFMC") (NYSE: FTI) (Paris: FTI) (ISIN: GB00BDSFG982) announced today that it has filed its definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") (the "Proxy Statement The Proxy Statement contains the notice of the Company's 2018 annual general meeting of shareholders (the "AGM"). The AGM will be held at 10:00 a.m., London time, on Thursday, 14 June 2018 at the Company's offices at One St. Paul's Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AP, United Kingdom. The Proxy Statement will be made available to shareholders shortly. A copy of the Proxy Statement can be found on the SEC website (www.sec.gov) and on the TechnipFMC website (investors.technipfmc.com). A copy of the Proxy Statement has been submitted to the U.K. National Storage Mechanism on the date of this announcement and is, or will shortly be, available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM. About TechnipFMC TechnipFMC is a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface projects. With our proprietary technologies and production systems, integrated expertise, and comprehensive solutions, we are transforming our clients' project economics. We are uniquely positioned to deliver greater efficiency across project lifecycles from concept to project delivery and beyond. Through innovative technologies and improved efficiencies, our offering unlocks new possibilities for our clients in developing their oil and gas resources. Each of our more than 37,000 employees is driven by a steady commitment to clients and a culture of purposeful innovation, challenging industry conventions, and rethinking how the best results are achieved. To learn more about us and how we are enhancing the performance of the world's energy industry, go to TechnipFMC.com and follow us on Twitter @TechnipFMC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180427005526/en/ Contacts: TechnipFMC plc Investor relations Matt Seinsheimer, +1-281-260-3665 Vice President Investor Relations Matt Seinsheimer or Phillip Lindsay, +44 203 429 3929 Director Investor Relations Europe Phillip Lindsay or Media relations Christophe Belorgeot, +33 1 47 78 39 92 Vice President Corporate Communications Christophe Belorgeot or Delphine Nayral, +33 1 47 78 34 83 Manager Public Relations Delphine Nayral (ASX:NOX) Hello. Jessica Amir for the Finance News Network. Joining me from Noxopharm is Managing Director & CEO, Dr Graham Kelly. Grahham. Welcome back.Graham, you made an announcement recently about a prostate cancer study at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney. What was that all about?St Vincents is one of a small number of hospitals around the world who are trialling an experimental and very encouraging new treatment for men with prostate cancer, and we were invited to join them in that effort.Its a treatment that was developed originally in Germany as a clever way of getting radiotherapy to every cancer cell in every part of a man with prostate cancers body.As this slide shows, late-stage prostate cancer in most men involves dozens, maybe hundreds, of tumours throughout the body. Radiotherapy is the best hope we have at the moment of hitting these tumours, but it just isnt possible to expose the whole body to radiotherapy.So the idea of this treatment is injecting the radiotherapy intravenously and letting it find its way to all of these tumours.It involves injecting intravenously a peptide that recognises prostate cancer cells and will bind to those cancer cells. But like a Trojan horse, the peptide carries a payload of a radioactive substance that exposes the cancer cell to radiotherapy. In this way, the theory is that you can get radiation to every cancer cell, no matter where and no matter how small the tumour might be.There have been probably 700 to 800 men treated this way around the world over the past 3-4 years, and the results so far are encouraging, but not spectacular. Most men respond to this treatment, but for most men, the response is incomplete and doesnt last all that long. Its extending life where no other therapy is working, so its worthwhile. But we and St Vincents believe we can do better.The Study we are conducting at St Vincents is based on a simple proposition - that NOX66 will make the intravenous radiotherapy more effective. We believe that many cancer cells are escaping because not enough of radioactivity is reaching them. The idea is that the presence of NOX66 in the cancer cells will convert a weak radiotherapy effect into a lethal effect.The St Vincents study is known as the LUPIN Study. Our aim is to see if we can make more men respond, with more complete responses, and keep those men in remission for a lot longer. And shareholders arent going to have to wait long to see whether we are successful. The first data is coming through now, and we hope to be in a position to provide interim data in August.The Company also has announced another study in prostate cancer called DARRT-1. What is that all about, and how does it fit in with the St Vincents study?Both studies have the same objective, to use NOX66 to make radiotherapy a more effective form of therapy in prostate cancer.The difference lies in how the radiotherapy is given. In the St Vincents study, it is given intravenously. In the DARRT study, it is given by the more standard external method.External beam radiation is the standard form of radiotherapy in late-stage prostate cancer. The aim simply is to relieve pain or pressure from one or two larger tumours. This is a predominantly palliative treatment, not curative. And often the tumours are in sensitive areas such as the spine, which means that the dose of radiotherapy needs to be kept low.The rationale using NOX66 is the same as before - to use NOX66 to enhance the effect of the radiotherapy.We are looking for two outcomes here. The first is that those one or two tumours that are receiving radiotherapy, instead of shrinking maybe 50% in size for several months, will show much greater shrinkage in the presence of NOX66. If we can achieve that, then we will have done something important and completely disruptive to how we currently manage late-stage prostate cancer. This in itself, would be a significant development.The second outcome is the possibility that all of the cancers in the body, not just the one or two exposed to radiotherapy, will shrink or disappear as well. This is the abscopal response that we have been talking about for some time. But it is important, Jess, to note that we dont expect to see an abscopal response in every patient.And where we dont, then the approach we are taking at St Vincents becomes the back-up treatment.The DARRT study is recruiting well. There are 11 sites for this clinical trial in three countries and we anticipate the first data from this study becoming available in July.Jess, the point of having TWO prostate cancer studies is both a patient-orientated and commercial one. If one, or indeed BOTH, of these forms of treatment using NOX66 become available treatment for most men with late-stage prostate cancer, the financial outcome is potentially enormous. Cancer Australia statistics predict 17,700 males will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year in Australia. In the USA, 165,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed. This is a very large and sadly, growing patient group.Thank you so much for the update and good luck with the studies.Thank you PLEASE REMEMBER TO ORDER FROM AMAZON THOUGH FMF.CLICK ON ANY BOOK WE LIST TO GET TO AMAZON, AND THEN ORDER WHATEVER. thanxxx &amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; FINISHING THE 2ND EDITION!!! REVISED AND UPDATED 2ND EDITION NEAR COMPLETION. LOOK FOR IT IN SEPTEMBER. THANK YOU AND LEGAL NOTICE As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. THANK YOU TO ALL THE READERS WHO REMEMBER TO GO TO AMAZON VIA FIRST MOTHER FORUM. IT MATTERS NOT WHAT YOU PURCHASE. From the New York Times "Lorraine Dusky, a writer who relinquished a daughter as a young single mother in New York State in 1966, supports opening the records. She reported in her 2015 memoir that in the handful of states that offered women the opportunity to remove their names from original birth certificates, only a small fraction of women fewer than 1 percent chose to do so." -- Dont Keep Adopted People in the Dark by Gabrielle Glaser, June 19, 2018 From the New York Times "On FirstMotherForum.com, a blog that discusses issues among women who had given children up for adoption, Lorraine Dusky, one of the sites authors, praised the series (ABC's 10-episode Find My Family): 'Maybe this will be heard by people who think it is unloyal somehow for a person to search out his or her roots, parents, family, when it is a most natural desire of consciousness.' --Two Reality Shows Stir Publicity and Anger"--Dec. 6, 2009. This blog takes cookies. "It shouldn't take a miracle to find people you are related to by blood."--Jenn Gentlesk EMAIL US AT forumfirstmother@gmail.com Oregon court records available Instructions and forms for accessing adoption records are on the Oregon Judicial Department's website. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Material from First Mother Forum may be quoted as long as FMF is credited and with a link to original source here. Over 350 words, contact for permission: forumfirstmother@gmail.com. Complaints related to alleged violation of FDI norms by e-commerce players have been forwarded to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for appropriate action New Delhi: Complaints related to alleged violation of FDI norms by e-commerce players have been forwarded to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for appropriate action, a top government official said on Friday. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that all FDI policies are notified under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and any infringement of the law or allegation is investigated by the ED. "So all the complaints that we receive in this regard or any violation of FEMA, we sent that to ED for appropriate action," he told reporters. These remarks assume significance as certain industries and the Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT) have time and again alleged violation of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for e-commerce by online retail firms. They have demanded action by the DIPP on their grievances. When asked about reports that Amazon has sought certain clarifications from the department on sharing warehouse staff and other things for its food retail business, the secretary said: "if they have some problem, we can examine it". Last year, the government approved Amazon Retail India's proposal. The company has proposed investments of Rs 3,500 crore for setting up subsidiary company in India with 100 percent FDI to engage in the business of retail trading of food products manufactured and/or produced in India. Talking about new proposed industrial policy he said a draft note has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultation. The new industrial policy envisions a competitive Indian industry equipped with skill, scale and technology Swedish retail giant Ikea Group has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking appointment next month to discuss multi-crore investment plans for the state. Kolkata: Swedish retail giant Ikea Group has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking appointment next month to discuss multi-crore investment plans for the state. Ikea plans to open up to 2 stores in the state entailing an investment of up to Rs 2,000 crore. In a letter to Banerjee, a senior official of the company has promised an investment of Rs 1,000 crore for each store that will open in the state. Ikea India deputy CEO Patrik Antoni and the company's country expansion manager David McCausland and country public affairs manager have sought appointment with Banerjee in this connection. "This is a big news," Banerjee told reporters at the secretariat. "West Bengal is one of the key markets in Ikea's plans in India and we would like to start working in your state for establishing Ikeas expansion plans. Each Ikea store in your state will be an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and generating employment of 800 directly and 1,200 jobs indirectly," Ikea's letter to Banerjee read. "The store will be built over 4,00,000 square lakh feet of area. We see West Bengal as a market for 1-2 Ikea stores and touch points, which means investment of more than Rs 2000 cores," it added. ED said it has attached fixed deposits (FDs) worth over Rs 143 crore in connection with a bank loan money laundering probe against Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fixed deposits (FDs) worth over Rs 143 crore in connection with a bank loan money laundering probe against Chennai-based firm Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd. The Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd sold jewellery in the brand name of 'Krizz' and is accused of defaulting on a bank loan of Rs 824 crore. The agency said it attached the Rs 143.58-crore FDs after a similar attachment of assets (plant and machinery) worth Rs 48 crore was made against the firm two days back. The agency had frozen land, buildings, plant and machinery available at the factory in Pukkathurai village in Tamil Nadu under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency had said that forensic audit was conducted to identify fraudulent statements of financial reports, diversion of bank funds, siphoning of funds and asset stripping during the period from 2009 to 2017. The total attachment in this case is now Rs 191 crore, it said. The SBI first sent a complaint to the CBI in this matter. The ED office in Chennai issued a provisional order for attachment of the FDs under the PMLA. The agency said it found that an amount of Rs 300 crore was sent by the firm to a jeweller's account and there was allegedly "no evidence" of receipt of gold sale in lieu of the said payment. Hence, they said, the FDs kept in this bank account were attached. The Enforcement Directorate registered a PMLA case against the company and its executives after taking cognisance of a CBI First Information Report (FIR) registered last month. "It was alleged that huge bank loans were obtained (by the firm) from a consortium of 14 banks with SBI as the lead bank for business purposes. "Credit facilities are secured by the securities such as raw materials, semi-finished goods, finished goods, stores and spares showing huge stocks. "However, it was later realised that stock statements were fudged with the help of chartered accountants and on inspection by the banks in May 2017, it was found that no stocks existed and effectively all the operations came to standstill," the ED had said. The Enforcement Directorate said a forensic audit report of the firm showed "there is misrepresentation/falsification of records, diversion of funds and disposal of the stocks by the company." "The total loss caused to the banks due to the above fraud works out to the tune of Rs 824 crore which is outstanding as on December, 2017," it said. With inputs from agencies The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in February this year had imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday stayed an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which had imposed a penalty of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair business practices in the online search market. While admitting Google's plea against the order, the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya directed the internet major to deposit 10 percent of the penalty amount with it in four weeks. The NCLAT listed the matter for hearing on 28 May. A Google spokesperson said: "NCLAT has accepted our appeal for review of aspects of the CCI decision and its associated findings." The CCI in February this year had imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. Passing the order on complaints that were filed back in 2012, the regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct. The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 percent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order. The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd. The combination of Bharti Infratel with Indus Towers, announced on Wednesday, reflected the 'fierce price competition' in the Indian telecom market that has prompted consolidation and incumbents to sell assets to raise funds, Fitch said New Delhi: Price competition in the Indian telecom market is expected to ease beyond the short term horizon as three large telcos emerge from consolidation, and the industry revenue is likely to grow in "mid single digits" this year, according to Fitch Ratings. In its latest note, Fitch also said that the combination of Bharti Infratel with Indus Towers, announced on Wednesday, reflected the "fierce price competition" in the Indian telecom market that has prompted consolidation and incumbents to sell assets to raise funds. "We do not anticipate any change in Bharti Airtel's...rating, as the deconsolidation of 54 percent owned Bharti Infratel's $300 million EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) and $1 billion in net cash will be offset by cash dividends and greater liquid equity value in the merged tower entity," it said. Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers have agreed to merge in a deal that will create a $14.6 billion firm with world's second-largest number of mobile masts. The merged entity will have in its fold more than 1,63,000 towers across India - largest after China Tower. Airtel and Vodafone will jointly control the combined firm. Bharti Airtel had separately stated that it plans to engage with potential investors to evaluate a stake sale in the combined tower company. In its note, Fitch further said: "beyond the short-term, we expect price competition in the Indian telecoms market to ease following the emergence of three large telcos - Bharti, Jio and the merged entity of Vodafone-Idea..." The three large operators are expected to control a revenue market share of about 90 percent. "We expect industry revenue growth to be in the mid-single-digits in 2018, following a decline in 2017," Fitch added. On the mega tower deal, Fitch said that it expects some of the largest shareholders in the combined entity to sell down their stakes, or divest them entirely, post-merger, which appears to be geared towards maximising equity valuations ahead of sales. "The merged entity will benefit from some economies of scale and will not face cash leakage through the dividend distribution tax, which is currently paid when Indus distributes dividends," Fitch noted. Attrition at Reliance Jio has come down to 18 percent, the official said New Delhi: Reliance Jio is planning to recruit about 75,000 to 80,000 people during this financial year, a senior company official said on Thursday. "About 1,57,000 people are on the rolls today...I will say another 75,000 to 80,000 people," Reliance Jio's Chief Human Resources Officer Sanjay Jog told reporters on sidelines of an event organised by the Society of Human Resources Management. He was replying to question on how many new recruitments would be made by the company during this financial year. On attrition rate in the company, he said it was about 32 percent in the sales and technical areas related to constructions sites. "If it is taken at the headquarter level, it is just 2 percent. Average if you go it will come down to 18 percent," he explained. Jog said the company was having a partnership with about 6,000 colleges, including technical institutions, across the country. According to him, there are some embedded courses offered in these institutions and students who clear these are "Reliance ready". He said hiring would also be done through referrals and now with the help of social media platforms. Recruitments through referrals now accounted for about 60 percent to 70 percent of the hiring, he said, adding college and employees" referrals "are the two major contributors to our hiring plans." (Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) The original article as published in their print edition on 27 April carried a headline, sans any typographical error, that read: Modi, Xi will meet 6 times in 24 hours. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese premier Xi Jinping held an 'informal summit' in Wuhan, Twitter was in splits over a 'blooper' in The Times of India. An image of an article purportedly headlined 'Modi and Xi mate six times in 24 hours' went viral on Friday. However, the newspaper has now clarified that the image which was shared by various prominent personalities, including journalists was photoshopped to replace the original word 'meet' with 'mate'. A photoshopped image of our headline on the Modi-Xi meet is doing the rounds. All our editions carry the correct headline. You can see the difference when the correct & fake headlines are placed together. The one on the right is the photoshopped image with the word 'mate' tilted. pic.twitter.com/76NZGuFpR1 Times of India (@timesofindia) April 27, 2018 The original article as published in their print edition on 27 April carried a headline, sans any typographical error, that read: Modi, Xi will meet 6 times in 24 hours. Firstpost could not identify the original source of the fake image but it was tweeted out by prominent Twitter users. Is this photoshopped? Or is this a Freudian slip of epic proportions considering our position vis a vis China pic.twitter.com/mJbFQquD1m SANJAY HEGDE (@sanjayuvacha) April 27, 2018 Even without analysing the image threadbare, a slight smudge or a change in texture is visible around the word 'mate.' However, some Twitter users pointed out that there was a difference in the text font and size too if one were to zoom the image sufficiently. As soon as the clarification was issued by the newspaper, several Twitter users promptly retracted their posts and instead shared the newspaper's clarification. Learnt that this is photoshopped. What skill! Anybody would take it on face value in the first place. Watsapp era- new things, new talents including debunking!! https://t.co/7vcw0XZZVa D Roopa IPS (@D_Roopa_IPS) April 27, 2018 Senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul on behalf of the Digital Lenders Association of India and others also argued that the private sector should be allowed to use Aadhaar. Editor's Note: This copy was published on 27 April, 2018. It is being republished in light of the Supreme Court's verdict on the constitutionality of Aadhaar likely being pronounced tomorrow. On Day 34 of the Aadhaar hearings, advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan continued his arguments for the Centre for Civil Society, an intervenor in the Aadhaar case. He argued that the Aadhaar Act was a valid and balanced law with sufficient safeguards. The exception to this was of a few provisions like Sections 47 and 57 which need to be struck down. He argued that the mandatory use of Aadhaar for anything other than Section 7 is manifestly arbitrary. Senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul on behalf of the Digital Lenders Association of India and others also argued that the private sector should be allowed to use Aadhaar. Lastly, counsel Zoheb Hossain argued that Aadhaar enabled the enforcing of social and economic rights. Aadhaar provides one kind of identification In the previous hearing, Sankaranarayanan had argued that the Aadhaar Act is a valid law, subject to certain provisions which need to be struck down. The right to identity, he had argued, is an absolute fundamental right, and Aadhaar provides one kind of proof of identification. The Bench now stated that a person does have multiple identities, be it as a father, husband, of citizenship, etc. Aadhaar, however, does not destroy those identities. The counsel, here, described Aadhaar as a number identifying a person as a beneficiary of a particular subsidy, benefit or service. Aadhaar passes all tests for privacy He argued that he was in support of the Aadhaar Act because of the safeguards and pillars on which it stands, but Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act (Aadhaar PAN linking) takes away those. He argued that there was no mass surveillance through Aadhaar. The privacy concerns with Aadhaar, he argued, were valid, but the Aadhaar Act passes all the tests for privacy and constitutionality that are laid down. Aadhaar number is purely voluntary The Aadhaar Act, he argued, makes the Aadhaar number purely an entitlement and not mandatory. The Bench, here, pointed out that Aadhaar was mandatory for Section 7 benefits. The counsel further argued that Section 4 of the Aadhaar Act states that the Aadhaar number can be accepted as a proof of identity, and is not restricted to the purposes of the Aadhaar Act. Section 57, therefore, which allows private parties and others to use Aadhaar, is not necessary. Beneficial provisions of Aadhaar Next, he argued that Section 5 requires the UIDAI to take special measures towards the vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, unskilled workers, etc., and thus indicates a discharge of obligation by the State. Section 7, he argued, is also a beneficial provision. He argued that the even if someone doesnt have Aadhaar, the State has an obligation to identify the person, which has led to Section 7 being worded the way it has been (the provision of alternatives to Aadhaar numbers). Recognition of the identity of every person, he argued, is an international obligation. He went on to cite several European and US judgments on the issue of the right to identity. Section 7 is reasonable The Bench, here, asked the counsel to deal with the petitioners contention on Aadhaar as the only identification mechanism for Section 7 benefits and is thus mandatory. To this, the counsel responded that the answer was in Article 266(3) of the Constitution of India, which states that no funds from the Consolidated Funds can be appropriated except in accordance with the law. The State, he argued, has the onerous obligation of securing public funds, which is why Section 7 is reasonable. Absolute foolproof identity claim is questionable Next, he argued on the issue of Aadhaar being made into a universal identification, and all other identity documents that were used to get Aadhaar were rendered irrelevant. He argued that allowing 18 proofs of identity, and making Aadhaar available for all residents makes the absolutely foolproof identity claim doubtful. Aadhaar, he argued, was only as secure as the proofs of identity provided. These factors, he stated, must be kept in mind while deciding on the issue of proportionality. Use of Aadhaar for anything other than Section 7 is arbitrary The Aadhaar Act, he argued, has a balance because of the limited use under Section 7. Section 139AA, on the other hand, lacks this balance. He argued that mandatory use of Aadhaar for anything other than Section 7 was manifestly arbitrary. The Aadhaar Act can remain balanced only if uses for all purposes other than Section 7 remains voluntary. He further argued that while the Aadhaar Act was in furtherance of the Directive Principles of State Policy, Section 139AA was not. Only the UIDAI can approach Courts Next, he turned to the issue of proportionality, arguing that for this, the test of the least restrictive invasion does not apply, and instead the test of whether there was balance was to be applied. The Aadhaar Act, he argued, had sufficient safeguards and prescription of offences for this balance. He, however, challenged Section 47, which gives only the UIDAI the power to approach courts with grievances, as being against natural justice. He further stated that having embedded or smart cards instead of the centralised CIDR would be less secure since people could misplace their cards. Authorities showing hubris on security levels Next, he argued that the authorities were showing hubris with respect to their security levels. This, he argued, was questionable, citing the example of encryption levels, the 2048 bit asymmetric keys, as not the best available. There were huge holes in terms of security, exclusion and authentication failures, which needed to be plugged before everyone was made to use it. Informed consent for uses outside Aadhaar Act Next, he turned to the issue of informed consent, arguing that the safeguards under the Aadhaar Act were in addition to those under Section 43A of the IT Act and the IT Sensitive Personal Data Rules. The application of these rules, he argued, implied that there must be informed consent whenever Aadhaar was used outside of the Aadhaar Act, and also an opt-out. Any appropriate response to the authentication request He then challenged Section 8(4) of the Aadhaar Act, which allows the UIDAI to respond with any other appropriate response sharing such identity information, in response to an authentication request. This, he argued, is a privacy violation, which could not be counter-balanced with a state interest. A persons address, for instance, may be private data. Aadhaar violates Right to Information Act Lastly, he argued that Section 29(2) of the Aadhaar Act, which states that identity information must be shared only in accordance with the Aadhaar Act and regulations, ignores the compulsory mandate of Section 4(b)(xii) of the Right to Information Act, which requires public authorities to publish details of the manner of execution of subsidy programs. The private sector should be allowed to use Aadhaar Next, senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul commenced his arguments on behalf of the Digital Lenders Association of India, and other associations who have built their businesses around Aadhaar. He argued that the free flow of information is necessary, citing the example of how banking correspondents empowered the poor, women and also migrant labour. When questioned by the Bench on Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, he stated that Section 57 should be voluntary, and based on consensus. Aadhaar, for instance, was essential for microfinance via kirana shops and banking correspondents. The Bench, here, questioned why there was a need for Aadhaar based central authentication. To this, he argued that Aadhaar was a powerful tool and an effective and a cost-effective method which already exists, and therefore the private sector should be able to use it. The information that can be collected via Aadhaar, he argued, is collectible even without Aadhaar. The real issue was unauthorised sharing, which is a problem even outside of Aadhaar, and thus these arent grounds to strike down Section 57. Virtual ID, he argued, was still better, since there could be no storage of Aadhaar numbers. The speculative possibility of identity theft, he argued, will not defeat the statute. Further, location of the AuAs and KuAs is never shared, so there is no question of surveillance. Aadhaar enables enforcing social and economic rights Next, counsel Zoheb Hossain commenced his submissions for the UIDAI, arguing that social and economic rights were enforceable rights. The positive obligations on the State, such as with respect to food, shelter, etc., were enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. He argued that Aadhaar is an infrastructure that helps progressively achieve these positive duties of the State under Article 21. The arguments will continue on 2 May. Sources of the arguments include LiveTweeting of the case by SFLC.in and Prasanna S. You can read our complete coverage of the Aadhaar Supreme Court case below Why SC needs to look into technical evidence of Aadhaars surveillance capabilities Lack of governmental ownership of CIDRs source code can have serious consequences Will State give citizens rights only if they agree to be tracked forever, asks lawyer Shyam Divan Coalition for Aadhaar: A collective of private companies wants to ensure that Aadhaar ID and related services continue to be offered Petitioners argue on centralisation of data and challenge Aadhaars claims on savings Petitioners argue for a voluntary ID card system that does not collect user data Petitioners argue that receipt of govt benefits cannot be at the cost of compromising fundamental rights Aadhaar is architecturally unconstitutional, argue the petitioners Petitioners argue that Aadhaar violates dignity by objectifying and depersonalizing an individual Petitioners seek compensation for starvation deaths and extension of March 31st deadline Section 7 exception in Supreme Courts interim order greatly affects peoples constitutional rights Entire Aadhaar project is beyond the stated objectives of Aadhaar Act, argue petitioners Petitioners conclude their arguments on 'the number of the beast' Aadhaar, highlighting various issues Aadhaar hearing: Political liberties cannot be foregone for economic and social justice, states the Bench Aadhaar hearing: UIDAIs presentation discusses Aadhaar enrolment, updation and authentication processes in detail Aadhaar hearing: Supreme Court expresses concerns with data breaches, Aadhaar security and profiling Aadhaar hearing: Petitioners question UIDAI on verification of residency requirement, de-duplication rejections and authentication failures Aadhaar hearing: Attorney General argues that pervasive collection of fingerprints meets proportionality requirements Aadhaar hearing: Bench criticises the argument that Aadhaar can prevent bank frauds and terrorists from acquiring mobile numbers Aadhaar hearing: Additional Solicitor General argues Aadhaar-PAN linkage enables deduplication, prevents fraud and widens the tax base Aadhaar hearing: Not necessary to prove least possible invasion of privacy, argues Additional Solicitor General Aadhaar hearing: Counsel argues that Aadhaar is more secure than a data protection law, SC disagrees Aadhaar hearing: Supreme Court questions why both the right to privacy and right to food cannot be secured under the Constitution Aadhaar hearing: Senior counsel Rakesh Dwiwedi argues that the UIDAI is constantly improving and upgrading its systems Aadhaar hearing: Aadhaar has the support of two governments, argues the State The author is a lawyer and author specializing in technology laws. She is also a certified information privacy professional. The central government, which has refused to accept the Supreme Court's collegium's recommendations regarding the appointment of Justice KM Joseph to the apex court, has said doing so would distort the court's regional representation. The central government, which refused to accept the Supreme Court's collegium's recommendations regarding the appointment of Justice KM Joseph to the apex court, had said doing so would distort the court's regional representation. The collegium is likely to have a meeting on Wednesday in this regard. The Centre had said the apex court already has Justice Kurian Joseph, who was elevated as an Supreme Court judge on 8 March, 2013, from the Kerala High Court and there were two other high court chief justices justices TB Radhakrishnan and Antony Dominic, whose parent high court was Kerala. Radhakrishnan is the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, while Dominic is Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. The government's contention is that having another Supreme Court judge from Kerala would distort the carefully maintained composition of the apex court. As explained by The Times of India, there are 25 Supreme Court judges, of whom three each are from Bombay and Delhi High Court, while the high courts of Allahabad, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh provide two each. The high courts of Kerala, Odisha, Gauhati, Punjab & Haryana, Madras, Patna and Himachal Pradesh contribute one Supreme Court judge each. The government has said that since Kerala's is a small high court, its representation in the apex court can't rise to two. The Times of India report also said that there are 10 high courts Calcutta, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya which have no representation in the Supreme Court. The note of the Union law ministry addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), who heads the five-member collegium, said the proposal to reconsider Joseph's name had the approval of President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The note also said the elevation of one more judge from Kerala High Court does not address the "legitimate claims of the chief justices and puisne judges of many other high courts" and "forestalls the claim of other senior chief justices and puisne judges". "From our records, it is evident that to ensure regional representation, seniority may not have been taken as an important consideration, but in case where the high court concerned is adequately represented in the Supreme Court and also as chief justices of different high courts, then this consideration cannot be and should not be ignored all together to the detriment and prejudice of other senior judges," it said. Furthermore, a report on NDTV argued, it could also be because there is no Dalit judge on the roster of Supreme Court justices. It said that ever since KG Balakrishnan retired as the chief justice of India in 2010, not a single Dalit judge has been elevated to the Supreme Court or even as chief justice of a high court. At a time when the government is facing a backlash from Dalits over a court verdict that relaxed provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, the government also pointed out that the communities have not been represented in the Supreme Court for a long time. The Congress questioned the Centre's motive behind the decision to askthe Supreme Court collegium to reconsider its KM Joseph's recommendation. Of the two names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for elevation to the apex court, only one has been accepted by the Centre, which has paved the way for a fresh controversy, as several leaders across the political spectrum criticising the move. The Congress questioned the NDA government's motives behind the decision, while the CPM demanded President Ram Nath Kovind's intervention. 'Revenge politics' The Congress termed the central government asking the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider its recommendation for elevation of Justice KM Joseph to the apex court as "revenge politics" and accused the government of "appointing judges only of their own choice". The party also said the the independence of judiciary is in "danger", and if it does not protect its autonomy in one voice, "democracy will be in danger". The government rejected the Supreme Court's recommendation of Joseph's elevation citing various reasons, including seniority. But it cleared the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra, who took oath on Friday as a judge of the Supreme Court. Joseph is 42nd in the seniority list among 669 high court judges. Citing the Supreme Court collegium's view that Joseph, currently Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, was "more deserving and suitable in all respects" than other chief justices and senior judges of high courts, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that it seemed that the "government thinks he is not deserving". "The Supreme Court's own website said this. Four months have passed; on Thursday, we got to know that government has returned the file and said more discussion is required on it. The central government wants those judges who only the government has approval over," Sibal said. "The law says what collegium recommends, only they will be appointed. The government wants to ignore the collegium's recommendations. If it is not of their choice, they will not appoint him," he said. Congress' communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter. PM Modis revenge politics qua judiciary & conspiratorial suffocation of Supreme Court exposed again. J. Joseph is Indias Sr most CJ. Yet Modi Govt refuses to clear his elevation to SC as retribution for quashing presidential rule in Uttrakhand? 1/2https://t.co/wbwaedSP8o Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 26, 2018 In another tweet, he said, "In June 2014, they refused to clear noted jurist G Subramaniam's name for elevation to Supreme Court as he was a lawyer against Amit Shah and Co." A bench headed by Joseph in 2016 had quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state and had revived the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat. In a series of tweets, Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram asked if Modi government was "above the law". "Delighted that Indu Malhotra will be sworn in as Judge of the Supreme Court on Friday. Disappointed that Joseph's appointment is still on hold," Chidambaram, who is also a senior advocate, said. "What is holding up Joseph's appointment? His state, or his religion or his judgement in the Uttarakhand case?" he asked in another tweet. What is holding up Justice K M Joseph's appointment? His State or his religion or his judgement in the Uttarakhand case? P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 26, 2018 As the law stands now, the recommendation of the SC collegium is final and binding in the appointment of judges. Is the Modi government above the law? P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 26, 2018 CPM demands president's intervention The CPM demanded Kovind's immediate intervention to ensure that laid-out procedure in the selection of judges is followed and the collegium's recommendation to elevate Joseph to the Supreme Court is cleared. In a statement, the Left party accused the BJP-led NDA government of "unwarranted intrusion" into the selection process. "The government has not cleared the appointment of Joseph. This is an unwarranted intrusion into the selection process of a judge and will affect the independence of the judiciary. "The President of India must immediately intervene to ensure that the laid-out procedure is followed and the appointment of Joseph is cleared, " the CPM said. JD(U) accuses govt of 'interfering in judiciary' JD(U) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav said the government was "interfering" in the judiciary. "It is a very serious matter and I will request the apex court judges to come forward and ensure that the people's faith in the judiciary remains intact," he said. "This (the issue of Justice Joseph's elevation to the Supreme Court) shows that the government is interfering in the (matters of the) judiciary and all constitutional institutions in a big way," the veteran leader told reporters in New Delhi. BJP stands by Centre's decision Amid all the controversy, however, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said all political parties must ensure that the dignity of constitutional institutions like the courts was not diminished under any circumstances. "All of us, be it the ruling party or the Opposition parties or any government or non-government organisation, must try to ensure that the people's trust in constitutional institutions remains intact. This is necessary for a healthy democracy," he told reporters in Gandhinagar. A regular petitioner in the apex court, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said the Congress stand on the issue reflected its frustration. Malhotra will be the first woman judge to be appointed to the top post directly from the bar. Swamy said, on the issue of delay in Joseph's appointment, that the Congress party is just frustrated. "On one hand, they accuse the CJI being inclined to BJP and on the other, they are saying we have ignored him. The Congress party is just frustrated," he said. Meanwhile, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised the Congress for attacking the Modi government. "The whole record of the Congress party is littered with instances of superceding judges who were found to be inconvenient... the legendary judge HR Khanna who gave the dissenting judgement during Emergency and upheld the freedom of Indians was denied the post of chief justice even for two months and superceded by a junior," he said. He alleged that the "real provocation" for imposition of Emergency was a judgment of the Allahabad High Court against Indira Gandhi. "They (Congress) have meted out unfair treatment to the judiciary during their rule," Prasad said. The minister said leaders of the BJP had fought for freedom of press and judiciary during the Emergency. "That is our commitment. We have fought for the cause of independence of the judiciary, Congress should stop lecturing us," he said. On 22 January, the apex court collegium's file recommending the elevation of Joseph and Malhotra had reached the law ministry. After processing the file in the first week of February, the recommendations were kept in abeyance as the government wanted to elevate only Malhotra. But now, the government has gone ahead with the appointment of Malhotra and asked the collegium to reconsider the elevation of Joseph. With inputs from agencies BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is open to negotiating with the United States to resolve trade tensions, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying by state media late on Thursday, noting that the countries should manage their conflicts through dialogue. BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is open to negotiating with the United States to resolve trade tensions, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying by state media late on Thursday, noting that the countries should manage their conflicts through dialogue. Li made the remarks at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is due to lead a delegation to China for talks intended to ease trade tensions. President Donald Trump has threatened a new round of tariffs on $100 billion worth of Chinese products that could target mobile phones, computers and other consumer goods. China retaliated against an initial round of U.S. tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese exports. "There is no winner in trade conflict, which will not only affect the recovery of the world economy but also the global industrial chain," Li said in comments reported by the official Xinhua news agency. "It is also what the international community expects from our two countries," he said. Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, who will join Mnuchin's delegation in Beijing, said on Thursday he hoped the talks with China would yield progress but that resolving U.S. complaints would be "a long process." Trump said earlier this week the United States had a "very good chance" of striking a deal with China over trade. Xinhua cited Li as saying he hoped the two countries would be able to "manage and control" their differences.Trump has criticised China for raising trade barriers against U.S. companies, including high import tariffs in sectors like autos. Li added China would "unswervingly open further to the outside world", reiterating President Xi Jinping's assurances over about the country opening more widely to trade. "China also stands ready to promote cooperation with the United States in transportation, such as autonomous driving," Li said. China recently announced plans to remove caps on foreign ownership of domestic auto ventures and to cut import duties. Chinese companies including Baidu Inc are pushing hard in self-driving vehicles, increasing competition for more established U.S. names such as Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google parent Alphabet , and Tesla Inc . (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Nick Macfie and Eric Meijer) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Attorney General KK Venugopal on Friday told the Supreme Court that the Chief Justice of India is the 'master of roster' and he has full power to allocate cases and to maintain discipline. New Delhi: Attorney General KK Venugopal on Friday told the Supreme Court that the Chief Justice of India is the "master of roster" and he has full power to allocate cases and to maintain discipline. Venugopal told a bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan that vesting case allocation with multi-member collegium instead of the Chief Justice would create multiple authority and result in "conflict and chaos". Venugopal said if all the judges of the apex court or collegium decide the allocation, then "each judge would express a preference" and the judicial system would "collapse". Venugopal referred to many judgements to underline that the Chief Justice was the master of roster. If all judges or five-member collegium judges decide the allocation, "there will be conflict, there will be chaos if judges decide which case they should hear, which bench they should preside". The court had earlier sought Venugopal's assistance on a plea by former law minister and senior counsel Shanti Bhuhan, seeking that the allocation of "important and sensitive cases" be done by the collegium of five senior-most judges and not by the Chief Justice alone. The court reserved its verdict on the plea. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Shanti Bhushan, told the bench that "sensitive cases" like those which directly touch upon the very "survival of democracy" should not be left to the discretion of the Chief Justice. In his plea, Bhushan said the authority of the Chief Justice as a master of roster was not an "absolute, arbitrary, singular power" which may be exercised in his "sole discretion" and the Chief Justice must exercise his authority in consultation with other senior judges who are also part of the collegium. The collective opinion of a collegium was much safer than the opinion of the Chief Justice alone, it said. Over the last couple of years, Dalit weddings have been interrupted by upper castes in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. By Bhasker Tripathi and Shreya Khaitan Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh, and Bhilwara district, Rajasthan: As a wedding procession of 200-odd people danced to the hit Bollywood song Ghoomar, Ramprasad Bamnia (27) dapper in a dark blue suit, a multi-coloured turban, and sword in hand, sat proudly atop a white-coloured mare. This was the third most important day of my life, Bamnia said. The happiest was when he started studying at a special boarding school for children from the scheduled castes (SC) the constitutional name for those who were considered at the bottom of the social hierarchy in India and the second happiest when he was selected in Madhya Pradesh's police force, after several failed attempts. As the procession made its way to the house of the bride Sonia Bamnia, in Ghatiya village, 20 kilometres north of the religious city of Ujjain, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Bamnia and his guests were accosted by about a dozen people between the ages of 20 and 28 years. They threatened to burn the music system if the procession didnt stop playing the song Ghoomar a traditional Rajasthani folk song adapted for the movie Padmavat, which the Karni Sena, a Rajput fringe group protested alleging that it defamed the Rajput queen Padmavati. The crowd also insisted that Bamnia get off the mare as he crossed the houses of Rajputs, considered to be a higher caste in the traditional system. Bamnia refused to get off the mare. Over the last couple of years, Dalit weddings have been interrupted by upper castes in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. In April 2018, in Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit, Sanjay Jatav, was denied the right to ride a mare to his wedding. When he protested, water and electricity supply to his and his fiances family were stopped by some upper caste families. In 2018, a 21-year-old Dalit, Pradip Rathod, was allegedly killed in Gujarat, by upper caste men, for owning and riding a horse. The Dalit community in Gujarat has also been assaulted for sporting a moustache and performing Garba a Gujarati folk dance. Such stand-offs are a manifestation of a deeper struggle within society: Men and women from upper castes are increasingly anxious that Dalits who make up 16.3 percent of Indias populationpreviously considered untouchables, and relegated to jobs considered impure, are enrolling in schools in greater numbers, studying in colleges, finding better jobs and aspiring for long-denied equality. This is the first part of a two-part series on upper-caste resistance to the rise of Dalits and how the criminal justice system still fails them. The second part explores opposition to inter-caste romantic relationships, and the struggle Dalits face in getting justice. Poverty rates for the SC population have fallen sharply: In urban areas, it fell from 40.6 percent in 2004-05 to 21.7 percent in 2011-12, comparable to the fall in poverty rates for the rest of the population, excluding other backward classes (OBCs). In rural areas, poverty rates for SCs fell from 53.5 percent in 2004-05 to 31.5 percent in 2011-12, less than the rest of the urban population, excluding OBCs. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href='#'&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;public.tableau.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;static&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;images&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;da&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;dalit1web&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;Dashboard1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Source: Handbook on Social Welfare Statistics (January 2016), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Dalits question the status quo Hidden behind these numbers, on the ground, Dalits are questioning the status quo in small ways. In Dhuwaliya village, in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district, Prakash Meghwanshis wedding procession, or Bindauli, as it is locally called, was stopped by a group of upper caste men and women who asked him to get off the horse in front of the houses of the upper castes, police said. Meghwanshi refused, and when his family threatened to call the police, those stopping the procession let it proceed. "For years, no Dalit had ridden a horse at his wedding in our village. People either didnt even think of doing it or if they did, they would be scared of what the upper caste people would say, Rampal Balai, the father of the bride in Dhuwaliya, who arranged for the horse, said. I wanted my daughter to have a big wedding and I was aware of our rights to mount a horse. Those who had stopped the procession said it was not caste-related, and that no one rides in front of the temple on a horse. Police said the temple was just a pretext for stopping the procession and that the procession was just passing the side wall of the temple. Its an issue of dignity, Satish Kumar of the Jaipur-based Centre for Dalit Rights told IndiaSpend. The upper castes feel that if someone considered lower caste can mount a horse, and ride on the main path of a village, hamari izzat mitti me mil jaayengi (we wont be respected any longer). Dalits, especially those who migrated to urban areas for study and work, want to have the right to ride a horse, just like everyone else does, Kumar said. Earlier there was a lot of child marriage in Dalits so such processions were not common. Thats changed now, said Bhanwar Meghwanshi, who works for Dalit rights in Rajasthan, and is a national council member of the People Union for Civil Liberties. This happens because of old attitudes. The upper castes would consider themselves above all, and believe that old traditions would continue forever, said Panchuram Saraswat, station house officer, who first appeared at the scene of the wedding procession in Dhuwaliya. They dont know about the law. The Charbhuja temple in Dhuwaliya village, Bhilwara Rajasthan. Upper caste Jats asked a Dalit groom to get off the horse when his wedding procession was passing through a lane to the left of the temple. In Madhya Pradesh, when the upper castes stopped the wedding procession of police constable Ramprasad Bamnia, the guests agreed to stop playing the song Ghoomar, but Bamnia refused to get off the mare or stop the procession. Then, some of the upper castes threw stones some hit Bamnias relatives, one hit Bamnias head and he fell off the mare. He was saved because of the turban, he said. I never imagined that I would have to go through such trauma at my marriage due to my caste. And there was this unsaid pressure on me because I was a part of the police administration. Had I let it go, what example would others have received, said Bamnia. The incident had shaken me and had hurt my self-respect. A national human rights commission report lists prohibitions that Dalits have been subjected to such as driving through the locality on their own vehicle, taking a dead body on the main street of the village, especially where upper castes live, mounting a horse at a wedding procession, entering a higher caste locality for wedding functions, and playing musical instruments for their wedding. They [upper castes] must think, 'how can these downtrodden people rise and ride a mare and pretend to be equal to us'," said Bamnia. Bamnia went to the local police station to complain but did not receive much help. He then reached out to the districts superintendent of police (SP), who promised to send his deputy and 20 members of a special task force to ensure a peaceful wedding. What really touched me was that seeing me walking back home on foot, ASP (additional SP) sir sent his own vehicle to take me to the wedding, Bamnia recalled. I still think if this could happen to me in a village this close to the city, what atrocities people from my caste must be facing in villages located far-away from the city, said Bamnia. We are not competing with anybody; we just want to have decent lives with decent jobs. Nationwide, reporting of crimes against SCs has increased. Over the decade to 2016, the reported crime rate against Dalits rose by 25 percent; from 16.3 crimes per 100,000 Dalits reported in 2006, to 20.3 crimes in 2016, according to an April 2018 IndiaSpend analysis of 2016 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the latest available. Change in power equations upset upper castes When IndiaSpend spoke to two of the five men against whom a case had been filed for stopping Meghwanshis procession, they said it wasnt because he was Dalit. Nothing happened, Baluram Jat (38) said. We just told them not to break tradition. No one rides a horse in front of the temple. But they wouldnt stop and we let them go. We did not fight, or verbally abuse them. I dont know why they filed this case. Just because they are Dalit, they could file a case. Its the power of being a Dalit. Some Jats a caste higher than the Dalitfrom the village said the only problem they have with Dalits is that they relied on reservations to get jobs. The problem we have is with the reservation system. Why is it that if one of us (higher castes) gets 80 percent, we still dont get a job, and they (lower castes) get a job even if they get 50 percent, said a Jat requesting anonymity in Dhuwaliya. Some days after a first information report (FIR) was filed with the local police station at Raila, those accused came to the father of the bride, who had filed the case. They came and apologised and told me they would not stop any wedding procession in the future, Balai said. Ours is a small village and we want to live in peace, said Ghasiram Jat (45) one of those named in the FIR for stopping the procession. Dhuwaliya is a village of about 50-60 households, villagers said, equally divided between upper castes and Dalits. Though both communities have separate temples and dont communicate much with one another, they do attend each others weddings and even give money to the family at such functions. Ghasiram went to the wedding of Balais daughter, after the procession was stopped, he said. Laws and political advancement empower Dalits In 2015, the Centre for Dalit Rights filed a public interest litigation in the Jaipur High Court listing several cases where Dalits were not allowed to ride a horse through the village during wedding processions, or where funeral processions were stopped. The Jaipur High Court ruled it was the duty of the district magistrate, the sub-divisional magistrate, superintendent of police, and circle officer of the police to prevent such cases. The court also asked for the formation of a special team in atrocity-prone areas to see that funeral rights to Dalits are not denied and their marriage processions are not blocked. In 2015, an amendment to the national law for prevention of atrocities against SCs and scheduled tribes also made it a punishable offence to obstruct or prevent a person from an SC or tribe from mounting or riding bicycles or motorcycles, or wearing footwear or new clothes in public places, and taking out wedding processions or mounting a horse, or any other vehicle, during wedding processions. Social scientists believe that seeds of these issues also lie in the rise of social and political upliftment of Dalits in the last few decades. With economic liberalisation in the 1990s, India saw democratic decentralisation, said Ujjain-based Yatindra Singh Sisodia, professor and director at the Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research. With a 1992 constitutional amendment, gram panchayats (village councils) were provided constitutional status, with seats reserved for those from the SCs and scheduled tribes. This led to the massive increase in participation of Dalits in decision-making processes, which in turn led to the social and economic betterment of the Dalits. The upper castes could not accept this change, Sisodia told IndiaSpend. In the last six five-year-terms of the panchayats, the system has created a strong panchayat-level representation of Dalits, which challenges the upper castes in important decisions, thus creating friction, said Sisodia. Ramprasad Bamnia, a Dalit groom from MP, who was attacked by people from the upper castes for riding a mare and playing the song Ghoomar. His education, and his mothers political post helped changed the perception of the village towards them, he said. In Madhya Pradeshs last gram panchayat elections, which took place in 2014-15, sarpanch (village head) candidates from the SC, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes won over 18,183 seats, more than 80 percent of the total 22,604 seats. Only 15,136 seats about 67 percent of the total seats were reserved for candidates of these communities. We were always poor. No one cared about us. But then in 2005, my mother won the panchayat elections to become the sarpanch of the village, said Bamnia. But since Bamnias mother had beaten a candidate supported by the upper castes, her office had no support from them. Gradually, my mother and father made political relations and figured out the ways to carry out works in the panchayat, Bamnia said. Around the same time, Bamnias elder brother was selected to become a teacher in a government middle school. Bamnia was one of the few in his village to complete high school, he said. All these changes in my family changed the perception of the entire village. Upper castes of my village never openly said anything against us but they never liked us either, said Bamnia. Over a decade to 2011, the literacy rate of Indias SCs grew faster than that of the general population; for SCs, it grew 11.4 percentage points from 54.7 percent to 66.1 percent, compared to an increase of 8.2 percentage points from 64.8 percent to 73 percent for Indias general population. The gross primary school enrollment rate (the proportion of primary school-aged children who enroll in school) for people from the SCs has consistently been high. Though a lower proportion of the SC population enrolls in college, the pace of growth in enrollment has been the same as the rest of the population. The gross enrolment ratio (proportion of youth aged 18-23 years who enrolled in higher education) of people from the SCs grew from 13.5 percent in 2010-11 to 19.9 percent in 2015-16 versus an increase from 19.4 percent to 24.5 percent for the rest of the population. &amp;lt;a href='#'&amp;gt;&amp;lt;img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https:&amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;#47;public.tableau.com&amp;amp;#47;static&amp;amp;#47;images&amp;amp;#47;da&amp;amp;#47;dalit2web&amp;amp;#47;Dashboard1&amp;amp;#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; Source: District Information System for Education 2010-11 and 2015-16; All India Survey of Higher Education 2010-11 and 2015-16; Selected Educational Statistics (2004-05), Ministry of Human Resource Development Note: Gross enrollment ratio: those enrolled in school as a proportion of children of school-going age in the population In several villages, changes in caste relationships began years ago. For instance, in Kawaliyans, a village about 5 kilometres from Dhuwaliya, where Balais son-in-law, Prakash Meghwanshi, comes from, Dalit grooms have been riding horses in wedding processions around the village for several years. Meghwanshi was surprised when people from his wifes village stopped the wedding. I had gone on a horse for my Bindauli in my village just the day before and there were no problems, he said. This tussle between upper and lower castes is likely to continue with rising aspirations of the youth, political changes, and the narrowing gap between education levels of different caste groups. Fifty-four-year-old Bhuraram Parmars family represents an upwardly mobile lower caste family. His father moved from their village in Rajasthan and got a job as a government employee in Gujarat. Bhurarams younger son studied engineering from a private college in Jaipur and is studying for the government services exam, his daughter is the sarpanch in a Rajasthan village, his daughter-in-law, Vimla, is currently completing an arts degree from a private college in Gandhidham. In 2014, Bhurarams 24-year-old disabled son was pulled off the horse during his wedding in Rajasthans Pali district. The case is ongoing in the Pali district court, Bhuraram said. Most lawyers are unwilling to fight a case against the higher castes, and witnesses are scared of the repercussions, he told IndiaSpend over the phone. What crime did I commit because my son mounted a horse? I never thought this would happen to me in my own village. Still, Parmar is adamant. When my younger son marries, it will be in the village. He will sit on a horse and go through the village. Even if one of us dies, I will not have any regrets, he said. Tish Sanghera, a graduate of Kings College London and an intern with IndiaSpend, contributed to this story Tripathi is a principal correspondent and Khaitan is a writer/editor with IndiaSpend Recent farmer protests show that those making policies do not represent them, or those ruling democracy are far removed from the masses and their issues. Editor's Note: As the Indian Republic turns 70, Tufail Ahmad begins a journey through the country to examine the working of democracy at the grassroots level. Inspired by the French author Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured America and wrote Democracy in America, the author a former BBC journalist and now senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute will examine how sociological realities of India and the promise of democracy interact with each other in shaping the lives of the Indian citizen. This report is the seventh in a series called "Democracy in India". Udaipur: Large-scale famines, as known through past several centuries, have mostly disappeared from modern democracies. This is because democracies are accountable to citizens. A key argument of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in his book Development As Freedom is that famines, such as the Bengal famine of the 1940s, have occurred mostly in those regions of the world where local people were not rulers. It is distressing therefore that Indian democracy, where rulers are elected by people, is witnessing suicides and protests by farmers. On 13 April, farmers dumped tomatoes at Narsinghpur, some 250 kilometres from Bhopal, to protest against low prices. On the same day, in Mumbai, farmers from Marathwada dumped onions, brinjals, green chillies and lemons near the chief minister's office to protest the state's failure to ensure fair prices for their produce. This problem exists in several parts of India. It seems to be connected to the lopsided development that has been taking place ever since the economic reforms were launched in the 1990s. The protests by farmers also mean that those who make policies do not represent them, or those who rule over masses are far removed from them. Let's understand the life-cycle of a crop. On this trip, I met Shivraj Singh Bhati in Ajmer, a mid-level farmer who owns 12 bighas of land. He explains a farmer's distress. If you cultivate moong (sprouts), you require 24 kilograms of seeds at Rs 180 for a 12-bigha farmland, costing Rs 4,320. You need Rs 400 per bigha for cultivating and planting the seeds, totalling Rs 4,800. Later, you will twice need insecticides, a tractor and four labourers costing Rs 8,000. You will also require three labourers per bigha for Rs 250 each per day to remove weeds and for harvesting, which comes to 36 labourers costing Rs 9,000. Add Rs 5,000 towards sundry expenses such as transportation to market. The total cost comes to Rs 31,120 for producing roughly 600 kilograms of spouts which sell at Rs 40 per kilogram. The farmer gets Rs 24,000 a loss of Rs 7,120. Bhati's argument is that even if the rains were good, the farmer got the seeds for free or changed to different crops, he will still lose and there won't be money left for the education of his children and food for the family. "No path leads to a farmer becoming a lakhpati or crorepati (millionaire)," he says. In the early decades of democracy, an expectation was that the rule of the collector and patwari (village revenue official) will erode. I asked Bhati if compensation schemes like minimum support price and crop insurance could be of help. He says that the patwari, who reports on farmers' land records and their losses for compensation, is influenced by caste considerations and will likely underreport the losses of those from weaker castes. Even without caste, this seems to be a typically Indian problem. In Ajmer, I met with Sushil Pal, founder and editor of MTTV India. He carried out sting operations on nine private banks to find out how they disburse MUDRA loans. Theoretically, these loans up to Rs 10 lakhs are available without processing fees and do not require submission of ITR or any security and collateral. Pal's television telecasted the first ting operations on three banks on 10 April. There are 347 branches of government and private banks in Ajmer, which have designated the Bank of Baroda as a lead bank to report statistics on MUDRA loans to the central government. "All statistics reported by these banks under MUDRA loans are bogus. False statistics are given to the top and ultimately show a false GDP rate," Pal says, adding that the loans given by these banks are basically regular loans but classified under MUDRA. He wonders: "If one has to give ITR and security guarantee, how is it a MUDRA loan? If an engineering graduate wants to launch a start-up, how can he get a loan under MUDRA?" The regular loans are being classified as MUDRA loans. Whether it be the role of patwari or the bank official, the conclusion is that Indians are defeated every day by those in power. Pal's view is that government schemes look good on paper, but fail because there is no mechanism for independent monitoring. When I began this journey through Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, I met first Akhilesh Argal, director of the AB Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis in Bhopal. I asked him to address the common man's pessimism about the country's corruption-marred governance. "A turning point in governance started in the 1990s with the economic reforms," he says, "and we began to study how foreign nations were delivering services to their citizens. We learnt something from their governance." He cited the case of the UK's Citizen Charter, which was first launched in 1991 to ensure that "public services were responsive to the citizens they served." As a result, the Public Service Guarantee Act, 2010 was enacted in MP which fixed the time limit for services to be delivered to the citizen. Such time-bound guaranteed services include delivery of land records, caste and income certificates, the inclusion of poor citizens below the poverty line, registration of cooperatives, birth and death certificates, and many other services which affect the common man. In Madhya Pradesh, initially 20 services were covered under the Act, but now there are more than 300 services included in it. "This Act has been adopted by 20 states and Union territories in India to remove corruption from government," Argal said. Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are some of the states which have enacted this legislation. Argal pointed out that Lok Sewa Kendras were established to address the information gap and reduce interference between the Indian state and the citizen. Most of the states now have also included penal clauses against officials who do not act on applications submitted under the law. In 2015, the Madhya Pradesh government imposed fines on 274 designated officers. Another revolutionary step in good governance was the Right to Information Act, 2005. RTI has helped people to obtain critical information from government departments, but it has its own flaws. In Udaipur, I interviewed Khimaram Kak, a lecturer of education at Vidya Bhawan Teachers College in the city one of the eight colleges of teachers training (CTEs) aimed at in-service and pre-service training of teachers. Such CTEs were set up in 1988. The central ministry of human resource development (HRD) gave 100 percent grants, unlike elsewhere, to private colleges to function as CTEs because there was no pre-existing infrastructure in Rajasthan. Currently, the HRD ministry and state government fund the CTEs to the tune of 65:35 of their expenditure. Kak filed RTI requests initially to find out what norms were followed by CTEs to recruit lecturers. He got some information which revealed that since 1988, no SC/STs have been appointed as lecturers, and the heads of CTEs filled their relatives in various posts. Even the advertisements did not adhere to the norms laid down by the University Grants Commission. Once the state information commission asked him to appear for a hearing failing which his RTI application was dismissed, Kak said, adding that he was also threatened with a fine. He has filed more than 200 RTI requests with the HRD ministry, the central information commission, chief secretary of the state government, director of education in Bikaner, and many others. Most of these government bodies have removed responsibility from their shoulders by directing other departments to give the info and haven't given critical information, Kak said, adding that he has now moved the high court in Jodhpur. But the CTEs and government lawyers are not responding, leading to delays. The compliance of laws Kak is seeking through RTI requests is at the centre of governance in India. Kak is not the only one who is denied critical information. In March, the taxpayer-funded Air India refused to release invoices of the cost of the prime minister's foreign visits on "instructions from the Prime Minister's Office." Sen was not the first person to understand that famines are rooted in bad governance. In Al-Muqaddimah, Tunisian writer Ibn Khaldun made similar observations arguing that famines are created by man. Farmers' suicides and protests indicate one point: India's rulers are far removed from masses. Every political party, said Argal, must have citizens at the centre of its thinking, but the question is this: even if the party has citizens at the centre, does it have the vision for the country and society? Argal is right. For now, caste and religion not the citizen and development are central to the vision of political parties. Such a vision, combined with planning from the top, creates information gaps leading to bad governance. The success of elections and transfer of power are not the only components of democracy. Indian democracy hasn't reduced the distance between the citizen and the State. Planning is still from the top. Panchayati Raj institutions a vital step in addressing this issue are in their infancy. They lack financial muscle and a say in the planning of development projects. With financial devolution, village panchayats must act as the Planning Commission. We also need to debate if the heads of bank branches and chiefs of local police stations should be elected by people from among their staff to introduce accountability. For now, India's rulers elected representatives, ministers, chief ministers and the prime minister or government officials are vastly unaccountable to people. Read Part 1: BJP, Congress prioritise community over individual, use caste and religion to enslave citizens Read Part 2: Use of religion by ruling parties overwhelms secular character of Indian State Read Part 3: Caste and politics continue to collide, sometimes violently, in a cyclical struggle for power Read Part 4: Rule of law routinely trampled upon by politicians in power, who act like 'new kings' Read Part 5: Cities are drivers of democratic change, secure rights and liberties of individuals Read Part 6: Despite caste and religious divisions, our democratic journey reflects silent revolution Read Part 8: Strong democratic process engendering surplus of free speech, empowering communities The author is touring India to write a series on the workings of democracy. He is a senior fellow at the Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington DC. He tweets @tufailelif Both BJP and Congress governments at the Centre have used judicial appointments to Supreme Court as a tool to discipline judges and for political gains. The recent controversy surrounding the appointment of KM Joseph, Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, to the Supreme Court has reignited the debate over the role of the Executive in judicial appointments. While at one end there is the central government defending the move as 'just' keeping up with the "senior-most" tradition of the Judiciary in appointments and to maintain equal representation of all high courts of India, at the other end are critics and the Opposition terming the refusal as a "revenge politics" that undermine the merit of Justice Joseph. In other words, the critics including some existing and former judges of Supreme Court claim that the central government has refused his appointment as a means to 'discipline' Joseph, who gave an order which was unfavourable to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the Centre. Whether or not it's true, the debate between the two parties is set to continue. But using judicial appointments as a political tool or to discipline unfavourable judges and bring loyalists on board is not new. Both BJP and Congress, during their tenures, have used it to their benefits. The Congress kick-started it. 1973: Appointment of AN Ray as CJI superseding JM Shelat, KS Hegde, and AN Grover This instance of supersession in Independent India's judicial history came in 1973 when then prime minister Indira Gandhi announced Justice Ray as the Chief Justice of India, a day before then CJI Justice Sikri was to retire. Ray was made CJI superseding three stalwart judges Shelat, Hegde and Grover. All three judges who were superseded by Ray held the majority view in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment, which outlined the Basic Structure doctrine of the Constitution. Justice Ray went on to give several judgments favouring the Indira-led Congress government during the Emergency, including supporting the government view in the much-publicised 1975 Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur versus Shiv Kant Shukla, popularly known as the 1975 Habeas Corpus case. According to The Telegraph, Ray's elevation to CJI "prompted a long, countrywide lawyers agitation against the perceived attack on judicial independence." 1977: Indira overlooks Justice HR Khanna, appoints loyalist Justice M Hameedullah Beg as CJI Justice Khanna gave two landmark decisions which formed the basis of Indian constitutional laws. One was the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment in which he stated that certain basic features of the Constitution cannot be altered by bringing amendments in the Parliament, and the second was his view in the 1975 Habeas Corpus case, in which he emerged as the sole dissenting voice in a five-judge constitutional bench, which stated that even the Fundamental Right to life stood abrogated during Emergency. Justice Khanna paid the price for standing up to Gandhi. He was superseded for the post of Chief Justice of India despite being the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court. The post of CJI went to Justice Beg, another Indira loyalist. Justice Khanna reportedly revealed in his autobiography Neither Roses Nor Thorns, that he knew that his dissenting judgment in the 1975 Habeas Corpus case had cost him the chair of CJI. But while Congress punished Justice Khanna for upholding the dignity of the court, when the Janata government came to power after the Emergency, it tried to lure Justice Khanna for political revenge against Congress, writes author Raghul Sudheesh in his article on Firstpost. In his book, Judges of the Supreme Court of India, George H Gadbois, noted that the Janata government asked Justice Khanna to head the Maruti Commission of Inquiry, but he declined, the article says, adding, "This was particularly due to the fact that he might have to deal with Indira and her son Sanjay Gandhi, and that because he had been denied the post of CJI by her, some sections of the public might not have confidence in his objectivity." The story of favourable appointments, however, doesn't end with Justice Beg. 1980: Appointment of Justice Baharul Islam to Supreme Court According to a Times of India article, nine months after retiring as a high court judge, former Congress leader Baharul Islam was made a Supreme Court judge by the Indira government in December 1980. Islam reportedly "went on to give a clean chit to the then Congress chief minister of Bihar Jagannath Mishra in a forgery case" six weeks before his retirement. A month later, he filed nomination as Congress candidate for Barpeta Lok Sabha seat, it adds. 2015: Transfer of Justice Rajiv Shakdher The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often been accused of using appointments to push its own agendas or to discipline judges. Among the most recent examples, which come to public attention is that of the transfer of Justice Rajiv Shakdher from Delhi High Court to Madras High Court in 2016, few months after the judge rapped the government for offloading Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai from an aircraft to London in 2015. Justice Shakdher had set aside the government's decision, saying it was "illegal" and that the right to criticise cannot be "muzzled" by the state. Justice Shakdher had said that Pillai has a fundamental right to travel abroad and also she has every right to hold a different opinion on development policies and this cannot be the sole ground to restrict her movement. Writing for LiveLaw, author Santosh Paul, says that Justice Shakdher's order broke far more ground than the Supreme Courts decision in Maneka Gandhi (1978), and that the judge had to pay the price for showing courage with a transfer order. 2018: Centre refuses to appoint Justice KM Joseph Justice Joseph is the latest member of the Judiciary to come directly under the firing line of the Central government. The Centre recently refused the collegium recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph to the Supreme Court citing reasons such as the adequate representation of all high courts, communities as well as respecting the seniority of judges. But is that the only reason? The BJP government has a solid political reason to be upset with Justice Joseph. In 2016, Justice Joseph had struck down the hastily imposed Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand. Echoing the sentiment of the Supreme Courts SR Bommai (1994) judgment, Justice Joseph wrote: "The government, when it takes action under Article 356, is expected to be completely non-partisan but the centre had imposed Presidents Rule contrary to the law laid down by the apex court. The Uttarakhand High Court's Chief Justice's order to quash the President's Rule had caused great embarrassment for the BJP government at the Centre. With inputs from agencies. What sets this killing apart amid an unabated spree of violence in Kashmir is the way Ghulam Nabi Mir was treated after his death. It was as if the universe had conspired to deny him dignity in death. Shadimarg (Kashmir): Ghulam Nabi Mir had finished a chemotherapy session last week, but the frailness brought about by cancer did not dampen his spirits, neither did it stop him from helping others. If Patel, as he was famously known here for his one-time association with Congress leader Ahmad Patel, were to be alive today, he would have been crushed by the way every mainstream political outfit for whom he worked as a foot soldier for 40 years, disowned him after his assassination on 25 April afternoon. Inside his heavily guarded two-room government accommodation in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Mir received dozens of petitioners from his village and its surrounding areas every day; some would seek a lane be built in their locality, others needed his help to evade bureaucratic nepotism. He helped everybody in whichever way he could. But after two bullets punctured his face and a few hit his abdomen in an attack on Wednesday, no such rush was witnessed at his solemn funeral, or at his two-storied dilapidated house in Pulwama's Shadimarg village. Even among the people on whose behalf he had petitioned government officials, few turned up to condole his killing. It was as if the universe had conspired to deny him dignity in death. At the entrance to his house, his grave is covered in a plastic sheet with glossy plastic flowers. A few feet away, a board announces the construction of a lane by the rural development department of the state government, ironically sanctioned after Mir's intervention. The lane will soon be made, but the man who fought for it won't see it happen. To be a political activist of any mainstream party in the Valley these days, particularly in south Kashmir, means risking your life and that of your family just like it was in the early 90s, during the heydays of the insurgency. Mir himself was kidnapped twice by the militants in 1995 and 1996, at a time when Kashmiris associated with mainstream politics were called "blood sucking parasites". It also invited multiple attacks. In one of them, his driver took a U-turn moments before the militants fired at the white ambassador he was traveling in, and Mir survived. However, on Wednesday afternoon, at around 3 pm, he could not save himself for the third time. "The attackers, three of them, fired a volley of bullets. Two of them hit his face and he died on spot," SSP Pulwama, Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry, said. Outside Mir's house in Shadimarg on the Pulwama-Shopian border, a makeshift tent has a few female mourners. His wife Amina Mir is wailing and her cries are audible even at some distance. "Hata myani Patel Saba be kasu travthas trai shur hait (Oh my Patel Sahib, why did you leave me with our three children)?" There were less than a dozen men outside the tent, as if even mourning the death of a political activist could invite the wrath of militants. "Last time he joined PDP. He helped Drabu (Haseeb Drabu, former finance minister, now shunted out) in the elections. Then we went and begged for votes for Drabu. I went to the polling booths to tell people to vote for Drabu. But when he was diagnosed with cancer, no one came. Today he is dead, but no one came," Amina told Firstpost on Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday, Patel left his official residence in Pulwama's high security zone and told his three personnel security officers not to carry weapons because it was dangerous. He lived a few hundred meters from the house of Sameer Tiger, a famous militant who the police believe is behind the killing. That an army camp stands less than 1,000 metres from Patel's house was no guaranty of his safety; it simply did not matter in these difficult times. He was going home, to his village. His daughter is getting married next month and he was to look after preparations. But he soon left after spending 45 minutes there. "Someone might have tipped off the militants. When he reached Rajpora Chowk, three armed men appeared in front, pulled their pheran and fired at him," Chaudhry said. "After killing him, the militants came for the policemen, who were unarmed. The policemen shouted that they have no guns, but the militants drew closer and fired at them too." However, what sets this killing apart amid an unabated spree of violence is the way the slain leader was treated after his death. The ruling PDP president and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and the Congress party, on whose ticket Mir contested an election in 2002, condoled his killing, but they didn't own him. Mehbooba called his son, Sartaj Ahmad Mir, at around 10 pm on Wednesday, but said only three words to Amina: "Patience, patience, patience!" she told her, Sartaj recalled. Sartaj, a first-year student, said his father had joined the PDP before the 2014 election, and shared stage with Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Hasseb Drabu and others leaders. "When Drabu sahib said Patel sahib joined PDP, Mufti sahib patted his back, and said he has not joined but come back to his home. He said he was working with PDP, but we had differences of opinion. Now Mehboobaji is saying he is not ours. He has lost his life because of the PDP," Sartaj said. The democracy and electoral politics that New Delhi sells to the outside world as an indicator of "normalcy" in Kashmir is facilitated by people like Mir. Hundreds of Kashmiris have laid down their lives for it; he was not the first one. But in his case, neither the political outfits who dumped him, nor the militants who allegedly killed him, owned their responsibility. "He died a poor man. He has nothing; no good house, no car and no fat bank balance. But he served his people, and for that, he paid the price," his brother Abdul Ahad Mir said. The government has returned the Supreme Court collegium's recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph. The government has returned the Supreme Court collegium's recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph, seeking its reconsideration and saying the proposal was not in accordance with the top court's parameters and there was adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where he hails. Justice Joseph headed the bench that had quashed the Narendra Modi government's decision to impose president's rule in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand in 2016. Justice Joseph, who will turn 60 this June, has been the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court since July 2014. He was appointed a permanent judge of the Kerala High Court on 14 October, 2004 and had assumed charge of the Uttarakhand High Court on 31 July, 2014. The NDA government's decision to return to the collegium its recommendation came after almost three and half months since 10 January, when his name was cleared by the five-member collegium comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph. Time and again since then, the members of the collegium had expressed concern over the government sitting on their recommendations to elevate Joseph. The latest communication in this regard was made to the CJI by Justices Gogoi and Lokur, a day before Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected the notice of impeachment moved by the Congress-led MPs against the CJI. The collegium resolution had earlier said it "considers that at present Justice KM Joseph, who hails from Kerala High Court and is currently functioning as Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, is more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India." "While recommending the name of Justice Joseph, the collegium has taken into consideration combined seniority on all-India basis of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts, apart from their merit and integrity," it had said. Justifying its stand of returning the recommendation, the Centre sent a detailed note to Chief Justice Dipak Misra, giving reasons to the Supreme Court collegium for its decision, including that seniority may not be an important consideration to ensure regional representation. The law ministry note, addressed to the CJI who heads the five-member apex court collegium, said the proposal to reconsider Justice Joseph's name had the approval of President Ram Nath Kovind and Modi. "It is also, in our considered view, not in accord with the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court itself in the Second Judges case and reiterated in Third Judges case," it said. The ministry said "the seniority of judges also plays its own critical role. It is understood that seniority of judges of high court is only maintained at all-India level. Obviously, this is reflective of their seniority and also the parent high court." "From our records, it is evident that to ensure regional representation, seniority may not have been taken as an important consideration, but in case where the high court concerned is adequately represented in the Supreme Court and also as Chief Justices of different high courts, then this consideration cannot be, and should not be ignored altogether to the detriment and prejudice of other senior judges." On the acceptance of one of the two proposed names for elevation, the Centre said such segregation of proposals has been done in many cases earlier, including appointment of judges to various high courts and also to the Supreme Court in the interest of expeditious action of appointments and filling up vacancies. Regarding judges in the top court from Kerala, it said that besides Justice Kurian Joseph who was elevated as a judge in the top court from the Kerala High Court on 8 March, 2013 there were two other Chief Justices, Justices TB Radhakrishnan and Antony Dominic, whose parent high court was also the same. The note said at this stage, the elevation of one more judge from Kerala High Court as an apex court judge does not appear to be justified as it does not address the legitimate claims of the chief justices and puisne judges of many other high courts and "forestalls" the claim of other senior chief justices and puisne judges. Government faces flak over collegium row The government's action evoked sharp reaction, with the apex court Bar Association chief terming it as "disturbing" and asking it to reconsider the name of Justice Joseph. Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan shared the views of senior advocate Vikas Singh, the Supreme Court Bar Association president, even as BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, a regular petitioner in the apex court, said the Congress stand on the issue reflected its frustration. Swamy's comment assumes significance as the Congress leadership, including P Chidambaram, himself a senior advocate, were critical of the Centre's decision and tweeted that the recommendation of the collegium was final and binding in the appointment of judges. "Is the Modi government above the law? What is holding up Justice KM Joseph's appointment? His state, or his religion or his judgement in the Uttarakhand case," Chidambaram questioned in a series of tweets. Swamy found support from former Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra, who said the public had a right to know why the other high court judges, including chief justices, who were senior to Justice Joseph, were not recommended for elevation to the apex court. He termed as "out of turn" the recommendation for Justice Joseph and said the government wanted to know what special qualities he possessed. "Supreme Court has been doing this in the past as well, where without giving reasons it recommended the names. People have a right to know what special qualities Justice Joseph possesses. Are those senior to him and yet not recommended incapable? If yes, then why should they remain at their posts," he asked. Indu Malhotra to be sworn-in as apex court judge Senior advocate Indu Malhotra will be administered oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Friday at the Supreme Court, making her the first woman lawyer to enter the top judiciary directly. 61-year old Malhotra's name, cleared by the government, was one of the two recommended by the collegium to be elevated to the apex court bench. The list of the business of the apex court mentions that Malhotra will be sworn-in on Friday. Earlier in the day, a Law Ministry communique said: "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Ms Indu Malhotra, to be judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office." With inputs from PTI The Congress on Friday termed the Central government's stalling of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph's elevation to the apex court an 'assault on the judiciary', New Delhi: The Congress on Friday termed the Central government's stalling of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph's elevation to the apex court an "assault on the judiciary", alleging it came due to his judgment against imposition of President's rule in the state. It asked for the SC collegium must immediately and categorically reiterate its recommendation in his favour and if the government further delays it, "a contempt notice may be sent". The party also said that segregation of collegium recommendations is "a pernicious practice by this government". "This is the worst and for many decades the first content-based assault on the judiciary an action depending on the content of the judgment you give," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. "It is based clearly on the content of the judgment which a judge is obliged to write according to his conscience and as per the oath without fear or favour, without anything except his anchor and allegiance to the law," he added. Terming the reasons given by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad "spurious", "fake", and "deplorable", Singhvi noted that even now there are more than two or more judges from the same High Court in the Supreme Court, while many other High Courts are not represented. On the government's reason that there are not SC/STs, he then asked then why the other judge - lawyer Indu Malhotra - was elevated. "This is not a Congress issue or a political issue. Justice Joseph is not a Congressman. All the former Chief Justices, including Lodha, Thakur and Khare are against it. They have criticised it. This is an institutional matter. Former Delhi High Court Justice AP Shah too," said Singhvi, exhorting all political parties to raise the issue. Despite the Centre's refusal to elevate Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court, legal experts and former high court judges are of the opinion that the Collegium's decision is binding on the government, the only question is of time, a strategy the government has been using for years now. The appointment of Supreme Court judges has been a thorny issue between the Central government and the judiciary with the former seeking a veto power to reject recommendations made to the Supreme Court. The result of this standoff has been the Centre sitting on recommendations far too long, and often returning the recommendations of the collegium for reconsideration. The latest example is the Centre's refusal to accept the collegium's recommendation to elevate KM Joseph, the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, to the apex court, on which the collegium is likely to have a meeting on Wednesday. In a letter to the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Law and Justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad gave several reasons including how Joseph is not the senior-most high court judge in India along with citing reasons like lack of representation of several high courts in the Supreme Court such as Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, etc, as well as the fact that another justice from Kerala is already a judge in the Supreme Court. The Centre's reasons beg several questions, the most important of them being the method or process that has to be followed to elevate a judge to the Supreme Court. Let's take a look: The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court falls under Article 124 of the Constitution of India. It gives details about the eligibility criteria and the processes to be followed during the appointment of a judge to the Supreme Court of India. Section 2 of the Article 124 lists out who and how will be Supreme Court judge be appointed, and when the CJI's intervention becomes necessary, whereas, Section 3 lists out the eligibility criteria for the appointment of judges. Here's what they have to say: Who appoints a judge to the Supreme Court? Section 2 of Article 124 states: "Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the judges of the Supreme Court and of the high courts in the states as the president may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted: (a) a judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the president, resign his office; (b) a judge may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (4)." The eligibility criteria for a judge is described in Section 3 of Article 124. It says: "A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a citizen of India and: (a) has been for at least five years a judge of a high court or of two or more such courts in succession; or (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a high court or of two or more such courts in succession; or (c) is, in the opinion of the president, a distinguished jurist. The problem As section (2) and (3) of Article 124 shows, it is very clear that the president of India will appoint judges to the Supreme Court. However, the meaning of "consultation" and whether or not it's mandatory for the president to accept the views of the judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts has always been an issue of debate. The topic has been discussed in detail in the popular Three Judges case during which it first held that the Centre had a final say in appointments (1981), then overturned it while hearing the Second Judges Case (1993), thus leading to the formation of the setting up of the collegium system, which is the bone of contention at present. In the collegium system, the Chief Justice of India and four other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court decide the appointments to the higher judiciary. In 1998, the apex court in the Third Judges Case stated that the Chief Justice of India has to take into account the views of a plurality of judges before making decisions on appointments after then-president KR Narayan sought clarification as to if or not consultation with the CJI alone was sufficient. The apex court also expanded to now include four senior-most judges apart from the chief justice of India in appointments. In 2008, a report of the Law Commission of India questioned the efficacy of the collegium system and sought the return of the original balance of power where the executive had final say in the appointment of judges. In 2014, the government passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill in both Houses of Parliament and even received the president's assent on 1 January. The Act brought changes to Article 124 making the NJAC as the sole forum responsible for the appointment of judges in Indian courts. But Justice JS Khehar struck it down in 2015 calling it unconstitutional and void. The government then came up with a Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and the high courts, however, the judiciary sought some changes. The MoP has since then stuck in a limbo. Collegium's decision is binding: The method of appointment of judges at present requires that the collegium recommends a candidate, the president either accepts the candidate or sends it back for reconsideration. However, if the collegium still recommends the same candidate, the president has no option but to accept it. So, at present, the decision making power in terms of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court resides with the Collegium. Despite the Centre's refusal to elevate Justice Joseph to the Supreme Court, legal experts and former high court judges are of the opinion that the Collegium has a final say in the appointment of judges and its decision is binding on the government. The Third Judges Case has a relevant para which reads, "However, if after due consideration of the reasons disclosed to the Chief Justice of India, that recommendation is reiterated by the Chief Justice of India with the unanimous agreement of the judges of the Supreme Court consulted in the matter, with reasons for not withdrawing the recommendation, then that appointment as a matter of healthy convention ought to be made." The question here is of time. Since the previous orders and the Article 124 doesn't give a timeframe on the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, even if Justice Joseph's name is recommended again, the Centre is free to sit on it as long as it wants. The Centre has been accused of knowingly delaying appointments by sitting on files for far too long. In fact, in August 2016, former CJI TS Thakur attacked the Centre asking if it wanted to bring the judiciary to a "grinding halt" by sitting on recommendations for so long. With inputs from PTI The Kushinagar accident, in which 13 children were killed, is an instance of a tragedy that took place due to the dangers of such unmanned crossings. In a nation full of young people, one wonders why enough people have not been found to be posted at the 3,479 unmanned railway crossings in India. Each of these crossings is a potential danger zone. The Kushinagar accident, in which 13 children were killed after a train rammed into a school bus, is an instance of a tragedy that took place due to the dangers of such unmanned crossings. In such a context, it is not clear why we need to wait till March 2020 for this important transformation. It is heartening that such spots have reduced from 9,000 in 2016 to 3,479 now. But why should any railway crossings be left unattended? It seems illogical that seventy years after independence, we still have this lacuna in our rail safety set-up. Should this not have been a matter of the highest priority? There have been a large number of accidents involving a collision between a vehicle stuck on the tracks and an incoming train. In fact, such instances are so common that people do not even register a sense of deja vu when they are reported. If authorities are not able to hire staff to do this job and issue due warnings, there appears to be little sense in keeping these crossings open. In most cases, there are only fragile safeguards for vehicular traffic at such spots for instance, a pole on a rope that is stuck forever in an open position, or perhaps a broken sign hidden by foliage. Also, incoming trains often cannot be spotted. In the old days, the smoke from the engine was a clearer indicator of a train approaching. However, this is not the case now. Authorities across the country should clear out greenery along unmanned crossings immediately, so that drivers can see trains thundering down the tracks. The least we can do is to ensure a clear view, thereby saving lives. How long does it take to order the clearing of wild bushes and trees to ensure better visibility? Legally, there is not much that the kin of the deceased in such accidents can do. In this tragic case, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has offered Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the kin of the victims. However, such compensation is arbitrary in nature and is not mandated by law. One could make the case for the victims that railway crossings per se are integral to the functioning of the railways and must, therefore, be made safe and kept safe by that entity. If the railways can take credit for reducing the number of unmanned crossings in the past two years, it must also then take responsibility for not yet having completed a simple task towards enhancing safety. A woman and her son died while 23 people sustained injuries after a LPG cylinder exploded in a labour colony in the Giaspura area of Punjab's Ludhiana on Thursday. A woman and her son died while over 30 people sustained injuries after an LPG cylinder exploded in a labour colony in the Giaspura area of Punjab's Ludhiana on Thursday. Sunita Rani (40), who was badly burnt in the explosion, died in Ludhiana's Christian Medical College and Hospital on Thursday evening. Vineet Jaison, the spokesperson of the hospital, said that she had suffered 100 percent burn injuries. She was lived in the house where the cylinder exploded after catching fire. According to Hindustan Times, Sunitas 14-year-old son Raj who sustained 90 percent burns also succumbed to injuries late in the evening at the hospital. Five people were in critical condition. All injured hail from either Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, and are employed as labourers in nearby factories in the Focal Point area, reported The Indian Express. Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharmpal and Sub Divisional Magistrate (East) Amarjit Singh Bains visited the incident spot after the blast. They said that the cooking gas cylinder caught fire. The cylinder exploded as Sunita's family, which was inside the house, and some neighbours tried to put out the flames, causing injuries to those who had gathered around the spot. A portion of the building also collapsed. Bains said the injured included Sunita's husband Ashok, a few women and children. The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals. With inputs from PTI Migration often forces early marriages in Marathwada. Around 300,000 farmers and labourers leave Beed during the harvest season and migrate to western Maharashtra's Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts, or to Karnataka's Belgaum district Editor's note: Parth MN is travelling across Maharashtra's Marathwada province on a People's Archive of Rural India fellowship to chronicle agrarian issues in the region. Firstpost will reproduce his reports as and when he files them for Pari. Vijaya Phartade became a grandmother four years ago. She is only 34 years old. "I got married at 14," she says, sitting on a stone platform outside her tin-roofed hut in Arvi village in Maharashtra's Beed district. Her groom, Bandu, was not much older, at 18. "I asked my parents to wait for a couple of years," she says. "But they said this is the right age. Most of my friends got married at the same age. So I thought, 'Maybe they are right'." Within a year of getting married, Vijaya became a mother. In five years, when still in her teens, she had three children two daughters and a son. Six years ago, her older daughter Swati, then 13, got married; and four years later, it was the turn of the younger daughter Sheetal, then 15. Swati now has a four-year-old daughter, and Sheetal has a one-year-old son. Child marriages like these remain common in rural Maharashtra. The National Family Health Survey's (NFHS) 2015-16 data show that nearly one-third of all girls in the 20-24 age group in the state's villages got married before they turned 18. And 10.4 percent women in rural Maharashtra in the 15-19 age group were mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey. Though it is widely known that child marriage is illegal in India for girls below 18 and boys less than 21 years old such unions remain even higher in Beed district's villages, where farming incomes are low and migration is the norm. In Beed, 51.3 percent women aged 20-24 were married before turning 18, the 2015-16 NFHS says, and 18.2 percent of girls in the 15-19 age group were mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey. Migration often forces early marriages in Marathwada. Around 300,000 farmers and labourers leave Beed during the harvest season, according to trade union estimates. They migrate mainly to western Maharashtra's Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts, or to Karnataka's Belgaum district, to work as sugarcane cutters. Seasonal migration from Marathwada has increased over the years given the rise in production costs for agriculture and near-stagnant returns. A report titled 'Price Policy for Kharif Crops (2017-18)' by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices shows a mismatch between investment and returns for almost every crop, including cash crops like cotton. The endemic water crisis in the region is another reason why small cultivators can no longer depend on farming as their primary source of income. This increases the numbers who migrate. When families migrate for work, looking after a daughter becomes a concern, says Ahmednagar-based educationist Herambh Kulkarni, who works with a non-governmental organisation. "As the daughter enters her teens," he says, "Migrating parents start worrying for her safety. They get her married quickly and believe they have fulfilled a responsibility." Vijaya's parents are farmers with two acres of land in Shirapur village in Shirur taluka of Beed. When she was a child, they migrated (and still do) every year for five months, from November to March, to work as cane cutters. "We cultivated cotton, but with little land, we had to look for other sources of income," says Vijaya, who does not have any sisters. "I have vague memories of life as a migrant. My parents would go to the field to cut cane, and I stayed back at the makeshift hut." Other than the law against child marriage, when a girl gets married barely after entering her teens, there are many other adverse health outcomes as well. Studies have repeatedly shown higher rates of maternal mortality among very young mothers in India, of undernourishment in children when the mother is herself so young and physically weak. Miscarriages, stillbirths and low-weight babies are all potential consequences of early pregnancies. A report of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, titled 'A Statistical Analysis of Child Marriage in India', based on the 2011 Census, says that girls between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times more likely than women aged 20 to 24 to die during pregnancy and childbirth. When they are 15 to 19, girls are twice as likely than older women to die from childbirth and pregnancy. "It is well established that early marriage and child-bearing are significantly related to malnutrition and under-nutrition among young mothers," the report states, "... (and this contributes to) complications such as premature deliveries, difficult labour, birth of low-weight babies and maternal death." Others have also pointed to a link between domestic violence and child marriage. "A young bride doesn't have a say, and because she is told to be tolerant, she hesitates to stand up for herself. Besides, families hardly report abuse, either due to a lack of awareness or a sense of honour," says Pune-based lawyer and child rights activist Rama Sarode. "Early motherhood also spells an end to the education of girls, which increases their economic dependence, perpetuating a circle." Only 32.6 percent women in rural Maharashtra have had schooling for 10 years or more and just 31 percent in Beed, according to the NFHS. Vijaya only studied till Class II in her village school. "As I grew up, my safety became a concern for my parents. They found me a groom and I got married," she says. Her husband Bandu's family lives in Arvi, five kilometres from her own village. He inherited two acres, where they cultivate cotton. "In an entire season (around 6 to 8 months), we harvest only eight quintals," she says. That earns them a profit of Rs 22,000. "But when we cut cane, contractors pay us an advance of around Rs 50,000. For us, that's a lot of money, even if it means five months of intensive labour." Because cane contractors only hire couples, when a very young girl and boy get married, another couple is ready to migrate to the fields and open up a source of income for the family. Vijaya and Bandu began migrating to cut cane every year right after they were married. "As our daughters grew up, we had the same concerns my parents did and we repeated their mistake," she says. "We wondered how we would take care of them with such little income, and thought it was better to get them married." And then Swati also started to migrate to cut cane with her husband. But they did this for just one season. Two years after her marriage, her husband Kishor died in a motorbike accident in his village, Chikhali, in Beed's Patoda taluka. Swati was seven months pregnant. "After she delivered her daughter, Dnyaneshwari, her in-laws refused to take care of her," says Vijaya. So Swati returned to her mother's house. To help the family cope, Deepak Nagargoje, who runs a non-governmental organisation called Shantivan in Arvi, provided Swati with financial support to enrol in a nurse-training programme in Pune. Vijaya and Bandu pitched in by taking in Dnyaneshwari. They are now raising her along with their own 15-year-old son, Rameshwar, who is in Class X at a residential school started by Shantivan in Arvi. To be able to take care of the children, Vijaya and Bandu no longer migrate during the harvest season, and depend on whatever work they can find in the fields nearby. Vijaya's younger daughter Sheetal lives in Beed town, where her husband works as a construction labourer. Over the last 15 years, Nagargoje says he has helped dozens of child brides from surrounding villages, who faced domestic violence or were abandoned after marriage. "There are many child marriages, but we cannot step in unless the families want us to," he says. "And these marriages are often clandestine." Various local organisations have tried to turn village schools into temporary residential schools to stem the practice of migrant parents taking along their children. But the residential schools are few and usually in bad shape, and parents hesitate to keep their daughters back. Pune-based Nutan Maghade, who works with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, a government-run "education for all" programme, says the state gives Rs 1,416 per month per child under the Hangami Vastigruh Yojana, a seasonal hostel plan. It does not take responsibility of the kids' stay, but the money given to state-aided school committees, helps take care of food and other costs of children who can stay back with grandparents. The parents I spoke to in Arvi had little or no schooling themselves, and their daughters had dropped out of school at a young age. All of them, except Vijaya, refused to come on record and be photographed, perhaps because they know that child marriages are illegal. But they mentioned the same dilemmas Vijaya faced. Vijaya though wants to talk about child marriages, so that families like hers can break away from this pattern. "We did not have money to educate our girls, but at the same time we were unaware of the importance of education," she says, looking at little Dnyaneshwari playing in her lap. "What happened to us will not happen to her." This article was originally published in the People's Archive of Rural India on April 24, 2018. Union minister MJ Akbar on Thursday called for standardising punitive measures against states who use terrorists as their first line of offense and use duplicity as a policy. Paris: India on Thursday called for standardising punitive measures against states who use terrorists as their first line of offense and use duplicity as a policy. Speaking at a panel discussion at the conference on fight against terrorist financing for Daesh and Al-Qaeda, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said terrorism was becoming the dominant feature of conflict in the 21st century. "It is not simply the anarchists seeking chaos for the sake of chaos. It has serious political objectives. Terrorists, particularly those impelled by dated ideologies like faith supremacy, challenge the very concept of the nation state, and seek to replace it with faith-based space," he said. Akbar said terrorists do not believe in nations or national borders. He said for more than two decades the UN had been unable to agree upon a definition of terrorism. "How do we fight an enemy we cannot define?" he asked. "Indeed there often seems to be more cooperation between terrorist gangs, their sponsors and affiliates than between nations facing this existentialist challenge," he said at the panel discussion on "Combating terrorist financing more effectively: what cooperation is needed?" He said there was a need for cooperation on a counteroffensive against a lifeline of terrorism that is finance, he said. "There are states who use terrorists as their first line of offense...We need, therefore, to standardise punitive measures against those who use duplicity as a policy," Akbar said. "We must ensure, to begin with, that freezing of assets renders them unusable, effectively by prohibiting selling, removing, alienating, transforming, assigning, encumbering, taking over or similarly dealing with assets of a terrorist organisation, wherever situated. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) must completely shut loopholes that enable duplicity," he added. FAFT is an international task force mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering. Akbar said FATF had played a crucial role in devising international standards to combat terror financing. "They must be mandatory. The UN Security Council, in its Resolution 1617, has already called upon the global community to implement the FATF standards. The World Bank, IMF and other international financial institutions should recognise and apply FATF standards. They must address concerns about countries not complying with terror financing standards. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's high stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan made headlines on wire services, print and digital media but was overshadowed on US television networks by the 'Super Bowl plus Oscars' kind of spectacle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un created by stepping across the border. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's high stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan made headlines on global news wires, print and digital media but was completely overshadowed on US television networks by the "Super Bowl plus Oscars" kind of spectacle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un created by stepping across the border and vowing to end the Korean War at a historic meeting with his South Korean counterpart on the same day as the Modi-Xi huddle in Wuhan. US President Donald Trump lost no time chest thumping on the North and South Korea overtures. "They said it's not possible, let them go to war. Now we have a much better alternative than anyone ever thought possible!", Trump said in an obvious reference to critics of his abrasive foreign policy style. Overall, US media is hooked increasingly to a triage of themes in its reportage in the Trump era: Donald Trump's early morning tweets, the Robert Mueller probe into Russian collusion in the US elections, the upcoming US - North Korea summit and midterm elections looming in November, 2018. The timing of the North Korea - South Korea meeting ensured that everything else got only sidebars in Friday media coverage in America. Also on Friday, a House panel releasing its report on Russian election meddling, saying it found no evidence the Trump campaign was involved, defining the weekend fix for the news cycle. A CNN story stuck to the bare bones of the India-China tangle, checking off all the boxes of recent skirmishes including the Doklam standoff last summer. 'When Modi Xi meet, Indian elections will set the tone', read a New York Times headline, also listing the Modi Xi meeting alongside the Korean leaders' meeting on its Friday briefing. Conservative news magazine National Review ran a China focused essay Friday which had no connections to the Modi meeting. Calling Xi the 'Master Illusionist', the magazine argues how China's leader "keeps the focus on conspicuous urban and military expansion, to distract from the nations spiraling debt and massive rural poverty." Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting Xi Jinping amid rising tensions along the countries' contested border and a rivalry for influence with their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. Xi greeted Modi at the provincial museum in the city of Wuhan at the start of two days of talks between the heads of the world's two most populous nations. "Conducting great cooperation by our two great countries can generate worldwide influence," Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. Xi said he hoped the meeting would "usher in a new chapter of China-India relations." Following their talks, the leaders were to dine lakeside at a resort that had been a favorite of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who formed strong ties with an independent India before relations deteriorated over territorial disputes. They are to continue talks on Saturday with a walk along the lake, a boat ride and lunch together. China-India relations date back centuries but in recent decades have been characterized by competition for leadership in Asia. The countries fought a border war in 1962 and last year engaged in a 10-week standoff in the neighboring state of Bhutan. New Delhi has also been alarmed by China's moves to build strategic and economic ties with Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India's longtime rival Pakistan. China for its part resents India's hosting of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and its control of territory Beijing says belongs to it. China claims some 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of territory in India's northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of its territory on the Aksai Chin Plateau in the western Himalayas. Officials have met at least 20 times to discuss the competing border claims without making significant progress. Following the most protracted standoff in years, India last year agreed to pull back troops from the disputed Doklam Plateau high in the Himalayas, where Chinese troops had begun constructing a road. China claims the strategically important region, but India says it belongs to ally Bhutan. Despite such differences, Modi hopes China can help drive Indian economic growth ahead of national elections next year. However, his administration has been notably reluctant to engage with Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative linking its economy to those of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe through massive loans and investments. Given the state of relations, the Wuhan summit should be seen as a conscientious attempt to steer ties in a new direction, said Wang Lian, a professor at elite Peking University's School of International Relations. "This meticulously planned meeting will offer the leaders more time to discuss current issues and the future blueprint for bilateral relations," Wang said. Regardless of the current visit's outcome, Modi appears intent on building a strong personal relationship with Xi, who will be China's leader for years to come following the lifting of term limits on the presidency. Modi will be traveling to China again in June for a summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization dominated by Beijing and Moscow. Along with China, Russia and India, that group includes the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan. By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq failed to attract investment from the top global energy companies in its oil and gas exploration/development contract auction on Thursday, with no major firms winning any bids and only Italy's Eni submitting an offer. The Oil Ministry held an auction to award contracts to international energy companies, with 11 blocks on offer near the borders with Iran and Kuwait and in offshore Gulf waters By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq failed to attract investment from the top global energy companies in its oil and gas exploration/development contract auction on Thursday, with no major firms winning any bids and only Italy's Eni submitting an offer. The Oil Ministry held an auction to award contracts to international energy companies, with 11 blocks on offer near the borders with Iran and Kuwait and in offshore Gulf waters. "We have decided to speed up the development of border fields after five decades without investments ... leaving them without investments meant wasting the oil wealth of the country," Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said ahead of bidding. "I say to the companies (that will bid), 'thank you' because this means trusting Iraq ... and it means services and education for the citizens who live in the regions where you are going to operate," he added. Five of the exploration blocks failed to attract any bids. Three went to Iraqi-owned, United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum, two to China's Geo-Jade, and one to United Energy Group, also based in China. Eni made two unsuccessful bids, while no other majors bid. Fourteen companies had expressed interest and bought a package containing the bidding documents and terms for the 11 blocks, the ministry had said on April 14. "It is a very successful round. As an Iraqi company it's not a commercial matter, it's about investing and developing the production of Iraq," Crescent executive director Abdullah al-Qadi told Reuters. The blocks were initially to be auctioned in June. The date was brought forward to April 15, then postponed to April 25 to give bidders more time, the Oil Ministry had said. A combination of factors was behind the failure by five blocks to draw bids, said Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, director general of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate. Some cover former battlefields, some are hard to access and the one offshore plot needs more data, he said. Ameedi said another round could be held for the five blocks but provided no further details. The contracts on offer excluded oil by-products from the companies' revenue, established a link between prevailing oil prices and their remuneration, and introduced a royalty element. Oil companies operating in Iraq currently receive a fee from the government linked to production increases, which include crude and oil by-products such as liquefied petroleum gas. OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, Iraq decided to change the contracts after a glut caused oil prices to crash in 2014, reducing Baghdads ability to pay such fees. Companies including BP, Exxon Mobil , Eni, Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Lukoil have helped Iraq expand production in the past decade by over 2.5 million barrels per day to about 4.7 million bpd. The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government produces oil and gas from fields it controls in northern Iraq under a production-sharing model that is more profitable to companies. The new contracts offered by Baghdad will also set a time limit for companies to end gas flaring from oilfields they develop. Iraq continues to flare some of the gas extracted alongside crude oil at its fields because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel. Iraq hopes to end gas flaring by 2021. Flaring costs the government nearly $2.5 billion in lost revenue each year and could cover most of its unmet needs for gasfired power, according to the World Bank. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Dale Hudson and Jason Neely) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Patricia Zengerle and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump's secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East By Patricia Zengerle and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump's secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views. Pompeo is already deeply involved in diplomacy. Trump sent him to North Korea three weeks ago to meet with the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, ahead of a summit with the U.S. president to address Pyongyang's nuclear programme. Moments after Pompeo was sworn in, the State Department said he would visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend after attending a NATO meeting on Friday in Brussels. Pompeo picked those three Middle East stops because of all that is going on, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. Iran is likely to be on the agenda on the Middle East leg of his trip. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore U.S. economic sanctions on Tehran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers. Pompeo is to meet with Saudi King Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an Jordanian King Abdullah, Nauert said. Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo, who had faced resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for hawkishness and past harsh statements about homosexuality and Islam. Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. No Republican voted no. Pompeo will be forced to quickly address a wide array of other international challenges, including long conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Chinese expansionism in Asia and Russian assertiveness. Washington is working with European allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the possibility of toughening the nuclear agreement with Iran. CIA RECORD Pompeo's supporters said he did well during 15 months leading the CIA, and said the country badly needed a leader at the State Department. Staffing at State was slashed and many positions left unfilled under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who was Trump's first secretary of state. Trump, who abruptly fired Tillerson last month, welcomed Pompeo's confirmation, saying in a statement, "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history." Pompeo, who became one of Trump's closest advisers while at the CIA, faced stiff opposition from Democrats, who worried he might be too closely aligned with the president. While in Congress, Pompeo opposed the Iran nuclear accord. He once suggested the answer to Tehran's nuclear programme - which Iran has always said was for peaceful means only - was 2,000 bombing sorties. Senator Ben Cardin, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that attitude, and Pompeo's backing for Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement if it cannot be changed, were among reasons he opposed him. "That's not diplomacy, and that's certainly not working with our European allies," Cardin said. Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing he was open to fixing, rather than blowing apart, the pact, which the West believes is essential to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump picked the CIA's deputy director, Gina Haspel, to replace Pompeo as head of the spy agency. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman to hold the post. Pompeo had avoided being the first nominee for secretary of state ever rejected by the Foreign Relations Committee only when Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had vowed to oppose him, shifted position minutes before the panel voted on Monday. [L1N1S01YH] None of the 10 Democrats on the 21-member committee supported him. The vote for Pompeo was almost the same as for Tillerson, who was approved by 56-43, then an unusually close margin for a cabinet position. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alistair Bell and Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Rahul Gandhi on Friday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having 'no agenda', but reminded him to raise the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having "no agenda", but reminded him to raise the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops last year and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with the leadership there. Gandhi mocked Modi, saying "you look tense" on the visit. However extending his party's support, he told the prime minister that India wants to hear him talk about these crucial issues - Doklam and CPEC - with China. "Dear prime minister, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through PoK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said on Twitter. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam area last year. The face-off ended through negotiations after 72 days. The CPEC, a part of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India opposes the controversial project. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. During the visit, the two leaders will have a series of one-on-one conversations on bilateral, global and regional issues. The DGCA has seet up a two-member committee to probe allegations of intentional tampering of a special flight ferrying Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday set up a two-member committee to probe allegations of intentional tampering of a special flight ferrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi and four others in Karnataka on Thursday, according to media reports. Speaking to Hindustan Times, a senior DGCA offical said, "The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operators report, it was a snag of the auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual mode and landed the aircraft safely." The pilot and the crew of the aircraft have been questioned, the report added. The regulator also said that autopilot failures are not uncommon. The aircraft VT-AVH, was a Dassault Falcon 2000 owned by Religare Aviation Ltd, The Indian Express reported. According to NDTV, for any VIP plane, DGCA examines the shutting of the auto-pilot. The two-member committee will file its report in two weeks. A mid-air scare occurred on Rahul Gandhi's flight after it made a rough landing at Hubli. Later, the Congress filed a complaint alleging that it could be an "intentional sabotage" to endanger Rahul's life. The complaint said that the plane shuddered violently, tilted to one side and made cranking noises, following which the altitude dropped. The complainant said that the weather outside was sunny and normal, and hence could not be the cause of turbulence experienced by the passengers. It also claimed that the cabin crew too were petrified and said that the snags were "particularly frightening and uncommon." According to India Today, Rahul Gandhi is a Special Protection Group protectee and, along with the prime minister, gets the highest level of security in India. The government's decision to accept only one of the two names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for elevation as Supreme Court judges has angered not only the Opposition parties but also some lawyers. The government's decision to accept only one of the two names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for elevation as Supreme Court judges has angered not only the Opposition parties but also some lawyers. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh, speaking in his individual capacity, expressed concern over the delay in the appointment of Justice Joseph and said "this kind of interference by the executive is definitely uncalled for". "This elevation is very wrong as it disturbs the seniority in the Supreme Court. We have seen in recent past how important seniority is in the apex court. Judges are being labelled as junior judges and said that they were not fit to hear sensitive matters. So tomorrow, if somebody says Justice Joseph is a junior judge and not fit to hear a particular matter, it will be very sad." "Government will be responsible. This kind of interference by the executive is definitely uncalled for. By delaying this, they have definitely interfered in seniority rules and in that sense they have interfered in the functioning of judiciary. A very serious matter. The civil society and the judges of the Supreme Court in full court should discuss and take it up with the government," Singh told PTI. Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan was also vocal in criticising the Centre and alleged that the government was trying to erode and destroy the independence of judiciary by not appointing those recommended by the collegium. "Justice KM Joseph's instance is a very clear one, whose name has been stalled, which was recommended by the collegium four months ago. The name was unanimously recommended by the collegium and yet it has been stalled by the government because he gave a judgment in Uttarakhand case against the government." "It is very shameful and shocking for a government which talks about the independence of judiciary to try and erode the independence of judiciary by sitting on appointment of people that it doesn't like," Bhushan said. Senior jurist Fali Nariman also said that the word of the collegium is final and a conflicting decision by the government will be malafide. According to The Indian Express, Nariman said that the current impasse between the judiciary and the government may be a result of the government "still smarting" under the apex court's decision to strike down the Parliament's decision to vote for the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). Former high court judges SN Dhingra, Ajit Sinha and senior advocates Dushyant Dave and Vikas Singh were concurrent in their opinion that it would be binding on the government to elevate Justice Joseph to the apex court if the collegium sticks to its recommendation. All of them were categorial that if any name on reconsideration is cleared, the government has to act on it. However, they said there was no mention of any time frame for the government to implement the collegium's recommendation. All of them said the government has to follow the guidelines laid down by the apex court in 1993 and 1998 judgment, referred to as second and third judges case relating to appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. Citing the Supreme Court collegium's view that Justice Joseph, currently Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, was "more deserving and suitable in all respects" than other Chief Justices and senior judges of high courts, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that it seemed that "the government thinks he is not deserving". "The SC's own website said this. Four months have passed, today we got to know that government has returned the file and said more discussion is required on it. The Central government wants only those judges, on whom only the government has approval." "The law says what collegium recommends, only they will be appointed. The government wants to ignore the collegium recommendations. If it is not of their choice, they will not appoint him," he said. With inputs from PTI Seven Naxals have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. Seven Naxals have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, according to reports. Five of the seven Naxals killed were women. Three jawans have also reportedly been injured in the encounter. #BREAKING - 7 Naxals killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/fk42cde7K7 News18 (@CNNnews18) April 27, 2018 The gunfight took place in a forest near Ipenta village of the district on Friday morning, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI. A joint squad of Greyhounds an elite anti-Naxal unit of the Telangana Police and security personnel from Chhattisgarh had launched a combing operation in the forests along the inter-state border following a tip-off about the presence of Naxals, he said. When the patrolling team was in Ipenta, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides. Security forces later recovered the bodies of seven ultras from the encounter spot. Some weapons and Naxal literature were also seized from the site, Garg said while adding that the search operation was still continuing. This comes just days after a number of Naxals were killed in an encounter with police commandos and CRPF personnel in Gadchiroli district in east Maharashtra. The encounter had broken out at Kasansur forest in Bhamragad between the ultras and a joint team of security forces comprising C60 commandos, a specialised combat unit of the Gadchiroli police, and personnel of the 9th Battalion of the CRPF. Inspector-General of Police, Anti-Naxal Operation, Sharad Shelar and local SP Abhinav Deshmukh said security forces came under fire from Naxals hiding in the forest and fired in retaliation. Just a day later, police in Gadchiroli had killed at least four rebels in a fresh encounter. The gun-battle took place in Rajaram Khandla jungle in Jimalgatta area of the district, said Shelar. The elite C-60 commandos of district police were involved in the operation, said another senior police official. With inputs from PTI The Supreme Court will hear the Centre's plea seeking review of its judgment on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act) on 3 May. New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear the Centre's plea seeking review of its judgment on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act) on 3 May. Attorney General KK Venugopal mentioned the matter for early hearing before a bench comprising Justices AK Goel and Deepak Gupta and said he had already filed his written submission in the matter. "The last line of your last order says that list the matter after written submission is filed. I have filed my written submission. Four states have also filed review petitions. Please give us a date," Venugopal told the bench. Justice Goel said the matter would be listed for hearing in the next week and posted it for arguments on 3 May. The Centre had moved the apex court on 2 April seeking review of its judgement by which safeguards were put on the provisions for immediate arrest under the SC/ST Act. The government, in its review petition, told the Supreme Court that its 20 March verdict will violate Article 21 of the Constitution for the SC/ST communities and sought restoration of the provisions of the Act. The apex court had on 29 March said that on "several occasions", innocent citizens were being termed as accused and public servants deterred from performing their duties, which was never the intention of the legislature while enacting the SC/ST Act. The Telangana Board of Secondary Education will release the TS SSC 2018 (Class X) results on the official website of the board on Friday, 27 April 2018. The Telangana Board of Secondary Education will release the TS SSC 2018 (Class X) results on the official website of the board on 27 April. Earlier the results were to be announced at 10 am but the board later postponed the timing to 7 pm. According to the board's official website, 83.78 percent of the total students who appeared for the exams cleared it. However, girls performed a tad bit better as compared to boys. According to the TS Board website, 85.14 percent of the girls who appeared for the exams cleared it, whereas the pass percentage of male students was around 82 percent. Jagtial district in the state had the highest percentage of students who cleared the exam. The lowest pass percentage was recorded in Adilabad district. The information was released by the board on Thursday on its official website. Here's how you can check the Telangana Class 10 (SSC) result 2018 on Friday: Step 1. Open the official website of TS board Step 2. On the homepage, you will find the SSC results link Step 3. Click on the link Step 4. Enter your name and roll number on the page Step 5. Your result will be displayed on the screen Students can also receive their result via SMS by following the steps below: SMS - TS10ROLL NUMBER - Send it to 56263 In 2018, 5,33,701 students appeared for Telangana Board of Secondary Education's Class X examination at various examination centres. A woman employee of a private firm in Noida in Uttar Pradesh has accused an Ola cab driver's accomplice of raping her here. The two men were arrested on Friday Greater Noida: A woman employee of a private firm in Noida in Uttar Pradesh has accused an Ola cab driver's accomplice of raping her here. The two men were arrested on Friday, police said. The woman told the police that at around 4.30 pm on Thursday she had booked an Ola cab from Sector 37 in Noida to go to the adjoining Greater Noida area. There was a man along with the driver on the front seat of the car when they started the ride, she told the police. The driver, Ashok, had told her that the man was his friend, Praveen, who was to be dropped on the way. The two men consumed beer on the way, she said. Later Ashok took her to the thickets around the Dayanagar village. But left as he had an errand to run. Praveen raped her and fled, she said in her statement. The woman had briefly lost consciousness after the attack. When she came to her senses, she raised an alarm. With the help of the villagers she was able to reach the nearest police station and file a complaint. Circle Officer (CO) of Dadri, Nishank Sharma told IANS that the case was registered late on Thursday and acting promptly the cab driver and his accomplice were arrested. The police has sent her for a medical examination to confirm the rape. By Liana B. Baker NEW YORK (Reuters) - Xerox Corp Chairman Robert Keegan told a New York state court on Thursday that Xerox and Fujifilm Holdings Corp have reopened talks about their $6.1 billion agreement for the Japanese company to acquire the U.S. print and copy machine maker, according to sources inside the courtroom By Liana B. Baker NEW YORK (Reuters) - Xerox Corp Chairman Robert Keegan told a New York state court on Thursday that Xerox and Fujifilm Holdings Corp <4901.T> have reopened talks about their $6.1 billion agreement for the Japanese company to acquire the U.S. print and copy machine maker, according to sources inside the courtroom. The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Xerox and Fujifilm are discussing increasing the financial consideration for Xerox shareholders, according to a separate source close to the situation. Xerox declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Fujifilm confirmed the company had received a request for a renegotiation from Xerox. Keegan was speaking as part of a court hearing connected to Xerox shareholder Darwin Deason's lawsuit, filed in March, to block Xerox's deal with Fujifilm and also nominate directors to Xerox's board. Under the agreement announced in late January, Fujifilm would take over Xerox and combine the U.S. company into their existing joint venture to gain scale and cut costs as demand for office printing declines. The deal is opposed by top Xerox shareholders Deason and activist investor Carl Icahn, who say that it unfairly favours Fujifilm. In Deason's lawsuit, he argues that he has the right to nominate directors to Xerox's board despite missing a deadline because the current board had made significant decisions and disclosures to stockholders after the deadline for nominations. Deason could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Icahn also tweeted on Thursday in support of Deason's plan for Xerox to pursue alternatives to its deal with Fujifilm. The hearing will resume on Friday in New York. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. 'Indian' to other westerners, 'videshinis' (foreigners) to Indians, these women straddled different identities in a time before multiculturalism became a buzzword. Sonia Gandhi's rise from being the Italian-born wife of the more non-politically minded of the Gandhi sons to a powerful figure in the Congress party. Mother Teresa's journey from Eastern European to India, where she hoped to renew Christianity. The Tatas Sooni and Simone. Sister Nivedita. Annie Besant's arrival in South India in 1893. Mirra Alfassa (aka The Mother). The princesses Niloufer and Durru Shehvar. Jeanne Dupleix. Margaret Cousins. Eleven European-born women who made India their home, and impacted society here in myriad ways. 'Indian' to other westerners, 'videshinis' (foreigners) to Indians, these women straddled different identities in a time before multiculturalism became a buzzword. All 11 women have also been profiled by Ian Magedera in his recently published book, Indian Videshinis. Magedera, a senior lecturer of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Liverpool, UK, began researching the book several years ago, delving into the story of JRD Tata's French mother Suzanne at the Tata Central Archives in Pune. He began thinking of women like Suzanne other Indian videshinis and approached the publishing house Roli Books with an idea for a book based on five profiles, seven years ago. The publishers wanted to include 10 profiles in the book Magedera gave them 11. The synopsis for the book points out that Magedera's chosen profiles "illuminate the careers and Indian identity formation of European-born women and their deep and sometimes controversial influence on education, religions, spirituality, commerce and politics in India. For their Indian supporters and opponents, these women were both Indian and videshinis (foreigners); they were also non-British and thus separate from the colonial power. They may have been the last outliers of the intercultural contact around the freedom struggle, but their integration by Indians now holds a lesson in inclusivity for the country". Magedera spent over 10 years working on the book (whilst also juggling fatherhood he has two girls; managing his position as a full-time lecturer's position, and as warden of a 400-student Hall of Residence, at the same time). About the challenges of ptting together this book, Magedera told Firstpost: "(There was) an interesting tug of war. Should the book be for intelligent general readers or only for specialists?" In its published form, Indian Videshinis has enough to engage both kinds of readers. Magedera says, in researching and writing the profiles of these Indian videshinis, he found that they had much in common apart from the fact that they were foreign-born and made their homes and life's work in India. Mobility, he found, was a crucial factor."Even a woman like Mirra Alfassa who helped found the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville township, and stayed in (then) Pondicherry from the 1970s, travelled the world. She went to Japan, North Africa... Travel imparted the mental flexibility needed to perform with poise the identity acrobatics demanded of the Indian videshini," Magedera explained. Magedera was also drawn to how the Indian videshinis felt they must to constantly be on guard, with respect to how their actions would be perceived. He points to a 1904 quote by Sooni Tata, nee Suzanne Briere, of her early months in Bombay, that explains this sentiment: "I, who am neither fish nor fowl here [in Bombay], a Frenchwoman for the Parsis and a Parsi for the Frenchwomen, have to be extremely careful; when one is the object of almost everybodys gaze, the slightest fact sprouts feet and runs along by itself, getting bigger as it goes." Even more poignant was the experience of working on Sister Nivedita's profile, who Magedera feels never got her due. "Sister Nivedita, while revered in West Bengal, doesn't have the national prominence she deserves. Her writings were a compelling challenge to the undervaluing of India in western imperialism and history writing. She also remained fiercely independent, but tragically died alone in Darjeeling," Magedera points out. He also expressed how much he'd look forward to a campaign in India for a postage stamp commemorating Margaret Cousins, who established the All India Women's Conference. Magedera emphasises that the Indian videshinis' stories are relevant even today. "Beyond their fascinating lives which have valuable lessons for anyone integrating into a foreign culture (be they Indian or not), the wider usefulness of these women's stories is to understand how all the Indian elites behind them have always maintained flexibility in accepting outsiders... Although there is always a strategic element in their 'adoption' by their respective elites, these women benefited from the hospitality of so many ordinary Indians. Welcoming strangers is one of the key markers of a great civilisation," Magedera says. He also says, however, that globalisation has meant the 'end' of the Indian videshinis, in a sense. "In 1947 the elites were content that independent India anchored their social position in a narrative of nation, but they were also anxious to give their sons and daughters an international edge in education and work experience. Now globalisation has internationalised Indians and perhaps made the position of the Indian videshinis redundant," Magedera writes in his book. "Yes, now most of the middle class is directly or indirectly globalised with connections via PIOs and NRIs," Magedera concludes. "Except in the world of film, the cultural currency of the white female is not in huge demand and is not used to do good works in Indian society (anymore)." Indian Videshnis European Women in India by Ian H Magedera is published by Roli Books. Read an excerpt from the chapter on Sonia Gandhi here: The Karnataka Congress manifesto released by Rahul Gandhi makes tall promises, but questions on deteriorating urban infrastructure, rural distress linger. All manifestos say sweet things. The Karnataka Congress manifesto released by party president Rahul Gandhi on Friday ahead of the Assembly election in Karnataka is no different. It has showcased its sector-wise achievements, which was obvious, as any party would do the same. Tall promises have been made on what the Congress government would deliver, if re-elected to power. Let us consider the agriculture sector, where the manifesto says, INC (Indian National Congress) is dedicated to work towards the overall empowerment of farmers in Karnataka by ensuring improved productivity and income security through climate resilient technologies, value addition and reformed market network to help them achieve their right to a sustainable livelihood. The farm sector and agrarian distress is going to emerge as one of the most important deciding factors for the incumbent government to get re-elected in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Keeping this in mind, the Karnataka Congress has promised initiatives to improve food processing, packaging, warehousing, cold storage facilities, etc, besides presenting an array of achievements of the current government. The government combated the drought situation efficiently and provided assistance to farmers, the Karnataka government claimed in the manifesto. However, if it was all hunky dory in the agriculture sector in Karnataka, the question arises as to why so many farmers suicides took place in the last five years. According to the statistics of the state agriculture department, as many as 3,515 farmers in Karnataka committed suicide between April 2013 and November 2017, out of which 2,525 were due to drought and crop failure. The Congress party has been up in arms against the ruling BJP governments, whether at the Centre on in the states, on the agrarian crisis. But what about the farmers suicides in its own backyard? Does the Siddaramaiah government have any answer to this? The answer is probably no. The manifesto does not shed much light on how this crisis, which has emerged on a gigantic scale, would be dealt with. Corporatisation of farm sector is not likely to help. The manifesto has stated that if re-elected, the Congress government would promote a PPP model to develop agricultural infrastructure. The document further mentioned that the INC would launch an initiative for developing sustainable agribusiness, enabled through an Agricultural Corridor for Karnataka for agriculture and its allied sectors. This will cover production, infrastructure and industrial segments on an end-to-end concept. The corridor will focus on improving production and productivity, reducing production cost and wastage, increasing value addition and price stabilisation. Despite several of these measures already in place, farmers committed suicide year after year. Its high time that any government ought to seriously take a note of farmer grievances. Last year, Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a massive farmers agitation that turned into mob violence. Six people were killed due to police firing at Mandsaur district. Mere promises wont help. The crisis is still simmering. Another sector that brought Karnataka on the global map is the Information Technology (IT) and software sector. The state, or specifically its capital Bengaluru, became the first IT destination in the country when the sector became a sunrise industry. Besides government efforts, private enterprises played a pivotal role in the success story. The contribution of successive Congress governments cant be undermined, especially that of SM Krishna, in whose tenure several initiatives were taken to boost the IT sector. The Congress 2018 manifesto promises to make IT as an important driver of the state economy by increasing IT contribution from the current USD 60 billion to USD 300 billion. Isnt the target too ambitious, given that the size of the states annual budget stands at Rs 2.09 lakh crore for 2018-19? Amit Malviya, the person in charge of BJPs National Information and Technology Cell, has dubbed it as a lie. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, he has stated that $300bn is 9.6 times of the Karnataka state budget, which is approximately S31bn. Dear Rahul, Read your tweet on Congress Manifesto for Karnataka. You are either mathematically challenged or lying, as usual. Quick tutorial: IT contribution at $300Bn is approx 9.6x of the Karnataka state budget, which is 2,09,181 cr for FY 2018-19 (approx 31Bn)! #ManifestoScam pic.twitter.com/5pqFYv4Rxh Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) April 27, 2018 Tall promises are fine, but if not met, they could have a cascading effect on the partys poll prospects in other elections. The voters, while taking a note of the promises made in the manifesto, wont forget to question the government on farmers deaths in Karnataka. The voters may also question the government on the deteriorating urban infrastructure, especially in Bengaluru the Silicon Valley of India and the pride of Karnataka. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is on a mission to form a non-BJP non-Congress alternative, said he would unite all regional parties in coming months to bring about 'a qualitative change' in the country Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is on a mission to form a non-BJP non-Congress alternative, on Friday said he would unite all regional parties in coming months to bring about "a qualitative change" in the country. "The way we created an earthquake and persuaded the country"s political system and realised Telangana state; in a similar way, we will unite the country, move like a bird and unite all regional parties in the coming two-three months to bring about a qualitative change in the country," he said. He was speaking at the 17th formation day plenary of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Hyderabad. A resolution was passed unanimously at the plenary authorising Rao to take appropriate decisions on forming the proposed federal front. Rao, who has recently met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda as part of his move, said he would meet DMK working president MK Stalin on 29 April. Stalin had two days ago "endorsed" Banerjee's efforts to bring together various parties against the BJP. Rao said Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav would come to Hyderabad to meet him on 2 May. "We are speaking to many others," he added. In a sharp attack on the Congress and BJP, he said the two parties must explain why the country remained backward on various fronts as two parties had ruled the country for most of the period since independence. He said nature or God had given the country 70,000 tmc of water, yet neither the farmer gets water for irrigation nor drinking water was available. Sarcastically asking who gave this 'gift', he said "the prime minister of the day (Narendra Modi), also former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the presidents of the two national parties, Amit Shah ji and Rahul Gandhi ji, should answer this. Seventy years have passed and you have run the government. Both of you ruled for 65 years." Rao claimed that the country remained backward in various areas, including ports, airports, roads, inland waterways and even life expectancy. Questioning why subjects like agriculture, health and rural roads remain with the Centre, he alleged that state governments had been reduced to worse than municipalities. Instead, the Centre should take care of issues like Kashmir where Pakistan was provoking every day and international diplomacy, Rao said. He claimed that his move to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative has rattled both the parties. "(Congress president) Rahul Gandhi says KCR is Narendra Modi's agent. I did not understand. Have only Congress and BJP taken the contract to talk about national politics? Others do not have the right?" he said. Rao also dared Telangana state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy to prove his claim that there were 150 rooms in his (Rao's) newly-built official residence. Rao, who is the president of TRS, said: "a massive" public meeting would be organised either in October or November and 'others" would be invited for it. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday released the Congress manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections in Mangalore. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday released the Congress manifesto in Mangaluru for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. Speaking on the occasion, Rahul said that the Congress manifesto is the "voice of the people of Karnataka" and contains their "mann ki baat". Rahul also claimed that the Siddaramaiah government has delivered on 95 percent of the promises made in the last manifesto and they will do the same if elected for another term. "CM @siddaramaiah led Karnataka Government has Delivered as Promised. We again give a commitment of fulfilling the promises we have made in this manifesto as well": @RahulGandhi, Congress President#NavaKarnatakaManifesto pic.twitter.com/t8xeTA4Pue Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 27, 2018 Mentioning Lingayat philosopher Basavanna, Rahul said that Congress believes in the philosophy of Basavanna, unlike the Opposition who has only put garlands on his statue. "We have stood up to the ideals of Basavanna", Rahul remarked. Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rahul said that their manifesto will be "decided by only 3-4 leaders" and would be "driven by RSS ideology". He added that the "BJP does not respect the culture of Karnataka". This is not a manifesto that has been made by 3 or 4 people in a closed room. This is made by going to every single district and every single community: Congress President @RahulGandhi #NavaKarnatakaManifesto #CongressMathomme pic.twitter.com/g4ED62CpG3 Congress (@INCIndia) April 27, 2018 He further said that the Congress manifesto has been made after "listening to the people of Karnataka". "This has not been made by 3-4 people but by going on the ground and asking people what they want to be done in Karnataka", Rahul said. Rahul also directly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that "he has not stood up for what he said". "There has been corruption after corruption in the NDA govt. Corruption will be hidden in the manifesto, ideas of the Reddy brothers will be in that manifesto", Rahul alleged. He also thanked the people of Karnataka for their "humility" and for "showing the way forward to the country". "This state won't have a future if every district is not respected and listened to," he said, adding: "I thank Mr. Moily for his effort in going to each district and having meetings with the people of Karnataka. This is unlike the manifesto of the BJP which will have the hidden interests of the RSS and Reddy brothers": @RahulGandhi, Congress President#NavaKarnatakaManifesto Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 27, 2018 Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah who was also present for the manifesto launch said, "Karnataka is the top job-creating state in India and we have received the maximum investments. We will continue in our efforts to build a 'Nava Karnataka'." You can read the manifesto here: Republican Party of India's Karnataka president R Mohan Raj, who is contesting from Udupi in the upcoming Assembly election in the state, says lack of proper implementation of the Constitution has led to the rise in violation of Dalit rights Editor's note: Elections to the Karnataka Assembly are scheduled for 12 May and they come at a time when caste is a major topic of debate across the country. The following is the fourth of a five-part series on prominent Dalit activists who have a deep influence on the politics of the state. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 5 of the series. At least nine persons died in protests that erupted against a Supreme Court ruling diluting the stringent provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. With Karnataka Assembly elections scheduled for 12 May, the issue of Dalit rights has taken prominence among all political parties. Most Dalit leaders in the state feel that Dalit votes will be divided among all parties except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In an interview with Firstpost, R Mohan Raj, state president of the Republic Party of India and former Dalit Sangharsh Samiti leader, said that the Dalit community today lacks strong leaders. He added that though there are political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Republican Party of India that are associated with the Dalit movement in India, lack of proper implementation of the Constitution has led to the rise in violation of Dalit rights. Our major demand is to implement the Constitution, he said. Raj cited historical facts to locate the position of Dalits in the present Indian society. Vocally criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raj said the prime minister should have some responsibility and commitment towards his work. "The Parliament is bigger than the Supreme Court," he said, adding that the SC/ST (POA) Act could have been brought under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution that guarantees land rights to minority communities. Raj believes the present situation (of protests against the judiciary) is a result of years of atrocities committed against Dalits. "In 1948, Babasaheb BR Ambedkar said that the subdued SC/ST or OBC communities will remain docile only up to a certain point, after which they will lose their cool. We are witnessing his words in north India today, he said. The Video was created by Swetha Gowda. The authors are members of The NewsCart, a Bengaluru-based media startup. Congress MLA NA Haris says he is hopeful of being elected to the Karnataka Assembly for the third time. He is contesting from the Shantinagar constituency. Bengaluru: Congress MLA NA Haris was recently in the eye of a storm when his son Mohammed Nalapad allegedly assaulted a fellow guest at an upscale restaurant in the heart of Bengaluru. The incident may have been a reason why Haris name didnt find a mention in the first list of Congress candidates fighting the Karnataka polls this time. Despite the odds, Haris is confident of getting elected for a third term. Excerpts from the interview: The Congress did not announce your name in the first list of candidates for the Assembly elections. Does this indicate that it was not keen on issuing you a ticket? Haven't you been put in an embarrassing situation because of this? The decision is that of Congress party. The party always has its way of giving out the tickets. Maybe it has taken a stand on how to do that. All the leaders had committed to me that the ticket is happening and there is no issue. That is the party's decision and I cannot question that. Tell us about the work you have done in your constituency (Shantinagar). This was a reserved constituency for almost 25 years before I became the MLA. Doing something from scratch is easy, but redoing an old thing is very difficult. We faced a lot of issues. Almost 95 percent of the infrastructure including roads, sanitation and footpaths had to be redone. My constituency is in a low-lying area through which a lot of rajakaluves (storm water drains) are running. When it rains anywhere in the city, this area is flooded. After Independence, none of the rajakaluves had a retaining wall, and we fixed this problem. Its almost in the final stages now. Thats a major achievement. In five years, I have used the MLA funds only for development of schools. A lot of poor people live in my constituency and I had to convince them to send their children to school. What are the areas where your constituency needs improvement? As far as infrastructure is concerned, I think we have done the maximum. I want to focus more on education preparing the next generation. There are lots of government schools in my constituency. I want to upgrade them so that the poor and the lower middle class can access quality education. The best of the hospitals are also in my constituency, but the poor still have to suffer sometimes to get quality healthcare. There are two maternity homes (in Shantinagar and Jogupalya) where there is space for development and I want to upgrade them into 30-40-bed hospitals. Safety and security is another big concern everywhere. We are going in for CCTVs throughout Shantinagar constituency. We want the entire area to be under surveillance, we want these cameras to be connected to the police stations. With this, a lot of issues can be automatically controlled. There is talk that not much development work was undertaken by you. For instance, you laid the foundation stone for a community hall three years ago. But its yet to be completed. Dont you think these will influence voters? Making allegations is very easy. To do work is difficult. Every inch of my constituency is known to me and I am clear about every work that is happening. We demolished two community centres and started the work. The budget allocated was very less for that. We were told that we could not construct basement parking. I objected to that and said we will get it redone. We wanted mechanised parking to be available. Hence, we are increasing the height of the basement. Hence, the community centre is getting a little delayed. But we will get the best community centre in this area now at a very reasonable price that is my fight. The tender is also ready. Work will start just after the elections and should be completed within a year. I agree there is a delay, but I dont want to compromise on quality. I dont know how long I will stay an MLA, but my work should stay for a long time. There are as many as 24 dyeing units in Vinayaka Nagar, causing much inconvenience to the residents. How will you solve the problem? Most of them have shifted and the rest have been asked to move. These dyeing units are not a factory setup, but have families living there. We came up with solutions wherein water released after dyeing would be let into a tank (not drainage) and collected by an agency that will treat it in its unit. We even had a meeting with the KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board). Major industries have already been shifted. Government has allotted land for these communities as well. Until then, we have ensured that the polluted water is collected in tankers and treated. You played a key role in demolition of quarters constructed by the BBMP at Ejipura for the economically weaker sections. Dont you think you were on the wrong side? You dont know the exact situation. There were 1,520 houses already allotted to people by the Slum Board, which were built very badly. They started collapsing and many people died because of that. Later, the government called for a public-private partnership tender. All this happened before I became the MLA. After the building collapsed, the residents built huts around the area and started living there. Lots of illegal occupants started building houses there. There were around 2,000 huts, and all kinds of anti-social activities were taking place. People were living in deplorable conditions and they approached me with safety concerns. I spoke to them and convinced them to shift from there so that new houses could be built. Somebody had to take action. We have got 900 houses built for illegal occupants not allottees, but poor people who were living there at Sulikunte. And 1,520 houses were going to be built at that spot. That work is going on now. Your opponents, during the campaign, are focusing on your sons actions. How much do you think this issue will have an impact on your vote bank? People will look at the work I have done and they are going to elect me back. I have a personal connection with every voter in my constituency. Voters will take a call based on that. The Opposition has nothing to say about the work I did in the last 10 years. About my sons episode, I have already left it to the law of the land to take its course. Whoever has done wrong, he should be punished. Is this the end of your sons political career in Congress party? The party will decide on that. I am a true Congressman and I would like to remain in this party till my last breath. So, my party will take a call on that and I have no issues with that. AAP has fielded a strong candidate against you. What is your take on the opponents? The people of this constituency are with me. I have done a good job. For ten years, I have worked 24x7 and my work speaks for itself. I am available for people and I am active in the Assembly. I dont think any contender, big or small, makes a difference. I am hopeful that people will elect me for a third time. (Prajwala Hegde is a Bengaluru-based freelance writer and a member of 101reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters) With the deadline for filing nominations to the Karnataka Assembly elections passed, the EC received over 3000 applications for the 225 seats in contention. Bengaluru: With the deadline for filing nominations to the Karnataka Assembly elections passed, the Election Commission has received over 3,000 applications for the 225 seats in contention. But as some hopeful candidates would tell you, there is many a slip between the party's candidate list and who gets to meet the Returning Officer (RO). Among the more prominent candidates who were replaced even after their names had appeared on the candidates-list are Dr Devraj Patil, who had to make way for chief minister Siddaramaiah in Badami, and actor Ambareesh in Mandya, who played hard-to-get with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) leadership. MH Ambareesh, a three-time member of Parliament from Mandya and its serving MLA, is a towering figure in the region, despite being infamous as an absentee member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). While his name was announced in the KPCC's official candidate list, he seemed reluctant to contest. It is understood that he was still smarting from being dropped from Siddaramaiah's cabinet, where he held the housing portfolio. A high political drama unfolded over the weekend as he refused to meet the chief minister in Mysore after keeping him waiting and went incommunicado all Monday, 23 April, with supporters and party leaders unable to reach him. Even as late as Tuesday, the last day for filing nominations, KPCC president G Parameshwara attempted to reach out to him but he reportedly refused to turn up for the meeting. Finally, at the eleventh hour, Congress decided to field Ravikumar Ganiga as their candidate from Mandya. HS Chandramouli, Congress' initial choice from Madikeri was dropped after it was reported that he was PNB-scam accused and fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi's lawyer. AL Pushpa was also dropped as the Congress candidate from Jagalur after protests by sitting legislator HP Rajesh's supporters. She is now contesting the seat as an independent candidate. Other Congress candidates who found themselves 'replaced' are B Nanjamari (Tiptur), MR Seetharam (Malleswaram) and Gurappa Naidu (Padmanabha Nagar). In the Kolar Gold Field (SC) seat, BJP will field S Ashwini, daughter of the former MLA Y Sampangi, and the third generation from the family to contest from the seat. Party leaders were unhappy that Y Sampangi, while seeking a party ticket for himself, had kept a pending corruption case against him a secret. Sampangi, a native of Anekal in Bengaluru rural, won the Assembly elections from KGF in 2008 on a BJP ticket. He was caught 'red handed' while accepting a bribe at the Legislators' Home in Bengaluru by the Lokayukta in 2009 and the case is still pending in court. During the 2013 elections, the BJP in a bid to save face nominated Sampangi's mother Y Ramakka as its candidate from KGF. She won the election defeating the JD(S) candidate. Meanwhile, S Ashwini contested the Zila Panchayat elections and won against long-time Kolar MP KH Muniyappa's daughter, Roopa Shashidhar. Though there was stiff opposition to nominating Sampangi as BJP candidate, the party leadership initially cleared his name. But owing to pressure from various quarters and embarrassed by the criminal case against him, they switched the candidate. In Chikkaballapur district, high drama prevailed on 23 April when the JD(S) legislator M Rajanna was preparing to file his nomination papers from Sidlaghatta Assembly constituency. Rajanna, who was elected to the state Assembly in 2013 after defeating former minister V Muniyappa of the Congress, was hoping to get party's nod for his candidature. In fact, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had announced Rajanna's candidature last month at party conventions in Bengaluru and Sidlaghatta. The party had given him the B form to be submitted to the RO with his nomination papers. However, another strong contender BM Ravikumar of Melur reportedly got a call from the party supremo HD Deve Gowda late Sunday night asking to meet him. When Ravikumar went to Bengaluru around midnight, he was given both the B form as well as the C form and asked to submit his nomination. Ravikumar, who was planning to file his papers as rebel candidate, was on cloud nine when he submitted the nomination form to the RO. In response, Rajanna staged a dharna and criticised the party high command for not re-nominating him. Varuna Assembly constituency in Mysuru, which was already in news for the political debut of the chief minister's son, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, witnessed a minor earthquake on the last date to file nominations. Although the BJP hadn't officially announced their candidate for the seat, it was understood that Varuna would be the stage for the 'battle of the sons', with party workers vociferously supporting the candidature of BY Vijayendra, son of the former chief minister and BJP state supremo, BS Yeddyurappa. With its huge Lingayat population, apparently eager to vote in one of their own, Varuna seemed the perfect launchpad for Vijayendra. He was all set to file his nomination on Monday when it became obvious that the BJP central leadership was opposed to his candidacy. Their reason was that it smacked of the very nepotism that the BJP routinely accuses the Congress of. Vijayendra's supporters were furious and, despite Yeddyurappa's pleas to accept the decision, briefly rioted. But the party stood firm and chose Thotadappa T Basavaraj as its candidate in Varuna. Vijayendra was given the post of state general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha as a sop. Yeddyurappa's supporters in the party blamed union minister Ananthkumar, a rival faction leader, for blocking Vijayendra's candidature. In disgust, several BJP supporters from the Lingayat community joined the Congress in the presence of Dr Yathindra. Shivaranjini S is in Mysuru and Ranganath Krishnaswamy in Kolar. Both independent journalists are members of 101reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters. The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, for voting against the government during a confidence motion moved by Chief Minister K Palaniswamy last year. Dismissing the petition filed by DMK Whip R Sakkrapani, the court said it could not interfere in the Assembly Speaker's domain. The court said it had the power of judicial review of decisions taken, but could not interfere in a matter where the Speaker had not taken a decision. It also referred to a case pending in the Supreme Court on a similar issue arising from Andhra Pradesh. The disqualification petition was filed against 11 AIADMK legislators for voting against the confidence motion on Chief Minister K Palaniswamy government on 18 February, 2017, defying the party whip. At that time, Panneerselvam had rebelled against the party led by jailed leader VK Sasikala. Later, Panneerselvam merged his group with the one led by Palaniswamy who sidelined Sasikala and her relative TTV Dinakaran. The petition for disqualification was filed by Sakkarapani soon after Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal disqualified 18 legislators owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader Dinakaran. The legislators belonging to Dinakaran camp had also written to the Governor expressing their loss of confidence in Chief Minister Palaniswamy and requested him to appoint a new Chief Minister. The case filed by the disqualified legislators against the Speaker's action is pending before the high court. As per the party position in Tamil Nadu assembly, the ruling AIADMK has 116 members followed by DMK-89, Congress-8, IUML-1, Independent-1, the Speaker and 18 vacant seats, totalling 234. Besides, there is one nominated member without voting right. On Friday, the court also dismissed another petition filed by DMK lawmaker J Anbazhagan against the unveiling of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait in the Assembly. Welcoming the two judgements , K Pandiarajan, the Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, said the court's decision was validation of Tamil Nadu Speaker's decision. He said the opposition parties might be disappointed but it would give them clarity as to what kind of cases could be filed in the courts. Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the two orders of the court on Friday was like having milk and fruit together. "It is a twin happy news. Justice has been done." Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China to inquire about his safety after an aircraft carrying the Congress president developed a snag before landing at Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China on Thursday to inquire about his safety after an aircraft carrying the Congress president developed a snag before landing at Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka, party sources said. Gandhi received the call around 2:30 pm, the sources added. The Congress chief is on a two-day visit to the state to canvass for his party for the 12 May Assembly polls. "It was a private conversation between the two (over the phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the prime minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine," a source told PTI. The plane carrying Gandhi and few more people from the national capital to Hubballi developed a technical snag on Thursday, tilting heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state Director General of Police Neelmani N Raju. Vidyarthee was also travelling with Gandhi. The plane landed at the Hubballi airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt, according to the letter, which also said that "the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers". Vidyarthee also tweeted later about the incident, saying the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down. Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldnt believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation. Kaushal K Vidyarthee (@vidyarthee) April 26, 2018 "Glad to be in a room and getting some rest....thankful for being alive...never had such a frightening experience in my life...plane went into free fall...couldn't believe CP's composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation," Vidyarthee wrote on Twitter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is examining the issue, while the state police have registered a complaint. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as "horrific" and "serious" and demanded a probe to find out if there was any "foul play". Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the BJP will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on the issues of development and good governance. Kanpur: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the BJP will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on the issues of development and good governance. "Good governance and development will be the two issues of our party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Singh, who was on a visit to Harihar Dham, told reporters. Replying to a question on next month's byelection to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, Singh said he was confident about the BJP's victory. "We have full faith that we will win the Kairana by-election," he said. The byelection will take place on 28 May. It was necessitated after BJP veteran Hukum Singh passed away in February. Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China, Singh said India wanted to have good relations with all its neighbours and not just China. The West Bengal panchayat election would be held in a single-phase on 14 May, the State Election Commission announced. Kolkata: The West Bengal panchayat election would be held in a single-phase on 14 May, the state election commission (SEC) announced on Thursday. Earlier, the elections were scheduled to be held in three phases on 1, 3 and 5 May and the counting was to take place on 8 May. However, the Calcutta High Court had stayed the poll process and directed the SEC to reschedule the election dates after Opposition parties submitted a plea, alleging that TMC members were not allowing them to file nominations. "The panchayat election will be held in one phase on 14 May. Any re-poll, if needed, will be held on 16 May. The date of counting will be notified later," SEC secretary Nilanjan Shandilya told reporters. Shandilya said the poll panel had requested the state government to make sufficient security arrangements to ensure a free and fair poll. The SEC secretary, however, evaded a question on how would the state police be able to provide security if the election is held in a single phase at 58,467 polling booths spread across the state. "The state will look into the security arrangements," he said, while declining to take questions on the Opposition parties' demand for deployment of central forces in the state for free and fair elections. Asked why the SEC decided on a single-phase polling, Shandilya said there were many reasons, including the month of Ramzan. Various Muslim organisations on Wednesdsay had met the SEC and urged it not to hold the polls during the month of Ramzan beginning 16/17 may, as Muslims might find it difficult to take part in the polling process amid the fasting. The Opposition parties in West Bengal lashed out at the SEC for announcing single-phase elections in the state and said the ruling TMC was desperate to win the panchayat elections at any cost. The Congress, the CPM-led Left front, and the BJP, denounced the SEC for not consulting the stakeholders before announcing the poll date. "The SEC was supposed to hold discussions with all political parties before announcing the polling date. But the SEC didn't bother to do that. The SEC has turned into a back office of the Trinamool Congress. The TMC and the SEC are desperate to ensure that there is lawlessness on the day of poll," state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said. West Bengal Left front chairman Biman Bose also criticised the SEC and said the TMC was trying to write the epitaph of democracy in the state. "If the entire state police force is used to conduct panchayat polls, then who will man the police stations. The state police force is not at all sufficient to conduct elections on a single day at more than 58,000 booths across the state," Bose said. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the TMC wants to unleash violence on the day of polls. "The TMC wants to unleash violence on the day of poll as it did during the nomination process. But we will fight to ensure that people can exercise their democratic right," Ghosh said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, expressed happiness with the announcement of the date of panchayat polls and hoped that it would be a peaceful election. The election on 14 May will be held from 7 am to 5 pm. The entire election process has to be completed before 21 May, said a gazette notification on Thursday. According to the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 2003, there has to be a gap of at least 21 days between the last date of filing of nominations and the date of polling. According to this rule, the election cannot be held before 14 May. The nomination filing process for the panchayat poll was marred by violence and clashes between the ruling TMC and Opposition parties workers in the state, resulting in loss of a few lives. The Calcutta High Court had on 20 April directed the SEC to reschedule the dates for the panchayat polls. The nomination process for the panchayat polls had ended on 9 April, but it was extended by a day by the SEC the same evening following a Supreme Court court order. The West Bengal government and the TMC had objected to the nomination date extension by the SEC, which had cited a Supreme Court direction to "allay the apprehensions of aspiring candidates" in its notification which had extended the nomination deadline by a day. The notification, which had referred to the apex court order, however, was withdrawn by the SEC on 10 April morning. This led BJP to move the Supreme Court on 11 April objecting to the recall of deadline extension, but it was asked to approach the high court with its grievances. The BJP subsequently moved the high court challenging the rollback of extended deadline, and Justice Subrata Talukdar stayed the election process on 12 April. Apart from the BJP, the CPM and the PDS, the Congress too had moved the high court separately challenging the SEC's decision to recall the nomination deadline extension. The SEC and TMC had challenged the petitions claiming they were not maintainable before the high court as the election process has started. Holding the petitions challenging the cancellation of notification as maintainable, Justice Talukdar, however, had asked the SEC to issue fresh notification extending the date for filing nominations. On the high court order, the SEC had announced 23 April as the extended date for filing nominations for the three-tier rural election. Asheeta Regidi Editor's Note: This copy was published on 25 April, 2018. It is being republished in light of the Supreme Court's verdict on the constitutionality of Aadhaar likely being pronounced tomorrow. On Day 32 of the Aadhaar hearings, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi continued his arguments on behalf of the state. First, he argued that the reasonable expectation of privacy, in terms of permissible invasions of the right to privacy, was not subject to the standard of the least intrusive invasion, as argued by the petitioners. Instead, the standard was whether the invasion was proportional to the state's purpose for which it (the invasion) was being made. He further disputed the applicability of many of the foreign judgments cited by the petitioners in support of their arguments. Lastly, the issue of metadata was discussed, where he argued that the metadata collected was in relation to the machine, and not the person. No reasonable expectation of privacy in the public sphere Dwivedi commenced his arguments for the day with a discussion on the reasonable expectation of privacy. He first quoted a judgment from the Constitutional Court of South Africa, which found that privacy is the strongest in the inner sanctum of the mind, but shrinks as you move outside into the world. Based on this, he questioned if private life is entitled to protection outside the home, since there, people often given up their privacy. He further argued that in Europe, the concept of a reasonable expectation of privacy was not considered by the Courts, making US and UK laws and judgments more relevant in the Indian context. Next, it was argued that in India there is a need for innovation and development of knowledge, along with the right to privacy. The correct test, he argued, was therefore not whether the invasion of privacy was least intrusive, but whether it was proportional to the purpose sought to be achieved. To emphasise the purpose sought to be achieved through Aadhaar, he quoted from the Puttaswamy judgment, arguing that ensuring that welfare benefits are not dissipated is a vital state interest. Expectation of privacy varies according to the context Next, he argued that in the public sphere, the right to privacy is diluted. The entire Aadhar project, he argued, is in the public sphere. Privacy concerns or reasonable expectation of privacy, further, could not be attached to information collected via Aadhaar, like demographic information and photographs. He further argued that since at the requesting entity level, the entities and the information in them are dispersed and decentralised, these dont deserve the same level of protection as the CIDR storing centralised information. The Bench, here, observed that core biometric information has higher privacy concerns, but this does not imply that there are no concerns with other information. Dwivedi agreed, stating that his point was that the reasonable expectation of privacy varies according to context. Applicability of EU and US judgment Next, he argued that 120 countries use biometric information, and nineteen European countries use biometric ID cards. Neither the Court of Justice of the European Union nor the European Court of Human Rights ever expressed any issued with such biometric cards. Further, he argued that there was no need to refer to European laws for tests on proportionality for an invasion of privacy since this had already been developed by the Indian Supreme Court in the case of State of Madras v. VG Row. The Supreme Court, he argued, has never accepted the proposition that a restriction of fundamental rights must be the least intrusive one. He also cited the US judgment of Ohio v. Akron, which dealt with disclosure requirements to authorities in relation to abortions, and Doe v. Reed, which dealt with the disclosure of signatures on a referendum campaign. Further, he cited the UK judgment of Wood v. Commissioner of Police, which held that taking of photographs in itself does not violate privacy. Marper case supports the case for the State Further, Dwivedi also argued that the ECHRs judgment in S and Marper v. UK, which had been quoted extensively by the petitioners, was actually in support of the States arguments. He argued that in Marper, it was held that whether retention of data raises privacy concerns depends on the context. He further argued that Marper had been decided in a very specific context, which was different from Aadhaar. First, a difference had been drawn out between collection of fingerprints and the collection of DNA. DNA collection was held to be an issue because it contained non-neutral information. Fingerprint collection was also held to be non-neutral when collected in the context of crime. Aadhaar, it was argued, does not deal with the collection and retention of data in the context of crime, and also does not involve the collection of DNA. Further, he argued that Marper discussed appropriate safeguards, not 100 percent safeguards. He also argued that most of the cases cited by the petitioners were similarly, in the context of crime or about censuses, and therefore inapplicable in the context of Aadhaar. Aadhaar only collects limited technical metadata Dwivedi next turned to the issue of metadata. He argued that the cases cited by the petitioners, such as the Digital Rights Ireland case, involved the large-scale storage of metadata which bore no relation to any State purpose, unlike the metadata collected via Aadhaar. The metadata being collected in the cases cited, he argued, was a lot more intrusive. The U.S. v. Jones case, additionally, dealt with GPS systems, which is not used in Aadhaar. He argued that Aadhaar, instead, only involved the collection of limited technical data. He argued that the need for the collection of metadata arose due to the need to exercise control over the REs. Further, no data was collected on the location or purpose of a transaction, but merely on the system. The Bench observed that the metadata collection was of the machine, but not of the person. Adequate safeguards and data collection Considering that surveillance and similar concerns with privacy invasions were cited by the petitioners with respect to the metadata collection in Aadhaar, he then cited the Supreme Courts judgment in G. Sundarrajan v. Union of India. This case dealt with the setting up of a nuclear power plant in Kundankulam. He argued that here, the Court held that apprehensions of a Fukushima like incident should not prevent the setting up of the power plant. The Court found that the power plant would help guarantee the right to life and that there were adequate safety measures in place. Based on this, he argued that this case establishes that safeguards can be read into Article 21. Further, with respect to the CIDR, this case establishes that the standard to be applied to the safety measures must be of adequate safety measures, and not of zero risk. Further, constant vigilance will be required to ensure safety. In the case of Aadhaar, he argued, the UIDAI was constantly improving and upgrading its safety measures. He further argued that a similar position had been adopted by the US Supreme Court in NASA v. Nelson. The US, he argued, had discarded the standard of the least restrictive invasion. He further argued that as per this case, the possibility of a data breach was not a ground to strike down the collection of data. Aadhaar completely bars the sharing of data To emphasise the protection of data in the case of Aadhaar, he argued, there is a bar on the sharing of data, and the data with the REs is completely dispersed. He argued that in Aadhar, further, there was consent for the data collection, and also a bar on using the data for anything other than authentication. He argued that if there are data breaches, they should be pointed to the UIDAI. Next, he pointed out that the data protection law will be in place by May. The Court, here, pointed out that an area that requires consideration is remedies for data breaches. The counsel pointed to the Information Technology Act and Section 43A Act as remedies, and to the actions taken against Airtel, etc. The EUs General Data Protection Regulation, he argued, dealt with balancing the free flow of data with data protection, while Aadhaar, dealt not with free flow, but no flow of data. The arguments will continue on 25 April. Sources of arguments include LiveTweeting of the case by Gautam Bhatia and Prasanna S. You can read our complete coverage of the Aadhaar Supreme Court case below Why SC needs to look into technical evidence of Aadhaars surveillance capabilities Lack of governmental ownership of CIDRs source code can have serious consequences Will State give citizens rights only if they agree to be tracked forever, asks lawyer Shyam Divan Coalition for Aadhaar: A collective of private companies wants to ensure that Aadhaar ID and related services continue to be offered Petitioners argue on centralisation of data and challenge Aadhaars claims on savings Petitioners argue for a voluntary ID card system that does not collect user data Petitioners argue that receipt of govt benefits cannot be at the cost of compromising fundamental rights Aadhaar is architecturally unconstitutional, argue the petitioners Petitioners argue that Aadhaar violates dignity by objectifying and depersonalizing an individual Petitioners seek compensation for starvation deaths and extension of March 31st deadline Section 7 exception in Supreme Courts interim order greatly affects peoples constitutional rights Entire Aadhaar project is beyond the stated objectives of Aadhaar Act, argue petitioners Petitioners conclude their arguments on 'the number of the beast' Aadhaar, highlighting various issues Aadhaar hearing: Political liberties cannot be foregone for economic and social justice, states the Bench Aadhaar hearing: UIDAIs presentation discusses Aadhaar enrolment, updation and authentication processes in detail Aadhaar hearing: Supreme Court expresses concerns with data breaches, Aadhaar security and profiling Aadhaar hearing: Petitioners question UIDAI on verification of residency requirement, de-duplication rejections and authentication failures Aadhaar hearing: Attorney General argues that pervasive collection of fingerprints meets proportionality requirements Aadhaar hearing: Bench criticises the argument that Aadhaar can prevent bank frauds and terrorists from acquiring mobile numbers Aadhaar hearing: Additional Solicitor General argues Aadhaar-PAN linkage enables deduplication, prevents fraud and widens the tax base Aadhaar hearing: Not necessary to prove least possible invasion of privacy, argues Additional Solicitor General Aadhaar hearing: Counsel argues that Aadhaar is more secure than a data protection law, SC disagrees Aadhaar hearing: Supreme Court questions why both the right to privacy and right to food cannot be secured under the Constitution The author is a lawyer and author specialising in technology laws. She is also a certified information privacy professional. Asheeta Regidi The State, in the Aadhaar hearings yesterday, finally admitted that there never was any direction from the Supreme Court to mandatorily link Aadhaar to SIM cards. Activists had been pointing this out ever since the several SMSes threatening to deactivate SIM cards surfaced in early 2017. Lack of clarity on the issue led to the government widely citing the Supreme Court order in question to not only mandate Aadhaar SIM linking but also as proof of Courts support to Aadhaar. The governments turnaround in yesterdays hearings comes as a vindication for these activists, proving that there was no foundation or judicial backing to its move to mandate Aadhaar linking to mobile numbers. The admission made this late in the day when the Aadhaar hearing has almost concluded, unfortunately, offers little else. Foundation for the Aadhaar-SIM linking: Lokniti case The governments direction for Aadhaar-SIM linking was based on a direction of the Supreme Court made back in 2017. There, the Court was hearing a petition filed by the Lokniti Foundation seeking a 100 percent verification scheme for mobile numbers, to deal with the use of mobile phones numbers for domestic criminal and terrorist activity. In this case, the then Attorney General brought the Aadhaar eKYC process to the Court as an effective measure to conduct the verification. In view of this, the Court directed a verification to be conducted, within one year, for all existing and new mobile numbers. The DoT order mandating the linkage In particular, and as pointed out by the Supreme Court in yesterdays Aadhaar hearings, the Court had never specified that the verification was to be conducted via Aadhaar only. Its directions, however, were conveniently misinterpreted, leading to the issue of an order by the Department of Telecom in March 2017, mandating an Aadhaar-based verification for all mobile phone subscribers. The order, quoting the Supreme Courts order to conduct verification in a year, decided on Aadhaar-based eKYC for the verification and issued directions accordingly. No SC order mandating Aadhaar SIM linkage Two crucial factors, which were widely misinterpreted, based on these events are: the Supreme Court never mandated the verification to be conducted via Aadhaar, and second, it was the DoTs decision to use Aadhaar mandatorily. The wide-spread stand of the government, however, was that it was the SC that had directed mandatory Aadhaar-SIM linking. Government on extending the Aadhaar-SIM linking The government went on to use this stand, not only to further force Aadhaar onto the people through the mandatory SIM linking, but also to try and prevent any relief through an extension of the linking deadlines, as repeatedly prayed for by the petitioners in the Aadhaar case. The repeated requests for interim orders by the petitioners were, first that the linking violated the right to privacy, and second for extension of the deadlines for Aadhaar SIM linking, which had been refused by the Court. The Attorney General had quoted the governments misinterpreted version of the Supreme Courts directions in the Lokniti case that there was a Supreme Court order directing the linking to be completed by 6 February, 2018, to refuse to extend the deadline. The same stand was reiterated even when the Court finally did extend this deadline to 31 March, 2018, in its interim order in December, 2017 (see Page 6). Government on SCs support to Aadhaar Further, the government also cited the Supreme Courts order as proof of the Supreme Courts support to the Aadhaar system. This can be seen in the case of Binoy Viswam v. Union of India, the Aadhaar-PAN judgment, where the Attorney General argued that the importance and utility of Aadhaar for verification of mobile numbers has been endorsed and recommended by this Court (para 60). It was further argued that the case had approved Aadhaar based verification (para 66): In the case of Lokniti Foundation v. Union of India & Ors., this Court has disposed of the writ petition while approving the Aadhaar based verification of existing and new mobile number subscriber s and upon being satisfied that an effective process has been evolved to ensure identity verification. A similar paragraph, in fact, also finds place in other documents like the Draft Bill for Human DNA Profiling (Para 4.38, Page 27), in the discussion on constitutional law on privacy (incidentally, the Lokniti Foundation had also filed a case seeking a national DNA database for the DNA of unclaimed bodies). Mandating Aadhaar through the lack of alternatives The fault of the Department of Telecom in issuing this order was not so much with prescribing Aadhaar eKYC, but with the failure to prescribe alternatives. This, in fact, sums up the crucial issue with Aadhaar, with the government making Aadhaar mandatory for everything, quite simply through refusing to recognise any other form of identification for the services/ benefits in question. The result is clear, that the so-called voluntary scheme has been made mandatory this way for almost everything. And this is despite Supreme Court orders against it being made mandatory for anything other than six services (the 2015 order), despite nothing in the Aadhaar Act itself permitting it to be made mandatory for anything other than the Section 7 benefits, and despite the ongoing Court hearings on the issue. The lack of alternatives to Aadhaar, in fact, leads to one of the most crucial issues with Aadhaar Aadhaar based exclusion. The push to make Aadhaar mandatory, one way or the other In particular, the Supreme Court, in the Aadhaar-PAN judgment, had observed that the issue of whether the Aadhaar scheme should remain voluntary or it can be made mandatory imposing compulsiveness on the people was an issue to be decided at a later stage. The intention is clear, pending the Supreme Courts final verdict on the issue, Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory. Yet there are repeated directions of the government mandating the linking of Aadhaar and even threatening deactivation, be it of mobile numbers, PAN cards, bank accounts or essential services like the Section 7 benefits, all of which are essential to a persons daily life, and also their survival. Incidentally, the DoT order on Aadhaar-SIM linking, never even directed that SIM cards were to be deactivated. Yet, this was the message that was spread far and wide. It is clear that there has been a push to make Aadhaar mandatory, regardless of anything the risk to and consequences for the people, the democratic process, and even the Supreme Court. This can be seen, be it with the Aadhaar Act enacted to circumvent the 2015 order of the Court directing that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory, or the now admitted misinterpretation of the Court order in the Lokniti case, to make Aadhaar mandatory for mobile numbers. Having almost reached the conclusion of the Aadhaar hearings, however, now simply the Courts final decision on Aadhaar will have to be awaited. tech2 News Staff The Home speakers game is currently going strong and to maintain its upper hand, Amazon is adding some new details to Alexa assistant. Speaking at the World Wide Web Conference in Lyon, France, head of the Alexa Brain group, Ruhi Sarikaya, announced that Alexa will soon be able to recall information that users direct her to remember. In addition to that, Alexa will have more natural conversations that dont require every command to begin with Alexa, that applies to follow up questions as well. This is made possible by whats called context carryover. The feature, says Sarikaya, is built on deep learning models applied to the spoken language understanding pipeline, in order to have conversations that carry customers intent and entities within and across domains like it did between weather and traffic, in the example above. It will also require the customer to enable Follow Up mode, which allows Alexa to continue a conversation even when the wake word isnt said a second time, TechCrunch reports. Also, Alexa will also be able to launch skills in response to the questions you ask, without explicit instructions to do so. Sarikaya also spoke about the companys focus on improving Alexas ability to track context and memory within and across dialogue sessions, as well as make it easier for users to discover and interact with Alexa. As promised, these features are the first of many launches that will come to Alexa this year. Alexas ability to remember means that it will be able to remember the questions you ask and retrieve them later, which is another way of saying that Alexa will now be storing your data to be able to pull it out whenever you ask. For instance, you might direct Alexa to remember an important day by saying something like, Alexa, remember that Rams birthday is on 5th June. Alexa will then reply, Okay, Ill remember that Rams birthday is on 5th June. Basically, Alexa can turn into your personal assistant, and the notes are with her, and its up to her if she wants to share it with someone else or just keep them to herself. Besides that, something called context carryover will also allow more natural conversations between you and Alexa. This is something that is present on Google Home thanks to its Assitant which has been on operation for many years now. tech2 News Staff On Day 33 of the Aadhaar hearings, the Supreme Court had clarified that it did not order the mandatory linking of the Aadhaar card with SIM cards. However, telecom companies have been pestering consumers to link their SIMs with their Aadhaar number regardless. According to a previous report, no such order was passed by the Supreme Court during the hearing of the Lokniti Foundation Case. The Court also said that it did not order for re-verification of the SIM cards by linking it with the Aadhaar number. Aadhaar was just one of the many verification options, but in its communication, the state took it to mean as the 'only' means of verification. According to a Times of India (TOI) report, people have been receiving requests from telecom operators requesting them to link their mobile phone numbers with their Aadhaar numbers. Additionally, people have been rejected from buying SIM cards or porting their numbers if they do not adhere to the demand which is Aadhaar-SIM linking. Speaking to TOI, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director Rajan S Mathews said that the Supreme Court order has only extended the date of verification and has not stopped the verification process. He defended the telecom operators and said that they were only following the guidelines set by the telecom ministry, therefore the operators are sending SMSs, emails for linking of SIMs with Aadhaar cards. He also said that since the Court did not fix the last date for re-verification, telcos will continue to send reminders. Reuters Democrats and Republicans in the US House of Representatives on 26 April sparred over the role of social media platforms Facebook, Google, and Twitter in filtering content after representatives of the tech companies skipped a hearing. Republicans repeatedly suggested at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Facebook Inc, Alphabet Incs Google and Twitter Inc are censoring or blocking content from conservatives, a charge the companies denied. Lawmakers from both parties agreed tech companies must remove illegal content like fraud, piracy and sex trafficking but differed on whether they should remove objectionable content. Representative Robert Goodlatte, a Republican who chairs the committee, said he was extremely disappointed the companies did not testify. Goodlatte said the First Amendment of the US Constitution offers no clear protections for users when Facebook, Google, or Twitter limits their content in any way. Alphabet did not respond to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment, while Facebook said it would keep talking to Congress about Facebooks strong commitment to being a platform for all voices and ideas. Goodlatte said, while these companies may have legal, economic, and ideological reasons to manage their content like a traditional media outlet, we must nevertheless weigh as a nation whether the standards they apply endanger our free and open society and its culture of freedom of expression. Representative Jerrold Nadler, top Democrat on the committee, said: the notion that social media companies are filtering out conservative voices is a hoax, a tired narrative of imagined victimhood. Nadler added, conservative commentary, including conspiracy theories of a conservative bent, regularly ranks among the most far-reaching posts on Facebook and elsewhere. The hearing featured a pair of pro-Donald Trump sisters known as 'Diamond and Silk.' Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, testified about Twitters decision to block her from advertising a campaign video the company called 'inflammatory.' Twitter reversed the decision. We need to recognize that the global reach of these companies creates overwhelming pressure against free speech, and we need to do a much better job counteracting that pressure, Blackburn said. Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat, said the US government should not follow authoritarian practices. What makes America great is we get to say stuff and not have the government intervene, Lieu said. This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing. Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, said concerns about Facebooks potential slant are best addressed through other measures, starting with transparency and user empowerment. Ultimately, the best check on Facebooks power today is the threat of a new Facebook disrupting the companys dominance. IANS WhatsApp Business has an active user base of over 3 million people, Mark Zuckerberg has said. The WhatsApp Business user base was revealed in Facebook's Q1 2018 earnings call, Venture Beat reported late on Wednesday. It is a standalone app separate from the other version of WhatsApp used by 1.5 billion people, was launched in January for Android users in six countries India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Britain, and the US. WhatsApp Business competes with services like Apple's Business Chat and RCS messaging for Android and Facebook's own Messenger Platform, chat apps offering features that help businesses connect with customers. While it is still being rolled out, conversational commerce through things like payments on Messenger will also be important to the social media giant, the report said. "Over the next five years we're focused on building out the business ecosystems around our apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger," Zuckerberg said. "I think what you're going to start to see are people interacting with Pages that you follow, Pages on Facebook or Instagram. (Also Read: Your complete guide to WhatsApp Business: How it works and what sets it apart from the standard app) "You see content from that Page, and you can click through to a message thread, and then you can either get customer support or complete a transaction or do a follow-on transaction, and that will be very valuable for businesses so we view the payment in that context, not as the goal but as something that's helping the business and the person succeed at having a transaction or doing what they're trying to do," Zuckerberg noted. WhatsApp Business, available on Google Play, makes it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for its users to chat with businesses that matter to them. The new app, which is yet to be launched on the App Store, asks for a separate phone number from the one users have for their individual WhatsApp account. The Swedish Academy the institute that picks the winners of the Nobel prize for Literature has seen six of its 18 members resign, as the controversy has escalated 2018 may well be the year when no Nobel Prize for Literature is announced. Speculation over the status of the prize awarded annually since 1901 has been rife in recent weeks, with the Swedish Academy (the institution that picks the winners) embroiled in a leadership crisis and sexual harassment allegations. On 26 April 2018, the Academy members convened to discuss if the Literature Nobel for 2018 should be scrapped in light of the ongoing controversy. However, no decision was reached by the members. Instead, the panel is expected to meet again, and announce a decision by 3 May. After our next Thursday meeting there will most probably be a statement on whether we will award a prize this year or reserve it for next year, in which case two prizes for literature will be announced in October 2019," Per Wastberg, the head of the four-person panel that awards the Literature prize, told the Guardian. Previously, the Nobel Prize in Literature was not handed out in 1914, 1918, 1935, and during the years 1940 to 1943. The Swedish Academy has found itself in the eye of a storm ever since sexual harassment allegations surfaced against a man with close ties to the members. In November 2017, several women spoke with a Swedish newspaper about alleged abuse at the hands of Jean-Claude Arnault, a photographer who is married to Swedish Academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson. About 18 women stepped forward to accuse Arnault. One of the women had brought Arnault's misconduct to the attention of Swedish Academy member (then among its prominent administrators) Sture Allen back in 1996, via a letter. However, Allen didn't act on her complaint as he reportedly felt the contents of the letter didnt seem important. Arnault is also suspected of having leaked the names of Nobel Prize winners the subject of intense conjecture, and against which many bets are placed before the day of the announcements. The Swedish police has launched an investigation into the Swedish Academy in this regard. A Stockholm cultural club run by Arnault has been subsidised by the Academy for several years. Calls for Katarina Frostenson to step down from the Academy after the accusations against her husband surfaced have been one of the points of disagreement among the Academy's members. Frostenson has now been suspended. As the row has escalated, the Associated Press reports that six of the 18 board members of the Academy have stepped down, including its secretary Sara Danius. (Membership to the Academy is for life.) Danius, the first woman to hold the post since the Academy was founded in 1786, resigned on 12 April amid criticism over her handling of the crisis. Sweden's king, prime minister and the Nobel board have all expressed concern over the situation. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Angela Merkel's message was similar to Macron's that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. Washington: This time, there were fewer hugs. President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday for a visit of less than three hours. He greeted Merkel outside the West Wing with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek, a traditional welcome but far short of the bountiful display of personal warmth that was seen earlier in the week when he played host to French President Emmanuel Macron for a lavish three-day state visit. Trump, in brief remarks alongside Merkel in the Oval Office, called her an "extraordinary woman," congratulated her on her recent re-election and disputed any idea that their rapport was frosty. "We have a really great relationship. We actually have had a great relationship from the beginning," Trump said. Though her visit will be short on pomp, Merkel's message was similar to Macron's that America and Europe need to bury the hatchet on key issues, from global trade to international security. In a joint press conference Friday afternoon, it was apparent that despite the back-to-back visits, Trump's divisions with Europe are still substantial. Trump is widely expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear accord next month, despite pleas from Macron earlier this week and Merkel Friday. Merkel used her meeting with Trump to try to paper over the differences, calling the Obama-era agreement a "first step" toward curtailing and containing Iran's regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement. Trump has said he was open to new negotiations with Iran, but has not said whether he would heed European calls for the U.S. to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Iran's nuclear efforts, while those talks are underway. His decision is expected by May 12. On trade, Merkel said there was little progress on seeking permanent exemptions for the EU from Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs. "The decision lies with the president," she said. Trump implicitly scolded Germany for not meeting its defense spending obligations to NATO, saying, it is "essential that our NATO allies increase their financial contribution," to the pact. Merkel said Germany's latest budget will take defense spending to 1.3 percent of GDP. She acknowledged that's far short of the 2 percent goal but said Germany is still aiming for that over time. In the hours before Merkel's arrival at the White House, Trump himself took note of their limited schedule, which was to include a 30-minute Oval Office meeting, followed by a working lunch and joint news conference. "Look forward to meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany today," Trump tweeted. "So much to discuss, so little time! It will be good for both of our great countries!" While Macron and Trump went to great lengths to display their affection through hearty handshakes, hugs and, at times, air kisses the president has not displayed the same chemistry with Merkel. In their first White House meeting last spring, Trump seemed to ignore photographers' prompts to give Merkel the traditional photo-op handshake. And the German chancellor looked on unhappily when Trump upbraided NATO nations last summer for not spending enough on defense as he stood in NATO'S gleaming new Brussels headquarters. This time, the two exchanged a handshake in the Oval Office. Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor to Trump, said that the president's relationships with Merkel and Macron don't need to be compared. "France and Germany are great allies. I think every leader is different, every relationship is different," Conway said at the White House. "We're very happy that Chancellor Merkel is making another trip here." While Macron has been positioning himself as Europe's "Trump whisperer" and conduit to an American president who seems intent on upending U.S. relationships with allies, Merkel maintains her strength as the head of the largest economy in Europe. And if this visit produces a similar lack of bonhomie, that might just be fine with Merkel, who has little to gain at home by being overly friendly with Trump, according to German political analyst Jan Techau. "For Merkel, it's quite important domestically not to be seen to be getting too close to Trump," said Techau, a senior fellow at think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Anti-American sentiment has been growing again in Germany since Trump's election, with mainstream media regularly portraying the U.S. president as a threat to the world. The Macron state visit had been long planned, while Merkel's more informal working visit was added to the schedule so her trip to Washington would be the first outside Europe since her election victory. Two deadlines loom large. The first is Trump's demand for an overhaul by May 12 of the international nuclear deal with Iran an agreement that Germany, like France, worked hard to secure and believes should remain in place. Although Germany is unlikely to accept a wholesale rewrite of the deal, Berlin has indicated that it is prepared to consider add-ons that would crack down on Tehran's ballistic missile program and curb Iranian efforts to strengthen its strategic role in the Middle East. Earlier this week, Macron made clear that France would not follow the U.S. lead if Trump decides to withdraw from the agreement. Macron later told French reporters that he has no "inside information" on Trump's decision on the Iran deal but noted that it's clear the U.S. president "is not very much eager to defend it." The second deadline concerns the extension of new U.S. tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum, which some fear could trigger a global wave of protectionism that would deeply harm a trading nation such as Germany. Though German officials have signaled that their goals for the visit are modest, Berlin last week announced plans to step up defense spending, a long-standing demand in Washington. While Germany is still likely to miss the goal of devoting 2 percent of its gross domestic product to defense that's expected of NATO members, the move could be taken as a sign that Berlin has gotten the message. Some German officials have been quietly playing with the idea of buying U.S. made F-35 jets replace the country's aging fleet of Tornado planes. The hope is that this would show Berlin's willingness to act on military spending while also improving the U.S. trade balance with Germany. By Ola Lanre and Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram militants in the northeast city of Maiduguri on Thursday, the military said in a statement, the second such clash in a month. By Ola Lanre and Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram militants in the northeast city of Maiduguri on Thursday, the military said in a statement, the second such clash in a month. Blasts and gunfire were heard earlier by residents in the city which is the capital of Borno, the state worst hit by the insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the northeast which has killed more than 30,000 people since 2009. President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in 2015 vowing to end the insurgency, has made it a priority to improve security in Africa's most populous country. The issue has become politically charged in the run-up to an election next year which Buhari said he wants to contest. "Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have in the late hours of today, Thursday 26 April 2018, successful repelled Boko Haram terrorist incursion in the outskirt of Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri," the military said in an emailed statement. Boko Haram militants attempted to enter Maiduguri earlier this month, fighting soldiers in an attack in which at least 15 people were killed and 83 injured.. In the course of fighting the latest attack, the military said troops had been supported by the air force, police and other security agencies. Witnesses had reported a heavy military presence and crowded streets as people attempted to flee to safety. The general public and residents who fled the area earlier were urged to return home, the military statement said. The government has been saying since December 2015 that the jihadist group has been defeated but high profile attacks in the last few months - including the kidnap of 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi and a strike in the town of Rann that killed three aid workers - has shown the jihadists remain active. Nigeria's government last month said it was in talks with Boko Haram, which split into two main factions in 2016, with the aim of securing a permanent ceasefire.. The government has not disclosed which elements of Boko Haram it is in discussions with and it was also not clear which faction carried out the latest attack. (Reporting by Ola Lanre and Ahmed Kingimi; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten in Abuja and Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Larry King and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. China on Friday heaped praise on the leaders of the two Korean nations for holding a landmark summit, calling their handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that divides the peninsula a 'historic moment'. Beijing: China on Friday heaped praise on the leaders of the two Korean nations for holding a landmark summit, calling their handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that divides the peninsula a "historic moment". "We applaud the Korean leaders' historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing. "We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula." She also cited a poem that reads: "We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let's forgo our old grudges, smiling we meet again." China is North Korea's sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests. Beijing had pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis. A knife-wielding man killed seven middle school children and injured 12 others as they returned home in northern China Beijing: A knife-wielding man killed seven middle school children and injured 12 others as they returned home in northern China on Friday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest such rampages in the country in recent years. The suspect was detained and the injured children were receiving hospital treatment, the propaganda department of Mizhi County in Shaanxi province said on its official social media account. The incident took place at around 6:10 pm local time, the department said, without providing further details. The ages of the children were not given, but middle schoolers are usually between 12 and 15 years old in China. A local police official told AFP that the case was under investigation and declined to provide more details. Knife attacks are not uncommon in the country. In February, a knife-wielding man with a personal grudge killed a woman and injured 12 others in a busy Beijing shopping mall a rare act of violence in the heavily policed capital. In May last year, a man believed to be suffering mental health problems killed two people and injured 18 in southwest Guizhou province. In July, a man armed with a kitchen knife killed two people and wounded nine others in a supermarket in the southern city of Shenzhen. History of attacks Attacks have also targeted schoolchildren in the past. In January 2017, a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In February 2016, a knife-wielding assailant wounded 10 children in Haikou, in the southern island province of Hainan, before committing suicide. The man had entered the school in the afternoon, claiming that he was there to pick up his son. In 2014, state media reported that a man stabbed three children and a teacher to death and wounded several others in a rampage at a primary school that refused to enrol his daughter. That followed a March 2013 incident in which a man killed two relatives and then slashed 11 people, including six children, outside a school in China's commercial hub Shanghai. The events have forced authorities to increase security around schools and led to calls for more research into the root causes of such acts. Violent crime has been on the rise in China in recent decades as the nation's economy has boomed and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly. Studies have also described a rise in the prevalence of mental disorders, some of them linked to stress as the pace of life becomes faster and support systems wither. In June last year, a bomb blast that killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kindergarten in Fengxian, eastern China, was blamed on a 22-year-old introvert with health problems who had written the words "death" and "destroy" on the walls of his apartment. Material to make a homemade explosive device was found in the home. The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday released a lengthy report concluding it found no evidence that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing praise from the president and rebuttals from Democrats. Washington: The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday released a lengthy report concluding it found no evidence that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing praise from the president and rebuttals from Democrats. The report caps an investigation that began with the promise of bipartisanship but quickly transformed into an acrimonious battle between Democrats and Republicans over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and whether there were any connections with the Trump campaign. Trump quickly claimed vindication Friday, calling the report "totally conclusive, strong, powerful, many things." "No collusion, which I knew anyway. No coordination, no nothing. It's a witch hunt, that's all it is," he told reporters in the Oval Office. But the committee's Republicans didn't let the Trump campaign completely off the hook. They specifically cited the Trump campaign for "poor judgment" in taking a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower that was described in emails to Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as part of a Russian government effort to aide his father's presidential bid. The report also dubbed the campaign's praise of WikiLeaks "objectionable." "While the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaigns," the House intelligence committee wrote. The report's conclusion on collusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats, who accused their Republican colleagues of playing "defense counsel" for the White House throughout the investigation. "Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate or even see, when in plain sight evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia," Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement. Schiff cited several "secret meetings and communication" between people linked to Russia and Trump campaign officials, including and Trump Jr. and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Schiff called on the committee to publicly release the transcripts from dozens of interviews with key witnesses, saying the public should be able to judge the evidence gathered by the committee. Democrats also released a 98-page rebuttal. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, meanwhile called on intelligence officials to clear the committee to release more information from the report that was deemed classified. The 253-page document is packed with details and assessments, but is also spackled with redacted names and blacked-out passages. For instance, several pages are redacted in the section on Russian cyberattacks. One page is blacked out entirely except for a line reading, "Attribution is a Bear." The report faults intelligence officials during the Obama administration for not telling the Trump campaign that some of its members were "potential counterintelligence concerns." It specifically cites Flynn, former Trump campaign foreign policy advisers George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The panel also singles out Manafort for criticism, saying the numerous criminal charges he faces unrelated to Russia illustrated the need for better vetting by the campaign. "If the accusations against Manafort are true, he should have never served as a senior official with a campaign for the U.S. presidency, much less campaign chairman or manager," the report said. The report largely confirms the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia was assessed to be responsible for cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions, including the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails. The panel found "no credible evidence" that the computer systems were compromised by another cyber actor or by "an insider threat." The panel also found that Russians leveraged social media in the U.S. to sow discord during the campaign. The report challenges one part of a January 2017 intelligence assessment that found that Russian meddling was an effort to help Trump. The report says committee staff found "intelligence failings" that undermine that assessment by the FBI, CIA and NSA, though specifics are not detailed and some portions of that section are redacted. Last month, in response to the committee's announcing that finding, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it stood by the intelligence community's findings and it will review the committee's report. The House investigation is the first of several inquiries probing Russian election interference to conclude. A separate investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller continues, as do probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. But the probe did provide important public revelations. Former FBI Director James Comey chose the March 20, 2017, hearing of the House intelligence committee to publicly reveal that the FBI had been investigating the Trump campaign since July 2016. One day later, the committee's chairman, Devin Nunes, took a clandestine trip to the White House grounds to review classified information that quickly drew scrutiny after he publicly disclosed that Trump associates' communications had been swept up by U.S. spy agencies and accused Obama administration officials of misconduct. The episode drew questions about whether Nunes was coordinating with the White House and ultimately led to his recusing from the probe amid an ethics investigation into whether he mishandled classified information. In his absence, Conaway took over the probe. Nunes was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, but never formally rejoined the House investigation. Instead he launched a pair of investigations on his own, taking aim at the Justice Department and FBI. At the start of 2018, Nunes and the committee's Republican staff crafted a memo revealing details of the FBI's surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Trump ultimately chose to declassify the sensitive contents of the memo including details from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act application for Page. House investigators cautioned that Russia will continue meddling in U.S. elections and suggested some fixes that would help the government and politicians better defend against that interference. The panel wrote that intelligence officials should immediately alert presidential candidates and Congress when they discover "legitimate" threats to a campaign. The panel also recommended the executive branch "crack down" on leaks by conducting polygraphs President Donald Trump claimed credit Friday for the historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and declared that peace on the divided peninsula could be achieved and its people could live in harmony. Washington: US President Donald Trump claimed credit Friday for the historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and declared that peace on the divided peninsula could be achieved and its people could live in harmony. Trump spoke hours after Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to visit south of the demarcation line between the two Koreas, meeting with President Moon Jae-in. They pledged in a joint statement to seek a formal end to the Korean War by year's end and to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons, without specifying how it would be achieved. "When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility," Trump said during an appearance with U.S. athletes who participated in this year's Winter Olympics in South Korea. "They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible." The Kim-Moon meeting was the culmination of a rapprochement that was inspired by the February games. Responsibility for turning a bold vision for peace into reality will in large part rest with Trump, who has often vowed to succeed where his predecessors as president have failed in eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat to America. Trump on Friday gave an unequivocal statement that he would sit down with Kim a meeting that has been tentatively scheduled for May or early June in what would be a first during six decades of hostility. "I'll be meeting with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks as we seek to denuclearize the North Korean area and the entire Korean Peninsula," Trump said. "Hopefully the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons and where all Koreans can live together and can share their dreams. It would be a wonderful thing to do." Earlier, and with characteristic swagger, Trump had touted the outcome of Friday's summit between Kim and Moon as a breakthrough in the generational standoff. "KOREAN WAR TO END!" he tweeted. "The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" In a separate tweet sent minutes earlier, Trump said "good things are happening, but only time will tell." After a febrile year, when the U.S. and North Korean leaders traded threats while Kim pushed his nation to the verge of being able to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the U.S. mainland, tensions have eased with Kim's sudden shift to international diplomacy. Last month, Trump surprised the world by accepting an offer to negotiate with Kim, who has announced a halt to nuclear and long-range missile tests. Trump also offered credit Friday to China, North Korea's traditional ally and main trading partner, who has supported tough international sanctions against North Korea to pressure it to give up its nukes. "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" Trump tweeted. Despite the optimistic rhetoric, major uncertainty still surrounds North Korea's commitment to "denuclearize" and what it would demand in return. The North has spent decades building up an atomic arsenal as a deterrent against a U.S. invasion and as a safeguard for the continuance of its totalitarian regime. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea. Washington: Mike Pompeo took over as America's top diplomat on Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea. The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote - one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56. He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was "proud" to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was "delighted" to serve as America's top diplomat. "I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away," Pompeo said. Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralised after a tumultuous first year of President Donald Trump's administration, gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, "Hi, I'm Mike." Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, is expected to guide Trump's foreign policy farther to the right than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled. His confirmation creates a vacancy atop the CIA that will be filled, at least for now, by Gina Haspel, the intelligence agency's Number 2 official. Trump has nominated Haspel to replace Pompeo, but she faces a rocky road to confirmation. The CIA said she took over Thursday as acting director while the Senate weighs whether to make it permanent. For Pompeo, a long list of pressing issues awaits, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Trump's upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and ongoing disagreements in the White House about the future US role in Syria. Trump said he was pleased by Pompeo's confirmation, calling him a "patriot" with "immense talent, energy and intellect." "He will always put the interests of America first," Trump said in a statement. "He has my trust. He has my support." Yet the Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump's growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Previously confirmed for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported on Thursday by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats, including several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states. GOP Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent. In the run-up to Pompeo's confirmation, his backers emphasised his resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump. Pompeo travelled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for secretary of state and met with Kim ahead of the planned summit with Trump, expected in late May or June. "He's the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts," Republican Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the foreign relations panel, said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed. Yet his opponents warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the US on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in North Korea. Pompeo takes the helm ahead of Trump's expected decision about whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal by a 12 May deadline and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. A staunch Iran critic, Pompeo has long deplored the 2015 nuclear accord but has supported Trump's efforts to get European allies to strengthen restrictions on Iran. "If there's no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal," Pompeo said in his confirmation hearing. The State Department said no secretary of state had ever travelled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo's confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in. In Brussels, Pompeo will attend a NATO foreign ministers summit and meet with the top diplomats from Turkey and Italy. Pompeo planned to keep up pressure on NATO's European members, particularly Germany, to live up to their past pledges to boost their defence spending. From there, the State Department said Pompeo planned to fly to the West Asia for stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, where the future of the Iran deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items. Pompeo will arrive in the region ahead of a series of events that could potentially plunge it into deeper disarray, including the Iran deal decision and the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Donald Trump on Friday hailed the 'historic' summit between the two Koreas, saying that 'good things' are happening on the peninsula ahead Washington, United States: US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed the "historic" summit between the two Koreas, saying that "good things" are happening on the peninsula ahead of his own highly anticipated meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong Un. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump wrote on Twitter. Kim met Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the pair agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearization of their divided peninsula. An armistice brought the fighting on the Korean peninsula to an end in 1953, but 65 years later, a final peace agreement has still not been reached. The US president also praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's efforts on North Korea, calling them a "great help." "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" he tweeted. Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish the North over its nuclear and missile tests. China has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the crisis. Trump gave credit to China, but US Senator Lindsay Graham said the US president's efforts could be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize -- an honor won by Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. While Trump praised progress on North Korea, he also struck a somewhat cautious tone, writing that: "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" Trump said Thursday that three or four dates were under consideration for his meeting with Kim, which he has previously said could take place by early June. The summit between the two Koreas -- only the third since 1953 -- was the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy. But the two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both of them in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. Last year, Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim would serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. Washington: Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in a significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimated $4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumph long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 kilometres. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers. "There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, we're going to paralyse ourselves," he said. "So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of state I'm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show it's in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians," Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. "In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense," he said. "At this moment, when we're in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could condua ct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations?" Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA, he said. "So, you're suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right?" Cotton asked. "That's correct. And there's other countries. Indonesia, for example is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going," Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the India-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers on Thursday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. "CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster," who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. "I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India," Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event." By Brendan Pierson and Doina Chiacu NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge ruled on Thursday that an independent official called a special master should be the first to examine documents seized by FBI agents from U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen By Brendan Pierson and Doina Chiacu NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge ruled on Thursday that an independent official called a special master should be the first to examine documents seized by FBI agents from U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Barbara Jones, a former federal judge in the Southern District of New York who has overseen cases ranging from organised crime to corporate compliance, will decide which of the documents should be handed over to prosecutors. Jones will review the documents and determine which may be shielded by attorney-client privilege. The FBI raided Cohen's office and home on April 9, an action that infuriated Trump. Prosecutors said they have been investigating the lawyer for months, largely over his business dealings rather than his legal work. Trump on Thursday in an interview with Fox News said Cohen had handled only "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his overall legal work. But Trump and Cohen have sought to limit what documents prosecutors could see, citing attorney-client privilege. The prosecutors initially said the documents should be reviewed by lawyers within their own office, who would be walled off from the main prosecution team. Cohen argued that his lawyers should get a first look. In the end, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood decided at a hearing on Thursday to opt for a special master, something that both sides had indicated they would be open to. Prosecutors have said they do not believe the papers are likely to contain many privileged documents related to Trump. In a court filing Thursday morning, they cited Trump's comment that Cohen handled only a small part of his legal work. "The letters I received from counsel for Mr Cohen and the intervenors has convinced me that this process can go quickly with the special master," Wood said. Cohen sat in court to hear the decision, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and pale yellow tie. Stephen Ryan, a lawyer for Cohen, called Jones "a wonderful choice" to be special master. Jones was not among the seven proposed candidates for special master recommended by prosecutors and Cohen's lawyers. 'CRAZY DEAL' In the Fox News interview, Trump said that he had nothing to do with the criminal investigation into Cohen. The probe "doesn't have to do with me," Trump said. "They're looking at something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business." Trump also confirmed for the first time that Cohen had represented him in "this crazy Stormy Daniels deal," referring to an adult-film star who says she had a one-night stand with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, possible campaign law violations in connection with a payment to Daniels, and perhaps other matters related to Trump's presidential campaign, a person familiar with the probe has said. The investigation stemmed in part from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, something that Trump has repeatedly denied. Cohen has admitted paying $130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, before the 2016 election to secure her silence about the one-night stand she said she had with Trump. Cohen said the payment was legal, and Daniels has sued to end her nondisclosure agreement. Trump, who has denied having an affair with Daniels, said Cohen did nothing wrong in representing him in the Daniels case. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson, Jonathan Stempel and Karen Freifeld in New York and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Susan Thomas and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. 'How many times did Siddaramaiah visit Badami in the last five years? If he wins from Badami and Chamundeshwari, he will certainly give up this seat,' a resident, in his 50s, said Badami: Forty-year-old Kamanna Heggri, an army havildar, has taken a month's leave to visit his village near this historical town in northern Karnataka best known for its famous cave temples. His mission now is to vote for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is contesting the Assembly election from Badami, a constituency with a sizeable population of Kurubas, a community to which he belongs. The constituency also has significant presence of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes the bedrock of Siddaramaiah's support base. However, a section of the voters is not going gaga over Siddaramaiah's decision to enter the fray from Badami, largely because he opted for the seat as his second choice, amid reports that he was on a sticky wicket in Chamundeshwari in Mysore district. "I have come to vote for Siddaramaiah. Is it not a matter of pride that a sitting CM is seeking election from our place," asked Heggri. "How can we let him down? His election will certainly lead to development of the area," he said. He claims dozens like him in the army hailing from Badami in Bagalakote district are now home-bound just to vote for Siddaramaiah. However, not all in this nondescript town, which came under media spotlight after Siddaramaiah threw his hat into the ring, share Heggri's enthusiasm. "Is he (Siddaramaiah) not an outsider? What has he done for Badami in the last five years? According to some media reports, he is contesting from Badami as he is not confident of victory in Chamundeshwari," said Veeresh, a Badami voter. Another voter felt the chief minister's decision to contest from Badami was "opportunistic". "How many times did Siddaramaiah visit Badami in the last five years? If he wins from Badami and Chamundeshwari, he will certainly give up this seat," a resident, in his 50s, said. Siddaramaiah government's schemes like "Anna Bhagya" a flagship project to make foodgrains available to common people at affordable prices have made people lazy and ensured that they get benefits easily without having to do anything, said another Badami resident. Instead, he should have attempted to empower them, said the man who did not wish to be identified. "There hasn't been any development in Badami, where there is tremendous potential for tourism," he said. As Siddaramaiah's decision to contest from two places sparked a debate, with people seen involved in animated discussions over the move, the BJP and the JD(S) claimed the fear of an imminent defeat in Chamundeshwari prompted him to also contest from Badami, the capital of Chalukya dynasty between the 6th and the 12th centuries. The Congress and Siddaramaiah have rejected the imputations, and insisted that people of this region wanted him to contest from Badami also. A political analyst said the Congress is hoping that the chief minister's presence in the fray here would infuse fresh energy into the party's campaign in north Karnataka. The BJP considers the area its stronghold, especially the districts of Bagalakote, Vijayapura, Dharwad and Gadag. Congress leaders feel that Siddaramaiah's presence would encourage the fence-sitters to vote for the party. Former minister and five-time Badami Congress MLA, BB Chimmanakatti, who is ailing, was reluctant to give up his seat initially but eventually fell in line. The BJP has fielded Ballari Lok Sabha member and influential tribal leader of the region, B Sriramulu, for the seat. With Sriramulu, a confidant of the resourceful and controversial Reddy brothers, joining the fray, the contest for Badami has become a big-ticket battle. For Sriramulu too, Badami is the second constituency he is contesting apart from Molakalmuru in Chitradurga district. JD(S) candidate Hanumantha Mavinamarada, who is a local, is also putting up a spirited fight. "Both Siddaramaiah and Sriramulu are outsiders. I will win with a good margin," said Mavinamarada, exuding confidence. He said he had released his election manifesto a year ago with details about what he will do for the constituency. "One person (Siddaramaiah) wants to win from here and go (later resign), and another person (Sriramulu) wants to defeat him. That"s their aim," Mavinamarada said. As he entered the battle, Siddaramaiah lost no opportunity to invoke the "Kannada pride". "Badami (or ancient Vatapi) was the seat of power of the Chalukyas. Let us revive the memories of the glorious Kannada dynasty," Siddaramaiah tweeted after filing the nominations amid fanfare. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made history Friday by crossing over the world's most heavily armed border to greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons. Kim also told his southern rival he doesn't want a repeat of past 'where we were unable to fulfill our agreements'. Goyang, South Korea: With a single step over a weathered, cracked slab of concrete, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made history Friday by crossing over the world's most heavily armed border to greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons. Kim then invited Moon to cross briefly back into the north with him before they returned to the southern side. Those small steps must be seen in the context of the last year when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North seemed at times to be on the verge of nuclear war as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century's bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that's still technically in a state of war. Both leaders smiled broadly Friday as Moon grasped Kim's hand and led him along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children gave Kim flowers and an honor guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of "Hail to the Chief." It's the first time a member of the ruling Kim dynasty has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone since the Korean War ended in 1953. Beyond the carefully choreographed surface, however, it's still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue, which has bedeviled US and South Korean officials for decades. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. North Korea claims it has already risen to that level. Kim's news agency said that the leader would "open-heartedly" discuss with Moon "all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula" in a "historic" summit. Kim also told his southern rival he doesn't want repeat of past "where we were unable to fulfill our agreements". The greeting of the two leaders was planned to the last detail. Thousands of journalists were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly-controlled pool reporters at the border. Moon stood near the Koreas' dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side. They shook hands with the border line between them. Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and after he did so, Kim invited Moon back into the North. They then took a ceremonial photo facing the North and then another photo facing the South. Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave the Kim flowers. Kim and Moon then saluted an honor guard and military band, and Moon introduced Kim to South Korean government officials. Kim returned the favor with the North Korean officials accompanying him. They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit was to take place, in front of a painting of South Korea's Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion. Nuclear weapons will top the agenda, and Friday's summit will be the clearest sign yet of whether it's possible to peacefully negotiate those weapons away from a country that has spent decades doggedly building its bombs despite crippling sanctions and near-constant international opprobrium. Expectations are generally low, given that past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith. Skeptics of engagement have long said that the North often turns to interminable rounds of diplomacy meant to ease the pain of sanctions giving it time to perfect its weapons and win aid for unfulfilled nuclear promises. Advocates of engagement say the only way to get a deal is to do what the Koreas will try Friday: Sit down and see what's possible. The White House said in a statement that it is "hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. ... (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks." Moon, a liberal whose election last year ended a decade of conservative rule in Seoul, will be looking to make some headway on the North's nuclear program in advance of a planned summit in several weeks between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Kim, the third member of his family to rule his nation with absolute power, is eager, both in this meeting and in the Trump talks, to talk about the nearly 30,000 heavily armed US troops stationed in South Korea and the lack of a formal peace treaty ending the Korea War two factors, the North says, that make nuclear weapons necessary. North Korea may also be looking to use whatever happens in the talks with Moon to set up the Trump summit, which it may see as a way to legitimize its declared status as a nuclear power. One possible outcome Friday, aside from a rise in general goodwill between the countries, could be a proposal for a North Korean freeze of its weapons ahead of later denuclearization. Seoul and Washington will be pushing for any freeze to be accompanied by rigorous and unfettered outside inspections of the North's nuclear facilities, since past deals have crumbled because of North Korea's unwillingness to open up to snooping foreigners. South Korea, in announcing Thursday some details of the leaders' meeting, acknowledged that the most difficult sticking point between the Koreas has been North Korea's level of denuclearization commitment. Kim has reportedly said that he wouldn't need nuclear weapons if his government's security could be guaranteed and external threats were removed. Whatever the Koreas announce Friday, the spectacle of Kim being feted on South Korean soil will be something to behold. Kim and Moon will be enjoying each other's company in the jointly controlled village of Panmunjom near the spot where a defecting North Korean soldier recently fled south in a hail of bullets fired by his former comrades. By Christine Kim and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - The leaders of the two Koreas made their way to the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries early on Friday, seeking to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme. South Korea's Moon Jae-in will greet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. By Christine Kim and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - The leaders of the two Koreas made their way to the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries early on Friday, seeking to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme. South Korea's Moon Jae-in will greet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. The two are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom as part of the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. Friday's summit will set the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June, in what would be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim had left Pyongyang for the "historical" summit in which he would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. Moon was also seen leaving the presidential office in a bulletproof sedan. He stopped briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House. Hundreds of demonstrators were seen gathering in downtown Seoul from early morning to protest or support the summit. Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion. The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. UNENDING HOSTILITIES Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. On Thursday, Trump said he was considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with Kim, although once again he added that it remained unclear whether the meeting will occur. "It could be that I walk out quickly - with respect - but ... it could be that maybe the meeting doesn't even take place," he told Fox News by telephone. "Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet." The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a U.S. official. The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. https://bit.ly/2KfRHN3 The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, will be broadcast live. PRELUDE TO TRUMP SUMMIT Moon, who took office in May pledging to restore ties with the North and who has tirelessly called for dialogue, helped steer Kim and Trump towards meeting, a major coup for the liberal president. After dozens of missile launches last year, Kim embarked on a diplomatic offensive at the beginning of the year. Kim sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February before Trump stunned the world by agreeing to meet Kim to discuss "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula. Now comes the hard part. The history of failed nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang has made many U.S. officials sceptical of Kim's true intentions and suspicious of his recent overtures as more of a bid to win relief from wide-ranging U.N. sanctions and to divide Washington and its allies. There is also concern that North Korea could insist on taking incremental steps in return for simultaneous incentives from Washington, the kind of a phased approach that U.S. officials have rejected. (Reporting by Christine Kim and Josh Smith in SEOUL; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lincoln Feast and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Kole Casule SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia expects to secure a date soon to start membership talks with the European Union and will step up its efforts to implement the reforms needed to join, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Friday. Macedonia won its candidacy status in 2005, but the accession talks remain blocked by Greece due to a decades-long dispute about the name of the former Yugoslav republic. By Kole Casule SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia expects to secure a date soon to start membership talks with the European Union and will step up its efforts to implement the reforms needed to join, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Friday. Macedonia won its candidacy status in 2005, but the accession talks remain blocked by Greece due to a decades-long dispute about the name of the former Yugoslav republic. Since he took over last year, Zaev has stepped up efforts to resolve the dispute with Greece, which says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim over its northern region which has the same name. Greece is also blocking Macedonia's membership of NATO. "We have a concrete goal ahead of us. We have never been closer to receiving a date to open membership talks with the EU," Zaev said after meeting Donald Tusk, head of the European Council which groups the bloc's 28 national governments. "We are working to successfully solve the name issue. Solving this issue will open the doors to begin membership talks with the EU and to enter NATO." He said his administration would "double" its efforts to ensure that reforms are "more visible, concrete and efficient". Western governments see NATO and European Union membership for the Western Balkan countries as the best way to stabilise a region still recovering from armed conflicts in the 1990s. In its latest report on progress of the six Western Balkan countries, the European Commission gave a recommendation for Albania and Macedonia to start accession talks. All member states have to give the green light for negotiations to begin. But until the name issue is resolved, Greece is unlikely to give a green light to Macedonia's accession talks. Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov called on EU leaders to open membership talks while negotiations with Greece continue. "If it (resolving the name dispute with Greece) is placed as a condition (for talks to start) we are being deprived of our basic right to become European," Ivanov told journalists. Ivanov took part in a meeting on Friday of regional heads of states, including the presidents of Slovenia and Croatia, two fellow ex-Yugoslav republics that have already joined the EU. Tusk, who visited Macedonia as part of his Balkans tour, attended the meeting as well. Slovenian President Borut Pahor urged Balkan leaders to work hard to build good relations with their neighbours, a pre-condition for EU membership. Six countries in the western Balkans -- Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia -- are progressing towards membership, led by Serbia and Montenegro, which could join the bloc as soon as 2025. "Brussels cannot do everything. Part of the job has to be done by Western Balkan leaders," Pahor said. (Reporting by Kole Casule; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Gareth Jones and Catherine Evans) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Four assailants have been killed by security forces in Mali after an attack on a tourist resort popular with foreigners close to the capital Bamako, the country's security minister said late Sunday. Four assailants have been killed by security forces in Mali after an attack on a tourist resort popular with foreigners close to the capital Bamako, the country's security minister said late Sunday. "We have recovered the bodies of two attackers who were killed", Salif Traore told journalists, adding that they were "searching for the bodies of two others", without specifying if any more were on the run. Suspected jihadists crying "Allahu Akbar" stormed a tourist resort popular with foreigners on the edge of the Malian capital Bamako on Sunday, briefly seizing more than 30 hostages and leaving at least two people dead. The assault on the Kangaba Le Campement resort comes after a similar strike less than two years ago on a luxury hotel in Bamako, which lies in the south of the troubled country. Security forces who battled the gunmen at the site were continuing Sunday evening to search for the assailants who fled. Nearby residents had first reported the attack after hearing shots while smoke billowed into the air, with at least one building ablaze. "It is a jihadist attack. Malian special forces intervened," Security Minister Salif Traore told AFP. They were backed up by UN soldiers and troops from a French counter-terrorism force. "Unfortunately for the moment there are two dead, including a Franco-Gabonese," he said, adding that the second body was being identified. At least "32 hostages" were freed, Mali's army said in a statement, adding that one of the attackers was wounded and gave up his weapon. He also left behind "bottles containing some explosive substances", the security ministry said. At least 14 people, both Malians and foreigners, were injured, according to the ministry. A witness interviewed on local television ORTM said he saw a man arrive on a motorcycle who "started shooting at the crowd" followed by "two or three people" who came in another vehicle. The landlocked west African country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency for several years, with Islamist fighters roaming the north and centre of Mali. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is scheduled to visit Bamako on July 2 for a meeting with five Sahel countries, "is following the situation very closely," the presidency told AFP on Sunday. 'Increased threat of attacks' Several people rescued at Kangaba said assailants had shouted "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)", although no group has yet claimed responsibility. The US embassy in Bamako had warned earlier this month "of a possible increased threat of attacks against Western diplomatic missions, places of worship, and other locations in Bamako where Westerners frequent". At a France-Africa summit in Bamako in January, the owner of Kangaba, Herve Depardieu, had complained about the "alarming security information" given by foreign consulates "which seriously disturb our love of life and our freedoms". In November 2015, gunmen took guests and staff hostage at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in a siege that left at least 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners. That attack was claimed by Al Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In March the same year, a grenade and gun attack on La Terrasse nightclub in Bamako killed five people, including foreigners. The Kangaba, located on the eastern edge of Bamako, boasts accommodation in hut-style rooms, as well as restaurants and swimming pools, according to its website. State of emergency A state of emergency has been renewed several times since the Radisson Blu attack, most recently in April when it was extended for six months, but attacks are continuing. In 2012 Mali's north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda who hijacked an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising, though the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013. But jihadists have continued to mount numerous attacks on civilians and the army, as well as on French and UN forces still stationed there. The unrest has continued despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and Tuareg-led rebels offering partial autonomy to the north. Sunday's attack is the latest in a series of high-profile assaults in north and and west Africa, targeting locals and tourists. In January 2016, 30 people were killed, including many foreigners, in an attack on a top Burkina Faso hotel and a nearby restaurant in the capital Ouagadougou. AQIM claimed the assault, saying the gunmen were from the Al-Murabitoun group of Algerian extremist Mokhtar Belmokhtar. In March 2016, at least 14 civilians and two special forces troops were killed when gunmen stormed the Ivorian beach resort of Grand-Bassam, which was also claimed by AQIM. The United Nations has a 12,000-strong force in Mali known as MINUSMA, which began operations in 2013. It has been targeted constantly by jihadists, with dozens of peacekeepers killed, including five on Saturday. France also has 4,000 soldiers in its Bakhane force in five countries -- Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso all of which are threatened by the jihadists across their porous borders. By Paul Carrel and Jeff Mason BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel visits U.S. By Paul Carrel and Jeff Mason BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel visits U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday with no illusions of matching his "special relationship" with France's Emmanuel Macron, but hoping to foster a broader dialogue on trade - one of a batch of tricky topics likely to be addressed. The cautious Merkel has failed to establish a good personal rapport with the brash Trump, and the mood music of her one-day working visit to the White House will almost certainly contrast sharply with the tactile "bromance" between Trump and Macron. Yet her trip may prove more productive. Before heading home after a three-day state visit in Washington, Macron acknowledged that, despite his efforts to dissuade Trump from pulling out of the multinational Iran nuclear deal, he remained likely to do so. The Iran deal, looming U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminium products, a planned Russian gas pipeline running under the Baltic Sea to Germany, and Berlin's military spending are issues that divide Merkel and Trump and likely to come up at their working lunch. "The chancellor is pleased about this appointment because she is a convinced Atlanticist," a senior German official said. "It is important to cultivate this relationship." In Washington, a White House official described Germany as one of the United States' closest partners and a steadfast NATO ally, adding: "All of Washington is ready to work with Chancellor Merkel's new government." Ahead of the trip, German officials said they expected U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminium products to kick in on May 1, when an exemption expires. But they said Germany would try to negotiate a broad package including other industries. "I think the chancellor would prefer a broad dialogue with the Americans. The government is open to extending the package to other duties and trade barriers," one official added. In Washington, a White House official said the United States would press Germany about trade deficits that "pose risks to global economic stability", and "would like to remove barriers ... to trade so that we can level the playing field". "We want to work with Berlin on global unfair trading practices because those are impacting our economies in equal measure," he said. BURDEN-SHARING The White House official said Trump would press Merkel to increase Germany's funding for NATO, a subject he has pushed since taking office. "We will ask Germany to step up on burden-sharing," the official said, adding that NATO needed to be strong and prepared to address a host of major foreign policy issues including Syria, Iran, China and Russia. In Berlin, the German officials made clear that Merkel was not ready to roll over when faced with Trump's criticism of Germany's trade position or the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline. "Our analysis is ... that (the pipeline) does not make us more dependent on Russia," one of the officials said. EU countries are divided on the merits of Nord Stream 2. Trump could seize on this, as well as Germany's slow progress in moving closer to the NATO defence spending target. On Iran, Macron made the running ahead of Merkel's visit. On Wednesday, he called on the United States not to abandon the Iran deal as Western envoys said Britain, France and Germany were nearing agreeing a package they hope could persuade Trump to save the pact. This gives Merkel something to work with. "How harshly the whole thing will unfold might depend on to what extent Merkel can steer the conversation in the direction of trade and Iran," Jan Techau, a director at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. "Those are the fields in which her position is stronger because the Europeans are united and Macron has done the prep work." (Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke and Andrea Shalal; writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Andrew Roche) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. At delegation-level talks, Narendra Modi said that he would be happy to host the next informal summit between India and China Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday opened their two-day informal talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. At delegation-level talks, Modi said that he would be happy to host the next informal summit between the nations in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had arrived in China on Thursday night for a two-day informal summit with Xi. During the summit, the two leaders are expected to resolve a host of issues, including the Doka La standoff. According to PTI, officials said that no agreement would be signed during the informal talks. Media reports add that there might not be a joint statement by the two leaders at the end of this summit. Hubei Provincial Museum visit Modi arrived at the Hubei Provincial Museum at around 3:30 pm and was warmly greeted by Xi. Both leaders took a tour of the site for about an hour. The prime minister said that the summit was aimed at "furthering India-China cooperation." During the tour, Modi also visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng cultural relics and treasure. PM @narendramodi with President of China, Xi Jinping visiting Exhibition at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, China. pic.twitter.com/XBRhT3tlEt PIB India (@PIB_India) April 27, 2018 "India and China's cultural connect goes back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said while sharing visuals of the cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. Modi also rang the 'Bianzhong', an ancient musical bell at the exhibition. PM @narendramodi was welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture. pic.twitter.com/UfdYQPQknw Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 27, 2018 According to IANS, Modi and Xi also exchanged views on the two nations' relationship and communications between the two ancient civilisations. Delegation-level talks in Hubei Following the museum tour, the two leaders held delegation-level talks in Hubei. In his opening statement, Modi laid emphasis on the global leadership role for both nations, whom he described as "two major powers". "We represent over 40 percent of the world's population, so this is a meet between two major world players," Modi said, about the importance of the summit between the two leaders. "The economies of India and China have given shape to the global economy for 1,600 years," he added. Modi also thanked Xi for the "warm welcome" he received in Wuhan. "I am thankful to Chinese president for the grand welcome and the fruitful talks," Modi said during delegation-level talks with Xi in Hubei. "The people of India feel really proud that I'm the first prime minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese president) have come out of the capital twice to receive me," he added. Modi also stressed on joint global leadership based on a new 'panchsheel' at the talks. "The five positive elements of this relationship are thought, communication, support, commitment and shared vision. These can be the basis for world peace and stability," Modi said. "China talks about a new era and I am working for a new India. World peace is important and both India and China have to work for the same and make all possible contributions," he added. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) struck a positive note about China-India ties ahead of the meet. PLA's senior colonel Wu Qian said to the media that it is a "common wish" of both sides to stabilise the relations between the Chinese and Indian armed forces. "Although the relations between the two militaries still face some difficulties and obstacles, we are willing to use the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries as guidelines to deepen our understanding, increase mutual trust, make proper differences, and continuously accumulate the positive energy of the healthy and stable development of the relations between the two militaries," Wu said, according to The Economic Times. 'Will PM remember his duty to protect India's strategic interests?' The Congress asked Modi whether he will remember his innate duty of protecting India's strategic interests by raising the Doka La issue with China that impacts national security. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala asked, "As Modiji hugs his friend, President Xi, today in Wuhan, China, will he remember his innate duty to protect India's strategic interests and question China on the occupation of Doka La impacting India's national security?" Surjewala said India is facing an increasingly aggressive China which is trying intrude into the 'chicken neck' Siliguri corridor by building a new road through the south of Doka La, and wondered why the Modi government is "clueless and incapable" to send a strong message to China. Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. Thats Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 27, 2018 Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi called Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having "no agenda", but reminded him to raise the Doka La standoff. "Dear prime minister, saw the live TV feed of your 'no agenda' China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. Doklam 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through PoK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said on Twitter. What to expect ahead While concluding the delegation-level talks, Modi said that he hoped such informal summits would continue between India and China. "I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both nations. I will be happy if, in 2019, we can have such an informal summit in India," Modi said, inviting Xi to India. According to IANS, the talks will be more substantive on Saturday with a walk by the East Lake, a boat ride and discussion at the East Lake guesthouse, which was once Mao Zedong's private villa. India and China, who fought a brief war in 1962 and have a history of mutual distrust, nearly came to an armed conflict near their border in 2017 during the Doka La standoff, taking their ties to a new low. However, the "one of its kind" rendezvous between Modi and Xi at the heart of China seems to be a sign enough that the two countries were willing for a new start in their tense relationship. The meeting was an offshoot of Xi-Modi discussions just after the resolution of the Doka La crisis on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Xiamen in China. With inputs from agencies North and South Korea, after their historic summit, have on Friday agreed to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons. North and South Korea, after their historic summit, have on Friday agreed to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons. However, the countries have not yet provided any new specific measures on how they plan to achieve this. A joint statement issued after talks between North Korean premier Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in on Friday said the two nations confirmed their goal of achieving "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearisation." CNN quoted Kim as saying that the two Koreas "will be reunited as one nation." The two leaders embraced each other after the conventional handshake for the world media and vowed to seek peace and an end to the Korean War. "South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula," they said in a joint statement. North Korea has placed its nukes up for negotiations. It has previously used the term "denuclearisation" to say it can disarm only when the United States withdraws its 28,500 troops in South Korea. Meanwhile, the two countries also announced that they will hold a reunion of divided families on the peninsula. They agreed to open a permanent communication office in the North Korean town of Kaesong and resume temporary reunions between relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War following a historic summit between their leaders. The family reunions are expected to take place around Aug. 15, an anniversary for both Koreas celebrating their peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule after the end of World War II. Moon Jae-in announced that he will visit Pyongyang later this year on Kim's invitation. The two Koreas plan to hold high-level talks and other negotiations to fulfill the agreements made at the summit. The statement, however, didn't say what other specific disarmament steps North Korea would take. According to CNN, Kim didn't appear to have mentioned denuclearisation in his speech. "When asked about the fact that Kim didn't mention the phrase, a spokesman for the Moon's administration said 'the agreement is a binding document. His speech is not'," CNN reported. Kim, however, laid stress on improving people-to-people ties amid the two nations. There is widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion.Two earlier summits between the leaders of North and South Korea, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the Norths weapons programs or improve relations in a lasting way. With inputs from agencies Pakistan on Friday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest against 'unprovoked' ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control. Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest against "unprovoked" ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh over "unprovoked ceasefire violations" on the LoC on Thursday in Padhar sector. He said the firing killed two civilians and injured two others. Faisal claimed that Indian forces along the LoC and the international border are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons. He alleged that India has carried out more than 1,000 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the international border in 2018 that has killed 23 people and injured 107 others. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations," he said. The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws, Faisal said. He further said that the ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation. He urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the international border. He also urged India to permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Shimla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe welcomed a historic summit between the two Koreas on Friday, urging Pyongyang to take 'concrete action' on the peninsula's denuclearisation and other issues. Tokyo: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe welcomed a historic summit between the two Koreas on Friday, urging Pyongyang to take "concrete action" on the peninsula's denuclearisation and other issues. "Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong-un held earnest discussions about North Korea's denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. The leaders of North and South Korea agreed Friday to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula, as they embraced after a historic summit laden with symbolism. "We strongly hope that North Korea will take concrete action through this meeting and a summit between the US and North Korea," he added. "We will keep watching North Korea's future movements," he said. Japan has long maintained a hardline position on negotiations with Pyongyang, warning against "talks for the sake of talks". But Friday's Korea summit and planned talks between US president Donald Trump and Kim appear to have pushed Tokyo to reassess its position, analysts said. "All in all, I wish to continue close coordination between Japan, the United States and South Korea towards comprehensive resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues, and towards the US-North Korea summit talks," Abe said. Japan has pushed to keep the issue of its citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents on the agenda as diplomacy with Pyongyang moves forward. The whirlwind activity has largely left Tokyo on the sidelines however, though Trump pledged after a meeting with Abe that he would keep the abductions issue on the agenda. North and South Korea made ambitious promises for peace, including to formally end the Korean War this year, but made only a vague commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula Seoul: North and South Korea made ambitious promises for peace on Friday, including to formally end the Korean War this year, but made only a vague commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula without specifics on how that key goal would be achieved. The declaration signed at the historic summit between the leaders of the two Koreas also did not mention several issues that have been prominent in the past, including human rights in North Korea and joint economic projects. As the focus now shifts to North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns expected meeting in May or June with US president Donald Trump, here is a summary of key issues in the agreement: Nuclear weapons North Koreas nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes have become central to the conflict, and many observers were hoping the summit would provide more insight into whether Kim Jong-un is truly willing to give up those weapons. Both South Korea and the United States say they share the goal of forcing North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms, and the Trump administration says there will be no reduction in pressure on Pyongyang until it has completely denuclearized. Any economic relations between the two Koreas are limited by sanctions imposed over the programmes. In the agreement, the two Koreas confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. Such language is similar to past declarations, however, and South Korea offered no additional details beyond saying it would closely cooperate with the United States and the international community on the issue. It largely recycles the aspirational language of preceding Inter-Korean documents, said Daniel Russel, former US assistant secretary of state for East Asia. It falls short of the explicit commitments to denuclearisation in some past declarations. Past efforts to entice Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme have failed in part due to North Korean demands the United States withdraw its troops from the peninsula and remove its nuclear umbrella of support for the South. South Korea has said Kim may be willing to compromise on this traditional sticking point, but no new details were announced at the summit. Peace deal A concrete goal outlined in the declaration was the formal ending the state of war that has existed since the 1950-53 Korean War was halted with a truce, not a treaty. South Korea and a US-led UN force are technically still at war with North Korea and the idea of an official peace deal to change that is not something that can be resolved by the Koreas alone. So the declaration calls for meetings with the United States and possibly China, which were both involved in the conflict. South Korean leaders at the time opposed the idea of a truce that left the peninsula divided, and were not signatories to the armistice, which was officially signed by the commander of North Koreas army, the American commander of the UN Command and the commander of the Chinese Peoples volunteers, who were not officially claimed by Beijing at the time. North and South Korea have seriously discussed the idea before. In 1992, the two sides agreed to endeavour together to transform the present state of armistice into a solid state of peace. The last inter-Korean summit in October 2007 concluded with a declaration by the two Koreas to recognise the need to end the current armistice regime and build a permanent peace regime and to work together to advance the matter of having the leaders of the three or four parties directly concerned to convene on the Peninsula and declare an end to the war. Family visits Reunions between families divided by the war and the border are an emotional issue. The two sides agreed to hold reunion programmes on 15 August, the day both Koreas celebrate their independence from Japanese colonisation. The last family visits were at the end of 2015, but the programme fell apart amid souring relations. After Moon took office last May, his administration quickly asked that the visits resume, but North Korea never officially responded. North Korean state media implied that the programme could be resumed if South Korea sent back a dozen North Korean waitresses who defected to the South after working at a restaurant in China, but that demand appears to have been dropped. Demilitarised zone The DMZ, which snakes for 240 km (150 miles) along the 38th parallel, was drawn in the 1953 armistice that ended three years of bitter fighting. The zone is 4 km (2.5 miles) wide and has become an unlikely tourist attraction. Fridays declaration said each side would cease propaganda broadcasts, hold regular military meetings, and take other measures to reduce tensions along the border and turn the DMZ into a peace zone. Demilitarising the DMZ could also mean the removal of guard posts and landmines. Inter-Korean communication After previously establishing a hotline between the two presidents offices, the two Koreas pledged to increase direct inter-Korean exchanges and dialogue, including between lower-level political officials. The two Koreas will also set up a communications office in Kaesong in North Korea, although the timing for that was not specified. The countries defence officials will meet in May, and Moon plans to visit Pyongyang later in the year for another summit. Moon and Kim also agreed to hold regular meetings and direct telephone conversations and frequent and candid discussions. By Soyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to cross his country's heavily militarised border with South Korea on Friday for the first intra-Korea summit in more than a decade, as the old foes seek to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme. The summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in will set the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. By Soyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to cross his country's heavily militarised border with South Korea on Friday for the first intra-Korea summit in more than a decade, as the old foes seek to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme. The summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in will set the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June, in what will be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. South Korea's Moon will greet Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. The two will be escorted by South Korean honour guards to an official welcoming ceremony before beginning official dialogue at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) at Peace House, a South Korean building inside the border truce village of Panmunjom. North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim had left Pyongyang for the "historical" summit in which he would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." In a dramatic gesture just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But scepticism is rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion. South Korea hopes North Korea's leader on Friday will directly confirm his will for "complete" denuclearisation of the peninsula. The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. KCNA said that Kim would plant a memorial tree with Moon. UNENDING HOSTILITIES Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. On Thursday, Trump said he was considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with Kim Jong Un, although once again he added that it remained unclear whether the meeting will occur. Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim in May or June, but he has warned several times that the meeting could be called off if he did not think it could deliver the desired results. "It could be that I walk out quickly - with respect - but ... it could be that maybe the meeting doesn't even take place," he told Fox News by telephone. "Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet." The White House later released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a U.S. official. The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. https://bit.ly/2KfRHN3 Friday's inter-Korean summit will be the third ever after two former South Korean leaders, Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007, met with Kim Jong Uns late father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang. The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. With heavily armed soldiers and propaganda broadcasts blasted over loudspeakers from both sides, the DMZ has long been a symbol of hostilities on the divided peninsula. South Korea switched off its propaganda broadcasts on Monday to set a positive tone ahead of the summit, and South Korean residents living near the border said the North Korean broadcasts had also appeared to stop on Tuesday. South and North Korea are in discussions about a peace agreement that could officially end the state of war, an effort Trump said has his "blessing" if Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear arsenal. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, will be broadcast live. The summit includes a dinner where Swiss fried potato rosti, as well as chocolates, macarons and gruyere cheese cakes will be served as a homage to Kim's childhood spent in Switzerland. PRELUDE TO TRUMP SUMMIT Moon, who took office in May pledging to restore ties with the North and who has tirelessly called for dialogue, helped steer Kim and Trump toward meeting, a major coup for the liberal president. After dozens of missile launches last year, Kim embarked on a diplomatic offensive at the beginning of the year. Kim sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February before Trump stunned the world by agreeing to meet Kim to discuss "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula. Now comes the hard part. The history of failed nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang has made many U.S. officials sceptical of Kim's true intentions and suspicious of his recent overtures as more of a bid to win relief from wide-ranging U.N. sanctions and to divide Washington and its allies. There is also concern that North Korea could insist on taking incremental steps in return for simultaneous incentives from Washington, the kind of a phased approach that U.S. officials have rejected. Unlike two previous inter-Korean summits, joint economic projects are not expected to be discussed, South Korean officials said. U.N. sanctions imposed since North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006 and expanded over the past decade deny North Korea a considerable amount of international trade. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim in SEOUL; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lincoln Feast and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Find out how the Supreme Court judges are appointed in various countries across the world In India, of late, there has been an on-going tussle between the judiciary and the government. From the Opposition moving an 'impeachment motion' against the Chief Justice of India, to a row over the appointment of Supreme Court judge, Indu Malhotra. But, while in India the process to appoint a Supreme Court judge is fairly democratic, here's a look at how the top judiciary appointments are done in some of the other countries across the globe. In the United States of America, Article 2 of their Constitution requires the President of the United States to nominate Supreme Court Justices and, with Senate confirmation, requires Justices to be appointed. So, upon the election of a new President, incoming White House staff prepare profiles of possible candidates for the Supreme Court, considering not only judges but also politicians and other individuals whom they consider appropriate for the role. Besides considering national figures whose views are well-known, they consider others who are less recognized. They go through published rulings, articles, speeches, and other background material to get an idea of candidates' values and views on constitutional issues. Age, health, race, gender, and likelihood of confirmation are also factored into considerations. Once a Supreme Court vacancy opens up, the president discusses the candidates with advisors. Senators also call the president with suggestions. After a first choice is decided, the candidate is contacted and called on by the president to serve on the highest court. Staffers send a vetting form for the candidate to fill out. They visit the candidate to go over tax records and payments to domestic help. Candidates whom the president has never met are interviewed by White House officials before being sent to the White House to be interviewed in person by the president. After making a final decision, the president calls the candidate, who is told to prepare a statement for an appearance in front of the national press for the president's formal announcement. The Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings, questioning nominees to determine their suitability. By convention, nominees avoid revealing too much about their views on potential cases that may come before the Court. At the close of confirmation hearings, the Committee votes on whether the nomination should go to the full Senate with a positive, negative or neutral report Once the Committee reports out the nomination, the whole Senate considers it. A simple majority vote is required to confirm or to reject a nominee. Prior to 2017, a successful filibuster threat could add the requirement of a supermajority of 60 needed in favour of cloture, which would allow debate to end and force a final vote on confirmation. Rejections are relatively uncommon; the Senate has explicitly rejected twelve Supreme Court nominees in its history. Once the Senate confirms the nomination by an affirmative vote, the Secretary of the Senate attests to a resolution of confirmation and transmits it to the White House. The President then prepares and signs a commission, and causes the Seal of the United States Department of Justice to be affixed to the document before the new Justice can take office. The date of commission determines a Justice's seniority. A ceremony is held in which the Justice must take the Constitutional Oath, which is used for every federal and state officeholder below the President, and the Judicial Oath used for federal judges before entering into the execution of their office. Whereas in Australia, where The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in court hierarchy, appointments are officially made by the Governor-General in Council. In practice, appointees are nominated by the prime minister, on advice from the Cabinet, particularly from the Attorney-General of Australia. The Court is composed of seven Justices: the Chief Justice of Australia and six other justices. Since 1979, the attorney-general has been required to consult with the attorneys-general of the states and territories of Australia about appointments to the court. His ministerial colleagues may or may not agree to appoint his nominee, and may overrule him. There are no qualifications for Justices in the Constitution other than that they must be under the compulsory retirement age of 70. The High Court of Australia Act 1979 requires that appointees have been a judge of a federal, state or territory court, or that they have been enrolled as a legal practitioner for at least five years with either the High Court itself or with a state or territory Supreme Court. There are no other formal requirements. The UN Security Council will pay a visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar beginning Saturday as it weighs next steps to address one of the world's worst refugee crises, stemming from the forced exodus of Muslim Rohingya. United Nations: The UN Security Council will pay a visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar beginning Saturday as it weighs next steps to address one of the world's worst refugee crises, stemming from the forced exodus of Muslim Rohingya. Myanmar has come under international scrutiny since a military campaign launched in August drove more than 700,000 Rohingya from their homes in northern Rakhine state and into crowded camps in Bangladesh. The council is urging Myanmar to allow their safe return and take steps to end decades of discrimination that the Muslim minority has suffered in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The visit kicks off in the camps of Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh where ambassadors will meet refugees, whose harrowing accounts of killings, rape and the torching of villages at the hands of Myanmar's military and militias have been documented in UN human rights reports. Led by Kuwait, Britain and Peru, the four-day visit is expected to include a trip by helicopter to Rakhine to allow ambassadors to tour villages affected by the violence, including Pan Taw Pyin and Shwe Zar. The council will hold talks with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticised for failing to speak out in defense of the Rohingya, and with Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Kuwait's Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said the visit was not about "naming and shaming" Myanmar, but that "the message will be very clear for them: the international community is following the situation and has great interest in resolving it." "We are coming to see how can we help, how can we push things forward," he said, stressing that the current situation was "not acceptable." "700,000 people have fled their country and they cannot go back. It's a humanitarian disaster." 'Almost no action' After months of deliberations, Myanmar finally agreed this month to allow the council to visit as the government rejected accusations from the United Nations and Western countries that the attacks against the Rohingya were ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has said the military operation in Rakhine is aimed at rooting out extremists. British Ambassador Karen Pierce said it was "incredibly important" for the council to see the situation on the ground as it considers "what needs to be done next to help Myanmar develop as a modern, political and economic entity." The United States and its European partners in the council have faced strong opposition to action on the Rohingya crisis from China, a supporter of Myanmar's former ruling junta. The council adopted a statement in November that called on Myanmar to rein in its military, but there has been no resolution, a stronger measure that China would likely block as one of the veto-wielding permanent members. "This trip represents an opportunity for the council to press the reset button," said Akshaya Kumar, UN deputy director for Human Rights Watch. "They have taken almost no action," she said. "So if this trip is what is needed to spur them to actually respond to the gravity of an ethnic cleansing on their watch, then we'll be waiting for a resolution when they return." The president of the International Red Cross, which is providing aid to those affected by the violence in Rakhine, said the Myanmar government is rebuilding villages and taking steps to allow the Rohingya to return. "But what we see is that people don't yet trust that this will give them safety and security," said Peter Maurer. "We are at the beginning of the such a confidence-building process. It's a very long way to go," Maurer told reporters. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Christine Schraner Burgener, Switzerland's ambassador to Germany, as his new special envoy to Myanmar, following a months-long search for an emissary. CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela and Panama will restore ambassadors and allow for the resumption of airline service, turning the page on a diplomatic dispute between the two countries, they said on Thursday. Venezuela this month cut commercial ties with a group of Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa , for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting both countries to recall ambassadors. The two governments said in a joint statement that they would send back their respective ambassadors, 'reestablish air connectivity' and 'maintain an open and respectful diplomatic dialogue.' Copa, which has become a crucial provider of international flights following a sharp reduction in airline services to crisis-stricken Venezuela, did not answer phone calls seeking comment. CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela and Panama will restore ambassadors and allow for the resumption of airline service, turning the page on a diplomatic dispute between the two countries, they said on Thursday. Venezuela this month cut commercial ties with a group of Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa , for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting both countries to recall ambassadors. The two governments said in a joint statement that they would send back their respective ambassadors, "reestablish air connectivity" and "maintain an open and respectful diplomatic dialogue." Copa, which has become a crucial provider of international flights following a sharp reduction in airline services to crisis-stricken Venezuela, did not answer phone calls seeking comment. Venezuela had accused Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and nearly two dozen cabinet ministers and top-ranking officials of involvement in money laundering. That came a week after Panama declared Maduro and some 50 Venezuelan nationals "high risk" suspects for laundering money and financing terrorism. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera in Caracas and Eli Moreno in Panama City; editing by Grant McCool, Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Investing in Gold Stocks Gold stocks are those of publicly traded companies and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are focused on gold. The industry consists of these types of entities: Mining companies: These are the companies that mine and sell wholesale gold. These are the companies that mine and sell wholesale gold. Gold streaming and royalty companies: These companies pay upfront fees to mining companies in exchange for a percentage of the mines revenue or the right to purchase its future production at a fixed wholesale price. These companies pay upfront fees to mining companies in exchange for a percentage of the mines revenue or the right to purchase its future production at a fixed wholesale price. Gold-focused ETFs: These exchange-traded funds own either physical gold or shares of gold mining companies. There are many benefits to buying gold stocks instead of the physical metal. Gold companies can likely generate higher total returns than simply an investment in physical gold because, when the price of gold rises, these companies can expand their operations and their profits. This growth should enable their stocks to outperform the price of gold. But not all gold stocks outperform the price appreciation of the precious metal, which means that investors need to choose their gold stocks carefully. Top gold mining stocks Here's a look at some top alternatives for investing in gold: Gold Stock Description Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) One of the world's largest gold mining companies Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) A leading gold-focused royalty and streaming company VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT:GDX) A gold ETF that holds shares of several large gold mining stocks. Source: company websites 1. Barrick Gold Corporation Barrick Gold is striving to be the gold mining company with the world's highest valuation. The Canada-based company focuses on operating Tier One mining assets, which Barrick defines as: Able to produce more than 500,000 ounces of gold per year. Having at least 10 years of productive life remaining. Operational at low cost, as defined by total cash costs per ounce. By focusing on operating large mines with significant remaining resources, Barrick is likely able to produce gold at a relatively steady pace for years. The company expects the average annual gold output of its mines through 2030 will be about five million ounces. Barrick also forecasts that its all-in sustaining costs will decline in the coming years from roughly $1,000 per ounce in 2020 to around $800 per ounce by 2025. Barrick's profits should continue to rise even if gold prices decline modestly. Barrick complements its top-tier gold mining portfolio with a strong balance sheet. By focusing on paying down debt over the past several years, the company has reduced its interest costs. Its increasing financial flexibility and strength is enabling Barrick to pay a growing dividend. 2. Franco-Nevada Corporation Franco-Nevada is a Canada-based streaming and royalty company with agreements to receive gold, silver, the platinum group metals (PGMs), iron ore, and oil and gas. In 2020, 70% of its revenue came from gold. A major benefit of Franco-Nevada's focus on royalties and streaming is that it is not vulnerable to the capital and operating cost overruns that have historically plagued mining companies. At the same time, as the company's mining partners complete exploration and expansion projects, Franco-Nevada is positioned to profit similarly to the mining operations. Franco-Nevada's streaming and royalty contracts provide it with the ability to generate lots of cash by selling the physical commodities it receives. That cash flow enables it to both invest in new deals and pay a dividend, which the company has increased each year since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2008. The company also boasts a debt-free balance sheet as of the beginning of 2021 -- a rarity in the mining industry. Because Franco-Nevada significantly profits from gold mining without being exposed to the sector's risks, the company's stock has historically outperformed both gold itself and the mining sector. All of these factors make it ideal as a gold mining stock. 3. VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF holds the stocks of large gold mining companies. Its one of the largest gold ETFs, with nearly $16 billion in assets as of mid-2021. At the time of this writing, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF owns shares of more than 50 gold mining companies. Its top five holdings by value are: Newmont Goldcorp (NYSE:NEM) (NYSE:NEM) Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) (NYSE:GOLD) Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (NYSE:FNV) Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) (NYSE:WPM) Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) These five stocks account for more than 46% of the assets of this gold ETF, with Newmont Goldcorp comprising more than 15%. These gold stocks have market capitalizations ranging from Newmont Goldcorps $56.9 billion to Newcrest Minings $17.7 billion. With the exception of Wheaton Precious Metals and Franco-Nevada, these top holdings are the world's largest gold mining companies. Franco-Nevada and Wheaton Precious Metals are the leading gold streaming and royalty companies. This gold ETF enables investors to easily own a diverse, high-quality group of large-scale gold companies. The ETF also has a reasonable expense ratio of 0.51%, making this investment option a relatively cost-effective way to invest in many gold stocks. Silver Stocks This precious metal is also mined from the earth and can provide solid returns. Metal Stocks Explore other precious metal investing opportunities. Materials Stocks The materials sector is responsible for producing the raw materials used by all other sectors of the stock market. Mining Stocks Mining investments can range from precious metals like gold to the lithium and cobalt in our modern technologies. Everything EXCEPT Tailgate Step! I have found the exact truck I want. It has everything I want, EXCEPT the tailgate step. I normally wouldn't worry about the step, but these trucks are really tall, and I use the step constantly in my other truck whenever we use the truck for trips. I load firewood in and out of it when pulling the camper. I load bikes in it when going camping and to the beach. I do use the step. Not daily, or even weekly. But, it is very nice to have. I know this sounds silly, and if the truck weren't jacked up in the air from the factory, I wouldn't even ask such a question. 1). Would this simple thing keep you from buying a truck and would you keep looking until you find exactly what you want, or 2). How expensive would this be to change out down the road? I have no idea what these tailgates cost. Winners in China, Red Bull looked strong again on Friday in Azerbaijan. Of course, the same was the case at the same track on the same day last year, before they fell back massively in qualifying. But as Lawrence Barretto explains, this year could be different Red Bull won last years Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo, but that was down more to the good fortune of a chaotic race than outright speed. This year, they arrive in the Land of Fire on the crest of a wave, having sealed victory again through Ricciardo last time out in China. Their pace was strong on Friday, with Ricciardo just a fraction off Valtteri Bottas leading time in FP1 before moving to the top of the pile in the second session. The Australian said he had the confidence in the car to attack, something that is crucial on a street track. Mercedes and Ferrari usually find something a little extra in qualifying, when they turn their engines up, but the evidence suggests that even if Red Bull dont make the front row, they have great race pace - and this is a track where it is, as Williams' Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe puts it, relatively easy to overtake. And as Ricciardo proved in China, overtaking is an area where hes one of the best if not the best in the business ONE-LAP PACE Red Bull havent made it onto the front row this season, their Renault engine lacking the grunt to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari in qualifying trim. The figures from Friday provide pleasant reading for the team, but they will know that come qualifying, it will be tricky to replicate that performance. Ferrari look rather handy over one lap. Kimi Raikkonen was pretty pleased with his efforts, though admitted there was still work to do overnight. Theres more pace to come from Sebastian Vettel, too, as the German admitted he struggled to find a rhythm and he didnt get a clean lap. The Prancing Horse will likely be the ones to beat, but that shouldnt be too much of a surprise given they have locked out the front row in each of the last two races. Mercedes have struggled on the ultrasoft tyres so far this season. Theyve also found it difficult to turn them on in cooler conditions. Based on their form on Friday, it would suggest they still have work to do in both areas, with Valtteri Bottas a staggering 0.775s adrift of Ricciardos chart-topping pace. Its up to us to master them [the tyres], said Bottas. Its difficult and a challenge, especially when the temperatures are changing from one day to another, and different day times. We definitely have plenty of things to look at tonight to understand for tomorrow and Sunday. Best single lap (combined sessions, all ultrasoft tyres) POSITION TEAM DRIVER LAP TIME GAP (S) 1 Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo 1:42.795 2 Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen 1:42.864 +0.069s 3 Mercedes Valtteri Bottas 1:43.570 +0.775s 4 McLaren Fernando Alonso 1:43.700 +0.905s 5 Force India Esteban Ocon 1:43.814 +1.019s 6 Renault Carlos Sainz 1:43.834 +1.039s 7 Haas Kevin Magnussen 1:43.977 +1.182s 8 Williams Lance Stroll 1:44.459 +1.664s 9 Toro Rosso Pierre Gasly 1:44.712 +1.917s 10 Sauber Charles Leclerc 1:44.940 +2.145s Fernando Alonsos time looks impressive, but McLaren admitted its slightly unrepresentative given he picked up a tow from Nico Hulkenberg on that lap. Alonso reckons he picked up a couple of tenths as a result. That would drop the team from fourth to sixth to suggest making it into Q3 will be challenging. ULTIMATE PACE Ever wondered what a drivers true pace would be if he managed to hook up his best three sectors? Well weve crunched the numbers for Baku and all but four drivers could have improved... Ultimate lap times POSITION DRIVER ULTIMATE LAP DIFFERENCE TO BEST ACTUAL LAP (S) 1 Daniel Ricciardo 1:42.482 -0.313 2 Max Verstappen 1:42.539 -0.372 3 Kimi Raikkonen 1:42.858 -0.006 4 Lewis Hamilton 1:43.247 -0.356 5 Kevin Magnussen 1:43.458 -0.519 6 Valtteri Bottas 1:43.570 0.000 7 Fernando Alonso 1:43.700 0.000 8 Nico Hulkenberg 1:43.746 -0.345 9 Sebastian Vettel 1:43.805 -0.322 10 Esteban Ocon 1:43.814 0.000 11 Carlos Sainz 1:43.834 0.000 12 Sergio Perez 1:43.851 -0.291 13 Romain Grosjean 1:43.859 -0.566 14 Pierre Gasly 1:44.115 -0.597 15 Lance Stroll 1:44.437 -0.022 16 Charles Leclerc 1:44.438 -0.502 17 Brendon Hartley 1:44.578 -0.473 18 Sergey Sirotkin 1:44.604 -0.403 19 Stoffel Vandoorne 1:44.865 -0.423 20 Marcus Ericsson 1:45.770 -0.272 Both Red Bull drivers could have gone around three-tenths quicker in this scenario and would have finished one-two. It would have also ballooned their advantage over the next best team from 0.006s to 0.376s. Kimi Raikkonen was just 0.006 off what was theoretically his best time. If only he could do that when it's qualifying, he might find himself on pole for the first time since Monaco last year Pierre Gasly has the most to gain 0.597s. That would have put him 11th, rather than 15th in FP2... RACE PACE While they lack something in qualifying, Red Bull have so far this season made up for it in race pace and judging by the numbers, that looks like the case again in Baku. Of course, this data may not show the full picture and its unclear what fuel loads everyone was running but it can at least give us a hint as to what to expect. | Long-run pace deficit |POSITION | TEAM GAP | (S/LAP) | |------ |------ |------- | |1 | Red Bull | | |2 | Ferrari | +0.2 |3 | Mercedes | +0.9 | |4 | Renault | +1.1 | |5 | Force India | +1.1 | |6 | McLaren | +1.6 | |7 | Sauber | +1.7 | |8 | Haas | +1.8 | |9 | Toro Rosso | +1.9 | |10 | Williams | +2.3 | Ricciardo admitted there was work to do on the ultrasoft for the long runs, but hes confident the team have identified where they can iron out the issues. On the supersofts, they look brilliantly quick. The Australian was on average more than half a second faster than Vettel on that compound during that run. Mercedes pace on the ultrasoft doesnt look good, while they didnt do a long run on the supersofts. Technical Director James Allison said the team have plenty of directions to head in as they look to close the gap. Further back, Renault appear strong. Technical Director Nick Chester said the long runs looked encouraging, particularly for Nico. The team are running a new medium-downforce aero package in Baku, which includes a new rear wing, while both drivers reckon theres more to come later in the weekend. Force India are another team who look to have made a step forward. Thats down to a combination of understanding their package better, new parts working well and a more powerful engine mode being made available by power unit suppliers Mercedes. Theres not much to choose between McLaren, Sauber, Haas and Toro Rosso, with the quartet separated by just three-tenths of a second per lap. Williams find themselves at the bottom of the pile, but Lance Stroll was reasonably upbeat and said theres a lot more to come this weekend. European Union countries have voted to widen a partial ban on neonicotinoid pesticides so it covers all outdoor crops. The European Commission proposal to ban three key neonicotinoids used by farmers was endorsed by EU member states on Friday (27 April). The use of active substances imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam will now only be allowed in greenhouses where they are not exposed to bees. See also: How a neonic ban will affect beet and cereal growers The ban was backed by Defra, which said it was committed to enhancing the environment and welcomed the vote in support of further restrictions on neonicotinoids. Current restrictions, which cover flowering crops such as oilseed rape, will stay in place until the new measures comes into force following a phase-out period of about eight months. Defra said this would give farmers and businesses time to adjust. But sugar beet growers, who use neonicotinoid-treated seed to help establish crops, described the decision to extend the ban as a black day for farmers. It was a bad for the environment, bad for bees and bad for growers, said the International Confederation of European Beet Growers. Agrochemical giant Bayer said the decision would further reduce European farmers ability to tackle important pests, for many of which there are no alternative treatments available. Not warranted Bayer said it remained convinced that the restrictions were not warranted, arguing that neonicotinoids are safe when used in accordance with the label instructions. Beyond the costs for European farmers, restrictions already in place had resulted in considerable unintended consequences, it added. These included more applications of alternative spays, leading to more CO2 emissions, an increased risk of resistant pest insects and a return to older, less-effective chemicals. Bayer said the agrochemical company cared about bees, recognising that the insects are essential for the pollination of many arable crops. But it said there were better ways to support pollinator health than banning substances that helped farmers effectively manage a broad range of significant pests. These included increasing pollinator foraging options and natural habitats for pollinators and more efficient control of the varroa mite. Mounting evidence But organic farmers and environmental campaigners welcomed the decision. Evidence of neonicotinoids harm to pollinators, and to wildlife in general, had been mounting for some time, said Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett. To extend their ban of neonicotinoids to include all outdoor crops is a welcome demonstration that this overwhelming evidence can no longer be ignored. Friends of the Earth, which has long called for a ban, said the decision was major victory for science, common sense and under-threat bees. It was now important that the government gave farmers the support needed to grow food without bee-harming pesticides, said Friends of the Earth campaigner Emi Murphy. Ministers must urgently step up efforts to boost nature, protect wildlife-friendly habitats and tackle over-reliance on pesticides in their post-Brexit farming policy. "Start Your Impossible" TOYOTAs new campaign supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes - GeorgianJournal By Ritah Kemigisa. New research has revealed that commercial banks in Uganda are moving away from lending into asset investments due to the high risk that comes with bad loans. The study was conducted by International Project Consult to assess the impact of a new credit management certificate course that is offered by the Uganda Institute of Banking and financial services. Speaking during the review for this program, the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute Anthony Mulindwa said the shift from loans is not sustainable since the banks core mandate is to transact business with customers. He is now challenging commercial banks to be more vigilant in handling customer needs since any conflict can cause a serious economic hiccup. Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to step into the South for 65 years as he met with President Moon Jae-in for a historic peace summit on Friday. The dictator crossed the 38th parallel and warmly shook hands with his sworn enemy before both men walked side-by-side to a welcome ceremony attended by flamboyantly-dressed South Korean soldiers. Moving on to the truce village of Panmunjom, Kim signed the guest book at the Peace House, which will be the venue for talks focusing on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs. New history starts from now, at the historic starting point of an era of peace, he wrote. Kim said that his heart keeps throbbing during his visit that comes ahead of a summit with President Trump and amid renewed hopes he will give up nuclear arms. But there are also suspicions that Kims nuclear program has been terminated by damage caused by a recent earthquake. In televised talks shortly afterwards, Kim said he was ready for heartfelt, sincere and honest discussions with Moon, although he did not mention denuclearization. Belkin launches new Boost Up wireless pad for iPhones News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Belkin brings a new wireless charging pad for the iPhone users. Belkin has unveiled its new wireless charging pad for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. The BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad is fine-tuned with Qi technology under the hood, and is also able to charge at levels up to 7.5W for compatible devices. "Customers around the world love iPhone and we believe wireless charging is the future. We are excited to continue expanding Belkin's growing portfolio of wireless charging solutions with the new BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, holding to our mission of helping consumers realize the power of new technology," said Steve Malony, general manager and vice president, Belkin. "Today we deliver the best cable-free and convenient charging solution for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X users." Belkin conducted a wireless global consumer insights study earlier this year to understand charging behavior and purchasing preferences and kept consumer feedback in mind when designing the product. BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad features Cable-free convenience Charges iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X on contact while maintaining full functionality of device including ability to receive calls Charging levels optimized up to 7.5W for compatible devices Ability to charge through cases up to 3mm thick The latest Qi wireless charging standard 2 plus 1 year Connected Equipment Warranty with compensation up to 2500 USD Belkin's BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad is available from 30th April, for Rs. 6,999. It will be available in Amazon and selected apple premium resellers such as Aptronix and Imagine Stores. Amazon Echo Spot First Impressions Belkin, which has brands like WeMo, Phyn and, most notably, Linksys under its belt, was recently acquired by Foxconn. The company shelled out $866 million as the final settlement, subject to approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Foxconn best known for manufacturing iPhones will soon be powering some of the well-known routers and other accessories. Belkin, on the other hand, has been around 35 years and is well known for manufacturing wireless chargers, laptop docks, and smartphone cases. The company acquired Linksys back in 2013. This will be a major shift for Foxconn, making it an owner of three major consumer brands from being a background manufacturing partner. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications By Ritah Kemigisa. Ugandans have been advised to always sign contracts whose terms and conditions of service they understand before getting into employment. According to the state minister for gender and culture Peace Mutuuzo, many Ugandans are being exploited at the workplace because of taking for granted important contractual details which are key for a safe working environment. She is now appealing to all Ugandans to report to the gender ministry any cases of exploitation especially when the agreed terms of the contract are changed by the employer without mutual agreement. This comes as the country prepares national Labour Day celebrations slated May 1st in Sembabule District Under the theme promoting public spirit in the public sector. GREENWICH Even though much has been accomplished to eliminate hate and bigotry, much more remains to be done, the YWCA Greenwich said as it gathered the community together to take a Stand Against Racism on Friday. We need to reach out to those who are marginalized or have felt bias, said Mary Lee Kiernan, YWCA Greenwichs president and CEO. We need to work side by side with our neighbors and collaborate on sustainable solutions. To do more, Kiernan added, YWCA Greenwich will continue to identify supporters and allies who care about racial equality and mutual respect; build strong coalitions to educate and take action; and identify challenges in the community and work to address them. A crowd of more than 100 people gathered for the annual Stand Against Racism, which was forced inside Town Hall by the rain. Attendees included First Selectman Peter Tesei, Selectman John Toner, State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, and state Rep. Michael Bocchino as well as several members of the towns Board of Education, Board of Estimate and Taxation and Representative Town Meeting as well as citizens at large. The rain curtailed plans a bit, but a large crowd gathered for a picture displaying the Stand Against Racism banner. And a banner was displayed outside on an engine from the Greenwich Fire Department parked outside of Town Hall. Keynote speaker Valarie Shultz-Wilson, president and CEO of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut, noted the recent 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Since that tragic day, America has made many improvements toward greater inclusion, equality, empowerment and equity for all groups, Shultz-Wilson said. But in the last couple of years, I think you would probably agree the work to fulfill the promise of America is still incomplete. It seems there has been a concerted effort to turn back the clock and turn it backwards on racial progress. The levels of racial animus have become startlingly more common. Shultz-Wilson cited the rally last year in Charlottesville, where a neo-Nazi march led to a confrontation with protestors that left one woman killed and many worried about what was happening in the country. She called Charlottesville a community very similar to Greenwich and said it was important to remember what happened there could happen in Greenwich. Without an honest conversation about racism in America, she said, the country could never move forward. Fifty years after Dr. Kings assassination, structural racism against black people still exists, whether its in education, employment, income, housing, health, applying for a mortgage, applying for a business loan, applying for a car loan, being exposed to discriminatory hiring practices or being exposed to insidious levels of racism in the workplace, Shultz-Wilson said. These examples pay homage to the Jim Crow era in which the past still seems to be prologue. With the Stand Against Racism event in its 10th year, Kiernan said the goal is to celebrate that milestone by being a lot more visible in the YWCAs efforts to eliminate racism, which, along with empowering women, is the central part of its mission. Greenwich is not immune to instances of bias and hate and disrespect, Kiernan said. In the latest Greenwich United Way needs assessment, discrimination and racism and bias were all noted by the respondents as high priority concerns that are not adequately addressed in this community. A total of 100 businesses, schools, nonprofits and citizen groups signed onto the effort this year, up from 70 in 2017. Kiernan thanked everyone who attended, saying the group photo is a profound symbol of our commitment to each our and our commitment against racism. When he delivered a proclamation marking the stand against racism, Tesei focused on the theme of unity as well. Community is togetherness and this is an opportunity to reflect Greenwich as a community that cares for our citizens, the first selectman said. We look out for one another and we need to recognize that there is a need to continue to be vigilant against incidents of racism, hatred and bias Unity is very important in having a civil society. and the actions we take promote that. We center our activities on what unites us rather than what divides us, and it helps create the proper environment to foster and grow, particularly for our young people. Three Greenwich students were honored with the 2018 YWCA Racial Justice Scholarship Awards by Superintendent of Schools Jill Gildea. The students are: Greenwich High School student Rene LaPoint Jameson, head of the schools Roots and Shoots Club and a member of its Diversity Awareness Club; Brunswick School student Daniel Osemobor, a founding member of the schools Diversity and Action Club; and Sacred Heart Greenwichs Chelsea Beckford, who has been involved in the schools Diversity Club. These are three amazing and deserving students who are making a difference in our community every day, Gildea said. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com With a net worth of more than $86 billion, Bill Gates is known for being one of the richest people in the world. But theres a lot more you probably dont know about the Microsoft co-founder. Gates was born in Seattle in 1955 and discovered his passion for technology early on. In school, he met long-time friend and future co-founder Paul Allen. Together, they launched another small-business venture before coming up with the idea for Microsoft. Related: 5 Life Lessons From Bill Gates, One of the Most Influential Philanthropists on Earth Until he realized his desire to pursue computers, Gates had planned to become a lawyer and studied pre-law at Harvard. He eventually dropped out, launched Microsoft and met his employee and future wife, Melinda. Today, Gates is not only a self-made billionaire and tech leader, but hes also a philanthropist, an author and even a knight. Check out these 27 surprising facts about Bill Gates. Additional reporting by Nina Zipkin Image credit: Joe McNally | Getty Images 1. Gates developed his first computer software program at 13 years old. After spending a few years in public school, Gates later attended the Lakeside School, a private preparatory school in Seattle. It was there that Gates discovered his passion for computer programming and met Paul Allen, who became his close friend and later Microsoft co-founder. He also developed his first computer software program at age 13. Using BASIC computer language, the program was a tic-tac-toe game in which players could compete against the computer. 2. Gates fixed his high schools class scheduling software so he was in all-girls classes. The Lakeside School recruited Gates to help code its class scheduling system. Gates took advantage of his new task and his coding abilities, and he and his long-time pal and later Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen tweaked the schools scheduling software and placed Gates in all-girls classes. "Paul did the computer scheduling with me. Unfortunately for him he was two years ahead of me and he was off to college by then. So I was the one who benefited by being able to have the nice girls at least sit near me, Gates shared with BBC. Image credit: Bruce Glikas 3. Gates and Allen formed a business partnership before Microsoft. From the moment they met in middle school, Gates and Allen became friends -- likely because of their common interest in computer programming. While in school, the two formed a company called Traf-O-Data. They put together a small computer based on an Intel 8008 chip that measured and analyzed traffic data for the Washington state highway department. Gates and Allen made about $20,000 from the venture, but it slowly dissolved as Allen went on to work for Honeywell in Boston and Gates enrolled at Harvard. 4. He almost had a perfect SAT score. Its hardly shocking that the genius got a near-perfect score on his SATs. Gates scored a 1590 out of 1600 on the college entrance exams. 5. Gates originally studied law in college. In 1973, Gates began studying pre-law at Harvard University, planning to follow in the footsteps of his lawyer father. Although by his sophomore year, Gatess plans changed and he began taking some of the schools most rigorous math and science courses. Then, two years into his Harvard career, Gates dropped out to pursue Microsoft. 6. Gates was arrested twice for his driving. In 1975, in his Porsche 911, 19-year-old Gates was arrested for speeding and driving without a license. But he didnt learn his lesson -- two years later, Gates was arrested again in Albuquerque, N.M., for another traffic violation and for driving without his license. Theres speculation that the generic user icon in Microsoft Outlook 10 is actually a silhouette of Gatess mugshot. 7. His wife, Melinda, used to work for him. After graduating from Duke University in 1986, Melinda Gates landed her first job at a startup -- Microsoft. I just thought, Oh my gosh. I have to work at this company. They are changing the world. And if I get an offer, theres no way Im not going to take it, Melinda told CBS News. Melinda scored the job, and shortly into her time working there, she made a great impression on the boss. Related: Warren Buffett and Bill Gates's Top Secret to Success I met her at a New York City sales meeting, Bill told CBS. And then it was only a week or so after that, that I went up to her in the parking lot and asked if she wanted to go out. Image credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images 8. He was once the youngest billionaire ever. Gates made his first billion in 1987 at the age of 31, making him the youngest billionaire ever at that time. 9. On his wedding day, he rented out every room at the hotel. To ensure privacy, Gates rented out all 250 rooms at the Manele Bay Hotel in Lanai, Hawaii, where his wedding party was staying. At the time (1994), Gates was the second-richest person in America. Taking an extra precaution to keep the media and paparazzi from flying overhead, Gates reportedly hired all of the helicopters on Maui, too. 10. He used to memorize his employeess license plate numbers to keep tabs on them. Youd think a simple punch card or check-in system might suffice -- not for Gates. Gates memorized the license plates of his employees so he would know when they arrived at and left work. I knew everyone's license plate, so I could look out in the parking lot and see when did people come in, when were they leaving. Eventually I had to loosen up, as the company got to a reasonable size, he revealed in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs program. 11. Gates bought Leonardo da Vincis Codex Leicester manuscript for $30.8 million. Besides his private plane, Gatess other big splurge was Leonardo da Vincis Codex Leicester manuscript, which dates back to the 16th century. In a 1994 auction, Gates won the manuscript for $30.8 million, making it the most expensive book in the world. Gates sometimes puts the book on loan to museums. 12. In 1995, Gates became the richest man in the world. In July 1995, at 39 years old, Gates became the richest man in the world with a fortune of $12.9 billion. He has since lost that title a few times, but he held the top spot on the Forbes Worlds Billionaires real-time ranking in March 2017. 13. He got pied in the face during a trip to Brussels. During a 1998 trip to Brussels, Belgium, Gates was on his way into a meeting with more than 400 Belgian educators, business leaders and government officials. Upon entering the building, Gates was struck in the face with a pie. After the incident, Belgian prankster and personality Noel Godin took responsibility for the prank, and Gates didnt press charges. "The pie wasn't even that good," a Microsoft spokesperson reported Gates as saying. Image credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images 14. Bill and Melinda Gates run the largest private foundation in the world. The couple launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. With donations from major investors, public figures and celebrities such as Warren Buffett, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Jack Nicklaus and Big Sean, it has become the largest private foundation in the world. In 2015, it reported a $39.6 billion trust endowment. 15. He was knighted by the Queen. In 2005, Gates received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth of England for his charitable work and achievements in technology. Gates and his wife, Melinda, met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace for the ceremony, during which he received his KBE title -- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Gates is unable to be referred to as Sir because he is not a British citizen. 16. The number-one thing on his bucket list is not dying. In 2013, Gates held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit. During the session, Gates was asked if he had anything left on his bucket list. His response? Dont die Related: How Bill Gates Became a Leadership Legend 17. His bedtime routine involves reading and washing the dishes. Even the richest man in the world makes time to complete his house chores. In a 2014 Reddit AMA, Gates shared that he washes his familys dirty dishes every night. He even finds the task enjoyable. Other people volunteer but I like the way I do it, he said. In addition to washing the dishes, another part of Gatess bedtime routine involves reading for an hour. Even if its late into the night, he makes sure to get in a solid 60 minutes before bed, because for him, Its part of falling asleep, he once told The Seattle Times. 18. If he could have a superpower, it would be more energy. In their 2016 annual letter, Bill and Melinda shared the superpowers they wished they could have. The first things to come to mind for the average person might be x-ray vision, invisibility or time travel -- but Melinda and Bill said they wanted more time and more energy. Bill said he wished for more energy, explaining that many people underestimate the importance of energy access -- from turning on a light switch to pressing the power button on a laptop. Without access to energy, the poor are stuck in the dark, denied all of these benefits and opportunities that come with power. 19. Bill and Melinda Gatess favorite number is 122 million. In their 2017 annual letter to Warren Buffett, who donated a chunk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the couple wrote that 122 million is their favorite number. It is the number of childrens lives that have been saved since 1990 as the mortality rate has declined. Image credit: Matthew Stockman | Getty Images 20. To disguise himself, Gates wears a hat. To ward off any unwanted attention, Gates resorts to an old-school tactic -- wearing a hat. During a 2017 Reddit AMA, Gates was asked if he ever disguises himself in public. "I sometimes wear a hat, Gates wrote. For example when I did college tours with my son I wanted the focus to be totally on him. A lot less people recognize me when I have a hat on or else they realize I am trying to be incognito. 21. Bill and Melinda Gates are giving $10 million to each of their kids. As of March 2017, Forbes reports Bill Gatess net worth to be $86.6 billion. Thats why it comes as a surprise that he and Melinda are planning to give only $10 million to each of their three kids. Its a massive figure to most of us, but its pocket change for this billionaire. Most of the Gatess fortune will go to charitable foundations, including their own Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 22. He doesnt do his own grocery shopping During a visit to the Ellen Show, host Ellen DeGeneres put Gates through his paces to see if the billionaire, who by all rights is very knowledgeable about the state of the world, could guess the prices of everyday grocery items. When was the last time the Microsoft founder set foot in a store to do his own shopping? Long time ago, he admitted. Spoiler alert: He very sort of passed the test, with a little help from the audience. 23. He typically doesnt do big purchases, with one exception. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Gates shared that even after he became a billionaire, he always erred on the side of caution. I always wanted to have enough money in the bank so that even if our customers didnt pay us for a year, we could still keep paying everybody and do the R&D, he said. While Gates confessed to not having particularly extravagant tastes, he said that he has used his fortune for some transportation-related purchases -- a porsche in the early years and a plane for Gates Foundation travel. But there is one whimsical exception to the rule. We have a trampoline room in our house. The kids like that. Indoor trampolines. I recommend it, Gates said. Its a room with a very high ceiling. 24. He wishes he had been more socialable during college. During an April 2018 Q&A session at Harvard, which Gates dropped out of in 1975, a student asked the Microsoft co-founder: "What is something that you regret doing, or maybe not doing, at Harvard?" The billionaire responded, "Well, I wish I had been more sociable." He added, "I wish I had gotten to know more people. I was just so into being good at the classes and taking lots of classes." He also revealed that Steve Ballmer, who would become CEO of Microsoft after Gates stepped down, would drag Gates out to party. "I was so antisocial I wouldn't have even known they existed, but Steve Ballmer decided I needed some exposure to, I guess, drinking," Gates said. "So, I would go to those events and that was highly educational." 25. Mr. Gates Goes to Washington? In a recent interview, the entrepreneur and philanthropist shared that during a conversation with President Donald Trump around the potential for a universal flu vaccine, he got an unexpected job offer. I mentioned: Hey, maybe we should have a science adviser, he recalled in conversation with science website Stat. He said: Did I want to be the science adviser? In the end, Gates courteously had to decline. Thats not a good use of my time, he said. 26. He thought about getting into politics. Gates's dad was a lawyer, and the Microsoft co-founder considered following in his footsteps when he was in high school. In 1972, when Gates was 16, he spent the summer in Washington, D.C., to work as a congressional page. He was tasked with delivering legislation to the floor of the House and documents to the offices of various congressional representatives. The experience ultimately gave him the clarity to realize that the world of politics wasnt for him and led him down the path of pursuing business and technology. 27. He has some serious real estate. Gates has a home in Medina, Wash., called Xanadu 2.0, named after the the mansion belonging to the title character in Citizen Kane. That fictional estate was relatively luxurious, and Gatess is no slouch in that department. It took seven years and $63 million to build the 66,000 square foot space, which houses a reception room, six kitchens, 24 bathrooms, a library with rare manuscripts, a home theater, a trampoline room and a stream thats home to salmon and trout. Plus, computer screens around the house can display any artwork youd like. Related: Bill Gates Got an Offer to Be Trump's Science Advisor and 26 Other Weird Things We've Learned About Him Meet the Famous Retirees of the Business World Tech Entrepreneurs Move Towards Philanthropy: 5 Most Charitable Business Leaders Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Samsung's mobile payments service Samsung Pay seems to have gone live in France. While the company hasn't made any official announcement yet, users are reporting the service is functional. Some even shared screenshots showing Samsung Pay in action: Of course, it's hard to tell whether or not the service is working for all users in France, but the development does indicate a formal launch is imminent. In case you want to check whether or not the service is live for you, see if you're able to download the app from Google Play. For those who already have the app, check if you can register and add cards. Via Havre Police Department A summons was issued Thursday at 12:03 p.m. on 18th Street after a vehicle stop. No other details were provided. Officers investigated a Thursday 12:15 p.m. fraud report from 14th Street relating to a contractor being paid to do work on a rental property and not doing the work. Christopher Paul Hammond of Havre, 19, was arrested on a charge of partner or family member assault Thursday at 12:29 p.m. on Second Street after a caller asked for a welfare check on her daughter. Officers investigated a report of two children out Thursday at 1:55 p.m. on 10th Avenue. Officers investigated a report of a vehicle accident from the previous day at 3:36 p.m. Thursday on First Street. Officers investigated a theft after a caller reported that someone stole her cellphone from her house Thursday at 4:55 p.m. on First Street. Officers issued a summons related to a 24/7 Sobriety Program violation Thursday at 5:31 p.m. on 11th Street. Keri Lee Schoening of Havre, 53, was arrested on a charge of partner or family member assault on Sixth Avenue after a caller reported Thursday at 11:23 p.m. that his wife was drunk and out of control. Angelica Cartagena of Seattle, 26, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing a peace officer or other public servant this morning at 12:31 on Fourth Avenue after a caller reported a woman screaming outside. Hill County Sheriff's Office Deputies investigated a reported theft Thursday at 11:29 a.m. at a U.S. Highway 2 West business, but no other details were provided. Deputies investigated a report of assault after a caller said there was a fight at Box Elder school Thursday at 3:57 p.m. No further details were given about two arrests listed with this call. Deputies issued a summons after a vehicle stop Thursday at 10:18 p.m. on main street of Box Elder. No further details were provided. Deputies investigated a drug offense at 1:15 a.m. today on Second Street West but no further details were provided. Havre Fire Department Emergency medical personnel responded to three medical calls on Thursday. Fire crews responded to a gas leak call Thursday at 2 p.m. on the 400 Block of Second Avenue. A valve had kicked on and NorthWestern Energy was called to fix the leak. No injuries were reported. Fire crews responded to a fire alarm that was activated by burning food Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on the 800 Block of Fourth Street. Havre Animal Shelter This morning the shelter held five medium-hair cats whose sex is listed as unknown, three medium-hair male cats, one long-hair male cat, two medium-hair female cat, and two female short-hair cats. The shelter held this morning a 1-year-old female dachshund-Labrador retriever cross, a 16-week old male border collie, a 4-year-old female German shepherd-Labrador retriever cross, a 4-year-old female pit bull terrier, a 6-week-old female husky-shepherd mix, a 1-year-2-month-old male Labrador retriever-Boston terrier cross, and a 1-year-old male pit bull terrier. Celebration of the end of the war Editor's note: This is the third in a series of three articles by Keith Doll. The first ran in the Havre Daily News Dec. 28 and the second Feb. 2. In Havre, the celebration started as soon as the news was heard. As the Havre Plaindealer wrote: "... all the bells and whistles available were put to the welcome use of proclaiming liberty to the world so far as their tones could reach." They held a parade on First Street and Third Avenue where in the last year soldiers were bid farewell by family, friends and girlfriends. Stores were closed, the Rev. L.J. Christler spoke, the Havre Band played with the audience singing along. In the evening, thanksgiving services were held at some of the churches. The poem "In Flanders Field" was written by John McCrae May 3, 1915, during the second battle of Ypres. He was impressed by the poppies to be some of the firs flowers to grow and bloom around the war-torn shell holes and freshly dug graves. Inspired by the poem, an American woman, Molina Michael, a volunteer at the YWCA, wore a poppy for remembrance on Nov. 9, 1918. She would hand poppies out and accept donations for disabled veterans. Soon, she was known as the "Poppy Lady." In 1921, the American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as a symbol of remembrance for the war veterans. 120 countries now wear poppies, America is one of them. The poppy is worn on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Many soldiers saw the horrors of war and came home a hero, only to die a few months later from influenza. The 1918 flu pandemic was from January 1918 to December 1920. The influenza outbreak was worldwide and is said to have killed more people than in the Great War. The soldiers at war were not told how bad it was "back home." Spain, a neutral country, gave the false impression that Spain was hard hit, thus the nickname "Spanish Flu." Another nickname often used was "La Grippe," short for the French phrase "avoid la grippe," which meant to have the flu. The virus attacked the healthy adults between 20 and 40. It didn't attack the young and elderly like most viruses do. Trenches in the war were great for spreading the influenza virus; so were the field hospitals and crowded trains. It was figured that 43,000 U.S. soldiers in the war died of influenza. Even President Wilson got it when he went to France to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Some of the stores couldn't have sales, funeral were to be 15 minutes long, even some schools, churches and lodges were closed. You were to wear a gauze mask if you went out in public. Some homes were quarantined. Havre had its fifth and final Liberty Loan campaign, only this time it was called the "Victory Loan." The sale of Victory Bonds started April 17, 1919. The government wanted $4 billion and Montana was given a quota of $11 million. Hill County's share of it was $85,000; once again it was oversubscribed. A military tank was here for the victory loan drive and area solders were to dress in uniform for a parade. The Great Northern Stampede and Victory Celebration was held July 3, 4 and 5 of 1919 here in Havre. A plane was sent here from Chicago and a local soldier from WWI, Lt. Ennis, was to fly the plane for all three days. Courtesy photo/Compliments of Don Greytak Aiprlane flown by Havreite, Lt. Ennis, who also flew in WWI, is pictured. Ennis flew this plane July 3, 4 and 5, 1919, for the Great Northern Montana Stampede and Victory Celebration. March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified soldier from WWI in Arlington National Cemetery. A soldier was exhumed from an American cemetery in France and buried in Arlington National Cemetery, thus creating "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." His body was placed by a tomb of white marble. The inscription on the tomb reads: HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD. On May 30, 1958, two more unknown soldiers were buried there, one from WWII and one from the Korean War. Inscribed on each marble top is 1941 - 1945 and 1950 1953 respectively. Thanks to DNA, the soldier from Vietnam was identified and disinterred. A body was never replaced in the crypt. The cover was replaced with the inscription: HONORING AND KEEPING FAITH WITH AMERICAS MISSING SERVICEMEN 1958 1975. The white marble tomb weighs 79 tons and has been guarded 24/7 since 1937. Congress approved the changing of Armistice Day to Veterans Day June 1, 1954, to honor all the veterans. Even today, graves, unexploded bombs and artifacts are found from WWI. On March 19, 1014, two construction workers were killed by an unexploded bomb from WWI in the former Flanders battlefield. Flanders in WWI was the northern region of Belgium and France. It covered dozens of cities, Ypres was one of them. -- I want to thank the Havre-Hill County Library and the Montana Historical Society Research Center for me getting the information to write this article. Many, many thanks to all you veterans both living and dead for keeping this country a safe place to live through the years. Thank You! Keith J. Doll Havre/Hill County Historic Preservation Commission Peggy Aquino moved with her husband and two sons in 1997 from California to Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. An enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree tribe, she grew up in California but as a child spent her summers with relatives on Rocky Boy. "I moved back here just 'cause California was so busy. This was my home away from home" she said. That same year, Aquino also enrolled at Stone Child College. She went on to earn four associate of science degrees in two years and later certificates in two other programs. Aquino, now scholarship officer at Stone Child, is one of many of students who have used Stone Child as a stepping stone on their way to professional and educational success. Stone Child is one of 38 tribal colleges and universities in the U.S, the website for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, a support network for tribal colleges and universities throughout the U.S. says. Tribal colleges and universities vary in size, program offerings and region, but they all share a core mission of tribal self-determination and service to their communities. Tribal colleges and universities are rooted in the American-Indian self-determination movement of the 1960s, the website says. Navajo Community College chartered in 1968, and renamed Dine College in 1997, was the first tribal college or university. Today, tribal colleges and universities throughout the U.S, provide higher education to more than 80 percent of Indian Country, serving more than 100,000 students annually in academic and community-based programs, the website says. Stone Child was chartered May 17, 1984, by the Chippewa Cree Business Committee, the Stone Child College website says. "It was the feeling of tribal leaders that the establishment of a college was necessary for the preservation and maintenance of the Chippewa Cree culture, and for the educational training of its membership," the website says. Stone Child College Interim President and Dean of Academics Cory Sangrey-Billy said the bulk of Stone Child's funding comes from the Bureau of Indian Education and a multitude of federal grant programs. Unlike colleges and universities within the Montana State University system, Stone Child does not have access to a reliable stream of funding from the state, Sangrey-Billy said. Oftentimes, the only state funding it receives is for the students they have who are not enrolled in a federally recognized tribe. Stone Child offers 14 associate degree programs, five certificate programs and starting this year a Bachelor of Science in elementary education. Montana Office of Public Instruction and Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities each gave Stone Child College approval in November to move ahead with the program. With the addition of the new program, Stone Child is one of only two tribal colleges in Montana to offer a four-year degree. Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Indian Reservation, which offers 17 bachelor's programs, partnered with Stone Child to create their elementary education program. Sangrey-Billy said the program will help meet the high demand for teachers in Rocky Boy and Box Elder schools she said. A four-year degree program in elementary education is something that has been a goal of Stone Child for years, she added. Tribal colleges are often about building partnerships, Sangrey-Billy said. If one tribal college doesn't have a program, another can step in to help them create one. "That is how we have been able to make a lot of things happen is through our partnerships with other tribal colleges," she said. Sangrey-Billy said work is underway to move all the college's education programs into Stone Child's former cultural building that housed the White Sky Hope Center up until it was moved into the new Rocky Boy Clinic. She added that she is working with the family of former Stone Child College President Nathan St. Pierre to dedicate the new education building to his memory. Sangrey-Billy was appointed interim president last year after St. Pierre died. Students in Stone Child's building trades program are doing the remodeling, she said. Beyond the education programs, there are other things happening at Stone Child. Stone Child is teaming up with with Bob Quinn of the Quinn Organic Research Center in Big Sandy to produce whole wheat products on the reservation, Sangrey-Billy said. The partnership is part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. A grain mill has already been purchased and will be located in a three-door garage on campus, she said. The aim is to get more whole-wheat products such as pastas and flour that can be healthier for the community, Sangrey-Billy added. She said Quinn and Stone Child's Natural Resources Department are working together to raise some of the grains. The mill has already been purchased and is set to be delivered to the campus. Sangrey-Billy said she hopes the effort can move Stone Child closer to eventually offering a certificate in agriculture. She added that she hopes Stone Child can eventually build dorms for students, something it has never had before. Last year the tribe donated five acres to Stone Child to be used for dorms, after they looked at buying some modular houses, Sangrey-Billy said. She added that the houses were in such poor condition it was decided it would be better for the college to build their own rather than buy them. Construction funds are limited for tribal colleges, she said, but Stone Child wants to make sure they are ready when funds become available. The preservation of Native culture is a foundational part of Stone Child's mission. Any student who graduates must take and pass one Cree language course and another in Cree history. Sangrey-Billy said many younger people are no longer taught the Cree language at home and Stone Child wants to do what it can to promote it. "For us it is about keeping our culture alive, sustaining it and teaching that to those who don't always get taught it at home," she said. Stone Child is also using a language grant from the state to create a Cree language app developed by Thorton Media. Sangrey-Billy said the app will teach basic Cree phrases such as hello, goodbye, numbers, the names of colors and some basic commands. The app was completed, but language specialists at Stone Child looked at it and saw some errors in syntax, she said. Thorton has agreed to make corrections to the app. She said once corrections are made and Stone Child receives the finished app it will be turned over to the tribe to use at their discretion. Sangrey-Billy, a student at Stone Child in the late 1990s who has worked there for the last 16 years, said she has noticed the student body has gone from being older or more nontraditional, to being younger and having recent high school graduates. Steve Galbavy, who has worked on and off at Stone Child since 1992, including as its president from 1996 to 2004, said he sees the same thing. Galbavy said that when he first came to Stone Child in 1992, the overwhelming majority of students were about age 30 or older. When he left in 2004 the student population was split about evenly between those students and others in their 20s. Sangrey-Billy said the change is something she sees as a good thing. We want to give them that good foundation so they can go and get their bachelors somewhere, she said. For Whitney Gardipee, a freshman at Stone Child College a big part of why she decided to go to Stone Child was the low cost of tuition. It was affordable, that is the main part, she said. Tuition at Stone Child is cheaper than other colleges. She said going to Stone Child allows her to remain closer to her family on the reservation. You have ties to the community, you could walk in here and see your aunt or see your cousin, she said. The smaller class sizes also have an appeal and the material is more hands on, Gardipee said. They can teach you better, you can learn better, you can ask questions more and they are available more, she said. Stone Child has an open door policy, meaning anyone who fills out an application produces proof of a GED, high school diploma or high school transcripts is welcome. Barriers such as admissions tests or steep tuition that would otherwise keep some students out of college, do not exist at Stone Child. Sangrey-Billy said that means many times students who need help come to Stone Child. And sometimes students find themselves in the process. Galbavy said that a few years ago he was the advisor to a student who enrolled right out of high school and started out taking developmental courses. The young man started out academically challenged and had never been pushed before. However, over the course of a year and a half the young man went to Stone Child, Galbavy said he saw an evolution take place in the young man. Every day the student would be on campus at 7:30 a.m. studying and doing his work. Galbavy said that at the end of the day, he would also be the last person to leave. Ryan Welch/Havre Daily News That is the kind of dedication he put into it, he said. By the time the young man left Stone Child, he was taking pre-calculus, Galbavy said. Galbavy added that at Stone Child he gets to see a lot more of that development in a student up close, something that at a more traditional college or university with a larger population he might not see. The high level of commitment is not only on the part of the students but the staff and faculty. Sangrey-Billy said that instructors and students are willing to work hard to meet the needs of their students. She said that she feels the same way when people come to her own office, where her door is often wide open. North Central Senior Citizens Center, April 30 through May 4 Monday Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; bingo at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m; TOPS at 8 a.m.; cards at 1 p.m. Thursday Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; pinochle at 1 p.m.; Kmart/Walmart trip 1 to 4 p.m. Friday Medical transportation will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. but people must make a request at least 24 hours in advance. Pinochle First place, Harold Anderson; second place, Lois Zinn; third place, Lynn Ophus; pinochle, Harold Anderson and Lois Zinn. March Menu by Earlene DeWinter (Subject to Change) Monday Sloppy joe with buns, tator tots, coleslaw, baked donuts Tuesday Roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, cauliflower, rolls, wacky cake Wednesday Ham with cabbage, white beans, cornbread, fruit salad Thursday Polish sausage, potato supreme, sauerkraut, cookies Friday Soup, salad bar, chefs choice, dessert, milk Anyone interested in playing pinochle at the Senior Center is invited to participate in the Wednesday Group. Call or drop in and check us out. We will be holding a silent auction, which will begin next week. A drawing by Arlene Morgan entitled The Old Buttrey Home has been donated to the Senior Center. A picture of the drawing can be seen on the Seniors Facebook page or you can stop down to see the drawing and put in your bid. The proceeds from this auction will go to the steam table fund we have been working so hard to replace. We have a new update for everyone who has been so generously donating to our steam table fund. At todays prices we expect to have to pay about $10,000 and we have now received $6,952.65 in donated funds toward our goal. Who would have thought we would find so many gentle people willing to do so much good for others with no expectation of gain or recognition. Thank you, again. I know it wont be long before we meet and complete our goal. A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which uses research by Rutgers University, shows a significant increase in the estimated percentage of 8-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States. The report, released April 26, found that one in 59 children had autism, up an average of 15 percent from two years ago, in the 11 states included in the study. New Jerseys rate was the highest of the states studied one in 34, up 19 percent from two years ago. That puts the national rate of autism at 1.7 percent of the childhood population and New Jerseys autism rate at 2.9 percent. New Jersey is known for excellent clinical and educational services, so higher rates of autism in New Jersey are likely due to more accurate or complete case finding. Walter Zahorodny, an associate professor of pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School who directed the New Jersey portion of the study, called the results consistent, broad and startling. He said the analysis shows U.S. autism rates are continuing to rise rather than leveling off as the 2016 CDC report suggested. It is now clear that what we saw in 2016 was just a pause along the way. It remains to be seen at what point ASD rates will plateau, he said. Zahorodny joined researchers in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin in analyzing information collected from the health and special education records of 325,483 children who were 8 years old in 2014. They used the guidelines for ASD in the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for their primary findings, but also reported ASD estimates according to the definition provided in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Across the network, the researchers found the prevalence of ASD ranged from a low of 13.1 per 1,000 children in Arkansas to a high of 29.3 per 1,000 children in New Jersey. ASD is four times more common among boys than among girls and white children are more often diagnosed with ASD than black or Hispanic children. Although the estimates are not representative of the country as a whole, they are considered the benchmarks of ASD prevalence, Zahorodny said. The researchers cant explain why autism rates have been increasing across the United States. Factors associated with a higher risk of autism include advanced parental age children of parents over 30 have heightened risk, which increases with parental age maternal illness during pregnancy, genetic mutations, birth before 37 weeks gestation and multiple birth. These are true influences that are exerting an effect, but they are not enough to explain the high rate of autism prevalence, said Zahorodny. There are still undefined environmental risks which contribute to this significant increase, factors that could affect a child in its development in utero or related to birth complications or to the newborn period. We need more research into non-genetic triggers for autism. Children who are diagnosed early often respond better to treatment, said Zahorodny, who notes the average age of diagnosis 53 months has not changed in 15 years. Despite our greater awareness, we are not effective yet in early detection, he said. Our goal should be systematic, universal screening that pediatricians and other health providers provide at regular visits starting at 18 months to identify ASD as soon as possible. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Synthetic biologists at the University of Bristol have succeeded in generating laboratory-made red blood cells with rare blood group types that could one day be used to help patients who cannot be matched with donor blood. The provision of blood for patients who require repeated blood transfusions, as well as for individuals with rare blood types, presents an enormous challenge to transfusion services worldwide. While most people can safely receive a blood transfusion from donated blood, patients with blood disorders such as thalassemia or sickle cell disease require frequent transfusions. With repeated transfusion, patients eventually develop an immune response to all but the most specifically matched donor blood due to incompatibility at the level of minor blood group antigens. Using CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing, the team of scientists based at the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit (NIHR BTRU) in red cell products, BrisSynBio Centre and NHS Blood and Transplant in Bristol created individual cell lines in which specific blood group genes were altered to prevent the expression of blood group proteins that can cause immune reactions. Building on this gene-editing approach, the team then went on to produce cells that combined the deletion of multiple blood groups in a single cell line that could be differentiated to generate functional novel red blood cells with extremely broad transfusion compatibility. Transfusions of red blood cells edited to improve compatibility could provide better treatments for those patients whose clinical needs are difficult to meet. This study, published this week in the prestigious EMBO Molecular Medicine journal provides the first proof of principle demonstration that gene editing can be used in combination with laboratory culture of red blood cells to generate rare or customised red blood cells for patients with specific needs. Whilst the authors are keen to stress the many challenging technical obstacles that must be overcome before this approach could be translated to a clinical product, the work does provide an exciting window into the possible applications of red blood cells produced from gene edited cell lines. Dr. Ashley Toye Director of the Bristol NIHR BTRU said: Blood made using genetically edited cells could one day provide compatible transfusions for a group of patients for whom blood matching is difficult or impossible to achieve within the donor population. However, much more work will still be needed to produce blood cells suitable for patient use. Paper: Enhancement of red blood cell transfusion compatibility using CRISPR-mediated erythroblast gene editing J. Hawksworth, T.J. Satchwell, M. Meinders, D.E. Daniels, F. Regan, N.M. Thornton, M.C. Wilson, J.G.G Dobbe, G.J. Streeska, K. Trakarnsanga, K. Heesom, D.J. Anstee, J. Frayne and A.M. Toye Caleb Nolan collapsed outside the Youthreach centre in Crumlin Gardai are investigating if a teenager died after consuming a tainted MDMA pill outside a Dublin youth facility. The victim, named locally as Caleb Nolan (17), was discovered in a serious condition in Crumlin on Monday evening. Caleb was treated at the scene by paramedics, before his condition rapidly deteriorated. He was then taken to St James's Hospital, but tragically died around three hours later. Expand Close Gardai are probing whether he may have taken a tainted MDMA pill / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai are probing whether he may have taken a tainted MDMA pill An investigation has been launched by officers at Crumlin Garda Station into the circumstances surrounding the teenager's sudden death. Overdose Gardai have spoken to several of Caleb's friends but are still looking to interview a number of people who may be able to shed light on what happened to Caleb. Officers have interviewed friends of Caleb who said he ingested a substance moments before he collapsed outside the Youthreach centre. One line of inquiry is that the teenager unwittingly took MDMA before taking ill, which may have come from a bad batch. A local source told the Herald: "A number of lines of inquiry are being looked at to determine how this tragedy happened. ""There is a fear that a bad batch of MDMA is in circulation due to the sudden death. "It may also be a tragic overdose but gardai are awaiting the toxicology reports to be certain." Officers are also still attempting to locate a number of people who were with Caleb on the day he took ill. Officers want to interview these individuals to establish the circumstances surrounding his sudden death. It is understood that Caleb was originally from the Tymonville area of Tallaght, but had visited the Youthreach centre in Crumlin in the past. On Monday evening, he was at the centre with a number of friends. He then left and was discovered on a nearby road beside St Agnes Park by ambulance paramedics from Dublin Fire Brigade. Investigators are also attempting to identify who may have distributed the drugs which are believed to have contributed to his death. Another theory being looked at after speaking to Caleb's friends is that the substance was found on the ground near the youth centre. The Department of Education and Skills said support was in place for the centre. Respected "City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) has confirmed the death of a student," it said in a statement. "CDETB has accessed the support of its psychological service and other head office supports and is engaging with students and staff to provide appropriate assistance. "The Department of Education and Skills will not be commenting further and hopes the family's privacy and that of the community will be respected at this sad time." Caleb is survived by his parents and three siblings. A funeral service for the teenager was held at Newlands Cross Crematorium yesterday. Up to 200 women who had a smear test under CervicalCheck may have been the victim of a misdiagnosis and developed cancer. The doctors who treated the women are being contacted by the national screening service to alert them to an internal investigation into their case. The move follows the outcry at revelations that Limerick mother-of-two Vicky Phelan, who is terminally ill with cervical cancer, was not told that CervicalCheck carried out an internal review of her care in 2014. Ms Phelan, who was awarded 2.5m in the High Court this week, had a false negative smear test result in 2011 but developed symptoms in 2014 and was diagnosed with cancer. She was one of 15 women whose cases were looked at by the screening service in 2014 but she did not learn about the report until late last year. Failure The HSE confirmed yesterday that it was writing to consultants of patients who had been given the all-clear but later developed cancer. The GPs were to inform these women that a review of their case was being carried out. "We are seeking to ensure that this will take place in an expedient manner," a spokeswoman said. Asked if any of the women had died, she said: "This is not information kept by CervicalCheck." Information on these internal reports is now given to treating doctors "in a matter of months" but not all women may want to be informed, CervicalCheck said. It has a leaflet on its website telling women an internal review may be conducted if they develop cancer. Ms Phelan, who has two young children, accused CervicalCheck of "an appalling breach of trust". Although it is known that no screening service can prevent all cervical cancers, CervicalCheck said it could not quantify the failure rate for its programme. Since it started providing free smear tests to women in 2008 some three million screenings have been carried out. The spokeswoman added: "It is impossible to quantify the failure or error rate. "The cervical screening test is sensitive and the nature of screening is not diagnostic, so tests cannot always confirm the presence or absence of pre-cancerous changes. "Ms Phelan's original 2011 test was carried out by Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Austin Texas." David Casey was resentenced yesterday to seven years with the final eight months suspended. Michael Casey was resentenced yesterday to seven years with the final eight months suspended. The Court of Appeal has increased prison sentences handed down to two men jailed for a "fatal burglary" after finding their original three-and-a-half-year terms were too lenient. Cowardly cousins Michael Casey (34), of Clonlong Halting Site, Southill, Limerick, and David Casey (23), of Carragh Park, Belcamp, Dublin 17, had pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries, including one at the home of John O'Donoghue at Toomaline, Doon, on August 27, 2015. Mr O'Donoghue (62) collapsed and died as he was about to confront the intruders, who ran off without offering help. SPREE Judge Tom O'Donnell sentenced both men to four-and-a-half years in prison with the final year suspended at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on December 15, 2016. The Court of Appeal found the sentences to be "unduly lenient" following a review brought by the DPP, and both men were both resentenced yesterday to seven years with the final eight months suspended. In seeking a review of the Caseys' sentences last December, counsel for the DPP, Thomas O'Malley, said the cousins had targeted four residential properties and entered three. He said they had embarked on a burglary spree which was premeditated. There was no suggestion that the Caseys intended to kill or cause serious injury to Mr O'Donoghue, and it was accepted that they were genuinely remorseful. Mr Justice George Birmingham said Mr O'Donoghue and his sister had gone to Tipperary town to do some shopping. When they returned home, Ms O'Donoghue noticed a black car across the road and that the gate to their property was ajar. They became suspicious that somebody was inside the house and it became evident the front door had been broken. The driver of the car began beeping his horn. Mr O'Donoghue got a shovel from a shed and took up a position near the door of the house. His sister noticed he did not look well. Stress "Ms O'Donoghue actually called on the intruders for assistance, but none was forthcoming," the judge said. Gardai and an ambulance were called. Despite efforts to revive Mr O'Donoghue, he was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination indicated he had an enlarged heart and there was significant coronary artery disease and scarring of the heart muscle which meant he was at an increased risk of sudden collapse and death. State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy said the stress of the situation would have caused an increase in his heart rate and blood pressure. Mr Justice Birmingham said a number of items were stolen from Mr O'Donoghue's home as well as a small amount of cash. Father-of two Michael Casey had 44 previous convictions, including one for robbery. David Casey had 14 previous convictions. He was on bail at the time of the spree over another burglary he had committed. The Caseys showed no reaction when the judgment was delivered. Daniel Belling has has won his freedom from an Italian prison Cruise ship murder accused Daniel Belling is looking forward to "embracing" his family after being released from an Italian prison. The Dublin-based computer programmer was expected to return home without delay. Mr Belling's Chinese-born wife, Xing Lei Li, disappeared in February last year during an 11-day Mediterranean cruise. Forty-five-year-old Mr Belling was arrested at Rome's Ciampino Airport by Italian police as he tried to board a flight to Dublin at the end of the holiday. Expand Close Daniel Belling's Chinese-born wife, Xing Lei Li, who disappeared during an 11-day Mediterranean cruise / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Daniel Belling's Chinese-born wife, Xing Lei Li, who disappeared during an 11-day Mediterranean cruise For the past 14 months he has been held in custody on suspicion of murder at Rome's tough Regina Coeli jail. He was released on Monday night after his Italian lawyer, Luigi Conti, made a passionate plea for him to be released. Speaking to the Herald, Mr Conti said that his client was travelling back to Dublin. However, there was no sign last night of Mr Belling in Clarehall, where he and his wife had lived in an apartment block for several years. Innocence "The moment [Mr Belling] left the prison, he thanked us for the excellent work we have done and for the victory obtained before the tribunal of freedom," said Mr Conti. He revealed that Mr Belling was looking forward to returning to Ireland. "He will take over his normal life... and we will assist him in Italy," he said. Mr Belling, a German national, had consistently protested his innocence throughout his long ordeal. Speaking after his release from prison, he told one newspaper: "I am so happy to be out. The feeling of joy is immense." Meanwhile, it is understood that investigations into the disappearance of his wife are ongoing There has been no trace of the 38-year-old since her disappearance more than 14 months ago. Mr Belling and his wife boarded the 95,000-tonne cruise ship MSC Magnifica in the Italian port of Civitavecchia on February 9 last year. In the 11 days that followed, the ship called at Malta, Greece and Cyprus. Crew members became aware that Mr Belling's wife was missing when they carried out a head count at the end of the cruise. They alerted police, who arrested Mr Belling at Ciampino Airport as he prepared to board a Ryanair flight. His wife was registered on the Magnifica's passenger record on February 10, following a stopover at Genoa on the north Italian coast. David Fahy told the court that another man was at the wheel A judge has said he believes a drunken driver was "lying through his teeth" when he claimed he had been arrested in a case of mistaken identity. Judge David McHugh said he believed David Fahy (36) had perjured himself and lied under oath. Fahy and another man, Alan Buckley, gave evidence that a garda had spotted Mr Buckley - and not Fahy - behind the wheel of the car. Judge McHugh asked gardai to investigate the matter and refer it to the DPP, saying it was "a matter of grave concern" that the men had lied to the court. The judge fined Fahy 100, banned him from driving for three years and sentenced him to five months in prison. The defendant, of Cappagh Avenue, Finglas, was found guilty of drunken driving. Funeral Gda Mark Reilly told Blanchardstown District Court he was on patrol in Finglas on April 8 last year when he saw Fahy driving a black Toyota Land Cruiser in the car park of the Full Shilling pub. Gda Reilly said he recognised Fahy as the driver. The defendant was subsequently breathalysed and he produced a reading of 68mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. In his evidence, Fahy said he had attended a funeral and then had been drinking in the pub. Fahy denied he drove the car, which belonged to Mr Buckley. He claimed he took the car keys off Mr Buckley, as he had also been drinking and was going to drive home. In his evidence, Mr Buckley also claimed he had been driving the vehicle. The court heard Fahy had 173 previous convictions, including 43 for uninsured driving. He was serving a 60-year driving ban at the time. Defence lawyer Ciaran Mac- Loughlin said Fahy, a father-of-two, was not working and his partner was pregnant. Fahy immediately appealed against the sentence. Patrick Stokes punched Ms Kavanagh in the ribs before threatening to slit her throat and the throat of their son. (stock photo) A man who threatened to kill his partner, their six-month-old son and himself has been jailed for five years. Patrick Stokes (26) threatened to rape Louise Kavanagh if she left him, before telling her he was going to slit her throat. "You are going to die tonight," he told her while he held her throat with both his hands. He also threatened to slit their son's throat, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told. Stokes, previously of Booterstown Halting Site, admitted setting fire to their home at the site on February 2 last year after Ms Kavanagh said she was leaving him. He also admitted assaulting Ms Kavanagh, causing her harm, threatening to kill or cause her serious harm and falsely imprisoning her at the Clayton Hotel, Sandyford, on March 11, 2017. Det Gda Colm Gregan told the court that Stokes and Ms Kavanagh split up after the fire, but reunited some weeks later and were staying at the hotel because they were homeless. However, Stokes became aggressive again and attacked Ms Kavanagh in their hotel room. He got on top of her and held her throat with both hands until she struggled to breathe. Ms Kavanagh managed to get away and made her way to the door. As she did so, Stokes grabbed their son with one hand while holding a knife in the other. He eventuallydropped the baby on to the bed. Stokes punched Ms Kavanagh in the ribs and knocked her on to the bed before threatening to slit her throat and the throat of their son. Survive He then threatened her with a broken wine bottle and told her he would kill her. Det Gda Gregan said Stokes then threatened to rape her, telling her: "You're going to die tonight." At that point, Ms Kavanagh stopped struggling and Stokes got off her. As she grabbed her son, Stokes broke down in tears. "She promised not to leave him," said Peter Le Vert, prosecuting. "She was saying it to survive." The couple later attended a meeting with their social worker, who had heard some of the attack on Stokes' phone. She was concerned for the safety of Ms Kavanagh, who was left with a black eye, and ultimately assisted her in leaving Stokes. In a victim impact report read to the court, Ms Kavanagh described the attack as "terrifying" and "horrendous". She said she was afraid of being tracked down by Stokes, and that without him she and her son were "good". Judge Martin Nolan said Stokes had a "violent background" and became addicted to alcohol and drugs "to deal with matters". He said Stokes lost control on the night and said the assault was very serious. He said the threats Stokes made were believable. "I've no doubt he regrets what he did, but the harm was done. I believe he wants to reform, but nobody knows if he can." Addressing Stokes, the judge said: "Thankfully, your child wasn't seriously injured but you terrified Ms Kavanagh. "She was right to be terrified. With drink and drugs you lose control." Lisa Daly, defending, said Stokes accepted the "serious nature of the offence" and did not want to minimise his behaviour. "He says he has ruined his life and lost his family," she said. The court was told Stokes had convictions for assault, hijacking, violent behaviour in a garda station, possession of knives and robbery. Patrick McGregor admitted driving without insurance or a licence and giving a false name to gardai. (Stock picture) An uninsured driver panicked and gave gardai a false name when they stopped him on the M50. Blanchardstown District Court was told that Patrick McGregor (31) had 11 previous convictions for uninsured driving. He was disqualified for 15 years and ordered to complete 230 hours of community service in lieu of five months in prison. McGregor, of Dunard Avenue, Dublin 7, admitted driving without insurance or a licence and giving a false name to gardai. Trouble Gda Sgt Geraldine Mc- Manigan told the court that McGregor was stopped on the northbound section of the M50 at Clondalkin last January 15. Sgt McManigan said he initially gave his name as James McGregor, but later admitted his name was Patrick. McGregor had 83 pre- vious convictions, including 11 for uninsured driving. He was last in trouble in 2010, when he received a 15-year driving ban. John O'Doherty, defending, said his client had stayed out of trouble for some time. McGregor had three children, and was focused on raising them, the court was told. Washington County sheriff's lieutenant on hacked Oath Keepers list A hack of the the Oath Keepers website has names of more than 200 men who said they were active or retired law enforcement officers. We confirmed 40. Shift from paper ballots to electronic voting machines (EVMs) has reduced the expenses and logistical problems involved in conducting elections in India. This achievement can be jeopardised if allegations of EVM tampering are not addressed in a satisfactory manner. Parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have levelled allegations of EVM tampering in the recent past. The March plenary session of the Congress party also demanded that India revert to the use of paper ballots in elections. Even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made allegations against EVMs after the 2009 elections. Whether or not such allegations are true, they threaten the credibility of the electoral process in the eyes of common people. The Election Commission of India (ECI) organised a hackathon challenge in June 2017 to satisfy concerns of political parties about integrity of EVMs. Although no political party could hack the machines, allegations about EVMs being tampered have not stopped. It is welcome that the ECI has announced that it will be using Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines (V-VPAT) for all EVMs in the 2019 elections. A V-VPAT machine generates a unique paper slip with the name and symbol of the candidate for each vote which has been cast in the machine. Tallying the results from V-VPAT with aggregate count from respective EVMs is the best way to test whether or not EVMs have been tampered with. About 1.8 million EVMs are used across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. Tallying all V-VPAT machines with EVMs would defeat the very purpose of shifting from paper ballots to EVMs. In a press note dated May 20, 2017, the ECI said that The Commission will count V-VPAT slips up to a definite percentage, which will be determined by the Commission. The ECI will be shortly evolving an appropriate framework in this regard. The question is: What should this proportion be? A slight digression to explain the concepts of sampling and probability in statistics might be useful to understand the issue at hand here. Sampling is a procedure by which we usually try to estimate any populations features by inspecting a small proportion of individuals, where complete enumeration is either impossible or a daunting task, even if it is doable. Barring the decennial census, almost all important statistical indicators in the country involve some sampling. An example can give an idea about the relation between sample-size and population-size. National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) surveys are considered to be the most authoritative sources on employment statistics in India. The 2009-10 NSSO survey on employment covered around 100,000 households and 460,000 persons. According to the 2011 census, there were 247 million households in the country. So the NSSO essentially covered just 0.19% of the Indian households. Yet nobody doubts the veracity of employment numbers given by the NSSO. This is because the NSSOs sample is considered to be representative of the countrys population. If all 100,000 households in the NSSOs employment survey had been selected from richer areas such as Delhi or Mumbai, we would not get a very good picture about employment situation in the country, but because the sample is spread across states and rural-urban areas, the findings of the survey are not influenced by extreme cases. In the case of EVMs, the natural choice of sampling units should be a parliamentary/assembly constituency. Within each constituency, the ECI will have to lay down a clearly predefined criterion to select EVMs for which vote-counts would be tallied with V-VPAT slips. This would mean creating sub-categories within each constituency and then randomly selecting an EVM from a given sub-category. This process will ensure that EVMs selected for V-VPAT tallying are representative of the constituency, yet potential EVM riggers cannot know in advance which EVMs would be selected for checking. Now, to come to the question of how checking just a few EVMs can successfully detect any potential EVM tampering. The concept of probability is useful here. Suppose a box contains 95 red balls along with five blue balls. The probability that a randomly drawn (i.e. drawn without any bias) ball will be red, is just the proportion of red balls in the box, which is 95/100. Once this ball has been taken out, the probability of drawing another red ball would be 94/99. Suppose the first nine drawn balls are all red. The box now contains 91 balls, of which 86 are red. The chance of drawing a red ball in the 10th draw will be 86/91. Probability theory tells us that the chances of drawing 10 red balls in succession would be the product of these fractions. This number comes out to be 58.4%. What is the probability that there would be at least one blue ball in the first 10 draws from the box? It is 41.6%, which is the difference between 100% and probability of drawing all 10 red balls. Now assume that the box contains all the EVMs in an election. The blue balls can be considered as tampered EVMs (if at all) and the red balls might correspond to the EVMs which are not tampered. Let us assume that we want a 95% probability, which is a widely accepted level in many sampling procedures, of getting a potentially rigged EVM in tallying V-VPAT count with EVMs. Let us take four different possibilities of level of potential rigging into account at the constituency level: 25%, 10%, 5% and 0.5%. We assume an equal distribution of 1.8 million EVMs across 543 constituencies. Tallying 11, 29, 58 and 534 V-VPATs per constituency would allow us to find a rigged EVM with 95% probability for each of these four scenarios. Suitable modifications can be made to account for differences in sizes of constituencies while deciding on the required proportion of tallying V-VPAT with EVMs. It is reasonable to assume that any acts of EVM rigging would be done in a large scale than just at the booth levels. Provided the process is carried out in a transparent and democratic manner, it could help dispel all fears of EVM tampering and facilitate smooth conduct of elections in our country. (Atanu Biswas is a professor of statistics at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata) The judiciary is one of the three pillars of a democratic form of government. In consonance with the principle of Separation of Power, the Constitution of India also sought to distribute the power among all the three branches of the government as no branch can be entrusted with unchecked, unbridled powers. The will of the people, as reflected in the Constitution of India, lays down the norms for appointment of the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court in unambiguous terms. Under Articles 124 and 217, a consultation with the judiciary is required. However, through the interpretative process, the appointment of judges to the Constitutional courts stands in a very different scenario, and certainly not as the original text of the Constitution envisaged. In the Second Judges case (1993), the Supreme Court recommended the formation of a collegium consisting of persons who are expected to have knowledge of the persons who may be fit for appointment on the Bench and of qualities required for appointment. The court thought this requirement was crucial as this would help appoint the right kind of independent judges who would work for the deprived and exploited sections of the society. According to the court, this collegium would recommend to the President of India, the names of the candidates deemed appropriate for appointment as High Court or Supreme Court Judges. However, such a system has its concerns as absolute power is not desirable in any branch of the State. Judges are often referred to as autonomous moral agents, who can be relied on to carry out their public duties independent of venal or ideological considerations, as John Ferejohn wrote in the book, Independent Judges, Dependent Judiciary: Explaining Judicial Independence. But judges, too, are human and they decide on matters of grave public interest. So it is only natural that they are vulnerable to personal, political, economic and class bias or prejudices. This is not to belittle the importance of judicial independence; but to raise concern over the leeway that is accorded to judges by a system which provides unchecked institutional independence to judges. Justice Stephen Gageler of the High Court of Australia argues that diversity in consideration such as geography, gender and ethnicity should all legitimately weigh in the balance when appointing judges from a pool of potentially meritorious candidates. The Collegium system is unable to cater to this need of diversity in the judicial system. With the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the NJAC Act, 2014, the collegium system was supposedly replaced by a National Judicial Appointment Commission. However, the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional in the case of SCAORA versus Union of India (2016). Justice J Chelameswar struck a dissenting chord in the NJAC judgment, highlighting the crucial issue of eroding public trust, lack of accountability, and opaqueness in the functioning of the collegium itself. But there exists a wider perception that the present system of selection of judges is a fait accompli and, thus, leaves no option to the President but to concur in the recommendation of the collegium. The time is ripe to seek a reference or clarification from the Supreme Court of India itself on the issue of the role of the President of India in appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Also, instead of selecting the number of judges required against a certain number of vacancies, the collegium must provide a panel of possible names to the President to appointment in order of preference and other valid criteria. The need of the hour is to revisit the existing system through a transparent and participatory procedure, preferably by an independent broad-based constitutional body guaranteeing judicial primacy but not judicial exclusivity. The new system should ensure independence, reflect diversity, demonstrate professional competence and integrity. The system needs to establish a body which is independent and objective in the selection process. Setting up a constitutional body accommodating the federal concept of diversity and independence of judiciary for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary can also be thought of as an alternate measure. S Sivakumar is member, The Law Commission of India, and a law professor The views expressed are personal In my first piece about the debate between industrial food chain and peasant food web, I had listed the four components for a grassroots food web revolution to take place: No use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides; diversity in seed banks; small landholdings by farmers and growers; and proximity to end consumer markets (urban centres). If we examine these factors, we can see why India could be an epicentre for this food revolution. Let me start with the third and fourth factors. Farmers today barely get 25-30% of the consumer price, especially for horticultural products like fruits and vegetables. Shortening the supply chain and bringing farmers closer to customers mean that the end markets are closer to production. Another advantage of proximity is greater understanding of seasonal consumer demand, and flexibility in production for the farmers. This is also related to farm size, a counter-intuitive idea, compared to current received wisdom that we need to increase farm holdings. Smaller holdings that are closer to urban centres can result in significant benefits for farmers, but only if they are part of a complete new food system. Our farmer landholdings are small. According to the Agriculture Census 2010-11, the total number of operational holdings in India numbered 138.35 million with an average size of 1.15 hectares. Of the total holdings, 85% are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares. NASAs nightsky shots of the earth are revealing. They show us how evenly distributed Indias urbanisation is, compared to that of any other country in the world. We have a little over 700 districts, each of which has at least 10 urban centres of differing sizes and this when we are still at the early stages of our urbanisation story. Compare this to the US, China, Russia or Brazil, all of which have lopsided urban massing, concentrated in thin ribbons of their geography. As to the first two factors, we still havent become victim to the chemical scourge Indias use of chemical fertiliser is lowest among most countries in the world. And we still have a rich heritage of seed and plant diversity, albeit under increasing threat. Indias beneficial landscape is not the result of deliberate policy positions, but rather an accidental outcome of oversight or ineptitude, sometimes both. Notwithstanding the reasons, we find ourselves in this unexpectedly favourable situation. If we harness this opportunity, India could well witness an agricultural leapfrog, vaulting us into the world of the food web, without going through the industrial food chain phase, akin to the telecom revolution, where we leapfrogged from no coverage to mobile networks. Just as in that case, where Indias weakness became an unexpected factor in enabling the viral spread of a new network, the food revolution could also see a similar outcome. We have to remember that the industrial food chain system is barely 60-70 years old, primarily built after the Second World War. It need not be our destiny. Central to this future will be our cities, and how we harness their potential to not only be the commercial flywheels for this new food web, but also to encourage urban agriculture both within cities as well in the urban peripheries. As one example, how we deal with municipal solid waste is closely connected to this larger vision of the food web. Today, we see the burgeoning garbage production as a crisis. But if we saw this in the food web context, our garbage becomes an integral part of the complex system that can be positively harnessed. In India, unlike other countries, we generate about 50% wet waste, which is ideally suited for composting. Close to 15% of this waste can be converted into organic compost. At a 0.5 kg/person/day, we generate about 200 thousand tonnes per day of waste across urban India; this translates roughly into about 15,000 tonnes of compost every day, or 5.5 MMT (million metric tons) in a year. Our chemical fertiliser demand is about 30 MMT a year, so municipal waste generated organic compost can be 20% of the chemical fertiliser production. Given our rapid urbanisation, the share of organic compost can only grow. Harnessing this potential will require the integration of many policy elements. For example, to harness municipal waste-to-compost at scale, we will need to create alignment between fertiliser subsidies and municipal waste treatment subsidies. Other ways to encourage an accelerated adoption of a sustainable food web system can be to have these integrated into newly announced government agricultural and farming policies like Operation Greens; incentivising Farmer Producer Companies to grow organic; investing in high quality infrastructure at fruit and vegetable markets, and linking these with transportation hubs; having enlightened zoning with incentives to enable urban agriculture in and around cities, so that the land use of green zone isnt a death knell for landowners who only see the opportunity cost of not monetising their land for development purposes, and so on. All this will take time and serious, committed leadership from various levels of government. Meanwhile, champions on the ground are not waiting. Thousands of Indians across villages and cities have begun experimenting on growing food sustainably and are sharing their experiences on YouTube channels, going viral with the same gusto as the latest Bollywood songs. The large numbers of views indicate the latent demand for food systems that improve health, are ecologically sustainable, equitable, and just. The activity on social media also suggest that beyond thinking of food as just another commodity to be consumed, it is becoming something more fundamental to us as human beings, to be connected to nature in a deep and personal manner. The food revolution isnt going to have one big-bang moment of victory, but rather hundreds of small victories bubbling up in local communities across the country. Indeed, this is the best way to ensure its eventual success. Policy makers would do well to listen carefully to what is happening at the grassroots, because the revolution is already afoot. Swati Ramanathan is chairperson, Jana Urban Space Foundation, and co-founder of Jana Group. The views expressed are personal When you walk into designer Pranay Baidyas bungalow in Defence Colony, what youd be entering is not the usual Delhi home, but a space curated as a Bengali home from the Fifties, packed with heirloom furniture, an eclectic collection of art and objects of desire. This isnt just because he misses home, but also because hes on a mission to bring #BengalinDelhi. What is #BengalinDelhi all about, you ask? Baidya explains, I come from a family rooted in tradition. Weve grown up celebrating every aspect of being a Bengali the culture, literature, food, art, and more. And, while I was studying overseas, I realised just how important it is to stay connected to your roots and culture. Baidya, who has lived in New Zealand and properly settled in Delhi only three months ago, continues, Its true that only when youre away that you realise the true importance of being connected to your roots. Its then that it dawned on me that I should continue to celebrate my roots and culture, and share it with people whod appreciate it, and even with those who havent really experienced Bengali culture first hand. His first attempt at doing so was a sit-down Bengali dinner, with the theme Bonedi Barir Pujo Bhog, which revived the rich legacy of Durga Puja feasts in the old, aristocratic family homes of Kolkata. For any Bengali, living in Kolkata or anywhere else in the world, Durga Puja is the most iconic community festival. And Baidya decided to host the dinner on International Womens Day, as he felt that it was the best day to kick such a thing off. We treat Durga as the mother, and since I feel that women should be celebrated throughout the year, I decided to amalgamate the two and host this dinner. There was no better way of celebrating than with an anna bhog (rice feast), which explored the legacy of Bengali food, says Baidya. Going back to the beginning of the bhog tradition, Baidya says, The concept was first started in 1610 by Sabarna Roy Choudhury, who presided over Kolikata and neighbouring villages, which later became Calcutta under (Viceroy of India) Lord Curzon. We know the family well, and know how they celebrated, so that was a good place to start with my research. I also looked into various other baris (renowned family mansions) such as Pathuriaghata Ghosh Bari, Chhatu Babu Latu Babu, Shovabazaar Rajbari, and learned about their pujas, food, and culture. I spoke to a few families, got my hands on some family secrets, and talked to Priyadarshini (a celebrated food writer in Kolkata), who gave me some insights about all that she has learned about the same over her years of writing. He really went into details. Each family has a particular way of cooking like the choice of oil, whether they add sugar or gud (jaggery). I went through all the ingredients, the style of cooking and whatever I could find so that I could amalgamate it all in efforts to recreate the Bengali gatherings, says Baidya. His gathering had all the cultural elements of the Bengali puja atmosphere. We had alpana (decorative patterns, usually on the floor around the puja space) done by a Bengal artist, Kalighat painting, Bengali music, a large number of vintage brass diyas (much like the temple diyas, or pradip, used in Bengal), Baidya recounts. We didnt recreate anything ritualistic, because that was never the idea, nor was it the time of the year to do so. But we were successful in recreating the vibe and feel of Durga Puja. Baidya also hosted a Poila Baishakh lunch recently, to mark the first day of the Bengali calendar, by recreating the customary celebrations at Rabindranath Tagores ancestral home, Jorasanko Thakurbari, in north Kolkata. The traditional Bengali meal that was prepared at Pranay Baidyas home for Poila Baishakh celebrations. (Prabhas Roy/HT Photo) According to Baidya, when you look at a culture or community, what really stands out is their food, their language, and their dress, and these are the aspects he really wants to celebrate. Exploring different avenues such as poetry, art, weaves, literature, music (especially Baul music and Bengal Gharana classical music), all of which translate into the perfect Bengal experience, is going to be a part of Baidyas mission; however, whichever avenue he chooses, food definitely will always play a huge and customary part of the celebration. In the three months that I have engagingly spent in Delhi, Ive realised that theres much happening here in terms of art, culture, literature, and more. And, if Im able to increasingly try and celebrate different segments of the same from Bengali culture, Id consider that Im doing some good work, he says. In the near future, I hope to also bring some of our family pujos here to Delhi, says Baidya, pronouncing puja as Bengalis informally do. Its complicated as we have family temples, and because most pujos started in Calcutta should only be performed in Calcutta, but I want to share that experience with my friends and the people of Delhi. Baidya encourages people to come over to his place and experience a slice of Kolkata through his home. Id absolutely love to invite people home, and introduce them to what Im doing. I love to meet new people, learn from new experiences, he says. Everything in the house from heritage furniture to art, the alpana on the floor, the metal objects used to do dhunu (fragrant smoke dispensed from an earthen cup, in order to purify the air) every evening, and even the music we play (Rabindra Sangeet and Western classical like Schubert and Mozart) has been curated as a reflection of Calcutta, of where Im from and what I am inside. Id love to talk about it, exchange notes and experiences with others over plantation coffee or tea. And, slowly but surely, Ill be able to bring a little bit of Bengal in Delhi. Interact with the author at twitter.com/Darkequinox24 Big sister Janhvi Kapoor cannot stop fawning over Khushi in a new picture shared on her Instagram story. The upcoming actor posted a childhood picture of her sister as a baby and brought everyones attention to her biceps. Khushi is a chubby little baby in the photo, swinging her arms and looking in the camera with her big eyes. @khushi05k ft. biceps, Khushi wrote on the pic with a few gifs, a spaceship and an angel sticker. Janhvi and Khushi are the daughters of late actor Sridevi and Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor. Since their mothers death in February, the sisters are often spotted at their step-siblings Arjun and Anshulas place for lunches, dinners and parties. The group is also rumoured to be planning a trip to London together where Arjun will film Namastey England with Parineeti Chopra. The actor died in February in Dubai of accidental drowning and her daughters and husband Boney Kapoor have been trying to get back to their lives since the huge loss. Khushi recently bid goodbye to her school with a big prom party. She wore a stunning, sparkly Falguni and Shane Peacock gown and even her cousin, Sonam Kapoor, couldnt help but swoon over her. Her stylist Tanya Ghavri and Falguni Peacock also posted gorgeous pictures for her fans. Janhvi will soon make her debut in Dhadak opposite Shahid Kapoors brother, Ishaan Khatter. The film releases on July 6. Check out more pictures from Janhvis childhood: Baby kuala w papa kuala A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor) on May 13, 2017 at 9:56am PDT A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Oct 8, 2017 at 10:08am PDT A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Dec 30, 2016 at 10:18pm PST Follow @htshowbiz for more Google is celebrating eminent Hindi poet Mahadevi Varmas 111th birth anniversary with a doodle. Painted against a rural backdrop, the doodle features an image of the bespectacled poet in her familiar white attire, penning one of her verses. A Jnanpith awardee, Varma was born in 1907 near Allahabad, and grew up learning to write in Sanskrit and Hindi, thanks to her encouraging parents. She is best known as a transformative poet, and an advocate for womens rights in India. While pursuing a masters degree in Sanskrit, Varma penned her first verses in secret only to be discovered by her roommate and friend, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan. As modern Hindi became more accepted in literary circles, Varma and Subhadra grew together as writers, reading aloud and publishing their work in the language, the Google doodle says. Today, Varma is considered one of the foundational poets of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi literature. Varmas poignant poetry, and later, essays, often centered on the experience of being a woman. Her feminist work appeared in magazines and books, and her collection of short stories Sketches from My Past, portrays the women she encountered while principal of an all-girls school, the doodle, created by artist Sonali Zohra, notes. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Directorate S: The CIA and Americas Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan; Steve Coll; 784 pp, US$35; Penguin The author of Ghost Wars, the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner about the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistans similar organization, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), presents a follow-up of equal importance. If only it could influence decision makers at the highest levels of a multitude of governments around the world. Coll says the second book can easily be read independently from Ghost Wars and he is correct. Despite the forgettable title the narrative sticks with you as a rewarding journalistic account that is detailed but worth devouring. (Directorate S is what US agencies call ISIs secret operations division.) In almost 800 pages including footnotes, an index and a bibliography, he documents the mistakes or to be somewhat kind, the miscommunications between the CIA, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Defense (the Pentagon), and the White House during the George W Bush and Barack Obama presidential administrations. The multiple examples and quagmires dismay and disturb, from the blame shifting between the CIA and the FBI and the remarkable diplomatic incompetence to every stakeholders inability to train while feeding the elephant in the room, Pakistan. Afghanistans neighbour on its geographic right is the nuclear-holding nation whose Directorate S backs the Taliban, Kashmiri guerrillas, and other violent Islamic radicals while perplexing another neighbour in the region, India. India is not a principal player in Directorate S but is on stage occasionally, and some of the references might affirm what some Indians already believe: As early as Sept. 12, 2001, the Pakistani general who runs military intelligence tells a US Defense Intelligence Agency official in Rawalpindi that India is planting rumours to implicate Pakistan in terrorism and the attacks. Tariq Majid says there is concern that hostile states like India will use the attacks to gain an advantage over Pakistan. In 2006, Pakistani generals believe Afghanistans National Directorate of Security has a director whom they judged to be an ally if not an agent of India. But Amrullah Saleh regarded himself as an ardent Afghan nationalist and certainly not an agent of any foreign power, a man who works with India and other allies of an independent Afghanistan. He finds the CIAs deferring to ISI highly frustrating. Two years later, a US intelligence assessment says Pakistan continues to define India as the number one threat and insists India wants to subvert Pakistans security by operating inside Afghanistan. Retired ISI officers cooked up the 2008 Mumbai attacks, a Hollywood-inspired terrorist extravaganza of an audacious scale that was not cleared by their bosses. In 2010, a US memo distributed to allied spy services says Pakistans third day-to-day priority is to monitor and assess a medley of militant groups active against India, including indigenous Maoists operating in poor areas of Indias interior. In 2014, Al Qaeda publicly announced a new branch in the Indian subcontinent, under the leadership of Asim Umar, the Indian from Uttar Pradesh. But the news seems designed to provide Al Qaeda with a new visibility and relevance while countering the rise of the Islamic State. A US soldier in Afghanistan in a photograph dated March 29, 2014. (Getty Images) Coll says ISI as an institution well practiced at manipulating the CIA and the Taliban simultaneously and agreeable to operate with the Americans against Al Qaeda while supporting indigenous jihadi clients partially with US money. Judging by their invoices {to U.S. Central Command}, they were expending ammunition at a rate that exceeded that of American combat units in Afghanistan. During the endless fighting, a US colonel explains the mechanics of this war to an inquisitive US Department of State advisor: You walk through a valley until you get into a firefight and then you keep shooting until it stops. Thats a little troubling, the official replies. Yes, and when Coll introduces soldiers in the US Armys 101st Airborne Division in Kandahar in 2010, a reader empathizes with how diplomatic gaffes turn into sad gaps on the ground. Not everyone in {Colonel Art} Kandarians task force had been trained for such yard-by-yard, life-or-death decision making. Because of the strains on the Armys combat readiness after nearly a decade of continuous war, Kandarian had to fill out his green zone force by converting an artillery unit . . . to an infantry role. Lieutenant Tim Hoppers journal reflects his being a member of a coalition of forces on feet: So here we are 100 men strong, sludging through fields of chocolate pudding with half the people not having NODs {Night Optical Devices} or speaking the same language while the enemy watches us as we approach the area where they plant all sorts of IEDs. Very comforting. Read more: Review - Veterans: Faces of World War II by Sasha Maslov With Hoppers humanity and others accounts, documentation proliferates. Coll determines that the US has no coherent geopolitical vision when it counter attacked Afghanistan after September 11, other than perhaps to try to avoid destabilizing Pakistan, a goal it failed to achieve. The result? The greatest strategic failure of the American war. But America did not fight alone for cynical gain, reminds the dean of Columbia Universitys journalism department. The US was one of 59 countries, or more than a quarter of the worlds nations, to deploy troops or provide other aid to Afghanistan. J Ford Huffman is a Washington, DC, content-visual strategist and a consultant to Hindustan Times. An abbreviated version of this review originally appeared in the independent Military Times publications. Huffman is a winner of the 2017 annual defence journalism award conferred by The Military Reporters & Editors association. A 45-year-old NRI woman was found dead in the bathtub of a luxury hotel in Faridabad on Thursday. Police said the deceased, identified as Ritu Kumar, lived with her husband in the US. Police said Kumar had checked into Room No 631 of the hotel on April 22. A police team along with hotel employees opened her room and found her dead in the bathtub on Thursday. Police said they reached the hotel after receiving a distress call from Kumars sister who had reached the hotel and found the room locked from inside. According to the police, Kumars husband is a businessman who is settled in New Jersey. Sube Singh, Faridabad police spokesperson said, The woman was staying in the hotel since April 22. On April 26 (Thursday) she had instructed the hotel staff, especially the reception desk, not to disturb her. She had asked them not to forward any calls to her room either. Police said that on Thursday, Kumars sister reached the hotel when she could not get in touch with her over the phone. Around 8.30pm, our police team reached the hotel and opened the room. We found the woman lying motionless in the bathtub. Later she was pronounced dead, said Kartar Singh, additional superintendent of police, Surajkund. Police said Kumar was found to be wearing clothes which suggests she was not taking a bath at the time of her death. There were no blood stains near her body or in the tub. Investigation so far has revealed that Kumar had married Arun Kumar Khanna, 46, a businessman in New Jersey on March 3, 2017. This was Kumars second marriage, while Khanna had married twice before, police said. She had been in India since July or August, last year. When in India, she would stay with her sisters or in the hotel, the officer said, adding that her brother lives in south Delhi. Police have contacted the womans husband. An investigator said Khanna did not suspect any foul play. Police have sent the body to the BK hospital for post-mortem, which will be done on Saturday. It was an unusual turnout at the Desautels Hall, an auditorium at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management. Nerds and geeks packed the place for a book launch, a work of non-fiction from a trio of management professors. Published by Harvard Business Review Press, the book, Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence, was just the sort of topic that would attract such a crowd. And, of course, a couple of the authors are involved with the Creative Destruction Lab, which provides a launchpad for startups, many of them in the AI space. AI is a little like pixie dust, as one of the authors said. Sprinkle it around and it seems to have properties of transforming the most mundane into the magical, like automatically transcribing notes from a meeting (yeah, theres an app for that). AI is hardly a fairy tale, but among those looking for a happy ending is the Chinese regime. The State is investing billions in the sector. As the book notes, the city of Tianjin, the eighth-largest there, plans a $5 billion AI industry fund, an allocation of resources greater than all of Canada. Another advantage is that of data access. Without the privacy protections of North America, Europe or other democracies, companies are using facial recognition databases, for instance, to authorise payments, authenticate rail passengers or drivers for ride-share services or even transferring money. Even as the latest Facebook kerfuffle makes privacy issues that much more sensitive in much of the world beyond China, the authors posit an interesting dilemma: Users want better products trained using personal data, but they prefer that data be collected from other people, not them. IT majors like Amazon could transform the shopping dynamic. And Google has shifted from a mobile-first outlook to an AI-first world, even as CEO Sundar Pichai has moved its AI team on to the same floor he occupies. The curious aspect of this book is that India figures nowhere in it, even though one of its authors, Ajay Agrawal, also CDLs founder, is of Indian origin. Like his co-authors Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb, hes a professor at Rotman. But India may have the advantage of volume. India could be the data hub for the AI arrival. After all, the sheer population of the country helps generate a quantum of data for training AI systems that demographically challenged countries of the West cannot match. For instance, Canada may have a wealth of AI engineering talent, but the entire nations numbers are lower than that of the National Capital Region. That could be re-enacting the IT and Internet revolutions, with India as the global back office. Of course, theres always the opportunity of moving up the chain, instead of being service hacks, with policies in government and the corporate sector, to drive an industry of the decade ahead. It doesnt take much intelligence, artificial or otherwise, to plot that potential. Anirudh Bhattacharyya is a Toronto-based commentator on American affairs The views expressed are personal Camera trapping is likely to be used by next year to look out for tiger habitats at an altitude above 10,000 feet in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, experts associated with the project said. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will conduct the project in the three countries, with the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) playing a crucial role in synchronising the programme. To start with, experts will do the homework based on facts available this year. At the second consultative meeting under the project, organised in the capital on Friday, experts held discussions to devise a time framework for identifying tiger habitats. Camera traps will be used in identified locations after action plans of the three countries are submitted by early next year, experts said. The first meeting under the project was held in Bhutan early this month. Evidence of tigers above 10,000 ft, key wildlife and tiger habitat, and contours of tiger presence are the three mandates on which the project will work. We aim at coming up with a map on tiger presence in high-altitude areas for better conservation strategy for all three countries, said Rajesh Gopal who heads GTF. In India, tiger presence was reported at 10,700 feet altitude in Askot in 2016, besides Kedarnath and Tehri. Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have also reported presence of big cats at this elevation. WII experts believe tigers could be present in high-altitude areas of Bhutan and Nepal. India has 2226 tigers, according to the All India Tiger Estimation, 2015. A 2013 estimation put tigers numbers in Nepal at 198; Bhutan has 103 tigers, according to the National Survey Report. WII experts decide a grid pattern for camera traps and fields for better implementation of the system. The general grid pattern will be 15kmX15km, which will be divided into smaller grids of 5kmX5km. This specific grid pattern will help synchronise the research on the ground, said K Ramesh, senior expert with WII. Camera trapping above 10,000 ft is unlike routine monitoring. So, we will do sample camera trap survey in probable sites based on prior knowledge and information, he said. The modern camera trap is a digital camera connected to an infrared sensor which can see moving objects like animals. This year, experts and authorities of each country will assist WII experts in gathering available data, camera trap records, working plans and gazetteers to study the presence of tigers. The role of locals will also be significant. Locals can share a great deal of information. Whether recent spotting or historic, their leads could be beneficial to the countries, said Nishant Verma, deputy inspector general of forest with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Delhi government has told the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) that Muslim teachers cannot be allowed to go for Juma prayers during school hours, a senior official said on Friday. DMC chairman Zaraful Islam Khan told IANS that the education department of the Delhi government had in a written response said that teachers cant leave their classes and go for Juma prayers on Friday, as it would harm the interests of students. They (education department) said that the rules cant be relaxed and teachers have to reach school by 12.45 (pm) for classes which begin at 1 (pm), Khan said. Earlier, teachers had approached the Commission with a request to allow them to go for prayers on Friday, after which it had sought a response from the education department and the three municipal corporations on the issue. The response from the municipal corporations were awaited, Khan said. The teachers told us that there is a union home ministry order of 1954 which says that employees can go for prayers after foregoing a certain amount from the salary. We have written to the home ministry to know whether the rule is still applicable, Khan said. The response from the home ministry is yet to come, according to Khan. A day after a jeweller from Delhis Shalimar Bagh allegedly jumped to his death from the sixth floor office of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Lodhi Colony, his family approached police and the Delhi High Court seeking investigation into his suspicious death. The family in their police complaint has named a senior DRI official and his team. The family alleged that Gaurav Gupta,40, was tortured to death and that a DRI official had demanded a bribe of Rs1.5 crore for his safe return. Hearing a plea where Guptas mother Manju made these allegations on Thursday, the Delhi High Court directed that a medical board be constituted for conducting the postmortem. On Wednesday afternoon hours after DRI officials raided the jeweller Gaurav Guptas Shalimar Bagh shops and seized 35 kilograms of foreign marked gold that was concealed in the door panel of a safe at one of the shops he jumped off from the visitors room of the DRI office. Police have not recovered any suicide note. Similar raids were conducted at Guptas three premises in Shalimar Bagh and recovered 6 kilograms of foreign marked gold and 213 kilograms of silver bullion. DRI officials also seized Rs 48 lakh in cash. The total value of the seized gold and silver was around Rs 12.50 crore, said a DRI statement. The DRI statement said Gupta was neither summoned nor arrested by the DRI and he and his father visited the DRI office on their own. Guptas father Ashok denied DRIs claims and said he was forcefully taken to DRI office along with his son. We were held by our necks and taken out of our shop. They forcefully took us to the DRI office even as my son and I pleaded with the officials to let us go. We tried to reason that we had an explanation for the gold that was found in our possession but they refused to believe us. Our mobiles were snatched away and I and Gaurav were made to sit in different rooms, said Ashok Gupta. He added that around noon he heard his sons screams from the other room. Once the DRI officials assured me that my son was safe, I returned home in the evening, said Ashok Gupta. The family alleged that Guptas mother Manju received a call from a DRI official in which they demanded Rs 1.5 crore for Guptas safe release. According to her petition, after receiving the call Guptas brother Nitin went to the DRI office where he was informed that his brother has been shifted to a hospital at Lodhi Road. When he visited the hospital, he saw his brother on the stretcher and noticed bruises and torture marks on his body. The family alleged that they were not intimated about Gauravs death and they only got to know from a news report running on the internet. All these allegations were also made in a police complaint submitted by Stuti Gupta, the wife of the deceased. On Thursday, Justice Mukta Gupta directed south DCP to preserve the CCTV footage of the office, shop of Gaurav Gupta along with the DRI office or the area near the office. A senior police officer said no case has been registered so far and they are waiting for an SDM to complete an inquest into the matter. The counters for registering new patients for out-patient clinics were closed on Friday morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as nearly 2,000 junior doctors went on strike. An indefinite strike was called on Thursday to demand the suspension of a senior professor in the department of ophthalmology for slapping a resident doctor. Only the patients who had been receiving treatment at AIIMS were taken in for their follow-up consultation. Only the consultants and the research faculty were manning the OPDs ( out-patient departments) and the wards and ICUs (intensive care units), hence the out-patient services had to be restricted, said a doctor from the hospital on condition of anonymity. My daughter was being treated by the doctors from the medicine department. During the last visit, they noticed a fluid coming out of her ear and referred her to the ear specialist, but they said that nothing will happen today because the doctors are on strike, said Saina Biwi, mother of three-year-old Sakina. They waited till 2 pm in the hopes that some doctor might see them and then headed home to Bawana. The hospital also had to cancel all scheduled surgeries because of the flash strike. On any given day, around 100 planned surgeries take place in the hospital and nearly 200 procedures are carried out at the hospitals Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences. We came to the hospital today because my mother was supposed to undergo an abdominal surgery, but the doctors said that now it will happen only after three or four days and that too isnt confirmed. We got todays date after months; I dont know what will happen, said Bipin Kumar, who had travelled from his village near Patna for his mothers treatment. They took her to the emergency department of the hospital as she had abdominal pain. But the emergency (department) is also not working properly, they are taking patients in from one door and leaving them out from the other, asking them to go to Safdarjung hospital, he said. The hospital maintains that no emergency services, including emergency surgeries, were affected. The junior doctor who had been slapped by the faculty member took leave after the incident and went back home to Patna. I got worried because of the political connections and the power imbibed in the faculty here. Any action taken against him will be shortlived compared to the embarrassment I will face in my life because of this, said the junior doctor who was slapped, in his complaint to AIIMS director, Dr Randeep Guleria, The AIIMS resident doctors association has alleged that this is not the first instance of harassment by the chief of ophthalmic sciences centre at the hospital. We demand the immediate suspension of Dr Atul Kumar because the 150 resident doctors at RP Centre have said that they do not want to work with him. He often humiliates them in front of peers and patients, said Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, president of the resident doctors association. The association had a meeting with the director and the faculty association of the hospital where they were asked to call off the strike as the faculty member in question had apologised and a committee had been set up to look into the issue. But we do not want to call off the strike till we get written assurance that action will be taken against the professor, said Dr Bhatti. Out-patient services are likely to be affected on Saturday too. The matter of suspension of the senior faculty member who allegedly slapped a resident doctor will be decided by the AIIMS administration on Saturday morning after the committee institute to investigate the matter finishes its inquiry, the resident doctors association said. A 76-year-old man, claimed to be a graduate of Oxford University, got a roof over his head after spending years on the streets of New Delhi and all it took was a Facebook post. Avinash Singh spotted Raja Singh Phull on a footpath near New Delhi railway station and shared his story on the social media platform on April 21. Singh wrote that the 76-year-old Sikh man had been living the life of a nomad for decades and he just wanted to help him out. Singh talked to Phull and realised he was a man of honour who would not beg despite being homeless. Raja Singh is a staunch Sikh too! He has been attached to Guru Ghar all his life! He avoids partaking Langar at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib! I earn and buy my food. For Langar I need to contribute. If Im unable I do not have no right to eat there ... [sic], Singh said in his post. Singh said Phull earns a living by helping people fill their forms getting from zero to 100 rupees, sometimes more in return. He offered to help him financially but Phull was reluctant to accept it. God should never force me to beg! Phull told Singh. According to Singh, Phull returned to India in the sixties after his brother insisted and tried hands at various businesses and was later abandoned by his sons. I did lot of hard work and sent two of my sons for studies abroad, he adds! Raja Singh even took loans for his children! Today they are in UK and the US well settled with firangi wives not having time for their father who is living by the roadside in the National Capital! Singh said in his post. Singhs post has gone viral after being shared more than 4,000 times and liked by 3,500 people, who have offered help for Phull. Phull is now living in Guru Nanak Sukhshala, an old age home in Delhis Rajender Nagar, and he was over-enthusiastic after receiving help in such an abundance, Singh said. He added Phull is enjoying his baigan bharta and kheera (cucumber) raita for lunch and the pleasure of an afternoon nap. The Karnataka election campaign has picked up intensity. If Narendra Modi is speaking to party leaders and workers on video, Rahul Gandhi is doing roadshows. If Amit Shah is aggressively building the party organisation down to the booth level, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has launched a campaign with very strong sense of regional assertion. The intensity of the campaign reflects the high stakes for both national parties in this poll. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a win is necessary to counter the growing perception that the party is facing serious political challenges and discontent; it is also needed to enter the south, the one region where it has not been able to make a breakthrough. For the Congress, a win is essential to counter the perception of decline, for the party is already reduced to ruling only four Indian states. It will also boost Mr Gandhis leadership credentials soon after he has taken over as president and give the party resources which are needed for the subsequent set of state elections and the general elections in 2019. Both parties have thus thrown all their energy, personnel, leadership, and might in the assembly election. The outcome of the elections, however, may well depend on the third party in the fray. Erroneously thought of as only a bipolar state, Karnataka has a third force in the form of the Janata Dal (Secular), led by former PM HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy. Reports from the state, and opinion polls, suggest that the contest is very close in the state, the assembly could well be fragmented, and JD (S) could emerge as a key swing force. The party is hoping to win a substantial section of the Vokkaliga community; it has tied up with the Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) and hopes this will help them win a section of the Dalit vote; and it is projecting itself as a secular party to win a section of the Muslim vote. This is precisely what the BJP is hoping too: for all these three segments otherwise have a stronger association with Congress. Any split in Dalit, Muslim, and Vokkaliga votes helps the BJP. The Congress has, for this reason, been castigating the JD(S) as a B team of the BJP. In yet another quirk of Indian electoral politics, the fortunes of the two national parties will depend on the performance of the third regional party. And that constitutes the X factor in the Karnataka elections. Karnataka PUC results 2018: Karnatakas department of pre-university education declared the PUC result of 2018 on Monday. The exam was held in March, and according to reports, close to 7 lakh students appeared for it this year. Last year, a total of 6,79,061 candidates had appeared for the exams, out of which 5,43,443 appeared for the first time. You can check the exam results of Karnataka PUC 2018 on the official website: karresults.nic.in Here is the direct link to check results. Media reports said that along with 53 new evaluation centres, 23,980 evaluators have been appointed this year for the assessment process. Moreover, after the declaration of the Karnataka PUC result, supplementary exams will be held in May. According to the official website of Department of Pre University Education, Karnataka, after Class 10, every year, about 10 lakhs students enroll in the two year pre-university courses. The courses offered by the Department are broadly classified under the categories of Humanities (Arts), Science and Commerce. There are 23 subjects, 11 languages and 50 combinations in the pre-university curriculum. Abhishek Kumar Awasthi, a resident of Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh, topped the joint entrance examination for Bachelor of Education 201820 (JEE, BEd), according to results declared by University of Lucknow on Friday. Awasthi, who scored 341 marks, said he wont be joining any BEd college because he has been selected in Lower PCS 2015. Nevertheless Im happy that I topped the BEd entrance examination, he said. Bihars Jimmy Saurabh got the second position in the examiantion, scoring 324.670 marks. Saurabh, a resident of Muzaffarpur district, has an MA in English from Kanpur University. Satyendra Kumar Mishra secured third position with a grand total of 324.330 marks. The proposed date for online, off-campus counselling is first week of June 2018. Details will be posted on the universitys website by May 10, said Professor Naveen Khare, state coordinator for JEE BEd 201820. Candidates will be allotted seat in colleges according to the subject group they have filled in the original application form. No change of subject will be allowed at any stage of the process, said Khare. As many as 2,33,913 candidates registered for the entrance examination and 2,10,415 wrote it. Telangana SSC Result 2018: The Telangana State Board of Secondary Education (TSBSE) declared the TS SSC Result 2018 or the results of Class 10 board examinations on Friday. Students can check their TS SSC Result 2018 by clicking here. The results can also be viewed on bse.telangana.gov.in and results.cgg.gov.in. Candidates can check the TS SSC Result 2018 using their roll number and date of birth. Telangana SSC results highlights #Girls outperformed boys # 5,38,726 students from 11,103 schools appeared # 83.78 per cent of the students pass # 2,62,479 who appeared for the examinations # girls registered 85.14 pass percentage # Nearly 500,000 students appeared for the SSC exams, which were held from March 15 to 31, in over 2,500 centres across the state. Last year, 84.15% students were declared successful in the SSC exams. Girls outperformed boys as they recorded a pass percentage of 85.37. The pass percentage of the boys was 82.95. Students in government schools recorded excellent results with OBC welfare residential schools registering a pass percentage of 94.6. Other residential schools also registered over 90% result. The TS SSC Result 2018 were to be declared at 10am but the board deferred the time of announcement to 7pm due to the plenary of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Kompalli on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Friday morning. TS SSC 10th Class Result: How to check it from TS Board official website 1) Visit the official website of the Telangana SSC Board at http://bse.telangana.gov.in/Index.aspx 2) Click on the link for Telangana SSC Class 10 Results 2018 3) You will be directed to a login page 5) Enter your details like roll number, date of birth, security code 6) Click on Submit 6) Your result will be displayed on the screen 7) Download it on your computer and take a printout of the result What you should know about Telangana SSC or Class 10 Results Telangana SSC or Class 10 Results 2018 will be released at 7 pm Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Education Kadiyam Srihari will declare the TS SSC 10th Class Results 2018 Results can be checked at bse.telangana.gov.in and results.cgg.gov.in. Nearly 500,000 students appeared for the SSC exams TS SSC exams were held from March 15 to 31 in over 2,500 centres across the state. Last year, 84.15% students were declared successful in the SSC exams. (With inputs from Srinivasa Rao Apparasu) It was the fifth and the final attempt for 28-year old Anudeep Durishetty when he took the All India Civil Services Examinations 2017 held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, the Telangana man topped the exam with elan. It is thrilling and exciting. The fact that I am the topper is yet to sink in, said Anudeep, when contacted over phone. The son of D Manohar, an assistant divisional engineer with Telangana Northern Power Distribution Company Ltd, and D Jyothy, a homemaker, Anudeep comes from Metpalli town in Jagitial district. A brilliant student right through his schooling days at Metpallis Sri Suryodaya High School, Anudeep bagged a seat in B Tech (Electronics & Instrumentation) at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani in Rajasthan. He graduated in 2011. It was while pursuing engineering degree that I started taking interest in civil services. I prepared hard, but could not succeed in getting through the interview conducted by the UPSC in my first attempt. Subsequently, I joined Google India as software engineer in Hyderabad and continued to prepare for the civils, he said. In his second attempt in 2013, Anudeep got the IRS cadre and was appointed as a customs and central excise officer. However, my quest for IAS (Indian Administrative Services) continued. In the subsequent two attempts, too, I could not achieve success. This year, it was my last attempt and I put my heart and soul into it. By grace of god, I topped the Civil Services, Anudeep said. Anudeep qualified the examination with anthropology as his subject. The subject had been close to my heart right because it deals with the evolution of mankind and the society, he said. Anudeep has naturally opted for the Telangana cadre. It will give me an opportunity to serve my home state, which had become a reality after a prolonged struggle, he said. Juhi Jalota, a 27-year-old engineer based in Ludhiana, bagged the 122nd rank in the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) examinations. Originally from Gwalior, she is married to a businessman residing in Model Gram. This was her third attempt at cracking the UPSC. Now that she has succeeded, she wants to join the Indian Police Service. Although HT could not contact Juhi because she was in Solan at the time of the declaration of results, her sister-in-law Geetanjali said she was inspired by her civil-servant grandfather in Madhya Pradesh. After her marriage, she quit working with an MNC in Delhi and launched full-fledged preparations for the UPSC examinations. Her mother-in-law is the head of the geography department at the Government College for Girls in Ludhiana. We are elated. Juhis hard work has paid off, said Geetanjali. Hollywood actor Amy Schumer has revealed that she lost her virginity through a date rape by her then boyfriend. The Trainwreck star lost her virginity at the age of 17. She had first mentioned it in her 2016 memoir, The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo, that the sex was non-consensual, explaining that her unnamed boyfriend penetrated her while she was asleep, reports aceshowbiz.com. You think when that happens you say, Okay, well, this isnt someone I want to see rotting in a jail cell, but what he did to me was wrong, Schumer told US media mogul Oprah Winfrey in an episode of SuperSoul Conversations. I didnt consent, and for me, I lost my virginity while I was asleep - and thats not okay. Cast member Amy Schumer poses at the premiere of I Feel Pretty in Los Angeles. (REUTERS) Schumer said her former-boyfriend felt bad after the incident and she was angry about it, but she still tried to comfort him. The first thing he said was, I thought you knew. I didnt say anything yet... He was my boyfriend. I loved him. I had to comfort him. I also felt really angry, she added. It was just a feeling I had. I felt really angry at him, and its a rage that has stayed with me. I dont think you lose that. As women, were really trained not to get angry because that makes people dismiss you right away... but I felt I wanted to comfort him because he felt so bad and he was so worried, I just tried to push my anger down, she said. The actor eventually had consensual sex with her former boyfriend, but she wasnt able to get over the deep betrayal she felt over the alleged sexual assault. I feel like I lost my virginity through rape, she said. She added: I didnt consent, we hadnt discussed it, we werent there in our relationship, we werent at that moment and we talked about things, we were open with each other. Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra has confirmed that she wont be the bridesmaid for her dear friend and actor Meghan Markles wedding to Britains Prince Harry. However, she will be attending the royal wedding; Prince Harry is sixth-in-line to British throne. During an interview to People magazine, she said, No, I am not the bridesmaid. Four of my friends are getting married in a span of a year... Im very upset. Recently, it was confirmed that she figures on Meghans guest list for her royal wedding scheduled for May 11. The wedding ceremony will take place in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle. Further talking about her friend, she said, Im super excited about her and her big day. Its not just going to be life-changing for both of them, its life-changing for the world that needs to see strong women as icons, and I think Meghan has the potential to be that. Priyanka Chopra calls Meghan Markle Princess for the People in Time essay Later, when she was asked about her wedding gift for Markle on Good Morning America, Priyanka said, Can I tell you? Ive been struggling with that myself. You just have to think about the person youre getting a gift for because really, what do give a princess? Im stuck with that. Recently, Priyanka Chopra penned an essay on Markle in the Time magazine as she featured in the Times 100 Most Influential People list. She wrote, With her, what you see is real, and what you get is a relatable young woman with her heart and mind in the right place. Her compassion, evident in the causes she supports, and her drive to break down stereotypes obvious in her actions will connect her to a generation in much need of kindness. Meghan will be the second American to join the British monarchy after socialite Wallis Simpson -- who married King Edward VIII after he abdicated, and like Markle had once divorced prior to marrying royalty. Follow @htshowbiz for more Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Rahul Gandhi just before leaving for China on Thursday to enquire about his safety after an aircraft carrying the Congress president developed a snag before landing at Hubballi airport in poll-bound Karnataka, party sources said. Gandhi received the call around 2:30 pm, the sources added. The Congress chief is on a two-day visit to the state to canvass for his party for the May 12 assembly polls. It was a private conversation between the two (over phone). All the authorities concerned were informed about the plane developing snag. After that, the Prime Minister rang up Gandhi enquiring if he was fine, a source told PTI. The plane carrying Gandhi and a few more people from the national Capital to Hubballi developed a technical snag on Thursday, tilting heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhis close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state Director General of Police Neelmani N Raju. Vidyarthee was also travelling with Gandhi. The plane landed at the Hubballi airport around 11.25 am in the third attempt, according to the letter, which also said that the weather was normal and not windy according to the passengers. Vidyarthee also tweeted later about the incident, saying the Congress chief had maintained his composure and even tried to calm the co-passengers down. Glad to be in a room and getting some rest... thankful for being alive... never had such a frightening experience in my life... plane went into free fall... couldnt believe CPs composure and calmness as he stood beside pilots trying to save the situation, Vidyarthee wrote on Twitter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is examining the issue, while the state police have registered a complaint. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Congresss communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala described the failure of the auto-pilot mode in the aircraft as horrific and serious and demanded a probe to find out if there was any foul play. It was the courageous escape of three girls from Apna Ghar, a shelter home in Rohtak, on May 7, 2012 that exposed the naked dance of brutality inside it. What followed was the swift rescue operation by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that took the lid off from this scandal. A day after escape, girls reached Delhi via Bhiwani where they were rescued following their call to child helpline number. Later, around 120 inmates were rescued and a month later, Apna Ghar was sealed. Seven out of 10 persons who faced the trial were arrested on May 10, 2012 and the case was handed over to CBI for probe. The first chargesheet was filed on August 7, 2012, and supplementary on September 16, 2013, which named three more accused. Nine people, including main accused Jaswanti Devi, her daughter Sushma alias Simmi, son-in-law Jai Bhagwan, brother Jaswant, cousin Sheela, acquaintance Roshni, driver Satish, employee Ram Prakash Saini and counsellor Veena were held guilty by a special CBI court. All of them were tried for rape, abortion without consent, voluntarily causing hurt, assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, unlawful compulsory labour, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy and violation of the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.An additional charge of gangrape was framed against Jai Bhagwan and Satish. Horror tales As many as 121 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial. A counsel privy to the trial said testimony of 10-12 inmates was vital to the case as they had identified the main accused and recalled horrific experiences they had undergone during their stay at Apna Ghar. A 20-year-old witness in her court testimony said that prime accused Jaswanti Devis brother Jaswant and son-in-law Jai Bhagwan were regular visitors to the shelter. She said they, along with driver Satish, raped her repeatedly in the centres hall. A deaf and mute witness, who deposed in the court through an interpreter, said that she was repeatedly raped by Jai Bhagwan, leading to a pregnancy. After she gave birth, the baby was allegedly sold off. There were two other mentally challenged victims. One of them, a male, testified in court to being sexually abused. Another minor victim told the court that co-accused Satish would insert his fingers in her private parts. Whenever she refused and complained about it, Jaswanti rebuked her and told her to remain silent. Timeline May 7, 2012: Three girls escape from Rohtaks government-funded shelter home Apna Ghar and contact a helpline after reaching Delhi. May 9: NCPCR conducts a raid at the Apna Ghar shelter home and rescues over 100 inmates. Jaswanti Devi, who ran the shelter, and several of her relatives are arrested. June 8: The Haryana government seals the shelter and a week later hands over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). August 7: CBI files chargesheet against 10 people in special CBI court in Panchkula. September 23, 2014: CBI court frames charges against all accused and begins trial. February 14, 2018: Evidence closed and final arguments begin. April 18: Nine of 10 accused held guilty. April 27: Special CBI court sentences Jaswanti Devi, her son-in-law Jai Bhagwan and driver Satish to life imprisonment Bhartishri, the daughter of jailed self-styled godman Asaram, on Friday distanced herself from the trust named after her father, saying she snapped ties with it some 16-17 years ago. The Sant Shri Asaram Trust, which looks after 400 ashrams, 40 schools, a printing press and an Ayurveda unit, is said to be worth over Rs 5,000 crore, claim police officials who have followed the case closely. Bhartishris statement came two days after Asaram was give life sentence by a Jodhpur court for raping a minor girl. Like Shilpi, a warden of Asarams school who was also been convicted for coercing the minor girl, Bhartishri is a co-accused in another rape case of 2013 filed by two Surat-based sisters against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai. Shilpi was awarded 20 years imprisonment by the Jodhpur court. Trust management feels that I am not with them. The outside world feels that I am with the trust. But I have disassociated myself from the trust 16-17 years ago. My organisation is separate from the trust and our activities are different as well, the 43-year-old told the media outside a Gandhinagar court where trial for the rape against one of the two sisters is going on. The younger sisters case trial has been going on in a Surat court. The two sisters were allegedly raped between 2002 and 2004 but came forward to register a case only after the Jodhpur minor rape case came to light. Bhartishri added, Time and again saints in India have faced such (rape) allegations. But we have to respect the courts judgment. The Gujarat police are likely to seek Asarams custody to produce him in the court. Lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail since 2013, so far Asaram has attended the Gandhinagar court trial only through video-conferencing. Like Asaram, Bhartishri too presided over satsangs (religious gatherings) for years. She had taken diskha (religious vow) at the age of 14. People close to the Asaram trust said with both Asaram and son Sai lodged in jail for last five years now, Bhartishri has been leading the satsangs and other activities across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for an informal summit to India in 2019, saying such talks should become a tradition between the two countries. Ill be happy if, in 2019, we can have such an informal summit in India, Modi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. (Live updates) President Xi said the two countries have established closer partnership and made positive progress in recent years. In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions, he said. The Chinese president said he believes in the future and they could meet in a format like this from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level, he said. Modi arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong, earlier in the day for talks that are being seen as an effort by the neighbours to rebuild ties after months of tension. Ties between India and China were hit by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff last year. Prime Minister Modi hailed their centuries-old ties and told Xi that the two countries have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. Read | Mohenjodaro, Modis term as Gujarat CM, China dam feature in talk with Xi They will resume their one-on-one interaction on Saturday at 10am local time with walks by the lakeside, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch. This Modis visit to China after he came to power in 2014 and he is again due to visit the country again in June to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held at Qingdao city. (With PTI inputs) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the BJP will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on the issues of development and good governance. Good governance and development will be the two issues of our party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Singh, who was on a visit to Harihar Dham in Kanpur, told newspersons. Replying to a question on next months by-election to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, Singh said he was confident about the BJPs victory. We have full faith that we will win the Kairana by-election, he said. The by-election will take place on May 28. It was necessitated after BJP veteran Hukum Singh passed away in February. Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modis two-day visit to China, Singh said India wanted to have good relations with all its neighbours and not just China. The judge of the special CBI court in Haryana, who sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim last year to 20 years in jail for raping two women, will give his verdict in the Apna Ghar sexual abuse case on Friday. Judge Jagdeep Singh is expected to give the order in the case after 2pm. Singh is known for his competence and toughness and his colleagues describe him as a very competent, tough and upright judge with a no-nonsense attitude. He was a Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer before he joined the judicial service. Singh, who hails from Haryana, completed his law degree from Panjab University (PU) around 2000 and was known to be a bright student. The judge hit the headlines in September 2016 when he and rushed four people, who were seriously injured in a road accident, to a hospital in Jind district. Reports said he first called up the emergency number and asked the operator to rush an ambulance but was told the vehicle cannot come flying. He then stopped a private vehicle and took the injured to the hospital. The owner of Apna Ghar Jaswanti Devi, her family members and employees have been held guilty of sexually and physically assaulting inmates of the shelter home in Haryanas Rohtak city. They were arrested in 2012 by the Central Bureau of Investigation following a raid by the National Council for the Protection of Child Rights. In one of the regions worst sexual crimes, the shelters inmates, including minors, adults and disabled, were subjected to shocking sexual and physical abuse. Read | Rohtak Apna Ghar case: Court testimony of victims reveals house of horror Based on their testimony and other evidence, the judge on April 18 convicted Jaswanti Devi, her daughter Sushma alias Simmi, son-in-law Jai Bhagwan, brother Jaswant, cousin Sheela, driver Satish, employee Ram Prakash Saini and counsellor Veena on charges of sexual and physical molestation of inmates. Another accused Roshni was convicted for buying a child born delivered by a rape victim. The probe agency has sought the maximum punishment for all the nine convicts. Timeline May 7, 2012: Three girls escape from Rohtaks government-funded shelter home Apna Ghar and contact a helpline after reaching Delhi. May 9: NCPCR conducts a raid at the Apna Ghar shelter home and rescues over 100 inmates. Jaswanti Devi, who ran the shelter, and several of her relatives are arrested. June 8: The Haryana government seals the shelter and a week later hands over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). August 7: CBI files chargesheet against 10 people in special CBI court in Panchkula. September 23, 2014: CBI court frames charges against all accused and begins trial. February 14, 2018: Evidence closed and final arguments begin. April 18: Nine of 10 accused held guilty. April 27: CBI judge to pronounce sentence. Newly-appointed Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik says he has taken over at a difficult time and that his main challenge is to regain the number two position from the BJP. In an interview to Aurangzeb Naqshbandi, he also blames Congress leaders for the partys decline in Odisha. Edited excerpts: What is the biggest challenge for you? I have been appointed at a difficult time. I became Odisha Congress president because of the support of numerous party workers and sympathisers. Rahul Gandhi responded to their desire. Its a very difficult job. In the recent past, several senior leaders have deserted the Congress? Will you try to bring them back to the party fold? My heart may be closed but my arms are open. Those who really think that Odisha should improve and develop, I will appeal to them to rejoin the Congress. But there are some who have joined the other parties for vested interests. Do you blame the delay in decision-making for this exodus? Yes, there has been a lot of delay in taking decisions as far as the Odisha Congress is concerned. Had this decision been taken much before, things would have been different and much better for the Congress. The BJP has emerged as the main opposition party in Odisha. How do you plan to regain that space? We already are the number two party in the state and we are hopeful that things will change within the next 6-7 months. Had I got a minimum of two years, we could have even become the number one party. No doubt, the BJP is growing in Odisha and has managed to take our votes and also 5% of the BJD vote. But the trend is already changing not only in Odisha but in the entire country. How strong is anti-incumbency against the ruling BJD? Anti-incumbency is there but the people of Odisha have no alternative. In the absence of a strong Congress and BJP, people voted for them (BJD). I cant blame people for that. We can blame only ourselves. We have given them a walkover everywhere and as a political party we have not done our job properly. Congress has gone down because of the Congress people. What is your realistic target for the 2019 state elections? I will have to move around for next three months and find out the strengths and weaknesses. But I am confident that the people this time will respond to what the BJD has done in the past 18 years and what the BJP-led government at the Centre did for Odisha in the last four years. But how do you intend to address the infighting? I will embrace everybody and try to put an end to whatever little factionalism is there. Security forces killed at least eight Maoists, including five women, on Friday in a forest in Chhattisgarhs Bijapur district, police said, after 39 rebels were gunned down in neighbouring Maharashtras Gadchiroli earlier this week. No security personnel was injured in the gunfight that took place in a forest near Ipenta village of the district, 500km away from the states capital, Bijapurs superintendent of police Mohit Garg said. Security forced recovered eight bodies after the gunbattle, Gard added. Garg said a joint squad of Greyhounds, an elite anti-Maoist unit of the Telangana Police, and security personnel from Chhattisgarh launched a combing operation on Thursday in the forests along the inter-state border following a tip-off about the presence of Maoists. We are also conducting massive combing operations in the forest and we are likely to get more positive results soon, special director general (anti-Maoist operations) DM Awasthi said. Awasthi added that the Greyhounds and Telangana police intelligence unit played a crucial role in the operation. The bodies of the Maoists, said to be active in Usoor and Basaguda area of Bijapurs Ipenta forest, were airlifted to Bijapur and the process to identify them was underway, the police said. Police also recovered six rocket launchers, an automatic rifle, a revolver, three grenades, four pairs of camouflage uniforms and 10 kits from the spot, officials said. Ten Maoists were killed in the Tadapalagutta-Pujari Kanker forests, bordering Telangana, on March 2. Six women were among the rebels killed in that incident. Barely 10 days, Maoists blew up an anti-landmine vehicle of the Central Reserve Police Force by using over 50 kg of improvised explosive device (IED) killing nine security personnel. The government on Friday banned the import and over-the-counter sale of the feel-good hormone oxytocin that is used by child traffickers to speed up puberty in girls who are then pushed into prostitution. The hormone is widely used in dairy farms leading to harmful effects on humans and livestock. The government also restricted its manufacture to the public sector to check its growing misuse. The hormone is permitted for use mainly to speed up labour in pregnant women to avoid risks or complications. However, the hormone, in its various forms, is increasingly being used illicitly, and manufactured clandestinely without proper license. The health ministry issued an order to regulate and restrict its manufacture, sale and distribution after going through recommendations made by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, a statutory body under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The board recommended that oxytocin formulations for human use be regulated and restricted to be supplied only to registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector to prevent its misuse. We know of cases where the drug is stocked and supplied illegally and not for its intended purpose. People tend to misuse it and having control over its manufacturing, sale and distribution will ensure it is used primarily in the labour rooms for deliveries, said a senior health ministry official. Sudhir Kumar, joint secretary in the health ministry cited a Himachal Pradesh high court order asking the government to consider regulating use, manufacture, sale and distribution of oxytocin. We have complied with the order, he added. The countrys top regulatory body for drugs and medical devices Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), had also issued a circular last year regarding strict regulatory control over the manufacturing, sale and distribution of the hormone and its formulations. We asked the states to take strict action, which could even be criminal action, against people who are found to be illegally manufacturing, storing or selling the drug. It is extremely harmful to produce the medicine in a non-sterile condition, said a senior official in CDSCO, who did not wish to be identified. Doctors feel it is a good move. Its good that ministry has regulated its use because even in labour where its needed, the dosage has to be regulated and specific. Misuse usually happens because it also leads to sexual arousal, says Dr Anuradha Kapur, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist, Max Healthcare. The ban on import comes into effect immediately, and regulations to manufacture the hormone for domestic use will come into force from July 1, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew parallels between India and China during a one-to-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan on Friday afternoon. The culture of both India and China is based along the river banks. If we talk about Mohenjo Daro and Harappa civilizations in India, all the development happened along river banks, he told Xi during the interaction. Modi also praised Chinese efficiency in constructing structural landmarks across the country, citing the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river as an example. When I was the chief minister of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit this province. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed and scale at which you constructed it inspired me. So I came on a study tour, and spent a day at the dam, he said. The much-awaited summit began soon after Modi arrived at the museum, established in 1953, to a rousing welcome around 1 pm. Dancers in colourful traditional costumes performed for the two leaders as a live band played traditional tunes. Ahead of his departure for China, Modi had told mediapersons that he and Xi will review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective during their interaction. We will also discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, in context of current and future international situation, the Prime Minister said. After an hour-long tour of the museum, Modi is expected to attend a private lunch hosted by the Chinese president at the East Lake villa, which was chairman Mao Zedongs private villa. They will then go for a boat ride on the East Lake, Chinas second largest urban lake, and then take a walk along its banks. Heavy security has been imposed around East Lake as well as Modis hotel in view of his visit. Maos villa has also been closed to tourists for the occasion. The summit is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff last year. The two leaders will review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. Midway through his speech at a gathering of Youth Congress workers at the partys office in Kanakapura, about 50 km from the state capital Bengaluru, Madhu, an aide of energy minister DK Shivakumar, said the recent income tax department raids on the minister were part of a conspiracy to tie down the powerful leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will learn the hard way that it should not have tried to malign our leader, he said to his audience of around 300 young people, packed into the terrace of the party office. He was referring to the raids on Shivakumars residence and commercial undertakings in August, days after he was put in charge of the partys legislators from Gujarat ahead of crucial Rajya Sabha polls in that state. Located on the periphery of Bengaluru with ambitions of becoming a satellite town, the Kanakapura constituency has been a pocket borough of energy minister and Vokkaliga strongman DK Shivakumar. However, controversy has never been far away from the Congress leader, who is in charge of the partys campaign committee for the May 12 assembly elections. A Janata Dal (Secular) leader Rajagopal says the writ of Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh, who is the local member of Parliament, runs large over the constituency. Illegal quarrying and encroachment of government land are rampant under the two brothers rule, he said. According to Rajagopal, those who question this are either booked under false cases or threatened by the brothers associates. I myself have four cases of rioting against me that I came to know of recently after the police had a word with me, he said. Some locals had pinned their hopes on a challenge to the status quo by the JD(S), but a local party leader, who did not wish to be named, said the party had decided to go with a person who was not expected to provide a tough fight. Incidentally, Shivakumar had defeated JD(S) stalwart and veteran leader PGR Scindhia by a margin of around 31,000 votes in the 2013 elections. Shivakumar was unavailable for comment. The party has chosen Narayan Gowda, who is a farmer leader who has been involved in movements here, but he is not the candidate we were hoping for. I doubt we will be able to put up much of a fight this time, the JD(S) leader said. Rumours have been doing the rounds that Shivakumar and HD Kumaraswamy, the chief ministerial candidate of the JD(S), have arrived at a pact to ensure that the two Vokkaliga leaders would not come in each others way. The JD(S) leader quoted above said that this did appear true, I think Shivakumar has promised to help Kumaraswamy in the Channapatna constituency, where the JD(S) leader faces CP Yogeshwar of the BJP, he said. JD(S) candidate Gowda, however, said he had a strong reputation in the district and was respected widely. I have been in politics for around 40 years. I have previously been a member of cooperative banks in the district and also farmers organisations. Considering the fact that Shivakumar hardly ever talks about agriculture, I believe I have a strong chance, the 69-year-old said. Gowda said his elections strategy would be to highlight the fact that Shivakumar was a businessman with little interest in the general well-being of the constituency. He is more interested in his real estate and quarrying business. Look at how his wealth has increased from 250 crore in 2013 to 840 crore five years later, Gowda said. However, the biggest stumbling block for Gowda is a perceptible sense of fear about the Congress leader. Arun Kumar, a petty shop owner in Kanakapura town, refused to comment on the elections. I do not want to risk losing my business. Although there is little evidence that the minister has himself tried to suppress dissent in the constituency there are enough indications that his followers will not show such restraint, he said. Ravi Kumar, an arts graduate-turned RTI activist, has been the lone voice of challenge to Shivakumar and Suresh in the area, and for his troubles, Kumar said, he risks being booked under the Goonda Act. I have a history sheet in my name in the Satanur police station because I decided to challenge the blatant violations in land acquisition and illegal quarrying, he said. Kumar said in 2014, he was allegedly picked up by the police after he filed a complaint in the Karnataka high court against the allegedly wrongful conversion of public land in Satanur taluk. The modus operandi is simple. A piece of public land, usually land identified for grazing, is donated to the government with the promise of building a housing layout for the poor. Eventually, the land is then sold back to associates of the two leaders, Kumar said. On the terrace of the Congress office in Kanakapura, Madhu denied all charges and said Shivakumar was being maligned in a number of ways. But it is our duty to pick up the phones and call everybody possible, including those who have migrated to Bengaluru, and convince them to vote for our leader, he said. Indrani Mukerjea has sought a divorce from her husband Peter, marking the beginning of the end of a marriage that started with love at first sight, wound its way through business success and failure, and then started breaking down, especially after both partners were accused of being involved in the murder of Indranis daughter from a previous marriage, Sheena Bora. Indranis lawyer Edith Dey sent a notice to dissolve the marriage by courier to Peter on April 25. It was sent on a courier after he refused to accept a delivery by hand when in court. Peter and Indrani are both in jail. She was arrested in August 2015, and he, a few months later. My client states that your marriage is now irretrievably broken down and there is no chance of reconciliation. My client states this fact has been acknowledged by you as well, reads the notice. A copy of the notice is in the possession of Hindustan Times. This isnt the first time there has been talk of a divorce of the couple. In 2016, Peter Mukerjeas lawyer told the media that his client was keen to divorce his wife. In January 2017, Indrani Mukerjeas sought the courts permission to file for divorce. At the time, this was considered part of the duos legal strategy. This is the first time, though, that theres actual evidence of a divorce notice being sent. The notice seeks an amicable financial settlement from Peter Mukerjea before April 30 so that the procedure to dissolve the marriage can be initiated. In view of what is stated above, my client calls upon you to execute agreed amicable financial settlement at the earliest and no later than 30-4-2018, in order to dissolve the marriage between yourselves amicably by mutual consent and put a closure to this chapter once and for all. Peter Mukerjeas lawyer couldnt immediately be reached for comment. The notice states that no claims will be made in future with respect to any movable or immovable assets owned or to be owned by the other after passing of the decree of divorce, and that neither partner will interfere in the others life. Sheena Bora was in a relationship with Peter Mukerjeas son Rahul Mukerjea at the time of her murder in April 2012. Indrani Mukerjea had passed off Sheena as her sister, not daughter. HT learns that Peter and Indrani Mukerjeas relationship started souring soon after. Kerala police booked a software engineer on Friday for suggesting in a Facebook post that the rape-cum-murder of a minor in Kathua earlier this year was committed not just by 10 people, but 31% of Indias voters. That was the vote share of the BJP in the last general elections. Police took action against Deepak Sankaranarayanan, who works as a software engineer in Bengaluru, after BJP state media convenor R Sandeep alleged in a complaint that his hate-filled post was an open call for violence. He was booked under sections 153 A and B (promoting enmity between different groups and acting against the national interest and creating trouble) of the Indian Penal Code. Sankaranarayanan alleged in his post that the heinous crime was carried out with the consent of 31% people that constitute the Indian democracy. Justice should prevail even if it means shooting 31% of the people (this is twice the casualty during the Second World War) who supported Hindutva terrorism. Democracy is for every individual, whatever be the number of people standing against it, he wrote in his April 12 post. The post triggered strong protests from several right-wing groups, who also questioned the double-standards of the state police. They cited how a police case was immediately registered against a bank manager in Kochi after he put up a controversial social media post stating that it was better for her (the victim in the Kathua case) to die than become a Pak bomb tomorrow. The man was later sacked by his employer, the Kotak Mahindra Bank, for justifying the horrifying crime. After Sankaranarayanans post snowballed into a controversy, he clarified that the post was a call for justice and not violence. I quoted a Latin phrase that said Let justice be done though the heavens fall. The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be realised regardless of the consequences, he said. Many, including Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac, supported Sankaranarayanan terming the post as a spontaneous expression of indignation. The Madras high court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK legislators, including deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, for voting against the government during a confidence motion moved by chief minister K Palaniswami last year. Dismissing the petition filed by DMK Whip R Sakkrapani, the court said it could not interfere in the Assembly Speakers domain. The court said it had the power of judicial review of decisions taken, but could not interfere in a matter where the Speaker had not taken a decision. It also referred to a case pending in the Supreme Court on a similar issue arising from Andhra Pradesh. The disqualification petition was filed against 11 AIADMK legislators for voting against the confidence motion on chief minister K Palaniswami government on February 18, 2017, defying the party whip. At that time, Panneerselvam had rebelled against the party led by jailed leader VK Sasikala. Later, Panneerselvam merged his group with the one led by Palaniswami who sidelined Sasikala and her relative TTV Dinakaran. The petition for disqualification was filed by Sakkarapani soon after assembly speaker P Dhanapal disqualified 18 legislators owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader Dinakaran. The legislators belonging to Dinakaran camp had also written to the governor expressing their loss of confidence in chief minister Palaniswai and requested him to appoint a new chief minister. The case filed by the disqualified legislators against the Speakers action is pending before the high court. As per the party position in Tamil Nadu assembly, the ruling AIADMK has 116 members followed by DMK-89, Congress-8, IUML-1, Independent-1, the Speaker and 18 vacant seats, totalling 234. Besides, there is one nominated member without voting right. On Friday, the court also dismissed another petition filed by DMK lawmaker J Anbazhagan against the unveiling of late chief minister J Jayalalithaas portrait in the assembly. Welcoming the two judgements , K Pandiarajan, the minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, said the courts decision was validation of Tamil Nadu Speakers decision. He said the opposition parties might be disappointed but it would give them clarity as to what kind of cases could be filed in the courts. Tamil Nadu Fisheries minister D Jayakumar said the two orders of the court on Friday was like having milk and fruit together. It is a twin happy news. Justice has been done. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday discussed ways to cement their bilateral relationship as they opened a two-day informal one of its kind summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. PM said that people of India are proud that Chinese President Xi has gone out of his way to receive him twice out of the capital city of Beijing. The one-on-one conversations at Mao vila, chairman Mao Zedongs private home on the banks of the East Lake will focus on global, regional and bilateral issues. Ahead of his departure, Modi told the media his meeting Xi Jinping will review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. Follow the live updates here: 9.33 pm: I thank President Xi Jinping for the wonderful gesture of personally accompanying me in the Hubei Provincial Museum. The Museum is home to great facets of Chinese history and culture. pic.twitter.com/Dtp1uc7NLz Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2018 9.30 pm: PM Modi tweets, Our talks were extensive and fruitful. We deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues. 9.05 pm: At the delegation-level talks, PM @narendramodi underscored importance of people-to-people contact through STRENGTH : S-Spirituality; T-Tradition,Trade & Technology; R-Relationship; E-Entertainment (Movies, Art, etc.); N-Nature conservation; G-Games; T-Tourism & H-Health&Healing. pic.twitter.com/2adA8UnDxu Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 27, 2018 7.45 pm: President Xi Jinping showed warm gesture after dinner as he came to see PM Modi off, says ANI quoting sources. 7.40 pm: PM Narendra Modi presented President Xi Jinping reprints of two paintings done by celebrated Chinese painter Xu Beihong (1895-1953) during his stay at Santiniketan during 1939- 40: Sources. 7.35 pm: Delegation level meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping was supposed to be for 30 minutes, but it went on for more than 2 hours, says ANI quoting sources. 6.30: A clip of the meeting between Narendra Modi and Xi Xinping in Wuhan. One on one meeting between modi and xi in wuhan on Friday @htTweets pic.twitter.com/Fp49qTMT1R sutirtho patranobis (@spatranobis) April 27, 2018 5.20 pm: I look forward to in-depth communication with your excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level, says Chinese President Xi Jinping. 5.15 pm: In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions, says Xi Jinping. Our two countries have established closer partnership and cooperation. We have made positive progress. India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. The influence of our two countries is steadily rising in the region and the world, says Xi. 5:13 pm: Warm and firm handshake! PM @narendramodi met with President Xi of China at the East Lake Guest House in Wuhan. PM said that people of India are proud that Chinese President Xi has gone out of his way to receive him twice out of the capital city of Beijing. pic.twitter.com/y2GlujcbLG Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 27, 2018 5.00 pm: Conducting great cooperation by our two great countries can generate worldwide influence, says President Xi Jinping, quotes Chinas state broadcaster CCTV. 4:30 pm: Home minister Rajnath Singh says, It is not just China, we want to be friendly with every neighbouring country. Our PM has been doing everything he can so that our relationship with neighbours become better. 4.17 pm: Modi invites Xi to attend another informal summit in India in 2019. Ill be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India, says PM Modi. 4:05 pm: Congress(Communist party Congress) ke time pe jo aapka vaktavya tha usme aapne 'new era' ki baat ki & aaj main India mein 'new India' ki baat karta hoon. Aapka new era ka sapna aur humaara new India ka prayaas vishwa ke laabh ke liye sahi disha mein kadam hai: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/5vwQDh7r4s ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 4.02 pm: The people of India feel really proud that Im maybe the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese President) have come out of the capital twice to receive me, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi during delegation level talks in Wuhan. 3.57 pm: I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. Ill be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India, says PM Modi in Wuhan. 3:55 pm: We(India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40% of the world population, this means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us, says PM Modi. 3:45pm: This is possibly for the first time that you have met a countrys leader twice outside the capital, Beijing. This is a sign of the importance that you accord to India as a country, PM Modi tells President Xi Jinping at a delegation-level talk. 3:38pm: Delegation level talks begin in Hubei. 3:20pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum). #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping at an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum) #China pic.twitter.com/REIFk93qtK ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 2:10pm: Culture of both India and China is based along the river banks; if we talk about Mohenjo Daro and Harappa civilizations in India, all the development happened along river banks, says PM Modi according to ANI. 1:58pm: Modi recounts his first visit to the province. When I was the CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to visit this province. I had heard a lot about the Three Gorges Dam. The speed with which you constructed it and the scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour, spent a day at the dam, the Prime Minister tells President Xi at the meeting in Hubei Provincial Museum, reports ANI. 1:13pm: Modi and Xi sit down for one-on-one meeting at the museum. Visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's one on one meeting in #China's Wuhan. pic.twitter.com/j0VFwc6yQz ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 1:10pm: Dancers in colourful traditional costumes perform as a live band plays at the Hubei Provincial Museum. 1:05pm: Prime Minister Modi is welcomed by a cultural programme at the museum. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum. #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/nLIy9P8mjV ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 1pm: Modi meets Chinese president at Hubei Provincial Museum. 9am: Heavy security in Wuhan around PM Modis hotel and East Lake. Maos villa has been closed to tourists. 8:21am: The leaders will also take a boat ride and a walk by the East Lake, Chinas second biggest urban lake. 8:20am: Modis schedule for the day also includes a private lunch hosted by president Xi at the East Lake villa, chairman Mao Zendongs private villa. 7:50pm: PM Modi will meet president Xi at the museum and is expected to spend an hour touring it. 7:30am: The informal talks between the two leaders will begin at the Hubei Provincial Museum at 3:30pm local time (1pm IST) in Wuhan, reports to ANI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said cooperation between India and China is essential to maintain peace and stability around the world and offered to host the next informal summit between leaders of the two Asian giants. Modi said he hoped his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the central Chinese city of Wuhan would open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The leaders are meeting for two days of candid talks, mostly without aides, in an effort to reset a relationship that was hit by the military standoff in Doklam, at the India-China-Bhutan trijunction, nearly eight months ago. Following a one-on-one meeting earlier in the day at Hubei provincial museum in Wuhan, Modi and Xi were joined by small delegations for further talks. The delegation-level talks were expected to last for 30 minutes. Instead, they went on for two hours, an indication that both sides were keen on detailed discussions before Modi and Xi engage in three one-on-one conversations on Saturday. Delivering his opening remarks at the delegation-level talks, Modi invited Xi to another informal summit in India in 2019 and said they should continue to meet in the same format. I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both the countries. Ill be happy if, in 2019, we can have such [an] informal summit in India, Modi said. Xi too said he believed they can have more summits in the same format. We should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from the strategic angle and ensure our relationship continues forward in a positive direction. Friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever, Xi was quoted as saying by state-run CCTV. Looking ahead, we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation, he added. Modi, who reached Wuhan late on Thursday night, also coined a new acronym -- STRENGTH -- to underscore the importance of people-to-people contacts. At the delegation-level talks, he said such contacts could be taken forward through STRENGTH or S-Spirituality, T-Tradition, Trade and Technology, R-Relationship, E-Entertainment (movies, art, dances), N-Nature conservation, G-Games, T-Tourism and H-Health and Healing. Modi also noted that it was possibly the first time that Xi had met another countrys leader twice outside the capital of Beijing. He was referring to his earlier meeting with Xi in Xian in May 2015. This, Modi said, was a sign of the importance Xi accorded to India. Xi pointed out that good bilateral relations are important to maintain global peace and stability. The growth of China-India relations has maintained good momentum, he said. Xi added they had achieved a lot in past years and met each other on many occasions. Our two countries have established close partnership. Our exchanges and cooperation have made positive progress, he said. The Chinese President added that even as they were meeting in Wuhan, international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. We are central pillars for promoting a multipolar and globalised world, he said. Xi said that looking ahead, the two counties need to maintain strong ties and focus on national development, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, work for their respective national revitalisation and make positive contributions for global peace and development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for photograph during his visit to Hubei Provincial Museum, in Wuhan. (PTI Photo) Modi was received by Xi at the Hubei museum late on Friday afternoon. As a special gesture, Xi gave Modi a personal tour of the museum, where the two literally struck a chord when they tried their musical skills on a set of ancient bells. They saw an exhibition of relics from the Chinese civilisation with a focus on local culture. Following the tour, the leaders were joined by their delegations for talks. Following the talks, the leaders headed to an official dinner hosted by Xi at the East Lake state guesthouse in Wuhan. Officials from the two sides have said Modi and Xi are expected to have heart-to-heart exchanges and chart a roadmap for bilateral consensus and understanding for the future. Outcomes from the summit, repeatedly described as informal by Indian and Chinese diplomats, are not expected to be tangible. Deals will not be signed, nor will a joint statement be issued. A statement is expected to be issued to the media by the Indian side at the end of the series of meetings. The absence of a joint statement doesnt mean the leaders will not reach consensus on some issues, officials said. The informal nature of the meetings is only to ensure that the two leaders can engage in a relaxed atmosphere with negligible diplomatic trappings, the officials added. On Saturday, Modi and Xi will continue their discussions during a walk by the East Lake, which is expected to last 30 minutes. The walk will be followed by a boat ride for an hour on the East Lake, and then by a private lunch. Modi and Xi will be accompanied only by translators at these engagements. The Chinese media reported on Friday that the meetings could improve bilateral ties. The tete-a-tete between the two leaders is going to set a stage for Beijing and New Delhi to further exchange views over long-term and strategic issues and to initiate fresh momentum for future bilateral cooperation, the official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary. On global trade issues, both Xi and Modi have warned on different occasions of the dire threats of rising trade barriers to the world economy. China and India should firmly stick to the spirit of free trade so as to help maintain the current global free trading system with the World Trade Organisation at the centre, it added. The arrest of a third person in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old minor girl and her mother in Surat has finally helped establish the identity of the victims, the Gujarat police said on Friday. The Rajasthan-based family of the mother and daughter has arrived and confirmed their identity. Following which the bodies of duo was cremated on Friday, said a senior police officer. Police on Friday also arrested the third accused Kuldeep Gurjjar, who had allegedly sold the widowed woman and her daughter as bonded labourers to Surat-based construction contractor Harsh Gurjjar for Rs 35,000. Harsh, who is in police custody till May 2, had developed intimate relationship with the mother and killed her on March 20 when she pressurised him to stay with them. Later, Harsh also killed the daughter on April 5 as she was an eyewitness to her mothers murder. The girl was raped multiple times before she was choked to death. Her body was found with 86 injury marks from Surats Pandesara area on April 6. The mothers decomposed body was recovered on April 9. The police had earlier arrested one Hariom Gurjjar, who helped Harsh in killing the mother and daughter. The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the case of the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to hear the suspects before deciding on a plea to transfer the case to Chandigarh. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra asked the magistrate not to proceed with the trial in a court in Kathua town on Saturday. The top court said it would hear on May 7 the plea for transfer of the trial. How can the judge hear if we are looking into the transfer petition, the CJI said. The biological father of the child victim has filed the transfer plea before the Supreme Court. There are only two questions of law that we need to decide. One is whether the case can be taken over by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and second if we should transfer the mater out of the state. At this juncture we do not think a CBI probe is necessary, the bench said when counsel for three of the eight accused claimed that investigation of the case by Jammu and Kashmir police hadnt been fair. The CJI had on Thursday said the court will transfer the case outside of Jammu if there was the slightest doubt over the possibility of a fair trial. He also ruled out a CBI inquiry for the time being. The Jammu and Kashmir government opposed the transfer of the trial, saying it had a different penal code and a transfer would pose inconvenience to the witnesses who live in the state. Also, a lot of money would have to be spent on their travel and security. It has already said no to a CBI probe in the case. J&K has its own penal code, called the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), and criminal procedure that are different from the ones followed in other states. This anomaly could create problems during the trial if it is shifted out. The state asserted that its investigation of the case had been in-depth and conclusive and a charge sheet has already been filed before the court. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, however, rejected the states contention .She said the content of the RPC was identical to that of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which other states follow. She submitted requirements of a fair trial entail no intimidation against the presiding judge and no hooliganism by lawyers. She recalled an April 9 incident in which members of the Kathua Bar Association protested and heckled the police team that reached the district court to file a charge sheet against the accused. This incident has been denied by a fact-finding team of the Bar Council of India and the Kathua Bar Association. Jaising argued the local lawyers had made an attempt to abort the trial because they did not want the charge sheet to be filed in time so that the accused be released on bail. CJI Misra told Jaising , Supreme Court will not transcend the contours of the criminal procedure code. We have to evaluate the submissions of the state and decide whether its a proper approach or not, Justice Misra said. The Centre on Friday told the top court that it would extend whatever assistance was required from it. The six-month-old baby, who was thrown into a fire by its mother in a slum in Bhubaneswar, died on Thursday night, police said. The baby girl, who suffered 90% burns, was being treated at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after her mother, Suna Pingua (32) threw her into a fire inside their home in Salia Sahi slum. Suna, who is the second wife of her husband Manguli Pingua, was having a strained relationship with him and had fought with on Wednesday. Enraged, she set his clothes on fire, before throwing the child in it. Hearing the babys screams, neighbours rushed in and rescued the girl even as Suna was sitting in a corner. Police arrested Suna and booked her under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The Khurda district Child Welfare Committee has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and lodged a complaint against the woman at the Nayapalli police station. Preliminary investigation found that there were no one present in the house when she committed the crime. The snag that hit the special flight carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi was not uncommon, a senior DGCA official said The Congress on Thursday sought an investigation by the Karnataka police after an aircraft carrying Gandhi and four others from Delhi to Hubli developed a glitch. A senior DGCA official said, The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operators report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and landed (the aircraft) safely. Shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also, the official told PTI. According to a complaint filed by Congress functionary Kaushik Vidyarthee, one of the passengers, the special flight that took off from Delhi around 9:20 am developed unexplained technical failures around 10:45 am. Hinting at the possibility of a conspiracy, the complaint said the plane shuddered violently, tilting to one side, while a noise was audible. The complaint also said the autopilot did not function and that the plane landed in Hubballi only on the third attempt. It is to be stated that the weather outside was sunny, normal and not windy as per the observation of the passengers and as per the forecast of the day, the complaint said. The crew was also petrified and admitted that the flight was particularly frightening and uncommon, it added. The pilot and the crew of the aircraft have been questioned, an official at Hubli Airport said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Gandhi is on a two-day tour of Karnataka ahead of the May 12 assembly elections in the state. Yes, we have received a complaint about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft, Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad Police, said. We have registered a complaint under Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi, she said. Congresss communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, Rahul Gandhi landed safely... a serious accident was averted today. Gandhi maintained his composure and tried to calm the co-passengers down, Surjewala added. Another complaint has been filed with the DGCA, demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident, Surjewala added. A 55-year-old tenant hacked to death three members of his landlords family and injured another four before consuming poison in Uttarakhands Haridwar district after midnight on Thursday, police said. Police said Pratap Singh Thakur, who was apparently angry at not being treated properly, killed the landlord, his wife and their son while they were sleeping with an axe. He then attacked the landlords three daughters and their cousin. But, they escaped. Later, Thakur committed suicide by consuming poison at the house in Lahva village, some 120 km from Haridwar, police said. Police said Thakur first entered the ground floor where his landlord, Raj Singh Saini and Sainis 17-year-old son were sleeping. Thakur attacked and killed them with his axe, police said. Quoting Sainis daughters, who escaped, the police said, Thakur then entered the first floor room where the landlords wife Babli (48), daughters Lakshmi (12) and Aarti (20) were sleeping with their cousin Shivani (17). Thakur first attacked Babli, who died on the spot, and then attacked others, police said. The three pushed him and ran away. Sainis another daughter Mansi, who was sleeping on a verandah outside the room on first floor, ran and locked herself in another room. Mansi was to get married on April 30. On Friday morning, the three girls who had fled informed neighbours about what had happened. The locals reached the home and informed police. Police said the injured have been admitted to different hospitals in Roorkee, Dehradun and Rishikesh. Saini, a farmer, met Thakur in the village about 10 years ago. Saini offered him a place to stay and was treated as a member of the family, the neighbours told police. The accused was an electrician by profession. In a suicide note that was recovered from Thakurs room, he has written that he was annoyed at not being treated with respect and as the eldest member of the family. We recovered a photograph from his belongings that suggests he was married, Manikant Mishra, Superintendent of Police (Haridwar rural), said. The officer said the accused belonged to either Saharanpur in west Uttar Pradesh or Haryana. We will find out from his phone records, he added Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pushpak Jyoti said that Thakur had planned the murders in advance. He had bought an axe for this purpose and after killing family members and injuring others, he locked himself in a room and also tried to kill himself initially with the axe, with several injuries spotted on his neck, the officer said. MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could field state ministers for the May 28 bypolls to two Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, aiming to foil its rivals challenge and avoid a repeat of the partys by-election loss in Uttar Pradesh this March. The party may field state energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule from Bhandara Gondia, while tribal development minister Vishnu Savra may be its candidate for the Palghar constituency, said a BJP leader who doesnt want to be identified. Bawankule declined to say anything beyond specifying that his party enjoys strong public support because of the governments development work in the past three years. The BJP is unlikely to get any support from its ally, the Shiv Sena, which has been critical of the party of late. According to sources privy to party strategies, the Sena may not field candidates. Nana Patole represented Bhandara Gondia until he quit the BJP in December, necessitating a bypoll. The death of Palghars BJP parliamentarian Chintaman Wanga in March forced a by-election. The Bhandara Gondia seat is viewed as a major challenge for the BJPs state leadership as Patole criticized its policies when he quit the party and joined the Congress. Patole accused the BJP and the government of being anti-farmer a charge the party would be happy to prove wrong in a state reeling from drought, farmer suicides and farm unrest. A defeat will not only reduce the partys tally of parliamentarians from the state but also give credence to Patoles criticism of the party ahead of the 2019 elections. The BJP and its main rivals, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), have intensified their campaign in both seats after the Election Commission announced on Thursday the bypoll dates voting on May 28 and counting on May 31. The challenge has become all the more intense for the BJP as the Congress and the NCP have decided to fight all elections together. The ruling Trinamool Congress used Islams fasting month of Ramzan as a pretext to press for a single-phase polling in the panchayat elections and it will use the opportunity to unleash violence and record as sweeping a victory as possible, BJP leaders in West Bengal alleged on Friday. All the five phases of the polling in the last panchayat elections in Bengal in 2013 were held during the month of Ramzan. Panchayat polls in 1982 and 1988 were also held in the fasting month. Why will it be an issue this time? Abdul Mannan, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, asked. The state election commission said on Thursday that the elections to the states local administrative bodies will be held on May 14. The polling process was earlier stalled after the opposition parties in the state petitioned both the Supreme Court and high court alleging widespread violence and strong-arm tactics by the ruling party throughout the nomination process between April 2 and 9 and on April 23. The new date triggered allegations from opposition parties that the single-phase voting decision was taken to oblige the ruling Trinamool Congress. Senior Trinamool leaders, including chief minister Mamata Banerjee, have said over the past few days that the polling has to be completed before Ramzan begins (likely to start from May 16). If the elections are held on days when Muslims fast, they will be inconvenienced, both the chief minister and party secretary-general Partha Chatterjee argued. Scheduling the elections became centrally dependent on the point that it could not be held during the month of Ramzan, which starts on May 16. The chief minister dug in her heels with this demand. What is the logic? the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)s Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh asked. Well raise the question during the campaign for the elections, he added. The BJPs state general secretary Pratap Banerjee also pointed out that there are more than 58,400 booths in the state and just about 58,000 police personnel, of whom about 46,000 carry firearms and 12,000 carry canes. This means each booth wont be guarded even by one policeman with a firearm. This is ridiculous, said Banerjee. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) criticised both Trinamool and the BJP for mixing religion with politics. Both the parties are busy creating binaries to use polarisation to serve their political purpose. They are doing the same thing, from different angles. Trinamool is arranging the pyre for Bengals democracy for the BJP to light it, Md Salim, Lok Sabha MP and CPI(M) politburo member, said. The state governments stand and poll bodys decision for a single day polling drew criticism from other quarters as well. Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly said the elections had nothing to do with religious festivals. It is absolutely pointless to bring Ramzan into the matter, Ganguly said. A non-government organisation had moved the Supreme Court in 2013 to get the elections rescheduled after the month of Ramzan but it turned down the appeal. Two suspected pro-Pakistan Kashmiri hackers have been arrested by the Delhi Polices Special Cell from Punjab, a senior office said on Friday. The two, who claimed to have hacked over 500 Indian websites, have been identified as Shahid Malla, 28, and Adil Hussain Teli, 20, said PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell). Acting on a specific input, the duo was arrested on the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in raids at two locations in Punjab, the officer said. As per their online activities and initial findings, the two were part of anti-national hacking group called Team Hackers Third Eye, and claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass a state-imposed social media ban by the use of VPN (virtual private networks) during April-May 2017, he said. The duo was found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-Indian hackers. Some of those hackers are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies, Kushwah said. The duo was found to be pro-Kashmiri terrorism and pro-Pakistan as they had made anti-India and seditious posts, the DCP said. Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from the two will be examined by the Delhi Police in detail to ascertain their role in anti-state activities. Malla is a second year B Tech student at a college in Rajpora, Punjab. He belongs to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir and was staying on rent in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura. Teli is a final-year BCA student at an institute in Jalandhar, Punjab. He is from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was staying in a rented accommodation in a colony in Jalandhar. The families of the four of the Dalit men assaulted by self-styled cow vigilantes in Gujarats Una town two years ago will convert to Buddhism on Sunday to send the message loud and clear that the discrimination against their community must end. Ramesh Sarviya and his brothers Vasram and Ashok and cousin Bechar were tied to a car, flogged and paraded half-naked for 15km only to be thrashed outside the Una police station on July 11, 2016, for allegedly skinning dead cattle. The incident sparked outrage across the country and evoked a strong political response. The flogging incident raised the issue of the day-to-day ordeal of a Dalit in India on an international platform. Now, we would embrace Buddhism, as per the path shown by our leader Bhimrao Ambedkar, to send the message of discrimination loud and clear, says Vasram. Vasram says his damaged eardrum gives him an unbearable headache due to the beating and his two brothers still complain of joint and muscle pain. Ramesh and Ashok alleged on Wednesday that they were threatened by two men on a motorcycle armed with iron rods to withdraw the case against those accused of assaulting them. They lodged a complaint at the Una police station. Sonal, who married Ramesh Sarviya a year after the incident, stands with the familys decision to embrace Buddhism and say they still have to face discrimination. We have to carry our utensils to fields with us as the owner would not like to give us food on his plates and bowls, Sonal says. The Sarviyas say that the conversion will not change anything for them. But at least we would not be worshipping the same Gods whose followers beat us and do not wish to see our progress, Vashram says. The Sarviyas are expected to be joined by 27 other Dalit families from their Mota Samadhiya village to abandon Hinduism on Buddha Purnima, that marks the Buddhas birth, enlightenment and death. The Sarviya and Kevalsinh Rathod, a social activist and friend of the family, have been distributing conversion related leaflets in around 10 villages in Una taluka and some other parts of the Saurashtra peninsula in western Gujarat. So far, 300 forms seeking family members details and consent granting conversion have been filled, they say. We have invited Porbandar Buddha Vihar monks to preside over the ceremony. The administration has also been informed about the conversion plan, Rathod says. Even politicians, including SC MLAs from both the Congress and BJP have been invited. Mayawatiji (Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief) would not be able to attend owing to her busy schedule, he adds. The families of the three boys from Thangadh in Surendranagar district, who were killed in police firing in 2008 are also, likely to be present at the event. Dalits make 200 million of Indias 1.3 billion population and are at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to get a potency test conducted on BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, accused in the Unnao rape case, sources in the investigation agency said. The test is likely to be conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), Delhi. The CBI had tried to get the test conducted at the King George Medical University (KGMU) and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) in Lucknow but both institutions expressed their inability to conduct it as they didnt have the facilities for it, the sources said. Potency test is conducted to ascertain whether the person facing rape charges is physically capable of committing rape or not, said a senior CBI official. This test is also conducted to make sure that the rape accused does not plead in court during trial that he is impotent and cannot commit rape, the official added. Potency tests are conducted on the rape accused in some cases. Read | Unnao rape survivor alleges magistrate confined her to hotel room, says was not even given water As Sengars CBI custody remand ends on Friday, the federal agency is likely to approach the special CBI court in Lucknow again to seek an extension in order to run the potency test. Sengar, a BJP MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao district, was arrested on April 13 after a woman accused him of raping her last June. He has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since the victim was 17 years old at the time. The CBI also arrested Sengars younger brother Atul Singh Sengar, who is charged with killing the girls father who died in police custody. With these arrests, the CBI has managed to get custodial remand of most of the persons associated with the case, who include Virendra Singh alias Babua, Vineet, Shalu and Sonu Singh all associates of the BJP legislator. The CBI has also arrested a woman, Sashi Singh, who was accused of taking the victim to Sengars residence in Makhi village by the victims mother. Sashi is also accused of keeping guard outside the room during the rape. The case, along with that of the rape of an 8-year-old in Jammus, stoked public outrage as people demanded justice for girls and better security for women. The Modi government last week passed an ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping girls under 12 years. The Bengal Police has busted a racket that has been selling the meat of dead animals left in dumping grounds over the past five years. It is suspected that the meat, after being processed with chemicals and frozen to a temperature of around minus 44 degree Fahrenheit, was sold to traders in Bihar, Odisha and Assam. Some of the accused told police that frozen carcass meat might have been smuggled into neighbouring countries as well. As much as 20 tons of meat, neatly packet in 1000 plastic packets, was seized on Thursday from a private cold storage in the Narkeldanga area of Kolkata. Till Friday afternoon, 10 people were arrested from Bengal and Bihar during an investigation that began last week. Read: Two held in Bengal for selling skin and meat of dead animals dumped in Kolkata outskirts Among those nabbed is Manik Mukherjee, 62, a CPI(M) leader who served as a councillor of Gayeshpur municipality in Nadia district between 1990 and 2000. Police said he was also an employee of the adjoining Kalyani municipality and was in charge of the dumping grounds from where carcasses were regularly picked up for meat. He retired two years ago but allegedly used his influence to help the racket thrive. Police found that the owners of the cold storage, where many traders store food products, were unaware of the operation. They were told that the packets contained fish. The accused have been charged under Sections 272, 273 and 308 of Indian Penal Code and Section 16 of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, West Bengal. While Sections 272 and 273 deals with adulteration of food or drink intended for sale, Section 308 deals with attempt to commit culpable homicide. Read: 75 dogs, to be sold for meat in Nagaland, rescued in Assam The incident, the first of its kind in Bengal, has created a stir because all types of animals ranging from cows to cats are left to decompose in dumping grounds. Normally, scavenging birds and animals feed of these carcasses. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has requested the state forensic science laboratory to test samples of the meat since we dont have the equipment to find out what species of animals were ending up as food, said Atin Ghosh, member, mayor-in-council of the civic body. Though there have been rumours that the racket supplied meat to shopkeepers and restaurants in Kolkata and surrounding areas, the authorities have found no proof yet. The investigation was started by Budge Budge police station in the South 24 Parganas district on April 20 after it arrested two men who were caught red-handed by local people while carrying a huge quantity of animal meat in a taxi. Four special teams were formed to conduct this investigation. The police raided places in Sonarpur and Budge Budge in the South 24 Parganas, Kankinara and Bhatpara in the North 24 Parganas and Narkeldanga and Tangra in Kolkata. The racket deployed informers at every dumping ground in these places. Their job was to send an alert every time a carcass was dumped, Koteswara Rao Nalvath, superintendent of police, Diamond Harbour, told the media. We are looking for the kingpin, he added. The Budge Budge police unearthed the racket after some residents of Subhas Udyan area (around 28 km from Kolkata) caught Raja Mullick, a casual worker of the local municipality and Vincent Simon, a taxi driver, while some meat and animal parts were being smuggled out in the taxi. Read: Two held for selling adulterated milk in Sangrur Initial investigation revealed that these people used to sell the meat in some street markets in the Sealdah area of Kolkata. We collected more information and arrested Sunny Mullick, one of the key players, from Nawada district in Bihar. Another key player, Sharafat Hussain, was nabbed in Kalyani. They told us that they sent this meat to Bihar, Odisha and even Assam said Tapas Sinha, officer-in-charge, Budge Budge police station. Last week, Kolkata Municipal Corporation employees collected samples of mutton and chicken items as well as samples of raw meat from a few eateries in Sealdah market. These will be tested at KMC laboratories to determine if the meat were fresh. Though there was no specific information or complaint, the Kolkata civic body started acting on its own after Fridays arrests. This was done because last month the city woke up to rumours that chicken meat soaked in chemicals used for preserving dead bodies were being sold in the markets. However, repeated raids yielded no proof. The racked was discovered after one of the wheels of the taxi fell in a deep pothole and the driver asked for help from some locals. When the vehicle didnt move after much pushing, the locals decided to empty the luggage compartment and found the meat, said Gautam Dasgupta, vice chairman of Budge Budge municipality. While the arrests made headlines, citizens became concerned. On Friday morning, people living near the Kolkata airport caught a man who was carrying around 70 kilos of meat, apparently that of chicken, to a local restaurant. Locals complained that the meat was decomposed and called the police. The man was detained for questioning. An eerie silence descended on the usually bustling town of Dudahi in Kushinagar on Friday, a day after 13 children lost their lives in a tragic accident involving a school van and a train at an unmanned railway crossing. Soft sobs and the fervent chanting of prayers were all that one could hear as traders shut shop at 4 pm and gathered in the Madarsa Tola area to participate in the funeral procession of Farhan Ali (10) and Kamran Ali (8). Theirs was the last in a series of funeral processions taken out across Dudahi in a period of just 24 hours. The families of other victims had performed the last rites on Thursday itself, considering that the bodies could not be preserved for another day. Our hearts go out to the families that lost their loved ones. May Allah give them enough strength to bear this loss. We are with them in their hour of grief, said Mohammed Shareef, who runs a juice shop in the village. The procession which began from Madarsa Tola after the namaz at 5 pm was led by Haider Ali, father of the two children. I was initially told that they sustained injuries while playing. When I reached my house, I saw their bodies wrapped in white cloth and lying on ice slabs. I am shattered, my world is lost. I dont have any reason to earn or even live, said Ali, who works as a driver for a firm in Saudi Arabia. Funeral procession of Haider Alis Sons Kamran and Farhan who died in the accident on April 27. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo) Ali had come down from the middle-eastern country on Friday morning. He rushed to Kushinagar to see his sons immediately after his flight landed at Lucknows Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport around 9 am, only to come face-to-face with a terrible truth. Farhan and Kamran were dead. They were so innocent. What was their fault? They were only eight and ten. Their mother is numb; she has not uttered a word since yesterday, he said, tears streaming down his face. The procession culminated at a graveyard located barely 150 metres from the scene of the tragedy. However, another shock was in store for the family when they proceeded to bury the children. As fate would have it, the bodies had not been stitched closed after the autopsy. Infuriated, the family staged a protest. The bodies of the children, even their scalps, were not stitched back. This is like adding insult to injury. How can one be so insensitive? asked Salim Ali, the childrens grandfather. Moinuddin Ansari, who works in Saudi Arabia as a tailor, also lost two of his children in the accident. However, unlike Ali, he could not return to the village to perform the last rites. Family members of Kamran and Farhan who died in the accident. As my husband left for Saudi only a week ago, after spending 20 days in the village, his employer didnt allow him to come back, said Salma Khatoon, the mother of the deceased children, Miraj (8) and Muskan (6). It is tough for a mother to bear the loss of her children. I am thankful to Allah that my youngest son, Mehtab, refused to go to school that day. Mehtab had alighted from the school van at the last moment, complaining of stomachache. The family of Amarjeet Kumar, the gram pradhan of Misrauli village, is also in a state of shock. He lost three children Ravi (10), Anoop (8) and Ragini (3) in the accident. The family performed the last rites on Thursday because the bodies were badly mutilated. We were at a marriage function when somebody informed us about the incident. I rushed to the hospital, only to have some insensitive officials redirect me towards the mortuary where the bodies of all my three children were being readied for an autopsy. They didnt even allow me to take a good look at my children one last time, said Kiran, their mother. Villagers said Amarjeet was still in a state of shock, and wouldnt speak to anybody. The last major tragedy to strike Kushinagar was on June 18, 2008, when over a dozen children died after consuming discarded ice candies dumped in a secluded place. We refer to it as the chuski kaand (ice-candy controversy). The then district magistrate was suspended after that incident, said a resident. In what is being pegged as a coup in the world of Indian writing in English, Amazon Publishing has signed a deal with author Chetan Bhagat for his next six books. Bhagat is the first Indian author to be signed by the global publishing arm of the online retail giant. Usually, Indian authors head West to look for international publishers. Its exciting to see the West coming to us, said Bhagat, who made his debut with Five Point Someone in 2004, and has published nine books (seven novels and two non-fiction books) with Rupa Publications so far. Each has been a bestseller. Under the new deal, Bhagat will pen three fiction and three non-fiction titles within the next five years. The first novel, currently in its editing stage, is set for release in October. (Its different; expect the unexpected was all the author would say.) The non-fiction titles will feature Bhagats essays and columns on issues concerning the young rurban Indian, whose voice he is often seen to represent. Each book, priced competitively to target the mass market, will be published as a paperback, as an e-book and as an audiobook. Its challenging to make people read in todays times, when you can easily get distracted by social media and digital technology, said Bhagat. These innovative platforms help. The books will also be translated into multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil, by the Indian publisher Westland, owned by Amazon. The translations will be released as close to the English launch dates as possible. Westland will handle distribution India, both online and offline. The books will, of course, be available on Amazon, whose global arm will distribute the books to English-speaking markets around the world, with special focus on the US and UK. We want them to reach as many readers as possible across the world and multiple formats allow us to do that, said Jeffery Belle, vice-president of Amazon Publishing. Bhagat added, This will also help me grow my audience base. Thanks to Amazon Kindle, my previous books are available online. At a literature festival in Dubai, I met people from the Middle East who had read the online versions. I never expected to have an audience in that region. The company also plans to experiment with Bhagats non-fiction content as novella-length short reads under a format similar to the Kindle Singles featuring British and American writers. In India, this content will be available under Mikros, a Westland imprint. Well publish short stories, curated content from books and commissioned pieces under this imprint, said Westland CEO Gautam Padmanabhan. Earlier, there was no platform for content longer than a magazine article and shorter than a book. These are typically narratives between 5,000 and 45,000 words, Belle added. Bhagats novels have also turned out to be moneyspinners for the Hindi film industry, as on-screen adaptations. Asked if Amazon plans to adapt the books for its OTT digital platform, Amazon Prime, Belle says, Its too early to say. Our main focus is to turn the books into successes first. In a surprise move, the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) arrested 51-year-old Tariq Abdul Kareem Parveen, a close aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, in connection with a 1998 murder case, in which he allegedly plotted to kill his business partner Mohammed Ibrahim. In its press release, the AEC said 38-year-old Ibrahim had been shot at Kismat Colony in Mumbra by a Shaukat Khilji, who was accompanied by six to seven people, following a dispute over cable business with Parveen. What comes as a surprise is the AECs claim that Parveen, who has been living close to the Mumbai police commissioners office near GT Hospital in south Mumbai since 2004, has been on the run ever since. Parveen was deported to India from Dubai in 2004 and arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with the illegal construction of Sara-Sahara shopping complex in Crawford Market, built allegedly at the behest of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim by his brother Iqbal Kaskar. He was charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). However, he was acquitted along with Kaskar, later. He was also arrested for allegedly attempting to extort money from a city-based developer Riyaz Bhatti, but he was acquitted in that case too. Much later, in 2015, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, along with the Uttar Pradesh police, arrested Parveen for a criminal case registered against him in Hazratganj. Sources in the Mumbai police said Parveen has been in Mumbai since his arrest and acquittal, and that he has never been on the run. On Friday, however, Pradeep Sharma, reinstated encounter specialist and senior police inspector of Thane AEC, said: We got to know about Parveens presence in south Mumbai through our informers, and a team was rushed to the spot. We sent officers to cover all exits so that he could not escape. Sharma added: We are questioning Parveen, and we suspect his hand in many other crimes. We have a few leads on his link in cases where he is indirectly connected, and we are verifying it. A notice sent to Peter Mukerjea by his wife Indrani seeking divorce seemed to be the culmination of many run-ins, suggest a series of email exchanges documented as a part of the charge-sheet in the Sheena Bora murder case. Both are accused of being involved in the murder of Sheena Bora, Indranis daughter from a previous relationship. Peter and Indranis love story first bloomed in a plush bar in a five-star hotel in south Mumbai. But after 10 years of marriage, their relationship started souring as Peters children from his first marriage raised questions over her interference in their personal lives. The union further strained after Sheena Bora, who was in a relationship with Peters son Rahul, was murdered in April 2012. The couples exit from INX Media in 2009, a media firm which they had co-founded, widened the chasm between them. However, the frosty relationship briefly thawed. But Indranis arrest in August 2015 in the Sheen Bora murder case proved to be the final straw, and left the union irrevocably wrecked. She is accused of murdering her daughter Sheena Bora. Before his arrest in the case, Peter told the media that he was introduced to Sheena as Indranis sister and that he never knew the truth. This was corroborated in statements given by Peters son Rahul to the Khar police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). As the trial started in 2016, there have been talks of Peter and Indrani filing for a mutual consent divorce on various occasions. A whirlwind tale of love, business, murder and divorce Indrani Mukerjea Indrani was born on Jan 3, 1972 She was sent to Lady Kane College in Shillong to pursue BA in 1986 Indrani fell in love with Siddarth Das, who was her senior by two years. By the end of 1986, Das was living with Indrani and her family. While in a live-in relationship, Indrani gave birth to two kids, Sheena Bora and Mekhail Bora Indrani and Das faced huge resistance from her parents. Indrani walked out of the house leaving behind Das and two kids in 1989. Nobody knew where she went. She had moved to Kolkata Indrani visited her family in 1992. This time to ensure that her parents adopted Sheena and Mekhail In Kolkata, she came in contact with Sanjeev Khanna who ran a cable business and a year later she married him In 1997, Indrani gave birth to her and Khannas daughter, Vidhie. But soon the marriage turned sour and she wanted to leave as Khanna would allegedly get violent under the influence of alcohol. In 2001, Indrani finally moved to Mumbai and later was joined by her daughter, Vidhie. Khanna, however, stayed back in Kolkata. Indrani met Peter in 2001 at a party and he was smitten by her. The couple announced their marriage a year later in 2002. Vidhie continued to stay with the couple. Peter Mukerjea Peter was born in UK on Nov 21, 1955. When Peter turned 2, the family returned to India He later opted to be a UK national and worked as a marketing executive In 1978, Peter came to India and later married Shabnam Singh Peter and Shabnam moved to the UK where Peter continued to work. In 1980, Rabin was born to Peter and Shabnam. Two years later, Rahul was born In 1988, Peter and Shabnam moved to New Delhi to expose their sons to the family and Indian culture. Peter started working as an account director with an advertising firm The couple then moved to Hong Kong, where their marriage faced troubles In 1993, the couple relocated to Mumbai, and sent their children to the UK for education. In 1994, Shabnam moved to England. A year later, she filed for divorce In 1999, Peter was appointed as the CEO of a TV network and became a household name In 2007, Peter resigned as the CEO, and became the chairman of Indranis INX Service Pvt Ltd. Six months later, he went on to start INX Media. But things did not pan out the way Peter had envisioned, and he and Indrani exited INX Media in 2009 The next two years saw Peter wind up his operations in India to a large extent, and move to UK The NM Joshi Marg police on Saturday filed a supplementary charge sheet against two Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers, who were arrested last month in connection with Kamala Mill fire case. The officers Dinesh Y Mahale, sub-engineer, south ward, BMC, and Sandip S Shinde, assistant divisional fire officer, Worli division were the last to be arrested in connection with the case for failing to follow procedure. An officer, who is part of the investigating team, said that it was Shinde who forwarded the proposals of the two restaurants, seeking no-objection certificates (NOC) from the fire department, to superior officer Ravindra Patil. The NOCs were granted on the basis of these proposals. The proposals had been forwarded without an inspection of the premises, claimed the officer. Meanwhile, Mahale has been charged for not acting upon the complaint against the illegal construction. The officer said that one of the organisations with an office in the same premises had complained against the restaurants. Mahale initially took action and demolished the illegal construction. However, he failed to act upon the subsequent complaints, the officer said. The charge sheet against the two is based on documentary evidence. The case has been committed to the sessions court, and will be clubbed with that of the other accused. HC denies bail plea of Mojos Bistro co-owner Yug Tuli The Bombay high court on Friday rejected bail application of businessman Yug Tuli, a co-owner of Mojos Bistro restobar at Kamla Mills compound, where 14 people lost their lives in the tragic fire on December 29. Justice Ajey Gadkari pronounced the verdict on Tullis bail plea, saying the reasoning for rejecting the plea will be made available later. 29-year-old Tuli had surrendered before NM Joshi Marg police on January 16 after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the sessions court. Tuli, along with his partner, Yug Pathak, has been booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life and personal safety of others) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a Mumbai-based chartered accountant and tax consultant, Dinesh Jajodia, 51, for his alleged role in money laundering for Geodesic Limited (GL), amounting to $125 million. ED has alleged that Geodesic had defrauded shareholders and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) holders by creating web of shell companies. It collected funds through FCCB investments abroad, but failed to repay the amount to the London-based bank which acted as the trustee. Jajodia was the director and authorised signatory of various overseas companies located in UAE, Hong Kong and British Virgin Islands. M/s. Geodesic Ltd. had raised $125 million under FCCB for which Citibank N.A. London acted as a trustee, said a senior ED officer. The utilisation of the funds was proposed as investment in foreign subsidiaries or new overseas acquisitions. The amount was first credited in the overseas account (Citibank London) of M/s. GL and thereafter, was transferred directly into the account of its overseas subsidiaries, M/s. Geodesic Holdings Limited, Mauritius and M/s. Geodesic Technology Solutions Limited, Hongkong. On maturity, M/s. Geodesic Ltd failed to repay the amount, which totalled to $157.06 million, to the London-based bank, the ED has alleged. The investigation was conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Development Plan (DP, 2034) for Mumbai released by the state government on Wednesday after months of debate, discussion and dithering has evoked mixed reactions from different quarters. Authorities involved in making the plan (finalized after many months of debate, discussion and revisions) believe theyve hit a winning formula. Skeptics, however, argue that while the DP aims for the sky, it ignores ground realities. This argument may seem caustic, but is also cogent and arises from past experience. Such has been the neglect and apathy in attending to the basics while aiming for the seemingly magnificent that any new proposal justifiably invites disbelief. Mind you, the idea of making Mumbai a super city, flush with skyscrapers that play hide and seek with the clouds, a la New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, by increasing the FSI to 3 (residential) or 5 (commercial), may be a necessity given the shortage of space, particularly in the island city. But how useful will these skyscrapers be if most things that hold these up are on shaky ground, as it were? Population density in a particular area, the availability of everyday facilities, and the ease with which emergency services can function are important factors in determining how viable high-rise structures can be. As yet, Mumbais experience with these has been frankly uninspiring. The biggest apprehension most people will harbour of the DP is whether the governments biggest thrust is not to help realtors under the guise of promoting affordable housing at great cost to the environment. This stems largely from the fact that apart from increasing FSI, the government has sought to release 2,100 hectares of hitherto No Development Zone (NDZ) land and approximately 330 hectares of saltpans. Compunctions of how these large parcels of land will be used are not unfounded because politico-builder nexus has been the bane of the city. The paucity of land, in South Mumbai in early decades and everywhere now, led to indiscriminate utilisation, dereservation and even usurpation of land. This saw decades of lopsided and unplanned development that not only defeated the purpose of making housing readily available at reasonable cost to buyers, but also played havoc with the aesthetics of the city. That said, I wont stretch the misgivings any further. While some salient features of the DP 2034 were released on Wednesday, the detailed plan is yet to be made public. Until that happens, it would be unfair to be alarmist. Nevertheless, I have my wish list and I hope that most, if not all, of these things have been addressed in the DP. Paramount in this is the need to have more green zones and maintain them properly. Globally, environment issues have become first priority. As French president Emmanuel Macron said recently, we have to save this planet, because this is the only one we have. And this must start with our cities. There must also be emphasis on and improvement in water conservation methods. Most of Mumbai is surrounded by water. The city also has a very healthy monsoon season. Why should water scarcity ever be a worry unless we are foolish? An increase in the number of playgrounds and parks is also mandatory. Too often in the past, open spaces have been seen as easy pickings by the politic-builder nexus. Why, only recently, the Priyadarshini Park at Napean Sea Road was just about saved from hostile takeover. The DP will hopefully also look more favourably at slum rehabilitation within city limits as much as possible. This will not only be less disruptive, but also ensure readily available labour within the city and boost employment too. I understand developing the sea fronts in various areas is part of the DP, but this should be in conjunction with increased use of water transport. It is ridiculous that a city with such a long and beautiful waterfront has been ignored for so long. Finally, more culture hubs need to be created and encouraged. Apart from natural beauty, the cultural ethos of a city enhances its character, gives it identity and soul. All these issues and my list is not exhaustive are not so much to do with the nitty-gritty of development, rather improving the quality of life of Mumbai. Ultimately, that must be the aim any government. A 40-year-old Nepal national, who was arrested in connection with a murder case in December last year was released on bail by a city sessions court last week. The court pulled up the prosecution for not conducting a test identification parade (TIP) following his arrest. On November 21 last year, Andheri (East) resident Sapna Gaikwad received a call from her husband Sanjay at night who said that an unknown person had beaten him up outside a country liquor shop in the nearby area. Sapna rushed to the spot and found her husband sitting behind Marol pipeline bus stop. As per the prosecution, after returning home, Sanjay told his wife that his right thigh is paining, so she massaged his leg and he slept. But the next morning, he woke up with a swollen thigh and she took him to Cooper Hospital. The police recorded Sanjays statement in the evening on November 22 where he told police that an unknown Nepali person assaulted him. Sanjay however died during treatment on November 23. Following this, the Sahar police registered a case of murder against the unknown person. Advocate SS Tiwari, appearing for the accused Bheem Bahadur Thapa, told the court that Thapas name is nowhere disclosed in the FIR or in the witnesses statement. He has been arrested only because he is a Nepal national and as per the statement of the witnesses, Sanjay was beaten by a Nepal national. Tiwari further argued that no TIP has been conducted. Additional sessions judge observed in his order, The TIP is also not conducted, in spite of the fact that the assailant was not known to the prosecution witnesses. There is no plausible explanation tendered by the prosecution for not conducting the TIP. In the reply also, nothing has been stated about the TIP. Additional public prosecutor KY Salunke told the court that the offence is serious in nature and since Thapa is a Nepal national, the possibility of him absconding cannot be ruled out. The court held that the cause of death is not ascertained as there is nothing on record to that effect. The intention of the assailant to commit the murder is also doubtful at this stage. The court released Thapa on bail last week. Redevelopment of city slums on Centre-owned land may get cleared soon as Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday directed the state to call a joint meeting of all concerned state ministries to resolve the issue. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis raised the matter at the 23rd meeting of the western zonal council held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Requested to immediately resolve slum redevelopment issue, where Govt of India departments land is involved Fadnavis tweeted. There are 11 Central establishments which have land parcels in Mumbai.The encroached land area with slums is around 517 acres. The state has been unable to redevelop these plots as it is not getting a nod from the Central ministries. The issue has been pending since years and needs immediate attention, Fadnavis reportedly said at the meet. To make affordable housing possible under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on salt pan land, the CM asked chief secretary Sumit Mullick to discuss with Central government officials this week to frame a policy. Thane residents commuting to Mumbai in jam-packed trains might soon get some relief. After promising to start the first phase of the water transport project from Kalyan- Thane- Vasai, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has now initiated the process of preparing a Detailed Project Report of the second phase, which will pave way for Thane to Gateway of India and Thane to Panvel and JNPT connectivity. The pre-feasibility study of this phase was presented to the state government on April 24, who has now given a go ahead for preparation of the DPR. Twenty percent vehicular traffic will be reduced after the commission of this route, claimed the civic body. The time to travel to Mumbai will also be reduced to over an hour from around two hours. The first phase will see water transport from Kalyan to Thane to Vasai. In the second phase, the corporation has proposed two major routes. An officer from TMC said, We will start water transport from Thane (Saket) to Gateway of India via Trombay, Elephanta and Ferry Warf and also Thane to Navi Mumbai (Panvel and JNPT). We had conducted a pre-feasibility study of this phase and made a presentation before union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. They have given a go-ahead to start the work on the DPR of this project. We have begun the tendering process to appoint an agency for the DPR. The DPR will be ready in three months. The route of the Thane-Mumbai waterway will be Saket (Thane)-Kalwa- Vitawa-Mithbunder- Airoli-Vashi- Trombay- Elephanta- Ferry Warf- Gateway of India. The Thane Navi Mumbai route will be Saket (Thane)- Vashi- Nerul- Belapur- Taloja, while one route from Belapur will join Panvel via Jui Nagar, another route will join JNPT and Uran through Nerul. The tender for pre-feasibility study of the second phase of water transport was called in October last year. In January this year, the corporation appointed consultant for pre-feasibility report of phase two, while the state and central government on April 24, gave a go ahead for making a DPPR of this project. He added, We will make the DPR and give it to the central government. They will appoint an implementing agency for this phase. As of now, the civic commissioner has only taken up responsibility of implementing the first phase. The second phase is out of our scope of work and we will not be implementing authority. The Noida authority on Thursday approved a proposal to build an elevated road over Shahdara drain, providing seamless connectivity to motorists between east Delhis Chilla area in Mayur Vihar and Noida expressway. The 5.5-km-road is expected to remove traffic bottlenecks on the two-kilometre stretch which passes through Noida sectors 14A, 15A and 16A between Mayur Vihar-I and Noida expressway. Since the drain is owned by the Delhi government, the authority will have to seek approval before undertaking construction. The elevated road will also save nearly 600 trees, which had to be cut if we would have widened the Delhi-Noida Link Road. We will request the Delhi governments irrigation and flood control department to give us permission for this project, which will decongest Delhi-Noida Link Road and benefit motorists, said Sandeep Chandra, chief engineer of the Noida authority. The Noida authority had earlier proposed the elevated road over the drain in 2012 and had got a detailed project report prepared but, the project did not take off as the Delhi government did not give permission. Shahdara drain passes through Noida sectors 15A, 14A, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 38A. Earlier, a traffic committee headed by the Noida authoritys chief executive officer (CEO) Alok Tandon had suggested to the UP government that an elevated road above the Shahdara drain can help in reducing congestion. Funds for project In a boost to the project, the UP State Bridge Corporation Ltd has proposed to build the road and offered 50% funds. Officials said rest of the cost will be borne by the Noida authority. The authority officials said the corporation can apply when there is a call for tenders but, the UP Bridge Corporation wants to take up this project without a tender, as it is a government agency. Therefore, the PWD has written a letter to them, saying that if the project is to given to the bridge corporation without tenders, it will pay 50% of the cost, said Chandra. The elevated road is expected to cost Rs 650 crore. Special cell teams of the Delhi Police arrested two suspected pro-Pakistan Kashmiri hackers, in separate raids, from Jalandhar and Rajpura, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The two, accused of hacking over 500 Indian websites, have been identified as Shahid Malla, 28, and Adil Hussain Teli, 20, said PS Kushwah, DSP (special cell). Malla is a second-year B Tech student in a Rajpura college. He belongs to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir and was staying at a rented accommodation in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura. He had been staying at the paying guest accommodation for six months. The Delhi police have not disclosed anything. They have informed us that Shahid is needed in an FIR registered in Delhi. This is the only detail we have, said Patiala SSP S Bhupathi. Teli is a final-year BCA student in Jalandhar. He belongs to Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was staying at a rented accommodation in Gagan Vihar. As per their online activities and initial findings, the two were part of anti-national hacking group called Team Hackers Third Eye, and claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed social media ban by use of VPN (virtual private network) during April-May 2017, Kushwah added. The duo was found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-India hackers. Some of those hackers are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies, Kushwah went on to add. The duo was found to be pro-Kashmiri terrorism and pro-Pakistan as they had made made anti-India and seditious posts, the DCP said. Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from them will be examined by the Delhi Police in detail to ascertain their role in anti-state activities. Delhi deputy commissioner of police, cyber cell, Anyesh Roy told HT, The group used to hack Indian websites to deface them. Their group had defaced many Indian websites, including that of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. In an effort to woo the Dalit community ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday dined at a Dalits home and spent his night at anothers at nearby Mudhal village in the district. Accompanied by senior BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, district party president Rajesh Honey and other local leaders, the minister reached the residence of Balwinder Singh, who belongs to Dalit community, at around 7.15 pm and dined there. Prior to this, he also paid obeisance at the village gurdwara. Balwinder is leader of local unit of BJPs SC Morcha. After taking meal at his house, he left for the home of Niranjanjit Singh, another member of Dalit community in the village, where he was to spend his night. While interacting with the media, Puri said, I have come here on the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to redress the grievances of the Dalit community. He said he would gather information about the problems being faced by the scheduled caste (SC) community in the village by spending his night there and submit a report to the Prime Minister. To a question, he made it clear that they have no intention to gain political mileage from the act and they actually want to work for the betterment of the neglected community. He said after submitting a report to the PM, he would again visit the village. Notably, BJP ministers are dining and spending nights at Dalits home throughout the country as part of the saffron partys drive to reach out to the community. Britains Prince William and his wife Kate have named their baby son Louis Arthur Charles, Kensington Palace announced on Friday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles, said a palace statement. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. The name pays tribute to Williams great-great uncle Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA in 1979, while Charles is the name of Williams father. Arthur had been the bookmakers favourite for the couples third child. Louis is currently the 71st most popular name for a baby boy in England and Wales. He weighed eight pounds and seven ounces (3.8 kilogrammes) when he was born at 11:01 am (1001 GMT) on Monday with William, the Duke of Cambridge, present for the birth. The couple stepped out of St. Marys Hospital in central London to cheers from a crowd of supporters and global media outlets gathered outside. Their two other children -- Prince George, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte -- had met the latest addition to the family earlier in the afternoon, before returning home to Kensington Palace. Sixth great-grandchild Louis is a sixth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth, who turned 92 on Saturday, and her husband Prince Philip. He will hold the title of prince after the Queen changed the rules in 2012 to ensure that all of Williams children would be entitled to the style, not just his eldest son. Prince Louis is also the first male royal who will not overtake his sister in the line of succession after a reform that ends male primogeniture. Louis Mountbatten was the beloved great-uncle of Prince Charles, and the uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh. Known to Charles as Uncle Dickie, Mountbatten was the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947. He was assassinated by Irish republicans when his boat was blown up on a fishing trip off the coast of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Louis is also a middle name of Prince George. William, who is destined to become king after Charles, met Kate at St Andrews University in Scotland. They tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011, in a ceremony watched by up to two billion people worldwide, helping to breathe new life into Britains monarchy after years of crisis. The birth kicks off a busy summer of royal celebrations, with Prince Harry set to marry his US actress wife Meghan Markle on May 19. William joked on Thursday that revenge will be sweet after being named as best man for the occasion, a role reversal of the 2011 wedding. The Sun newspaper has reported that Kates sister Pippa Middleton, 34, is pregnant with her first child, while Williams cousin Zara is set to give birth towards the end of the summer. Are flowers and a card enough? On Melania Trumps 48th birthday, President Donald Trump worried Thursday that his gift might not be sufficient. Trump got an interview with Fox & Friends going by giving a shout-out to the first lady: So, happy birthday to Melania, he said. Asked what he had gotten his wife, Trump said: I better not get into that because I may get in trouble. Maybe I didnt get her so much. Justifying that, he added, You know, Im very busy. He later offered that he had gotten Mrs. Trump a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers and added that shes a wonderful wife. The president isnt the only one whos been busy. The first lady planned Tuesdays state dinner for the president of France. Last weekend, she attended the Houston funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush. And she and the president recently hosted the Japanese prime minister and his wife at the Trumps Florida estate for a two-day visit. Mrs. Trumps office said shell spend her birthday with family. At least three steel mills in the Chinese city of Xuzhou, in the nations No. 2 steelmaking province, have suspended operations amid local authority orders to shut plants until they meet tough anti-pollution rules, three industry sources said. Those three plants have combined a capacity to produce 4.25 million tonnes of steel a year, a third of the capacity in the city in the eastern province of Jiangsu. The status of other mills in Xuzhou remains unclear. China, the worlds top steel producer, has ordered a host of cities to crack down on heavy industry as part of its years-long war on smog, which has become a hot-button social issue amid concerns about damage to peoples health. A sales manager at Liguo Zhenbei Steel Co, which operates one of the closed mills, said local authorities had ordered all steel plants in the city to shut until they meet the latest tough requirements aimed at cleaning its notoriously toxic air. Mills, no matter big or small, have all stopped operations, he said, declining to give his name as he is not authorised to talk to media. The citys environmental bureau declined to comment. Xuzhou Dongnan Steel Industrial Co Ltd, one of the citys biggest steel mills by production capacity, is temporarily closed for maintenance, an official told Reuters by phone. The official did not say how long the plant would be shut. Earlier this month, the city launched six months of environmental inspections at industrial plants and construction sites as part of its 2018 action plan to clean its skies. At the beginning, I thought my mill would be exempt from the closure list, since our mill emits less harmful substances, said a deputy general manager at an electric-arc furnace (EAF) in the city. He said his family name was Wang, but declined to give his first name. He did not want the company he works for to be identified. EAFs, or mini-mills, use scrap steel and emit far less carbon than blast furnaces, which have to go through the polluting sintering process to make hot metal. However, Wangs mill last week was also ordered to close until it can pass a test conducted by a third-party environmental detection agency. That is unlikely to happen before the end of May, he said. Xuzhou is a hub of 13 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity in the eastern province of Jiangsu, Chinas second-biggest steel producing province after Hebei. The city is under particular pressure to deal with the problem because its average concentration of hazardous, breathable particles known as PM2.5 rose by 10 percent in 2017, missing the national target for a 20-percent cut. Average PM2.5 levels for April so far have been 110 micrograms per cubic metre, up from the same time last year and almost double the citys 2018 aim to drop to below 60 micrograms, according to data from Chinas National Environmental Monitoring Centre. Top Indian-American Democratic lawmakers have vehemently opposed the Trump administrations plan to scrap an Obama-era rule allowing spouses of H-1B visa holders to work legally in the US. The Trump administration is planning to propose to end allowing spouses of H1-B visa holders to work legally in the US, a move that could have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Indians. The plan to end the Obama-era rule could have an impact on more than 70,000 H-4 visas holders, who have work permits. I will say that the H-4 visas go to women who are just as qualified, sometimes more qualified, than their spouses but havent been able to work, Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said at an event at the US Capitol organised by the US India Friendship Council. I oppose the move to terminate work permits to H-4 visas, Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives told PTI. This is a gender issue as well, she emphasised, referring to the fact that a significantly large number of beneficiaries H-4 work permits are women. Before being elected to the Congress, Jayapal had worked to build a coalition across the country to get permits to the spouses of H-1B visa. H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India. They had obtained work permits under a special order issued by the previous Obama administration. Indian-Americans were a major beneficiary of this provision. More than 100,000 H-4 visa holders have been beneficiary of this rule. A 2015 rule issued by the Obama administration allows work permits for spouses who otherwise could not be employed while H-1B visa holders seek permanent resident status -- a process that can take a decade or longer. We worked with the Obama administration to institute a rule that said that the spouses of H-1B should also be able to work. If we have talented men and women who are spouses, we want them to be able to also contribute those skills. We passed that rule administratively. Now the Trump administration is threatening to pull that rule back. It would hurt many many people spouses and children across the country, Jayapal told the audience. READ: H1B visa approvals for Indian IT cos drop by 43% between 2015-17: Report Immigration she said is good for the economy. It is a core part of who we are as a country. The issue of immigration has never just been about immigration, it has been about who we are as a country and what were willing to stand up for, she said. Jayapal said she represented the Seattle district where many of the large corporations have a need for skilled workers. I myself was on an H-1B at various times. I understand how important it is that we have our H1B visa programme in a way that works, she said. Yes, there are some places where we need to reform and adjust it to make sure that were not taking advantage of that programme; to make sure that we continue to allow American workers to have jobs. But all of the research shows us that immigration does not take jobs away from people it actually contributes to greater economic growth but also the ability for American workers to move up themselves, Jayapal said. She also advocated for family-based immigration system. During the conference yesterday, she was joined by several other Democratic Congressmen Joe Crowley, Ami Bera and Raja Krishnamoorthi -- on H-1B and H4 visas. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said that H-1B brings much needed talent to the country. President Donald Trump is aware about this and wants to have an immigration system that attracts and retains talent in the country. The business people that I know in the Indian American community in North Carolina who have gotten American citizenship are extraordinary people. They love this country as much as I do as an American born citizen. They add a richness to our society that is very important, the Republican Senator from North Carolina said. The president feels the same way. Ive had a discussion with him about the concept of not only advanced degrees but trade skills and other certifications from other countries that we need. Skills that are helpful to this nation, skills that we should find every possible way to accept anyone from any nation whos willing to come here and work, Tillis said. The president of the United States has a view that there is a place for legal immigration, work visas and green cards. Because Ive heard him say it more than once. What were trying to do is debate how you actually get to that policy, he said. The United States will no longer turn a blind eye to the theft of American jobs, wealth and the intellectual property, President Donald Trump has said. Trump also proclaimed April 26 as the World Intellectual Property Day, 2018. Trump said on Thursday that intellectual property theft is estimated to cost the economy as much as $600 billion a year. Our country will no longer turn a blind eye to the theft of American jobs, wealth, and intellectual property through the unfair and unscrupulous economic practices of some foreign actors. These practices are harmful not only to our nations businesses and workers but to our national security as well, Trump said. To protect our economic and national security, I have directed federal agencies to aggressively respond to the theft of American intellectual property. In combatting this intellectual property theft, and in enforcing fair and reciprocal trade policy, we will protect American jobs and promote global innovation, he said. The United States continues to demand the protection of intellectual property rights abroad, he said adding that his administration will also take steps to strengthen the patent system at home. Kim Jong Un on Friday became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korean-controlled territory, starting a historic summit meeting with the Souths president that will test Kims willingness to bargain away his nuclear weapons. Kims crossing of the line at the heart of the worlds most heavily armed border zone, a prospect that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, was broadcast live in South Korea, where a riveted nation sought to discern the intentions of the Norths 34-year-old leader. For South Koreas president, Moon Jae-in, who has placed himself at the center of diplomacy to end the nuclear standoff with the North, the meeting presents a formidable task: finding a middle ground between a cunning enemy to the North and an impulsive ally in the United States. The historic encounter at the Peace House, a conference building on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom, could set the tone for an even more critical meeting planned between Kim and President Donald Trump. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signs a guest book watched by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, top, inside the Peace House at the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP) South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) pose for a photo as they cross the Military Demarcation Line ahead of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. (AFP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from right, walks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, to hold their meeting at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone Friday, April 27, 2018. (AP) South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. (REUTERS) South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) speaks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) during the Inter-Korean summit in the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. (AFP) South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (L) attends the Inter-Korean summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) in the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. (AFP) North Korean bodyguards jog next to a car carrying North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un returning to the North for a lunch break after a morning session of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. (AFP) Indian students at the Wuhan Medical University hailed the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that the PMs visit would help improve the ties between the two countries. Meenakshi Santhosh, an Indian student at the university, said it was a good move on Modis part to meet Xi. It will help India and China improve their bilateral ties, Santosh, who is among the 500 Indian students studying at the university, said. The students were also brimming with excitement at the prospect of catching a glimpse of Modi. Close to 100 students had gathered opposite Modis hotel to see him on Thursday night. After reaching the hotel from the airport, Modi made it a point to wave in the direction of waiting students. Indian student Alwin Lukose Thomas, who was waiting outside the hotel, said he got to know about the visit through a post on a mobile application that is popular among the Chinese. We were very excited, he said. Both Thomas and Santhosh said they did not face any hostility from the locals or university administration during last summers Doklam standoff between the two countries. We didnt face any problems. The locals were as normal as always (during the standoff), Meenakshi said. According to local media, the number of Indian students studying in China has increased over the past decade. We didnt face any problems, of course. The locals were as normal as always (during the standoff), Santhosh said. Talking to state-run China Daily, Liu Yebing, director of the student affairs office at the School of International Education at Wuhan University, said all but five of the 465 students from India are pursuing medical degrees. Many students have successfully become doctors in India when they graduate from the university, she said. Dancing performances given by Indian students are popular at the universitys talent shows, she added. State-controlled Global Times tabloid recent reported: Starting in 2004, China opened its doors to foreign students looking to study medicine. This has led to a surge in the number of Indian students coming to China in the past decade. Statistics from Project Atlas show that, by 2015, the number of Indian students studying in China reached 16,694, compared to 765 only 10 years ago. When Pyongyangs leader Kim Jong Un came down the steps towards the inter-Korean border Friday he was escorted by a phalanx of bodyguards carefully chosen for their fitness, marksmanship, martial arts skills and even looks. Men in sharp suits and matching blue and white striped ties fanned out ahead of and around Kim as he approached the Military Demarcation Line for a historic handshake with his Southern counterpart Moon Jae-in. Some of the men had bulging pockets. North Korea is one of the worlds most tightly-controlled societies, but even so security for its leader is iron-clad. Foreigners attending any event where Kim will be present must go through hours of security procedures beforehand, and surrender all electronics, including phones. The Guard Command, the military unit tasked with ensuring the safety of the leadership, is an elite institution close to the centre of North Korean power it provides the centrepiece display of the annual kimjongilia and kimilsungia flower festivals in Pyongyang to honour Kims father and grandfather. Ri Yong Guk, a defector from the North who served on a security detail for Kim Jong Il, wrote in a 2013 memoir that as many as six different layers of security guards protected the leader on trips to the countryside to inspect military units, plants or farms. It is one of the worlds tightest security blankets through which even a single ant would find it hard to go, he wrote. The arrangements for the current leader are reportedly even tighter, and during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the foundation of its regular armed forces in February, Pyongyang paraded three kinds of security units dedicated to protecting Kims life. Kim was repeatedly seen accompanied by a stout military general in uniform with a holstered gun. The protection afforded to the Kim family was also on display when the leaders sister Kim Yo Jong visited the South for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, accompanied by tall bodyguards with crew cuts, sunglasses and earphones. Security personnel accompany a vehicle transporting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, in this still frame taken from video, South Korea April 27, 2018. (REUTERS) Scariest place on Earth Former US president Bill Clinton once described the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula and where Fridays summit was being held as the scariest place on Earth. Despite its name, the DMZ is among the most heavily fortified areas on the planet. Around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the South Korean capital Seoul, the four-kilometre-wide space stretches for 250 kilometres across Korea and bristles with electric fences, minefields and anti-tank barriers. At the joint security area at Panmunjom the two sides, technically still at war, come face-to-face, with stern South Korean guards -- also chosen for their height and looks -- standing stock still only metres from the North Korean positions. Soldiers are permitted to carry only sidearms in the area, but it is an open secret that both sides have larger weapons stashed nearby for use in case of emergencies. In November a North Korean soldier defected under a hail of automatic rifle fire from his comrades. Back in 1984, a 22-year-old Soviet tourist bolted from North to South at Panmunjom, triggering a gun battle in which three pursuing North Korean soldiers were killed, along with a Southern trooper, although defector Vasily Matuzok was unharmed. The US Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trumps secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Army officer who was a Republican congressman, is regarded as a Trump loyalist with hawkish world views. Pompeo is already deeply involved in diplomacy. Trump sent him to North Korea three weeks ago to meet with the countrys leader, Kim Jong Un, ahead of a summit with the US president to address Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Moments after Pompeo was sworn in, the State Department said he would visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel during the weekend after attending a NATO meeting on Friday in Brussels. Pompeo picked those three Middle East stops because of all that is going on, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. Iran is likely to be on the agenda on the Middle East leg of his trip. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers. Pompeo is to meet with Saudi King Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an Jordanian King Abdullah, Nauert said. Senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted 57-42 in favour of Pompeo, who had faced resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for hawkishness and past harsh statements about homosexuality and Islam. Six Democrats and one independent who normally votes with Democrats backed Pompeo. No Republican voted no. Pompeo will be forced to quickly address a wide array of other international challenges, including long conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Chinese expansionism in Asia and Russian assertiveness. Washington is working with European allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the possibility of toughening the nuclear agreement with Iran. CIA record Pompeos supporters said he did well during 15 months leading the CIA, and said the country badly needed a leader at the State Department. Staffing at State was slashed and many positions left unfilled under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive who was Trumps first secretary of state. Trump, who abruptly fired Tillerson last month, welcomed Pompeos confirmation, saying in a statement, Having a patriot of Mikes immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history. Pompeo, who became one of Trumps closest advisers while at the CIA, faced stiff opposition from Democrats, who worried he might be too closely aligned with the president. While in Congress, Pompeo opposed the Iran nuclear accord. He once suggested the answer to Tehrans nuclear programme - which Iran has always said was for peaceful means only - was 2,000 bombing sorties. Senator Ben Cardin, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that attitude, and Pompeos backing for Washingtons withdrawal from the nuclear agreement if it cannot be changed, were among reasons he opposed him. Thats not diplomacy, and thats certainly not working with our European allies, Cardin said. Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing he was open to fixing, rather than blowing apart, the pact, which the West believes is essential to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump picked the CIAs deputy director, Gina Haspel, to replace Pompeo as head of the spy agency. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman to hold the post. Pompeo had avoided being the first nominee for secretary of state ever rejected by the Foreign Relations Committee only when Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had vowed to oppose him, shifted position minutes before the panel voted on Monday. None of the 10 Democrats on the 21-member committee supported him. The vote for Pompeo was almost the same as for Tillerson, who was approved by 56-43, then an unusually close margin for a cabinet position. The stage is set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinpings first ever informal summit as they ready for at least half a dozen round of talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan beginning Friday afternoon. The two leaders will tour a museum, have a boat ride on a lake and walk down a park while engaging in talks on a wide range of macro issues. Through heart-to-heart exchanges, Modi and Xi are expected to lay the roadmap for a better bilateral consensus and understanding in the future. This is the first such informal summit between India and China, an Indian official said on Thursday. The outcomes from the summit, repeatedly termed as informal by both Indian and Chinese diplomats, are not expected to be tangible deals will not be signed nor will a joint statement be issued. A press statement from the Indian side is expected to be issued at the end of the series of meetings on Saturday. The absence of a joint statement doesnt mean that the leaders will not reach consensus on issues, officials said. The informal nature of the meetings is only to ensure that the two leaders can engage in a relaxed atmosphere with negligible diplomatic trappings, officials added. Read | India-China cooperation outweighs our differences The Chinese media on Friday said the meetings could improve ties between the countries. The tete-a-tete between the two leaders is going to set a stage for Beijing and New Delhi to further exchange views over long-term and strategic issues and to initiate fresh momentum for future bilateral cooperation, official news agency, Xinhua, said in commentary. On global trade issues, both Xi and Modi have warned on different occasions of the dire threats of rising trade barriers to the world economy. China and India should firmly stick to the spirit of free trade so as to help maintain the current global free trading system with the World Trade Organisation at the centre, it added. Writing for state-run China Daily newspaper, Yi Fan, a Beijing-based expert on international affairs, said: In this context, the Wuhan meeting provides a much needed opportunity for strategic communication at the top level. The two leaders are expected to hold in-depth talks in a relaxed setting on issues vital to the long-term development of Sino-Indian ties. Rather than focusing on specific issues, such heart-to-heart talks can seek to close the perception gap and restore strategic trust, and form new consensus in order to put bilateral ties back on the track of steady growth, Yi added. Talking about increasing people-to-people and cultural exchanges between India and China, the Xinhua report said: In recent years, the cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and India have been enhanced as well. The India-originated Yoga and Indian films have gained large popularity across China. Last year, visits that have been made between peoples of China and India surpassed 1 million, with 42 flights coming back and forth between the two countries every week. But still, for the two big countries with a total population of over 2.6 billion, there is huge potential to be tapped in this area, it added. The world has never witnessed the simultaneous rise of two huge neighbours and a key expectation from the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan is that they will chart a roadmap to manage this ascent peacefully, Chinese scholars have said. The summit and the carefully planned informal backdrop to it gives Modi and Xi an opportunity to inject a dose of mutual trust into relations and quell tensions that recently clouded the relationship. The summit gives a chance to both leaders to put on the table how they and their countries perceive each other as rivals or potential partners. The world has never witnessed the rise of two big powers as neighbours. How are you going to manage that peacefully? How can you manage the differences, engage in cooperation and create a new pattern of relationsthe two leaders are determined to achieve that, said Wang Dong, professor of International Studies at Peking University. Mutual perception is very important. The key is how to read each others perceptions and intentions. If one side treats the other as a rival, there will be problems, said Li Li, South Asian scholar at the Institute for International Relations, Tsinghua University. Over two days of interactions, Modi and Xi will have the opportunity to define how India and China look at each other, Li said. China-India ties have been guided by their leaders and both countries need people at the helm who have the political will to take decisions, said another scholar. China-India ties are complicated, they need strong political will from the above (to keep ties on track), especially from strong leaders like PM Modi and President Xi, said Lan Jianxue, associate research fellow of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 73-day military standoff last year in the Doklam plateau at the trjunction with Bhutan. The faceoff was triggered by an attempt by Chinese troops to build a road in the region. Lan, who was posted at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said bilateral ties had faced challenges recently. After the Donglang (Doklam) standoff, both sides need to sit down and turn a new page in the relationship, Lan said. The summit will send a clear message the two countries are willing to engage in a mature way despite festering differences, the scholars said. In my understanding, the summit itself is a big outcome. It will definitely help them to understand each other better, Li from Tsinghua University said. The two leaders will have a one-on-one dialogue but without specific subjects. They will share their views and visions about the international situation, the global and regional situation and share their thoughts about strategic bilateral ties, Lan added. Not that those differences, such as the border dispute, will disappear. The border dispute between India and China has been going on for many years, and this meeting cannot be expected to solve the problem. But communication between the leaders of the two countries is very important. Communication can promote mutual understanding, reduce misjudgment and reduce the risk of conflict between the two countries, said Xu Liang from the Beijing International Studies University. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, accused of being a Khalistani terrorist by the Indian government, was briefly taken into custody by Canadian law enforcement in mid-April, but was released within 24 hours, without any charges being filed. Days later, Nijjar, who has been accused in India of being responsible for multiple targeted killings, was front-and-centre at Baisakhi celebrations in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver in British Columbia. According to sources, Nijjar was detained by the Surrey unit of the Royal Canadian Mounter Police (RCMP) in the afternoon of April 13. He was released the next day and no charges have been filed against him so far. An RCMP spokesperson did not comment on the matter, saying the organisation does not speak about ongoing investigations or cases where no charges have been registered. Nijjar is being represented by Sikhs For Justices legal advisor Gurpatwant Pannun in his personal capacity, and also by Vancouver-based law firm Peck and Company. The founder of the legal firm, Richard Peck, had also represented one of the accused in the bombing of Air India flight 182, Ajaib Singh Bagri. Nijjars name was in the list of wanted persons handed over to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, when the two met in Amritsar in February. It does not appear that any other person from the list has been detained or questioned by the Canadian authorities so far. In a statement emailed to Hindustan Times, Nijjar said, I am being targeted and framed in false criminal cases by Indian authorities for my relentless campaign against the genocidal violence against the Sikhs and continuous support for Referendum 2020 to liberate Punjab and create separate Sikh country Khalistan. Pannun, who is representing Nijjar with regard to possible action based on a Red Corner Notice from Interpol, said, He was never charged with any crime, and released unconditionally, at least as of right now. Indian authorities believe Nijjar to be linked to Khalistan Tiger Force and had communicated their concerns to Ottawa that he was allegedly conducting weapons training at a range in the locality of Mission City. Nijjar has also been closely associated with SFJ. Along with Malkeet Singh Fauji, also on the list given to the Canadian government, he had participated in SFJs Punjab Referendum 2020 conference in a suburb of Toronto on March 31. He was also the principal organiser of SFJs extensive presence at the Surrey nagar kirtan last weekend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented specially made prints of paintings by legendary Chinese artist Xu Beihong, who spent time at Santiniketan, to President Xi Jinping during their informal summit. Titled The Horse and Sparrows and Grass, Xu made the paintings during 1939-40, when he stayed at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan and worked under Rabindranath Tagore. The reprints were specially ordered by the Indian Council for Cultural Research (ICCR) from Xus collection at Santiniketan. Xu (1895-1953) was the first visiting professor from China to stay and work at the town where the Nobel laureate penned many of his classic poems and novels. Tagore liked Xus work and it was the Indian poet who inspired the artist to come to India. An exhibition of around 150 of his paintings was held in Santiniketan in 1939. Xu, as a representative of Chinese art, was personally cherished by Rabindranath Tagore. Motivated to rebuild a cultural relation with China, in 1939 Tagore invited Xu to spend a productive tenure at Kala Bhavan (Santiniketan), Ritwij Bhowmik of the department of humanities and social sciences at IIT-Kanpur wrote in a research paper on Xus connection with India. Overwhelmed by this, Xu arrived in Santiniketan in 1939 and later formulated his first exhibition at Visva Bharati University in December, he wrote. Xu, immensely praised by Tagore for his fluid style, painted 10 portraits of the poet, among them one in oil and the others ink sketches, he added. Bhowmik wrote that Xu also met Mahatma Gandhi, which left a considerable influence on his psyche. Later he wrote extensively about this meeting and also made a portrait of Gandhi, he added. Xi is known to have read Tagore and has quoted him on occasion. According to Bhowmik, Xus tenure in India ended in December 1940, when he returned to Singapore for the annual exhibition of the Society of Chinese Artists. Xus selected paintings, including portraits of Tagore and Yugong Removing the Mountain, were exhibited there. Xus work is also said to have inspired renowned painter MF Husain, who met him in Beijing in 1951. They met during one of the earliest cultural exchanges between India and China. United States President Donald Trump on Friday praised the meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, acknowledging the historic summit even as he raised questions about how long the positive diplomacy would last. Earlier on Friday, Kim and Moon had pledged to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and seek to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War and establish a permanent peace agreement. In a pair of tweets, Trump appeared optimistic that a summit would be fruitful as he eyed his own meeting with Kim, expected in the coming weeks. KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Trump said on Twitter. KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Good things are happening, but only time will tell! he added. After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 The US president has said he hopes to meet with Kim in May or June, and a White House official has said Trump may seek to meet with Moon before hand. US defence secretary James Mattis on Thursday urged lawmakers to grant the administration flexible waiver authority for Russia-related sanctions that seek to punish third countries, such as India, which make significant military purchases from Russia. It is important for us to have a flexible waiver authority, otherwise we prevent ourselves from acting in our own best interest and place an undue burden on our allies or partners, Mattis said in his prepared remarks at a hearing of the US Senate armed services committee on the defence budget for 2019. In response to a question about affected countries he had in mind, he named India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Mattis urged the lawmakers to grant the waiver as soon as this year. The waiver he sought was from punitive actions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that was passed by Congress in 2017 and went into effect in January. It seeks to punish Russia for military intervention in Syria and Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The law also seeks to punish third countries that make significant transactions with Russia in the military and intelligence sectors. Mattis appeal to Congress will be noted and welcomed in New Delhi as CAATSA sanctions were said to have put India and the US on a collision course that could be averted only by a waiver, experts have said. India proposes to buy several S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia at an estimated cost of $4.5 billion and initialled an agreement in October 2016, though the final order has been delayed by price negotiations. There have been indications that the two countries are close to clinching the deal. Given the implications of CAATSA, about which Indian and American officials have had some conversations, New Delhi has quietly conveyed to Washington that it would like the sanctions to be waived. This is an authority currently vested in the president, according to the act. At stake for India is not just the S-400 deal, but also long-term defence needs. An estimated 60% of Indias military hardware is Russian made and even US experts have conceded that forcing India to cut Russian supplies would create an unacceptable risk to New Delhis self-defence, and if forced to choose, it might stay with Moscow. Mattis made that exact argument for exercising patience with these countries as they wean themselves off Russian supplies. There are nations in the world who are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this, he said, expanding his request for the waiver in response to a question from a senator. We only look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that eventually were going to...paralyse ourselves. Mattis, one of the few members of President Donald Trumps cabinet to command widespread respect in the administration and Congress, assured lawmakers he was not seeking the waiver authority for himself, but secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom (a Washington neighbourhood that houses the state department headquarters), he added. Asked how soon he wanted that waiver, Mattis said, Every day that Russia is in the position basically to checkmate us with what they are doingits urgent. This year? Absolutely, Mattis replied. A big worry for the US has been the purchase of S-400 air defence systems by Turkey, a NATO ally. It signed an agreement with Russia in December 2017 to buy two systems. Saudi Arabia, a close partner, is also in talks for the systems. Mattiss request for a waiver could run into trouble with Russia hawks in Congress, who asked the State Department for a special briefing in March about countries that are in negotiations with Moscow for significant defence purchases, specifically S-400 systems, and demanded they be stopped. The list named India and four other countries. We also request a comprehensive summary of our diplomatic efforts to prevent any S-400 deal from being finalised, said the letter written on March 16 by a group of Democratic senators headed by Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the powerful Senate foreign relations committee. Under any circumstance, a S-400 sale would be considered significant transaction and we expect that any sale would result in designations, it added, using the phrase designations for naming countries found in violation and marking them for punitive action, including denial of US defence hardware. The golden doors on the stately North Korean building swung open and leader Kim Jong Un, in a black Mao suit and surrounded by a gaggle of officials, descended steps towards the border. Not since the 1950-53 Korean War had a North Korean leader set foot on South Korean soil. With a smile, Kim stretched out his hand toward a waiting, and smiling, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who stood between the squat, blue buildings that straddle the border at Panmunjom. The village is one of the few places where there are no barbed wire fences or minefields between the two countries, separated by a conflict that ended with a truce, not a treaty, in 1953, meaning they are still technically at war. I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person, Kim said as he grasped Moons hand across the border. It was your big decision to make it here, said Moon, dressed in a dark suit and light blue tie, who invited Kim to step over the line in the pavement, which he did. Thats something Kims grandfather, the North Korean regimes founding leader Kim Il Sung, or his father, Kim Jong Il, never did. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on April 27. (Reuters) Two previous summits between leaders of the Koreas, in 2000 and 2007, were in Pyongyang, the Norths capital. Shaking hands again, Moon, 65, and Kim, 34, turned to face photographers in the North, and then the South, before Kim grabbed Moons hand and, in an unplanned move, invited him to step across the border into the North, where they stood face-to-face to talk a bit more. Kim said he felt a swirl of emotion as he walked the short distance to the border, wondering why it took so long, he told Moon later, at the beginning of their meeting. World is watching Later, as the afternoon sun set, the two men sat at a small table on a blue footbridge along the border for a half-hour private chat, at turns laughing and looking serious - an extraordinary scene given the tension just months ago, as a defiant North conducted missile and nuclear tests. Since January, relations have improved. Their Olympic teams march together under a common flag at Februarys winter games in South Korea. As the two men started their meeting in the Peace House on the southern side of the border, both seemed aware of the gravity of the occasion. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk together at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on April 27. (REUTERS) The whole world is watching with high expectations, Moon said. We have a lot on our shoulders. He said Kims crossing of the border had transformed Panmunjom into a sign of peace, not a sign of division. Kim responded with equal optimism. With determination, we will be heading toward a better place to make up for the lost 11 years, he said, referring to the last summit. Their two-hour morning meeting was marked with laughter and some banter, as well as more serious discussion, behind closed doors, officials said. High hopes At one point, Kim said he heard Moon was always waking up early because of North Koreas missile tests - which usually occurred in the morning - and promised not to interrupt his sleep anymore, presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan told reporters. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk to attend a farewell ceremony after the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom on South Korea April 27. (REUTERS) Kim mentioned the contentious issue of North Korean defectors - who are routinely denounced in North Korean media as human scum - and even referred to the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, which North Korean forces shelled in 2010, killing four people. Coming here, I saw people are having high hopes for the summits including ... defectors and residents of Yeonpyeong Island those who used to worry about North Koreas missiles coming to them at any time, Kim said, according to Yoon. Kim said he had heard good things about a South Korean high-speed train built for the Winter Olympics, and expressed concern that North Koreas traffic system would cause inconvenience should Moon visit. The two men went back to their separate sides for lunch, Kim driven in a black limousine and escorted by a dozen bodyguards in dark suits and ties jogging alongside the vehicle. In the afternoon, they planted a memorial tree and watered it with water from rivers in the South and North, before walking into a small glen along the border and across the blue footbridge for their private tete-a-tete. Afterwards, they strolled back to the Peace House, seemingly engrossed in conversation with no officials nearby. With a joint declaration and a bear hug, Kim and Moon sealed their talks to end the Korean War within the year and commit to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula - without offering specifics. Wrapping up the day at an evening banquet with thumping live music, Kim made a toast with a glass of traditional Korean liquor. Todays meeting and accomplishment is just the beginning and nothing more than a tip of the iceberg compared to what we have to do ahead, he said. Lets end the history of confrontations and mistrust between the North and the South, hold hands together and boldly move forward for the future of our people. H oliday homeowners want their property to earn its keep. The rental potential is the top question asked by would-be buyers, says Robert Green, managing director of luxury property agents Sphere Estates. Rents should be sure to cover running costs. Utilities, maintenance and service charges can rise steeply from year to year, so owners must understand how rents are calculated. For example, a private property in the Algarve will be considerably cheaper to run than a resort home in Barbados that will charge you a percentage of the resorts running costs. A net yield of two per cent should cover those costs. A four per cent-plus yield on a holiday home is considered good in todays market, says Green. FOR YEAR-ROUND INCOME Holiday appeal throughout the year will strengthen rental yields. Chamonix in France, for example, welcomes as many climbers, hikers and bikers in summer as skiers and snowboarders in winter. City life attracts renters year-round, too. Green says smaller units of one and two bedrooms have higher occupancy throughout the year, generating the best yields. But there is some demand for large properties as multigenerational renting is gaining in popularity especially if the grandparents are paying. WHERE TO BUY FOR THE STRONGEST YIELDS Here are three holiday home destinations that promise some of the strongest yields currently around. Lisbon, Portugal: in central Lisbon close to the designer shops lining the Avenida da Liberdade and also close to trendy Baixa, the second phase of one- and two-bedroom apartments at the popular Largo 57 development start from 305,000, with yields for short-term rentals of up to six per cent. Through Athena Advisers. in central Lisbon close to the designer shops lining the Avenida da Liberdade and also close to trendy Baixa, the second phase of one- and two-bedroom apartments at the popular Largo 57 development start from 305,000, with yields for short-term rentals of up to six per cent. Through Athena Advisers. Brienz, Switzerland: net yields of four to six per cent are estimated for Florens Resort on Lake Brienz, Switzerlands deepest lake. The 155 flats are 10 minutes from Interlaken and half an hour from top ski resorts including Grindelwald and Wengen. One- to three-bedroom homes completing in 2020 start at 242,400 and must be available to rent when empty. Through Investors in Property. net yields of four to six per cent are estimated for Florens Resort on Lake Brienz, Switzerlands deepest lake. The 155 flats are 10 minutes from Interlaken and half an hour from top ski resorts including Grindelwald and Wengen. One- to three-bedroom homes completing in 2020 start at 242,400 and must be available to rent when empty. Through Investors in Property. Zell am See, Austria: one- to four-bedroom flats completing this year at Lake Side Glockner Residence, close to Lake Zell and the resort ski lifts, start from 241,500 fully furnished with projections of a 6.15 per cent rental yield after all management and running costs. Through Mark Warner Property. NOW WE CAN RELAX ABOUT LETTING A new type of online rental agency was set up last year by Tom Bennett and his wife after they let their holiday home in southern Spain, only to have it trashed. We use existing social networks to create a circle of trust, says Tom. We offer amazing houses, better rental prices and expert local knowledge but only to trusted members. With about 1,000 homes in 43 countries, all vetted by Tom and his team, Stay One Degree offers homes from 100 a night for a tiny Portuguese townhouse up to 40,000 for a private island sleeping 40 in the Bahamas. Gemma and Richard Pearce from Hampshire joined in order to let their five-bedroom holiday home in Majorca. Trust matters: Gemma and Richard Pearce let their Majorcan home with selective agency Stay One Degree They bought in 2015 and refurbished it into a special family home for them and their children Josh, Sophia and Phoebe. It rents from 245 a night. You feel you are accepting bookings from like-minded people who will look after your home, says Gemma. We have used a local company to market our home but last season out of 30 weeks available we only had two bookings. Appointment 27 April 2018 Salamander Hotels & Resorts, the luxury hotel company founded by Sheila Johnson, has appointed David Mars as general manager of The Henderson, a Salamander Beach & Spa Resort - northwest Florida's premier luxury destination. Mars brings more than two decades of experience and leadership within the hospitality industry to the position. He joins The Henderson in Destin, FL, after eight years with Montage Hotels & Resorts, where he was the general manager of Spanish Peaks Mountain Club in Big Sky, MT. Previously, he was the resort manager at Montage Deer Valley in Park City, UT, and the rooms executive at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, CA. Mars began his career in the front office at the Four Seasons Aviara in Carlsbad, CA. He has also served as director of operations for SKYLOFTS and Signature, both at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as well as assistant general manager at the Renaissance Las Vegas. Reminiscent of a luxurious grand seaside manor of yesteryear, The Henderson is located adjacent to 200 acres of pristine preserve and just steps from miles of sugar-sand beaches and emerald waters. The property captures the romance of traditional coastal architecture with striking shingles and steep gable rooflines that give reverence to Florida's deep nautical history. The 170-room resort features spacious, coastal-inspired guest rooms and suites with sweeping balconies, as well as luxurious villa-style accommodations called The Lofts, which opened this year. The Henderson also includes the beautiful Salamander Spa with numerous wellness offerings, coastal-inspired dining in the relaxed settings of Primrose and Horizons, two swimming pools and a lazy river, Sprinkles Ice Cream Shop, a sunset rooftop terrace, 30,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor meeting space, and a host of family-friendly recreational programs and activities. Appointment 27 April 2018 McDermott brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience to his role at the helm of Pullman Miami Airport. As general manager, he will be overseeing operations at the property, providing strategic direction to all departments and leading a team of 250 colleagues, with the ultimate goal of delivering unparalleled service to guests. McDermott joins Pullman Miami Airport from the Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel where he also served as general manager. Prior to that, McDermott also held general manager positions at the Marenas Beach Resort Miami in Sunny Isles, Florida; Hotel Irvine in Irvine, California; and El Conquistador, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, in Puerto Rico. McDermott holds a bachelors degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and is currently on the board of The Greater Miami & Keys Chapter of the American Red Cross, a philanthropic organization that serves more than two million residents in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. 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(6) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (6) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (10) Apr 07 (6) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (5) Apr 04 (4) Apr 03 (5) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (6) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (7) Mar 26 (9) Mar 25 (11) Mar 24 (10) Mar 23 (6) Mar 22 (8) Mar 21 (3) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (2) Mar 18 (9) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (6) Mar 13 (6) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (7) Mar 10 (8) Mar 09 (6) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (6) Mar 06 (7) Mar 05 (6) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (2) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (9) Feb 29 (11) Feb 28 (8) Feb 27 (6) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (8) Feb 24 (9) Feb 23 (12) Feb 22 (10) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (6) Feb 19 (5) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (9) Feb 16 (10) Feb 15 (8) Feb 14 (9) Feb 13 (8) Feb 12 (9) Feb 11 (7) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (7) Feb 08 (9) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (10) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (6) Feb 03 (8) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (6) Jan 31 (10) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (6) Jan 28 (9) Jan 27 (7) Jan 26 (8) Jan 25 (8) Jan 24 (7) Jan 23 (6) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (6) Jan 20 (10) Jan 19 (8) Jan 18 (6) Jan 17 (7) 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Jul 15 (1) Jul 14 (1) Jul 13 (3) Jul 10 (1) Jul 08 (2) Jul 07 (1) Jul 06 (1) Jul 03 (1) Jul 01 (1) Jun 28 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 20 (1) Jun 19 (1) Jun 18 (1) Jun 15 (1) Jun 14 (2) Jun 11 (1) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (1) Jun 07 (1) Jun 06 (1) Jun 04 (2) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (1) May 31 (3) May 30 (1) May 29 (1) May 28 (2) May 26 (1) May 25 (1) May 18 (1) May 17 (1) May 15 (1) May 09 (1) May 07 (2) May 02 (1) May 01 (1) Apr 30 (1) Apr 27 (1) Apr 26 (2) Apr 23 (1) Apr 22 (1) Apr 19 (1) Apr 18 (1) Apr 12 (1) Apr 11 (1) Apr 09 (1) Apr 07 (1) Apr 05 (1) Apr 01 (1) Mar 30 (1) Mar 27 (1) Mar 25 (1) Mar 22 (2) Mar 19 (1) Mar 18 (1) Mar 16 (1) Mar 15 (2) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (1) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (1) Opinion Article 27 April 2018 This has been my first HITEC conference, and it has been one of the most informative three days I have had since I entered the world of hospitality a couple of years ago. Advertisements While I prepared for the conference, I read up on the latest technological innovations, and on startups trying to overthrow OTAs. I read about revenue management and machine learning. Stepping off the plane in Amsterdam, I was confident I had done my homework and was ready to keep up with all the technical conversations I was going to have. Things didn't exactly go as I had planned. CIO Panel at HITEC Amsterdam Photo: EHL After attending the E20X pitch competition, going to dinner with a dozen CIOs and CFOs, and covering a panel discussion on AI and voice recognition, I realized I was not at a geeky tech conference. I was at an international gathering of highly skilled professionals, versed in a myriad of disciplines that directly or indirectly add value to the hospitality industry. This was a place where the common denominators were passion for service, love for human interactions and a genuine openness to the world. It wasn't about tech. It never has been. It was about people. Team RoomRaccoon at HITEC Amsterdam 2018 Photo: EHL Hospitality is the ultimate people business. This statement is not only valid because hotels have to satisfy their guests. Many of the exhibitors of HITEC Amsterdam expressed concern for the well-being of hotel staff, the environment and the economic welfare of the populations at the destinations. No one was competing. Burgeoning entrepreneurs, young graduates and seasoned businessmen all coalesced with a single wish: to raise the bar of how technology can better serve the hospitality industry. Although I feel women are somewhat underrepresented in the industry, I am hopeful as I see this trend decreasing when we look at the new generation of hospitality managers. For instance, Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne's student base has a slight female majority, and we will definitely see more and more of them taking leading roles in the many exciting changes to come. This was perfectly illustrated by KITRO the food waste company that uses AI, created by two female EHL graduates, and ultimately won the Judge's Choice Award at the E20X pitch competition. KITRO accepts the E20X Judges Choice Award. This innovative startup was selected by an expert panel. Photo: EHL I will be looking back at the three days I've spent quite fondly. I have met so many interesting people, each with their own past, interests and aspirations and each one has helped me gain insight into the future of hospitality. As long as this spirit lives on, I will be coming back to HITEC in Europe. Sherif Mamdouh is the external communications manager at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL) and an official guest blogger for HITEC Amsterdam 2018, which took place 11-13 April 2018 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Cardi B has seen her career rise from being a Love & Hip Hop cast member to one of the biggest musical acts in the world. Detailing the exact opposite of what J. Cole says at the end of his K.O.D. outro "1985," Cardi has a lot to celebrate this year. The success of her debut album has crossed genres to amaze casual music fans, as well as her diehard Bardi Gang members. On the other side of things, it was reported yesterday that the starlet was being sued by her ex-manager for a breach of their contract, as Shaft asks for $10 million in damages. Saying that he and his team are the reason why "Bodak Yellow" was such a big hit, details have broken out about the alleged mistreatment on Shaft's side of the business relationship. TMZ reports that her ex-manager would hide details of how much money she was making per booking, pocketing as much as half of her pay at times. On top of this, Cardi was allegedly paying him a 20% cut, which Offset was upset by when he heard about it as this is higher than an average manager's cut. The publication clarified that if Cardi was set to make $100K per show, Shaft would pocket $50K and hide the difference from her. With Cardi now signed onto a management deal with her fiance's home team of Quality Control, it is likely that we will hear of no further issues in terms of mistreatment of her contract as they have taken good care of grooming their acts into stars. We will keep you updated on the legal proceedings going forward. Ciara and Future were once "relationship goals" but as time went on, their relationship soured. The two were once engaged to each other and had a child together, however, allegations of infidelity would eventually result in co-parenting Baby Future. However, it looks like it hasn't been working out that well. Ciara has reportedly called out Future to the judge for not showing up to visits with their son. Ciara has reportedly taken her issues with Future's parenting to the courts, TMZ reports. She claims that the DS2 rapper has been skipping out on many of his scheduled visits with three year old Baby Future. She says that he shows up last minute, if he shows up at all. She reportedly claims in court docs that he doesn't show up 37% of the time and that his inconsistent visits mess up her own schedule. Unfortunately, this isn't the only claim she made against Future. She also claims that when she flies Baby Future to Georgia to visit his father, he ends up spending the majority of his time with his grandma or great-grandma instead of Future himself. However, the worst part is that she claims their son's health issues flare up because of all of the travelling. And because he's exhausted from the travelling, she claims he's suffered emotional breakdowns at school. Ciara's now looking to go to mediation with Future and create a better schedule for their son. At this point of the week, our Twitter timelines are exhausted after all they've been through. Between J. Cole's Q&A session yesterday and Kanye's weeklong tweet spree, we've spent the last five days on the social medium and our eyes are tired. Right on cue, President Donald Trump has swooped in and tweeted once again about the man who called him his "brother," Kanye West. Proudly rocking his "Make America Great Again" cap this week, Kanye has reemerged on social media to shout his love for Donald Trump from the rooftops. The President had previously thanked Ye for his support, and now he is remarking how great of an impact he has had. Active on Twitter himself, Trump released a statement on Ye's kind words and fight against the "thought police," writing, "Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community." The President elaborated by praising himself and his campaign: "Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades - Legacy Stuff!" Chance the Rapper spoke out in support of his Chicago buddy Kanye, saying that not all people of color need to be Democrats. It is possible that Chance has also gotten a shout-out in Trump's tweet as he wrote, "Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history)." Regardless of your political attitudes, it is remarkable for the current President of the United States to be praising one of the most influential artists of our generation. What do you think of the current situation involving Donald Trump and Kanye West? Jordan Brand is honoring Carmelo Anthony's "Hoodie Melo" alter ego with a special edition colorway of his first signature sneaker, the Jordan Melo 1.5. According to reports, the limited edition kicks will release via Nike SNKRS and other select Jordan Brand retailers on May 1st. The "Hoodie Melo" Jordan Melo 1.5 comes dressed in an all black colorway, which serves as a nod to the hoodie that Carmelo wore during the off-season, as seen in countless instagram videos. The upper consists of tech fleece, furthering the hoodie vibe, as well as some OKC-flavored branding, while the heel unit and ankle collar feature "a reverse loop tolling" that is reminiscent of the inside of a hoodie. Lastly, the sneakers will come with a Jumpman hangtag which accompanied the original release back in 2004. The kicks will be available in both men's and grade school sizes on May 1st. OKC's season may be over at the point, as the Thunder trail the Jazz 3-2 heading into tonight's Game 6 in Utah. Kanye West promises not be outdone by hip hop conservatives on the air, or in telephone conversation. Ebro told his audience he had a 30-minute conversation with Kanye where he stressed the gravity of his actions. During the course of the call, Kanye admitted he admired Donald Trump and further elaborated on his support of Right-Wing pundit Candace Owens. After reaching a stalemate in conversation they swiftly went about their business, only to have Ebro later document the affair later on air. Kanye then responded by calling in to the show, confusing Ebro with "I love Yous" and promises they would hit it off in person. Ebro's skeptical ear was right to cast doubt over the sincerity of Kanye's angle. He then followed up his ploy by outing friend John Legend, before revisiting the Ebro smear campaign this afternoon, with the following message: "I'm going to drop a song with a verse that will bring Ebro the closure he's been seeking," on Twitter. Kanye's tweet promises a new song called "Lift Yourself," likely aimed at people questioning his philosophical stand. The anticipation for new music has been contagious since we first heard of Kanye's retreat in Wyoming, and his subsequent album announcements. He even dropped some fire bars for TMZ's Harvey Levin on Thursday, during a sit down in Los Angeles. The hype-job is real. Look out for "Lift Yourself" in the not so distant future. Kanye West and Malik Yussef are cooking up something substantial for thousands of Chicago residents. The idea of a special organization addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities has been in the incubator for years now. Kanye's initiative Donda Social hopes to improve infrastructure relating to housing, education, gun violence and drinking water. Kanye's friend and G.O.O.D. Music collaborator Malik Yussef has apparently assembled a team of prominent Chicago rappers and promoters including include Common, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa and Don C. The idea is for these high ranking individuals to play to their strengths. Acting as deputies, they can thereby exert their influence by listening and engaging with these communities on the ground level. There's a hope that a meaningful dialogue can lead to practical solutions in struggling areas. In some instances the U.S. Government has failed to respond expediently, the idea is to grab the bull by the horns. The timing of Donda Social's unveiling has been made all the more precious by Kanye's backing of Donald Trumps domestic policy. Kanye may or may not readily understand the cause and effect of Trump's position on the affordable housing crisis and the actual conditions facing African-American communities. According to TMZ, a big announcement regarding the Donda Social project is imminent. The wait for Post Malone's sophomore album, Beerbongs & Bentleys, has felt like an eternity. The project was initially teased all the way back in December of 2016 when he first announced the album title on Twitter, but after numerous setbacks & delays, the time has finally come. At the stroke of midnight, Beerbongs & Bentleys was officially released on iTunes and other streaming platforms after months of anticipation. Laced with 18 tracks in total, the follow up to 2016s debut Stoney features guest appearances from 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj, YG, G-Eazy, Ty Dolla Sign, and Swae Lee. Meanwhile, production is handled by the likes of Frank Dukes, London On Da Track, Scott Storch, Louis Bell, Teddy Walton, Post Malone, and more. Having already achieved chart-topping success with singles like Rockstar, Pyscho, & "Candy Paint, fans can now stream the highly anticipated project in its entirety via Apple Music. Hit play and let us know what record youre feeling the most? If you wish to Post Malone live in person youre in luck, the Houston artist just kicked off his supporting tour tonight with 21 Savage in Portland, Oregon. Peep dates right here if interested. Kanye West's recent Twitter spree has been dividing a lot of his fans on whether they'll still listen to his music, despite his alignment with Donald Trump. As you're probably aware, Trump isn't the most celebrated president in hip hop, or in America, so it didn't really come as a surprise the amount of backlash 'Ye received since standing by his "brother" of "dragon energy." What is surprising is the amount of people who've been reaching out to Kanye in hopes that he might reconsider including T.I.. He took to Instagram to reveal the conclusion he came to after spending a day with 'Ye. After spending a day with Kanye West yesterday, T.I. revealed the conclusion he came to. While he admitted that he was optimistic about 'Ye, he did say that it'll be a "long term work in progress." "Yesterday Spent the day wit Kanye... Long term work in progress, no doubt. Still Optimistic," he wrote on his Instagram story. "Something From our discussion gon STICK... I refuse to just give up on him. The Old Ye Too Important!!!" While Kanye's love for Trump has been heavily criticized, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. John Legend recently explained to Ebro earlier today that he believes Kanye sees some of his own characteristics in Donald Trump. "I think he sees certain aspects of himself in Trump, like how brash he is and how he don't give a fuck and nobody believed he was gonna win." He explained. Big Oil is back to doing what it does best: raking in billions of dollars in profit. The worlds largest oil companies this week posted some of their best earnings in years as they control costs and ride rising oil prices that are nearing $70 a barrel. Chevron on Friday said its first quarter profit surged by 36 percent from a year ago to $3.6 billion, its best report since the peak of the last oil boom in the summer of 2014. Royal Dutch Shell, which has its North American headquarters in Houston, did even better, reporting that its profit surged a stunning 67 percent to more than $5 billion, its best quarter since 2013. To get a sense of the newfound strength of the industry, consider this: analysts and investors were deeply disappointed by the earnings of Exxon Mobil, which said it profits rose 16 percent to nearly $4.7 billion in the first three months of the year. Flat or falling earnings from refining and chemicals profits kept Exxon from generating even more extravagant returns. The state of the oil industry is pretty good right now, said Guy Baber, an energy analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Houston That could persist for a while because global oil demand looks strong. The comeback for Big Oil is important to both the energy industry and Houston, where nearly every major oil company in the world has a large presence. Exxon Mobil, headquartered in Irving, has some 14,000 employees in the Houston area and Shell, an Anglo-Dutch company, counts 10,000. Chevron, based in California, employs 7,000 in the region. More Information Big oil is back First quarter earnings: EXXON MOBIL CHEVRON Revenues $68.2 billion $37.8 billion Change from 2017 16 percent 13 percent Profits $4.7 billion $3.6 billion Change from 2017 16 percent 36 percent Profits See More Collapse Bigger profits not only support hiring and expansion, but also the many hundreds of companies that provide services, equipment and supplies to big oil companies, analysts said. Oil services companies, including Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, all reported profitable first quarters recently. ConocoPhillips, the Houston independent oil and gas company, said this week that its first quarter profit jumped more that 50 percent to nearly $900 miilion. The improved earnings are another sign that the energy industry recovery is gaining momentum. U.S. oil production and exports are at record highs, and both Exxon and Chevron are investing billions of dollars to develop their holdings in the Permian Basin in West Texas. Shell recently authorized a multi-billion offshore project in the Gulf of Mexico and soon will launch its biggest Gulf oil platform ever. The majors also are exploring again. Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, the British company BP and the French company Total have all announced significant offshore discoveries in recent months, in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea, and off the coast of Guyana. The strong profits are largely a product of higher oil prices, which are nearly $20 a barrel higher than a year ago and more than $40 above the low point of the recent oil bust $26 a barrel in early 2016. Big Oil, like the rest of the industry, struggled during the industry downturn, reporting depressed revenues and profits, and, in some cases multibillon-dollar losses. Crude oil settled at $68.10 a barrel in New York Friday. Obviously everyones earnings are up and cash flow is up because of oil prices, said Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst at Raymond James in Houston. Thats a good thing and emphatically music to investors ears. Oil prices, however, arent the whole story. Oil companies are controlling costs, expanding carefully and becoming more efficient, which has allowed them to earn profits at less than $70 a barrel similar to those generated at $100 a barrel a few years ago. Molchanov said the ability to execute these strategies is what will separate the companies in the future. He pointed to Chevron and Exxon Mobil, whose earnings sparked opposite reactions from investors. Chevrons stock climbed nealry 2 percent Friday, while Exxons fell more than 3 percent. Molchanov cited one key measure that differentiated the two companies: oil and gas production. Chevrons production rose 6 percent from last year while Exxon Mobils fell 6 percent, Exxons seventh production dip in the last eight quarters. Its not often we see that glaring a disparity between the two largest companies, Molchanov said. Its really a mirror image between these two companies thats very striking. Both Exxon Mobil and Chevron are investing heavily in shale oil in the Permian Basin, but Chevron is growing at a faster pace and doing so more efficiently, producing more oil with fewer drilling rigs. Exxon Mobils Permian production increased 18 percent, but Chevron said its volumes skyrocketed about 65 percent, growing by 100,000 barrels a day. In addition to the Permian, Chevron exexcutives credited the companys new liquefied natural gas projects in Australia Gorgon and Wheatstone for increasing profits and revenues. Chevrons first quarter revenues grew $37.8 billion, up 13 percent from a year ago. For the next few years we have a line of sight on very good growth, added Chevron Chief Financial Officer Pat Yarrington. Exxon Mobil's first quarter revenues jumped 16 percent $68.2 billion from $58.7 billion a year earlier. Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods on Friday opted to focus on the positives. Increased commodity prices, coupled with a focus on operating efficiently and strengthening our portfolio, he said, resulted in higher earnings and the highest quarterly cash flow from operations and asset sales since 2014. Exxons stock closed at $77.79 a share, down $3.07. Chevrons stock gained $2.40 to close at $126.62 jordan.blum@chron.com twitter.com/jdblum23 The offshore oil and gas sector has finally begun a slow recovery more than two years after oil prices hit bottom in early 2016, but executives and analysts say the industry is forever changed, becoming more efficient and less ambitious as it faces the challenge of the onshore shale boom. As the annual Offshore Technology Conference opens Monday for the 50th time in Houston, oil prices are climbing toward $70 a barrel, hitting their highest levels in nearly four years. The worlds biggest oil and gas companies are announcing new deepwater discoveries and new, albeit downsized, projects. But most of their investment is still flowing onshore, especially to the Permian Basin in West Texas. The reality remains that offshore projects are competing with onshore ones for the same pool of dollars, said Bill Herbert, a senior energy analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Houston. And onshore is still winning. That doesnt mean deep water from its current emasculated state doesnt witness improvement, Herbert said. Deep water is going through a profound transformation. The growth rates are redefined. Onshore vs. off As an estimated 70,000 people head to OTC at NRG Park this week, the offshore sector has entered a transitional year that will lead to steadier expansion in 2019 and beyond as global oil demand increases. Houston has long been the center of the offshore industry, the home to hundreds of companies that do the engineering, construction, equipment manufacturing, drilling, exploration and production, and employ thousands of people working in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and waters around the world. The oil bust that began in 2014 pounded the sector, drove a series of bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions, and led to a profound shift in energy production. In 2014, in fact, the Gulf of Mexico was producing as much oil as the Permian, nearly 1.5 million barrels daily But today, even as the Gulf churns out near record volumes of some 1.7 million barrels of oil a day, it pales in comparison to production of more than 3.1 million barrels a day from the Permian a figure that is expected to increase rapidly. The onshore U.S. rig count has increased nearly 20 percent over the past year, while the number of offshore drilling rigs under contract worldwide is only up by 1.5 percent. Big Oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron havent abandoned the Gulf, said Lisa McConnell, an IHS Markit drilling analyst. Theyre just investing much more in the Permian. Its cheaper to do onshore, McConnell said. Some companies are moving everything onshore. New projects European oil majors, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, have announced new Gulf of Mexico projects since the oil bust. But those projects arent what they once were. BPs Mad Dog Phase 2 project was authorized in 2016 at $9 billion, a scaled-down version of the original $20 billion platform proposed before the oil prices crashed. Shell said last week it was authorizing the multibillion-dollar Vito project in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, after shaving 70 percent from the earlier cost estimates, which Shell declined to disclose. Kurt Shallenberger, Shell's Vito project manager, said the decision to move forward marks a new focus for the offshore industry. Not about going deeper, but making it affordable, he said. Next, Shell will set sail in May from an Ingleside dock with its 125,000 metric ton Appomattox platform to be installed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Appomattox, which was approved in 2015 as oil prices plunged, represents Shells largest floating oil platform ever in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell executives said they expect more investment to flow offshore in coming years, particularly as the costs for land, for labor and for services and supplies rise in booming shale plays such as Permian. In a recent conference call, Paal Kibsgaard, CEO of the worlds largest energy services firm, Schlumberger, said the Permian may not have as high a ceiling for oil production volumes as many anticipated because of labor and pipeline constraints and other issues. James West, an energy analyst with Evercore ISI in New York, said Permian production could peak in as soon as three years. The Permian is a very nice resource, West said, but its not the almighty resource it was expected to be maybe two years ago. As a result, more investment could flow offshore, although it may take at least three more years for the sector to regain its health, analysts said. Regions with platforms and pipeline networks in place, such as the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea, are likely to rebound first, as companies save costs by drilling wells near existing pipes and platforms, instead of developing new ones. Gulf focus Apart from Big Oil, some smaller companies with private equity backing such as Fieldwood Energy and Talos Energy, both of Houston, are growing in the Gulf, on both the U.S. and Mexico sides. Fieldwood just emerged from a short-lived bankruptcy to acquire the Gulf assets of Noble Energy, also of Houston. Fieldwood typically focuses on shallow waters, but is expanding to deepwater areas. Fieldwood CEO Matt McCarroll said the Gulf is starting to bring better bang for the buck. There are 100 potential buyers bidding for any block of land in the Permian, he said, versus just a handful in the Gulf, meaning companies can pick up bargains offshore. Improved seismic technology also shows plentiful reservoirs in sections of the Gulf previously believed to be drained. But attracting investment needed to drill offshore remains a challenge as investors continue to be enticed by shale. McCarroll said he expects the love affair with shale to fade in coming years, but he still doesnt expect offshore drilling to return to the busy days of 2014. Its fundamentally changed, said Fieldwood CEO Matt McCarroll. We used to have over 100 rigs in the Gulf, and now its maybe 30. I dont think well ever have 100 rigs operating in the Gulf again. AUSTIN Need to stock up on emergency supplies like batteries, a first-aid kit or ice chests as the spring and summer storm seasons arrive? Youre in luck: This weekend, all of the above items and more can be purchased tax-free across Texas. Enacted by state lawmakers in 2015, the states Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday, offers Texans the chance to purchase all the supplies they may need in case of an emergency and pay no sales tax, just as the spring seasons potentially severe weather approaches. The severe weather we had last year particularly Hurricane Harvey was a stark reminder that Texans should be prepared for emergencies at all times, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a news release. This tax holiday allows people to save money while ensuring they have the supplies they need before an emergency situation occurs. FORECAST: 2018 hurricane season will not be as bad as last year There is no limit on the number of qualifying items you can purchase, and the holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, and ends at midnight on Monday, April 30. Heres a list of items that will be tax-free: Portable generators less than $3,000. Emergency ladders and Hurricane shutters less than $300. Axes, batteries (single or multipack), nonelectric can openers, carbon monoxide detectors, coolers and ice chests for food storage, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits and more less than $75. Not everyones sold on whether the holiday is beneficial to those who take advantage of it, however. Sixteen states have at least one tax-free weekend on the books, down from a peak of 19 states in 2010. The decline in participation among states comes as some have decided to put the brakes on such holidays for a variety of reasons. Last year, for example, Georgia lawmakers failed to renew the states two tax-free weekends, one of which focused on back-to-school items in the summer. Those in favor of the move argued that nixing the tax holiday would save the state millions of dollars, while businesses and others who support the holiday argued it brings in some consumers who also make taxable impulse purchases. The criticisms have come from both the right and the left. The conservative Tax Foundation think tank wrote in a 2017 report that tax-free weekends dont actually give the intended tax relief to low-income individuals, going so far as to say the holidays are no part of sound tax policy. Sales tax holidays neither promote economic growth nor increase purchases, the authors wrote in the report. They create complexities for all involved, while inserting the political process into consumer decisions. In Texas, there are two other tax-free weekends on the books. Next month, from May 26-28, Texans will be able to purchase tax-free energy efficient items (like air conditioners, clothes washers, ceiling fans, and more) during the state Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday. Later, Aug. 10-12, Texans can head to their local store of choice for clothes, shoes, backpacks and other supplies just in time for the new school year, during the state Back to School Sales Tax Holiday. The back-to-school and Energy Star breaks were enacted by the state Legislature in 1999 and 2008, respectively. forrest.milburn@chron.com twitter.com/forrestmilburn The U.S. health care system is a failure, failing to extend lives, failing to prevent chronic disease, failing to protect infants and failing to spend our money wisely. Our system fails because it focuses on health care instead of health. One is an industry; the other is quality of life. The U.S. spends $3.3 trillion a year twice as much per person as the average wealthy nation and leads the world in medical research, breakthrough drugs and ingenious devices. It has the best medical schools. Yet we have one of the unhealthiest populations in the developed world. We have the highest infant mortality rate, the highest chronic disease rate among the elderly, and the lowest life expectancy at birth. RELATED: You're paying twice as much for health care. How do you feel? U.S. life expectancy is going down, despite employing the best emergency medical services, the most high-tech hospitals and the best-trained physicians. The businesses and individuals who finance our system, almost all of us, should be outraged by the poor value we get for our money. Theories for this disconnect abound. Our system is wasteful, some providers are overpaid, insurance companies skim too much, and too many Americans dont take care of themselves. All of those things are true, but there is more. Elena Marks, CEO of Houstons Episcopal Health Foundation, suggests that Americans confuse health with health care, and if we focus on the former, we wont need as much of the latter. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of disease, Marks said in a lecture last week at Rice Universitys Baker Institute, where she is a fellow. What if the health care industry were responsible for health, not just medical services? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have studied the healthiest counties in America and discovered which factors contribute to health: 40 percent is attributable to wealth and social status, 30 percent to behavior, 20 percent to clinical care and 10 percent to the environment. The U.S. spends 97 percent of its health funds on clinical care, and only 3 percent on public health, which addresses health problems caused by poverty, behavioral issues and environmental factors. Evidence from other countries and U.S. pilot programs shows we could spend less overall if we focused more on the other factors. This reality, though, collides with ideology. While most Americans find it acceptable to provide emergency care, conservatives who value self-sufficiency oppose providing a helping hand for people who struggle to meet their basic needs, even if it saves money in the long run. RELATED: Health care billing intentionally misleads patients For example, U.S. law requires hospitals and doctors to provide emergency treatment without regard for the patients ability to pay. The U.S. also socializes the cost of care, requiring large companies to offer insurance, encouraging people to enroll and collecting taxes to pay for those without coverage. This money collected from healthy people goes to care for the ill and injured. Opposition grows, though, if you suggest spending money to keep people from getting ill or injured in the first place. Such as guaranteeing access to enough food, a safe place to live or offering help for behavioral problems. The Episcopal Health Foundation wants to focus on improving health, not paying for care. For example, if a child from a low-income family is suffering frequent asthma attacks, the group funds health organizations that will send someone to check for problems at home. If black mold is growing on the walls, or the house is infected with pests, fixing those problems is cheaper than recurrent visits to the emergency room for asthma attacks, Marks said. Doctors cant prescribe a home repair, even if it would save money. RELATED: Squeezing the waste, fraud and abuse out of health care When a homeless man kept showing up in the ER, Episcopal Health helped a clinic that paid for a social worker to help him for a year to get his life straight. His ER visits dropped 68 percent, cost of care fell 86 percent, and he reported a 144 percent increase in his quality of life based on a self-assessment before and after the program. Sending people to teach people with diabetes how to cook healthier meals, free gym memberships and better public parks have all shown great success changing behavior. Opening a greengrocer in a food desert improves the health of entire communities. These interventions are cheaper than providing care. And they are routine in the countries that have healthier populations, but spend half as much on health care. We dont need to spend a penny more; we need to spend our trillions more wisely. But that will require us to focus on outcomes rather than ideology. Chris Tomlinson is the Chronicles business columnist. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson Some of us who have lived our entire lives in Texas have grown weary of the endless analysis of the state: its outsize political influence, its dramatic and colorful history, its embodiment of some of the countrys most powerful myths and especially its love affair with its own specialness, the whole I wasnt born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could thing. Perhaps its time for Texas to simply get over itself. Then Lawrence Wright comes along and reminds us that the place really is special though not, perhaps, in precisely the ways that many of its residents feel on any given day. For the most part, Wright doesnt blow up beloved Texas myths; instead, he shows us new and interesting ways to consider them. Any effort to capture Texas essence or to travel through its soul, as Wrights subtitle suggests is doomed to failure, or at best to limited success. The place is simply too big, diverse, contradictory and dynamic to be boiled down to a single theme. But Wright, an acclaimed journalist and nonfiction author who has lived at various times in Abilene, Dallas and Austin, finds piercing insights in some unlikely places. Among the best of these is Wrights account of two radio journalists who stopped to eat at a roadhouse in a border town during a long charity bike ride. A couple of cowboys wearing spurs walked in to shoot pool and drink beer; they looked curiously at these city guys in garish Spandex outfits like aging Spider-Men. More Information 'God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State' By Lawrence Wright Knopf 345 pp.; $27.95 See More Collapse When a cowboy asked the journalists what they were up to, one replied that they were riding across the state on their bicycles. Why the hell would you do that? One of the cyclists explained they were raising money to buy bikes and books for schoolchildren in Kenya. A bit later, one of the cowboys stuffed two $20 bills into a cyclists pocket: Give this to them kids in Kenya. ESSAY: Houston isn't perfect. But at least it's not Chicago God Save Texas is full of little stories that illuminate the qualities endearing and infuriating of Texas and Texans. Some of these stories are familiar to longtime Texans such as the text of Col. William Barret Travis defiant letter pledging victory or death at the Alamo, or the luck and guesswork that led to the gusher at Spindletop that ushered in the East Texas oil industry in 1901. But Wright is such an engaging writer that re-reading these familiar tales is an utter pleasure, and he provides personal and historical context that helps us think about them differently. Wright seems ambivalent about some of the Texas political leaders hes encountered in his decades of work as a journalist. He clearly likes George W. Bush personally, for example, but he cant forgive the 43rd president for invading Iraq under false pretenses. He judges ultra-conservative state leaders including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick more harshly and indicts the entire Texas Legislature as slavishly devoted to the oil and gas industry. Though Wright clearly has affection for the state where hes chosen to live most of his life, this is not a work of hagiography. Wrights ideas generally emerge through his narrative rather than through heres what I think declarations. Perhaps the closest he comes to delivering a central message comes early in the first chapter, during a discussion of how much the bitter political divisions in the United States are a reflection of whats happening in Texas. EDITORIAL: Shame on you, Fort Worth I think Texas has nurtured an immature political culture that has done terrible damage to the state and to the nation, Wright writes. Because Texas is a part of almost everything in modern America the South, the West, the Plains, Hispanic and immigrant communities, the border, the divide between the rural areas and the cities what happens here tends to disproportionately affect the rest of the nation. Illinois and New Jersey may be more corrupt, Kansas and Louisiana more dysfunctional, but they dont bear the responsibility of being the future. God Save Texas is written with the confidence of an author who has nothing to prove Wright won the Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower: Al Quaeda and the Road to 9/11, a devastating account of U.S. intelligence failures in the years before the nations worst terrorist attack. For this reason, perhaps, he felt free to write this book with no allegiance to genre or logical organization: Its part memoir, part reportage, part political commentary. And some segments, particularly toward the end, take on the tone of intimate personal essays (he mentions waking up during a camping trip to take a crap and reaching for his wifes breast on another occasion.) Likewise, the subject matter jumps all over the place: There are chapters about places (Houston, Dallas); economic sectors (oil and gas); the machinery and ideology driving the states politics (these chapters are entitled Sausage Makers and More Sausage.) I spotted one factual error: The Astrodome was never the home court for the Rockets. And Wrights blow-by-blow account of the 2017 legislative session, with its obsessive focus on issues such as sanctuary cities and the so-called bathroom bill, seemed a bit much. Perhaps a non-Texan reader, who hadnt followed these dispiriting events as they occurred, might find Wrights take more illuminating. GRAY MATTERS: The city Houston is. And the city it's going to be Chief among this books many virtues are the skill and originality of Wrights writing (he compares the Texas country warbler Roy Orbison to the French chanteuse Edith Piaf, and it makes sense) and the intellectual honesty that drives his ideas. Read the table of contents, and the book might seem thrown together at random; read the text, and it all somehow works, like a fine meal your grandmother prepared from this and that left over in the refrigerator and the pantry. The final chapter of God Save Texas seems valedictory. Its an account of Wright, his wife of 50 years, Roberta, and another couple picking out their plots in the state cemetery in Austin. (He explains the criteria for admission to this sacred ground in an earlier chapter.) I accept, Wright writes, that my life has already been lived. Lawrence Wright is 70 hardly ancient by todays standards. He is 17 years younger than Rupert Murdoch and 23 years younger than Jimmy Carter, to cite random examples of successful people still going strong in what used to be considered the twilight of life. The quality and diversity of Wrights work are on abundant display right now: This book was just published, a televised series based on The Looming Tower is streaming on Hulu, and Wrights play Cleo is in production at Houstons Alley Theatre. Lets hope Wright does not consider this burst of creative output a last hurrah before retirement. Texas needs him. Mike Snyder reports on the suburbs and writes the Greater Houston column for the Houston Chronicle. We tuck into beef suya grilled skewers of spicy seasoned meat wearing a dusty, aromatic coat of ground peanuts set against a mound of fragrant jollof rice with tomatoes and onions and punched by the heat of cayenne peppers. This is the signature dish of a restaurant aptly named Sabo Suya Spot on Bissonnet near the Beltway. We are trying typical dishes of Nigeria. But what were really tasting is America. To be more specific, Houston. Much has been written about Houstons polyglot culinary culture, an identity stamped by the foods and flavors of many countries. Melting pot describes the easy intermingling of the citys Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese, Mediterranean and South American flavors, alongside Texas tapestry of Mexican, African-American, Cajun, Czech and German heritage. RECIPE: Tomato-Braised Chicken with Turmeric and Cashew RECIPE: Beef Skewers with Cashews, Curry and Black Pepper Chef Edward Lee of Louisville, Ky., is a food explorer who has much to say about how immigrant cultures are changing and redefining how America eats. He already knew as much about Houston; one chapter of his new book, Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chefs Journey to Discover Americas New Melting Pot Culture, finds him immersed in the citys Nigerian community, eating goat pepper soup, balls of steamed fufu bread and suya skewers of grilled beef, lamb and kidney. More Information "Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting Pot Culture" By Edward Lee Artisan, 320 pp., $27.50 See More Collapse Whats even more interesting to Lee is how the intersection of food cultures happen in smaller pockets across the country. He spent two years observing Lebanese kibbeh in Clarksdale, Miss.; Peruvian food in Paterson, NJ; Cambodian pork lab in Lowell, Mass.; aquavit in Seattle; and Uyghur noodle soup in Brighton Beach, NY. His takeaway is that notions of traditional American food are going out the window as American towns and cities reshape their culinary landscapes to reflect contemporary culture. Houston is a prime example. Its where an estimated 150,000 Nigerian Americans have made their home, including Bedford Umez, president of the Nigerian Foundation, a non-profit advocacy group representing Nigerians in the Greater Houston area. The industrial nature of Houston with economic opportunity, economic power, oil technology and the cost of living are all factors contributing to the growing Nigerian community, said Umez, who teaches government at Lee College in Baytown. Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in Houston and the nation, surpassing whites and Asians, according to Census data bolstered by an analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University. And wherever immigrant populations form, restaurants follow. The local Nigerian community has a handful of dependable spots serving authentic food of the homeland, Umez said, including Signature African Restaurant, Afrikiko, Finger Licking Restaurant, Suya Hut and Sabo Suya Spot. Most are located in southwest Houston. Umez is particularly fond of Suya Huts marinated meat skewers. No place in Houston does it better than they do, he said. Silva Olu has been getting his suya from Sabo Suya Spot for at least seven years, he said. If you want to get the real, authentic African suya, you come to him, the Nigerian American said, standing next to owner Adamu Suleiman during a recent lunch hour. Hes good at what he does. Good enough to impress Lee. Suleiman, who hails from the Kano state in North West Nigeria, opened Sabo Suya Spot in 2010 specializing in skewered meats, jollof rice, roasted spicy hen and ram (goat). He goes to great lengths to prepare his peanutty meat skewers. Suleiman cold presses peanuts, extracting oil that is brushed on the meats. The peanut cake byproduct is then fried, crushed and used to coat the meat, which also is flavored with a mix of spices. They say it reminds them of home, Suleiman says of his suya. This is the traditional way of doing it. Its what I grew up with. While Nigerians are the majority of his customers, others have found their way to his suya, Suleiman said. He remembers a white customer who ordered the suya so spicy it burned his lips and tongue. He went to the bathroom to wash his face and came back and started eating it again. Lee tried taking samples of those skewers from Sabo Suya Spot home with him to Louisville only to have TSA confiscate them from his checked luggage. He wanted to share them with his wife and his cooks at his Louisville restaurants, 610 Magnolia, MilkWood and Whiskey Dry. Those suya, Lee said, are precisely the kind of dish that happens when a citys communities rub up against each other. He speaks from personal experience as a Brooklyn-raised child of Korean parents who now cooks in the American South. His definition of what constitutes authentic cuisine and American food has changed. Anything that lands on these shores is American food, said Lee, who won an Emmy Award for his appearances on the series The Mind of a Chef. Even Korean food: Once Korean immigrants came here, their food changed. It evolved within the context of America. Thats what makes American food so fascinating. We take from the homeland, change it, improve it and make it something completely different and interesting. greg.morago@chron.com As a state and a state of mind, Texas is anchored in contradictions sublime natural beauty and shocking political coldheartedness, dazzling cultural innovations and groan-worthy tackiness. Making sense of it routinely eludes both natives and newcomers. Perhaps only someone as seasoned as Lawrence Wright, 2007 Pulitzer winner for "The Looming Tower," would even attempt such an audacious feat. But his latest book, "God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State" (Knopf; 336pp.; $26.95) does exactly that insofar as an enigmatic entity like Texas can ever be "explained." As he bounces from region to region, Wright tames his sprawling subject matter with concise sentences and laser-precise word choice. His central point will strike a chord with many readers between the Red and Rio Grande: Confounding as it may be, Texas is home. "I am certainly dismayed by some of the political trends in our state," Wright admits. "But that doesn't alter the fact that I love Texas, love Texans, love being here, feel so much a part of it. The book is a declaration that I want to have my say as well." IT'S ONLY proper that Wright's pilgrimage begins at Buc-ee's. The convenience-store chain, whose locations have sprouted like mushrooms along the state's major highways, is known for its clean bathrooms, kitschy merchandise and near-religious fervor about all things Texas. Here, Wright writes: "An aspiring Texan can get fully outfitted not only with the clothing but also with the cultural and philosophical stances that embody the Texas stereotypes cowboy individualism, a kind of wary friendliness, superpatriotism combined with defiance of all government authority, a hair-trigger sense of grievance, [and] nostalgia for an ersatz past that is largely an artifact of Hollywood." In the '50s and early '60s, those stereotypes were personified in John Wayne's gruff characters in movies like "The Searchers" and "The Alamo." After the Kennedy assassination, they became more like Slim Pickens's crackpot B-52 pilot in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove." That persisted, Wright notes, "until Texans started telling their own stories," creating more sympathetic and nuanced portrayals of themselves and their neighbors. Tommaso Boddi, Stringer / Getty Images for Hulu But even Mike Judge's "King of the Hill," Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" or NBC's "Friday Night Lights," for example, exist in the shadow of what Wright calls "this immense myth of Texas." "It's so powerful and enduring," he says. "I think of it both as an asset and a liability. To be from Texas really means something, and for a lot of people, they come from places that nobody has any fixed opinions about. I think it's an asset, for the most part, to have such a big story behind you as a citizen of Texas." WRIGHT GREW up in Abilene and Dallas before leaving for college and to, he says, "experience what I thought was a far more cosmopolitan life, and I had that. But nothing actually replaced Texas in terms of being my home." He moved back in 1980 to become a staff writer at Texas Monthly. "God Save Texas" functions as a personalized account of the state's major cultural figures and developments since then, principally because Wright interacts with quite a few of them at some point. Linklater introduces him to Alex Jones. Lady Bird Johnson, then in her 90s, tells him a hilarious dinner-party anecdote involving a bust of Shakespeare. Matthew McConaughey, briefly a neighbor in Austin, invites him to a cookout. George W. Bush sends him a nice note during one Texas Book Festival, after Wright reads an essay about a doll his daughter gave him once she'd outgrown it. Apparently, it reminded the then-governor of a similar toy his twin daughters had also discarded. Part of the Houston chapter (inevitably titled "Houston, We Have a Problem") describes the devastation wrought on the Alley Theatre by Hurricane Harvey. The storm made landfall during early rehearsals of Wright's new play about Richard Burton and Liz Taylor's affair during the filming of notorious box-office flop "Cleopatra." As he notes, the production was postponed to the spring "Cleo" runs through April 29, and Wright now says "I couldn't be happier" about the experience but deadlines dictated regrettable omissions in other areas. "The one thing that I wish I could have gotten in [the book] was the Astros winning the World Series," he says. "It came too late for me, but that was a wonderful moment." RELATED: The team that brought Houston together Elsewhere Wright, a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, investigates the oil business and alternative energy in the Permian Basin; the consequences of fracking in North Texas; booming El Paso and desolate Juarez, where pink crosses in honor of missing children mark most streetlamps; and his hometown of Dallas, where he draws an eerie parallel between the JFK assassination and the shooting of several police officers after a July 2016 Black Lives Matter rally. "Perhaps Dallas is destined to shoulder the burden of certain tragedies that mark our path as a country," he writes. THE BOOK'S two chapters on the Texas Legislature are called, fittingly enough, "Sausage Makers" and "More Sausage." Wright's account of the 2017 session is not light on comedy: Jonathan Stickland's proposal to defund the state's feral-hog abatement (i.e. killing) program, which touched off a melee on the House floor; or Jessica Farrar's quixotic bill outlawing male masturbation a clever method of drawing attention to her Y-chromosome colleagues' embarrassing record on women's-health issues. Most of what goes on under the Capitol dome is no laughing matter, though. "God Save Texas" gives readers a front-row seat to the battle within the Texas GOP between business-oriented conservatives, led by House Speaker Joe Straus, and the social-conservative wing headed up by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and in a move Wright says both surprised and disappointed him Gov. Greg Abbott. "Until the session I had always thought of him as a business-oriented conservative," he says. "But for whatever reason whether he was, as many people say, frightened of being outflanked by Dan Patrick, or if he just had a true change of heart, he totally flipped." Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle This power struggle was loudest during the debates over sanctuary cities, which passed but is now under appeal in federal court, and the so-called "bathroom bill." The latter's passage was blocked at the 11th hour by artful maneuvering by Straus. But last summer, the Bexar County GOP gave Straus a no-confidence vote; he announced his retirement from the House in October. On top of that, statewide party officials censured him in January for being insufficiently conservative. "The way that Speaker Straus was treated ... I think it was totally disgraceful," says Wright. Still, as damaging as the bathroom bill would have been to the state's business climate, Wright says that pales in comparison to what is happening to public education in the state. Lawmakers led by Abbott and Patrick have been lobbying for a cap on local property taxes, blocking public schools' other primary source of revenue even as they steadily reduce the state's own contributions. "At the same time they're talking about transferring money from public education into private education," says Wright. "I think it is shameful. If we can't educate our children, Texas doesn't have a future." RELATED: Dan Patrick to Texas schools: Starve. If Amazon bypasses the state for its HQ2 campus (Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area were announced as finalists last September), Wright says that could help turn the tide of public opinion against social conservatives, though he's skeptical. Of El Paso Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke's challenge to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, he says "I admire his gumption and his drive," despite Democrats' being shut out of statewide office since 1994. Still, things could change. Wright brings up 2014 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who memorably said, "Texas isn't a red state; it's a non-voting blue state." "November will be a telling moment in our history," he says. "Our population is far more progressive than our political representatives. But apparently our population is not so motivated to get out and actually vote." WRIGHT IS also a musician. He plays keyboards in WhoDo, an Austin-based band that specializes in rockabilly and blues by Texas and Louisiana artists. In "God Save Texas," he notes that their drummer has a sticker saying "Stop Californication of Texas Music" on his kit. Often pitted as polar opposites, the two states have an interesting symmetry. "They tend to wrap around each other in opposing ways, like strands of DNA," Wright says. Some of the most revealing parts of the book come through his interactions with members of the state's creative class taking piano lessons from Floyd Domino, formerly of Asleep at the Wheel; visiting the site of Buddy Holly's house, now a Lubbock Walmart, with Joe Ely; discussing Donald Judd's installations with his friend and Judd's fellow Marfan, artist Julie Speed. His good friend Stephen Harrigan, author of the bestselling novel "The Gates of the Alamo," often pops up as a sort of foil. "Texas is very rich in terms of its cultural legacy," Wright says. "I think maybe that's one of the things that people who don't know Texas very well, but have opinions about it [anyhow], simply don't understand." RELATED: The Alamo is forgettable. A controversial new plan could change that. When Wright's bank-officer father moved the family to Dallas from Abilene, he notes, "there were practically no books about Dallas. If I had been growing up in Paris, or even Brooklyn, I would have through my reading a firmer idea of who I was and where I stood in the universe." His first book, 1987's "In the New World: Growing Up In America 1964-1984," helped fill in that literary void. Thirty years later, Wright is still trying to help Texans understand their place in the world through his writing. "I don't think I'd ever written anything that had such a personal effect on so many people," he says. "It wasn't unique, but it was unusual that there was a book about Dallas. And it helped, I think, people see the city in a way. "That's partly what I'd like for this book to do as well." Chris Gray (@ThePhantomTX) is a native Texan. His last purchase at Buc-ee's was a pair of swimming trunks and a bag of caramel cashew popcorn. Get the Gray Matters newsletter. It has a big story behind it. If a sexual predator wanted to come up with a smoke screen for his ghastly conquests, he couldnt do better than Cliff Huxtable. Cliff was affable, patient, wise, and where Mrs. Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) was concerned, justly deferential. His wit was quick, his sweaters roomy and kaleidoscopic. He could be romantic. Cliff should have been the envy of any father ever to appear on a sitcom. He was vertiginously dadly. Cliff is the reason for the cognitive dissonance weve been experiencing for the last three or four years. He seemed inseparable from the man who portrayed him. Bill Cosby was good at his job. That sums up why this guilty verdict is depressing depressing not for its shock but for the work the verdict now requires me to do. The discarding and condemning and reconsidering of the shows, the albums, the movies. But I dont need to watch them anymore. Its too late. Ive seen them. Ive absorbed them. Ive lived them. Im a black man, so I am them. If Judge Steven T. ONeill sent Cosby away for the rest of his life, that sentence couldnt undo what hes convicted of having done to Andrea Constand, his accuser in two trials. It also cant undo what he once did for me, which was to make me believe in myself. This is foundational, elemental, cellular stuff. There is no surgical procedure to rid me of it. Anyway, I dont want to lose that belief, just the man who ennobled me to possess it in the first place. Maybe were all compartmentalizing. Americas Dad is what we called Bill Cosby. And we called him that because, well, what a revolutionary way to put it. Through him, we were thumbing our noses at the long, dreary history for black men in America by elevating this one to a paternal Olympus. In the 1980s he made the black American family seem just like us. (Thats how a recent episode of the reborn, reactionary Roseanne snidely described nonwhite families currently on television.) The Huxtables laughed and bonded and debated and lip-synced. They were glamorous and simple and extraordinarily human. And affluent. And educated. And so many different kinds of black. Youd think that all of that would make them the Howard University of African-American family life. But white people wanted to matriculate, too. So they became its Harvard. For a decade, I filed an emotional application. I had a biological family, and this TV one, a dream family, the fiction against which I measured my blood. Just like us was the dream of the show, right? Best behavior blackness. Thats one way to think about it, the cynical, uncharitable, myopic way, the way youd think about it if you wanted to psychologize Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable. I couldnt have known how vertiginous the entire Huxtable project was. I was, like, 10, 13, 15 years old when the show was a thing. But eventually, I could see that Cliff became a play for respectability. This is how you comport yourself among white people, young black child. Take a little bit of Howard with you on your way to Harvard. But then, in 2004, at an NAACP ceremony commemorating 50 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision, he gave the notorious Pound Cake speech, where prodding for a particular kind of self-betterment turned tsk-y. He compared incarcerated black men to jailed civil rights activists, the apples and oranges of the black criminal-justice crisis. He ruminated on names that didnt seem, to him, like Bill. We are not Africans, he said. Those people are not Africans, they dont know a damned thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed, and all that crap and all of them are in jail. Maybe this was Cliff unplugged and unhinged. Mohammed? But it was a dare to flirt with distance, to reconsider all those applications I filed, to see Bill Cosby as someone who, despite hours of comedy like Bill Cosby Is Not Himself These Days and Bill Cosby: Himself, might not be willing or able to see who himself actually is. I called this a speech, but he performed it like another standup special. This is the heavy thing about this verdict. The sorting of the ironies has been left to us. Cosby made blackness palatable to a country historically conditioned to think the worst of black people. And to pull that off, he had to find a morally impeccable presentation of himself and his race. This is what Sidney Poitier, his friend and movie partner, was always up against: inhabiting the superhumanly unimpeachable. But Cosby might have managed to pull a fast one, using his power and wealth to become the predator that white America mythologized in a campaign to terrorize, torture and kill black people for centuries. Cosby told lots of jokes. This was his sickest one. Cosbys guilty verdict happens to fall during a week in which Kanye West brought a lot of people a lot more grief, not with new music but with a blizzard of tweets that included an expressed affinity for President Donald Trump, right down to wearing a Make America Great Again cap of his own. West began his career as a kind of black-sheep Huxtable. (His first album was The College Dropout.) But he eventually gathered a sense of politics racialized, pro-black politics. And then he married into the Kardashian family and things got as vivid and incoherent as one of Cliffs Van Den Akker sweaters. This is how you get a blistering indictment of racial closed-mindedness like 2013s Black Skinhead but also an embrace of people whove been reluctant to shame white supremacists. This seems like a reasonable moment to wonder whether the Huxtable mold is one that needs breaking or at least expansion. West presents a new vexation thats the opposite of Cosbys stringent black conservatism. He can be offensive and rude and self-aggrandizing. But that mindset also feels like a way to move beyond Americas Dad. Disrespectability politics. Were in a moment of cleaving terrible people from their great work. Its a luxury conundrum, one that feels like a mockery of tremendous human suffering. With Cosby, though, these are questions worth seriously considering. How do I, at least, cleave this man from the man he seduced me into becoming? This article originally appeared in The New York Times. NASA's much-anticipated moon rover appears to have been canceled just three days before the space agency's new administrator praised plans to "return America to the surface of the Moon." In a letter to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Thursday, a group of lunar scientists and engineers reported that they had learned the Resource Prospector project had been canceled April 23 -- the same day Bridenstine was sworn in as administrator. "The information we received was the Resource Prospector project team were told that they should close out their work by the end of May. We took this to mean cancellation," said Clive Neal, emeritus chairman of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, which was originally chartered by NASA and facilitates better communication between government agencies, commercial businesses and others that deal with the moon. "The cancellation of RP could be viewed as NASA not being serious about a return to the lunar surface," the group's letter stated. In a tweet on Thursday, Bridenstine said, "Great 3rd day on the job with the @NASA family. Excited to get to work on our plan to sustainably return America to the surface of the moon starting with an aggressive robotic program." RELATED STORY: NASA's lunar rover could enable deep-space exploration. NASA issued a statement late Friday neither confirming nor denying that the program had been shuttered. "NASA is developing an exploration strategy to meet the agency's expanded lunar exploration goals," according to the statement posted on the website. "NASA is planning a series of progressive robotic missions to the lunar surface. In addition, NASA has released a request for information on approaches to evolve progressively larger landers leading to an eventual human lander capability." It continued, "As part of this expanded campaign, selected instruments from Resource Prospector will be landed and flown on the Moon. This exploration campaign reinforces Space Policy Director 1, which calls for an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system, including returning humans to the Moon for long-term exploration." Bridenstine issued a similar statement. "We're committed to lunar exploration @NASA," he tweeted. "Resource Prospector instruments will go forward in an expanded lunar surface campaign. More landers. More science. More exploration. More prospectors. More commercial partners." He ended, "Ad astra!" - a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars." The $250 million rover was being built to learn more about the availability of water on the moon. Much of the work being done on the mission, slated to fly in 2022 or 2023, was being done at Johnson Space Center in Houston. But officials there and at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., did not respond to repeated requests for confirmation. News of the apparent cancellation comes as the space agency, with the support of President Donald Trump, pushes for the U.S. to return to the moon as a stepping stone to Mars. That push started last year, when Trump revived the defunct National Space Council and, later, signed Space Policy Directive-1 urging NASA to return Americans to the moon. He followed that directive up with a $19.9 billion NASA budget proposal for the coming fiscal year that tasks NASA with launching the first flight without a crew for Orion -- the spacecraft meant to take humans to Mars -- by 2022, following by a launch of Americans around the moon in 2023. NASA officials hope to launch the uncrewed flight in December 2019, but that will likely slip to June 2020 in part because of construction delays for the rocket that will carry Orion into space. Centers around the country, including Johnson, already are working diligently to reach these deadlines. RELATED STORY: NASA's Johnson Space Center preps Orion module for failure. Additionally, Trump's proposal would allow the agency to begin working on the foundation of a Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, saying it would "give us a strategic presence in the lunar vicinity that will drive our activity with commercial and international partners and help us further explore the moon and its resources and translate that experience toward human missions to Mars." The apparent cancellation of Resource Prospector is an unexpected move -- and not a good sign for the future of moon exploration, Neal said. "RP would be a pathfinder for NASA's contribution to the space economy ... be the first US lunar lander since Apollo 17 in 1972, and become be the first ever US robotic rover on the surface of the Moon," the letter continued. Neal said he has not yet heard from Bridenstine's office, and doesn't expect to for a few weeks, if at all. Although Bridenstine is new to the job, Neal said the group felt "he needed to know about it sooner rather than later." Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. WASHINGTON With negotiations to modernize NAFTA coming to a head, Texas Republican Ted Cruz and some of his conservative Senate allies have been pushing the Trump administration to use the trade pact as a way of getting around Democratic objections to the GOP's broader deregulation agenda. But despite a GOP consensus on reducing business regulation of all kinds, Cruz's gambit appears to be getting little buy-in from Republican leaders on trade including some key Texas Republicans who worry that it could blow up a final trade deal with Mexico and Canada. At the core of the dispute is Cruz's proposal to link the ongoing NAFTA talks to a separate regulatory plan known as the REINS Act, which would require Congressional approval of any new regulation that would impose more than a $100 million cost to the economy. Though popular among Republicans bent on reducing what they see as burdensome regulations on environmental, workplace, and consumer affairs, inserting the REINS Act in NAFTA could introduce a new level uncertainty in negotiations that some lawmakers already consider politically fraught. Among the skeptics is Texas Republicans John Cornyn, the No. 2 GOP leader in the Senate, who on Thursday called it a "strange fit." Another is U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady of The Woodlands, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and an influential GOP voice on trade. A spokeswoman for Brady told the Chronicle this week that Brady "has been a long supporter of the REINS Act and other legislation to reduce burdensome regulations, but is not convinced that tying this bill to an international trade agreement is the right vehicle for enactment." The divide illustrates a familiar dynamic surrounding Cruz's tenure in the Senate, where he has long pressed for more aggressive tactics than GOP leaders would like in policy battles with Democrats such as the 2013 government shutdown over the Affordable Care Act. Trade, however, divides the Democrats as well. While anti-globalization elements in the party's labor wing have long expressed suspicion of multi-national trade pacts like NAFTA, the Democratic leadership has generally embraced the landmark Clinton-era agreement. Democrats of all stripes, however, generally have opposed GOP efforts to weaken government environmental and workplace protections, including pushing back against recent Trump administration initiatives on air and water quality. Cruz, backed by a coalition of conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Freedom Works, has pressed in a series of television appearances and behind the scenes to add a deregulation plank to NAFTA. In a recent letter to the White House, he argued for using the president's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) powers to circumvent an expected Democratic filibuster on the REINS Act by making it part of a NAFTA deal, which would be subject to a straight up or down vote in the Senate. "Most importantly, taking this approach means that you could ratify your improved version of NAFTA before November of this year," Cruz wrote in a letter to Trump last month. "And under the Trade Promotion Authority Act's expedited procedures, we can avoid a filibuster and pass implementing legislation in the Senate with only 50 votes. "No alternative this year," Cruz continued, "has so much promise to lock into law most elements of your economic development plan and timely realization of the economic benefits it will bring." Republicans currently have a 51-49 majority in the Senate, a narrow edge that they have to protect in the November midterm elections. The REINS Act an acronym for the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act was originally proposed as a Tea Party measure more than a decade ago. Several versions have been passed in the House, but it has never gotten through the Senate, where Democrats have enough members to block it in procedural moves requiring 60 votes. Cruz's letter also was signed by Republicans Cory Gardner of Colorado and Steve Daines of Montana. Although the Trump administration has prided itself on reducing regulation through administrative acts and orders, more thoroughgoing GOP reforms like the REINS Act need Congressional action. In a Fox News interview Monday, Cruz said that if enacted, the REINS Act would be "the most significant, far-reaching structural reg reform ever passed." NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, was negotiated under former President Bill Clinton to govern the $1 trillion in trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Though largely favored in the business community and among bipartisan majorities in Congress, the trade pact has come under sharp attack from Trump, who has sought to renegotiate more favorable terms for American businesses and workers, while at the same time pushing for tariffs against other countries like China that have trade surpluses with the U.S. Amid the uncertainty over the talks, writing the REINS Act into a new "competitiveness" chapter in NAFTA has made some lawmakers nervous, even if Cruz says the U.S. could impose the requirements unilaterally on itself without affecting Mexico and Canada. Texas, a leading exporting state, has a lot at stake in the talks, which are believed to be advancing into their final stages. For now, the REINS Act is not part of the discussion among congressional leaders tracking the closed-door negotiations. "I am not intimately familiar with attempts to try to insert that in a NAFTA reorganization," Cornyn said. "It strikes me as a kind of strange fit." Cornyn said he would like to see Congress approve both the REINS Act and new NAFTA deal, but not as one package. Even separately, neither is a sure thing. "While I'm hearing more optimistic reports from the vice president (Mike Pence) and others about successfully negotiating a modernized NAFTA," Cornyn said, "I don't know whether we have the political support that we need in the Senate to pass whatever they decide upon, because there hasn't been, in my view, sufficient consultation with Congress." Brady, for his part, said he does not believe the REINS Act is on the table. "Our focus has been on a pro-growth, modern NAFTA, which I think is incredibly important to the economy," Brady said Wednesday when asked about the REINS Act. "So my understanding is the U.S. Trade Representative is sort of laser-focused with Mexico and Canada in this final two weeks of trying to arrive at an agreement for a modern NAFTA." Brady added: "We're cautiously optimistic." WASHINGTON Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump dont agree on much. Macron is a globalist; Trump is a nationalist. Macron is a free-trader; Trump just imposed protectionist tariffs on steel and aluminum. Macron wants the United States to remain in Syria; Trump wants to get out. Macron wants to preserve the Iran nuclear deal; Trump wants to scrap it. Macron wants the United States to rejoin the Paris climate deal; Trump withdrew from the accord. And yet there they were, the French and American presidents air-kissing on the White House portico, clasping hands at the podium of a joint news conference, clutching arms as they walked down the colonnade and clinked glasses at the first state dinner of the Trump presidency. He is perfect, Trump declared of Macron (after brushing what he said was dandruff off of the French leaders suit). The displays of amity have left Washington and Paris agog at le bromance. How can two men so diametrically opposed get along so well? Simple. Macron holds his ground on issues that matter to him, but he treats the president of the United States with respect and has found his respect reciprocated. Democrats in Washington should try it. OPINION: Democrats aren't Republicans and their party isn't cracking up In a toast at the state dinner, Macron explained his approach this way: We both know that none of us easily changes our minds, but we will work together, and we have this ability to listen to one another. Wouldnt it be refreshing to hear Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., or House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., say the same? At the end of his visit, Macron was asked how he could have such a warm relationship with Trump while disagreeing with him on so many issues. Its the same thing in all families, he said. Lets share the disagreements ... To just say I disagree and I dont want to speak with you [is] ridiculous. Yes, it is. After Macron delivered an address to Congress in which he warned against the dangers of isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism, many suggested that his speech was a rebuke to Trump. No, it wasnt. Macron didnt rebuke the president; he expressed respectful disagreement on a host of issues. Too many in Washington can no longer tell the difference. MORE THIESSEN: No, liberals don't hate America. And conservatives are not racists. Instead of simply applauding Macrons words, perhaps Democrats ought to emulate Macrons actions. Today, the Democratic Party is no longer the opposition; it is the self-proclaimed resistance that considers its job to stop Trump from doing or accomplishing anything. Even in areas where both parties traditionally cooperate, such as the approval of qualified nominees, Trumps candidates face near unified Democratic opposition. While cooperation on difficult issues such as tax cuts or Obamacare may be a bridge too far, Democrats are so blinded by their contempt for Trump that they cannot bring themselves to work with him on issues where they profess to agree, such as infrastructure or extending protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. These failures hurt the millions of ordinary people who depend on leaders in Washington to work together for the good of the country. Macrons visit has shown that it does not have to be this way; people can vigorously disagree and still find ways to work together. We have no way of knowing what, deep down, Macron really thinks of Trump. Perhaps the warmth between them is genuine modeled, as Macron suggested in his address to Congress, on how Lafayette and Washington forged a tight relationship fueled by respect and affection. Or perhaps Macron has chosen to behave with respect and decency for the good of France and the world, because he knows the stakes are too high to do otherwise. OPINION: Feisty, outspoken Dreamers, true Americans Democrats might want to do the same. Here at home, there is no shortage of critical challenges Republicans and Democrats need to address and the stakes are also too high to indulge feelings of contempt. Perhaps its too much to expect a Trump-Schumer bromance, or Trump-Pelosi air kisses. But Macrons visit should provide a lesson for Democrats: Its amazing what you can accomplish when you treat the president of the United States with the respect and dignity his office deserves. To which I can only say: Vive la France! Thiessen writes a column for the Washington Post. ASSOCIATED PRESS India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center-left, inspects an honour guard accompanied by Prime Minister of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth, left, upon his arrival at the airport on Mauritius Island, in the Republic of Mauritius Wednesday, March 11, 2015. According to the Indian Prime Minister's website Modi is leading a delegation on a three nation tour of Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka to strengthen ties between the countries. (AP Photo/George Michel) Port Louis, India and Mauritius on Wednesday inked five agreements, including in ocean economy and for setting up and upgrading infrastructure on an outer Mauritian island, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Anerood Jugnauth. India also offered $500 million concessional Line of Credit to Mauritius for key infrastructure projects. Advertisement "Today, I was pleased to offer a concessional line of credit of $500 million for civil infrastructure projects for Mauritius," Modi said. The MoU in the field of ocean economy "provides for mutually beneficial cooperation for exploration and capacity development in the field of marine resources, fisheries, green tourism, research and development of ocean technology, exchange of experts and other related activities", said an official statement. The MoU for improvement in sea and air transportation facilities at Agalega Island of Mauritius provides for setting up and upgradation of infrastructure for improving sea and air connectivity at the Outer Island of Mauritius. This will "go a long way in ameliorating the condition of the inhabitants of this remote island" and also "enhance the capabilities of the Mauritian Defence Forces in safeguarding their interests in the Outer Island", the statement said. Advertisement Another agreement was on import of Indian mangoes. The "aim of this protocol is to facilitate importation of fresh mango fruits from India by Mauritius so that our Mauritian brethren can also relish the flavour of the world-renowned Indian mangoes". Both sides also inked an agreement on cultural cooperation for 2015-18. It envisages exchange of cultural troupes, training in fine arts, organisation of cultural exhibitions, preservation of cultural heritage, promotion of Indian languages, exchange of students, etc. Advertisement It will also enhance greater people-to-people participation between the two countries. Another MoU was inked on cooperation in the field of traditional system of medicine and homoeopathy. The agreement is to promote cooperation "in the field of traditional system of health and medicine between the two countries which already share these traditions due to our unique historical and cultural ties. South Korea and China resume consultations on fisheries cooperation April 27,2018 | Source: Yonhap News South Korea and China held a meeting on fisheries cooperation on Tuesday, resuming the regular consultations that have been suspended for nearly two years over the neighbors' diplomatic feud. The 10th South Korea-China meeting on fisheries cooperation held in China's Xiamen was the first session of the previously biannual meeting since July 2016. The neighbors' rift over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense shield, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in South Korea halted the bilateral meeting launched in mid-2012 over the past two years. The vice director-general meeting discussed joint measures to stop illegal fishing by Chinese boats in South Korean waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Both sides agreed that illegal fishing by Chinese boats on the South Korean side of the West Sea has been trending down since early 2017 but voiced concerns over continuing illegalities and violence by Chinese fishermen coming to South Korean waters. South Korea called on China to take "strong and effective" measures to stop them, and China, in return, stressed their ongoing efforts to crack down on such activities and educate Chinese fishermen on the issue, the ministry said. The two sides agreed to "actively use" the meeting as a channel to discuss bilateral cooperation on fisheries and improve the fishing environment, it said. They also decided to host the next session of the meeting in South Korea later this year. The resumption of the meeting comes as South Korea and China are increasing efforts to bring back bilateral cooperation and exchanges after the THAAD feud badly hurt them over the last two years. Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade, Others, Landing Centres, Freshwater ecosystems and threats, Fisheries Resources, Fisheries Development and Aquaculture, Coastal Ecosystems and Threats, Communities and Organisations, Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. Imperial Valley News Center Commemorating the Birthday of the Disappeared Panchen Lama Washington, DC - On April 25, we marked the birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who has not appeared in public since he was reportedly abducted two decades ago by the Chinese government at age six. The United States remains concerned that Chinese authorities continue to take steps to eliminate the religious, linguistic, and cultural identity of Tibetans, including their ongoing destruction of communities of worship, such as the Larung Gar and Yachen Gar monasteries. We call on China to release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima immediately and to uphold its international commitments to promote religious freedom for all persons. Imperial Valley News Center Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sworn into office as 70th Secretary of State Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was just sworn in yesterday by Justice Alito at the Supreme Court not long after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. No other secretary in recent history has gone on a trip as quickly as he has. Secretary Pompeo is now on his way to Joint Base Andrews, where well be taking off. First, hes heading to NATO and we will arrive there in the morning, and thats when he will reaffirm the importance of our NATO alliance. A lot of meetings that he has planned, including a bilateral meeting with the foreign minister of Turkey, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, and then also the Italian Foreign Minister Alfono. Theyre going to talk about Afghanistan. Theyre going to talk about Russian deterrence and NATOs invaluable role in Afghanistan as well. Next, we will head to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, of course, is a key partner and longtime friend of the United States. The Secretary looks forward to meeting with King Salman and also the foreign minister. We will also stop for a meeting at our embassy with mission personnel. I know the Secretary looks forward to meeting our colleagues in Saudi Arabia. After that, well head to Israel, where our relationship has never been closer than it is right now with that country. There, the Secretary will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lastly, we will go to Jordan, our close friend and invaluable ally in the region. He there will meet with King Abdullah and also the foreign minister and visit our mission personnel. After that, we will head back to the United States, and that is where the 70th Secretary of State looks forward to starting his first full day at work next week at the State Department. Lakme Fashion Week: This is What Rajesh Pratap Singh Has to Say About Late Satya Paul On a beautiful fall day in November of 2017, country star Carrie Underwood was walking on the porch of her Nashville home. Underwood had left her two-year-old son Isaiah inside, and was enjoying a few moments of solitude. Then, disaster struck. She was holding a leash for her dogs, and they bounded suddenly. She reeled out of control, landing at just the right angle to break her wrist and gash her face and chin. At a nearby hospital, doctors rushed to treat her injuries. They set her wrist in a splint; it was only a minor fracture. She needed over 40 stitches on her jaw, her lips, and her chin. The injuries were minor, and could have been far worse, but for a country star who has sold 65 million albums and appeared on American Idol, countless country music awards shows, and graced the cover of Us Weekly, Cosmopolitan, People, and many others, the news was anything but minor. For several weeks, she stayed hidden from sight. On News Years Day of 2018, she finally revealed more details about the accident. "Not looking quite the same," she said, cryptically. On social media, fans reacted with a mix of shock and empathy. "We're here for you," said one. At the time, Underwood had decided not to post any pictures. The freak accident, now becoming a great source of mystery, led to a few posts speculating about the incident, but fans were mostly supportive and expressed concerned. Maybe it was a minor mishap? By April, the country star had only posted three photos of herself on Instagram. One image, which showed her sitting with her hands poised on her chin, showed a slight puffiness to her lips, and her chin looked slightly different. It was not at all like that famous Twilight Zone episode where everyone "normal" in society looked disfigured, and the abnormal main character looked perfect in every way. Yet, Underwood was not about to post a close-up photo just yet. After a final image showed the star practicing for the Country Music Awards show, something changed. The mystery had turned into a conspiracy. The fact that Underwood chose not to post close-up photos caused fans to wonder what was really going on. Like sleeping giants woken up from a long slumber, the trolls emerged from their caves. On her Instagram feed, the vitriol turned to anger which turned to hate. One commenter suggested that Underwood had staged the accident as a media stunt. Another called her a snowflake. "You just wanted to get plastic surgery and puff up your lips," said another. Several hundred comments followed, some lamenting the fact that Underwood had not revealed more about her scar as a way to help those who have suffered far worse injuries. And, through the entire episode--from the original accident, to the earliest photos posted on Instagram, to the final revelations about when she would perform--it became clear that Underwood was now the victim of online abuse, a target for trolls who had started a new campaign against her. -- In 2008, there were only six million people using Twitter. That year, with so much economic turmoil and a new President taking office, the concept of an everyday person being able to criticize a country music star for being a snowflake seemed inconceivable. Even the word "snowflake" was not a common put-down like it is today. For the most part, if you wanted to lambast a politician or make fun of a Hollywood celebrity, you sent an email. It's hard to believe now, but Twitter started out as a curiosity, something journalists like myself used rabidly along with a few hardcore tech enthusiasts. It wasn't part of the public discourse. I created my first Twitter account that year, amassing a small following and posting only a few times per week. It seemed like a fad. Once, when a reader commented on one of my articles and called me a moron, I decided to delete my account. I didn't like the idea of one reader taking the "mic" in front of several thousand people and blasting my work. At this early stage, social media seemed like it was meant as a diversion from life. We'd share our plans for the day or what we ate for lunch. Facebook, which started out as a purely visual platform for sharing photos of college students, was hardly a powerhouse. Only 150 million people joined in compared to over two billion today. Instagram, Snapchat, and many other messaging tools did not exist yet. Few people even used the term "social media" at this point, and it wasn't clear whether any of these new social networks would last. That year, just a decade ago, it was hard to imagine that a President of the United States would ever use a social media channel as a primary form of communication. And it was even harder to imagine that an everyday citizen could comment on a post by President Trump. That the President would then come up with a name like "dopey" for a voter? Incomprehensible. That kind of discourse would have been difficult before 2008. During a televised debate, or a press conference at the Oval Office, or on a trip to visit a fast food restaurant during a campaign, it would be almost inconceivable for a single person to have enough access or clout to be able to make a comment about a public figure--say, calling him a moron--in a way that could be viewed and archived forever. Before 2008, the affairs of public figures, chief executive officers, actors, and country music stars were closely regimented and controlled. Over the last ten years, in a relatively short period of time, a sea change occured. Access is available to anyone. Social media has created a forum for anyone to comment on the affairs of anyone else, from music stars to journalists, from barbers to beauticians and everything in between. Apps like Yelp allow any customer to provide a public rating of any business. A site like Rate My Professors or Glassdoor now provide a forum for any college student or any employee to create an account, write a scathing review, and post it for all to see. This free-for-all has created a monster. They are called trolls. They lurk in the shadows of Yelp and wallow in the mire of Glassdoor, they make spurious comments on Twitter and post fake news on Facebook. Birthed in 2008 and nurtured on all-access platforms like Twitter, trolls have evolved over time and now sit next to us on airplanes, slurp their coffee too loud at Starbucks, and post unflattering pictures of their co-workers on Instagram. They are everywhere. Also, they are winning the war. Belligerent, moody, vocal, and unpredictable, modern day trolls have become a collective hive-mind, a force of disquieting power. Poke them and they grow larger. Block them and they spring to life under a new pseudonym. The social media firms stand with shaking knees, craning their necks backward to look up at these towering vindictive overlords, abusing others and crushing us all, and they are powerless. It's not getting better. At a Congressional hearing in April of 2018, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook is losing the battle against online abuse, suggesting that the tools and technology are at least 5-10 years away from having any effect whatsoever. Artificial intelligence can monitor what we say, but the human language is too nuanced to know the difference between a friendly jab ("you suck") to an outright threat ("I'm going to kill you"). It's not a question of safety or of free speech. Those are important factors, but what is really at stake is much more profound. As the trolls keep unleashing their foul stench on the world, the entire concept of public life has changed. Give them 10 more years, and the trolls will continue infiltrating every corner of American life, from politics to journalism to education and beyond. When the trolls win, it's as though we are letting them take over society as a whole. They win, we lose. This might seem like overstatement, and you might not agree. Maybe you view the trolls as mere distractions and mostly harmless. You swat them away, and they curl up in a ball. A few harmless jabs, a minor insult here and there. The trolls want you to think that. However, it is simply not the case. In the last ten years, the suicide rate among teenage girls worldwide has doubled. In South Korea, it's an epidemic -- one out of every 7,000 females and one out of every 3,000 males commits suicide every year. Suicide rates are also skewing younger. And, the hate speech is so rampant, the impact so profound, it is now impossible to ignore. Will we sit idle and let the abuse rage on unabated? Is the troll war over? "I am so glad someone invented the Alinker," says Barbara Alink, "because I'm using it now." That someone, of course, is Barbara Alink, who, shortly before this conversation, slipped on a Montreal sidewalk and broke three metatarsal bones, making it impossible for her to walk without assistance for a couple of weeks. Alink didn't particularly design the Alinker for people with broken bones. The Alinker is an innovative walking trike designed for people who want to stay active despite deteriorating health, a neurodegenerative disease, or even lower limb amputations. Her invention weighs about 20 pounds, collapses easily to fit in a car trunk, costs about $2,000, and is a bright, cheery yellow. "These people are looking to stay active, but there's nothing out there," says Alink. Alink is Dutch by birth, a carpenter and architect by trade, and has worked on reconstruction projects from Africa to Asia, including Afghanistan. After 10 years doing so, she became disillusioned with the politics of international aid organizations, and decamped to Vancouver. On a visit to the Netherlands to see her mom, the two noticed a woman using a walker, whereupon Alink's mom informed her daughter she would get her into a walker "over my dead body." That's when Alink began to fully appreciate the divide between those perceived as able-bodied and those perceived as not. "The suffering is not just physical--it's the isolation," says Alink. Having lost her father at age 8, she felt she could relate. At that young age, "People were uncomfortable talking with me because they were uncomfortable with death," she recalls. "I was mourning, and people left me on top of that." So when Alink set out to create a mobility device, she wanted something that offered sociability as well. Alinker users can look straight ahead--unlike with a walker--and meet others at eye level, unlike with a wheelchair. "I discovered that half of the people who use wheelchairs can still use their legs to some extent," says Alink. "But there is nothing designed for them to stay active and at eye level." Joe Revello, now 66, was desperately trying to stay active despite his multiple sclerosis, regularly Googling terms such as "futuristic walking device." One night in 2014, that search term brought up a website for the Alinker, which had only recently gone live. Revello was determined to try it out. Alink was in Amsterdam working on a crowdfunding campaign for the trike. At the time, only a prototype existed. Revel set out for Amsterdam. He says that at the time, he could probably walk 100 yards with crutches before his back gave out. During his first spin on the Alinker, he went three miles. He bought one as soon as he could. "It's totally opened up the world to me," he says. "I can go out with my friends without them having to worry about me anymore. I can go out in the snow. I can travel. We went to Italy." And, he says, the Alinker is a conversation-starter, in just the way Alink hoped it would be. At first, Revello says, people don't even realize he has a disability. They just want to know where the pedals are on the bike. (It doesn't have any.) "It takes the stigma of the disability away," says Revello. "It's magical." "It needs to overcome." After Alink's mother remarked about the walker, Alink made a prototype of the Alinker from laminated wood, then brought it to Toby Schillinger, a metal fabricator in Vancouver. He offered to make it "cheap and simple," says Alink, but that's not what she wanted. "It has to be cool," she told him. "It needs to overcome." By 2013 Alink had filed for patents on the design of the bike, and by 2014 she'd run a successful crowdfunding campaign in the Netherlands. By 2016, she'd run another crowdfunding campaign, this one on Indiegogo, and raised about $475,000 in equity. Then Alink headed to an accelerator run by the University of British Columbia. "When [Barbara] wheeled in on the Alinker, we were blown away," says Andrea Lloyd, the program manager for the accelerator, called Entrepreneurship@UBC. "We think the Alinker has potential impact worldwide, and can make a huge amount of difference, especially in terms of the aging population around the world." After Alink appeared in a pitch competition arranged by the accelerator, a large foundation (it won't allow its name to be used) agreed to help finance production. "If you create 200 Alinkers, they have to make space on the [factory] floor for production," says Alink. "People don't get that." Alink also won backing from SheEO, a group that brings together individual women to fund loans to promising female entrepreneurs. "Barbara has designed an innovation that can change inclusion and mobility for hundreds of millions of people," says Vicki Saunders, founder of SheEO. "We are thrilled to be helping her scale her innovation around the world." Alink wants to build a successful business, but her higher priority is getting the Alinker into the hands of as many people as possible. That makes the finances tougher. She realizes many people who lose some of their mobility also lose at least some of their income, and often have very large medical bills. So she wants to donate as many Alinkers as she can. Of course, it's hard to donate Alinkers without cannibalizing sales, so Alink has had to be an innovator in distribution and financing, as well. She's partnered with Scootaround, which rents and sells wheelchairs and scooters, to provide financing for the bikes, and with CoCoPay to help potential customers crowdfund the expense. She recently reached an agreement to donate 500 Alinkers through the Poor People's Campaign. She's also working with various physical therapy and other medical practices to learn more about how Alinkers may affect patients' health. Peter LeWitt, the director of the Parkinson's disease and movement disorders program at Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, Michigan, is starting a trial that provides a few dozen patients with Alinkers. He will be comparing their progress with patients who do other forms of exercise. LeWitt calls the Alinker "promising and invigorating," and says two potential study participants have already asked to buy the Alinker, even though they've yet to try one. "If people have fun with this, it'll be motivating for them and they'll get conditioning," LeWitt says. Alink hopes insurance companies will eventually help pay for the Alinker, if it can be shown to decrease healthcare costs by improving users' health. The meeting earlier today between North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea's president Moon Jae-in was something most of us never expected to see in our lifetimes. Whatever happens next, we should pause to take note of this historic event and the lessons we all can learn from it. If you watched the video, it was a breathtakingly simple moment. An older, trim man stood waiting by a building on one side of a concrete barrier only a few inches high. A younger, heftier man strode confidently across a road and up to the barrier, reached his arm across it, and shook the older man's hand. Onlookers applauded as the younger man stepped over the barrier and the two posed together for pictures. Then he took the older man's hand and led him back across that same low concrete step. Afterward, there were many speeches, television, pictures with the leaders' children, and champagne toasts. But that was the mind-bending moment when the leaders of North Korea and South Korea, two nations that have been at odds since North Korea's founding 60 years ago, first briefly visited each other's countries. Their encounter came with a lot of pomp and was met with a certain amount of skepticism from foreign relations experts in Japan, the United States, and many other countries who question whether North Korea will ever agree to dismantle its nuclear weapons. But the two leaders had another surprise in store: They announced their intention to end the Korean War--officially going on since 1950, although in a cease-fire state--by the end of 2018. Whether they keep that promise or not, and really whatever happens next, there are some important lessons we can all learn from this emotional day. 1. Just because something bad has been going on for a really long time doesn't mean you shouldn't try to change it. How many things do we just live with because it's always been that way? Unless you're a senior citizen, there has never been a time in your life when these two nations were not at war. Kim and Moon, who are 36 and 65 respectively, have both known the war as a constant from before they were born. And although the two nations have lived side by side relatively uneventfully since the cease-fire was signed in 1953, their navies have had skirmishes around their disputed border in the ocean, and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries remains a tense place. A formal end to hostilities should have been signed 65 years, except the various nations involved, which included the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, couldn't agree on terms. Signing one now would be a big step toward a safer, better world. 2. Talk is cheap. The skeptics on both sides of the DMZ are skeptical for good reason. Although we've never seen anything quite like today's events, the two Koreas have flirted with peace before but made little progress negotiating actual treaties. Experts everywhere foresee that North Korea won't willingly give up its nuclear arms, although as a start, Kim has said he'll forego building the long-range missiles that could reach the United States. In the past, promising initiatives have been followed by negotiations that stalled for years, so the U.S. and South Korea are pushing North Korea to agree to deadlines for completing the process of denuclearization. So far, there's no agreement to a deadline so the practical results of today's meeting, if any, are hard to predict. 3. A little bit of progress is still progress. Kim and President Donald Trump are planning to meet within the next few months. That would be another first: No sitting U.S. president has ever met face to face with a North Korean leader. (Former President Bill Clinton did meet with Kim Jong-un's father and predecessor Kim Jong-il, but that was long after Clinton's time in office.) What do you do when you work at a promising startup, but one of the founders quits after an LSD-induced religious experience, the other gets wrapped up in sexual harassment allegations, and a new executive steers the company away from its original vision? Reincarnate. That's exactly what Rob Fess, John Manlove, and Willy Wheeler are doing. The three met while working at Tradiv, once pitched as the "Amazon of the cannabis industry" in Colorado's market. They're now running Apex Trading, a Denver-based software company that helps growers, brokers, and dispensaries manage their wholesale marijuana business. The concept is similar to what Tradiv originally sought to do--although this time, the co-founders hope, there will be less drama. Tradiv, founded in April 2015 by Aeron Sullivan and Geoff Doran, allowed growers and dispensaries to buy and sell wholesale marijuana from each other online. The idea quickly took off and attracted $3.4 million in venture capital. (Sullivan was named to Inc.'s 30 Under 30 list in the spring of 2016.) And then, in short order: Sullivan resigned after having a religious awakening. A new CEO abandoned the company's profitable niche in Colorado to focus on cannabis distribution in California. And a former employee brought a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and sexual harassment. "None of us wanted Tradiv to fail," says Fess, who was Tradiv's director of marketing. "We all wanted to keep it rolling, but the lawsuit and other things made it impossible." This past December, Tradiv closed its doors. And two days later, Fess, Manlove, and Wheeler got to work on Apex Trading, with help from another former Tradiv colleague and investor, Micah Tapman, who now serves as chairman. While Tradiv was riddled with problems, this group of its former employees felt the original idea--a wholesale marijuana brokerage software platform to connect sellers and buyers--still had legs. Manlove, who says he sold over $10 million in cannabis product as lead salesman at Tradiv, called his roster of clients--cannabis growers, retailers, and manufacturers--and told them he was starting a new business. "We had to do it quickly--if you're not there one week, your clients will have to find another service provider," he says. There are at least six rivals in the space, including a startup that has attracted $14 million from hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg's fund and other backers. When the company launched in January, Apex didn't have any software, so the product was basically Manlove, his client list, and a phone. The team, which is releasing a beta version of its software to a limited group of clients before formally launching next month, is still scrappy--it uses a Google document on which sellers list their product menus, from which buyers can submit an order through Manlove or another salesman. In March, Apex started raising seed from friends and family. It has raised $130,000 to date from Sand Hill Angels, Tech Coast Angels, and TL Partners, all firms that originally invested in Tradiv. It expects to raise an additional $470,000 within a few months. The founders plan to use the capital to finish the software and pay the six-person team. Paul Swartz, an angel investor from Sand Hill Angels, say he feels this is a second chance to "recoup" the losses after Tradiv shuttered. "The Apex Trading team has understood the lessons of that experience," he said in a statement. Despite subsisting largely on Google docs, Apex is building a small, yet dedicated following. Since January, the company surpassed $1 million in gross merchandise volume by brokering 191 deals between 52 buyers and 50 sellers. The company has made $18,687 in revenue from its subscription model--sellers pay a flat fee for Apex to sell their product each month. (Buyers use the service for free.) John Snyder, the general manager for a 45,000-square-foot cultivation site in Pueblo, produces about 40 pounds of cannabis a week. With no sales team, he uses two different brokers, one of which is Apex, to sell his product. "It's about the ease of doing business--I put my inventory on Apex's system, and half an hour later I have sales coming in," says Snyder, who works for Soma Colorado. "I don't need to tell them anything, as they are already working for me." For cultivators, brokerage platforms like Apex act as an out-of-house sales team. Traditionally, marijuana brokers charge a flat rate of $100 per pound of marijuana sold. But as the price per pound continues to decrease in the legal market, traditional brokers are now expensive, says Synder. In the past three months, Synder's average price per pound of cannabis dropped from $1,200 to about $850. "We don't know where the price per pound is going to be in a month, but John [Manlove] can sell for me and it costs about half what I would normally pay," says Snyder. Apex is way behind some of its competitors. LeafLink, which helps cannabis brands sell to dispensaries, has 2,000 dispensaries and 500 marijuana brands on its platform in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. Co-founder Ryan Smith says the company has hosted over $100 million in sales orders since founding in March 2016; he expects to do $500 million in sales orders by the end of this year. But Manlove says he's focused on one thing--keeping his sellers happy and keeping the shelves of his buyers full. "At the end of the day, our clients know that...I will pick up the phone, and they can trust that we will deliver," says Manlove. EXPLORE MORE 30 Under 30 2018 COMPANIES Film fans are being offered the chance to have lunch with Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. Broadcaster Emma Freud - wife of writer-director Richard Curtis - announced the Omaze-sponsored competition on social media which is running in line with Red Nose Day USA. The winner will be flown to London to meet Curtis, who wrote the 1999 romantic comedy, with whom they'll tour the film's famous sites including Portobello Road Market and William Thacker's bookshop before lunching with Grant himself for a picnic in the film's titular location. To top it off, the lucky winner will stay at The Ritz the very hotel where Anna Scott - played by Julia Roberts - stays in the film. Note: you have to be a USA resident to enter. Annual fundraiser Red Nose Day USA will take place on 24 May. Last year's UK event saw Curtis and Freud unveil their mini-sequel to Love Actually - titled Red Nose Day Actually - which saw the film's cast reprise their roles for the first time since 2003. It was later shown in the US with an additional scene featuring Laura Linney's character. Red Nose Day started in the UK in 1988 and has raised over $1 billion globally. It launched in the US in 2015. You can enter the competition here. Chance the Rapper has released a lengthy statement after Donald Trump posted a message praising the artist. The 25-year-old had posted a Tweet reading "Black people dont have to be democrats" after fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West said himself and the President share "dragon energy". Trump then responded with a message saying West had "performed a great service to the Black Community" and thanked Chance and Dr Darrell Scott, saying "they really get it". In the new statement, Chance - who featured on West's album The Life of Pablo - explained why he initially commented on West's Tweets, saying he could not stand by as a "brother-in-Christ" was being picked apart by critics. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst However, Chance said the comment was not made in support of Trump: "I'd never support anyone who has made a career of hatred, racism and discrimination. I'd never support someone who'd talk about Chicago as if it's hell on Earth and then take steps to make life harder for the most disenfranchised of us." He continued" "So let my apology be seen in my future works, and let me make up for my poorly timed comments with immediate action and advocacy for those who need it most." Read the full statement below. Meanwhile, West has caused uproar over his messages on Trump, the likes of John Legend asking the rapper to "reconsider aligning" with the President. West replied by saying Legend was attempting to "manipulate my free thought". Split between the daytime 'MDRNTY' stage a crystalline, glass, mountain-top greenhouse providing uninterrupted views of the Valais Alps and the night-time 'Moon' stage, Caprices provided both form and feeling for its 15th anniversary. On the roster for this years event were regulars Ben Klock , Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Vath and Adam Beyer b2b with wife and fellow Swedish DJ Ida Engberg. New to the mountain were Paul Kalkbrenner, Dubfire and Cobblestone Jazz. Considering 2017's line-up had been hailed for its inclusion of females the absence of women this year was hard to ignore. Other than Engberg, just two other women featured: minimal master Sonja Moonear, returning to the MDRNTY stage after last years much-talked about set, and Monika Kruse, the Terminal M boss and founding mother of the German techno scene. It was clear organisers had found it difficult to juggle demand to bring in diverse new talent, and showcase all the genre has to offer. The early arrivals to Crans Montana were met with immediate intensity, with the festival officially starting on a Thursday evening on the Moon stage. Notably absent from the promotional material, the white tarpaulin-covered volume resembles a wedding marquee on approach, though the appearance is betrayed by the bass that can be felt three streets way. A large screen behind the decks takes up the entirety of the far wall, with the crowd pooled in front of it - cut up into three sections with intelligently placed lasers that, as we walked in, were beaming into the masses, highlighting smiling dancers in light. There was a smoothness to how the space folded out in front of you; little pushing - no queues, aside from the occasional eye contact made with stone-island-wearing locals making bass faces, you could be completely alone. The lasers placed on metal beams above would erratically dissect the audience on heavier beats - and then on spread out long notes, scatter, bathing the entire room in light. Local boy Ripperton was the first up on the decks, bringing an almost religious intensity to the room. A drawn out, chime-filled rendition of Lore J's "Flying Fishes in the Sky" remix was accompanied by blue lights flowing across the ceiling like raindrops; unafraid to funk it up, he created a light and breezy moment with Kornel Kovacs' Snacks remix "Order to the Senses". Paul Kalkbrenner's live set followed typical form for the Berlin regular; "Sky and Sand" eliminated any possible morose feeling from the Caprices congregation; Kalkbrenner rounded out his set with a happy, jump-up rendition of "Feed Your Head", had the conflux bathed in yellow light screaming for more. The next morning was time for the MDRNTY experience, accessible only by a 15 minute gondola ride; the approach is all part of the magic, with nothing but quiet alpine breezes and the soft noise of skiers cutting through the snow to accompany the ride up; this moment of blissful silence is broken-through as soon as the stage is visible. Its difficult to pinpoint what I heard first - the horde that had over spilled onto the surrounding mountainside - or the springy beats of Sonja Moonear. Sonja felt like the perfect accompaniment for the stage - ceiling with LED cubes hanging from the rafters, met with her minimal chimes and piano keys in The Sweet Running Over, and to the left, endless views of the Alps, with even the Matterhorn managing to avoid the typical April cloud cover. The vibe changed dramatically as the usually minimal Ricardo Villalobos took to the decks; his set declared to the audience that the party had indeed started, and so had Caprices. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The sound oozed extravagance, as did the audience bobbing their heads to it - beautiful Europeans, perfectly manicured, chugging down 17 Franc vodka cokes - the room was boujee - this is an expensive setting, and these were people who could foot the bill. Archie Hamilton had the morning crowd bopping along to his funky rhythms, the welsh producer demonstrating his own brand of house-techno sound that differs greatly from what is usually seen on the London scene, preferring more complex, bassy European notes. Berghain Resident and techno-giant Ben Klock veered on the house-y side; straight off a sell-out show at London's Printworks, he stayed repetitive, mixing in his own hit "Sub Zero" slowly with Carl Craig's "Transport". Cobblestone Jazz improvised their live set, reflecting the rabbles mood back at them. The lush notes started off slow; a techno massage pulsating light across the ceiling, curing any ailments the days partying may have incurred. By the end lasers scanned the dance floor, daring us to be ready for what was going to come next with a hyped mix of "Skies above Us" by Same Side. Paul Ritch played in his set with "Rhea" by Andrew Crom, drawing the mix out continuously through his harmonic, emotive set, melting the crowd into an embrace; the Parisian laid on the electricity with "Under" by Marco Flashbax and a soulful reproduction of Bafana Njlapo's "All Good Things". Recommended The female DJs storming a music scene dominated by men Monika Kruse delivered the most thrilling oblation of the weekend with an education in techno; demonstrating her command of harder beats, Spectre's "Another Life" transformed acutely into "Wake Up" by Thomas Schumacher, scouring the crowd in blue lasers, looking for survivors of her onslaught, spangly delicate notes intertwined with chimes, whistles between notes in Elektrochemie LK's "When I Rock". Drops made way for the slow, vibrating beats of "Let There Be Dark" by Beico + Mt93. The set was timed beautifully; firstly she demonstrated her skill, she showed the crowd exactly what techno should sound like - and then proceeded to take them back in time, laying on a nostalgic gift of satisfaction to the crowd who had been obediently two-stepping to 130bpm up until this point. Prodigy-esque drums, overlaid with comforting trance riffs that transported us to her beginnings, anthems that pleased Munich's ravers in the nineties. The shell-shocked crowd packed into the Moon and grinned ear-to-ear as she finished them off with a cheeky sample of "Pump up the Jam" by Technotronic and a subtlety mixed-in "Everybody's Free" by Rozella. For the crowds who made their way to the Swiss Alps, they were met with an offering that managed to somehow draw attention away from the surrounding views. It was symbolic that it was one of the three women who made the cut for this years festival, who managed to deliver its most memorable moment, a set that will hopefully inspire Caprices, and women who want to give their own contribution to the genre to shake things up. Its hard to think that in 2011 Mike Skinner announced The Streets retirement, leaving everyone to dry their eyes at their raucous farewell tour. And yet, seven years on, the bands UK garage beats and everyday working-class lyricism triumphantly returned for a long-awaited comeback tour. After a lot of uproar about 2011s Computer and Blues supposedly being the final album from Skinner under the alias, the Birmingham-born hip-hop, garage and electronica artist-producer was determined to reinvent himself. Yet the 39-year-old could not help but return to his roots by tearing into an almost retrospective Streets set. Ive missed tour buses very much, he said after he announced the details of The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light tour, and on Thursday night it showed as he stared back at the audience in complete awe. Despite the hiatus, the old Skinner was still present. His signature buzz-cut hair, black tee, and ferocious energy tore through the stage while doe-eyed lads looked up chanting every poetic line back at him. There was an air of nostalgia, as though every single person in the audience had been transported back to the sentimental memories of the early Noughties with songs such as Lets Push Things Forward and Weak Become Heroes blasting through the speakers a stark reminder of how pioneering Skinners 2002 bedsit-made album Original Pirate Material really was. Songs like Dont Mug Yourself and Dry Your Eyes were a reminder of how spot on his invocations of laddish attitude and sentimentality can be. His realness and ability to swallow the challenges young men face showed as many in the crowd, wearing flat caps and tracksuits, swayed shoulder to shoulder, often turning to each other relaying the lyrics. When Blinded By The Lights and Fit But You Know It came on, the crowd went wild, proving the influential album A Grand Dont Come For Free still was held in great esteem. Despite some sound issues, the hits continued to bubble over like the fizz from the bottles of champagne Skinner insisted on shaking up and spraying over the crowd. An electric encore led to Oh, Jeremy Corbyn being chanted in unison a sign that Skinner and co still belong to the socialist working classes. A cheeky Arctic Monkeys mashup made an entrance, a nice nod to the indie era. Surprisingly though, Skinner didnt touch his latest release You Are Not The Voice In Your Head. Maybe a sign that there is more to come from the Brum lad. A hammam towel comes into its own when the sun shines. Used as a picnic blanket, a beach towel, a sarong or even a boho-inspired outdoor tablecloth, this lightweight and fast-drying piece will see you through spring and summer. But its equally at home brightening up the bathroom any time of year (minimalists, avert your eyes: these striking tasseled textiles come in an array of candy brights and graphic patterns and look best when mixed and matched). Otherwise known as a peshtemal or fouta, the hammam towel, crafted in flat-woven cotton, has ancient design roots. Traditionally, the towels were made for use in the steamiest of Turkish baths and boast hard-wearing properties ideal for humid conditions. Indeed, all the towels we tested withstood a machine wash brilliantly and emerged even more supple than before. Just make sure you go easy on the fabric softener as it can interfere with the towels absorbency. A host of craft-driven and globally minded online brands sell these towels directly from the skilled artisans who handmake them. As such, a hammam towel offers a nod to the traditional craftsmanship of yesteryear while maintaining a relaxed contemporary aesthetic. Its little wonder theyve become a firm festival fave. You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Maavi Rio, grey-cream: 29, Maavi Dimensions: 100 x 180cm Machine wash: 40C A chevron stripe is never not cool. We loved this towel for its strong graphic pattern as much as its super-soft feel. Maavi, run by a Turkish/Brit husband and wife team, specialise in quality, ethically produced products. The brands towels are crafted from 100 per cent sustainable Turkish cotton before being hand-finished by local women in rural Anatolia. Authentic with a bold aesthetic. Buy now Ville et Campagne luxury carnac bathroom hammam towel: 35, Not On The High Street Dimensions: 100 x 170cm Machine wash: 40C Delicately hand-woven with a shimmering honeycomb texture, and finished with twisted tassels in old gold, this large hammam towel offers a touch of luxury in the bathroom but it wouldnt look out of place wrapped around shoulders on an evening out. Also available in smaller guest sizes, and in a palette of complementary shades, the range is highly covetable. Buy now South Hammam Towels clementine towel: 25, Etsy Dimensions: 100 x 180cm Machine wash: 30C Made by local artisans in Turkey, this authentic fouta mixes traditional craftsmanship with a fashion-forward aesthetic. We loved this towel for its fruity colourway, its intricate geometric pattern and its inviting texture. When washed without fabric softener it became increasingly absorbent, too. A beautiful piece youll want to parade poolside. Buy now Hamamingo Sundae travel towel, tutti fruitti: 24.99, Hamamingo Dimensions: 100 x 180cm Machine wash: 30C This stripy number rolls up neatly into its own compact travel bag yet can hold more than three times its weight in water. The nifty towel boasts fast-drying and anti-sand properties, too, making it the perfect choice for (stylish) beach bums. Crafted from 100 per cent natural Turkish cotton, it ticks the sustainability box while offering an easy breezy summertime look. Buy now Harfi Esma towel, grey: 25, Harfi Dimensions: 100 x 180cm Machine wash: gentle Harfi set out to celebrate and empower the talented artisans and craftspeople that owners Sab and Chris met while globetrotting. We loved their Esma towel, a beautifully soft peshtemal in charcoal and cream. Its woven from 100 per cent organic cotton, features striking graphic diamonds and zig-zags, and is reversible, awarding it two-for-one style points. Buy now Rae Feather stripe edge hammam towel: 50, Rae Feather Dimensions: 94 x 160cm Machine wash: 40C Offering a preppy take is this holiday must-have from Rae Feather, a luxury beachwear and accessories brand where almost everything can be monogrammed and their nautical-look hammam towel is no exception. Made from soft Turkish cotton with authentic knotted fringing, its a fashion statement for boaty types. One of the thinner foutas we tested, but it was surprisingly absorbent. Buy now Sand & Salt Belize hammam towel, washed pink: 34, Sand & Salt Dimensions: 90 x 160cm Machine wash: 30 Easily the prettiest peshtemal we tested, the pink Belize was soft to the touch as well as in colour. The towel comes pre-washed, awarding it a lived in and loved feel from the get go. With feathery fringing and a striking Aztec-like pattern, the two-ply towel is reversible: white on pink or pink on white. A bohemian dream, this ones coming with us to Glastonbury. Buy now Bohemia Inca hammam towel, green: 36, Bohemia Dimensions: 90 x 180cm Machine wash: cool Hand-woven in Turkey using the softest cotton on traditional wooden looms, this hammam towel, featuring intricate geometrics, is a thing of beauty. With a bumpy, embossed texture, the towel is a winner on the absorbency front but its almost too pretty to be hidden away in the bathroom. A boho-luxe alternative to a picnic blanket, perhaps. Buy now Weaver Green dove grey hammam: 45, Weaver Green Dimensions: 100 x 200cm Machine wash: 30C More suited draped over the sofa than in the bathroom, this generously sized hammam was a conversation starter in our house. Crafted entirely from around 300 recycled plastic bottles, its by far the most environmentally friendly of the bunch and its cotton-like softness had to be felt to be believed. Do steer clear of the iron, though. Buy now Dar Leone neon pink fouta: 26, Dar Leone Dimensions: 100 x 200cm Machine wash: 30C This Tunisian fouta playfully mixes old and new with its traditional form and contemporary colourway. A must-have for those who want to be seen on the beach, it packs up neatly yet stands out boldly with a flash of high-vis neon. Topping the list on portability, its hard-wearing tea-towel like texture makes it the ideal choice for outdoors. Buy now The verdict: Hammam towels If its laid-back luxury youre after you cant go wrong with Maavis grey and cream Rio towel. We found the towel to be super-soft and thoroughly versatile as much at home in the bathroom as on the beach, and with its gentle, neutral colourway, we found it goes with practically everything. On the slightly pricier side, Bohemias Inca hammam towel is a must-buy for its awe-inspiring craftsmanship alone. You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing. Today marks the 40th anniversary of Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony's introduction of the Walkman to an unsuspecting world. Dutch firm Philips had been the first to develop magnetic cassette technology in 1963, enabling the roll out of home stereos capable of playing pre-recorded tapes over the following decade and inadvertently declaring war on vinyl LPs in the process. It was Sony though that realised the true potential of the advance, liberating the business of listening to music from the bedroom and making it mobile, its headphones giving owners an intimate, personal experience when listening to Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls and Bros even while out in public and on the go. The first blue-and-silver Walkman TPS-L2, developed at the instigation of company co-founder Masaru Ibuka, quickly became an instant hit and something of an icon of the Yuppie era in New York: Patrick Bateman is seldom heard from without his in American Psycho (1991). Although the portable tape player was often imitated, Sonys original became a design classic and survived well into the new century, seeing off challenges from supposedly superior upgrades like portable CD and MiniDisc players and only ceasing production in October 2010. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty It was Apples iPod that finally did for the Walkman by eliminating the need for unwieldily pre-recorded cartridges altogether, replacing them with uploaded desktop MP3 files. The accompanying iTunes software meant a complete library of all your favourite records was right there in your pocket, a clockwise thumb-scroll away. You no longer needed to remember to take the album you wanted to listen to with you when you left in the morning. But, in the Darwinian jungle of consumer electronics, even the mighty iPod would ultimately be conquered by the coming of smartphones and streaming platforms. Like vinyl though, the Walkman has survived as an icon of kitsch Tokyo tech and Eighties nostalgia and has even been put on display among the historic artefacts of the Victoria and Albert Museum in West London. In its pomp, the device quickly wormed its way to the heart of the periods youth culture. In a film like The Terminator (1984), to take a random example, Sarah Connors roommate Ginger is killed by the time-travelling assassin when she gets up in the night for a glass of milk, not realising the robot killer has broken into her apartment because she is listening to Intimacy by Lin Van Hek at full blast. One of the reasons for the products unique appeal was that tape technology allowed consumers to record their own mixes for the first time on a cheap, durable, readily available medium and pass around the result, lovingly curated, among their friends. A thing of beauty (Getty) While the likes of successor tech such as iTunes and Spotify allow users to build playlists of their favourite songs quickly and conveniently, the evolution arguably lacks the same romance. However personal the songs on a playlist might be, however carefully the running order planned out, the very ease with which they can be compiled means they can never represent a labour of love to the same degree as their ancestors, loaded up with Minutemen and Geto Boys. Mixtapes were fiddly to make, an arduous business of recording from one device on to another - their very existence testament to the creators desire and commitment to making something unique. And thats before you factor in the hours spent agonising over which choice cuts to include, an almost unbelievably nebulous and fraught process. As Rob Gordon explains in Stephen Frears film of High Fidelity (2000): The making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many dos and donts. First of all, youre using someone elses poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing. The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. Youve got to kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then youve got to take it up a notch, but you dont want to blow your wad, so then youve got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. In making a mixtape, the creator sought to impress the recipient with his or her unimpeachable taste without being aloof, dropping enough nailed-on classics to show they are a populist at heart but with the right deep-cuts thrown in to quash any suggestion they might be a Best of the Beatles Partridge. The goal was to appear discerning but fun, cutting edge but endearingly nostalgic, across all genres and entirely confident about kicking off with Groove is in the Heart. The same goes for the artwork. A mixtape and its contents were a declaration about who the individual was and/or what the person it was being gifted to meant to them. A nice punky cut-and-paste collage on the cover or some careful felt-tip lettering on the spine was a chance to reflect that. Done properly, the tape ought to be able to hold its own on a shelf alongside 3 Feet High and Rising (1989). Even if one were to burn a playlist on to a CD today and forge the equivalent creative opportunity, the format still lacks the clattery plastic charm of a tape cassette, an item so cheerily low-tech it could be rewound with a pencil. And what about the road trip mix? Ive made cassette mixes featuring music from every part of the country weve planned to pass through. I drive and the sound of Memphis rockabilly gives way to Mississippi country blues. Then, before we know it, Professor Longhairs piano is rolling us into Louisiana and the Big Easy. Thats Bruce Springsteen, the Boss himself, writing about the joys of the process in his recent memoir Born to Run (2016). Marvels recent Guardians of the Galaxy movies made a great case for compilation tape nostalgia (Awesome Mix Vol. 1) just as Baby Driver made a persuasive argument in 2017 for the already-retro glories of the iPod Classic. Perhaps the real value of a tangible mixtape compared with a digital playlist is that it left you with a souvenir, a memento of lost love, absent friends or an unforgettable trip to cherish. An artefact to dig out periodically from the back of a drawer or a shoebox of memories when feeling especially wistful about the unstoppable passage of time and the sun setting on the promise of a once golden youth. Actually, perhaps theyre best off in the bin after all... Researchers have figured out a way to place electronics directly onto a persons skin using a 3D printer, paving the way for wearable sensors and even solar cells that can charge electronics. Researchers at the University of Minnesota developed the 3D-printing technique using ink containing conductive silver flakes, which can be peeled off the skin when the so-called electronic tattoo is no longer needed. Potential uses for the new technology also include printing biological cells into wounds to help them heal, which the researchers believe could lead to new medical treatments for injuries and skin grafts. We are excited about the potential of this new 3D-printing technology using a portable, lightweight printer costing less than $400, said the studys lead author Professor Michael McAlpine. Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Show all 16 1 /16 Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins New Zealand Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins UK Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Las Vegas Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Las Vegas Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Las Vegas Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins LA Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins LA Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Japan Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Japan Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Japan Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Japan Tattoos around the world featured in Needles & Pins Japan Professor McAlpine envisions the first uses of the electronic tattoos within a military context, assisting soldiers on the battlefield by placing sensors on their bodies that can detect chemical or biological agents. We imagine that a soldier could pull this printer out of a backpack and print a chemical sensor or other electronics they need, directly on the skin, Professor McAlpine said. It would be like a Swiss Army knife of the future with everything they need all in one portable 3D printing tool. The new 3D-printing technique forms part of a growing trend that has seen scientists developing electronic tattoos for the purpose of augmenting the human bodys natural capabilities. Researchers at the University of Illinois are currently developing am optoelectronics system that monitors a wearers health through an electronic sticker. Another team from Seoul National University in Korea has previously developed a flexible skin patch made of graphene that is able to detect the blood glucose levels of diabetics. Recommended Prosthetic limb delivers realistic feeling to amputees One of the biggest innovations of Professor McAlpines research is the use of computer vision to print the tattoo on skin, even if it is not completely still. No matter how hard anyone would try to stay still when using the printer on the skin, a person moves slightly and every hand is different, Professor McAlpine said. This printer can track the hand and adjust in real time to the movements and contours of the hand, so printing of the electronics keeps its circuit shape. The research was published in the academic journal Advanced Materials this week. The historic meeting between North and South Korea was the site of many firsts. One was slightly stranger than the others. Until the meeting, many South Koreans had never actually heard Kim Jong-un speak. The leader is usually seen only in heavily edited footage, and accessing more videos of him can land people in jail. But this time around Kim walked across the border and had everything he said broadcasted live across the country. Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Show all 30 1 /30 Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Farmer works in a field Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Women soldier walk on the street Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A female soldier guards railway Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A general view of platform of Pyongyang Railway Station Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Students stage a protest against South Korea and the US in Pyongyang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Students rehearsal for celebrating the 70th birthday of Workers' Party of Korea Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone People enjoy the cool at the carriage door Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A general view of countryside Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Korean People's Army soldier rest on the rail 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A little boy begs food on the platform in Hamhung Railway Station in Hamhung 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Children swim in a river in noon Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone People cross a railway crossing 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A boy collects corn cob beside a railway Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A customs officer is seen on the train No.100 from Moscow to Pyongyang at Tumangang railway station in Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A customs officer checks a passenger's mobile device on the train to Pyongyang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A railway station in Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A general view of the railway station in Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Kids pass by Tumanggang railway station in Tumanggang 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A general view of Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A general view of Tumangang - a small town located at North Korea and Russia border Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A train carriage on it's way to Pyongyang is delayed for a day and half due to military transportation in Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A customs officers talks to a passenger at Tumanggang railway station in Tumanggang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone A little girl walks on the street in Tumanggang 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone An elderly man is seen in Tumangang Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Kids go to school in morning in Tumangang 2015 Getty Images Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone The surprise meeting fascinated much of South Korea as Kim became the first North Korean leader to set foot into South Korea. TV stations cut to live footage of him speaking with South Korean president Moon Jae-in, giving the public their first full look at him speaking and moving around. And just as strange as that first encounter with Kim's voice was some of the reactions. He became a figure that some saw as cute, or relatable with one internet user even describing him as a teddy bear. They laughed at the way he seemed to pant after walking and praised his sense of humour. But some warned that the coverage seemed to be humanising a man who has until now been vilified as a dictator. "I can't believe I'm listening to the voice of Kim Jong Un. Someone I have only seen as a jpeg is speaking now," South Korean Lee Yeon-su wrote on Twitter. It is a dramatic change for South Koreans, who under the National Security Act are banned on threat of jail from accessing media considered pro-North Korean. Websites for the North's official Korean Central News agency and Rodong Shinmun newspaper, which regularly publish propaganda images of Mr Kim, are blocked in South Korea. South Koreans used the rare opportunity of seeing raw footage of him to speculate on everything from his speech habits to his health. Some even said they found him cute. "Most South Koreans probably heard his voice for the first time. I found his way of speaking friendly, like a guy living next door," said Ryu Seok-woo, a reporter at a local news outlet. Some noted that the reclusive leader, who rules his country unquestioned, seemed to drone on and on in his first speech. They speculated that he had never been stopped or interrupted when speaking before. There was a moment many South Koreans noted when he made an off-the-cuff comment about naengmyeon, cold buckwheat noodles that are a North Korean delicacy popular among South Koreans and are to be served at the summit's dinner meeting. "Pyongyang naengmyeon that came from afar. Ah, I shouldn't say it's from afar," he said before the two leaders started their morning meeting. He appeared to be making a joke about the distance between the two countries. The remarks, which did not seem to fit with the intimidating image most South Koreans have of Mr Kim, went viral on social media as people shared them in disbelief and even suggested he has a future in comedy. "I thought he had a sense of humour. He's certainly different from his father's generation," said Lee Seung-won, an office worker. "I thought I would never see such scene before I die." As Mr Kim walked a few hundred metres from the border and climbed stairs to the Peace House where the summit was taking place, some South Koreans questioned whether the heavyset young leader was physically struggling. When he was leaving a message in the guest book, his shoulders appeared to be moving up and down as if he was panting. "He probably doesn't walk a lot and seemed to be having a hard time," Cho Jin-joo said, noting that such a common struggle made him seem real. "Before I found him intimidating on the news but today I felt like he was much more human," she said. Some were sympathetic to Mr Kim. "Ah, Kim Jong Un panting hard after walking that much. It strikes a chord with people who don't like walking," Kim Somi said in a tweet. Between Mr Kim's jokes and big smiles, some on social media and elsewhere said the rival leader looked cute. "He was so different from what I saw on the news in the past. He looked friendly. I thought he looked like a teddy bear," said office worker Yang Hae-ra, who watched the footage live on her phone. Such comments raised the ire of others on social media, who thought it distracted from the fact that Mr Kim is an authoritarian leader. Additional reporting by Press Association A woman is asking strangers for help in a quest to meet her biological father - after 47 years of waiting. Donna Robertson, a 47-year-old woman from the UK, created a GoFundMe page after years of searching finally led her to her father - who lives on the "other side of the world" in New Zealand. According to Robertson, ever since she was a little girl she has wanted to know her father but her mother had only ever shared his name. Recommended GoFundMe will stop taking cash out of fundraising campaigns Then, before her mother died a few years ago, Robertson asked once again for help in identifying her father. Going off her grandfather's name and the fact that he was in the Navy, Robertson set out on a renewed hunt after a whole life of feeling as if shed never belonged anywhere. Finally hitting the jackpot earlier this year, Robertson discovered her grandfathers obituary - which led to a family tree that matched the details she knew of her own father. A lot of heartache and emails later, Robertson eventually made contact with her biological father - which they confirmed through a DNA test. Donna Robertson wants to meet her biological father in person for the first time (GoFundMe) Now, Robertson is asking for help affording a flight to New Zealand to visit her 72-year-old father, who she fears she will only be able to meet once. She wrote: I know that there is no possible way I will ever be able to afford to travel there and get to meet him face-to-face and try and build a relationship with him, so I am asking for peoples help in uniting me with the man that I have been waiting to meet for 47 years. 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding Show all 5 1 /5 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 5478285.jpg 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 5478286.jpg 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 5478288.jpg 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 5478290.jpg 'I can help you succeed': How to get your idea off the ground through crowdfunding 5478289.jpg Currently, Robertson has received three donations towards her goal of 2,000, which would help her get to feel my fathers warmth for the first time in my life. You can donate here. Students at a German university are hosting a masturbation workshop for women on April 29 - and the event has caused outrage amongst a conservative student group. Members of the Christian Democratic Party (RCDS) at the University of Bielefeld have condemned the event as a bad joke, reports Welt, which is being run as part of an events series hosted by the General Student Committee entitled Society Makes Gender. Despite making claims that the event will not provoke a serious discussion on gender relations, which is what the series is designed to do, there doesnt seem to be much action that university management can take in response to the complaints, given that its a student-run event. According to the events description on Facebook, the workshop will consist of two parts, each lasting one hour and 30 minutes, and will include both a theoretical and practical element, with participants being asked to bring a hand mirror, a hand towel and lubricant. It will take place in an intimate private setting and aims to serve as a means of enlightenment, as well as empowerment. Video clips may be shown in the practical segment of the session, which may also include alcohol. There are only 10 places available, all of which have been booked. However, controversies have emerged surrounding funding for the event, as it is being entirely funded by students and reportedly costs 250 (220) to put on. We want to know what the costs of the event are and whether semester contributions from students will be used for this purpose, asked Kathrin Krause, chairperson at RCDS. Other events in the series, which is being hosted as part of the General Student Committee's Action Week, will include film screenings, workshops and concerts. After an American teenagers racist promposal sign went viral this week and was widely criticised, another youth has reportedly copied him with a poster of his own. Noah Crowley, an 18-year-old from Florida, was lambasted for his promposal (proposal for prom) sign which read: If I was black, Id be picking cotton, but Im white so Im picking u 4 prom. And now a Missouri-based teenager has reportedly copied the promposal word for word. A photo of the sign posted on Snapchat is circulating on social media, with many people expressing their outrage. The pupil behind the sign hasnt been named, however he has been identified as attending Francis Howell High School. And Francis Howell School District have now commented on the matter. Their full statement reads: This afternoon building administrators at Francis Howell High School were made aware of an inappropriate student post on social media. The post copied the wording of a racist promposal in Florida that went viral over the weekend. The incident is being investigated, and while the District cannot share information about the discipline of specific students, any student that uses demeaning speech and language will receive consequences in accordance with the FHSD Code of Student Conduct. The Francis Howell School District and Francis Howell High School work to promote inclusion, acceptance, and equality for all students and staff. Any students or staff members that need help processing their emotions after this incident will be able to talk with school and/or educational support counselors at the high school. Kate Middleton and Prince William have not yet announced the name of their newborn son - but new evidence suggests he has been named Albert. On the royal familys website, a page has been reserved for a Prince Albert at www.royal.uk/prince-albert, which reads Access Denied and You are not authorised to access this page when visitors attempt to view it. The same message appears on web links for Prince George and Princess Charlotte respectively, but entering alternative names, such as Fredrick or Alexander brings up pages that read: Page Not Found. Recommended Psychologists reveal the personality traits the royal baby will have The clue, discovered by the Mail Online, seems to confirm the name Albert as the most likely choice for the third royal baby, who was born three days ago on April 23 2018. Following the babys safe arrival, William told reporters and well-wishers that they would find out his name very soon but, despite Prince George and Princess Charlottes names being revealed just two days after their arrivals, an official announcement is yet to be made. So, why have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kept fans waiting? The royal website suggests the royal baby's name is Albert (royal.uk/prince-albert) The reason is because Wednesday marked Anzac Day a national day of remembrance in Australia which saw Prince William back out to work just two days after his baby boy was born, the Express reports. Other searches come back with this page (royal.uk/prince-alexander) Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams revealed that the couple would have decided to hold back their announcement in a mark of respect to Australia and New Zealand's war dead. Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed their newborn son at St Mary's Hospital on April 23, 2018 (Getty Images) (Getty) Despite the delay, royal baby name fever has escalated with gamblers placing bets on boy names for the new baby. When it comes to boys names, Edward has been by far the most popular selection at eight to one, with Arthur fancied too. Speaking to our traders, Edward has edged the betting in terms of the actual amount of bets on the name, a spokesman for Paddy Power Betfair said. In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins Show all 29 1 /29 In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-1.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-34-.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-29.jpg EPA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-23.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-30.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-25.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-24.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-22.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-9.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-26.jpg EPA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-27.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-28.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-8.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-21.jpg EPA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-2.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-3.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-4.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-12.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-10.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-11.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-5.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-6.jpg AP In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-7.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-13.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-17.jpg Reuters In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-19.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-20.jpg Getty Images In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-18.jpg PA In pictures: The wait for the royal baby begins royal-baby-31.jpg EPA Now though, Arthur is emerging as the most likely name for the new arrival with odds at 2/1 and Edward falling to 9/1 - despite a peak in bets on the name Alexander after Prince William joked Funny you should say that when it was suggested as the new babys name. James follows closely behind at 4/1 odds while many believe Frederick is also a possibility at 8/1. Other names being put forward for the new prince include Thomas, Philip, Jack, or Henry. An official announcement is expected in the next day. Microsoft reported steady growth in its latest round of financial results as the company's chief executive praised the performance of its cloud services. The technology giant reported revenue of $26.8bn (19.2bn), a 16 per cent increase on the same quarter last year. The company's net income also rose 35 per cent to $7.4bn (5.3bn). Chief executive Satya Nadella, who has overseen a shift in the firm's focus away from hardware such as smartphones and towards its software and cloud products such as Office 365, said the results reflected industry faith in the move. Our results this quarter reflect the trust people and organisations are placing in the Microsoft Cloud, he said. We are innovating across key growth categories of infrastructure, AI, productivity and business applications to deliver differentiated value to customers. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The company's results showed 42 per cent commercial revenue growth for Office 365 - the subscription and cloud-based version of Microsoft Office that enables businesses to access their files from anywhere. Consumer user numbers of Office 365 were also up, with subscribers increasing to 30.6 million. Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said the company had beaten expectations for the quarter. Microsoft's Satya Nadella's facial expressions sum up mood amongst tech CEOs about Trump With consistent investment and strong sales execution, this quarter we achieved better-than-expected performance across all segments, she said. We delivered double-digit revenue and operating income growth driven by 58 per cent growth in our commercial cloud revenue. PA The prevailing wisdom is that if youve got something to sell, then social media is your shop window. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube if your brand isnt doing the business on these and a multitude of other platforms, then theres a risk its not doing the business at all. According to the latest number-crunching report from Brandwatch, which helps businesses understand social media, out of a global population of 7.6 billion there are 4.2 billion internet users. Of those, more than three billion are active on social media, and that number grew by 121 million between the second and third quarters of 2017 equating to someone signing up for a social media account every 15 seconds. Facebook has two billion users; Twitter 330 million; YouTube has 1.5 billion; Instagram 800 million. Even MySpace (kids, ask your parents) still apparently has 15 million regular users, according to Brandwatchs figures compiled this month, which is a potential market not to be sniffed at. So its no surprise that 81 per cent of small- and medium-sized businesses have a social media presence, with 91 per cent of retail brands active on two or more platforms. It seems like a no-brainer. With more than half the world on the internet, this is surely the best way to get to your potential customers. Which makes it all the more remarkable that one of the most recognisable pub brands in the UK, JD Wetherspoon (more commonly known as Wetherspoons) last week announced it was closing down all Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts not only for its corporate head office, but also for its 900 pubs across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin admitted that the move was going against conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business. But he said: I dont believe that closing these accounts will affect our business whatsoever, and this is the overwhelming view of our pub managers. Its becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion. We will still be as vocal as ever through our Wetherspoon News magazine, as well as keeping the press updated at all times. We will also be maintaining our website and the Wetherspoon app, and encourage customers to get in touch with us via our website or by speaking with the manager at their local pub. Chairman Tim Martin believes that closing these accounts will not affect business (AFP/Getty) As a bit of ad hoc research for this piece, I posted a poll on Twitter to find out if people felt it was important or necessary for brands to maintain a social media presence. One in five respondents thought it was vital; 31 per cent werent at all interested in seeing branded tweets, and just short of half thought it depended on what was being sold. And thats perhaps the crux of the Wetherspoons decision. Everybody knows what Wetherspoon does; they sell beer, and they sell it pretty cheaply, all day long. What does it benefit you, the Wetherspoon regular, to follow them on social media? There are unlikely to be stunning offers, because the beer is pretty much as cheap as chips (they also sell chips, too). Nobody really goes to Spoons for extracurricular activities beyond drink and food, such as bands or quizzes. Wetherspoon also points out the recent negative publicity surrounding social media, including trolling of public figures or ordinary people on religious or ethnic grounds, and the revelations about Facebook and how users personal data is used. Wetherspoons move away from social media might not be immediately followed by many other big brands, but it does make sense, according to Evgeny Chereshnev, CEO and founder of internet company Biolink.Tech. Chereshnev says, One of todays modern misconceptions is that social media is essential for business. The truth is, most companies totally mix cause and effect; they invest lots of money in social media as if those channels were a business goal in itself, but in reality social media is just a tool for talking and listening to your clients. Is social media the only way to perform those two tasks? Definitely not. He has a point when he says that social media often becomes a main focus, rather than just a communications tool for many companies. A quick search on the website of recruitment company Reed throws up a whopping 6,688 positions where social media is in the job title, or mentioned in the post description. These range from a 45,000 a year role for a sportswear and outdoor clothing brand in Manchester to take control of their social media strategy, to a social media manager on the same salary at a financial service tech company in West London, to a 23,000 job at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in Stevenage to ensure their corporate social media presence is effective, engaging and up-to-date. So there's a lot of money in the budget at a wide variety of companies to pay for social media experts. If weve got to a point where brands are scared to not be on social media for fear of missing out, then Chereshnev has some encouraging words. The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) Show all 9 1 /9 The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 1. Eleven Madison Park, New York, USA World's Best 50 Restaurants The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 2. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy World's Best 50 Restaurants The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 3. El Celler de can Roca, Girona, Spain World's Best 50 Restaurants The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 4. Mirazur, Menton, France World's Best 50 Restaurants The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 6. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain Mariano Herrera The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 7. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand FB://Allwecandid The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 8. Maido, Lima, Peru Jose Caceres The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 9. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain World's Best 50 Restaurants The nine best restaurants in the world (2017) 10. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria World's Best 50 Restaurants He says: There are numerous examples of companies being weak or absent across social media and still remaining insanely successful at the same time. Apple, for example, has never run contests or produced a huge amount of content for Facebook, and it is still able to sell billions of devices. Same with Google, Tesla or SpaceX and the list goes on. The really big operators might be above social media, but why do the rest of them Wetherspoon now excluded, of course think they have to devote time and a good portion of their salary bill to making sure theyre out there? The reason for such behaviour is very simple to explain, says Chereshnev. Most companies prefer to talk whilst not really having anything important or valuable to say. As a result, a huge amount of content is being produced every day by tens of thousands of Facebook business pages and, in most cases, this is a total waste of money and time. Seriously every human being has a cap on how much information he or she can handle during the day, or even wants to read to start with. Most content produced by businesses is never even read. Even when you as a company seem to have likes and shares for a promoted post, those are often just bots. The truth is, when you are a company that has something truly unique and valuable to say, people will always find a way to get in touch with you. They either will come to your blog, or get information from a traditional source like a well-known and trusted media outlet. Even the government advises business to get on social media, and their greatbusiness.gov.uk website has a whole section devoted to showing firms how to do it. The site links to an advice page from Lloyds Bank which lists a number of benefits to companies of being active on social media. The revelations about Facebook and its use of data caused something of a backlash (Getty) Turn customers into brand advocates by engaging with them regularly through social media, suggests Lloyds. As interactive, real-time platforms, social media sites allow you to build relationships with your followers in a way that's natural and personable, rather than as a faceless, corporate entity. Which can, of course, be a double-edged sword. PR fails by big brands on social media are legion. At Christmas, the discount store Poundland flummoxed people with a series of ads posted on social media featuring a toy elf performing various lewd acts. And while you might have a well-paid social media manager, be careful who else gets the passwords. In 2013, disgruntled employees at HMV live-tweeted the mass laying-off of almost 200 people at the companys head office and distribution hub. The Lloyds guide also makes an important point, though, when it says social media can be useful to improve customer satisfaction by responding to complaints and queries directly, in a public setting. When done right, this helps build a positive brand reputation, establish a loyal customer base and reduce strain on telephone support. Social media has given unhappy customers an instant outlet, and if a tweet or Facebook post gets seen by enough people, it can be damaging for a brands reputation. Close monitoring of social media allows a company to quickly act when a brands name is rubbished, contacting the complainant directly and taking the argument offline via direct messaging, email or phone call. However, Chereshnev thinks the cons far outweigh the pros for most companies. Every time a company wants to say something, they should ask themselves whether this content has real value for the readers not the companys PR department, he says. The way most companies run social media is a total waste of time and money. They post content that has zero value to the readers. Dont get me wrong, social media can be a very productive activity for business. But unfortunately creativity is not scalable. Great social media managers and leaders are a rare breed, but a lot of them get exhausted over time and stop being quite so great. Is Instagram popular by being active in Instagram itself? Is Teslas $50bn valuation the result of having an amazing Facebook page? Are people eating McDonalds food because they do an amazing job promoting themselves via YouTube? The answer is no. Even with no social media channels, or limited activity on SM channels, every business can be popular. All it needs is the right digital strategy based on true values, not tools of execution. Being a female film star in the Soviet Georgia most often meant being beautiful, feminine and fragile. But Leila Abashidze, who has died aged 88, became a household name without playing a model housewife, a decent communist, a shy youngster or an oppressed peasant liberated by the Soviets. Her characters were different; they were feisty, heartwarming and chirpy. Her fans admired her for exuding a sense of freedom, her unique ability to portray free spirits and tomboy, happy-go-lucky characters without a trace of fakeness. Her career started as a child actor, when her aunt took her to cast for a role of a naughty girl at the Central Cinema pavilion, in the outskirts of Tbilisi, the capital of what was then Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. In interviews she recalled that she could not sit still and was asked to leave the room where other girls, all immaculately dressed and softly spoken, patiently remained, awaiting their turns. Rather than walking downstairs, the eight-year-old quickly jumped on the railings to slide down, and by a stroke of luck was seen by the director, who gave Abashidze her first role in Kajana, alongside Nato Vachnadze. Abashidze starred in her last film in 1990 (Alamy) It was 1941: a big pause in cinema production was going to come with the Soviet Union getting involved in the Second World War. After the war, however, Abashidze gained a number of small parts and went on to become one of the biggest stars of the Soviet silver screen, starring in films such as They Came from Mountains in 1954 and Maia Tskneteli in 1959, and the Japanese-funded Full Circle in 1987. In 1990 she played her last film role the collapse of the USSR brought Georgian cinema to another major hiatus. Throughout the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies she was a darling of Soviet cinema, even though she had come from a family of enemies of the people her father was sent to Siberia in 1937 and, in order to be close to him, her mother served there as a nurse. Unlike most other cinema stars, Abashidze never acted in a theatre, never taught acting, and had no other career. The life of a Soviet cinema star was glamorous, but very limited in terms of opportunities. So she often said her life passed in waiting, waiting for another role, waiting for a phone call, waiting to be called and invited. After the collapse of the Soviet Union there was just waiting, no more roles, no more movies. She wrote scripts and tried directing, but nothing worked. Still recognised by people in the streets, she would go back to her quiet home, with no telephone ringing, no one knocking on her doors with offers. When she walked the streets of Tbilisi, she always dressed every inch the star, standing out in any crowd, with her full cinema makeup and distinct fashion style. Her fans, who approached her for autographs, said she told them she was still hoping the tide would turn and she would be offered new roles. But that never happened; directors felt she belonged to the Soviet cinema. She tried hard to communicate that there was more to her, that she could still act, but she only appeared in front of a camera in rare TV interviews. She used every opportunity to say that she had once defeated the Soviet barriers and was hoping she would have another chance. Abashidze should, perhaps, be remembered for trying to break free of perceptions in life, as she did on screen. Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress, born 1 August 1929, died 8 April 2018 A whale shark has made the longest migration journey ever recorded travelling 12,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The large fish, named Anne by scientists, was tracked making the mammoth migration from near Panama in the south eastern Pacific, to an area close to the Philippines in the Indo-Pacific. Experts at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute followed her signal from Panamanian waters, past Clipperton Island and Costa Ricas Cocos Island, en-route to Darwin Island in the Galapagos, a site known to attract groups of sharks. After 266 days of tracking, Annes signal disappeared as she went into deep waters, before resurfacing again 235 days later south of Hawaii. She then made her way to the Marianas Trench a canyon in the ocean floor where movie director James Cameron located the deepest point on the Earths surface almost 11,000 metres below sea level. The trip was the first recorded evidence of a trans-Pacific migration route for the species of the largest living fish. Marine biologist Dr Hector Guzman, who first tagged Anne near Coiba Island in Panama, said: "We have very little information about why whale sharks migrate. "Are they searching for food, seeking breeding opportunities or driven by some other impulse?" Genetic studies show that whale sharks across the globe are closely related, suggesting they must travel long distances to mate. An adult female can travel around 40 miles per day and can dive more than 1,900 metres. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary Anne, who was named after conservationist Anne McEnany, president and CEO of the International Community Foundation (ICF), and 45 other sharks were tracked with a Smart Position and Temperature (SPOT) Tags which only works when close to the surface. Findings from the project were used to inform policies for the protection of the endangered species. More than half of the worlds whale sharks, which are sought after for their fins, meat, teeth, cartilage and oil, have disappeared in the last 75 years. Young members of the species often get caught up in tuna nets. Dr Guzman said: "Whale sharks in Coiba have already changed their behaviour to avoid the surface and tourists. These studies are critical as we design international policy to protect trans-boundary species like the whale sharks and other highly migratory marine species." Whale sharks, which feed off plankton, are normally found in warm waters, with around three-quarters usually found in the Indo-Pacific and a quarter found in the Atlantic. Recommended Whale sharks to be tagged to save species Large groups numbering as many as 500, are often found off the coasts of countries including Oman, Australia, Galapagos and Mexico as well as Taiwan, Southern China and the Gujarat coast of India. Co-author and biology professor at Principia College, Dr Scott Eckert, said: Despite being the world's largest fish, it's amazing to me how little we know about this species." The report, titled "Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)", was published in Marine Biodiversity Records. Police allegedly failed to find incriminating child abuse images on a laptop belonging to a paedophile and set him free, only for him to be convicted of rape years later. Essex Police arrested Paul Ashbury in 2012 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child and possessing indecent images, seizing devices thought to contain more than 100 photos and videos. But the force decided to take no further action against him nine months later and handed back his computers. Mr Ashbury was not arrested again until October 2017 and admitted 27 crimes including rape, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child under 13, making indecent photographs of a child and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 52-year-old, of Anthony Nolan Road in Kings Lynn, was eventually jailed for 15 years almost six years after he was first arrested. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the images were believed to have been Ashburys when Essex Police decided not to take any action against him, but had not been identified until offices in Norfolk later seized the same device. The watchdog is investigating the conduct of Essex Polices West child abuse investigation team and whether the investigation was carried out in accordance with its policy, procedures and guidelines. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA IOPC Regional Director for the south east, Sarah Green, said: These are extremely serious allegations regarding how Essex Police investigated a man who later admitted multiple child sexual offences following the investigation by Norfolk Police. We will examine the officers actions and what if anything they could have done differently. A spokesperson for Essex Police said the force would comply fully with the investigation, adding: Since this incident Essex Police has made significant improvements to policing of these offences and has invested heavily in more officers and better technology to identify offences and evidence and protect children. The investigation comes after police warned that a horrifying number of men were viewing child sex abuse images online in the UK. More illegal images are being detected on the internet than ever before and paedophiles are going to ever greater lengths to evade detection by exploiting technology like encryption and the dark web, a report found earlier this month. The number of people seeking help to stop viewing the images also rose by 40 per cent to more than 36,400 last year. Children as young as 13 are being stabbed in a tide of violence sweeping Britain, but the reason for the spike is the subject of fierce argument. A report by the government cited drug dealing and social media as key drivers, but police have called for more funding to turn around the loss of thousands of officers and voluntary groups are attacking cuts to youth services. The debate continues amid a bleak background of rising knife crime, which rose by 22 per cent across England and Wales in 2017 the biggest annual increase ever recorded. Recommended Knife crime in England and Wales increases by largest margin ever Almost 40,000 offences involving knives or sharp weapons were recorded by police in the year, according figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said high harm criminal offences have been building over the past two years. The government has repeatedly highlighted improvements in the way police record crime but the ONS said reforms did not fully account for the rise, citing injury figures from the NHS. There have been more than 60 murders in London alone since the start of this year, amid a spate of stabbings and shootings that saw two teenagers murdered in one night earlier this month. Junior Smart, of youth charity the St Giles Trust, fears the situation could worsen as the school summer holidays approach. If theres no local youth club providing a safe place to meet, where do they go? he said. Theyre on the street corners, theyre in the takeaways, theyre congregating and thats where you get trouble. Angela Rayner on London stabbings: 'Its not just about the police... but its about the wider public services' There are petty arguments that might have even started online and violence is how its resolved. The YMCA said council spending on youth services has fallen by more than 750m since 2010-11 across England and Wales, with the West Midlands and North West hardest hit. Chief executive Denise Hatton said the vital services are necessary to provide teenagers with positive activities, help them develop, meet new friends and socialise. Without drastic action to protect funding and making youth services a statutory service, we are condemning young people to become a lonely, lost generation with nowhere to turn, she added. Mr Smart, founder of the SOS Project diverting young people away from gangs, believes a mixture of factors including cuts to youth services, ongoing postcode wars between rival groups, drug dealing, social media and falling police officer numbers have worsened the situation. When we speak to the young kids they say there are not enough reasons for them not to carry knives, he told The Independent. Social media means everything now these kids have massive following. Before there might have been a situation where someone would walk away and back down, but if people are recording this stuff, it can go worldwide. The governments first-ever Serious Violence Strategy, which was released earlier this month, highlighted the impact of social media in the wake of several murders linked to online arguments. The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Show all 21 1 /21 The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Oluwadamilolda Odeyingbo Oluwadamilolda Odeyingbo, 18, was killed in a fight in Chislehurst on 10 January 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Hasan Ozcan Hasan Ozcan, 19, was stabbed to death on the Gascoigne Estate in Barking on 3 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Sabri Chibani Sabri Chibani, 19, was stabbed fatally in the chest in Streatham on 11 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Promise Nkenda Lord Promise Nkenda, 17, was stabbed to death in Canning Town on 14 February 2018 Facebook The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Lewis Blackman Lewis Blackman, a 19-year-old rapper from Kentish Town, was stabbed to death in Kensington on 18 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Abdikarim Hassan Abdikarim Hassan, 17, was stabbed to death near his home in Camden's Peckwater estate on 20 March - less tahan two hours before another man was stabbed to death nearby Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Kelvin Odunuyi Kelvin Odunuyi, a 19-year-old rapper known as DipDat and Lampz, was shot dead in Wood Green on 8 March Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Lyndon Davis Lyndon Davis, 18, was chased down and stabbed to death in Chadwell Heath on 14 March Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Tanesha Melbourne-Blake Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham on 2 April PA The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Amaan Shakoor Amaan Shakoor, 16, was shot dead in Walthamstow on 2 April Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Israel Ogunsola Israel Ogunsola, 18, was stabbed to death in Hackney on 4 April Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, a 17-year-old rapper and aspiring architect, was shot dead in a Kennington Street on 5 May Handout The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Jordan Douherty Aspiring rapper Jordan Douherty died of his injuries outside a birthday party in Romford on 23 June Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Katrina Makunova Katrina Makunova, 17, was stabbed to death in Camberwell on 12 July 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Latwaan Griffiths 18-year-old Latwaan Griffiths was fatally stabbed on 25 July and died in hospital after being thrown off the back of a moped in Camberwell Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Guled Farah Guled Farah, 19, was shot in Walthamstow on 22 September Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Ethan Nedd-Bruce Ethan Nedd-Bruce, 18, died after he was shot outside a party at a flat in Greenwich, south-east London, on 22 October. He had also been stabbed, but the gunshot wound was the cause of death. Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Jay Hughes Jay Hughes, 15, died was fatally stabbed outside a chicken shop in Bellingham, south-east London, on 1 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Malcolm Mide-Madariola Malcolm Mide-Madariola, 17, was found suffering from a stab wound outside Clapham South Tube station on 2 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 John Ogunjobi John Ogunjobi, 16, died in front of his parents after he was stabbed in Greenleaf Close, Tulse Hill, on 5 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Aron Warren Aron Warren, 18, was found stabbed in a flat block in Greenwich on 8 December and died at the scene Metropolitan Police The report said the availability of smartphones has created an almost unlimited opportunity for rivals to antagonise each other, and for those taunts to be viewed by a much larger audience for a much longer time period, sparking cycles of tit-for-tat violence. Social media is also used for drug dealing and recruiting runners by depicting lavish lifestyles perceived as unattainable through legal means. The growing phenomenon of county lines drug gangs, which supply from cities into rural areas, was also cited in the report as a driver of violence because of bloody turf wars between rivals. Statistics show that the proportion of murders in England and Wales involving known drug dealers and users rose from 50 per cent to 57 per cent between 2014-15 and 2016-17. Mr Smart said the vast majority of teenagers killed have been low down on the food chain and were being exploited by gang leaders known as elders. Authorities should follow the money, shut the lines down and get to the people at the top of the tree, he added. I was in Manchester last week and in Kent the week before the same thing is being mirrored everywhere. Weve got to remember that these are children and every life lost is a future extinguished. John Sutherland, a retired borough commander in the Metropolitan Police, said the plummeting number of police officers and stretched resources were also having an impact. In England and Wales there are 21,000 fewer police officers now than there were in 2010 and thats the lowest number since comparable record keeping began, he told The Independent. (ONS (ONS) You cant take that number of police officers off the streets and not expect it to have consequences, it defies common sense. The governments serious violence strategy failed to mention the stark decline, despite a leaked Home Office document suggesting that budget cuts had likely contributed to rising violence and encouraged offenders. Mr Sutherland said neighbourhood policing had been decimated across the country as a result of cuts, as well as the need to transfer officers from frontline territorial policing into specialist roles and terrorism. What that does is reduce the visible presence on the street, damage community relations and confidence building, and the ability to pick up on street-level intelligence, he added. Recommended Police officer numbers hit record low as reported crime rises Mr Smart agreed, saying that parents in disadvantaged areas who previously felt able to talk to known and trusted neighbourhood officers now only encounter a reactive response. A couple of stabbings happen and suddenly theres visits and weapons sweeps and patrol but it needs to be stable, he explained. The recent spike in violence has sparked vows to increase the declining use of stop and search powers, which have been subject to frequent controversy and allegations of racial profiling. Mr Sutherland said the measure saves lives by taking weapons off the streets but warned: It absolutely is not the long-term answer to what were observing with knife crime and youth violence. The Home Office has announced a suite of measures, including a Violent Crime Taskforce, increased sentences for carrying knives and acid, a 13m Trusted Relationships Fund to support young people at risk from gang exploitation and a 40m Youth Investment Fund for disadvantaged areas. A pioneering violence reduction programme that has seen dramatic success in Scotland is also inspiring a series of pilots seeking to give young people opportunities that prevent them from being drawn into gangs and criminality. The Serious Violence Strategy found that the majority of crime is committed by a small minority of repeat offenders, but a growing number of vulnerable groups are also being exploited. Recommended Pioneering programme leads fight against knife crime in London Data shows that numbers of children in care, excluded children and homelessness amongst adults have all risen since 2014, it said. These groups possess some of the factors that puts them at higher risk of being exploited for offences such as drug market-related violence. Mr Sutherland argued that a core driver of violence has been the failure of successive governments to adopt a long-term approach, leaving the same issues to recur over more than a decade. As a society were impatient, the former officer said. Everybody wants a quick fix and know that stuff is going to be solved next Friday, but when youre dealing with issues more than a generation in the making thats delusional. I think London needs a 20-year knife crime plan protected from the unpredictability of the electoral timetable and annual funding. This is the real lives of real people and we cant afford to be mucking around and play partisan games we need to be doing whats right and what works. Donald Trump will reportedly meet the Queen during Julys working visit to the UK. The US leader is set to hold talks with Theresa May on his first trip to Britain since he was elected as US president. His trip later this year has been billed as a 24-hour flying visit rather than an official state one, which would have seen Mr Trump hosted by the Queen. However, he is nonetheless set to meet her during his trip The Daily Telegraph reported, adding that his time with Ms May will be spent at Chequers, the prime ministers country residence, to avoid potential protests in London. Downing Street would not confirm the meeting with the Queen, adding that they would release more information in due course. The US leader will fly into Britain after attending a two day Nato meeting in Brussels. Sir Kim Darroch, the UKs ambassador to the US, said he was delighted that Mr Trump will visit Britain. Mr Trump was previously set to visit the UK to open the new US Embassy in London in February, but cancelled after he claimed he was not a big fan of the decision to move its location. He also claimed the new building was too expensive. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty His decision prompted some to speculate that the visit was scrapped over fears of mass protests after activists made plans for a major demonstration. These protests are likely to take place in July and Kate Allen, Amnesty International UKs director, said thousands will be making our voices heard. In the 15 months of his presidency, weve seen a deeply disturbing human rights roll-back including the discriminatory travel ban, his reckless announcement on Jerusalem, and harmful policies on refugees, womens rights and climate change, she said. Isis propaganda machine has been hit by an unprecedented multinational cyber campaign, but the terrorist group is still managing to reach thousands of its followers. British security services were involved in the assault targeting websites hosting its flagship Amaq news agency, alongside allies in the EU, US and Canada. Europol said Islamist group's ability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material has been compromised by a mix of cooperation with internet service providers and cyber attacks. Security services are also working to identify Isis administrators and radicalised individuals across Europe and beyond with the data retrieved. In the third phase of an operation started in 2015, law enforcement agencies coordinated by the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) started a two-day simultaneous multinational takedown on Wednesday. Isis servers were seized in the Netherlands, Canada and the US, while raids were conducted in Bulgaria, France and Romania as the UK targeted its domains. As well as Amaq, which publishes propaganda reports on Isis activity and claims for international terror attacks, Europol said Isis al-Bayan radio, Halummu and Nashir news websites were also hit. It came after an operation that took down Amaqs mobile app in August 2016 and strike targeting online infrastructure that was later rebuilt in June last year. Isis' propaganda feeds on Telegram, seen here on 27 April 2018, continued uninterrupted following a cyber strike led by Europol With this ground-breaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of Isis to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe," Rob Wainwright, the executive director of Europol, said. European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos vowed that the operations will not stop until their propaganda is entirely eradicated from the internet. But the latest operations have not interrupted Isis prolific output on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. The group has continued to publish propaganda including gory images of executions, statements on attacks in countries including Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, a lengthy video on battles in Damascus and its weekly al-Naba newsletter to followers. Messages posted on its official Telegram feeds had been viewed more than 2,000 times in little over an hour on Friday afternoon. But instead of posting links to its own websites, Isis has been forced to use other hosting platforms and file sharing sites following the Europol operation. Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) at King's College London said permanent damage to the Amaq website could have a substantial strategic impact. The website was a living archive of Isis propaganda and theres no equivalent, he told The Independent. Given that at this point in time the group is maniacally trying to curate its post-territorial legacy, it really could do with access to all of those materials. Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa atop of military vehicles REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces march past destroyed buildings as they celebrate victory REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces evacuate a civilian from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures A civilian prays after she was rescued by fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters ride atop of military vehicles as they celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrates in Raqqa Reuters Mr Winter said the full result would not be clear for several months, but warned that propaganda is only one factor that draws potential terrorists towards Isis, alongside extremists social networks and life experiences. Propaganda is important but it isnt and never has been the be-all and end-all of recruitment, he added. Takedown operations will impact on it but its not a solution. He cautioned that while the vast majority of Isis former territory in Syria and Iraq had been retaken, it has gained ideological notoriety around the world and has a powerful impact. When Isis declared its caliphate in early 2014, it was openly publishing propaganda on mainstream social networks and open websites, while many foreign fighters became notorious for documenting their lives on Twitter and blogs. The size and complexity of Isis propaganda network is unprecedented, seeing material published in almost a dozen languages across websites, social media, automated emails, dedicated apps and extensions for internet browsers. Increased detection and removal work by both governments and hacktivists has since pushed it into ever more obscure corners of the internet, with the Amaq website being taken down and reappearing on an almost daily basis even before Europols attack. The head of GCHQ revealed that British spies have been disrupting Isis communication networks and propaganda earlier this month, hinting that it could be behind a glut of fake propaganda that unnerved the group last year. The British government has also funded free artificial intelligence software that can detect the groups videos and prevent them being uploaded to the internet. But much of the propaganda previously published, including English-language magazines containing advice on vehicle and knife attacks, remain in circulation online and the van attack that left 10 victims dead in Toronto this week shows how Isis modus operandi has spread. Much of the material found on electronic devices belonging to terrorists convicted in Britain is several years old, with the Parsons Green attacker being inspired by an Isis song released in 2015. A postcard which could have been written by notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper is up for 1,000 at auction next week. Historical experts have validated the postcard, which was once used as police evidence in 1888 in an attempt to capture the murderer. Beware there is [sic] two women I want here they are bastards, and I mean to have them my knife is still in good order it is a students [sic] knife and I hope you liked the kidney, the postcard states. I am Jack the Ripper, The unusual artefact was held by Ealing Police until the 1960s when many files were released, allowing the evidence to go underground. It was addressed to the high street Ealing Police Station sergeant. Now, its elderly owner has put it up for auction and interest in the morbid note is massive. I got a call from the donor and she said Ive got some notes from Jack the Ripper and I said well Ive got a note from Napoleon, said Jonathan Riley, a 19th century history expert at Grand Auctions in Folkestone, Kent. Then when she told me about its history and how it was police evidence and I realised it was real. Our card was one of a number of notes sent to police claiming responsibility during the long-running manhunt, but the postcard has a very strong provenance due to the period it was sent and the fact it was contained in police files." UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA The card was received at Ealing Police Station on 29 October 1888 from someone claiming to be responsible for the murder of at least five women in the East End of London. Mr Riley said: Victorian London was stunned and horrified by the gruesome deaths, involving women whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations and one victim, Mary Kelly, being especially badly mutilated. Mary Kelly was killed by Jack the Ripper on 9 November 1888, days after the postcard was delivered. Mr Riley said: We are in the fortunate position of nobody being able to say the card was not written by Jack, but equally we cannot prove it was its one of those conundrums, you will never know. Our card is the first time a ripper letter or card has ever been offered on the market for auction with police provenance, it is an unusual item for an auction house of our size to handle. The note was checked by ex-police officer and Jack the Ripper expert Stewart Evans, who corroborated the authenticity of the note, which has a guide price between 600 and 900. Recommended Freemasons from throughout history to be revealed It measures 2.75 inches by 4.75 inches and is written in ink, while the card is in good condition for its age. Icon Films in Bristol and an American video company contacted the auction house with the intent of creating a film about the card. Mr Riley added: We are a small company, but our sales room is due to be packed out beyond its capacity and we have phone bidders locked in, with one calling from the USA. The auction will take place on 30 April at the auction house in Folkestone, Kent, with the card being sold at 1.30pm. SWNS Hundreds of doctors recruited by the NHS from overseas have been denied visas by the Home Office, leading to increased pressures in the health service. NHS bosses said limits on the number of visas issued to non-EU doctors were contributing to rota gaps and delays in patients receiving care. Some 100 Indian doctors are reported to have been refused for a scheme in the North-west that supplies junior doctors to 30 NHS trusts. Chief executive of NHS Employers Danny Mortimer told the BBC he had heard of 400 cases of blocked visas of overseas doctors since December. We have examples of clinics being cancelled and delays in terms of patients receiving care. It exacerbates pressures in what are relatively small medical teams, said Mr Mortimer. Jon Rouse, chief officer of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: As we reach the end of a winter where the NHS has been stretched to its very limits, partly as a result of a lack of medical workforce, we find it almost impossible to understand how this decision can have been reached. Boris Johnson clashes with Theresa May after demanding amnesty for all long-standing Commonwealth immigrants Paul Myatt, workforce policy adviser at NHS Providers, said that faced with shortages of doctors, recruiting internationally was one of the few options available to trusts in the short term. Its deeply frustrating for trusts and doctors that when a job offer has been made, after considerable time and expense, trusts are repeatedly being declined the certificates of sponsorship needed for doctors to get work visas, he said. For the trust it means unfilled vacancies which often have to be filled by paying premium locum rates. For doctors, they may give up on working in the NHS and decide to work in another country. Lawyer Barry O'Leary warns Windrush scandal will happen again if government persists with immigration plans We appreciate that discussions are taking place within government about this issue but there needs to be a new sense of urgency to find a solution so that trusts can recruit the staff they need to care for patients. In February, NHS Improvement said that there were 100,000 vacancies across Englands 234 acute, ambulance and mental health trusts. The Home Office said any Tier 2 applications which doctors come under that are refused in oversubscribed months could reapply in future ones. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA A spokesperson added: It is important that our immigration system works in the national interest, ensuring that employers look first to the UK resident labour market before recruiting from overseas. When demand exceeds the monthly available allocation of Tier 2 (General) places, priority is given to applicants filling a shortage or PhD-level occupations. The published shortage list, based on advice by the Migration Advisory Committee, includes a range of medical professionals, including consultants specialising in clinical radiology and emergency medicine, and we estimate that around a third of all Tier 2 places go to the NHS. Amber Rudd's tenure at the Home Office has again been thrust into the spotlight after the United Nations raised serious concern over the deaths of a disproportionate number of black and minority ethnic people in police custody in Britain. The deaths reinforce the experiences of structural racism, over-policing and criminalisation of people of African descent and other minorities in the UK, a panel of human rights experts said. They accused authorities of failing to properly investigate police officers involved in the deaths, leaving a lack of accountability and the denial of adequate remedies and reparation for the families of the victims. The report comes as the home secretary is already under intense pressure over the Windrush scandal and facing accusations that she misled the Commons over the use of deportation targets. She has also come under fire from colleagues for her stance on Brexit. Amid mounting calls for her to tender her resignation, Ms Rudd tweeted an apology late on Friday and said she would address MPs in the Commons next week. "I wasn't aware of specific removal targets. I accept I should have been and I'm sorry that I wasn't," she wrote. "I didn't see the leaked document, although it was copied to my office as many documents are." The warnings on police treatment of black people in custody come after the 25th anniversary of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence cast renewed focus on racism in the UK. An inquiry found that institutional racism had marred the police investigation and let the killers initially go free, amid alleged corruption that is still under investigation. The murder sparked the creation of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), changes to race relations laws, recruitment targets for black and Asian police officers and soul searching across Britain. But statistics show that BAME people still disproportionately come into contact with the criminal justice system, with a review by David Lammy MP revealing that black people are more likely to be jailed in the UK than US. Several young black man have died in police custody over the past year, seeing angry protests break out in London over the deaths of Rashan Charles and Edson Da Costa within weeks of each other. Rashan Charles protest: Riot police called to Dalston as bins are set alight Seven people have died in police custody in England and Wales so far this year, with the total reaching 23 in 2013. Many of the incidents remain under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog and subject to ongoing coroners inquests. Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said: "The UN warning comes as no surprise. The Angiolini Review ordered by Theresa May and published in 2017 stated that racial stereotyping may be a 'significant contributory factor' in deaths in custody. "Far too many have died. And it is a disgrace that the Home Secretary has taken too few meaningful steps to address racial disparities in our justice system." Earlier this week, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Devon and Cornwall Police were being charged with health and safety offences over the death of Thomas Orchard, a mentally ill white man. Three police officers and staff had previously been tried and acquitted for manslaughter after restraining him face-down with a belt around his face, leading to a cardiac arrest. The UNs analysis of Metropolitan Police data found that black and ethnic minority people, in particular young African and Caribbean men, were twice as likely to die after the use of force by police officers and insufficient medical treatment. The panel said police disproportionately use Tasers against black suspects, including those with mental health problems, with ethnic minorities three times more likely to be shocked than white people. The group reviewed deaths in a range of circumstances involving the use of force, including shootings, CS spray, batons, Tasers, and physical restraint resulting in suffocation. People of African descent with psychosocial disabilities and those experiencing severe mental or emotional distress reportedly face multiple forms of discrimination and are particularly affected by excessive use of force, said the experts. We have raised our concerns with the government of the United Kingdom. It pointed to an independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody, completed by Dame Elish Angiolini last year, which found that the IOPCs predecessor, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), was not viewed as independent of police culture and had failed to gain the trust of families. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA It warned that all restraint has the potential to cause death but that training on the use of force across 43 police forces was inconsistent and must be improved, particularly for suspects with mental health problems or those affected by alcohol or drugs. Dame Elish found there has never been a successful prosecution of a police officer for manslaughter, even when coroners handed down unlawful killing verdicts. This points to the lack of accountability and the impunity with which law enforcement and state agencies operate, the experts said. The UN said the government formally responded to its concerns last month and recognised that further improvements were needed to healthcare in police custody, inquests, legal aid and support to families. It called for deaths in police custody to be independently reviewed and for authorities to hold police to account, combat racial discrimination, ban the use of disproportionate and excessive use of force and restraint and to ensure families get adequate help with justice and compensation. The report came before the UNs special rapporteur on racism starts a two week visit to the UK on Monday, to evaluate discrimination in the wake of the vote for Brexit. My mission across the country, including stops in London and Belfast, will focus on explicit incidents of racism and related intolerance, as well as attention to structural forms of discrimination and exclusion that may have been exacerbated by Brexit, said Tendayi Achiume. Xenophobic discrimination and intolerance aimed at refugees, migrants and even British racial, religious and ethnic minorities will also be an important focus. The Policing and Crime Act 2017, which came into force last year, made it unlawful to use a police station to hold under-18s who are experiencing a mental health crisis if they have committed no offence, and restricted the use for adults. New data requirements have made police forces start recording information on the use of force, reasons for it, injuries and characteristics of suspects. UN recommendations on healthcare in police custody, inquests and support for families will be reviewed by the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, which is to report on its progress in the autumn. Its remit also covers deaths in police custody, prisons, immigration detention, bail hostels and psychiatric units. A Home Office spokesperson said: The government takes allegations of police racism very seriously and expects all allegations to be investigated thoroughly and perpetrators dealt with robustly. We are also clear that any use of force by the police must be necessary, reasonable and proportionate. Every death in police custody is a tragedy. Campaigners for a referendum on the Brexit deal are promising the biggest ever pro-European march, as their hopes grow for a fresh public vote. The demonstration to be staged on the second anniversary of the Leave vote in June will kick-start a summer of action and mobilisation, they say. Supporters of giving the people a final say on the exit deal negotiated by Theresa May expect to attract huge numbers from across the UK and as far afield as Gibraltar. Recommended Brexit minister reveals how MPs can force second referendum The march, on 23 June, comes after the government acknowledged that MPs have the power to force a new referendum by amending a vote on the withdrawal agreement in the autumn. Steve Baker, the Brexit minister, said the crucial vote would not as expected be a take it or leave it choice, because parliament can always seek to amend motions. Now the March for a Peoples Vote will, for the first time, bring together ten major pro-EU campaigning organisations under the same banner, through central London. James MacCleary, of the European Movement UK, one of the groups behind the campaign, urged people to join the march to make such a noise about it that is so loud it will be impossible to ignore. Femi Oluwole, of Our Future Our Choice, said: Young people have the most at stake here and, if we leave the EU in March 2019 without a Peoples Vote, half a million young people will have been denied any say about the biggest decision on their future. Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced Welcome to Northern Ireland sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. Ive been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again, Johnson said laughing. We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that its gone, we wouldn't like it back again Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crocketts Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day, said Crockett. If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village, said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. I live in the south but the business is in the North, said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if theres duty, Ill have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. Ill have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. Id be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, youd have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful, said Mullen. All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters And James McGrory, of Open Britain said: Brexit will affect everybody in the country, which is why it should not be left to 650 politicians in London to decide our future but to all 65m people. That is why so many are demanding a Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal. The campaign has launched a crowd funding appeal to raise 100,000 to meet the costs of organising and advertising for the march. Ms May has firmly rejected a further referendum, but some pro-EU Tories believe she could yet accept one if it appears the only way to keep her warring party together on Europe. Similarly, although Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour does not back another referendum, he has left the door open to a change of mind. There is also polling evidence that public support is growing for a referendum on the Brexit deal, amid continuing confusion about both the planned transition period and the final trade deal with the EU. Opinion appears to be shifting as the negotiations remain bogged down on how to avoid a hard border in Ireland and with the details of a trade deal unlikely to even be discussed until after departure day. Some Tory MPs also believe a legal challenge to require a further referendum before Brexit can go ahead could yet put the government in difficulty. The case will argue that the 2011 referendum lock introduced by David Cameron preventing any significant change to relations with the EU without the publics say applies to the Brexit talks. A Labour activist expelled for heckling a Jewish MP at an event on antisemitism has claimed Jeremy Corbyn said the member had done nothing wrong. Marc Wadsworth said the Labour leaders team had phoned him to say they were working behind the scenes on his behalf. The Labour member and left-wing campaigner was kicked out of the party on Friday after a disciplinary hearing earlier in the week. Speaking afterwards, he told reporters he believed he had the support of Mr Corbyn. Recommended Labour expels member who heckled Jewish MP Saying he had been told his expulsion was partly on the grounds that his verbal attack on Ms Smeeth had embarrassed the leader, he said: The leader has told mutual friends he wasnt embarrassed because he doesnt see that I did anything wrong. Mr Wadsworth also said Mr Corbyns office had called on the first day of his disciplinary hearing to tell him they were working to help him. When they called me on the first day of the hearing they told me that theyd been working behind the scenes, that what I said wasnt antisemitism, he said. But then you have to interpose that with the fact that Jeremy did have a bit of a go at me at the launch of the Chakrabarti report and said perhaps I could have used kinder language. Mr Wadsworth said he had been in touch with Mr Corbyns office and in touch with the leadership recently, describing himself and the Labour leader as old friends and comrades. Labour sources said a member of Mr Corbyn's team had spoken with Mr Wadsworth, but only in an attempt to "reduce the risks of incidents" outside his disciplinary hearing. Mr Wadsworth said he would be looking at all my options to legally challenge the decision to expel him. He pointed out that the panel to expel him consisted of three white people. Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew AFP Mr Wadsworth was expelled after Labours National Constitutional Committee (NCC) found he had commit two offences under rules relating to bringing the party into disrepute. At the launch of a report on antisemitism in Labour, he had publicly accused Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth of working hand-in-hand with a right-wing newspaper. The decision to expel the former journalist was welcomed by Jewish community groups. Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: Marc Wadsworths expulsion has to be the right result and is a step in the right direction. We express our admiration for and solidarity with Ruth Smeeth MP, who had had to endure the most revolting antisemitism for far too long and gave evidence at the hearing. Enough is enough. Supporters of Mr Wadsworth, however, criticised the decision. Labour MP Chris Williamson, who had acted as a character witness for the campaigner, called the expulsion perverse and absurd, saying: It flies in the face of the evidence that was presented and offences against the principles of natural justice. The NCCs decision has all the hallmarks of predetermination and tramples on the Labour Partys record of standing up for fairness. As many as 16 mobile phones were seized by the FBI when agents raided Michael Cohens home, office and hotel, a prosecutor has revealed. Thomas McKay, who is leading the criminal investigation of Donald Trumps personal lawyer, told a judge the law enforcement agency was on track to hand over copies of all seized materials to Mr Cohens lawyers by 11 May. He said the FBI had already turned over the contents of four phones and an iPad, and that the agency had about a dozen left, according to the New York Post. Two BlackBerrys were among the devices seized, suggesting Mr Cohen was hoarding old devices. A lawyer for Stormy Daniels described the revelation as bigly bad for Mr Trumps legal fixer. Ms Daniels, who is suing Mr Cohen for defamation after he called her a liar, was paid $130,000 in hush money by Mr Cohen over allegations she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. Most interesting fact from todays hearing IMO [in my opinion] - FBI imaged 16 (by my count) cell phones and blackberries seized in MC [Michael Cohen] raids, Michael Avenatti wrote on Twitter. Usually not a good sign when the target appears to have saved old phones and there are that many phones recovered. BIGLY bad... for many. On Thursday, Mr Trump claimed Mr Cohen handles very little of his legal work, but did represent him in the "crazy Stormy Daniels deal," a rare presidential public reference to the alleged affair. Prosecutors in New York quickly claimed Mr Trump's early-morning comments buttress their arguments that not much of the material the FBI seized from Mr Cohen should be protected by attorney-client privilege. Within two hours of Mr Trump's interview, the prosecutors submitted papers in court citing his comments. Stormy Daniels' attorney predicts Michael Cohen to be charged Mr Trump's remarks prompted fresh questions about his relationship with Mr Cohen in the tangle of legal dealings involving the president, his legal fixer and the porn star. And they served as just the latest demonstration of the potential legal risks for the president when he makes off-the-cuff statements about the case in interviews and on Twitter. In a call-in interview with Fox & Friends, Mr Trump spoke about his relationship with Mr Cohen, saying the lawyer handles "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his legal work, adding: "Like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal he represented me. And, you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this which would have been a problem." Mr Cohen is facing a series of legal actions, including an effort from Ms Daniels to invalidate the $130,000 nondisclosure deal. There is also a criminal investigation of Mr Cohen in New York, which prompted the recent FBI raid. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Mr Trump has previously denied any knowledge of the payment. The White House has consistently denied the affair. While Mr Trump may have increased the chances that his communications with Mr Cohen on the subject of Ms Daniels are subject to attorney-client privilege by acknowledging that he was being represented by Mr Cohen on the matter, he may also have undermined arguments that large quantities of other seized materials are subject to the privilege by claiming Mr Cohen handled little of his legal work. Either way, said trial attorney Joseph Cammarata, he would be better off speaking less. "The more you say, the more you have an opportunity to be cross-examined on it," said Mr Cammarata, who represented Paula Jones in her sexual harassment suit against President Bill Clinton. "You can't get hurt by words you don't speak." Judge Kimba Wood said on Thursday she was appointing a former Manhattan federal judge to help determine what materials seized in the FBI raids are subject to attorney-client privilege. The judge noted that the government and Mr Cohen's lawyers agreed that a "special master" was the best way to determine which materials should or should not be off-limits to federal investigators. Mr Avenatti asked the court for permission to be part of the case to determine if there are any materials showing that Ms Daniels' previous lawyer, who negotiated her confidentiality agreement, violated attorney-client privilege in communications with Mr Cohen. The judge gave prosecutors time to review the motion after Mr McKay told her that so far there was "really no evidence" that Mr Cohen received privileged information about Ms Daniels. Mr Trump's comment that Mr Cohen represented him in the Ms Daniels matter seemed potentially at odds with his past denial of knowledge about the payment. Mr Avenatti tweeted that Mr Trump and Mr Cohen "previously represented to the American people that Mr Cohen acted on his own and Mr Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. As I predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false. Mr Trump's anger over the case has increased in recent weeks as the legal pressure on Mr Cohen mounts. While the president is said to be increasingly worried about the materials seized in the raid and whether Mr Cohen would consider cooperating with prosecutors, he insisted Thursday that the probe was related to Mr Cohen's business and said "I've been told I'm not involved." Mr Avenatti said on Thursday: "This is going to add considerable momentum to our effort to depose the president and place him under oath in an effort to discover which version of the facts is accurate." Additional reporting by AP NBC News chairman Andy Lack had barely slept. Late the night before, he had walked from the art deco headquarters of NBC Universal in Midtown Manhattan to the Upper East Side to fire his most famous employee and long-time friend, Today show co-host Matt Lauer. Early the next morning, Mr Lack was back in the office, holding a series of meetings to try to explain to shellshocked employees what precipitated such an unprecedented move. The week had started with a detailed and serious complaint on Monday evening from an NBC staffer about Mr Lauers inappropriate sexual behaviour toward her. A day later, Mr Lauer was gone. In the following mornings meetings on 29 November, Mr Lack took pains to point out that the complaint about Mr Lauer was the first of its kind in the anchors more than 20 years with the network. Others disagree. During her last year on the Today show, in 2012, Mr Lauers co-host Ann Curry said she approached two members of NBCs management team after an NBC female staffer told her she was sexually harassed physically by Mr Lauer. A woman approached me and asked me tearfully if I could help her, Ms Curry recalled recently, in her first public comments about the episode. She was afraid of losing her job I believed her. The woman, she said, implored Ms Curry not to reveal her name to anyone and she obliged. But Ms Curry specifically named Mr Lauer as a person of concern. I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women, she said. The NBC staffer confirmed to The Washington Post that she went to Ms Curry with her complaint. She spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation. Ms Curry declined to name the management officials she says she approached. An NBC spokesman said the company has no record of her warning and added that there was no mention of it in Mr Lauers personnel file. NBC noted that Mr Lack was not at the network at the time. Ms Curry, who left NBC in 2015, has a non-disclosure agreement with the company and has been reluctant to talk publicly about her experiences at the network. NBC removed Ms Curry from her role as co-host of Today in June 2012 amid foundering ratings and acrimony with Mr Lauer. Ms Curry, who in an interview said there was pervasive verbal sexual harassment at NBC, worked on Today for 15 years, most of that time as a news reader and co-anchored alongside Mr Lauer in 2011 and 2012. In the news business, I think people generally did not care about womens stories of sexual harassment, said Soledad OBrien, who worked at NBC for 12 years, went on to CNN for another decade and now runs her own production company. I dont think that people who were victims would feel particularly supported by going to someone and asking for help, whether that person was in HR or that person was a colleague. Ms OBrien added that she did not experience sexual harassment at NBC, but said that within the industry, people were mostly concerned they would lose their jobs if they complained. I think those concerns were valid. Mr Lauer is not the only prominent anchor at NBC who allegedly sought inappropriate relationships with younger women. Linda Vester, a former NBC correspondent, told The Washington Post that legendary anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted advances toward her on two occasions in the 1990s, including a forcible attempt to kiss her. Ms Vester was in her 20s and filed no complaint. Mr Brokaw denied anything untoward happened with Ms Vester. I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC, he said in a statement issued by NBC. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other. Ann Curry said she approached two members of NBCs management team after an NBC female staffer told her she was sexually harassed physically by Matt Lauer (Getty) Another woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also has told The Washington Post that Mr Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her in the 1990s, when she was a young production assistant and he was an anchor. He said no such incident happened. NBC acted quickly to dismiss Mr Lauer, but it is facing a wave of internal and outside scepticism that it can reform a workplace in which powerful men such as Mr Lauer were known to pursue sexual relationships with more junior women. In interviews, 35 current and former NBC staffers said that while some of these relationships were consensual, some were not. Twelve women interviewed said they were sexually harassed, but did not report it. Three of the 12 told The Washington Post about sexual advances from Mr Lauer. One woman said that the anchor exposed himself in his office and asked her to touch him and a second said he had sex with her in the middle of the day in his office alleged incidents that have not been previously reported. A third woman told The Washington Post that Mr Lauer gave her a sex toy, as first reported by Variety at the time he was fired. Three former NBC staffers, who support Mr Lauer, but would not speak for attribution, argue that Mr Lauers relationships with women were consensual. Mr Lauer told two people who worked with him and spoke on the condition of anonymity, that his relationships at work were nothing more than evidence of a troubled marriage. But NBC News chairman Mr Lack, in memos to staff, described Mr Lauers behaviour as reprehensible and appalling. In a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday, Mr Lauer said, I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months ... I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost. But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false. Scores of companies across various industries are grappling with how to end the sort of harassing behaviours that have been highlighted in the rapid rise of the #MeToo movement. The star factories of media organisations such as NBC, CBS and PBS have come under scrutiny by the movement. The question is, did the company take reasonable measures to prevent this type of behaviour? asked Deborah Rhode, a gender expert and director of the Centre on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School. What did they know and what did they do? Ms Brokaw, now 78, who left the anchor chair in 2004, addressed the topic of sexual harassment while appearing on a panel on MSNBC in December. He was talking about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore and senator Al Franken, who had just resigned. He said the culture needs to decide where are the lines about all of this, because its not going away ... Not easy to arrive at these conclusions because so many of them are subjective. Its in the minds of the violator or the recipient or even the people who are on the left or the right. But I do think we need to have a healthier, well defined dialogue, if you will and Im not sure how we launch into it. At NBC News, officials viewed the prompt firing of Mr Lauer as sending a clear message. In a memo to staff in December, Mr Lack said a review was already underway to determine why this was able to happen, why it wasnt reported sooner and what we can do to make employees feel more empowered to report unacceptable behaviour. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty NBC also pledged to conduct a culture assessment that involved small groups of employees gathering with a facilitator from parent company NBC Universal to solicit anonymous feedback on how employees feel about their work environment, whether they are comfortable raising concerns, and what might prevent employees from coming forward. The company did not hire an outside firm to conduct the investigation a step many other companies have taken but it did bring in a sexual harassment training firm to conduct in-person trainings on workplace behaviour and sexual harassment prevention. Mr Lack promised to share publicly the results of their findings, however painful, at the conclusion of the review. That was five months ago. No announcement has yet been made about the findings, but the network said the review is nearing its conclusion. By the time Mr Lauer was fired last year, NBC was already smarting from a series of missteps that have put it on the wrong end of some of the nations biggest news stories. NBC News held back the now-infamous Access Hollywood video in which Donald Trump admits to groping women. (The video first appeared on the website of The Washington Post). Similarly, NBC did not air Ronan Farrows investigation of Harvey Weinstein, which later ran as a bombshell in the New Yorker, accompanied by video that had previously been in NBC Newss possession for months. When Mr Lauer was fired abruptly, many inside the building said they were surprised that the action came so swiftly given his vaunted status. In one of Mr Lacks meetings the morning after Mr Lauers firing, according to a person briefed on it, an employee expressed incredulity that NBC could have thoroughly investigated allegations against the Today show host in a single day. In response, Mr Lack offered some details about the complaint. He said that the improper relationship with Mr Lauer started at the Sochi Olympics, which took place in 2014 and it continued in New York. One NBC staffer who attended a meeting with Mr Lack that morning said that Mr Lack provided the Sochi Olympics detail and timing to underscore that the complaint hadnt been for a mere flirtation, but rather was an offense that went on for months. Another executive noted that Mr Lack wanted employees to know that the complaint was for recent behaviour, not for historical misdeeds. Whatever its intention, the briefing also accomplished something else: it dramatically narrowed the circle of women who could have made the accusation against Mr Lauer. With that one detail, the guessing game inside NBC accelerated. Who was she? What had happened? What could have been so serious to have warranted the firing of NBC Newss most valuable name? My client came forward in good faith to her employer with the promise of confidentiality something that took tremendous courage, says lawyer Ari Wilkenfeld, who represents Mr Lauers accuser. Almost immediately, NBC broke that confidentiality by revealing specific details of her complaint without her consent and has in fact disclosed information which led many to deduce her identity. But the NBC spokesman said the network has protected the employees anonymity all along and noted, there were several hundred female NBC employees in Sochi. Hours after Mr Lacks initial memo to staff on the firing, Variety published an article on Mr Lauer anonymously quoting women who said they had approached NBC management about Mr Lauers behaviour toward them and that they had reported his behaviour to senior management. Following the publication of that story, NBC clarified Mr Lacks statement to say that NBCs current management had not ever received a complaint about Mr Lauers alleged misconduct. But Mr Lauers alleged behaviour with women had become tabloid fodder years before. The National Enquirer had assigned a team to follow him in hopes of catching him in a compromising position. (A National Enquirer spokesman said the paper does not comment on its investigative reporting). A former colleague noted that that level of scrutiny outside the building made Mr Lauer more likely to carry on affairs inside the building and when he travelled internationally. Recommended Police investigating sexual assault claim at Commonwealth Games Only one of Mr Lauers accusers who worked at NBC has been willing to speak publicly, even though several other women have made complaints behind the scenes. The one public face, Addie Zinone, a former production assistant on Today, said she had a consensual but damaging one month relationship with Mr Lauer in 2000. She was 24 and he was in his 40s. She first told her story to Variety and repeated it, in detail, to The Washington Post. Ms Zinone recently asked pointedly: Where are the other victims and why havent they come forward? The answer might be evidenced by looking at Ms Zinones inbox, where she has received scores of messages from strangers castigating her for speaking out (others were supportive). But the answer also lies in the fear cited by two of the women who spoke about Lauer to The Washington Post: they feared retaliation at NBC if they spoke out publicly. (Ms Zinone said she left NBC shortly after the relationship with Lauer). A former colleague of Mr Lacks from his time before NBC said when questioned about Mr Lauers rumoured extramarital affairs, Mr Lack responded, he just loves people. He genuinely loves people. Mr Lack, through a spokesman, denied saying this, calling it a ridiculous statement. Ms Vester, who began a promising career with NBC News in the early 1990s, can still recount alleged incidents with Tom Brokaw from nearly 25 years ago that anger her to this day. She said she did not report them to management out of fear of retribution. Even if such incidents are reported through internal channels, she told The Washington Post, NBC is not willing to hire an outside arbiter. I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division, said Ms Vester, now 52. A Fulbright student fellow who had pursued graduate studies in Arabic and the Middle East, Ms Vester had reported for NBC from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the first Gulf War. She was hired in the 1990s to work on Weekend Today, based in Washington, the lowest-ranking correspondent at the least-important programme. One day in January 1994, Ms Vester remembers being in New York on assignment, staying at the Essex House, the regular hotel for NBC staff. As she was preparing to return to Washington, she received a top line message from Brokaw, the managing editor and anchor of NBC Nightly News. Top lines were short internal messages within NBCs system that allowed staff to communicate easily with one another. At the time, Mr Brokaw was the networks biggest star. Mr Lauer had just started as the news reader on The Today Show. NBC Newss new president, Mr Lack, was not a year in the job. Ms Vester said Mr Brokaw asked her where she was staying and what she was doing that night. I replied that I had checked out of my hotel and was going to catch the last shuttle back to DC before the coming snowstorm, Ms Vester remembered recently. Every correspondents travel and hotel plans were kept in a group file available to anyone on NBC Newss computer system. Mr Brokaw wrote back that that wasnt a good idea, Ms Vester said. My gut told me his intentions were not good, she wrote in her diary later that night and which she supplied to The Washington Post. So she called her best friend and mentor at the network, a producer in the Washington bureau, who has corroborated to The Washington Post the principal aspects of Ms Vesters account. Ms Vester said Mr Brokaw wrote that it would be better for Ms Vester to stay in New York. They could have a drink. Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News, has condemned Matt Lauers behaviour as reprehensible and appalling (AFP/Getty) Ms Vester, at a loss, replied, I only drink milk and cookies, according to her diary. It was the only thing I could think of at the time, hoping the reference to milk and cookies would make him realise I was 30 years his junior and not interested, Ms Vester said in an interview. In her diary she wrote that her final note to Mr Brokaw was, there is nothing I would like more than a good chat a great talk with someone I admire. But if appearances are a concern ... thats valid. Ms Vester explained, I was trying to suggest that if he was worried that what he was suggesting might look wrong, it was wrong. Ms Vesters friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she signed a non-disclosure agreement when she left NBC, urged Ms Vester to sign off quickly from the system to limit further communication. As the snow began, she missed the last shuttle, stranding her in New York. She returned to Essex House and updated her whereabouts. In her diary entries, made around 3am in the morning after the encounter, she wrote, once in my room ... I received three phone calls. One from a friend, another from a source, the third was Tom Brokaw. He said to order milk and cookies and he was coming over. Ms Vester said she was terrified that if she refused to meet with him, my career at NBC would be over before it even got going. She called her producer friend, who agreed to stay on the phone with her. Soon, Ms Vester heard a knock on the door. The friend in Washington told Ms Vester to call her back in 30 minutes or she would alert the front desk to come to her room. Ms Vester said she opened the door and Mr Brokaw walked past her and sat on the sofa in her suite. Mr Brokaw has a distinctly different recollection of the evening. He remembered being invited over to Ms Vesters room that evening, a characterisation that Ms Vester rejects, as does the friend who was on the phone with Ms Vester that night. What do you want from me? Ms Vester said she asked him. She recalled him looking at her with mild exasperation. An affair of more than passing affection, Mr Brokaw told her. But youre married, she said. And Im Catholic. Then Mr Brokaw patted the sofa next to him, she said, while she sat down on the opposite end of the couch. She brought up a sexual harassment case that had been uncovered at NBC just recently, to try to signal she was not interested in what she felt was about to happen. Mr Brokaw leaned over, pressed his index finger to my lips and said, this is our compact, she wrote in her diary at the time. My insides shook. I went completely cold. Then, very quickly, Ms Vester said later in an interview, Mr Brokaw put his hand behind her neck and gripped her head. Now let me show you how to give a real kiss, he said, in Ms Vesters recollection and jerked her head toward him. She remembers tensing her neck muscles and using all her strength to wriggle free and stand up. She wrote, I said Tom ... I dont want to do that with you. Mr Brokaw sat silent for a few minutes, then finally said, I think I should go. Ms Vester nodded vigorously. The next day, Ms Vester said, she and Mr Brokaw spoke and he attempted to make the interaction seem consensual. Ms Vester didnt agree. Later, she met with another friend who corroborated in an interview that Ms Vester was rattled by the episode and disappointed in what had happened given her respect for Mr Brokaw. Recommended Harvey Weinstein and Trump Russia investigations win 2018 Pulitzers A second incident unfolded in London more than a year later, Ms Vester said. She saw no way to extract herself from being in Mr Brokaws company because she feared alienating the anchor, she said, but again warded off his advances. Linda has shown incredible courage and conviction coming forward to share the details of her experiences working at NBC, said her attorney, Ms Wilkenfeld, who also represents the initial Mr Lauer accuser. She does so at her own expense and peril. She wants nothing for herself. Ms Vester, who later worked at Fox News and left the business, said she has no intention of filing a legal claim against Mr Brokaw or NBC. A second woman, a former production assistant at NBC News, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Mr Brokaw stopped her in the hallway just as she arrived for work. It happened in the mid-1990s and she was wearing her winter coat. He beckoned her into a small enclave to the side of the hallway. The production assistant, then 24, had been looking for a more permanent role as a researcher on one of NBCs shows. He took her hands in his and commented on how cold they were, the woman recently recalled. He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, wow is your job search going? She looked up at the man she had habitually called Mr Brokaw, and mumbled a reply, she said. Then he said, in her recollection, why dont you come into my office after the show and lets talk about it. She said the implication of his invitation was clea and that he was inviting her to his office for more than advice. She never went to his office and left the network shortly after the incident. Like Ms Vester, she did not report the incident. Ms Rhode, the Stanford scholar, said that even without formal complaints, higher-ups have a responsibility for workplace conditions. But they are rarely the right people to investigate wrongdoing. If there was this kind of information circulating in the hallways, a good investigator could find that out, she said. The reason that experts think the best practice is to hire outside investigators is those people will be much more likely to be disinterested and appear disinterested. They dont have an ongoing relationship with a company that may have a desire to protect their reputation and keep the dirty linen out of public view. Ann Curry said she understands reticence to report harassment. This is one of the problems when we talk about corporations with an HR department being under leadership of someone who might or might not be accused, she said. How are they going to complain about it if they are accusing someone who is overseeing the department that is supposed to protect them? The ultimate question, Ms Curry added, is: Do you have a system that allows those who feel they have been victimised to air their complaints without fear they will lose their jobs? I dont know a company that does. The Washington Post A deputies union for the Broward County Sheriffs Office has said it has no confidence in Sheriff Scott Israel the man who oversaw the departments response to a school shooting in Parkland, Florida earlier this year. Eighty-five per cent of the unions 628 members voted no confidence in Mr Israel in a largely symbolic this week, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The results will be passed along to Florida Governor Rick Scott, who has not indicated what he will do with them. Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association president Jeff Bell spoke out on the night of the vote, claiming Mr Israel fails to listen to the membership and he wants to blame everybody else for his problems, according to CNN. The deputies association cited a lack of leadership and suspected malfeasance on Mr Israels part when calling for the vote last week. The union has also said members were disheartened by the agencys response to the Parkland shooting in February. Mr Israel said he had no plans to resign, and claimed the union was only trying to extort a pay raise from his department. Those who purportedly voted in this straw ballot reflect only a small number of the 5,400 employees, he said in a statement. The unions representing the vast majority of our employees solidly support the leadership of this agency. Florida shooting in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting in pictures Florida shooting in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP Mr Israel first came under fire in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, when it was revealed that an armed sheriffs deputy stationed at the school failed to storm inside and engage the shooter. The deputy has said he thought the shots were coming from outside the building. Fourteen students and three staff members were killed in the attack, when a lone gunman opened fire on the school this Valentines Day. The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, has pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. Broward County Sherrif Scott Israel: 'I gave him a badge, I gave him a gun' The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting and the sheriff departments response, at Mr Scotts request. The governor said on Thursday that he would wait until the end of the investigation to make a decision on Mr Israel. [Governor] Scott believes that people must be held accountable for the reported failures in response to the school shooting in Parkland, which is why he immediately called for a full and systematic FDLE investigation into the matter, spokesman John Tupps said in a statement. Once that investigation is complete, and we have all the facts, the appropriate steps will be taken to hold people accountable. At least 11 people have been injured and many more evacuated after an explosion at an oil refinery in Wisconsin, according to local news reports. Pillars of dark smoke filled the sky in Superior, Wisconsin on Thursday, after a tank of crude oil or asphalt exploded at the Husky Energy oil refinery. The thick, black plumes drove authorities to evacuate everyone in a three-mile (five-kilometer) radius around the refinery, as well as a 10-mile (16 kilometer) area to the south, according to the Associated Press. The first fire erupted around 10 am local time, officials said, but was out by 11:20. A second, larger blast went off around noon, driving officials to call for the evacuation. The blaze was so intense that Superior Fire Department officials were not attempting to extinguish it, the Duluth News Tribune reported. Instead, they pumped water into nearby tanks, hoping to prevent them from exploding as well. The fire department declared the fire extinguished around 7pm, according to the Superior Police. Local hospitals reported 11 people were injured one seriously but none were killed. All workers at the plant were accounted for, according to the AP. One contractor at the plant, Eric Mathews, told the West Fargo Pioneer that he was about 200 yards away from the tank when it ignited. It was like a big sonic boom and rattled your brain, Mr Mathews said. I was running and then the debris started falling out of the air... I stopped under a pipe rack then waited for the debris to stop falling. Two miles away, local resident Julia Johnson was working from home when the blast occurred. "It felt like something had hit the house, like a vehicle or a branch from a tree, Ms Johnson told the AP. ...Our dogs started barking. It was a stressful moment. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Ms Johnson and her housemate, Kara Tudor, were among those who were forced to evacuate that afternoon. Superior Mayor Jim Paine said all of the citys 27,000 residents may eventually have to evacuate, according to the Tribune. If in doubt just leave. Find a place to go, the mayor said at a news conference. The University of Wisconsin Superior cancelled classes for Friday, along with two local public school districts. The refinery has been fined by federal officials once before, under its previous owners, for emergency response and flammable liquids violations. The violations were marked as settled and the problems solved by the end of that year, according to the AP. The more than 65-year-old plant is Wisconsins only remaining oil refinery. It can process around 50,000 barrels per day of crude oil and related products, and store up to 3.6m barrels. A woman who worked as a war correspondent for NBC News has accused one of the networks leading anchormen Tom Brokaw of groping her and trying to forcibly kiss her twice. Linda Vester told Variety and The Washington Post the misbehaviour from Mr Brokaw, who was the United States top rated TV newsman for much of his career, took place at the NBC offices in Denver and New York in the 1990s, when she was in her 20s. Variety said Ms Vester, now 52, showed them journals from the time which corroborated the story. Mr Brokaw, 78, denied the allegations in a statement issued by NBC News. I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC, Mr Brokaw said in the statement to the Post. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other. Another woman, who was not identified, made similar claims about Mr Brokaw to the Post. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Ms Vester, who had reported from the Middle East and covered the Gulf War for NBC, was 28 when she was in Colorado with Mr Brokaw to cover Pope John Paul IIs visit to the US in 1993. We were in the Denver bureau, and there was a conference room. Im standing there, and Tom Brokaw enters through the door and grabs me from behind and proceeds to tickle me up and down my waist, she told Variety. Ms Vester said others were in the room, but no one acted like anything wrong was happening. He was the most powerful man at the network, and I was the most junior person. She said the following year in New York, Mr Brokaw sent her suggestive computer messages in the office before later announcing on the phone he was coming to her hotel room. She felt powerless to tell him not to come, she added. He grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him, she told Variety. I was shocked to feel the amount of force and his full strength on me. She said Mr Brokaw left when she broke away and made it clear she did not him to do it want any more. Ms Vester left NBC in 1999 to work at Fox News, where she remained until 2006. Mr Brokaw anchored NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He has since served as a special correspondent. Mr Brokaw is the most recent of many media personalities to be accused of sexual misconduct in recent months, including his former colleague Matt Lauer, who left the Today show and the network after several women came forward with allegations. Mr Lauer has admitted he acted inappropriately, but denies any coercive or abusive behaviour. Additional reporting by agencies Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw has withdrawn as the commencement speaker at a Connecticut university following allegations that he sexually harassed a female coworker. Sacred Heart University said Mr Brokaw cancelled his speech at the schools graduation ceremony on Friday, the day after a fellow journalist came forward with claims that the anchor had groped her and tried to forcibly kiss her in the 1990s. Mr Brokaw has denied the allegations. Recommended NBC anchor Tom Brokaw accused of groping and forcibly kissing woman John Petillo the president of the 8,500-student university in Bridgeport, Connecticut said Mr Brokaw "did not want to distract from the intended and most important focus of the day - our graduating students and their families". "We respect and agree with Mr. Brokaws decision, and I am delighted to announce that the Honorable Linda McMahon, member of the Presidents Cabinet and former SHU trustee, will be our keynote speaker this year," Mr Petillo said in a statement. 'Me Too' movement - thousands of women take to social media The announcement came shortly after Linda Vester, a news anchor for NBC and Fox News, told Variety and the Washington Post that Mr Brokaw had groped her and send her suggestive messages early in her career at NBC. In one instance, she says he invited himself to her hotel room in New York and attempted to kiss her. He grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him, she told Variety. I was shocked to feel the amount of force and his full strength on me. The alleged incident would have occurred during the 22 years Mr Brokaw spent as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Another woman, who was not identified, made similar claims about Mr Brokaw to the Post. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Mr Brokaw denied the allegations in a statement, saying he had met with Ms Vester just twice, at her request, to give her career advice. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Lindas allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other, he said. Mr Brokaw is one of several famed American journalists who have been accused of sexual harassment in recent months. NBCs Matt Lauer was fired from the Today show in November, after several women came forward with allegations against him. PBSs Charlie Rose was fired over similar allegations that same month. Mr Rose has said he behaved insensitively at times, but does not believe all of the womens allegations are accurate. Mr Lauer has admitted he acted inappropriately, but denies any coercive or abusive behaviour. Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, said though she is "really fun" her US counterpart First Lady Melania Trump "cant go outside. Shes much more constrained than I am". The pair first met met last summer in Paris and met again this week during the official state visit in Washington DC. Ms Macron told French newspaper Le Monde the two "have the same sense of humour. We laugh a lot together". But, she said, Ms Trump's life of constant security and scrutiny meant she "cannot do anything...She cant even open a window at the White House...I go out every day in Paris". Ms Trump is often seen as a quiet, perhaps even stern or cold partner to the bombastic Donald Trump, but Ms Macron said the First Lady is quite kind, charming, intelligent and very open. She said Ms Trump perhaps is just more reserved in public because for the media and American public everything is interpreted, over-interpreted. Shes someone who has a strong personality, but works hard to hide it. She laughs very easily, at everything, but shows it less than I do". The former drama teacher has seen her fair share of media and public scrutiny as well in her home country. Ms Macron, at 65, is a quarter century older than her husband and used to be his teacher in school when he fell in love with her. "I have the impression that every word is a word too many, Im constantly holding myself back. Thats the hardest part: theres never really any time off, never a moment when you can be completely calm," she told the newspaper. Melania Trump sits alongside Barack Obama at Baraba Bush's funeral She said she tried to not be a "vase of flowers" next to her husband, but that has been challenging, as it often is for the spouses of world leaders. Ms Trump, for her part, has been photographed often at events with children, more animated and smiling than she generally is when photographed with the president. She has also chosen online bullying as her main focus while Mr Trump is in office, despite her husband's propensity to attack people via his Twitter account. Largely though, the roles of these two women are unwritten and change depending on who fills them. "In my head, I'm Emmanuel Macron's wife, not the president's wife. I don't feel like a first lady even though I'm aware of my responsibilities," Ms Macron said. Donald Trump has revealed the location for a forthcoming summit between himself and Kim Jong-un has been narrowed to just two or three locations. Speaking just hours after the leaders of North and South Korea made history in their own meeting during which Mr Kim became the first North Korean leader to visit south of the demarcation line between the two Koreas, the US leader said he looking forward to his own planned summit. I dont think hes playing, Mr Trump said of Mr Kim, speaking to reporters at the beginning of a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. We will, I think, come up with a solution and if we dont we leave the room with great respect and we just keep it going. Kim Jong-Un official car flanked by twelve-man human motorcade as he crosses Korean border He added: A lot of very positive things happened over the last 24 hours. Well be setting up a meeting very shortly. We have it broken down to probably two sites now, two or three sites, locations. And hopefully were going to have great success. In scenes that could barely have been dreamed of just a few months ago when there were genuine fears about the prospect of fresh military conflict on the Korean peninsula, Mr Kim and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, shook hands and laughed, before holding private talks. Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP They later pledged in a joint statement to seek a formal end to the Korean War by the end of the year and rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons, without specifying how it would be achieved. Mr Trump, who many experts have given a degree of credit in helping persuade North Korea to return to the negotiating table with a combination of tough sanctions and equally tough sabre-rattling, was quick to wrap his arms around developments. When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility, Mr Trump said during an appearance with US athletes who participated in this years Winter Olympics in South Korea. They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible. The Kim-Moon meeting was the culmination of a rapprochement that was inspired by the February games. The Associated Press said Mr Trump gave an unequivocal statement that he would sit down with Mr Kim, a meeting that has been tentatively scheduled for May or early June and which would represent a first during six decades of hostility. Ill be meeting with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks as we seek to denuclearise the North Korean area and the entire Korean Peninsula, Mr Trump said. Hopefully the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons and where all Koreans can live together and can share their dreams. It would be a wonderful thing to do. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Washington to meet with President Donald Trump in the latest attempt by European leaders to try and steer the American away from some of his political instincts that they worry could do grave damage to the world political balance and the institutions and agreements that have shaped todays international landscape. Ms Merkel arrived Friday for what German officials and aides have stressed is a working meeting between the two world leaders, and not intended to be the kind of jovial meetings seen earlier in the week when French President Emmanuel Macron touched down in the American capital. Sitting in the Oval Office Friday, Ms Merkel and Mr Trump appeared much warmer than in previous meetings, when the two have seemed tense with one another. Mr Trump, after congratulating her on her recent electoral victory, said that they have a lot of issues they plan on considering. Recommended Macron says he thinks Trump will withdraw from Iran nuclear deal Well be having discussions on Iran. Well be having discussions on trade, Mr Trump said. Well be having various discussions. Mr Trump, during a press conference later in the day, declined to discuss the potential for military intervention in Iran if a new deal is not decided even as Ms Merkel agreed that the deal was inadequate and described it as a first step towards a better international agreement. "They will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. They're not going to be doing nuclear weapons, you can bank on it," Mr Trump said. The visit comes ahead of a looming May 12 deadline to preserve the Iran nuclear agreement, which Mr Trump has called frequently criticised in the past. He is publicly undecided on whether he will choose to reimpose sanctions on the country, and has called for changes to the deal to make it stronger. That was underscored Friday when Mr Trump's newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Brussels that there had been no decision made in Washington regarding the Iranian deal. It also comes after the president has threatened to imposed trade tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which have not impacted the European Union yet because the trade bloc was able to get a temporary exemption to the policy. Donald Trump 'working visit' to UK confirmed Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Macron has a good personal relationship with Trump and Merkel has a bad relationship with him, but it's not necessarily a problem. In fact, I don't actually think she cares that much about it, Charles Lichfield, an analyst at the consultant company Eurasia Group, told CNBC ahead of the visit. This trip is about damage limitation. We are almost in crisis mode with tariffs being threatened, so her focus has to be on that, he continued. The German chancellors trip to Washington included none of the pomp and circumstance afforded to Mr Macron earlier this week, who was the honored guest for the first state dinner of the Trump presidency. The two did embrace when Ms Merkel arrived Mr Macron, who has a notably warmer relationship with Mr Trump than Ms Merkel, similarly arrived to try and persuade the American president on a range of issues that are priorities for Europe. But, while the two presidents acted amicably in front of reporters during the visit they kissed upon meeting, and Mr Trump made a show of brushing something off of Mr Macrons lapel as they met in the Oval Office it is uncertain how much ground the French president was able to gain. Mr Trump, shortly after Mr Macron left the United States, bragged on Fox & Friends that he thinks he had been able to sway his French counterparts opinion on the Iran deal. Mr Macron offered during his trip that he was open to a new Iran nuclear deal that built upon the deal spearheaded by Mr Trumps predecessor. He is viewing, I believe, Iran a lot differently than he did before he walked into the Oval Office, and I think thats important, Mr Trump said during a phone interview on the show. The president then continued to say that he still thinks the Iran deal is a horrible deal. Donald Trump: Iranians no longer chant 'death to America' Before that, Mr Macron had delivered a sweeping speech to a joint session of Congress in which he largely repudiated Mr Trumps political world view, while at the same time linking his country and the United States in past, present, and future. In that speech, Mr Macron urged the United States to resist the isolationist and nationalist temptations that he said runs counter to the free world values that the US had itself established. This requires more than ever the United States involvement, as your role was decisive for creating and guarding todays free world. The United States is the one who invented this multilateralism. You are the one now who has to help preserve and reinvent it, Mr Macron said. Mr Macron also touched upon trade urging, as Ms Merkel did, for open trade between the United States and Europe framed the Iran deal as one of national security that France will not step away from, and said that he hopes the US will one day reenter the Paris climate change agreement. We signed it at the initiative of the United States, Mr Macron said of the climate accord. We signed it, but the United States and France that is why we cannot say that we should get rid of it like that. I am sure one day, the US will come back and join the Paris Agreement, Mr Macron said. Let us face it: There is no planet B. US President Donald Trump has taken some credit for the peace agreement between North Korea and South Korea, but experts have said he deserves little of it. In a historic and opulent ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) to sign the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula during the Inter-Korean Summit and officially ended the war that began when the north and south split in a battle over communism and democracy that began on 25 June 1950. After the summit on Friday morning, the US president immediately tweeted: KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! implying that he played an important part in it. Recommended The Iran crisis presents a bigger danger to peace than North Korea When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility, Mr Trump said meeting with US Winter Olympics athletes who participated in this years games in South Korea. They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible. Dr TJ Pempel, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley told The Independent while Mr Trump deserves some credit but not as much as hes taking. While the United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang involved the US push from Ambassador Nikki Haley, that is hardly the whole story, Mr Pempel said. Chinas agreement to the sanctions was far more important, he noted. The important point to note, he said, was that North Korea developed its nuclear programme considerably after Mr Trump took office. The North is convinced that it has the upper hand in negotiations because of its nuclear and missile testing successes; the US thinks it has the upper hand because it believes Kim is negotiating because of the sanctions. Its the combination that has triggered the Norths willingness to sit down. In a sign that perhaps Mr Trump recognises he was not the catalyst for the agreement, he also tweeted on Friday: Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi [Jinping] of China...particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process! Donald Trump says he 'believes' North Korea leader Kim Jong Un about peace talks Mr Pempel said Pyongyang will not fully denuclearise given the trajectory of other world leaders after they gave up nuclear weapons and development programmes. They are looking towards Iraq and Libya, whose leaders Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were both killed as a result of western military intervention. Several experts have noted that North Korea also sees Iran as a key example of how Pyongyang could be treated as well. Mr trump has repeatedly said he is considering ditching the Iran nuclear deal formally known as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It was a key foreign policy achievement of former President Barack Obama. Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both met with Mr Trump to urge him not to leave the historic agreement which involves France, Germany, the UK, Russia, China, and the US. Though the Trump administration agreed Irans nuclear programme is a major threat, the president announced in October 2017 he would not re-certify a nuclear deal signed by Iran and six world powers. Despite the evidence provided by the United Nations on Tehrans compliance with the deal, Mr Trump said it was too lenient on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has backed Mr Macrons stance on the deal. North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Show all 21 1 /21 North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Pukguksong-2 missile - 2 May 2017 A solid-fuel "Pukguksong-2" missile lifts off during its launch test in North Korea on May 22, 2017. They said that it was examining operational plans for attacking Guam, an angry reaction to UN punishment for previous North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile tests and a US suggestion about preparations for possible preventive attacks to stop the North's nuclear weapons program. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-12 -16 September 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. Kim vowed to complete North Korea's nuclear force despite sanctions, saying the final goal of his country's weapons development is "equilibrium of real force" with the United States, state media reported on September 16, 2017. AFP/Getty Images North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Donald Trump address South Korean assembly - 7 November 2017 President Donald Trump talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-In during their joint press conference at the presidential Blue House on November 7, 2017 in Seoul.Trump was the first US President to address the South Korean National Assembly since President Clinton in 1993. He addressed Kim Jong Un warning him to not underestimate the US and that for talks to materialize then Pyongyang would need to take steps into denuclearization. Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Demilitarized Zone Haean-Myeon, is a small military town near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and border between North and South Korea, in Gangwon province. The zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula and was created after the 'Korean Armistice Agreement'. Any negotiations between the two countries tend to take place in this zone. AFP/Getty Images North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Declared state sponsor of terrorism by Trump - 20 November 2017 President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a cabinet meeting at the White House on November 20, 2017, where he officially designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. North Korea had previously been on the list, however was removed in 2008. Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 The North Korean government launches it's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea on November 29, 2017. It is supposedly capable of reaching all parts of the US. Korean Central News Agency via AP North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un celebrating the launch of the Hwasong-15 missile on November 29, 2017. AFP/Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Kim Jong-Un New Year's speech - 1 January 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivering his New Year's speech. He vowed North Korea would mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message on January 1 suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions. Korean Central News Agency via AFP/Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Intercontinental ballistic missile ice sculpture - 1 January 2018 Fireworks are seen above the Taedong River during New Year celebrations as visitors pose for a photo in front of an ice sculpture of an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Pyongyang Ice Sculpture Festival in Kim Il Sung Square in North Korea on 1 January, 2018. REUTERS North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures US-South Korean military drills postponed - 4 January 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with US President Donald Trump on January 4, 2018 in Seoul. South Korea and US agreed to delay the annual "Foal Eagle" military drills until after the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in an effort to "de-conflict" the Games and "focus on ensuring the security" of the event. South Korean Presidential Blue House via Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Vehicles transporting the South Korean delegation, led by South Korean Unification Ministrer Cho Myoung-Gyon, drive past a checkpoint on the road connecting South and North Korea at the Unification Bridge, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating them both on January 9, 2018 in Paju. They began their first official face-to-face talks in two years. Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Members of the South Korea delegation (R) shake hands with members of the North Korean delegation (L) during their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas on January 9, 2018. They focused on the forthcoming Winter Olympics after months of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. AFP/Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula - 16 January 2018 Foreign Ministers from twenty countries from North and South America, Asia, and Europe pose for a photo at the Vancouver Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, in Vancouver on January 16, 2018. The US urged an escalation in pressure on North Korea over its nuclear missile program, despite a more cautious tone from key US ally South Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, co-hosted the event with Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, and called for North Korean ships to be intercepted and for new punitive measures to be implemented every time Pyongyang tests new weapons. AFP/Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea and South Korea to march together at Winter Olympics - 20 January 2018 PyeongChang 2018 Olympics President Lee Hee-beom, North Korea's Sports Minister and Olympic Committee president Kim Il Guk, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan and South Korea's National Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung join their hands as they pose during a signing ceremony at the Olympic Museum on January 20, 2018 in Lausanne. North Korea will send 22 athletes to the Winter Games in the South. The two nations will also march together at the opening ceremony. AFP/Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea activists protest delegation arrival - 22 January 2018 Anti-North Korea activists burn a portrait of leader Kim Jong-Un during a rally Seoul Station as a North Korean delegation arrived to check out performance venues for the Winter Olympics on January 22, 2018. Protesters led by the Korean Patriots Party gathered and complained that the talks to encourage North Korea's participation is stealing the spotlight from their country to the benefit of the regime. Donga Daily via Getty North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Panmunjom - 7 February 2018 South Korean soldiers stand guard at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea on February 7, 2018. In a sign of thawing bilateral ties, North Korea today announced that Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Getty Images North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North Korean ferry arrives in South Korea - 6 February 2018 North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approaches a port in Donghae, South Korea, February 6, 2018. REUTERS North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea protest - 6 February 2018 A member of a conservative civic group tears a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea protest as the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approached. REUTERS North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea at the athletes village - 8 February 2018 A North Korean flag is seen hanging on a building at the Winter Olympics athletes village in Gangneung, South Korea. REUTERS North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Olympic Welcome ceremony - 8 February 2018 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Vice Sports Minister Won Gil-woo receives a gift from mayor of the Olympic Village Kim Ki-hoon during the welcome ceremony ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Games at the Olympic Village on 8 February, 2018 in South Korea. Getty Images North Korea South Korea relations: in pictures Mike Pence meets Moon Jae-in - 8 February 2018 US Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea on 8 February, 2018. REUTERS The administration continues to say the country has violated portions of it. Not re-certifying the deal or abandoning it will open the door for harsher economic sanctions to be placed on the country, the mitigation of which was a key inducement for Iran to comply with the historic deal. What concerns many Washington insiders is that Mr Trumps newest hire as National Security Adviser John Bolton is quite hawkish on pulling out of the deal as is his newly-appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has called the agreement disastrous. Why should Kim think North Korea without nukes would be treated differently?, Mr Pempel asked, adding that the the US is a definite player in this drama and any deal brokered without a US sign-off will not work, but it remains to be seen if Mr Trumps personal presence will detract or foster better relations and an actual agreement of some kind. Alison Evans, Deputy Head of Asia Pacific Country Risk, at the research firm IHS Markit said her assessment is that Trump should receive minimal, if any, credit. Ms Evans said that the presidents high-pressure tactics only confirmed to North Korea that they were on the right course...developing {and now maintaining) nuclear weapons for their safety. However, she said that the meeting between Mr Moon and Mr Kim was a positive indicator that the planned meeting between the North Korean leader and Mr Trump next month is more than likely to go ahead. She said that like the Kim-Moon joint statement calling for denuclearisation of peninsula, it is probable that North Korea will agree to some language referring to nuclear weapons in a statement after the Kim-Moon or planned Kim-Trump summit but that they may want it to apply to the whole peninsula, not just Pyongyang. Speaker Paul Ryan has been accused of ousting the Catholic chaplain of the House of Representatives allegedly after taking offence to a prayer he delivered that urged politicians to ensure the Republican tax bill did not create winners and losers. Reports said Rev Patrick Conroy resigned two weeks ago, apparently after being personally confronted by Mr Ryan and told to keep out of politics. The pastor said he responded by saying he did not believe he was being political and intended to continue his work. He subsequently resigned, writing in a letter to Mr Ryan that was released to the media: As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives. The ousting of the 67-year-old Mr Conroy, who has served in the post since 2011, has triggered an outcry on Capitol Hill among politicians of various faiths and both parties. Democratic congressman Gerry Connolly and others have written to Mr Ryan, asking that he explain the circumstances of Mr Conroys resignation. Mr Connolly, who represents Virginias 11th congressional district, told The Independent that as of Friday morning, the letter had 73 signatures. There is a view that Mr Ryan did not want a chaplain who talked about social justice, and he found a way to rid him of this troublesome priest, he said. He added that Mr Conroy had offered his services to members of various Christian denominations, as well as members of different faiths. Its very disturbing. Mr Conroy had a very intimate relationship with the members. He blessed their babies, consoled them after a death and counselled them during difficult times, he said. Its censoring a persons view of Christian teaching. Recommended Paul Ryan will not seek reelection in 2018 Reports suggest Mr Ryan, a fiscal hardliner, is a conservative Catholic and did not agree with the more liberal perspective of Mr Conroy, a Jesuit. He is said to have been particularly irked by a prayer Mr Conroy delivered to the House on 6 November last year, as congress was considering the Republican tax bill, the biggest tax overhaul in three decades and which independent analysts said would most help corporations and wealthy individuals. In his prayer, Mr Conroy said: As legislation on taxes continues to be debated this week and next, may all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle. He added: May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans. Loading.... Mr Conroys office said the chaplain, who will continue to serve until 24 May, had no comment. However, he told The New York Times that a week after his 6 November prayer, a member of staff from Mr Ryans office came to visit him. A staffer came down and said, We are upset with this prayer; you are getting too political, he said. It suggests to me that there are members who have talked to him about being upset with that prayer. He said that soon after that, Mr Ryan, who has also announced his own retirement as Speaker, spoke with Mr Conroy himself and said he had to stay out of politics. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty That is what I have tried to do for seven years. It doesnt sound political to me, Mr Conroy said he told Mr Ryan. If you are hospital chaplain, you are going to pray about health. If you are a chaplain of congress, you are going to pray about what congress is doing. The move has angered both Democrats and Republicans. Democratic congressman Joe Crowley of New York told NBC the development was just outrageous. As someone who is a personal friend of Father Pats, as a lot of Democrats and Republicans are, I find it outrageous that he would be fired, he said. He would be the first chaplain of the House of Representatives in the history of the United States [who was ousted]. Paul Ryan announces he will not seek re-election in 2018 midterms Republican congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina said he also disagreed with Mr Ryans actions. It is just a sad commentary on America in the House that is supposed to be the House of the people if we want to protect freedom of speech, a prayer here, then where are we going to protect it, he said. Mr Ryans spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement: The speaker made the decision he believes to be in the best interest of the House, and he remains grateful for Father Conroys many years of service. She said the speaker consulted with the minority leader, congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. But Ms Pelosis office disputed that version of events. A spokesperson told The Hill that, while the Democrat had been given advance notice, she also made it clear to Speaker Ryan that she disagreed with this decision. On Friday morning, Mr Ryan reportedly told fellow Republicans that he fired Mr Conroy because members felt like their pastoral needs were not being met and not for a political reason. One congressman who attended said Mr Ryan said the decision was not based on politics but because it was time for a change. Donald Trump has told James Comey to "remember sailor". The bizarre message which appears to be something of a threat came at the end of a long attack on the ex-FBI director. "Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey cant define what a leak is," Mr Trump posted, in reference to an ongoing argument about Mr Comey's disclosures. "He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesnt understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. Hes either very sick or very dumb. Remember sailor!" Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst The two words at the end prompted widespread confusion and mockery, as people scrambled to understand what he meant. Some suggested it was a strange warping of the expression "hello sailor", or that it was a reference to Japanese series Sailor Moon, which is what came up when searching the phrase on Google. In fact, the phrase appears to be a veiled threat to prosecute Mr Comey over what the president considers the leaking of classified information. Recommended Trump warns countries over voting against US 2026 World Cup bid The phrase seems to be a reference to Kristian Saucier, a Navy submariner who was pardoned by Donald Trump last month. He had been convicted of illegally taking pictures from inside a navy vessel in 2009. The Saucier case became a key cause for some in the Republican establishment, who said that he had been treated far more harshly than Hillary Clinton. Comparisons between the two were rife, and came up during the election campaign at the vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine. The president appears now to be using that example not only to attack Hillary Clinton but also James Comey. Mr Trump sent a tweet using the same words in January this year, explicitly referencing Saucier. That appears to confirm that the strange message is a reference to the Saucier case. "Crooked Hillary Clintons top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents," Trump tweeted in January. "Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail!" Mr Trump appears to use the sailor case as an example of when distributing classified information can be a crime. It may be that he is suggesting that Mr Comey could be pursued under the same principle though it is not clear why the president would bring that case back up when Saucier was pardoned. It is not the first time that Mr Trump has issued a cryptic threat to James Comey through his Twitter. "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" he posted in May 2017, after the FBI director had been fired. That was taken by many to be a suggestion that there could be such tapes, and that they might be made public depending on what Mr Comey said to the media. The Russian lawyer who attended at a controversial meeting with Trump campaign members has reportedly called herself an informant who is in communication with Russia's chief prosecutor. Attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya was one of eight people present at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, which was organised after an intermediary promised to give Donald Trump Jr incriminating information about his fathers election rival, Hillary Clinton. Ms Veselnitskaya has previously claimed that she was acting independently during the meeting with Trump campaign officials. But her recent comments suggest she may have been more involved with the Russian government than she let on. I am a lawyer, and I am an informant, she told NBC News in an interview set to air Friday night, according to the New York Times. She added: Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general. The comments square with earlier New York Times reporting, which suggested Ms Veselnitskaya had spoken with Russias prosecutor general about the memos she intended to deliver to the Trump team. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images The Times also reviewed emails which appear to show Ms Veselnitskaya working closely with the prosecutor general, Yuri Chaika, on a 2014 case involving the US Department of Justice. According to emails obtained by former Russian tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, and seen by the Times, Ms Veselnitskaya helped Mr Chaika respond to the USs request for help in a civil fraud case. The Russian government provided little help in the case, according to an American judge, and the Justice Department eventually agreed to settle. The emails, and Ms Veselnitskayas recent comments, contrast with her statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, in which she claimed to operate "independently of any governmental bodies. I have no relationship with Mr Chaika, his representatives and his institutions other than those related to my professional functions as a lawyer, she told the committee in November. Russian lawyer says Trump Jr 'badly' wanted dirt on Clintons The Trump Tower meeting drew scrutiny last year, after the Times reported that Ms Veselnitskaya had attended the meeting with Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, as well as Mr Trump Jr and the presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr Trump Jr claimed the meeting which friend and former business partner Rob Goldstone helped arrange was nothing and "a wasted 20 minutes. He later released emails revealing that Mr Goldstone had offered him official documents and information" that would incriminate Ms Clinton, from someone he referred to as the Crown prosecutor of Russia. Russia does not have a crown prosecutor. The closest role is Mr Chaikas the prosecutor general. Mr Trump Jr and his father have both repeatedly denied colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election. US Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt was on the hot seat today as he testified on Capitol Hill and was told he was unfit to hold public office and undeserving of the public trust. "There are so many outstanding questions that we need truthful answers to today because so far, we've only gotten half-truths, misleading answers, or outright falsehoods," Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone bluntly said to Mr Pruitt. House members of the Energy and Commerce first, then the House Appropriations Committee, grilled Mr Pruitt on recent controversial spending of taxpayer money on his large security detail, a soundproof booth in his office, first-class flights, approving raises for staffers, and renting a place to live from an oil and gas lobbyist. Democrats were not the only ones to hold the former Oklahoma Attorney General accountable for his headline-making actions of late. Republican Congressman Greg Walden said: "These issues are too persistent to ignore, and I know many members are looking for more clarity from you today, adding that the administrations policies are being undercut by the controversies. President Donald Trump's administration officials have also become increasingly frustrated by news reports. "Facts are facts and fiction is fiction," the embattled agency chief told the panel. "And a lie doesn't become true just because it appears in the front page of the newspaper, in an attempt to defend himself. "Much of what has been targeted at me and my team has been half-truths or, at best, stories that have been so twisted that they do not resemble reality," he noted, echoing Mr Trumps favoured fake news line. He said those attack[ing] him are just out to derail the presidents agenda of deregulating the manufacturing, oil, and gas industries while ignoring the goals outlined in the global Paris Agreement on climate change. EPA Chief Scott Pruitt suggests global warming could be good for humans Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko said Mr Pruitt had a propensity for grift, mentioning that the lobbyist Mr Pruitt rents the condo from in Washington has had business before the EPA during his tenure. Mr Tonko also pushed Mr Pruitt to answer questions on giving raises to two EPA staffers who had also worked for him while in Oklahoma. The administrator refused to answer with a simple yes or no when asked if he had approved the raises but said he was unaware of the amount. As CNN reported, that is a contradiction to what he told Fox News earlier this month when he said he didn't know about the pay raises at all until they were revealed in public reports the day before the interview. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan To curtail the line of tough questioning and insults, Republican Congressman David McKinley argued the interrogation was a "classic display of innuendo and McCarthyism". He lamented that some just can't resist the limelight, the opportunity to grandstand. The EPA has defended the administrator's spending on travel and security, saying it has been crucial to protecting him from public threats and ensuring he can conduct confidential work, and have also pointed out that Mr Pruitt's lease for the room in Washington was around market rate. Mr Pruitt has drawn praise from conservatives during his EPA tenure for rolling back former President Barack Obama's policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which account for almost 40 per cent of the countrys emissions. Called the Clean Power Plan, the legislation would have reduced power plants carbon emissions by 2030 to a level 32 per cent lower than they were in 2005 if it had been left in place. Although Mr Trump has expressed support for his appointee for his work on scaling back environmental regulations, White House sources have told Reuters officials are worried about the flow of charges against him. There are nearly a dozen pending investigations into Mr Pruitt with the EPA inspector general, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the White House Office of Management and Budget, as well as the US House of Representatives oversight committee. Agencies contributed to this report. A judge has agreed to delay proceedings in Stormy Daniels lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, saying it was likely that the latter would soon be indicted in a criminal investigation. Ms Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, has sued Mr Trump and Mr Cohen in an attempt to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement she signed shortly before the election. She says the agreement was meant to silence her claims of an affair with the president. US District Court Judge James Otero said on Friday that he would put the case on hold for 90 days, in light of an FBI raid of Mr Cohens office and apartment earlier this month. The FBI, tipped off by special counsel Robert Mueller, was said to be looking for evidence of payments to Ms Daniels and other women. Recommended Michael Cohen to invoke Fifth Amendment in Stormy Daniels case Mr Cohen said on Wednesday that he intended to plead the fifth in the civil proceedings, due to the ongoing criminal investigation. He also requested a three-month stay in the case. Given the context and significance of the criminal proceedings, the Court agrees with Defendants that a temporary stay is warranted, Mr Otero responded in a court filing on Friday. He added that, as the alleged mastermind of the agreement, Mr Cohens testimony would be indispensable to the disposition of this action. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Ms Daniels lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said on Twitter that he planned to appeal the ruling. While we certainly respect Judge Oteros 90 day stay order based on Mr Cohens pleading of the 5th, we do not agree with it, he wrote. We will likely be filing an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit early next week. Justice delayed is justice denied. The ruling is the latest twist in a legal saga that has transfixed the country, pitting Ms Daniels and her media-savvy lawyer against Mr Trump and his legal fixer of more than a decade. Donald Trump says Michael Cohen was representing him on 'crazy Stormy Daniels deal' Ms Daniels claims she engaged in an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, just months after the birth of his son Barron. She says a stranger later threatened her to stay quiet about the affair, and Mr Cohen ultimately paid her $130,000 in hush money. Mr Cohen has acknowledged making the payment, but contested the hush money characterisation. Mr Trump, who has previously denied any knowledge of the payment, said earlier this week that Mr Cohen had represented him in the matter. "He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me, the president said in a phone interview on Fox and Friends. And from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong." Mr Trump has denied having an affair with Ms Daniels. The US Congress House intelligence committee has found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump and Russian officials in its final investigative report about whether Moscow interfered with the 2016 US election. The approximately 250-page report is the culmination of the committees year-long investigation. However, the results are likely to be contested by Democrats on the committee who felt Republicans ended the investigation too early in order to help Mr Trump and the party ahead of the November 2018 mid-term elections. Ranking Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff had the same objections to the committees release last month of the preliminary findings and today said the conclusions are superficial and [of a] political nature. Though the full report has blacked out portions deemed classified by the US intelligence community, the summary stated that the committee agreed with the intelligence communitys findings except for one crucial point: Russian President Vladimir Putins supposed preference for candidate [Mr] Trump. Republican Congressman Mike Conaway said in a statement that the reports release will give citizens the opportunity to access the information used to draw the conclusions found in last months findings and recommendations. However, he said he was extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions made by the intelligence community. When we started this investigation, we set out to give the American people the answers to the questions theyve been asking and we promised to be as transparent as possible in our final report. I dont believe the information were releasing today meets that standard, he said. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell claimed in a statement that though the report concluded that there was no collusion, "Republicans never allowed the investigation to look for collusion". He said they "ran a take them at their word investigation that showed no willingness to test witness testimony against their cell phone, bank, and travel records," adding that members have not followed through on their promise to release the transcripts so the public could "judge for itself". Mr Trump immediately seized on the conclusions in the report summary and tweeted the campaign of opponent Hillary Clinton paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!. The report also called for the end of the Logan Act, which stipulates that private citizens are not allowed to negotiate on behalf of the US unless authorised to do so. If repealed this could clear some Trump campaign members of possible violations of the act. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials while he was only a member of the Trump transition team, not a government employee as yet. Former campaign aide George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to the same type of offence. Donad Trump says he has congratulated Vladimir Putin for Russia election victory The report indicated that since the Logan Act was passed in 1799, no one has been convicted of violating it. Despite Mr Schiff's comment that the results in the report are "political," there was at least one conclusion that appeared to criticise equally. The report stated that both campaigns used "poor judgement" at times, particularly former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort - who was indicted as part of the probe, the president's son Donald Trump Jr, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The reported cited the trio's Trump Tower meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who falsely purported to have damaging information on the Clinton campaign, demonstrated poor judgement". The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images The Committee also found that the Clinton campaign and the DNC, using a series of cutouts and intermediaries to obscure their roles, paid for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources, including a litany of claims by high-ranking current and former Russian government officials, the report said. Some of that information was used to compile the now-infamous dossier written by former UK intelligence officer Christopher Steele, which detailed alleged acts by Mr Trump on trip to Moscow in 2013 that involved prostitutes. House intelligence committee Democrats, the Senate intelligence committee, and the US Department of Justice - through the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller - are all continuing to investigate the matter of alleged collusion. Mr Schiff said "to do otherwise would ignore our responsibility to conduct meaningful oversight and insure that the Russians do not possess leverage over the President of the United States". At least seven students have been killed and another 12 injured in a mass stabbing attack in Chinas Shaanxi province. A knifeman attacked the group of 19 students near a school in Mizhi County as they were on their way home. One suspect has been arrested, state news agency Xinhua reported. Reports in Chinese media said the attack had taken place near a middle school. It is believed to have taken place at about 6pm local time. The state-run China Daily website reported that the victims were nine girls and three boys. The alleged attacker was a 28-year-old former student of No 3 Middle School, surnamed Zhao, who had been bullied there, it reported. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty China has suffered a number of high-profile mass stabbings in recent years. In 2014 five people were stabbed to death in Hunan province before the attacker was shot dead by police, and seven people died when two knife-wielding men attacked a crowd in Xinjiang in 2011. Two years ago, 10 children were stabbed outside a school in Haikou, on the southern island province of Hainan. In February a woman was killed and 12 people hurt when a man carried out a knife attack at a busy shopping centre in Beijing. The historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in at the border between their countries was peppered with jokes and at least one apparently unscripted moment. Mr Kim joked during the summit that he would no longer interrupt his counterparts sleep with early morning missile tests as the two leaders held talks on denuclearisation and other issues in Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone. The North Koreans pre-planned crossing into the south was historic the first by a regime leader in more than half a century but it was Mr Moons unplanned step over the border that took observers by surprise. As the pair shook hands on the southern side, Mr Moon asked Mr Kim: You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across? Footage of the meeting showed his hesitant reaction as the North Korean leader replied: Why dont we go across now? Hand-in-hand they stepped briefly into North Korea before continuing southward shortly after 9.30am local time. The border crossings made the summit a landmark event, said Colin Alexander, a political communications expert from Nottingham Trent University. Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP He added: North Korean propaganda claims that the South is a puppet under the control of the US. Thus, North Korean military personnel refer to the other side of the border as the American side. We should not underestimate the significance of a North Korean leader being prepared to step over the line into American territory. During their private meeting on Friday, Mr Kim told Mr Moon he had come to the summit to end the history of conflict between the countries, a South Korean official said. He added he would be willing to visit the presidential Blue House in Seoul, invited Mr Moon to Pyongyang, and said he wanted to meet more often in future, the official added. North Korea 'suspends' missile and nuclear tests But there is widespread scepticism about whether Mr Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades, as what it calls a deterrent against US invasion. Two previous summits between the leaders of North and South Korea, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to end the Norths weapons programmes or improve relations in a permanent way. Today, rather than create results we wont be able to carry out like in the past, we should make good results by talking frankly about current issues, issues of interest, Mr Kim said. On Friday afternoon, the leaders issued a joint declaration to say that North and South Korea would begin talks with a view to signing a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War later this year, 65 years after hostilities ended. Their encounter came just weeks before Mr Kim is expected to meet with Donald Trump, when the US president plans to make a further push for denuclearisation. Experts have warned the two sides may have differing ideas about what that means, however. And Mr Kims declaration that he would end nuclear weapons testing was followed by claims the Norths main test site at Punggye-ri under Mount Mantap had collapsed. Chinese scientists studied a series of earthquakes after Pyongyangs latest and most powerful experiment, which they believed were caused by collapsing earth. North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border Show all 20 1 /20 North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border People have their picture taken with North Korea in the background, in Tumen, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A North Korean woman is photographed from the Chinese side of the Yalu River near the town of Changbai, China as she walks between houses in the North Korean town of Hyesan. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Korean souvenirs are displayed for sale on the banks of the Yalu River in Dandong in Liaoning province, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. Reuters North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A large screen, which faces North Korea, broadcasts propaganda videos on an island on the Yalu River between North Korea and China, in the town of Linjiang in Jilin province, China. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A piece of clothing is used to make a gap in barbed wire near the closed bridge over the Yalu River on the Chinese side of the border with North Korea between towns of Ji'an and Linjiang, China. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea showed places where it is porous. Reuters North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A tourist uses binoculars to look across to North Korea from a tower built on the Chinese side of the border between Russia (L), China (C) and North Korea (R) near the town of Hunchun in China. Reuters North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Koreans are photographed from the Chinese side of the border as they stand next to the freezing Yalu River near the town of Linjiang, China. On a road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea, reporters found a group of North Koreans diving in the Yalu river who the Chinese locals said were searching for gold. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border Women participate in a group dance exercise close to the Yalu River which runs between China and North Korea, in the town of Linjiang in Jilin province, China. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A sign reading, "Take the initiative to preserve order along the border," stands in a field at the border between China and North Korea just outside Dandong, Liaoning province, China. Reuters North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A couple prepare for a wedding photography session on a boat which takes tourists on sightseeing tours from the Chinese side of the Yalu River, close to the shores of North Korea, near Dandong, Liaoning province, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border Tourists travel on a boat taking them from the Chinese side of the Yalu River for sightseeing close to the shores of North Korea, near Dandong, Liaoning province, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Koreans are photographed from the Chinese side of the border as they stand next to the freezing Yalu River near the town of Linjiang, China. On a road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea, reporters found a group of North Koreans diving in the Yalu river who the Chinese locals said were searching for gold. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border Women walk across a bridge from an island on the Yalu River, dividing North Korea and China, in the town of Linjiang in Jilin province, China. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A North Korean soldier and locals are photographed from the Chinese side of the border north of Dandong, China as they stand on the banks of the Yalu River, north of Sinuiju, North Korea. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Korean girls are photographed from the Chinese side of the border as they collect water from the frozen Yalu River near Linjiang, China. A week-long road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea revealed stark contrasts between China's bright towns and North Korea's dark villages. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border A man looks through binoculars towards North Korea on the Broken Bridge over the Yalu River that connects the North Korean town of Sinuiju and Dandong in Liaoning Province, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Koreans are photographed from the Chinese side of the border as they stand next to the freezing Yalu River near the town of Linjiang, China. On a road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea, reporters found a group of North Koreans diving in the Yalu river who the Chinese locals said were searching for gold. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Korean fishermen are seen as a Chinese flag flutters from the Broken Bridge as the sun sets over the Yalu River between the North Korean town of Sinuiju and Dandong in Liaoning Province, China. In the Chinese city of Dandong, signs of neighbouring North Korea are pervasive. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border North Koreans are photographed from the Chinese side of the border as they stand in the freezing Yalu River near the town of Linjiang, China. On a road trip along China's side of its border with North Korea, reporters found a group of North Koreans diving in the Yalu river who the Chinese locals said were searching for gold. REUTERS North Korea: A road trip on the edge of the Chinese border Women, photographed from the Chinese side of the border, are seen through binoculars fixed on a building on the Chinese side of the border for sightseers to look across to North Korea, as they cross the bridge from Namyang in North Korea towards the town of Tumen in China, Reuters The White House said in a statement on Friday it was hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean peninsula ... [and] looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between president Donald J Trump and Kim Jong-un in the coming weeks. And UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking at Nato headquarters, told reporters he was very encouraged by the summit, but added: I dont think that anybody looking at the history of North Koreas plans to develop a nuclear weapon would want to be over-optimistic at this point. But it is clearly good news that the two leaders are meeting. China, North Koreas sole major ally, also welcomed the meeting. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was a chance to expand into a new journey of long-term peace and stability on the peninsula. Additional reporting by agencies All day millions of Koreans hovered in front of television screens, mesmerised by the drama being enacted before them. Some of them cheered as Kim Jong-un crossed the North-South line in the truce village of Panmunjom. A few were seen weeping. And others, of course, denounced the show as false a game on the part of the North Korean leader to trick his host, President Moon Jae-in. For now, however, the cheers far outnumbered the jeers as Koreans everywhere absorbed what was by any standard a highly choreographed performance in which nothing was left to chance and nothing could go wrong. This is unbelievable, said Kim Ji-su, a teacher, watching breathlessly as Mr Moon escorted Mr Kim past rows of soldiers garbed in ancient Korean dynasty costume and standing at attention on either side of the red carpet leading to Peace House, where the two would be holding a summit that everyone seemed to agree was historic. I never thought I would see this in my life time, Ms Kim gushed over the performance being enacted before her on all Korean television channels. I cant help crying. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) shake hands (Getty) More calmly, while applauding the summit, others saw it as the beginning of what might well be a difficult, protracted process. We have a long way to go, said office worker Park Han-jin. We can only hope. Its a start. Indeed, Mr Park anticipated an economic boom. Commercial ties between Seoul and Pyongyang might now even flourish, he predicted, once rail and road traffic finally began to flow between the two Koreas. Someday, he said, we will be able to go to Europe by train long a dream of South Korean tycoons seeing freight traffic moving up the Korean peninsula through China and Russia. However the two leaders were vague when it came to the details of denuclearisation a problem for those who saw Mr Moon essentially falling for Mr Kims charm offensive. They didnt get any agreement on anything, said Maeng Ju-seok, a businessman. North Korea promises denuclearisation, but theres nothing. The government gave up a lot for nothing in return. Jang Ki-tak, a retiree, watching the goings-on at a gathering with friends, was still stronger in his criticism. Hes a liar, he said, sneering as Mr Kims image appeared on television. We cannot trust communists. As for Mr Moon, he said, hes also a communist. Such comments, though, reflected a minority view. Eventually denuclearisation will happen, said Han Dang-geun, working in a convenience store. It takes time. We have different ideas, but I believe peace will come to the Korean peninsula. Lee Sung-bin, 17, saw one great benefit of North-South reconciliation. I hope peace comes soon, he said. Then I wont have to join the army." A 21-year-old Hindu college student was having a quiet breakfast with her mother when her phone pinged with a terrifying message. Her name was on a hit list. She and her Muslim boyfriend had been targeted publicly on Facebook along with about 100 interfaith couples each of them Muslim men and their Hindu girlfriends. She immediately called her boyfriend to warn him. The Facebook post included instructions: This is a list of girls who have become victims of love jihad. We urge all Hindu lions to find and hunt down all the men mentioned here. At least two followers heeded the call. The phrase love jihad is meant to inflame dark fears that Muslim men who woo Hindu women might be trying to convert them to Islam a prejudice that the Hindu right has tried to stoke for nearly a decade. But use of the term has spread on social media with the rise of the Hindu nationalist party of prime minister Narendra Modi, at a time when religious hatred is growing on Facebook in India, its largest market. Facebook is facing rampant criticism that hate speech spread on the platform has fuelled ethnic and religious violence in Asia, in places such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka. During his appearances before Congress between 10 and 11 April, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company was working on a way to remove hate speech within 24 hours of its appearance and adding dozens of new Burmese language content monitors. Its clear now we didnt do enough to prevent the platform from being used for harm, Mr Zuckerberg said in his statement. But the company has said little about its prevention efforts in India, its largest market of more than 240 million users. The list of Hindu-Muslim couples was posted by Satish Mylavarapu, a mild-looking sales and marketing manager in Bangalore who propagates militant Hinduism to thousands of followers in Facebook groups and elsewhere. Its a matter of Muslims taking over our blood and taking over our wombs the wombs that would give Hindu children, he said. Highly motivated Hindu extremist volunteers across India assembled the list by meticulously plotting the locations of mosques and girls schools and colleges around the country and combing young womens profiles for photos or posts that would link them with Muslim men. You cannot defend such a sick love, Mr Mylavarapu said. This too is a kind of terrorism. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The young couples romance began in the online space that would be its unravelling. They met in 2016 through a student Facebook group for the Communist Party, which is active in some parts of India. He was immediately enchanted by her blue eyes contact lenses and her earrings: silver circles with a likeness of Che Guevara that she made herself. Their relationship soon blossomed in real life and they met in Kolkatas tea stalls or along its lovers riverbank promenade, Prinsep Ghat, holding hands and even kissing. We dont believe in religion. We believe in humanity, says Ramiz, a 26-year-old English honours student, sitting in a coffee shop with his girlfriend at his side. So there is no question of conversion. Because of the threat, Ramiz asked to be identified by only his first name and his girlfriend by her family nickname, Lisa. Yet tension was unavoidable in a deeply traditional society riven by caste and religion. His parents, a clerk and a social worker, grudgingly accepted their relationship, although they made it clear they prefer a Muslim daughter-in-law; Lisas mother lent her support only if Ramiz gets a good job. Meanwhile, conservative Hindu groups supporting Mr Modis powerful Bharatiya Janata Party began pushing into areas in Indias east and south, traditionally dominated by other languages and regional parties, including the couples home state of West Bengal. In recent days, West Bengal has been roiled by riots between Hindus and Muslims that followed sword-waving devotees marching in honour of Lord Ram a Hindu deity who is not normally worshipped in the region. At least four people died. The couple, upset over the perceived threat that the Facebook hit list posed to Indias secular ideals, filed a complaint with the Kolkata polices cyber division in February, saying they had been subjected to death threats. This has never happened in West Bengal, Ramiz says. Bengal is very beautiful our society, our culture. This is the place of poets. We dont believe in this kind of thing. Facebook took down Mr Mylavarapus threat page a few days after his 28 January post caused an uproar on social media, but took longer to track and remove hundreds of duplicate versions posted by others. Civil society groups have charged that Facebook has not acted quickly enough in such instances to curb the hate speech that inflamed tensions throughout Asia, including Muslim-Buddhist riots in Sri Lanka and Myanmars exodus of more than 850,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh. Facebook was dubbed the beast in that crisis by a United Nations monitor. In India, a March study by the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank based in New Delhi, showed that religion is increasingly used as a basis of hate speech on Facebook, a jump of 19 to 30 per cent between 2016 and 2017. Recommended Hindu men accused of rape and killing Muslim girl deny charges I dont think Facebook has a clue how to monitor hate speech, says Maya Mirchandani, a senior fellow who co-wrote the study. She says that more proactive text monitoring systems are not in place, including among its rapidly growing non-English speaking audiences. Maintaining a safe community for people to connect and share on Facebook is absolutely critical to us, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. We have policies that prohibit hate speech and credible threats of harm, and we will remove this content when were made aware of it. About two weeks after they filed the police report, Ramiz says, he was coming home in the evening when two men grabbed him, roughed him up and tore his shirt collar. Why did you report us? they hissed, he says. And, why are you dating a Hindu girl? Ironically, the couple have been dealing with relationship problems in the New Year. Lisa, who works part time at an event management company, wanted Ramiz to get a job, saying he was spending too much time smoking and talking politics with his friends. She wants somebody perfect, perfect and I am not, he says. Were still very good friends, Lisa says. Im not sure if were in a relationship at the moment. This was the type of tension that Mr Mylavarapu had hoped to provoke when he posted the list of names. He has been using Facebook to promote an extremist Hindu agenda since 2012, according to the Indian data and fact-checking website Boom Live. Before Mr Mylavarapu was banned from Facebook indefinitely in February, he was the administrator of at least two Facebook pages, including Extreme Hinduism The Only Way of Survival (11,000 members) and a member of Rearming Hinduism (156,000 members), an analysis from Boom Live showed. He remains active on Twitter. He said in one post his favourite boots are made of pure Sunni skin, a reference to the Sunni branch of Islam. In another, he urged Hindus to keep swords in their homes for protection and practice killing goats and chickens to get used to the sight of blood. He warns of love jihad, which until recently had been generally thought of as fearmongering and given little credence by police and courts. But the idea that Muslims may be actively working to convert Hindus figured prominently in the recent debate over the case of a woman in the southern state of Kerala who converted to Islam and married a Muslim over the objections of her family. Recommended Teenager slapped by Indian politician over relationship with Muslim On 8 March, Indias Supreme Court upheld the womans right to choose her faith and partner. But Indias National Investigation Agency, which investigates and prosecutes terrorism, is continuing its investigation into the case, saying it has seen an organised effort by Muslim activists linked to Isis to convert Hindus, a spokesperson said. Mr Mylavarapu is associated with a fringe Hindu group called Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, whose members revere the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, whom they blame for the bloody 1947 partition that created the nations of India and Pakistan. Hes a staunch Hindu and hes functioning because of our support, said the groups state president, N Subramanya Raju. If there is any threat from a jihadi, we will protect his life. Mr Mylavarapu said volunteers are continuing their online research into Hindu-Muslim couples and will hold on to the data they find until the next good opportunity. He said many of those on the original list have already split up. Mr Mylavarapu said he relishes the demise of these relationships. We succeeded, he said in a tweet. Their deceptive love could not withstand the pressure we created. The Washington Post North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made history by crossing his country's southern border to meet his South Korean counterpart for a summit on the nuclear crisis. The meeting with Moon Jae-in is only the third time that leaders of the two countries have met in the 65 years since the Korean War and the first time one of the Kim leaders has crossed over to the South. The two leader shook hands on the border line before Mr Kim crossed into the South. Mr Moon later crossed into the North as well, and the two posed for ceremonial photos facing each side. The event was also attended by school children, an honour guard and a military band. It was broadcast live across South Korea. The ceremony took place outside the Peace House, a conference building on the south side of the border, where the two leaders planned to discuss the issue of nuclear weapons on Friday. North Korea's nuclear arsenal has developed rapidly in the last year, leading to tense exchanges between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump. But the North and South have also made several unexpected steps toward peace, including marching under the same flag in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP The Olympics plan was hatched during an earlier meeting between North and South Korean diplomats, which went smoothly but skirted around the issue of nuclear weapons. This time around, North Korea's state news agency said Mr Kim would "open-heartedly" discuss "all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula" with Mr Moon. Mr Kim has also made plans to meet with Mr Trump, in what would be the first in-person meeting between a US and North Korean president in history. The North Korean leader has already met with Mike Pompeo, the director of the CIA, in preparation for the summit. The White House issued a statement on the inter-Korean summit on Thursday, saying the US was "hopeful" about the talks, and looked forward to the meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump. North Korea 'suspends' missile and nuclear tests Both the US and South Korea would like to see the denuclearisation of the North, which is close to building a nuclear missile capable that can reach the US. Mr Kim has said he is open to discussing the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula with both leaders, but experts say he will likely require tough concessions from the Americans. Among other things, Mr Kim has taken issue with the US soldiers stationed in South Korea, the joint military exercises the two countries perform, and the lack of a formal peace treaty to end the Korea War. He also wants the US to remove its nuclear umbrella over the Penninsula and the Northeast Asian region. South Korea and the US have slightly different ideas about how to denuclearise the North, with Mr Moon favouring a step-by-step process and Mr Trump calling for the immediate destruction of the country's nuclear weapons. Mr Moon is likely setting the stage to serve as a mediator between the US and the North in this week's meeting, having acknowledged that any long-term solution on the Peninsula will require American input. Peace on the Korean Peninsula cannot be achieved by agreements between South and North Korea alone, he said last month. It has to have American endorsement. The Korean War will be formally declared over after 68 years, the North and South have said. At a historic summit between leaders Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, the neighbouring countries agreed they would work towards peace on the peninsula with a formal end to the conflict set to be announced later this year. The pair agreed to bring the two countries together and establish a "peace zone" on the contested border. The war began in 1950 and most fighting came to an end with an armistice three years later. But peace was never officially declared and the two countries have been officially at war ever since. At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace on the peninsula. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area (EPA) "The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun," the official declaration said. The statement included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease "hostile acts," turn their fortified border into a "peace zone," and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. North Korean leader Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon announced after their summit on Friday that the Koreas would push for three-way talks including Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing on converting the armistice into a peace treaty and establishing permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. The Koreas said they hope the parties will be able to declare an official end to the war by the end of this year. Mr Moon is also expected to visit Pyongyang sometime this autumn, though it is not clear whether that event will include the official end of the war. Responding to the summit, Donald Trump said he looked forward to his meeting with Mr Kim and expressed hope it would be productive. But he added: "We will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations. Maximum pressure will continue until denuclearisation occurs." South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-U talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House (EPA) And UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking at Nato headquarters, told reporters he was very encouraged by the summit, but added: I dont think that anybody looking at the history of North Koreas plans to develop a nuclear weapon would want to be over-optimistic at this point. But it is clearly good news that the two leaders are meeting. China, North Koreas sole major ally, also welcomed the meeting. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was a chance to expand into a new journey of long-term peace and stability on the peninsula. The announcement came amid a friendly mood at the border. Mr Kim joked during the summit that he would no longer interrupt his counterparts sleep with early morning missile tests. As the pair shook hands on the southern side, Mr Moon asked Mr Kim: You have crossed into the South, but when do I get to go across? (EPA) Footage of the meeting showed his hesitant reaction as the North Korean leader replied: Why dont we go across now? Hand-in-hand they stepped briefly into North Korea before continuing southward shortly after 9.30am local time. On the streets of Seoul, South Koreans watched in anticipation, some cheering, others weeping. This is unbelievable, said Kim Ji-su, a teacher, watching breathlessly as Mr Moon escorted Mr Kim past rows of soldiers garbed in ancient Korean dynasty costume and standing at attention on either side of the red carpet leading to Peace House, where the two would be holding a summit that everyone seemed to agree was historic. I never thought I would see this in my life time, Ms Kim gushed over the performance being enacted before her on all Korean television channels. I cant help crying. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line (EPA) Lee Sung-bin, 17, saw one great benefit of North-South reconciliation. I hope peace comes soon, he said. Then I wont have to join the army." However the two leaders were vague when it came to the details of denuclearisation a problem for those who saw Mr Moon essentially falling for Mr Kims charm offensive. They didnt get any agreement on anything, said Maeng Ju-seok, a businessman. North Korea promises denuclearisation, but theres nothing. The government gave up a lot for nothing in return. A man in Pakistan has been jailed for seven years for child pornography offences - the first conviction of its kind in the country's history. Sadat Amin was found guilty by a court in Sarghoda, a small city in the Punjab province, according to the district police chief Suhail Chaudhry. During the trial, he reportedly confessed to luring children in to produce porn videos, according to prosecutors. Mr Chaudhry said an investigation revealed that Amin was part of a child pornography network spread across parts of Europe and the US and sold pornographic videos of children to a Norway-based network. Amin was arrested earlier this month by the Federal Investigation Agency Pakistan's version of the FBI following a complaint from the Norwegian government, according to Mr Chaudhry. He was also reportedly fined 1.2 million rupees. The ruling comes shortly after Pakistan introduced new laws to crack down on child sexual assault and child pornography after a Bill was passed by the Senate. Both crimes now carry a maximum penalty of up to seven years in jail, whereas before, only rape was considered a criminal offence under the countrys laws. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The Bill also criminalised exposing children to obscene and sexually explicit material, and a number of other abusive acts. Sexual abuse against minors has long been an issue in Pakistan. In 2015, the country was rocked by a child sex abuse scandal involving a paedophile ring in Punjab which reportedly forced minors to take part in pornography. It is estimated that as many as 300 children were victims. Recommended Man given four death sentences for rape and murder of Zainab Ansari More recently, mass protests took place earlier this year after a seven-year-old girl, Zainab Ansari, was raped and killed in eastern Punjab. Police revealed that at least 10 other similar cases had occurred in the region throughout the previous year. Last year, an investigation by the Associated Press revealed that sexual abuse is a pervasive and longstanding problem at madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan, but it is an issue which often goes unreported, with many victims and families afraid to speak out about the crimes. The country is ranked second to last, coming in at number 143 out of 144 countries, in the World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report. Additional reporting by Associated Press. Adam Armush, an Israeli Arab, donned a kippah last week to prove to a Jewish friend that their tony Berlin neighborhood was safe for Jews. What he found instead, and captured on shaky cellphone video, was the exact opposite. Armush was beaten by a Syrian refugee with a belt in front of passerby on their way home from work. The worst part, the teen shared the next day in a television interview, was that only one of dozens of bystanders stopped to help. Berlin may have let him down that evening but a week later the city stood in solidarity with the entire Jewish community. Over 2,500 Berliners put on kippahs and marched to the Jewish Community Center Wednesday joining fellow Germans around the country in kippah marches. The rally featured local politicians and supporters of all nationalities and religions. Topped with kippahs of all stripes, materials, and styles, Berlin stood to attention, loudly demonstrating, Never again. Chabad emissary to Berlin, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal stood on the dais during the event. As he always does, Teichtal, who has lived here since 1996, was wearing his black kippah with pride. Removing or hiding the signature Jewish look, as some in the community have suggested, is anathema to him. To hide and cover our Jewish identity is not the solution, Teichtal insists. We must continue to walk and live as proud Jews while simultaneously doing everything possible to combat anti-semitism. Anti-semitism is a growing concern in this country that has, as national policy, pledged support of Israel and the Jewish people since the close of the Second World War. An estimated 947 anti-semitic incidents occurred here in 2017, a 60 percent rise over previous years. And thats only the ones that were reported. Two Jews proudly wear kippot (pl. kippah) at March of the Living, Poland (2018). German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged the alarming spike in a recent interview. The fight against such anti-Semitic acts must be won, she declared: the reputation of our state is at stake, and we are committed to it with all our strength. The recent swell of incidents is blamed on the influx of Muslim immigrants to Germany and the concurrent rise of far-right parties in the country. Native German, Rabbi Yitzchak Mendel Wagner, who lectures internationally about anti-semitism, agrees about the general cause. Wagner was born in Krefeld, 350 miles from Berlin, where he serves today as rabbi. My personal experience is high respect for the Jewish people, he says. On a national scale, he recognizes the rise in hatred since 2015. But, like Teichtal, he says that, taking away the kippah wont solve the problem. In fact, says Wagner, nine times out of ten, he is approached positively when dressed in traditional Jewish garb. The first time Wagner wore a kippah in public was when he was in his late 20s. His parents were concerned with his safety and encouraged him to always cover his head with a cap. I made the decision one day to take off my cap, he recalls. Exactly on that first day, someone tapped me on the shoulder when I was out shopping. He looked at me like I was a ghost and said, Im a Russian Jew and I have been thinking about circumcision, but Im scared. I told G-d today that if He wants me to have a circumcision, He should send me a sign. His sign was on a strangers head. That day, that man chose to have a kosher brit milah. And that day was the start of wearing a kippah, for Wagner. Today, he tells his own children that dressing like Jews, and being noticed for that choice, is something to be proud of. Since moving to Germany in 1988, Rabbi Yisroel Diskin has proudly walked through Munichs streets dressed in kippah and black fedora. Everyone in my city knows me like this, says Germanys top Chabad emissary. While he acknowledges that Munich is not indicative of the entire country, and that Muslim immigrants have settled in certain areas in his city as well, I have never had any problems. I have always told my children to wear their yarmulkes with pride, never with a cap on top. This is our yiddishe kleider (Jewish attire). British aid workers fear they may be cut off from supporting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees once the monsoon season hits Bangladesh, after a few hours of rain completely transformed parts of the camps. Last week, the first downpour descended on the cramped settlement in Coxs Bazar, while over the last four days two thunderstorms and strong winds have battered nearby areas. Those on the ground fear landslides and flooding will cause loss of life, destroy the bamboo-and-plastic shacks, block access roads and potentially turn the area into a breeding ground for contagious disease. Recommended Rohingya refugees face fresh turmoil as monsoons could wash away homes Kenny Hamilton, who is leading a project for the British Red Cross on mass sanitation in the camps, said there was a growing anxiety about how much danger the monsoon storms could bring to the stranded population. The 54-year-old, from Glasgow, said: We saw last week a couple of hours rain completely transformed the camp. Generally the environment is very dry and very dusty, and when the rains hit the dust on top of the ground it went very quickly to quite slick mud, and we found that teams werent able to actually move into the centre of the camp because of poor access. One of the key features of this settlement is the topography of the camp is very hilly and shelters are being built in every area thats possible to actually have, and, when the rains come, the paths in between and up and down the various hills the shelters become completely impassable. As we move toward the monsoon period, that could significantly increase, and our worst-case scenario is that we would be put in a situation where teams wouldnt be able to get in to the community for potentially up to a week, maybe even longer. Rohingya crisis in photos Show all 15 1 /15 Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya refugees are reflected in rain water along an embankment next to paddy fields after fleeing from Myanmar into Palang Khali, near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh November REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya refugees scramble for aid at a camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Betel leaves cover the face of 11-month-old Rohingya refugee Abdul Aziz whose wrapped body lay in his family shelter after he died battling high fever and severe cough at the Balukhali refugee camp near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, December REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos An exhausted Rohingya refugee fleeing violence in Myanmar cries for help from others crossing into Palang Khali, near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh November REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Mohammed Shoaib, 7, who was shot in his chest before crossing the border from Myanmar in August, is held by his father outside a medical centre near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya refugees try to take shelter from torrential rain as they are held by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after illegally crossing the border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya refugee children fly improvised kites at the Kutupalong refugee camp near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Smoke is seen on the Myanmar border as Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos People gather under heavy rain around bodies of Rohingya refugees after the boat they were using to flee violence in Myanmar capsized off Inani Beach near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos The remains of a burned Rohingya village is seen in this aerial photograph near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine State, Myanmar REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya refugees cross the Naf River with an improvised raft to reach to Bangladesh in Teknaf, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos A security officer attempts to control Rohingya refugees waiting to receive aid in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Hamida, a Rohingya refugee woman, weeps as she holds her 40-day-old son after he died as their boat capsized before arriving on shore in Shah Porir Dwip, Teknaf, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos Rohingya siblings fleeing violence hold one another as they cross the Naf River along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Palong Khali, near Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh REUTERS Rohingya crisis in photos An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh September Reuters The BRC has been using more than 1 million donated by the British public from 25.9m raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to make conditions safer. Recommended Harrowing stories from pregnant Rohingya refugees revealed by midwives Its mass sanitation team have been removing and decontaminating 3,000 litres of waste a day from hundreds of toilets so they do not overspill and contaminate water sources. They have also been educating 67,739 people on good hygiene in a bid to protect people from the acute watery diarrhoea and other diseases, such as cholera, that unsafe water could bring. One of the community leaders who attended, 25-year-old Humaira Begum, said she was very excited to relay what she had learned to the 10 households she represents. The mother-of-four said she was so anxious, so worried about the impending weather and that she had not been given enough bamboo or plastic to make her home safe. She said: When it rains, I can spend my life averagely, but during a storm, it will be very difficult for me as well as for all the members of my family to lead a better life, because my house isnt strong enough to live properly during a storm. Boris Johnson on Rohingya crisis 'We need to find a political solution' Almost 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar since last August amid reports of extreme violence, forming a total of more than 900,000 displaced people in the multiple camps. In one of these, Balukhali, the main thoroughfares are being paved with layers of brick to ensure aid vehicles can continue to pass. Extensive construction has been carried out by aid workers and Rohingya communities to strengthen buildings and improve drainage systems, with arrangements to deliver aid by foot if roads become impassable. Intricate bamboo bridges stretch a safe path over floodplains, where water levels rose after last weeks downpour, with pre-fabricated replacements already being constructed in case they are destroyed by the storms. Rohingya refugees try to take shelter from torrential rain as they are held by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after illegally crossing the border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh (REUTERS) Landslides are expected among the many steep hills, where thousands of foundation-less shacks built almost on top of each other on the sloping ground can only be reached by steps made of sandbags. In the last two weeks, 3,400 people have been moved to safer ground, with plans to relocate more than 20,000 in the coming weeks. Fiona MacGregor, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said it would be extremely difficult to secure against the possibility of loss of life given the ground conditions. Roads were already starting to be churned up and she saw people wading through water after last weeks downpour, calling it a sobering indication of whats to come. She warned that people might be temporarily cut off but that many of those most at risk did not want to move again, having already fled their homes in Myanmar. Water pools at a refugee camp for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district following rains ahead of the monsoon season (DAPHNEE COOK/AFP/Getty Images) Ms MacGregor, from Edinburgh, said: Within the area known as the mega-camp, what you have is over 600,000 people, mostly living under tarpaulins on highly unstable slopes. This is one of the worlds most cyclone-prone regions. Its a frightening prospect. We cannot mitigate against all disasters; what we have to do is be prepared to respond to those and to help the refugees be as resilient as possible themselves because they are the ones that are in the camp 24/7, they are going to have to be the first responders. She added: There are areas that have been flooded. the early rains will be useful, they will allow us to identify some of the areas (most at risk) and I think it might encourage people to move when they actually see the reality. British aid has helped more than 158,000 people receive reinforced shelter and sandbags, provided 5,000 extra latrines, and ensured almost 400,000 children are vaccinated against cholera, measles and diphtheria, the Department for International Development said. Rohingya refugees are reflected in rain water along an embankment next to paddy fields after fleeing from Myanmar into Palang Khali, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (REUTERS) An appeal launched by the DEC has raised 25m, including 5m from the UK Government 8m of which has been earmarked for use from April. International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: The Rohingya people have suffered so much already and now they are living in constant fear of the imminent floods causing utter devastation and destruction. Our swift response can save lives. Right now UK aid is strengthening roads and pathways to ensure vital medication and food can reach the very centre of the camps. UK aid is also reinforcing shelters to protect vulnerable families at risk of flood water and landslides. Press Association Thailand could become the first country in South East Asia to legalise civil partnerships, with the introduction of a landmark bill that could give same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples. The proposed law would enable them to register as life partners. It is being drafted by a subcommittee of Thailands Justice Ministry that is scheduled to convene on 4 May, before the Justice Minister presents the final draft to the cabinet for approval. The countries where it's illegal to be LGBT Ratthanan Prapairat, 38, who has been with his male partner for over 20 years, was hopeful that the law would pass. He told Thailand's The Nation newspaper that the proposed changes were "a must-have that should have been in place years ago as it would be very helpful in protecting the rights of same-sex couples. Mr Prapairat, who runs a clothing business with his partner, with whom he shares a house, said if th new law was implemented, they would definitely register their partnership. It is not the first time the Thai government has proposed legalising same-sex marriage, but all previous attempts have been unsuccessful. The last was interrupted by the military coup in 2014. As a result, some campaigners are sceptical that the law will change this time. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Others have expressed concerns that, even if passed, the legislation wont meet the needs of the LGBT+ community. We welcome the news that Thailand has resumed drafting a bill that would allow same-sex couples to register as life-partners, but we look forward to more clarity as of what these provisions will mean in reality, Lieu Anh Vu, coordinator of the Asian region of the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (Ilga), told The Independent. There has been concern from civil society that the bill doesnt provide same-sex couples with equal protection as heterosexual couples before the law: it is important to make sure that all couples are equally recognised, and that rainbow communities are consulted in the process of preparing a law that will have an important impact on their lives." Gender equality advocate Naiyana Supapuen noted in the The Nation that previous draft legislation did allow same-sex marriage but then so many restrictions and conditions were present. It showed that the state still had a homophobia mindset. While the contents of the bill are unknown, many are hailing this as an important step in the journey towards better LGBT+ equality in Thailand. This would be an important milestone from the government towards equal recognition in the future, Mr Vu said. This bill will also promote understanding and acceptance of same-sex couples and of the wider rainbow families community." A former Bosnian army commander was detained by police on suspicion of war crimes against Serb and Bosnian civilians during the war which lasted from 1992 to 1995. Atif Dudakovic was held, along with 12 other people including other commanders and members of the wartime Bosnian Army's 5th Corps, following dawn raids across the country. They are accused of atrocities against hundreds of Serbs in northwestern Bosnia, according to the Bosnian prosecutors office. All 12 were detained. Mr Dudakovic, 64, was a highly respected and popular army commander who was in charge of the northwestern Bihac area that was under Serb siege so his arrest is likely to prove controversial. Milorad Kojic, who heads a group investigating wartime crimes against Serbs, said they have submitted more than 8,000 pages of evidence against Mr Dudakovic and others. It includes video footage that is allegedly incriminating, in a case which involves 256 victims between the ages of nine and 99, Mr Kojic said. The arrest has highlighted the ethnic divisions in the country, which is home to a Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat one. Although a peace agreement was signed in the country in 1995, tensions between groups still exist. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The reaction to Mr Dudakovics arrest has highlighted the divide, with Muslim citizens criticising the move and Serbs saying it is welcome, although late. "We are shocked," said Dzevad Malkoc, the official who deals with war veterans in the Bihac area. "This is a blow to the state, to all patriots who defended this state." Bakir Izetbegovic, the Muslim head of the country's three-member Bosnian Presidency, said the arrests Friday were an "unnecessary humiliation" because the suspects have been cooperating with the investigation. He warned officials against against attempts to create "a false ethnic balance" in prosecuting war crimes. Recommended Radovan Karadzic guilty of genocide over Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik said the "relatives of the victims have been waiting for justice for 20 years." More than 100,000 people were killed during the war which started when Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Bosnia's Serbs rebelled, taking control of more than half of the country seeking to merge with neighbouring Serbia. Millions were left homeless amid the conflict. She was a mysterious serial killer known as the "The Woman Without a Face" and detectives across Europe spent more than 15 years doing their utmost to bring her to justice for at least six brutal murders and a string of break-ins. Yesterday, however, they were forced to admit that she probably didn't exist. The only clues that "The Woman Without a Face" left behind at 40 different crime scenes were DNA traces. These were collected on cotton swabs, supplied to the police in a number of European countries. Now police investigators have established that in all probability the DNA had not been left by their quarry but by a woman working for the German medical company supplying the swabs, who had inadvertently contaminated them. German police who had been leading the hunt said they had probably been involved in one of the longest and most perplexing wild goose chases in criminal history. "This is a very embarrassing story," admitted police spokesman Josef Schneider. Doubts about the 15-year investigation began after French police tried to identify the charred body of a male asylum-seeker. When they took the DNA, they were astounded to discover it matched that of the mystery woman. "This aroused suspicions that it was the materials themselves which were contaminated," said an official at the German state prosecutors. The long trail supposedly left by "The Woman Without a Face" started in May 1993 after police took DNA traces from the rim of a teacup found in the home of a 62-year-old German woman who had been strangled with a length of wire, taken from a bunch of flowers found in her sitting room. The same female DNA trace kept resurfacing at crime scenes across Germany and Europe. Police were so baffled that they took DNA samples from more than 3,000 homeless women drug users who had a record of serious crime. They remained stumped. But "The Woman Without a Face" showed no sign of stopping. In 2007, Michele Kiesewetter, a 22-year-old German policewoman was shot dead in her BMW patrol car in the city of Heilbronn. Again the DNA traces matched those of the mystery woman. Eventually the authorities put out a 3m reward, saying that the reason the woman left no other traces was because she wore gloves. Police have now launched an investigation into the methods used in the production of cotton swabs in an attempt to establish exactly how they were contaminated. Protests have erupted across Spain after a court cleared five men of gang raping a teenager at the 2016 running of the bulls festival in Pamplona. Instead, the court in the northern region of Navarra sentenced the men, who had recorded videos of the attack on their mobile phones and laughed about it afterwards on a WhatsApp group, with the lesser crime of sexual abuse. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of cities across the country, from Seville to Barcelona, and outside the Justice Ministry in Madrid on Thursday, bearing signs reading I believe you sister and chanting: Its not abuse, its rape! In Madrid, men and women marched along central streets chanting Shame! Shame! and No means No. In Barcelona, thousands packed into the central square banging pots and pans and jangling their keys in the air. A protester holds a placard reading 'No is no. If I don't tell you yes, it is also no' during a demonstration against the verdict of the 'la manada' (wolf pack) gang case outside the Ministry of Justice in Madrid, Spain (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) The five men, who called themselves la manada (the wolf pack) on WhatsApp, were found guilty of sexual abuse, which under Spains criminal code does not involve violence or intimidation. The prosecution had argued violence was used and the 18-year-old victim did not consent to intercourse. The court chose the lesser charge on Thursday in contrast to the more severe sentences prosecutors sought, which would see the men serve more than 22 years in prison. However, the court agreed there was no consent because the defendants were in a position of superiority that curtailed the victims freedom. One of the three judges in the panel voted in favour of acquitting the defendants, the court said. Both the prosecution and the defence have announced they would appeal the decision. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The five men, all Spanish citizens between 27 and 30, were friends who travelled to Pamplona to party during the San Fermin festival in July 2016. According to testimony at the trial, the men offered to accompany the victim to her car but instead hauled her into a building where they filmed their assault with their smartphones. They then stole her mobile phone and left. The men argued the young woman had consented to intercourse. To support the claim, their lawyers produced detectives reports on the victims behaviour after the incident, causing outrage among womens rights groups who said the victim was being judged for her behaviour rather than the attackers'. The defence then withdrew the report. In addition to the prison time, the court ruled they should jointly compensate the victim 50,000 (43,000) and refrain from contacting her for 15 years. The five have been held in pre-trial custody since they were arrested in July 2016. The president of Spains Feminist Party, Lidia Falcon, told La Sexta television the ruling means that rape in Spain is practically free of punishment. Spains deputy prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, said the government had to respect the controversial ruling, while saying authorities must respond to the public uproar. I think we have to analyse what we as public authorities must do so that incidents like this dont happen again in our country, she said. The countrys justice minister, Rafael Catala, said the laws in question date from 1995 and should be reviewed to see if it is convenient to push for their revision. Additional reporting by agencies Finland has been forced to deny widespread media reports that its universal basic income experiment had fallen flat. A trial has been put in place whereby 2,000 unemployed people aged 25-58 are being paid a tax-free 560 (490) monthly income with no questions asked. Reports suggested the scheme had failed and would be stopped but Finland has described the news as misreporting and says the trial will continue until the end of 2018. But why are they even trialling it? What are the benefits and can it really work? Three Palestinians have been killed and more than 600 injured after Israeli troops opened fire amid fresh violence on the Gaza border. More than 10,000 people were protesting when soldiers shot live ammunition and tear gas into crowds, Reuters reported. Israel said the demonstrations held to demand Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their former homes in Israel had turned violent. The deaths, on Friday, came just hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticised the country for using excessive force during a spring of unrest along the 25-mile border. Some 41 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded since six weeks of announced protests began on 30 March. Zeid Raad Al Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights, called the loss of life deplorable. The identities of those killed in the latest trouble have not yet been revealed. But among those injured were four medical staff and six journalists, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported. The Israeli military said soldiers fired because the protests had turned into riots. It said several Palestinians were attempting to cross by force and troops had operated in accordance with the rules of engagement, adding that protesters had hurled stones and rolled burning tyres during the incident. Others cleared away barbed wire which Israeli troops had placed in Gaza territory overnight in a bid to create a buffer zone. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Speaking before the latest trouble, Israels UN envoy, Danny Danon, told the Security Council that Hamas was responsible for Palestinian casualties and that it was using innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields. The terrorists are hiding while allowing, even hoping, for their people to die. This is evil in its purest form, he said. Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri said the claims were an attempt to escape responsibility and to cover up for the execution of unarmed children and people by occupation soldiers". Named the Great March of Return, the protests revive a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages which their families fled from when the state of Israel was created in 1948. A US womans family is suing American Airlines after she died on one of its flights two years ago. Brittany Oswell, a 25-year-old nurse from South Carolina, was taken ill on a flight from Honolulu in Hawaii to Dallas, Texas on April 15 2016. According to the lawsuit, the pilot ignored the recommendation of a doctor on board and refused to divert the plane, instead continuing on to Dallas. Ms Oswell started to feel unwell around three hours into the flight, according to the lawsuit. She was flying with her husband of less than a year, Cory, who paged cabin crew when she started to become dizzy and disorientated and then fainted. Staff found a doctor on board who examined Ms Oswell; at this point it was thought she was having a panic attack, according to the lawsuit. A few hours later, the situation quickly worsened as flight attendants found her unconscious in one of the aircrafts toilets, having vomited and defecated on herself. The lawsuit claims that at this point the doctor advised that the plane be immediately diverted so that Ms Oswell could receive proper care. However, the captain allegedly ignored this advice having consulted one of American Airlines physicians on the ground, and continued flying the 90 minutes it would take to reach Dallas. Brittany Oswell had been married for less than year when she died (Facebook/Brittany Oswell) At some point during this time, Ms Oswells heart stopped and she ceased breathing. The doctor attempted to take her blood pressure but the cuffs provided were faulty, as was the on board defibrillator that they attempted to use three times to restart her heart no shock was administered, claims the lawsuit. The pilots were asked again if the flight could be diverted but, after another consultation with the on-the-ground doctor, decided to continue on to the original destination, now 45 minutes away. The doctor and crew members continued to perform CPR on Ms Oswell during that time. She failed to regain consciousness, and was transferred to Baylor Medical Center as soon as the plane landed at Dallas. The world's 10 worst airlines Show all 10 1 /10 The world's 10 worst airlines The world's 10 worst airlines 10. Jet AirHelp, has assessed more than 30 airlines using scores for quality of service, on-time performance and responses to claims for compensation. Here follows the lowest ranked airlines, starting with Jet Airways, 35% of whose flights were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 9. Aerolineas Argentinas 15% of Aerolineas Argentinas flights were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 8. Iberia 16% of Iberia flights were delayed in 2018 Getty Images The world's 10 worst airlines 7. Korean Air 36% of Korean Air flights were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 6. Ryanair 14% of Ryanair flights were delayed in 2018 EPA The world's 10 worst airlines 5. Air Mauritius 31% of Air Mauritius flights were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 4. easyJet 21% of easyJet flights were delayed in 2018 AFP/Getty Images The world's 10 worst airlines 3. Pakistan International Airlines 39% of Pakistan International Airlines were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 2. Royal Jordanian Airlines 13% of Royal Jordanian Airlines flights were delayed in 2018 Getty The world's 10 worst airlines 1. WOW Air 25% of WOW Air flights were delayed in 2018 Getty She was diagnosed with anoxic brain damage and an acute embolism, and was taken off life support three days later on 18 April 2016. We absolutely felt like this was not taken very seriously, Tina Starks, Ms Oswells mother, told ABC News. Shes no longer here to do anything with us and its all because someone made a business decision to keep flying a plane when she needed emergency medical help that they could not provide because of inadequacies on board the flight. Chris Starks, Ms Oswells father, added: One person makes a decision and it changes our whole life, our outcome, everything. American Airlines said in a statement: We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we are looking into the details of the complaint. The last time Heathrow Terminal 1 caught the worlds attention was in October 2014. Staff were counting the days until the airports bruised and battered facility closed in June 2015. At the time, there was intense concern about the spread of Ebola from West Africa. The UK government initially concluded there was no significant chance of identifying any sufferer who was not picked up by the pre-flight screening in West Africa. But the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, eventually bowed to pressure to do something and installed a medical checkpoint in the Terminal 1 arrivals area for screening passengers arriving from Brussels a key hub for Sierra Leone and Liberia. The checkpoint was in business for exactly one day. After that Brussels Airlines arrivals moved to Terminal 2. I imagine the checkpoint ended up in a skip. A shame, because if it had been left in situ it would have been worth hundreds or thousands of pounds. Recommended Bizarre Heathrow auction raises hundreds of thousands of pounds I can be fairly certain of that because last weekend I witnessed the first auction of airport memorabilia. Whatever was nailed down in Terminal 1 was prised off and taken to a hotel beside the northern runway, for what turned out to be a six-hour sale. I had my eye on one of those familiar black-on-yellow illuminated signs, which made up close to half the lots. I arrived intent on snapping up a bargain, but it was clear that rival bidders were after nostalgia at any price. The Irish Arrivals Passenger Search Table went for 100 (in reality 139 once the buyers premium and VAT had been added). It looked like, well, a table. And despite the name, I understand it was used to search baggage rather than passengers themselves. Also on the luggage theme: one of those gauges that you have to try to squidge your hand baggage in sold for 400 (557 including taxes and charges). So I decided to simply treat the event as a superb piece of free theatre, with people bidding against each other to buy a run-of-the-mill baggage trolley for 250 (or 350 after those pesky extras). As everything was sold as seen, with all faults, imperfections and defects, I hope the trolley didnt turn out to have a wonky wheel. Some of the prices were simply astounding, said the auctioneer, Adam Alexander, after the event. That simply underlines what an iconic sale this has been. CA Global Partners, the auctioneers, made a mint as did the Chancellor, who collected 20 per cent VAT on everything. And as every other airport in the world looked enviously on, the rest of the cash flowed back to Heathrow. Ivan Macquisten, spokesman for the auctioneers, told me: Although air travel can be a stressful business, for many it has not lost its sense of romance and adventure. Clearly, apart from the retro chic appeal of some of the designs and possibly the prospect of potentially making a good investment bidders wanted a piece of something that they may never have the chance to get their hands on again. Twenty years ago this summer, Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong closed, replaced by the fabulous new Chek Lap Kok. After an unhappy succession of temporary jobs as car showroom, government office and bowling alley the terminal was demolished without ceremony. Or auction. I imagine airport authorities from Schiphol in Amsterdam to Schoenefeld in East Berlin are now contemplating their next upgrade or, in the case of the German airport, closure when the much-delayed Brandenburg facility finally opens. Schoenefeld still has some GDR fixtures and fittings, and there is clearly a lucrative market out there for aeronautical nostalgia. But Mr Macquisten says one reason the Heathrow sale raised hundreds of thousands of pounds was the spirit of 1968. The fact that Terminal 1 opened in 1968 as the hub for what was arguably the worlds most important airport means it could be seen as the birthplace of the modern age of air travel for the general public. That is a powerful association to have when it comes to selling at auction. Meanwhile you can still grab a slice of the Heathrow auction action. Some heavy duty gear will be coming up for sale in future, including escalators, airbridges and baggage carousels. One careful owner, and about 300 million travellers stories. Calm has returned to ranches in Kenyas Laikipia region a year after a series of invasions by illegal herders left several people including Britons dead, livestock stolen, and landowners including Kuki Gallmann injured. On the 24,000-acre Sosian Ranch, chirping birds and a cool breeze capture the renewed hope of better days ahead. This is in stark contrast to the dark days that followed the killing of ranch co-owner Tristan Voorspuy. Mr Voorspy was attacked while inspecting his lodges at the ranch in March last year. A month later, Italian writer Kuki Gallmann, whose novel I Dreamed of Africa was turned into a Hollywood film, was shot and injured at her ranch. We have had peace this year, no more sounds of guns all over since they killed Mr Voorspuy. Security has been beefed up, said Daniel Miano, a ranch worker. After the killing, a local politician, Mathew Lempurkel, was arrested on suspicion of being involved. He was however acquitted by a court in the nearby town of Nanyuki for lack of evidence. Most operations at the ranch are back to normal, with the lodge enjoying full bookings. But most of the properties destroyed during the invasions are yet to be rebuilt. Within Sosian Ranch, Chali and Romeo hotels were burnt down and still lie in ruins. It has been a slow process, but currently, visitors are trickling in, although we have not had non-residents since the attacks. We are hoping that non-residents will start coming from June, said David Macharia, the deputy lodge manager. However, he said despite the return to normalcy, things would never be the same again. I still recall the tension, the insecurity, even the day they killed Voorspuy, Mr Macharia said. It was unsafe even to walk outside of the lodge. Despite the heavy security, every time the dry season sets in, tension resurfaces. But we are hopeful that things will be okay, Mr Macharia said. At Ol Maisor Ranch in Rumuruti, the home of Laikipia Farmers Association chairman Martin Evans, life is back to normal. Last year, herders invaded the ranch, killing one worker. Normal operations According to Mr Evans, normal operations have resumed on the 29,000-acre farm. The familys residential house has also been redesigned. Last April, conservationist Kuki Gallmann was shot and injured by illegal herders who had invaded her 100,000-acre Ol Ari Nyiro Ranch. Ms Gallmann has since relocated to Nairobi. This article is reproduced here as part of the Giants Club African Conservation Journalism Fellowships, a programme of the charity Space for Giants and supported by the owner of ESI Media, which includes independent.co.uk. It aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Read the original story here. As a journalist, I have always dreaded reporting on meetings between world leaders billed as historic or momentous or just plain significant. Such pretensions are usually phoney or, even if something of interest really does happen, its importance is exaggerated or oversimplified. But plus ca change is not always a safe slogan for the cautious reporter, because real change does occasionally take place and professional cynics are caught on the hop. Watching the historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea at the Panmunjom border crossing today and listening to reporters bubbling over with excitement it was difficult not to be captured by the enthusiastic mood. But I recall similar meetings that were once billed as transforming the world for the better and are now largely forgotten. How many people remember the Reykjavik summit between Reagan and Gorbachev in 1986, which once seemed so important? Then there was the famous handshake on the lawn of the White House between Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat confirming a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993 that, whatever else happened, did not produce peace. Rabin was assassinated two years later by a religious fanatic and Arafat died with his hopes for Palestinian self-determination in ruins. Sceptics who had argued that disparity in political and military strength between Israel and the Palestinians was too great for a real accord turned out to be right. The meeting in Panmunjom feels as if it has got more substance, primarily because the balance of power between the two sides is more even: Kim has nuclear weapons and claims to have a ballistic missile which could reach the US. Their range and reliability may be exaggerated but nobody wants to find out the hard way. It is these intercontinental ballistic missiles which make Washington and the rest of the world take North Korea seriously as a state, though otherwise it is an insignificant, economically primitive, family dictatorship. Despite Kims pledge that he is seeking a denuclearised Korean peninsula, this is the last thing that is going to happen because he would be foolish to give up his only serious negotiating card. North Korea has a long track record of dangling nuclear concessions in front of its enemies only to snatch them back later. This does not mean that serious things are not happening. Relations between North and South Korea are being normalised symbolically and, to a degree yet to be seen, in practice. There is to be a formal end to the Korean War replacing the 1953 armistice, an end to hostile activities between the two states, family reunification, road and rail links and joint sporting activities. Ritualistic propaganda broadcasts across the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) are to cease, though it would be interesting to know if they are also going to remove the minefields in the DMZ. President Trump is claiming that it was his bellicose tweeting and harsh sanctions that forced Kim to negotiate. Maybe they had some impact, but there are limits to what sanctions can achieve against a dictator firmly in power (witness UN sanctions on Saddam Husseins Iraq between 1990 and 2003). Trumps threats of fire and fury may or may not frighten the North Korean leader, but they certainly make US allies nervous and less willing to let their fate be unilaterally determined by an unpredictable and dysfunctional administration in Washington. Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP Compare the de-escalating crisis over North Koreas nuclear weapons with the escalating one over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which Trump is likely to withdraw the US on 12 May. This brings us to the second international meeting this week, this time between Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron in Washington, which had plenty of artificial-sounding bonhomie, but not much else. It was the worst type of state visit in which governments and the media are complicit in pretending that there is real amity and agreement. Kisses and handshakes were exchanged, and pictures of Trump removing a speck of dandruff from Macrons jacket were beamed across the planet, as if they signified anything. Once commentators would use the sugary phrase personal chemistry to describe a non-existent warmth between leaders, though this is being replaced by personal rapport which is a little less offensive. Strong emotional bonds between Trump and other human beings seem unlikely to me, given his manic self-obsession. He resembles an eighteenth century monarch presiding over a court in which there is an ever-changing array of courtiers, who are powerful one day only to be abruptly dismissed the next. Some US commentators have found reasons why the two men should get along. I particularly like a tweet by The Discourse Lover, who writes sarcastically: I actually bet Trump and Macron get along great Trump is the exact type of vulgar, acquisitive simpleton that French people assume all Americans are, Macron is the exact type of preening, arrogant creep that Americans assume all French people are. Recommended Trump and Macron are the new Bush and Blair Macron did not have any illusions that his personal rapport was getting him anywhere when it came to Iran. He confirmed that Trump will most likely kill the Iran nuclear deal for domestic reasons and will impose very tough sanctions on Iran. Angela Merkel is in Washington today and will see Trump, but is equally unlikely to change his position on Iran or anything else. The Iran crisis is truly dangerous in a way that was never quite true of the North Korea crisis. In Korea, we are talking of a peace agreement that would replace the Panmunjom Armistice of 1953, but there has been no war going on there for 65 years, though there have been a few sporadic clashes. Compare this with the position of Iran which is a rival for influence with the US in a ferocious war in Syria and one that in Iraq that is currently receding, but could easily blaze up again. The crisis in relations between the US and Iran has been going on so long essentially since the fall of the Shah in 1979 that people may be self-immunised against reacting to its latest and most dangerous phase. Trump will be withdrawing from an agreement with which all signatories US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China agree that Iran is in compliance. The US will reimpose sanctions, which will be damaging to Iran, but not be as painful as those imposed before the 2015 deal, because this time round they will have much less international support. Iran will inevitably resume all or part of the nuclear programme halted by the 2015 agreement since it will no longer receive any benefit from it. Trump may want a tougher deal but his own arbitrary actions have reduced the US diplomatic and economic leverage which he would need to obtain one. The Iranian leadership may respond cautiously to Trumps demarche in order to isolate the US and draw out a crisis that weakens the Americans more than it does the Iranians. Short of diplomatic options, the White House might view military action against Iran as an increasingly attractive approach. The Iran and North Korea crises are very different but in both cases Trump is behaving as if the US is turning into a stronger power when, thanks to his leadership, it is becoming a weaker one. The statement by the leaders of the two Koreas was grand enough in its aspiration to match this extraordinary and momentous day denuclearisation, replacing confrontation with cooperation, nothing less than the seeking of a new age of peace. And, beyond it, there is the hope of all this leading to the ultimate dream: unification of a divided country which had drawn international powers into its war and the decades of enmity which followed. Kim Jong-uns declaration that the North and South were brethren who should not live apart and will become one is not something which is practical, or something that Seoul would want, in the short term, but it is something which remains the ultimate prize. The summit, choreographed minutely and extremely well, was highly significant in setting up the building blocks for peace after 60 years of hostility: the first meeting between the heads of the North and the South for more than a decade, which is a big step in defusing the dangerous escalation started by Pyongyangs nuclear threats and missile launches. But the inter-Korean cordiale was, in reality, a supporting act for the main event: the proposed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, supposedly taking place in the next few weeks; a coming together of two leaders who had been involved in a fierce verbal war in which each side threatened to unleash a real war with potentially catastrophic consequences. The fact that the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in went so well should be a good augur for the one between Kim and the Trump. Who knows, the US president may even take a shine to Kim as he has done with other young international leaders like Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau. Disagreements may take place, as they do between Trump and Trudeau and Trump and Macron, without insults about little rocket men and old dotards. But, in reality, matters are more complicated. Soothing as the words were in Panmunjom, nothing concrete was decided. There is, for instance, no timeframe on offer for the North to denuclearise. The US demand remains that the North carries out unconditional nuclear disarmament with international monitoring to verify that it is taking place. And the West has experience of Pyongyang offering negotiations and making promises in the past with it all coming to nothing. Trump is said to be feeling more confident now in pursuing his own policies as president than when he first came to the White House, and feeling less need to listen to his advisers. His desire to be seen as the great dealmaker may tempt him to offer Kim concessions, but his administration, with two hawkish members John Boton and Mike Pompeo now in place, will fight hard against him going too far down that road. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Trump greeted people with the tweet KOREAN WAR TO END and then, unsurprisingly, claimed credit for the talks, declaring they were only taking place because of his tough tweets on North Korea. When I began, people were saying that that was an impossibility. They said there were two alternatives let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible, he declared. What that alternative would be remains unknown,and what happens in the future will be influenced by other, wider international factors. Kim Jong-un and his coterie may well be considering, in particular, two episodes one from the recent past, the other from the near future, in shaping their policies. Muammar Gaddafi thought he had brought his Libyan regime in from the cold after agreeing to abandon his nuclear programme in 2003 at the behest of the West. Eight years later a Nato bombing campaign enabled rebels to overthrow him a bombing campaign which would not have taken place if he had amassed a nuclear arsenal. Iran has signed a deal on its nuclear programme with six international states. Donald Trump, egged on by Israel and Saudi Arabia, is set to tear it up despite the other signatories Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China stressing that it is working and that Tehran is fulfilling its obligations. Trumps reneging of the deal, with its hugely damaging repercussions, would take place soon before he is due to meet Kim Jong-un. The North Korean leader cannot be blamed for thinking that the US has shown it is not a country which can be trusted to abide by international agreements. Congratulations to Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who is expecting her first baby at 39. She tweeted a picture of herself, her fiancee Jen and their spaniel with the caption our little family of three is becoming four! This piece of good news sums up how relaxed attitudes to sex, relationships and marriage have become in the last decade or so. Who would have thought that a jolly lesbian would lead the Scottish Conservatives, appear in Vogue and become one of the UKs most popular politicians? Or that Elton John, a happily married father of two, would read a bedtime story on CBeebies as he does for his two little boys at home. Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May swiftly sent congratulations to Davidson, knowing only too well that the canny Scot could be a future prime minister. Davidson says she and her partner hope to marry soon after their baby has been born shes already admitted that after three dates it was inevitable. If our attitudes to same sex relationships have become more tolerant, the legal and political establishment have been slow to recognise that there are huge anomalies in dealing with the fallout when partnerships go wrong. Ruth Davidson: "The dam has broken on this now and these male-dominated professions" Worse, theres a huge discrepancy depending on whether you divorce north or south of the Scottish border. Davidson and her partner Jen Wilson are lucky to live in a modern civilised county, one that has swiftly adapted to social change. In England and Wales, marriage is slowly going out of fashion, in part due to the complexity and cost of splitting up. Couples live together because they erroneously believe that the law will offer some protection should they go their separate ways. How can people be so ignorant? The division of property and agreeing access to children can cost unmarried couples a fortune in legal bills if there are disagreements. If you are married, clear guidelines set out a framework to resolve these issues. But the grounds for divorce remain medieval the concept of blame remains in place in England and Wales, but not in Scotland. Since 2006, couples divorcing north of the border need only cite one of two reasons breakdown of the marriage or gender reassignment. Breakdown is defined as one of the following: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, a one-year separation by mutual consent, or a two-year separation where one party objects. Two-thirds of Scottish divorces fall into the quickie category, and the divorce rate has fallen by 14 per cent in the past four years. Division of property is equally split, as is the responsibility of caring for children under 16. Why cant England and Wales follow suit? The last attempt to reform our divorce laws took place in 1990, blocked in parliament by those claiming the changes would undermine marriage. Divorce law in England and Wales still relies on the concept of blame, or one party admitting guilt it is no longer fit for purpose. Most of our senior judges are actively campaigning for radical change Baroness Hale, Baroness Butler-Sloss, Sir Alan Ward, Sir Paul Coleridge, Lord Mackay and Sir James Munby, all with years of experience. The most shocking celebrity divorces Show all 20 1 /20 The most shocking celebrity divorces The most shocking celebrity divorces depps.jpg The most shocking celebrity divorces ben-afflect.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces gwen-stefabi.jpg Getty Images for L.A.M.B. The most shocking celebrity divorces melanie-griffith-antonio-banderas.jpg Getty Images for Children's Hosp The most shocking celebrity divorces miranda-kerr-orlando-bloom.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces tom-cruise.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces heidi-klum-seal.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces russell-brand.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces demi-moore-ashton-kutcher.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces jennifer-lopez-marc-anthony.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces gwyneth-paltrow-chris-martin.jpg Getty Images for Entertainment I The most shocking celebrity divorces tiger-woods.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces madonna.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces 20293.bin The most shocking celebrity divorces 20296.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20298.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20299.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20300.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20295.bin Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces 20297.bin Getty Images Baroness Shackleton, a leading divorce QC, agrees. If all these experts concur, surely theres no need for another commission to investigate how to change our divorce laws, we should simply bring them into line with Scotland. A new BBC1 drama called The Split, by Abi Morgan, started last week, based on the work and family life of a mother and her three daughters, all high-powered divorce lawyers. In real life, women are highly successful barristers specialising in obtaining maximum rewards for their wealthy clients in the family courts and London has become the divorce capital of the world because of the size of the settlements some wronged wives are able to obtain from their billionaire husbands. Isnt this a bit like trading in blood diamonds, something we should not be comfortable accommodating? If the prime minister truly wants to help ordinary women the kind who work for a living because they have to its simple. Chuck out the concept of blame in divorce. Make pre-nuptial agreements enforceable in law. Offer long-term married couples the chance to draw up legal agreements that are watertight should they split. Give heterosexual couples the right to enter into civil partnerships. So simple, I cant imagine whats holding her back. Forget what the Church of England thinks they are out of step with modern Britain anyway, refusing to allow same sex marriages in churches or permitting gay vicars to get married. Watching Morgans entertaining drama, its clear the only people profiting from the current mess are wealthy middle class lawyers who have a clock running while they express faux-sympathy for your cause. As a client, you are just another feather in their cap. Highly trained women pretending they are fighting for other women, whereas they are far more concerned with their own status within the toxic world of the legal profession. The UK's orderly Brexit is in jeopardy without a solution to the Irish Border issue, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned. In a hard-hitting speech, Mr Varadkar left the British government in "no doubt" that he is prepared to pull the plug on the proposed withdrawal agreement. Ramping up Ireland's position and demanding clarity on avoiding a hard Border, Mr Varadkar renounced British "red lines" on Brexit such as its refusal so far to remain within the single market, the customs union or the European Economic Area. "The only thing that is a barrier to the close and comprehensive relationship is some of the hard red lines that have come from the British government," he said at the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium. "It is essential that we see real and solid progress by June if the negotiations are to move forward. And without a solution to the Irish Border there can be no withdrawal agreement. Let there be no doubt about that," he said as part of his lecture on the Future of Europe. Britain needs the withdrawal agreement settled by the October deadline, as it also contains the terms of the 21-month transitional period in which businesses can adapt to Brexit before March 2019. Mr Varadkar stopped short of threatening to halt Brexit progress altogether. "That's a judgment call to be made then. I'm not someone who makes ultimatums. I'm not somebody who makes threats. "That's not the way I've approached these negotiations," he said when asked if he was prepared to essentially veto progress on talks at the next EU summit in late June. Read more: DUP threatens to pull plug on May after hints of Border compromise Earlier, Irish EU Commissioner Phil Hogan called on the UK to "climb down from the barricades" and find a deal in the best interests of all the people. "The UK wants to keep its red lines, understands that a free trade agreement means a hard Border, and is trying to escape by inventing a new type of border," Mr Hogan told the Seanad in Dublin. He said British Prime Minister Theresa May had said a soft Border can be assured - even with a free-trade agreement. But he added: "The EU has looked at the UK's ideas. It is not convinced that they can give us the border security we need within the Brexit timescale. "It has sent the UK back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, it insists on the back-stop of a customs union for the whole island." He added that Mrs May wanted the UK "to retain many of the advantages it gains from EU membership". "She has given us a long list of what the UK wants to keep. A very long list. On the other hand, she maintains her red lines," he said. Meanwhile, the uncertainty around Brexit's impact on banks and financial services dominated a high-level seminar in London yesterday hosted by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. The chair of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce Financial Services Committee Brian Daly, who is also head of Brexit at KPMG, said afterwards that Brexit talks have been "slow, difficult and fraught with uncertainty". He told the Irish Independent that earlier prospects of a 10,000-job 'Brexit boost' for Ireland from banks and insurers leaving London was no longer realistic, and there was a growing risk of a disruptive, no-deal Brexit. While smart technology is well-known and widely used in cities, rural areas have been somewhat neglected. But the EU is attempting to bridge the gap with a multimillion euro project to determine what makes a village "smart", and pass on that knowledge to other areas across the bloc. By June, the European Commission aims to draw up a sort of checklist for smart villages, studying success stories all the way from Skibbereen to Lapland. They will then use EU money to test those ideas in 10 other villages. The European Parliament has set aside 3.3m of its own budget this year to fund the project. It is being pioneered by two MEPs: Slovenia's Franc Bogovi and Hungarian deputy Tibor Szanyi, whose mission statement is "to create rural areas where people can and want to live, because innovative, digital solutions make their lives easy and comfortable". But 3.3m is not going to go far. Smart village "If we really want to see a large roll-out of smart villages, we need to talk about billions of euro rather than millions of euro," agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said earlier this month at a conference on smart villages in Bled, Slovenia. His preference is to use financial instruments to leverage private money from EU funding, which could subsidise loans for farmers and local businesses. The Commission's recent paper on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy namechecks the smart village idea, and is set to require national authorities to come up with digitisation strategies as part of their CAP plans, which would then need to be approved by the Commission. The EU's rural development budget can also help. Because success begins and ends with a fast internet connection, programmes like the bloc's 10bn LEADER programme are also useful for funding smart villages. Only 40pc of rural EU households currently have access to high-speed broadband, compared to 76pc of urban households, the European Commission says. The English village of Alston Moor set up a community-owned broadband service, Cybermoor, in 2002, after it was passed over by larger service providers. The movement has spread, and the village now has a community-owned bakery, gym and many other businesses. Providing education and medical services to cut-off regions is also a priority. City dwellers are almost twice as likely to have third-level qualifications as their rural counterparts, and are much more likely to have better access to healthcare. An Italian government strategy to revitalise remote inland villages has helped to fund a community car-pooling app, virtual classrooms and online medical checks in local pharmacies. While most Europeans live in cities, Irish people tend to do the opposite, with over 40pc of people living in the countryside (compared to an EU average of under 30pc). The EU is already looking to the success story of Skibbereen in West Cork, where the Ludgate digital hub provides superfast broadband, video conferencing and desk sharing for local entrepreneurs and freelancers. EU officials also point to Lapland's "smart Arctic" network, which is connecting remote northern Finnish food producers with consumers halfway across the world. The Commission sees smart villages as climate pioneers. Cloughjordan ecovillage in Tipperary, set up on a 27-hectare farm in 1999, now has 50 families living in low-energy homes, growing their own food in allotments, and has a carbon footprint that is less than half the Irish national average. And in Denmark, 70-80pc of wind turbines are community-owned, while in Sweden, close to 50pc of local fibre-optic networks are owned by municipalities or community-run enterprises. Farm focus But farmers must be at the heart of smart villages, says Alan Jagoe, a Cork farmer who was also head of Macra Na Feirme and the European Council of Young Farmers. "There needs to be a strong agricultural sector to make sure people are in villages to begin with," says Mr Jagoe. "If you can ensure farming is profitable and sustainable, then people will stay in rural areas. And so many people are now choosing to move out of cities and move to rural areas. If we don't have basic services, they won't come." Farmers need broadband to do everything from banking to precision farming, Mr Jagoe argues. Moo monitors - sensors that use heat to optimise when to feed, milk, breed and medicate herds - are one of the innovations Jagoe has recently installed on his Carrigaline farm. "If you said this to my dad 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, he wouldn't have believed it," he said. "Smart farming has changed the way we farm today." Kevin Maguire from Dunderry, Navan, who has been re-elected President of the Charolais Cattle Society for the third consecutive year - the first person to serve a three-year consecutive term Mattie Kelly from Cloughbrack, Newbridge, Ballinasloe with champion of the show and sale price topper Cloughbrack Matthew, which sold for 7,200, with Stewart Wilson, show judge. A 7,200 Co Galway bred champion led the trade for bulls at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society Show and Sale at GVM Mart, Tullamore on Saturday. Demand at the sale included some interest from Northern Ireland breeders, but at the fall of auctioneer Richard Ryan's hammer, the champion of show, Cloughbrack Matthew, was set to remain in the west, a few miles from the farm where he was bred. Expand Close Handler Edel Neale with Rossanna Mustard, a first prizewinner exhibited by Patrick Stephens from Rosanna House, Rathoe, Tullow, Co Carlow. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Handler Edel Neale with Rossanna Mustard, a first prizewinner exhibited by Patrick Stephens from Rosanna House, Rathoe, Tullow, Co Carlow. Maeve O'Higgins from Loughrea received a warm round of applause after she outbid strong competition for the champion, bred and exhibited by Mattie Kelly from Cloughbrack, Newbridge, Ballinasloe. A five-star terminal and three-star replacement index bull, with a strong five stars expected progeny performance, both within the breed and across all breeds for carcass weight, the champion also carried five stars across all breeds for conformation. Expand Close Carefully studying the entry at the Charolais Society Bull Show and Sale are Hugh Crawford from Glenarm Farm, Antrim and Basil Buchanan from Sligo, a former chairman of IFA Animal Health. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carefully studying the entry at the Charolais Society Bull Show and Sale are Hugh Crawford from Glenarm Farm, Antrim and Basil Buchanan from Sligo, a former chairman of IFA Animal Health. The October 2016-born bull was bred by Vosgien (s) and Doon Irene (d) in a yard that has become accustomed to a generous measure of rosettes and strong prices for the progeny. A second bull from the herd, Cloughbrack Messi, of Derryloman Impeccable (s) and Cloughbrack Starlet (d) breeding, sold for 3,300. Expand Close Enda Mullins (11) from Clohanmore, Cree, Kilrush with show first prizewinner Clohanmore Martin. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Enda Mullins (11) from Clohanmore, Cree, Kilrush with show first prizewinner Clohanmore Martin. Reserve champion of the show, Forrest View Nugget, bred and exhibited by Sean McLoughlin from Drumgowna, Keshcarrigan, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim was purchased for the second highest price of the day, 7,000 from a Northern Ireland breeder, one of a small number of purchases destined to cross the border. The January 2017-born bull, bred by the well-known Doonally New (s) and Prime Handsome (d) attracted a lot of interest from breeders. Expand Close James Geoghegan from Lisnagree, Streamstown, Mullingar with prizewinning bull Lisnagree Noel, which sold for 5,500. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp James Geoghegan from Lisnagree, Streamstown, Mullingar with prizewinning bull Lisnagree Noel, which sold for 5,500. The class winner, that went on to take the second highest award of the show, is a five-star terminal and lone-star replacement index, with plenty of stars for expected performance of progeny. Maria Calvey from Knappabeg, Westport received 11,600 for December 2016-born twins Caltun Mighty and Caltun Mossy, bred by Pirate (s) and Caltun Alice (d). Mighty went to a Co Tyrone breeder at 6,600, the third highest price of the day, and Mossy sold for 5,000 to a Co Roscommon breeder. Expand Close Barry and Mark McLoughin from Drumgowna, Keshcarrigan, Carrick-on-Shannon with Forrest View Nugget, reserve champion of the show, which sold for 7,000. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Barry and Mark McLoughin from Drumgowna, Keshcarrigan, Carrick-on-Shannon with Forrest View Nugget, reserve champion of the show, which sold for 7,000. Jim Geoghegan's Lisnagree herd at Streamstown, Mullingar received 5,500 from a NI breeder for Lisnagree Noel and 5,100 for Lisnagree Monty from a Tipperary breeder. Clearance at 66pc has eased back on the sale in 2017 but the average price at 3,581 was up 15pc. However, the general view is that there is an oversupply of bulls on the market and the number of buyers attending sales are down, which is making for a tough trading environment. While a small number of bulls sold at 2,000-2,500 as some vendors may be under pressure to ease stock numbers, sales at 3,500 or higher represented almost half of the bulls which changed hands. Demand for extra workers on farms this springtime surged by a further 20pc, according to Farm Relief Services (FRS). The number of workers required soared in the dairy strongholds of Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Limerick and up into Wicklow. "We've never had as many operators on the ground as we have at this minute," said Padraig Madden of FRS. "It is growing all the time - we are up 15-20pc year on year." He said they have been working hard to try and supply the extra labour required. "We took on 200 extra people in the spring - the vast majority were Irish," he said, adding some had come from New Zealand, whilst they also had some students on work experience from a Lithuanian university. "We are working with New Zealand to bring people in on exchange programmes. Ireland is being developed as a top class destination for students on courses in Eastern Europe." Teagasc has estimated that more than 6,000 people will need to enter the industry by 2025 as dairy herds expand. Mr Madden said milking skills courses had taken place in Kildalton and Cavan, while courses are due to take place in Clonakilty and Pallaskenry. He said there were plans to bring more courses to Meath, Cavan and Louth. Mr Madden said there was a lot of potential there and they were "confident" it would deliver workers. Meanwhile, Philip Tallon, Dawn Meats operations manager, said the factories were "struggling" with a "labour crisis" currently. "Unemployment is at an all-time low, when this happened the last time we were able to take in non-EU workers, now we are not able to so. We are working with various agencies IBEC, MII and horticulture industry to see if we can get workers from outside Europe - Brazil, Ukraine to bring in and help out with the labour shortage." Mr Tallon said they were actively recruiting in Eastern Europe but they preferred to work in the mainland of Europe. "The differential between the wage in Ireland and the wage in Europe has narrowed," he said, adding they would need up to 500 workers over the year. The Vice Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association in Donegal has told of how a freak farm accident at his home last week almost cost him his life. Mr Brendan McLaughlin, who farms 86 acres at Balleighan, outside Manorcunningham, had been treating a sick calf last Sunday afternoon when its mother suddenly ran towards him. The 66-year-old sustained serious leg injuries as he instinctively tried to jump out of the heifers path at the last minute. The Donegal IFA vice chairman was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital where he underwent surgery. Hes back in hospital on Monday next for more surgery. Speaking from his home yesterday (Thursday) Mr McLaughlin said that he was lucky to be alive. Ive been farming for fifty years and Ive never broke a limb. Im always very conscious of farm safety but its unbelievable what happened to me last Sunday. I calved the heifer myself and thought she was a quiet, yet powerful animal, he said. Cow attacks have increased significantly in the last decade, with the time around calving proving to be most dangerous. I bred the heifer myself. Shes thirty months of age and I trusted her. Im very aware of safety and have proper escape gates and pens throughout the farm. Thankfully I was able to dive through the feeding gate. Foot got caught I had just dosed the calf. I didnt go near the cow and kept the gate open. I then went into the pen behind her but instead of going in she just stood and looked at me. I instinctively knew what was coming and just made a dive for the feeding byre but my foot got caught. I fell onto my back and was trying to pull my foot back. I roared at her and had to kick out at her with my other foot before freeing myself. I just sat there doing breathing exercises before phoning my wife Bried. My mobile phone was my saviour. My brother also came down to help and I was taken to Letterkenny hospital where Mr Peter ORourke and the staff were all top class, he said. Mr McLaughlins leg is broken in three places and he has had a plate inserted. Im always preaching about farm safety but this incident just goes to show you that you can never trust an animal. If my story helps to save one life on another farm then my current pain and injuries will have been worth it. You can never, ever be too safe, Mr McLaughlin said. European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan has given his biggest indication that people not actively engaged in agricultural activity will be excluded from EU payments in new reforms. Addressing the Seanad yesterday, Commissioner Hogan also gave reassurance to part-time farmers that they will not be excluded from payments in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). These people are actively involved in farming the land. Only those people who engage in hobby farming, or sofa farming as we call it, have reason to be scrutinised in respect of getting money from the CAP for not being engaged in agriculture, he said. The Commissioner also addressed the hot topic amongst farmers of capping payments to farmers. At the moment there is a cap of 150,000 on payments in Ireland. Mr Hogan said the Commission will be proposing a 60,000 cap for all farmers in the European Union a proposal which the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said he supports. Whatever I propose it will be a matter for the Member States and the European Parliament to agree. We can only make a proposal but I am concerned about this issue. Whatever savings can be made from the proceeds of this cap can be kept within the member state and redistributed to small and medium-size farmers to ensure that it limits the impact of any particular reduction in budgetary terms for those farmers who need it, he said. During the hearing many Senators raised concerns over threats to the future funding of the CAP. Mr Hogan said Senators were right to be concerned about the budget adding that available funds will be down 12 billion because the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union, and many member states have already agreed at European Council level that they want to see some programmes such as security, migration and defence co-ordinated. It is estimated that this will require another 12 billion over seven years. In the absence of additional contributions from member states and new sources of additional income for the European Union, there will be a cut in expenditure. The challenge is for us to get the balance right on where those cuts should be, he said. Lunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. 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The move came on a day when four notorious burglars saw their sentences significantly increased by the court. Two men had their jail terms almost doubled, after the court decided their original sentences were too lenient, following a fatal burglary where a 62-year-old collapsed and died. Cousins Michael Casey (34), of Clonlong Halting Site, Southill, Co Limerick, and David Casey (23), of Carragh Park, Belcamp, Dublin 17, had pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries, including one at the home of John ODonoghue, at Toomaline, Doon, Co Limerick, on August 27, 2015. Mr ODonoghue, who had heart problems, collapsed and died as he was about to confront the intruders. They ran away without offering help. Judge Tom ODonnell sentenced both men at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to four-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final year suspended on December 15, 2016. The Court of Appeal found the mens sentences to be unduly lenient and they were both re-sentenced yesterday to seven years with the final eight months suspended. Counsel for the DPP, Thomas OMalley BL, said the Caseys had gone on a burglary spree. Michael Casey had 44 previous convictions including one for robbery. David Casey had 14 previous convictions. He was on bail at the time of the spree in respect of a burglary in Galway. It follows the DPP asking the Court of Appeal to set guidelines or sentencing parameters for burglary in Ireland. It submitted a number of factors that would put a burglary into a more serious mid range category. These included planning and premeditation; two or more participants acting together; the targeting of residential properties, especially in rural areas; the targeting of residential property because the occupant was known to be vulnerable on account of age, disability or some other factor; and the taking of property which had a high monetary value or high sentimental value. The DPP also identified factors that would tend to place a burglary in the most serious category. These were ransacking of a dwelling; entering during the night a dwelling known to be occupied especially if the occupant is alone; the use or threat of violence; and causing significant injury or trauma. To that list Mr Justice George Birmingham said the Court of Appeal would add the presence of relevant previous convictions as an aggravating factor. Evidence that an intruder was equipped with a weapon while in the dwelling, rather than bringing one in, would also be a serious aggravating factor, the judge said. In a separate case the Court of Appeal increased a burglars three-month prison sentence to two-and-a-half years with nine month suspended. Richard Evans (34), of Conyngham Road, Dublin 8, had 127 previous convictions, including 17 for burglary, when he was jailed for burglary of a domestic dwelling at Coke Lane in the capital on February 18, 2015. Another 21-year-old burglar, with 64 previous convictions, had his prison sentence doubled. Leon Byrne, with a last address at Lourdes Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, had been sentenced to a net three-and-a-half year jail term on July 17, 2017. He was re-sentenced to seven years imprisonment with the final two suspended. Smurfit Kappa shares edged 0.76pc higher to 34.62, as the packaging giant said its first quarter profits jumped 22pc to 340m. US paper packaging giant International Paper yesterday insisted it would continue to look at its "options" on Smurfit Kappa, despite receiving two rebuttals to its unsolicited takeover offers for the Dublin-based company. Mark Sutton, chief executive of the Memphis-headquartered group that recently sweetened an offer for Europe's largest boxmaker to 8.9bn, said he was "disappointed" by the lack of engagement from Smurfit's board. On an analyst call to cover International Paper's quarterly results, Mr Sutton said "there is a process that we are in right now and we will continue to look at our options and I'm not at liberty to say what the next decision is". He added: "We have a compelling proposal on the table and we're disappointed we haven't been able to engage with Smurfit-Kappa." International Paper's shares were down by 1.6pc at the time of writing, despite the group reporting first quarter net sales of US$5.62bn - 2.7pc ahead of market expectations. The company notched up net earnings of $729m, or $1.74 per share, in the quarter, compared to net earnings of $209m, or $0.50 per share, in the previous period. In an analyst note, UBS highlighted the rise in raw material costs but said that on the pulp and printing side prices "positively surprised". Smurfit Kappa's share price rose by over 2pc yesterday to close at 35.12. Bank of Ireland has given its first indication that it plans to launch Apple Pay and Android Pay with its banking services. The bank, which is the only major financial institution in Ireland without either Apple Pay or Android Pay, now says that the modern payment processes are in its future. "We expect to integrate phone payments in the future," a spokesman for the bank told Independent.ie. "However we are not in a position to confirm timings." Asked to clarify "phone payments", the spokesman said that it would "include Apple and Android Pay". Apple Pay was launched in Ireland in early 2017, while Android Pay has been in the market since December 2016. All of Bank of Irelands main rivals have incorporated at least one of the phone payment systems due to customer demand. However, Bank of Ireland has stalled on introducing the technology, leading to substantial dissatisfaction among some of its customers. "I changed banks away from Bank of Ireland because of it," said Dermot Daly, founder of Dublin tech company Tapadoo. Apple and Android Pay work in a similar fashion to contactless cards and are accepted in the same locations, including the majority of convenience shops, cafes, restaurants and retailers around the country. The phone payment systems are regarded as being more secure than contactless cards because they require a fingerprint, FaceID scan or pin code to work, while contactless cards can be used by whoever is holding one. Ireland's biggest company, CRH, may look at suspending scrip dividend payments in the future whenever it's undertaking a share buyback, according to chief executive Albert Manifold. The review comes just a day after the building materials group announced plans for a 1bn share buyback to be executed over the next 12 months. But the scrip dividend payments in respect of this year won't be impacted. A scrip dividend is where shareholders opt to receive their dividend in the form of shares in a company, rather than in cash. Mr Manifold and chief financial officer Senan Murphy confirmed that the topic has been, and is, under discussion at board level. Mr Manifold said the amount of shares issued under scrip dividend payments typically varied due to the influence of arbitrage. Shareholders receive a dividend entitlement on a particular date, but the date on which that dividend is used to issue the scrip shares may be a later date. That means the number of shares issued under a dividend can shift depending on the share price movement in the intervening period. CRH paid 77m in scrip dividends in respect of 2017, from a total of 546m in dividends allocated to shareholders. A special resolution passed at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday gives the CRH board flexibility regarding the mechanism for setting the price for scrip dividend offers. "There are some small shareholders who like the scrip dividend," said Mr Manifold, adding that this year would give a clearer picture of how receptive they are to it. And Senan Murphy told shareholders: "Having a scrip dividend in place at the same time as a buy back going on does seem counter-intuitive." Mr Manifold said CRH had made major advances in its business in the past six years. He pointed out that cement demand in both the United States and Europe slumped during the recession and has still not recovered, implying significant headroom for growth in both geographies. He also acknowledged that CRH had made poor investment decisions in the past. "Over decades CRH has made so many mistakes, it's embarrassing," Mr Manifold told shareholders. "We're not the smartest guys in the room. We're not too stupid either. "The truest sense of a business is the returns in cash it generates," he added. Irish Nationwide Building Society failed to undertake any detailed analysis of its largest loan exposures in 2008 despite the slump in property prices that helped to eventually cripple the now defunct lender and saddle taxpayers with a 5bn clean-up bill. The lack of recognition of the true risks on the Society's books emerged yesterday in evidence given to the Central Bank's inquiry into alleged regulatory breaches at the organisation. Vincent Reilly, a partner with KPMG, the long-serving auditors of Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS), told the inquiry that in 2008 he was presented with a set of draft accounts showing "no underlying detailed analysis of the material loans". He claimed the figures did "not take into account the decline in the value of collateral that had occurred" between the start and end of 2008 - Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of that year. Mr Reilly noted the fall in property prices accelerated in the second half of 2008 but said INBS's credit gradings "suggested everything was relatively rosy". He claimed a report from another big accountancy firm, commissioned by the Department of Finance, argued provisions were unnecessary. Mr Reilly claimed INBS's prominent CEO, Michael Fingleton, "was standing over that [report] and saying we don't need any provisions". Mr Reilly told the inquiry INBS received a derogation from the regulator in filing the accounts in April, as "the accounts were wrong as we saw them". According to Mr Reilly, KPMG asked the Society's management to do a more thorough analysis and said the accountancy firm checked this and as a result "we made additional provisions of about 300m over a period of a month". He claimed the provision work required at year end resulted in INBS's management revising its credit gradings on loans. "We had credit gradings of A or B, when in fact we had provisions, when we did our work, that indicated C or D or worse, and that had not been reflected in the draft financial statements." Mr Reilly was also asked whether he viewed it as KPMG's responsibility to ensure that recommendations set out in the firm's management letter to INBS had been complied with. He insisted the "responsibility of the maintenance of a system in an organisation rests with the board". Shares in Scandinavian airline Norwegian soared again yesterday after founder and chief executive Bjorn Kjos softened his earlier hostility to an approach from Aer Lingus owner IAG to buy the carrier, and signalled that other potential investors have also been circling the business. IAG, headed by former Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh, revealed earlier this month that it had bought a 4.61pc stake in Norwegian and was interested in acquiring the entire airline. IAG also owns British Airways and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling. It also has a fledgling low-cost transatlantic carrier called Level. But Mr Kjos was initially hostile to the IAG approach, saying that he "hasn't thought about selling at all". Mr Kjos owns 27pc of stock market-listed Norwegian. But as Norwegian published first quarter results yesterday, Mr Kjos told Bloomberg TV that although the Norwegian board might not back a takeover based on the airline's current market valuation, "there's a saying that if the price is right, everything is for sale". Shares in Norwegian were more than 17pc higher near the close in Oslo yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of 13.6bn krone (1.4bn). IAG paid 1.36bn in 2015 to buy Aer Lingus, which was profitable. Norwegian also said that it has "received several inquiries" following IAG's approach. "Although these inquiries may not be as serious as IAG's, interest from other parties could drive IAG's acquisition price higher," noted Davy Stockbrokers. "The Norwegian board of directors has established a steering committee and engaged financial and judicial advisers to review the situation, handle relevant inquiries and to safeguard the interests of all shareholders," noted Norwegian yesterday. IAG said this month that it considers Norwegian to be an "attractive" investment. "The minority investment is intended to establish a position from which to initiate discussions with Norwegian, including the possibility of a full offer for Norwegian," it said. Mr Kjos said he's happy to have IAG as an investor and intends to act in the best interests of all shareholders. Norwegian has become a target as it grapples with a stretched balance sheet after splurging on the planes needed to compete with the likes of Ryanair on European routes while establishing a pioneering discount operation in the transatlantic market. The company said that additional capital, including a share placing this quarter, is poised to "boost competitiveness and protect existing and future investments," while confirming that a programme of aircraft divestment will extend to as many as 140 jets, raising further funds. Norwegian took delivery of six new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and two brand-new Boeing 737-800 aircraft in the first quarter of the year. The airline started flights from Ireland to the United States last year. Norwegian ordered 200 new-generation narrow-body jets in 2012, split equally between Boeing and Airbus models, but plans to standardise its short-haul fleet around Boeing's 737 jets and take only some Airbus aircraft. That has left 70 Airbus A320s free for sale before they're even delivered, as well as older planes Norwegian no longer needs. (Additional Reporting: Bloomberg) Ryanair has warned pilots that any collective labour agreements with unions "must meet our proven business model of low fares, high aircraft utilisation and maintaining existing pilot productivity". In a recent update circulated to its pilots around Europe, and seen by the Irish Independent, Ryanair's chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, outlined progress being made across the continent in relation to securing collective labour agreements. "While some countries have moved quickly, signed recognition agreements and got on with the business of negotiating for pilots, other unions have been much slower to accept meeting invitations or to respond to our proposals," Mr Wilson told pilots in the memo. He singled out Ireland as a sticking point, saying that "very little progress" has been made in talks with unions here since initial contact took place last December. The talks are being led by trade union Forsa. "After two meetings in December and January, we have made very little progress," Mr Wilson said. "Forsa have taken over one month to reply to our letter and seems unwilling to recognise Ryanair's low fares, high-productivity model or provide assurances that there will be no involvement of competitor airline pilots in our negotiations," he said. Forsa has previously criticised Ryanair's approach to talks. In February, the union claimed that Ryanair was attempting to retain its existing employee representative committee (ERC) structure for interacting with pilots, in a move it insisted was "incompatible with trade union recognition". Mr Wilson said that Ryanair wrote to Forsa 10 days ago, "confirming that we will recognise them and negotiate a collective agreement but they must first accept Ryanair's high-productivity model and agree to negotiate for Ryanair pilots without the involvement of competitor airline pilots". Also in February, Mr Wilson told Forsa that the airline would continue to refuse to accept any letter from Forsa which also bears the name of the Irish Airline Pilots' Association (IALPA), a union under the Forsa auspices which also represents Aer Lingus pilots. "Ryanair management is wrong to assume that recognising a union simply means drawing up its own 'agreements' and instructing the union to sign them," said a Forsa spokesman at the time. And while Mr Wilson said in his latest memo that Ryanair is "hopeful of an early conclusion" on recognising trade union Sepla in Spain, insiders said that the talks there have not progressed well. Mr Wilson added that a recent survey responded to by "over 50pc" of Ryanair's pilots, "gave clear, honest and unabridged feedback on many issues that we will address with pilot committees and their union officials". Monaghan-based meat producer Silver Hill has taken a step closer to launching its 'London Duck' in Malaysia and Indonesia. The family-owned company, which was established in 1962, signed distribution agreements with the two companies in the Asian countries. Barry Cullen, head of sales at the company, travelled to Asia for the signing of the agreements. He recently presented a member of the TungLok Group with a plaque to mark the restaurant group serving its 100,000th Silver Hill 'London Duck'. The TungLok Group owns and manages more than 35 restaurants in Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, China and Vietnam. Already the Monaghan duck can be found in around 50 of the top hotels and restaurants in Singapore, on a growing number of menus in Hong Kong and in Macau's Mandarin Oriental five-star hotel. Ironically, the Irish-reared fowl is known in the Far East as 'London Duck' because it initially took off among the restaurants of the UK capital's China Town district. Communications Minister Denis Naughten sits down with Adrian and Fearghal OConnor to talk of plans to make high speed broadband an enforceable legal right in Ireland. The Roscommon TD also says that a new mobile coverage map for Ireland will become available at the end of the year, showing where all the blackspots are. And after weeks of controversy, Minister Naughten also answers a few questions about media plurality in Ireland and when a ministerial opinion differs from a personal opinion when talking on the phone. Other topics covered include the struggle of electric cars in Ireland, why the Minister himself doesnt drive one and the future of Eir. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo: Reuters Ardagh Group reported first quarter revenue showing sales up 13pc to $2.22bn (1.83bn). The glass and metal packaging group listed a slice of equity in New York last year, and is mostly owned by businessman Paul Coulson. "Our first quarter results again highlight the benefit of Ardagh's scale and diversity across our two substrates and multiple geographies. The group delivered adjusted ebitda growth of 9pc to $348m on a reported basis and 1pc at constant currency," said CEO and chairman Mr Coulson. The billionaire Ardagh founder took over direct management of the group last year, after the surprise departure of CEO Ian Curley. Elsewhere, encouraging results and a fall in the euro boosted European stock markets on Thursday, while earnings disappointments weighed on some stocks including Germany's Lufthansa and Kion. The STOXX 600 ended the session 0.9pc higher as the euro fell to a session low after the ECB kept policy unchanged at its latest meeting. Deutsche Bank shares had a choppy session and ended 2pc lower after the lender said it would scale back its bond and equities trading in a significant overhaul of its investment bank, after reporting a 79pc drop in net profit in the first quarter. "The strategy potentially resolves the capitalisation concerns of the bank, but profitability remains an issue," KBW analysts said in a note. Deutsche Bank shares are down nearly 25pc year-to-date, the worst-performing of the European banks sector. Meanwhile Norway's largest bank, DNB, jumped 6.7pc after profit beat expectations thanks to a bounce in the oil sector. Post: #1 BREAKING NEWS: NEW ERA, NO MORE WAR: TWO KOREAS AGREE ON COMPLETE DENUCLERAZATION Advertisement update: New era, no more war: Two Koreas agree on complete denuclearization A new era of peace is beginning, according to a declaration signed by the leaders of North and South Korea after their first meeting in over a decade. Both nations are aiming to completely denuclearize the Korean peninsula "South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearization," reads the declaration signed by the leaders of the two countries, as cited by Yonhap. There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula, and a new age of peace has opened," the document adds. The two sides also agreed to hold multi-party talks, involving the US and China, in their push for a full-scale truce. Pyongyang and Seoul are also to have high-level military talks in May. In an ambitious statement after the signing ceremony, Kim said he hopes that the two Koreas will reunite. The states separated after the WWII and have remained hostile since the Korean War ended with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, in 1953. MORE https://www.rt.com/news/425279-koreas-pe...ion-talks/ http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/04/27/...eting.html https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/north...index.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/smiling-holdi...41996.html https://www.jpost.com/International/Kim-...war-552863 =========== Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to cross the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone into South Korea on Friday morning. Kim was met by South Korean President Moon Jae-in ahead of the historic inter-Korean summit set to take place throughout the day. The two leaders are expected to discuss the potential denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and efforts to forge a peace treaty between their countries. Experts, however, remain skeptical about the meeting, with some warning that the North will not give up its nuclear arms easily. As Kim crossed into the South, he shook hands with Moon before bringing his counterpart back over the border to the North for another handshake. They then held hands and crossed back into the South, where Kim was met with an honor guard. read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/kim-jong-un-c...24706.html I am so confused !!! update:New era, no more war: Two Koreas agree on complete denuclearizationA new era of peace is beginning, according to a declaration signed by the leaders of North and South Korea after their first meeting in over a decade. Both nations are aiming to completely denuclearize the Korean peninsula"South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearization," reads the declaration signed by the leaders of the two countries, as cited by Yonhap.There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula, and a new age of peace has opened," the document adds.The two sides also agreed to hold multi-party talks, involving the US and China, in their push for a full-scale truce. Pyongyang and Seoul are also to have high-level military talks in May.In an ambitious statement after the signing ceremony, Kim said he hopes that the two Koreas will reunite. The states separated after the WWII and have remained hostile since the Korean War ended with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, in 1953.MORE===========Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to cross the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone into South Korea on Friday morning.Kim was met by South Korean President Moon Jae-in ahead of the historic inter-Korean summit set to take place throughout the day. The two leaders are expected to discuss the potential denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and efforts to forge a peace treaty between their countries.Experts, however, remain skeptical about the meeting, with some warning that the North will not give up its nuclear arms easily.As Kim crossed into the South, he shook hands with Moon before bringing his counterpart back over the border to the North for another handshake. They then held hands and crossed back into the South, where Kim was met with an honor guard.read more:I am so confused !!! The German government could lower the threshold at which it can intervene in response to foreign investments in companies, its economy minister said yesterday, amid growing concern that China and other rivals are gaining access to key technologies. Berlin tightened controls on foreign investments last year after a series of high-profile takeovers by Chinese firms, by extending a 25pc shareholding threshold, at which the government can intervene, to additional business sectors. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the government was looking into tightening those rules even further. "The question of (lowering) the takeover threshold is one of many options on the table that we can discuss in the government and parliamentary groups," said Mr Altmaier, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Coalition sources have said the government could lower the foreign takeover threshold to 15pc or 20pc. German magazine 'Wirtschaftswoche' reported on Thursday that Mr Altmaier was open to lowering the threshold to 10pc. "I want Chinese companies to continue to invest here. But that must also be possible the other way around," Mr Altmaier said, reflecting concerns that China is gaining too much access to key technologies in Germany and other countries while shielding its own companies from foreign takeovers. "It's about fair economic relations and rules that have to apply to both sides. We also have a duty to protect our critical infrastructures," Mr Altmaier said. The comments follow an intense debate about Chinese investments in Europe, after a series of corporate takeovers in western Europe and infrastructure investments, notably in Greece and the Balkans. The most prominent case in Germany so far was the purchase of German robotics maker Kuka by Chinese company Midea in 2016. The debate has also been fuelled by Chinese carmaker Geely's move to buy a 10pc stake in Germany's Daimler. The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency has called for vigilance over increased moves by Chinese companies to invest in and acquire high-technology German companies, warning the loss of key technologies could harm the German economy. (Reuters) TWO teenagers who kicked and punched a homeless man in an unprovoked city centre attack that caused outrage on social media after being captured on video were warned there was no excuse for such "disgraceful behaviour." Jordan Waters (19) and Ian Condron (18) appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court arising from incidents in the city centre which sparked a wave of outrage two years ago. A pedestrian witnessed the late night attack on the homeless man by three teenagers including the two defendants on October 31 2016. The concerned individual alerted Gardai - and then recorded the attack on video via his mobile phone. Gardai were later told one of the teens had gloried at the scene in the incident. The footage was subsequently posted on YouTube and caused public outrage. Judge Sean O'Donnabhain was told that the video of the attack on the homeless person went viral on social media sites - and was taken up by Irish radio stations and newspapers. Waters of Mount St Joseph's Drive, Baker's Road, Gurranabraher, Cork and Condron of Monastery Way, Fairhill, Cork pleaded guilty before Cork Circuit Criminal Court to charges arising from incidents in the city centre that Halloween night. The homeless man targeted by three intoxicated teens was originally from Ennis in Clare. He was living in Cork city centre in a tent. The man was assisted at the scene by Gardai on their arrival but did not want to formally speak to officers. Similarly, he did not want to go to hospital for medical attention. However, officers at the scene noted injuries to the man including a lump on the side of his head. The three teens were located nearby. All were heavily intoxicated. Gardai subsequently obtained detailed CCTV security camera footage which depicted the entire incident unfolding. The footage showed one of the defendants kicking the homeless man four times in the head and chest. "This is disgraceful behaviour no matter how much drink you have taken," Judge O'Donnabhain warned. The court heard that Condron had no previous convictions, had engaged fully with the Probation and Welfare Service (PWS) and was deeply remorseful for what had happened that night. He had co-operated fully with investigating Gardai and admitted his part in the incident. Expert reports indicated he was at a very low risk of ever re-offending. "He has learned a salutary lesson from this," defence counsel Ray Boland BL said. Judge O'Donnabhain imposed an 18 month suspended prison sentence warning that the offence was far too serious not to record a conviction. The court was told that Waters had a number of previous convictions. The PWS assessed that he was at a moderate risk of re-offending. However, defence counsel argued that the young man had engaged with the PWS since the incident and was taking firm steps to address the issues involved. Judge O'Donnabhain adjourned sentencing for Jordan Waters until June 11 to allow for an ongoing assessment of the teen's behaviour. A man who stole thousands of litres of diesel from the same petrol station over a three-day period has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. Pawel Wisniewski was also jailed for possessing cannabis in a west Dublin grow-house and possession of a firearm and ammunition. Wisniewski (43), originally from Poland but with an address in Belgard, Tallaght, Dublin, has a lengthy criminal record and was jailed for four years in 2010 for serious drug offences, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today. He pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for sale or supply and a firearm at a grow-house in Cookstown Enterprise Park in Tallaght on February 27 last year. He also admitted stealing diesel from an Applegreen service station in Balbriggan on August 4 last year and to driving without insurance. Judge Martin Nolan said Wisniewski, a qualified electrician and mechanic who served in the Polish army, was clearly a man of considerable abilities. But I suspect getting away with crime isn't one of his abilities, the judge said. He handed down a two-and-a-half year sentence for the cannabis and firearm charges and a two-year sentence for the diesel offence, which he ordered to run concurrently. Garda Michael Divilly told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that he carried out a search warrant of the industrial park unit on the day in question after receiving a tip-off. Gardai discovered eight five-foot fully-grown cannabis plants and bags of amphetamine with a combined street value of 12,000. They also discovered a gun with 'Made in Russia' written on it and ammunition. Wisniewski was arrested at the scene, along with his girlfriend. He told gardai he ran the grow-house to supply friends. He said the gun was not his, but was one he was modifying for another person. His girlfriend was given a suspended one year sentence. While on bail for this offence a few months later, Wisniewski was caught filling a white van with thousands of litres of diesel three days in a row at an Applegreen service station in Balbriggan on August 4, 5, and 6 last year. The court heard he used a cloned Applegreen card to pump the diesel into a number of tanks in his van. The stolen diesel amounted to 5220, which would have been charged to another account had it not been discovered, the court heard. Wisniewski was arrested by gardai near the scene after a service station employee noticed him acting suspiciously on the third occasion. Tony McGillicuddy BL, defending, said his client was a hard-working man who served in Kosovo and Afghanistan while in the Polish army. He has lived in Ireland a number of years and had his own mechanics business, which went under. Mr McGillicuddy said Wisniewski got caught up in criminality and had found it hard to extricate himself from certain criminal elements since serving his last prison sentence. His partner is moving back to Poland and Wisniewski has accepted he too will have to move back to Poland in order to make a break from these people, the court heard. Judge Nolan noted it was the first time a case involving quantities of diesel being pumped into tanks had come before his court. He backdated Wisniewski's sentence to October, when he first went into custody. He also disqualified him from driving for three years. A CORK hurler who admitted assaulting a man and a woman after a city centre row was warned that he could face prison unless he raises adequate compensation. Aaron Hannon, who played at intermediate level for Cork and was considered one of the county's emerging stars, was released on bail having been remanded in custody for two months. Judge Sean O Donnabhain told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that he expected the defendant to now take proper steps to compensate his victims for the injuries sustained. "He now knows what he is facing if adequate and proper compensation is not raised by then," he said. Judge O Donnabhain agreed to release Hannon on bail from custody after being told the two months in prison since February had been "an eye-opening and salutary" experience for him. "It was chastening," defence counsel Donal O'Sullivan BL told the court. Judge O Donnabhain was told that a total of 4,000 in compensation had already been raised for the victims, and the defendant now intends to raise further amounts. Judge O Donnabhain agreed to adjourn the matter until April 2019 to allow Hannon time to raise further monies for his victims. Hannon of 10 Liam Healy Road, Fairhill, Cork pleaded guilty last October to a charge of assault causing harm to a young man and a woman at Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork, on October 16 2016. Sergeant Kevin Joyce said Hannon did not intend to hit the woman involved. In fact, Hannon was totally unaware that he had struck the woman until much later. Mr O'Sullivan said there were witnesses who had indicated the man struck by Hannon had in fact been provoking and tackling the defendant on the street in the lead up to the assault. The court was told that Hannon was being singled out by this man because of a case of mistaken identity. Sgt Joyce acknowledged that, in the lead up to the assault, he would believe the defendant and the injured male were "50-50" involved in proceedings. Mr O'Sullivan said his client fully accepted he was responsible for assault causing harm. Gardai said the assault by Hannon lasted around 90 seconds - but left the injured male with serious facial wounds. He sustained extensive injuries to his eye socket and his cheekbone. The court heard the injured party was unable to eat properly for weeks afterwards. During the assault on the man, Hannon unwittingly struck the young woman with his forearm and his knee. She was knocked to the ground and briefly lost consciousness. Gardai acknowledged that, at the time, Hannon was not aware he had struck the young woman during the confrontation with the young man. Sgt Joyce said that, when things calmed down at the scene on Oliver Plunkett Street, the defendant was very co-operative with Gardai, remained at the scene and later voluntarily attended a Garda station. The judge said he accepted Hannon had co-operated with Gardai, had admitted the incident at the earliest possible opportunity and was very remorseful for what had happened that night. Judge O Donnabhain also accepted defence evidence that the incident was totally out of character for Hannon who was very involved in sport. He remanded Hannon on bail and warned him of the importance of raising adequate compensation for the victims. A man with a history of assaulting women has had his prison sentence doubled on the eve of his release after a finding that his original two year jail term for assaulting his present partner was too lenient. Aaron Heffernan (39), with an address at John Paul Avenue, Cavan town, had pleaded guilty at Cavan Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of assaulting his partner causing her harm on October 21 and October 30, 2016. He was given two concurrent two year terms of imprisonment by Judge John OHagan in August 2017. The Court of Appeal increased Heffernans sentence today after finding that his origin term was too lenient. He was accordingly given two consecutive two year terms, leaving him with a net four year prison sentence. He had originally been due for release on Monday (April 30). In seeking a review of sentence, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Monica Lawlor BL, said there was concern for the well being of the injured party but also for the well being of any other women Heffernan may start a relationship with. Giving judgement in the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham said Heffernan assaulted his partner during the currency of a suspended sentence he was serving for a number of section 3 assaults involving three female injured parties. For the present offences, Mr Justice Birmingham said formal pleas were entered in respect of two counts on a full facts basis. However, the court heard evidence of a number of other assaults on the same injured party. It should be explained, the judge said, that the injured party made a statement of complaint to the gardai after Heffernan was arrested close to her home with blood on his hand. However, she subsequently retracted that statement. Then on October 30, she made a further statement in relation to an incident that day as well as an incident on October 21 (both assault charges to which Heffernan pleaded guilty). When making that statement, she indicated that what she had said in the first statement had in fact been correct, the judge said. Mr Justice Birmingham said Heffernan began a relationship with the injured party in July 2016. He had only just been released from prison having served his sentence for assaulting the other women in what was described as nearly being carbon copy assaults as the present offences. Quite soon after his relationship with the present injured party began, and shorty after his release from prison, the first of the assaults with which the court was concerned occurred. The Circuit Court heard of visits to Cavan Hospital on three dates. The injuries included bruising over the body, bite marks, a bloodshot eye and a fractured rib. On October 21, Heffernan entered the injured partys bedroom and punched her in the ribs. She fell onto the bed and he punched her to the left eye. He also bit her. In hospital, where a scan revealed she had a fractured rib, the injured party told medics that she had fallen off a horse adding that she didnt have a horse. The description of the second assault was that the injured party as asleep in her bedroom when she heard something at her window. She looked up and say Heffernan entering. He said to her to stop whinging and that she was doing his head in. He lay on top of her, straddling her, and kept on about the fact she had gone to the gardai. He told her to stop crying or he would make her stop crying. She squeezed her throat for 20 - 30 seconds and while holding her throat he started punching her. She was bitten and her head was pushed against a wall. The incident was described as lasting from about 1.30am to 6.10am. Description were given of the other incidents including one episode in which Heffernan said he hoped she wasnt pregnant and if she was, she would have to get an abortion. Mr Justice Birmingham said Heffernan had served in the Defence Forces from 2000 to 2012 and served overseas on two occasions, in Chad and Liberia. His army career ended after he received a custodial sentence. He had a number of difficulties in his life, the court had heard. A feature of the sentence hearing was that a letter from the injuered party was handed in to court seeking leniency. She also gave sworn evidence stating that her and Heffernan had reconciled and described them as having become engaged. She made very clear it was her wish that the court would deal with Heffernan leniently. Mr Justice Birmingham said Heffernans previous offences, described as carbon copy assaults on women, had to be seen as a significant aggravating factor. Furthermore, his general record showed a propensity for violence. Mr Justice Birmingham said the sentences imposed did not reflect the gravity of the offending behaviour. He said Heffernan has used his time in custody productively. He was facing this review of sentence almost on the eve of his release date which is Monday (April 30) and the prospect of having his time in prison extended which must be difficult for him. he said the court also took account of the fact the undue leniency review had not been handled with the expedition that would have been expected. Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, resentenced Heffernan to two years on each assault count but made one consecutive to the other leaving him with a new net sentence of four years imprisonment backdated to the original date. A YOUTH took part in litany of extreme violence unprovoked street attacks in Dublin during 28 minutes of madness, a court has heard. At a preliminary hearing at the Dublin Childrens Court on Friday, Judge John OConnor viewed about an hour of CCTV evidence. He held that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the Childrens Court meaning the 17-year-old school boys case will go forward to the Circuit Court, which has tougher sentencing powers. The court heard the teenager was later filmed on a phone with blood-stained hands bragging about the incidents and a victims inability to defend himself. He faces faces 14 charges arising out incidents in the city centres south-side in the early hours of Nov. 17 when eight young men were attacked, allegedly at random, and seven of them sustained serious injuries including one man who was allegedly on his knees begging for his safety. The court heard the victims were aged 19 and in their early 20s. In an outline of the allegations, Garda Niall Murray told the court the first incident happened at 3.12am at Harcourt Street when a man was punched. Seven minutes later another young man was attacked resulting in the loss of his front teeth and he needed two stitches to the back of his head. It was alleged the teen was the first to come at him with a flying kick and he was also involved in the attack afterwards, Garda Murray said. Four minutes later at Montague Street three men were attacked with punches to the head. It was alleged it continued on to Camden Street and the garda said the boy, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was involved and could be clearly seen striking their faces. The court heard the teen knocked one of the men unconscious and the second man had a broken nose and to two other fractures on his face. A minute later another man was attacked at Camden Row after his phone was grabbed from his hand and smashed against a wall, allegedly by the 17-year-old. The man was knocked to the ground after he sustained a number of blows to his head. He needed three stitches above his right eye and had an abrasion on his cornea and suffered blurry vision for two weeks after the attack. Garda Murray said the teenager engaged in extreme violence during this incident. The last attacks, on two other men, was minutes later where Montague Street intersects with Harcourt Street, Judge John OConnor heard. One man suffered a broken jaw while the second man had fractured ribs after the attack. The court heard one of the men had been on his knees begging for his safety before he was flattened by another person facing separate proceedings. Garda Murray said it was a savage assault. Phone footage of the teenager boasting while showing his blood covered hands was recovered. It was also alleged he was filmed slagging one of the victims saying he needs to learn to defend himself. The Director of Public Prosecutions had advised that the boys case should be sent forward to the Circuit Court. However, the Childrens Court has discretion to accept jurisdiction by taking into consideration a number of factors. Defence solicitor Gareth Noble described the teens involvement as 28 minutes of madness and he added that the youth intended to plead guilty. He said the teenager wanted to carry on his education and had never been in trouble in school. He also asked the court to note the boy had been with older people at the time and was barely able to hold himself up. Medical reports and photos of the mens injuries were handed in to court. Judge OConnor noted the defence submissions but held that the case should go to the higher court. The boy, who was accompanied to court by mother, was remanded on continuing bail to appear again next month to be served with a book of evidence. Three other men are also before the courts awaiting trial in connection with the incidents. Siomha Ni hAinfein, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, An Daingean, the Overall Winner of the NewsBrands Ireland Press Pass Awards. Photo: Andres Poveda A transition year student who captured the life and adventurous times of a 93-year-old neighbour with "quirky but closely detailed observation" carried off top honours in a nationwide schools' journalism competition. Siomha Ni hAinfein, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, Dingle, Co Kerry won the NewsBrands Ireland Press Pass Award, the second year in a row the school has taken the overall prize. She beat off competition from more than 10,000 TY students, with two other students from the school also among the 16 award winners. Professor John Horgan, the former Press Ombudsman who chaired the judging panel, said the winner combined "quirky but closely detailed observation with an impressive vocabulary, and a rare ability to understand and describe emotion without becoming mawkish or sentimental". Press Pass is a Newspapers in Education initiative, promoted by the print media industry with the support of the Department of Education. This year, the social media platform Twitter came on board as a partner. Press Pass is aimed at developing literacy and critical thinking skills while also helping students to develop a deeper understanding of news media and how it communicates about the world around them. THE family of Sean Cox who remains in a critical condition in hospital following a violent attack in Liverpool face an anxious wait this weekend before medics can begin to asses if surgery was a success. Father-of-three Sean was attacked outside The Albert pub in Liverpool on Tuesday evening. Sean and his brother were waiting outside the landmark pub ahead of the Champions League semi-final clash with Roma when the attack occurred. Mr Cox sustained severe injuries and is currently in an induced coma in the Walton Neurological Centre near Anfield stadium. Seans brother remained with him after the attack, and the following morning Seans wife Martina flew over to be with him. Their three children remained at home. Seans family released a statement through Merseyside Police yesterday. We want the world to know that Sean is the most amazing and wonderful husband, dad, friend, son, uncle, and brother and he has brought us all nothing but joy. He is a truly decent man who adores Liverpool FC and just came over from his home in Co Meath to watch his beloved team, it said. We are completely devastated by what has happened to our lovely, caring Sean and all we want is for him to come home to his loving wife and three children. We hope Sean makes a full recovery from the injuries he sustained and that we will all be back together soon as a family in Ireland spending precious time together, the statement concluded. Now Seans family must wait over the weekend until medics begin the process of trying to wake him. Only then can they begin to assess the degree of injury he has received, how long term it is likely to be, and if surgery was a success. The gay rights group G.L.E.N allowed charitable funds to be used to support its founders political campaign and spent another 51,174 with credits cards which was not properly accounted for, a damning report from the charity watchdog revealed today. An investigation by the Charities Regulator found funds were used to support the an unsuccessful Seanad campaign by co-founder Kieran Rose which he ran from the charitys office. It emerged last year he used G.L.E.Ns office space, printing and photocopying and has since repaid the cost. The regulator John Farrelly also found inadequate and inappropriate controls were applied to the use of charity credit cards, including personal expenditure and cash withdrawals. While personal expenditure on credit cards was repaid to GLEN, between January 2014 and May 2017, 51,174 which was spent using company credit cards was not adequately supported by itemised receipts or invoices. The inspectors found an organisational culture within GLEN where charity trustees appeared to place relatively high levels of trust in staff members without adequate checks and balances being in place to provide necessary oversight of all financial transactions and financial reporting. The trustees included Simon Nugent the former chief executive of the Private Hospitals Association and Seamus Dooley the current general secretary of the National Union of Journalists. The regulator said the weaknesses in the charitys financial reporting processes meant the board were unable to detect and mitigate the significant risks identified in this report in order to consistently safeguard the charitys assets and funds and ensure that they were used to further the charitable purpose of the charity. There are key lessons for all Irish registered charities in ensuring there are financial controls in place and full disclosure by management to charity trustees so they can manage their organisation, Charities Regulator Chief Executive John Farrelly said. The inspectors also highlighted the importance of the need for continuous communication by the external auditor with the charity trustees where significant internal control issues were identified. GLEN is currently in the process of being wound down, Mr Farrelly said. The Charities Regulator has sought an update from the charity trustees on the status of other debtor amounts due to the charity prior to the wind down being completed. The report highlights the impact which a lack of robust governance and oversight can have on an otherwise vibrant charity. MORE than 200 women developed cervical cancer after having a misdiagnosed smear in the free national screening programme, it emerged last night. The HSE confirmed last night 206 women developed the illness after having a misdiagnosed smear and should have had further medical investigations. The smear test failed to pick up abnormal cells which need to be removed before they become cancerous. Its understood that if these women had been referred onwards, the cancer could have been prevented or treated earlier. After reviewing the tests, it was found 173 women should have been referred to colposcopy a more invasive diagnostic procedure sooner, a representative for the HSE said. Another 33 women should have been referred for a repeat smear earlier. The women went on to be diagnosed with cancer, according to CervicalCheck. It emerged that 1,482 cases of cancer were notified to CervicalCheck since it started in 2008. In the majority of these cases there has been no requirement for further review. In 442 cases, review was warranted. The womens doctors were informed of the review findings and requested to communicate directly with their patients as they considered clinically appropriate, said a spokeswoman. These communications related to events prior to the diagnosis and would have had no impact on the care management and treatment of the women after they were diagnosed. The womens consultants are now being written to by the national screening service to alert them to an internal investigation into their cases. Health Minister Simon Harris and HSE chief Tony O Brien decided yesterday to have CervicalCheck reviewed by senior staff in another cervical screening programme from another jurisdiction. The new figures emerged two days after mother-of-two Vicky Phelan, who has terminal cervical cancer, was awarded 2.5m in the High Court. Ms Phelan had a false negative smear test result in 2011 but developed symptoms in 2014 and was diagnosed with cancer. There is outcry over revelations that Ms Phelan was not informed that CervicalCheck carried out an internal review of her care in 2014. She was one of 15 women whose cases were looked at by the screening service in 2014 but she did not learn about the report until late last year. The HSE has now confirmed it is writing to doctors who were originally requested to contact their patients who had been given the all-clear but developed cancer that a review of their case was carried out. We are seeking to ensure that this will take place in an expedient manner, a spokeswoman said. Information on these internal reports is now given to treating doctors in a matter of months but not all women may want to be informed, CervicalCheck claimed. It has a notice on its website telling women an internal review may be conducted if they develop cancer. A circular from CervicalCheck to doctors treating cancer patients in 2016 suggested if women had died they could simply ensure the result is recorded. Ms Phelan, who was left in the dark about her review, accused CervicalCheck of an appalling breach of trust. Since it started providing free smear tests to women in 2008, some three million screenings have been carried out. Ms Phelans original 2011 test was carried out by Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Austin, Texas. CervicalCheck is still outsourcing some tests to the US. CervicalCheck contracts three principal laboratories to process screenings Quest Diagnostics Inc, Teterboro, New Jersey, USA; MedLab Pathology Ltd, Dublin; and Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin. An inflatable mattress in a shared room is being advertised for 325 per month in Dublin. The two-bedroom apartment is located in a modern development in Bluebell, Dublin 8. One of the rooms is advertised on Daft.ie and features an inflatable mattress for 325 per month and double bed at 425 per month. The room was spotted by Kerry student Orla McCarthy (25), who is house hunting in Dublin with her friend Jessica Morris (23) from Meath. "I contacted the advertiser because I was a bit confused about what was on offer," Orla told Independent.ie. "I asked the landlord to send me a photo because I didn't really know what was meant by the different rent prices. Expand Close The three-person shared room featuring a double bed and a blowup mattress. Photo: Orla McCarthy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The three-person shared room featuring a double bed and a blowup mattress. Photo: Orla McCarthy "He sent me photos of the room and I was really surprised." Orla was advised by the landlord that the entire room could be taken for 750 per month. While she felt the apartment was "lovely", she didn't feel she could justify paying that rent for the sleeping arrangements on offer. "The apartment is really modern and clean. And the room is an en suite room. But I couldn't pay 325 to sleep on a blowup mattress and share a room with three other people." The second-year NCAD student said she has struggled to find a place to live ahead of her new term commencing in two weeks' time. She said that her options diminish as soon as she informs potential landlords that she's a student. Orla has agreed to share a bedroom with her friend Jessica in order to cut down on costs and improve their chances of finding a home. "We were initially looking for a two-bed place but it's got to the point where we're looking to share a double room. There just doesn't seem to be anything out there." The listed landlord responded to the criticism by telling Independent.ie; "Only PRTB can control better than every department this situation. "If you receive the complaints then try to make contact with the PRTB to get it reviewed, and for any amendment of the terms and conditions for private tenancy in the state." The parents of an 11-year-old girl who died by suicide in 2016 have said that young people need better access to mental health services and called for urgent change to crisis services. Milly made a lethal attempt at self-harm on New Year's Day, 2016. She died four days later at Our Ladys Childrens Hospital in Crumlin. Speaking on RTE's The Big Picture on Thursday, Milly's parents - Fiona and Tim Tuomey - explained how they felt their daughter had been let down by the lack of an urgent response from their local mental health services. Her parents said life for young Milly had been going well until the family returned to Ireland in 2015, after living in Switzerland for a few years. Expand Close MUCH-LOVED: Milly Tuomey / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp MUCH-LOVED: Milly Tuomey "She was going through puberty. She was becoming more conscious of her body. We would try to reassure her but she was more aware of what she saw as the flaws in herself," said Tim. In November 2015, Milly posted on Instagram the day she wished to die. "You immediately think it must be something external, something must have happened. Were you bullied? Did somebody hurt you? You go through every horror scenario in your head to try unearth what could possibly bring your child to a situation where they no longer want to be here," her mother Fiona added. One month later, her mental health had deteriorated further. On December 8, her GP sent an urgent referral letter to the HSE's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) centre; an in-patient specialist service that provides support and treatment to young people and their families. Expand Close Milly's father Tim Tuomey speaking on RTE's The Big Picture. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Milly's father Tim Tuomey speaking on RTE's The Big Picture. The letter outlined that Milly was feeling low, saying she would like to die and had talked to her mum about self-harm and suicide. It called for an urgent assessment. The Tuomey family received a response from their nearest CAMHS advising them that the next available appointment for Milly was scheduled for January 5, 2016. "The referral was detailed as an 'urgent referral' but it took four weeks from being given that to the actual appointment date," said Tim. On December 15, the family received forms from CAMHS that they were required to fill out. Fiona then hand-delivered them to the CAMHS office on December 22, 2015. Extracts from the questionnaire offered an insight into the state of Millly's mental health. Handwritten words from the young girl revealed that she couldn't get her mind off suicide. Fiona Tuomey, mother of Milly Tuomey, who died by suicide aged 11, says she is devastated by the fact that geography now comes into play whether your child lives or dies.#RTEBigPic pic.twitter.com/MMJaiCQGhM RTE One (@RTEOne) April 26, 2018 "I had wrongly assumed that these forms, in addition to the info they had already received from the GP and the fact that we had an urgent referral, I assumed that these forms would further throw up any potential alarm bells and would lead to an action if needed prior to our appointment," said Fiona. "That was incorrect on our part. Nothing happened. We did not hear from CAMHS at all after that. We subsequently found out that these forms were sitting in an in-tray for seven days." That Christmas the parents found Milly in mixed form. Tim said that at times Milly was quiet, but other times she wasn't. It was hard for her parents to gauge a true insight into the state her mental wellbeing. "It's one of the cliches of mental health; someone who is expressing suicidal thoughts or self-harming thoughts has to be in a constant state of deep depression but Milly wasn't like that," said Tim. "There were lots of occasions where she seemed absolutely normal, completely normal... singing. When she sang you would be more comforted, when she laughed, when she joked, when she was looking forward to things, you felt a little bit more relief." Recalling the day that Milly took her own life, her mother Fiona said it had been a "miserable day". "It was one of those typical Irish grey days. We were watching a movie as a family. And Milly said she was bored, so she left. She said she was going up to play her piano. Not long after that her sister decided she didn't want to watch the movie so she left as well. Expand Close Milly's mother Fiona Tuomey speaking on RTE's The Big Picture. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Milly's mother Fiona Tuomey speaking on RTE's The Big Picture. "In that short space of time, Milly had taken her life. There is one life that existed before Milly's death and there's this life. We have another child to love and care for but the life we had died with Milly," said Fiona. Tim added: "There's a level of pain that is very hard to describe, [it's like being] haunted. I throw myself into my work. I have times of being numb. During the numb times I feel that it has gone, moved into a lesser state of grief, I want the pain back and then the pain comes back every time." The Tuomeys said that Milly's death has left them with a lot of questions, many 'what ifs?'. They often wonder what life would be like now if Milly had received an urgent referral, as requested. "We firmly believe that she should be here. She should be with us. She should have been helped. We'll never blame anyone as much as ourselves but we needed help and I don't feel we got it," said Tim. The family said that youth mental health services in Ireland are in need of urgent change, especially in the area of crisis support. "We had an urgent referral for CAMHS and that urgent referral took four weeks. We were worried about our daughter every day that something was going to happen. To get an appointment that's urgent, that takes four weeks, was four weeks where something could happen and in our case it did," said Tim. Her mother added: "We need better resources and that means people sitting up and taking action. If there isn't a change in the way things are our story is going to continue in another family, in another home, in another loved one." There are currently 69 CAMHS centres in Ireland. The HSE aims to increase the number of centres to 99. A number of those CAMHS centres in operation do not have a consultant psychiatrist onsite. It was revealed on The Big Picutre that the HSE isn't measuring the CAMHS response rates. Minister of State for Mental Health, Jim Daly, said that he wants to introduce a 72-hour response rate within CAMHS. He also said that response figures should be made available. Minister Daly also said that he hopes to introduce a single phone number to deal with mental health calls, similar to the 999 emergency services number. The Tuomeys' CAMHS service told RTE that the forms filled out by Milly's parents weren't used as part of the referral process. They also said that they were dealing with an increase in self-harming related referrals at the time. Independent.ie have reached out to the HSE for further comment. If you have been affected by the issues above contact: Samaritans: 116 123 Pieta House: 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 5144 Bodywhys: 1890 200444 Childline: 1800 666666 or text TALK to 50101 Elisha Gault (14), of Carrick-on-Suir, who took her own life last month. Elishas body was found in the River Suir more than a week after she went missing A Fine Gael minister has complained to TV3 after the wife of a Sinn Fein TD accused him of having blood on his hands on live television. Mental Health Minister Jim Daly is understood to have raised concerns with the producers of 'The Pat Kenny Show' after he was challenged by an audience member last week. The woman in question, Anne Ellis, was not identified as the wife of Dublin North East TD Dessie Ellis. Mr Daly was on the programme to discuss mental health funding. He joined the discussion after Mr Kenny conducted an interview with Grainne Gault, the mother of tragic teenager Elisha. Expand Close Elisha Gault (14), of Carrick-on-Suir, who took her own life last month. Elishas body was found in the River Suir more than a week after she went missing / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Elisha Gault (14), of Carrick-on-Suir, who took her own life last month. Elishas body was found in the River Suir more than a week after she went missing She told how her 14-year-old daughter died by suicide in March. Following an ad break, Mr Kenny began an interview with the minister who was live from Leinster House. Expand Close Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis. Photo: Tom Burke However, Ms Ellis interrupted to call for 24/7 access to mental health services. "You have the blood of Elisha Gault on your hands," said Ms Ellis, who is a mental health campaigner. She also raised a personal family issue with the minister, saying they have been let down by the State. "You have left the people suffering in the Ireland with mental health and stress," Ms Ellis said. Expand Close Minister Jim Daly. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Minister Jim Daly. Photo: Tom Burke Amid applause from other audience members, the presenter said he didn't have the details of her case "but your point is very valid". Mr Daly responded by saying he is working with the HSE to establish a 24-hour helpline for people suffering with mental health issues. TV3 told the Irish Independent it asks audience members to declare if they have any political affiliations and noted that Ms Ellis was not scheduled to speak in the debate. A spokesperson for the minister declined to comment. Minister Daly was questioned again on RTE's, The Big Picture on Thursday night, which looked at the candid personal stories behind Ireland's stretched youth mental health services. It was revealed that there are currently 2,603 children and adolescents waiting for an appointment with a mental health team. 1,322 have been waiting more than three months. Ms Ellis, who was a member of the studio audience, again called for Minister Daly to take action. Speaking live on the show, she said: "My son has been six years enduring mental health issues. I spoke to you through the Pat Kenny Show earlier this week, you offered me our sympthay , I don't want your sympathy. I want action. "I am calling for you to once and for all be the minister that breaks the rank. I'm calling for you to introduce 24/7 hour access to mental health services. "As a mother I've been campaigning and calling for this and you're the minister that can put it to paper. You've failed the people of this country. You're failing my son.". Minister Daly reiterated that he is committed to making "significant progress" on the 24-hour mental health hotline by the end of the year. He also said he is committed to introducing a 72-hour response rate within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) across the country and a seven-days-a-week youth mental health service. TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has secured two extra seats in the by-election with the support of Sinn Fein. The Taoiseachs two candidates topped the Seanad poll this afternoon after receiving the backing of Sinn Fein TDs and senators. Sinn Fein announced earlier this week that they would be supporting former Ulster Farmers Union president Ian Marshall for one of the seats. But it emerged at the count today that Mary Lou McDonalds party also supported former Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor for the second seat. A senior Sinn Fein source said most of the party backed Mr Lawlor because they could not bring themselves to support candidates proposed by Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. Our TDs and senators said the Fine Gael candidate was the least worst option and they couldnt support Micheal Martin after all the personal attacks in the Dail, the source said. However, in Fine Gael it is believed Sinn Fein supported Mr Lawlor to prevent Donegal based Fianna Fail candidate Niall Blaney taking a seat. Sinn Fein lost a seat in Donegal in the last election while Fianna Fail gained and a seat. After the count, Mr Marshall personally thanked Mary Lou McDonald for supporting his candidacy and said he was looking forward to working in the Seanad. He is joining the Independent Group of Seanad Members and said he will not necessarily vote with the Government. Michael D Higgins handlers have asked reporters not to ask the president about seeking a second term in office while he is on State visits, it was revealed on the Floating Voter podcast. The host of the Independent.ie podcast, Kevin Doyle, revealed that the Presidents advisers - on at least two occasions - have asked members of the press not to ask Mr Higgins about his intentions ahead of his seven year tenure ending this year. Meanwhile, Sunday Independent Political Correspondent Philip Ryan said it is a complete nonsense for the President to suggest his decision does not affect anyone else. However, the Irish Independents Nicola Anderson said the President should be given a second term in office. The podcast also has exclusive audio of Mr Higgins giving his most revealing comments to date on a second term in office while visiting the UN in New York. The latest political row between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is also discussed along with analysis of internal tensions in the Independent Alliance over a coveted junior ministry post. By Matt Koesters, Michael Miller, and Cedric Ricks Photos provided and by UC Creative Services April 25, 2018 Dorothy Mantey has a long day ahead of her Saturday, but shes accustomed to long days. The matriarch of the Mantey family is mother to two sets of identical twin boys, after all. Shes also been training to become a nurse at the University of Cincinnati, and 12-hour days are the norm in the nursing profession. On Saturday morning, Dorothy will walk with her graduating class from the University of Cincinnatis College of Nursing to receive her bachelors degree, and then she and her family will stay for the afternoon commencement exercises to witness her son Alfred receive his degree in pre-medicine. Im so excited, she says. I should be excited. Im graduating with my son, with a degree at UC. One of the best schools! Even though Dorothy and Alfred are finishing up their bachelors degrees, neither of them have any intention of leaving the UC community. Dorothy is in the accelerated nursing program, and in a years time shell return to the classroom to pursue her masters degree in nursing. Alfred plans to take a year off to study and prepare for the MCAT in hopes of becoming a student in the UC College of Medicine. The first flight after the renaming of the main runway at Cork Airport prepares to take off. Photo: Brian Lougheed Changes to the magnetic poles of the Earth have forced the renaming of the main Cork Airport runway. Because of gradual changes in the Earth's magnetic poles, runways have to be designated roughly every 50 years. In 1961, Cork Airport's main runway was designated as Runway 17/35. However, it is now Runway 16/34. Over the past 57 years, the Earth's magnetic poles have changed and shifted the magnetic headings of the runway. The runway now stands at 164M and 344M respectively. The formal redesignation took place early yesterday morning before the first wave of departing flights. "Cork's two-digit runway designator is crucial for pilots during take-off, landing and taxiing," explained Cork Airport operations and safety manager Con Dooney. "Thanks to the co-ordinated efforts by Cork Airport and the Irish Aviation Authority, we are delighted to complete the renumbering overnight without any delay to our busy first wave of departing flights. "Work on the actual repainting of the runway numbers started as soon as the final flight landed last night to be finished in time for the first departure this morning at 6am." Cork Airport safety lead Nathan Wall said that work on the project had started two years ago and had included updating pilot charts and airport directories. The next redesignation for Cork Airport is due in 2068. Police are now investigating whether a Dublin-based woman was murdered after she went missing from a wellness retreat in India. Liga Skromane (33), who was originally from Latvia but resident in Ireland for five years, went missing on March 14 from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala's capital city. Her body was found near Kovalam beach last week. A DNA sample matched with her sister Ilze who had earlier identified the body. Police have said there were signs of strangulation, according to the preliminary autopsy. "One of the doctors who performed autopsy on the victim's body informed that there were indeed signs of strangulation. Hence, we are now looking into the murder angle," said a senior officer. "Once the autopsy report comes, we would be able to confirm whether it is also the case of rape or not," he said. "At this moment, what I can say is the body did not bear any external injuries. But we are awaiting all the medical reports and will reach a conclusion." Ms Skromane's husband Andrew Jordan and her sister Ilze travelled to India and have openly criticised the police investigation into her disappearance. They expect to remain until the full autopsy report is released. "We are now awaiting the final medical reports that would make everything clear," said the grieving sister. The police have detained several people from the secluded area which is frequented by small-time drugs traders catering to tourists. What are these best savoury, healthy snacks on the market? Photo: Deposit photos Most 'healthy' snacks are aimed at people with a sweet tooth, but what about those who want something savoury? Clearspring Organic Seaveg Crispies, Original Flavour, 5g, 1.25, 10/10 If you like the seaweed bit of sushi, then you will love these delicate sheets of toasted nori baked with oil and seasoned with sea salt. Containing just 28 calories and 1.2g per packet. Inspiral Raw Incan BBQ Protein Kale Chips, 30g, 2.99, 8/10 This tasty organic snack comprises air-dried green kale leaves coated in a smoky paprika and cashew nut sauce, with added Inca berry zing (whatever that is). 146 calories and 6.6g of protein per packet. Eat Real Quinoa & Kale Puffs, White Cheddar Flavour, 40g, 1.50, 6/10 Those of us who still yearn for Cheesy Wotsits may derive some amount of comfort from this snack from the popular Eat Real range. Quinoa and kale make up only 3pc and 2pc of the ingredients respectively. Maize is the principal component with 'white cheddar seasoning' the next largest. 186 calories and 2g protein per packet. Novo Protein Chips, Sweet Thai Chilli Flavour, 30g, 1, 4/10 Our testers were divided on these, with some saying they liked the soy and potato chips because they tasted the most like actual crisps of all the snacks we tested, while others complained about the synthetic taste. The ingredient list is long. 122 calories and 10.2g protein per packet. UFit Crunchers, Sour Cream & Onion Flavour, 27g, 1.50, 4/10 Made with soy protein and potato flavoured with "sour cream & onion seasoning", this snack contains 111 calories and 10g of protein per packet. Our testers were underwhelmed. Innate Spinach & Coconut Squares, 28g, 2.75, 1/10 Purchased in our local health food store, each packet of these joyless, cardboard-like squares contains 169 calories and 2.5g of protein. Some nice and decent people are feeling the need to "call in the heavies" as their tenants refuse to leave their properties This week I learned that a long time female friend of mine, and one of the politest, gentlest and unassuming people you could ever meet, was preparing to "call in the heavies" as she put it, to deal with someone who was vexing her. This is a person who is very professionally capable but also so focused on others and their concerns that I have warned her more than once over the years about being so selfless that sometimes people take advantage. So I was taken aback to learn that this decent soul was plotting to import two very large gentlemen, friends of friends, and known for their physical prowess ("they're both big lads alright", she quipped) to intervene on her behalf with a tenant who just wouldn't move out. Like many among us today, she has been a reluctant landlady. She bought her small north Dublin home at the height of the boom in order to get that much mooted first step on the property ladder. Like a lot of us since then, her financial and working circumstances changed while the massive mortgage remained stubbornly steadfast. Some years ago she moved out of Dublin to pursue working opportunities and cheaper accommodation. She has rented a home in another part of the country. To keep up with the stubbornly large mortgage, she has rented out her Dublin home, most latterly to a studious foreign gentleman who is here to work for a foreign multinational. Recently, having made it out of negative equity, she decided it was time to sell and gave the tenant his legal due notice. The tenant, who hadn't given her any trouble at all, accepted the notice without a kerfuffle. But he didn't move on. So she sent letters, she called into him and the time went by. He agreed to everything she said, but he stayed quietly and resolutely put. Recently matters came to a head as vendors of the property she is buying want to know where the money is at. She has been in danger of losing that property because of our steadfast tenant in Dublin. Those closest to her observed that she was being way too lenient and that the studious one was by now "taking the royal". That it was time to take a different approach. And that's how she had it organised that on an appointed date, two very large gentlemen would pay the chap a visit and make it abundantly clear, (albeit indirectly), that the consequences for not moving on would be somewhat more than additional tickings off by letter. Thankfully shortly before they were due to call, the tenant suddenly packed his bags and left. But nonetheless, one of the nicest people I know has become a Capone and an Escobar. And the rental market, as it stands, is responsible for turning nice people into gangsters, both landlords who need to get people to adhere to vacancy notices and tenants who find themselves unable to find or afford another residence and on the threshold of homelessness. By coincidence I was also tapped for advice in the same week by another reluctant landlady. She and a friend bought a city apartment, also back in the boom, and initially they lived together there sharing.. Over the years she went to work abroad and her friend moved to another city and the apartment ended up being rented out to a couple so the mortgage payments could be covered. Over most of a decade the couple have lived here and started a family and they work hard, albeit in low paid jobs. By all accounts they are very nice people and have not been troublesome in any way. The rent was always paid on time and in response, the reluctant landlords always repaired or replaced failing domestic infrastructure at the apartment straight away and without delay. Both landlords and tenants seemed to feel lucky to be dealing with one another - the way it should be. And the rents were not raised to market levels. But again, they decided a year ago to sell up and issued the family with notice. The family, now looking at a market in which the rent is double for what they have, have also remained stubbornly put. Not out of badness but out of necessity. They can't find another affordable place and they have children. They property owners are now concerned that their nice tenant family is about to "dig in" with all claws and that if this happens, it could take more than a year to move them on. Finally a third friend who had to move to Australia to get work after the crash returned home to find the tenants he'd rented his heavily mortgaged home to had ceased paying their rent. They sub let the house, sold his furniture and smashed it up before he got the keys back 14 months later, after taking his case through the courts. Landlords are leaving the market because tenants won't leave and their departure is now seldom guaranteed. Of all of the characters mentioned above, only the last set of tenants are truly nasty people. Everyone else mentioned here are salt of the earth decent skins who usually care about people. Even the studious one isn't that bad. But from hiring heavies, to refusing to leave on agreed terms, the monster that is the Irish rental market, with fear of homelessness versus fear of inability to sell, is universally turning nice people into nasties. Between 1920 and 1946, some 10,000 emigrants made their way from the United Kingdom to South Africa to take up the offer of free land to farm. They were sponsored by the 1820 Memorial Settlers Association, established to honour the original British colonisers of the Eastern Cape, and like their 19th-century predecessors, their real reason for being there was to counter black domination of the region. Among them was a young Louth man, Kivas Richardson Brunskill, who moved to South Africa in 1925, but he died less than a year later, under unusual,though not apparently suspicious, circumstances, succumbing to a heart attack at the age of only 24. Brunskill was the only son of Reverend Thomas Redmond Brunskill, who lived at St Mary's Rectory,Dublin Road, Drogheda, a fine Edwardian mock-Tudor house at Dublin Road designed by architect Frederick Shaw in 1911. Having long since passed out of ecclesiastical hands, the house is now known as Knockmount. Otherwise it remains much as it was, standing on 1.8 acres of beautifully wooded grounds and with original features inside such as ornate plaster ceilings, fireplaces and oak floors. Expand Close Knockmount kitchen / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Knockmount kitchen It has been renovated and extended, however, and now stands at 2,992 sq ft on two floors with a basement. There are six bedrooms on the first floor, all fitted with sinks. As some of the plumbing is in place, it may be possible to install an en suite. Otherwise, there's a shower room, bathroom and separate toilet on this floor. The ground floor has an old-style kitchen with an Aga and there's a back kitchen, boot room, larder and utility separately. The reception rooms consist of a drawing room, dining room and living room, all with fireplaces, as well as an office. The basement has a wine cellar and store. Knockmount is for sale for 950,000 with Savills, (01) 663 4350. Fancy zipping to New York and back in a single day? The flying visit is now possible, thanks to Norwegian's new double-daily service from Dublin Airport. The low-cost carrier this week increased its flights from Dublin to New York Stewart, with lead-in fares from 109 each-way (bags and seat selection extra). With the new flights set to take off at 8.10am GMT (arriving in the US at 10.30am), and late flights returning at 9pm (arriving in Ireland at 8.20am the next day), the timings could make shopping or business daytrips a reality. Woodbury Common, the popular outlet centre in Central Valley, New York, is just a 30-minute shuttle transfer from Stewart Airport, in Orange County - while a bus to Midtown Manhattan takes around 90 minutes. Buses and shuttles are timed to meet the arrivals of Norwegian's flights. Expand Close Woodbury Common is less than 30 minutes from Stewart International / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Woodbury Common is less than 30 minutes from Stewart International Norwegian has been expanding its services from Ireland to the US since launching flights from Cork, Belfast, Dublin and Shannon last summer. As well as adding 66,000 seats from Dublin, the airline recently announced that it will fly daily from Shannon to Stewart from October 28 of this year. 189-seater Boeing 737-MAX aircraft will service the routes. Norwegian has also moved all of its flight operations at Dublin Airport to Terminal 2, offering improved transfers between its Scandinavian and US services. Read more: Aer Lingus cabin crew Muriel Cooke and Mae Mc Greevy with former air hostess Lily O'Connell (79) from Leopardstown who worked on Aer Lingus early flights crossing the Atlantic some 60 years ago. Picture: Jason Clarke. Aer Lingus cabin crew Muriel Cooke and Mae Mc Greevy with former air hostess Lily O'Connell (79) from Leopardstown who worked on Aer Lingus early flights crossing the Atlantic some 60 years ago. Picture: Jason Clarke. Aer Lingus celebrates a diamond anniversary this weekend - 60 years of transatlantic flights to and from Ireland. Saturday, April 28th marks 60 years to the day since the former national carrier dispatched its inaugural flight across the Atlantic. The Aerlinte Eireann Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation flew from Dublin and Shannon to New York with just 99 guests in economy class. Before departing Irish shores, the airline held a celebratory banquet attended by then Taoiseach Eamon de Valera - after a 14-hour journey, the flight was greeted by a salute from the 165th Infantry of the New York National Guard. Expand Close Lily O'Connell when she worked on the early Aer Lingus transatlantic flights. Photo: Aer Lingus Archive / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lily O'Connell when she worked on the early Aer Lingus transatlantic flights. Photo: Aer Lingus Archive There was great excitement in the air, recalled Lily OConnell, 79 (pictured), from Leopardstown, who worked on the early flights. I remember the Americans on board coming to I-R-Land, as they called it. They were so excited to be meeting their Irish family connections for the first time." "For Irish people flying home they had saved for months for the airfare as they were so expensive back then," she said. "It was just lovely on board, everyone was in great spirits. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close An undated photo of a flight attendant with Aer Lingus. Photo by David Reed/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Pictured with the Iolar at Bristol airport are Aer Lingus cabin crew Laura Mc Cabe and Catherine McDonnell, both wearing the very first Aer Lingus uniform worn by cabin crew in 1945. Photo: Dan Regan Aer Lingus cabin crew on the Dublin Airport tarmac. Photo: Dublin Airport/Pinterest Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer at Dublin Airport. Photo: 13/08/1964. Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection Iolar ('eagle'), the first Aer Lingus aircraft, a DH84 Dragon EI-ABI that flew from Baldonnel to Bristol on May 27, 1936. An old postcard of Dublin Airport. Source: Dublin Airport/Pinterest The first Aer Lingus Boeing 747 jumbo jet on arrival at Dublin Airport, circa March 1971. Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection). An Aer Lingus cabin crewmember on board the Super Constellation aircraft that flew transatlantic routes. Aer Lingus pilot Davina Pratt poses with the Ryder Cup after arriving at Dublin Airport on September 18, 2006. Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images A passenger at Knock Airport for the first commercial Aer Lingus flights which took off on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1985. Photo: Independent News And Media/Getty Images Monsignor James Horan and Crew at Knock Airport, in the 1980s. Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection Aer Lingus cabin crewmembers Deborah McGuirk and Shannen McDonnell pictured on Sandymount Strand. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland Liz Jackson and Russell Gleeson presenting flowers to Pope John Paul II at Dublin Airport upon his arrival in Ireland in 1979. An Aer Lingus poster from the 1950s courtesy of Tony Murray, taken from Doesn't Time Fly? Aer Lingus - Its History by Mike Cronin An Aer Lingus jet prepares to land at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in 2010. Photo: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg via Getty Images Rev. Fr.Peyton, the rosary priest, waves goodbye at Dublin Airport for Lourdes. 06 October 1954. Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection. Planey McPlaneface: Aer Lingus's hat-tip to the celebrated Internet boat. The Most Rev. Dr.Dermot Ryan greets his brother Andrew and his sister Sr.Madeline at Rome Airport. He arrived for his installation as Archbishop of Dublin in a cermony conducted by the Pope. Pic Matt Walsh 10/2/73 - indo pic Scanned from the NPA archives. A vintage poster sees Aer Lingus advertise New York An original ticket for Aer Lingus's (then Aer Linte) early transatlantic flights. Flights departed Dublin and flew via Newfoundland to JFK Airport in New York. They first departed in 1958. Aer Lingus A vintage poster from Aer Lingus's glory days An Aer Lingus Super Constellation, known as the Super Connie. The propeller-driven were built by Lockheed Corporation between 1943 and 1958 at Burbank, California. In 1967 Aer Lingus flew fresh shamrock to Manchester to present to George Best The Golden Shamrock class, as regularly advertised in holiday magazines throughout the 1960s John Hinde postcard of the Old Terminal and Pier A at Dublin Airport. Source: Dublin Airport/Pinterest Snow at Dublin Airport in 2010. Photo: Kyran O'Brien Christoph Mueller Aer Lingus CEO (centre) with Aer Lingus cabin crew Lesley Murphy and Grainne Frawley launching flights from Shannon to Boston Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus ad, featuring the Vickers Viscount planes Johnny Sexton was In Dublin Airport. where he was unveiled as an Aer Lingus ambassador. Photo: INPHO/Billy Stickland 2015 Members of 'Ireland on Parade', pictured at Dublin Airport before their departure to USA 11 September 1964. Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection Composite image: An Aer Lingus aircraft takes off from London Heathrow in 2015 (Photo: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg via Getty Images) with vintage poster of 1950s cabin crewmember (inset). / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An undated photo of a flight attendant with Aer Lingus. Photo by David Reed/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Promoted: See the latest Aer Lingus offers and deals on Independent Discounts Flying at a cruising altitude of 16,000 to 18,000 feet, they would need to have been - early journeys were far more susceptible to turbulence. 35 million transatlantic customers later, Aer Lingus is owned by IAG and heading into its busiest summer ever for North American services. The airline will offer 2.75 million seats to 13 transatlantic destinations this year, with its newest route - Seattle - set for take-off in May. To celebrate, Aer Lingus is offering 100 off return flights to all direct North American destinations, valid for travel from June 16 to October 31. The sale is now online, at aerlingus.com. Read more: They're known as the 'Giant's Table and Chair', two 100-foot sea stacks punching up from the ocean beneath the Slieve League cliffs. The Donegal Bay stacks can be seen from the road-end viewpoint at Bunglass, but that's as far as most people get - most people, but not Iain Miller. Miller, who runs Donegal-based climbing and adventure operator Unique Ascent (uniqueascent.ie), has undertaken several of Ireland's most epic climbs in recent years, including a daredevil ascent of Mayo's Dun Briste sea stack - the first in over 25 years. Most recently, he climbed down towards the storm beach at Slieve League, paddled out to the stacks in an inflatable dinghy, and summited The Table. Expand Close Iain Miller atop of the Giant's Table at Slieve League / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Iain Miller atop of the Giant's Table at Slieve League "I have made a couple of attempts at this stack over the last two years, but this time Neptune was kind," Miller told Independent.ie Travel. "It is an indescribable experience standing on the summit of a rarely, if ever, visited sea stack. The Giant's Table stack shrinks as you climb to its summit and once you are standing there surrounded by the colossal south face of Slieve League, you feel very small indeed." NB: Climbing can be an extremely dangerous activity and should never be undertaken without suitable expertise, equipment and guides. The climber featured in this video is a professional - do not attempt to replicated his climb. Responsible walkers always respect private property. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivers a lecture on the Future of Europe before the Wilfried Martens Fund at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. REUTERS/Yves Herman The penny is finally dropping that the UK's red lines on Brexit will have to dissolve significantly if it is to leave the EU in an orderly way, and for Irish priorities in the North to be taken seriously. The Taoiseach took a telling position during his speech on the Future of Europe when he threatened to pull the plug on the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement unless the UK conceded to redraw its red line on the customs partnership. He made the point that in order for there to be a realistic chance of Northern Irish issues being solved, and therefore the withdrawal agreement being complete, Theresa May's government needs to get real. "The only thing that is a barrier to that close new relationship that we want to have between the UK and the EU is some of the hard red lines that the British have set for themselves," he said in Leuven, Belgium. An information evening detailing the workings of the Castlelyons-based BRIDE Project, which is aimed at encouraging farmers in the Bride Valley undertake to conservation works on wildlife habitats on their land (such as the hedgerow above), will be held next Wednesday evening at the Corrin Marts Complex Details of an innovative new project aimed at rewarding farmers across the Bride Valley region for conserving wildlife on their land will be unveiled at an information evening taking place at 8pm next Wednesday in Fermoy's Corrin Marts Events Centre. The aptly named BRIDE (Biodiversity Regeneration In a Dairying Environment) Project, will provide farmers with bespoke habit plans that identify the most appropriate and effective wildlife management options for their farms. In turn, they will receive a financial payment for their conservation actions. Designed by dairy farmer Donal Sheehan from Castlelyons (who is also the project manager) and Midleton tillage farmer Paul Moore, BRIDE is a collaboration with Glanbia Castlelyons and is head-quartered at their facility in the village. It was one of just 11 projects countrywide selected for support from more than 100 applications made by the Agriculture Department and EU under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP). Donal Sheehan said the project will run for five years and is designed to both increase and maintain biodiversity on intensively managed farms in the area through simple, innovative measures. "The effects on wildlife will be monitored through the project, which aims to create suitable habitats for local, important populations of wildlife including skylarks, yellowhammers, bumblebees, and frogs and newts," he said. Mr Sheehan said an ecologist will work with participating farmers to develop a plan and advise on how to maximise the wildlife on their farm. "These will focus on important habitats such as hedgerows, bogs, woodland, ponds and derelict buildings. As wild birds and other animals don't respect farm boundaries, the BRIDE Project is also designed to work at a landscape scale," said Donal. "It will involve several clusters of neighbouring farms to collectively enhance biodiversity on a much larger scale than would be possible on an individual farm basis. Farmers will improve the environment for the wider community and local participation will help forge a strong identity that values local wildlife and the 'farming with nature' concept". One of the more innovative aspects of the project is its 'higher payments for higher wildlife gains', which means the more flowers in a hedgerow or field margin, the higher the payment. Donal said the project's results-based approach is something that farmers know well. "The greater reward for a higher quality product is very familiar to farmers, and the BRIDE Project applies this principle to the management of wildlife habitats. This also means that farmers will be paid for the ongoing management of selected existing wildlife habitats, which is an important feature of the project." He placed great emphasis on the BRIDE Project has been "designed by local farmers for local farmers". "This is one of the most important distinguishing features of the project. It will be open to farmers within the River Bride catchment area from Glenville to Tallow," said Donal. "All are welcome to attend next Wednesday's information evening, which will show farmers how they can participate in the project and be paid for the actions they take to improve local wildlife," he added. For more information about the BRIDE Project visit www.thebrideproject.ie. There were a number of reconfigurations of the Garda division covering the Kanturk, Mallow and Macroom areas from 2012 to 2014, Fianna Fail Deputy Michael Moynihan told the Dail. Speaking during Question Time, he said a commitment was given at the time that the position would be reviewed and that numbers would be increased over time. "The issue is that Kanturk Garda station, which was the mainstay for the Duhallow region, was closed and part of the staff were transferred to Macroom and Mallow," he said. "Some of the Kanturk area, to within a mile or two of Kanturk Garda station, is now being covered from Macroom. While the gardai operating from there are very fine and doing a great job with limited resources, I am asking him in good faith to outline the plans for the Garda division and whether it is likely Kanturk Garda barracks will be reopened on a full-time basis following what happened between 2012 and 2014." In reply, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested gardai, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. "I am informed by the acting Garda Commissioner that, as of 28 February, the latest date for which figures are available, the strength of the Cork north division was 326," he said. "When appropriate, the work of local gardai is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the armed support units, the National Economic Crime Bureau and the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau." Calls for greater action on fodder crisis Much more needs to be done regarding port facilities to ease the current fodder crisis, Fianna Fail Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe told the Dail last week. Lorries, he said, are being sent in large numbers but importers are not in a position to bring in enough concentrates, such as corn gluten, and that is creating a chronic shortage of meal on the ground. "More needs to be done to help our ports to speed up this process," he said. "Three or four months ago the minister said he did not need to act because there was no crisis but if he had acted money would not have to be wasted. "Some farmers may have had the foresight to carry stock, silage and hay in their barns for the last three or four years and are now using it up. It is of as good a quality as what they saved last year. "I am trying to tell the Minister that the money would not have gone to waste if he had brought in the stuff a couple of months ago, or especially going forward, with concerns about climate change." Deputy O'Keeffe asked the minister to take action. "Some action is necessary. I welcome his initiatives regarding greening for the tillage sector. I am delighted to see he reacted instantaneously there because the tillage sector is vital to the country's economy. "As Deputy Creed said, he put money into capital investment in the dairy sector. We need to have the working capital in place as well." Cork North West Deputy Aindrias Moynihan said he wished to focus on two areas he believed the Minister needs to act on. "The first relates to getting funds to farmers," he said. "The second relates to farmers' mental health and stress. "Farmers need to have access to their money. The Minister should pay the outstanding 2017 payments as quickly as possible. Where there are appeals, reviews or any outstanding payments, the money needs to be released. The money is available. It is farmers' money and it is better off in their pockets. They need it now." Replying to the debate, the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed said he believed the country will come through this crisis because of the collaborative effort that is being made, which is the hallmark of the industry. "That collaborative effort is manifest in the difficulties individual farmers have in the context of a fodder shortage," he said. "I acknowledge the role farm organisations and individual farmers are playing, in terms of good neighbourliness, in helping to resolve this issue. "Rural communities generally, the co-operative movement, which is an extension of the meitheal approach, and my Department through its offices, Teagasc etc. have all been instrumental in that collaborative endeavour which will see us out." Data protection now as pervasive as tax compliance - Sherlock Data protection compliance is as pervasive an issue in modern society as tax compliance and the code is becoming as complex, attracting its own cohort of professional advisers who are needed to explain all of it to those of us who must comply with it, Labour Deputy Sean Sherlock told the Dail. Speaking during a debate on the Data Protection Bill, he said the rules do not just apply to the Mark Zuckerbergs and Denis O'Briens of this world. "The reality is that every one of us who has even a basic mobile phone that stores names and numbers is a data controller in the eyes of the law," he said. "Years ago the code was extended to apply to manual as well as electronic records. The rules will not apply to what are called 'purely personal or household activities', but if someone has any name or number on his or her phone that he or she no longer needs for personal or household activities, strictly this law will apply to that person and he or she will be in breach of it. I wonder how many citizens are aware of this." An example of the complexity are the rules relating to children, he said. "First, there is the so-called digital age of consent. This is the age at which a child has the capacity to consent to the processing of personal data by the provider of an 'information society service'. "The regulation deals with personal data, data that identify or are about an individual person and include names, addresses, dates of birth and anything that a person shares on social media such his or her preferences, status updates and, in many cases, private conversations over messaging apps, among other elements." Fire raging out of control near the iconic church at Gougane Barra a year ago The authors of a new publication, released to mark the first anniversary of the devastating fires that decimated vast swathes of wildlife habitat around Gougane Barra, say they hope to ensure such an environmental disaster never happens again. Entitled 'Protecting Wildlife in Ireland from Hedge Cutting and Gorse Burning' and published by the Macroom and District Environmental Group, the leaflet highlights the catastrophic damage caused to wildlife by fires. The group's PRO, Ted Cooke, said that they totally rejected the use of the term 'wild-fires', saying the torching of our uplands was "man made." "Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is currently running at 403ppm (parts per million) - unbridled burning of our uplands, themselves major carbon sinks, will very likely and finally break the climatic thermostat," said Mr Cooke. The leaflet singled out the EU Farm Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) as a driver for land clearing, with Mr Cooke saying his group would continue to "highlight the glaring conflict" between the scheme and the provisions of the EU Birds Directive, which protects all birds in the wild during their life-cycle. "The conflict arises because the scheme rewards landowners per acre of cultivated land. While GLAS purports to reward retention of woodland and scrub features, the fiscal attraction of BPS drives the annexation of wild space," said Mr Cooke. "Additionally the Government 'Harvest 2020 strategy, which aims to increase milk production by 50%, and the now so-called Food Wise 2024 Vision are profoundly at odds with the absolute requirement that every human support nature's recovery." Mr Cooke insisted that the progressive overstocking of the national herd, together with the "so-called wild-fires", which he claimed were themselves driven by the EU Basic Farm payments criteria "now pose the greatest threat to Irish wildlife at this time." "Even the short term precarity of this strategy has been shown up by the current fodder crises," he said. Mr Cooke said the group "humbly but loudly" called on individuals and local communities, as primary stakeholders and statutory agencies, to both observe and implement existing wildlife protection legislation. "It is as clear as day that the criteria, the indicators and the verifiers underlying the policies, both within the Food Harvest 2025 Vision and the EU Farm Payment Scheme, are inherently and dangerously unsustainable," said Mr Cooke. "It is high time for policies that embody the concept of sustainability as defined at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit - to which the Irish State is a signatory - which says that sustainable development is measured by the health or otherwise of biodiversity at the local, regional, and global level." Copies of the new leaflet are available at Macroom Library or can be downloaded for free at www.indymedia.ie/article/106572. The long-awaited M20 motorway between Cork and Limerick has taken a step closer to becoming a reality after the Government formally commenced the process of seeking tenders for the 1 billion inter-city link. The tender for the project went up on the tenders.ie website on Monday for the planning and design stage of what will be one of the biggest infrastructural and roads projects to be undertaken in Ireland to 2028. The tender, published jointly by Limerick City and County Council's, is inviting submissions from interested parties by May 24. Under the 8million contract, design engineers will be charged with completing the route outline and bringing the project forward to An Bord Pleanala. Once this process has been completed contractors will be appointed, allowing the project to move forward to the construction stage. In January of this year An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that the motorway would follow the original 105 km route proposed back in 2011, bypassing Mallow, Buttevant and Charleville. This appeared to finally put to bed suggestions that an alternative route through the Galtee's, using a potion of the existing Cork-Dublin motorway, was under consideration as a more financially viable alternative to the corridor running west of the existing N20. "The intention is to follow the route plan which has been intended for a very long time, the direct route between Cork and Limerick, because that provides the bypass for Buttevant and Charleville and other towns along the way," he said at the time. While the final route for the motorway will not formally be confirmed until the design tending process is completed, Mallow Chamber president Pat Hayes said he was confident it would stick to the route originally proposed. "I welcome the fact that the project has now moved forward to the deign and planning tendering process. This whole process has been dragging on for far too long. It was well down the line at one stage and then the crash came. Were it not for that, the motorway may very well have been built by now," said Mr Hayes. He said that in addition to facilitating journeys between the two cities, the motorway would also bring huge benefits to Mallow and the north Cork region in general. "Mallow is at the crossroads of Munster. We already have fantastic rail links and improving the road network would make Mallow and the wider area an ideal base for industry," he said. While Mr Hayes said he welcomed progress on the M20, he said priority must be given to the provision of the much discussed relief road for Mallow. "This is urgently needed because of traffic congestion which is stifling Mallow and the surrounding area," he said. This was a point also made by John McDonnell, the vice chair of the Mallow Development Partnership (MDP). Mr McDonnell pointed out that when the National Planning Framework (2040) was announced, it referenced that the N20 relief road would have a three-year construction time-scale and would be completed by the year 2023. He said the road would seamlessly fit in with the M20 when it was completed. "It is ridiculous to think that there is still no motorway link between Cork and Limerick, so we welcome any development that will bring this link to fruition," said Mr McDonnell. "However, our first priority remains the Mallow relief road. Much progress has been made on the project, including the allocation of 300,000 to Cork County Council to commence planning, design and appraisal of the scheme. As far as I am aware, given the various plans that the project is included in, the funding to complete the relief road has been ring-fenced so it is vital that the process moves forward to the construction stage as quickly as possible," he added. "Ensuring that the needs of communities in rural Ireland is an absolute priority of mine, and that's why I'm delighted to have received the endorsement of Fianna Fail members at our recent selection convention," said outgoing TD Aindrias Moynihan. Deputy Moynihan was commenting after over 400 local party members endorsed him and his party colleague, Deputy Michael Moynihan, to contest the next general election for the party at the Fianna Fail selection convention for Cork North West last weekend. "I'm determined to continue to be a voice for rural communities, and small towns, that are often forgotten about by the government," said Moynihan. "The last two years, as a member of Dail Eireann, have been an immense privilege for me and I am ambitious to do more for the communities I represent. "There is a choice facing our country - do we want more of the same from Fine Gael where the needs of rural Ireland are being forgotten about? "If we don't, then the choice is clear. Vote for a change in government ... a government led by Micheal Martin." Gardai say begging will not be tolerated on the streets of Drogheda Aggressive begging on the streets of Drogheda is going to be tackled in a pro-active manner by local gardai. Superintendent Andrew Watters has said that a renewed clampdown on begging is ongoing and will see those engaged in it facing the courts. He says he is aware of an upsurge in the intimidation of people - especially outside churches - and says it is going to end. 'Up to Christmas we had a lot of begging and we had a campaign that saw those involved brought to court. Now it has started again, and it will get the same attention,' he stated. He says gardai on patrol are giving those apprehended one warning and 'that's it'. 'In the last two weeks, there has been issues and we are aware of those. People found begging on the streets of Drogheda face being arrested and that's the policy we have. It won't be tolerated.' Many residents and businesses in the town have expressed concern at the influx of people begging on the streets in recent months, often knocking on car windows at traffic lights or approaching people at ATM machines or outside churches after Mass. One shop owner in Peter Street, who did not want to be identified, said she had watched motorists being intimidated in their cars while stuck in traffic. "I saw a woman one day last week who looked terrified as a young man banged on her window looking for money,' she told the Drogheda Independent. "There seems to be five or six men or women who appear at the same time every morning, and I think it does worry people coming into the town, especially our older customers." Another local man contacted the Drogheda Independent saying that he feels some even feign disabilities, perhaps in an effort to induce more sympathy. 'I have watched one or two walk off the bus on the Donore Road in the morning, only to see them half an hour later in the town centre bent over with a crutch or stick," he said angrily. "I never mind giving money to genuine hardship cases, but I don't like to think the people of Drogheda are being seen as easy targets." Locally based neuromuscular therapist Anthony Cardona says he believes many of the disabilities are not genuine. "Obviously I haven't examined any of them, but I have identified a few beggars I believe fake disabilities," said the owner of Boyne Body Clinic in Drogheda. "I cannot stand this. It ruins the towns reputation which already faces a lot of social issues. We need a proper policy and official support to have a better environment for all." One woman on Shop Street, who was approaching people for money, initially told this reporter she was from Macedonia and living in Drogheda, before changing it to Romania and adding 'she was allowed to live here". When asked had she family, and had she sought the services of local charities or homeless agencies, she wrapped a scarf over her face and walked off quickly. Maureen Ward from Drogheda Homeless Aid said they are aware of the issues this is creating in the town and she gets regular calls from members of the public. "One of the most important aspects is whether individuals have the right to reside in Ireland, and they generally must be EEA citizens to do that," explained Maureen. "My staff and I get regular calls regarding people sleeping rough around Drogheda, some of whom may be from other countries including areas of Eastern Europe. If a person or persons are not in line with this, there are no supports in this county or country for them, and are not entitled to homeless services, including Drogheda Homeless Aid, or to go on local authority housing waiting lists. For many their main recourse is begging. "All we can advise is that they contact the Louth Homeless Office or alternatively they contact Dublin Homeless Services." Assistant Commissioner David Sheahan, from Wexford, with his Limerick Person of the Month award The newly appointed Garda Assistant Commissioner, David Sheahan, who is from Wexford, has been recognised for his work in bringing one of Ireland's most notorious cities back from 'near anarchy'. Asst Comm Sheahan, from Rathnure, received the Limerick, Person of the Month award, for April, after being acknowledged as a driving force in turning the city into a safer place to live. In the Gardai for 30 years, Asst Comm Sheahan spent 10 years in Limerick, firstly as a Superintendent, in Roxboro, and then as Chief Superintendent for the Limerick Garda Division. He received his accolade on Good Friday and speaking to this newspaper expressed delight at the recognition. He said it was a challenge that he relished taking up when first appointed to Limerick, however, he also said there are many challenges still facing the Gardai throughout the country and that 'proper' community policing is the way forward. A proud Wexford man, Asst Comm Sheehan hurled with Rathnure in the 1980s and he was also on the Wexford minor hurling team at the time. He is well known in county and in particular, Wexford town, having been stationed there as an Inspector. From there he went to Waterford and Kilkenny before taking up the Limerick position. His interest in policing came about when he was working as 'a clerical officer with Wexford Corporation'. 'I was in the fines office and I used to see the process through from fines being issued to finality,' he said. 'We had six traffic wardens at the time and there were a lot of fines but it was something I enjoyed doing,' he added. 'My role was to pursue the tickets to finality.' He went on to comment: 'An advert came out for the Gardai and I got such enjoyment out of the fines office that I thought I might try it.' However, he enjoyed his time in the local authority: 'I would have liked to have stayed in the local authority but my contract expired that August and then that September, I entered the Gardai; that was in 1983.' When he took up his role in Limerick he said the county was 'overrun by serious criminals'. 'I came up with a strategy to deal with it but I was lucky because the skill set [of the members] was there because they had been exposed to some serious atrocities,' he said. He said communities become resilient because of what they experience but added that community policing is the way forward. 'I'm a firm believer in that,' he said. 'Communities become resilient but it's through working together that we can effectively tackle serious crime,' he said. 'If we invest in community policing we will see benefits.' Asst Comm Sheahan revealed that a new policing strategy, due to be rolled out in the coming months, is being finalised at the moment. He said a focus needs to be placed on how the Gardai 'can be more in tune' with the needs of communities but that can only happen with greater interaction between members and the areas in which they are serving. With regard to his Person of the Month award he said he was overwhelmed to be acknowledged in such a manner but was quick to point out that it was recognition of the work done not just by him but also by his colleagues within the Gardai. 'When I went there I had a job to do and it's nice to be acknowledged after that period,' he said. He also said his time in Limerick was among his most rewarding periods in the force: 'In that period of time I watched the city pulled out of near anarchy.' He said he was humbled by the honour bestowed on him but said it was more recognition of the work done by the entire Garda organisation in Limerick as they got the lid back on a city that was out of control. Members of the local community in Bunclody have vowed to vehemently oppose any change of use of the Millrace Hotel in the town, amid rumours that it has been sold and will be turned into a state of the art nursing home. While management have not been reachable for comment over the past three weeks and have refused to outline plans for the hotel, which is operated by The McGettigan Group, frustration is growing massively in the local community as they brace themselves for life without a local hotel. A public meeting on the matter is scheduled to take place in The River's Edge next Monday, April 30, at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, a spokesman for CBRE Ireland, the company tasked with selling the hotel with a guide price of 2million in July of last year, has said that the hotel has not yet been sold. 'The position at the moment is that we are currently negotiating and dealing with various interested parties,' said the agent in charge of the sale, John Hughes. 'I can't put the matter much further than that.' Local businessman Michael Kehoe, who owns The River's Edge, right next door to the landmark hotel, says that things have been incredibly quiet in recent weeks. 'It's closed during the week and it opens up at the weekends,' he said. 'But even at that it's only part open. The few customers that are in there are only able to go into certain parts. It's all very up in the air. 'The hotel has given great employment in the town over the years and it's not fair on those staff that work there. They don't know if they'll have jobs next week. They've just been told that it's unlikely that it will continue as a hotel. The whole locality is shocked by how this has developed and for a small town, the spin off will be huge.' At next Monday's meeting, members of the local community are aiming to send out a message that they will not stand for the Millrace being used as anything other than a hotel. 'We need to be firm on this,' said local councillor Barbara Anne Murphy. 'This is huge for the town. We've just made some great progress and set up a tourism office and now we're losing our hotel? We can't just let this happen and people are willing to lodge objections if needs be.' Cllr Murphy also says that she knows of at least two other parties who were interested in purchasing the hotel and keeping it for its current purpose, one of whom was informed that it's already sold. She says that while numerous attempts have been made to contact the management of the hotel, they have proved fruitless. However, she said that they will be invited to attend next Monday's meeting and once and for all set the record straight on the future of the hotel. 'It's vital that it stays as a properly run hotel,' said Michael. 'It hasn't been properly run for some time now, for whatever reason. There's a lot of anger out there for the way they've gone about things here. We will contact our local representatives and our TDs and lobby the planning department of the council on this though. We already have a nursing home. We need our hotel. 'We will fight this tooth and nail. This town will not just roll over and die and we want to send that message very clearly to The McGettigan Group and to any potential new owners.' Once again, hotel management could not be reached for comment and there was no answer at all from the mobile number now listed on the hotel website throughout yesterday (Monday) afternoon. While the Millrace website remains operational, when attempting to book a room customers are told that there is no availability. Also, despite a strikingly similar website design and layout, the Millrace Hotel no longer appears as one of the hotels operating under the McGettigan Group on their website. The family of Pauline Finlay, who went missing 24 years ago near Cahore, have finally received the closure they have been waiting for. Ms Finlay (49) disappeared while walking her two dogs at Old Bawn Beach in 1994, and seven months later a body of an unidentified woman washed up on the north Wales coast in 1995. Despite police inquiries at the time, the remains were not identified and were buried at a cemetery in Wales. The remains were believed to be of those belonging to Ms Finlay, and, after some debate, were exhumed in December 2017. The family were told last week at an inquest at Dublin's Coroner's Court that the body was confirmed to be that of Ms Finlay. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said she hoped the development would bring a measure of finality to the family's many years of unanswered questions. A fresh investigation into a series of missing person cases was launched by police in Wales last year and North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said DNA confirmed the body was of Pauline Finlay. He issued an exhumation in December 2017 on the grave of the unidentified body of a woman who washed up along the Welsh coastline after waiting more than a year for The High Court in London to overturn the verdict of the original inquest. The remains were sent to Dublin in January, and the tragedy was left in the hands of the Irish coroners. Ms Finlay and her husband Joe, who sadly passed away last August, were from Dublin and had a mobile home at Old Bawn near Cahore and were very well-known in the locality. Pauline disappeared on March 25 in 1994 while walking her two dogs. Extensive searches were carried for days and weeks out on the water and along the coastline after she went missing but no trace was ever found. However, it was believed that the unidentified remains of a woman who washed up on Cable Bay beach in Wales eight months later may have been those of Mrs Finlay. Last year, police in north Wales launched a fresh effort to try and give names to 17 bodies that they have on their records and contacted the Garda Siochana for details on unsolved missing persons cases. It emerged in the joint investigation that the Cable Bay remains were likely to be those of Mrs Finlay. Mr Pritchard-Jones said his predecessor and police at the time failed to identify the remains and they were buried, being cared for by local people. Jim Hughes, CEO of Innovate; Cllr Joe Sullivan, Tommy Redmond of Redmond Construction, Cllr John Hegarty, Chairperson of Wexford County Council; Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, Minister for State at the Department of Finance Michael DArcy TD, Diarmuid Devereux, CEO Gorey Chamber of Commerce; Paddy Redmond, Redmond construction and Jim Gannon, Chief Executive of SEAI The M11 Business Campus in Gorey represents a key-piece of infrastructure for the future development of north Wexford. The eye-catching 5 million development situated in Knockmullen was declared officially opened on Friday morning by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe. He was welcomed to Gorey by brothers Tom and Pat Redmond, who are the proud owners of the Campus, and also the Amber Springs Hotel and the Ashdown Park Hotel. Welcoming more than 100 guests, Minister Michael D'Arcy, Deputy James Browne and council members to the opening was CEO of Gorey Chamber Diarmuid Devereux. He said the 35,000 square foot building is the first phase of the M11 Business Campus as there are plans in place for another two units to be constructed by the Redmond brothers in the coming years. 'Today is a celebration that there is more to come for Gorey, more space for job growth in Wexford,' said Mr Devereux. 'The campus is a credit to Pat and Tom Redmond as it grew out of one of the worst recessions that we all remember.' Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Cllr John Hegarty said county Wexford has not progressed as much as they would have hoped for, but the large Business Campus is the first to begin the ball rolling for the county. 'Wexford County Council is ambitiously working on a variety of huge capital projects like this one now,' said Cllr Hegarty. 'The Campus was constructed in the middle of one of the worst recessions, and here we stand today to officially open it.' Minister Donohoe congratulated the Redmond brothers for contributing to the local economy and the country with their impressive sustainable energy three-storey building. He added the building will act as a strong base for global and domestic companies across several sectors and is a really significant addition to the business landscape in Wexford. 'We now nearly have more people working in Ireland than we did before, and I hope this continues,' said Minister Donohoe. 'Days like this are an essential element of what our shared future looks like.' CEO of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland Jim Gannon complemented the Redmond brothers on constructing a piece of infrastructure that will be used as a future example of sustainable energy. Following the unveiling of the plaque to M11 Business Campus, Mr Devereux began a question and answer session with Minister Donohoe. Mr Devereux said since the recession there has been a lot of progress made in Ireland, but there is a fear that it all could be put at risk because of over inflated salary increases. 'Can the Government look at this in the next two to three budgets?,' said Mr Devereux. 'Would we not be better to invest that money into infrastructure in Ireland, rather than give huge salary increases?.' Minister Donohoe agreed with Mr Devereux and said any surface income would be invested heavily into infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and transport. Michael Doyle of Doyle Associates Chartered Accountants voiced his concern to Minister Donohoe about inheritance tax percentages. 'There will be no point in families investing into anything if it is going to be taxed a lot,' added Mr Doyle. Minister Donohoe said they are aware of the issues with inheritance tax, but could not go any further into that topic. Wexford County Council is the main tenant at the M11 Business Campus where it offers tech hub-type incubation and micro-business units. Dancing with the Stars winners Karen Byrne and Jake Carter Photo: Brian McEvoy Dancing with the Stars finalist and fitness coach, Anna Geary Political statements, see through gowns, snipes of champagne, and Coachella comedowns. The 17th annual Peter Mark VIP Style Awards kicked off tonight at the Marker Hotel. Erin McGregor was one of the first to arrive in Synan O'Mahony ballerina dress. Im trying to go for Black Swan but with a bit of an edge, Erin said. Expand Close Dancing With the Stars contestant Erin McGregor / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dancing With the Stars contestant Erin McGregor Dancing with the Stars contestant Alannah Beirne wore a sequinned Caitriona Hanley floor length dress. "I'm just back from hanging out with Jamie Foxx and Amber Rose in Coahcella - so I'm getting backed into the swing of things," she said. Expand Close Xpose presenter Cassie Stokes Photo: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Xpose presenter Cassie Stokes Photo: Brian McEvoy The foyer of the hotel was filled with sheer and see through ensembles as guests arrived at the champagne reception. Model Aoife Walsh arrived in a completely transparent Don ONeill dress. Expand Close Lottie, Morah, Bonnie and Babette Ryan. Photo: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lottie, Morah, Bonnie and Babette Ryan. Photo: Brian McEvoy It is a bit daunting wearing something so risque, she said. Dancing with the Star choreographer Karen Byrne also opted for a see through guna and arrived in a mesh CP London LBD. Expand Close Blathnaid Treacy with 2FM presenter Stephen Byrne / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Blathnaid Treacy with 2FM presenter Stephen Byrne Video of the Day Lottie, Morah, Babette, and Bonnie Ryan all arrived in matching white ensembles. We come for the people watching and the champagne, Lottie said. Expand Close Lorraine Keane Photo: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lorraine Keane Photo: Brian McEvoy It wasnt all froth and glasses of fizz, there were some political charged moments on the red carpet. Designer Helen Steele arrived in one of her own custom made creations emblazoned with the phrase Fashion Is Repealing. I will be voting Yes because I have two daughters, she said proudly. The dress will be up for auction on May 10th and all proceeds from the sales will go towards the Together For Yes Campaign. Expand Close Radio presenter Doireann Garrihy Photo: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Radio presenter Doireann Garrihy Photo: Brian McEvoy Former host Darren Kennedy was enjoying his first night off in three years. Im out of office for the night, he said. Ive already had a cheeky G&T. News anchor Caitriona Perry wore a Don ONeill dress that the designer lent her when she was in Washington for Patricks Day. I am really excited to be nominated, she said. Its been an amazing six months being back in the newsroom. Dancing with the Stars Julien Benson had taken his style inspiration from a peacock. Thats why there are all the feathers on the shoulder, he said. Its a couture piece by Irish designer Claire Garvey. Pregnant Aoibhin Garrihy arrived with her sisters Doireann and Ailbhe in a dress made by Beauty and the Bump. All were keen to take a whirl on the 360 degree selfie stage. Expand Close TV presenter Lucy Kennedy Photo: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp TV presenter Lucy Kennedy Photo: Brian McEvoy Irelands Got Talent presenter Lucy Kennedy rocked a red number with a Bucks Fizz twist as the skirt was detachable. She was accompanied by semifinalist Evelyn who was blown away by the 16million hits she received online after her show stopping performances. Other guests included Herald columnist Holly Carpenter, TV star Franc, Georgina Ahern and Nicky Byrne, Rosanna Davison, Jake Carter, and Claudine Keane. Designers Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney, Aisling OLoughlin, Yvonne Connelly, and former Ms Browns Boys star Rory Cowan also walked up the red carpet. After all the awards are handed out, guests will make a bee line for the official after party in Copper Face Jacks. Louth native Eimear Cassidy emerged victorious in the style stakes at Punchestown, being crowned the winner of the Bollinger Best Dressed Lady competition. Eimear, who works as an air stewardess for Aer Lingus, had never been to an Irish racecourse before today and broke down in tears when she found out she had won, describing it as "surreal". The Drogheda woman (32) wore a dress she bought from a boutique in Boston and paired it with shoes from Penneys with pearls she customised herself and a hat by milliner Suzanne Ryan. "I spent the morning gluing myself together. The style here is absolutely just phenomenal. The style is just another level. "I'm happy that I'm even just here, let alone anything else. So it's lovely to feel like a lady for today," she said. As part of her win, Eimear won a host of prizes including a VIP trip for two to the private Bollinger estate and its new Champagne libraries, France. She also won an overnight stay in the town of Reims and a luxury overnight stay with Michelin dining in Paris as well as a private chauffeur and champagne lunch experience. Eimear did not enter the competition for the prizes however, admitting she wasn't even sure what they were. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close 1 Apr 2018; Kyle Cassidy, 6, from Navan, at Fairyhouse Races - Easter Sunday. Fairyhouse, Co. Meath. Picture: Caroline Quinn Friday 27 April 2018. Punchestown Festival, Co. Kildare. Ladies Day. Sarah McDermott (25) Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Friday 27 April 2018. Punchestown Festival, Co. Kildare. Ladies Day. Sarah McDermott (25) Newbridge, Co. Kildare. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 1 Apr 2018; Kyle Cassidy, 6, from Navan, at Fairyhouse Races - Easter Sunday. Fairyhouse, Co. Meath. Picture: Caroline Quinn "I had no idea what the prize was. I still don't. Somebody mentioned France. "My father is just going to be ecstatic and my sisters all live in America so I just can't wait until wake up so I can tell them," she said. Video of the Day Speaking about her job, Eimear said she spotted several of her colleagues around the Kildare racecourse. "I'm cabin crew for Aer Lingus and I absolutely love my job. From the moment I walk in until the moment I walk out. It's funny because I started to notice a few people in the crowd from work as well," she told Independent.ie. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Friday 27 April 2018. Punchestown Festival, Co. Kildare. Ladies Day. Eimear Cassidy (32) Drogheda, Winner. Friday 27 April 2018. Punchestown Festival, Co. Kildare. Ladies Day. Bastien Mariani, Bollinger, P.J. Gibbons, Eimear Cassidy (32) Drogheda, Winner and Aoife Walsh. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Friday 27 April 2018. Punchestown Festival, Co. Kildare. Ladies Day. Eimear Cassidy (32) Drogheda, Winner. "The ladies today and gentleman have absolutely blown me away. I just want to go and take everyone's hats and dresses. It's absolutely lovely to be a lady today." Britain's Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge leaves the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital with her newborn son in London April 23, 2018. John Stillwell/Pool via Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton have named their newborn son, Louis Arthur Charles. The duchess and Prince William finally announced the moniker on Friday morning, after a three-day wait by royal fans. "The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge," Kensington Palace said. The infant's name was subject to a flurry of bets with Arthur and James among bookmakers' favourites for the new prince. "You'll find out soon enough," William said when asked about the baby's name earlier in the week. The new arrival is Queen Elizabeth II's sixth great-grandchild and bumps Prince Harry to sixth place in the line of succession. Charlotte is the first royal daughter to stay ahead of a younger brother in the line of succession. Before the rules were changed in 2012, male heirs took precedence. Arrival The couple drove to St Mary's Hospital in London early on Tuesday morning, and Kate's eight pound, seven ounce boy was born at 11.01am, with royal officials announcing the birth about two hours later. There followed a smoothly choreographed operation perfected after the births of the couple's two other children. In late afternoon, elder siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte were brought to meet their baby brother. Video of the Day At around 6pm, Kate emerged alongside her husband, wearing a vibrant red dress and holding the tiny royal highness wrapped in a white lace shawl. After posing for dozens of photographers and camera crews outside the hospital's private Lindo Wing, the trio headed home, with the baby nestled securely in a car seat. William declared the couple "very delighted" with the new addition to the family. "Thrice the worry now," William told reporters, holding up three fingers with a smile. "We didn't keep you waiting too long this time. Very happy, very excited, thank you." The royal palace on Tuesday said "the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news". UK Prime Minister Theresa May offered "warmest congratulations." Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer poses next to newly unveiled wax figures of US First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump at Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York City yesterday. Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar US President Donald Trump alleged that former FBI director James Comey is guilty of leaking classified information to prompt a special counsel's appointment and he accused his own Justice Department of inaction in order to engage in a "witch hunt" against him. "He leaked classified information in order to try and get a special counsel," Mr Trump said of Mr Comey in a phone interview with Fox's programme 'Fox and Friends' yesterday. "He is guilty of crimes and if we had a Justice Department that was doing its job instead of spending $8m (6.6m) trying to find..." "It's your Justice Department!" a Fox host said, interrupting Mr Trump. "You're right," the president responded before lashing out at the department, which appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign was involved. Mr Trump said he has tried to keep a hands-off approach to the department during the Mueller probe, but that he may change his mind. "They have a witch hunt against the president of the United States going on," Mr Trump said. "I've taken the position - and I don't have to take this position and maybe I'll change - that I will not be involved with the Justice Department. I will wait until this is over. It's a total - it's all lies and it's a horrible thing that's going on. "I'm very disappointed in my Justice Department," he said. Asked if he'd sit down with Mueller's team, Mr Trump said he would be willing to if he was able, although he said that some of the people involved are "conflicted". "If you take a look, they're so conflicted. The people that are doing the investigation - you have 13 people that are Democrats. You have Hillary Clinton people, you have people who have worked on Hillary Clinton's foundation,'' Mr Trump said. "I love the FBI, the FBI loves me. But the top people in the FBI, headed by Comey, were crooked." Mr Trump had praised Mr Comey for his honourable conduct during the 2016 campaign, solicited his loyalty, and asked him to let go of an investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to memos turned over to House lawmakers last week that Mr Comey wrote to document private conversations between the two. After the contents of the memos were released, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter that they "show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION." Yesterday, Mr Trump took issue with Mr Comey for saying in his memos that during a meeting they had Mr Trump said he never spent the night in Moscow when his Miss Universe pageant was held there in 2013. Mr Comey recounted in the memos that Mr Trump made the assertion to dispute some of the salacious and unverified information contained in a British spy's dossier about whether the Russians had material to use to blackmail Mr Trump. "He said I didn't stay there a night," Mr Trump told the Fox interviewers, adding that he went to Russia "for a day or so". "I never said I left immediately." Mr Trump and Mr Comey have traded shots since the days before the release of the former lawman's book, 'A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership'. Mr Trump called Mr Comey a "slimeball" and accused him of improperly leaking information. Last week, the president called the book "third-rate" and lamented that Mr Flynn's life was destroyed while "Shadey James Comey" can make lots of money. Donald too busy to buy birthday gift for Melania Donald Trump has revealed he has been too busy to buy his wife Melania a birthday present. Mr Trump wished his wife, who turned 48 yesterday, a happy birthday during a phone call to Fox News, his favourite TV network. But asked what he had given Mrs Trump, he joked: Well I better not get into that because I may get in trouble. Maybe I didnt get her so much. I got her a beautiful card and beautiful flowers. You know, Im very busy to be running out looking for presents, okay ? The US president went on to praise his wife for overseeing the first state dinner of his presidency, which has been seen as her biggest test yet as First Lady. She did a fantastic job with France, Mr Trump told Fox News. I tell you what, the people of France are just, were spellbound by what happened, with their great president who just left, Emmanuel. And he is a wonderful guy. The warm praise was not reserved entirely for the First Lady Mr Trump also rated his own presidency an A-plus, saying: Nobody has done what Ive been able to do. When a journalist was tasked with an obituary, he initially met the errand with a sigh, but it quickly became clear the task was anything but banal. The Times science writer Tom Whipple was writing about the remarkable life of Gustav Born a man, he was told, who had done something important to do with platelets, the cell fragment involved in blood clotting. Heres what else he discovered about Gustav. 1. He saw the aftermath of the nuclear bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War. How did he become interested in platelets, I thought? Maybe I can eke an anecdote out of that. pic.twitter.com/idtENekzuM Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 2. His mother was good friends with Albert Einstein. Anything of interest in his parentage to bulk things out? pic.twitter.com/A6CTIXfCf9 Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 3. His father was a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist. Einstein??! How on earth did they know Einstein? pic.twitter.com/2tKJhGMrVd Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 4. As a child in Nazi Germany, he threw an anti-Semitic kid out of a window for attacking a Jewish boy. Any drama in his youth? (1) pic.twitter.com/CiAGD8GFx1 Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 5. Einstein advised his family to flee Germany as he did. Any drama in his youth? (2) pic.twitter.com/jnvRpdma0z Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 6. One of his fathers students was Robert Oppenheimer, co-creator of the atomic bomb. Any other unlikely connections in his life? pic.twitter.com/8sEcg1fuyM Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 7. He researched under Howard Florey, who worked with Alexander Fleming to develop the antibiotic penicillin. I suppose thats the end of the famous people though. pic.twitter.com/5KGmi3aF8o Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 8. With musicians, a literary expert and film-maker among them, his children were also incredibly successful. His poor children. How do you follow that? pic.twitter.com/aPZMuIDJtV Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 9. Oh, and Borns niece is musician and actress Olivia Newton-John. 10. And hes related to a very famous writer and the man who began the Reformation. Anything you left out because it just got a bit ludicrous? Well, hes also related to Ben Elton and some chap called Martin Luther. Tom Whipple (@whippletom) April 27, 2018 Borns work also, as Whipple was told, included work on platelets, which helped our understanding of how blood clots happen and saved hundreds of thousands of people at risk of stroke and heart attack. I for one am very grateful for the worthy-but-not-at-all-dull Gustav Born. My son has a blood condition called ITP and without his platelet transfusions might not be with us. RIP sir. Douglas Jackson (@Dougwriter) April 27, 2018 Wonderful, gripping, glorious thread. Thank you for this https://t.co/QdN8qfnsaD Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) April 27, 2018 Gustav Victor Rudolf Born died on April 16 2018, aged 96. When you have four cats and somewhere else to be, a cat sitter makes sense but how do you convey your pets varied and complex personalities to their temporary guardian? A series of detailed cat biographies, thats how. Gail Burgess, 69, from Maine, USA, was heading to Florida and needed someone to look after Jack, Cooper, Lucy and Pootydoots. Fortunately, everything the cat sitter needed to know was there for them on four handy pieces of paper. So my mom went on vacation and printed out illustrated bios for each of her four cats for the cat sitter pic.twitter.com/wLFJo6Fp3R Allison F. (@ablington) April 21, 2018 Here are the other two cat bios to satisfy your needs. Lucy and Jack. pic.twitter.com/zqfo48datt Allison F. (@ablington) April 22, 2018 With handy bits of advice such as she loves people but is very capable of just hanging out with her cat friends, and any door thats open is one he will go through, Gails cat sitter surely had it all under control. My cat sitter enjoyed the bios! Gail told the Press Association. She has taken care of my cats before. I wrote the bios last year and she requested that I leave them again for her this year. I wrote the bios because four cats can be a bit overwhelming. It makes life easier for her if she knows their quirks. And quirks they most certainly have. The gang have been together around five years now, with siblings Cooper and Lucy adopted in January 2010, Pootydoots adopted later that year, and Jack taken in in 2013. Expand Close Two of Gail's cats, Jack and Cooper / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Two of Gail's cats, Jack and Cooper Lucy is the alpha cat, boss of all things despite her size, said Gail, who volunteers at a shelter two afternoons a week. She is an extrovert cat. Into everyones business, up to no good and enjoys the company of humans of all ages. Cooper is an introvert. Kind of lazy and laid back. He puts up with the company of humans but prefers to hang with other cats. He loves Lucy but Jack is his bud, Gail continued. There is a bromance there for sure. Cooper lives for food and naps. Expand Close One of Gail's cats, Pootydoots / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of Gail's cats, Pootydoots But of all the group, one stands out for their owner. Pootydoots is my favourite, said Gail. Shes my girl! Pootydoots lives for human companionship. She is a lap cat and enjoys all manner of cuddles and pats. She follows me around like a dog during the day while the other cats nap. She also enjoys the company of Lucy and Cooper. But not Jack. Jack loves her but the feelings are not reciprocated. (Jack is) not the worlds smartest cat but hes good looking with stunning blue eyes. Hes endearing. Forget bios, this crew need a book deal and a TV series. Buddhist monks put their hands together to wish for a successful inter-Korean summit at the Jogye temple in Seoul. Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP Japan and China fear being frozen out of historic talks with North Korea as the US and Seoul take the lead in pushing for denuclearisation of the rogue regime. The North's leader, Kim Jong-un, is due to set foot in South Korea for the first time today for talks with Moon Jae-in, the South's president, a prelude to a proposed summit with President Donald Trump in June. The North's powerful neighbours have been increasingly voicing fears of being left out as the future security of the peninsula is decided. China is pushing for a "collective body" to negotiate with Kim, or four-party talks which would potentially exclude Japan. "Whether it is four or six, the number is not key as long as China is involved," said Zhao Tong, a nuclear analyst at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy. Expand Close North leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp North leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Reuters Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, is pushing for his own meeting with Kim amid fears Japanese interests could be ignored. Tokyo is concerned the US will only require the destruction of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles, leaving Japanese interests still exposed to medium range weapons. Mr Abe also wants the return of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea and an end to the regime's chemical and biological weapons stockpiles. Sheila Smith, a Japan expert in Washington, said the Japanese "understand that when Kim is talking about denuclearisation he doesn't necessarily mean the same thing that we mean". She told the 'New York Times': "I think it may be that the Abe cabinet is still a little nervous that Trump is still going to say, 'See, I did it', claim a win and walk away." Mr Trump has revealed a recent meeting in Pyongyang between Mike Pompeo, the CIA chief, and Kim lasted over an hour. The US president said he was considering three or four dates and five locations for his summit with Kim. He said: "This is a much more dangerous ball game now, but I will tell you it's going very well. The nuclear war would have happened if you had weak people." Mr Trump added: "I'm saying to myself, 'Wait a minute, all of these things he [Kim] has given up, and we haven't even really that much asked them.' I never gave up anything." Jim Mattis, the US defence secretary, struck a more cautionary tone "in light of Kim's family and himself breaking every international treaty, every agreement they've ever made". He played down concerns a potential US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would undermine attempts to strike an agreement with North Korea. "I'm less concerned with that ripple effect right now," he said. Kim is due to be the first North Korean leader in the South since the Korean War armistice in 1953. Mr Moon is expected to personally greet him at the military demarcation line that runs through the demilitarised border zone (DMZ). The pair will be escorted by South Korean honour guards to a welcoming ceremony before beginning official dialogue at Peace House, a South Korean building inside the border truce village of Panmunjom. In a grand meeting room on the second floor, the two leaders will sit on chairs etched with carvings of their shared peninsula, across a table designed to look like two bridges merging into one. Expectations are low that any substantive policy decisions will emerge, but it is nevertheless being seen as an important first step after the testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles and a hydrogen bomb brought the peninsula close to conflict. Meanwhile, Iran says that a British-Iranian academic arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran is a "member of a British spy network". Abbas Edalat, a professor at Imperial College London, was detained on April 15 and is believed to be in custody. The Iranian authorities acknowledged for the first time yesterday that they were holding him. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Scientists at Sussex and Portsmouth Universities have established that horses can not only read emotions, but can then remember the emotional expression of humans. (Stock picture) Horses can be tricky, and even the most tolerant rider will occasionally yield to the temptation to give their mount a ticking off and a stern look. But, according to ground-breaking new research, they really shouldn't: the horse may bear a grudge. Scientists at Sussex and Portsmouth Universities have established that horses can not only read emotions, but can then remember the emotional expression of humans. Published in the journal 'Current Biology', the discovery is the first example of its kind among mammals and sheds light on the intelligence of the species. The research team conducted controlled experiments whereby domestic horses were presented with a photo of an angry or happy human face. Several hours later, the animals saw the person depicted in the photograph, then in an emotionally neutral state. Even the short-term exposure to the picture was found enough to generate clear differences in the subsequent reaction of the horse when it saw the human in the flesh. The scientists noted that, despite the human being in an emotionally neutral state during the live meeting, the horses' direction of gaze differed depending on whether the person had been depicted as happy or angry. Prof Karen McComb from Sussex said: "Essentially, horses have a memory for emotion." ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Protesters demonstrate against the verdict of the 'La Manada' (Wolf Pack) gang case along Gran Via Street on April 26, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 26: Protesters carry a banner reading 'We are the wolf pack. It not abuse, it is rape" during a demonstration against the verdict of the 'La Manada' (Wolf Pack) gang case on April 26, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images Protests have erupted across Spain after five men were jailed for nine years each for sexual abuse in what activists saw as a gang rape during the 2016 running of the bulls festival in Pamplona. "It's not abuse, it's rape!" shouted protesters from the gates of the Navarra provincial court when the ruling was announced. Police stopped the crowd from advancing toward the entrance to the court, with some angry demonstrators shoving officers. Thousands of protesters gathered hours later in central Pamplona and most of Spain's major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao, Valencia and Zaragoza. Demonstrators shouted slogans like "No is no!" while some waved homemade signs and wore red gloves as a symbol of protest. The five members of La Manada - or The Pack, after the nickname the group gave themselves - were found guilty of sexual abuse, which does not involve violence or intimidation under Spain's criminal code. The prosecution had argued that violence was used and the 18-year-old victim did not consent to intercourse. The court on Thursday chose the lesser sexual abuse charge in contrast to the more severe charge prosecutors sought along with harsher sentences of more than 22 years in prison. The court agreed there was no consent because the defendants were in a position of "superiority that curtailed the victim's freedom". One of the three judges in the panel voted in favour of acquitting the defendants, the court said. Both the prosecution and the defence announced later they would appeal against the decision. The five men, all Spanish citizens between 27 and 30, were friends who travelled to Pamplona to party during the San Fermin festival in July 2016. According to testimony at the trial, the men offered to accompany the victim to her car but instead hauled her into a building where they filmed their assault with their smartphones. They then took her mobile phone and left. The men argued that the young woman had consented to intercourse. To support the claim, their lawyers produced detectives' reports on the victim's behaviour after the incident, causing outrage among women's rights groups who said the victim was being judged for her behaviour rather than the attackers. The defence then withdrew the report. In addition to the prison time, the court ruled they should jointly compensate the victim with 50,000 and refrain from contacting her for 15 years. The five have been in pre-trial custody since they were arrested after the incident. The president of Spain's Feminist Party, Lidia Falcon, told La Sexta television that the ruling means rape in Spain is "practically free" of punishment. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said the government "had to respect" the controversial ruling, while adding that authorities must respond to the public uproar. "I think we have to analyse what we as public authorities must do so that incidents like this don't happen again in our country," she said. Justice Minister Raphael Catala said that the laws in question date from 1995 and should be reviewed to see if "it is convenient to push for their revision". The largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria has been "transformed into a death camp" as Assad regime forces press ahead with a major offensive against Isil fighters who control the area, the UN has warned. The Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus has seen a week of intensive fighting as Syrian forces and allied militias attempt to crush one of the last rebel-held pockets of territory in the Syrian capital. More than 5,000 civilians have fled the area in the face of intense shelling and aerial bombardment. Many of the civilians, both Palestinian refugees and Syrian locals, are now sleeping in the streets after being displaced from their homes. "Yarmouk was a refugee camp that had already been transformed into a death camp, and even in that state it has just experienced a week of really intense fighting," said Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), the agency for Palestinian refugees. "Things have become unimaginably brutal for the civilians there," he said. Thousands of homes have been destroyed in the fighting over the last week and there is no running water in the area, Unrwa said. The area's last functioning hospital has also been taken out of commission by bombing, according to the agency. Before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Yarmouk was home to around 160,000 Palestinian refugees - people who had been displaced from their homes in modern-day Israel during the 1948 war, and their descendants. More than 100,000 Syrians also lived in the area. Fighting in the camp broke out in 2013 as some Palestinian factions sided with the Syrian regime and others with the rebels. The Syrian military placed the camp and the surrounding area under siege. Fighters from Isil entered the area in 2015 and quickly defeated other rebel factions, subjecting the remaining residents to a brutal rule similar to that in Raqqa and other areas controlled by the jihadist group. The camp is in a strategic location near one of the main southern roads into Damascus and rebel forces have often used it to shell government areas in the centre of the city. Regime forces have long been eager to stamp out opposition forces in Yarmouk. Following their victory in capturing the rebel-held eastern Ghouta last month, regime troops have moved their focus towards Yarmouk and the surrounding neighbourhoods. The Palestinian refugee population of Yarmouk had dwindled from around 160,000 in 2011 to just 6,000 last month, according to UN estimates. It may now be a fewer than 1,000 as people fled the fighting of the last week. Dozens of Palestinian refugees and local Syrian civilians have been killed in the recent fighting. Unrwa called for civilians to be allowed safe passage out of the area and for humanitarian groups to be given access. Unrwa says it needs $235m (200m) this year for services for Palestinian refugees still in Syria and those who have fled. It has so far raised $70m (57m). The agency has been suffering a severe funding shortfall after the Trump administration cut around $300m (247m) earlier this year. There were around 560,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria before the outbreak of war in 2011. Around 120,000 have fled abroad, including 32,500 to Lebanon and 17,000 to Jordan, according to Unrwa. ( Daily Telegraph London) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a media conference at Nato headquarters in Brussels (Virginia Mayo/AP) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rebuked Russia for what he called aggression beyond its borders, and vowed to restore relevance to a badly demoralised State Department in his new role as the top American diplomat. Attending a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels less than 24 hours after being sworn in, Mr Pompeo criticised Russia for threatening the alliances friends and partners in Georgia and Ukraine as well as for an aggressive campaign to undermine Western democratic institutions. Among other Russian misdeeds, he said, are the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in Britain last month and its support for Syrian President Bashar Assads government. Syria is accused of launching a chemical weapons attack that led three Nato members Britain, France and the US to launch airstrikes on Syrian targets. "Its truly been an honor to be here in #Brussels today. I received a very warm welcome from my counterparts. Its never good to be late on your first day of work & so after being sworn in I hustled here." -- Secretary Pompeo at #NATO #ForMin TRANSCRIPT: https://t.co/aLDkLYw5hP US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) April 27, 2018 Syria has denied responsibility. In light of Russias unacceptable actions, Nato is more indispensable than ever, the former CIA chief told reporters as he wrapped up the first stop on his first overseas trip as secretary of state. Nato should not return to business as usual with Russia until Moscow shows a clear change in its actions and complies with international law. Mr Pompeo said that among the allies there was enormous consensus of the risk that it poses to the West (and) a real commitment to work together to mitigate to those risks and to deter them. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed. Secretary Pompeo at @NATO: The United States has made abundantly clear that #NATO should not return to business as usual with #Russia until #Moscow shows a clear change in its actions and complies with international law. pic.twitter.com/LLvJVrJfyw Department of State (@StateDept) April 27, 2018 We are in a situation where weve not been before, he said. Were not in the old Cold War, but were neither in the strategic partnership we were trying to build after the Cold War. So this is something new. Fridays meetings set the stage for a summit of Nato leaders in July at which they are expected to outline more specifics about their response to Russia. Because of Natos central role in pushing back against Russia, Mr Pompeo said it was even more important that the allies, particularly Germany, the largest and wealthiest European member, meet their commitments to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024. The commitment was made in 2014 and thus far only six of the 28 countries that made the pledge meet the goal. Nine have produced realistic plans for reaching it by 2024, but the rest, including Germany, have not. No, Mr Pompeo replied bluntly when asked if Germanys efforts to increase defence spending have been satisfactory. Expand Close Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Virginia Mayo/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Virginia Mayo/AP) They should meet the goals that they agreed to, he said as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump were meeting at the White House. Mr Pompeo arrived in Brussels about 12 hours after he was sworn in as secretary of state to replace Rex Tillerson, fired by Mr Trump last month. His participation in the meeting so soon after taking office was noted by Mr Stoltenberg and others who said it was a sign of US commitment to Nato and its allies. His arrival also appeared to have heartened some US diplomats who had been discouraged by Mr Tillersons embrace of budget and staffing cuts and a perceived desire to reduce Americas diplomatic footprint. Mr Pompeo alluded to the change. They may have been demoralised but they seemed in good spirits, he said of a group of US diplomats he met at Nato. They are hopeful that the State Department will get its swagger back, that we will be out doing the things that they came on board at the State Department to do. Thats my mission set: to build that esprit and get that team on the field. US President Donald Trump has no plans to add a stopover in Ireland to his upcoming UK visit. A "standing invitation" remains in place for Mr Trump to come here but there are no moves in that direction. There had been some speculation in Leinster House that Mr Trump may make a brief visit to Ireland during the summer. It comes after the White House confirmed that he will make an official visit to the UK on Friday, July 13. The president will meet UK Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street and is also expected to have discussions with some members of the royal family. However, amid fears of protests, his diary will be much more low key than visits by his predecessors. Expand Close Britains Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are due to spend time in Ireland in the coming weeks. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Britains Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are due to spend time in Ireland in the coming weeks. Photo: PA UK officials are describing it as a "working visit" rather than a formal state visit that would come with pomp and ceremony including an official banquet at Buckingham Palace. Taoiseach Enda Kenny invited Mr Trump to Ireland when they first met at the White House in March 2017. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney told the Irish Independent that the open invitation still stands "but the Government or our embassy in Washington has received no new indications that he plans to visit soon". "Meanwhile, planning a papal and royal visit continues at a pace," he added. Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are due to spend time in Ireland in the coming weeks, and Pope Francis is coming in late August. The Irish Independent previously revealed that soon-to-be newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are also planning a visit to Dublin. President Michael D Higgins is joined by Bridget Moynahan an American actress and model who stars in the television series Blue Bloods at the Ireland Funds breakfast event held yesterday in the Rockefeller Centre in New York. Photo: Maxwells President Michael D Higgins has criticised "unapologetic sexism" in Donald Trump's America and expressed "great disappointment" that the US plans to turn away from an agreement on tackling climate change. The President used two speeches in New York to raise concern about the direction the US has taken in recent times. Mr Higgins addressed the Ireland Funds' Women's Leadership event, which he said was a "most important initiative" in a world where there were still obstacles to "true equality". He said attitudes suggesting female inferiority and fuelling prejudice towards women were far from being the preserve of any one culture or religion. In a reference to the United States, he said: "Indeed, today we are witnessing a worrying surge of unapologetic sexism and the undermining of women's rights in one of the world's most advanced democracies." He said it was a reminder that "no society is ever immune to such harmful regressions of rights painstakingly won". "We must never let down our guard, and confront, not just violence, but prejudice and disrespect wherever it arises," he added. In a reference to the #MeToo movement, Mr Higgins said women's rights were to the fore of public debate last year. "Sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace was openly discussed and called out across a range of high-profile sectors including the film industry, politics and the media. "Women's voices are being heard and demands for change in behaviour and attitudes must continue to be progressed for the benefit of all society," he added. Mr Higgins also said women's voices were "marginalised, ignored or silenced" for too long in Ireland's first 100 years of independence. The President said Constance Markievicz's membership of the first Irish Cabinet was a "false dawn" as it took another 60 years for another woman to be appointed to Cabinet. He also told his audience how until 1973 women who married while in the Irish public service were required to resign, with the exception of teachers. Profound But he added: "Both of my predecessors Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese were remarkable women and both represent the profound and positive social change which Ireland has undergone in recent decades." Mr Higgins later addressed students at the prestigious Columbia University on the need for greater international co-operation to tackle conflict, poverty and climate change. He was speaking as part of its World Leaders Forum. Previous participants have included Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama. He said it would be easy for him to "merely criticise" the US intention to withdraw from the Paris Accord on climate change in 2020 adding that it was a "great disappointment" that a founding member of the UN was turning away from the deal. But he also said a "more insidious risk" to shared global commitments is if other wealthy countries, including Ireland, "were not truly authentic in our words... that we did not intend to make the difficult and necessary sacrifices demanded of us over the next decades". Mr Higgins also hit out at global inequality, singling out the Davos World Economic Forum as an event where "a very small number of people present themselves as gods come to Earth". The Republican-led House intelligence committee has officially cleared the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. The committee released its final report over Democratic objections and ended its probe. The investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. Republicans had already announced the main findings last month. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House panel did find that Moscow sought to sow discord in the US through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans say they will pressure intelligence agencies to release more information. The report's conclusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats. They say the panel did not interview enough witnesses or gather enough evidence to support its finding. Mr Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion. In a statement, Republican representative Mike Conaway, who has been leading the investigation, said he was "extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions" made by intelligence agencies. He said many of the blacked-out details include information already public such as witness names and previously declassified information. Mr Conaway said the committee had pledged to be "as transparent as possible" with the report. "I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months," he said. California Democrat Adam Schiff said the panel did uncover evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, despite Republicans saying otherwise. He cited several secret meetings and communication between people linked to Russia and Trump campaign officials, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and the president's son Donald Trump Jr. Mr Schiff said Republicans on the committee did not conduct a serious investigation. Then president-elect Donald Trump and Kanye West pose for a picture in the lobby of Trump Tower in 2016 (Seth Wenig/AP) President Donald Trump has praised Kanye West for having "good taste" for supporting him. Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends that he knew the rapper "a little bit" and always got along with him. He said West has noticed the low unemployment rate for black Americans. "He sees that stuff and he's smart and he says, 'you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did'," the president said. Expand Close Kanye West has been prolific on Twitter recently (Yui Mok/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kanye West has been prolific on Twitter recently (Yui Mok/PA) West recently offered his support for Mr Trump in a series of tweets, saying they both share "dragon energy". That caused a backlash among other public figures who oppose the president. In a tweet on Thursday, West wrote that while hate is a similar emotion to love, "hate is not the answer". He also tweeted a link to a TMZ.com story about himself with a headline that described West as "the opposite of erratic". The story noted that West is releasing a new album in the coming months. West has toyed with running for president himself and on Wednesday tweeted a poster of his face emblazoned with the slogan Keep America Great and #Kanye2024. He has recorded several best-selling albums and produced a fashion line and has the undeniable talent for attracting attention. He has also been linked to several previous presidents, including when Barack Obama called him "a jackass" in 2009 for storming the stage at an MTV awards show to interrupt Taylor Swift. In 2005, during a telethon to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, West criticised the White House's response to the storm by famously charging that "George W. Bush doesn't care about black people". tired student girl with glasses sleeping on the books in the library Naps should be timetabled for secondary school children, a study by the University of Delaware suggests. Researchers studied the link between a post-lunch sleep and brain function in early adolescents. They found that youngsters who napped five to seven days in a week had sustained attention, better nonverbal reasoning ability and spatial memory. The best amount of time to nap for was found to be between 30 and 60 minutes, but the researchers said not to nap after 4pm. The researchers were also surprised to find that people who napped more often tended to have better night time sleep. The study was conducted on 363 youngsters, with an average age of 12, in China where mid-day napping is common. The researchers measured midday napping, nighttime sleep duration and sleep quality, and performance on multiple neurocognitive tasks. Study leader Xiaopeng Ji said: "Daytime napping is quite controversial in the United States. In Western culture, the monophasic sleep pattern is considered a marker of brain maturation. "In China, time for napping is built into the post-lunch schedule for many adults in work settings and students at schools." Ji has studied the natural sleep and wake pattern of cells, known as the circadian rhythm. A shift in this rhythm takes place during adolescence, with teenagers naturally wanting to wake up an hour or two later than younger children. "Think about that in a school schedule," Ji said. "Teenagers have to get up early for school. And, with this phase delay of going to bed later, they are at-risk for chronic sleep deprivation." The findings are published in the journal Behavioural Sleep Medicine. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] New Delhi, Apr 27 (IBNS): Smriti J Irani, Union Minister of Textiles and Information & Broadcasting reiterated her belief in cooperative federalism and appealed to state ministers and representatives to play a pivotal role in decision making for the growth of the textiles sector. She said it while addressing a meeting of state textiles ministers on Thursday in New Delhi. The meeting was being held for taking a comprehensive view on the schemes of the Central government for the Handloom and Handicraft sectors. Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles, and Anant Kumar Singh, Secretary, Textiles was also present. Anant Kumar Singh initiated the meeting by highlighting the crucial role of state governments in identification of weavers and artisans and their active participation in implementation of Central government schemes. A detailed presentation on schemes of the Central government for development of Handloom and Handicraft sectors was made by the concerned Development Commissioners. Speaking on this occasion, the Minister underlined the need for all-round development of weavers and artisans. The Minister requested officials at the Centre and the states to ensure that the benefits of all Central government schemes, like Ujjwala Yojana, Swachhta Abhiyan, reach the beneficiaries along with Textiles Ministry's initiatives. She said that the India Handloom Brand launched by the Prime Minister is a bridge between weavers, manufacturers and consumers, ensuring increased earnings for weavers and quality products for consumers. The Minister urged everyone present at the meeting to encourage stakeholders to register their products with India Handloom Brand. She also requested state ministers to set targets and regularly review activities at Handloom and Handicraft clusters. She emphasized the need for educating weavers and artisans and their families by encouraging them to enroll with NIOS and IGNOU through initiatives taken by the Ministry of Textiles. State ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were present at the meeting along with senior officials of the Ministry of Textiles and Development Commissioners for Handloom and Handicrafts. Image: PIB Kolkata, Apr 27 (IBNS): Emirates stand was buzzing at this years ATM, with over 18,000 visitors making their way to the stand to experience the airlines signature products and services. Visitors were also able to experience the new Boeing 777-300ER First Class Private Suite for the first time at ATM. In addition, the Emirates stand showcased the airlines recently launched products and service enhancements including latest Boeing 777 Business Class seat, the A380 OnBoard lounge, along with other iconic products such as the First Class Shower Spa and its generously-pitched Economy Class seats. UAE royal dignitaries and VIP guests visited the Emirates stand including His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah; Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department; Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; and Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Ghanaian Minister of Aviation. Over 125 meetings took place with industry trade partners and suppliers. Emirates also signed four agreements and memorandums of understanding with strategic partners to develop and enhance tourism traffic to destinations in its route network as well as its home of Dubai. ATM ran from 22-25 April and is the regions largest travel trade exhibition. New York, Apr 27 (IBNS): Johns Hopkins researchers report success with a smart phone video-based app that substitutes for a daily in-person visit by a health careworker required for tuberculosis treatment known as directly observed therapy, or DOT. The preliminary study showed that the app may be less costly and may improve privacy concerns raised by patients compared to in-person visits. A summary of the study that investigated the app, which provides video Directly Observed Therapy (video DOT), was published on April 26 in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. We believe video DOT offers an alternative that appears to be as effective as an in-person daily visits by health care workers to assure compliance with drug treatment, but also empowers patients to manage their TB without added stress, says Samuel Holzman, M.D., a research fellow in the department of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Tuberculosis is one of the few diseases in the U.S. with state and federal provisions outlining recommended and sometimes required measures to ensure that patients adhere to treatment. These recommendations include provisions for home or hospital based isolation or occasionally forced isolation for infectious individuals. Treatment for tuberculosis is effective and benefits not only the patient, but the public by reducing the chances of ongoing transmission. The reason for these mandates, says Holzman, is the diseases virulence. Unlike the flu or the common cold, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes infectious tuberculosis, can hang in the air for extended periods when expelled by the coughs or saliva of patients, spreading to others across a room or through a buildings ventilation. Many people with active TB also have relatively few symptoms, allowing the bacteria to spread before a diagnosis is made. Tuberculosis is typically treated for six months with a battery of daily antibiotics that include a multidrug combination that can be challenging patients to take. The number of side-effects related to the drugs and the motivation needed to continue the long treatment courses can cause patients to stop their treatment early without appropriate monitoring and strong support. Treatments become even more intensive when caring for multidrug or extensively drug-resistant TB, which require additional antibiotics and can take up to two years to bring under control. As such, most local health departments in the U.S. require that health care workers observe patients taking their medications to document that they were taken correctly and to monitor for side-effects. In most cases, in-person DOT is conducted five days a week on weekdays and is therefore costly and resource-intensive for local departments of health who absorb the costs associated with treatment. Nonetheless, this practice helps to support patients through the difficult regimen and provides clinicians a means of tracking a patients progress and in-person DOT is the standard of care for TB treatment in the US and globally. However, DOT has the potential to be logistically challenging for patients and is viewed by some patients as stigmatizing or interfering with their autonomy and privacy. In an era when we are focused on patient centered care, having to meet a health provider every single day is logistically challenging and can be personally invasive, says Maunank Shah, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. To test the effectiveness of video DOT, the researchers conducted a pilot study utilizing the widely-available smartphone application developed by emocha Mobile Health in conjunction with Shah and other clinician-scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 28 adult TB patients being treated at three health departments in Maryland participated in the pilot study. These patients had their therapy monitored using the emocha video DOT application in lieu of in-person visits by a health care worker. The researchers found that patient adherence to treatment was approximately the same between the video DOT and in-person DOT, 94 percent and 98 percent respectively. As importantly, when including weekends and holidays in the assessment of adherence, the researchers found that the overall proportion of prescribed doses that were verified through observation was 6 percent higher with video DOT compared to in-person DOT. The researchers also sought to assess the apps acceptability to patients and clinicians by conducting qualitative interviews and surveys. Ten patients and sixteen staff were interviewed and/or completed surveys after the study. One hundred percent of the patients felt that the emocha platform was easy to use and preferred it over in-person DOT. Staff were largely in agreement with these results and 94 percent reported they believed that video DOT was effective for monitoring patient adherence. The researchers also reported several common themes during in depth interviews that focused on the added convenience and increased flexibility of using video DOT. Another prominent theme was the impression that in-person DOT could risk patient privacy. The researchers also found that when compared to 5-Day/week in-person visits, video DOT was estimated to cost an average of $674 per patient, compared with $2,065 for in-person DOT. Given potential variability in the costs of software, internet data usage, mobile phones, and other components of video DOT, the researchers estimated the range of costs to implement video DOT at health departments could range from $66 to $1,449 per patient for a standard six month treatment course. Overall, the investigators found that ninety percent of traditional in-person DOT costs are spent on health worker services. The video DOT costs were mostly in the software, phones and their data plans, with labor accounting for only 20 percent of the cost. In this study, 25 patients (89 percent) elected to use their own devices, leading to potential additional health department cost savings. Overall, the researchers found that video DOT provides a patient-centered approach to TB treatment monitoring that offers patients improved flexibility and privacy, while allowing health departments the ability to document and support treatment adherence. A limitation of the study is its small sample size and non-randomization. As such, the researchers say the results may not be applicable to all patients, but they see video DOT as a promising technology for helping TB programs around the world manage TB. Because the app allows patients to record their doses without a health worker present, the researchers are hopeful that the app may facilitate more medication observation, even on weekends. MiDOT is one of three video-based technologies that allows for asynchronous recording of patients taking prescribed antibiotic doses. Another is named Aricure that uses artificial intelligence to monitor patients, and another is SureAdhere. Other video DOT technologies listed by the CDC include Face Time, Fuze, HippaBridge, ooVoo, Skype, and Tango. Other researchers involved in this study include Maunank Shah and Avi Zenilman of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Dr. Shah also serves as the medical director for the Baltimore City Health Department TB program. New Delhi, Apr 27 (IBNS): Standard Chartered Bank on Friday announced the launch of its retail digital banking initiatives which will empower customers to avail of a seamless digital experience across various banking services - from opening accounts real time to interacting digitally with relationship managers (RMs). The Bank today launched the instant digital account opening capability which enables customers to instantly open a savings account using their AADHAR details through online or mobile interfaces. Launching a suite of digital banking capabilities, the Bank announced that customers can now also make investments in mutual funds and initiate payments through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Bharat QR. Additionally, customers can chat online for their service requests and Priority and Premium Banking clients can seek advice or resolutions much quicker through video conferencing with RMs. The banking landscape is changing rapidly with digital platforms becoming a dominant form of interaction between banks and their clients. Consumers, particularly millennials, expect banking services to be faster and seamless on the back of smart digital interfaces. The launch will help the Bank take its rich product-suite to the young and emerging affluent customers, even as it reinforces its strong position with the affluent audience. To create a strong connect with this ever increasing young working audience, the Bank said it is bringing on board actor Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador. Anushka, as one of Indias top actors and youth icon, personifies the affluent youth and their upwardly mobile aspirations while representing the values and ethos of the Bank. Speaking on the occasion, Zarin Daruwala, CEO, India, Standard Chartered Bank, said, Recognising the rapid adoption of technology in a young and aspirational India, we had embarked on a journey of Retail transformation, with the clear intent to use technology with a human touch, transforming the entire client experience; making it digitally capable and seamless, but keeping customer centricity at the core of all we do. Today is an important milestone of this journey. We are launching a suite of digitally powered banking services across account opening, UPI transactions and virtual RMs and are delighted to partner with youth icon, Anushka Sharma on this. The freshness, positivity and ambition she reflects is a great match with our digital initiatives and our ambition to be the preferred digital bank for the youth, Zarin Daruwala added. Anushka Sharma said, I am glad to partner with Standard Chartered - a Bank which combines great vintage of 160 years in India and the drive to stay contemporary and cutting-edge. I was impressed with the spirit of continuous digital innovation at Standard Chartered coexisting alongside great trust and solidity. As an artist, I strive to challenge myself through my choice of roles and the films I produce through my production house Clean Slate Films. The subtext of never settling in this campaign was the reason I identified with and became the brand ambassador for their products and services. Beijing, Apr 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in China, will meet President Xi Jinping on Friday. The meeting between the two leaders has been called as an 'informal summit'. Modi arrived in China on Thursday night. Speaking on his visit to the neighbouring nation, Modi tweeted: "I will be visiting Wuhan, China on 27-28 April 2018 for an Informal Summit with Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China." He said he will be discussing issues related to bilateral and global importance with the Chinese President. Modi said: "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation." Modi also said he will review the developmental relations between the two nations. "We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective." Beijing, Apr 27 (IBNS): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a grand welcome in Wuhan, China, upon his arrival on Friday for the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to media reports. The meeting between the two leaders has been called as an 'informal summit'. Modi arrived in China on Thursday night. This is the first meeting between the two post the Doklam crisis. Speaking on his visit to the neighbouring nation, Modi tweeted: "I will be visiting Wuhan, China on 27-28 April 2018 for an Informal Summit with Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China." He said he will be discussing issues related to bilateral and global importance with the Chinese President. Modi said: "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation." Modi also said he will review the developmental relations between the two nations. "We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective." The Indian Prime Minister has a packed itinerary, which includes a one-on-one meeting with Xi, a tour of one of the best known museums of China, dinner by a picturesque lake side followed by talks with top officials over the course of his stay, reported TOI. Wuhan, Apr 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendera Modi, who is currently on a two-day visit to China, met the country's President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city on Friday. The 'informal summit' between Modi and Xi commenced with a cultural event at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The two leaders were seen shaking hands when they met as the Chinese President himself welcomed Modi to the museum. Modi and Xi later met and hold one-on-one talks with each other. Modi was accorded a grand welcome in Wuhan, China, upon his arrival on Friday for the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to media reports. Speaking on his visit to the neighbouring nation, Modi tweeted: "I will be visiting Wuhan, China on 27-28 April 2018 for an Informal Summit with Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China." He said he will be discussing issues related to bilateral and global importance with the Chinese President. Modi said: "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation." Modi also said he will review the developmental relations between the two nations. "We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective." The Indian Prime Minister has a packed itinerary, which includes a one-on-one meeting with Xi, a tour of one of the best known museums of China, dinner by a picturesque lake side followed by talks with top officials over the course of his stay, reported TOI. New Delhi, Apr 27 (IBNS): Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his China visit and said he has 'no agenda' in visiting the neighbouring nation. Mocking Modi, Gandhi said the Prime Minister looked 'tense' during his visit to the Asian nation. "Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Eco Corridor passes through POK. Thats Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi tweeted. Meanwhile, Modi has met Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Wuhan city of the country. The 'informal summit' between Modi and Xi commenced with a cultural event at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The two leaders were seen shaking hands when they met as the Chinese President himself welcomed Modi to the museum. Modi and Xi later met and hold one-on-one talks with each other. Modi was accorded a grand welcome in Wuhan, China, upon his arrival on Friday for the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to media reports. Wuhan, Apr 27 (IBNS): Meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited him for an 'informal summit' in India in 2019, reports said. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Wuhan city on Friday and exchanged views on solidifying bilateral relationship between the two nations, officials said. Modi arrived in China on Thursday. The meeting between the two leaders has been called as an 'informal summit'. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "And the much awaited Informal Summit gets underway! PM @narendramodi warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi on his arrival at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship." The 'informal summit' between Modi and Xi commenced with a cultural event at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The two leaders were seen shaking hands when they met as the Chinese President himself welcomed Modi to the museum. Kumar tweeted: "PM @narendramodi was welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture." Modi was accorded a grand welcome in Wuhan, China, upon his arrival on Friday for the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to media reports. Speaking on his visit to the neighbouring nation, Modi had earlier tweeted: "I will be visiting Wuhan, China on 27-28 April 2018 for an Informal Summit with Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China." He said he will be discussing issues related to bilateral and global importance with the Chinese President. Modi said: "President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation." Modi also said he will review the developmental relations between the two nations. "We will also review the developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective." The Indian Prime Minister has a packed itinerary, which includes a one-on-one meeting with Xi, a tour of one of the best known museums of China, dinner by a picturesque lake side followed by talks with top officials over the course of his stay, reported TOI. Guwahati, Apr 27 (IBNS): Over 75 percent voters turn out has been recorded in the by-poll for the Williamnagar assembly seat in Meghalayas East Garo Hills district, officials said on Friday. The voting for by-poll in the Williamnagar Assembly seat began from 7 am on Friday. Tight security arrangements were made for the polling. Altogether 9 candidates are in fray. The election for the Williamnagar seat was postponed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma. Sangma died in an IED explosion triggered by the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants near Sawilgre village, about 14 km from Samanda block in East Garo Hills on Feb 18, days before the Feb 27 assembly polls in Meghalaya. Over 32,300 registered voters decided the fate of nine candidates. Voting will end at 4 pm in all of the 58 polling stations. The ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) has fielded former MLA Marcuis N Marak, while NCP has fielded Krenila R Marak. Marak is the wife of Jonathone N Sangma. Apart from NPP and NCP, Congress has fielded Deborah C Marak as its candidate, who served as a minister in the previous Mukul Sangma-led government. There were no reports of any untoward incident that happened during polling. NCP candidate Krinila R Marak became one of the 5 early voters to receive a medal while she cast her vote at Greenyard school polling station. Counting of votes will be held on May 1 next. (Pictures credited by Vishma Thapa and Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) New Delhi, Apr 27 (IBNS): Based on specific inputs two Pro-Pak Kashmiri Hackers were arrested on the night of 26/27 April by Delhi Police Special Cyber Cell after raiding two locations in Punjab. The police said one of the arrested is Shahid Malla, a B Tech (IInd Yr), CSE student at Aryan Group of College in Rajpora. He is a permanent resident of Watergam Rafiabad, of Baramulla district of North Kashmir and was staying in a rented accommodation in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura, Punjab. Another youth Adil Hussain Teli, a BCA (Final Year) at St Soldiers Mgt & Tech Instt in Jalandhar is a permanent resident of Noonmai Yaripora, of Anantnag district and was staying in a rented room in Jalandhar. As per their online activities and initial findings the two were part of an anti-national hacking group called Team Hackers Third Eye and claim to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass state-imposed-social-ban by use of VPN during Apr-May 2017. Apart from that two were found in touch with several Pak based anti-Indian hackers. Some of them are believed to be backed by Pak Intelligence agencies. Further, they were found to be pro-Kashmir militancy and pro-Pakistan through their anti-India and seditious post. The Intelligence agencies said that laptops, mobile phones, SIM Cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from them will be examined by Delhi Police in detail to ascertain anti-state activities. The two are likely to be produced before a court and taken on police remand for further questioning. (Reporting by Saleem Qadri) UN Photo/Jean-Marc FerrA New York, Apr 27 (IBNS): The United Nations human rights chief on Thursday expressed hope that Ethiopia continues its economic development in which human rights are respected and people can freely speak their minds about public policies. We all want to see an Ethiopia with continuous economic development where all people benefit, and where people express their views on public policies, unafraid, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein at the end of his official visit to Ethiopia. His visit followed the countrys recent transition of power from the Government led by Hailemariam Desalegn, who abruptly resigned as prime minister in March, to the new one led by Abiy Ahmed. A country with one of the fastest-growing economies in world, Ethiopia has also been riven by human rights violations and oppression on protests by those demanding equality. Moments of transition are rarely ever smooth. Ethiopia has struggled with a heavy history, but it has the wisdom of a tolerant, vibrant, youthful population to harness, said Zeid, encouraging the authorities to keep the positive momentum going and to keep translating the inspiring words in the Prime Ministers inaugural address into action. Zeid was referring to the Prime Ministers recognition that there is a need to address existing inequities that led to recent unrest, that democracy cannot be realised in the absence of rights be it civil or economic rights and that the right of people to express opinions, rights of people to organise themselves and engage in effective dialogue and participate in the governance system is inherent in our humanitynot for any government to bestowas it sees fit. The UN rights chief also welcomed the release of a large number of people, including bloggers, political opponents and others who had been detained in relation to their participation in protests and their criticism of the Government. There was tremendous hope, but also anxiety, he said, citing the words of a former political detainee, who said: we have repeatedly been victims of broken promises. They demanded investigations and accountability for excessive use of force by the authorities. They expressed their desire for justice and human rights for all Ethiopians and for their voices to be heard without fear of reprisal, Zeid said.During a visit to the Oromia region, Mr. Zeid met with the regional authorities and the traditional leaders, known as the Aba Gadas, who he said spoke about how they will continue to push for the truth to be told about what has happened over the past few years, including deaths during protests. On Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Office for East Africa and the Ethiopian Government signed an agreement to strengthen the Offices ability to do human rights work in the country and the region. The Office has already offered its assistance in revising the charities and societies proclamation, the anti-terrorism legislation and the mass media laws. In this 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when too many leaders risk reversing hard-won human rights gains, we look to Ethiopia to continue to give cause for optimism and hope, Zeid said. New York, Apr 27 (IBNS): From Switzerland to Somalia girls are creating their own apps; they are programming the robots they build. On Girls in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Day, the United Nations is urging more girls to pursue careers in the fast-paced science and tech industry, generally regarded as a boys-only club. Each time we introduce more women to the world of ICTs, not only do we take one more step towards achieving gender equality, but we accelerate socio-economic development for all, said Brahima Sanou, the Director of Telecommunication Development at the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In many countries, we are starting to see International Girls in ICT Day initiatives moving from one-day events to sustained, on-going programmes to teach girls about ICTs throughout the year. Held annually on the fourth Thursday in April, the International Day recognizes the importance of young women in science, technology, engineering and math, and to inform them of the vast potential in these fields. Since its inception, over 300,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 9,000 celebrations of International Day in 166 countries worldwide. Click here to see this years commemorative events around the world. The International Girls in ICT Day has become a global movement in which more girls and young women are learning about the wide range of fascinating opportunities ICT careers can offer, said Houlin Zhao, the Secretary-General of ITU. It is essential that the public and private sectors, as well as academia, and civil society seize the momentum created by the International Day to leapfrog the number of girls pursuing careers in technology. ITU/D.Woldu UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe New York, Apr 27 (IBNS): The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is continuing with no prospects for a political resolution and Gaza is about to explode, a senior United Nations official said Thursday, urging both sides to avoid further clashes along the enclaves border. Old wounds continue to bleed and deepen as we speak, risking the outbreak of another war, Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council during an open debate on the crises affecting the region. While his briefing covered the situations in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, it was largely focused on the unfolding crisis along the Gaza fence, which is at the tiny enclaves border with Israel. For the last four weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have converged on the fence to protest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. The so-called Great March of Return demonstrations are expected to continue and culminate around 15 May, and could spread to the West Bank and beyond, Mladenov said. Since 30 March, during these demonstrations, 35 Palestinians have been killed and large numbers have been injured by Israeli security forces. No Israeli casualties have been reported, he added. Israel has accused Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militants of using the protests, women, children and the elderly, as a cover to infiltrate Israel and commit terrorist attacks. The UN envoy urged Israel to calibrate its use of force and minimize the use of live fire, and called on Hamas a Palestinian faction governing the enclave and the leaders of the demonstrations to keep protestors away from the Gaza fence. The combination of the security, development and humanitarian deterioration, coupled with the political impasse, makes Gaza a powder keg, Mladenov said, calling for action to prevent another war in the enclave, which was shaken by seven weeks of clashes in the summer of 2014 between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. People should not be destined to spend their lives surrounded by borders they are forbidden to cross, or waters they are forbidden to navigate, he said. They should not be destined to live under the control of Hamas, which invests in militant activities at the expense of the population. He urged stepped-up efforts to support the parties in advancing a sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis of the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine co-existing peacefully as independent countries. Seoul, Apr 27 (IBNS): Ahead of the landmark summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South's President Moon Jae-in shook hands over the Military Demarcation Line on Friday . The line divides the neighbouring two nations. According to local media reports, Moon was the first to arrive at the border in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and then Kim reached the venue as both leaders smiled and waved and shook hands, creating a new chapter in the history of the two countries. "Then, probably to the surprise of many, Kim invited Moon to cross the inter-Korean border to the North Korean side.The South Korean leader accepted the invitation with a broad smile, briefly crossing the border with Kim before they both returned to the South Korean side," reported Yonhap News agency of South Korea. Moon reportedly told Kim that he was feeling 'happy' to meet him. Writing a new chapter in the history of the two nations, Kim has become the first North Korean leader to step on South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korea is hosting the inter-Korean summit. Yonhap News Agency reported: "Kim signed the visitors' log at the Peace House, the venue for the third inter-Korean summit on the South Korean side of the heavily fortified DMZ." Official talks between the two leaders is set begin later in the day, reports said. The meeting between the two neighbours occurred just days ahead of Kim's scheduled interaction with US President Donald Trump. White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders on Wednesday said the US feels that North Korea is moving 'in the right direction' on the Korean Peninsula denuclearization issue. "We think that the maximum pressure campaign is working," Sanders said during a press conference on Wednesday. Sanders said the US will not let up on the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea. "But again, were not going to let up on that campaign until we see some of the words that theyve made go into concrete action. But theyre moving in the right direction," she said. Meanwhile, in a major development, North Korea has announced that it will suspend nuclear and missile tests in the country, media reports said. The country has also decided to shut down a nuclear test site, reports said. The announcement was made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles," the Korean Central News Agency said as quoted by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. "The North will shut down a nuclear test site in the country's northern side to prove the vow to suspend nuclear test," it added. Image: CNN TV grab Washington, Apr 27 (IBNS): The White House has released pictures where newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could be seen meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pompeo visited the Asian country recently. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders some images where Pompeo could be seen shaking hands with the North Korean leader. "Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. (photos from previously confirmed Easter weekend trip)," Sanders tweeted. Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. (photos from previously confirmed Easter weekend trip) pic.twitter.com/o4RNDKVmah Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) April 26, 2018 Pompeo visited the nation this year when he was serving as the CIA director. The meeting took place ahead of US President Donald Trump and Kim's meeting scheduled to take place in May or June this year. White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders on Wednesday said that the US feels that North Korea is moving 'in the right direction' on the Korean Peninsula denuclearization issue. "We think that the maximum pressure campaign is working," Sanders said during a press conference on Wednesday. Sanders said the US will not let up on the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea. "But again, were not going to let up on that campaign until we see some of the words that theyve made go into concrete action. But theyre moving in the right direction," she said. Meanwhile, in a major development, North Korea has announced that it will suspend nuclear and missile tests in the country, media reports said. The country has also decided to shut down a nuclear test site, reports said. The announcement was made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles," the Korean Central News Agency said as quoted by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. "The North will shut down a nuclear test site in the country's northern side to prove the vow to suspend nuclear test," it added. Images: Sarah Sanders Twitter page CBC Toronto, Apr 27 (IBNS): The #TorontoStrong Fund, established in response to Mondays horrific van attack, has surpassed $1 million in donations, media reports said. The fund has been a collaborative effort of the City of Toronto and Toronto Foundation (TF), which is one of the top 191 community foundations in Canada and facilitates charitable donations for maximum community impact. Through the Vital Toronto Fund, TF engages in city building, mobilizing people and resources to increase the quality of life in Toronto. The horrific events of April 23 have shown the world how Toronto responds to tragedy. We are united in grief and the desire to support those affected by Monday's attack, said Mayor John Tory. Through the generosity and outpouring of support from individual donors, corporate citizens and community organizations, the City of Torontos partnership with the Toronto Foundation to create the #TorontoStrong Fund has now raised more than $1 million. The funds were raised from personal donations as well as from many generous corporate donations. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) Calgary, Apr 27 (IBNS): A two-year old boy from Calgary in Alberta province has died after falling into a septic tank on Friday, media reports said. RCMP got a call from a residence that a child had fallen into a septic tank. Though the child was pulled out of the septic tank, he failed to survive. The firefighters tried to revive the boy but with no success. The boy was immediately rushed to a hospital by air ambulance but was declared dead. RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters told CTV News that it is too early to say the cause of the falling. However, police suspect the boy might have lifted the tank's lid and fell into it accidentally. Peter told CTV News, "Any death is hard to deal with... We deal with these, unfortunately, quite a lot. But when there are children involved, it reaches at people's heart strings My first thought goes to the family and my second thought goes to the first responders who attend." Ottawa, Apr 27 (IBNS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be on a three-day visit to the United States in the month of May. Trudeau will be in the US between May 16 and 18. The PM, who will be in New York and Boston, will highlight the strong economic partnership between the two countries. He will also speak regarding the importance of unified works of both Canada and the US to tackle global issues. Trudeau will speak to the graduates at New York University's 186th commencement ceremony and will also accept a honourary doctor of laws degree. In Boston, the PM will participate in the Solve at MIT conference along with 300 leaders from businesses, foundations, non-profit organizations, government, academia, and the media. Regarding his trip to the US, Trudeau said: "We live in a time of tremendous change and face challenges global in scale. Finding solutions shaped across borders, involving every generation, is imperative. "I look forward to visiting the United States to speak with graduates and those at the forefront of innovation to look at what we can and must do to build a better tomorrow for future generations. Trudeau had last visited the US in Feb, 2018. Both the countries share the longest border in the world. (Reporting by Suman Das) In what is being called the most pivotal moment for Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg endured a five-hour session of questions from members of the US Congress. Reuters The meeting was split into two days of gruelling questions regarding the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal and ways to regulate privacy issues. It was easily one of the most watched congressional hearings and also the most hilarious, with memes rolling out one after the other. More recently, a YouTube channel called 'Bad Lip Reading' made their own interpretation of what the meeting would have sounded like and it will make you ROFL! It's way better than original testimony, no really! Make sure you watch it till the end! Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb isnt ready to give up. He has made another bizarre comment and mockery of himself. Full marks for consistency though. Just days after kicking a storm for saying that internet existed during the Mahabharata era, he is now courting a controversy again. ytimg.com This time he has questioned Diana Hayden's Miss World title win in 1997. He says that the decision to award Miss World and Miss Universe titles to Indian women five years in a row was market-driven and that only Aishwarya Rai was a quintessential representative of Indian beauty. Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country. Twitter Whoever contested the international beauty pageants won. For five consecutive years, we won the Miss World/Miss Universe awards. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title? They make the girls walk with fabric on the ramps. Those who give the certificates are all international textile market mafia. They plan beforehand who will get the award and this is 100 per cent true. Twitter And this statement comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned the party leaders to not offer "masala" to the media by making irresponsible statements. We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that's all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden. Why are there no more beauty pageant winners from India? They (the jury) have captured the market in the country and have gone elsewhere, he added. Twitter Thereafter, people slammed him, expressed their anger and trolled him brutally. Take a look: "Diana Hayden not an Indian beauty, Aishwarya Rai is." : Tripura CM Biplab Deb, who belongs to the Beauty Judgment Party. Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) April 27, 2018 "Diana Hayden is not an Indian beauty, but Aishwarya Rai is." Biplab Deb, CM Tripura How come all the morons invariably gravitate towards the BJP? Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) April 26, 2018 Clearly CM @BjpBiplab does not either realise or care about the impact of frivolous comments. Had he got down to the boring task of governing #Tripura instead of leaving it to #babus, he'd have had no time to faff around. This is how power is surrendered. https://t.co/qcvLQCxzem Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) April 27, 2018 Tripura CM will rapidly go down as new joker in Hindutva politics! https://t.co/aeaCZaASdd nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) April 26, 2018 Someone please tell this attention-seeker that he has a state to govern. https://t.co/0Q08HYoBFg Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) April 26, 2018 If you want to know the source of thinking that degenerates women & leading to assaults all around the country, look no further than the comments of bigot BJP Tripura CM Biplab Das on Diana Hayden & womanhood in general. Survivor@Shillong (@coolcloud9) April 27, 2018 Mr. CM from where you're getting these lots of information you're delivering everyday... I wonder how people of Tripura made a joker its CM.... Habib Al Maktoum (@maktoumofficial) April 27, 2018 Also Read: People Applaud Javed Akhtar For Savagely Trolling Tripura CMs Internet During Mahabharata Claim The 11-year-old rape survivor, who was rescued from a madrassa in Sahibabad on Sunday, in her statement before a magistrate under CrPC Section 164 said that on April 21 she had stepped out of her house to go to a shop when another girl, a neighbour, called her over to meet a friend. This is when she met the accused juvenile who took her to Sahibabad. Police have invoked Section 4 of POCSO Act in the FIR following her statement. The maulvi at the madrassa, who was detained for questioning on Wednesday, may get arrested. The juvenile will also be questioned. The survivor said that the 17-year-old accused and the maulvi at the madrassa would lock her in a room after sexually assaulting her. afp/representational image Her cries for help went unheard as classes would be held in the adjacent room. During her captivity, the survivor said that a few other people had also touched her inappropriately. Efforts are on to identify them as well. Cops found the survivor lying wrapped in a floor mat on the first floor of the madrassa during the rescue operation. The room in which she was locked up was used by the maulvi to rest between classes. The house belongs to the local mosque committee that had appointed the maulvi last year to teach children. Police are probing whether he was involved in kidnapping other children as well. representational image While scanning through the call records of the juvenile, it was found that he had been in touch with the survivor throughout the day on which she went missing. Crime Branch is also checking the call records to ascertain whether he had called others to sexually assault the survivor. The juvenile told police during counselling that he was a student of the madrassa and had met the girl when her family used to stay in Sahibabad, before they shifted to Ghazipur. He had decided to lure her after that. Meanwhile, family members of the survivor staged a protest at Ghazipur police station demanding the arrest of the other accused in the case. afp/representational image We are conducting an inquiry into the allegations of the parents. The medical reports are awaited and further action will be taken on their basis, said joint CP (crime) Alok Kumar. The survivors uncle said that a second medical examination was conducted on her after they alleged gang rape and she was sent to a childrens home for counselling on Wednesday. We have been demanding the arrest of others who visited the madrassa. Our child is in a state of shock and has not been able to narrate her ordeal to us properly, said a relative. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also met the survivors family. A raid by Crime Branch was on at the madrassa till late on Wednesday. It is rare that a high court of the land apologise. The Delhi high court did on Thursday, to a 71-year-old man who spent 20 days in a mental health hospital last year on the orders of a judge hearing his compensation case because he had lost his temper over the slow pace of the hearing. "This court expresses its apology to Ram Kumar and his family members, including Ravinder (the petitioner), for the unlawful orders passed by the magistrate," a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta observed, adding that Kumar, "a heart patient, was subject to tremendous stress on account of his illegal confinement at IHBAS. reuters/representational image In short, there was a cascade of violations that had a domino effect on Kumar, denuding him of his rights to life, liberty, dignity and privacy." Taking a grim view of recurring instances of persons being taken illegally to mental health hospitals, the HC ordered the legal services authority to "conduct a survey of mental health institutions and facilities in Delhi to ascertain how many inmates are being illegally held, in violation of the Mental Healthcare Act and the Constitution of India". Last year, the court had quashed the magistrate's order after Kumar's distraught family filed a writ questioning his forcible confinement at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS). In its final verdict the HC ordered the Delhi government to compensate Kumar for his "illegal detention" at the IHBAS in November last year. The court was appalled that Kumar's family was not even informed that the 71-year-old had been sent to a hospital for a mental check-up, because he vented his frustration in court over the slow pace of hearings. The HC also ordered the Medical Council of India to take note of the actions of IHBAS doctors who forcibly kept Kumar with them on the basis of illegal court orders and directed the Delhi Judicial Academy to regularly train judges, police officers and doctors in the mental health laws of the country. "The genesis of the problem that Kumar faced was the case before the MACT (Motor Accident Claims Tribunal) which he was defending as party in person. The 10-year wait had obviously tested his limits. Litigation fatigue had set in. Every day's wait for a litigant who has had to spend a decade defending a case is bound to aggravate his litigation neurosis," the bench observed. It said the "annoyance caused to the presiding judge of the MACT was not unexpected" in light of the fact that the judicial system is overburdened but it took exception to the illegal order mandating a mental check-up. "Judges, too, are human. Most of them are overworked. Their patience gets tested often, particularly by litigants in person who, in the process of navigating the legal maze on their own, disrupt the orderly functioning of the court. afp/representational image However, being part of an imperfect judicial system, a judge must be prepared for an outburst every now and then from a disgruntled user of the system," the bench observed. It said the Contempt of Courts Act is available to judges when faced with unruly litigants but "to get the police to take such person into custody and take him away for medical examination, without any order to that effect, is not an option available in law." On the conduct of the doctors, the HC noted: "IHBAS allowed the illegality of the detention of Kumar to continue. In examining him to determine if he was in need of care and treatment for any mental illness as an in-patient, the best interests principle was not followed by the doctors at IHBAS." The court fixed a six-month time frame for the MACT court to decide Kumar's case. According to the Tripura CM, beauty pageants are a farce and the organisers are international marketing mafia. Biplab Deb said Indian women did not use cosmetics or shampoo. We washed our hair with methi water to prevent hair fall and bathed with mud. Beauty contest organisers are international marketing mafia that tried to capture a market of 125 crore Indians with their move. Read more BPO Employee Forced To Consume Alcohol, Raped By Cab Driver, Co-Passenger In Greater Noida In yet another shocking incident of sexual assault, a woman working with a BPO firm in Greater Noida was raped by two men including the cab driver. The incident happened on Thursday night as the victim was returning from work. She had booked a cab and when it arrived there was already a passenger sitting inside. The cab driver told the victim that the man was to be dropped nearby, on which she agreed to get in. Read more Despite Supreme Court Clarification, Users Continue To Get Annoying Messages To Link Their Aadhaar With Mobile Number Millions of mobile users continue to be bombarded with annoying text messages from their service providers to link their mobile numbers to aadhaar. This is happening even after the Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it did not order at any point to link the two. Mobile operators and the government have been using a non-existent SC directive to force public to link their mobile number with Aadhaar. Read more We Shouted By The Driver Was Busy On Phone, Says Boy Who Survived UP's Kushinagar Accident The school children travelling in a van that crashed into a speeding train in Kushinagar on Thursday, leading to the death of 13 children, had repeatedly asked the driver of their vehicle to stop but the man did not listen as he was busy on the phone, a nine-year-old, who survived the accident said. "We kept shouting, urging uncle (driver) to stop, but he did not, as he was very busy on phone and was unable to listen to us," Krishna Verma, one of the boys who survived, said. Read more Delhi HC Apologises To Man After Lower Court Judge Sent Him To Mental Hospital For Losing Temper The Delhi high court did on Thursday, to a 71-year-old man who spent 20 days in a mental health hospital last year on the orders of a judge hearing his compensation case because he had lost his temper over the slow pace of the hearing. "This court expresses its apology to Ram Kumar and his family members, including Ravinder (the petitioner), for the unlawful orders passed by the magistrate," a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta observed, adding that Kumar, "a heart patient, was subject to tremendous stress on account of his illegal confinement at IHBAS. Read more Newborn Dies In Jharkhand After 'Doctors' Cut 'His' Genitals To Prove It Was A Girl State health secretary Nidhi Khare on Thursday asked the Chatra civil surgeon to book two "doctors" in Itkhori block who allegedly cut off the genitals of a newborn boy leading to the childs death. The newborn died at Om Clinic on Tuesday night when eight-month pregnant Gudia Devi, a resident of of Itkhoris Jai Prakash Nagar in Chatra district, about 110km from here, came for a check-up. Read more Smiling and holding hands, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries on Friday in the first summit for the two Koreas in over a decade. The meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and easing tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump. Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. afp In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands. The two were handed flowers by a South Korean boy and girl, residents of a village situated in the demilitarised zone. Walking on a red carpet rolled out for the two heads of state, the pair were met by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music. Kim wore glasses and his trademark black Mao suit, while the rest of the North Korean delegation appeared in military uniforms or Western attire. afp Kim stopped to sign a guest book in the South's Peace House before the two leaders met for a private discussion. "A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in the book, dating and signing the entry. Moon and Kim are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom. The United States is hopeful talks between Kim and Moon will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit. ap The White House also said it looks forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks. Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. Earlier Friday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula." ap Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. Moon travelled to the meeting in a large motorcade, stopping briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House. Hundreds of demonstrators were seen gathering in downtown Seoul from early morning to protest or support the summit. Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against US invasion. The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said. Unending hostilities Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. reuters The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia. Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues. The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a US official. The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. reuters The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North. For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, were broadcast live. Besides capturing the two leaders' candid interactions, the live feed broadcast a few hiccups, including when a key photo op blocked was blocked by a photographer's backside. Developers have been kids in a candy store for the past decade with exciting options for databases (such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and Cassandra), cloud storage services like Amazon S3, and new paradigms like microservices and serverless computing architectures. With these new approaches, applications are being developed more quickly and efficiently. Thats the good news. The bad news is that the data generated by these applications creates new challenges when it comes to analytics. Those copious quantities of data largely reside in JSON and other nonrelational formats, inaccessible to traditional tools and methodologies for analytics. For any enterprise looking to embrace the future of data, its biggest enemy is the crufty data infrastructure upon which its past has been built. Fortunately, theres hope: A new breed of open source projects, like Dremio and Presto, has arisen to bridge the gap between traditional business intelligence (BI) tools and newfangled data sources. While still early, these tools show promise as a way to let developers use their preferred tools while someone else stitches together the silos. Old analytics dogs meet new data tricks While application development practices have evolved dramatically in recent years, the way companies manage data for analytics hasn't changed nearly as much. This wouldnt matter so much if there werent so darn many BI users in any given company. We rightly tout the importance of software developers, but there are probably ten times as many BI users as software developers. Leaving them behind really isnt an option, yet thats exactly what were doing. By and large, most analysis is performed using BI tools like Tableau, Looker, Power BI, Qlik, and Cognos. These tools all assume the data is in one place, in a relational model. Unfortunately for the utility of such tools, the truth is that no company of any size keeps all its data in a single data warehouse, or even in one of those much-hyped data lakes. There are and always will be silos. A number of open source projects have emerged to bridge this gap between traditional BI tools. These include Presto and Dremio, as well as Amazon Athena (which is based on Presto), and Google BigQuery. These projects aim to run between data sources (relational, file systems, NoSQL sources) and different SQL-based tools like BI as well as data science platforms based on Python and R. Dremio is different than the other new data kids While each purports to fulfill that goal, Dremio is different. Its much more than the query execution engine provided by something like Presto. Dremio integrates other key functional areas for query acceleration, data curation, data lineage, data catalog, and delivers the solution as a self-service model that is similar to Google Docs, but for data sets. Thats cool, and it just got a bit cooler. Just this week Dremio announced support for Looker, a popular BI platform. This lets users reach a broader range of sources than they could before (MongoDB, Elasticsearch, S3, HDFS, Azure ADLS, etc), perform joins across sources, and accelerate queries. It expands the reach of data consumers using Looker, and it helps make them be more independent and self-directedno more waiting in the data bread lines for IT to move data into one silo for analysis. This is all part of a bigger trend to let data users use their favorite tools, let developers build apps on their favorite databases and filesystems, and solve the technology mismatch problem with a new layer that sits between the tools and the data. In short, the choice moves from either/or to and, which is a great selling point to IT pros and others who need to extend the value of existing BI investments while embracing a more modern, open source-driven data future. It lets developers be developers, without having to slow down to bother with the data silos they leave in their wake. Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. You dont have to look far to see why. High-profile data losses, crippling hacker attacks and Australias looming mandatory breach notification laws have raised awareness of IT security. Boards have become acutely aware of the financial and reputational costs of not getting it right. At the same time, there have also been rapid changes in the ways in which digital technologies are being used by businesses. These, in turn, have significant security implications that need to be addressed. One example is the rise in mobile and flexible working. Where once critical applications and data were usually stored in and accessed from an on-premise data centre, now they can be spread across multiple hosted platforms and accessed from a myriad of portable devices. Another key trend is the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). Increasing numbers of smart devices are being connected to corporate networks where they generate and share data. Keeping track of these new streams is a far from trivial task. One security-related issue that is also gaining traction is the dramatic rise in the number of ransomware attacks. Victim organisations find critical data files become locked down and face either paying criminals to unlock them or losing access forever. Keeping the board awake at night Its fair to say cybersecurity is a topic that is keeping many corporate decision makers awake at night. Looking back at the past 12 months, attacks have been relentless and, unfortunately, theres no sign this year will be any different. Hackers are looking to profit from their attacks, and, despite a businesss defences, it is possible a sufficiently determined one will breach security walls regardless of how strong they may be. Without a solid information security approach, a breach is not necessarily an if, but a when. According to the Telstra Cyber Security Report 2017, 59% of organisations in Australia have detected a business-interrupting security breach on at least a monthly basis. This is more than twice as often as was the case in 2015 when 24% reported a similar situation. According to the report, 60% of Australian organisations experienced at least one ransomware incident in the preceding 12 months. Of those that did, 57% opted to pay the ransom. The Telstra research also found that the most popular delivery method for cyber threats is via phishing emails. Worryingly, approximately one third of Australian businesses experienced a phishing email incident which had an impact on their business on at least a monthly basis. Education is the key Something every business needs to be aware of in 2018 is that those doing the phishing are sophisticated and highly adaptable. It is difficult to spot the attacks, and it takes just one person in an organisation to let down their guard for the hackers to gain access. It is for this reason that the most crucial component in good information security is people. Granted, IT is one of the weak points, but technology is manageable. Its human nature that cant be predicted and controlled thereby presenting the biggest opportunity for hackers. Hackers know where weaknesses lie and its with people. Its their inability to identify risks, and their often relaxed approach to security. For this reason, ongoing education of staff is an essential component in establishing a sufficiently secure organisation, and should be a mandatory focus for all businesses in the year ahead. The growing role of the board Thankfully, there are likely to be some positives. What may seem like a spike in attacks could actually be evidence of more companies examining their security situation. Directors are appreciating the threat landscape and acknowledging security - long perceived to be an IT problem - is in fact a company-wide one. In the past 12 months, boards and executives have become engaged in the topic. There is considerable interest to understand the issue and their role in cyber security. Looking ahead to the coming 12 months, it has a predictably familiar feel: more phishing, more employees making uneducated mistakes, and more ransomware. Cybercrime is big business, and criminals will keep doing what nets them the best result. Key steps As a board member, you can make yourself and your business less of a target with these three recommendations: Update your IT hygiene: The Australian Signals Directorates Essential 8 outlines some of the basics. These include application whitelisting, patch applications, disabling untrusted Microsoft Office macros, and daily data backups. The Australian Signals Directorates Essential 8 outlines some of the basics. These include application whitelisting, patch applications, disabling untrusted Microsoft Office macros, and daily data backups. Educate staff: Understand the dangers and make it part of the company culture to stay up to date with cyber security best practice. At Aura Information Security, we recently launched CyberWise, an online subscription-based training tool designed to help businesses raise the overall standard of cyber-security. Tools such as this make completing one of the most important focuses for cyber security simple. Understand the dangers and make it part of the company culture to stay up to date with cyber security best practice. At Aura Information Security, we recently launched CyberWise, an online subscription-based training tool designed to help businesses raise the overall standard of cyber-security. Tools such as this make completing one of the most important focuses for cyber security simple. Plan for the worst: Despite the best preparations, there remains the possibility that something could happen. How you respond is often the greater determinant of damage and fallout, and failure to plan is a plan for failure. An ongoing, board-level process Achieving effective cybersecurity can never be a set-and-forget exercise. The board must retain it as a top priority and ensure all necessary steps are taken to maintain effective defences and a plan should anything occur. Board members also need to make it their business to stay at the forefront of what is a constantly evolving threat landscape. Its one thing to know what has happened in the past, but it is even more important to understand emerging threats and the potential impact they could have on the organisation in the future. By maintaining a focus on security fundamentals, the board can ensure an organisation is best placed to withstand IT security threats and maintain a focus on customer service and growth. Related stories: It is a day for icare to reaffirm our commitment to create workplaces with a culture of safety, Nagle said. It is important that we remember the lives of those lost through a fatality at work, and learn from the experiences of the families who remain, so we can all return home safely from work every day. According to the latest statistics, there were 53 fatalities caused by workplace accidents in NSW last year, Nagle said. Even though the number of fatal incidents in NSW workplaces has reduced by 49% over the last 10 years, there is still more we can do to make our workplaces safer, Nagle said. That is why we work closely with employers to develop practical improvement plans for safety awareness and injury prevention. Last year, icare rolled out a Grief Support and Information pack to help families deal with grief and help them navigate through the agencies that are involved when a person dies at work and the support services that are available to them, Nagle said. The Grief Support Pack is available on icares website. Relatd stories: But many business leaders are still failing to put enough resources behind their cyber defences, finds Fox Rothschild. Our study indicates that [business leaders] are not allocating enough, and that the people in charge of it want more, Mark McCreary, chief privacy officer at the firm and co-chair of its Privacy and Data Security Practice, told Insurance Business. Despite many senior executives now ranking cybersecurity as one of their top concerns, persuading them to spend money can still be difficult to do, McCreary explained. Its a tough sell a lot of companies, in my experience, feel they are throwing money at a ghost they dont understand the fact that its always ongoing, he said. Youre always getting better products, youre always upgrading, theres always new approaches to deal with new attacks. While Fox Rothschilds latest survey found that 70% of respondents carried cyber liability insurance, in a previous survey conducted late last year more than half of executives admitted their cybersecurity and data privacy budgets were insufficient to respond to a breach. An additional third admitted to not training all their employees on data breach prevention, a basic component of defence against cyber breaches. Until they have a true data breach, until they see how easy it is, and until they have it in their brain that no matter what you do, if there is a determined person you are still not 100% protected, they dont really understand that money has to be spent, McCreary said. The lawyer said that while there is no right answer on exactly how much companies should be spending on cybersecurity, a good guide level is around 20% of a firms IT budget. He added: We learned that its the people who have had a data breach that understand that you have to have a large portion of your IT budget dedicated to security. Related stories: My worry about the bill, particularly with the increases in the cost limits and so on, is that the blame is being put on the victims and they are the people who will lose out, the report quoted Labours Lord Monks as saying. The former Trades Union Congress general secretary also described insurance companies as having been extremely weak in challenging claims. If you can concoct a claim, you get 5,000 or maybe something near it, he said. That did not just go around one northern town; it spread like wildfire. I believe that the insurance industry bears a lot of the responsibility for the situation we are in today. Doubt was also cast on the passing-on-savings pledge, according to the report. I am not convinced by the governments touching faith in the insurance industry, Liberal Democrat spokesman Lord Sharkey was quoted as saying. I would like to see a healthier scepticism on the part of the government and, if need be, a clear statement that if savings are not passed on to policyholders then the industry may be subjected to a tax penalty on a windfall saving. Meanwhile Conservative ex-barrister Baroness Berridge had been direct in saying that genuine claimants will not benefit from the Civil Liability Bill, arguing that a section of it paves the way for an increase in the complication of litigation. I fear we are hearing too loudly from the lawyers and the insurers, and I have yet to see any representation purely on behalf of genuine claimants from an organisation with no other vested interests, she said. Whats your take on the bill? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Related stories: Immediate blame being cast upon hackers and cyber criminals is one of the key misconceptions surrounding cloud service provider downtime, according to Scott Stransky, assistant vice president and principal scientist in AIR's Research and Modeling group. In reality, the causes of temporary cloud shutdowns are much more mundane with many being the result of one fat finger moment or an accidental human error. These are the findings of AIR Worldwides comprehensive cyber risk modeling application, ARC (Analytics of Risk from Cyber), which uses a proprietary database of industry exposures to define qualitative, quantitative and probabilistic cyber risks. We created our downtime probabilistic model in two parts. The first part involves the qualitative data, where we built a list of hundreds of possible ways a cloud can fail. These range from things like an accidental typo or human error (which happens all the time) to extreme events like a drone dropping a bomb on a data center, Stransky told Insurance Business at RIMS 2018. Then we spoke to the chief engineers at all of the major cloud providers to understand how each of them mitigates against these potential failure mechanisms, he added. This qualitative data and research allows us to relatively rank clouds and suggest which providers are more secure against which exposures. The ARC model divides the cloud failure mechanisms into four themes: environmental, structural, accidental, and adversarial. Contrary to popular belief, the model finds that adversarial threat factors for only 6% of events - the smallest threat by far out of the four categories. Accidental human error and typos topped the chart by a long way. AIR Worldwide had access to real data, which allowed them to carry out that analysis. The risk modeler used data from more than 70 historical downtimes from major cloud providers like Microsoft, AWS, Google and so forth. After carrying out statistical modeling on historic downtime data, the company is now able to inject its findings back into the system and simulate new cloud failures. Today, a lot of work around cyber is qualitative, with insurers and brokers struggling to access critical data, Stransky added. Its our aim to provide that data aspect. We want to make the world more cyber resilient through our modeling. Related stories: The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance began investigating Bleier after receiving several complaints from business owners about their insurance transactions with him. The DOI determined that Bleier collected premium payments but failed to remit them from at least nine companies, according to The Observer-Reporter. The DOI first received a complaint about Bleier in 2014 after policies were terminated for nonpayment of premium. The complaint alleged that the insured had paid Bleier and his insurance agency, Steel City Insurance. The agency has since closed, and Bleiers individual and agency licenses were revoked in August, according to The Observer-Reporter. In one instance cited by the paper, a customer of Bleiers reportedly made a $38,984 down payment for insurance for his company. When questioned on the status of the coverage, Bleier provided the company with a certificate of liability insurance. When one of the companys employees was involved in a head-on collision two months later, the company owner discovered that his company didnt have the coverage he had supposedly purchased. Fortunately, Bleier had also neglected to submit a change of broker request, so the company was still covered under a previously purchased policy. Bleier is free on a $100,000 bond, according to The Observer-Reporter. He will face a preliminary hearing on May 03. Related stories: RIC Insurance General Agency has announced the appointment of Gary Wells (pictured) as business development manager. In the role, Wells will work to expand RICs commercial and personal lines marketing efforts, working primarily with insurance agents and brokers in the San Francisco Bay area. Prior to joining RIC, Wells spent 11 years as a senior sales executive with Travelers, specializing in select small business. While at Travelers, he ranked as a top producer in the California region. Before that, he spent 13 years as an independent agent. He began his career as a commercial underwriter for Ohio Casualty. The rest is history for Zuk. After 10 years of working for several other firms, including John B. Collins Associates, Paris Re, Lockton Re, and BMS Group, he now takes the helm of the commercial and property divisions of Atlas General Insurance Services. As president of the the division, Zuk facilitates the strategic development of new products and programs, as well as planned acquisitions and geographic expansions. Zuk also serves Atlas General Insurance Services as executive vice president for corporate development. In this exclusive Insurance Business interview, Zuk shares how instrumental his uncle has been in his career in insurance. He also provides interesting insights on the industry crisis of attracting new talent. Please share with us how you got into the insurance industry, what led you to this career? I joined the insurance industry through a referral from my uncle who was a CEO of a Medical Malpractice Insurance Company in Los Angeles. I was seeking an internship over the summer while I was attending NYU and he suggested I explore the world of reinsurance brokers. He introduced me to Aon Guy Carpenter , and Willis and I took an internship with Willis Re over the summer. Following the summer, they asked that I stay on part-time while attending school and that led to a full-time opportunity when my boss at the time left to start the New York office of John B. Collins Associates. Henceforth, I began my career while attending school full-time at 19 years old. Tell us briefly about your company and its role in the insurance industry. What makes it different from other companies in the same space? Atlas General Insurance Services is a multi-line program administrator. We focus on development of proprietary commercial insurance products and programs for our broker plant. Our differentiators are exclusivity in market, service, and broad appetite in difficult classes or territories. What or who do you think has been the secret to your professional success? How do they motivate you? The secret to my professional success has been to always be curious and reaching for new challenges and opportunities. In addition, developing a robust network and mentors throughout different facets of the industry has helped enrich my understanding of the entire insurance eco-system. My motivation is derived from my internal drive to succeed, please our customers and clients, and help those alongside me. What do you think are the most challenging issues facing the insurance industry today? The biggest challenges facing the insurance industry in my view are around developing and retaining talent and human capital, as well as fear of evolution. The insurance industry has not done a good job of making the business attractive to new entrants and has not been as welcoming as it should be in attracting mid-career professionals to the benefits of the industry. We need to change this or face a continued crisis in developing a talent pool. On the evolution front, the industry is slow to adapt to innovations and delivering insurance products that fit the 21st century, fearing change and wanting to resist positive developments for the sake of comfort in the status-quo. What are your hopes for the insurance industry moving forward? My hope for the insurance industry moving forward is that the industry focuses on building products that meet the needs of insureds, communicating to potential insureds the value of insurance and fulfilling the coverage gaps in personal and commercial lines. Addressing the talent crisis and attracting mid-level career professionals will facilitate the former. You spent a few years of your career at John B. Collins Associates, in Lockton Re and in BMS Group. What have you learned from those experiences? At each one of those employers in my career, I learned different facets of the industry, working with different clients throughout the United States as well as international reinsurance markets. Please tell us more about your volunteering work during your time at New York University. I worked with various organizations within NYU volunteering my time through integrating service and support in reading and tutoring underprivileged children within the NYC school system. If you were not working in the insurance space, what would you be doing now? I always wanted to be in the landscaping business and thought I might develop my own landscape design and development company. I may still look to accomplish this goal towards the end of my insurance career as a second career in semi-retirement. Related stories: The world must prepare for potential malicious use of artificial intelligence (AI) by rogue states, criminals and terrorists, according to a report by a group of 26 security experts. Forecasting rapid growth in cybercrime and the misuse of drones during the next decade as well as an unprecedented rise in the use of bots to manipulate everything from elections to the news agenda and social media, the report calls for governments and corporations worldwide to address the danger inherent in the myriad applications of AI. The report The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation also recommends interventions to mitigate the threats posed by the malicious use of AI. The report says that AI has many positive applications, but it is a dual-use technology and AI researchers and engineers should be proactive about the potential for its misuse. Policymakers and technical researchers need to work together now to understand and prepare for the malicious use of AI, according to the authors. They advise that best practices can and should be learned from disciplines with a longer history of handling dual use risks, such as computer security, and that the range of stakeholders engaging with preventing and mitigating the risks of malicious use of AI should be expanded. The co-authors come from a range of organisations and disciplines including Oxford Universitys Future of Humanity Institute; Cambridge Universitys Centre for the Study of Existential Risk; OpenAI, a leading non-profit AI research company; the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-profit digital rights group; the Center for a New American Security, a U.S.-based bipartisan national security think tank and other organizations. The 100-page report identifies three security domains digital, physical, and political security as particularly relevant to the malicious use of AI. It suggests that AI will disrupt the trade-off between scale and efficiency and allow large-scale, finely-targeted and highly-efficient attacks. The authors expect novel cyber attacks such as automated hacking, speech synthesis used to impersonate targets, finely-targeted spam emails using information scraped from social media, or exploiting the vulnerabilities of AI systems themselves (e.g. through adversarial examples and data poisoning). Likewise, the proliferation of drones and cyber-physical systems will allow attackers to deploy or repurpose such systems for harmful ends, such as crashing fleets of autonomous vehicles, turning commercial drones into face-targeting missiles or holding critical infrastructure to ransom. The rise of autonomous weapons systems on the battlefield risk the loss of meaningful human control and present tempting targets for attack. In the political sphere, detailed analytics, targeted propaganda, and cheap, highly-believable fake videos present powerful tools for manipulating public opinion on previously unimaginable scales. The ability to aggregate, analyse and act on citizens information at scale using AI could enable new levels of surveillance, invasions of privacy and threaten to radically shift the power between individuals, corporations and states. How to Mitigate To mitigate such risks, the authors explore several interventions to reduce threats associated with AI misuse. They include rethinking cyber-security, exploring different models of openness in information sharing, promoting a culture of responsibility, and seeking both institutional and technological solutions to tip the balance in favour of those defending against attacks. The report also games several scenarios where AI might be maliciously used as examples of the potential threats we may face in the coming decade. While the design and use of dangerous AI systems by malicious actors has been highlighted in high-profile settings (e.g. the U.S. Congress and White House separately), the intersection of AI and misuse writ large has not yet been analysed comprehensively until now. Artificial intelligence is a game changer and this report has imagined what the world could look like in the next five to 10 years, said Dr. Sean O hEigeartaigh, executive director of Cambridge Universitys Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and one of the co-authors. We live in a world that could become fraught with day-to-day hazards from the misuse of AI and we need to take ownership of the problems because the risks are real. There are choices that we need to make now, and our report is a call-to-action for governments, institutions and individuals across the globe. He said that for many decades hype outstripped fact in terms of AI and machine learning but that is no longer. This report looks at the practices that just dont work anymore and suggests broad approaches that might help, he said, citing, for example, how to make software and hardware less hackable and what type of laws and international regulations might work in tandem with this. AI will alter the landscape of risk for citizens, organisations and states whether its criminals training machines to hack or phish at human levels of performance or privacy-eliminating surveillance, profiling and repression the full range of impacts on security is vast, said Miles Brundage, research fellow at Oxford Universitys Future of Humanity Institute. It is often the case that AI systems dont merely reach human levels of performance but significantly surpass it. It is troubling, but necessary, to consider the implications of superhuman hacking, surveillance, persuasion, and physical target identification, as well as AI capabilities that are subhuman but nevertheless much more scalable than human labour. Topics Cyber InsurTech Data Driven A North Dakota man is facing an insurance fraud charge after allegedly using another persons coverage to obtain services from an area hospital. North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, in partnership with the Bismarck Police Department and the Burleigh County States Attorneys Office, announced the fraud charge was filed against James Lagein of Bismark. Lagein allegedly used another individuals health insurance policy information to fraudulently obtain services from a local hospital, the North Dakota Insurance Department reported. United Health Group was billed for treatments provided during this time. The violation of law resulted in more than $5,000 that was not the responsibility of the insurance company being paid to the hospital. The department noted that insurance fraud costs consumers in the United States between $80-120 billion each year. It is the second most profitable crime in the United States behind only illegal drug sales. Godfread said in the departments release that the average family pays an additional $900 a year in premiums due to insurance fraud. Source: North Dakota Insurance Department Topics Fraud Abuse Molestation North Dakota Show them the money! Teens who text while driving may be convinced to reduce risky cellphone use behind the wheel when offered financial incentives such as auto insurance apps that monitor driving behavior and reward good drivers with discounts. According to a new survey, while more than 90 percent of teens surveyed said they were willing to give up sending or reading text messages, almost half indicated that they would want to retain some control over phone functions such as music and navigation. Results of the survey conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) are published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. More than half of teens in the United States admit to texting while driving, and this has become a significant public health issue leading to preventable deaths and disabling injuries, said study lead author M. Kit Delgado, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Penn. Our study suggests a promising strategy to curb this epidemic would include enabling a phone setting or third party app with automatic responses to incoming texts, but with navigation and music functions accessible, combined with financial incentives to sustain use. For example, Delgado suggests this could be accomplished by enabling the Do Not Disturb While Driving setting on an iPhone to automatically turn on while the car is in motion and enrolling in an auto insurance program that offers financial incentives for using apps to track driving behavior, which have begun to emerge in the past year. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens, and as cellphone use has become ubiquitous over the past two decades, texting while driving has become a significant factor in these accidents. Today, drivers 15- to 19-years-old are more likely than any other age group to die in crashes caused by cellphone-related distractions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recommended a driver mode on smartphonessimilar to the existing airplane modeto limit use while driving. Since last year, the operating system for iPhones, iOS, has had a Do Not Disturb While Driving mode that locks the phone screen, blocks incoming texts and sends automatic text responses, and limits incoming phone calls. But, the settings are optional. To better understand the barriers to widespread teen adoption of cellphone-limiting strategies, he and his colleagues decided to ask some teens. Apps and settings aimed at reducing cellphone distraction while driving can only be effective from a population health standpoint if they are widely adopted, Delgado said. The researchers contacted the parents of adolescents who had previously been seen across the CHOP Care Network, and invited them to sign up their 16- and 17-year olds for a survey. The investigators ultimately received survey responses from 153 teens who met the study criteria, which included texting while driving in the past month and driving their own car. The vast majority of the teens indicated that they were willing or somewhat willing to give up reading emails (99 percent), social media apps (99 percent), sending texts (96 percent), reading texts (91 percent), and making or receiving non-hands-free calls (94 and 91 percent, respectively) while driving. Far fewer of them were willing or somewhat willing to give up music apps (55 percent) or navigation apps (40 percent). About half of the teens in the sample reported high frequency texting while driving defined as more than six days per month. These teens showed markedly less willingness to give up cellphone uses while driving. For example, 73 percent indicated they were unwilling to give up navigation apps compared with just 44 percent of the overall sample. The researchers asked the survey participants to consider several possible factors or strategies that could discourage them from texting while driving, such as an annual insurance premium discount, or a cash reward for every week in which they dont text and drive. Most of the teens indicated that financial incentives would be very effective, but many (54 percent) also indicated that automatic phone locking while driving would work. Overall the findings suggest that teens might widely and voluntarily adopt a Driver Mode app or phone setting that automatically blocks or limits text and call functions while allowing navigation and music functions, especially if combined with a financial incentive. One scalable way to provide a financial incentive would be to offer teens auto insurance discounts, based on actual driving performance and phone use as measured by in-vehicle devices or smartphone apps, which are becoming more common and hold tremendous promise with the shift to usage-based insurance (UBI), Delgado said. These programs adjust insurance premiums and provide financial incentives based on directly observed driving behaviors. Our research team is currently conducting studies aimed at figuring out how to design UBI programs to sustainably reduce handheld cellphone use while driving. Its estimated that there are 16 million UBI subscribers currently in the U.S., which will increase to 60 million by 2023. Furthermore, Delgado says the industry is shifting from in-vehicle devices to smartphone apps that can now directly measure cellphone use while driving. When asked why they wouldnt want to use cellphone apps that monitor driving behavior, the survey participants cited an aversion to letting parents monitor their behavior which they believed such apps would facilitate as their top reason. A modest financial incentive may be enough to outweigh such concerns, Delgado said, though he noted that we need a better understanding of how to design interventions that optimally balance parental engagement and acceptance by teens. The study was conducted in partnership with the Center for Injury Prevention Research at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. The other co-authors of the study were Scott D. Halpern, Alison M. Buttenheim, Claudia Setubal, Yanlan Huang, and Kathryn A. Saulsgiver, all of Penn; Catherine C. McDonald, Flaura K. Winston, of Penn and CHOP; and Yi-Ching Lee of George Mason University. Support for the research was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Topics Auto Personal Auto Pennsylvania Worldwide Facilities has completed its acquisition of Gerald J. Sullivan & Associates, a national specialty intermediary that trades as The Sullivan Group. Worldwide Facilities acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Sullivan. No other details of the transaction, which was first reported by Insurance Journal earlier this month, were released. Formed in 1981, Sullivan is a Los Angeles-based insurance program manager, contract binding authority manager and wholesale broker offering its products and services nationally through retail insurance agents and brokers. The deal includes most affiliates of the privately-owned The Sullivan Group: Sullivan Brokers, a wholesale only specialty insurance brokerage firm serving retail producers with management liability, professional and E&O liability, healthcare liability and various other casualty lines. G.J. Sullivan Co. Excess & Surplus Lines Brokers, a wholesaler with programs that include directors & officers, tow trucks, trucking, and restaurants. Gerald J. Sullivan & Associates of Oregon, a wholesale producer that concentrates on business from the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, with particular expertise in the property field. Kevin Davis Insurance Services (KDIS), a leading wholesale broker to the community association industry. However, another affiliate, the G.J. Sullivan Co. Reinsurance, a reinsurance intermediary, is not part of the sale. The Sullivan name will continue to be used by G.J. Sullivan, Excess & Surplus Lines Brokers, and Kevin Davis will also continue to operate in its own name. Jerry Sullivan, chairman of Sullivan, is being retained as a consultant/non-executive director to Worldwide Facilities. Hank Haldeman, president of Sullivan, joins Worldwide Facilities as senior executive vice president. He will continue to lead the Sullivan programs divisions as well as assume corporate responsibilities at Worldwide Facilities. Kevin Davis, president of the Sullivan affiliate Kevin Davis Insurance Services (KDIS), joins as executive vice president and will continue to lead the KDIS division. Sullivan told Insurance Journal the two organizations products are complementary and their cultures are very compatible, making it personally satisfying to see the successful perpetuation of the business through a company as respected as Worldwide. The opportunity to marry respective products and distribution platforms leverages our position in the marketplace within an independent, wholesale-dedicated environment, led by individuals that share our vision, ethics and culture, commented Haldeman. Worldwide Facilities, also based in Los Angeles, is a wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Fast-growing Worldwide Facilities said it sees the deal strengthening its offerings to retail brokers and its industry relationships. Last month, Worldwide Facilities acquired Tennant Risk Services Insurance Agency, a Connecticut based wholesale insurance broker. In the past six months it has opened new offices and added new employees in several cities including Boston and Palm Springs and in North Carolina (Morehead City). It has also announced several new programs. In 2015, Worldwide Facilities received an investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, while remaining majority-owned by its employees. The firms gross written premium reached $645 million in 2016, up from $533 million in 2015. Related: Topics Mergers Agencies S.S. Nesbitt & Co. Inc., a Southeastern insurance agency and division of EBSCO Industries Inc. (EBSCO), has added attorney Tracy Leeth as a senior benefits compliance consultant and Tim Rogers as safety manager and loss control specialist. Leeth joins SSN with more than 16 years of legal experience in benefits compliance. As senior benefits compliance consultant, she will help navigate clients through highly complex compliance regulations. In addition, she is responsible for facilitating compliance administration and providing solutions and resources to clients, as well as informing them of changes or deadlines. Leeth has spent the past seven years managing compliance at Cobbs Allen, a Birmingham, Ala., insurance agency. Prior to that, she worked at Molton, Allen & Williams as a consultative advisor and marketing account executive and earlier served as a senior employee benefits consultant with Mercer (a Marsh & McLennan company) in San Diego, transitioning there after March & McLennan acquired Johnson & Higgins. Leeth began her career in benefits compliance in Washington, D.C., as a senior employee benefits analyst/consultant with Johnson & Higgins, formerly one of the largest brokerage firms in the world. As safety manager/loss control specialist at SSN, Rogers is responsible for ensuring that agencys clients facilities and safety programs meet or exceed federal standards set by organizations such as OSHA, DOT and EPA. Prior to SSN, Rogers spent 12 years with Community Newspaper Holdings (recently acquired by Raycom), where he served as senior vice president of risk management and safety, handling risk management, safety, production and real estate matters for 120 locations in 23 states. Before that, Rogers managed safety efforts for Brunos Supermarkets, with more than 168 retail grocery stores. He also previously served as vice president of operations of safety and transportation for RPM Installations, a steel and specialty metal fabrication and construction company. S.S. Nesbitt is a privately-held independent insurance agency based in Birmingham, Ala., with multiple locations in the Southeastern U.S. Topics Pollution Alabama North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey this week toured some of the areas hardest hit by a mid-April tornado, saying the storm damaged more than 1,000 buildings in one county alone. As the clean-up efforts continue in Greensboro and Rockingham County from the April 15 tornado, officials in the area have asked for patience with clean-up efforts. Greensboros Acting City Manager David Parrish said it will take weeks, months and even years for some who were affected to resume their lives, according to the Associated Press. The N.C. Department of Insurance has set up an assistance center to help file claims with insurance companies for those impacted by the tornado. When you see the tornado damage up close and personal, it really hits home, especially for me, said Causey. Guilford County is my home. Seeing my neighbors hurting so badly, we just want to help. Our job is to make sure the victims have everything they need to file a proper insurance claim and my department will be with them every step of the way. In Greensboro, the storm damaged more than 1,000 buildings, according to Guilford County Emergency Management. The same tornado also tore up homes and businesses across 17 miles of land in Rockingham County. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency April 20 in the two North Carolina counties hit hardest -Guilford and Rockingham which means state government resources can help governments with recovery efforts, the AP reported. On Wednesday, Commissioner Causey met with families directly impacted by the tornado to remind them to beware of dishonest contractors looking to run a scam in the wake of the tornado. Representatives from the NCDOI staff have been in Greensboro since Monday assisting tornado survivors with their insurance claims. A help desk remains in operation until 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Willow Oaks Community Center, 1815 Everitt St., Greensboro, N.C. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm North Carolina PG&E Corp. tentatively lost a bid to inoculate itself from a finding of liability in a 2015 fire, a court decision that deals the company a potentially more serious setback in its strategy to shield itself from deeper losses in the wine country blazes last year. California Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner in Sacramento rejected the utilitys request to set aside his earlier finding related to the Butte Fire. That ruling found PG&E liable for damages under the law allowing private property owners to hold utilities 100 percent responsible for any losses caused by their equipment or power lines even if they didnt act negligently. If successful, PG&E would stand a better chance of recovering its losses by passing on rate increases to customers. Analysts have estimated that blazes that broke out last year alone could cost PG&E more than $15 billion in claims. The company has lost billions of dollars in market value on speculation that itll be on the hook for the expenses. PG&E fell as much as 1.5 percent Thursday and was trading down 0.35 percent to $46.18 at 2:38 p.m. in New York. At a hearing Thursday, lawyers for the utility sought permission from Sumner to immediately appeal his tentative ruling, but he was reluctant to let them. I am going to eventually adopt the tentative as it was put out, he said. After $6 Billion Wipeout, Wine County Fires Still Imperil PG&E In the ruling, the judge cited previous appeals court decisions, concluding that privately owned public utilities can be liable under the doctrine of inverse condemnation. Whether PG&E should be liable under inverse condemnation for damages caused by the Butte Fire is a question for the legislature to resolve, Sumner wrote in his ruling. Whether PG&E is liable under legal precedents is a question of law this court must decide. We continue to believe that inverse condemnation, as applied to a privately owned utility, is flawed legal doctrine, Keith Stephens, a spokesman for PG&E, said in an emailed statement. PG&E argued Sumners earlier ruling, in June 2017, was based on its failure to show any evidence that the states utility regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission, precludes it from passing on any inverse condemnation liability through rate increases. Unlike municipal utilities, privately owned ones like Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison cant just pass on the costs from such calamities to their ratepayers. Instead, they have to go to the CPUC to prove their facilities were managed and operated prudently and reasonably in order to get permission for a rate increase. In November, the CPUC denied such a request by Sempra Energys San Diego Gas & Electric to cover hundreds of millions of dollars it paid in settlements from wildfires that raged through Southern California in 2007, saying the utility acted imprudently. It was the first time a utility had asked the states regulator to raise rates for uninsured losses from increasingly frequent and destructive wildfires. The CPUCs restriction of private utilities ability to spread the costs of inverse condemnation among its ratepayers means PG&E should not be treated as a public entity for purposes of inverse condemnation, the company said in a court filing. The CPUCs newly declared policy is exactly the evidence that did not exist at the time, and that the court found lacking in its previous decision, PG&E has argued. Under a bill thats advancing in Californias legislature, PG&E and Edison International could gain at least some protection against future wildfire damages. The amended bill being weighed by Californias Senate would shield utilities that follow approved safety plans in future state proceedings should one of their power lines spark a wildfire. Utilities would remain vulnerable to potential civil lawsuits, and the legislation wouldnt be retroactive meaning PG&E and Edison could still face billions of dollars in costs from wildfires that destroyed thousands of structures last year. We believe that PG&E and Edison are likely to get some form of long-term relief from the courts, California legislature or regulatory agencies regarding the ability to pass-through some liabilities to consumers, which should help to alleviate investor concerns about future wildfire liability, Thomas Claps, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, wrote in a note Thursday. The case is Butte Fire Cases, JCCP 4853, California Superior Court (Sacramento County). Related: Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics California Legislation Wildfire The Los Angeles Police Department says one of its officers has been arrested on suspicion of workers compensation fraud. Officials say Officer John Bailey was taken into custody this week after a felony warrant was issued for his arrest. City News Service reports the investigation stems from a medical claim filed by Bailey earlier this year. The 43-year-old is accused of knowingly committing workers compensation fraud and receiving benefits under false pretenses. Bailey, who lives in San Bernardino County, was jailed in lieu of $60,000 bail. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Workers' Compensation Fraud Law Enforcement Atlanta, GA, April 27, 2018 Breckenridge Insurance Services announced the promotion of Alex Rinehart to the director of property and casualty operations. As a senior vice president and brokerand former head of business processesRinehart now assumes greater responsibilities for the leadership of operational efficiencies for producers of the wholesale brokerage and program underwriting teams. His oversight now includes all policies, procedures and the application of technology to efficiently process, service and analyze business. Rinehart will continue to with retail agents and grow his book as an established property broker, with the support of his team. Alex knows the end game is not just the bind, its consistent, exceptional service and the efficiency of the process in meeting the needs of the client. Our business is built on being a great partner and Alex is driven to enhance our processes and technology to help us realize this goal, commented Tracey Carragher, CEO of Breckenridge Insurance Group. Rinehart has been at Breckenridge since 2010. He was initially hired as an analyst and worked closely with senior leadership to evaluate companywide financial reports and build out the accounting department during an acquisition growth phase. Since moving into the brokerage side in 2012, Rinehart has consistently demonstrated his problem-solving and relationship-building skills having earned the trust of his agents, underwriters and peers. For example, when a top client needed a new home for a book of tough exposures, he came to Rinehart for a solution. That search led Rinehart to develop an exclusive Student Housing program directly with Lloyds of London that served the needs of this client, and several others since. Such efforts earned Rinehart multiple company honors for service excellence. Having lived in both production and back office, I can leverage that dual experience and work closely with all team members toward our shared mission. Our goal is to provide our producers with the tools and support to maximize production, through an efficient service team that maintains the high levels of speed and quality that our agents and carrier partners have come to expect. stated Rinehart. Rinehart is a graduate of Kenyon College and has been an active fundraiser for F.A.C.T. Seneca (a cancer nonprofit) for many years. He is located in the Atlanta-area Breckenridge offices and can be reached at arinehart@breckis.com or 678.460.3224. About Breckenridge Insurance Services: Breckenridge Insurance Services is a national wholesale commercial insurance brokerage firm with more than three decades of experience in supporting agents and their clients. Focused on building long-term partnerships, the experienced brokerage group and its Breckenridge Elevation Authorities contract binding team offers competitive coverage and consultation for a variety of standard and hard-to-place specialty risks. Breckenridge Insurance Services has eleven offices across the United States and continues to strategically expand its team and presence with more than 100 top-rated domestic and international carrier partners. About Breckenridge Insurance Group: Breckenridge Insurance Group, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is an international specialty wholesale insurance broker, program manager, managing general agent (MGA) and insurance services provider. The company offers access to diverse range of commercial insurance and financial services products to businesses and professional services firms in a variety of industries. The company serves independent insurance agents, brokers, and financial institutions throughout North America by way of Blue River Underwriters, OSC, Breckenridge Insurance Services, Breckenridge Elevation Authorities contract binding group and InSpecialty innovative insurance solutions. For more information, please visit www.breckgrp.com or call 855.728.8822. CA Insurance License #0G13592 ### Media Contact: Caren Henry chenry@breckgrp.com 267.961.8252 Topics Agencies Property Casualty Financial advisors who are looking for professional support outside their own businesses can join one or more of several key organizations dedicated to furthering financial planning in various capacities, such as fee-based planning, general financial services, and insurance sales. Although it is not necessary to join them all, membership with each major professional association comes with several benefits that can help advisors grow their practices. Here are four influential financial planning-related organizations: Key Takeaways Joining a professional association can help bring industry support, quality networking, continuing education, and leads. In the financial services industry, there are several national and regional associations that advisors may consider joining. The FPA, NAIFA, NAPFA, and Society for Financial Services Professionals are just four of the most well-respected associations, which we discuss in turn below. The Financial Planning Association (FPA) This group considers itself to be the definitive association for Certified Financial Planners (CFP). Founded in 2000 via a merger of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP) and the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP), it is dedicated to furthering the CFP credential, and the financial planning profession as a whole. The Financial Planning Association (FPA) launched a new website for consumers that is designed to educate users on the value of financial planning, and the specific ways in which it can benefit them. The site has several interactive tools, including tutorials, articles, and other literature, podcasts, a search engine for financial planners, and much more. Professional members have access to a plethora of benefits and tools that can help them grow their businesses and become better advisors. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, this group created the National Planning Support Center, where FPA members provide pro bono financial planning to victims of terrorist attacks and other types of disasters. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Founded in 1890, this organization is by far the oldest professional financial advisory association in existence today. NAIFA is geared towards providing insurance professionals, benefits specialists, and financial advisors with professional and legislative support. This organization recognizes the critical role that insurance plays in financial planning, and seeks to enhance the insurance industry by promoting ethical conduct among its members, as well as helping its members enhance their skills and level of education in the business. The group's members include insurance agents, financial advisors, multi-line agents, health insurance professionals and employee benefits specialists, both captive and independent financial advisors, those new to the business, industry leaders and everyone in between. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Unlike the FPA or NAIFA, which both work with several different types of advisors, using various types of platforms, such as broker-dealers, independent marketing organizations, or Registered Investment Advisory firms (RIAs), The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) was created solely for the benefit of financial planners who charge a fee for planning services and receive no commissions of any kind. Professional credentials, such as the CFP or Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), are not required for membership, but members are required to sign and hold to a strict fiduciary oath on an annual basis. There is also a code of ethics that requires full disclosure of any possible conflicts of interest to clients. According to the organization's website, NAPFA's stated values are: To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families. To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest. To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning. The Society of Financial Service Professionals The Society of Financial Service Professionals (Society of FSP) is the second-oldest financial services professional association was founded in 1928 by the first graduating class of the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Today it has over 11,000 members in 150 chapters nationwide. This group is the only one that requires that all member either carry a current credential, such as the CFP, CLU, or Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). It also has a code of professional conduct as well as a statement of diversity. The Society of FSP boasts a multidisciplinary community of financial professionals including CPAs, attorneys, insurance experts, and financial advisors from all disciplines. The Bottom Line Although these four organizations are by no means the only associations available to financial services professionals, they are among the most respected and well known in the industry today. Each one of them has local chapters that meet on a regular basis and sponsor local activities. To find a chapter near you, visit each associations website for more information. Pension vs. Social Security: An Overview There are many different types of income that retired folks draw on, depending on what their life was like during their working days. Two of the most widely-known income streams today include pensions and Social Security, two programs funded and structured in totally different ways. Pensions are typically workplace retirement plans, in which an employer makes contributions to a pool of funds on behalf of employees. Social Security is handled by the federal government and funded through payroll taxes collected from employees and companies. Read on for more about how the two programs are structured and how each may benefit retirees who have paid into such programs. Key Takeaways Retirement income can be guaranteed through a company's defined-benefit pension plan and federally funded Social Security. Fewer companies offer guaranteed pensions but offer workers 401(k) plans, which are self-directed investments intended to generate retirement income. Social Security is a government-guaranteed basic income for older Americans, funded through a special tax paid by employees and employers. For most retirees without a pension, Social Security will not be enough; other types of retirement savings, like a 401(k) or an IRA, are encouraged. Pensions Before the advent of IRAs and 401(k) plans, there were pensions. Your parents and grandparents, if they worked for the same company for many years, may have enjoyed generous pension benefits. Pensions nowadays are known officially as defined-benefit plans because the payment amount you'll receive in retirement is decided or defined in advance. A private pension is a retirement account created by an employer for their employees future benefit. Employers, governed by certain laws and regulations, contribute on behalf of employees and invest the money as they see fit. Upon retirement, the employee receives monthly payments. State government employees frequently have pension systems as well. For example, in Ohio, state workers pay into the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System in lieu of Social Security. The private pension payout depends upon several factors, such as how long you worked for the employer as well as what your salary was. In some cases, you can choose a lump-sum payment or a monthly annuity check. In the past, employers were required to maintain excess pension assets within the plan and were not to use the funds for other expenses. This law was put in place so that when needed by retirees, the money would be available to be paid out to eligible retired individuals. It also ensured that excess pension monies were available to offset the times when investment returns were lower than expected. Many years ago, employers encouraged Congress to amend the pension rules and allow them to use money in over-funded pension plans for other employee benefits, such as retiree health plans and early-retirement payments. In her book "Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers," Ellen Schultz relates how these changes led many companies to move pension assets into unrelated company coffers. That resulted in a mass downsizing of pension monies and, ultimately, underfunded pension funds. Private-sector pensions are gradually becoming obsolete, but over 44 million Americans still remain covered by them. Pensions, in general, are considered qualified employer-sponsored plans, which makes them subject to required minimum distribution (RMD) rules. This means participants must begin taking distributions at the age of 72 or face a penalty. Provisions for distributions before 72 can vary. Many participants begin distributions at the age of 65. Social Security Although many seniors receive Social Security benefits in retirement, the Social Security system isn't considered a pension. It may look like a pension because upon retirement (if you have paid into the system during your working years), you are eligible to receive monthly benefits. These benefits can begin at the age of 62. The amount of the check varies based on the age at which you begin receiving benefits as well as how many years you worked and the amounts you earned while you were contributing to the program. Social Security isn't designed to fully replace your income or meet all of your financial needs in retirement. Social Security is funded by a pay-as-you-go system. This means that while you are working, you pay into the system. On your pay stub, the entry for Social Security taxes is listed as FICA. Some of the payments that you make while working go to fund retirees benefits as well as those remunerations of other Social Security recipients. Key Differences There are several other distinctions between pensions and Social Security. Social Security offers a disability insurance program that covers workers with enough credits (earned through work and payment into the system) if they become disabled. Pensions normally dont provide disability benefits unless the employee is disabled in an on-the-job accident. Although spouses may receive a partial pension payment, its unlikely that a child would also benefit from pension incomeas is the case with Social Security. Finally, pensions may offer a lump-sum payout upon retirement. This option is not available through the Social Security system. Both pensions and Social Security may provide an income stream to retirees. Pensions can begin as early as 55, are usually taken around age 65, and must begin to be withdrawn at age 72. Social Security can begin at age 62. Pensions and Social Security operate for the same goalto provide retirement fundsbut they are not funded and structured in the same ways, which leads to different challenges for each. While the federal Social Security system will likely continue to provide aid to the disabled and elderly for many yearsthough by how much remains to be seenprivate pension-plan systems are dying out, being replaced by defined contribution plans such as IRAs and 401(k) plans. The time may come when life insurance policy owners want to rid themselves of the policies they own. Maybe they simply no longer want to pay the premium, or they find themselves in a position where they need to access cash due to a majorand often unexpectedexpense. Still, others just don't believe they need the protection afforded by the life insurance companies. Key Takeaways The time may come when life insurance policy owners want to rid themselves of the policies they own. A life settlement occurs when a life insurance policy is sold to an individual or entity (other than the original policy issuer) for an amount that exceeds the policy's cash surrender value but is less than the net death benefit. Life settlements are distinct from other disposal options in that ownership of the policy is transferred to another person or entity. Whatever the reason, policy owners need to be aware of all of the options they have at their disposal when deciding whether to shed an unwanted policy. Historically, there have been six methods: Lapse Surrender for cash value Reduced paid-up Extended term 1035 exchange for an annuity 1035 exchange for a different life insurance policy But recently, an additional option has been introduced. This option is referred to as a life settlement. Life Settlement Features According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a life settlement occurs when a life insurance policy is sold to an individual or entity (other than the original policy issuer) for an amount that exceeds the policy's cash surrender value but is less than the net death benefit. The seller usually receives the payment as a lump sum and is no longer responsible for any premium payments on the insurance policy. These are now the responsibility of the buyer. Life settlements are distinct from the six aforementioned disposal options in that ownership of the policy is transferred to another person or entity. This concept may sound familiar because it is related to what the life insurance industry refers to as viatical settlements. Viatical settlements are exchanges that also involve the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party; however, they differ from life settlements in that the insured has a terminal illness. Life Settlement Bidding Most policy owners solicit the assistance of a life settlement broker when attempting to sell their policies. Life settlement brokers contact life settlement companies to let them know that a policy is available for purchase. The broker then waits for the life settlement companies to bid on the policy (not unlike an auction). Upon receiving all of the bids, the broker lets the policy owner know which company offered the most money for the policy. The policy owner typically sells his or her policy to the company that is willing to pay the most money. Life Insurance Policy Purchasing You may be asking yourself why a company would want to purchase someone else's life insurance policy. The short answer is that when the policy is sold, the new owner becomes the policy beneficiary. If you agree to sell your life insurance policy to a life settlement company, for example, the company is effectively purchasing the right to receive the death benefit that the insurer will pay at your passing. This can be an attractive investment for the company if it thinks the factors are favorable that it'll collect. Many policy owners who consider selling their policies through life settlement transactions are uneasy about the idea of a life settlement company essentially waiting for them to die. The notion of a company counting down the weeks, months, or years until death is not very comforting. Some may even go as far as to think that a company will resort to nefarious means to get access to the death benefit sooner than later. However, keep in mind that life settlement companies are in the business of making money. The companies would eventually put themselves out of business if they engaged in any type of criminal behavior to expedite the claims process. Also, some entities that purchase life insurance contracts from others are not overly concerned with when the insured dies. These entities purchase life insurance policies so they can use them for collateral to obtain financing from banks. Whether the insured dies in two years or 20 years means little to the company; it simply wants to own the policy so it can qualify for a loan today. The Bottom Line Life settlements offer an additional option for life insurance policy owners deciding what to do with a policy they no longer want or need. From a monetary perspective, this alternative may be more attractive than the six traditional methods for disposing of policies. That is reason enough for policy owners to discuss the idea with one of their trusted advisors (i.e., financial planner, accountant, broker, lawyer, etc.). There will probably always be concerns that companies buying these policies could participate in criminal behavior. But with proper due diligence performed on the life settlement broker, the life settlement company, and any other entity involved in the transaction, an individual should be able to allay these fears. Also, the fact that the industry is being actively monitored by the New York attorney general (and doubtless other attorneys general in other states) may soothe the concerns of some. Companies issue shares of stock or equity for various reasons, including to fund expansion or pay down debt. In this article, we'll explore the various terms that are used in the process of issuing stock to raise capital. Share Capital Share capital consists of all funds raised by a company in exchange for shares of either common or preferred shares of stock. The amount of share capital or equity financing a company has can change over time. A company that wishes to raise more equity can obtain authorization to issue and sell additional shares, thereby increasing its share capital. Share capital is only generated by the initial sale of shares by the company to investors. It does not include shares being sold in a secondary market after they've been issued. Authorized Share Capital Authorized Share Capital is the maximum amount of share capital that a company is authorized to raise. This limit is outlined in its constitutional documents and can only be changed with the approval of the shareholders. Before a publicly traded company can sell stock, it must specify a specific limit to the amount of share capital that it is authorized to raise. A company does not usually issue the full amount of its authorized share capital. Instead, some will be held in reserve by the company for possible future use. The amount of share capital or equity financing a company has can change over time. A company that wishes to raise more equity can obtain authorization to issue and sell additional shares, thereby increasing its share capital. 0:58 Contrasting Paid-Up Capital And Share Capital Issued Share Capital Issued share capital is the total value of the shares a company elects to sell. In other words, a company may elect to only issue a portion of the total share capital with the plan of issuing more shares at a later date. Not all these shares may sell right away, and the par value of the issued capital cannot exceed the value of the authorized capital. The total par value of the shares that the company sells is called its paid share capital. This is what most people refer to when speaking about share capital. Issued share capital is simply the monetary value of the portion of shares of stock a company offers for sale to investors. Paid-Up Capital Paid-up capital is the amount of money a company has been paid from shareholders in exchange for shares of its stock. Paid-up capital is created when a company sells its shares on the primary market, directly to investors. Paid-up capital is important because it's capital that is not borrowed. A company that is fully paid-up has sold all available shares and thus cannot increase its capital unless it borrows money by taking on debt. Paid-up capital can never exceed authorized share capital. In other words, the authorized share capital represents the upward bound on possible paid-up capital. Characteristics of Paid-Up Capital Paid-up capital doesn't need to be repaid, which is a major benefit of funding business operations in this manner. Also called paid-in capital, equity capital, or contributed capital, paid-up capital is simply the total amount of money shareholders have paid for shares at the initial issuance. It does not include any amount that investors later pay to purchase shares on the open market. Paid-up capital may have costs associated with it. In capital budgeting, paid-up capital is most often referred to as equity capital. In the great debate on the relative benefits of debt versus equity, the absence of required repayment is among equity's main advantages. However, shareholders expect a certain amount of return on their investments in the form of capital gains and dividends. While the business is not required to return shareholder investment, the cost of equity capital can still be quite high. Paid-up capital is listed under the stockholder's equity on the balance sheet. This category is further subdivided into the common stock and additional paid-up capital sub-accounts. The price of a share of stock is comprised of two parts: the par value and the additional premium paid that is above the par value. The total par value of all shares sold is entered under common stock, while the remainder is assigned to the additional paid-up capital account. Paid-up capital can be used in fundamental analysis. Companies that utilize large amounts of equity funding may carry lower amounts of debt than companies that do not. A company with a debt to equity ratio that is lower than the average for its industry may be a good candidate for investing because it indicates prudent financial practices and a decreased debt burden relative to its peers. Authorized Versus Paid-Up Capital The amount of authorized share capital must be listed in the company's founding documents. Any time the authorized share capital changes, these changes must be documented and made public. Paid-up capital can be found or calculated in the company's financial statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires publicly traded companies to disclose all sources of funding to the public. What Is SAFE Investment Company (China)? The SAFE Investment Company is the Hong Kong branch of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund. SAFE is an acronym for State Administration of Foreign Exchange. SAFEs Hong Kong subsidiary opened in 1997 with $20 billion in capital. Today, the SAFE Investment Company is a private company, however, officials from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) department serve on its Board of Directors. The fund is set aside primarily as a foreign currency reserve. Key Takeaways The SAFE Investment Company is China's sovereign wealth fund's Hong Kong operations. The chief objectives of the SAFE Investment Company are to gain investment returns, increase diversification of holdings and to reduce China's exposure to fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar. SAFE stands for State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the fund is currently overseen by the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC). The Hong Kong subsidiary opened in 1997 and focuses on maintaining foreign currency reserves. 1:10 What Are Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)? Understanding SAFE Investment Company (China) As of January 2021, China holds approximately $3.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves. The SAFE Investment Company is able to invest in a wide variety of instruments including foreign and domestic equities and fixed income securities. The chief objectives of the SAFE Investment Company are to gain investment returns, increase diversification of holdings and to reduce China's exposure to fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar. Since 1997, all SAFE operations are undertaken by the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC). SAFE Investment Company (China) and Sovereign Wealth Funds The majority of developed nations have sovereign wealth funds (SWF) that they deploy in various ways to benefit the country's economy and citizens. As with SAFE in Hong Kong, the funding for a sovereign wealth fund comes from accumulated central bank reserves from budget and trade surpluses. Some countries have created SWFs to diversify their revenue streams. For example, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) uses a portion of its SWF to invest in assets separate from oil, the main driver of their economy. This helps protect the country against any oil-related risk, such as the development of alternative energy technologies. According to Statista's February 2021 rankings, the top ten sovereign wealth funds by assets under management (AUM) in billions are as follows: Norways Government Pension Fund (Norway): $1273.54 China Investment Corporation (China): $1045.72 Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (UAE): $579.62 Hong Kong Monetary Authority Investment Portfolio (China- Hong Kong): $576.03 Kuwait Investment Authority (Kuwait): $533.65 GIC Private Limited (Singapore): $453.2 Temasek Holdings (Singapore): $417.35 Public Investment Fund (Saudi Arabia): $399.45 National Council for Social Security Fund (China) $327.07 Investment Corporation of Dubai (UAE): $301.53 In the United States, the Alaska Permanent Fund ticks in at $72 billion, and the Texas Permanent School Fund has $48.2 billion. Both have strong origins in oil and natural resources and were established in 1976 and 1854, respectively. What Is SEC Form 424B3? SEC Form 424B3 is an amendment form that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires companies to file if they wish to change, amend, or add information to their registration prospectus without altering the prospectus in original form. There are eight different types of prospectus amendment forms under Rule 424 within Regulation C of the Securities Act of 1933, Title 17, Part 230. Companies are required to file prospectus form 424B3 in accordance with Rule 424(b)(3). Key Takeaways SEC Form 424B3 is used to correct or change a company's prospectus. It is required when a prospectus amendment is subject to Rule 424(b)3 found in Title 17, Part 230 of the Securities Act of 1933. SEC Form 424B3 must be completed when "substantive" facts or events emerge that weren't disclosed in the last prospectus sent to the SEC. Rule 424(b) includes eight different scenarios for filing a prospectus amendment with each scenario requiring its own form. Understanding SEC Form 424B3 The Securities Act of 1933 was created to provide a regulatory framework for the creation, registration, and issuance of investment securities to investors. This framework provides regulatory protocols for issuers and also creates transparency for investors. Companies seeking to launch an initial public offering (IPO) must register with the SEC as directed by Title 17, Part 230, Rules 400 to 498 of the Securities Act of 1933. Rules 400 to 498, also known as Regulation C, apply to the IPO process for most new issuers, although there are some alternative filing protocols as well. Regulation C of the Securities Act of 1933 mandates the filing of the Form S-1 registration statement, which includes an issuers prospectus. Regulation C and Form S-1 also provide clear details on other information that a registering company must include, such as financial reports and material information. Any person who willfully violates proper filings and disclosure protocols can be subject to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. This is inclusive of company directors, attorneys, accountants, the entire underwriting syndicate, and all persons who signed the Form S-1. After the Form S-1 is submitted, it is reviewed by the SEC, who either accepts or rejects the registration request. In some cases, companies may not wish to directly amend their initially approved Form S-1 prospectus after it has been approved. This leads to Rule 424 of Regulation C, which lays out eight different options for providing information additionally tied to the Form S-1 prospectus. SEC Form 424B3 SEC Form 424B3 is one of the eight forms detailed in Rules 424B(1-8). This particular document must be filled out and submitted to the regulator when facts or events come to light that constitute a substantive change or addition to information previously provided in the last prospectus sent to the SEC. Title 17, Part 230, Rule 424(B)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 states the following: A form of prospectus that reflects facts or events other than those covered in paragraphs (b) (1), (2) and (6) of this section that constitute a substantive change from or addition to the information set forth in the last form of prospectus filed with the Commission under this section or as part of a registration statement under the Securities Act shall be filed with the Commission no later than the fifth business day after the date it is first used after effectiveness in connection with a public offering or sales, or transmitted by a means reasonably calculated to result in filing with the Commission by that date. SEC Form 424B3 can be accessed and completed electronically through the SECs EDGAR filing system. When this particular form is called for, it might be necessary to disclose related additional information, facts, or events via SEC Form 424B4 or SEC Form 424B5 as well. Examples of SEC Form 424B3 The most recent filings of SEC Form 424B3 are listed on the SEC Form 424B3 webpage. On March 31, 2020, GPAQ Acquisition Holdings, Inc. filed SEC Form 424B3 as a supplement to its prospectus documentation for the purpose of providing certain clarifications and additions. An excerpt from the filing is included below: This Amendment No. 2 (this Amended Proxy Statement) to the definitive proxy statement (the Proxy Statement) of Gordon Pointe Acquisition Corp. (GPAQ) supplements and amends and restates in the entirety the Proxy Statement, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on February 14, 2020 (the Original Proxy Statement). This Amended Proxy Statement is being filed primarily to provide GPAQs stockholders with information regarding Amendment No. 2 to the Merger Agreement entered into on March 10, 2020 as well as updated financial information regarding GPAQ and HOFV. What Is a Yankee Certificate of Deposit (CD)? A Yankee certificate of deposit (CD) is a type of CD that is issued in the United States by a branch of a foreign bank. Yankee CDs are denominated in U.S. dollars and are used by foreign banks to raise capital from U.S. investors. Key Takeaways Yankee CDs are a savings vehicle marketed to larger investors. They are issued by foreign banks seeking to raise capital from U.S. depositors. Yankee CDs contain shorter maturity periods than regular CDs, often for less than one year. During that timeframe, customers may be unable to withdraw their funds without facing steep early withdrawal penalties. How Yankee CDs Work Foreign banks operating in the United States often need to access dollars for purposes such as extending credit to U.S. customers, or satisfying U.S. dollar (USD)-denominated obligations. To help raise this USD capital, foreign banks sometimes accept deposits from American customers through special CDs called Yankee bonds. Like traditional CDs, Yankee CDs are savings accounts that pay interest before returning their initial investment at the end of a specified investment period. Although it is often possible for investors to withdraw their funds before this date, doing so would risk incurring an early withdrawal penalty. Generally speaking, CDs come with terms ranging between one month and five years, with higher interest paid on the accounts with longer maturities. Aside from the fact that they are offered by foreign banks, the other major difference between Yankee CDs and regular CDs is their minimum investment size. Typically, Yankee CDs have a minimum face value of $100,000, making them appropriate for larger investors. Moreover, Yankee CDs are only offered for short maturity periods of less than one year. Because they are not issued by U.S.-based institutions, Yankee CDs are not subject to the protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and generally require investors to lock in their funds for the entire maturity period. Real World Example of a Yankee CD Yankee CDs are usually issued in New York by foreign banks who have branch offices in the U.S. They are sold either directly by the foreign banks themselves, or indirectly through one or more registered broker-dealers. The most common countries of origin for foreign banks offering Yankee CDs are Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and countries in Western Europe. These banks typically use the funds raised through Yankee CDs to extend credit to their U.S.-based corporate customers. According to the Richmond Fed, Yankee CDs were first issued in the early 1970s and initially paid a higher yield than domestic CDs. Foreign banks at the time were not well known, so their credit quality was difficult to assess due to different accounting rules and scant financial information. As investor perception and familiarity with foreign banks improved, the premium paid by foreign banks on their Yankee CDs declined. This cost of funds difference was partially offset by the exemption of foreign banks from Federal Reserve reserve requirements, in effect until the International Banking Act of 1978. The exemption also aided the establishment of the Yankee CD market, which grew steadily in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, there was rapid growth in Yankee CDs because reserve requirements on nonpersonal time deposits with maturities of less than 18 months were eliminated in Dec. 1990. Previously, there was a 3% Federal Reserve reserve requirement for foreign banks funding dollar loans to U.S. borrowers with Yankee CDs. By Ruaidhri Giblin The Court of Appeal has increased prison sentences handed down to two men jailed for a fatal burglary at the home of a 62-year-old after finding that their original three-and-a-half year jail terms were too lenient. Cousins Michael Casey (34), with an address at Clonlong Halting Site, Southill, in Limerick and David Casey (23), with an address at Carragh Park, Belcamp, Dublin 17, had pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries, including one at the home of John O'Donoghue at Toomaline, Doon, on August 27, 2015. Mr O'Donoghue collapsed and died as he was about to confront the two intruders, who ran away without offering assistance. Judge Tom O'Donnell sentenced both men at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to four-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final year suspended on December 15, 2016. In what is being seen as a landmark ruling The Court of Appeal found the men's sentences to be unduly lenient following a review of sentence brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions and they were both resentenced today to seven years imprisonment with the final eight months suspended. In seeking a review of the Caseys' sentences last December, counsel for the DPP, Thomas O'Malley BL, submitted that the Caseys had targeted four residential properties and entered three. He said the Caseys had embarked on a burglary spree which was pre-planned and premeditated. Mr OMalley said residential burglary, when carried out in isolated rural areas, as these ones were, were a matter of intense social concern. Sentences for such offences, Mr OMalley submitted, must include an element of general deterrence to send the message out to the general public that such a course of offending will not be tolerated. There was no suggestion the Caseys intended to kill or cause serious injury to Mr ODonoghue and it was accepted that they were genuinely remorseful for what happened. However, Mr OMalley submitted, an accused must take his victim as he finds him and he referred to the serious harm caused in the case of the O'Donoghue burglary. He said crimes such as these had many victims, not only the individual whose property was taken but others living in the area may be frightened and may have their quality of life reduced by being compelled to move out of their homes and into sheltered accommodation. Giving judgment, Mr Justice George Birmingham said the late Mr ODonoghue had lived with his sister and, on the day in question, they had both gone to Tipperary town to do some shopping. When they returned home that afternoon, Ms ODonoghue noticed a black car across the road and that the gate to their property was ajar. They became suspicious that somebody was inside the house and it became evident the front door had been broken. The driver of the car across the road began beeping his horn. The late Mr ODonoghue got a shovel from a shed and took up a position near the door of the house. His sister noticed he didnt appear to be looking well. At that stage, Mr ODonoghue collapsed and died. Ms ODonogue actually called on the intruders for assistance but none was forthcoming, the judge said. Gardai and an ambulance were called. Despite efforts to revive Mr ODonoghue he was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination indicated that the late Mr ODonoghue had an enlarged heart and there was significant coronary artery disease and scarring of the heart muscle which meant he was at an increased risk of sudden collapse and death. The funeral of John O'Donoghue The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy commented that while Mr ODonoghue did not have direct contact with the intruders, the stress of the situation would have caused an increase in his heart rate and his blood pressure and the psysiological effects of the situation would have precipitated his death as he was at risk of developing a fatal cardiac arrhythmia in those circumstances. While of less significance in the context of what occurred, Mr Justice Birmingham said a number of items of property were stolen from Mr ODonoghues home as well as a small amount of cash. Michael Casey, a married father-of-two, was 33 at the time of sentencing and had 44 previous convictions including one for robbery. Mr Justice Birmingham said the significance and relevance of Michael Caseys previous conviction was illustrated by his actions at the initial sentence hearing when it was disputed that it related to him. It was claimed it related to a different Mr Michael Casey in Limerick before it was eventually accepted that it related to him. David Casey lived with his mother in Coolock and had 14 previous convictions. He was on bail at the time of the spree in respect of a burglary he had committed in Galway for which he subsequently received a six month sentence. He was additionally on station bail in respect of another burglary for which he subsequently received a two month suspended sentence. Neither Casey had any history of being in gainful employment. Probation reports described both men as being at high risk of reoffending. Mr Justice Birmingham said the Court of Appeal had no hesitation in concluding that the Caseys sentences were unduly lenient to an appreciable degree. He said the offending involved in the Caseys conduct was in the high range. The principle reason being that it was a burglary spree, a planned and premeditated one. It was carried out by a group and that aggravating factors were present, particularly in respect of the ODonoghues home but also in the home that was ransacked - ransacking specifically being identified by the court as an aggravating factor to add to the list of possible aggravating factors in burglary. Also, the court considered the Caseys relevant previous convictions. Mr Justice Birmingham said the events of the day in question required an aggregate pre-mitigation sentence of not less than ten years. This was reduced to seven on account of the Caseys guilty pleas, their admissions and remorse which appeared genuine. The court further suspended the final eight months of the sentence because the Caseys were being resentenced, rather than being sentenced at first instance, and that carried an additional hardship. Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, resentenced the cousins to seven years imprisonment with the final eight months suspended for the burglary of the ODonoghue home. They were given concurrent terms of three years for the ransacked home, two years for the other burglary and 12 months on the criminal damage matter. All sentence were to run concurrently. The Caseys made no reaction when the judgment was delivered. Burglary Spree The Caseys spree that day first involved a burglary at Dromsallagh, Cappamore where the homeowner returned from his morning chores at 2pm and noticed there was damage to the front and rear doors of his home but entry had been unsuccessful. This gave rise to criminal damage. The second incident occurred at Kyle, Cappamore, Co Limerick, where the home of a woman was ransacked. Approximately 500 cash and jewellery worth 1,000 was taken some of which was also of sentimental value. The next incident occurred at Portnard, Cappamore, Co Limerick where a neighbour had heard noise or voices nearby and then saw a male coming out the front window of the house. Finally, the ODonoghues home was targetted. Sentencing guidelines In a rare more earlier this year, the Director of Public Prosecutions asked the Court of Appeal to set guidelines or sentencing parameters for the offence of burglary in Ireland. Counsel for the DPP, Thomas OMalley BL, submitted a number of factors that would put a burglary into the mid-range and upper end of the mid-range category. These were: Planning and pre-meditation; Two or more participants acting together; The targeting of residential properties, especially in rural areas; The targeting of residential property because the occupant was known to be vulnerable on account of age, disability or some other factor; The taking of poerperty which had a high monetary value or high sentimental value. The DPP also identified factors that would tend to place a burglary in the most serious category. These were: Ransacking of a dwelling; Entering during the night a dwelling known to be occupied especially of the occupant is alone; The use or threat of violence; The cause of significant injury, whether physical or pshycological, or serious trauma. To that list, Mr Justice George Birmingham said the Court of Appeal would add the presence of relevant previous convictions as an aggravating factor. Furthermore, a confrontation with an occupant of the dwelling would be also an aggravating factor. The more aggressive the confrontation the greater the aggravation. Evidence that an intruder equipped himself with a weapon while in the dwelling, rather than bringing one in, would also be a serious aggravating factor, the judge said. In considering the significance of a particular aggravating factor, Mr Justice Birmingham said it would be necessary to view the significance of each aggravating factor in the context of the case. He said the presence of a number of these factors would place the offence in the middle range at least and usually above the mid-point in that range. The presence of a considerable number of these factors or, if individual factors were present in a particularly grave form, will raise the offence to the highest category. Mr Justice Birmingham, in a judgment with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the Court of Appeal would suggest mid-range offences to merit sentences (pre-mitigation) in the range of four to nine years and at the highest end, sentences (pre-mitigation) of nine to 14 years. He said the Court of Appeal recognised that the circumstances surrounding individual offences can vary greatly, even before one comes to consider the circumstances of an individual offender. While a consistency of approach to sentencing is highly desirable, it is not to be expected that there will be a uniformity in terms of the actual sentences that are imposed. There are just too many variables in terms of the circumstances of individual offences, but even more so in terms of the circumstances of individual offenders, for that to happen. Again, the court recognises that there is no clear blue water between the ranges. He said the difference between labelling an offence high-end or mid-range was often a fine call and the judges legitimate margin of appreciation may well straddle both. In that event, how it was labelled may in fact not impact greatly on ultimate sentence, Mr Justice Birmingham said. The Love Both campaign marked the 50th anniversary of the British Abortion Act today by calling for a No vote. The group has said 8m pregnancies have been terminated in Britain since 1967. Speaking at an event to mark the anniversary LoveBoth spokesperson Clare McCarthy said today was a sad day for Britain as it marked an anniversary which has seen over 8m babies lose their lives to abortion. British politicians never predicted that their legislation would lead to 1 in 5 pregnancies ending in abortion. But we can learn from their mistakes. Reject the Governments plans for abortion on demand #LoveBothVoteNO #8thref https://t.co/nlxtCidlJu https://t.co/mTdAGKb3ls pic.twitter.com/euWTiuOBgc LoveBoth (Official) (@lovebothireland) April 27, 2018 "In 1967, the public were told that the legislation being introduced was restrictive. Instead, the abortion rate has climbed ever since and today in Britain, one in every 5 pregnancies ends in abortion. Much like politicians in 1967, Minister Harris has called his abortion plan restrictive but the experience in Britain proves that there is no such thing as restrictive abortion. "The Irish public deserves to know that what Minister Harris has in store for us is even more extreme than the law currently existing in Britain. It would introduce abortion on demand up to three months, and in vague, undefined circumstances thereafter. "There is no similar provision in the current British law. Ms. McCarthy concluded by suggesting Ireland had a chance to learn from the mistakes of countries like Britain "where babies lives are ended in such huge numbers." "The only way to stop abortion on demand coming into Ireland is to Vote No on May 25. British politicians never predicted that their legislation would lead to 1 in 5 pregnancies ending in abortion. But we can learn from their mistakes. Reject the Governments plans for abortion on demand #LoveBothVoteNO #8thref https://t.co/nlxtCidlJu pic.twitter.com/LlHWcgDzYO LoveBoth (Official) (@lovebothireland) April 25, 2018 Also today a young mother with a health condition that meant her pregnancy posed a risk to her life has teamed up with Amnesty International to call for a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum. Claire Malone from Wexford has pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary atresia and had her lung removed in 2014. When she became pregnant last summer she says she asked for and was refused a termination. Claire says she wanted a termination for the sake of her two boys, whose father died two years ago. "I was forced into a corner where I was told, without the words being used, 'you're going to be pregnant, whether you like it or not'. I didn't have any say in that." Read more here Claires story shows that the 8th Amendment DOES pose a risk to the health of pregnant women. It debunks the claim that the 8th does not limit or restrict medical professionals from providing the healthcare needed. #repealthe8th #8thref #Together4Yes pic.twitter.com/B580g7FBkX Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) April 27, 2018 - Digital Desk She stole the show in Derry Girls as Sister Michael. Now Siobhan McSweeney returns to her native Cork to reprise her role as May in Kevin Barrys dark comedy Autumn Royal at the Everyman Theatre, writes Aileen Lee. Last year was a big year for Siobhan McSweeney the Cork woman kicked off 2017 playing the female role, May, in Autumn Royal, the debut play by award-winning writer Kevin Barry. She then got a part in the Channel 4 comedy, Derry Girls, playing Sr Michael, the principal of the main characters secondary school. Once that wrapped up, she was straight into rehearsal for Katie Roche, which saw her take her first spin on the Abbey Theatre stage. Happily, history seems to be repeating itself in 2018. Next week, McSweeney will reprise her role in Autumn Royal, as it embarks on a national tour, and fans of Derry Girls will know that it has been commissioned for a second series. Given that McSweeneys character gathered her own large following of fans, we can presume that she will be another funny force to be reckoned with in season two. Not that McSweeney is giving anything away, she has been sworn to secrecy. McSweeney knew the writer of Derry Girls, Lisa McGee, through the show London Irish (Channel 4), which McGee wrote and which McSweeney also appeared in. It featured Peter Campion as one of the leads. He and McSweeney both worked together on Derry Girls he played the girls crush, Fr Peter and in a lovely twist of fate, he will play the character of Timothy, Mays brother, in Autumn Royal for its second run. Siobhan McSweeney on the set of Kevin Barrys Autumn Royal, which returns to the Everyman and will tour nationwide this May. Picture: Darragh Kane McSweeney says of McGee: Shed always been thinking about this other sitcom that she wanted to write about growing up in Derry in the 90s, and she said, there might be something in it for you. I naturally thought it would be one of the girls, because I dont see myself as anything beyond being a 16-year-old. No matter how much older I get, I am still at heart 16 years of age in the 1990s. Viewers loved McSweeneys depiction of Sr Michael she has impeccable comic timing in the show. Interestingly, for all the flashbacks to convent school days professed by female viewers of Derry Girls, it was an experience that McSweeney had not lived herself: Im probably the only person in the cast that had no interactions with nuns at all. I didnt have that idea of her as a nun necessarily, that was secondary to her attitude. I think shes a nun because perhaps she wants more authority or perhaps its a way to get away from people. Siobhan McSweeney was a hit with TV audiences for her role as Sister Michael in the Channel 4 comedy series Derry Girls. Lack of vocation aside, one can only imagine that it was a lot of fun shooting the series, which McSweeney confirms: It was the best fun that Ive had on a job in a long time. Its such a cliche but we all got on very well. There was a great buzz on set. There was fierce naughtiness and trying not to laugh and trying not to corpse and trying not to make other people corpse [break character]. Despite the feeling that they were working on something special with Derry Girls, McSweeney said that everyone hoped more that viewers would feel the same rather than expecting it to be the case. As luck would have it, the show received a rapturous reception when it aired on our screens early this year. McSweeney says: Timing is really important, whats happening out in the real world at the time; what the mood is; what people want to see; what time of the year it is all of these variables so it was a perfect storm with Lisas script. We may have wait a while to see Sr Michael on our screens again, but in the meantime, McSweeney looks forward to her return to the stage next week with Autumn Royal. She says: It was great having Shane [Casey] in the first incarnation of it. Im really looking forward to doing it again. Peter is bringing something different, as any actor would to the role, so the play is changing. Its a great chance to make it a bit richer and investigate the characters and their world a bit more. So many things in this world are confined by budget and to have the luxury to be able to go back to something a second time is very rare. She recalls her experience of its first run: I was very excited for the opportunity to work in Cork, Ive been working for over a decade now and very few, if no, opportunities have arisen for me to return to Ireland, let alone Cork, unfortunately. Its also nerve-wracking, because you do feel this pressure, oh, shes been away for 10 years, what can she do? and with a new piece of work, even though its somebody as amazing as Kevin Barry, you can never tell what the reception is going to be like. Im back in Cork for family at least once a month, so I dont feel a huge distance from Cork necessarily but its different when youre working there. Kevin Barrys Autumn Royal stars Siobhan McSweeney and Peter Campion. Picture: Darragh Kane Autumn Royal peeks inside the lives of May (McSweeney) and Timothy (Campion) who are looking after their father, a man who has long since taken to the bed. A dark comedy, set on the northside of Cork city, it looks at how their role as carers has resulted in their lives being severely curtailed. McSweeney loves her character in the play: Primarily what I love about May is that I havent seen her she isnt a heroine, she isnt noble, she isnt a girlfriend, she isnt a wife, she isnt a mother, she is experiencing a situation which we can all relate to. Kevin has placed this in a heightened circumstance but the reality of caring for our parents is a very real one. Not only is it a prime area to explore within theatre itself, but I think that as a society we need to look at how we are at caring for our old people and how are we caring for our carers. Its not a political piece, but by even playing a woman who isnt heard of or seen in society, thats what I love most about her. McSweeney recalls how audience members approached her after the shows run last year, because Mays experience resonated with their own experiences as carers. She says: I dont think it exists as much now, or I certainly hope it doesnt exist as much now, but there is a tradition of the daughter going home to mind the mammy and daddy. Carers dont have a choice quite often, either financially or emotionally, and especially as a woman, those choices are even fewer, so I think its a powerful play for many reasons. May, shes of our time. Its not some far away ye olde worlde, this is something that is a lot of peoples reality. McSweeney has also appeared on our screens in The Fall (BBC Two/ RTE One), Collateral (BBC Two) and No Offence (Channel 4), and her theatre credits include The Alchemist in the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as many appearances at the Royal Court in London, and other venues in the UK. Having worked both on stage and before the camera over the years, does she prefer one over the other? She says: The aim of any actor, I think, is to have a healthy dose of both. Derry Girls was the biggest part that I ever had in front of a camera, so I was able to properly learn, and I grew to love the craft and the art of camera work, but my heart still lies in theatre. McSweeney loves the sense of community that she feels when working in the theatre: That feeling of comradery is second-to-none, and the live aspect, the feeling of the audience differing every night, the energy that comes from them. The theatre is perhaps one of the few places of communication left open to us. Its no accident that its a place where we have to turn off our phones, turn off the superficiality of social media and of other ways of communicating, and that it is actually the true way to communicate with each others humanity. - Autumn Royal by Kevin Barry, which was recently shortlisted for the Stewart Park Award, will run at the Everyman Theatre in Cork from May 1 to May 5. It then tours to Dublin, Longford, Newbridge, Bray, Limerick, Cavan and Roscommon. For more details, see www.everymantheatre.com. In 1988 Nike told us to Just Do It. Thirty years on, that ad campaign remains one of the most successful of all time. From KitKats Have a break to LOreals Because youre worth it, Suzanne Harrington examines the power of a slogan. What is it with the enduring power of slogans? Why do some stick, and others sink? This year, well have been Just Doing It for 30 years. Nike first suggested we just do it in 1988, their enduring slogan based on the last words of American killer Gary Gilmore. Lets do this, Gilmore said as he faced a firing squad 11 years earlier in 1977. On hearing about Gilmores last words, advertiser Dan Wieden tweaked them slightly and pitched his version to Nike, who bought it and trademarked it, resulting in one of the most successful commercial slogans of all time. Just Do It was the start of a new era for the Nike brand, which in 1988 appeared alongside Walt Stack, an 80-year-old runner. So firmly has the slogan become embedded in everyday speech that it has spawned its own spoof, Just Did It. Because youre worth it is even older, dating almost half a century and still in use both by LOreal and the wider culture. In 1973, when LOreal first broadcast their new slogan, the advert showed a woman walking to camera, patting her hair and saying, I use the most expensive hair colour in the world...because Im worth it. The slogan was created by Ilon Specht, a 23-year-old copywriter at New Yorks McCann Erickson agency; it was revolutionary because it had a woman talking directly to camera about herself and her purchasing decisions. Until then, such products were advertised by mutely decorative women and male voiceovers, which Ilon Specht was fed up of. One of the best things Ive ever written was done in a moment of anger. I thought, its not about men, its about ourselves. Its not for you that were going to do our hair, she later told an interviewer. Im not making my hair so you should like me. And it stuck. Because Im worth it became because youre worth it and is currently because were worth it; brand ambassadors have included Jane Fonda, Andie McDowell, Julia Roberts, Beyonce. Oh, and David Ginola. So what makes a slogan velcro itself to the public consciousness, and stay there? A sticky slogan has to communicate the idea of the brand in a way that blends it into the language and culture of the audience, says advertising strategist Omaid Hiwaizi. It communicates the benefit of the brand in a way which means that people remember it this is called creating mental availability. Like thinking that have a break means having a KitKat. Or being thirsty means Drink Coke. Terrible slogans dont do this, says Hiwaizi. They communicate nothing of value and do it in forgettable ways. Sometimes, though, terrible ones stick because theyre so bad. Many car insurance adverts do this to annoy you into remembering their odd character or animal, so you always go to them when you need a quote. (That bulldog, those meerkats.) Going forward, with internet search engines, and ever decreasing attention spans, ideas that communicate how brands are different and better are more and more important for those brands to stand out and survive. Sometimes these will be summarised in a catchy slogan, and sometimes itll just be a word, logo or colour. Think yellow arches, or the small blue f or turquoise bird of social media. Yet the most successful slogans are pre-digital, coming from the 20th centurys golden age of advertising, and predate the complicated mental clutter of online. Lets take a walk back through some of them: Aah! Bisto will be one hundred next year and is still in use, except these days theres a vegan option. Rice Krispies Snap! Crackle! Pop! first appeared in 1932, with the three elves coming later in 1949. Their slogan widely translated Pif! Paf! Pof! in Belgium, Poks! Riks! Raks! in Finland, Knisper! Knasper! Knusper! in Germany. The 50s produced several memorable junk food slogans Kentucky Fried Chickens 1952 Finger Lickin Good lasted until a rebrand in 2011, where it became KFCs So Good, in an attempt to convey healthier. 1954s Melts in your mouth, not in your hand slogan for M&Ms is, according to the Washington Post, the most liked ad slogan ever, and 1957s Have a break, have a KitKat is still in use, despite Mars failing to legally trademark the words have a break. Beanz Meanz Heinz celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 with limited editon cans and an event at Selfridges, making the appeal of the humble baked bean more enduring than 1969s classic chocolate slogan, All Because The Lady Loves Milk Tray. Not anymore she doesnt tastes have moved on considerably from strawberry creme, despite Milk Tray creating one of the most enduring characters in 1970s advertising the Milk Tray Man. Coca Cola got on the hippie bandwagon belatedly in 1970 with Its The Real Thing, while Carlsbergs Probably the best lager in the world slogan from 1973 was rivalled a year later by Heineken promising it Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach. Both claims remain as unlikely as the 1980 slogan A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play. Its equally unlikely that Australians wouldnt give a XXXX for anything else, as was suggested by Castlemaine lager in 1984, or that Fox News was ever Fair and balanced, like the station claimed in 1995. Not every slogan does exactly what it says on the tin, although Ronseals 1994 unpretentious promise got snagged in our consciousness as synonymous with reliable and straightforward. So did Audis 1982 Vorsprung Durch Technik, despite nobody ever knowing what it actually meant it didnt matter because it sounded efficient, capable and modern. American Express attempted creating the same sense of reassurance with its 1975 slogan Dont Leave Home Without It. The 1948 De Beers slogan, A Diamond Is Forever, inspired not just a Bond movie, but the idea of using diamonds in engagement rings. Post WW2, diamond sales had fallen a Philadelphia copywriter, Frances Gerety, came up with the slogan which continues to create a mental association between diamonds and marriage proposals. Thank you, capitalism selling us stuff we didnt know we needed since the 1300s. Irish adverts Alcohol features heavily. Guinness is good for you, time for a Guinness, my goodness my Guinness everyone from toucans to Michael Fassbender has helped sell the stuff. Harp lager had Sally OBrien and the way she might look at you. On first tasting Baileys, randomly named after a bistro in Londons Soho because Irish names were thought to sound quaint, one American pundit apparently exclaimed, That shit will never sell! As well as boozing, themes of emigration are popular in Irish ads Aer Lingus went with Youre Home, while in the 1980s, the ESB produced a tear-jerker starring the Irish mammy awaiting the arrival of an adult child from the airport, turning up the heating to combat the Irish weather. Sometimes though, simplicity wins. Brennans bakery nailed it with Todays Bread, Today. Fashion Revolution Week and the millennials behind it want to break the spell of fast fashion. Carolyn Moore meets the new generation of Irish designers prioritising sustainable style. When Richard Malone opened London Fashion Week in February, Vogues Sarah Mower wasnt the only critic applauding the Irish designers ongoing commitment to sustainability. Was there ever a time when sustainable fashion was in its own special lane for ecologically worthy but slightly meh clothes? she wondered. Commending the cheerfully chic energy of Malones autumn winter collection, she heralded a change: A new generation that does its ethics by showing exciting fashion. And its true that Malone, 27, is one of a growing number of young designers putting ethics and the environment at the heart of what they do; treating sustainability not as a novelty or a selling point, but simply as he says himself a given. For Malone, its been a founding principle of his approach since he was a student at Central St Martins. Now, eschewing the values and techniques of mass production, he works with hand woven fabrics produced by a small collective of female artisans in India, using environmentally safe dyes to produce his vibrant prints, and combining them with recycled fabrics and innovations like machine washable evening gowns, for high fashion thats low-impact. Its something I can be excited by, and customers and stores can be excited by, because Im looking at new ways of making things, and the conversation about sustainability is really important to the design, he says. As his business grows, its something hes not prepared to compromise on. Once I compromise Ive lost the battle, he says. I dont think you can make anything contemporary without considering sustainability. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a narcissist for doing this. Realistically, the world doesnt need any more clothes, but if thats what youre going to do, you have to at least consider sustainability, otherwise youre just pumping more stuff into the world thats not really needed. Call it millennial mindfulness, or simply a generational response to being raised in a throwaway culture that wasnt of their making, but Malones approach exemplifies a new attitude to sustainability; one that seeks to make fashion low-impact by design. LSAD fashion grad Jennifer Byrne is on her way to becoming a sustainability expert. Fashion designer Jennifer Byrne, 26, agrees that segregating sustainable fashion distorts the conversation. It needs to be incorporated into our approach to fashion across the board, she says. Rather than having two separate streams, it just needs to be the new way thats the only option. Raised with an awareness of environmental issues, as a fashion undergrad in Limerick School of Art and Design, Byrne studied sustainability for her dissertation. Now shes completing a masters in fashion ethics in Scotland, and along with continuing her ethical fashion line, she hopes to work as a sustainability consultant a job Business of Fashion recently declared one of six Fashion Careers of the Future. In August, Byrne will be among the first class to graduate from the fashion ethics course, a broad area of study encompassing everything from the threat of modern slavery to the environmental impact of microfibers. All aged between 25 and 28, with backgrounds in fashion, her classmates share a common interest in understanding and negating the impact of the fashion industry on people and the planet. Fashion is a medium for people to express themselves and show their creativity and their personality, Byrne says, but that shouldnt have to come with a huge environmental or social impact. If fashion is revolting, millennials are leading the charge, and many brands now employ experts to advise on improving their ethical credentials. Now the largest and most powerful consumer group, millennials represent over $200 billion (164bn) in buying power in the US alone; and with recent studies from Nielsen and Deloitte showing millennials are most likely to pay more for sustainable products, theyre driving the push for industry-wide change. Its a push thats also being fueled by activism, much of it propagated online, and this week, Fashion Revolution Week an annual campaign marking the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse which killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh five years ago has been encouraging consumers to take to social media and ask, Who Made My Clothes? Byrne says the campaign helps raise awareness amongst people not immersed in the fashion industry, but adds: We need to reach a point where we dont have to ask the question, because we know brands have taken sustainability and ethics into consideration. Textile artist Aoife Banks believes fast fashion is a feminist issue. Picture: Matthew Thompson Textile artist and activist Aoife Banks agrees. A final year student in NCAD, she believes, At end of the day, it shouldnt be down to the consumer to make sure someone, somewhere isnt suffering for their fashion choices. Banks was midway through a fashion degree when, realising how complicit fast fashion was in the exploitation of women, she decided it was an industry she wanted no part of. Switching her area of study to fine art textiles, she has taken a more radical route, addressing the high cost of cheap fashion through sculptural rather than wearable textiles. Last year, Banks visited the Rana Plaza site, and met with Bangladeshi garment workers and labour welfare organisations. It was quite harrowing, as a sheltered western woman, to step into that world. As consumers in the west, were not exposed to that side of fashion, she says, and as an activist, shes working with Fashion Revolution Week to educate and inform consumers; keeping the welfare of garment workers to the fore long after the news cycle has moved on from a tragedy like Rana Plaza. The movement is growing, she says. And these concerns are more prevalent in the younger generation were becoming more conscious of the impact of our consumer habits. Low-impact, timeless design Alanagh Cleggs Four Threads collection is made to last. Textiles graduate-turned-fashion designer Alanagh Clegg, 24, agrees Fashion Revolution Week helps amplify the message and put pressure on big companies take this seriously as an issue. When she started her ethical brand, Four Threads, The ideals represented by Four Threads were: inspired, handmade, quality, and conscious, she says. Conscious means being fully transparent, so if someone asks, Who made my clothes?, I can say, This man, Ill show you his photo. As a teenager immersed in the culture of fast fashion, Clegg admits sustainability and ethics were never on her agenda. It wasnt until I went to college that I began to question why we buy so much, she says. Summer internships with a sustainable textile specialist in London first introduced her to both the concepts of sustainability and the Indian producers she now works with. During her final year in college, Clegg travelled to India to research ethical production, and what she experienced changed the course of her career. It was never about fashion for me, she says. But I met artisan producers making things with craftsmanship, love, and respect for tradition and the environment, and it meant so much to them. From saris handed down from mother to daughter to stitches and techniques passed down through generations, there was so much more to what they wore than just fashion or trends. Studying tailoring by night, for her final year project, Clegg designed an embroidered coat through which she would trace the production process of a garment. When Emporium Kalu in Naas bought six coats, the concept for Four Threads was born. In addition to using hand woven fabrics, low-impact workshops, having a completely transparent supply chain, and embracing complex traditional production techniques that are labour intensive but provide employment for hundreds of women, Alanaghs trans-seasonal approach is about buying less and keeping things longer. If and when she introduces new styles, it wont be to answer to seasonal demand, but rather to answer a question as to what I can wear when its really hot. I know its not how everyone else does it, she says. And its hard when someone says we need something new, now, and I have to just say, thats not what I do. But with the planet groaning under the weight of discarded fast fashion, millions falling victim to modern slavery, and our seas awash with microplastic, much of it coming from textiles, its clear theres something radically wrong with the way everyone else does it. With young designers committed to making changes, one small step at a time, perhaps theres hope for the future of fashion. I can do things right and know Im doing a good job, but we need to see the bigger picture, says Clegg. We need to hold the big brands to account. The demand for change is there. What a disgustingly cruel country this can be. Since Wednesday, the country has been captivated by the appalling tragedy that befell 43-year-old Limerick mother, Vicky Phelan. She is now terminally ill, after a mistake in a smear test taken seven years ago. On the steps of the Four Courts, she settled her High Court action for 2.5m. Ms Phelan had a smear test in 2011 that showed no abnormalities, but a later review found this conclusion to be incorrect. The case against the HSE was struck out and the settlement was against the US laboratory, Clinical Pathology Laboratories Inc, Austin, Texas, only. Outside the court, Ms Phelan stood to address the media. Her statement was a powerful indictment of State failure. To know, for almost three years, a mistake had been made and I was misdiagnosed was bad enough, but to keep that from me, until I became terminally ill, and to drag me through the courts to fight for my right to the truth, is an appalling breach of trust and I truly hope some good will come of this case and there will be an investigation in the CervicalCheck programme, as a result of this. Ms Phelan broke down in tears as she thanked her husband, Jim, and her family. To my family and friends and my supporters, who supported my decision to take this case, at a time I really should be concentrating on my health, I would not have been able to do this without you, she said. She added: There are no winners here today. I am terminally ill and there is no cure for my cancer. My settlement will mostly be spent on buying me time and on paying for clinical trials to keep me alive and to allow me spend more time with my children. If I die I truly hope that wont be the case the money will provide for my family, she said, as Jim stood beside her. The women of Ireland can no longer put their trust in the CervicalCheck programme. Mistakes can and do happen, but the conduct of CervicalCheck and the HSE, in my case, was unforgivable. To know, for almost three years, that a mistake had been made and that I was misdiagnosed was bad enough. But to keep that information from me, until I became terminally ill and drag me through the courts, she said. The poor woman was dealt the cruellest of blows because of a failure, but that failure has been compounded by the insistence that she go to court to get justice. There was no admission of liability. Even in the most appalling of failures, the corporate good was still being prioritised over the needs of a patient. Because the case against the HSE was struck out, the corporate body will see that as a victory and carry on regardless. Understandably, Ms Phelans case dominated the political agenda and what came to light was so pathetically predictable. There was an apology from the Tanaiste, Simon Coveney, to Ms Phelan. There was one from Health Minister Simon Harris. There were fine words of condemnation. Tanaiste Simon Coveney. Mr Coveney said: This is a shameful series of events, particularly in terms of information flow. The tragedy and challenges Vicky Phelan and her family are facing, now, have been made all the more difficult, because of the failings in terms of the passing-on of information. And, for that, I want to apologise to her and to her family. Politicians began referring to her by her first name, to show they are deeply affected by the case. Action was promised. A review will take place. Harris said it would be independent, conducted by external experts. But then came the admission that it would be done under the auspices of the director general of the HSE, so, in truth, it will not be fully independent. This is important, as the HSEs record in transparency is laughable. It has been accused of cover-ups on the floor of the Dail within the past year. Harris, in fairness to him, moved swiftly to address the situation that doctors are not automatically compelled to tell their patients when a missed diagnosis occurred. That will change immediately, he said, and up to 200 women will be contacted to ensure they know that a previous smear test was declared safe by mistake. Most of them already know, we are told, but this is being done to be sure, to be sure. But then came the inevitable questions about accountability. Will anyone be held to account? Will anyone be fired over this catastrophic failure, which has handed Vicky Phelan a death sentence? The response was depressingly familiar: Talk of systems failure, inadequate protocols, of not jumping to conclusions. No-one is being blamed, no-one being sacked. Did anyone actually do anything wrong here was the question posed by one minister. Can you believe it? Mr Harris said that he has sought to change the practice of the HSE forcing people to court to get justice. A common complaint of so many people who take action successfully against the State is the trauma of the adversarial legal process foisted upon them by the HSE. There are echoes here of the case of Grace, who was sexually abused in a foster home for more than a decade, after health officials overturned a decision to remove her. Despite admitting liability and apologising for the catastrophic failure in her care, Grace and her carers had to go to court to get compensation. It was disgusting that it should ever have gone to the High Court. Mr Harris conceded the treatment of Ms Phelan was not good enough. Health Minister Simon Harris. I am the health minister who introduced open disclosure, because I want to see a situation whereby nobody has to go to court to ascertain what happened in relation to their medical experience or their interaction with the health service. I want to provide safe spaces within the health service, where there can be honest exchanges of information between patients and their doctors. That is something we have introduced in recent months. We should never see someone go to the steps of court to establish the truth, he said. All too little, all too late, for Vicky Phelan, her husband, and her two children. Hopefully, the 2.5m does buy some precious time with her loved-ones. It is the very least she deserves, given what happened to her. Her bravery and courage on Wednesday epitomised the very best of the human spirit, in face of the very worst. How much time do we spend observing the lives of others, as facilitated by social media, while vaguely fantasising about how we would like our life to be?, asks Joyce Fegan. A friend of mine is looking to buy a house. She and her new husband love nothing more than the city life. This includes going to off-the-beaten-track restaurants that serve up eclectic cuisine, visiting exhibitions in side-street galleries, and going for evening runs through big city parks. So where are you looking? I asked. They had an offer in on a house in a sleepy commuter town far away from Dublin. This is not a column about the housing market or living costs or repressed salaries. This is about life in theory or fantasy, versus life in reality. When we sat back and looked at it, we realised that we liked the idea of going to all these restaurants and plays and galleries, but in reality we might get out to dinner once every two months. Really, we go to work, come home and crash, more or less. We had a theory of what our life was like, but in reality its a lot different, she explained. That conversation was followed this week by another friend telling me about her love of minimalism. Shes really into the concept of minimalism. There is even a popular documentary on Netflix about it that I could watch. I thought: No thanks, I once gave up all sugar (including the absolutely essential teaspoon needed for my Weetabix) and went to Mass every morning before school for Lent. I gave up on minimalism a long time ago. I had minimalism all wrong, she explained. Its more about decluttering to make space for the things that really fill you up in life, the stuff that actually brings you joy. So, I relented and watched the Netflix documentary. Surprisingly, I found myself not guilt-tripped. I did not need to go without hot showers and I was, in fact, allowed to purchase more than one pair of jeans every two years. I got back on to her and told her how much I liked Minimalism, the tagline of which is: A documentary about the important things. She then introduced me to another concept within the school of minimalism. Its called Fantasy Me. Fantasy Me is a bit like my house-hunting friend believing she regularly eats out in eclectic restaurants, visits art galleries and goes for runs through the cityscape, when in truth, she does not. There are even videos on YouTube about the concept and how you can declutter Fantasy Me. Some people, for example, clear out their wardrobe where they might be harbouring multiple starched white shirts to be worn for the fantasy boardroom meetings, which they have never once attended. This got me thinking. How much of my life was theoretical and how much was truly lived? In theory, I make interesting vegetarian dishes nightly, I wake daily for sunrise and take jaw-dropping photos. I am always covered in a smattering of freckles from my weekly hikes in the great outdoors. I can slip into crow pose at the first whisper of a namaste. I work from coffee shops with white marble table tops, with a latte positioned neatly beside my MacBook Air. Oh, and I also hang out at the back of a jeep, with salt in my hair as I peel off my wetsuit after catching 35 back-to-back waves off the west coast of Ireland. In reality, I couldnt be bothered spending two hours cooking every evening. I havent seen sunrise since I had to get up very early for a flight a few weeks ago and not only do I despise coffee, I genuinely believe I am allergic to it. Minimalism friend and me then began thrashing out, think Frankenstein, how Fantasy Me was created in the first place. This inevitably led us to discuss social media, Instagram and Facebook in particular, and how we peruse all of these highly-curated galleries and showreels of peoples lives. We then arrived at the obvious conclusion that they look nothing like our own messy, textured, chaotic, unpredictable, hormonally-influenced and emotionally charged lives. All of this got me thinking. How much time do we spend observing the lives of others, as facilitated by social media, while vaguely fantasising about how we would like our life to be? We use up all this time and energy, focused on something external to us, when we could be using that effort to make our own lives better. We end up getting caught between voyeuristically observing and salivating over other peoples lives while vaguely fantasising about our own. Hold up. What about if we stopped scrolling and turned that focus inwards for a moment, use that time to get some clarity around Fantasy Me. There are Silicon Valley design innovators working in Stanford University, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, who run an extremely popular and successful module there, called Designing Your Life. They have also written a book. They use basic design tools to help people explore what they really want out of life. There is way-finding, prototyping and mind mapping, all done outside the realms of Facebook and Instagram. The thing about social media is, its 2-D. Its highly-edited and yet our brains absorb the images it broadcasts without any critical thinking. Social media lacks texture, feeling, context and reality. Whereas in reality, we know our livesare filled with friction, grit, conflict, traffic, cold cups of tea we forgot to drink, ripped school uniforms, children wanting that new tracksuit with the latest label, and ageing parents who are starting to need our help more and more. But none of these things fit nicely on to a photo grid owned by multiple shareholders. These are the moments and events of our lives and while Fantasy Me provides some food for thought, that is all it will be until we get clarity about how we really want our lives to taste, feel, sound, smell and look like. Campaigners have taken the first step in a bid to take a council to court over a ban on demonstrations outside a UK abortion clinic. Ealing Council was the first in the country to create a protest-free safe zone outside a Marie Stopes clinic in the west London borough. Alina Dulgheriu, a representative for campaign group Be Here For Me, was at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London today to start the legal process to fight the authority's decision. The group describes the High Court move as being against a "censorship zone" which "criminalises prayer and support" outside the clinic - arguing that it violates the human rights of residents and visitors, including the right to freedom of speech and prayer. It says the challenge launched by Ms Dulgheriu, "who was supported by a pro-life vigil" outside an abortion clinic, was being brought to "ensure that the vital support options that pro-life vigils provide to women outside Ealing clinic are available again as soon as practically possible". Ms Dulgheriu, 34, said she was offered financial, practical and moral help, as well as accommodation, and now has a "beautiful" six-year-old daughter. The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) came into force on Monday after reports of "intimidation, harassment and distress" for women using the clinic on Mattock Lane. John Hansen-Brevetti, clinical operations manager at the clinic, said women had been told the ghost of their foetus would haunt them, had been told "mummy, mummy, don't kill me", had holy water thrown on them and rosary beads thrust at them. Alina Dulgheriu, 34, a representative for campaign group Be Here For Me, with her six-year-old daughter Sarah, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, after filing a High Court challenge against Ealing council over a ban on protesting outside a Marie Stopes clinic. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. After filing case papers at the High Court, Ms Dulgheriu said: "Without sufficient justification, Ealing Council has decided to criminalise otherwise lawful behaviour, to criminalise charitable activity that is needed by some of the most vulnerable women in our society. "I am asking that justice be done for those women who have been ignored by Ealing Council." She said: "I never expected a local council in the UK to make a decision that violates so many human rights; the right to free speech, the right to pray, the right to receive information and the right to assemble. As an immigrant who loves so many of your traditions, I never expected to have to defend the rights that keep a healthy British democracy alive. She said: "I cannot put into words the joy, the beauty and the love that my daughter has brought to my life. "She would not be with us today if it weren't for the vigils that Ealing Council has criminalised." Elsewhere, The LoveBoth campaign has said that the only way to prevent Irelands abortion laws becoming like those in Britain is to vote No on May 25. LoveBoth was commenting at an awareness event held to mark the 50th Anniversary of the coming into force of the Abortion Act 1967 in the UK. Speaking at the event, LoveBoth spokesperson Clare McCarthy said: Today is a sad day for Britain where over 8 million babies have lost their lives to abortion since the Abortion Act came into force. In 1967, the public were told that the legislation being introduced was restrictive. "Instead, the abortion rate has climbed ever since and today in Britain." The Save the 8th campaign asserts that 1 in every 5 pregnancies in the UK ends in abortion. Much like politicians in 1967, Minister Harris has called his abortion plan restrictive but the experience in Britain proves that there is no such thing as restrictive abortion. The Irish public deserves to know that what Minister Harris has in store for us is even more extreme than the law currently existing in Britain. "It would introduce abortion on demand up to 3 months, and in vague, undefined circumstances thereafter. There is no similar provision in the current British law. Ms. McCarthy was joined at the event by supporters of LoveBoth, and by Caren Hallahan, a nurse who worked in Australia where abortion is legal. Ms. McCarthy concluded: We have a chance to learn from the mistakes of countries like Britain where babies lives are ended in such huge numbers. The only way to stop abortion on demand coming into Ireland is to Vote No on May 25. - PA Fighting between Syrian troops and Islamic State fighters in southern neighbourhoods of Damascus has left dozens of people dead or wounded, according to a war monitor and Syrian state media. The clashes came as government forces pressed their offensive to capture the last parts of the capital not in state control. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a government bombardment killed 17 people, including seven children and two women in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, mostly controlled by IS. Syrian state media reported that IS shelling of the government-held neighbourhood of Qadam killed two children and wounded eight others. State news agency Sana said government forces and their allies pushed deeper into the nearby Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood that is controlled by IS. Sana added that the army offensive aims to "completely eradicate the terrorists from south Damascus". The week-long fighting in Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby Yarmouk camp has killed dozens of fighters on both sides. The area is the last district out of government control in Damascus and its capture would boost security in President Bashar Assad's seat of power. State TV reported that Syrian planes struck an IS arms depot in the area, setting off explosions. IS claimed in a statement that its fighters killed 20 soldiers in the area. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, warned of "catastrophic consequences of the severe escalation" of fighting affecting the Yarmouk refugee camp and surrounding areas. The hostilities have caused deaths and injuries and displaced around 5,000 civilians from Yarmouk into neighbouring Yalda, of which 3,500 are Palestinian refugees, UNRWA said. - PA A fashion designer accused of murdering her French nanny was charming and manipulative with a violent streak, an ex-boyfriend revealed. Frenchman Anthony Francois said Sabrina Kouider, 35, took advance of "weaker" people and got into a fight with someone "just because they looked at her". The Parisian fork lift truck driver's statement was read out in the trial at the Old Bailey of Kouider and Ouissem Medouni, who are accused of murdering 21-year-old Sophie Lionnet. He said: "At the time I met her she used to say she thought of me as her little brother but at the time Sabrina had a relationship with Ouissem Medouni. We used to all go out together and after a few months I started going out with Sabrina. "Sabrina and Medouni were often arguing, then got back together. It was like cat and dog." Mr Francois said he had a relationship with Kouider for six months. He said: She was strange. She could be lovable and she could be detestable. There was no explanation for this change in moods, she would often shout and become aggressive. Her behaviour was difficult, incomprehensible. She loved attention. He went on to say Kouider would lie and was sometimes violent, and "pulled the hair of girls in the street" because of a "look". Mr Francois said Medouni was distant, cold and "insular". During an interview at Lewisham Police Station, he said: "She had a dual face, a dual personality. She knew who she targeted, in other words the weaker ones. She knew how to take advantage of people, but not anyone. That's my gut feeling." He said she was "manipulative" and could "charm" and tell lies. On her relationship with Medouni, he said: "She was certainly in love with him - he was her first man." He claimed Medouni caused a scar on her back. Mr Francois last saw Kouider five and a half years ago, before she went out with former Boyzone star Mark Walton, the Old Bailey heard. She allegedly became obsessed with the idea that Mr Walton was in cahoots with Ms Lionnet to drug and abuse her family. She and fellow "believer" Medouni, 40, tortured Miss Lionnet into a confession, killed her in the bath and threw the body into a bonfire, it is claimed. The couple, from Wimbledon, south-west London, have admitted perverting the course of justice but deny murder. Earlier, judge Nicholas Hilliard QC told jurors that Mr Francois had refused to come to court to give evidence, so he could not be cross-examined about it. Giving evidence, Kouider said Medouni had slapped, kicked and pushed her during their "up and down" relationship. She said: "He was with me for sex, nothing else, and money." Kouider told how she was born in northern Algeria where she was "sexually abused" before moving to Paris. When she was young, she fell from a balcony and broke her back, the court heard. Kouider said she had various jobs - selling pancakes, working as a nanny, at Royal Mail in Chelsea and in a bank. After meeting in 2001, she lost her virginity to Medouni. When he told friends about it, she was "really upset" and got so drunk she ended up in hospital, jurors heard. Medouni, known as Sam, later accused her of cheating, slapped her face and called her "dumb", the defendant said. During an incident at his father's home, he grabbed her hair and pushed her against a door, causing pins in her back to loosen, she said. On a later occasion, Medouni allegedly kicked her leg "very hard" and police were called. Kouider told jurors how Medouni used her flat in Queensway "like a hotel". She said: "It was like I don't exist for him. "He used our flat as a hotel." He left and Mr Francois moved in briefly, but Kouider said he got on her nerves, and Medouni returned in 2009. In 2011, the couple split up again after a trip to Barcelona. On the work holiday organised by her telecommunications firm, she was invited to a party attended by US President Donald Trump, jurors heard. On the relationship breakdown, she said: "We did argue. He was always making me cry. I did not understand why his behaviour was like this with me. I was not asking for much, just to be together in the right way." - PA Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring will today announce the release of 15m in grants and funds, with proposed projects able to draw down the funds later this year. The move comes amid claims that rural Ireland has been left behind in the recovery, with urban centres such as Dublin and Cork benefiting more than other parts of the country. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme funds can be applied for via local authorities, with the final selections of winners made in July. Proposed projects must have positive economic impacts on town and villages, stimulate growth or show links to other schemes in certain areas, including heritage, arts, culture, vacant premises or energy efficiency schemes. Up to 80% of the total cost of a project under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme will be provided for any individual project. The minimum grant which is available is 20,000 and the maximum is 100,000. A higher limit of 200,000 will be considered for a limited number of projects. Mr Ring will say today that some 30m was spent under the town and village renewal scheme over the last two years. It is expected that this new round of funding will benefit up to 200 towns and villages Previous projects which received the funds have included the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen which hosts more than 35 local business ventures and which received some 150,000. The restoration of the old butter market in Granard, Co Longford, has since also become a focal point for community events, including a farmers market after receiving 43,000. The renovation of the old courthouse in Boyle, Co Roscommon was also supported with a 62,000 grant. Mr Ring said: The scheme will again be administered through the local authorities, who will be required to work closely with local businesses and local communities to develop and implement ideas that can make a real and sustainable impact in revitalising rural towns and villages across the country. The stepmother, Maureen Moore, had married John G Moore, a widower, in 1971, and they had bought a house at Mount Tallant Avenue, Dublin, in their joint names in 1975. Ms Moore left there in 1983, due to her husbands allegedly violent behaviour. Her solicitor wrote to her husband four months later, in connection with her interest in the property, but got no reply. Ms Moore moved to Belgium, suffered from cancer, and returned, in 2002, to live with her mother at Laburnum Square, North Road, Drogheda. When she later discovered her husband had died intestate in 1996, and that the house at Mount Tallant Avenue had been sold in 2002 by his children, John and Maria, she took proceedings. Ms Moore was 71 when her case opened at the High Court, in 2010, but died after evidence concluded. A personal representative of her estate continued the case. In late 2010, the High Court rejected the claims the stepchildren acted fraudulently by getting a death certificate in Maureen Moores name and found that arose due to a mistake. The certificate related to a different woman of the same name, Maureen Moore, of Kilamcud, Dublin, who died in 1995. John Moore, aged 43, Woodstock Park, Knocklyon, Dublin 16, and his sister, Maria Byrne, aged 41, of Oakdale Crescent, Ballycullen, Co Dublin, both denied fraud or that they knew or ought to have known the death certificate was not that of Ms Moore. They said they were unable to locate her, and believed she was dead. They also denied she was forced out of the property years earlier. The High Court held there was no evidence of fraud by the siblings. It held that because their mistake had resulted in Ms Moore being unable to take out her legal share of her late husbands estate, she was entitled to damages. It dismissed an application requiring Nadine Chetty, who bought the Mount Tallant property in October, 2002, but who lives in the Middle East, to deliver up the property to Ms Moore. An appeal was brought by Ms Moores estate and, by a two to one majority, yesterday, the appeal court allowed the appeal concerning the siblings, but dismissed the estates appeal against the High Court finding in favour of Ms Chetty. Mr Justice Paul Gilligan, with whom Mr Justice Gerard Hogan agreed, said he accepted that when the siblings got the death certificate, in 2000, they made no effort whatsoever to ascertain whether it related to their stepmother, when any number of avenues would have revealed it did not. While they said they believed it did relate to their stepmother, the reality was, in the civil sense of fraud and the particular circumstances, they behaved recklessly and carelessly as to whether the death certificate was truly their stepmothers, when they proposed to rely on it to regularise title of the property, which they sold for some 254,000. Yesterday, he was given a five-year suspended jail term. Roman Costica, aged 44, of 1 Cannonbrook Avenue, Lucan, Dublin, was sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Costica pleaded guilty to theft at Barnes Jewellers, 44 Patrick St, Fermoy, Co Cork, on August 15th, 2017. The stolen jewellery consisted of 14, 18-carat, white-gold diamond engagement rings. Judge Gerard OBrien imposed the sentence, which he suspended in full. Detective Garda Denis Ryan said the defendant stole the tray of rings last August. The accused has never worked in Ireland and has been living here for 22 years. A Romanian interpreter was assigned to assist him for the case. Judge OBrien said the case came in the middle to upper range for such offences. Aggravating factors consisted of the premeditation by the accused in carrying out the crime and the high value of the jewellery. Detective Garda Ryan said the premeditation was clear from the fact that Costica had gone to the jewellers a number of days before the theft. He said the insurance premium of the owners had increased since this theft. The judge noted Costica had shown remorse and that he was extremely sorry for committing the crime. The national screening service is also writing to the doctors of women who may have had cancers missed by the US firm that analyses smear tests on behalf of Cervicalcheck. The doctors are being asked to confirm that the women, estimated at 15, have been informed that they were part of a review following a cancer diagnosis. The review examined their screening history and found initial screens had failed to pick up precancerous abnormalities. CervicalCheck began writing to these doctors yesterday. A 2014 audit identified that the initial screening result for Limerick woman Vicky Phelan was incorrect, and abnormalities that led to terminal cancer were not picked up in 2011. In 2014, the 43-year-old mother of two was diagnosed with terminal cancer but it was another three years before she was told the results of the three-year-old audit. Ms Phelan took legal proceedings against both the HSE and the US laboratory, and settled in the High Court this week against Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Texas for 2.5m. The case against the HSE was struck out. It emerged in court that up to 15 other women may have been given incorrect test results but CervicalCheck could not confirm if all the women had been told. Amid a public backlash at the manner in which Ms Phelans case, and the other cases, were handled, Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday instructed HSE director general Tony OBrien to conduct a review of the national screening service. The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) said an external review needs to take place to make sure that processes for communicating information about missed abnormalities or missed diagnoses are put in place, and that the responsibility for who must do that is made absolutely clear. In addition, the society said there may be a need to legislate for a duty of candour in state bodies, so that patients get the information relevant to them and to stop the same problems happening again and again. Seamus OReilly, consultant medical oncologist at Cork University Hospital (CUH) had earlier warned on RTE radio that failure to conduct a review could jeopardise the screening service. I would be very concerned if we dont have a review of the service which is transparent and open that women will not trust the service, he said. And thats not good. We know that that screening saves lives and I think that we are going to jeopardise the service by not being transparent about it. Prof OReilly also said there should be a transparent structure in place so that if someone is on the screening programme and they are diagnosed with cervix cancer, there should be an automatic look back in a timely manner. I would say 3-6 months looking at their previous smears, and then an open disclosure meeting with them at the end of a prescribed period of time where they would be told whether there was something there or not. Since 2010, the screening history of women diagnosed with cervix cancer is reviewed and the results sent to her doctor, with advice from Cervicalcheck to use their clinical judgment to communicate this to the woman. Mr Harris said he wanted it to be automatic, going forward, that women whose smear test results were the subject of review were made aware of the review and the results. Prof Grainne Flannelly, the clinical director of CervicalCheck, said she had no difficulty with an external review of the service. ICS trained cancer nurses are available at 1800 200 700. And 11 people had been misdiagnosed, one more than previously stated, it emerged. The review of errors uncovered was completed in February last and involved some 46,235 scans relating to almost 26,000 patients. Quality checks are currently being completed and a report is expected in a number of weeks. In yesterdays edition of Kerrys Eye newspaper, a consultant radiologist at the Kerry hospital, Dr Martin Schranz, said public patients faced serious health risks due to clerical delays in assigning them a patient number, to permit a scan at the hospital. When a patient is referred to the hospital for a scan they had to be assigned a number by clerical staff and delays were occurring, he said. The consultant said he was unable to scan a patient which GPs were anxious about, as a number had not been provided. He said the only option for public patients, in a hurry for a scan, was by access through the emergency department which was creating delays in that department. Meanwhile, the recall at the Tralee hospital had been the biggest-ever such review undertaken in Ireland and included X-rays and ultrasound. The likely errors were said to be the work of a single consultant over an 18-month period between March 2016 and July 2017. The review began in October and was completed in mid-February by a team of external radiologists. A spokesperson for the Tralee hospital yesterday said the look-back of the images of 26,756 patients saw a total of 374 patients recalled for re-imaging. Eleven patients with diagnostic errors have been identified, the hospital said. The quality assurance examination of the audit, meanwhile, is continuing and is expected to finish in the coming weeks. University Hospital Kerry acknowledges the understanding of those patients involved in the process and the patience and courtesy shown to staff members at the hospital," it said. The review was ordered after a small number of serious cancer diagnoses came to light in July last. However, the severity of the problem only became public in December. However, by February 15th, all of the images of the 26,756 patients had been audited by the clinical subgroup which had involved external radiologists. At the time, it was reported 10 patients were identified as having a missed or delayed diagnosis and 272 patients were recalled for repeat imaging. The criticism from RSA CEO Liz ODonnell comes after several rural TDs this week continued to object to proposals to introduce mandatory driving bans for first- time offenders. The bill is being brought by Transport Minister Shane Ross, who was the subject of stinging criticism from a host of rural TDs this week. During one debate, Kerry TD and publican Danny Healy-Rae said a pint and a half of beer never made anyone drunk. Mr Healy-Rae and his brother Michael spoke of the potential damage to rural Kerry if the stricter driving laws are passed by the Dail. Why are you trying to criminalise hard working people who just want to be left alone? Danny Healy-Rae asked of Mr Ross. Everything that is being done is hurting rural Ireland. How have Fine Gael let you do it? Those opposed to the bill this week were called to their feet to declare their position. Among those who rose was Independent Alliance colleague Sean Canney and ex-Alliance member Michael Fitzmaurice. However, Ms ODonnell, while not naming anyone, yesterday fired back at rural TDs and claimed their objections were potentially costing lives. She described as disgraceful and self-serving the behaviour and tactics employed by a minority of rural TDs. Danny Healy-Rae A statement on behalf of the RSA said the passage of the Road Traffic Amendment Bill had descended into farce and filibuster. Clearly unhappy with this behaviour, a number of other deputies raised on points of order the extensive filibustering by these deputies, which is clearly designed to delay the passage of this bill, said the statement. It is also having a knock-on effect in delaying all other important government legislation. This is an unprecedented situation and the delaying tactics being employed by these deputies is putting at risk the introduction of important measures to save lives on the road. Quite simply, its costing lives. These deputies are showing utter contempt for road safety and are not reflecting the views of the vast majority of the people of rural Ireland. It must be heart-breaking and offensive to the bereaved families left to rebuild what is left of their devastated lives. Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary raised in the Dail the tragic case of Limerick mother of two, Vicky Phelan, who had her cervical cancer misdiagnosed after a screening in 2011. The Mayo TD said the attitude by health personnel in the case has been cruel and bizarre in the extreme. In January, Ms Phelan was given between six and 12 months to live. This week the 43-year-old settled a claim against the HSE for 2.5m. The shocking case dominated Dail debate yesterday. The Tanaiste said it has been a shameful series of events, particularly where information flow is concerned. He said sorry to Ms Phelan and her family: The tragedy and challenges that Ms Vicky Phelan and her family are facing now have been made all the more difficult because of the failings in passing information on. For that, as Tanaiste, I want to apologise to her and to her family. All efforts are now being made to check if other women have not been informed of inaccurate cancer test results, the Dail heard. It has now been decided that patients will be advised as part of the process in the future. That will not be optional. It will be automatic. "A process is also under way to identify any other women affected in the same way as Ms Phelan, to ensure that they are informed as is necessary. However, there is now concern that public confidence in cervical cancer screening could fall. Mr Coveney outlined how 250,000 women get such screening annually and that the CervicalCheck service has found more than 50,000 pre-cancerous changes in women, leading to early treatment. It is regrettable that Ms Phelan had to take a court case, added the Tanaiste, and it is also regrettable that patients do not have automatic access to test result changes or audits, he suggested. However, Mr Calleary lambasted health officials for withholding the audit results and information from Ms Phelan in the first place, telling his counterpart: I know the Tanaiste would agree that it is beyond words that Vicky had to face the prospect of terminal cancer, and the fact that information was knowingly withheld from her and her doctors makes it completely inexplicable and frankly absolutely unacceptable. In response, the Tanaiste told the chamber that quick changes are being made to give patients automatic entitlement to information, as opposed to relying on the judgment of a doctor to pass on details. Work is also underway to establish whether there are other women in the same category, he said. Sinn Feins Donnchadh O Laoghaire noted that had Ms Phelans cancer been detected in 2011, she would have had a 90% chance of being cured. The Independent Alliance called off a conference due to be held today as a simmering row between Mr Canney and other members rumbles on. Mr Canney is understood to be considering whether he will leave the group after a significant rift emerged. He had a private meeting with the Taoiseach earlier this week, leading to speculation that he is trying to cut a deal to support the Government from outside the grouping. The Independent Alliance have given the former OPW minister until the weekend to make up his mind. A row erupted in the group after it was decided that Kevin Boxer Moran should remain as Minister for the OPW. Tensions mounted further when Mr Canney moved to vote against the Shane Rosss Road Traffic Bill in the Dail on Tuesday and did not appear when it was again voted upon on Wednesday night. Mr Canney was seen talking to Mr Moran in the Dail chamber yesterday but it is understood they spoke solely about flood prevention measures and housing and not the disagreement. The group had arranged to hold a conference in Athlone today to review their performance in Government and to assess what their priorities should be for the remainder of the Dail term. The five elected TDs, including Mr Canney, had invited Independent Alliance councillors to the meeting, which has now been called off. The letter said the conference was being held to coincide with the second anniversary of the Alliance entering Government. Mr Canney has remained tight-lipped over whether he is planning to leave the Alliance. However, his private meeting with Leo Varadkar suggests that he is trying to hammer out a deal with the Taoiseach to remain in Government as an Independent. Speaking in Belgium, Mr Varadkar moved to play down the private meeting but hinted that he expects Mr Canney to make an announcement soon. Mr Varadkar said: The meeting I had with Sean Canney during the week was private. Its certainly not the first time I met Sean Canney. We would be in touch by phone or by text regularity and of course we meet every couple of weeks. He is, after all, the assistant Government whip. But it was a private meeting. He has a decision to make. Its his decision to make and when he does make it, I think its really up to him to make that announcement. Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald claimed the spat is simply a consequence of the makeup of the current Government which saw ministerial positions being handed out like baubles. She said: It just seems to me to be terribly inappropriate for doing your job at a senior or junior level. We dont have new politics, we have very unstable, old- school patronage parish pump politics I dont think serves people very well. Burma EU Extends Myanmar Arms Embargo, Prepares Individual Sanctions Soldiers are seen during a parade to mark Armed Forces Day in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, on March 27, 2016. / Reuters Burma KNPP, Govt Agree to Further Peace Negotiations Gen Bee Htoo of the KNPPs Peace Negotiation Committee (L) and former Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo, the secretary of the Peace Commission, exchange the signed minutes of their formal talks on April 27 in Loikaw, Kayah State. / Myanmar State Counselors Office / Facebook CHIANG MAI, Thailand Formal peace talks between the government and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) have made progress, with the two sides agreeing to create a mechanism for further negotiations as well as discussing military affairs, negotiators said on Friday. We established a mechanism that would actually guarantee peace and sustain peace in [Kayah] State before signing the NCA, said Shwe Myo Thant, the general secretary of the KNPP. The government and KNPP met for formal talks for two days on April 26-27 in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah (Karenni) state, and agreed on the implementation of bilateral terms through regular discussions at the state level. U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister of the Office of the State Counselor and vice chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), led the government delegation accompanied by Peace Commission chairman Dr. Tin Myo Win, along with commission members and advisers. The talks were also joined by Lieutenant-General Than Tun Oo, the commander of the Defense Ministrys No. 2 Bureau of Special Operations; Kayah State chief minister L Paung Sho; and Kayah State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Myint Wai. The KNPPs Peace Negotiation Committee was led by General Bee Htoo, who was accompanied by eight committee members. Absent was Khu Oo Reh, the KNPPs vice chairman and its key peace negotiator, due to the ill health of his father. According to a joint statement issued on Friday after the formal talks, the two sides agreed to further talks so that the KNPP can sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement [NCA] as soon as possible. Both sides agreed to the creation of a local monitoring team, reestablishing liaison offices at both the state and Union levels, and regular negotiations at the state level on troop movements of both armed forces, according to the statement. In his opening speech on Thursday, Gen Bee Htoo said that while the two sides have not yet been able to reach an understanding on signing the NCA, It is important to keep peace in Karenni State. The KNPP signed its first bilateral ceasefire in March 1995, but it broke down after three months. It entered bilateral ceasefire agreements in 2012 and 2013, and has since entered negotiations for the nationwide ceasefire, but has yet to sign the pact. It was also a member of the now defunct United Nationalities Federal Council, but two of its UNFC partners the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) signed the NCA in February. The KNPP was believed to be reluctant to sign the NCA as three of its soldiers and one civilian were allegedly murdered by Tatmadaw troops at the regional operation command based in Loikaw in December. The Tatmadaw is conducting an inquiry into the incident and the KNPP would continue to push for justice for the three slain KNPP soldiers, Shwe Myo Thant said. He told The Irrawaddy that the negotiators focused on constructive discussions and would continue to build momentum in trust-building. There was also progress in discussions of military affairs. The formal talks were able to build further trust between the KNPP and the government, echoed U Hla Maung Shwe, an adviser to the Peace Commission, referring to the talks on Thursday and Friday. Although the KNPP has not yet committed to signing the NCA, U Hla Maung Shwe told The Irrawaddy on Friday that We were able to explain the current process to the KNPP leaders. They accepted when we explained what the government can currently do best to implement the terms of the bilateral agreements. Also we will fully implement those things that the government can do. The government plans to convene the third session of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference in late May, according to Dr. Tin Myo Win. In his closing remarks on Friday, he said he hoped the KNPP leaders would consider participating in the conference and signing the NCA pact by then. The November 2016 incidents were among a series of explosions to hit the countrys commercial capital that month. Other locations included the Capital Hypermarket in Dawbon Township and near the South Dagon Township Immigration and Population Department. Two other suspects, Soe Min Zaw, also known as Tharnge, and Yasin, also known as Kyaw Gyi, were acquitted. Khin Maung Shwe was also sentenced to an additional 10 years in jail with hard labor for two bomb explosions eight days earlier at Yangons Ocean Shopping Center, one in the car park and another in a mens toilet. The court sentenced Khin Maung Shwe, also known as Ko Shwe or Yacob, and Soe Win, also known as Mohammad Ali, to 10 years in jail with hard labor under Section 3 of the Explosives Act for planting the improvised bombs, which were made from M-150 energy drink cans filled with explosive. Authorities found an exploded bomb between the pipes leading to the toilet of the Immigration and Population Department inside the Parliament compound on Nov. 25, 2016. Another bomb was found unexploded 10 feet away on the same day. YANGON The Yangon West District Court on Wednesday sentenced two men to lengthy prison terms for the 2016 bombings of the Yangon Region Parliament compound and a city shopping center. Police arrive at the scene of an explosion at Yangon Region Parliament on Nov. 25, 2016. / The Irrawaddy Police arrive at the scene of an explosion at Yangon Region Parliament on Nov. 25, 2016. / The Irrawaddy Wife Of Scapegoat Police Officer in Reuters Trial Appeals for Help Some US Allies Caught in Crossfire of Sanctions on Russian Arms Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week Three More NLD Lawmakers to Be Reprimanded ASEAN Summit to focus on Myanmar, S. China Sea but Little Progress Expected India Death Penalty For Child Rape Unlikely to Deter Traffickers, Says Campaigner Launch of Report on Karen Crisis Blocked in Thailand under Pressure from Tatmadaw Chief Minister Nowhere in Sight While Yangon Suffers from Smoke Kachin Relative of Slain IDPs Flees After Tatmadaw Opens Case Against Her Smiles and Long Handshakes Mark Start of Summit Between Leaders of Rival Koreas We do not encourage viewing this site in this width. Please increase the size of your window. Burma Push to Refer Tatmadaw to ICC Could Harm Stability: USDP The USDP holds a press conference on April 24 at its headquarters in Yangon. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAW Attempts to refer Myanmars military leaders to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague pose a serious threat to the countrys stability and transition to democracy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said on Thursday. Attempts to refer the military to the ICC will only create a situation that could affect [national] stability. Removing the military entirely from the countrys politics would make things worse for the country, USDP spokesman Dr. Nanda Hla Myint told The Irrawaddy. In the wake of armed clashes in Kachin States Tanai Township that have trapped many villagers inside the conflict zone and forced thousands to flee, some Kachin groups have urged the UN to refer the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) to the ICC. According to U Thein Tun Oo, the director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, the proposal is an effort to clamp down on the military, which he said is countrys only strong institution. If the effort succeeded, the countrys defense and security could be seriously affected, he said. Frankly, this is inference. Their ambition is to weaken the only remaining organization which has real strength. If the situation continues like this, the political situation will be harmed, especially while military officials and government authorities are trying to build unity, U Thein Tun Oo said. Government officials have said in the past that attempts to take action against the military were not useful in advancing the countrys transition to democracy. Given the countrys history and political situation, we cannot deny the military its role. Any democratically elected government that wants to build a sustainable democracy in a country must join hands with its military, said Dr. Nanda Hla Myint, the USDP spokesman. National League for Democracy central committee member Monywa Aung Shin said he did not support the several attempts that have been made to refer the military to the ICC by activists both in and outside of the country. He said such efforts accused the military of responsibility for abuses without evidence, and warned activists not to raise the issue of the ICC lightly. We have to investigate first to find the root causes [of abuses]. [State Counselor] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has already said that. We have to investigate. When there is armed conflict, there are many effects but we should not blame one side. If there is concrete evidence everyone will accept it, Monywa Aung Shin said. Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the military, said on April 18 that the military handled the incident in Inn Din village, in Rakhine States Maungdaw Township, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Seven military officials and soldiers involved in the killing of civilians in Inn Din village were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor, according to a military statement issued on April 11. News Family of Boy Allegedly Beaten by Monk Files Charges with Police The attack was caught on video and shared on Facebook, causing outrage among the public. The family of a boy who was hospitalized after being allegedly beaten by a Buddhist monk in Madaya Township has filed charges over the incident, police said. The attack, which was caught on video, has caused outrage among many members of the general public after the footage was posted on Facebook. Police Lieutenant Naing Lin, an officer from Madaya, a small town in Pyin Oo Lwin District, Mandalay Region, told The Irrawaddy that the father of the victim had visited police to report how his son, who is in the eighth grade, was severely beaten by a monk at a township monastery. He charged that the monk beat his son in violation of Article 325, which refers to voluntarily causing grievous harm, the police officer said. Lieutenant Nain Lin said that when the boy, who was identified as Wai Phyo Naing, recovers and is released from hospital, the police will interview him to find out what happened. The police have already sent letters to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and township authorities and asked them to let the police take action against the monk, Ashin Soe. Based on legal procedures, if we find the monk has violated the law, we will take action against him, Lieutenant Naing Lin said. U Zaw Min Lwin, a Lower House lawmaker from Madaya Township, also confirmed that the father had sought to bring charges against the monk under Article 325. He said he visited the hospital yesterday to see the victim, who was recovering from his injuries. The incident occurred after Wai Phyo Naing entered the monastery grounds to collect mangos with a friend. Teasing his friend he said his words were like those from an angel that came from the mouth of a dog, using an old Burmese saying for bad people who say good things. His friend complained to Ashin Soe, who was staying at a temple inside the monastery grounds. Ashin Soe and several monks then grabbed Wai Phyo Naing. Video footage that was widely shared on Facebook shows Wai Phyo Naing holding a small bag of mangos as he is hit by the monk. Words from an angel coming out of the mouth of a dog. He said that at our monastery. You all heard it, right? Ashin Soe says to the monks in the footage before he launches into his assault of Wai Phyo Naing. He then asks the other monks to join him in beating the boy. One monk tries to stop Ashin Soe from hitting the boy, but Ashin Soe punches Wai Phyo Naing in the face. He then drags the youth around by his hair, further torturing him. This is a monastic area. Why, why, would you come here and say these things, Ashin Soe says, before kicking the boy in the head and in his back. Ashin Soe also hits the victim around the head with a stick several times. Despite the victim apologizing, Ashin Soe continues to strike him. Many people who saw the video expressed outrage. The footage was posted on April 21 on the same day that Wai Phyo Naing was attacked. Some Facebook users demanded that the authorities take action against Ashin Soe, who they called a bad monk. Some said the monks violent actions had tarnished the image of Buddhism. Others asked what type of monk would beat a boy. According to the principles of Buddhism, monks should show compassion, and they are forbidden from killing, beating or torturing other humans or animals. But, noted several of the Facebook users, some monks who had behaved badly in their lay lives, continued to do so in the monkhood. In Myanmar, any male can enter the monkhood and stay at a monastery near their village or township. Buddhism is reflected in much of the culture of Myanmar, and remains the dominant religion in the country. Some families send their sons who are addicted to drugs or alcohol to join the monkhood in the hope that they will shed their bad habits. News German Investor in Ngapali Resort Eyes Legal Action against Ex-Partner Local holidaymakers arrive at the Amara Ocean Resort (AOR) in Gaw village near southern Rakhine States Ngapali Beach in March. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy YANGON A German businessman has filed an initial complaint in Yangon against the owner of Amara Ocean Resort (AOR), located in southern Rakhine States Ngapali Beach. U Thet Naing, a lawyer for Philipp Quack, the plaintiff in the case, confirmed that they met with Police Captain Mya Tun Kyaw, head of Yangons Myo Ma Mingalardon police station, on Wednesday and filed a complaint letter against resort owner Daw Kalayar Moe. The lawyer declined to provide further information, as a decision is pending on whether to accept the case, and which articles of the criminal code would be invoked. When The Irrawaddy visited Myo Ma Mingalardon police station to clarify whether the case had been accepted, however, a police lieutenant said no foreigners had opened any cases at the station recently. Capt. Mya Tun Kyaw declined to be interviewed. Daw Kalayar Moe told The Irrawaddy on Friday evening that she had also made inquiries at the police station and was told that police have no idea about the case. Quack is acting as plaintiff on behalf of Dr. Jens Ehrahrdt, chief executive officer of DJE Kapital group based in Germany, according to sources close to Ehrahrdt. The company provides in-house financing and asset management to businesses. Quack confirmed meeting with the police captain but declined to offer details. In 2009, Daw Kalayar Moe, her then husband Gerald Schreiber, and another German investor, Eva Felten, jointly inked an agreement to develop a project on a profit-sharing basis on a 17-acre plot of land on Ngapali Beach, as well as a 6-acre freshwater dam located in Gaw village, a few miles from Thandwe Airport. The contract is recognized under the German Civil Code. Under the terms of the agreement, Daw Kalayar Moe and Schreiber each held a 25-percent stake in the project, while Felten held 50 percent. With Myanmar under military rule at the time, foreign investment was generally considered to highly risky. Furthermore, majority property ownership by foreigners is legally prohibited in Myanmar. Therefore, the parties agreed to register the company under the name of a Burmese citizen, and Daw Kalayar Moe acted as the owner. In June 2011, Felten sold her 50-percent stake to Ehrahrdt for US$2.8 million. Contracts show that in the same year, Ehrahrdt lent the project an additional US$1.4 million to fund the completion of the resorts construction. Daw Kalayar Moe and Schreibers marriage ended acrimoniously and they obtained a divorce from a court in Munich, Germany in 2012. The division of their assets became the subject of a protracted legal dispute, partly because all their properties in Myanmar were registered under Daw Kalayar Moes name. Daw Kalayar Moe refused to return Schreiber and Ehrahrdts shares of the Ngapali investment, or to sell her 25 percent stake. In 2013, Ehrahrdt sued Daw Kalayar Moe in a court in Munich and the judge ruled in his favor. Daw Kalayar Moe was fined 15,000 euros and sentenced to three months in prison as she failed to present detailed information about the AOR project. She later appealed the decision to a higher court, according to Schreiber. The outcome of the appeal is pending. In an interview with The Irrawaddy at her residence in Yangon on April 9, Daw Kalayar Moe acknowledged the Munich courts decision, but said the decision was unfair and accused the court of being biased in favor of a German citizen. She declined to provide or show any documents relating to the AOR investment that she had signed. Although the Munich court ruled against Daw Kalayar Moe, the decision has no effect in Myanmar. The plaintiff in the Myanmar case, DJE group, has filed an initial complaint against her but has yet to formally open a criminal case against her in Myanmar yet. News KNLA and Tatmadaw Clash Near Site of Planned Hatgyi Dam Karen National Liberation Army soldiers parade to mark the 67th Karen Martyrs Day in August 2017. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy A clash broke out yesterday between the Myanmar Army and the Karen National Liberation Army in territory held by the KNLA near the site of the planned Hatgyi Dam project in the Mae Tha Wor area, according to Karen sources. The KNLA reported that two Myanmar Army soldiers were wounded when a landmine was detonated, but this could not be confirmed at press time. The KNLA said it suffered no casualties. Padoh Mann Mann, a KNLA leader, told The Irrawaddy today that the fighting erupted at noon when the Myanmar Army entered an area held by KNLA Brigade 7. We heard that they have begun operations to secure the area as part of their preparations to build Hatgyi Dam, Padoh Mann Mann said. He said that the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, had deployed many troops from their Brigade 4 as well as men from Brigades 2, 5, 6 and 7. Fighting had also broken recently between the Myanmar Army and KNLA Brigade 5 in Papun District. We cannot trust the situation because they have deployed a lot troops. We are worried more fighting could break out soon, Padoh Mann Mann said. The Myanmar Army says it wants to rebuild an old road in an area held by KNLA Brigade 5, however the KNLA is opposed to the project as it believes that the road is being restored to serve military purposes. Some 2,000 Karen IDPs from at least five villages have fled from the fighting in Papun District since it broke out last month. They continue to hide in the jungle as they do not feel it is safe to return to their homes. The KNU, which is the political wing of the KNLA, has actively participated in the national peace process with the government and the Myanmar Army since it signed a ceasefire in 2012. The group also signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, and has joined the Panglong Conference. There has been relative peace and some local development in Karen State since the KNLA signed the NCA. The Karen have waged a decades-long civil war with the Myanmar Army and thousands of Karen refugees still remain on the at Thai-Myanmar border in camps unable to return home. Despite the ceasefire, fighting has broken out sporadically between KNLA units and the Tatmadaw and many ethnic Karen are not happy with the current peace deal with the central government. Under the NCA, the Myanmar Army needs to seek permission before entering KNLA-controlled areas or to undertake local development projects. According to the KNLAs Facebook page, the Tatmadaw did not inform the KNLA when they entered the area where the fighting broke out yesterday. News Police Officers Promoted, Transferred Amid Reuters Arrest Scandal Home Affairs Minister Kyaw Swe (center) heads to an event in Naypyitaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAW More than 50 police officers were promoted or transferred in a mass reshuffle this week in the wake of explosive court testimony accusing a brigadier general in the force of setting up two Reuters reporters for arrest in December. Police sources said Home Affairs Minister Kyaw Swe presided over the promotion of five officers to brigadier general and at least 12 to colonel at a ceremony in Naypyitaw on Thursday. They said another 38 officers have been transferred without promotions. I have to move to Shan State as a police brigadier general. The officers promoted to brigadier generals are police Colonel Win Bo, police Colonel Zaw Tun Aung, police Colonel Soe Naing Oo and police Colonel Thet Wai, Kachin State police chief Zaw Khin Aung, who was promoted to brigadier general himself, told The Irrawaddy. Since we were promoted, the junior officers will also be promoted to take over our positions, he added. Brig. Gen. Zaw Khin Aung was transferred from Naypyitaw to Kachin State in October 2017. His move coincided with the arrest of ACE hotel owner Phyo Ko Ko Tint San at the Naypyitaw International Airport for weapons possession, prompting speculation that the transfer was related. Col. Htet Lwin will be transferred from Naypyitaw to Kachin State to replace Brig. Gen. Zaw Khin Aung. Col. Myo Swe will be transferred from Yangon to Naypyitaw to replace Col. Htet Lwin. Brig. Gen. Win Bo will be transferred from Chin State to the No. 3 Security Police Command, while Brig. Gen. Zaw Tun Aung will move from the highway police force to the No.1 Security Police Command. Brig Gen. Soe Naing Oo will remain at the Criminal Investigation Department, and Brig. Gen. Thet Wai will stay with the aviation police force. Im being promoted to police colonel and have to remain with the anti-human trafficking police force. Lieutenant Colonel Htoo Aung from the aviation police force and two others from the maritime police force are also being promoted to police colonel, Col. Thet Naung told The Irrawaddy. The promotions and transfers come less than a week after police Captain Moe Yan Naing told a court in Yangon that two detained Reuters journalists who helped expose the massacre of Rohingya villagers last year by soldiers and civilians in Rakhine State were set up on orders from his superior, Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko. But the officers recently promoted and transferred have no known connections to the case, and Brig. Gen. Tin Ko Ko was not among them. There have been promotions and reshuffles like this inside the police force before and its not special. But it is important to put the right person in the right place, said a retired police officer who now lives in Yangon. When transforming the police force to make it a trustworthy organization, there must be enough and effective police personnel at the ground level who always have to interact with the people, he added. Opinion Ethnic Groups Have Lost Faith in the NLD President U Win Myint, right, and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, center, enter Parliament in March 2016. The NLD leaderships perceived inaction on the militarys offensives against the KIA and TNLA have disappointed many from ethnic minority groups. / The Irrawaddy The country is becoming more divided between the Burman and the other ethnic groups under the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. There are several reasons why. Since the NLD government came to power, the Myanmar Army has launched a string of military campaigns in Kachin State and northern Shan State despite the ongoing peace process at the national level. It prompts the question, why is the Myanmar Army launching more offensives now than during the reign of the former military-installed government of U Thein Sein? U Thein Sein was from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The Myanmar Army and USDP acted as one and yet the Myanmar Army rarely attacked the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) or the Arakan Army (AA), although it did launch several offensives against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) during Thein Seins five years as president. According to a leaked paper from the six monthly meeting of the Tatmadaw, the Ministry of Defense has instructed the armys ground forces to focus their attacks on the KIA and TNLA to destroy their military capability. The Myanmar Army has followed up on this order by launching a wide-ranging offensive in Kachin this year. The KIA and the Kachin people feel that the campaign is intended to eliminate the Christian ethnic Kachin who have a strong armed wing and a close-knit community in northern Myanmar. At the same time, the Myanmar Army has launched a parallel campaign against the TNLA. Only this week, an army convoy of 60 trucks arrived in Lashio with plans to move further north to Namkham and Muse where the KIA and TNLA have bases. The Myanmar Army has applied a different approach to dealing with the TNLA, using the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a signatory to the NCA, as a proxy to attack the TNLA. According to TNLA leaders, the Myanmar Army has helped deploy troops from the RCSS, whose stronghold is in southern Shan, in the north of the state to attack TNLA positions. The TNLA has used guerilla tactics when it attacked the Myanmar Army but a more defensive strategy when engaging with the RCSS. The TNLA this year has suffered heavy casualties and the loss of military material in attacks against the RCSS to maintain its control of some areas. In March, for example, the TNLA engaged in firefights with the RCSS around Kyaukme, causing hundreds of IDPs to flee the area. This strategy has allowed the Myanmar Army to sit back, arms folded and watch the fighting between the TNLA and RCSS. On occasion it has brought in its long-distance artillery to shell the TNLA to support the RCSS, forcing the TNLA to open two fronts. The civil war in Myanmar has raged for decades but one thing that is different now is the reaction of the general public. In the past, protests were held to demand the government and Myanmar Army stop its offensives against the ethnic groups. But this time there has been almost no show of public support for the Kachin, even when the Tatmadaws attacks have resulted in the deaths of civilians from air strikes or from artillery bombardments. Why dont members of the public criticize the Myanmar Army? Many people are apparently worried that their criticism will damage the relationship between the NLD government which still has the support of the majority of the people in the country and the Myanmar Army. Some supporters of the NLD have argued that the civilian government is not mature yet, and it was not the right time to criticize it. This is why some Kachin civil society organizations have appealed to the International Criminal Court to take action against the Myanmar Army for killing civilians and causing thousands of local Kachin to flee while also blocking UN agencies from delivering aid to Kachin IDPs. The Myanmar Army has used all its resources in the military offensive in Kachin including air strikes, ground force assaults and 120 mm long-distance artillery. Some KIA leaders and Kachin community leaders feel that Myanmar Army is acting as if it is locked in battle with a foreign enemy. But the ethnic Kachin are citizens of Myanmar and the KIA is fighting for equal rights for the ethnic Kachin. When the other ethnic groups look at the situation in Kachin state, they increasingly view the NLD and Myanmar Army as one and the same. Both are Burmese. The NLD government keeps silent when the Myanmar Army attacks the Kachin. But, who voted for the NLD? I am an ethnic Mon person who told my family to vote for the NLD. Similarly, people from other ethnic groups who wanted to see the country amend the 2008 Constitution gave their votes to the NLD. We all believed the NLD was only party that would dare to challenge the Myanmar Army. However, shortly after taking power, the NLD, which had told the countrys ethnic groups it would run the country as democracy under a federal system with equal rights for all, tried to name a bridge in Moulmein after Gen Aung San. Many ethnic Mon, including members of my family, were outraged. Ethnic Mon today no longer view the NLD as a party that will help them attain equal rights. It is just a party that tries to rule and manipulate the ethnic minorities to service its own purposes. The story in Kachin State is the same, only more extreme. When the country went to the polls, the KIA leaders reportedly told ethnic Kachin to vote for the NLD. The Kachin also had high expectations of the NLD, but no one from the party has spoken out to condemn the actions of the Myanmar Army, which launched yet another big military offensive against the KIA today. The NLD has built statues of Gen Aung San in Myitkyina despite ethnic local Kachin opposition. It has erected statues of Gen Aung San in other ethnic areas as well including Mon State. Such actions have resulted in more disappointment in the NLD government. The installation of statues of Gen Aung San is not a minor issue. Gen Aung San is a hero of the Burmese, but not for all ethnic people. Some Mon are worried that the statues are intended to be a signal that all the ethnic areas will one day belong to the Burmans. Friday, April 27th, 2018 (1:53 pm) - Score 12,322 The High Court of Justice (Queens Bench Division) has today ruled that a key part of the controversial 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, which would force broadband ISPs to log the internet activity of all their customers for up to 12 months, is unlawful and must be amended. The IPAct contains a variety of measures, although one of the most hotly debated is a change that forces broadband ISPs and mobile operators to store comparatively detailed Internet Connection Records (e.g. details of all the websites / servers youve visited) about all their customers. This can then be supplied to a valid authority without a warrant (here) and occurs irrespective of whether or not youre even suspected of a crime. Needless to say, not everybody was happy with so much data being easily supplied, upon request, to dozens of public bodies (i.e. from local police to financial regulators). Similarly a 2016 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) had already warned that EU law does not allow general and indiscriminate retention of traffic data and location data, except for targeted use against serious crime (here). In keeping with that Liberty, a human rights group, used the ruling as a basis for their 53K crowd-funded challenge against the temporary Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA). The DRIP Act expired at the end of 2016, although much of it was later replicated as part of the wider follow-on IPAct. Fast forward to January 2018 and the Court of Appeal ruled that DRIPA could be said to have breached the rights of British people because, among other things, it did not restrict access to this data, in the context of the investigation and prosecution of crime, to the purpose of fighting serious crime (here). By this point the IPAct had already become law (replacing DRIPA) and the government had moved to soften it via a series of amendments (here). Nevertheless campaigners argued that the governments proposed changes (e.g. they simply weakened the definition of serious crime) didnt go far enough and as such they extended their challenge to the IPAct. Today theyve won a key victory. High Court of Justice Conclusion For the reasons we have given this claim for judicial review succeeds in part, because Part 4 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is incompatible with fundamental rights in EU law in that in the area of criminal justice: (1) access to retained data is not limited to the purpose of combating serious crime; and (2) access to retained data is not subject to prior review by a court or an independent administrative body. We have concluded that the legislation must be amended within a reasonable time and that a reasonable time would be 1 November 2018, which is just over 6 months from the date of this judgment. We have also concluded that the appropriate remedy is a declaration to reflect our judgment. Finally we would like to express our gratitude to all counsel and those instructing them for their assistance in this important case. The Government must now change the law to require prior review by a court or independent administrative body and in the context of crime-fighting to only allow access to data for purposes of combating serious crime. The Court did not rule on the legitimacy of the wide range of other non-crime purposes in the Act because the Government has already proposed legislation to remove them. It also does not stop the data collection itself due to only focusing upon access to the data. Prior to todays ruling, the Government had conceded Part 4 of the Investigatory Powers Act has several of the same flaws but argued it should nonetheless be permitted to continue to apply it until April 2019. The High Court rejected this argument. Javier Ruiz, Policy Director at Open Rights Group, said: The Governments agreement to create a new body for independent authorisation to communications records is positive and welcome. That said, we believe the proposed thresholds for access to data are too low to comply with the requirements of the courts to restrict access to serious crime. We are disappointed the court decided to narrowly focus on access to records but did not challenge the general and indiscriminate retention of communications data. Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, said: Police and security agencies need tools to tackle serious crime in the digital age but creating the most intrusive surveillance regime of any democracy in the world is unlawful, unnecessary and ineffective. Spying on everyones internet histories and email, text and phone records with no suspicion of serious criminal activity and no basic protections for our rights undermines everything thats central to our democracy and freedom our privacy, free press, free speech, protest rights, protections for journalists sources and whistleblowers, and legal and patient confidentiality. It also puts our most sensitive personal information at huge risk from criminal hackers and foreign spies. The Court has done what the Government failed to do and protected these vital values. Liberty noted that todays ruling focuses on just one part of a law that is rotten to the core and they now intend to challenge some of its other elements, such as those that allow the state to hack our computers, hoover up information about who we speak to, where we go, and what we look at online, and collect profiles of individual people even without any suspicion of criminality. The above case was funded by donations from members of the public and today Liberty is launching the second phase of crowdfunding to ensure it can continue with the next stage of the legal challenge The People vs the Snoopers Charter: Part II (target funding of 10,000). Friday, April 27th, 2018 (11:46 am) - Score 6,358 Consumers looking to join one of Sky Broadbands unlimited ISP packages for the first time are now being offered the choice of two rewards, which take the form of either a free Fitbit Charge 2 (RRP 119.99) activity tracker or a 50 Prepaid MasterCard to spend. Apparently this new promotion will run until 7th June 2018 or until they run out of Fitbit devices. New customers can also expect to receive an 12 or 18 month contract, unlimited usage, a wireless router (Sky Q Hub), Sky Talk line rental (standard UK call rates), unlimited access to WiFi hotspots from The Cloud, Sky Shield (Parental Controls and Anti-Malware), Sky Talk Shield nuisance call blocking, Sky Yahoo Email and a 12 month free trial of the McAfee Internet Security Suite. Sky Unlimited * Download speeds up to 17Mbps (1Mbps up) Average speed 11Mb PRICE: 20 a month for 12 months (30 thereafter) + 19.95 one-off setup Sky Fibre Unlimited * Download speeds up to 38Mbps (9.5Mbps up) Average speed 34Mb PRICE: 30 a month for 18 months (38.99 thereafter) + 59.95 one-off setup Sky Fibre Max * Download speeds up to 76Mbps (19Mbps up) Average speed 57Mb PRICE: 35 a month for 18 months (43.99 thereafter) + 59.95 one-off setup One interesting development is that Sky has removed any post-contract pricing from their public package display and offer terms, which now only shows if you go through the ordering system. This is disappointing as we have previously praised Sky for being open and honest with their future costs. We have pasted their post-contract prices above as per usual. Sky also has a couple of capped usage (6GB and 25GB) broadband packages for a few pounds per month less, which again only show up if you go through their ordering system first by selecting another package. In a follow up to CA Tech's recent study showing the need for digital transformation across APJ has reached a "critical level", the company says cultural issues, risk aversion and lack of leadership skills are stinting digital transformation efforts. Masters of the modern software factory and digital transformation tech titans CA Technology have released a new report entitled "Digital Transformation Impact and Readiness" showing that "its not technology or even budget thats holding Australian organisations back when it comes to digital transformation, its culture". The new research, which surveyed over 900 business and IT leaders in mid- to large-sized businesses from across the APJ region, with 100 companies from Australia taking part, has shown that Australian businesses "highlight the barriers faced along this journey, reinforcing internal organisational issues including a lack of leadership and culture, and aversion to risk taking". The report "identified leadership and culture as two key factors hindering the success of digital transformation efforts in Australian organisations. "Of 100 Australian business and IT leaders who participated in the study, 56% believed that strong leadership and the right corporate culture one that embraces risk taking, innovative thinking and talent diversity are lacking." We're told, however, that "these two factors were still recognised as critical to optimise digital transformation opportunities". So, what else did the study uncover? The study uncovered "a chasm whereby while 81% of respondents are confident that their organisations are equipped to be competitive, only 16% have fully formed digital transformation initiatives today. A further five% are looking at fully digitising their whole organisation and 22% have low-risk, small-scale and siloed digital transformation initiatives". Janice Cox, vice-president and managing director of CA Technologies in Australia and New Zealand, said: Playing it safe wont achieve cut-through. In fact, this can be the biggest risk to an organisation. To succeed in todays hyper digital and competitive economy, business and IT leaders have to dream big and be bold in harnessing disruptive technologies. Then, of course, they need to ensure that everyone in the business is aligned and working collaboratively towards a common goal. The article continues below, please read on! Naturally, there's more. The research also showed that "most organisations are still rolling out digital transformation initiatives with the desire to improve operational efficiencies (57%) followed by workforce productivity and collaboration (53%). Yet only half of respondents have the right technologies and technical skillsets to enable digital transformation". Cox continued: This indicates that business priorities and objectives are not met with reality, and suggests a misalignment between frontline staff and department leaders. It also reinforces the need for technology to be part of a holistic business strategy that starts from the boardroom and progresses through every facet of an organisation, rather than considered as an afterthought." And, while "digital disruptions have impacted businesses around the world, the research from CA suggests that in Australia, a clear roadmap is absent today". The research also shows that: Only 32% say their organisation has clearly laid out a roadmap and role that technology plays in the companys digital transformation vision; Only 32% say their organisation has invested in the right resources to provide staff with next-gen computing resources; Only 34% say their organisation has set the right policies and technologies in place to protect against cyber attacks and ensure security; Only 34% say their organisation has the right manpower and talents to provide always-available IT support; Only 36% say their organisation can create, launch and maintain quality apps as part of overall digital transformation efforts; and Only 34% say their organisation can support technology resources and requirements with agility. Cox concluded: Right now, organisations need to urgently reinvent traditional business models and growth strategies by putting digital first. These days, every company is a software company and to remain relevant in todays competitive marketplace, businesses must be built to change, not built to last. "CA Technologies continues to invest heavily in its Modern Software Factory strategy as a blueprint to help businesses successfully achieve their digital transformation goals". You can download the full 21-page research study report here after registration, while iTWire's earlier coverage on the "Need for digital transformation across APJ reaches 'critical level'" is here. iTWire's three-part series on the content at last year's CA World 2017 can be seen and read here. CA Technologies' infographic from the report is embedded below the full resolution version can be downloaded here. Samsung spent a fortune buying market share in recent years, but we always found its TVs wanting. Now we find ourselves wanting its TVs. Has Samsung suddenly made the best TV on the market? A short, recent history of TVs A short, recent history of the TV market reads like this. LG invented OLED TVs and they were amazing with their genuine, true blacks and vibrant colours. Meanwhile, everyone else created flavours of LCD TV, which couldn't compete for quality, but often could on price. The notable exception here was the original, generation-one version of Hisense's Series 7 ULED TV which somehow managed to produce stunning colours while maintaining almost-true blacks all at a giveaway price. But that's gone now. However, then the TV manufacturers decided that High Dynamic Range (HDR) was the most important thing in the TV world and many LCD TVs got worse. Most seemed to think the best way to improve contrast was to ramp-up the brightness to achieve higher details in dark areas. In doing so they ruined true-black performance and set the TV world back a year or so. During this time, LG's OLED has ruled supreme and even licensed its technology to the likes of Panasonic and Sony. The same manufacturers continued to release rear-lit TVs throughout this period but all of them had a habit of creating distracting halo-effects over-illuminating small areas of detail on the screen to create bright patches where there shouldn't be any or illuminating letter-box bars to the detriment of top-quality movies. In all this time, Samsung didn't seem to care much about contrast and achieving true blacks. Its top TVs got super-bright but looked bad in dark rooms. Why is all of this relevant? Because Samsung may have just made the best TV in the world. What about LG OLED? It's still borderline-impossible to pick flaws in LG's picture performance. But now there are reports of the TVs suffering from image burn-in a killer flaw which seriously afflicted its predecessor technology, the plasma TV. While it's hard to quantify and doesn't yet appear to be widespread, it's certainly appeared on some TVs and that suddenly makes people think twice about investing heavily in a long term member of the household. Meanwhile Samsung is offering a 10-year no burn-in guarantee with its new QLED TVs. That's a comforting thought if you're going to spend so much. Top quality tests Our favourite tests for putting a TV through its paces involve the opening scenes of The Martian including the pre-film, studio credits. From the opening of the Fox Searchlight segment and seeing that there was virtually-no light-bleed into the letterbox bars, we knew that the contrast we saw at the product launch was no fluke: they stayed black despite blooming light right next to them. . The Samsung Q9 got off to a good start: fending off searchlights and maintaining true-black letterbox bars. On occasions where a solitary, bright object was present on an otherwise-black screen, there was some (inevitable) light bleed, but it's probably the least weve seen from any rear-lit LCD TV and wasn't distracting. A very minor issue was panning through space, on some viewings and not others, when remote star clusters exhibited some very-minor fluttering as the 480 backlight-zones worked out what they were supposed to do. However, this only appeared in one picture mode out of the many we tested. It's very difficult to photograph this icon in a dark room. The camera has actually exaggerated the low-grade halo effect caused by the backlighting. And that's a first issue. Samsung has many "default" settings on this TV, but also many Expert Settings. We actually found that our favourite picture appeared when turning most of the "enhancements" off or to "Low" settings, but much will depend on personal preference. Some listed 'improvements' made motion a bit juddery while others washed out colours or contrast. This generally happened to very minor degrees and most people will happily stick with out-of-the-box settings but enthusiasts will want to tinker to get the picture just-so. At this point, it's worth remembering that LG's OLED is pretty-much perfect out-of-the-box whatever you watch. Colours popping on a background that's essentially true-black with minimal, significant halo effect. Nonetheless, it was very rare to be able to detect any detrimental effect on the true-black nature of letter-box bars: whether it was with the latest 4K Blu-ray movies or on 4:3, 480p movies which positioned them at the sides. In short it's the best contrast performance we've seen from any top-end LCD TV. The Expert Settings are extensive and allow a great deal of tinkering. Colour performance We've been very impressed with the colours that QLED can display. Essentially the whole gamut is capable of popping off the screen only now it does that right next to true-blacks. Even the most technical 4K showreels looked amazing in terms of saturation and vibrancy. The 4K 60fps Costa Rica show reel in YouTube is a great way to show off colours, motion and detail. Upscaling An old Achilles heel of Samsung's has been its upscaling prowess. If you only ever watch Standard Definition TV or movies which is not normally through choice, but availability in Australia then there are better TVs to be had. But while Samsung's rivals have bunched into an ever-more-cramped pack at the front of the race, Samsung is now just a couple of steps behind. It could still be better, but It's not bad. As to whether it matters much nowadays, what with so much High Definition and Ultra-High Definition content available across broadcast TV, Blu-ray, Netflix and Amazon Prime, depends on the reader. Samsung's upscaling still isn't quite as sharp as with competitors, but it's not far off as this 480p screenshot on a massive 75-inch, 4K TV demonstrates. Apps One place where Samsung has come to excel in recent years is its app support. While the likes of Sony's Android TV apps technically offer much more choice, Samsung has almost all of the important, Australian apps built-in to a very-usable navigation bar. That said, Foxtel appears to have gone missing meaning that those wanting to watch occasional sporting or HBO content will have to stream it from another device. Nonetheless, Samsung's automatic-assigning of relevant icons to different input ports is continually getting better so there's increasingly-less likelihood that you'll need to scroll through multiple inputs to find the one you want. Samsung has almost all of Australia's main TV apps easily accessible. Samsung's automatic icon selection helps make choosing inputs simple. It's also worth noting the three new game modes which reduce HDTV lag to 21.8ms, 15ms and 6.8ms depending on what levels of image processing you want to keep or remove. There's also a Steam Link app available. Ambient mode One of the real wow factors of the TV is Ambient Mode which impressed pretty much every technology journalist who saw it at the launch. The launch event pictures speak for themselves. However, when we reviewed the TV we were reminded that the effectiveness of the translucent effect depends greatly upon the quality of the photo of the wall. If you're attaching your TV to a wall, for pity's sake take a very good picture of that wall first. If you use a low-resolution, badly-lit, upscaled picture then the effect is ruined. Good Ambient Mode. Bad Ambient Mode. Remote TV companies like to rave about their voice control and Sony (via Android) and LG have impressed us in the past with their accuracy with complex searches. Samsung's voice assistant technology is still some way behind as anyone who has used the company's recent phones would testify. The Samsung One remote has basic features, but the TV's menus are easy to navigate. This is a shame because the 'One remote' offers minimal features to the extreme. Manufacturers say that this keeps things ultra-simple, but this is countered by the difficulty of finding any setting out of the norm. Fortunately, Samsung's on-screen navigation is very good and intuitive so this wasn't much of an issue. Connectivity That Samsung has now got only one, tiny cable (called the 'One Clear cable') connecting power and all inputs to such a massive TV is very impressive. We saw the Teflon-coated cable at the launch and were impressed at how power was transmitted without heat generation or signal interference the latter is due to images being transmitted via optic fibre. Samsung Q9 connection box The Teflon-coated power/signal cable is barely perceptible. The connection box can subsequently be easily hidden no matter what size or shape dwelling you have. Sound At some point during our testing we switched off the sound bar that was attached to the TV. That we didn't realise we'd done it demonstrates just how impressed we were with the built-in speakers. Audio fidelity is well-rounded and punchy with some decent, booming bass yet dialogue remains consistently-clear. A good surround sound system will always beat it, but a regular or cheap one probably won't. Value Samsung's top-end Q9 QLED models aren't cheap at $10,499 (RRP) for the 75-inch model and $6,999 for the 65-inch model. The latter represents significantly-better value. While it will be tricky to negotiate big discounts early-on, potential buyers would do well to keep an eye on any upcoming sales as prices plummet when later models appear. That won't be for a while, but there's only so much better next-year's product-line refresh can be. Conclusion So, is LG still the king of the TV hill? For day-to-day use, we'd say it's still best-in-show thanks to practically-unbeatable image quality and usability. However, if image burn-in is a widespread thing, then that short-term gain could come at a massive long-term loss and Samsung is waving around that 10-year no-burn in warranty (which we suspect some buyers may try to engineer 9.9-years down the line to get a free, new TV) in an enticing manner. How important this is to you will depend from person to person: the anxiety factor might be enough to sway some. Nonetheless, LG OLED's flawless facade now has a crack in it, and if you want to be sure of top-reliability, the new Samsung 2018 Q9 potentially provides that at very-little detriment to quality. While we suspect that Hisense's original Series 7 TV was the best all-round LCD TV that we've reviewed, that doesn't exist anymore. Perhaps its recently-launched successor, the P7 will soon wow us once more? But regardless of that, Samsung's 2018 Q9 QLED is the best top-end LCD TV we've ever seen. The Australian Labor Party has urged the government to consult consumer groups and the community around the National Relay Service about any changes that are being considered, to ensure that the same level of access as at present is maintained. The NRS enables Australians who are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, to make and receive telephone calls. Labor's shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland and shadow minister for disability and carers Senator Carol Brown said in a joint statement they were disappointed that Communications Minister Mitch Fifield had referred to the NRS as a "safety net". During the ABC's Q and A programme a couple of weeks ago, Fifield, who was part of the panel, was asked by a questioner whether the NRS would be retained at the same level of access. He assured the questioner that the service would not be pared down. Rowland and Brown said Fifield had issued a tender which opened the possibility that several NRS services, which are currently available 24/7, would not be required to continue operating on the same basis. "If every member of the Australian Parliament can pick up a phone at 1am and make a telephone call, then this right should exist for persons with a disability or impairment as well," they said. "For now, we are prepared to give the government the benefit of the doubt as the NRS should be a bipartisan endeavour. "However, if the tender begins to head down the wrong path, Labor stands ready to defend the rights of the community and the principles of access and equity upon which the NRS was founded." They said the NRS was an enabler to ensure that all Australians could participate in society on an equitable basis and because of this, the ongoing accessibility and quality of the NRS should be the priority. New Zealands competition regulator, The Commerce Commission, has launched a study of fibre services, to help it prepare for future regulation of fibre networks across the country. The study has been launched as New Zealands fibre networks are currently being built by telecommunications infrastructure provider Chorus and three local fibre companies as part of the governments ultrafast fibre broadband initiative. The networks are designed to supply voice and broadband services to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. This study will give us a better understanding of providers networks, fibre services, network operations and business practices, Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale said. The New Zealand parliament is currently considering the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Bill which proposes a utility-style regulatory regime for fibre networks, similar to what applies for energy networks and airports. Implementing any new regulatory regime for fibre will be a major undertaking for the Commission. It is important we take steps now to increase our understanding of the industry and inform our future work, Dr Gale said. Starting this study now under our market studies power in the Telecommunications Act gives us a head start on gathering information from Chorus and the local fibre companies. We expect the information about fibre services to be useful regardless of the form that regulation might take. Dr Gale said the Commission which is holding a workshop with the industry on 2 May intends to publish a high-level summary of its findings at the conclusion of the study. The dispute between the Tasmanian Government and Basslink, the company that manages the undersea data and power cable that links Tasmania to the Australian mainland, will go to arbitration, following a notification from the government to the company. The dispute centres around a Basslink outage that occurred in December 2015 and was not fixed for six months. Tasmania blames Basslink; the latter in turn maintains that it was a force majeure event. In a statement on Thursday, Basslink said it had recently attended meetings with representatives of the state to try and resolve the dispute in accordance with the Basslink Operation Agreement. Given that no concrete resolution was reached during these meetings, the company was notified by the Tasmanian Government on Thursday that the dispute had been referred to arbitration. Last month, the government formally lodged a notice of dispute,damages of $122 million for the outage. Basslink responded to the notice by denying the allegations and saying it would follow the dispute resolution steps set out in the agreement. In Thursday's statement, Basslink also said that the electricity interconnector, which was hit by an outage after routine maintenance was begun on 24 March, would be back and working by 31 May. It added that it was looking at every possible way to advance this date. Threats are constantly evolving and, just like everything else, tend to follow certain trends. Whenever a new type of threat is especially successful or profitable, many others of the same type will inevitably follow. The best defenses need to mirror those trends, so companies get the most robust protection against the newest wave of threats. Our goal with these reviews is to discover how cutting-edge cybersecurity software fares against the latest threats, hopefully helping you to make good technology purchasing decisions. We'll explain how these new and trending cybersecurity tools work, who they're for, and where they fit into a security architecture. Each of these products was tested in a local testbed or, depending on the product or service, within a production environment provided by the vendor. Where appropriate, each was pitted against the most dangerous threats out there today as we unleashed the motley crew from our ever-expanding malware zoo. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are some of the most innovative and useful, and, dare we say, best security products on the market today. Best security software 2019 reviews AttackIQ FireDrill Aqua Avanan Awake Security Platform Barracuda Sentinel Bitglass Blue Hexagon CrowdStrike Falcon CybeReady Cynet 360 Fidelis Deception FireMon GreatHorn JASK Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC) LogRhythm Morphisec NeuVector Nyotron Paranoid Perimeter 81 Power LogOn SlashNext XM Cyber HaXM AttackIQ FireDrill Category: Penetration testing AttackIQ FireDrill was created to watch our watchers. Its a penetration testing tool, but one that is configured to operate from the inside, with the primary goal of identifying flaws, misconfigurations and outright shortcomings in all other cybersecurity defenses. Read the full review. Aqua Category: Container security The Aqua Cloud Native Security Platform uses an inherent advantage of containers, the fact that they are always highly specialized for their jobs, to create a cybersecurity structure based on whitelisting. Read the full review. Avanan Category: Email security The Avanan platform is designed to make managing email security across a vast corporate landscape both effective and accessible. Avanan takes a unique approach to accomplish this with a multi-vendor solution that layers protections within the security stack, tying them together into a centrally managed dashboard that supports whatever native protections already exist in cloud-based email platforms. The idea is that Avanan can catch the advanced threats that Microsoft, Google or other cloud-based email providers miss, identifying dangers like phishing, malware, data leakage and even full account takeovers. Read the full review. Awake Security Platform Category: Network security This advanced network traffic monitoring platform identifies hidden threats and those that dont use traditional malware, making it extremely powerful and useful in todays threat environment. Read the full review. Barac ETV Category: Network security TLS 1.3 prevents any decryption or inspection in transit, seeing it as a compromise. As such, it may soon be impossible at most organizations to inspect encrypted traffic without first completely decrypting and assembling it. And doing that gives malicious code a chance to perform its nefarious mission. That situation is why Barac created the Encrypted Traffic Visibility (ETV) Platform. Its designed to analyze encrypted data streams and determine whether or not they are malicious without unencrypting them or doing any kind of deep inspection that would indicate tampering under TLS 1.3. Read the full review. Barracuda Sentinel Category: Email security Instead of sitting at the gateway like traditional email protection platforms, Sentinel connects at the API level to any cloud-based email program. Its uses artificial intelligence to learn how users communicate so that it can spot anomalies that might be an indication of an attack later on. Read the full review. Bitglass Category: Mobile security The Bitglass platform is essentially an agentless and lightweight MDM platform without any of the over-burdensome complexity or draconian rules those mobile management tools normally require. Bitglass is installed in the cloud, which technically makes it a cloud access security broker (CASB). How it works is that users on mobile devices first sign into a portal and then access all of their work data through Bitglass. The interface is seamless to users, with only the Bitglass name being inserted into the URL field at the top of the browser page to indicate that Bitglass is enforcing policies on those interactions. Read the full review. Blue Hexagon Category: Network security While most platforms with machine learning look for anomalies in things like traffic or user behavior, Blue Hexagon actually looks for threats. And it will make a determination about whether a file, process, document or other program is malicious in under one second every time. There is no gray area with Blue Hexagon. Things are either threats or not. Its ability to spot threats so quickly can close many of the gaps that hackers try to exploit, leaving them without enough time to capitalize on any foothold they may briefly establish. Read the full review. CrowdStrike Falcon Category: Endpoint detection and response While EDR is increasingly important, its also becoming a bit commoditized in that many of the offerings are very similar. The biggest differentiator with Falcon is that the brains of the platform exist completely in the cloud, which gives it unlimited scalability as well as a massive footprint of users and enterprises. Read the full review. CybeReady Category: Security awareness The CybeReady platform is designed to educate users about the dangers of phishing and other email attacks that target them and evaluate them as they perform their normal jobs, without getting in the way or taking up too much of their time. Training is done only as needed and always on the spot, and never takes up more than about two minutes. On the backend, entire training campaigns can be crafted for the next several months in only a few minutes, so the administration of the CybeReady platform is minimized. Read the full review. Cynet 360 Category: Network security The goal of a fully autonomous and completely effective cybersecurity platform has never been fully realized. But that is exactly what the Cynet 360 autonomous breach protection platform aims to do. From our testing, its clear that they are very close, with a nearly zero touch installation process, complete visibility through agent sensors, and an automatic response rate that is about 98 percent accurate. Read the full review. Fidelis Deception Category: Deception Today's skilled hackers know, or at least suspect, that deception is in place and won't blindly follow breadcrumbs to fake assets. To combat this, Fidelis Deception creates realistic, living deception assets. Read the full review. FireMon Category: Network security A pioneer in the field of network security policy management, FireMon provides full visibility into networks and devices, and overlays that knowledge with the rules, platforms, hardware and programs designed to protect it. Read the full review. GreatHorn Category: Email protection GreatHorn takes a modern and highly effective approach to protecting enterprise email that goes well beyond the capabilities of legacy mail scanners. Read the full review. JASK Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC) Category: SIEM Everything about the JASK ASOC is different from how a traditional SIEM operates. For one, the entire ASOC infrastructure exists inside a secure Amazon Web Services cloud. Network administrators only need to install a JASK software sensor to help facilitate the link between the local console and the brains of the platform in the cloud. The ASOC doesnt even issue alerts in the traditional sense. Instead, it coordinates all of the events and anomalies that it discovers and groups them together. Only once it believes that it has found solid evidence of a threat does it present what it calls an insight to IT teams monitoring the SOC. Read the full review. LogRhythm Category: SIEM LogRhythm Enterprise offers a lot of protection and assistance for finding and remediating threats and sometimes even pre-threat actions. Read the full review. Morphisec Category: Intrusion prevention Morphisec is focused on prevention of a specific family of advanced exploits that either use or reside in system memory. These exploits are very difficult to detect using traditional methods and how most advanced attacks get around signature-based antivirus protection these days. The platform scrambles system memory by moving the default locations for system resources that all programs use and most advanced malware is designed to exploit. This includes scrambling the locations of .dlls, memory structures and commonly used resources. Read the full review. NeuVector Category: Container security The NeuVector container security platform was created specifically to safeguard containerized environments. In fact, its deployed as a privileged container itself within the environment that it will be protecting. From its position within the containerized environment, it can monitor all Layer 7 network traffic, including that moving between containers and the host orchestration software. In this way, it can protect against attacks made against individual containers or the entire environment. Read the full review. Nyotron Paranoid Category: Endpoint security The philosophy behind Paranoid is that there is an infinite number of ways that hackers can attack a computer and a network, with new techniques popping up all the time. But if an attacker gains access to a system, there are a limited number of things they can actually do based on what is allowed by the operating system. The platform could probably stop most attacks against endpoints on its own, but does not make that claim. Instead, it is designed to thwart advanced intrusions that get around or through every other network protection. It acts as a last line of defense and was very effective in that role during our testing. Read the full review. Perimeter 81 Category: Network security Starting with the concept of zero trust networking, VPN tunneling and secure network access as a service, Perimeter 81 recently branched out and are now providing a near plug and play solution for more elements of cybersecurity served through the cloud and on demand. Read the full review. Power LogOn Category: Authentication Power LogOn brings together 2FA with a network-based password manager. The user first logs onto a computer or workstation (using multi-factor authentication, say a smartcard and a PIN) that has the Power LogOn authentication client installed. That client then creates a trusted node that takes other logon information to authenticate with the network portion, which admins install and manage. The Power LogOn network portion acts as a network-based password manager, creating and managing long and complex passwords for each user and website. The admin portion gives the admin complete control over the users logon, including defining how many factors 1FA, 2FA or 3FA to require for the initial client logon, and how it is accomplished (e.g., PIN, smartcard or biometrics). Read the full review. SlashNext Category: email protection SlashNext has taken the old adage of doing one thing very well to heart. There are two products available to organizations. The first is a detailed and dedicated phishing threat feed that can be used to block phishing sites as they pop up. The second is an appliance that provides even more protection and is able to halt even targeted attacks aimed at a single organization that wouldnt trigger any other kind of alert. Read the full review. XM Cyber HaXM Category: Penetration testing The HaXM program from XM Cyber aims to make automated penetration testing more reliable and accessible by improving on the current state of similar programs in several ways. First, HaXM does not require any knowledge of attack techniques. For example, you dont have to scan for a specific code injection vulnerability on a web server. You simply need to tell the program that the web server is an important asset in your network and then let HaXM discover all the ways that it could be compromised. Second, HaXM offers continuous scanning, so results are never aged out over time. And finally, in addition to performing red team type exercises, HaXM offers detailed advice on how to fix problems it discovers and which ones should be fixed first, effectively taking on the role of a so-called blue team in security exercises. Read the full review. 2018 security software reviews 2017 security software reviews IT leaders looking to retain top talent have their work cut out for them this year, as one-third of IT workers are eyeing a new job in 2018, according to the 2018 IT Career Outlook report from Spiceworks. But the reasons why IT pros are on the hunt for new employment underscore generational differences, Spiceworks found in surveying 2,163 IT workers from North America and Europe. As such, the trick to retaining current staff, or attracting new workers, may differ depending on whether youre targeting millennials, Gen Xers or baby boomers. Here are 6 reasons why your IT workers are ready to quit in 2018 and how generational needs and concerns are impacting your ability to retain them. IT workers are satisfied, but feel underpaid Across every generation, job satisfaction is strong, with 70 percent of IT workers saying they are content with their current job. But while they enjoy their careers, nearly two-thirds of IT pros said they arent happy with their compensation. By generation, 68 percent of millennials (those born between 1981 to 1997) said they feel underpaid, while 60 percent of Gen Xers (those born between 1965 to 1980) and 61 percent of baby boomers (those born between 1946 to 1964) said the same. Of those who said they were looking for a new job in 2018, 81 percent of millennials said they wanted to get a higher salary, while 70 percent of Gen Xers and 64 percent of baby boomers said the same. Millennials may be more motivated by salary considering they make an average salary of $50,000 per year. Meanwhile, Gen Xers in IT earn an average of $65,000 per year, while baby boomers average around $70,000 per year. Some companies are already taking steps to secure their junior workers with a pay raise, as 62 percent of millennials expect to get a raise in 2018 from their current employer and 31 percent expect a promotion. Only 48 percent of Gen Xers and 35 percent of baby boomer respondents said they expect a raise this year, and 16 percent of Gen Xers and 7 percent of baby boomers expect a promotion. Millennials and Gen Xers want more skills A common reason for wanting to jump ship to a new job is to learn new skills. Here, millennials are the most likely to leave, as 79 percent said they want to find new jobs to expand their skillsets. Gen Xers are a little more comfortable in the skills they are using in their current roles; still, 63 percent cited a desire to advance their IT skills as a motivation to find a new job. Less than half (49%) of baby boomers said the same. Of all the IT workers surveyed, 81 percent said security and cybersecurity will be the most important skills in 2018. Networking (80%), infrastructure hardware (79%), end-user devices (76%), storage and backup (75%) and virtualization (62%) were close behind. The least important new skills to lean this year are VOIP and collaboration (24%) and application development and DevOps (15%), according to those surveyed. Work-life balance When it comes to seeking a better work-life balance, Gen Xers lead the way, with 43 percent citing this as a reason to find a new job; 39 percent of baby boomers said the same. Millennial workers arent as concerned with finding new work to improve work-life balance only 32 percent cited it as a motivation to find a new job in 2018. If youre trying to retain Gen X workers, evaluate the corporate culture to make sure employees feel they can enjoy their lives outside of work. These employees might value flexible work schedules, telecommuting opportunities and other benefits to give them a better sense of balance. They want IT to be a priority If your company doesnt prioritize IT, you might be pushing IT workers out the door. Of the respondents who said theyre looking for a new job, 41 percent of millennials and Gen X workers said they wanted to work for a company that makes IT more of a priority, and 34 percent of baby boomers said the same. If IT workers feel held back in their jobs by bureaucratic red tape, unrealistic budgets or a lack of buy-in from executives, they might look for a company that does value IT. Technology is a top priority for any modern business, so its important to make sure your IT department is well-staffed, has realistic budgets and feels respected in the organization. Baby boomers are burnt out Burnout is another significant reason to jump ship, with the likelihood of being overworked pushing IT pros to seek a new job increasing as they age. Millennials are the least burnt out at their jobs only 30 percent of those looking for a new job said it was because of burnout. Gen X is a little more burnt out, with 35 percent citing it as a reason to find a new job. Baby boomers feel the most overworked 40 percent of baby boomers looking for a new job in 2018 are trying to escape or avoid burnout in their current role. If you have experienced IT workers who have been with the company for years, it might be smart to check in and see how theyre feeling in their role. Its important to catch employee burnout before it becomes a problem, otherwise you risk pushing your seasoned pros to another company. Millennials want better benefits and perks Baby boomers are more satisfied with their corporate benefits only 26 percent said it was a motivating factor in finding a new IT job and only 13 percent cited better employee perks as a reason they were looking for a new job. Gen X isnt as motivated by benefits or perks either only 25 percent want better benefits and 20 percent want better perks. Comparatively, 34 percent of millennials are motivated by better benefits and 26 percent by better employee perks. For companies interested in attracting or retaining millennial workers, it might be time to revisit your corporate benefits and perks, especially for entry-level and junior employees. Reddit 7 Email 375 Shares The remarkable face to face meeting of the leaders of North and South Korea is being watched with hope by many observers, given the long decades of enmity between the two and the recent nuclear sabre-rattling of President Trump. At least in my circles, I see virtually no one condemning the meeting, though many are skeptical that it will lead to any practical result. Winston Churchill said, Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war. Harold Macmillan later misquoted it as it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war, which is the quote that has stuck in the popular imagination. The meaning is much the same in either case, and the maxim is little attended to in either of its forms. The administration of George W. Bush was notorious for trying to pretend that those states it viewed as enemies did not exist. Bushs officials and diplomats tried not even to be in the same room with an Iranian diplomat, and Syria was likewise thoroughly scrubbed from existence. Of course, Iran and Syria were still there, and arguably handily defeated Bushs Iraq boondoggle. Ignoring them did not equal defeating them. Moreover, both ignoring and boycotting them in some ways backfired. The US sanctions on Syria may have played a role in tipping it into insecurity. They were intended to do so, but it is difficult to see how the US benefited, whereas Iran came out on top. In contrast, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on several occasions hosted Iranian government figures in Riyadh. Now, the new Saudi regime of King Salman and his son, crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, have adopted the old Bush policy. They are all about denigrating rival states that dont toe their party line, and about shunning them. So heres an idea. Bin Salman should meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for a wideranging discussion of their regional conflicts and Cold War. Even the quirky populist, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had been brought over for consultations by the previous king. In contrast, Rouhani is an experienced negotiator and a man of wide culture, and meeting him would be a hundred times more productive than meeting his predecessor. Given that Bin Salman likes to kidnap people and put them in a golden cage while he squeezes them, any meeting he conducts with Rouhani should probably be on neutral ground, lest the Iranian president end up being Ritzed. Muscat in Oman would work. Or Yerevan, Armenia. Saudi Arabias Bin Salman feels as though he is losing to Iran regionally. Iraqs Shiite-led government tilts to Tehran. So does the secular one-party Baath state in Syria, inasmuch as both Damascus and the ayatollahs want to repress Sunni fundamentalists (some of them allied with Saudi Arabia). Lebanons current cabinet has a slight majority of Hizbullah and its allies (including Christian allies), though the prime minister is a dual Lebanese-Saudi national. Bin Salman blames his failures in the Yemen war on Iranian support for the Zaydi Helpers of God (Houthis), though Irans touch there is likely very light and most of the weapons the Houthis have are American, transferred to them by friendly elements in the Yemeni army. Zaydis, and many Yemeni Sunnis, would be mobilized against a Saudi invasion whether Iran existed or not. Two decades ago, three of these states Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen were Saudi allies, and Syria was relatively unimportant. The geopolitical struggle is made all the more momentous because of Irans small, civilian nuclear enrichment program, which has now largely been mothballed as a result of the 2015 UNSC Iran deal (JCPOA). Saudi Arabia, like Israel, remains deeply skeptical of Irans ultimate intentions. New Secretary of State Mike Pompeos first order of business appears to be to sabotage the 2015 Iran deal in cahoots with Likud PM Binyamin Netanyahu and MbS. (More on that anon). So the Saudi-Iran standoff has some resemblances to that between the two Koreas. If the leaders of the latter two are widely recognized as being wise to meet, then why wouldnt it be equally desirable for MbS to sit face to face with Rouhani? Bonus video: CGTN from last week: Saudi Arabia blames Iran for regional instability Reddit Email 236 Shares The fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is sealed. It is set to expire by mid-May, as President Trump looks bent on ditching it. He wont re-certify the deal unless some terrible flaws are fixed by Washingtons European allies Britain, France and Germany. The terrible flaws are three additional elements Trump is seeking to latch onto the original deal Irans ballistic missile program, curbs on regional influence, and further limitations on Tehrans freedom to restart the nuclear program under the deal after 2025. The demand to incorporate the additional elements, which Iran interprets as an encroachment on its sovereignty, is simply a clear death blow to the deal. In a tit-for-tat move, Iran has threatened to withdraw from the deal if the US does so. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview with the Associated Press, has stated that [T]here wont be any deal for Iran to stay in. Though he loathes the Iran deal, Trump is creating a lot of surprises by his readiness to engage the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom he once denounced as the little rocket man. In a dramatic shift from his past bellicose mood, he recently praised Kim Jong-un as a very open and very honorable leader. Not only that, he is looking forward to a historic summit with Kim in late May or early June to broker a deal on North Koreas nuclear program and advances. So, why does Trump stand ready to tear up the Iran deal but seek to negotiate with North Korea? Iran and North Korea are, of course, two different cases operating from two different geopolitical theatres in the world. They stand poles apart ideologically, politically, culturally and economically. What brings them together, like their allies China and Russia, is their common quest for independence in world politics, an urge to walk past the US shadow and their common opposition to US hegemonic dominance in their respective regions. Their resort to nuclear option has been solely guided by an overarching need to achieve security autonomy to discourage the US from aggressing them now and in the future. North Korea has succeeded in achieving the ultimate nuclear deterrent by defying all US-led regional and international odds, while Iran opted to accept curbs on its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for sanction reliefs. Why Trump engages North Korea President Trump sees North Korea as a more formidable foe, a foe equipped with more strategic tools than Iran. It shares common borders with one of the worlds two superpowers Russia and another great power China that has protected the North Koreans at least since the 19501953 Korean War. Clearly, Kim Jong-un is negotiating with the Trump regime from a position of strength. The successful launch of ICBM Hwasung15 in November last year proved North Koreas effective and credible deterrence capability against future US attacks. The Hwasung15 missile launch has effectively ensured regime survival in Pyongyang; it also brandishes direct threats to US mainland. North Korean scientists and technicians are assumed to have succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear warheads to mount on ICBMs, a development the US has many reasons to worry about. That means the nuclear situation in the Korean Peninsula totally spiraled out of control rendering the US no option but to negotiate with Kim Jong-un. Additional pressures for negotiations came from other regional parties, particularly from China and South Korea who stand to immensely suffer in case open hostility breaks out between the US and North Korea. A probable Trump Kim summit in May or June hardly guarantees any success on the nuclear front, however. The contradictory objectives both leaders are hoping to realize from the summit may end up in a major failure. Trump is looking for total destruction of the Norths nuclear program, including its nuclear and missile testing sites, what is dubbed denuclearization; Kim prefers the preservation of the nuclear option for future peace and for future Korean generations to live without security fear. In his address to the Workers Party of Korea on April 20, Kim declared a moratorium on further nuclear and missile testing as his country had achieved a viable nuclear deterrent. He also signaled North Koreas willingness, as a world power, to enter into talks on global nuclear disarmament. The White House misinterpreted Kims speech as a major concession to accept denuclearization. President Trump prematurely tweeted: Wow, we havent given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for world), site closure, & no more testing! He had the wrong impression that Americas strong-arm tactics produced the desired outcome. Other big hurdles in the way of a successful summit include the presence of American troops in South Korea, lifting of sanctions imposed on North Korea, the signing of a peace treaty between the two Koreas and the US etc. There is no strong reasons for Kim to trust and conclude a deal with Trumps America either. A noted American international affairs expert had this to say: Its hard to be powerful when nobody believes a word you say. Indeed, the US has an infamous record of reneging on international promises and accords, creating widespread suspicions about its international behavior. Before the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the US promised to then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that if he would permit German unification NATO would not move eastward by one inch. Subsequently, NATOs eastward expansion became such a critical threat that Russia had to fight the Georgia war in August 2008 to resist NATOs eastward drive up to the Russian door. Former President George W. Bush unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 creating a confidence gap with Moscow. The Bush administration also convinced the slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to dismantle his nuclear program in exchange for guarantees for regime survival the guarantee that what happened to Saddam Hussein would not happen to Gaddafi. Alas! In late 2011 the US and NATO not only toppled the Gaddafi government through direct intervention to support the anti-Gaddafi rebels but also captured and killed him. A similar fate was awaiting the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad but he escaped because of strong Russian and Iranian military and diplomatic support. President Trump is on record for abandoning the Paris Climate Accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) multilateral trade agreement in the very first year of his government. Such developments are unlikely to escape the attention of the North Korean leader. Why Trump reneges on the Iran deal The Iran deal is the latest victim of Americas global non-committal postures. Possibly, Trump is finding it easy to tear up the deal as Iran is no North Korea. Unlike North Korea, Iran has no nuclear deterrent, no ICBM to threaten American territories far and wide, hardly has a committed great power ally standing firmly behind it and is surrounded by unfriendly or hostile neighbors in the region. Still, Tehran takes great pains to challenge Americas hegemonic role in its neighborhood and has successfully posited itself as a great stakeholder in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. In contrast, the US enjoys the support of Irans two archrivals Israel and Saudi Arabia, has military, air force and naval bases all around Iran and can even count on active military support by some big NATO allies, at least France and the UK, as demonstrated by the joint airstrikes on Syria on April 14. Israel, in particular, is a much influential factor in Trumps anti-deal position. Tel Aviv has been securitizing Irans nuclear program for quite a long time, often spreading lies and falsehoods that Iran was about to develop nuclear bombs. The 2015 Iran deal simply belied the Israeli claim and deprived the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of a deceitful propaganda tool against Iran. Thereafter, attention shifted to Irans regional role and ballistic missile program. On the whole, there is a clear political, military and diplomatic imbalance against Iran which Trump is exploiting to finally scrap the nuclear deal. A great number of other reasons add up to the anti-Iran deal stance of a domestically beleaguered US president. The Iran deal, officially dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), brought a number of benefits for Iran, which the Iran hawks in Washington and in the Middle East region find completely unpalatable. By signing the deal, the Obama administration accorded a certain degree of legitimacy to Irans regional status and role. President Obama even advised the Gulf Arab leaders to share the neighborhood with Iran, much to the chagrin of Saudi Arabia. Politically, the US accepted the Islamic government in Tehran as a legitimate Iranian government, and economically, the deal paved the way for Iran to reintegrate itself into and reap benefits from the global economy. Just in the first year after the deal was signed, Iran recorded a double-digit economic growth rate of 12.5% in 2016 but GDP growth rate slid to 3.5% the next year largely due to a series of post-deal sanctions unilaterally imposed by the US. Irans regional rivals are scared that Tehran will soon vault them past in economic performance to claim the top economic power status in the region. In short, the Trump regimes anti-Iran deal posture reflects the US and its regional allies ambitious desire to undercut Irans regional power and influence. Trump engages North Korea because of its hard-won nuclear power status, ignores Iran precisely because it is not the Middle Easts North Korea. Mohammed Nuruzzaman is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait, Bonus video added by Informed Comment: Australias ABC: High-stakes North Korea talks Reddit Email 58 Shares By Aymen Jamli | Tebourba (Tunisia) (AFP) Tunisian women have the chance to act, says Ines Boussetta, as she hits the campaign trail in northern Tebourba, listening attentively to the problems of the rural regions inhabitants. Boussetta is one of hundreds of Tunisian women heading party lists in May 6 municipal polls and for the first time, women will be on an equal footing with men, thanks to a new electoral law. AFP / FETHI BELAID. Ines Boussetta, who heads the list of the Nidaa Tounes party for municipal elections in Tebourba, campaigns in the town some 35 kilometres west of the capital on April 20, 2018. I have faced many criticisms and commentaries, like you are too young, you dont have political experience, how can a woman lead a council?' Boussetta, a candidate for the ruling Nida Tounes party, tells AFP. But women today have the chance to act, to have an opinion that counts, she added. Around 100 party lists have been rejected for failing to meet a strict requirement for the candidacy of men and women to alternate in the municipal polls, the first since mass protests forced dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power in 2011. Boussetta says she was attracted by Nida Tounes because its founder, Tunisias 91-year-old President Beji Caid Essebsi, has sought to promote the role of women and young people. The head of states 2014 election triumph was thanks to women, says the former health volunteer. New political generation The North African countrys 2014 constitution has been praised as a key milestone, paving the way for greater equality. A law on violence against women, passed last year, came into force in January. A new political generation is in the process of appearing, says Torkia Chebbi, vice-president of the League of Tunisian voters, a group set up in 2011 to promote female participation in political life. Fifty-two percent of Tunisias 5.3 million voters are under the age of 35. Women now sit at the top of more than a quarter of the 2,074 party lists. Many of the female candidates first dipped their toes into politics with the fall of Ben Ali through their work in civil society, Chebbi tells AFP. But without the law on parity, we would never have achieved such a figure, because attitudes continue to favour men, says Chebbi. The key parties, Nida Tounes and its junior coalition partner the Islamist Ennahda party, were found to have fulfilled the new gender requirement. Women dont have experience For Boussetta, who moves onto her next campaign stop in a modest black car, her experience working in the health sector makes improving infrastructure a big priority. Many have placed their confidence in her because she is young and sensitive to the needs of the region, she says. Boussettas family have a long history in Tebourba, where fresh street protests erupted in January this year against the high cost of living, unemployment and corruption. And there is a yearning for change at the local level. With the fall of Ben Ali seven years ago, municipalities collapsed. While replaced by temporary councils, these are widely perceived as having failed to respond to communities needs. There is hope that the upcoming elections could help improve daily life in the country, cleaning up public spaces, attracting new investment, and helping to develop marginalised regions. Tunisian women dont have experience, acknowledges Simone Susskind, a Belgian gender politics specialist who recently ran a workshop on female leadership. But they have to start somewhere. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (MGX or the Company) (CSE:XMG) (FKT:1MG) (OTC:MGXMF) is pleased to provide an update on North and South American lithium operations. In North America, the Company reports completion of brine analysis and pilot plant processing of samples originating from an industrial wastewater stream and geothermal lithium brine samples. The Companys investment bank Capstone Headwaters LLC is assisting in negotiations. In South America, the Company has completed pilot plant testing on brine samples originating from multiple salars located in Chile. MGX has entered into a joint brine testing agreement with a number of South American mining companies. The parties are now working to identify potential joint-venture locations that will utilize the Companys lithium extraction technology. The Companys rapid recovery process concentrates lithium, magnesium and other minerals from a variety of brines, including oil and gas wastewater, natural brine and industrial plant wastewater. The process uses a nano-filtration technology that utilizes a proprietary design process currently covered under patent and patent-pending applications. MGX and its engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. (PurLucid) have integrated this rapid recovery design process with PurLucids exclusively licensed and patented nanoflotation technology that purifies wastewaters. Combined, this technology can be utilized in a variety of different scenarios, ranging from oilfield operations to municipality treatment centers, or as standalone lithium and mineral extraction units with clean water by-product. Qualified Person The technical portions of this press release were prepared and reviewed by Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument (N.I.) 43-101 Standards. MGX may decide to advance its projects into production without first establishing mineral resources supported by an independent technical report or completing a feasibility study. A production decision without the benefit of a technical report independently establishing mineral resources or reserves and any feasibility study demonstrating economic and technical viability creates increased uncertainty and heightens economic and technical risks of failure. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic or technical failure. About MGX Minerals MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com. Contact Information Jared Lazerson President and CEO Telephone: 1.604.681.7735 Web: www.mgxminerals.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. VANCOUVER, April 26, 2018 /CNW/ - Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU) (NYSE AMERICAN:NSU) ("Nevsun" or "the Company") is pleased to report its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Unless otherwise noted all financial results are in millions of US dollars. Q1 2018 Highlights Produced 71.6 million pounds of zinc and 8.9 million pounds of copper at Bisha Sold 53.4 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate and 7.8 million pounds of payable copper in concentrate Costs below guidance with C1 cash costs (2) of $0.58 per payable pound of zinc sold on a by-product basis of per payable pound of zinc sold on a by-product basis Improved both zinc and copper recoveries at Bisha: Zinc recovery improved by 8.5% to 81.1% Copper recovery improved by 34.1% to 61.5% Strong operating performance resulted in cash balance increasing from $125 million to $150 million during the quarter to during the quarter Released the results of the Timok pre-feasibility study ("PFS") which demonstrated the project's sector-leading returns, with an after-tax NAV 8% of $1.8 billion and IRR of 80% at $3.15 per pound copper of and IRR of 80% at per pound copper Received the Timok exploration decline permit; all approvals now in place to begin construction in Q2 2018 Completed all drilling related to the $20 million Timok Lower Zone work program which highlighted the deposit's potentially significant scale and impressive grades; resource statement to be released in mid 2018 Timok Lower Zone work program which highlighted the deposit's potentially significant scale and impressive grades; resource statement to be released in mid 2018 Discovered high sulphidation epithermal ("HSE") mineralization approximately 500 metres to the east of the Upper Zone "We are off to an excellent start in 2018 as we benefit from the strong foundations that were laid at both Bisha and Timok in 2017. The release of the PFS on the Timok Upper Zone was a significant milestone for the Company as it further de-risked the project and highlighted its exceptional economics. In parallel, we secured our decline permit, and through the collaborative process we strengthened our relationship with the Serbian government. We now look forward to a busy Q2 as we begin construction of the decline, launch the feasibility study and release the much-anticipated initial resource statement for the Lower Zone," said Peter Kukielski, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kukielski continued: "Bisha had its best quarter since the beginning of the zinc phase. A second consecutive quarter of material movement of over 5 million tonnes in the mine enabled the plant to exclusively process primary ore. Together with trials of new reagents, there was a step-change in recoveries and record zinc sales in the quarter. The resulting increase in our cash balance highlighted the importance of Bisha as a cash generator. The improvements also support the work we are doing on potentially extending the mine life beyond the current plan." Timok Project Update In Q1 2018, the Company released the results of the PFS for the Timok Upper Zone copper-gold project in Serbia. The PFS confirmed the extraordinary value of the Timok Project, a high-grade, high return, fully executable copper project in a supportive jurisdiction. The PFS reflected an after-tax NAV 8% of $1.8 billion and IRR of 80% at $3.15 per pound copper with a payback period of less than one year based on an initial reserve of 27 million tonnes at 3.3% copper and 2.1 grams per tonne gold. Extensive work was performed in the quarter on the project implementation schedule in collaboration with the Republic of Serbia to better understand the permitting process and requirements. As a result of this work, the Company gained valuable insights into the permitting regimen in Serbia under the terms of its mining law, and on February 27, 2018 the Company received the exploration decline permit. Through this process the Company acquired knowledge and relationships that will serve the Company well as it moves towards securing additional permits for the Timok Project. The Company is in the process of finalizing the contract tendering process to commence the decline construction activities in Q2 2018. The Company has acquired 100% of the land required for development of the decline and 53% of the required private land for construction of the project as at March 31, 2018. At the Lower Zone, the Company completed the drilling campaign related to its $20 million work commitment, which continued to demonstrate the impressive copper grade, continuity and thickness of mineralization in the Lower Zone. To date, 84 drill holes have been drilled within the Lower Zone footprint, of which 78 drill holes comprising approximately 90,571 meters have intersected the deposit or its margins. The geometry of the Lower Zone remains to be fully defined, however current dimensions of the mineralized zone are approximately 2,000 metres long by 1,100 metres wide by 1,400 metres high. The mineralization comes to within 700 metres of surface at its south-eastern margin and extends to over 2,200 metres depth to the northwest, where it remains open. Highlighted assays from the final drill holes included 1.00% Cu and 0.20g/t Au (1.14% Cu equivalent) over 556.8 metres starting at 1,310 metres in TC170177 which included 1.45% Cu, 0.32g/t Au (1.67% Cu equivalent) over 177.0 metres. The company will release a Lower Zone resource statement in Q2 2018. Regional drilling focused on searching for new high grade Upper Zone-style mineralization. Significant intersections of high sulphidation epithermal mineralization were made approximately 500 metres to the east of the Upper Zone in a 250 by 250 metre area, including hole TC170189 which returned 2.93% copper and 2.54 g/t gold over 27.0 metres at a depth of 396 metres. Follow up drilling will take place in 2018. Bisha Mine Update Bisha maintained total quarterly material movement above 5 million tonnes for the second consecutive quarter in Q1 2018. This sustained improvement in mine performance reflects the deployment of new heavy mining equipment ("HME"), improving HME availability and the implementation of a plan for in-pit waste dumping with favourable impacts on hauling distance. The mine is expected to continue to benefit from the in-pit waste dumping for the next 12 months. Exceptions to the mine plan required in 2017 to alleviate processing difficulties for certain ore types, have now been largely corrected. This resulted in a decrease in the stripping ratio from Q4 2017 and will ensure adequate primary ore supply in support of achieving 2018 mine production targets. On processing, Bisha achieved breakthrough results on the key metallurgical challenge that the mine has faced since the commencement of the zinc phase copper-zinc selectivity during a 31-day plant trial using alternate reagent schemes. Both zinc and copper recoveries in Q1 2018 improved upon Q4 2017 results at 81.1% and 61.5%, respectively, compared to 72.6% and 27.4% in the Q4 2017 period. The Company is currently installing upgrades on the plant that, once completed in Q2 2018, will allow for consistent application of the revised reagent scheme which is expected to significantly improve both copper recovery and copper concentrate grades going forward. As a result of the improved recoveries, Bisha is currently tracking toward the higher end of 2018 production guidance and toward the lower end of cost guidance. Based on this performance, the Company is confident that it will achieve 2018 guidance. Guidance will be reviewed if the modified processing approach results in a sustained improvement in recoveries over a more extended period. Q1 2018 Financial Review Q1 2018 Q4 2017 Q3 2017 (Restated)(1) Q1 2017 (Restated)(1) Revenue (millions) $ 106.7 $ 80.6 $ 71.0 $ 71.6 Impairment reversals (millions) - 18.0 2.7 - Earnings from mine operations (millions)(1) 23.4 15.0 12.3 11.8 Exploration expenses (millions)(1) (8.2) (10.2) (12.2) (13.1) Net income (loss) (millions)(1) 0.5 2.2 (8.4) (9.1) Net loss attributable to Nevsun shareholders (millions)(1) (4.5) (3.8) (11.6) (11.6) Basic loss per share attributable to Nevsun shareholders(1) $ (0.01) $ (0.01) $ (0.04) $ (0.04) Cash (millions) $ 149.6 $ 124.6 $ 151.2 $ 166.6 Working capital (millions) 187.6 162.3 179.1 190.3 Zinc price realized, per payable pound sold $ 1.51 $ 1.54 $ 1.44 $ 1.25 C1 cash cost per payable zinc pound sold, by-product basis(2) 0.58 1.13 0.75 0.89 C1 cash cost per payable zinc pound sold, co-product basis(2) 0.79 1.23 0.84 0.89 Copper price realized, per payable pound sold $ 3.01 $ 3.26 $ 2.99 $ - C1 cash cost per payable copper pound sold, co-product basis(2) 1.56 2.01 1.70 - (1) Effective December 31, 2017, the Company voluntarily elected to change its accounting policy with respect to exploration and evaluation expenditures, and as such, certain financial measures have been restated. Please refer to the Company's 2017 annual consolidated financial statements for the full accounting policy, and to the Company's Q1 2018 interim financial statements for disclosure surrounding the effect of the change as at and for the three months ended March 31, 2017. (2) C1 cash cost per pound is a non-GAAP measure. See page 17 of the Company's Q1 2018 MD&A for discussion of non-GAAP measures and page 6 of the Company's Q1 2018 MD&A, Cash Costs, for explanation of per-unit costs. Q1 2018 Operating Review Q1 2018 Q4 2017 Q3 2017 Q1 2017 Mining Ore mined, tonnes(1) 640,000 362,000 383,000 651,000 Waste mined, tonnes 4,525,000 4,981,000 4,126,000 3,114,000 Strip ratio, using tonnes 7.1 13.8 10.8 4.8 Processing Ore milled, tonnes 563,000 520,000 524,000 599,000 Zinc feed grade, % 7.1 6.9 6.8 5.5 Copper feed grade, % 1.2 1.2 1.0 0.9 Recovery, % of zinc 81.1 72.6 74.0 71.0 Recovery, % of copper(2) 61.5 27.4 33.4 26.8 Zinc concentrate grade, % 47.8 45.6 42.0 39.4 Copper concentrate grade, %(2) 20.9 18.7 17.8 21.6 Zinc in concentrate produced, millions of pounds 71.6 57.7 57.8 51.9 Zinc in concentrate produced, tonnes 32,500 26,100 26,300 23,500 Copper in concentrate produced, millions of pounds 8.9 3.6 4.0 3.3 Copper in concentrate produced, tonnes 4,100 1,600 1,800 1,500 Payable zinc in concentrate sold, millions of pounds 53.4 44.6 43.4 52.9 Payable zinc in concentrate sold, tonnes 24,700 20,200 19,800 24,000 Payable copper in concentrate sold, millions of pounds 7.8 3.6 3.1 - Payable copper in concentrate sold, tonnes 3,500 1,600 1,400 - (1) Ore tonnes mined for the three months ended March 31, 2018 consisted of 640,000 tonnes of primary ore (Q1 2017 594,000 tonnes of primary ore and 57,000 tonnes of supergene ore). (2) This represents the copper recovery to copper concentrate from the copper flotation circuit only, and excludes copper recovered to zinc concentrates. Senior Management Changes Cara Allaway has joined the Company as Vice President Group Controller. Cara joins Nevsun from Dominion Diamond Mines where she was the VP Group Controller. Prior to this, Cara was the Chief Accountant where she oversaw the accounting and reporting function for the Ekati diamond mine. Cara began her career at PwC where she spent 12 years with a focus on the mining sector, initially in the Audit group in Halifax, followed by the Capital Markets Group in Russia and then the Audit group in Toronto. Cara replaces Peter Tam who has left the Company to pursue other opportunities. Q1 2018 Results Conference Call and Webcast Details The Company will hold a conference call and webcast on Friday, April 27, 2018, at 8AM Vancouver / 11AM Toronto, New York / 4PM London, to discuss the financial and operating results. Conference Call: Please call in at least five minutes prior to the conference call start time to ensure prompt access to the conference. Dial in details are as follows: North America: 1 888-390-0546 / +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413 UK: 0800 652 2435 (toll free) Other International: +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413 The conference call will be available for replay by phone until Friday, May 4, 2018, by calling 1 888-390-0541 / +1 416-764-8677 and entering passcode 234828 #. Webcast: A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website www.nevsun.com or by clicking Clicking Here About Nevsun Resources Ltd. Nevsun Resources Ltd. is the 100% owner of the high-grade copper-gold Timok Upper Zone and 60.4% owner of the Timok Lower Zone in Serbia. The Timok Lower Zone is a partnership with Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation ("Freeport") which currently owns 39.6% and upon completion of any feasibility study (on the Upper or Lower Zone), Nevsun Resources Ltd. will own 46% and Freeport will own 54%. Nevsun generates cash flow from its 60% owned copper-zinc Bisha Mine in Eritrea. Nevsun is well positioned with a strong debt-free balance sheet to grow shareholder value through advancing Timok to production. Forward Looking Statements The above contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward looking statements including statements with respect to the Company's Bisha Mine in Eritrea and its intentions for its Timok Upper Zone Project in Serbia (the "Timok Project"). The Company also cautions the reader that the PEA previously released in September 2017 and the PFS released in March 2018 on the Timok Project that support the technical feasibility or economic viability of the Timok Project, including the marketability of the concentrate, mining method, costs, processing, metal recoveries and any other technical aspects related to the Timok Project, are preliminary in nature and there is no certainty that the PEA or the PFS will be realized. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "hopes", "intends", "estimated", "potential", "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are statements concerning the Company's current beliefs, plans, objectives and expectations about the future, including but not limited to statements and information made concerning: statements relating to the business, prospects and future activities of, and development plans related to the Company, exploration activities, the adequacy of financial resources, anticipated production, processing and recoveries of zinc and copper, mineral reserve and resource estimates, mining efficiencies and access to mineral reserves, goals, strategies, future growth, planned future acquisitions, anticipated C1 cash costs to produce zinc or copper, resolution of metallurgical challenges from variable ore materials to produce concentrate and the ability to increase processing and recovery rates of zinc and copper, achievement of and timing for achievement of any key milestones including, planned mineral movement at the Bisha Mine and other events or conditions that may occur in the future regarding the Company or its projects. The actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. These risks, uncertainties and factors include general business, legal, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties; actual results of exploration activities and economic evaluations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in project parameters; changes in costs, including labour, infrastructure, operating and production costs; future prices of copper, gold, zinc, silver and other minerals; resource estimates and variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; metallurgical challenges on the variable ore materials being processed and if the significant improvements in recovery rates of zinc and copper will be maintained or that recoveries to initial design levels will be achieved; the ability to extend mine life beyond the current mine plans; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration; land acquisition; mining method, production profile and mine plan; other development or mining activities, including the failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; performance on ore production and waste movement and improvement in mining capability; delays in exploration, development and construction activities including commencement of the decline construction as planned; changes in government legislation and regulation; the ability to maintain and renew existing licenses and permits and the ability to obtain other required licences and permits in a timely manner or at all; the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms and in a timely manner or at all; contests over title to properties; employee relations and shortages of skilled personnel and contractors; the speculative nature of, and the risks involved in, the exploration, development and mining business including, without limitation, other risks that are more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the "AIF") and the Company's management discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the "MD&A"), which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and our business can be found in our AIF and MD&A, which is available on the Company's website (www.nevsun.com), filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F. Foreign military footprints, especially those of the United States (US) and France, are expanding in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel. This presence is receiving increasingly hostile public criticism. It is often considered invasive, and at times ill-adapted and ineffective against growing insecurity, and even counterproductive. Regarding the opening of a US military base in Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo said in April, So let me state with the clearest affirmation that Ghana has not offered a military base, and will not offer a military base to the United States of America. This statement came in response to protests that shook the country after a defence cooperation agreement was signed with the United States. Four months earlier, Nigerien authorities denied having authorised the deployment of Italian military personnel in the north of the country, which would have added to the existing US and French military bases in the region of Agadez. Presenting the Sahel as the new frontier of global jihad carries significant risks Foreign military presence in the region was previously restricted to advising, training and equipping national armies. However since the start of the 2012 Malian crisis it has expanded to include active ground troops, with the installation of logistical and military bases. The occupation of northern Mali by extremists triggered a French military intervention in January 2013. This helped stop the progress of violent extremists moving towards the south, and contributed to driving them out of major cities. In this military frenzy, Mali and Niger, at the crossroads of regional instability, have also become epicentres of Western power security dynamics in the Sahel. Despite using similar security rhetoric to justify their presence, Western powers seem to have different agendas. If the war against terror remains the USs top priority in the region, it seems that European partners such as Germany and Italy are guided by motives to control migration. The Italian governments decision in December last year to send troops to Niger to combat terrorism seems more about controlling migration flows. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 75% of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe in 2017 landed in Italy and most moved through Niger. French forces, largely welcomed in Mali in 2013, are now facing growing public criticism Germanys contribution of 1 000 soldiers to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the opening of a German logistics base in Nigers capital, Niamey, reinforce the countrys presence in the Sahel and its drive to be at the forefront of the fight against irregular migration. While the rise of violent extremism and organised crime in the Sahel have accelerated foreign military presence, so has a weakening of the states in the region. Poor state governance in the Sahel is characterised in most countries by endemic corruption, a weak justice system, an inability to provide basic social services and an ineffective integration of peripheral regions. This creates an enabling environment for extremist groups to deepen their local connections and strengthen their efforts. If France intervened in 2013 at the request the Malian transitional authorities, it was in the name of a common past, but also to protect its own nationals and defend its strategic and economic interests in the region. For example, the country continues to import uranium, essential for its nuclear energy, from neighbouring Niger. The intervention, known as Operation Serval, was replaced six months later by Barkhane. It costs about 1 million a day and is present across the five countries of the G5 Sahel Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. While the French presence is widely publicised, other countries such as the US and Germany are more discreet. In October 2017, four US commandos and five Nigerien soldiers died in Tongo Tongo, a village near the border with Mali. The Islamic State in the Great Sahara claimed responsibility for the ambush. The attack revealed not only the extent of the US military presence in Niger, but its expanding military footprint in the region. It also showed that despite regional efforts, complex and sophisticated attacks by extremists continue. The rhetoric following the Tongo Tongo attack presenting the Sahel as the new frontier of global jihad carries significant risks. Numerous studies, including by the Institute for Security Studies, have highlighted the importance of local dynamics when considering the emergence and expansion of terrorist groups in the region. These groups exploit peoples grievances against state governance, and community tensions between, for example, farmers and herders. The foreign military presence in Mali has expanded to include active ground troops and military bases Furthermore, the US decision to weaken rules of engagement for the troops deployed on the ground seems risky. Targeting errors can be exploited by violent extremist groups to consolidate their presence and thus influence the effectiveness of interventions. Popular dissatisfaction with the foreign military presence has increased in the region, and the French forces, welcomed by quasi-general consensus in Mali in 2013, are facing growing public criticism. Protests across Mali have denounced French policy, perceived as seeking only to protect its interests to the detriment of those of the local populations. In Niger, too, protesters responding to the call of a coalition of civil society organisations chanted last February, French, American and German armies, go away! On the whole, the many military interventions in the Sahel show Western powers desire to defend their strategic security, political, diplomatic or economic interests. Trying to mask this only amplifies the impression of a region thats victim to the geo-political calculations of foreign powers. This article was previously published by the ISS Bosnian police arrested 12 people on Friday including a former Bosnian commander, suspected of being responsible for war crimes against hundreds of people during the countrys 1990s conflict. The 12 men, including retired General Atif Dudakovic, are accused of being responsible for the deaths of several hundred victims including Serbian civilians and military prisoners, as well as against the Bosnian Muslim population, police said in a statement. They were all members of the mainly Muslim Bosnian army 5th corps, a unit operating in western Bosnia, a region completely surrounded by Serbian forces from Croatia and Bosnia. Although the conflict was fought between the countrys three main ethnic communities Serbs, Muslims and Croats in this region Bosnians also clashed with each other. Commanders of Bosnian forces have rarely been tried for war crimes. Two chiefs of staff, General Rasim Delic and Sefer Halilovic, were tried by the UN tribunal in The Hague. Delic was sentenced to three years in prison by the international court in 2008 but died while awaiting an appeal verdict. Halilovic was acquitted in 2005. Commander of the Bosnian forces 3rd corps during the conflict, Sakib Mahmuljin, has been on trial since March 2016 in Sarajevo accused of failing to prevent the killing of 52 Serbian prisoners of war in 1995 by a Mujahideen unit. Bosnias 1992-1995 war broke out as Yugoslavia collapsed and claimed some 100,000 lives. The conflict also displaced about two million people, almost half the countrys pre-war population. Bosnian authorities are allowed to try low-profile war crimes cases, while the UN war crimes tribunal, which has now closed, was tasked with hearing cases involving top wartime officials. Darkness Into Light, Pieta House's flagship fundraising awareness event is on early, really early on Saturday, May 12. Kilkenny walkers can register online at www.darknessintolight.ie in advance of the event, and by May 5th to receive their tenth anniversary Darkness Into Light T-shirt. There will be no registration at the venue St. James Stephens Military Barracks, on the morning of the event. Engagement Day Those who need assistance registering online can come in to an Engagement Day being held on Friday, May 4 in No. 79 High Street (formerly Basecamp), between 11am and 5.30pm, and volunteers will talk you through the registration process. Everyone registering will need an email address. Newpark Hotel Newpark Hotel in association with Pieta House invite you to join them for Darkness into Light walk on May 12, leaving Newpark Hotel at 4am to join the walk at 4:15am and returning to the hotel for a post walk breakfast served on the Terrace. Anyone wishing to join the post walk breakfast must register on Eventbrite as there are a limited number of spaces available. Darkness Into Light has grown from humble beginnings into a global movement dedicated to raising awareness around suicide and self-harm. Proudly supported by Electric Ireland, the unique event begins in darkness at 4.15am, as thousands of people walk a 5 kilometre route while the dawn is breaking. Funds raised from Darkness Into Light help keep Pieta Houses counselling services free to those in suicidal crisis, people who engage in self-harm, and those bereaved by suicide. Last year, Kilkenny walkers raised a massive 65,000 Euro from the event. Local TD Kathleen Funchion has spoken in support of nurses receiving adequate pay in the Dail on Sinn Feins motion on Nursing Pay and Recruitment. The Sinn Fein TD said she had huge respect for nurses and midwives and the very demanding role that they carry out within the health service. They are at the frontline and often are dealing with very difficult situations," she said. They are often expected to act as councillors and social workers as well as their medical duties as patients often open up to them more and feel they can ask them more questions. While there are many valid criticisms of our health service at present, people will regularly say the nurses were great, they really did their best, I dont know how they do it. I have had many experiences with nurses and midwives in St Lukes Hospital Kilkenny and I couldnt commend them enough, they are absolutely excellent and always positive. The work of nurses and midwives is often thankless, demanding work and they deserve better working condition and better pay. Deputy Funchion called on the Minister to take action on the issue and give nurses 'the respect, working conditions and pay that they deserve'. South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a makeshift table on a wooden bridge during their summit meeting at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Friday, in this photo provided by Yonhap News TV. / Joint press corps By Lee Min-hyung The two Koreas will designate a disputed western sea border as a "Peace Zone" to ease maritime military tensions, they said in a joint agreement on the sidelines of the inter-Korean summit, Friday. The area, better known as the northern limit line (NLL) here, has for decades been a controversial maritime border, with the North occasionally staging attacks against South Korean ships. "The South and North reached an agreement to draw up a series of practical measures to guarantee safe fishing activities by both sides there, by designating the area around the NLL as a peace zone," the inter-Korean joint agreement said. This is not the first time that the two Koreas have signed a peace agreement on the area. In 2007, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to make the NLL a peace zone during a summit between former late President Roh Moo-hyun and his then-North Korean counterpart, the late Kim Jong-il. But the peace momentum did not last long, with the regime staging a series of military attacks in 2010. In March of that year, the regime torpedoed the South Korean frigate Cheonan near the NLL, leaving 46 sailors dead or missing. Hyderabad, Apr 26 (PTI) Cyient"Limited today said its step down subsidiary"Cyient"Europe Ltd acquired Belgium-based AnSem N V, a leading fabless, analog application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) design service company. Though the company officially did not disclose the transaction cost, official sources indicate that it is in the range of USD 17 million. According to a press release issued by the city-based IT firm, AnSem which specialises in advanced analog, radio frequency, and mixed-signal integrated circuit design and provides custom ASICs for clients has revenue of USD10 Million and over 20 per cent operating margin. Senior Vice President for Semiconductor, IoT and Analytics at"Cyient, Suman Narayan said through this acquisition,"Cyient"can help its clients develop smart analog sensors to capture data, while leveraging our IoT and analytics solutions to provide actionable insights. Cyient expects this transaction to be EPS accretive, the release added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Colombo, Apr 26 (AFP) Sri Lanka on today banned the sale of meat and liquor and ordered casinos to close on the Buddha's birthday in a move to appease the island's religious majority. The restrictions, which come just days after the government shifted May Day celebrations in a sop to Buddhist monks, will extend to tourist hotels for the two-day Vesak festival starting Sunday. "Meat and liquor sales at supermarkets and hotels will be banned during this period," the government said in a statement. Casinos will be closed and gambling elsewhere also prohibited, the government said. Bars are usually closed on Buddhist holidays but the decision to ban meat sales at supermarkets is a first and was broadly seen as a gesture to the island's powerful clergy. It follows the government's surprise decision this month to delay May Day festivities by a week after Buddhist leaders complained the date clashed with Vesak celebrations. It is the first time the holiday has been shifted from May 1 since Sri Lanka began celebrating the labour day festivities in 1956. Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority nation of 21 million, celebrates 26 public holidays. The island's 1.5 million civil servants also enjoy another 45 days paid leave ever year.(AFP) AMS (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Sri Lanka has banned the sale of meat and liquor on Thursday for the upcoming Vesak celebrations. Vesak commonly known as Buddha Purnima in India is believed to be the birthday of Lord Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. With the majority of the population being followers of Buddhism who refrain from consuming killing animals or violence activities, the country decided to keep all their liquor shops, slaughterhouses, casinos, betting centres and clubs closed on April 29 and 30. The sale of meat and liquor at supermarkets will also be prohibited during those two days. These bans are generally implemented during Buddhist holidays in the country. However, the ban on meat sales at supermarkets has been implemented for the first time. The developments come after Buddhist leaders complained that May Day festivities clash with Vesak celebrations. The Labour Day celebrations have been delayed by a week. It is the first time, the May 1st observance have been shifted in the country since the celebrations began in 1956. Vesak is also celebrated in countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, Korea, Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia. As per the Vedic literature, Lord Buddha is an incarnation of Lord Krishna who came to Earth some 2500 years ago. By celebrating this day, devotees commemorate the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. In Buddhist shrines, teachings on non-violence and compassion are held. Devotees also chant mantras, meditate and read Buddhist scriptures on this day. People also offer fruits and sweets to the deities of Lord Buddha, light lamps and incense sticks in front of the idol. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2018 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). In what could have been the largest known child sacrifice, anthropologists have unearthed evidence of a ritual in which more than 140 children were ritually killed. In 2011, local found human remains on the northern coast of Peru, an emergency dig at conducted at the site. What followed was the discovery of ancient bodies belonging to children and young Ilamas. Over the next five years, archaeologists discovered more such remains from the excavation at Huanchaquito-Las Llamas that happened roughly 550 years ago under the powerful pre-Colombian Chimu Empire. According to the experts, children and animals sacrificed in the ritual were killed with a cut across the chest. Kids used for the horrific ceremony were aged between 8 and 12. While oldest was around 14, the youngest was only about five years old. The remains of Ilamas excavated suggested that they were aged around 18 months. The scientific investigations were led by Gabriel Prieto of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo and John Verano of Tulane University supported by grants from the National Geographic Society. While the Ilamas were buried facing towards the Andes, the children were buried in the westward direction. According to the National Geographic report, footprints suggested that the children and Ilamas could have been led by in a procession from the north and south to converge on the centre. Certain footprints and marks found in the site hinted that the animals were forcibly brought to sacrifice. When the mass killing sacrifice took place, the site was covered in a layer of mud, due to which they were simply left without being buried in their pits. Similiar remains were also found at Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan where 42 children were killed. While the exact reason for the killings cannot be understood, scientists say that it would have to their appeal to Gods to put an end to heavy rains and flooding. Ancient mud at the site suggests that northern Peru may have ad severe weather conditions due to El-Nino event. The experts are trying to study the place in detail by conducting DNA and isotopic analyses on the remains. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2018 11:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Dhaka, Apr 27: India has handed over to Bangladesh a Mi-4 helicopter and two PT-76 tanks as part of the 1971 Liberation War memorabilia, officials said here today. "The gifts are to be showcased at the Bangladesh army and air force museums," a defence ministry spokesman said today. He said the helicopter and the tanks were part of gifts given by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her Bangladesh visit last year. The memorabilia included 25 weapons like pistol, rifles, machine guns and mortars alongside a large number of an artefact, historical photographs, archival audio and video clipping, maps and battle records related to the 1971 Liberation War. "While most items of memorabilia have been handed over to the Bangladesh National Museum; the larger items ie PT-76 Tanks and Mi 4 Helicopter are now being handed over to the Bangladesh Army and Air Force," Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. The light amphibious PT-76 tanks were used by the Indian Army's armoured regiments in 1971 which played a crucial role in crossing rivers and water bodies during the war. Analysts said these tanks often outclassed a much larger force and technically superior M34 Chafee tanks, used by the Pakistani Army in the war. The Mi-4 transport helicopter was extensively utilised for heliborne operations by the India-Bangladesh joint forces in the eastern sector confirming early defeat of Pakistani troops in 1971. Indian air force earlier gifted Bangladesh one Hunter jet fighter, one Dakota transport aircraft ahead of this helicopter while India's navy previously gifted memorabilia of its INS Vikrant, models of ships that took part in the war and archival photographs and its army gifts included six 3.7 Howitzer Guns. India backed Bangladesh's Liberation War, which began after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971, in erstwhile East Pakistan by Pakistani troops. On December 16, the same year as Pakistan conceded defeat and its troops unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian Army. University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. We dont know what will happen, said George Kieffer, chairman of the UC Board of Regents. But we have been getting a good deal of reinforcement and support from many members of the Legislature and are hopeful there will be full funding of the university. The better course at this time is to continuing lobbying and advocacy efforts. UC hopes for more funding have been buoyed by reports that state general fund revenues are $3.3 billion larger than projected when Gov. Jerry Brown released his budget proposal in January. In January, UC regents delayed action until May on a proposal to increase tuition by $342, which would bring state residents costs to $12,972 for 2018-19. If ultimately approved, it would be the second consecutive increase after six years without a tuition hike. The base tuition rose $282 in the current academic year. Financial aid would cover the higher costs for more than half of the UCs California students, officials say. In March, the regents approved a $978 increase in supplemental tuition for nonresident students, bringing their total for the next academic year to $28,992. UC students, faculty, administrators, alumni and regents launched a unified effort to lobby for an additional $140 million from the state: $70 million to stave off a tuition increase, $10 million to add more California students, $25 million to ease overcrowding and $35 million as a one-time payment to catch up on maintenance of classrooms, labs and other facilities. They argue that the need for extra money is exacerbated by Browns proposal to reduce the 4% increase he has given to UC in recent years to 3% for next year. Los Angeles Times Brown has been an outspoken opponent of tuition increases at UC and Cal State. He has said that the university systems leaders should find ways to cut spending rather than look for ways to get more money. H.D. Palmer, the state finance department spokesman, said Brown has not decided whether to increase money for UC and Cal State in his revised budget in May. But he said the administration has made it clear for nearly a year that any tuition increase could have an adverse effect on funding for the university systems. Negotiations over the state budget are likely to continue until the Legislatures June 15 deadline for passage. In recent months, UC students have swarmed Sacramento to plead for more state funding at budget hearings and in individual meetings. Thousands have joined phone-banking and letter-writing campaigns, said Varsha Sarveshwar, a Berkeley sophomore who is leading the student associations Fund the UC campaign. Sarveshwar said many legislators have been supportive, but others have dismissed student stories about overcrowding in classrooms, study spaces and housing. The University of California has stepped up by taking the tuition hike off the table. Students have stepped up by tirelessly advocating for increased funding in the state Capitol. Now, its time for the Legislature to step up and fully fund our budget request, Sarveshwar said in a text. For years, state budgets have put students last and now, theres just no excuse for doing that again. The delay in a tuition vote may irk UC campus chancellors, who say the uncertainty will keep them in the dark about how much money theyll have to hire faculty and add classes, and wont give them the chance to let families know the cost of attendance as students make enrollment decisions. The deadline to accept admission offers is May 1 for freshmen and June 1 for transfer students. Chancellors have outlined the pressing need for more money to accommodate demands to enroll more California students and maintain the quality of the nations top public research university system. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ, for instance, told regents in January that the campus had added 4,700 more students since 2013-14 but has not received enough money to cover the costs of educating them. As a result, she said, the average size of lower-division engineering and computer science classes has gone from 65 in 2011-12 to 227 in 2016-17. She also said Berkeleys $700-million backlog of much-needed maintenance is affecting its stature as the nations top public research university. The campus recently lost its bid to recruit one of the worlds leading chemists, she said, because it could not afford to renovate a laboratory to meet his needs. Apr 26, 2018, 5:37pm ET China to slash auto import tariff in half? Government officials are said to be considering a reduction from 25 percent to as low as 10 percent. China is reportedly considering a significant reduction in tariffs imposed on imported vehicles. Foreign automakers currently face a 25-percent import tariff to ship cars into the world's largest automotive market. Establishing a local factory comes with its own restrictions, requiring a 50:50 joint venture with a Chinese company. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from countries that have a trade imbalance with the US. The threats appear to have pressured China to voluntarily consider backing down from its steep tariffs and foreign ownership restrictions. To be clear, I think a fair outcome for all is quite likely. China has already shown a willingness to open their markets and I believe they will do the right thing. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2018 Unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that China's State Council is prepared to drop import tariffs to 10-15 percent. The US may not benefit from the plan, however, as China has also threatened to impose an additional 25 percent import duty on American-made automobiles in response to US-imposed import duties on Chinese vehicles. With plenty of apparent posturing on both sides, it is too early to tell if the threats and leaks represent official policy intentions. Three Romanian nationals have been remanded in custody in connection with the theft of almost 1,400 of groceries from a Portlaoise store on Wednesday. At yesterday's (Thursday, April 26) sitting of Portlaoise District Court, Cristian Balanescu (43), with a given address at Alderwood Green, Tallaght, Co. Dublin, and Gheorgie Petre (40), Fernwood Avenue, Tallaght, were charged with an offence under section 4 of the theft act, at Aldi, Portlaoise, on April 25, 2018. This related to the theft of groceries worth 1,394.88. In addition, Cristian Balanescu is charged with an offence in Mullingar, and one in Swords. A third man, Aurel Brica (48), with a listed address at Alderwood Green, Tallaght, was charged with handling stolen property, at the M7, Ballybrittas, on April 25. The State objected to bail on the three men. Evidence was given that in the case of Gheorgie Petre, the accused has a history of failing to answer his bail. The accused had allegedly breached previous bail conditions by failing to sign on at the garda station. In relation to Aurel Brica, the court heard that the accused had only been in Ireland two days and the State was not sure when he was intending to return to Romania. A prosecuting garda said he feared the accused may be a flight risk. In relation to Cristian Balanescu, Garda Noel Tier said the accused had previously breached bail by failing to sign on at the garda station. It seems to be a group travelling together together to commit crime, said Garda Tier. The court also heard that there were concerns over the address of Alderwood Green provided by Cristian Balanescu and Aurel Brica. Gardai in Tallaght had spoken to the owner of the house and there were no Romanian nationals living there. Defence for all three men, Ms Louise Troy said that that the address is actually Alderwood Grove and asked the gardai to perhaps check there instead. Replied Gard Tier: If we were sure of the address I still wouldnt be satisfied to grant bail. After hearing the outline of the alleged facts, Judge Catherine Staines remanded all three accused in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on May 2 next. After 21 years in existence Chernobyl Aid Ireland Mountmellick Outreach Group has decided to dissolve on the week of the 32nd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. This decision was prompted mainly due to the closure of Mountmellicks adopted Orphanage in Belarus after all of its residents have now been placed in foster families which is a huge positive step forward for all these displaced children. Paul Dempsey is the Mountmellick Group Leader. "We would like to say a huge thank you to all the people of Mountmellick and surrounding areas for their many years of continuous support, especially the families who selflessly took children into their homes every year for one months recuperation. "You can all be very proud of your contribution which eased the financial burden significantly for the orphanage and helped immensely to improve the health of the children. "Huge thanks to Antonia Derkachova, the house mother from Belarus who accompanied the children every year and who has retired due to ill health and spent her last stay in Mountmellick recently, where she bid farewell to the group, we would like to wish her well in her retirement," he said. As part of the dissolution of the group treasurer Eileen Dunne handed over a cheque for 3,700 to CAI National Director Liam Grant. Mr Grant has advised that the money will be put to very good use over the coming weeks when a 40 strong group of voluntary tradesmen and women will visit Grosova Home for young adults with disabilities and renovate an old accommodation block to help augment their existing facilities. Mountmellick Pieta House Darkness Into Light walk has raised over 125,000. Two talented Laois schoolchildren are among the budding artists featured in this years Sightsavers Junior Painter Awards 2018 exhibition. Competition was as strong as ever and this years theme Put Us In The Picture inspired creative entries from hundreds of primary schools across the country. Lily Crossan (age 5) from St Pauls National School, Mountmellick was delighted to be at the awards ceremony last week in The Science Gallery, Dublin, where she was honoured as one of the 15 finalists of this years competition. Also at the awards ceremony was Andrew Senior (age 5), also from St Pauls National School, who was highly commended for his artistic painting. The judges tasked with the difficult job of choosing this years winners were disability campaigner and little person Sinead Burke (aka Minnie Melange), Laureate na nOg and illustrator PJ Lynch, and artist and director of Arts and Disability Ireland Padraig Naughton. They were astounded by the calibre of entries received and especially noted the creativity, colour and effort that went into every painting. The winning top three schools receive a cash prize , sponsored by The Book Centre and Barker and Jones bookshop, and memberships and toolboxes from ReCreate Ireland. The 22 finalist and highly commended paintings will be exhibited in the DLR LexIcon (Dun Laoghaire LexIcon Library) throughout the summer, and in Powerscourt Town Centre, for the month of August. The Ceann Comhairle, Sean O Fearghail TD, is currently on a 12 day visit to China to forge Chinese and Kildare relations. On Friday, in Beijing, the Ceann Comhairle met with Mr Wang Yang, Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Mr Li Zhanshu, Chair of the 7-man Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Speaking to Mr Wang, the Ceann Comhairle spoke of Ireland's progress in recent years emerging from a period of deep recession to become the fastest growing economy in the European Union. He noted the huge progress made in the Chinese economy in recent times and the opportunities for both countries in forging new partnerships in the areas of IT, bio-sciences, food, and tourism. Mr Wang noted that both countries strongly supported an international outlook to trade and investment, and emphasised the need to advance practical cooperation across areas of shared interest. Ceann Comhairle, Sean O Fearghail, TD, said: In travelling to China, I had two specific objectives. Firstly, to build on existing political relations and secondly, to examine how Ireland and China can further develop their strategic partnerships. I have been hugely impressed by the significant transformation that has taken place in China and I believe that there are great opportunities for both countries in closer cooperation in the years ahead. The Ceann Comhairle led a cross-party delegation consisting of Senator Frank Feighan (Fine Gael, Government representative), Fiona OLoughlin, TD (Fianna Fail), Martin Ferris, TD (Sinn Fein), and Catherine Martin, TD (Green Party). LifeStyle The best Lifestyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel Lifestyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Shaynna Blaze and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand. GARDAI are warning motorists not to leave valuables on display in their cars when parking their overnight or for long periods of time. There have been a number of break-ins to parked cars in the city over the past week including 12 cars at Colbert Station. According to gardai, each of the vehicles were broken into between 4am and 5am on Friday last April 20. Thankfully there was little or no property taken. However, we remind people not to leave any property visible in the car if parking for a long period of time for travel, said a garda spokesperson. The break-ins were the latest to have happened at Colbert Station. Last month, around 20 parked cars were targeted during Storm Emma. A juvenile has been arrested and questioned as part of that investigation. Garda at Roxboro are reviewing CCTV footage following the latest incidents and are appealing for any information. They can be contacted at (061) 214340. THE main opposition to Irish Cement Mungrets plans to burn tyres and waste has started a fresh objection campaign to lobby the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ahead of a public meeting in the South Court Hotel this Friday night, Limerick Against Pollution (LAP) is encouraging people who have not already objected to the plans submitted to the EPA to do just that. At present, more than 2,300 people have contacted the regulator, which is charged with awarding Irish Cement an operational licence for its 10m plans. But Claire Keating of LAP, says they want this number to reach 3,000 by the time mid-May comes and the deadline for objections passes. Like everything, in hindsight, nobody thought this would go ahead. People are in shock. We are expecting huge numbers at our meeting on Friday night, especially parents whose kid are going to the local schools, she said. Although An Bord Pleanala gave Irish Cement the green light to proceed with the infrastructural development of its reforms in Mungret, LAP still hopes the EPA steps in and denies the firm a licence. Without this, its plans to switch away from fossil fuels could be left in jeopardy. Residents are opposed to the scheme on many grounds, chiefly fearing an increase in emissions to the local environment, and health concerns arising as a result. However, Irish Cement has always insisted its reforms will not lead to this and pointed out that it will not only secure the future of the staff working on site, but also pave the way for 60 new temporary jobs. In another development this week, the firm was removed from a watchlist drawn up by the EPA, aimed at improving environmental compliance. Irish Cement Mungret was placed on the EPAs National Priority List earlier this year for allegedly failing to meet required environmental standards. However, this week, the regulator removed the firm from this list, citing improvements in compliance. General election candidate, Cllr James Collins has called on the HSE to monitor Limerick residents and assess the risk to human health in the event of Irish Cement getting permission to operate. This may be a seen as a matter of procedure to the Minister for Health, but there are people in Mungret, Dooradoyle and Raheen who are going to have to literally live under this cloud. We deserve more than civil servant platitudes and I suspect we would get more sincere answers if we were talking about an incinerator in Dublin 4, rather than right on the doorstep of the western suburbs of Limerick City, Cllr Collins said in a statement released to this newspaper. Labour councillor Joe Leddin said removing Irish Cement was a very strange decision to take. Being on the watchlist gave some semblance of peace of mind and security to residents that there was ongoing monitoring as to the emissions, he said. He said he felt that following the granting of permission from An Bord Pleanala, greater monitoring from the EPA would have been on the cards. LAPs public meeting will commence at 7.30pm this Friday night in the South Court Hotel. Irish Cement declined to comment this week on its removal from the watchlist. IT WAS A CASE of Va Va Vroom for a group of local bikers, who rode all the way to the south of France for the Munster match. Mary Rowan, Corbally; Don Grimes, South Circular Road; Chris OBrien, Nenagh; Brendan Condon, Pallasgreen, and his 11-year-old son Calum were all Bordeaux bound. Brendan said they left the High Nelly cafe bar in Pallasgreen at around 3pm on Friday afternoon. We headed for Rosslare and got the ferry at 9pm. We got into Cherbourg at 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon. We got as far as far as Nantes at 11.30pm on Saturday night. We stayed with a Monaghan man who owns a farm there, said Brendan. On Sunday morning, they headed for Bordeaux. After a three-hour spin they arrived two hours before the clash with Racing 92. We parked the bikes nearly at the gates of the stadium! There were lot of bikes belonging to the Racing 92 fans so we followed them, said Brendan. There was definitely nothing illegal about where they left their bikes or need for French fixed charge penalty notices to be issued as Brendan is a garda. They are all members of the Blue Knights the Irish chapter of the law enforcement motorcycle club. The match didnt go their way but Brendan said it was still a brilliant atmosphere. It was Calums first long bike ride and he agrees that his dad is the coolest in the world for bringing him to Bordeaux. It wasnt all fun and games as on the way back they visited World War II sites in Normandy including the American cemetery going and the Airborne Museum, situated in the square of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Calum attends Gaelscoil Chaladh an Treoigh. He told them he would do a project on World War II. Were having a great time, said Brendan. Calum said that he really enjoyed the bike ride to France and has lots of stories to tell his friends on his return to school. They got the ferry back on Tuesday at 8pm after the trip of a lifetime apart from the result of course. THE founder and chief technology officer of WP Engine Jason Cohen was in Limerick this week to meet with the next generation of tech leaders here. WP Engine, which provides hosting for sites on the popular WordPress internet platform, is building up to 100 staff at its base in the Engine building at Cecil Street. Mr Cohen was at the Limerick Institute of Technology, which has had a link with the company since it opened in September 2016. Mr Cohen said: There is no one kind of employee at WP Engine. We believe diversity and innovation fuels ideas, and this is central to our success. We are always looking for people who can bring new perspectives and life experiences to our team. LIT encourages such diversity, creativity and innovation among its students and that is why I believe we work so well together, he said. Paul Vesey, head of department of IT at LIT said: It is encouraging for the students to meet with a leader in the industry as they prepare for their final exams. LIT and WP Engine operate in partnership to create long-term opportunities for both our graduates and their existing staff who wish to up-skill. "This fits with WP Engine's commitment to its employees and to staff development, as well as LITs commitment to providing an education framework that is both flexible and inclusive. LIT president, Prof Vincent Cunnane added: The economic growth in Limerick and the Mid West means that employment opportunities are continuing to increase as more companies like WP Engine find a strong and well supported base here. At LIT, we continue to work with industry partners partners like, WP Engine, to ensure that the workforce has the skills necessary for this constantly developing industry, he added. Mr Cohen wished the students well in their exams. THE BILLIONAIRE Russian owner of Aughinish Aluminas parent company, Rusal, has no plans to let go of the company, despite the fact that the US has said that sanctions would be eased if he sold his share. Oleg Deripaska is instead relying on European governments, including Irelands, to lobby on the companys behalf to exempt Rusal from the sanctions list. In the last week, Deripaska has reshuffled top managers within the company, who will focus their attention on the sanctions. The oligarch plans to be directly involved in the situation, according to a Bloomberg report. The billionaires resistance to relinquishing control of Rusal sets up the prospect of a standoff between Rusal and the US, with the European aluminum industry warning there will be further chaos if the situation isnt resolved before a wind down period expires, reads the report. There was relief in the global markets earlier this week, when the US announced that the deadline for companies to continue dealing with Rusal was extended to October. Deripaskas company En+ currently owns 48 percent of Rusal. Earlier in the week, the US Treasury Department said it may consider lifting sanctions on the company, which it targeted earlier in April, if Deripaska relinquishes control and sells his stake in the group. Aughinish and its hundreds of employees have been caught up in an economic storm since the US imposed sanctions on Rusal, with Deripaska seen as having close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Seven oligarchs and their companies were sanctioned in response to Russias malign activity around the globe. But the US Office of Foreign Assets Control has said that Deripaska was specifically targeted for several reasons, including threatening the lives of business rivals, bribing government officials and having links to organized crime, reports Bloomberg. With 450 employees at the plant in Askeaton and around 400 working on contracts, the plant is one of the biggest employers in County Limerick. DAMIEN English has opened the first phase of a new 18.5m housing development in Southill in Limerick that will comprise of 80 homes when completed. The Minister of State, Dept of Housing, Planning and Local Government officially launched the first phase of Churchfield Development in OMalley Park a new development comprising of 42 homes. Funded under Limerick Regeneration, the 18.5m scheme when completed will consist of 80 new BER A rated energy efficient homes. Work on procuring the remaining 38 units will get underway shortly. This development marks another milestone on the regeneration path and follows on from the completion of 79 units last year at Lord Edward Street, said Minister English. Overall 243 new units have been completed and 561 social and private houses have been refurbished under a rolling programme of thermal upgrades across the regeneration areas. These are making a real difference in peoples lives, he said, adding his best wishes to the new tenants for the future and for the continued enjoyment of their new homes for many years to come. Deputy English also paid special tribute to the residents of the regeneration areas for their co-operation, patience and understanding throughout the whole process. 19 new families have been given keys to their new homes and planted a tree at the development to mark the official opening. The 18.5m scheme will also include significant infrastructural works involving the re-location of streets and a new drainage and services system for this part of the city. Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Stephen Keary said it was "an important day for the new residents and indeed all of Limerick. "I wish each and every one of the residents all the very best in their new home and hope they will create happy memories here and build a strong sense of community with their neighbours," he said. The project, designed by ABK Architects, provides housing through a mix of one, two, three and four bed houses and apartments within the context of a new urban layout that reinforce connections with the wider city. A central avenue connects the new development with the existing street network and has been developed adjacent to the Community Hub in Southill which has recently undergone refurbishment with the opening of a bright new Cafe space. "Were delighted the Minister visited Limerick today to open this scheme which is designed to the highest standards and integrates really well with adjacent buildings such as the Southill Area Centre," said Seamus Hanrahan of the council. "A total of 19 homes have been already handed over to families with the remaining 23 due to be completed over the coming weeks. After that, well look forward to starting phase two of the scheme, of which, significant preliminary work has already been completed," he added. Minster English was also briefed by Limerick City and County Council officials on future developments in Limerick as part of his visit to the city. He thanked contractor PJ Carey Ltd., ABK Architects, Punch Consultant Engineers, Homan O'Brien Consultant Engineers, Aecom Quantity Surveyors, the Office of Regeneration, and all involved in bringing the project to a successful conclusion. Delivery is happening for social housing in a real way, and today is another example of that. Across Ireland, local authorities are making real progress on their ambitious housing construction projects," he said. This work is accelerating and they are constantly adding to their programme to meet the housing needs in their areas, he added. THE Irish Chamber Orchestra is to make a second Trip to Tipp as the revamped Feile has completely sold out this Friday morning. The Limerick-based ICO will play with a host of top Irish acts as the much loved Feile returns this year in a Classical format The Semple Stadium-based Feile Classical sold out in minutes this Friday morning and a second date has now been added, with tickets to go on sale this Saturday at 10am. Twenty-eight years after the first ever Feile graced the grounds of Semple Stadium, the festival is in line to relive its glory days once again following news that it returns as Feile Classical. After a long hiatus, Feile will officially make an electrifying return on September 21 and 22 with Feile favourites The Stunning, Hothouse Flowers, An Emotional Fish, Something Happens, The 4 of Us, The Frank & Walters - all performing with the Limerick-based ICO. In stark contrast to the Feile days of the 90s, Feile Classical will be a fully-seated concert with modern-era luxuries like a choice of clean toilets, gourmet food tents, gin and prosecco offerings and pints that are poured from a keg. A pop-up Food Village will flank the pitch where concert-goers can pick and choose from food offerings from around the world. The grounds flanking the pitch will display a photography exhibition of the fans and bands of Feiles past. Something Happens frontman Tom Dunne is the driving force behind Feile Classical delights, along with Limerick production company CWB and Live at Semple Stadium. He said: This concert has been in the ether for some time now, and myself and the bands are really excited to be collaborating with the Irish Chamber Orchestra to put together a glorious in your face celebration of a special time in Irish music. Feile was special, it was iconic, it was our Woodstock and Feile Classical will be an even bigger, better, louder explosion of the best of those days and so much more. See Ticketmaster for more. Apr 26, 2018, 12 PM Images of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton flank the scene of the infamous duel that took place in 1804 between the two men. The pistols used in the duel, also shown, will be on display May 25-June 24 at the Smithsonians National Postal Museum to help kick off its new exhibit Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon. Image courtesy JPMorgan Chase Corporate History Program. By Linns Staff The Smithsonians National Postal Museum on May 25 will open a new exhibit Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon that will run through March 3, 2019. For a brief four-week period, the exhibit will include the original dueling pistols used by Hamilton and Aaron Burr in the 1804 duel that resulted in Hamiltons death. The display of the pistols, courtesy of the JPMorgan Chase & Co., will take place May 25 through June 24. It is the first time the pistols will be on public display in the Washington, D.C., area. The exhibition coincides with the Washington, D.C., touring dates of Hamilton: An American Musical. According to the postal museum, the exhibit explores the extraordinary life of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) through original mail sent and signed by him in his role as first Secretary of the Treasury and portraits of him and his contemporaries on postage and revenue stamps. One of the items included in the exhibit is an 1871 United States $2 Beer revenue stamp proof that includes a portrait of Hamilton (Scott REA29). Hamilton was born Jan. 11 in 1755 (or 1777) on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. As a young man, he attended Kings College (now known as Columbia University) in New York City. Shortly after his arrival in New York, long-simmering tensions between Great Britain and her North American colonies erupted into open war, the National Postal Museum said. Essentially an orphan, and with few influential connections, Hamilton saw the American Revolution as an opportunity for rapid social advancement. Hamilton committed to the revolution; he and America would sink or swim together. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter His alma mater highlighted his many accomplishments: Hamilton was one of the founding fathers of the nation. He joined James Madison and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, essays considered the defining discourse on American government. As the nations first secretary of the treasury, he laid the groundwork for the American economic system. An advocate of a strong central government, he promoted pro-business policies that spurred the growth of New York as a financial center. He helped found the Bank of New York and the New York Evening Post. He was throughout his life opposed to slavery and openly scornful of those who defended the peculiar institution. "The Huns at the Battle of Chalons" from A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times, Vol.I of VI. Illustration by A. De Neuville (1836-1885). Barbarians a word that today often refers to uncivilized people or evil people and their evil deeds originated in ancient Greece, and it initially only referred to people who were from out of town or did not speak Greek. Today, the meaning of the word is far removed from its original Greek roots. A poignant example comes from a 2012 speech given by then U.S. President Barack Obama in New York City. "When a little boy is kidnapped, turned into a child soldier, forced to kill or be killed that's slavery. When a little girl is sold by her impoverished family girls my daughters' age runs away from home, or is lured by the false promises of a better life, and then imprisoned in a brothel and tortured if she resists that's slavery. It is barbaric [writer's emphasis], and it is evil, and it has no place in a civilized world," he said. When Obama used the term "barbaric," he was not referring to people from outside New York City or non-Greek-speaking people but rather to acts of evil in general. Indeed, the meaning of the word barbarian has changed dramatically over time and, in fact, the word did not always have a negative meaning for everyone. Greek origins The word "barbarian" is derived from the ancient Greek word which was used 3,200 years ago when a civilization that modern-day scholars called "Mycenaean" ruled much of Greece, writes Juan Luis Garcia Alonso, a Classics professor at the University of Salamanca, in a paper published in the book "Identity(ies): A multicultural and multidisciplinary approach" (Coimbra University Press, 2017). The word was written on clay tablets found at Pylos, a large Mycenaean city on the Greek mainland. "In the Pylos clay tablet collection we do find the word simply applied, apparently, to people from out of town," wrote Alonso. A number of scholars have argued that the "bar-bar" in the word "barbarian" may be an attempt to imitate a stammering voice which, presumably, some non-Greek speakers might sound like to someone who speaks Greek. By "the archaic period [2,700 years ago] there is no doubt that one of the major meanings of the word was linguistic: the Barbarians were those who did not speak Greek," writes Konstantinos Vlassopoulos, a professor of history and archaeology at the University of Crete, in his book "Greeks and the Barbarians" (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Non-Greek speaking people could be friendly or hostile. The Persians who invaded Greece were referred to as "barbarians" in Herodotus' (lived fifth century B.C.) description of their battle against a Spartan led force at Thermopylae. Vlassopoulos notes that the ancient Greeks sometimes used the word in a confusing and contradictory fashion. One problem they had is that there was no agreement among the ancient Greeks as to who spoke Greek and who didn't, at least up until around the time of Alexander the Great. There "existed a variety of local and regional dialects, which were mutually comprehensible to a larger or smaller degree," writes Vlassopoulos. Barbarians and Rome The meaning of the word "barbarian" would change somewhat when Romans (many of whom did not speak Greek) used the word to refer to all foreigners, especially the wide variety of people who were encroaching on their borders. These barbarians were never united. Some pillaged the Roman Empire while others became its allies. There were numerous groups, and their allegiances changed over time. "Rome dealt actively with, among others, Goths, Vandals, Herules, Sueves, Saxons, Gepids, as well as Sarmatians, Alans, Huns, Avars, Picts, Carpi and Isaurians," writes Walter Goffart, a senior research scholar and lecturer at Yale University, in his book "Barbarian Tides: The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006). One of these groups, the Baiuvarii, sometimes modified their skulls so that they had an egg-shaped appearance. The most famous "barbarian" from this period was, arguably, Attila the Hun. He ruled a vast empire that controlled other barbarian groups. At the start of his rule he allied himself with the Romans against the Burgundians (another "barbarian" group). Then, later on, he turned against the Romans and marched against them in France. The Romans then allied themselves with the Visigoths (also "barbarians") and defeated Attila. The word "barbarian" did not have a negative meaning for everyone in the Roman Empire. Around A.D. 440, the Christian priest Salvian wrote that "almost all barbarians, at least those who are of one race and kin, love each other, while the Romans persecute each other." He noted that many poor Romans turned to the "barbarians" for help. "They doubtless seek Roman humanity among the barbarians, because they cannot bear barbarian inhumanity among the Romans." (Translation through Fordham University website) Who is a barbarian? Among modern-day scholars, and among the general public, the definition of barbarian gets even more tangled and confusing. "If there is one characteristic that civilizations have in common, it is their ideological need to defend themselves not just against their own enemies, but against the enemies of civilizations, the 'barbarians,'" writes Nicola Di Cosmo, of the Institute for Advanced Study, in his book "Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Powers in East Asian History" (Cambridge University Press, 2002). "This opposition between civilization and its enemies can be recognized as one of the great ongoing themes that we encounter in world history." For instance the Chinese used terms that are sometimes translated into English as "barbarian" to describe people who they fought against such as the Yi. Some people consider the Vikings to be "barbarians," even though they had advanced sailingtechniques that allowed them to colonize Iceland and sail to the New World. Today, some people even consider medical treatments that were used in ancient times as "barbaric" even though they are still used today. To the ancient Greeks, a barbarian was someone from out of town or did not speak Greek, regardless of whether that person had good or bad intentions. The term has changed throughout time to a point where the ancient Greeks probably wouldn't recognize it. Presidential speechwriters, take note. The idea of microbes joining forces inside your body to wreak havoc and cause disease sounds frightening and it should. Now, scientists have found that a particular type of fungus does just that, and the fungal cells use a surprising method to team up and communicate with each other. What's more, the findings may explain why this fungus can infect healthy people, a characteristic that's unusual for fungal infections, which more typically strike people with weakened immune systems. The study focused on a fungus called Cryptococcus gattii, which lives in soil and is found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. However, in 1999, a strain of this fungus popped up in British Columbia, Canada, and later, in Oregon and Washington state, mostly causing infections in otherwise-healthy people. The infection, which people catch by inhaling fungal spores, can be life-threatening, causing a pneumonia-like illness in the lungs, as well as serious infections of the brain and tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. From 2004 to 2010, there were 60 reported causes of Cryptococcus gattii in the U.S., and among the 45 cases with known outcomes, nine (20 percent) died from their infections, according to a 2010 study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously, researchers found that Cryptococcus gattii was so virulent because it had the "remarkable ability to grow rapidly within human white blood cells," study author Ewa Bielska, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. In 2014, Bielska's colleagues found that this rapid growth resulted from a "division of labor," meaning that the fungal cells worked together to coordinate their behavior and drive rapid growth. [10 Bizarre Diseases You Can Get Outdoors] In the new study, Bielska and colleagues figured out exactly how the fungal cells are joining forces: The microbes use microscopic, fluid-filled sacs called extracellular vesicles to communicate. "These vesicles act like 'carrier pigeons,' transferring messages between the fungi and helping them to coordinate their attack on the host cell," said study senior author Robin May, director of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Microbiology and Infection. This is the first time that scientists have found a connection between extracellular vesicles and fungal virulence, the researchers said. The scientists also found that, surprisingly, the fungal cells could use extracellular vesicles to communicate across relatively long distances between cells. "Our initial expectation was that the fungus would only be able to communicate within a single host cell, but in fact we discovered that it can communicate over very large in microbiology terms distances and across multiple host cell barriers," May said. The finding "provides us with a potential opportunity to develop new drugs that work by interrupting this communication route during an infection," he said. The study was published April 19 in the journal Nature Communications. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 12:51 p.m. E.T. on Friday, April 27. DNA testing kits such as 23andMe can tell you all about your family's ancestry but they can also potentially catch a serial killer. The notorious "Golden State Killer," known for a series of rapes and murders in California in the 1970s and 1980s, evaded capture for decades, but his genes finally caught up to him. Armed with DNA that the killer left behind at various crime scenes, investigators used a shot-in-the-dark method to track him down: They painstakingly searched through numerous genetic profiles on popular genealogy websites to see if they could find DNA that matched that of the murderer and they just about did, according to the Sacramento Bee. In fact, the investigators homed in on the genetic profile of someone who appeared to be related to the killer. The bulk of the search was done on GEDmatch, an open-source genealogy website that makes users' genetic information available for anyone to see without needing a court order, according to the San Jose Mercury News. By the time police began intense surveillance on 72-year-old suspect Joseph James DeAngelo, they were strongly suspicious he was the killer, the Bee reported. They just needed stronger evidence than his relative's DNA. So, they waited for him to discard something holding his own DNA on it. [Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones]. Though law enforcement officials didn't reveal what objects they got DeAngelo's DNA from, they would've eventually gotten it from something or another. We discard our DNA everywhere: We leave behind dead skin cells on our keyboards, shed strands of hair or eyelashes, and leave bits of saliva on the rims of glasses. For forensic scientists, this "discarded DNA" is often the key to pinning a crime to a suspect. Thanks to modern DNA techniques and interest, DeAngelo was arrested on Tuesday (April 24). Genetic fingerprinting is the bar code of justice Modern genetic fingerprinting techniques need only a small sample of DNA, even a discarded scrap of it, to read a person's unique genetic code, said Angelique Corthals, an assistant professor and forensic anthropologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. And at-home DNA testing kits work in a similar way to those techniques. "We can actually get DNA from a 20,000-year-old individual, [so] surely we can get a full sequence from a person who shed their cells just a couple of days ago," Corthals told Live Science. Over 99 percent of our DNA as humans is the same, but reading that remaining 1 percent allows forensics experts to pinpoint exactly who we are. Save for identical twins, each person has a unique genome. (Fun fact: Twins do have unique fingerprints.) It's like scanning a bar code, Corthals said. "Based on the similarity of patterns between discarded DNA and the evidence that was collected at the time of the crime, you can basically, pretty much ensure that you have a match," she said. "And that pattern doesn't require you to sequence the entire genome of a person, so you can just target those areas which will be informative." Why modern forensics can solve decades-old crimes Since DNA sequencing came onto the scene, time is typically not a factor in catching a killer; officials usually sequence the DNA from a crime scene at the time of the crime or shortly thereafter. This way, they have the unique pattern ready to go when they need to compare it with a suspect's DNA, Corthals said. Sometimes, police even freeze the DNA for future use or freeze-dry it in a powder form; both methods allow them to keep DNA for, hypothetically, millions of years. But the collection of DNA itself can be time-sensitive. Genetic material can be damaged with time if it isn't preserved properly; it can unravel or break under heat and chemicals, or get hidden in a tangle of contaminants. [7 Diseases You Can Learn About from a Genetic Test] "Anything that's older than a couple of days will always be a lot more prone to contamination," Corthals said. That contamination can include genetic material from the people who handle the DNA or other animals that trample around it, or even chemical deposits. But "there are many techniques nowadays to sort out what is contamination," Corthals added. New technology called a lab-on-a-chip evades contamination by testing DNA samples right there at the crime scene. Of course, this is all if the suspect hasn't wiped the scene of his or her traces. Although wiping all traces of DNA is difficult to do, an experienced person would know how to kill DNA, by wiping it with chemicals or by heating it up, Corthals said. "When you heat up sugar in a pan, you get caramel," Corthals said. Same with DNA you get a "garbled mass of nothingness." This is why it's more difficult to extract DNA from burn victims, though it's not impossible. So why did it take so long to find the alleged Golden State Killer? "You actually would be surprised how many cases of murders go unsolved even murders that are from a potential serial killer," Corthals said. "If it's true that the perpetrator was a cop, he would have been well-versed with what forensics [professionals] do when they go into a crime scene, so he would've made sure a lot of evidence would've been wiped out from [the] scene itself." But we know that investigators had samples of the killer's DNA from the crime scenes. So it's more likely that detectives simply didn't have a sample of the killer's DNA to compare the collected samples with, Corthals said. "You always need a comparison, [so] if you don't have the comparative material, you just have evidence lying in your locker," Corthals said. "Technology itself cannot solve what detective work does." No matter how well-versed he was in forensics, it seems the alleged Golden State Killer didn't prepare for an age of genetic curiosity. Editor's Note: This story was updated to include additional information on the DNA testing service that was used to identify a suspect in the Golden State Killer case. Originally published on Live Science. It all started when a woman's co-workers ramped up the air conditioning. For some reason, she broke out in hives. Concerned, the woman visited the doctor and got startling news: She was allergic to the cold. The condition, known as cold urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-ee-uh), is rare, but it jibed with her past experiences, the woman's doctors wrote in a new Australian case report, published online April 3 in the journal Climacteric. The 40-year-old woman said she also got hives on windy days, while walking outside on cold mornings and after swimming in the ocean. The latest episode was brought on because her co-workers, who were experiencing menopausal hot flashes, had cranked up the AC in the office, her doctors found. [7 Strange Signs You're Having an Allergic Reaction] People with cold urticaria can also break out in hives if they come into contact with cold objects or consume cold foods or drinks, the doctors wrote. In fact, while examining the woman, the doctors pressed an ice cube against her arm for 10 minutes. After removing the ice, they saw a "well-defined wheal, consistent with the diagnosis of cold urticaria," the doctors wrote in the case report. Despite her rare allergy, the doctors treated the woman as they would any patient with hives: They prescribed her antihistamines to relieve her symptoms. Here's why: When the immune system detects something potentially dangerous in this case, the cold certain white blood cells and tissue cells release histamines that find and attach to histamine receptors, Live Science previously reported. Once connected, these histamines induce an inflammatory response, such as increased blood flow, to help heal the site. Antihistamines block these histamines, so the allergy can't lead to an inflammatory response, Live Science reported. However, in this case, the doctors also advised the woman to prepare for the cold for instance, by taking antihistamines in advance if she knew she would be exposed to a chilly place. They also recommended that she wear a long wet suit when swimming and that she swim with a partner, just in case her cold urticaria caused her to lose consciousness, they wrote in the case report. That's because swimming in very cold water can cause some people with cold urticaria to experience very low blood pressure, fainting or shock, according to the Mayo Clinic. It's unclear what causes cold urticaria, but sometimes it's triggered by certain blood cancers and autoimmune diseases, said Dr. Tho Truong, an allergist at National Jewish Health in Denver who was not involved with the patient's care. In the woman's case, it's possible she inherited a trait that made her susceptible to the condition, as her mother has a similar, but milder, reaction to cold temperatures, the doctors wrote in the case report. Up to 3 percent of the population experiences hives, and the percentage who have cold urticaria is even lower, Truong told Live Science. However, it's possible that even a person with run-of-the-mill hives will develop the red splotches after a temperature change, such as when getting into a hot shower or going into the icy outdoors. "It's not like they're allergic to heat [or cold], but they have this underlying condition that makes their immune cells very sensitive to these physical changes," Truong said. "They don't necessarily have cold-induced urticaria; they just have urticaria," or hives. An allergy to the cold may be rare, but it's not the only unusual allergy out there. For example, a toddler in Minnesota is allergic to water, a condition known as aquagenic urticaria, Live Science reported earlier this year. Original article on Live Science. Low-lying, white-sand islands lined with palm trees and perched on tropical coral atolls are the stuff of vacation dreams. It's long been claimed that they will eventually disappear as the sea level rises because of global warning, but when that might happen has been unclear. A study published Wednesday (April 25) in the journal Science Advances suggests the islands could become uninhabitable in as little as 40 years. However, other scientists vigorously contest the study's conclusions. The study is based on an analysis of waves rolling up to a highly militarized island that looks nothing like a vacation fantasy called Roi-Namur on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Central Pacific's Marshall Islands. The research was funded largely by the U.S. Defense Department. Atolls are made of tropical and subtropical coral that grew around the caldera of volcanoes as their rim sank into the sea. Coral and marine animals with calcium skeletons, ground up by the waves, eventually formed enough sand that waves pushing the sand onto reefs created islands. These started appearing around 5,000 years ago, and many were eventually colonized by Polynesians, Micronesians and Melanesians. [6 Unexpected Effects of Climate Change] Curt Storlazzi, the paper's lead author, told Live Science that the biggest of these waves, thought to have reached great enough heights to wash over atoll islands every two or three decades in the past, will flood at least half of each island once a year when the sea level has risen by about 3 feet (1 meter). This could occur by 2105, according to some ice-melt scenarios modeled by the scientists, or as soon as 2055 under more pessimistic models involving ice-shelf collapse. These calculations, Storlazzi said, would apply to atoll islands across the globe, or about 25,000 islands. "There's nothing wrong with the waves washing over the islands per se," said Storlazzi, a geologist who studies waves for the U.S. Geological Survey at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "When it happens every 20 years, the communities have the time to recover from the effects of flooding." Afterward, rain washes away the salt that leached into the porous, sandy ground and refreshes the lens of fresh water that lies a foot or two below the island's surface and it floats above the seawater, he said. In other words, plants and people can survive. But at the rate of once a year, Storlazzi said, the plants will die, the fresh water won't have time to return and people won't be able to repair the flooding damage to roads and homes so they will simply leave. Most atoll islands with be fine, studys critic says Paul Kench, head of the University of Auckland's School of Environment and a prolific author of studies on atolls, said the new study's analysis of the wave dynamics at Roi-Namur might apply to just half a dozen islands around the world not to all of them. [8 of the World's Most Endangered Places] "It's the waves washing over the islands that brought them to their present configuration," Kench, who wasn't involved in Storlazzi's research, said in a phone interview from New Zealand. "As the sea level keeps rising, the islands will rise too, and they will impede flooding events. So these are unlikely to become as frequent as predicted in this paper." The research, he added, also ignores the responses of the atoll dwellers, who could build new structures on stilts and harness foreign aid to acquire solar-powered desalinators. In February, Kench, with Murray Ford and Susan Owen, published a paper in the journal Nature Communications showing that the islands making up Tuvalu and their population had fared just fine as the Central Pacific sea-level rose nearly 6 inches (15 centimeters) in the past half century and that such resilience could be expected to continue. Another study by Kench and the same co-authors, this one published in 2014 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that Jabat Island, in the Marshall Islands, emerged at a time when the sea was rising roughly as fast as it is today. Overall, he said, he has studied the evolution of at least 600 atolls, found that the vast majority have stayed the same or naturally increased in size, and he expects most of them to stay pretty much the same for the rest of this century. In contrast to nearly all other atoll islands, Roi-Namur was thoroughly bulldozed during and after World War II for military purposes, Kench said. "The island has been so reconfigured that it's lost the ability to receive sand and grow," he added. Similar destruction has also compromised South Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati, where 60,000 people are packed into 6 square miles (16 square kilometers) and are highly vulnerable to flooding. The study was based on an examination of waves on Roi-Namur island (top), which hosts a U.S. military base. But some scientists say its findings dont apply to typical atolls, such as the Atafu atoll in the Pacific Ocean (bottom). (Image credit: Google Maps (top); NASA Earth Observatory (bottom)) Limits to "doomed atoll" finding Storlazzi, who insisted his findings apply to atoll islands all over the world, doesn't dispute that waves washing over a typical sand island will make it rise. But he explained that for this study of Roi-Namur, the team assumed the island would not rise at all. Storlazzi explained that the model didn't account for island rise because the margin of error for such a prediction was too great. Plus, the growth "is only a tenth of the overwash thickness, so there will always be more overwash during large-wave events than the island can grow vertically to offset them," he said. It is precisely these events that will make life impossible on these atolls, he added. In contrast, Kench and other geomorphologists say the record shows that, as the sea rises, the waves push up sand ridges on the beaches, thus preventing the rest of the island from being flooded. In addition, the new study didn't account for the vertical growth of the coral in the reef flats where the waves form. That means that if the sea level rose by 3 feet, the amount of water on these flats will be that much greater and the waves much bigger. However, coral does grow vertically in these flats as the sea level rises. How fast it will continue to do so remains unclear as hot-weather events kill more and more corals. Kench added that the study highlighted the problems of islands with human-made modifications like seawalls, causeways and reclaimed land that have disrupted the natural mechanisms that have allowed the lightly populated or pristine islands to naturally adapt to sea-level rise. Virginie Duvat, a professor of coastal geography at the University of La Rochelle-CNRS, in France, specializes in atolls. She agreed with Kench that all but the most disfigured atoll islands seem to be adapting well to sea-level rise so far. But that doesn't mean the residents of these islands are guaranteed a bright future. "If we tip into a world that is getting warm very fast, I think there are going to be all kinds of combinations of phenomena that will interact in ways we can't begin to predict," Duvat told Live Science. "For instance, if the corals start dying off en masseand can't recover, they might well keep producing sand to feed the beaches for another century, but the amount of accessible fish on the reef is going to crash, and people won't have enough to eat," she said. "Or soil salinization might kill off the coconut trees, which are the only source of cash for most people. "You can't take current processes and expect to see them continue for a century," she added. "That's why I'm prudent." Original article on Live Science. A train of mining carts and new structure are seen at the West Portal spoil pile within the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in North Korea on April 20, 2018. The testing site sits on Mount Mantap, which seems to have "tired mountain syndrome." Last week, North Korea announced that it will cease all nuclear testing and will shut down its main testing facility at Mount Mantap. Although some believe the decision came because of easing tensions between the country and the world, others think Mount Mantap may have come down with a bad case of "tired mountain syndrome." But what exactly is tired mountain syndrome, and how does a mountain "catch" it? It turns out that repeated nuclear blasts can weaken the rock around underground nuclear test sites, eventually making them unsafe or unusable which might have happened with North Korea's preferred testing grounds. [North Korea: A Hermit Country from Above (Photos)] Powerful explosions The hermit country's latest nuclear test, conducted in September 2017 at Punggye-ri, was at least 17 times more powerful than the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, according to The Washington Post. In fact, the explosion registered as a magnitude-6.3 earthquake, and before-and-after satellite shots showed visible movement at Mount Mantap a 7,200-foot-high (2,200 meters) mountain under which deeply buried tunnels house most of the tests. Some geologists think that the mountain is cracking under the pressure. "You can take a piece of rock and set it on the ground, take a hammer, tap it; nothing will happen," said Dale Anderson, a seismologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. You keep tapping it and, say the 21st time, "it will break and crack open." When a nuclear explosion goes off inside a mountain, it breaks the surrounding rock, and the energy propagates out like a wave (imagine throwing a pebble into a lake). But as more explosions go off around the same but not exact spot, rocks that are farther away also begin to crumble under repeated stress. "The accumulated effect of these explosions that weaken rocks and create that fracturing [farther away from the point of explosion] is what we call tired mountain syndrome," Anderson told Live Science. Tired mountain syndrome can also stymie scientists trying to measure how strong an explosion is, he said. The propagating energy scatters around these fractured rocks before reaching the sensors, so the explosion registers as a lot weaker than it actually is, he added. But this effect "has nothing to do with being able to use the facility," Anderson said. In fact, a country can keep using the site but must adjust the mathematical equations it uses so that the final magnitude of the explosion takes tired mountain syndrome into account. Toxic seepage If nuclear test sites are shut down, Anderson said, it's usually a direct consequence of the syndrome. Mountains with this condition become much more permeable, meaning that more pathways open up for gas and liquid to travel through the rock. This means there's a greater chance for radioactive gas with the most concerning being xenon to escape the rock and seep out to the surface, Anderson said. "Mother nature has already fractured the rock," Anderson said. "When an explosion goes off, sometimes damage [from it] will connect with natural fractures, and you can conceivably get a pathway up to the surface, and gases will seep out." The process by which gas could be pulled up and through the rock is called barometric pumping. A group of Chinese geologists said on Wednesday (April 25) that they believe the nuclear test site had collapsed and that Mount Mantap was in "fragile fragments," according to The Washington Post. But William Leith, the senior science adviser for earthquake and geologic hazards at the U.S. Geological Survey who with one other scientist coined the term to describe a Soviet nuclear testing site in 2001 doesn't think it is. In an interview with CBC Radio in October, when asked if the mountain in North Korea was tired, he said, "I would say, 'not very tired.' And that's because they've only had, as far as we know, six underground nuclear explosions, and there's a lot of mountain left there." In comparison, he and his colleagues first used the term to describe Degelen Mountain in the former Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan), which was battered by more than 200 explosions. North Korea's mountain may be tired but whether it's completely exhausted is difficult to say. Originally published on Live Science. Border Patrol agents raided two stash houses containing 48 undocumented immigrants this week in South Texas. The first operation happened on Monday in Weslaco after agents received information on a possible stash house. Border Patrol agents, working in collaboration with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, discovered a total of 21 migrants, officials said. READ ALSO: 56 illegal immigrants found in south Laredo stash house On Thursday, Border Patrol agents and HCSO deputies disrupted another stash house operation in Pharr. A total of 27 people were apprehended, officials said. According to Customs and Border Protection, the people in both stash houses included men and women from Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Ecuador. In a recent press release, CBP said they were offered medical assistance and will be processed. jerilynnthorpe@lmtonline.com | Twitter: @jerilynnthorpe The country's biggest seller of police body cameras on Thursday convened a corporate board devoted to the ethics and expansion of artificial intelligence, a major new step toward offering controversial facial-recognition technology to police forces nationwide. Axon, the maker of Taser electroshock weapons and the wearable body cameras now used by most major American city police departments, has voiced interest in pursuing face recognition for its body-worn cameras. The technology could allow officers to scan and recognize the faces of potentially everyone they see while on patrol. A growing number of surveillance firms and tech start-ups are racing to integrate face recognition and other AI capabilities into real-time video. The board's first meeting will likely presage an imminent showdown over the rapidly developing technology. Shortly after the board was announced, a group of 30 civil rights, technology and privacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, sent members a letter voicing "serious concerns with the current direction of Axon's product development." The letter urged an outright ban on face recognition, which it called "categorically unethical to deploy" because of the technology's privacy implications, technical imperfections and potentially life-threatening biases. Most facial-recognition systems, recent research found, perform far less accurately when assessing people with darker skin, opening the potential to an AI-enabled officer misidentifying an innocent person as a dangerous fugitive. Axon's founder and chief executive, Rick Smith, said the company is not currently building facial-recognition systems but said the technology is "under active consideration." He acknowledged the potential for "bias and misuse" in face recognition but said the potential benefits are too promising to ignore. "I don't think it's an optimal solution, the world we're in today, that catching dangerous people should just be left up to random chance, or expecting police officers to remember who they're looking for," Smith said. "It would be both naive and counterproductive to say law enforcement shouldn't have these new technologies. They're going to, and I think they're going to need them. We can't have police in the 2020s policing with technologies from the 1990s." Axon held the board's first meeting Thursday morning at its Arizona headquarters with eight company-selected experts in AI, civil liberties and criminal justice. The board, whose members are paid volunteers and have no official veto power, will be asked to advise the company on "future capabilities Axon's AI Research team is working on to help increase police efficiency and efficacy," the company said in a statement. Face recognition has long had major appeal for law enforcement and government surveillance, and recent advances in AI development and declining camera and hardware costs have spurred developers to suggest it could be applied for broader use. Roughly 117 million American adults, or about half the country, can be found in the vast facial-recognition databases used by local, state and federal law enforcement, Georgetown Law School researchers estimated in 2016. Faces are regarded as a quick, reliable way to identify someone from video or afar - and, in some cases, seen as easier to acquire than other "biometric identifiers," such as fingerprints, that demand close proximity and physical contact. The Department of Homeland Security scans the faces of international travelers at many of the country's biggest airports, and plans to expand to every traveler flying overseas. But critics say facial-recognition systems are still unproven in their ability to uniquely identify someone. Faces age over time and change because of circumstance, and they aren't always that unique. Identical twins, for instance, have been shown to be able to fool the facial-recognition systems used to unlock Apple's iPhone X. "Real-time face recognition would chill the constitutional freedoms of speech and association, especially at political protests," the letter from the dissenting groups states. It "could also prime officers to perceive individuals as more dangerous than they really are and to use more force than the situation requires. No policy or safeguard can mitigate these risks sufficiently well for real-time face recognition ever to be marketable." Axon has moved aggressively to corner the market on police technologies, offering free one-year trials for its body cameras and online storage to police departments nationwide. The company said in February that more than half of the major city law-enforcement agencies in the United States have bought Axon body cameras or software, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. The company, which changed its name last year from Taser International, also advertises itself as "the largest custodian of public safety data in the U.S.," saying more than 20 petabytes - or 20 million gigabytes - of police photos, body-camera video and other criminal-investigation documents have been uploaded to its cloud-storage service, Evidence.com. Police video is seen as a major growth market for AI-development firms, both for real-time surveillance and after-crime review: One company, BriefCam, allows city officials and police investigators to narrow hours of video down into seconds by filtering only the footage of, for instance, red trucks or men with suitcases. Axon's long-established contracts with nationwide police forces could push the technology's real-world deployment rapidly forward. Instead of signing new deals with tech firms, police departments with Axon body cameras could push facial-recognition features to its officers in potentially the same way they apply a software update. Face recognition is one of the most competitive and hotly debated subsets of AI in today's consumer tech, with Apple, Facebook and Google all devoting teams to expanding its use in security, photo tagging and search. Most facial-recognition systems today depend on "deep-learning" algorithms that analyze facial photos and scan for similarities across a huge data set of similar images. Supporters of body cameras say the upgraded systems could help alert officers to a passing criminal suspect or spot a missing child in a crowd. But the technology does not always deliver perfect results and instead suggests the probability of a possible match, with an accuracy rate that can vary wildly based on the photo's quality, the person's skin color or other factors. Privacy advocates worry that the systems could instill a false confidence and lead to police misidentifying innocent people as suspects or wanted criminals, with potentially fatal results. "There's always going to be a possibility of error and, in a real-time scenario where a police officer is likely armed, the risks associated with potential misidentification are always going to exceed any possible benefits," said Laura Moy, the deputy director of Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology. "There's a real concern that it could exacerbate the risk of police use of force." Today's facial-recognition systems also show troubling implicit biases, often due to the lack of diversity in images its systems have been trained on. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab said earlier this year that the three leading facial-recognition systems - from IBM, Face++ and Microsoft - performed consistently better at identifying the gender of people with lighter skin, averaging 99 percent accuracy for lighter-skinned men and 70 percent accuracy for darker-skinned women. Body cameras, which gained popularity in recent years as tools for checking police misconduct, have been criticized for contributing to pervasive surveillance and potentially worsening the problems in heavily policed neighborhoods. Police also largely decide the rules of use. Sacramento police officers last month muted their body cameras after fatally shooting Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, in his grandmother's back yard. Critics have questioned how effective the volunteer ethics board, meeting twice a year, will be in steering the decisions of a private company. But Smith said he saw some parallels between face recognition and Tasers, which saw initial resistance but have rapidly proliferated into one of law enforcement's most commonly used weapons. "We'll probably see some missteps along the way. As I look back on the Taser journey, when you introduce things with this much of a change, it's rarely a smooth process," he said. But "getting this wrong is not just a bad thing for society. Companies that get these things wrong pay a big price. ... We don't want to create an Orwellian state just to make a buck." Joseph James DeAngelo, accused this week of being the notorious East Area Rapist, took a terrorizing swing through the Bay Area in 1978 and 1979, according to authorities. DeAngelo, 72, was arrested Tuesday in Sacramento by investigators who believe he committed at least 12 murders and 45 rapes over a 10-year period starting in 1976. In the first two years of his alleged crime spree, he is suspected of committing at least 39 sexual assaults in the greater Sacramento area and other parts of the Central Valley. As the incidents stacked up, authorities became increasingly concerned that the East Area Rapist would turn his attention in a new direction. In August 1978, Sacramento County sheriffs officials traveled to Contra Costa County to warn law enforcement. Larry Crompton, a former deputy in Contra Costa Countys crime lab, recalls the meeting at which he and his colleagues were warned. At that time, few were aware of the extent of the East Area Rapists crimes. They said, We feel he will be coming to your area, said Crompton, who is now retired and living in Oregon. At that time we thought, Why would he come to our area? Within two months, the East Area Rapist had made his move. On Oct. 7, 1978, DeAngelo allegedly raped a woman in Concord. Six days later, police say, he was in Concord again, where they say he gagged a 29-year-old woman and her husband and locked their 8-year-old child in the bathroom while he raped the woman. DeAngelo was then a police officer in Auburn (Placer County). Later that month, on Oct. 28, a man believed to be the East Area Rapist struck in San Ramon, raping a 23-year-old woman in her home. The man raped again a week later in San Jose, police said, and a month after that an intruder pried open a sliding glass door at Heidi and Clark Tojos home in San Jose and raped Heidi Tojo, Crompton wrote in Sudden Terror, a book about the East Area Rapist. The man forced Heidi Tojo to tie her husbands hands behind his back before raping her, Crompton wrote. Throughout the assault, the attacker threatened to shoot the victims. Within a week, the East Area Rapist was apparently in Danville. A woman who had fallen asleep reading poetry in her home awoke to discover a man wearing a ski mask who demanded money and food before he raped her, Crompton wrote. Another sexual assault linked to the spree occurred in San Ramon 10 days later, authorities said. On April 4, 1979, a man believed to be the East Area Rapist struck again, entering a home in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont. He tied up a womans boyfriend before raping her at gunpoint, The Chronicle reported at the time. The rapist tied up the boyfriend in a prone position, then placed dishes on the mans back as a crude alarm system, the story said. The attacker apparently moved on to Walnut Creek two months later, targeting a 17-year-old babysitter. And nine days after that, he entered a home outside Danville through an open window and threatened the house occupants before raping the woman, The Chronicle reported. Two weeks later in Walnut Creek, a man believed to be the East Area Rapist attacked a 13-year-old girl in the Rancho San Miguel neighborhood. On Wednesday, 39 years after the attack, that woman told the San Jose Mercury News that the attacker had held a knife to her throat. On July 12, 1979, Danville saw the last of the East Area Rapists known Bay Area crimes, an attempted sexual assault. The incidents created widespread fear. A Chronicle article from Oct. 19, 1978, noted that Concords police chief had warned residents to arm themselves. He also stoked controversy when he told girls at a junior high school to stop wearing provocative clothing. DeAngelo was fired from the Auburn Police Department in the summer of 1979, and investigators believe he moved to Southern California and committed a series of killings and sexual assaults that drew national attention and were later linked to the spree up north. Its unclear whether any of the Bay Area cases will result in charges. Sean Webby, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County district attorneys office, said no charges can be filed in the two San Jose cases because the statute of limitations has passed. Scott Alonso, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County district attorneys office, said his office is evaluating the same issue. Were working with the local law enforcement cases in the nine cases, and so far no cases have been filed, Alonso said. Sophie Haigney and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney @JennaJourno On Grand Strategy By John Lewis Gaddis Penguin Press. 368 pp. $26 --- Soon after the collapse of Saigon during the grinding conclusion of the Vietnam War, "each officer assigned to the United States Naval War College for the 1975-76 academic year received a puzzling package in the mail," recalls Yale University professor John Lewis Gaddis. "Inside was a thick paperback with instructions to read it - all of it - before arrival in Newport." The book was Thucydides' "The Peloponnesian War," a history of the 5th-century B.C. geopolitical and military contest between Athens and Sparta, which through the centuries has remained an essential work of international relations theory. Adm.Stansfield Turner, a future director of the CIA, "was determined that we would cover Vietnam ... even if we had to get there by a 2,500-year detour," explains Gaddis, who was recruited by Turner to teach a seminar in the academic discipline known as grand strategy. "The Peloponnesian War" served as a prism for weeks of intense discussion about America's disastrous entrapment in Vietnam. "We were doing post-traumatic stress therapy before it had a name," Gaddis writes. "Thucydides trained us." Decades later Gaddis continues to lecture on the theme of grand strategy, which he defines as the "alignment of potentially unlimited aspirations with necessarily limited capabilities" of states and their leaders. One of the world's preeminent diplomatic historians, Gaddis has collected his reflections and musings in a remarkably erudite volume titled "On Grand Strategy," which by the author's own admission is an "informal, impressionistic, and wholly idiosyncratic" treatment of strategy and world history. Gaddis renders nuanced verdicts on an eclectic cohort of thinkers, writers, monarchs and conquerors, including Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz, Cicero, the Roman Empire of Mark Antony and Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, the Oxford political philosopher Isaiah Berlin, and the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, whom the author marginalizes with sly derision for his imprecise generalizations. Even the novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald makes a cameo appearance. Throughout Gaddis is cheerfully candid in clarifying his purpose. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of George Kennan, the intellectual architect of the post-World War II doctrine of containment, Gaddis conspicuously omits this historical era although it is intrinsic to his theme. "Some readers may worry that I've forgotten the Cold War," he acknowledges in an endnote. "Not at all - it's just that I have said enough about that subject." Gaddis has indisputably earned the right to plow different fields of historical inquiry, which he does in "On Grand Strategy" with self-evident glee and peripatetic curiosity. He declares that Augustine's "City of God" is "a loose, baggy literary leviathan - a Moby Dick of theology - in which cycles and epicycles, angels and demons, myths and histories jostle one another in no particular order. Making it a manual for strategy, much less for salvation, is devilishly difficult." Abraham Lincoln, in contrast, captures the ideal of deep strategic insight fused with moral resolve and determination. "He read voraciously, remembered pragmatically, and applied lessons ingeniously." Lincoln realized that civil war, as bloody and awful as it would be, "might also permit the American state, tainted by slavery, to save its soul." Queen Elizabeth's challenge and ultimate success in the 16th century to consolidate her reign provides further instruction. Gaddis portrays her as a resourceful, agile strategist: "Relishing opposites, the queen was a constant only in her patriotism, her insistence on keeping ends within means, and her determination - a requirement for pivoting - never to be pinned down." Elizabeth was utilitarian and ruthless. "In 1573 she made Sir Francis Waslsingham her secretary of state, with orders to do whatever necessary ... to guard queen and country." Elizabeth empowered Walsingham to employ espionage and covert action to protect the throne. "Using bribery, theft, entrapment, blackmail, and torture, he built a network of informants stretching across Europe." While Elizabeth was cunning and disciplined, Napoleon was brilliant but compromised by grandiosity. Hoping to shock Czar Alexander into a peace settlement, the French emperor invaded Moscow in June 1812, finding it abandoned and accomplishing nothing of strategic value. "The greatest military genius since Julius Caesar," Gaddis notes sardonically, "assumed the attributes of a dog who'd chased a car and caught it: what do you do next?" The 600,000 French soldiers who stormed Russia's capital were doomed. By December, Napoleon's army was reduced to 90,000. "This rate of attrition," Gaddis observes, "couldn't help but revive a question asked of the Persians in Greece, the Athenians in Sicily, the Romans in the Teutoburg forest, the Spanish in the English Channel, and the British in America: what were they thinking?" Gaddis defines a historical lesson to be extracted from such disparate disasters. "Overstretch - the enfeeblement that comes with confusing ends and means - allows enemies to apply leverage: small maneuvers that have big consequences." These examples of misapplied strategic ambition and miscalculated military intervention are the most illuminating in the author's elegantly composed study. They bind ancient and modern history to provide practical guidance to the contemporary strategist. Thucydides, regarded as the original progenitor of the school of political realism, famously observed that "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." But as his history teaches us, the strong are not necessarily wise. As Gaddis recounts, Megara was a "molehill" at the northeastern end of the Corinthian isthmus whose citizens "had long feuded with the Athenians, while posing no military threat to the larger city." Athens nonetheless imposed "an economic embargo designed to discourage future defections by nonmilitary means." The Spartans made its revocation one of their conditions for avoiding war. "Instead Pericles," the Athenian leader, philosopher and orator, "convinced himself that he couldn't concede a molehill - the Megarian decree - without a mountainous loss of credibility." Athens pursued a path to war that eventually would result in the loss of its empire. Gaddis is fascinated by the risks statesmen have embraced throughout history by fixating on perceptions of credibility. One example he does not cite that nonetheless advances his analysis can be found in the struggle of McGeorge Bundy, national security adviser during the Vietnam War. On March 21, 1965, less than two weeks after the first 3,500 U.S. Marines waded ashore in Danang, Bundy recorded his private reflections on a yellow legal pad, trying to grasp the essence of a momentous commitment to a likely unwinnable war. The "cardinal" principle of the Vietnamese intervention, Bundy wrote, was for the United States "not to be a paper tiger. Not to have it thought that when we commit ourselves we really mean no major risk." For Bundy the perception of credibility outweighed even the requirement of victory. "For if we visibly do enough, whatever that may be, any failure will be ... beyond our control." Even a failed intervention in Vietnam, Bundy reasoned, would be better than no intervention at all. "Questions: in terms of U.S. politics which is better: to 'lose' now or to 'lose' after committing 100,000 men? Tentative answer: the latter." Perhaps if Bundy had studied Thucydides - and his brilliant interpreter Gaddis - that judgment would have been decided differently. --- Goldstein is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam." The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy By David Margolick Rosetta. 400 pp. $30 --- 'Thanks to their common goals and trajectories and calendars," David Margolick observes, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy are linked in the popular mind "as no other black man and white man in the history of civil rights have ever been." King was the most important leader of the black protest movement that, between 1954 and 1968, uprooted de jure racial segregation and put many forms of racial discrimination on the defensive. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Open Housing Act of 1968 all derive, directly and indirectly, from King's inspired rhetoric and much-publicized sacrifice. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Kennedy was the director of his older brother John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, served as attorney general of the United States, won election to represent New York in the Senate and sought the presidency before being mortally wounded by an assassin on June 5, 1968. King was 39 when he died; Kennedy was 42. Because King and Kennedy challenged racism, railed against poverty, repudiated the Vietnam War and were surrounded by publicity that made them beloved and hated, people assume that they were celebrity buddies or, even more than that, close friends. In his book "The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy," Margolick shows, however, that that assumption misconstrues their relationship. What he views as their "untold story" is that they were never close. They were intermittent allies but never friends. They spoke infrequently. Almost never socialized together. Seldom did they candidly share their thinking with one another. According to Margolick: "Theirs was an uneven relationship, and for King, a slightly degrading one: he was the black man invariably asking for things, and Kennedy the white man doling them out. ... King was the one to say 'please' and 'thank you.'" Margolick is a shrewd pointillist with a keen eye for the telling detail, the revealing scene and the memorable quotation. He recalls King losing his racial innocence at 6 when the mother of a white boy explained that her son was "getting too big to play with a nigger anymore." He notes that a group of whites in Cartersville, Ga., sent a cash contribution to the deranged black woman who stabbed King nearly to death in Harlem in 1958. He recollects the effort by the powerful Louisiana bigot Leander Perez to create "reverse Freedom Rides" in which segregationists would pay impoverished black Southerners to move to the North, including, in particular, Hyannis, Mass., the Kennedys' stomping ground. He recounts Dick Gregory acidly joking that the most dangerous part of the mission for any black astronaut was traveling through the South to reach Florida's Cape Canaveral. He points out that while King was arrested 29 times between 1955 and 1967, Kennedy got to be attorney general at 36 with little legal experience. Margolick unearths a statement by the black Olympian Rafer Johnson that Kennedy was "as much a Negro as Adam Clayton Powell ... Ralph Bunche ... or Joe Louis." He notes that when Coretta King received an anonymous mailing containing a recording of her husband's extramarital sexual exertions - a recording made by J. Edgar Hoover's apparatchiks - she innocently sent it to the FBI for investigation. He points out that on the Sunday after his murder, King had planned to preach a sermon titled "Why America May Go to Hell." He quotes Hoover saying that "everyone knows that Negros' brains are twenty percent smaller than white people's." Although Margolick clearly admires both King and Kennedy, his commendable urge to create a realistic, intimate portrait of the two prompts him to surface actions and statements that will make devotees wince. Taunting a diplomat who planned to attend the famous March on Washington in August 1963, the rally at which King delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" address, RFK is quoted as saying, "So you're down here for that old black fairy's anti-Kennedy demonstration?" - an allusion to the march's principal organizer, Bayard Rustin, who was then a closeted homosexual. When the diplomat then mentioned King, Kennedy retorted: "He's not a serious person. If the country knew what we know about King's goings-on, he'd be finished." The "goings-on" included, among other things, sexual romps that the FBI recorded pursuant to surveillance that Kennedy, as attorney general, had authorized. Later, in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination, FBI eavesdropping captured King jokingly remarking that sex was what Jacqueline Kennedy would now miss most about the murdered president. "It's hard to imagine," Margolick comments, "that what the FBI characterized as 'King's vilification of the late President and his wife' did not influence Robert Kennedy's attitude toward Martin Luther King." Impressive in certain ways, "The Promise and the Dream" is deficient in others. With a book of 400 pages, by a serious journalist grappling with significant, contentious issues, a reader expects a deeper, more comprehensive treatment than Margolick sometimes delivers. He notes that when Bobby Kennedy applied to Harvard Law School, his father enlisted the support of James M. Landis, who had succeeded the elder Kennedy as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and became a professor and eventually dean of the law school. In a letter of recommendation to the admissions committee, Landis wrote: "I realize, of course, that his academic record at Harvard [College], is none too impressive. But some men only reveal capacities for work and achievement when they hit the impact of a professional school." Well, what was Kennedy's collegiate record? And what was Harvard Law School's response to his application? He attended the University of Virginia Law School. Did he prefer it? Or was he rejected by Harvard? Margolick leaves these questions unanswered. Attorney General Kennedy's authorization to put King under intense FBI surveillance - his phones were tapped and his hotel rooms bugged, he was followed, and informants were inserted into his inner circle - was a key decision. What was its legal basis? The 1976 Senate report that detailed FBI abuses concluded that "high officials of the Executive Branch must share responsibility for the FBI's efforts against Dr. King." Margolick adds that "by failing to keep tabs on - and to stop - what the FBI was up to ... Kennedy inadvertently aided Hoover's campaign." But why does Margolick suppose that Kennedy was unaware of the extent to which Hoover was hounding King? If he was unaware, did that constitute gross negligence? Margolick's discussion of this profoundly troubling episode is all too superficial. Margolick brings to the center of his narrative Stanley Levison, a former communist whose close affiliation with King served as the main formal predicate for subjecting the latter to FBI surveillance. The Levison-King relationship, Margolick remarks, "is surely one of the greatest cross-racial collaborations and friendships in the history of the civil rights movement." Yet, according to Margolick, Levison ridiculed King's writing and described him as "poorly read." Margolick does not expressly refute Levison. Rather, he suggests that his derisive assessment stemmed from racial bias: "Levison was not above some of the standard prejudices of the day, even with King." But how is it that a white man whose racism presumably led him to derogate King's intellectual stature could become, in Margolick's estimation, "King's most indispensable adviser, as well as his chief strategist, ghostwriter, fund-raiser, donor, financial counselor, book agent, cheerleader, muse, sage, and friend"? Trying to explain the inability of King and Kennedy to transcend their alienation, Margolick contends that "the racial and cultural divide between them had simply been too broad." But that explanation is inadequate given the closeness of the friendship between King and Levison. A racial and cultural gulf also separated them - yet they bonded. Why not Kennedy and King? Were either or both of them too vain? Did their intuitive knowledge of each other counsel protective distance? Was their story a tale of two guys confined to opposite sides - one on the outside looking in, the other on the inside looking out? Perhaps their knowledge of their betrayals of one another was too much of a burden to overcome - a theory that Margolick briefly floats but inadequately pursues. Friendship arises from a mysterious alchemy. No one can reasonably expect its absence or presence to be fully explained. It is not too much to expect, however, a more rigorous effort than what one receives in "The Promise and the Dream." --- Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein professor of law at Harvard Law School. Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country By Steve Almond Red Hen. 268 pp. Paperback, $16.95 --- Steve Almond's new essay collection, "Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country," is the latest in a thriving cottage industry of books offering explanations for how Americans came to elect President Trump. Almond, a former journalist who teaches nonfiction at the Nieman Foundation and who is perhaps best known as one half of the popular advice podcast "Dear Sugars," is a voracious reader, and his book is notable not so much for advancing new ideas but for synthesizing almost every major argument about what ails our country - including, among much else, racism, xenophobia and rampant economic inequality - and for offering a response to each. Almond is staunchly progressive, and the finished product, if often one-sided, nevertheless combines "statistical data, personal anecdote, cultural criticism, literary analysis, and when called for, outright intellectual theft" into a whole that is lively, stimulating and pleasantly discursive. Almond derives the term "bad stories" from the Israeli historian Yuval Harari, whose book "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" argued that humans came to dominate the world because of our ability to cooperate in large numbers. This capacity, in turn, is due to what Almond calls our ability to "believe in the imagined, to tell stories that extend our bonds beyond clan loyalties. Our larger systems of cooperation, whether spiritual, political, legal, or financial, require faith in a beautiful fiction known as the common good, the sort of mutual trust in any trade agreement or currency." Bad stories, then, are "fraudulent either by design or negligence" and, Almond says, are as much a threat to our species as good stories are a benefit. Each of the book's 17 loosely linked essays comprises one such story. Many of these bad stories - as well as their rebuttals - will be familiar to those who have followed debates over books like Mark Lilla's "The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics," which suggested that Democrats were undone by devoting too much of their platform to allegedly divisive issues of identity politics instead of the more unifying cause of economic injustice. Almond argues against this idea in an essay called "Economic Anguish Fueled Trumpism," which emphasizes that it was Trump's racist and authoritarian appeals that made the difference: "The story Trump told about America was of a holy land infiltrated by foreigners who lurked beyond, and within, our borders. Whites unsettled by a rising demographic tide flocked to his rallies to partake in a grand drama of national reclamation whose central figure was an orgiastic denunciation of those dark, and dark-skinned, forces aligned against their cause. ... The rest of us never quite grasped how persuasive this appeal was. We should have." Almond says up front that in his book he is not offering "a single theory, or even a set of theories, as to how our democracy fell apart." Instead, he says, "I'm working (BEGIN ITAL)toward(END ITAL) a synthesis of theories." The central chapters relate to ideas put forth in Neil Postman's influential 1985 book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business," which offered a fascinating if somewhat generalized argument about the trivializing effects of television on all aspects of national discourse, particularly politics. Almond found that the book was not just an elegant polemic against television but a sophisticated work that "outlines the deterioration of our national standards with such eerie precision that Trumpism comes to seem not only plausible but inevitable." Almond's essay "Our Court Jesters Will Rescue the Kingdom" takes up Postman's idea that the gradual decline in serious political debate brought on by the arrival of TV would be accompanied by a rise in parodies of this particular degradation. Here Almond points to the phenomenal popularity of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart (whom Almond admires) in the years leading up to the election, suggesting that both provided a "cheap and reliable opiate for progressive angst," a liberal equivalent to the paranoid fever dreams of Fox News. Programs like "The Daily Show," he argues, served mainly to discourage liberal participation by giving viewers the impression that consuming satire was a form of political engagement. "If Stewart's mission was to decant the anguish and rage of the left into laughs," Almond writes, "Trump fanned those same emotions into raw political power. Both, in this sense, profited by a loss of faith." The subsequent chapter, "There Is No Such Thing as Fair and Balanced," considers how we arrived at such a hyper-polarized cable news industry. Almond explains the history of the Federal Communications Commission and the untimely demise under President Ronald Reagan of the Fairness Doctrine, which had required that broadcasters devote a certain amount of time to covering controversial subjects and that all such coverage give equal time to opposing views. The doctrine's death knell, he writes, was the moment the free press became a for-profit industry, a path that led directly to the founding of Fox News. Almond is an excellent prose stylist, and his book is a welcome change of pace from its mostly wonky competitors, though its reliance on literary models can induce the occasional eye roll ("I think here of David Foster Wallace ..."). And while his digressive style is one of the book's greatest pleasures, it also makes it difficult to draw any single, unified conclusion from these essays - beyond, perhaps, the general belief that we should take participatory democracy more seriously and go about it with a bit more empathy. Though the book is retrospective in nature, it nevertheless ends with an exhortation: "We have to be able to dream up stories that offer a vision of the American spirit as one of kindness and decency, the sort that powered the Emancipation Proclamation and the New Deal and the War on Poverty." The natural question, of course, is how. --- Carroll has written for the New York Review of Books, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House and Lapham's Quarterly. In the original film "Westworld" (1973), written and directed by an up-and-coming novelist named Michael Crichton, the Delos corporation operates a kind of Disney World for depraved adults, a series of amusement parks where they can interact with uncannily lifelike robots in various environments. The parks include Medievalworld and Romanworld, but the bulk of the movie's action takes place in Westworld, where visitors are invited to shoot at android attractions like the Gunslinger (Yul Brenner) without fear of retaliation. All that changes when a technical glitch spreads through the parks like a virus, and suddenly the hosts are attacking the guests, not the other way around. Of the many differences between Crichton's "Westworld" and the HBO version, which started its second season last Sunday, the most telling is the hands. For all their technical brilliance, the engineers in Crichton's film could never get the hands right: If visitors needed to tell who is and isn't a robot, they could look at the conspicuous silicon rings around the joints and know they weren't about to shoot (or otherwise violate) a human being. That little detail might spoil the fantasy of a truly authentic Old West experience, but it's also a clear line of demarcation between human and machine. The Gunslinger is plainly a robot, and when it goes haywire, there's nothing morally wrong about killing it. The hosts in HBO's "Westworld" are not only seamless humanoids, but from the start, they've been more complex and sympathetic than their flesh-and-blood counterparts, who are consumed by pettiness, egotism, cruelty, greed and the other vices that come with being human. They also represent a profound shift in how the culture is coming to terms with artificial intelligence - a change that's reflected, too, in Steven Spielberg's recent "Ready Player One," which grafts an entirely habitable virtual world that co-exists seamlessly with the real one. There are more connections between the two works, which both draw heavily from the screen science fiction of the past but update it for a radically changed world. Spielberg directed "Jurassic Park" from Crichton's 1990 novel, and we can see the original 1973 "Westworld" as a proto-"Jurassic Park" for Crichton, an early run-through of the chaos theory that would upend an amusement park built around dangerous scientific advancement and corporate hubris. We could fear the idea of malfunctioning machines while safely categorizing them as "the other," like some malevolent appliance that could be decommissioned and consigned to the scrap heap. But the new "Westworld" is airing at a time when we're not only more comfortable with our machines and devices, but have integrated them so thoroughly into our everyday lives that they're more like extensions of us than mere utilities. For the humans - both on screen and off - the fear in "Westworld" isn't a computer glitch, but the worry that technology will evolve past us, resulting in synthetic creations that are stronger, smarter, more durable and perhaps worthier of occupying space on Earth. In this future, it's people who are the crude, malfunctioning machines, destined for the scrap heap. Earth 2.0 doesn't need us anymore. Less than a month ago, the screen adaptation of Ernest Cline's novel "Ready Player One" also reflected on the past and present, and how our relationship with machines has changed. By 2045, when the film opens, humans have rendered the planet virtually uninhabitable, a dystopia in which American cities are endless slums and the have-nots, like its hero, Wade Watts, are relegated to rickety trailer-park towers. Their only escape is a virtual world called the OASIS, a pristine and endlessly malleable environment where they can reinvent themselves and enjoy the freedoms that they're denied when the VR goggles are off. The OASIS and HBO's Westworld are both modeled after "sandbox" video games, such as "Grand Theft Auto," which offer specific challenges but allow for open exploration, too. Much like "Westworld," "Ready Player One" looks back on an era in science fiction when artificial intelligence was an out-of-control "other," rather than a threat that extended from us. The mastermind behind the OASIS, an self-effacing super-nerd named James Halliday, has designed it to reflect his obsession with '80s culture, including popular science-fiction like "Tron" and "WarGames." The machines in "Tron" and "WarGames" are capable of learning and evolving: In the former, the diabolical Master Control Program brags about running things "900 to 1,200 times better than any human." In the latter, a military supercomputer has to be talked down from starting World War III. They're not threatening to create new, superior worlds, like the OASIS or a Westworld run by the hosts. They're threatening to obliterate the ones we have. The new season of "Westworld" opens with the androids still in revolt against their human oppressors, but should they prevail, what will they do with their freedom? Perhaps they'll enslave or destroy, just like the faceless CPUs in "Tron" and "WarGames," or continue on a path of bloody revenge, like the Gunslinger in Crichton's version. But it's more likely that they'll have to think about the future, too, and what the world will look like once they lay claim to it. In this Western environment, they're the new pioneers, running roughshod over the natives and seizing territory for themselves. It's now their responsibility to figure out where their newfound agency takes them, and to live with the terrible mistakes they'll surely make along the way. In 2018, artificial intelligence is too integrated into everyday life for us to keep it at arm's length - in conversations we have with Alexa or Siri, in the automation of industry, or in the hidden algorithms on Google ads and social media that monitor and accommodate our behavior. We still worry about AI rebellion, but mainly over how it contributes to our own obsolescence. The hosts in "Westworld" might be a more evolved species than we are, capable of creating idealized environments that reflect Wade's description of the OASIS, "a place where the limits of reality are your own imagination." In the future realms of "Westworld" and "Ready Player One," it's humans who are reduced to ghosts in the machine, infecting these newly independent artificial beings with all their flaws and moral lapses. Their glitches are our glitches, too. Laredo Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of a man wanted for sexual offenses. Previously, Laredo police had requested the community's assistance to locate Benjamin Pedroza-Ugalde, 40. He remains at large and has warrants for his arrest in two separate cases. In August, three immigrants, including a 5-year-old boy, died when they were swept away by the current of the Rio Grande and drowned. On Thursday, the human smuggler involved in the incident was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his conviction of conspiracy to transport immigrants which resulted in death. Omar Gonzalez-Herrera, a 25-year-old from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, pleaded guilty to the charge in December. U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered Gonzalez-Herrera to serve a 121-month term of imprisonment. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his sentence. READ ALSO: LPD: Man found with pot arrested after evading arrest attempt On Aug. 2, law enforcement found footprints near the Rio Grande in Laredo, which led them to a group of 14 people suspected of entering the country illegally. They also found a Glock handgun nearby on the ground. Upon further investigation, authorities learned the immigrants had just crossed into the country via the river. They identified Gonzalez-Herrera as the foot guide. Gonzalez-Herrera later admitted he was in fact the foot guide and that the Glock handgun was his. He was carrying it within his waist-band when he led the other immigrants into the United States. He stated he was to be paid $1,500. While crossing the river, three people died. Gonzalez-Herrera has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Gonzalez-Herrera faced up to life in prison and prosecutors could have sought the death penalty in the case but chose not to. Witman Jacinto Poma Ortiz, a Peruvian who was one of 14 people arrested along with Gonzalez-Herrera, described to an agent with Homeland Security Investigations the frantic moments after they illegally crossed the river in the early morning hours, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. RELATED: 56 illegal immigrants found in south Laredo stash house Poma told agents he heard a woman yelling, "Who has my other son?" shortly after the group crossed the river. "Poma Ortiz stated none of the smuggling guides attempted to help the woman," according to the affidavit. "Poma Ortiz stated the woman continued screaming frantically. Poma Ortiz stated he then jumped into the water to try to find her son but was unsuccessful." Gonzalez-Herrera's attorney, Oscar O. Pena, had said, "It's a pretty typical transporting case except for the fact that it's accompanied by these very tragic circumstances." The San Antonio Express-News contributed to this report. No one seemed to know what was wrong with Kiley Lane. For weeks, the 27-year-old wife and mother had been suffering severe pain and swelling in her abdomen, telling doctors, nurses and loved ones that she felt like she had a seat belt stretched across her stomach. Lane, from Aztec, a small town in New Mexico not far from the Four Corners, went to a nearby emergency room again and again and again. One doctor suggested that it might be the flu. One considered a blockage. Another wondered whether she might be faking it all, her mother said. Then in February, Lane tested positive for hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne virus that can spread to humans, causing a dangerous and sometimes deadly respiratory disease called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lane was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she received treatment for hantavirus and other conditions. "We all had hope on top of hope that she was going to come through - even until the last minute," Lane's mother, Julie Barron, told The Washington Post on Friday. But, Barron said, on April 18, her daughter died. Barron said the circumstances surrounding her daughter's illness remain murky. Doctors at the local hospital first determined that she had hantavirus, and then doctors at University of New Mexico Hospital confirmed the diagnosis, she said. But, she said, when the CDC ran a test a month later, it determined she did not have an active virus. Since January 2017, there have been 728 cases of hantavirus infection reported in 36 states across the country, with the highest numbers reported in New Mexico and Colorado, according to the CDC. As The Washington Post previously reported: "The severe respiratory illness is known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS. In the United States, most of these cases are spread by deer mice, which live in woodland areas and deserts and are found throughout North America. People get the disease by breathing in hantavirus when dust from rodents' dried urine, saliva and droppings is stirred up in the air, which can happen in houses, garages and cabins, especially while cleaning. People can also get it by touching mouse urine, droppings or nesting materials that contain the virus, and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. "HPS is not spread from human to human. There is no specific treatment, cure or vaccine for the infection. But if infected individuals are recognized early and receive medical attention in an intensive care unit, where they can be given oxygen therapy, they may have a better chance of recovery." The condition is characterized early on by flulike symptoms such as fatigue, fever and body aches but can also include headaches, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, according to the CDC. Tione Buranda, an associate professor in the pathology department at the University of New Mexico, told The Post that there is no cure for the disease and the death rate is 30 to 40 percent. It's unclear how Lane may have gotten the disease. Her mother said she was a "constant cleaner" and may have come into contact with mouse urine or droppings. She had also done some housesitting and traveled over the holidays, her mother added. Barron said they were never able to ask her what could have possibly happened "because she was so sick by the time we found out what she had." It was in January when Lane first started to feel ill. Lane, who had been back and forth from the emergency room several times, was getting worse. Then, when she started to experience shortness of breath, her husband, Kevin, took her to the hospital again. "She just thought maybe she had the flu - a really bad case of the flu," Barron said. "I knew it wasn't the flu. I could tell from the swelling that something else was going on." She said her daughter was "getting worse every day." On Feb. 3, doctors diagnosed Lane with hantavirus and two days later, she was taken to Albuquerque. Barron said that her daughter's doctor said that she probably wouldn't survive the flight. But she did. And once she arrived at the at the University of New Mexico Hospital, she was placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine to help filter her blood and keep her alive. But despite doctors' best efforts, her health continued to decline. Barron said that in all, doctors treated her daughter for shingles (a viral infection), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), Clostridium difficile (a bacterial infection), kidney failure, sepsis and shock. "It was a roller coaster - up and down, up and down," she said. Ultimately, doctors told her family that they had exhausted all possible treatment options. Barron said she asked her daughter's doctor: "What made my daughter sick? What brought us here." The mother said that the doctor responded, "the hantavirus." For 66 days, Barron said family members and friends feared the worst while hoping for the best. Lane's husband, Kevin, tried to tell their 2-year-old daughter that her mother was ill. The young child was taken to see her mom so she could hold her hand and say goodbye. In a Facebook post last week, Barron described the heart-wrenching moment her daughter died. "There were seconds ... watching those damn monitors ... I was waiting, and then, she was gone. No angels, no miracles, just a room, and my baby girl ... and gone," she wrote. She said she had never seen someone die and watching her daughter take her last breaths didn't feel real. "I'm not mad, or scared ... just puzzled," she added. "That's it? What crap! I hear voices, feel hugs. ... but ... all crap! This is real. I look at Kevin and think, how will I help him? How can he know ... ? I look around ... this was her last view? I'm so mad at myself ... then slowly people leave and I'm there. Why? Is this my job? I think of all the times I picked her up ... yes ... my job. I leaned in, 'call when you get there?' "No one knows what to say .... but it never stops them. I turn off everything ... did we lose? Well, we didn't win ... I'm tired .... can't speak, nothing to say and time to look ahead." Barron said she is now sharing her daughter's story because she wants to raise awareness about the hantavirus and the lack of much-needed medical technology and treatment in rural health-care systems. "There's no reason for a 27-year-old woman to die because she didn't get medical care in time," she said. Barron said she also does not want those who prayed and rallied around her daughter to see it as a loss. "Something good is going to come from this," she said. "Everybody makes an impact on the world, and I think Kiley's is going to be a bigger ripple than she knew." Her memorial service will be Saturday in Cedar Crest, New Mexico. WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Council Member Elissa Silverman, I, on Friday called for the ouster of a mayoral appointee who organized a rally outside District headquarters where a Nation of Islam representative blasted her as a "fake Jew." Joshua Lopez, who Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, paid as a consultant in her 2014 campaign and appointed to the board of the public housing authority, convened Thursday's "unity rally" to defend Council member Trayon White, D. White has been at the center of controversy for the past month, after it was reported that he repeated anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on his Facebook page and in a meeting with the mayor and city council. He also donated $500 from a fund meant for his constituents to a Chicago event for the Nation of Islam, where leader Louis Farrakhan said Jews were his enemy. To make amends, White toured the U.S. Holocaust museum with a Jewish leader but left early, sparking further criticism. White did not attend or promote the rally on Thursday, nor did any elected officials. The event, which attracted about 25 people, was fairly low-key until Abdul Khadir Muhammad, who leads of Nation of Islam mosque in Southeast Washington, spoke. "What is the fake Jew that calls themselves Jews, the ADL, the JDL," Muhammad said, referring to the Anti Defamation League and Jewish Defense League. Members of the Nation of Islam are active in community affairs in White's ward and the council member has lauded their efforts in the impoverished neighborhoods east of the river. As Muhammad spoke, Lopez, who was holding a megaphone for him, whispered in his ear, to which Muhammad responded he was "staying positive." Then Muhammad tore into Silverman, one of two Jewish members of the District Council. "Elissa Silverman talking about Brother Farrakhan can't come into D.C. no more. That will never happen," he said. "You got your nerve to say Farrakhan can't come back to D.C. What nerve are you, you fake Jew?" Neither Lopez or any other speakers challenged Muhammad. As the rally was wrapping up about 10 minutes later, he shouted "Termites!" in reference to Jews. Asked about Muhammad's comments, Lopez stressed that he was an outlier. "We are going to create safe zones, and folks are going to say wrong things and we'll correct them," he said. Several hours later, Lopez emailed the Post to say that Muhammad was not an invited speaker and he wasn't sure how he ended up at the rally. He also said he privately told Muhammad his comments were unacceptable and that he didn't want to risk a "physical altercation" by confronting him. Lopez has been something of a provocateur in city politics who worked on field operations for Adrian Fenty and Bowser's mayoral campaigns. He unsuccessfully ran for District Council in 2011, and has worked as a business consultant and lobbyist. He was part of a delegation that accompanied Bowser on a 2015 trade mission to China. In a letter sent Friday to fellow lawmakers and the mayor, Silverman called the rally on the steps of the District government building part of a "disturbing tolerance within our city for anti-Jewish hate speech, which has made these last several weeks increasingly hurtful and difficult for me and others at the Wilson Building who are Jewish, as well as for the entire D.C. Jewish community." She blasted Lopez. "It is unconscionable that event supporters brush off these repugnant words of prejudice simply as 'wrong things' to say and speakers going 'rogue.' Not at all: This was a deliberately misleading, intentionally designed attempt to stir up division and hatred," Silverman wrote. She asked the mayor to dismiss Lopez from his position on the District Housing Authority Board, which carries a $4,000 annual stipend. "He organized yesterday's rally where he held the bullhorn for a hateful speaker who called me a 'fake Jew' and sowed division," Silverman wrote. "This is unacceptable behavior for any type of public servant to our city. It is disgusting." Silverman, who has said the city needs to address the influence of the Nation of Islam in the city, called for lawmakers to condemn Farrakhan's hate and participate in anti-Semitism workshops. Most Council members condemned Muhammad's remarks, while Council members Mary Cheh, D, and Brianne Nadeau, D, declined to comment while Robert White, D, did not respond. But Council member David Grosso, I, and Chairman Phil Mendelson, D, joined Silverman's call for Lopez's dismissal. "Alleging later that the speaker was not invited (while holding his megaphone) does not mitigate what happened," Mendelson said in a statement. "Mr. Lopez's actions have reopened wounds and his 'apology' is inadequate." In a statement, Bowser said, "Mr. Lopez needs to apologize and make it abundantly clear that he denounces all hateful comments." On Friday afternoon, Lopez offered contrition. "I do not stand for any level of hate and I want to offer my sincerest apologies - especially to my Jewish brothers and sisters - for not having better mechanisms in place to ensure the spirit of the rally - solidarity and peace - was preserved," he said in a statement. "I will not step down. Instead, I will continue to push forward with the message of unity building." Ronald Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said the organization was undecided on if the mayor should discipline Lopez. But he said the slurs against Silverman provided White a chance to show he was serious about opposing anti-Semitism. "This gives Council member White a very obvious and public opportunity to condemn the Nation of Islam, condemn Louis Farrakhan and condemn anti-Semitism. Here it is," said Halber, whose group has led the charge to rehabilitate White's relationships with the Jewish community. White did not respond to requests for comment. WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court on Friday considered whether to allow the involuntary transfer of an American citizen and suspected member of the Islamic State from U.S. military custody in Iraq to a third country. A judge in Washington last week stopped the imminent transfer of the man, who has not been named publicly. He has been held without charges for seven months after he was captured in Syria and handed over to U.S. forces. The unusual case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit raises significant questions about how the courts balance national security interests with the constitutional rights of citizens. Judge Sri Srinivasan opened by asking the attorney representing the Trump administration whether he could name another case in which a U.S. citizen held in one country was forcibly transferred to another. "No, not as I stand here," responded Justice Department lawyer James Burnham, who urged the court to defer to the executive branch on matters involving military operations and diplomatic relations. Attorney Jonathan Hafetz of the American Civil Liberties Union told the court there must be a legal basis for such a handoff based on a treaty or statute and not "an ad hoc executive deal." "They can't just pluck someone and hand them over . . . based on executive say-so," Hafetz said. Srinivasan pushed back on the idea that the man's presence overseas was not voluntary. "Why should we treat him as if he's been involuntarily taken to Iraq?" the judge asked, noting the man invoked his U.S. citizenship to get assistance after his capture. "He didn't ask to be taken to Iraq. He asked for help," Hafetz responded. "They could have brought him to the U.S." The D.C. Circuit was already considering the government's appeal of an earlier ruling from the lower-court judge handling the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. In her order, Chutkan required the government to give 72 hours' notice before transferring the suspect. The Department of Defense on April 16 told Chutkan it planned to move the man to a third country. Her ruling against the government then put the pending transfer also before the same three appeals judges: Srinivasan, Robert L. Wilkins and Karen LeCraft Henderson, who did not participate in Wednesday's argument that began in public session and was then closed to discuss confidential matters. The name of the receiving country has not been made public, but the man is a dual-citizen of the United States and Saudi Arabia. Incomplete redactions of court records that refer to repatriation and Saudi law suggest the receiving country is Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately provide a comment on the possible transfer. In her opinion, Chutkan described as "disingenuous" the government's argument that the transfer would amount to release because the man would no longer be in U.S. custody, saying "release from custody and involuntary transfer to the authorities of another country are not interchangeable concepts." The case poses a legal quandary for the U.S. government and a "detainee whom it no longer wishes to detain," as the Justice Department says in court filings. American officials have said they lack admissible evidence to charge the man with a crime. If he were released in Iraq, his lawyers have acknowledged, the United States would not be obligated to transport him back to American soil or to protect him from being apprehended by the Iraqi government. The man is not facing criminal prosecution in the intended receiving country and is not the subject of an extradition request. "It's been clear for nearly a century that the government cannot involuntarily transfer a citizen from within the United States absent a treaty or statute," said Bobby Chesney, an expert in national security law at the University of Texas School of Law. On the other hand, he said, the rule does not apply for a citizen who voluntarily goes to a war zone and is captured there and the local government there wants to prosecute him. The case of the suspect being held, Chesney said, "falls between the cracks of those two." In court Friday, the government emphasized the man had landed in U.S. custody because of his decision to travel to an overseas battlefield. Wilkins questioned the government's authority to hold the man and to characterize him as an enemy combatant. The judge also questioned whether the authorization for the use of military force passed by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks extends to cases with the Islamic State. "Let's suppose the government is wrong, and he's an errant tourist or a journalist." Wilkins said. Burnham, the DOJ lawyer, pointed to evidence the man had joined or "substantially supported" ISIS. Government filings show the man told the FBI he worked for the Islamic State guarding a gas field and monitoring civilians. He claimed he was a freelance journalist who was arrested and agreed to work for ISIS to try to gain release, according to court records. The FBI said it could find no evidence of articles he wrote. The man has denied being an ISIS fighter, according to his attorneys, who said the government must either charge him with a crime or release him. The man, who grew up in Saudi Arabia and studied engineering in Louisiana, renewed his U.S. passport in 2014. He is married with a young daughter, according to court papers. --- The Washington Post's Missy Ryan contributed to this report. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, D, is asking a full federal appeals court to rehear a case filed by drug manufacturers challenging the state's new drug price-gouging law. Earlier this month a three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said in a 2-to-1 ruling that the 2017 law is unconstitutional because it violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gun owners gathered in the Illinois capitol Wednesday for the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day as a plan to override a controversial gun control measure failed. I-GOLD started at a convention center in Springfield, which then turned into a march down Capitol Avenue to the statehouse. Speaking to the crowd outside the Capitol, state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, said such a show of support is important. We need everyone here in Springfield to know that when we are taking these positions its because there are so many people behind us demanding that we take those positions, McDermed said. Other legislators also spoke to thank the crowd and to address various gun-rights issues. Libertarian candidate for governor Kash Jackson also spoke. He said he learned something in his 20-years of service in the military. The greatest threat to our constitution and to our freedoms does not lie on a foreign shore, Jackson said. The greatest threat to our freedoms lies in the pen of a legislator in that building right back there. No other gubernatorial candidates spoke at the rally outside the capitol. While Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, says he doesnt have a social agenda, he has said hes a member of the National Rifle Association. Rauner recently vetoed the measure to require Illinois gun dealers to register with the state in addition to having to register with the federal government. He said the measure is too onerous for small businesses; big-box retailers were exempt. Aurora resident Stewart Lewis drove to Springfield for the rally. He said calling semiautomatic rifles assault weapons is ignorant. Go out and get educated on what a real machine gun is, said Lewis, a Navy veteran. Vets will tell you what a real machine gun is, not these modern sporting rifles we have, these AR-15s. What were carrying in these streets and what we own and what we possess and what we can buy for 500 bucks is not the same thing by a stretch. He said he feels misrepresented by his legislators. Start thinking about the majority, which is the law-abiding citizens, Lewis said. The minority are the criminals, so start doing something to them. Hold them accountable. Stop throwing every mass shooting or every mass murder or whatever at the law abiding gun owners feet. Rockford resident Dorothy Kazuk also traveled to Springfield to lobby her lawmakers for gun rights. She opposes laws she said infringe on gun owners rights, even those who are under 21. If an 18-year-old can serve this country, he or she can own a rifle, even an AK-47, an AR-15, Kazuk said. She said legislation targeting law abiding gun owners is pretty sad. We elect our legislator to protect our freedoms and our rights and theyre just doing the exact opposite, she said. So were going to remember in November. 1 Helicopter crash: Three people died in the crash of a medical helicopter in northern Wisconsin, authorities said Friday. The crash involved an Ascension Wisconsin Spirit helicopter. All three were flight crew members. The helicopter was reported missing late Thursday. The wreckage was found near Hazelhurst, about 150 miles northwest of Green Bay. A witness who drove search crews to the scene said the chopper went down in a heavily wooded area with high ridges. The cause of the crash is under investigation. 2 School plot: A Vermont teenager accused of plotting a shooting attack against his former high school in Fair Haven was released Friday into the custody of his father. Jack Sawyer, 18, was released after posting $10,000 bail. The states defender general said he was being placed in a treatment facility. Sawyer was arrested the day after the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., shootings that killed 17 people after a friend reported him to authorities. He was charged in a plot prosecutors say was outlined in his diary. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon. GOYANG, South Korea - North Korea's Kim Jong Un has laid the foundations for a meeting with President Donald Trump as soon as next month, signaling a willingness to discuss denuclearization and trying to dispel the idea that he's an unreliable "little rocket man." In an astonishing turn of events, a beaming Kim on Friday stepped across the border into South Korea for a day of talks that began and ended with him holding hands with Southern President Moon Jae-in. They talked, they joked, they walked, they ate, and, when they signed a joint statement pledging to work toward their "common goal" of denuclearizing their peninsula, they hugged. "Today we saw Kim Jong Un's charm offensive in action," said Duyeon Kim, a visiting fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul. "He's exerting his influence and trying to grab the spotlight with a big smile. But behind that smile, he was wearing his game face," she said. Indeed, with Friday's historic summit and the bold, if vague, pledge to discuss giving up his nuclear program, Kim is trying to rewrite the public narrative about him and ease some of the outside pressure on him. "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" Trump, who has championed a "maximum pressure" campaign against Kim, tweeted early Friday morning in Washington. The warmth of the meeting and the positive images beamed onto TV screens across the globe have set the stage for Kim to meet with Trump at the end of May or early June. The former reality TV host has said he will go to the talks only if they promise to be "fruitful," a bar that likely was met with Friday's meetings. Kim and Moon Friday signed a three-page "Panmunjom Declaration," named after the truce village in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas where it was forged, stating that "South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." "South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," it said. But the agreement was short on details, and the phrase "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula" will ring alarm bells in Washington because it implies that nuclear weapons will not be allowed in South Korea, either. The United States, South Korea's security ally, regularly sends nuclear-capable aircraft and ships to the South during military exercises, so this clause will raise suspicions that Pyongyang is calling for a significant change in the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Moon had previously said that Kim would not insist on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South, and there was no mention of this in Friday's agreement. Kim did not mention the word "denuclearization" when he appeared before the press after signing the agreement, although he stayed on message throughout. "We will work to make sure that the agreement bears good results, by closely communicating to ensure that the failure to implement North-South agreements in the past will not be repeated," Kim said, standing at a podium in front of cameras. Previous inter-Korean agreements have also pledged denuclearization, and there is a significant amount of skepticism in Washington and Tokyo in particular about whether this time will be any different. The fact that Kim signed his name to a statement that even included the word "denuclearization" marked significant progress after a year of threats and missile launches that brought the specter of war back to the Korean Peninsula. And Friday's agreement marks a significant change from Kim's previous statements when he said he will continue to expand his nuclear arsenal, said Patrick McEachern, a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington. Instead, the two leaders established a framework for plausible resolution of the most pressing issues on the peninsula, he said. "This is a great start and should be cause for cautious optimism," said McEachern, who worked on North Korea in the State Department. "The public conversation should now shift from speculation on whether North Korea would consider denuclearization to how South Korea and the United States can advance this denuclearization pledge in concrete steps." Even the most optimistic analysts were surprised at the scope of the agreement, noting in particular that Kim has now signed a document that includes the word "denuclearization." "You can't ask for more than that," said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul and a keen proponent of diplomatic engagement. "Yes, there are still questions about how to guarantee North Korea's security on the path the denuclearization. But I'm surprised they would go this far at this early stage, that Kim Jong Un didn't save this for his meeting with Trump," Delury added. In Friday's declaration, Kim and Moon also agreed to work to turn the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty that would officially bring the war to a close. "South and North Korea will actively cooperate to establish a permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," the joint statement said in English, as officially translated by the South's presidential Blue House. The Korean language version used the words "peace treaty" - an important distinction. "Treaty" generally refers to a piece of paper while "regime" means a system for peace, such as stopping military activities. "Bringing an end to the current unnatural state of armistice and establishing a robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula is a historical mission must not be delayed any further," the statement said. The United States signed the armistice agreement on behalf of the South Korean side, and Trump has said that he supports such a move. Shortly after the announcement, Trump tweeted, "KOREAN WAR TO END!" [As Kim crosses into South Korea, a historic summit hangs on the North's nuclear intentions] The two sides also plan to set up an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong, a city just over the northern side of the border, and Moon said he would visit Pyongyang this fall. During their conversations earlier in the day, Kim said he would happily travel to Seoul if invited. The signing ceremony came at the end of an extraordinary day full of words and gestures that would have been unimaginable at the beginning of the year. At 9:30 a.m. Friday, Kim came out of the main building on the northern side of the military demarcation line that has divided the Korean Peninsula for 65 years and walked right up to the line. Moon was waiting there for him, hand outstretched, and Kim became the first North Korean leader to step foot into South Korea. "When you crossed the military border for the first time, Panmunjom became a symbol of peace, not a symbol of division," Moon said to Kim later. Showing his penchant for bold and surprising moves - a tactic that was repeated later with the hug - Kim then asked Moon to step back across the line with him, and he did. For a brief moment, the leaders stood in North Korean territory, holding hands. The moment was broadcast live across the country, with commuters stopping in train stations and teachers stopping classes so their students could watch the moment, and North Korean state television even broadcast an unscheduled news bulletin to announce that Kim was on his way to Panmunjom. Moon and Kim proceeded to spend hours together on Friday, both in formal talks and in a half-hour-long private discussion on park benches outside in the sun, surrounded by birdsong. They threw soil and water from both Koreas onto a pine tree planted in the demilitarized zone to mark the occasion. At one stage during the day, Kim assured Moon he would not have to wake up early any more - a reference to the fact that North Korea's missile launches usually happened at about dawn - and he even made references to the fact that North Koreans have escaped to the South and that the North's infrastructure network is far inferior to the South's. That was astounding for the leader of a country that has also sold itself as a "socialist paradise." As part of his charm offensive, Kim appealed to Moon as a fellow Korean, highlighting their shared culture and framing their problems as ones that only they, as Koreans, could solve. Then, after a dinner that was full of symbolism, from the noodles that came from Pyongyang to the fish brought in from Moon's home town, they sat together in the DMZ to watch a show of lights and music. This culminated with the two Korean leaders standing hand in hand, watching as photos of them through the day were beamed onto the building from which the South usually keeps a watchful eye on the North. The outcome was as good as Kim could have hoped for, said Christopher Green, senior adviser for the Korean Peninsula at the International Crisis Group. "For a tyrant ruling 25 million people in a corner of East Asia, this is a big deal," he said. It also makes sense for a leader under pressure and facing two leaders who want to make a deal. "If I were Kim Jong Un, I would want to explore what was possible with Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump because they're an unusual pair," Green said, referring to Moon's strong desire to engage and Trump's penchant for chalking up victories. Friday's summit and the result agreement provides the political space for Trump and Kim to meet and make new pledges, said Duyeon Kim, the Seoul-based analyst. "Whether or not Kim Jong Un means it is a completely different story." --- The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim contributed to this report. --- Video Embed Code Video: In the first inter-Korean summit that South Korea has hosted, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on April 27. Here are key moments from the historic talks.(Sarah Parnass,Joyce Lee/The Washington Post) Embed code: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump lambasted Sen. Jon Tester on Thursday for his central role in ending Ronny Jackson's prospects to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs by revealing damaging allegations about the longtime physician's stewardship of the White House medical unit. On Capitol Hill, Tester's Republican counterpart - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, Ga., - defended the Montana Democrat's decision to release the information. "That's his right," Isakson said. Those divergent responses to Tester's stunning move underscored how controversial and consequential that decision could be in the coming weeks for the two-term senator, who has worked to burnish a bipartisan reputation yet has opposed some of Trump's biggest priorities. On Thursday, Tester said he "absolutely" stands by his choice to release the information. The decision to detail the specific allegations - which Jackson has denied - was highly unusual, considering all the accusations had yet to be proven, and it only obscured the prime reason Jackson's nomination was struggling to gain traction in the Senate: Even Republicans plainly believed he wasn't fit for the job. "Before any of the allegations came out - and some of them were getting out before Tester released this - he had an uphill battle," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "Just based on lack of experience or qualifications for the job." Still, Tester's decision to release the information has given Trump and the White House an avenue to attack the Democrat, as the president did during a rambling interview on Fox News earlier Thursday. Republicans working on keeping the Senate in GOP hands this fall immediately took notice, sensing it could jolt some fresh energy into the Montana race - a battleground that has so far gone under the national radar. "I watched what Jon Tester of Montana, a state that I won by like over 20 points. You know, really, they love me and I love them," Trump said during the interview. "And I want to tell you that Jon Tester - I think this is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state." Other GOP senators were, like Trump, quick to point out the potential electoral consequences for Tester. "President Trump carried Montana by a pretty good number, so I think he's painted a big target on himself," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, a former chairman of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, said Thursday. He called Tester's decision to release the information, outlined in a two-page summary Wednesday afternoon, "completely irresponsible." Added Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.: "That was not his finest day in the Senate." Tester and his office pushed back against the criticisms. On Thursday evening, they circulated a Missoula Current article quoting numerous veterans who praised the senator for how he handled the Jackson controversy. His staff also released a statement from former senator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a Vietnam War veteran who said "there is no one who cares more about veterans and looks out for their interests than my former colleague, Jon Tester. "As a veteran who has had the privilege of serving my country in many capacities, I've always admired Jon Tester's commitment to helping veterans - not using veterans for political purposes," Hagel said. "Veterans know who their champions are, and Jon Tester is one of them." The issue has been a sensitive one for Tester, whose aides began hearing late last week from people concerned about Jackson's nomination. The 23 people who spoke to Tester's staff detailed a lengthy history of professional misconduct that included claims Jackson had a "pattern" of distributing medication with no patient history and that he crashed a government vehicle while intoxicated following a Secret Service going-away party. Tester alerted Isakson, who convened a conference call Sunday afternoon with Republicans on the committee to warn the panel that Tester had received new information about Jackson, according to people familiar with the call. The Georgia senator informed other Republicans of the general nature of the accusations, one senator on the call said. The individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. After several days of damaging news coverage and accusations that snowballed against him, Jackson on Thursday officially withdrew his nomination and resumed work as the White House doctor. Tester appeared to have had tacit sign-off from Isakson, whose staff was notified in advance of the release. But some Republicans who sit on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, generally a bipartisan venue, said they got no warning that Tester would air the allegations so publicly. Both Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said they would not have detailed the allegations the way Tester did. Tillis, characterizing the release as "premature," said he was "disappointed and surprised that it was actually put out there." "This is a serious issue," Sullivan said. "We're all working together, and why are you trying to politicize it with just a Democratic memo, right? It's just not helpful." In an interview Thursday, Tester declined to swing back at Trump. "My response is that I was sent here to do a job of vetting and confirming," Tester said. "We're going to continue to do that job and we're going to continue to get the best possible person we can to run the VA." Amid criticism that he was reckless in releasing the allegations, Tester said he "absolutely" stands by his decision. "Look, there was information. There was a pattern to the information," Tester said. Referring to the media, he added: "People like you were asking me a bunch of questions. I thought it was the right thing." His office said Tester wants the investigation into the White House medical unit to continue, although Isakson signaled to reporters he would prefer to focus on nominations for VA and other issues before his committee. From the beginning, both Republicans and Democrats had openly expressed concerns about Trump's decision to pick Jackson to lead the VA, a problematic bureaucracy that is second in size only to the Pentagon. Jackson has little management experience that would indicate he could head the VA, which has more than 360,000 employees and an annual budget of $186 billion. But the numerous allegations, which were brought only to Tester's staff, made what was already a difficult confirmation battle essentially impossible. One Republican in frequent contact with the White House and Senate GOP leaders said Tester's handling of Jackson's nomination likely "incentivized" the White House to play a bigger role in Montana. "Taking unsubstantiated allegations and using them to besmirch the character of somebody who has fought for his country in battle, treated wounded soldiers in battle, and has honorably served multiple presidents, we think, is a terrible precedent," Marc Short, the White House's director of legislative affairs, said Thursday. But - underscoring the complicated situation in which Tester found himself - other GOP senators sounded more supportive of the Democrat's decision. Nearly 1 in 10 Montana residents is a veteran. "If the things are true, then it's good it came to light," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. Cassidy, a member of the Veterans' Affairs committee. Cassidy said he received a heads up on the document detailing the allegations before Democrats released it Wednesday. Jackson spoke privately with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime friend, on Thursday. During that conversation, Jackson continued to say that the portrait painted of him in recent days was false. "I told him to keep his chin up," Graham said. "He's a good man and that's just politics the way it is." KAMENSK-URALSKY, Russia - Leaning against his cherry-colored Lada as the sun set over the Ural slopes, Yevgeny Govorov said he knew why the United States had sanctioned his employer, the Stalin-era aluminum plant behind him. "They want the people to revolt," said Govorov, who works as a driver at the plant. "But these dumb people don't understand that the more you pressure Russians, the more they come together." The Kremlin's confrontation with the West is increasingly affecting ordinary Russians. But few blame President Vladimir Putin for their woes. Even fewer are, for now, prepared to brave the risks of trying to do anything about it. A bumpy two-hour drive from the aluminum factory, on a road through a birch forest, leads to a cemetery with two freshly dug graves. The fighters buried beneath the wreaths of colorful artificial flowers died in a February clash with U.S. forces in Syria that Russian state media have said next to nothing about. Just over a week after then secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo revealed that "a couple hundred Russians" were killed in that incident, all is quiet in the town of Asbest. "There will be no protest against Syria or against Moscow," said Katya, a shopkeeper who knew one of the killed military contractors and voted against Putin in the election last month. She spoke on the condition that her last name not be used. "There's just no point. . . . We have our own problems, our own cares." As Putin continues to roll back democracy and Russia heads into a new Cold War, the country's industrial heartland, the Urals region, is feeling the consequences - and they could intensify. At least a half-dozen factories here belong to a newly sanctioned Putin ally, aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska. An entire town makes a living off titanium sales to Boeing. The mayor of the biggest city, Yekaterinburg, says the area depends on the economic relationship with the United States - but that many of his constituents are in a state of denial. "A huge problem is that not everyone can understand cause and effect," Mayor Yevgeny Roizman said in an interview. "These most basic things - foreign policy and the quality of life today - very few people connect them." Roizman said that a business executive recently complained to him that trade and demand were down. The only bright spot, the executive added, was Putin's foreign policy "because we've finally shown everyone." Even as both sides speak of a new Iron Curtain descending between Russia and the West, life goes on. The Kremlin has deployed Russia's financial reserves to cushion the blow on regular people, and rising oil prices are helping. Russian officials have said they are prepared to step in to aid companies hurt by the latest U.S. sanctions. And the region's most prominent critical voice will soon lose his bully pulpit. Roizman, a maverick mayor and Russia's best-known elected official who criticizes Putin, will leave his post in September because regional pro-Putin politicians recently canceled mayoral elections in the city. "People's ability to get used to things, to adapt, is extremely high," said Konstantin Kiselyev, a political scientist and local lawmaker who is critical of Putin. "There is little pushing people into the streets." Just 6 percent of Russians told independent pollster the Levada Center last month that they would participate in political protests if they took place - the lowest level since at least 2010. To the extent protests happen, they're about calling on the authorities to fix specific problems, such as smelly landfills. In the fellow former Soviet republic of Armenia, by contrast, street protests toppled the prime minister on Monday. "I wouldn't exclude the possibility of any protests," said Levada's Denis Volkov. "But they will be around local problems." Some local protests have shown results, such as an outpouring of public anger over a mall fire that killed 60 in March in the city of Kemerovo, which brought about the regional governor's resignation. But in those local protests, Putin is often seen as someone who can help people solve their problems rather than someone who causes them. Meanwhile, on the foreign policy issues that more frequently make headlines in the West - from geopolitics to Kremlin interference abroad - Russians are largely on Putin's side. Even though critical news websites are freely accessible in Russia and Internet access is penetrating the country's most remote reaches, state-controlled television is just about as influential now as it was five years ago. In a poll last month, 85 percent of Russians told Levada that TV was one of their main news sources, compared to 27 percent who mentioned the Internet - little changed from 2013. Many Russians dismiss accusations against their president as false pretexts for fresh sanctions. News broadcasts describe the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England as a crude ploy to harm Russia that was concocted by Western intelligence services. Only 9 percent of Russians told Levada that they thought their country was behind the poisoning. Western officials may think sanctions send a clear message, but to Russians, they are "translated for everyone as: they want to capture our riches, they want to make us get on our knees," Roizman said. "This is a conversation in different languages." The fallout from Putin's foreign adventures hit home here in February when reports surfaced on social media that Russian military contractors had participated in a Syrian regime assault and then died in a clash with U.S. forces. Yekaterinburg-based news websites confirmed that two of the dead hailed from the nearby town of Asbest. The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials believed that a mercenary force run by business executive Yevgeniy Prigozhin was behind the assault and that he apparently coordinated it with the Kremlin. The state media said little about the incident. Dmitry Kolezev, deputy editor of news website Znak, which reported on the deaths, said the story drew nationwide reader interest but little local outcry. He explained the relative silence by the dominance of the state media - and that, four years after the start of the Ukraine crisis, "people have gotten used to war." "Now one war has simply, slowly, been replaced by another," Kolezev said. "Of course there are some liberal journalists like ourselves who count up how much all of this costs . . . but ours is a very quiet voice in the context of the graveyard silence of the state media and the glorification of all these military actions." Another Yekaterinburg journalist who reported on the Syria deaths, Maxim Borodin, died this month after falling from his balcony. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described it on Twitter as "the fate of Russia's journalists who question the Kremlin." Roizman said he believed Borodin's death had nothing to do with his work as a journalist. Polina Rumyantseva, editor in chief of his outlet Novy Den, said the publication had conducted its own investigation and didn't find evidence of a crime. A representative of the regional Investigative Committee said the official investigation is continuing. In Kamensk-Uralsky, where residents are bracing for U.S. sanctions to hit the city's aluminum plant, 24-year-old Communist Party Secretary Boris Idiatulin said he had success getting only pensioners - those with the least to lose - out to protests. Conditions would have to deteriorate to the point that "people truly have no money" for a broader swath of the population to seek political change, said Idiatulin, who works at a cultural center. Idiatulin's co-worker Mikhail Achimov said he blamed Putin's foreign policy for sanctions against Russia, which he says have led to higher prices. Beyond boycotting last month's presidential election, however, 35-year-old Achimov said he had no interest in trying to make his voice heard. "There are people in government to whom we gave power," Achimov said. "I think they will bring themselves to reason." When Tycoria Johnson told her family she was going to Vietnam to help recover the remains of an American killed there during the war, her mother was proudbut anxious. Seventeen years earlier, Johnsons father died in a helicopter crash on a similar mission to find some of the 1,600 US servicemen and women killed in the Vietnam War whose bodies have still not been located. The last time [my mother] had a family member here, he didnt come back, so she was kind of nervous, said 26-year-old Johnson, a radio frequency transmission systems technician stationed in Japan with the US Air Force. In an unlikely twist of fate, Johnson was assigned to help recover the remains of a Marine pilot whose plane crashed during a night mission in central Quang Ngai province in 1966. She spent weeks scouring the forest for bone shards or tooth fragments, learning a few words of Vietnamese, the same work her father, US Army Sergeant First Class Tommy Murphy, did before he died in 2001. He was among seven Americans and nine Vietnamese killed when their helicopter slammed into the side of a mountain in bad weather. Johnson said her trip was a chance for closure. I feel like he didnt complete it, so I wanted to do that for him, to say that he finished the mission, Johnson told AFP, sitting near a framed photo of her father working on a dig site in Vietnam. Johnson was on the mission with the US agency in charge of recovering American remains around the world, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. It has been working in Vietnam for more than 30 years, before the former war foes established diplomatic ties in 1995. The agency was born out of a war-era effort by the wives of American POWs in Vietnam who demanded US leaders do more to get their imprisoned husbands home, many of whom were held in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison in the capital of the Communist North. Now it focuses on returning bodies and has repatriated more than 1,000 American remains from the Vietnam War since 1973, including fallen soldiers found in neighboring Laos, Cambodia and China, according to DPAA figures. Of the more than 1,600 still unaccounted for, about 1,200 are in Vietnam. That includes the pilot whose remains Johnson was looking for, though her team never found him. Instead she capped her mission at a stoic repatriation ceremony in Danang for three other soldiers whose remains found in Vietnam were placed in a box wrapped with an American flag to be shipped to the US state of Delaware for DNA testing. Race against timeDPAA works around the world to recover US war missing. Those unaccounted for include 72,000 from World War II and 7,700 from the Korean War. A further 126 are listed as unaccounted for from the Cold Warmany of them aircrew who went missing during reconnaissance flights over or near former Soviet bloc countries. Its reach is broad: the agency has brought home remains from Papua New Guinea to China, Pearl Harbor and the former Soviet Union, and has even identified remains of soldiers handed over by North Korea decades ago. All the sites share a similar challenge, and Vietnam is no exception. Time is our biggest enemy, DPAA director Kelly McKeague told AFP in Hanoi. Because witnesses are ageing and dying its important for us to accelerate the pace and scope. Many bodies are in remote jungle terrain or on land that is due to be paved over for shopping malls or apartment complexes in the fast-developing country. Plus, the acidic soil that eats away at bone erodes evidence for search teams to recover. McKeague said its impossible to estimate how long it will take to bring back the remaining soldiers from the region, with only the hard cases remaining. Hundreds more are deemed non-recoverable. The number of unaccounted-for Americans pales compared to the estimated 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers still not found, as official efforts to recover them has dragged amid funding shortfalls and limited DNA testing. We need support from the international community, including the American side, Le Thanh Tung, director of the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons, which works with DPAA to help recover American remains. Cooperating with the US to search for American MIA remains in Vietnam is a way to mobilise US support to find Vietnamese martyrs, he told AFP. In the absence of a coordinated national effort to find the bodies of Vietnamese fighters, some families turn to psychics to lead them to suspected death sites, or dig so-called empty graves so they have a place to worship the dead. Johnson knows well the importance of having remains returned. Since her own father was repatriated and buried in Virginia, her family visits his grave a few times a year to lay flowers and give him updates on their lives. Sitting in the DPAA office in Hanoi, next to a war-era Budweiser beer can, aftershave bottle and machine guns unearthed from past digs, Johnson described the feeling of helping American families whose relatives have been missing for decades. To know that we can help others feel complete, thats what makes this an amazing mission for me. With Quy Le Bui in Danang, President Donald Trump has invited members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, the site of the deadly mass shooting that claimed 26 lives in November, to the White House on Thursday. Frank and Sherri Pomeroy, the churchs pastor and his wife, along with shooting survivor David Colbath, his son Morgan Colbath, and Sherri Pomeroys sister Sylvia Timmons, are to join the president for a prayer service at 11 a.m. for the National Day of Prayer. We did not expect a personal invitation to the White House from the President, Sherri Pomeroy said by a text message. When I received that email, I confirmed the legitimacy of the invitation and accepted, of course! RELATED: Some Sutherland Springs shooting victims question use of church donations This will be her first time in the nations capital, much less at the White House and, later that evening, the U.S. Capitol. The five Sutherland Springs visitors will be attending the National Day of Prayers evening services at the Capitols historic Statuary Hall. The Pomeroys will be interviewed by Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and Frank Pomeroy will lead a short prayer all live-streamed across the country. Theyll also attend a private banquet the night before hosted by the Task Force. One of the 26 killed in the massacre was the Pomeroys 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle. We are very honored that we are invited to the White House and asked to pray for our nation in this historic place, Sherri Pomeroy said. While this invitation is bittersweet because of the events that brought us to this place, may we never turn down a forum to share the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever it takes us. Silvia Foster-Frau is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | @SilviaElenaFF A federal judge on Thursday accused lawyers of "interfering" and "gamesmanship" in an order denying their plea to intervene in the case of a Texas death row inmate who says his current attorneys abandoned him three years ago. Earlier this week, the local branch of law firm Hogan Lovells filed a request to let Maryland-based attorney Lee Kovarsky bump the current lawyers off the case of Clifton Williams, an intellectually disabled and schizophrenic death row prisoner scheduled for execution in June. In a two-page decision, U.S. District Judge Ron Clark ruled that Texas attorneys Seth Kretzer and Wes Volberding would stay on the case, despite allegations that they hadn't visited or done work on the appeals since 2015. "The manner and submission of Hogan Lovells' motion for substitution of counsel is indicative of gamesmanship and is not in the interest of justice," Clark wote. "The motion to reconsider reveals that Hogan Lovells has been in contact with Mr. Williams and is interfering with the relationship between an attorney and his client." Kretzer lauded the decision as clearing a path to move forward and focus "zealously" on the case ahead. "We did not abandon our client and we're not trying to brag but we're two of the most experienced capital habeas lawyers in the country," he said. "We aren't interested in battling off other law firms." But some legal experts took issue with the court's apparent lack of concern over the abandonment claims. "Orders like that are indicative of judicial unwillingness to understand reality," said Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "This has happened in other states - it's nothing new - but when courts speak of gamesmanship what they are really talking about is giving up the local culture in which there has not been zealous representation on behalf of the client." Kretzer and Volberding admitted in filings that they didn't visit their client between 2015 and earlier this month. But, they said, that was because the case was tied up in state court over DNA analysis - and another lawyer was assigned to handle that process. Those proceedings ended in 2017. After a judge signed off on a June 21 execution date this last month, Kretzer and Volberding filed a request to let Kovarsky and Hogan Lovells take over the case. On April 10 a judge denied that request, and that same day a Hogan Lovells lawyer - with Kretzer's permission - visited Williams on death row and asked him to weigh in. "I thought Seth and West (sic) were off my case since 2015. I haven't heard from them since then," Williams scrawled in a hand-written note. "They didn't tell me when I got an excution (sic) date, not in 2015, and not this time. I don't want them to represent me now." Then on Monday, Hogan Lovells attorneys entered a lengthy filing accusing Kretzer and Volberding of abandoning their client when they could have been preparing appeals based on his mental disability "With his execution fewer than 65 days away, Mr. Williams is effectively without counsel," they wrote. READ MORE: Lawyers battle over who should represent death row inmate facing June execution date Kretzer pushed back, saying he began work on an appeal soon after learning of the execution date, and accusing Hogan Lovells of "moonlighting in death cases." On Thursday, in addition to tossing the request for a new lawyer, the court threw out Hogan Lovells' plea for a stay of execution. After the decision, Hogan Lovells issued a statement saying the firm "respectfully disagrees" with the court, and clarifying that they'd been asked to step in by another legal group, the Texas Habeas Assistance and Training Resource Counsel. "A number of firm attorneys have a long history of acting as pro bono counsel to inmates on death row, so we agreed to help," they said. "The only motivation of our lawyers was to attempt to ensure that someone who is currently scheduled to be executed was given every opportunity to raise his legal defenses under the law." The East Texas man at the center of the legal fight was originally sent to death row in 2006 for robbing 93-year-old Cecilia Schneider before stabbing her and setting her body on fire. The legal wrangling over his case mirrors a similar stand-off from 2015, when Kovarsky squared off with Kretzer and Volberding over the death row inmate Robert Leslie Roberson. In that case, the courts initially refused to let Kovarsky and his team take over, though later they stepped in. Eventually, Roberson was granted a stay and the case sent back to a lower court. In the Williams case, it's not clear what legal maneuvering lies ahead, though attorneys could potentially appeal Thursday's decision. Both teams have said they plan to raise claims about whether the East Texas man is too mentally impaired to be put to death. But if the appeals fail and everything moves forward as planned, Williams will be executed June 21 in Huntsville. SAN ANTONIO - A 20-minute chase that started in Boerne and continued to San Antonio ended with a collision with a DPS vehicle and a rollover onto Interstate 10 on the Northwest Side Thursday. Texas DPS Trooper Sgt. Orlando Moreno said the chase began when Boerne Police were attempting to stop a Ford Explorer at 8 p.m. on Interstate 10. Instead of stopping the Explorer continued on reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. Police then stopped pursuing the SUV, Moreno said. RELATED: Teen who slept with toddlers found dead in SUV enters plea But moments later, a Texas DPS trooper working nearby spotted the same Explorer and attempted to pull it over, authorities said. The chase then continued with the Bexar County Sheriffs Office and San Antonio Police Department joining in, Moreno said. The chase ended on the Interstate 10 East access road just before UTSA Boulevard when the trooper attempted to drive closer to the Explorer, Moreno said. Thats when the troopers vehicle hit the Explorer, and sent it veering from the access road, down a grassy hill and onto the highway itself. The Explorer landed on its side, Moreno said. Authorities reached the vehicle and struggled to arrest the driver until they tazed him. RELATED: Teen charged in stabbing deaths of S.A.-area couple He did not go willingly, Moreno said. Moreno said the driver and a passenger were taken to University Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. No law enforcement were injured during the chase, Moreno said. Moreno said the driver, a 36-year-old man, is to be arrested for evading arrest, resisting arrest, and possession of a controlled substance. He also had two felony warrants, including one from Kansas and another from Harris County. The passenger, a 37-year-old woman, is not facing any charges, Moreno said. He noted that the case is still under investigation. jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA Posted Friday, April 27, 2018 4:45 am One of my greatest joys in being a lawmaker is being able to stand with my colleagues and pass meaningful legislation that will have a positive impact on Missourians. This past week, the Missouri Senate gave final approval to legislation intended to make Missouri a more military-friendly state. I have the utmost respect for our military, and I am proud to be a veteran. Senate Bill 573 allows for a state income tax deduction for certain military personnel. In 2016, lawmakers passed a bill that allows military income to be deducted from the service members adjusted gross income. Senate Bill 573 continues that income tax deduction, and it allows members of the National Guard and Army Reserve to also deduct their earned income during active military service. By the year 2030, income earned from active military service will be 100 percent deductible. This is especially important to the large military presence in the 33rd Senatorial District. Our close proximity to Fort Leonard Wood allows service members and their families the flexibility of living in the district without having to spend hours traveling to and from the base for work. Senate Bill 573 also contains the following provisions: Prisoner of War (POW)/Missing in Action (MIA) flags. If a state building does not possess a POW/MIA flag, the Board of Public Buildings shall reach out to local veterans organizations to obtain a donated flag. Expands the Show-Me Heroes program by extending the period of time in which a family may receive services under the program from one year following discharge from deployment to five years. Establishes the Veterans Bill of Rights; and Also establishes the Missouri Military Community Reinvestment Program Act. I am pleased to be able to repay our service men and women in some small part for their willingness to serve our state and our country. A number of other bills passed the Senate last week, but none that have a significant impact on the 33rd Senatorial District. Sen. Mike Cunningham represents District 33 in the Missouri Senate. District 33 includes all of Webster County, as well as six additional counties to the east. A federal appeals court has upheld the latest version of the state's voter ID law. In a 2 to 1 ruling released late Friday, a three judge panel with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said opponents of the revised voter ID requirements in Texas had failed to prove fixes the Legislature made to its original voter ID law had "discriminatory effect on indigent minority voters." Opponents of the revised voter ID law known as SB 5, had argued that despite changes to the original statute passed in 2011, the law still presented a barrier to voting for people who did not have access to a photo identification. The revised law, passed in 2017, still calls for one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID to cast a ballot. It lets people without one of those forms of ID vote, but they have to sign an affidavit and show a utility bill or paycheck that has the person's name and address. Attorney General Ken Paxton was quick to applaud the decision. "The court rightly recognized that when the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5 last session, it complied with every change the 5th Circuit ordered to the original voter ID law," Paxton said. "Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is essential to preserving our democracy. The revised voter ID law removes any burden on voters who cannot obtain a photo ID." In August, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a permanent injuction against the revised voter ID law, calling it a "poll tax" on minority voters. In September, a federal appeals court blocked that ruling from going into full effect in order to hear the merits for and against the state's appeal. Jeremy Wallace writes about state politics and government for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter at @JeremySWallace. President Hassan Rouhani Wednesday laid into the US and President Donald Trumps pressing demand for a new nuclear deal with Iran noting that the Islamic Republic has remained loyal to the three-year old pact. President Trump has warned to walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and Iran. The deal aims at curbing Irans uranium enrichment, which world powers, Israel, Saudi Arabia and its regional allies believe sets Iran on the path of acquiring an atomic bomb. The US leader is due to decide on May 12 on the fate of the deal and threatened to rip it off if US allies do not propose a new pact that also brings under control Irans ballistic missile program and curbs its military influence in the Middle East. In a speech Wednesday, President Rouhani questioned the legitimacy of the US demand in so far as other signatories have confirmed Irans consistence with the agreement. Together with a leader of a European country they say: We want to decide on an agreement reached by seven parties. What for? With what right? Rouhani said. Already on Tuesday his foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that Iran would also withdraw from the deal and resume its uranium enrichment should the US pull out. If the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood would be that Iran would reciprocate and withdraw, Zarif said. There wont be any deal for Iran to stay in, he added. Wednesday, meanwhile, on the last day of his US trip, French President Emmanuel Macron in an address before the US Congress stated that his country remains loyal to the agreement but will push for amendments likely to suit the concerns of the Trump Administration. Macron appeased the US politicians that France will never allow the Islamic Republic to possess nuclear weapons. Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not now. Not in five years. Not in 10 years. Never, Macron said. At least six students were injured in Brooksville, Florida Wednesday morning after an 18-wheeler ran a red light and crashed into a school bus. Details of the Brooksville School Bus Crash According to WTSP, the collision occurred around 6:18 am near the intersection of Cortez Boulevard and Interstate 75. 18 children were aboard the bus en route to Hernando High School when the accident occurred. The force of the collision caused the bus to overturn. It is unclear if the driver of the truck sustained any injuries, and the accident remains under investigation. Bus Accident Statistics The following information was provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation: - There were 4,311 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes in 2015, which was an 8 percent increase from the previous year. - From 2005 to 2015, intercity buses accounted for 13 percent, and school buses and transit buses accounted for 41 percent and 33 percent, respectively, of all buses involved in crashes that were fatal. - Between 2014 and 2015, the number of buses involved in crashes that caused fatalities increased from 236 to 261, which is an increase of 11 percent. Contact an Experienced Bus Accident Attorney If you or your child have been injured in a bus accident, contact Thomas J. Henry. Our team of experienced bus accident attorneys are available to evaluate your claim 24/7, nights and weekends. Thomas J. Henry has the financial resources and the track record of winning that you need in a law firm. Contact us today for a free case review. Our firm has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, serving clients across Texas and nationwide. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury or illness due to a defective or dangerous product, contact Thomas J. Henry. Over two decades of experience handling a multitude of defective product cases and extensive legal and financial resources allow us to provide our clients with truly dynamic legal representation. Thomas J. Henry has a proven track record of achieving real results for clients devastated by recalled products. Let us help you recover the compensation you are entitled to. Our firm has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, serving clients across Texas and nationwide. Contact us today for a free case review. Editors Note: This content is made possible by Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall for nearly 207 million eggs from a farm in North Carolina following concerns of salmonella contamination. Details of the Salmonella Egg Recall According to Medscape, this recall is the largest recall of eggs in the United States since 2010. The FDA says the recall involves eggs that may have been contaminated with salmonella braenderup, an organism which can cause serious, possibly fatal infections in young children, frail and/or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. 22 illnesses have been reported in connection with the salmonella outbreak. The recalled eggs were produced by Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Indiana and distributed from a farm in Hyde County, North Carolina. Eggs were sold to consumers in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Salmonella Symptoms and Statistics According to the CDC, Salmonella causes in one million food borne illnesses every year, resulting in 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths . . Common symptoms include: Diarrhea Fever Abdominal cramps Symptoms appear 12 to 72 hours after infection and usually persist for four to seven days. Infections and illness tend to be more serious in young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Contact an Experienced Product Liability Attorney If you or a loved one have suffered an injury or illness due to a defective or dangerous product, contact Thomas J. Henry. Over two decades of experience handling a multitude of defective product cases and extensive legal and financial resources allow us to provide our clients with truly dynamic legal representation. Thomas J. Henry has a proven track record of achieving real results for clients devastated by recalled products. Let us help you recover the compensation you are entitled to. Our firm has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, serving clients across Texas and nationwide. Contact us today for a free case review. Editors Note: This content is made possible by Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com. 1 China-India summit: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stepped-up cooperation with India during an informal summit Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid tensions along their contested border and a rivalry for influence with their smaller neighbors that could determine dominance in Asia. Xi greeted Modi in the city of Wuhan at the start of two days of talks between the heads of the worlds two most populous nations. The countries fought a border war in 1962 and last year engaged in a 10-week standoff in the neighboring nation of Bhutan. New Delhi has also been alarmed by Chinas moves to build strategic and economic ties with Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indias longtime rival Pakistan. 2 Syria conflict: Fighting between Syrian troops and Islamic State fighters in southern neighborhoods of the capital Damascus left dozens of people dead or wounded on Friday, according to a war monitor and Syrian state media. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government bombardment killed 17 people, including seven children and two women in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk mostly controlled by Islamic State. The area is the last district out of government control in Damascus and its capture would boost security in Syrian President Bashar Assads seat of power. US-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Saudi Arabia to correct its image as it recorded the largest execution rate, with 48 executions so far this year. Most executions did not concern serious crimes. Large chunk of those executed were charged with non-violent drug crimes, the right group says. Several other people convicted for drug crimes remain on death row, HRW stresses. Its bad enough that Saudi Arabia executes so many people, but many of them have not committed a violent crime, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Any plan to limit drug executions needs to include improvements to a justice system that doesnt provide for fair trials. Suspects in Saudi courts are not entitled to fair trials, HRW insists. Sometimes trials can last for few minutes. Foreign defendants who cannot speak Arabic face harsher conditions. In event of lack of lawyer, the suspects are unable to understand court procedures and submit defense evidence. The death penalty sentences are applied to a range of offenses including drug offenses, adultery, sorcery, and apostasy. The new bleak report emerges at a time the kingdoms de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MbS) is spearheading reforms meant to unlock the Kingdom, known as the most conservative Arab country. The 32-year royal in an interview with Times Magazine early this month pointed out that the number of executions will be cut down. However, he said, executions of those convicted of murder will not scale down. I kneel at morning Mass, a fetal poem nests my head Prayer wrestles fluid images cupped in my hands Outside I seal my lips; dash home to fasten words I lose Find God amused; gift me poem instead - 'Poem Gestation' by Margaret Nohily Just a small sample of the level of talent from local writers and poets that was evident tonight at the Evening with Longford writers & Poetry Lovers in Longford Library to celebrate national poetry day. There were readings and poems that covered the more serious issues of suicide and homelessness to those that aroused some wonderful imagery in the mind and brought laughter to the soul. Read Also: Emerging from 'The Ruin' with a new lease of life The event was organised by Longford Writers Group in conjunction with the Lanesboro Writers Group and the event proved both enjoyable and thought provoking for those in attendance. Organiser, Eileen Moynihan told the Longford Leader this evening that there was serious talent in Co Longford when it came to the written word. She also added that occasions like the one this evening provided local writers and poets with the opportunity to share their work and enjoy the experience which came with that. Read Also: Edgeworthstown writer to launch poetry collection at Longford County Library this evening Longford Writers Group hosted the event this evening and we then invited the Lanesboro group and other local poets and writers who wished to come along - it was open evening really and one for everyone to enjoy, she continued. The day thats in it - national poetry day - is a day for celebration and we wanted to be part of all of that here in Longford too. Watch: Leader Bookworms live at An evening with Longford Writers & Poetry Lovers at Longford Branch Library this evening Meanwhile, the local poet mentioned some of the great writers associated with the county including Padraic Colum, Maria Edgeworth and Oliver Goldsmith. There is enormous talent around the place, there really is, she concluded. You may also like to read: Voices Literary Series: Longford's Alan McMonagle and Pat McCabe in Conversation Longford County Council is set to receive funding of 44,000 under two initiatives to tackle illegal dumping and litter. The local authority has been allocated 28,000 which will go towards the erection of CCTV surveillance at fifteen locations where illegal dumping is prevalent. While Longford County Council will also receive 16,000 to conduct public awareness and education campaigns at a community level targeting litter, dog fouling and graffiti. Both initiatives were announced by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten TD. The 28,000 funding is from the 1.7m 2018 Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) and the 16k is allocated under the 884,000 2018 Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS). ALSO READ: 'It's time to catch illegal dumpers in the act', says Longford councillor Minister Naughten said the ADI funding will empower people to take action against those in society who commit criminal acts against their communities by wilfully and irresponsibly dumping their waste and spoiling the most valuable asset we have - our natural environment. The 2018 anti-dumping work programme builds on the success of last year. A wide range of clean-up and restorative projects led by community, environmental and sporting groups have been approved for funding. Successful applications have included projects that will equip authorities with the latest enforcement technologies including overt and covert surveillance equipment and drone technology to target dumpers. The aim is to reduce illegal dumping by providing funding for projects tackling the problem and to develop an integrated and effective combined approach with local authorities, communities and other state agencies, added Minister Naughten. In relation to ALAGS, the Minister said each local authority is responsible for selecting the suitable awareness projects that receive funding and this latest allocation of 884,000 brings the total grants provided under this Scheme over the last 10 years to almost 15 million. Minister Naughten stated: I am pleased to announce the allocation of 884,000 under the 2018 Anti-Litter Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS). Last year, I increased funding for ALAGS by 28% and this level of funding for the programme is being maintained this year. Local authorities use this funding to raise awareness and encourage behavioural change to tackle graffiti and littering of all types, including gum, cigarette butts and dog fouling. Minister Naughten said 'dog fouling' is a particular bugbear of his. "Dog fouling is perhaps the most intrusive type of litter and a constant source of annoyance for us all on our streets, in our parks and on our beaches. I welcome any initiatives that will increase awareness of this nuisance litter and the many public health risks, particularly for children, that is associated with dog owners not picking up their dogs waste. He added, Littering is environmental sabotage but money alone cannot solve our litter problems. It takes a behavioural change across the board and I am confident the awareness campaigns that will be funded through this scheme at community level throughout the country will have a real impact." 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the National Spring Clean (NSC) which is organised and run by An Taisce and co-financed by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. NSC is currently running for the month of April across the country. ALSO READ: 'Trailer load' of rubbish dumped in Longford town National Poetry Day on April 26 witnessed a world first, as Granard Mens Shed member Eoin Moynihan scooped first prize at the worlds very first Mens Sheds Poetry Contest. The contest, organised by the Irish Mens Sheds Association in conjunction with Poetry Ireland, attracted entries from dozens of mens sheds members, spread throughout the entire island. Eoins winning entry is entitled On a Cold Winters Eve, and powerfully evokes the starkness of winter and the solace of home. Acclaimed poet, playwright and author Dermot Bolger, who judged the competition, was effusive in his praise for Eoins poem: What I loved about the poem was how it conjured up a twilit desolate winter landscape, and then the expectation and sense of warmth that any wanderer feels when they come within sight of home. It manages the deft feat of being about isolation and about companionship at the same time. Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony in Poetry Irelands Parnell Square offices, Eoin expressed his delight at emerging on top of a very competitive field. As well as a framed copy of his poem and subscriptions to Poetry Ireland publications, John received a copy of Francis Ledwidges collected works and a first edition of W.B. Yeatss Dramatis Personae. Its great to receive these gifts, said Eoin, and its great to come here and meet other members of other sheds. Connections like these are what the mens sheds are all about. ALSO READ: Local writers and poets celebrate national Poetry Day in style at Longford Library Second place went to 89-year-old Donald McKenna of Keady Mens Shed in Co. Armagh, with his lively and nostalgic poem, Living in the Past. John Walsh of Oranmore Mens Shed picked up third place with The Shed. Maureen Kennelly, Director of Poetry Ireland, said: Our job is about connecting people to poetry, so to be connected to a very well-regarded organisation like the Irish Mens Sheds Association is a source of great delight for us. Were about public engagement and promoting excellence, whether thats through reading, writing or listening. Encouraging new writers and new readers is really important to us." ALSO READ: A National Treasure: Longford journalist Derek Cobbe recounts fascinating story behind rare 'Ryan's Daughter' Guinness bottle Barry Sheridan, CEO of the Irish Mens Sheds Association, remarked that the quality of the poems shows the creativity and the range of knowledge and experience that exists within the mens sheds movement, and we were delighted to partner with such a prestigious organisation as Poetry Ireland. Eoin Moynihans prize-winning poem is reproduced in full below (copyright Eoin Moynihan 2018) On a Cold Winters Eve by Eoin Moynihan (Granard Mens Shed) Out on the lonely mountain Descending from the windswept heights Walking along and keeping an eye on the dog. The rough stone underfoot The small walls to climb over And then the big field to cross. Up the narrow path through the stunted trees And then the bit of road before cutting across the open country again And wheres the dog gone to now? A piercing whistle, a flash of movement and there he was. And now the rain began. First it fell softly, then ever heavily more. And cold. And wet. Head lowered down against the wind now. And then a bark and the dog leapt forward. Eyes lifted up to be greeted by the lighted window. A soft smile. He was almost home. ALSO READ: Celebrating the rich cultural history of Edgeworthstown Noel Monahan, a native of Granard, will have his eighth collection of poetry, 'Chalk Dust', launched in Cavan Courthouse on Thursday, May 3 at 8pm and in Poetry Ireland, 11 Parnell Square East, Dublin 1 on Wednesday May 16 at 7pm. The collection is published by Salmon Poetry, Ireland. Poetry Style Noel Monahan's work is never far removed from his native place and this new collection features work on a Billhead, related to Kiernan's store in Granard, 1944 and Granard's newly refurbished Buttermarket. Watch: Video: Minister Michael Ring in jovial form in Longford this morning as he approves 21.6 million to revitalise rural Ireland One of Ireland's established poets, Noel's poetry was prescribed text for Leaving Certificate English. Many of the poems in this new collection have been published in literary magazines and journals worldwide and Noel has read his poetry in many universities throughout Europe and North America. A number of his poems have been translated into Italian, French, Romanian and Russian. Poetry Lessons Forever active in his native county, Noel has given mentoring courses for advanced practitioners of poetry in Longford. The courses were organised by Fergus Kennedy, Longford's Arts Officer. Noel has also been involved in the Goldsmith Summer School, The Maria Edgeworth Literary Festival and Granard Harp Festival. He has visited many schools in Co Longford and given readings and workshops on poetry. A number of such visits were organised by Mary Carleton Reynold, Longford County Librarian. Literary Awards Monahan's literary awards are numerous and include: The SeaCat National Poetry Award, organised by Poetry Ireland, the RTE PJ O'Connor Award, the Hiberno-English Poetry Award, the Irish Writers Union Poetry Award. In 2012 , Longford County Council celebrated the Lifetime Achievements of Noel Monahan's literary career in Backstage Theatre. His drama, 'The Children of Lir', was performed by Livin' Dred Theatre in Backstage Longford and toured throughout Ireland. Read Also: Longford poet to speak in UK This new collection, 'Chalk Dust', searches for identity and belonging, in the shifting shadows of modern Ireland. The section of sonnets seeks a spiritual uplift out of the darkness and one of the sonnets deals with the reopening of St Mel's Cathedral, Longford, after the fire. The poems written in Irish, with English translations further the quest for meaning. New Book 'Chalk Dust', the stunning title poem, portrays Noel's five years spent in Cavan's local boarding school in the 60s: St Norbert's College, Kilnacrott. Like many of the boarding schools of its time, Kilnacrott was an Irish Catholic boarding school, where sons of strong farmers and rural shopkeepers were placed in the ivory hands of priests, to be educated. This long dramatic prose poem is episodic and follows the calendar of a school year, where trapped male energy erupts, under the strains of collective living and time alone allows the Chalk Dust to settle. 'Chalk Dust', will be launched by Niall MacMonagle, author, editor and broadcaster. The cover image of Monahan's collection is by Padraig Lynch, renowned artist. Also read: Recalling some wonderful memories in Granard The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, T.D., has announced that 15 million in funding will be available for rural towns and villages across Ireland through the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Over the next 15 months up to 200 towns and villages will benefit from funding under the scheme, which will be made available through Local Authorities to support rural regeneration. The scheme is specifically targeted at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000. ALSO READ: Longford allocated 44,000 to tackle illegal dumping and litter Launching the scheme, Minister Ring said: The towns and villages of rural Ireland are the heart and soul of our rural communities and it is crucial that we revitalise these areas. I am allocating 15 million for the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme. This funding will benefit up to 200 towns and villages right across Ireland. The funding builds on the success of the Governments Town and Village Renewal Scheme over the last two years, which has already seen over 30 million awarded to over 450 projects the length and breadth of Ireland. This years scheme will focus on measures which have a clear economic impact on rural towns and villages, to make them vibrant, welcoming centres for people to live and work in and meet at a social level. The scheme will again be administered through the Local Authorities, who will be required to work closely with local businesses and local communities to develop and implement ideas that can make a real and sustainable impact in revitalising rural towns and villages across the country. ALSO READ: Celebrating the rich cultural history of Edgeworthstown Minister Ring added: The launch of the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, now in its third year, is a further demonstration of the Governments commitment to supporting rural Ireland in a very practical way. It follows on from the 2018 CLAR and LIS programmes which I announced recently. I want to encourage towns and villages up and down the country to work with their Local Authorities in preparing innovative and well thought-out projects under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and I look forward to announcing successful recipients of funding in the coming months. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is part of the Action Plan for Rural Development which contains over 270 actions across Government to help rural Ireland achieve its full economic and social potential. The Governments commitment to supporting rural Ireland is further underscored through the National Development Plan which will see the creation of a new Rural Regeneration and Development Fund which will be launched in the coming months by Minister Ring. ALSO READ: Commercial developments show marked increase says Longford's Mark Cunningham Mostrim Players are now in their sixth year of existence and they are putting the final touches on their latest production which is the hilarious comedy 'A Wake in the West' by Michael J Ginnelly. The story takes place in a small town in Co Mayo, in the west of Ireland in the 1970s. Local man Tom Healy has died and he is being waked in his house by the sea. He has left some unusual funeral instructions with the local doctor who passes the details on to the dead mans children. Last Wishes His last wishes do not sit well at all with his daughter Mary and his estranged son Martin, who has just returned from America for the funeral. Should they bury him properly in a normal grave or give in to his last request? The neighbours, one by one, pour into Healys front room to pay their respects, though not all come to pray. Read Also: Mostrim players return to the stage 'A Wake in the West' is a high farce play; it has packed all venues wherever it has been staged. From Westport (where it began) to Perth, from London to San Francisco it has left everyone rolling in the aisles. The cast is an eclectic mix of locals including Betty Mulhare, Josephine Lynch, Eileen Spillane, Kate ODonohoe, Denise Keenan, Peter Costello, Rocky Tierney, Jimmy Connell and Aidan ONeill. The production is directed by Vanessa Flood who brings her unique skills to the stage with super results. She is ably assisted by Producer Niall Brewster as well as the dedicated Mostrim Players committee. Read Also: County Longford drama group present hilarious comedy 'Canaries' The play hits the stage in St Mary's Community Centre, Edgeworthstown for four nights from Thursday, May 3 to Sunday, May 6 with curtains up on all four nights at 8pm. Entry is by ticket only with tickets available by phoning 087-3345511; please note the venue is limited to 80 seats so early booking is advisable. Seating Arrangements Also there is some tiered seating so if you need a ground floor seat, please state this when booking the tickets. Make sure you come along to pay your last respects and sympathise with Toms Family. You may also like to read A wonderful production, all round Tech & Science, Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 ClearYourCabinet.Com Gives New Yorkers New Tools to Search for Nearest Drug Disposal Sites and Sign Up For Text and Email Reminders. New York, NY - April 27, 2018 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the launch of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the launch of ClearYourCabinet.com , a new statewide initiative and website dedicated to helping New Yorkers safely dispose of prescription drugs, ahead of tomorrows National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. As part of Attorney General Schneidermans multi-levered approach to tackling the opioid epidemic, the initiative is aimed at helping New Yorkers take one of the simplest steps to prevent addiction by safely disposing of their unused drugs at drop-off sites around New York including at two dozen sites around Buffalo. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, four out of five new heroin users start out by misusing prescription drugs; and according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. Getting unused prescription drugs out of your home can stop an addiction before it starts, said Attorney General Schneiderman. I am asking every New Yorker to check out their medicine cabinet, identify any unused prescription drugs, and then visit ClearYourCabinet.com to find out where you can safely dispose of them this Saturday. These simple steps can help prevent addiction and save lives. Building on national efforts to encourage Americans to bring unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs to designated sites for safe disposal, Clear Your Cabinet gives New Yorkers new tools to find their nearest drop-off locations and request email or text message reminders to go and dispose of their unused medication. The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is this Saturday, April 28th, 2018 from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. Attorney General Schneiderman's Clear Your Cabinet initiative was launched through a collaboration with volunteers from some of New York's leading tech startups after a hackathon focused on the opioid crisis and hosted by the Attorney General's office in March 2018. In particular, the Attorney General would like to thank the organizers of Progressive Hacknight and Civic Hall for their assistance in this project. In coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, law enforcement agencies, national and community pharmacies, non-profits, and other institutions across New York will be hosting safe drop-off sites for New Yorkers to bring unused medication this Saturday, April 28th from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. Many of these sites will also collect unused medication year-round. To find a location near you, go to ClearYourCabinet.com . Disposal of unused prescriptions and over-the-counter medication at these locations is no questions asked and free. New Yorkers cannot bring illegal drugs or needles and sharps (for more information on the disposal of needles/sharps, click here ). As a last resort, for communities without a safe disposal site nearby, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recommends mixing medications (do not crush tablets or capsules) with water and then adding salt, ashes, dirt, cat litter, coffee grounds, or another undesirable substance, to avoid accidental or intentional misuse of drugs. To prevent unintentional consumption by scavenging humans, pets, or wildlife, do not conceal discarded drugs in food. Their full guidance is available here During the last National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in October 2017, more than 450 tons of unused medication were collected across the country. Over 42,000 pounds of unused medication were collected in New York State alone; thats the same weight as seven heavy-duty pick up trucks. By comparison, the largest criminal drug bust in the history of the New York Attorney General's office took approximately 70 pounds of heroin and fentanyl off the street. In addition to advancing efforts for the disposal of unused opioids, Attorney General Schneidermans multi-levered strategy to tackle New Yorks evolving opioid epidemic includes: We are dealing with a deadly epidemic in Western New York that is directly linked to prescription drugs, said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn. One of the ways we can combat this growing problem is through prevention. By properly disposing of prescription medicine, you stop those pills from getting into the wrong hands and hopefully stop someone else from falling victim to opioid addiction. As we continue to fight the opioid crisis that is devastating families across our state and nation, we must also continue to take steps to prevent these drugs from falling into the wrong hands in the first place, said Senator Tim Kennedy. I encourage Western New Yorkers to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day tomorrow by bringing outdated or unused prescription drugs to one of these safe, designated locations, and I thank the Attorney General and his office for making this program accessible in our community. It is not unusual for people to have half empty bottles of unused pills in their medicine cabinet, said Assemblymember Monica Wallace. Those unused prescription drugs create the opportunity for young adults to experiment with and abuse opioids. Last week, I sponsored a community forum on the opioid epidemic where safe disposal of unused prescriptions was presented as a pillar of preventing addiction. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a great opportunity for households to safely dispose of unused and unwanted prescription drugs. The proper disposal of unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs is crucial in the fight against prescription drug addiction and the opioid epidemic. In many circumstances, prescription drugs are left unattended and may ultimately end up in the hands of individuals who are or can become addicted. Cheektowaga recognized the importance of disposing no longer used prescription drugs and took a proactive approach installing a permanent prescription drug drop off box in the police departments main lobby. Im hopeful Cheektowaga residents will be proactive in properly disposing their unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs. I thank Attorney General Schneiderman for bringing attention to this issue and for making it easier for individuals to find drop-off locations in our area, said Cheektowaga Supervisor Diane Benczkowski. Prescription drug take back days are an important tool in our fight to end the opioid epidemic, said Avi Israel, President of Save the Michaels of the World. Leaving prescription drugs in your cabinet is like leaving a loaded gun on your counter. Find a take back location near you, make the short drive, and remove them from your home. Nature & Weather, Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 Pellegrino: "We cannot allow wealthy special interests like Big Oil to bully their way onto public lands and waters and make a profit off endangering our communities." Long Island, NY - April 27, 2018 - Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D-Islip/ Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D- Babylon Oyster Bay ) announced that she helped pass critical legislation to preserve the environment, including a measure to prohibit offshore drilling. She also introduced a resolution to commemorate the 48th anniversary of Earth Day (K.1039). Long Islands beaches and parks are like no other, Pellegrino said. Were fortunate to call this our home. But its also our responsibility to be good stewards of the land. Its up to us to keep our water safe, our soil clean and preserve our natural resources to protect our families, businesses and local industries. One of the biggest threats facing Long Island is offshore drilling, with Pellegrino saying that every phase from exploration to extraction is inherently dangerous. Even a small problem could be catastrophic for the health and economies of coastal communities, she notes. To protect the South Shore, Pellegrino sponsored and passed legislation to prohibit offshore drilling and bar the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Office of General Services from approving leases that would boost oil or gas production from federal waters (A.9819). We cannot allow wealthy special interests like Big Oil to bully their way onto public lands and waters and make a profit off endangering our communities, Pellegrino said. In addition, oil spills from train derailments and leaky storage facilities also threaten communities across the state. These spills can contaminate water and soil as well as endanger wildlife, and cleanup and remediation is often a long and costly process. To avoid putting the financial burden of a spill on communities, Pellegrino helped pass a measure to ensure owners of petroleum storage facilities, vessels and railroads have the resources to effectively and efficiently respond to a crisis (A.1773). To protect our families health, Pellegrino voted to amend the state constitution to include the right to clean air and water (A.6279). She also voted to prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to adverse health effects, and restrict the amount of nitrogen in fertilizer on Long Island to reduce contamination that leads to algal blooms in water bodies (A.10274, A.10276). Further, Pellegrino helped pass a measure to require the DEC to publish a list of areas in the state that are most adversely affected by existing environmental hazards (A.1862). She also voted to enact the New York State Climate and Community Protection Act to address and mitigate the impact of climate change here in New York (A.8270-B). The bill tasks the DEC with establishing and implementing statewide greenhouse gas emission limits. It also requires that 50 percent of electricity in New York State be produced by renewable energy systems by 2030. Tech & Science, Local News, Business & Finance By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 Suozzi: "The aerospace and defense industries are a critical component of our districts economy and important for job creation." Long Island, NY - April 27, 2018 - Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D Long Island, Queens) announced that Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D Long Island, Queens) announced that Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, New York has been awarded a contract of $7,255,294 by the Department of the Navy to develop machine learning algorithms (MLAs) for the Reactive Electronic Attack Measures (REAM) Program. The project is expected to be completed by December 2019, with all work being done on site in Bethpage. The aerospace and defense industries are a critical component of our districts economy and important for job creation. This contract is great news for Northrop Grumman, and for people living on Long Island. It helps sustain Long Islands legacy of being the Cradle of Aviation and Hi-Tech Island, said Congressman Suozzi. Northrop Grumman Systems, headquartered in West Falls Church, VA, is the fifth-largest defense contractor in world. The company was formed in 1994 when the Northrop Corporation purchased Grumman Aerospace Corporation. Grumman, known for the Wildcat and Hellcat fighter aircraft and the Apollo Lunar Module, was once Long Islands largest employer. Northrop Grumman was pleased to win this contract and continue our work on the REAM program. This award is further recognition of Northrop Grummans long-standing legacy in Bethpage as a leading provider of advanced electronic warfare capabilities for our warfighters. We are grateful for the support and strong leadership of Congressman Suozzi on the House Armed Services Committee, said Tom Tack, Site Lead, Northrop Grumman Bethpage. Nature & Weather, Local News, Business & Finance, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 DEC Honored with 10-Year Achievement in Sustainable Forest Management Status for Forest Certification. Albany, NY - April 27, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $2.2 million in grants for tree planting and community forestry projects across New York to celebrate Arbor Day. In honor of National Arbor Day, Governor Cuomo proclaimed Arbor Day in New York State along with the joint grant announcement from the State Departments of Environmental Conservation, Agriculture and Markets, and the Office of General Services. The 2018 New York State Arbor Day Proclamation can be viewed Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $2.2 million in grants for tree planting and community forestry projects across New York to celebrate Arbor Day. In honor of National Arbor Day, Governor Cuomo proclaimed Arbor Day in New York State along with the joint grant announcement from the State Departments of Environmental Conservation, Agriculture and Markets, and the Office of General Services. The 2018 New York State Arbor Day Proclamation can be viewed here The announcement took place at a tree planting event with the State Arbor Day Committee and state and local officials at West Capitol Park in Albany. DEC also announced its 10th year in achieving Sustainable Forest Management Status for Forest Certification and the 2018 winners of the state Arbor Day poster contest at the event. "Arbor Day is a celebration of nature and a reminder of the vital role trees play in our communities and in our ecosystem," Governor Cuomo said. "Planting trees is something we can all do in the fight against climate change to help build a cleaner and greener New York for future generations to enjoy." At the tree planting, tree "price tags" adorned park trees to demonstrate the benefits of these trees. For example, one tree in the park provides, on average, $1,500 in benefits over a 15-year period. Northern Nurseries in Schenectady donated this year's ceremonial tree, a greenspire linden tree. "Trees help improve air quality, reduce energy consumption, beautify New York's urban areas and are essential to our economic health," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. "Today's tree planting ceremony and DEC Forest Management recognition demonstrate our ongoing commitment to ensure the sustainable management of our forest resource to maintain their health, productivity, and diversity. The grants announced today will continue our investment in promoting forest resiliency and the countless economic and environmental benefit they provide." DEC's urban forestry grants complement ongoing initiatives to address invasive species, climate change, environmental degradation, environmental justice, and urban sprawl. Funded by the State's Environmental Protection Fund, the $2.2 million grants will support tree planting, maintenance, tree inventory, education programs, and community forestry management plans. Grants are available to municipalities, public benefit corporations, public authorities, school districts, soil and water conservation districts, community colleges, not-for-profit organizations, and Indian nations or tribes. Awards range from $11,000 to $75,000, depending on municipal population. Tree inventories and community forestry management plans have no match. Tree planting, maintenance, and education program projects have a 25 percent match. Over the last six years, the state has funded nearly $7 million in grants to support projects with a total value of more than $12 million. DEC foresters are available to provide applicants with technical assistance. DEC will review completed grant applications and select recipients based on established rating criteria, including cost-effectiveness, projected benefits, use of recommended standards in implementation, community outreach and education. For the RFA, Instructions and application, please visit the Grants Gateway Portal here State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, "New York is home to millions of acres of trees and forested lands. Trees impact our environment, clean our air, provide recreation, encourage tourism, and improve our economy. These grants are an important part of the effort to keep New York green and growing." OGS Commissioner RoAnn Destito said, "Helping to remind New Yorkers of the important role trees play in providing shelter, food, shade and beauty, I am proud of the Office of General Services' participation in the annual tradition of planting a tree near the State Capitol. The greenspire linden we are planting is a wonderful addition to the Empire State Plaza landscape, and I want to commend everyone who is participating in today's Arbor Day event." New York Maintains Sustainable Forest Management Status As part of the Arbor Day celebration, DEC announced that is has achieved 10 consecutive years of dual forest certification for more than 780,000 acres of State Forests under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Stewardship Council forest management standards. Forest products derived from wood harvested off State Forests may have certified labeling which assures consumers that the raw material was harvested from forests responsibly managed for water quality protection, recreation, wildlife habitat, timber and mineral resources. Look for FSC and SFI labels on lumber and paper products to ensure you are purchasing sustainably sourced goods. DEC is part of a growing number of public, industrial and private forest land owners throughout the United States and the world whose forests are certified as sustainably managed. Additional information on the FSC and SFI standards can be found at https://us.fsc.org/en-us and http://www.sfiprogram.org/ Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners Announced Aaron Cohen of Roslyn, Nassau County, New York was recognized for donating his original artwork to create the official Arbor Day poster. A framed copy of the poster was presented to him at the event. The Arbor Day celebration also recognized the artwork of the children's poster contest winner, Sydney Starkey of Pocantico Hills School, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York. The forest health theme of this year's children's artwork is "Trees for Bees." Students from across the state participated in this year's poster contest. Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that promotes tree planting and tree care and highlights the importance of trees to our environment, economy, and quality of life. Founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872, National Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April. It was established to encourage farmers and homesteaders to plant trees that would provide shade, shelter, food, fuel and beauty to open areas. Arbor Day in New York State is coordinated by the Arbor Day Committee, made up of representatives from the New York State Departments of Agriculture and Markets and Environmental Conservation, New York State Arborists, International Paper and the Empire State Forest Products Association. Tree City USA Tree City USA is a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for communities to manage their public trees. This program is housed within the Arbor Day Foundation and is administered in NY by DEC. Tree City USA status is achieved by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day. New York has 128 Tree Cities. For the 16th year, the City of Albany was recognized today as a Tree City USA. Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy said, "New York is blessed to have a vast reserve of forest resources. Trees contribute to the natural beauty of our urban neighborhoods and the rural countryside. These new grants to plant trees around New York will help us further combat climate change, improve air quality and enhance New York's natural beauty." Assemblyman John McDonald said, "I'm proud to join Governor Cuomo, DEC, OGS, Mayor Sheehan an and all the organizations working to protect our forests in the state in celebrating Arbor Day. Trees are vital resources and through our continued investments in the environmental protection fund, we are making the state's forests healthier and more resilient." Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "Arbor Day is a day to recognize the countless ways trees enhance the economic vitality of business areas and beautify our neighborhoods. The City of Albany has been designated as Tree City U.S.A. for 16 years. With over 6,000 street trees and over 1,600 trees within city parks, 650 in Washington Park alone, trees are a true source of pride and make our Capital City a special place to live." For more information about celebrating Arbor Day, contact a local DEC office, visit Russia is on the verge of bolstering its presence in the North African country with the creation of an industrial zone to be built in East Port Said region in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The related agreement is slated to be signed in May, local media Egypt Today reports, citing Russias Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Georgy Kalamanov. The industrial zone named Russian Industrial Zone (RIZ) will be built for Russian companies desiring to invest in the most populated Arab country. The future zone will be built in three phases and will cover a total land surface of 5.25 million square meters, the media notes. The first phase will roll out a zone covering one million square meters, creating 7,300 jobs in the construction field. The second phase planned to be completed by 2022 will cover 1.6 million square meters and will generate 10,000 jobs. The last phase upon completion will create 17,000 jobs and will stretch out over land coverage of 2.65 million. The project is scheduled to be fully completed by 2031 and will provide 31,000 direct and indirect jobs. A Memorandum of Understanding (MuO) signed in February 2016 between the two countries laid the ground for the project near the Suez Canal, with the aim of attracting Russian companies. The Russian Direct Investment (RDI) is funding the project in conjunction with several Egyptian banks. Russia is one of Egypts top economic partners. Local News, Business & Finance, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 Governor Advances Bill to Outlaw Discrimination Against Tenants Who Pay Rent Using Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Veterans Benefits, or Other Non-Wage Income Sources. Albany, NY - April 27, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced actions that continue New York State's leadership in enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which was signed 50 years ago and outlaws housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. The Governor is advancing a bill to outlaw housing discrimination based on the lawful source of a person's income, which too often is used by landlords as a proxy to discriminate against potential tenants who are single mothers, survivors of domestic violence, veterans, minorities, elderly or individuals with disabilities. He also announced the filing of two complaints by the State Division of Human Rights against housing providers in Queens alleging that they discriminated against tenants based on their sex, familial status, and national origin. The Governor announced these actions as the state today celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act, passed just seven days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and its later amendments outlawed housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. New York celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act today with a full day conference in New York City, examining how far the nation and state have come since its passage, and how far they have to go. "Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated, and as New Yorkers continue to be turned away from safe, affordable housing, this administration is taking decisive action to ensure all residents have access to the homes they deserve," Governor Cuomo said. "New York is putting an end to the immoral and illegal behavior of landlords who have for too long discriminated against residents across this state. By upholding the Fair Housing Act of 1968, we are showing the nation and the world what it means to protect basic human rights and how these efforts will help build a better, stronger New York for all." The Governor's bill combats source of income discrimination and addresses the issue of landlords, in certain parts of the state where local source of income protections do not currently exist, who can reject applicants based on their source of income. Currently, these landlords are preventing lower income households with Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability, veterans' benefits, and other government subsidies or non-wage income, from accessing safe and affordable housing. As a result, many low-income New York families are unable to find landlords who will accept their non-wage income and spend more time in shelters or in substandard housing and in concentrated areas of poverty. The Governor's bill outlawing source of income discrimination will combat discrimination on several fronts, including to: Fight Homelessness and Expand Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence Access to safe, affordable housing is the number one barrier faced by survivors of domestic violence, driving more families to shelters and substandard housing. In 2016, domestic violence surpassed evictions as the main cause for families entering shelters, just one year after 12,542 adults and 12,913 children who sought shelter in a licensed domestic violence residential program were turned away, many due to overcrowding. These New Yorkers had nowhere to turn, and as more move into shelters than move out, source of income protection would be critical to ensuring families are able to leave the shelter system or relocate from substandard housing into safe, affordable and permanent housing. Ensure Veterans Have the Dignity a Home Provides Veterans, and specifically veterans with disabilities, are particularly vulnerable to source of income discrimination due to their reliance on government assistance. About one-fourth of the approximate 900,000 veterans living in New York State as of 2013 received non-wage income or had a disability, and more than half of New York's veterans live outside of New York City and its suburbs. This bill would ensure protections are in place for veterans to have equal access to affordable housing. Allow Elder New Yorkers to Age in Home and Protect Individuals with Disabilities There are approximately 650,000 recipients of supplemental security income living in the state. Of these individuals, approximately 226,000 are over the age of 65, and approximately 39 percent of households utilizing federal rental assistance in New York include individuals who are elderly. Protecting against discrimination for individuals in receipt of social security income would allow elderly individuals to age in housing and neighborhoods of their choice, rather than in institutional settings. This will in turn lead to better health outcomes and lower medical costs. It would also enable adults with disabilities, who compose 34.5 percent of households with vouchers, to access the same housing resources as all other New Yorkers. The proposed legislation reaffirms New York's commitment to the values and goals of the Fair Housing Act and the New York State Human Rights Law. Complaints Filed By the State Alleging Discrimination in Housing Furthering the state's commitment to combat discrimination at all levels, the Division of Human Rights has filed two complaints against housing providers in Queens accusing them of unlawful discrimination of tenants and potential tenants. In the first complaint, DHR's Division Initiated Action Unit followed up on media reports to take action against a housing provider who allegedly posted discriminatory fliers advertising apartments and rooms for rent in Queens available to tenants who are adults only, or male only, or who have "no more than one child." The State Human Rights Law expressly prohibits property owners and their agents from using language in any advertisement that would express a limitation or specification as to a prospective tenant's sex or familial status. The second complaint described a landlord trying to intimidate immigrant tenants by unlawfully posting signs in the lobby of his 55-unit apartment building, advertising a "Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line." The building is predominantly occupied by tenants from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Bangladesh. The bogus sign encouraged individuals to call United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to report "suspicious criminal activity" via the tip line. Immigration was explicitly included as a reportable "criminal activity" that justifies calling the tip line, along with violent crimes like terrorism, drug smuggling, gang activity and child abuse. The complaint accuses the landlord of efforts to further intimidate and retaliate against tenant witnesses who cooperated with DHR's probe. The landlord demanded of DHR investigators the names of tenants who were interviewed. On several other occasions the landlord also threatened tenants, telling them ICE agents were on the premises and were "coming to round up tenants." The State Division of Human Rights is empowered by law to investigate and prosecute systematic patterns of discrimination. These efforts protect New Yorkers and ensure equal opportunity to participate fully in the economic, cultural and intellectual life of the state. State's Ongoing Efforts to Support Fair Housing Principles The Governor is committed to providing all New Yorkers with access to safe, affordable housing that pursues the goals of the Fair Housing Act is reflected in the state's unprecedented $20 billion, five-year Housing Plan. The plan makes housing accessible and combats homelessness by building and preserving 112,000 units of affordable housing, including 6,000 units of supportive housing - enough to house every resident of the City of Buffalo. Since January 2016 when the first Supportive Housing funds were made available under the Governor's Housing Plan, the state has financed over 2500 units of permanent supportive housing throughout New York for people with disabilities or adverse life circumstances. The housing plan continues to build on the more than 77,000 affordable multifamily homes created or preserved since 2011, which is more than enough to house every resident of the City of Syracuse. The initiatives announced today also build on the Governor's achievements, including enactment in 2011 the greatest expansion of rent regulations in 40 years; the 2012 allocation of $880 million to supportive housing initiatives as part of the Medicaid Redesign; and the creation of the Tenant Protection Unit that since 2012 has brought more than 67,000 apartments back to the regulated system. In addition, earlier this year the Governor enforced the right to safe and clean housing for the 400,000 New York City Housing Authority tenants living in unhealthy and sometimes dangerous conditions. The Governor fought hard for the State Budget to include an additional $250 million for NYCHA, increasing the state's investment under his watch to $550 million, the highest ever. He declared a state of emergency to expedite necessary repairs, and address the lead paint and mold crisis. He also pushed through a law allowing design-build to be applied to NYCHA construction projects, speeding the contracting process while still adhering to MWBE participation requirements. New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "In New York State, we are lucky to have a Governor who has spent his life upholding and advancing the values of the Fair Housing Act. With the advancement of a bill to outlaw source of income discrimination, Governor Cuomo is showing how under his leadership we continue to strive to achieve the dream of equality envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." New York State Division of Human Rights Commissioner Helen Diane Foster said, "Our state's Fair Housing protections predate and offer more protections than those of the federal government. Governor Cuomo's proposed legislation will blaze more trails and open more doors to equal housing opportunities for all New Yorkers." Lindsay Miller, Executive Director for the New York Association on Independent Living said, "People with disabilities often live on fixed incomes and rely on housing subsidies in order to pay their rent and live independently in the community, yet far too often, they are denied housing they can afford solely due to their source of income. This can make it almost impossible for people with disabilities to locate affordable, accessible housing. Banning discrimination based on a tenant's lawful source of income will be a significant achievement towards addressing the housing crisis for people with disabilities in New York." Judith Goldiner, Attorney in Charge at The Legal Aid Society said, "At a time when we are facing a statewide rent crisis, it is essential that we enable tenants to move into apartments that they can afford. Unfortunately, because of pernicious discrimination, many tenants are not able to do so. We call on the State Senate to pass this critical legislation which will ban source of income discrimination state wide and open doors for our clients." Foreign-born tenants in New York seeking information or assistance on discrimination may visit the Governor's Immigrant Resource Guide, which outlines programs and initiatives designed to support immigrants and their families. In conjunction with the guide, Homes and Community Renewal and the Division of Human Rights have developed an Immigration and Fair Housing Fact Sheet that addresses "Frequently Asked Questions" related to immigration status, housing discrimination, and tenant harassment. School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Arts & Culture By Long Island News & PR Published: April 27 2018 The Distinguished Alumni program is designed to inspire current students and reconnect with alumni. Mastic Beach, NY - April 27, 2018 - The William Floyd School District along with the William Floyd Alumni Association recently inducted its 10th class of Distinguished Alumni honorees, five individuals who have and continue to make great contributions in their chosen careers. The Distinguished Alumni program is designed to inspire current students and reconnect with alumni while celebrating their accomplishments and bringing a sense of pride to the William Floyd community. Qatars Al Khalij Bank is mulling plans to sell its branches in France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the institution faces tough legal environment in the region amid diplomatic crisis that has engulfed the tiny Gulf country and its neighbors led by Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg, citing sources who did not want to be named, notes that Al Khalij has hired Barclays Plc to advise on the sale of its businesses in France and the UAE. The sale plan is taking place despite an increase in the Doha-based lenders net income to $46.3 billion over the first quarter of 2018, the US-based business media says. Al-Khalij, like many other Qatari firms, is facing difficulties to operate in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. The four countries have restricted playground to Qatari companies after cutting sea, land and ground links with Doha over its alleged support for terrorism. Many of the companies have been forced to sell shares and keep the core ones. Several of them also cut down their staff. Sources told Bloomberg Al-Khalij cut by 10 per cent its workforce in the UAE. Qatar First Bank sold its stake in Dubai-based Amanat Holdings PJSC in November. The following month, Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance announced it was planning cease of its operations in the insurance market in Dubai. This month, Elan Group is working out a plan to sell its Novo Cinemas operations in the U.A.E. and Bahrain, the media says. Data security has been a hot topic in the media recently with revelations about the dissemination of user data at Facebook and breaches at other large businesses like Uber. Healthcare has also had its fair share of cybersecurity issues, with data from 18,000 Medicare members accessed at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield through its vendor LaunchPoint Ventures in 2017 and the ongoing investigation into Banner Healths exposure of data from 3.7 million patients in 2018. Like those examples, many healthcare data breaches target systems or organizations. But can data breaches target devices or tools which generate data in a patients medical profile? The answer is yes. In 2017, the FDA confirmed the vulnerability of St. Judes implantable cardiac devices. If hacked, malicious actors could use access to these devices to prematurely drain the battery or change the pacemakers frequency. In response to the risks presented by modern day, digital medical devices, MedCrypt , a California cybersecurity company founded in 2016, provides a solution. The company offers data security as a service that ensures devices are only acting on and responding to direction from trusted sources. MedCrypts capabilities include: encrypting data sent to and from devices, cryptographically signing commands sent into a device, assigning unique keys to each system actor, and monitoring what devices are doing remotely, in real-time. In creating a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by medical device companies, MedCrypt helps its customer learn from and proactively prepare for threats experienced by other MedCrypt users. To learn more about MedCrypts capabilities and the challenges of cybersecurity in an increasingly digital, connected world of healthcare, Medgadget spoke with MedCrypt CEO Mike Kijewski. Michael Batista, Medgadget: Despite the relative newness of IOT (Internet of Things) and wearable technologies, many of the medical devices that are at risk for breach, like pacemakers, have been around for awhile. Has industry awareness about the risks of hackers accessing these devices been around just as long or is this a more recent concept? Mike Kijewski: While there were a handful of people and companies thinking about this problem as early as 2008, the problem of medical device cybersecurity wasnt broadly understood by the industry until the FDAs cybersecurity guidance documents were released in 2016. When we first started demoing a tool to address this problem to major medical device vendors in late 2016, many of them said, cybersecurity is not a concern in our devices. By mid 2017, many said, cybersecurity is a concern, but weve got it covered. By the last quarter of 2017, most major device vendors had seen the light that this is a major issue, and one that will require collaboration between device vendors, providers, and technology companies. Medgadget: How have medical device companies historically addressed device data and access security, if at all? Kijewski: We know that a handful of device vendors had Product Cybersecurity teams between 2010 and 2014, but many vendors only created those positions after the FDAs most recent guidance document in 2016. Also, its hard to decide if a company has actually addressed device security. Proper product security is not a short-term project, but a long-term process. It will probably be another five years before we really know which companies have chosen to take a serious approach to this problem. Medgadget: Thinking more recently, do you believe that medical device companies today, from industry leaders to your latest IOT or wearable startup, think about or plan for device data security as effectively as they should? Kijewski: There are absolutely companies that see medical device security as being both an important safety concern and a potential business enabler. That wasnt true two years ago. But we still see companies say they will only address product security when a regulatory agency forces them to do so. Fortunately, it seems the FDA has promised to do that in the near future. Medgadget: What are the risks to medical device companies who experience a device breach and the patients using their devices? Kijewski: The risks for patients can range from theft of personal data to physical harm. For medical device companies, the financial risks are really hard to quantify. Weve seen a couple of companies drop entire product lines after a major vulnerability is found. Its hard to know if those events were causal, but its clear that a recall of hundreds of thousands of implantable medical devices is neither cheap nor good publicity. Medgadget: Lets turn our attention to MedCrypt. How does the company help medical device businesses address their cybersecurity challenges? Specifically, what services does MedCrypt offer? Kijewski: If you imagine a medical device vendor taking a proactive approach to product security, there are really three main activities: 1) assessing threats, 2) implementing features to mitigate those threats, and 3) monitoring and maintaining device security through the product life. That second step, security feature implementation, can be really challenging for an engineering team facing an infinite list of feature requests and bug improvements. MedCrypts software gives engineers writing code for medical devices easy access to security features via an API. For example, a user can call our API to cryptographically sign an instruction being sent to a device, and again to validate the signature once the instruction is received. While that may seem like a trivial engineering task, addressing all of the edge cases around key provisioning, management, vulnerability patching, cypher selection, etc. can quickly make those tasks challenging. We remove that complexity from our users workflow, allowing them to focus on clinical features. Once our code is in a device, the devices send us metadata about what they are doing, allowing us to look for abnormal behavior, regardless of whether the device is on a hospital network or at a patients home. If you look at the FDAs Postmarket Cybersecurity Guidance, this is one of the many things they are asking medical device vendors to build into their devices. Medgadget: How easy it is for a medical device company to integrate and work with MedCrypt? Can you walk us through the typical steps required for a client to begin realizing the value of MedCrypt? Kijewski: Our code gets built directly into the application software or firmware running on the medical device, so a software update of the device is required. That said, many of our early customers needed only a dozen lines of implementation code to start using MedCrypt in their existing devices. Implementing MedCrypt is several orders of magnitude easier than an engineer standing all of this cryptography up on their own. Medgadget: Can you share a use case or examples of how MedCrypt is being used to address a medical device cybersecurity challenge today? Kijewski: One of our early customers, Reflexion Medical, is building a PET-guided radiation oncology device. They are using MedCrypt to ensure treatment plans created in their software by clinicians are not modified before it is delivered by the device. Since very small changes in radiation dosage parameters can have huge impacts on a patients safety, its very important to ensure this data isnt modified between the time a treatment is defined by a physician and the time its delivered by the device to a patient. Medgadget: Does MedCrypt provide services to stakeholders beyond the medical device companies? Kijewski: At the present moment, no. We feel that working directly with device vendors when their systems are being designed allows us to make the largest impact on their security posture. That said, we know that hospital CISOs will be happy to know that some devices running on their network have features like those enabled by MedCrypt. Its one less thing for them to have to worry about. Medgadget: MedCrypt is just getting into its third year of business, whats on the horizon for the company as you look to the future? Kijewski: When we were starting the company in late 2015, many investors told us that we were too early and the market just wasnt ready to address security. I think they were right. However, weve seen medical device vendors take a much more proactive approach to security in the last 12 months, and were excited to see MedCrypt in everything from radiation oncology devices to insulin pumps and even pacemakers in the next 18 months. I believe well also start to see applications for our technology in the peripheral healthcare IT applications with which our customers devices interact. A PACS system, for example, ingests DICOM images produced by an imaging device. It will be great to see those PACS systems start to communicate with devices using encryption by default, and we know the PACS vendors will see the advantage to using a security tool like MedCrypt to facilitate that secure data transport. Medgadget: In response to heightened awareness, as well as the availability of services like MedCrypt, how do you think medical device companies will evolve their perspective or approach to cybersecurity in the coming years? Kijewski: Any medical device company that wants to be competitive in the market of connected healthcare will need to adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity, and see it as a business enabler, not a cost center. Among the companies who do address cybersecurity proactively, the most successful ones will be those who adopt a security by design approach that relies on cybersecurity features directly in the device, not just reactive monitoring and documenting existing vulnerabilities. Link: MedCrypt homepage by Sara Guaglione , April 26, 2018 Teen Vogue is hosting its second summit this June, targeting the political and social issues teens find most important from gun control to the environment. The three-day event will be hosted in New York at The New School, with the theme #TurnUp. It will feature everyone from young gun control activists from Ferguson, Sandy Hook and Chicago to Rosario Dawson, actress and cofounder of Voto Latino and Dolores Huerta, of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. #TurnUp is a call to action, Teen Vogue Chief Content Officer Phillip Picardi told Publishers Daily. We want to inspire and motivate young people to turn up for the issues they are interested in. And to create the positive changes they want to see in the world. Picardi said feedback from Teen Vogue readers and attendees of the previous summit held in Los Angeles in December revealed its audience are activated and interested in many different issues impacting their worlds. advertisement advertisement Some of the issues our audience cares about most right now are gun control, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration reform, reproductive justice, fake news and the media and the environment. The summit will hit upon those important touch points, he added. Picardi noted these concerns are important to the cohort of Teen Vogues audience not yet of voting age. It's never too early to start thinking about what you care about, so that when you do turn 18, you're an educated voter and know what issues are most important to you, he said. Teen Vogue has recently taken a strong stance on political and social issues. It has seen positive results from its updated editorial message: Teens can care just as much about beauty and wellness as they do about news and politics. An op-ed written by Emma Gonzalez, a Stoneman Douglas High School student who survived the shooting in Parkland, Florida, is the top-performing Teen Vogue cover story of all time on the website, Picardi said. She is one of the speakers at the summit. The June event will also have time for lighter topics important to teens: time to meditate and socialize, practice self-care and watch empowering performances. A series of keynotes, workshops, mentor sessions and volunteer opportunities will feature activists such as Halima Aden, Hunter Schafer and Gabrielle Giffords, as well as Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com, and William Lohier, NYC Youth Poet Laureate. Former president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards will also attend, as will former Vice President Al Gore. Conde Nasts in-house experiential agency 23 Stories will produce the event. Returning sponsors include Facebook Messenger, PBteen and TOMS; Freehand New York will sponsor the event for the first time. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 26, 2018 A proposed net neutrality bill in California advanced this week, when lawmakers on the state Senate Committee approved the measure. The bill (SB 822), introduced last month by state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would restore the Obama-era net neutrality rules in the state by prohibiting broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic, and from charging higher fees for prioritized delivery. The California measure would also restrict Internet service providers' ability to exempt some material from consumers' data caps, and would limit some forms of paid "interconnection" agreements that involve companies like Netflix paying broadband carriers to interconnect directly with their network. The state Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Wednesday by a 5-2 vote. Last week, the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee cleared the measure, which will now move to the Appropriations Committee. advertisement advertisement California is among dozens of states that is considering passing net neutrality rules in response to last year's decision by the Federal Communications Commission to repeal the Obama-era regulations. Already, governors in six states -- Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Montana, Hawaii and Vermont -- have signed orders requiring broadband carriers to adhere to the Obama-era net neutrality rules as a condition of contracting with state agencies. A seventh state, Oregon, recently passed a law that similarly prohibits state agencies from contracting with broadband providers that violate net neutrality principles. The state of Washington recently passed a more comprehensive net neutrality law that prohibits broadband providers operating in the state from blocking or throttling traffic and from charging companies higher fees for prioritized delivery. Proponents of net neutrality rules say they are necessary to prevent broadband providers from engaging in censorship, and from harming competitors. But current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has said he considers the Obama-era rules "heavy-handed," and argued that they depressed investment. In California, Weiner's proposed bill picked up support from state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and advocacy groups like the Center for Democracy & Technology, Fight for the Future and Public Knowledge. Broadband providers in California oppose the measure. The trade group California Communications Association argued to lawmakers that a "national regulatory framework and enforcement policy is better suited for a service that crosses state boundaries," according to an analysis prepared by the state Judiciary Committee. The California Cable and Telecommunications Association makes a similar argument. "Allowing state or local regulation of broadband Internet access service could impair the provision of such service by requiring each ISP to comply with a patchwork of potentially conflicting requirements across all of the different jurisdictions in which it operates," the cable lobby argued, according to the Judiciary Committee's report. The broadband industry recently vowed to challenge laws passed by individual states. When the FCC voted to repeal the net neutrality rules, it also voted to block states from passing their own versions of the regulations. It's not yet clear whether that prohibition will be upheld in court. by Sara Guaglione , April 27, 2018 Trusted Media Brands has formed an "Insights Lab" to provide brand marketers with data and information on consumer audiences and marketing trends. The lab under Trusted Media Brands, which owns titles such as Taste of Home and Readers Digest, will focus on producing consumer and B2B insights to brand marketers, according to Bonnie Kintzer, company president and CEO. Over the past several years, we have invested and grown [our consumer] database to include proprietary research on the trends reshaping the marketing landscape, especially with shifts impacting digital marketers, Kintzer stated. The lab will also use national panels from research partners and the Trusted Media Brands Inner Circle community of 3,500+ online members "to drive understanding of the changing habits, attitudes, and behaviors of the American consumer and todays media landscape," Kintzer added. advertisement advertisement Trusted Media Brands has conducted proprietary research on topics like branded digital video and brand safety and trust. Trusted Media Brands Insights Lab will also examine consumer attitudes and behaviors on affecting American homes and families, such as the new dynamics of family meal time or how digital media continues to reshape the American family lifestyle, per the company. In addition, Trusted Media Brands user-generated content can provide marketers with a real-time conversation into the day-to-day issues confronting Americans, especially Millennials," she added. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 27, 2018 Google is asking a federal judge to throw out a privacy lawsuit over "faceprints" on the grounds that the people who are suing didn't suffer any injuries. "There is no evidence of data breach; no evidence of disclosure to third parties; and no evidence of misuse of any data," Google argues in papers filed this week with U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang in Illinois. The company is asking Chang to dismiss the lawsuit before trial. The legal dispute dates to 2016, when Illinois residents Lindabeth Rivera and Joseph Weiss alleged in a class-action complaint that Google violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by deploying facial recognition technology on photos uploaded by users. Rivera said in her complaint that she doesn't have a Google Photos account, but that photos of her were uploaded to the service after they were taken by someone else. Google then allegedly scanned the photos, extracted "geometric data relating to the contours of her face and the distances between her eyes, nose, and ears," and created a template of her face, her court documents allege. advertisement advertisement Weiss alleged that he uploaded 21 photos of himself to his Google Photos account, and that Google used data from those photos to create a faceprint of him. The Illinois Biometric Privacy Information Act, passed in 2008, requires companies to obtain written releases from people before collecting certain biometric data, including fingerprints, voiceprints and scans of face geometry. The law provides for damages of up to $5,000 per violation. Google argues in its new papers that people can only proceed in federal court if they have suffered concrete injuries. The company adds that Rivera and Weiss "speculate that their templates may someday be used to steal their identities or otherwise compromise their security," but says they don't have any evidence that has happened. Facebook, which also faces suit for allegedly violating the Illinois privacy law, recently failed to convince a different judge to dismiss the case. Facebook, like Google, argued that the people who filed suit hadn't shown that they were injured by the company's alleged faceprint collection. Facebook contended that none of the plaintiffs alleged that "they were identified in an embarrassing photo and therefore fired from their jobs," or that "they were victims of identity theft," or "caught in a compromising situation that adversely -- and concretely -- affected their relationships." U.S. District Court Judge James Donato in the Northern District of California said in his decision against Facebook that lawmakers in Illinois had decided that companies' collection of biometric information could cause harm. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 27, 2018 Edible Arrangements, which is suing Google over the way it displays ads for rival gift companies, is fighting the company's attempt to send the case arbitration. The gift basket company, which is itself a Google advertiser, alleged in February that Google dupes consumers who search for "Edible Arrangements" by showing them ads for competitors. Edible Arrangements claims that these ads violate its trademark. Google recently argued that the matter belongs in arbitration because, as a search advertiser, Edible Arrangements accepted Google's terms and conditions. But Edible Arrangements counters that the arbitration agreement doesn't cover its current dispute with Google. "Edible Arrangements has properly brought this action before this court to vindicate its valuable intellectual property rights, which exist independent of Edible Arrangements participation in Googles advertising programs or any assent to Googles Terms and Conditions," the gift basket company argues in papers filed this week with U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shea in New Haven. advertisement advertisement Edible Arrangement's complaint centers on "product listing ads" that appear on the right-hand side of the search results pages and include small graphic images. A link above the ads takes people to a Google Shopping page. Edible Arrangements alleged that people who search for the name "Edible Arrangements" are taken to product listing ads that feature competitors. "Google thus misleads consumers into making a 'connection' between Edible Arrangements and these competitors products," the company said in its lawsuit. Edible Arrangements added that it has received phone calls from customers who mistakenly placed orders with competitors after using Google. Edible Arrangements says in its new court papers that the dispute is outside the scope of its arbitration agreement with Google. "To hold otherwise would effectively insulate Google from any federal or state tort actions brought by one of its customers, regardless of its factual connection to the plaintiffs contractual relationship with Google," the company says. Want to give your mental and physical health a boost? Scientists propose a tasty strategy: eat a small amount of dark chocolate. New studies shed light on how dark chocolate might improve our brain health and strengthen our immune system. Share on Pinterest Researchers uncover more evidence of the health benefits of dark chocolate. Medical News Today regularly report on the many studies that hail the health benefits of chocolate consumption in moderation, of course. One such study associated chocolate with a lower risk of irregular heartbeat, while other research linked the tasty treat to a reduced likelihood of diabetes and heart disease. Generally, the darker the chocolate, the greater the health benefits; dark chocolate contains higher levels of flavonoids, which are a class of antioxidants that can protect our cells from damage and reduce inflammation. Two small studies recently presented at Experimental Biology 2018, held in San Diego, CA, and due to be published in The FASEB Journal provide further evidence of how dark chocolate can be good for us. Both studies were led by Lee Berk, who is the associate dean of research affairs in the School of Allied Health Professions at Loma Linda in California. Berk and his colleagues investigated how eating a small amount of dark chocolate containing 70 percent cacao might have positive effects on the brain and immune system. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is continuing with no prospects for a political resolution and Gaza is about to explode, a senior United Nations official said Thursday, urging both sides to avoid further clashes along the enclaves border. Old wounds continue to bleed and deepen as we speak, risking the outbreak of another war, Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council during an open debate on the crises in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. While his briefing covered the situations in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, it was largely focused on the unfolding crisis along the Gaza fence, which is at the tiny enclaves border with Israel. For the last four weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have converged on the fence to protest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. The demonstrations, called Great March of Return, are expected to continue and culminate around May 15, and could spread to the West Bank and beyond. Since 30 March, during these demonstrations, 35 Palestinians have been killed and large numbers have been injured by Israeli security forces. No Israeli casualties have been reported, Mladenov said. Israel has accused Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militants of using the protests, women, children and the elderly, as a cover to infiltrate Israel and commit terrorist attacks. The UN envoy urged Israel to calibrate its use of force and minimize the use of live fire, and called on Hamas a Palestinian faction governing the enclave and the leaders of the demonstrations to keep protestors away from the Gaza fence. The combination of the security, development and humanitarian deterioration, coupled with the political impasse, makes Gaza a powder keg, Mladenov said, calling for action to prevent another war in the enclave, which was shaken by seven weeks of clashes in the summer of 2014 between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. People should not be destined to spend their lives surrounded by borders they are forbidden to cross, or waters they are forbidden to navigate, he said. They should not be destined to live under the control of Hamas, which invests in militant activities at the expense of the population. He urged stepped-up efforts to support the parties in advancing a sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis of the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine co-existing peacefully as independent countries. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil may relieve pain and reduce inflammation and some research suggests that CBD may help treat migraine. A growing body of research suggests that CBD may help relieve pain, particularly neurological pain, linked with various conditions. Specifically, CBD oil has promise as a treatment for migraine, as the American Migraine Foundation report. While they acknowledge that no scientific evidence proves that CBD is an effective treatment, they point out that this may be due to a general lack of formal research into CBD. The foundation conclude that CBD may still be a viable topical option for some patients with joint and muscle pain associated with migraine. Still, due to the lack of evidence that CBD is a safe or effective migraine treatment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not approved it for this use or as a way to relieve any pain. Below, we explore how CBD might benefit people with migraine and look into its effectiveness, safety, and legality. Why might CBD oil ease migraine? Share on Pinterest Getty Images CBD is one of more than 100 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. It is different from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the compound in cannabis that produces a high. There is no evidence that CBD produces a high. It does have other effects in the body, which might include relieving pain and reducing inflammation. CBD may ease pain because it affects specific receptors in the brain. These receptors are part of the wider endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in pain and inflammation throughout the body. Research has linked medical cannabis with the following effects, which are relevant to migraine treatment: pain relief easing nausea reducing inflammation anticonvulsive effects However, there has been very limited research into the safety and effectiveness of cannabis, or CBD specifically, for migraine partly due to legal restrictions on research involving the cannabis plant. In a 2017 review of studies , researchers noted that cannabis might help treat migraine. Still, CBD oil may have different effects, and no research has shown that the oil can help treat migraine. Overall, more studies are necessary. What does the research say? According to the National Centers for Complementary and Integrative Health, some evidence suggests that cannabis and specifically CBD could have modest benefits for chronic pain. Likewise, a 2020 review has found that CBD can help relieve chronic pain, improve sleep, and reduce inflammation in some circumstances. The results of a 2016 study indicate that medical cannabis may reduce the frequency of migraine headaches. The study did not investigate CBD specifically, however. A 2018 review of the relevant research also reports that cannabis seems promising as a method of relieving pain, including pain from migraine. A 2017 review concluded that there is enough anecdotal evidence and preliminary findings to warrant further research and high-quality clinical trials. The bottom line is that more research is necessary. If CBD proves effective, researchers will then need to find the most effective dosages and formulations. Meanwhile, researchers have explored whether cannabis compounds may treat chronic pain in people who have been taking opioids for long periods and want to reduce their use. Authors of a 2009 study found evidence to support this, but a 2018 study found no link between the use of cannabis and reductions in pain or opioid use. However, the results of the latter study were based on participant-reported cannabis use, and most of this was not legal use. Legality Hemp and hemp-derived products with THC contents of less than 0.3% are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. However, the legal status of CBD and other cannabinoids varies by state. If a person in the United States is thinking of trying CBD, they can check their local laws here. In June 2018, the FDA approved a purified CBD oil, which contains no THC, to treat two rare, severe types of epilepsy. The oil is only available with a prescription. Over-the-counter CBD products do not have FDA approval. As a result, there is no way to ensure that they are safe or contain what the packaging advertises. If possible, speak with a doctor before using CBD. How to use CBD oil A person can use CBD oil: as an ingredient in foods and drinks in capsule form in oral drops or sprays by inhaling or vaping it, though either can be dangerous Meanwhile, researchers are investigating the potential benefits and legal and ethical implications of CBD in other forms, such as those that can be administered rectally, in the eye, or via the skin. Because no definitive studies have investigated the effects of CBD oil on migraine in humans, there is no standard dosage or method of using the oil. However, a doctor in an area where CBD oil is legal may be able to recommend a safe, low dosage to start with. Overall, it is best to start with a very low dosage and see whether it helps. The FDA do not regulate over-the-counter CBD products like they regulate medications. These products may be mislabeled or misrepresent their contents. For this reason, it is important to research and find a quality product. Risks When it comes to CBD, one of the most significant risks concerns the lack of regulation. The FDA have not approved any cannabis products, including CBD products, as migraine treatments. In the U.S. there is no regulation over the potency or marketing of over-the-counter CBD oil. As a result, some CBD products have incorrect information on their labels. They may contain more or less CBD than advertised, and some contain significant amounts of the inhibiting psychoactive substance THC. Effective strategies and treatments A healthcare provider is likely to recommend proven treatments and other approaches to care for someone with migraine. Identifying and avoiding triggers can reduce the frequency of migraine episodes. This involves different things for different people, but it may look like: practicing stress management techniques avoiding bright lights avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and other dietary migraine triggers finding ways to get regular high-quality sleep Also, while no one treatment plan works for everyone, various medications can reduce the frequency of migraine episodes and the intensity once they start. Some approved migraine treatments include: over-the-counter pain relief medications, such as acetaminophen nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen or aspirin prescription medications for migraine pain, such as triptans, ergots, and nerve blocks at the occipital region of the brain drugs that help prevent migraine episodes, including beta-blockers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medications Botox treatments Many people try a few treatments before finding one that works. A person may benefit most from a combination of approaches. Working closely with a healthcare provider and keeping track of the frequency and intensity of episodes can help determine the best treatment. Find tips for instant migraine relief here. Advertisement In multiple myeloma, rapidly proliferating plasma cells can crowd out the bone marrow's normal blood-forming cells, leading to problems including anemia (shortage of red cells) and leukopenia (shortage of white cells). Most multiple myeloma cases are diagnosed in people older than 65, and only 5 percent of cases occur among people under 50. Half of those diagnosed with multiple myeloma are still alive five years later.Previous studies suggest that MGUS and multiple myeloma all tend to develop after exposure to toxic chemicals. The aerosolized dust from the collapsed towers exposed FDNY and other first responders to unprecedented levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, asbestos and other potential carcinogens, as well as diesel smoke from heavy machinery used in the 10-month rescue and recovery effort.For statistical reasons, the study population was limited to 781 white, male WTC-exposed firefighters aged 50 to 79 whose blood samples were evaluated to assess the prevalence of MGUS in the group. When results were compared with MGUS prevalence in a non-exposed comparison group (men living in Olmsted County, MN), the prevalence of MGUS in the firefighters was nearly twice as high (7.63 cases of MGUS per 100 firefighters vs. 4.34 cases per 100 non-exposed persons)."We saw a significantly higher incidence of MGUS in these first responders, and they're developing it at a young age," said the study's senior co-author Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., a professor of medicine and of developmental & molecular biology at Einstein and director of hematologic malignancies at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care. Their early development of MGUS, he says, suggests that these firefighters potentially face an increased risk for early-onset of multiple myeloma as well.Indeed, in a separate analysis, the researchers examined the 16 cases of multiple myeloma diagnosed between September 12, 2001 and July 1, 2017 among all white, male WTC-exposed FDNY firefighters. Their average age of diagnosis was 57, or 12 years younger than the average age for multiple myeloma diagnosis nationally.Although not everyone with MGUS will develop multiple myeloma, the researchers recommend that physicians screen first responders exposed to the WTC site for both conditions. "Screening for multiple myeloma risk by testing for MGUS is something we can offer these first responders, which is why this study is important," said Dr. Prezant.Another study in this edition of JAMA Oncology predicts how many WTC-related cancer cases will be diagnosed among FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2031.The study, by Einstein, Montefiore, and FDNY researchers, predicts that among a subset of white males 2,714 new cancer cases will be diagnosed over the 20-year period. Led by Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., a research assistant professor in epidemiology and population health at Einstein, these studies demonstrate that this is a significantly greater cancer burden than the 2,596 cancer cases that would be predicted in a demographically similar but non-exposed population.The study also calculated that the 20-year cost for the first year of cancer treatment for the FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers will total more than $235 million. The paper is titled "Estimation of Future Cancer Burden in World Trade Center-Exposed Fire Department of the City of New York Rescue/recovery Workers."The MGUS study is titled "Multiple myeloma and its precursor disease among firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center disaster." The blood samples for this study were collected and purified under the direction of Orsi Giricz, Ph.D., a co-first author of the study at Montefiore/Einstein, and then analyzed for MGUS by Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the corresponding author for the study. Dr. Zeig-Owen was also a co-first author in this study. The other Einstein and Montefiore authors are David Goldfarb, M.P.H., George Nwankwo, B.S., Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., Kith Pradhan, Ph.D., Charles B. Hall, Ph.D., Hillel W. Cohen, Dr.P.H., Theresa Schwartz, M.S. and Mayris P. Webber, Dr.P.H. Additional authors include Malin Hultcrantz, M.D., Ph.D., Kaznouri Murata, Ph.D., Katie Thoren, Ph.D., Lakshmi Ramanathan, Ph.D., Ahmet Dogan, M.D., Ph.D., and Shani Irby, N.P., all of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Nadie Jaber, PA-C, of the FDNY; and Laura Crowley, M.D. and Michael Crane, M.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.This work was supported by grants from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Byrne Fund, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Core Grant, the Albert Einstein Cancer Center, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The authors declare no competing financial interests.Source: Eurekalert Ever since the U.S government expressed concerns about E. coli O157:H7 transmission, early in March, the diseases have increased from 17 people to 84 people in just a matter of weeks. E. coli O157:H7 was first encountered in seven states but has now spread to 19 states of United States. 42 people have been hospitalized including nine people who have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have occurred so far. Advertisement Out of the 84 that have been infected nearly 42 people have been hospitalized including nine individuals who developed kidney failure. Advertisement In earlier research, the team demonstrated that this compound killed PDAC cells both expressing and not having the p53 mutation. The compound was also found to inhibit tumor growth in a mouse model of invasive PDAC In their latest work, the scientists have showed that the compound works by uniquely targeting two human cell death pathways namely programmed cell death (apoptosis), and the intracellular scavenging system referred to as autophagy namely programmed cell death (apoptosis), and the intracellular scavenging system referred to as autophagy They have demonstrated that the compound exerts its effects through its ability to induce crosstalk PDAC cell death pathways. In a new study, research teams from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that exposure to taxanes and vinca alkaloids anticancer agents led to an immediate pain response mediated through the peripheral nerve receptors that detect pain impulses They showed that the chemotherapy drugs cause over excitation of sensory neurons by specific activation of an ion channel (TrpA1) involved in perception of pain. involved in perception of pain. The study is among the first to demonstrate direct activation of sensory neurons by anti-cancer drugs and suggests a possible role for developing treatments for chemotherapy induced neuropathy by targeting TrpA1. In mice-derived cultivated cancer cells, doses of both forms of indomethacin significantly suppressed colon tumor cell growth, with the phosphatidylcholine containing formulation found to be slightly more potent at the lowest dose that was tested Similarly, in mice injected with colon cancer cells, both forms of indomethacin brought about significant decrease in the amount of tumor compared to mice that got no treatment A research team from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center studied a mouse model of breast cancer that expresses higher levels of CIRP than normal to test its role in growth and spread of breast cancer than normal to test its role in growth and spread of breast cancer They found that increased levels of CIRP inhibited the growth and spread of tumor cells These anti-cancer effects were associated with changes in the levels of cytokines (chemical mediators of the immune system). Specifically, the mice secreted lesser amounts of cytokines that promote tumor growth and progression; at the same time they secreted increased levels of cytokines that suppress cancer growth and metastasis. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), makes up for about 90 percent of all pancreatic cancers, and has a 5-year survival rate of onlyless than five percent. Pancreatic cancer is very often difficult to detect, and therapy is additionally complicated by p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations that render the tumor cells resistant to treatment.Scientists from the Human BioMolecular Research Institute, University of California San Diego and ChemRegen, Inc.that could be potentially useful in treating pancreatic cancerJiongjia Cheng will be presenting this work at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) annual meeting.Patients receiving. The reason for its occurrence remains unclear and there is no effective treatment.The findings could lead to creation of novel and effective treatments to combat this debilitating condition. Nina Boiko will present this work at the American Physiological Society annual meeting. Indomethacin is a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) found to have anticancer properties in animal models and in clinical trials.A research team from University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston conducted(to counter NSAID induced injury in the gastrointestinal tract) to test its ability to inhibit colonic cancer cells.Thus the results suggest that indomethacin and phosphatidylcholine-indomethacin are effective inhibitors of colon cancer cell growth andas well. This work will be presented by Lenard Lichtenberger at the ASPET annual meeting.(CIRP) plays a critical part in regulating gene expression and response of cells to stressThe team continues to study CIRP's ability to influence signaling between the tumor and immune cells and how this information could be used to create even more effective immunotherapies for breast cancer . Daniel Lujan will present this study during the Cell Biology Award Hybrid Symposium at the American Association of Anatomists annual meeting.Source: Medindia Guarding our borders with their sweat, blood and tears, our jawans make the supreme sacrifice for us. Leaving their house and their families at a young age, they go to brave inhuman conditions, to protect their motherland, to protect us. And we as a society collectively fail them when we commit atrocities within our land or play silent spectators to them. Think how they'd feel when they read about people fighting over religion, farmers struggling with debt, women and babies being raped and murdered in the country the very people they are sacrificing their lives to protect are not safe in the country. In this 3-minute speech delivered by Ms Anuradha Prabhudesai at Pune, she talks about the duty we as citizens have towards our soldiers fighting to safeguard our lives. Anuradha Prabhudesai is an ex-banker devoted to the cause of Indian soldiers since 2004. She has been working relentlessly towards the cause and travels extensively to remote army areas in Ladakh. The soldiers consider her as their mother and fondly call her 'ma' or 'masi'. She narrates an awe-inspiring incident about an interaction with Captain Shaurya who was critically injured. Ms Prabhudesai was called on by an army colonel to give a call to the injured armyman and say a few comforting words to help him get through the difficult time. When she calls Captain Shaurya, she is in for a surprise when the captain assures her he is fine. He had lost a leg, had injured his skull, fractured his left hand and had surgery on his stomach but the captain tells her he is absolutely fine and there is nothing to worry about. After 10 months, someone rings the doorbell of her house. It is Captain Shaurya who has come riding a Bullet, one year after losing a leg. In her many visits to war-zones in Ladakh, she says soldiers come up to her and ask her to help clean the society and make it a better place. They tell her, Maasi, ek kaam kar, iss samaaj ka texture sudhaar. And that is exactly we all, as citizens of India, should aspire to do make ourselves worth protecting. Important: Please note that the woman in the video is not Captain Gore's mother, unlike the mention on the Youtube video. The lady in the video here is Anuradha Prabhudesai, social worker and founder of Lakshya Foundation, that works for the cause of Indian soldiers. Late Captain Gore's mother is Mrs Anuradha Gore. Delhi Police has traced 3,000 missing children in four days by using its Facial Recognition System (FRS) that it is currently testing out on a trial basis. They have been able to establish the identity of these children and are in the process of reuniting them with their families. Police began using the technology on 6 April after the High Court commissioned a test run of the software, the country's Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) said in an affidavit. As part of its recently launched trial of the FRS software, the Delhi Police scanned the faces of 45,000 children living in children's homes across the national capital, out of which identity of 2,930 children could be established in the period between April 6 and 10. Hindustan Times Previously, the authorities posted photos of missing children on a nationwide online database called TrackChild. Police, child welfare agencies, and citizens could then provide input. But the backlog of photographs was too much for officials to handle. The FRS software has all the facial data of any child and it matches it along with their photograph that is obtained from the TrackChild portal, hence the identity of the child is instantly established due to cross-referencing. Rakesh Srivastava, secretary to the Women and Child Development Ministry, said in the affidavit (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/facial-recognition-system-helps-trace-3000-missing-children-in-4-days/articleshow/63870277.cms): "The Delhi Police shared the outcome of the FRS on April 10 with the WCD ministry. The police said that identities of 2,930 children were established. The ministry has sent the data to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for further details. The court will be informed after completing further procedures." The Guardian India's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) hopes to use this data to create a national children's tribunal to adjudicate these cases. The use of such technology has raised privacy concerns, however, the NPCR in India advocates its use under these circumstances. If such a type of software helps trace missing children and reunite them with their families, nothing can be better than this, NCPCR member Yashwant Jain told Indian news outlet NDTV. In recent years, the number of new cancer drugs on the market has risen quite rapidly, with many more in development and actively being tested in clinical trials around the globe. But drug development can take many years to see the idea of a new therapy in a lab to a tested, approved treatment on the market to hopefully extend a patients survival. Dr. Harvey Berger, Executive Chairman at Medinol, Inc., a global interventional cardiovascular-device company, has had a lengthy and varied medical career helping to develop innovative medicines for cancers that are difficult to treat. As founder and CEO of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., he led the development of a number of new cancer drugs, including immunotherapies. Over the course of my career in the biotechnology and life-sciences industries, I am proud to say that I oversaw the development of seven new medicines and an in vitro cancer diagnostic test six of which have already been approved for use in patients with many challenging diseases in cancer, immunology and cardiology, Dr. Berger told the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance (MCA). We recently sat down with Dr. Berger to learn more about cancer drug development and what lies ahead for cancer research. Clinical Trials and Cancer Drug Development During his lengthy career with ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Berger has been involved in the clinical development of eight new drugs, including several for lung cancer and leukemia. He led the development of drugs like Iclusig (ponatinib) for Ph+ leukemias, Alunbrig (brigatinib) for ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and rimiducid, a dimerizing drug for use with cellular immunotherapies, such as CAR-T therapies. Immunotherapy has been an important aspect of cancer research, especially in recent years. Through his own and others research, Dr. Berger reasoned that there has been a huge shift in cancer drug development to more personalized therapies based on specific genetic mutations. Many of the drugs he was involved in, as well as in many other clinical trials, proved their efficacy against certain genomic profiles, with researchers having a much better understanding of biomarkers than ever before. This type of research can lead to huge treatment breakthroughs. Progress in cancer drug research, however, rests heavily on patients volunteering and seeking out participation in clinical trials. The only way to learn how new diagnostic tests or new therapies work is to study them in patients with the diseases for which they were designed. Studies in the lab or in animals are inadequate. At this point in time, the course of cancer can only be studied effectively in clinical trials, Dr. Berger emphasized. Additionally, Dr. Berger hopes to see more education and training designed specifically around clinical research to continue improving the drug development process. In any case, there is a science to conducting clinical trials, and they must be carried out with the same attention to detail as experiments in the lab. Several medical schools, such as Yale Medical School, have set up programs to train clinician scholars physician-scientists who can be leaders of clinical research initiatives. I am a very strong believer in this type of educational effort, explained Dr. Berger, who began his medical career at Yale School of Medicine. With a concerted effort around improving the clinical trial process, cancer research will continue to progress and see breakthroughs even for rare cancers like mesothelioma. The Future of Cancer Research Precision or personalized medicine has been a bigger focus of cancer research, with many researchers stating their belief that personalized medicine is the key for a cancer cure. Looking back, we have witnessed extraordinary progress in the development of molecularly targeted medicines, such as inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, DNA repair, and cancer-cell metabolism and immune regulators in which a patients own immune system is used to treat cancer, such as inhibitors of checkpoint pathways and CAR-T cell therapies, Dr. Berger explained. Though progress has been made in exploring these therapies and others, like personalized cancer vaccines, there is still a lot of work ahead, with exciting developments underway. Dr. Berger has seen a lot of efforts behind utilizing artificial intelligence and cancer genomics to better differentiate tumors and develop new cancer therapies. For Dr. Berger specifically, who was recently elected to the governing Board of Trustees of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and the Science Committee of the Board at the DFCI, he hopes to continue helping patients have even more opportunities to participate in groundbreaking clinical trials as a trustee. Without question, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the preeminent cancer centers in the world. What distinguishes the institution from most others is the balanced focus on excellence in patient care and cutting-edge research, both basic laboratory studies and clinical trials, Dr. Berger said. The institution is interested in taking more of its discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic and offering patients even greater opportunities to participate in clinical trials of the fruits of its labors in the lab. I am working with the leadership of the DFCI to help make this even more achievable than in the past. With so much varied research and opportunities in the oncology field, hopefully a cure is in the not so distant future. Market participants believe the investigation is a precautionary measure against the Section 232 tariffs being introduced by the US, because Turkey may become an open market for dumped products once the US measures start to have an impact on global steel producers.The probe includes flat, long and stainless steel, along with steel tube & pipe products.The investigation includes hot-rolled flat steel imports with HS code 7208 and 7211, cold-rolled flat steel with HS code 7209, coated flat steel with HS code 7210 and 7212, and alloy flat steel with HS code 7225 and 7226.The long steel products under investigation are wire rod under HS code 7213 and 7227, steel bars under HS code 7214, 7215, sections under HS code 7216, steel wires under HS code 7217, and bars and sections under HS code 7228.Railway or tramway track iron or steel under HS code 7302, and tube & pipe under HS code 7303, 7304, 7305 and 7306 are also under investigation, along with stainless flat steel under HS codes 7219 and 7220.The probe will be finalized in nine months time, but may be extended by another six months if required, the ministry said.If protective measures are taken, a duty exemption for imports from Europe will be discussed, the ministry added.The European Commission (EC) launched a similar safeguarding case into 26 carbon and stainless steel products imported into the EU on March 26, and that is expected to be finalized in early May.The Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD) requested protective trade measures in early April. Turkey imported 8,390,305 tonnes of flat steel in 2017 , under HS codes 7209, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225, and 7226, up by 3.14% compared to 8,134,707 tonnes in 2016, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).Metal Bulletins weekly price assessment for Turkish HRC imports was $610-630 per tonne cfr on Friday, April 20 , falling from $615-640 per tonne cfr.The countrys long steel imports amounted to 1,312,676 tonnes in 2017 - under HS codes 7213, 7214, 7215, 7216, 7217, 7227, and 7228 - down 14.73% from the 1,539,415 tonnes imported in 2016.Metal Bulletins weekly price assessment for domestic wire rod in Turkey was $590-610 per tonne ex-works on Thursday, April 26, down from the $610-630 per tonne. HURON COUNTY -- The Grindstone-Port Hope Sportsmen's Club is hosting an online hunter safety program, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, this summer. The class is for any youth or adults who have not yet taken or need to take the Hunter Education Class required to obtain a hunting license in Michigan. The class is being offered in conjunction with the Free Educational Outdoor Day for Youths and Mentors that the Sportsmen's Club will be holding on July 28. Drought-stricken Cape Town was lashed by heavy rains overnight, leading to widespread localized flooding in areas around the metropole. Heavy rain throughout Wednesday has blocked roads and disrupted traffic in Cape Town, city officials said on Thursday. According to officials about 578 structures and approximately 2,000 people have been affected by flooding. The city has requested humanitarian relief from the Social Security Agency of South Africa (Sassa) for those affected. Motorists in Cape Town were cautioned to travel with extra care on Friday due to flooding across the metropole and beyond. The city is in the grip of a drought that has seen dam levels drop to just 20% and strict water restrictions being imposed on residents. Earlier this year, the southern African nation has declared a national disaster in drought-affected regions, which witnessed two of the driest years ever recorded in 2015 and 2016. The first winter downpour will slightly replenish dams. However, the city is encouraging its residents to continue saving water amid drought restrictions that limit consumption per person to 50 liters a day. Sebewaing man promoted to detective at Tuscola Sheriff Department Besides a bump in pay for a promotion, Justin Nitz will get to add color to his wardrobe after... Huron County preschools happy in return to classroom With the school year well underway, those involved with day care programs and preschools through... HURON COUNTY Since 1994, Huron County has renewed its road millage every five years. With several issues on the ballot May 8, officials want the public to understand that this is a renewal, and it will cost taxpayers no more than they currently pay. The emphasis is, its not an increase. Its the same as its been in the past, said Dale Oeschger, Ballot Committee member. Many local school districts have bond issues before voters, and there is a renewal proposed for the Huron County Medical Care Facility as well. As a result, supporters of the road millage renewal effort don't want this proposal to get lost in the mix. Everybody says that when you drive out of Huron County, you have poorer roads to drive on, Oeschger told the Tribune. Unless they keep (the millage), our roads will deteriorate. The 1-mill renewal equals $1 for each $1,000 in taxable value. For a property with a taxable value of $50,000, it would cost $50 annually. And since this is a renewal, taxpayers are already paying it. In 1994, Huron County voters voted for and passed a 2-mill request. In 1999, the renewal request was actually reduced to 1 mill and remained at that level during the renewal request in 2004, 2009 and 2014. In the first year, the renewal would raise an estimated $2.03 million for county primary roads and $327,162 for major and local streets, based on the 2018 taxable value of property. It will cut back on road maintenance for a number of years, is what will happen if it doesnt pass, Oeschger said. Regular road maintenance funds would then be used until another millage is passed. If we do not pass the road millage, well lose paving on many county roads, he added. Funding generated by this millage renewal is used on county primary roads and for street funding in cities and villages. County primary roads include roads such as Caseville, Bay Port, Atwater, Kinde, Ruth, Filion and Pinnebog. According to road commission officials, there are two other classifications for roads in Huron County. First, there are state trunkline highways (M-19, M-25, M-142, M-53). The road commission contracts with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to perform all maintenance on these roads. All funding for state trunkline highways is provided by MDOT. The second type of road is classified as a "county local road." These roads are typically within townships and often have an aggregate surface. Every city and village in the county would receive funding for streets if the millage passes. Commission officials say the millage would also allow the road commission to receive federal and state funding, which could add up to another $1 million to be spent on roads. Jim Hall also is a member of the ballot committee. Judging from history, he says is confident that the millage will pass. I hope people vote for it, he told the Tribune. Also expiring this year is a half mill increase for 10 years for general operation, equipment and maintenance of the medical care facility. The renewal would raise an estimated $1.02 million in the first year. JUNIATA TOWNSHIP A proposed recall petition has been filed for Juniata Township Trustee Elaine Schunn. And the township faces a federal lawsuit. The recall petition alleges Schunn should be recalled for the following reason: "As one of the trustees of Theodore R. Shunn and Lola Elaine Schunn Trust dated July 11, 2002, (Schunn) entered into a wind farm easement and option agreement with Tuscola Wind III, LLC that was executed Sept. 8, 2017. The proposed petition was submitted by township resident Nancy Laskowski. The Tuscola County Election Commission will meet at 1 p.m. May 7 in the probate courtroom for a factual/clarity hearing to review the wording on the petition. In Michigan, recalls have to be reviewed by the election commission, which consists of the county clerk, the probate judge, and county treasurer, for clarity for being understood and for a review of the facts. If the election commissioners approve the wording on the petition, the signature-gathering process can start. If they do not approve the petition, the process stops. In January, election commission members Tuscola County Clerk Jodi Fetting, Probate Judge Nancy Thane, and Treasurer Patricia Donovan-Gray approved the language on recall petitions for Supervisor Neil Jackson, Clerk Heidi Stark and Trustee Andrew Stark, but at that time, the commission denied the recall language for Trustee Elaine Schunn. The reason given for the proposed recall was because those officials failed to enact a moratorium on commercial wind energy systems in the township. Although the required number of signatures was collected, the process stalled in January when Jackson and the Starks filed an appeal of the election commissions decision in Tuscola County Circuit Court. An appeal stops the process until a determination is made, explained Fetting. A decision on the appeal of the election commissions decision was made earlier this month. Judge (Amy Grace) Gierhart did issue an opinion on the Juniata recall, and affirmed the decision of the election commission to approve the petition language, Fetting said. The next step is collecting signatures again. They plan on collecting signatures in order to place the issue on the November ballot, Fetting said. The controversy fueling the recalls is over NextEra Energy Resources LLC plan to build 31 turbines in Juniata Township for the Pegasus Energy Center project, which also includes 32 turbines in Fairgrove Township. There has been little opposition to the proposed wind farm in Fairgrove Township, and all of the special land use permits in that township were approved in Dec. 2017. The Juniata Township Planning Commission approved NextEras special land use permit in January over three meetings. NextEras plan is to tie the Pegasus Energy Center wind farm with its Tuscola Wind I and Tuscola Wind II in Tuscola County, and with the Pheasant Run wind farm in Huron County. Proposed recall petitions against Supervisor Neil Jackson, Clerk Heidi Stark and Trustee Andrew Stark have been filed four times against them, and this is the fifth recall filed for Elaine Schunn. Trustee Brenda Wachner has never had a recall petition filed against her. Also, another legal entanglement has been added to the wind farms development concerning the handling of the process by which it was approved. Six township residents, known as Concerned Citizens of Juniata Township, recently filed a federal lawsuit against the Juniata Township Board, the townships zoning board of appeals, and planning commission members in U.S. District Court, the Eastern District of Michigan Northern Division branch in Bay City. The suit alleges township officials violated the townships wind ordinance by approving a special land use permit for NextEra. According to the complaint, the permit violates noise restrictions and shadow flicker provisions of the townships wind ordinance. Also, the planning commission improperly granted and increased maximum height allowance for all of the turbines and parcels involved in the Pegasus Wind System, but failed to find that any of the specific conditions set forth in (the ordinance) have been met for any of the proposed turbine sites, the complaint states. The complaint also alleges that planning commission chairman Vic Sondquist presided as a member of the zoning board of appeals. The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act and the township zoning ordinance prohibit members of the planning commission from acting as members of the zoning board of appeals. Township residents and plaintiffs Garrett Titel, Laura Richmond, Ryan and Amanda Wenslick and Jerry and Rachelle TerBush are asking that the decision of the planning commission to allow the permit be reversed. The suit also accuses the planning commission of violating the plaintiffs rights to due process under the U.S. and Michigan constitutions. Open Meetings Act violations also are part of the suit. Those allegations take issue with a Dec. 9 meeting that was held outdoors in a tent in freezing temperatures when it was snowing. The planning commission was asked to reschedule the hearing due to the weather, and the fact that dozens of citizens were refused admittance into the tent for the meeting, but this request was initially refused, the complaint states. Propane heaters had been placed within the tent, but fire department personnel ordered that the meeting be shut down or the heaters be removed due to the risk and danger of fire and/or carbon monoxide to the crowd that vastly exceeded the capacity of the tent. The circumstances of (that) public hearing, being held outdoors during a snowstorm, without heat, and in a tent with a smaller capacity that the Township Hall itself, resulting in dozens of people being excluded, does not satisfy the requirement that meetings must be held in a place generally accessible to the public, the complaint continues. The complaint also accuses planners of holding an unlawful closed session at that meeting, and takes issue with the way notification of various meetings/public hearings were handled. Township Supervisor Neil Jackson could not be reached for comment concerning the suit. MIDDLETOWN Mayor Dan Drew is considering running for the 5th District congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat. Drew, 38, originally from New Milford, located in the district, said Friday morning he has been approached by several people about running for the seat. While I havent made any decisions yet, its something Im considering, said the Middletown resident. Asked if he has a deadline for making a decision, Drew said, No, but it will have to be soon. The district runs from Meriden and New Britain in central Connecticut, west to Danbury and the Housatonic Valley, including the Farmington Valley, Upper Naugatuck River Valley, and the Litchfield Hills. Drew now lives in the 1st congressional district. If he were to choose to run in the 5th District, there is no constitutional requirement that a member of the House of Representatives live in the district that he/she represents. Asked about the matter Friday afternoon, Drew declined to comment other than to say, he hadnt made any decision about running for Estys seat. Drew, a father of four first elected in 2011, is in his third term as mayor of the city. Last year, he mounted a run for the Democratic nomination for governor but withdrew this January. Drew and his running mate, state Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, both ended their campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Ultimately, it became very difficult to raise the required funds to qualify for public financing. Other campaigns are on their way, and we look forward to supporting the Democratic team, they said then in a joint statement. We are proud of running an issues-based campaign focused on middle-class economic equality, working peoples rights, and creating more opportunity for the people of Connecticut. We believe in that future because we believe in the people of Connecticut. Drew said people made more than 4,000 contributions to his campaign, and it raised $280,000 since the start of the exploratory committee in January 2017. Both Drews parents and three of his four brothers live in New Milford area, he said. Esty, a three-term incumbent Democrat, announced early this month she was not seeking re-election after acknowledging she had failed to protect female members of her Washington staff from her male chief of staff. Several employees came forward to say they were sexually harassed and/or physically threatened by the chief of staff. One employee who was in dating relationship with the aide, Tony Baker, said in addition to sexually harassing and verbally abused her, he once punched her, a claim Baker denied even as he admitted her other charges. When Esty learned of the charges and the fact they were not isolated she did not immediately fire Baker. Instead, she kept him on her staff for three months while she negotiated a settlement which included a $5,000 severance payment and was instrumental in getting him hired by the Sandy Hook Promise gun control advocacy group to work in Ohio. Baker was fired by Sandy Hook Promise. Esty became the target of a bipartisan barrage criticism for her actions, which some critics said amounted to treating Baker as the victim instead of the aggressor in the unfolding story. Two Republicans who had been mentioned as potential candidates for the seat, Dr. William Petit, the lone survivor of the Cheshire home invasion murders; and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, have both said they are not interested in the Esty seat. Petit is currently a state representative for the 22nd District, while Stewart is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. Drew is an organ donor. In August 2016, he gave his left kidney to a Middletown mom and lifelong resident who needed a transplant. Turns out, he was a match. Donating a kidney was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and vastly different than conventional wisdom would have people believe, he wrote on his Facebook page a year after the procedure. Meanwhile, the Middletown Common Council is awaiting an independent investigation begun in January into a gender discrimination complaint involving Drew, who has called it baseless. Drew previously had come under general criticism from both Democrats and Republicans when it was revealed he sent letters to the homes of town employees requesting $100 donations for his campaign. The state Election Enforcement Commission is investigating that matter, staff attorney Joshua Foley confirmed Friday. Drew promised to refund all donations in September 2017. Editors note: Hearst Connecticut Media staff reports contributed to this story. Reporter Jeff Mill covers East Hampton, Cromwell and Portland for the Middletown Press. Contact him at jeff.mill@hearstmediact.com. NEW HAVEN A city man walked out of Superior Court a free man Wednesday after serving 17 years in prison for a 1999 convenience store robbery and murder. What took place against me by this criminal justice system is a tragedy, a crime against humanity, and an assault against justice and the United States Constitution. I hope this never happens to anyone else, Vernon Horn said in the release. (Many) years of my life were stolen from me, my daughter went without her father. I hope this does not go in vain, but rather the folks who are a part of this system will learn from this mistake to better the system. Connecticut Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford vacated 37-year-old Vernon Horns 2000 robbery and murder convictions following a motion filed by New Haven States Attorney Pat Griffin to set aside the conviction based on previously overlooked cell site evidence and newly discovered telephone records. Griffin informed the court that the state no longer had confidence in the convictions, the release stated. In light of the newly developed evidence, the States Attorneys Office informed the court, [t]he totality of information developed to date has sufficiently undermined the states confidence in the judgment of conviction such that justice is done by setting the judgment aside and returning the case to the superior court docket. Wednesday marked the second time a Connecticut court has vacated Horns convictions. In 2014, after hearing eight days of witness testimony, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert E. Young set aside Horns convictions. Horn was released on bail while the state appealed the decision, during which time he married and had a daughter. In 2016, however, the Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated the convictions, and Horn was then sent back to prison where he has remained, the release said. Horn was 17 years old when he was accused by New Haven police of robbery and the murder of 22-year-old Caprice Hardy, who was buying cigarettes at the Dixwell Deli Jan. 24, 1999. At trial, the primary evidence allegedly linking Horn to the crime scene was a record of calls made from a cellphone stolen during the robbery, but new evaluation of the cellphone call record established that, based on the location of the cellphone at the time of the calls, Horn could not have committed the robbery and homicide as state prosecutors originally alleged, the release stated. At 3:28 a.m., Hardy, a store regular, entered the Dixwell Deli and asked the store cashier for a pack of Newport cigarettes. Before the cashier could give Hardy change, a masked gunman entered the store and immediately opened fire, followed by Marquis Jackson and Steve Brown, both of whom were also masked. The cashier was hit in the left shoulder and played dead, while Hardy died almost instantly from a gunshot wound to his back that pierced his heart, the federal memo stated. A store workers cellphone was stolen along with $2,000 from the cashiers pocket, the memo said. Four minutes later, the robbers fled after mistaking an ambulance siren for the police, but Horn later returned to the deli and voluntarily spoke with police after 4 a.m. Brown and Jackson waited for Horn in Jacksons car on Bassett Street before they all drove back to Bridgeport together on Interstate 95. At 4:14 a.m., the stolen phone was used to place a call the first of five to a Bridgeport man, just 42 minutes after the robbery, the memo stated. During the trial, Brown testified he used the stolen cellphone to make two more calls from Bridgeport on Jan. 24 and 25. He said he made the third call from Bridgeport at 10:40 a.m. Jan. 25 and then gave the phone to Horn on Stratford Avenue in Bridgeport. Marcus Pearson then testified he made the fourth call 26 minutes later from New Haven after Horn lent him the phone, the memo said. However, the memo states that at the trial in 2000, the state introduced a one-page call detail record from the stolen cellphones service provider as States Exhibit 95, with the cell site origination information highlighted in red. Each of the numbers referred to a cell site. That allowed the Federal Defender Office and the States Attorney Office to determine with certainty the geographical area where each call was made. The physical address of each cell site and its orientation could have been obtained simply by requesting that information through a subpoena to the cellular service provider, just as the Federal Defender Office and the States Attorneys Office did through their jointly issued subpoena to T-Mobile in February 2018, the memo stated. Several witnesses placed Horn in the company of a woman during the time of the robbery. Following the robbery, the memo said, Horn and the woman arrived at the deli and remained on scene to be interviewed by police officers, with new evaluation of the cellphone showing the first call was made from Bridgeport while Horn was in New Haven speaking with a police officer. The cell site evidence also showed all of the five phone calls were made from Bridgeport,. The memo said the stolen cell phone evidence was critical at Mr. Horns criminal trial because, as a Connecticut Superior Court judge noted, it placed a phone taken from the crime scene in Vernons hands only one day after the crimes were committed, and was the only evidence that put Horn in the company of [the States cooperating witness], an admitted perpetrator, aside from the witnesss own testimony. It was also critical because the State had no physical evidence linking Vernon to the crime scene. Horns trial counsel during the 2000 trial failed to rebut the prosecutions cellphone evidence and conceded to the jury during closing arguments that it was a fact that the stolen cellphone had been used by Horns acquaintance to make a call from New Haven, the federal memo said. As it turns out, the memo stated, the fact that Vernons trial lawyer conceded was actually a physical impossibility. Following the trial, one of the states main witnesses stated, on three separate occasions, that he had lied, both to the police and the jury, about using the stolen cellphone, as he was scared of going to jail, the memo stated. He said a police officer told him that if Horn hadnt let him use the cellphone, then he must have gotten it from the crime scene himself. Facing potential perjury charges for recanting, the witness told a judge in 2013, I know I risk my freedom here today by telling the truth[,] but Id rather tell the truth than let him sit in jail if hes an innocent man, the memo said. Additionally, Horns new lawyers obtained 137 pages of telephone records in January from a retired New Haven police detectives basement that were never logged into police evidence or not previously disclosed to his defense lawyers. The newly discovered records include handwritten notes as well as a chart of 16 calls between an alternative suspect and one of the numbers that received a call from the stolen cellphone, the memo stated. The memo said the only phone record introduced at trial or turned over in pre-trial discovery was the one-page call detail record from the stolen cellphones service provider. In November 2017, the Federal Defender Office discovered two search warrants for telephone records in the Judicial District Clerks Office file that were applied for by the investigating detectives, and signed, on Feb. 25, 1999, according to the memo. The memo states [f]or reasons that are not clear, however, the search warrants and returns were not docketed until Sept. 17, 2014, more than 15 years later. While the newly discovered phone records were not mentioned in any police reports, and the police department had no record of them ever being logged into evidence. It is a grave injustice that Vernon Horn was incarcerated for 17 years for crimes he did not commit. We are delighted by the States Attorneys willingness to listen and act quickly when presented with compelling evidence of Mr. Horns innocence, the Connecticut Federal Defender Office said in a statement. It has been our privilege to work with Mr. Horn and be inspired by his relentless pursuit to clear his name. jessica.lerner@hearstmediact.com; @jesslerner on Twitter EAST HAMPTON The Chatham Historical Society is organizing a walking tour of the Village of East Hampton on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. as part of its Explore East Hampton monthly series of walks. Come for a walk back in time and learn about the proud and glorious history of the center of our little village. The walk is sponsored by the East Hampton Parks and Recreation Department. Hunt Voelker, a native of East Hampton, will lead the walk. He has lived in East Hampton for 90 years and has strong interest in East Hamptons history and is interested in sharing it with others. Walkers can learn how familiar structures located in the center of the Belltown National Historic District have been used over the years. Find out where Hitchcocks Pharmacy was as well as the Buckland and Barton General Store, and Post Office. Learn about Siebert's Opera House, Siegal's Dry Goods, Barton Drug Store, Bevins Bell Factory, Louis James' Candy Kitchen, and many more. The Walking Tour offers a unique opportunity for new residents to learn about the history of the Village Center and for life-long residents to share their recollections and stories with others. Adults and children are welcome to join in what promises to be an afternoon of making local history come alive. No dogs are allowed. The walk will begin and end at The Chatham Historical Societys museum complex located at 6 Bevin Boulevard. Parking is available by the museum or behind the Center School. The tour will take approximately 1 hour. Heavy rain will cancel the walk. The Chatham Historical Society's museum complex located at 6 Bevin Boulevard will also be open for tours from 2-4 p.m. For further information about upcoming walks or the Chatham Historical Society, contact Marty Podskoch, coordinator of the Explore East Hampton walks at 860-267-2442, podskoch@comcast.net, or visit https:www.chathamhistoricalct.org/ or http://www.easthamptonrec.com. Homeowners can get free radon gas measuring devices MIDDLETOWN Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas which comes from the breakdown of uranium in the soil. When emitted into open air, radon is rendered virtually harmless. However, when it becomes trapped into an enclosed structure such as a house, radon can accumulate to dangerous levels. Prolonged exposure to high levels of radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers in this country. The EPA estimates that radon causes more than 20,000 Americans to die from lung cancer each year. If you smoke, and your home has an elevated radon level, your risk of lung cancer may be even higher. One out of every 15 homes in the United States has an elevated level of radon. Your neighbors house may not have a radon problem, but you might. The only sure way to know if your home has a radon problem, is to perform a simple test. And if a problem is found, fixing it is usually not complicated. The citys health department is offering a free radon test kit to Middletown residents who have not previously tested their homes for radon gas. In order to obtain your test kit, you must own a home in Middletown and have not yet tested for radon. Supplies are limited (one test kit, per person) and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Test kits must be picked up in-person at the Middletown Health Department, Room B17, City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive, Monday - Friday , 8:30a.m.-4:30 p.m. Proof of residency will be required. Military vehicles sought for Memorial Day Parade CROMWELL Interested persons with military vehicles are invited to participate in the annual Town of Cromwell Memorial Day Parade on May 30. The memorial service will begin at 6 p.m. on the World War I Memorial Green on the corner of Main and West Streets. It will be immediately followed by the annual town parade along a parade route in downtown Cromwell. These events are sponsored annually by the Town of Cromwell and the American Legion Carlson-Sjovall Post 105. Interested persons should contact Parade Marshal Al Waters at 860-930-7812. Relay for Life team announces meetings HIGGANUM The American Cancer Society Relay for Life of HK Pull for Hope and walk on June 23 at HK High School, with a new Fire Truck Pull in conjunction with the Relay For Life event. In addition to traditional Relay For Life teams, the committee is looking for teams of 12 to sign up and raise $1200 per team to pull a fire truck during the Relay event. Teams will compete to see who can pull the truck the fastest and earn bragging rights and a trophy. Register for a fire truck pull team or walking team at RelayForLife.org/HKCT Monthly Team Captain and committee meetings will be at St. James Church Parish Hall, 501 Killingworth Road, Higganum, from 6:30-8 p.m., May 30, and bank night on June 13. On May 12, St. James Relay team will hold its annual Pulled Pork Dinner from 5-7 p.m. at 501 Killingworth Rd. Those interested in volunteering or who would like more information can contact Cate Reid from the American Cancer Society at Catherine.reid@cancer.org or Ed Yantosh at rflofhk@gmail.com, or learn more at RelayForLife.org/HKCT. Festival announces two contests HEBRON Two contests have been announced by the award winning Podunk Bluegrass Festival. The nationally acclaimed event, whose home is at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds, will present its 22nd festival Aug. 9-12. Songwriter Contest: The Entry deadline for this competition is May 1. Monetary awards are offered plus some perks and the rare opportunity to hear the winning song from last year performed by four of the top placing bands in this years Band competition. Details at podunkbluegrass.com or contact Myrna Riquier 860-455-9400 or BluegrassShowcase@gmail.com The Voice of Podunk Kids: A singing contest for children ages 7 to 17. This is not a bluegrass music contest. The child chooses the song and the genre. A single accompanying instrument is allowed. A guitar player can be provided for kids who do not play an instrument. Participants can be a solo, a duet, a trio or even a quartet. Signup is now underway and the deadline is June 30. The contest will take place the morning of Aug. 11 at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds. Children will perform their songs on the Workshop Stage. See more details at podunkbluegrass.com or to sign up contact Myrna Riquier 860-455-9400 or natchaugmusic@gmail.com The festival, itself, consists of four days featuring the talents of both local and nationally acclaimed entertainers on three separate stages. The event includes close-in camping, professional-level classes plus free workshops for attendees, the Podunk Kids Academy, a gospel music sing-a-long on Sunday morning, food and other vendors plus dailey supervised activities for youngsters, including evening movies, all presented in a family-friendly atmosphere. PORTLAND The town has extended the time frame to buy a five-plus acre parcel of land along the Connecticut River as it awaits additional details on an underground oil pipeline. The town proposes to redevelop some or all of the three individual parcels 222, 230 and 248 Brownstone Ave. that together make up the former home of the Connecticut Tar & Asphalt Co. The pipeline runs under a portion of both Brownstone Avenue and the Tar & Asphalt property. The town signed a purchase and sales agreement in January with the heirs of the former owner of the asphalt company. The status of the pipeline is one of more than a dozen issues that came up during the due-diligence phase of the title search, routine following the signing of such an agreement. Most of the other issues were minor in nature and resolved without complication. Not so the pipeline, however. Officials asked the property owners March 27 for clarification of the pipelines status, First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said Thursday afternoon. The two sides met again April 19 and the town renewed its request for an update. The owners promised the update would be forthcoming and soon, Bransfield said. By Monday, it still had not arrived, however. Whats more, Wednesday marked the end of the three-month window of opportunity to complete the sale. Bransfield raised the issue with the selectmen during an April 18 meeting. The board met Tuesday evening to weigh its next step. After more than an hour of discussion, the selectmen agreed unanimously (4-0) to extend the due-diligence period from April 25 to May 16. Selectmen Louis H. Pear, Michael A. Pelton and Benjamin R. Srb were absent. The selectmen also renewed their request the owners provide information about how it is going to take care of the pipeline, Bransfield said. The town is not alone is seeking details about the status of the pipeline, she added. The state Department of Economic and Community Development is also interested. It is prepared to give the town $700,000 to remediate the site if the town can close the deal and win approval for the project from residents. DECD asked and I told them, Its pending, Bransfield said. For her part, Bransfield said she is trying to be as forthcoming as possible about the status of the project, so our residents know we are doing everything in an open and transparent manner. Deputy Foreign Minister O.Kravchenko meets State secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden 27-04-2018 On April 26, 2018 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko, met with the State secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Oskar Stenstrom. The parties discussed current issues and development prospects for Belarus-Sweden cooperation, including economic collaboration, relations between the Republic of Belarus and EU and exchanged views on international agenda items. print version The Yale Corporation will review the universitys long-standing practice of not revoking honorary degrees, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy told the Yale Daily News Thursday. On Thursday, the Associated Press reported: After decades of whispers, lawsuits, investigations and close calls and a multitude of women who lost hope anyone would ever believe their word against that of America's Dad Bill Cosby could be headed to prison at age 80 for the remainder of his life. The Register also recently reported that a group of 30 alumni is asking Yale University President Peter Salovey and the Yale Corporation to apply the same principles that led to the renaming of Calhoun College to re-evaluate the honorary degrees given to a Swiss billionaire industrialist and to comedian Bill Cosby. The industrialist, Stephan Ernst Schmidheiny, 70, was convicted by an Italian court in 2012 for his responsibility in the deaths of more than 2,000 people from mesothelioma, asbestosis and other diseases caused by asbestos from four factories his company, Eternit AG, owned in Italy. Cosby, 80, received his honorary degree from Yale in 2003. Salovey, after first deciding not to rename Calhoun College despite protests that John C. Calhoun was an ardent and vocal supporter of slavery, in 2015 formed a Committee to Establish Principles on Renaming. The letter to Salovey summed up the resulting principles by asking, Is a principal legacy of the namesake fundamentally at odds with the mission of the university? and Was the relevant principal legacy significantly contested in the time and place in which the namesake lived? Based on the committees report, Calhoun College was renamed for Grace Hopper, an admiral, computer scientist and mathematician who had received masters and doctoral degrees from Yale. In 2016, a petition signed by 37 alumni asked Peter Salovey to create an independent faculty committee to consider revoking the honorary degrees granted to Schmidheiny and to Cosby. More for you 'The real Bill Cosby': Comedian convicted of sexual assault In 2010, Cosby visited King/Robinson Interdistrict Magnet School in New Haven and stressed the importance of staying in school to a crowd of about 700 students from elementary and intermediate schools from across the city. Cosby's visit to New Haven, in continued with a walking tour of the city's Newhallville section. Cosby was in the city at the request of Southern Connecticut State University interim President Stanley Battle, and was aimed at inspiring kids to stay in school. This curated story was posted by Register staff from previous reports and the YDN report. VICENZA, Italy -- The 173rd Airborne Brigade, one of the Army's most deployed and decorated units, is expected to soon welcome its first female infantry officer. Taylor England, the top-rated infantry cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, chose Italy and the 173rd as her first duty assignment, according to an Army News Service story. It was a choice that opened up only after Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley visited the academy in January and learned that England wanted an Italy assignment, the story said. "As Milley greeted cadets at a dinner, he asked England where she hoped to be posted. She replied, 'Italy, sir.' Shortly after, she said, Italy was opened up to female infantry officers," the story said. "It was pretty awesome. The best lieutenants end up in Italy. It's definitely going to be a challenge, even if I wasn't a female, because of the competition." The Army hadn't previously announced the move. In January, the service announced that in addition to Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Bragg, N.C., three more bases would open up for female infantry and armor officers: Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Bliss, Texas. Officials with the 173rd were not immediately available for comment Friday. England, 22, is the top-ranked cadet out of 230 headed to the infantry branch. The rankings reflect academic standing and performance in military skills and physical training. The Ohio native maxed out her most recent physical fitness test and ran 2 miles in 13 minutes, 9 seconds -- 9 seconds shy of the men's fastest standard. England, a lacrosse player at the academy, must still graduate from the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course before her assignment to the 173rd, which is the Army's contingency response force in Europe. The unit, which fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and counts 18 Medal of Honor recipients, did not integrate women into its paratrooper ranks until 2000. The distinction went to 1st Lt. Leslie Balfaqih, a military police officer. Infantry and armor units were closed to women until December 2015, when Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military services to open all combat jobs to women. The next year, Capt. Kristen Griest became the first female infantry officer in the Army when her request was approved to transfer from a military police unit. Months later, the first 10 female lieutenants graduated from the Infantry Officer Basic Course. Infantry troops have been the most resistant to the idea of women in their units, Defense Department studies have found, citing beliefs that their presence would degrade physical standards and unit cohesion. "You just overcome it by being competent and being physical and showing them that you can do what they can do," England said in the Army News Service story. "You're not going to shy away from their resistance. You're going to show them, 'Hey, I'm here, and I'm ready to lead soldiers.''' For the first time in five years, all three components of the Air Force achieved both their recruiting goals and end strength... Two F-16C Fighting Falcons collided head-on in a June 7, 2016, incident because one of the pilots failed to properly deconflict flight paths, the Air Force said Friday. The crash took place at the Bulldog Military Operation Area close to Louisville, Georgia, and involved pilots assigned to two units: the 316th Fighter Squadron, 169th Fighter Wing; and the 157th Fighter Squadron, 169th Fighter Wing, both out of McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina. Both pilots ejected and survived with minor injuries; the aircraft were destroyed, totaling a $60.8 million loss. In November 2016, CBS news affiliate WRDW reported that debris was still being recovered, months after the crash. According to the Air Force release, it cost $90,000 to complete environmental cleanup from the crash. According to an Air Force Accident Investigation Board report completed and released this month, the collision occurred at the end of a training mission, about 10 minutes after twilight. Both pilots are described as experienced. The first mishap pilot was an instructor pilot leading the flight, according to the report. The second pilot, also an instructor, was flying in a wedge formation behind the first pilot's aircraft. Close to the end of the flight, around 9:13 p.m., the second pilot issued a "bingo fuel" call, signaling an immediate return to base. In response, the first pilot executed a sharp left turn, according to the report. The second pilot, following behind at about four nautical miles, was following the first pilot's lights by sight, but did not "cross-check available sensors" to get confirmation of the pilot's position, the report states. As a result, the second pilot didn't realized the first pilot had turned and was now heading toward him, just 1,000 feet below his altitude. When the second pilot began to descend, the planes ended up on a collision course. "[Mishap Pilot 2] acquired radar lock at 2,500 feet separation but failed to recognize the conflict. At the last moment, both aircraft initiated a left bank away from the other, but their high right wings impacted," the report stated. Neither [Mishap Pilot 1] nor MP2 were able to regain control of their aircraft, with both pilots ejecting shortly after impact." The investigation found the first pilot should have called "Knock it off," signaling an end to maneuvers and return to base, while the second pilot should have cross-checked the position of the first rather than relying on visuals. The second pilot was assigned the brunt of the blame for failure to deconflict flight paths. Officials with Air Combat Command said Friday that both pilots are still flying for the Air Force; queries about whether any administrative or disciplinary actions were taken as a result of the crash did not receive an immediate response. The collision and findings bear striking similarities to a 2017 mishap involving two A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft. The planes collided Sept. 6, 2017, near the Nevada Test and Training Range. An investigation, released earlier this month, found that one of the pilots climbed too far above his established altitude block and failed to deconflict flight paths with the other pilot. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Fifth meeting of the EU-Belarus Coordination Group held in Minsk 27-04-2018 The fifth meeting of the EU-Belarus Coordination Group was held in Minsk on April 26-27, 2018. The EU-Belarus Coordination Group held its first meeting in April 2016. This format was created in order to provide a structured political dialogue on the whole range of bilateral cooperation between Belarus and the European Union. The meetings are held twice a year, attended by the representatives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service as well as government bodies of the Republic of Belarus. The Belarusian delegation was led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko . The Managing Director of the Service for European and Central Asian Affairs, Thomas Mayer-Harting, headed the European delegation. The representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the State Border Committee, the State Committee on Science and Technology and other government bodies and organizations also joined the Belarusian delegation. During the event the participants of the meeting have discussed the current state of bilateral relations, participation of the Republic of Belarus in the EU Eastern Partnership initiative and issues on human rights. Future interaction in the field of education, environmental protection, science, transport, digital economy and energy received particular attention. The agenda also included cooperation in the sphere of migration and in the framework of the EU's international technical assistance programs. Representatives of several Belarusian non-governmental organizations took part in a number of segments of the Coordination Group. print version President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had a politically savvy candidate in mind to replace Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson as his nominee to head the VA in what was likely to be an epic and lengthy battle to gain Senate confirmation. Trump did not reveal a name, but reports indicate he is looking at former Rep. Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican, who retired in 2016 as head of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, as a potential choice. The Washington Examiner, citing a senior White House official, said Trump had Miller under serious consideration. Earlier, Trump said he was focused on an individual who had the "political capabilities" to steer past the White House's own spotty vetting procedures and opposition from Democrats that doomed the nomination of Jackson, Trump's personal physician and head of the White House medical unit. Miller made clear that he was interested in the post as VA secretary before he stepped down from the House, and he was among the initial candidates Trump interviewed for the job before he took office. Filling the post of Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the second largest in government after the Defense Department, has proven to be the most difficult for Trump of all his Cabinet choices. The VA position was the last to be selected when Trump took office. At his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump as president-elect interviewed several potential candidates, who either turned him down or were passed over. In the interim, veterans groups urged him to keep on the outgoing VA Secretary, Bob McDonald. Trump eventually made the surprise choice of Dr. David Shulkin, former under secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, who became the only holdover from the Obama administration in the Trump Cabinet. Shulkin won unanimous Senate confirmation and initially was praised by Trump for improving accountability within the VA and taking steps to reduce wait times. But the honeymoon was short-lived. Shulkin claimed he was being undermined by Trump political appointees at the White House and within the VA over the expansion and funding of Veterans Choice Program that veterans groups feared would lead to the "privatization" of VA health care. Shulkin agreed that veterans should be able to opt for private care when it was in their best interests, but vowed that privatization would not occur "on my watch." Last month, Shulkin said he was fired via a tweet from Trump. The White House said he had resigned. Trump's search for another nominee reportedly included once again running the possibility of heading the VA past Dr. Toby Cosgrove, a Vietnam veteran and former head of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. Cosgrove was one of those interviewed before Trump picked Shulkin. However, Trump made another surprise choice earlier this month in Jackson, who had conducted Trump's physical and gave him a glowing report on his health. Before deciding on Jackson, Trump reportedly also had under consideration Pete Hegseth, the co-host of the weekend "Fox & Friends" show. Hegseth, an Army veteran of Iraq and unsuccessful candidate for the Senate from Minnesota, had previously headed the advocacy group Concerned Veterans For America. CVA, which is funded by the conservative Koch brothers organization, has drawn fire from other congressionally chartered veterans groups for its consistent arguments in favor of expanding the Choice program. Jackson withdrew his name from consideration for the nomination Thursday before his position on Choice could be explored. The main criticism of Jackson was that he lacked the managerial experience to head a department with more than 360,000 employes, 1,200 facilities and a budget of more than $200 billion, serving more than nine million vets annually. Jackson also fell victim to anonymous charges from current and former colleagues collected by Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he had been drunk on the job, passed out pills without prescriptions, and presided over a hostile work environment. In statements announcing his withdrawal Thursday, Jackson denied the allegations against him. "Unfortunately, because of how Washington works, these false allegations have become a distraction for this president and the important issue we must be addressing -- how we give the best care to our nation's heroes," he said. It was not immediately clear whether Jackson would return to his post at the White House or how the allegations against him would affect his military career. Prior to nominating Jackson as VA Secretary, Trump had also nominated him for promotion to two-star rank. The White House initially said he would resume his position as head of the medical unit. Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and advisor, said in a Tweet that Jackson was "a man of exceptional integrity, character and intellect. We are grateful for his long and distinguished service to our Nation and look forward to continuing to see his warm smile each day at the White House!" Trump, veterans groups and members of Congress have already made clear that the next fight over the nomination will be a proxy battle over the Choice program, which was expected to run out of funding in in early June. Bills to fund and extend the Choice program have been stalled in Congress. At a later appearance Thursday at the White House with members of the Wounded Warriors Project, Trump cited reforms enacted under Shulkin and said "now we're going for Choice. And we're going to get Choice. And that's another one that I've wanted right from the beginning. And we'll get that done too." "So we're going to have Choice," he said. "There's no more waiting on lines for 12 weeks, and you can't get the doctors, you can't get what you need. So we're going to have Choice." Democrats said that Trump had only himself to blame for failing to vet Jackson properly before putting his name in nomination. Trump "absolutely must exercise better judgment moving forward by choosing someone who is capable and committed to VA's mission," Sen Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, an Army veteran of Iraq who lost both legs in a helicopter crash, said in a statement. Duckworth also echoed other Democrats in warning that the next nominee would face a battle over choice. "The president must also understand that any nominee who will push VA down the dangerous path of privatization is unacceptable," she said. However, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the choice issue would likely be decided while acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie was on the job. Wilkie, the Pentagon's undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness, was sent over to the VA after Shulkin's firing. Roe said in a statement that "Trump was right to call on Congress to pass legislation to give veterans more decision-making power when it comes to their health care." "I've met with Acting Secretary Wilkie, and I appreciate how focused VA's team is on getting this done," Roe said. CVA , which has its partisans among the political appointees at the White House and within the VA, also appeared more focused on Wilkie and choice than on the next nominee. CVA Executive Director Dan Caldwell said that the White House should take its time in selecting a new nominee since a "competent Acting Secretary" in Wilkie was already in place. "With the Veterans Choice Program facing yet another budget shortfall, it is absolutely critical that Congress pass legislation in the coming weeks that fixes the VA's choice and community programs so that up to a million veterans don't lose access to critical care," Caldwell said in a statement. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Both U.S. Navy and Air Force leadership may be required to present solutions, studies and proposed aircraft modifications in response to a rash of episodes in which pilots experience disorientation and other troubling physical symptoms while flying fighter aircraft, according to a proposal for next year's defense budget bill. Lawmakers want the Navy to update its F/A-18 Hornet fleet with appropriate technology to help reduce the risk of dangerous, hypoxia-like symptoms, otherwise known as physiological episodes, according to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee markup of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. The subcommittee also wants to know how the service is progressing in addressing physiological episodes in its T-45 Goshawk trainer, and how the Air Force intends to investigate PEs on its T-6 Texan II trainer fleet and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and any other affected aircraft. The provision would require detailed changes to the Navy's F/A-18 Hornet fleet. Lawmakers want the fighters to be hardwired with an automatic ground collision avoidance system; a replacement of the cockpit altimeter; an upgrade to the onboard oxygen generation system; and a redesign of the aircraft's "life support" systems, required to meet OBOGS input specification, the NDAA markup said. Related content: The Navy would have until Feb. 1, 2019, to make the described changes and would be required every year thereafter to submit a performance report on these initiatives. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer would be able to waive the upgrades only if he justified an alternative, lawmakers said. The service would have until March 1, 2019, to submit a report to the appropriate congressional defense committees on any modifications made to the T-45 aircraft fleet, as well as associated ground equipment to help mitigate PE risks to pilots. The Air Force would have the same reporting requirement for its T-6 and F-35 fleets, as well as "any other aircraft ... as determined by the Secretary of the Air Force," the markup said. The new language comes as both services continue to struggle to find the "smoking gun" on a spectrum of PE problems, and are working with NASA in its research to understand pilot breathing. While both services have put into place instrumental and medical protocols to try to pinpoint the cause of the problems, the Navy may have made more progress in its search for solutions. For instance, the Navy fielded the Cobham-made CRU-123 solid-state oxygen monitor on the T-45 to alert aircrew if delivery pressure falls while recording system performance and faults. Similarly, the service has carried out test flights with a new sensor -- VigilOX, also made by Cobham -- to monitor cockpit and pilot data while in flight. Meanwhile, there has been no root cause of incidents found among the Air Force's aircraft, according to officials. "We're not going to stop until we find it," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told lawmakers this week. Since March 1, the number of T-6 hypoxia-like episodes, including disorientation, shortness of breath, confusion and wheezing, has climbed to 13, according to a recent report from Aviation Week. Separately, more than two dozen A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, didn't fly in late November after two pilots reported they experienced symptoms. In June, the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, halted operations for all F-35As there after pilots complained of hypoxia-related issues. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. For the second time in two years, lawmakers are attempting to block the sale of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Turkey over the "increased risk" the NATO ally's recent actions pose to U.S. interests. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a measure Thursday that would stop the transfer of the F-35A. It would also block Turkey from having a role in depot maintenance for the aircraft. In conjunction with Lockheed Martin Corp., the F-35's manufacturer, Turkish defense companies already help produce part of the plane. "Turkey's strategic decisions regrettably fall more and more out of line with, and at times in contrast to, U.S. interests," Lankford said in a statement. "These factors make the transfer of sensitive F-35 technology and cutting-edge capabilities to Erdogan's regime increasingly risky." Related content: Turkey, a coalition member in the fight against the Islamic State, plans to buy more than 100 F-35As, the conventional takeoff and landing model of the fifth-generation stealth fighter. The first delivery is expected this year. Separately, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has been pushing for a waiver that would allow Turkey to purchase Russian S-400 anti-air defense systems, saying some countries still depend heavily on Moscow to refresh aging weapons. The juxtaposition of the two efforts highlights the complex relationship the U.S. has with Turkey, which hosts Incirlik Air Base, a key Air Force hub. Lankford said the lawmakers' recent decision also stems from "a hostage situation" that has angered the U.S. He publicly denounced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's assertion for more authoritative power. "The Turkish government continues to move closer and closer to Russia, as they hold an innocent American pastor, Andrew Brunson, in prison to use him as a pawn in political negotiations," Lankford said. "The United States does not reward hostage-taking of American citizens; such action instead will be met with the kind of punitive measures this bill would enact." According to the Christian Broadcasting Network, Brunson could face up to 35 years in prison for "enjoying a meal" often prepared by Kurds. Turkey linked this to Brunson being involved in the PKK (The Kurdistan Workers' Party), which the country considers to be a terrorist organization. Brunson was in Turkey for 23 years before the accusation, according to The Hill. He has denied any terrorist connections. Last year, Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, proposed an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would ban the sale of F-35s to Turkey after members of Erdogan's security detail were seen beating protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. A judge earlier this month sentenced two accomplices in the May 2017 attack to one year and a day in prison. Turkey meanwhile will receive a military weapons boost from Russia. Earlier this month, NATO-ally Turkey firmed up a $2.5 billion deal for the purchase of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. Turkey in July agreed to purchase four Russian-made S-400 mobile missile batteries -- called an "F-35 killer" by Moscow -- over the next few years. It finalized the deal in September. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is arguing for waivers to let U.S. allies and partners avoid sanctions for buying Russian arms. The move could include giving Turkey and India a pass on the purchase of advanced S-400 anti-air defense systems. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Mattis said "national security exceptions" must be made to the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in the long-term interests of the U.S. "There are nations in the world who are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems," he said. Those same nations, he said, currently need to keep the Moscow supply line open to replenish their legacy systems. "We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognize that eventually we're going to penalize ourselves" in the future by strict adherence to CAATSA, Mattis said. He pointed to Indonesia, which has become increasingly vital to the Trump administration's overall South Asia strategy. "Indonesia, for example, is in the same situation -- trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems, but they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going," Mattis said. CAATSA was passed by Congress last year to punish Russia for its invasion of Crimea, support of separatists in Ukraine, and involvement in Syria. President Donald Trump, who had doubts about the Russia sanctions, reluctantly signed the bill last August. Mattis called on Congress to include "national security exceptions" in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019 but acknowledged that Russia's sale of the S-400 systems is "causing a lot of concern." Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Ankara earlier this month to firm up the proposed $3 billion sale of the S-400 systems, billed as "F-35 killers," to NATO ally Turkey. The U.S. and NATO allies have warned Turkey that the S-400s are not compatible with other NATO systems, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed on with the deal. Last week, State Department Assistant Secretary Wess Mitchell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Turkey is risking sanctions under CAATSA, adding that it could also be cut off from buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. India is also in the final stages of a potential $5 billion to deal for the S-400s, dubbed the Sa-21 Growler by NATO. India began bargaining with Russia on S-400 sales after regional rival China signed off on its own purchase of the S-400 systems. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Two categories of veterans who were previously excluded from a new Department of Veterans Affairs ID card program can now apply after a change was made to the online application. Those who served in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) or as commissioned members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are considered veterans by law. But an application for a free veteran ID card ordered by Congress in 2015 did not include USPHS or NOAA in the dropdown menu of military services, a USPHS veteran advocate complained. He said requests to the VA to fix the issue went ignored. A change to the application was made after an April 9 Military.com story highlighted the problem, said retired Army Col. Jim Currie, who heads the Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS. VA officials did not respond to requests for comment for that story. There are about 13,000 currently serving and former members of the USPHS and about 320 commissioned members of NOAA. Estimates on how many NOAA veterans are eligible for the card were not immediately available. -- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com. @NewsbySmiley With a special House election looming in central Dade, Miami Democrats are bringing in the party's favorite hype man. District 114 candidate Javier Fernandez has received the endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden, which the party hopes will help boost voting heading into Tuesday's election. The district, which leans ever-so-slightly Republican, spans from Flagami south through West Miami, Coral Gables, Pinecrest and Cutler Bay. Currently, Republican Andrew Vargas has a roughly 1,200-vote lead in early and absentee voting based on votes cast along party lines, but Democrats have seen election day pushes over the last year during special elections. "I proudly endorse Javier Fernandez, who will be a strong Democrat in a critical seat in the Florida House, Biden said in a statement. Javier will be a champion in Tallahassee in the fight for affordable healthcare, common-sense gun reform, and protecting Florida's vital coastline from sea-level rise." The campaign to win the seat vacated by disgraced former representative Daisy Baez has been fierce but low-key. Democrats are hoping to defend the seat, which Republicans want to reclaim the district. Liz de las Cuevas is running without party affiliation. @alextdaugherty Election Day is about six months away, but for David Richardson's congressional campaign every day is doomsday. At least if you read his fundraising emails. Here's a recent sampling of email subject lines from the Miami Beach state representative who is running as a Democrat to replace retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: "we cannot afford this again" "we just REALLY SCREWED UP!" "this is becoming dangerous" "REALLY REALLYYY BAD for Democrats!" The emails, sent twice a day, eventually ask the recipient to give money to Richardson's campaign, and though the strategy has led to thousands of small-dollar contributions in a competitive Democratic primary, some Democrats question the ethics and long-term viability of sending dire emails every few hours. "I don't think we're doing a good enough job for painting a vision of what the Democratic Party can be all about," said Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who recently criticized the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for sending a fundraising email to supporters with the subject line "Mueller FIRED." Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating any links or potential coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, has not been fired. "I don't think it's inappropriate to be urgent or even angry or partisan. It's just that you can't do that morning, noon and night and you can't tell people the republic is falling apart every five minutes," Schatz said. Richardson says donors from around the country respond to his emails and donate because he embraces Medicare-for-all and wants to impeach President Donald Trump. "Were using positive messages but also urgency because this primary is really important," Richardson said. "I can only speak to my own emails, but I do not believe that weve said anything that is untruthful or misleading. It would not be my position to put out an email that was patently false." Richardson says he's gotten positive responses about his emails from supporters, and sending emails with dire messages is giving Richardson a financial edge in the competitive Democratic primary for Ros-Lehtinen's seat, where the victor in August will be favored to win the seat in November. He's raised $434,254.68 in small-dollar donations those under $200 since announcing his candidacy in June 2017, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Richardson ranks sixth in small-dollar donations out of about 1,200 Democrats nationwide seeking to get or keep a House seat this year, and the five candidates ahead of him have all gained substantial national attention for contesting a special election or challenging a high-profile Republican hated by Democrats, like House Speaker Paul Ryan or House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes. And Richardson is well ahead of his Democratic challengers in the race to replace Ros-Lehtinen when it comes to small-dollar donations that primarily come through email. Former University of Miami President Donna Shalala raised $11,432 in small-dollar donations; former Knight Foundation director Matt Haggman $56,180, former judge Mary Barzee Flores $59,921 and Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez $16,724. Read more here. Indian Bank If you need to get to a bank and complete some urgent work, make sure you get there today. Some banks may remain shut for 4 consecutive days bwteen April 28 and May 1. With April 28 being the fourth Saturday of the month, banks across the country will not operate. The following day is Sunday, while April 30 is a bank holiday for Buddha Purnima and many financial institutions will remain closed. This will be followed by Labour Day on May 1, wherein many banks would remain shut. Given the recent cash crunch and the extended weekend, keep in mind that ATMs would also not be replenished. So if you need any cash in hand, make your withdrawals early. Although the recent cash crunch was resolved within a few days, after it was speculated that banks would not operate for five days from March 29 to April 2, the current weekend could lead to a similar situation. Do ensure that your accounts have sufficient balance in case you have EMIs or other payments that are auto debited from your account. So we suggest you check with your bank if it will operate on Monday and Tuesday as some banks have announced they may not operate on either days. Salaries to come in early Most companies are crediting salaries of employees on April 27 itself due to the extended weekend. A Senior HR Manager at a media and publishing house in Mumbai, who did not wish to be named said: All our employees would receive their salaries early this month, as we considered the extended weekend and credited the remuneration on April 27 itself. RN Bhaskar The latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), April 2018 holds both cheer and alarm for India. The cheer comes from the WEOs outlook for a modest rise in Indias GDP. What the WEO does not mention is that much of this growth could come from merchant discounts for epayments, as these columns had pointed out earlier. Still, the good part is that this growth will be undeterred by Chinas gradual slowdown and emerging Europes return to its lower-trend growth rate. The second cheer could come from the expected cyclical rebound in global trade, which should help India's export industry.But the global growth will be muted to about 3.7 percent over the medium term. That means India will have to work hard to improve its offerings to the world. Warning signs But there are warning signs as well. The report says that 40 emerging market and developing economies are projected to grow more slowly in per capita terms than advanced economies, failing to narrow income gaps vis-a-vis the group of more prosperous countries. Given the high aspirations that most Indians have (look at the phenomenal increase in consumer credit over the past couple of years), that could be troublesome. Then there are areas like population growth, age distribution, and other structural employment trends," which the the WEO feels are critical for "understanding growth, investment, and productivity. These are places where India could slip up badly. There is the problem of the manufacturing employment declining globally, more so in advanced economies. The WEO says that poor countries may be trapped far from the global income frontier if they never pass through a developmental stage of substantial manufacturing employment. True, as the WEO puts it, services can offer considerable scope for productivity gain. But that again requires political will and focus. Finally, Growth in China and India last year was supported by resurgent net exports and strong private consumption, respectively, while investment growth slowed, added the WEO. The slowdown in gross capital formation (see chart) is quite well documented by now. This could be worsened by two factors. First, the ongoing NPA crisis afflicting banks. Second, the governments unwillingness to haul up big defaulters like the promoters of Videocon and Essar (the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence put out a 384 page dossier No.DRI/MZU/CI-11/2013-14 of 11 March 2015 pointing to huge diversion of funds by this group). Instead its decision to go after relatively smaller fries like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi could worsen the investment climate. Of course, there are ways to mitigate these dangers. But that requires political will. Currently, all the energies of the government are focussed on the forthcoming elections, and on firefighting the scams that threaten to blow up in its face. But here is one strategy that could help the government in the short run, both politically and economically. And this goes back to a lesson that India could learn from Iran. The Iran strategy When the Islamic Revolution took place in 1979, it was a result of three factors. First, public disenchantment with the way the Shah of Iran was kowtowing to the West. Second, the Shah made the mistake of signing what is known as the capitulation clause. This was a clause forced on him by the US that no American citizen could be tried in Iran for any crime even if it were committed on Iranian soil. That caused public resentment to boil over and overthrow the Shah and keep around 52 US citizens imprisoned for 444 days. But the third reason was quite important, and one which Ayatollah Khomeini knew was a doubled edged sword. He was aware that Iran had a young population, with little education and a very high rate of unemployment. That combination would always be a potent explosive mixture which could erupt in flames at any time. It is what economists sometimes wryly call a demographic dividend gone awry. India is very close to that kind of situation. It has a terrible school education system, high employment and a very young population. So Khomeini announced a plan which took around two decades to finally get implemented. It was a universal housing policy. Khomeini knew that US sanctions would make foreign exchange scarce. So he had to create jobs with domestic resources. Housing used domestic cement, steel and labour. It created employment, and promised to satisfy a key aspiration of people. And it could prevent slums. Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani worked to introduce a policy named a Future of Youth. Under this scheme, the government would contribute 1 million Toman (roughly equal to US$1,000 then) to the account of every child that is born. Thereafter, the government would contribute another 10,000 Toman for every 20,000 Toman deposited by the parent into the childs account. The first gift helped create a corpus for even the poorest of children. The second exhorted even the poor to save money for their children. At the time it was announced, it did not cost any money to the government. It was a mere book entry. But the principle was heartening, and the dividends immense. This money could not be touched, withdrawn or mortgaged till the child was 18. At that stage, the boy and girl (both 18 years old) would have a tidy sum between themselves and could use it to purchase a dwelling, or even start a business. To eradicate slums Ahmadinejad announced the Meherbani housing scheme. The government gave lands on the outskirts of each city free-of-cost to developers with suitable caveats on the size of the dwellings and the prices at which they ought to be sold. All affordable houses were to offer at least 700 sq ft of living space. Such houses could be as large as 1,000 sq ft in area, depending on whether the couple could put up the additional cash required to purchase a bigger house. Rouhani made these schemes a success. Between 2007 and 2013, almost 4.4 million homes were taken up for construction, of which 1.5 million homes have already been delivered and the rest are expected to be delivered in two years time. What India could do India could do this, and endear itself to the masses. It could also kickstart an economic cycle that could trigger immense growth. Using services (construction), it would galvanise capital formation in industries like cement and steel, and then into almost every consumer product meant for new homes. But to do that, the government would first have to have a zero tolerance policy for slums. Given that the government has used slums as a vote bank with disastrous economic and social consequences (more on that later), this will definitely require a push from the top. Will Prime minister Modi be willing? The second is to earmark land free of cost for developers. The government could still own land, and give it on lease to developers for around 15 years. The lease could be renewed for cooperative housing societies after the houses are built. Today, such a scheme exists on paper, but Hudco, MHADA and other state bodies have actually created a huge black market out of it. When only 1,000-50,000 houses are created annually in the face of a demand for over 19 million (see table which is based on 2012 data), you create a lottery system. The demand could be 25% higher by 2021. And that eventually results in the mafiua stepping in and a blackmarket emerging. Thus the government, instead of cleaning up the economic scene actual;ly creates black markets and slums. If the government can handle these two policies, the rest is a cakewalk. All land within 50 km of urban areas could be taken by the government, and given to developers on a competitive bid with strict conditions. Three of the conditions would be crucial. First, that the flats must meet the stringent requirement of a builders code (yet to be formalized). Second, the time line by which all flats would be completed (with stiff bank guarantees to seal this pledge). Third, that the price per flat would not exceed Rs.2,500 a square foot (bare construction costs barely Rs.1,000). But does the government have the political will? That is the big question. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Maruti Suzuki India Friday reported March quarter results that missed D-Street estimates by a wide margin and led the stock price to shed nearly 2 percent. The Delhi-based company saw a robust demand for almost all its new models including Vitara Brezza, Dzire, Baleno and Swift. The company's shares have gained over 40 percent and outperformed the BSE Sensex over the past year. We have collated a list of seven takeaways from Maruti Suzuki Q4 results: Net Profit: Indias largest car maker fell short of analysts' expectations by reporting a net profit of Rs 1,882 crore, 10 percent higher than in the same quarter a year ago, as other expenses impacted margins. Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the car maker to post a net profit of Rs 2,243 crore for the quarter under review. Net Sales: The net sales grew by 0.83 percent to Rs 20,594 crore during the reporting quarter, up 14.4 percent as compared to Rs 20,423 crore posted by it in the same quarter in 2016-17. Operating Profit: The operating profit grew by 24.4 percent on a YoY basis to Rs 2312.50 crore on account of higher sales volume, cost reduction efforts, partially offset by adverse commodity prices and higher advertisement expenses. Total Vehicles sold: The Company sold a total of 461,773 vehicles during the Quarter, a growth of 11.4 percent over the same period of the previous year. Sales in the domestic market stood at 427,082 units, a growth of 11.6 percent while exports were at 34,691 units. Dividend: The Board of Directors recommended a dividend of Rs. 80 per share of face value Rs. 5, for 2017-18. The dividend in 2016-17 was Rs75 per share of face value of Rs5. Initiatives to mark 35th anniversary: To commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the Company, the Board gave its in-principle approval for establishing an Employee Welfare Fund, and a Trust to promote Scientific Research and Technology in India. After formal approval by the Board, the Fund and the Trust shall be established later this year. MSIL will then contribute 1 percent of the Profit After Tax of the previous year to each of the Fund and the Trust. Analyst Take: MSIL's rapid acceleration in premium cars and UV segment is heartening. We continue to like MSILs unique moats, although valuation leaves little room for an upside, Abhishek Jain, Analyst at HDFC Securities said. We remain positive on MSILs growth story based on (1) steady volume growth plus increase in PV market share (2) Increasing ASP, led by expanding portfolio in the premium segment, (3) incremental volumes from the Gujarat facility (4) Ramp-up in rural demand and 5) healthy ROE/ROCE (25% in FY19/20E) and free cash flows, he said. Jain expects Rev/EPS growth of 13/17 percent CAGR over FY18-20E. The stock is fairly valued and HDFC Securities maintains a neutral rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 9,525. File Pic: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting, in Wuhan, China. PTI Photo Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today held multiple meetings here on the first day of an unprecedented two-day informal summit to "solidify" the India-China relationship and exchanged views on how the two countries can work together for the benefit of their people and the world. The 'heart-to-heart' summit in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. Modi who arrived in the central Chinese city early today for the summit began talks soon after Xi received him with a warm shake hand and hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him at the Hubei Provincial Museum here. He was welcomed with a classical Chinese dance opera performance after which Xi took him around some of the most historic art collections and cultural relics of China's ancient civilisation. The museum walk scheduled for 20 minutes lasted over 40 minutes after which they began one-on-one talks. "They exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Their one-on-one talks were followed by delegation-level interaction with six top officials each from both sides took part, giving an impression that some of the critical issues were on the table for discussion. The talks lasted for over two hours overshooting scheduled half an hour time, hinting the seriousness of the discussions, officials said. The elaborate round of talks between the two leaders on the first day ended with dinner diplomacy. Xi hosted a banquet in honour of Modi at the famous East lake. Xi in a gesture of warmth and friendship walked with Modi to the car to see him off. The summit was stated to be unique as the two leaders have no pressure and obligation to strike any agreements nor make big announcements but focus mainly on candid discussions on solutions to some of the vexed problems like the boundary question and other issues. During the talks, Modi offered to host the next informal summit with Xi in India next year. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. The Chinese president said he believes in future and they can meet in a format like this from time to time. Modi hailed the centuries old Sino-India ties and said India and China have the responsibility to work for 40 per cent of the world population and the two sides have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. He recalled that during the 2000 years of history, India and China together provided momentum and strength to the world economy and dominated it for around 1600 years. "The two countries together constituted for about 50 per cent of the world economy and another 50 per cent was shared by rest of the world for 1600 years," the prime minister said. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. Xi told Modi that their meeting opens a new chapter for bilateral ties. He emphasised the two sides should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from a strategic angle and ensure their relationship continue to move forward in a positive direction. "The friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like the Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever," China's state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying. "We see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi, who is in China on his fourth visit after he came to power in 2014. "China and India need to maintain a strong focus on national development, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, work together for our respective national revitalisation to build the stability, development, prosperity and make positive contributions for global peace and development," Xi said, adding that in the past five years China-India relations have maintained a good momentum. "India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion which provides enormous potential for development. Our two countries' influence in the world and region is steadily on the rise, looking ahead we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation," Xi told Modi. "As we meet, the international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world," he added. Xi's comments assume significance as it came at a time when the US and other major economies have taken a number of protectionist measures. The Trump administration has recently announced hefty import tariffs on aluminium and steel besides about USD 50 billion worth of Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products to counter China's trade practices. India maintains that protectionism in all its forms should be rejected and favours an economic globalisation which is more open, inclusive and equitable. Tomorrow, the two leaders will resume their one-on-one talks. They will begin their day with a walk around the East Lake for half an hour and then go for an hour ride in a double decker boat and end their first-ever informal summit with a one-on-one lunch after which Modi would return home. A vendor waits for customers as he sells rice at a market in Kolkata September 23, 2010. India's food price index rose 15.46 percent in the year to September 11, government data on Thursday showed. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS) - RTXSK2L India's rice exports surged 18 percent from a year ago to a record 12.7 million tonnes in 2017/18 on good demand for non basmati rice from Bangladesh, Benin and Sri Lanka, a government body said in a statement. The country's buffalo meat exports in the year ended March 31 rose nearly 2 percent to 1.35 million tonnes on upbeat demand from Vietnam, Malaysia and Egypt, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said. Guar gum exports during the period rose nearly 18 percent to 494,126 tonnes as U.S. shale oil producers raised buying, the data showed. India is the world's biggest exporter of rice, buffalo meat and guar gum. The bids began from Rs 20,000 and in less than 24 hours it shot up to Rs 2.5 crore. No! It isnt for an artefact. It is for Akshay Kumars naval uniform from his hit movie Rustom. The auction is being conducted by SaltScout, a fund-raising platform based in Mumbai. Proceeds from the auction will go for animal rescue work done by Janice's Trust NGO in Panchgani. SaltScout thought of helping out the needy by selling the used costumes of the Bollywood stars but never imagined the pace of bidding. Interestingly, the auction will be up for a month. With the rise in luxury spending, the list of most expensive items sold at auctions is also rapidly growing. Used celebrity clothing is perhaps one of them in India now. It copies the international trend. Just a fortnight ago, Hollywood actor Russell Crowe made $3.7 million (Rs 24.67 crore) in five hours by selling some of his personal memorabilia at a Sothebys Australia auction. Crowe had marked his wedding anniversary with former wife and his 54th birthday with the auction, and called it The Art of Divorce. Strong khiladi But it seems that Bollywoods Khiladi has started off at a breakneck pace when compared to the Gladiator. While it took 200 items from Crowes personal belongings to fetch around Rs 24 crore in five hours, Akshays uniform upped the ante with just a piece of used clothing. We just started with Akshay Kumar and the moment he and Twinkle Khanna (Akshay's wife) tweeted about the item, we started getting heavy traffic on our site. Interestingly most queries and highest bids came from smaller cities like Bharatpur and others, said Komal Hiranandani, founder at SaltScout. Actors, directors and production houses have committed to help SaltScout in raising funds for a cause. Hiranandani, a development economist by training, started SaltScout a month back with the goal of making socially conscious spending more mainstream. Studying the trend of the bids, Hiranandani said, Looks like fans from the smaller cities are bidding the most to get a piece of their favourite stars who they can never reach. However, the auctions do not end with Akshay Kumars costume. Next on the block is Anushka Sharmas kurta that she wore in The Breakup Song from the movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Hrithiks superhero jacket from Krrish, Sonam Kapoor's Khoobsurat outfit and a shirt that was worn by Ranbir Kapoor in the movie Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Anushka Sharmas kurta would go first in a weeks time and the rest would follow a week apart from each other. Most of these items would have a base price of Rs 10,000 barring the Krrish jacket that would take off at Rs 20,000 just like Akshays costume. While the charities SaltScout is associated with would soon see a windfall gain, thanks to the e-auction, Hiranandani would keep a 10 percent cut from the proceeds for the upkeep of the platform. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More InterGlobe Aviation -- which operates IndiGo airlines -- on Friday announced the resignation of Aditya Ghosh from the post of President of IndiGo effective July 31, 2018, and as a Director of the company with effect from April 26, 2018. The board of the airline appointed Rahul Bhatia as the airline's interim CEO. Aditya Ghosh said, For the last ten years, it has been a relentless, exhilarating and a most satisfying task building IndiGo. It is now time for me to step off the treadmill and sometime in the near future embark on my next adventure. I wish all my colleagues at IndiGo the very best as they move on to the next phase of growth. Also Read: Aditya Ghosh recounts his journey at IndiGo The IndiGo board also announced the return of Greg Taylor as Senior Advisor. Here's the full text of Rahul Bhatia's letter to IndiGo employees spelling out key leadership changes at the airline. Dear Fellow Colleagues: I would like to bring you up to speed on a few key leadership changes that are underway at IndiGo. A press release on these issues is also being issued shortly. Firstly, and with mixed emotions, I wish to inform you that Aditya Ghosh is resigning and will leave the Company on July 31. Aditya wishes to explore starting a new business venture and we respect his decision to do so. For the last ten years, Aditya has led his team relentlessly in building IndiGo to be Indias largest airline. Your Board of Directors and I want to thank him for all his hard work and contributions for the successes that our company has enjoyed over the years. This said, I am very excited to announce the return of Greg Taylor as Senior Advisor to the Company, reporting directly to me. As many of you know, Greg is no stranger to IndiGo having been our Executive Vice President of Revenue Management & Network Planning during 2016-17. Greg has more than 40 years of enormous and varied experience in large, World Class Airlines. This experience and his ability to understand the complexities of the airline industry will be invaluable to our future plans. In addition to his previous stint at IndiGo, Greg has held various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways in the areas of Corporate Strategy, Network Planning, Fleet Planning, Finance, Cost Management and Airline Express Operations. Greg holds an MBA from University of Chicago. In the coming months, your Board of Directors will consider the appointment of Greg as President and CEO of the company, subject to receiving necessary regulatory approvals and paperwork. Please join me in welcoming Greg and wishing Aditya and Greg all the very best in their new roles. I look forward to your continued and outstanding dedication to IndiGo and to the superb service that you provide to our customers every day. Rahul, Interim CEO, IndiGo. IPO Two Indian renewable energy firms are set to unveil stock market listing plans in the coming weeks, giving investors a new way to gain exposure to the sector at a time when India is pushing to make renewable power a bigger part of its energy mix. Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of Indian trading firm Adani Enterprises Ltd, is expected to be spun out and listed on Indian stock exchanges within the next two weeks, said two bankers familiar with the company's plans. Separately, ReNew, India's biggest company in terms of renewable energy assets, is expected to file papers with Indian regulators for an initial public offering as early as next week, the two bankers said. The two companies will be the first new pure-play renewable energy firms to come to list in India, since wind energy firm Orient Green Power's listing eight years ago. The sector has in recent years drawn significant interest from large global sovereign funds and private equity firms including Warbug Pincus, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Singapore's GIC and Macquarie Capital. The listings will help investors gauge market interest and set a bar on valuations for rivals that may also explore listings, say bankers. Adding over 100 gigawatts of renewable capacity will require "significant capital and private markets alone can't fund all of it," said Alok Verma, Executive Director of Investment Banking at Kotak. India will need over $125 billion to fund its ambitious plan to add 175 gigawatts of renewable power to its grid by 2022, research firm Mercom said. India's installed renewable power capacity stands at about 69 GW, and the majority of its renewable projects are yet to be bid out. LIMITED INTEREST "Adani Enterprises plans to offload around a quarter of its stake in Adani Green," one of the bankers said, adding this will be followed by Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Power's IPO. With operating assets of 3.6 GW and 2 GW under construction, ReNew is seen as "big enough to raise substantial capital" from the market, another banker said. The company, which counts Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and other big firms as investors, plans to raise up to $900 million, according to media reports. Adani Enterprises and ReNew Power did not respond to emails seeking comment. Adani and ReNew are expected to be followed by several other companies aiming to raise funds. Sembcorp India, a unit of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, ACME Solar and Mytrah Energy India also have plans for listing. The three companies did not reply to emails seeking comment. While the Renew and Adani Green listings are expected to garner strong valuations given the size and scale of the assets they control, bankers warn listings by smaller rivals may fail to attract strong interest. "We're not going to see six to nine successful IPOs in the next two years. We might see one or two successful ones," said Rahul Goswami, Managing Director, Greenstone Energy Advisors, noting small new players have bid aggressively on projects at very low tariffs undermining the economics of these assets. In India, firms seeking to win rights to set-up renewable energy assets enter a bidding process with the company offering to supply power at the lowest possible tariff winning the auction process. Steel magnate Sajjan Jindal today said India needs to safeguard the industries of strategic importance from external threats, as is being done by other nations. The comment comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's China visit for a two-day informal summit with President Xi Jinping. "PM Modi's #China visit is bound to be a historical one. All nations globally are protecting the industries that are of strategic importance to their nation & we must ensure that all such industries within India are safeguarded & protected from external threats," Jindal said in a tweet. Modi and the Chinese President today began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit at Wuhan, China during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focussing on bilateral, global and regional issues. JSW Steel is a part of the diversified USD 11 billion JSW Group which also has presence in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, cement and sports. JSW Steel is the leading integrated steel company in India with an installed steel-making capacity of 18 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the alleged PNB fraud worth Rs 13,000 crore, is learnt to have fled from Hong Kong to the United States on his revoked Indian passport, reported NDTV. The diamantaire had reportedly left India in the first week of January this year before the alleged scam came into light. After a CBI probe started into the matter, the Ministry of External Affairs suspended the passports of Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is also allegedly involved in the fraud. However, Nirav Modi is able to travel on his cancelled passport as the host countries are allowing him, following their regulation with regard to it. If the host country accepts a traveler, the passport being suspended or cancelled is not an issue, said the publication quoting its sources. According to an official, the billionaire left India on January 1 and went to the UAE. From there he fled to Hong Kong and then to London in February. In March, he left UK and is now in New York. If the information is true, Nirav Modi was not in Hong Kong when on March 23, India approached authorities in Hong Kong to arrest him. Meanwhile, the Centre recently brought an ordinance to seize all the properties of "fugitive economic offenders", including Nirav Modi. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of Axis Bank staged a huge recovery of around 8 percent from its low points, even as experts anticipated a weak show post its Q4 performance. Multiple experts Moneycontrol spoke to had believed that the stock could see a lower opening. However, that does not necessarily mean it is an exit point or a point of entry either. Also Read: Axis Bank Q4 loss at Rs 2,189 cr on three-fold jump in provisions; asset quality worsens While there was no doubt among experts about what kind of numbers the lender had reported, their approach toward the stock is quite different from one another's. Here are four approaches one could have toward the stock. Cheapest corporate-focused lender Sanjiv Bhasin of IIFL highlighted how, after the correction and the likely fall ahead, Axis Bank could become the cheapest corporate bank in terms of valuation. Axis Bank has managed to deliver a kitchen-sink quarter performance and bring out everything (to the table). These were largely known and hiddenthe way it has happened is disappointing. The stock has corrected about 10-12 percent and has been an underperformer. We will have to wait for a change of regime now, Bhasin, who is EVPMarkets and Corporate Affairs at IIFL, told Moneycontrol. Speaking on the outlook for the stock one year from now, Bhasin said it is likely to be in a better position. Classification of NPAs has been standardised by the Reserve Bank of India, he said, adding that the road forward looks smoother. On a price to book basis, it is the cheapest corporate bank as well, he said. Wait and watch approach Meanwhile, investors could also adopt a wait and watch approach instead of reacting in a knee-jerk manner, believes AK Prabhakar of IDBI Capital. Before trying to catch a falling knife, investors should first wait for a rejig in management. The Q4 results were full of write offs. Hence, wait before you start buying even though it may open lower on Friday, said Prabhakar, who is Head of Research at IDBI Capital. Look outside! Theres more... Having said that, one could also take a look at peers in the corporate-focused segment, experts said. The only corporate focused private bank we hold is Yes Bank, which has proved that unarguably it is the best managed corporate focused bank in terms of its scorching pace of growth in assets and maintaining pristine asset quality in the midst of spike in soured loans among its corporate focused rivals, Ajay Bodke, CEO and Chief Portfolio Manager (PMS), Prabhudas Lilladher, told Moneycontrol. A word of caution Lastly, analysts also recommend being cautious about the stock before you rush to buy it. Sanjeev Jain of Ashika Stock Broking said that while the results did disappoint, the worst may not be past. Wait out before you plan to buy the stock because we don't know how much pain is still left in terms of asset quality. I think investors should avoid the stock until the picture is clearer. It also reported tax write back of Rs 1,300 crore, without which the net loss would have been wider," said Jain, who is Associate Vice-President at Ashika Stock Broking. Case File The bank on Thursday reported a loss of Rs 2,188. 74 crore for January-March, as against a net profit of Rs 1,225 crore in the same quarter last year. This is the first ever quarterly loss posted by Axis Bank since it listed over two decades ago. Slippages for the quarter nearly quadrupled year-on-year to Rs 16,536 crore, with nearly Rs 13,900 crore of new slippages coming from the corporate sector. So more than 80 percent of the slippages were from companies rated 'BB' and below. Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated a decline of 56 percent in net profit to Rs 534 crore, and 4 percent rise in net interest income to Rs 4,909 crore. SBI Life : Q4 net profit up 13 percent to Rs 381.2 crore Axis Bank : Q4 loss at Rs 2,189 crore on three-fold jump in provisions; asset quality worsens Buzzing Stocks: Wipro, JSW Energy, Zen Technologies and other stocks in news today Buzzing Stocks: Infosys, SBI, Hero Moto, Easy Trip Planners and other stocks in news today Buzzing Stocks: Zee Entertainment, SBI Cards, Mphasis, and other stocks in news today AU Small Finance Bank : Q4 net up 7 percent at Rs 83 crore Here are the stocks which are in news today: HPCL: Net profit could fall by 21 percent on YoY; down 27 percent on QoQ basis RBL Bank: Net profit could rise by 39 percent YoY; up 10 percent on QoQ basis Essel Propack recommends bonus issue in the ratio of 1 equity share for every 1 share Shriram Transport Finance: Net profit could rise by 120 percent YoY; fall by 33 percent on QoQ Infosys announces new training center in Indianapolis to create 1K additional jobs Thermax gets repeat order of Rs 279 cr to set up captive cogeneration plant at Trombay Sebi decides against granting exemption to S H Kelkar and Co promoters Tata Metaliks Q4 net profit up 41% at Rs 54 cr TCS expands operations in Texas Rallis India posts 37% dip in Q4 net profit at Rs 19 cr Shriram City Union Fin Q4 net profit up 19% at Rs 687 cr Jindal Stainless Hisar Q4 net profit jumps 59% to Rs 96 cr Biocon Q4 net profit up 2% at Rs 130 cr; FY18 net dips 39% ITC ties up with NITI to train 2 lakh farmers to increase income Tata Steel's proposed acquisition of Bhushan Steel gets CCI nod Aster DM Healthcare to set up 500 bed hospital in city Lodha files IPO papers with Sebi; looks to raise Rs 5,500 cr Cholamandalam - ICRA upgraded its rating on term loan, NCD to ICRA AA+ and reaffirmed A1+ rating on commercial paper Capital First's Debenture Committee approved to issue NCDs worth Rs 340 crore on private placement basis Marina West (Singapore) Pte sold 12,66,496 shares of Coffee Day at Rs 332.05 Copthall Mauritius Investment sold 19,26,600 shares of Karnataka Bank at Rs 116.72 ECAP Equities sold 50,12,931 shares of Reliance Naval at Rs 19.52 Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd The logo of Foxconn, the trading name The Tamil Nadu government is in talks with Foxconn to revive the Nokia plant near Chennai, Tamil Nadu Industries Minister M C Sampath has confirmed. The Tamil Nadu government is in touch with both Foxconn in India and the manufacturer's headquarters in Taiwan. "Foxconn is interested in reviving the Nokia plant. The Nokia unit is their neighbour and houses a lot of manufacturing capabilities for global electronic majors. It will be fit and appropriate if they are able to resume operations at the plant," said a government official, Business Standard reports. Foxconn already has manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu. The Nokia plant at Sriperumbudur has been defunct since 2014 after Nokia sold its mobile device business to Microsoft. About 15,000 employees lost their jobs. The settlement of the tax dispute will enable the plant to be open for sale. The five-year tax dispute got resolved last week, after India and Finland signed the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) system. The settlement included payment of Rs 1,600 crore in tax by Nokia. The Income Tax Department had issued a tax demand of Rs 2,500 crore to Nokia in 2013. File Photo: A security guard stands outside a closed Yes Bank branch in New Delhi live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Akash Jain We believe Yes Bank will get rerated after reporting stellar Q4FY18 results. Before results, we were expecting an upside of 30 percent plus by FY19 end. After this strong performance, we would not be surprised if it delivers 50 percent upside from current market price by FY19 end. As expected, the results of the Bank were above expectations. What we like the most of Q4FY18 result, that the bank witnessed a strong lending growth with decline in gross NPAs amidst environment of rising NPAs in other private sector banks and PSU banks. The banks strategy has always been improving the share of low-cost and retail deposits. The Bank reported 29 percent YoY rise in net profit at Rs 1,179.40 crore, which was higher than Rs 1,050 crore estimated by us. The private lender had reported Rs 914 crore profit in the corresponding quarter last year. The bank registered strong earnings delivery. Healthy growth in NII leading to PAT growth of 29 percent (Rs. 1,179.4 crores) in Q4FY18 and 26.9 percent (Rs 4,224.6 crore) in FY18. Crossed significant milestones of Rs 3 Lakh crore in total assets. The bank witnessed well segmented and granular growth. Advances growth of 53.9 percent Y-o-Y spread across corporate, MSME and retail businesses. Core retail banking advances doubled in last one year, now at 12.2 percent of total advances, coupled with healthy growth of 34.4 percent in MSME. Healthy Asset Quality delivery: Improvement in both GNPA (1.28 percent from 1.72 percent sequentially) and NNPA (0.64 percent from 0.93 percent sequentially). Credit costs contained at 76bps for FY18. Of the total divergence of Rs 6,355.2 crore in FY17, the bank upgraded accounts worth Rs 2,632.7 crore as standard. Net Profit grew by 29 percent Y-o-Y (Rs 1,179.4 crore) for Q4FY18 and 26.9 percent Y-o-Y (Rs 4,224.6 crore) in FY18. Net Interest Income grew by 31.4 percent Y-o-Y (Rs 2,154.2 crore) for Q4FY18, and 33.5 percent Y-o-Y (Rs 7,737.1 crore) in FY18. : The author isice-president, Equity Research at Ajcon Global Services. The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. The Congress president claimed the Siddaramaiah government had fulfilled 95 percent of the promises made in the manifesto released ahead of the 2013 polls after coming to power. Elections to the 225-seat assembly are scheduled for May 12. Rahul Gandhi Congress president Rahul Gandhi today released the party's election manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls that promises creation of one crore jobs over five years. Gandhi described the manifesto as the "voice of the people of Karnataka" and not a document prepared by "three or four people in a closed room". He also took potshots at Narendra Modi, saying while the prime minister likes to tell people his "mann ki baat", this manifesto contained the "mann ki baat" of the people of Karnataka. Taking a dig at the BJP, Gandhi said the manifesto that the saffron party will release would not be for the people of Karnataka and reflect the views of the RSS. INC Manifesto State Concise 250418 for WEB by Moneycontrol News on Scribd Catch the latest news, views and analysis on Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 The Western Zonal Council (WZC) meeting here, chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, today could not resolve the issue of transfer of excess land held by Central organisations in Mumbai for affordable housing. The meeting resolved 14 out of 16 issues on its agenda, an official said. "Of the two issues that remained unresolved today, one was about making available the surplus lands of various Central Government organisations for 'Housing for All: 2022' (mission)," R Buhril, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for Inter-State Council, told reporters. To meet the goal of housing for all by 2022, a large number of houses are required to be built in Mumbai, where land availability is a problem, he said. "Union government departments and ministries hold vast tracts of land in Mumbai. The Maharashtra government asked the departments like Commerce, Railways to hand over their surplus land to the state government for affordable housing," he said. However, as the issue is complex, it could not be resolved in the meeting today, he said. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani, Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and the Administrator of the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli participated in the meeting along with Central officials. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are members of Western Zonal Council. Another unresolved issue was connecting Aadhar for the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, particularity in the Naxal-affected areas of Maharashtra where there are issues of Internet connectivity, he said, adding the issue will be taken up at the national level. Speaking to reporters later, Rajnath Singh reiterated the Centre's intention to promote cooperative federalism. "After our government came to power, we have held ten Council meetings and 15 Standing Committee meetings of all zones. In these meetings, including today's meeting, 653 items have been discussed and 411 of these issues were resolved," Singh said. The issues that were resolved today included stamp duty on imports, non-signing of Power Purchase Agreements by Maharashtra with renewable energy operators, capacity building for developing Trauma Care facilities, full immunisation coverage, National Aids Control Programme, among others, officials said. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis today appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India the national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimated USD 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers "There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, we're going to paralyse ourselves, he said. "So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of state -- I'm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show it's in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians, Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. "In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense, he said. "At this moment, when we're in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations? Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA, he said. So, you're suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower soon-to-be-Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right? Cotton asked. That's correct. And there's other countries. Indonesia, for example is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going, Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the Indo-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers yesterday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. "CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster," who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. "I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India," Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event." April 30, 2018 / 12:04 PM IST If my son goes with the BJP, my family and I will boycott him: HD Deve Gowda Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda told NDTV that he will disown his son HD Kumaraswamy in the case he goes with the BJP. He said that Kumaraswamy had made this mistake back in 2006 also, which had not oly tarnished his image but also affected his health. Although, he was confident that his son won't go to the BJP this time, he said that in the case he does, he and his family will boycott him. Deve Gowda, a champion of secularism, whose party is a key regional player in the upcoming Karnataka elections, told the Economic Times that he was struggling to form his government in the state. He also said that both the Congress and the BJP are his enemies and are attempting at destroying him. He also blamed the BJP of being extremely communal, saying that this will be the reason of their downfall. The octogenarian will campaign extensively in the Old-Mysuru region, conducting rallies in about 40-50 constituencies. Deve Gowda also said that he will contest in the 2019 elections and will look forward to the formation of a third front which will be sans the BJP and the Congress. He had even held talks with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao regardng the matter. Representative Image M Gautham Machaiah The Congress Friday released its Peoples Manifesto for the Karnataka assembly elections which it claims captures the aspirations of different sections of the society and promises a new vision for the state. While the manifesto is high on development and low on emotive issues like Kannada Swabhimana and minority status for Lingayats, it does not exactly create much excitement because most proposals appear to be old wine in new bottle. The stamp of chief minister Siddaramaiah is clear with all his favourite schemes or bhagyas finding a prominent mention. The manifesto which devotes a large portion to the achievements of the Congress government in the last five years, gives all credit to Siddaramaiah for carving Karnatakas unique model of development. The Kannada issue is not totally ignored though. The manifesto promises a roadmap to encourage a congenial atmosphere for every citizen to learn, respect and appreciate the richness of Kannada. Striking a chord with the Kannadigas who have been batting for cooperative federalism, the party promises that it would fight to ensure that the State would not get a raw deal in the devolution of funds from the Centre. Agriculture is always high on the agenda of any political party and the Congress has promised to double farmers income, constitute a commission to ensure basic livelihood for farmers and labourers and compensate them against loss of crop revenue due to natural calamities. A huge Rs 1,25,000 crore will be invested on irrigation projects in the next five years. Karnataka boasts of the worlds largest solar power farm and the Congress has committed itself to harnessing cleaner and renewable energy sources, while at the same time improving the fiscal health of utilities by ensuring 100 per cent metering of consumption. Also Read: BJP leaders rejoice after Yeddyurappa loyalist Shobha Karandlaje is denied a ticket The manifesto also lays stress on strengthening the chief ministers pet project, Hunger and malnutrition-free Karnataka, where free food grains are given to 35 million beneficiaries; nutritious food to over a million pregnant and lactating women; milk to 10 million students and eggs to 6 million infants; and Indira Canteens which provide highly subsidised nutritious food to the urban poor. The Congress has also unveiled a housing policy in line with Siddaramaiahs dream project, Hut Free Karnataka. With Bengaluru being named among the Top 10 innovation hubs in the world, the focus will be on digital revolution to ensure that the IT sector contributes more than 25 per cent of the GSDP and 33 per cent of the total-technology related business of India. The promises on the infrastructure front include last mile road connectivity, robust airport infrastructure, augmenting rail connectivity and developing ports. The other major assurances include job creation especially in mofussil areas, good governance and elimination of corruption, making the transgender community a part of the mainstream, creating world class tourism infrastructure and strengthening the panchayat raj system. The manifesto is refreshingly free from the usual political rhetoric. It has just only one oblique reference to BJP when it says A certain political party has made repeated assaults on the states diversity. The Congress would like to reaffirm its commitment to respecting and defending Karnatakas pluralism. In the ultimately analysis, the manifesto is development oriented and positive, but it surely lacks out-of-the-box thinking and innovation. (The author is a political commentator and a senior journalist) Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressing a Corner Meeting ahead of Karnataka Assembly elections at KGF Municipal Ground in Kolar on 7th April 2018. (PTI Photo) Police probing the technical snag in the plane carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi are waiting for technical experts to examine the flaws and submit a report, even as a senior airport official maintained that there was nothing "unusual" in the aircraft's landing at Hubballi. On a complaint filed by a close aide of Gandhi with Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Neelamani N Raju, an FIR was lodged under IPC sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), the police said. "We are waiting for the experts from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to come as we have no technical knowledge on the subject. "Based on their report, we will take further action," Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), North Hubballi, H K Pathan, who is the investigating officer in the case, said. The aircraft stationed at the Hubballi airport would be examined, he added. Meanwhile, Hubballi Airport Director Ahalya S K continued to maintain that there was nothing unusual in the manner in which the plane had landed yesterday. "The plane had landed safely and nobody had complained to me about anything," she told PTI. In Bengaluru, state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the police were investigating the matter. In his complaint to the DGP, Gandhi's aide Kaushal Vidyarthi had demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft before it landed at the Hubballi airport in north Karnataka. The complaint said the plane had suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude had dipped steeply with a violent shuddering of the aircraft when the weather was normal and not windy. "It was apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of the aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather-related, but were due to some technical snag... "Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot also be brushed aside and are requested to be addressed and investigated," the complaint said. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary Shakir Sanadi has also filed a complaint with the Hubballi police, naming the two pilots of the plane. A senior DGCA official had yesterday said the operator had reported the incident to them. According to the operator's report, it was a snag in the auto-pilot mode and the pilot had shifted to the manual mode and the aircraft had landed safely. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka to campaign for the Congress candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. April 27, 2018 / 08:13 PM IST / 08:13 PM IST IndiGo boss Aditya Ghosh to step down from July 31 IndiGo's Aditya Ghosh on Friday announced his decision to step down as the chief of the budget airline. The airline's board accepted Ghosh's resignation. The board had "accepted the resignation of Mr. Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole Time Director of the Company, from the post of President of the company effective July 31, 2018 and as a Director of the company with effect from April 26, 2018," the company said in a statement to the exchanges. The board has appointed Rahul Bhatia as the Interim Chief Executive Officer. Bhatia will continue as a director of the company. The recent months have been a turbulent ride for the normally unflappable Ghosh. Just when IndiGo seemed to have regained the best in on-time performance tag (after Aditya publicly bickered with rivals in early 2017), SpiceJet snatched the crown again November 2017. That month also brought the worst public relation disaster for the airline. Subsequent spate of controversies seem to have taken some sheen off the airlines shares. The InterGlobe Aviation stock has lagged that of peers SpiceJet and Jet Airways in the last one year. While shares of rivals have nearly doubled, InterGlobe shares rose by a more modest 46 percent. It must be noted that Ghosh completes a decade as the IndiGo's President. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for another round of a similar informal meet in 2019 in India and hailed the history of Sino-Indian ties. PM Modi also told Jinping that the two countries have a "big opportunity" to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. During his delegation-level talks as part of an unprecedented informal summit with President Xi in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Modi said such informal summits should become a tradition between the two countries. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. Wuhan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting, in Wuhan, China on Friday. PTI Photo / PIB (PTI4_27_2018_000058B) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today exchanged views on "solidifying" the India-China relationship as they began an unprecedented two-day informal summit here during which they will have a series of one-on-one conversations focussing on bilateral, global and regional issues. Prime Minister Modi who arrived here in the central Chinese city early today for the informal summit began talks soon after President Xi hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him. The summit in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year. "And the much awaited Informal Summit gets underway! PM @narendramodi warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi on his arrival at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting during which they exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship," . Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. Kumar said they will review the developments in the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective during their meetings. Modi and Xi shook hands and posed for photographs before witnessing a cultural programme at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. "PM @narendramodi was welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture," Kumar tweeted. During their one-on-one coversation, Modi told Xi that when he was the Gujarat chief minister, he had an opportunity to visit Hubei Province on a study tour to learn about the Three Gorges Dam. "The speed with which you constructed this dam and its scale inspired me. So I came on a study tour and spent a day at dam," Modi said. As the world's largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges project is a multifunctional water control system on the mighty Yangtze river. It comprises a dam stretching 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, 32 hydropower turbo-generators, a five-tier ship lock and ship lift system. The two leaders later visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum. "Spending time together! In a special gesture, Chinese President Xi took PM @narendramodi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure displayed at the Hubei Provincial Museum," Kumar tweeted. The museum has a large number of state-level historic and cultural relics. Officials said Modi and Xi would focuss on global, regional and bilateral issues. The two leaders will later hold delegationb-level talks accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. They will resume their one-on-one interaction tomorrow at 10 a.m (local time) with walks by the lake side, boat ride and wind up their talks over lunch, official sources here said. The two leaders began their informal meetings way back in 2014 when Xi was hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. They have met and interacted with each other in about a dozen international meetings since then. But this will be their "heart-to-heart" informal summit. There will be no agreement signed or a joint statement issued. It is a summit, according to the officials, to forge consensus to resolve the issues with follow up actions by officials than announcing any agreements. This is something the leaders of the two countries have never tried so far, they said. This is fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014. He is again due to visit China to take part in the SCO summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10. China's state media said the informal Xi-Modi meeting heralds new chapter in Sino-Indian relations, an article in the state-run Global Times said. "The Xi-Modi meeting in 2018 following the 2017 Dokalam standoff will without doubt promote mutual trust and reciprocity between the two countries, and will be a cornerstone of a stable long-term relationship between China and India," the article said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to China as the one having "no agenda", but reminded him to raise the Doklam standoff with Chinese troops last year and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with the leadership there. Gandhi mocked Modi, saying "you look tense" on the visit. However extending his party's support, he told the prime minister that India wants to hear him talk about these crucial issues - Doklam and CPEC - with China. "Dear PM, Saw the live TV feed of your No Agenda China visit. You look tense! A quick reminder: 1. DOKLAM 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through POK. That's Indian territory. India wants to hear you talk about these crucial issues. You have our support," Gandhi said on Twitter. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam area last year. The face-off ended through negotiations after 72 days. The CPEC, a part of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India opposes the controversial project. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today began talks at an unprecedented two-day informal summit in Wuhan city in central China. During the visit, the two leaders will have a series of one-on-one conversations on bilateral, global and regional issues. Healthcare services at AIIMS in Delhi were hit today as routine surgeries were cancelled, out-patient clinics functioned partially and patients seeking OPD consultation were sent back due to a strike by resident doctors over an alleged assault on one of their colleagues by a senior doctor. Only the emergency and ICU services functioned. Routine surgeries were cancelled and academic activities and exams were postponed indefinitely, an administration official said. Announcing the indefinite strike yesterday, the resident doctors demanded the immediate suspension of the senior doctor, who heads a department at the premier institute. The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) has demanded that the senior doctor be not allowed to take in thesis candidates and conduct any verbal or written examination. Today, the hospital administration put in place a contingency plan for patient-care services, as a part of which faculty-on-call in all clinical departments had to physically man the in-patient wards. "OPD services will function on restricted basis till such a time normalcy is restored. Only follow-up patients with prior appointments will be registered in OPD. New patients OPD registration will be done as per availability of faculty in respective OPDs as decided by Head of Department/Unit concerned. No walk-in registration will be done," the administration said in an order. Routine surgeries will remain suspended and only emergency cases will be taken up. Diagnostic services will function on a restricted basis, it stated. "Head(s) of all clinical departments will make arrangements for round-the-clock availability of doctors of speciality concerned either from research staff or by the faculty members. Under no circumstances any inpatient ward will function without physical availability of doctors of speciality concerned," it stated. The strike gave a hard time to patients who had to return without treatment from the premier hospital. Some of them were asked to visit the nearby Safdarjung hospital. "I have come from Darbhanga (Bihar) to get my son treated but it was only after reaching here that I got to know about the strike. We will now have to wait for the strike to end as we...cannot leave just like that," Pawan Choubey said. In a statement late last night, AIIMS said the incident over which the resident doctors called the strike happened on Wednesday, following which the senior doctor apologised. As a mark of protest, the resident doctors worked wearing helmets yesterday and sought a written apology from the senior doctor. In a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the RDA alleged that the senior doctor slapped a senior resident in front of attendees, nursing staff and colleagues, and that the resident doctor was under depression and had gone home. The RDA said an atmosphere of fear existed in the department headed by the senior doctor and nobody protested as the chief threatened to fail the junior doctors. Union Home Minister Amit Shah tested positive for coronavirus and is admitted to Medanta hospital. (Image: PTI) BJP chief Amit Shah has cancelled his scheduled tour of Bellary district on Friday to avoid the embarrassment of sharing the dais with the infamous Reddy brothers in their fiefdom, claim party sources. Giving a ticket to seven members from the Reddy clan, which is embroiled in an alleged Rs 50,000 crore mining scam, seems to have gone against the BJP in Karnataka, leading to a furious debate and embarrassment for several party leaders. BJPs state president and the partys chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has added fuel to fire with his statement that he has pardoned the Reddy brothers in the interest of the state. Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressing a public meeting at Magadi, Ramanagara, Karnataka on 4th April 2018. (PTI Photo) Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his China visit, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said today he would remain silent on the Doklam issue during his talks with President Xi Jinping, and wondered where his '56 inch chest' has gone. He also slammed Modi over his "silence" on alleged corruption by BJP leaders, including its chief Amit Shah's son. "I have heard that he (Modi) is visiting China. You just see, take it in writing from me. China's army is sitting in Doklam and he will not utter a word on Doklam in China, you just watch. "He (Modi) won't utter a word, this is 56 inch chest. Only hollow words, false promises," Gandhi, who is on a two-day election campaign tour of Karnataka, told a public rally here. The Congress president spoke of how Modi had hosted Xi in his home state Gujarat and the Chinese troops made an incursion into Indian territory. "In Gujarat, on the banks of a river, Narendra Modi ji"sits on a swing with the Chinese president. Chinese president goes"back home and puts Chinese army in Doklam. I don't know where his (Modi's) 56-inch chest had gone, Narendra Modi ji did not utter a word," he"said. Chinese soldiers had intruded into Indian territory in Chumar area of Ladakh in September 2014 during Xi's India visit. The Congress chief, who released the party's election" manifesto for the Assembly polls in Mangaluru earlier in the day, said, "Modi ji, wherever he goes, speaks his 'mann ki baat, but our manifesto is"not our mann ki baat...it is the mann ki baat of Karnataka's"youth, women and poor". He said the manifesto was not prepared by two or three Congress leaders in a closed room, and that people of every district and region were consulted. Verappa Moily, the manifesto committee chief, met" people across classes, farmers, youth and industry, he said, and claimed that 90 per cent of promises made in the manifesto ahead of the 2013 polls had been fulfilled. Invoking 12th century social reformer Basavanna who" taught people 'Nudidante nade' (practise what you preach), Gandhi said, "If there is no weight in what you speak, then there is no meaning." Gandhi said while the Congress' Siddaramaiah government fulfilled what it promised, the Modi dispensation did not honour commitments made by it. "Modi ji folds his hands in front of Basavanna's statue, garlands it, and then he gives eight tickets to Reddy brothers. He says he stands against corruption....but then he stands with Yeddyurappa (the BJP's chief ministerial nominee), who has spent time in jail, on one side, and four"MLAs who have savoured jail food on the other," he added. Targeting the prime minister over his "silence" on Amit Shah's son Jay Shah, whom he accused of "converting" Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in three months, Gandhi said, Modi claims to be the "chowkidar" (watchman) of the country, "but does not stop his friend from indulging in theft". Taking a jibe at the prime minister over BJP allotting party tickets to the Reddy brothers and their supporters, he said, "Modi ji likes changing names. Earlier it was"Planning Commission. He changed it to NITI Ayog. Now he has"changed the CBI's name to Central Bureau of Illegal mining. The influential Reddy brothers of Ballari were accused of involvement in illegal iron ore mining in several states, and two of them have been fielded by the BJP in the polls. "It (CBI) is an agency that gives clean chit to"Reddy brothers, it does whatever Modiji asks it to do. If you want theft to happen from Karnataka, Modi ji will get it done. Amit Shah and Modi ji will give them (Reddy"brothers and their men) eight tickets and then they will give"speeches that they are against corruption," he said. He alleged the Reddy brothers had looted Rs 33,000" crore from Karnataka by way of the mining scam. The Congress president also accused the prime minister of keeping quiet over atrocities against women. "Narendra Modi gave the slogan 'Beti Bachao, Beti" Padhao'. Now the slogan has changed, wherever you see parents" in India are trying to save their daughters from BJP leaders,""he said. Referring to the alleged involvement of an Uttar" Pradesh BJP MLA in a rape case, he said, "The new slogan is" only 'Beti Bachao, Beti Bachao' (save your daughters) from BJP leaders. Narendra Modi, the country's chowkidar, did not utter a word on their MLA indulging in rape." Gandhi said when a rape incident happened in Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister only said there should be no atrocities against women. "Modi ji, we know, but you do something about this, the whole country is burning, there are atrocities against Dalits,"minorities are being attacked, women are being attacked, and you are just watching," he said. The Ayodhya dispute was heard by a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra and comprising of judges Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, in the Supreme Court on Friday. Renowned lawyer Harish Salve, appearing for the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, submitted before the apex court that the matter be treated like a title suit and that it should not be decided on any other grounds. This move is surprising considering that 13 appeals were filed against the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict which had treated the dispute like a title suit, distributing the disputed land equally among the three plaintiffs. Lawyer Raju Ramchandran, appearing for the Sunni Waqf Board, told the Court that the matter be referred to a larger bench considering that it is an issue of natural importance. This request was opposed by Harish Salve, according to media reports. The Supreme Court was to decide if the case needs to be transferred to a larger bench, after hearing arguments from disputed parties. The matter has been adjourned until May 15, 2018. In the hearings that have transpired until now, the Supreme Court has dismissed about 32 intervention petitions by eminent people such as Teesta Setalvad, Shyam Benegal, Aparna Sen and Anil Dharkar. The top court also dismissed BJP MP Subramanian Swamys petition that argued for the fundamental right to worship Lord Ram. By doing so, the SC restricted from hearing the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The SC had started the final hearing on the Ram Mandir dispute in December last year. During the hearing, Kapil Sibal, representing one of the petitioners, had requested the court to defer the hearing until after 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying that there will be serious repercussions outside of court every time the matter is heard. He also sought that a seven-judge bench hear the matter. Both these requests were turned down by the court last year. Sibal also told the court that all the documents that were presented before the Allahabad Court in 2010 have not been brought before the apex court, adding that the report of the Archaeological Survey of India on Babri Masjid was also missing. Sibals request had garnered much flak from the BJP which accused him of being a Congress mouth piece in the Supreme Court. Even Prime Minister Modi attacked Sibal during one of his campaigns in Gujarat, saying, How is the case connected to the Lok Sabha elections? BJP Supremo Amit Shah urged the Congress to clear their stance on the Ram Mandir issue. This copy has been updated to incorporate developments about the hearing being postponed until May 15. Representative image (Source: Reuters) French information technology company Capgemini has given a minimal salary hike to most of its staff and none to quite a few, causing discontent within the ranks. To add insult to the injury, the company while announcing its first quarter earnings today, said it has started the year with "excellent growth momentum" which is expected to continue going forward. Capgemini has reported 3,153 million euros of revenues for the first quarter of 2018, up 7.2 percent at constant exchange rates, and has maintained its forecast for the next year. In its earnings release, Capgemini said it expects to accelerate its growth with revenue progression of 6 percent to 7 percent at constant exchange rates, to increase profitability with an operating margin of 12.0 percent to 12.2 percent and to generate an organic free cash flow in excess of 1 billion euros. On the other hand, employees expecting decent raises were disappointed this week after the IT services major handed out increments of 0-4 percent. Several disgruntled employees took to social media on Friday to air their grievances. "Our employee remuneration is defined in an objective process, consistent with industry norms, to ensure we are aligned with our customer needs, business priorities, and the overall industry evolution. Annual increments are determined by individual performance and potential, and the strategic business goals of the company," said a Capgemini spokesperson in an email response to Moneycontrol. According to some employees Moneycontrol spoke to, Capgemini also announced a cut of up to 20 percent cut in variable pay for the year. I believe it is a strategy to downsize, said an IT recruitment firm executive who did not wish to be identified. Salary cuts and dismal pay increases are a common strategy for companies going through financial distress, as explained in this article. However, this has an impact on employee morale, and top performers usually leave for other companies that offer superior compensation. On March 31, Capgemini Groups total headcount was 2,03,400, up 3.9 percent from last year, with an increase in employees in offshore centers to 1,15,900, which is 57 percent of the total headcount. Listen to our Podcast on Capgemini's dirty laundry: But Capgemini has been posting good results. Paul Hermelin, chief executive officer of Capgemini Group said in a statement earlier on Friday, Capgemini starts the year with an excellent growth momentum. The Group continues to win market share, reflecting the alignment of its service portfolio with customer demand for both innovation and competitiveness. Demand is particularly strong in Europe and North America, driven notably by the financial services, consumer goods and manufacturing sectors. Digital and cloud revenues grew 20 percent at constant exchange rates and accounted for over 40 percent of group revenues. Employees who took to Twitter also questioned why were they not being adequately compensated if the Group was performing well. In its response to queries from Moneycontrol, the Capgemini spokesperson further said, "We are committed to rewarding top performers and offering them a strong career path, and have successfully completed promotions for 2018. We are also investing heavily in re-skilling our workforce. In 2017, over 60,000 employees in India have undergone training. This year, we aim to provide every employee the opportunity to participate in one or more training programs in emerging digital skills." Mass layoffs in the IT industry The news of mass layoffs in the Indian IT industry has been doing the rounds for over a year now. While the industry and individual companies have consistently denied such reports, industry experts maintain there is a move to reduce the number of people on bench. Bench is a layer of employees who are not assigned to projects, and kept ready for upcoming projects. As cost pressures increase, companies are looking at just-in-time hiring. Last year, several stories of employees being asked to leave surfaced. Also Read: 'Quit by 10am tomorrow or you're fired': IT employee's recording of sacking goes viral In a recording uploaded on YouTube last May, a person claiming to be a Capgemini employee based in Gurgaon had recorded her exit interview, where she can be heard having an argument with two company executives. According to another industry executive who did not wish to be named, this could be an indirect way to get employees to leave voluntarily instead of asking them to quit. Below is a verbatim transcript of our podcast on Net Neutrality. Do hear out the podcast embedded below. Hello and welcome. Today we do a Seth Meyers, and take a closer look at the internet, or well, maybe the dying embers of the internet as you and I know and love. Yes, internet that thing which is your frenemy at best, and a ghoul from your past life occupying your attic keeping you awake and terrified at all times, at worst. In an era when a photoshoot by Kim Kardashian or an album drop by Taylor Swift or a rat in a New York subway carrying a slice of pizza to quietly sit and eat it in a corner after a long, tiring day dealing with New Yorkers can break the internet, one would think the internet was a fairly fragile thing. Sure, it may be populated with hordes of people with very fragile egos (cough, Donald Trump), but the Internet itself is not a particularly easily breakable thing. But that may no longer be the case. If youve seen John Oliver go on one of his breathless PSAs with jokes thrown in, you already know what I am talking about net neutrality. Somebody is about to break the internet, and it is not a rat taking a shower. My name is Rakesh, and you are listening to Moneycontrol. And today, we are going to discuss Net Neutrality. DEATH OF THE INTERNET? A CLOSER LOOK AT NET NEUTRALITY A Few of Our Favourite Things: The Internet and Free Speech If you were to ask me which human inventions have made the greatest impact in my life, the answers would be quick to come and fairly simple pizza, airplanes, and the ability to order a pizza without having to move an inch. So well, the internet. The internet has been the platform for great personal and political expression the MeToo movement and with it, hopefully, the slow disassembling of the patriarchy; the Arab Spring; increasing awareness about mental health; calls to action against the discrimination of various disenfranchised and marginalised communities including racial and sexual minorities... have all benefitted from the metaphorical water cooler that is the internet in the small village the world has now come to be. But, we are also human, and sometimes I feel we do not deserve to have good things, because just as community-building the internet has been, it has also been the place to foster some of our basest instincts online sex trafficking, bullying, #FakeNews, political interference by rogue entities into the democratic systems of many countries, the rise of cyberterrorism and the ensuing copycat models seen in as latest an attack as the one we saw in Toronto when a truck driver mowed down dozens of people. If the internet has brought people together for the good, in the process, and perhaps inevitably, it has also brought together people and communities up to no good. In this age of digital community building, it is easier for birds of a feather to flock together, but beware, there be vultures too. Terrible elements and unsavoury comments notwithstanding, and perhaps because of them, the internet is a great level-playing field. Everybody gets to have a say and while you may cock a snook at the terrible comments you see on 4chan or Reddit or that thing I do not understand Twitter, what you are seeing is egalitarianism at work, and perhaps the best expression of free speech. Youve got to hand it to the internet in the eyes of the internet, we are all the same. But that notion appears like it is in danger. ACLU the American Civil Liberties Union is one of the foremost organisations that fight to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. ACLU brought the first case about free speech on the internet, in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared speech on the Internet equally worthy of the First Amendments historical protections. In that case, Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, the Supreme Court held that the government can no more restrict a persons access to words or images on the Internet than it can snatch a book out of someones hands or cover up a nude statue in a museum. I Live Under A Rock. So. What is Net Neutrality? In the same breath as free speech comes the other term we are discussing today net neutrality. As the ACLU describes it, Net neutrality is the founding principle of the internet. It is the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) must treat online data equally, by not discriminating based on user or content. It is essential to the free, open internet that we know and love. Without equal access to the internet, we lose our rights to be heard and to hear others. Essentially, net neutrality is the concept of online non-discrimination. It is the principle that consumers and citizens should be free to get access toor to providethe Internet content and services they wish, and that consumer access should not be regulated based on the nature or source of that content or service. Information providerswhich may be websites, online services, etc., and who may be affiliated with traditional commercial enterprises but who also may be individual citizens, libraries, schools, or non-profit entitiesshould have essentially the same quality of access to distribute their offerings. "Pipe" owners (carriers) should not be allowed to charge some information providers more money for the same pipes, or establish exclusive deals that relegate everyone else (including small non-commercial or start-up entities) to an Internet "slow lane." This principle should hold true even when a broadband provider is providing Internet carriage to a competitor. Like I said, this principle of non-discrimination is integral to the idea of the idea of the internet. What Liberty, Equality, Fraternity is to France (and Haiti), Net Neutrality is to the land of Internet. But, today, net neutrality is under threat. In 2015, under the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission the FCC classified ISPs as common carriers, which gave the FCC the power to prohibit ISPs from halting, slowing, or otherwise tampering with the transmission of data online. ISPs then challenged the law in federal court as a violation of their constitutional rights ACLU and its allies, along with the government, joined hands together to successfully argue that net neutrality rules preserve and protect individual free speech rights rather than harm them. Under Donald Trump, many things are changing the Overton Window is on such a constant overhaul that we seem to be losing perspective of what is considered normal and what is allowed in polite social discourse. One of the things undergoing change is the FCC, and well, the Internet as we know it. Under the leadership of Chairman Ajit Pai, the Trump era FCC is considering a rollback of those very protections and civil liberties. In May 2016, the FCC proposed a rule that would rescind the common carrier classification. That would give a few large corporations the authority to control access to the internet, and it would open the way to pay-to-play fast lanes for those who can afford it. This prioritisation or in some cases, the prevention of some opinions over others is the antithesis of the spirit of the free internet, and indeed free speech. Without Net Neutrality, your Internet Service Provider could essentially block you from accessing any website they didnt want you to access. It would also allow your ISP to intentionally slow down or cut off access to websites you frequent, forcing you to pay an additional fee if you want to continue using them. I get to visit the websites I want to, read the content I like to, watch the stuff inspiring to disgusting I feel so compelled to because of net neutrality. Why are we talking about Net Neutrality now? Because it is on life support with little chance of resuscitation in America. Circa December 2017, enter a man we have spoken about before Ajit Pai. He is not a doctor, which is surprising. A lawyer; close enough. In December 2017 the FCC, under its Chairman Ajit Pai, voted to repeal net neutrality, signalling the end of the open internet as we know it. The decision was obviously controversial at the time, and no surprise, continues to be so even now. The vote was just the first step toward repeal. To enact the change, the FCC would have to officially list the ruling and provide a timeline for it. And that listing came in February and, now we're even closer to wearing black at Mr. Net Neutrality's funeral. The listing noted the repeal's effective date as April 23, but there's a big asterisk attached to it. For the most impactful aspects of the repeal to come into effect, Americans have to wait for one more administrative step. So... it might not happen after all? Yay, I am throwing a party! you say? Then I will be Liz Lemon and say, Shut it down. The next step is merely an administrative procedural step a review by the Office of Management and Budget and then, its time to pull the plug. Rest in peace. Amen. But but but... what was the FCC voting on? The FCC voted on something called the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which concerned the repeal of Title II protection for net neutrality. I said a bunch of things there that might be confusing. Or not, if you too are a student at the John Oliver University. If you are not, let me break it down for you. Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 defines a type of company called a common carrier as, among other things, "any person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio." It explicitly classifies internet service providers (ISPs) as telecommunications companies, meaning theyre essentially classified as utilities and subject to the same regulations that other telecommunication companies also classified as utilities must abide by. That basic regulatory standard is what people are referring to when they talk about net neutrality. Title II was first applied to ISPs in 2015, after a hard-won fight by internet activists. Vox Editorial explains to us that, Placing ISPs under Title II was the only legal way barring the unlikely introduction and passage of Congressional legislation instituting complicated new regulatory procedures in which these companies could be regulated. Now that the FCC has repealed Title II classification for ISPs, the ISPs will essentially be unregulated. In the Obama period Open Internet Era I speak of it like it was some halcyon era from centuries ago; no, it really was just less than two years ago, ayyo! Title II, specifically in one Section 202 said, and I paraphrase here because we are not all lawyers that anyone providing a communication service can't discriminate against, or show favour toward, any of its customers. Now this whole repeal exercise blows that to outer space, leaving room open for ISPs to prioritise access to whichever websites they favour, based on whatever whim they might have to favouring them money, why euphemise it, it is money. But just to play devils advocate, over to Rakesh. But but but... What is the problem if Internet Service Providers are not regulated? Have you even been listening? Deep breath. Let me break it down. ISPs were classified under Title II as utility companies, which meant, they had to treat the internet like every other utility. Just like your gas or water or electricity or phone utilities, they couldnt cut it off at will or determine how much any one person received the internet based on how much they were willing to pay. The simple, elegant idea was that the internet should be a public service that everyone has a right to use. Not a privilege, but a right. And that regulating ISPs like utilities would prevent them from hijacking or monopolising that access. I will play Devils Advocate here, and pose the question that a lot of people who are anti-net neutrality go on to pose: The internet is just another product, and in a free market system, should it not be that competition over who gets to sell you that product will ensure accountability, even if only for the ISP to save its own backside? Now let me take of the Devils Advocate robes and explain to you why that is a problematic way of thinking. As far as the internet is concerned, there really isnt a free and open market. In the States, there is no such thing as real competition among ISPs because it was driven down years ago because of the consolidated nature of the internet broadband infrastructure, which has typically been owned by major corporations, and in the process shut out local ISP competitors. Many people living in the States dont really have much of a choice about which internet service provider they are going to pay to get access, because that access has already been monopolised by a handful of powerful companies. As many as 50 million households in the US, have just one item on the menu as far as dining out on ISPs is concerned. And now with the repeal of Title II, they have free reign to behave like the giant corporate monopolies they are. Where net neutrality ensured the preservation of whats been dubbed the open internet, its repeal will open the door for ISPs to create what CNN has called an internet of the elite. Think of it this way you have a cable company, and based on the plan and how much money you have paid them, you get some channels and you dont get some others. It is so in America too. Just like most of us hate cable companies here in India, so do they, and overwhelmingly so! In the Harris Reputation Quotient poll, cable companies Comcast and Dish Network were not exactly gold medal winners. In fact, they ranked dead last. With ISPs being unregulated, that means, its potentially the same situation when it comes to your favourite websites. Or websites whose content is niche and only a few use. The ISP can turn around and say, Oh you really cant live without websitexyz.com, I see, so from now on, you are going to have to pay for it! Or, Oh, we at this company do not particularly like this website, so you are not going to get henceforth. Oh but you still want it, then pay for it! The bottomline is, just like with cable companies, where only the customer who pays the most gets the most, so it may well become with the internet. Added to that is the larger problem of censorship. My pattern of content consumption, if is found unpalatable by the overlords giving me the gift of the internet, could simply be declared No Longer Available. That sounds pretty bad... What will my American friends internet look like? How rich are your American friends? Thats what might decide what their internet might look like. Like that Baai from Channel [V] rest in peace ISPs in America, unregulated as they are, can finally say Itna paisa mein itnaich milenga. The cable company analogy works perfectly here. For $5, you get WhatsApp and Twitter and Facebook. For $10, you get to add a few extra, and so on, and if you give away the top bucks, YOU GET EVERYTHING! As it is now, that is simply not the case. You have the internet that means you get everything. One of the major reasons why we like some websites over others, as research has shown even in India, is how quickly we can load them and how fast they can buffer content. ISPs now will also be able to control how quickly youre served these pages, how quickly you can download and upload things, and in what contexts you can access which websites, depending on how much money you pay them. Pay 5 bucks, and you get 90s level speeds; pay a hundred, and were in business. Theyll be able to charge you more to access sites you currently visit for free, cap how much data youre allowed to use, redirect you from the website you want to access to another one of their choice because well, they have an agreement (money, I mean) with that other company. Without regulation, they can even block you from being able to access apps, products, and information offered by their competitors or other companies they dont like for whatever reason. They can even block you from being able to access information on certain topics, news events, or issues they dont want you to know about. Think of what a huge problem that is one of the great civilian-led movements of our times was the Arab Spring and much of its success was due to mobilisation of people by way of spreading information about it. USING THE INTERNET! I do not know if I read too much Orwell in my spare time as a child, but I cannot shake of the feeling that all these are ingredients being quietly assembled for a dish they call dystopia. Served very very cold. While these aspects are very concerning and do affect the daily lives of my American friends, what is the bigger picture? What really is at stake here if we take a step back and get a cloud view? Tell me about the bigger picture what is at stake besides not being able to see a website or three? As usual, the worst hit will be women, minorities, people who live in rural areas, and young and small businesses. Without an open internet, people who have been historically marginalised and disenfranchised will continue to be so. Their voices which are already muffled and along the sidelines will be further muted and driven away from the mainstream by larger, richer voices who can pay to have their presence seen and heard. The Hill, once wrote that, Good broadband is a small towns lifeline out of geographic isolation, its connection to business software and services, and its conduit for exporting homegrown ideas and products. Without regulations mandatorily requiring ISPs to develop infrastructure in rural and underserved areas, they simply do not have an incentive to do so. But lets take a step further back and talk about the big ticket items that an average American might not feel the pinch of immediately, but because of whom the country will suffer in the long run: 1. Freedom of the press and in these days of rampant fake news affecting democracy at the very highest levels, I cannot possibly emphasise this enough. If I wanted to start a media house about three decades ago in the US, I could simply not have done it on my own. There were far too many barriers to entry. But with the open internet, anyone can start a news site and publish articles or photos or videos without having to worry about whether people can see them. Sure, that also leads to a glut of websites which carry false information or hateful information or propaganda. But that is freedom of speech at work. I might not like what you are saying, but I will fight till my last breath your right to do so. Now, without net neutrality, ISPs can block or slow down news sites for any reason, be it commercial or ideological. For example, Comcast could block NYTimes.com or slow it to a crawl because the online newspaper published an op-ed in favor of net neutrality or even reported something negative about Comcast. For another example, another news website might have refused to pay Comcast, and so Comcast could prevent it from being accessed by its subscribers. 2. Democracy It is a matter of public record that ISPs contribute significant amounts of money to various political candidates. The Center for Responsive Politics, an independent, non-partisan non-profit research group that tracks money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy, prepared data that were published on The Verge where it is documented that telecommunications providers including the big three that is Comcast, AT&T and Verizon gave as much as 101 million dollars to sitting members of Congress and their leadership PACs, between 1989 and 2017. This isnt alarming per se. Contributions have been made by all sorts of companies. What is alarming is the fact that now in the era of no regulation, ISPs may choose to block or slow down the campaign page of a candidate or party that they are not in favour of over one they are in favour of! Perhaps more insidiously and sinisterly they may choose to block government websites providing information such as polling locations and registration forms. In this way, they can even impact voter turnout. We have all heard of ways in which voter suppression takes place in various parts of America. The demographic data of ISP consumers are available to them, and based on the consumers race, political leanings, gender, sexual orientation etc, it is conceivable that the ISP, in keeping with its own political agenda, may interfere in the process of free and fair elections. 3. Choice and Association Lets say your VOIP of choice has always been Skype. But what if your ISP signs an exclusive deal with Google making Hangouts your only option? Again, I am only referencing what has already happened in the past. In 2009, AT&T blocked iPhones from making Skype calls on its mobile network, but relented under pressure from the FCC. In 2012, the company also blocked Apple FaceTime on the iPhone. This constriction of choice could extend to nearly every aspect of your life from where you buy shoes to what email platform you use to what online university you might want to enrol in to which streaming service you want to use to what kind of hobby group you might want to belong to online. 4. Freedom to start your own business - Back in the day, if you wanted to open a shop in some area, you had to give hafta to the local thug. But what if your shops location is not physical and only digital? What if you are a young and poor company? What then? Thats what we discuss next. With Rakesh. Wont young and poor companies be affected if ISPs turn stepmotherly and prioritise the richer companies out there? Yes, they do! I have already alluded to this before, but ISPs will be able to exert their power not just over individual consumers, but over companies, as well. A term we have been hearing a lot in relation to this is the internet fast lane in which an ISP can force a company to pay more for faster access for readers or users like you and me to its websites and services. Big corporations can afford this. And in fact, some of them already paid the premium it took before the Open Internet Era was ushered in and upheld during the Obama administration. Example? Netflix. During prime time, Netflix traffic accounts for roughly 30 percent of all internet traffic, with YouTube in second place at roughly 20 percent, according to a November 2013 report by Canadian internet-monitoring firm Sandvine. In a landmark decision, Netflix had agreed to pay Comcast to ensure smooth Internet streaming services to Comcast subscribers. That deal already impacted streaming quality for Netflix customers using Comcast, who saw a 65% speed increase between January and April 2014, according to Netflix. Do smaller companies and websites have Netflix-like money to make sure they are prioritised? No. Will they be affected by the lack of net neutrality? A huge yes. We already have a good idea of how these scenarios might play out, because in the era before net neutrality existed, ISPs tried instituting all of them. I do not have the time to mention by name each report, but major news and media houses including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, The Verge, Save The Internet, among many others, have reported instances of jacked-up fees, forced redirection, content-blocking, software-blocking, website-blocking, competitor-blocking, lots of app-blocking, data-capping, and censorship of controversial subjects. That last one censorship of controversial subjects is perhaps the most troubling of all to me, personally. In that instance, Verizon had blocked a Pro-Choice, abortion rights group from sending text messages to its supporters. Sorry, I suddenly had flashbacks of The Handmaids Tale. Like I said earlier, if bandwidth-providers that is the ISPs start acting like bouncers at a club and ask for an access fee just to have websites appear to their customers, you are nipping innovation in the bud, and essentially not letting the next Google or Netflix get off the ground. Real innovation online doesn't come from ISPs, who have been providing consumers with plenty of bandwidth despite net neutrality rules, but from companies that use the internet to deliver information and services. Google and Netflix changed the world because they were able to reach billions of people without paying for an ISP protection racket. Ajit Pai has argued that, because ISPs didn't impose pay-to-play policies prior to the 2015 regulations or the Open Era, they can be counted on to do the right thing now. A, that did not always happen like I have said before. And B, that's like saying that we should close the local health department and fire all its inspectors since none of the restaurants has been caught spreading typhoid lately. If it seems like I am engaging in speculative fiction and making only dire predictions, I am sorry, I do not know how else to put it but all of this has already happened. The reason so many people fought hard for net neutrality was simply because there already existed precedent to tell us about the path a lack of net neutrality leads us down. It all comes from a place of having already been there. All of this has convinced me that Net Neutrality is super essential, but who is actually opposed to it? Its a simple answer: the Internet Service Providers, thats who. It is one of the few bipartisan issues in America where there seems to be consensus. I can only think of love of puppies, sunshine, and pizza to be the other cases. Republican or Democrat; urban or rural; white or black, they all seem to agree that Net Neutrality is a Good Thing. According to Vox, over the last nine years, Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T have collectively spent over half a billion dollars lobbying the FCC to end regulatory oversight, and especially to block or repeal net neutrality. Their efforts found a loyal lackey in the form of Ajit Pai, who had previously worked at Verizon himself. He was an Obama era appointee at the FCC, and was elevated to Chairman by Trump. Apparently he is not DTF Down To Free, open internet, that is. He has a history of not being down with net neutrality. In 2015, he voted against the net neutrality ruling as a minority member of the FCC, and called it a massive intrusion in the internet economy. He has also argued consistently that investment in the internet decreases with net neutrality in effect, and has chosen to ignore the hard evidence presented to the contrary. Since the FCC began the repeal process last May, it has invited comments from the general public a provision that was used to great effect by John Oliver who urged every living creature that uses the internet to go drop a stinker in the Comments section of the FCC. And rise to the occasion they did. Millions of comments later, Pai seems unswayed and unbent, even though he is legally required to seriously consider the voice of the public. Sure, there were spambots producing duplicate comments from fake or stolen identities, and in the zealousness of advocacy groups to somehow have their voices heard, but it turned out to be a bit of a self-goal, as Pai decided these comments would be rejected. The fact though was that of the unique comments received, 99% percent were pro net neutrality and anti repeal, as reported by Ars Technica. In a case of one rotten apple spoiling the cart, the spambots gave Pai the excuse to reject the actual comments that were received. That said, is the nerdy-looking Indian-American lawyer with a coffee muf the size of his face at least going to let ISPs not act as monopolies? You cray, bro? From the looks of it, all of that seems a bit of a fever dream. But one can only hope. Actually no, no hope. There is precedent to prevent you from hoping, or dreaming. Pai is a vocal proponent of letting ISPs self-regulate, and seems perfectly happy to ignore their contentious and often predatory history. Not only that, but the FCC is also actively preventing state consumer protection laws from taking effect regarding net neutrality. That means that once the repeal is final, the rights of states to govern themselves wont apply to protecting net neutrality. Recode though reported that California and Washington each vowed after the vote to try to protect it anyway. This process is underway as we speak, and we will of course let you know how that turns out. More on good old Uncle Pai. In November, he claimed that any kind of regulation stifles innovation. The Obama Era open internet, he said, and I quote, "depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks and deterred innovation" and that, under the no regulation repeal era, "the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet." This is clearly some classic Amar Vichitra Katha, Uncle Pai. Just for confirmation though. Who is FOR it? Include me if that counts! Included, thank you. And the answer is pretty much everyone. And because we like to use facts round here a survey by the University of Marylands Program for Public Consultation and Voice of the People, a non-partisan polling organization, concluded that 83 percent of Americans do not approve of the FCC repeal proposal. Just 16 percent said they approved. Like I said earlier, this is a bipartisan issue 3 out of 4 Republicans are opposed to it too. The FCC cast doubt on the survey results in a statement Tuesday. The Washington Post has reported a couple other surveys too - Paul Brewer, director of the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication, quoted another survey which also showed that solid majorities more than 70 percent were opposed to letting Internet providers charge websites or streaming video services "extra for faster speeds ('fast lanes'). But hang on, shouldnt some website actually be regulated? Like, websites pushing sex trafficking and other terrible things? That is true and there is a provision for that too. And that has been in the news, now that you should ask! Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a 20-year-old communications law is the basis of the free internet as we know it. Originally, Section 230 was intended to shield tech platforms from liability for content posted by their users. It treats internet companies like libraries: A library isnt responsible for the content of the books it carries. But the flipside of it was that it was being used to the benefit of illegal sex trafficking online, including child sex trafficking. The bills that have been recently signed into law called the FOSTA - Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, and the Senate bill, SESTA, the Stop Enabling Sex-Trafficking Act have been hailed by advocates as a victory for sex trafficking victims. There is a rub here. Section 230 is generally thought of as one of the most significant pieces of internet legislation ever created, and has allowed the internet to thrive on user-generated content without holding platforms and ISPs responsible for whatever those users might create. According to Vox, and I quote them here, FOSTA-SESTA creates an exception to Section 230 that means website publishers would be responsible if third parties are found to be posting ads for prostitution including consensual sex work on their platforms. Because of Section 230, courts have a clear foundation for adjudicating free speech on the internet. And, crucially, because of Section 230, website owners and server hosts arent constantly mired in endless lawsuits because someone said something inflammatory on one of their sites. So, yes, we should all aim to prevent content that relates to sex trafficking anywhere but one of the FOSTA-SESTA side effects is that websites are pressured into deleting content, whether or not it has anything to do with sex work. The corollary to FOSTA-SESTA is that there might be further erosion of internet safe harbour protection. It is a double-edged sword and requires much greater discussion, but suffice to say that yes the FOSTA-SESTA Bill may help sex trafficking victims, but also perhaps inadvertently, perhaps not poses a huge question on the concept of free speech on the internet and the responsibility of content hosting platforms to vigilantly self-censor lest they exposed to expensive law suits, or worse, a complete ban. What next now? Supporters of Net neutrality have filed lawsuits to get back to the 2015 rules. Many tech companies, including Vimeo, Mozilla, Kickstarter, Foursquare and Etsy, in addition to several state attorneys general, have launched lawsuits against the FCC to preserve net neutrality rules. They believe that the FCCs decision to change the classification of broadband and to get rid of the rules violates the Administrative Procedure Act, calling it "arbitrary and capricious." CNET has reported that, States are also taking matters into their own hands. More than two dozen states, including California, New York, Connecticut and Maryland, are considering legislation to reinstate net neutrality rules within their borders. Earlier this year, Washington became the first state to sign such legislation into law. Governors in several states, including New Jersey and Montana, have signed executive orders requiring ISPs that do business with the state to adhere to net neutrality principles. Is Republican-led Congress likely to intervene and change things? Probably not. CNN reported that, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee and chair of the House Communications and Technology subcommittee, has proposed a bill that prohibits internet providers from blocking and throttling content but doesn't address whether ISPs can create fast lanes of traffic for sites willing to pay. She likened the fast lane policy that is buying in to have your website appear faster and everywhere to signing up for a TSA precheck at airports, suggesting it was a matter of convenience. But unfortunately, its young companies with no money, at stake here, and they cannot all afford to pay in to be on the fast lane. Can a Democrat-led FCC change things if Trump is ousted come 2020? Possibly, but they will have to go through the same rule-making process. But this Tughlaq-style flipflopping from one set of rules is not good for anyone most of all, the consumer. Where does India fit into all of this? Well find out. Over to Rakesh. Okay this is all great but I live in India, and how does this affect me? As of now, not in any significant way. But. India isnt alien to the subject of net neutrality. In 2015, Facebook launched a service called Free Basics, which later became Internet.org, aimed at providing free Internet services to those who could not afford data costs. But the move ran into opposition with stand-up comedy group All India Bakchod, coming out with three videos discussing the subject of net neutrality, and specifically targeting the Facebook initiative. The video went viral, with the resultant outpouring, forcing the TRAI to act, and with the help of policy thinktanks like Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in Delhi, the telecom regulator drafted guidelines to ban the service. Phew. That was long. But great events call for long podcasts. Its the future of the internet, for Gods sake! Sure. This is what is happening in America. But we in India have a terrible habit of emulating America. And unless we fight to prevent it from happening, this could well be mine and your tomorrow. Can you imagine a world without the internet? I cannot. Can you imagine a world where you have internet but only a limited range of options determined suitable for you by someone else? I suppose I can, but I sure as hell do not want to. Amid heightening sensitivity over a series of gun violence incidents in the US, Microsoft on Thursday announced that it was changing the gun emoji, replacing with a water pistol following Google and Facebook. We are in the process of evolving our emojis to reflect our values and the feedback weve received. Heres a preview: pic.twitter.com/BlB3yYTSht Microsoft (@Microsoft) April 25, 2018 Microsoft on Twitter posted a preview of the emoji and wrote: We are in the process of evolving our emojis to reflect our values and the feedback weve received. The company plans to bring this emoji in the next Windows 10 update later this year. The recent update did not incorporate any change in the emoji. Google and Facebook, earlier on Thursday, also ditched the gun emoji it offered to adopt the water pistol emoji. Apple, WhatsApp, Samsung, and Twitter have already replaced their gun emoji with variations of the water pistols in recent years. This left only Microsoft among major technology giant to not have made any changes. In the recent months, after a series of massive shootings in schools as well as public places in the US, the debate over gun violence has intensified. Hundreds of thousands of students in the US marched in the capital city last month to protest against the spate of shootings and demanded a change in lax gun laws of the country. (File image: Reuters) According to government data, on an average at least 29 people aged below 18 years die daily in road accidents and most of them are school going children, reports The Times of India. On April 26, 13 children died after a train rammed into their van at an unmanned railway crossing in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. This is the second major accident in the past month in the country. On April 10, at least 30 people, including 27 school children, were killed after a private bus skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Nurpur area of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. According to data from 2016, Haryana was the state with the highest number of fatalities at 1,452, followed by UP where 1,393 people below 18 years died in road accidents. Around 69,851 people aged between 18 and 35 years were killed in in road mishaps, while 1,03,409 people between 18 and 45 died and 1,25,583 between 18 and 60 lost their lives in fatal accidents. Based on police data, the most worrying factor that was responsible for road accidents (84 percent) was human error (fault of drivers). Around 4,976 lives were lost as errant drivers were on their mobile phones leading to accidents. Accidents are one of the top four causes of death among people between 15 and 49 years of age. The total number of road accidents reported in 2016 stood at 4,80,652 causing injuries to 4,94,624 people and claiming 1,50,785 lives across the country. This would translate, on average to 1,317 accidents and 413 accident deaths taking place daily; or 55 accidents and 17 deaths every hour. Tamil Nadu topped the number of road accidents in the entire country with a percentage share of 14.9 percent, followed by Madhya Pradesh (11.2 percent) and Karnataka (9.2 percent). Humanity is going urban. Today, more people live in urban areas than ever before, with a whopping 54.293% of the worlds population being concentrated in cities. While this has a number of economic benefits, the mass rural-urban migration has created challenges in terms of resources being spread too thin, and deepened the divide between the rich and the poor. Its no surprise, then, that more and more countries are working towards creating Smart Cities that leverage internet and communication technologies to elevate the quality of residents lives and further economic growth. And as with everything smart, the one thing that has played an integral role in the development of these cities is technology. While the impact of innovations like smartphones and the internet is widely known, up-and-coming developments like blockchain, artificial intelligence and augmented reality are playing key roles in shaping Smart Cities, and heres how: Even the most well-planned cities and countries can crumble if they arent backed by good governance, which, in an increasingly digital world, is synonymous with e-governance. The benefits of e-governance are perhaps best illustrated in the case of Turkey, where the social assistance platform is used by 16 public institutions and has been found to save time and resources, in addition to boosting transparency and accountability. Too many people lose out on access to high quality healthcare because of geographical distance. Fortunately, the advent of mHealth is bringing people virtually closer to top-notch practitioners and facilities at the click of a button. Healthcare helplines, e-diagnostics, mobile applications that bring medication and practitioners to a patients doorstep, and medical records stored on the cloud are some of the innovations revolutionising healthcare. Education is one of the tenets of a Smart City, and technology is revolutionising the way people learn. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have made lessons and professors from the worlds leading universities available to anyone with an internet connection. And thats not all. Their voluntary nature means MOOCs help people develop and hone skills beyond what conventional education has afforded them, fostering a culture of lifelong learning. So far, governments have rightfully kept data about their citizens closely guarded. And while individuals security and privacy are of the utmost importance, open data initiatives are gaining popularity across the globe. Not only do they increase transparency in the functioning of a government, but innovators and academics can also learn from this data and use it to improve operations in their city. The first thing that springs to mind when people talk about the role of drones in a Smart City is security. While that is invaluable, the applications of aerial surveillance technology are much more far-reaching. Most notably, the West Central Railways in India recently deployed drones to inspect rail track conditions and alert them when maintenance is required. In the future, drones are also going to be used to conduct inspections, monitor projects and run rescue operations, among much more. Big data is the backbone of a Smart City. But big data means big storage. Fortunately, the cloud offers the ideal solution for big data storage, without compromising on computing speeds. It also saves organisations the cost of computers and servers that would otherwise be required just to store and process the data, and ensures maximum collaboration and connectivity between different organisations. Increased connectivity has plenty of benefits, but it also poses a threat to users data security and privacy. This makes it imperative for cities to incorporate blockchain technology into their operations. A secure, decentralised mechanism, blockchain is also a powerful ledgering tool, which can be used in conjunction with artificial intelligence to ensure constant improvements to a Smart City. Devices collect and generate a wealth of data, some of which loses significance in the time it takes to filter and communicate it. The solution? The Internet of Things (IoT), through which connected technologies communicate with each other without any human intervention. Currently, some of its most groundbreaking uses are seen in the manufacturing sector. However, IoT can also be used to monitor and reduce energy usage, prevent traffic jams, and track the structural health of buildings. Infrastructure forms the literal groundwork of a Smart City. Despite this, the pace and safety of city planning and construction leave something to be desired. Augmented reality, which superimposes media in the physical world, can help make construction faster, safer and more efficient by increasing the safety of workers and the accuracy of city plans. All the technologies and innovations listed above finally culminate in Big Data, the real value of which lies in its analysis. When used right, big data can help predict disease outbreaks, prevent accidents, increase efficiency and reduce traffic congestion. A Smart City generates a volume of data that is, at times, too large to be pored over by humans. This is why some of big datas most revolutionary applications are in conjunction with artificial intelligence and machine learning, which analyse data and flag up any patterns and abnormalities in it. The Road Ahead In the end, for the technology to be able to do its part in creating Smart Cities, it is integral for these innovations to be uniform, interoperable and inclusive. None of this would be possible if it wasnt for a set of standards and regulations developed specifically with the information technology (IT) sector in mind. Too many times, it is differing standards that pose the biggest hindrance. Fortunately, the Bureau of Standards (BIS), Indias national standards body, works closely with lawmakers, consumers and industry experts to formulate IT standards that ensure consumers data security and privacy, while ensuring the best customer experience possible. In fact, BIS is in the process of preparing national standards that will serve as a Unified, Secure & Resilient ICT Backbone for Smart Cities. These standards, if implemented in Indian Smart Cities, shall enable the optimisation of information & communication technology infrastructure. Additionally, they will help bring down the total cost of ownership, in terms of capital and recurring expenditure, in the upcoming Smart Cities. U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives to deliver his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool - HP1EE1V06J5S3 US President Donald Trump today hailed the "historic" summit between the two Koreas, saying that "good things" are happening on the peninsula ahead of his own highly anticipated meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong Un. "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump wrote on Twitter. "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" he tweeted. Kim met today with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the pair agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearization of their divided peninsula. An armistice brought the fighting on the Korean peninsula to an end in 1953, but 65 years later, a final peace agreement has still not been reached. The US president also praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's efforts on North Korea, calling them a "great help." "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" he tweeted. Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish the North over its nuclear and missile tests. China has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the crisis. While Trump praised progress on North Korea, he also struck a somewhat cautious tone, writing that: "Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" Trump said yesterday that three or four dates were under consideration for his meeting with Kim, which he has previously said could take place by early June. The summit between the two Koreas -- only the third since 1953 -- was the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy. But the two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both of them in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught. Last year, Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war. Moon seized on the South's Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim would serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal. Sign of Ford is pictured at a car dealership in Mexico City Ford Motor Co outlined a plan to cut costs and boost profit margins at a faster pace than previously announced, which includes dropping traditional sedan models in North America that have become increasingly unpopular with consumers. The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it now plans to cut $25.5 billion in costs by 2022, up from $14 billion in cuts it announced last fall. Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett told investors the company is undergoing "a profound refocus" of its operations and may exit unprofitable businesses. Ford said it expects pretax profit margins of 8 percent globally and 10 percent in North America by 2020, ahead of a previous target of 2022. Responding to a shift in consumer demand to SUVs and pickup trucks, Ford said it planned to trim its North American car portfolio to just two models: the sporty Mustang, which debuted 50 years ago this month, and a new compact crossover called Focus Active starting in 2019. Ford "will not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America," including the midsize Fusion and full-size Taurus, the company said. In March, Ford executives unveiled ambitious plans to shift the struggling automaker's product portfolio from passenger cars to SUVs, add more hybrid and pure electric vehicles, and reduce development and manufacturing costs - aimed at boosting profits and the automaker's share price. The lion's share of the automaker's quarterly profit was driven by high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs in North America. Europe was the only other region to turn a profit for Ford. The company's loss in its Asia Pacific region was driven by slumping sales in China, where Ford has just begun to introduce new models. People hold the Korean unification flag during the inter-Korean summit, near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea. (Image: Reuters) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. (Image: Reuters) Moon and Kim attend a welcome ceremony in Panmunjom, South Korea. (Image: Reuters) Supporters hold South Korean flags and signs while waiting for a convoy transporting South Korean President Moon Jae-in to leave the Presidential Blue House for the inter-Korean summit, in Seoul, South Korea. (Image: Reuters) Moon and Kim arrive at the Peace House in South Korea. (Image: Reuters) Moon attends a welcome ceremony with Kim. (Image: Reuters) Kim along with his sister Kim Yo-jong attend a meeting with Moon (not pictured) at the Peace House. (Image: Reuters) Kim talks during a meeting with Moon at the Peace House. (Image: Reuters) Moon talks with during the meeting with Kim at the Peace House. (Image: Reuters) Moon and Kim along with others holding talks. (Image: Reuters) COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - JULY 10: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his meeting with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen at the PM's Office on July 10, 2017 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two heads of state discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and how Japan and Denmark could enhance their strategic partnership further. The Japanese PM said during their joint press conference that North Korea undermines the international order seriously. (Photo by Ole Jensen - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed a historic summit between the two Koreas today, urging Pyongyang to take "concrete action" on the peninsula's denuclearisation and other issues. "Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un held earnest discussions about North Korea's denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the airport in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Reuters) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is greeted by Chinese officials as he arrives at the airport in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Reuters) Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting, in Wuhan, China on Friday. (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting, in Wuhan, China on Friday. (PTI) The two leaders are holding delegation level talks. (File photo: Reuters) We (India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40% of the world population, this means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us: PM Modi. (File photo: Reuters) I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: PM Modi (File Photo) The United States Senate today urged China to respect the human rights and religious freedom of the people of Tibet. A resolution in this regard was passed by the US Senate, which among other issues, addresses the right of the Tibetan Buddhists to determine their own leadership, including the future 15th Dalai Lama, without any interference from the Chinese government. The resolution was introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. "We stand by the Tibetan people, who have long been our unwavering friends," Senator Leahy said. "We also stand by the rights of Tibetan Buddhists, not just in Tibet but around the world, who should be able to determine their own religious leadership in accordance with their inalienable right to religious freedom," he said. The US Senate unanimously affirmed its support for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination and protection of their distinct identity. It said the Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders should be determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist community. The Senate also commemorated the 59th anniversary of Tibet's 1959 uprising against the Chinese rule as "Tibetan Rights Day", and called on the US Secretary of State to implement fully the provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002. Congressmen Jim McGovern and Randy Hultgren have introduced a companion resolution in the House of Representatives. U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives to deliver his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool - HP1EE1V06J5S3 The United States will no longer turn a blind eye to the theft of American jobs, wealth and the intellectual property, President Donald Trump has said. Trump also proclaimed April 26 as the World Intellectual Property Day, 2018. Trump said yesterday that intellectual property theft is estimated to cost the economy as much as USD 600 billion a year. "Our country will no longer turn a blind eye to the theft of American jobs, wealth, and intellectual property through the unfair and unscrupulous economic practices of some foreign actors. These practices are harmful not only to our Nation's businesses and workers but to our national security as well, Trump said. "To protect our economic and national security, I have directed Federal agencies to aggressively respond to the theft of American intellectual property. In combatting this intellectual property theft, and in enforcing fair and reciprocal trade policy, we will protect American jobs and promote global innovation," he said. The United States continues to demand the protection of intellectual property rights abroad, he said adding that his Administration will also take steps to strengthen the patent system at home. Do you like being ripped off? I didnt think so. But thats exactly what the big banks of Australia are being accused of. The banks reputations are in tatters, but will that be all the punishment they receive? And what will it mean for their shareholders? The Banking Royal Commission has uncovered some of the biggest deceptions undertaken by the banks and now AMP. And the deception of the big banks and AMP was far deeper than first imagined. Customers have told the royal commission, as reported by the ABC, that a financial advice firm impersonated a customer to access her superannuation fund. AMP charged customers in whats been dubbed fee-for-no-service financial advice. And they even got past ASIC to do it! The big four banks have handed out inappropriate loans so that their employees could reach the incentives promised for hitting their targets. Customers who had passed away were still being charged by some of the banks. Fraud claims sometimes took five years to refund to customers. The banks have been found out to have misled customers regarding financial advice. Some have even lost all their superannuation savings. The fraud and deception has been endless, it seems. Theres been a lot of uproar by the media, pollies and Australians alike. As more and more revelations come out about just how bad the financial industrys behaviour has been, minds are turning to what punishment there should be for these institutions. Journalists and financial commenters have increasingly called for harsh punishments this week, particularly at the big end of institutions. And while the words jail time have been thrown around, Australian Shareholders Association CEO Judith Fox doesnt believe thatll happen. We just dont see people going to jail, she said. Just another slap on the wrist In the past, situations such as the one the banks now find themselves in have been dealt with by departures, small fines, and a loss in reputation. As Ms Fox states: The philosophy out there in the marketplace with regard to white collar crime in Australia is the bigger you are the safer you are. There is a positive to come out of the royal commission, though. Well, the timing of it anyway. According to Peter Morgan, a former fund manager: One positive from the royal commission is its occurring before an asset price collapse So financial institutions are in a strong enough position to make the necessary profound changes. Some bank leaders seem prepared to take on ownership of their wrongdoing, such as NAB chairman Ken Henry states: There is something real here for which we have to take responsibility. There are instances of poor conduct, poor treatment of customers and these are matters for which we have to hold ourselves accountable. But simply stating you need to take responsibility for your actions isnt enough. As Ms Fox states: so far what weve seen coming out of the commission it certainly looks like some of the financial services sector have set up parts of their business to be ripping people off. If youve been keeping up with the stock market throughout the royal commission, you would have noticed that when one of the banks or AMP was on the stand and the revelations of their wrongdoings seeped out, their stocks began to fall. No surprise, really. The banks and AMPs leadership may have initially believed that there might be only minor consequences. It remains to be seen how much punishment will fall directly on their heads. But for now, shareholders are those suffering the most for their actions. Thats leading to shareholders putting pressure on their boards and rightly so. Its not a small segment of society, either. Thanks to our superannuation system, most Australians are shareholders. And with the big four banks making up such a massive portion of our market, the proportion of Australians with an interest in our financial industry is among the largest in the world. The question is who will suffer the most for the financial industrys sins? The individual advisors who broke the rules? The leaders who are accused of encouraging them, and turning a blind eye? Or simple shareholders like you and I? If youre concerned about the big banks and what they may mean for your money or you just want to find out more about how you could protect yourself during market volatility, then check out Vern Gowdies The Gowdie Letter here. This week in Money Morning In Mondays Money Morning, Harje opened up the week with the seventh day of the Extreme Small-Cap Profits email course. He discussed the importance of cash flow for a business. And while cash flow is important for all companies, that includes blue chip companies, it is extremely important for small-caps. Harje explains the benefits of investing in debt-free small-caps, however there is a case for small-caps with debt, just not too much. To find out more, go here. In Tuesdays Money Morning, Harje focused on the timing of selling your small-cap stocks. While it is important to know when to buy in to small-cap stocks, its also important to know when to sell. There are many factors to consider once youve bought the stock. Buying the stock doesnt mean your job is done. Once bought, you have to also decide when you should sell, as you dont want to limit your potential gains, or increase your losses. To find out more, go here. In Wednesdays Money Morning, were now on to day nine of Harjes Extreme Small-Cap Profits email series. Here, Harje turned towards the economy and how it may impact your stocks. And it all has to do with a strong economy versus a declining economy. When the economys up: its a good time for small-cap investors. When the economys down: it usually has the opposite effect. To find out more, click here. In Thursdays Money Morning, Harje continued his series on small-cap stocks. Harje delved into two small-cap stocks. And while he didnt give much away regarding the financial, industry and potentials of these stocks, he did what he could to prove the legitimacy of investing in small-caps. If you would like to find out the stocks he discussed, and more about what tool you need to become a small-cap investor, go here. In Fridays Money Morning, Harje was on to day 11 of his email course. Here, he discussed the value of having money. How to get to a point where you are able to look after yourself and your family comfortably. And it has everything to do with the share market. In the second last day of his email course, Harje explains where he believes you should be investing your money, and the nation in which you could invest. To find out more, go here. Kind Regards, Alana Sumic, Editor, Money Weekend The risk of a housing market downturn over the next 12 months remains low but the probability has slightly increased because of volatility introduced by the recently implemented stress test for uninsured mortgage, according to a recent report by RBC Economic Research. In particular, the research group said the volatility has eroded the near-term risk profile of major markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. But none of these appear in danger of an imminent downturn. RBC Economics said the Toronto market is healthier now compared to a year ago, when it was clearly overheated. The market there is now balanced and still well-supported by economic and demographic fundamentals, and there are few signs of overbuilding. Heres a critical disconnect: In 2017, there were roughly 7.5 million Hispanic homeowners in the U.S., up 167,000 over 2016, according to the most recent State of Hispanic Homeownership Report. Hispanic households are expected to buy another 6 million homes by 2024, yet the vast majority of real estate professionals are white Baby Boomers with little connection to this burgeoning market. Its important to point out that this isnt a niche; this is where the majority of the growth will come from, said Gary Acosta, co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. It needs to be addressed not just because its the right thing to do but because its where the market is going. Hispanic buyers are particularly prominent among the millennial generation those born from 1982 to 2004. Roughly half of the countrys 51 million Hispanics fall into the millennial age group. Minorities make up more than 50% of the millennial population in 10 states, including Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and New Jersey, according to a recent report from Brookings. Midland High Schools STE(A)M Project creates art from donated canned food Midland High engineering students were tasked with a project that will require a creative solution to a real-world problem. The Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Art and Science project given was to create art using 20,000 donated cans for the West Texas Food Banks CANtribute event. With local architects, and contractors as consultants, the 24 students are the project managers. We love this partnership and collaboration with the West Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Libby Campbell, WTFB executive director said. The fact that cans of food are used as a tool for students to learn and then donated are to feed hungry Texans, makes it even more special. Cooper Construction, the West Texas American Institute of Architects and Parkhill Smith and Cooper will provide time and the 20,000 cans. The students will create their artwork from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Midland Park Mall in front of JCPenneys. Donation barrels will be present for those wishing to donate canned food products. The constructed piece will be on display through May 11. Apache collaborates with Keep Midland Beautiful in tree-planting celebration In collaboration with Keep Midland Beautiful TreeKeepers, Apache Corp. will host a tree-planting on Saturday at Windlands Park, 1001 W. Dengar Ave. In the inaugural Trees for Tots program, one tree will be donated in honor of each child born to or adopted by an Apache employee in 2017. Apache will donate 19 trees to be planted at the Windlands Park Pavilion by employees and TreeKeepers. Halliburton clay shoot to benefit West Texas Food Bank The Halliburton Gunsmoke Benefit Shoot, set for May 4, will benefit the West Texas Food Banks Food 2 Kids program. The event at Jakes Clays will include one flight of sporting clays, lunch and a drawing. Entry fee is $300 per shooter. We hope to see a great turnout at the shoot so we can help the West Texas Food Bank provide as many meals as possible to children most in need, Chris Gatjanis, southern region vice president of the Permian Basin for Halliburton, said in a press release. Were proud to support the food bank and commend their ongoing efforts to help our local community. Food 2 Kids program provides nutritious and easy-to-prepare food so children get enough to eat on the weekends. The Halliburton Gunsmoke Benefit Shoot will begin at 9 a.m. May 4 at Jakes Clays, 13301 Farm-to-Market Road 1379. For more information or to sign up, email yuri.garcia@halliburton.com. Hillcrest School event to kick off PBS reading series Basin PBS will preview The Great American Read, an eight-part series that explores books and the power of reading through the 100 best-loved books chosen by the public. The event is 6:30 p.m. May 22 at Hillcrest. The Midland County Public Library bookmobile and food trucks will be onsite. RSVPs encouraged by visiting eventbrite.com and searching Basin PBS. The Great American Read culminates in the first national vote to choose Americas Best-Loved Book. The show is multi-platform with both a digital and social media campaign. For a list of the 100 books, go to pbs.org/the-great-american-read/home. Be mindful of your utterances, emulate ... Power outage in accident area View Photos Update at 1 p.m.: PG&E has pushed back the repair time for 189 customers without lights due to a Big Rig rollover on Highway 49 in the Montezuma area. The roadway has been shut down since just before 10 a.m. between Highway 108 to Simms Road. Further details on the crash are below. Update at noon: PG&E is now reporting an electrical outage in the Montezuma area impacting 189 customers related to the Big Rig versus power pole accident. The company gives a 3 p.m. estimated restoration time. Additional information on the crash is below. Update at 11 a.m.: The CHP relays that all activity at the Big Rig crash on Highway 49 has been halted by a PG&E crew on the scene citing an energized and leaning power pole. Officers are also reporting that a small amount of diesel fuel has spilled on the roadway but it has been contained with an absorbent material. Further details on the accident can be found below. Update at 10:40 a.m.: The CHP reports officer have shutdown Highway 49 from Highway 108 to Simms Road in the Montezuma Junction area. Officers are diverting traffic on 108 and 120 in Chinese Camp around the overturned semi versus power pole crash. A PG&E crew is headed to the scene. There is no estimated time given by the CHP for when the roadway will reopen. Further details on the wreck are below. Original post at 10:29 a.m.: Chinese Camp, CA Emergency crews are on the scene of a overturned Big Rig that crashed into a power pole on Highway 49 at Simms Road in the Montezuma Junction area. The CHP reports the semi was hauling logs and the wreckage along with a guide wire is across the roadway blocking traffic. Officer are turning motorists around back up to Highway 108 and 120 as 49 is closed from Simms Road to Highway 120 in the Chinese Camp area. The truck driver is out of the vehicle, according to the CHP, but there are no details regarding injuries. We will bring you more details as soon as they come into the newsroom. loading map - please wait... Map could not be loaded - please enable Javascript! more information Mother Lode Round-Up Parade Logistics 2018 View Photos Sonora, CA It appears the City of Sonora is clearly assuming that Coyote Sam and his band of misfits continue to bat zero in their efforts to quash the Mother Lode Round-Up. Today, city officials released logistics details for the annual grand parade through downtown, an event that is expected to draw thousands of locals and visitors into downtown Sonora on Saturday, May 12. It is a highlight of what will be the Mother Lode Round-Ups 61st year; as the attraction is a popular all-ages one, safety is paramount, according to local police, who point out that glass alcoholic beverage containers will be banned from all streets, sidewalks and other public areas. Additionally, folks planning to drive in and around Sonora will need to plan ahead in other to successfully navigate parking zones and detours around planned major street closures. While detour signs will be posted ahead of time, the city has released an infographic (you can view it in the image box) illustrating logistics details. Key Parade-goer, Detour Details Those planning on attending the parade are encouraged to arrive before 9 a.m. to find parking and get settled. Access for participant drop-off will be South Washington Street, south of Restano Way. No access will be allowed from Mono Way after 8:30 a.m., according to local police and there will be absolutely no stopping and unloading from Mono Way once controls are in place. Motorists traveling eastbound on Stockton Road will be detoured at Forest Road. Those who continue onto Stockton Road will be turned around prior to the Green Street intersection. Police officials say that large tractor-trailer type vehicles who reach this point will be may have to remain parked until the conclusion of the parade. Motorists can expect heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic at the parades conclusion and are asked to be patient and use extreme caution when traveling in the area. Street Closures, No Parking Zones South Washington Street between Restano Way and Highway 108 will close at 8 a.m. North Washington Street at Snell/Elkin to South Washington Street at Restano Way will close at 9:30 a.m., as will all side streets between Stewart and Green streets and portion of Snell and School streets Vehicle traffic seeking access to Stockton Road will need to use Highway 108 and westbound Mono Way traffic will be detoured onto Stewart Street at Restano Way Residents living in the areas of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Nevada and Oregon streets will be allowed access to their neighborhood from the Highway 108 at South Washington Street closure NO parking will be allowed on Washington Street from Elkin Street to Toby Street, between 5 a.m. and the end of the parade. All side Streets between Green and Stewart streets will be NO parking zones along with School and Wykoff streets and portions of Snell Street These NO parking restrictions also apply to Stockton Road between Washington Street at 70 W. Stockton Road (Cazadora Restaurant) Note: Special signs have been posted for these no parking zones and any vehicles parked in these will be towed. For more information call Sonora Police at 532-8141. For details and to follow everything related to this years Mother Lode Round-Up, click here. Two men were arrested and charged with accessory to murder Wednesday for allegedly helping their friend dump his car after he fatally stabbed a 19-year-old man in Sebastopol before fleeing, authorities said. Joshua Cassidy, 21, and Shyzaha Thorpe, 20, both of Santa Rosa, were taken into custody and booked into Sonoma County Jail, where they are being held without bail. Sebastopol police initially reported that a fight broke out Saturday afternoon after a house party, where Anthony Ibach, 18, allegedly stabbed 19-year-old Cory Vaughn to death before fleeing the scene in his burgundy BMW sedan. Officers responded to reports of the stabbing at a parking lot on Bodega Avenue near West Hills Circle, near the house party, around 12:30 p.m. A witness was performing CPR on Vaughn when officers arrived, but he was declared dead at the scene, police said. Investigators asked for the publics help in finding the BMW, and since that time they learned Ibach drove it to Cassidys home on the 1500 block of Ludwig Avenue in Santa Rosa. Cassidy and Thorpe then drove Ibach to another friends home in San Rafael using Thorpes car, police said, leaving the BMW at Cassidys house. The two later realized their friend was a murder suspect after seeing his name in news reports about the stabbing, authorities said. The next day, they reportedly drove back to Cassidys house and moved the BMW to Yuba Drive, where it was abandoned. A person who saw the vehicle description shared on police social media accounts told police that he had seen the car in west Santa Rosa, authorities said. Police said a search of the vehicle and Cassidys home turned up evidence connected to the stabbing. Cassidy and Thorpe are scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @anniema15 Stockton's reformed "hot felon" Jeremy Meeks, 33, made his New York Fashion Week debut Monday night almost a year after being released from prison. Meeks was arrested in 2014, and convicted of possessing an illegal firearm in 2015. Although he was sentenced to spend 27 months in prison, he was granted early release after serving about 12 months. Upon his release, he promptly signed to White Cross Management as a model. Before Fiesta royalty started showing their shoes down Broadway this weekend, San Antonians flaunted their shoebox floats on social media. Creating tiny parade floats to mimic the Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau parades is a longstanding tradition for schools and companies across San Antonio. Families bond over designing the perfect miniature vehicle and bringing their themes to life. A River Walk restaurant caught a city health inspector's attention for its unsightly kitchen conditions, including ice water from broccoli spilling onto open containers of food and an employee handling ready-to-eat lettuce with their bare hands, according to reports. Saltgrass Steak House was among the lowest-scoring of the 21 establishments that made this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in San Antonio. There, an inspector also noticed the reach-in cooler was not holding a cold enough temperature, and prepared foods and dressings were without expiration date labels. Other restaurants on the list included Cured, named one of the Top 10 eateries in the city by the San Antonio Express-News, and The Dominion Country Club. SEE LAST WEEK'S VIOLATIONS: San Antonio restaurant inspections: April 20, 2018 To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below or anything less than an "A" during a random city health inspection. At Market Square, La Margarita landed in hot water after an inspector observed "evidence of roaches" above the handwashing sink. At Jacala Restaurant on West Avenue, an employee was seen handling raw chicken with gloves and then touching a container of ready-to-eat cheese while still wearing the same gloves. The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below. Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division. See the other eateries that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in the slideshow above. Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and establishments are surveyed at random. erobinson@mysa.com | Twitter: @eeelizzzabeth 1 Editor fired: An editor at The Daily Camera who published a critical editorial about the newspapers hedge fund owners without the publishers permission has been fired. Dave Krieger tweeted this week that he has been fired, though he didnt say why. The editorial page editor of the Boulder, Colo., newspaper posted the piece on a blog April 14. It criticized cuts made by Alden Global Capital. Alden owns a controlling interest in Digital First Media, which owns numerous newspapers including The Denver Post, The Camera, the Mercury News of San Jose and the East Bay Times. The Post recently published an editorial headlined As vultures circle, The Denver Post must be saved, calling for the paper to be sold. 2 Brokaw accused: A woman who worked as a war correspondent for NBC News said Tom Brokaw groped her, twice tried to forcibly kiss her and made inappropriate overtures attempting to have an affair, according to two reports published Thursday. Linda Vester told Variety and the Washington Post that the misbehavior from the longtime news anchor at the network took place in NBC offices in Denver and New York in the 1990s, when she was in her 20s. Brokaw, who is 78, denied doing anything inappropriate. Another woman, who was not identified, made similar claims about Brokaw to the Post. WASHINGTON - The Senate Ethics Committee said Thursday that Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who avoided conviction in a federal corruption trial last year, violated federal law and Senate rules in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally. In a four-page "letter of admonition," the panel's three Republicans and three Democrats ordered Menendez to pay back the gifts he received from Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, and said he is "hereby severely admonished." "Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public's confidence in the Senate," the letter reads. "As such, your actions reflected discredit upon the Senate." The Ethics Committee findings complete a winding, six-year saga in which the New Jersey senator was accused of corrupt dealings to benefit a political donor, Melgen, only to see his prosecution end in a mistrial in November after 10 weeks in court. As long as Menendez repays the gifts, he is unlikely to face further official sanctions. But the stern reprimand stands to cloud his pending campaign for a third Senate term, though he retains an advantage as a Democratic incumbent in a liberal-leaning state. Republicans pounced immediately on the findings. His likely GOP opponent called on Menendez to resign, and a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee called him "a crook and an embarrassment." Marc Elias, a lawyer representing Menendez, said Thursday that the letter contained findings that were "contradicted by the presiding judge and rejected by the jury" and said the trial "clearly demonstrated there was no violation of any law." "With the Ethics Committee process now concluded, Sen. Menendez looks forward to continuing to serve the people of New Jersey," Elias added. After the mistrial, most jurors told reporters that they believed Menendez had not committed the crimes federal prosecutors alleged and a grand jury had charged him with. On Jan. 31, a judge dismissed all charges against Menendez after prosecutors decided not to pursue a second trial. According to the Ethics Committee letter, the panel relied heavily on the evidence and testimony presented at Menendez's trial, which the panel said it "did not need to independently duplicate." It was not immediately clear how much Menendez might have to repay. In 2013, after media reports detailing gifts he had taken from Melgen, he repaid Melgen $58,500 for a pair of 2010 trips aboard Melgen's private plane - an expenditure that, according to personal financial disclosures, cut deeply into Menendez's modest personal wealth. But prosecutors detailed more than a dozen flights on private jets paid for by Melgen, and other significant gifts, including use of Melgen's Caribbean villa, a Paris hotel stay and golf outings. The Paris stay, paid for with Melgen's American Express rewards points, is alone valued at nearly $5,000. Their indictment also characterizes as a gift $40,000 in donations that Melgen and members of his family made to a Menendez legal defense fund in 2011 and 2012. Tricia Enright, a Menendez spokeswoman, said the senator made an additional repayment of $46,975 in 2014 to cover other gifts and separately repaid the hotel bill. Elias said that after Menendez made the initial repayments, Menendez "halted further remedial action" at the Ethics Committee's request, including updating his financial disclosure forms. Since prosecutors abandoned their case, Menendez has moved to reassert his place in the Senate, taking back the ranking Democrat post on the Foreign Relations Committee that he temporarily vacated during his prosecution. As the most senior senator of Latino heritage, he has also reemerged as a strong advocate for immigration reform, including protections for the young immigrants covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Before Thursday's letter, Menendez appeared to be well-positioned in his race against a relatively unknown Republican challenger, pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin. A Quinnipiac University poll published last month gave Menendez a 17-point lead and found that fewer than 40 percent of voters believed he had engaged in "serious wrongdoing" in office. Federal prosecutors, after media reports of Menendez's actions to help Melgen settle business disputes with the federal government, secured indictments on 14 charges, including bribery. They alleged Menendez used his office to help Melgen after the doctor gave gifts to Menendez, including the private-jet flights and stays at Melgen's Dominican Republic villa. Melgen also gave campaign donations that were funneled to Menendez's 2012 campaign. But in court, Menendez successfully argued that there was no illegal quid pro quo, that Melgen was a bona fide friend and that the gifts he received and the favors he did for him were unconnected. The panel concluded that Menendez's efforts to aid Melgen "went well beyond Senate norms" - including arranging a 2012 meeting with then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The letter also singled out the private-jet flights for particular scrutiny, noting that Menendez - just days after joining the Senate - voted for legislation requiring senators to pay fair-market value for any private-plane travel. While it is rare for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate a sitting senator, it has broad power to investigate lawmakers' conduct, both while in office and beforehand, and it has taken serious action on several occasions. Since the committee's establishment in 1964, it has twice recommended that senators be expelled from the body: Sen. Harrison Williams, D-N.J., in 1982 after he was convicted on corruption charges; and Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., in 1995 after a lengthy investigation found evidence of rampant sexual misconduct. Both senators resigned before the Senate could vote on their expulsion. In that time, three other senators have been recommended for censure, an official rebuke that falls short of expulsion. Since 2002, the panel has issued letters of admonition to six senators. One was delivered to another New Jersey Democrat, Robert Torricelli, who was ordered in 2002 to repay a political donor after accepting a TV, CD player and three pairs of earrings for less than their full-market value. Torricelli subsequently abandoned his campaign for a second term. On her first day on the job, Gertrude Jeannette, believed to be the first woman to drive a cab in New York City, got in a fender bender on purpose. She had pulled up in front of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan looking for a fare but was cut off by other taxi drivers. "In those days they didn't allow black drivers to work downtown, you had to work uptown," Jeannette, who was African-American, later recalled. As cabbies hurled insults and hemmed her in, she remained on line until a Checker cab lurched in front of her. "I rammed my fender under his fender, swung it over to the right and ripped it," she said in 2011 at a ceremony in her honor at the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem. When the other driver got a good look at her, he screamed: "A woman driver!" She was later reprimanded by an inspector, but she drove off with her very first customer. Jeannette, who was also one of the first women to get a motorcycle license in New York, and who later overcame a speech impediment to become a Broadway, film and television actor as well as a playwright, producer and director, died April 4 at her home in Harlem at 103. Jeannette got her hack license in 1942. She had responded to an ad in a newspaper looking for women to replace the male cabdrivers who had been drafted into World War II. Jeannette never wanted to act but was pushed into the theater, she said. With the money she earned driving, she had set out to correct her childhood stammer by enrolling in the one speech class she could find, at the American Negro Theater in Harlem. Acting instruction was part of the curriculum, and she studied alongside Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. She was quickly singled out for her stage presence and cast in her first Broadway production, "Lost in the Stars." She would go on to land rolls in Broadway productions. Her film credits include "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970), "Shaft" (1971) and "Black Girl" (1972). Jeannette began writing plays in 1950, in response to what she saw as an absence of authentic black characters on the stage. Gertrude Hadley was born on Nov. 28, 1914, in Urbana, Ark. Her father, Willis Lawrence Hadley, taught at a mission on a Native American reservation near Spiro, Okla. Her mother, Salley Gertrude Crawford Hadley, was a homemaker. Gertrude grew up on a farm with five brothers and one sister. On her prom night, she met her future husband, Joe Jeannette, a heavyweight prizefighter 35 years her senior. They eloped in 1933. She got her motorcycle license in 1935, the same year she had her only son, Robert, who died at age 5. When the American Negro Theater closed in 1949, many of the company's black actors moved to California. Some, including Jeannette, were barred from working during the Red scare of the 1950s. So Jeannette "Mother Gertrude" or "Ms. J," as she was known in Harlem set up a succession of theater companies in the neighborhood. RICHMOND, Va. - Justin Fairfax gets to do two things as Virginia's lieutenant governor: preside over the state Senate and take over if the governor can't finish his term. With Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam alive and well, that leaves Fairfax with a largely ceremonial gig in the Senate. He made his biggest splash there by stepping off the dais one day - the first African-American elected to Virginia statewide office in a generation, quietly protesting a tribute to Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson. But Fairfax, a Democrat who is widely expected to run for governor in 2021, could soon get an enormous opportunity to make his mark. Depending on how a long-running battle over Medicaid expansion plays out over the next few months, he could have the chance to cast the tie-breaking vote to provide healthcare to as many as 400,000 uninsured Virginians. That would be a huge profile booster for Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor who has never before held elective office. And it could come courtesy of Senate Republicans if they remain dug in against expansion, forcing Northam to resort to a hardball tactic involving a budget amendment and a Fairfax tie-breaker. "Being lieutenant governor is sort of like being the Maytag repairman: Most of the time nobody calls, but when the call comes in, they really, really need you," said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist. "It will be the biggest moment in the sun for ... (any) lieutenant governor in years if this comes to pass." Fairfax, 39, said he would welcome the chance to cast the deciding vote. "Obviously if we were in a position to break a tie on an amendment that would expand Medicaid, we do it," said Fairfax, who gave up his job as a litigator for the white-shoe law firm Venable to focus on the lieutenant governorship, a part-time job that pays $36,321a year. "It would most importantly be something that would benefit hundreds of thousands of Virginians, finally give them access to needed -- in some cases, life-saving -- health insurance," he said. "This is now an economic issue. It is a moral issue, I think, in many ways. And I really would love to see this happen." Even if that opportunity does not come Fairfax's way, he will have had an auspicious, if under-the-radar start to the lieutenant governorship, said Democrats and Republicans alike. Many were impressed with his mastery of Senate procedures, particularly as someone with no experience in Richmond. Fairfax credits Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar and her staff with helping him prepare. "He is my seventh lieutenant governor. He's the quickest study of all of them," said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax. "He's been procedurally flawless, and he has just a captivating sense of humor that sort of gets rid of some of the tension on the floor." Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said you'd have to go back to now-Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who leapt from auto dealer to lieutenant governor 28 years ago, to find another newcomer who wielded the Senate gavel so deftly. "He's got terrific rapport with both sides of the aisle," said Sen. Richard Black, R-Loudoun, perhaps the Senate's most conservative member. One memorable exception to the bonhomie came in February, when Senate Majority leader Thomas K. Norment, R-James City, scolded Fairfax for requiring a recorded vote after declaring a voice vote too close to call. Norment sarcastically suggested Fairfax was hard of hearing. "Well, I'm not hearing impaired," Fairfax shot back. "And I was uncertain. So I will do a recorded vote when it's necessary." Fairfax's working relationship with Northam does not appear to be as tight as some recent governor-lieutenant duos - something some political observers say could be a sign that Northam, constitutionally prohibited from serving back-to-back terms, might prefer another successor. Another possible Democratic contender is Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, D, who was secretary of the commonwealth under Northam's predecessor and political patron, Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Northam spokesman Brian Coy dismissed such speculation as premature. "Given that he's still in the first half of the first year of his own governorship, that's a crazy question for you to ask," Coy said. "The governor values the professional and personal relationship he has with Lt. Gov. Fairfax, and is looking forward to accomplishing a great deal with him over the course of this term." Because the constitution gives the lieutenant governor so little to do, the governor often will give him extra, resume-boosting duties if they are political allies. But they are not always allies, or even members of the same party, since the governor and lieutenant run independently in Virginia. When Northam was lieutenant governor, he or his chief of staff regularly attended McAuliffe's cabinet meetings. McAuliffe also appointed Northam to his Children's Cabinet. McAuliffe's predecessor, Republican Robert McDonnell , made then-lieutenant governor Bill Bolling, R, a member of his cabinet, naming him chief jobs creation officer. Fairfax has not been attending Northam's cabinet meetings or been given any formal role in the administration, something the lieutenant governor attributed to the hectic start to the new year. He said he and Northam have been looking for ways "work hand-in-hand" with the governor. "Justin and Ralph worked very well together during the session and have a close personal relationship," said Fairfax spokeswoman Lauren Burke. "Now that session is over they will sit down and talk more about what they'll do together moving forward." Northam credited Fairfax with helping to advance his agenda. "This session we made great progress on a number of issues that are important to the people of Virginia and we couldn't have done it without Justin Fairfax's leadership," Northam said via email. "He is a thoughtful and energetic leader for this Commonwealth and I am thrilled to have him as a partner." Whatever opportunities Northam provides Fairfax as they settle into their offices, they are unlikely to top the one Senate Republicans might inadvertently hand him with Medicaid. Virginia's GOP-controlled legislature staunchly resisted expanding the federal-state healthcare program for four years under McAuliffe. Opposition softened in the House after Democrats ran on a pledge to expand Medicaid and nearly won control of the chamber in November elections. But the Senate, which did not face voters last year, has remained opposed, predicting that the federal government will not keep its promise to pick up at least 90 percent of the $2 billion-a-year expansion tab. The impasse kept the legislature from passing a two-year budget before adjourning March 10. The state needs a spending plan in place by July 1 to avoid a government shutdown. Not much has changed since March, despite the kickoff of a special session on the budget two weeks ago and declarations from two Senate Republicans, Emmett Hanger of Augusta and Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach, that they would support expansion under certain conditions. The House has passed a new budget bill that's essentially the same as its original. The Senate announced this week that it will not return to Richmond to consider it until May 14. It would take just two Republicans to pass expansion on a budget vote in the Senate, which Republicans control by a 21-to-19 margin. But it could be tricky to satisfy both Hanger and Wagner, since some of their conditions conflict with each other. So Northam might be forced to take another route that requires support from just one Republican, creating a 20-20 tie that Fairfax could break. That would have to happen on a budget amendment because the lieutenant governor is allowed to vote on that, but not on the budget itself. While going the amendment route would be a political plus for Fairfax, others see a downside. Northam, who ran as a consensus builder, would rather not have something as consequential as Medicaid expansion squeak through on the barest majority. And some Republicans would rather not give Fairfax that win. "I like the lieutenant governor fine, but I'm not going to have him resolve this for us," Hanger said. "We need to resolve it ourselves." House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., dismissed the Rev. Patrick Conroy this month as chaplain of the chamber, a decision that has ignited a faith and politics debate. Conroy, who is paid $172,500 a year, is supposed to arrange the opening prayer when the House is in session and offer a pastoral role to all members. Conroy, the first Jesuit and second Catholic chaplain of the House, has filled a role that goes back to the Revolutionary War and that has been mired in controversy from the beginning. In the early days of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress sanctioned the role of military chaplains, and it chose Anglican minister Jacob Duche to be its first chaplain in 1774. The Founders debated how to pick someone among the different denominations represented, but they ultimately decided that the main question was whether the person supported the American Revolution. Duche's prayers were politicized, said Spencer W. McBride, author of "Pulpit and Nation: Clergymen and the Politics of Revolutionary America." But as long as the clergyman was criticizing Great Britain, McBride said, it was considered okay. But then Duche resigned his role and switched sides to favoring Britain. He wrote a famous letter to George Washington urging him to give up the fight and was exiled back to Britain. "We see this tradition where Americans don't mind if clergymen speak on politics, so long as they agree," McBride said. The Continental Congress then appointed two chaplains - a Presbyterian and an Anglican - with the goal of not showing favoritism. Why did they decide to open congressional sessions with prayer? In 1787, Benjamin Franklin proposed prayer as a way of encouraging discourse during the Constitutional Convention, citing how it helped during the American Revolution. Initially, McBride said, the role was focused on ensuring a daily prayer before session. Later, the role of counselor was added so members of Congress could meet with the chaplain over personal matters. But the chaplain was never intended to be involved in day-to-day legislative efforts. "It's about signaling that Congress had the backing of God, or they were trying to act with the interests of God in mind," McBride said. In a 1983 decision the Supreme Court upheld the practice of opening legislative sessions with a prayer offered by a paid chaplain. The case, Marsh vs. Chambers, involved a Nebraska lawmaker who had challenged the state legislature's chaplaincy practice. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court cited history and tradition in determining that the chaplain did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." In 2014, the Supreme Court determined in Town of Greece v. Galloway that town boards can begin sessions with prayer. A debate erupted nearly 20 years ago over whether the House should elect a Catholic priest or a Presbyterian minister as chaplain. In 2000, then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., appointed the Rev. Daniel Coughlin of Chicago, the first Catholic priest to become chaplain. (The Rev. Charles Constantine Pise became the first (and, to date, only) Catholic chaplain of the Senate in 1832.) In 2011, Conroy, who was teaching at a Jesuit school in Portland, Oregon, was nominated to the chaplaincy by then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and was elected by the House in 2011. Chaplains serve in all kinds of places, including in the military, universities, hospitals, prisons and corporations. The position of chaplain differs from the usual role of a religious leader in that the chaplain does not necessarily lead a group of worshipers who follow the same tradition. The chaplain's denomination is not necessarily intended to reflect the majority of the members of Congress, said Ronit Stahl, author of "Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America." For instance, the Rev. Barry Black, who was elected to the Senate chaplaincy in 2003, was the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the position. (There are two Seventh-day Adventists in Congress, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.) "The question isn't about, does the Senate have a lot of Seventh-day Adventists? That's not the issue," Stahl said. "The role itself demands someone who wants to, seeks to work with anyone and everyone." Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., one of the leaders of the committee searching for Conroy's replacement, told reporters Thursday that he's looking for "somebody more of a nondenominational background, that has a multicultural congregation." Early American settlers likely practiced specific Protestant religious traditions. But the word nondenominational is a relatively new term that is popular among some evangelicals and others who prefer not to align with a particular denominations. Some Americans have expressed concern over whether a chaplain is being political, Stahl said. "That's a very narrow understanding of politics and religion . . . religion and politics intermix all the time," she said. A bigger question, Stahl said, is whether the nature of the chaplain role is to be pastoral or prophetic - one that ministers to the needs of individuals or speaks to broader issues. "If you're going to give prayers that are more than just vague thank yous, you're probably going to hear statements that feel potentially uncomfortable," she said. In recent history, a Catholic chaplain would have been seen as a safe bet among both Republicans and Democrats because Catholics didn't necessarily fit neatly into one political philosophy, said Michael Sean Winters, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter. In the past decade especially, there have been significant internal debates among Catholics over health care, taxes and immigration and refugee issues. Popes have sometimes openly disagreed with presidents, but the contrast between Pope Francis and his adherents and President Trump and his supporters only highlighted the political divisions among American Catholics, Winters said. "You have on one pole Pope Francis and everything he stands for, and the opposite pole Donald Trump," he said. "We've never had that kind of polarity." The tension among Catholics right now, said Raymond Arroyo of the Catholic network EWTN, is not about politics, but rather about Catholic doctrine and Pope Francis's pastoral approach over Catholic teachings marriage, divorce, communion and other issues. "People go to their political corners and try to politicize it," Arroyo said of the debate within the church, "but it's foundational issues that make people nervous." As for the current House chaplain, many Catholic observers have been baffled by Ryan's dismissal of Conroy, including John Carr, who was a policy adviser to the U.S. Catholic bishops. Carr described Conroy as "scrupulously nonpartisan." "Chaplains should not make us comfortable. They should challenge us," Carr said. "The polarization in political life is being reflected in religious life." WASHINGTON - House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., dismissed the Rev. Patrick Conroy this month as chaplain of the chamber, an unusual decision that angered some of the Jesuit priest's allies in Congress. Ryan made no mention of the reasons behind Conroy's ouster in an April 16 announcement, leaving the impression among most lawmakers that the priest was leaving voluntarily. The speaker called Conroy "a great source of strength and support to our community. He is deeply admired by members and staff." But the issue blew up in recent days as lawmakers began to speak to the chaplain, whose public role is to offer the opening prayer each day the House is in session - but whose private role, far more importantly, is to serve as pastoral counsel to the entire community on the House side of the Capitol. The issue has also split Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pelosi, according to a senior aide, disagreed with the decision and told Ryan that she had heard only good things about Conroy. Ryan's office disputed that Pelosi opposed the decision, suggesting that Ryan would not have taken the action if Pelosi fully objected. "While it was the speaker's decision, she and her office were fully read in, and did not object," AshLee Strong, Ryan's spokeswoman, said in a statement. In his letter of resignation, Conroy made clear that he was leaving at Ryan's request. "As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th chaplain of the United States House of Representatives," Conroy wrote to Ryan on April 16. "I have seen it as a blessing and I have considered it one of the great privileges of my life," he added. Approached Thursday about Ryan's decision, Conroy said he did not want to talk in the media about the matter, declining further comment. After consulting with Ryan's staff, Conroy set May 24 as his last day in office. At Wednesday's House GOP caucus, Ryan announced that Rep. Douglas Collins, R-Ga., would lead a bipartisan committee to recommend a replacement for Conroy. During Thursday evening votes, after news broke of Conroy's dismissal, lawmakers in both parties voiced concern, particularly Catholics. "Well, I still don't understand why he was asked to leave," said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., citing several possible reasons that might placate his anger at the decision. "I have gotten to know him pretty well and I didn't understand it." Sensitivities began to escalate as lawmakers talked about the type of replacement needed for Conroy. Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., part of the group searching for the next chaplain, suggested someone "that has adult children, that kind of can connect with the bulk" of lawmakers and the problems they face with children who "made some bad decisions" or a spouse upset about the legislative schedule. "Having someone who's walked in those shoes, I think, allows you to immediately relate a little bit more than others," Walker told reporters. That outraged some Catholics, who felt Walker was eliminating Catholic priests from consideration because of their vows of celibacy. "Evidently that would mean that no Catholic priest ever apply again to be a chaplain of the House of Representatives, if that's a standard," said Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., a Catholic who had two uncles who were priests. Later, Walker expanded on his remarks to clarify that he would consider a priest for the position. "A priest or pastor over parishioners with families who have situations, those kind of things," he said. "What I mean by that is to make sure they have experience in dealing with family issues." Conroy is just the second Catholic priest to serve as House chaplain, after the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, who was chosen for the post in 2000 after a months-long protest by Catholic lawmakers. In late 1999, a bipartisan committee had recommended a different priest for the post, but the Republican leaders at the time chose a Presbyterian minister instead. After a protracted fight, Coughlin was chosen for the post, making history as the first Catholic chaplain. Coughlin served until 2011, when John Boehner, R-Ohio, then the speaker, chose Conroy to succeed him. Boehner, Pelosi and Ryan are all Catholic. Reps. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., and Walter Jones, R-N.C., are circulating a letter to Ryan that will ask for an explanation, trying to gain signatures from both parties and from all denominations. "Is this a content judgment? We have no answers," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., also a Catholic. "The House deserves better than that." Sam Hamill, who gave up a wayward life to become an accomplished poet and founder of Copper Canyon Press, a leading nonprofit poetry publisher, and whose impromptu protest before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 became a cri de coeur for artists nationwide, died April 14 at his home in Anacortes, Wash. He was 74. His daughter, Eron Hamill, said the cause was complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Hamill was a former Marine-turned-pacifist who beat a heroin habit before helping to found Copper Canyon Press in 1972 with a $500 prize he had won for editing the literary magazine Spectrum at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After buying a printing press, he and three partners Tree Swenson, Jim Gautney and William O'Daly set up shop in Denver. The company released its first book, "Badlands," a collection of verse by Gerald Costanzo, in 1973. The next year, Hamill and Swenson moved Copper Canyon to Port Townsend, Wash. Hamill served as Copper Canyon's editor for the next three decades, and his refined taste and painstaking translations of Asian poets helped ensure the company's success. Copper Canyon has since released hundreds of new books or fresh translations of work by, among others, the Nobel laureates Pablo Neruda, Rabindranath Tagore and Octavio Paz and the Pulitzer Prize winners Carolyn Kizer, Ted Kooser and W.S. Merwin. Hamill was a prolific writer. He published several books of prose and 17 collections of lyric poetry. His work could be autobiographical and naturalistic, but he believed that verse should engage with the world. He grappled with political and social issues in poems like "True Peace," about the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who burned himself to death in 1963 in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. Hamill felt obligated to take action when he received an invitation in January 2003 to a White House symposium to be held by the first lady, Laura Bush, on the work of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Outraged by the Bush administration's proposed military campaign in Iraq, he sent an email to 50 friends and colleagues rejecting the invitation and asking them to submit protest poems to him. "The only legitimate response to such a morally bankrupt and unconscionable idea is to reconstitute a Poets Against the War movement like the one organized to speak out against the war in Vietnam," he wrote in the email. Hamill's correspondents shared his call to action, and within a few days he received more than 1,500 responses. He built a website to present the poems he received, and the White House eventually canceled the symposium. More than 135 poetry readings and other protests were held around the country Feb. 12, the day the symposium was supposed to begin. More than 13,000 poets submitted work to Hamill's website were collected in an anthology, "Poets Against the War." Hamill's anti-war activity left him with less time for Copper Canyon, and he stepped down as editor at the start of 2005 over creative differences with the board. Sam Patrick Hamill was born, by his account, in northern California to an illiterate carnival fry cook. His date of birth is listed in records as May 9, 1943. As a toddler he was adopted by Samuel Hamill, a poultry farmer, and the former Freeda Empey, a schoolteacher. Hamill said his adoptive parents had been abusive and as a teenager he ran away from home, making it to San Francisco, where he began using heroin. He met the poet Kenneth Rexroth outside the City Lights bookstore there, and the two became friends. Rexroth fed Hamill, helped him give up drugs and taught him about poetry kindnesses that Hamill said changed his life. He joined the Marine Corps before he turned 20 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he began studying Zen Buddhism. He became a pacifist, which did not endear him to his commanding officers, and he was honorably discharged in 1965. In the mid-1960s he married Nancy Harmon, and they moved to Marin County, California. They divorced in the late 1960s. Hamill married Swenson soon after they started Copper Canyon. Their marriage ended in divorce in the early 1990s, and a few years later he married Gray Foster, a painter. She died in 2011. His daughter is his only immediate survivor. WASHINGTON - Solicitor General Noel Francisco ended his Supreme Court defense of President Trump's travel ban Wednesday by emphatically stating the president had been "crystal-clear" that his executive order had nothing to do with a campaign promise to ban Muslim travelers. Clarity may be in the eye of the beholder. At issue was whether Trump's past statements about a ban on Muslim entry forever tainted his actions and showed a discriminatory intent. Francisco told the justices his adversary in the case, Washington lawyer Neal Katyal, representing the state of Hawaii, had acknowledged "that, if the president were to say tomorrow that he was sorry, all of this would go away. "Well," Francisco continued, "the president has made crystal-clear on September 25 that he had no intention of imposing the Muslim ban. He has made crystal-clear that Muslims in this country are great Americans and there are many, many Muslim countries who love this country, and he has praised Islam as one of the great countries of the world." Put aside Francisco's slip of the tongue, calling a religion a nation. His reference to the president's declarative statement on Sept. 25 is what had some running for the archives and searching the government's briefs - only to come up empty. A Department of Justice spokeswoman said Francisco got the date wrong. He was referring to a Jan. 25, 2017, interview between Trump and ABC's David Muir, mentioned in one of the government's filings. That was days after Trump assumed the presidency and just before he issued the first version of the travel ban. Here's the relevant part: "You're about to sign a sweeping executive action to suspend immigration to this country," Muir said. "Right," Trump answered. "Who are we talking about? Is this the Muslim ban?" Muir asked. "We're talking about - no it's not the Muslim ban," Trump answered. "But it's countries that have tremendous terror. It's countries that we're going to be spelling out in a little while in the same speech. And it's countries that people are going to come in and cause us tremendous problems." Later Muir asked him if he was "at all concerned it's going to cause more anger among Muslims ... the world?" "Anger?" Trump responded. "There's plenty of anger right now. How can you have more?" What sounds like semantics has deeper meaning in the court's deliberations. During the campaign, Trump had called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." But after criticism that would be unconstitutional, he began talking about restrictions against particular nations. The first order banned travelers from seven nations, all with populations that are more than 90 percent Muslim. It covered even those who had been granted visas and caused chaos and demonstrations at airports here and abroad. It was struck down by lower courts, and eventually the administration allowed it to lapse. The third iteration of the ban, with a slightly different set of countries, is the one being considered by the Supreme Court. Challengers point to Trump's statements as evidence of unconstitutional religious bias. The justices spent a fair amount of time at Wednesday's argument asking lawyers whether Trump's past comments mean he is forever forbidden from acting against a country with a Muslim majority. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. asked Katyal if there was a "statute of limitations" on Trump's comments. Katyal said there was, but that instead of moving away from the comments, the president "embraced them" as president. "So if tomorrow he issues a proclamation saying he's disavowing all those statements, then the next day he can reenter this proclamation?" Roberts asked. Katyal eventually answered yes, but added, "The president didn't do that." Katyal pointed to other statements and actions while Trump was president, including retweeting three anti-Muslim videos by a right-wing group. Francisco closed by telling the justices to stick to the purpose of the executive order: to cut off entry from countries that did not provide proper vetting. "This proclamation is about what it says it's about: Foreign policy and national security," he said. One person was injured Thursday night in a crash in northeast Houston, Metro Video reported. A driver going southbound on Hirsch Road near Calgary lost control of the car for unknown reasons. Around 9:15 p.m., the driver skidded off the road into a church sign, according to Metro Video. The driver was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition, Metro Video reported. A small dog was also in the car at the time of the crash and was put in the back of a police car. A former detective who is accused of mishandling 130 sexual assault and family violence cases is not representative of the roughly 45 detectives who are part of the San Antonio Police Departments Special Victims Unit, according to an independent audit released Thursday. The audit, which was conducted by Lisa Tatum, former president of the State Bar of Texas and a former Bexar County assistant criminal attorney, did offer suggestions to the units operating procedures, work flow process and supervisor oversight. However, the report said, the mishandling of cases by Detective Kenneth Valdez or the mishandling of cases generally, is specific to individual behavior and not attributable to the SVU as a whole. A Kerrville teen pleaded not guilty Thursday to six felony charges recently filed against him over the deaths last June of two toddlers who overheated while left in a vehicle outside a house overnight, a tragedy for which the victims mother also faces charges. Kevin Franke, now 17, was 16 when he spent part of the night in an SUV with Brynn Hawkins, 1, and Addyson Overgard-Eddy, 2, who were secured in their car seats from 9 p.m. on June 6 until noon the next day, police said. Hes accused of leaving the girls alone in the vehicle when he went back into the house about 8 a.m., failing to alert Hawkins they were outside and failing to promptly seek medical care when they were found. His attorney says Franke slept in the vehicle because there wasnt enough room in the house and that he didnt know the girls were in the back seat of the vehicle. Franke was certified in February to stand trial as an adult. The childrens mother, Amanda Hawkins, 20, was inside the house with friends, including Franke, all the time the children are reported to have been in the vehicle, police said. Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer has reported that Hawkins demurred when encouraged by other people in the house to bring the children inside, responding, Theyll cry themselves to sleep. The children were unconscious when discovered around noon June 7, and later died at a San Antonio Hospital. Hawkins is scheduled to stand trial May 21 in Kerr County on two counts of injury to a child and two counts of child endangerment/abandonment. Shes been jailed under $300,000 bond since June 7. A Kerr County grand jury considered the case April 16 and indicted Franke on two counts of manslaughter, two counts of injury to a child and two counts of child endangerment/abandonment all second degree felonies. He is being held at the Kerr County Jail on combined bonds totaling $300,000, records show. District Attorney Lucy Wilke said Franke entered not guilty pleas to all charges on Thursday in Kerr County district court. She declined further comment. The attorneys for Franke, Joe Gonzales and Christian Henricksen, could not be reached for comment. Gonzales, who in February opposed the move to certify Franke as an adult, said then that Franke should, at most, face child abandonment charges in juvenile court. My client has maintained all along that he was not aware the young girls were sitting in the back of the vehicle and did not hear any noise from these girls, he said in February. This is nothing more than accidental deaths that occurred because their mother put the girls in that situation. The manslaughter indictments against Franke allege that he recklessly caused the victims deaths by turning off the vehicles engine and rolling up its windows before leaving them inside, and failing to alert Hawkins to the situation or promptly seek medical attention. It further alleges the crime was committed with use of a deadly weapon, the vehicle, which enhances the potential punishment range, if convicted. A deadly weapon claim is also made in the two indictments returned on charges of injury to a child, which accuses Franke of causing serious bodily injuries to the victims by act or omission. The language in those indictments closely follows that of the manslaughter charges. The abandonment charges against Franke allege that he had assumed care, custody or control over the girls and intentionally abandoned them in a place that exposed them to an unreasonable risk of harm...( and)... in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment. Zeke MacCormack is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | zeke@express-news.net | @zekemac San Antonio police arrested a man believed to be involved in a brawl that left three with gunshot wounds Friday. John Escobedo, 25, was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated assault, police said. He is believed to be one of the shooters in what police called a large gang fight at Millers Pond Park at 6075 Old Pearsall Road on April 10. The memorial service for Barbara Bush last weekend marked the passing of an era. The outpouring of praise for a woman who was an unselfconscious member of a political elite, an insider and establishmentarian, spoke to a pang of regret over a lost ethos of leadership. George and Barbara Bush were easily and at times, justly pilloried as being out of touch. But the passing of their kind has coincided with a national life short on grace notes and often bereft of leaders who value anything above their momentary self-interest. In his eulogy for the first lady of the Greatest Generation, author Jon Meacham said that the Bushes put country above party, the common good above political gain, and service to others above the settling of scores. Why? In large part, because it was bred into them. The Bushes were the products of the 20th century WASP ascendancy. The WASP ruling class had the right lineage and connections; it lived in high-end neighborhoods, usually in the Northeast; it went to schools like Andover and Yale; it worshipped at Episcopal or other mainline churches; it belonged to the same clubs; and it did business at pedigreed investment and law firms like Brown Brothers Harriman and Covington & Burling. It wasnt a meritocracy; its members were born into privilege and buoyed by inbred dealings. But they had a strong governing ethic, described by the historian Rick Brookhiser as success depending on industry; use giving industry its task; civic-mindedness placing obligations on success, and antisensuality setting limits to the enjoyment of it; conscience watching over everything. At their best, the WASPs achieved greatness in public service say, the post-World War II Secretary of State Dean Acheson (Groton, Yale, Covington & Burling), who did so much to define Americas posture in the Cold War. The instinctive patriotism and drive to serve can be seen in George H.W. Bushs decision to sign up as a Navy aviator in World War II as an 18-year-old. His choices as an elected official could be questioned, but never his public-spiritedness. Barbara was known as the familys enforcer; what she enforced were manners and standards of conduct that were ultimately about self-control and regard for others. Undergirding it all was a profound sense of responsibility. Yes, they believed they were born to rule, but they took the obligation seriously. The WASP ruling class had long passed its peak by the time Bush was elected president in 1988. Mainline Protestant churches had been in decline since the late 1960s. With the advent of the SAT, the Ivy League became more open to talented students without connections. The Northeast lost ground to the Sun Belt. The cultural consensus of the mid-20th century gave way, and politicians no longer felt obligated to serve in the military. The fate of the WASP establishment can be traced in the electoral fortunes of the Bush family. George H.W. Bush lost in 1992 to Bill Clinton, that paladin of the baby boomer meritocracy who had all the academic credentials but none of the class of the old elite. George W. Bush won twice, but as an evangelical Texan, not a WASP. Jeb Bush lost in the 2016 primaries to a Donald Trump whose ostentation and boastfulness ran counter to the qualities the Bush family cultivated for generations. The days of the WASP power brokers are gone, and we arent going to entrench another ethnic elite atop our national life, nor should we. The question is whether we can generate leaders who feel a sense of responsibility again. Yuval Levin, the editor of the journal National Affairs, argues that even the most famous and powerful people in our society adopt the pose of outsiders, relieving themselves of any sense of institutional obligation. They could do worse than consider the example of Barbara Bush, who made responsibility an ingrained habit and a way of life. comments.lowry@nationalreview.com Tax cuts were supposed to save the Republican Party from President Donald Trump. Voters would ignore the presidents Twitter outbursts; his Cabinets private-jet and redecoration scandals; the Russia investigation; porn star and playmate payoffs; and many other miscellaneous embarrassments. Voters were supposed to be so very grateful to have a little extra pocket money that they would be willing to overlook all that nonsense and eagerly cast their ballots for the GOP come November. Unfortunately for Republicans, just 27 percent of Americans believe the GOP tax overhaul was a good idea, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Even among Republican voters, the tax cuts are not exactly thunderously popular: A little more than half (56 percent) say they were a good idea. Other polls this month found similar results. And tax cuts are already failing Republicans on the campaign trail, too. Take the recent Pennsylvania special congressional election. During the first two weeks of February, about two-thirds of the broadcast TV ads supporting the Republican candidate mentioned taxes, according to an analysis by Politico. Over subsequent weeks, taxes were featured in fewer and fewer ads, until they virtually disappeared. In the end, of course, the Republican candidate lost. Republicans and Trump surrogates complain that the tax overhaul isnt resonating with voters because the media are obsessed with the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller III and wont cover tax reform. The real issue, however, is that even the president isnt making the case. This month, Trump was supposed to give a talk in West Virginia touting his new tax law. Instead, when he got to the stage, he tossed his script literally and proclaimed that his prepared remarks were a little boring. He then rambled about some of his favorite conspiratorial hobbyhorses, including unfounded claims of illegal voting and rapist immigrants. This past week Tax Week, mind you Trump likewise tweeted more times about fired FBI director James B. Comey than he did about his tax plan. However undisciplined the presidents tax-related messaging is, Republicans were counting on the fact that Americans would at least notice their paychecks swelling as their withholding fell. But that hasnt happened, either. In a Gallup survey this month, only 18 percent of respondents said they believe the GOP tax overhaul is lowering their federal income taxes. This despite the fact that 80 percent of households should expect a tax cut this year, according to the Tax Policy Center. Why the disconnect? Republicans can blame Democratic propaganda, but the reality is that, for most people, the tax cut just wasnt that noticeable. Spread out over the course of a year, the amount of reduced withholding in any given paycheck is likely to be relatively small. That modest change may also be masked by all the other factors that can cause take-home pay to bounce around, such as changes in wages, hours, insurance premiums, 401(k) selections and so on. This was all entirely predictable. Tax cuts passed by Presidents George W. Bush (in 2001 and 2003) and Barack Obama (in 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) were actually more generous to the middle class than Trumps were. Yet when Americans were surveyed shortly after each of those cuts was implemented, almost no one realized their taxes had gone down then, either. Today, Americans have also noticed that the new tax law has blown another huge hole in the federal budget and is heavily tilted toward corporations and the rich. Past surveys have found that Americans are much more bothered by the perception that corporations and the wealthy pay too little than by the feeling they themselves pay too much. Given all this, it is difficult to fathom why House Republicans and the Trump team are agitating for yet more top-heavy tax cuts ahead of the midterm elections. Unless, of course, its not the general public they are trying to impress: Unlike those fickle, fairness-minded voters, you can always count on donors to appreciate a generous fiscal giveaway. crampell@washpost.com I am a native of San Antonio and have been to many Texas Cavaliers River Parades, but sadly this years left me with a longing for what was. On the plus side of our citys growth, a fellow dinner guest commented on how quickly he was able to get downtown, as he dreaded the thought of having to get to the parade. We enjoyed our dinner and appreciated our citys freeway efficiency, but I longed for the river parade I knew. Such is change, I guess. Viva San Antonio. Martie Garcia No to term limits I hope the voters will look beneath the surface of the proposed amendments to the citys charter that have been put forth by the head of the firefighters union. Specifically, when the mantra of power to the people is invoked, there is often a knee-jerk reaction of creating term limits, as if this will prevent power-hungry politicians from having their way with us. However, we the people already have the power to set term limits: It is called voting. We can select whom to boot out rather than tossing out the good ones with the bad ones, as term limits would do. Susan Hull Ill-conceived ploy Re: Brockhouse wary of city manager pay cap, Brian Chasnoff, April 17: Chris Steele, president of the firefighters union, has apparently convinced enough people to sign petitions forcing a referendum on amendments he wants to the city charter. He started this campaign by telling people these amendments will give them more power in how the city is run. What he hasnt told you is the unintended consequences if these amendments pass. First, progress would slow to a crawl because residents can throw roadblocks into city management by objecting to anything with which they disagree. What companies or new developments will want to come to a city run by public opinion? This is the first unintended consequence to which he hasnt given any thought. Additionally, if new businesses and developments looking at San Antonio were to dry up, where does he think tax dollars will come from to recruit new firefighters, police and other city employees, and pay them a living wage? Where will new jobs come from for young people? He hasnt thought this through sufficiently, either, it appears. Voters, stand up for San Antonio and send a resounding no to Mr. Steeles ill-advised and ill-conceived ploy. He is not on your side, nor does he have the citys best interests at heart. Hes interested only in getting his way, as evidenced by his stonewalling with his continued and obstinate refusal to negotiate with the city on the firefighters contract. Eleanor Sprowl Obey authority Calling illegal aliens immigrants is an insult to people who have immigrated here legally. Supporting religious entities that aid and abet criminals, while denigrating law enforcement for doing its job, is disingenuous. Love thy neighbor does not extend to helping that neighbor break the law. Those wanting to help such people should go to their countries of origin, where they are legal, and help them there. For these and other religious representatives who insist on demonizing our president, I suggest they refer to Romans 13:1,2. Let every person be loyally subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those that exist do so by Gods appointment. Therefore, he who resists and sets himself up against the authorities resists what God has appointed and arranged. And those who resist will bring down judgment upon themselves. Sharon Diane Dupree Mexico to blame Even though Donald Trump is the worst president since James Buchanan, I must warn Mexico against uttering a word about the U.S. immigration situation. Your citizens leave your country in droves to come here and face horrible death because you offer them nothing. We have a terrible president, and you have a terrible government. I used to vacation in your country but had to stop because I feared for my life. Your country has been a complete mess for over 100 years, but nothing like now. Its not all your fault, but most of it is. It doesnt seem to faze you that things south of the border are screwed up. Even after NAFTA, your people run for the border because they cant make a living or find work. As a country, Im ashamed of you. And because of that, you have no voice in any immigration debate. Even against the largest scoundrel the U.S. ever put into office. Mark A. Hall Its a big crime Re: The collusion lie, Your Turn, April 19: The letter writer asserts that collusion is not a crime. Um, OK. Colluding with a hostile foreign government to impact the outcome of a democratic election has another name: treason. Last time I checked, not only is treason a crime, but its also punishable, in some cases by the death penalty. Not to suggest thats a likely outcome here, but the assertion that if Donald Trump did collude with Russia, its no big deal is laughable. We should be far more concerned with efforts to discredit Robert Muellers investigation than with the investigation itself. Eric Walls, Helotes FORMER President Robert Mugabe is tomorrow expected to appear at the Harare Magistrates Court to personally testify against a senior army officer accused of stealing his computers at Zimbabwe House. Pepukai Zvakavapano, a Presidential Guard corporal, claimed two weeks ago that Mugabe gave him the computers as a donation, prompting the State to summon the former Head of State to testify in the matter since he was cited in court papers as the complainant. Mugabes top aide, Wonder Enock Nyamurima, who was supposed to represent the former leader, had by yesterday not yet furnished the court with the power of attorney to enable him to testify in the case. Allegations are that soon after Mugabes ouster last year, Nyamurima was instructed to store the former Head of States property at Zimbabwe House inside five containers in the polo grounds for security reasons. The State alleges on April 3, Zvakavapano and an accomplice only identified as Marega, were tasked to provide overnight security duties at the property. At around 2am, the duo allegedly broke into the containers and stole seven computer monitors, CPUs, keyboards, mouse, pads, 57 Inspur model laptops, 44 large and small Lenovo laptops, 18 HP printers, four Sahara and Mercer complete desktop computer sets, as well as two Xerox printers. They allegedly hid part of the loot and dumped some after they were interrupted by other soldiers on duty. Zvakavapano and his accomplice allegedly later collected their loot and sold to different people and computer dealers at giveaway prices in Harares central business district and at their areas of residence. On April 10, detectives came across one of the stolen Inspur laptops on display at a shop in town. The shop owners then spilled the beans after being interrogated, leading to Zvakavapanos arrest and recovery of some of the computers. Francisca Mukumbiri appeared for the State. NewsDay Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News FORMER President Robert Mugabe has allegedly lost $10 000 to one of his accountants at Gushungo Holdings. The accused, Peter Bhibhi (34), was not asked to plead to the theft charge when he appeared before Harare magistrate Tilda Mazhande, who remanded him to May 24 on $100 bail. Bhibhi, who is represented by Lucky Dube, was employed by Gushungo Holdings as Mwenevazvo Estates accountant. Mugabe is represented by his head of security, Maxwell Murangwa. Allegations are that between January 14 and 31 this year, Gushungo Holdings tasked Bhibhi to sell potatoes to walk-in customers, who had no bags to package the produce. The customers were asked to bring their own bags for a refundable fee of 25 cents per bag. It is alleged during that period, Bhibhi misrepresented to the company that customers had brought in 42 275 empty bags, prejudicing the firm of $10 568 and nothing was recovered. The State alleges the offence came to light when Mugabes security team checked the records and discovered that there were no documents at the main gate to the estate or estate stores reflecting movement of empty potato packs in and out of the farm. A report was made to the police, leading to Bhibhis arrest. Linda Gadzikwa appeared for the State. In another matter, the State yesterday said it had lined up 10 witnesses to testify in the case where Mugabe recently lost over 119 computers and accessories to a member of the Presidential Guard, Pepukai Zvakavapano, during a break-in at Zimbabwe House. Magistrate Josephine Sande postponed the matter to May 3 after Zvakavapanos lawyer, Tinashe Mbala, consented to the postponement. NewsDay Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News - The killings of worshipers in Benue state has been condemned by the Arewa Consultative Forum - Peoples Democratic party also condemned the killings allegedly carried out by herdsmen - Going further, the opposition party said the Federal Government has continued to allow 'these killings without any decisive steps to stem the ugly trend' Former governor Gabriel Suswam, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Peoples Democratic party have condemned the killings of 16 worshipers in Benue state state. It is becoming a tragic routine to witness those killings and issue condemnation to them, after which they continue, Suswam said. Muhammad Ibrahim Biu national publicity secretary of the ACF in a statement said: The spate of attacks on innocent people, including clergy men and worshippers in their places of worship, is most callous and unfortunate. READ ALSO: Doyin Okupe says herdsmen not responsible for killings ACF therefore calls on the security agencies to be more proactive and re-strategise their security operations in order to nip these avoidable bloodlettings in the bud. Perpetrators of these heineous crimes should be fished out and be brought to book to serve as deterrence to others. Furthermore, ACF urges the federal government to set up a panel of inquiry into these incessant killings that have continued to bedevil most of the northern states, with the hope that amicable solution would be found for common good. ACF consoles the government, people and families of those killed and wounded and hope that God would provide them with what it takes to bear the losses. May their souls rest in peace. The Nation reports that David Mark, Nigeria's former senate president who condemned the killing in a statement by his media aide, Paul Mumeh, said: I am saddened by this unabating carnage. The people of Benue state are accommodating and law-abiding but it seems this gesture has been misconstrued to be cowardice. Our people are known for their bravery. We are not cowards. Something must be done to stop this carnage. Enough is enough. Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the killings as sacrilegious and callous. More worrisome is that the Federal Government has continued to allow these killings without any decisive steps to stem the ugly trend. President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government must live up to its basic responsibility of protection of lives and our national territorial integrity. Indeed, our citizens cannot continue to daily fall victims to attacks by marauders while the government fails to exert itself to guarantee their safety. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app The PDP commiserates with the Catholic Church, the government and people of Benue State as well as the families of the victims of these horrendous killings. We pray God to heal our land and enthrone a national leadership that would restore peace, unity and harmonious living in our country, spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said Former Governor Gabriel Suswam and former Assembly Speaker Terhile Ayua condemned the killings. They also sent their condolences to the Catholic Church and the people of the state over the killings of two priests and 14 other worshippers by alleged herdsmen during mass on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Doyin Okupe, a former senior special assistant on public affairs to former president Goodluck Jonathan absolved herdsmen of any wrong doing in the gruesome and countless killings going on in some parts of the country. Okupe, who made his position known in a Facebook post declared that the terrorist group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is responsible for the killings in Nigeria. Victims of herdsmen killing buried in Benue state on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng - President Buhari has revealed how his government would spend recovered looted funds - He emphasised that his resolve to recover looted funds is unshakable - The president also noted that any person who loots governments funds would be made to return it to the treasury President Muhammadu Buhari said in Bauchi on Thursday, April 26, that his resolve to ensure the recovery of looted resources was unshakable, saying his administration would also ensure the judicious utilisation of the funds. Legit.ng gathered that while addressing a mammoth crowd at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa stadium, the president, who is on official visit to the state, said the recovered funds would be used to develop the education, health, agriculture and security sectors, among others. READ ALSO: Breaking: Gunmen invade another church in Benue, 7 reportedly killed Any person that loots governments fund will be made to return it to the treasury for utilisation on the education, health and security sectors, among others", he said. The president further said that the present administration had improved agricultural sector through provision of agricultural loans for Nigerian farmers. The present administration has reduced the price of fertilizer and provided agricultural loans through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which improved farm yields in the recent past, he said. He said that as a former military governor of the north eastern state that comprised the entire northeast sub-region about 42 years ago, he was conversant with the challenges of the area. He stated that some years ago, he was a military leader, but that now, he was a democratically elected civilian president and therefore called on the people to be patient with the difference in the approach to governance. He then thanked the people of the state for their continuous support. Earlier in his remarks, Gov Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi said that the state government was committed to boosting agricultural activities and reducing unemployment among the teeming youth in the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president later flagged-off the distribution of farm inputs and implements to farmers in the state. The items included tractors, ox ploughs, herbicides, seeds pesticides, and incubators, among others. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app He had also earlier inaugurated some rehabilitated roads in the state. (NAN) Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Bauchi state for his scheduled two-day working visit. The president arrived the state on Thursday, April 26. EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit The federal government has banned the movement of herdsmen in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau state. The decision was reached at the National Economic Council (NEC) presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday, April 26, The Cable reports. The NEC comprises state governors and relevant ministries of government and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Breaking: How Saraki saved Buhari from impeachment notice Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state who disclosed this to journalist at the end of the meeting held at the presidential villa in Abuja said the council also approved the creation of ranches across the country. He said the five mainly affected states which have witnessed killings from the herdsmen/farmers clashes, are expected to make land available for ranches. Umahi stated that the creation of ranches would enable herdsmen and their families to be able to access good medical facilities and good schools for their children if they stay in one place. He said ranching would also improve the well-being of the cattle. The governor stated that the federal government and the affected states will still iron out the interventions expected from the two parties. The governor said though visa is not allowed for movement of those from West African countries, herdsmen from neighbouring countries would be expected to show some travel documents. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Similarly, the minister of agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, said the federal government will no longer allow the killings to continue. He said the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons may no longer be practiced in Nigeria. Meanwhile, some gunmen have invaded another church in Benue state, killing seven people, The Cable reports. The gunmen were said to have invaded a church in Logo local government area of Benue state on the morning of Thursday, April 26. Legit.ng earlier reported that some suspected gunmen had invaded a Catholic Church in Gwer West local government area of the state on Tuesday, April 24. The gunmen during the attack, reportedly shot dead, two priest and 17 church members. In a related report, the recent killings of some worshipers including two priests after suspected herdsmen attacked Ayar Mbalom village in Gwer east local government area of Benue state has made the Senate to call on the federal government to declare the state and other parts of the country facing deadly violence, state of emergency. Premium Times reports that the call is followed by a deliberation of a motion on Continued killings in Benue state sponsored by George Akume (Benue north west). Legit.ng gathered that the call came a few days after 19 worshipers including Reverend Fathers Gor Joseph and Felix in a church located in the state. The senators condemned the inefficiency of security chiefs and agencies, adding that declaring state of emergency is the best way to drive out perpetrators. TY Danjuma, Nigerian army and the herdsmen crisis | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Legit.ng earlier reported that Senator Dino Melaye representing the Kogi west senatorial district has been rushed to the hospital after he jumped off a moving police van carrying him to a court in Lokoja, Kogi state. The incident which took place on Tuesday, April 24, around Area 1 roundabout in Abuja has been the major topic of discussion. His arrest has also made some suspected Abuja big girls to wash their dirty laundry in public. One Sadiya Ahmed Marshall took to her Facebook profile to call out her friend, Natasha Akpoti, for abandoning Melaye after his incident. She revealed that Akpoti shouldnt have done that after the senator allegedly lavished money on buying her expensive cars, gold, diamonds and other luxury items. Abuja big girls fight over Senator Dino Melaye after his arrest READ ALSO: Dino Melaye has not eaten in 24 hours - Saraki speaks after visiting him in hospital Marshalls post reads: Ajakuta princess, Madam Lawyer is payback time, get ready to defend your wounded lion along Abuja lokoja road in the name of love with all the GLKs etc you-received. Aje kun ya nuje. She joined him to fight the Governor and after eating with Dino she has disappeared. This post got another friend concerned, Gimbiya Mina, to decide to call out Marshall and advised her not to go on social media to insult Akpoti. Her reply reads: Pls Sadiya do not write things like this about Natasha H Akpoti its unfair. See post below: The war of words did not end there as Marshall added that: Mina I did not mention name beside If you said Natasha is who Am referring to then you are in the best position to no Natasha lived with me and is still a friend but for those who said she is married that's not true she was not anymore beside what was she thinking to come on social media and support Dino and insult yahaya Bello or is he her mate? like I told her I will tell you is ok to date a senator but is not ok to join him in his dirty fight against his Governor who is your Governor knowing that you have a bright future in your state beside a lot claim they're still married when we no they are not, yes she had kids with different men but was married once so enough. See posts below: PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Mina was not ready to give up as she took to her Facebook profile to share a picture of Marshall with the caption: Bolanle has f**ked you, my elder brother too has f**ked you, all the Abuja guys have seen your pant Dats how you slept with your first husbands father and they had to divorce you, idiot of your type, barren goat. See post below: Nawa o! Why do Single ladies prefer to date married men? (Nigerian Street Interview) | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV. Source: Legit - The Borno chapter of the ruling party has moved against a former governor of the state Ali Modu Sheriff - Report had it that Sheriff was scheduled return to the ruling APC which he left for PDP - The state chapter of the APC said Sheriff's move to defect to the ruling at the national level could cause confusion among party members - Meanwhile, at the national level of the APC, Sheriff was advised to register in his ward in Borno state There was confusion on Thursday, April 26, in Borno when a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was prevented from decamping to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Although some of Ali Modu Sheriff's allies were welcomed into the ruling party at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday, April 26, Sheriff was advised to register at the ward level in Borno. Vanguard reports that those welcomed to the party include: Senator Hope Uzodinma from Imo state and Senator Gbemi Saraki, younger sister of Senate president, Bukola Saraki; Senator Teslim Folarin, Ahmed Gulak, who served as political adviser to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan among many others. READ ALSO: Buhari says he might have been part of herdsmen/farmers clashes; reveals what kept him away from crisis Also, there was protest from members of the APC in Borno state following Sheriff's ambition to return to the ruling party which he left for PDP. However, in a statement, the chairman of the Borno state chapter of APC, Ali Bukar, said such move by Sheriff at the national level could cause confusion among party members. Bukar said: We have read news on the Social Media yesterday evening and in some National dailies this morning, that the former governor of our state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff will be received by our national chairman today at the headquarters of our great party." I want to assure you that the news remains rumour because somebody is only trying to fly a kite, that is capable of causing dangerous confusion during the State Congresses in Borno State," Bukar said. Legit.ng earlier reported that in a reaction to the crisis, the national publicity chairman of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party welcomes new members who have registered at the ward level. Abdullahi in a statement said: Our attention has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media that the former factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress APC today (Thursday) at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app While we are aware of such intentions, we wish to restate our earlier position that anyone who wants to join the Party should do so at the ward level. We are happy to welcome new members to our party, but membership cards are not issued at the Party National Secretariat," Abdullahi said. APC chieftains in Benue state say PDP has nothing to offer on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his reasons for wanting to recontest in 2019 - The president explained that he is seeking re-election for the purpose of salvaging the country from thieving Nigerians - He also declared that his administration is ready to arrest all looters of the treasury irrespective of their societal standing President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, April 26, during a two-day working visit to Bauchi state elaborated on his intention to recontest in 2019 general elections. The president who will recontest as the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) while addressing a crowd at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, explained that salvaging the country from thieving Nigerians was his main reason of seeking re-election While expressing dismay at the rate in which Nigeria's money was stolen by unpatriotic citizens, Buhari declared that his administration is ready to arrest all looters of the treasury irrespective of their societal standing, Tribune reports. READ ALSO: I might have been part of herdsmen/farmers clashes - Buhari Buhari also commissioned some projects in the state. Some of these projects are: Township roads and referral hospital constructed and equipped by the Nigerian Air Force at the Bauchi Special Air Force Command Base, agricultural ox-plough for peasant farmers and mechanized agriculture to boost rice farming for food security in the country. Meanwhile, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, Bauchi state governor, in his reaction commended President Buhari for banning importation of rice, noting that 80 per cent of the people in his state are farmers. Legit.ng had earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari stated that had he not gone to school, he night have been one of those involved in the clashes between herdsmen and farmers. The president made the comment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, on Thursday, April 26, during his two-day visit to the state. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Time to take up arms against herdsmen attacks? - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit - Eight people were reportedly killed by Tiv youths in Benue - The Sarkin Hausawa said 20 people were also injured - He called on the government to help de-escalate the issue Alhaji Bello Sallau Abdurrahman has claimed that eight of his men were killed when suspected Tiv youths in Benue launched a reprisal attack on the Hausa community. Daily Trust reports that the Sarkin Hausawa of Benue state said the attack was carried out on Thursday, April 26. He said 11 people are still missing while 20 were left injured in the attack. The Sarkin Hausawa said: On Tuesday, we saw our people running helter-skelter in the city that they brought the corpses of Church priests that were allegedly killed at Dukwayango village and then suddenly Tiv youth started killing our people. As I am talking to you, they have killed over eight people, over 20 sustained injuries and several shops were razed while over eleven people are missing." READ ALSO: I might have been part of herdsmen/farmers clashes - Buhari Abdurrahman said the Tiv youths have continued to kill his people with impunity even though they have been living in the community for years. He wondered why they should be attacked when they were not responsible for the violence in the state. He said: We are not farmers, we dont rear animal. We are just traders that focused on our businesses. These things happened in villages and in the bushes, why are Tiv youth then killing our people?" The Sarkin Hausawa called on Hausa youths to remain calm and not carry arms against the people. He also called on the federal government to manage the situation before it escalated. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari appealed to the people of Benue state not to cave in or allow themselves to be used by those he considered enemies of the country trying to bring it to a sorry point. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Buhari made the appeal in a statement by one of his spokespersons, Garba Shehu, late Thursday, April 26. It read in part: Repeated acts of mass killings and destruction in parts of the country and Benue state in particular, point to the evil design of enemies of peace and unity who have desperately been trying to bring the country to this sorry point: a brother killing brother, a neighbor killing a neighbor and a community attacking and killing members of another community." Should Nigerians pick up arms to defend themselves against herdsmen? - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of five new executives for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Olusegun Adekunle, the permanent secretary of the general services office with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), made this known in a statement on Thursday, April 26, in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports him as saying the president made the appointments following their confirmation by the senate. READ ALSO: Gombe state breaks record, recommends N28,000 as new minimum wage According to him, Anthony Ojukwu from Imo state is the new executive secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with initial term of five years. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who hails from Ondo state, is the new executive director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with initial term of four years. Hon Chika Ama-Nwauwa also from Imo state has been appointed the new executive director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also with initial term of four years. Nwogu N Nwogu from Abia state is the new executive director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with initial term of four years. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Prof James Momoh from Edo state is the new chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also with five years initial term," he said. The president directed that the appointments should take immediate effect. Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari, though in Bauchi currently, appealed to the people of Benue state not to cave in or allow themselves to be used by those he considered enemies of the country trying to bring it to a sorry point. Buhari made the appeal in a statement by one of his spokespersons, Garba Shehu, late Thursday, April 26. President Buhari on 2019 presidential election: will you vote for him? | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - The leadership of the leader of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila is said to have been seeking re-election in 2019 - Gbajabiamila has been representing Surulere 1 Federal Constituency in the green chamber of the National Assembly since 2003 - Some members of the House said they would support his bid to seek re-election to serve his people through quality representation Some members of the House of Representatives from Lagos state have commended the leadership of the leader of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila at national, state and constituency levels since his election into the house in 2003. The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers spoke in turns at the Surulere General Assembly on Thursday night. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmakers said they would support his bid to seek re-election to serve his people through quality representation. READ ALSO: Those against Buharis re-election behind attacks in the country They appealed to residents of Gbajabiamilas constituency to also support him in his bid to seek re-election. Gbajabiamila has been representing Surulere 1 Federal Constituency in the green chamber of the National Assembly since 2003. The lawmakers are: Messrs Jide Jimoh (Yaba Fed. Constituency), Ayo Joseph (Apapa), Rotimi Agunsoye (Kosofe) Yusuf Ayinla (Mushin 2), and Olaitan Nurudeen (Ifako-Ijaiye) JIde Jimoh described Gbajabiamila as an asset to the House of Representatives, who he said, had acquitted himself remarkably well as a legislator. He said the House Leader had initiated many development-oriented bills in the house and contributed robustly to debates in its sessions. Jimoh said Gbajabiamila served his people selflessly, urging residents of Surulere to unite and support him for another term. We are here today to thank Surulere for giving to the house an impactful legislator like Hon.Gbajabiamila. He said: He has been an asset to the house with his great presentation of issues and robust contributions to sessions. We are proud of him and we want you, his constituents to unite and support his bid to seek re-election. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Jimoh said that Gbajabiamila was already a principal officer of the house and that replacing him with someone else at this point would not give much benefit to the constituency and the state. Also speaking, Hon, Ayo Joseph said lawmaking was about experience, passion and service. He said that Gbajabiamilas wealth of experience as a member of the House was a great asset not only to the National Assembly but also to the nation. He urged residents of Surulere to speak with one voice and support the House Leader for another term to continue the good work he has been doing. Rotimi Agunsoye said the hallmark of leadership was to lead well and see what others could not see. He said Gbajabiamila had demonstrated exemplary leadership and had impacted positively on his constituents. Agunsoye said the House Leader was a legislator per excellence who commanded the respect of house members with his erudite presentation of issues. When Gbajabiamila speaks others listen. Every one of us loves to listen to him in the house. He is a selfless leader and a legislator per excellence. I want the residents of Surulere to re-nominate this gentleman to keep the flag flying. Also, Olaitan Nurudeen said Gbajabiamila was a rallying point for Lagos lawmakers in the house. He added that the lawmaker was a blessing not only to Surulere but to the state, urging his constituent members to support him for another term. Similarly, Yusuf Ayinla also commended Gbajabiamila for what he called his achievements in the house, saying he deserved another term for his great performance. The Secretary of APC in the state, Hakeem Bamgbala described Gbajabiamila as a great party man who had not only made the state proud but also the party. Bamgbala represented by the Vice-Chairman, Itire-Ikate local council development area, Gbenga Oyebode, said Gbajabiamila had demonstrated exemplary leadership. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Also, Desmond Elliot; a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA), said Gbajabiamila had touched the lives of many constituents. He said that he had empowered many residents through so many initiatives and represented the area well at the House of Representatives. He urged the residents of Surulere to give the House Leader all the support in his bid for another term. A resident and chieftain of the APC, Adeseye Amigos, praised Gbajabiamila for his contributions to the development of Surulere. He said that the residents were pleased with him and would support his bid for another term. It was learnt that other constituents took turns to commend Gbajabiamila at the assembly, pledging support for him. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Femi Gbajabiamila put a smile on the face of a physically challenged lawyer identified as Kamarudeen Idowu. The lawmaker presented the lawyer with a Toyota Corolla. He also promised to give him a driver and pay the drivers salary for a year. The physically challenged lawyer who worked hard to finance his education all by himself lost his leg to polio at the age of three. TOP-4 Over-the-top Reactions of Nigerian Lawmakers to Certain Circumstances | Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit - Officials of Lagos sate have reportedly invaded a market with bulldozers on Friday, April 26 - Demolition of the market was said to have started from the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway end - It was reported that many of the traders could not salvage their goods from their stalls before the demolition began The Lagos state government has commenced the demolition of Araromi Oke-Odo Ile-Epo market. Officials of the state reportedly came with bulldozers to demolish the market structures. This move was said to have caused heartbreaks among market men and women. Premium Times reports that the Araromi Oke Odo (Ile Epo) market was established in 1983 by the then Ikeja local government area council, from which the Alimosho local government area was later carved out, in part, before the creation of the Agbado/Oke Odo LCDA under whose governance and supervisory jurisdictions the market now falls. READ ALSO: Those against Buharis re-election behind attacks in the country Demolition of the market was said to have started from the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway end of the market and was coordinated by officials of the Lagos environmental safety agency and armed police. It was also reported that thugs were recruited to harass passersby and prevent them from taking pictures of the demolition exercise. The news outlet reported further that a trader who identified himself as Garba said many of the traders could not salvage their goods from their stalls before the invasion began. Many who owned stalls at the frontal part where they began the demolition could not pack out their goods, he said. But those at the back have packed some things as you can see. Another trader, Tawa Kehinde, on his part, said the demolition was an affront on the poor because many would have their sources of livelihood blocked. He called on the government to reconsider its steps. Many people will die from the losses incurred from this demolition, she was quoted to have said in Yoruba. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Lagos state government denied involvement in the demolition of Sabo Market, Ikorodu, which was demolished on the night of Thursday, May 4, 2017. The commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, in a statement issued on Friday, May 5, said that the state government did not demolish the market and would not demolish any market or property in the state without following due process. Ambode's second term is shaking, says Lagos woman on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng Yves here. This story is a great example of a news organization using FOIA to do original reporting. And the Philadelphia police department gets credit for turning the sought-after records promptly. Its all too common for government bodies to fight or slow-walk document requests. The results also support our hypothesis about the Starbucks incident, in which a now-fired manager called the cops on two men whose crime appeared to be waiting at a Starbucks while black, and using the restroom. The evidence below indicates this manager was a disaster waiting to happen and had been calling the police at a vastly higher frequency than her predecessor. We had discussed briefly that one Malcolm Gladwells books included a case study of biased policing in the Los Angeles Police Department, which has a a terrible record in that regard. He found was that a very few cops were responsible for virtually all the incidents. Gladwell argued that that meant the conventional approach, of more training for all the police, was all wet. Those rogue policemen needed to be taken off the street. Starbucks rush to hold a training program may be good optics, but it isnt likely to be the best approach. The coffee chain should require managers to write an incident report any time they call the police. That would enable them to see if any managers were making a lot of requests and they could then look as to whether the calls were warranted or not. News reports have pointed out that part of the problem is that Starbucks never gave its store managers any policy on what to do about people who stay in a Starbucks without buying anything. Im skeptical that promulgating rules on a national basis is the right answer. As I mentioned when I had nearly a week of having to work in Starbucks thanks to Verizon-induced connectivity woes, there was often one or two homeless people in an area that was a bit removed from the cash registers. There were also plenty of customers back there, most working solo like me, but also a few groups of two or three people chatting. No one was bothered by the homeless people sitting nearby. In fact, I thought it was a good thing that some of the money I spent at Starbucks was helping the homeless. However, it isnt hard to think that in an affluent suburb, the locals would go nuts if a homeless person were to hang out in a Starbucks, and management would almost be forced to run them off because customers were certain to make a stink. By Patrick Duff, a researcher and civil rights activist who currently lives in NJ. His activism has focused on ending mass incarceration, preserving African American history and making government more transparent. Edited by Naked Capitalism reader aliteralmind, aka Jeff Epstein. Jeff is an independent and progressive journalist with Citizens Media TV. Originally published at Citizens Media TV Derived (cropped) from Pexels (license) (inspired by the photo at the top of this article On April 12th, a video went viral of two black men being arrested at a Center City Philadelphia Starbucks. The incident has caused an international debate (England, Canada, China) as to just how such a thing could happen. After initially defending the arrests, the Philadelphia Police apologized to the men. Starbucks is even closing thousands of stores to provide racial sensitivity training in response to this one event. Viral arrest video Link to video The real problem for Starbucks though, along with the Philadelphia Police, is that this was far from just one event; it was a pattern that snowballed into two black men finally saying no when confronted with blatant discrimination. According to public 911 records obtained from the Philadelphia Police, in the year of 2016 only 11 calls were made to 911 from 1801 Spruce Street, 2 of them for a 3306, which stands for disturbing a crowd. Something changed though in 2017, which is just about the time it is reported that the new manager, Holly Hylton, started at that location. Screenshot of the 911 call data retrieved from the Philadelphia Police. The full request and response are in an appendix at the bottom of this article. Here is a link to all spreadsheet data imported into Google Sheets, and a link to the original Microsoft Excel spreadsheet received from the police. In 2017 at least 28 calls were made for the same 3306 code, with 12 other calls being made for similar minor offenses. Two of these calls were determined to be unfounded by the police (that is, unworthy of pursuing), according to the 911 reports. In the first three and a half months of 2018, another 15 calls were made from that same Starbucks, with at least 3 being made for the same 3306 call, and one code being changed for the 2 men arrested. In the entire year of 2018 up till April 18th, four 3306 calls were made to 911, with two of those calls being made on, 4-12-2018, the day the two men were arrested once immediately before they were arrested, and another call 18 minutes later. A total of 58 calls to 911 were made to this property in just 15 and a half months, with a total of 3 arrests. This includes the 2 men who were arrested for waiting while black that were never charged. This means that there may be dozens of more people who possibly were victims of the same type of police-justified discrimination at just this one Starbucks location. The Rittenhouse Square section where this Starbucks is located has only a 3% African American population, yet African Americans accounted for 67% of all police stops in the same section in just the first half of 2017, according to the ACLU. In fact, two thirds of all arrests in entire city of Philadelphia were of African Americans, despite being less than half its population. I reached out to the Philly PD for comment, but as of 1:30 pm they have not responded. I also reached out to Starbucks for a comment, to which they responded: While we understand your concern, as we have shared previously, we consider your claim having been investigated and now a closed matter. APPENDIX: Full records request Request From: Patrick Duff Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2018 3:35 PM To: Police RightToKnow Subject: Request I am making this request under the PA right to know law. Please provide me with all 911 calls made from the Starbucks at 1801 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 between 1-1-2016 and 4-18-2018. Thanks, Patrick Duff Response From: Police RightToKnow Date: Wed, Apr 25, 2018 at 1:28 PM Subject: Your Request for Information To: Patrick Duff Cc: Police RightToKnow Mr. Duff : Attached to this correspondence is the Philadelphia Police Departments final determination to your request for information. Best : Philadelphia Police Department Open Records/Right-to-Know Section 750 Race Street, Rm. 203 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Full formal response A cell phone carrier in Asia has a perverse sense of humor. While my dumb phone is charging, it can still take calls. Apparently this network regards charging phones as off line and gives overseas callers this message: You have reached a test number. [cheesy woo woo music starts] This highway leads to the shadowy tip of reality. Youre on a through route to the land of the different, the bizarre, the unexplainable. Go as far as you like on this road. Its limits are only those of the mind itself. Ladies and gentlemen, youre entering the wondrous dimension of the imagination. Next stop, the code zone. [pause in speaking, woo woo music gets louder] There may have been more but I got the idea How to Hit the Brakes on Climate Change Bloomberg (PlutoniumKun) The smartphone sales slowdown is real Axios Pump And Dump Schemes Take Over Crypto Markets SafeHaven Smart contracts, stupid humans: new major Ethereum ERC-20 token bugs BatchOverflow and ProxyOverflow David Gerard. Richard Smith: Live sightings of the genius of smart contracts and the wonders of immutability. Moi: Adam Leviin wrote a paper on how residential mortgage securities were immutable contacts, or as he put it, Frankenstein contracts. Lambert: Just avoid any product with the word smart in its marketing collateral and youll be fine. Analyzing Operation GhostSecret: Attack Seeks to Steal Data Worldwide McAfee (furzy). Established readers will recall that many security experts debunked the notion that the Sony Pictures hack was brought to you by North Korea. First, Sony was so badly protected that hacking it was akin to going through an open door. Second, the North Korean attribution was laughably poor. One item I recall is the breathless claim that the keyboard (which is a misleading term no pro would use) was Korean. In fact, the choice was South Korean.and the use of their language is outlawed in North Korea (the dialects are sufficiently different as for them to be more like distinct languages). North Korea China Canadian Senate lost at South China Sea South China Morning Post Brexit Syraqistan Big Brother is Watching You Watch Trump Transition 2016 Post Mortem Jill Stein Defies Senate Intelligence Document Request, Calling It Overbroad and Unconstitutional Intercept (Kevin W). Good for her. The request was disgraceful, particularly after Stein effectively went to bat for Clinton by filing suits challenging election results. Democrats Prepare to Pimp The Left Again in 2018 and 2020 Bruce Dixon The West Wing reboot: Aaron Sorkin considering revival Radio Times. UserFriendly: This is how liberals deal with republicans in the White House. Democratic super PAC meddling in GOP primary in West Virginia Washington Examiner (UserFriendly). As Talleyrand said of the Bourbons, They have learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Claims by Joy Reids Cybersecurity Expert Fall Apart Daily Beast Opioid Crisis Cost Washington State $9 Billion in 2016 Governing Health Insurers Spend $158K to Make Sure Blue Wave Is Against Medicare for All GritPost (UserFriendly) Bill Cosby Found Guilty of Sexual Assault in Retrial New York Times On tectonic plates, the economic system & the economics profession Ann Pettifor (Chuck L) Tesla Autopilot crisis deepens with loss of third Autopilot boss in 18 months ars technica Deutsche Bank has a 60bn problem but doesnt want to talk about it IFR. Richard Smith: Multiple levels of IBGYBG going on here The chief exec lifecycle cycle (shorter term) and the book trades, trouser bonus and vamoose cycle from 10+ years ago. Ford is basically giving up on US car business, and GM is not far behind CNBC (Kevin W) Class Warfare Antidote du jour. Crittermom: White-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata), also known as the hummingbird moth. The cherry tree just bloomed & they showed up to feast last night. This was the first time I photographed them after dark. And a bonus video: This little girl grew up with two gorillas and now they're reuniting for the first time in 12 years pic.twitter.com/KnZi8Knf92 Nature is Amazing (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 23, 2018 See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. NATO Foreign Ministers wrapped up a day of meetings in Brussels on Friday (27 April 2018), making progress on key issues, including preparations for a new training mission in Iraq. Ministers began with a discussion on Russia, including the long-term implications of its foreign and defence policies. They reconfirmed NATOs dual-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defence, combined with meaningful dialogue. Addressing developments in the Middle East and North Africa, ministers focused on plans to launch a new training mission in Iraq. They agreed that the mission will include several hundred personnel to train Iraqi instructors and develop Iraqi military schools. Ministers also discussed new measures of support for Jordan and Tunisia, including border security, demining and security sector reform. Our aim is to help manage crises in the region, to build the resilience of our partners, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Allies also expressed their continued commitment to Afghanistan, welcoming President Ghanis offer of peace talks and calling on regional actors to play a constructive role. We urge the Taliban to take part in an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. Pakistans role will be essential, said the Secretary General. Finally, ministers discussed NATOs Open Door Policy and the progress made by aspirant countries. Our Open Door policy is a historic success. It has brought stability, peace and prosperity to millions across the Euro-Atlantic region, stressed Mr. Stoltenberg. Closing the last ministerial at NATOs current headquarters in Brussels, the Secretary General underlined that the Alliances commitment to its values and determination to preserve peace and security will never change. (As delivered) Good afternoon. We have just finished a productive meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers. We began with a wide-ranging discussion about Russia. And the long-term security implications of its foreign and defence policies. We agreed that our dual-track policy of strong deterrence and defence combined with meaningful dialogue is the right one. For seventy years, NATO has protected Allies. But at the same time, we see more attempts to intimidate and destabilise. Including cyber attacks. Efforts to undermine our democratic institutions. Disinformation and propaganda. And even the use of chemical weapons in Salisbury. So we must continue to show solidarity and resolve. We need to further strengthen our resilience. And we need to develop stronger tools to deal with these hybrid threats. At the same time, NATO remains committed to dialogue with Russia. Our Supreme Commander for Europe General Scaparrotti, met with the Russian Chief of Defence General Gerasimov last week. To discuss military posture and exercises. And increase predictability and transparency. And we continue to work toward the next meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. When tensions are high, our dialogue is more important than ever. Today, NATO ministers also addressed developments across the Middle East and North Africa. We discussed the situation in Syria. All Allies strongly condemn the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. And we support the efforts led by the United Nations to achieve a lasting political solution to the conflict in Syria. We also made progress in our preparations to launch a new training mission in Iraq at the Summit in July. To help Iraqi forces fight terrorism, stabilise their country, and prevent the re-emergence of ISIS. Today we agreed on the concept of operations for our mission. This will include several hundred personnel. They will train Iraqi instructors, and develop Iraqi military schools. So that our expertise can reach thousands of others. We also discussed a new capacity building package for Tunisia. And the implementation of a new package of support for Jordan. We already support them with training in areas such as special forces, intelligence and countering improvised explosive devices. We are now looking into working with them in new areas: border security, demining and security sector reform. Our aim is to help manage crises in the region. To build the resilience of our partners, so we can help prevent crises from occurring. And to increase our own deterrence and defence when dealing with challenges from our southern neighbourhood. This afternoon, we will address Afghanistan, our biggest training mission. An important part of NATOs contribution to fighting terrorism and projecting stability. Today also marks a historic meeting on the Korean Peninsula. NATO fully supports a political solution to the tensions in the region. And I saw for myself how deep those tensions are when I recently visited South Korea and the demilitarized zone. So I welcome the meeting today between the two leaders. The progress they have made. And the commitment they have shown to resolving their differences peacefully. And with that, I am ready to take your questions. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK, we'll start with Washington Post, just behind you. No, behind you. Behind you. Thank you. QUESTION [Washington Post]: Hi, thanks. Michael Birnbaum from the Washington Post. This is of course, Secretary Mike Pompeo's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's first trip to NATO as Secretary of State. Within the United States, he's seen as much better aligned with President Trump's foreign policy agenda than Rex Tillerson was, and I think the State Department is quite excited to be more back in the game. I'm wondering I just wanted to ask your sense, whether you feel as though there is more business to be done with the State Department with US diplomats, with Mike Pompeo's arrival as the new Secretary? Thanks. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: First of all, it was a great pleasure to welcome Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Brussels this morning. He actually jumped on a plane just after he was sworn in and he was able to address the North Atlantic Council, the Foreign Ministers of NATO, just 12 hours and 34 minutes after his confirmation. And I think thats actually a new record. And it also shows his strong personal commitment to the Alliance and it reconfirms the commitment of the United States and President Trump to the transatlantic bond. We had time for a short bilateral meeting this morning. That was very good and very useful. And we addressed both the preparations for the upcoming Summit in July. We addressed Russia, deterrence and defence and how we can strengthen NATO presence in Iraq with a new training mission. So, I really look forward to working with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. His long and varied experienced, including serving as a soldier in Germany during the Cold War, provides him a perfect background for being the top diplomat of the United States, and I look very much forward to working with him. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Wall Street Journal. QUESTION [Wall Street Journal]: I wonder if there was any from Secretary Pompeo, you heard any different shift in the US stance on dialogue with Russia. And I wonder if there were any concrete ideas from this meeting to the point you made about addressing Russia's hybrid activities, those activities that fall short of invoking Article 5, but are disrupting countries within the Alliance. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: So, we had a discussion now on Russia and the challenges we see related to the pattern of behaviour of Russia over years. And part of that, or an important part of that, is also how to address hybrid threats. And we all agreed that we need to continue to pursue the dual-track approach: strong deterrence, strong defence, combined with dialogue. But we also focus very much on the need to strengthen our efforts when it comes to hybrid activities. Much of what we have already done is to increase our deterrence and defence is also highly relevant for hybrid threats. For instance, meaning the presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, high readiness of our forces, better intelligence, improved situational awareness, but also for instance strengthening our cyber-defences, all of that is relevant for meeting and responding to hybrid threats. But we will do more, building on what we have already done. We will, as we prepare for the Summit, look into how we can further strengthen our abilities to respond to those threats which dont trigger Article 5, but at the same time is a challenge to NATO Allies, and we have seen many examples of that with cyber-attacks, with interference, meddling in our domestic political processes, and also for instance the use of chemical weapons sorry, a nerve agent in Salisbury. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: BBC. QUESTION [BBC]: Thank you very much, Secretary General. Jonathan Marcus from the BBC. There are two quick points: I mean firstly, you talk about Russia's pattern of destabilisation and intimidation. One of the most significant things theyve been doing is attempted intrusions into election campaigns. How much of a problem is it that, in the United States where theyve had perhaps one of their most significant efforts to intrude into the electoral process, the President of the United States doesnt actually appear to acknowledge that that is a serious problem at all? And then the second question, some have suggested that in a in some strange way, or in some new way, Russia is already at war with the Alliance, in one sense or another. How would you characterise the policy of Russia towards NATO countries? Is there any sense, below that Article 5 threshold that Russia is, in any sense, at war with NATO? JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: First about meddling in domestic political processes; we have seen a pattern in many countries and in many different NATO Allied countries that there has been attempts to meddle, to interfere, in democratic political processes, including into election campaigns. US authorities are now looking into the question of meddling into the US election campaign in 2016. And it's not for me to comment on the specific issues which are now addressed by the US authorities, but I think it's important that all Allies look into different attempts to try to meddle with election campaigns with democratic processes. We work with Russia to try to improve our relationship and we are in the situation where we have not been before, because we are not in the old Cold War, but we are neither in the strategic partnership we tried to build after the Cold War. So, this is something new. And therefore it is even more important that we are able to combine, both to be firm, to be strong and to have a clear message and convey unity in our approach with Russia, but at the same time keep the channels for dialogue open. And over just the last few weeks we have seen how the NATO Alliance is able to respond. We responded quickly after the Salisbury incident, issued a very clear statement and also all NATO Allies supported the expulsion of Russian officials after the Salisbury incident. And we also agreed and issued a very clear statement after the use of chemical weapons in Syria. So, I think we have shown both the ability to act and to stand united, but also to continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK, we have Arabiya. QUESTION [Al Arabiya]: Secretary General, I have a question about the Iran nuclear deal. In itself this agreement is a big deal and a big diplomatic achievement, but there are serious concerns in the region and also outside about what comes after 2025 and 2030, when the restriction will be lifted. Plus the problem of the ballistic missiles and the Iran involvement in many conflicts in the Middle East. How to address the current concerns regarding the involvement of Iran in the Middle East plus its ballistic missile issue? And also, if you can say a few words, how do you see the future of this nuclear deal after 2030 when the restriction will be lifted? Should this agreement be completed by another one? Thank you. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: NATO welcomed the Iran nuclear deal when it was agreed back in 2015 and, at the same time, we called on Iran to fully implement the deal. The deal imposes a number of measures which leads to that Iran is moving further away from developing nuclear weapons. But at the same time, we have highlighted again and again that no deal can be good if it's not fully implemented. And we have also expressed concerns about other activities of Iran, including their destabilising activities in the region, support for extremist groups and threats to freedom of maritime navigation. And especially NATO Allies have expressed their concerns about Iran's ballistic missile programme. This is not covered by the Iran nuclear deal, so these are concerns which have to be addressed outside the deal, because they are not covered by the deal as it is today. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK. The lady in the second row? QUESTION [Antena M, Montenegro]: I have a question that combine Western Balkan and Russia. With the possible accession of Macedonia to NATO, do you anticipate do you expect the same destabilisation efforts that we saw in Montenegro, of course made by Russia? JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Sorry? QUESTION [Antena M]: Do you expect the same destabilisation efforts now in Macedonia when they are new to NATO, by Russia? Thanks. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: So, first of all, I think what we have seen is that even though Russia has been against the enlargement of NATO for many, many years and always, or almost always, protested when NATO has become bigger with new members, the fact is that we have proven again and again that NATO's door is open. And as I've stated many times, whether NATO will have new members, it's for the aspirant country to decide and the 29 Allies. No-one else has a say, no-one else has any right to try to intervene or to veto such a process. I recently visited Skopje and I once again clearly stated that NATO is still committed to what we decided back in 2008, in Bucharest, and that is that when the name issue is solved, then we are ready to invite the country to become a member of NATO. And that decision still stands. There are contacts, negotiations going on, to try to solve the name issue. I hope that those negotiations can be successfully concluded and then we will move on. And again, it's a fundamental right for every nation to decide its own path, including what kind of security arrangements they want to be a part of. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK. NRK, gentleman there in the fourth row. QUESTION [NRK]: Thank you, NRK. Philip Lote. Secretary General, breaking news from Korea. What do you think has brought about the change that we are seeing today? JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: The most important thing today is to welcome the fact that they have met. And even though there's a long way to go before we see a full resolution to the crisis and the problems we see on the Korean Peninsular, I think this is a very important first step. I think it's obvious that the pressure which the international community has put on Korea, on North Korea, has been important. Because NATO strongly supports a political negotiated solution. But thats exactly also why we have welcomed the strong international pressure. The political pressure, the diplomatic pressure, but not least the economic pressure. And what we have seen, over the last months, is that the United Nations, the Security Council, has been able to agree on tighter and tougher sanctions, and we have also seen that the sanctions has been implemented to a higher degree than before. And I am absolutely convinced that this strong international pressure has helped to create the situation where we now are. And when I visited the region and I visited South Korea and Japan, it was also a clear message from them that we need to continue the pressure, to achieve a political solution. And I also believe that we have to make sure that the sanctions remain in place until we see a real change in the behaviour of North Korea. QUESTION [NRK]: Were you surprised by the quickness? JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: I welcome that we have seen progress and that we have seen that the two leaders have been able to meet. This is a first step. It's encouraging. And then we have to realise that it's still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK. We had gentleman in the third row. QUESTION: You talked a lot about the incident in Salisbury and it's important to understand. I'm from Russia Radio. It's important to understand, do you accuse Russia in using the chemical weapon in Salisbury? Do you have evidences, or have you seen them, that it was Russia which used this chemical weapon? Or is this just suspicions? JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: We have been briefed by the United Kingdom on their findings and their assessments, and we have no reason to doubt the findings and assessments of the United Kingdom. And we welcome also that the UK is working with the OPCW, the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in the investigation of this horrendous attack. And the attack takes place against a background of a pattern of reckless behaviour by Russia and thats also the reason why all NATO Allies reacted the way we did, including by the expulsion of Russian officials from the NATO Mission. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK. We have one last question. Gentleman over here. QUESTION: Thank you. This is Mehmet Solmaz from Daily Sabah. My first question is how was your trip to Turkey, in terms of tackling troubled issues? You know, the Greek soldiers issue or the S400s. And my second question is regarding the US Permanent Representative, Hutchinson, has recently, during this week, said that purchasing S400s from Russia would have serious consequences. There are also other American voices calling for sanctions on Turkey and how do you evaluate all these? Thank you. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: My visit to Ankara and my meetings with the with President Erdogan, with Foreign Minister Cavusoglu and also the Defence Minister, was a very useful visit. Turkey's a highly valued Ally and Turkey contributes to our shared security in many different ways, not least in the fight against terrorism; air bases, infrastructure in Turkey, has been key for the efforts of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. And we addressed all those issues in my meetings in Ankara. Then of course we also addressed some of the issues where we have seen some differences between NATO Allies, for instance on the situation in North Syria. NATO is not present on the ground in Northern Syria, but we support the efforts of the Global Coalition, and some NATO Allies are, including Turkey, but also the United States. And it was clearly stated during my visit in Ankara that there is now close contact between the United States and Turkey on how to move forward in a way which is as coordinated as possible, to avoid any unnecessary problems in Northern Syria. When it comes to the S400, thats a national decision. It's a national decision by any NATO Ally to decide what kind of equipment they acquire. What matters for NATO is of course the question of whether it's going to be integrated into the integrated NATO air defence system. There has been no request for that and I think it's obvious that that will be difficult, but there has been clearly no request for that from the Turkish side. Of course, we have seen the statements from the United States on possible sanctions. We also discussed that during my visit to Ankara and again, I welcome the fact that there is now close dialogue and contacts between the United States and Turkey on this issue. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Thank you very much. This concludes this press conference. We werent able to take all the questions, but the Secretary General will be back later this afternoon. Thank you. JENS STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Thank you so much. (Natural News) China is taking their authoritarian government to a new level by implementing a new social credit score system. Under this new tyrannical system, the countrys 1.4 billion citizens can expect to be under constant surveillance and how they behave on a daily basis will ultimately determine how many rights they are allowed to have. If your score drops too low, who knows what may happen next. For Chinese journalist Liu Hu, the communist countrys latest power grab is already taking its toll. Liu says that when he tried to book a flight recently, he was told that he was banned from flying because he was on a list of untrustworthy people. The news came after Liu was ordered by a court to apologize for a series of tweets he wrote. Ultimately, the apology was dismissed by authorities as insincere. Now, Liu faces even more problems. I cant buy property. My child cant go to a private school. You feel youre being controlled by the list all the time, he added. But Liu is not the exception the list is growing longer by the day, especially as the Chinese government works to expand their surveillance. When combined with the social credit score system, the term big brother hardly feels like a sufficient description. Not only will citizens of China be constantly monitored, anything and everything they do will be assessed and judged and their rights depend on it. And as CBS2s Ben Tracey notes, trying to clear your name in China is difficult (if not impossible) since theres no due process. Many people fear that the government will use this new system to punish those who do not support the Communist government. Every citizen will have a credit score and how the system truly works is being kept under wraps, paving the way for government abuse (as if the very notion of this system isnt a form of government abuse to begin with). Reportedly, Chinas goal is for every citizen to have a social credit score by the year 2020 total tyranny is just two years away at this point. While the inner-workings of the scheme are not disclosed, some examples have been given. For instance, behaviors like bad driving, playing too many video games and sharing fake news online are considered infractions that will lower your score. Some nine million people with low scores have been restricted from buying plane tickets for domestic flights. Three million low-scorers are no longer allowed to purchase business-class train tickets. Some people, like those who did not serve in the military, may be blocked from making reservations at the nations top hotels. Travel restrictions for Chinese citizens are just the beginning. The Chinese government has constructed an actual blacklist for low scores, and is encouraging private businesses to consult their list before making hiring decisions. For government jobs, a low score means you might be banned from management roles. For any number of reasons, individuals and their children may be barred from a host of educational opportunities. Ironically enough, a recent episode of Seth McFarlanes The Orville entitled, Majority Rule explored a world where social karma is law and getting too many down votes basically puts you on death row. While satirical, it seems that China is looking to employ a similar system but only the government gets to be the judge. But, its not just China. Here in the U.S., surveillance is also a major issue our government is just less up-front about it. [Read more stories on police state surveillance at PoliceState.news.] Sources for this article include: NewYork.CBSLocal.com BusinessInsider.com (Natural News) Fake news has become a cornerstone of the mainstream media in recent years but the latest scam involving The Washington Post and the Boston Globe (among others) surely takes the cake. It turns out that an oft-quoted expert on student loans, supposedly named Drew Cloud, is actually a fake. Worse, the so-called news website this imaginary expert ran is tied to a student loan refinancing company, LendEDU. After being quoted and featured in a myriad of news outlets, even scoring his own interviews, its been revealed that Drew Cloud does not exist. LendEDU CEO Nate Matherson recently disclosed his companys massive deception to The Chronicle. Drew Cloud is a pseudonym that a diverse group of authors at Student Loan Report, LLC use to share experiences and information related to the challenges college students face with funding their education, Matherson reportedly explained. Had that been all that Drew Cloud had done, perhaps this little snafu wouldnt be so shocking but the makers of Student Loan Report made every effort to make Drew Cloud seem real. Before the pseudonyms presence was scrubbed from their website, Chronicle explains that Cloud had his own detailed biography featured right on the site. His story indicated that he was the founder of the website, which masqueraded itself as an independent, authoritative news outlet covering student loan news. Cloud claimed to be inspired to start his venture after he had difficulty finding the most recent student loan news and information all in one place. His biography mentioned that Cloud had a knack for reporting that was first discovered in high school, and that he had graduated college with the hopes of creating his own independent news outlet. The Boston Globe even quoted Cloud. LendEDU did their best to make the existence of Drew Cloud believable but much to the chagrin of the irresponsible mainstream media, it turns out hes nothing more than a farce. After being pressed by the Chronicle, Clouds byline disappeared from the Student Loan Report website, his name replaced by SLR Editor instead. It did not take very long for the Chronicle to uncover the truth, which leads one to wonder: How did this facade go on for so long? When asked by the Chronicle if he regretted deceiving multiple news outlets and the sites readers, Matherson dodged the question. He stated that Cloud was created as a way to connect with our readers (ex. people struggling to repay student debt) and give us the technical ability to post content to the WordPress website. Apparently, choosing the term SLR Editor to begin with was too difficult? Matherson contended further that the company wasnt that interested in monetizing Student Loan Report, noting that the site had a limited number of ads. Either way, LendEDUs relationship with Student Loan Report was not readily disclosed and according to reports, certainly not discernible from the website. It seems every effort was made to make the site seem like a real, independent news website. Much like other news outlets we see today, SLR was owned by a corporation looking to influence its readers. As Chronicle notes, Cloud often suggested that students refinance their loans which is a service offered by LendEDU. Earlier this month, President Trump accused Amazon of using similar tactics in the Washington Post. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought out WaPo several years ago and according to Trump, Bezos has been using the publication as a lobbying platform. Trump also noted that the U.S. Postal Service is losing money on every Amazon package that it ships. Ultimately, this means American taxpayers are paying billions of dollars to ship packages for Jeff Bezos. Amazon has also come under fire this year for other illegal actions. Fake news is everywhere and the act of making up totally bogus stories is even being rewarded by society. When will the sheeple wake up? [Read more stories on the fake news journalism of the corporate-run media at Journalism.news.] Sources for this article include: Chronicle.com CBSNews.com (Natural News) By now youve likely heard that Americas dad, comedian Bill Cosby, was found guilty of drugging and molesting a woman, completing the spectacular late-life downfall of a funnyman who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom, The Associated Press reported. Following the verdict, District Attorney Kevin Steele said the disgraced star was a man who evaded this moment for far too long. Cosby, now 80 and married for 54 years, was at one time accused of drugging and sexually violating scores of women (as many as 60 came forward with accusations) throughout the course of his career. During this latest legal effort to hold him accountable this weeks trial was actually a retrial the prosecution put five of those women on the stand. In the end, the jury of five women and seven men, after deliberating for 14 hours, decided he was guilty of sexually violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004, though he claimed the encounter was consensual. No date has been set for Cosbys sentencing, but his attorney, Tom Mesereau, declared that his client would appeal. Fine, but for the moment Cosby is looking at 30 years in prison; if he even gets one-third of that time, hell die behind bars, most likely. Contrast what has happened to Cosby with another aging Bill former President Bill Clinton, who has faced very similar accusations and even one count of alleged rape, but yet remains free as a bird and does not appear to be in any imminent danger of ever being held accountable for his supposed actions. First, there is Paula Jones, who accused Clinton of sexual assault while she worked for the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission in 1991. Then-Gov. Bill Clinton, honing in on the Democratic presidential nomination, brought her to a hotel room, complimented Jones on her curves and pulled out his erect penis and asked her to kiss it, according to her account, which was reported at the time by The Washington Post. What made her story believable is that she was able to describe (in a 1994 lawsuit) distinguishing characteristics in Clintons genital area. Clinton settled with Jones out of court in 1998 for $850,000. (Related: Paula Jones to Hillary Clinton: I did not misremember anything about sexual assault accusations against husband Bill.) Kathleen Willey also had a story to tell. She claimed that when she was a White House aide in 1993 Clinton put my hands on his genitals. While an independent prosecutor said there wasnt enough evidence (it was he said, she said) to bring charges, Willey noted that Clinton also led an intimidation campaign against her which included having someone put a dead cat on her porch. The most abused of all, however, was Juanita Broaddrick, allegedly. She said Clinton raped her in 1998 while visiting a nursing home where she worked. He tore the waist of my skirt. And then he ripped my pantyhose. And he raped me. It was very vicious. I was pinned down. I did not know what to do, she has said, adding, I just wanted it to be over with so he would go away. He also cut her lip, prompting him to tell Broaddrick, You better put some ice on that. The one time Clinton was held semi-accountable for a sexual act was over a truly consensual one with Monica Lewinsky, a young White House intern during the time of his presidency. He was impeached by the House of Representatives for lying to a special prosecutor about the affair, though he was not convicted by the Senate so he was never removed from office. In September 2016, Clintons spouse, Hillary then the Democratic presidential nominee claimed that every survivor of sexual assault deserved to be heard, believed, and supported. Of course, she didnt mean it. But its something for Bill Cosby and the rest of us to ponder as we watch our system of justice bifurcated to protect the governing elite. At some point, Americans will have to decide how much more judicial abuse theyre willing to accept. Read more about deep state corruption at Corruption.news. J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target. Sources include: DailyCaller.com NewsTarget.com Today marks the two year anniversary of Naval Group being selected by the Australian Government as the international partner for the design and build of 12 regionally superior submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. Today marks the two year anniversary of Naval Group being selected by the Australian Government as the international partner for the design and build of 12 regionally superior submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. Naval Group image. Since being awarded the contract, we have achieved some significant company, industry and Program milestones. We are only two years into a 50 year program and while much has been achieved, we still have a long way to go. We remain committed to delivering a regionally superior submarine by bringing international experience and technology together with local capabilities to upskill Australia and support Australia become a sovereign submarine nation. This is a requirement of the Australian Government and we are working in partnership with the Department of Defence to fulfil this requirement. Program milestones Officially opened the Future Submarine Program office in Cherbourg housing Naval Group personnel alongside their Defence and Lockheed Martin Australia colleagues; Commenced the master planning studies to inform the design and build of the Future Submarine Construction yard in Adelaide; The first stage of the submarine design, known as the functional analysis was completed on schedule in October 2017 culminating in a successful preliminary system requirements review; Sent the first group of Australian engineers over to France to undertake specific design training for Australias Future Submarine. The mission is an important step in the Transfer of Technology from France to Australia to establish submarine sovereignty; and Awarded the Design Services Subcontract (DSCC) to KBR to assist with the concept design of the proposed Future Submarine (SEA1000) construction yard at the Osborne Naval Shipbuilding precinct in South Australia. Australian Industry milestones Conducted eight Future Submarine industry briefings across the nation providing Australian companies information on how to become involved in the Future Submarine Program; Suppliers for the top five pieces of equipment are currently being reviewed. They include: the submarines main motor, diesel generators, switchboards batteries, and weapons discharge systems. Released Expressions of Interests and Requests for Information for major equipment and common technologies equipment for the Future Submarine; and We have worked and continue to work with education facilities, TAFEs and universities, having forged a collaborative engineering and research Memorandum of Understanding with the University of New South Wales. Company Milestones Expanded the Naval Group Australia team from 15 employees to 74 and are due to double in size to approximately 155 in 2018; Partnered with the Indigenous Defence Consortium (IDC) to explore opportunities to include Indigenous Australians and Indigenous businesses within Naval Groups supply chain; Participated in the Pacific 2017 International Maritime Exposition where we demonstrated how we will design and deliver 12 regionally superior submarines; Signed an MoU with the Australian Council of Trade Unions which outlined the partnership principles that will govern how the parties will work together going forwards; and Successfully became ISO 9001 certified. Video on Australia's future submarine Australia's Future Submarine Program: The Australian Government selected Naval Group (then known as DCNS) as its preferred international partner for the design of 12 Future submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. The announcement was made on April 26 2016 by the Australian Prime Minister the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, the Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, The Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, the Hon. Christopher Pyne and The Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett. DCNS was competing with the Shortfin Barracuda design against TKMS' Type 216 and Japan's Soryu class designs. Based on the French Navy Barracuda SSN currently in final stage of construction, Australia's future submarine will be will be 97 meters in length and 8.8 meters in diameter. In September 2017, Lockheed Martin was selected as the preffered combat system integrator. All 12 submarines are expected to be built in Adelaide (South Australia) with technology transfer from Naval Group. The Bay Area sailor who set off last Fall to become the first person to sail solo around The Americas and Antarctica all in a single season is scrubbing his journey following a pair of storms that damaged his boat. Just don't count Randall Reeves out entirely. "I just made some mistakes," Reeves said from Tasmania where his boat is undergoing repairs. "I didnt handle the storms as best I could." Reeves named his journey the Figure 8 Voyage for the shape of its trajectory looping through the Southern and Indian Oceans, crossing twice near Cape Horn. But two months into the trip, not far from Cape Horn, is where Reeves hit the first bout of trouble. On Christmas Day, as winds of up to 70 knots battered his craft, a wave he estimates around 40 feet tall clobbered the boat knocking it over, destroying his automatic steering equipment and forcing him to hand steer. After frantic calls to his wife Joanna Bloor who was gathered with family for the holiday, she collected new steering equipment and personally delivered it to Argentina where the boat was repaired. "I dominated Christmas in a way that was not particularly pleasant," Reeves said. Back at sea came Reeves' second, and even more harrowing calamity. In the Indian Ocean his boat was walloped by another storm this time a 30-foot wave in the dark of night picked the boat up and dropped it like a surfer tumbling off a wave. The boat tipped over with the mast in the water. A window blew out allowing a violent river of water to flood the vessel. Reeves righted the boat, pumped the water out, boarded up the window and took stock of his damaged gear. All the electronic equipment, including his navigational aids, were destroyed. He limped into port in Tasmania, navigating with paper maps, which had also endured a soaking. "It's not turned out the way I thought it would," Reeves admitted. Figure 8 Voyage Reeves weighed the options; continue the journey which would again place him in some of the worlds stormiest oceans. Wait it out until the next season and continue from Tasmania. Or come home. "So for me what's next is to sail home from here," Reeves said, conceding his impending return to San Francisco. "Eight-thousand miles, two months." Reeves expects to arrive back in the Bay Area in late June. But he won't be home long. He's planning to set-out for another attempt at the Figure 8 Voyage in the Fall, employing all his crash-learning about what it takes to navigate vicious storms. "I've got health, I've got a great boat," Reeves said. "I've got opportunity and desire so I want to give it another go." Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area Reeves' wife may not be physically in the same boat, but she's weathered every wave and every guest from the couple's Oakland home, following the weather by computer, while helping her husband post his video blogs. "I think he's completely mad," Bloor laughed. "Like theres no way I could do this, there's no way." In the sailing community, Bloor said she's known as "best wife in the world" for her unwavering support of her husbands forays. Bloor helped Reeves plan his journey and was in on the decision making about whether to continue. But when it comes to the actual sailing, which includes intense storms but doesnt include regular bathing, she said shes perfectly content to follow his progress from land. "I've kind of virtually lived with him as he sailed around the world once," Bloor said. "And none of it sounded good." Figure 8 Voyage Reeves said his tenacity was etched by his life-long love of sailing, which has motivated him to see his quest through even if it will take him away from home for a cumulative two years. For him that specific objective has become the lone star to navigate by. "What does it say about me?" Randall asked, repeating back a reporters question. "Either that Im crazy or Im pretty passionate about this particular enterprise." Detectives hunting for the Golden State Killer got their man after climbing up and down dozens of online family trees in search of somebody who fit his profile and could be a DNA match, authorities told NBC News on Thursday. Sacramento investigators narrowed down their search to a 72-year-old former police officer named Joseph James DeAngelo after looking at the profiles that people exploring their family backgrounds posted on various websites that specialize in those kinds of searches, they said. DeAngelo was arrested this week on eight counts of murder. Authorities believe that overall, he's responsible for more than a dozen murders, at least 45 rapes and more than 100 burglaries in California between 1974 and 1986. Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi shed new light Thursday on how DeAngelo was captured, confirming a report in the Sacramento Bee. DNA from crime scenes was used to create a genetic profile, which was then matched with profiles available online from a commercial genealogy company. What to Know The FBI said the "Golden State Killer" is responsible for approximately 45 rapes, 12 homicides, and multiple residential burglaries Investigators used information gleaned from an online DNA-testing site to narrow down their search This week, police arrested their suspect: a 72-year-old former police officer, who was arraigned on 2 murder charges Friday The man accused of being the Golden State Killer, who terrorized suburban California neighborhoods in a spate of brutal rapes and slayings in the 1970s and '80s before leaving a cold trail that baffled investigators for decades, was arraigned in Sacramento court Friday. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, made his first court appearance Friday. Handcuffed to a wheelchair in orange jail scrubs, he looked dazed and spoke in a faint voice to acknowledge he was represented by a public defender. He did not enter a plea. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones has said DeAngelo was in a psychiatric ward of the county jail and has said little. Jones says there's been "quiet reflection" and mumbling. DeAngelo was charged with eight counts of murder in three counties after being linked to the crimes through his DNA. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office on Thursday confirmed a relative's DNA on genealogy websites helped them track down DeAngelo. Lead investigator Paul Holes told the Mercury News that one of his team's biggest tools was GEDMatch, a Florida-based website that pools DNA profiles that people upload and share publicly. Source: http://www.coldcase-earons.com/ GEDMatch is a free site where users who have DNA profiles from commercial companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe, but the free site doesn't require a court order to access the genetic database like the commercial sites do. Most of the crimes, predominantly sex assaults but also two slayings, occurred in the three years he was an Auburn police officer in the Sierra foothills outside Sacramento. DeAngelo's six-year career as a cop came swiftly to an end after being busted for shoplifting a can of dog repellant and a hammer from a Pay N' Save store in a Sacramento suburb in 1979. Authorities are now wondering if the items he snatched were intended as tools for the sinister rash of crimes he's suspected of carrying out. Until a week ago, DeAngelo, who lived in a neatly kept home in the Citrus Heights suburb where many of the attacks went down and where he was caught stealing, was not in their sights. For 27 years, he worked in a cavernous Save Mart Supermarkets distribution warehouse in Roseville, a Sacramento suburb, before retiring last year, company spokeswoman Victoria Castro said. "None of his actions in the workplace would have led us to suspect any connection to crimes being attributed to him," she said in a statement. DeAngelo built remote-controlled model airplanes and took meticulous care of his house and manicured lawn, neighbors said. Natalia Bedes-Correnti said DeAngelo appeared to be a "nice old grandpa" who lived with an adult daughter and granddaughter. But he also had penchant for cussing loudly when he was frustrated. "He liked the 'F-word' a lot," Bedes-Correnti said. Deputies kept watch on the house and his comings and goings for several days and took him by surprise Tuesday afternoon as he walked outside. As he was being arrested, he told officers he had a roast in the oven. They said they would take care of it. Craig Wooster was awakened just before 5:30 a.m. more than six months ago when his cellphone rang with news of the fires that had begun racing through Californias Wine Country, and that would eventually kill more than 40 people, destroy more than 8,500 buildings and leave thousands without power. The general contractor of a small, freestanding grid or microgrid that serves the vineyards and winery at Stone Edge Farm in Sonoma County, he gave instructions that it be untethered from the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. so that it could continue to produce power to pump water from wells for the irrigation system if the utility went out. For the next 10 days, while the farm was evacuated, it became a showcase of resiliency as the staff operated the microgrid remotely. The microgrid did exactly what it was designed to do, Wooster said. It operated even without us doing anything to make it work. Now Wooster and Stone Edge Farm's owners, Mac and Leslie McQuown, are taking lessons learned from the fires to improve the microgrid and to encourage a different kind of rebuilding in the nearby Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, which was devastated. Following the fires, the earthquake in Napa Valley four years ago and Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year that destroyed much of Puerto Rico and flooded Houston and southern Florida, Wooster predicted new interest in energy sources that can withstand natural disasters. The fire taught us some things that I do not think we would have designed into our testing scheme because we never thought about them, Wooster said. That gave us a real world scenario and in a lot of ways made us think more outside the box. Mac McQuown is a former banker who led a team at Wells Fargo in San Francisco that created the first stock index fund, Leslie McQuown is a designer, and together they co-founded the 16-acre Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery in 1995. The farm produces Bordeaux-style wines, heirloom vegetables, grapes and olive oil, among other products. From the start they were determined to conserve water and reduce their carbon footprint, installing arrays of solar panels, and they are now exploring how far below zero carbon emissions they can go. The farm's microgrid was designed almost five years ago as a laboratory, Wooster said. It is meant to be a prototype, an experiment, overbuilt to test different components and identify trade-offs, purposely retrofitted and mostly buried underground. It is open source with no restrictions on the use of its discoveries. It buys equipment from start-ups and has employed dozens of interns. Wooster wouldn't say how much they've spent. The staff is working with institutions across the world, including the California College of the Arts to install microgrids. Its goal? "The ability to provide the energy to be carbon neutral essentially," said the college's president, Stephen Beal. The college is focused on fine arts, design and architecture and impresses upon its 2,000 students the importance of sustainability, he said. It is expanding its campus in San Francisco. "Creating a microgrid became the process or the pathway through which we could attempt to meet the goal of carbon neutrality," he said. Amory Lovins, a cofounder and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, which is dedicated to sustainability research, noted that the microgrid was able to run from a variety of sources. "The microgrid artfully combines a very broad range of technologies to demonstrate the many diverse technical options and how they play together," he said. The microgrid itself is made up of, among other parts, batteries, a microturbine, inverters that connect or isolate the microgrid to the utility grid, and an electrolyzer and a hydrogen storage and fueling station. When its seven utility meters are disconnected from the utility grid, they are connected together on a microgrid trunk line and operate in what is called island mode. One unique feature: It is capable of exporting energy to the utility grid even if it is otherwise in island mode. Last fall, despite the fires ash and smoke the microgrid produced half of the energy it normally would produce but because there was no one at the farm using the power it was enough to threaten to overwhelm the batteries, Wooster said. Normally when the batteries are fully charged, the farm turns on its hydrogen electrolyzer, makes gaseous hydrogen, stores it and uses it to power the cars on the farm, he said. But because he did not want to introduce a flammable agent during the fire, he ordered the electrolyzer not be used. Over the last six months, the staff has working to try to develop more control over the individual parts, much the way one can control the volume of a radio. They believe they have a solution that they will be testing over the next few months. This is really a fundamental building block of microgrids if we can get this to work, Wooster said. Its not a trivial matter, its very sophisticated. That is a light year leap for microgrid development, he said. Among the batteries used in the microgrid are lithium ferrous phosphate ones produced by an Ojai, California-based company, SimpliPhi Power. "What were able to prove out and indeed this is happening all over the world that renewables coupled with batteries in a distributed local architecture are more cost effective, create more resilience and more security than top down centralized infrastructure," said Catherine Von Burg. Another lesson from the fires, according to Wooster: The country must move rapidly to install microgrids in hospitals, fire stations, stations and other critical infrastructure so that they operate independently of the utility grid. Lovins would add to that all gasoline and diesel filling stations, all of which should be equipped with solar panels and batteries to provide dedicated power to pump fuel during power failures. A committee has been formed to find a way to rebuild the Coffey Park neighborhood that in Woosters words is more focused on 2030 than 1972, a project that is moving forward. The utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., is participating but residents must still organize, he said. For the future, components of microgrids must be built and ready to ship when a natural disaster occurs, Wooster said. One of the bigger world discussions at the moment is how to focus on the next disaster and be ready to move, he said. Emotions ran high outside of the Pennsylvania courtroom after Bill Cosby was found guilty in a retrial on 3 counts of aggravated indecent assault Thursday morning. "We are so happy that finally women are believed and not only on #MeToo but in a court of law," said Gloria Allred. Allred represents one of the five women that testified against Cosby, who was once portrayed as the ideal American father on a popular sitcom. One of the accusers was North Bay resident Janice Baker Kinney, who said in a Facebook post, "I am overwhelmed with joy, relief and gratitude." She added that she felt relief that years of the toxic chain of events has been broken. Kinney was a bartender at a Rena bar where Cosby had performed. Cosby reportedly walked out of the courtroom without acknowledging the crowd. His attorney says they will appeal. "We are very disappointed by the verdict we don't think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything and the fight is not over," said Cosbys attorney, Tom Messereau. Police this week issued a warning to students at San Jose State University about a group walking onto campus and soliciting private information. The group's motive is unclear, police say, but students fear it might be some sort of sex club. University police said no crime has been committed, but they are looking into what the group, primarily a woman, wants on and off campus with young females. Students have been sharing their stories on a campus social media site called the Sammy app. "I was approached by a lady who was dressed up formally," student Grace Kim said. "She complimented my hair and asked if I was interested in more job opportunities." A former SJSU student shared a similar story about being offered a job in an office building by a woman matching the description. That student, who did not want to be identified, recalled the woman saying, "Youre really beautiful. So you could be really successful." "I was like, 'At a financial firm I can be really successful because Im beautiful?'" the student recalled. On the campus app, students are speculating the woman is luring them into some sort of sex club. There also have been invitations to a Bible club in some cases. "As of now, we havent had a crime occur," said Lt. Jim Renelle of the San Jose State Police Department. Renelle said the department isnt sure what the exact intentions are of the woman or the group. Detectives want to talk to them and for now are warning students to keep their guard up. "We are encouraging people to keep reporting it," Renelle said. "What we need to happen is people to report it right away instead of waiting a day or two." In Kim's case, she gave the woman her number. "I just remember, like, her repeatedly calling me, and I had to block her," Kim said. In some encounters a second woman is involved, students have said. And one student posted online that a man was taking pictures of her during the encounter. Similar encounters have been reported outside a Target store on Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Humboldt County pot farmer JD grew weed for decades before the once-illicit plant became legal in California, but ironically, legalization could spell the end of JDs farming days. Hes still growing illegally, without having obtained the necessary local and state licenses, but just until he saves enough money to make his escape and start a new life somewhere else, he says. Count him among the majority of Emerald Triangle growers who watched legalization come to California but decided not to step out of the shadows. Its also the reason he asked NBC Bay Area to call him by a nickname. JD wanted to go legit, he says, but scrapped those plans when he realized the hefty price of complying with state and county regulations. I looked forward to doing it, but it ended up being a lot more expensive than you would think, JD said. On top of new fees and taxes levied by state and local agencies on growers opting to join the regulated market, it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for growers like JD to bring their land up to code. With weed currently being sold at rock-bottom prices, running a small pot farm simply doesnt pencil out anymore for a lot of growers in JDs shoes. I grew because I love the plant, JD said. I make the best plants. Thats what I do, and theres not a lot of money in that anymore. Theres a lot of money in making a lot of plants. JD is among the vast majority of California cannabis farmers who are still operating illegally or giving up their farms altogether. The California Growers Association estimates there are about 68,000 cannabis cultivators in the state. But data from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the agency responsible for licensing cultivators, shows only 8 percent of those estimated growers have even applied for temporary state licenses. Just 5 percent of growers have actually been granted one. Some growers blame this on regulators, saying they havent done enough to ensure small farmers can survive in the new era of legal weed, leaving them no choice but to fold or take their chances on the black market. Others call it the price of regulation, an unfortunate but necessary consequence of bringing legitimacy to an industry thats spent decades operating with the threat of criminal prosecution looming overhead. With regulation come taxes, fees and red tape no different than what any small business owner in America has to deal with, they say. County to county, its tough to pin down the percentage of growers who have opted to go the legal route. In Sonoma County, data show only about 4 percent of growers have initiated the process. Just to the North, in Mendocino County, roughly 18 percent of growers have submitted applications to the county. Thats using the low-end estimate of 5,000 growers in the county, but officials say the true number is probably closer to 10,000. In Humboldt County, which has done comparatively well in bringing its growers into the fold, roughly 30 percent have at least begun the permitting process. Thats according to Humboldt County officials, who estimate the total number of growers in the county to be roughly 6,000. But some believe there are significantly more grow sites in the county, perhaps upwards of 15,000, which would mean considerably more pot farmers are operating illegally. There are some people who are rightly panicking right now because they recognize that the world they know is going to be different, and it may not work for them, and its unsettling, said John Ford, planning director for Humboldt County. Policing the black market is now largely out of the hands of law enforcement in Humboldt County and handled by Ford and his team, who use aerial images to spot illicit grows. Getting caught means significant penalties of $10,000 per day for each violation. Ford says the system has had more success at shutting down illegal grows than the law enforcement raids of old. The Sheriffs Office could hit 15 to 20 sites in a year, Ford said. Now we can do that in a week. When aerial photography is so available, and you can look down and see exactly where theyre at and just send a letter from a desktop, it changes the engagement significantly. Fords team has already sent out about 100 letters to properties with illicit grows and expects to send out more than 500 by the end of the summer. He knows many growers in the county will struggle to survive on the regulated market, and he says the county is making every effort to engage small farmers in the process. But he believes removing the black market from the equation is whats best for the county. We do want the cannabis industry to be successful, and the way its successful is that it has a level playing field and that everyone is complying with the same requirements, Ford said. Humboldt County grower Scott Davies gives Ford a lot of credit for his work trying to bring cannabis cultivators into the regulated market. Davies came to Humboldt County in the 1980s. He fell in love and hasnt left since. Now, he runs Winterbourne Farms, tucked up against the Mattole River in a remote part of the county. Hes a fierce advocate of regulating the industry and moving beyond prohibition and was among the first growers in county to begin the permitting process. Davies says he spent years looking for the perfect property for growing cannabis on the regulated market, believing legalization was all but inevitable. We made the decision to focus our cultivation on a piece of property that would be perfect for any type of agriculture endeavor, he said. Flat, the ability to store water, good access to sunshine for the plants, but also for the solar system that powers the farm. Davies, who also co-owns the Humboldt Legends distribution company, understands the majority of growers in the county, many of whom have been growing for decades, are simply not going to make it. He feels for them but says a bit more foresight could have likely saved some growers from the precarious positions they now find themselves in. I think some of the people didnt prepare as well as they should have, and now they are suffering, he said. But Davies said it also comes down to size. Davies said Winterbourne Farms is about the smallest size operation that can make it on the regulated market without a lot of additional stress. I think 20,000 square feet is just over the kind of cutoff that makes the most economic sense for people to go into the permit path, he said. By comparison, JDs grow is just a fraction of the size of Winterbourne Farms. Davies acknowledges the steep price of coming into compliance for growers, but chooses to view the cost as a long-term investment in his business. He says the process has cost him upwards of half a million dollars so far. Thats significant, it really is, Davies said. But that money comes back in increased property value and in the business that can continue on into the future. So its a thoughtful investment for the future for a long-term play. He understands hell now be competing with some of his neighbors who choose to remain on the black market but isnt overly concerned as long as their illicit weed is only being sold out of state. My expectation is that the black market wont go away but that I wont have to compete with the black market in the retail, regulated channel, he said. Keeping black market pot out of the regulated market is now up to state regulators like Lori Ajax, Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control. She says they are trying to balance the needs of farmers while still maintaining the regulations she says are in the best interests of the industry, consumers, and the environment. I think its our job, along with local jurisdictions, to not create a situation where the black market is thriving, Ajax said. Its still early in the process, and Ajax says she expects more growers to come onboard in the coming months. She says the bureau, along with the states public health department and CDFA, which regulates cultivators are fine-tuning the rules right now. Were working on our final regulations that all three licensing authorities will be releasing in the next couple months to address these issues that arent working and to find ways we can make sure cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be successful. Growers committed to going legit tell NBC Bay Area they look forward to ending cannabis prohibition and ushering in a new era of legitimacy and stability to the industry, despite any potential challenges and growing pains. Regulation, they say, helps protect the environment from degradation, lets consumers know where their pot was grown and that its free from mold and pesticides, and ends the criminalization of those in the industry. But no matter how hard regulators work to bring cultivators into the legal market, state data show the California market simply cant support everybody. According to a recent report by the California Department of Finance, Californians consumes only about 20 percent of the 13.5 million pounds of pot the states growers produce each year. The report estimates about 11 million pounds is shipped out of state, which is still currently illegal under state and federal law. So, by all accounts, the states illicit cannabis market is here to stay. But the reasons growers remain in the shadows can be quite different. For some farmers, like JD, the decision to grow on the black market comes down to economics. It can be too costly to come into compliance without access to a boatload of capital. Larger growers, often backed by investors with deep pockets, can afford to hire consultants and lawyers to help them navigate the licensing process. They can also withstand the new fees and taxes that growers have to hand over to a handful of different government agencies. Another faction of growers never intended to join the legal market at all, some Emerald Triangle cultivators say. Some dont trust the government and have significant doubts about handing over their personal information to local and state authorities. Many others will be tempted by the significantly higher prices California weed sells for out of state. Many of the illicit growers are addicted to the cash, and thats something thats hard to give up, JD said. And then there are growers who find themselves on the black market simply because of geography. Despite being legal at the state level, local control provisions allow cities and counties to ban cannabis cultivation, so anyone growing in those areas is operating illicitly. Just five months into Californias legal pot journey, its probably too soon to say for sure just how many of the states cannabis farmers are going to survive. The coming months should be telling. In the meantime, growers face a lot of uncertainty, both on the legal market, and the illicit one. Theres a lot of us that are giving it a last ditch effort, JD said. And then there are those of us that are getting out. If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit email theunit@nbcbayarea.com. Follow Liz on Facebook and Twitter. A free speech lawsuit against officials at the University of California, Berkeley can move forward, although there is no evidence the school discriminated against speakers with conservative views, a U.S. judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney said the Berkeley College Republicans and Young America's Foundation could challenge what they said were secret university restrictions on speakers and a $9,000 fee the school charged to host conservative writer Ben Shapiro. But Chesney said Wednesday the plaintiffs failed to show there was liberal bias when restrictions were imposed on where conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter could speak and when. She noted that another right-wing speaker, Milo Yiannopoulos, had received approval to speak on campus, and the plaintiffs did not allege the university imposed restrictions on his talk. UC Berkeley police canceled Yiannopoulos' scheduled speech in February 2017 just before it was to begin, citing safety concerns. A large crowd had gathered outside and a demonstration turned violent when dozens of black-clad anarchists appeared and attacked some demonstrators and later vandalized some businesses near the campus. University officials repeatedly cited safety concerns for restrictions on subsequent conservative speakers, and Chesney said "there are no allegations suggesting those concerns were unfounded." The lawsuit was filed last year after a scheduled appearance by Coulter didn't take place in the wake of violence before Yiannopoulos' scheduled event. UC Berkeley said in a statement it had spent more than $800,000 on security at the Shapiro event and the roughly $9,000 it charged was "lawful and appropriate." It also denied it had a secret policy for high-profile speakers. Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said she disagreed with numerous aspects of Chesney's ruling, but it was still "bad news" for UC Berkeley. University policies are having a chilling effect on student speech by giving school officials "unfettered discretion" to decide what events require additional security and other restrictions, she said. "That's incredibly subjective," she said. In North Carolinas Robenson County Superior Court sits a voluminous motion filed on the behalf of Daniel Green, seeking a new trial in the murder of James Jordan. The 2015 motion details a range of issuesfrom police corruption to evidence tampering to false testimony and juror misconduct. [[480967691, C]] This case is complicated. If I had to pick one word, Id say, its complicated, said Attorney Chris Mumma, of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. Its complicated because there is a lot of moving parts and its a high profile case. When you get those two things combined, thats where youre really at risk. NBC 5s Rob Stafford asks the man sentenced to life in prison for murdering James Jordan if he was the one who shot the father of legendary athlete Michael Jordan. Green is currently serving life in prison for the murder of the father of the worlds most famous athlete, Michael Jordan. Green was convicted in 1996 after he and his childhood friend were charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy. That friend, Larry Demery got 40 years after testifying in court that Green was the trigger man. Greens motion and supporting exhibits of trial transcripts and affidavits consist of hundreds of supporting documents gathered over 25 years of Greens doggid persistence of innocence. In addition to Mumma, Greens defense team is made up of Ian Mance of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Scott Holmes, a professor at the North Carolina Central School of Law. Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt who prosecuted the case, stands by the conviction. He characterizes the case as a strong circumstantial case, saying Daniel Green was in control. He drove the car with the body, Britt said. He drove to the location to dump the body. He made the calls. The .38 was found at his house. He rapped on the videotape with the stolen jewelry. Rob Stafford asks Daniel Green, the man convicted of murdering Michael Jordans father, what he wants to say to the legendary athlete 25 years after James Jordans death. Britt added the recent post-trial motion is, grasping at straws and he hopes that a hearing will put an end to the post-conviction circus. The North Carolina Attorney Generals office is reviewing the court filing and has not yet made a decision on whether to grant Green a new trial. TAMPERED EVIDENCE Recent court filings by Greens attorneys claim that someone tampered with James Jordans shirt after an autopsy had been performed. The autopsy report performed by Dr. Joel Sexton of Newberry, South Carolina indicates that he found no hole in the shirt that corresponded with the bullet wound in the upper chest area. Yet during the trial, when Agent R.N. Mars of the States Bureau of Investigations (SBI) testified, he told the jury that there was a hole in the upper chest area, contradicting Sextons report. The court filing says that the lack of a hole in the shirt to match the bullet wound contradicts the prosecutors theory that James Jordan was asleep and lying down in his Lexus when he was shot. This discrepancy would have greatly strengthened the defense argument that Demerys version of events was false, the court filing says. It would have bolstered the defense theory that an altercation occurred between Demery and Jordan. FALSE TESTIMONY Court filings say that the states forensics expert, Jennifer Elwell of State Bureau of Investigations, testified that she found blood in Jordans Lexus. She later recanted in a sworn affidavit that she did not know what the substance was. After the Green trial, the State Bureau of Investigation was audited by Attorney General Roy Cooper in 2015, and the audit revealed that the forensic lab withheld or distorted evidence in more than 200 cases. Court filings in Greens motion also claim that Elwell was ordered by a supervisor to destroy the only known sample of Jordans blood after the trial. [[480857711, C]] POLICE CORRUPTION One theory disclosed in court filings questions Hubert Stone, Robeson County Sheriff at the time; and other law enforcement officers who worked the murder investigation. One key piece of evidence, which led police to the boys were the cell phone calls made from James Jordans cell phone. One of the first calls was to Hubert Deese, who worked with Larry Demery. Deese is a convicted cocaine trafficker. New evidence discovered by Greens defense team found that Deese is the biological son of Sheriff Stone. Police never questioned Deese. Greens defense team believes that Green took the fall to protect the Sheriffs son. JUROR MISCONDUCT Greens motion for a new trial includes a sworn statement from the former jury forewoman, Paula Locklear who says that during the trial, she did her own investigation, violating a judges order. Locklear says she visited the South Carolina creek where the body was discovered and formulated her own theory on how the murder occurred. What to Know Trump said on "Fox and Friends" he knew the rapper "a little bit" and always got along with him West recently said he and Trump share "dragon energy" Chance the Rapper wants to make something clear -- he doesn't agree with President Donald Trump. Trump mentioned Chance in a tweet Friday morning amid his recent interactions with fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West, and the mention elicited a simple five-word response from the "Coloring Book" artist. "Nah that aint it yo," he said before launching into a long explanation of what happened. The nod from Trump comes after Chance, while defending criticism of his friend and fellow Chicago artist Kanye West, wrote that "Black people don't have to be democrats." "Unfortunately, my attempt to support Kanye is being used to discredit my brothers and sisters in the movement and I can't sit by and let that happen either," he said Friday. "I'd never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination. I'd never support someone who'd talk about Chicago as if it's hell on earth and then take steps to make life harder here for the most disenfranchised among us." [[481071191, C]] The interactions between Trump and West showed no signs of slowing down as the commander-in-chief took to Twitter Friday to continue his praise of the rapper. Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community - Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades - Legacy Stuff! Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history). Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Talked to him two days ago. Hes in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health. Same Ye from the Vmas, same Ye from the telethon. https://t.co/2zY3KpllV2 Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018 West and Trump have been praising each other all week. On Thursday, Trump thanked West for having the "good taste" to support him after West called the president his "brother" and said they both have "dragon energy" flowing through their veins. West has also been seen sporting a Make America Great Again cap in recent days. Trump said in an interview with "Fox & Friends" that he knew the rapper "a little bit" and always got along with him, and said that West has noticed the low unemployment rate for black Americans. "He sees that stuff and he's smart and he says, 'you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,'" the president said. Following Trump's tweet Chance said his comments were "a personal issue with the fact that Chicago has had generations of democratic officials with no investment or regard for black schools, neighborhood or black lives." "But again, said that s--- at the wrongest time," he wrote. Authorities say a 1-year-old child died after getting tangled in window blind cords at a babysitter's home in Wisconsin Tuesday. Sheboygan Police Lt. Doug Teunissen says the boy crawled out of a crib and became entangled, ruling his death an accident. Police say they are not recommending any charges. The child, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at St. Nicholas Hospital. A police officer and another person were injured in what officials are calling an officer-involved shooting Thursday afternoon in west suburban St. Charles. Officers responded to a burglary call about noon near Voltaire Lane and Peck Road, where a caller said someone armed with a gun broke into his house, according to a statement from St. Charles police. Officers saw a man running in the area toward a park, police said. While they chased him, he pointed a gun at officers, who fired at him. The man and an officer were taken to Delnor Hospital in Geneva, though police didnt clarify which, if either, had been shot. The man, who police called a suspect, was transferred to a trauma center for additional treatment. The intersection of Voltaire and Peck remained closed as Illinois State Police investigated the shooting, city officials said. A spokesman for Illinois State Police said the agency was investigating the shooting at the request of St. Charles police, but did provide additional information. Charges were pending against the man, police said. A long-standing West Hartford pharmacy will be acquired by CVS Pharmacy at the start of next month. Many longtime customers of Suburban Pharmacy learned about the change Thursday for the first time. Its a shame to see it go, Sue Lawshe said. Sue Lawshe said Suburban Pharmacy on North Main Street has been her go for refills and beyond, to especially in times of need. When I've been horrifically ill, Ive been able to call and have things delivered, Lawshe said. Thursday Lawshe learned the long-standing neighborhood pharmacy will be taken over by the corporation the next time she refills. While management tells NBC Connecticut all current customers prescriptions will still be processed, Lawshe worries about the experience. Its that personal touch and the individual attention, Lawshe. Suburbans management said most of the 12 to 15 employees will be able to keep their jobs in the coming weeks under CVS. Lawshe said she hopes communication with them stays too. I can call, I can talk to somebody and it doesn't have to go through a horrifically extensive national database. With this store it's their records and I can talk with the person who filled it last time, Lawshe said. Sorry to hear that they're being bought out. I like independent things, Birch Milliken said. Milliken said the change is a sign of the times. That's the way a lot of things are going. I guess theyre really leaning toward ownership by some bigger corporation, Milliken said. In a statement, CVS said in part, The transition to CVS Pharmacy will be a seamless experience for patients. The customers now say theyll have to decide if they can stick to their go-to neighborhood pharmacy when new management comes to town. I don't know, I'll have to figure it out, Lawshe said. Former Consumer Protection Commissioner, Connecticut Democratic Party leader, and State Senator Jonathan Harris announced he would drop his bid for governor, Friday, and threw his support to businessman Ned Lamont. The move provides another shot of momentum to Lamonts campaign, as the Connecticut Democratic Party is three weeks away from its nominating convention in Hartford. It is with great pride today that I endorse Ned and offer my help to him to be the next governor of Connecticut, Harris told reporters during a press conference at the Connecticut State Capitol. The discussions between Harris and Lamont over the endorsement appear to have been brief, and Harris noted that the two have spoken at length over the past few months as they have intended numerous forums across Connecticut. The support for Lamont, Harris hopes, sends a message to other candidates looking to keep Connecticuts governors office in Democratic hands for the next four years. I think we need to become united now and focus on winning in November and we want to win not just to win, but we want to win because we want to govern, Harris said. We have to keep this state blue. We cannot become a red right to work state. Thats not the direction we want to go in. By picking up Harris support, it provides a link from Lamont to the administration of Gov. Dannel Malloy, something Lamont said does not scare him. Look, Dan Malloy inherited a mess and Im not sitting around blaming Dan Malloy. Im not talking about where weve been. Im talking about where were going and I think Im the candidate who gives us the best chance to talk about where were going. The race for governor appears to be thinning before candidates arrive at the Democrats convention next month. Multiple sources within the state Democratic establishment have told NBC Connecticut that they view the race as being a three-way-contest among Lamont, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. Each could conceivably emerge with the requisite 15 percent of committed delegates to secure access on the August primary ballot. Ganim said in a statement of Harris leaving the race to endorse Lamont, I like Jonathan and wish him well. But the withdrawal of Jonathan Harris from the governors race does not fundamentally change this race. Bysiewicz also released a statement, saying, I thank Jonathan for contributing important ideas to these discussions as well as for his long service as an elected official, commissioner and Democratic Party executive director. A call reporting an armed intruder at The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain Friday turned out to be false, according to hospital officials. A statement from Hartford Health Care said the police responded to the hospital campus at 11 a.m. after a call was made from outside the hospital about an armed intruder on the campus. Police searched the area and determined that the alleged threat was false, then they identified and located the suspected caller, according to the hospital. Mark Barden and Nicole Hockley, who became national advocates for gun control after losing their children in the Sandy Hook massacre, have opted against running for Congress. Barden and Hockley are the co-founders of Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit organization focused on preventing gun violence and advocating for gun control at the state and national levels. Supporters had suggested either one of them run for Connecticut's Fifth District seat. Having both lost children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, we feel compelled to be with our surviving children during their high school years we know all too well how precious and short time with family can be, they said in a joint statement. Bardens son Daniel and Hockleys son Dylan were both killed in the Newtown shooting. The statement also said that being considered an honor, and that they would not rule out running for Congress in the future. For now, they will continue their work with Sandy Hook Promise. We started this journey together, and right now, we feel we can have more of an impact by seeing just how far we can go together, the statement said. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat, currently holds the seat. On April 2, Esty announced she would not run for re-election amid criticism and pressure to resign after she admitted to keeping her former chief of staff on after he was accused of threatening another female staff member. When 5-year-old Daniella Cireillo waves to the superheroes out the hospital window, she forgets shes hooked up to a machine and getting a blood transfusion. She just has a transfusion a week ago, so for her to come again and have this distract her a little bit, its really great, said her mother, Nicole Cireillo. Everyone, including the doctors and the nurses, dressed as superheroes for Superhero Day at Connecticut Childrens Medical Center. Its important to remind ourselves and our families that even though our kids, whatever their going through, if their sick, if their inpatient, that theyre still kids, said Connecticut Childrens Medical Centers Kelsea Portner. Hartford police officers paid a visit wearing masks and capes. All of the enrichment that we do. All of the fun activities we do, Portner said. That helps heal the children just as much as the medicine does. Police seized several venomous snakes from a Meriden home and said they found other snakes dead, including a king cobra. Officials from the state and Meriden police went to a home on Westfield Road in Meriden Thursday after an advertisement was found on a snake forum about several venomous snakes that were for sale. Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection identified the suspect as 21-year-old Cameron DeFrances, of Meriden, and said he had posted photos on his social media account and listed the snakes for sale. At the Meriden home, officials found seven snakes that are illegal in Connecticut, including a Gaboon Viper, a Forest cobra, two Egyptian banded cobras and two Monocled cobras. A reptile specialist was called in and transported the snakes to a secure facility for reptiles A tree viper and a King cobra were also found deceased. DEEP takes these cases very seriously, Colonel Kyle Overturf said in a statement. The exploitation, importation and trafficking of illegally taken wildlife threatens species in our country and across the world. DEEP helped to pass regulations to prohibit the importation and possession of potentially dangerous animals, including venomous snakes, as a measure to protect the health and safety of our residents and to protect the welfare of these species. DeFrances was charged with nine counts of illegal possession of a category-two wild animal and reckless endangerment in the first degree. DeFrances was released on a $1000 surety bond and is due in Meriden Superior Court on May 10. A listed home phone number for DeFrances was out of service Friday, according to the Associated Press. A security guard is in critical condition after Tuesdays shooting at a Home Depot in northeast Dallas. According to an arrest affidavit, loss prevention officer Scott Painter was found on the ground of the store's security office with apparent gunshot wounds following the deadly shooting. He is in critical condition at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, but Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall said the department is optimistic about what they are seeing with Painter. According to KHQ in Spokane, Painter had recently moved to Texas from Spokane. His Facebook page shows that he graduated from Centennial High School, and previously worked at Target doing security. Painter was also recently married in October 2017. The shooting sent a wave of horror through the home improvement store chain's corporate headquarters in Atlanta. Spokesman Stephen Holmes released the following statement Wednesday: "I'd first like to address the passing of the officer today. We're heartbroken. Our hearts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with the officer's family, as we continue to pull for the recovery of our associate and the other officer. As for our associate, our leadership team has been with the family to support them and our associate. They've also been present at the store to support our associates there." A North Texas man is warning consumers to avoid a local granite company, accusing the business of taking money and running. Micheal Williams admits his kitchen looks a bit bland, so he decided to invest in granite counter tops to make it pop. Williams said he went online and found an ad on Craigslist advertising granite installation. The name on the ad was a woman named Jennifer. "She said, 'thanks for contacting. We can schedule someone for the next date,'" recalled Williams. The next day, he said Fortino Solorzano, the owner of Legacy Granite and Marble, was at his doorstep. "Honestly, I felt like I had got lucky. He came in. He was well dressed, professional," he said. "I really did like him." For the kitchen counter top he said the owner told him it'd only cost him $1,800. He said Solorzano even said he'd do the back splash and the bathroom counter tops, all for $2,600. He'd just have to pay half up front so he could get the materials. "I asked him could I pay by credit card. He told me he was having problems with his machine," said Williams. So, Williams reluctantly wrote the owner a check for $1,300. Per the contract, Solorzano was supposed to complete the job by March 17. But Williams said Solorzano never even started. He said he was stood up by the contractor several times and eventually asked for his money back. He said the contractor agreed, but never showed up. "At this point, I know that he's not a legitimate contractor," he said. "I know I just got scammed." Williams called the NBC 5 Responds team to look into this business and the man behind it. We started with the woman whose name was on that Craigslist ad: Jennifer. She told us she's not affiliated with any business and that she's "just a middleman" who gets a small cut from connecting customers with contractors. But in this case, she said she didn't get a dime. We did some more digging and learned his company also goes by Eagle Granite and Marble. We came across these complaints online like "Fortino Solorzano stole my countertop deposit check of $3,000," and, "he also did the same thing for me and took my $1000 deposit." We called the owner to get his side of the story. He told us his name is Fortino Solorzano and the delays were due to problems with the job and family issues. He said the bad reviews online aren't true. And per contract, the deposit is non-refundable, but he'll make an exception for this customer to stay off the news. He told me he'd hand deliver his $1,300 refund to Williams by Saturday at noon. But that day came and went, and he was a no show. There is no business address listed on the contract. We went back to the contractor and asked him if he had a business address and he's now telling us he's no longer in business. Williams said he went to the Glenn Heights Police Department and was told this was a civil matter. He said he may never get his money back, but the least he can do is warn the public. Williams admits that he made some mistakes; things that he wishes he could do all over again. An Argyle man claims he was denied medical treatment, after staff at a Denton emergency room refused to treat him because of his service dog. The hospital apologized and says the incident is under review. For Andrew Kelley, the 120-pound Dogo Argentino named Tosin is much more than just mans best friend. He's also Andrews service dog. The former Army medic suffered back and brain injuries during his service in Iraq. "Before I had him, Id lost quite a bit of independence," Kelley said. "Getting him was able to bring that independence back to me. Tosin is trained to detect seizures and help Kelley with mobility. "The only thing he worries about is me and if Im okay," he said. On Monday, Kelley went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Denton for treatment of a back problem. "I wasnt there 10 minutes, and I was approached by two police officers, who pulled me aside and wanted to know if they could ask me a few questions," Kelley said. He says thats when he learned that his dog was a problem. Kelley says the officers asked him about his dog, and why he was at the hospital. He says he was later told the hospital would not treat him as long as his dog was with him. "To question the validity of the service he provides me not okay," Kelley said. "And then to overall say no, sorry, we cant help you -- thats not okay. Texas law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act guarantee the right of a person with disabilities to have a trained service dog in all public places -- hospitals included. "Its not just frustrating, its demoralizing," Kelley said. "Its embarrassing and its complete and open discrimination. In a response, the hospital acknowledged the incident. A statement from Texas Health Resources said: "The events of Monday evening at Texas Health Denton are currently under review. The hospital regrets any inconvenience caused to Mr. Kelley and his service dog during their campus visit, and we apologize to Mr. Kelley and his family. This occurrence does not comport with Texas Health Dentons policies. We will address any opportunities for education and improvement indicated by our review." Kelley says hes willing to work with the hospital to make the situation right. "This isnt about me. This isnt about him," Kelley said. "This is about changing a broken system. After his incident, Kelley says he also contacted his local congressman and the Civil Rights Office of Texas Health and Human Services. He worries about more vulnerable vets with service dogs, and wants to make sure the same thing doesnt happen to someone else. "Theres no excuse," he said. "Theres really no excuse. What to Know Mohamed Toure and his wife Denise Florence Cros-Toure, both 57, face charges of forced labor. The couple arraigned for the girl to travel from Guinea to the U.S. in January 2000 when she was about 5-years-old. The girl was not allowed to attend school and her passport was taken from her, keeping her in the U.S. unlawfully after her visa expired. A North Texas couple is accused of bringing a young West African girl to their Southlake home and forcing her to work as a domestic slave for more than a decade without pay, according to federal prosecutors. Mohamed Toure and his wife Denise Florence Cros-Toure, both 57, appeared in federal court Thursday in Fort Worth on charges of forced labor. According to court documents, the couple arranged for the girl to travel from Guinea to the U.S. by herself in January 2000. Prosecutors say her passport showed that she was just 5-years-old. Prosecutors allege she was forced to do chores like cleaning, cooking, painting, laundry and yard work, as well as care for the couple's five children for more than 16 years, all without pay. The girl was not allowed to attend school and her passport was taken from her, keeping her in the U.S. unlawfully after her visa expired, according to an affidavit. The complaint also alleges that the couple beat the girl with a belt or electrical cord if she did not perform her duties. She managed to escape the home in August 2016 with the help of former neighbors. Toure and Cros-Toure, also from Guinea, each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Mohamed Toure is the son of Guineas first president, Ahmed Sekou Toure, who was elected in 1958 and held that office until his death in 1984. Cros-Toure's attorney, Scott Palmer, denied the allegations, starting with the girl's age. He said that she doesn't have a birth certificate but from what they've pieced together, she would have been between 11 and 13 when she first arrived. "It actually doesn't make any sense," Palmer said. "You're gonna send a 5-year-old to America to take care of an 8- and 9-year-old and a 5-year-old and 2-year-old?" Palmer told the Associated Press Thursday that the girl, whose name has not been released, was a distant relative sent by her father from Guinea as a child to be raised alongside the couple's three children. On Friday, Palmer told NBC5 that the girl may have been brought over as a ward, a common practice in Africa for a poor family to send a child to live with a wealthy one. Either way, he said she was treated like a member of the family. "She had chores, but all the children had chores. She loved gardening. She wasn't considered a housekeeper," Palmer said. Palmer confirmed the girl was not allowed to attend school but said it was because she had overstayed her visa and the family feared that she would be deported. Palmer said the girl may have made up the allegations to gain protected status as a crime victim, which would allow her to stay in the U.S. permanently. "She was provided food, clothing, a bed, spending money, a house to live in. Our clients purchased Christmas gifts for her," Palmer said, adding that the Toures hadn't seen her since she left their Southlake home in 2016, seeking help from other relatives in Houston. The girl told investigators that prior to arriving in Texas in 2000, she had lived with her family in a one-room mud hut with a thatched roof and no electricity. Her father was a farmer and her mother sold produce to support her family, the affidavit read. Palmer said that her father wanted her to come to America for a better life. A detention hearing is set for Monday morning, when defense attorneys hope the couple will be released from federal custody. A Sacramento man accused in a series of killings and rapes across California was stationed in San Diego for several months as part of his service in the U.S. Navy. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, will appear in court Friday to face charges of murder. The former police officer was arrested Tuesday as the prime suspect in the Golden State Killer case. DeAngelo attended and graduated basic training at the Naval Training Center in San Diego from October to December 1964, NBC 7 confirmed Friday. The base was closed in 1997 and the land is now known as Liberty Station. He also served aboard the Boston-class guided-missile cruiser USS Canberra during the Vietnam War, according to military officials. DeAngelo may be linked to a string of at least a dozen murders, 50 rapes and dozens of burglaries from 1976 to 1986 throughout the state. After he was identified as the suspect, however, prosecutors rushed to charge him with eight killings. [[481080471,C]] His DNA is being compared to a cold case NBC 7 covered in November when the man wrongly accused was released from prison. Police in the central California farming town of Visalia said Thursday that DeAngelo is a suspect in a 13th killing and about 100 burglaries in the area. In 1975, of community college teacher Claude Snelling was shot while trying to stop a masked intruder from kidnapping his 16-year-old daughter from his home. Investigators lacked DNA evidence so Snelling's death and the burglaries weren't included in the tally of Golden State Killer crimes but fingerprints and shoe tracks will be reviewed for matches to DeAngelo, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar said. Investigators searched DeAngelo's home on Thursday, looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes as well as weapons. DeAngelo worked as a police officer in the farming town of Exeter, not far from Visalia, from 1973 to 1976. Later, DeAngelo joined the Auburn Police Department outside of Sacramento but was fired in 1979 after he was caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent. Investigators say they have linked DeAngelo to 11 killings that occurred after he was fired. [[480951001,C]] A Los Angeles Police Department officer was federally charged Wednesday with allegedly smuggling undocumented immigrants into the United States, court documents show. Mambasse Koulabalo Patara, identified as a 42-year-old LAPD officer of 10 years, was accused of smuggling two Mexican citizens near the area of Pine Valley, California, the complaint states. The LAPD said he is currently off the job due to his arrest, and on home stay in Rancho Cucamonga. Patara, along with Fermin Lopez and German Ramirez-Gonzalez, were pulled over near the Tecate, California port of entry Tuesday. Border patrol agents said they pulled over the black Toyota Corolla at 12:15 a.m., and Patara was behind the wheel. The agents said Patara seemed nervous, and told them he was a U.S. citizen and an LAPD officer. He said the three men were on their way back to the LA region after gambling at Golden Acorn Casino, court documents state. Patara told the agent Lopez, who was asleep in the passenger seat, was a U.S. citizen, the complaint states. The agent then woke Lopez and asked him if he was indeed a citizen, and Lopez answered "yes," but the agent said he seemed to not understand the question. He repeated the question in Spanish, and Lopez said he was a citizen but didn't have any ID on him, court documents show. The agent said both men seemed nervous so he asked them to pull into an inspection area, where Patara told the agent that he was carrying a weapon because he was an officer. After the agent checked the immigration status of Lopez and Ramirez-Gonzalez, Lopez's nephew, he deduced they were not in the country legally, court documents show. The agents arrested all three men at 1:30 a.m., the complaint states. The complaint then says both men admitted to being in the country illegally. Lopez said the two had entered the U.S. illegally and walked for a half day before getting to the casino, where Ramirez-Gonzalez said he met a stranger who he convinced give them a ride, court documents state. Ramirez-Gonzalez however said he and Lopez crossed the border April 22, and that he had known Patara for five years, the complaint states. Patara is set to appear before a judge Thursday. He faces a maximum penalty of five years, and a $250,000 fine. What to Know The controversy involves history teacher Greg Pittman, who supports gun control, and junior Kyle Kashuv, who has defended gun rights. Kashuv tweeted that three students told him Pittman said "Kyle is acting like the next Hitler." Kashuv had complained about being questioned by school security after posting photos holding an AR-15 assault rifle at a gun range. A Florida school district is looking into claims that a Marjory Stoneman Douglas teacher said a student was acting like Adolf Hitler. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports the controversy involves history teacher Greg Pittman, who supports gun control, and junior Kyle Kashuv, who has defended gun rights following the mass shooting at their school. Kashuv tweeted that three students told him Pittman said "Kyle is acting like the next Hitler." Kashuv had complained about being questioned by school security after posting photos holding an AR-15 assault rifle at a gun range. The paper says Pittman then tweeted that "you don't have to be the sharpest tack in the box" to understand why authorities might ask questions following a school shooting. Broward Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew says they're reviewing the matter. It was one of the worst fires in New York City history. Last December, a three-year-old playing with a stove ignited a fire on the first floor of 2363 Prospect Ave. in the Bronx. Thirteen people were killed when the flames and smoke raced up the stairwell, trapping victims inside the burning Bronx building. After the bodies were counted, fire investigators were very clear about a contributing factor: the apartment door where the fire ignited was left open, even though doors are supposed to be self-closing to prevent the spread of flames. Now, nearly four months after the Bronx inferno, the I-Team has discovered more than 22,000 other apartment doors that failed city inspections because they did not automatically close. The violations were issued by inspectors with the citys Department of Housing Preservation and Development within the last three years. About 13,000 of the door violations have been corrected or dismissed, according to city records. But almost 9,000 of the door violations are listed as current hazards that have yet to be fixed. There are about 300 HPD inspectors citywide, so it is unclear how many malfunctioning fire doors may have evaded detection. The I-Team found at least three faulty doors inside 2357 Prospect Avenue a building that shares ownership with, and sits next door to, the one that burned in December. "For that kind of tragedy to happen and for you to not take some type of immediate action to try to safeguard your tenants, I think that is shameful on the part of the owners," said Kadian Blake, a tenant who lost five family members in the December fire. City property records list Howard Alkoff as the principal of D&A Equities, the company that owns both 2363 and 2357 Prospect Avenue. Attempts by the I-Team to reach Alkoff were not successful. Luis Soto, the superintendent of both buildings, said the first-floor apartment door that should have blocked the flames was working properly before Decembers fatal fire. He added that the family living there never complained about the door. Every single complaint they gave me, I reported to my supervisor. They fixed it up, Soto said. There never was an issue with the door. It was always a bathroom or window. But Robert Vilensky, an attorney representing families of fire victims, says he personally walked through the charred building after the fire and found lots of faulty doors. He also says an FDNY investigation report contradicts Soto. The report, according to Vilensky, quotes the three-year-olds mother telling the FDNY her door did not close by itself. Theres no question it was a faulty door, Vilensky said. I tested every door in the apartment building. Not one of them closed all the way. After the fatal fire, Soto said his team carefully looked for faulty fire doors in other properties controlled by Alkoff. We did inspections to every single one, Soto said. Despite those inspections, I-Team showed Soto three doors in 2357 Prospect Avenue that still failed to automatically close. Two weeks later, Soto told the I-Team he had those doors fixed as well. In the three months immediately after the deadly Bronx fire, HPD issued about 3,800 violations for faulty fire doors. That is double number of fire door violations issued during the same time period in 2017. I think landlords should take seriously their fire safety responsibilities and that includes self-closing doors, said Ann Marie Santiago, Acting Deputy HPD Commissioner. Since the fatal fire in December, HPD has also added fire doors to its mandatory inspection checklist. That means, even if a housing inspector is summoned to an apartment for a heat or hot water complaint, that inspector must check to see if the apartment door automatically closes and issue a violation if it does not. Vilensky said adding fire doors to the checklist is a positive step, but the reform comes too late. Hes notified New York City he intends to file a lawsuit on behalf of the fire victims families. We have thirteen people who died, whose lives were taken when it was a preventable death, Vilensky said. Why does it always take a tragedy? What to Know Herman Bell has served more than 40 years for his role in the fatal shootings of officers Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini in 1971 Last month, the state parole board approved Bell's release for April 18, but the PBA sued on a behalf of a widow to keep him in jail A New York judge dismissed that lawsuit last week and Bell is now scheduled to be released Friday Herman Bell, who shot and killed two New York City police officers decades ago, has been released from prison amid uproar over his parole. Bell was released from Shawangunk prison in Ulster County as scheduled Friday afternoon, according to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website. He will be supervised for life in Brooklyn, a DOCC spokesman said. The Patrolmens Benevolent Association tried to block Bell's release last month, but an appellate judge in Albany rejected the legal motion. However, the police union has filed a new motion that will be heard next week by a full panel of appellate judges to keep Bell in prison. "The parole board has lost their [expletive] humanity to think that a murderer should walk their streets," PBA President Pat Lynch said angrily at a news conference Friday ahead of Bell's release. Bell was scheduled to be released last week, but the PBA had that delayed after an appeal on behalf of Diane Piagentini, widow of one of the slain officers. Her lawyers had argued the parole board didn't follow proper protocols. However, state Supreme Court Justice Richard Koweek ruled the state Parole Board did not act irrationally or outside its bounds when it granted parole to Bell. Piagentini said in a statement Friday, "The parole board did not take into account his mental stability. He is a planner and a manipulator... he manipulated the parole board to release him." The PBA claims the 70-year-old has ties to terror groups and has taken to the internet to support terror attacks. In a statement Friday, the police union called on the New York State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take action to fix the broken New York State Parole Board system. The PBA said the decision to parole Bell was flawed and illegal. The current parole process contains gigantic loopholes that allow murderous monsters like Herman Bell to game the system by concocting a phony story tailor-made for the new parole guidelines, which dont place enough weight on the nature of the crime, Lynch said in press release, adding that the citys PBA will seek legislation that will close these loopholes and prevent other cop-killers from stepping foot outside prison walls. Piagentini also rebuked Cuomo saying that there are no word to describe the outrage and disappointment in Governor Cuomo for not rescinding Bells release. Brooklyn state senator Martin J. Golden said in a statement, "We must immediately fix the broken parole system to ensure that criminals who deserve to be in prison stay in prison. I stand with PBA President Pat Lynch and all law enforcement members as we fight to right this wrong." Bell and two other members of the Black Liberation Army, a violent offshoot of the Black Panther Party, were convicted of killing officers Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini after luring them to a Harlem housing development with a bogus 911 call in 1971. Authorities say both officers were shot multiple times, with Piagentini hit by more than 20 bullets. Bell has spent more than 40 years in prison. One of Bell's co-defendants has since died in prison while the other, Anthony Bottom, is serving 25 years to life at maximum-security Sullivan Correctional Facility in Sullivan County. Bottom, 66, is due for a parole hearing in June. The decision to parole Bell has been widely criticized by Republican state lawmakers. Gov. Cuomo said that while he disagreed with the decision, the Parole Board isn't not subject to his direct control. "If I were on the parole board I would not have made that decision," he told reporters. "The Parole Board is an independent board but I would not have made that decision." Supporters of the decision note that Bell was properly eligible for parole, and that continuing to incarcerate an elderly man was an unwarranted use of state resources. During Bell's eighth parole hearing in early March, the state parole board approved Bell's release from Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, determining "his debt has been paid to society." Board members took into consideration his stated remorse for killing the officers and the fact he had earned bachelor's and master's degrees while in prison and counseled other inmates. What to Know Richard A. Carranza became NYC schools chancellor in March; he had served as schools superintendent in Houston, Texas, since August 2016 Carranza is facing a bit of controversy over a story he shared on Twitter about parents' reactions to diversifying Upper West Side schools Some commenters supported the gist of the story; others took issue with the why in which it was framed The chief of New York City's public schools, a position he assumed only just last month, is facing some backlash over a story he shared on Twitter early Friday. The tweet from Chancellor Richard Carranza's account was to a rawstory.com piece about Upper West Side parents opposing a new plan to diversify schools in their traditionally white luxury neighborhood. The story was titled "WATCH: Wealthy white Manhattan parents angrily rant against plan to bring more black kids to their schools." Carranza told News 4 he just hit retweet, 'They weren't my words.' It appears, though, that he clicked the share on Twitter button directly from the site, because that autogenerates the title as the tweet status and that's exactly what he shared when he clicked the "tweet" button. There is an option to edit the status post before tweeting and the message on his account did not show up as a retweet of another account's post, but as a standalone tweet from his own accompanied by the embedded rawstory headline, image and link. WATCH: Wealthy white Manhattan parents angrily rant against plan to bring more black kids to their schools https://t.co/FRjqEsu53v Chancellor Richard A. Carranza (@DOEChancellor) April 27, 2018 And that tweet has gotten hundreds upon hundreds of reactions since it was posted before 1 a.m. Many of the commenters expressed support for the gist of the story -- that socioeconomic and racial diversity are critical and that all students are entitled to equal resources in education. Others took issue with the manner in which the tweet was framed. "Thanks for the biased highlights," wrote one commenter. These Are the 30 Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Colleges in America, According to Forbes Another, replying to an embedded share of an older Politico story on Upper West Side integration from a different commenter, tweeted, "Perhaps it would have been more valuable for the Chancellor to tweet your story than what he tweeted." As for the controversy, the chancellor says, "I don't engage in Twitter fights." But he does believe in diversity in schools -- and doesn't buy into the argument that some critics make that schools will suffer from it. "This is a conversation that's happening everywhere," Carranza said. "There's a way to have these difficult conversations. As the chancellor, I am who I am and I am a man of color." He was named to the chancellor role in early March, less than a week after Mayor de Blasio's first choice, Miami schools superintendent Alberto Calvalho, backed out of the job in an unusual, on-camera school board session the day his hiring was announced. 30 Top Elementary and Middle Schools in NJ as Ranked by the State Carranza had served as schools superintendent in Houston, Texas, since August 2016; before that, he served as superintendent in San Francisco for four years, according to a biography on the Houston schools website. In his introductory press conference, Carranza said it will be an "honor" to serve the city's 1.1 million children in the public schools, adding, "I will work every day to further the progress Chancellor Farina has made in strengthening our public schools for generations to come." 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MOST OF, IF NOT ALL MUGSHOT LAWS WERE CRAFTED TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM FEES FOR REMOVAL OF ONLINE MUGSHOTS AND TO FURTHER PROTECT THE PRESS FROM THOSE VERY SAME "MUGSHOT LAWS".WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR REMOVAL OF ARREST INFORMATION AND/OR BOOKING PHOTOGRAPHS. MORE... What to Know 7,000 firefighters from across North America overwhelmingly report in a survey they've had stressful or traumatic experiences on the job The International Association of Fire Fighters conducted the survey with NBC Philadelphia and says it highlights a critical need But firefighters say getting mental health assistance can be difficult Retired Philadelphia firefighter Mike Yaeger worked for a rescue company that took part in the battle against one of the city most infamous blazes: the Meridian fire on a cold February night in 1991. Three firefighters died, and it shook the entire department. "It had a major impact," Yaeger said. "Three guys died, which always has some trauma associated with it." And yet, while it may have been one of the worst disasters, the tragedy was one of many that Yaeger and fellow firefighters experience on the job. "In my career in the fire service, there were 41 line of duty deaths," he told NBC10 in an interview. "I saw 13 of them." They Save Us, But Who Saves Them? 10 Heartbreaking Stats From New Study on the Mental Health of Firefighters Dealing with traumatic events comes with the job. But do firefighters get and in some cases, accept the help they need to deal with the mental and physical stress? In partnership with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the NBC10 Investigators sent a confidential online survey to thousands of firefighters across the country to hear directly from them about the impact of post-traumatic stress on their lives, and to learn what services are available when they need help. From across North America, nearly 7,000 firefighters responded. They overwhelmingly responded that stressful or traumatic experiences on the job have impacted their mental health. Among the struggles they say are directly connected to the job: 19 percent have had thoughts of suicide, 27 percent have struggled with substance abuse, 59 percent have experienced family and relationship problems and 65 percent are haunted by memories of bad calls. Here is a closer look at some of the survey's questions and answers as they were answered by paid firefighters in departments across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The IAFF said the survey is unprecedented and highlights a critical need. "What this study does is really bring home the numbers that we already knew were out there, that fire fighters are suffering from PTSD and other behavioral health disorders," said Jim Brinkley, director of Health and Safety for the IAFF. "And more importantly, theres a stigma attached to seeking help." But firefighters say getting mental health assistance can be tricky. Of those who responded to the survey, 81 percent said they feared being seen as weak or unfit for duty if they asked for help. Additionally, 71 percent say they have not used services provided by their departments employee assistance program (EAP) for mental health issues related to their job. Of those who did use their EAP, 63 percent did not find it helpful. "We're going to take a hard look at this survey to determine what is it we're doing right and more importantly, where are the gaps. What programming do we need to provide to make sure our members get the help they need?" Brinkley said. The IAFF provides a vast array of services, the centerpiece of which is its Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery. The residential facility near Washington, D.C. treats union members struggling with substance abuse and related issues like PTSD. "We don't typically trust outsiders," Brinkley said, explaining that the facility is staffed by firefighters and professionals whove received intensive training. "Having someone there who understands what weve been through is incredibly powerful." Another powerful tool are the teams the IAFF dispatches to disasters and tragedies like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "Our intent is to get out and reach the members that have been affected, let them know what some of the signs and symptoms are that they are going to be experiencing and what services are available to them," Brinkley said. Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel couldn't say how much his big-city department spends on mental health support, adding only that it's "not as much as we would like." Department chaplin Mark Finn said firefighters and the public should look at the men who run into burning buildings the same way they would think of anyone else: people with feelings who need help dealing with their emotional reaction to traumatic events. "I guess there's a sense somehow these guys are superheroes, like in the movies. Theyre not," Finn said. "Those feelings dont go away. They have to be dealt with at some point." Please visit the IAFF Recovery Center for mental health resources for firefighters. Korean Americans living in San Diego convened in Kearny Mesa Thursday to watch television coverage of the historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kim and Moon greeted each other in South Korea after Kim stepped over the worlds most heavily guarded border. He then invited Moon to cross back over with him and take a breath in North Korea. Moon obliged and the two leaders crossed together into the South once again and headed to their closed-door talk. It was the first time a North Korean leader has stepped foot in the Demilitarized Zone since 1953 when the Korean War ended and ended more than a decade of silence between the neighboring nations. The scene left some local Koreans hopeful for peace in the future. "Little nervous, a bit excited," Susan Koga said. I know it is not going to happen overnight, but for the long term we all hope peace. Koga has been living in the U.S. since the 70's and said the meeting was important, especially with another meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump supposed to happen soon. She was confident President Trump could help further the peace. I believe we are giving [North Korea] a cushion to make these things happen, she said. "There is going to be a lot of influence by President Trump. The White House said in a statement that it is "hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. ... (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks." What to Know Clouds and drizzles will slow down by Friday evening. Don your trench coat, grab your umbrella and check out Georgetown's French Market. It'll be warm Saturday, so put on the summer outfit you've been saving, ignore any sprinkles and enjoy Broccoli City or a food festival. Sunday's your sunny day but temps will stay in the 50s. Sweater up for Frulingsfest's pig roast or National Harbor's Food and Wine Fest. Whether you're in the mood for chocolate, beer, croissants or a pig roast, you're covered this weekend we're pretty sure it's impossible to hit every food fest happening. That's on top of Broccoli City, which isn't so much a place to eat endless leafy greens but a chance to catch Cardi B, Miguel and Migos at D.C.'s homegrown, innovative music festival. Enjoying your weekend cheaply? Here's our top free and cheap picks in D.C.: Photos: Free and Cheap Things to Do in Washington, DC Music Broccoli City Music Festival Saturday, RFK Stadium Migos, Cardi B and Miguel are slated to take the stage at D.C.'s signature music festival. If you missed out on the 5K, conference and other activities, just keep an eye out for next year's festival. It keeps getting bigger and better every year. Cardi B announced on Twitter that Broccoli City will be her last performance for awhile because of her pregnancy. So if you're a fan, here's your chance! Beck, Unknown Moral Orchestra, Calexico and Echosmith are also in town this weekend. Check out our picks for upcoming concerts: DC's Best Upcoming Concerts: Diana Ross, Beck u0026 More Free Pick Ryan Hemsworth at U Street Music Hall Friday, 11 p.m., U Street Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth will have U Street Music Hall moving on Friday. If you're over 21, the show is free before 11 p.m. (but expect a line). A ticket will cost you $10. Free Pick Classical Musicians Electrify Classic Rock Saturday, 6 p.m., Kennedy Center The classically trained musicians of Electric Fantasy will strum out their favorite classic rock songs their electric violins, guitars, keyboards and basses. In other genre-bending news... Free Pick Shaolin Jazz at the Anacostia Community Museum Saturday, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Anacostia Community Museum The Wu Tang Clan-inspired group blends jazz, hip-hop and rap for a powerful performance. Plus, it's free! Afrofest Saturday, 11 p.m., The Howard Theatre Tickets for this all-night afrobeats show start at $20. Laughs and Literacy Independent Bookstore Day Saturday Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day by scoping out a local bookstore near your neighborhood. The organizers have put together this handy map. Questlove's Creative Quest: Discussion & Book Signing Saturday, 8 p.m. at Kennedy Center Questlove just released the book "Creative Quest." Grab a ticket to the talk for a copy of the book and a chance to get it signed. Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour Saturday, 8 p.m., The Theater at MGM National Harbor NeNe Leakes, Loni Love, Sherri Shepherd, Hope Flood, Melanie Comarcho and Sam Jaw are performing. Tickets start at $40. Art Free Pick Art Hop Takoma Saturday and Sunday, Takoma Park Artists, music and dance will take over downtown Takoma at this festival, which also features free yoga, a bounce house, demonstrations and studio tours. Free Pick Art in the Alley Saturday, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Trinidad Head to the 1200 block of Florida Avenue NE for an outdoor celebration of art and music. Free Pick "2001: A Space Odyssey" Immersive Exhibit Through May 28 at the National Air and Space Museum You'll need a timed ticket to transport yourself into Stanley Kubrick's futuristic world. Check out our story about the exhibit here. Free Pick No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man at The Renwick Through January 2019, downtown A slice of the fantastical and larger-than-life arts festival Burning Man has taken over the Renwick Gallery and even spilled out onto the surrounding streets. Expect a lot of buzz and selfie-takers, but between the virtual reality experience, the epic Grand Salon makeover and the larger-than-life displays, it'll be worth the inevitable lines and crowds. Check out our first look here: Out of the Desert, Into DC: Renwick Opens Burning Man Exhibit Parties, Eats and Drinks DC Chocolate Festival Saturday, 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. for families and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Woodley Park Elevate your chocolate experience with tastings and talks focused on all things cacao. Tickets start at $30. Frulingsfest Through Sunday at WunderGarten in NoMa It's like Oktoberfest but in the spring. Head over on Saturday for drinking games at the Bavarian Olympics (3 p.m.) or on Sunday for a pig roast (3 p.m.). National Food and Wine Festival Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., National Harbor Skip breakfast and come hungry for all-you-care-for sips and snacks. Tickets start at $39, which seems like an amazing deal considering rose, wine, beer and other adult beverages are included. Taste of 8th Saturday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Barracks Row Twenty restaurants are signed up to offer tapas-sized tastes along 8th Street. One ticket gets you one small plate. You can buy tickets online; it costs $5 for a single ticket or $20 for five tickets. Northeast Eats 2018 Saturday, 4 p.m. at Union Market's Dock 5 Dozens of local food vendors will offer up unlimited bites. Tickets are $75 and benefit the Washington Jesuit Academy, a school for boys from underserved communities. Bethesda Row Restaurant Week Through Sunday Lunches go for $18 and dinners cost $34 at several downtown Bethesda eateries. Cherry Blossom Pop Up Bar's Last Weekend Through Sunday, Shaw Your last chance to catch this year's Cherry Blossom Pop Up Bar is on Sunday. Doors close at 12:30 a.m. First Look: Cherry Blossom Pop-Up Bar's Sweet Blooms and Beverages Community Connections Free Pick Georgetown French Market Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Georgetown Munch on croissants and macarons while pursuing shops. You'll also find live music, a French-themed photo booth and street performers. Maryland DogFest Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., La Plata A dog costume contest, talent show and an owner-pup lookalike contest will keep you entertained while your furry friend can enjoy an agility course, play area and fashion show. Adult tickets are $10. National Prescription Drug Takeback Day Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Safely dispose of unused prescription drugs at a DEA-approved location. Find them here.. Dentzel Carousel at Glen Echo Park Saturday, 11 a.m., Glen Echo Park The iconic carousel is opening for its 98th season. LOFT Coder Summit Saturday, 8 a.m. at George Mason University The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Telemundo 44 have partnered to create the Latinos on Fast Track Coder summit, featuring networking opportunities, workshops and more. Sports and Sporting The Nationals Friday, 7:05 p.m. Saturday, 4:05 p.m. Sunday, 1:35 p.m. Nationals Park Special tickets are required for this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nats Park has some very interesting new drinks and bites to try: Adult Juice Packs Among Nationals Park's Newest Food and Drink Options The Capitals Sunday, 3 p.m., Capital One Arena They're still in it! The Capital's second game against the Pittsburgh Penguins is scheduled for Sunday as the team keeps fighting for the Stanley Cup. Tickets are still available as of this writing, starting at $80. [[479548063, C]] The Wizards Friday, 7 p.m. at CapitalOne Arena The Wizards continue their series against the Tornto Raptors in the playoffs. Tickets (as of publication) start at $29. What to Know A boy walking on the beach with his mother in the Outer Banks was hit by a wave and swept out to sea, officials say. The Coast Guard searched for the 4-year-old for hours and then suspended their search. The family was on vacation from New Hampshire. Update: The body of the child, Wesley Belisle, was found Monday. A 4-year-old boy walking on the beach with his mother on the Outer Banks was hit by a wave and swept out to sea on Wednesday, officials say. The child still had not been found as of Friday afternoon. The boy and his mother were walking on the beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, late Wednesday afternoon when a wave hit the child, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. His mother "lost sight of him in the surf." The Coast Guard responded about 4 p.m. and searched for the boy by helicopter and by boat. They searched 130 square nautical miles for hours but still couldn't find him. At 8:30 p.m., they suspended their search. Locals went to the beach to see if they could help, WAVY-TV reported. A man who lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, about 70 miles north, took his powered paraglider down to the beach to search for the boy. "It was on my mind when I went to bed, and it was on my mind when I woke up, so I was like, why not?" Jonathan Jernigan told WAVY. Neighbors laid out seashells in the shape of a heart on the beach and said they were sending their love to the family. "I don't think there's anybody here that's not praying for them," Lily Davis told WAVY. Monica Wilkerson said she spoke to the ocean. "I was out there saying, 'Just give him back.' Even if it's just to say goodbye," she said through tears. The Kitty Hawk Police Department, which assisted in the search, sent their condolences to the family. "As parents, this is our worst nightmare, even for those of us who love and have grown up by the ocean," the department said on Facebook. "Please join us in thought and prayer for this family as we mourn with them the loss and give thanks for the well-being of our own children." Neither the Coast Guard nor the police department gave the child's name. A family member of the missing boy declined an interview request by WAVY but said they were hoping for closure soon. They were visiting the Outer Banks from New Hampshire. The boy is their only child. A Maryland high schools music department is looking for replacing instruments lost in a bus fire. Students from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville were returning from New York Sunday after attending a Broadway clinic with the cast and musicians from the musical Wicked when the bus caught fire. "You could tell when they got about 5 feet away from the bus, they started to move a lot quicker because they could see the flames," Northwestern High Visual and Performing Arts Department Director Anthony Townes said. The students safely escaped but some of their personal items and instruments were lost in the fire, including violins, flutes and clarinets. "The first thing I was thinking of was belongings that were still on the bus," student Elijah Martin said. "Much of the stuff that was on there was very expensive." Students got perfect scores during a Maryland State Assessment Festival performance Monday using instruments loaned to them by the Washington Music Center and the Baltimore Brass, but those instruments had to be returned, Townes said. Many of the students hope to find careers in music. "I feel like when we play jazz it's just more emotion, and you're free to explore and play what you feel," student Sylvia Garcia said. "You're not confined to playing inside of a box." Anyone interested in donating instruments or money should contact the school at 7000 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782 or by calling 301-985-1820 or emailing the principal. A Virginia man who fired shots at a police officer while fleeing a traffic stop was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Police officers packed the courtroom for the sentencing of Brian Neftali Landaverde of Herndon, who pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder in December. A Fairfax County police officer tried to stop Landaverde for running a red light in the Great Falls area in January 2017. He did not stop, and during the ensuing chase, after turning around in a cul-de-sac, he drove straight at the police cruiser and fired at least six shots, police said. The cruiser was struck by bullets at least twice once in the hood near the windshield on the driver's side and one in the right rear quarter panel. The officer, who was not struck by a bullet, followed the car until losing sight of it in a hilly and wooded area. It's just a matter of luck and divine intervention that officer is still with us, because you look at a foot here or there and the officer would have been dead, Faifax County Chief Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Casey Lingan said. Two teenagers were in the car when the chase began, but one of them got out when the car stopped before turning around in the cul-de-sac, police said. Landaverde asked the judge for mercy Friday. "It's something I'm going to regret for the rest of my life," he said. "I'm a changed man ... I can guarantee I will never get in trouble again." The prosecutor urged the judge to impose a stiff sentence to send a message that community stands behind those who protect them every day. We have to have their back when theyre put in peril like that and I think someone whos willing to take an officer's life is a danger to society as a whole, Lingan said. Landaverde's sentence includes 30 years suspended, which he will serve if breaks the law again after his release from prison. The U.S.-led coalition is about to accelerate its fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday. The battle slowed in recent months after Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have been the main American proxy in eastern Syria, switched their attention to fighting Turkish forces in western Syria. Mattis' comments appeared to suggest that this pause is coming to an end, although he did not discuss specifics. The Pentagon chief was responding to a question from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who asked whether President Donald Trump's recent comments about withdrawing from Syria meant the U.S. would leave before finishing off ISIS. "Right now, senator, we are not withdrawing," Mattis said. "In the days ahead," he added, "you'll see a re-energized effort" in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where remnants of IS are holding out. He said "you'll see increased operations on the Iraq side of the border," without elaborating. It is unusual for Mattis to talk publicly about future military operations. Mattis also said France sent an unspecified number of special forces in the past two weeks to reinforce the coalition effort in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Mattis whether conditions on the battlefield would determine the timing of a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria, or whether Trump is talking about a withdrawal because he's just tired of Syria. Mattis said a withdrawal would be based on conditions. "As you know, neither the last administration nor this administration sees itself occupying Syria," Mattis said. What to Know The Senate's 57-42 vote to confirm Mike Pompeo was one of the slimmest margins for the secretary of state job in recent history. All voting republicans and seven Democrats supported Pompeo in the confirmation Pompeo is expected to guide President Trump's foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than his predecessor, Rex Tillerson. Mike Pompeo took over as America's top diplomat Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea. The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56. All voting republicans and seven Democrats supported Pompeo in the confirmation. Six of those Democrats are up for re-election. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who recently gave birth, came to the Capitol to vote no. Republican Sen. John McCain is in Arizona and was the only senator to miss the vote. He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was "proud" to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was "delighted" to serve as America's top diplomat. "I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away," Pompeo said. Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralized after a tumultuous first year of President Donald Trump's administration, gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, "Hi, I'm Mike." Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, is expected to guide Trump's foreign policy farther to the right than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled. His confirmation creates a vacancy atop the CIA that will be filled, at least for now, by Gina Haspel, the intelligence agency's No. 2 official. Trump has nominated Haspel to replace Pompeo, but she faces a rocky road to confirmation. The CIA said she took over Thursday as acting director while the Senate weighs whether to make it permanent. For Pompeo, a long list of pressing issues awaits, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Trump's upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ongoing disagreements in the White House about the future U.S. role in Syria. Trump said he was pleased by Pompeo's confirmation, calling him a "patriot" with "immense talent, energy and intellect." "He will always put the interests of America first," Trump said in a statement. "He has my trust. He has my support." Yet the Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump's growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Previously confirmed for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported Thursday by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats, including several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states. GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent. In the run-up to Pompeo's confirmation, his backers emphasized his resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump. Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for secretary of state and met with Kim ahead of the planned summit with Trump, expected in late May or June. "He's the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts," Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the foreign relations panel, said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed. Yet his opponents warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the U.S. on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in North Korea. Pompeo takes the helm ahead of Trump's expected decision about whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal by a May 12 deadline and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. A staunch Iran critic, Pompeo has long deplored the 2015 nuclear accord but has supported Trump's efforts to get European allies to strengthen restrictions on Iran. "If there's no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal," Pompeo said in his confirmation hearing. The State Department said no secretary of state had ever traveled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo's confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in. In Brussels, Pompeo will attend a NATO foreign ministers summit and meet with the top diplomats from Turkey and Italy. Pompeo planned to keep up pressure on NATO's European members, particularly Germany, to live up to their past pledges to boost their defense spending. From there, the State Department said Pompeo planned to fly to the Middle East for stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, where the future of the Iran deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items. Pompeo will arrive in the region ahead of a series of events that could potentially plunge it into deeper disarray, including the Iran deal decision and the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Mark Sherman, Deb Riechmann and Jill Colvin contributed to this report. What to Know It's not clear whether Semyon Shtayner used any of the loans to finance his new marijuana grow operation The Trump administration finds itself somewhat split on marijuana policy The value of taxi medallions has dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece President Donald Trump's personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and his father-in-law have lent $26 million in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Semyon "Sam" Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohen's father-in-law, created Nevada-based Cannaboss LLC the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show. "He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic)," according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nevada, that was obtained by the AP under the state's public records law. It's not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 to finance his grow operation. Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohen's hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Florida, as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman. Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cellphone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner. News of Shtayner's ties to the medical marijuana industry comes as the Trump administration finds itself somewhat split on marijuana policy. Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws. Marijuana use is fully legal in Nevada, seven other states and Washington, D.C., and 38 states allow medicinal or other limited uses. It was not clear why Shtayner has decided to move out of taxis and into the grow business. But the rapid rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft has disrupted the taxi industry, and Shtayner is among a handful of prominent taxi owners who face lawsuits from creditors who once lent liberally to medallion owners. The value of medallions the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display has dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece in New York just a few years ago to nearly half those amounts today. The subsequent drop has left many taxi medallion owners overleveraged. One former Cohen business partner, who managed Cohen's taxis for years, is accused in a lawsuit by creditors of hiding his assets in financial disclosures to his bank including a luxury apartment in a Trump skyscraper. Another former cab manager of Cohen's has declared bankruptcy and is facing criminal charges from state prosecutors in New York, who accuse him of pocketing nearly $5 million in taxes. The business relationship among Cohen, Shusterman and Shtayner stretches back years. Property records in New York show that Shtayner and Shusterman were among the investors in an upper Manhattan taxi garage and auto repair shop in the 1990s. Last August, Shusterman lent at least $12 million against properties owned by Shtayner, his wife or their companies, Chicago real estate records show. In a second series of four transactions in March, Shusterman lent the Shtayners or their companies an additional $8 million. Four of the loans were made to Shtayner's wife, Yasya, and four others were directed to two Chicago taxi companies she manages, according to corporate documents. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported those transactions. Cohen has been involved in the New York City yellow cab industry since the 1990s. He has a fleet of 22 cabs in Chicago and, along with his wife and father-in-law, has owned some 30 medallions in New York after initially going into business with his father-in-law, records show. Shusterman who, like Shtayner, started as a cab driver after emigrating from Ukraine pleaded guilty in 1993 to federal money-laundering charges in a tax-evasion case involving cab drivers and a Brooklyn accountant. Shtayner's Chicago cab empire has grown rapidly, though records show that 99 of his medallions are in foreclosure and 15 have some sort of violation. Forty-nine have already been taken over by the city for failure to pay taxes and fees. Although Shtayner has been sued by creditors, operates a taxi business in a harrowing time for his industry and is borrowing heavily in nontraditional loans, the city of Henderson concluded that he is adequately liquid financially. The city's business operation division found that Shtayner and his business partner, a Las Vegas-based steel and aluminum provider, each had liquid assets that exceed the state's requirement that they be able to free up to $250,000 within 30 days if needed, according to the records obtained by the AP. President Donald Trump said Thursday that personal attorney Michael Cohen handles very little of his legal work, but did represent him in the "crazy Stormy Daniels deal," a rare presidential public reference to the porn star who claims she had sex with the president in 2006. Prosecutors in New York quickly claimed Trump's early-morning comments buttress their arguments that not much of the material that the FBI seized from Cohen's home, office and hotel should be protected by attorney-client privilege. Within two hours of Trump's interview, the prosecutors submitted papers in court citing Trump's comments. Trump's remarks prompted fresh questions about his relationship with Cohen in the tangle of legal dealings involving the president, his legal fixer and the porn star. And they served as just the latest demonstration of the potential legal risks for Trump when he makes off-the-cuff statements about the case in interviews and on Twitter. In a call-in interview with "Fox & Friends," Trump spoke about his relationship with Cohen, saying the lawyer handles "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his legal work, then added: "like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal he represented me. And, you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this which would have been a problem." Cohen paid Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 days before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. He now faces a series of legal actions, including an effort from Daniels to invalidate the nondisclosure deal. There's also a criminal investigation of Cohen in New York, which prompted the recent FBI raid. Prosecutors said the April 9 raids resulted from a criminal fraud investigation. Sources have told NBC News that federal agents used it to search for information about the payment Cohen made to Daniels. Trump has previously denied any knowledge of the payment. The White House has consistently denied the affair. While Trump may have increased the chances that his communications with Cohen on the subject of Daniels are subject to attorney-client privilege by acknowledging that he was being represented by Cohen on the matter, he may also have undermined arguments that large quantities of other seized materials are subject to the privilege by claiming Cohen handled little of his legal work. Either way, said trial attorney Joseph Cammarata, he would be better off speaking less. "The more you say, the more you have an opportunity to be cross-examined on it," said Cammarata, who represented Paula Jones in her sexual harassment suit against President Bill Clinton. "You can't get hurt by words you don't speak." Judge Kimba Wood said Thursday that she was appointing a former Manhattan federal judge to help determine what materials seized in the FBI raids are subject to attorney-client privilege. The judge noted that the government and Cohen's lawyers agreed that a "special master" was the best way to determine which materials should or shouldn't be off-limits to federal investigators. Michael Avenatti, Daniels' attorney, asked the court for permission to be part of the case to determine if there are any materials showing that Daniels' previous lawyer, who negotiated her confidentiality agreement, violated attorney-client privilege in communications with Cohen. The judge gave prosecutors time to review the motion after Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay told her that so far there was "really no evidence" that Cohen received privileged information about Daniels. Trump's comment that Cohen represented him in the Daniels matter seemed potentially at odds with his past denial of knowledge about the payment. Avenatti tweeted that Trump and Cohen "previously represented to the American people that Mr. Cohen acted on his own and Mr. Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. As I predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false." Trump's anger over the case has increased in recent weeks as the legal pressure on Cohen mounts. While the president is said to be increasingly worried about the materials seized in the raid and whether Cohen would consider cooperating with prosecutors, he insisted Thursday that the probe was related to Cohen's business and said "I've been told I'm not involved." Avenatti told the AP on Thursday, "This is going to add considerable momentum to our effort to depose the president and place him under oath in an effort to discover which version of the facts is accurate." Cohen is also dealing with a civil case filed by Daniels, who is seeking to invalidate the confidentiality agreement she signed before the election. He said Wednesday that he would assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination in that case. Daniels is also suing Cohen, alleging defamation. Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report. Thornton, CO - A Colorado man shot and killed his neighbor after an argument about how the victim disciplined his dog. According to the NY post, Michael Kourosh Sadeghi, 32, was arrested for investigation of first-degree murder after Thornton police discovered Dustin Schmidts body in his backyard. Police didnt officially establish a motive in the killing and said detectives were still investigating the events that led up to the shooting. Right now no motive has been established, police spokesman Matt Barnes said. All indications are that these people up until last night got along. Were still trying to figure out why one neighbor shot another. Vicki Branaghan, Schmidts fiancee, told the Denver Post that they had a friendly relationship with Sadeghi and that they shared a fence in the backyard. But Branaghan said her puppy started to become an issue because they were having trouble keeping it in the backyard. The dog jumped over the fence and went into Sadeghis yard. She added that Schmidt went over to pull the dog back into their yard and hit the dog in the process to discipline him. Mike started screaming: Did you hit that dog? Branaghan said. Sadeghi snapped and accused Schmidt of beating the dog, she said. Schmidt started to walk back into his home when Sadeghi shot him in the back of the head five times. Sadeghi was arrested soon after the shooting. He is being held at the Adams County Detention Facility. Headaches are ahead for people driving from Bedford to Manchester in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is set to repair a bridge on Interstate 293 and Route 101 as part of a preservation effort to extend the life of the bridge. The project is set to begin early next year, but area drivers are already bracing for major traffic trouble. "That's gonna cause quite some traffic backup," said Manchester resident Karen Heggner. "I might have to find an alternative route." NHDOT will take the three lane highway over the Merrimack River from three lanes down to two lanes close the Brown Avenue ramp going northbound. "It's going to be a headache," said Manchester Alderman John Cataldo. Painful, but the city and state officials say the bridge joints and piers must be repaired before they have to be replaced, which would take the project from its current price tag of $4.5 million to more than $11 million. The project will also include the pavement being replaced and the concrete deck being improved. "It will be an inconvenience, for sure, but there are other options close by for people to get on and off the highway," said Cataldo. Those options include getting off the highway at Exit 1 and making a U-turn. The state also said Queen City Avenue is an alternative route. "The bridge needs to be fixed," Cataldo. "We want everybody to be safe and so this unfortunately a hardship that we'll have to endure for a little while." "Most people are looking at 10 or 15 minutes," said Manchester resident Casey Rettke. "It shouldn't be that bad, and once it's done, it should be a lot better. "Everybody kind of finds their own way and they find different ways to get around," said NHDOT bridge design administrator Bob Landry. NHDOT will hold a neighborhood public outreach informational meeting on May 10 for Ward 8 and Ward 9 at Highland-Goff's Falls Elementary School, located at 2021 Goffs Falls Rd in Manchester. The project is set for completion October 2019. The U.S. Coast Guard is suspending its search for a boy from Manchester, New Hampshire who was swept out to sea in North Carolina on Wednesday. The 4-year-old's mother says they were walking along the beach in Kitty Hawk when a wave caught him and pulled him out of sight. Coast Guard boats and a helicopter searched the area for hours but were unable to find the boy. The boy's name has not been released. A heart-shaped seashell memorial began to form Thursday on the beach where the boy and his mother were walking when a wave hit the boy, carrying him out into the ocean. Officials said the mother lost sight of her son as he went further from the shore. Police say the family was vacationing from New Hampshire and the boy was their only child. Crews combed 130 square miles before suspending their search Wednesday night. Now, local officials and some volunteers continue to look for signs of the boy. An arrest has been made in the murder of Wendi Davidson, a North Andover, Massachusetts resident. It definitely took the distress off a very difficult day, said the victims son Josh. Made it a little bit easier to know that he was in custody, that they got him. Josh Davidson says his family got word of the arrest as they were driving to Wendis funeral Friday morning. The defendant is Brian Chevalier, a New Hampshire resident. He was Wendis ex-fiance. I had met him twice, said Josh. Hed been over to the house a couple of times for dinner, just an initial meeting, once hed gotten engaged to my mother. Prosecutors say Chevalier is the man who strangled the hard-working accountant and devoted mother inside her North Andover home a week ago. Family members did not like him from the start, but wanted to give him a chance because Wendi believed in him. She said that she was very much in love with him, said Josh. Thought she had found the one, she thought she had something there. Chevalier was arrested in Southern California, near the Mexican border. Its unknown if he was hoping to leave the country. Once it was determined it was a murder I immediately thought it was him, said Josh. Wendi and Brian dated for a couple of months before getting engaged, but broke up about a month later in March. Her family says even though Brian hoped to rekindle the relationship, Wendi did not seem concerned for her safety. She would drop everything and be there for you and ask questions later, said Josh. Her smile would light up a room, she just touched so many lives. Chevalier will be in court in California on Monday. Its unknown when hell be brought back to Massachusetts to face the murder charge. He is also wanted for violating parole in a New Hampshire case. Authorities are continuing their search for a man sought in the fatal shooting of a deputy sheriff in Maine. The shooting of Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole on Wednesday in Norridgewock has triggered an intensive search for 29-year-old John Williams in and around the heavily wooded rural community about 60 miles west of Bangor. He's considered armed and dangerous. Police urged the community to keep homes and cars locked. Police said Friday that they are hoping to speak with Williams, as they've heard he may be interested in communicating with them. "We will do anything to resolve this peacefully," Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said. "I would like him to understand that we are here, we're willing to listen. Please, reach out and let's start that communication." The ongoing manhunt is focused on the Martin Stream Road area after police announced they had no information to lead them to believe the Madison resident had left following the slaying of Cole early Wednesday morning. Lancaster said road blocks were established overnight and several areas were searched as a result of new leads. Friday's operations included door-to-door checks and searches of wooded areas. The manhunt has included helicopters, armored vehicles, and police cruisers. Local schools have been in lockdown as federal, state and local law enforcement pour into the region to look for Williams. "We have three separate operations involving officers from Maine, New Hampshire and federal assets," Maine State Police Lt. Col. John Cote said. "We're confident we're puting good focus in the right areas." Gov. Paul LePage issued an emergency proclamation Friday restricting hunting in the portions of Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Fairfield where the manhunt continues. Turkey hunting season is set to kick off Saturday in Maine. "We are heartbroken yet determined to find the fugitive and bring him to justice as swiftly as possible," the governor said. "I ask all Mainers for your continued cooperation and patience during this difficult time." Lancaster said 175 to 200 officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have been working on the case and are being assisted by law enforcement in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The FBI has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Williams' arrest. "We have had over 200 police officers here. We've been working around the clock," Lancaster said. "They've been giving us their all, but we have some tired officers." Cote said police want to hear from anyone who may have had contact of any sort with Williams after Cole's shooting. "We now feel, through investigative efforts, interviews with family members, we have a very good handle on John Williams' activities and his movements for the 24 hours preceeding the event," Cote said. "What we're lacking right now and continue to seek is anyone who had contact with him after 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Those types of contact are critically important to us as we attempt to locate him and take him into custody." Cole was gunned down between 1 and 2 a.m. Wednesday on Route 2 in Norridgewock. Williams then allegedly stole Cole's marked cruiser and robbed a Cumberland Farms store on Waterville Road. He was last seen fleeing in the stolen cruiser. The cruiser was found abandoned around 5 a.m. off of Martin Stream Road in Norridgewock. Investigators believe Williams then fled on foot, and has been at large ever since. Williams is described as 5-foot-6, 120 pounds with blue eyes. His hair is brown and unkempt, and he has a full beard. He was last seen wearing a black beanie hat, a dark-colored zip-up jacket, gray pants and tan boots. His last known address is 16 Jones St. in Madison, and he has ties to both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Police said he has at least eight tattoos, including the words "Seven Eleven" on his chest, the abbreviation "est" just below that, the name "Williams" on his lower abdomen, a half sleeve on his left arm, the word "Semper" on his upper right arm, the word "Fidelis" on his upper left arm, a small safety selector symbol on the back of his left hand, and "Molon Labe" on his right forearm. According to records checks, he does not have any military experience. Williams' former coworker spoke to WCSH-TV, saying he was likely the last person to see Williams before he allegedly killed Cole. He said Williams texted him around 1 a.m. on Wednesday asking him for a ride. The ex-coworker said he picked Williams up and dropped him off at a house in Norridgewock about 30 minutes later. "I was close with him at the time, the short time I did know him, and I just don't feel like I'll see him alive again," the coworker said. He added that Williams was upset about a court hearing he was scheduled to attend in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning. Williams was facing 10 years in prison on weapons charges. A little over a month ago, on March 22, Williams was arrested on multiple firearms charges and traffic violations in Haverhill, Massachusetts, after he apparently drove off Interstate 495 and into a ditch. He was found with a 9mm handgun and a 16-round magazine after he told the police that he dozed off while driving. An officer wrote in the report that Williams appeared tired and impaired, but denied having consumed any alcohol or illegal drugs. Williams was not charged with any drug offenses. The charges against him included possession of a firearm, improper storage of a firearm, possession of ammunition without an FID card, possession of a large-capacity feeding device, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. Prosecutors requested $10,000 bail, but a judge set it at $7,500 and it was later reduced by another judge to $5,000. Williams posted bail on March 31 and was due to return to court in Massachusetts for a probable cause hearing Wednesday. According to police in Maine, Williams has a girlfriend, Kristina Pomerleau, 32, of Norridgewock. She has just been arrested on Saturday on drug charges and operating with a suspended license. Cole was there for Pomerleau's arrest, police said. Cole, 62, was a 13-year veteran of the Somerset County Sheriff's Office. His son is also a Somerset County deputy. His funeral has been scheduled for Monday, May 7 at noon at the Bangor Cross Insurance Center, located at 515 Main St. Massachusetts officials who played a role in the removal of embarrassing details from the police report about the arrest of a judge's daughter will not face criminal charges, the state's attorney general said Friday. Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey said the revisions to the arrest report raise concerns about possible civil ethics violations, but her office found criminal charges aren't warranted because the officials were not trying to impede or interfere with the prosecution of the judge's daughter. The revelation that changes were made to the police report about the arrest of Alli Bibaud engulfed Massachusetts State Police in scandal last fall and led to the abrupt retirement of the force's Superintendent, Col. Richard McKeon. Trooper Ryan Sceviour filed a federal lawsuit accusing McKeon of ordering him to scrub the report of embarrassing information about Bibaud, who allegedly failed sobriety tests and indicated she was a heroin addict. McKeon said he ordered the report to be revised after Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. contacted him, expressed concerns about language used in the report and told McKeon that revisions should be made, according to Healey's letter referring the matter to the State Ethics Commission. "I was led to believe that everything I was about to do was not only the right thing, but it was the appropriate thing to do," McKeon said, according to the attorney general's report. Attorneys for McKeon and spokesmen for Early didn't immediately respond to emails on Friday. An independent investigation into the matter ordered by McKeon's successor -which was also released Friday - found that McKeon's decisions to revise the report and discipline the trooper and his supervisor for the original report were "unprecedented" and didn't follow any department's policy, procedure, rule or regulation. The independent investigation found McKeon should have known he can't revise a police report after it had been submitted to court and criminal complaint had been issued. It concluded that Trooper Sceviour did nothing wrong in writing the original report on Bibaud's arrest. "The culture of Massachusetts State Police must be transformed starting with management," Kevin Burke, former Essex County district attorney, and Nancy McGillivray, former US marshal for the District of Massachusetts, said in a report detailing the findings of their investigation. The altered report is one of several controversies that have rocked State Police in recent months. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker ordered this month that state troopers wear body cameras and cruisers have GPS vehicle locators after an internal audit last month revealed that nearly 30 current and former troopers assigned to Troop E may have been paid overtime for shifts never worked in 2016. A payroll director was also charged this month with larceny for allegedly stealing more than $23,000 from the agency. A man who was injured in an officer-involved shooting in Massachusetts was identified by authorites as investigators were still on the scene of the incident Friday morning. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Michael Walsh of Plymouth, was shot by officers responding to a domestic dispute call involving his wife on Thursday, according to authorities. Walsh was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. His current condition is unknown. Police responded to the 6:10 p.m. domestic disturbance call in Plymouth on the 600 block of Federal Furnace Road. Walsh had allegedly fired shots into a vehicle that his 41-year-old wife was in. She fled the scene looking for help, and her husband went back into the house, according to police. When officers arrived at the scene, Walsh came out of the house and fired at officers. Law enforcement returned fire, shooting him. No officers were injured, but seven were transported from the scene for precautionary reasons. Police say Walsh was previously known to the department. Walsh is scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. on Friday at MGH on a host of charges, according to officials. It's unclear if he has an attorney. The investigation is ongoing. A man who was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife was transported to the hospital after being shot by police officers Thursday evening, according to officials. Police responded to the 6:10 p.m. domestic disturbance call in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the 600 block of Federal Furnace Road. The 36-year-old man fired shots into a vehicle that his 41-year-old wife was in. She fled the scene looking for help, and the husband went back into the house, according to Plymouth police. When officers arrived on scene, the man came out of the house and fired at officers. Law enforcement returned fire, shooting the suspect. The man, who has not been identified, was transported to a Boston area hospital. The extent of his injuries is not known. No officers were injured. Seven were transported from the scene for precautionary reasons, however. Police say the suspect was previously known to the department. A heavy police presence was still on scene, including both State and local police, around 10 p.m. Thursday night. The incident is under investigation. No other details were immediately available. The Vermont teenager police say was stopped before carrying out plans to shoot up his former high school has been released from jail. Jack Sawyer had been behind bars since February, when police say a tipster told them the 18-year-old had bought a gun and was planning a massacre inside Fair Haven Union High School. Several attempted murder charges against Sawyer were dropped, after the Vermont Supreme Court said simply planning a crime wasnt the same thing as attempting one. With only misdemeanor charges against Sawyer remaining, Judge Thomas Zonay granted Sawyers release from jail on $10,000 bail and conditions. Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, pointed to the Sawyer case as a prime reason for his recent authorization of stricter gun controls in the statewhich included raising the age for most firearm purchases to 21. Scott reacted to Sawyers release Friday. "Im very concernedfrustrated by the entire process, to be honest," the governor told reporters. "I share the concerns of the community. I share the concerns of the high school as well. Were doing everything we can. Ive directed our public safety commissioner and the Vermont State Police to add any resources they might need to feel safe." Under his conditions of release, Sawyer must stay in his fathers custody 24/7, and cannot enter the town of Fair Haven. Sawyer is also expected to undergo a mental health evaluation in the next few days, and the court ordered him to obey all future guidance of treatment professionals. Additionally, an extreme risk protection order mandated that Sawyers father remove all firearms from his home, and barred Sawyer from handling guns. Abandoning a signals traditional binary ones and zeroes will improve throughput in fiber, a Dutch PhD researcher says. By increasing the number of bit states from the traditional two the one and zero to four or eight, adding more light colors, and changing clock rates for each wavelength, throughput will be significantly increased, he claims. A higher number of levels implies more information per symbol, so four levels contain two bits of information, and eight levels contain three bits, says Robbert van der Linden in an article on the Eindhoven University of Technology Department of Electrical Engineering website. Therefore, you get up to three times the information in the same number of symbols, he says. The downside being its harder to decode, but it is doable, he claims. Van der Linden, who also works part-time at fiber equipment supplier Genexis, says there are a number of other steps, too, that can improve passive optical networks (PONs) used often in fiber-to-the-home networks. PONs cheaply hitch tens of homes to one fiber cable supplying the street or geographic area. However, they can produce signal degradation for the customers farthest from the central office due to extra splitters in the line and so on. General inefficiency also occurs with PONs. Thats because the ISP, in its attempt to rectify bad throughput for distant customers, over builds for nearby customers. However, PONs are popular among ISPs. They require only one cable to a neighborhood and one central office transceiver. Thats cheaper, costs less to power, and takes up less real estate. Van der Linden says the pipe simply needs to be better optimized. Theres wastage. One should, in fact, use the over-building unnecessary for the nearby customers to help the farther customers. Something called adaptive modulation is the answer. One should match the signal parameters to the available properties of the data channels, he says. Other ways to improve throughput Improvements proposed, in addition to the aforementioned abandonment of binary, is to match dodgy signals that are harder to decode to customers close by who dont need particularly clean signals, then create good signals, which are easier to decode, for the distant customers. By doing that, you optimize the pipe for everyone. Throughput improves, too, as capacity goes up everyone needs less time to communicate. Van der Linden says one does this by making changes to the actual signal levels. Normally you would go for four or eight equidistant levels. But if you position the levels with unequal intermediate spaces, you open up larger gaps between pairs of levels that are closer together. The bit encoded within the large distance is easier to decode and thus can handle a worse signal quality, he says. He says that his smarter fiber optimization ideas, which produce better data rates, are based on technology already used in wireless, cable, and DSL. Other proposals he makes in his thesis include more colors in the same fiber that makes more data streams and three different clock rates. Customers demand more bandwidth, but [they] dont want to pay anything extra for it, says Karl Tran, Manager Future Optical Systems at Genexis, in the article. Robbert has achieved a great milestone: He devised ways to increase the capacity without introducing expensive techniques. The techniques he used are relatively simple. A study in today's issue of JAMA Oncology reports that New York City firefighters exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster site face an increased risk for developing myeloma precursor disease (MGUS), which can lead to the blood cancer multiple myeloma. The study was conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Health System, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "With our 2011 study in The Lancet, we were the first to show that first responders were more likely to get many different types of cancer," said senior co-author David J. Prezant, M.D., a professor of medicine at Einstein, a pulmonary disease specialist at Montefiore and chief medical officer of the FDNY. "We carried out this new study to do more than just treat cancer. We wanted to find early, predictive signs of cancer that would allow us to screen people and monitor those found to be at risk. By detecting MGUS, which predicts the development of multiple myeloma, we are able to do that." In MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance), the blood's plasma cells produce an abnormal protein called monoclonal (M) protein that can be detected with blood tests. MGUS generally causes no problems but can progress to multiple myeloma, a blood cancer diagnosed in about 30,000 Americans each year. In multiple myeloma, rapidly proliferating plasma cells can crowd out the bone marrow's normal blood-forming cells, leading to problems including anemia (shortage of red cells) and leukopenia (shortage of white cells). Most multiple myeloma cases are diagnosed in people older than 65, and only 5 percent of cases occur among people under 50. Half of those diagnosed with multiple myeloma are still alive five years later. Previous studies suggest that MGUS and multiple myeloma all tend to develop after exposure to toxic chemicals. The aerosolized dust from the collapsed towers exposed FDNY and other first responders to unprecedented levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, asbestos and other potential carcinogens, as well as diesel smoke from heavy machinery used in the 10-month rescue and recovery effort. For statistical reasons, the study population was limited to 781 white, male WTC-exposed firefighters aged 50 to 79 whose blood samples were evaluated to assess the prevalence of MGUS in the group. When results were compared with MGUS prevalence in a non-exposed comparison group (men living in Olmsted County, MN), the prevalence of MGUS in the firefighters was nearly twice as high (7.63 cases of MGUS per 100 firefighters vs. 4.34 cases per 100 non-exposed persons). "We saw a significantly higher incidence of MGUS in these first responders, and they're developing it at a young age," said the study's senior co-author Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., a professor of medicine and of developmental & molecular biology at Einstein and director of hematologic malignancies at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care. Their early development of MGUS, he says, suggests that these firefighters potentially face an increased risk for early-onset of multiple myeloma as well. Indeed, in a separate analysis, the researchers examined the 16 cases of multiple myeloma diagnosed between September 12, 2001 and July 1, 2017 among all white, male WTC-exposed FDNY firefighters. Their average age of diagnosis was 57, or 12 years younger than the average age for multiple myeloma diagnosis nationally. Although not everyone with MGUS will develop multiple myeloma, the researchers recommend that physicians screen first responders exposed to the WTC site for both conditions. "Screening for multiple myeloma risk by testing for MGUS is something we can offer these first responders, which is why this study is important," said Dr. Prezant. Another study in this edition of JAMA Oncology predicts how many WTC-related cancer cases will be diagnosed among FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2031.The study, by Einstein, Montefiore, and FDNY researchers, predicts that among a subset of white males 2,714 new cancer cases will be diagnosed over the 20-year period. Led by Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., a research assistant professor in epidemiology and population health at Einstein, these studies demonstrate that this is a significantly greater cancer burden than the 2,596 cancer cases that would be predicted in a demographically similar but non-exposed population. The study also calculated that the 20-year cost for the first year of cancer treatment for the FDNY WTC exposed rescue/recovery workers will total more than $235 million. The paper is titled "Estimation of Future Cancer Burden in World Trade Center-Exposed Fire Department of the City of New York Rescue/recovery Workers." For the first time in Australia, national data on cancer stage at diagnosis is available for the top five incidence cancers female breast cancer, colorectal, lung, prostate cancers and melanoma. Cancer Australia today released new data on stage at diagnosis the extent to which a cancer has spread at diagnosis marking a significant advance in the reporting of national cancer information. In Australia, one person is diagnosed with cancer every four minutes, with an estimated 138,000 new cases in 2018. The top five incidence cancers contribute about six out of 10 of these cases. The new data reveals that the majority of cancer cases for female breast (77%), prostate (82%) and melanoma (92%) were diagnosed as early stage, compared to colorectal (46%) and lung cancer (18%). The data shows some variations in the cancer stage at diagnosis by population group. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples tended to have lower proportions of stage 1 cancer for female breast, colorectal and prostate cancer, and higher proportions of advanced cancers, than non-Indigenous Australians. Cancer Australia CEO Dr Helen Zorbas said the release of the new data has opened the door to insights that could inform and shape our approach to cancer control strategies. Over past decades, cancer control in Australia has been informed by high quality cancer data, due in part to mandatory reporting of cancer incidence. However, what has been missing from the picture is the availability of national data on the stage at diagnosis, said Dr Zorbas. The landmark data reveals the extent and spread of these cancers at diagnosis across four stages of severity with stage 1 being localised disease and stage 4 being metastatic or more widely spread disease. The data will help us explore the relationship between cancer stage at diagnosis and survival outcomes, and the role of public health initiatives, early detection and awareness campaigns. This marks a major leap forward. Ultimately, the collection of stage data will enable us to understand the association between stage at diagnosis, treatments and outcomes, and to better understand differences in these aspects for different sociodemographic groups, she said. Australia is among the first countries worldwide to report population-level data of a high quality on stage of cancer at diagnosis. The new data shows that Australia had a comparable or higher proportion of early stage cancers for most cancer types compared to England and Canada. Led by Cancer Australia, the data is the result of a collaboration with all state and territory population-based cancer registries and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Thought Leaders Dr Keith Carron CEO/General Manager Metrohm Raman An interview with Keith Carron, conducted by Stuart Milne, BA, and James Ives, BSc. Safety is the primary concern for first responders and military personnel when they arrive at a scene with unknown, potentially hazardous materials. Keith Carron, CEO CEO/General Manager of Metrohm Raman, talks shortly after the release of Metrohms new Mira DS handheld Raman Analyzer, which provides a new level of safety and assurance when identifying unknown substances up close or from a safe distance of up to 1.5 meters! Raman Spectroscopy for Military and First Responder Applications Play Raman Spectroscopy for Military and First Responder Applications from AZoNetwork on Vimeo. How is substance identification through Raman spectroscopy used by our first responders and by the military? What substances can be identified with Raman spectroscopy? First responders will arrive at a scene where perhaps an accident or incident has occurred, or where there's an unknown material they want to identify to see whether there's a public health hazard. Generally, this is a reactive situation, responders are reacting to an issue that has occurred. The military application can be different, namely, more proactive. There may not be a spill, but there may be something that the military personnel are searching for in particular, for example in areas such as at a terrorist site. Raman spectroscopy works by measuring the vibrations of a molecule using a laser. These are unique for each molecule, allowing us to identify a wide range of chemicals, we call it a fingerprint technique. When a Raman spectrum is acquired, this spectrum can be added to a library of spectra. You take your unknown spectrum and search the library for matches, based on that you can identify unknown materials. What advantages does Raman spectroscopy provide for forensic analysis over other chemical identification methods? There isn't one technique that will do everything, but Raman does have advantages over some, a big one being the ability to look through containers. Raman uses a visible laser that can detect a target if you can see it, but it won't shoot through a Coke can and perform miracles. You can't look through an opaque layer but if it's a clear layer, like glass or clear plastic or even a brown bottle, Raman works quite well. It also conveys a high level of information content; from our libraries containing 14,000 different compounds it can identify each of those uniquely, because each spectrum is unique like a fingerprint. Please describe the new Mira DS Raman spectrometer, and its new features and sampling accessories that set it apart. I've been working in Raman for 38 years and one of my companies made the first handheld Raman analyzers back in 2004 after the 9/11 events. We put a lot of that technology into the Mira DS. However in this latest model, weve removed all of the skill required to take a Raman spectrum, including the focusing and determination of parameters, with what we call Smart Acquire. This technique makes it much more accessible and easy to use, which is essential in high pressure and potentially dangerous situations. The Smart Acquire technique can take as many as 14 short acquisitions to determine the best parameters to use, to identify the unknown substance. We adjust for factors like fluorescence and signal strength, so for example, if theres a weak signal we acquire data for a longer time. A lot of flow and analysis goes in before we take the spectral acquisition with the Mira DS. Our range of accessories are also unique. We have a universal adapter to accommodate acquiring spectra through a bottle or clear plastic, or to simply set it on a powder. We have a right angle accessory that allows you to set the unit down on top of a surface and take a spectrum, the system also allows you to set a delay and run if you're afraid the sample is going to explode! We have a no-focus ball probe mounted on a stainless-steel rod suitable for dipping into spills, for example. Its very easy to clean and useful for fire fighters. Finally, we have standoff attachments, one of which can take a reading from 1.5 meters, which provides an extra level of protection. This can also be useful for covert scenarios, for example if you entered a covert lab, spectra can be taken without coming into contact with the material, or even being that close. Safety is an important consideration when doing such risky work, how does the Mira DS allow its users to stay out of contact with unknown substances? The ball probe is around 15 centimeters, long enough to be inserted into a solution without you coming into contact with it. A protective sleeve can be used to stop contamination and aid cleaning of the probe. We have the true standoff probe, a telescope that would allow a responder to examine a house suspected of containing drugs or explosives just by looking through a window or doorway to acquire data. Smart Acquire is the final safety feature. Rather than concerning themselves with acquiring and getting the spectrum, first responders simply press a button which allows them to be cognizant of the environment, which could very well be hazardous. While safety is important, how do you maintain accurate measurements with the different sampling accessories? We produce another instrument for the pharmaceutical industry which is highly regulated and we take great care that it is extremely accurate and precise. We've been able to incorporate a lot of that technology into the DS as well. When you turn the Mira DS on, you calibrate it, which improves accuracy. However, this can be overridden in an emergency. We also have systems that check the calibration so you can simply shoot a sample to verify that it's still working properly. How can substance identification through Raman spectroscopy be completed from such a large distance? Raman scattering drops as a factor of the distance squared, so the further away you are, the greater the loss of the Raman. It's a square relationship so with a short focal length and close distances the lenses used are very small. While with the standoff adapter, the lens is quite large which compensates for the distance. What types of explosives and illicit substances can be identified using this method? There's really no limit. All explosives, drugs and illicit materials should be detectable with Raman. We also know that many substances will be mixtures, drugs, for example, can be dirty, containing plant material or cutting agents. We have tried to counteract false negatives by pairing substances, so if one is found it will suggest searching for another. One example of this is sodium bicarbonate, which is a well-known cutting agent of cocaine, if sodium bicarbonate is detected the system will suggest searching for cocaine. Fluorescence can pose an issue, however. Weve also encountered explosives that cause florescence, which is a situation that we are working on at the moment. How did you make the Mira DS easy to use? Do you need any scientific training to interpret the results? Over 14 years of making handheld Raman systems, we've learned from talking with customers that go into the field and listening to their needs. Theyve told us what makes it easy to use, such as eliminating the need to determine the acquisition time and focus required. One push of a button and you get the answer, which we deliver very clearly. For a hazard the screen goes red, and if it's not a hazard, it's green. If it's in between, like an over the counter drug or a cutting agent that could be used in something bad, the screen turns yellow. We've really thought through how to present the information accurately and quickly. How large is the library of reference materials that the Mira DS can check against? Are there plans to expand this in the future? The illicit library features a little over 1,000 compounds, including both explosives and drugs. We allow the customers to make their own libraries. Sometimes a smaller library can be beneficial. On the other hand, if they're first responders reporting to an incident and they don't know what to expect, we have a 14,000 component library that we purchased from ST Japan. We can cover a range of library types, from large libraries down to small very specific libraries. What is the future of the Mira DS Raman spectrometer? I think the future is good. For the basic platform and these attachments, we're estimating an 8 to 10-year lifetime, but we have further features to add. The first is Surface Enhanced Raman (SERS). Diagnostic AnSERS, a company we purchased last year, print strips with a HP printer that enables trace detection and helps with florescent samples, which will be available for purchase within the next two months. About Keith Carron Keith Carron is CEO/General Manager of Metrohm Raman in Laramie, Wyoming. Dr. Carron has work in the field of Raman spectroscopy for 38 years and has developed commercial Raman instrumentation for the past 24 years. His work in Raman spectroscopy began while in graduate school at Northwestern University and continued as a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland and as a research professor at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. Dr. Carron became Professor Carron in 1988 when he joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department at the University of Wyoming and he continues as an Emeritus Professor after his retirement in 2015. During his tenure at the University of Wyoming, he founded Detection Limit in 1994, DeltaNu in 1998, and Snowy Range Instruments in 2009. In 2016, Metrohm acquired Snowy Range Instruments to create Metrohm Raman. Throughout his career Dr. Carron has worked toward development of small (handheld) and affordable Raman spectrometers. Dr. Carron has won many academic and industrial awards; in 2009, he was awarded the Chemical Pioneer Award for his development of handheld Raman instrumentation. Considerably more cases of suspected cancer can today be identified early within primary care. Partly based on symptoms but also statistics on the patients' visits to health centers, indicates research from Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sweden. "When patients seek care more frequently, as opposed to previously when they maybe just came in to check their blood pressure, it could be a sign that something else is wrong, even if the symptoms can be initially interpreted as benign," says Dr Marcela Ewing, at the Institute of Medicine and specialist in general medicine and oncology. Her thesis is based on information on 4,500 adult patients who sought primary care in the Vastra Gotaland region, Sweden in 2010-2011 and were diagnosed with one of our most common forms of cancer. The group was compared to some 18,000 gender and age-matched control patients at the same health centers, who had no ascertained cancer. The majority of the patients sought primary care with different complaints the year before they received their cancer diagnosis, but for more than half of them, it took four or more doctor visits at the health center before the diagnosis was made. A significant number of symptoms that these patients sought help for, that turned out to be associated with cancer were presented as early as in the first two consultations, but the patients had to visit primary care doctors at least twice more. "Cancer and cancer diagnosis are difficult, and it is something very unusual in the everyday work of a general practitioner. In a year, a general practitioner may only diagnose four or five cases. But you can increase attentiveness and ask yourself more often whether or not it is cancer, especially if the patient returns many times," says Marcela Ewing. The research focused on seven common forms of cancer; breast cancer, gynecological cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. The latter specifically, colorectal cancer, was classified separately concerning symptoms and predictability. It turns out that patients that sought care for bleeding bowels in combination with diarrhea, constipation, change in bowel habit or abdominal pain constituted the group that could be associated most strongly with early stage cancer, in their case, colorectal cancer that had yet not spread throughout the body. "The value of a single symptom is often insignificant. If you seek primary care for bleeding bowels, the risk is approximately 4 percent that it is cancer and 96 percent that it is hemorrhoids or something else that is treatable. What we have shown is that it is the combination of symptoms that is important, even if they do not appear at exactly the same time, and attention must be focused on this. If we can identify cancer at an earlier stage, the patients' prognosis is better, and less of society's resources are required," says Marcela Ewing. "A cancer diagnosis is made at a hospital, but it is often the general practitioners that introduce the idea and start an investigation," she goes on to say. "They are key people and it is important that they stay on their toes. The thought of cancer should always be in the back of your mind since the consequences of a late diagnosis can be so serious." You've heard of "nature versus nurture," and philosophers argue about which is more important. But how does this work on the cellular level? Although genes stay the same throughout the lifespan, genetic code isn't necessarily a person's destiny. In fact, genes can be switched on and off to regulate a number of activities within cells. The body does this naturally in response to internal needs or changes in the external environment, and now scientists are able to switch these processes on and off in the lab. In other words, researchers have created tools that would enable real-time activation of target genes in specific locations in the genome. This technology may help scientists to illuminate the gene function during different biological processes and hopefully be useful in regenerative medicine. Researchers at Texas A&M are creating a system to do this using two common elements: calcium and light. Calcium--capable of far more than building strong bones--plays an important role in this system, as its signals regulate a number of activities within the cell, from growth and metabolism to homeostasis. Turning on the flow of calcium ions Yubin Zhou, PhD, associate professor at the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology, leads the study developing what he calls the CaRROT system (for calcium-responsive transcriptional reprogramming tool). This system can control the transcription of genes within the body with high precision--in other words, it can dictate how, when and where genes create proteins that perform various cellular functions. CaRROT uses a simple pulse of light or chemicals that can induce the flow of calcium ions into cells. The researchers described their technique in a recent article published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology. "This technology should allow scientists to turn on or off a diverse array of genes at any location by simply switching the light or adding or withdrawing activating compounds," Zhou said. The researchers designed CaRROT to hijack the calcium signals generated by light (with Opto-CRAC, another technology Zhou and his team developed) to deliver the genome-engineering tool derived from the CRISPR/Cas9 system to turn on genes. "When the light is switched on, the gates controlling calcium ions open to allow the flow of calcium from the external space into the cytoplasm of the cell," said Nhung Nguyen, a graduate student in Zhou's lab who led this work. "This process ultimately turns on the expression of specific genes." The turning on of gene expression then leads to changes in the function of the cell. "We have screened dozens of engineered proteins and undergone numerous rounds of optimization to make the CaRROT system strictly responsive to light," added Lian He, PhD, a graduate student in Zhou's lab and a co-first author of the study. To evaluate how effective CaRROT really is in mammalian cells, the team will test it on genes that control the differentiation of neuron and skeletal muscle. They hope that they can use CaRROT in regenerative medicine to drive the precise differentiation of stem cells into whatever type of organ is required, just by illuminating the cells with light. "The improvement of light penetration in deep tissue gives us the optimism that we could use CaRROT to reprogram cells in damaged organs," said Yun Huang, PhD, a collaborative senior author of the study. "It is possible that one day, by just exposing the tissues to light, we can heal the wound or accelerate the regeneration of injured tissues by photo-tuning coordinated gene expression." Turning calcium influx off In a second study recently published in the journal Angewandte Chemie as a cover story, Zhou and his team invented a new optogenetic tool that can do the opposite trick. With light shining upon cells in the 'excitable' tissues such as the nervous and cardiovascular systems, calcium influx through gateways on the membrane of the cell, called voltage-gated calcium channels, can be turned off. These channels, which constitute the major route of calcium entry into the cell, regulate a series of physiological processes. Because their dysfunction is involved in many diseases, they are considered an important therapeutic target for cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric disorders. Traditional calcium-channel blockers approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration have been widely used to treat cardiovascular disorders including high blood pressure, arrhythmia and coronary artery disease. However, these drugs tend to cause side effects--including headache, edema, dangerously low blood pressure and palpitations--due to their cytotoxicity and off-target effects. "Because of these side effects, generating new interventional approaches to complement the traditional calcium-channel blockers is much needed in the clinic," Zhou said. "Our new optogenetic tool provides a non-conventional method to interrogate physiological and pathophysiological processes medicated by these voltage-gated calcium channels." Zhou and his collaborators combined genetic strategies with optical techniques to engineer a novel class of genetically encoded inhibitors for these voltage-gated calcium channels. "After tremendous efforts of optimization, we developed an ideal photoswitchable inhibitor, which we're calling optoRGK. OptoRGK exhibited excellent light-inducible inhibition of calcium ion entry in excitable cells," said Guolin Ma, PhD, an assistant project scientist in Zhou's lab, who spearheaded the project. The team tested this tool in cardiac muscle cells, which showed rhythmic oscillations of calcium in the dark that matched the heart beating rhythm. "However, upon blue light illumination, the rhythmic oscillations can be substantially reduced or even terminated," Zhou said. "Notably, this process is totally reversible after removal of the light source." With this method, researchers can regulate the activity of excitable cells in the nervous and cardiovascular systems. "Complementary to the photoactivatable Opto-CRAC system, the optoRGK toolkit provides a unique opportunity to switch off calcium signals in excitable cells," said Youjun Wang, PhD, a collaborator of this study from Beijing Normal University. "Our novel optogenetic tools can be conveniently applied to control a wide range of physiological processes mediated by voltage-gated calcium channels in multiple biological systems," Zhou added. "While traditional voltage-gated calcium channel blockers lack reversibility, selectivity and tissue-specificity, optoRGK opens exciting opportunities to intervene in related physiological processes with unprecedented precision. We hope that these kinds of studies will eventually lead to new generation of optogenetic devices for curing cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases." Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire [] According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three humans carries Staphylococcus aureus, or "staph," in our noses, and 2 percent of us carry the dreaded methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strain that thwarts common antibiotics. So how is it that most of us never get sick from staph infections? Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have found a clue. In a study published April 26 in Cell Host & Microbe, the researchers show that an immune-system generated molecule called nitric oxide (NO) inhibits the ability of the S. aureus to transform from a relatively benign, quiescent colonizing state to its virulent form, producing toxins to invade and cause disease. This might explain why our nasal passages typically have very high concentrations of NO. The lead author of the paper is Rodolfo Urbano, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. He conducted the research as a doctoral student in the lab of Dr. Ferric Fang, UW professor of laboratory medicine, microbiology, medicine and pathobiology. He is the paper's senior author. "At a time when antibiotic resistance is on the rise, immune molecules that target virulence factors could be used to develop new therapeutics," Urbano said. The UW team collaborated with peers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Colorado. Urbano said our immune system uses NO as a weapon against many microbes including viruses, parasites, bacteria and fungi. As with most antibiotics, NO fights most bacteria by limiting their ability to grow. But S. aureus is able to grow despite the presence of NO. To find out how NO might be keeping S. aureus in check, the researchers set out to identify all the proteins in S. aureus that were modified by NO. Many proteins were altered, they found, but one protein in particular caught researchers' interest. That protein, called AgrA, plays a key role in the process that switches quiescent S. aureus bacteria into virulent invaders. This process is called quorum sensing; it's triggered when bacteria reach a certain density--a "quorum"-- and initiates the process in which the bacteria begin to produce virulent factors such as toxins. By modifying AgrA, NO blocked this quorum-sensing system, Urbano and colleagues found. To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers showed that mice with staphylococcal pneumonia that lacked the gene needed to generate NO developed more severe disease. This demonstrted that NO can suppress the production of toxins during an infection, Urbano said. "The same effect may also apply when there is no ongoing infection," he said. Fang noted that bacteria often find a way to evolve so they can resist the effects of antibiotics, but curiously S aureus appears to have not evolved to resist the effect of NO. "One could speculate that the arrangement is actually advantageous to the bacterium," Fang said. "The bacterium doesn't want to make its host sick. It prefers to just colonize the host, grow, and spread to other people. If the staph colonizing me makes me sick and I die, that doesn't help the staph." Fang said his team hopes to better understand how NO protects the body, but also why it fails. "We know that one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you when you get the flu is that you can develop a staph infection. We would like to know whether the flu disrupts the normal balance between staph and the host and whether it has something to do with NO." McMaster University researchers have found there is such a thing as too much oxygen for acutely ill adults. Extensive data analyses in a study from the university show that supplemental oxygen, when given liberally to these patients, increases the risk of death without improving other health outcomes. The results were published today in The Lancet. "Supplemental oxygen is administered to millions of acutely unwell patients around the world every day," said Waleed Alhazzani, senior author of the paper, assistant professor of medicine at McMaster and an intensive care and general internal medicine staff member at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. "Despite this, there is a striking lack of definitive, high-quality evidence related to this common intervention." The McMaster-led team of researchers searched electronic academic databases from their inception through to October 2017 for randomized controlled trials done worldwide which compared liberal versus conservative oxygen therapy and death rates, as well as impacts on such aspects as disability, infections and hospital length of stay. The 25 randomized controlled trials encompassed more than 16,000 adult patients with sepsis, stoke, trauma, emergency surgery, heart attack or cardiac arrest. Data analysis demonstrated that, compared to the conservative strategy, liberal administration of oxygen resulted in increased in-hospital death by 21 per cent. Additional analyses suggested that the more supplemental oxygen patients were given, the higher their risk was for death. However, the incidence of other conditions, such as infections or length of hospital stay, were similar between the two groups. The researchers estimated one additional death for every 71 patients treated with a liberal oxygen strategy. "Our findings are distinct from the pervasive view that liberal oxygen therapy for acute illnesses is at worst, harmless," said Alhazzani. The results of the study, called Improving Oxygen Therapy in Acute-illness (IOTA), have immediate and important implications for health-care providers, policymakers and researchers, say the authors. "Prior practice guidelines and medical directives on oxygen therapy for acute illnesses have been inconsistent," said Derek Chu, first author of the paper and a McMaster clinical fellow. "Our results provide much-needed clarification by showing, with high-quality evidence, that administering too much supplemental oxygen increases mortality among a broad range of acute illnesses. "Currently, patients are frequently given supplemental oxygen and at excessive levels. A simple change to current practice being more moderate and cautious with how much oxygen is administered to acutely unwell patients could save lives." Source: https://www.mcmaster.ca/ Thought Leaders Dr. Cecilia Brassett Clinical Anatomist The University of Cambridge An interview with Dr. Cecilia Brassett, MB BChir MChir FRCS, conducted by Kate Anderton, BSc How are donated bodies used to train medical students? At Cambridge University, anatomy is principally taught through practical dissection. Students are provided with instructions in a manual at the start of the year and allocated to a donor. There are six to eight students per donor, and we have around 40 tables in our dissection room which are shared between 280 to 290 students per year group. Credit: ESB Professional/Shutterstock.com We refer to the kind people who have donated their bodies as donors, or subjects, and try to avoid the word cadaver because we want to be as respectful as possible and recognize the generosity they have shown. The medical students have two two-hourly sessions per week. Each session starts with a demonstration on a donor, and the students then dissect a specific region of the body. They are supervised by demonstrators, including surgical trainees, practicing consultants or retired surgeons, as well as radiologists and pathologists. The aim is that by the end of the academic year, students will have observed every system in the body. But, donors are not just used to train medical students. They are also used in research projects to improve surgical procedures and knowledge of clinically relevant anatomical variations, for example. These projects are carried out by clinical students, post-graduates or junior doctors. What happens to bodies that are donated to medical schools? We try our best to accept donations if at all possible. If a person has specified that they would like to be a donor when they die, their families, hospital bereavement office or the funeral home will ring us to let us know. The first and most important thing we need is consent. Then, we consult the medical team who looked after the donor to check that we are able to accept them. If they are suitable, our designated funeral director will collect them and deliver them to our facility, where embalming takes place. We use a robust vascular embalming process which allows the donor to be worked on throughout the whole academic year. This takes a few months, as the tissues have to be adequately fixed by the embalming fluid before dissection can occur. Thats why, for the coming academic year which starts in October 2018, we can only use donors who have been received into our facility and embalmed before July. So, a donor who comes to us from July onwards will not be used for teaching until the following academic year, from October 2019. I should also mention we undertake costs including transport to our facility and cremation or burial depending on the donors wishes There has recently been a rise in the number of donations, why do you think this is? I think there are a couple of reasons why donations have increased. The first is because of a change in attitude. People feel that donation is a good way to give back to the NHS, or to help medical research. I think that dissection is less of a taboo subject, and people are more informed. In the past, dissection was seen as a form of punishment for executed criminals, but thankfully anatomical dissection is now seen as something beneficial, rather than something awful that is done to a body. This positive attitude is often, fortunately, passed on through the generations. Our donors often say: My parents did this. My dad came to you, and I'd like to consent too." The second is that patients are more aware of the impact that donating their bodies to anatomy has on medical training. For example, one of our clinical students, who was working with a surgical trainee and orthopaedic surgeon, recently published a study which involved the use of our donors to minimize the risk of injury to the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh during hip arthroscopy (a type of keyhole surgery). This nerve supplies sensation to the skin, and can be injured during placement of the portals during hip arthroscopy, resulting in postoperative pain in this region. Meticulous dissection of our donors, under close supervision by our staff, was used to map out the variable positions of the nerve and determine a safe-zone for surgeons when siting the portals. I think that increasing awareness of this type of study may have had an effect on donation, as my team and I have presented this kind of information in public lectures during events such as the annual Science Festival that is held in Cambridge. The Dissection Room at Cambridge University Why is dissection still an important part of training with all the new technology that is available? We believe that the benefits of dissection-based anatomy teaching goes way beyond imparting anatomical knowledge, and these can be related to the three key outcomes for graduates that were originally published by the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2009 in a document called Tomorrows Doctors. These are: the Doctor as Scholar and Scientist, the Doctor as a Practitioner, and the Doctor as a Professional. The Doctor as Scholar and Scientist relates to the importance of keeping up-to-date with the latest research. This is particularly related to the projects we offer. Going back to the previous example, not everybodys nerve is in the same position, so determining safe zones for surgery is highly important. Donors are also used on courses to train health professionals like physiotherapists, nurses, and medical reservists in the military. I think another reason that surgeons need more practice on cadaveric specimens is because of the decrease in training time. In the past, a junior doctors working hours were excessive and unhealthy. When I was a surgical trainee, I used to work incredibly long hours, but we saw a lot of patients and we were able to gain lots of experience and practice. With the decrease in working hours and on-call frequency, junior doctors would see fewer cases and do not have as much time to practice new techniques. It is therefore important for them to practice on cadaveric specimens. Ensuring patient safety is also related to developing manual dexterity. Hands on dissection is a skill that needs to be developed. Rather than just moving their fingers along a touch screen, medical students are actually able to have the haptic feedback that you get by touching human tissues and learn to be meticulous in preserving important structures. Credit: chanyut Sribua-rawd/Shutterstock.com It is much better that students make mistakes whilst they are learning rather than their first experience being real-life surgery. We always tell them, It doesn't matter if you cut this nerve now by mistake, but it does matter when you cut this nerve in a living person! Students are amazed at the 3D spatial orientation of the body. They say things like "I never realized that these structures were so close to each other, I've seen them on a computer screen and on a model, but oh, wow, this is so much more real." The Doctor as a Practitioner defines the importance of ensuring patient safety and being clinically aware of things that could go wrong. This is really important, because anatomical variation cannot be easily learnt using a model or computer simulation. As our medical students work on 40 different donors, they are very much aware from the start that everyone is different and variations must be taken into account. We actually published a study on locoregional variation in colonic length and mobility and its relevance to clinical practice a few years ago, using data collected from our donors. The final point is the Doctor as a Professional, and a dissection-based anatomy course enhances professionalism in medical students. It is important to cultivate respect for the living through learning from donors. For example, one student said: Our donors sparked enthusiasm and demanded respect. They were our first patient and forgave us any mistakes we made, only wanting to teach us more. They made us consider the reverence of human life and through their donation, taught us of the trust our patients will give us. They gave us confidence and awareness all without uttering a single word." Students cannot learn this in the same way from a model. A dissection-based course generates this kind of professionalism, and helps the students become better, holistic doctors. I like to think of it as a continuum between attachment and detachment, where the doctor has to be empathetic to the patient, but cant become too attached. If youre too attached to the patient, then you may start crying, for example, when explaining a diagnosis to a patient. Students can be quite apprehensive about coming into the Dissection Room, so they have to learn to be detached in order to dissect. In conclusion, dissection really gives much more than anatomical knowledge. Of course you can acquire anatomical knowledge without dissection. You can learn anatomy even just by reading a textbook. But you can't learn professionalism, manual dexterity, gain awareness of anatomical variations to ensure patient safety and contribute to scientific research, without this. Body of work: the silent teacher helping students learn anatomy Play Following dissection, what happens to the bodies that are donated? At the end of the academic year, the students take part in a committal service when all the donors have been placed in coffins and the students learn the names of the people theyve worked on. Its a very emotionally laden service where the students come to get to know the donors as they were in life. Some relatives provide biographical details about the donors which are really appreciated by our students. What are the acceptance criteria for donating your body to anatomical examination? How many bodies are accepted? Our acceptance criteria are actually quite broad. As I mentioned earlier, we try to accept as many bodies as possible, because we recognize this is what our donors wanted to do. Theres no age limit, our oldest donor to date was 104, so I guess it's easier for me to tell you the situations where we may not consider a donation. There are two main reasons why a body may not be accepted. The first is a technical issue, for example, if the person has had a post-mortem. The problem with a post-mortem is that it leaves an open wound, preventing the embalming process from working. We use a vascular embalming process, which requires the fixative to be pumped through the circulatory system, so the fluid would leak out of a donor who has undergone a post-mortem. This is also the case for donors who have an open wound, such as a colostomy bag, recent surgery where the wound has not yet healed, for example. Another technical problem is transmissible infection. I have a responsibility to protect our students and staff. Certain organisms will persist after the donors death. We cannot accept patients with Alzheimers Disease, for example, because it might be a transmissible prion disease. The second reason we may not accept a donor is due to medical problems that cause a donor to have substantially altered anatomy. For example, patients who have died of neuromuscular diseases may have contracture deformities of their limbs. These will make it difficult for students to learn normal anatomy. In addition, if patients have lost too many limbs or had too many organs removed, they may not be suitable for teaching. We are able to accept patients who have had a hysterectomy or had their gall bladders removed, as this does not alter the anatomy appreciably. We can even accept patients who have had metastatic cancer, depending on the extent of the spread. The good thing about donating your body to a medical school is that we have a 6-7 day window for collection, so its not as urgent as organ transplantation. Unfortunately, we often decline more than we accept. For example, in 2017 we accepted 46 donors out of a total of 186. This sounds like a lot of declines, but if you think about the numerous potential causes of death, its not surprising. In your experience, what responses do you see from the families of those who have donated their bodies to anatomical examination? At the end of the academic year, we have two services. One is the committal service, which is something the families can't attend because it's held in the dissection room, where entry is strictly controlled under the Human Tissue Act 2004. The committal service is a time for the students to pay their respects to the donors. Each table group write a tribute to their donor, and these tributes can then be given to the donors relatives. Two students give general tributes on behalf of the whole year group, and the names of the donors are read out. This is followed by another service that the relatives are invited to, called the Memorial Service. This occurs every October in the University Church (Great St. Mary's) and the services over the past two years have been taken by Dr. Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury. Students and staff participate in reading poems and tributes, and talk to the families. The families love talking to the students and teaching staff. They are usually very grateful that we have been able to fulfill their relatives wishes, as it may also be difficult for them to come to terms with body donation. The family members often sign up to be donors themselves after the service, and will ask us to send them consent forms. Why is it important to specify anatomical examination and not science in your will, if you would like to donate your body to a medical school? The problem is that the Human Tissue Act 2004 is very specific about the wording. It is not enough to say that you want to donate your body to medical science. Donors have to specify anatomical examination as science is just too broad a term. This is a common problem we come across and when this happens, we have to obtain another letter from the family explaining that this was what the donor meant, which may delay the process. Where can readers find more information? About Dr. Cecilia Brassett Cecilia Brassett is the current University Clinical Anatomist at Cambridge University, where she is responsible for organizing the anatomy teaching programme. She also collaborates with a number of clinicians on research projects on clinical relevant aspects of topographical anatomy. She initially qualified as a general surgeon, then resigned and trained in field linguistics to work among an ethnic minority group in China for some years before returning to the UK and working at her alma mater. She is also a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a Councillor of both The Anatomical Society and the British Association of Clinical Anatomists. Last year, saw the publication of The Secret Language of Anatomy, an illustrated guide to the etymology of anatomical terminology which she co-authored with two colleagues. Cambridge is one of a decreasing number of medical schools where undergraduates learn anatomy primarily through hands-on dissection, and Cecilia is grateful to all her colleagues in the Human Anatomy Teaching Group who enable this programme to continue. Of course, our programme would not be possible without the unparalleled generosity of all our donors. New Delhi: Budget carrier IndiGo on Friday announced that Aditya Ghosh has stepped down as president and whole time director of the firm and promoter Rahul Bhatia will be the interim CEO of the airline. In a regulatory filing to the National Stock Exchange of India, IndiGo said that Ghoshs exit from the post of president of the company will be effective from July 31 and as a director of the company with effect from April 26. Ghosh had been at the receiving end of public ire over the last one year as several incidents of the airlines ground staff misbehaving with passengers were reported. In a statement on Friday, Ghosh said it was time to step off the treadmill and embark on the next adventure sometime in the near future. For the last ten years, it has been a relentless, exhilarating and a most satisfying task building IndiGo. I wish all my colleagues at IndiGo the very best as they move on to the next phase of growth, he said. The no-frills airline also announced the appointment of Gregory Taylor as senior advisor to the company. In the coming months, the board will consider the appointment of Greg as President and CEO of the Company, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals and paperwork, it said in a statement. Taylor has more than 40 years of experience in the sector and has held various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways. A seasoned pilot, Ghosh was appointed President of IndiGo in 2008, four years after the inception of the airline. Under him, it became the largest domestic carrier and now accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the market. But the past was a turbulent ride for the normally unflappable Ghosh. In November last year, the airline lost its best on-time performance tag to SpiceJet. That month also brought the worst public relation disaster. First, badminton star PV Sindhu took to Twitter to complain about a bad experience on an IndiGo flight. Many on social media shared their own episodes with the airline. A few days later, the airlines ground staff thrashed and harassed a passenger before a flight from New Delhi. Then news emerged that IndiGo had fired an employee who shot a video of two of his colleagues manhandling a customer. The two employees involved in the assault were spared, a mistake that was pinned on the management led by Aditya. Ghosh had publicly apologised, but only after three weeks of the incident, thus inviting massive criticism both from the public and the government. French DJ William Sami Etienne Grigahcine who goes by the name of DJ Snake recently shot a music video for his single titled "Magenta Riddim" in a small town in Telangana, India to show his appreciation to the influence Indian music has had on him and his work. But this is not the only connect he has with India. Joining the Jethalal fanclub, DJ Snake shared an edited video of our beloved Jethalal Gada and Daya ben shaking a leg to his hit song "Magenta Riddim" on his Instagram page. The video was first shared by the comedy collective All India Bakchod on their Instagram account on Thursday. The French DJ later shared the video with his army of 3.7M followers. The edited video has since garnered around 240K views on the platform. A post shared by djsnake (@djsnake) on Apr 26, 2018 at 10:28pm PDT We reached out to the editor of the video Dipraj Jadhav to get his reactions of his edits being catapulted to fame overnight. "I made this just because I was free and had nothing to do at work. Didn't expect him to share it." He further narrated how the DJ's manager contacted him. "And then Snake's manager got in touch with me. Fast forward to Friday morning, I woke up to him sharing my mashup on his Instagram." Jadhav who is himself a big TMKOC fan is a full-time editor at AIB and has collaborated with NUCLEYA for his sub-cinema concert. And the Internet lost it. Directed by Gal Muggia and Vania Heymann (the duo behind Coldplays Grammy Award-nominated video for Up & Up), the "Magenta Riddim" video follows a squad of firefighters who cant stop dancingthe pride and joy of their small Telangana town. Much of the talent and crew involved in making the Magenta Riddim video are local artists whove worked on legendary films in the realm of Tollywood (the Telugu-speaking film industry). Magenta Riddim is one of the latest culture-spanning singles dropped by DJ Snake. DJ Snake is both reclaiming his dance roots and pushing his artistic boundaries to create music that celebrates the global culture. Released via Geffen Records in February, Magenta Riddim has amassed over 20 million streams to date. Its premiere being at his sold-out Accord Hotel Arena show in Paris in February. Raipur: Eight Naxals, including six women, were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday, the police said. It was a joint operation of the Chhattisgarh police, the special anti-Naxal Greyhounds unit of their Telangana counterparts and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a senior police official said here. The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter, he said. Today's operation comes in the wake of another joint operation of the Greyhounds force and the Chhattisgarh police in Bijapur district last month, in which 10 Maoists had been killed. Early this morning, gunfight broke out on a remote hillock under the Ilmidi police station limits of Bijapur district which borders on Telangana, Chhattisgarh Special Director General (Anti-Naxal Operations) D M Awasthi said. Acting on specific intelligence, teams of the Greyhounds, the CRPF and, Chhattisgarh Police's Special Task Force and District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched operations in forests along the inter-state border, around 500 km from Raipur, since the night of April 23, he said. When the security forces were cordoning off the forested hillock, 13 km from Ilmidi, this morning, the gun-battle broke out, he said. The exchange of fire lasted for about two hours following which the Naxals fled from the spot, the DG said. "During the search, bodies of eight ultras, including six women, were recovered. All of them were in uniforms," Awasthi said. Besides, an SLR rifle, a .303 bore rifle, four .12 bore guns, a single-barrel muzzle loading gun, a .315 bore gun, three hand grenades, six rocket launchers and Maoist literature were seized, he said. A few more Naxals were injured in the encounter, but the other ultras managed to drag them away from the spot, Awasthi said, adding, "No harm was reported to any personnel of the security forces in the gunfight." Bodies of the slain Naxals were airlifted to Bijapur town by an Indian Air Force chopper and the process to identify them was underway, he said. The rebels were reportedly active in Usoor and Basaguda areas of Bijapur district, and once they are identified, it can be found out which Maoist squad they were part of, Awasthi said. According to a senior police official, the Greyhounds and the Telangana police's intelligence unit played a crucial role in this operation, a first in this area. Another joint anti-Naxal operation is being carried out by the STF, DRG and CRPF in the core Naxal areas of Sukma district, and it will continue for a few more days, he said. In early March, 10 Maoists, including seven women, were killed in an encounter during a joint operation of the Greyhounds and Chhattisgarh police in Bijapur district. Earlier this week, at least 39 Maoists were killed in the operations carried out by police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, which also borders on Bijapur. New Delhi: An expert panel of the Bar Council of India (BCI) has dismissed the allegations of threats and intimidation made by the lawyer of the Kathua rape and murder victim, saying the charges are not supported by material evidence. The team had recently visited Jammu to verify allegations of misbehaviour levelled by Deepika Singh Rajawat, lawyer for the family of the eight-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Kathua, against the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association. The panel concluded that Rajawat was not threatened and that "other lady lawyers considered the president of the Bar Association as a father figure." The panel is headed by former High Court chief justice Tarun Agarwala and comprises two co-chairmen of the council, S Prabhakaran and RG Shah, advocate Razia Begum and independent lawyer Naresh Dixit. The team was sent by the Supreme Court, which took suo motu cognisance of a strike call given by the Kathua and the Jammu and Kashmir bar associations in connection with the rape and murder case, and issued notice to the bar bodies. The Bar Association of Jammu had on April 13 said that it was extending its strike till April 17 against the growing illegal presence of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, while alleging that its agitation for a CBI probe into the case was wrongly being portrayed as communal. If we find that they were really indulging in misconduct and the strike was illegal and altogether objectionable, then we will take appropriate action. We can go to the extent of cancelling the licence of the lawyers. We have the power, BCI Chairman had then said. However, now the panel has concluded that the bar association members did not disrupt the filling of chargesheet by the Crime Branch or threaten the lawyer for the victims family. "Members of the Kathua Bar Association did not restrict any official of the Crime Branch from filing the report before the appropriate court. No member of the J&K Bar Association snatched or tore any part of the final report," says the BCI panel report. Advocate Rajawat had earlier told News18 that she was threatened by advocate BS Salathia, the president of the J&K Bar Association to not appearing in the case. She had also alleged that she was denied drinking water in any of the bar rooms of the court. In its report, the five-member BCI panel has dismissed the allegation as "not supported by material evidence" and has noted that it cannot be the case as "other lady lawyers looked at Salathia as a fatherly figure. "The contention of Deepika Singh Rajawat is not supported by any material evidence. On the contrary, a majority of the lady advocates of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association submitted that they looked upon the president of the bar association as a fatherly figure and that there was no question of the president threatening Deepika Singh Rajawat," states the BCI panel report. The report has cited court record references of the HC, saying Rajawat was not stopped from doing her work. New Delhi: Attorney General K K Venugopal on Friday opposed the plea of former law minister Shanti Bhushan to strip the Chief Justice of India (CJI) of the exclusive power to allocate cases, telling the Supreme Court that any attempt to delegate it to other judges would lead to "chaos". Stressing the need for "unity" among the judges of the top court, he said that Bhushan's plea to vest the power to allocate cases to the five-member Collegium could lead to "conflict" among judges on who would hear which matter and multiplicity of authorities. The differences among Supreme Court judges over allocation of cases had surfaced at the January 12 presser by four senior most judges who had raised the issue and it entered the courtroom with the filing of Bhushan's plea challenging the CJI's power as the 'master of the roster'. The AG told a bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the composition of benches and allocation of cases in the apex court was not an exercise which could be taken up by multiple persons and if one person has to decide it, then it has to be the CJI. If collegium or the full court is vested with this power, it "would be an unending exercise which may also result in unity of judges being not there. Unity of judges for dispensation of justice in the highest court is needed," Venugopal, who was earlier asked by the bench to assist in the matter, said. "It is essential that there should be one person doing this and if it has to be one person, then it has to be the CJI," he told the bench which reserved its order on the plea that has challenged the existing roster practice of allocation of cases by the CJI. Maintaining that the issue of allocation related to internal functioning of the Supreme Court, he said if the collegium or the full court was vested with this power, there might be a "conflict" among judges as to who would hear which matter. "According to me, it would lead to a chaos if there is multiplicity of judges involved in it", the Attorney General said and referred to a 2010 judgement of the apex court which had held that the CJI would decide on constitution of benches and which judge should hear which matter. Referring to another verdict, he argued that it was said in the judgement that if the judges were free to choose cases whatever they wanted to hear, the machinery of the court would collapse. Venugopal said the exercise of roster and allocation of cases was different from the process of selection of judges for the higher judiciary by the apex court collegium. "In case of appointment of judges, they (collegium) decide as to who should be selected for elevation. They (members of collegium) are not personally involved. But, here it is personal involvement," he said, adding "the CJI has a very onerous problem in making these decisions". During the hearing, senior counsel Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, questioned the manner in which some "sensitive cases" were allocated to particular benches in the court in contravention of the rules. Referring to the CJI being the "master of roster", Dave asked "does this give power to the CJI to fix roster and direct listing of matter before particular benches?". He referred to constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court Rules and said that there was "ambiguity" in the rules as to whether the CJI possesses power to frame roster. To this, the bench asked, "suppose the CJI has no such powers, then how will this court function". Dave said the Constitution framers had given the power to all judges of the Supreme Court to decide how the top court of the country would function. "Your lordships can sit together every year or every term of the year to decide how the roster should be and how matters should be allocated," he said, adding that the constitution of benches and fixing of the roster "is extremely sensitive today". He also said the petition and its prayer was to strengthen the court and was not directed against any individual. There should not be any "human intervention" in allocation of cases and matters should be allocated automatically through computers to the concerned court as per roster. "It is not that the CJI has unbridled power," he said, adding that if a system of rule was put in place, it should be followed and a transparent procedure should be there. When he raised the issue of listing of PILs before the CJI, the bench observed that even in high courts, PILs were listed before the chief justice and in many high courts, PILs were also listed before court number two. "There is no hard and fast rule (for listing of PILs)," Justice Sikri observed. At the fag end of hearing, Venugopal raised objection on the alleged aspersions cast on some judges in the PIL and termed it as "very wrong". In his PIL, Shanti Bhushan has stated that the "master of roster" cannot be an "unguided and unbridled" discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the CJI by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges. The petition assumes significance in light of the January 12 press conference where four senior most judges of the top court - Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - had said that situation in the top court was "not in order" and many "less than desirable" things have taken place. New Delhi: If not now, then when? is the mantra for hotelier Keshav Suri, scion of the late hotel magnate Lalit Suri and Executive Director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group that owns the LaLit chain of hotels. Suri is referring to a fresh writ petition that he has filed with the Supreme Court this year in favour of decriminalising Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. On Tuesday, a five-judge constitution bench will hear a bunch of petitions that demand the scrapping of Section 377. On Monday, the court refused to adjourn the hearing despite Centre's plea for more time to file its response on the issue. The top court was asked to re-examine the issue after it set aside a Delhi High Court verdict of 2009 that held Section 377 as "unconstitutional". A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra sent a notice to the Centre on April 23, regarding its stand on the issue. Suri, who is elated and confident at the support his cause has been receiving, thinks it is high time India addresses the big, gay elephant in the room. The people who enforced this archaic law on us have long since apologised for the crimes committed against gay and LGBTQ people. Everywhere in the world, laws are recognising the rights of the LGBTQ. So many countries nowadays allow gay marriages and even adoption. If Germany, France, Australia and parts of US can, why cant we? the 33-year-old asked. Suri, who has openly admitted to being in a relationship with his partner of almost a decade, has been a champion of the LGBTQ community for some years now through initiatives like introducing gender inclusive and protectionist policies at his organisation, organising LGBTQ events and extending support to the community through various initiatives like such as the 'Pure Love Campaign'. But I was done being on the sidelines. Its time for the LGBTQ community to come forward and demand their rights. Section 377 is problematic as it prevents us from enjoying some of the basic dignities that are allowed to other people, Suri told News18. IDENTITY, NOT PERVERSION Section 377 prohibits unnatural sex or carnal intercourse against the order of nature. It is a colonial-era law (1861) that prohibits non-penovaginal intercourse and makes it a punishable offence that can earn the accused up to ten years in prison. The law has historically been used as a tool to repress and discriminate against individuals be it man, woman or trans person, said Yashwinder Singh, Project Manager at Humsafar Trust, one of the oldest LGBTQ advocacy forums in India. Commenting on the tricky wording of the law, Singh clarifies that though it does not directly discriminate against the LGBTQ community by name, it creates an atmosphere of shame and lack of dignity for the community. By singling it out as just an act of sexual perversion, Section 377 tries to deride the identity of anyone who belongs to an alternate sexual identity. Homosexuality or alternate sexual identity is not just limited to the kind of sex we can or cannot have. It is who we are, who we love, how we love, how we want to live and who with, Singh said emphatically, adding that the law was unconstitutional and simply homophobic. TRIVIALISING MALE RAPE While recent cases of brutal rape and murder against women and children in India have catapulted the issue of sexual crimes against women to the forefront of public discussion, with a growing consensus for stricter sentences against the perpetrators, there continues to be a vacuum in the discourse when it comes to the rape and sexual assault of men. It is surprising but there is not a single law in India that deals with male rape. When a man has to complain about sexual crimes committed by another man or even woman, there are no specific legal provisions that he can take recourse to, said Mumbai-based advocate Suraj Sanap, who works as a legal officer with Lawyers Collective. Sanap, who has handled various Section 377 cases told News18 that the law limits the right of men, both homosexual and straight, to seek legal remedy against sexual crimes. Due to the secretive nature of dating in the LGBTQ community, those who participate are often victims of sexual violence, what we call date rape. Because of Section 377, many dont report the crime for fear of getting arrested themselves. And if not arrest, the ridicule is enough to keep many out of police stations, Sanap said adding that all cases of consensual sex between men and also of sexual assault against men, homosexual or not, were treated under Section 377. NO COUNTRY FOR LGBTQ Because of criminalisation and the ensuing stigma against homosexuality, those belonging to LGBTQ are often denied professional opportunities and face workplace discrimination. It is not uncommon for LGBTQ to not be considered for jobs, outrightly being rejected because of our sexual preference, or dismissed and made into a joke at the workplace. If I met you today, I would probably pretend to be a straight man as I would not want your opinion of me being coloured by my sexual preference because Im afraid you may get me arrested, Humsafar Trust's Yashwinder Singh said. Keshav Suri agreed. According to the hotelier, the socio-economic backlash of Section 377 was hard to ignore, especially when it comes to LGBTQ members navigating the corporate sector. 56% of white-collar workers in India complain of homophobic discrimination. Insurance companies often do not want to ensure gay couples. Job and pay gap is very prevalent, Suri told News18. FINANCIAL LACUNAE A resource guide titled Creating Inclusive Workplaces for LGBT Employees in India, created by Google, IBM, Goldman Sachs and Community Business last year, records that the LGBTQ community makes up about 5-10 percent of India Inc's workforce. Around 80 percent of them report discrimination in the form of homophobic comments, gestures, actions or even physical threats and violence. Homophobic discrimination hurts not only the LGBTQ community but also the market and economy of the country they are in. India loses between 0.1-1.7 percent of its GDP because LGBTQ members are not given equal job opportunities or equal pay, Suri told News18. He was a quoting a World Bank study that also elaborates on how depression caused due to homophobia leads to lower output and productivity among LGBTQ workers. India is also missing out on what is internationally known as Pink Money, a reference to the reported purchasing power of gay men and also the thriving industry for LGBTQ products, services and merchandise. According to a report in Bloomberg, the American LGBTQ community had a purchasing power of a whopping $917 billion in the year 2015. Many multinational companies, that have various diversity an inclusion policies and campaigns at an international level, dont follow them through in India because of this prejudice and law. We are missing out on so much business at the cost of our LGBTQ members who continue to suffer despite their ability. All of this because Section 377 criminalises unnatural sex and people can get away with exploiting it, said Suri, adding that he too had initially faced resistance when he tried to introduce more gender-inclusive policies in his organisation. A DIFFICULT FUTURE Suri and many others feel that it is time the discussion around 377 was reopened and finally brought to closure, especially in view of the recent judgment that made right to privacy a fundamental right. The entrepreneur and activist asserted that it is time that people like him from the LGBTQ community or otherwise, who have the privilege and power to affect change at the ground level, should come out and start negotiating with the status quo. Decriminalising 377 is just the first step. But what after decriminalisation of 377? Will it increase the space for the LGBTQ community in Indian intellectual, professional and political spaces? Will there be more recognition or acceptance of homosexuality and queerness? Those are the questions we need to start asking now, Suri said. New Delhi: It was in 2014 that Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit to newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modis bastion of Gujarat. Cut to 2018, Modi is all set to meet the Chinese supremo in Wuhan for an informal meet. The current meeting comes under a different political setting too. The meeting between a more powerful Xi, the undisputed leader of China with an indefinite reign of power, and Modi, who is seeking re-election next year, will be a huge step for both in terms of reaffirming their foreign policy. The world is watching closely as the leaders meet, with the informal setting being considered as the biggest step for resetting ties. This, however, hasnt come easy. Relations between the two countries hit a low point last year as the two neighbours were engaged in a military standoff along the Arunachal border. There have been visits by Indian authorities to China, including those of foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. During Swarajs visit, it was announced that both countries were renewing the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La route and that China had agreed to share hydrological data regarding Brahmaputra. While two pertinent issues seem to have been resolved via strong talks, Modis informal meet will hopefully set the future discourse for other topics that the Asian giants have differed on. India-China border Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam. The MEA on August 28 had announced that both sides were disengaging from the face-off site. The area of the standoff is also claimed by Bhutan. The boundary incident that happened (at Doklam) last year someway reflected lack of mutual trust between the two countries, Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou recently told the the media when asked about the Doklam standoff. And indeed, the border standoff has been an issue in bilateral ties. There have also been reports of transgressions across the border by the Chinese troops. Indias entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group In the past two years, China has also blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. While most other countries seemed to have come around at the plenary in Seoul, Beijing stuck to its stand that India must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) first. It also kept pushing for its all-weather friend Pakistan to be considered at par with India. Renewed support for Masood Azhar, Pakistan China last year blocked a resolution at the United Nations to declare Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This is not the first time China has done this and has previously halted attempts by both India, US to declare Azhar an international terrorist. Interestingly, China happens to be the only country in the UN Security Council to be actively supporting Azhar; all other countries are on board the global terrorist tag for the JeM chief. It is a cause of concern for India as JeM chief is accused of several attacks, including the one on the Indian Parliament in 2001. China has also defended its all-weather ally Pakistan time and again, completely quashing Indias stand on Pakistan harbouring terror. Chinese minister of foreign affairs Wang Yi recently said that the relations between the two countries had enjoyed a good momentum and that the two sides have maintained close contacts in all directions and coordinated with each other on major international and regional issues. BRI & Kashmir as priority Yet again, a decision bound to raise some concerns. At the Communist Party Congress last year, Yao Wen, Counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs under Chinas MFA, said that China was willing to consider Indias concerns with the One Belt One Road initiative and that Kashmir remained a top priority for China, along with the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea dispute and instability in Afghanistan. India has been against Chinas initiative since the very beginning, calling out China as the project threatened Indias sovereignty. Chinas pact with Pakistan, known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, runs via Pakistan-occupied A tiny village as entry to Arunachal Pradesh? Chinese President Xi Jinping, last year, reportedly told herdsmen from a Tibetan settlement bordering Arunachal Pradesh to "set down roots" there and safeguard "Chinese territory". Replying to a letter, by two girls from a family who introduced their township in Tibets Lhunze county, Xi told them to develop settlements and stay put in the area bordering India. Situated in southwest China's Tibet, Lhunzhe is close to India's Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as its own and calls South Tibet. Xi had also said while China was ready to settle its border dispute with neighbours, it cannot be expected to swallow everything which undermines its integrity and sovereignty. New Delhi: The alleged rape of a 10-year-old in a madrassa in Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad has become a political issue with a right leaning group demanding the arrest of the maulvi of the institution. A delegation from Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), a right leaninig group, along with the family members of the rape victim who faced the trauma in a madarssa premises, going to meet Commissioner of Police to Demand Arrest of Maulavi. Meanwhile, Delhi Police Crime Branch has visited the madrassa for the second time after taking up the case. According to the girls fathers complaint, the girl went missing on April 21. She went out to buy something from the shop at around 1 pm. Since then she has not come back home. I suspect she was misled and taken away by someone, the father told the police. Acting on the complaint, the Delhi Police began investigation. The girls phone number was switched off. But the police traced her last location and reached the madrassa. The girl was recovered from there on April 22. While the local police apprehended the 17-year-old boy and sent him to the juvenile correctional home, the girls family was not satisfied. They blocked National Highway 24 and staged a protest. They also held a candle light march demanding for arrest of the cleric of the madrassa as well. We have assured them that fair investigation is being conducted on merits and no one will be spared if involved in the crime. Owing to the inter-state ramifications of the case and for thorough investigations, the case has been transferred to the crime branch. We have questioned the cleric of the madrassa and the locals as well, said Joint Commissioner of Police, eastern range, Ravindra Yadav. The girl's statement has been recorded in front of the magistrate wherein she said that she had received a call from one of her friends to meet. When she went downstairs, she met her brother who told her that the friend couldnt come and that she would have to come along to meet her. When she resisted, the friends brother who has been apprehended now, allegedly threatened her. She went with him to the madrassa where she was kept in captivity. While the girls parents are alleging that the cleric was also involved, the police investigation so far has not indicated any such thing, albeit, the team led by DCP Crime Ram Gopal Naik has not given clean chit to the cleric. The cleric will be called for questioning as and when required and there might be further arrests in the case if required, said a senior police officer. Washington: Defence Secretary Jim Mattis today appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US. During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia. India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimate USD 4.5 billion. The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence. Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said. "There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers "There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognise that, eventually, we're going to paralyse ourselves, he said. "So what we ask for is that the Senate and the House pass a national security waiver in the hand of the secretary of state I'm not asking for myself. Foreign policy is driven from Foggy Bottom. So, if he has the waiver authority and I can go to him and show it's in our best interest, then we get an internal management of this process, but it keeps us from being boxed in by the Russians, Mattis said. The Defence Secretary was responding to a question from Senator Jack Reed on Russia sanctions. "In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the activity in Ukraine, Congress, in the 2015 NDAA, prohibited bilateral military-military cooperation with Russia, which, at the time, seemed to make perfectly good sense, he said. "At this moment, when we're in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations? Reed asked. The CAATSA issue was also raised by Senator Tom Cotton. You mentioned two specific countries, India and Vietnam, that have legacy Russian systems. They might face real challenges going cold turkey, so to speak, under CAATSA, he said. So, you're suggesting the national security waiver as a way that this Congress can empower soon-to-be-Secretary Pompeo to address the concerns that you have with those two countries, is that right? Cotton asked. That's correct. And there's other countries. Indonesia, for example is in the same situation, trying to shift to more of our airplanes, our systems. But they've got to do something to keep their legacy military going, Mattis said. Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon, lawmakers and experts have raised concerns over CAATSA legislation. Top American lawmakers and experts have warned that imposition of sanctions on India under a newly-enacted law if it buys the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia could be disastrous for the Indo-US ties. At an event on the Capitol Hill, experts and lawmakers yesterday warned that any imposition of sanctions on India, which is now a major defence partner, could be disastrous for the bilateral relationship and as such there is an urgent need to prevent that from happening. "CAATSA sanctions would damage US-India relationship, warned Keith Webster," who represented Pentagon in the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) in the previous Obama Administration. He is currently president of the defence and aerospace export council US Chamber of Commerce. "I do think, it (CAATSA) is a serious issue that needs to be dealt. There needs to be a dialogue between the US and India. Our goal is not to sanction India," Congressman Joe Crowley, House Democratic Caucus Chairman, said at the US-India Friendship event." New Delhi: Former media baron Indrani Mukerjea, who is undergoing trial for allegedly murdering her daughter Sheena Bora, has sought to divorce her husband and co-accused Peter Mukerjea and sent a notice on financial settlement via courier to Arthur Road jail where the latter is lodged. A report in the Times of India said that the notice, sent by Indrani through her lawyer Edith Dey, has asked Peter to agree to divorce by mutual contest and go by a previously agreed-upon financial settlement. The settlement reportedly includes the division of assets, including the couples properties in Spain and London, bank deposits and other investments. The notice was couriered to Peter at Mumbais Arthur Road jail after he reportedly refused to receive it by hand in court. His lawyer Amit Ghag, however, has said that he was not aware of any such notice, which is considered to be served only when received. The couple had come face-to-face, along with Indranis former husband Sanjeev Khanna, when they appeared before a special CBI judge. Indrani and Peter reportedly sat next to each but didnt speak. My client states that there are no issues from said wedlock. And the marriage has been irretrievably broken down and there is no chance of reconciliation, Times of India quoted the notice as saying. It added that no claims will be made in future with respect to any movable or immovable assets owned or to be owned by the other after passing of the decree of divorce. Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was killed in April 2012, but the killing came to light in August 2015 after Mukerjea's driver Shyamvar Rai, arrested in another case, spilled the beans. The Mumbai police arrested Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Rai for allegedly killing Sheena, whom she had passed off as her sister. Later, Indrani's husband and media baron Peter was also arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy. The CBI, which took over the case, claimed that a financial dispute was the reason for the murder. (With PTI inputs) Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the suspension of four officials in relation to the Kushinagar accident. A basic shiksha adhikari, block education officer and two road transport officials have been suspended. Fourteen children were killed and eight others injured when their school van was hit by a train at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradeshs Kushinagar area, around 50 km from Gorakhpur, on Thursday morning. The children, students of Divine Public School, were killed on the spot when Thawe-Kapatanganj passenger train (55075) crashed into the van at an unmanned crossing gate at Behpurva, said Railways spokesman Ved Prakash. The train was on way to Gorakhpur from Siwan. There were at least 25 people, including children who were below the age of 10 years, the official said. After visiting the spot, CM Yogi said that the accident was the drivers mistake. He raised doubts about the drivers age and also said that the accused was wearing headphones. I spoke to the Railways minister on ways to man the unmanned railway crossing. Prima facie it appears to be a mistake of the van driver. He had earphones on and there are questions about his age too. An inquiry will be conducted as to why the rules were not followed. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty," said Yogi. New Delhi: A 34-year-old cleric of a madrasa at Ghaziabad, where a minor girl was allegedly raped by a juvenile after being kidnapped from east Delhi's Ghazipur, was arrested on Friday. Ghulam Shahid was taken into custody as he was aware of the crime committed on the 11-year-old girl at the madrasa premises, the police said. A probe into the incident was transferred to the Crime Branch on Thursday. The girl was rescued on April 22 from the madrasa by a Delhi Police team. The police were informed on April 21 by the girl's father that his daughter had gone missing after she went to market. Subsequently, the girl was rescued from the madrasa and the juvenile apprehended, the police said. The main accused, a 17-year-old, was detained after the girl's medical examination confirmed rape. A case was registered under POCSO (Protection Of Children From Sexual Offences Act) and the boy was sent to a juvenile home. But the cleric was not arrested earlier. The victim had recorded her statement in front of a magistrate on April 23. She said the juvenile had taken her to the madrasa to meet his friends. The girl's parents had also been demanding the arrest of the cleric as they alleged that the man was aware about the crime. New Delhi: Senior advocate Indu Malhotra, whose name was cleared by the Union government for appointment as a Supreme Court judge, is known to be assertive and one of the best lawyers in the apex court. Sixty-one-year-old Malhotra was administered oath of office as SC judge by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Thursday. Born in Bangalore to a famous family of lawyers, Malhotra joined the legal profession in 1983, and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. In 1988, she qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court, and secured the first position in the examination, for which she was awarded the Mukesh Goswami Memorial Prize on Law Day. I have only seen her in the courts arguing. She was always very forceful, forthright in her arguments and always very well prepared. I am sure that she is one of the best lawyers and deserves to be elevated, senior advocate KTS Tulsi told News18, while recalling Malhotras work in courts. Her key areas of expertise include the law of arbitration, and she has appeared in various domestic and international commercial arbitrations. As a lawyer, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde remembers the soon-to-be-judge as someone who never took a no for an answer and would go on pressing cases for her clients even when others would have given up. She was always polite, always persistent in her brief and she always tried to press the matter for her clients even when many counsels would have given up. She didnt take a no easily, said Hegde, adding that the 61-year-old advocate is one of the most polite lawyers in the apex court. The senior advocate believes that he shares a memory with Malhotra due to her association with Bangalore. Indu was born in Bangalore, she has fond memories of that place. Thats where my first connection comes with him. Indu was also associated with the family of the legendary lawyer and former law minister Asoke Sen, said Hegde. Her father Om Prakash Malhotra was a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court, and a distinguished author who brought out the treatise on the Law of Industrial Disputes. He published six editions of this Commentary. Alumni of Faculty of Law, Delhi University, Malhotra is currently at the forefront of a lot of public interest litigations, which strive for a social cause. She is appearing for the protection of bystanders who provide assistance to road accident victims, and for framing guidelines for a Good Samaritan law in India. She has also taken the lead in a public interest petition filed for framing of sentencing guidelines with respect to awarding punishment by the courts in rape cases, and another PIL on discrimination against women make-up artists in the film industry. Malhotra has also kept her fathers legacy by regularly revising and updating his books for the consumption of the legal academia and professionals. According to Hedge, she has a keen interest in medical cases, too. She was a consistent practitioner of the Supreme Court. She has revised her fathers books on Industrial law and arbitration. She was the second lady to be designated as senior advocate of the SC. She is a phenomenal hard worker. She was involved in a lot of medical matters too, said Hegde. Indu Malhotra was the Standing Counsel for the State of Haryana in the Supreme Court from 1991 to 1996. She has also been empanelled as an Arbitrator with several Institutional Arbitration bodies like Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DAC), ASSOCHAM etc. She was designated to become a senior advocate in August 2007, 30 years after Leila Seth was bestowed with the honour. Seth was designated as a senior lawyer in 1977. Wuhan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a 40-minute long one-on-one meeting in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday. PM Modi tweeted late at night describing the engagement as "extensive and fruitful". He said the two of them deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues. Meanwhile, the delegation level talks that were slotted for 30-minutes extended to two hours even though it was earlier indicated that there will be no across the table talks. However, the delegations were much smaller comprising six officials on each side. The Indian side included Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and India's ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale. The Prime Minister proposed that the informal summit be made a regular feature. He invited Xi to India next year for a similar summit. Modi said since 40 percent of the global population is in India and China, the larger responsibility of global stability and peace lies with them. President Xi said that he hoped this informal summit will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Sino-India ties. The two leaders will begin their day on Saturday with a lakeside walk along the mesmerizing East Lake. They will also experience a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. This will be followed by a boat ride on the same lake and a lunch hosted by Xi for the Prime Minister before he takes off for New Delhi. With this the two leaders will have another three hours in an even more informal setting on Saturday to try an inch towards better mutual trust and understanding. New Delhi: The Congress on Friday claimed that the Centre had sent back Justice KM Josephs name to the Collegium for reconsideration because it could not digest the unfavourable verdict he had given in the Uttarakhand President rule case two years ago. The Uttarakhand High Court had in April 2016 quashed the union governments order imposing Presidents Rule on the state and brought back the Harish Rawat-led Congress government. The order, delivered by a division bench headed by Justice Joseph, had held that the situation must be viewed on a larger canvas of democracy, federalism and the rule of law. It was a setback for the Modi government, which had approached the President to prove that there was a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state. Senior lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who had argued for Rawat in Uttarakhand, said that the ruling government sent back the name of Justice Joseph to CJI as a means of "content-based assault on judiciary. "This is the worst and first content-based assault on judiciary. Here content means reaction to a judgment given. Non-elevation is based on a judgment which he delivered on imposing Presidents rule in Uttarakhand. The verdict he had given was according to his conscience," said Singhvi. The primary reason the government has given for its refusal to appoint Justice Joseph was the fact that he lacks the requisite seniority among high court judges across India to be elevated to the Supreme Court. Secondly, the government has also cited that Kerala High Court already has a representative judge in the Supreme Court and that there is a lack of representation in the Supreme Court from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities. However, Congress has claimed that the government was peeved by the Uttarakhand matter and that any of the government lawyers who argued the case cannot say that there was incomplete hearing in the case. "The then Attorney General, Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared with Tushar Mehta and Maninder Singh cannot suggest that more than adequate hearing was not given in the case," said Singhvi, adding that the reason stated by Centre was merely games played to weaken the judiciary and bring it to its knees." The Collegium had cleared Justice Josephs name along with that of Indu Malhotra for elevation on January 10, but the Centre acted on it only now, after three months. While the name of Malhotra was cleared and she was sworn in as SC Justice on Friday, the appointment of Justice Joseph has been stalled. A senior Congress leader also questioned why did the government sit on the recommendations for so long. Why can't the government stomach dissent? Independence of judiciary is becoming an elite word being used across coffee tables," said the Congress leader. The Congress has now urged the SC to exercise its right to reiteration and make sure that the government doesn't make "pernicious use of it." "It has happened earlier in CIC appointment too. If the judge does not favour the government, appointment will not happen," said Singhvi, who although agreed that government indeed has the right of first rejection. Legal experts have opined that if the Collegium sends back Justice Josephs name to the law ministry, it is bound to accept it. Wuhan: All eyes are keenly trained on the central Chinese city of Wuhan where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, around 3pm. The meeting is slated for two days so it will continue till Friday morning in the complex that houses the iconic villa of the People's Republic of China's founding father Mao Zedong. PM Modi before leaving for Wuhan had said that he and President Xi will review the developments in the India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. We have been given to believe that this unprecedented exercise is being undertaken to create mutual trust and understanding between the two Asian giants. It is meant to ease the strain in the relations after the 73-day long Doklam standoff last year between June and August. An unusual amount of time and space is being provided to the top leadership so that they can freely exchange views. Sources said that it will help both sides understand the domestic politics that are influencing foreign policy making. PM Modi indicated the same in his departure remark. He said they will discuss their respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation. In this context for China and for President Xi personally, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) gains prime significance. China is likely to highlight its importance for regional connectivity and economic growth India's concerns on BRI vis-a-vis the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are well known. India boycotted the BRI summit in May, 2017 citing China's disregard for India's sovereignty and territorial integrity as the reason. For India there are several sticking points as far as China is concerned. India's NSG bid was blocked by China, Masood Azhar's designation as global terrorist by the UN was again blocked by China and the boundary dispute for which there is already a Special Representatives mechanism in place for discussions. But sources indicated the discussion at the highest level will not be taken up issue by issue but will dwell on the larger perspective of improving ties. It is believed that both sides will decide to set aside territorial differences and look at ways of convergence on other aspects of the relationship. New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, the plush capital of Hubei province, speculation is rife on the agenda at hand. The meeting is billed as an informal, heart-to-heart summit with no joint statement or agreement signing expected at the end. One factor which will be in focus for geopolitical concerns is the India-Nepal-China Economic Corridor. China had earlier this month proposed an India-Nepal-China economic corridor with multi-dimensional connectivity through the Himalayas as it seeks to expand its influence over the new Nepalese government headed by KP Sharma Oli, widely regarded as pro-Beijing. China's proposal came after visiting Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Back in India, however, the proposed trilateral seems to be off the priority list. Sources privy to the top leadership said that Indias focus was on ensuring bilateral relations with both nations. The proposed economic corridor is not something that the authorities have given much thought to. Its not discarded but its not on the priority list either. Indias focus remains on excellent bilateral ties with Nepal and China, a source told News18. China and Nepal have already signed an MoU on China's multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in which connectivity cooperation is a part. India has been critic of the ambitious project, saying that Xis initiative compromises on the sovereignty of India. China is building a rail-line connecting Lhasa and Gyirong in Tibet Autonomous Region, a project that Beijing said it will help Kathmandu build as a part of BRI. "We believe that such a well-developed connectivity network can also create conditions for an economic corridor connecting China, Nepal and India. China, Nepal and India are natural friends and partners. We are neighbours connected by rivers and mountains. This is a fact that cannot be changed by whatever changes taking place in the world and inside the three countries," Wang had said. Seoul: The leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration on Friday agreeing to work for the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace on the peninsula. The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease "hostile acts," turn their fortified border into a "peace zone," and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. Earlier, scenes of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula. The dramatic meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. "We are at a starting line today, where a new history of peace, prosperity and inter-Korean relations is being written," Kim said before the two Korean leaders and their top aides began talks. Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site. But there is widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion. Two earlier summits between the leaders of North and South Korea, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the North's weapons programmes or improve relations in a lasting way. "Today, rather than create results we won't be able to carry out like in the past, we should make good results by talking frankly about current issues, issues of interest," Kim said New Delhi: The hearing in the Supreme Court on the plea against existing roster practice of allocation of cases by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Friday saw Justice A K Sikri sharing his views on how in high courts, some judges express their "displeasure" when a particular matter is not given to them. "We have been in the high courts also. Many judges go to the chief justice and say give me this jurisdiction and this matter. Many express their displeasure that 'why I (judge) was not given this matter'," Justice Sikri observed. The remarks by Justice Sikri came after advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for the petitioner and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, referred to the submissions by Attorney General KK Venugopal about some judges' interest in hearing some cases. Venugopal said the petitioner's demand to vest the power to allocate cases to the five-member Collegium of the apex court, instead of the CJI, might lead to "conflict" among the judges as to who would hear which matter. He said if the Collegium was vested with this power, then the judges would express their views for themselves and might want to hear a particular matter. Venugopal also referred to controversial former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice C S Karnan, who was held guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to jail for six months by a seven-judge constitution bench of the top court. He said when Karnan was a judge in the high court, he used to tell the chief justice to give him bail matters. The apex court, which reserved its order on the plea, said the petition would be decided as per constitutional provisions. Advocate Prashant Bhushan told the court that there was no "practical difficulty" if the issue of allocation of cases was decided by the apex court Collegium or the full court, instead of the CJI alone. He said as per Venugopal's arguments, if the judges could have interest in hearing a particular matter, then the CJI might also have the same interest. "It would be safer if the Collegium decides this," he said. However, the bench observed that "practical difficulty is not an issue. We have to decide what the constitutional provisions say. Constitutional provisions will have to be looked into." During the hearing, the Attorney General said that somebody has to take a decision on the composition of benches and allocation of matters and it has to be the CJI. In his PIL, Shanti Bhushan has stated that the "master of roster" cannot be an "unguided and unbridled" discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the CJI by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges. The petition said the CJI's authority as the master of roster is "not an absolute, arbitrary, singular power that is vested in the chief justice alone and which may be exercised with his sole discretion". Wuhan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for another round of a similar informal meet in 2019 in India and said that he had an "extensive and fruitful" meeting with the Chinese leader. Soon after the meeting, Modi tweeted, "Delighted to meet President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Our talks were extensive and fruitful. We deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues." Modi who arrived in the central Chinese city early on Friday for the summit began talks soon after Xi received him with a warm shake hand and hosted a grand welcoming ceremony for him at the Hubei Provincial Museum here. He was welcomed with a classical Chinese dance opera performance after which Xi took him around some of the most historic art collections and cultural relics of China's ancient civilisation. The museum walk scheduled for 20 minutes lasted over 40 minutes after which they began one-on-one talks. He also told Jinping that the two countries have a "big opportunity" to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. During his delegation-level talks as part of an unprecedented informal summit with President Xi in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Modi said such informal summits should become a tradition between the two countries. "I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," Modi told Xi. Modi also said that India and China have the responsibility to work for 40 percent of the world population and the two sides have a big opportunity to work together for the benefit of their people and the world. On his part, President Xi said the two countries have established closer partnership and made positive progress in recent years. "In the past five years, we have achieved a lot. We have met each other on many occasions," he said. The Chinese president said he believes in future and they could meet in format like this from time to time. Delighted to meet President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Our talks were extensive and fruitful. We deliberated on stronger India-China relations as well as other global issues. pic.twitter.com/1lfcDp4jRM Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2018 "I look forward to in-depth communication with your excellency and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level," he said. The first informal summit between Modi and Xi in Wuhan - the favourite holiday spot of revolutionary Chinese leader Mao Zedong - is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff last year. Modi also said the people of India felt proud that President Xi has twice received him out of the capital. "I'm perhaps the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you have come out of the capital (Beijing) twice to receive me," Modi said, referring to his visit to Xi'an the home town of President Xi in 2015. "I look forward to in-depth communication with your excellency, and ensure we can build common understanding and help to take the China-India relationship to the next level," Jinping said, ahead of their one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders "exchanged views on solidifying our bilateral relationship." Their one-on-one talks were followed by the delegation-level interaction with six top officials each from both sides took part, giving an impression that some of the critical issues were on the table for discussion. The talks lasted for over two hours overshooting scheduled half an hour time, hinting the seriousness of the discussions, officials said. The talks between the two leaders on the first day ended with dinner diplomacy. Xi hosted a banquet in honour of Modi at the famous East lake. Xi in a gesture of warmth and friendship walked with Modi to the car to see him off. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has come out with a statement saying that the "snag" that hit Rahul Gandhi's flight was "not uncommon" but the authorities will probe the incident. "Li Gear Aviation Falcon 2000 aircraft VT-AVH was involved in an incident while operating flight from Delhi to Hubli. The operator reported the incident to DGCA. As per the operator report, it was a snag in the autopilot mode and the pilot shifted to manual mode and landed the aircraft safely. Autopilot failure incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, DGCA investigates thoroughly. DGCA has set up a two-member committee to investigate into the cause of the incident. A report is likely in 2-3 weeks," said the statement. On Thursday, the Congress filed a police complaint after an aircraft carrying party president Rahul Gandhi from Delhi to Hubli in Karnataka malfunctioned and made a rough landing, which it said endangered the life of passengers. In a complaint made to Karnataka police chief Neelmani N Raju that has been accessed by News18, Rahul Gandhi's office stated that several unexplained technical errors happened during the course of the two-hour morning flight and demanded a thorough investigation. Sources in the Congress told CNN-News18 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called up Gandhi to inquire about his well-being in the afternoon. Gandhi, who is on the seventh leg of campaigning in the state ahead of the Assembly election on May 12, took a chopper from Hubli to Ankola and continued with his scheduled rallies. Raising the issue of a "possible and intentional tampering" with the aircraft, the complaint says that the plane shuddered violently, tilted to one side, dipped in altitude steeply and made cranking noises throughout. It further says that the autopilot system of the aircraft was not functioning. Apart from Gandhi, there were three other passengers on the flight. The police complaint says that the plane landed at the Hubli airport only on its third attempt and it shook violently while it did so. It is to be stated that the weather outside was sunny, normal and not windy as per the observation of the passengers and as per the forecast of the day, the complaint letter reads. The whole flight experience of the flight left the passengers with a lot of anxiety and stress, and positively fearing for their lives. The crew was also petrified and admitted that the flight was particularly frightening and uncommon, it adds. New Delhi: Reliance Jio is planning to come up with 80,000 vacancies during the ongoing financial year, informed a senior company official. "About 1,57,000 people are on the rolls today...I will say another 75,000 to 80,000 people," Reliance Jio's Chief Human Resources Officer Sanjay Jog told reporters on sidelines of an event organised by the Society of Human Resources Management. Applicants need to visit the homepage of Jio, https://www.jio.com/, scroll down to careers and upload their resume. (https://careers.jio.com/frmapplication.aspx ) On attrition rate in the company, he said it was about 32 percent in the sales and technical areas related to constructions sites. "If it is taken at the headquarters level, it is just 2 per cent. Average if you go it will come down to 18 percent," he explained. Jog said the company was having a partnership with about 6,000 colleges, including technical institutions, across the country. According to him, there are some embedded courses offered in these institutions and students who clear these are "Reliance ready". He said hiring would also be done through referrals and now with the help of social media platforms. Recruitments through referrals now accounted for about 60 per cent to 70 percent of the hiring, he said, adding college and employees" referrals "are the two major contributors to our hiring plans." (Disclaimer: News18.com is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited) New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed till May 7 the trial in the Kathua gang rape and murder case, after it was seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra said it will deal with the prayer of the victims father for shifting of trial to Chandigarh and plea of the accused seeking handing over the probe to CBI. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on May 7. The child from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later. The apex court had on Thursday, in a stern warning, said it would transfer the Kathua gang rape and murder case from the local court in Jammu and Kashmir in the slightest possibility of lack of fair trial, saying the "real concern" was to hold proper prosecution. The eight-year-olds father had moved the apex court earlier, apprehending threat to the family, a friend and their lawyer Rajawat. A separate plea was also filed by two accused seeking that the trial in the case be held in Jammu and the probe handed over to the CBI. The state police's Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main chargesheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district last week. The chargesheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed. Gwalior: Gwalior Superintendent of Police (SP) on Friday suspended three SHOs over their failure to control violent mob during April 2 Bharat Bandh in the city in which five people were killed. Ajit Singh, Thana in-charge of Gola Ka Mandir police station, Ajay Pawar of Murar and Amar Sikarwar of Dabra police station, have been suspended, said Gwalior SP Dr Ashish. The officer claimed that the concerned three police stations had witnessed the massive violence on April 2 and these SHOs failed to act swiftly during the situation, which vindicated negligence on their part. Catching the police and district administration off-guard, thousands of protesters, armed with sticks and other weapons, damaged several shops and vandalised a petrol pump during the Bandh as part of a pre-planned strategy. The crowd went berserk and set several vehicles on fire and also pelted stones on the police personnel following which the cops resorted to cane-charge and teargas shelling to disperse the unruly protesters. But it was too late by then and finally the administration had to clamp curfew in the region to bring law and order under control. On April 2, five persons were killed in the violence in Gwalior and curfew was imposed in Gola Ka Mandir, Murar and Dabra police station areas after the violence. Earlier, Bhaskar Lakshkar, the Collector of Morena had suspended three government staffers for taking part in the strike during April 2 violence. Madhya Pradesh Police also suspect the alleged role of large numbers of volunteer groups who raised funds to fuel the violence that took place in Gwalior-Chambal and other regions of the state over alleged tampering in SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act). (With News18 MP inputs) New Delhi: Amid all the controversies surrounding her elevation to the Supreme Court as a judge, Indu Malhotra received a warm welcome by her fellow judges in the top court on Friday. She was ardently received in the judges' lounge at 10.15 am when she walked in with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra before she was to be sworn in. Her presence enlivened the atmosphere as all judges welcomed her affectionately. The CJI moved with her, making her comfortable while the other judges greeted Malhotra with warm smiles. Sources told CNN-News18 that a few judges said it candidly to Malhotra that they were extremely glad to have another sister judge on the bench and that the controversy relating to non-elevation of Justice KM Joseph had nothing to do with her. After the customary morning tea in the judges' lounge, she was walked to the Court number 1, where the CJI administered her the oath of office at 10.30 am. Following the swearing in ceremony, Justice Malhotra, along with her family members, were welcomed in the judges' lounge for the high tea. Judges greeted and congratulated her family members too. Later, Justice Malhotra, in line with the tradition of the Court whereby a new judge sits in court number 1 on his or her first day, sat with the CJI in a three-judge bench. Justice Malhotra's elevation got mired in a controversy after the central government segregated Justice Joseph for appointment and cleared only her name. A day before her swearing in, there was even a plea made by some SC lawyers to stay her appointment until the government clears the other name. But the CJI had put his foot down, saying it was "unimaginable" and "inconceivable" to seek stay of her warrant of appointment. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Wuhan for an informal visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit, if anything, is historic and one-of-a-kind for multiple reasons. The meeting will have no officials, no aides, and no secretaries. It is as informal as it can get. There will be no joint statement or agreed set of outcomes. Sources told News18 that while a gamut of things will be discussed, it will just be to remove misconceptions and misunderstandings. This type of a setting, according to sources, ensures that the leaders have a free, no-strings-attached conversation about how to put the vision of both countries future in perspective in accordance with the geopolitical environment. Such a meeting is not a first for Chinese President Xi. It was last year that he had a similar informal meet with US President Donald Trump at the latters Mar-a-Lago property. What makes the visit one-of-a-kind for the Indian PM is the fact that he will be visiting China again in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. The meeting between Xi and Modi comes just days after External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj made a visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meet of foreign ministers. Modis informal visit is most likely expected to set the tone for future official meetings. Tensions between the two nations had escalated after a military standoff along the Arunachal Pradesh border. India has also been the biggest critic of Xis ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) saying that it threatens its sovereignty. The informal meet also comes with many questions like will both countries get some substantial clarity on various issues that have been a low point for bilateral ties? The meeting is definitely seen as the biggest step for resetting ties between the two neighbours. New Delhi: It is tempting to compare the two-day informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan to the historic trip that Rajiv Gandhi undertook in December 1988 to meet Chinas then supreme leader Deng Xiaoping. There are similarities but it would be a terrible mistake to look at the Wuhan informal summit from the same prism as the 1988 visit. Lets look at the similarities first. Rajiv Gandhis 1988 visit marked the formal diplomatic end to the Sumdorong Chu incident that happened between Indian and Chinese troops through much of 1986 and 1987. The Modi-Xi meeting, too, comes in the backdrop of the Doklam standoff in which troops of both countries were locked in a faceoff for 72 days. In this visit, too, Modi and Xi will try to strike up a personal equation which they are hoping will flow down their respective bureaucracies and help transform the relationship. Back in 1988, Gandhi and Deng had struck up a personal equation even though they were from two different generations. Deng used to repeatedly refer to Gandhi as Jawaharlals grandson. Modi and Xi are more equal, certainly in age, if nothing else. Domestically too Gandhi undertook the historic trip in 1988 when he was beset by the Bofors scam. VP Singh had said he was hoping to offset some of the negative domestic press by undertaking this monumental visit to China, the first by an Indian prime minister since 1954. Even now, Modis government has been beset by the recent protests over the Kathua and Unnao rapes as well as protests over the dilution of the SC/ST Act. But it would be misguided to see both visits from the same prism. In fact, officials in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials baulk at the comparisons to Gandhis visit saying the timing and context were completely different. Senior MEA officials even refused to call it a reset given the recent negative connotation around that word in the diplomatic world. Former US president Barack Obama and then Russian prime minister Dmitri Medvedev had called for a reset of US-Russia ties in 2009. Looking at the current state of that relationship, it would be called a reset for the worse. What India and China will be hoping to do is agree to a broad framework of each others concerns and core interests and how to co-exist knowing where each others red lines are. Given the complexities of the emerging world order, particularly in Indias neighbourhood, New Delhi will be hoping to clearly articulate its concerns on increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean Region. China would also clearly not want India to openly ally with the US in a bid to contain China. Gandhis 1988 visit eventually led to the 1993 Peace and Tranquillity Agreement which has held well for the last 30 years. In light of the ever increasing Chinese incursions into India Depsang in 2013, Chumar in 2014 and last years Doklam faceoff it is clear that India and China need a new framework for the 21st Century. Its time to turn a new chapter; time to write some new agreements. But these agreements have to based on a broad understanding. It is this understanding that Modi and Xi will hope to arrive at in Wuhan over the picturesque East Lake. New Delhi: After the outcry generated by Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb's comments on Diana Hayden, the model and actress spoke to News18, to give her reaction to the chief minister's statements. "I am fighting this brown skin bias since my childhood. And I have succeeded. People should be proud of my achievement, rather than belittling it. I am a proud brown-skinned Indian. I am hurt. The minister is in a prominent position and he should be careful about what he says," Hayden said exclusively to News18. After his "Internet in the Mahabharata era" remark, Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday claimed that the international beauty pageants were a farce and questioned the rationale behind crowning Diana Hayden 'Miss World' 21 years ago. The BJP leader, however, was all praise for Aishwarya Rai, who won the Miss World crown in 1994, saying she "represents the Indian women" in the true sense. "Indian women did not use cosmetics in the old times. Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud. These beauty pageant organisers are international marketing mafia, who spotted a huge market in the country. Today, there is a beauty parlour in every corner of the country," he said. Deb's comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the BJP leaders to steer clear of controversies and not offer "masala" to the media by making irresponsible statements. The Tripura chief minister also claimed that the international beauty contests were a farce as the results were all predetermined. "Why are there no more beauty pageant winners from India? They (the jury) have captured the market in the country and have gone elsewhere," he claimed. Earlier this month, Deb had claimed that Internet and satellite communication existed in the days of Mahabharata. (With PTI inputs) During night, I get no sleep as I am in constant fear of death by the accuseds firing squadI want to live at least till I complete my testimony, stated Rahul Sachan, a former personal assistant to Asumal Harpalani (known as Asaram), in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court in August 2015. Sachan, a witness in the two rape trials of Asaram, and a third against Asarams son Narayan Sai went missing three months later and his fate is unknown. Earlier that year, he was stabbed outside a court in Jodhpur city. On April 25, Asaram, a multi-millionaire who reportedly has 20 million followers, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl in his ashram in Jodhpur. But in the course of the trial, which began in 2013, three witnesses were killed, at least five others were attacked, one went missing, and even senior police officers leading the investigation said they were threatened. The trials of Asaram and his son in two other cases of alleged rape of two sisters are pending. Asaram, until recently, counted among his following top political leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, heightening challenges for victims of his alleged crimes to obtain justice. Asaram may have exceptionally powerful connections, but as Human Rights Watch documented in the November 2017 report Everyone Blame Me threats, intimidation, and harassment from the accused are routine in cases of sexual violence. Girls and women who report such crimes are even more at risk when they belong to socially or economically marginalised communities. If the perpetrators are influential, police too often pressure the complainants to settle or compromise in such cases. Such harassment and lack of protection, along with victim blaming and social stigma, means many victims fail to report rape to authorities at all. For instance, police in UPs Unnao instead of prosecuting a ruling BJP lawmaker accused in the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl in June 2017 arrested the victims father, who died in police custody in April 2018. The Allahabad High Court slammed the state police for failing to file her complaint and arresting the accused, noting that the report by a special investigation team ordered by the state government found that medical officers and police officers all were hands in glove with the accused to save them. Similarly, in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir two police officers have been charged with trying to cover-up evidence in the kidnapping, gang-rape, and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl in January 2017. In August 2017, responding to a plea from families of victims and witnesses in Asarams case to seek protection, the Supreme Court issued a notice to all state governments to frame a national witness protection programme. This was not the first time the Supreme Court had observed that India needed a witness protection scheme. In 2006, the Law Commission had noted the need to protect witnesses and victims as well as the identity of witnesses in case of serious offenses, not just confined to terrorism or sexual offenses. Witnesses turning hostile on account of threats having increased in the cases of such crimes, protection appears to have become necessary, it said. India has a conviction rate of 26 percent for rape, as compared to 47 percent for other cognisable crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to 2016 government data. One reason, activists and lawyers say, is witnesses, far too often, change their testimony in court because of threats. Both the IPC and the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) have provisions to protect victims and witnesses in court such as conducting in-camera trials, without the presence of the media or public. In case of children, POCSO also provides for special courts that should ensure that the identity of the child is not disclosed during the course of the investigation or trial. However, India does not have a national witness or victim protection law, making witnesses and victims vulnerable outside the courtroom. In 2015, Delhi became the only state to adopt a Witness Protection Scheme. The Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) passes protection orders in each case after evaluating the threat. The police commissioner, who heads the Delhi police force, is responsible for the overall implementation of the witness protection orders. Protection measures can include armed protection, regular patrolling around witnesses house, installing closed-circuit television cameras, and relocation. Even in the absence of a witness protection scheme, courts have ordered protection for witnesses and victims in sensitive cases or those involving high vulnerability. However, as the pattern of threats, attacks, killings, and abduction in the Asaram case shows, security is often inadequate. Mahendra Chawla, a former personal assistant to Asarams son Narayan Sai, is another key witness in all the cases against father and son. In May 2015, two men on a motorbike shot him in his village in Haryana, leaving him partially disabled. Chawla was attacked a day after the police constable assigned to him was removed for dereliction of duty, leaving him without police protection and vulnerable to attack. After the attack, he was assigned three policemen but just before Asarams conviction this week, Chawla asked for increased protection, claiming he feared for his life. Any successful witness protection scheme will have to evaluate the threat and determine the protection needs in each case carefully, allow for flexibility, and include regular follow-up. At the same time, in sensitive cases, especially of sexual violence, the courts should record the statements and examine the victims and vulnerable witnesses promptly, lessening the risk to them from the accused. India needs critical justice system reforms to remove institutional barriers for sexual violence victims. And those, like the 16-year-old girl in this case, who are brave enough to confront their attackers or provide their witness testimony against powerful people, deserve the protection of a witness and victim protection law, instead of fearing forand sometimes losingtheir lives. Jayshree Bajoria is the author of the Human Rights Watch report, Everyone Blames Me: Barriers to Justice and Support Services for Sexual Assault Survivors in India, published in November 2017 My recently filed petition in the honourable Supreme Court has garnered some attention. Today, I aim to clarify doubts and put rumours to rest. In my writ petition against the Union of India, I have challenged Section 377 stating that the criminalisation of consensual sexual relationships between adults goes against the Constitution of this country. I believe the right to choice of sexual orientation encompasses the right to life with dignity and the Right to Privacy. Since these are fundamental rights according to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the discrimination based on sexual preference is a violation of the Constitution itself. We need to grow and mature as a society. I am a proud member of the LGBTQ community in India and I have no qualms in admitting that I have been in a committed relationship with an adult male for a decade. Though my personal life is not up for discussion, I felt it was important to highlight the fact. Being a member of the community, I have first-hand knowledge of the trials and tribulations faced by them in India. Over 56% of white-collar workers in this country have complained of discrimination. In fact, Indias homophobia is hurting its economic growth. According to a World Bank study on economic cost of homophobia, Indias estimated loss to GDP is between 0.1% and 1.7%. The report goes on elaborate that depression owing to homophobia leads to lower productivity and output. India is also missing out on the power of pink money. Described as the purchasing power of the gay community, the Western World is benefitting from this sub-economy, which contributes almost $1000 billion to the US economy. While the economic impact of Article 377 is massive, its social impact prevents the LGBTQ community from accumulating wealth. At The Lalit Hotels, we kick-started a #PureLove campaign in September 2017. The idea was to give a platform to people from all walks of life to share their experiences and seek emotional support, when needed. As a part of the campaign, we strived to provide employment opportunities to the LGBTQ community. The campaign imbibes the United Nations Guiding Principles on Tackling Discrimination against lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, transgender and inter-sex people. The mission is to create an inclusive environment for people of the LGBTQ community in and amongst corporate India. Through this campaign, we have rehabilitated 10 people belonging to the community and work to help numerous more. My idea, while filing the petition, was to represent a collective voice to address a vital human right. The fact that hundreds of people belonging to the community have contacted me since filing of the petition reflects the gravity of the situation. I dream of a just India, where every citizen has the right to choose. (The author, Executive Director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group that owns the Lalit chain of hotels, has filed a fresh writ petition with the Supreme Court in favour of decriminalising Section 377. Views are personal) With the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping getting underway on Friday, the establishment has already begun throwing around words like bold and unprecedented. The PMs visit, however, is only the latest among Indias attempts at achieving short-term bilateral stability after a tense year of border incursions and military standoffs. The relationship between Beijing and New Delhi that had been gradually deteriorating since Chinas opposition of Indias membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Doklam standoff and most recently the tensions in Maldivian waters, now seems to be on the mend. It is important though to treat this Modi-Xi meeting as a band-aid over a bullet hole move that it really is. As one commentator has pointed out, this informal, laidback meeting of the leaders is a format that Beijing often favours to mend relations with rivals but one that seldom reaps tangible or longstanding improvements to bilateral relations. Modis visit follows three high-level engagements with the country by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Irrespective of what India hopes to gain from this meeting, its timing, merely a month before the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, leads one to believe that it might, in fact, be a Chinese move to obtain the Indian accession to whatever proposition is presented in June. Indias expectation of any sea change in the strained relationship with China may be especially unfounded. The tendency to revel in small wins such as the Chinese President meeting Modi midway in Wuhan instead of Beijing puts India on a position of weakness while ignoring the stagnation of Indias strategic interests in the region. China, meanwhile, has continued to grow from strength to strength with its new military base in Djibouti, and the resurgence of China-friendly governments in Sri Lanka and Maldives (concurrent with the deterioration of their relationship with India). Maldives, meanwhile, has asked India to take back a Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter that New Delhi had gifted Male. To make matters worse, Indias thirst to get on the good side of the Chinese has come at the cost of shunning friendly ties with Tibet. It is also telling perhaps that despite a year of high-level engagements with the Chinese, the Indian administration has remained particularly reticent about Chinas military build-up in the Doklam plateau. Its reminiscent of the Scarborough Shoal standoff between China and the Philippines where the Filipino withdrawal was swiftly followed by increased militarisation of the islands by the Chinese navy. While there is no doubt that India met its strategic objectives in the Doklam plateau and the Chinese gambit failed, whether the episode in its entirety can be called an Indian win is still questionable. More disappointing perhaps is the fact that India does not seem to have internalised the lessons that it, for a while at least, appeared to have learnt in the Doklam plateau that strength and not appeasement must be at the heart of Indias interactions with China. In the short term, tactics such as this may help bring internal political stability to India and provide the economic counterweight that China needs. In the long run, however, the effective result of this interaction may be nil. The Wuhan summit comes at a time when both economic and political clout are gravitating towards Asia. The larger reality, however, remains that, as regional powers, India and China are structurally set to compete. Already both are offering different political models for domestic development. Under Xi Jinping, China is keen to sell socialism with Chinese characteristics; in other words a blend of authoritarianism and market economics to developing countries in Asia and Africa. Modi, meanwhile, has made it clear that Indias democracy is a source of stability in a world that is otherwise in turmoil. Similarly on matters of security, China intends to emerge as the sole arbiter of disputes in the Indo-Pacific while India is partnering with like-minded countries such as the US, Japan and Australia to foster a rules-based order that is more pluralistic than the Chinese offering. Unless the Wuhan summit can make tangible gains towards addressing these contradictions, it is an exercise in maintaining short-term stability between the two Asian giants but nothing more. (The author is an Associate Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation. He tweets at @darth_beda. Views are personal) Bengaluru: BJP chief Amit Shah has cancelled his scheduled tour of Bellary district on Friday to avoid the embarrassment of sharing the dais with the infamous Reddy brothers in their fiefdom, claim party sources. Giving a ticket to seven members from the Reddy clan, which is embroiled in an alleged Rs 50,000 crore mining scam, seems to have gone against the BJP in Karnataka, leading to a furious debate and embarrassment for several party leaders. BJPs state president and the partys chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has added fuel to fire with his statement that he has pardoned the Reddy brothers in the interest of the state. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has made the return of the Reddys one of the main election issues, has attacked Yeddyurappa for "pardoning" the Reddys. Very interesting! @BSYBJP has pardoned Reddy in interest of state1 Which interest of Karnataka is served by pardoning someone who looted thousands of crores of Kannadigas wealth?2 Is it upto you to pardon him?3 Did you ask PM Modi to direct CBI to formalise the pardon? pic.twitter.com/50D759dNRr Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 27, 2018 Gali Janardhana Reddy, the alleged kingpin of the mining mafia, has been leading the BJP campaign in central Karnataka districts, damaging the "fighting corruption" perception the party is trying to build against the ruling Congress. Speaking to News18, Siddaramaiah said, "The Reddy brothers are the biggest criminals in the history of Karnataka. They looted state with impunity. The BJP has once again embraced them. They have got seven nominations. Yeddyurappa's own son has not got the party ticket. One can easily understand that if the BJP comes to power, it will be the Reddys who will be ruling the state, not Yeddyurappa. It is another matter that the BJP will never come to power in Karnataka. Countering the CM, Yeddyurappa said, Reddy brothers, except Janardhana Reddy, are with us. Janardhana has not asked for any ticket for Assembly elections and we are not going to give a ticket. He is going to help in Bellary and few other districts where we can get 15-20 seats easily because of Janardhana... People are happy that he is supporting us. BJP spokespersons, however, are struggling to defend the return of the Reddys. Senior leader Vamanacharya said Janardhana Reddy was not a star campaigner for the party and was campaigning on his own. What has shocked party workers is that seven members from the Reddy clan got BJP tickets even after Amit Shah publicly disowned them a few weeks ago. Janardhana Reddy has declared that he will campaign against Siddaramaiah in Badami where his Man Friday B Sriramulu is the BJP candidate. But local BJP leaders fear that it might backfire and are asking the high command to keep the Reddys away from Badami. "The party has categorically told them to confine themselves only to their seats. But they are not listening. Because of them, if we win five seats and lose 15-20 seats, it will finish us, said a BJP leader. Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde, whose report sent the Reddys to jail in 2011, has already expressed serious concerns over the BJP once again entertaining the Reddys. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also launched an all-out attack on the BJP for using the Reddys to fight elections in Karnataka and is likely to use it to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi as campaigning heats up ahead of the May 12 elections. Given the developments, PM Modi is also unlikely to campaign in the Reddy bastions, claim local BJP leaders. Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission has announced that Panchayat Polls in the state will be held in a single phase on May 14 while the counting of votes will be held on May 17. The polls were earlier supposed to be held in the three phases on May 1, 3 and 5. If the SEC had maintained the three-phase timeline, polling would have spilled over into the Ramzan period and likely impacted Muslim votes. The polling was deferred by the Calcutta High Court after opposition parties moved courts alleging violence and intimidation by the ruling party during the nomination process. Trinamool Congress leaders had recently met the West Bengal Election Commissioner AK Singh and requested him to conclude the Panchayat Polls before Ramzan, saying Muslims may find it difficult to votes due to fasting. They also appraised him about the extreme heat across the state and how this could cause more problems for voters if the poll process is further delayed. WBEC had earlier decided to conduct the polls in three phases citing security reasons. But what happened suddenly that the WBEC Commissioner AK Singh agreed to conduct the poll on single day. The security situation in Bengal is same as it was before during filing of nominations. There is a blood bath across and ruling party workers are terrorizing our leaders. Where is the surety that the WBEC will organize free and fair poll. We dont have any trust on state Election Commission, State BJP President Dilip Ghosh said. Presently, there are 58000 booths (approx) in Panchayat election but the state (West Bengal Police) is having nearly 46,000 armed police and 12,000 unarmed police (with cane). This mean it will be difficult to deploy at least one policeman in some of the booths. Usually, two to three policeman (including one armed) is required to guard a poll booth but under the current situation/calculation it will be difficult for the EC to conduct free and fair poll unless they deploy additional forces from the Kolkata Police/civic volunteers of the Kolkata and state police. Left Front Chairman Biman Bose condemned ECs decision to conduct poll on single phase. He said, The EC should have decided the poll dates after consulting all the major stakeholders (all political parties). The EC didnt consulted before taking the final call and announced the dates based on the suggestion from the ruling government in Bengal. Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya said, The new poll date is nothing but a formality. Under the current situation it is difficult for the people to exercise their voting rights freely. Political observers said that the new dates were crucial for Banerjee because if the fasting Muslims did not come out to cast their ballot, it would have impacted the vote share of the TMC. The BJP, which has emerged as the principal opposition in the state, had said that if the TMC loses out on some Muslim votes, it was due to its own blunders. Bengaluru: When Rahul Gandhis private helicopter landed at Gonikoppa in Kodagu district on Friday afternoon, he created a record of sorts in the history of Karnataka Assembly elections. He became the first Congress president to visit all 30 districts in the state during an election campaign. Gandhi, who had kicked off his Karnataka election tour from Bellary almost 100 days ago, has crisscrossed the entire state. From the coast to the hills, northern plains to southern plains and all major cities and big towns in between have had a glimpse of him. He mostly travelled by a special bus and easily mingled with the people. He took a bus ride from Bellary to Gulbarga, covering a distance of over 400 km and holding public and corner meetings at several places. His first leg was a success and the party decided to stick to the same formula. In February, he toured Lingayat dominated MumbaiKarnataka region, comprising seven districts, again in a bus. Helicopters were also used occasionally. In the third, fourth and fifth legs also Gandhi mostly used a bus to travel the length and breadth of the state. According to Karnataka state Congress working president Dinesh Gundurao, he has already covered almost 3500 km but is still full of energy. He inspires both party leaders and workers. He leads us from the front. Wherever Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the last three months, we have got a very good response, he said. No Congress president has been to so many districts in decades, say party leaders in Karnataka. They also say that it is a record for the president of any national political party to visit every district in a major and a vast state like Karnataka. His temple run has also been a big hit among Congress supporters. He has visited over 20 big temples and Mutts during his Karnataka tour, deftly playing a devout Hindu card. The BJP was spreading rumours that Rahul Gandhi is lazy, he cant do hard work, he is not for Hindus etc. But Rahul Gandhi has proved them wrong. The BJP and RSS lies have been exposed. They are now rattled by the response he is getting all over Karnataka, said a senior leader of the Congress. Unlike in the past, Gandhi is now also using technology to connect with people. All his tours and rallies were beamed live on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. His Hindi speeches were also translated into Kannada by a senior leader of the party at every rally. We literally forced Congress and BJP to go for a translator. Earlier, they used to address us in Hindi, which most people dont understand in Karnataka. They used to take us for granted. The Congress has now realized its mistake and all speeches of Rahul Gandhi are translated into Kannada. Even Amit Shahs speeches are translated at many places. But Modis speeches are not, said Arun Javagal, a new-age Kannada activist and a software professional. The Congress chief has also met block Congress and district party presidents in each district and discussed the poll scenario. He tried to endear himself to the cadre and local level leaders. It was not the case earlier. We are happy with this. We can frankly exchange our views with him. He listens to us and takes decisions, said a district Congress president. The party men explain that after Gujarat Assembly elections, they are seeing a different Rahul Gandhi, who is fully charged and ready to do leg-work for the Congress. Whether the support he is getting gets translated into votes for the Congress will be answered soon. Bengaluru: Vittal Katakadonda was busy organising rallies for the BJP till some time ago. As Bijapura district BJP president, he was in charge of the party in the entire district, including what he presumed would be his own seat. After the BJP announced its list of candidates, he continued the campaigning. The difference was that he was campaigning for the Congress against BJP. After the saffron party denied him nomination from Nagathana SC reserved seat at the last minute, an angry Katakadonda defected to the Congress securing the ruling partys nomination. His friends turned enemies and enemies became friends. Former BJP MLA M Y Patil, from neighbouring Gulbarga district, was a diehard BJP man. He had even started the campaign months ago. After the party chose the sitting Congress MLA Malikaiah Guttedar over him, Patil crossed over to the Congress securing the hand as his election symbol. Former MLA B Prasanna Kumar was campaigning for the Congress hoping re-nomination from Pulikeshinagara Assembly seat in Bengaluru. After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah picked sitting JDS MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy over him, Kumar secured the JDS ticket from the same seat. These are not rare cases. There are about 60 such candidates in the fray in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Sworn enemies have become friends and opposition cadres have become partymen. Perhaps for the first time in many years, Karnataka is witnessing this kind of political turnover. The ruling Congress alone has fielded 18 defectors from the BJP and the JDS. Some of them have joined a few months ago and others jumped ship just one or two days before the nomination process, earning the title instant candidates. The main opposition BJP has also welcomed 20 such instant candidates, some even after the nomination process began. Former deputy speaker of the Assembly and veteran Congress MLA N Y Gopalakrishna who was shouting Congress Jindabad slogans till April is now contesting on the lotus symbol from Kudligi in Bellary district. The third player JDS, which is moving earth and heaven, to ensure a hung Assembly has given tickets to 22 such defectors. Some have joined them just a day or two before the nominations were closed. The Congress has fielded eight JDS MLAs, it has also fielded five BJP men. The BJP has given tickets to five JDS and seven Congress leaders, including sitting MLAs. The JDS which always scouts for the rejects from the Congress and the BJP has fielded 12 Congressmen on its ticket and has also nominated 10 BJP faces. These last minute switches have added to the confusion and even the most experienced political analysts are finding it difficult to gauge the mood of the voters. Even if half of them win, it can change the composition of the entire Assembly. These candidates actually decide the fate of the next Assembly. They are untested. Just because they won many times on a particular party symbol, there is no guarantee that they will win this time too, said R Bharatadri, a veteran political analyst. Since the election is a do or die battle for all three major parties, throwing ideologies and policies to the wind, they have embraced turncoats just to win. If this experiment clicks, one can expect their numbers to go up in the coming elections. A senior leader of the Congress said, Aaya Ram, Gaya Rams are perfectly acceptable as long as they win. Like every vote counts, every seat counts too. Voters pose outside a polling booth in Karnataka. People were seen standing in queues to cast their votes in the early hours itself, factoring in that the temperature may go up later in the day. Also, it has been raining in different parts of south interior Karnataka for the last couple of days during the evening hours. Senior citizens were seen in good numbers standing in queues at various polling stations to cast their votes early. State BJP chief and party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, and Pradesh Congress Committee G Parameshwara were among the first to cast votes in Shikaripura in Shivamogga and Yaggere in Tumakuru respectively. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda along with wife Chennamma cast their votes at Paduvalahippe in Hassan district. Film actors Ramesh Arvind, Ravichandran, also scion of Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar were among the prominent personalities to cast their votes early today. There are reports about delay in polling due to some technical issues with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) from different parts of the state. Election for the Jayanagara seat in Bengaluru has been countermanded following the death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA BN Vijaykumar. The Election Commission has also deferred the polls for Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency to May 28 after a massive row erupted over a large number of voter ID cards being found in an apartment. Suspecting something fishy, both Congress and BJP have pointed accusing fingers at each other in the matter. "Today people of Karnataka are standing in queues to create history & show the nation the way to liberal, progressive, peaceful & compassionate politics & governance. I thank them for their support & wish them well," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted. Over 2,600 candidates are in the fray-- more than 2400 men and and over 200 women. The total voters including service electors according to the 2018 final rolls are 5,06,90,538, of whom 2,56,75,579 male voters, 2,50,09,904 female and 5,055 transgender voters. Officials said 58,008 polling stations have been set up across the state, of which 12002 have been designated as "critical", with over 3,50,000 polling personnel on duty. Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls that will go on till 6 pm. "82,157 people have been deployed for poll duty that includes DSPs, home guards and civil defence, and forest guards and watchers," Karnataka DGP Neelamani N Raju said. This also includes about 7,500 personnel from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Kerala and Goa, she said, adding, central forces have been deployed. One among the interesting aspects of this election is that four candidates who have served as Chief Minister of Karnataka are in the fray-- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Chamundeshwari and Badami), B S Yeddyurappa (Shikaripura), H D Kumaraswamy (Chennapatna and Ramanagara) and Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central.) Fresh from the victory of his line of 'co-operation with the Congress' at the party conclave in Hyderabad last week, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury says that appropriate electoral tactics will be adopted to pool the maximum anti-BJP votes. News18's Achyuth Punnekat caught up with the Left leader at the quaint government guest house in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was staying next door to P Chidambaram. But as he was at pains to point out, good neighbours also need good fences and an 'understanding' with Congress does not mean an alliance with them. QUESTION: Are we likely to see the formation of a mahagatbandhan of opposition parties ahead of 2019 elections? ANSWER: The biggest challenge for the party is to create momentum for a policy-based alternative to what is happening to the country. There are multi-fold assaults being mounted by the current RSS-backed BJP government. That we have decided will have to be built on the basis of a powerful peoples' struggle. But when elections come in, there we have said that we will adopt appropriate electoral tactics to pool the maximum anti-BJP votes...without having any political alliance with the Congress. Any All-India formation can happen only post-elections. Because region specificity in India is so strong, as it naturally should be considering the diversity of this country. Given that, it will have to be region-specific understandings. They will coalesce together subsequently. There is an entire discussion that is going on about, "will you go with this party or that party?" But there is nothing called monolithic politics in India. Take UP for instance, where SP and BSP have gotten together and managed to defeat the BJP in the by-election. Take Bihar as another instance. Take the whole of South, minus Karnataka Or Odisha. The Congress is not player at all. So this hoo-ha thats been created (is unnecessary). It all depends, like it always has been in our country, at the regional levels. There are various regional dominant players. And then subsequently, post-election, let's see. Because remember, United Front was formed post-election in 1996. The UPA was formed post-election in 2004. So never, has any formation so-to-speak occurred before election in our country. And it can't, given our diversity. Q: In 2002, your party adopted a resolution saying you must work together with secular parties (including the Congress) to defeat the main enemy, the BJP. You've had alliances with the Congress in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. So do you think this entire controversy over the understanding with the Congress had more to do with a section of the party questioning your leadership, rather than it being an ideological debate? A:In 2002 as well, we had decided against entering into any alliance or front with the Congress. And that has always been the case. Even in the Bengal and Tamil Nadu examples that you have given. The only place where there was an aberration was in Andhra in 2004, which was subsequently corrected. It was never a question of an alliance or a front. In fact, I always maintain that even though my party does not believe in intellectual property rights, the CPI (M) holds the intellectual trademark to the concept of 'outside support'. That has been our patent. The question is what sort of adjustments are possible? Suppose we have an alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu. If the DMK has an alliance with the Congress, then does that preclude our understanding with the DMK? Now we are clear that no it does not. So that is what is meant, saying that it doesn't close all doors. Q: So what is the party going to do in Karnataka? A: In Karnataka, we have already announced our position and it has been announced that we are fighting in a limited number of seats. In the other seats where there is a Left candidate, we will support them. Where there is no Left candidate, we have given the call to defeat the BJP. It could be the Congress or the Janata Dal (Secular), depending on each constituency we will back whoever can beat the BJP. The objective is the keep the BJP out of power. That, I think, is the essence of the current political situation. Q: In Kerala, the BJP is a growing force and have a fighting chance in many pockets. Especially in Chengannur, where by-elections are coming up. If, in a state like Kerala, you are faced with the prospects of a strong BJP candidate, will you join hands with the Congress to ensure that the secular vote is not split? A: No way. Politics is not arithmetic. Two and two need not make up four in politics. I am not such a political novice to accept such things as the Left and the Congress having a common candidate, and leave the opposition space wide open for the BJP. Nobody is going to be so foolish. The point is that it is not us The growth of the BJP in Kerala is due to the UDF vote being shifted to them. Anti-Communist voters in Kerala, which is substantial section, are seeing the BJP as more effective than the Congress. The Congress base is shifting to the BJP giving it the ascendancy curve. We are opposing that. I am sure that in Chengannur also, the BJP will not come close to winning. Lucknow: After raising his voice against the Yogi Adityanath administration, BJP ally and UP cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has this time targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The president of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, which has four MLAs in UP, said in a statement on Friday that people might choose someone else over Modi in the next election as nothing great has been done by his government so far. "People chose Modi Ji when they finally got an option other than Congress. It happened as they're unhappy with them. We're thumping our chest in UP that we've formed government but it was due to SP-BSP. What good have we done? Maybe people will get another option tomorrow," he said. During the Rajya Sabha elections in March, Rajbhar had raised questions over working of UP CM Yogi Adityanath and had alleged that the chief minister was not following "coalition dharma" and "ignoring" the party. Rajbhar had left the saffron party red-faced and had even threatened that his four MLAs would boycott voting. The SBSP has four MLAs in the 403-member in the UP Assembly, where the BJP and its allies have a clear majority with 324 lawmakers. A sulking Rajbhar had last month rushed to Delhi with his complaint and met the BJP chief. He returned to Lucknow a bit mollified after Shah promised to visit the state capital on April 10 and hear him in detail in the presence of the chief minister. The SBSP leader was also critical of the BJP's decision not to select the chief minister from among the elected MLAs in the state. "It appears that all of them were worthless," he had said. New Delhi: In the midst of a bitter election campaign in Karnataka, the state information department has withdrawn permission for the publication of three advertisements released by the BJP. The Congress party had on Thursday complained to the Election Commission against the BJP for the violation of the model code of conduct. The three advertisement were about the performance of the Siddaramaiah led Congress government in the last five years on law and order and other development parameters. Sources say, the permission to publish the advertisement has been revoked on the instructions of the Election Commission. The permission to telecast advertisements was given by the Commission on the condition that veracity of the claims made and information given would rest with the party putting them out. The three video clips of the duration 30, 35 and 50 seconds were to be telecast in Kannada channels till May 10. The state level pre-certification committee had earlier given permission to broadcast these TV advertisements. Congress MP Vivek Tankha briefed the media after meeting the EC. He said the advertisements put out by BJP on print and visual media were obnoxious and contained personal attacks. HE said the ads will be taken down from visual and print media. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "treating judiciary" in the same way as he "treats" the AAP government, a day after the Centre turned down a Supreme Court collegium proposal to elevate Justice K M Joseph to the apex court. "PM is treating judiciary in the same manner as he treats Delhi govt (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted, apparently referring to the tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre over a host of issues, including transfer and posting of bureaucrats. Kejriwal has previously accused the Centre of "creating hurdles unsparingly" in the functioning of Delhi government. Speaking at an event to mark the third anniversary of the AAP government in Delhi in February, he said the Delhi government was struggling to get approval for its policies from Lt Governor Anil Baijal, an appointee of the central government. On Thursday, the central government returned to the Supreme Court collegium its recommendation to elevate Uttrakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court, asked it to reconsider the proposal. Along with Justice Joseph, the collegium had proposed senior advocate Indu Malhotra's name for elevation. Her name was accepted and she was administered the oath as a Supreme Court judge by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Friday Lucknow: Samajwadi Partys Maharashtra wing president Abu Azmi has written a letter to party president Akhilesh Yadav asking the former CM to refrain from campaigning for Congress Party candidates in Karnataka Elections. In a two-page letter addressed to Akhilesh, Abu Azmi termed Congress as opportunistic, non-reliable and soft-Hindutva party. Azmi says it was the Congress that ditched SP in the last elections. If still the party decides to go with any kind of alliance with Congress in Maharashtra for the upcoming State Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections, then I will be left with no option but to revolt against the party, said Azmi. Akhilesh Yadav will be travelling to Karnataka to campaign for SP candidates. Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, At the moment Akhilesh Ji will be campaigning for SP candidates only, the decision to campaign for Congress candidates has not yet been taken. A day before, Abu Azmi shot the letter to Akhilesh Yadav, Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav raised his concerns regarding the standing of Congress party in the 2019 elections. Mulayam on Thursday said that the Congress would hardly be capable of winning two seats and it should not be included in the SP-BSP coalition for the Lok Sabha Elections. Also, Yadav said that if both SP-BSP fought bravely then any result can be achieved. Facebook has warned investors that more users' data scandals in the future may adversely affect the social networking giant's reputation and brand image. In its quarterly report shared with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), without mentioning Cambridge Analytica, Facebook said that its ongoing investments in safety, security, and content review will identify additional instances of misuse of user data. "We may also be notified of such incidents or activity via the media or other third parties," Facebook said on Thursday. Appearing before the US Congress, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the lawmakers that his own personal data was part of 87 million users' that was "improperly shared" with the British political consultancy firm. The data was gathered via a quiz app, "thisisyourdigitallife," developed by Aleksandr Kogan, then a psychology researcher with University of Cambridge, and his company Global Science Research (GSR) which pulled out Facebook users' data in 2014-2015. Facebook warned investors that there may be more such data breaches in the future. "Such incidents and activities may include the use of user data in a manner inconsistent with our terms or policies, the existence of false or undesirable user accounts, election interference, improper ad purchases, activities that threaten people's safety on- or off-line, or instances of spamming, scraping, or spreading misinformation. "The discovery of the foregoing may negatively affect user trust and engagement, harm our reputation and brands, and adversely affect our business and financial results," the company said its quarterly report. Also read: Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft Among Top 10 Employers for Approved H-1B Petitions "Any such discoveries may also subject us to additional litigation and regulatory inquiries, which could subject us to monetary penalties and damages, divert management's time and attention, and lead to enhanced regulatory oversight," it added. Facebook on Wednesday beat Wall Street's estimates by raking in $11.97 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2018. The social media giant reported $4.98 billion in profit -- up from $4.26 billion in the last quarter. "Despite facing important challenges, our community continues to grow. More than 2.2 billion people now use Facebook every month and more than 1.4 billion people use it daily," Zuckerberg said in a statement. Facebook added 70 million monthly active users (MAUs) to reach 2.196 billion users globally -- at 3.14 percent growth rate. Watch: Apple iPhone 8 Product Red | The Hot Red iPhone at Rs 67,490 | Feature In an effort to mentor emerging start-ups, Google India hosted a four-day boot camp for the first 10 Indian startups as part of its 'Solve for India' programme. Launched last year as an India-only pilot for mentorship by Google Developers' "Launchpad" team, 'Solve for India' focuses on bringing the best of Google expertise to help emerging startups in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and build solutions for the country in varied fields. "We shortlisted 10 startups from 160 home-grown start-ups by travelling across 15 cities in India, and are now ready to scale this pilot as a dedicated programme for India," said Karthik Padmanabhan, Developer Relations Lead, Google India. Also Read: Gionee S11 Lite vs Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: The Best Budget Phone Battle The participants were the founders of startups, including Nebulaa, Slang Labs, PregBuddy, LegalDesk, PaySack, Vokal, FarMart, Meesho, Pratilipi and M-Indicator. "The quality insights received from mentors of diverse backgrounds has helped us rethink our approach of reaching out to millions of farmers in India," said Mehtab Singh Hans, Co-Founder, farMart. "We're delighted to share that we will be expanding the mentoring support beyond this boot camp, by launching a structured mentorship programme for startups who are using ML and AI to 'Solve for India,'" said Paul Ravindranath G, Programme Manager, Launchpad Accelerator, Google India. Watch: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S First Look: Xiaomi's Signature Redefined New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday stayed an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that imposed a penalty of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair business practices in online search market. While admitting the plea of Google against the order, the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya directed the internet major to deposit 10 per cent of the penalty amount with it in four weeks. The appellate tribunal has also directed CCI and other respondent in this matter to file their reply-affidavit in next three week. "In so far as the penalty is concerned, without deciding the question what should be the criteria of relevant turnover for the purpose of imposition of penalty which will be decided after final hearing, we direct that if Appellants (Google) deposit 10 per cent of the penalty amount imposed on appellant by way of FDR in favour of Registrar, NCLAT within four weeks, the impugned order so far it relates to penalty also shall remain stayed," the bench said. Moreover, the tribunal also allowed Google to use 'Google Flight' for its online flight booking search service. "The Appellants will continue to mention Google Flight' in respect to search flight', as brought to our notice," the appellate tribunal said. It had directed to post the matter for hearing on May 28. A Google spokesperson said: "NCLAT has accepted our appeal for review of aspects of the CCI decision and its associated findings." The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in February this year had imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. Passing the order on complaints that were filed back in 2012, the regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct. The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 per cent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order. The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd. HMD Global seems set to introduce two new smartphone offerings in its Nokia X line-up today. however, leaks surrounding the two smartphones have been doing the rounds on the Internet since long now. Recently, new reports around one of the two smartphones have surfaced online and this time, the reports reveal the specifications and renders of the Nokia X6, one of the two upcoming smartphones. as per these reports, the Nokia 6 will sport and an iPhone X-like notch display and at the back will sport a look similar to the Nokia 7 Plus which was launched back in February. A recent post on Weibo claims that the Nokia X6 will carry a 5.8-inch Full-HD+ display with a 2280x1080 pixels resolution and a 19:9 aspect ratio. It is expected to be available in two different variants including one powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC and another by A MediaTek P60 soc. The base variant of the Nokia smartphone will carry a 4GB RAM with 64GB of inbuilt storage. It will run the latest Android 8.1 Oreo operating system. Also read: Top 5 Red Smartphones: Apple iPhone 8 Product Red, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Vivo and More The display used on the Nokia X6 is in such a way that the smartphone will come with negligible bezels. At the back, the Nokia X6 will sport a dual camera setup and an LED Flash just below it. The overall design of the back of the Nokia X6 seems to be similar to the Nokia 7 Plus. As for its optics, the Nokia X6 is expected to feature a dual camera setup with Carl Zeiss optics used in its two 12-megapixel lenses. Reports suggest that the Nokia X6 will come with a price tag of CNY 1599 (~Rs 16,800) for its 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant and CNY 1799 (~Rs 19,000) for its 6GB RAM, 128GB storage option. As of now, it is not sure of the device will make its way to India. If it does, this will be another mid-range smartphone by Nokia in the Indian market, just like the Nokia 6 (2018). Watch: Apple iPhone 8 Product Red | The Hot Red iPhone at Rs 67,490 | Feature Xiaomi Redmi S2 seems to be the Xiaomi's next-in-line device based on the recent spottings. The Xiaomi smartphone was first spotted on TENAA earlier this week, following which, the device has now been listed on China's certification website. Though none of the specifications of the smartphone have been revealed to date, the listing ensures that the smartphone is nearing its launch in Xiaomi's home country. It addition to the Redmi S2, reports of a Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 have also surfaced on the Internet. As listed on TENAA, Xiaomi's Redmi S2 is expected to sport a 5.99-inch HD+ display with a 1440x720 pixels resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. It might be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC and come in three memory options, including a 2GB/16GB option, one 3GB/32GB option and another 4GB/64GB variant. It is expected to run Xiaomi's own custom UI - MIUI on top of Android 8.1.0 Oreo. As for its optics, the Redmi S2 is expected to sport a dual camera setup at the back with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 primary sensor and a 5-megapixel Samsung S5K5E8 secondary sensor. In addition, the camera setup will include an LED flash and a PDAF lens. At the front, the smartphone is expected to come with a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Also read: iPhone 8 Plus Product Red Review: You Won't Mind Paying Rs 67,490 For A Cause And A Red Hot iPhone While Xiaomi has not officially confirmed anything about the smartphone as of now, reports mention the listing of the smartphone on China's official 3C website. Other reports also suggest that the smartphone might make its way to India as well. The smartphone is expected to be a mid-range device by Xiaomi. Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Another report claims that Xiaomi is also in the process of making the Mi Pad 4, a tablet PC which might be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC and run on a 6,000 mAh battery. Other specifications listed in the report includes a 13-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture for the camera at the back and a 5-megapixel Samsung S5K5E8 sensor with f/2.0 aperture at the front. Watch: Apple iPhone 8 Product Red | The Hot Red iPhone at Rs 67,490 | Feature Washington: President Donald Trump claimed credit on Friday for the historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and declared that peace on the divided peninsula could be achieved and its people could live in harmony. Trump spoke hours after Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to visit south of the demarcation line between the two Koreas, meeting with President Moon Jae-in. They pledged in a joint statement to seek a formal end to the Korean War by year's end and to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons, without specifying how it would be achieved. "When I began, people were saying that was an impossibility," Trump said during an appearance with U.S. athletes who participated in this year's Winter Olympics in South Korea. "They said there were two alternatives: Let them have what they have, or go to war. And now we have a much better alternative than anybody thought even possible." The Kim-Moon meeting was the culmination of a rapprochement that was inspired by the February games. Responsibility for turning a bold vision for peace into reality will in large part rest with Trump, who has often vowed to succeed where his predecessors as president have failed in eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat to America. Trump gave an unequivocal statement that he would sit down with Kim a meeting that has been tentatively scheduled for May or early June in what would be a first during six decades of hostility. "I'll be meeting with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks as we seek to denuclearise the North Korean area and the entire Korean Peninsula," Trump said. "Hopefully the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons and where all Koreans can live together and can share their dreams. It would be a wonderful thing to do," he tweeted. Earlier, and with characteristic swagger, Trump had touted the outcome of Friday's summit between Kim and Moon as a breakthrough in the generational standoff. "KOREAN WAR TO END!" he tweeted. "The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" In a separate tweet sent minutes earlier, Trump said "good things are happening, but only time will tell." After a febrile year, when the US and North Korean leaders traded threats while Kim pushed his nation to the verge of being able to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the US mainland, tensions have eased with Kim's sudden shift to international diplomacy. Last month, Trump surprised the world by accepting an offer to negotiate with Kim, who has announced a halt to nuclear and long-range missile tests. Trump also offered credit to China, North Korea's traditional ally and main trading partner, who has supported tough international sanctions against North Korea to pressure it to give up its nukes. "Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!" Trump tweeted. Despite the optimistic rhetoric, major uncertainty still surrounds North Korea's commitment to "denuclearise" and what it would demand in return. The North has spent decades building up an atomic arsenal as a deterrent against a US invasion and as a safeguard for the continuance of its totalitarian regime. Sacramento: California investigators tracked down the man they suspect is the Golden State Killer by comparing crime scene DNA to information on genealogy websites consumers use to trace their ancestry, a prosecutor said on Thursday. Former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested on Tuesday outside the Sacramento-area home where he has lived for at least two decades, not far from the site of the first of eight murders he is charged with committing 40 years ago. DeAngelo, described by neighbors as an oddball and loner known to fly into occasional fits of solitary rage, is suspected of 12 slayings in all. He also is accused of committing 45 rapes and scores of home invasions in a crime spree that spanned 10 years and 10 California counties during the 1970s and 1980s. Announcing his arrest on Wednesday, authorities said DeAngelo's name had never surfaced as a suspect prior to last week, when a DNA match was made. Officials initially did not disclose how their investigation led to DeAngelo, whose DNA had never previously been collected. But on Thursday, Steve Grippi, chief deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, said detectives narrowed their search by using genetic information available through commercial genealogy websites furnishing personal family histories to consumers who send DNA samples in for analysis. Confirming details first reported by the Sacramento Bee newspaper, Grippi said investigators compared DNA samples left by the perpetrator at a crime scene to genetic profiles on the ancestry sites, looking for similarities. He did not address whether the websites volunteered the information or were subject to a search warrant or subpoena. Detectives followed the family trees of close matches, seeking blood relatives who fit a rough profile of the killer. The process produced a lead a week ago, pointing to DeAngelo based on his age and whereabouts at the time of the attacks, Grippi said. Investigators found DeAngelo, placed him under surveillance and obtained his DNA from a discarded object, finding a match to a crime scene sample. A second, more decisive sample was collected from him days later and came back positive on Monday. Authorities have not disclosed the relative whose DNA helped solve the case. DeAngelo is known to have at least two adult children. DeAngelo is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Sacramento on Friday, facing two counts of murder. On Thursday, sheriff's detectives and FBI agents spent hours combing through his modest single-story house in Citrus Heights, a Sacramento suburb, and probing the backyard with poles for signs of digging. Red marker flags were visible in an embankment at the rear of the yard, enclosed by a tall wooden fence. "Those are fairly standard search techniques," said Lieutenant Paul Belli, a homicide detective for the sheriff's department. "There's no reason to believe there are bodies buried back there." Among the items of evidence collected from the house were computers and firearms, he said. Investigators also sought articles of clothing that might help tie the suspect to particular crimes, such as ski masks or gloves worn during the attacks, or jewelry, driver's licenses and other personal effects taken from victims, apparently as keepsakes or trophies, Belli said. Belli said he doubted additional victims would emerge because exhaustive DNA database searches had turned up no further matches. Neighbor Paul Sanchietti, 58, said he was left "bone-chilled" by news that DeAngelo, who lived four houses away, had been arrested as a suspected serial killer. In the 20 years they lived as neighbors, Sanchietti said he could recount speaking just a few words with DeAngelo on two occasions, once when they pushed a stalled car out of the middle of the street. "It just felt like he wanted to be left alone," Sanchietti said of his neighbor, who he said had a reputation in the community for loud, angry outbursts. "He would be outside in his driveway working on his car or something, and he would go into these rally loud tirades, Sanchietti told Reuters, adding that he nevertheless was unaware of DeAngelo ever running afoul of law enforcement. Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed a historic summit between the two Koreas on Friday, urging Pyongyang to take "concrete action" on the peninsula's denuclearisation and other issues. "Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un held earnest discussions about North Korea's denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. The leaders of North and South Korea agreed Friday to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula, as they embraced after a historic summit laden with symbolism. "We strongly hope that North Korea will take concrete action through this meeting and a summit between the US and North Korea," he added. "We will keep watching North Korea's future movements," he said. Japan has long maintained a hardline position on negotiations with Pyongyang, warning against "talks for the sake of talks". But Friday's Korea summit and planned talks between US President Donald Trump and Kim appear to have pushed Tokyo to reassess its position, analysts said. "All in all, I wish to continue close coordination between Japan, the United States and South Korea towards comprehensive resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues, and towards the US-North Korea summit talks," Abe said. Japan has pushed to keep the issue of its citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents on the agenda as diplomacy with Pyongyang moves forward. The whirlwind activity has largely left Tokyo on the sidelines however, though Trump pledged after a meeting with Abe that he would keep the abductions issue on the agenda. Seoul: When Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un came down the steps towards the inter-Korean border Friday he was escorted by a phalanx of bodyguards carefully chosen for their fitness, marksmanship, martial arts skills and even looks. Men in sharp suits and matching blue and white striped ties fanned out ahead of and around Kim as he approached the Military Demarcation Line for a historic handshake with his Southern counterpart Moon Jae-in. Some of the men had bulging pockets. All sported red North Korean lapel badges and the curly-wired earpieces beloved of the US Secret Service. As the leader left after the morning session of talks, a dozen of them were given a pre-lunch work-out, jogging alongside and behind Kim's official car to form a human shield, ties flapping as they ran. North Korea is one of the world's most tightly-controlled societies, but even so security for its leader is iron-clad. Foreigners attending any event where Kim will be present must go through hours of security procedures beforehand, and surrender all electronics, including phones. The Guard Command, the military unit tasked with ensuring the safety of the leadership, is an elite institution close to the centre of North Korean powerit provides the centrepiece display of the annual kimjongilia and kimilsungia flower festivals in Pyongyang to honour Kim's father and grandfather. Ri Yong Guk, a defector from the North who served on a security detail for Kim Jong Il, wrote in a 2013 memoir that as many as six different layers of security guards protected the leader on trips to the countryside to inspect military units, plants or farms. "It is one of the world's tightest security blankets through which even a single ant would find it hard to go," he wrote. The arrangements for the current leader are reportedly even tighter, and during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the foundation of its regular armed forces in February, Pyongyang paraded three kinds of security units dedicated to protecting Kim's life. Kim was repeatedly seen accompanied by a stout military general in uniform with a holstered gun. The protection afforded to the Kim family was also on display when the leader's sister Kim Yo Jong visited the South for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, accompanied by tall bodyguards with crew cuts, sunglasses and earpieces. Scariest place on Earth Former US president Bill Clinton once described the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula and where Friday's summit was being held as "the scariest place on Earth". Despite its name, the DMZ is among the most heavily fortified areas on the planet. Around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the South Korean capital Seoul, the four-kilometre-wide space stretches for 250 kilometres across Korea and bristles with electric fences, minefields and anti-tank barriers. At the joint security area at Panmunjom the two sides, technically still at war, come face-to-face, with stern South Korean guards also chosen for their height and looks standing stock still only metres from the North Korean positions. Soldiers are permitted to carry only sidearms in the area, but it is an open secret that both sides have larger weapons stashed nearby for use in case of emergencies. In November a North Korean soldier defected under a hail of automatic rifle fire from his comrades. Back in 1984, a 22-year-old Soviet tourist bolted from North to South at Panmunjom, triggering a gun battle in which three pursuing North Korean soldiers were killed, along with a Southern trooper, although defector Vasily Matuzok was unharmed. Seoul: When the leaders of North and South Korea reached across the Military Demarcation Line to shake hands on Friday, they symbolically if fleetingly united a peninsula that has been divided for decades. The handshake between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in marked the latest milestone in a rapid rapprochement after months of global fears about a nuclear conflict. Here are some other handshakes that shook the world: Arafat-Rabin, 1993 After months of secret negotiations in Norway, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stood in the South Lawn of the White House on September 13, 1993 to witness the signing of the Oslo Accords. And then, in one of the most dramatic moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Clinton's arms stretched around both leaders, Arafat and Rabin shook hands. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left), as US President Bill Clinton stands between them at the White House on September 13, 1993. (REUTERS/Gary Hershorn) The abortive process granted autonomy to the occupied Palestinian territories without creating a separate state, and ended the six-year-long popular Palestinian uprising the Intifada in which over 1,200 Palestinians and around 150 Israelis were killed. Rabin was assassinated a year later by a Jewish extremist opposed to the peace process, which faltered in the years that followed. A second Intifada broke out in 2000. Obama-Castro, 2013 At a memorial service for Nelson Mandela in 2013, US President Barack Obama made headlines when he shook hands with Cuba's Raul Castro, the first such public greeting between leaders of the bitter neighbours after decades of enmity. US President Barack Obama greets Cuban President Raul Castro before giving his speech, as Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff looks on, at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg on December 10, 2013. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach) Within months, there was a rapid thaw. Full diplomatic relations were restored in July 2015, followed by once-unthinkable steps to mend ties after more than half a century of enmity. Obama visited Cuba in 2016 the first such trip by an American president in 88 years. Washington also relaxed its decades-long embargo on the communist-ruled island, and US airlines resumed direct flights to Havana in November 2016. Queen Elizabeth-McGuinness, 2012 In a landmark moment in the Northern Ireland peace process, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II met Martin McGuinness, a former top commander in the paramilitary Irish Republican Army during the many years of bloody hostilities with British forces. The IRA wanted an end to British rule in the province, and for it to be merged with the Republic of Ireland. McGuinness later became one of the figures that helped negotiate an end to the violence. Britain's Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness in Belfast on June 27, 2012. (REUTERS/Paul Faith) McGuinness then a deputy first minister of Northern Ireland shook hands with the Queen during her 2012 visit to the province. It was a gesture towards reconciliation that would once have been unimaginable, with McGuinness' militant past and British security operations still a source of anger for many. Xi-Ma, 2015 After decades of estrangement following a traumatic split at the end of a civil war in 1949, the presidents of China and Taiwan met for the first time ever in Singapore. In unprecedented scenes, China's Xi Jinping and Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou shook hands for more than a minute and smiled for a mass of reporters before holding talks. The summit led to the setting up of a hotline between Beijing and Taipei and a lowering of tensions between the self-ruled island and the mainland. Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou during a summit in Singapore on November 7, 2015. (REUTERS/Edgar Su) While the meeting was undeniably historic, there were no major concessions from either side. Ma ended up paying a heavy political price at home: Taiwanese voters chose to back Beijing-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen in the 2016 election amid fears about the island's sovereignty. Trump-Kim The next major handshake on the global calendar is expected to feature Kim Jong Un again this time with US President Donald Trump. While it will certainly mark a historic moment, handshakes involving Trump sometimes make headlines for the wrong reasons, and the businessman-president has become well-known for his awkward grapples. Clips of his handshakes often go viral on social media, with commenters poking fun at the way he tries to pull another world leader's arm or the often-uncomfortable amount of time he spends shaking hands. Most famously, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year appeared to roll his eyes in an apparent expression of relief after a long handshake with Trump in Washington. Quite how Kim might react to an impromptu arm-wrestle, only time will tell. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone. Their discussions will be expected to focus on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs. (Image: AP) The best horror comics for the Halloween season From zombies and vampires to devilspawn, here are the best horror comics to read right now A federal judge in New York blocked temporarily Fujifilms proposed acquisition of Norwalk-based Xerox, with the judge stating Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson appeared hopelessly conflicted in negotiating a deal while the Xerox board was discussing the possibility of finding his replacement. Xerox investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason say the Fujifilm offer undervalues Xerox shares, with the billionaires orchestrating a fight to scotch the merger and oust Jacobson as CEO. Xerox told Bloomberg it would appeal the decision, with its board having stated previously that Jacobson has conducted the negotiations with Fujifilm with utmost integrity. Fujifilm also indicated it was considering an appeal among other options. On Friday, Fujifilm acknowledged it was discussing the possibility of paying a higher price to Xerox shareholders than an original $6.1 billion agreement, according to Reuters. Under the terms of the original deal, Jacobson would continue to lead the combined company, which would have dual headquarters in Tokyo and Norwalk, despite Xerox having confirmed that the board of directors considered replacing Jacobson last year. Icahn and Deason have seized on that point as suggesting Jacobson had an ulterior motive to complete a deal with Fujifilm to further his own career. Former Goodyear Tire & Rubber CEO Bob Keegan is chairman of the Xerox board. Evidence entered in the New York State Supreme Court on Friday included handwritten notes purportedly by Keegan from a year ago listing pluses and minuses from Jacobsons first five months on the job as Xerox CEO. In a transcript of a court deposition filed Friday, Jacobson is quoted as saying Icahn told him at a May 2017 dinner to relay to Fujifilm that bad things would happen if the billionaire should gain more power, and that Jacobson referenced Icahns point in negotiations for a sale to Fujfilm. The companies have a history together dating back more than a half-century via the Fuji Xerox joint venture controlled by Fujifilm that sells printers and other document technologies in Asia. Managing Icahns and Deasons proxy fight against the Xerox board is Greenwich resident John Visentin, who is being paid between $300,000 and $500,000 to do the job and who does not own Xerox stock himself, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. In the court transcript, Jacobson said became aware late last year that the Xerox board had considered Visentin as a possible replacement for him. I was obviously disappointed, Jacobson is quoted saying. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman Walk into any store that sells prom gowns, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. With a stock of silhouettes that range from mermaid to ballgown and come in a rainbow of colors, choices abound in every dress shop in southwestern Connecticut and beyond. But before you get lost in a sea of sequins and tulle, knowing which styles are hot and which are not for prom 2018 can help ensure you say yes to the perfect dress. Going through the racks of her Wallingford, Conn. shop, owner of The Dressing Room Christine Rinere knows first hand what prom dress shoppers are looking for, and this season, it's all about going big literally. "We have sold a lot of ballgowns for prom," said Rinere of the prom dress trend she's noticed most this year. "This is the biggest thing that's different than prior years for us." For owners Danna Lane and Corinne Chapman of A Step Ahead in Stamford, the full-skirted style has been the most surprising and exciting trend they've seen this year. "What's so different this year is that so many dresses especially ballgowns have pockets, so girls can put their phones, money, lipstick, lipgloss in the pockets of their dresses, which is a huge selling point," said Chapman. "It's convenient and cool; it's not what you'd expect when you're dressed formally, but it makes for a beautiful pose and just looks different." While Rinere and Lane both find that ballgowns are the biggest silhouette trend for prom 2018 in Connecticut, it is not a necessarily new trend nationwide. "We usually lag behind a bit," said Rinere when it comes to accepting the ballgown style into the mix for prom, which she also mentioned as a nationally-popular silhouette. For Chapman, the prom gowns popular at A Step Ahead are indicative of the tastes of prom shoppers in their corner of Connecticut. "Very popular dresses for sale from different companies are dresses we could never sell here in a million years," said Chapman. "The dresses we sell are more Connecticut, and even Fairfield County, specific." Gowns with very elaborate trains and intricate detail work follow in a close second for popular styles in the state this year. And just as certain shapes are more popular than others for prom regionally and nationally this year, both find that certain colors stand out. Take blush, for example; Rinere says when shoppers are searching for gowns in subtle hues, they tend to opt for a rosy shade of pink instead of traditional pastels. Biggest 2018 prom trends Ballgowns Blush hues Jewel tones Bold earrings See More Collapse "For light colors, everything that's light is blush. Even black with blush," Rinere said. And the colors that aren't on trend? "There aren't a lot of pastels, light pinks and light blues," she said of the colors that didn't make the cut this year. Blush isn't the only color trend she's noticed. In fact, both Rinere and Chapman say their customers have been very attracted to hypersaturated colors that mimic jewel tones, such a deep purples, emerald greens, ruby red and navy. While these choices stand in contrast to the blush trend she's noticed, Rinere suggests the move toward jewel tones not only indicative of a national trend at play, but also of the fact that shoppers are paying closer attention to fashion trends they see on the runway. "I study fashion," said Rinere. "I'm always looking at the Christian Diors, the Oscar de la Rentasthose super high-end designersbecause their season is before the (prom) buying season, so you know that those trends are coming." Once shoppers find their red carpet-ready gown, the next step is accessorizing. According to Rinere, piling on jewelry is not a popular option for prom this year. Though she carries earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings in The Dressing Room, which has a second location Madison, Rinere said she has only sold one type of jewelry to her prom customers: earrings. "I'm seeing a lot of earrings, but not a lot of necklaces and not a lot of bracelets," Rinere said. "I've maybe sold five necklaces for prom this year. But big, drop earrings are popular." Bold earrings are also on trend at A Step Ahead, as well, where Lane and Chapman encourage their shoppers to forego a necklace in favor of dramatic ear chandeliers. "We try to get our girls to not wear necklaces, but instead a fantastic pair of earringssomething big, bold and fantastic," said Chapman. "Sometimes a big necklace will compete with the neckline of a dress too much." When it comes to totaling up the cost of a prom look, Rinere says that completed ensembles can range anywhere between $300 and $1,000, while Chapman and Lane say dresses alone in their store can start in the low $200s and span up to the $400 range. But the A Step Ahead co-owners offer that prom is about more than the cost of the gown. "A lot of people like to talk about the amount of money spent on prom in a negative way," said Chapman and Lane. "Prom is not about the things that money can buy, but the feeling that girls get when they go out in a beautiful dress and have a good time." With this year's prom trends apparent, Lane and Chapman agree that just because a style is trendy, doesn't necessarily mean it's something everyone should wear. In fact, they say prom style should be completely subjectivethe only thing you should wear while trying on gowns is an open mind. "Come in with an open mind," Chapman and Lane agreed. "Come in with ideas of what you like but be open to all styles because you never know how something is going to look. When girls try on the right dress, they get this big smile and that's the prom girl smile because you know they found the right dress for them." After a crash that state police called chilling, the agency has issued a reminder about highway safety. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, state police Troop G in Bridgeport and West Haven fire units and emergency medical services responded to a crash on Interstate 95 northbound near exit 43 in West Haven. The call reported a crash involving two tractor trailers. But when troopers arrived at the scene, they found a more serious crash and closed the highway. The crash involved four tractor trailers and a Toyota Corolla. Troopers, firefighters and EMS immediately checked on the crash victims and, despite what you see in the photos, thankfully there were no fatalities, state police said. Two operators suffered serious injuries, but were still able to recount the crash to troopers. State police said three of the tractor trailers and the Toyota were traveling in the right lane when traffic started to slow for a construction zone ahead. The four vehicles safely slowed, state police said. The fourth TT (tractor trailer) did not slow down in time and struck the Toyota from behind, pushing it into the TT in front of it, state police said. The Toyota became sandwiched between the two TTs before being dislodged by the force of impact. Three of the tractor trailers and the Toyota were heavily damaged. The tractor trailer driver at fault was issued an infraction for traveling too fast for conditions and failure to maintain a reasonable distance/following too closely. After this crash, state police provided drivers some tips about being a safe driver and what to do if they end up in an accident. State police said drivers should always pay attention to highway signs, reduce speed when approaching construction zones or first responders working, keep a safe distance for other vehicles, check traffic in all mirrors and give full attention to the road. Anyone who gets in a crash should call 911 and give the dispatcher the location and reason for the call, move the vehicle to the right shoulder or right side of the road if it can safely be done and stay inside the vehicle while waiting for first responders. Dictionaries pin down the first known use of the word power to between the years 1250 and 1300 -- the same century that brought us classics including poison, pitchfork and patience. Although the literary definition of power hasnt changed, recent years have seen a shift in its cultural meaning. Thats what authors Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans aim to explore in the book New Power, a window into how new power structures influence society, business and politics in the 21st century. What is new power? Theres a reason why the likes of Airbnb have overtaken Hilton in revenue, argue Timms and Heimans. Simple investing apps with a focus on accessibility continue to grow in popularity, even as large investment management companies seem to rest on their laurels. And movements born online -- #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and even the A.L.S. Ice Bucket Challenge -- have induced change on a global front. (The latter of the movements resulted in $115 million donated to the A.L.S. Association and helped in the discovery of a new gene tied to the disease.) The idea of new power is what these events have in common. Think about whos coming out on top in the world right now, Timms says. Whoever comes to mind chances are, theyre going to understand new power. New power can be thought of as the ability to channel the energy of a collective crowd, and some companies -- especially ones on the rise -- are doing this better than others. As for when this cultural shift began? Change accelerated over the past 15 years as the internet became social and enabled hyperconnectivity. On the flip side, todays companies are also affected by the sentiments of large groups of consumers in a way they havent been in the past. Exhibit A: Following the Feb. 14 high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and the subsequent movements around it, retailer Dicks Sporting Goods pulled assault-style firearms and high-capacity magazines from its shelves and now plans to destroy them. Exhibit B: Following the arrest of two African-American men waiting to meet a friend at one Starbucks location, the company will close its stores on May 29 to offer anti-bias training to about 175,000 employees. Widespread commentary via the internet and social media played a significant role in these decisions -- and demonstrates the sheer capacity of new power. Here are three way to tap into new power for your business. 1. Build an authentic relationship with consumers. In todays new power landscape, building a meaningful relationship with the crowd is a key ingredient for business success. Thats because this type of brand loyalty often directly translates into a companys ability to mobilize its community. Traditional power used to be largely restricted to companies with extensive funding or scale. Now its possible to harness the same power collectively through a distributed network of consumers, says Arun Sundararajan, professor of business at New York University and author of The Sharing Economy. On the flip side, its important for businesses to recognize that the consumers they rely on now have the ability to be a powerful collective in their own right. To that end, companies should funnel energy into shaping a positive platform culture -- and establish the right kind of direct relationship with consumers -- in the same way that an organization with full-time employees thinks about corporate culture. Anticipating the potential emergence of new power should be one determining factor of how you design your business, Sundararajan says. 2. Link a product or service to a higher purpose. Another component of this kind of success is connecting a high-quality product or service to a sense of higher purpose. This can take forms including charitable donations, social movements or supporting small businesses. One example? Flat reusable water bottle memobottle was created to combat the environmental impact of single-use bottles, and each bottle sold provides one person with two months of clean drinking water via nonprofit Water.org. The memobottle was funded on Kickstarter after upwards of 6,000 backers pledged more than a $250,000. In this way, the company created a product that was seen as high-quality (a new kind of water bottle designed to easily fit into bags), linked it to a higher purpose (saving the environment and bringing clean drinking water to those in need) and -- see the next point -- mobilized its community (asked for launch help via a crowdfunding platform). Using new power helped memobottle rise to success -- and the product even made its way into the official gift bag at the 2016 Oscars. 3. Mobilize the community youve built. Theres a final ingredient for business success in the realm of new power, Timms says, and it multiplies the returns of the other factors. This ingredient is the participation premium -- or the way a business encourages people to participate directly. Its about building a brand that people will really want to take part in, Heimans says. Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter are a prime tool for this. If people are engaged in a product or service and feel theyre helping to get it off the ground, they have a higher stake in its success -- and theyll also pay more for it. The problem, Timms says, is that many old-power executives dont trust customers enough to do anything except purchase the product. Companies such as BrewDog, an offbeat Scottish beer brand, have embraced the new approach. Community votes help the company decide which types of craft beer will be produced next, and a festival doubles as the companys annual meeting. BrewDog launched through crowdfunding, and anti-establishment company turned customers into shareholders by offering an equity program billed as Equity for Punks, which further upped community involvement. Other companies that have built meaningful user relationships include Airbnb, which encourages hosts to get together and build community, and Lyft, which offers 24/7 driver phone assistance and discounted education courses for drivers. New power case studies from recent headlines: Uber has a checkered history on the user relationship front, Sundararajan says. A few years ago, Uber had a much more positive platform culture, and the company was able to harness the collective power of its consumers to pressure the mayor of New York City into stepping back on regulations that could negatively impact the rideshare app. Since then, widespread controversy -- public lawsuits, executive missteps and some drivers and users feeling like cogs in a machine -- has negatively impacted both its platform culture and its bottom line. Another interesting case study is Facebook, which was skilled at building its crowd but unable to translate that into the type of meaningful consumer relationships characterized by Heimanss and Timmss book. Facebooks lack of connection with its users meant that when the Cambridge Analytica data-mining news broke, the company was hit with community backlash and the #DeleteFacebook movement. "New power values prize transparency above all else," Heimans says in his TED Talk. "It's almost a religious belief in transparency, a belief that if you shine a light on something, it will be better." Thats one of the areas in which Facebook likely fell behind. Most businesses runs into trouble eventually, but the question is: When those moments come, will consumers feel connected enough to defend them? Related: The Power of Trying: Why You Must Take Leaps Into Unknown Territory Related: This Founder Stuck Through More Than 700 Investor Meetings to Achieve Her Dream 3 Ways to Harness the 'New Power' That Let Airbnb, Kickstarter and Other Companies Climb to the Top Growing Up an Iranian Immigrant Was Tough but It Taught Me How to Lead Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Human Rights Group Amnesty International has asked the Government to compensate the family of the late Kenneth Matiba for his illegal detention. In September 2017, the High Court increased the late Matibas compensation to Sh945 million after the former minister went back to court over an error in the calculation. According to new documents filed in court, the compensation has risen to Sh1.8 billion. Matibas lawyer John Mburu said interest on the Sh945 million has accrued to Sh1,458,520. The court had also given him an additional Sh135 million as the cost of the suit. Interest on special damages has been put at Sh737,362,941, court documents show. Justice Lenaola had also stated that the multiparty democracy hero was the founder, leader, and power behind his flourishing business empire and that his detention led to the collapse of the business chain and deterioration of his health. In addition to asking for immediate compensation, Amnesty International wants the government to issue a public apology and reparation for all political prisoners. Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Houghton Irungu notes this will enhance democracy and reconciliation. The 2015 Presidential State of the Nation address called for the swift adoption of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Report by Parliament as required by law and the establishment of a Sh10 billion Restorative Justice Fund. As we bid farewell to Kenneth Matiba, neither promise has been kept. We call for the Kenyan government to move quickly to reparations, he said. In March 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a 10 Billion Shillings fund to be used for restorative justice, but three years after, it is yet to be implemented. The Director further asked the Government to ensure that all former Prisoners of Conscience and their families have effective access to compensation, rehabilitation and other forms of support to enable them to resume a normal life. He says: The Kenyan Government, civic organisations, and citizens can best honor the memory of the late Matiba by publicly rededicating themselves to never again allowing Kenya to return to the darkness of the 1980s and 1990s. China has a relatively profitable foreign policy by only investing in reconstruction, trade deals with dictators and not committing troops to alter other countries. China will let whoever is in power in Iraq, Iran, Syria and other places. Those leaders do what they need to do and partner with whomever they need to partner with to ensure political and economic stability. With European banks put off by Americas unpredictable sanctions policy in recent years and unwilling to finance deals without sovereign guarantees, Chinas CITIC Group and Development Bank stepped in with offers of $10 and $15 billion credit lines. A panicked Ferial Mostofi, head of Irans Chamber of Commerce, remarked that [Western firms] had better come quickly to Iran otherwise China will take over. Chinas National Machinery Industry Corp just signed an $845 million contract to construct a 410km railway in western Iran connecting Tehran, Hamedan and Sanandaj, and there is a chance that China will replace India in developing the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar on the Arabian Sea. China could commit $2 billion to what may become a mammoth, $250 billion Syrian reconstruction effort with no demands on Assad. China with $16.5 billion committed in 2016 is poised to overtake the U.S. as Israels largest investor, with a focus on hi-tech. China and Saudi Arabia are moving ahead with plans to establish a joint $20 billion investment fund to develop the latters infrastructure, energy, and mining sectors. As the U.S. operates a disjointed regional paradigm and spends considerably in search of elusive gains limiting who it can do business with and sometimes attaching conditions removed from the Middle Easts realities the Chinese begin and end their regional policy with what is in Chinas narrow national interest. It seems unlikely that the US will be able to consistently restrain itself from military involvement. However, the US could transition to more cost-effective geopolitics and military intervention. The US needs to lower the operating costs of its jets or develop low operating cost drones that they could use instead of expensive jets. The F-22A and the F-35A have an hourly operating cost of $33,538 and $28,455 respectively. The A-10 cost just under $6,000 every hour. The F-16 has hourly operating costs of around $8,000. There are other military technologies that could be lower cost but effective. The US can leverage and support reliable allies. In the middle east, this currently appears to be Israel and possibly Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The US should continue to do more with Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and other partners. Where can the US have cost-effective goals and plans? Can the US just contain and manage some problems? Can the US develop more clever methods? What could they learn from the British empire? Britain used indirect Rule. This allowed the British to clearly separate what was of importance to Britain and leave the daily practicalities of ruling to existing local rulers. The British were also clever at using different factions against each other. The subcommittee on Emerging Threats and capabilities met Dr. Michael Griffin undersecretary of defense for Research and Engineering on accelerating new technologies to meet emerging threats. Rapid technological advancements have the potential to change the very character of war. Michael Griffin said We need to have 100-kilowatt-class weapons on Army theater vehicles. We need to have 300-kilowatt-class weapons on Air Force tankers, Griffin said. We need to have megawatt-class directed energy weapons in space for space defense. These are things we can do over the next decade if we can maintain our focus. Scientists hes been talking with have told him that level of laser power is five to six years away and a megawatt laser is within a decade with persistent investment. The US military is boosting combat laser funding to a billion dollars or more. The US has funded several combat laser deployments over the next three years. Lockheed Martin is being awarded a $150 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Surface Navy Laser Weapon System Increment 1, High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with a surveillance system. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $943 million. The combat lasers will be 150-kilowatts and could get upgraded to 300 kilowatts for more range and power. 1. Up to three 60 kilowatt combat lasers. Project 3402 in the Navy budget, is known as the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System. SNLWS is an advanced prototype laser weapon in the 60-kilowatt-or-higher class. The Navy recently announced this laser would be installed on the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, but the budget provides funding to outfit not just one but three destroyers. The laser can dazzle and destroy drones as well as fast inshore attack craft (FIAC). The 2019 budget allocates $190 million for the SNLWS. The Navy anticipates the first destroyers outfitted with the laser weapon in late of 2020. 2. ODIN, or Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (which formerly carried the bland-sounding moniker Low Power Module). ODIN is a laser designed to blind and disrupt Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) and other platforms that will address urgent operational needs of the Fleet. That wording implies drones are currently being used to watch U.S. ships at sea. Two ODIN units have apparently already been funded, and the 2019 budget provides for three more (installation costs will be covered in the 2020 budget). Each ODIN unit consists of a Beam Director (Telescope, Optics, Fast Steering Mirrors); Lower Power Lasers (2); Sensors (Coarse Track, Fine Track, ISR Imaging); Computer Rack, Network Switches; and an Operator Laptop. The U.S. Navy is spending $44 million in 2019 on the ODIN. 3. Solid State Laser Technology Maturation. Its a much larger 150-kilowatt laser to be mounted on a San Antonio-class ship in 2019. Finally, the Navy mentions the Ruggedized High Energy Laser, or RHEL, a 150-kilowatt laser that will apparently employ different laser architectures that will handle more powerful laser beams eventually. Updated High technology testing facilities Michael Griffin is pushing for improved test facilities for faster development of US weapons. Artificial Intelligence for defense He was also committed to the development of a joint AI center meaning across the services and really there will be elements of it across government and I think the D.O.D. will take the lead. There are 592 projects across the Defense Department that have AI as part of their development. Self-driving vehicles The Army recently announced the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division will have a robotic combat vehicle called the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport in the ranks this year for testing, which will develop the likely full-fielding gear mule-type robot. Simple tasks, such as delivering food, mail, water and fuel, could be automated sooner than some think. Griffin believes it will simpler and faster to have self-driving army vehicles than self-driving cars on regular roads. MASHANTUCKET Lets get one thing absolutely straight about Tom Jones, who will perform May 5 at Foxwoods Grand Theater: he has never JUST been the guy who women toss their undergarments at onstage. They dont knight you for that. They DO knight you for being the most soulful Welshman and just about the most soulful Brit alive. In Jones case make that Sir Tom Jones case hes a guy who over a 50-year career has demonstrated over and over and over again that he can go toe to toe, vocally speaking, with anyone on the planet. Sure, everyone of a certain age remembers Jones for hits like Whats New Pussycat, Its Not Unusual, Delilah, Kiss, Ill Never Fall In Love Again and If I Only Knew. What you may not remember, however, is that over many years including the years that Jones This is Tom Jones and The Tom Jones Show variety shows ran on TV Jones has sung duets with everyone from Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles to Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Gladys Knight, Cher, Dionne Warwick and Chaka Khan. Jones, now 77 and still rocking even performed a killer version of Longtime Gone with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and a raucous medley of Great Balls Of Fire, Move It On Down The Line, Long Tall Sally and Whole Lotta Shakin Going On with Jerry Lee Lewis. And a fine, soulful version of Sam Cookes Bring It On Home To Me with Van Morrison and Jeff Beck. All of those other people probably wont be at Foxwoods Saturday night when Jones performs in the Grand Theater. But Tom Jones willbe and hes well worth seeing. Showtime is 8 p.m., with The Voice UKs Into The Ark opening. Tickets ($105-$65) were shown as being sold out on Friday, but Foxwoods website suggests checking back, as tickets sometimes are released as the date approaches. Born Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, on June 7, 1940, Jones father worked in the coal mines of the Rhondda Valley. Jones quit school at age 15 and worked a variety of manual jobs while singing in the clubs at night. He got married at 17, then went on to sign with Decca Records in London. He has released more than 40 albums over the years and was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2006. He performed at the Queens Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012 and again at the Royal Albert Hall in London on April 21 at Queen Elizabeths 92nd birthday party. NEW HAVEN Despite the rain, around 50 New Haven firefighters in their turnout gear spent two hours outside Friday at the New Haven Fire Department Training Facility, showing Ecuadorean firefighters and dignitaries evolutions and training. We had a couple of companies come down. We have a sample of a squad, we have a truck, we have an emergency unit, our hazmat unit. We did some sample evolutions. We had the recruits do some of their training, Assistant Fire Chief Orlando Marcano said. Today, they came to pretty much see what we do. Theyre seeing what our capabilities are, and what our tactics and strategies, and briefly how we do things. One of the truck companies extended their 100-foot aerial against the training facility and firefighters raised 35-foot ladders. The firefighters also showed the Ecuadoreans some hose lays to the hydrants. Inside the training facility, a squad company performed rope rescue evolutions, simulating what its like to rescue someone off East Rock or West Rock. Marcano said the idea was spearheaded by Luis Alarcon, who had been talking with Training Director Antonio Almodovar for more the a year, trying to make this project a reality. Alarcon, who was a firefighter in Ecuador for 20 years, said he has lived in West Haven and worked as a volunteer firefighter for the past three years. Ever since, he said he has had the idea of bringing firefighters from other countries to New Haven to work in tandem with the citys firefighters. This is a project that is like a dream (for me), Alarcon said. Alarcon said firefighters in Ecuador dont have same equipment and tools as their counterparts in New Haven, so to have the opportunity to learn from New Haven firefighters has been a gift. In Ecuador, there is one firehouse per city, even in cities with populations of 50,000 people. In New Haven, there are 10 firehouses. Since the Ecuadorean firefighters dont have aerial trucks or hazmat capabilities or the staffing that New Haven does, Marcano said the majority of their fires are forest, and the house fires are more based on rescue. They dont have the manpower or the equipment to mitigate or save the property. Most of the time, the property is not saved, Marcano said. Despite their limitations, Alarcon said by seeing what and how New Haven firefighters performed evolutions and rescues, they could hopefully transfer some of those same skill sets with the tools and equipment they have. jessica.lerner@hearstmediact.com; @jesslerner on Twitter A rehabilitation center that provides behavioral health and substance abuse services to patients at clinics in New Haven and Bridgeport and its two co-founders have reached a settlement agreement to pay more than $1.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated federal and state False Claims acts, according to a federal press release. To resolve the allegations under the federal and state False Claims acts, New Era Rehabilitation Center and Drs. Ebenezer and Christina Kolade agreed to pay $1,378,533, which covers conduct occurring from Oct. 1, 2009, through Nov. 30, 2013, according to the release. For 16 years New Era Rehabilitation Center (NERC) has been a respected and valued member of the New Haven and Bridgeport communities, providing much-needed behavioral health and substance abuse treatment services, said Ebenezer Kolade, CEO and president of NERC, in a statement. NERC has fully cooperated with a recent government investigation into some of its past billing practices and, without admitting any wrongdoing, has reached an agreement in order to settle this matter. This settlement agreement is not an admission of liability - instead, NERC wishes to avoid the disruption of litigation and focus on addressing the states devastating opioid crisis and helping patients recover. Data show more than 1,000 people died from drug overdose in Connecticut in a single year, according to a report by the states Chief Medical Examiner James Gill. Overdose deaths totaled 1,038 in 2017, around a 13 percent increase from the 917 deaths in 2016, and powerful opioids such as fentanyl continue to play an increasing role in the epidemic. Last year, 675 deaths involved fentanyl. Deaths from fatal drug overdoses have skyrocketed nationwide, with 64,000 people estimated to have died in 2016. As part of their practice, NERC and the Kolades, who are also the owners, provide methadone maintenance services to Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid pays providers a weekly bundled rate for methadone maintenance services, which includes the intake evaluation of the patient; the initial physical examination; on-site drug abuse testing and monitoring; and individual, group and family counseling services, the release said. NERC and the Kolades allegedly provided methadone maintenance counseling services to its Medicaid patients and were paid the bundled rate for those services, but also submitted claims to Medicaid for psychotherapy services for the same patients. The counseling services provided to methadone maintenance patients are included in the bundled rate, not be billed separately, the release stated. The release said NERC and the Kolades allegedly did not provide the psychotherapy services, but only provided methadone maintenance counseling services, which were already included in the weekly bundled rate. The United States and the state of Connecticut contend the claims New Era and the Kolades submitted for psychotherapy services constituted false claims submitted to the Medicaid program, the release said. We must ensure that taxpayers health care dollars used for substance abuse treatment are properly spent, said U.S. Attorney John Durham in a statement. Medical practices and physicians who treat patients for substance abuse must bill their services accurately and honestly. Health care providers who submit false claims to federal health care programs will be held accountable. Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is on the receiving end of sharp criticism from Kenyans online after a failed attempt of the viral Julius Malema Challenge at the requiem mass of the late Kenneth Matiba. The lawmaker in his written speech addressed Matiba as Baba just as Malema had addressed the late anti-apartheid hero Winnie Mandela as Mama. Ndindi further mentioned that some of Matibas tormentors were present at the service and pretending to be mourning. Baba Matiba during your unlawful detention a feather was picked from your heart and a pile of chapters expunged from Kenyas history. But you taught us, Baba Matiba, to always speak the truth and Ill speak that truth now. Some of your enemies Baba, some of your tormentors are here and others are watching masquerading as mourners, hypocrites with empty semblance of righteousness donning robes of sanity. We demand that they seek forgiveness from God with the family and with the Kenyan people. Truth is the first chapter of reconciliation, the MP said. Ndindi further pledged that the young people shall not let Matibas struggle be in vain. But Baba, when we as your sons and daughters, grandchildren and the future generations are the ones enjoying fruits of your second liberation wont be hypocrites like them. We will choose to speak the truth without reserve and always will vouch for it. Lastly Baba, we are grateful that you came not like most of us but you came for a specific life assignment. The speech was strikingly similar to the one by the firebrand South African politician, and Kenyans online took notice and made their opinions known. On Twitter, one Hillary Kiplagat wrote: Ndindi Nyoro..struggling too much to be relevant. There is nothing that nauseates, shys and dissappoints[sic] like outright plagiarism. Cornelius Ronoh added: Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro was trying to pull a Malema Challenge but it backfired. Another KOT, Allan Omache, posted: Ndindi Nyoro attempting a Malema but failing terribly. On Facebook, Alvan Kinyua, wrote: Lakini wacha tuambiane ukweli Wangwana.At K.S.N. Matibas funeral service that has ended a few minutes ago in Muranga, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoros attempt to do a #JuliusMalemaChallenge has flopped terriblyThis one has refused to work for Hon Ndindi Completely! Copy pasting can be catastrophic! On the same platform, Benmark Nganga described Editors note: This column, headlined 88 wasnt great, but it deserves a decent eulogy, from the New Haven Register archive, ran on Dec. 30, 1988. The archive indicates it was written by then-Register metro editor Walt Platteborze. It is posted now, 30 years later, as part of the Registers Top 50 Project. It recounts some terrible tragedies that rocked the region and the world in 1988. It is interesting to note the column references a nasty presidential campaign, as well as problems with the states financial condition. DONT be so quick to bury 1988. It deserves some praise before being put to rest. At first glance, the year seems to be one that is better put behind us. It was dominated by one of the nastier presidential campaigns in history and revealed a state treasury that had gone from prosperity to poverty almost overnight. Political warfare raged throughout the year between the mayors office in New Haven and the school administration over everything from furniture purchases to conflict of interest charges on contracts for new office space. The year wound down with an emphasis on human tragedy. Last month four East Lyme youths drowned when their car plunged through a gap in a road barrier into the Mill River in New Haven. This month eight Connecticut people were killed in the explosion and crash of Pan Am Flight 103. As of last week, police in Connecticuts three largest cities - Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven - reported a combined 103 homicides for the year, more than half drug-related. Yet 1988 could be remembered as what historians like to call a watershed year, because citizens and government recognized and began to grapple with many of the critical problems that could make future years less rosy. - The state Department of Education in January issued a report saying what most of us already knew, that de facto segregation exists between urban and non-urban school systems. It recommended steps to reduce segregation that did not specify forced busing. While the report hasnt yet yielded any trailblazing changes, it has people thinking about the problem. - A pile of smelly news on the waste disposal front provided enough evidence to convince anyone that weve got to pay whatever the price to cope with that crisis. Among developments were a 100 percent increase in dumping fees at the New Haven landfill, refusal by an area scrap dealer to accept junk cars and white goods, the arrival on state beaches of medical waste, and reports that midnight dumping in state forests is on the upswing. - Prodded by Connecticut housing officials, municipalities began one by one to concede that low- and moderate-income families are being squeezed out of the housing market by high prices. And, one by one, cities and towns began to develop proposals for affordable housing. - Warnings about the failing health of Long Island Sound were brought home to state residents by a wave of scientific data and pleas for a strong policy. Federal and state officials said the Sound was becoming a dead sea and that $6 billion is needed just to abate pollution from municipal sewer systems. This month the state Department of Environmental Protection said it will force municipalities to eliminate pollution of the Sound from combined storm drain-sewer lines. - The issue of the homeless took on sharper definition. Reactions by public agencies and the private sector indicated a realization that the growing legion of homeless is everybodys concern. Hamden, for example, used federal cash to create apartments for homeless families, and the Register opened the old New Haven Boys and Girls Club, which it owns, to take the overflow from New Havens established shelters. Nairobi police have arrested ten suspects in connection with an incident in which a woman was captured on video being raped along Mto Lane off River Road. The suspects include the man who raped the woman as it emerged that the two might be lovers. We have ten suspects in custody; all of them are street children. What I have discovered is that the suspects and the woman know each other. She is also a street urchin. We are looking for her. If you watched the video, you could hear her saying that the man, who was having sexual intercourse with her, was her lover. I would say they have their own life, Mr Tito told Citizen Digital. Tito appealed to the woman to go to Central police station and record a statement. In the undated footage, a street boy identified as Baite was filmed at first forcing himself on the woman, who later could be heard referring to the supposed rapist as mtu wangu. She said during the act: Huyu ni mtu wangu [He is my friend]. This statement, among others made by her, left a section of online users questioning the legitimacy of the rape claims. However, others noted that the supposed rape victim was being cooperative after she had been threatened with death. Do not kill me, please dont. I have not refused to cooperate. Please do not film me in the act. Why would you do that? Please remove that person filming us from here. Why are you taking videos of us? This is not my first time to have sex, the woman said. The woman was also heard screaming for help: Hapana, hapana. Na-rape-iwa. One of the onlookers can be heard shouting: Si wewe ndiye umekubali. The Nairobi Police boss now says following the discovery about the nature of the relationship between the street boy and the woman, and the tone of the conversation when the video was shot it is unlikely rape charges would be pressed against the suspect. Does that now become rape; or public indecency? I want to believe the two people captured on video are grownups. If they are grownups, then I dont think we would charge the main suspect with rape. We might only be looking at an offense where the street boy and the woman performed an indecent act in public, said Mr Tito. Tito said Central CID boss Samuel Kobina has taken up the matter. Although there are supposed to be no Samsung phones in North Korea and the country is well-known as a totalitarian dictatorship, smuggled Samsung smartphones are very popular in the country. According to a South Korean news outlet, the number of mobile subscribers in North Korea reached 5 million this year. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Human 2.0 , Ice Lake , Intel Evo / Project Athena , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker If you think that North Korea is a dictatorship where only a few chosen thousands can use a smartphone, you should rethink it. Even more, the smartphone penetration rate in the country is on the rise, despite the many limitations supposedly enforced by the authorities. According to recent data obtained by South Korean news outlet The Investor, "more North Koreans are now using mobile phones than before with the number of subscribers reaching nearly 5 million as of this year." To make this story even more interesting, it seems that a forbidden brand is very popular and might even lead the local market at least when it comes to smartphones that do not come with an ancient list of specs and features, like the ones allowed to be used in the country. A North Korean defector said that "South Korean mobile products and home appliances, which outgun those made by Japanese and Chinese firms in popularity, are sold at a premium as they support the Korean language and boast great quality." People familiar with the matter also revealed that North Koreans using Samsung or LG phones replace the brands' logos with those of Chinese and Japanese companies, and even use labels saying "Made in Japan" or "Made in China." Yang Un-chul, vice president of Sejong Institute, spoke to The Investor after talking to many North Korean defectors, concluding that "There are quite a number of North Koreans who are using Galaxy smartphones" although they are not supposed to own or use any South Korean-made goods. When it comes to the government, it is enough to say that North Korea buys Chinese smartphones for US$50 and after installing an application that does not allow these handsets to access the internet sells them to the locals for no less than US$250. April 27, 2018 Saudia Muwwakkil , 404-507-5612 National Park Service Considers Mississippi Civil Rights Sites for Park Designation, Seeks Public Input Study highlights sites pertinent to the stories of Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, and Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner ATLANTA The National Park Service (NPS) this week announced it has begun to examine key civil rights sites in Mississippi for possible designation as a national park area and invites the public to weigh-in at the start of the project that could run two years. Rigorous research and public opinion help our nations leaders determine whether a resource of national significance should be added to the National Park System, said Ben West, southeast regional chief for planning and compliance with the National Park Service. The publics voice is critical to this process. We welcome widespread participation as the National Park Service considers Mississippi-based civil rights sites and stories that helped shape our nations history. ABOUT THE STUDY In 2017, the U.S. Congress passed a law directing NPS to conduct a special resource study of Mississippis nationally significant civil rights sites, such as: The home in Jackson where civil rights activist Medgar Evers resided with his wife and was killed in 1963. Sites in the Mississippi Delta related to the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till on August 28, 1955, including Bryants store and Tallahatchie County Courthouse. The Old Neshoba County jail in Philadelphia, Miss., where civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were held for a speeding violation prior to being released and murdered by a mob for registering black voters in 1964. The Reverends Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy Sr. included the jail in a heralded voter registration march two years later. The Biloxi office of Dr. Gilbert Mason Sr. who was a principal organizer of wade-ins beginning in 1959 to desegregate Biloxis public beaches. He also helped organize voter registration drives and led other civil rights initiatives for 33 years. Other related sites in the state not specifically listed in the legislation may be identified and added to the list of potential study locations. The purpose of this special resource study is to gather information about the sites through historical research and public input and evaluate the sites potential for inclusion into the NPS system. The findings which are reported to Congress through the U.S. Secretary of the Interior will center on the sites national significance, suitability, feasibility and need for direct NPS management. Special resource studies can take place over a two-year period, depending on the findings. PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITIES The NPS is providing multiple opportunities for public comment and participation during the initial phase of the special resource study to better assess public interest and support. NPS will hold six Open House forums across Mississippi from May 7 to 10. The NPS study team will explain the special resource study process at the forums, answer questions and gather important information and ideas from the public concerning the study. All Open House forums are free and open to the public. Open Houses are scheduled for: Monday, May 7, 2018, 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. The Delta Center for Culture and Learning / Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Delta State University Jacob Conference Center, Ewing Hall Highway 8 West Cleveland, Mississippi 38733 Monday, May 7, 2018, 5 7 p.m. Tallahatchie County Courthouse and Emmett Till Interpretive Center 120 North Court Street Sumner, Mississippi 38957 Tuesday, May 8, 2018, 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Two Mississippi Museums Auditorium 222 North Street Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Tuesday, May 8, 2018, 5 7 p.m. Medgar Evers Library 4215 Medgar Evers Blvd Jackson, Mississippi 39213 Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 5 7 p.m. The Depot 256 West Beacon Street Philadelphia, Mississippi 39350 Thursday, May 10, 2018, 5 7 p.m. Biloxi Visitor Center 1050 Beach Boulevard Biloxi, Mississippi 39201 Written comments are requested by June 1, 2018 and may be submitted during the Open House forums, online at parkplanning.nps.gov/MSCR_SRS or through postal mail to: Mississippi Civil Rights Sites Special Resource Study Attn: Justin Henderson National Park Service- Denver Service Center 12795 W. Alameda Parkway Lakewood, CO 80228 For further information, contact NPS project manager Justin Henderson at 303-969-2540 or Ben West at 404-507-5700. BACKGROUND Many historians identify the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till and the exoneration of his killers as one of the defining moments of the modern civil rights movement in America. This period culminated in Mississippi with the 1964 Freedom Summer project to register African American voters and seat Freedom Party delegates at the Democratic National Convention. That year was also marked by the murders of Mississippi Freedom Summer volunteers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. During the decade in between, the struggle for civil rights and equality in deeply segregated Mississippi was shaped by people who risked their lives and faced adversity in their quest for freedom. The Mississippi Civil Rights Sites Special Resource Study explores the most significant people and places representing civil rights history in Mississippi. Information about these sites, the special resource study process, project status updates and more are available at parkplanning.nps.gov/MSCR_SRS. President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday called on political leaders to embrace national reconciliation and unity in honour of fallen second liberation hero Kenneth Matiba. The President said he will also continue working with opposition leader Raila Odinga to build political bridges that ensure Kenyans continue enjoying peace and unity devoid of hate, division, and ethnicity. He said this is the only way the country could honour the second liberation heroes, which Matiba is viewed as a key crusader. President Kenyatta spoke during the final memorial service for the departed hero of multi-party democracy at Ihura Stadium in Muranga during a six-hour ceremony attended by thousands of mourners including Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. This is the greatest honour we can give to Matiba. We must emulate the fallen hero by also being compassionate and considerate of others, said President Kenyatta who described the late Matiba as a great patriot and nationalist. He said the country cannot entrench democracy nor thrive without peace and unity. On the Constitution, President Kenyatta said the ideals and changes that the late Matiba fought for were now entrenched and protected in the countrys supreme law. President Kenyatta said some Kenyans were not happy with his recent handshake of unity with Mr. Odinga because they thrive on chaos and commotion but unity is a key prerequisite for the countrys progress. He said the new-found unity with Mr. Odinga that started with the historic handshake had nothing to do with succession politics of 2022. The President urged leaders to learn the art of sorting problems without insults, hate or shedding blood. He said the sacrifices made by the heroes of the second liberation time, energy and resources were enough, and political leaders should now stop fighting. The Head of State said the Government will also explore ways to honour past heroes including the late Matiba. President Kenyatta emphasized that unity and peace will allow the country to concentrate on more important issues like health, security, infrastructure and the future of millions of jobless Kenyans. These are the things that are of major concern to us. Lets concentrate on what is important to the people, he said. Deputy President Ruto described the late Matiba as a patriot and nationalist who stepped out of his comfort zone and fought for multi-party democracy. When Kenneth Matiba stepped out of his comfort zone to fight for multi-party democracy, he did not do so for his village, his community or county. He did so for every Kenyan so that we can expand the democratic space that today makes us a multi-party democracy, the Deputy President said. He thanked President Kenyatta for reviving the vision that Matiba and other nationalists had of a united and prosperous country devoid of negative ethnicity, division and hate. The Deputy President emphasized that when the legacy of President Kenyatta is written, it will about the courage he had to unite the country. Your Excellency the President, when history is written, your legacy may not necessarily be about the Standard Gauge Railway, although that is a great achievement. It may not be the 6.7 million Kenyans who today enjoy electricity in their homes. Neither will it be about the 7 million Kenyans who today have NHIF cards in their homes, although that is also great. But your legacy will be the courage you had to assemble us and tell us that it is possible for us to unite, the DP said. On his part, Mr. Odinga said Kenya is a great nation and he is determined to work with President Kenyatta to bequeath the youth even a better country. He said his recent efforts to reach out to President Kenyatta was not informed by the politics of 2022 but for the greater interests of the nation. The opposition leader described the late Matiba as a great Kenyan businessman, sportsman and a generous philanthropist. Yesterdays memorial service was the second requiem ceremony, following the first one at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, on Wednesday where President Kenyatta described the late Matiba as a father, mentor and friend who was caring and highly considerate of others. A sea of humanity thronged Ihura stadium to bid farewell to the fallen political icon who Kenyans accept as the father of multi-party democracy. Muranga town came to a standstill as many business people closed shop to join the rest of the mourners at the stadium to give the late Matiba a befitting send-off. Enroute back to Nairobi, President Kenyatta and the DP stopped at Kenol in Muranga, Witeithie in Kiambu and Githurai where they said the time for politics is over and they will focus on improving the lives of Kenyans in line with the Jubilee manifesto. Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy with light rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Viewed of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. I couldnt have known how vertiginous the entire Huxtable project was. I was, like, 10, 13, 15 years old when the show was a thing. But eventually, I could see that Cliff became a play for respectability. This is how you comport yourself among white people, young black child. Take a little bit of Howard with you on your way to Harvard. But then, in 2004, at an NAACP ceremony commemorating 50 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision, he gave the notorious Pound Cake speech, where prodding for a particular kind of self-betterment turned tsk-y. He compared incarcerated black men to jailed civil rights activists, the apples and oranges of the black criminal-justice crisis. He ruminated on names that didnt seem, to him, like Bill. We are not Africans, he said. Those people are not Africans, they dont know a damned thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed, and all that crap and all of them are in jail. Maybe this was Cliff unplugged and unhinged. Mohammed? But it was a dare to flirt with distance, to reconsider all those applications I filed, to see Bill Cosby as someone who, despite hours of comedy like Bill Cosby Is Not Himself These Days and Bill Cosby: Himself, might not be willing or able to see who himself actually is. I called this a speech, but he performed it like another standup special. This is the heavy thing about this verdict. The sorting of the ironies has been left to us. Mr. Cosby made blackness palatable to a country historically conditioned to think the worst of black people. And to pull that off, he had to find a morally impeccable presentation of himself and his race. This is what Sidney Poitier, his friend and movie partner, was always up against: inhabiting the superhumanly unimpeachable. But Mr. Cosby might have managed to pull a fast one, using his power and wealth to become the predator that white America mythologized in a campaign to terrorize, torture and kill black people for centuries. Mr. Cosby told lots of jokes. This was his sickest one. Mr. Cosbys guilty verdict happens to fall during a week in which Kanye West brought a lot of people a lot more grief, not with new music but with a blizzard of tweets that included an expressed affinity for President Trump, right down to wearing a Make America Great Again cap of his own. Mr. West began his career as a kind of black-sheep Huxtable. (His first album was The College Dropout.) But he eventually gathered a sense of politics racialized, pro-black politics. And then he married into the Kardashian family and things got as vivid and incoherent as one of Cliffs Van Den Akker sweaters. This is how you get a blistering indictment of racial closed-mindedness like 2013s Black Skinhead but also an embrace of people whove been reluctant to shame white supremacists. This seems like a reasonable moment to wonder whether the Huxtable mold is one that needs breaking or at least expansion. Mr. West presents a new vexation thats the opposite of Mr. Cosbys stringent black conservatism. He can be offensive and rude and self-aggrandizing. But that mind-set also feels like a way to move beyond Americas Dad. Disrespectability politics. Were in a moment of cleaving terrible people from their great work. Its a luxury conundrum, one that feels like a mockery of tremendous human suffering. With Mr. Cosby, though, these are questions worth seriously considering. How do I, at least, cleave this man from the man he seduced me into becoming? Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany arrives at the White House today, but dont expect a sequel to the buddy movie starring President Trump and Emmanuel Macron, the French president. (Above, Ms. Merkel at the White House in March 2017.) The lack of chemistry between Ms. Merkel, a scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, and Mr. Trump is not new. What is new is the apparent indifference in the White House to the German chancellor, at a time when Ms. Merkels global position has weakened. Meanwhile, the White House announced that Mr. Trump will make his first trip to Britain in July, a politically tricky and long-delayed visit that may attract street protests. The Golden State Killers barrage of rapes and murders began in a gold mining area east of Sacramento in 1976. By 1986, it seemed to have stopped. Why? With the arrest Tuesday of Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who has been charged so far with eight counts of murder, more than 30 years had passed since the last episode in the series. That long period of quiescence seems to fly in the face of the popular belief that serial rapists and killers are incapable of stopping. But forensic psychiatrists, criminal profilers and homicide detectives who pursue cold cases say that assumption is more myth than reality. Image Joseph James DeAngelo, upon his arrest this week. Credit... Agence France-Presse Getty Images These are not acts that a person is compelled to do, said J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. They are intentional and predatory. There is choice, capacity and opportunity that is exercised. Two weeks after the 2016 election, President-elect Donald J. Trump was in the middle of making the press rounds and had scheduled a meeting with The New York Times. But on the morning of Nov. 22, The Times learned via Twitter that Mr. Trump was canceling. He claimed that the failing New York Times had changed the conditions not nice. The paper held its ground, saying it was the Trump team who had tried to change the rules when he asked that the meeting be off the record, which it had refused. Hours later, the president-elect changed course, tweeting the meeting was back on: Look forward to it! That day, I was sitting at my desk, trying to figure out, as a filmmaker, how to make sense of the seismic political shift that had occurred. Everyone I knew was doing the same thing. Calls with ideas for films had been flying in since Mr. Trumps win people trying to get a handle on a future that they had not prepared for, that they desperately wanted to engage with. Nothing felt quite right nothing felt big enough until that morning. Scanning Mr. Trumps Twitter feed, I thought, I want to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. Now all I had to do was convince The Times! Respect for the First Amendment is in my DNA. My father was a civil liberties lawyer; he fought for Lenny Bruces right to offend when his comedy routine violated New Yorks obscenity statutes in 1964, and for American neo-Nazis right to march in 1978 in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Ill., where many Holocaust survivors lived. Now we have a sitting president who called the free press the enemy of the people, frequently singling out The Times for derision his bully pulpit. It seemed to me that story was extraordinary from The Timess point of view as well. How would the organization take stock of this new era, one that it and its peers hadnt fully understood during the 2016 election, and rethink coverage amid a chaotic administration with little transparency? To his students at the Lenox Academy middle school in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Andre Braddy was a very nice teacher who was engaged enough to joke with his students. He was also by turns really serious, and disciplined enough to make them concentrate and do their homework. But on Thursday night, Mr. Braddy, 34, of Crown Heights, was arraigned at the Kings County Criminal Court, on charges that he had sexually abused a student. In an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, the police said that between March 19 and April 20, Mr. Braddy had engaged in oral sex and intercourse with a 14-year-old boy at the school. The complaint detailed three sexual encounters, and the police said they occurred either inside a classroom or a school bathroom. The two also exchanged text messages containing pictures of the childs genitals, according to the police affidavit. Mr. Braddy was charged with three counts each of engaging in criminal sexual acts and sexual misconduct, in addition to four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted on the most serious charge, second-degree criminal sexual acts, he faces a sentence of up to 7 years in prison. During ILA airshow held this week near Berlin, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and her French counterpart Florence Parly signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a replacement to their respective maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). During ILA airshow held this week near Berlin, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and her French counterpart Florence Parly signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a replacement to their respective maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The "Maritime Airborne Warfare System" or MAWS will replace the German P-3C Orion and the French Atlantique 2 (ATL2). NATO picture. The "Maritime Airborne Warfare System" or MAWS - the temporary name of the intended development program - will replace the P-3C Orion and the Atlantique 2 (ATL2), which are currently in use with naval aviation units of the German Navy and the French Navy (Marine National). Once both types of aircraft are decommissioned, the joint successor MPA is expected to replace them. The German-French Defense and Security Council had already decided in Paris on 13 July 2017 to seek a "European solution" to renew the naval and maritime intelligence capabilities of the German and French navies, with a "common roadmap" expected to be established in 2018. Part of the planning will be that both sides coordinate their capability requirements to the possible common model. According to a statement by the French MoD, the goal of this LOI is to study the conditions for the development of a European solution enabling an autonomous and efficient maritime patrol capability in Europe. It has to be noted that German Navy requirements (focused on the Baltic Sea) and French Navy ones (focused on blue water operations) are quite different. In addition, this program will have to find export customer because as is, the need appears to be for 20 to 25 airframes maximum (German and French needs combined). However according to the French MoD, meetings held at working level between the French and German navies showed a similarity of operational needs, calendars, and general philosophy. The "Maritime Airborne Warfare System" or MAWS will replace the German P-3C Orion and the French Atlantique 2 (ATL2). NATO picture. The German Navy acquired 8 P-3C Orion MPA from the Netherlands in 2006. In November 2017, Lockheed Martin received a $158.5 million contract for the second phase of the German Navy P-3C Mission System Refresh program. The program will upgrade the mission system processing suites on the fleet of eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft to support operations through 2035. The Mission System Refresh is part of an overall fleet upgrade that includes structural mid-life upgrades as well as an upgrade to the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) cockpit capability. The French Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to modernise 15 French Navy ATL2 MPA in October 2013 to Dassault Aviation and Thales. The main aims of the programme are to develop, then integrate on board the aircraft, next-generation technologies for a new tactical mission system and state-of-the-art sensor subsystems and display consoles. It was recently announced that 3 more aircraft will be modernized for a total of 18. Last year eight NATO members (including France and Germany) agreed to cooperate on multinational maritime multi-mission aircraft capabilities.The programme also includes Canada, Poland, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Greece. It aims at modernising equipment an increased Russian presence, including a high level of submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. In July 2017 the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed the deal to purchase nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon MPA for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The new aircraft, which will be based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, will play a vital role in protecting the UKs nuclear deterrent and the UKs two new aircraft carriers. They will also be able to locate and track hostile submarines, and will enhance the UKs maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) capability. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence announced in November 2017 its intent to replace its ageing fleet of six P-3 Orion (four P-3C for ASW & two P-3N for SAR) and its three Dassault DA-20 ECM aircraft with five P-8A Poseidon MPA. A320neo MPA concept unveiled earlier this year. Airbus image. During the Singapore Airshow held earlier this year, Airbus unveiled a (conceptual) military variant of its A320neo single aisle aircraft. One of the military variant is for maritime patrol mission (the other one for ISR). It is highly likely that Airbus has the German-French Maritime Airborne Warfare System" in sight when it unveiled the A320neo MPA concept earlier this year. Another potential MAWS candidate is the P-1 MPA from Japan. JMSDF picture. Another potential candidate is the P-1 MPA from Japan according to Reuters citing Japanese government sources. Discussion between the three governments began last year. Japanese officials also asked Kawasaki Heavy Industries , which makes the P-1, to discuss possible partnerships with Frances Dassault Aviation and Thales SA , said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the proposal but are not authorised to speak to the media. According to a French MoD fact sheet on MAWS program: Is the project open to other partners? Our logic of cooperation is indeed aimed at opening up our programs to other partners. However, it is first necessary to consolidate a Franco-German approach, facilitating subsequent analysis steps, as we propose for other projects. In this context, we are studying in a concerted manner what could be an observer status in such projects to facilitate subsequent integrations. Unethical and even criminal wrongdoing has badly damaged the reputation of this agency, Mr. OToole said, in explaining the censure. We will not go back to the way it was. The censure was unanimously approved, across state and party lines. Ms. Turner had abruptly resigned from her Port Authority seat last week after the video surfaced, making the public censure largely symbolic. Ms. Turner, like Mr. OToole, was appointed to the board by the previous governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, a Republican. The board also approved a referral of the matter to the New Jersey State Ethics Commission. Daniel J. Horwitz, a commissioner appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, said the referral was necessary because Ms. Turner, in a statement about the episode she released publicly, denied that she had violated the Port Authoritys code of ethics or had asked for special treatment. Anyone whos seen that video will agree that the conduct on that video is not only out of bounds for any public official, its out of bounds for any member of the public in respect to how they act with the police, Mr. Horwitz said. Though Father Conroy said he did not know whether politics were behind his departure, he pointed to a prayer he had given on the House floor in November, when Congress was debating tax overhaul legislation. May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle, he prayed. May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans. About a week later, Father Conroy said, he heard from the speakers office. A staffer came down and said, We are upset with this prayer; you are getting too political, he said. It suggests to me that there are members who have talked to him about being upset with that prayer. Shortly after, when he saw Mr. Ryan himself, Father Conroy said that the speaker told him, Padre, you just got to stay out of politics. That is what I have tried to do for seven years, Father Conroy said. It doesnt sound political to me. If you are hospital chaplain, you are going to pray about health, he added. If you are a chaplain of Congress, you are going to pray about what Congress is doing. Father Conroy said that was the only time anyone from the speakers office had ever chastised him for veering into the political realm. Ive never been talked to about being too political in seven years, he said. The Senate Ethics Committee severely admonished Senator Robert Menendez on Thursday for accepting gifts from a wealthy doctor while using his position as a senator to promote the doctors personal and financial interests. It also ordered Mr. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, to repay the market value of all improper gifts he has not already repaid. The admonition stems from the same actions for which Mr. Menendez was indicted in 2015. His trial in which the doctor, Salomon E. Melgen, was a co-defendant ended with a deadlocked jury in November 2017, and the federal government chose not to retry Mr. Menendez. In its letter of admonition, the Ethics Committee acknowledged that the trial did not result in a conviction, but wrote, The criminal system, however, neither enforces nor supplants the Senates rules or standards of conduct, and the committees action stands independent from that result. The committees three Republicans and three Democrats found that from 2006 to 2013, Mr. Menendez knowingly and repeatedly accepted gifts of significant value from Dr. Melgen without obtaining required committee approval and failed to publicly disclose certain gifts as required by Senate rule and federal law. The gifts included private flights and nights at luxury hotels, among them a villa in the Dominican Republic. WASHINGTON The White House announced on Thursday that President Trump will make his first visit to Britain on July 13, a trip the White House had repeatedly put off amid friction between the American president and one of the United States closest allies. Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after Mr. Trump took office, and said then that she had conveyed an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II for Mr. Trump to make a formal state visit to Britain, which the president accepted. But in the year since, the visit has become more like an on-again, off-again date, with a politically tricky back story to match. The July trip will be a working visit with Mrs. May, according to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, a downgrade from the kind of ceremonial state visit that was initially offered. Mr. Trump had been scheduled to visit London earlier this year to open the new American Embassy but abruptly canceled the trip with a message on Twitter in January in which he blamed the cost and location of the building. Both British and American officials speculated at the time that the president had scrapped the visit because of the risk of public protests that had threatened to embarrass both Mr. Trump and Mrs. May, who was doing her best to distance herself from him after statements Mr. Trump had made that some Britons considered deeply divisive. LOS ANGELES At 15, in the throes of a teenage rebellion, Debbi Domingo ran away from her mothers home in Goleta, Calif., a small town near Santa Barbara. Two weeks later, she returned home to a swarm of police cars in the cul-de-sac. Her mother and her mothers boyfriend had been brutally murdered after being tied up and beaten so badly that detectives were initially unsure of their identities. It was 1981 and the authorities struggled for any clues that could lead to a possible motive or suspect in the killing of her mother, Cheri Domingo, then 35, and her boyfriend Gregory Sanchez, 27. The police looked into possible drug use or unpaid debts. Officers questioned Ms. Domingos father for hours, chasing the possibility that he might have attacked his ex-wife. A conclusive answer did not come until three decades later, when a major break in a very cold case led to the arrest of Joseph J. DeAngelo, 72. Law enforcement officials consider him the Golden State Killer, who is believed to have committed more than 50 rapes and 12 murders. This not a club anyone really wants to be a member of, Ms. Domingo said Thursday, speaking by phone from her home in Lubbock, Tex. For her, learning that her mothers murder was part of a series of attacks was comforting in an odd sense, she said. From my perspective, when it was looked at as something totally isolated, its easy to feel very insignificant, like your case is easily forgotten. MEXICO CITY El Salvadors national legislature adjourned Thursday without voting on proposals to allow exceptions to the countrys total ban on abortion, thwarting the first challenge to one of the worlds toughest laws. The failure of the Legislative Assembly, El Salvadors legislative branch, to consider two proposals that would have allowed doctors to end pregnancies under limited conditions leaves intact the countrys two-decade-old ban on abortions. What appeared to be momentum a few weeks ago in favor of relaxing the law was defeated by an alliance of social conservatives and religious organizations who succeeded in convincing legislators in the final days that their vote could have a political cost. There are clearly people in leadership who defend this issue no matter what, said Johnny Wright Sol, an independent legislator who introduced one of the proposals to allow exceptions to the ban. Pointing to the powerful business groups that rallied against changing the law, he said, There is a lot more tolerance for corruption than there is for discussion on abortion. Outside the courtroom, where Ms. Constand testified that Mr. Cosby had drugged and molested her at his home in 2004, she has been reluctant to speak about the case. That may be due, in part, to the nondisclosure agreement she signed as part of her $3.38 million settlement she reached with Mr. Cosby in 2006. Last year, a judge ruled that Mr. Cosby could pursue a lawsuit against Ms. Constand based on two Twitter posts she wrote in 2014. (I wont go away, there is a lot more I will say, she wrote in one.) But as the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse has gained influence, women who have agreed to settlements with powerful men including Harvey Weinstein, Bill OReilly and Donald J. Trump have broken their nondisclosure agreements, arguing that speaking out was more important. Ms. Constands lawyer, Dolores Troiani, said by phone on Friday that she and her client were evaluating their options and the enforceability of the contract with Mr. Cosby. Obviously everyone in the world has sent me an email or text, but were just stepping back and seeing where were going to go, Ms. Troiani said, referring to the extensive media requests for interviews with Ms. Constand. I think were taking a breather, for one. At a news conference after the verdict on Thursday, Ms. Constand stood by, letting the Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin Steele, and Kristen Gibbons Feden, the special prosecutor on the case, speak about its importance. This ambivalence deepens Ms. Simmonss art and keeps it from falling into simplistic agitprop. Lauries work doesnt only look prescient, it looks current, said Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, which will host a Simmons retrospective next year, following its opening at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in October. The work has a way of touching cross-generationally on the construction of femininity, feminine sexuality and the role of women in todays world. It walks this very fine line between being playful and searing. As she progressed, Ms. Simmons broadened her vocabulary by acquiring new tools and props: color Cibachrome prints, rear-projected backdrops, digital manipulation. A fateful jump came in 2005-6, with the making of a 45-minute musical film, The Music of Regret, that gave movement and narrative to the dummies of her photographs. Meryl Streep (part of Ms. Simmonss wide-reaching network of friends) wore a black wig to portray the artist, and interacted with different avatars of the male ventriloquist dummy. An off-kilter hybrid, The Music of Regret is only partly successful, but it kick-started Ms. Simmonss dormant cinematic ambitions. After being on her mothers set, Lena Dunham wanted to make a movie, too: the result was Tiny Furniture, produced for $50,000. In it, Ms. Simmons played an artist who photographs miniature dollhouse scenes. The movie tracks with emotional accuracy what was happening in Lenas life at the time. One place that Ms. Simmons saw room for expansion and improvement was its depiction of her character, a midcareer woman artist. My Art, which was made on a budget of roughly $400,000, aims at a more multifaceted portrayal. Ms. Simmons plays a woman, stalled in her personal life and artistic career, who spends a month in a borrowed country house to regenerate. It is the artists passion for her work, not some halfhearted romance, that pulls her through. My Art is the most accurate depiction of an artists life Ive seen, the painter and writer David Salle said in an email. Laurie managed to catch the complexity, the loneliness and near-absurdity of it, as well as the tenderness. PARIS The young couple moved to the front of the crowd to look at the painting. After a few seconds, the woman turned around, smiled into her cellphone and took some selfies. Next, she handed her device to her husband, who took more formal shots of her in front of the work. The two then posed arm in arm for selfies together, turned to have a last brief look at the painting and moved away. Its too small, and its too crowded to get close to look at the detail, said the woman, Jeannie Li, 28, a financial analyst in Shanghai, unimpressed by her first sight of Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. I can see it better in a book or on the internet. The way the couple interacted with the 500-year-old painting exemplifies how differently the digital generation experiences art. Most of the roughly 150 people crowded around the painting at the Louvre were taking photographs of the piece, or of themselves in front of it. In the presence of the Mona Lisa, digital photography, more than looking at the actual artwork, has become the primary experience. Ms. Li and her husband, Steven, were in Paris for their honeymoon. Why had she wanted to visit the Louvre and see this particular artwork? Because its famous, because of its mysterious smile, and because I read The Da Vinci Code, Ms. Li said, referring to the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, which opens with the shooting of a curator in the museums Grand Gallery. Gerard Uferas, a photographer and a friend of Ronis, as well as the executor of his will, recalled in a recent interview how important political commitment was for Ronis: Willy used to say, As a man and as a photographer, I will die with my heart firmly on the left. Having spent much of World War II living discreetly in the South of France to avoid the roundups of Jews in occupied Paris, Ronis returned to the city after its liberation in the summer of 1944, and he started accepting assignments for publications such as New York Magazine and Life. He famously stopped working for New York Magazine, however, after it published a sneering caption with a photo he had taken of a trade unionist. Ronis was incensed, Mr. Uferas said. As a result, he started choosing very carefully who he worked for, in order to retain total artistic control. In many ways, the exhibition at the Carre de Baudouin, called Willy Ronis by Willy Ronis and running through Sept. 29, was curated by the photographer himself. Twenty years before he died, when he decided to bequeath all his works to the French state, Willy started going through every single one of the 26,000 or so pictures he took since the early 30s, and chose 590 of them as his visual testament, Jean-Claude Gautrand, another close friend of Ronis, explained in an interview. He neatly placed them in six albums, with a comment for each image. Abba has written and recorded new music together for the first time since the Swedish pop group split in 1982. In an announcement posted on the official Abba Instagram page, the four-piece group Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Bjorn Ulvaeus said it had recorded two new songs for a tour featuring digital versions of themselves. The hologram tour, which was announced in Oct. 2016, is a partnership with the American Idol creator Simon Fuller; no dates have been announced yet. The statement also mentioned a television special scheduled to air in December, which will feature one of the new tracks, I Still Have Faith in You. The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence, the group wrote. We all felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did. The group said returning to the studio felt like time had stood still and we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience! CLEVELAND When I told people in the classical music world why I was traveling here for a few days, mouths tended to drop open. There were bursts of awe-struck laughter. There was jealousy. Jesus, someone replied when I posted about my trip on Twitter, thats my idea of heaven. This heaven, ascended toward by Franz Welser-Most and the Cleveland Orchestra as an exclamation point on its 100th anniversary celebrations, is simple enough to name: a performance of Olivier Messiaens Turangalila-Symphonie on Wednesday evening, followed on Thursday by Wagners Tristan und Isolde. But what might seem straightforward was actually extraordinary even, perhaps, unprecedented. There are a lot of great, ambitious orchestras in the world; I dont know another that would have gone for what the Clevelanders did this week. TESTIMONY FROM THE FIVE ADDITIONAL WOMEN Ordinarily, prosecutors cannot introduce evidence or accusations of prior bad behavior. It is viewed as too prejudicial for a jury as it considers the facts of the single case before it. But here five women were allowed to describe their own encounters with Mr. Cosby. The judge did not provide a legal reasoning for his decision to allow five, compared with one other accuser he permitted to testify at the first trial, and the introduction of evidence like this has been allowed in other cases, but several experts said it is a likely target of the defense team. This is an enormous issue that is going to be argued on appeal, said Shan Wu, a former sex-crimes prosecutor in Washington. THE JUDGES REFUSAL TO RECUSE HIMSELF Defense lawyers had sought to have Judge ONeill replaced before the trial because the judges wife has been an active supporter of sexual assault victims. Judge ONeill would not recuse himself, and experts said higher courts have typically not viewed spousal affiliations as grounds for judicial recusal, but the defense could revisit the topic. THE DEFENSES INABILITY TO INTRODUCE EVIDENCE FROM SHERI WILLIAMS Ms. Williams, a friend of Ms. Constand, testified during Ms. Constands civil suit against Mr. Cosby. But Mr. Cosbys lawyers had sought to have her testify at the trial, and when they could not find her, they asked that her deposition testimony be read to the jury. Its unclear what the defense hoped to show with Ms. Williamss testimony, but The Associated Press reported that the defense thought it would show that Ms. Constand was not as unaware of Mr. Cosbys romantic intentions as she had indicated. The judge denied, reasoning that prosecutors had been unable to cross-examine the witness when she gave the deposition. Mr. Wu said the defenses inability to produce this witness may be something they emphasize on appeal, especially since the prosecution was allowed to bring five prior bad acts witnesses. THE JUROR WHO WAS KEPT ON Before the retrial started, the defense lawyers had asked to bar one of the jurors who had been selected to hear the case. They said the juror had been overheard by another prospective juror saying he thought Mr. Cosby was guilty. After several hours of discussion with both sides, Judge ONeill ruled that the juror could continue on the case, but he never made his reasoning publicly known. What happens to the civil suits? The review of Mr. Cosbys behavior is now likely to shift to the arena of the civil courts, where he has been sued by several women. Many of the women are suing him for defamation because, they say, he or his staff branded them as liars by dismissing their allegations as fabrications. The suits had mostly been delayed, pending the outcome of the criminal trial but are now likely to draw momentum from the guilty verdict. Mississippi authors have long stood their ground in the Souths competitive literary landscape. William Faulkner won a Nobel Prize in 1949 for his textured examination of aristocratic decay in small-town Mississippi. Eudora Welty was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her novels and essays. More recently, the National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward explored the dark moodiness of race and poverty along Mississippis Gulf Coast. Now they and a host of other literary heroes from the Magnolia State will be celebrated along the newly named Mississippi Writers Trail. This month, the Mississippi Arts Commission received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to set up a series of markers across the state to honor the contributions of its most prominent writers. The first place to be acknowledged will be the home of Ms. Welty, located in the Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson. She lived there from 1925 until she died in 2001, and it is where she wrote nearly all of her short stories, essays and novels, including The Optimists Daughter, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1973. The residence is now a museum for the authors correspondence and photographs. Sprint and T-Mobile are hoping to get it right this time. The two wireless carriers are nearing a deal to merge, according to two people briefed on the matter, and an announcement could come as soon as this weekend. The companies were at the bargaining table twice before, most recently last year. If a deal goes through now, it will create a wireless giant with more than 127 million customers large enough to challenge Verizon and AT&T, which have long dominated the market. As a result, three companies would control almost the entirety of the American wireless industry. A deal would allow both carriers to stay competitive as the costs of retaining subscribers rose and bigger rivals built out next-generation wireless networks. Service providers are preparing to spend billions to expand their so-called 5G infrastructure, money that Sprint and T-Mobile are harder pressed than the competition to spend. Sprint has about $32 billion in debt on its books, while T-Mobile generates a small fraction of the cash that Verizon and AT&T do. Having a choice has generally meant lower rates for customers. They can also tell their provider that they want electricity from climate-friendly sources, an option that proponents say has helped speed the construction of solar and wind farms. But that doesnt mean everyone is a fan. Critics of the San Diego plan backed by an affiliate of the local utility, the San Diego Gas and Electric Company have started a political-style ad campaign on social media, raising concern that taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars if the program went wrong. They have made the case that major changes to Californias energy policies gave rise to an energy crisis in 2000 and 2001 that caused rolling blackouts and soaring power bills. And they formed an alliance, the Clear the Air Coalition, that includes leaders of organizations funded by the power company, among them a group of African-American pastors. Thats when the campaign became more than Bishop George McKinney could stand. Bishop McKinney, pastor of St. Stephens Cathedral Church of God in Christ here for the last 55 years, said he believed that those attacking the program, including fellow African-American clergy members, were doing so only because of financial support from the utility company. I think that the inner-city residents are being taken advantage of, the 85-year-old bishop said. The cost of energy now is escalating in the community. There has to be someone who is willing to speak truth to power. WASHINGTON On March 29, Georgetown University Hospital opened a proton-therapy cancer unit that is expected to treat about 300 patients a year at premium prices using what its proponents promote as the most advanced radiology for attacking certain tumors. At the facilitys heart is a 15-ton particle accelerator that bombards malignancies with beams of magnet-controlled protons designed to stop at tumors rather than shoot through them like standard X-ray waves, mostly sparing healthy tissue. With the addition, Georgetown joined a medical arms race in which hospitals and private investors, sometimes as partners, are pumping vast sums of money into technology whose effectiveness, in many cases, has not yet been shown to justify its cost. Although most of the proton centers in the United States are profitable, the industry is littered with financial failure: Nearly a third of the existing centers lose money, have defaulted on debt or have had to overhaul their finances. Still, the thought of leaving the family home is the biggest stumbling block for many retirees. This is partly because they have grown accustomed to their house and also because they are rattled by the thought of moving into someplace smaller. A specialist in senior moving might be the answer to that problem. A cottage industry of these consultants has sprung up in recent years, and today the National Association of Senior Move Managers has more than 1,000 members. They dont just move boxes. Theyll create digital floor plans to show clients how everything will look and fit in a smaller home. Theyll ship leftover items to relatives or to auctions. Theyll even come into the new home and hang photos just the way they were before. Our goal is to re-create their old space, said Joel Danick, co-owner with his wife, Susie, of TAD Relocation in Maryland. The more familiar we can make the new space, the quicker theyll make the transition and get comfortable. Whats the secret to finding that comfort zone? People living in retirement communities agree that the best approach is to get out of your room, meet your new neighbors and allow yourself to enjoy their company. For the once-skeptical Mr. Strumsky, it took only days for him to start feeling certain that he and his wife, who is 72, had made the right decision. About a week after moving in at Charlestown, he went out to walk the dog at night and ran into a pair of women he didnt know who were chatting amiably in the parking lot. About 25 minutes later, he returned home and saw the same women, still talking. They were so unconcerned about their personal safety, they were oblivious to anything going on around them, Mr. Strumsky said. And it just hit me: I really wished my mother or my sister or my aunt could have had this experience, to feel that safe and secure. At that point, it was like a light bulb going on. It was an instant turnaround for me. In the draft, the agencies lay out eight different options for revising the Obama-era standards. The preferred course of action would freeze fuel-economy standards at 2020 levels for both cars and light trucks, greatly slowing progress in reducing auto emissions. The proposal also challenges Californias authority to impose its own vehicle standards. Currently, California has a waiver under the Clean Air Act to impose its own, stricter, air pollution regulations on cars and trucks to deal with problems like smog. But the administrations draft proposal argues that California cannot use this waiver to set standards on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles because that would be tantamount to regulating fuel economy, which states are forbidden from doing under a 1975 law. The auto industry has previously tried to challenge Californias greenhouse gas standards for vehicles on these grounds, but federal courts have so far rejected their arguments. Legal experts have said that, as long as California is regulating the pollutants that come out of tailpipes and not directly determining fuel economy standards, the state is on solid legal ground. The Trump administration has also signaled that it would consider rescinding Californias waiver altogether, although the draft proposal does not mention this. On Thursday, Mr. Pruitt told Congress that the agency was still in active discussions with California and had no plans at the present to revoke the waiver. In recent months, automakers have become increasingly nervous about the Trump administrations collision course with California. A group of automakers has requested a direct meeting with President Trump to urge the administration to avert a legal clash with California, which could plunge the auto industry into regulatory chaos, according to two people with knowledge of the automakers plans. A spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers was not immediately available for comment. Still, friends wondered if shed ever really find Mr. Right. Harry Eelman didnt seem like the one when he first showed up. In person, Mr. Eelman is calm and reserved. And, his images feature sometimes detached subjects, not apathetic so much as quietly comfortable in their own skin. Their styles, behind the camera and away from it, contrast in such a way that for the first time in a decade, Ms. Levitt was noticing someone who could finally tip the scales in her work-life balance. (Even as they remembered their romance, Ms. Levitt was scattershot, getting details wrong, laughing at everything, while Mr. Eelman remembered every detail, rarely raising the volume of his voice in the telling of their adventures.) I had focused so heavily on my work, she said, and because I love it, and because it brings me joy, and I like telling stories, and I like to hopefully do my part and give back to the world, and influence the world and change the world in any way through representation or through storytelling. I felt like I had to work extra hard because I was self-teaching myself along the way. And along came Mr. Eelman, with no agenda but to be open to whom she is. Harry surprised me, she said. It surprised me. I had been single for a very long time. Story Highlights Outlook for local economies worst in eight years 35% say living standards getting worse 25% of Tunisians express confidence in the country's national government WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tunisians head to the polls on May 6 to vote in the country's first municipal elections since President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was removed in 2011. Prior to the elections in 2017, Tunisians' assessments of economic conditions in the country reached record lows in Gallup's World Poll trends. Poor economic conditions have sapped the public's confidence in the national government -- and municipal leaders may also shoulder some of the blame on Election Day. Tunisians' perceptions of the current state of their local economy in 2017 hit a record low for Gallup's eight-year trend, with 15% saying it was getting better and half (50%) saying it was getting worse. There were substantial drops in optimism about the future economic conditions of Tunisians' local areas among both the top and bottom 20% of income levels from 2016 to 2017, suggesting an increase in economic pessimism among all levels of society. Economic Decline Reflected in Assessments of Standard of Living Tunisians' evaluation of their current standard of living largely reflects the growing economic malaise. Assessments of current standards of living fluctuated from 2009 to 2015, when worries about security receded and the economy became the primary issue for Tunisians. Since 2015, Tunisians' assessment of their standards of living has declined from 61% to the lowest point in Gallup's trend, 47%, in 2017. Tunisians are also pessimistic about the future of their standards of living, with a record low 23% of the country saying these were improving and record high 35% saying they were getting worse in 2017. Lack of Economic Progress Saps Tunisians' Confidence in Government Following Ben Ali's forced resignation in 2011, Tunisia experienced a period of unrest. During this time, Tunisians' confidence in their national government fell from 47% in the aftermath of the former president's departure in 2011 to 32% in 2013. The 2014 Tunisian national elections brought the Nidaa Tounes political party to power and resulted in improved public sentiment, with nearly half of Tunisians (48%) saying they had confidence in the government in 2015. Nidaa Tounes was able to improve the security situation in the country, though rather than improve confidence in the government, Tunisians' discontent shifted from security to economic concerns. While Nidaa Tounes attempted to improve the Tunisian economy by securing additional loans from the IMF and agreeing to develop a five-year plan to cut unemployment, there was apparently little improvement -- confidence in the government fell to 25% in 2017. As part of the IMF loan, the Tunisian government agreed to implement the austerity agreement and tax increases. This sparked a series of protests around the country, supported by Tunisia's main opposition party, the Popular Front. ##SPEEDBUMP## Implications Tunisians had been optimistic that Nidaa Tounes would improve the country's economy. However, that optimism has faded, as both economic measures and confidence in the national government have decreased. The imposition of the new austerity and tax law pushed Tunisians from dissatisfaction with their government and economy to protests and unrest. The Tunisian government under Nidaa Tounes has acknowledged that economic development has lagged behind. However, this acknowledgement has not bolstered Tunisians' confidence in the government. Nidaa Tounes is running candidates in the upcoming municipal elections and it is possible Tunisian's lack of confidence in the national government may be expressed in opposition to the party's candidates at the local level. Mathilde Lugger and Jihad Fakhreddine contributed to this article. Caitlin Oakley, a spokeswoman for H.H.S., said hiring Dr. Redfield was a rare opportunity to employ one of the worlds leading virologists. Dr. Redfield has over 30 years of experience as a groundbreaking scientist, academic researcher and clinician who has been a global leader in the fight against one of the most devastating diseases of our time H.I.V./AIDS, Ms. Oakley said. In Fridays letter, which was also sent to Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who is chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Senator Murray requested a briefing on the subject. She asked whether the agency made an extensive and exhaustive effort to find a director before deciding to pay Dr. Redfield under the special exemption. And she also asked for documentation of those search and recruitment efforts, including the descriptions of the job as a scientific position. Lawrence M. Noble, senior director of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit watchdog, also raised questions about the propriety of invoking Title 42 for Dr. Redfield. The news of his higher salary under the provision was reported earlier by The Associated Press. One of the points behind it was that the agency was not able to get these people unless they paid under Title 42, Mr. Noble said. It seems somewhat incongruous to have someone whos been trying to get the job for many years to be paid under it. The C.D.C. has to show that it had to do so to get him, and that it needed him for the job. The agencies did not supply the numbers of employees hired under the special statute, when asked about them on Thursday. A report by the Government Accountability Office in 2012 faulted H.H.S. for its use of the Title 42 program. The report said the agency does not have reliable data to manage and provide oversight of its use of Title 42. In over 15 percent of the cases examined, the G.A.O. said it was questionable whether people hired under the program were actually performing scientific tasks. In 80 percent of the cases studied, G.A.O. said that H.H.S. did not show that it had tried to recruit individuals for positions before invoking Title 42 to hire new staff. And that helped you tap into Marlos emotional state. Well, I thought I was just going to start with the physical transformation, and then I would get to her inner workings. And what ended up happening was very much like this character, and I think a lot of women. It really affects your mood and your brain when youre eating that much processed food and sugar, and for the first time in my life I went into a really, really deep depression. You co-parent with your mother, Gerda. Yeah, she lives right up the road from us and is very, very involved in my kids lives. And its a relationship thats very different from the relationship that I have with my kids. Its one that I dont think we talk enough about or value enough. We get so restricted in our thoughts of a mother and a father and what a family should look like, and we neglect other relationships like that of a parent, a grandparent and a child, a grandchild. And aside what it gives me, I just think my kids are going to be cool little dudes. Shifting gears, any thoughts about #MeToo and your own experiences with sexual harassment? I have definitely felt powerless in situations because of the power that some men in my career have placed in the space that I had to work in. Or even prior to working just trying to get a job or going out for an audition and having that feeling of: Oh, O.K., I get it. Youre letting me know that youre the boss in the room, and my dignity is maybe not so important in this moment. I feel in my core that theres something about this movement thats going to stick, and were just not going to go backward. I wish it was there 20 years ago when I started. I wish there was a way to speak about this stuff and not be judged or be shamed, or even just believed. You demanded and received equal pay to Chris Hemsworth in The Huntsman: Winters War. Ive had to put my foot down and say, Look, if were going to make another movie, then we have to do it fair. The problem is that I know that I am not representative in my industry, and what I can do is not necessarily what every other woman out there can do. They might have families that they have to feed, and the fear of being replaced makes it not a choice. Its those women that I want to help. And thats where we have to change things. The dream of the 80s (and also the 90s) is alive in Ready Player One. Steven Spielbergs gamified look at the future spends a lot of visual moments in the pop culture past. The film, based on Ernest Clines novel, is set in a dystopian 2045. Wade Watts (who goes by the avatar Parzival) and his friends pass the time plugged into the Oasis, the virtual reality universe where the Hotel Overlook from The Shining and the Iron Giant exist side by side. Mr. Spielberg relied on a frequent visual effects partner, Industrial Light & Magic, to help bring the Oasis to life. Video game references make up a big part of that world, but movie references also give fans plenty to parse, whether its the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the monster from Alien or the evil Chucky doll from Childs Play. The asset list on this film was daunting, insanely long and super complicated, the visual effects supervisor Grady Cofer said, referring to the list of effects needed. But for pop culture fans, it was this dream come true. And from the very beginning, what started happening was, artists would request to work on things. Someone would say, I would love to model the Iron Giant, or I love Gremlins or whatever. Mr. Cofer realized the production would be fueled by passion. Twenty years after Samuel Fullers death, his complete oeuvre is becoming available on disc one jolt at a time. The last of the remaining stragglers is the 1961 crime-syndicate classic, Underworld U.S.A., out on Blu-ray from Twilight Time. Its a movie of which the British critic V. F. Perkins wrote, every shot is a smack in the eye. Written, directed and produced by Fuller, Underworld U.S.A. initiated the luridly stylized, expertly crafted B-movies blunt and punchy as a tabloid front page that make up Fullers trilogy of despair. (The other two, Shock Corridor, from 1963, depicting America as a madhouse, and The Naked Kiss, from 1964, in which seemingly wholesome small-town America proves too corrupt for a retired prostitute, are available from Criterion.) Underworld U.S.A. asserts that the business of America is crime, something Fuller reinforces with a statement in the films original trailer, included as an extra. The crime syndicate is a giant corporation operating a legitimate business blandly named National Projects and protected by dishonest public officials and by skillful public relations. Set in a world in which feds and crooks, both equally coldblooded, work in equivalent skyscraper offices, Underworld U.S.A. globalizes the post-Kefauver Committee mob films of the 1950s. Its not just a single town but the entire country that is threatened by this quasi-military, community-service-oriented entity. The narrative arc owes something to The Big Heat, Fritz Langs 1953 film noir about an ex-cop who destroys a crime syndicate while avenging his wifes death. The protagonist of Fullers bleak world is not an F.B.I. man but a rogue safecracker, Tolly Devlin (Cliff Robertson), who is motivated by vengeance to bring down the criminals who killed his father. Herman Bell, who spent four decades in prison for the murders of two New York City police officers, was freed on Friday, after having been granted parole in March, officials said. The release of Mr. Bell, 70, ends a weekslong effort to keep him behind bars, including protests by the Patrolmens Benevolent Association and a letter from Mayor Bill de Blasio urging the state parole board to reconsider its tragic and incomprehensible decision. Murdering a police officer in cold blood is a crime beyond the frontiers of rehabilitation or redemption, Mr. de Blasio wrote in March to the boards chairwoman. In the end, the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said it would comply with an order a judge issued last week to free Mr. Bell, and on Friday evening, state officials said that he had been released. They said he would be supervised, for life, in Brooklyn. Jonathan Goldman, center, on the trumpet, often has gigs on Saturday nights with his band, Spanglish Fly. So if he gets the chance to sleep in on Sundays, he takes it. Credit... Joe Carrotta for The New York Times A: Since leaving Western Mass. and seeing more of the world, I now understand that part of my own desperation to get admitted to college came from not understanding that there is more than one path to success. Part of the scarcity model I grew up with taught me to believe I only got one shot. There are many ways to educate yourself. Q. You grew up with a single mother, sometimes struggling with homelessness, and you ultimately received scholarships to boarding school and Sarah Lawrence. What were the most difficult aspects of crossing over, from one world into another? A. It was shocking to me, in a wonderful way, when I got to Sarah Lawrence, to be in a place where people did not need to lock their doors. And not just because they werent afraid of people stealing, but because they werent afraid of who might come into their room at night. Suddenly I found myself in this foreign land of unfathomable safety, and plentiful resources. I had no bearings or examples of how to operate within it. Suddenly my day was supposed to be about getting to class, deciding what to wear, and doing homework, as opposed to worrying about how to get warm, where to find food later, or how to avoid someone threatening me or my mother with violence. And my language, my mode of being, was very foreign to the other students I met, who could not believe my utter fascination with the salad bar at lunch. Ultimately I made incredible friends and that institution changed my life, but it was a jagged beginning. I experienced panic attacks and PTSD. I felt ugly and isolated, because I did not know the culture of this place of luxury, or how to blend in within it. It wasnt until fairly recently that Ive accepted that this other life Ive built was not borrowed or temporary. Q. Transfers takes issue with the idea that poor students should be forced to produce reductive narratives of their challenging lives as a kind of poverty porn, for college admissions offices. How have you seen this play out? A. Privilege is often blind to the more subtle aggressions students face when they are asked to talk about their lives to the elite. I have seen and experienced the tokenism and exploitation of minorities in the admissions process in many parts of our country. When you come from an underserved community, for some reason people think your hard luck story is something they are owed for considering your application. It is just another aspect of our identities that these institutions seek to own, label and misuse, albeit unintentionally. I understand though, that it often comes from a genuine desire to help. But the incident didnt raise with us the idea that it needed to be reported further, Ms. Forshaw said. Weve told him he should just watch it, and not do that kind of thing, she said. The agency had written a memo about the incident, but it would not go in Mr. Kiyonagas file. If Ms. Gunning wanted to continue pursuing the complaint, Ms. Forshaw said, she could make a report of discrimination or retaliation with our affirmative action officer, the Division of Human Rights, the E.E.O.C. You could also, I guess, potentially make a workplace violence complaint, if thats what your concern is, Ms. Forshaw added. Under a 10-step procedure devised by the governors office for state agencies, internal complaints are supposed to be investigated by an affirmative action officer. But Ms. Gunning said she did not speak to the Justice Centers affirmative action liaison until after Ms. Forshaws call. Ms. Gunning contacted the liaison herself, and the liaison referred the complaint to the Governors Office on Employee Relations. Investigators there, working with the Office of General Services, determined the complaint was without merit, according to Christine Buttigieg, a Justice Center spokeswoman. (Ms. Gunning said she was never informed of the results of that investigation.) Ms. Gunning then approached the governors office directly. In an Oct. 26, 2017, letter to Mr. David and the governors secretary, Melissa DeRosa, she asked them to review her complaint, offering to share the recorded conversation. Mr. David replied to say he had referred her inquiry to the inspector general. That investigation is still open. Ms. Gunning said she had heard from the inspector generals office only twice since October. Ms. Papapetrous photograph had actually been taken years earlier and had been previously exhibited; by the time it landed on the magazine cover, Olympia was 11 and defended the image, saying that of the many she had made with her mother it was among her favorites. The photograph drew condemnation, including from Australias prime minister at the time, Kevin Rudd. The controversy came at a particularly bad time for Ms. Papapetrou: A few months before, she had received her initial cancer diagnosis. She eventually seemed to beat the disease, but it recurred in 2012, and her doctors told her she might have only weeks to live. More than five years later, she was still working. Her husband said she had organized her current exhibition, at the Michael Reid Gallery in Sydney, from her bed. WASHINGTON I lived for a long time in a France where nothing was possible. Not that the country did not change; it did, but France was more interested in resisting change in order to cling to what it had. Words like flexibility were suspect. They denoted the Anglo-Saxon model, as it was quaintly called, of a competitive labor market where people could be hired and fired. Moroseness became the badge of honor of a beautiful, seductive cant-do nation. This France meandered into the 21st century, a still significant but increasingly marginal power, when, out of nowhere, along comes Mr. Flexibility. He is young, hes restless, hes had it with the tired hypocrisy behind Gallic paralysis; and, almost a year ago, he sweeps to victory in a presidential election. His name, of course, is Emmanuel Macron. Watching him the other day, speaking on the record and without notes to a small group of journalists at the conclusion of a three-day love-in with President Trump, the thought that came to mind was: The world owes one to France, big time. Sure, theres an ego, and, sure, the flexibility the endless bobbing and weaving in search of solutions can lead Macron into on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand labyrinths. But the vanity is tied to purposefulness and the adaptability is not evasion of risk. Macrons strange friendship with Trump is itself risky: the American president is unpopular in Europe, and Macron flirts with being seen as Trumps poodle. Snuggling up to Donald can be a career-threatening move, as many people have discovered. Macron does not shy away from this danger because, in a world whose American-led order has frayed, keeping Trump from his worst America-first instincts is worth the fight (and coddling). Macron is playing the long game with an irascible Trump, whose views are not his. But the core reason I am participating is that years from now, I want to be able to look Ali, Karam and Adam in the eye and tell them, Your father was part of this historic, nonviolent struggle for our homeland. Western medias coverage of the Great Return March has focused on the images of young people hurling stones and burning tires. The Israeli military portrays the action as a violent provocation by Hamas, a claim that many analysts have blindly accepted. Those depictions are in direct contradiction with my experiences on the ground. Representatives of the General Union of Cultural Centers, the nongovernmental organization for which I serve as executive director, participated in planning meetings for the march, which included voices from all segments of Gazas civil and political society. At the border, I havent seen a single Hamas flag, or Fatah banner, or poster for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, for that matter paraphernalia that have been widespread in virtually every other protest I have witnessed. Here, we have flown only one flag the Palestinian flag. True, Hamas members are participating, as they are part of the Palestinian community. But that participation signals, perhaps, that they may be shifting away from an insistence on liberating Palestine through military means and are beginning to embrace popular, unarmed civil protest. But the Great Return March is not Hamass action. It is all of ours. And our action has been so much more than tires burning or young men throwing stones at soldiers stationed hundreds of meters away. The resistance in the encampments has been creative and beautiful. I danced the dabke, the Palestinian national dance, with other young men. I tasted samples of the traditional culinary specialties being prepared, such as msakhan (roasted chicken with onions, sumac and pine nuts) and maftool (a couscous dish). I sang traditional songs with fellow protesters and sat with elders who were sharing anecdotes about pre-1948 life in their native villages. Some Fridays, kites flew, and on others flags were hoisted on 80-foot poles to be clearly visible on the other side of the border. All this was taking place under the rifle sights of Israeli snipers stationed about 700 meters away. We were tense, we were fearful indeed, Ive been in the proximity of people getting shot and tear-gassed but we were joyful. The singing, the dancing, the storytelling, the flags, the kites and the food are more than symbols of cultural heritage. They demonstrate clearly, loudly, vibrantly and peacefully that we exist, we will remain, we are humans deserving of dignity, and we have the right to return to our homes. I long to sleep under the olive trees of Bayt Daras, my native village. I want to show Ali, Karam and Adam the mosque that my grandfather prayed in. I want to live peacefully in my historic home with all my neighbors, be they Muslim, Christian, Jewish or atheist. Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump loved to rev up his red-hat-wearing crowds with the refrain Drain the swamp. Those people knew that Washington is a marshy swamp filled with a corrupt, pay-to-play political class. Mr. Trump was going to fix that. But about 15 months into the Trump presidency, the swamp is still teeming with corruption. Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget and temporary director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, highlighted that fact at a recent conference of the American Bankers Association. Mr. Mulvaney is reportedly very close to President Trump. This week, in front of 1,300 bankers and lending officials in Washington, he said that when he was a South Carolina congressman, he would meet only with lobbyists who had contributed to his campaign. We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress, he said. If youre a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didnt talk to you. If youre a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you. You could be an alligator sunning on a rock and not get swampier than that statement. It was precisely that political game that Mr. Trump endlessly lamented on the campaign trail. For example, he said, Our system is also rigged by the donors giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Hillary Clintons campaign. But Mr. Mulvaney apparently used his status as a congressman to get money from lobbyists who wanted his ear. If they didnt give him money, they had no chance. If they did, their chances rose. That is pay-to-play if Ive ever heard it, and it runs contrary to everything Mr. Trump has said about the swamp. This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter each weekday. Well not be having this on the floor of the Senate. Thats Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, describing a bill meant to protect Robert Mueller from being fired by President Trump. McConnell has been forced to take this stand because in a rare display of Republican independence from Trump the Senate Judiciary Committee moved the bill forward yesterday. The vote was 14-7, with four of the 11 Republicans on the committee joining all 10 Democrats in support. Its not about Mr. Mueller, its not about Trump, Senator Lindsey Graham, who cast one of the yes votes, said. Its about the rule of law. And yet the bill will not pass will not even get a vote because of the obstinacy of McConnell. Or at least thats the story that you may have read in virtually every media outlet yesterday. The full truth is a bit different. To the Editor: Re Leaders of Two Koreas Meet (front page, April 27): It is a fair question to ask right now if the famous doomsday clock has just been set back a minute or two from striking midnight. The leaders of the two Koreas, Kim Jong-un of the North and Moon Jae-in of the South, are engaged in a meeting of historic proportions. Another fair question to ask is what the role of President Trump has been in facilitating and encouraging this meeting. Of course, Mr. Trump in his typical fashion claims great credit for this union, but is it deserved? Well, I think that history may just show that it is. President Trumps very tough talk and even tougher economic sanctions against the North Korean regime may prove to have been pivotal in getting Mr. Kim to move. I never thought that I would feel that a policy begun by President Trump would warrant praise, but sometimes we have to break out of the bubble generated by our political ideology and try to see reality as it is. But that didnt mean students and professors vanished once exiled. Instead, I watched institution after institution simply pass the trash a term for what happens when schools let reportedly abusive faculty flee elsewhere, without alerting their new employers to the allegations against them. Teachers quietly moved from high school to high school; professors covertly transferred colleges. I watched the same dynamics play out among students when I reported on a college admissions consultant who helped expelled young men put what she called their best spin on misconduct allegations so that they could go back to school, their new classmates none the wiser. Readers were horrified: one campus activist wrote a letter in response, describing the relief she felt when her own college assailant was expelled, how glad she was that he would not be able to harm her again. The activist concluded my rapist is not my responsibility. A more than fair point. But then whose responsibility is he? In 2014, I profiled some of the young men who had been kicked off campus for sexual misconduct, and found many had grown increasingly resentful and closed off to change. At first I thought they didnt want me to participate in campus activities, one told me. Then I thought they didnt want me to graduate. Now they dont want me to have a job or be part of society. Do they want me to commit suicide? Is that what they want me to do? What is the endgame? Ive thought a lot about these questions as #MeToo has unfolded, and especially these past few weeks as celebrities have floated the prospect of comebacks. Let me be clear: Theyre doing it very wrong. Mr. Rose should be donating millions of dollars to domestic violence shelters, not planning a star-studded return to TV that leverages his transgressions to boost his career. But #MeToo is supposed to reckon with the misdeeds of all men, not just the rich and powerful. Bad men are not just on our TV screens, but in our classrooms, our workplaces, our friend circles, even our families. Where should they go if theyre fired from their jobs, expelled from their schools, kicked out of their homes or shunned by their communities? #MeToo is also supposed to reflect a spectrum of coercive behavior, not just crimes that should lead to prison sentences. Bill Cosby is one thing; but many women dont want the V.P. of sales who got too handsy at the Christmas party to be banished forever, let alone go to prison. If theyre faced with what looks like no other option, will women be more likely to report him, or less? Theres a reason schools and companies opt to pass the trash: Its by far the easiest option. Businesses get to say theyve protected their workers or students (and evade liability in the process). And perhaps more important, it allows them to dodge very real and difficult questions: What do we want from abusers? Under what terms should they be allowed to return to normal life? Is there a way to explore possibilities of redemption that dont put more of a burden on the people harmed in the first place? North Korea doesnt have enough food, it lacks Facebook and Beyonce, and its diplomats have to ration their use of computers in the Foreign Ministry because of electricity shortages. But North Korea excels at choreography and theater, and its officials are well educated, very savvy, and agile with a pirouette. So we have peace breaking out on the Korean Peninsula and President Trump gets some credit for that. As with any circus performance, its amazing to behold but not quite as billed. As Kim Jong-un stepped into South Korea on Friday the first North Korean leader to do so lets acknowledge that he has played a weak hand exceptionally well. Kim is now aiming to squirm out of sanctions, build up his economy and retain his nuclear arsenal, all while remaining a global focus of attention. Its a remarkable performance. North Korea expert is an oxymoron, but from someone who has been covering the country since the 1980s, heres my take on why we should be deeply skeptical and yet relieved, even a bit hopeful. Dr. Rosenthal was an emergency room doctor before becoming a journalist. Ever since the American Hospital Association created its first Patient Bill of Rights in the early 1970s, medical centers, professional associations and states have been adapting it or creating their own. They are featured on websites and included in admissions packets, and adorn hospital walls. But most of these documents are relics, responding to the concerns of a bygone era, like the right to understandable information concerning diagnosis, treatment and prognosis and to a smoke-free environment. (Smoking has been forbidden in accredited hospitals for more than 25 years.) If the cost of treatment is mentioned at all, it often squeaks in at the bottom. Consider how Johns Hopkins puts it: The patient has the right to ask for an estimate of hospital charges before care is provided. Note: not to receive one. Today patients worries are financial as much as medical. Twenty percent of people with insurance say they have trouble paying their medical bills, a figure that rises to above 50 percent for the uninsured. In an era when patients are told to be better consumers of health care, they need a Financial Bill of Rights, too. As a conservative, the words strike, union not in my vocabulary. Our students deserve to have a fully funded education. I did vote for Trump. I consider myself a Bible-believing Christian. Ive always been a fan of fiscal conservatism. Ive always voted Republican, but now Im seeing firsthand what that gets us. The classrooms are falling apart. We have festering bathrooms. We have cockroaches. We have tattered textbooks. Teachers arent getting the resources that they need within the classroom. A wave of protests sweeping across the country, led by teachers who say the future of public education is at stake. Teachers and specifically public-school teachers really arent valued. I have to work 15 to 20 extra hours a week at McDonalds for minimum wage. Teaching is my calling. I love teaching music to children. Thats who I am. And people say, if you dont like the money, go do something else. I cant. Im 53 years old. Im doing what Im supposed to do. I know that I will have to work until the day I die. I wont be able to afford to ever be retired. Because of the way that the state has chosen to fund education for the last 15 years, its simply made it untenable for me to stay. Im not leaving teaching. I am leaving the state because of these issues. I dont believe its going to get fixed. I just dont. We are 43rd across the nation in teacher salary. This is why were going to restore additional assistance. Im not bragging on 43rd. Im just saying were not last. So were not just striking for a higher salary. Were striking for resources for our classrooms and for our students. We are at the bottom of the pile for the states. Weve seen teachers walking out or striking in West Virginia, in Oklahoma and some other states successfully. And we realized that we were worse off than some of those states were, and it just grew like wildfire. Teachers are riding a growing wave of anger over deep education cuts made by Republican- led legislatures. [chanting] The teacher protests have been described by some as a red-state revolt. Ive said Im on the side of the teachers, and Ive been listening, and weve been working. This will result in a net pay increase of 20 percent by the beginning of school year 2020. So, on the surface, that sounds amazing. It wont help substitutes, it wont help our aides. It wont help our nurses, our front staff. It comes out of funds that go to veterans, people in our population who are disabled and on Medicaid, colleges and universities in our state. I voted for Governor Ducey and I was really hopeful. And now, honestly, I just feel betrayed. How can you say youre pro-life, and pro-family, and pro-middle class? Even as a conservative, I think its only fiscally responsible to increase a tax to fund public education. Oh my gosh. Did I just say it out loud? I do. I support a tax. I will tell you this right now, if you are a Republican politician, you better get behind education. Ive been on my feet for five hours, waiting on people, sweeping, mopping. I probably wont get to bed until 12:30 or 1 oclock tonight. And then Ive got to be back up at 6 or 6:30 tomorrow morning. Good night. This gets you to the bench of elected officials. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from New York, is a whirlwind of Big Ideas of late. She just unveiled a financial first step for paycheck-to-paycheck Americans: a plan to require every post office to offer basic banking services an alternative to predatory payday loans. She is coldbloodedly #MeToo, having shoved her former colleague Al Franken and the Clintons under the bus. And she has gotten ahead of the one-note socialist Senator Bernie Sanders on the idea of a job guarantee for everyone who wants to work. The problem there is cost (up to a half-trillion dollars, by some estimates) and the bureaucratic nightmare it could create. Gillibrand is swinging for the fences, even if she did the least well of major Democrats against Trump in recent polling. Much of the partys energy is coming from the Sanders wing; Sanders himself will be 79 on Election Day 2020 and he is not getting any less cranky. But dont overlook the enthusiasm generated by the Texas Senate candidate Beto ORourke or Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana. Theyve stood up for the basic right of health care, and against the wrong of more tax cuts for the rich foundational positions favored by a majority of the country. Another prospect is the Senates resident vegan, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Hes got some Wall Street problems and is less populist than the mood of the country. But he has terrific political skills; he wouldnt need a slogan like Stronger Together. In the same class is the rookie Senator Kamala Harris of California. Shes sharp, dynamic, with the right balance of ego and intellect. But how would a California liberal play in Scranton, Pa.? That brings us back to Scranton-born Biden. A new study suggests that fear of cultural displacement was a greater driver for Trump voters than economic anxiety identity politics for aging white males. It would seem to take some of the working-class-savior reasoning out of Uncle Joes candidacy. Women at risk of giving birth prematurely have their weight checked at El Hospital de La Mujer in San Salvador, El Salvador. The countrys total ban on abortion leads to an immediate suspicion of women whose pregnancies do not end with a healthy baby. Credit... Fred Ramos for The New York Times Dec. 20, 2017: Heading into the holidays. The new buyers upstairs are upset that the board has not yet approved their remodeling plans. Their plans include A/C lines running up to the roof through the shaft. It feels like an end run by a new player. They issue a litigation hold letter to the board five days before Christmas. (I have not done any shopping yet.) What is a litigation hold letter? Board members are not allowed to delete emails or use a shredder because our new neighbors may be planning to sue, and they might need the material. The letter from their lawyer says, We have reason to believe that you have documents and materials in your possession, custody or control that are relevant to claims that may be asserted against you and others. Really? For the record, I have complied. Naturally, I am thinking of Hillary. Lesson learned on deleting emails. I no longer want to be president of this co-op board. I no longer care if anyone likes me. And they are welcome to my emails. I have saved every last one. Jan. 5, 2018: Note to self: Never go against your instincts. A majority board vote on spending for the A/C project will not end this story. A special shareholder meeting has been called for Jan. 15 to vote on ousting three of us from the board. (I am one of the three.) Half of my neighbors have signed. No reason is given, but one neighbor tells me over the phone that she does not want to pay anything for the A/C project. Jan. 8, 2018: At first, I try writing a treatise on the need for communication, keeping the tone light. I am explaining we are all at fault in our own unique ways. And then, w-h-a-m-o! A new legal threat from another neighbor arrives by email. This one seeks to block the proposed air-conditioning plan. And it names a majority of the board, including me, as individuals alleging breach of fiduciary duty and self-dealing saying the costs of the plan are not fair to those who have already paid for their own central air-conditioning systems. It also says the plan violates the neighbors lease agreement, because it would involve work in her apartment that is not a repair. If you live in a co-op, eventually you may be asked to pay for a building improvement that does little to improve your apartment or your life. Maybe balconies need repair, but your apartment does not have one. Maybe the building needs a new elevator, but you live on the first floor, or use a different bank of elevators than the ones in disrepair. Or maybe you already have central air-conditioning in your apartment and do not want to pay for a project that would allow the rest of your neighbors to have it too, as happened in a small co-op in the far West Village of Manhattan, where a three-bedroom apartment is currently listed for $4.5 million. The dispute, chronicled in an essay by Kathleen Hughes, led to Ms. Hughes, who was president of the board, stepping down before she could be voted out for supporting a proposal in which all the shareholders would shoulder some of the costs of installing central air-conditioning. Several shareholders and board members spoke to a reporter for this story to offer their views and to corroborate the sequence of events, but they requested that their names be withheld to protect the identity of the co-op. Mr. Bemelmanss father, an Austrian hotelier named Lampert, left his mother and his governess, Gazelle, when they were both pregnant with his children, for another woman. Gazelle later committed suicide, leaving Franciska, 24, to take care of her son for the first time. She told him stories of her own childhood, spent in a convent school that her son reimagined as an old house in Paris that was covered in vines. He was always in trouble, and when he reached adolescence, his mother sent him to work for his Uncle Hans in a series of hotels, including one where he said he had a fateful encounter. The headwaiter at that hotel was a really vicious man, and I was completely in his charge, Mr. Bemelmans told The New York Times in 1941. He wanted to beat me with a heavy leather whip, and I told him that if he hit me I would shoot him. He hit me, and I shot him in the abdomen. For some time it seemed he would die. He didnt. But the police advised my family that I must be sent either to a reform school or America. The departures by way of detention and deportation that I see on the news, wrenching scenes of love being pulled apart, hit a delicate spot in me and make me ache. My heart once housed similar fears of separation. He and I first smiled at each other one night almost 20 years ago in Cafe Remy, a favorite downtown Manhattan spot for the areas financial workers. With the humid August air making his dark thick hair a cherubic mess, I thought, Hey, Angel Boy, you look so cute. Where did you get that crazy hair? I was feeling happy and bold because I was finally free from my previous boyfriend, who had broken up with me but kept me tethered with claims of I love you and I miss you and I just need time. He failed to mention that he needed time to pursue someone else. I spent the next few months rolling around on my floor, drinking wine and crying into my journals. But in his absence, I started to understand how stifled I had been with someone who was happiest staying at home with his computer and television shows. In social situations with my friends, he always seemed adorably awkward, until the day he said, Im not shy. I just dont want to expend my energy on them. Each week, Kevin Roose, technology columnist at The New York Times, discusses developments in the tech industry, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here. Hello again! I write to you this week from my underground bunker, deep below The New York Timess headquarters, where Ive gone to avoid all news about Kanye Wests political views. As usual, there was some Facebook news during the week: The company reported strong first-quarter earnings and user growth, showing that not even a global privacy freakout can keep those sweet, sweet likes and shares coming. The companys chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, pulled the short straw and got stuck on crisis cleanup duty this week, testifying in front of a cranky British parliamentary committee. And in Washington, the company was the subject of a House Judiciary Committee hearing that featured the pro-Trump internet celebrities Diamond and Silk who accused Facebook of politically motivated censorship and that I avoided covering for the sake of my mental health. Facebooks continued dominance shouldnt be a shock. The companys customers are advertisers, not users. And as long as Facebook is still working for advertisers in other words, as long as the company is able to deliver targeted ads with a better return on investment than any other platform except, possibly, Google theres no reason for them to go elsewhere. Brittany Oswell suddenly felt ill about three hours into her flight from Hawaii to Texas. She was dizzy, disoriented and slurring her speech. Then she briefly fainted. A flight attendant on the American Airlines flight in April 2016 tracked down a doctor on board who examined her. She may have had a panic attack, the doctor said. But it soon became clear her condition was far worse. About an hour later, Ms. Oswell, 25, collapsed in a lavatory, defecated and vomited on herself, and threw up on flight attendants who had come to check on her. The doctor returned and this time issued an urgent request to the flight crew: The pilot must land the plane immediately. The frenzied efforts by her husband and the doctor to save Ms. Oswell, who died three days later in a hospital of a pulmonary embolism, were detailed in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed this month by her family against American Airlines. The lawsuit alleges that the airline was negligent and ultimately contributed to her death because the pilot did not heed the doctors pleas to divert the plane and an onboard defibrillator and blood pressure monitor were faulty. Travel operators bill Cancun and the adjoining Riviera Maya on Mexicos Caribbean coast as carefree beach escapes with something for everyone from spring break partyers to families. But a wave of violence, linked to rival drug gangs, threatens travel in the region like a storm hovering on the horizon. The local news site Noticaribe reported 14 murders in Cancun over a 36-hour period in early April, continuing a pattern of violence reported last summer. Gun deaths have also occurred in Playa del Carmen, the biggest town on the Riviera Maya, about 40 miles south of Cancun. Travelers have not been targeted in these crimes, but a bomb that detonated in February on a ferry linking Playa del Carmen with the island of Cozumel, a popular cruise port, injured more than two dozen passengers, including tourists. It prompted the Department of State to issue a travel ban on the ferry route for government employees. Reuters later reported the bomb was a homemade device believed to be unrelated to terrorists or organized crime. Since then, Mexican authorities have strengthened security around the ferry as well as the ferries that run between Cancun and Isla Mujeres, including adding metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs. The American government subsequently dropped its ban on ferry travel. The guilty verdict against Bill Cosby was hailed by some as long overdue. Not just because his victim, Andrea Constand, first reported that he had sexually assaulted her 13 years ago, but also because, as a lawyer for other Cosby accusers put it, women were finally believed. Getting there required surmounting significant obstacles: a victim who waited a year to report the crime and gave two different dates for the attack, a prosecutor who declined to bring the case, a new district attorney who raced against the statute of limitations and, finally, a first trial in which the jury could not agree. That was before a series of revelations that caused a seismic shift in public awareness of sexual assault by powerful men. And this is after. But those who know the legal system best say the verdict is not the bellwether that many would like. Criminal convictions in sexual misconduct cases where the victims and the accused knew each other will remain exceedingly hard to get. Neither Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul, nor Russell Simmons, the music producer, has faced criminal charges, despite investigations into allegations against each of them. James Toback, a film director who has been accused by scores of women of sexual misconduct over decades, will likely never face arrest because the statute of limitations has expired. Welcome to Gender Letter a weekly take on news, trends and culture by The Timess gender editor, Jessica Bennett. Want this delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. You can also follow us on Instagram. Dear readers, In the first trial, only one of the more than 50 women with stories so similar to the case at hand was permitted to take the stand. In the first trial, the jury questioned why all these victims hadnt spoken up sooner. In the first trial, the jury deliberated for six days and remained deadlocked. And Bill Cosby, the once-beloved comedian charged with drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, remained free. Free to perform, in January, at a Philadelphia jazz club, where he joked about his struggles with blindness and played drums with a quartet. In the Hart household, any act of insubordination could be severely punished. The children knew this all too well. They are like trained robots, one worried caller told the authorities, according to the newly released documents, which describe the familys dynamics. We called them like little soldiers, one former neighbor said of the children. In the weeks since the crash, searchers have fanned out along the Pacific coastline looking for the bodies. They have found those of the parents Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38 and four of their six children: Markis, 19; Jeremiah, 14; Abigail, 14; and Ciera, 12. As of last week, Devonte Hart, 15, and Hannah Hart, 16, were still missing, but feared dead. [Jennifer Hart's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit at the time of the crash.] Captain Greg Van Patten, a spokesman for the Mendocino County Sheriffs Office, said Friday that the office had no additional updates and was operating under the theory and the belief that the whole family was together at the time of the crash. The documents released this week show that child welfare officials in Minnesota, Oregon and Washington State three states where the Harts lived during the past seven years knew of reported abuse, but, in one case, apparently stepped aside after completing their assessment; could not gather enough evidence to corroborate the claims of neglect in another; and, in a third case, learned of the allegations too late. MOSCOW The Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower in June 2016 on the premise that she would deliver damaging information about Hillary Clinton has long insisted she is a private attorney, not a Kremlin operative trying to meddle in the presidential election. But newly released emails show that in at least one instance two years earlier, the lawyer, Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, worked hand in glove with Russias chief legal office to thwart a Justice Department civil fraud case against a well-connected Russian firm. Ms. Veselnitskaya also appears to have recanted her earlier denials of Russian government ties. During an interview to be broadcast Friday by NBC News, she acknowledged that she was not merely a private lawyer but a source of information for a top Kremlin official, Yuri Y. Chaika, the prosecutor general. I am a lawyer, and I am an informant, she said. Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general. Speaker Paul D. Ryans abrupt decision to dismiss the House chaplain triggered an uproar on Friday over religion, pitting Republican against Republican and offering Democrats a political opportunity in a year already moving their way. Mr. Ryan moved quietly two weeks ago to remove the chaplain, the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy so quietly that some lawmakers assumed the Catholic priest was retiring. But in an interview on Thursday with The New York Times, Father Conroy said he was blindsided when Mr. Ryan asked him to resign, and suggested politics specifically a prayer he gave in November when Congress was debating a tax overhaul may have been a factor in the speakers decision. Father Conroy prayed then for lawmakers to guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans. Shortly after, he said, he was admonished by Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, who is also a Roman Catholic. Padre, you just got to stay out of politics, he recalled the speaker saying. As reports of the dismissal circulated in the Capitol, some Republicans, in a closed-door meeting on Friday morning, demanded an explanation from Mr. Ryan, while Democrats commandeered the House floor in a boisterous, if unsuccessful, attempt to force the House to investigate Mr. Ryans decision. WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Trump, that tried to narrow the authority of the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. The judge said that Mr. Manaforts suit, which argued that the special counsel had exceeded his authorities by investigating Mr. Manaforts past business dealings in Ukraine, was not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future. The ruling by the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, is a blow to a central part of Mr. Manaforts defense strategy. The suit filed in January taking direct aim at both Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, and Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed him argued that the charges against him are unrelated to Mr. Muellers primary task of investigating whether any of Mr. Trumps associates assisted Russias campaign to disrupt the election. Mr. Manafort is facing dozens of charges of money laundering, bank fraud, tax evasion and failing to register as a foreign agent in connection to work he did for years on behalf of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine who was an ally of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Court documents say that Mr. Manafort used millions of dollars he received for the work to fund a lavish lifestyle filled with expensive homes, cars and designer suits. But the majority report said that the intelligence case for attributing the email theft to Russians was significant and that it had found no credible evidence, including in still-classified intelligence reports, supporting the alternative theory of an insider. Pro-Trump Statements Are Portrayed as Credible and His Opponents With Skepticism The Republican report was often skeptical in tone about statements and testimony by people who put forward information that could be damaging to Mr. Trump, and more credulous about statements in his favor. For example, when discussing Mr. Steele, the Republican report uses suspicious terms, like saying he claimed to have obtained his allegations from purported high-level Russian sources. But when discussing testimony by witnesses who explained away various meetings with Russians, the report instead presents what they said with neutral terms, like stated, or uses words connoting the idea that they were acknowledging a truth. One example of that concerns testimony by Rob Goldstone, who helped set up the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and Russians. He wrote in an email to Donald Trump Jr. that the visitors wanted to provide damaging information about Mrs. Clinton that was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. But Mr. Goldstone later told Congress that he had no evidence supporting that statement, saying he had embellished his email with inaccurate information to get a response. The report says Mr. Goldstone admitted this exonerating account. An Attack on Leaks, and James Clapper The Republican report is scathing about leaks to the news media that have brought to light various information about Trump-Russia contacts. Against that backdrop, it declares that James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, gave inconsistent testimony about his discussions of the so-called Steele dossier with Jake Tapper, the CNN anchor. (Many news outlets had copies of the dossier but did not report on its existence because they were unable to verify its contents. But in January 2017, CNN reported that intelligence officials had briefed Mr. Trump, then the president-elect, about the dossier, and BuzzFeed published it shortly after.) The Republican report said that Mr. Clapper initially denied discussing the dossier with journalists but subsequently acknowledged having discussed it with Mr. Tapper and admitted possibly talking about it with other reporters, too. The Democratic report portrays this passage as written to smear Mr. Clapper with a dark insinuation, saying it promotes a narrative that former Obama administration officials, such as Clapper, leaked classified or sensitive information to the media. The Democratic report notes that the dossier was not classified. It also provides an excerpt from a transcript of Mr. Clappers testimony. It shows that he was asked whether he had discussed the dossier or intelligence related to Russia with journalists and replied no. But then, asked whether he confirmed or corroborated the dossiers contents to Mr. Tapper, Mr. Clapper acknowledged discussing the dossier with Mr. Tapper but said that was when it was out all over the place. The transcript is ambiguous about whether that meant they discussed it before or after CNN reported the briefing. WASHINGTON President Trump on Friday hailed the historic summit meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea, and declared that in his own planned talks with the North he would not be fooled the way he said his predecessors had been on dismantling its nuclear weapons program. I dont think hes playing, Mr. Trump said of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, speaking with reporters in the Oval Office before a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. The United States has been played beautifully, like a fiddle, because you had a different kind of a leader, Mr. Trump went on. Were not going to be played, O.K.? Were going to hopefully make a deal; if we dont, thats fine. Mr. Trump spoke after a groundbreaking meeting between Mr. Kim and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea in the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South. The two leaders agreed to work to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and, within a year, pursue talks with the United States to declare an official end to the Korean War, which raged from 1950 to 1953. WASHINGTON President Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany made no attempt on Friday to hide their disagreements over the future of the Iran nuclear deal and trade relations between the United States and Europe after a day of White House meetings that appeared to have produced no breakthroughs on major disputes. Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel, who have had a chilly relationship from the start, steered away from the kind of awkward confrontations that have characterized past meetings, going out of their way to compliment each other and accentuate areas of agreement. But Mr. Trump pressed his complaint that the trade relationship between the United States and Europe was unfair, and Ms. Merkel made clear that the president had not made the commitment she was seeking permanently exempting the European Union from the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed in March. We need a reciprocal relationship, which we dont have, Mr. Trump said, standing beside Ms. Merkel at a news conference in the ornate East Room of the White House. The chancellor and I have discussed it today at length, and were working on it. And we want to make it more fair and the chancellor wants to make it more fair. Ms. Merkel, alternating between looking serious and perplexed as Mr. Trump spoke, said he had given her no preview of what he might decide regarding the tariffs. In the middle of a September night in 1975, an unknown intruder tried to abduct a teenage girl in Visalia, Calif. When the girls father intervened, the criminal shot him dead. The killing of the man, Claude Snelling, was shocking and brutal, but mentioned only briefly on the back page of Fresno City Colleges student newspaper. An eight-paragraph write-up about the shooting, which occurred about 45 miles from campus, appeared just below a story about a new hit movie called Jaws. Image Credit... Fresno City College Rampage Mr. Snellings death marked an escalation in a series of offenses attributed to someone known alternately as the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist and the Golden State Killer. The crimes continued for more than a decade burglaries, homicides and rape after rape after rape and soon dominated the pages of California newspapers from Los Angeles to Sacramento. NAIROBI, Kenya The first Kenyan entry ever nominated for an award at the Cannes Film Festival will debut in France in two weeks but it is now illegal for Kenyans back home to watch it. The Kenya Film Classification Board on Friday banned the film, Rafiki, a drama about two Kenyan girls who fall in love. Ezekiel Mutua, the boards chief executive officer, said the film legitimizes homosexuality against the dominant values, cultures and beliefs of the people of Kenya. Mr. Mutua said the film boards ruling did not represent a ban on homosexual content. Homosexuality is a reality, he said. What we are against is the endeavor to show that as a way of life in Kenya. In the film, directed, written and co-produced by Wanuri Kahiu, the girls are separated by their communities, which oppose their relationship. BEIJING A man wielding a knife killed nine children and injured 10 others outside a middle school in central China on Friday, the authorities said, in one of the worst attacks at a Chinese school in recent years. The episode took place shortly after 6 p.m., officials said, as students were being dismissed at the Mizhi County No. 3 Middle School in Shaanxi Province, about 500 miles southwest of Beijing. The police said they had taken into custody a suspect, a man with the surname Zhao, born in 1990. They said the man was a graduate of the middle school and that he had told the police he was seeking revenge because he was bullied during his time there. He attacked students because he hated the students there, said a statement by the Mizhi County police posted on Weibo, a popular microblogging site. Among the skeptics is Mr. Trumps new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who made a secret visit to Pyongyang over Easter weekend to try to gauge Mr. Kims sincerity. Last summer, it was Mr. Pompeo, then still the C.I.A. director, who argued that the only way to deal with North Korea was to separate Mr. Kim from his weapons, a comment some interpreted as advocating regime change. On Friday at NATO, on his first full day as secretary of state, Mr. Pompeo suggested for the first time that the North Korean leader was ready to deal. I did get a sense that he was serious, he told reporters. The economic pressure that has been put in place by this global effort that President Trump has led has led him to believe that its in his best interest to come to the table and talk about denuclearization. Yet talking is different from denuclearizing. And talking about denuclearizing is hardly new. The North promised the same in a 1992 agreement, and many in Seoul, the Souths capital, wondered then if the nightmare of living under the constant threat of artillery barrage was about to end. In fact, the agreement reached on Friday picks up language from the 1992 accord, and has similar provisions about reuniting families separated during the Korean War and nonaggression agreements. Little of it happened. There were two agreements with the George W. Bush administration, each described at the time as breakthroughs. Since then the North has amassed 20 to 60 nuclear weapons, up from zero when those commitments were made. HONG KONG The meeting between North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea offered a rare opportunity to hear Mr. Kim speak spontaneously, without the filter of his nations state news media. While much of the discussion between the two leaders was not revealed, South Korean officials did describe some. These are among their comments during Fridays meeting on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone. Now you are here in the South, and I wonder when I can cross over to the North, Mr. Moon said when Mr. Kim crossed the border and they shook hands. Why dont you now? Mr. Kim said. He took Mr. Moon by the hand and they crossed over a low concrete slab that marks the border. They stood in North Korea, shaking hands for a few seconds, before returning to the South. Mr. Kim found a moment to make light of his countrys missile and nuclear tests, which have caused such deep concern in recent years. I heard you had your early-morning sleep disturbed many times because you had to attend the N.S.C. meetings because of us, Mr. Kim said with a smile, referring to the security council. Getting up early in the morning must have become a habit for you. I will make sure that your morning sleep wont be disturbed. Now I can sleep in peace, Mr. Moon replied. In one conversation, Mr. Kim made reference to several delicate points in relations between the two sides. On my way here I saw that those who had been nervous about any shelling from the North Korean Army including the Yeonpyeong Island residents, North Korean defectors and displaced people do have high hopes for our meeting today, he said. Mr. Kims mention of Yeonpyeong Island refers to a 2010 attack from the North that killed two South Korean marines and two civilian construction workers. The displaced people is a reference to Korean families who were separated during the Korean War. I look forward to making the most of this opportunity so that we have the chance to heal the wounds between the North and the South, Mr. Kim added. The demarcation line, which is in fact not high, may disappear with many people stepping on it and passing over it. Mr. Moon mentioned a recent bus crash in North Korea that killed 32 Chinese tourists and four North Korean workers. He made his first film, I Killed My Mother, a Freudian-tinged, semi-autobiographical film about a gay teenager who clashes with his mother, after he dropped out of college at 17. As one producer after the other rejected it, he scraped together money from his child-acting gigs to make the film himself, at age 20, eventually winning international acclaim. When he later noted wryly that Orson Welles, who made Citizen Kane at 25, was a late bloomer, the critics pounced, and he turned to Twitter to explain that he had been joking. Im a big mouth. People can dislike me and think Im a narcissistic brat, he said. But one thing no one can ever take away from me is that Ive always spoken my mind, and I have always been true to myself. As we meet, he is the subject of a social media storm over his decision to cut the American star Jessica Chastain from his soon-to-be released film, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, his first English-language film. The movie focuses on an 11-year-old boy and his unlikely correspondence with a closeted actor that is contorted into scandal. (When he was 9 years old, Mr. Dolan wrote a letter to Leonardo DiCaprio, requesting a meeting. He got the address wrong, and it is now framed in Mr. Dolans house.) In the deeply moving film, shot in London, Montreal, New York and Prague, the boy, now a grown man, tells a hard-bitten journalist about how Donovan, torn between fame and personal fulfillment, had changed his life. The original cut of the movie, which stars Kathy Bates, Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon, and has added cultural resonance in the #MeToo era, was more than four hours long. Eliminating Ms. Chastain, he says, was predicated solely on her character no longer fitting the story line. People are saying: How can you cut someone so famous? he said. To me, thats an insult to her talent. Born in Montreal, Mr. Dolan was raised by his single mother, Genevieve, a college administrator with Irish roots. He began appearing in commercials for a drugstore chain at the age of 4, and by the time he was 6 he was a child star, appearing in movies, television shows and commercials. LONDON The anti-vaccine movement has come for the pets. A spreading fear of pet vaccines side effects has prompted the British Veterinary Association to issue a startling statement this week: Dogs cannot develop autism. The implicit message was that dog owners should keep vaccinating their pets against diseases like distemper and canine hepatitis because any concerns that the animals would develop autism after the injections were unfounded. The warning has a long tail. It grew out of an anti-vaccine theory that rippled across the United States and Europe as networks known as anti-vaxxers claimed that childhood vaccinations could cause autism. The belief, promoted by some celebrities like the television personality Jenny McCarthy, who says her son has autism, spurred many parents to begin boycotting traditional vaccines. The theory gained prominence in 1998, after a study published in the medical journal The Lancet purported to show a link between autism and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. It caused a firestorm in health circles and among parents, resulting in a significant drop in vaccination rates for children in Britain. BRUSSELS On his first full day as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo traveled to Europe and delivered a warning that leaders here have come to dread: President Trump will soon pull out of the Iran nuclear deal unless major changes are made. Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal, he is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May, Mr. Pompeo said of Mr. Trump. Mr. Pompeo said that Mr. Trump had not made a decision on the accord, but Mr. Pompeos itinerary on his first overseas trip as the nations chief diplomat a stop here at NATO headquarters and others in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan in the next three days suggested that he was preparing allies for a likely decision by Mr. Trump to pull out of the deal. This week, President Emmanuel Macron of France predicted that Mr. Trump will get rid of this deal on his own for domestic reasons. Mr. Trump has set May 12 as his deadline to announce his choice. GAZA CITY For weeks, Palestinians protesting along the fence between Gaza and Israel have conjured up the idea of swarming across the barrier, a mass of tens of thousands of people too numerous for Israeli soldiers to arrest or even to shoot. And Israelis have been worrying aloud about what their soldiers would do in response. On Friday, both sides got a small sense of what that could mean when hundreds of Palestinians, urged on by a Hamas leader in a fiery midafternoon speech, rushed the security barrier at the eastern edge of Gaza City and tried to cross into Israel. Dozens made it through a barbed-wire barrier about 30 yards inside Gaza territory, deploying wire cutters, hooks and winches. Israeli troops opened fire with a mix of live ammunition and rubber bullets, killing three people and wounding nearly 1,000 more, according to Gaza health officials. He has resisted entreaties to join the United Nations-backed unity government in western Libya, and he has positioned himself as the only leader with the strength to rule Libya, which plunged into chaos after Colonel Qaddafi was ousted in 2011. To achieve that goal, General Hifter has wavered between agreeing to elections and threatening to march on Tripoli, the seat of the unity government. His mysterious absence in recent weeks, which started when he flew from Jordan to France to treat an undisclosed medical condition, was seized upon by critics who speculated on his possible replacement. He has no obvious successor, and there has been speculation about a possible power struggle whenever he gives up power. Instead, his return seems to have left him still firmly in control. Waiting for him on the tarmac in Benghazi were senior commanders, lined up in a show of unity intended to scotch rumors of division within his top ranks. In a television speech after he was seen in video footage walking from his plane, General Hifter dismissed talk of his ill health as nonsense. He joked about whether he should stand in order to prove that he did not need a wheelchair. Top: The lobby of the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia. Bottom: the Kanawha River; downtown Charleston. CHARLESTON, W.Va. To its critics here, the needle exchange was an unregulated, mismanaged nightmare a mini-mall for junkies and drug dealers in the words of Danny Jones, the citys mayor drawing crime into the city and flooding the streets with syringes. To its supporters, it was a crucial response to an escalating crisis, and the last bulwark standing between the region and a potential outbreak of hepatitis and H.I.V. When Charleston closed the program last month after a little more than two years of operation, it was the latest casualty of a conflict playing out in a growing number of American communities. At least seven other such exchanges have closed in the past two years, even as dozens of others have opened. Needle exchanges dispense sterile syringes to drug users and give them somewhere to discard their used syringes safely. Often, as in Charlestons case, an exchange will offer supporting services, too: on-site medical care, hepatitis/H.I.V. screening, counseling and connections to drug treatment. They were once a largely urban phenomenon. But the opioid crisis is changing the landscape. After an H.I.V. outbreak among injection drug users in Scott County, Ind., in 2015, health officials opened many exchanges in suburbs, rural areas and small cities in more conservative parts of the country. Some of these communities have had second thoughts. Syringe exchanges in the United States Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harm Reduction International, North American Syringe Exchange Network Public health experts now find themselves relitigating questions that in their view were settled decades ago, while political leaders worry that harm reduction that is, mitigating the risks from drug use means enabling drug use. The research is unambiguous: Needle exchanges reduce the spread of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis C and H.I.V. and do not increase drug use. Theyve been shown to reduce overdose deaths, decrease the number of needles discarded in public places and make it more likely that drug users enter treatment. They also save money: One recent study estimated that $10 million spent on needle exchanges might save more than $70 million in averted H.I.V. treatment costs alone. Health experts say the programs create relationships between deeply addicted people and the health care system, an essential step if they are to be reintegrated into society. Its the most low-threshold way for people who use drugs to have contact with any kind of public health professional, said Alex H. Kral, an epidemiologist with RTI International, a nonprofit research organization. And thats a powerful intervention. Yet needle exchanges also called syringe exchanges or syringe services programs have struggled to gain public acceptance in the United States, which still lags far behind many countries in their adoption. According to the North American Syringe Exchange Network, 333 such programs operate across the country, up from 204 in 2013. In Australia, a country with less than a tenth as many people, there are more than 3,000. People who inject drugs per syringe exchange Includes O.E.C.D. countries of at least 10 million residents for which there is data on the number of operational syringe services programs. For each country, the number of people who inject drugs is an estimate. The years of these estimates differ. Sources: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Harm Reduction International A gateway to treatment in Charleston When Dr. Michael Brumage began working as director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in August 2015, the lessons of Scott County were on his mind: He was determined to bring a syringe exchange to Charleston. The exchange opened four months later with broad support from local government, law enforcement and the wider community. I was really impressed by the thoughtfulness that went into planning the program and the care that went into making it effective at all levels, said Daniel Raymond, the deputy director of planning and policy for the Harm Reduction Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group. He said he had considered the Charleston program to not only be a huge success story but also a potential model for other communities. Dr. Michael Brumage began working as the director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department determined to open a needle exchange. The only way to address the opioid epidemic is to engage the people who are using, he said. This might have been its downfall: It was too successful. At its busiest, 483 drug users passed through the exchange in just eight hours in a city of 50,000 people. Nobody expected the numbers to grow so rapidly, said Brenda Isaac, the president of the Kanawha County Board of Health, who explained that the pace left little room for individualized, focused care. As the health department struggled to manage the crowds, it began to hear more complaints from law enforcement about discarded needles. By the summer of 2017, the initial enthusiasm for the exchange among city officials was waning. In early 2018, news accounts of a 5-year-old girl accidentally stuck with an uncapped syringe in a McDonalds bathroom captured public attention. A local TV segment described Charleston as buried under Needles Everywhere. Weekly visitors to Charlestons harm reduction program Visitors to the health department exchange increased steadily since it opened. Source: Kanawha-Charleston Health Department For the mayor, the location of the exchange made its existence untenable. It was housed in the health department building, a squat brutalist structure across the street from the gleaming, newly renovated civic center. The civic center a $100 million development project was intended to be the linchpin of a revitalized city. We can do that, Mr. Jones said, gesturing to pictures of needles sitting in front of him, or we can do this, he said, holding up a piece of paper where hed outlined his administrations economic development deals. The mayor is in recovery himself an alcoholic, he says, 24 years sober and father to a son who has struggled with heroin addiction. He argues for prescription heroin, saying it should be provided to people where it can be used safely under supervision. He just wants those services far from Charleston, and definitely far from the new civic center. I understand recovery, Mr. Jones said. Im in it myself, and I believe in it. But I dont believe we have to destroy a city over it. The location of the needle exchange, as seen from the steps of the newly renovated civic center. In early March, the mayor began using his daily radio show to rally public sentiment against the health department, citing discarded needles and rising crime that he attributed to what he saw as a weekly influx of people using drugs. Last month, the police chief imposed new rules on the program, loosely based on those used by a much smaller exchange run by West Virginia Health Right, a clinic nearby. Participation would be limited to people who could prove with picture ID that they lived in the county. Testing for hepatitis and H.I.V. would be mandatory. Needles would be dispensed only in strict one-for-one trades. Public health experts condemned the measures. An ID requirement would be prohibitive for many people, said Mr. Raymond, particularly for the quarter of the programs patients who are homeless. And strict one-for-one exchange goes against decades of public health research that shows greater flexibility to be a better policy. I would rather close down the needle exchange altogether than follow those rules, said Dr. Dan Ciccarone, a professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. This is really truly backwards. Hours after the chiefs announcement, health department leadership suspended the syringe exchange rather than comply with the new regulations. The mayor of Charleston, Danny Jones, rallied public sentiment against the syringe exchange program. The people on the council who are pushing this they would never accept it in their own neighborhood, he said. Drug users caught in the middle In the middle of this dispute are the estimated 3 percent to 4 percent of Charlestons residents who inject drugs, typically heroin or meth. Trent Farr, 54, says he has cancer and is homeless. He has lived in Charleston almost 26 years and has multiple medical problems, many related to chronic drug use. I go through more pain in a day than some people do in their entire lives, he said while waiting for the Crossroads Shelter to begin meal service. I hate I absolutely hate using needles, Mr. Farr said, explaining that his drug use is the only thing he has found to mute his pain. For him, the health departments closing changes everything. Amber White, 24, agreed. Now people have to go out and rob and steal to get points, she said, referring to unused needles. She said that when the exchange was running, unused needles became so plentiful that people could afford to give them away. Now that theyre becoming scarce again, she said drug users would face a choice of either sharing them or resorting to crime to get money to buy unused ones. With sterile syringes harder to find, Ms. White worries about contracting H.I.V. or hepatitis, both of which she has managed to avoid to her surprise despite heavy drug use. Twenty-six percent of the injection drug users looked at by the health department tested positive for hepatitis C. Counties at risk of an H.I.V. outbreak C.D.C. researchers identified 220 counties in the United States that are most vulnerable to an outbreak of H.I.V. associated with injection drug use. Many, including Kanawha County, are clustered along the Ohio Valley and in Appalachia. Based on hepatitis C infection rates, overdose mortality, opioid sales, buprenorphine availability and county demographics. Source: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Both Mr. Farr and Ms. White expressed frustration at what they said were the small minority of users who left discarded needles in the open. If I see them laying on the ground, Ill pick them up and throw them away, Ms. White said. Because, you know, I think its nasty and I use drugs. So I cant imagine what it looks like to somebody that doesnt even use. Fears of the next H.I.V. outbreak The harm reduction program remains active in Charleston, but is now seeing only a dozen clients each week for counseling, H.I.V. testing or medical care. The relationship between the health department and the city has become toxic, to the point that the mayor and city officials have spoken openly of dismantling the department altogether. Its our health department, said Paul Ellis, the city attorney. We created it. We can make it disappear. For the health department, the needle exchange was a way of getting drug users in the door, exposing them to medical care, keeping them connected to the community and giving them hope. The only way to address the opioid epidemic is to engage the people who are using, Dr. Brumage said. These are modern-day lepers that no one wants to see or touch. The syringe services program was a place these people could go and be treated like real human beings. It included Australian corporate partners Kylie Lane and Simon Fraser; tax partner Ian Kellock; employment partners Jane Harvey and George Cooper; environment partner Robert Jamieson; IP/TMT partners Kellech Smith and Tim Brookes; property partner Andrew Gay; finance partners Michael Sloan, Simon Irvine, and Kenneth Nguyen; insurance partner Rehana Box. Partner Kensuke Inoue led the Tokyo team. Global corruption keeps rising despite U$11bn in fines Bribery and corruption continues to grow in companies around the world with even heavy fines failing to deter wrongdoing. A new survey from EY shows that there has been no improvement in since 2012. Despite regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world imposing more than US$11b of financial penalties since 2012, 38% of global executives still believe bribery and corrupt practices remain prevalent in business. The lack of improvement in global levels of corruption over the last six years shows that unethical behavior in business remains a daunting challenge, despite intensified global enforcement, says Andrew Gordon, EY Global Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services Leader. The survey shows that, while at board level there is a high level of intent for integrity, leaders need to ensure that they develop and maintain a culture of integrity throughout their organisations. Jose Arno Appolo do Amaral, the mayor of Alvorada, a city in Brazils Rio Grande do Sul state, recently became a popular meme in his country after a photoshopped picture of him and his subordinates seemingly inspecting a municipal construction site went viral online. The photo showing mayor do Amaral, and his deputy Valter Slayfer at a dredging site in Alvorada was originally posted on the official Facebook page of the Alvorada Municipality, along with a long caption detailing the visit. The two officials had allegedly overseen part of the operation and had declared themselves satisfied with the work of the hydraulic dredger. Only people soon became suspicious of the photo, which showed Amaral and Slayfer in the distance, flanking the site supervisor. The two officials position in relation to the road they were supposed to be standing on, as well as their color compared to the rest of the photos just seemed odd, so Facebook users started sharing it and questioning its authenticity. Photo: Magno Derlon / Alvorada City Hall As the photo went viral and people actually started created memes of Jose Arno Appolo do Amaral and his deputy photoshopped into all kinds of settings, the photo was taken down by the Alvorada Municipailty, without any sort of explanation. It was a case of too little too late, though, as the photo had already been circulating online for a while, and it actually made matters worse, as the media started snooping around after the photo was removed. Photo: Magno Derlon / Alvorada City Hall Contacted by local newspaper Correio do Povo , the director of communication of the Alvorada Municipality, Celso Dornelles, denied that the photo had been tampered with in any way, but failed to explain why it had been deleted from the municipalitys official Facebook page. Instead, he insisted that the dredging works had indeed been executed, which no one had ever disputed. Photo: Nao Ta Morto Quem Peleia However, the dodgy Photoshop job was so obvious that, when contacted by the press, even mayor do Amaral said it looked fake. He added that he had no involvement in its creation and publication, and that it was probably the work of an over-enthusiastic intern. Although an internal investigation will probably be launched, the Alvorada mayor promised that whoever was responsible for this misstep will not be fired. In fact, do Amaral may even give them a raise. Photo: Doutor Atollo/Facebook On the bright side, Im becoming very popular online, maybe Ill even run for senator soon, the official jokingly told Guachazh Porto Alegre. Photo: Doutor Atollo/Facebook Jose Arno Appolo do Amaral is one of the trending memes in Brazil right now, and even has several Facebook page dedicated to photoshopping him and his deputy in all kinds of hilarious settings, from the moon landing to famous paintings. Photo: @ToSempreCansada/Twitter This isnt the first time weve seen officials turn to Photoshop in order to deceive the public. A couple of years ago, authorities in St. Petersburg, Russia, did it twice in the span of just one month, to show that they had fixed public infrastructure, when in fact they hadnt. 12-year-olds get into arguments with their parents all the time, but most of them just storm off to their room to cool off. Not Drew (made-up name), a boy from Sydney, Australia, who, after a fight with his mother, stole her credit card, got on a plane and flew to the island of Bali for an unforgettable 4-day vacation. Drews name may be fake for privacy reasons, but his incredible story is not. After a quarrel with his mother, Emma, the 12-year-old boy decided it was time to do something drastic, and a vacation to the familys favorite holiday destination, Bali, seemed like just what the doctor ordered. Only this time, he would go all by himself and experience the freedom of being alone in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, at his parents expense. For that, he needed his mothers credit cards and a way to board a plane without having to answer too many questions. Sounds like a tall order, but this kid had it all figured out. Photo: Adrian Pingstone/Wikimedia Commons Coming up with a plan to fly off to Bali doesnt sound like something your average 12-year-old could pull off, but then again, Drew doesnt sound like an average 12-year-old. Using his smartphone to do some research, this clever little boy figured out that he didnt need to be accompanied by an adult to board an aeroplane to Bali. Several Australian airlines only required a signed letter from his parents, a valid passport and his student ID. So he somehow tricked his grandmother into giving him his passport, and after borrowing the family credit cards, he grabbed his backpack and told everyone he was going to school. Only he took a train to the airport instead, where he had already booked a flight to Perth. From there he would get on another plane to Denpasar, Bali. He had already booked a hotel there as well, so as long as he could get to his tropical destination, he was in for some fun and relaxation. A 12-year-old travelling to Bali all by himself was bound to draw some attention, so to ensure his plan wouldnt get thwarted, Drew made sure to interact with as little airport staff as possible. He avoided check-in counters by booking himself in via the self-serve option, and since he only had a hand luggage, he headed straight for the boarding gates. Photo: Matthias Ripp/Flickr Interestingly, Drew claims that in Australia, no one asked him anything about why he was unattended, or where his parents were, even after learning he was only 12. The first time anyone asked him if he was alone was in Bali. An immigration officer asked him where his mom was, and he just said she was outside. That was that. For the next four days, Drew partied like most 12-year-olds can only dream. He stayed in a nice hotel, got people to serve him beer he hated it and even rented a motorcycle, even though he didnt have a license. He was living the dream and spending thousands of dollars of his parents money in the process. Back home, Drews parents had obviously realized that he wasnt in school and had reported him missing. They were worried sick, and police had no leads, but the boy ended up giving up his location by sharing some photos and videos of his Bali exploits on social media, which allowed authorities to track him down. Photo: Ed Johnson/Flickr Emma and her husband rushed to Bali to recover their missing son. Ironically, they were stopped in Perth by the same company that Drew had used to fly to the tropical island, and told they couldnt go because they didnt have a return ticket. You can only imagine the outrage the two parents felt knowing that the same airline had allowed their son to fly out of the country without as much as a question. But they signed a waiver and went to get Drew. The 12-year-old is now safely back at home. He says he feels a bit embarrassed by all the commotion hes caused, not to mention spending AUD$8,000 ($6,115) of his parents money in the process. I wanted to go on an adventure, he reportedly said. Drews unbelievable adventure was featured today on 9News A Current Affair. A young Chinese doctor was recently set free after spending three month in jail for claiming that a certain brand of medicinal wine was toxic and couldnt cure heart disease and arthritis, as the manufacturer claimed. It all started last December, when Guangzhou-based physician Tan Qindong published a short article on Chinese social media platform Meipian, stating that the popular Hongmao Medicinal Wine was not only toxic, but also ineffective in treating serious heart conditions and arthritis, as advertised by the manufacturer. His post apparently drew a lot of attention, as Hongmao soon filed a defamation lawsuit against the 39-year-old doctor, claiming that it had maliciously discredited the brands reputation and had caused significant financial losses of as much as 1.4 million yuan ($223,000). Photo: Tan Qindong, before and after jail On January 10, 2018, an unsuspecting Dr. Tan was taken from his home in Guangzhou by police, taken to Inner Mongolia where the maker of Hongmao is based 2,300 km away, and thrown in jail without actually being charged. According to a police document quoted by Red Star News, Hongmao complained that the doctors article, titled Chinese magic pharmaceutical liquor is a toxic substance from heaven, had been widely shared online and had resulted in two pharmaceutical distributors and seven individual customers returning the medicinal wine and asking for refunds. Police considered the article clear proof of defamation, so they arrested him. Dr. Tan Qindong spent three months in a jail thousands of kilometers away from home, and was only released last week, after news of his arrest went viral, sparking uproar on Chinese social media. Lawyers, doctors and state-run news outlets started asking how a company known for exaggerating advertising claims could convince police to arrest someone simply for calling into question the benefits of its product. Photo: Hongmao Medicinal Wine Hongmao Medicinal Wine is the main export of Liangcheng County in Inner Mongolia. It contains 67 plant and animal ingredients, including leopard bones, and is supposed to relieve ailments like painful joints, frail kidneys, and weakness and anemia in women, as well as help cure heart disease. However, this is only according to the theories of Chinese traditional medicine, and has not been scientifically verified. Dr. Tan was recently released from jail on a sort of bail, due to pressure from the media and the general public, but the investigation has not yet ended, and his lawyer has said that there is a change he could be arrested again. In an interview he gave recently, the 39-year-old physician talked about the nightmare of being jailed, but also made it clear that he does not regret writing the article about Hongmao Medicinal Wine. Honestly, that time was not for humans. Every day I slept beside the toilet, every day I ate two and a half pieces of steamed bread. There was no freedom, Dr Tan said about his jail time, adding that he even considered suicide at one point. It was right to write this essay, he told Beijing News. You must speak the truth a couple of times in your lifetime, and especially if a doctor doesnt speak the truth and lets these ads about miracle cures run rife, theyll hurt even more people. For now, Dr. Tan Qindong is being hailed as a hero, and Hongmao, the company that tried to silence him, is already feeling some backlash. Many drugstores in China have taken down the medicinal wine from their shelves to avoid angering customers. Known as Sea Nomads, the Bajau people have wandered the waters of southern Asia for thousands of years, living in house boats and free diving for fish. Theyve long been known for their ability to stay underwater for long periods of time, but until recently, no one really knew how they were able to keep their breath for so long. According to a recently published study from Cambridge University, the Bajau people have 50 percent larger spleens than their land-dwelling neighbours, which plays a key role in how long they can stay underwater. It plays a key part in whats known as the human dive response or dive reflex, preferentially distributing oxygen to the brain and heart, and enabling submersion for long periods of time. As the heart rate slows, blood is directed to the vital organs, and the spleen contracts to push oxygenated red blood cells into the circulation. In an average person, the spleen can boost oxygen levels by 9 percent, but even more in the case of the Bajau, due to its unusually large size. Photo: Ronnie Puckett/Flickr Theres not a lot of information out there about human spleens in terms of physiology and genetics, but we know that deep diving seals, like the Weddell seal, have disproportionately large spleens, lead study author Melissa Ilardo said. I thought that if selection acted on the seals to give them larger spleens, it could potentially do the same in humans. Ilardo, who embarked on this groundbreaking research for her PhD, spent several months with the Bajau, in Jaya Bakti, Indonesia, conducting ultrasound scans and taking genetic samples, and comparing them with their land-based neighbours, the Saluan. Analysis showed that the Bajau have permanently enlarged spleens that dont get bigger only when diving. DNA analysis revealed that the Bajau have a gene called PDE10A, which is lacking in the Saluan. Scientists believe that it is gene that alters the Sea Nomads spleen size by adjusting thyroid hormone levels. Photo: Torben Venning/Flickr We believe that in the Bajau they have an adaptation that increases thyroid hormone levels and therefore increases their spleen size, Melissa Ilardo said. Its been shown in mice that thyroid hormones and spleen size are connected. If you genetically alter mice to have an absence of the thyroid hormone T4, their spleen size is drastically reduced, but this effect is actually reversible with an injection of T4. The Bajau people do not dive competitively, so its hard to say precisely how long they can remain underwater, but their free-diving ability is legendary, with one diver telling Melissa Ilardo that he could stay submerged for around 13 minutes at a time. They can spend as much as 60 percent of their day underwater, diving up to 230 feet (70 meters), using only some weights to help them descend faster and a pair of rudimentary wooden goggles. Its hard to say if the Bajaus diving abilities can be attributed solely to their unusually large spleens, but this study suggests their evolved organs definitely play a big part. The Bajaus evolutionary adaptation sounds very much like that of the Moken people living along the coasts of Burma and Thailand. Known as Sea Gypsies, they have developed superhuman underwater vision that helps them gather tiny shellfish and other food from the ocean floor at depths as low as 75 feet. A head-teachers union in the UK recently reported that youths have become so accustomed to using digital devices that they are having trouble correctly reading time on analog clocks, forcing schools to replace them. According to Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders, children and young teens arent as good at reading an old-fashioned clock as previous ones. Because phones, tablets and computers play such a huge role in their lives, they are constantly exposed to time in digital format, so seeing the time displayed in analog format in examination halls can be a cause of unnecessary stress for children. For this reason, some schools are removing analog clocks and replacing them with digital ones. Photo: GabrielleMerk/Wikimedia Commons The current generation arent as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations, Mr Trobe, a former headmaster, told The Telegraph. They are used to seeing a digital representation of time on their phone, on their computer. Nearly everything theyve got is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere. Until now, it was assumed that by the time students reach secondary school, they are able to read analog clocks, but Mr. Trobe claims that this is often not the case anymore. His experienced is shared by other teachers, who recently took to social media to complain about this issue. For example, Stephanie Keenan, head of English at Ruislip High School in north-west London, said that her school decided to replace analog clock in exam halls with digital ones, after it became clear that some year nine, ten and eleven students had difficulties reading an analog clock face. Photo: SJu (cs:SJu)/Wikimedia Commons Cheryl Quine, a head of department at Cockermouth School and chair of the West Cumbria Network, said that some children at her school couldnt read analog clocks in exam rooms either. It may be a little sad if youngsters coming through arent able to tell the time on clock faces, Malcolm Trobe said. One hopes that we will be teaching youngsters to read clocks, however we can see the benefit of digital clocks in exam rooms. To make matters worse, earlier this year, a senior pediatric doctor warned that young children are finding it increasingly difficult to use analog writing tools like pencils and pens, due to being exposed to phones and tablets all the time. Photo: Elke Wetzig/Wikimedia Commons To be able to grip a pencil and move it, you need strong control of the fine muscles in your fingers. Children need lots of opportunity to develop those skills, head pediatric occupational therapist Sally Payne said. Its easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes. Because of this, theyre not developing the underlying foundation skills they need to grip and gold a pencil. All we can do is hope that modern technology never fails, otherwise were in big trouble. A mother-of-three from the UK reportedly performed the worlds first DIY breast implant removal at home, because she couldnt stand her F-cup breasts anymore and wouldnt get on the health services waiting list. 14 years ago, Tonia Rossington, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, underwent a breast-enlargement procedure in Brussels, which increased her bust size from 36B to 36F. At the time, she felt her large breast looked natural, but a few years later, she lost a lot of weight and she began to hate them. She thought they looked ridiculous and couldnt bare the thought that she was stuck with them for the rest of her life. So she started weighing her options, and somehow eventually decided that the best thing to do was to remove the implants herself. Photo: Wikimedia Commons I would cover them up, wear tight bras and high-necked tops. But the last two years I got really serious about wanting them out, the 49-year-old woman told British media. They affected me mentally and physically. I was constantly trying to cover them up. A year ago, after learning that a private operation to have the implants removed would cost her 3,000 ($4,200) which she couldnt afford Tonnia wrote to her doctor, telling him that the implants were causing her mental health problems and that she was considering taking them out herself. The UKs National Health Service (NHS) only performs the operation for free in severe cases, like if the implants rupture or there is excessive scarring. And even so, patients have to get on really long waiting lists, something Rossington really didnt want to do. So she started thinking more seriously about a DIY operation. First, she started googling it, and learned that only one other woman had attempted it before, and she had managed to get out one before passing out and being rushed to the hospital. But that didnt discourage her. The Metro reports that she looked up tutorials on how to do the operation at home, then bought a $1 cutter and decided to get it done while her husband was at work. Photo: Evam Amos/Wikimedia Commons I went upstairs, I got the mirror in front of me. I sat there for a while and thought Id just cut a little bit to see if it hurts, Tonnia recalled. I put the ice underneath where the original scar is. I lifted my boob up and held the ice there for five minutes until I couldnt bear it any longer. After a bit I pinched the skin and I couldnt feel anything. I just got the knife and I did a tiny little incision on the original scar tissue and I couldnt feel a thing. I thought Oh, this doesnt hurt. Great!' She goes on to describe the procedure in great detail, from how she traced the line of her 14-year-old scar, being careful not to hit any major veins or arteries, and how she felt this jelly that turned out to be her fatty tissue, to how she eventually pushed down on her implants until they eventually popped out Tonnia Rossington then made makeshift dressings under her breasts, put on a bra to keep them in place and casually drove to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire. Once there, the shaking woman handed the emergency room desk clerk a note detailing what she had done. Doctors then squirted saline in the breast where one of her implants had ruptured, to remove any leftover silicone, changed her dressings, and discharged her a few hours later, without stitches. Photo: Droliver/Wikimedia Commons Now that theyre gone I just love it, Tonnia recently said. Ill be honest, they dont look pretty; theres a lot of saggy skin, but I would never have implants again. They were the worst mistake I ever made. If I want to say one thing, its dont get implants, ever, she added. I see these adverts on TV for MYA [a cosmetic-surgery specialist] and these girls bouncing around on horses saying I got breast implants and life is great! And I just think Youll regret it! I wouldnt advise anybody to get them. And once youre desperate to get them out you basically get Well you paid to have them put in, so you should pay to get them out. Plastic surgeon Dr Naveen Cavale, from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, told Daily Mail that Tonnia was incredibly lucky to get away with her DIY breast implant removal surgery. This procedure carries immense risk of infection, not to mention accidentally hitting arteries. As for how the 49-year-old woman was able to bare the pain of cutting her own breasts open, Cavale said that it is possible the previous surgery affected the nerves at the base of the breasts, which prevented her from feeling any pain. Tonnia Rossington is definitely not the first person to conduct surgery on herself. In fact shes not even the first person in the UK. A couple of years ago, we wrote about Graham Smith, an engineer who operated on himself to remove eight millimeters of stitches left by surgeons inside his body, years before. Elizaveta Tkachenko, a 30-year-old woman from Russia, wound up in the emergency room earlier this month, after getting unknown substances injected into her face by an unlicensed aesthetician. Tkachenko, a resident of Stavropol, had decided that she wanted to enhance certain facial features with the help of cosmetic filler injections, only instead of going to a trained aesthetician, she turned to her friend Irina, an accountant, who did the procedures at home, for cheaper. Tvacheno, who would live to regret her decision, claims that her friend assured her that she only used quality fillers and sterile instruments, and that she had plenty of experience in this field. The woman had an unknown quantity of filler injected into her lips and near her eyes, and although some swelling is considered normal after such procedures, in Elizavetas case it was so extreme that she had trouble breathing, her head would ache terribly and her lips looked ready to burst. A day after the botched injections, she had to be taken to the hospital. Photo: Elizaveta Tkachenko My lip burst in two places, serosanguinous fluid got into my lip, my head hurt terribly, Elizaveta told NTV.ru. I am 30 years old, due to what happened, my health is ruined. Its unclear what the aftermath of this will be in the future. The unlicensed aesthetician was questioned by Stavropol police and a criminal case has been opened against her. She wasnt able what exactly she injected into Elizavetas face, but it is clear that whatever the substance was, it caused extreme inflammation and potentially irreparable damage. A report filed by investigators mentions that Irina lacked basic knowledge of medicine and was completely unfit to perform this sort of cosmetic injections. Elizaveta has been discharged from the hospital, but her face still bears the marks of her horrific experience. She told reporters that she cant even look at herself in the mirror right now, but that considering what shes been through, shes lucky to be alive. Its unclear when or if her face will return to normal. Offaly TD Carol Nolan has described Irish Waters Shannon Pipeline proposal to abstract water from the river Shannon and pump it to Dublin as a project based on holes and leaks. Responding to Irish Waters announcement on Tuesday to proceed with an application to An Bord Pleanala, Deputy Nolan stated that, the submission is premature as there are too many gaps in the research and the issue of existing water leaks has not been adequately addressed. The scheme with an estimated cost of 1.3 billion proposes to take water from the Parteen basin in north Tipperary and supply it via 170km of pipes, to Dublin and major Midland towns close to the pipeline. It will represent the largest capital investment project in the history of the State. Deputy Nolan has backed calls from opponents and sceptics for an independent review prior to the proposal coming before An Bord Pleanala. I listened to local concerns at a meeting in Ballyeighan, Birr Co. Offaly and again at the launch in Dublin on Tuesday, and I am of the opinion that there are options that have not been adequately considered." "Not only must the detail of the proposed Plan be forensically scrutinised, stated Deputy Nolan, but an up-to-date study into the prospecting of groundwater in the greater Dublin area must be undertaken along with increasing the targets for leakage reduction. Deputy Nolan concluded, it makes no sense whatsoever to proceed with the abstraction of water from Tipperary to supply it to Dublin for it to pour into the ground through leaky pipes. This proposal warrants further investigation." Our servers were hacked, internal documents may get uploaded on public websites: IndiGo IndiGo passenger says he is COVID-19 positive; airline offloads him at Delhi airport Vaccinated? Now get 10% discount on Indigo air ticket: How to avail it? Aditya Ghosh steps down as IndiGo President, Rahul Bhatia is Interim CEO India oi-Madhuri India's InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs the country's top carrier IndiGo on Friday said that its president, Aditya Ghosh, would step down effective July 31, after being with the company for 10 years. It said Rahul Bhatia, a promoter of the company, has been appointed as the interim CEO. According to sources, Greg Taylor is likely to be appointed as president and CEO of the company. Taylor has more than 40 years of experience in the sector and has held various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways. Ghosh has stepped down as Whole Time Director of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, effective from April 26 while his resignation as President would come into effect from July 31. Welcoming Taylor, Bhatia said his enormous and varied experience and understanding of the complexities of the airline industry would be invaluable to the airline's future plans. The development comes amid the airline embarking on ambitious expansion plans and its aircraft facing technical issues with engines. A seasoned pilot, Ghosh was appointed President of IndiGo in 2008, four years after the inception of the airline. Under him, it became the largest domestic carrier and now accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the market. IndiGo, which has a fleet of 160 aircraft, is the country's largest airline with a market share of nearly 40 per cent. It operates around 1,000 flights daily. (with PTI inputs) 'Autopilot failure aren't uncommon': DGCA on snag in plane with Rahul Gandhi onboard India oi-Vikas By Vikas With the Congress alleging conspiracy behind the technical snag in the aircraft in which Rahul Gandhi was travelling, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that it was due to the failure of autopilot mode which is not "uncommon". Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a full-fledged probe into the matter, hinting that there could be a conspiracy behind the entire episode. The incident took place on Thursday (April 26) just before the aircraft, Dassault Falcon 2000, with Rahul onboard was landing at the Hubballi airport in north Karnataka. "As per operator's report, it was snag of autopilot mode, pilot shifted to manual mode&aircraft landed safely. Autopilot failure incidents aren't uncommon. The 2-member committee set up to probe. Report likely to come in 2-3 weeks," DGCA said. Late on Thursday evening, the DGCA ordered the grounding of the aircraft and the crew. The charter company arranged an alternate aircraft to fly Rahul out of Hubballi on Friday. The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju. "This is a serious case of aviation mechanics failure. A serious accident was averted. A formal complaint has been submitted... to inquire into entire matter including the possibility of foul play which led to technical slag, failure of autopilot and failure of rudders, which is completely unprecedented," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Rahul Gandhi to inquire about the incident. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka from today to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. This New York cafe gives employment to people with autism and they are doing great Awareness on autism: Lets do Jhakkad pakkad dance with 6 amazingly talented special children India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Mumbai, April 27: On Thursday, when filmmaker Karan Johar launched the "6 Pack Band 2.0"--consisting of six children with impressive musical talents--in Mumbai, it was clear that "disability" should not stop us from acknowledging creativity of any person. All the six children in the band have autism, but they do have great musical talents too. And, they rightly showcased their talent in the music video featuring their song, Jhakkad pakkad dance, released on Thursday during the launch of the band. "#Maharashtra: Film Director-Producer Karan Johar launches '6 Pack Band 2.0', a band of 6 differently-abled children, in Mumbai," tweeted ANI. #Maharashtra: Film Director-Producer Karan Johar launches '6 Pack Band 2.0', a band of 6 differently-abled children, in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/6ErnnYeFLk ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2018 What is autism? According to the website Autism Speaks, autism or autism spectrum disorder refers to a range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and non-verbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. "We now know that there is not one autism but many types, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences," added the website. The band has been launched in April because the entire month is dedicated to spreading awareness of the disorder. The Brooke Bond Red Label and Y-Films are the two companies supporting the country's first "isspeshal" band, the "6-Pack Band 2.0". The band is the second segment of India's first transgender band, the Brooke Bond Red Label 6 Pack Band, which exploded on to the scene in 2016, winning millions of hearts across the globe, reported ANI. The idea behind coming up with the band is to focus and talk about the important theme of mental health and disability. The six-member band has three boys and three girls between 13 to 18. They all have special needs but incredible music skills, drive and passion, said Johar. "It's so wonderful to see these young, super talented kids come together to create something so epic. I am excited to be a part of something I know will not only change you and me but also has the power to change the world. I can't wait to see what these kids do next, they are here to conquer the world with their talent!" Johar added. Meanwhile, you watch the video below to enjoy and dance to the tunes of Jhakkad pakkad dance: How do naxals procure sophisticated weapons: It was the LTTE which aided them Abducted CoBRA jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas released by Naxals after six days of captivity AK-47s stolen from COD Jabalpur supplied to naxals, criminals says NIA in chargesheet Naxals from Telangana were in the process of making grenade launchers, IEDs: NIA Chhattisgarh: 8 Naxals killed in Bijapur; weapons, explosives seized India oi-Deepika By Deepika Eight Naxals were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday. The encounter took place in Bijapur district along the Chhattisgarh -Telangana border, officials have said. A huge cache of arms including One Self Loading Rifle, one .303 rifle, six rocket launchers and three grenades have been recovered. It was not immediately known when the encounter took place. The incident comes days after 39 Maoists were eliminated in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, considered the worst Maoist-affected district in the country. The gunfight took place in a forest near Ipenta village of the district on Friday morning, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI. A joint squad of Greyhounds -- an elite anti-Naxal unit of the Telangana Police -- and security personnel from Chhattisgarh had launched a combing operation in the forests along the inter-state border following a tip-off about presence of Maoists there, he said. When the patrolling team was in Ipenta, located around 500km from the state capital Raipur, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides. After the gunfight was over, security forces recovered the bodies of seven ultras, including that of women, from the encounter spot, Garg said. In early March, a team of Greyhounds personnel had swooped on a Naxal camp in Bijapur district as part of a joint operation with the Chhattisgarh Police. Ten Maoists, including seven women, were killed in the operation Can RTI be filed online? Does this apply to NRIs? Modi slams Cong at NRI meet, says BJP govt put an end to chronic corruption Haryana: NRI woman found dead in bathtub at Hotel Taj Vivanta in Surajkund India oi-Madhuri An NRI woman was found dead in the hotel bathtub in Vivanta by Taj in Surajkund, Faridabad district in Harayana. The deceased has been identified as Ritu Kumar, who had been staying in this hotel from April 22. The woman was married to a London-based businessman. The deceased originally hailed from Delhi's South Extension area, where her family still lives. It is learnt that the Kumar had been living separately from her husband for a long time. Reports say Kumar, who was in her early forties, had not responded to calls from her family members since yesterday morning. Later, when the hotlier checked the bathroom and found her dead body in bathtub. Kumar's body has been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death, and her husband has arrived in India to assist police in the investigation. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, April 27, 2018, 18:11 [IST] BJP takes dig at oppn parties pitching for caste census, says it stands for 'sabka saath' Mamata Banerjee denied permission to attend peace conference in Italy, TMC hits out at BJP Amarinder Singh to join BJP? Former Punjab CM likely to meet Amit Shah in Delhi today How BJP is penetrating into the tribal votes in Karnataka India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer The BJP is hoping to swing the pro-tribal voters in its favour by projecting B Sriramulu as the star campaigner in the Karnataka assembly elections. The strategy is similar to what it adopted in North-Eastern state, according to political analysts. After tasting historic victories in North-Eastern states like Tripura and Nagaland, BJP is now playing a pro-tribal card to attract tribal votes in Karnataka," leading political scientist Sandeep Shastri told PTI. "Hence, it is projecting Sreeramulu, a tribal leader belonging to Valmiki Nayak community, as star campaigner in the run up to the assembly election," he said. That Sreeramulu, considered close to mining baron G Janaradhana Reddy, has gained in importance became evident with the BJP fielding him from Badami against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and also asked him to campaign extensively in the region. Karnataka Elections: Full list of BJP, Congress star campaigners Another political analyst and professor of political science at Karnatak University Dr Harish Ramaswamy shares his view. BJP faces a tough task of garnering tribal votes in North Karnataka, he said. Sreeramulu has considerable influence in Hyderabad-Karnataka and Chitradurga belt and his main task is to ensure that tribal votes get transferred to the BJP from Congress, he said. "It is a difficult job though," Ramaswamy said. Shastri said Jain-Lokniti-CSDS Survey had shown a shift of tribal votes from Congress to BJP. BJP expects to penetrate into the tribal support base of the Congress, including Chamarajnagar, Mysuru and Bagalkot districts, he said. Shastri said though the tribal population in Karnataka was not as large as North-Eastern states and Jharkhand, they can play an important role in a keenly fought election. Tribal communities have significant presence in 15 to 20 assembly constituencies in the state. Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15 In Kalamassery bus burning case, NIA arrests key accused India oi-Vicky Nanjappa The arrest of an absconding accused in connection with the Kalamassery bus burning case has provided a shot in the arm for the National Investigation Agency. The NIA arrested Palliyakathu Shefeeq, a resident of Kannur. He was picked up after he was deported from Saudi Arabia. There was an Interpol notice, Look our Circular and non-bailable arrest warrant pending against him. On September 9, 2005, a government of Tamil Nadu bus was hijacked and set on fire at the Kalamassery police station limits in Ernakulam. The accused in the case were identified as T Nazeer and others who were demanding the release of their leader, Abdul Nazar Madani who was lodged in the Coimbatore jail at that time. Following investigations, the NIA chargeseeted 18 persons including Shefeeq for criminal conspiracy, damage to public property among other charges. Shefeeq who was arrested at the New Delhi airport was taken on transit remand to Kerala for further investigation. How can highways be blocked perpetually, asks Supreme Court; says executive's duty to implement law What are the farmers protesting about? We have stayed the farm laws says SC Indu Malhotra sworn-in as SC judge, becomes 7th woman judge in top court since independence India oi-Vikas By Vikas Senior advocate Indu Malhotra was on Friday (April 27) sworn-in as a Supreme Court judge. She was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. Indu Malhotra became the first woman to be appointed as judge of Supreme Court directly from the bar. Her appointment comes amid a row over the government's rejection of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph's elevation. Indu Malhotra, 61, is the seventh women judge in the top court since Independence. Only six women judges have made it to the Supreme Court so far. Other women judges were elevated to the Supreme Court from high courts. The first woman judge of the top court was Justice Fathima Beevi who was appointed in 1989, 39 years after the Supreme Court was set up in 1950. The Supreme Court collegium, comprising CJI Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, in a unanimous decision, had cleared the names of Malhotra as well as Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph. Highlights of Indu Malhotra's career: Malhotra joined the legal profession in 1983 and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. She qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court in 1988 and has been dealing with several matters of constitutional importance. She was one of the prominent senior advocates regularly appearing in educational matters pertaining to medical and engineering colleges. Malhotra was one of the members of the Vishaka Committee on sexual harassment at workplaces, as also of a 10-member committee constituted by the top court to deal with complaints of sexual harassment within the court. Indu Malhotra was the second woman to be designated as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court in 2007 after a gap of over 30 years. Malhotra has represented various statutory corporations like Securities Exchange Board of India, Delhi Development Authority, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Indian Council for Agricultural Research, before the Supreme Court. Ktaka polls: Why AAPs Renuka Viswanathan strongly feels women politicians can bring real change India oi-Maitreyee Bengaluru, April 27: As the filing of nomination papers by the candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 came to an end recently, the Election Commission (EC) revealed some 'jarring' figures. According to the poll body, a total of 3,374 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the 224-member Assembly elections scheduled on May 12. Out of the 3,374 candidates aspiring to sit inside the revered portals of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, less than 150 are women, rest of them are all men. Now, see where the top three political parties stand in the number game when it comes to encouraging women to join politics. The incumbent Congress has fielded a total of 16 women, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 17 and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) 14. In addition, 90 women have filed their nominations as Independents from various constituencies. Looking at the figures, it is clear that if women want to take part in the electoral politics, they have to contest elections as Independent candidates, otherwise, they stand very little chance. Although all the parties have fared badly in giving tickets to women, nonetheless it is an improvement from the last state Assembly elections. In 2013, the Congress gave tickets to 8 women, the BJP 7 and the JD(S) scored high among the parties with 12 candidates. Five years ago, only 66 women candidates contested elections as Independents. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is contesting the Assembly elections in the state for the first time, has fielded two women candidates--Renuka Viswanathan from Shantinagar constituency and Malavika Gubbivani from Chamraja constituency--out of its total 28 candidates. When political parties are confronted with the question of not giving enough tickets to women candidates, all have almost the same old excuse--"the winnability factor". Most political parties pretend to believe that women don't stand a chance against their male counterparts in the "big, bad world of politics". Others like incumbent chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah are waiting for the Women's Reservation Bill to be passed in Parliament to increase their presence during election times. The CM recently told NDTV that until the bill--that will reserve 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies for women--is passed things are unlikely to change. Viswanathan, the 69-year-old retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who is contesting her first election, begs to differ. "We need to rise above reservation. Women are as courageous, feisty, able and hardworking as any male politicians. Give women a chance, things will automatically fall in line," said Viswanathan, the well-respected former bureaucrat, who as the secretary for rural development launched the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005. Citing examples from her own experience of campaigning relentlessly in the high-profile constituency of Shantinagar for the last few months, Viswanathan proudly said that she had met an amazing bunch of women volunteers in the AAP. "They are young, dynamic, well-educated and very capable. Most of them are very promising and have the capacity to win elections and govern Karnataka in the future. All my women volunteers inspire me to work hard. They have this amazing capacity of handling their personal and professional lives very well," said the AAP politician, who hopes to rein in corruption if elected. When asked how to bring down the gender inequality in politics, Viswanathan, the first woman deputy commissioner of any district in Karnataka, said that she would like to see how political parties deal with the issue which has been left unaddressed for a really long time. Viswanathan, who has spent a long and a successful career as a bureaucrat, says that politics is the only way to bring real change in society. She admits candidly that even being a top bureaucrat does not always help much. "Women have leadership qualities and they should be a part of the political system to bring the change we want to see in the country." The AAP candidate from Shantinagar is pitted against two political heavyweights--Congress' NA Haris and BJP's Vasudeva Murthy. Haris, the controversial Congress leader, is the sitting MLA from the Shantinagar constituency which has 2,18,735 voters. "Our fight is against corruption and misgovernance. During our door-to-door campaign, voters tell us about their demands. They want good schools, roads, water and crime-free society. We want to provide health, education and infrastructure facilities to the people. However, we are not promising the moon to them," said Viswanathan, amid a very "hectic and fulling campaigning" spree. Before signing off, Viswanathan, who has already become a role model for many aspiring women politicians, said, "We (the AAP members) are here to win". Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15 Karnataka elections: After being sidelined by national leadership, Yeddyurappa praises Modi, Shah India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Bengaluru, April 27: The tension between the local and the national leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pretty apparent during any of its public meetings in poll-bound Karnataka, these days. Even rumours suggest that there is a lot of anguish among the BJP local workers in Karnataka as allegedly a few national leaders of the party have hijacked the entire election process. The BJP cadres in the state are now openly alleging that the national leadership has ignored local sentiments and it's an insult to Karnataka. Recently, we have seen how the BJP "clipped the wings" of its own chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa by not giving tickets to his son Vijayendra and close-aide Shobha Karandlaje. In spite of the latest round of ignominy, Yeddyurappa is putting up a brake face. On Thursday, in an interview to news agency ANI, the former chief minister of Karnataka profusely praised both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party president Amit Shah. Yeddyurappa is confident that Modi and Shah's campaign in the state will have a great impact. "The entire country knows the impact of PM Modi. Modiji and Amitji's tour will leave a great impact on the entire state. It will be helpful in getting us (the BJP) the majority in Karnataka," Yeddyurappa told ANI. However, insiders say that after the poll results, even if the BJP comes to power, 75-year-old Yeddyurappa, whose previous stint as the CM of Karnataka was marred by scams, may not get the coveted post. Attacking Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Yeddyurappa told ANI, "I want to ask just one question. Is Rahul Gandhi from Karnataka? When Rahul Gandhi was in Bengaluru, the time when the election date was not announced, they called people by giving money. Now, if Rahul Gandhi comes, you'll see how people will react." Further taking a dig at his main rival, incumbent Congress CM Siddaramaiah, the former CM said that his successor will lose elections from both Chamundeshwari and Badami--the two constituencies from where he is contesting elections. "There is no safe seat for Siddaramaiah in Karnataka. He knows he's going to lose in Chamundeshwari and that is why he has chosen Badami too. But he is going to lose from Badami miserably. I am 100 per cent sure," Yeddyurappa told ANI. "The people of Karnataka have seen a lot of corruption. The development has come to a standstill. In almost all areas he (Siddaramaiah) has cheated the people of the state. People are fed up. In the upcoming elections, the BJP is going to get a majority," added Yeddyurappa. The elections to the 224-member Assembly in Karnataka are scheduled on May 12. The results will be declared on May 15. Kathua rape case: SC stays proceedings at Sessions Court India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar The Supreme Court on Friday imposed stay on proceedings at the trial court in Kathua rape and murder case. The SC bench sets the date for next hearing on 7th May. The Apex Court on Thursday said it would shift the Kathua gang rape and murder trial out of Jammu and Kashmir at the slightest possibility of a fair trial not taking place. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said its real concern was to see to it that a fair trial was conducted and it was fair to the victim's family and the accused. A Bar Council of India (BCI) Committee filed a report in a sealed cover before the bench and supported the demand of the High Court Bar Association at J&K the Kathua District Court Bar Association for a CBI probe into the case. The minor girl, who belonged to a nomadic Muslim tribe, was allegedly abducted, drugged, gang-raped, tortured and killed in January. In the wake of the incident, President Ram Nath Kovind, on April 22, promulgated the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, for effective deterrence against the commission of rape. The ordinance seeks the death penalty for the rapists of girls below 12 years of age and stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape particularly of girls below 16 years, thereby strengthening the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Key Dawood aide arrested in 2 decade old murder case India oi-Vicky Nanjappa A key aide of Dawood Ibrahim has been arrested by the anti-extortion cell of the Thane Police in Maharashtra. He has been identified as Tarik Pravin and is 51 years old. He was arrested in connection with a two-decade-old murder case in Mumbra. He was arrested in south Mumbai. The police say that he handled Dawood's real-estate business in Mumbai for several years. He was also in constant touch with Dawood. The police say that he was wanted in the 1998 Mumbra murder case. We got to know about his location through our informers following which we immediately went to the spot and picked him up, the police said. This is not the first time that Pravin has been arrested. He was picked earlier by the Mumbai and Lucknow police, but his involvement in the murder case was not known at that point in time. PM Narendra Modi hands over keys to 75,000 beneficiaries of central housing scheme in UP Modi-Xi meet: 'Will PM question China on Doklam standoff', asks Congress India oi-Deepika By Deepika Ahead of the Modi-Xi Jinping meet, the Opposition Congress took a dig at PM saying that they wonder if he will raise the Doklam Standoff with China. In a series of tweets, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote: "As Modiji 'hugs' his friend, President, Xi Jinping today in Wuhan, China, will he remember his innate duty to protect India's strategic interests & question China on occupation of #Dokalam impacting India's National Security?" Surjewala asked if the Prime Minister would 'accepted the failure of his Cabinet Ministers to confront China on the creation of 'full-fledged Chinese Military Complex' in Doklam. "Does the PM accept the failure of his Cabinet Min's (Defense & EAM) to confront China on creation of 'full-fledged Chinese Military Complex' in #Doklam right upto 10m from Indian Army post, during their visit on 20th-24th April, as an abdication of their duty to the Nation?' Targetting the Centre, he said "India is facing increasingly aggressive China to intrude into the 'Chicken Neck' -Siliguri Corridor by building a new road through South of #Doklam (Gateway to the North East), but why is Modi Govt clueless and incapable to send a strong message to China? Referring to a satellite image taken from Google Maps, Surjewala asked "Doesn't the latest 'Satellite Imagery' from Google Maps of 25th April 2018 show creation of additional structures by China meters away from Indian Army posts? Has PM & Defense Ministry taken note of it?Will PM Modi take up the issue in the 'Summit' with Chinese President today in Wuhan, China?" "Modiji may not be able to show 'red eyes' as he loftily promised, but will he show the courage of conviction to do plain-speaking on #Doklam & defend India's interests?," posted Surjewala in a series of tweets. The informal talks between the two leaders will begin at the Hubei Provincial Museum at 3:30 pm local time (1 pm IST) in Wuhan. PM Mod will meet President Xi at the museum and is expected to spend an hour touring it. 'Nepotism wont apply to Gandhis, they fought for independence', says youngest Congress candidate India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar At 27, he is the youngest candidate from the Congress party to contest the May 12, Karnataka elections. This is H S Manjunath Gowda who will be battling Gopalaiah of the JD(S) from the Mahalaxmi Layout constituency in Bengaluru. Gowda, who is currently the state president of National Students Union of India (NSUI), did his law from the Sheshadripuram evening law college. When asked about the nepotism in the Congress party, he says it exists, but also adds that a common worker like him too gets a chance in the party. He, however, makes an exception when it comes to the Gandhi family and says it is because they fought for India's independence. In this interview with OneIndia, Gowda who is also a D K Shivakumar protege says that the Congress is a party which gives priority to the youth. Who encouraged you to choose politics as your area of activity? I was born in a farmers' family in Nagamangal taluk of Mandya district. My father Sannarame Gowda and, mother Laxmamma are farmers, who have no clue about politics. Unlike educated parents, my parents have no clue what NSUI means, what I'm going to do. For my education, I moved Bangalore. During my student days in Sheshadripuram College, I joined the youth Congress and later joined the ranks of NSUI. In fact, I didn't know about NSUI until I travelled outside Karnataka for membership drive in other states. Minister DK Shivakumar is my political guru. He was MLA at the age of 26. With his blessings, I am contesting elections at the age of 27. How did you get a ticket at this young age? The party has recognized me for my work. I am always committed to the party, I am 24/7 worker. I bunked exams for the party work. Currently, NSUI is active in 26 districts, and high command recognizes this effort. The opportunity given to me suggests that Congress President Rahul Gandhi promotes youth in the party. What do you say about money power in ticket distribution? Many disgruntled party workers who didn't get ticket complain that money plays a vital role in ticket distribution. I don't agree. If that was so, I would not have got the ticket. I am the son of farmer where do I manage crores of money? Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, G Parameshwara, and CM Siddaramaiah know my profile. The party has details of all the candidates. They assured ticket to me. Do you think nepotism thriving in the Congress? Is it easy to get for a politicians children? I don't deny nepotism in the Congress. But this is also a fact that a common worker like me gets an opportunity. DK Shivakumarji supported me throughout my NSUI days and other youngsters like me are active in the party. Does that rule not apply to Gandhi family? Gandhi family is an exception. That family fought for the Independence of the country. We, party workers, want them to lead the party. We have chosen them, they didn't choose themselves to lead. In fact, Rahul Gandhi will support youths. I do believe youths come with the ability to innovate. Youths can bring the change. Also, I request the party give more preference to youths. Originally you are from Nagamangal, but Why do you to contest in Bangalore? I don't know politics of my native place Nagamangal. Since my student days, I have been active in Bangalore city through youth clubs and NGO in Rajaji Nagar and Mahalaxmi Layout. So, wanted to contest from Bangalore. I wanted to contest from Rajajinagar, but I got Mahalaxmi Layout. Mayor Padmavati is contesting from Rajajinagar. My leaders are confident that I could do well in Mahalaxmi layout. Above all, I would say it's divine call. I don't feel like an outsider. What is your vision as the youngest candidate? Most importantly, I want to bring in changes in primary and higher education. I observed our education more inclined to theory, less on practical education. I have already given a memorandum to CM Siddaramaih to introduce changes in education. Besides, I don't like the commercialisation of education. Education has become commercial activity. I want to fight for quality education for the downtrodden section. Everybody should get a quality education. What did you learn from your political guru DK Shivakumar? Firstly, A real leader is one who creates leaders, not followers. DK Shivakumar is known for this. Like my mentor, I do want to create leaders. I want to introduce young leaders from NSUI to local body elections. Some of them have already in active politics. Secondly, loyalty to the party is the greatest quality of DKS. He has proved it a number of times. Third and most important quality is his courage. I was hesitating to take on sitting MLA Gopalaiah. But DK Shivakumar has assured me support throughout the election. While encouraging me he gave his own example. He said, " Why are you afraid?I took on took on former PM Deve Gowda single-handedly in a parliamentary election?" DK Shivakumar led the party to victory in by-elections. he told me not to worry and just keep working. I know him for the last 10 years. He prefers youngsters who are loyal to the party and taskmasters. About political skills, I want to show it off in the field. It is hard to explain skills I have learnt from DK Shivakumar. What is your message for youths? I want to convey that Congress party encourage youngsters. Only politicians cant bring in changes in the system. Youths should come with their ideas. If I win the elections, the first priority would be to improve basic amenities in my constituency. I have visited labour families in around Mahalaxmi layout. Also, environment protection is a top priority. I know urbanization is inevitable, but that should be not at the cost of environment. Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15 Meghalaya'; Shah hints at tweak in Citizenship Act says,'will sit, discuss what can be done' Polling begins for Williamnagar assembly seat in Meghalaya India pti-PTI Polling in the Williamnagar Assembly seat in Meghalaya"s East Garo Hills district began on a peaceful note at 7 am on Friday amid tight security arrangements, officials said. Polling for the seat was postponed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED attack on February 18, days before the February-27 Assembly election in the state. Women voters in Garo costumes were seen queueing up at various polling stations across the constituency since morning and shopkeepers are doing a brisk business in the vicinity of polling booths. Altogether nine candidates are in the fray. Voting will end at 4 pm in all of the 58 polling stations, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told PTI. Four companies of central armed police forces have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the elections, the CEO said. There are over 32,000 registered voters in the constituency, of which 16,713 are male voters and 15,632 females, the CEO said. The ruling National Peoples Party has fielded former MLA Marcuis N Marak while Deborah C Marak is the Congress candidate. The NCP, whose candidate Jonathone S Sangma died in an IED attack on February 18, has fielded his wife Krenila Marak. The NPP, the BJP, the United Democratic Party and the NCP are all parts of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance but are contesting independently in the poll. PTI Stop supporting terror groups; DGMO of Army to Pak India pti-PTI New Delhi, Apr 27: In a strong message, the Indian Army today asked Pakistan military to stop supporting terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that it will continue to take all "retaliatory measures" foil Pakistan's evil designs. In a telephonic conversation, Indian Army's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Anil Chauhan told his Pakistani counterpart that the onus on bringing down tension along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir lies with Pakistan, Army officials said. The unscheduled interaction over the hot line took place this evening following a request by Pakistan, they said adding the Pakistani DGMO alleged that Indian security forces had resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC. "Indian Army DGMO emphatically stated that retaliatory firing by Indian troops has only been carried out in response to unabated support given by Pakistan Army to armed terrorists who infiltrate across the border and target Indian Army posts with heavy calibre weapons," the Army said. It said Lt Gen Chauhan further impressed conveyed to his Pakistan counterpart that support to terrorism by Pakistan Army was unacceptable and the Indian will continue to take all retaliatory measures. "The onus of de-escalation along the LoC rests with Pakistan Army provided they stop supporting terrorists and put an end to unprovoked ceasefire violations to abet infiltration," the Army said. The LoC in Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a spurt in ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops in the last few months and the Indian Army has been retaliating effectively to Pakistani actions. PTI Time for India-China to bury the hatchet and emerge as a strong Asian bloc India oi-Vikas By Vikas Sv Around one-third of the world's population reside in India and China. India and China are among the fastest growing major economies in the world. If both the countries can set differences aside and forge strong economic, cultural and military ties, then it can be a formidable alliance which can actually take on the US-led bloc which at present calls the shots in international affairs. Prime Minister Narendra is in China and to hold an informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both leaders will have one-to-one interaction over the course of next two days during which several long pending issues are likely to be discussed. Indian envoy to Beijing had yesterday (April 26) stressed on the need for greater trust between the two neighbours. Earlier, a top Chinese diplomat had said that the Doklam standoff happened due to "lack of mutual trust" between India and China. So, the trust has been a major issue between New Delhi and Beijing. A lot has happened in the last 60 years due to which a deep sense of mistrust has crept into India-China relations. There was a time when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had coined a phrase "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai", but soon afterwards 1962 war happened. Since then several disagreements, border intrusions and standoffs have taken place over LAC (Line of Actual Control). China has also used its veto power in the United Nations to stall several of India's moves, most notably being Beijing's stand on terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar. There are probably endless issues that be discussed if the main point of this write up was to highlight the cracks in the India-China relations. [Modi in China: Boat ride, lakeside dinner on cards at PM's meet with Xi Jinping] The main objective here is to ponder upon what can be achieved if India and China were to bury the differences and forge an alliance that send shivers down the spine of the west. Hypothetically speaking, if India and China can forge an alliance on the lines of NATO, it has the potential to emerge as a formidable bloc that can dictate terms in global geopolitics. China is far stronger militarily than India. The main reason being China's spending on defence, which at $145 billion is almost three times that of India's. If China has world's largest army, then India had world's third largest army. Even in terms of fighter aircraft and a nuclear warhead, China has more than double of what India has. But somehow if the two countries can resolve all the disputes and work towards an alliance of a new kind, then the international community would be forced to take note of it and acknowledge the dominance. [Chinese army invokes Tagore, says common desire is to stablise relations] The world has never witnessed the simultaneous rise of two huge neighbours and a key expectation from the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan is that they will chart a roadmap to manage this ascent peacefully. The summit - and the carefully planned informal backdrop to it - gives Modi and Xi an opportunity to inject a dose of mutual trust into relations and quell tensions that recently clouded the relationship. What message did the Congress send by releasing its manifesto in Mangalore? India oi-Vicky Nanjappa The Congress party has released its manifesto and interestingly it was done at Mangalore which falls under coastal Karnataka which is considered to be a BJP bastion. While the Congress says that Mangalore was chosen because it was geographically convenient for the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, analysts would see a larger message in it. The Congress would be looking to send out a message to the voters of the coastal belt. Over the past couple of months, the BJP has turned the tables in the coast where it had put up a poor performance back in 2013. The Congress realises the importance of the coast where there are 38 seats up for grabs. With opinion polls showing that the party would fall short of the majority mark, the coast becomes important for it. For the BJP, the coast has been the gateway to Karnataka. The Congress is aware of this and would look to turn the tables if it is not too late as yet. Further, the Congress is also aware of the fact when it has swept the coast it has come to power in Karnataka. Back in 2013, the Congress ended up winning 21 seats from the cost and romped home to power. The 2013 performance was its best in the past two decades. While the BJP has put up the high-decibel campaign in the coast accusing the Congress of minority appeasement to the extent that it was losing Hindu leaders in murders, the Congress has refuted those charges. The Congress has on the other hands said that it would protect the minorities and deal sternly with the communal forces. The Congress also realises that it has lost out on the Hindu votes as there has been a lot of anger among the Hindus over several issues. The Hindus feel that the Congress has indulged in minority appeasement. Further, there has been a ripple effect of what happened in Kodagu in Mangalore. The Tipu Jayanti celebrations have been opposed tooth and nail in Kodagu and the effects of this were seen on the coast as well. The Hindu votes account for 68.99 while in the case of the Muslims and Christians it is 13.15 and 17.40. While the voting base for the BJP in the Lok Sabha segment has remained loyal in the assembly polls it has been a switch. Releasing the manifesto from Mangalore could well be a strategy to convey something larger to the voter, analysts feel. Will it pay off or is it too late. Wait till May 15. Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15 Where is Nirav Modi? None are clear about his location India oi-Vicky Nanjappa The location of fugitive Nirav Modi is unknown and officials say that he is not in Hong Kong. Government officials say that they are unsure about the location of Modi, an accused in the PNB fraud case. India had recently petitioned China after it was learnt that Modi could be in Hong Kong. China had said that it would not interfere with the process and added that it was up to Hong Kong to look into the matter as per the laws. A CBI spokesperson when asked about Modi refused to comment. Officials believe that he may have left Hong Kong sometime in March for New York. It is also said that he may leave New York too. Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi left India in January before the CBI had filed the FIR in the Rs 13,000 crore fraud case. Despite multiple summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate, the duo has refused to return for questioning. Both the CBI and the ED have approached the Interpol seeking issuance of a Red Corner Notice against the duo. Based on concrete inputs, India had said that Nirav Modi was holed up in Hong Kong where he has business interests. However, investigations later showed that he may have left Hong Kong. India had revoked Modi's passport, despite which he has managed to travel to several countries. Investigations are on to ascertain how Modi has been travelling despite his passport being revoked. What are the farmers protesting about? We have stayed the farm laws says SC Why 1973 is the darkest year in the history of the judiciary India oi-Vicky Nanjappa An unprecedented presser by four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, followed by an attempt to impeach the Chief Justice of India has kept the judiciary in the news. The opposition parties have stood united in blaming the government for meddling in the judiciary and say that the independence of the courts is in danger. The latest in the offing is the elevation of Justice K M Joseph to the Supreme Court. The court however made it clear on Thursday that the Centre had the right to reject a name proposed by the collegium. Amidst talk of the independence of the judiciary being under threat, it would be interesting to revisit the historic and path-breaking judgment in 1973 known as the Kesavananda Bharati case. The period is still considered by legal experts as the darkest year in the history of the judiciary. The Kesavananda Bharathi verdict: It all began with the historic Kesavananda Bharathi verdict in which a Constitution Bench headed by Justice Hans Raj Khanna outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution. To put in simple terms the judgment made it clear that the Constitution and not the legislature was supreme. Many legal experts still argue that it is thanks to this judgment that democracy is still intact in the country. Although the court upheld the basic structure doctrine by only the narrowest of margins, it has since gained widespread acceptance and legitimacy due to subsequent cases and judgments. Primary among these was the imposition of the state of emergency by Indira Gandhi in 1975, and the subsequent attempt to suppress her prosecution through the 39th Amendment. When the Kesavananda case was decided, the underlying apprehension of the majority bench that elected representatives could not be trusted to act responsibly was perceived to be unprecedented. However, the passage of the 39th Amendment proved that in fact, this apprehension was well-founded. In Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court used the basic structure doctrine to strike down the 39th amendment and paved the way for the restoration of Indian democracy. Judicial meddling: In August 1969, Justice A N Ray was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court. He went on to become the Chief Justice of India in the most controversial fashion in 1973. His appointment superseded three senior judges of the Supreme Court, J M Shelat, A N Grover and K S Hegde. This was viewed as a direct attack on the judiciary. This was considered to be unprecedented in the legal history of India. It has been called as the blackest day in Indian democracy. This move was marked by protests by bar associations and many within the legal faction. The former CJI, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah said, "this was an attempt of not creating 'forward-looking judges' but the 'judges looking forward' to the plumes of the office of Chief Justice". Justice Ray was accused of sharing the government's economic viewpoint. There were allegations that he had developed an adulatory attitude towards the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. He made himself amenable to her influence. He would telephone her frequently and also ask her personal secretary for advice. While this continued for long, the powers of the judiciary were finally restored under the rule of Morarji Desai. Why Asaram believed rape was not a sin India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Asaram Bapu who was sentenced to life imprisonment believed that sexual exploitation of girls is not a sin for a 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person, a prosecution witness had told the court. Asaram also used to take medicines to increase sexual prowess, said prosecution witness Rahul K Sachar, an Asaram's follower, in his deposition forming part of the 453-page judgement convicting the godman and his two accomplices for raping a minor nearly five years ago. Sachar, who was close to Asaram and had access to his 'kutia' or abode, deposed that he had seen Asaram molesting girls in his ashrams in 2003 in Pushkar (Rajasthan), Bhiwani (Haryana) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat). For this purpose, he used to give signals to three girls, who used to stay with him, by throwing torchlight. On getting the 'signal', the girls used to take the targeted girls to his room in Kutia. He used to roam around the ashram with the three girls for selecting the targeted girls, said Sachar. One evening in Ahmedabad, Sachar deposed, he climbed the wall of the 'kutia' and saw the godman molesting the girl. He then wrote a letter questioning why he was doing this to girls and handed over the letter to the cook. Asaram read the letter but ignored it. The follower sent a second letter to Asaram, but he chose not to respond to it, following which he forcefully entered the 'kutia' and asked why Bapu was quiet on his questions. The response of Asaram was, "'Brahmgiani ko ye sab karne se paap nahi lagta.' (It's not a sin for a 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person to do so). When he posed the second question how a 'Bhramgyani' can have such desires, Asaram quietly went inside and asked his men and guards to throw the follower out of the 'kutia.' Sachar had further told the court that Asaram also used to take medicines for increasing his sexual power and used to consume opium. The prosecution witness had also disclosed to the court that the three girls staying with Asaram were also involved in an abortion of the godman's victims. After leaving Asaram's company and his ashram, Sachar was also attacked in 2004, for which he had lodged a complaint with police but no progress ever took place. He was again attacked after giving a statement in the Asaram sexual assault case. Asaram was arrested and was lodged in judicial custody since September 2013 in the case, in which he was awarded life-long jail term on Wednesday by the Jodhpur special POSCO court. Yet another incident of food poisoning at wedding function, 40 fall ill in Rampur, UP India oi-Vikas By Vikas Forty people fell ill and had to rush to a health care centre consuming sweets served during a wedding ceremony in Rampur village under Bairia tehsil in Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place on Thursday (April 26) night. The members of the wedding party complained of vomiting and diarrhoea after eating sweets served to them, a police official said. They were rushed to a community health centre and are stated to be out of danger now, a PTI report quoted police as saying. This is the second major incident of people falling ill after consuming food at wedding function reported this month. Earlier in April, 23 people were hospitalised due to food poisoning in Rajasthan's Bharatpur. These people fell ill after consuming food at a wedding function, said reports. On April 6, as many as 25 students of Step by Step School in Noida fell ill due to suspected food poisoning and four of them had to be hospitalised. Twenty-five students fell ill after having a breakfast of ajwain parantha and lassi in the school canteen, said Sanjay Sharma, food inspector for Gautam Budh Nagar's food department. In January, nearly 120 children were taken ill after eating a meal at a school and admitted to a hospital in Kerala.The children were from a lower primary school at Thonnakel in the district. The primary conclusion is that the students might have taken ill after consuming egg or curry which was served at the school. Though the children showed no signs of illness on that day, some of them complained of discomfort on next day morning. By evening, the students sought medical help at a private hospital at Vengode following fever, vomiting and stomach ache. OneIndia News with PTI inputs "Can't vote, bail conditions won't allow me to leave London," says Mallya International oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is appearing in extradition case in London, on Friday refused to comment on Karnataka politics. The next date of hearing is July 11. At the premises Westminster court, Vijay Mallya said, "Yes It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK. I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments." Yes It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK. I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments: Vijay Mallya pic.twitter.com/7IzWYS3mcQ ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 Vijay Mallya was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, for his home state Karnataka. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 as an independent member from his home state of Karnataka with the support of the Congress party and Janata Dal (Secular). In 2010, he was re-elected for a second term, this time with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD(S). On 2 May 2016, Vijay Mallya resigned from his post as a Rajya Sabha MP, a week after the Rajya Sabha ethics panel declared that he should no longer be a member of the House and one day before the panel was set to meet again to recommend his expulsion. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, April 27, 2018, 17:43 [IST] Chinese media hails Modi-Xi meeting; panda not dragon represents China in illustration International oi-Shubham By Shubham As Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city in Hubei Province of central-eastern China on Friday and Saturday, April 27 & 28, the Chinese media praised it as something that heralded a "new chapter in Sino-Indian relations". China's Global Times said in an op-ed that Modi's visit to China is not aimed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in June but towards having a strategic communication "on the most profound and unprecedented changes the world has seen in a century and thoroughly exchange views on the overall, long-term, strategic issues of China-India relations". The two neighbours locked horns in a military standoff over Doklam for almost two-half-months in mid-2017 which almost led to a war - the second time since 1962. The op-ed said the Doklam crisis did not occur suddenly but was a result of an accumulation of mutual mistrust between the two countries over the years. The Global Times article further added: "India was discontented with and worried about China. When India applied for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, China's attitude toward it was the most passive of the five current permanent members. India's membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group was also opposed by China on the grounds that New Delhi is not a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Although there are other countries who also opposed India's application, it ascribed its failure to China's obstruction. After these disputes, the Indian government and media considered China hostile." "China also has many doubts about India. While the Indian government promised not to support Tibetan separatism, it has harboured separatists over a long period of time and tacitly approved them engaging in activities that jeopardize China's interests in India. In recent years, India has drawn close to the US and Japan, cooperating with the US over Washington's rebalance to Asia-Pacific strategy and is even possibly setting up an Asian version of NATO together with the US and Japan to contain China. India is not only firmly opposed to the Belt and Road initiative, but also warned South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka to reject it," the op-ed said. The article also carried an illustration of an elephant (signifying India) meeting a panda (China's symbol) riding two boats in the middle of a water body. The representation of China through a more adorable panda than a fierce dragon also suggested the Chinese mood while embracing PM Modi for the latest informal meeting in their territory. Train, car, plane: What next for Kim Jong-uns transport for the Trump summit? Yet one more high-level meeting between North & South Korea to be held on May 16 Historic Kim-Moon border summit gets underway International oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer In a historic summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Korean border. Kim said that a new history has begun. In the guestbook, he wrote, " new history begins now." Both leaders made history as they decided to meet for the summit on the nuclear crisis. Moon briefly stepped into North Korea ahead of the summit. Kim, on the other hand, made history when he crossed over into South Korea to meet Moon. He became the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean war ended 65 years back. The leaders of North and South Korea will hold a historic summit in the demilitarised zone that has divided the two nations since 1953. Friday's summit and Kim's planned meeting with President Donald Trump in May or early June were arranged after Kim recently expressed a wiliness to put his nuclear program up for negotiation after a year of nuclear and missile tests. The talks on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom are expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear program. Yet one more high-level meeting between North & South Korea to be held on May 16 Korean Summit: Kim ready to visit South Korean presidents residence if invited International oi-Shubham By Shubham North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said during his historic visit to South Korea on Friday, April 27, that he also harboured a wish to visit Cheong Wa Dae, where the official residence of the South Korean president Blue House is located, if Seoul invited him, the Korea Times reported. Kim said this during attending his historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border village of Panmumjeom in South Korea where the armistice halting the 1950-53 Korean War was signed. In also a proposal which is generally unlikely from the leadership of the hermit kingdom, Kim proposed that the leaders of the two nations meet more. Kim and Moon reviewed South Korea's traditional honour guards before the summit started. Moon told Kim that the traditional guard ceremony, which the South officials decided to hold as a mark of reciprocation to the North's doing the same in their earlier summits in the 2000s, was scaled down because of space constraints in Punmunjeom, according to chief presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan who spoke to the media after the first round of the summit got over, the Korea Times report added. The South Korean leader told Kim that he would show the latter a better ceremony if he came to Cheong Wa Dae. It was then when Kim expressed his wish, Korea Times reported. Kim also told Moon that though he initially expected to see the summit in Pyongyang, but felt that the summit in Punmunjeom, a place which symbolises confrontation between the two countries, would seem better, the report further added. "I saw the boundary stone marking the military demarcation line (which I crossed) was low. If many people cross it in future, one day it will disappear," the Korea Times report quoted Kim as saying. Kim, who till last year was a terror for the world because of his reckless nuclear ambitions, took a pro-peace approach since earlier this year, also said the two countries' leaders needed to meet more frequently and not allow things return to square one, the report added. Being aware of the scepticism over the summit in certain quarters as the two previous summits also didn't fulfil the expectations for peace between the two hostile neighbours, Kim said they did in 100 days what they could not be done in 11 years and a joint effort will prevent the situation from worsening. Kim is set to meet US President Donald Trump next in May or June to continue with his diplomatic reconciliation with the international community. Trump to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in at White House on May 22 Train, car, plane: What next for Kim Jong-uns transport for the Trump summit? Yet one more high-level meeting between North & South Korea to be held on May 16 South Korea holds on to its responsibility to make North Korean peace successful Korean Summit & Modi-Xi meeting: Similarities & Dissimilarities International oi-Shubham By Shubham Two important top-level meetings were taking place in Asia on April 27. While North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un met South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a historic summit at the border town of Punmunjeom in the South, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city in central-eastern China's Hubei Province. The two meetings had certain similarities and dissimilarities although both were of immense importance for regional as well as world affairs. Here is a brief look at what factors bring them close and what don't: Similarities: Both the Koreas and India and China are neighbours who have had a long history of hostility. While North Korea's series of nuclear tests in recent times brought it closer to heightened hostilities with South Korea, India and China had a serious military standoff over Doklam in 2017 resulting in a steep deterioration in their relations. The inter-korean disturbance has threatened peace in the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions while India-China standoff has made South Asia filled with political tension. While countries like Japan and Australia have felt the heat because of North Korea's nuclear ambitions, countries like Bhutan and Nepal have felt threatened by the India-China rivalry. Both meetings are aimed at giving peace a chance after military actions and standoffs. Both meetings view reconciliation between a democratically elected head of government (Modi for India and Moon for South Korea) and authoritarian leaders for life (Xi for China and Kim for North Korea). Dissimilarities: While the Korean Summit is taking place after over a decade and Kim becoming the first ever leader from Pyongyang to set his foot in South Korea; Modi and Xi have met regularly over the last four years despite the deterioration in their relations over odd issues. The United States is an important part of the Korean Summit story. Kim is set to meet US President Donald Trump next while Moon is also scheduled to meet Trump before the US-North Korea summit. But in case of India-China bonhomie, the common concern over the Trump administration's unpredictability is a cementing factor. Especially for India which has realised that Trump's US is more concerned about using others to serve its own interests than actually backing others against a powerful country like China. For the two BRICS members, it is thus important for both India and China to mend fences and get going together. In case of the Korean Summit, the focus is more on the political and diplomatic angles aiming to denuclearise North Korea. In case of India-China talks, the stress is more on the economics - from strengthening bilateral relations to sort out the differences over the Belt & Road Initiative. Unlike the Koreas that have a big difference in their economic standards, both India and China are fast developing economies. The Korean meeting is a summit while Modi-Xi talks are more informal. The two Koreas are clearly enemies who are technically still at war since their 1950-53 war did not end with a peace treaty but an armistice. India and China, on the other hand, are more "frenemies" with both countries having stakes in each other's economic well-being though they two had also fought a war in 1962. Yet one more high-level meeting between North & South Korea to be held on May 16 Korean Summit: What happened in the morning session International oi-Shubham By Shubham North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived for the historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in around 9.30 am South Korean local time at the venue in the truce village of Punmunjeom. Kim walked till the demarcation line which divides the two countries and shook hands with Moon who received him. The two then briefly crossed to the north side of the demarcation line for photos before coming back into the southern side of the line. With this, Kim became the first North Korean leader in history to set his foot in the southern territory, something his authoritarian dynastic predecessors did not do. Attending welcoming ceremony The two leaders then attended a welcoming ceremony and proceeded to the Peace House - the venue of the summit - where Kim wrote in the guestbook. He wrote: "A new history begins now. The era of peace stands at the starting point." The two leaders also planted a tree at the truce village to symbolise "peace and prosperity". Closed door meeting for two hours They then arrived at the meeting room which was recently renovated and spoke on camera. Thereafter, the media was disallowed as the two leaders interacted for two hours in a closed-door meeting. While the South Korean president was accompanied by Chief Presidential Secretary Im Jong-seok and chief of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, Suh Hoon, Kim had with him his sister Yo-jong and vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's central committee in charge of inter-Korean affairs, Kim Yong-chol. Kim left for North Korea in a car for lunch After the meeting, Kim went back to North Korea in his limousine surrounded by bodyguards as lunchtime approached. The two sides were scheduled to meet post-lunch again. A banquet dinner would take place on Friday night following the summit. Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju, who was recently accorded the status of 'First Lady' of North Korea, was set to join him around 6.15 pm local time at the truce village of Panmunjeom and will participate in the dinner hosted by the South Korean president. South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook will also be present on the occasion. Trump to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in at White House on May 22 Train, car, plane: What next for Kim Jong-uns transport for the Trump summit? Yet one more high-level meeting between North & South Korea to be held on May 16 South Korea holds on to its responsibility to make North Korean peace successful Korean Summit: What media in Korean Peninsula said International oi-Shubham By Shubham North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met South Korean President Moon Jae-in the truce village of Punmunjeom on Friday, April 27, for a historic summit aiming for peace and betterment of relations between the two neighbours who are technically at war. The event made the headlines as the Korean and world media kept a close eye on its build-up and eventual occurrence. Here is a look at the headlines that the newspapers in the Korean Peninsula carried on the historic summit: The Korea Times: 'Korea Summit: History in the making' The Korea Herald: 'Unexpected moments at Inter-Korean Summit' Korea Joongang Daily: 'North Korea's Kim Jong-un makes history by crossing into South Korea' The Chosun Ilbo: 'Leaders of 2 Koreas Meet at Border' The Hankyoreh: 'Inter-Korean summit offers a chance for a new era of peace' Yonhap News Agency: 'North Korean leader steps up charm offensive, crafts image as peace driver' From North Korea: Korean Central News Agency or KCNA (North Korean state media): 'Kim Jong Un Leaves Pyongyang for North-South Summit Meeting and Talks' The KCNA, however, also carried a news headlined 'Anti-Reunification Moves against Aspiration of Nation' accusing conservatives in South Korea of "working hard to stoke discord and antagonism among compatriots while painting a black picture of the DPRK's positive efforts for mending the inter-Korean relations". North Korea Times: 'Kim Jong Un to to cross into rival territory for summit' The Pyongyang Times didn't carry any news on the summit as of 2.11 pm local time in North Korea. US has new full-time secretary of state after a month; Mike Pompeo gets the job International oi-Shubham By Shubham The US Senate on Thursday, April 26, confirmed the appointment of Mike Pompeo as the new US secretary of state and he immediately set off for his first assignment to meet key American allies in Europe and West Asia. Pompeo got the job after winning on 57-42 votes - quite a slim one to his discomfort. The yes votes he got were one more than his predecessor Rex Tillerson, one of the lowest received by nominees since at least the Jimmy Carter administration, AP reported. Pompeo was sworn in at the US Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito. Pompeo, who served as the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency prior to his appointment for the top post, made the headlines recently for some important reasons. He paid a secret visit to North Korea during the Easter to meet its supreme leader Kim Jong-un to pave way for the widely anticipated talks between Kim and President Trump over Pyongyang's denuclearisation. Secondly, he faced a stiff resistance from the Democrats who objected to his nomination for the position of secretary of state on grounds of his harsh statements on Indians, Muslims and homosexuality. They said a secretary of state with such hawkish mindset could imperil the USA's foreign relations. Pompeo, 54, is a former army officer and a Republican congressman who is regarded as a loyalist to President Trump. He filled up the position of the secretary of state after the ouster of Tillerson in March end. John Sullivan was serving as the acting secretary of state in the interim period. Soon after his swearing-in, the US State Department informed that Pompeo was to participate in a Nato meeting in Brussels and then visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel this weekend. Iran is likely to the most important topic of discussion during Pompeo's visit, Reuters said. PM Narendra Modi hands over keys to 75,000 beneficiaries of central housing scheme in UP Modi in China: 'Will be happy to host 2019 summit in India', PM tells Xi Jinping International oi-Deepika By Deepika Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are holding delegation-level talks in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province. At the delegation-level talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched for making such informal summits a regular feature in bilateral ties and has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for a visit to India in 2019. "I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India," says Modi. "We(India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40% of the world population, this means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us," he said. "The people of India feel really proud that I'm maybe the first Prime Minister of India, for whom, you (Chinese President) have come out of the capital twice to receive me," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during delegation level talks in Wuhan. Earlier in the day, Modi met Jinping as part of a two-day "heart-to-heart" summit in Wuhan. The Prime Minister will once again meet Jinping for a dinner hosted by the Chinese leader at the East Lake Guest House in central Wuhan. On Saturday, there will more meetings between Modi and Xi with just interpreters of Hindi and Chinese languages accompanying them. Both leaders will have a walk along the banks of a lake and take a boat ride together to herald a new chapter in Indo-Sino relations. Modi in China: PM holds one-to-one meeting with Xi Jinping International oi-Deepika By Deepika Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding one-to-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in central China's Wuhan, the first stop in their two-day informal summit in Wuhan. Modi was welcomed with a short traditional Chinese dance at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The two-day "heart-to-heart" summit will see the two leaders discussing global, regional and bilateral issues. The one-to-one discussions will be followed by talks between the two leaders accompanied by six top officials from each side. The two leaders will have one-on-one dinner at a state guest house by the famous East Lake, news agency PTI reported. A tour of one of the best-known museums of China, dinner by a picturesque lakeside followed by talks with top officials would mark the two-day unprecedented informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the one-on-one informal meeting, Modi told Jinping that he visited Wuhan when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Modi's two day visit to China will promote free trade, strengthen unity among developing countries, and uphold the principles of equity and justice: Chinese Ambassador to India. WATCH: PM Narendra Modi during the tour of the Hubei Provincial Museum #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Chinese President Xi Jinping at an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics & Treasure (Hubei Provincial Museum) #China pic.twitter.com/REIFk93qtK ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018 Ahead of the two-day summit, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou told the media that the two leaders may not release a joint statement at the end of the meet. "Both sides have agreed not to sign an agreement or release any joint document but reach important consensus to resolve outstanding issues," he said. "At the informal summit, the two leaders will have heart-to-heart discussions on overarching issues and try to build mutual trust and consensus to resolve outstanding differences," Kong said. The meeting is looked upon with a lot of interest from both sides following the Doklam standoff last year even as the concerned parties have described it as an "informal meeting" where the two leaders will mainly be a free speaking occasion with little institutional and procedural baggage. The media has described the occasion as one when India and China will "reset" their relationship which has seen highs and lows in the recent times, asserting the viewpoint that the two Asian giants are more "frenemies" and enemies. Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Ronny Jackson, Trumps pick for veterans affairs secy, withdraws nomination International oi-Shubham By Shubham When Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Mike Pompeo's nomination for the post of US secretary of state faced a stiff resistance from the Democrats, US President Donald Trump faced yet another blow as another of his pick for an official post withdrew his nomination after several allegations came up against his conduct. Dr Ronny Jackson, Trump's choice for the post of Veterans Affairs secretary, though denied the allegations that he drank on the job and handed out prescription improperly, yet decided to withdraw his name from the race saying the controversy was distracting Trump. He was also accused of damaging a government vehicle in inebriated condition - a charge which he denied. Jackson, a 50-year-old rear admiral said the allegations against him were fabricated and if they were really true, he would not have served in an important role as the physician to three American presidents for over a decade. Jackson wrote this in a statement which was issued early Thursday, April 26. However, Jackson continued to be in the White House and the latter said the former is a doctor in the US Navy assigned to the White House reported to work as usual. Trump also defended Jackson, who served presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama besides Trump, saying the allegations brought against him were not proved and lashed out at the opponents saying they wanted to "destroy" Jackson. Trump was particularly critical of Jon Tester, the Democratic senator from Montana who has resisted Jackson's nomination, saying the latter would have to "pay a big price" in Montana where he will seek a re-election in November this year. The north-western state of Montana had gone to the Republican president in the 2016 election by a big margin. Trump expressed his views on the Jackson episode on Fox News's "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning. Trump picked Jackson in March after firing David Shulkin who came under scanner for alleged violation of ethics and opposing privatising veterans' health care. Undersecretary of Defence for Personnel and Readiness Robert Wilkie has been the interim head of the Veterans Affairs. Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Trump still considering dates & venues for meeting with Kim Jong-un International oi-Shubham By Shubham US President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel on Thursday, April 26, that he was considering three-four dates and also five locations for his widely awaited meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, giving an expression that the meeting might still be uncertain, Reuters reported. Trump also said in the interview that the secret meeting between CIA chief Mike Pompeo with Kim in North Korea a few weeks ago was not planned either. He said Pompeo wasn't supposed to meet Kim but North Korea arranged for a meeting during his stay there. Much is being said and written about Trump's meeting with Kim which is proposed to be held in end May or early June. Kim has already met Chinese President Xi Jinping and is due to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday in a historic summit. His proposed meeting with Trump will complete the circle of events in the quest for peace in the North Korean Peninsula. Trump readily accepted North Korea's offer in March to hold talks and if it turns out to be real, it will be the first-ever between an American president with the highest leader of North Korea - a country which has remained isolated for a long time in world affairs. Trump also said recently that he would walk out of the meeting with Kim if he sensed that it was not going the desired way. Speaking to Fox News over the telephone, he reiterated that he could walk out quickly "with respect" or may be that the meeting doesn't take place at all, Reuters added. He, however, said that North Korea was willing to make the meeting a reality at the moment, the report added. Vijay Mallya case: UK court to decide date of final verdict on July 11 International oi-Vikas By Vikas In the ongoing extradition trial of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the UK Court on Friday reportedly admitted all the evidence put forth by the CBI. The Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, which is hearing the case, will also decide the date of final verdict on July 11. Mallya, who is wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore, is currently on a 650,000 pounds bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant by Scotland Yard in April last year. "It's another day in court", Mallya told reporters outside the Westminster Magistrates' Court before the hearing began today. At the last hearing in the case on March 16, the judge had noted that it was "blindingly obvious" that rules were being broken by Indian banks which sanctioned some of the loans to the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines owned by Mallya. "There are clear signs that the banks seem to have gone against their own guidelines (in sanctioning some of the loans)," Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had said, "inviting" the Indian authorities to explain the case against some of the bank officials involved because that relates to the "conspiracy" allegations against Mallya. At the end of that hearing, the judge had indicated her decision on the admissibility of evidence would go in favour of admitting some material and excluding some affidavits, which she said did not pertain to the prima facie case of fraud. Mallya's counsel, Clare Montgomery, had also argued that evidence which was claimed as a "blueprint of dishonesty" by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is arguing on behalf of the Indian government, was in fact a privileged interaction between Mallya and his lawyer about "legal advice in clear contemplation of litigation" and hence should be inadmissible. The trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016. It also seeks to prove there are no "bars to extradition" and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crore in loans from a consortium of Indian banks. The CPS, representing the Indian government, has argued that the evidence they have presented establishes "dishonesty" on the part of the businessman and that there are no bars to him being extradited from the UK to face Indian courts. Mallya's defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no "fraudulent" intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India. If the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary will have two months to sign Mallya's extradition order. However, both sides will have the chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the Magistrates' Court verdict. OneIndia News with PTI inputs For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, April 27, 2018, 16:49 [IST] There are emerging indicators of fresh crisis looming in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over elongation of the tenure of the Caretaker Committee. Several stakeholders have rejected plans to extend the tenure of the committee, insisting on the conduct of national convention of the election of the party leadership. Some party stakeholders under the aegis of Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) Members revolted and issued the Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, 14-day ultimatum to set out plans for convening a national convention in December. The Concerned APC Members expressed vehement opposition to any plan to extend the tenure of the caretaker committee, protesting that it is going to be counterproductive. APC at the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) on June 25 appointed the Buni-led Caretaker Committee after the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by the deposed national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. The Caretaker Committee had six months duration to reconcile members in conflicts and convene an elective national convention within the period. The committee has not shown any intention of winding up or convening an elective national convention. Opposition has continued to mount against any extension of tenure as pressures intensify for national convention in November. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. (This is a reprint from NewsBred). India's Supreme Court (Image by ashishshukla.net) Details DMCA It's now given that attacks on judiciary would hog the front pages of newspapers and prime time television till the 2019 General Elections. Newspapers would speculate on the "allegations" whether the Chief Justice of India ought to be impeached or not but you would never see them beat one's own brains whether the four "dissenting" SC judges have themselves invited an impeachment motion on their press conference earlier this year (as opined by former SC judge RS Sodhi). You would see these presstitutes flagpole government's apparent delay in confirming the appointments of judges, initiated by the SC Collegium, but you would never see them brainstorm if government's demand for a more transparent appointment system is justified given how a particular judge, belonging to Collegium itself, was ordered by the SC itself to undergo mental "stability" examination! The Lutyens' Media would run up any given lampost to browbeat the NDA government for trying to "encroach" upon the judiciary but you would never see them admit that a Law Minister was always the part of the judicial appointment system till the Collegium came about in 1993. (That "enroahed" system got a judgment against the sitting Prime Minister of India by a Allahabad High Court judge. That "encroached" system produced judges of the caliber of Justices Vivian Bose, Hidayatullah, JS Verma etc. What Collegium has produced, well...) These despicable hacks would drown you with the noise that government is taking over the judiciary. They would never clarify as to how the "A.J. Raja acquittal" or Bapu Asaram guilty pronouncement then came about. The crooked media would never tell you why sexual harassment charges against judges are dismissed on less-than-convincing grounds. The deceitful pen-pushers wouldn't tell an opaque system encourages judges to be manipulated--or why else most of the Supreme Court judges end up getting lucrative post-retirement jobs--and that it must be done away with. The shameless mainstream media wouldn't encourage dismantling the opaque system even after names of corrupt former CJIs are presented in a sealed envelope in the court. It would not question a Kapil Sibal why he didn't asked for "impeachment" motion in above allegations of corruption and sexual misdemeanours against the honourable judges. Best of all, you would never see the gutter media present the fact that after all this, NDA has cleared the appointment of more judges than ever per year. So cram up the facts and be ready with answers when propaganda hits your face next time. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. A US Marine carrying his dead buddy in a body bag in Iraq. (Image by open source) Details DMCA Many, if not most, people who join the US military do so because they want to defend their country against those who want to do it harm. They usually have the naive mindset that politicians only send the military to war when the United States of America is facing a real threat. They believe it is their duty to defend the nation they call home. I know that's what I believed when I joined the US Marine Corps in 1973. Reality is much different. Take for example, the Iraq War. George W. Bush was talking about nuclear mushroom clouds over the US, while his Secretary of State Colin Powell was telling lies to the United Nations about Iraq's imaginary weapons of mass destruction, all in a concerted effort to start the unnecessary Iraq War. They wanted to start a war against Iraq, not for America's interests, but for the interests of the Jewish state of Israel. Philip Zelikow, who was an advisor to George W. Bush and the executive director of the 9/11 Commission, said the lies of Iraq being a threat to the US were used to sell the war to the American people because it was believed the American people would not support the war for its true reason and purpose, which was Israel's security. The American people, or at least those who join the US military, must now have changed their thinking from when the US politicians started the Iraq War. They must now be willing to sacrifice their limbs and lives for Israel. This seems to be true based on a recent statement by US Air Force General Richard Clark. He was recently in Israel and overseeing US military forces in the joint US/Israel military exercise named Juniper Cobra. Clark made clear that not only would US troops who would be involved in combat in and around Israel ultimately be under Israeli command, since the purpose of their presence would be Israel's security, but that they are prepared to die for the Jewish state. Clark is probably a career military officer with political aspirations. As such, he would know the raw power of the Israel lobby over US politicians from both parties. Like all US politicians who voted to start the Iraq War, Clark's selfish political desires are much more important to him than the well-being and lives of the people in the US military. US politicians and military officers who are now promoting Israel, are helping Israel to achieve world domination, as the Jewish clergy who wrote the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament claimed is God's will. Contrary to Donald Trump's political scam of "America First!", by promoting the Jewish state of Israel with American lives and limbs and with American tax dollars, US politicians and military officers are helping to put Israel over America and the world. Looking at Deuteronomy 28:1 we see the ancient Jewish clergy put these words in God's mouth: "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth." Of course, the Jewish people who bought this lie were, and are, not following the voice of God, but the voice of the Jewish clergy who wrote it. However, the clear goal of this religious teaching is not some pie-in-the-sky heaven or paradise, but political domination of Israel over "all nations of the earth." Verse 10 shows that this domination will be based on fear. It teaches, "And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee." The ancient Jewish clergy who wrote the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament took into consideration Gentile nations that may resist being subservient to the Jewish state of Israel. Isaiah 60:11-12 claims that God said regarding Israel: "Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." Even on an individual level the god of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament favors Jews over Gentiles in the here and now. Looking at Leviticus 25:44-46 we see the Jewish clergy claim that God commanded the Jews not to own their fellow Jews as slaves, but to instead take all of their slaves from the Gentile people to own "for ever". These verses read: "Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour." Since it seems US leaders are not as concerned with hiding their real reasons for sending the US military off to war in 2018 as they were in at the start of this century, perhaps Americans are now more like the Eloi people in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine: passive to the point of blindly walking or marching to their deaths. Israel needs to take the advice of Albert Einstein, who said, "Should we be unable to find a way to honest cooperation and honest pacts with the Arabs, then we have learned absolutely nothing during our 2,000 years of suffering and deserve all that will come to us." Albert Einstein also touched on the reason there is so much violence in regards to Israel: Judaism. On his visit to Jerusalem on February 3, 1923, Einstein watched religious Jews praying at the Western Wall. Einstein wrote of this, "Where dull-witted clansmen of our tribe were praying aloud, their faces turned to the wall, their bodies swaying to and fro. A pathetic sight of men with a past but without a future." Unfortunately, now those "dull-witted clansmen" who rely on the ungodly teachings in the Hebrew Bible for direction in their lives and for Israel are practicing ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, and are in control of very real nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction as well as a growing fleet of submarines that can deliver them to almost any place on Earth. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un meet for historic summit of the Koreas South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet at the border village of Panmunjom for a historic summit. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: bit.ly/2q (Image by YouTube, Channel: Washington Post) Details DMCA North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting yesterday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjom demilitarized zone dividing two Korea's Yesterday North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Panmunjom demilitarized zone separating the two Korea's. To say the least there's been a significant relaxing of tensions between the two Korea's the last few months since Moon first reached out to Kim in a January 2018 news conference saying he'd be willing to hold talks with the North Korean leader. And In February it was actually Kim who invited Moon to meet in yesterday's summit. Though significant in itself this summit yesterday should be considered a good first step as a foundation to build upon when Kim meets face to face with US President Trump in late May or early June. In fact Trump-as his want-tweeted about the KIm/Moon summit, "Good things are happening, but time will tell". Fifteen minutes later in all caps, "KOREAN WAR TO END". On the surface "things" appear to be moving in the right direction. But it's Trump's summit with Kim that really matters. Because the results of that summit hold the key to what's going to happen moving forward regarding the entire Korean Peninsula. It's no secret Trump wants Kim to give up his nuclear weapons. Yet those weapons have been the deterrent that essentially kept the US from attacking North Korea and initiating regime change. Kim has said he is willing to give up his nuclear weapons and have a nuclear free Korean Peninsula. He's also said he no longer needs to conduct nuclear and long range missile tests because his country has mastered how to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile. By Trump's tweet and Kim and Moon issuing a statement they would push for a conference including the US and China "declaring an end to the Korean War" and "replace the armistice with a peace treaty" that long ago war may be coming to an end. But that would only be an initial step. The really hard part is what comes next. Let's face it Kim isn't going to give up his nuclear weapons unless the US agrees to the following: Recognize North Korea as a sovereign country. The US agrees it will not attack the country. The US ends all US economic sanctions against North Korea. Ends all the combined US, South Korea, Japan war games off the Korean Peninsula. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Antje Vollmer (Image by boellstiftung) Details DMCA [The following is a translation from German by Google and me of this page from NachDenkSeiten.de. The interview was conducted by Marcus Klockner.] Anyone talking with Antje Vollmer quickly realizes that she is no alarmist, but an experienced politician. Vollmer, who has a doctorate in theology, was Vice President of the German Bundestag from 1994 to 2005 and repeatedly a Green member of Parliament. But what has been happening lately worries her greatly. The cornerstones of detente, set in place by politicians of the old Federal Republic to avoid a war with Russia, have been destroyed by the post-reunification elites. She wants an open discussion of the value of the policy of detente as practiced by Willy Brandt and others, as opposed to the new German hard-line policy towards Russia. The following interview was preceded by two public appeals by Vollmer and other well-known personalities from the realm of politics, business, and culture. In December 2014 the message, with more than 60 signatories, was: "War again in Europe? Not in our name!" But the appeal had little effect. Then, on April 12 of this year, Vollmer made another public appeal, together with Gunter Verheugen (SPD), Edmund Stoiber (CSU), Horst Teltschik (CDU) and Helmut Schafer (FDP), warning of the imminent danger of "a third and final world war." But except for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, no other media outlet published the statement. Are we facing a Third World War, Ms. Vollmer? "We are facing an extremely tense situation between the West and Russia. In this situation, minor events or misinterpretations of events can lead to further escalation, which -- and this is the great danger -- can no longer be controlled by anyone. I believe that a false threat analysis can be just as dangerous as a real threat." Can you explain that? "We see both sides building up a picture of the 'enemy.' This is driven, sometimes hysterically, by the media. And in fact the armed forces are being constantly built up, both militarily and verbally. With this mixture, the effect of even minor events or confrontations can no longer be calculated, especially since most of the structures for discussion are no longer being used." You are an experienced politician. How do you think we got to this critical situation with Russia? There must have been some signs along the way. It did not happen overnight. "I think there was a fundamental change in German foreign policy at the turn of the millenium, or in 2005 at the latest." What do you mean? "The revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain made the West feel victorious and encouraged some to dream of further regime changes worldwide. The role of detente, and of the considerable contributions of the Soviet Union to the miracle that these changes occurred largely non-violently in Europe, were gradually forgotten." For the second time now, you and other well-known people have made a public call for better relations with Russia. "Yes, in 2014 it was due to the Ukraine crisis. Over 60 prominent people signed that statement. I cannot remember anything similar. A former president, a former chancellor, various cabinet ministers and state governors -- all from the most diverse political parties -- and also well-known people representing the arts, culture, churches, trade unions, and agricultural organizations. We were warning then, urgently, that the threat of war in Europe was real, and not just a phenomenon from the past." What was the reaction? "It was not taken seriously. The media invented the label "Russian sympathizers" ["Russland-Versteher"] for us. The major TV networks ARD and ZDF did not report it at all. We went first to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, but they obviously missed the whole point since they refused to print it or even report it as a news story." Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Assault Weapons Used in All Mass Shootings of 10 or More Since Columbine Originally published in the Colorado Springs Gazette By Robert Weiner and Brad Star Gun advocates should quit saying that restoring the assault-weapons ban would mean nothing. All 15 mass killings of ten or more since Columbine (19 years ago April 20) would have been stopped or diminished under he ban that was in place for a decade but was sunsetted by the NRA in 2004. Though the Parkland students have pushed the envelope in an amazing way, no progress has been made on the front of assault weapons. In reality, the automatic and semi-automatic weapons used in each mass shooting killing ten or more over the past two decades would have been barred or greatly reduced under an assault-weapons ban. It's simply not true that, as alleged by gun advocates, an assault-weapons ban would make little to no difference in the fight against gun violence. "I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment and I remain a supporter of the Second Amendment," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in February following the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. "The Second Amendment is not the cause of this. The cause of this is individuals who happen to abuse that liberty and that constitutional right for the purposes of conducting these atrocities." Rubio is right--the Second Amendment is not the problem. Qualifications on possession and gun types are perfectly legal under the Second Amendment. The most-watched news on modern gun events revolves around mass killings with the most deaths, the ones committed with assault weapons. Successfully stopping these headlines with an assault-weapons ban would go a long way in easing the national angst about the terror of mass shootings in schools, churches, cinemas, clubs and other public spaces. Even the NRA should want to achieve this since by taking away the worst and most long-term headlines, the remaining protections would remain with less pressure against them. Assault weapons--including the semi-automatic handguns used at Columbine and Aurora--were once illegal in the U.S. under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), included in the crime bill of 1994. The federal ban prevented the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms that the government classified as assault weapons. The ban applied to weapons produced after the bill's passing. The AWB lasted just 10 years, expiring in 2004 due to its sunset provision, which NRA chief lobbyist Tanya Metaska added to mitigate a bill she knew was going to pass. Her plan worked, and the AWB was not reauthorized after 2004. Mass shootings were less frequent during the ban and the ones with the most deaths are much more frequent today. Since 1994, 16 mass shootings involving 10 or more deaths have taken place in the U.S. Just two of those shootings, the Columbine massacre and the Atlanta shootings, occurred between 1994 and 2004, the period during which the AWB was in effect. In the 14 years since the expiration of the AWB, the U.S. has seen 14 mass shootings killing ten or more: - Columbine High School massacre*, 1999; 15 deaths; weapons used: Intratec TEC-DC9 semi-automatic pistol, Hi-Point 995 Carbine, Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, 99 explosives, 4 knives - Atlanta shootings*, 1999; 10 deaths; weapons used: Colt 1911A1 pistol, Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol, H&R Revolver, Raven MP-25 semi-automatic pistol - Red Lake shootings*, 2005; 10 deaths; weapons used: Glock 23 semi-automatic pistol, Ruger MK II semi-automatic pistol, Remington 870 shotgun Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Made in the USA Reports No. 30, Issue 4 April, 2018 By Joel D. Joseph, Chairman, Made in the USA Foundation General Motors, which U.S. taxpayers bailed out in 2008 for $50 billion to save U.S. jobs, has been importing Buicks made in China and Poland. That's the bad news. The good news is that consumers are rejecting these imported vehicles. Buick manufactures its large SUV, the Envision, at the Dong Yue Foundry in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. Cars.com is currently showing 14,600 Envisions in stock at U.S. dealerships, including unsold 2016 and 2017 models. In 2017, GM sold only 40,000 Envisions in the United States. Buick's large stock of unsold cars represents about five months of sales, which is a large number for the auto industry. By comparison, in 2017, U.S. consumers bought 250,000 U.S.-made Ford Explorers and 52,000 U.S.-made Acura RDXs, two competing SUVs. Chevy Tahoe, also made by General Motors, sold 100,000 U.S.-made vehicles last year. One could reasonably conclude that the Envision has been a dismal failure, not because of government action, but because of lack of consumer demand. The Envision has been hurt by its Chinese label and bad reviews. Consumer Reports found the vehicle, "Underdeveloped, overpriced ($35,000 and up), and over here. Handling is clumsy and the brakes are mushy... The ride is a mixed bag, both soft and unsettled at the same time. Wind noise is pronounced." Polish Ragtops The Buick Cascada is a convertible manufactured by General Motors in Gliwice, Poland. It has been a huge failure with sales of only 7,000 cars in 2016, which declined to 5,000 in 2017. In comparison, Ford sold 30,000 Mustang convertibles in each of those years. The Cascada is also expensive, at $35,000, and received poor reviews. Car and Driver found that the Cascada "had serious cowl shake, so severe as to be revealed by high-frequency side-to-side motion of the back-seat headrests in the rearview mirror while driving over even modest pavement imperfections... The Buick shows its age and lack of attention to modern details in other ways. Some deliberation is necessary when opening the doors to give the frameless glass a chance to drop free of the roof's weather seals. Irritating rubbing sounds emerge from the relative movement between the glass and the rubber seals with the car in motion." Chinese Tariffs China charges a 25% tariff on cars imported from the United States. The U.S. charges a duty of only 2.5% on cars coming from China. To level the playing field, we must raise our tariff to equal that charged by China. I have proposed the Chinese American Reciprocal Trade Act, that would raise all U.S. tariffs to the levels charged by China for the importation of American-made products. European Union Tariffs The European Union, which includes Poland, as well as Italy and Germany, charges a duty of 10% on American-made cars. The U.S. charges only 2.5% on European imports. If we had imposed a 10% duty on Polish cars, Buick would not have made the Cascada there. The U.S. government also bailed out Chrysler Corporation, which has since been acquired by FIAT. Since the bailout, Chrysler has been importing Jeeps from Italy. The Italian-made Jeep Renegade is the first Jeep that has been made outside of the United States. Most U.S. consumers do not realize that the Renegade is made in Italy and sales are brisk, at about 100,000 per year. Free and Fair Trade The United States must increase its tariffs to levels charged by its trading partners. The high tariffs charged by China are forcing U.S. auto companies to set up shop in China. Tesla wants to sell its cars in China, but its sales are slow there due to the high tariffs. U.S. consumers are resisting many of these imports. There are excellent domestic alternatives to most imported cars, especially SUVs. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. When I was a teenager, my grandfather Harry used to dine with us most nights. After dinner he would deliver a homily, usually, "Beware the Russians!" Grandpa Harry warned us about the Russians because they had no ethics: they would say and do anything to win. If he was alive now, Harry would still fear the Russians, but he would also warn of Christians, because some of them are willing to say and do anything to win. Witness their support of Donald Trump. Although their numbers are declining, roughly 72 percent of Americans identify as Christians -- approximately 240 million, the largest Christian population in any nation. More than 10 percent of US Christians do not belong to a congregation. Of those who do belong to a congregation, the largest group contains evangelical Christians -- although their numbers are declining, roughly 60 million are White Evangelical Christians. 80 percent of White Evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016. In their recent study, "Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election" (https://academic.oup.com/socrel/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/socrel/srx070/4825283? ) sociologists Andrew Whitehead, Joseph Baker, and Samuel Perry conclude that for many White Evangelicals, "voting for Trump was... a symbolic defense of the United States' perceived Christian heritage." Whitehead, Baker, and Perry used data from the latest Baylor Religion Study (.baylor.edu/baylorreligionsurvey/doc.php/292546.pdf) to unearth the core beliefs of White Evangelical Christians. The sociologists identified six questions as measures of Christian Nationalism: The first is "the federal government should enforce strict separation of church and state." Christian Nationalists reject this because they believe that the United States has a special relationship with the Christian God. White Evangelical Nationalists respond positively to these five notions: "The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation." "The federal government should advocate Christian values." "The federal government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces." "The success of the United States is part of God's plan." "The federal government should allow prayer in public schools." White Evangelicals support Trump because he appears to agree with them. In an interview with the Huffington Post ( https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/researchers-discover-common-thread-between-evangelicals-who-voted-for-trump_us_5abbd15ae4b04a59a313c5ea) Andrew Whitehead noted that since his election Trump has given Christian Nationalists direct access to the White House. This has led them to forgive his conduct: "They believe God can use anyone, 'even a thrice married, non-pious, self-proclaimed public playboy,'" to form a Christian nation]. "For Christian nationalists, the end goal is a society that favors Christianity in various aspects... How that project is achieved is of little consequence to them." [Emphasis added] If my grandfather was alive, he'd be shocked that these Christians have adopted the "say and do anything to win" morality of the Russians. The White Evangelical Nationalists have abandoned mainstream Christian ethics. Christian ethics is an elastic concept and you'll get different definitions from Christian to Christian. If we focus on the teachings of Jesus -- that is, emphasize the ethical teachings promoted in the New Testament -- three ethical principles stand out. The first regards personal integrity: mainstream Christians believe that those who call themselves Christians should be straightforward and honest; they should speak the truth. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) Jesus said; "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.' But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all... All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Christians should be forthright; they should not lie. The second ethical teaching is about social relations: mainstream Christians believe that Christians should be fair and compassionate. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7) Jesus said: "Whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them." Treat others as you would like them to treat you. The third ethical teaching is about equality: mainstream Christians believe that Christians should treat regard others as equals. Jesus brought a message of love: "A new commandment I give you, love one another." (John 13:34) Paul summarized this as: "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) Donald Trump does not practice these ethical teachings. He is a liar, bully, sexist and racist. He is an apostate. Why then do White Evangelical Christians support Trump? There are three explanations. The first is that they do not believe what the mainstream media says about Trump. They do not believe that he is a liar, bully, sexist, and racist. White Christian Evangelicals live in an information silo where they get their information from pro-Trump sources and, therefore, trust Trump over mainstream media sources such as The Washington Post. The second explanation is sociological. The White Evangelical Christians support Trump because their pastor or preacher tells them they should. That is, these Christian -- and their friends -- do not decide independently how to vote -- or what is right. The third explanation is theological. White Evangelical Christians recognize Trump for what he is but they do not care because Trump is furthering their goal of a Christian Nation and "how that project is achieved is of little consequence to them." From this perspective, Christian Nationalists have abandoned mainstream, New Testament Christian ethics and instead adopted Old Testament ethics where -- because of the omnipresence of evil -- it is permissible to say and do anything to win. Whenever White Evangelical Nationalists support Trump, they are abandoning mainstream Christian ethics. They, too, are apostates. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From The Hill The Democratic National Committee (DNC), in a stunning example of political malpractice, recently filed a lawsuit involving the same matters now being investigated by nonpartisan special counsel Robert Mueller. Democratic workers, candidates and donors should demand that the DNC publicly release the full details of its planned budget for this horrendously ill-advised venture, and then demand that the DNC deploy its resources instead in ways that will elect Democrats to regain control of the House and Senate. The great news for Democrats is that the tidal wave of revulsion against the swampland that Trump and Republicans in Congress have brought to Washington is so deep and wide, and voter turnout in support of change will be so enthusiastic and large, that recent elections throughout 2017 and 2018 strongly suggest that even polls favorable to Democrats underestimate the potential magnitude of the Democratic victory in the midterms. House Republicans, including the Speaker of the House, continue to retire in large numbers. Recent elections show that more than 100 House Republicans are vulnerable to potentially being defeated. Democrats now have a realistic chance of regaining control of the Senate as well as the House. However, Democrats should be warned that many House and Senate elections could be decided by razor thin margins. Democrats could lose enough close House and Senate races that they ultimately lose seats in the Senate and fail to gain control of the House. With little margin for error, it is malpractice for the DNC to waste a penny of money, or a minute of time, on a lawsuit that literally does absolutely nothing to elect Democrats to the House or Senate in the most important midterm election in generations. How many voters will witness this lawsuit and conclude it makes their lives better in any way, for even one moment? The answer is none! Memo to the DNC, pardon my bluntness, but it's the turnout, idiots, not the lawsuits, that win elections. The greatest asset Democrats possess in the midterm elections is not the lawyers who file cases, or DNC leaders who praise themselves on television for bringing these cases, but the deep wellspring of public outrage against the GOP status quo, from the liberal base to independent voters, from women to students and minority voters, that explains the strong blue surge even in some deep-red places. While Women's Marchers, student leaders and minority activists are spearheading efforts to register voters and mobilize turnout, it is malpractice for DNC leaders to be merchandising court filings and discussing legal briefs that voters do not give a damn about compared to their jobs, health care, wages and standard of living. The DNC should focus with tenacity and aggression on registering and motivating voters. For every additional voter that the DNC can help register and bring to the polls, that voter can help elect a Democrat to the House, Senate and state races wherever he or she votes. Equally important, at a time when the Democratic Party brand is only marginally more popular than the Republican Party brand with voters, the DNC can produce high quality party branding ads, speaking tours and town meetings that highlight and showcase an extraordinarily appealing new generation of Democratic voices who embody the best of the party's past and the great hope for the party's future. To lift the appeal of the Democratic cause, the DNC should produce ads and public events to provide huge visibility to appealing Democratic figures with names such as Michelle Obama, Reps. Joe Kennedy III (Mass.) and Beto O'Rourke (Texas), Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Tammy Duckworth(Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Cory Booker(N.J.), and former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander among others. All Americans should support the nonpartisan Mueller investigation of the Russian attack against America and condemn Republicans who refuse to protect Mueller from attempts to obstruct his work. The DNC should be registering voters, mobilizing workers, increasing turnout, lifting the party image and helping Democrats win elections in 2018 and 2020. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Smirking Chimp Can a progressive populist movement be built in the rural areas and small towns that Donald Trump dominated in 2016? On Tuesday, People's Action -- one of the largest multiracial, people's organizations in the country with 48 member organizations in 30 states -- launched a major initiative to do just that. Instead of writing off red counties in rural and small town America, the project aims to challenge Trump's fake right-wing populism with a progressive populist movement built from the bottom up. Their Rural and Small Town Organizing Strategy will target 72 counties in 10 states across the heartland and the south. The counties include 28 "pivot" counties that voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and then went to Trump in 2016. They are in key swing states like Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Carolina. People's Action and its member organizations will build organizing efforts in all 72 counties by the end of 2018 -- and sustain growing community organizations through 2020 and beyond. Unlike traditional grassroots organizing efforts, this initiative will be identifying new leaders, and supporting insurgent candidates from the start. Rural and Urban Together George Goehl, director of People's Action, grew up in a rural, working-class family in Indiana. At Tuesday's launch at the National Press Club in Washington, he noted that contrary to stereotypes about rural America, these counties, while predominantly white, include African-American communities, Native American reservations and areas with significant immigrant populations. The right has used race as a weapon to divide poor and working class communities. Now, through this project, George argues, PA will seek to build a multi-racial populist movement in rural and small town America that can join with poor and working people from urban America to transform the country. The challenge of "unifying a multi-racial poor and working class coalition is real," Goehl told rural grassroots leaders from across the country who gathered for the launch. "But know this: We have found the villain in this story, and it is not each other. " Multiracial Organizing Is this possible? Kischa Pena, an African American mother of two from Mebane, North Carolina, thinks so. "After the 2016 election and Charlottesville, I had all but given up on White America," she said. "Then in September 2017, I met Down Home. I was skeptical of building a multiracial poor and working class power structure, in Alamance County of all places. But here I am, eight months later, more hopeful than ever that we can win this fight. "We can win this fight by being open to having difficult a transparent conversation, by actively listening to each other's stories," Pena told those gathered at the NPC. "Realizing that we have more in common than we do that separates us, and seeing those shared issues as opportunities to build the power that we all know our families deserve." A Populist Moment We live in a populist moment. More and more Americans understand that the economy has been rigged against them, and that our politics has been corrupted by big money. Rural and small town America has taken some of the hardest hits: Jobs lost, plants closed, water fouled, family farms crushed, the relentless spread of the afflictions of despair -- divorce, suicide, depression, addiction. Trump and Republicans consolidated their hold on these regions largely by playing a race-bait politics, blaming "those people" -- blacks, Latinos, immigrants, limousine liberals -- for what has been lost. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Dennis Kucinich speaking at the Sister Giant (Image by Meryl Ann Butler) Details DMCA Accused of consorting with the enemy by The Plain Dealer and former Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, Kucinich responds, calling Strickland's attacks "unfounded and inflammatory" and explaining the peace connections behind his meetings with Assad. In endorsing Kucinich in the Democratic primary for Ohio governor, the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer wrote "'he must never again make nice with Syrian butcher Bashar Assad,'" saying "it's doubly important for his credibility and integrity that Kucinich now also sever his financial ties to Assad apologists. "Our board still feels Kucnich is the best Democratic candidate, but his financial links to pro-Assad groups diminish him and harm his ability to be a disinterested voice for peace and justice. He must end these connections." Former Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, a supporter of rival candidate Richard Cordray accused Kucinich of associating with "the most despicable people imaginable." According to The Chronicle, Strickland "criticized Kucinich for accepting and initially failing to report a $20,000 speaking fee from the pro-Assad the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committee and demanded Kucinich disclose other similar contributions." These accusations seemed especially impactful in the wake of the alleged chemical attack in Douma. However, in interviews at the Hague, now witnesses have called the alleged attack a false flag by the White Helmets. Kucinich called Strickland's attacks "unfounded and inflammatory"which "grossly misportrayed" two Christian Lebanese donors who now fear for their safety as a result of Strickland's attack. Kucinich also responded to the Plain Dealer editorial which in effect, re-endorsed him for Governor of Ohio, but also urged him to sever ties to supporters and apologists for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Following is the letter Kucinich sent to the Plain Dealer (provided by the Kucinich for Governor campaign): The people of Ohio and The Plain Dealer Editorial Board certainly deserve answers to the questions raised in your recent editorial. Several trips I made to the Middle East, including Lebanon and Syria, were sponsored by a community organization, the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS - Ohio), which serves Cleveland's large Arab American community. AACCESS is composed of Arab-Americans of various Christian and Muslim denominations, some of whom favor the Assad government in Syria, and some who do not. Bassam and Elie Khawam, prominent members of that organization, have been friends of mine since 1991. I met them during Bill Clinton's campaign for President. They have contributed, generously, to my campaigns as well as to the campaigns of many prominent Democrats. Contrary to published reports, I have had no financial dealings with the Khawams, nor any financials ties to them. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. MSNBC WEEKEND HOST Joy-Ann Reid apologized last December for a series of homophobic blog posts she wrote from 2007 to 2009 about then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, whom she repeatedly mocked as "Miss Charlie" and ridiculed with ugly anti-gay stereotypes. Miss Charlie, wrote Reid, was someone who, if he ever got to the White House as John McCain's vice president, would be fixated not on policy, but on designing pretty napkin patterns at state funerals, and spend his honeymoon "ogling male waiters." In her apology, Reid insisted that she has some gay friends ("The LGBT community includes people whom I deeply love") and that her writings were "insensitive, tone deaf and dumb." Most people, at least in the media, seemed quick to accept Reid's apology -- and they were right to do so. People have the right to change their beliefs as they and the society around them grow, learn, and evolve. That process should be encouraged, not stigmatized. Politics, at its core, should be about persuading people to repudiate misguided and destructive beliefs and adopt ones that are more reasoned, humane, and just. And when that happens, it should be celebrated, not scorned. In 2012, the Democratic Party officially changed its position on LGBT equality when Barack Obama "evolved" and announced his support for gay marriage, which he had previously opposed. There's no reason to doubt that Reid (who once worked as a press aide for the Obama campaign) changed her views on LGBT people to align with the new party dogma. Candidly acknowledging the erroneous nature of one's previously held views is a virtue, not a character flaw. As someone who has changed many of my own views about a wide range of both political and nonpolitical questions -- growth that I hope and expect will continue for as long as I live -- I regard it as vital that everyone have the space to reconsider old beliefs, and not have them held against one in perpetuity once they are renounced. Click Here to Read Whole Article Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. In economic/political terms, austerity is policy imposed upon nations facing bankruptcy as a result of indebtedness to other nations. It reduces the general population to stringent living conditions and limits their ability to recover from financial shock by prioritizing debt repayment above all other factors of economic and social activity. In the larger view, austerity could become the policy of all nations facing bankruptcy and dissolution as a result of ever-expanding production, over-exploitation and waste of natural resources, climate-warming devastation, environmental pollution, the waste of wars, and resulting social unrest. This could be the basic scenario for the world in the coming centuries if these current and projected destructive trends are not adequately confronted. The predominate humanly-devised operating systems of the present world are like an unquenched appetite; they are not in harmony with the Earth's natural systems of renewal. This has been the case for centuries or millennia, but the resulting damage in former times was relatively inconsequential to the capacities of the Earth. Today, we identify the basic operating system as a capitalistic economy: an outgrowth primarily of the industrial revolution when productive capacity and consumer markets greatly expanded. A class of entrepreneurs, backed by collective investors, took private ownership of large-scale means of production of goods and services, creating a large class of workers who, commonly, are marginally compensated for their work. This system is advertised as the best possible because it is supposedly self-regulating by competition, fair trade, and the "invisible hand" of the markets - as if a god were in control. But we have seen that the system is far from perfect. The natural tendencies of unsupervised greed and self-aggrandizement, coupled with compromised morality and social consciousness, find all sorts of ways to outwit the invisible hand and destabilize the natural and man-made systems. The greatest obstacle to a "perfect" system in balance with nature may lie in the culture of the consumer. The level of materialistic expectations inherited by each generation has risen in accordance with the increasing diversity and profusion of products and other amenities available to us, except for those living outside the system in relative poverty. Will this or the next generations be capable of adjusting to a significantly lower level of affluence in an anticipated era of austerity? Such conditions existed in America during World War I and the people adapted cooperatively. There was great motivation at that time and many had suffered during the preceding stringent times of the "Great" Depression, making an easy transition to wartime conditions that actually lifted them out of depression. Today, many of us live in an intoxicated state of commercially-stimulated pleasures, giving only token attention to or oblivious to the suffering surrounding us and beyond in the outside world. The many little wars and conspiracies our corporate-guided government is engaged in does not seem to faze our everyday pleasures of shopping, sports, movies, TV, music, games, exercising, eating out, etc., that occupy our leisure time. Some of these pleasures would have to be sacrificed under conditions of widespread austerity, but does that mean that life would offer fewer opportunities for happiness? There are alternative modes of life that, under conditions of austerity, can provide real pleasures and happiness beyond what our commercial culture can offer. We will explore those alternative life styles that will allow us to thrive despite disappearing life-benefits normally available to us at this stage of civilization. But first, we must find ways to reverse the degenerative social forces that brought us to this dilemma. The problem is inherent in the very structure of human societies. A very general theory of civilization will indicate that two primary instincts of mankind have shaped the course of social evolution: the competitive aggressive instinct for self-preservation and dominance, and the cooperative instinct for collaboration and social organization. As civilization has progressed from primitive conditions, the advantages of collaboration, in the form of individual contributions and social institutions, have dominated to produce the amenities of modern life. But now we are again in the throes of a regressive struggle between individual or elite interests and the general welfare that could undo centuries of human enlightenment. Is human progress a pendulum that must inevitably swing in the opposite direction? The stakes in this cycle of human progress are higher than ever because this time we are in a war against nature. As the predicted physical and monetary costs of this war mount up, it will become clear that nothing except a concerted mass effort by all factions of society could deal with the situation. It could be like World War II on steroids. The anticipated costs in the war against nature - the astronomical costs of repairing damage from extreme hurricanes, floods, tornados, droughts; the possible losses of agriculture and fishing industries, of coastal lands and cities from rising oceans; the disruption of industries, the accommodation of refugees and unemployment - could rise beyond the capacity of present governments and social institutions to deal with them. It may become self-evident that we have to re-make America and the world politically on an expedited basis. No longer could we allow opportunistic people to run our governments. No longer would governments be able to arbitrarily tax their constituents to the advantage of one faction. No longer will prices be manipulated so they do not represent the true value of goods, but, instead, a corporate tax on its customers in the form of excessive profits to the benefit of a financial elite. No longer will the socially valuable capacities of the people be defined in terms of money, which limits their education, their health, their full participation in society. In other words, money can be arbitrarily created as necessary, to serve the best purposes of society (whereas now money is arbitrarily created to serve the best interests of a privileged class). Such measures would create an enlightened economy that could better deal with emerging world challenges by assigning priority in all matters to the most essential and realistic demands. For the duration, we would have to sacrifice laissez-faire ("lousy-faire") economics. All of this could come about by consensus out of shear necessity rather than by belligerency, as natural mayhem escalates. In a proposed follow-up article, we will discuss how life could be more beautiful for all by learning "The Art of Living in the Coming age of Austerity". These topics have already been introduced here in two previous articles:"The Case For Human Economics" and "Do We Really Need More Jobs". SABIC SHOWCASES FULL COMPLEMENT OF MARKET LEADING FLUIDS FOR CHINESE AND ASIAN MARKETS AT IESD SHOW, SHANGHAI As a global leader in the chemical industry, SABIC will present its full Fluids product portfolio at IESD, the leading surfactants and detergents show for China and Asia, in Shanghai, April 24 -26.SABIC Specialties provides high value, technologically advanced chemical derivatives for use in a wide range of applications. Employed as surfactants, detergents, emulsifiers, emollients and thickeners for consumer products ranging from cosmetic and personal care, home care and pharmaceuticals, to industrial products like textiles, paints and coatings. Additionally, these products find their way into industrial uses such as specialty lubricants, crop protection, and oil & gas applications.A key aspect of SABIC Specialties Fluids business - not only within China, but for the broader Asia region - is its ability to deliver the added value only a dedicated, local team with stocked inventory and flexible packaging options, can supply. In addition to local team know-how and readiness, SABICs Chinese operations are supported by a global team with significant expertise and production facilities around the globe. Focused on creating the right balance of properties and performance to meet the ever-increasing needs of consumers and industry, SABIC works closely with specifiers and formulators to develop vital constituents for game changing products.At IESD SABIC will be introducing SAPEG 400 PH, its new pharma grade PEG400, conforming to USP-NF monograph and manufactured to EXCiPACT Good Manufacturing Practices of pharmaceutical excipients. It is used in liquid preparations as a viscosity modifier, in ointment and suppository bases as a melting point regulator, moisturizer and lubricant and in the preservation of pathological specimens. It can be used in the manufacturing of creams, lotions, toothpastes and in soaps as a humectant.SABIC Specialties has long been a pioneer in developing innovative chemicals and polymers to support the production of the latest and most advanced domestic and industrial applications, said Eric Jaarda, Senior Manager, Fluids Marketing Global at SABIC Specialties. We are proud to present some of our most advanced and versatile offerings at this years IESD in Shanghai and to demonstrate our commitment to the Chinese and broader Asian market.In addition to SAPEG 400 PH, SABIC will also be showcasing the following: Natural Fatty Alcohol (C12-14) Ethoxylates (SABIC SABICOL L2/L3/L7/L9) - both colorless and odourless, this is a range of versatile non-ionic surfactants. Supplied as liquids or as a paste, they are efficient water in oil emulsifiers and readily biodegradable. Synthetic Alcohol (Isodecyl and Isotridecyl Alcohol) Ethoxylates (SABIC SABICOL DA5/DA7/TA5/TA6/TA7/TA8/TA9) - a series of fast wetting, low odor and biodegradable non-ionic surfactants. Castor Oil Ethoxylates (SABIC SABICOL EL30/40/55) - supplied in liquid form or as a paste, they are completely miscible in water and many organic solvents. Non-toxic and non-irritant, they are employed as emulsifiers in both domestic and industrial applications. Polyethyleneglycols (SAPEG200/300/400/600) - consisting of a distribution of polymers of varying molecular weights, these are colorless and odorless liquids. Non-toxic and non-irritant, they are used as humectants, lubricants, solvents and viscosity modifiers in a range of applications.SABICs SAPEG 400 PH can be viewed, along with the companys other Fluids products, at SABICs booth AT3 at IESD in Shanghai from April 24 -26.NOTES TO EDITORS SABIC and brands marked with are trademarks of SABIC or its subsidiaries or affiliates. High-resolution photos are available upon request. SABIC should be written in every instance in all uppercase. 2018 Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). All Rights Reserved. Any brands, products or services of other companies referenced in this document are the trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of their respective holders.ABOUT SABICSABIC is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We manufacture on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.We support our customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy.SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 18.4 billion (US$ 4.9 billion) in 2017. Sales revenues for 2017 totaled SR 149.8 billion (US$ 39.9 billion). Total assets stood at SR 322.5 billion (US$ 86 billion) at the end of 2017. Production in 2017 stood at 71.2 million metric tons.SABIC has more than 34,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, we have 11,534 global patent filings, and have significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and North Asia.The Saudi Arabian government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent publicly traded on the Saudi stock exchange.Marketing SolutionsKevin NoelsBox 62950KapellenBelgium003233130311 SONGWON reiterates its commitment to the Chinese plastics industry at Chinaplas 2018 SONGWON reiterates its commitment to the Chinese plastics industry at Chinaplas 2018. (Photo: SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd.) www.songwon.com Solutions designed to match industry needs Novel one product one customer antioxidant blends Further developments in thermoplastic polyurethanes, PVC stabilizers and plasticizers Joint ventures ensure manufacturing excellence and consistent supply to the Chinese marketUlsan, South Korea April 24, 2018 SONGWON Industrial Group, the second largest manufacturer of polymer stabilizers in the world, is once again exhibiting at this years Chinaplas in Shanghai, China (Stand J45 in Hall 8.2H). The company will be showcasing its solutions designed to match industry needs, including light and heat stabilizers, antioxidants, thermoplastic polyurethanes, PVC stabilizers and plasticizers.A special highlight at the show, SONGNOX IB Antioxidant Blends will be presented for the first time. Each blend is tailor-made for one customer and specifically addresses that customers needs. These products are particularly suited to the Chinese market, said Min Tian, Country Head China, SONGWON Industrial Group. SONGWON has developed them using its own formulation expertise, which is based on long-standing knowhow and experience.SONGWON will be showing its SONGSTOMER TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) solutions which have been developed to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of high-end markets ranging from films and sheets to cables and wires. The company will also introduce two new ranges: SONGSTAB CaZn stabilizers are alternatives to lead stabilizers in PVC cable applications and SONGSTAB liquid BaZn stabilizers are environmentally compatible solutions for flexible suspension PVC and plastisol applications.Besides discovering the new SONGNOX IB Blends, and the latest innovative SONGSTAB PVC Stabilizers and SONGSTOMER TPU Grades, visitors to the show can find out more about SONGWONs SONGNOX Stabilizers and OPS Blends, SONGSORB and SABOSTAB Light Stabilizers, SONGXTEND Stabilizer Solutions, KUMANOX Antioxidants, and SONGCIZER Plasticizers.SONGWONs commitment to becoming a leading additive supplier to the Chinese plastics industry is underlined by its partnership in two joint ventures in China. Songwon Qingdao Long Fortune Chemicals Co., Ltd. supplies SONGWONs complete range of polymer stabilizers and manufactures one pack system (OPS) customizable solutions for Chinese polyolefin producers. Songwon Baifu Chemicals (Tangshan) Co., Ltd. is a top producer of thioester stabilizers. Full backward integration into key raw materials ensures consistent supply of high quality end products to the Chinese and global markets.With our long experience in the production and supply of chemicals and our local presence, we offer our Asian customers an extensive range of high value products and solutions to help them gain competitive edge, said Elena Scaltritti, Leader Business Unit Polymer Stabilizers. They benefit from manufacturing excellence achieved through our backward integration into key raw materials and economies of scale. We are also strongly committed to providing them with top quality services and support.SONGWONs global experts look forward to welcoming visitors and providing further information on the companys broad portfolio and latest innovations at Stand J45 in Hall 8.2H from April 24-27.About SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd.SONGWON, which was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea, is a leader in the development, production and supply of specialty chemicals. The second largest manufacturer of polymer stabilizers worldwide, SONGWON Industrial Group operates companies all over the world, offering the combined benefits of a global framework and readily accessible local organizations. Dedicated experts work closely together with customers to develop tailor-made solutions that meet individual requirements.For further information, please go to:Marketing SolutionsKevin NoelsBox 62950 KapellenBelgium Case Management System to Automate Case Management for Prosecutors https://www.tatvasoft.com.au/portfolio/case-management.php www.tatvasoft.com.au TatvaSoft Australia is a leading software development firm, with a center in India has developed a solution of maintaining all legal information for a client in Missouri. The client wanted a web based product, which will automate the whole case management for prosecutors across counties. The app required robust statistical analysis capabilities, which provide every office the needed information to perform the best prosecution services. The challenges for the software development firm was to develop a solution thats web-based, integrating all features, together with dynamic keyboard navigation, scrollable grid and of course a user friendly interface with a desktop app look and feel.The client has operations in law forms, involved extensively in offering the best legal services in a wide range of practice areas, which helps law firms streamline their operations, enabling them to focus on law practices.TatvaSoft Australia has developed a complete, fully-integrated case management system, using a Microsoft technology with several features. The unique features of the system includes:UNIQUE FEATURES- Facility of using mouse, function key and keyboard shortcuts- Reporting module- Dynamic scrollable grid- Notifications and remindersCORE MODULE- Manage co-defendant and schedule of case in court- Management of case and charge- Managing Defendant, witness and victim information- Attorney assignment and withdraw- Microsoft world mail merge function to generate documents easily for onecase or multiple cases at one time- Full case display sheet, including info or defendant, the filed and disposedcharges, witnesses, events, case notes and restitution- Docket control- Integrated scanning- Electronic arrest/referral transfers and restitution- Manage paymentsBAD CHECK MODULE- Offender and victim management- View/add/update bad check cases- Account maintenanceDELINQUENT TAX MODULE- Check disbursement- Tax searchThe client has been using the solution successfully, have installed it at different counties for years now. The system created is very secure, reliable and user-friendly, which include almost all the required functionalities for automating the whole process. Moreover, the case management system has greatly enhanced communication and workflow between separate physical locations through a single integrated system.THE TECHNOLOGY USED TO BUILD THE SYSTEMServer: Windows ServerTools and technologies: C#, ASP.NET, AJAX, Words.dllWeb Server: IISSource Control: SVNDatabase: SQL ServerDevelopment tool: Visual StudioSource:TatvaSoft Australia is a software development company with nearly two decades of experience as well as vast customer base all over the world. The company has expertise in different Microsoft technologies, like .NET and others, including Java, BizTalk Server, PHP, SharePoint, Open Source, BI and Mobile.TatvaSoft brings reliability and of course peace of mind to clients in Australia as well as in other countries, together with flexibility and cost benefits, with a development center, which is located in India. The firm caters to clients across all industry verticals.TatvaSoft Media ContactTatvaSoft Australia Pty LtdRitesh MehtaLevel 23, HWT Tower, 40 City Road, Southbank, Melbourne, VIC 3006.Website:Email: info@tatvasoft.com.auTel: +61 3 9674 0440 Connexall Corrections: IPS_Innovative Prison Systems and GlobeStar Systems, Inc. working together to improve efficiency in the Correctional Sector IPS Innovative Prison Systems and Connexall working together to improve effienciency in Corrections www.prisonsystems.eu www.connexall.com www.prisonsystems.eu Toronto, Canada | Lisbon, Portugal (April 24th, 2018) GlobeStar Systems, Inc. and IPS_Innovative Prison Systems announced their partnership to leverage intelligence, security, and process efficiency in correctional systems globally through the deployment of Connexall, GlobeStars patented and reputed communications and workflow automation platform.Connexall is an intelligent communication and workflow automation platform implemented in healthcare facilities, homeland security, and law enforcement agencies all over the world. Its capabilities act as a backbone for workflow in correctional systems, communicating the right information to the right person, at the right time, on the right device. Connexall, the leading, award-winning alarm management, and event notification platform creates a Correctional Care Internet of Things providing prison-wide interoperability to people, systems, tasks and devices.Connexall helps industries with several applications including secure text messaging, facilities management, building automation, workflow communications as well as security and FireAlert. Customizable notifications via voice, text and email alert all first responders in emergency situations.The increased efficiencies and improved communication enabled by Connexalls range of applications enhance community safety and staff satisfaction. We are very enthusiastic to support Connexall in leveraging such a comprehensive suite of technological solutions in corrections. Experience in more than a thousand sensitive and secure facilities shows the value to all stakeholders, announced Pedro das Neves, CEO of IPS_Innovative Prison Systems.David Tavares, CEO of GlobeStar stated: Connexall is delighted to partner with IPS_Innovative Prison Systems to support the deployment of Connexalls vendor and device neutral interoperability platform to increase operational efficiency and collaboration across prison systems worldwide.The deployment of Connexall into prisons will reduce operating costs, enhance procedures and monitoring capabilities, ultimately improving outcomes to correctional facilities and to the business as a whole.----IPS_Innovative Prison Systems (IPS) is a boutique research and consulting firm specialized in the field of justice, penitentiary services, community sanctions and measures, juvenile justice, and law enforcement. IPS management team relies on more than 15 years of expertise in policy advisory, strategic consulting, training, and implementation of technology solutions for probation and correctional systems in different countries in Europe and in Central and South America. IPS develops integrated projects, supporting change management in complex organizations while developing and implementing programs targeting prison staff, top management, and offenders. IPS is also the publisher of JUSTICE TRENDS, a bi-annual premium magazine directed at the global criminal justice and corrections community. For more information please visitGlobeStar Systems, Inc./Connexall is an enterprise-grade event management and control platform that delivers facility-wide interoperability to people, systems, tasks, and devices. Its capabilities act as a backbone for comprehensive workflow, communicating the right information to the right person, at the right time, on the right device. Connexall is completely vendor-neutral and device-independent. Connexall has offices in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Portugal and Hong Kong. For more information please visitIPS_Innovative Prison Systems (IPS) is a boutique research and consulting firm specialized in the field of justice, penitentiary services, community sanctions and measures, juvenile justice, and law enforcement. IPS management team relies on more than 15 years of expertise in policy advisory, strategic consulting, training, and implementation of technology solutions for probation and correctional systems in different countries in Europe and in Central and South America. IPS develops integrated projects, supporting change management in complex organizations while developing and implementing programs targeting prison staff, top management, and offenders. IPS is also the publisher of JUSTICE TRENDS, a bi-annual premium magazine directed at the global criminal justice and corrections community. For more information please visitIPS Innovative Prison SystemsParkurbisParque Ciencia e Tecnologia da CovilhaS/N6200-865 Tortosendo, Portugalsilvia.bernardo@prisonsystems.euphone +351 275 957 031 Global 3D Printed Drugs Market Size to reach USD 342 million by 2025 www.bizwitresearch.com/services/syndicate-research-reports/healthcare/pharmaceuticals/global-3d-printed-drugs-market-report/ New York 26 April 2018, As per a recent study conducted by Bizwit Research & Consulting LLP, Global 3D Printed Drugs Market is anticipated to grow USD 342 million by 2025. Recent approval of 3D printed drugs has created immense opportunities for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry in the near future. Currently, there is only one 3D printed drug, Spritam, present in the market. Spritam is a 3D printed drug launched by Aprecia Pharmaceuticals to treat epilepsy. It has received FDA approval in 2016, and is currently active only in the U.S. region.The core objective of a 3D printed drug is to offer personalized medication to individuals in terms of dosage, size, appearance and others. The technology is also anticipated to have potential to create significant innovations in Cancer treatment, Obesity and other critical diseases. However, concerns such as blueprint hacking and mislabeling of blueprint are going to hamper the market growth. Moreover, dicey regulatory scenario is another major restraint.To view the summary or to request a sample copy of this report, please click the link mentioned below:Key findings of the study: Currently Spritam is the only 3DP drug available in the market which is available only in the U.S. region, however will likely to launch in Europe and Asia Pacific by 2022. Prevalence of dysphagia across the world. Key players in the market include Aprecia Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline Plc., Hewlett Packard Caribe, BV, LLC, 3D Printer Drug Machine, and FabRx LtdBizwit Research & Consulting LLP has considered following segments for the study:Drug: Spritam OthersRegion: U.S. Rest of the WorldFor more details or related reports visit our website: Bizwit Research & Consulting LLPOr Contact US:sales@bizwitresearch.comBizwit Research & Consulting LLP is a global provider of business intelligence & consulting services. We have a strong primary base of key industry leaders along with the chain of industry analysts to analyze the market trends and its future impact in order to estimates and forecast different business segments and markets. We incorporate big data, expert analysis, and huge industry database to deliver client focused business consulting reports. Our analysts perform unbiased measurement and assessment of market opportunities to comprehend detailed market forecast. Our team of key opinion leaders evaluates the market size, growth prospects, end-use, applications, value & supply chain and top vendors in the industry to help the clients to take conversant business decisions without any vague assumptions.Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York 10016, United StatesElite house, Old Palasia, Indore, 452001, India+1 646 4536805 , +91 999 3115879sales@bizwitresearch.com Press write-up for Design Workout- Breakfast Meet Fine Papers www.sonapapers.com Design demands blood, sweat, tears, and daring. Design demands training. But design also needs inspiration. At Sona Papers, we have always gone above and beyond the business of selling papers. Our mission is to encourage creativity through a rich dissemination of knowledge, art, design sense and inspiration.As a step towards this direction, Sona papers recently conducted Design Workout- Breakfast Meet -, an informal get-together where upcoming designers gets an opportunity to spend some time with leading artists who have redefined design and creativity worldwide. It is all about art or a bit more personal about the designer's experiences in the field.The topic of this informal meet ranges from Typography, Modern Art, Advertising Design, Women in Design to the struggles the artist has had to face in the field of Design. We want to be known by the movements we inspire in the India art scene, possibly hosting a breakfast meeting in the world of Graphic design and art- Says Sonas Spoke person.This season of breakfast meet was mentored by a celebrity Graphic Designers/Advertising Veteran- Mr Viral PandyaA great design is a combination of many elements coming together in a perfect harmony to represent an idea. Therefore, according to Viral Pandya, co-founder and chief creative officer of Gurgaon-based design firm Out of the Box, an idea is the first and most important step towards executing a great design. It is the foundation of design. Everything else the copy, artwork, typography, format, paper comes later.During his session, Pandya shared varieties of design samples from his large and award-winning portfolio and explained the rationale behind the designs, as he spoke about design identity.Among the samples, there was a table calendar for students to promote support for the mid-day meal programme, where after the end of each month, a student can tear the page off the calendar and convert it into a letter to be posted.In another example, Pandya explained how he went looking for a 102-year-old man to photograph him holding a camera to highlight the anti-shake feature of the product. This was his way of proving that a picture speaks a thousand words.In another massive design undertaking, Pandya showed a sample of a set of 30 certificates prepared for a pre-school group, to be given to each and every student.Through this initiative we are moving one more step closer to the graphic design fraternity and this initiative would enable our young bloods to take hold of this opportunity so they can meet the men and women who have shaped the world of design. After all, there's nothing like hearing it directly from the horse's mouth- added Mr Raju Suneja-Director Marketing.About the Mentor: Mr Viral Pandya:Known for turning mundane into stylish, Viral has been at the helm of design and advertising for more than 25 years. Tread the whole world, worked with the top advertising agencies, and worked for giant brands as well as the newcomers, who have made it big with his grey matter. To name a few, he has used his expertise for brands such as Hyundai, Panasonic, Maruti Suzuki, Bridgestone Tyres, Pedigree, Bharat Petroleum, Samsung Mobile, Samsung Appliances, Haier, India Shining, ONGC, IFB, TVS, Ariel, SOTC, Aviva, Rolex, Hewlett Packard, Ranbaxy, Veen Waters, Tigre Blanc Vodka, Mothers Pride Preschools, Presidium Schools, Haldiram's, etc. His work has featured in every One Show annual, ten years on the trot, with 18 Merits including a Silver Pencil and 2 Bronze Pencils. All this followed with an honour to be the first Indian to judge One Show Design in 2013. Though, he doesnt have a bias towards One Show Design. Or vice-versa. But, yeah, he judged it again in 2017. And, of course, the Cannes Lions in Design, to!This season of Design Workout-Breakfast Meet was attended by students from Visual Art and Graphic Design, IIAD, New Delhi.The venue: Cha Bar, N-81, Block N, Connaught Place, Near Barakhamba Road, New Delhi 110001Date: 13th April, 2018Sona Papers Pvt. Ltd.t: +91-11-43362000m: +91- 9268007662e: info@sonacommercial.comw:B-247, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I, New Delhi 110020 India Industrial Control Systems Security Market - Competition Intelligence https://kbvresearch.com/Industrial-Control-Systems-Security-Market-competition/ Industrial Control Systems Security Market - Competition IntelligenceThe Industrial Control Systems Security Market Competition Intelligence report provide an in-depth insight pertaining to the latest strategic developments in this arena. The report offers comprehensive coverage on the recent initiatives by the top market participants including ABB Group, Belden Inc, Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco Systems, Inc., Fortinet Inc., General Electric (GE), and Honeywell International, Inc. among others. The study facilitates in understanding the market trends by narrowing it down to company level. Also, the well-designed proprietary KBV Cardinal Matrix portrays the competitive strategic position of the companies in the Industrial Control Systems Security Market.Further, the report profiles the leading companies under company profile section. Each company profile enables to have in-depth understanding about business performance, segmental analysis, R&D spendings and key strategic development highlights.Full details -Global Industrial Control Systems Security Market SizeThe Industrial Control Systems Security Market would attain market size of $13,012.3 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 6.1% during 2017 -2023. Industrial control systems are integrated into a wide range of industrial machineries, internationally. The ICS website networks monitor, manage and administer almost everything and everything which includes nuclear power plants along with other utilities to HVAC installations, robotics including prison cell doors. The rapid growth in the incidences of cyber-attacks and network security threats, considerable growth in the investments linked to smart technologies, as well as governmental support for Industrial Control Systems Security have driven the demand for ICS security solutions. The use of Industrial Control Systems helps in analyzing industrial processes such as those in oil and gas, nuclear, power transmission and distribution, manufacturing, chemical, and other companies.According to the Product style, the Industrial Control Systems Security market is segmented into Solution and Services. The Solution market is additional segmented into Firewall, Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System, Antivirus/Anti-Malware, Unified Threat Management & SIEM, Data Loss Prevention, Distributed Denial of Service, SCADA Encryption, Virtualization Security, Recognition & Access Management etc. The Products and services industry is segmented into Risk Management system Providers, Design, Integration, & Consulting, Managed Services and Audit & Reporting. Based on the Security Type, the industry is segmented into Endpoint Security measure, Application Security, Database Security and Network Security. The verticals covered under the report include Power, Energy & Utilities, Transportation Systems, Chemical & Manufacturing and Others.Related Reports:Global Industrial Control Systems Security Market (2017-2023)North America Industrial Control Systems Security Market (2017-2023)Europe Industrial Control Systems Security Market (2017-2023)LAMEA Industrial Control Systems Security Market (2017-2023)Asia Pacific Industrial Control Systems Security Market (2017-2023)Knowledge Based Value Research is a global brand and consulting firm serving all kinds of business verticals, government and non-governmental organizations, and not-for-profit organizations. Our motto is to extend our services that will have a lasting impact on our clients who trust us with their business goals.4F CS 27, Ansal PlazaSector 1, Vaishali 201010Delhi NCR, Ghaziabad, IndiaTel: 0120-4968631 / +91-9990696033Email: info@kbvresearch.com New study explains the ambiguous meaning of forgetting in Meno, Phaedo, Theaetetus and Philebus. (epilelesthai) and (lethe) https://socratesjournal.com/index.php/SOCRATES/article/view/301 Scholars H. N. Fowler, R. Waterfield, J. McDowell, D. Davidson and J. M. Cooper translate both (epilelesthai) and (lethe) into forgetting. Yet it is problematic, as they designate two different meanings of forgetting Only J. C. B. Gosling, in his translation of Philebus, translates into oblivion and into forgetting respectively. However, he does not explain why the difference matters.The paper titled, (epilelesthai) and (lethe) : On Platos philosophy of forgetting, authored by, Tang Man-to, PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, published in SOCRATES Vol. 5 No. 3 and 4 aims at explaining the ambiguous meaning of forgetting in Meno, Phaedo, Theaetetus and Philebus. The one hand, (epilelesthai) means the loss of memory in our ordinary life. On the other hand, (lethe) means the loss of memory before-life or before we are born. I conclude by drawing attention to Paul Ricoeurs critical examination of Platos philosophy of forgetting that he fails to provide an effective resolution to the ordinary forgetting as an attack on the reliability of memory.The full paper can be accessed through journals website at:SOCRATES is a serious Scholarly journal with an aim to promote and enhance research in the following four Disciplines:(Library of Congress Classification)1. Language and Literature:A. English literature2. Philosophy3. Politics, Law and Governance:A. Political ScienceB. LawMore information is available on Journal's website at socratesjournal.comSOCRATES : SCHOLARLY RESEARCH JOURNALSaurabh Chandra117/L/205-ANaveen NagarKakadevKanpur City-208025IndiaWebsite: socratesjournal.com How Meditation, Mindfulness And Kindness Transform The Lives Of Prisoners - Doug Carnine's Latest Book Offers Readers An Inside Look At A Revolutionary Paradigm Shift Author Doug Carnine http://feedkindness.com While it was not always considered a hot topic, the media today is filled with articles about how meditation, mindfulness and kindness can significantly affect and, in some cases, utterly transform the lives and experiences of those incarcerated in prisons and jails worldwide.NBC recently presented a piece entitled "Prison Meditation Program Helps Inmates Rebuild Minds, Restart Lives". Amy Maclin offered a piece on Oprah.com entitled, "Why Meditation Is Becoming So Popular In Prisons." Lisa Rapaport's piece on Reuters.com was titled, "Meditation linked to lower stress among prison inmates." CNN.com carried a piece by Stephanie Chen titled, "Prison inmates go Zen to deal with life behind bars." More articles can be found on the websites of Huffington Post, NPR, The Washington Post and others. There are hundreds more.In addition, organizations like the Prison Mindfulness Institute and the David Lynch Foundation focus on showing prisoners how to create a sense of "freedom behind bars".Why all the fanfare about meditation and mindfulness in prison? Because it works like nothing else. Doug Carnine, author of 'Saint Badass: Personal Transcendence in Tucker Max Hell,' presents the proof in his highly praised, must-read book.Carnine has personally witnessed the life-changing benefits meditation and mindfulness produce for those who are incarcerated in jails and prisons. The book is a story spanning seven years worth of letters and Carnines growing friendships between Roy Tester and three other prisoners.In their own words, the prisoners describe the crises they face including disabling illness, a brain tumor, a prison gang attack, family betrayal, medical abuse and harsh punishments for mild offenses. Each prisoner in his own way achieves transcendence through his crisis using mindfulness, meditation and the blessings of kindness. Readers are stunned to see the destructive forces of an abusive childhood, a criminal adulthood, and a life without parole in prison result in their incongruously continuous acts of kindness. Their voices are raw and honest, and at times inspiring."Mindfulness is necessary but not sufficient to transform both prisoners and prison staff," Carnine stated. "Mindfulness clears our mind of worry about the past and anxiety about the future. But what then? The purpose of mindfulness is not primarily to make us feel better but to make us better able to act with kindness, which is the greatest win-win in the world. The recipient of kindness benefits. And those who act with kindness are happier, healthier, have more loving relationships and live longer. One of my co-authors, Roy, murdered his parents after being sexually abused for years by this father. Yet Roy risked his life to prevent the murder of a child molester who had just entered prison. Kindness overcame Roys hate of child molesters."Another of Carnines books, 'How Love Wins: The Power of Mindful Kindness', follows in the same vein. Most of us recognize that being kinder and more present would not only improve our own lives and the lives of our loved ones, but also strengthen our communities. Numerous scientific studies have confirmed that both living mindfully and being kind to others offer a host of benefits -- from stronger relationships to longer life. Yet even if we truly care and are motivated to change, we find that old habits keep us from achieving our goal of increasing our kindness and improving our relationships.In 'How Love Wins', Carnine offers another path. In this simple but powerful guide, leading the reader through a 12-step process of transformation, opening a toolbox of skills and techniques that anyone can use to live more fully in the moment and be more kind to themselves and others. A lay Buddhist minister who has worked with prisoners and hospice patients, Carnine provides a clear path that will enable almost anyone to build a mindfully kind life -- and make it stick.Carnine was recently named one of 50 great writers you should be reading in the 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading Book Awards'. He was chosen from a field of hundreds of authors through a public voting process.Readers and reviewers have praised his work. Geri Larkin, Founding Teacher of Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple and author of 'Stumbling Toward Enlightenment' said, Saint Badass isnt simply about the transformative power of sincere spiritual practice. It demonstrates the impact of our practice on our environment and the people around us. These men have many reasons to be filled with hate, to be violent, and to be completely shut down given the lives they are leading in the bowels of the hell realm of our society, our prisons. And yet. They transform. One of them glows in the dark, I swear. Reading the book gave me hope.Duana Welch, PhD, author of 'Love Factually: 10 Proven Steps from I Wish to I Do' stated, This powerful book takes any of us from a life of 'me' to 'we,' from isolation to connection and love. In a world where kindness is so needed yet so little understood, How Love Wins is a must-read.Doug Carnine is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below, or by email at dcarnine@uoregon.edu. Both books are available at online retail book outlets. More information is available at his website.Douglas Carnine, a professor emeritus from the University of Oregon, began his pursuit of scientific research, instructional design, Buddhism and martial arts when he was 21. His academic career focused on teaching at-risk students and led to him receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.After retiring, working with men convicted of murder and serving as a hospice volunteer made him curious about the importance of kindness. After reviewing the research on kindness, he decided to devote his writing and his advocacy to making the importance of mindful kindness more prominent. The resulting project is his website, Feedkindness.com, along with his books, How Love Wins and Saint Badass.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459 Was your flight delayed? Claim Flights can help you to get compensation for free https://www.claimflights.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation https://www.claimflights.co.uk/ London, March 28 2018 - Claim Flights, one of the leading flight compensation claim company and air passenger's legal representative, facilitates free flight compensation calculator which allows passengers to know whether they are eligible for compensation under EU 261 Rule.Claim Flights provides free claim letter template, which can be used for compensation claims, sending the letter to the airlines.The company allows air passengers to file their claim against airline on "No Win No Fee" basis, i.e. customer only pays the fees if and only if their claim is successful and airline pays compensation.Air passengers across the world can ask for financial compensation, if their flight has been delayed, cancelled or overbooked. It's very hectic to make airlines reimburse you for the flight disruptions that you suffered.Air passenger's rights solicitor Gabor Lukacs says "Air travellers have many rights when things go wrong, but the rules governing those rights just aren't being enforced."Millions of air passengers are left stranded per year because most of these travellers don't even know about their rights and they are eligible to claim financial compensation from airlines.EU Regulation 261/2004 entitles compensation up to 600 Euros to stranded passengers, who were delayed for more than three hours, or if their flight was cancelled, or if they were denied boarding due to overbooking.The eligibility to claim under EU 261 Rule is flight should have been departed from an EU member state, or arrived into EU member state with an EU regulated airline.Claim Flights facilitates free compensation calculator that is available here:. The website is available in different languages such as English, German, Austrian, Polish, French, and Spanish.The exciting feature of flight compensation checker is that it can check for your flight within 2 minutes, that whether the passengers are eligible to claim compensation or not.Using this tool passengers can claim compensation for flight disruptions back up to six years, if you are an UK citizen, whereas for most of the other EU countries, compensation can be asked for flights back up to two years. For Germany and Austria, you can go back up to three years.Passengers can claim for their flights in just three easy steps as mentioned below:Step 1: Enter flight details, such as flight number and date of travel.Step 2: Claim Flights researches the case based on their historic database.Step 3: If the claim is valid, they fight for passenger's rights and get them paid, directly into their bank account. (If required they may even hire EU claim lawyers for the case)"Helping air passengers to claim compensation for cancelled or delayed flights while educating passengers about their flight rights along the way is our mission.""We make it much more difficult for airlines to flee air passengers by providing fake reasons or excuses. We also assures travellers a hassle-free and quality service, allowing passengers to claim their compensation at ease." - Dr. Mirko Ulbrich, CEO, Claim Flights.This innovative and user friendly compensation tool continuing ClaimFlights mission to provide passengers hassle-free services. Passengers can easily assign their case to ClaimFlights by digital process, from then onwards the company will fight on behalf of stranded passengers.What makes "Claim Flights" to be superior over other claim companies? Claim Flights facilitates free flight delay compensation letter template, and has helped many flight passengers to get compensation up to 600. Another reason to choose Claim Flights is their fair price, they charge less than AirHelp and Claim4Flights.Company Name: Claim FlightsEmail Address: info@claimflights.co.ukAddress: Postbox 35, D-78263 Buesingen, GermanyWebsite: From energy to logistics: controlling complex systems more effectively thanks to new algorithms MINOA develops effective algorithms in order to control complex systems in real time. https://minoa-itn.fau.de www.bayfor.org/english), www.research-innovation-bavaria.de The new European Training Network MINOA is looking for doctoral students for four years of international training and research in applied mathematicsNuremberg/Germany Developing effective algorithms for unresolved problems and at the same time training future mathematicians and IT experts: with this mission in mind, the European Training Network MINOA (1) was launched by an international team at the beginning of the year. Over the next four years, the team, together with twelve early-stage researchers, will work in a cutting-edge field of mathematics research non-linear mixed-integer optimisation exploring new methods that could contribute, for example, to electricity networks being able to cope better with fluctuating supplies from solar or wind energy sources or to disruptions in public transport being managed more efficiently. The European Union is financing the project with around three million euros. The network is coordinated at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Germany, and is now looking for students who would like to do a PhD within the frame of the network.Whether in logistics or in energy management - extremely short-term decisions are seldom made by humans today. Highly intelligent machines that can control processes and systems in real time take care of this instead. This is all due to the underlying software, which determines the best possible results in fractions of seconds by using complex mathematical calculations. Finding out how to achieve this is the task of mathematical optimisation. Optimising a complex system can be extremely challenging if uncertainties come into play, for example due to future projections or because of seasonally varying requirements. This kind of situation frequently arises in practice, but because of its enormous complexity, it often cannot be handled by existing solution methods. While enormous progress has been made with research at a theoretical level, practical implementation and application of new mathematical findings to real-life problems is still in its infancy. This is the point where the MINOA network comes into play.Thanks to this EU grant, we will on the one hand develop new and effective algorithms, which can be integrated into numerous applications, and, on the other hand, we will train a new generation of early-stage researchers who will be able to use these new technologies and be at home both in science and industry, announced MINOA coordinator Frauke Liers, FAU, on the occasion of the kick-off meeting in Nuremberg. This is something that cannot be achieved by working alone. To solve these complex problems, we have to improve existing mathematical methods that we need to combine cleverly. In order to achieve this, we need an international team of colleagues who can offer expertise in their respective specialist areas. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential in this respect.Wanted: Highly motivated PhD candidatesThe researchers will train a total of twelve early-stage researchers from the fields of applied mathematics, optimisation and computer science by the end of 2021. They will be supported in this endeavour by a number of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as large companies, which will participate in the training and apply the new methods. Students who are interested in obtaining a PhD degree in applied mathematics, operations research, engineering and computer science can apply until 4 May, 2018 the deadline might be extended until all positions are filled. Within the network, every PhD student will work autonomously on a project, further developing existing research results or implementing them in five specific fields of application.From basic research to implementation in five fields of applicationThe MINOA team can build upon the results of a predecessor network that has already studied several theoretical questions: the "MINO Training Network, which was also funded by the EU, laid the mathematical foundations between 2012 and 2016 and has already developed new solution methods. The new project will look in greater depth at the research started in MINO and will also work on the A, in other words the Application. MINOA involves enhancing the theories and implementing them in specific solution algorithms, which represents a major step forward. That is because the reality can at times differ significantly from abstract computer programs. The special challenges that can arise in terms of practical application, and on which the team will focus, can be found in large systems that are subject to uncertainty and in real-time applications among others. International aviation is a good example: every day in Europe alone, more than 20,000 aircraft must be routed in such a way as to ensure on the one hand that safety distances are maintained and, on the other hand, that airspace is used optimally. Changing weather conditions are among the factors that make planning more difficult and require a rapid response in order to determine the optimum route for the individual aircraft and thus minimise delays and kerosene consumption.The applications targeted by the new algorithms being developed include energy management systems and energy markets, transport systems (logistics), quantum mechanics and big data analysis. Yet this is only the start: We expect that the knowledge gained will help to resolve optimisation problems and enable practical implementation in real systems, also above and beyond the applications examined, said Liers.About MINOAThe EU-funded MINOA project (Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Optimisation Applications Grant Agreement No. 764759) started on 1 January 2018 and will receive funding of about 3 million euros by 31 December 2021 from Horizon 2020, the European framework programme for research and innovation. As an Innovative Training Network (ITN), its mission is on the one hand to gain new insights into the field of applied mathematics (non-linear mixed-integer optimisation); on the other hand, the network focuses on training twelve Ph.D. students in science and industry. Ten scientific institutions as well as two companies from five European states are involved in MINOA. This consortium is supported additionally by five associated companies as well as three associated universities. The network is coordinated at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg in Germany. Other partners includeFrom France: French National Center for Scientific Research and International Business Machine Corporation;From Italy: Italian National Research Council, Management Artificial Intelligence Operations Research, and University of Bologna;From the Netherlands: Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands, and Tilburg University;From Germany: University of Heidelberg, Technical University of Dortmund, and University of Cologne;From Austria: University of Klagenfurt.Associated partners:From Germany: Bavarian Research Alliance GmbH and Siemens AG;From Switzerland: CRAY Computer GmbH;From Italy: Optit, University of Pisa, and University of Rome;From the Netherlands: Ortec Logistics Holding B.V.;From France: University of Paris Saclay.For further information, please refer to(1)"Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Optimisation Applications"About the Bavarian Research Alliance GmbH (BayFOR)The Bavarian Research Alliance (which is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts, supported the MINOA consortium in the application process. As an associate partner, it organises training during the course of the project for the early-stage researchers and handles tasks for disseminating the project results.BayFOR is an organisation whose purpose is to promote Bavaria as a centre for science and innovation within the European Research Area. It supports and advises Bavarian scientists and stakeholders from the private sector on European research, development and innovation funds. The focus is directed at the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020. As a partner in the network for SMEs Enterprise Europe Network, BayFOR provides specific advice for SMEs which are interested in EU research and innovation projects. BayFOR is a partner institution in the Bavarian Research and Innovation Agency ().Press ContactProf. Dr. Frauke Liers (coordinator)Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-NurnbergPhone: +49 (0)9131 85-67151E-mail: frauke.liers@math.uni-erlangen.deContact at BayFORDipl.-Ing Robert IberlScientific OfficerInformation and communication technologiesBavarian Research Alliance GmbHPhone: +49 89 9901888-131E-Mail: iberl@bayfor.orgEmmanuelle RouardHead of Public RelationsBavarian Research Alliance GmbHPhone: +49 (0)89 9901888-111E-mail: rouard@bayfor.org Why Outsourcing Your Mobile App Development Is a Good Idea www.algorithmitsolutions.com If you have an app in mind and want it to come to fruition, hiring a professional to do the mobile app development is the ideal thing to do.Especially when users nowadays are becoming more and more tech-savvy, launching an average app in the market wont suffice. In a pool of millions of apps, you need to stand out, otherwise the app will not get any traction at all.Budding mobile developers like Algorithm IT should not be underrated. They may just be a startup but have accumulated years and years of experience in mobile app development, web design and development, and other tech-related services. Rest assured that your app will be functional, polished, and made as per your requirements.Today, users spend at least 30 minutes a day on apps. Hence, having an app has become almost like a necessity for businesses for them not to miss out on opportunities.Users craving for apps that will fit their lifestyles has put a lot of pressure on iOS and Android developers to design and develop more apps.Mobile apps have become more of a necessity rather than a luxury. However, with the companies and users tendencies to change the demand for the apps, owning a full team of in-house mobile app developer has become riskier. To lessen the financial impact, it is advised to take calculated risks and outsource mobile app development.Here are the reasons why it is a good idea to outsource your mobile app development needs:1. Hiring experienced mobile app developers expedites the development process unlike having an in-house team of developers where the staff may not be well-versed enough to carry out the work needed within the set time frame.2. Experience counts. Third party app developers usually have better advice since theyve been working on various projects and platforms.3. Since third party developers have tons of experience working on different projects and platforms, you are going to have more room for growth on your app, and make more flexible rather than one note.4. Third party app developers are well aware of the core competencies. They could design and develop your app at par with the ones with top mobile apps which makes your app easier to market.5. Outsourcing mobile app development to third party developers can significantly cut down unneeded expenses that come with hiring an in-house team of app developers and designers with the set up needed for the companys mobile app. With outsourcing, you dont need to bother about looking for the team and having the set since, third party companies already have that in place. You would also avoid surcharges; these developers are usually willing to work within your set budget.The mobile app market is so big with well known apps dominating the charts. You need to have a polished, functional, and appealing app in order to stand out. Outsourcing your mobile app development needs would free up a lot of time so you can focus more on your business, core competencies, and marketing your app.Looking to outsource your app development? Give Algorithm IT a shot! Visit our website atUsing the trends in website, mobile, and software applications, Algorithm IT takes your business to the next level of interaction with your customers through the use of transparent interfaces, ubiquitous access, and adaptive levels of engagement.Algorithm ITEH3 Drummond place,Edinburgh EH3 6PWScotland UKPhone: 07519572267Email: info@algorithmitsolutions.com Saelig Introduces Berkeley Nucleonics 765 Ultra-Fast Rise Time Pulse Generator Model 765 Ultrafast Pulse Generator www.saelig.com Saelig Company, Inc. announces the availability of the Berkeley Nucleonics 765 Fast Rise Time Pulse Generator - the first analog edge converter with the ability to provide 5V pulses with less than 70ps rising and falling edges. Available in 2 or 4 channel versions, the Model 765 offers a repetition rate of up to 240MHz with a period jitter specification of under 25ps. The unit is conveniently and easily controlled via a 7 1024x600 capacitive touch LCD that runs Windows 10 OS.The Model 765's innovative hardware architecture can generate advanced pulse sequences such as double pulse or quad pulse with fully independent timing parameters. The touchscreen display and intuitive UI have been designed to simplify powerful pulse generation programming. Signals can be generated quickly and adjustments can be made in real-time. Set-up is completed with just a touch, via HDMI or USB interfaces, or from an added keyboard or mouse. Simple built-in instrument controls and parameters allow engineers and scientists to create single or multiple pulses (dual, triple and quadruple pulse mode) in moments, with continuous, single, burst, gated, external trigger modes available.FeaturesUp to 4 channels< 70ps rise/fall time (20%-80%)Adjustable output level from 10mVpp to 5VppAdjustable baseline offset 2.5VMaximum repetition rate 500 MHz per channelPulse width from 300ps to > 1s10ps Width resolutionContinuous, single, burst, gated, external trigger modesTrigger in to output jitter < 35ps RMS19 rack-mount kit available (3U space required)The Model 765 is the ideal solution for a wide range of applications requiring fast, accurate pulse edges, such as experimental physics applications, experimental colliders, laser modulation, mass spectroscopy, TDT and TDR applications, radar and sonar systems, semiconductors tests, etc.Made by Berkeley Nucleonics, a leading manufacturer of precision electronic instrumentation for test, measurement, and nuclear research, the Model 765 Fast Rise Time Pulse Generator is available now from Saelig Company, Inc. their USA technical distributor.Founded in 1988 in Rochester, New York, Saelig is a North American distributor with a growing reputation for finding and sourcing unique, easy-to-use control and instrumentation products and related active components, for use in a variety of industries. Products lines are continuously added from sources across the globe, and are offered at highly competitive prices, accompanied by full in-house technical support, exceptional customer service, and fast delivery. For full details of available product lines, please visit71 Perinton Pkwy, Fairport, NY14450 USA Etiqa Group and Takaful Malaysia awarded Best Motor Insurance and Best Motor Takaful Company in 2018 https://www.ibanding.com/awards https://www.ibanding.com/ KUALA LUMPUR, 27th April 2018 - Etiqa Group and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) emerged the winners at this years Motor Insurance Award 2018, an annual honour accorded to top conventional and takaful motor insurance companies in the country.The conventional insurance winner is Etiqa Insurance Bhd, followed by Allianz Malaysia Bhd in second place, while Takaful Malaysia ties with Etiqa Takaful Bhd as winners in the motor takaful category.Hosted by independent, knowledge-based insurance education provider iBanding Services Sdn Bhd (iBanding), the awards aim to offer the public true insights as they are based on actual consumer experiences with their insurance providers.Upon receiving the award, Kamaludin Ahmad, CEO Etiqa Group Insurance & Takaful said, We are truly delighted to be named the winner of these two prestigious awards, not only for Motor Insurance, but also for the Motor Takaful. At Etiqa we have always recognized the importance of providing exceptional customer service, and its an honour to be held in such high esteem by consumers. You can be sure that we will continue with our efforts to ensure that dealing with Etiqa is fast and easy, whether its through our claims processes, sales processing or post sales servicing.Group Chief Executive Officer of Takaful Malaysia, Dato Sri Mohamed Hassan Kamil said, We are pleased to be recognized as the nations top choice for motor takaful for the second consecutive year. This recognition reflects the consumers approval of our motor takaful product and validates our brand as the preferred choice for insurance. Winning the award for the second time in a row gives us an advantage to further instate confidence and trust amongst the public. This is a good platform for us in getting the word out and entice car owners to make the switch to Takaful Malaysia to enjoy the great benefits and excellent customer service experience that we offer.Now in its third year, the awards are based on the results of extensive research conducted by iBanding that ranks insurance companies in Malaysia based on actual feedback from Malaysian motorists with valid motor insurance policies. The final score is calculated based on multiple factors, such as customer satisfaction, years with the insurance company and claims experience. Over 8,600 Malaysians participated in this years survey, which ended on January 31, 2018.Commenting on the rankings, iBanding Chief Executive Officer Luke Roho said: The rankings of motor insurance and takaful companies provide transparency to Malaysians on which insurance companies provided the best service. Malaysia has over 20 companies that sell motor insurance. The rankings can help consumers in their decision to select the right company for them.The survey results reveal that more Malaysians are comparing insurance and takaful companies, since the start of the Liberalisation of the Motor Tariff in Malaysia. Bank Negara started the second phase of the Liberalisation in July 2017, which allowed insurance and takaful companies to vary insurance prices and offer new innovative motor products. Since then, insurance companies have started to change prices and offer a variety of new insurance products.Roho further explained: The survey shows that price still remains the number one reason for switching insurance companies. However, better insurance coverage is gaining more importance and is the second most important reason Malaysians switch their insurance. Malaysians look for features such as unlimited towing during road breakdowns, replacement cars during repairs or free personal accident insurance.He also emphasised that price is not the only factor consumers should look at when selecting an insurance provider. The services that companies provide, especially during claims, are also important. This is why the Motor Insurance Award and insurance ranking take into account the claims experience of the drivers. They can help consumers decide which insurance company to choose. Etiqa and Takaful Malaysia have done an outstanding job in providing excellent service to its customers, which we recognize through the awards.More details on the Motor Insurance Award and the survey results can be found on iBandings website atAbout the Motor Insurance AwardThe Motor Insurance and Takaful Awards were established in 2016 and are Asias first independent motor insurance and takaful awards that are based on customer feedback on their motor insurance. The objective of the awards is to help Malaysian consumers better compare insurance providers, by providing transparent and detailed information on the best motor insurance companies in Malaysia. Rankings for the companies are based on customer feedback.-END-iBanding Services offers transparent, independent consumer insights into the motor insurance and takaful industry. iBanding puts consumers at the core of its vision to make Malaysia a better place by empowering Malaysians to find and choose the right insurance provider. For more information visit:Block E2, Unit 15-2, Level 2, Jalan PJU 1/42A, Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Digital Citizen Academy Announces Matching Grants to First 250 Schools For the 2018/2019 school year Digital Citizen Academy is offering special pricing and matching sponsorships to the first schools that register for DCA prevention and education programs. Schools must be new to the program and must register by Friday, June 15 to be eligible for funding.The K-12 program will offer qualifying schools pricing at two dollars per student, with the balance being covered by sponsorship funds. The program is limited to the first 250 schools that register and it will provide prevention and education programs to students and staff as well as offer parent resources for the coming school year.Digital Citizen Academy provides grade specific lessons for kindergarten through 12th grade students, parents and educators, that appropriately and effectively communicate and teach safe practices for digital citizenship, digital reputations and provide tools and lessons on cyberbullying, sexting and digital cheating.We want to make our programs accessible and affordable to reach as many students as possible, explains Dr. Lisa Strohman, founder and director of Digital Citizen Academy. We are seeing the physical and emotional impact from the increasing time kids are spending on technology and its alarming.Dr. Strohman created this interactive platform for schools and organizations to deliver research-based education, prevention and diversion programs that are professionally designed to combat, protect and support children, teenagers, and adults impacted by issues resulting from technology use, misuse and overuse. A diversion program is also available as a disciplinary resource for students that violate school policies.To learn more about Digital Citizen Academy programs and to register for the 2018/2019 school year visit digitalcitizenacdemy.org.About Digital Citizen AcademyDigital Citizen Academy, is dedicated to improving the lives of students, parents and educators. Founded by Dr. Lisa Strohman, clinical psychologist, and founder and director of Technology Wellness Center and co-author of Unplug: Raising Kids in a Technology Addicted World. Digital Citizen Academy provides research-based prevention and education programs that deal with the psychological, emotional and physical issues resulting from technology use, misuse and overuse. Visit digitalcitizenacademy.org to learn more.Juliet Strakerjuliet@marketingworxpr.com7120 E. Indian School Rd., Suite K1Phoenix, Arizona Smart City ICT Infrastructure Market Outlook to 2025 by Leading Key Palyers(like IBM, Huawei, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Oracle, NTT Communications, Vodafone, China Mobile, ABB, Hitachi, Verizon Communications and Others) Market Research Globe https://www.marketresearchglobe.com/request-sample/804636 https://www.marketresearchglobe.com/report/2018-2025-smart-city-ict-infrastructure-report-on-global-and-united-states-market-status-and-forecast-by-players-types-and-applications https://www.marketresearchglobe.com/checkout/804636 This report studies the global Smart City ICT Infrastructure market, analyzes and researches the Smart City ICT Infrastructure development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, like IBM, Huawei, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Oracle, NTT Communications, Vodafone, China Mobile, ABB, Hitachi, Verizon Communications, Honeywell International, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Toshiba, HP, Deutsche Telekom, Accenture, Nokia, Ericsson and Microsoft .The market appears to be highly competitive and is characterized by the presence of multiple vendors. The increasing demand for IT and telecom providers for services in smart cities will attract vendors to make huge investments. Additionally, the market is also witnessing the entry of many communication service providers.Get Free Sample Copy of This Report atMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into Smart Grid, Smart Healthcare, Smart Transport, Smart Water Network, Smart Building, Smart Education and Smart Security.Market segment by Application, the market can be split into Communications Industry, Transportation Industry, Express Industry, Government, Education and Other.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Smart City ICT Infrastructure market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Smart City ICT Infrastructure market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Get More Information about this report atTable of Contents1 Industry Overview of Smart City ICT Infrastructure2 Global Smart City ICT Infrastructure Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global Smart City ICT Infrastructure Market Size by Application (2013-2018)5 United States Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook6 EU Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook8 China Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook9 India Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Smart City ICT Infrastructure Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions and Application (2018-2025)12 Smart City ICT Infrastructure Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Smart City ICT Infrastructure market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Place Direct Purchase Order atIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Contact Info:Name: RonakEmail: sales@marketresearchglobe.comOrganization: Market Research GlobePhone: +1-888-376-9998Market Research Globe is a competent consulting company in the field of Global Market Research. We provide our clients a wide range of customized Marketing and Business Research Solutions to choose from, with the help of our ingenious database developed by experts. We help our clients understand the strengths of diverse markets and how to exploit opportunities. Covering a diverse range of business scopes from Digital products to Food industry, we are your one- stop solution right from data collection to investment advices.Office No. 302,Business Avenue, North Main Road,Koregaon Park, Pune- 411001,Maharashtra, India. IoT Gateway Market Size, Share, Trends, Connectivity Technology, Application, Market Demand and Growth by 2023 https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/iot-gateway-market/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/iot-gateway-market www.psmarketresearch.com IoT is proving to be a rising technology and is being rapidly adopted worldwide. IoT gateways are being considered as a fundamental element for carrying traditional and next generation devices to the Internet of Things. IoT gateways execute several functions, including protocol translation, device connectivity, data filtering, and security. Soaring demand for IoT enabled devices and personalized technologies are the major factors propelling the growth of the global IoT gateways market.Request for a free sample of this research report:The development of connected appliances by business organizations is increasing and the whole ecosystem surrounding them is also growing remarkably. As IoT gateway structures the center piece in the building block for IoT, soaring development of connected appliances is supporting the growth of IoT gateway market. IoT gateways accommodate protocols for networking, manage repository and edge analytics on the data, and help data flow securely between devices and the cloud. Increase in internet connectivity, uninterrupted increase in requirement of smartphones and other related devices, and increase in the use of wireless sensors and its networks are some of the major factors propelling the growth of global IoT gateway market.Wearable devices are expected to contribute largest revenue to the global IoT gateway market in near future. Wearable devices refer to the category of technology devices that can be worn by end users and generally include trailing information related to fitness and health. Escalating acceptance of internet of things, rising endorsement of wearable devices, including smart watches, fitness trackers and activity trackers, and growing demand for personalized technology in consumer markets are the major factors spurring the growth of the IoT gateway market. The major factors contributing to the growth of the market are the rising acceptance of wearable appliances in numerous application areas, such as medical and healthcare, industrial, and military.North America is expected to contribute the largest revenue to the global market for IoT gateway by 2022; however, the market for IoT gateway is expected to register the fastest growth rate in Asia-Pacific, during the forecast period. Advancement in research and development in the IoT space to get smaller, cheaper and improved devices is one of the major factors contributing to the growth of the IoT gateway market in North America. The research and development at both scholarly and business levels is expanding the operation areas of the Internet of Things in distinct industries, such as healthcare, consumer electronics, healthcare, banking and automotive, especially in the U.S.Explore report at:Some of the key players in the global IoT gateways market include Intel Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V., Super Micro Computer, Inc. and Super Micro Computer Inc. among others.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: Overview of European Facility Management (FM) Services Market 2017-2021 https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1140712 https://www.researchmoz.us/facility-management-fm-services-market-in-europe-2017-2021-report.html/toc http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Facility management (FM) services can be summarized as a domain that covers the essential parts of an organization to carry out several prime operations for making an infrastructure better. FM deals in property maintenance and management, office designs, management of HVAC, and caters to a wide range of services like security, catering, water and energy management, waste collection, and others.The facility management (FM) services market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 10.82% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the facility management (FM) services market in Europe for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the services market.Click to get Sample PDF:Technavio's report, Facility Management (FM) Services Market in Europe 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Aramark- ISS- OCS- PlanonOther prominent vendors- Atkins- CBRE- Compass- SodexoMarket driver- Rising focus on conservation of energy- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Expensive infrastructure maintenance- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Use of IoT and Big Data Analytics for optimizing resources- For a full, detailed list, view our reportView Complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at: Global Buffer Tanks Market Forecast 2018-2025 EMIS, Flexcon Industries, AERCO, Niles Steel Tank Buffer Tanks Market https://bit.ly/2r0ZchQ https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-buffer-tanks-market-5703 A market study "Global Buffer Tanks Market" examines the performance of the Buffer Tanks market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Buffer Tanks market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Oil Free Centrifugal Compressors Market Forecast 2018-2025 Ingersoll Rand Plc, Sullair LLC, Sundyne, Atlas Copco Oil Free Centrifugal Compressors Market https://bit.ly/2Hsrxst https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-oil-free-centrifugal-compressors-market-5618 A market study "Global Oil Free Centrifugal Compressors Market" examines the performance of the Oil Free Centrifugal Compressors market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Oil Free Centrifugal Compressors market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Aerospace Bolt Market Forecast 2018-2025 Palmer Bolt & Supply Co, Hudson Fasteners, Aspen Fasteners Aerospace Bolt Market https://bit.ly/2HtFNB8 https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-aerospace-bolt-market-5517 A market study "Global Aerospace Bolt Market" examines the performance of the Aerospace Bolt market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Aerospace Bolt market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Scroll Compressors Market Forecast 2018-2025 Landa, GMCC, Highly, Panasonic Scroll Compressors Market https://bit.ly/2HM278L https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-scroll-compressors-market-5500 A market study "Global Scroll Compressors Market" examines the performance of the Scroll Compressors market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Scroll Compressors market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Cable Manufacturing Equipment Market Forecast 2018-2025 Nippon Avionics, SEMICON, Schleuniger, Komax Cable Manufacturing Equipment Market https://bit.ly/2vSUj08 https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-cable-manufacturing-equipment-market-5501 A market study "Global Cable Manufacturing Equipment Market" examines the performance of the Cable Manufacturing Equipment market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Cable Manufacturing Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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It shows manufacturing capacity, Cable Manufacturing Equipment Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Cable Manufacturing Equipment Market 2018 :Palomar TechnologiesK&SSmall Precision ToolsWest BondElectron MecNippon AvionicsSEMICONSchleunigerKomaxEraserKoderaMK ElectronicsArtos EngineeringCarpenter MfgCable Manufacturing Equipment Market : By TypeHigh-speed Stranding MachineSingle Twist MachineHigh-speed Winding MachineExtruderOthersCable Manufacturing Equipment Market : By ApplicationElectronicsAutomobileAerospaceOthersFirstly, the report covers the top Cable Manufacturing Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Land Mobile Radio Market 2018 by Top Key Players, Product Type, End-user Applications, Region and Forecast to 2025 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000451 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPTE100000451 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/land-mobile-radio-market The global LMR market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period 2017 2025 and accounts for US$ 16,226.1 Mn in the year 2025.A sophisticated radio trunking device that allows two-way radio communication for critical information pass on services and other such applications is a land mobile radio. LMR is being widely used by governments and enterprises for the simplicity of communication it brings for the users. It caters to the services of terrestrial users to communicate with each other. With the rising demand for LMR technology from the private organizations, the market for LMR will grow in the coming years. LMR systems are highly being used in the commercial sector that includes utilities, transportation, industrial, logistics, security, and several others. Mostly, the companies that are in daily business operations require this technology more than the others in the commercial sector.The widely used LMR in the commercial sector is the portable radios owing to its small size and easy use. Furthermore, as the construction are increasing in various geographies at a high rate, owing to several factors such as the development of smart cities, making constructions resilient to disasters, and construction of high rise buildings, the demand for land mobile radios is increasing on the site of development for communication. Therefore, the rising demand for LMR technology from private organizations is driving the market of land mobile radios.FREE | Request a Sample Report atIn our study, we have segmented the LMR market by type, technology, frequency, and application. The type segment of LMR market includes hand portable and in-vehicle. On the basis of technology, the LMR market is segmented into analog and digital. The digital technology is further segmented into TETRA, DMR, P25, and others. Moreover, the market for LMR is bifurcated on the basis of frequency into 25-174 MHz (VHF), 200-512 MHz (UHF), and 700 MHz and above. On the basis of applications, the market is bifurcated into commercial, industrial, and public safety and government. On the basis of geography, the LMR market is analyzed into North America, Europe, Asia- Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM).Rising demand from the private sector will boost the demand for the technology in the coming years. The key players profiled in the report are Harris Corporation, Motorola Solutions Inc., Simoco Telecommunications Ltd., JVCKenwood Corporation, RELM Wireless Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation Limited, Tait Radio Communications Ltd., Icom Inc., Thales Group, and Cartel Communication Systems Inc.Inquiry before Buying atMajor Highlights of Land Mobile Radio Market report:Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the modular data center market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Some of the important playersHarris CorporationMotorola Solutions, Inc.Simoco Telecommunications Ltd.JVCKenwood CorporationRELM Wireless CorporationHytera Communications Corporation LimitedTait Radio Communications LimitedThales GroupIcom Inc.Cartel Communication Systems Inc.Complete Report is Available atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.Address533, 5th Floor,Amanora Chambers, East Block, Amanora Township,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Global Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market Forecast 2018-2025 Hanwha Techwin, Ingersoll Rand Plc, Sullair LLC, Atlas Copco Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market https://bit.ly/2FlMoIg https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-oil-free-rotaryscrew-compressors-market-5495 A market study "Global Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market" examines the performance of the Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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It shows manufacturing capacity, Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market 2018 :Atlas CopcoFS Elliot Co., LLCHanwha TechwinIngersoll Rand PlcSullair LLCSundyneOil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market : By TypePortableStationaryOil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market : By ApplicationManufacturingSemiconductor & ElectronicsFood & BeverageHealthcareHome AppliancesEnergyOil & GasOthersFirstly, the report covers the top Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors industry, Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors market revenue worldwide.Finally, Oil Free Rotary Screw Compressors market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About US:GlobeInfoResearch.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Polyurea Coatings Market Forecast 2018-2025 PPG Industries, Polycoat Products, Krypton Chemical, Kukdo Chemicals Polyurea Coatings Market https://bit.ly/2JpLsoz https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-polyurea-coatings-market-5466 A market study "Global Polyurea Coatings Market" examines the performance of the Polyurea Coatings market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Polyurea Coatings market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Polyurea Coatings market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Polyurea Coatings Market 2018 report includes Polyurea Coatings market Revenue, market Share, Polyurea Coatings industry volume, market Trends, Polyurea Coatings Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Polyurea Coatings Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Polyurea Coatings Market 2018 :SPIVersaflexPPG IndustriesPolycoat ProductsKrypton ChemicalSupeSherwin-WilliamsKukdo ChemicalsWasser CorporationArmorthaneTecnopolNukote Coating SystemsRhino LiningsSWDHuateQingdao Air++ New MaterialsFeiyangBASFPolyurea Coatings Market : By TypePure Polyurea CoatingHybrid Polyurea CoatingPolyurea Coatings Market : By ApplicationBuilding & ConstructionTransportationIndustrialOtherFirstly, the report covers the top Polyurea Coatings manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Polyurea Coatings report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Polyurea Coatings industry, Polyurea Coatings industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Polyurea Coatings Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Polyurea Coatings research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Polyurea Coatings market revenue worldwide.Finally, Polyurea Coatings market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About US:GlobeInfoResearch.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Global Catheters Market Research and Forecast, 2017-2022 https://www.omrglobal.com/industry-reports/catheters-market/ https://www.omrglobal.com/reports-category/medical-devices/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/7928317/ Catheters Market, Size, Share, Market Intelligence, Company Profiles, Market Trends, Strategy, Research Report, Analysis, Forecast 2017-2022This market research report on Global Catheters Market published by Orion Market Research presents in-depth analysis of Catheters market by products and geography.GLOBAL CATHETERS MARKET INSIGHTS:The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2017-2022, owing to rising geriatric population and technological advancements in healthcare sector. Increasing incidences of lifestyle diseases are also stimulating the market. Furthermore, rising demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures is also expected to boost market growth during the forecasted period. However, patient safety concerns and risks of healthcare acquired infections are some of the inhibiting factors in this market.For Catheters Market Sample Available at:GEOGRAPHICAL INSIGHTS:With rapidly ageing population, North America leads the market due to rising healthcare investments and government initiatives are fuelling the growth of Catheters in this region. However APAC is expected to be the fastest growing market owing to increasing healthcare expenditures and increasing patient awareness.Competitive Insights:The key players in the global Catheters market include B. Braun Melsungen AG, Abbott Laboratories, Arrow International Inc., Bard Medicals, Becton Dickinson Inc., Boston Scientific, Edwards Lifesciences, Hollister, Intra, Medrad (Bayer Ag), Nipro Medical Corporation, Spiegelberg, Vascular Solutions, Medtronic, Philips healthcare, Rochester Medical, Johnson & Johnson and so on.MARKET SEGMENTATION:The market segmentation on the basis of products include Cardiovascular Catheters (Electrophysiology Catheters, Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty, Balloon Catheters, Intravascular Ultrasound Catheters, Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty Catheters, Guiding Catheters, Angiography Catheters, Pulmonary Artery Catheters), Urological Catheters (Foley Catheters, Intermittent Catheters and External Catheters), Intravenous Catheters (Central venous catheters and Peripheral venous catheters), Specialty Catheters (Wound/ Surgical Drain, Oximetry, Thermodilution and IUI Catheters) and Neurovascular Catheters. The market is segmented on the basis of geography which includes North America, Europe, APAC and RoW.THE REPORT COVERS:Research MethodologyMarket OverviewHistorical dataCurrent Market trendsRegulationsMarket DeterminantParent Market AnalysisMarket SegmentationCompetitive LandscapeGeographic AnalysisCompany ProfilingRevenue forecastsFor Related Reports Available At:More Update Follow us LinkedIn:At OMR we provide you in-depth analysis of the medical device market which includes analysis of government regulation such as tax, export-import policies and environment laws by top geographies. We give a detailed analysis of each segment along with market driver, restraints and opportunities. OMR provides key company analysis which comprise of various strategies, product portfolio and in-depth analysis of product development and pipeline in medical device market. We provide detailed analysis of medical device market which includes market estimation and market segments. Our numbers are confirmed through extensive primary research. OMRs Medical Device Market reports will provide you a great decision making tool.CORPORATE OFFICE:Orion Market Research Pvt Ltd116, Shagun ArcadeVijay Nagar SquareIndore, Madhya Pradesh India- 452010Email: info@omrglobal.com, support@omrglobal.comIndia: +91-780-304-0404, +91-917-982-8694Global: +1-646-755-7667 Gene-deleted Vaccines Market Size(Volume & Value), Growth and Development Trends 2017-2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1377637 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1377637/gene-deleted-vaccines-global-industry-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1377637 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The report analyzes and presents an overview of "Gene-deleted Vaccines Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" worldwide.The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Gene-deleted Vaccines market on the basis of types of applications, major sectors, deployment models, organization size, and regions. The report contains an analysis of the major factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges). It aims to strategically analyze the micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the market. The report attempts to forecast the market size for 5 major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. It contains key vendor profiles and comprehensively analyzes their core competencies. The report also tracks and analyzes competitive developments, including partnerships, collaborations, acquisitions, new product developments, and R&D activities in the market.Get Sample Copy of this report @Genetic engineering is a branch of biotechnology that deals with gene modifications or changes in genetic makeup. By using prolonged tissue culture in genetic engineering, viruses can be attenuated or modified. This results in the growth of a virus strain that is incapable to cause disease. This process is generally difficult to accomplish and reversion to virulence is a constant risk. Molecular genetic methods currently make promise to alter the genes or modify the genetic makeup of an organism, so that it converts irrevocably attenuated. Intentional removal of genes with a code for proteins associated with virulence is an interesting procedure. For instance, in swine with pseudorabies virus (PRV), a herpesvirus of swine, gene-deleted vaccines were first used. In this case, the herpesvirus, thymidine kinase gene was removed from pseudorabies herpesvirus. Thymidine kinase is highly important for latency of herpesvirus. Viruses from which the thymidine kinase gene has been removed can infect neurons. However, these viruses are incapable to replicate. Also, they cannot cause any disease. Similar genetic modification can be employed to limit the capability of bacteria to grow in vivo.For instance, an altered live vaccine that comprises streptomycin-dependent Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica is available. These mutants depend on the existence of streptomycin for growth. Absence of streptomycin ultimately results in death of bacteria, when these mutants used in the vaccine, but not before a defensive immune response is generated. In addition, it is feasible to modify the appearance of additional antigens so that the vaccine prompts an antibody response different from that produced by wild strains. This gives rise to a method to differentiate diseased animals from vaccinated animals (referred to as Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) or Segregation Infected from Vaccinated Animals (SIVA)). Chances of reversion to virulence can also be reduced if two, dissimilar and specially disjointed genes are mutated or deleted. Considering all these factors, these new engineered vaccines can be considerably harmless than conventionally developed live vaccines.View Full Report @These genetically engineered vaccines can also be used as marker vaccines. By deleting a vital gene, replication-incompetent vaccines can be developed. These are extremely harmless, as they cannot be discharged into the environment. Another benefit of live vaccines is that they can frequently be carried through the mucosal route, which is a natural path of infection, thereby inducing mucosal immunity with systemic immunity. By increasing mucosal immunity, development of a disease can be stopped at the beginning of infection itself. The global gene-deleted vaccines market is expanding at a significant pace, due to technological developments and emergence of new diseases. Increasing the genetic mutation by using different types of radiation and new diseases development are also augmenting the market. However, high cost of the technology and low success rate are major restraints for the gene-deleted vaccines market. Moreover, several issues surround the use of vaccines, for example, prevalence of a disease in a specific environment, government regulations, and safety. These factors are also restraining the market.The global gene-deleted vaccines market can be segmented based on type of product, application, end-user, and geography. Based on type of product, the market has been classified into DNA vaccines, sub-unit vaccines, vector vaccines, Brucella abortus recombinant mutants, and others. Based on application, the market has been categorized into cattle, sheep, pigs, and others. Based on end-user, the market has been divided into veterinary hospitals, veterinary clinics, and animal care centers. Based on geography, the global gene-deleted vaccines market has been segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World.Major players operating in the global gene-deleted vaccines market are Protein Sciences Corporation, Virbac SA, Merck Animal Health, Merial Ltd., Zoetis Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Ceva, Bayer AG, Biogenesis-Bago, Indian Immunologicals Ltd., and Heska Corporation.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Request For Enquiry @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Concentrate Containers Market to Develop Rapidly by 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5781 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-5781 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Global concentrate containers market: IntroductionConcentrate containers are used for storing concentrates of various types. This provides effective packaging solutions for storing concentrates such as dabs, wax, oil and other concentrates. Generally, they are used to store drug concentrates such as cannabis. These concentrate containers are non-stick. The inside materials are unable to stick to the walls of containers. Concentrate containers have the wide opening which allows easy removal of content. In addition, concentrate containers are reusable and can be washed easily, which increases preference for them. These are generally made up of glass, silicone and plastic material and available in various capacities. The capacities range from mere 3 ml to 10 ml and above. Different types of closure are used for the covering of concentrate containers, such as twist lock, screw cap, and pop top. Concentrate containers provide proper safety to the product kept inside it. It prevents them from moisture, temperature, and dust. Therefore, the outlook for the growth of global concentrate containers market is expected to be positive over the forecast period.Request For Sample @Global concentrate containers market: DynamicsConcentrate containers are safe to keep concentrates and prevents them from being exposed to light and moisture. They can withstand a wide range of temperature. These factors are expected to fuel the demand for concentrate containers. Another factor which can boost the demand for concentrate containers is growing demand for cannabis concentrate such as dabs and hash across the globe. Also, cannabis concentrates are now an important part of the cannabis industry. The consumption of cannabis has been observed to grow, and these cannabis extracts are highly sensitive to temperature. Hence, concentrate containers are effective solutions to keep them safe. This factor certainly is expected to boost the demand for concentrate containers over the forecast period. A wide range of concentrate containers are available in the market, which offers consumers a chance to choose suitable container. This factor is expected to fuel the demand for concentrate containers market growth over the next decade. Concentrate containers can be custom printed, which increases preference among the consumers. Manufacturers are offering various closure types in concentrate containers such as screw cap, twist lock, and pop top closure types. These factors is anticipated to increase the demand for concentrate containers over the next decade. The factor which might hamper the growth of global concentrate containers market is the use of silicone-based concentrate containers, which can have adverse effects on some of the products.Global concentrate containers market: SegmentationGlobal concentrate containers market can be segmented as follows:On the basis of material type, the global concentrate containers market has been segmented as:GlassSiliconePlasticsOn the basis of closure type, the global concentrate containers market has been segmented as:Twist lockScrew capPop topOthersOn the basis of capacity, the global concentrate containers market has been segmented as:Up to 5 ml5-10 ml10 ml & aboveGlobal concentrate containers market: Regional OutlookBased on regions, the global concentrate containers market is divided into seven regions namely:North AmericaWestern EuropeAsia-pacific except JapanEastern EuropeLatin AmericaMiddle-east and AfricaJapanThe global demand for concentrate containers is expected to witness positive growth over the forecast period, due to increasing consumption of cannabis concentrates among people. The North American region is expected to witness positive growth in concentrate containers market over the forecast period, due to increment in the number of users. Western Europe and Eastern Europe regions are expected to witness high growth in concentrate containers market over the forecast period. It is due to the study that millions of young Europeans are engaged in the consumption of drugs such as cannabis and weeds, in addition, Europe is expected to be the major consumer as well as producer of cannabis. Cannabis and weed concentrates are trending products nowadays. Concentrate containers are considered to be the most appropriate packaging solution. The APEJ region is anticipated to witness average growth in the global concentrate containers market over the forecast period, as consumption of cannabis concentrate in some of the countries is illegal. Latin America is anticipated to witness positive growth over the forecast period. MEA region is expected to witness sluggish growth due to the ban imposed by the government to the use of drugs and their concentrates. Japan is expected to witness negligible growth due to strict laws against the use of such concentrates nationwide.Request For TOC @Global concentrate containers market: Key PlayersFew of the key players in global concentrate containers market are Marijuana Packaging, Smoke Weed Inc., Kush Bottles, Inc., Cannaline, among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): Market by Top Manufacturers with Production-General Electric, IBM, Cisco, Siemens AG, Intel, Microsoft Rockwell Automation and Others Qy Research Groups https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/895181 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/895181 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/895181 Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Players: General Electric Company (GE) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Cisco Systems, Inc. Siemens AG Intel Corporation Microsoft Corporation Rockwell Automation, Inc. ABB Atmel Corporation ARM Holding plc.Request a Sample Report atMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into Connectivity Management Application Management Device ManagementMarket segment by Application, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be split into Manufacturing Energy & Power Oil & Gas Healthcare Logistics & Transport Agriculture OthersMajor regions are as follows: United States EU Japan China India Southeast AsiaThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire before Buying atAlso, key Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire for Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comAbout Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Room B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China. Half Height Containers Market to be at Forefront by 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5786 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-5786 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Global half height containers market: IntroductionThere are many types of containers are available for shipping purposes. Some of such containers are dry containers, flat rack containers, open top containers, side open storage containers, refrigerated ISO containers, half height containers and others. Half height containers are used for transit of heavy goods. Heavy goods can be transferred but the volume of cargo should be less. These containers can be transported through railways and waterways. These are specialized containers of half the height of full-sized dry containers. Generally, steel is used in the formation of half height containers. These half-height containers are used for such goods which require easy loading and unloading, such goods are coal, sand, stones, and gravel. They are also useful for transporting goods having extra height, such as tools, pipes and other equipment. They are generally equipped with waterproof removable lids which protect goods from dust during transit.Request For Sample @Global half height containers market: DynamicsThe half height containers are useful for manufacturers and exporters who need to ship heavy goods with small volume. The goods which are generally used for transit are coal, sand, gravel, stones, and other heavy items. These factors are expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Growing import and export between countries is expected to fuel the growth of the global half height containers market over the next decade. These half height containers are largely used in industries such as mining industries, production industries such as steel parts producing industries. These half height containers have cubic capacity of around 16.5 m3, and a gross weight of about 33,000 kg. This factor is expected to increase preference for half height containers. It is easy to stack half height containers on trucks, trains and cargo ships. These factor is expected to drive global half height containers market by the end of forecast period. General material used for the manufacturing of half height containers is steel, as they are stackable, hence, it needs to be heavy duty. The factor which can hamper the growth of global half height containers market is availability of various cargo containers in the market.Global half height containers market: SegmentationGlobal half height containers market can be segmented as follows:On the basis of closing type, the global half height containers market has been segmented as:Open top containersClosed containersOn the basis of end use industry, the global half height containers market has been segmented as:Mining IndustryHeavy goods IndustryOthersGlobal half height containers market: Regional OutlookBased on regions, the global half height containers market is divided into seven regions namely:North AmericaWestern EuropeAsia-pacific except JapanEastern EuropeLatin AmericaMiddle-east and AfricaJapanThe global outlook in the half height containers market seems to be positive. The APEJ region is expected to drive the global half height containers market over the forecast period due to growing industrial and manufacturing activities. China is a prime exporter in the world and is likely to boost the overall growth in the global half height containers market over the next decade. The North America and Western Europe regions are expected to witness high growth due to well established market and growing intercontinental trade. It gives rise to the growth of global half height containers market over the forecast period. Growing cargo and shipping industries in the Latin America region is expected to witness positive growth in the global half height containers market. The Eastern Europe region is expected to witness average growth over the next decade due to confined market in the region. The MEA is expected to witness high growth due to developing construction industry in the region. Japan is expected to witness average growth in global half height containers market over the next decade.Request For TOC @Global half height containers market: Key PlayersFew of the key players in the global half height containers market are Seaco (A division of HNA Group Co. Ltd.), Container Container Ltd., Hoover Ferguson Group, Inc., Qingdao Pacific Container Co., Ltd., Bootle Containers Ltd., Cleveland Containers, BSL Containers Ltd., TLS Offshore Containers International among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Probiotics in Animal Feed Market Size & Share - Industry Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1377633 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1377633/probiotics-in-animal-feed-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1377633 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The report analyzes and presents an overview of "Probiotics in Animal Feed Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" worldwide.The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Probiotics in Animal Feed market on the basis of types of applications, major sectors, deployment models, organization size, and regions. The report contains an analysis of the major factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges). It aims to strategically analyze the micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the market. The report attempts to forecast the market size for 5 major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. It contains key vendor profiles and comprehensively analyzes their core competencies. The report also tracks and analyzes competitive developments, including partnerships, collaborations, acquisitions, new productdevelopments, and R&D activities in the market.Get Sample Copy of this report @Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide health benefits if consumed in prescribed amounts. The probiotics in animal feed market is expanding at a significant growth rate due to the increasing awareness among shoppers regarding animal health. Consumption of probiotics provides animal with numerous health benefits. It supports the biological process and system of the animals and conjointly cuts back the over dependence of animals on antibiotics.Increasing demand for meat and related products is expected to fuel the probiotics in the animal feed market. Additionally, increasing health issues among farm animals is projected to further boost the probiotic in animal feed market. Probiotics added to the animal feed doesn't deliver the mandatory nutrients that are required to nurture the animals. This, in turn, is estimated to restrain the probiotics in animal feed market in the near future.The global probiotics in animal feed market is anticipated to expand at a considerable growth rate in the near future due to the prohibition on the practice of administering antibiotics that encourage growth in animals. Globally, among all the regions, Asia Pacific is anticipated to hold a major share of the overall probiotics in animal feed market, followed by Europe, during the forecast period due to the presence of relatively sizable amount of customers in the region. International probiotics in the animal feed market is estimated to expand rapidly in Asia Pacific due the rise range of higher bourgeoisie population, which is likely to afford the expenditure on feed that contains extra ingredients such as probiotics. In Asia Pacific, China and Japan contribute significantly to the probiotics in animal feed market, in terms of revenue, owing to the rising range of higher bourgeoisie population in these countries. Moreover, the market in Europe is expected to expand considerably in the next three to five years due to the ban on the usage of antibiotics that promote growth in animals, which in turn is anticipated to boost the probiotics in animal feed market.View Full Report @The global probiotics in animal feed market is segregated based on livestock, bacteria, and region. In terms of bacteria, the probiotics in animal feed market is segmented into thermophiles, lactobacillus, bifid bacteria, streptococcus, and others. The lactobacillus segment hold a prominent share of the market, followed by the others segment, and is predicted to exhibit important growth during the forecast period respectively. Based on livestock, the probiotics in animal feed market is segmented into swine feed, cattle feed, pet feed, and poultry feed. The pet feed segment is anticipated to expand at a steady pace in the next three to five years due to the rising demand for meat and meat products all around the world. Furthermore, In terms of region, the global probiotics in animal feed market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America.Major players operating in the global probiotics in animal feed market includes DuPont, Nebraska Cultures, Koninklijke DSM N.V., Lactosan GmbH & Co. KG, Calpis Co. Ltd., Provita Eurotech Ltd, Alltech, Protexin, Lallemand Inc., and Suguna Foods Private Limited, Novozymes (Denmark). Companies operating in the market are primarily introducing new products and also intensifying their proficiencies in order to strengthen their position in the global probiotics in animal feed market. The market is expected to witness a rise in the trend of backward integration and strengthening of rooster processors. This, in turn, is anticipated to drive the adoption rate of feed additives, which is probiotics.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Request For Enquiry @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Venous Cannula Market Size Latest Growth, Development Trends & Forecast Report to 2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1377628 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1377628/venous-cannula-global-industry-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1377628 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The report analyzes and presents an overview of "Venous Cannula Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" worldwide.The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Venous Cannula market on the basis of types of applications, major sectors, deployment models, organization size, and regions. The report contains an analysis of the major factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges). It aims to strategically analyze the micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the market. The report attempts to forecast the market size for 5 major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. It contains key vendor profiles and comprehensively analyzes their core competencies. The report also tracks and analyzes competitive developments, including partnerships, collaborations, acquisitions, new product developments, and R&D activities in the market.Get Sample Copy of this report @Cannula is a hollow tube with a retractable, sharp inner core inserted into an artery or a vein, or another body cavity, to administer intravenous fluids and medicines, and obtain blood samples. Cannula are available in different designs and configurations for ease of use which are dependent on the surgical technique or methods. During the cardiac surgery, venous cannula provides high flow in small spaces with minimal intrusion. Venous cannula is more compressed and dense than the standard cannula. Thus, it is easier to insert and remove, and improves the surgical view, especially during minimally invasive surgeries, as it reduces complications associated with minimally invasive surgeries.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases lead to maximum number of deaths across the globe (approximately 17.5 million deaths (31%) in 2012). Moreover, The Heart Foundation (Australia) stated that cardiovascular disease is one of the major reasons for hospitalizations. It resulted in 523,805 hospitalizations between 2011 and 2012 and played a secondary role in 800,000 other hospitalizations in Australia. High prevalence of cardiovascular diseases coupled with excessive hospitalizations and associated morbidity and mortality rate is boosting the demand for cardiac cannula in intravenous drug delivery. According to the American Heart Association, 6.1% of people in Asian suffer from heart diseases, 3.7% have coronary heart disease, 21.0% suffer from hypertension, and 1.9% have had a stroke. In 2011, 17,050 deaths among Asia Pacific ere due to cardiovascular diseases; 7,828 due to coronary heart disease; and 2,476 due to myocardial infarction.The venous cannula market can be segmented based on product type, end-user, and geography. In terms of product type, the venous cannula market can be divided into thin-flex triple stage venous cannula, trim-flex venous cannula, and single stage venous cannula. Based on end-user, the venous cannula market can be divided into hospitals, diagnostic centers, clinics, research and academic centers, and others.View Full Report @Geographically, the venous cannula market can be segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. In terms of revenue, North America is expected to be the major region of the market due to the increase in demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures and introduction of technologically advanced products by market players. Europe is also anticipated to account for key share of the market owing to the increase in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. According to the European Heart Network, cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 3.9 million deaths in Europe and more than 1.8 million deaths in the European Union (EU) each year. Cardiovascular disease accounted for 45% of all deaths in Europe and 37% of all deaths in the European Union. In 2015, Europe had just under 11.3 million new cases of cardiovascular diseases, while the European Union constituted 6.1 million new cases of cardiovascular diseases. The venous cannula market in Asia Pacific is estimated to expand at a higher CAGR during the forecast period due to the increase in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the region. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Asia Pacific. Cardiovascular disease was the cause of an estimated 9.3 million deaths in the region and accounted for about one-third of all deaths in 2012. The venous cannula market in Latin America is projected to expand due to the new government initiatives promoting and accelerating the healthcare infrastructure in the region. The market in Middle East & Africa is likely to expand due to the increase in disposable income and establishment/expansion of Western companies (North America and Europe) in the region.Prominent players operating in the venous cannula market include AngioDynamics, Boston Scientific Corporation, OriGen Biomedical, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Teleflex Incorporated, Medtronic, Sorin Group, TERUMO CORPORATION, Smith & Nephew plc, and MAQUET Holding B.V. & Co. KG.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Request For Enquiry @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Energy Intelligence Solution Market to Record an Exponential CAGR by 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-757 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-757 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Energy intelligence solutions provide an intelligent way to deal with energy crisis. Energy intelligence solutions includes tools and services which collect and analyse the energy data. Energy intelligence solutions can be considered as advanced form of energy management solutions. As compared to energy management software, it provide two fold benefits; first it is not only a visualization tool for meter data but also provides intelligence to reduce energy waste. Second, it offers advanced domain knowledge to utilize collected energy data for energy management. Energy intelligence solutions provides support for open standards, measure and verify results, insights and analysis of recorded data, accessibility and portability, control and automation, an integrated platform. Energy intelligence solutions finds applications in food & beverages industry, automotive industry, metal manufacturing industry, oil & gas industry, petrochemicals, electronics & telecommunication industry and utilities etc.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Energy Intelligence Solution Market SegmentationGlobal energy intelligence solution market is segmented on the basis of service type, deployment model and end-user. On the basis of service type, global energy intelligence solution market is segmented into system integration service, consulting services, support & maintenance service. Energy intelligence solutions are segmented into two ways by which it can be deployed on-premise deployment and cloud based deployment. Energy intelligence solution provide assistance for energy saving along different industry verticals. Various end-users of energy intelligence solutions are residential buildings, offices & commercial areas, manufacturing units and others.Global Energy Intelligence Solution Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global energy intelligence solution market is divided into seven geographical regions North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Middle East & Africa. The global energy intelligence solution market is expected to reflect a double-digit CAGR over the forecast period. At present, North America is dominating the market followed by Western Europe. Among all the regions, APEJ is expected to create huge market opportunity for major players operating in the energy intelligence solution market during the forecast period. Latin America and Middle East & Africa regions are reflecting comparatively slow growth during forecast period.Global Energy Intelligence Solution Market: DriversIncreasing energy consumption and rising need for advanced energy management solutions for residential, commercial and industrial areas are the prominent factors responsible for evolution of energy intelligence solutions. Organizations around the world are focusing on significantly reducing their energy consumption bills through efficient utilization of energy. Energy intensive applications such as power & energy, industrial manufacturing and telecommunication need to control their CO2 emissions in order to comply with existing legislations and standards. Energy intelligence solutions not only provide competitive advantage to business but also extends its responsibility towards sustainable economic development. Aforementioned are some of the factors that are expected to drive the global energy intelligence solution market growth in near future.On other hand, long period on return of investment, lack of knowledge and difficulties in handling technical issues related to energy intelligence solutions limits its full-fledged market growth.Tremendous opportunities lies in developing standardized foundation for deploying and leveraging energy intelligence solutions.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Energy Intelligence Solution Market: Key PlayersThe energy intelligence solution market is highly competitive and diversified market, characterised by active presence of many big players. EnerNOC, Inc., Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, and GridPoint, Inc are some of the major players in global energy intelligence solution market.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Drugs For Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market: Business Opportunities, Current Trends, Market Forecast 2025 https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1594089&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-drugs-for-vulvovaginal-candidiasis-market-research-report-2018.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1594089&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market Research Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.In the last several years, global market of Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis developed steadily, with an average growth rate of 5.5%. In 2017, global sales revenue of Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis is nearly 770 M USD; the actual sale is about 175 million units.The major players in global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis market includeBayerPerrigoJ & JPfizerBristol-Myers SquibbEffikTevaSanofiCisen PharmaceuticalKingyork GroupDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:The study the global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis market is prepared with the help of extensive rounds of primary research and by gleaning through vast volumes of secondary research to filter pertinent data. The key insights on the global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis market mirror the well-balanced perspectives of policy makers, opinion leaders, business executives, investors, and other stakeholders. Budding entrepreneurs, new entrants, and investors looking for clear insights and statistical framework on which they can base their future strategies will find the report useful. Furthermore, the study provides a robust base for expanding their understanding of the global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis market.Table of Contents1 Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market Overview11.1 Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Product Overview11.2 Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Segment by Types (Product Category)21.2.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales and Growth (%) Comparison by Formulation Types21.2.2 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales and Growth (%) Comparison by Drugs Types31.3 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Segment by Applications61.4 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market by Regions (2013-2025)71.4.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market Size and Growth (%) Comparison by Regions (2013-2025)71.4.2 North America Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Status and Prospect (2013-2025)81.4.3 Asia-Pacific Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Status and Prospect (2013-2025)92 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Market Competition by Manufacturers/Brand152.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales and Share by Manufacturers (2016-2017)152.2 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2016-2017)172.3 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Average Price by Manufacturers (2016-2017)202.4 Manufacturers Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Headquarter, Founded Date223 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales, Revenue by Regions (2013-2018)273.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales and Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)273.2 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)293.3 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)314 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales, Revenue, Price Trend by Types354.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis by Formulation Types354.1.1 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales and Market Share by Formulation Types (2013-2018)354.1.2 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Revenue and Market Share by Formulation Types (2013-2018)374.1.3 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Price by Formulation Type (2013-2018)394.2 Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis by Drugs Types39Read Complete Table of Content @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Picture1Table Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales (K Unit) and Growth Rate (%) Comparison by Formulation Types (2013-2025)2Figure Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales Market Share (%) by Formulation Types in 20172Figure Product Picture of Cream3Figure Product Picture of Pessary3Table Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales (K Unit) and Growth Rate (%) Comparison by Drugs Types (2013-2025)3Figure Global Drugs for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Sales Market Share (%) by Drugs Types in 20174Figure Product Picture of Miconazole5Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Global Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry Share Size 2018, Trends and Forecast Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1607810 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-commercial-aircraft-aftermarket-parts-industry-2018-trends-and-forecast-report-report.html/toc http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketsizeinfo.blogspot.in/ Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry 2018, Trends and Forecast Report" to its huge collection of research reports.Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Report by Material, Application, and Geography Global Forecast to 2022 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Market;3.) the North American Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Market;4.) the European Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Table of ContentsPart I Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry OverviewChapter One Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry Overview1.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Definition1.2 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Classification Analysis1.2.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Application Analysis1.3.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Product Market Development Overview1.6 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Global Market Development Trend AnalysisGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Chapter Two Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand Analysis2.2.3 Down Stream Market Trend AnalysisPart II Asia Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Market Analysis3.1 Asia Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Product Development History3.2 Asia Commercial Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Competitive Landscape AnalysisContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on @ Floating House Market Professional Survey 2017: Marinetek, Rexwall, SF Marina, Waterstudio https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1341602&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-floating-house-market-professional-survey-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1341602&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Floating House Market Professional Survey Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBATIFLOFareaFDN GroupHansenHOUSEBOAT s.r.o.MANDL-Living on Water, Ltd.MarinetekRexwallSF MarinaWaterstudioDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoFloating OfficesFloating HousesOther floating StructuresPlayers in the global Floating House market looking for promising opportunities and data outliers will find the report a treasure trove. The report on the global Floating House market also strives to make a critical assessment of any strategic overhauls and disruptions expected in the not-so-distant future. To this end, it offers the evidence-backed insights on the advent of game-changing technologies and the rapidly changing regulatory landscape in various regions. The study employs methods such as SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis to ascertain the intensity of the competition over the assessment period.Table of ContentsGlobal Floating House Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Floating House1.1 Definition and Specifications of Floating House1.1.1 Definition of Floating House1.1.2 Specifications of Floating House1.2 Classification of Floating House1.2.1 Floating Offices1.2.2 Floating Houses1.2.3 Other floating Structures1.3 Applications of Floating House1.3.1 Lakes1.3.2 Ocean2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Floating House2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Floating House2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Floating House2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Floating House3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Floating House3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Floating House Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Floating House Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Floating House Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Floating House Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Floating House Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Floating House Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Floating House Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Floating House Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Floating House Sales Analysis (Company Segment)Read Complete Table of Content @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Floating HouseTable Product Specifications of Floating HouseTable Classification of Floating HouseFigure Global Production Market Share of Floating House by Type in 2016Figure Floating Offices PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Floating OfficesFigure Floating Houses PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Floating HousesFigure Other floating Structures PictureTo Get Discount Of This Report Click here @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Speaker of the Parliament of the Andean community Fernando Meza expressed support for Moroccos territorial integrity and for the Kingdoms efforts to settle the conflict over the southern provinces, the Sahara. Fernando Meza made the remarks following talks with Moroccos lower house speaker Habib El Malki. He noted that his visit to Morocco is meant to manifest the solidarity of the Andean parliament. For his part, El Malki lauded the Andean position in support of Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara. He also recalled that ties between the Moroccan and Andean parliaments date back to 1996 and have been developing since then with the Kingdom becoming an observing member at the Andean institution. The Andean Parliament is the governing and deliberative body of the Andean Community. It was created on October 25, 1979 in La Paz (Bolivia), through the Constitutive Treaty signed by the chancellors of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It entered into force in January 1984. Power Electronics Market Significant Profits Estimated to be Generated by 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1024 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1024 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ To control the flow of energy, the switching electronic circuits are used. These switching electronic circuits are called power electronics. Power electronics are also considered for the conversion of electric power. Such conversions are performed by semiconductor devices like diodes, transistors and thyristors etc. Power electronics devices have several advantages including optimum forward and reverse backing capabilities, simplified circuits, compact designs etc. Moreover, power electronics find its applications in connection of renewable energy resources to power grids, transportation in electric trains, motor drives and lighting. The major use of power electronics devices is heat sinking as well as soft starting of an equipment deploying power electronic devices.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Power Electronics Market: SegmentationThe global power electronics market can be segmented into geography, types and applications. On the basis of geography, the global power electronics market can be segmented into America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Others. Considering types, the global power electronics market can be segmented into diode rectifiers, ac-dc converters, ac-ac converters, dc-dc converters, dc-ac converters and static switches. On account of applications, the global power electronics market can be segmented into industrial activities, solar power, wind power, electric cars, aerospace and consumer electronics.Global Power Electronics Market: Region-Wise OutlookIn terms of power electronics market value, Asia Pacific is the largest geography. America being the fastest growing region, Europe is considered as a very promising market comprising of Germany and UK while Middle East also grants an impetus to the growth of the global power electronics market.Global Power Electronics Market: DriversVarious factors are fuelling the growth of global power electronics market including rapid use of renewable sources of energy followed by the increase in the adoption of electric cars and defense. ICT, telecommunications, self monitoring and diagnostics systems, hospitals and healthcare are the major fields driving the global power electronics market to grow apparently.Global Power Electronics Market:: RestraintsThere are various challenges faced by the global power electronics market like high initial costs, deposition of GaN on silica materials which is in turn very difficult to reach in high voltage ranges. Moreover, manufacturing of power electronics is way to expensive and time consuming thus posing a restraint to the global power electronics market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Power Electronics Market: Key PlayersThe major companies playing a key role in the manufacturing of power electronics are Enercon, Fairchild, Fuji Electric, GE Wind Energy, Mersen, Methode Electronics, Semikron Elektronic GmbH & Company etc. Microsemi Corp, Toshiba Corp, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Vishay Intertechnology, Infineon Technology, Texas Instruments Inc are some major key players in the field of global power electronics market.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Growth of Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market in Global Industry: Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis 2024 Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=195877 https://www.researchmoz.us/computer-numerical-controls-cnc-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/computer-numerical-controls-cnc-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market: OverviewComputer Numerical Controls or popularly known as CNC are machines which consist of a mini computer controller. The instruction or the program are directly fed into the computer which is then stored in the memory. Based on the fed data, the machine works to manufacture the products. These machines are highly efficient and reduce the need for manual labor which is the key factor driving their demand in the global market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The emerging concern for cutting down the operational cost is resulting into the rising demand for automation in manufacturing. The use of CNC machine reduces the overall manufacturing time and limits the chances for human error. These factors are primarily driving the demand for CNC machines globally. Furthermore, the increasing need for smaller factory footprints is resulting into replacing the manually operated machines by computer numerical controllers. In addition, the CNC machines help in efficient mass production without the need for constant supervision. These factors are aiding to the growth of the overcall CNC market across the globe.However, these CNC machines are very expensive in nature which is hindering the growth of the market. Moreover, the cost associated with maintenance and service of these machines is also high. These factors are pulling the growth of the market during the forecast period. Nevertheless, the gradual shift in the trend of manufacturing has led to the creation of interconnected machines to improve the output and reduce the overall workload. These factors are expected to drive the market for CNC machines in future.Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market: SegmentationThe global computer numerical controls (CNC) market has been categorized into machine types, application and geography. In terms of machine types, the market has been segmented into lathe machines, milling machines, lasers, grinding units, welding machines and winding machines among others. These machines find their application in several areas such as automotive, industrial, power and energy and defense and aerospace among others.View Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Geographically, the global computer numerical controls (CNC) market has been segmented into five strategic regions which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. The report covers a complete regional analysis of all the above regions by discussing the market behavior of the different segments in terms of their revenue. The increasing industrialization and the emerging concern for automated manufacturing facilities have resulted in the strong demand for CNC machines in the Asia Pacific region. The region is expected to dominate the global CNC market during the forecast pComputer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market: Scope of the Study eriod.Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market: Scope of the StudyTo have a better understanding of the market, the key trends affecting the demand for CNC machines have been discussed thoroughly. In addition, the challenges effecting the growth of the market have also been provided. Moreover, the push and pull factors in the global market have been analyzed with the market dynamics which includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities. Furthermore, the porters five forces analysis have also been included in the scope of the study. In addition, the future scope of the market has been anticipated with the help of market attractiveness analysis. The study tracks the global computer numerical controls (CNC) market in terms of revenue (USD million).Browse Report @Computer Numerical Controls (CNC) Market: Competitive DynamicsThe global computer numerical controls (CNC) market is witnessing intense competition from its major players. These players undergo frequent mergers and acquisition in order to sustain in the competitive environment. For the better understand of the market, the market share of the leadings players have been provided in the report. The dominant and the emerging players present in the market include Fanuc Corporation, Haas Automation, Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH, OKUMA Corporation, Siemens AG, JTEKT Corporation, GSK CNC Equipments Co. Ltd., DMG Mori Co. Ltd., Takisawa Machine Tool Co. Ltd. and Yamazaki Mazak Corporation among others.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Global Power Rental Systems Market Research Report 2025 - Aggreko, Caterpillar Inc, APR Energy, United Rentals, Hertz https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1677197 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1677197/global-power-rental-systems-research-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1677197/global-power-rental-systems-research-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Global Power Rental Systems Market Research Report 2018 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"In this report, the global Power Rental Systems market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Power Rental Systems in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGet Sample Copy of this report @Global Power Rental Systems market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingAggrekoCaterpillar IncAPR EnergyUnited RentalsHertzAtlas Copco ABBredenoord Exploitatiemij B.V.Cummins IncKohler CoPower Electricals LimitedOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPeak ShavingContinuous PowerStandby PowerOthersOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingGovernment and UtilitiesOil, Gas and MiningConstructionIndustrialEventsOthersBrowse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Power Rental Systems Market Research Report 20181 Power Rental Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Power Rental Systems1.2 Power Rental Systems Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Power Rental Systems Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Power Rental Systems Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Peak Shaving1.2.4 Continuous Power1.2.5 Standby Power1.2.6 Others1.3 Global Power Rental Systems Segment by Application1.3.1 Power Rental Systems Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Government and Utilities1.3.3 Oil, Gas and Mining1.3.4 Construction1.3.5 Industrial1.3.6 Events1.3.7 Others1.4 Global Power Rental Systems Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Power Rental Systems Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Power Rental Systems (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Power Rental Systems Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Power Rental Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Power Rental Systems Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Power Rental Systems Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Power Rental Systems Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Power Rental Systems Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Power Rental Systems Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Power Rental Systems Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Power Rental Systems Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionView Sample PDF @3 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Power Rental Systems Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Power Rental Systems Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Power Rental Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Power Rental Systems Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Power Rental Systems Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.4 China Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.7 India Power Rental Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)5 Global Power Rental Systems Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Power Rental Systems Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Power Rental Systems Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Power Rental Systems Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Power Rental Systems Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Cold Chain Logistics Market 2018 by Business Players: OOCL Logistics, JWD Group, CWT Limited, SCG Logistics, X2 Group https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1740556&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-cold-chain-logistics-market-sizestatus-and-forecast-2025.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1740556&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Cold Chain Logistics Market Size,Status and Forecast 2025 to its huge collection of research reports.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredAmericold Logistics (U.S.)SSI SCHAEFERPreferred Freezer Services (U.S.)Burris LogisticsKloosterboerLineage Logistics Holding LLCPartner LogisticsAGRO Merchants Group, LLCNewCold Coperatief U.A.DHLGruppo Marconi Logistica IntegrataBioStorage Technologies, IncNichirei Logistics Group, Inc.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:The report has been compiled by accumulating vast amounts of data derived from primary as well as secondary research. The data accounted through such extensive studies has been thoroughly reviewed before inputting in the compiled report, thus maintaining the quality of the market research performed. After accumulating, sorting, and keeping the received data handy, expert analysts have constructed a clear overview of the global Cold Chain Logistics market, essentially outlining a product/service description. Apart from positive growth boost affecting the market being described in the report, the same study also sheds more light onto key factors restraining the markets growth.Table of ContentsGlobal Cold Chain Logistics Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Cold Chain Logistics1.1 Cold Chain Logistics Market Overview1.1.1 Cold Chain Logistics Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Cold Chain Logistics Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.3 Cold Chain Logistics Market by Type1.3.1 Railway Refrigerated Transport1.3.2 Highway Refrigerated Transport1.3.3 Container Refrigerated Transport1.3.4 Aviation Refrigerated Transport1.4 Cold Chain Logistics Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Food and Beverages1.4.2 Healthcare1.4.3 Others2 Global Cold Chain Logistics Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Americold Logistics (U.S.)3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Cold Chain Logistics Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 SSI SCHAEFER3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Cold Chain Logistics Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 Preferred Freezer Services (U.S.)3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business OverviewComplete table of content is available at:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Global Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2013-2018)Table Global Cold Chain Logistics Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Global Cold Chain Logistics Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)Figure United States Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Europe Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure China Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Japan Cold Chain Logistics Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Sharps Containers Market Anticipated To Expand At A CAGR of 4.4% Between 2017 - 2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1740278 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1740278/sharps-containers-global-industry-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1740278/sharps-containers-global-industry-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Sharps Containers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Sharps containers, also known as sharps bins, are hard plastic containers that are used by medical waste generators to safely collect and dispose of sharps waste. Sharps containers are utilized for contaminated hypodermic needles, syringes, and other metal objects such as scalpels and IV catheters. Rising usage of metal sharps in surgical procedures is a major driving factor for the global sharps containers market. According to the WHO, approximately 16 billion injections are administered every year and not all sharps are disposed of safely, creating a high risk of infections. Initiatives taken by various public and private players to spread awareness about safe collection and disposal of sharps waste and improved distribution network of key manufacturers in developing countries are major factors estimated to drive the global sharps containers market from 2017 to 2025.Get Sample Copy of this report @This report on the global sharps containers market comprises an elaborate executive summary, which includes a market snapshot that provides information about various segments of the market. It also provides information and data analysis of the global market with respect to segments based on product type, waste type, medical waste generator, usage type, distribution channel, container size, and geography. A detailed analysis of regulatory scenario for sharps containers is provided in the report along with the top three players operating in the global market. Key potential customers of sharps containers are provided in the report, which include sharps waste management service providers, health care facilities, and pharmaceutical companies. Prominent mergers and acquisitions in the global sharps containers market are mentioned for better understanding of the competition scenario in the market. The report comprises pricing analysis of each product type and prominent companies with their regional analysis. Technological advancements in sharps containers are provided with detailed updates of the global market along with opportunity analysis of the market. A detailed summary of vendors, distributors, and key manufacturers is provided in the report. An overview of the global medical waste containers sector for 2016 is provided, with a focus on the sharps containers market. A detailed qualitative analysis of drivers and restraints for the market and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. In addition, the section comprises competition matrix and company profiles with business overview aimed to help understand the competition landscape of the market. This section of the report also provides market attractiveness analysis, by geography, and market share analysis, by key player; thereby presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competition scenario of the global sharps containers market.Global Sharps containers Market: Key SegmentsThe global sharps containers market has been segmented in terms of product type, usage type, waste type, medical waste generator, distribution channel, and container size. Based on product type, the global sharps containers market has been segmented into patient room containers, phlebotomy containers, and multipurpose containers. Based on waste type, the market has been classified into infectious & pathological waste, sharps waste, pharmaceutical waste, and non-infectious & other waste. Various types of medical waste generators are hospitals, clinics & physicians offices, pharmaceutical companies, long-term care & urgent care centers, pharmacies, and others. In terms of usage type, the global sharps containers market has been divided into disposable containers and reusable containers. Based on distribution channel, the market has been divided into direct sale, online sale, and retail sale. In terms of container size, the global sharps containers market has been classified into 12 gallons, 24 gallons, 48 gallons, and others.All segments have been analyzed based on launch of new products, regional demand for products, regulatory policies regarding medical waste management, and ongoing R&D of sharps containers. The market size and forecast for each of these segments have been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with their respective CAGRs for the period from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as the base year.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Global Sharps containers Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global sharps containers market has been categorized into five major regions and key countries/sub-regions in the respective region: North America (the U.S., Canada), Europe (the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America), and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC, Israel, and Rest of Middle East & Africa). The market size and forecast for each of these regions and countries/sub-regions have been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period (from 2017 to 2025), considering 2016 as the base year. The research study also covers the competition scenario in these regions.Companies Mentioned in ReportThe report also profiles major players operating in the market and provides various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major companies profiled in this report on the global sharps containers market are Medtronic, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Daniels Health, Sharps Compliance, Inc., MAUSER, EnviroTain, LLC, Bondtech Corporation, Bemis Manufacturing Company, and Henry Schein, Inc.The global sharps containers market has been segmented as follows:Sharps Containers Market, by Product TypePatient Room ContainersPhlebotomy ContainersMultipurpose ContainersSharps Containers Market, by Waste TypeInfectious & Pathological WasteSharps WastePharmaceutical WasteNon-infectious & Other WasteSharps Containers Market, by Medical Waste GeneratorHospitalsLong-term Care & Urgent Care CentersClinics & Physicians OfficesPharmaceutical CompaniesPharmaciesOthersView Sample PDF @Sharps Containers Market, by Usage TypeDisposable ContainersReusable ContainersSharps Containers Market, by Distribution ChannelDirect SaleOnline SaleRetail SaleSharps Containers Market, by Container Size12 Gallons24 Gallons48 GallonsOthersSharps Containers Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificJapanChinaIndiaAustralia & New ZealandRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSouth AfricaGCCIsraelRest of Middle East & AfricaTable of Content1. Preface1.1. Market Definition and Scope1.2. Market Segmentation1.3. Key Research Objectives1.4. Research Highlights2. Assumptions and Research Methodology3. Executive Summary: Global Sharps Containers Market4. Market Overview4.1. Introduction4.2. Overview4.2.1. Market Opportunity Map4.2.2. Global Sharps Containers Market Outlook4.3. Global Sharps Containers Market Analysis and Forecast, 201520254.3.1. Market Revenue Projection (US$ Mn)4.4. Market Dynamics4.4.1. Drivers4.4.2. Restraints4.4.3. Opportunities4.5. Porters Five Force Analysis5. Market Outlook5.1. Price Comparison Analysis (2017)5.1.1. By Product Type5.1.2. By Region5.1.3. By Major Players5.2. Key Potential Customers5.3. Key Vendors and Distributors5.4. Regulatory Scenario, by Region5.5. Top 3 Players operating in Market Space5.6. Recent Developments: Advancements in Product Development5.7. Opportunity Analysis: Key Insights5.8. Global Waste Containers: Parent Market Snapshot, 2017 and 2025About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Plastic Lumber Market 2018 - CPG International LLC, Eovations, ENERGI Fenestration Solutions, Axiall Global Plastic Lumber Market https://goo.gl/jkwtbC https://goo.gl/rR1Czp www.apexmarketreports.com Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Plastic Lumber Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Plastic Lumber Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global PP Pipe industry, and estimates the future trend of Plastic Lumber on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Plastic Lumber performance both in terms of volume and revenue.The market research report explores the Plastic Lumber Market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Plastic Lumber Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Plastic Lumber Market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Plastic Lumber. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Plastic Lumber Market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportCPG International LLCEovationsENERGI Fenestration SolutionsAxiallEndura Products IncorporatedEuramax Holdings IncorporatedEnvirolastech IncorporatedCrane Group CompanyBright Idea Shops LLCCascades IncorporatedFiberon LLCThe competitive landscape of the global market for Plastic Lumber is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Plastic Lumber Markets production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Plastic Lumber Market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Plastic Lumber Market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Plastic Lumber production volume, data pertaining to demand and Plastic Lumber supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Plastic Lumber along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Plastic Lumber across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite - Die Cut Support Pads Market Poised to Garner Maximum Revenues During 2017 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5768 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-5768 www.futuremarketinsights.com Global Die Cut Support Pads - Market Overview:The protective packaging market is growing across the globe, due to rise in the demand for protective and compact packaging solution. The global die cut support pads market is expected to grow during the forecast period specifically on the backdrop of the rise in global trade. Die cut support pads are light weight, environment-friendly and easy to use. Sustainable and functionally beneficial properties of die cut support pads drives the market of die cut support pads in the global protective packaging market.Global Die Cut Support Pads - Market Dynamics:One of the significant factors which contribute to the growth of the global die cut support pads market is increasing demand for the electronics products globally. In addition, growing penetration of e-shopping also helps in driving the demand for die cut support pads. Die cut support pads are specially designed for holding and locking a product in place. The property of die cut support pads is to organize a product within the package which proves helpful in keeping the product safe during transportation. Growth in the shipping and transportation industry drive the demand for the die cut support pads.Die cut support pads are mainly formed by multiple layers of corrugated boards and it is used for cushioning and protection of delicate items. Various types of corrugated die cut support pads are available in the market such as foam and plastic die cut support pads. The global market for die cut support pads is witnessing growth in the corrugated die cut support pads because of its lower cost and other benefits offered by the pads. Apart from being cost effective, die cut support pads are also 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly which again drives its market due to higher inclination of manufacturers towards environmentally friendly products.Request to Sample Report -Global Die Cut Support Pads - Market Segmentation:Global die cut supports pads market can be segmented on the basis of board type, flute type, and end use.On the basis of board type, global die cut support pads market is segmented into Single wallDouble wallTriple WallOn the basis of flute type, global die cut support pads market is segmented into A (highest) FluteB (standard) FluteC (between A and B) FluteE (thin) FluteOthers (Extra 125G B-Flute)On the basis of end use, global die cut support pads market is segmented into Electrical & ElectronicsCosmetic and Personal CareAutomotiveShipping and TransportationOthersGlobal Die Cut Support Pads Market- Regional Outlook:Geographically, the global die cut support pads market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to be one of the biggest consumer in terms of volume and value because of growing penetration of e-shopping. India and China are expected to witness the significant growth in market volume share due to the rise in the retail sector in these regions. Europe is expected to occupy significant share in die cut support pads market. Asia Pacific and North America have the largest regional market for die cut support pads, owing to high demand from various industries such as shipping and logistics. The Middle East and Central and South America are expected to observe considerable growth rates in near future.Request Report TOC @Global Die Cut Support Pads Market- Major Players:Few of the key players identified across the globe in the die cut support pads market are International Paper, High Win Industrial Limited, Toitsu Package Co., Ltd., Innerpak of Wisconsin, Inc., Progressive Packaging Inc., United Packaging Industries Pte. Ltd., Premier Packaging Products, L&M Corrugated Container Corporation, AFP Inc. etcABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite : Eddy Current NDT Equipment Market Expected to Reach US$ 537.9 Mn by 2026 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/eddy-current-ndt-equipment-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/22759 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/22759 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/22759 Owing to the increasing adoption of inspection technology in sectors like power generation, oil and gas, automotive and aerospace, a huge market has development for eddy current NDT equipment in the North America region. With the presence of key manufacturers and increasing demand for electric vehicles, there is likely to a spur in the demand of automotive testing equipment.Major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing Inc. and Airbus have their manufacturing plants in North America and accounts for more than eighty percent of aircraft production all over the world. In addition, the air transport sector supported 6.2 million jobs and contributed US$ 654.2 billion to GDP in North America.As the aerospace industry keeps on growing in the region, it is likely to generate a huge demand for NDT equipment market. These are some of the important findings in the latest research report released by Persistence Market Research which is titled as Eddy Current NDT Equipment Market: Global Industry Analysis 2013 - 2017 and Opportunity Assessment 2018 2026.Request for Table of Contents @This research report presents an in-depth assessment of the global eddy current NDT equipment market and provides a comprehensive overview of the various segments of this market and the various regions where this market is growing at a brisk pace. As per the numbers provided in this research report, the global eddy current NDT equipment market is estimated to be valued at US$ 324.6 Mn in 2018 and is forecasted to reach a valuation of US$ 537.9 Mn in 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.5% during the period of forecast 2018-2026.Global Eddy Current NDT Equipment Market: DynamicsGovernments in the developed countries such as United States, Canada, Germany and many others are focusing on ensuring a safe working environment for the workers. Keeping this in mind, governments are enforcing the laws for the generation and maintenance of the safe environment at the workplaces, especially the ones which involve the use of machines. The heavy duty machines used in various types of industry verticals such as manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and others have a lot of scope for implementing stringent safety measures.Request to Sample of Report @The number of accidents causing physical injuries to the floor workers are increasing day by day. Sometimes, such kind of accidents are fatal as well. Hence, in order to ensure the safety at the factories, governments across the world are implementing the laws for ensuring the human and process safety at the workplace. Due to such a scenario, there is an increasing demand for eddy current NDT equipment for the purpose of ensuring a safe working environment.With increasing globalization, the competition for the machine safety product manufacturers is increasing all over the world. Also, this type of competition is getting increasingly fueled by the overseas market participants. All the manufacturers are competing against each other as well as with the foreign players in the machine safety product market for acquiring a dominant position in the market.However, due to such cut-throat competition, there is a negative impact on the price setting strategy. Hence, the manufacturers are forced to deliver quality products at low prices and this is a major challenge faced by manufacturers for sustaining in the eddy current NDT equipment market.Request Report Multiple Chapter @Global Eddy Current NDT Equipment Market: Segmentation and ForecastThe global eddy current NDT equipment market is segmented on the basis of equipment type, technology, application, end-use industry and by region.Inline Testing Equipment is projected to reach a market value of US$ 16.4 Mn by 2026 end.Measurement segment was valued at US$ 54.7 Mn in 2017 end.Array scanning based technology is growing at a significant CAGR and is an emerging technology owing to its reduced inspection time.Transportation segment to account for 65.3% of the market value share in 2018.The North America eddy current NDT equipment market was valued at US$ 123.2 Mn in 2017 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.5% during the period of assessment.Get full report now @Global Eddy Current NDT Equipment Market: Competition LandscapeThis report profiles some of the important players operating in the global eddy current NDT equipment market in the competition landscape section. Some of the companies that have been profiled include Olympus Corporation, General Electric, Foerster Holding GmbH, Magnetic Analysis Corporation, Eddyfi NDT Inc., IMG Utrasuoni Srl, Ashtead Technology, Fischer Technology Inc., Ether NDE, Uniwest Corporation, Rohmann Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Criterion NDT, Inc., Zetec, Inc. and Ibg NDT System Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Latest Industry Trends - China Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Market Research Report 2018 Latest Industry Trends - China Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Market Research Report 2018 http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/goods-1552071.html http://www.qyresearcheurope.com/ or http://www.qyresearch.com/ The China Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Market Research Report 2018 is in-depth study of overall Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera market including introduction of product, definition, scope, Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera global sale, and forecast up to 2025.The Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera industry report clarifies the past experience and trends, on the basis of these past experiences, it offers the future prediction considering other factors influencing the growth rate. This worldwide report offers the detailed analysis of the important factors such as market dynamics (DROT), PEST, and PORTER which assists the growth of the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Industry. These past experience and factors assist to build the strategy and future planning of Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Market and hold a place in the competitive world.This report is the extensive analysis of the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera industry based on the primary and secondary in-depth research. The scope of the report includes the global and regional sale, product consumption in terms of volume and value. The Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera market report offers a forecast of revenue, CAGR, and cumulative revenue. The gathered information about Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera global business is represented in the figures, tables, pie chart, and graphs.The global Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera industry Market report offers the competitive scenario in the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera industry based on the type of product, applications, and the companies that are present in the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera market, and covers the company profiles, their development policies, lined up products and recent launched along with the SWOT analysis of companies.Get a complete report sample from this link:This report studies the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera development status and future trend in China, focuses on top players in China, also splits Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera by type and by applications, to fully and deeply research and reveal the market general situation and future forecast.The major players in China market includeFlir(US)FLUKE(US)Optris(Geamany)Infrared Cameras Inc(US)FluxData, Inc.(HAlma)(US)InfraTec GmbH(Germany)Testo(Germany)Keysight Technologies(US)CorDEX(UK)IRCameras(US)Geographically, this report splits the China market into six regions,South ChinaEast ChinaSouthwest ChinaNortheast ChinaNorth ChinaCentral ChinaNorthwest ChinaOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoShort-wave Length Infrared CameraMid-wave Length CameraLong-wave Length CameraOn the basis of the end users/application, this report coversBuildingAutomotivePowerMetalThis research study focuses to product specifications, Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera cost specifications, production capacity, distributors list, Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera marketing channel, and detail analysis of the export/import of the product. The Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera research document also offers raw material suppliers, cost, and downstream consumer list.All features mentioned above is included in the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera Market Report 2018 which can offer solution to the difficulties to the prominent members of the Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera market.Additionally, the important terminologies, government policies, and regulations related to Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera market product are added.Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchTina| Sales ManagersTel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Email: sales@qyresearchglobal.com or tinaning@qyresearch.comWeb:QYResearch, established in 2007, focuses on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, and data base &seminar services. The company owns large basic databases (such as National Bureau of Statistics Database, Customs Import and Export Database, Industry Association Database, etc.), expert resources (including industry experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D in industries of energy, automotive, chemicals, medical ICT consumer goods, etc.), professional survey team (the team members obtained more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years deep expert interview experience), and excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team).Room 2901 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Download Report Global Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market, Dosage, Price and Clinical Pipeline Outlook 2024 https://www.kuickresearch.com/report-global-nanoparticle-drug-delivery-market,-dosage,-price-and-clinical-pipeline-outlook-2024.php Global Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market, Dosage, Price and Clinical Pipeline Outlook 2024 Report Highlights:* Nanoparticle Drug Market: US$ 200 Billion Opportunity By 2024* Global Pipeline For Nanoparticle Drug: 231 Drugs* Drugs In and Above Phase II Trials: 33 Drugs* Marketed Nanoparticle Drugs: 13 Drugs* Dosage, Price and Patent Analysis Of Key Drugs* Upcoming Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Techniques* Global Nanoparticle Drug Clinical Pipeline by Company, Indication and PhaseDownload SampleFor Report Sample Contact: neeraj@kuickresearch.comReport Weblink:Table of Contents1. Nanoparticles - Revolutionizing Drug Delivery Method1.1 Prologue to Targeted Drug Delivery by Nanoparticles1.2 Nanoparticle Drug Delivery - Enhancing the Efficacy of Therapeutics by Nanotechnology2. Need for Nanoparticle Drug Delivery2.1 Limitations of Traditional Drug Delivery Techniques2.2 Rising Demand for Better Targeted Drug Delivery Techniques in the Oncology Segment3. Superiority of Nanoparticle Based Drug Delivery over Traditional Drug Delivery3.1 Better Therapeutic Outcome than Conventional Drug Delivery Methods3.2 Role of Nanoparticles in Better Diagnosis of Cancer4. Importance of Nanoparticle Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy4.1 Wide Application of Nanoparticles in Cancer Therapy4.2 Mechanisms of Nanoparticle Internalization in Cancer Cells for Imaging and Therapy5. Existing Techniques For Nanoparticle Drug Delivery5.1 Nanocrystals5.2 Liposomes5.3 Dendrimers5.4 Micelle Based Drug Delivery6. Upcoming Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Techniques6.1 Polymeric Nanoparticles6.2 Metal based Nanoparticles (Gold, Iron Oxide)6.3 Fullerenes and Carbon Nanotube6.4 Quantum Dots Delivery7. Global Nanoparticle Drug Market Overview7.1 Current Market Scenario7.2 Global Nanoparticle Drug Clinical Pipeline Overview8. Price and Dosage Analysis of Commercially Available Nanoparticle Therapeutics8.1 Liposomal Doxorubicin8.1.1 Availability, Price and Mechanism of Action8.1.2 Dosage in Various Clinical Indications8.1.3 Liposomal Doxorubicin (Nanoparticle) v/s Traditional Doxorubicin - Comparative Analysis8.2 Amphotericin8.2.1 Availability, Price and Mechanism of Action8.2.2 Dosage by Indication8.2.3 Comparative Analysis- Conventional Amphotericin B v/s Nanoparticle Formulations8.3 Paclitaxel (Taxol, Onxal)8.3.1 Availability,Price and Mechanism of Action8.3.2 Dosage Analysis in Various Types of Cancer8.3.3 Paclitaxel v/s Abraxane(liposomal)8.4 Sirolimus (Rapamune)8.4.1 Availability,Price and Mechanism of Action8.4.2 Rapamune andndash; Dosage Analysis8.5 Emend (Aprepitant Nanocrystal)8.5.1 Availability and Price8.5.2 Dosage Analysis8.6 Megace ES (Enhanced Stability)8.6.1 Availability, Price and Mechanism of Action8.6.2 Comparative Dosage Analyis - Megace v/s Megace ES8.7 Estradiol Topical Emulsion(Estrasorb)8.8 Other Nanoparticle Therapeutic Formulations8.8.1 Feraheme8.8.2 Triglide - Nanocrystal Version of Tricor9. Nanoparticle Drug Delivery - Market Trend and Patent Distribution Analysis9.1 Patent Filing Status in Nanoparticle Drug Delivery9.2 Patent Distribution by Nanomaterial Type9.3 Patent Distribution by Stimulus9.4 Patent Distribution by Route of Administration and Forms of Drug Delivery10. Driving Factors of Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market10.1 Increasing Prevalence of Disease and the Need for Better Therapeutics10.2 Better Reliability and Safety than Conventional Therapeutics10.3 Advancement in Research and Development10.4 Promising Investment and Market Potential10.5 Rapid Advancement in Innovative and Superior Technology11. Challenging Aspects of Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Segment11.1 Highly Expensive Technique and Nanoparticle Products11.2 Scientific and Technical Limitation Related to Nanoparticles Drug Delivery11.3 Regional Limitation and Low Market Penetrance11.4 Dominance of Conventional Drug Delivery Segment12. Future Forecast and Market Analysis of Global Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market13. Global Nanoparticle Drug Clinical Pipeline by Company, Indication and Phase13.1 Unknown13.2 Research13.3 Preclinical13.4 Clinical13.5 Phase-I13.6 Phase-I/II13.7 Phase-II13.8 Phase-II/III13.9 Phase-III13.10 Preregistration13.11 Registered14. Marketed Nanoparticle Drug Clinical Insight by Company and Indication14.1 Rilpivirine (Edurant)14.2 Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel (Abraxane, Coraxane and Coroxane)14.3 Meloxicam (VIVLODEX)14.4 Ferumoxytol (Feraheme and Rienso)14.5 Paclitaxel Liposomal - Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company14.6 Fenofibrate (Lipanthyl and TriCor)14.7 Doxorubicin Liposomal (Caelyx and Doxil)14.8 Vincristine Liposomal (Marqibo)14.9 Fenofibrate (Triglide)14.10 Rexin-G14.11 Estradiol Topical (Estrasorb)14.12 Glycyrrhiza/Phosphatidylcholine (Phosphogliv)14.13 Paclitaxel Nanoparticle (Nanoxel)15. Competitive Landscape15.1 Abraxis BioScience15.2 Access Pharmaceuticals15.3 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals15.4 Amgen15.5 Arrowhead Research15.6 BIND Therapeutics15.7 Cadila Healthcare15.8 Celegen Corporation15.9 Celsion Corporation15.10 Genzyme Corporation15.11 Merck15.12 NanoCarrier15.13 Nippon Kayaku15.14 Nanobiotix15.15 Novavax15.16 Pfizer15.17 Roche15.18 Samyang15.19 Sanofi15.20 Takeda PharmaceuticalFigure 1-1: Evolution of Nanoparticle Drug DeliveryFigure 1-2: Different Drug Delivery RoutesFigure 1-3: Organic Nanoparticles Used in Drug DeliveryFigure 2-1: Limitations of Traditional Drug Delivery TherapyFigure 2-2: Global- Drug Delivery Segmentation by Route of Administration (%), 2017Figure 3-1: Superior Characteristic of Nanoparticle Drug DeliveryFigure 3-2: Application of Nanoparticles in DiagnosisFigure 4-1: Inorganic Nanoparticles Used in Drug DeliveryFigure 4-2: Nanoparticle - Application in Imaging Techniques (%), 2017Figure 5-1: Nanoparticles Market Segmentation by TypesFigure 5-2: Global- Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Segmentation by Technology (%), 2017Figure 5-3: Liposome Drug Delivery in ActionFigure 5-4: Dendrimer Nanoparticle in Drug DeliveryFigure 6-1: Gold Nanoparticles in Drug DeliveryFigure 6-2: Fullerenes Being Used as Vectors (Carrying Agents)Figure 6-3: Quantum Dots in Cancer TherapyFigure 7-1: Global Nanoparticle Drug Market (US$ Billion), 2013-2017Figure 7-2: Global - Nanoparticle Drug Clinical Pipeline by Phase (%), 2018 till 2024Figure 7-3: Global Nanoparticle Clinical Pipeline by Phase (%),2018 till 2024Figure 8-1: Liposomal Doxorubicin - Availability by Concentration (ml)Figure 8-2: Adriamycin - Price Analysis (US$/ml), 2018Figure 8-3: Lipodox 50- Price Analysis (US$), 2018Figure 8-4: Doxil- Dosage analysis for Ovarian Cancer (mg/m2)Figure 8-5: Doxil - Dosage Analysis for Kaposi's sarcomaFigure 8-6: Liposomal Doxorubicin - Dosage Analysis in Multiple MyelomaFigure 8-7: Doxorubicin (Nanoparticle Variant)- Average Price Analysis (US$/ml), 2018Figure 8-8: Comparative Dosage Analysis - Traditional Doxorubicin v/s Liposomal Doxorubicin (mg/m2)Figure 8-9: Doxorubicin- Comparative Price Analysis (US$/mg), 2018Figure 8-10: Amphotericin B - Availability by Concentration (mg/vial)Figure 8-11: Conventional Amphotericin B- Dosage Analysis for Adult Fungal Infections (mg/kg)Figure 8-12: Amphotericin B - Dosage Analysis in Pediatric Fungal Infection (mg/kg)Figure 8-13: Liposomal Amphotericin B- Dosage Analysis by Indication (mg/kg)Figure 8-14: Amphotericin B - Comparative Daily Dosage Analysis by Formulation (mg/kg), 2018Figure 8-15: Amphotericin B-Comparative Price Analysis by Formulation per Day (US$), 2018Figure 8-16: Comparative Price Analysis - Amphotericin B Nanoparticle Formulations (US$), 2018Figure 8-17: Paclitaxel - Availability by Concentration (mg and ml)Figure 8-18: Paclitaxel - Working MechanismFigure 8-19: Abraxane- Dosage Analysis by Cancer (mg/Cycle)Figure 8-20: Paclitaxel Dosage Analysis by Cancer (mg/m2)Figure 8-21: Price Analysis- Paclitaxel v/s Abraxane (US$), 2018Figure 8-22: Paclitaxel v/s Abraxane - Comparative Positive Response Rate (%)Figure 8-23: Rapamune - Availability of Formulations (mg)Figure 8-24: Rapamune - Cost Analysis by Formulation (US$), 2018Figure 8-25: Rapamune - Dosage for Low Immune Risk Patients (mg)Figure 8-26: Rapamune - Dosage for High Immunologic Risk (mg)Figure 8-27: Emend - Price and Availability (US$), 2018Figure 8-28: Emend - Dosage Analysis (mg/day)Figure 8-29: Dosage Analysis - Megace v/s Megace ES (mg/day)Figure 8-30: Megace v/s Megace ES - Comparative Price Analysis (US$), 2018Figure 8-31: Estrasorb- Price Analysis (US$), 2018Figure 8-32: Feraheme - Dosage Analysis (mg/ml)Figure 8-33: Triglide - Availability by Concentration (mg)Figure 8-34: Comparative Price Analysis -Triglide and Tricor (US$/Pack), 2018Figure 9-1: Global- Patent Analysis by Cancer Types (Number), 2016Figure 9-2: Global - Nanoparticle Patent Filing Status by Region (Numbers), 2016Figure 9-3: Global- Patent Distribution by Material Type (Numbers), 2016Figure 9-4: Stimulus of Nanoparticles to Various FactorsFigure 9-5: Global- Patent Distribution by Stimulus (Numbers), 2016Figure 10-1: Nanoparticle Drug Delivery - Driving FactorsFigure 10-2: Global - Nanoparticle Research in Cancer Segment (By number)Figure 10-3: Magnetic Nanoparticle - Recent Advances in Drug DeliveryFigure 11-1: Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market ChallengesFigure 12-1: Global - Nanoparticle Drug Deliver Dominance by Region (%), 2017Figure 12-2: Global- Nanoparticle Drug Market (US$ Billion), 2018-2024Figure 12-3: Global- Gold Nanoparticles Future Forecast (US$ Million), 2018 - 2024Figure 12-4: Global - Investments in the Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Segment (US$ Billion), 2013-2017Figure 15-1: Arrowhead Research Corporation Clinical PipelineFigure 15-2: NanoCarrier Clinical PipelineTable 5-1: List Of Commercially Available Nanocrystal Drugs and Their IndicationTable 5-2: Liposome Based Drugs - Current StatusTable 5-3: Current Market Status of DendrimersTable 6-4: Traditional Doxorubicin v/s Nanoparticle DoxorubicinKuick Research is a market research and analytics company that provides targeted information for critical decisions at business, product and service levels. We are quick, predictive and known by the recommendations we have made in the past. Our result-oriented research methodology offers understanding of multiple issues in a short period of time and gives us the capability to keep you full with loads of practical ideas. By translating research answers into strategic insight and direction, we not only rate the success potential of your products and/or services, but also help you identify the opportunities for growth in new demographies and find ways to beat competition.Neeraj Chawlaneeraj@kuickresearch.comKuicK ResearchL29 - L34, First FloorBlock L,Connaught PlaceNew Delhi-110001+91-11-47067990 Morocco has renewed its strong commitment to combat terrorism and its funding, as the scourge threatens peace and stability in the region and the world. Speaking at an international conference held Thursday in Paris under the theme: No Money for Terror, Moroccan Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaid said the fight against terror financing remains a priority for the North African Kingdom in line with the UN security council resolutions and recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Morocco is fostering coordination at the national level with all stakeholders, enhancing its international cooperation ties, and strengthening operational capacity of the security agencies, underlined the minister. He recalled in this regard the strides made by the country to facilitate access to financial services, reduce the use of cash and encourage citizens to use legal financing channels which enabled the country to better monitor and combat terrorism funding. The Paris conference No Money for Terror looked into ways of strengthening the efficiency action against terrorism financing to defeat jihadists. In their final statement, participants stressed the importance of setting an integrated approach to countering terrorism and terrorism financing. They also vowed to step up their national and collective involvement in the fight against the financing of terrorist individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with ISIS (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda. They also voiced commitment to strengthen the operational chain, allowing financial intelligence units, judicial authorities and law enforcement agencies to gather and share information on the financing of the individuals, groups and entities associated with terrorists, while respecting human rights, privacy and data protection. The conference called on financial intelligence units and intelligence services to establish partnerships with financial and private sectors to monitor the suspicious activities, sources and methods of financing. It also called for the improvement of IT resources of financial intelligence units, raising the awareness of concerned private sector representatives and authorities, including export control bodies, with regard to the risk of terrorist individuals, groups, undertakings and entities acquiring weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, as well as sensitive goods and technologies. Participants pledged to combat anonymous financial transactions by enhancing the traceability and transparency of financial flows. United States Indoor plants Market Outlook to 2025: Valley Interior Planting, Premier Planters, Shanti Nursery https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1007637&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/united-states-indoor-plants-market-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1007637&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report United States Indoor plants Market Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies sales (consumption) of Indoor plants in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, coveringAmbiusTotally PlantsFloricoltura ZardiMarconi Antonio & FiglioValley Interior PlantingPremier PlantersShanti NurseryHeritage IndiaDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:The study the United States Indoor plants market is prepared with the help of extensive rounds of primary research and by gleaning through vast volumes of secondary research to filter pertinent data. The key insights on the United States Indoor plants market mirror the well-balanced perspectives of policy makers, opinion leaders, business executives, investors, and other stakeholders. Market Segment by States, coveringCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisTable of ContentsUnited States Indoor plants Market Report 20171 Indoor plants Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Indoor plants1.2 Classification of Indoor plants1.2.1 Shade-loving plants1.2.2 Low light plants1.2.3 High light plants1.3 Application of Indoor plants1.3.1 Absorb harmful gases and Release oxygen1.3.2 Landscape decoration2 United States Indoor plants Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Indoor plants Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Indoor plants Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Indoor plants Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Indoor plants Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Indoor plants Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Indoor plants Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 United States Indoor plants Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by States (2012-2017)3.1 United States Indoor plants Sales and Market Share by States (2012-2017)3.2 United States Indoor plants Revenue and Market Share by States (2012-2017)3.3 United States Indoor plants Price by States (2012-2017)4 United States Indoor plants Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (2012-2017)4.1 United States Indoor plants Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2 United States Indoor plants Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.3 United States Indoor plants Price by Type (2012-2017)4.4 United States Indoor plants Sales Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)5 United States Indoor plants Sales (Volume) by Application (2012-2017)5.1 United States Indoor plants Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)5.2 United States Indoor plants Sales Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)5.3 Market Drivers and OpportunitiesRead Complete Table of Content @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Indoor plantsTable Classification of Indoor plantsFigure United States Sales Market Share of Indoor plants by Type in 2015Figure Shade-loving plants PictureFigure Low light plants PictureFigure High light plants PictureTable Application of Indoor plantsFigure United States Sales Market Share of Indoor plants by Application in 2015Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Market to 2022 Analysis by QYResearchReports https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1295510&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-ionizing-radiation-sterlization-market-research-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1295510&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingAstellGetingeSTERISTuttnauerBenchmark ScientificBMM WestonCISA productionMATACHANA GROUPDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:From the regional segmentation point of view, the global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization market has been divided into different geographies that could significantly influence growth in the near future. The report talks about factors that help the leading region to take hold of a handsome share of the market. It also sheds light on other regions trailing the leading one and how they could contribute to the market in the foreseeable future. The authors of the report have used statistical information to present a deeper analysis of the market based on its geographical study.Table of ContentsGlobal Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Market Research Report 20171 Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Ionizing Radiation Sterlization1.2 Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Electron beams1.2.4 X rays1.2.5 Gamma rays2 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type3 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)5 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)Read Complete Table of Content @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Ionizing Radiation SterlizationFigure Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of Electron beamsTable Major Manufacturers of Electron beamsFigure Product Picture of X raysTable Major Manufacturers of X raysFigure Product Picture of Gamma raysTable Major Manufacturers of Gamma raysFigure Global Ionizing Radiation Sterlization Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Automotive Composites Market is Expected to Expand US$ 7,019.7 Mn by 2022 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/automotive-composites-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4368 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/4368 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4368 An up to date business intelligence report compiled at Persistence Market Research (PMR) notifies that the shares in the global automotive composites market are moderately consolidated among a handful of players who have the technological expertise to cater to diverse demands.In the automotive industry, the current trend is to develop vehicles that are fuel efficient, and a number of players are transforming their business to meet these changing requirements. For instance, Toray Industries has inaugurated a new production facility in Japan that is expected to starting churning out electrode sheets for nearly 100,000 fuel cell vehicles each year from 2018 onwards. Torays new carbon fiber composite is expected to be stronger and lighter with complex shapes.Request for Table of Contents @Toho Tenax is another reputed name in the global automotive composites market, providing customized products from lightweight electric hybrids to high-performance racing cars. Some of the popular products from the company are Tenax Filament Yarn, Tenax ThermoPlastics, Tenax Short Fibers, Tenax Dry Reinforcements, Tenax Part via Preform, and Tenax Prepreg. Solvay S.A. is another key holding a strong position in the global automotive composites market, offering its DForm component technology that serves the high and medium volume automobile market, providing high deposition rates and ease of processing with its continuous fiber advanced molding system.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Global Automotive Composites Market to Attain Valuation of US$7,019.7 million by 2022As per the projections of the PMR report, the demand in the global automotive composites market will swell at an impressive CAGR of 8.9% over the course of the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. In terms of revenue, the scopes in this market are estimated to be worth US$7,019.7 by the end of 2022, considerably more than the markets evaluated worth of US$4,589.7 million in 2017.The analysts of the report have identified SGL Group from Germany, Mitsubishi Chemical Company from Japan, and Owens Corning and Plasan Carbon Composites from the U.S. as some of the other companies currently ahead of the curve in the global automotive composites market.Based on composite materials, the PMR report segments the market for automotive composites into polymer matrix, ceramic matrix, and metal matrix. On the basis of manufacturing process, the market has been bifurcated into injection and continuous process, compression process, and manual process.Request Report Multiple Chapter @The market has also been categorized on the basis of composite components, into engine and drivetrain components, exterior, and interior. Geographically, Asia Pacific has been picked out as the region with maximum opportunities. By the end of 2022, this region is anticipated to provide for more than half of the total demand in the global automotive composites market.Government Regulations to Reduce Carbon Emission Driving DemandA number of factors have been detected that are expected to drive the automotive composites market in the near future, such as growing demand for lightweight passenger vehicles that offer higher fuel efficiency and government regulations to adopt ways to reduce carbon emission from vehicles.Get full report now @In addition to that, the automotive industry is currently flourishing in the region of Asia Pacific, finding strong demand the emerging economies of China and India. These two countries are vastly populated and increased per capita vehicle ownership is expected to reflect positively on this market. On the other hand, high cost of raw materials is the most prominent restraint over the prosperity of the automotive composites market. The technology needs to be harnessed further for it to be more affordable for larger masses across the world.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Network-as-a-service Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1512 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1512 www.coherentchronicle.com Network-as-a-service (NaaS) is the network transport connectivity used for delivering network services virtually over the internet on a metered service (pay-per-use). NaaS providers offer necessary network hardware to end users on subscription basis, which provides a complete network solution. Consumers have to pay only for services that are being used. In NaaS model, the networking operators offer network resources such as optical switches, IP networks, BoD Domains, and routers. Some of the major advantages of NaaS are, it provides scalability and elasticity of service using which the network can be upgraded, providing a strong layer of security when the cloud is to be accessed, and functioning in the background. Furthermore, NaaS aids in providing efficient network bandwidth, effective flexibility of the network over consumption, and positive impact on resource-centric processes such a network monitoring and trouble management.Request Sample Copy of this Report @However, dependability on the vendor for total network solutions is a factor hindering growth of a network-as-a-service market.Increasing deployment of cloud computing and network virtualization are the major factors driving growth of the network-as-a-service marketAdoption of cloud computing services and network virtualization has led to significant increase in data collected on various digital and social platforms. In cloud computing, the NaaS benefits in providing scalable, pluggable, and API (Application Programmer Interface) driven network management, where the users can deploy and manage their networks virtually. NaaS offers a networking framework that outspreads the cloud computings on-demand and self-service provisioning model to the network service provider. Therefore, increasing deployment of cloud computing positively impacts growth of the market. For instance, according to Coherent Market Insights analysis, in 2015 the annual spending on cloud services is US$ 70 million and it is projected to grow to US$ 141 billion by 2019. Moreover, annual global cloud IP traffic is estimated to reach 14.1 ZB (Zeta Byte) by the end of 2020, from 3.9 ZB in 2015.Information Technology (IT) and telecommunication segment is expected to account for the largest market share over the forecast periodIT and telecommunication segment is expected to be dominant in the market over the forecast period, due to increasing deployment of cloud computing services. Therefore, increasing cloud computing services is driving adoption of cloud-based networking services, which offer the end-users on-demand network resources. The IT and telecom end-users are rapidly using networking and cloud technologies, which vary from checking of emails to managing the large volume of business data on the cloud. For instance, according to the Coherent Market Insights analysis, the in 2011 the cloud application adopted by the telecom sector is 6.18% and by 2014 it is reached to 17.96%. Therefore, increasing adoption of cloud computing by the telecom sector will positively impact on fuelling the growth of network as a services market.Global Network-as-a-service Market: Regional InsightsOn basis of region the global network-as-a-service is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit the highest growth, during the forecast period. India, China, and Japan are the major growth engines in the market of Asia Pacific. Increasing internet penetration is one of the major factors responsible for driving growth of the market in this particular region. For instance, according to the Internet World Stats estimations in 2017, China and India together contributed to over 1.2 billion Internet users as of June 2017. In addition to this, development of the Internet infrastructure and online businesses in this region are also expected to provide substantial growth opportunity over the forecast period.Request For Customization of this Report @Global Network-as-a-service Market: Competitive BackgroundKay players in the network-as-a-service ecosystem comprises solutions and service providers, such as Cisco Systems Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc., IBM Corp., NEC Corp., VMware, Aryaka Networks Inc., Alcatel Lucent, Brocade Communications Systems Inc., AT&T Inc., and Ciena Corporation.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website: Hermetic Packaging Market will continue offering attractive opportunities until 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1136 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1136 https://www.tmrresearch.com/hermetic-packaging-market Global Hermetic Packaging Market: SnapshotThe global hermetic packaging market is predicted to witness strong opportunities emerging from the ascendency of ceramic-metal sealing (CERTM) demonstrating a higher growth rate and share in terms of type. There are some crucial factors that could propel the demand for CERTM in the market. The assurance of failure-free operation and passenger safety in the automotive sector is anticipated to fortify the growth of CERTM sealed sensors such as differential non-contacting, chassis level, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sensors. The growth of the market could also gain a telling impetus on the back of an elevating demand for low-porosity and thermal shock-resistant hermetic packaging materials.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Although military and defense could take a leading share in the global hermetic packaging market on the basis of application, healthcare, food and beverages, petrochemicals, and consumer electronics are also expected to be significant. The healthcare market is prognosticated to record an impressive demand while riding on major advancements in technology for medical implants and other critical fields. The need to protect food from dirt, yeasts, molds, and bacteria could intensify the demand for hermetic packaging in the food and beverages sector. Glass bottles and rigid metal cans employ hermetic packaging seals as per the standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Expansion and new product launch are envisaged to be some of the top strategies adopted to gain a strong foothold in the global hermetic packaging market. For instance, Amkor Technology expanded its China test factory and assembly in 2015 and Schott AG launched Puravis and autoclavable Solidur LED in 2017.Global Hermetic Packaging Market: OverviewExhibiting a positive CAGR between 2017 and 2025, the global hermetic packaging market is forecast to spawn into a multi-billion dollar industry by the end of the forecast period. The need to protect the sensitive electronic components used in sectors such as defense and military against invasion of moisture, oxygen, humidity, and any other forms of contaminant, which may result in system failure is the key factor spurring the demand for hermetic packaging. Besides this, with the growing use of hermetic packaging across end-use industries such as aeronautics and automobile electronics, experts see strong growth on cards for the market in the coming years.Request TOC of the Report @The report provides a holistic market overview, covering growth witnessed across end-use industries, key application segments, and major regions. The classifications under these segments are studied in detail. The study also includes an in-depth analysis of various drivers and restraints projected to impact the markets trajectory across the aforementioned segments. It therefore compiles exhaustive information regarding the market obtained via proven research methodologies. The market study also identifies the most lucrative segments in the market and gauges the investment feasibility for the new market players.Global Hermetic Packaging Market: Trends and OpportunitiesAmong major end users, the demand for hermetic packaging is considerably high in the military and defense sector. This segment is expected to gain from the high budget allocation in the defense sector in countries such as the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Besides this, the high demand from the defense industries in India and China will boost the hermetic packaging market in Asia Pacific. In the coming years, the rising demand from the aeronautics and space industry will contribute to the markets growth as well.Among other segments helping the market gain pace, the contribution of the multilayer ceramic segment is worth mentioning. The market players are expected to witness considerably high opportunities in response to the increasing adoption of multilayer ceramic packages across high-frequency applications such as wireless communication, optical communication, and data communication. Multilayer ceramics allow a large volume of electrical feed-throughs, which is a key factor fueling its demand, subsequently gaining increased traction for the overall market.In the coming years, the use of hermetic packaging transistors is expected to increase at a robust pace. This growth will be stoked by the increasing uptake of hermetically sealed transistors for designing home appliances and telecommunication circuits. Spurred by the increasing applications across diverse segment, the global hermetic packaging market is forecast to report strong growth in the coming years.Global Hermetic Packaging Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, the leading manufacturers will find a lucrative market in Asia Pacific. The region exhibits increasing demand for energy, backed by growth in the rate of GDP across emerging nations such as India and China, which will create growth opportunities for hermetic packaged electronic component manufacturers. Besides this, India, Japan, and China are now allotting increased funds in space research. The growth in space-related activities such as exploration missions and satellite launches in these countries will give impetus to the Asia Pacific hermetic packaging market. Additionally, North America and Europe will continue offering attractive opportunities to the enterprises operating in the market.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Hermetic Packaging Market: Vendor LandscapeTeledyne Microelectronics, AMETEK, Inc., SCHOTT AG, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Amkor Technology, Legacy Technologies Inc., Micross Components, Inc., Willow Technologies, KYOCERA Corporation, and Materion Corporation are among the established players in the global hermetic packaging market. Besides in-depth assessment of the companies profiled, the report also studies the impact of the strategies they adopt on the overall market.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Global Massage Chairs Market Current Trend Analysis by 2025: Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, BEURER https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1726627&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-massage-chairs-market-research-report-2018.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1726627&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Massage Chairs Market Research Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.The global Massage Chairs market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportOmronPanasonicJohnson & JohnsonPhilipsBEURERMingzhen internationalJARESHOUKENSHANGHAI RONGTAI HEALTH TECHNOLOGYDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:Some of the vital questions answered by the research study concerning the growth prospects of the global Massage Chairs market have been mentioned below:Which factors are encouraging the rapid growth of the global Massage Chairs market?What are the expected statistics for the overall market in the coming few years?What is the estimated size and share of the Massage Chairs market?Which are the leading regional segments of the global Massage Chairs market?Which product segment of the global market is likely to grow at a fast pace in the forecast period?How is the competitive landscape of the global Massage Chairs market?Which are the leading players operating in the market for Massage Chairs across the globe?The research study further throws light on the major challenges and opportunities in the global Massage Chairs market. In the section of the competitive landscape, the research study has provided detailed profiles of the leading players, including the company profiles, product segmentation, and the business strategies.Table of ContentsGlobal Massage Chairs Market Research Report 20181 Massage Chairs Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Massage Chairs1.2 Massage Chairs Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Massage Chairs Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Massage Chairs Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Electric Massage Chair1.2.4 Mti-Functional Massage Chair1.3 Global Massage Chairs Segment by Application1.3.1 Massage Chairs Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Household1.3.3 Commercial2 Global Massage Chairs Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Massage Chairs Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Massage Chairs Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Massage Chairs Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Massage Chairs Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Massage Chairs Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Massage Chairs Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type3 Global Massage Chairs Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Massage Chairs Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Massage Chairs Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Massage Chairs Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Massage Chairs Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Massage Chairs Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Massage Chairs Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)Read Complete Table of Content @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Massage ChairsFigure Global Massage Chairs Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2013-2025)Figure Global Massage Chairs Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2017Figure Product Picture of Electric Massage ChairTable Major Manufacturers of Electric Massage ChairFigure Product Picture of Mti-Functional Massage ChairTable Major Manufacturers of Mti-Functional Massage ChairFigure Global Massage Chairs Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2013-2025)To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Vision 2025 - The Future of Global Art Paint Market Transformations and Growth Opportunities https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Request-Sample/101204 https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Reports/Art-Paint-Market Market ScenarioThe report begins from overview of Industry Chain structure, and describes industry environment, then analyses market size and forecast of Art Paint by product, region and application, in addition, this report introduces market competition situation among the vendors and company profile, besides, market price analysis and value chain features are covered in this report.Key Highlights of The Art Paint Market: Worldwide and Regional Market Size of Art Paint 2012-2017, and development forecast 2018-2023 Cost and profit status of Art Paint, and marketing status Market growth drivers and challenges Main manufacturers/suppliers of Art Paint worldwide, with company and product introduction, position in the Art Paint market Market status and development trend of Art Paint by types and applicationsSample Copy Available @Market Top PlayersGamblin, Winsor & Newton, Folkart, Golden, Liquitex, Sennelier, M. Graham & Co, Matisse, Daler-RowneyThe growth is expected to be slow in North America and Europe regions. Asia Pacific and Latin America on the other hand are expected to witness healthy growth in the Art Paint market. Owing to the versatility offered by acrylic paints, there is a growing demand for them in the market.Market SegmentsProduct Type Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Major Company of Product Type etc.): Acrylic Oil Watercolor Pastel OthersApplication Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Different Demand Market by Region, Main Consumer Profile etc.): Art Industry Craft And Hobby Picture Framing Photography OthersRegion Coverage (Regional Output, Demand & Forecast by Countries etc.): North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Russia, Spain etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina etc.) Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, South Africa etc.)"For More Information @About Future Genic ReportsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact us:Future Generic Reports244 , Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email: sales@futuregenicreports.com Specialty Fats and Oils Market record an impressive CAGR by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1151 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1151 https://www.tmrresearch.com/specialty-fats-oils-market Global Specialty Fats and Oils Market: SnapshotSpecialty fats and oils find a diverse array of niche applications across a number of fields, especially in the food and beverages industry. The properties of specialty fats and oil are quite different from the general fats and oils, the latter group including cream fats, pastry fats, margarine, shortening, and a number of other products. Some of the largest applications for specialized fats and oils come from the chocolate and confectionary makers. Specialized fats, for instance, are finding a growing scope of applications in chocolate products, especially ones that are molded, including chocolate bars.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The demand for specialty fats and oils is also growing among the manufacturers of chocolate products, such as chocolate wafers and biscuits, fruits and nuts, and other similar applications. Specialty oils and fats are also being used in the confectionery industry. A lot of applications of specialized fats distinguish them largely as cocoa butter alternatives, more specifically, cocoa butter substitutes, cocoa butter replacements, and cocoa butter equivalents. There is a growing but currently niche segment of exotic fats, but nearly all specialized fats find most of their applications in the confectionery and bakery goods production. Other end users of specialized oil and butters include the personal care and cosmetics markets, the manufacturers of animal feed, and the manufacturers of dairy products or processed foods.Global Specialty Fats and Oils Market: OverviewThe world specialty fats and oils market is prognosticated to grab a massive chuck of demand in the food and beverages industry with a number of products fetching indispensable applications. The global market is deemed to be a highly fertile ground for high-paying business opportunities. Specialty fats and oils are lavishly used in a multiple food applications and possess the capability to enhance sensory and physiochemical characteristics such as appealing flavors, creamy and rich texture, and smoothness. Most countries have already restricted the usage of trans fats that risk the consumers with fatal heart diseases. This could be a great opportunity for the manufacturers dealing with trans-free specialty fat and oil products to rake in handsome revenues.The report offered here considers the vital segmentation categories of the global specialty fats and oils market, viz. form, application, oil type, and fat type. With our customized approach, all of these segments can be comprehensively analyzed to determine the most lucrative market types and ensure a tangible business success.Request TOC of the Report @The tailor-made reports prepared at TMR Research, a market research hub, are a foolproof guideline to capitalize on the most promising and unrevealed opportunities. Buyers of this report can prepare their businesses to get aligned in just the right direction for securing a reliable growth in the international specialty fats and oils market.Global Specialty Fats and Oils Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe market for cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) is anticipated to count its dominance on the application in compound coatings and chocolates. CBEs are extensively used in confectionery and bakery products. The flourishing rise of this specialty fats type segment could significantly raise the bar of growth for the world specialty fats and oils market. Since CBEs reduce the risk of heart disease by being free of trans fats and non-hydrogenated, the demand growth is expected to elevate even more in the global market. In addition to that, CBEs can be used to enrich the flavor of the ingredients used in various products. Besides CBEs, exotic fats, dairy fat replacers, cocoa butter improvers (CBIs), cocoa butter replacers (CBRs), and cocoa butter substitutes (CBSs) could fairly contribute to the market.The liquid form of specialty fats and oils is foreseen to hold the potential to register a higher CAGR against the dry form specialty fats and oils market because of its saturated fatty acid melting point properties. A large number of chocolate and confectionery items today are produced without trans fats. As a result, there has been an augmenting inclination toward trans-fat-free chocolate and confectionery products, which could intensify the demand in this segment. With respect to its exhaustive availability and usage in the making of different products such as confectionery fillings, palm oil is forecasted to gain traction over other specialty oils type markets.Global Specialty Fats and Oils Market: Regional OutlookThe Asia Pacific region is prophesied to emerge as a leading market for specialty fats and oils with a host of remunerative opportunities in store. The global specialty fats and oils market has recently witnessed the birth of a broad-ranging scope of applications in Asia Pacific, viz. animal feed, cosmetics, and personal care. This is envisaged to mark a rising rate of demand in the region. Palm oil and other specialty oils are consumed in vast amounts in India while China, Indonesia, and Malaysia are hailed as the authoritative makers of specialty oils and fats. In this regard, Asia Pacific could record an impressive CAGR against the background of other key regional markets such as North America. Such a dominance of the Asia Pacific market is expected to be in place with reference to both value and volume.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Specialty Fats and Oils Market: Companies MentionedThe top companies making their mark in the international specialty fats and oils market could take advantage of the new geographies yet to be explored. Salient business strategies such as collaborations with key players, investments and agreements, joint ventures, and launch of novel offerings are predicted to be implemented by most firms operating in the global market. Some of the leading organizations anticipated to take charge are AAK AB, Wilmar International, IFFCO, Bunge Ltd., and Cargill.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Know the growth rate of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges Industry https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/14121 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/14121 The 'Global and Chinese Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges Industry, 2012-2022 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2012-2017 market shares for each company. Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2017-2022 market development trends of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2012-2022 global and Chinese Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges industry covering all important parameters.Get discount on this report :Chapter One Introduction of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Single-tooth Implants and Dental BridgesChapter Three Analysis of Global Key ManufacturersChapter Four 2012-2017 Global and Chinese Market of Single-tooth Implants and Dental BridgesChapter Five Market Status of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryChapter Six 2017-2022 Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryChapter Seven Analysis of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges Industry ChainChapter Eight Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryChapter Nine Market Dynamics of Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryChapter Ten Proposals for New ProjectChapter Eleven Research Conclusions of Global and Chinese Single-tooth Implants and Dental Bridges IndustryTables and FiguresAny special requirements about this report, please let us know and we can provide custom report.About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.1001 4th Ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Walnut Market: Roadmap to Win and Drive Customer Value https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Request-Sample/101624 https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Reports/Walnut-Market The report begins from overview of Industry Chain structure, and describes industry environment, then analyses market size and forecast of Walnut by product, region and application, in addition, this report introduces market competition situation among the vendors and company profile, besides, market price analysis and value chain features are covered in this report.Market ScenarioThe global walnuts market is, however, currently restrained by the lack of vertical integration in the manufacturers in the global market. Increasing competition among key players is the main challenge for walnut manufacturers which will lead to decrease in the profit margin. As competition intensifies in the sector with price wars among leading players, industry players are expected to improve the efficiency of their value chain, from inbound logistics to distribution and, to a large extent, marketing and export of products.Increasing inclination of the consumers towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle has led to an increase in consumption of healthy food products and food ingredients. Expanding demand for healthy food coupled with the usage of walnuts in end use industries are the primary drivers leading the global walnuts market during the forecast period. The market is also expected to continue being augmented by rising demand for convenience food, innovation in packaging, and expanding population willing to pay a premium for healthy fruits. One such growth in Walnuts market is increasing per capita consumption of walnuts globally.Request Sample Report @Some of the prominent trends that the market is witnessing include changing lifestyle habits and food preference, increasing awareness about health beneficial of walnuts and growing demand from cosmetic industry.Objective of the Study: To outline, classify and estimate the Global Walnuts market on the basis of type and regional distribution. To study and forecast the Global market size of the Walnuts, in terms of value and volume. To understand the regional market structure of Walnuts market, the global Walnuts market is segmented in five regions, namely Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and South America and forecast the market size, in terms of value and volume. To identify the detailed information about the prime factors affecting the global Walnuts market. To evaluate competitor pricing, average market selling prices and margins in the global Walnuts market. To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new entrants in the global Walnuts market. To strategically profile the leading players in the market which are offering Walnuts services worldwide.Market SegmentsApplication Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Different Demand Market by Region, Main Consumer Profile etc.):Food, Walnut Beverage, OthersRegion Coverage (Regional Output, Demand & Forecast by Countries etc.): North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Russia, Spain etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina etc.) Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, South Africa etc.)For More Information @About Future Genic ReportsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact us:Future Generic Reports244 , Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email: sales@futuregenicreports.com Moroccos latest efforts to bridge gaps between the conflicting parties in Libya is bearing fruit as Libyan authorities decided to convene in Rabat two technical commissions entrusted with reconciling inter-Libyan differences and implement the peace agreement concluded in Skhirat, Morocco, in 2015. The announcement was made by the president of the High Council of State, Khalid al-Machri. Technical commissions will meet shortly in Rabat in order to implement the peace mechanisms of the Skhirat agreement, he said. The technical commissions meeting is the result of the mediation conducted by Morocco, which organized in Rabat Monday evening a meeting between Khalid al-Machri and the Speaker of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Aguila Salah Issa Gweid, a first face-to-face between the two men. We thank King Mohammed VI for his efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, Khalid al-Machri said last Monday after a meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. Al-Machris statement is a strong acknowledgment of Moroccos efforts to bring the warring parties views closer, analysts say. According to Al-Machris entourage, the standpoints of the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament and of the President of the High Council of State have moved closer, hence the decision of the two parties to convene in Morocco a meeting of the technical commissions. The two Libyan dignitaries held, before their meeting, separate talks with Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, the speakers of the two houses of Parliament and the head of government, Saad-Eddine El Othmani. Moroccan officials told their Libyan guests that the Skhirat Agreement remains the appropriate framework to settle the Libyan conflict, and stressed the importance of stability and unity in Libya for the whole Maghreb region. The Libyan interlocutors agreed as to the need and urgency to reach a political agreement to save Libya, unify its institutions and ensure a dignified life for its people. The Skhirat Agreement was in December 2015 in Skhirat (30 km south of Rabat), by representatives of all parties taking part in the inter-Libyan dialogue, held under the aegis of the UN support mission in Libya. The UN has repeatedly stated that the Skhirat agreement remains the only appropriate framework for resolving the Libyan crisis. The Arab League summit held mid-April in Saudi Arabia has also voiced support to efforts seeking to reach an agreement and end the Libyan crisis through national reconciliation in accordance with the Skhirat agreement. Carnauba Wax Market paying strong attention to improving expansion 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1088 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1088 https://www.tmrresearch.com/carnauba-wax-market Carnauba Wax Market: SnapshotThe global carnauba wax market, traditionally dominated by Brazil, has emerged as a major economic avenue in recent years thanks to the steady growth of the automotive and food and beverage sectors. The cosmetics sectors growth in developing countries has also been vital for the global carnauba wax market and is likely to remain a key driver due to the growing demand for a variety of anti-pollution and anti-aging products.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The automotive industry has emerged as a leading consumer in the global carnauba wax market due to the growing secondhand car industry. Carnauba wax is a precious commodity in automotive maintenance due to the superior performance it provides in terms of polish. Thus, resold cars generally require a generous application of carnauba wax, while new cars are also often treated with carnauba wax to maximize their appeal to customers. The growing automotive industry in developing countries is thus likely to be vital for the global carnauba wax market, while developed regions are home to an affluent consumer demographic that has shown a steady interest in automobile maintenance and is likely to remain a key consumer in the global carnauba wax market.The food and beverage industry has become a key consumer in the global carnauba wax market due to the rising demand for food glazing and the increasing consumption of confectionery items such as jelly and chewing gum. The rising demand for sweets in developing countries, where the products are still novel, is thus likely to be a vital contributor to the global carnauba wax market.Global Carnauba Wax Market: OverviewThe global carnauba wax market has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years, due to its increasing application in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector. Brazil is the leading producer as well as exporter of carnauba wax across the globe. The manufacturing of this wax involves low setup cost, however, the labor intensive nature of extraction and processing leads to a high labor cost, thereby boosting the overall manufacturing cost. Moreover, the widespread adoption of primitive tools for extraction leads to an increase in the overall extraction time. This wax commonly finds its application in food, pharmaceutical, automotive, and cosmetics.Request TOC of the Report @The report serves as a reliable business tool providing information regarding important parameters of the global carnauba wax market. It is intended to update stakeholders about the ongoing trends of the market. It provides an immaculate understanding of the market through definitions, classifications, applications, and chain structure. It gives a detailed description of the factor influencing the market and analyzes the extent to which they impact the growth. It offers qualitative and quantitative insights into the competitive landscape of the market. It profiles key players in the market and takes into account their business strategies, latest development, investment outlook, financial overview, and market shares. For a coherent understanding, the report segments the global carnauba wax market on the basis of various criteria including geography and applications.Global Carnauba Wax Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe burgeoning consumption of confectionary products such as jellies and chewing gums, particularly in developing countries, is anticipated to stimulate the demand for carnauba wax in the forthcoming years. In addition, the rising demand for food glazing agent in the food and beverage industry is bolstering the growth of the market. The growth of the market is also backed by conducive regulations enforced by regulatory authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Union. On the other hand, the rising attempts of market participants to increase their margins and revenues are resulting in an increase in price, which in turn is adversely affecting the growth of the market.Global Carnauba Wax Market: Geographical SegmentationBased on geography, the key segments meticulously studied in the report are Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. Europe and North America will account for a substantial cumulative share in the market throughout the forecast period. The growing demand for waxes for the production and maintenance of automobiles is bolstering the growth of these regions. The robust growth of the automotive care industry, due to rising automobile sales coupled with the increasing sales of pre-used cars, is translating into the greater uptake of carnauba wax.Asia Pacific will rise at a noteworthy pace during the same period, owing to the growing demand for food glazing agents in the food and beverage industry. The rapid industrialization, which is leading to the flourishing growth of various end-user industries, is also impacting the growth of the region positively. Moreover, the rising disposable income of consumers is propelling the growth of the region.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Carnauba Wax Market: Competitive LandscapeProminent players in the global carnauba wax market are paying strong attention to improving their distribution network to cater to the global demand. The majority of players are focusing towards product customization to serve better to the requirements of end users and stay relevant in the market. The strong foothold of key players, due to their market knowledge and acumen, makes the market a highly competitive arena. Some of the key companies operating in the global metal carnauba wax market are Brasil Ceras, Tropical Ceras do Brasil Ltda, FONCEPI Comercial Exportadora Ltda, Pontes Industria de Cera Ltda, and Carnauba do Brasil Ltda.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Network Security Firewall Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1511 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1511 www.coherentchronicle.com A network security firewall involves management of the network traffic by controlling the entrance of threat across networks. The major benefits of network security firewalls is to improve the network security by protecting it against various threats such as botnets, command and control servers, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and zero-day threats. Hence, network firewall security will help in stopping unauthorized access to users, which is one of the factors for growth of the market.Increasing demand for network security and privacy is one of the major factors driving growth of the marketIncreasing adoptions of Big Data, IoT, cloud computing, and others have changed the scenario of business needs, in order to promote maximum agility to achieve competitiveness. Due to this, concerns regarding data breaches, account hijacking, unauthorised access, and others has also increased. Hence, network security is one of the major concerns for organizations, in order to minimize the issues related to data security. Furthermore, network security also helps organisations in protecting critical applications from disruption so that employees can stay on task without facing server outages, email downtime or data loss, which helps to boost productivity. Hence, all these features of network security helps organisations, which is propelling growth of the network security firewall market.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Increasing demand for administrative regulation for network security firewall is one of the major factors propelling growth of the marketIncreasing adoption of cloud technology is one of the key factors for growth of market. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, in 2016, 58% of the workloads were already shifted to cloud data centers, globally. Organizations have to secure their data as it available virtually. The data is more secure in in-house data centres rather than on a virtual cloud networks. Therefore, data security is the one of the major restraining factor, while adopting cloud computing by organizations. Hence, cloud-based firewalls play an important role in securing the data, which is present on the cloud. The features delivered by cloud-based network security firewall are email security, web filtering, manage network traffic, and others. Hence, cloud-based segment is expected to exhibit positive growth over the forecasted period.The cloud-based segment is expected to hold the largest market share in the network security firewall market during the forecast period (20172025)The cloud-based segment is expected to have the largest market share during the forecasted period. Increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions by organisation in industries such as retail, BFSI, and government will require cloud-based security solution as their data is available in the cloud network. For instance, according to the Coherent Market Insights analysis, in 20122016 almost 59% of BFSI sector already shifted their work load on the cloud. This is expected to lead to increasing demand for cloud-based security solutions, in order to secure their business infrastructures and sensitive data from cyber-attacks. Another factor responsible for growth of cloud-based segment is increased usage of cloud-based web and email application by organizations that need to protect their applications from advanced threats such as ransomwares, APTs, zero-day attacks, malwares, and unauthorized access. Hence, cloud-based segment is expected to exhibit positive growth in the forecasted period.Network Security Firewall: Regional InsightsOn the basis of region, the global network security firewall market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America accounted for the largest market share in global network security market in 2017, owing of increase number of cyber-threats across the various verticals such as healthcare, banking and financial, and retail and manufacturing. For instance, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), in 2016, cybercrimes were valued at over US$ 1.33 billion worldwide, where California witnessed loss of over US$ 255 million. Moreover, in 2016, about 28% of web application attacks were recorded in the U.S., followed by the Netherlands and Germany. Therefore, the organisation demand for newer and superior network security solution that help in minimizing the cyber threats.Request for Customization of this Report @Network Security Firewall: Competitive BackgroundKey players operating in the network security firewall are Symsoft, Anam Technologies, Cellusys, SAP SE, Tata Communications Limited, Adaptive Mobile, AMD Telecom S.A., Evolved Intelligence, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Mobileum, Omobio Pvt. Ltd., and Openmind Networks. With growing competition in the market, players are adopting mergers & acquisitions and partnership strategies, to gain competitive advantage in the market. For instance, in June 2016, Cellusys partnered with Sonus Networks, Inc., to provide mobile and fixed network operating solutions, which is a multi-layer signalling System 7 (SS7) security solution. Therefore, this strategy provides a network protection to subscribers from illegal tracking, call intercept, fraud and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website: Global Military Hydration Products Market 2018 - Platypus, Bags, Cera Products, CamelBak Global Military Hydration Products Market https://goo.gl/fUeNwt https://goo.gl/8eSPdo www.apexmarketreports.com Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Military Hydration Products Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Military Hydration Products Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global PP Pipe industry, and estimates the future trend of Military Hydration Products on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Military Hydration Products performance both in terms of volume and revenue.The market research report explores the Military Hydration Products Market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Military Hydration Products Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Military Hydration Products Market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Military Hydration Products. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Military Hydration Products Market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportSource Tactical GearHydration PacksWater BottlesPlatypusBagsCera ProductsCamelBakThe competitive landscape of the global market for Military Hydration Products is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Military Hydration Products Markets production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Military Hydration Products Market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Military Hydration Products Market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Military Hydration Products production volume, data pertaining to demand and Military Hydration Products supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Military Hydration Products along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Military Hydration Products across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. 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This gave rise to the demand for aseptic processing and the market for this technology is projected to witness a high growth in the years to come.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The growing preference for eco-friendly packages is behind the high demand for aseptic processing technology, despite their complexity when compared to terminal sterilization or canning. A surge in the demand for convenience foods and pharmaceutical supplies is boosting the growth of the aseptic processing market. Aseptic processing enables longer shelf life and thus, in demand. As the disposable income of consumers is increasing, their spending capability is also growing, creating a heightened demand for various products, driving the global aseptic processing market.Players in the market are expected to witness a stupendous growth as they increase their already large production capacities. The increased demand for aseptically packaged goods has compelled manufacturers to expand their business and production capacity. The cosmetics and dairy sectors are two areas demanding aseptic processing increasingly, thus pushing the growth of the market. The dairy industry is witnessing robust growth on account of the high demand for varieties in terms of flavors, which is benefitting the aseptic processing industry in turn.Global Aseptic Processing Market: OverviewAseptic processing is referred to as the methodology through which sterile or aseptic products, mainly pharmaceutical and food is packed in a sterile container which would efficiently maintain its sterility. Sterility is obtained through a process of flash heating between a temperature of 195 and 295 degree F which recollects more nutrients and employs less energy than the traditional form of sterilization methods such as hot-fill canning or retort. The method of aseptic food preservation allows the storage of processed food for elongated periods without the use of preservatives. These type of aseptic packages are generally a mix of aluminum, polyethylene, and paper. Collectively, these materials form a constricted seal against degradation, contaminants, microbial organisms, thus removing the requirement for refrigeration. The products which packed using aseptic processing are tomatoes, gravies, liquid whole eggs, fruit juices, and milks.Request TOC of the Report @The market intelligence report investigates into the conceivable growth prospects for the aseptic processing market and the sequential growth of the market during the course of the forecast period. It also exclusively provisions the mandatory data related to aspects such as the dynamics manipulating the progress in all possible reflective manner. Numerous pervasive and non-pervasive trends have also been stated in the report. An outlook of extensive nature keeping in mind the Porters five forces analysis has been provided to make the vendor landscape transparent to the reader. The report further points out several activities related to R&D, mergers, acquisitions, and crucial conglomerates and corroborations. The companies in attention have been examined on the basis of market shares, prime products, and key marketing strategies.Global Aseptic Processing Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global aseptic processing market is likely to witness exponential growth over the forecast period owing to rising focus on environment-friendly packaging and improvement in technologies and equipment in the packaging industry. The market is also expected to be benefitted by the mounting need for pharmaceutical supplies, growing demand for quality and convenience food products, and significant progress of the dairy beverage market. However, the market is expected to be negatively impacted by the high initial capital investment required for buying equipment and the need for advanced understanding of the technology in question in place forms of packaging forms.In terms of packaging, the segment of paper and paperboard is expected to lead the market in the coming years. This is because, paperboard can be easily cut and processed and is both strong and lightweight, thus making it an ideal material for packaging. Paperboard packaging is available in different grades with unique qualities. The grades are thus chosen on the basis of the respective packaging requirements.Global Aseptic Processing Market: Regional OutlookDeveloping countries such as Argentina, Brazil, India, and China are likely to contribute significantly to the revenue of the global aseptic processing market in the coming years. The growth of the markets in these countries can be primarily attributed to the hectic lifestyles of consumers and their shift towards processed and ready-to-eat meals, growth in household incomes, and favorable demographics.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Aseptic Processing Market: Competitive LandscapeEquipment manufacturers and suppliers are focusing on offering innovative equipment in different categories along with integrating processing equipment. They are also diversifying the product offerings to strengthen distribution base. Some of the leading companies are JBT Corporation, Greatview Aseptic Packaging Co. Ltd., GEA Group, Amcor Limited, Becton, Dickinson and Co., GEA Group, Tetra Laval International S.A., E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, and Robert Bosch GmbH.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Ultra-mobile Devices (UMD) Market transforming future scenario by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1103 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1103 https://www.tmrresearch.com/ultra-mobile-devices-market Global Ultra-mobile Devices (UMD) Market: SnapshotUntil a couple of years from now, the future of the sleeker, smaller, and portable computing devices, now dubbed as ultra-mobile, looked bleak. The segment had few devices and the flagship devices failed to entice masses. But the scenario soon transformed and ultra-mobile devices charged in the burgeoning global computing devices market with immense force, a host of new products from some of the worlds most renowned brands and are witnessing massive sales.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Analysts predict that ultra-mobile devices will soon supplant desktop computers in professional as well as public spaces. With the impressive rate of technological advancements that this segment of computing devices is achieving in a short span, this transition does not seem very far or difficult. Vast advances in battery, screen, processing, and material processing technologies are supplementing this change, making it technically very feasible to develop portable devices that can easily compete with the present-day ubiquitous, relatively bulkier, and mostly immobile workhorse personal computers.The rapid influx of a number of technologically advanced and highly promising candidates in the global ultra-mobile devices arena is strengthening the position of the segment as the right candidate to claim a significant stake in the workplace computers replacement process that many organizations eagerly await. Conventional smartphones and tablets fail to be as productive and fast as desktop computers when it comes to fulfilling a number of requirements, a factor that makes the high demand for ultra-mobile devices more likely. This report gives a detailed overview of the global ultra-mobile devices market and its crucial segments.Global Ultra-mobile Devices (UMD) Market: OverviewUltra-mobile devices (UMD), also referred to as ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPC), the notebook computers with physical features such as screen and overall size scaled down to bring about a reduction in weight make the devise more compact, have emerged as one of the largest selling computing devices in the past few years. These portable and easy to carry computing devices, which majorly pack capabilities and functionalities similar to those of a traditional personal computer, are steadily outpacing the conventional personal computer models.Request TOC of the Report @The market for ultra-mobile computing devices is expected to expand at a promising pace in the next few years as the trend of mobility gathers further pace. This report on the global ultra-mobile devices market provides a thorough analytical overview of the market in the present times and several forward-looking statements predicting the growth prospects of the market and its segments for the period 20172025, wherein 2016 is considered the base year.The report covers a detailed analytical overview of all the key trends expected to play a key role in the overall development of the market over the said period. The study highlights factors such as drivers, restraints, regulations, and opportunities expected to impact the growth prospects of the market during the forecast period.Global Ultra-mobile Devices (UMD) Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe report states that of the key varieties of ultra-mobile devices available in the market, including basic UMD, utility UMD, and premium UMD, the segment of premium UMD accounted for the leading share in revenues in the global market. Operational capabilities equal or enhanced as compared to conventional personal computers, compact size, and high cost have made premium UMDs one of the most profitable UMD segments in the global market in the past few years.On the basis of operating system, the global UMD market can be segmented into Windows, Mac, Android, and open source. Presently, the Windows category accounts for the dominant share in the global market and is expected to retain dominance over the next few years as well.Global Ultra-mobile Devices (UMD) Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsFrom a geographical perspective, the report analyzes the UMD market across regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Of these, the North America market contributed to the leading share in the global markets revenue. The presence of an affluent consumer base and some of the worlds leading UMD manufacturers have helped the region take the top spot in the UMD market.Emerging economies across regions such as Asia Pacific and Latin America have become some of the worlds profitable destinations for the personal computers market owing to the rising population of affluent and digitally aware consumers and the burgeoning enterprise and education sectors. However, the high prices of UMDs could crop up as one of the key challenges for markets expansion in these regions, making people favor budget computing devices over UMDs. The consumer perception that UMDs lack in data processing or operating functionalities as compared to conventional personal computers could also be a factor limiting the overall demand for ultra-mobile devices to mostly business professionals and enterprise circles in these regions.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @The study also includes business profiles of some of the leading players operating in the global immersive simulator market with details such as recent developments, growth strategies, market share, market positioning, finances, and product portfolio. Some of the leading companies operating in the global UMD market are HTC Corporation, Google, Dell, Microsoft Corporation, Lenovo, ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Apple Inc., Sony, HP Development Company L.P., and Samsung.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Hybrid Electric Jet Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1510 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1510 The hybrid electric jets are the aircrafts powered with the electric motors. The electricity is supplied through several methods such as batteries, solar cells, ultra capacitors, fuel cells, and power beaming. Electrified hybrid aircrafts are cleaner as compared to conventional models. The aviation industry is focused in reducing the fuel use and carbon emissions by manufacturing lightweight plane, efficient engines, and airlines using the biofuel blends for better traffic flow management. For instance, according to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the aviation produces around 2% of the worlds carbon emissions. Therefore, to reduce the emissions, many of the companies such as Zunum Aero, JetBlue Technology are planning for the low-carbon flying future.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Hybrid Electric Jet Market Key Driving FactorDecrease in the green gas emissions is the major factor driving growth of the global hybrid electric jet marketDecreasing the green gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and among others is the major factor driving growth of the global hybrid electric jet market. The jets using conventional motors results in green gas emissions, which is the major environmental concerns. For instance, according to the Europe Aviation Safety Agency (ESEA), utilization of electric engines in the jet is expected to reduce 75% of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and 90% of Nitrous Oxide (NOx) along with reduction in the noise levels to 65% by 2050. Furthermore, according to the Flightpath 2050 plan, the European Commission aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60%, nitrogen oxide pollution by 90%, and noise reduction of 75%. Moreover, apart from the environmental benefits, a hybrid electric jets could benefit in saving the carriers money on the fuel costs. Also, it reduces the noise pollution, as they are quieter and also enables the carriers to fly more at night especially in airports close to city centers, which in turn is positively influencing growth of the market.Global Hybrid Electric Jet Market: Regional InsightsOn basis of region, the global hybrid electric jet market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Europe is expected to exhibit the highest growth in the market during the forecast period, owing to the presence of large number of manufacturers such as Airbus SE, Rolls Royce, Siemens AG, Boeing, and EasyJet. Europe is projected to retain its dominance in market over the forecast period, owing to increasing number of manufactures, collaboration, and partnerships. For instance, in November 2017, the European manufacturers Airbus SE, Rolls Royce, and Siemens AG collaborated to build a hybrid electric plane called E-FAN X, which will be based on the modified 100-seat British Aerospace 146 (BAe146) regional aircraft.This modification includes replacement of the conventional motor with the two megawatt electric motor. Moreover, the Airbus will be responsible for integrating the engines with flight controls, Rolls Royce will improve the turbo-shaft engine with the two megawatt generator, and power electronics. Moreover, the generator and power electronic systems will be integrated to reduce the weight of the aircraft. Siemens will be responsible for delivering the power distribution network. The turbine powering the generator will operate on the jet fuel, which will provide the power for electric engine. Moreover, any excess power from the generator will be stored in banks of batteries with the stored energy to be used during take-off and landing. Furthermore, in September 2017, EasyJet, a major European carrier, started working with U.S. startup Wright Electric to build an all-electric airliner within a decade.Request For Customization of this Report @Key companiesThe major players operating in the hybrid electric jet market include Zunum Aero, Boeing HorizonX, Uber Technologies Inc, JetBlue Technology, Siemens AG, Airbus SE, Rolls Royce, Lilium, EasyJet Ltd., and Wright Electric.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Portable Screw Compressor Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2018 to 2025 Portable Screw Compressor Market http://orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2123864 http://orbisresearch.com/reports/index/2018-market-research-report-on-global-portable-screw-compressor-industry http://orbisresearch.com/contacts/discount/2123864 http://orbisnewsrelease.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research https://twitter.com/orbisresearch Worldwide Portable Screw Compressor Industry Report 2018 is an expert and inside and out investigation on the present condition of the Portable Screw Compressor Industry. The report gives a fundamental review of the business including definitions, characterizations, applications and industry chain structure. The Portable Screw Compressor showcase investigation is accommodated the universal markets including advancement patterns, aggressive scene examination, and key locales improvement status. The report also presents forecasts for Portable Screw Compressor Market investments from 2018 till 2025.This report studies the global Portable Screw Compressor market status and forecast, categorizes the global Portable Screw Compressor market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).The global Portable Screw Compressor market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.Ask for Sample Report@The major manufacturers covered in this report Atlas Copco AB Ingersoll-Rand PLC GE Oil & Gas Gardner Denver, Inc. Siemens AG Hitachi Ltd. Man SE Kobe Steel Ltd. Howden Group Ltd. Boge Kompressoren Sullair LLC Kaeser Kompressoren SEBrowse complete report with table of content and list of figures@On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoOil-injectedOil-FreeOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingOil & GasChemicals & PetrochemicalsFood & BeverageAutomotivePower PlantsMining & MetalsOthersSome Major Points from table of contentChapter One: Portable Screw Compressor Market OverviewChapter Two: Global Portable Screw Compressor Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter Three: Global Portable Screw Compressor Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)Chapter Four: Global Portable Screw Compressor Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)Chapter Five: Global Portable Screw Compressor Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter Six: Global Portable Screw Compressor Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter Seven: Global Portable Screw Compressor Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisChapter Eight: Portable Screw Compressor Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Nine: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Ten: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Eleven: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Twelve: Global Portable Screw Compressor Market Forecast (2018-2025)Chapter Thirteen: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Fourteen: AppendixFor discount click here@Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019For More PRs:Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter: Track Geometry Measurement System Market Vendor Landscape 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1118 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1118 https://www.tmrresearch.com/track-geometry-measurement-system-market Global Track Geometry Measurement System Market: SnapshotThe prosperity of the global track geometry measurement system market is owing to several factors, such as increasing need for safety and security in railway transport, growing railway networks and metro lines, and deployment of intelligent techniques in railways. On the other hand, slow infrastructure growth in a number of emerging economies is hindering the market from attaining its full potential. Nevertheless, the stockholders connected to the value chain of the track geometry measurement system market will gain new opportunities from the growing requirement from public and private partnerships (PPP) and diversification of services and solutions offered by these measurement systems.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Based on operation-type, the global market for track geometry measurement system can be segmented into contact based and no contact based, while on the basis of measurement-type, this market can be categorized into cant and cant deficiency, track gauge, twist, curvature, vertical profile, alignment, dipped joints, dynamic cross-level, and others such as inclination and cyclic top. High-speed railways, heavy haul railways, light railways, and mass transit railways can be some of the categories of the global track geometry measurement system, whereas component-wise bifurcation of the market can be software, navigation equipment, lighting equipment, computer, communication equipment, camera, data storage, sensor, and power supply equipment. Geographically, this report takes stock of the potential of the track geometry measurement system market in all important regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.The report is a comprehensive representation of the current scenario of the market for track geometry measurement system and provides analysis as well as forecasts on its future prospects.Global Track Geometry Measurement System Market: OverviewThe global track geometry measurement system market is projected to exhibit a positive CAGR between 2017 and 2025. The market will benefit from the increase demand for improved security in railway transport and the growling metro lines and railway networks. Besides this, the deployment of cost-effective and smart technologies in railway drive will give the global track geometry measurement system market significant impetus during the forecast period.The report studies growth exhibited by the tract geometry measurement system market based on various parameters such as railway type, measurement type, operation type, component, and region. It covers various aspects such as growth drivers, key restraints, opportunities, and challenges that companies are likely to witness. The profiles of some of the most prominent enterprises operating in global market are included as well.Request TOC of the Report @The report is therefore compiled with the intent of presenting a comprehensive overview of the global track geometry measurement system market. It gauges the impact of Porters five forces on the overall market and analyzes the investment feasibility for new players. Exhaustive information included in the report is obtained from trusted industrial sources via proven research methodologies. It is aimed at helping readers gain a clearer perspective about the prevailing dynamics and trajectory of the global track geometry measurement system market.Global Track Geometry Measurement System Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe rising demand for improved safety in railway transport is the chief driver of the market. The recent incidents of train mishaps have raised concerns worldwide compelling governments to digitize the mode of transport to ensure safer journey. The demand for cost-effective yet smart technologies for maintaining tracks and ensuring operational safety is therefore at all-time high. This however can be achieved through calculating the geometry parameters in real-time. Track geometry measurement systems assist in maintenance works conducted to detect any track irregularities, which is a key factor enabling the market gain impetus.While these factors will support the markets expansion, slow infrastructure growth will restraint it to an extent. Furthermore, data management and control is a sensitive concern for the track geometry measurement systems market. It is therefore very important to ensure protection of data generated via diverse measuring devices. This is a key challenge posing threat to the market as well.Global Track Geometry Measurement System Market: Regional OutlookNorth America, Europe, and Asia Pacific are among the key regional markets for track geometry measurement system. Among these regions, the market is witnessing highly lucrative opportunities in Asia Pacific. The rising demand for track geometry measurement system in China, which as of 2016 had the longest high-speed railway network in the world, is supporting growth witnessed in the region.Besides this, the market is also gaining from the rapid expansion of metro networks in countries such as Australia and India. Growth in railway networks also fuels the demand for advanced maintenance to ensure risk-free travel to the passengers. Since, railway networks constitute the key transport across emerging Asian economies, the region exhibits a considerably high demand for track geometry measurement system.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Track Geometry Measurement System Market: Vendor LandscapeSome of the most prominent enterprises operating in the global track geometry measurement system market are Ensco, Inc., MER MEC S.p.A., Fugro, Balfour Beatty, Plasser & Theurer, Egis, MRX Technologies, R. Bance & Co., Ltd. Inc., and Goldschmidt Thermit Group.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Low Bed Trailer Market trends research and projections for 2017-2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/676 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/676 http://www.coherentchronicle.com A low bed trailer is utilized in various applications and has the capability to carry loads up to 12 feet high. A low bed trailer is majorly used to carry oversized cargo such as industrial equipment, bulldozers. The high spending for infrastructure development in the emerging economies such as China and India is a key driver for the global low bed trailer market. For example, for road construction, China invested US$ 207 billion in 2015 and built 49,000 miles of expressways. Similarly, for the development of 35,000 km of roads across the country, the Indian government released funding of US$ 45 billion. The 14000 km will be developed for feeder route and 21000 km will be for economic corridor. Moreover, the Indian government also released the fund of US$ 65 billion for the upgrade of two lane national highway to four lane national highway. Hence, this increasing investment of the road construction have increased the demand of transportation of heavy manufacturing equipment has fueled the market of low bed trailer globally. In addition to this, the increasing adoption of mass reduction technology by the OEMs for the fleet trucks for increasing demand of fuel efficiency also become one of the major driver for the growth of the global low bed trailer market. Improved aerodynamics, low rolling resistance, use of low-rolling-resistance tires, idling reduction technologies are some of the new technologies adopted by the OEMs which helps to improve the fuel efficiency of the trailers.Ask for detailed Sample of this Research Report @In addition to this, the increasing demand of freight for defense equipment and shortage of vehicle logistics for rail and road transport are some of the other drivers which also provides the growth opportunity to the global low bed trailer market.Based on product segment the 3 axle product segment holds the dominant position in the global Low-bed trailer market in 2016 and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. The increasing demand for transportation of agriculture and building machines become the major driving factor for the growth of 3 axle product in the global Low-bed trailer marketLow bed trailer Market Outlook North America holds the largest market of the global Low-bed trailer market.On the basis of geography, global Low-bed trailer market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Asia pacific holds the dominant position in the global Low-bed trailer market in 2016 and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. The increasing infrastructure facilities such as production halls, bridges, public buildings, roads and many more in Asia pacific countries such as India, China has increased the demand of specialized equipment and manufacturing structures and machines provides the growth opportunity to the Asia pacific low bed trailer market. For example, for highway network the china government have a target to build 3 million km by 2020Key companies of global Low bed trailer marketKogel Trailer GmbH & Co.KG, Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG, Wabash National Corporation, Bockmann Fahrzeugwerke GmbH, Dennison Trailers ltd, Great Dane Trailers, Humbaur GmbH, Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company are some of the key companies of the global Low bed trailer market.Request for Table of Content of this Report @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website : Telecom Service Order Management Service Market will Grow in Upcoming Years Telecom Service Order Management Service Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1114907-global-telecom-service-order-management-service-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1114907 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1114907-global-telecom-service-order-management-service-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1114907-global-telecom-service-order-management-service-market-1 A new research study from HTF MI with title Global Telecom Service Order Management Service Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 provides an in-depth assessment of the Telecom Service Order Management Service including key market trends, upcoming technologies, industry drivers, challenges, regulatory policies, key players company profiles and strategies. The research study provides forecasts for Telecom Service Order Management Service investments till 2022.Access Sample Copy @:If you are involved in the Telecom Service Order Management Service industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Wireline & Wireless Network, Integration and Installation Services, Consulting Services & Support Services and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.This report studies the global Telecom Service Order Management Service market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Telecom Service Order Management Service market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Buy this research report @The Study is segmented by following Product Type: Integration and Installation Services, Consulting Services & Support ServicesMajor applications/end-users industry are as follows: Wireline & Wireless NetworkGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions such as United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Global Telecom Service Order Management Service in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports. Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Major companies covered in the report are Cerillion (UK), Cognizant (US), Ericsson (Sweden), IBM (US), Oracle (US), ChikPea (US), Comarch (Poland), Fujitsu (Japan), Intellibuzz (India), Mphasis (India), Neustar (US) & Pegasystems (US)This study also contains company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of various international, regional, and local vendors of Global Telecom Service Order Management Service Market. The market competition is constantly growing higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the industry. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new vendor entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Some of the key questions answered in this report:- Detailed Overview of Global Telecom Service Order Management Service market helps deliver clients and businesses making strategies.- Influential factors that are thriving demand and constraints in the market.- What is the market concentration? Is it fragmented or highly concentrated?- What trends, challenges and barriers will impact the development and sizing of Telecom Service Order Management Service market?- SWOT Analysis of each key players mentioned along with its company profile with the help of Porters five forces tool mechanism to compliment the same.- What growth momentum or acceleration market carries during the forecast period?- Which region is going to tap highest market share in future?- What Application/end-user category or Product Type may see incremental growth prospects?- What would be the market share of key countries like United States, France, UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, Japan, China or Brazil etc.?- What focused approach and constraints are holding the market tight?Make inquiry before purchase @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Telecom Service Order Management Service market.Chapter 1, About Executive Summary to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Telecom Service Order Management Service market, Applications [Wireline & Wireless Network], Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze objective of the study.Chapter 3, to display Research methodology and techniques.Chapter 4 and 5 , to show the Overall Market Analysis, segmentation analysis, characteristics;Chapter 6 and 7, to show the Market size, share and forecast; Five forces analysis (bargaining Power of buyers/suppliers), Threats to new entrants and market condition;Chapter 8 and 9, to show analysis by regional segmentation[United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India ], comparison, leading countries and opportunities; Regional Marketing Type Analysis, Supply Chain AnalysisChapter 10, focus on identifying the key industry influencers, overview of decision framework accumulated through Industry experts and strategic decision makers;Chapter 11 and 12, Market Trend Analysis, Drivers, Challenges by consumer behavior, Marketing Channels and demand & supply.Chapter 13 and 14, describe about the vendor landscape (classification and Market Positioning)Chapter 15, deals with Global Telecom Service Order Management Service Market sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com Englands spring bluebells. Photo: Andrew Sullivan Home is where one starts from. And like many English families, mine is still there, my brother and father still living in the very town I grew up in, my sister and mother a short drive away. So much remains exactly the same, and at this time of year this is especially true. On the cusp of spring, when the new leaves begin to unfold as specks of newborn green in the woodlands, a small miracle occurs. The bluebells arrive, like an iridescent blue carpet below, spreading along hedgerows, suddenly swamping forests and copses, emerging out of the rotten, sodden leaves of last autumn. If you really want to disappear into an eternal miasma of Englishness, you can even take a ride on the Bluebell Railway. Its an old-school steam train, running from my hometown just four stops on a rail line long since abandoned for actual travel. When April comes, its puffs of steam hang briefly in the moist, nippy air, surrounded by as much blue as a ship on a sea. By the time I leave at the end of next week, the bluebells will have wilted and disappeared, but for now, they are like a million little madeleines of my other life in another country. And yet England, as I have found it, suddenly feels deeply familiar to my American self. In London, it is as if I never left Washington. Its not just that after Thatcher and Blair, markets are everywhere, trade unions are puny compared to their mighty past, taxes are astonishingly low, and all the old public services save the National Health Service and the BBC are in private hands. Its the atmosphere that feels so similar. The minute you start chatting with anyone about the state of the country, you can almost feel the toxicity and tension, and the tenacious tribalism rending the country apart. Westminster feels like Washington, the way it did when Reagan and Thatcher were ascendant in the 1980s, or when Clinton and Blair entrenched the legacy of their conservative predecessors in the 1990s. This time, they are defined not by a new common direction but by a shared unraveling. And if you hang around, you can begin to realize why. If my hometown feels remarkably similar, London is close to unrecognizable from the city I knew as a teen. Its skyline has a touch of Dubai to it, the wealth is tangible, even obscene, the prices absurd, the energy young and incredibly diverse. Its not our capital any more, is it? my brother asks, as if seeking confirmation from me. I can see what he means, by virtue of not being there continuously as change accumulated and transformed. In a little less than a week in London, I have yet to buy anything from someone English. Everywhere I hear foreign accents or one of the more than 300 languages London now incorporates. Thirty-seven percent of the capitals population is foreign-born the same as New York City and that share is predicted to be 50 percent by 2031. But New York has always been a thriving immigrant city; newcomers have always defined the place, and its just one of several vast metropoles in America. But London is the overwhelmingly dominant city in the U.K., and has never previously been a city of immigrants in the English psyche. London, in fact, is synonymous with the essence of England, and has been a national center since the Roman era. The counties surrounding it are called the Home Counties, because London has always been home. I love the new London, but then I would, wouldnt I? Im an American now, and became one in part because I fell in love with its racial and cultural diversity. But most people, not gifted with a great education and lucky breaks, are not able to hop and skip between capital cities, finding each metropolis increasingly and pleasantly like the other. Theyre in suburbs and small towns, or in the rust-belt north, whence Orwells patriotic (emphatically not nationalist) socialism sprang. And theyre anxious in a way that the young are not anxious. For the under-40s, economic insecurity, college debt, and inability to own a home drive the angst. For the over-40s, its a sense that the England they identified with, that gave their lives meaning and pride the England that was nearly destroyed in the finest hour of 1940 this sceptered isle, is disappearing. Thats the reason for Brexit. Period. In my view, it is an insane decision and its becoming ever-clearer what the nature of that madness is. The current debate is whether the U.K. will remain in a single market, a customs union, or a customs partnership. If you ask anyone the difference between the three, the brows furrow as the eyes glaze over. The Tories argue for Brexit, bizarrely, as a tool for freer trade, in true English fashion. But it is withdrawal from the biggest free-trade area in the world! Many of the regulations and standards imposed Europe-wide will have to be retained, but under British law, not European because the economies are so intertwined. The more you investigate what Brexit actually, practically means, it turns out to be an attempt to keep everything the same but somehow change it completely. Its a policy that makes no sense, is being negotiated by a prime minister who voted to remain in the E.U., is being debated by a Parliament overwhelmingly pro-staying, in deference to a referendum that was a blizzard of disinformation and ignorance. I truly dont believe if you asked the average Brit what the E.U. is, theyd be able to give you a coherent answer. But they voted against it because they are scared. Last weeks PRRI/Atlantic study of the key voters who brought us Trump brings this out with stunning and, for me, decisive clarity: Sixty-eight percent of white working-class voters said the American way of life needs to be protected from foreign influence. And nearly half agreed with the statement, things have changed so much that I often feel like a stranger in my own country. Only a small portionjust 27 percentof white working-class voters said they favor a policy of identifying and deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally. [But] among the people who did share this belief, Trump was wildly popular: 87 percent of them supported the president in the 2016 election Nearly two-thirds of the white working class say American culture has gotten worse since the 1950s. Sixty-eight percent say the U.S. is in danger of losing its identity, and 62 percent say Americas growing number of immigrants threaten the countrys culture. Ta-Nehisi Coates has called these people witting enablers of white supremacy because they voted for Trump, conjuring up images of men in white hoods lynching and murdering African-Americans. But many of them voted for Obama twice. Clinton called half of Trump voters a basket of deplorables. But a majority of white women voted for Trump. The left intelligentsia regards them as bigots, racists, xenophobes, and even privileged attitudes and statements that are re-broadcast every hour of every day to the white and culturally anxious viewers of Fox News. What few on the left seem to see is that cultural anxiety, given the ethnic and cultural transformation of the last few decades, is an entirely predictable and entirely understandable response. If people felt that someone in charge actually saw their point of view, sympathized with it, and attempted even minor changes to accommodate it, we would have a different politics. But all they had was Trump. And all they still have is Trump. If that is true in immigrant-created, multiracial, multicultural America, a vast and churning continent, always restless, always changing, it is triply true in the little, overcrowded, once remarkably homogeneous island that is Britain. This countrys core identity is thousands of years old. Yes, it has long accepted immigrants, but until the 1950s, net immigration was a rounding error. Since then, it has exploded. In the last 20 years, it has reached American levels. For those whose self-understanding is wrapped up in bluebells and tea, in English accents divided solely by class and region, in a nearly all-white and all-English country for centuries, these times are culturally terrifying. It wasnt their economic insecurity that gave us Brexit. It was that no one in charge even sensed their unease. Elites and I count myself among the guilty gave them nothing by way of reassurance or even a sense that they were understood instead of reviled. So all they had was Brexit. It wasnt a rational decision; it was their only way to have their voices heard. Their pride and self-identity are bound up in it now, just as a critical slice of Americas is bound up in Trump. Which is why, despite the mounting evidence that the Brexit gambit is a disaster, they will never let it go. Home is indeed where one starts from. Change it too rapidly and it will disintegrate. We have been fools on mass immigration, we have been fools for preventing an honest debate about the benefits and drawbacks of diversity, and we have been contemptible in our contempt for so many of our fellow citizens. Both countries are now paying a terrible, terrible price. Why Lie? The whole Joy Reid weirdness has a strangely English resonance. The leader of the opposition and likely next prime minister, Jeremy Corbyn, was another victim of the eternal internet, revealed as having once been a member of five Facebook groups seething with crude anti-Semitism, and had once written a Facebook post defending a grotesquely anti-Semitic mural. Corbyn basically had no effective response. The murals anti-Semitism was so blatant his excuse that he didnt see it or recognize it for what it is was absurd. I dont buy the idea that Corbyn is an anti-Semite. But I do buy the idea that he will side with a comrade instinctively, before he begins to investigate whether that comrade is, you know, nuts or evil. But at least he didnt argue that someone else did it! The question I keep asking myself is: Why wouldnt Joy Reid just fess up, explain the context of the time, and her evolution since? Shes already apologized for milder expressions of distaste for gay men and been given absolution. So why not one more time? Yes, its humiliating. But sometimes humiliation is a good thing for a pundit. And its perfectly fine to write something once that you genuinely regret later. God knows I get that. We all have a right to evolve and mature and deepen our understanding of the world. The key is honesty in self-reflection, not absurd attempts to deny any responsibility, let alone accuse someone else. And Reids homophobia was not that out of the mainstream over a decade ago. In 2006, 40 percent of Americans believed that gay sex should be illegal and nearly three-quarters of African-Americans believed that homosexual relations are always wrong. The cultural and moral transformation has been so huge and so swift most people expressed views back then that most would find deeply troubling today. And thats okay. In the 90s and aughts, we sought converts and not heretics in the marriage struggle, which is why, in part, we succeeded. And theres a lack of generosity of spirit when someone does concede an error, and is greeted with another round of other accusations in return. There is still a teeny-weeny chance Reids bizarre story is true, I suppose. But please. Id forgive her in a millisecond. Most gay people would as well. I wouldnt even rescind an award, as PFLAG did. I loathe the way in which you no longer respond to and out-argue someone you disagree with, but mount a Twitter campaign to have them fired and ostracized instead. Its deeply illiberal. Yes, the First Amendment allows it, but the spirit of free discourse should keep it out of bounds. And it seems highly likely to me that it was precisely this fear of social-media power that prompted Reid to go off the deep end. The brutal intimidation machine of Twitter right and left has no mercy. It doesnt want to win an argument; it wants to destroy human beings, ruin lives, and end careers. The absolutism of social media justice has become a blight on the discourse, a critical engine in the unwinding of liberal democratic norms. It appears Joy Reid was so determined not to have her life and career ruined because of her past homophobia that she almost certainly told a whopper, which actually does legitimately call into question her journalistic integrity. Theres a lesson in there, if only the Savonarolas of our time were interested in learning it. Parental Rights Whatever else you say about Britain these days, it no longer feels like a free country. I dont just mean the hideous suffocation of free speech although thats shocking enough. That someone was actually fined over $1,000 for making a stupid joke video of their pug doing a Nazi salute would be hilarious if it werent also so preposterous. And if you want to see what the world would look like if the social-justice movement could truly get their way, and if the First Amendment did not exist, come to England. Here, a politically incorrect statement could have you hauled into court. A young woman was recently sentenced to an eight-week community service order and legal costs of nearly $7,000 for putting a quote from Snap Dogg on her Instagram account, the Spectators Brendan ONeill reported. (The quote included the N-word and offended a cop from the local police hate crime unit.) A Christian preacher was put in jail for 19 hours because he told some gay teens that gay sex is a sin. Sick jokes the kind that I heard every day as a teen are now criminal offenses. The Times of London reported that more than 3,000 people were detained and questioned last year for trolling on the internet in ways that offended the designated victim groups. And this is under a Conservative government. No one but a few straggling right-wingers seem concerned. And then theres the Alfie Evans case. The idea that the parents of a severely handicapped 2-year-old are not the ultimate deciders of what happens to their own child is, for me, a deeply chilling one. In the case of Alfie, afflicted with a degenerative neurological disorder, the doctors essentially decided it was time to pull the plug. Its a horrible decision to have to make, and Im not going to diagnose what was medically possible, although medical bias does exist. I understand that, at some point, extraordinary measures to sustain a human life are no longer valid. When resources are limited, and a person really has no chance of survival, the use of simple ordinary measures to protect life food, water, shelter, care is what is morally required. But what if the parents of the child disagree? What if they still hold out hope that some treatment might still be possible and another hospital is able and willing to try? Thats what happened in the case of Alfie. The doctors at Alder Hey Childrens Hospital had every right to tell Alfies parents that it was unkind, unfair and inhumane to continue treatment. But to deny the parents the option of another hospital in Italy, prepared to take over the case, and to legally prevent Alfie from being transported there, is hard to comprehend. If parents do not have the right to take their child to another hospital, what rights do they have at all? The BBC has a useful account of the law in question: The concept of parental responsibility is set out in law - in the Children Act 1989 - conferring on parents this right broadly to decide what happens to their child, including the right to consent to medical treatment. But this right is not absolute If a public body considers that a parents choices risk significant harm to their child, it can challenge these choices but it must go to court in order to override the legal state of parental responsibility. And thats what happened. The parents and the hospital are regarded as equals by the justice system and the court decided in favor of the hospital. Its not the first time this has happened, as the tortuous case of little Charlie Gard in 2017 proves. In that instance, Charlie was prevented from traveling for experimental treatment in the U.S. These are horrible cases, and their complexity and agony need to be understood. But the ultimate right of a parent to do all they can for their child is not child abuse if there is a legitimate alternative offered by other doctors. Im not supportive of the barrage of abuse the hospital has been subjected to, or the threatening crowd outside, or the use of this case for political purposes. But I do believe that no one should overrule parents in a case like this. Alfie was born as an apparently healthy child, until seizures and infections took hold of him. His condition remains undiagnosed. He apparently breathed freely for hours without assistance after the hospital removed his life support last Monday night, and, as I write this Thursday night, he is still struggling to live. The father, meanwhile, has asked his supporters to stand down, and said he wants to restore his relationship with the hospital in order for the parents and the doctors to build a bridge and walk across it. It is too late for Alfie now. See you next Friday. Camping Tent Market Will Grow At A CAGR Of 5.13% by Revenue During The Period 2017-2021: Cabanon, Easy Camp, Force Ten Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1166488 https://www.researchmoz.us/camping-tent-market-in-europe-2017-2021-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/camping-tent-market-in-europe-2017-2021-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Camping Tent Market in Europe 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.About Camping Tentcamping tent is a dwelling unit made by assembling internal or external structural frames. These frames are anchored to form a base over which fabric is draped. Tents are portable and can accommodate several people. With an increase in the popularity of camping in Europe, the demand for camping tents also increased. Therefore, the vendors are creating innovative tents such as ultra-lightweight tents and instant tents. With an increase in the demand for such tents, the market is expected to grow during the forecast period.Technavios analysts forecast the Camping Tent Market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 5.13% during the period 2017-2021.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Camping Tent Market in Europe for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sales of new camping tents in Europe.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Camping Tent Market in Europe 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBig AgnesJohnson OutdoorsThe Coleman CompanyThe North FaceView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Other prominent vendorsCabanonEasy CampForce TenGelertHilleberg the TentmakerKampaKhyamObelinkSimex Outdoor InternationalVangoMarket driverGrowth in adventure tourismFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeIncreasing availability of counterfeit tentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendAvailability of technologically advanced camping tentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Dental Bonding Agents Sales Market Analysis with Inputs form Industry Experts 2017 to 2022 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/6761 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/6761 In this report, the global Dental Bonding Agents market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.The Values marked with XX is confidential data. To know more about CAGR figures fill in your information so that our business development executive can get in touch with you.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Dental Bonding Agents for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited States,China,Europe,Japan,Southeast Asia, IndiaGlobal Dental Bonding Agents market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Dental Bonding Agents sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingDanaher Corporation,Dentsply International,3M,Kerr,Sirona Dental Systems,BISCO Dental Products,Shofu Dental Corporation,Pentron Clinical,Parkell,Tokuyama,Kuraray America,DMG America,VOCO America,GC America Inc.,Oxford Scientific Dental,Danville Materials Inc, Apex Dental MaterialsGet discount on this report :On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoTotal-etch, Self-etch SystemOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Dental Bonding Agents for each application, includingHospitals, Dental Clinics, OtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.1001 4th Ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Major Progress of Marine Valves and Actuators Market Will Grow At A CAGR Of 3.52% by Revenue During The Period 2017-2021: Gpfert, HOERBIGER, Johnson Valves Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1166493 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-marine-valves-and-actuators-market-2017-2021-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/global-marine-valves-and-actuators-market-2017-2021-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Marine Valves and Actuators Market 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.About Marine Valves and ActuatorsValves in marine applications are devices that regulate, control, and direct the flow of fluids such as liquids, slurries, gases, and fluidized solids by closing, opening, or even partially obstructing different passageways, whereas actuators in the marine industry help in controlling the mechanism and systems, which are present in a ship, thereby making it a vital component.Technavios analysts forecast the global marine valves and actuators market to grow at a CAGR of 3.52% during the period 2017-2021.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global marine valves and actuators market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Marine Valves and Actuators Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsEmersonWrtsilRotorkAVK GroupView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Other prominent vendorsActuation Valve and ControlApollo Valves (CONBRACO INDUSTRIES)Atlas Marine Valves & EquipmentsBrooksbank ValvesCla-ValGpfertHOERBIGERJohnson ValvesLK Valves and ControlsNAG MarinePima ValveMarket driverIncrease in seaborne tradeFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeCollapsing Greek shipbuilding industryFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendHigh demand for FPSFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market Prophesy 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1082 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1082 https://www.tmrresearch.com/industrial-fire-brigade-training-program-services-market Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market: SnapshotIndustrial fire brigade training programs and services have become a crucial industrial sector in themselves in recent years due to the steady growth of several industries whose operations entail a significant risk of fire and whose working materials are particularly prone to fire. The growth of the chemical and electrical sectors has thus been crucial for the global industrial fire brigade training programs and services market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @North America is the key regional contributor to the global industrial fire brigade training program and services market. The firm growth of the chemical and electrical sectors, driven by the presence of several leading international players in North America, has been a primary driver for the industrial fire brigade training program and services market. The presence of regulatory bodies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is also likely to aid the industrial fire brigade training program and services markets growth in North America in the coming years. The industrial sector in North America has been quick to adopt industrial fire brigade training programs and services due to the clear benefit they present in terms of risk mitigation.The industrial fire brigade training program and services market has also been helped in North America by the steady government support to extension of fire protection services to the industrial sector. The importance of the industrial sector to the American economy is likely to ensure steady growth of the industrial fire brigade training program and services market in the region in the coming years. The steady support to technological innovation in the region is also likely to help the industrial fire brigade training program and services market.Global Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market: OverviewIndustrial fire brigade training program and services are meant for personnel who are willing to work in situations of industrial fires and cope with them in an efficient and trained manner. In this, the firefighters who are dedicated towards upgrading their techniques of firefighting and several other emergency techniques of response and thorough safety training. The mission of this industrial fire brigade training program and services is to areas that are in need for a training program and materials required for industrial fires. These services provide mostly emergency firefighting services for a specific industrial area. Other different life safety services include emergency medical services, resolving issues with hazardous materials, and technical rescue. In the industrial fire brigade training program, the personnel are prepared for the skills and are provided with knowledge in order to perform their duties.Request TOC of the Report @The report is an investigation in the growth of the global industrial fire brigade training program and services market over the last couple of years and in the coming years. The market research publication further reasons out the causes of the changes in the market across the globe. It does this so by presenting an evaluation of the dynamics and the trends prevalent from the last few years and the ones that are likely to retain an impact during the forecast period. The Porters five forces analysis is being taken into consideration for the analysts to provide a clear view of the vendor landscape to the readers. Mergers, agreements, acquisitions, and other partnerships have also been highlighted in the report. The study further delves into the working of the various leading companies along with the information on the products, strategies, and shares of the companies in question.Global Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for industrial fire brigade training program and services is expected to exhibit great potential and grow at an extensive rate during the forecast period. The market is likely to be driven by rising awareness among several industries regarding the industrial fire brigade in order to prevent certain damages caused by fire, and implementation and incessant modification on the safety standards, regulations, and industrial codes for industrial fire brigades. The prime opportunity for the market lies in the in the growing demand for industrial fire brigade training programs form industries such as manufacturing, electrical, and chemical among others.The exterior firefighting training level program in the market for industrial fire brigade training program and services is likely to gain prominence over the coming years as this particular course is undertaken for the purpose of combating higher degree of exterior fire dangers in industries such as offshore installations, electrical utility, mining, and oil and gas. In-house training employing in-house instructors is also expected to hold a prominent place in the market owing to benefits offered such as cost saving with regards to travelling and training. This also enables firefighters to access various equipment and also avail classrooms for in-house refreshers. They can also use foam, fog, water, and dry chemicals in this training.Global Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market: Regional Outlook Region-wise, the demand for industrial fire brigade training program and services in North America is expected to gain momentum over the next couple of years. Due to the presence of the standards implemented by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the market in this region can expect a promising future.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Industrial Fire Brigade Training Program and Services Market: Competitive LandscapeThe leading companies operating in the market are Oklahoma State University, Lambton College, Falck, Lakeland College, and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Development of Orthopedic Shoes Market in Global Industry 2018: Redi-Thotics, Aetrex Shoes, Crocs, Apex, Dr. Comfort, New Balance Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1642879 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-orthopedic-shoes-market-professional-survey-report-2018-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/global-orthopedic-shoes-market-professional-survey-report-2018-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Orthopedic Shoes Market Professional Survey Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies Orthopedic Shoes in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringPiedroDrew ShoeVionic With OrthaheelOluKaiSpencoSOLETo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Redi-ThoticsAetrex ShoesCrocsApexDr. ComfortNew BalanceOrthofeetPropetOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoFlatfoot Orthopedic ShoesCavus Orthopedic ShoesCalcaneal Spur Orthopedic ShoesVarus Orthopedic Shoes and Valgus Orthopedic ShoesBy Application, the market can be split intoChildren Less Than 5 Years OldJuvenilesAdultsBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Table of ContentsGlobal Orthopedic Shoes Market Professional Survey Report 20181 Industry Overview of Orthopedic Shoes1.1 Definition and Specifications of Orthopedic Shoes1.1.1 Definition of Orthopedic Shoes1.1.2 Specifications of Orthopedic Shoes1.2 Classification of Orthopedic Shoes1.2.1 Flatfoot Orthopedic Shoes1.2.2 Cavus Orthopedic Shoes1.2.3 Calcaneal Spur Orthopedic Shoes2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Orthopedic Shoes2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Orthopedic Shoes2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Orthopedic Shoes2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Orthopedic Shoes3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Orthopedic Shoes3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Orthopedic Shoes Major Manufacturers in 20173.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Orthopedic Shoes Major Manufacturers in 20173.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Orthopedic Shoes Major Manufacturers in 20173.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Orthopedic Shoes Major Manufacturers in 2017Browse Report @4 Global Orthopedic Shoes Overall Market Overview4.1 2013-2018E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2013-2018E Global Orthopedic Shoes Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2017 Orthopedic Shoes Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2013-2018E Global Orthopedic Shoes Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2017 Orthopedic Shoes Sales Analysis (Company Segment)5 Orthopedic Shoes Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Orthopedic Shoes Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Orthopedic Shoes Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2013-2018E Orthopedic Shoes Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2013-2018E Orthopedic Shoes Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2017 Orthopedic Shoes Market Share Analysis5.2 China Orthopedic Shoes Market Analysis5.2.1 China Orthopedic Shoes Market OverviewAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Latest Trending Report of Residential Elevators Market in Global Industry: Growth Factors, Status and Outlook by Forecast 2025 Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1642499 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-residential-elevators-sales-market-report-2018-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/global-residential-elevators-sales-market-report-2018-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Residential Elevators Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Residential Elevators market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Residential Elevators for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Residential Elevators market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Residential Elevators sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingThyssenKruppOronaStannahDongnan ElevatorCibes LiftOtisSigmaAritcoSchicro(Barduva)Changzhou Jiangnan ElevatorYunCheng(Artist)AustandKleemanHitachiMitsubishiOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPlatform LiftsCabin LiftsWheelchair LiftsOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingPrivate HomePublic SpaceOtherView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Table of ContentsGlobal Residential Elevators Sales Market Report 20181 Residential Elevators Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Residential Elevators1.2 Classification of Residential Elevators by Product Category1.2.1 Global Residential Elevators Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Residential Elevators Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Platform Lifts1.2.4 Cabin Lifts1.2.5 Wheelchair Lifts1.2.6 Other2 Global Residential Elevators Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Residential Elevators Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Residential Elevators Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Residential Elevators Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Residential Elevators (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Residential Elevators Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Residential Elevators Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)Browse Report @3 United States Residential Elevators (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Residential Elevators Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Residential Elevators Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Residential Elevators Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Residential Elevators Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Residential Elevators Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Residential Elevators Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Residential Elevators Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Residential Elevators (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Residential Elevators Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Residential Elevators Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Residential Elevators Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Residential Elevators Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Residential Elevators Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Market Dynamics of Lithium-air Batteries Market in Global Industry: Key Players, Segments, Development and Opportunities 2025 Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1374899 https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1374899 https://www.researchmoz.us/lithium-air-batteries-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-trends-growth-and-forecast-2017-2025-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Lithium-air Batteries Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends, Growth, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Lithium-air batteries are new generation light-weight batteries. They are metal-air batteries which form an electrochemical cell and work on redox reaction; oxidation of the lithium metal followed by reduction of oxygen produces the current flow. Usage of lithium-air batteries in the automotive, medical, defense and military, electronics, and marine industries and in power backup systems is propelling the growth of the market. Different batteries are used as per their application requirements. Manufacturers are conducting extensive research in order to develop batteries that have low weight, longevity, high-power density, and low cost of production, without compromising on the performance of the end product.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Developing eco-friendly products is the trend of the day and is driving the global batteries market to a new height. Batteries are essential equipment in households as well as in industries; thus, the demand for batteries is perpetual. Technological advancements ensure the continuous development of new equipment and gadgets that require batteries; this is expected to create high demand for battery materials in the near future.Lithium-air batteries are amongst the lightest batteries available as lithium is the lightest metal and air is also of ultra-light-weight. Therefore, the major application of these batteries is expected to be in the automotive industry, especially in the hybrid and electric vehicles. These batteries, due to their low weight and compact size, are projected to become an integral part of electric vehicles. Rise in demand for electric vehicles and improvement in manufacturing processes are the key drivers of the global lithium-air batteries market. Furthermore, these batteries can be employed in other appliances such as electronic, electrical, industrial equipment, etc. owing to their light weight.Based on the type of lithium-air battery, the global market can be segregated into aprotic Li-air batteries, aqueous Li-air batteries, mixed aqueous/aprotic, and solid state Li-air batteries. Solid state Li-air batteries are not flammable and thus eliminate the chance of explosion. Lithium-air batteries are in the development phase, thus their overall efficiency, limitations, and cost are anticipated to improve in the future with the advancement in technology. In terms of application, the global Li-air batteries market can be classified into automotive, consumer goods & electronics, industrial, and others. Presently, automotive is the promising application segment of the lithium-air batteries market.Make An Enquiry @Based on geography, the global lithium-air batteries market can be divided into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe are anticipated to be the largest markets for lithium-air batteries due to the developing automotive industry in the regions wherein lithium-air batteries are predominantly used in electric and hybrid cars. Adoption of electric vehicles in countries such as the U.S., Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, and Finland is projected to create high demand for lithium-air batteries. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is a developing market for lithium-air batteries due to the well-established manufacturing and automotive industries in the countries such as China, India, and the ASEAN countries in the region. China and India have prominent automotive manufacturing facilities; and therefore, are expected to witness a considerable demand for lithium-air batteries in the near future.Browse Report @Key players operating in the global lithium-air batteries market include PolyPlus, Lithium Air Industries, Inc., and Mullen Technologies Inc. The market for lithium-air batteries is still in its nascent stage; thus, the competition is comparatively low. However, the competition is expected to intensify as new manufacturers are anticipated to enter the market in the near future.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at: Digital Notes Market is Growing Exponentially in Order to Gain More Demand by 2022 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/7258 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/7258 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/ Worldwide Market Reports added Latest Research Report titled Digital Notes Market is Growing Exponentially in Order to Gain More Demand by 2022.Digital note is a form of note taking using digital devices to connect to iPhone, iPad, or Android devices or computer to transfer anything written into a digital format. Digital note industry is vague as it is an application concept attempts either to save paper and make it easier for organizing all notes, or to skip the process converting the hand-writing notes into electronic copies. The approach of syncing the information is more tend to via wireless method instead of using cable. In this report, we have targeted two basic forms (digital notepad and smart pen) and concentrated mainly on the hardware side. Digital stylus, when combined with app in tablet, could act digital note function. However, digital stylus is not included in this study.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Digital Notes in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, and Italy. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversWacom, Kent displays, Moleskine, Livescribe, Luidia, Neo smartpen, NoteSlate, I.R.I.S., Sony, ACE CAD Enterprise, E-pensMarket Segment by Countries, coveringGermany, UK, France, Russia, ItalyMarket Segment by Type, coversDigital Notepad, Smart PenMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoProfessional Design, Business, EducationGet discount on this report :Table of Contents1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Europe Digital Notes Market Competition, by Manufacturer4 Europe Digital Notes Market Analysis by Countries (2012-2017)5 Europe Market Segmentation Digital Notes by Type6 Europe Market Segmentation Digital Notes by Application7 Germany Digital Notes Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers8 UK Digital Notes Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers9 France Digital Notes Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers10 Russia Digital Notes Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers11 Italy Digital Notes Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers12 Digital Notes Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Digital Notes Manufacturing Cost Analysis14 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers15 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers16 Research Findings and Conclusion17 AppendixList of Tables and Figures**If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWEBSITE : Leak Detection Market Oil & Gas Worth +3 Billion USD by 2022 https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=44594 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=44594 www.researchnreports.com Global Leak Detection Market Size, Status and Forecast 2023." The growth of this market can be attributed to the increasing incidents of leakages in the oil and gas pipelines and storage tanks at production facilities, development and expansion of existing pipelines and construction of new pipelines, and stringent government regulations pertaining to the implementation of leak detection systems. The acoustic/ultrasonic technology-based leak detection systems are widely used in single-phase and multi-phase flow pipelines, owing to their advantages such as quick leak detection capabilities, suitable for leak detection in large pipelines, and require simplified sensor and software set up with minimal calibration.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @:Leak detection market for oil and gas was valued at USD +2 Billion in 2015 and is expected to reach USD +3 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of +6 % between 2016 and 2022The report offers a multi-step view of the Global Leak Detection Market. The first approach focuses through an impression of the market. This passage includes several accomplishments, definitions, the chain assembly of the industry in one piece, and the various uses for the global market. This section also integrates a comprehensive analysis of the different development strategies and government policies that influence the market, its cost assemblies and industrialized processes. The second subdivision of the report includes analytics on the Global Leak Detection Market based on its size in terms of value and volume.Some of the leading vendors: Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), PSI AG (Germany), Siemens AG (Germany), FLIR Systems Inc. (U.S.), KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH (Germany), Schneider Electric SE (France), Synodon Inc. (Canada), Atmos International (U.K.), Clampon AS (Norway), TTK Leak Detection System (France), Pentair PLC (U.K.), Pure Technologies Ltd. (Canada), Perma-Pipe Inc. (U.S.), Sensit Technologies LLC (U.S.), and Bridger Photonics Inc. (U.S.).The research study helps in understanding the several factors driving the Global Leak Detection Market. The executive summary of the global market provides a snapshot, which comprises overall data regarding different segments and sub-segments. The historic performance and future forecasts of the worldwide market have been accessible in the report with the help of charts, infographics, tables, and diagrams.Get 40% discount now @:The research report tries to understand the pioneering tactics taken by vendors in the global market to offer product differentiation through Porter's five forces analysis. It also points out the ways in which these companies can reinforce their stand in the market and increase their revenues in the coming years. Ongoing industrial advancements and the persistent penetration of Internet in the remote corners of the world are also responsible for the noteworthy growth of the Global Leak Detection Market.Vendors in the market partake on the basis of value, growth, advantages, reputation, distribution, and advertising. As the market is still in its development stage, small-scale merchants with inventive solutions have the odds of being purchased by the prominent contributors in the market. For a more insightful analysis of key players functioning in the market, the authors have shared the share of top three and five manufacturers.Table of Content:Chapter 1 Leak Detection Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Sunny Denis10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com , Specialty Fertilizers Market Comprehensive Analysis Till 2022-Top Key Players Atlantic Gold Inc., Behn Meyer Group., Agrium Inc., Haifa Chemicals Ltd., Israel Chemicals Ltd.,Among Others Specialty Fertilizers Market http://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/specialty-fertilizers-global-market-4639 http://www.researchformarkets.com/discount/specialty-fertilizers-global-market-4639 http://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/specialty-fertilizers-global-market-4639 According to Research for Markets, the Global Specialty fertilizers Market is accounted for $14.97 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $24.51 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2016 to 2022. Some of the key factors favoring the market growth include increasing population and decreasing working people in farms, shrinking arable land and adoption of precision farming. Benefits of specialty fertilizers over the conventional fertilizers are anticipated to expand the market further. However, high cost of specialty fertilizers compared to the conventional fertilizers could hamper the specialty fertilizer market.Looking for more information on this market? Request for Free Sample Copy of Report @North America commanded the largest market share followed by Asia Pacific and Western Europe. Emerging nations in Asia Pacific are anticipated to be the fastest growing markets for specialty fertilizers. Usage of specialty fertilizers in India is still at a budding stage. The growth of Indian economy and growing awareness levels regarding the benefits of specialty fertilizers is anticipated to raise the demand for specialty fertilizers.Some of the key vendors in this Specialty Fertilizers market include Atlantic Gold Inc., Behn Meyer Group., Agrium Inc., Haifa Chemicals Ltd., Israel Chemicals Ltd., Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc., Sinochem Group, Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A., Tessenderlo Group, The Mosaic Company and Eurochem.Crop Types Covered: Turf & Ornamentals Fruits & Vegetables Cereals & Oilseeds Other Crop TypesFertilizer Types Covered: Urea UAN (30%) Potassium Sulfate Potassium Chloride Potasasium Nitrate Phosphoric Acid Monopotassium Phosphate (MKP) Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) Ammonium Nitrate Granular N and P fertilizers (GNP) Granular P and K fertilizers (GPK) Other FertilizersApplications Covered: Hydroponics Horticulture Foliar Nutrition Fertigation Aquaculture Other ApplicationsWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 6 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsGet Instant Discount on This Report @Short review On Table Of Content-1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Emerging Markets3.7 Futuristic Market Scenario4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry5 Global Specialty Fertilizers Market, By Crop Type5.1 Introduction5.2 Turf & Ornamentals5.3 Fruits & Vegetables5.4 Cereals & Oilseeds5.5 Other Crop Types6 Global Specialty Fertilizers Market, By Fertilizer Type6.1 Introduction6.2 Urea6.3 UAN (30%)6.4 Potassium Sulfate6.5 Potassium Chloride6.6 Potasasium Nitrate6.7 Phosphoric Acid6.8 Monopotassium Phosphate (MKP)6.9 Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP)6.10 Ammonium Nitrate6.11 Granular N and P fertilizers (GNP)6.12 Granular P and K fertilizers (GPK)6.13 Other Fertilizers7 Global Specialty Fertilizers Market, By Application7.1 Introduction7.2 Hydroponics7.3 Horticulture7.4 Foliar Nutrition7.5 Fertigation7.6 Aquaculture7.7 Other Applications8 Global Specialty Fertilizers Market, By Geography8.1 North America8.1.1 US8.1.2 Canada8.1.3 Mexico8.2 Europe8.2.1 Germany8.2.2 France8.2.3 Italy8.2.4 UK8.2.5 Spain8.2.6 Rest of Europe8.3 Asia Pacific8.3.1 Japan8.3.2 China8.3.3 India8.3.4 Australia8.3.5 New Zealand8.3.6 Rest of Asia Pacific8.4 Rest of the World8.4.1 Middle East8.4.2 Brazil8.4.3 Argentina8.4.4 South Africa8.4.5 Egypt9 Key Developments9.1 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures9.2 Acquisitions & Mergers9.3 New Product Launch9.4 Expansions9.5 Other Key Strategies10 Company Profiling10.1 Atlantic Gold Inc.10.2 Behn Meyer Group.10.3 Agrium Inc.10.4 Haifa Chemicals Ltd.10.5 Israel Chemicals Ltd.10.6 Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc.10.7 Sinochem Group10.8 Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A.10.9 Tessenderlo Group10.10 The Mosaic Company10.11 EurochemIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Know More About our Knowledge store @About Us:Research For Markets indulge in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East And Africa.Contact Us:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsEmail: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com+44 8000-4182-37 Photo: Benjamin Lowy/New York Magazine This story is a collaboration between New York and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom. The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether the civil rights of a Long Island teenager were violated when immigration officials used admissions he made to police as an informant to mark him for deportation to a likely death. Henrys case came to the attention of investigators earlier this month after New York Magazine published this story in partnership with ProPublica. Henry was 17 when he decided to inform on his gang, MS-13. He thought authorities could help him start a new life. Instead, police turned Henrys file over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which arrested him last August as part of an anti-gang sweep. He was sent to a New Jersey jail with the very MS-13 members he had been informing on. After the story ran, the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which looks into complaints of abuse by ICE, reached out to Henrys immigration lawyer to ask for his last name, which was withheld in the story to protect the teens identity. The office confirmed this week it had opened an investigation into how Henry was treated. ICE officials put information Henry gave police into an unsealed memo explaining why the agency detained him. Henry says the MS-13 members he remains locked up with have been demanding to see the incriminating memo. ICE said this month it has stopped creating detention memos like Henrys, in part because they can become public and put detainees lives in danger. Noncitizens have many of the same basic rights as citizens, including the right to due process and equal protection under the law. Henrys lawyer, Bryan Johnson, said the investigation suggests the Department of Homeland Security is concerned that ICE has become overly aggressive as it pushes to boost arrests. They reached out to me on their own Ive never seen that before, Johnson said. ICE just threw this kid under the bus. Whats the purpose of detaining him when he was assisting in this investigation? And if this is their policy, how many other kids are out there like this? An ICE spokesperson declined to comment. If the civil rights office finds wrongdoing, it can recommend policy changes. If ICE does not implement those changes, the office can take the matter up with Department of Homeland Security leaders. In recent years, the office has acted as a watchdog and pressured ICE to improve medical care and meals in detention centers, ensure that detainees have access to their lawyers, and stop the wrongful arrests of people whose deportation orders had been overturned. The inquiry comes as Henry is fighting to stay in the country. He entered the U.S. legally and was awaiting a final decision on his asylum case when he was arrested. His final hearing was to take place earlier this month, but a judge who seemed receptive to his claim postponed the decision until a second hearing on May 22. Henry first asked his high-school English teacher to help him escape the gang in 2016. She went to school administrators, administrators passed Henry on to the police, and police connected him to the FBI Gang Task Force. His English teacher and school superintendent have now agreed to testify on his behalf. Henrys FBI Task Force handler and his school resource officer submitted an affidavit, but ICE is objecting to the statement. In the wake of the story, Henry has also been granted a new bail hearing, set for the day of the asylum decision. The same judge had previously denied his bail request, but is giving Henry another chance in light of new testimony. If the judge approves Henrys asylum claim and the government appeals, he can still be released on bond. Henry started the month expecting to be deported to El Salvador, where gang members had told him he would be killed for informing. He credits pressure from readers with saving his life. If he is ordered to leave the U.S., he plans to use $20,000 readers have donated to find refuge in another country. He said that if he is released, he would like to be able to look up at the sky. He has not been allowed yard privileges in New Jersey. He also wants to call his family in El Salvador. Id call my grandmother and tell her Im okay. Maybe I could study a little, and start making up the year I missed in high school. Id like to take all this help and start a new life, he said. Henrys case highlights a shift advocates have been warning about since President Donald Trump took office and cast gang violence as a symbol of the dangers of illegal immigration. Trump has frequently talked about gang killings on Long Island, and applauded ICE and the Suffolk County police for stepping up efforts to target young immigrants suspected of MS-13 ties for deportation. Unlike the FBIs Long Island Gang Task Force, which does not share information for use in these anti-gang roundups, the police departments policy is to turn over whatever information immigration enforcement officials request. The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit earlier this month to force the department to disclose its written guidelines for sharing information about immigrants. I think everyone deserves to know, said Irma Solis, director for the groups Suffolk County chapter. Weve seen this with a lot of students. The Suffolk police told ProPublica that law-enforcement agencies are obligated to share information, but the department has implemented a new policy in which it provides ICE with information on police letterhead, as opposed to turning over entire files. On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a cease and desist letter to ICE, warning immigration agents to stay away from state property. He called the agencys recent raids unconstitutional. The governor commented separately on Henrys case. I dont know why you would punish a person who was being an informant and was being helpful, he said. Global Military Fitness Training Equipment Market Forecast 2018-2025 Promaxima, Movestrong, Life Fitness, Technogym Military Fitness Training Equipment Market https://bit.ly/2HyBWiq http://www.qymarketstudy.com/report/global-military-fitness-training-equipment-sales-market-4464 http://www.qymarketstudy.com/ QYMarketStudy include new market study "Global Military Fitness Training Equipment Market" examines the performance of the Military Fitness Training Equipment market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Military Fitness Training Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Fitness AnywhereMilitary Fitness Training Equipment Market : By ApplicationGroundNavalAirborneMilitary Fitness Training Equipment Market : By TypeMobile Fitness EquipmentFixed Fitness EquipmentFirstly, the report covers the top Military Fitness Training Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Military Fitness Training Equipment report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Military Fitness Training Equipment industry, Military Fitness Training Equipment industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Military Fitness Training Equipment Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Military Fitness Training Equipment research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Military Fitness Training Equipment market revenue worldwide.Finally, Military Fitness Training Equipment market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:QYMarketStudy.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:Samuel JohnsonUnited StatesContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.com Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters : 5.30% CAGR by 2018-25 Market : Reach US$3.47 bn by 2024 Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=893314 https://www.researchmoz.us/wheelchair-accessible-vehicle-converters-market-north-america-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html/toc www.researchmoz.us Press Release - 27 April 2018Global Research and Development News --. .Report Description-' ' North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: Overview This report on the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. It comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments. It is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts along with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mails. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various international and national databases.. . Get Sample Report' 'The report provides market size in terms of US$ Mn for each segment for the period from 2014 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. Growth rates for each segment within the North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, and regulatory requirements. A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and future opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. This section of the report also includes market attractiveness analysis that provides a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters market.Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year. Market size estimations involved in-depth study of services and product features of different types of services. Additionally, market related factors such as increasing preference for technologically advanced services, product innovation, and increasing prevalence of trauma cases and disability cases in North America and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: Segmentation Based on vehicle type, the North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters market has been segmented into full size vehicle, medium size vehicle and small size vehicle. The market has been further studied from the point of view of major entry modality. Based on entry modality, the market has been categorized into ramps and lifts. On the basis of entry mode, the market has been segmented into side entry and rear entry.The report also profiles major players in the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Companies Mentioned in the Research Report Key companies profiled in the report include Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., BraunAbility, Freedom Motors USA, Vantage Mobility International and Mobility Ventures LLC.The North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market has been segmented as follows: By Vehicle TypeFull Size VehiclesMedium Size VehiclesSmall Size Vehicles By Entry ModalityRampLifts By Entry ModeSide EntryRear Entry By CountryU.S.Canada. . More Clear Details get Table of Contents' 'Section - 1. Preface1.1. Market Definition and Scope1.2. Market Segmentation1.3. Key Research Objectives1.4. Research HighlightsSection - 2. Assumptions and Research Methodology2.1 Assumptions and Acronyms Used2.2 Research MethodologySection - 3. Executive Summary: North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle3.1 North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters: Market SnapshotSection - 4. Market Overview4.1. Introduction4.1.1. Product Definition4.1.2. Industry Evolution / Developments4.2. Market Overview4.3. PESTEL Analysis4.4. Key Policies & Regulations4.5. List of Local Distributors4.6. Value Chain Analysis4.7 Market Dynamics4.7.1. Drivers4.7.1.1 Government Funding for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles4.7.1.2 Initiatives for Creating Awareness4.7.1.3 Growing Infrastructure Facilities for Mobility Vehicles4.7.1.4 Increasing Number of Patients with Disability4.7.1.5 Increasing Number of Trauma Cases Leading to Disability4.7.1.6 Demand for User Friendly Accessible Vehicles4.7.1.7 Introduction of new technology in the WAVs for easy accessibility and usage4.7.1.8 Introduction of affordable mobility gadgets4.7.1.9 Emphasis on Customized Vehicles for Customers4.7.2. Restraints4.7.2.1 High Price of Vehicles4.7.2.2 Refurbished/ Used Vehicles4.7.2.3 Low Penetration among End Users4.7.3. Opportunities4.7.3.1 Changing Population Dynamics4.7.3.2 Product Innovation and Growing Distribution Network4.8. Market Revenue Projections in Value (US$ Mn) and Volume (Units)4.9. Market OutlookSection - 5. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market, by Vehicle Type5.1. Introduction5.2. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Value Share Analysis by Vehicle Type5.3 North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Size (US$ Mn) and Volume (Units) Forecast, By Vehicle Type5.3.1. Full Size Vehicle5.3.2. Medium Size Vehicle5.3.3. Small Size Vehicle5.4. Comparison Matrix5.5. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Attractiveness by Vehicle TypeSection - 6. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market, by Entry Modality6.1 Introduction6.2. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Value Share Analysis by Entry Modality6.3 North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Size (US$ Mn) and Volume (Units) Forecast, By Entry Modality6.3.1. Ramp6.3.2. Lift6.4. Comparison Matrix6.5. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Attractiveness by Entry ModalitySection - 7. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market, by Entry Point7.1. Introduction7.2. North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Value Share Analysis by Entry Point7.3 North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market Size (US$ Mn) and Volume (Units) Forecast, By Entry Point7.3.1. Side EntryContinue.....ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Latex Medical Disposables : CAGR of 4.9% by 2018-25 Market : Developments Directed at Reducing Infections and Allergies to Ensure Stable Future Latex Medical Disposables https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=893317 https://www.researchmoz.us/latex-medical-disposables-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html/toc www.researchmoz.us Press Release - 27 April 2018Global Research and Development News --. .Report Description-' ' Latex Medical Disposables Market: Scope and Methodology This report on the global latex medical disposables market analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. The report comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments.. . Get Sample Report' 'The research is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts along with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mails. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various international and national databases. The report provides market size in terms of US$ Mn for each segment for the period from 2014 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. Growth rates for each segment within the global latex medical disposables market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, and regulatory requirements.A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and future opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. This section of the report also includes market attractiveness analysis that provides a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the global latex medical disposables market.Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year. Market size estimations involved in-depth study of services and product features. Additionally, market related factors such as increasing preference for technologically advanced services, product innovation, and growing number of acute and chronic diseases in various geographies and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. Latex Medical Disposables Market: Segmentation Based on product type, the global latex medical disposables market has been segmented into latex gloves, latex foley catheters, latex probe covers, urine bags and others. Based on end users, the market has been segmented into hospitals (public & private), ambulatory surgical centers, clinics, diagnostic centers and others.Geographically, the global latex medical disposables market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. In addition, the regions have been further segmented by major countries from each region. These include the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. Latex Medical Disposables Market: Competitive Landscape The report also profiles major players in the latex medical disposables market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Key players profiled in this market report include B. Braun Melsungen, Medtronic plc. (Covidien), C.R. Bard, Ansell, Hartalega Holdings Bhd., Top Glove Corporation, Supermax Corporation Berhad, and Dynarex Corporation. The global latex medical disposables market has been segmented as follows: Global Latex Medical Disposables Market, by Product TypeLatex GlovesLatex Foley CathetersLatex Probe CoversUrine BagsOthers Global Latex Medical Disposables Market, by End UserHospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersClinicsDiagnostic CentersOthers Global Latex Medical Disposables Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaAustralia & New ZealandRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSouth AfricaSaudi ArabiaUAERest of Middle East & Africa. . More Clear Details get Table of Contents' 'Chapter 1. Preface1.1. Report Scope and Market Segmentation1.2. Research HighlightsChapter 2. Assumptions and Research Methodology2.1. Assumptions2.2. Research MethodologyChapter 3. Executive Summary3.1. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Snapshot3.2. Market Share Analysis by Region, 20153.3. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market : Opportunity MapChapter 4. Market Overview4.1. Product Overview4.2. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market : Key Industry Events4.3. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, 201420244.4. Latex Medical Disposables Market Outlook4.5. Global Latex Medical Disposables Supply Demand Scenario4.6. Porters AnalysisChapter 5. Market Dynamics5.1. Drivers5.1.1. Technological advancements in latex catheters5.1.2. Launch of novel latex catheters5.1.3. Broad range of product offerings5.1.4. Prominence in treatment of age-related disorders/diseases5.1.5. Increasing prostate gland surgeries with use of latex catheters5.1.6. Growing awareness about hygiene among patients and health care providers5.2. Restrains5.2.1. Latex allergy restricting growth of latex products5.2.2. Use of substitute raw materials such as polyester5.2.3. Stagnant pricing of latex gloves5.3. Opportunities5.3.1. Introduction of newer latex variants to gain competitive edge over non-latex products5.3.2. Tap the emerging countries5.4. Key Trends5.4.1. Innovation and technology breakthroughs in synthetic variants5.4.2. Manufacturers of latex gloves rise to the challenge5.4.3. Vytex natural rubber latex - a modified and defined NRL sourceChapter 6. Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis, by Product Type6.1. Key Findings6.2. Introduction6.3. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Value Share Analysis, by Product Type6.4. Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis, by Product Type6.4.1. Latex Gloves6.4.2. Latex Foley Catheters6.4.3. Latex Probe Covers6.4.4. Urine Bags6.4.5. Others6.5. Latex Medical Disposables Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Product Type6.6. Key TrendsChapter 7. Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis, by End User7.1. Key Findings7.2. Introduction7.3. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Value Share Analysis, by End User7.4. Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis, by End User7.4.1. Hospitals7.4.1.1. Public Hospitals7.4.1.2. Private Hospitals7.4.2. Ambulatory Surgical Centers7.4.3. Clinics7.4.4. Diagnostic Centers7.4.5. Others7.5. Latex Medical Disposables Market Attractiveness Analysis, by End User7.6. Key TrendsChapter 8. Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis, by Region8.1. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Snapshot, by Country8.2. Global Latex Medical Disposables Market Value Share Analysis, by Region8.3. Latex Medical Disposables Market Forecast, by Region8.4. Latex Medical Disposables Market Attractiveness Analysis, by RegionChapter 9. North America Latex Medical Disposables Market Analysis9.1. Key Findings9.2. North America Latex Medical Disposables Market OverviewContinue.....ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Haptic Touchscreen Market 2025 Growth Opportunities by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Immersion Corporation, Johnson Electric Group, Microchip Technology, Inc. The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000286 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/haptic-touchscreen-market The haptic touchscreen market is expected to grow from US$ 6.34 billion in 2016 to US$ 20.48 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 13.92% between 2017 and 2025.Haptic touchscreen technology is witnessing a high growth owing to its increasing applications in several new industries such as medical, ARVR, digital advertising and others. Also, there are several companies in the market that are investing in development of haptic touchscreen technologies to introduce better and efficient solutions for enhanced user experience.FREE | Request a Sample Report atHaptic Touchscreen Market Players:1. Cypress Semiconductor Corporation2. Immersion Corporation3. Johnson Electric Group4. Microchip Technology, Inc.5. ON Semiconductor6. Precision Microdrives Limited7. SMK Corporation8. Senseg Ltd.9. Texas Instruments Incorporated10. UltrahapticsThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Haptic TouchscreenMarket based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Haptic Touchscreen Market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Also, key Haptic Touchscreen Market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Haptic Touchscreen Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.View Complete Report atAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.com Global Water Soluble Demulsifier Market Forecast 2018-2025 Ecolab, Clariant, Akzonobel, Halliburton Water Soluble Demulsifier Market https://bit.ly/2vQGtv5 http://www.qymarketstudy.com/report/global-water-soluble-demulsifier-market-4036 http://www.qymarketstudy.com/ QYMarketStudy include new market study "Global Water Soluble Demulsifier Market" examines the performance of the Water Soluble Demulsifier market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Water Soluble Demulsifier market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Dorf Ketal15. Direct N-PaKT Inc.16. Nova Star LP17. Innospec Inc.18. REDA Oilfield19. Roemex Limited20. Cochran Chemical CompanyWater Soluble Demulsifier Market : By ApplicationCrude OilPetro RefineriesLubricant ManufacturingOil based Power PlantsSludge Oil TreatmentOthersWater Soluble Demulsifier Market : By TypeIsopropanolMethanol2-EthylhexanolFirstly, the report covers the top Water Soluble Demulsifier manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Water Soluble Demulsifier report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Water Soluble Demulsifier industry, Water Soluble Demulsifier industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:Samuel JohnsonUnited StatesContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.com Global Narcotics Scanners Market Forecast 2018-2025 KeTech, Argos Security, OSI Systems, Safran Narcotics Scanners Market https://bit.ly/2I0CzSJ http://www.qymarketstudy.com/report/global-narcotics-scanners-market-4059 http://www.qymarketstudy.com/ QYMarketStudy include new market study "Global Narcotics Scanners Market" examines the performance of the Narcotics Scanners market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Narcotics Scanners market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Jamal Jaroudi GroupNarcotics Scanners Market : By ApplicationAirportCustomsTrain StationOtherNarcotics Scanners Market : By TypeTable-topHandheldFirstly, the report covers the top Narcotics Scanners manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Narcotics Scanners report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Narcotics Scanners industry, Narcotics Scanners industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 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We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:Samuel JohnsonUnited StatesContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.com Pressure Relief Devices Market to Exceed US$ 3,600 Mn in 2025 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2826 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pressure-relief-devices-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/2826 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-pressure-relief-devices-market-to-reach-us-3600-mn-by-2025---persistence-market-research-629873313.html https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/2826 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Demand for pressure relief devices is on a surge in developing economies including Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). With the advent of medical tourism in various APAC countries such as Vietnam Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Philippines, the market in this region is expected to witness considerable growth. Provision of after sales will be the key focus area of the global pressure relief devices market. Various global players have signed strategic partnerships & collaborations with regional players for offering sales and aftersales services in developing markets.Request to Sample of Report @Persistence Market Research (PMR), in its report, projects the global pressure relief devices market to register 5.3% CAGR during the forecast period 2017 to 2025. In 2016, the market was evaluated at revenues worth US$ 2,280.4 Mn; by 2025 this number is estimated to reach nearly US$ 3,600 Mn.Growing Number of Patients with Hospital-acquired Ulcer Poised to drive Market Growth in North AmericaAccording to a study by Hill-Rom, growing number of patients with hospital-acquired pressure ulcer has led to a robust adoption of pressure ulcer devices in North America. In addition, rising prevalence of obesity and growing geriatric population has also driven the demand for pressure ulcer devices. These factors are expected to drive growth of the market in this region. However, reimbursement stands as a critical factor, considering the fact that products are highly priced. Private insurers in North America are adopting reimbursement restrictions for pressure ulcer treatment, which in turn will restrain market growth in this region.Request for Table of Contents @Increasing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure is current trend in both developed and developing countries of APAC. This is expected fuel demand for medical devices including pressure relief devices in this region. In addition, provision of government initiatives is expected to offer better healthcare facilities across developing economies, which is further expected to fuel demand for pressure relief devices in APAC. In contrast, affordability of purchasing new pressure relief devices is a major challenge for large number of population across this region. This is because of limited support from government policies covering pressure ulcer treatment in developing economies, and lack of health insurance. These factors are expected to impede market growth in Asia Pacific.Sales of Pressure Relief Devices to Long-term Care Centers to Reach Nearly US$ 1,700 Mn by 2025-EndLong-term care centres will continue to remain most lucrative end-users of pressure relief devices, with revenues estimated to reach nearly US$ 1,700 Mn by 2025. Demand for pressure relief devices from long-term care centres is expected to witness expansion at 6% CAGR through 2025. In addition, hospitals are estimated to be second largest end-users of pressure relief devices. Revenue garnered by demand for pressure relief devices from hospitals is expected to surpass US$ 800 Mn in 2017.Request Report Multiple Chapter @By product type, specialty beds will remain sought-after in the market. Sales of specialty beds is expected to exhibit 5.8% CAGR through 2025. Specialty beds are expected to account for over 50% market share by 2025-end. In addition, sales of pressure relief mattress is projected to reach nearly US$ 600 Mn in 2017. In contrast, mattress overlays are expected to witness a comparatively low CAGR in the market.North America to Remain the Largest Market for Pressure Relief DevicesNorth America will remain the largest market for pressure relief devices. Sales of pressure relief devices in this region will reach nearly US$ 800 Mn in 2017; by 2025 this number is estimated to surpass US$ 1,000 Mn. In addition, APAC is expected to witness fastest growth in the market. Sales of pressure relief devices in APAC is projected to expand at 6% CAGR through 2025. In contrast, MEA is expected to exhibit sluggish expansion in the market during the forecast period.For more information @Key players identified in PMRs report include Arjohuntleigh AB, Hill-Rom Global Holdings B.V., INVACARE CORP, PARAMOUNT BED CO., LTD., Talley Group Limited, STRYKER CORPORATION, SIDHIL LIMITED, MEDTRONIC PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY, SMITH & NEPHEW PLC, Apex Medical Corp, Proma Reha, s. r. o., Besco Medical Co., Ltd., Hirtz & Co. KG, GF Health Products, Inc., ADL GmbH., Linet spol. s r.o.Get full report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Nanoparticle Analysis Market Forecast 2018-2025 Hitachi, Shimadzu, Horiba, Malvern Instruments Nanoparticle Analysis Market https://bit.ly/2FlVwwg http://www.qymarketstudy.com/report/global-nanoparticle-analysis-market-4071 http://www.qymarketstudy.com/ QYMarketStudy include new market study "Global Nanoparticle Analysis Market" examines the performance of the Nanoparticle Analysis market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Nanoparticle Analysis market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Nanoparticle Analysis market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Nanoparticle Analysis Market 2018 report includes Nanoparticle Analysis market Revenue, market Share, Nanoparticle Analysis industry volume, market Trends, Nanoparticle Analysis Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Nanoparticle Analysis Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Nanoparticle Analysis Market 2018 :1. Malvern Instruments2. Horiba3. Shimadzu4. Agilent Technologies5. Bruker6. Hitachi7. Jeol8. Microtrac9. Wyatt TechnologyNanoparticle Analysis Market : By ApplicationPharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical CompaniesAcademic Research InstitutionsPublic and Private Research InstitutionsMedical Device CompaniesNanoparticle Analysis Market : By TypeParticle SizeParticle ConcentrationZeta PotentialMolecular StructureParticle ShapeMolecular WeightFlow PropertiesFirstly, the report covers the top Nanoparticle Analysis manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Nanoparticle Analysis report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Nanoparticle Analysis industry, Nanoparticle Analysis industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Nanoparticle Analysis Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Nanoparticle Analysis research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Nanoparticle Analysis market revenue worldwide.Finally, Nanoparticle Analysis market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:QYMarketStudy.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:Samuel JohnsonUnited StatesContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.com Global Elastic Stockings Market Trend, Share, Profit, Growth and Key Manufacturers Analysis Report 2018-2022 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/request_sample.php?id=23023 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=23023 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=23023 Global Elastic Stockings Market Report provides a clear understanding of the drivers and restraints shaping the trajectory of the overall market. The research report has been collaborated using primary and secondary research methodologies to provide its readers an accurate and exact account of the global market. The report provides a granular view of the global market along with estimating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats influencing the segments of the global market.Get Sample Copy@The report not just holds an in-depth discussion on the different growth drivers for the Global Elastic Stockings Market yet additionally examines the leading factors, which are the rational justification of concern among leading market players. The different components restraining or limiting the growth of the worldwide market are discussed and furthermore, the techniques embraced by key players to overcome these difficulties and continue on their journey towards development in the market are given in the report. In addition to this, the impact analysis of both drivers and restraints is given in the studyKey players:Medtronic(Covidien), Sigvaris, Medi, BSN Medical, Juzo, 3M, Bauerfeind AG, Thuasne Corporate, Pretty Legs Hosiery, Salzmann-Group, Paul Hartmann, Cizeta Medicali, Belsana Medical, Gloria Med, Zhende Medical Group, Maizi, TOKO, Okamoto Corporation, Zhejiang Sameri, MDOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Gradient Socks, Anti-Embolism Socks. By Application, the market can be split into Ambulatory Patients, Post-operative Patients, Pregnant Women, Others.Avail 20% Discount and Customization On This Premium Report@A detailed overview of the market has been presented by segmenting the global market on the basis of criteria such as region, application, and technology. On the basis of region, the report segments the Global Elastic Stockings Market into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Facts and figures for the period between 2018 and 2026 with respect to price, demand, cost, revenue, and sales are provided in the report for all the regional markets. The key vendors in each of these domestic markets are also determined.A detailed analysis of the key vendors, recent developments in technologies, distribution of solution providers and consumers, and other technical data pertaining to the most popular solutions in the market are also included in the report. Global Elastic Stockings Market report provides an analysis of the key end-use industries utilizing various principles and solutions across a number of application segments.For more enquiry @Table of Contents:Global Elastic Stockings Market Research Report 2018-2022Chapter 1: Global Elastic Stockings Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Elastic Stockings Market ForecastAbout HIM,HealthCare Intelligence Markets supply market intelligence reports in the domain of personalized drugs & diagnostics after going through a rigorous research process. The healthcare and pharma industry is constantly evolving as trends are getting replaced at a rapid pace.Contact Us:Name: Shreyas TannaCompany: Healthcare Intelligence MarketsAddress: 601, Winterberry Purple, Koregaon Park, Pune, 411001Mail Id: sales@healthcareintelligencemarkets.comContact No: +91 7400242424 Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market Trend, Share, Profit, Growth and Key Manufacturers Analysis Report 2018-2022 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/request_sample.php?id=22918 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=22918 https://www.healthcareintelligencemarkets.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=22918 Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market Professional Survey Report 2026. According to the publication, the market could be classified into different regions and countries for a clear understanding of business prospects available across the globe. This intelligence research study presents a wide-ranging study of the global market by evaluating the growth drivers and detaining factors at length. This detailed study of significant factors supports the market participants in understanding the issues they will be facing while operative in this market over a long period of time.Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market study offers an analysis of the current performance of the key regional markets, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa, on the basis of a number of imperative market parameters, such as, the manufacturing volume, production capacity, pricing strategy, the dynamics of demand, supply, and sales, return on investments (RoI), and the growth rate of this market in each of the regions.Get Sample Copy@Key players:Sechrist Industries, ETC BioMedical Systems, OxyHeal Health Group, Gulf Coast Hyperbarics, Fink Engineering, HAUX-LIFE-SUPPORT, Hearmec Co., Ltd., Hyperbaric SAC, IHC Hytech, Perry Baromedical, SOS Medical Group Ltd.On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into By Capacity Monoplace Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, Multiplace Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. By Pressurized Medium Air Pressurized, Oxygen Pressurized. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber for each application, including Wound Healing, Decompression Sickness, Infection Treatment, Gas Embolism, Others.Avail 20% Discount and Customization On This Premium Report@The report further analyzes the competitive landscape in this market by examining the profiles of the established market players to gain an insight into the current market hierarchy. The prevailing and the imminent organizations in the Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market has also been deliberated in this research report in specifics, making it a valuable resource for supervision for the stakeholders operating in this market.Researchers have reviewed the profiles of the leading companies functional in this market in a bid to assess their growth prospects and the key strategies they have adopted for the development of their businesses. The main objective of this research study is to provide a clear understanding Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market to the market participants and assist them in creating crucial strategies to gain an edge over their competitors.For more enquiry @Table of Contents:Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market Research Report 2018-2022Chapter 1: Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Medical Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Market ForecastAbout HIM,HealthCare Intelligence Markets supply market intelligence reports in the domain of personalized drugs & diagnostics after going through a rigorous research process. The healthcare and pharma industry is constantly evolving as trends are getting replaced at a rapid pace.Contact Us:Name: Shreyas TannaCompany: Healthcare Intelligence MarketsAddress: 601, Winterberry Purple, Koregaon Park, Pune, 411001Mail Id: sales@healthcareintelligencemarkets.comContact No: +91 7400242424 Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in walk together after a tree-planting ceremony at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. Photo: Korea Summit Press Pool Friday morning, American congressional staffers, intelligence professionals, journalists and talking heads woke up, grabbed their phones, rubbed their eyes, and cursed what in hell is going on? Yes, thats every morning in 2018. But today it wasnt about Donald Trump, or only peripherally so. Had peace just broken out on the Korean peninsula? In the wake of a summit between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, some surprising Establishment voices seemed to think so. William Perry, who served both as secretary of Defense and as a presidential envoy to North Korea, took to Twitter to make the case for optimism: After so many years working on the sidelines of this conflict, this is a tremendous and emotional sight to witness - I have great hope for the Korean Peninsula https://t.co/2DPNvHvv7O William J. Perry (@SecDef19) April 27, 2018 Even the most optimistic analysts were surprised at the scope of the declaration, wrote longtime Korea watcher and Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield. The two men pledged to meet again later this year, restart talks on family reunification, open a liaison office in the North, and engage Washington and perhaps Beijing in negotiations for a Korean War peace treaty. But all the reasons for skepticism remain as well. Though you wouldnt know it from some of the coverage, leaders from North and South Korea have met multiple times before. Each meeting has featured the iconic clasped hands raised high, and a declaration with aspirational goals of an end to the war, denuclearization, and improved ties between the two peoples. And while each has been followed by a period of relative calm, each has eventually broken down in mutual recriminations and further North Korean progress on its nuclear weapons capability. This time, while the joint statement confirmed the two sides shared the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and Moon referred to denuclearization in his public remarks, Kim never did. No sense of timing no surprises here, tweeted Jenny Town, a Johns Hopkinsbased expert. Moons willingness to use North Koreas preferred terms for denuclearization also set off alarm bells among U.S. analysts, who see Pyongyangs long-term goal to be removing all of the U.S. presence from the peninsula, strengthening Beijings influence and leaving Japan vulnerable as well as raising the possibility of a unified Korea under the Norths totalitarian rule. So how can we square these two competing views of the summit? For Koreans, the moment truly is historic and filled with possibility not least because the rhetoric about war, which would primarily take place on their territory and target their civilians, has been so intense over the last year. Moon Jae-in is a human rights lawyer and a longtime proponent of peace, but he is also the child of refugees from the North. In 1976, after North Korean soldiers hacked to death two American soldiers on a tree-trimming mission in the Demilitarized Zone, a young Moon was among the soldiers who returned to cut the offending tree down. South Koreas media, which is strenuously partisan, reflected this sense of wonder and possibility across the board yesterday. South Koreans are divided on whether reunification is desirable, and how close the security relationship with the U.S. should be but they are not divided on the goals of ratcheting down tensions, returning to economic engagement, and above all restarting family reunification as the elders of divided families move into their 80s and 90s. This reality sets out a hard challenge for President Trump and his administration. Thus far, the summitry gambit has given Kim, Moon, and Trump each what they want: Kim improves his position on the global stage, where he is treated not as an abusive pariah, but as a diplomatic innovator; Moon gets progress on his peace agenda; Trump gets to claim that his aggressive stance over the past year made progress possible and tweet to his base (shortly after yet another tweet trashing the integrity of James Comey): KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 Of the three leaders, Trumps position is the most vulnerable. Kim and Moons power bases will each find themselves able to live with outcomes that do not roll back Pyongyangs weapons capability, or leave details vague and off in the future. The national security community around Trump including his own national security adviser and secretary of State, as well as congressional Republicans and not a few Democrats will not. The longtime bipartisan consensus on Korea policy said that a summit, and the start of talks to officially end the Korean War, should be rewards for tangible steps toward disarmament from the North. That approach is no longer tenable, and the strategic adjustment will be painful especially as Trump and his colleagues busily prepare to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal, the best model of an approach that controls and limits a countrys nuclear program without returning it to zero. Trump had carefully positioned himself as agnostic about whether he would go to a summit, saying he would wait to see what developed. The perception of success from Panmunjom gives him less wiggle room. And while he may be able to manage the expectations of his supporters, and perhaps even his Republican Party colleagues, with a few tweets, the same will not be true for Seoul, Pyongyang, and watching quietly Beijing. Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip : Strategy of Leading Vendors in 2018 market - Echelon, Cypress, Broadcom, Atmel Power Line Carrier Communication Chip https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1642449 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-power-line-carrier-communication-chip-sales-market-report-2018-report.html/toc www.researchmoz.us Press Release - 27 April 2018Global Research and Development News --. .Report Description-' ' In this report, the global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025. Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Power Line Carrier Communication Chip for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapan. . Get Sample Report' 'Southeast AsiaIndia Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Power Line Carrier Communication Chip sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingMaxim IntegratedTexas InstrumentsSTMicroelectronicsAnalog Devices (Linear Technology)EchelonCypressBroadcomAtmelNXPON SemiconductorLong ElectronicYitran Technologies On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoHalogen Moisture SensorInfrared Moisture SensorMicrowave Moisture Sensor On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingFood ProcessingPharmaceuticalEnvironmentalChemical IndustriesOthers. . More Clear Details get Table of Contents' 'Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Market Report 20181 Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Power Line Carrier Communication Chip1.2 Classification of Power Line Carrier Communication Chip by Product Category1.2.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Halogen Moisture Sensor1.2.4 Infrared Moisture Sensor1.2.5 Microwave Moisture Sensor1.3 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Food Processing1.3.3 Pharmaceutical1.3.4 Environmental1.3.5 Chemical Industries1.3.6 Others1.4 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market by Region1.4.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 Europe Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (Volume) by Application3 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)4.3 China Power Line Carrier Communication Chip Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)Continue.....ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Global Cement Mortar Mixer Market 2018-2025 ARCEN ENGENHARIA, BELLE GROUP, Crete Angle Mixers Cement Mortar Mixer Market Growth 2018 http://bit.ly/Cement-Mortar-Mixer-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-cement-mortar-mixer-market-4737 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Cement Mortar Mixer Market" examines the performance of the Cement Mortar Mixer market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Cement Mortar Mixer market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Cement Mortar Mixer market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Cement Mortar Mixer Market 2018 report includes Cement Mortar Mixer market Revenue, market Share, Cement Mortar Mixer industry volume, market Trends, Cement Mortar Mixer Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Cement Mortar Mixer Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Cement Mortar Mixer Market 2018 :1. ARCEN ENGENHARIA2. BELLEGROUP3. Cooper Research Technology4. CreteAngle Mixers5. Eibenstock6. IMER International SPA7. Knauf PFT8. LBGsrl9. LINO SELLA WORLD10. MBW Incorporated11. OMAER Srl12. Pemat Mischtechnik GmbH13. Qinhuangdao Puda Electronic14. Sofraden15. SPE International Ltd16. Testing Feuerherdt & BluhmCement Mortar Mixer Market : By ApplicationCivil BuildingsCommercial BuildingsRoad and BridgeCement Mortar Mixer Market : By TypeCement MixerMortar MixerFirstly, the report covers the top Cement Mortar Mixer manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Cement Mortar Mixer report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Cement Mortar Mixer industry, Cement Mortar Mixer industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Cement Mortar Mixer Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Cement Mortar Mixer research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Cement Mortar Mixer market revenue worldwide.Finally, Cement Mortar Mixer market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@Web: Commodity Chemicals Market Advancements and Innovations by 2020 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/2787 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2787 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Commodity chemicals (bulk chemicals) are a group of chemicals that are made on a very large scale and act as intermediates to produce other chemicals, which, in turn are used to produce a extensive range of end-user products including construction materials, adhesives, plastics, apparel and tires. Commodity chemicals are the largest sub-segment of the chemical industry. Commodity chemicals are commonly traded under broad categories such as organics, inorganics, plastics resins, synthetic rubbers, fibers, films, explosives and petrochemicals.These broad categories include chemicals such as, acetic acid, acetone, acrylate esters, adipic acid, acrylonitrate, benzene, bisphenol, butadiene, butanediol, butyl acetate, hexane, melamine, polyvinyl chloride, propylene, methanol, methyl, glycol and glycerines. These chemical are very low in product differentiation, and hence making price the dominant economic factor in purchasing decisions for the end users.Request Report for TOC @The commodity chemical industry is highly fragmented and served with large number of local or regional players. Asia Pacific is by far the largest market for commodity chemicals accounting almost half of the total market. It is followed by North America and Europe. The growth prospective is still high in Asia Pacific attributed to the growing economy and ongoing trend and support for manufacturing sector in the developing countries such as India, China, and Indonesia. Bulk availability of crude oil and natural gas from gulf countries such as Saudi Arabian, Iran, Iraq and Syria is helping the commodity chemical industries in Asia Pacific.Request to Sample of Report @Commodity chemicals serve a wide range of industries ranging from personal care products to aerospace industries. It has its application either directly or indirectly in almost all manufacturing industries. The economy growth and increasing Gross domestic product (GDP) of developed and developing countries around the world is boosting the overall market of commodity chemicals. However the stiff regulation of the governments around the world regarding the health and environment side effect of chemicals and fluctuating prices of crude oil and natural gas are posing significant challenge for the industry.Some of the major players in commodity chemicals market include, BASF SE, Bayer AG, The Dow Chemical Company, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, PPG industries, Linde Group, Akzo Nobel, LyondellBasell Industries, Asahi Kasei, Sumitomo chemicals, Evonik Industries, INEOS Group Holding and Chem China.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Gypsum Fiber Board Market 2018-2025 Saint Gobain, USG, Johns Manville Gypsum Fiber Board Market 2018 http://bit.ly/Gypsum-Fiber-Board-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-gypsum-fiber-board-market-4738 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Gypsum Fiber Board Market" examines the performance of the Gypsum Fiber Board market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Gypsum Fiber Board market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Gypsum Fiber Board market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Gypsum Fiber Board Market 2018 report includes Gypsum Fiber Board market Revenue, market Share, Gypsum Fiber Board industry volume, market Trends, Gypsum Fiber Board Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Gypsum Fiber Board Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Gypsum Fiber Board Market 2018 :1. Saint Gobain2. USG3. Johns Manville4. Georgia-Pacific5. National6. Eagle Materials7. Continental Buiding Products(Lone Star)8. PABCO9. Fermacell10. CNBM11. Heng Shenglong12. Huilon13. Shanghai Chuncui Decoration MaterialGypsum Fiber Board Market : By ApplicationResidentialCommercial BuildingGypsum Fiber Board Market : By TypeGlass Fiber Reinforced GypsumWood Fiber Gypsum BoardFirstly, the report covers the top Gypsum Fiber Board manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Gypsum Fiber Board report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Gypsum Fiber Board industry, Gypsum Fiber Board industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Gypsum Fiber Board Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Gypsum Fiber Board research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Gypsum Fiber Board market revenue worldwide.Finally, Gypsum Fiber Board market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@Web: Specialty Carbon Black Market Comprehensive Insights by 2020 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/2992 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2992 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Specialty carbon black is a high-end refined chemical manufactured by burning of hydrocarbons in limited air supply. Specialty carbon black or pigment black is the purest form of carbon black with lower level of ash, sulfur and metals along with other impurities. Specialty carbon black is made by using four processes namely furnace black, thermal black, acetylene black and lampblack. Specialty carbon black is a segment of carbon black where other segments include rubber and commodity carbon black. Specialty carbon black had a share of about 9% in 2013 in the global carbon black market.Request Report for TOC @Specialty carbon black is used as a reinforcing agent in tires, belts, hoses, gaskets, diaphragms, vibration isolation devices, bushings, air springs, chassis bumpers, and multiple types of pads, boots, wiper blades, fascia, conveyor wheels, and grommets. Specialty carbon black is also used in refuse sacks, industrial bags, photographic containers, agriculture mulch film, stretch wrap, thermoplastic molding applications for automotive, electrical/electronics, household appliances and blow-molded containers. Silica is one of the key substitutes for specialty carbon black and is acting as a restraint for the industry. The green tire manufacturers are replacing specialty carbon black with silica to offer eco-friendly benefits to the users.Specialty carbon black is more conductive than a rubber or polymer. Addition of specialty carbon black reduces the electrical resistivity by forming a conductive network through the polymer or rubber matrix. One of the key features of specialty carbon black is its special grades that optimize conductivity at lower dosage while meeting all the other critical performance requirements for conductive applications. For instance, specialty carbon black for semi-conductive cable compounds is optimized for smoothness, conductivity and chemical cleanliness. The key grades in specialty carbon black market includes softer pellet, low pellet, low poly-nuclear aromatics (PNA) and low sieve residue.Globally, Asia Pacific manufactures the cheapest carbon black which is resulting in shutting down of carbon black business by many companies in North America and Europe. Many are shifting their production facilities to Asia Pacific to minimize production cost and remain competitive in the market. Globally, China was the largest manufacturer and supplier of specialty carbon black in 2013. The market for specialty carbon black is consolidated and there are only few players operating globally. However, some rubber black companies are expanding their business to enter the specialty carbon black market which is expected to increase the industry rivalry to some extent.Request to Sample of Report @Some of the major companies operating in the global specialty carbon black market are Cabot Corporation, The Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH, Zaozhuang Xinyuan Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Birla Carbon, Asia Carbon Industries Inc., Continental Carbon, Sid Richardson Carbon & Energy Co.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Overview by Region Analysis and Outlook to 2018 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011897293/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/global-automotive-steering-wheel-switch-market-report-2018 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011897293/buying With the slowdown in world economic growth, the Automotive Steering Wheel Switch industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Automotive Steering Wheel Switch market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 2.78% from 1400 million $ in 2014 to 1520 million $ in 2017, Publisher analysts believe that in the next few years, Automotive Steering Wheel Switch market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2022, The market size of the Automotive Steering Wheel Switch will reach 1800 million $.This Report covers the manufacturers' data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Get Sample Copy @Manufacturer DetailZFDelphiOmronAlpsTokai RikaValeoPanasonicLeopold KostalTOYODENSOMarquardtLS AutomotiveChangjiang AutomobileRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Product Type Segmentation (Split, Modular)Industry Segmentation (Passenger Vehicle, Commercial Vehicle)Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) SegmentationFor more information @Table of ContentsSection 1 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Product DefinitionSection 2 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Global Manufacturer Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Shipments2.2 Global Manufacturer Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Revenue2.3 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturer Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.1 ZF Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.1.1 ZF Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.1.2 ZF Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 ZF Interview Record3.1.4 ZF Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Profile3.1.5 ZF Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Product Specification3.2 Delphi Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.2.1 Delphi Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.2.2 Delphi Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Delphi Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Overview3.2.5 Delphi Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Product Specification3.3 Omron Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.3.1 Omron Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.3.2 Omron Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Omron Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Overview3.3.5 Omron Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Product Specification3.4 Alps Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.5 Tokai Rika Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business Introduction3.6 Valeo Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Business IntroductionSection 4 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 North America Country4.1.1 United States Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.1.2 Canada Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.2 South America Country4.2.1 South America Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3 Asia Country4.3.1 China Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.2 Japan Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.3 India Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.4 Korea Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4 Europe Country4.4.1 Germany Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.2 UK Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.3 France Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.4 Italy Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.5 Europe Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5 Other Country and Region4.5.1 Middle East Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5.2 Africa Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5.3 GCC Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.6 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Region Level) Analysis 2014-20174.7 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Region Level) AnalysisSection 5 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2014-20175.2 Different Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Product Type Price 2014-20175.3 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2014-20176.2 Different Industry Price 2014-20176.3 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2014-20177.2 Global Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisSection 8 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Market Forecast 2018-20228.1 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Market Forecast (Region Level)8.2 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Market Forecast (Product Type Level)8.3 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Market Forecast (Industry Level)8.4 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Market Forecast (Channel Level)Section 9 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Product Type9.1 Split Product Introduction9.2 Modular Product IntroductionSection 10 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Segmentation Industry10.1 Passenger Vehicle Clients10.2 Commercial Vehicle ClientsSection 11 Automotive Steering Wheel Switch Cost of Production Analysis11.1 Raw Material Cost Analysis11.2 Technology Cost Analysis11.3 Labor Cost Analysis11.4 Cost OverviewSection 12 ConclusionMake an enquiry:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: 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We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Next Generation Sequencing Market Comprehensive Analysis-Top Key Players Roche Holding Ag, Qiagen N.V., Knome, Inc., Perkinelmer, Inc., Partek, Inc. Among Other, Forecast 2022 Next Generation Sequencing Market http://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/next-generation-sequencing-global-market-4554 http://www.researchformarkets.com/discount/next-generation-sequencing-global-market-4554 http://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/next-generation-sequencing-global-market-4554 According to Research for Markets, the Global Next Generation Sequencing market is estimated at $3.41 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $13.50 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 21.73% from 2015 to 2022. The growing adoption of sequencing technologies in clinical applications and low cost DNA sequencing are likely to drive the market growth. However, factors such as accuracy and standardization issues and lack of skilled labor are inhibiting the market growth. The rise in personalize medicine and cloud computing are likely to create more opportunities for this market during the forecast period.Looking for more information on this market? Request for Free Sample Copy of Report @Next generation sequencing (NGS) also known as high-throughput sequencing enables scientists to sequence and assemble billions of short DNA reads. The advent of next generation sequencing technologies has brought significant changes in the sequencing process by providing high throughput, speed, flexibility and reduced sequencing cost over thousand folds. NGS has ability to generate hundreds of gigabases of nucleotide sequence data in a single sequencing run. The technology is emerging at a rapid rate due to its growing adoption in clinical applications as it allows scanning of whole genomes or targeted genomes in less span of time. In addition, reduction in cost of sequencing has also expanded the usage of next generation sequencing in variety of clinical applications. The technique has imparted its usage in various clinical applications such as cancer, inherited genetic disorders, HLA typing and identification of infectious diseases. For instance, NGS has been used for tracing hospital acquired infections and tuberculosis outbreaks.In technology, Next Generation Sequencing sequencing by synthesis (SBS) segment is anticipated to move with a highest CAGR during forecast period. Diagnostics in application segment holds the largest share and is expected to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period. Research institutions held the largest market share in end user segment. North America dominates the global next generation sequencing market followed by Europe owing to rising government support towards research and development. Asia pacific is expected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period due to the unmet market demand and increasing investments for development of healthcare.Some of the key players in the market include Roche Holding Ag, Qiagen N.V., Knome, Inc., Perkinelmer, Inc., Partek, Inc., Pacific Biosciences, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Ltd., Macrogen Inc., Life Technologies Corporation, Illumina, Inc., Genomatix Software GmbH, GATC Biotech Ag., Eurofins Scientific, DNASTAR Inc., Biomatters, Ltd., Beijing Genomics Institute and Agilent Technologies, Inc.Technologies Covered: Sequencing By Ligation (SBL) Single-Molecule Real-Time Sequencing (SMRT) Sequencing By Synthesis (SBS) Pyrosequencing ION Semiconductor Sequencing Other TechnologiesEnd Users Covered: Hospitals and clinics Biotech & Pharma Firms Research institutions Other End UsersApplications Covered: Personalized medicines Drug Discovery Diagnostics Agriculture & Animal Research Prenatal Testing Biomarker Discovery HLA Testing Infectious Diseases Genetic Screening Oncology Idiopathic Diseases Other ApplicationsWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsGet Instant Discount On This Report @Short review On Table Of Content-1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Technology Analysis3.7 End User Analysis3.8 Application Analysis3.9 Emerging Markets3.10 Futuristic Market Scenario4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry5 Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, By Platforms5.1 Introduction5.2 Sequencing Services5.2.1 Exome Sequencing5.2.2 Methyl- Sequencing5.2.3 Targeted Re-Sequencing5.2.4 Whole-Genome Sequencing5.2.5 De Novo Sequencing5.2.6 Chip- Sequencing5.2.7 RNA- Sequencing5.2.8 Other Sequencing Services5.3 Sequencing Platforms5.3.1 Thermo Fisher Scientific (Life Technologies)5.3.1.1 ION Torrent Platforms5.3.1.1.1 ION S5 & S5 Xl5.3.1.1.2 ION PGM5.3.1.1.3 ION Proton5.3.1.2 Solid Series5.3.2 Pacific Biosciences5.3.2.1 Sequel System5.3.2.2 Pacbio Rs Ii5.3.3 Illumina5.3.3.1 Hiseq X Ten & Hiseq X Five5.3.3.2 Nextseq5005.3.3.3 Hiseq Series5.3.3.4 Miseq Series5.3.4 Other Sequencing Platforms6 Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, By Technology6.1 Introduction6.2 Sequencing By Ligation (SBL)6.3 Single-Molecule Real-Time Sequencing (SMRT)6.4 Sequencing By Synthesis (SBS)6.5 Pyrosequencing6.6 ION Semiconductor Sequencing6.7 Other Technologies7 Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, By End User7.1 Introduction7.2 Hospitals and clinics7.3 Biotech & Pharma Firms7.4 Research institutions7.5 Other End Users8 Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, By Application8.1 Introduction8.2 Personalized Medicines8.3 Drug Discovery8.4 Diagnostics8.5 Agriculture & Animal Research8.8 Prenatal Testing8.7 Biomarker Discovery8.8 HLA Testing8.9 Infectious Diseases8.10 Genetic Screening8.11 Oncology8.12 Idiopathic Diseases8.13 Other Applications9 Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, By Geography9.1 North America9.1.1 US9.1.2 Canada9.1.3 Mexico9.2 Europe9.2.1 Germany9.2.2 France9.2.3 Italy9.2.4 UK9.2.5 Spain9.2.6 Rest of Europe9.3 Asia Pacific9.3.1 Japan9.3.2 China9.3.3 India9.3.4 Australia9.3.5 New Zealand9.3.6 Rest of Asia Pacific9.4 Rest of the World9.4.1 Middle East9.4.2 Brazil9.4.3 Argentina9.4.4 South Africa9.4.5 Egypt10 Key Developments10.1 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures10.2 Acquisitions & Mergers10.3 New Product Launch10.4 Expansions10.5 Other Key Strategies11 Company Profiling11.1 Roche Holding Ag11.2 Qiagen N.V.11.3 Knome, Inc.11.4 Perkinelmer, Inc.11.5 Partek, Inc.11.6 Pacific Biosciences11.7 Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Ltd.11.8 Macrogen Inc.11.9 Life Technologies Corporation11.10 Illumina, Inc.11.11 Genomatix Software GmbH11.12 GATC Biotech Ag.11.13 Eurofins Scientific11.14 DNASTAR Inc.11.15 Biomatters, Ltd.11.16 Beijing Genomics Institute11.17 Agilent Technologies, Inc.If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Know More About our Knowledge store @About Us:Research For Markets indulge in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East And Africa.Contact Us:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsEmail: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com+44 8000-4182-37 Global Automotive Cockpit Module Market 2018-2025 Continental, Delphi, Faurecia, HYUNDAI MOBIS Automotive Cockpit Module Market Growth 2018 http://bit.ly/Automotive-Cockpit-Module-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-automotive-cockpit-module-market-4751 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Automotive Cockpit Module Market" examines the performance of the Automotive Cockpit Module market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Automotive Cockpit Module market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Automotive Cockpit Module market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Automotive Cockpit Module Market 2018 report includes Automotive Cockpit Module market Revenue, market Share, Automotive Cockpit Module industry volume, market Trends, Automotive Cockpit Module Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Automotive Cockpit Module Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Automotive Cockpit Module Market 2018 : Continental Delphi Faurecia Harman International HYUNDAI MOBIS VisteonAutomotive Cockpit Module Market : By ApplicationPassenger CarCommercial VehicleAutomotive Cockpit Module Market : By TypeOrdinary TypeSenior TypeFirstly, the report covers the top Automotive Cockpit Module manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Automotive Cockpit Module report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Automotive Cockpit Module industry, Automotive Cockpit Module industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Automotive Cockpit Module Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Automotive Cockpit Module research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Automotive Cockpit Module market revenue worldwide.Finally, Automotive Cockpit Module market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@Web: Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market 2017 Analysis by Classification & Application : Baxter, Hospira, B Braun QYResearchReports https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1046607&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/asia-pacific-infusion-therapy-devices-market-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1046607&type=D Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Our recently added research study on the Asia-Pacific market for Infusion Therapy Devices is a powerhouse of information on it. Our team of in-house experts pulled out all stops to create a well-researched report that would enable key stakeholders in the market to bet right on it. It sets out with a succinct yet insightful description of the scope of the market. It then discusses the size of the market by uncovering details on revenue of various product segments that constitute the market.KNOW MORE WITH FREE SAMPLE STUDY @Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Infusion Therapy Devices for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaAsia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Infusion Therapy Devices sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBecton DickinsonCareFusionHospira)B BraunBaxterMedtronic LtdSmiths Medical...On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoOperation TypeInfusion TypeOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Infusion Therapy Devices for each application, includinHospitalsClinicOtherThe report also throws light on the various growth drivers and restraints shaping the trajectory of the market for Infusion Therapy Devices. To do so, it factors in various macro-fundamentals, latest technologies underpinning the product, and the changing government policies. It also offers detailed comparison of the various product and application segments to understand which one holds out maximum opportunity. Geographically, its divides the market for Infusion Therapy Devices into Asia Pacific, Europe, South America, North America, and the Middle East and Africa. It tries to fathom how each one is faring or will fare vis-a-vis growth in the near term.The report packages all the crucial bits of information in digestible chunks by the usage of charts and graphs which would enable readers to spot key trends automatically.Browse full table of contents and description of report @Table of Contents1 Infusion Therapy Devices Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Infusion Therapy Devices1.2 Classification of Infusion Therapy Devices by Product Category1.3 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market by Application/End Users1.4 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market by Region1.5 Asia-Pacific Market Size (Value and Volume) of Infusion Therapy Devices (2012-2022)1.5.1 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices (Volume and Value) by Type2.3 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices (Volume) by Application2.4 Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices (Volume and Value) by Region3 China Infusion Therapy Devices (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 China Infusion Therapy Devices Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 China Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 China Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 China Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 China Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.3 China Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationTo Get Discount On This Report Click here @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Infusion Therapy DevicesFigure Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume (K Units) by Type (2012-2022)Figure Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2016Figure Asia-Pacific Infusion Therapy Devices Market Size (Million USD) by Region (2012-2022)Figure China Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure South Korea Infusion Therapy Devices Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Valuable Foresights on How Automotive Turbochargers Market will Grow During 2014 - 2020 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-135 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-135 www.futuremarketinsights.com A turbocharger is a type of forced induction system that utilises energy of exhaust gases from the engines via a turbine. This helps in the induction of an ample volume of air into combustion chamber. The power output of the engine can be enhanced by increasing the volume of inlet fuel air mixture, which could be easily achieved with use turbochargers. It utilises the energy of exhaust gases from the engine to compress the inlet air and feed it into the engine to create a better air to fuel ratio. Turbochargers are considered one of the most important automotive accessories in todays time not only to boost acceleration, but to increase the efficiency of the engines in terms of power and output.Turbochargers are useful in helping the automotive industryto meet the norms and standards regarding the emission of exhaust gasses such as CO2, nitrous oxide, and particulate materials from the automobile. Augmentation of the engine with a turbocharger helps in addressing the increasing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles from consumers.Request For Report Sample@The global turbocharger market is expected to grow approximately twofold from 2014 to 2020. The global market for turbochargers is growing at a CAGR of around 10-12%. The European market commands nearly half of the turbocharger market, followed by Asia and North America. The penetration rate of turbochargers in the North American vehicular fleet is comparatively less thanin other regions. The global market has been witnessing an increase in demand from Asia Pacific, whereas the European market is expected to exhibit sluggish growth due to low automotive demand and stagnant economic conditions.The global turbocharger market can be segmented on the basis of vehicle types such as light commercial vehicles (LCV), heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) and passenger vehicles (PV). Currently, the PV segment is the largest contributor to the market. In future, the PV segment is expected to continue its dominance in the global market, due to increasing production and demand. The CV segment is expected to register a higher growth rate due their longer service life and higher commercial usage.The global turbochargers market can also be segmented by technology such asvariable geometry technology (also known as varable nozzle turbine), wastegate technology, and twin turbo. On the basis of the fuel type, the turbocharger market is segmented into diesel and gasoline turbo.Overall the diesel turbocharger segment is expected to grow at a higher rate compared to gasolineas turbochargers have high adoption rates in diesel engines.However, with advancements in technology the gasoline turbochargers are estimated to grow at a promising rate in the future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Major players of the turbochargers market include BorgwarnerInc., Honeywell International Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, IHI Corporation, Continental AG, and Cummins Inc. to name a few. These companies are trying to introduce new technology in the market through innovation and new product development. Apart from this, they are taking initiatives to engage themselves in partnerships and alliances in order to expand their business in emerging markets such as India and China.The preference of fuel-efficient vehicles, the downsizing initiatives of engines by automakers and the growth of the automotive production in Asian region are major drivers for turbochargers market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: A wounded Palestinian protester. Photo: APAImages/REX/Shutterstock Protests at Gazas eastern border turned deadly Friday when Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians who stormed a fence and attempted to break through it. Three people were killed and hundreds more injured. The killings come in the fifth week of protests called the Great March of Return, which has seen 41 people killed and thousands injured as Palestinians demand the right to return to lands they or their families once owned in what is now Israel. A Palestinian drives a horse-drawn cart during clashes with Israeli security forces near the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, April 27, 2018. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images Fridays protests began several hundred yards away from the border, where a crowd of thousands have set up camp for the ongoing demonstrations. Some protesters threw rocks and others lit tire fires, an attempt to create a smokescreen to block the vision of Israeli troops. A group of young men broke from the larger protest and rushed the barricade separating Gaza from Israel. They used wire cutters, hooks and winches to try to pull down the barriers, according to the Times. Israeli troops then opened fire. They shot live ammunition and tear gas into the crowd. Palestinian protesters near the fence on the Israel-Gaza border. Photo: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images According to Palestinian health officials, 611 people were injured in the clashes. Of those, 138 were hit with live ammunition. The killings came hours after the U.N. high commissioner for human rights called on Israel to curb its use of lethal force against unarmed demonstrators. The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators not once, not twice, but repeatedly, Zeid Raad Al Hussein said. A woman hurls stones at Israeli troops. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images Israel has defended it actions. On Friday, the military said in a statement that it thwarted would-be infiltrators. Meanwhile, Israels U.N. ambassador Danny Danon responded to Husseins criticism with criticism of his own. The high commissioners decision to condemn a democracy that is diligently defending its sovereignty, while completely ignoring the terrorists of Hamas as they use children for human shields, provides a tailwind for terror and encourages the continued exploitation of civilians, he said. This statement proves once again that high commissioner is not focused on human rights, but only with obsessively criticizing Israel. Palestinians protesters carry a man killed by Israeli troops. Photo: Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock The situation in Gaza figures to get worse before it gets better. The protests at the border are meant to climax on May 15, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel. Palestinians refer to it as Nakba Day, or the Day of Catastrophe. Soda Ash Market Comprehensive Insights by 2021 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4526 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4526 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Soda ash also known as sodium carbonate is a salt of carbnoic acid. Soda ash is hygroscopic in nature and forms strong alkaline solution in water.Soda ash is manufactured via three different process viz. Leblanc process, Solvay process and Hous process. Solvay process is most preffered manufacturing process in the industry due to its efficiency and cost. In this process, sodium chloride to sodium carbonate in presence of ammonia. Soda ash finds applications in various end-user industries such as glass, detergents, food and beverages, chemicals and dyeing among others.The market for soda ashwas driven by various factors from different end-user industries. Huge demand from buildings & constructionindustry is driving the soda ash market in past few years.Request Report for TOC @Soda ash is used in manufacturing of flat glass which is used in modern construction activities.Increasing demand from end-user industries such as automotive from emerging countries has been one of the major factors for the growth of flat glass, subsequently increasing demand for soda ash.Another, major factor driving the soda ash market is increasing demand for powder detergents from developing countries.Soda ash is also used in various applications such as metallurgy, personal care and water treatment among others. Rising demand for personal care and water treatment industry is expected to open new markets for the soda ash market during the forecast period. Increasing demand for soda ash from fiberglass and silicates is likely to provide major opportunities for soda ash market in next few years to come. However, stern regulations faced by soda ash industry are anticipated to hider the growth of the market in next few years.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region insoda ashmarket. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be one of the fastest growing markets for soda ash due to increasing demand for glass and detergents from emerging countries such as India, Indonesia and Korea among others. The demand for soda ash is huge especially from buildings & construction, automotive and personal care end-user industry. The market for soda ash in Asia Pacific was led by China. However, India is likely to provide better opportunity for soda ash market owing to increasing consumption from various end-user industries. Asia Pacific was followed by Europe. Increasing demand from modern construction activities has been driving the market for flat glass in Europe, thus driving the demand for soda ash in this region.Germany, the UK, France and Italy were the major consumers of soda ash in Europe. However, certain regulations related to soda ash industry is likely to stagnant the growth of the market in this region. North America had the third-largest demand for soda ash in 2012. Increasing demand from glass and detergent industry were driving the growth of the market in this region. The U.S. had the largest demand for soda ash owing to huge demand from end-user industries such as buildings & construction, personal care and automotive among others.Request to Sample of Report @Rest of the World market is anticipated to show potential growth for the soda ash market in near future.Latin America is anticipated to show fastest growth for the soda ash market in this region. The demand is huge owing to increasing applications in personal care and water treatment applications.The market for soda ash is fragmented and however, various manufacturers have dominated in particular regions. Some of the key manufacturers in thesoda ashmarket areGujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., Solvay Chemicals Inc., OCI Chemicals Corporation and Tata Chemicals among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market 2018-2025 Toshiba, Valeo, Hitachi Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market http://bit.ly/Automotive-Intelligence-Park-Assist-System-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-automotive-intelligence-park-assist-system-market-4760 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market" examines the performance of the Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market 2018 report includes Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market Revenue, market Share, Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System industry volume, market Trends, Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market 2018 :1. Toshiba Corp.2. Valeo3. Hitachi4. Robert Bosch5. Continental AG6. ZF Friedrichshafen7. Delphi Automotive8. Siemens9. Magna International10. Hella GmbH & Co.Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market : By ApplicationPassenger VehiclesCommercial VehiclesAutomotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market : By TypeAutonomous Parking AssistSemiautonomous Parking AssistFirstly, the report covers the top Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System industry, Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market revenue worldwide.Finally, Automotive Intelligence Park Assist System market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Global Proppant Market to Witness Soaring Growth During 2015-2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-sa-455 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-sa-455 www.futuremarketinsights.com Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a process that has been used by gas companies since the 1940s. The process involves injecting sand, chemicals, and water into a well under carefully controlled conditions to crack or fracture solid rocks and release trapped gas deposits. The development of hydraulic fracturing technology has led to the usage of proppants. Proppants are used during hydraulic fracturing in order to keep the fissures open for the oil and gas to flow towards the well head. These are primarily of three types such as sand, resin-coated and ceramic.Although the recent plummeting of international crude oil prices has negatively impacted the hydraulic fracturing industry, the overall outlook on the future prospects of the industry is positive. The proppant market is expected to register significant growth in the near future due to anticipated increase in global crude oil prices, which is likely to revamp the global shale industry.Request For Report Sample@Proppant Market: DriversAlthough the crude oil market is going through a slump, increasing energy demands all over the world are projected to provide an impetus to the market. This, in turn, is anticipated to augur well for the hydraulic fracturing- and proppant- market. After witnessing the shale boom in North America, many countries across the globe are exploring shale prospects in respective shale plays. The proppant market is expected to register increased revenues and volumes with shale exploration picking pace in such countries.Proppant Market: RestraintsOne of the key restraints in the proppant market can be attributed to the prevailing low international crude oil prices. The plummeting of crude oil prices makes shale extraction uneconomical and as a result, the proppant market revenues decline due to decreased hydraulic fracturing activity.Proppant Market: SegmentationThe proppant market has been segmented into the types of proppants used for hydraulic fracturing. Sand, resin coated and ceramic are the three types of proppants used for hydraulic fracturing. Within the proppant market, sand proppant is most widely used for hydraulic fracturing. However, the type of proppant to be used in coming years most likely depends on the price of crude oil in the international market.In terms of geography, the proppant market has been segmented into North and Central American region wherein the U.S. & Canada and Mexico is considered respectively. Amongst these regions, the North American region accounts for a leading share in the proppant market, both in terms of value as well as volume.Proppant Market: Key PlayersThe key players in the proppant market include U.S. Silica, Carbo Ceramics, and Hi Crush LP Partners.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includesU.S.CanadaMexicoABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Zelle: The Money Transfer App in Trouble Its a fact that, peer-to-peer money transfer is never a bad idea. Venmos clear demonstration stated the same and made banks rush to fill the gap.Then, P2P mobile payment market was hit by Zelle, a bank-backed alternative. Increased in popularity in no time, Zelle was expected to take on Venmo. Now, Zelle is in big trouble. The New York Times report revealed the security lapse in the app, bringing the fraud into play.It is easy to understand why fraudsters are targeting Zelle, the going through of $75 billion last year tells the entire story. Hence, Zelle has become a big fish for hackers. Though all security systems have some lapse, Zelle has some clear and unexpected weaknesses.The report also states that some people had never heard of Zelle before it was used to empty their bank accounts. The biggest problem with Zelle is that it does not always notify the users about where the money has been transferred. Some banks send the notifications, but not all of them. This is the disadvantage that needs to be taken care of.The worst part is that some people who lost their hard-earned money may not get the re-compensation. It means, they were on a rollercoaster without seatbelts. Of course, fraud is substantial; still, there are some patchy protections against fraud.Some banks such as Bank of America operate under a different kind of belief. If you have initiated the transaction, you must be completely aware of it. Therefore, you do not need a protection.New York Times, this past Saturday published the article that states- Zelle, the Banks Answer to Venmo, Proves Vulnerable to Fraud!I know of one bank that was experiencing a 90 percent fraud rate on Zelle transactions, which is insane, said Genevieve Gimbert, a partner in PwCs financial crimes unit.She added- Most banks have strong authentication and fraud-detection controls for Zelle, but some did the implementation without any protection.The problem was under control, says Zelle.The Early Warnings head of payments- Lou Anne Alexander says- there have been a few incidents and when problems take place, we and the bank are proactive. We are not hiding about this.To transfer money using Zelle, the sender has to enter the recipients phone number or email address. Zelle is built on the assumption- each of those identifiers is unique to one person and are fair.Last November, Mr. Kemm tried to send cash to his mother, Carol Kemm, who is also a Bank of America customer. He entered the mobile phone number Ms. Kemm had been using for at least three years and hit send.She told me she didnt get it, and my first thought was, Mom, youre not being very tech-savvy, Mr. Kemm said. Eventually, after a few days, I realized it really didnt get there.When he called Bank of Americas customer service line, he learned that the $300 had been transferred to a JPMorgan Chase bank account, whose owner had registered the same phone number Ms. Kemm used. He said he was told that there was nothing Bank of America could do to get his money back.Mr. Kemm filed a police report and a fraud claim with Bank of America. On Nov. 30, the bank sent him a reply: Our records indicate that we initiated the transfer in accordance with your instructions. As a result, your account will not be credited for this claim.This is one of the cases out of many. Customers have to hunt on Zelles website to get to this red flag: Neither Zelle nor the participating financial institutions offer a protection program for any purchase and/or sale conducted using Zelle. Some banks, such as JPMorgan, dont notify customers when new recipients are linked to their Zelle accounts.Merchant Stronghold is based in Clearwater, Florida. We provide the best credit card processing services for all type and size of businesses.Also, we are #1 High-Risk Merchant Service Provider in 2015, and 2016. Hence, Merchant Stronghold specializes in high-risk and offshore merchant accounts.Our merchant accounts include everything that high-risk or offshore merchants need to process. Processing Includes debit and credit card processing, check processing (ACH), payment gateways, and chargeback management services.We help businesses to accept payments from anywhere. and also at any time of the day. We provide you with POS Machine services, Virtual Terminal, and Online Settings to integrate with your website. It allows your valuable customers to make payments with ease.Merchant Stronghold10300 49th Street N Suite 427Clearwater, Florida 33762+1(888) 622-6875info@merchantstronghold.com Global Sun Protection Products Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=140 https://www.factmr.com/report/140/sun-protection-products-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=D&rep_id=140 https://www.factmr.com/ A freshly compiled business intelligent report, titled Sun Protection Products Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking: Global Review 2017 to 2022 has been publicized to the vast archive of Fact.MR online repository. This 170-page study delivers all the vital details and information required to know about sun protection products market current as well as future prospects. The analysts of the study have gone through extensive research methodologies in order to generate data and information that reflects the latest market undercurrents and industry trends. For a deeper understanding of the market, a sub-category level analysis has been elaborated, by which readers and investors of the report will able to know that where the market stands to gain.Request for Sample Report-Demand for sun protection products usually peaks during the summer season, as consumers particularly the female section seek for the best cosmetics products to protect themselves from sunburn and intensified UV rays. To an extent, sale of sun protection products is subjected to seasonal climate change and consumer preference for alternative products. Therefore, cosmetic brands are now trying to close the gap between sun care and skin care by introducing multipurpose sun protection products. Fact.MRs latest study projects that the global sun protection products market will increase at a CAGR of 5.6% between 2017 and 2022 to reach a valuation of US$ 13,464.9 Mn. Moreover, growing popularity of natural and organic sun protection formula as well as the universal desire to remain young and attractive is driving innovation in beauty and wellness products.Hypermarket/supermarket will Remain the Leading Distribution Channel for Sun Protection ProductsBased on distribution channel, hypermarket/supermarket will continue to be an attractive distribution channel for sun protection products. Mushrooming of hypermarket/supermarket in emerging markets such as China and India is helping the global sun protection products market gain further momentum. Hypermarket/supermarket can accommodate huge stocks of wellness products including sun protection products and also making them easily available to consumers. In recent years, online retails stores have also emerged as a lucrative distribution channel as many of the younger generation of consumers prefer to shop online. By 2022-end, the online sales segment is expected to reach a market valuation of US$ 2,879.4 Mn, reflecting a CAGR of 5.1%.Global Sun Protection Products Market- Regional OverviewAmong regions, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to remain at the forefront of the global sun protection products market. APEJs sun protection products market revenue is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period. This is primarily owing to rising disposable income in the many of the emerging countries in the region. Moreover, the economic growth in APEJ is leading to higher standards of living, which in turn is driving the desires of maintaining oneself better in terms looks and health. Markets in Europe and North America are expected to exhibit positive growth. Revenue from North America sun protection products market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 5% over 2022. Meanwhile, Latin America is also expected to account for a significant revenue share of the market during the forecast period. By 2017-end, the region is likely to command for 21.3% market share in terms of revenue, possibly gaining 15 BPS in its market share by 2022.Sun Protection Products to Remain Highly Sought-After in the MarketTowards the end of forecast period, around US$ 5,675.7 Mn worth sun protection products are expected to sold worldwide. In terms of revenue, sun protection products currently account for more than one-third share of the market. Further, highlighting the use of natural and herbal ingredients in sun protection products remain a key branding strategy for manufacturers, which creates a positive image of the product on the consumers mind.Browse Full Report with TOC-Table of Content:1. Global Sun Protection Products Market Executive Summary2. Global Sun Protection Products Market Overview2.1. Introduction2.1.1. Global Sun Protection Products Market Taxonomy2.1.2. Global Sun Protection Products Market Definition2.2. Global Sun Protection Products Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast, 2012-20222.2.1. Global Sun Protection Products Market Y-o-Y Growth2.3. Global Sun Protection Products Market Dynamics2.3.1. Drivers2.3.2. Restraints2.3.3. Trends2.4. Supply Chain2.5. Cost Structure2.6. Pricing Analysis2.7. Raw Material Sourcing Strategy and Analysis2.8. List of Distributors2.9. Key Participants Market Presence (Intensity Map) By Region3. Global Sun Protection Products Market Analysis and Forecast By Product Type3.1. Global Sun Protection Products Market Size and Forecast By Product Type, 2012-20223.1.1. Sun Protection Products Sun Protection Products Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.1.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.1.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.1.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Region3.1.2. After Sun Products Sun Protection Products Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.2.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.2.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.2.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By RegionContinued.Check Discount on This Report-About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized Retail & Consumer Goods market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; thats why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MRSuite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandTelephone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.com/Web: Warehouse Management System Market Reviewed with 2025 Opportunities in New Research Report http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011062366/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011062366/buying The "Global Warehouse Management System Market Analysis to 2025" is a specialized and in-depth study of the warehouse management system industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global warehouse management system market with detailed market segmentation by component, implementation, tier type, industry and geography. The global warehouse management system market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Warehouse management system (WMS) is a software application that helps to support day to day operations within a warehouse. It is used to control and track down the movement of materials in a warehouse. WMS is designed in such a way that it helps to automate the supply chain and increases the productivity of entire warehouses.Key Market PlayersEpicor Software Corp.JDA Software Group, Inc.Manhattan Associates, Inc.Oracle Corp.SAP SEIBM Corp.Infor, Inc.PSI AGPTC Inc.Tecsys Inc.FREE |Request Sample Copy @Warehouse Management System Market Increasing awareness of WMS among SME's and growing demand for on-cloud WMS are some of the major drivers for the growth in the market. But there are some restraining factors such as it requires an expert to configure the system for maximum benefits. . Future technologies like Pick-by-Vision and Electronic Data Exchange will soon be implemented to ensure smooth operations in the warehousing and logistics sector in the coming years.Warehouse Management System Market report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global warehouse management system market based on component, implementation, tier type and industry. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall warehouse management system market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 15 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Warehouse Management System Market Besides this, the report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Warehouse Management System Market Also, key warehouse management system market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years. Some of the key players influencing the market are Epicor Software Corp., JDA Software Group, Inc., Manhattan Associates, Inc., Oracle Corp., SAP SE, IBM Corp., Infor, Inc., PSI AG, PTC Inc. and Tecsys IncElse place an Inquire before Purchase Global Warehouse Management System Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @(Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.)About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email Id: sales@reportsweb.com Global Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market 2018-2025 Metglas, Longmetal, Hitachi, Shouke Company Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market Forecast 2018 http://bit.ly/Amorphous-Metal-Ribbons-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-amorphous-metal-ribbons-market-4762 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market" examines the performance of the Amorphous Metal Ribbons market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Amorphous Metal Ribbons market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Amorphous Metal Ribbons market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market 2018 report includes Amorphous Metal Ribbons market Revenue, market Share, Amorphous Metal Ribbons industry volume, market Trends, Amorphous Metal Ribbons Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Amorphous Metal Ribbons Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market 2018 :1. Metglas (Hitachi Metals)2. Foshan Huaxin Microlite Metal Company3. Longmetal Industry4. Hitachi5. Shouke Company6. Zhaojing Incorporated Company7. Usha Amorphous Metals8. A.H.T. Advanced Heating Technologies9. China Amorphous Technology10. Chengdu Jinshang Technology11. Beijing Zhong Tian Kelin ElectronicAmorphous Metal Ribbons Market : By ApplicationSemiconductorHeating EquipmentsMedicalAmorphous Metal Ribbons Market : By TypeFe-Based Amorphous Metal RibbonsIron-Based Amorphous Metal RibbonsFirstly, the report covers the top Amorphous Metal Ribbons manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Amorphous Metal Ribbons report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Amorphous Metal Ribbons industry, Amorphous Metal Ribbons industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Amorphous Metal Ribbons Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Amorphous Metal Ribbons research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Amorphous Metal Ribbons market revenue worldwide.Finally, Amorphous Metal Ribbons market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Talc Market Advancements and Innovations by 2021 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4609 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4609 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate and is an important industrial and commercial mineral. It has broad applications as an industrial mineral due to its resistance to heat, electricity and acids and oil and grease adsorption. Talc has extensive commercial use because of its luster, softness, purity, fragrance retention, softness and whiteness. It is the softest known mineral and has a rating of 1 on the Mohs hardness scale. It can be scratched by a fingernail and is also sectile that means it can be cut by a knife. It has a specific gravity of 2.5 -2.8 and has clear luster. Talc is slightly soluble in dilute mineral acids and insoluble in water. It is a metamorphic mineral and occurs due to metamorphism of magnesium minerals such as olivine, amphibole, serpentine and pyroxene in presence of water and carbon dioxide. Talc is a tri-octahedral layered mineral and has a similar structure to that of pyrophyllite.Request Report for TOC @Talc can be used as an ingredient in paints, roofing materials, ceramics, insecticides, rubber, talcum powder and insecticides among others. It is also used by the cosmetics industry, pulp and paper industry and food industry. Talc is often used to manufacture laboratory countertops and electrical switchboards due to its resistance to heat, acids and electricity. It is used by the cosmetic industry as a lubricant and as a filler by the pulp and paper industry. Talc is extensively used to make astringent baby powders that prevent rashes covered by a diaper.Talc is used by the pharmaceutical industry as a glidant (a substance that is added to powder to improve its flow ability) and by the food industry as an additive. In the European Union the additive number is E553b. In medicine, talc is used as a pluerodesis agent to prevent pneumothorax or recurrent pleural effusion. Talc is also an effective dispersing agent and anti caking agent and helps fertilizer plants and animal feeds to function efficiently and can be used for fertilizers. The paper and pulp industry remains the largest global end market for talc and is the key driving factor for the talc Industry. The automotive industry, ceramics industry and the paint and coatings industry are the other major consumers of talc. The use of talc as a filler in the paper industry is declining today but the use of talc for the manufacture of under the hood automotive parts is substantially increasing that has further lead to surge in demand for talc by the automotive industry.Request to Sample of Report @Asia Pacific is the largest market for talc with China, India, Japan, Bhutan, and South Korea being the key markets in this region. The Indian talc industry is the worlds third largest and continues to grow due to increase in domestic consumption. North America and Europe are other regions with a substantial market share of talc. Austria, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and United Kingdom are the major consumers of talc in Europe. Some of the major companies dominating the talc market are Imerys talc, Mondo Minerals, Golcha Group, American Talc, IMI FABI, Nippon Talc, Minerals Technologies Inc, the Jai Group, Aihai Talc, Behai Talc, Shuiquan Talc, Xin Talc, Haumei Talc, Guiguang Talc and Xin Talc among others. Imerys talc is the worlds leading producer of talc followed by Mondo Minerals.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Vitamin B9 Market 2018-2025 Vitamin Village, NATURE' S BOUNTY, Amazing Nutrition Vitamin B9 Market Demand 2018 http://bit.ly/Vitamin-B9-Market http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-vitamin-b9-market-4763 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Vitamin B9 Market" examines the performance of the Vitamin B9 market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Vitamin B9 market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Vitamin B9 market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Vitamin B9 Market 2018 report includes Vitamin B9 market Revenue, market Share, Vitamin B9 industry volume, market Trends, Vitamin B9 Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Vitamin B9 Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Vitamin B9 Market 2018 :1. Vitamin Village(PH)2. NATURE' S BOUNTY(CN)3. Nature's Way(AU)4. Amazing Nutrition(US)5. Nature's Best(UK)6. NOW Foods(US)7. Zenith Nutrition(IN)8. Nutricost(US)9. Invite Health(US)10. Health Leads(UK)Vitamin B9 Market : By ApplicationAutism TreatmentCleft lip and palate TreatmentRheumatoid arthritis TreatmentVitamin B9 Market : By TypeTabletsCapsulesLiquid and SpraysFirstly, the report covers the top Vitamin B9 manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Vitamin B9 report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Vitamin B9 industry, Vitamin B9 industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Vitamin B9 Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Vitamin B9 research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Vitamin B9 market revenue worldwide.Finally, Vitamin B9 market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Ferrochromium Market Advancements and Innovations by 2022 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/10046 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10046 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Ferrochromium, also known as Ferrochrome, is an alloy of iron and chromium containing 50 to 70% of chromium. It is produced by electric arc melting of chromium ore and chromite. Ferrochromium is consumed extensively in the manufacturing of steel to achieve the qualities such as corrosion resistance, tensile strength, heat resistance and yield strength. The global ferrochromium market is anticipated to be in deficit to cater the increasing global steel market in near future. Ferrochromium is mostly produced in India, China, South Africa and Kazakhstan because of large chromite resources found in these countries. The global ferrochromium market is witnessing a modest single digit CAGR growth up till now and is expected to continue in future.Request Report for TOC @Ferrochromium is having its maximum share of consumption in steel industry and due to the ever increasing construction and demand of steel the global ferrochromium market is forecasted to flourish. In order to get a continuous supply of raw material for ferrochrome, China has established its operations in the countries like Turkey, South Africa, Philippines and Zimbabwe which would boost the global ferrochromium market in future. Due to the favourable conditions like lower electricity price and lower labour cost in upcoming markets like China, the production cost reduces comparatively. This will boost the production of ferrochrome to suffice its increasing demand and will contribute in global ferrochromium market.The global ferrochromium market can get hampered because of the increase in the export tax and fixed export quotas imposed by South Africa on chrome ore, owing to the concern of losing ferrochromium market to China. South Africa is having a significant market share in global ferrochromium market but there are concerns of power supply and higher production cost which would lead to the closure of small competitors and is estimated to slowdown the global ferrochromium market.Based on the carbon percentage, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as -Extra low carbon ferrochromium powderLow carbon ferrochromium powderHigh carbon ferrochromium powderExtra high carbon ferrochromium powderBased in the available form, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ferrochromium slagFerrochromium powderBased on the application, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ball bearing steelsAcid resistant steelsCast ironsPowder metallurgyOthers (civil engineering, refractory materials)Request to Sample of Report @The global ferrochromium market can be divided into five regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is having the maximum market share in global ferrochromium market, China and India are the countries having an excellent steel market, so these countries are significant in the consumption of ferrochrome. China is expanding its capacity to import chrome ore for the production of ferrochrome from the countries like South Africa, Turkey, Zimbabwe. Middle East and Africa are also marking a significant growth in the global ferrochromium market, Especially South Africa is having plenty of chromite resources for the production of ferrochrome. Europe is an emerging market in the field of ferrochrome and is anticipated to have a considerable market in future due to the flourishing automobile sector in the region. North America and Latin America is at a nascent stage in the global ferrochromium market.Some of the key players in global ferrochromium market are, Nava Bharat Ventures Limited, VISA STEEL, Balasore Alloys Limited, Aarti Steels Ltd, SR Group, Vyankatesh Metals & Alloys Pvt. LtdAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Applicants must love God, conservatism, and Ayn Rand, not necessarily in that order. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Under the Trump administration, weve learned that Paul Ryan is willing to shrug off racist remarks from the president, and has no problem enabling attacks on the rule of law. But one thing that will not be tolerated in Ryans House is a man of God suggesting that tax cuts should be fair to all Americans. When Ryan announced earlier this month that House Chaplain Patrick Conroy would soon step down, he gave no explanation for his exit, and many assumed he was leaving voluntarily. But anger erupted on the Hill in recent days when the Jesuit priest told lawmakers that Ryan was pushing him out, and he didnt know exactly why. As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, Conroy wrote in a letter dated April 16. I have seen it as a blessing and I have considered it one of the great privileges of my life, he added. On Thursday Democratic sources pointed to a potential explanation: a prayer Conroy offered on November 6, 2017, when the House was on the verge of passing the GOP tax bill. Aside from offering counsel to lawmakers, Conroys job is to give the opening prayer each day when the House is in session. May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle, Conroy prayed. May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans. Conroy confirmed to the New York Times on Thursday that his exit was sparked by a request from Ryans chief of staff, who said, The speaker would like your resignation. No further explanation was offered. Conroy said he doesnt know if politics played a role, but noted that after the tax-cut prayer he was criticized by the Speakers office for the first time during his seven-year tenure. Per the Times: About a week later, Father Conroy said, he heard from the speakers office. A staffer came down and said, We are upset with this prayer; you are getting too political, he said. It suggests to me that there are members who have talked to him about being upset with that prayer. Shortly after, when he saw Mr. Ryan himself, Father Conroy said that the speaker told him, Padre, you just got to stay out of politics. That is what I have tried to do for seven years, Father Conroy said. It doesnt sound political to me. If you are hospital chaplain, you are going to pray about health, he added. If you are a chaplain of Congress, you are going to pray about what Congress is doing. A congressional aide for Mr. Ryan said he wasnt ousted over any specific prayer. He didnt elaborate, but one Democratic source offered another, even less flattering explanation. Some of the more conservative evangelical Republicans didnt like that the Father had invited a Muslim person to give the opening prayer, the source told The Hill. Members of both parties are upset about the decision. Representatives Walter Jones, a Republican, and Gerald Connolly, a Democrat, are asking for their colleagues signatures on a letter demanding more information from Ryan. Jones told the Times that members vote for the chaplain, and this is not a one-man decision. If this is true about the prayer, and we have freedom of religion in America, how about freedom of religion on the floor of the House? he added. Regardless, it appears Conroys last day will be May 24. I do not want to debate this, he said. My understanding going into this is that I serve at the prerogative of the speaker. Ryan has convened a bipartisan committee to search for Conroys replacement, but they may have trouble finding a priest who considers Ayn Rand their personal savior. Global Anti-Drone Market Highlights Key Development Factors and Upcoming Trends During forecast 2017-2025 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3250 https://www.mrrse.com/antidrone-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3250 https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ In order to study the various trends and patterns prevailing in the overall market for Anti-Drone, Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has included a new report titled Anti-Drone Market to its wide online database. This research assessment offers a clear insight about the influential factors that are expected to transform the global market in the near future. Readers can access the regional as well as segment-wise analysis for acquiring precise information about the global market structure.Free| Get Sample Report or View Summary of Report @The presence of a significant pool of big and small players in the global anti-drone market indicates a highly dynamic and competitive vendor landscape, as per a new study by MRRSE. Keen players in the market are relying upon innovation to be progressive in this market that is competitive yet opportunity-laden, notes the study. Further, the emergence of start-ups with their bandwagon of ideas for innovation is expected to alter the current dynamics and intensify competition among manufacturers of anti-drones in the upcoming years.Some prominent players operating in the global anti-drone market include Blighter Surveillance Systems Ltd., Dedrone Detect Inc., DRONESHIELD, Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corporation, SAAB A.B., and Theiss UAV Solutions LLC.A report by MRRSE evaluated the global anti-drone market to be worth US$214.7 mn in 2016. Expanding at an impressive 19.9% CAGR between 2017 and 2025, the market is expected to attain a value of US$1,204.9 mn by 2025.North America to Display Notable Growth through 2025Amongst end users, government and military dominate with the segments holding the leading share of the anti-drone market in 2016. The military is also predicted to display rapid growth amongst all end-use segments over the forecast period followed by the government.In terms of anti-drone types, the segment of neutralizing system held the leading share in the market vis-a-vis revenue in 2016.Region-wise, the global anti-drone market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South America. North America is expected to display the leading growth, amongst all key regions, at a CAGR of 21.6% over the forecast period between 2017 and 2025.Reduced Prices of Anti-Drone Systems lead to Increasing Uptake for Commercial ApplicationsAcross the world, need to counter security threat posed by unwanted intrusion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) is the prime factor driving the anti-drone market. Several governments and law enforcement agencies in parts of the world have started to recognize the potential of security threats from UAVs and UASs. Anti-drone systems have the ability of tracking, locating, and detecting UAVs from a certain distance and thwart unlawful activities that may cause harm to civilian life.Complete Report available at @In recent years, rapid technological advancements for the manufacture of UAVs and UASs have led to significant drop in their prices. This, in turn, has increased their affordability among several end users. Although UAVs were originally developed for military applications, which has grown manifold in terms of size, payload, and capabilities in recent years; their use for unlawful activities such as piracy, unauthorized surveillance, and spying is also on the rise. This has necessitated the deployment of anti-drone systems to counter such activities, especially in war-prone countries such as Iraq, Syria, and other African countries.The report also includes competitive profiling of major players engaged in developing Anti-Drones. Major business strategies adopted by them, their market positioning, and various recent developments have also been identified in the research report. This report also provides market share analysis of major players in the Anti-Drone market based on their 2016 revenues.The key players in the global Anti-Drone market include Blighter Surveillance Systems Ltd, Boeing Co., Dedrone, DeTect, Inc, DRONESHIELD, Enterprise Control Systems, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Theiss UAV Solutions, LLC., SAAB A.B. and SRC, Inc. Factors such as the increasing level of innovations and emergence of new start-ups in the anti-drone market are expected to raise the competition among manufacturers of anti-drones in the next few years.The global Anti-Drone market is segmented as below:Global Anti-Drone Market, By TypeDetection SystemRadar BasedPassive optics (cameras)Active optics (LIDAR)AcousticsRF emissionsOthersNeutralizing SystemJammingInterceptionDrone RiflesDrone Capture NetsLaserOthersGlobal Anti-Drone Market, By End-UseGovernmentMilitaryAirfieldsBuildingsPower StationsFuel StorageOthersSend an Enquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Forecast on Unmanned Underwater Vehicle & Unmanned Surface Vehicle Market for the Period 2018 - 2025 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000692 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000692 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/unmanned-underwater-vehicle-market http://www.theinsightpartners.com/ The UUVs & USVs are the drones operating underwater and on surface with or without human interference. Currently, these UUVs & USVs have wide range of applications in defense sector, commercial sectors, and scientific research organizations. The deployment of such unmanned marine vehicles in naval forces dates long back, and the major defense forces such as the US, the UK, Russia, France, and China are investing substantial amounts in development of robust technology UUVs and USVs. Moreover, the defense forces across the globe are facing maritime security threats such as seabed mines, submarine warfare, and anti-ship & anti-submarine missiles, among others. Therefore, these potential threats are pressurizing the defense forces to incorporate unmanned systems on or under ocean surface to counter these threats and reduce the human risk.Request a Sample copy of Report:North America has largest market share of UUVs & USVs market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific region. This attributes to significant investments by US Department of Defense in UUVs & USVs has led the growth of defense sector in this region. With the growing utilization of AUVs & ROVs for off-shore discoveries in this region is responsible for owing the largest share in North America market during the forecast period. Global UUVs & USVs market is expected to grow from US$ 991.2 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to escalate at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2018 to 2025 to account for US$ 1,482.6 Mn by 2025.The report focuses on an in-depth segmentation of this market based by driving mechanism, by payload, and by applications. The geographic segmentation of the report covers six major regions including; North Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and South America (SAM). The regional market has been further bifurcated by respective countries. By application segment where defense application accounted for the largest market share and commercial application expected to grow with a highest market growth in 2017; whereas, APAC region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Inquire for Discount on this Report:The report aims to provide an overview of global UUVs & USVs market with detailed market segmentation. Also, it analyzes the current UUVs & USVs market scenario and forecasts the market till 2025. The report covers market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, the report analyzes the competitive scenario, geographic trends, and opportunities in the markets with respect to all geographic regions. The report also includes the detailed company profiles of the key players in the market along with their market strategies. The report also provides PEST analysis of all five regions along with the SWOT analysis for all company profiled in the report.APAC region is worlds fastest developing region and accommodates majority of the global economy. It also accredits most of the worlds nuclear power and in coming years it is anticipated to be among the strongest region in terms of defense and security forces. The region is also being projected approximately 60% of the increase in global defense acquisition and R&D will be driven by APAC countries. Thus, Asia-Pacific region is expected to lead the market with highest CAGR during the forecast period.Some of the key players of UUVs & USVs market include Kongsberg Gruppen, Teledyne Technologies, Lockheed Martin, ASV Global, Atlas Elektronik, ECA Group, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, General Dynamics, Boeing and Clearpath Robotics among others.Browse Complete Report with TOC:About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.Contact Us:The Insight partners,Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comWebsite: Painting Tools Market Overview, Industry Top Manufactures, Size, Growth rate 2017 2024 https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/496340/?utm_source=OPR&utm_medium=PSR https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/496340/ https://empowerednews.net/author/gminsights/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/united-states-vinyl-acetate-monomer-vam-market-report-2018/?utm_source=RR-PSR https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/category/news-releases/ MarketStudyReport.com Adds New Global Painting Tools Market 2017 2024 research report providing information and data By Product, By Application, Industry Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast spreading across 210 Pages with table and figures in it.Global Painting Tools Market Research Report for the period of 2017-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a Steady CAGR to 2024.Painting Tools Market size is estimated to surpass USD 14 billion by 2024; according to a new research report. Growing urbanization along with increasing infrastructure spending is anticipated to drive painting tools market growth. Increase in government spending in tourism, commercial & building renovation coupled with rise in retail industry has positively influenced the product demand.Construction applications is projected to surpass USD 10 billion by 2024. Rising population, ongoing industrialization, expanding foreign investment funding across developing economies will fuel the painting tools market. Globally, construction industry is projected as one of the most lucrative industries in the coming years and is forecast to have 4.5% growth rate in next five years.Rising demand for corrosion resistant and attractive textures in residential & commercial building are the preliminary factors driving painting tools demand. Increasing architectural paint & coatings application in commercial buildings to enhance aesthetic appearance will boost product penetration.Get sample Copy of this Report:Rise in the global purchasing power parity from USD 13,100 in 2013 to USD 15,800 in 2015 provides a positive outlook for consumer goods industry. Increasing application of coatings on consumer electronics products will stimulate demand.Germany accounted over 15% of Europe painting tools market in 2016. Presence of major automobile brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Opel and Audi in the country makes it a substantial contributor in European automotive industry. Russia is expected to surpass 20% of the regional industry share by 2024.APAC painting tools market is set to witness growth over 6% through 2024. Infrastructural advancement in China, Japan and India positively stimulates product penetration in the regional industry.Brushes are the largest selling and widely recognized product. Global production of paint brushes surpassed 440 million units in 2016. Plastic handle brush are extensively used in emerging countries, while high quality wooden handle is more popular in North America and Europe.Rollers accounted more than 25% painting tools market demand in 2016. Construction industry is the major consumer of rollers as it provides enhanced paint layoff and reduce bristle loss. Offering unique design to the walls is among the key factor driving product demand in modern wall designs.Knives and scrapers will witness a substantial growth owing to rising demand for high-class paint & coating application in residential and commercial construction. The segment accounts over 17% demand in LATAM painting tools market by 2024.Get Discount on this Report:Demand from automotive industry contributed over USD 550 million in 2016. Rising demand for luxury vehicles including Cadillac, Infiniti, Maserati Ghibli, Jaguar, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Bentley has encouraged vehicle manufacturers to utilize spray guns for vehicle coatings. Additionally, appealing finishing of vehicles is accredited to usage of modern coating tools including trowels and sanding coat equipment.Global painting tools market share is fragmented owing to presence of large number of industry players. Mergers and acquisition plays a crucial role in gaining industry share.Prominent manufacturers in painting tools market include Gordon Brush, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Mill-Rose Company and Milton Brushware. Other significant manufacturers are Allway, Nespoli Group, Harbor Freight, EPOS Egypt, Shawky Brush & Roller Factory, Makinah, Dura Paints, MAAN and Nour Egypt.More Report At:Related Report:United States Painting Tools Market Report 2018In this report, the United States Painting Tools market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News: Smart Display Market 2018 Key Trends, Growth, Share, Size, Analysis and Forecast to 2025 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011065866/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011065866/buying The "Global Smart Display Market Analysis to 2025" is a specialized and in-depth study of the Smart Display industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Smart Display market with detailed market segmentation by size, display, resolution, industry and geography. The global Smart Display market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Smart Display is a touch screen innovation including minimum or no use of hands with easygoing keyboard, portable function to make it easy for access. In short, it provides an overall examination of work. One of the major driver for the growth of Smart Display market is the wider scope of growth and execution with their distinctive specs as they are getting adopted by every industry.FREE |Request Sample Copy @Smart Display Market High cost associated with the creation of better systems including sensor, processor, chip and many more, can be a restraining factor in the market. With emerging of different technologies and innovation in automotive, customer are preferring for smart techniques and display with further functions resulting in easy procedure will bring new opportunities in the market in coming years.Key Market PlayersBenQBoxlight CorporationHitachi Ltd.,Panasonic CorporationLG SignatureSamsung Electronics Co.,Ltd.Sony CorporationVivoJohn DeereNexcom International Co.,Ltd.Smart Display Market report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Smart Display market based on size, display, technology, resolution and industry. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Smart Display market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 15 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Smart Display Market Besides this, the report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Smart Display Market Also, key Smart Display market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years. Some of the key players influencing the market are BenQ, Boxlight Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, LG Signature, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation, Vivo, John Deere and Nexcom International Co., Ltd.Else place an Inquire before Purchase Global Smart Display Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @(Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.)About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email Id: sales@reportsweb.com Electric Blankets Market Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2022 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/143602 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/143602 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/ Worldwide Market Reports added Latest Research Report titled Electric Blankets Market Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2022.An electric blanket has an electrical heating device built in that is meant to be placed above the bed sheet. In Commonwealth countries, however, it refers to an electric mattress pad that is kept below the bottom bed sheet. They comprise a control unit that allows the user to adjust the heat produced by the device. Larger size beds may even have two separate control units for both sides of the bed. An electric blanket can be useful to heat the bed to a certain level before sleeping to keep the occupant cosy and warm. Typical low voltage electric blankets work on 12-24 volts and are made of thin carbon fibre wires. The electric blanket was invented more than a century ago by American inventor Samuel Russell, while the first recorded sale in the electric blanket market was by the Samson United Corporation in 1930.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Electric Blankets in North America and Europe market, especially in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries/Regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversRainbow Group, Sunbeam, Caiyang, Shanghai Xiaomianyang Electric, Qingdao Qindao Electric, Perfect Fit Industries, LLC., Beurer,Tenacta Group S.p.A., Bokuk Electronics CO., Morphy Richards, Slumberdown, BiddefordMarket Segment by Countries, coveringUnited States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany,France,Italy, SpainMarket Segment by Type, coversUnderblankets, OverblanketsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCommercial use, Home useGet discount on this report :Table of Contents1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 North America and Europe Electric Blankets Market Competition, by Manufacturer4 North America and Europe Electric Blankets Market Analysis by Countries/Regions5 North America and Europe Market Segmentation Electric Blankets by Type6 North America and Europe Market Segmentation Electric Blankets by Application7 United States Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers8 United Kingdom Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers9 Canada Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers10 Germany Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers11 France Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers12 Italy Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers13 Spain Electric Blankets Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers14 Electric Blankets Market Forecast (2018-2023)15 Electric Blankets Manufacturing Cost Analysis16 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers17 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers18 Research Findings and Conclusion19 AppendixList of Tables and Figures**If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWEBSITE : Global Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market Precise Study on Factors, Market Drivers and Key Players Strategies Analyzed Till 2020 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/941 https://www.mrrse.com/hydraulic-fluid-connectors-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/941 https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ In order to study the various trends and patterns prevailing in the overall market for Hydraulic Fluid Connectors, Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has included a new report titled Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market to its wide online database. This research assessment offers a clear insight about the influential factors that are expected to transform the global market in the near future. Readers can access the regional as well as segment-wise analysis for acquiring precise information about the global market structure.Free| Get Sample Report or View Summary of Report @The North America hydraulic fluid connectors market demonstrates a highly consolidated and competitive landscape, finds a new study by MRRSEThe market is majorly led by Parker Hannifin Corp. and Eaton Corp. In 2015, both the companies, together, held a share of nearly 63% in the overall market.Innovations and technical advancements in products is the key strategy adopted by leading players in this market. However, a shift in their focus towards mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships can be observed in the forthcoming years, states the research report.As per the study, the market for hydraulic fluid connectors offered an opportunity of US$535.9 mn in 2015. Rising at a CAGR of 7.10% over the period of 2016 and 2024, the market is likely to reach a value of US$987.6 mn by the end of the forecast period.Presence of Strong Aviation Industry to Ensure Dominance of U.S.The report also presents a comprehensive analysis of the North America hydraulic fluid connectors market on the basis of the product available in this market and the markets reach in terms of geography. Based on the product, the report has classified the market into mobile hydraulics and stationary hydraulics. Currently, the demand for mobile hydraulics is much higher than stationary hydraulics and the scenario is projected to remain so throughout the forecast period, thanks to the growing demand for newer and larger aircraft and the subsequent expansion in the ground support vehicle fleets.In terms of geography, the U.S. and Canada have been considered as the key segments of this market in this research report. The U.S. dominated the overall market in 2015 with more than 85%. Thanks to the presence of a strong aviation industry, strengthening of economy, and the increasing disposable income of consumers in this country are likely to propel the U.S. hydraulic fluid connectors market in the years to come, retaining its dominance.Increasing Need for New Aircraft to Reflect Positively on Demand for Hydraulic Fluid ConnectorsAccording to an analyst at MRRSE, the market for hydraulic fluid connectors in North America has been witnessing impressive growth and is expected to continue to rise steadily over the next few years. The escalating need for new aircraft, thanks to the significant progress in the regions civil aviation industry and the surging number of air travelers, boosted by the rise in tourism and business activities, is the main factor behind the growth of the North America hydraulic fluid connectors market. Apart from this, the rising application of hydraulic fluid connectors in military aviation, with the U.S. having the most powerful air force in the world, is also expected to boost this market substantially over the forecast period.Complete Report available at @North America boasts of the presence of a number of leading aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Aircraft Corp., which currently provide promising opportunities for growth to market players. The increasing investments by these manufacturers for the advancements in the offerings are likely to add significantly to the growth of this market over the forthcoming years. However, the implementation of strict government norms and regulations and the enforcement of the standards set by the aviation industry may hamper the progress of the hydraulic fluid connectors market in North America to some extent in the near future, states the report.The report on North America hydraulic fluid connectors provides a detailed analysis and forecast of the market from 2014 to 2020. At a regional level, the market has been segmented on the basis of revenue (USD million) from 2014 to 2020. For an in-depth understanding of the market in North America, the demand has been forecast based on revenue (USD million) for a time period ranging between 2014 and 2020. The report includes drivers as well as restraints and their impact on the growth of the market within the forecast period. Furthermore, the report encompasses opportunities available for the growth of this market, on a global as well as regional level.To offer a detailed understanding of the market, we have provided a thorough analysis of the value chain. In addition, we have covered the Porters five forces model, which provides an in-depth insight into the intensity of competition in this market. Furthermore, the study comprises a market attractiveness analysis, where numerous applications are benchmarked based on market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.The market has been segmented based on products and applications. The segments have been analyzed and forecast based on revenue (USD million) from 2014 to 2020. Additionally, the segments have been analyzed and forecast based on current trends at a regional level, over the given time period. The demand has been analyzed and forecast based on current trends for a period of six years.Enquire about This Report @Profiles of certain leading companies have been covered in this report along with a detailed analysis of their market share. The study features companies such as Eaton Corporation, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Gates Corporation, Manuli Hydraulics, Kurt Hydraulics and SPX Corporation.The market has been segmented as below:North America Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market - Product Segment AnalysisMobile hydraulic fluid connectorsIndustrial hydraulic fluid connectorsNorth America Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market - Application AnalysisAerospaceAgricultureConstruction equipmentMaterial handlingOthers (Marine, heavy truck, mining, etc.)About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Global Commercial Laundry Equipment Industry Market https://www.researchtrades.com/discount/1193753 https://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1193753 https://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-commercial-laundry-equipment-industry-market-research-report/1193753 http://www.researchtrades.com Based on the Commercial Laundry Equipment industrial chain, this report mainly elaborate the definition, types, applications and major players of Commercial Laundry Equipment market in details. Deep analysis about market status (2012-2017), enterprise competition pattern, advantages and disadvantages of enterprise Products, industry development trends (2017-2022), regional industrial layout characteristics and macroeconomic policies, industrial policy has also be included. From raw materials to downstream buyers of this industry will be analyzed scientifically, the feature of product circulation and sales channel will be presented as well. In a word, this report will help you to establish a panorama of industrial development and characteristics of the Commercial Laundry Equipment market.Request For discount @The Commercial Laundry Equipment market can be split based on product types, major applications, and important regions.Major Players in Commercial Laundry Equipment market are:BraunEastonGirbauLGJieshenEDROElectroluxFirbimaticSailstarDexterAlliance LaundryCSMMieleMieleHaierWhirlpoolSea-Lion MachineryPellerin MilnorFagorMajor Regions play vital role in Commercial Laundry Equipment market are:North AmericaEuropeChinaJapanMiddle East & AfricaIndiaSouth AmericaOthersMost important types of Commercial Laundry Equipment products covered in this report are:Commercial WasherCommercial DryerRequest For Sample @Most widely used downstream fields of Commercial Laundry Equipment market covered in this report are:HotelLaundry HomeHospitalSchoolTable of Content:1 Commercial Laundry Equipment Introduction and Market Overview1.1 Objectives of the Study1.2 Definition of Commercial Laundry Equipment1.3 Commercial Laundry Equipment Market Scope and Market Size Estimation1.3.1 Market Concentration Ratio and Market Maturity Analysis1.3.2 Global Commercial Laundry Equipment Value ($) and Growth Rate from 2012-20221.4 Market Segmentation1.4.1 Types of Commercial Laundry Equipment1.4.2 Applications of Commercial Laundry Equipment1.4.3 Research Regions1.4.3.1 North America Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.2 Europe Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.3 China Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.4 Japan Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.5 Middle East & Africa Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.6 India Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.7 South America Commercial Laundry Equipment Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Drivers1.5.1.1 Emerging Countries of Commercial Laundry Equipment1.5.1.2 Growing Market of Commercial Laundry Equipment1.5.2 Limitations1.5.3 Opportunities1.6 Industry News and Policies by Regions1.6.1 Industry News1.6.2 Industry PoliciesBrowse Full Report @2 Industry Chain Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Material Suppliers of Commercial Laundry Equipment Analysis2.2 Major Players of Commercial Laundry Equipment2.2.1 Major Players Manufacturing Base and Market Share of Commercial Laundry Equipment in 20162.2.2 Major Players Product Types in 20162.3 Commercial Laundry Equipment Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.3.1 Production Process Analysis2.3.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure of Commercial Laundry Equipment2.3.3 Raw Material Cost of Commercial Laundry Equipment2.3.4 Labor Cost of Commercial Laundry Equipment2.4 Market Channel Analysis of Commercial Laundry Equipment2.5 Major Downstream Buyers of Commercial Laundry Equipment Analysis3 Global Commercial Laundry Equipment Market, by Type3.1 Analysis of Market Status and Feature by Type3.2 Global Commercial Laundry Equipment Value ($) and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Commercial Laundry Equipment Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)Who we areResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.Contact Us:Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +1 6269994607 (USA), +91 7507349866 (IND)Web:Skype ID: researchtradescon Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1498 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1498 Global Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market - InsightsAutomotive parts remanufacturing market refers to the business involved in the manufacturing process that includes product dismantling, replacing and restoring components, and testing of whole product and the individual parts to its original design specifications. The performance parameters that are equal or better than the previous component along with lower cost and warranty periods offered by the remanufacturers are among the key factors fueling growth of the automotive parts remanufacturing market.Increasing shortage of natural resources and difficulty in finding materials for manufacturing processes is among the major factors impacting the growth of automotive components manufacturing industries across the globe. Rebuilding of vehicle components benefits business in terms of the overall cost of manufacture through reduced energy consumption, reduced raw material requirements, reduced cost to the market, and increased price flexibility for the consumers. These factors are expected to be among the significant factors impacting the industry growth over the forecast period.Reduced impact on environment, owing to waste generated and industry emissions through reuse of the vehicle parts will leverage the industry demandRequest Sample Copy of this Report @In March 2018, the European Commission finalized its Circular Economy Package (COP) proposal that was originally proposed in 2015, for the introduction of set of directives and laws designed for the resource-efficient future of the European economies. The proposal details automotive parts remanufacturing market as an integral part for the reduction of emissions and wastes generated through end of life cycle of an automotive.Furthermore, with an estimated global vehicle parc over 1.2 billion, an expected increase of demand at around 3% year-on-year over the forecast period will present considerable requirement of raw materials for the manufacturing processes. Inadvertently, lack of raw material resources and the growing costs of mining metals, high carbon footprint on the environment due to high energy consumption, and water requirement for the new equipment manufacturing will increase the demand for remanufactured automotive parts over the coming years, thereby fueling growth of global automotive parts remanufacturing market.Trends expected to provide high traction to the industry growth include extended life of components, advent of predictive maintenance, and IoT connectivity that increasingly complement the repeated processing of vehicle components and engines. Growing concerns for environment responsibility, potential opportunities in component costs reduction, reduced resource security challenges, reduced lead time, secure spare parts supply, and increasing consumer confidence are some of the major factors that enhance the profitability of the participants. These factors are expected to provide strong growth opportunities for the global automotive parts remanufacturing (reman) market.Lack of adequate recognition by consumers and unfavorable regulatory policies in the Asia Pacific economies are expected to hamper the overall industry growthHigh competition from the vendors supplying recycled and repaired automobile body parts, shrinking price differences between these portfolio and the original products, and extended warranty of components are few factors restraining growth of the market. Moreover, lack of consumer recognition of the differences between used and reman products, as the connotation of the terminology is misconstrued, is another factor hindering growth of automotive parts remanufacturing market.Availability of the product at 60% of the original equipment also makes it difficult for vendors to overcome the consumer misconceptions regarding the product quality, specifically in emerging economies. In conjunction with these parameters, many Asian economies including India, have banned the import of cores, which forms the basic requirement for a remanufacturer. These parameters are expected to cause significant roadblock to the industry growth.Europe accounted for the second largest share of global automotive parts remanufacturing market and is expected to hold its position over the forecast period. Industry participants have established strong foothold in the region, owing to increasing support from legislative authorities and the original equipment manufacturers.Request For Customization of this Report @Some of the key players in the global automotive parts remanufacturing market include Valeo SA, ZF TRW, Carwood Group, Robert Bosch GmbH, Meritor Inc., Monark Automotive GmbH, Budweg Caliper A/S, Genuine Parts Company, ATC Drivetrain Inc., Maval Manufacturing Inc., Teamec BVBA, Motorcar Parts of America, Inc., and Jasper Engines and Transmissions.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1497 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1497 An atmospheric water generator is an appliance that uses the technology of dehumidification or condensing for extracting water from the surrounding air. The resulting water is clean and free of bacteria and chemicals. Atmospheric water generators are reliable sources of clean and safe water in areas where water is scarce or polluted. These atmospheric water generators are suitable for domestic applications, community, military, government, and institutional purposes.Implementation of technology with minimum capital is one of the factors that propel the growth of the marketThe implementation of new technologies such as filtration systems, automatic variable filtration (AVF), and advanced oxidation processes (AOP), which helps in decreasing the scarcity of water along with minimum capital is expected to be among the prominent factors that will fuel growth of the atmospheric water generator market. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the global consumption of water is doubling every twenty years and over one billion people already either have very limited or absolutely no access to fresh drinking water. By 2025, the increasing demand for fresh water is expected to exceed by around 56% of the amount currently available.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Atmospheric water generator can be used virtually anywhere where potable water is needed. It is applicable to all places where humidity is very high. The ideal place for this is the band around the equator (40 North Latitude to 40 South Latitude), where most of the people in the world are located. This new technology will be efficient in decreasing the scarcity of water.Requirement of fixed temperature is a major factor that is expected to restraint growth of the atmospheric water generator marketAtmospheric water generator is basically a temperature driven machine. The machine totally depends on the level of humidity present in the air. Ideally, the humidity level required by the machine to generate water is at least 50% or above. If the temperature conditions are not maintained, the machine will not be able to generate water from the atmosphere. Therefore, this is a major factor that is expected to restrain the growth of atmospheric water generators market.Global Atmospheric Water Generator Market OutlookAsia Pacific holds the largest share in the global atmospheric water generator marketOn the basis of geography, global atmospheric water generator market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific held a dominant position in the global atmospheric water generator market and is estimated to retain its dominance over the forecast period.According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, Asia Pacific, with over 4.5 billion people in 2016, comprises of 60 percent of the world's population. High population density in economies such as China, India, Japan, and Singapore is expected to exhibit significant demands, primarily owing to the requirement for sustainable use of the available water resources over the coming years. However, less awareness regarding wastewater management in the emerging economies is a challenge to the industry growth.North America and Europe are expected to account for significant share in the global atmospheric water generator market, owing to increasing awareness about water treatment and stringent regulations regarding wastewater management to promote conservation of resources. For instance, Clean Water Act (CWA) in the U.S. and Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control (IPPC) Directive for industrial installations in European Union are some of the major regulations that aid in regulating pollution of water bodies.Request For Customization of this Report @Key Companies in Global Atmospheric Water Generator MarketThe key players in the industry include WaterMicronWorld, Dew Point Manufacturing, Watair Inc., Ambient Water, Saisons Technocom Pvt. Ltd., WaterMaker India Pvt. Ltd., Planets Water, Water Technologies International, Inc., Island Sky Corporation, Fujian Yuxin Electronic Co. Ltd., Eurosport Active World Corporation Technologies, Atlantis Solar, Air2Water LLC, Konia, and Ecoloblue, Inc.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Aerogels for Personal Care Market Growing at Steady CAGR to 2022 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/142984 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/142984 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/ Worldwide Market Reports added Latest Research Report titled Gift Cards Market Revenue Growth Predicted by 2022Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. The result is a solid with extremely low density[2] and low thermal conductivity. Nicknames include frozen smoke, solid smoke, solid air, solid cloud, blue smoke owing to its translucent nature and the way light scatters in the material. It feels like fragile expanded polystyrene to the touch. Aerogels can be made from a variety of chemical compoundsScope of the Report:This report focuses on the Aerogels for Personal Care in Asia-Pacific market, especially in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, India and Australia. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries/Regions, type and application.Request Sample of Copy of the Business Report:Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers : Cabot ,ENERSENS ,Jios Aerogel Corporation ,Dow CorningMarket Segment by Countries, covering : China ,Japan ,Korea ,Taiwan ,Southeast Asia ,India ,AustraliaMarket Segment by Type, covers : Particle Size 1-20 m ,Particle Size >20 mMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into : Beauty Care ,Skin Care ,OthersThere are 19 Chapters to deeply display the Asia-Pacific Aerogels for Personal Care market.Chapter 1, to describe Aerogels for Personal Care Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Aerogels for Personal Care, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Asia-Pacific market by countries, covering China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India and Australia, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Aerogels for Personal Care, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 to analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application,covering China,Japan,Korea,Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India and Australia,with sales,revenue and market share by manufacturers,types and application;Chapter 14, Aerogels for Personal Care market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Request For Discount :Important Points From TOC Covered In Report:1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Asia-Pacific Aerogels for Personal Care Market Competition, by Manufacturer4 Asia-Pacific Aerogels for Personal Care Market Analysis by Countries/Regions5 Asia-Pacific Market Segmentation Aerogels for Personal Care by Type6 Asia-Pacific Market Segmentation Aerogels for Personal Care by Application7 China Aerogels for Personal Care Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers8 Japan Aerogels for Personal Care Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers9 Korea Aerogels for Personal Care Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers10 Taiwan Aerogels for Personal Care Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and Manufacturers11 Southeast Asia Aerogels for Personal Care Sales, Revenue, by Type, Application and ManufacturersList of Tables and FiguresContinue** If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.** The Values marked with XX is confidential data. To know more about CAGR figures fill in your information so that our business development executive can get in touch with you.About WMRWorldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWebsite : Donald Trump smiles. Photo: Win McNamee/Bloomberg via Getty Images On Friday, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in came together for a historic meeting that resulted in a once-unimaginable pledge: The two nations will work to officially end the Korean War and denuclearize the peninsula. Who deserves credit for this momentous meeting and the push toward peace? Donald Trump, says South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha. Hes been determined to come to grips with this from day one, she recently told CNN. And he may soon have a Nobel Peace Prize to show for it. Trump and Kim are currently the favorites to win the prize, according to one British oddsmaker, and some of Trumps aides are telling reporters that a lasting thaw between North and South Korea should win Trump the award. Senator Lindsey Graham, not one of Trumps biggest fans in the upper chamber, agrees. Its the biggest change since the end of the hostilities, Graham said on Fox News Friday. What happened? Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change. Were not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, he said. Some of Trumps biggest boosters have removed the caveat. Theyre ready to give him the Nobel now. Unlike Obama, he actually deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted. Carl Higbie, a former Trump administration official who lost his job after he was outed as a bigot, is ready for the Nobel committee to act now. And Bill Mitchell is eager to find out if the heads of liberals will explode when Trump gets the award. (Korean) Peace in our time... Nobel Prize for @realDonaldTrump? pic.twitter.com/GmZpO0JX3I Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 27, 2018 Donald Trump Jr. is not so sure about the enthusiasm, though. Of course, he thinks his dad deserves the Nobel, but he doesnt think hell get it. Remember who decides this stuff, he tweeted. Noting [sic] to do with merit as we have all seen. The globalist elite would never give him that win. Don Jr. might be wrong though. Even today, with a lasting peace in Korea still a question mark, some Trump skeptics have boosted his candidacy. Eurasia Group head Ian Bremmer, who admits that hes been critical of Trump foreign policy missteps, is giving credit where credit is due. Trump, Xi, Moon and Kim together get my vote for the Nobel Peace Prize, he tweeted, including Chinese president Xi Jinping among those deserving recognition, but leaving out one man who belongs in that group too: Dennis Rodman. Global Automatic Data Capture Market Outlook, Research, Trends and Forecast to 2023 http://www.qyreports.com/request-sample/?report-id=80094 http://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount/?report-id=80094 http://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount/?report-id=80094 http://www.qyreports.com/report/global-automatic-data-capture-market-research-report-2018-2023-80094/ www.qyreports.com The report, focuses on the global Automatic Data Capture market, and answers some of the most critical questions stakeholders are currently facing across the globe. Information about the size of the market (by the end of the forecast year), companies that are most likely to scale up their competitive abilities, leading segments, and challenges impeding the growth of the market are given.The report takes a close and analytical look at the various companies that strive for a higher share of the global Automatic Data Capture market. For this purpose, a section dedicated to company profiles has been included in the report. The profiling of the leading players is done in order to judge the current competitive scenario. The competitive landscape is assessed by taking into consideration many important factors such as business growth, recent developments, product pipeline, and others.The research report further makes use of graphical representations such as tables, info graphics, and charts to forecast figures and historical data of the global Automatic Data Capture market. The report is presented in a clear and concise manner so that readers can understand the market structure and dynamics effectively.Key Vendors:Datalogic, Honeywell International, Zebra Technologies, Generalscan, Shenzhen Unique Electronic International, RIOTEC, Eurotech, Acreo Swedish ICT, Alien Technology, Avery Dennison, Checkpoint Systems, CipherLab, CoreRFID, FEIG ELECTRONIC, Fujitsu, GAO RFID, Impinj, ORBCOMMFor Sample Copy of this Report:This report surveys the Automatic Data Capture market, scrutinizes and researches the Automatic Data Capture development status and forecast in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. This report also highlights the top players in this particular global market, as mentioned below,This report further helps us to:-Understand the factors which influence the Automatic Data Capture market.Unravels the challenges and opportunities faced by the companies operating in the Automatic Data Capture market.Considers important outcomes of Automatic Data Capture analysis done.Identifies leading players in Automatic Data Capture market.Discovers profitable regions globally and leading segments during the above stated forecast period.Avail 30% Discount on this Report:Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the global Automatic Data Capture market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the Automatic Data Capture markets trajectory between forecast periods.For the purpose of the study, the global Automatic Data Capture market is segmented based on various parameters. An in-depth regional classification of the market is also included herein. The factors which are impacting the markets growth are studied in detail. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period. Besides this, profiles of some of the leading players operating in the global Automatic Data Capture market are included in the report. Using SWOT analysis, their weaknesses and strengths are analyzed. It also helps the report provide insights into the opportunities and threats that these companies may face during the forecast period.Buy this Report@:To conclude, contemplation of the noteworthy enactment of the Global Automatic Data Capture Market is driven by various analysis tools and wide-ranging research reports. Citations are engaged to mount clear results and validate them.The report gives a SWOT analysis of the new projects in the international and Automatic Data Capture market, investment feasibility, development trends, and investment return analysis of these projects. Study of the Automatic Data Capture markets competitive landscape includes data facts and figures about leading countries and suppliers capacity, cost-structures, production values, profits, and gross margins of key businesses operating in the market over the reports review period. The report also provides details such as product picture and specification, and contact information of the companies profiled in the Automatic Data Capture markets manufacturer analysis segment.For more information about this report visit:About QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com Cable Car & Ropeways Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1476 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1476 Cable transportation systems includes cables, to travel from one end to another, especially at high altitudes places. Ropeways are generally used as a public transportation systems for carrying goods & passengers in cities as well as in mountain areas. Global cable car & ropeway market is expected to witness moderate growth during the forecast period.Request Sample Copy of this Report @This market growth is attributed to increasing adoption of cable cars & ropeways in tourism industry to attract more customer base, introduction of cable cars in public transport, steady growth of material handling industry where ropeways & cable cars are used for transit, and introduction of technologically advanced products by key market players. For instance, in 2016, Government of India launched an initiative to develop cable cars at four locations in Karnataka, to promote tourism activities. However, high costs associated with these airlifts and stringent safety & security norms such as EU cableway directive 2000/9/EC, which relates to installations designed to carry a person, may hamper the market growth.Constant technological advancements is one of the major factors for growth of cable cars and ropeways market. For instance, The Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group offers tricable gondola detachable (TGD) ropeways that combines the advantages of reversible aerial tramway and gondola lift. Furthermore, detachable installations have gained significant traction across end users, owing to its ability to detach the vehicle in the station from rope, which enables higher speed on the line and lower speed at station. This makes boarding and de-boarding of passengers convenient, comfortable, and safer.Innovation in cable cars & ropeway technology and designs is expected to boost the market growthKey market players in the global cable car & ropeway industry are focusing on upgrading the technology and designs of their products. The primary factor for this continuous innovation is complete satisfaction of customers in terms of safety, comfort, and security of the transit. For instance, SigmaCabins, a France-based company and provider of carriers for ropeway transport, offers a variety of designs, shapes, and curves on cable cars that adapts to the surrounding environment and are comfortable for the travelers. Furthermore, LEITNER, a global provider of cable cars & ropeways, launched new 8-seater 'Jufen' chairlift in January 2018, which incorporates latest generation ropeway technology to provide greater transport capacity and comfort.Airlifts as a mode of public transitCable cars or airlifts can be alternative solution for growing traffic congestions across cities, worldwide. Rising population and growing per capita spending on automotive industry has led to excessive traffic congestions and increasing pollution levels. Therefore, cableways of transit can offer effective alternative solution to reduce traffic congestion and also aid in reducing pollution. Furthermore, it can offer benefits such as cost-effective transportation.However, implementation of this is a challenge, owing to a variety of geographical economic constraints. Cable cars have been implemented as a public transit mode in several countries such as Colombia, Bolivia, Hong Kong, and Turkey; however, is still not widely accepted. Also, factors such as high costs of cable cars & related services and safety & security concerns are major challenging factors for growth of the market.Cable car & ropeway market in material handlingRopeway conveyors is a type of gondola lift, which is specifically designed to transport goods through containers. These type of gondola lifts are majorly used in mining industry, where materials are transferred over long distance. The adoption of such conveyors have increased in the recent past in material handling industry, owing to their benefits over conventional conveyors such as reduced downtime and minimized recurring failures. Furthermore, availability of variety of ropeways such as monocable, bicable/tricable, & others from local as well as international vendors has increased the adoption of ropeway conveyors at a considerable rate.Request For Customization of this Report @Some of the key players operating in the global cable car & ropeway industry include Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, Leitner S.p.A., POMA Group, Bartholet Maschinenbau AG (BMF), Nippon Cable Co., Ltd., Damodar Ropeways & Infra Ltd., Bullwheel International Cable Car Corp., Vergokan, Dubrovnik cable cars, Kreischberg: Cableways, Syneron Medical Ltd., and Venus Concept Canada Corp.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Dressing (Medical) Market 2018: Top Key Players (Acelity L.P, Convatec, 3M, Smith&Nephew and Molnlycke Health Care) Research for Markets http://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/global-dressing-medical-market-53486 http://www.researchformarkets.com/discount/global-dressing-medical-market-53486 http://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/global-dressing-medical-market-53486 This report studies Dressing (medical) in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Acelity L.P Convatec 3M Smith&Nephew Molnlycke Health Care Covidien Hollister Integra Lifesciences Derma Sciences Organogenesis Coloplast Alliqua BioMedical Avita Medical Cytomedix CytoTools Derma Sciences Essex Bio-Technology Macrocure MiMedx Novadaq Osiris Therapeutics SANUWAVE Health Tissue RegenixLooking for More Information on This Market Get Free Sample Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, and market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoAdvanced Wound Dressings, include Foam Dressings, Hydrocolloids, Hydro fiber, Film Dressings, Alginates, Collagen Dressings, Hydrogels Dressings, Wound Contact Layers, Superabsorbent Dressings, and Traditional Wound Dressings, include Surgical Tapes, Anti-Infective Dressings, Dry DressingsBy Application, the market can be split into Surgical Wounds Burns Diabetic Foot Ulcers Pressure Ulcers Venous UlcersBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want) North America China Europe Southeast Asia Japan IndiaThe report is available on discount for a limited time only @Table of Content1 Industry Overview of Dressing (medical)1.1 Definition and Specifications of Dressing (medical)1.2 Classification of Dressing (medical)1.3 Applications of Dressing (medical)1.4 Market Segment by Regions2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Dressing (medical)2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Dressing (medical)2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Dressing (medical)2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Dressing (medical)3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Dressing (medical)3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Dressing (medical) Major Manufacturers in 20173.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Dressing (medical) Major Manufacturers in 20173.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Dressing (medical) Major Manufacturers in 20173.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Dressing (medical) Major Manufacturers in 20174 Global Dressing (medical) Overall Market Overview4.1 2013-2018E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.3 Sales Analysis4.4 Sales Price Analysis5 Dressing (medical) Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Dressing (medical) Market Analysis5.2 China Dressing (medical) Market Analysis5.3 Europe Dressing (medical) Market Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia Dressing (medical) Market Analysis6 Global 2013-2018E Dressing (medical) Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2013-2018E Dressing (medical) Sales by Type6.2 Different Types of Dressing (medical) Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types of Dressing (medical) Product Driving Factors Analysis7 Global 2013-2018E Dressing (medical) Segment Market Analysis (by Application)7.1 Global 2013-2018E Dressing (medical) Consumption by Application7.2 Different Application of Dressing (medical) Product Interview Price Analysis7.3 Different Application of Dressing (medical) Product Driving Factors Analysis8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Dressing (medical)8.1 Acelity L.P8.2 Convatec8.3 3M8.4 Smith&Nephew8.5 Molnlycke Health Care8.6 Covidien8.7 Hollister8.8 Integra Lifesciences8.9 Derma Sciences8.10 Organogenesis9 Development Trend of Analysis of Dressing (medical) Market9.1 Global Dressing (medical) Market Trend Analysis9.2 Dressing (medical) Regional Market Trend9.3 Dressing (medical) Market Trend (Product Type)9.4 Dressing (medical) Market Trend (Application)10 Dressing (medical) Marketing Type Analysis10.1 Dressing (medical) Regional Marketing Type Analysis10.2 Dressing (medical) International Trade Type Analysis10.3 Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of Dressing (medical) by Region10.4 Dressing (medical) Supply Chain AnalysisLooking for more insights from this report @About Research for Markets:Research for Markets indulges in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.Our purpose is to serve you, the most customized in-depth Market access data. Our plethora of titles made us one of the most searched market research library across the globe. We work with the most esteemed Publishers around the globe who caters vast industries. We are quick and fragile, when it comes to your various queries, and we ensure our team caters your needs to the best of our abilities, we promise to stay by your side for both pre and post sales servicing, as we believe in long everlasting symbiotic relationship.Contact:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsTel: +44 8000-4182-37 (UK)Email: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com Performance Appraisal Software Market is Growing Exponentially in Order to Gain More Demand by 2023 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/142301 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/142301 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/ Worldwide Market Reports added Latest Research Report titled Performance Appraisal Software Market is Growing Exponentially in Order to Gain More Demand by 2023.This report studies the Performance Appraisal Software market, Performance Appraisal Software, always mentioned with Performance management software, helps organizations establish employee performance standards and enables managers to evaluate employees job performance in relation to these standards. Performance management systems are used to manage employee progress, performance, and development in relation to organizational goals. Companies use performance management software to facilitate meaningful and ongoing discussions between managers and direct reports.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Performance Appraisal Software in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversOracle, Saba, SAP, SumTotal Systems, Ultimate Software, Cornerstone OnDemand, Performly, Impraise, MAUS, BambooHR, Namely, Zoho Corporation, BreatheHR, Trakstar, ClearCompany, Actus, Insperity, Reviewsnap, PeopleGoal, BeisenMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico),Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy),Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia),South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia),Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoSmall Business, Medium-sized Business, Large BusinessGet discount on this report :Table of Contents1 Performance Appraisal Software Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Performance Appraisal Software Market Competition, by Players4 Global Performance Appraisal Software Market Size by Regions5 North America Performance Appraisal Software Revenue by Countries6 Europe Performance Appraisal Software Revenue by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Performance Appraisal Software Revenue by Countries8 South America Performance Appraisal Software Revenue by Countries9 Middle East and Africa Revenue Performance Appraisal Software by Countries10 Global Performance Appraisal Software Market Segment by Type11 Global Performance Appraisal Software Market Segment by Application12 Global Performance Appraisal Software Market Size Forecast (2018-2023)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 Appendix**If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWEBSITE : Glass Container Market will reach at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2016-2026 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-935 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-935 www.futuremarketinsights.com In packaging industries, plastic and metal have always been looked at as alternative materials for glass. On the same lines, demand for glass packaging is expected to lose traction against rising preference for plastic bottles and metal cans. Nevertheless, such preferences get reversed when it comes to packaging highly-reactive fluids, industrial solvents, and alcoholic beverages. Future Market Insights predicts that the growth of global glass container market is, thus, contingent upon growing consumption of such liquids, and alcoholic drinks & beverages.In 2016, more than US$ 46,500 Mn worth of glass containers were consumed globally. Key findings from Future Market Insights report estimate that the market will be valued at US$ 65,569.4 Mn by the end of 2026. Although, during this forecast period, the global glass container market will exhibit a moderate revenue growth at 4.1% CAGR.Impact of Plastic and Metal PackagingThe report has compiled several factors that impact the growth of global glass container market, and highlighted the ones that restrain the market from attaining steady expansion. First off, the global market for glass containers is expected to continue facing challenges as companies struggle to keep up with pricing pressures. Continuous consolidation of consumer base for glass containers has intensified pricing pressure on manufacturers, compelling them to cater to big clients - the ones demanding their products at low prices.Request Report Sample@Then, theres the inexorable competition arising from plastic bottles and metal cans. Baby food, coffee, sauces, and several other such products, which were once packaged in glass containers, are now available in plastic bottles & metal tins. High cost of producing glass containers, their fragile composition, and heavy weight are also prompting food & beverage makers for shifting towards metal or plastic packaging.Rising Demand for Lightweight Glass BottlesIndustry leaders will continue to strive for reducing the weight of glass containers, thereby increasing their sustenance in logistics operations. Lighter glass containers will also gain traction by providing added advantage to manufacturers and increasing profit margins of packaged products. The report reveals that throughout the forecast period, more than two-third of global glass container revenues will be accounted by glass bottles. The demand for glass jar will also be high, while candle glass containers and glass vials will witness a downtrend in terms of consumption.A majority of glass containers sold in the world are consumed for packaging beverages. In 2016, more than US$ 31,000 Mn worth of glass containers were used for beverage packaging, which alcoholic beverages accounting for 80% of these revenues. Demand for glass containers is also projected to be high in cosmetics & perfumery, revenues from which are likely to soar at 4.6% CAGR. Apart from their end-use and shape, glass containers are also being purchased according to their colour. Almost 45% of the global market value is procured from sales of amber glass containers across the globe. By 2026, more than 32,000 KT of amber glass containers will be consumed globally, according to the report. Clear glass containers, on the other hand, will have procured over 28% share in the global glass container market value by the end of 2026.Request Report Methodology@In the report, titled Glass Container Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, Europe is identified as the largest market for glass containers. Although, Europes market value share is expected to be just a tad higher than Asia-Pacifics glass container market, which is procuring around 33% share through 2026. Leading glass container manufacturers in the world are profiled in this report, which include Vidrala SA, Amcor Limited, Owens-Illinois, Inc., BA Glass, Saverglass Group, Ardagh Group SA, Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd., Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Limited, Nampak Ltd., and Wiegand Glas.About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Medical Tape and Bandage Market 2018: Top Players (3M Company, Covidien PLC, Derma Sciences, Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Smith & Nephew PLC) Research for Markets http://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/global-medical-tape-and-bandage-market-53373 http://www.researchformarkets.com/discount/global-medical-tape-and-bandage-market-53373 http://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/global-medical-tape-and-bandage-market-53373 This report studies the global Medical Tape and Bandage market status and forecast, categorizes the global Medical Tape and Bandage market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.In 2017, the global Medical Tape and Bandage market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.The major manufacturers covered in this report 3M Company Covidien PLC (A Subsidiary of Medtronic) Derma Sciences, Inc. (A Subsidiary of Integra Lifesciences Corporation) Johnson & Johnson Smith & Nephew PLC Medline Industries, Inc. B. Braun Melsungen AG Cardinal Health, Inc. Paul Hartmann AG Beiersdorf AG Nitto Denko Corporation BSN Medical (A Part of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA) Molnlycke Health Care Andover Healthcare Inc. Nichiban Co., Ltd.Looking for More Information on This Market Get Free Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, covering North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East & AfricaThe regional scope of the study is as follows: North America Asia-Pacific Europe Central & South America Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Medical Tapes (Fabric Tape, Paper Tape, Plastic Tape, Other Tapes) Medical Bandages (Gauze Bandage, Adhesive Bandage, Cohesive and Elastic Bandage, Other Bandages)On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers Clinics Homecare SettingThe study objectives of this report are: To analyze and study the global Medical Tape and Bandage sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025). Focuses on the key Medical Tape and Bandage manufacturers, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future. Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Medical Tape and Bandage are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key Stakeholders Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturers Medical Tape and Bandage Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Medical Tape and Bandage Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream VendorsAvailable Customizations With the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report: Regional and country-level analysis of the Medical Tape and Bandage market, by end-use. Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.The report is available on discount for a limited time only @Table of Content1 Medical Tape and Bandage Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Medical Tape and Bandage1.2 Medical Tape and Bandage Segment by Type (Product Category)1.3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Segment by Application2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Medical Tape and Bandage Market Competitive Situation and Trends3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Medical Tape and Bandage Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Medical Tape and Bandage Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)5 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)6 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Consumption and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2013-2018)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities7 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 3M Company7.2 Covidien PLC (A Subsidiary of Medtronic)7.3 Derma Sciences, Inc. (A Subsidiary of Integra Lifesciences Corporation)7.4 Johnson & Johnson7.5 Smith & Nephew PLC7.6 Medline Industries, Inc.7.7 B. Braun Melsungen AG7.8 Cardinal Health, Inc.7.9 Paul Hartmann AG7.10 Beiersdorf AG8 Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturing Cost Analysis8.1 Medical Tape and Bandage Key Raw Materials Analysis8.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure8.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Medical Tape and Bandage9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9.1 Medical Tape and Bandage Industrial Chain Analysis9.2 Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing9.3 Raw Materials Sources of Medical Tape and Bandage Major Manufacturers in 20179.4 Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10.1 Marketing Channel10.2 Market Positioning10.3 Distributors/Traders ListLooking for more insights from this report @About Research for Markets:Research for Markets indulges in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.Our purpose is to serve you, the most customized in-depth Market access data. Our plethora of titles made us one of the most searched market research library across the globe. We work with the most esteemed Publishers around the globe who caters vast industries. We are quick and fragile, when it comes to your various queries, and we ensure our team caters your needs to the best of our abilities, we promise to stay by your side for both pre and post sales servicing, as we believe in long everlasting symbiotic relationship.Contact:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsTel: +44 8000-4182-37 (UK)Email: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com Global Crystal Filter Market 2018 Segmentation in Latest Research Reports : Vectron, Oscilent, Euroquartz QYResearchReports https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1726472&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-crystal-filter-market-research-report-2018.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1726472&type=D Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Crystal Filter Market Research Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Crystal Filter market status and forecast, categorizes the global Crystal Filter market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in United States, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and other regions.The Global market for Crystal Filter has been thoroughly studied with every available detail in the said study with increased focus on various important factors such as restraints, market opportunities, and growth drivers. Each of the elements that pertain to the shaping of the market dynamics that has been analyzed and studied in detail by the research analysts, so as to offer the best and most evaluative and exhaustive study to the buyers of the report. The overview or the executive summary that has been provided in the market intelligence study has been designed in such a way so as to give a quick overview of the market for receiving information on the go. This could assist readers with hands-on data needed to make quick decisions anytime during their journey of growth in the market.Fill the form for an exclusive free sample of this report @The major manufacturers covered in this reportPDIICMKDSMurataVectronOscilentEuroquartzKYOCERAFronter Electronics Co., LtdPANDAChinaxtal Co.,LimitedGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanOther RegionsOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoIntegrated Crystal FilterMonolithic Crystal FilterOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingCommunicationNavigationMeasurementThe study of market segmentations that has been offered with the publication that explores some of the most significant categories of the world Crystal Filter market is deemed significant for the growth of industry participants. All of the segments that have been studied elaborately in the said publication have been deeply evaluated with assistance from best of the research techniques. The analysts have dissected each of the segments and have shed light on vital factors that influence the growth of the various segments. Using this key information, market players could rightly shape their business plans in favor of the betterment of their growth in the Global market. Segments that have been analyzed in the publication could be related to product, end use, application, and geography.View TOC (table of content) of the Report:Table of Contents1 Crystal Filter Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Crystal Filter1.2 Crystal Filter Segment by Type (Product Category)1.3 Global Crystal Filter Segment by Application1.4 Global Crystal Filter Market by Region (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Crystal Filter (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Crystal Filter Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Crystal Filter Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Crystal Filter Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Crystal Filter Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Crystal Filter Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Crystal Filter Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Crystal Filter Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Crystal Filter Market Competitive Situation and Trends3 Global Crystal Filter Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Crystal Filter Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Crystal Filter Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Crystal Filter Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Crystal Filter Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 United States Crystal Filter Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Crystal Filter Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)Check Discount For This Report @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Crystal FilterFigure Global Crystal Filter Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2013-2025)Figure Global Crystal Filter Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2017Figure Global Crystal Filter Market Size (Million USD), Comparison (K Units) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2013-2025)Figure United States Crystal Filter Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure Europe Crystal Filter Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure China Crystal Filter Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure Japan Crystal Filter Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Uk Private Healthcare Market to Exceed US$ 14,000 Mn in 2025 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16030 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/uk-private-healthcare-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/16030 https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/11/29/1210229/0/en/U-K-Private-Healthcare-Market-Size-US-14-000-Mn-by-2025-CAGR-2-8-Persistence-Market-Research.html https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/16030 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The decline in individual purchases of private medical insurance and low medical cover pay-outs to clinics and hospitals will continue to negatively impact the U.K. private healthcare market. Besides, the country has a well-defined public healthcare structure for its permanent residents.Request to Sample of Report @At the point of need, public healthcare coverage is subsidized or offered completely free and is usually paid through general taxation. Persistence Market Research in its latest study reveals that the U.K. private healthcare market is set to expand at a sluggish 2.8% CAGR during the forecast period (20172025). In addition, this market is anticipated to represents an absolute $ opportunity of US$ 321.4 Mn in 2018 over 2017. According to PMR findings, the U.Ks private healthcare sector is much smaller than the public sector. However, a rise in self-pay elective procedures and introduction of attractive packaged pricing is expected to support the countrys private healthcare sector in the near future.Request for Table of Contents @PMRs report titled Private Healthcare Market: U.K. Industry Analysis, 2012 2016 and Forecast, 2017 2025 further identifies some of the key trends governing the U.K.s private healthcare market under the influence of multiple factors. Leading private healthcare providers in the country are now offering several fixed packages for various procedures and treatments in an attempt to lure more patients. The focus has shifted toward a more meticulous marketing of medical services to patients. Some of the private companies are using local media and medical scheme membership brochures to reach out to more number of people. Market players are also investing in improving out-patient services, setting up day clinics and sub-acute beds in order to increase their services offerings.Request Report Multiple Chapter @Hospital of St. Johns & St. Elizabeth, Care UK, CIRCLE HOLDINGS PLC, BMI Healthcare, Nuffield Health, HCA Management Services, L.P., Ramsay Health Care, Spire Healthcare Group plc., The London Clinic, Aspen Healthcare (A Sub. Of Tenet Healthcare), Bupa Cromwell Hospital, The Huntercombe Group, KIMS Hospital, 3fivetwo Group, London Welbeck Hospital, The Bournemouth Private Clinic Limited, Alliance Medical, King Edward VII's Hospital, The Private Clinic, and Vein Centre Limited are the key players operating in the regions private healthcare market. Currently, Ramsay holds the top position in the market, maintaining around 21.1% share despite the growing competition.As per the report, increasing waiting times for various treatment and procedures at public healthcare centers is prompting patients to opt for private healthcare services. This, in turn, is expected to create lucrative market opportunities for private healthcare organizations during the forecast period.For more information @Additional Excerpts of the Report Include:The demand for private acute care services, private specialist services, and private patient care services is projected to remain higher as compared to other private healthcare services over 2025. By 2017-end, private hospitals that provide acute care services are expected to account for more than 57% value share of the market.Based on end-users, self-pay individuals and NHS referrals are expected to collectively account for a massive market share in terms of revenue. Over the next couple of years, increasing out-of-pocket spending on healthcare expenses is projected to create further demand for private healthcare services in the country.Get full report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Quit Smoking Drug Market Projected to witness a Single Digit CAGR during 2017 - 2022 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/sample/59680 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com/discount/59680 https://www.worldwidemarketreports.com Worldwide Market Reports added Latest Research Report titled EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Quit Smoking Drug Market Report 2017 to its Large Report database.In this report, the EMEA Quit Smoking Drug market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.** The Values marked with XX is confidential data. To know more about CAGR figures fill in your information so that our business development executive can get in touch with you.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report @Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Quit Smoking Drug for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux; Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran; Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.EMEA Quit Smoking Drug market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Quit Smoking Drug sales volume (K MT), price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingAradigm, Roche, BGP Group, Boots, Cochrane Collaboration, Cambrex, Johnson&Johnson, Sopharma, Ceejay Healthcare, Celtic Pharma, ZenaraOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCapsule, Spray.On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingHospital, Medical Center.Get discount on this report :Table of Contents :EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Quit Smoking Drug Market Report 20171 Quit Smoking Drug Overview2 EMEA Quit Smoking Drug Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application3 Europe Quit Smoking Drug (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application4 Middle East Quit Smoking Drug (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application5 Africa Quit Smoking Drug (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application6 EMEA Quit Smoking Drug Manufacturers/Players Profiles and Sales Data7 Quit Smoking Drug Manufacturing Cost Analysis8 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10 Market Effect Factors Analysis11 EMEA Quit Smoking Drug Market Forecast (2017-2022)12 Research Findings and Conclusion** If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.ABOUT WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.CONTACT US:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWebsite: Personal Cloud Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1470 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1470 Personal cloud is utilized for storing personal information and data such as photographs, videos, and important files among others, which requiring security. Personal cloud is used synchronize or share professional data with various devices such as tablets and smartphones. Personal cloud offers high capacity of cloud-based storage, without losing control of information. This in turn helps boost market growth. Cloud storage does not require storing information onto a hardware, as it can be managed by the cloud service provider, making it a convenient option for storing and sharing data. Personal clouds make it possible to access folders on a device through user-friendly API.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Personal Cloud Market Growth FactorGrowing digitalization is increasing the demand for sharing and accessing personal data, in turn, increasing the demand for cloud computing services. Personal cloud services offer facilities that help in sharing and accessing file storage within organizations adopting bring your own devices trend. Increasing use of smartphone and social media sites is boosting the demand for data storage platforms. Increasing adoption of multiple devices is driving the adoption of personal cloud solutions such as lacie cloudbox, synology diskstation, and WD my cloud mirror. High prices associated personal cloud offered by cloud service providers pose as a major restraint for growth of the personal cloud market.Rising adoption of bring your own devices trend is expected to boost growth of the personal cloud marketAdoption of bring your own device is the expected to boost demand for personal cloud. In the IT sector, BYOD is increasingly being adopted at the workplace to access secure data. Individuals use cloud service such as iCloud and Google Drive, are widely used for controlling data risk. Several personal cloud services are increasingly offering accessibility, enhanced storage, and access to share data with security features. According to Insight Enterprises, in 2017, 59% organizations allow their employees to use their own devices at the workplace. Some organization offering their personal cloud solutions to several organizations in various industry sector. For instance, the Amazon Web Services provide cloud services to IT sectorsPersonal Cloud Market Regional Insights:The market is segmented on the basis of six regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.North America is expected to have the largest market share in the personal cloud solutions and services due to increasing demand of BYOD and early adoption of cloud-based networks. Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the personal cloud market, owing to the growing adoption of cloud service in various organizations and the increasing demand for file storage and sharing on a server. According to the Select USA, in 2015, the U.S import around US$34 billion worth of cloud computing services.Request For Customization of this Report @Personal Cloud Market Competitive Market:Key players operating in the personal cloud market include Apple, Amazon, Seagate, Microsoft, Box, Dropbox, Google, Engyte, Buffalo Technology, Tonido, Western Digital, and Sugarsync.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com The Uganda police has finalised a deal to supply up to 20,000 pairs of uniforms to its counterparts in South Sudan. According to a deal, sealed between the inspector general of police (IGP) Martin Okoth Ochola and the head of the South Sudan national police service Majak Akec Mayok, up to 15,000 green uniforms and 5,000 camouflage uniforms will be supplied by the Uganda police garment factory. Uganda police garment factory All uniforms will be in a design and fashion similar to the Uganda police uniform. Each set of uniform will be supplied at a cost of $32 (about Shs 119,521), slightly higher than the $24 (about Shs 90,000), at which the uniforms are sold locally. A sample of two batches will initially be sent to South Sudan for approval, after which a deposit of 50 per cent of the purchases will be made to Exodus Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited Uganda, the police institutional Sacco account which is managing the garment factory. "Uganda police garment factory will produce 20,000 pairs of uniforms for South Sudan national police services," the director of Interpol and Internal relations Fred Yiga said while reading resolutions of the bilateral meeting held in Kampala on Thursday. The police garments factory, which was constructed with the help of Chinese firm, China Poly Technology, has the capacity of producing 120 uniforms per day. However, this is the first uniform business that the factory has been able to get since it started operations in September 2014. The entire deal is worth Shs 2.3 billion. "We signed a memorandum of understanding four years ago for Uganda police to supply uniforms but due to unavoidable circumstances, we could not have the uniforms," Mayok said. The factory was started with an aim of reducing the cost of importing police uniforms but also to generate revenue that will be used to improve the welfare of police officers. China Poly Technology donated 96 sewing machines to kick-start the factory. The factory started with a production of 100 uniforms each day. The factory is expected to produce 110, 000 uniforms annually including two regular police uniforms for each officer as well as extras for foreign trips, trainings and other special activities. OSDC 2018 The Expert Meet-Up on OS Data Center Solutions www.osdc.de www.netways.de The social program of the conference is fixed.Nuremberg April 27, 2018Trendsetting concepts, state-of-the-art technical expertise, innovative developments, top-level discussions and new perspectives in dealing with complex data centers have distinguished the Open Source Data Center Conference since 2009.This year's conference kick-off will be an informal get-together on the evening of June 11.The two-day lecture-program on June 12 and 13 is composed of presentations on the latest research, findings and fresh approaches in OS data center solutions, updates on the latest developments and specialist know-how from Open Source enthusiasts from all over the world.Special highlight of this years event will be the OSDC evening event on June 12. The Sky Lounge of Berlin's hip nightlife location "PURO", with its spectacular view from the 20th floor is where the dinner & drinks event will take place. This is the opportunity for an intensive exchange of experiences, to pick up new ideas and socialize with the OS community.OSDC promotes the annual meeting of top OS specialists catching up on current know-how and initiating forward-looking projects. Well-known international professionals present their ideas on the current challenges of modern IT infrastructures. Participants benefit from the comprehensive experience of international OS experts and meet a wide range of industry leaders. As one of the leading OS events in Europe the expert meet-up attracts more than 150 visitors per year and is firmly established in Berlin.For further details visitABOUT NETWAYSNETWAYS GmbH has been supporting companies for the management of complex IT environments based on Open Source software for more than 20 years. NETWAYS is the leader in Open Source systems management based on Icinga, Puppet and Elastic.Our customers include companies and organizations from all sectors, such as Deutsche Postbank AG, Volkswagen AG, Bayer AG, Daimler AG, Deutsche Telekom AG, ING-DiBa AG, Deutsche Welle, REWE Group, Rakuten, Audi AG, Continental AG AG.The NETWAYS Web Services (NWS) SaaS solution offers a variety of preconfigured applications. Operational tasks such as updates and operation are centrally managed for the user via NWS access.NETWAYS has also made a name for itself as the organizer of various conferences and training courses on Open Source monitoring and data centers.EVENT DETAILSOpen Source Data Center ConferenceJune 12 to 13, 2018BerlinVenueMercure Hotel MOABerlin Stephanstrasse 41D-10559 BerlinPRESS CONTACTPamela DrescherHead of Marketing+49 911 92885-0pamela.drescher@netways.deNETWAYS GmbHDeutschherrnstr. 15-1990429 NurembergGermany Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market Size 2012-2016 and Forecast 2017-2023 Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-intraoperative-magnetic-resonance-imaging-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-intraoperative-magnetic-resonance-imaging-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-intraoperative-magnetic-resonance-imaging-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3 https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-intraoperative-magnetic-resonance-imaging-market/ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market: Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging is an instrument gives the real-time image of a brain which helps to identify abnormal tissues and removal of the brain tumours effectively and safely. Intraoperative MRI lowers the risk of damaging critical parts of the brain and help to identify whether the surgery was successful or additional resection is required before completing the surgery. Various intraoperative MRI equipment is available with different magnetic field strengths such as 0.2 T, 1.5 T, and 3.0 T.Rise in global geriatric population, technological advancements of the equipment such as higher magnetic field strength, increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and rise in preference for the minimally invasive surgeries are anticipated to fuel the intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market. Moreover, the rise in the adoption of novel technologies in developed regions and growth in healthcare expenditure for the quality diseases management expected to propel the intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market. However, high cost of the devices, product recall, and lack of skilled professionals for operating devices might hamper the growth of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market over the forecast timeframe.Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market is segmented on the basis of magnetic field strength, application, and end userA sample of this report is available upon request @Based on the magnetic field strength, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging is segmented into the following: 0.2 Tesla 1.5 Tesla 3.0 TeslaBased on the application, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market is segmented into the following: Spinal surgery Neurosurgery Orthopaedic surgery OthersBased on the end user, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market is segmented into the following: Hospitals Clinics Ambulatory surgical centres LaboratoriesTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market is growing at a significant CAGR owing to increase in the prevalence of neurological disorders and paediatric epilepsy incidences. Competitors are majorly focusing on the manufacturing of intraoperative MRI devices with novel technologies such as superior magnetic field strength for better imaging. Acquisitions and mergers, collaborations, patent approvals, and product launchings are key strategies followed by the companies for increasing their revenue in the intraoperative imaging market. For instance, in July 2014, Medtronic, Inc. acquired Visualise, Inc. for strengthening its neurological solutions portfolio including intra-operative imaging. Moreover, in April 2012, Philips Healthcare collaborated with Brainlab AG for the development of comprehensive intraoperative MRI solution for streamlining the neurosurgery procedures.Need more information about this report @Geographically, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market is segmented into Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. North America has a significant share in intraoperative imaging market owing to increase in the prevalence of neurological disorders due to change in lifestyle, well-developed healthcare infrastructure, and availability of skilled professionals are propelling the intraoperative MRI market in the region. In Europe, high adoption of technological advanced MRIs by healthcare professionals, the collaboration between the companies for development of newer technologies are anticipated to fuel the Europe intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market. However, Asia Pacific has a lucrative growth attributed to increase in the medical tourism, approvals for novel technologies in Asia Pacific countries such as Japan and Australia, an increase in the healthcare expenditure are projected to boost the intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging market over the forecast period.Some of the players in intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) market are Siemens AG (Germany), Medtronic, Inc. (Ireland), GE Healthcare (U.S.), Philips Healthcare (Koninklijke Philips N.V.) (Netherlands), IMRIS Deerfield Imaging (U.S.), Brainlab AG (Germany), and Hitachi Ltd. (Japan) to name a few.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152 160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553Website @ Substation Monitoring System Market to Register Unwavering Growth During in Global by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1466 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1466 Substation monitoring system is designed to remotely monitor and control distributed power generation. Substations are essential for supplying power to consumers and act as the connection points between transmission networks and electric generators. Substations offer steady flow of voltage, and maintains the temperature of distribution transformers. Additionally, it helps in converting the Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC). Therefore, substations offer improved power quality management with increased reliability and operational advantages.Rising demand for the reduction in distribution and transmission losses is the major factor driving the growth of market.In the process of supplying electricity to the consumers, power loss is expected due to technical and commercial losses. Technical loss is due to dissipation of energy in transformers, conductors, and other equipment used in the distribution of power. Additionally, commercial losses are due to bypassing meters, defective meters, and errors in meter readings among others. For instance, according to the Coherent Market Insights analysis, the average transmission and distribution losses in 2014, accounted for around 23% of the total electricity generated globally. Therefore, the demand for substation monitoring systems high for use in energy distribution operations, to reduce distribution and transmission losses (T&D losses), which in turn, is expected to positively influence the growth of the market during the forecast period.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Wireless Technology segment is expected to hold the largest market share over the forecast periodAmong communication technology, the wireless technology segment held the largest market share in 2016. The segment includes cellular, wireless LAN, and Zigbee among others. The wired communication technology are easily susceptible to corruption, as they are more difficult to maintain than wireless technology. Therefore, the demand for wireless technology is increasing and is thus expected to fuel growth of the market over the forecast period (2017-2025).High capital expenditure for installation of equipment is the major factor hampering growth of the marketHigh installation cost of the IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) in substation such as transformers, relay devices, switches, controllers, circuit breakers is the major factor hindering growth of the market. Additionally, high expenditure for installation of wireless sensor network in application grid, which contains multifunctional sensor nodes helps in power generation, power delivery, and power utilization is also a major factor hampering growth of the market.Harsh environmental conditions is the major challenge faced by manufacturers in the substation monitoring system marketHarsh environmental conditions such as storm water drainage, noise, lighting, and road traffic are expected to hamper the proper functioning of substation monitoring systems. Factors such as substation landscaping and habitat loss, changes to local aesthetics and view sheds, noise, and lighting are considered to be long-lasting and permanent effects. For instance, the noise created by substations can be quite loud to adjacent property owners, as a constant buzzing and humming of noise can be audible several feet from the substation fence. Moreover, tall soil berms and barrier of mature trees between the substations and nearby residences can partially reduce the noise impacts. Therefore, considering the harsh environmental conditions for the production of substations is the major challenge faced by manufacturers.Global Substation Monitoring System Market: Regional InsightsAsia Pacific is expected to witness highest growth in the substation monitoring system market over the forecast period. India, China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea are major growth engines in the substation monitoring system market in Asia Pacific. Owing to increase in the Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses, governments in these countries are undertaking initiatives to introduce measures to reduce the T&D losses. For instance, Government of India is focusing on reducing the transmission and distribution losses of power from 21% in 2018 to 15% by 2019. The government is spending US$ 26.92 for improving the power infrastructure across the country.Request For Customization of this Report @Global Substation Monitoring System Market: Competitive BackgroundKey players operating in the substation monitoring system market include ABB, Honeywell International Inc., Siemens AG, Schneider Electric SE, Emerson Electric, General Electric, Eaton Corporation Plc, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, NovaTech Systems, and Crompton Greaves.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Growth Opportunities of Asia - Mobile Network Operators and MVNOs Asia - Mobile Network Operators and MVNOs https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1743179 https://www.researchmoz.us/asia-mobile-network-operators-and-mvnos-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Asia - Mobile Network Operators and MVNOs" to its huge collection of research reports.Asia's mobile market heads further towards saturation as developing nations grow stronglyThe telecom market across Asia has grown strongly over the past few years. The overall mobile penetration rate on average across the entire Asian region reached over 102% going into 2018, up from 83% back in 2012.Whilst there are still developing markets continuing to grow their mobile subscriber base at moderate to high annual rates, there are in fact few countries left in Asia with significantly underdeveloped mobile markets and low mobile penetration rates.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The strong growth in the Asia market, is due to continued mobile subscriber growth in emerging markets including Bhutan, Laos, Indonesia, Nepal, North Korea, and in particular India. In contrast developed and mature markets such as Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore have seen very low growth.Total market growth will continue to ease off over the next five years as the remaining mobile markets now head toward saturation and their mobile subscriber growth rates decrease. This has occurred in the more mature markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.While domestic mobile operators account for the vast majority of all mobile operators across Asia, international mobile operators are highly active across this vast region. There are 16 international mobile network operators operating within the Asian region across 21 of the 34 Asian countries.Asia has a smaller but fast growing MNVO market. Hong Kong in particular is a very active in this area.This BuddeComm annual publication provides a country level analysis of the 34 mobile markets across Asia. It includes information on each countries mobile market, key mobile market statistics and information on the major operators and trends. It also includes mobile subscriber data for the major international and domestic operators.Asia is arguably the worlds most diverse region with regards to its telecoms industry. The region contains a vast array of countries, ranging from those with highly mature and advanced telecommunications markets, that are world leaders in the rollout of fibre broadband and in the move towards 5G, such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, to some of the poorest and least developed countries such as North Korea and Afghanistan.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @A number of countries with large populations have attracted considerable investment from both vendors and operators. Over the past decade throughout Asia, we have seen a transition to new generation mobile platforms. As 3G reached saturation point, 4G networks were launched and progressively expanded. In the more developed markets over the past decade, growth shifted away from a focus on subscriber numbers towards the expansion of new generation platforms and increased data usage driven by value-added services and increased ARPUs. A similar trend is now following the market challenger and developing market segments.The Buddecomm Telecoms Maturity Index, has been devised as a tool to easily and uniformly compare these different markets. BuddeComms Asian Telecoms Maturity Index, is an index (on a scale between 0 and 100) that measures and ranks the relative maturity of the telecoms industry in all of the 34 countries in Asia. This report provides a comprehensive comparison of the 34 Asian markets according to a number of parameters such as fixed broadband and mobile broadband.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Market Insights: Ecuador - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses Ecuador - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1743178 https://www.researchmoz.us/ecuador-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Ecuador - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" to its huge collection of research reports.In common with a number of other mid-sized countries in the region, Ecuador has a small telecom market with a dominant mobile sector. The evolution of the market has been influenced by the poor fixed-line infrastructure, which has stymied the development o fixed-line broadband services. To some extent poor infrastructure has been the result of topographical challenges which have rendered the cost of deploying networks to n remote and mountainous areas prohibitive. However, there has also been a legacy of underinvestment in telecoms infrastructure as a whole.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Although Ecuador has seven fixed-line operators and a large number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the state-owned incumbent CNT dominates the fixed-line market, and thus also the DSL broadband market.The mobile sector is dominated by America Movils Conecel (trading as Claro), which had a 56% share of the market by subscribers as of February 2018. Telefonicas Otecel (trading as Movistar) has about a third of the market, leaving CNT (previously Telecsa/Alegro) with a share of only 12%. Thus far the MVNO sector has been slow to develop, partly because the incumbent operators also have their low-cost brands and thus there is little business case for new market entrants. Virgin Mobile is expected to launch a service in Ecuador, following on from similar launches in Mexico, Chile and Colombia.The government is keen to advance universalisation and improve teledensity, and it is expected that CNT will continue its efforts to expand the countrys fixed-line infrastructure and capitalise on its DSL service, which only took off in 2009. At the same time, a national broadband plan has been implemented to expand and improve internet access for all Ecuadoreans. The fixed broadband market including DSL, cable modem and fibre-based services should continue to grow strongly in coming years, with an anticipated focus on fibre as networks are built out from the more densely populated urban areas. The mobile broadband market is also expected to grow strongly as network operators expand the reach of their LTE services.A new Telecom Law has been the subject of national and international controversy, particularly for its treatment of broadcasting. The most controversial points include the redistribution of spectrum and the creation of a regulatory authority in charge of censorship.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Key developments:Movistar extends LTE service, launches VoLTE; Tribemobile Ecuador Tribemosa launches as an MVNO; Telefonica Group considers sale of part of it Latin American units; CenturyLink opens 585km fibre cable linking to Colombia; Arcotel assumes role as integrated telecom sector regulator; CNT expands reach of 1Gb/s fibre network; government promotes its National Plan for Good Living for socio-economic development; ASO completion delayed to mid-2018; report update includes the regulators market data to February 2018, telcos operating data, recent market developments.Companies mentioned in this report:CNT, Etapa, TVCable (Suratel), Claro (Ecuador Telecom/Telmex), Linkotel, Etapa Telecom, Global Crossing, Grupo Coripar, Starsat, Movistar, PuntoNet, Ecuanet/Megadatos. Easynet, Trans-telco, Empresa Electrica Regional Centrosur, Transelectric, Telconet, TVCable, Univisa.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Self-checkout Systems Sales Market 2018 | NCR, Diebold Nixdorf, Fujitsu, Toshiba Tec, ITAB Scanflow AB and Others Self-checkout Systems Sales Market https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1642538 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-self-checkout-systems-sales-market-report-2018-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Self-checkout Systems Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Self-checkout Systems market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Self-checkout Systems for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Self-checkout Systems market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Self-checkout Systems sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingNCRDiebold NixdorfFujitsuToshiba TecITAB Scanflow ABECR SoftwarePan-OstonIERComputer Hardware DesignPCMS GroupSlabbDatang IntelFuzhou Jiuzhu Technology Co., LtdOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCompact VersionFull Size VersionOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingSupermarketsGrocery StoresMovie TheaterTicket StationFood ServicesOtherTable of ContentsGlobal Self-checkout Systems Sales Market Report 20181 Self-checkout Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Self-checkout Systems1.2 Classification of Self-checkout Systems by Product Category1.2.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Self-checkout Systems Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Compact Version1.2.4 Full Size Version1.2.5 Other1.3 Global Self-checkout Systems Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Supermarkets1.3.3 Grocery Stores1.3.4 Movie Theater1.3.5 Ticket Station1.3.6 Food Services1.3.7 Other1.4 Global Self-checkout Systems Market by Region1.4.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 China Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 Europe Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Self-checkout Systems Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Self-checkout Systems (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Self-checkout Systems Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Self-checkout Systems (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Self-checkout Systems (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Self-checkout Systems Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Self-checkout Systems (Volume) by ApplicationGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @3 United States Self-checkout Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Self-checkout Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Self-checkout Systems Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Self-checkout Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Self-checkout Systems Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)4.3 China Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.4 China Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)5 Europe Self-checkout Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales and Value (2013-2018)5.1.1 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)5.1.2 Europe Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)5.1.3 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)5.2 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Europe Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6 Japan Self-checkout Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales and Value (2013-2018)6.1.1 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)6.1.2 Japan Self-checkout Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)6.1.3 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)6.2 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)6.3 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)6.4 Japan Self-checkout Systems Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)Continue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Cell Lysis Market to Surpass US$ 5.2 Billion by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/741 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/741 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/cell-lysis-market-741 http://www.coherentchronicle.com The Global Cell Lysis Market, by Product Type (Instruments and Reagents & Kits), by Cell Type (Mammalian Cells, Microbial Cells and Insect, Yeast and Plant Cells), By End User (Academic and Research Laboratories and Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Laboratories) was valued US$ 2,715.1 million in 2017 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period (2017 2025) as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. High prevalence of infectious disease and cancer is the major factors driving growth of the global cell lysis market over the forecast period.Request Sample Copy Of This Report:Cell lysis is vital step for study or research in proteomics, as protein can only be extracted if the cell lysis process is conducted. Furthermore, cell lysis is crucial step required to perform for nuclear extraction, after which the DNA is modified using the recombinant DNA technology. Thus, increasing research activities on recombinant DNA technology to examine the functioning of living system by manipulating their genome for production of useful metabolite will fuel growth of the cell lysis market. For instance, recombinant DNA technology has introduced new classes of organism namely Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or Living Modified Organism (LMO). It can develop genetically modified crops (BT cotton), cloned animals, bio pesticides, biofuel, bioremediation, and gene therapy successfully. Various countries are also engaged in investing on research and development in healthcare. For instance, in Israel, 40% of funding is used for national, binational, government, and university research, which supports the growth of research laboratories in Middle East, in turn fueling growth of the cell lysis market. Moreover, High prevalence of various infectious diseases leads to increasing demand for cell lysis to develop new treatment options rapidly. In March 2018, Seqirus announced the plan to commercialize the novel cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) across Europe.Browse 31 Market Data Tables and 28 Figures spread through 152 Pages and in-depth TOC on " Cell Lysis Market, by Product Type (Instruments and Reagents & Kits), by Cell Type (Mammalian Cells, Microbial Cells and Insect, Yeast and Plant Cells), By End User (Academic and Research Laboratories and Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Laboratories) - Global Forecast to 2025"Small scale vendors have the opportunity to enter into the cell lysis market The reagents and kits used for cell lysis are the same that have been used for a long period of time, which include enzymes, beads, and detergents. Hence, the local market players can enter the cell lysis market with the same or innovative products at cost effective price. Furthermore, the cost effective option for instruments act as a major opportunity for the new entrants in the cell lysis market, as the present instruments are much expensive. Manufacturers also involved in partnerships and collaborations to broaden the product portfolio, with an aim to meet the growing customer demand. For instance, in 2015, Merck acquired Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, a leading life science company to widen its cell culture offering.Ask for customization:Key takeaways of the Cell Lysis Market:The global cell lysis market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period (20172025), owing to increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, development in cell lysis by key market players, and its application in drug development.Reagents and Kits hold major market share due to rapid development of different types of kits for various research. For instance, In June 2017, Zymo Research launched three new kits for microbiome research to improve accuracy and to reduce steps in microbiomic workflowMammalian cells holds largest revenue share among cell type segment as it is used to produce a variety of vaccines through genetic engineering, which supports growth of cell lysis market. For example: a cell name-Flucelvax which is derived from mammalian cells and therefore does not require eggs was approved in 2013 by the FDAAmong end user, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Laboratories hold largest market share, owing to continuous focusing on investing in R&D to introduce advanced products used in cell lysis process.Some of the major players involved in global cell lysis market include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck & Co. Inc., Qiagen N.V., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Cell Signaling Technology, Inc., and Qsonica.To know the latest trends and insights related to cell lysis market, click the link below:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website: Global Waterproofing Chemicals Market Expect To Remain Positive With A CAGR Of 5.10% From 2016 To 2024 And Reach A Value Of US$12.3 Bn Waterproofing Chemicals Market https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=896006 https://www.researchmoz.us/waterproofing-chemicals-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=896006 https://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Waterproofing Chemicals Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Waterproofing Chemicals are a class of fine/specialty chemicals which arrest or inhibit permeability of water or moisture to interior or exterior surfaces of wide range of materials e.g. cement/ concrete walls, fabrics, leather articles, paper, electronic goods etc. It is applied mainly in form of sheet membranes, cementitious coating, liquid coating membranes, sprays and coatings etc. The major product types include bitumen, EPDM, TPO, PVC, PTFE and silicone, while the end use applications include Construction, Infrastructure, Automotive, Textile & Leather and others.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Waterproofing Chemicals Market: Scope of the ReportThe report estimates and forecasts the waterproofing chemicals market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (Kilo Tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product, technology and end use segments highlighting the process and the key participants involved. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition and profit margins earned at each stage. The study includes market dynamics i.e. drivers, restraints, opportunities and trends for the waterproofing chemicals market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the waterproofing chemicals market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report includes waterproofing chemicals global average price trend analysis and regional market trend analysis as well.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the waterproofing chemicals market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, end use applications and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for waterproofing chemicals between 2016 and 2024.Global Waterproofing Chemicals Market: SegmentationThe study provides a comprehensive view of the waterproofing chemicals market by dividing it into product, technology, end-user and geography segments. The waterproofing chemicals market has been segmented into bitumen, TPO, EPDM, PVC, Silicone and PTFE based on product. Application segment have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for waterproofing chemicals in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level market sizing in terms of volume and revenue under each respective region. Key countries such as the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Spain, GCC, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, etc. have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual applications in all the regions and countries.Global Waterproofing Chemicals Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. The companies included in this reports are major global/regional players which are catering to all types of end use markets such as Construction, Automotive, Leather, Textile, Electronics etc. such as Archroma Management LLC in textiles and Liquipel LLC in electronics .Key players profiled in the report include The Dow Chemical Company, BASF SE, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Akzo Nobel NV, Evonik Industries, Wacker Chemie GmbH, W.R. Grace and Company and Other major market players. Prominent regional company profiles have also been mentioned such as Pidilite Industries Limited, MUHU (China) Construction Materials, RPM International Inc. etc. The Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable). Competitive Analysis as well as SWOT analysis of top companies have been provided in this report.Global Waterproofing Chemicals Market: Research MethodologySecondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.The primary research sources consists of key officials from the companies mentioned in competition landscape, other mid-small size company representatives, industry experts, volunteers from industrial associations etc. In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The global waterproofing chemicals market has been segmented as follows:Waterproofing chemicals Market Product Analysis- Bitumen- TPO- EPDM- PVC- PTFE- SiliconeWaterproofing chemicals Market Technology Analysis- Sheet Membrane- Liquid Coated Membrane- Cementitious Waterproofing- OthersWaterproofing chemicals Market End Use Analysis- Construction- Infrastructure- Automotive- Textile and Leather- OthersMake an Enquiry of this report @Waterproofing chemicals Market Regional Analysis- North America- U.S.- Canada- Europe- Germany- France- U.K.- Italy- Spain- Rest of Europe- Asia Pacific- China- India- Japan- ASEAN- Rest of Asia Pacific- Middle East & Africa- GCC- Egypt- South Africa- Rest of Middle East & Africa- Latin America- Brazil- Mexico- Rest of Latin AmericaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Space tourism Market - Real opportunity of Travelling to Space https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Request-Sample/101036 https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Reports/Space-Tourism-Market "Space tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. To date only orbital space tourism has taken place provided by the Russian Space Agency, although work continues developing sub-orbital space tourism vehicles by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. In addition, SpaceX announced in 2017 that they are planning on sending two space tourists on a lunar free return trajectory in 2018 aboard their Dragon V2 spacecraft launched by the Falcon Heavy rocket.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Space Tourism in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Sample Brochure Enlightening the New Advancement and Future Prospects @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversSpace AdventuresEADS AstriumVirgin GalacticArmadillo AerospaceExcalibur AlmazSpace Island GroupSpaceXBoeingZero 2 InfinityMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversSuborbitalOrbitalObtain Report Details @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCiviliansThe Rich"About Future Genic ReportsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact us-USA Office244 , Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesUK Office109 ,Straford Street,LeedsWest Yorkshrie LS11 6JGUnited KingdomSend Us An EmailE-mail: sales@futuregenicreports.comCall UsToll Free: +1- 844-445-2861Phone: +1- 347-983-9688 Next Generation Sequencing Market to Reach Beyond US$ 21.3 Billion by 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/158 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/158 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/next-generation-sequencing-market-158 The Global Next Generation Sequencing Market, by Technology (Whole Genome Sequencing, Whole Exome Sequencing, RNA Sequencing, Targeted Re-sequencing, and Others), by Application (Drug Discovery, Personalized Medicine and Genetic Screening, Disease Diagnosis, Agriculture and Animal Research, and Others), by End User (Hospital, Research Centers, Pharma and Biotech Firms, and Others) and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) was valued at US$ 5.6 billion in 2017 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 18.1% over the forecast period (2017 2025), as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. The next generation sequencing market is expected to gain significant traction, due to increasing demand for NGS platforms for early diagnosis of diseases.Request Sample Copy Of This Report:Increasing demand for NGS platforms is expected to drive growth of the marketIncreasing use of long-read sequencing technologies such as 10X Genomics, Oxford Nanopore, and PacBio coupled with diversification of sequencing options, due to launch of multiple new platforms by various players is driving growth of the next generation sequencing market. Long read sequencing technology provides a more reliable assembly. NGS technologies along with bioinformatics analysis are increasingly used to simultaneously study multiple genes in a time and cost-effective manner and have been useful in analyzing clinical cancer samples and molecular diagnosis. The technology is a useful tool for diagnosis of a number of cancers. Furthermore, increasing incidence of Alzheimers and other hereditary diseases is contributing to growth of the exome sequencing segment in the next generation sequencing market. According to World Alzheimer Report in 2016, an estimated 46.5 million people were suffering from Alzheimers disease and the number is projected to reach 50 million in 2017.Browse 50 Market Data Tables and 25 Figures spread through 178 Pages and in-depth TOC on Next Generation Sequencing Market, by Technology (Whole Genome Sequencing, Whole Exome Sequencing, RNA Sequencing, Targeted Re-sequencing and Others), by Application (Drug Discovery, Personalized Medicine and Genetic Screening, Disease Diagnosis, Agriculture and Animal Research and Others), by End User (Hospital, Research Centers, Pharma and Biotech Firms and Others) and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) - Global Forecast to 2025Key players are focusing on research and development and strategic collaborations to accelerate business growth. For instance, collaboration between Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University and other key players such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Cloudera, and Amazon Web Services for cloud-based software for genomic analysis, is expected to aid in growth of the market. Industry players are offering backend (bioinformatics) or front end (sample preparation) solutions, which targets (clinical) oncology. For instance, in January 2016, a China-based next generation sequencing company, Beijing Genomic Institute, raised US$ 106 million in series A round for its artificial intelligence-enabled data mining start up. In March 2017, Austria-based transcriptomics and next generation sequencing company, Lexogen, supported by Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG introduced quantitative RNA-Seq service, for cost efficient and accurate gene expression profiling using its proprietary QuantSeq technology.Ask for customization:Key Takeaways of the Next Generation Sequencing Market:The global next generation sequencing market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 18.1% over the forecast period, owing to increasing adoption of NGS among researchers in wide range of applicationsAmong technology, the whole genome sequencing (WGS) segment holds a dominant position in the next generation sequencing market, owing to increasing innovations in WGS techniquesAmong application, the disease diagnosis segment holds a dominant position in the next generation sequencing market, owing to growing incidence of Alzheimer, infectious, and other hereditary diseasesAmong end user, research centers segment holds a dominant position in the next generation sequencing market, owing to increasing demand for NGS in academic and government institutesEurope next generation sequencing market is expected to exhibit significant growth, owing to increasing prevalence of hereditary rare diseases and collaboration initiatives among leading universitiesKey players operating in the global next generation sequencing market include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., BioMerieux S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Qiagen N.V., Illumina, Inc., Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and Beijing Genomics Co. Ltd.To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in the Next Generation Sequencing market, click the link below:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Retired assistant Anglican Bishop of Kampala, Dr Zac Niringiye, has said religious leaders must ask for forgiveness from Ugandans for keeping quiet for so long. Now an activist, Niringiye campaigned for free and fair elections in 2016 and was one of the architects of an attempt to bring the opposition together under The Democratic Alliance. Baker Batte Lule spoke to him. Excerpts:- Retired assistant Anglican Bishop of Kampala, Dr Zac Niringiye You have been silent since the 2016 election. Where have you been? I made a commitment to work for a just society and governance, to push back against those who steal from us; those who abuse power. Its a lifelong commitment. You remember the day after elections the violence that was unleashed against us was unprecedented. Truth be told, the promise by [President] Museveni that he was going to deal with the opposition, also had an impact on the work that we do. We have seen that in civil society and political parties. There was disarray. I also took off time to rest; I was exhausted. I used this time to reflect. You might have seen my book, Uganda Today, Crisis and Hope for Rebirth. It represents what I think and what I stand for and what the future needs to be. But the man you are fighting against never takes time off, he is always in campaigning mood Elections in this country dont work, they have never worked. I have always argued that Museveni has never contested any election because when he comes in, he has no respect for his competitors. There is no way you can go for a contest when you have no respect for the other team. He neither wins nor loses because those categories apply to when there is a competition. Prior to 2016, we tried to ensure that there is competition. Absolutely 2016 was not a competition; the entire computer system was compromised. We have evidence that Museveni stole that election. Now that he knows that he has used up all the tricks, and the Constitution has caught up with him, it was necessary for him to engineer the process to remove age limits. Its all about him; he has said it countless times. People say you are obsessed with Museveni, but he is everywhere, what are we supposed to do? What the country needs to do is to come together and say, no, this must stop. Some say the church is complicit in the mess when it accepts gifts from the president like cars he gives to newly elected bishops I think that analysis is correct. Museveni used religious leaders to fight previous governments. He understands the power of religious leaders in the country because of their influence in the society. I will also tell you that religious leaders are vulnerable because we are a very poor population. The offerings in the church are not that big. Its true that at the time of the consecration of a bishop one of the biggest budget items is a vehicle. And its true also that Museveni discovered that this is one way of him buying into this loyalty. When I was in the House of Bishops, there was a discussion I was part of, arguing that there wasnt a problem for bishops to receive donations of cars from government because after all they are serving the country in a wider sense. That when the church has development projects, the people benefit. We demanded that there be a budget for this and a very transparent process by which this money is given to the various leaders. Of course, this was rejected by Museveni. He didnt say no I will not do it. He simply said we shall consider this. Should the process be transparent, then its no longer in his hands. So, the vulnerability of religious leaders to the abuse of power by this regime is acknowledged. But its not only religious leaders but all our civic leaders. Anybody of any significance falling sick and needs medical attention you know where the decision is taken. All the scholarships moved from ministries to State House; so, the state has been personalised. We religious leaders have let down this country because we didnt speak out loud and clear. Let me be very clear, UJCC [Uganda Joint Christian Council] was loud and clear that the removal of presidential term limits was a danger to the country. But there has been no consistency. Suppose the Church of Uganda, the Roman Catholic Church, the Muslim fraternity had remained consistent in opposing these machinations Where do the Museveni gifts leave your moral capacity to challenge him? I agree that that creates a credibility gap for us religious leaders. It is going to be a very huge gap for us to plug. But as I said to you, time comes when you must say, yes, we all fell short, lets pull our pieces. We have all been part of this mess. Thats what is in the Christian book and in my book we talk about repentance when you recognise that you have done wrong. I hope religious leaders can one day say, hey good people, forgive us we didnt realise that by accepting these gifts we were leading the country into trouble. Amama Mbabazi [former prime minister and NRM secretary general] makes a very good example; he led the push for the removal of term limits but more recently he said he believed out of principle that what he was doing was good for the country. He now regrets. Lets together rise and commit ourselves to a stronger moral ground to be able to say never again do we accept that these things are done to us. You know that Uganda is being protested as an entity; you hear about the Yiira republic, the Nile republic, these divisions also began to reflect in our religious groupings. My own church should be ashamed that a lot of the elections around bishops is based around tribal/ethnic grounds. We should be able to say forgive us bishops that we have driven our church in this direction. That is the only way to recapture the moral ground. The highlight of 2017 was the removal of the presidential age limits and also extension of tenure of members of parliament from five to seven years There has emerged media self- censorship. I offered to speak but media houses kept on telling me that, we cant host you Bishop Zac. Civil society organisations or even other fraternity groups never wanted to associate with me. You will not believe this, in 2017, I went to attend a UJCC plenary session and my own leaders led by leaders in my own church said I was uninvited. This censorship of certain characters is one of the reasons I have been quiet. But secondly, what else is there to be said? You shouldnt be surprised by the amount of money that was flowing and the amount of force that was used. There were also back-door negotiations by some MPs on what was their cut in the deal. It was very, very unfortunate. What happened was the culmination of the total breakdown of the moral fabric of our political leaders. What happened had nothing to do with our country but only and only one man, Yoweri Museveni. It was very tragic for the country. In the aftermath of that parliamentary decision, we saw Museveni coming out tough on religious leaders. Museveni will always find a way of discrediting anybody who tries to tell him he is taking a wrong direction. This whole idea that [he doesnt] baptise, so I dont also get involved in politics is disingenuous because we have evidence to the contrary. We have seen him appointing religious leaders to political office. He is happy when religious leaders engage in partisan politics on his side. Religious leaders were unanimous in opposing the lifting of age limits. They ably performed their role as the conscience of the state. It wasnt a surprise that he came after them. I have seen it when they tried to undermine my work by saying I lost my way in getting into politics; but our lives are political. Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga is decrying recruitment of clergy as state spies and fears assassination Are you worried? When you have a rogue state like the one we have today, they will do all sorts of things to entrench those in power. It should not surprise anybody. Its unbelievable that they are spying on people that are not a danger to national security. I have suffered it and I can tell you people give reports; whether in Kampala diocese or even what is discussed in the House of Bishops. Some religious leaders give information without realising that it has security value for regime survival. Where do you see Uganda headed? Ugandans must choose to redirect our country. Those of us who are civic leaders must mobilise our communities to say we deserve a better future. You have seen the breakdown in security. Criminality is spreading. Thats why I firmly believe in the national dialogue that the IRC [Inter-Religious Council] is working towards. Im grateful that there are some people in government who seem to see that this is the answer; we must negotiate our future. Uganda must be renegotiated in order for it to survive as a country. Communities of this country must have a sense that this Uganda can work for all of us. The current Uganda that only works for Museveni must be left to die, or even killed. I dont see any other way out of this. I hope the political actors will be able to negotiate a transition that ensures that Museveni and his cronies are safe because they are Ugandans and that there wont be revenge. Like South Africas Bishop Desmond Tutu said, without forgiveness there is no future. But do you think [Museveni] can negotiate himself out of power? We are not going to plead with him. Ugandans must have this happen. There must be conditions to push Museveni to accept a transition. A study has just been done by Kituo cha Katiba that the whole country is calling for national dialogue but the conditions are not ripe for it to happen because of the intransigence of Museveni and the team in power. As Ugandans, we must push Museveni and his team to the negotiating table; that is the hard work, it is risky business. He must realise that the only way for him is a national dialogue. bakerbatte@observer.ug Agricultural Harvesting Machinery Market Size 2012 to 2016 and Forecast 2017 to 2023 Agricultural Harvesting Machinery Market https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/agricultural-harvesting-machinery-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/agricultural-harvesting-machinery-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/agricultural-harvesting-machinery-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3 https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/agricultural-harvesting-machinery-market/ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com Global Agricultural Harvesting Machinery Market: By Category (Combine Harvester, Forage Harvester), By Type of Machinery (Grain Harvesting Machine, Threashers, Crop Harvesting Machine, Vegetables Harvesting Machine, Root Crop Harvesting Machine), By Type of Crop (Forage Crops, Grains and Cereals, Vegetable and Fruits, Others), and Geography Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2012 to 2016 and Forecast 2017 to 2023Market Dynamics: Agricultural Harvesting Machinery MarketShrinking labor force, rise in government support and subsidies mainly drives the Agricultural Harvesting Machinery market. Furthermore, rise in technological advancements in agriculture equipment, increase in demand for pre-owned harvesters, growing preference for machines with high capacity and power also propels the market growth for Agricultural Harvesting Machinery. However, lack of skilled professional, high cost of the machinery is the few factors hampering the growth of Agricultural Harvesting Machinery Market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Market Scope: Agricultural Harvesting Machinery MarketAgricultural Harvesting Machinery market is segmented on the basis of Category, Type of Machinery, Type of Crop and geographical regions.Based on the Category, Agricultural Harvesting Machinery market is segmented into the following Combine Harvester Forage HarvesterBased on the Type of Machinery, Agricultural Harvesting Machinery market is segmented into the following: Grain Harvesting Machine Threashers Crop Harvesting Machine Vegetables Harvesting Machine Root crop Harvesting MachineBased on the Type of Crop, This market is segmented into the following: Forage Crops Grains and Cereals Vegetable and Fruits OthersRegional Analysis: Agricultural Harvesting Machinery MarketGeographically, Agricultural Harvesting Machinery market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa regions. Asia Pacific is the largest market for Agricultural Harvesting Machinery huge population and high dependence on agriculture economy, Governments of emerging countries in APAC region are focusing on affordable ways for high agriculture production. North America is also expected to show significant growth followed by Europe owing to shrinking labor force, high adoption of technological advancements and high support from government.Competition Assessment: Agricultural Harvesting Machinery MarketKey players profiles in the global Agricultural Harvesting Machinery market include: AGCO (U.S) Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co.KG (Germany) CLAAS (Germany) CNH Industrial (U.K) Deere & Company (U.S.) Mahindra Group (India) China National Machinery Industry Corporation (China) Valmont Industries Incorporated (U.S.) Agrostroj Pelhrimov A.s(Czech Republic) Concern Tractor Plants (Russia)To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Notable Market Developments: Agricultural Harvesting Machinery Market In March 2016, Mahindra & Mahindra entered into combine harvester business by entering into the strategic partnership with Sampo Rosenlew, a Finnish combine harvester company. In November 2015, Gleaner, AGCO Corporations combined brand introduced Gleaner S9 Series combines, for the convenient, efficient and comfortable crop harvesting.Need more information about this report @Key Features of the Report: The report provides granular level information about the market size, regional market share, historic market (2012-2016) and forecast (2017-2023) The report covers in-detail insights about the competitors overview, company share analysis, key market developments, and their key strategies The report outlines drivers, restraints, unmet needs, and trends that are currently affecting the market The report tracks recent innovations, key developments and startups details that are actively working in the market The report provides plethora of information about market entry strategies, regulatory framework and reimbursement scenario The report analyses the impact of socio-political environment through PESTLE Analysis and competition through Porters Five Force Analysis in addition to recent technology advancements and innovations in the marketGet access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152 160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @ Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Drugs Market Overview, Trends and Growth Opportunities Forecasted till 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1539 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1539 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/primary-biliary-cirrhosis-drugs-market-1539 Primary biliary cirrhosis, known as primary biliary cholangitis is a chronic liver disease, which causes liver inflammation, fibrosis, and obstruction in the bile duct leading to destruction of small bile ducts within liver. Cause for primary biliary cirrhosis can be autoimmunity, infection and/or genetic predisposition. Symptoms of primary biliary cirrhosis includes itching, osteoporosis, elevated serum cholesterol, and malabsorption of fat and fat soluble vitamins, which can advance to hepatomegaly, hyperpigmentation, splenomegaly, jaundice, sicca syndrome or Kayser-Fleischer rings. Primary biliary cirrhosis develops over time and may cause the liver to stop working completely in later stages. Most people are diagnosed early, before the disease progresses. Delay in treatment of cirrhosis can cause liver failure and a liver transplant is necessary for survival. Diagnostic tests for primary biliary cirrhosis includes examination of elevated levels of IgM immunoglobulin levels, lipids, cholesterol and bilirubin, liver biopsy, ultrasonography, CT scanning or MRI. Increasing research and development activities and rising incidence of primary biliary cirrhosis is expected to be a major driver for growth of the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market.Request Sample Copy of Research @Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Drugs Market DriverCurrently, only two FDA approved drugs, Ursodeoxycholic acid and Ocaliva, are available in market to reduce cirrhosis progression. However, large number of drugs are in clinical trials and this is expected to propel growth of the primary biliary cirrhosis drug market in the near future. For instance, in 2017, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. completed phase II clinical trials for its candidate drug NGM 282, an engineered variant of human hormone FGF19, to eliminate bile acid toxicity in primary biliary cirrhosis patients. NGM282 has a unique opportunity to leverage the dual targets of FGF19 without the potential non-tumorigenic property.Moreover, increasing FDA approvals is also expected to be major factor enhancing growth of the primary biliary cirrhosis drug market. For instance, in 2016, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., received FDA approval for its Ocaliva, obeticholic acid based drug, in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid for adults with inadequate response to ursodeoxycholic acid based monotherapy for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. As on March 2018, University of Florida is investigating Fenofibrate Insoluble Drug Delivery - Micro Particle on patients with incomplete response to ursodeoxycholic acid. Moreover, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran, is investigating Bezafibrate in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis, which is in phase III clinical trials as on 2016. Furthermore, from the same source, it is estimated that 30 to 50% of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis shows partial response to ursodeoxycholic acid, which demands for combinational treatment. Janssen Research and Development also evaluated efficacy and safety of Ustekinumab for primary biliary cirrhosis with inadequate response to ursodeoxycholic acid. The research was in phase II clinical trial as of June 2016. These increasing pipeline products are expected to aid in growth of the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market over the forecast period.Ask for customization:Increasing incidence of primary biliary cirrhosis is expected to further drive growth of the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market. Primary biliary cirrhosis occurs in patients aged 4060 years and affects women more often than men. According to American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) published in 2016, prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in the U.S. was estimated to vary from 1.91 to 40.2 per 100,000 persons. In UK, the prevalence of PBC is estimated to be 12.9 per 100,000 population, of which 90% of cases where reported in women. Furthermore, increasing incidence of autoimmune disease, tobacco smoking, tonsillectomy or urinary tract infection (in women) are risk factors, for primary biliary cirrhosis.Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Drugs Market - Regional AnalysisBased on geography, the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa. North America holds dominant position in the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market over the forecast period, owing to increasing research and developmental activities by market players in the region. For instance, Enanta Pharmaceutical, Inc. is examining its EDP 305, a potent FXR agonist for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis, which was in phase II clinical trials in 2017. However, Asia Pacific is expected to witness fastest growth in primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market due to high incidence of liver cirrhosis in the region. According to article published in 2014 of BMC medicine, mortality from liver cirrhosis was also comparatively high in Central Asia countries, particularly Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan,Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Drugs Market CompetitorKey players in the primary biliary cirrhosis drugs market are Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, and Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Drugs Market - TaxonomyBy Drug Type: Ursodeoxycholic acid (USDA), Ursodiol, Obeticholic acid, Ocaliva, Others (anti-inflamatory, anti-pruritics, and anti-histamines),.By Distribution Channel: Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies,.Get More Details About This Report @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Adrenocortical Carcinoma Treatment Market 2017 Industry Analysis, Segment & Forecast up to 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1551 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/1551 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/adrenocortical-carcinoma-treatment-market-1551 Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare cancer affecting the outer layer of the adrenal glands, which are responsible for producing certain hormones and maintaining optimum blood pressure levels. Adrenocortical carcinoma is relatively frequent in children compared to other cancers, although the cancer may also affect adults. The most common symptoms of adrenocortical carcinoma include abdominal pain, hypertension, weight gain, and frequent urination, which are mainly caused due to tumors causing excess secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands. Mitotane is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Executive Agency (EMEA) for treatment of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma. According to the study by HealthLine Media, 2017, about 5-10% of the adrenal tumors are malignant. Diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma is based on urine tests, dexamethasone suppression test for detecting abnormal levels of cortisol, which is the hormone released by the adrenal glands. Also, a wide number of imaging devices are used for diagnoses of the disease, which includes CT scan, MRI, PET scan, and MIBG Scan, thus aiding for faster disease identification that aids the doctors to decide for further treatments.Request Sample Copy Of This Report:Adrenocortical Carcinoma Treatment Market: Market DynamicsIncreasing incidence of adrenocortical carcinoma associated with genetic disorders is a major factor augmenting growth of the adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market. According to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013, the peak incidence of adrenocortical carcinoma ranges between 40-50 years, where women are 5560% more likely to get affected with a ratio of ratio 1.5:1. The study also states that adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy with an annual incidence of 0.050.2% or 1-2 cases per million population globally. Also, inherited disorders such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), and Carney complex are linked with increasing incidence of adrenocortical carcinoma. According to the survey by Endocrine Society, 2014, adrenocortical carcinoma comprises an approximate 3% to 10% of malignancies in LFS and over 5-15% of malignancies in BWS. Moreover, according to the study by Medscape, 2017, adrenocortical carcinoma accounted for 0.02-0.2% of all cancer-related deaths, globally.Moreover, number of clinical trials are increasing for different chemotherapeutics by various organizations and manufacturers. For instance, Millendo Therapeutics, Inc., initiated the Phase 1 trial for ATR-101 in 2013 to treat adrenocortical carcinoma. Also, the National Cancer Institute initiated a Phase 2 trial for Phase II trial of Cisplatin and sodium thiosulfate for surgical resection and Heated Intraperitoneal Peritoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) for adrenocortical carcinoma. Also, in March 2018, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus presented new models to identify genetic targets and test promising treatments in adrenocortical carcinoma at the ENDO Conference, thus exploring new therapeutic options for the patients.Adrenocortical Carcinoma Treatment Market: Regional DynamicsRegional segmentation of the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market by Coherent Market Insights comprises North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market over the forecast period, owing to rise in prevalence of the disease and presence of key players that are focusing on developing novel products, followed by Europe, the next dominating adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market. According to the National Institutes of Health Office of Rare Diseases Research, the incidence rate of adrenal cancer is about 600 new cases per year in the U.S. Moreover, organizations such as the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center are involved in stem cell research, to advance treatment in adrenal cancer.Request for complete TOC of this report @Latin America is expected to gain significant traction in the forecast period, owing to higher incidence rate of the condition in Brazil. According to the survey ACC C.U.R.E. Organization, adrenal cancer in Brazil is 15 times more prevalent than any other countries in the world, attributed to high prevalence of mutation of a single gene TP53. Also, according to the Endocrine Society, 2014, the incidence during childhood is 2.9 to 4.2 per million per year in Brazil compared with an estimated incidence of 0.2 to 0.3 per million children per year worldwide. Moreover, the University of Michigan has been collaborating with the Adrenal Cancer Group in Sao Paulo to bring about the advancements in adrenal cancer research, thus providing better clinical outcomes for patients in the region.Adrenocortical Carcinoma Treatment Market: Competitive AnalysisManufactures are focused on launching novel therapeutic products for treatment of these rare diseases, thus accelerating market growth. For instance, in 2017, the FDA approved immunotherapy drug Keytruda (Pembrolizumab), the first anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, developed by Merck & Co., indicated for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma.Key players operating in the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market include ArQule, Inc., EnGeneIC Ltd., Exelixis, Inc., Merck & Co., Millendo Therapeutics, and Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Adrenocortical Carcinoma Treatment Market:Market TaxonomyOn the basis of therapy type, the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market is segmented into: Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Adjuvant Therapy,.On the basis of disease type, the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market is segmented into: Localized adrenocortical carcinoma, Metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma,.On the basis of end user, the global adrenocortical carcinoma treatment market is segmented into: Hospital, Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers,.Complete Report Details @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections Market Sales, Size, Leading Player & Forecast to 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1531 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/1531 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/acute-bacterial-skin-and-skin-structure-infections-absssi-market-1531 Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) are the type of skin and soft tissue infections that affects the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissues. The US FDA defines ABSSSI as lesions with cellulitis/erysipelas, wound infections, and major cutaneous abscesses occurring in a minimum surface area of 75 cm2. Pathogens such as Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the major causes of ABSSSI. This infection is difficult for treatment due to increasing prevalence of drug resistant strains, especially in Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. ABSSSI market is expected to exhibit growth at a trajectory rate, owing to increasing number of patients suffering from these and large number of pipeline products, expected to receive approved in the forecast period.Request Sample Copy Of This Report:Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) Market DriverThe major market driver for growth of Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) market is increasing research and development activities by pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies to develop new products and novel treatment. For instance, in 2017, Cempra announced promising data from the phase 3 trial of Fusidic acid for the treatment of ABSSSI. In same year, Melinta Therapeutics received US FDA for its product Baxdela, a delafloxacin based ABSSSI medicine, available in both intravenous and oral formulations. Moreover, in 2018, Fresenius Kabi received US FDA approval for new drug application of daptomycin, a lipopeptide class of antibacterial drug, in injectable form for complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactlae etc.However, growth of the ABSSSI market is expected to be hindered by increasing incidence of resistant strains of causative agents, stringent regulatory policies by government bodies, and patent expiration.Increasing number of ambulatory patients seeking treatment for skin and skin structure infections will further propel growth of the ABSSSI market. For instance, according to article published in 2015 of PLoS One journal, skin and skin structure infections related hospital admissions were 1.6% in 2005, increased to 2.0% in 2011. Moreover, according to Decision Resource Group, in 2014, 11% of 2.7 million hospital admissions for ABSSSI were pediatric patients. The increasing pediatric patient pool is targeted by the manufacturers to enhance its product portfolio with pediatric specific products. For instance, in 2016, Allergan plc received US FDA approval for its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Teflaro, for ABSSSI indication in pediatric.Request for complete TOC of this report @Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) Market - Regional AnalysisGlobally, acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America holds dominate position in ABSSSI market, and this is attributed to large number of pipeline products by the regional market players. However, Asia Pacific is expected to witness fast growth, owing to increasing awareness of ABSSSI treatment and manufacturers geographical expansion. For instance, Basilea Pharmaceutics Ltd. signed an agreement with Shenzhen China Resources Gosun Pharmaceutical Co., in year 2017, to treat Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in China, Hong Kong and Macao by Basileas Zevtera.Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) Market CompetitorKey players in the global acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) market are Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Melinta Therapeutics, Inc., Allergan plc, Merck & Co., Inc., Accord Healthcare Ltd. (a subsidiary of Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.), Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, Sandoz Inc. (a subsidiary of Novartis), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Cadila Healthcare Ltd., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The ABSSSI market players are involved in strategic planning for expanding the market share of the company. For instance, in 2014, Merck & Co., Inc. acquired Cubist Pharmaceuticals for US$ 9.5 billion. The acquisition will strengthen product portfolio by acquiring presently marketed and late stage pipeline products. Moreover, in 2017, Cempra, Inc. a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing treatment of infectious diseasesmerged with Melinta Therapeutics, a privately held company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel antibiotics to treat serious bacterial infections. The merger will commercialize the launch of Melintas Baxdela, a fluoroquinolone based ABSSSI treatment for susceptible bacteria.Get More Details About This Report @Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) Market TaxonomyBy Active Ingredient: Delafloxacin, Vancomycin, Ceftaroline fosamil, Oritavancin, Tedizolid, Daptomycin, Tigecycline, Linezolid, Others,.By Route of Administration: Oral, Parenteral, Topical,.By Distribution Channel: Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies,.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Learn Where A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market Now & Beyond A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1114720-global-a2p-application-to-person-messaging-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1114720-global-a2p-application-to-person-messaging-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1114720-global-a2p-application-to-person-messaging-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1114720 Latest research study from HTF MI with title Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the market and contains Future trend, Current Growth Factors, attentive opinions, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry validated market data. The study is segmented by products type, application/end-users. The research study provides estimates for Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Forecast till 2023.If you are involved in the A2P (Application to Person) Messaging industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications Banking, Content Payments, Healthcare, Marketing Campaigns & Others, Product Types such as [OTT A2P, A2P SMS & Others] and some major players in the industry. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.Request Sample of Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @:This report studies the global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Key Companies/players: BICS, CLX Communications, Infobip, Mavenir Systems, MessageBird, Mitto, Nexmo, Route Mobile, Silverstreet, Syniverse, Tata Communications, Tyntec & Ubiquity.Application: Banking, Content Payments, Healthcare, Marketing Campaigns & Others, Product Type: OTT A2P, A2P SMS & Others.The research covers the current & Future market size of the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data. It also covers various types of segmentation such as by geography [United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India]. The market competition is constantly growing higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the industry. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. On the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, strategies adopted by the market leaders to ensure growth, sustainability, financial overview and recent developments.Stay up-to-date with A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market research offered by HTF MI. Check how key trends and emerging drivers are shaping this industry growth as the study avails you with market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional breakdowns, competitive landscape, shares, trend and strategies for this market. In the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023, the revenue is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023. The production is estimated at XX million in 2017 and is forecasted to reach XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Key questions answered in this report - Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate beWhat are the key market trendsWhat is driving Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market space?What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market ?What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Market?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market? Get in-depth details about factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA?Enquire for customization in Report @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging, Applications of A2P (Application to Person) Messaging, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, Export & Import, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India, A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Segment Market Analysis (by Application [Banking, Content Payments, Healthcare, Marketing Campaigns & Others]) Major Manufacturers Analysis;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [OTT A2P, A2P SMS & Others], Market Trend by Application [Banking, Content Payments, Healthcare, Marketing Campaigns & Others];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global A2P (Application to Person) Messaging by region, type and application ;Chapter 12, to describe A2P (Application to Person) Messaging Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe A2P (Application to Person) Messaging sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Buy this research report @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a 5-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com Medical Imaging Informatic Market Insights by Size, Status and Forecast 2023 Medical Imaging Informatic Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1114730-global-medical-imaging-informatic-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1114730-global-medical-imaging-informatic-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1114730-global-medical-imaging-informatic-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1114730 Latest research study from HTF MI with title Global Medical Imaging Informatic by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the market and contains Future trend, Current Growth Factors, attentive opinions, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry validated market data. The study is segmented by products type, application/end-users. The research study provides estimates for Global Medical Imaging InformaticForecast till 2023.If you are involved in the Medical Imaging Informatic industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications Hospitals, Diagnostics Centers, Ambulatory Healthcare Settings & Others, Product Types such as [Software, Hardware & Services] and some major players in the industry. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.Request Sample of Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @:Key Companies/players: General Electric, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens Healthcare, Onex Corporation, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, AGFA- GEVAERT & Mckesson Corporation.Application: Hospitals, Diagnostics Centers, Ambulatory Healthcare Settings & Others, Product Type: Software, Hardware & Services.The research covers the current & Future market size of the Global Medical Imaging Informatic market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data. It also covers various types of segmentation such as by geography [United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia]. The market competition is constantly growing higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the industry. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. On the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, strategies adopted by the market leaders to ensure growth, sustainability, financial overview and recent developments.Stay up-to-date with Medical Imaging Informatic market research offered by HTF MI. Check how key trends and emerging drivers are shaping this industry growth as the study avails you with market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional breakdowns, competitive landscape, shares, trend and strategies for this market. In the Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023, the revenue is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023. The production is estimated at XX million in 2017 and is forecasted to reach XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Key questions answered in this report - Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate beWhat are the key market trendsWhat is driving Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in Medical Imaging Informatic Market space?What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market ?What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Global Medical Imaging Informatic Market?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Medical Imaging Informatic market? Get in-depth details about factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA?Enquire for customization in Report @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Medical Imaging Informatic market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Global Medical Imaging Informatic, Applications of Medical Imaging Informatic, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, Export & Import, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia, Medical Imaging Informatic Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Medical Imaging Informatic Segment Market Analysis (by Application [Hospitals, Diagnostics Centers, Ambulatory Healthcare Settings & Others]) Major Manufacturers Analysis;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Software, Hardware & Services], Market Trend by Application [Hospitals, Diagnostics Centers, Ambulatory Healthcare Settings & Others];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global Medical Imaging Informatic by region, type and application ;Chapter 12, to describe Medical Imaging Informatic Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Medical Imaging Informatic sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Buy this research report @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a 5-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com Global Glucose Sensors Market To Grow At A CAGR Of 18.5% During Period 2018-2024 | Major Players are: AstraZeneca, BD, Eli Lilly and Company, Biocon, Sanofi http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-glucose-sensors-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-glucose-sensors-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-glucose-sensors-market/ http://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-glucose-sensors-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/geotechnical-instrumentation-monitoring-market/ Worldwide Glucose Sensors Industry 2018 Market Research Report centers around value, deals, income and development rate of each kind, and additionally the sorts and each write cost of key makers, through meeting key makers. Second on premise of fragments by producers, this report centers around the business, cost of each kind, normal cost of Credit Insurance, income and piece of the pie, for key makers.The Global Glucose Sensors Market accounted to USD 22.5 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 18.5% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Global Glucose Sensors Market Product (Non Invasive, Minimally Invasive, Invasive), Technology (Photo Acoustic Spectroscopy, Optical Coherence Tomography, Polarimetry, Fluorescence, MIR Spectroscopy, NIR Spectroscopy, Impedance Spectroscopy, Skin Suction Blister Technique, Sonophoresis, Reverse Iontophoresis), Component, Network Connectivity, End-User, Geography Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Market Definition: Global Glucose Sensors MarketGlucose sensors are compact analytical device or a unit incorporating a biological or biologically derived sensitive recognition element integrated with physiochemical transducer. Self-monitoring blood glucose investigated in diabetes mellitus is essential for insulin treatment or oral glucose lowering medication to provide information of glucose concentrations in our body. This sensor has proved quite efficient in monitoring the glucose level in human body, thus gaining wide popularity among healthcare practitioners for assessment purpose.Complete report on Global Glucose Sensors Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresKey Questions Answered in Global Glucose Sensors Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Glucose Sensors Market in 2024? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Glucose Sensors Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Glucose Sensors Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Glucose Sensors Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Glucose Sensors Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Glucose Sensors Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC:Major Market Drivers: Rising Number of Diabetes Patients Changing Lifestyle Accurate and Precise Data of Sensors Growing Healthcare Expenditure High Cost Of The Sensors Emerging EconomiesTop Key Players: AstraZeneca BD Eli Lilly and Company Biocon Sanofi Jiangsu Delfu medical device Co.,Ltd. Owen Mumford Ltd. WOCKHARDT Smiths Group plc. P&B Pharmaceuticals Ltd. NIPRO Medical Corporation Novo Nordisk A/S InjexUK MANNKIND CORPORATION Bristol-Myers Squibb Company F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Copernicus Ypsomed and HTL-STREFA S.A. among others.For more insightful information visit@Customize report of "Global Glucose Sensors Market" as per customers requirement also available.Competitive Analysis: Global Glucose Sensors MarketThe global glucose sensors market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and clinical results of products. Hence the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, clinical trials, market initiatives, high expense on research and development, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of glucose sensors market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Market Segmentations:Global Glucose Sensors Market is segmented on the basis of Product Technology End-User GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Product the global glucose sensors market is segmented into non-invasive, minimally invasive, and invasive.On the basis of Technology, the global glucose sensors market is segmented into photo acoustic spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, polarimetry, fluorescence, MIR spectroscopy, NIR spectroscopy, impedance spectroscopy, skin suction blister technique, sonophoresis, and reverse iontophoresis.On the basis of End-User, the global glucose sensors market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, ambulatory centers, homecare settings, and diabetic centers.On the basis of Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaSpeak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market, By Geography; Offering (Hardware, Software, Services); Structure (Tunnels Bridges, Buildings Utilities, Dams); Technology (Wired Networking Technology, Wireless Technology); Application (Pore Water Pressure, Soil Stresses, Lateral Deformation, Vertical Deformation), End-Users (Building, Infrastructure, Energy, Power, Oil, Gas, Mining) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Facility Management Market Growth Rate 11.1% of CAGR (2018-2025): Key Players are CA Technologies, IBM, SAP SE, Planon, Oracle http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-facility-management-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-facility-management-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-facility-management-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-facility-management-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-innovation-management-market/ Global Facility Management Industry 2018 Market Research Report focuses on price, sales, revenue and growth rate of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers. Second on basis of segments by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Credit Insurance, revenue and market share, for key manufacturers.The Global Facility Management Market accounted for USD 34.61 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Global Facility Management Market, By Solution (Facility Environment Management, Building Information Modeling, Integrated Workplace Management System, Facility Property Management,), By Service ,), By Organization Size, By Deployment Type, By End User, By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East & Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Complete report on Global Facility Management Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresMarket Definition: Global Facility Management MarketThis market report defines the market trends and forecast the upcoming opportunities and threats of the facility management market in the next 8 years. Facility management alludes to the integrated administration of numerous interdisciplinary advances, procedures, faculty and frameworks. It promotes proficient and collective environment in order to satisfy and meet the key goals and mission of an association. Facility management ensures that everything works suitably together whereas; facility manager is responsible for keeping the office alive. Facility managers use office administration programming to identify and plan the tasks, make facilities decisions, keep records and others. In January, 2016, Global Helpdesk (TGH) launched an elite residential facility management services through which it offers concierge services to residential societies. In February, 2017, Verdantix launches the real estate, energy, and facilities information management (REEFIM) practice. It will help the service providers and building owners to improve the performance of individual facilities. Moreover, it considerably assists in worker productivity enhancement and in financial management optimization of portfolio of buildings. This will help the global facility management market to rise notably in the coming years.Key Questions Answered in Global Facility Management Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Facility Management Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Facility Management Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Facility Management Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Facility Management Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Facility Management Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Facility Management Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC:Top Key Players: CA Technologies IBM SAP SE Planon Oracle Indus Systems Inc. Jade Track Inc. Trimble Inc. FM:Systems Group, LLC. Hippo CMMS ARCHIBUS, Inc. MAINTENANCE CONNECTION FacilityONE Technologies NEMETSCHEK SE MetricStream Inc. Accruent FMX Officespace Apleona MCS Solutions Archidata Emaint Autodesk and FSI (FM Solutions) Limited among others.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global Facility Management Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the Facility Management production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Facility Management Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global Facility Management Market.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Rising demand of integrated facility management and development of the sustainable infrastructure Increasing adoption of connected devices as well as IoT for building automation Shifts in virtual workplace and mobility Advent of the Saas deployment model Dependence on in-house facility management team and lack of managerial awarenessInquire Before Buying @Customize report of "Global Facility Management Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global Facility Management Market is segmented on the basis of Solution Services Organization Size Deployment Type End-User GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Solution, the global facility management market is segmented into facility environment management, building information modeling, integrated workplace management system, facility property management, facility operations and security management.On the basis of Services, the global facility management market is segmented into consulting, support and maintenance, deployment and integration, auditing and quality assessment and service level agreement management.On the basis of Organization Size, the global facility management market is segmented small and medium sized enterprises and large enterprises.On the basis of Deployment Type, the global facility management market is segmented into cloud, on-premises.On the basis of End-User, the global facility management market is segmented into banking, financial services, and insurance, government, energy and utilities healthcare, IT and telecommunication, manufacturing, retail, education, construction and others.On the basis of Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCompany Share Analysis: Global Facility Management MarketThe global facility management market is consolidated due to the presence of limited number of players concentrated in few countries. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.Speak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Innovation Management Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Innovation Management Market, By Geography; Type (Software, Services); Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)); Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud); Application (Product Research & Development Platforms, Marketing, Design, Idea Platforms, Collective Intelligence & Prediction Platforms, Human Resource & Freelancers Platforms); Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, IT, Media & Communication Technology, Aerospace & Defense, Public Sector & Education, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive & Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Rapid Growth of Medical Tape and Bandage Market | Global Key Companies - 3M, Covidien PLC, Johnson & Johnson, Smith & Nephew PLC, Medline | Forecasts till 2025 Medical Tape and Bandage Market https://www.businessindustryreports.com/sample-request/67633 https://www.businessindustryreports.com/buy-now/67633/single https://www.businessindustryreports.com/check-discount/67633 Businessindustryreports.com adds new report Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Research Report 2018 which contains global key players survey information and forecast analysis to 2025.Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Overview:The report spread across 112 pages is an overview of the Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Research Report 2018. Medical Tape and Bandage Market Research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market is segmented on the basis of Product Type, Application, End-User and Region. Based on Product Type, the market is categorized into Medical Tapes and Bandages. In 2017, the Medical Bandages segment is expected to account for the largest share. This can be attributed to the rising Geriatric Population and the high number of Surgical Procedures. People who have Diabetes are more susceptible to Chronic Wounds that require Continuous Care, which also drives the growth of Medical Bandages Market.On the basis of Application, the market is segmented into Surgical Treatment; Traumatic and Laceration Injury Treatment; Sport and Burn Injury Treatment; Ulcer Treatment and treatment of other Injuries and Wounds. In 2017, the Surgical Treatment segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market, majorly due to the high number of surgical procedures being performed worldwide.Available Exclusive Sample Copy of this Report @Geographically, the Medical Tape and Bandage Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World. Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the market in 2017, followed by North America. The market in Asia-Pacific is primarily driven by the availability of huge population base which is aging and affected with diabetes and other conditions requiring surgical intervention to treat.A complete analysis of the competitive landscape of the Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market is provided in the report. This section includes company profiles of market key players. The profiles include contact information, gross, capacity, product details of each firm, price, and cost. This report investigates new project feasibility with a purpose of enlightening new entrants about the possibilities in this market. In this report, thorough SWOT analysis & investment analysis is provided which forecasts imminent opportunities for the Medical Tape and Bandage Market players.Major Key Players:1 3M Company2 Covidien PLC (A Subsidiary of Medtronic)3 Derma Sciences, Inc.4 Johnson & Johnson5 Smith & Nephew PLC6 Medline Industries, Inc.7 B. Braun Melsungen AG8 Cardinal Health, Inc.9 Paul Hartmann AG and MorePurchase this report online with 112 Pages, List of Tables & Figures and in-depth Table of Contents on Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Research Report 2018 @Market Segments:On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into1 Medical Tapes (Fabric Tape, Paper Tape, Plastic Tape, Other Tapes)2 Medical Bandages (Gauze Bandage, Adhesive Bandage, Cohesive and Elastic Bandage, Other Bandages)Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, covering:North AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East & AfricaWhat Information does this report contain?1 A detailed analysis of regulatory trends, drivers, industry pitfalls, challenges and growth opportunities for participants2 Which are the leading market products, applications & regions and how will they perform by 2025?3 What are the technologies & innovation trends, how will they evolve by 2025?4 Which companies lead the industry, how are they positioned in the market in terms of sustainability, competency, production capacity and strategic outlook?Grab Your Report at an Impressive Discount @In the end, this report covers data and information on capacity and production overview, production, market share analysis, sales overview, supply, sales, and shortage, import, export and consumption as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin of Medical Tape and Bandage Market.Major Points in Table of Contents:Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Report 20181 Medical Tape and Bandage Market Overview2 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Analysis by Application7 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Medical Tape and Bandage Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Medical Tape and Bandage Market Forecast (2018-2025)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAbout usBusinessindustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Media ContactBusiness Industry ReportsPune Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940 Katy-native and girl-next-door icon Renee Zellweger turned 49 years old on Wednesday, April 25. Before becoming Bridget Jones, the Texas actress was widely known as Dorothy Boyd from the 1996 film, "Jerry Maguire." THE MORE YOU KNOW: Facts you never knew about your favorite Texas celebrity Apart from playing the "girl next door" type, Zellweger has shown variety in her acting with roles like Roxie Hart in "Chicago" and Ruby Thewes in "Cold Mountain." Zellweger has taken home several awards including an Academy Award, three Golden Globes, and three SAG Awards. From her debut in the late 1990s to today, Zellweger has gone through several changes, including a controversial moment in 2014 when people speculated the actress had work done on her face. After being MIA for a while, Zellweger arrived at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards looking different than usual. Fans and critics alike began speculating that the actress who has notoriously small eyes had her eyes widened. In 2016 the actress responded to the rumors in an open letter where she said: "Not that it's anyone's business, but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes." She went on to say that instead of focusing on appearance, people should take a moment to think deeper and acknowledge more pressing issues happening around the world. Take a look through the gallery above to see how Renee Zellweger has changed through the years. Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. India's buffalo meat exports increased by nearly 2 per cent to 13.48 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 but fell marginally in value terms to Rs 25,988 crore, official data showed. Vietnam, Malaysia and Egypt are the three major destinations for the country's buffalo meat shipments. According to agri-export promotion body APEDA, the country exported 13,48,225 tonnes of buffalo meat for Rs 25,988 crore during the last fiscal. In 2016-17, buffalo meat exports stood at 13,23,578 tonnes worth Rs 26,161 crore. As per APEDA data, the total exports of agri and processed food products increased by 10.5 per cent to Rs 1,18,819 crore during last fiscal from Rs 1,07,472 crore in 2016-17. Basmati rice export rose to Rs 26,841 crore from Rs 21,513 crore. In volume terms, basmati rice shipments went up to 40,51,896 tonnes from 39,85,210 tonnes in 2016-17. Non-basmati rice exports too rose sharply to Rs 22,927 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 16,930 crore earlier. Quantity-wise, exports jumped to 86,33,237 tonnes from 67,70,833 tonnes. Out of the total exports in 2017-18, cereals contributed Rs 51,796 crore, while livestock products accounted for Rs 29,712 crore. Exports of fruits and vegetables stood at Rs 9,744 crore while shipments of processed fruits and vegetables were Rs 7,456 crore. Other processed food exports were worth Rs 18,939 crore last fiscal. It has always been exciting for me to travel and discover the cultures, history and cuisines of places in different parts of the world. Every once in a while, there is an area that turns out to be surprisingly interesting due to a variety of reasons. A few years ago, a journey through Austria to Italy provided me with a very exciting opportunity to visit a region that, although connected by culture and language, has been split between two neighboring nations for years now. The area is Tyrol. The northern and eastern parts remain in Austria. In Italy, after being joined to the Italian province of Trentino the whole region is called "Trentino-Alto Adige" in Italian or "Trentino-Suedtirol" or in German. German-speaking tourists often simply refer to the area as "Suedtirol" or South Tyrol. Although I was aware that the division of the area known as Tyrol between Austria and Italy began after the end of the World War I, I had never been in South Tyrol and hadn't seen for myself exactly what influence this change in borders had on the local people and culture. But my first minutes there began to provide some answers. Street signs were in German and Italian and although we were in Italy, the way the homes were built and decorated was definitely reminiscent of Austria. The first town where I stopped could have been in Austria had it not been for the shop signs in German and Italian on all buildings. As I walked around town, I was able to communicate with shop owners and other local inhabitants in German although they also spoke Italian. When speaking German, the local accent was very "Austro-Bavarian" and the names of shop owners on signs also revealed their Austrian heritage. My first visit to a local bakery provided me with yet more insight into the blends of local traditions. The majority of the baked goods there, which all looked delicious, would have been right at home in bakeries in Austria or southern Germany. I noted a "Sachertorte," or Austrian chocolate cake, "Schwartzwaelder Kirschtorte," or German Black Forest cake, "Strudel," which is popular both in Austria and many parts of Germany as well as "Kaesekuchen," or cheese cake, also found in both German-speaking nations. But there were also some cakes I had never noticed anywhere else, produced with grains one doesn't always see in a bakery. The "Haferflockenkuchen," or oatmeal cake, was pretty and caught my eye as did the "Buchweizenkuchen," or buckwheat cake. I tried both and they were good. I realized that the second cake had been made with light buckwheat flour that is not easy to find in the U.S. There were also many local breads, usually produced using some rye. In the same bakery, one could also see all sorts of loaves of Italian wheat breads. There were also pizzas for sale. As time for lunch rolled around, it was hard to choose a restaurant. There were many that offered a menu with Austrian-type foods, while others had blended menus which included many Italian dishes. Yet other eateries focused on mostly Italian specialties. I decided on a place where I could sit outside, enjoy the beautiful sunshine and a glass of local wine with my lunch. I wasn't disappointed. The chef actually spoke with me for a time and gave me some insight into local specialties and eating habits. According to him, local people usually grew up eating very Germanic foods at home. That means soups with a flour base, dumplings, different types of goulash, smoked meats (especially the local "Speck," which is a regional type of prosciutto), as well as many foods made with locally produced cabbage, potatoes and beans. However, since the area has been part of Italy for many years, people have also developed a taste for many Italian foods such as pasta and salads. The best of both worlds, according to the chef! Deciding what to have for lunch was difficult since there was so much to choose from. But I had to try something local and so I started with a "Sommersalat mit Speck und Melone" or summer salad with locally produced prosciutto and melon and then had "Rindergulasch mit Knoedeln" or beef goulash with dumplings. The salad was light and simple with a hint of balsamic vinegar. Although some may think that goulash is a dish only to be eaten in winter, it was also perfect and with a very light sauce accompanied by one delicious dumpling made for a wonderful summer lunch. I do admit, though, that I had to wait until much later in the day before I felt there was room for dessert. A good cup of strong, Italian coffee finished lunch that day! Although such trips don't occur all the time, it is fun to reminisce. One can always try to recreate a bit of the atmosphere by preparing a meal that highlights some of the local foods and even wines, if they are locally available. And as the weather gets warmer and days get longer, it is fun to serve a meal outside and enjoy the company of family and friends while tasting some new foods. Guten Appetit or Buon apetito! Greg Lopez is a Midlander who enjoys food and travel. He combines both in a monthly column for the Daily News. Readers can email Lopez at internationalcookingathome@gmail.com. Midland welcomed back the 460th Supply and Service Co. of the Michigan National Guard 27 years ago. About 5,000 people turned out for the unit's march through downtown April 30, 1991, and another 1,000 greeted the troops at the National Guard Armory on Airport Road. The unit was federalized in September 1990, sent to Saudi Arabia in November 1990 and supported elements of the 24th Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq. For the trip into Midland, two police cars, sirens blaring, led four buses across the Karl B. Robertson bridge at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, 1991, as screaming supporters caught a glimpse of the company members for the first time in months. After getting off the buses near Emerson Park, company members in brown fatigues marched side by side down Main Street, where upwards of 5,000 people greeted them with balloons, American flags and cheers. "I'd walk a whole county for something like this," said 1st Sgt. Charles Kaminski of Midland, the ranking non-commissioned officer of the 460th. "We'd heard about a welcome," said Spc. Christy VandeMaele of Mount Pleasant. "But you don't imagine something like this." When county voters visit the polls for the Aug. 7 primary, they will probably be deciding on an up to 1 mill renewal for roads. At Tuesday's County Finance Committee meeting, the proposal passed unanimously. It now heads to the full county board at its meeting next Tuesday. If the full board approves the proposal, it would raise an estimated $3.34 million in the first year. "The millage has been a great thing and really helped out," said Midland County Road Commission (MCRC) Managing Director Terry Palmer. "Right now, we can definitely use the mill. There is a lot of township work." The 1 mill was initially approved in 2014 as a tax increase. The millage passed by a 59 percent to 41 percent margin. Of the county's 49 precincts, 39 passed the millage. However, the poorest townships in Midland County -- Greendale, Jasper, Lee, Mills and Porter, voted against the millage. The millage raised $3.6 million per year, of that $2.3 million went to the City of Midland. The remaining $1.3 million went to the county, Village of Sanford and City of Coleman. "What we've been working on the last few years is to get more funds to the townships. The millage helps us do that," Palmer said. "If a township comes up with a five-year plan, we can go in ahead of time and do the ditching, which will save them money also." The state Legislature approved an additional $175 million for road funding this year. Of that amount, Midland County will be receiving $640,000, which will should also aid the townships. "It would be a goal in a few years to actually reduce the millage," Palmer said. The road millage renewal proposal reads: "Shall the County of Midland, Michigan ("County"), renew the previously voted increase in the limitation on the total amount of general ad valorem taxes (1.0 mill extra voted millage for roads approved by the electorate for the years 2015 through 2018), which may be imposed for all purposes upon all taxable real and personal property in Midland County, as provided in Article 9, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, as Amended, for the years 2019-2022, both inclusive, up to 1.0 mill ($1.00 per $1,000.00) of the taxable value of such property as finally equalized, and levy such millage, as apportioned by valuation pursuant to the statutory formula as authorized by Act 133, Public Acts of 1968; M.C.L 224.20b, for the purpose of construction, maintenance, repair and improvement to highway, road, street and bridge systems within the County of Midland, including the Cities of Midland and Coleman, and Village of Sanford, which if fully levied is estimate to raise $3,340,949.00 in the first year." With allegations or poorly installed drains, lawsuits, too much time out of the office and a mishap that closed Beaverton Clare Road, Gladwin County Commissioners voted 4-1 this week to ask the governor to remove county Drain Commissioner Robert Evans. "We clean drains according to the standard practices," Evans said Wednesday morning. "I don't think I've done anything wrong." The Department of Environmental Quality is threatening to levy a $25,000 a day fine against Evans until three drains are adequately resolved, saying that Evans -- appointed to fill a vacancy in 2010 and elected in 2012 -- didn't get proper permits. The DEQ sent the letter three years ago. Evans reportedly never attempted to satisfy the request. Gladwin County Prosecutor Aaron Miller didn't bring it to the commissioners until less than a year ago, making it too late for commissioners to pursue the Michigan Municipal League Risk Factor, which could have aided in legal fees. Instead, the county stands alone in paying its fees -- including $37,000 for Evans' attorney. "This will bankrupt the county," said Gladwin County Commission Chair Terry Walters. "We should have known about this long before it arrived at this point." Yet, Commissioner Don Birgel said such a threat from the DEQ is often used as a bullying measure. Also, Birgel questioned why Evans would have to get permits from the DEQ because to do his job is a constitutional mandate. The drain commissioner role was developed in 1837. Commissioners Sharron Smith, Charles Hinman, Sandy Aultman and Walters agreed Evans failed to comply with specific statutory requirements set forth on the Drain Code act of the state. "Whereas the cost and expense of rectifying the deficiencies of the Gladwin County drain commissioner continues to accrue pending him taking action," per the commissioners' resolution. "Whereas the cost and expense of repairing the damage done to Gladwin County's drain system continues to grow and is the ultimate responsibility of Gladwin County." Birgel voted against it. He said it isn't because he doesn't want the drain commissioner gone, he just wanted Evans present when commissioners acted. "I thought about my vote for hours," Birgel said. "We don't know his side of the story." A letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder included affidavits from Walters, Gladwin County Clerk Laura Brandon-Maveal and County Treasurer Christy Van Tiem. Maveal said she is responsible for paying the bills from the drain commissioner's office and none have been received or paid since Dec. 17, 2017. Van Tiem's affidavit said the Gladwin County Drain Commissioner has failed to bill the townships for large drain assessments for at least five years, noting they should be billed annually. Van Tiem also said she attempted to balance the accounts in December 2017, but there were a number of transactions that required review and response: However, Evans has failed to review or respond to the request. Evans also has made no deposits since December. Evans said the amount rendered since December was $175 and he planned to turn it in Wednesday. Walters' affidavit included that Evans is rarely in his office during posted office hours. David H. Dunn, market president for the Great Lakes Bay Region for Horizon Bank, recently announced his successor, Russell Mathews. Mathews is a Great Lakes Bay region native and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Northwood University. He has 20 years of commercial lending experience in Michigan and brings with him a breadth of banking experience. "It is truly my pleasure to welcome Russ to our outstanding and committed team here at Horizon Bank," Dunn said. "His expertise and passion for this community is evident and I'm confident in transitioning my leadership role directly to Russ." Dunn joined Horizon Bank in October 2017 as a result of the merger of Wolverine Bank with Horizon. As the chief executive officer of Wolverine for over 30 years, Dunn and his team were instrumental in integrating the two banks with the goal to ensure a legacy of success. "Just like Horizon, Wolverine had a history of strength and commitment to community," Dunn said. "The leadership teams and board of directors at each institution have a storied history of managing through good times and tough economic times such as the recent Great Recession. Through it all, I'm so proud to be a part of a combined organization that has been, and will continue to be, a beacon of strength for the customers and communities we serve." Mathews is an active community contributor. His current and past community involvement includes: board member at Midland Tomorrow, marketing chair for RMA Southeast, chair on the CMA Corporate Contributions Board, chamber member of Midland, team captain for United Way/Black United Way Fund, and Junior Achievement lead. As a corporate steward, he will help promote economic growth within the communities of the Great Lakes Bay Region, according to a company announcement. Mathews resides in Midland with his wife, Marcy, and children, Lincoln, 5, and Callie, 2. "As a lifelong resident of the area, I am thrilled with the opportunity to continue the legacy of community service and customer focus that is entrenched in this organization," Mathews said. "The unwavering commitment of Horizon to recruit and support local banking professionals who truly know their communities is a wonderful opportunity." Dunn will be in a support role for Mathews as he transitions into retirement. "Dave Dunn's track record of successful leadership is evident through the exceptional growth of Wolverine Bank under his guidance. He worked tirelessly to ensure the bank would be focused and dedicated to the betterment of the customers, employees and shareholders of this community," stated David Quade, Horizon's regional market president. "We wish him the very best in this next chapter of his life." Former Senate Democratic leader and Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer will host a meet/greet with the Women of Michigan ActionNetwork (WOMAN). The gubernatorial candidate will be at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 6220 Jefferson Ave., from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 3. Whitmer will hear from community members and give updates on her campaign for governor. In June, the Midland Police and Midland County Sheriff's Office will be offering a new program -- Hope Not Handcuffs -- to fight back against drug addiction. They will join 10 area agencies that are trying to get people who are hooked on drugs to change their cycle of addiction and seek help. Substance abuse happens sometimes quite accidentally and innocently, following medical treatment of an injury or accident, and people end up hooked on narcotics prescribed to treat pain. No matter how you got hooked on drugs, law enforcement and health professionals know there is a path to take to overcome the addiction. And, it doesn't have to involve a criminal record, time in jail, a ruined work record and a ruined personal life. It can involve seeking professional help through Hope Not Handcuffs. "This program allows a person struggling with addiction to come to a participating police department and ask for help," said Lori Ziolkowski, vice present of Great Lakes Bay Region Families Against Narcotics. "This is not a gotcha program. Our goal is to get people the medical treatment they need." Midland Police Community Relations Sgt. Chris Wenzell said the program will be open 24/7 at the Midland Law Enforcement Center. "Anybody can come into the station any time. We'll make arrangements for an angel to come and meet with that person and we'll get them the help that they need." An angel is a volunteer who is trained how to provide support and how to get the ball rolling for professional help. Authorities believe the program can make a significant difference. It was implemented in five Michigan communities last year, and assisted 1,176 people into recovery. The announcement of the Midland program was made in a media conference Wednesday afternoon at Delta College, and featured a representative of the different agencies -- including Saginaw Police, Saginaw Township Police, the Bay and Saginaw county sheriff's offices, Bay City Police, Essexville Public Safety, Pinconning Police and Hampton Police. For more information about the program, go to www.familiesagainstnarcotics.org/hopenothandcuffs. It is encouraging to see Midland County take this step to fight against drug abuse. We trust we will have more than enough volunteers for the program, and plenty of community awareness to spread the word that there is a way to beat drugs that does not involve handcuffs. It's April 14, 1912. You can't see the water on which this massive ship is supported, only the black unknown below. The breeze rustling by makes you shiver and pull your jacket back over your shoulders. And you keep looking. Looking for ice, since there were seven icebergs spotted earlier that day. Then, there's a shift in the darkness. A reflection maybe? And if it is, that means yet another iceberg, but this one may be too close to avoid. We know that Frederick, the lookout on board the Titanic, did not spot the iceberg in time for the ship to steer around it. But what if he had? As the captain of the ship, what would you have done? This metaphor stuck with me. It was used by Wayne Fuqua, a professor of psychology at Western Michigan University, to describe the options that we have for climate change. It also illustrated the power of effective communication in climate change. Quite clearly, we can get the lifeboats ready, we can slow the ship down, or we can steer around the iceberg. Those are our options. On April 7, not far from the anniversary date the Titanic sunk, a group of over 100 Michiganders, including five attendees from Midland, gathered in Mount Pleasant to learn, train, and discuss how to reduce the globe's Titanesque speed of rising average global temperatures. It was the Michigan State Conference for Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), a global organization with members in almost every congressional district in the United States. We are focused on a single, very practical way of slowing down climate change, called "carbon fee and dividend." CCL is driven by citizens working across the country to build political will for Congress to pass carbon fee and dividend legislation. Without explaining exactly how it works (feel free to find out more at https://citizensclimatelobby.org/carbon-fee-and-dividend/), I can demonstrate how it would affect you. The policy puts a fee on greenhouse gas emitting sources -- at the wellhead, mine, or port of entry. One hundred percent of those fees are collected and divided equally per-person as a monthly check to American households that offsets the inevitably higher energy prices. This calculator (https://citizensclimatelobby.org/calculator/) lets you estimate the policy's impact on your personal budget, so I crunched the numbers Midland. For households with two adults, one child, two cars, bringing in the median household income of $53,000, your check would be bigger than increased costs, netting you $19/month. For a similar household earning only $20,000 per year, you would keep $44/month. Finally, for a larger house in the top 5 percent earning bracket at $217,000 per year, the policy will cost $19/month because it is assumed your energy consumption is higher than the other demographics. However, green energy options will become cheaper over time, making it easier to lower your costs over time. These estimates represent the first year after the legislation is passed into law. Carbon fees, and therefore the size of monthly checks, would increase every year until our carbon dioxide emission reach 10 percent of the 1990 levels, which means less than 10 percent of today's emission levels. As advocates of this policy gathered in Mount Pleasant, we heard from psychologists on how to communicate climate change effectively, we talked with farmers about their challenges and adaptations to climate change, as well as how farming practices can determine whether their farm takes up or emits greenhouse gases. We were also excited to hear from a representative from the wind energy industry discussing how, even without a carbon fee and dividend policy in place right now, the technology is getting cheaper by the day. I think we all left the conference more energized around our work as citizens to engage in the political process and tell Congress what we want. I met two other chapters within our own district, all working to lobby Rep. John Moolenaar and future representatives to take action. We are simply asking them, as captains of the ship, to cut the coal in the boiler room, and steer us in a new direction because a dangerous iceberg is dead ahead. Add a 56-year-old London architect to the long list of experts who know what's best for Millennials. Patrik Schumacher of prestigious Zaha Hadid Architects, which designed the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics, has determined that 18- to 34-year-olds do not need living rooms in their apartments. According to the Daily Telegraph, Schumacher said a hotel-sized room is enough for young professionals "out and about networking 24/7." Schumacher wants to see "outdated" London regulations requiring 409 square feet of floorspace in new units revised downward. He argues they clash with the priorities of Millennials, many of whom, he says, would welcome smaller apartments. Hotel-sized studios in central London would cost less to rent or buy, reduce commuting costs and enable more Millennials to enter the housing market. The Daily Telegraph quoted Schumacher as saying London Millennials now pay up to 80 percent of their income on housing in the central portion of the city. California's space requirements are significantly less restrictive than London's. Even a 160-square-foot unit in San Francisco qualifies as legal. Turning a living room into a bedroom in order to house an extra roommate is nothing out of the ordinary. But on social media, Schumacher's recommendations were mostly met with scorn by Millennial Brits. Twitter user @CatoHeresy wrote, "How depressing. Just put us all into a pod at work with an IV drip overnight, that way we wont waste any more time or space for our elitist classes. I bet this architect would not dream of putting his son/daughter into a shoebox flat. ..." Raiko Aasa tweeted, "Essentially a kennel." Hannah Shaw-Williams saw a trend developing: 2018: "Millennials don't need living rooms." 2019: "Millennials don't need kitchens." 2020: "Millennials don't need bathrooms." 2021: "Come on, Millennials, do you really need a whole room just for your bed?" 2023: "Generations Z don't need coffin linings." But Schumacher has his defenders as well. Sophie Jarvis, a policy adviser at the Adam Smith Institute, said that relaxing sizing rules would ease the housing shortage forcing young people farther and farther out of the capital, according to The Week. Schumacher, something of a lightning rod in urban planning circles, sees high property prices as a threat to cities' ability to attract the best and brightest. "People are moving out of LA, out of the Bay Area. They have to create other tech clusters because of land prices," he told the Guardian. "Now that's a tough choice for a young startup to swallow these huge prices or to pull away. But pulling away means being less connected, being less productive potentially. "My staff here in the firm young professionals they know they have to be close. They can't afford to live miles away. They need to be in the pub afterwards debating issues. They need to slip over to the exhibition opening or that university lecture close by. ... They have to be in the center." German Chancellor in Washington German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to the White House on Friday for talks with Donald Trump, facing an uphill struggle to save the Iran nuclear deal, avoid a trade war and make her relationship with the US president functional again. The German leaders visit has already been overshadowed by a backslapping three-day festival of fraternite between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron this week. Aware of the optics, anxious German diplomats pressed in vain for Merkel to enjoy a similarly meaty two days at the White House, betting the face time would help sweeten difficult relations. When Merkel last came to Washington, the cautious dry-witted chancellor held several awkward joint appearances with her more impulsive host clashing publicly over defense spending, trade and migration. This time around, the tricolor French flags were only just removed in time for Merkels arrival for a one day, run-of-the-mill working visit. The stylistic differences between the Macron and Merkel visits are very telling according to Mona Krewel of Cornell University. It points, she said, to the much more difficult relationship Trump has with Merkel. That is a dramatic change in fortunes for the German leader who, for more than a decade, was seen by Washington not just as a sensible and pragmatic interlocutor, but the de facto leader of Europe. Her relationship with Barack Obama was particularly close, officials from that administration have said, so much so that he was a powerful voice encouraging her to run for a fourth term. Their partnership has proven along with centrists claiming her as the new leader of the free world to be a poisoned chalice for Berlin in the age of Trump. Just hours before the chancellor landed late Thursday, some 15 months after Trump was sworn into office, the Republican Congress finally got around to confirming an ambassador to Germany. Shortly after his nomination, Richard Grenell who is known for his pugilistic conservatism and combative defense of Trumps America First policies told AFP it was humbling to be chosen for a post once held by John Quincy Adams, and he vowed to work diligently. There is a special responsibility that all US officials have to reject partisan politics when they take government service jobs, he said. Merkel this week stressed that, despite the differences, she wants to preserve the bedrock strategic partnership. The transatlantic alliance, given the many non-democratic developments in this world, she said, is a great treasure that I certainly want to cherish and nurture. Despite her more sober style, she is unlikely to divert much from Macron on substance. She will be trying to persuade Trump to back off his dual threats of punitive metal tariffs that could spark a transatlantic trade war and his instinct to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Trump last month announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, claiming foreign imports were harming US national security by undermining the domestic production needed for military readiness. After an outcry from US allies, he granted a temporary exemption to key partners including the European Union but this expires on May 1. Trumps National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC Thursday that Washington would continue to exempt allied economies, including the EU, if they make concessions, citing the example of equal treatment of automobiles. On the eve of Merkels US visit, Berlins hopes were dim. From todays perspective, we must assume that the tariffs will come on May 1, said a German government source. And then we will see how we will handle it. The next looming deadline is May 12, the date by which Trump has threatened to tear up the landmark 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions. Trump has called the agreement, which Germany helped negotiate, insane and the worst deal ever, demanding that its disastrous flaws be fixed. Macron came away from his meetings speculating that Trump would kill the deal, but debate continues to rage. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Thursday said Washington was yet to make any decision on tearing up the deal, but stressed that some aspects needed to be improved. It is unclear how Mike Pompeos confirmation as Secretary of State will tilt the debate. Despite his hawkish views on Iran, his criticism of the deal had been somewhat tempered in internal discussions, officials said. As head of the CIA, for instance, he had relayed the spy agencys institutional assessment that Iran was broadly complying with the terms of the agreement, despite Trumps public pronouncements. The sham perpetrated by Devin Nunes and the Republicans in the House of Representatives is finally over, and youre never going to believe what conclusion they came to as it pertains to the Trump camps ties to Russia. Ill let Americas most prominent Neanderthal summarize their findings. Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. No evidence that the Trump Campaign colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia. Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018 The problem is that the House Intelligence Committee didn't interview the folks who may know the most about collusion. Sure, they talked to more than 70 people, including former Campaign Manager Corey Lewandoski, Keebler fascist Jeff Sessions, swamp thing Steve Bannon, and boy wonder Jared Kushner, but they didn't speak to people whoyannowwere charged with crimes by the special counsel investigating Russian interference into the 2016 campaign. If you wanted to drill down to the truth about what really happened, those who have had evidence successfully presented against them in a court of law should be the first people you ask. Not interviewing people charged with crimes when you're searching for crimes sure makes it look like you're not really searching for crimes. That said, the GOP did demonstrate some concern over an individual they didn't speak to. Irony is dead. Satire is dead. They have conjoined with reality to create an indistinguishable layer of madness. The report from Republicans on the House Intelligence committee says Mueller's indictment of Paul Manafort "illustrates the necessity for U.S. presidential campaigns to better investigate individuals who serve in senior positions." pic.twitter.com/bTVSlW9hfi Brad Heath (@bradheath) April 27, 2018 So sure, Republicans, Trump didnt do anything sketchy with Russia, just so long as you dont talk to Michael Flynn (pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts), Paul Manafort (charged with every money laundering crime under the sun), Rick Gates (pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and said that Russian Military Intelligence was around Manafort), George Papadopoulos (pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and said that higher ups in the Trump camp gave him the thumbs up to pursue deals with the Kremlin), or Donald Trump Jr. (not only admitted to the infamous Trump Tower meeting with the Kremlin lawyer, but sparsely communicated with Wikileaks during the campaign, and shared a link they asked him to share). Other than that, yeah House GOP, team Trump is squeaky clean. Thank God this farce is over so the real investigation (Robert Muellers) can hold the spotlight going forward. Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling. Vote for the Petoskey News-Review Athlete of the Week: Sept. 27-Oct. 2 See who was voted as the PNR Athlete of the Week last week and who made the cut this week: Coming back home to NZ after three years abroad was a surreal feeling. I hadnt spent much time thinking about the place while living life in the UK and Europe, so many things had been going on plus during the cold, wet winters over here I didnt think wishing I was in the NZ sun would help. The thing I was most nervous about was whether my family dog, Tucker, would remember me or not, luckily he seemed to as soon as I was reunited with him, great success! We spent the whole of the three weeks in my hometown Nelson, which is near the top of the South Island. Growing up there the riding had always been incredible, but I never quite appreciated the nature and wildlife the way that I did on my return. The feeling of riding smooth, dusty trails under canopies of native ferns in the summer sun was just unreal. With my knowledge of the spots I used to ride, and a couple of old friends showing us some awesome new trails, there was no way we could have got bored! We pretty much spent all day every day shredding around the Nelson region from Richmond to Kaiteri to the Maitai Valley and everywhere in between. The new trails in Silvan forest were a personal highlight for me (except for the dicey concept of two-way trails?!), and the long, flowy descents were something dreams are made of. The sunshine capital of NZ lived up to its name, with only one day of drizzle throughout our stay, enabling me to return back to the UK with a very tasty knee pad tan. I really love living in the UK and everything it offers but I definitely wont be leaving it another three years before returning to NZ again, as the place really lives up to all the hype. Veronique Sandler New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck and Emmy-winning actress Elisabeth Moss (of Mad Men and Handmaids Tale fame) may seem like unlikely friends, until you dig a little deeper into their backgrounds. Both attended Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica and spent summers at the School of American Ballet in their youths. Moss and Pecks career paths diverged when the former fell in love with acting and Peck went on to study at SAB full time, eventually becoming the star we know today. Now, the pairs artistic pursuits are uniting in an exciting new project. According to Deadline.com , Moss will produce a documentary featuring Peck and her work curating BalletNOW, last summers star-studded, critically acclaimed program at Los Angeless Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Peck was the first woman to lead BalletNOWs programming, and she brought together dancers from companies including The Royal Ballet, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Paris Opera Ballet, putting them on stage with tappers, clowns and break dancers (sometimes simultaneously). The film will go behind the scenes, showing the days leading up to the BalletNOW performances and featuring Peck in all her dancing and directing glory. Steven Cantor, whose name you may remember from his 2016 documentary Dancer about Sergei Polunin, will direct the yet-untitled documentary. Vulcan Productions, headed by Paul G. Allen, whose arts patronage is wide and well known (the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is a frequent funder of Pacific Northwest Ballet), acts as co-producer with Moss. The film doesnt yet have a premier date, but we do know that it will air on Hulu. Deadline.com reports that Peck and Moss have a shared commitment to bringing ballet into the mainstream, to break ballet out of its rarified environs and engage a new generation of dance fans via social media and even word-of-mouth campaigns at local universities. Well have to wait and see if the documentary will be a major step in achieving this goal. Undoubtedly, Mosss Emmy Awards, TV fans and 300k+ Instagram followers will help. The Russian-language website of the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on April 25 that the U.S. House of Representatives had adopted a law banning the U.S. from providing aid to Syria. The legislation in question is H.R. 4681, proposed last December by a group of Republican lawmakers and passed by the House Foreign Relations Committee on April 24. The headline of RIA Novostis piece failed to make clear that the bill does not ban the U.S. from providing aid to Syria, but simply limits the type and beneficiaries of such assistance. These restrictions apply to Bashar al-Assads government and its allies. "We send a strong message that the American people will not support ANY efforts to legitimize or bolster this barbaric regime one that uses chemical weapons on its own innocent civilians," Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing the state of Illinois, and one of the authors of the bill said in his Twitter post. H.R. 4681 underscores that the United States is the worlds single largest aid donor to Syria, having provided more than $7.4 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Syrian people, and that the effort is ongoing. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. government has provided $73 million aid to Syria since the beginning of 2018. It provided $729 million in 2017, $916 million in 2016, $914 million in 2015, $796 million in 2014, $776 million in 2013, $124 million in 2012 and $26 million in 2011. In justifying the decision to limit aid to the Syrian government, H.R. 4681 cites the Syrian governments continuous indiscriminate attacks against civilians and widespread corruption, which increases the likelihood that reconstruction funds will be siphoned off to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The bill also quotes Assads statement from October 2015 when a visiting Russian delegation to Syria announced that Russian firms would lead in the effort to rebuild Syria. Assad was quoted as responding: Syria is ready to provide Russian companies with all the contracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars. In February, Robert Ford, the former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Mark Ward, the past leader of a U.S. team providing assistance to Syria, accused Syria and Russia of blocking U.N. humanitarian assistance to civilians in opposition-controlled areas. In an op-ed in a U.S. newspaper, The Hill, the former officials said the aim of Syria and its allies Russia and Iran is to starve communities into surrender. And yet, Ford and Ward say the U.S. and other countries help feed people in communities loyal to the Syrian government, when Syria could reach those places with assistance. When we pay for humanitarian aid for those areas we are effectively subsidizing the Syrian war machine, Ford and Ward wrote. The bill clearly states in the Exclusions section that the aid restrictions do not apply to assistance for projects to be administered by local organizations that reflect the aims, needs, and priorities of local communities in Syria; and assistance for projects to meet humanitarian needs, including demining and needs for food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, education, and clothing. Can a meme die before it ever goes truly viral? Popdust's Chief Meme Officer does a deep dive on 'Why did jessica leave me' Why did jessica leave me [sic] is a Facebook meme page that has amassed roughly seventy thousand followers in the past five days. In spite of the page's seemingly skyrocketing popularity, meme-ers are mourning an early death for Why did jessica leave me memes. What is 'Why did jessica leave me' and where did it come from? The Facebook 'community' WDJLM popped up sometime during the morning of Saturday 21 April 2018. Lampooning your recently-dumped, oversharing Social Media Acquaintance, WDJLM burst out of the gate with a fact-disclosure jab/cross combo. With its silly stock image of a crying man, Why did jessica leave me became an instant classic on Mark Zuckerberg's personal data mining system. The page admin himself is a character named Jimmy (@comebackjess), who used to date the Jessica in question. But who is Jessica? Apart from the insight that she is Jimmy's ex-love, Jessica herself is nowhere to be found. Jimmy has kindly asked people to stop making 'fake jessica pages' as it hurts his feelings. In addition to the fake Jessica pages, other spin-off meme pages have started popping up on Facebook; irreverent pages with grammatically incorrect titles like 'Im Jessicas dad' and grammatically correct ones like 'Jessica's Dog' have amassed thousands of followers on their own just by joining in on the joke (whatever it is). Even 'Jimmy's Mom' seems to be in on the fun. Are the Jessica jokes the work of one twisted mind, or a handful? After Why did jessica leave me started the meme, it's hard to tell which page came next. Is Jimmy the admin's real name, or is this the work of another Facebook comedian? The page has been quick to gain traction 14k Facebook followers a day is no small feat. So why are meme-ers questioning the longevity of 'Why did jessica leave me'? The page has gotten some serious exposure from some of Facebook's heaviest hitting meme pages, but some commenters are questioning the shelf life of the meme. Searches of KnowYourMeme.com and Reddit returned zero information on the meme, which is generally indicative of a meme still in its infancy stage. The easiest way to tell if a meme will be viral is to compare it to a recent popular meme. Using Google Trends revealed that WDJLM is still trending up, with interest rising steadily over the weekend and peaking late Tuesday night. At the rate the page is gaining subscribers, Why did jessica leave me and its spin-offs are set to see a rise in interest over the weekend to come and into the next week. Interest over time, 'Why did jessica leave me,' 18-25 April 2018 Google Trends Holding the meme up to the microscope Comparison of Interest over time, 'Why did jessica leave me' vs 'tired spongebob,' 18-25 April 2018 Google Trends Using one of April's biggest meme trends ('Tired Spongebob') as a barometer for comparison, it's clear that Jessica memes are still on the rise. At the height of its popularity (so far), WDJLM was actually the more-searched term on Google and with the meme only trending up every day, there's no drop in the appeal of Jessica memes in sight. Stay tuned to Popdust for more meme coverage and follow the Chief Meme Officer on Twitter for extended meme content! POPDUST | More memes... Is 'All Star' replacing the Rickroll? #ThrowBackThursday: Were Trash Doves The Best Meme of 2017? If A Woman Kills Her Husband And Doesn't Stream It On Facebook Live, Did It Really Happen? SC asked SBP the details of foreign currency transactions Pakistani nationals 27 April, 2018 Related News Imran Khan distributed loan cheques under Kamyab Jawan Programme PTI govt to face all challenges coming its way: Imran khan More on this View All Tips for Taking Incredible iPhone Travel Photos Top 2021 Accessories We Know You Will Love Types of Casino Payment Methods Are Slot Developers Important for players? Best Poker Hands ever played on a Casino Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to provide it with details of foreign currency transactions of $50,000 or more by Pakistani nationals who quietly siphoned off foreign currency to other countries over the past year. A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, gave SBP Governor Tariq Bajwa one week to submit details of all transactions involving tranches of $50,000 or more, along with particulars of the individuals who made the transactions. The court had taken up the case regarding illegal transfer of money from Pakistan to other countries on a suo motu notice after learning that several Pakistanis continued to maintain bank accounts abroad, without disclosing them to the authorities or paying taxes in accordance with the law. The court noted that foreign currency was being siphoned off, without payment of taxes, through illegal channels. This money, the court concluded, either represented ill-gotten gains or kickbacks from public contracts. The court added that this created gross disproportion, inequality and disparity in society, which warped economic activity and growth, and constituted plunder and theft of national wealth. On Thursday, when the SBP governor told the apex court that Section 5(3) of the Protection of Economic Reforms Act 1992 provided protection to account holders from sharing personal information with the public, the court ordered the central bank to furnish the information to it in a sealed envelope. During the proceedings Chief Justice Nisar regretted the depreciation of Pakistani currency and said the US-Pak currency parity was Rs118 to a dollar at present. On April 5, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi unveiled the Economic Reforms Package (ERP) another one-time amnesty scheme, which many believe will help criminal elements whiten undeclared assets at home and abroad. Under the package income tax has also been reduced for existing taxpayers and issuance of dollar-denominated bonds has been allowed. Under the scheme the government intends to offer amnesty to those who have not been paying taxes to become taxpayers and whiten their assets both local and foreign. On March 26, the court constituted a 12-member committee and tasked it with tracing and encouraging Pakistani nationals to declare their assets abroad. The SBP governor highlighted the need to scrutinise existing rules and agreements to consider how the money might have been sent abroad. The court wondered whether or not the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) could ask taxpayers about their foreign accounts. The SBP governor replied that every taxpayer was obligated to disclose their foreign assets and accounts in income tax returns. If they failed to disclose these details, the authorities could not ask them for information about their foreign accounts. A former minister and one of the petitioners in the case, Mohammad Ali Durrani, regretted that usually a countrys economy was supposed to improve and get stronger if a money launderer was nabbed; however, the opposite was true for Pakistan. He said the economy registered a negative effect when the chief justice spoke about arresting financial offenders. While hearing a case about non-performing loans worth billions of rupees, as well as the ones that are written off by commercial banks, the apex court observed that loans that were waived off on political grounds would be recovered. The court also warned that it would forfeit the assets of those who failed to return the loans. The court said a summary of all such loans should be submitted within a weeks time. During the hearing one of the petitioners, Barrister Zafarullah Khan of the Watan Party, alleged that former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Mohammad Khan Junejo, Yousuf Raza Gillani and others had gotten loans worth Rs518 billion waived off during their tenures. Similarly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and his brother had gotten loans worth Rs120bn written off. The court recalled a report prepared by a three-person commission constituted to probe bank loan write-offs worth billions of rupees between 1971 and 2009. The commission report, which was spread over more than 2,200 pages, had suggested that Rs87bn worth of loans had been waived off in the past four decades, a major chunk of which (Rs84.62bn) was waived off between 1992 and 2009, while Rs2.3bn worth of loans were written off from 1971 to 1991. The suo motu case was initiated by the top court in 2008 on news reports that the central bank had quietly allowed commercial banks to write off non-performing loans (NPLs) under a scheme introduced by former dictator retired General Pervez Musharraf. Instead of launching an effective campaign for the recovery of NPLs, the SBP issued an incentive scheme for banks/DFIs in October 2002 to waive off the loans of organisations showing losses for three years. In their voluminous report, the commission regretted that they examined 740 cases but, despite their best efforts the banks and DFIs did not provide information regarding loans sanctioned on other than business considerations. The report added that either bankers were afraid of politicians or the civil/military bureaucracy, or were privy to sanctioning loans or factually the quantum of such loans was not high. Brooklyn quintet Damn Jackals leans into the garage rock/punk aesthetic with the kind of enthusiasm your uncle Jack saved up for his post-work Hungry Man TV dinner and a six-pack of Schlitz. Drawing on the melodic but attitudinal punk of Johnny Thunders, Iggy & the Stooges as well as Television, the group releases its album Crooked Castle Vol.1 on May 25. The album, and its impending successor, Crooked Castle Vol.2, is named after the outfits recording studio, nestled deep in the inner chambers of lead vocalist/guitarist Beau Croxtons Rhinecliff, New York home. There, he and Max Motchan (guitar), Sean Burke (guitar/keys/vocals), Matt Lion (bass) and Mike Goehler (drums), settled in to work on the nine-song release, a record that seems poised to bring rock n roll back to the streets come Summer 2018. (That the Jackals frequently come armed with a three-piece horn section featuring Carter Yasutake (David Byrne & St. Vincent, Charles Bradley), Jason Disu (David Byrne & St. Vincent, LCD Soundsystem), and Noah Dreiblatt (Blitz the Ambassador) should probably tip you off to the fact that these cats mean business when they practice their mean business. Just how mean is this business? You can hear the meanness, the toughness, oozing from the grooves of the track Crooked Castle. With eerie, AM-radio style keyboards, a haunting, fuzzed-out vocal that asks us to imagine what happens when those sweet, sweet kids from down the block stumble on hard times and become rock-obsessed vampires, theres probably no better introduction to what Croxton, Goehler and the others get up to in the dark of the night. Its as dark and seductive as any of those movies about the dangerous, leather-clad dude who moves in next door to your girlfriend and steals her heart without wanting to and without, really, trying. That the track burns and churns its way to an exhaustive, life-altering climax only sweetens the deal and piques the interest of our interest. Does that sound like hyperbole? Well, sure. But if rock n roll cant stir our emotions to have emotions, whats the point, eh? Speaking about the track, Croxton said, That song, in particular, always stood out to me because there was no clear genre. The melody and chords came together at the same time. I wrote about hardships, desolation and demons from the past versus our recording process for this album. We definitely were trying to get some Dick Dale surf rock vibes which would normally be upbeat but its a pretty melancholy and haunting song. Our dear friend Don Laine added some spooky synths to take this thing to a whole other level: Phantom of the Opera, surf goth/prog? I have no idea! But its definitely our riding off into that neon sunset song and has become quite a beast to play live and a very fitting closing track. The Band had Big Pink; the Beatles, Abbey Road; Damn Jackals deserve Crooked Castle and all the delights it may afford them. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Light rain this morning with thunderstorms by evening. High 81F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. 'You Were Never Really Here' is good, maybe even great, and also hard to like Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune. PR-Inside.com: 2018-04-27 14:42:27 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Murchison Minerals Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - Murchison Minerals Ltd. (TSX Venture:MUR). has issued a press release with the following headline:Murchison Minerals Ltd.: Annual Meeting ResultsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Murchison Minerals Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Murchison Minerals Ltd.Source: Murchison Minerals Ltd. (TSX Venture: MUR, FWB: 3TFQ, WKN: A2AP1E, ISIN: CA6264262099, : )Date: April 27, 2018Time: 8:41 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Murchison Minerals Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) I think that I should try to write a book titled Media, Democracy and the Impending Doom in Ghana. Because, if any group of people will plunge Ghana into chaos and mayhem that will make the Rwandan genocide look like childs play, it is the media. But before I come to that, I think that we should stop the interminable issuance of frequencies for the setting up of radio stations. To have a situation where practically every major town in Ghana has a radio station is insane. This is the only place on earth where that is the case. Ask yourself how these radio stations hope to make profit and plough back the investments that they have made in establishing these radio stations. The overwhelming majority of these stations do not pay their workers a salary. So how do these workers live? They become mercenaries, especially so, mercenaries for politicians and political parties. Secondly very few of the people who work in radio stations across the country have ever had any training in journalism. Indeed, with the proliferation of vernacular radio stations, you dont even need to have been to school to be called a journalist. If this is not dangerous for the survival of our democracy, I dont what is. I thought that the Minister of Communications, Hon. Ursula Owusu was in the right when she got the National Communication Authority (NCA) to do an audit of radio stations across the country. I was however disappointed in the so called middle class, think-tanks and neutrals fraternity who joined these radio stations in virtually blackmailing the government to backtrack on the decision to cancel the licenses of defaulting stations. Again which country on earth do you find that 90 percent of radio content is partisan politics 24/7? This is the only country on earth where we are campaigning 12 months every year, without regard to election or non-election years. If the chiefs and religious leaders dont speak up for us to fashion a political season as against non-political seasons, we shall wake up one of these days to a major conflagration whose fires cannot be doused by the Atlantic Ocean. Now, we have agreed that no document is sacrosanct anymore? Where on earth do you find that there are no classified versus declassified documents? Now, the primary purpose for which journalists go on assignments or interview political leaders is so that they can misquote them or even put words in their mouths to demonise them and make them feel bad or worse still excite public anger against them. Just yesterday, starrfmonline posted a banner headline story that suggested that the Ministry of Health contradicted the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia on the plan to recruit 10,000 health personnel under the Nation Builders programme. After opening up Dr. Bawumia for insults and ridicule, they simply pulled down the story without the courtesy of an apology. The other day adomfmonline, joyfmonline and ghanaweb purported to quote the Minister of Information, Hon. Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid as saying that Ghana will receive 19 billion dollars from China for infrastructure projects in June. It turns out that the Information Minister didnt mention the figure 19 in the entire two-hour interview. When he issued a rejoinder, these mercenaries masquerading as journalists simply published his rejoinder without the courtesy of an apology. Worse still, days later, pulse.com published the discredited story whose rejoinder had since been published as if it was a fresh story. Journalists actually write their opinions into stories and this is okay? It is not okay and somebody has to speak up. Well, I have chosen to write about it. I wrote a piece about the irresponsible attitude of the media on the so called call by Prof. Frempong for a modernization of the methods for calling Muslim faithful to prayer. So I wont labour that point any further. Suffice it to say, that for that matter to have become the central issue from the nearly two-hour presentation that Prof. Frempong Boateng made that day tells of a sick society. We were not interested in the central issues that were raised about how science and technology can drive development? We were interested in a suggestion about azan? Goodness! And now, mainstream media actually picks stories from fake websites and proceed to make them an issue. As the Rasta man will say, what a sin thing. People dont like long essays, so I wont write a long essay. But I made a promise not to let my pen stay in its holder anymore. As they say these days, this nonsense must stop! I shall come back on the issue of know-all Presidents and Vice Presidents of think tanks. This is the only place on earth where somebody knows every subject from archaeology to zoology. Indeed, he doesnt just know every subject, he is an expert in every subject and radio stations acknowledge him as such. So he is called upon to comment on every subject under the sun. Herrr! Kaman how? I shall be back. It is me again. Source: Abdul-Razak Ishaq/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video PR-Inside.com: 2018-04-27 14:55:01 On the 27 April 2018, AB Klaipedos nafta (KN) held an investor conference webinar where KN CEO Mr. Mindaugas Jusius commented Companys financial results for the three months of 2018. Webinar recording is available online at: https://bit.ly/2I5iivp The presentation demonstrated during the webinar is attached to this announcement. Mindaugas Jurkaitis, Acting Chief Financial Officer, +370 46 391 768. Attachment PR-Inside.com: 2018-04-27 19:12:31 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Thunder Mountain Gold Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Boise, Idaho and Vancouver BC (FSCWire) - Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (TSX Venture:THM). has issued a press release with the following headline:Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. Completes Private PlacementTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Thunder Mountain Gold Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Thunder Mountain Gold Inc.Source: Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (TSX Venture: THM, OTCQB: THMG, WKN: 633529, ISIN: US8860431084)Date: April 27, 2018Time: 1:10 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) PR-Inside.com: 2018-04-27 08:00:54 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for SolGold plc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Bishopsgate, London (FSCWire) - SolGold plc (TSX:SOLG). has issued a press release with the following headline:TR-1: Standard Form for Notification of Major HoldingsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on SolGold plc, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/SolGold plcSource: SolGold plc (TSX: SOLG, AIM: SOLG, OTC Pink: SLGGF)Date: April 27, 2018Time: 2:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of SolGold plc and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) ADVERTISEMENT the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, will embark on a 10-day historical visit to Brazil in June to strengthen the cultural ties between both countries. The visit will strengthen the cultural affinities between the blacks in Brazil and Yorubas in Nigeria with a view to using cultural heritage to harness an economic partnership that will benefit the two countries. Moses Olafare, the Director, Media and Public Affairs of Oonis Palace, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, in Ile-Ife. Mr. Olafare said the trip would also strategically enable the African foremost monarch to showcase tourism potential of Nigeria to attract Brazilians to the country under the diaspora programme. The visit will open an heritage house as an export point for Nigerian businesses under the Nigerian Diaspora Exchange of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council(NEPC). As the Spiritual Head of Yoruba race globally, Ooni Ogunwusi is saddled with the responsibility of uniting African descendants of Yoruba extract throughout the world estimated to be more than 500 million in over 80 countries. Ooni Ogunwusi recently honoured the outgoing Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Maria Auxiliadora Figueiredo with Oodua Descendant Award of Excellence in recognition of her efforts in promoting cultural exchange between Nigeria and Brazil. Fuggueiredo attaches utmost importance to the South American country recalling that over 13 million people, most of whom were Yoruba were taken from Africa to Brazil via Bahia, many centuries ago. The population has greatly increased as we today have about 80 million Brazilians claiming their ancestral root back to Ile-Ife in Yorubaland and still keeping our heritage intact till date in their country. This also informed Oonis choice of States of Bahia, Rio De Janeiro and Minas where the Yoruba cultures are being proudly showcased to be the historical visit destinations. Mr. Olafare said Ooni Ogunwusi would be in Salvador de Bahia to declare the City of Bahia as the spiritual Capital of all Yorubas in the Americas. He will be in Rio de Janeiro to present a message on religious tolerance and peace at the State Parliament and also meet with the business community. The monarch will deliver lectures at some Universities alongside Professors Wole Soyinka, Wande Abimbola, Sophie Oluwole etc. He said the traditional rulers visit would mark a new beginning with giant strides capable of strengthening the age-long diplomatic ties between Nigeria and Brazil. This will allow cultural, economic and spiritual exchanges that will yield revenues for our people. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT At least 47 people have drowned in a river while trying to flee an attack by rebels in north-west Congo, a state official said on Friday. Joachim Taila, governor of the Sud-Ubangi Province, said rebels from neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville had attacked the Congolese town of Dongo, located near the border. Crowds of people then tried to cross the Ubangi River in wooden boats, several of which capsized. So far, 47 bodies have been recovered from the river, Taila said. A rescue operation is still under way. Congo is dogged by myriad conflicts, with numerous rebel groups active in the region. (dpa/NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Nigerias Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerian youth to be wary of old politicians who have been part of the problems of Nigeria and have failed to find solutions to the problems of the nation. Mr. Soyinka spoke at Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo State, on Thursday, while delivering the institutions 2nd convocation lecture. Addressing the topic, Tending the Tree of Commencement, the literary professor, urged Nigerian youth to be dedicated and remain active in politics. While urging the youth to participate actively in the coming general elections, Mr Soyinka urged them to ensure they had representatives in government in the coming dispensation. He lamented that old politicians who had dominated the political space and are still in power, have failed the country over the years. In extolling the virtues displayed by some youth, he highlighted the stand of Leah Shuiab, one of the female secondary school students kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram insurgents. He praised her firmness, comparing her to the likes of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, who chose to remain in prison despite the offer of freedom by the government of South Africa. All I can just tell you is this; dont make the mistake of following those who failed you before; those who are pretending that they have nothing to do with the disaster that has overtaken Nigeria, he said. They are very quick to smell failure, they are very quick to shout it; but then, they exculpate themselves, whereas they are the founding malfeasance of the Nigerian condition: that is what I am warning (the) youth against. Mobilize, get your representatives and stop bothering geriatrics like myself. He also lamented the scrapping of history in the curriculum of secondary schools in the country, saying it has made people forget their historical backgrounds. In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, and a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Ayo Banjo, said there was a need for the country to pay attention to the training of teachers. According to him, teachers should be well paid, to encourage them for better service delivery. If you want education to improve in Nigeria, there should be more funding, more money to provide conducive environment, more money for training of teachers, he said. For instance, you cannot be in the army without having frequent training. The Army do not joke with training. Every three or four years, they go for (an) update on their training. Mr Banjo urged Elizade University students to use Mr Soyinkas lecture for intellectual development. The Technical Sub-Committee set up by the National Economic Council (NEC) Working Group has recommended the adoption of ranching in some of the states affected by farmers/herdsmen clashes as a sustainable solution to the conflicts. The states are Zamfara, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue. The Working Group also recommended that the state governments of the five affected states allocate land for this purpose. A press release, signed by Laolu Akande, senior special assistant to the president on media & publicity, and made available to PREMIUM TIMES late Thursday night, stated this. The communique also stated that Contrary to some online media reports, NEC did not discuss or pronounce a ban on the movement of herdsmen. The recommendation was reached as the committee presented an interim report at this months NEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The sub-committee is headed by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, with the governors of Plateau and Adamawa states among the committees members. Following its visit to five out of seven of the affected states, including Zamfara, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue, the committee, in its report to NEC today, noted that a root cause of the conflict was the struggle for scarce land and resources, the communique highlighted. Briefing the press after the NEC meeting, as highlighted in the statement, Mr Umahi said most of the killings, especially in Benue State, are carried out by herdsmen from outside the country and called for the deployment of more security operatives in the area. Scores of people have e been killed by suspected herdsmen in Benue since the start of the year. The latest was over a dozen worshippers including two clerics killed in a church this week. Residents then retaliated on members of a Hausa community killing many of them. The killings have been condemned by President Muhammadu Buhari. Below are the highlights of the report on herdsmen killings, as contained in the statement. INTERIM BRIEFING OF NEC WORKING GROUP ON HERDSMEN/FARMERS CLASHES NEC Technical Sub-Committee visited five (5) front-line States out of seven (7) identified. The five (5) States visited are; Zamfara, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue. The Sub-Committee identified broad issues common to the affected States, as well as unique circumstances and causes among them. Outcome Conflicts in these States may have been exacerbated, but at their root is a common struggle for scarce land and resources. ADVERTISEMENT Livestock industry found to be extremely important in Nigeria with estimated cattle population of 19.22 million valued at N3.4 trillion. Livestock industry needs to be transformed by working towards peace and sustainable model for cattle production. Immediate need for FG, States, Private Sector Development Partners to act in the following areas in the selected States: Economic investments Security and peace building Information, education and strategic communication Regional collaboration Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Other needs: Ranch Design Plan can be proposed/adopted for future use in other regions. Ranching policy more important now for FG/States to explore ranching as a sustainable and perfect solution to prevailing farmer/herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria. Land allocation Governors of the five (5) States will allocate land for this purpose. Youth Empowerment and Poverty alleviation should go hand-in-hand with ranching reforms. Consolidated Implementation FG/States develop soon-to-be finalized consolidated plan based on the 5 pillars- Economic, Law and Order, Conflict Resolution, Communication and Humanitarian Relief. Heated arguments broke out among All Progressives Congress governors during a strategy meeting at the partys national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. The governors held the meeting to discuss the partys upcoming national convention and election of new party executives. Party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES that the politicians also discussed the lingering controversies over the major candidates for the chairmanship position. The seat is being hotly contested by the incumbent John Odigie-Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State. Our sources said halfway into the meeting, which held behind closed-doors late afternoon, serious confrontation erupted amongst the governors, first over the upcoming congresses. PREMIUM TIMES learnt the party is planning to send officials to monitor congresses from outside their home states. Typically, state governors are allowed to send names of party members that they want to serve as officials during the congresses to the national headquarters. The partys convention committee is planning a modality that would randomise the posting of thevnominated congress officials, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. This would mean that congress officials nominated from Gombe State could end up officiating in Kogi State or another state further south. Akeredolu takes on Okorocha But this arrangement appears unacceptable to some governors, especially Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Mr Okorocha said officials must not be posted out of their states. He threatened to act decisively should the officials he nominated be posted out of his state. Some governors used to illustrate the story But Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State interjected, and called Mr Okorochas bluff. He said Mr Okorcha cannot do anything because he is not above the party and whatever decision the party ultimately takes would be biding on all its members. He challenged the Imo governor from threatening violence on the party and its members. Other governors present eventually intervened and calmed frayed nerves. Ajimobi, El-Rufai clash over Oshiomhole As the meeting progressed, Mr Okorocha again sparked controversy when he said President Muhammadu Buhari had endorsed Mr Oshiomhole as the next chairman of the party. Mr Okorocha said the president made the statement when they held a meeting with him earlier in the day. But Governor Nasir El-Rufai who was amongst the governors who visited the president said Mr Okorochas claim was not true, our sources said. Mr El-Rufai said the governors and the President would give all candidates equal support in the course of their campaigns. But that was immediately countered by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State who accused his Kaduna counterpart of double-dealing. ADVERTISEMENT Before that meeting at the APC secretariat, Mr. El-Rufai was believed to be one of Mr. Odigie-Oyeguns major backers. In fact the APC chairman believed the Kaduna governor was pushing his case vigorously with the President. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai But Mr Ajimobi pointedly declared at the meeting that he and Mr El-Rufai met at the residence of Mr Oshiomhole on Tuesday night and wondered why the Kaduna governor continued to pretend that his loyalty remained solely with Mr. Odigie-Oyegun. Mr Ajimobi said Mr El-Rufai pledged loyalty to Mr Oshiomhole and assured him of victory at the convention. Messrs Oshiomhole and Odigie-Oyegun are from Edo State. Based on the partys internal arrangement for its upcoming convention which said all slots must remain as they are, the chairman would have to emerge from Edo State. While Mr Oshiomholes has covered huge ground in his quest for the chairmanship of the party, there are indications that some governors are still opposed to him because of his alleged connection to Bola Tinubu, an immensely influential figure in the party. Mr Oshiomhole is widely seen as a candidate of Mr Tinubu. But governors like Mr Akeredolu who have political axe to grind with the former Lagos governor are heading for a showdown with him at the convention, our sources said. Bolaji Abdullahi, a spokesperson for the APC did not return PREMIUM TIMESs requests for comments Thursday night. Protecting partys image One other issue that was a subject of intense bickering amongst the governors was on how to properly time their partys upcoming activities in a way that would not portray the leadership as insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. From left: Senate President Bukola Saraki; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammdu Buhari and APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun during APC Caucus Meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday (26/3/18) 01777/26/3/2018/Callistus/Ewelike/NAN After observations were raised about the possibility of the congresses and convention clashing with this years Ramadan, some governors, especially Mr Okorocha and Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, canvassed the adjustment of the dates to a period that could coincide with the annual Muslim fasting of Ramadan. But Mr El-Rufai strongly opposed this idea, slamming his colleagues for subscribing to an idea that could send out a wrong signal about the partys strategies and care for its members and Nigerians. Mr El-Rufai asked what message the APC would be sending to Nigerians if the party failed to consider the holy month before fixing its activities, one of our sources said. Ultimately, the Kaduna governor won, as was later confirmed by Mr Abdullahi. We want to be sensitive to the feelings of Muslims who will be fasting in the month of Ramadan, the spokesperson told reporters shortly after the meeting. Therefore, we tried avoid conducting any political activity during the month of Ramadan. Furthermore, as the governors were emerging from the meeting, two of them were overheard ridiculing Messrs Okorocha and Yari for delaying in settling their convention dues to the party and yet believing they have the moral right to push for the postponement of congresses and convention. Okoi Obono-Obla, Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has said that the panel has withdrawn the appointment of Victor Uwajeh. Mr Uwajeh, a UK-based private investigator was appointed by the panel as a consultant to trace and recover undeclared assets and proceeds of fraud as part of the ongoing fight against corruption. Speaking on telephone with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), on Friday in Abuja, Mr Obono-Obla said the panel withdrew the appointment in order to investigate allegations of fraud and forgery leveled against him. According to the chairman, he appointed Mr Uwajeh to work with him in good faith because he didnt know Mr Uwajeh had any such issues. I appointed him as one of my assistant to assist me do the work government has given me in good faith, so at the time of giving him the appointment , if he had any issues, we were not aware of. We are not everywhere so we cannot know everything that is happening except we are privy to such information. Now that allegations have been made, we are going to ascertain the veracity of these allegations and if correct, we will withdraw the appointment. He is based in the UK so we thought that it will be an advantage to have someone there to help us but we will look into it and review the appointment, he said. Some lawyers under the aegis, Lawyers Against Corruption had questioned the appointment of Mr Uwajeh shortly after it was announced. The lawyers wondered why a man who had a four-count criminal charge pending against him in court should be appointed by the panel. Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja has declared Uwajeh, who has been evading court summons as a fugitive of the law. The judge further berated the Nigeria Police for protecting a fugitive of the law, after he was told by the prosecution counsel, Aminu Alilu that he was under police protection. Before the court, Uwajeh is facing a four-count charge bordering on forgery, documents falsification, fraud and procuring forged documents. The court has since granted the request made by the Federal Government to serve criminal summons on Uwajeh through substituted means, by pasting at his premises. Justice Tsoho granted the application after counsel to the government, Alilu informed the court that Uwajeh had on several times evaded service, the lawyer said. Another lawyer, Anayo Adibe, also faulted the said appointment just as he questioned Uwajehs credibility. Mr Adibe had in a statement issued in Abuja, said that Uwajehs character as at present remained in doubt to hold public office until he cleared his name in the charge against him in court. It presents a great obstacle to the intellect to fathom the reasons for and ramifications of Uwajehs proposed appointment to a Federal Government office as a consultant on asset recovery. ADVERTISEMENT He needs to presents himself bona fide to clear his name, and establish that his character remains in good stead. This is public business, and we as honest members of the Nigerian public retain the right to scrutinise those who are mandated to act on our collective behalf, he said.(NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Despite the untold hardship being visited on workers and pensioners who have gone several months without remuneration, 24 governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have been mandated to contribute N6 billion at N250 million each towards the partys upcoming congresses and national convention, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. The governors are largely expected to cover their contributions using state funds. The ruling party has fixed next month for its first nationwide elective congresses and convention. The APC governors expected to contribute N250 million each include: Bindo Jibrilla (Adamawa State), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) Aminu Masari (Katsina State), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi) and Yahaya Bello (Kogi). The rest are: Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa State), Abubakar Bello (Niger), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo State), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Ibrahim Geidam, (Yobe), and Abdulaziz Yari, (Zamfara). But as at February this year, 23 out of the 24 governors were enmeshed in one salaries row or the other, according to the Trade Union Congress. Only Lagos State has continued to meet its obligations to workers and pensioners, the labour group found. Many of the governors owe salaries or pensions or both for extended periods that range between four months and several years. The governors remained largely unable to meet their obligations despite a bailout extended by President Muhammadu Buhari. The president also released about N1.9 trillion to the states as part of the Paris Club refund windfall. Despite the lingering crisis, multiple party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES in separate exchanges Thursday afternoon that the party had asked the governors to contribute N250 million each. It is not immediately clear how the figure was arrived at, but some of the governors already paid while several others are still dragging their feet. It was also unclear whether their reluctance was based on economic or political consideration. The N250 million is as much as the total monthly revenue of some states like Benue, whose governors have continued to cite poor oil revenues and other economic issues as the reason for leaving workers unpaid. The developments further speaks to the huge responsibility placed on governors on the platform of the major political parties, a situation that in turn makes the states chief executives immensely powerful and influential in party affairs. The sources who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES did not say what activities the party planned for its congresses and convention that would warrant a N6billion expenditure at a time the state and the federal government are facing tough economic conditions. When contacted Bolaji Abdullahi, the partys national spokesperson, denied that governors were being asked to pay, dismissing the claim as illogical. But our sources said Mr. Abdullahi was merely doing his job that of protecting the image of the party and shielding it from negative publicity. On May 9, the Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing to consider Gina Haspel, Trumps pick to head the CIA. A fair hearing is impossible, given the agencys campaign to ensure Haspels promotion and conceal her involvement in its post-9/11 torture program. However, whats known is already disqualifying: Haspel supervised waterboarding and other torture at the first CIA black site in Thailand, helped destroy videotapes and other evidence of crimes, and helped feed lies about the effectiveness of torture to Congress and to two presidents. Torture thrives on secrecy, and it is no accident that the CIA refuses to make public Haspels record of torture let alone declassify the torture program or allow its victims to speak. Promoting Haspel to CIA director would be an affront to those victims and an unconscionable reward for committing grave human rights violations. More immediately, it would pose a dangerous risk of a return to torture under President Trump, with repercussions around the world. Here are 10 reasons to #BlockHaspel: Torture is illegal. Torture is one of the most serious human rights violations and is absolutely prohibited at all times. There are no exceptions that would permit its use, including war, public emergency, or orders from a superior officer. This ban is part of the U.S. Constitution, federal and state law, and international treaty obligations. It is also a peremptory norm of international law, meaning it is legally binding on all states, even non-signatories of international treaties prohibiting torture. Torture is ethically prohibited. Preventing torture of those in custody is integral to the ethical duties and culture of the health professions. For example, the American Medical Associations Code of Medical Ethics states that Physicians must oppose and must not participate in torture for any reason. Similarly, the American Psychological Association and the American Nurses Association condemn torture and prohibit participation in any form. Torture enables other violations and undermines the rule of law. Torture is intimately linked to breaches of the rule of law. Secrecy, lack of transparency, and due process violations are all red flags including incommunicado or secret detention, lack of transparency concerning detention location, failure to get before a judge, lack of charges, forced confession, secrecy of evidence, lack of access to lawyers, lack of access to doctors, and lack of prosecutions for torture. In addition, torture is often part of multi-tiered crimes, such as abductions and extrajudicial executions. Torture endangers national security. Interrogators and intelligence professionals recognize that torture is not only ineffective in gaining accurate intelligence, it is also counterproductive. It damages national security by weakening alliances, threatening intelligence cooperation, disrupting military efforts, degrading military and intelligence integrity, enhancing enemy propaganda, damaging U.S. standing abroad, and undermining foreign policy goals and coherency. Torture is morally abhorrent. Torture violates human dignity and degrades both victim and perpetrator. It applies the brute force of the state to people at their most vulnerable, using them as pawns to be manipulated through their pain.At its essence, torture aims to destroy people psychologically and to damage the physical, emotional, and social well-being of individuals and entire communities. Torture causes severe pain or suffering. Torture causes severe pain or suffering in its victims, which can be mental, physical, or both. The CIAs methods were specifically intended to psychologically incapacitate detainees through the infliction of pain and to produce feelings of extreme helplessness, fear, horror, and distress. These methods included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, isolation, beatings, restraints and shackling, stress positions, suspension, sensory deprivation and bombardment, temperature manipulation, and sexual assault and humiliation and many of these torture techniques were used at the black site Haspel ran. Torture causes profound mental and physical harm. Health professionals who evaluate and treat survivors see the clinical effects of torture, which often produces profound and long-term symptoms and disabilities. Physical health consequences include damage to the organs, brain, head and neck, chest and abdomen, genitals, nerves, skin, bones, and teeth from blunt force trauma and other injuries. Psychological consequences include post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression as well as anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, sexual dysfunction, psychosis, and neuropsychological impairment. Torture destroys intimate and social relationships. Torture not only harms the minds and bodies of individuals, it also damages their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. This can destroy their ability to function in society, rupturing intimate relationships between spouses, parents, children, other family members and relationships between the victims and their communities. Survivors may also feel a deeply isolating sense of stigma and shame as a result of their torture. Torture complicity compromises and degrades health professionals. In the CIA program, health professionals participated in torture, including doctors, psychologists, nurses, and physician assistants. Two psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen developed the techniques and tested them in Thailand, including under Haspels supervision. This included the waterboarding of detainee Abd Al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Health professionals were also involved in monitoring torture sessions, generating data on the effects of interrogation and detention, and treating detainees for the purpose of torture. Their presence was used to legitimize and sanction torture, extending to the policy authorization of these practices. 10. Torture has a permissive effect around the world. The CIA torture program not only violated U.S. laws, values, and traditions, it entangled more than 50 countries around the world. The use of torture by the United States weakens respect for the absolute prohibition against this crime, undermines the ability to champion human rights abroad, and sends a message that torture can be committed with impunity. Health professionals have long been in the vanguard of the international effort to eradicate torture and ill-treatment, and they play a leadership role in redressing the consequences of torture, providing medical, mental health, and other services to survivors of torture. Torture violates everything health professionals stand for, as individuals committed to advancing health and well-being. Haspel was part of a systematic policy of torture, and health professionals should oppose her confirmation. In addition, all records regarding Haspels involvement in torture and destruction of evidence must be declassified to enable senators to review her precise role in torture, and to ensure she accurately answers questions in the hearing. ADVERTISEMENT A Nigerian public advocacy organisation, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, on Thursday launched a guide on the recall process. According to Yemi Adamolekun, executive director of EiE, the guide is to educate citizens on their constitutional right to recall a legislator who does not represent them satisfactorily. The manual, titled The citizens guide to the recall process, was presented in a media chat with journalists at the Civic Hive, Yaba, Lagos. It details the constitutional power of citizens to remove members of the legislature before the expiration of their term, as a means of affirming the power of the citizen. In her speech, Ms Adamolekun, affirmed that the highest office the land is the Office of the Citizen but Nigerian voters do not maximise their powers. She explained that like the three arms of government, the citizens too have some form of checks on their lawmakers. She said, The legislature having oversight over the executive has the constitutional power to impeach a president or governor over misconducts. In the same way, a citizen has the constitutional power to recall a non-performing legislator. It is important for citizens to know that they have an avenue to replace their representation at the legislative chambers in between the election cycle. Rather than using their constitutional power to recall irresponsible legislators, citizens have taken to violent reactions as seen in recent times where constituents attack their representatives. For example, angry youthattacked Joshua Lidani, senator representing Gombe South, on Monday, April 2 and angry constituents also stoned Garba Hamman Julde, lawmaker representing Bali/Gassol federal constituency, Taraba, on Saturday, March 31. In the 8th assembly alone, we have recorded at least five attempts by constituents to recall a legislator. Of all these cases, only that of the senator representing Kogi west (Dino Melaye) seems to have scaled the first hurdle of submitting a petition to INEC. She explained that the recall process of Mr Melaye, which started on June 21, 2017, would have ended September 18, 2017. However, nine months later with several court injunctions, the process is just moving to the second stage of verifying the signatures of the constituents. Our expectation is that the senator will allow the process to be due process to be followed. On his part, Cheta Nwanze, a member of the EiE advisory board, noted that the recall process would become more effective once one of the processes initiated against some of the lawmakers sail through. He said it would deepen the democratic culture as it would become the reference point. Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, who wrote the foreword to the guide, said, The negative conduct of our lawmakers since 1999 has simply been overwhelming. The only control and source of relief left to voters is the ability to recall a gravely erring legislator. ADVERTISEMENT A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), United Kingdom chapter, Ibrahim Emokpaire, has expressed desire to be the next national chairman of the party. Mr Emokpaire made his intention known in a statement on Friday in Abuja. The new aspirant may slug it out with the incumbent chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun and the immediate past governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole. There are indications that a former governor of Cross River State, Clement Ebri, will also run for the position. Mr Emokpaire said he had what was needed to move the party to the next level. He also said that he had the capacity to bring lasting peace to the party and to ensure that it continued in power in 2019 and beyond. Mr Emokpaire, who is a former chairman of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in the United Kingdom, however, said that the race for the chairmanship was not going to be a two-horse race. The aspirant, also from Edo as the National Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun and another aspirant and former governor of the state, Adam Oshiomhole, is a management consultant. The tenure of Mr Odigie-Oyegun and other executives of the party at all levels would end in June. The National Convention to elect a new national executive of the party has been scheduled for May 14. Activities earlier released by the partys Organising Secretary, Osita Izunaso, indicated that ward congresses would hold on May 2, while appeals that may arise from the exercise would be heard on May 3. According to the statement, local government congresses will hold on May 5, with appeals arising from the exercise fixed for May 7. The states are expected to hold their congresses on May 9 to elect executives and entertain appeals on May 10. (NAN) At least four persons, including two female suicide bombers and an operative of Civilian-JTF, were confirmed dead as Boko Haram suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Maiduguri, the Borno state capital on Thursday. Both the police and the military confirmed the attack. The invasion was the most daring in recent times as the gunmen made their way into the city at about 6pm, attacking an IDP camp in Judumri area, not far away from the Federal High Court complex. Sources said the attackers came with a car loaded with explosives, which they rammed into the fence of the camp before it went off. Witnesses also said soldiers at the Jiddari polo axis were overran by the attackers who inched well into the city before they were engaged by a combined force of police, soldiers and operatives of the Civilian-JTF. Head of the Civilian-JTF in the attacked Jiddari area, Muhammed Babagoni, confirmed that some suicide bombers detonated their devices during the shootout that lasted for over an hour. One of the suicide bombers knocked the door of a house and when the occupant opened the door, the suicide bomber detonated the bomb killing the two of them, Mr Babagoni said. Barefooted women and children were seen running from all directions in the dark hours as the gunmen marched through their neighbourhood. Some soldiers were also seen moving with the fleeing crowds, away from advancing attackers. An air force jet later came to beef up the ground troops in repelling the attack. Nigerian Air Force fighter jet Boko Haram usually attacks Maiduguri using suicide bombers. However, whenever the group wants to deploy a large number of suicide bombers, they usually come with gunmen who first create a distraction for the military while the suicide bombers sneak into the city to carry out the attacks. Police spokesman, Edet Okon, a deputy superintendent, in a statement, confirmed that two of its personnel from the SARS unit sustained injuries while their Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), was also damaged during the attack. His statement reads as follows: Yesterday being 26/04/18 at about 1700hrs, Boko Haram Terrorists launched a surprise attack at Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri near the Federal High court, he said. The terrorists fired sporadically and detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Borno State Police Command promptly deployed combat teams of SARS, PMF and EOD to support the Military and the Divisional Police Officer of GRA division, who were already at the scene. The insurgents were successfully repelled by the security forces after a fierce gun battle, with profuse tear smoke application. There was no casualty on the side of the police apart from two SARS personnel that were injured in the battle. A police Amoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was also damaged by IED explosions. ADVERTISEMENT Seven other persons were severely injured. Four persons including a CJTF and 2 female suicide bombers were killed in crossfire and IED explosions. They victims and corpses have been evacuated to the state specialist hospital in Maiduguri. Normalcy has been restored in the area. The Commissioner of Police Borno State, CP Damian Chukwu therefore urges members of the public to go about their lawful activities without fear. He also urges residents of the state to always promptly report suspicious persons and activities to the Police or other security agencies for prompt action. Meanwhile pre-emptive deployments are being put in place to forestall further surprises. The military, however, was economical with details concerning the attack. A statement issued by the theatre commander, Nicholas Rogers, a Major General, simply said the attack was repelled. Troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE have in the late hours of today, Thursday 26 April 2018, successfully repelled Boko Harams Terrorist incursion in the outskirts of Jidari Polo area of Maiduguri. Troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, with the support of the Air Task Force, Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies including the Civilian Joint Task Force quickly mobilised to the area and cleared the terrorists incursion. The troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE are currently in pursuit of the Boko Haram Terrorists and have dominated the area while also patrolling the general area of Jiddari. Therefore, the general public and residents of the area that have earlier flee are enjoined to return to their residence. They are further encouraged to report any suspicious persons to security agencies currently patrolling the area. MISSING PERSONS Some residents of the attacked Jiddari area said they have not been able to reunite with some of their family members after they fled their homes during the attack. The civilian-JTF chieftain in the area, Mr Babagoni told journalists that up till now, many of our people are missing, especially women and children who ran out of their homes during the attack. We just hope and pray they have not been taken away with the fleeing Boko Haram insurgents. But we will wait till later in the day before we begin to raise the alarm officially. DISARMED C-JTF Operatives of the Civilian-JTF have blamed the ease with which the Thursday attack was carried out by Boko Haram on their recent disarming by the military. The youth vigilante group, who were once allowed to carry double barrel rifles, said they were recently disarmed and banned from using any type of firearm in the course of protecting the civil populace. They could not explain why they were stripped of the guns with which they have over the years, used to effectively combat Boko Haram. We dont know why we were asked not to carry guns again, and now that the attack was brought to us, most of us were helplessly watching the attackers harming our people, said one of the civilian-JTF operatives, who identified himself simply as Banga. ADVERTISEMENT The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has demanded the resignation of President Muhammadu over rampant killings across the country. In a reaction to the recent killings in Benue state where suspected herdsmen attacked Saint Ignatius Catholic Church, and killed 19 people, including two priests, the CBCN said Mr. Buharis handling of the killings appears to show his connivance with the suspected killers. According to the statement signed by the president of the CBCN and Catholic Arch Bishop of Benin, Augustine Akubeze, the CBCN wants President Buhari to stop presiding over the killing field that Nigeria has become. We have received with deep shock, sorrow and utter horror, the gruesome, grisly and dastardly murder of two Catholic priests along with fifteen of their parishioners in the early hours of the morning of Tuesday 24 April 2018. These innocent souls met their untimely death in the hands of a wicked and inhuman gang of the rampaging and murderous terrorists, who have turned the vast lands of the Middle belt and other parts of Nigeria into a massive graveyard. Their unrestrained mayhem has become a metaphor for the untimely death that is now the fate of many of our fellow citizens today. That our two priests, Fr Joseph Gor and Fr Felix Tyolaha, along with their parishioners were waylaid in the course of the celebration of the Holy Mass early in the morning, suggests very clearly that their murder was carefully planned. This wicked act cannot be said to be a revenge attack (as is often claimed), for whom have these priests attacked? Indeed we have just discovered that on January 3 this year, Fr Gor tweeted: We are living in fear. The Fulanis are still around here in Mbalom (where they were killed). They refuse to go. They still go grazing around. No weapons to defend ourselves. Their desperate cries for security and help went unheeded by those who should have heard them. They could have fled, but, true to their vocation, they remained to continue to serve their people right unto death. Since the President who appointed the Heads of the nations Security Agencies has refused to call them to order, even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become. The bishops said the President has failed to heed various calls to act drastically towards ensuring an end to the mayhem. The CBCN blamed part of the problem on the federal governments decision to appoint heads of security agencies, mainly from one of Nigerias major religions. President Muhammadu Buhari Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation, have fallen on deaf ears. It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse. We are sad. We are angry. We feel totally exposed and most vulnerable. Faced with these dark clouds of fear and anxiety, our people are daily being told by some to defend themselves. But defend themselves with what? The Federal Government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their hands. But how can the Federal Government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship? For over two years now, the Catholic Bishops Conference, along with many other well-meaning Nigerians, have consistently asked the President to rethink the configuration of his security apparatus and strategy. Along with millions of Nigerians, we have expressed our lack of confidence in the security agencies, which the President has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion. On February 8 this year, when we paid the President a courtesy call, we raised alarm over the security of the nation and the spate of violence perpetrated with impunity by people who have neither respect for the value of human life nor regard for the laws of our country, urging him to take the most drastic steps to stem the tide of this evil in our land. Since then, the bloodletting and the destruction of homes as well as farmlands have increased in intensity and brutality. Now, our Churches have been desecrated and our people murdered on their altars. The statement said the CBCN feels violated and betrayed by the current leaderships handling of security situations. It called on Nigerians to defend themselves, while urging the federal government to stop disarming Nigerians, since military operatives cannot protect the people. As leaders, we have consistently asked our people to remain peaceful and law-abiding, even in the face of the worst form of provocation. Today, we Christians feel violated and betrayed in a nation that we have all continued to sacrifice and pray for. We collectively feel abandoned and betrayed. We call on all Nigerians to hold their heads high and stand for their fundamental right to life and security. Government should encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments. This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self-defence. These are not normal times since those we pay to protect us have failed to do their duty. Nigeria can return to normal times if we put our heads together with sincerity. The catholic bishops are currently meeting with the catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, in Rome. ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Saturday on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump, his office said. President Buhari will have bilateral meeting with President Trump and a working lunch on Monday 30th April 2018. The meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries and to advance shared priorities, such as: promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security. The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigerias economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership. Later in the day, President Buhari will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry. Ahead of the visit by President Buhari, meetings have been scheduled on 26th and 27th April, 2018, between senior Nigerian Government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation. In the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials will be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment. In the area of transportation, the officials will meet with the GE-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession. In the interim phase, a substantive concession agreement will be negotiated and finalized to provide the consortium the opportunity to invest an estimated $2bn, to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line). During the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements are expected to be signed. The Nigerian officials will also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements. It is noteworthy that in 2017, Nigerias Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the United States Department of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote and encourage commercial and investment ties between Nigeria and the United States, with initial focus on infrastructure, agriculture, digital economy, investment and regulatory reforms. A Federal High Court sitting in Katsina, on Friday granted the former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, bail on self-recognisance. Shema was governor of the state from 2007 to 2015. He is standing trial before the court on 26 count charge bordering on money laundering, amounting to N5.7 billion SURE-P funds during his tenure. The counsel to the defendant, Joseph Daudu, SAN, filed a bail application of the defendant under section 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. He also told the court that the defendant relied on sections 158, 162 and 165 sub (1) of the Criminal Administration Justice Act (ACJA) to solicit for the bail. Mr Daudu said that the defendant is presumed to be innocent until the determination of the case by the court. He also drew attention to the fact that the defendant was a former governor of Katsina State for two terms and therefore has right to bail and would not breach the bail conditions if granted. He urged the court to grant the bail application, as the defendant was ready to comply with the terms and conditions of the court. The prosecution counsel, J.O Olatoke, SAN, objecting to the bail application, said that there are intelligent reports that the defendant might jump bail if granted to him. He said that Shema had already applied to a Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking for the release of his international passport, which is in the complainant custody (EFCC). Mr Olatoke urged the court to refuse the bail application. In his ruling on the matter, the judge, Justice Babagana Ashigar, granted the bail to the defendant on self-recognition. Mr Ashigar also said that bail was based on the conditions stipulated in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). The court considered section 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sections 162, 163 and 158 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to grant the bail, he said. He, however directed the defendant to deposit his international passport at the court registry, if in possession of it. He adjourned the case to June 12 for further hearing on the matter and for the defendant to comply with the conditions. Shema is also standing trial before Katsina State High Court for allegedly misappropriating N11 billion belonging to the State/Local Government Joint Account during his tenure. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative (PCNI) was, on Thursday, in the reclaimed town of Bama, Borno state, where internally displaced persons were returning after three years of displacement. The PCNI team, led by its deputy chairman, Tijjani Tumsa, took a tour of the entire town after which it concluded that the ravaged town that is currently being rebuilt by a combined force of government and non-government actors, still needs more support to fully bounce back. Mr. Tumsa, who led in the tour of the battered community, met with some of the 73 ward heads of Bama, who he assured of federal governments support to palliate their sufferings. The villagers had listed food, cash grants for business, agricultural implements and the repair of the badly damaged Bama-Maiduguri road, as some of their most pressing needs. The PCNI team had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Bama, His Royal Highness, Kyari Ibn El-kanemi, in his temporary Maiduguri abode where the top monarch pleaded for more intervention to enable the state government complete the rebuilding of his domain so as to speed up the return of his subjects to their homes. The royal father thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the show of support to the troubled people of Borno, especially on the funding of the PCNI. Mr. Tumsa, who represented the chairman of the PCNI, Theophilus Danjumma, told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview in Bama that he was impressed with the progress of work done in the town, especially the rebuilding of public infrastructure which the PCNI had been funding. He noted that PCNI has apart from supporting the full renovation of the Bama General hospital which used to be an IDP camp, the committee has also provided modern hospital equipment worth about a billion (N1,000,000,000.) that would soon be fitted as soon as the renovation work is completed. We have been in Bama on several occasions in the past, but todays visit has to do with seeing how the returnees are settling back in their communities. I am very impressed with the commitment of the people to resettle back in their communities after many years of being outside. It is even more encouraging to note that the Borno state government and the PCNI are in sync with the commitment to resettling the people. And this development signifies, amongst other things that there has been success in the reclaiming of areas hitherto held by Boko Haram. So while we commend the military in doing excellent jobs, we will support the people in returning back by providing them with livelihood materials and also longer term plans that would sustain them, he said. He said while longer term plans are being provided, the PCNI in conjunction with the Borno State government will provide food as an immediate and very important means of sustenance. But on longer term, we are also going to provide agricultural inputs so that they can have the means of proving food for themselves as well. We have the intention of calling on all the stakeholders, the state actors, including the international INGOs to the discussion table to fashion out a way that will sustain anybody that will return to Bama. On the issue of Bama-Maiduguri road that has gone bad after years of being cratered by Boko Haram, the PCNI chieftain said, the committee will relate with the Borno state government to see how they could both see to the full rehabilitation of the road so that the residents of the Bama can have a very accessible road to their communities. Mr Tumsa had earlier commiserated with the people over the recent suicide bomb attack on the that affected some lives during an early morning prayers. We have implored the people to also engage in community policing by being vigilant especially during the prayers times to avoid the recurrence of what took place last week, he said. The people must understand that we are in difficult times and life will never be like they use to know it, until after some times. So they need to also be in charge of their own personal security in such a way that they will complement the efforts of the military and the police. ADVERTISEMENT He said the PCNI will do all within its powers to ensure that civil authority is fully restored in Bama so that the people can confidently return and remain in their homes. In any resettlement scheme, particularly the one that has the characteristics of what has happened to us here, security is of paramount concern. Therefore the PCNI is committed to ensuring that there restoration of civil authority in Bama town. To this end the PCNI will see to the return of the police, civil defence, immigration and other related security outfits. And this we intend to do by providing the requisite instrument and infrastructure for them to function properly. We all know that the police will need somewhere to stay while they are here; they will need some kind of functional mobility to go about their patrol as well as their communication gadgets. The PCNI will not only see to this being provided, but also in a very permanent and sustainable manner. Civil Defence used to illustrate the story. [Photo credit: Buzz Nigeria] The PCNI is particularly concerned about the civil populace returning and their security is of paramount concern to us. That is why we have been engaging the people to secure their homes and places of worship and not to let go their guards because we are no longer living in normal times, he said. He said the PCNI will continue to partner with the Borno state government in making sure that the return of the IDPs is sustainable and in line with Mr Buharis plan for the Northeast, adding that Bama, as the first place for return, will be a template for other areas that the state government may want to spearhead. Earlier the military command in Bama, which was the first port of call in the town, had briefed the team on the security situation calling on the government to fast track the deployment of more paramilitary to the community. The acting commander 21 Brigade Bama, A.B Nura, said the suicide on the mosque came as a huge shock to the military, having pulled all resources and men to make sure such did not happen. He however said a second attack was not successful because the military had taken further measure to secure the town. The commissioner for reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement, Babagana Zulum, whose ministry is the one in charge of all the rebuilding efforts said the Borno state government has done its best in ensuring that 75 percent of the ongoing rehabilitation work is completed. But we seriously need support to close the existing gap, he said. And most importantly we are requesting for support to rehabilitate or reconstruct the (road) between Maiduguri and Bama which has been in bad shape. And there are a lot of other settlements apart from Bama town under Bama local government; villages like Gulumba, Kumshe, Darajamal, Ngurosoye etc, that also need additional support, so that we can equally support them to return to their villages. The chairman of Borno State transition committee, Jato Muhammed, whose committee is in charge of the coordination of all movement or returnees to Bama said so far, over 3000 households have returned to Bama since the government gave the go ahead last month. He said apart from the Borno State government, the PCNI is one of the major supporters that contributed to the rebuilding of Bama, ensuring that its people return safely and in dignity. ADVERTISEMENT The Police Command in Benue have dismissed rumours of planned attacks on five mosques in Makurdi and other parts of the state as untrue. In a statement on Friday in Makurdi, the command said the rumours were the handiwork of mischiefmakers and urged members of the public to disregard them. These are nothing but falsehood, believably meant to cause break down of law and order in the state. It is indeed a difficult period; however, acts of insurgency being witnessed lately have nothing to do with religion, ethnicity or political alienation. Therefore, in order to overcome the ongoing security challenges, the collaboration of all is required. The command appreciates the calmness and understanding of the good people of the state. We appeal that criminal elements should not be allowed to cause any civil disturbance to achieve their selfish interest, the statement said. The command appealed to members of the public to report all suspicious persons or group of persons to the police. Meanwhile, a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round Makurdi town reports that security has been beefed up in the town, especially, around mosques. Armed soldiers were also seen patrolling some major streets in the town but commercial and other activities were going on normally. (NAN) A former governor of Katsina State, Shehu Shema, was on Tuesday arraigned before a Federal High Court over alleged misappropriation of N5.7 billion under the then Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P), but his aide insists his trial is politically motivated. The governor is currently remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the order of the judge, Babagana Ashigar of the Federal High Court, Katsina. Sure-P was a showcase programme of former President Goodluck Jonathans administration that was designed to re-invest government savings from fuel subsidy removal on critical infrastructure projects and social safety net programmes with direct impact on the citizens of Nigeria. Though it was generally believed to a be well-intended government project to improve lives, Sure-P later turned out to be cash cow for those managing it as well as most of the benefiting states. In Katsina State, it is believed that not less than N5.7 billion trickled into the state for key infrastructural projects since the programme was established in 2012. The current government of Bello Masari believes that much of that fund was diverted or misappropriated by his predecessor. The former governor of the state was dragged to court on Tuesday after a petition was filed before the EFCC accusing him of stealing the funds. Governor Shema had denied the allegations contained in the 26-count charge. But this is not the first time the embattled governor is being dragged to court over similar corruption charges. In January this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Shema and three other officials who served in his government can be prosecuted by the EFCC on an alleged diversion of N11 billion local government fund when he was the governor of the state. Mr Shema, and his three co-defendants (Sani Hamisu Makana, Lawal Ahmad Safana and Ibrahim Lawal Dankaba) had earlier challenged the decision of a Katsina State High Court and the Court of Appeal in Kaduna which in 2017 upheld the validity of the 22-count charge against the former governor. But in the opinion of Mr Shemas aide, the governor is sponsoring a state persecution of his principal in order to distract him from pursuing his future political ambition ahead 2019. The aide, Oluwabusola Olawale, heads the media team of Mr Shema. In a press statement tagged Evil cannot triumph over good, Mr Olawale said Mr Shema is innocent. He said the latest arraignment of Mr Shema was a jittery reaction of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over a mega Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally that was convened in the state. Mr Shema is an active member of the opposition PDP. The persecution of former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema is taking a new dimension with his arraignment before the Federal High Court Katsina on Tuesday. It is becoming more and more obvious that it is not about war against corruption but a grand plot and agenda by Governor Aminu Bello Masari administration to keep the former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema out of political space ahead of 2019 general election more so with the outcome of recently conducted Peoples Democratic Party mega rally in the State which further aroused the sinister agenda of the ruling administration against Ibrahim Shehu Shema. Our position remains the same since Governor Aminu Bello Masari started his persecution, intimidation and harassment of former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema by setting up over 30 different committees to probe Shema administration, granted over 200 media interviews to call him a thief and continue to sponsor media trial against Shema, setting up Commission of Inquiry, sponsoring petitions to EFCC and ICPC. We inisist that Shema is innocent of all the allegations and accusations, and ever ready to defend himself in fair and just trial based on the rule of law, the statement said in part. The spokesperson said Mr Shema is ready to defend himself against all the charges. ADVERTISEMENT Former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema stands by his position that he is ready to defend himself in fair and just trial and (is) therefore urging Nigerians and International Communities to read between the lines what is the motive of Governor Aminu Bello Masari who is behind the trial of Shema for this desperation. And with the fresh suit before Justice Babagana Ashgar of Federal High Court Katsina, we urge Nigerians and International Communities to monitor closely the procedure of arraignment of Shema to understand the motive and agenda of the fresh suit. The spokesman of Governor Masari, Abdu Labaran, could not be reached on phone for comments as his phone was switched off at the time PREMIUM TIMES placed a call across to him, Friday morning. Meanwhile, Mr Shema remains in EFCC custody until the court decides on his bail application Friday. Officials of the Lagos State Government have begun the demolition of the Araromi Oke-Odo Ile-Epo market in the state, PREMIUM TIMES can report. The demolition exercise, which is ongoing at the time of this report, has created pandemonium in the market and its environs. This newspaper had earlier reported that the officials invaded the market with bulldozers early Friday morning. Ten days ago, PREMIUM TIMES reported the impending demolition and how the government had arrested top officials of the market, including an octogenarian. On Friday, many traders were thrown into confusion as they ran to pack their goods shortly after the demolition began. The invasion, which started from the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway end of the market, was coordinated by officials of the Lagos environmental safety agency and armed police. Some thugs were also recruited to harass passersby and prevent them from taking pictures of the demolition exercise. A PREMIUM TIMES reporter at the scene of the incident was harrassed and his phones taken away from him momentarily until he struggled to regain the phones. The demolition also caused heavy gridlock on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway with many road users stuck in the traffic. A trader who identified himself as Garba told PREMIUM TIMES many of the traders could not salvage their goods from their stalls before the invasion began. Many who owned stalls at the frontal part where they began the demolition could not pack out their goods, he said. But those at the back have packed some things as you can see. Another trader, Tawa Kehinde, said the demolition was an affront on the poor because many would have their sources of livelihood blocked. He called on the government to reconsider its steps. Many people will die from the losses incurred from this demolition, she said in Yoruba. At the far end of the road, some traders already had a makeshift market stationed at the road side to sell the remnants of their goods. The demolition was carried out allegedly on the instance of the Agbado Oke Odo Local Council Development Area. The officials at the scene however declined to speak to PREMIUM TIMES when asked about the authorising body that gave the demolition order. ADVERTISEMENT More to come For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. Occupational therapists licensed in the state of Colorado are now able to earn Continuing Professional Competency (CC) credits for attending either of Keeping Us Safe's professional development courses. Colorado's Occupational Therapists Media Contact Keeping Us Safe Matt Gurwell, Founder ***@keepingussafe.org 8779078841 Keeping Us SafeMatt Gurwell, Founder8779078841 End -- Keeping Us Safe is pleased to announce that their nationally-recognized presentations for professionals are now available to occupational therapists in the state of Colorado in the form of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits. Following are brief descriptions of each presentation:Bringing a Peaceful Resolve to Complex and Sensitive Senior Driving Issues (https://www.keepingussafe.org/ContinuingEducationPrograms/)This 1-hour educational presentation is designed to provide professionals with the skills and competencies necessary to help an individual (and their concerned family members) suffering from age-related diminished driving skills with the ability to make a smooth transition into a driving retirement, with minimal deterioration to the individual's dignity or independence.Driving Under the Influence of Dementia (https://www.keepingussafe.org/ContinuingEducationPrograms/)This presentation, also 1-hour in length, is designed to provide professionals with the skills and competencies necessary to address the issue of dementia-related cognitive decline as it relates to older drivers. Attendees will gain a further understanding of the role memory and executive functioning play in safe driving, and how dementia and Alzheimer's Disease can have an adverse effect on those critical brain functions and thus on driving abilities.The presentation includes discussion on recent research projects related to the issue of driving with dementia and will offer potential solutions for the family and for the driver with dementia in their quest to maintain their independence and a healthy lifestyle even after driving cessation.Pursuant to the rules established by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Office of Occupational Therapy, occupational therapists licensed in the state of Colorado are now able to earn Continuing Professional Competency (CC) credits for attending and participating in either course.Matt Gurwell ( https://www.keepingussafe.org/ ourleadershipteam/ ), founder of Keeping Us Safe, explains that "A fundamental component of our mission is to provide educational support for members of the professional community that may find themselves in the difficult position of helping families deal with this very sensitive and emotional issue. We are delighted to be able to offer our programs to Colorado's occupational therapists."Founded in 2008, Keeping Us Safe is an organization that provides practical, real-life solutions to older drivers and their families. Their programs are designed to save lives while simultaneously helping to ease the burden of the family as they find themselves faced with this very challenging issue. Their services are available throughout the United States. To learn more about their programming or to schedule a continuing education presentation please visit the Keeping Us Safe website at https://www.keepingussafe.org or call toll-free 877-907-8841. By: Bridget O'Brien PR & Events Sarah Ward NY Rose of Tralee Winner. Contact Bridget O'Brien PR and Events ***@bridgetobrienprandevents.com Bridget O'Brien PR and Events End -- On Sunday, April 22, Sarah Ward won the 2018 New York Rose of Tralee, become this years New York Rose. Embracing her reign as ambassador to the New York Rose Center and the International Rose of Tralee, Sarah was awarded with a Tipperary Crystal. Furthermore, Sarah will be joining 70 other Rose Ambassadors at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Ireland in August 2018. The New York Rose of Tralee Center and its sponsored partnership with Empire City is proud to congratulate Sarah Ward as 2018 New York Rose!Sarah Ward was born and raised in Goshen, New York to Tom Ward of Brooklyn New York, and Liz Kervick. Sarah's mother Liz grew up in Waterford City in Ireland, but moved to New York at the age of 23 to pursue a nursing career. While growing up, Sarah spent her summers in Dunmore East with her siblings and cousins. Her family's love for Ireland rubbed off on Sarah, as she now calls it her favorite place in the world.Sarah attended the State University of New York at Geneseo where she was a Cheerleader and a member of the Relay for Life. Due to her exposure to Ireland as a child, Sarah developed a love for travel, taking advantage of this when she studied in London for a semester in her junior year. She also was inducted in the Tri Beta Biological Honors Society. Sarah graduated in May of 2017, earning a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Biology and Psychology. Currently, Sarah attends graduate school at Binghamton University, studying to achieve a Bachelor's of Science through their accelerated nursing program.Sarah's disciplined work ethic stems from her desire to achieve the highest possible skill-level in nursing, therefore specializing in women's health. Sarah applied to various residency programs in New York City and Boston. She is eagerly waiting to hear back from them while she continues her passion of further growing her educational potential.Sponsored by Halligan's Public House, Sarah Ward was delighted to participate in the 2018 New York Rose of Tralee. She dedicates the night to her late Grandmother, Monica Kervick, who always dreamed of Sarah to become a Rose. Sarah would like to thank her other Grandmother Margaret for all of her love and encouragement, and for being with her here today. In August of 2018, Sarah will move on to compete at the Rose of Tralee Festival in Tralee Ireland. Finally, Sarah would like to thank the Rose of Tralee organization for the incredible opportunity that she will not forget. Trade spending expertise and a unique closed-loop solution deliver greater visibility into the complex trade spend processes for Oregon Ice Cream. Contact Ian Faith AFS Technologies, Inc ian.faith@afsi.com Ian FaithAFS Technologies, Inc End -- AFS Technologies, a leading global provider of software solutions purpose-built for consumer goods companies, is proud to announce that Oregon Ice Cream has selected AFS for its Trade Promotion Management solution. Oregon Ice Cream decided the time was right to invest in a comprehensive trade promotion management solution that could help them gain better control of their trade spend process, improve forecast accuracy, analyze "all-in trade spend" for net unit cost, provide the ability to do true customer planning, and have visibility to those plans as they execute, to make plan adjustments.AFS Trade Promotion Management Retail ((http://tpm.afsi.com/))is a full closed-loop system that helps you plan, deploy, execute, settle and analyze your trade spend with a robust set of intuitive, easy-to-use capabilities. This solution provides customer planning and visibility across sales, finance, accounting, supply chain, and marketing groups, providing insight for event analysis and into how the actual plan results are performing against the S&OP.Established in 1938, Oregon Ice Cream is one of the longest-standing ice cream makers in the western United States. The company is based in Eugene, Oregon, and is best-known for its ability to innovate products and processes to create the very best dessert experience possible. Oregon Ice Cream is also the home of retail brands Julie's Organic and Alden's Organic, the nation's leading organic frozen dessert brands.AFS Technologies (AFS) is a leading provider of software solutions purpose-built for consumer goods companies. We are committed to generating improved outcomes at the point of purchase coupled with generating efficiencies in trade spend, retail execution and supply chain. With experience developed over its 32-year history, AFS serves more than 1,300 customers of all sizes in more than 50 countries around the world. The AFS products are innovative, configurable solutions that are proven to optimize your potential with automated processes, improved productivity and rapid time to value. http://tpm.afsi.com By: Colorado Lending Source Media Contact Lauren Kloock ***@coloradolendingsource.org 303.657.0010 Lauren Kloock303.657.0010 End -- In celebration of National Small Business Week, Colorado Lending Source has partnered with the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to highlight the importance of social impact businesses.During the Trout Tank Pitch Event for Social Impact Businesses, three entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to an audience of lenders and investors and share how their company model can transform communities. Trout Tank judges will decide on the winning pitch who will receive a cash prize to donate to their favorite local charity.4 to 6 pm, with networking and happy hour to follow on Monday, April 30thDenver Metro Small Business Development Center, 1445 Market Street, Denver, CO 80202 To join in celebrating social impact businesses during National Small Business Week,RSVP here: https://bit.ly/2qDoAtP (There is no cost to attend.)Every year since 1963, the president has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week, which is set as the first week in May. Workshops, events and celebrations of Colorado's entrepreneurs and small business owners will occur throughout the state from April 29 May 5. You can find a full list of events and participating organizations by visiting www.coloradolendingsource.org/small-businessweek.The Denver Metro SBDC exists to serve dedicated entrepreneurs who want to strengthen their path to success. Utilizing the powerful partnerships of the Colorado SBDC network and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Denver Metro SBDC has been a cornerstone of the business community for over 25 years. For more information, visit www.denversbdc.org.Colorado Lending Source cares about small business, about creating long-term alliances with our lending partners and borrowers, about being a resource to empower entrepreneurs and about making Colorado the best state in the nation to start and grow a business. We partner with local lenders, government agencies and resource partners to make access to capital more attainable for small businesses. In 2017 Colorado Lending Source approved at total of 266 loans to help create 1,693 jobs and injected $415,215,741.04 into the economy. As a mission-based lender and small businessfinancing expert, we are committed to fostering the economic growth of diverse small businesses within their communities. More information can be found at www.coloradolendingsource.orgFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2018 Contact: Lauren Kloock 303.657.0010 lauren@coloradolendingsource.org EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Being an adult comes with a lot of different responsibilities, and while millennials may poke fun at "adulting," everyone experiences it differently. For some, getting their first "real job" or apartment might be the first signal that adulthood has officially arrived. For others, financial responsibilities may propel them into adulthood, and one financial issue may feature prominently in young adult minds: student loans. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation company that helps its clients with federal income-driven repayment plan application and recertification paperwork, reminds borrowers that if their student loan responsibilities become too much, federal repayment plans may provide relief. "Adulting has a different meaning for each person, and can even change throughout a single day," said Sara Molina, Manager at AFBC. "Student loan borrowers may share the experience of feeling like an adult when they have to deal with their loans." Because finances are important for adult life adults must be able to pay for housing, food, and debts reliably managing them is an essential skill for adults to have. Therefore, financial bloggers write en masse about how to manage money, budget, save, and pay down debts. While individuals may decide to speak with a financial expert about their own situation, individuals can glean some basics from such blogs. Financial adulting requires several characteristics that contribute to financial health: saving, paying down debts, spending thoughtfully, and knowing when to ask for help. Many young adults with student debt may find achieving financial health difficult. However, asking for help may lead them to federal income-driven repayment plans, in which payments are based on income and family size and can be reduced to as low as zero for certain circumstances. "Feeling like an adult is a double-edged sword," said Molina. "Learning how to manage such heavy financial responsibilities is essential for adulting and can make financial life a lot easier. At AFBC, we help our clients utilize federal repayment programs that can ease their financial burdens. If they can feel young without ignoring their student loan responsibilities, we know we've done our jobs." About American Financial Benefits Center American Financial Benefits Center is a document preparation company that helps clients apply for federal student loan repayment plans that fit their personal financial and student loan situation. Through its strict customer service guidelines, the company strives for the highest levels of honesty and integrity. Each AFBC telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA). Contact To learn more about American Financial Benefits Center, please contact: American Financial Benefits Center 1900 Powell Street #600 Emeryville, CA 94608 1-800-488-1490 [email protected] Related Links AFBC home page SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center Related Links https://afbcenter.com ROHNERT PARK, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Falling behind on student loan payments can be blamed on high payments. Alternatively, recent graduates may simply lack the financial savvy necessary for success in repayment, or they might have a low starting salary as they begin their career. Others might be underemployed or prioritize other debt, like high-interest credit cards or mortgage payments in which delinquency can result in homelessness. Ameritech Financial, a document preparation company that helps borrowers with federal repayment plan applications, suggests that successful repayment depends on several factors, not the least of which involves the federal repayment plan that borrowers are in. "Delinquency can be bad, especially when it leads to default, but it's usually avoidable," said Tom Knickerbocker, Executive Vice President of Ameritech Financial. "Even borrowers who literally don't have the money can likely still stay current on their loan in the right repayment plan." Recent reports have shown the prevalence of default in loans approaching 20 years after dispersion. However, even new borrowers are falling behind. While many individuals may blame poor job prospects or low incomes, federal borrowers may find answers in their repayment plan. The Department of Education offers several repayment plans for federal student loans that are intended to help borrowers afford their payments. While every borrower begins repayment in the Standard Repayment plan, they also have access to others, including some that extend the repayment term, charge less now and more in subsequent years, and several that depend on income. Ameritech Financial is a private company that helps borrowers understand federal repayment plans, specifically income-driven repayment plans (IDRs). Such plans base payments on income and family size, can reduce payments to as low as zero for certain circumstances, and can end in forgiveness after 20 to 25 years of enrollment. Because of the connection between payment amount, income, and family size, countless borrowers find IDRs valuable in tight budgets. "Staying current on student loans is important for financial wellbeing, so it's important that borrowers know about the different repayment plans that they have access to," said Knickerbocker. "At Ameritech Financial, we talk to borrowers about their options in the context of their personal situation. And if they want to apply for an IDR, we help them with the paperwork to do so. When so many options are available, the goal is for no one to fall behind on their payments." About Ameritech Financial Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of consumers with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education. Each Ameritech Financial telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA). Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional Customer Service. Contact To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact: Ameritech Financial 5789 State Farm Drive #265 Rohnert Park, CA 94928 1-800-792-8621 [email protected] Related Links Ameritech Financial home page SOURCE Ameritech Financial Related Links https://ameritechfinancial.com ATLANTA, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, April 29, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) publishes another in-depth national investigation that reveals chilling new details about doctors accused of sexually abusing patients. It is available online today at AJC.com/doctors. This is the latest in a groundbreaking analysis of doctors and sex abuse. The AJC's continuing coverage exposes a widespread issue that goes beyond the high-profile public case of USA Gymnastics national team doctor, Larry Nassar, and the #MeToo movement. The newspaper's latest report identifies cases of misconduct in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Highlights of the investigation include: 450: Doctors whose cases were before medical regulators or courts in 2016-17 350: Doctors whose cases involved sexual misconduct with patients 100: Doctors whose cases involved employees or sex crimes not related to practice 3,500: Doctors publicly accused of sexual violations from 1999 through 2017 "Cases continue to remain obscured because state boards and hospitals handle many sexual misconduct cases in secret, and some public orders are so vaguely worded that patients would not know that a sexual offense occurred," Editor Kevin Riley said. "No one had accurate data on doctors and sex abuse cases until the AJC reviewed thousands of medical board documents and published its first investigation," Riley continued. "Without our work, many patients may think they are safe because their doctor is prominent and respected." The AJC's award-winning national series, first published in print and online in 2016, exposes a culture of power, esteem and secrecy that gives doctors license to abuse patients sexually, even at a time when the public has realized other respected institutions, such as the military and the clergy, must be held accountable. To read the AJC's investigation, go to www.AJC.com/doctors. About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source both in print and online of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta, reaching a print and online audience of 1.6 million people each week. Every month, nearly 5.5 million unique visitors access the newspaper's websites, including AJC.com, myAJC.com and accessAtlanta.com. Our newsroom is the largest in Georgia with more than 150 journalists. We report on a metro area that has more than 5 million people and covers five core counties and more than 20 city governments. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises. About Cox Media Group Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company. The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, more than 60 radio stations, two daily newspapers and more than 80 digital sites, including Dawg Nation, SEC Country and Diehards. Additionally, CMG operates the National Advertising Platform businesses of CoxReps the country's biggest television rep firm Gamut and Videa. The company also offers a full suite of local and regional advertising services through its Local Solutions and Ideabar businesses. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly across all platforms, including more than 31 million TV viewers, more than 2 million newspaper readers, and nearly 15 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com. SOURCE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The report will be especially useful for healthcare providers and industry stakeholders looking to gain a perspective on treatments that may soon be available to patients diagnosed with a wide variety of conditions. It contains information about 19 new drugs slated for approval in the second quarter of 2018, including therapies for cancer, inherited disorders, enzyme deficiency, as well as other acute and chronic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, opioid use disorder, epilepsy, sickle cell anemia and severe neonatal jaundice. The pipeline for specialty drugs continues to be an area of rapid growth. Last year, the FDA approved 56 new drugs, 34 of which were specialty drugs. Seventy-seven percent of these applications were granted through a prioritized review process. "Given this level of growth, it can be difficult for healthcare providers to keep pace with the changing landscape and all the new therapies available to them," said Todd Speranzo, Vice President of Marketing at Avella Specialty Pharmacy. "The publication of this new report is just one example of the many ways Avella is dedicated to supporting physicians, hospitals and other healthcare partners by providing valuable information and resources." Avella frequently publishes data analyses and reports used frequently by its customers to gain insight into trends and market dynamics. The specialty pharmacy just released another new report that explains the network strategies used to distribute specialty drugs like those in the 2018 pipeline. It details the value provided by limited distribution networks for patients and physicians. Limited distribution networks typically include a small number of pharmacies authorized to distribute a drug. These pharmacies are typically selected by drug manufacturers based on their unique capabilities and expertise in managing patients with specific types of health conditions. For more information, download the 2018 Q2 Specialty Medication Pipeline Report and the Limited Distribution White Paper. About Avella Specialty Pharmacy Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Avella Specialty Pharmacy is a National Accredited Specialty Pharmacy, providing individualized care and support to patients since 1996. Avella's clinical pharmacists and staff members are experts in managing complex disease states and providing compassionate care. The company offers a nationwide distribution service to complement its retail locations. In 2016, Avella was named Specialty Pharmacy of the Year by NASP, a nationally recognized pharmacy trade committee. Inc. Magazine's 2017 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country included Avella for the eleventh consecutive year and also recognized Avella as the fastest-growing woman-led company in 2015. In addition, the Arizona Corporate Excellence Awards named Avella Specialty Pharmacy as the second fastest-growing private company based in the state in 2016. For more information, please visit www.avella.com. Todd Speranzo [email protected] (623) 742-1719 SOURCE Avella Related Links http://www.avella.com NEWARK, N.J., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Blink Fitness, the premium-quality, value-based fitness club, is excited to announce the grand opening of its 69th location, in Newark. The club will open the doors to its much-anticipated location at 2-14 Ferry St. on Friday, April 27th from 12 PM to 11 PM. As a part of the Grand Opening celebration, Blink Fitness will donate 50 one-year memberships, worth over $10,000, to CASA for Children of Essex County, an organization dedicated to promoting the welfare of children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment by providing a safety net of support, advocacy and mentorship. "CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children of Essex County is excited to welcome Blink Fitness to the Newark community," said CASA for Children of Essex County Interim Executive Director, Julie Cerf. "We are very grateful for the opportunity to provide memberships to our Volunteer Advocates and staff who work tirelessly to give Essex County's foster children a voice." Attendees will have the chance to receive Blink Fitness branded gear, while one lucky attendee will win a one-year membership to the new gym. In addition, CASA for Children of Essex County and Blink Fitness representatives will take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:20 PM to officially open the gym to the public. "We are excited to open our doors, bringing our Mood Above Muscle philosophy to the Newark community," said Milton Olivero, Club Manager. "We're sure that Blink will become a healthy, happy hub of activity in the neighborhood." Occupying a historically significant building previously functioning as a bank, the newest Blink Fitness facility will boast a broad offering of top-of-the-line strength equipment that includes free weights, plates, and machines for upper body, lower body, and core. A secluded area for lighter workouts as well as a wide variety of premium cardio machines and a multi-use space for additional exercises, stretching, and functional training is housed in what was formerly the bank vault. Members can access this area through the original curved opening. Certified personal trainers will be available for those members who wish to create a custom workout experience tailored to their personal goals. As a gym that promises to provide a premium experience to all who join, memberships are available for as low as $15 per month with a free start up personal training session. Blink Fitness will bring its Mood Above Muscle philosophy to its newest locations, celebrating the idea that exercise is not only about looking good, but also about feeling good. Blink Fitness strives to make working out fun and uplifting by creating a Feel Good Experience, which comes to life in each gym through a commitment to providing contemporary and colorful design, elevated customer service, relentless focus on cleanliness, energizing music and confidence-boosting training programs. For more information about Blink Fitness, visit www.blinkfitness.com or the club's social channels below. Facebook: BlinkFitness Twitter: @BlinkFitness Instagram: @BlinkFitness Address: 2-14 Ferry St. Newark, NJ 07105 Club Hours: Monday-Thursday: 5am to 11pm Friday: 5am to 10pm Saturday-Sunday: 7am to 7pm About Blink Fitness Founded in 2011, Blink Fitness is a premium quality, value-based fitness brand with more than 90 locations open or in development throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. Blink Fitness puts Mood Above Muscle, which celebrates the positive feeling you get from exercise, not just the physical benefits. Each gym employs the company's signature Feel Good Experience that highlights enthusiastic staff members, a clean environment, an open, spacious, and colorful design, energizing music and fitness training that is motivating and affordable. For more information about Blink, visit blinkfitness.com. Franchising details are available on blinkfranchising.com. Blink Fitness has franchise opportunities available nationwide with a focus on the following markets: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa and several areas of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Click here to take a drone tour of a Blink Fitness gym. SOURCE Blink Fitness Related Links http://www.blinkfitness.com LIMA, Peru, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Camposol S.A. ( the "Company" or "we") today announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Company's Offer to Purchase for Cash Statement ("Statement") dated April 27, 2018 (the "Tender Offer"), for any and all of its outstanding 10.50% Notes due 2021 (the "Notes"). The Statement more fully sets forth the terms of the Tender Offer summarized herein. The Notes and other information relating to the Tender Offer are listed in the table below: Description of Notes CUSIP/ ISIN Nos. Outstanding Principal Amount Tender Offer Consideration(1)(2) 10.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2021 134638 AC9/US134638AC941 P19189 AC6/USP19189AC692 U.S.$147,490,000 U.S.$1,066.90 (1) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes. (2) Excludes accrued interest, which Holders will receive up to, but not including, the Settlement Date (as defined below). The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2018, unless extended or terminated earlier at the sole discretion of the Company (such date and time, as it may be extended or terminated earlier, the "Expiration Date"). Subject to the satisfaction of the terms and conditions set forth in the Statement, holders validly tendering and not withdrawing their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer will be entitled to receive U.S.$1,066.90 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the Notes tendered, on a date promptly following the Expiration Date (the "Settlement Date") (which date is expected to occur within three business days of the Expiration Date, but which may change without notice). The Settlement Date in respect of Notes for which a properly completed and duly executed notice of guaranteed delivery is delivered at or prior to the Expiration Date (to the extent that such Notes are not delivered prior to the Expiration Date) that are accepted by the Company for purchase in the Tender Offer is expected to be the third business day following the scheduled Expiration Date (the "Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date"), but which may change without notice. Tendered Notes may be validly withdrawn from the Tender Offer at any time (i) at or prior to the earlier of (x) the Expiration Date and (y) in the event that the Tender Offer is extended, the tenth business day after commencement of the Tender Offer, and (ii) after the 60th business day after commencement of the Tender Offer if for any reason the Tender Offer has not been consummated within 60 business days after commencement. The Company's obligation to accept for purchase and to pay for Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver, in the Company's discretion, of certain conditions, which are more fully described in the Tender Offer, including the financing condition requiring the consummation of the Company's concurrent offering of senior notes and other conditions. If, following the Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date, as applicable, any Notes remain outstanding, the Company intends to issue promptly a notice of redemption to redeem such Notes in accordance with the terms of the Notes and the indenture. However, neither this press release nor any other document related to the Tender Offer constitutes a notice of redemption of the Notes or an obligation to issue a notice of redemption of the Notes, and there can be no assurance that the redemption will be carried out following the Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date (as applicable), or at all. The Company has retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated to serve as the dealer managers for the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the tender offer may be directed to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect) or (866) 846-2874 (toll-free) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated at +1 (646) 855-8988 (collect) or (888) 292-0070 (toll-free). Requests for documents may be directed to D.F. King & Co. Inc., the information and tender agent for the Tender Offer, at +1 (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers), +1 (800) 884-4725 (all others, toll free) and by e-mail at [email protected]. Documents relating to the Tender Offer, including the Statement and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, are also available at www.dfking.com/camposol. None of the Company, the dealer managers or the information and tender agent make any recommendations as to whether holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer, and no one has been authorized by any of them to make such recommendations. Holders must make their own decisions as to whether to tender their Notes, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. This press release is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. The Tender Offer is being made solely pursuant to the Tender Offer documents. The Tender Offer does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not permitted by law or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. In any jurisdiction where the securities, blue sky or other laws require tender offers to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and in which the dealer managers, or any affiliates thereof, are so licensed, the Tender Offer will be deemed to have been made by any such dealer managers, or such affiliates, on behalf of the Company. The new notes offered pursuant to the concurrent offering have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Any offer or sale of the new notes in any member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented Directive 2003/711/EC (the "Prospectus Directive") must be addressed to qualified investors (as defined in the Prospectus Directive). The new notes are not intended to be offered, sold, distributed or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold, distributed or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU ("MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive. Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering, selling or distributing the new notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the European Economic Area has been prepared and therefore offering, selling or distributing the new notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. Forward-Looking Statements This release and the Statement contain statements which may constitute "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but instead represent only our belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside our control. Words such as "expect," "may," "intend," "should" and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. It is possible that our actual results may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results indicated in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements after the date on which they are made in light of new information, future events and other factors. SOURCE Camposol S.A. Related Links http://www.dfking.com/camposol DALLAS, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Censeo+Advance, a leading technology-enabled payor services provider with a focus on enabling high quality value-based care, today announced the appointment of Kyle Armbrester as Chief Executive Officer. Armbrester joins Censeo+Advance after more than seven years at athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled services for hospital and ambulatory clients nationwide, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer managing athenahealth's product strategy, product development, and service operations both domestically and internationally. During Armbrester's tenure at athenahealth, he drove significant new market expansion, ramped up its mobile-centric product offerings, and improved automation and efficiency across the company. Prior to athenahealth, Armbrester had a career as an entrepreneur and operator in enterprise software. Armbrester is a graduate of Harvard University and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. "We're excited to bring Kyle on board," said Kevin McNamara, the current CEO of Censeo+Advance. "He is an experienced and dedicated leader who knows what it takes to drive a leading healthcare business that marries services, technology, and superior quality of care. Censeo+Advance has many exciting developments underway, and I look forward to seeing Kyle lead our next chapter." Mr. McNamara will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Censeo+Advance. "Kyle has demonstrated impressive operational, technological and cultural leadership at athenahealth," said Matt Holt, a Managing Director at New Mountain Capital and a Board Member of Censeo+Advance. "His skill sets and entrepreneurial drive will help Censeo+Advance further its mission to support health plans in delivering better care to their membership while paving the way for continued expansion of our tech-enabled platform into the home." Vignesh Aier, another New Mountain Managing Director and Censeo+Advance Board member, added, "We are delighted to welcome Kyle and look forward to his leadership as Censeo+Advance enters its next stage of growth." "I look forward to working with the management team to continue Censeo+Advance's impressive growth trajectory," commented Kyle Armbrester. "I deeply value the Company's commitment to high quality care, innovation, and operational excellence, and I am excited about the numerous opportunities to expand services and creatively apply technology to enable the continued growth of the platform." About Censeo+Advance Censeo+Advance is a leading provider of technology-enabled payor services, focused on providing chronic care management services and in-home health assessments to Medicare Advantage plans. It was created in December 2017 via the merger of CenseoHealth and Advance Health, in partnership with New Mountain Capital. The combined company's chronic care management programs focus on a health plan's highest acuity members (aged, blind and disabled members as well as dual eligible populations). The combined company also deploys a network of physicians and nurse practitioners to complete in-home health assessments for members of health plans nationwide. These health assessments create a detailed medical record that allow health plans to close gaps in medical care, identify opportunities to better manage members' care, and receive appropriate reimbursement for the member. These capabilities position the combined company to be a leader in delivering value based care that drives high quality clinical outcomes at a lower cost. For more information on Censeo+Advance, please visit: https://www.censeohealth.com/ and http://www.advancehealth.com/ . About New Mountain Capital New Mountain Capital is Censeo+Advance's capital partner and is a New York based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with approximately $22 billion in aggregate capital commitments. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information on New Mountain Capital, please visit: www.newmountaincapital.com . Contact: Melissa Humphrey Vice President of Marketing 469-466-7306 SOURCE Censeo+Advance Related Links https://www.censeohealth.com/ DENVER, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services in the United States, today announced it has led the industry for the fourth year by meeting or exceeding Medicare standards in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System (Five-Star). DaVita's focus on helping improve patients' health and quality of life is demonstrated in this year's Five-Star ratings, where the company has more three, four and five star centers than it has ever had in the history of the program. The results mark DaVita's best quality performance in the program to date. "The entire kidney care community has come together through Five-Star to raise the bar on quality year over year," said Javier Rodriguez, CEO for DaVita Kidney Care. "It's time to honor our collective successand our commitment to clinical improvementin the best interest of our patients and their families." The broader kidney care community has also continued to improve with an increase in the number of dialysis centers receiving a three-, four- or five-star quality rating by 10 percent since 2016. Other meaningful improvements have been demonstrated in publicly reported clinical quality measures, including: 3 percent improvement in dialysis adequacy, which measures how well dialysis removes waste from the blood. 8 percent improvement in bloodstream infections, which are one of the leading causes of hospitalizations among dialysis patients. "Improved clinical quality means patients have greater access to better care. That is the real victory of Five-Star," said Allen R. Nissenson, M.D., FACP, chief medical officer for DaVita Kidney Care. "DaVita continues to evolve our patient-centered clinical programs to deliver optimal care so our patients have a better chance of staying home with loved ones and friends instead of being in and out of the hospital." All center ratings can be found on the Dialysis Facility Compare website. To learn more about DaVita Kidney Care's commitment to quality, visit DaVita.com/Five-Star. About DaVita Kidney Care DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500 company, that through its operating divisions provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of dialysis services in the United States, DaVita Kidney Care treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care strives to improve patients' quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of Dec. 31, 2017, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,510 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 198,000 patients. The company also operated 237 outpatient dialysis centers located in 11 countries outside the United States. DaVita Kidney Care supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company's leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit DaVita.com. Contact Information Media: Ashley Henson 303-876-6626 [email protected] SOURCE DaVita Kidney Care Related Links http://www.davita.com BOGOTA , Colombia, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL;NYSE: EC) ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company) announces that on May 3, 2018 after market close, it will release its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2018. On Friday, May 4th, Ecopetrol's senior management will host two conference calls to review the results. Please find below the timing, dial-in and links to access the conferences: Spanish Conference Call English Conference Call 07:30 a.m. Col Time 09:00 a.m. Col Time US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 Local Colombia Dial-in #: 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in #: : 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Passcode: 46875997 Passcode: 46876002 Participants from different countries may look for different international numbers to the ones mentioned above by consulting the following link: http://web.meetme.net/r.aspx?p=12&a=UatuNXvFobSrXa The earnings release, slide presentation and live webcast of the conference calls will be available on Ecopetrol's website: www.ecopetrol.com.co and at the following links: http://event.onlineseminarsolutions.com/wcc/r/1664951-1/87664B39E2B6F92BDBC83D5D456C0CDB (Spanish) http://event.onlineseminarsolutions.com/wcc/r/1665313-1/7F16E6F3E53C5C077B9AA9AE0B8133C4 (English) Please verify in advance proper operation of the webcast in your browser. We recommend the usage of the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome y Mozilla Firefox. The replay of the calls will be available on Ecopetrol's website (www.ecopetrol.com.co). This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For further information, please contact: Capital Markets Manager Andres Felipe Sanchez (e) Phone: (+571) 234 5190 E-mail: [email protected] Media Relations (Colombia) Jorge Mauricio Tellez Phone: (+ 571) 234 4329 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. Related Links http://www.ecopetrol.com.co SAO PAULO, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EMBRAER S.A. (NYSE: ERJ; B3: EMBR3) releases its 1st Quarter 2018 earnings results. HIGHLIGHTS In 1Q18, Embraer delivered 14 commercial and 11 executive (8 light and 3 large) jets, which was down from the 18 commercial and 15 executive (11 light and 4 large) jets in 1Q17; The Company's firm order backlog at the end of 1Q18, which now includes contracts of the newly created Services & Support segment, was US$ 19.5 billion ; ; Reported EBIT and EBITDA in 1Q18 were US$ 26.4 million and US$ 89.5 million , respectively, yielding margins of 2.7% and 9.0%. There were no special items booked in 1Q18 results; and , respectively, yielding margins of 2.7% and 9.0%. There were no special items booked in 1Q18 results; 1Q18 Net loss attributable to Embraer shareholders and Loss per ADS were US$ (12.3) million and US$ (0.07) , respectively. Adjusted Net loss (excluding the impact of FX-related non-cash deferred income tax and social contribution) for 1Q18 was US$ (24.6) million , with Adjusted Loss per ADS of US$ (0.13) ; and , respectively. Adjusted Net loss (excluding the impact of FX-related non-cash deferred income tax and social contribution) for 1Q18 was , with Adjusted Loss per ADS of ; The Company finished 1Q18 with a total cash position of US$ 3,428.4 million , and a total debt position of US$ 4,187.0 million , yielding net debt at the end of the period of US$ 758.6 million ; , and a total debt position of , yielding net debt at the end of the period of ; In February, only 56 months after program launch, Embraer received certification for the E190-E2 from ANAC, the FAA and EASA. It is the first time that an aircraft program with the level of complexity of the E2 has received a type certificate from three major certification authorities simultaneously; The Company reaffirms all aspects of its 2018 financial and aircraft deliveries guidance. MAIN FINANCIAL INDICATORS - IFRS in millions of U.S dollars, except % and earnings per share data 1Q17 4Q17 1Q18 Revenue 1,042.4 1,729.0 992.0 EBIT 40.6 60.5 26.4 EBIT Margin % 3.9% 3.5% 2.7% Adjusted EBIT 48.2 115.0 26.4 Adjusted EBIT Margin % 4.6% 6.7% 2.7% EBITDA 113.0 148.1 89.5 EBITDA Margin % 10.8% 8.6% 9.0% Adjusted EBITDA 120.6 202.6 89.5 Adjusted EBITDA Margin % 11.6% 11.7% 9.0% Adjusted Net Income (Loss) 2 40.4 56.0 (24.6) Adjusted earnings per share - ADS basic 0.2196 0.3053 (0.1342) Net income (loss) attributable to Embraer Shareholders 53.2 41.2 (12.3) Earnings (losses) per share - ADS basic (US$) 0.2893 0.2245 (0.0671) Adjusted Free Cash Flow (199.2) 406.7 (430.9) Net debt (805.8) (310.8) (758.6) For additional information, please check the full document in our website ri.embraer.com.br INVESTOR RELATIONS Eduardo Couto, Chris Thornsberry, Caio Pinez, Nadia Santos, Paulo Ferreira and Viviane Pinheiro. (+55 12) 3927 1000 [email protected] ri.embraer.com.br CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION Embraer will host a conference call to present its 1Q18 Results on Friday, April 27, 2018 at 10:30AM (EDT). The conference call will also be broadcast live over the web at ri.embraer.com.br Conference ID: 8698725 Telephones: Operator Assisted (US/ Canada) Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (877) 846-1574 Operator Assisted International Dial-In Number: (708) 290-0687 Your own International Toll-Free number for Brazil: 0800 047 4803 (land line) and 0800 047 4801 (cell phone) SOURCE EMBRAER S.A. Related Links https://ri.embraer.com.br TOLEDO, Ohio, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 2.1 million JK Wranglers rolled off line since production began in 2006 Assembly plant to begin retooling for all-new Jeep truck model Jeep truck to be produced utilizing same supplier co-location concept as introduced for Wrangler Last Wrangler JK produced will be white 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited After 12 years and more than 2.1 million vehicles produced, the last Jeep Wrangler JK rolled off the line today at the FCA US Toledo Supplier Park, making room for the all-new Jeep truck, which will launch in the first half of 2019. Toledo Assembly Complex employees marked the occasion by taking pictures with the white 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, which will become one of the Jeep brand's show properties. "This workforce has been working practically non-stop for the past several years to fulfill the dreams of Jeep enthusiasts around the world who want to go where only a Wrangler can take them," said Chuck Padden, Toledo Assembly Complex Manager. "We take great pride in the role we have played in the history of this vehicle and the impact it has made in the Toledo community. We look forward to bringing that same commitment to the all-new Jeep truck." Since production began in 2006, the iconic Jeep model has been built as part of an innovative supplier co-location concept where supplier partners build and manage key manufacturing process facilities completely within the plant "footprint." FCA US will continue utilizing that same manufacturing system working with supplier partners to produce the new Jeep truck. Kuka and Hyundai Mobis will remain the suppliers for the body and chassis, respectively. Manufacturing capacity for the new Jeep truck was created by moving production of the next generation Jeep Wrangler (JL) to the north side of the Toledo Assembly Complex as part of a $4.5 billion industrialization plan to realign the Company's U.S. manufacturing base to expand the Jeep and Ram brands. The Company announced plans to build the new Jeep truck in Toledo in January 2017. About FCA US LLC FCA US LLC is a North American automaker based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It designs, manufactures, and sells or distributes vehicles under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT and Alfa Romeo brands, as well as the SRT performance designation. The Company also distributes Mopar and Alfa Romeo parts and accessories. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler Corp., established in 1925 by industry visionary Walter P. Chrysler and Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T.), founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli. FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA). FCA, the eighth-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA." Follow FCA US news and video on: Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol YouTube: www.youtube.com/fcanorthamerica Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com SOURCE FCA US LLC Related Links http://www.fcanorthamerica.com CHICAGO, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, presented the 2018 Hunger's Hope Awards at their annual conference this week in Tampa, Florida. Feeding America distributes food and groceries to more than 46 million low-income people each year through a network of 200 food banks that serve 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across the country. The 2018 Hunger's Hope Award Winners are: 2018 Member of the Year The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (Tucson, AZ) was recognized for demonstrating excellence in its efforts to serve its community and cultivating a strong organizational culture that has deeply engaged board members and staff in its mission. "The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is an outstanding organization that is making a big difference in the lives of people facing hunger throughout the region," said Matt Knott, president of Feeding America. "They are distributing nutritious foodincluding lots of fresh produceto struggling communities and supporting people in need to build skills and pursue opportunities that create financial stability and self-sufficiency. Their impact is made possible by the commitment of chief executive officer Michael McDonald and the board to fostering a positive environment at the food bank where employees are empowered to take action and recognized for their efforts." The food bank was also cited for being highly collaborative, as evidenced by their community partnerships and by their efforts to share insights with other food banks across the Feeding America network. 2018 Network Leader of the Year Joe Arthur, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (Harrisburg, PA), was recognized for his advocacy for people facing hunger and commitment to providing fresh, nutritious food to key populations. "Joe has worked hard to provide healthy food to households across Central Pennsylvania with the most acute need for meals, including many military families. He has also channeled more fresh produce and dairy items into the hands of people struggling with hunger. Additionally, Joe has established partnerships that have increased awareness and support for effective anti-hunger policies. As a respected leader who serves on the National Council for the Feeding America network, Joe's passion for ending hunger has led him to collaborate locally, regionally and nationally to support our neighbors in need," said Knott. 2018 John van Hengel Fellow Pamela Irvine, president and chief executive officer of Feeding America Southwest Virginia (Salem, VA) is this year's recipient of the John van Hengel Fellowship. The award honors the ideals of the late John van Hengel, who developed the concept of food banking in the 1960s. It recognizes an executive director of a member food bank for his or her excellence in leadership, local impact and national influence, and commitment and entrepreneurial spirit in the area of hunger relief. Pamela has served Feeding America Southwest Virginia for the past 37 years. "Pamela has demonstrated unwavering compassion, dedication and leadership in the anti-hunger movement," said Knott. "She established and grew Southwest Virginia's first food bank from a one-room operation to the largest provider of meals for struggling families in a 26-county region. Over the years, she has not only helped feed many people in her community, but also invested in the success of leaders and partnerships throughout the country, moving us closer to truly ending hunger in America." About Feeding America Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Contact Please contact one of our media representatives or call 800-771-2303. SOURCE Feeding America Related Links http://www.feedingamerica.org BOSTON, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FinMason, a rapidly growing FinTech company, today announced that they are rolling out a Canadian Dollar version of their acclaimed investment analytics as a service platform. This enhancement marks the first step in FinMason's international expansion plans. The new production environment will allow Canadian financial services firms and U.S.-based companies with operations in Canada to leverage FinMason's robust investment analytics to enhance their offerings. U.S. firms interested in expanding to Canadian markets can also take advantage of FinMason's new capabilities to facilitate the process and accelerate their timelines. "One of the pleasures of working with a completely modern tech platform is that we can put in place a system for rapidly rolling out new base currencies at scale," said Kendrick Wakeman, CEO of FinMason. "That allows us to support our clients and prospective clients across the globe." This announcement comes on the heels of last month's appointment of 32-year industry veteran David Remstein as the firm's first president and COO, a role in which he will help drive FinMason's international expansion. Prior to FinMason, Remstein held several senior global analytics roles at JP Morgan, Citi and Riskcare, including global head and chief operating officer of analytics and consulting at JP Morgan. "It is important that investors always look at analytics specific to their own base currency," commented Remstein. "To do it right, you need to do more than just translate the currency. You need to change the perspective. For example, a U.S.-based investor would want to consider Trade-Weighted US Dollar as a potential return driver, but a Canadian-based investor would want to see trade-weighted Canadian Dollar. FinMason's system does just that." The new Canadian analytics product is scheduled to launch at the end April. Looking forward, the firm projects incorporating support for the Euro, Pound and Swiss Franc by the end of the summer, with many of the Asian currencies following in early 2019. The new base-currency analytics can be accessed by simply changing three letters in the API address, allowing for global firms to use the same code base across all currencies. ABOUT FINMASON INC. FinMason is the world's largest independent investment analytics engine for financial services platforms. The Boston-based financial technology firm provides access to more than 700 calculations on every publicly traded asset in the world delivered through one simple API. Developed by FinMason's team of seasoned data practitioners and nine Ph.D.s, the cutting-edge platform delivers institutional-grade analytics in milliseconds via two core products: FinRiver a lightning-fast API that delivers any analytics anywhere in a financial services firm's platform with just a few keystrokes; and FinScope a bulk processing platform that can analyze millions of portfolios every night for compliance screening and performance attribution. For more information, visit www.finmason.com and follow FinMason on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Taylor Shores Impact Communications 913-649-5009 [email protected] SOURCE FinMason Related Links https://finmason.com WASHINGTON, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 50,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines represented by the Association of Flight AttendantsCWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), today cheered the House of Representatives vote for the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4). The bill includes the union's top safety priority for equal minimum rest with the flight deck, protections against eroding U.S. aviation jobs, and enhancements to the security of our aviation system. "Congressional fatigue studies have concluded Flight Attendants don't get enough rest in our safety sensitive work. AFA made 10 hours minimum rest free from duty - equal with the flight deck - our top safety priority in this bill. Today, the House voted for legislation that fixes this safety loophole of Flight Attendant fatigue. This is about safety, health, and equality," stated AFA International President Sara Nelson. "We applaud Chairman Shuster (R-PA), Ranking Member DeFazio (D-OR), Chairman LoBiondo (R-NJ), and Ranking Member Larsen (D-WA) for their leadership in shaping this bill that will improve our rest, tackle current aviation issues that matter to the traveling public, and maintain a strong U.S. aviation system with good jobs. We urge the Senate to act quickly to do the same," Nelson concluded. The bill includes these AFA safety priorities: 10-hours minimum rest and a FRMP for Flight Attendants Protecting U.S. aviation jobs by preventing approval of any new applications by airlines operating with a flags-of-convenience model Ban of Voice Calls on Planes Emotional Support and Service Animal Standards Cabin Cyber Security Vulnerabilities Secondary Cockpit Barriers Safe transport of lithium batteries Study on Cabin Evacuation Certification Requiring privacy for nursing in the airport Evaluation and update of emergency medical kit contents Required notification of Insecticide use Promoting Women in Aviation Banning electronic cigarette smoking on plane Training on Sexual Harassment and Assault Protect Customer Service agents from assaults View Online The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 72 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org. SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) Related Links http://www.afacwa.org MONROVIA, Calif., April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair was awarded nearly $300 million from the California State Transportation Agency's (CalSTA) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for transformative transit and rail projects. The project was one of several major rail investment projects that Los Angeles County Metro submitted for TIRCP grants, with a combined county award of $1.09 billion. TIRCP is part of SB1, with proceeds coming directly from Cap and Trade auctions. The Foothill Gold Line's TIRCP grant award will be used to fill the estimated funding gap for the $1.5 billion, six-station light rail extension, that will connect Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The gap is based on the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority's latest project estimates; the final project cost will be known later this year, once bids are received. "Today's grant award is excellent news for the San Gabriel Valley and our region," stated Construction Authority CEO, Habib F. Balian, after learning of today's announcement by CalSTA. "It highlights how the county can successfully leverage our voter-approved tax measures to bring new funds to Los Angeles, allowing us to complete more projects faster - including the Foothill Gold Line." The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is well underway to hire the design-build contractor for the Glendora to Montclair project. In February, four highly-qualified design-build teams were short-listed to compete for the work, and each was sent an Industry Review Draft Request for Proposals shortly thereafter. The RFP is on schedule to be issued late next month, and a contract award is anticipated in October. About the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature to plan, design and build the Metro Gold Line light rail system from Union Station to Montclair, along the Foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. The agency completed the first segment from Union Station to Pasadena in 2003 and the Pasadena to Azusa segment in 2015; both on time and under budget. The agency began work on the Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair in 2003. The Glendora to Montclair project was environmentally cleared in March 2013 under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and completed advanced conceptual engineering in 2016. When completed, the extension will add new light rail stations in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair. The majority of the project is being built in Los Angeles County, with less than 6% in San Bernardino County. The Los Angeles County portion will be funded mostly by Measure M, with residual funds from Measure R not used to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment. San Bernardino County is responsible to fund their portion of the project from Claremont (in Los Angeles County) to Montclair (in San Bernardino County). The nearly $300 million in State TIRCP funds will be used to support both counties. SOURCE Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority WASHINGTON, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former White House spokesman Robert Weiner recently co-wrote four op-eds. The first, with Brad Star, in the Colorado Springs Gazette, contends the NRA should quit saying restoring the assault weapons ban wouldn't make a difference, since all fifteen mass shootings of 10 or more since Columbine have been committed with assault weapons. The second by Weiner and Kyle Fleck asserts national parks are under siege by budget reductions and privatization in the Trump administration, and appeared in LaborPress. Also in LaborPress and written by Weiner, Star and Ben Lasky: President Trump's offer to meet with Kim Jong-Un is a good step to end the nuclear threat. Finally, Weiner co-wrote an op-ed with Lasky in the Youngstown Vindicator contending that port security is far more important than the Trump border wall in stopping drugs from entering the U.S. All four op-eds were ranked by OpEdNews among the top four in the nation on day of publication. At the National Press Club on April 26, Weiner also asked pointed questions to former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci (video below). Weiner also made weekly appearances on "The Alan Nathan Show" on the Main Street Radio Network of 200 stations. Op-eds ***April 20, 2018: "Quin Saying Assault Weapon Ban Wouldn't Work" in the Colorado Springs Gazette by Robert Weiner and Brad Star: "Gun advocates should quit saying that restoring the assault weapons ban would mean nothing. All 15 mass killings of 10 or more since Columbine involved assault weapons under the ban by the Brady Bill, which was sunsetted [after lobbying] by the NRA." Article: http://weinerpublic.com/20180420.pdf OpEdNews with added chart of weapons used: https://www.opednews.com/articles/Assault-Weapons-Used-in-Al-by-Robert-Weiner-Assault-Rifle_Columbine_Democrats_Firearms-180427-697.html ***April 14, 2018: "National Parks Under Siege" in LaborPress by Robert Weiner, Kyle Fleck and Ben Lasky: "Secretary Zinke and President Trump's proposed 8% cuts with 4,000 fewer jobs for the national parks didn't happen in the Omnibus Funding Bill just passed and signed 'reluctantly,' the President said. One of his objections was 'too much money'. Congress refused the cut." Article: http://weinerpublic.com/20180414.pdf OpEdNews: https://www.opednews.com/articles/National-Parks-Under-Siege-by-Robert-Weiner-Donald-Trump_Interior-National-Parks_Park_Zinke-Ryan-180419-894.html ***March 24, 2018: "Trump's Korea Talks a Good Step to End Nuclear Threat, Despite White House Back-and-Forth" in LaborPress by Robert Weiner, Brad Star ad Ben Lasky: "The threat hits home. From New York to Hawaii Seattle has a nuclear submarine base 18 miles away." Article: http://weinerpublic.com/20180324.pdf OpEdNews: https://www.opednews.com/articles/Trump-s-Offer-of-Korea-Tal-by-Robert-Weiner-Korea_Nuclear-Arms-Race_Nuclear-Attack_Nuclear-Buttons-180407-581.html ***March 18, 2018: "Down with Wall, Up with Increased Port Security" in the Youngstown Vindicator by Robert Weiner and Ben Lasky. Article: http://www.vindy.com/news/2018/mar/18/down-with-wall-up-with-increased-port-se/ OpEdNews: https://www.opednews.com/articles/Down-With-Wall-Up-With-In-by-Robert-Weiner-Border-Wall_Cocaine_Donald-Trump_Drugs-180319-665.html Cong Tim Ryan Facebook Commendation of the article: https://www.facebook.com/timryan/posts/10156134646827866 TV and Radio ***March 26, 2018: Bob's questions to Anthony Scaramucci at the National Press Club. Robert Weiner asks former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci questions about Russia, Presidential truth, and equal accountability at the National Press Club, scroll to 1:03:00 through end for Bob's questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1A3UDW2oVs *** The Alan Nathan Show, Main Street Radio Network (200 stations) Bob discussed guns, Russia, immigration, and politics with Alan as regular on-air analyst: April 25, 2018 cursor 33:04 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180425.mp3 April 19, 2018 cursor 31:11 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180419.mp3 April 11, 2018 cursor 31:32 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180411.mp3 March 28, 2018 cursor 31:21 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180328.mp3 March 22, 2018 cursor 31:43 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180322.mp3 March 14, 2018 cursor 30:43 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180314.mp3 March 9, 2018 cursor 48:46 http://www.mainstreetradionetwork.com/audio/shows/BATTLELINE-HR1-180309.mp3 Contact: Robert Weiner/Ben Lasky 301-283-0821, cell 202-306-1200 [email protected] SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates DUBLIN, April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Cranes Market - Forecasts from 2018 to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global cranes market is expected to reach US$43.417 billion by the end of 2023, increasing from US$31.478 billion in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 5.51% during the forecast period. Growing global construction industry is the key driver of cranes market across the globe as these material handling equipment work best with heavy machineries. Moreover, cranes are used on construction sites to load/unload heavy material component which is impossible for human labor to do. Rising shipbuilding industry owing to rising demand for oil and other raw materials overseas coupled with high funding for military ships will propel the growth of global cranes market during the forecast period. APAC region will witness the fastest growth of regional cranes market due to rising infrastructure development and increase in construction activities in emerging economies such as China, India and South Korea. Major industry players profiled include Mammoet, Sarens N.V., Lampson International LLC, Maxim Crane Works L.P., and Siemens AG among others. Segmentation: The global cranes market has been analyzed through following segments: By Type: Tower Cranes Rough-Terrain Cranes Crawler Cranes Floating Cranes Others By Industry Vertical: Manufacturing Construction Transportation and Logistics Aerospace and Defense Automotive and Railway Others By Geography: North America USA Canada Mexico Others South America Brazil Argentina Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Spain Others Middle East and Africa and UAE Israel South Africa Others Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Others Companies Mentioned Daifuku Company Limited Seimens AG Maxim Crane Works , L.P. , L.P. Lampson International LLC Sarens N.V. Mammoet Konecranes PLC Liebherr Group Demag Cranes & Components GmbH Mediaco Cranes For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/nps6vs/global_cranes?w=5 Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com DUBLIN, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Genetic Testing Market - Forecasts from 2018 to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global genetic testing market was valued at US$5.060 billion in 2018 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 12.94% over the forecast period to reach US$9.296 billion by 2023. Genetic testing is carrying out the range of tests on the sample of DNA derived from blood, saliva, skin, and other tissues. Genetic tests are majorly conducted for diagnosing genetic disorders, identifying the mutation in the gene, and designing the treatment package. The growing prevalence of genetic disorders has been instrumental in driving the market. Moreover, the reduction in the genetic testing prices has increased the number of individual undergoing genetic test since it has a scope beyond the medical field because of its ability to provide the ancestral history about an individual. However, concerns regarding the confidentiality and misleading advice along with the difficulty in interpreting the result has limited the market growth. By Type: The global genetic testing market is segmented as prenatal testing, newborn screening, diagnostic testing, carrier testing, and predictive & pre-symptomatic testing. The continuous technological advancement has made prenatal testing relatively affordable and gives more accurate results which is driving the market for prenatal testing. In February 2018, the Becton, Dickinson and Company has announced the commercial availability of PAXgene Blood ccfDNA tube within the European Economic Area and Switzerland which has been designed to ensure accurate and reproducible results in molecular diagnostic testing applications circulating cell-free DNA. Newborn screening is conducted to identify the genetic disorders that have the possibility of being treated in the initial years. In the United States, it is recommended to get a newborn screening test that checks for a minimum of 34 disorders. In February 2018, Sema4 launched supplemental newborn screening test Sema4 Natalis' which is designed to detect 193 childhood-onset diseases or disorders. Moreover, there is a growing prevalence of depression among women globally which increases the possibility of defected birth. Thus, the growing prevalence of depression among women is driving the genetic testing market for newborn screening. By Disease: By disease, the genetic testing market is segmented as cancer, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer disease, thalassemia, huntington disease, and others. Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity globally and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Approximately 5%-10% of all the cancers are caused by inheriting genetic mutation. The growing prevalence of cancers is leading to significant increase in the number of the genetic test conducted for testing cancer. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive system involving the production of abnormally thick mucus lining in the lungs. The disease is more prevalent in North America, Europe, and Australasia. By Technology: The global genetic testing market is segmented as cytogenetic testing, biochemical testing, and molecular testing based on technology. Cytogenetic testing is conducted to detect the abnormalities in the chromosome structure. There is a growing prevalence of chromosome abnormally related diseases such down syndrome, Edwards-syndrome, and growth disorders among others. Biochemical testing study the amount or activity level of protein to determine the abnormality that indicate the changes in the DNA which results in a genetic disorder. The abnormality in protein can lead to birth defects in children which is leading to increasing number of newborn screening test being conducted globally. By Geography: The global genetic testing market is segmented as North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The regions are further analyzed on the basis of countries. The recent regulatory support for the direct to consumer genetic testing along with the increasing insurance coverage and reduction in the cost of genetic test is anticipated to lead to the growth of genetic testing market in the United States. Simultaneously, in Canada, the growing prevalence of genetic diseases in along with the lack of stringent' regulations, more specifically for the direct-to-consumers genetic test, will lead to the growth of the market, however, the recent bill passed by the parliament is likely to check the growth as it provides individuals a choice for getting themselves genetically tested in order to gain employment or any commercial concerns. Competitive landscape: The global genetic testing market is competitive owing to the presence of well diversified international and regional players. The competitive landscape details strategies, products, and investments being done by key players in different technologies and companies to boost their market presence. Major industry players profiled as part of the report are Abbot, Precipio Inc., Ariosa Diagnositic Inc., and Sequenom Inc. Segmentation: By Type: Prenatal Testing Newborn Screening Diagnostic Screening Carrier Testing Predictive & Pre-symptomatic Testing By Disease Cancer Cystic Fibrosis Sickle Cell Anemia Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Alzheimer Disease Thalassemia Huntington Disease Others By Technology Cytogenetic testing Biochemical Testing Molecular Testing By Geography: North America United States Canada Mexico Others South America Brazil Argentina Others Europe United Kingdom Germany France Italy Others Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific Japan China India Australia Others For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m3hqlg/global_genetic?w=5 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On the morning of April 21, the 2018 Vascular Innovation Symposium was held in Beijing. The symposium focused on conceptual and technological innovation, presented the innovative applications of next-generation information technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence in the medical field, and discussed the application of big data and artificial intelligence on vascular surgery. Xie Shaofeng, General Director of the Department of Information and Software Services of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China; Prof. Yu Qilin, Department of Surgical Medicine, People's Liberation Army General Hospital; Prof. Wang Shenming, Chief Expert of the Department of Vascular Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University; Jiang Feng, Executive Vice President of the China Association for the Medical Device Industry; Wang Faqiang, President of Chinese Research Hospital Association; Shi Xinli, Head of Center for Medical Device Evaluation; Prof. Chen Zhong, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Beijing Anzhen Hospital; Prof. Liu Changwei, Department of Vascular Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Prof. Guo Wei, Department of Vascular Surgery, People's Liberation Army General Hospital; Prof. Liao Hongen, Deputy Dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences at Tsinghua University; Wu Wenxin, General Manager of the Intel Healthcare Industry Solution Group; Chai Xiangfei, CEO of Huiyihuiying; and Guona, COO of Huiyihuiying were among those that attended the symposium. At the symposium, Huiyihuiying and the Department of Vascular Surgery of the PLA General Hospital (the 301 Hospital) jointly announced the AORTIST 2.0 artificial intelligence research cloud platform. According to Guo Wei, director of the Department of Vascular Surgery at 301 Hospital, it is the first time that an artificial intelligence automatic segmentation method for type B aortic dissection has been developed anywhere in the world. Big Data and AI could let China pull ahead Xie Shaofeng, Director General of the Department of Information and Software Services of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC, addressed the meeting, saying: "To promote a smart future for the industry, medicine and health care need to be people-centric; positioning people's yearning for a better life as the target while strengthening data, opening up data security and reinforcing cooperation between other aspects. "The first step is to promote openness and the sharing of medical health data for comprehensive utilization. In response to the development trends present in new technologies and new formats, we will build a unified, comprehensive and interconnected medical and health platform to achieve data and resource co-construction and sharing, eliminating data barriers and facilitating data-sharing channels between industries. "The second is cooperation between health information technology companies and medical departments, strengthening the coordination ability between supply side and demand side, to promote big data and AI technology and make them demand-oriented, going deep into the application of medical technology and promoting the transformation of technological achievements and industrial upgrade. "The third is to effectively ensure the safety of medical and health data, strengthen the management of identities in medical and health data, and construct a safety system, ensuring the safety of medical and health data through standard implementation of safety precautions. The deep integration of big data and artificial intelligence with the health care field will optimize resource allocation, integrate social forces, and maximize medical and health benefits. It has great significance for propelling technological advancement, and building a better society for the welfare of the people. Prof. Liao Hongen, Deputy Dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences at Tsinghua University, said that "With artificial intelligence becoming part of the national strategy, algorithms, computing power, and big data have developed rapidly. In recent years, artificial intelligence has made breakthroughs in disease monitoring, disease early warning, medication monitoring, personalized diagnosis, precise treatment, smart pension and so on. Especially in the field of microinvasive treatment, artificial intelligence has given medical research and clinics a powerful new tool." When he shared on the topic of 'Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging and Microinvasive Diagnosis and Treatment', Prof. Liao stated that he thinks that with regard to AI, people should pay more attention to the efficiency of machines and the improvement of people's effectiveness and cognition. That is not to say that people should let AI completely replace doctors, but that the best model is a complementary one. These kind of diagnoses require a high degree of long-term coordination and cooperation between even some fields merely related to medicine in order to ultimately achieve the goal of accurate personalized medicine. As a leading medical imaging and artificial intelligence company, Huiyihuiying provides a complete set of medical image data analysis and mining tools and a medical imaging intelligent auxiliary diagnosis service. It has already been put into use in more than 700 hospitals and its intelligent auxiliary diagnosis system based on deep learning has already been applied in hundreds of hospitals. The big data intelligent analysis cloud platform based on radiomics, machine learning, big data and other technologies has already been settled in more than 300 hospitals. In the 2018 Vascular Innovation Symposium, Huiyihuiying and the Department of Vascular Surgery of the PLA General Hospital (the 301 Hospital) announced an artificial intelligence research cloud platform named AORTIST 2.0. The full name of the AORTIST is "Artificial intelligence Online Research platform Targeting Individualized aortic Stent-grafting Therapy." According to reports, after a year of cooperation, the two parties have made breakthrough progress in precision measurement, prognosis prediction and follow-up management on surgery of type B aortic dissections, and Guo Wei, director of vascular surgery at 301 Hospital, claimed this is the first time in the world that an artificial intelligence automatic segmentation method for type B aortic dissection has been developed. For Huiyihuiying, this is also a breakthrough, because its AI application for the first time 'came out' from the imaging department and began seeing application in clinical departments, also participating in clinical treatment decision-making after making breakthroughs in the diagnosis process, from efficiency improvement to precise treatment. AORTIST2.0 gives intelligence to the diagnosis and treatment of aortic disease Aortic dissection is the most dangerous and complex of the aortic diseases. With the evolution of medical equipment and surgical instruments, human beings have been able to treat aortic diseases with endovascular repair, achieving a major shift from massively traumatic aortic surgery to microinvasive methods. The main problem of the microinvasive treatment of aortic diseases has also begun to change from how to complete the surgery more safely to how to treat the disease more effectively. Questions such as 'how to accurately measure aortic anatomic parameters to reduce the incidence of surgical complications' and 'how to achieve prognosis of patients with aortic disease to develop a personalized treatment plan and follow-up plan' have become larger concerns for vascular surgeons. According to the data, the aorta is the main blood vessel of the body. If there is tearing of the intimal layer that cannot be treated promptly, then when it ruptures, it has a very high fatality rate. The dissection is located only in the area below the distal opening of the left subclavian artery, and the B-type aorta is not involved in the proximal aortic artery. B-type aortic dissection is a very rare but serious disease, where 65% to 70% die of cardiac tamponade, arrhythmia and so on, so it's absolutely necessary to get early diagnosis and treatment. According to Chai Xiangfei, Founder and CEO of Huiyihuiying, after the 301 Hospital and Huiyingying jointly designed the project, the hospital provided image data and patient clinical data, while Huiyihuiying provided the artificial intelligence algorithm, radiology algorithm, and follow-up engineered algorithm. Once the platform was fully trained and fleshed out, a limited verification was performed to debug for accuracy, before expanding the application to its full scope. AORTIST resolves the three core issues of accurate measurement, prognostic prediction, and remote follow-up in previous B-type aortic dissection surgery. Taking precision measurement as an example, B-type aortic dissection surgery requires accurate measurements of the diameter of the proximal & distal landing zone, the location of the breach, and some important distance information. Manual measurement based on the CTA axial position is prone to errors, especially when it comes to the measurement of the diameter of the aortic arch, and it is also difficult to obtain information such as length and distance using the manual measurement method. In this case, vascular surgeons usually need to rely on trained professionals to use commercial software to obtain accurate anatomical parameters, but the accuracy and timeliness of information acquisition cannot be guaranteed. The AORTIST Cloud Platform achieves breakthroughs in the three-dimensional reconstruction of patients' aorta, segmentation, centerline extraction, breach analysis, and accurate measurement of diameter and length. According to reports, using the AORTIST cloud platform, the intersection-over-union ratio of arterial diameter measurement reached 98%, the arterial diameter error margin was reduced to within 1.5mm, and the accuracy was improved by more than 50% compared with the manual measurement method. The accurate measurement of the diameter, length, and distance between branching arteries of the patient's landing zone could be completed within 10 minutes, greatly improving efficiency and accuracy, which is extremely helpful for doctors to develop personalized surgeries. Prof. Guo Wei, Director of Department of Vascular Surgery at the 301 Hospital, said that "Radiomics is closely linked with big data and artificial intelligence." Director Guo believes that the true strength of big data is not simply a large amount of data, but is actually big data paired with cloud-based data. The most important part of medical data is imaging data. Imaging data is often a manifestation of the objective response of the disease. It is more truthful than a patient's statement and is more accurate than the medical record. Aortic disease is very suitable for big data, artificial intelligence and radiomics. There are many companies that make images today, but companies that extend it into automated segments are still uncommon. The most important part of a convolutional neural-based network is automatic measurement. AORTIST 2.0 can assist in accurate measurement. Formerly most patients were manually measured before surgery. The difficulty was to find the plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the aorta, and then select the correct bracket. In addition, AORTIST 2.0 also provides a pre-plan recommendation, which is based on the analysis results of large amounts of data and will improve long-term outcomes. Report from Japanese market in AI and radiomics The best proof of the work related to the development of Radiomics and AI platforms has been confirmed during the 77th Annual Meeting of the Japan Radiological Society. During that meeting professor Shuji Yamamoto emphasized the peculiarity of Chinese development of Artificial Intelligence and the current global status quo in the Radiology field. Professor Shuji Yamamoto graduated from School of Medicine in Medical Physics from Osaka University, he is Project Associate Professor in Tokyo Institute of Technology (ACLS) and visiting researcher in the National Cancer Center in Japan, working on research into Cancer prevention and screening, as well as a member of the International Cancer Imaging Society (United Kingdom). Japanese radiologists have been very interested in opportunities presented by the implementation of Radiomics in routine work and calculation of prediction and forecasting of Cancer. Even though the coverage of PACS systems in Japan exceeds 95%, the level of AI integration is still lacking - though there is great demand. This could be a great opportunity to develop the quality of patients' data for companies like HY. So the market response for HY AI products was outstanding and the Japanese market, which boasts the highest adoption rates of MRI and CT scanners in the world, is regarded as the most interesting potential market for all companies working in Medical Imaging AI field. The future of AI and radiomics in vascular surgery Looking back over the history of the development of artificial intelligence, the earliest artificial intelligence was based on expert systems, and had turned into a statistical model by the end of the 1990s. AI gradually came into the limelight starting from 2012, when data-driven artificial intelligence emerged. In 2016, because of the spotlight shined on AlphaGo, artificial intelligence technology began appearing in a wide variety of fields and industries. Therefore, this came to be known as the "First year of AI" Chai Xiangfei believes that images and pathology are the most mature technologies and the most widely used ones in the application of AI technology in medical field. In addition to intelligent analysis, AI medical imaging can provide new strategies for diagnosis and treatment. It can also realize intelligent segmentation of medical images to achieve 3D modeling and multimodal image registration. Providing doctors with multidimensional information and radiation-free image tracking techniques helps to reduce the intraoperative radiation damage for doctors. Although medical images have achieved breakthroughs when it comes to type B aorta, there are still many challenges left to be solved. Chai Xiangfei said "The numbers of incidences of aortic disease in the country is probably 100,000. When we subdivide A and B aortic aneurysms, there are only thousands of cases for each disease, so we can not obtain data from millions of cases as we may wish. Usually, we can only perform calculations in hundreds or thousands of data sets. Handling artificial intelligence calculations in this process for such a small amount of data is the area where AI-enhanced medical imaging most urgently needs improvement." From the view of the medical industry, the specificity of this industry determines that many new technologies and new things cannot be "tried and tested" because it there are human lives on the line. At the same time, especially in the subdivision of medical imaging, entrepreneurs with cross-disciplinary abilities will have greater competitiveness. Entrepreneurs not only need medical clinical knowledge, but also computer knowledge and data processing knowledge, as well as needing to understand the market, sales, and methods of management. As Chai Xiangfei pointed out at the end of the symposium, there is a real lack of such crossover talents in the medical imaging industry, which is one of the factors that restricts its development. Chai added "No matter how products or research might develop, or how commercialized the industry might become, in fact, it is very important to conduct multi-party collaboration, especially in the cultivation of interdisciplinary talents. During the process, no matter whether business, technology, or medical knowledge, they are all indispensable parts". SOURCE Huiyihuiying About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile Olive Oils from Spain have been the most surprising ingredient of the evening. Its texture, aromas and flavors have not gone unnoticed for high end cocktails. The juices of the olive are known mainly for dressings and frying. With innovations like those presented in San Francisco, it opens the door to the disclosure of new applications for an extremely versatile product, ranging from pastries to cosmetics, to cocktails with and without alcohol, such as: Margarita with Hojiblanca EVOO Virgin Mary with Picual EVOO Gin Tonic with Arbequina EVOO San Francisco with Cornicabra EVOO Olive Oils from Spain are the promotional brand of the Spanish Olive Oil Interprofesional, a non-profit organization, formed by all the representative entities of the sector in Spain. Its main objective is todisseminate information on the product, its uses and health properties throughout the world. The Interprofessional has been developing promotional campaigns for almost a decade to bring this super food to consumers in five continents. Among its priorities is the United States market, where Olive Oils from Spain are leaders, with exports in 2017 of 124,000 tons. Iberia, for its part, has been proudly taking the image of Spain across the globe for more than 90 years, in the fuselage and interior of its aircraft. Throughout this time it has established itself as a symbol of Spain's leadership in quality, development and modernity,values that match perfectly with those of Olives from Spain. In 2016 and 2017 it was the most punctual airline in the world, according to FlightGlobal. https://www.facebook.com/AceitesdeolivadeEspana https://twitter.com/AceitesOlivaES https://www.instagram.com/aceitesolivaes/ https://www.youtube.com/user/OliveOilsfromSpain https://www.pinterest.es/oliveoilsspain/ oliveoilsfromspain.org For more information: Antonio Martinez, Responsible for Interprofessional Communication of Spanish Olive Oil, Telephone: +34-91-523-43-84, [email protected] SOURCE Olive Oils from Spain Related Links http://oliveoilsfromspain.org Throughout ACT I , SONTALK continues to explore the duality that exists in all of us by creating an emotional sonic terrain of stream of consciousness songwriting, distorted synth lines, fractured beats, and warped slide guitars. While "I Am A War Machine" invokes a voice on the verge of mental unraveling, the confessional and tender, yet gritty storytelling of " Hosanna (God, Damn My Soul) " shows an existential voice moving towards a solution - getting right with God. Finally, SONTALK shares flashes of fragility on the lonely piano balladry of " Hurt You ," which shows a voice communicating our human inability to not hurt those we love. Act I marks SONTALK's first statement of a brutally honest journey and prayer-like dialogue of what it means to be human. As LeMay notes "For anyone going through a hard time or just getting through life, I'd love to provide the sense that someone else knows what they're feeling and understands their pain. Empathy is vital. I know first hand. There's just something about being human where we really need that to get by". Listen To SONTALK's Act I: https://sontalk.lnk.to/ACTIPR Act I Tracklist: I Am A War Machine Hosanna (God, Damn My Soul) Hurt You SONTALK Tour Dates: May 1: Lexington, KY - Cosmic Charlie's^ May 2: Columbus, OH - The Basement^ May 8: Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theater* May 9: San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord* May 11: Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge* May 12: Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern* May 13: Spokane, WA - The Bartlett* ^ with Wilderado * with Field Report SONTALK online: https://sontalkmusic.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sontalkmusic/ http://www.facebook.com/sontalkmusic https://twitter.com/sontalkmusic For more information, contact: Patrick Tilley | Pitch Perfect PR - [email protected], 414-507-3667 Larissa Slezak | Sony Music Masterworks [email protected] Colin Yost | Sony Music Masterworks [email protected] SOURCE Sony Music Masterworks Related Links https://sontalkmusic.com Special guest independent journalist and producer Maria Elena Salinas delivered opening remarks at the gala which honored Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi Latin America for Citi's and Citi Foundation's notable work with the organization on the Pathways to Progress initiative in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. At the event, Jane announced the Citi Foundation's commitment of $1 million to continue programming with the nonprofit. "In our work, we see kids facing seemingly insurmountable challenges on a daily basis. The potential of this young and resilient generation is being thwarted by external factors such as conflict and a lack of opportunity. When kids are given access to quality education, safe spaces, mentorship, and a community that believes in them, we can unlock their potential and really transform lives," said Glasswing co-founder Celina de Sola, who, earlier this month, was selected to join the inaugural Obama Foundation Fellowship class a group of 20 civic innovators from around the world who were selected from a pool of over 20,000 applicants from 191 countries, as she addressed the crowd on Thursday night. Over 300 business leaders, social figures, and diplomats were greeted by Glasswing co-founders Celina de Sola, Ken Baker, and Diego de Sola, gala co-chairs Carmen Busquets, Jana Pasquel de Shapiro, Olivier Sarkozy, and Chris Varelas, and Glasswing Ambassador Fernando Palomo. The crowd was also addressed by Ana, a 17-year-old Glasswing student currently enrolled in the Youth L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Development) program, supported by the Citi Foundation. She spoke about her own experience as a young adult in Guatemala and how her future changed once she joined the program which helped her to become an entrepreneur. "Through the program, I learned how to run my own business and how to budget. I now know how much I should earn based on what I produce. I am no longer shy, I am no longer insecure, I am no longer afraid to look for opportunities, and I have learned to be confident in my decisions," she said. Funds raised during the fund-a-need auction will be directed to Glasswing's education and health programs to help empower youth, like Ana, and their communities. ABOUT GLASSWING INTERNATIONAL Glasswing International is a non-profit organization that empowers individuals to addresses the root causes of poverty and violence in their communities through education and health programs. Its cross-sector approach creates partnerships with international and local governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society. Since its formation, Glasswing International has impacted the lives of over 850,000 individuals in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. For more information, please visit www.glasswing.org. SOURCE Glasswing International Related Links http://www.glasswing.org NEWBURGH, N.Y., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey M. Rubin, Ed.D. is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Psychology in recognition of his role as Psychologist ,President, & CEO of Rubin Psychological Services P.C. Established since 2004, Rubin Psychological Services P.C. has served the Newburgh, New York area for the past fourteen years. Dedicated to offering quality healthcare services, the practice is adept in handling matters with regards to Anxiety Therapy, Child and Adolescent Therapy, Depression Therapy, Family Therapy, Marriage Counseling, Trauma Counseling, Chemical Dependency, Play Therapy, and more. The practice "will give you the opportunity to meet with a mental health professional that cares about your satisfaction and state of mental well-being." Devoted to lending a compassionate approach with their clients, the practice prides themselves on assisting their clients getting their lives back on track. Having always had a deep yearning for psychology and "very people oriented," as a child, Dr. Rubin has always wanted to help people with their struggles. Inspired by his mom and dad, when asked his advice to newcomers in the industry, Dr. Rubin states that he highly recommends the field. "It is a very intense relationship that you are developing," he states, "You have to have the emotional availability. You have to have the aptitude; and earn your doctorate degree." With over thirty years of experience in the field of Psychology, Dr. Jeffrey M. Rubin has left behind a venerable legacy in the lives of those he has served. Serving as a School Psychologist for twenty four years with the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, Dr. Rubin has attained extensive expertise in both clinical and school psychology. Certified forensic evaluator and provider of disability evaluations, in New York State. Early in his career, Dr. Rubin attended Columbia University, where he earned his doctorate. Dr. Rubin dedicates this recognition in loving memory of his Mom, Lillian Rubin and his Dad, Sydney Rubin. For more information, please visit www.newburghtherapy.com Contact: Katherine Green , 516-825-5634 [email protected] SOURCE Continental Who's Who Related Links http://www.continentalwhoswho.com SALT LAKE CITY, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JMH Premium (http://www.jmhpremium.com) announces the addition of two new team members to its Culinary Research & Development Team. The Company also announces the expansion of its R&D Kitchen to include a state-of-the-art Culinary Design Studio with enhanced on-the-bench development capabilities for its customers. The additions greatly expand the development capabilities for industrial and food service customers. Culinary R&D Team Two professionals have been added to the professional food science and development team. The first is Maryanne Jones. Maryanne is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America's Culinary Science program. Maryanne comes to JMH Premium after working with the Ritz Carlton in Hawaii, where she had the opportunity to do development work in fine dining and banquets. In her short time at JMH Premium, she has brought a great deal of passion and creativity to the team and the Company looks forward to the innovation she's sure to bring. The second professional announced is the addition of Jiahui Chen. Jiahui earned a Masters in Food Science at the University of Wisconsin. She has come to JMH Premium after working with General Mills as a Food Scientist on the Global Baking and Global Meals teams, and as a Product Innovation and Development Scientist with the Schwan's Company. In addition to these two new team members, JMH Premium is pleased to announce the promotion of Nicole DeBloois to the position of Director of Research & Development. "Nicole has led our team in unique product development, strategic growth and identifying advanced flavor trends that have proven very successful for our customers," says Kevin Dulin, President and CEO of JMH Premium. "This is a well deserved advancement for a very qualified leader on our team." The new Culinary Design Studio will triple the size of the development lab, and will include additional culinary capabilities. "I am confident that these enhancements will provide our customers with the premium quality and service that they have come to expect from us at JMH Premium. We appreciate the opportunity to serve, and invite you to reach out anytime," says Nicole DeBloois, Director of Research & Development. "Putting together our team of R&D professionals, development Chefs and Food Scientists has been a professional dream of mine and I am pleased that we have been able to achieve such great growth in the recent months." JMH Premium welcomes its customers to their Salt Lake City facility to work on products and formulas that can provide solutions to their product needs. The R&D team can visit customer facilities to work on the bench and provide custom solutions for customers as well. About JMH Premium JMH Premium provides Flavor Solutions created by Chefs, Culinary Experts and our Food Scientists to Food Service, Industrial Manufacturers and Casinos throughout North America. Our products are selected by Chefs, Restaurants, Hotels, Casinos, Hospitals and Food Manufacturers to meet their Flavor needs. We support our customers in every phase of development from ideation, recipe development, ingredient sourcing, production of samples and tastings, and providing finished products that create great cuisine. Food Safety and regulatory compliance are a top priority for JMH Premium. In addition to meeting the FDA, USDA, and HACCP standards, we have quality and safety systems in place to make sure you are receiving the highest quality products. Our Production Facilities can handle small batch kettle up to large scale orders. Our test kitchen, created in conjunction with Welbilt, is open to our customers to work directly with our Chefs, R&D and Culinary Teams to create flavors, recipes and taste finished flavors in a same-day service facility. Learn more at www.jmhpremium.com. Contact: Laura Guthrie [email protected] 801-326-8492 SOURCE JMH Premium Related Links http://www.jmhpremium.com BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LITB) ("LightInTheBox" or the "Company"), a global online retail company that delivers products directly to consumers around the world, today announced that it has opened a new bonded warehouse Shenzhen, Guangdong Province to strengthen its cross-border logistics operations. Located in Shenzhen's Qianhai New District, the bonded warehouse will expand the Company's logistics infrastructure in China and facilitate the shipment of products to more than 200 difference destination countries. Mr. Alan Guo, Chairman and CEO of LightInTheBox, commented, "Our new bonded warehouse in Shenzhen will significantly strengthen our cross-border logistics infrastructure, increase operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction." Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," "targets" and similar statements. Among other things, statements that are not historical facts, including statements about LightInTheBox's beliefs and expectations, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as LightInTheBox's strategic and operational plans, are or contain forward-looking statements. LightInTheBox may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: LightInTheBox's goals and strategies; LightInTheBox's future business development, results of operations and financial condition; the expected growth of the global online retail market; LightInTheBox's ability to attract customers and further enhance customer experience and product offerings; LightInTheBox's ability to strengthen its supply chain efficiency and optimize its logistics network; LightInTheBox's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its products; competition; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in LightInTheBox's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and LightInTheBox does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. About LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. LightInTheBox is a global online retail company that delivers products directly to consumers around the world. The Company offers customers a convenient way to shop for a wide selection of products at attractive prices through its www.lightinthebox.com, www.miniinthebox.com and other websites and mobile applications, which are available in 23 major languages and cover more than 80% of global Internet users. For more information, please visit www.lightinthebox.com. Investor Relations Contact Christensen Ms. Xiaoyan Su Tel: +86 (10) 5900 3429 Email: [email protected] OR Christensen Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] SOURCE LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. Related Links http://www.lightinthebox.com http://ceciliavelastegui.com/ Lucia Zarate is a mesmerizing tale of survival, resilience and the uplifting force of friendship set in the circus sideshows of the 1880s. It received first place in the International Latino Book Awards, the nation's oldest and largest Hispanic literary awards. Velastegui's novel was also runner-up to the prolific master Arturo Perez-Reverte's 2017 novel What We Become. Foreword Magazine, Inc. hosts its annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2017. After more than 2,000 individual titles spread across 65 genres were submitted for consideration, the list of finalists was determined by Foreword's editorial team. Winners will be decided by an expert team of booksellers and librariansrepresenting Foreword's readershipfrom across the country. Winners in each genre will be announced June 15, 2018. The complete list of finalists can be found at: https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2017/ "Choosing finalists for the INDIES is always the highlight of our year, but the job is very difficult due to the high quality of submissions," said Victoria Sutherland, founder/publisher of Foreword Reviews. SOURCE Libros Publishing FOSTER CITY, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MedGenome announced the launch of OphthatomeTM Knowledgebase, a database with more than 500,000 clinical phenotype records for ocular research at ARVO 2018, the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. Ophthatome Knowledgebase was developed by MedGenome in collaboration with Narayana Nethralaya, a leading specialty eye-care hospital network based in Bangalore, India, and will be demonstrated at the conference April 29 - May 3. "Our new database addresses a huge unmet need in ocular research globally. Complex diseases that feature a diverse manifestation of phenotypes and sub-phenotypes require large-scale studies with comprehensive longitudinal and clinical data to unlock the mysteries of disease and uncover how best to develop therapies for them," said Sam Santhosh, founder, chairman and global CEO of MedGenome. "Thanks to the collaboration with Narayana Nethralaya, we have amassed more than a half million multilayered/multifaceted records that our big-data analytics can now mine in collaboration with pharma companies and researchers." "The heavy burden of ocular diseases requires concerted research efforts to bring innovative medicines to the clinic," said Dr. Arkasubhra Ghosh, Research Director, from Narayana Nethralaya. "We're confident that our collaboration and the knowledgebase being generated will result in discoveries for the hundreds of millions of people who suffer from eye diseases globally." An estimated 253 million people live with vision impairment, with 36 million being blind and 217 million with moderate to severe vision impairment, according to a study published last year in Lancet Global Health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(17)30293-0/fulltext The World Health Organization reported chronic eye diseases are the leading cause of vision loss globally, and more than 80% of all vision impairment can be prevented or cured. http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment According to the recent reports from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, an estimated 7.3 million people in the U.S. will have Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG) by the year 2050. Nearly 2.1 million Americans aged 50 and older have late Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and an estimated 7.7 million Americans aged 40 and older suffer from Diabetic Retinopathy. Research into these complex diseases is expected to provide much-needed insights to diagnose and treat these conditions better in the future. Ophthatome Knowledgebase contains ophthalmic, clinical, biochemical, diagnostic imaging and therapeutic intervention data on more than 525 disease types and about 1,800 disease sub-types of 31 eye parts and features more than 40 clinical variables and about 372,000 images. It enables genomic, pharmacogenomic, clinical research and discovery support for ocular diseases and provides researchers with a platform to design studies that address critical unmet needs in eye disorders. The searchable interface allows researchers to build complex queries to select disease cohorts based on organs affected, disease type and subtype, the age of disease onset, drug response and many other clinical and phenotypic parameters. Further DNA sequencing and genetic analysis can be performed to establish disease associations. A product demonstration will be available at the MedGenome booth #832 at ARVO 2018. MedGenome Talk at ARVO April 30: Complex Eye Diseases Unraveled MedGenome will host a scientific talk entitled "Unravelling complex eye disease through analysis of big data," presented by Professor Paul Baird, Center for Eye Research Australia, at the conference at 1 pm, April 30, 2018. Building on MedGenome's Big-data Offerings Building on its big-data offerings, Ophthatome Knowledgebase is MedGenome's second innovative platform for research into complex diseases. Its DiabetomeTM Knowledgebase provides data from more than 300,000 patients so that researchers have access to demographics, clinical characteristics, biochemical results, family history, treatment history, drug responses, genotypes as well as secondary complications of diabetes. Diabetome facilitates the study of a large number of familial cases over multiple generations and provides information on the trio and first-degree relatives affected families, as well as consanguineous families, and comprehensive phenotype, genotype and family pedigree information via pedigree charts with age of onset. ABOUT MEDGENOME: MedGenome Inc. is a global leader in genomics research and a superior partner to pharma/biotech companies and academic research institutions conducting complex disease biomarker-identification projects. We have unique molecular-level insights into populations that suffer from inherited diseases at twice the rate of people in the United States and Europe thanks to our leadership in genomics-based diagnostics and research in India. About 5,000 isolated population groups there feature extreme homogeneity or similarity within the group, yet significant heterogeneity, or differentiation between them. These groups are ideal for large-scale genetic-research studies for biomarker discovery. Our global footprint includes laboratories in the United States, Singapore and India. Our over 400 employees and expert scientists use industry-leading tools and solutions, bioinformatics and big-data analytics to unlock rich genomic insights into rare and complex diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic diseases, ophthalmological disorders, neurological diseases and rare inherited disorders. Our headquarters is in Foster City, California. Media contacts: Sandy Levy Director Gutenberg [email protected] Hiranjith G H Director, Corporate Planning, Marketing & Communications MedGenome Inc. [email protected] SOURCE MedGenome Related Links https://www.medgenome.com May 1: Arne Dahl The Final Season Arne Dahl is a Swedish police procedural based on the novels of Jan Arnald, who published his fantastic series of crime books under the pen name Arne Dahl. Kerstin Holm leads a brand new 'A Unit' when the group is reformed after a series of brutal murders hits Polish nurses in Sweden. Kerstin builds her team with former members Gunnar Nyberg, Jorge Chavez, Sara Svenhagen and Arto Soderstedt plus new recruit (and language expert) Ida Jankowicz. Paul Hjelm drops by to lend an occasional hand following his promotion to Internal Affairs. Demands and expectations have never been higher and a cold wind blows through the corridors at the National Police headquarters. Can Kerstin get the unit to deliver on its promise or is this new effort a misguided attempt by a paranoid police force in a time of increasingly unusual and refined criminal activity? Watch teaser clip here . May. 8: Death of a Pilgrim (New Series) Rolf Lassgard (Wallander: The Original Episodes, A Man Called Ove) stars as Lars Martin Johansson, leader of a new investigation into the notorious 1986 murder of the Swedish prime minister. A four-part miniseries based on Swedish author Leif GW Persson's acclaimed 'Fall of the Welfare State' trilogy. Watch teaser clip here. May. 22: Flemming (Season 3 Premiere) Police psychologist Vince Flemming understands the perps because he's a whiz at reading their nonverbals, but his own psyche remains a mystery. He can't get over his ex-wife Ann, which isn't made easier by their daily collaboration on murder cases. May. 29: The Fourth Man (Series Premiere) Lars Martin Johansson (Rolf Lassgard, Sebastian Bergman) investigates a notorious 1975 terror attack in Stockholm and uncovers ominous ramifications for the present. Helena Bergstrom (Missing) co-stars in this captivating follow-up to Death of a Pilgrim. Watch teaser clip here. Inquiries and screening link requests to Kelly Hargraves at [email protected]. About MHz Networks MHz Networks offers U.S. viewers access to a library of the best international television mysteries, dramas, comedies and documentaries subtitled in English on DVD and its digital platform, MHz Choice. MHz Networks' unique international programming is also available on its national channel, MHz Worldview. MHz Worldview is available nationwide on DirecTV channel 2183 and on 25+ select public television affiliates. New MHz Choice customers receive a free 30-Day Trial. For more information, go to mhzchoice.com. SOURCE MHz Choice Related Links http://www.mhzchoice.com CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, today announced that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak on the final day (May 18) of its annual meeting, Solve at MIT. During the meeting, Solver teams--entrepreneurs driving social impact--will connect with members of the Solve community to build robust partnerships with diverse private, public, and nonprofit leaders to help pilot, scale, and implement their solutions. Solve at MIT will convene 1,000 leaders on May 16-18 in Cambridge, MA. will convene 1,000 leaders on in The full agenda is available here. Apply for media credentials here. Justin Trudeau has served as Canada's 23rd Prime Minister since November 2015. He also serves as Canada's Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Youth. A proud feminist, Trudeau appointed Canada's first gender-balanced Cabinet. "We are delighted to welcome Prime Minister Trudeau to Solve at MIT," said MIT President L. Rafael Reif. "Solve cultivates inventive answers to humanity's great challenges by connecting people with insight, ideas, and influence from around the world. Representing our nearest neighbors with his practical optimism, humane values, and passion for climate action, Prime Minister Trudeau will feel right at home at Solve and at MIT." "We live in a time of tremendous change and face challenges global in scale," said The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. "Finding solutions shaped across borders, involving every generation, is imperative. I look forward to visiting the United States to speak with graduates and those at the forefront of innovation to look at what we can and must do to build a better tomorrow for future generations." Participants at this year's Solve at MIT include: Mitchell Baker , Chairwoman, Mozilla , Chairwoman, Mozilla Ursula Burns , Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VEON , Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VEON Yo-Yo Ma , Cellist, Curator of the MIT Solve Arts and Culture Mentorship Prize , Cellist, Curator of the MIT Solve Arts and Culture Mentorship Prize Luis Alberto Moreno , President, Inter-American Development Bank , President, Inter-American Development Bank L. Rafael Reif , President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , President, Reshma Saujani , Founder and CEO, Girls Who Code , Founder and CEO, Girls Who Code Eric Schmidt , Technical Advisor and Board Member, Alphabet Inc. , Technical Advisor and Board Member, Alphabet Inc. Pita Taufatofua, Olympian, Tonga This year's confirmed participants represent leading innovative organizations like Amazon, the Atlassian Foundation, Bain Capital Double Impact, BNP Paribas, the Ford Foundation, Google, HP, IBM, the Malala Fund, Merck, Patagonia, Save the Children, and Starbucks. The event program can be found here and confirmed speakers can be found here. If you're interested in joining Solve as a member, including attending Solve at MIT, see here. Media interested in attending Solve at MIT can register here. Those approved will receive confirmation and further instructions via e-mail. About Solve: Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that advances lasting solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address the world's most pressing problems. Solve issues four Challenges each year across its pillarsEconomic Prosperity, Health, Learning, and Sustainabilityto find the most promising Solver teams who will drive transformational change. Solve then deploys its global community of private, public, and nonprofit leaders to form partnerships these Solver teams need to scale their impact. Last year, nearly 1,000 people from 103 countries submitted solutions to Solve's four challenges. Solve's open Challenges include: (1) Work of the Future, (2) Frontlines of Health, (3) Coastal Communities, and (4) Teachers & Educators. Join the community at solve.mit.edu. CONTACT: Andrea Snyder, 617-258-6480, [email protected] SOURCE MIT Solve Related Links https://solve.mit.edu WASHINGTON, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students from Montana and Vermont will talk with astronauts on the International Space Station next week as part of NASA's Year of Education on Station. NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Scott Tingle will answer questions about life aboard the space station, NASA's deep space exploration plans and conducting science in space during two opportunities. The Expedition 55 astronauts are living, working and researching aboard the International Space Station. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space calls will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. The first event, at 11:55 a.m. EDT Tuesday, May 1, will allow Laurel Public School students in Laurel, Montana, to speak with Feustel. The students are part of a NASA program, High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware, that has used the city's strong aviation and technology background to build a relationship with the space station for 13 years. Media interested in attending the event should contact Dr. Linda Filpula at [email protected] or 406-628-3356. The event will take place at 203 East 8th St., Laurel, Montana. The second event, at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, will allow students from Champlain Valley School District in Hinesburg, Vermont, to speak with both Feustel and Tingle. Media interested in attending should contact Jen Roth at [email protected] or 802-425-2771. The event will take place at Charlotte Central School 408 Hinesburg Rd., Charlotte, Vermont. Linking teachers directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA's Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with the Mission Control Center on Earth 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). In addition to the student connection, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Norishige Kanai will connect with a technical exposition at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the Makuhari New City, Chiba Prefecture, in Japan. This event will also air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Follow the astronauts on social media at: https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/ See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/ SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov WASHINGTON, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration kicks off National Small Business Week 2018 on April 29 in the nation's capital by having SBA Administrator Linda McMahon recognize and award the nation's top small businesses, entrepreneurs, small business advocates and champions. Since 1963, the president of the United States has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. This year National Small Business Week will be recognized from April 29-May 5 with national events planned in Washington, D.C, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina along with a three day virtual conference. The Washington, D.C. award ceremonies and workshops on digital commerce and social media will be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/sbagov. In addition, there will be a free Virtual Conference during National Small Business Week, May 1 May 3 between 12:306:30 p.m. EDT. The Virtual Conference offers all the best parts of an in-person conference, but without traveling. Virtual Conference viewers will be able to watch educational webinars, get free business advice and network with fellow business owners. Every year, National Small Business Week is made possible thanks in part to the support of cosponsors. Our Gold, Silver, Bronze and Supporting level sponsors have provided the resources to make this recognition week possible. The companies below have joined forces with SBA to help celebrate National Small Business Week 2018: Co-Chair SCORE Association Gold Cosponsor Visa Silver Cosponsors Chase Constant Contact Square Google Bronze Cosponsors Comcast DexYP Facebook Lockheed Martin Main Street Hub National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL) Raytheon Salesforce UPS Store Verizon Supporting ADP America's SBDC (ASBDC) Association of Women's Business Centers California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity Excelerate America Fundera International Council for Small Business (ICSB) Intuit Microsoft National Association for the Self-Employed National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) National Cyber Security Alliance Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council Small Business Majority Small Business Trends United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce US Black Chambers, Inc. Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) Women Presidents' Organization For more information on National Small Business Week events, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw . About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. Cosponsorship Authorization #SBW2018 SBA's participation in this cosponsored activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any Cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA/SCORE programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Contact: [email protected] Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs & Instagram Release Number: 18-32 SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration Related Links http://www.sba.gov BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NetEase Youdao, China's largest online education brand in terms of user numbers, announced the completion of its first strategic funding on April 17. This round of financing, led by MOOC-CN Investment and co-participated by Legend Capital, with China Renaissance exclusively serving as the financial advisor, has elevated the firm's valuation to $1.1 billion. The successful funding round marks a milestone that Youdao has recently hit for becoming the third independently financed firm of NetEase, following the firm's the other two affiliate brands - NetEase Cloud Music and NetEase Weiyang. In the meantime, it also brought Youdao into the "unicorn club" of China's Internet companies. In his keynote speech delivered at the press conference, William Lei DING, the founder and CEO of NetEase, said that online education is powering the exponential growth of the Internet industry, in which NetEase Youdao had emerged as a major player. Feng ZHOU, the Senior Vice President of NetEase and CEO of Youdao, said that this landmark financing round, the very first and strategic one for Youdao, will help the firm deepen its commitment to creating values for its users. By developing the best-of-class content of courses and substantially increasing its investment in R&D of educational technologies, Youdao is set to provide users with a better and more enriching experience, and to unleash the potential of every individual through education. During the conference, NetEase Youdao also unveiled for the first time its "TEACH" model for online education. The model showcased in the conference is comprised of Youdao's five key business segments: "T" represents the pool of users that learning APPs (Tools) have helped create, and by that standard Youdao has already been the largest Internet education brand in China; "E" denotes a mutually beneficial relationship that has been maintained by the firm with top-tier teachers (Educators), who have been strictly selected and in the meantime, adequately empowered to carry out their teaching; "A" stands for artificial intelligence (AI), centering on which an array of cutting-edge education technologies have been developed, especially in terms of translation and learning scenarios; "C" means quality content, representing the company's endless and determined quest for high-quality content for education; "H" represents hardware, an area where Youdao has reaped invaluable word of mouth and sales volumes since launching its first intelligent hardware product - the Translation Egg - at the end of last year. Additionally, the firm also announced two more upcoming intelligent hardware products in the conference - Youdao Translation Egg (2nd generation) and Youdao Dictionary Pen. Presently, NetEase Youdao has emerged to be China's largest Internet-based education brand in terms of user numbers. The firm is now serving more than 800 million Internet users from China, with the number of Youdao Dictionary users exceeding 700 million in early 2018. NetEase Youdao is operating an array of mass education products, including utility and online education offerings, that are highly valued by users, such as NetEase Youdao Dictionary, Youdao Course, Youdao Translator and Youdao Note, etc. By the end of December 2017, the utility APPs operated by NetEase Youdao had grown to be a product matrix with 17 million daily active users, while Youdao Course had also been brought onto a fast-growing track. The revenue of paid services increased by 530% in 2017, as compared with that in 2016. Dr. Yu ZHANG, a partner of MOOC-CN Investment, said, "As an education foundation established by MOOC-CN Education, a core affiliate to Tsinghua Holdings engaged in the sector of modern education, MOOC-CN has long been dedicated to seeking and investing in top-quality companies in segmented areas of education. We highly appreciate the cumulation that NetEase Youdao has achieved in terms of technology, product offering and word of mouth among users over the years, as well as the vast development prospects it commands in online education. Building on our partnership at the capital level, MOOC-CN Investment will work closely with Youdao to facilitate in-depth cooperation with Tsinghua University and the MOE Research Center for Online Education. In the meantime, we will leverage our quality education resources to help Youdao export its brand, enhance its teaching research and channels, and bolster its business synergy with other member firms, so as to improve its product experience and influences in online education area, enable it to better integrate technology into education, and ultimately improve quality and promote equality in education. Rui CHEN, the general manager of Legend Capital, said, "Legend Capital has long been focusing on the development of the education industry. As a leading brand in online education, NetEase Youdao has provided users with a wide range of top-class products, which have significantly helped the sharing of quality education resources and improved users' learning efficiently. With a grand vision and outstanding capacities in technology and product development, the management team of Youdao is bound to lead the firm to greater accomplishments in the future." This financing round marks an increasingly open mindset held by Youdao, as well as its long-term determination and planning for business in education. SOURCE NetEase Youdao GRANDVIEW, Mo., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Grandview C-4 School District is excited to announce an expansion of its relationship with Cornerstones of Care. Beginning May of 2018, Cornerstones of Care will partner with the district to conduct school-based social and emotional health screenings to 3rd - 5th graders. As part of the district's Cultural Competency school board priority, this effort is a way for the district to address any social/emotional needs students may have that could create barriers to their success in the classroom. This screening is not designed to make a behavioral health diagnosis, but identify and create awareness for families of any elevated mental health risks and provide the ongoing support and resources that are available to maintain their child's social and emotional well-being. "Many of our students are dealing with situations that they struggle to process by themselves which creates a barrier to their education. We believe that this partnership, in addition to our district counselors and student assistance program, will assist us in meeting that need that continues to grow each day," said Dr. Kenny Rodrequez, Grandview C-4 Superintendent. Screenings will take place throughout beginning May 2018. In order for students to receive a screening, a parent must fill out a Consent to Screen form. All screenings will be conducted by qualified, licensed professionals from Cornerstones of Care. The screenings will be brief and confidential. While the screening is free, any follow up services are the family's decision. "By leveraging our collective resources, we can provide more services and each entity can focus on what it does best. Every child in grades 3-5, whose parent consents, will receive a social-emotional wellness screening. Care navigation is available to students and families who need it," said Stephen O'Neill, Cornerstone's Chief Program Officer. It's no secret that access to mental health services is a critical need to communities across the nation. In fact, according to JacksonGov.org, more than 30,000 Jackson County citizens of every age, race, religion, and income are impacted by mental health challenges. For decades, Cornerstones of Care has been partnering with organizations, schools and the state of Missouri and Kansas to improve the safety and health of children and families in our community. But, two recent funding awards by the Jackson County Children's Services Fund will allow greater access to critical mental health services for Jackson County families. For more information, visit cornerstonesofcare.org. During the 2016-2017 academic year, Grandview elementary schools received 45 hotline calls and 11 elementary students were referred for a suicide assessment*. These services will reduce future mental health crises with stream-lined early interventions designed for children and their family. SOURCE Grandview C4 School District Related Links http://www.grandviewc4.net ENCINO, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Fertility Institute is proudly sponsoring educational publications and events through April 29th in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week. 2018 statistics show that 1 out of 8 couples suffer from infertility. Every year hundreds of hopeful parents fly in from all over the world to see Los Angeles based Dr. Ashim Kumar for help conceiving a child. Pictured: 50 year old mom to be Paula Brody, carrying twin girls. Photo Courtesy: Lula Hyers @LulaHyers Magazine: The September Issues @TheSeptemberIssues Mia and her Mother Kelli Han/ Photo Courtesy: Lula Hyers @LulaHyers Magazine: The September Issues @TheSeptemberIssues Under the leadership of Dr. Kumar, The Western Fertility Institute team and laboratory experts have helped thousands of people from over 20 countries achieve the dream of a family. Using cutting edge technology the staff at Western Fertility Institute is achieving some of the highest success rates in the field. Dr. Kumar's international following and tremendous success rates bringing twins into the world are making his patients famous! Four of Dr. Kumar's miracle babies were recently featured in a Hollywood photoshoot for a magazine article called "The Fertility Revolution " in The September Issues. A new "A-list" Celebrity backed Docu-series is following parents from all over the United States for 9 months through the journey to parenthood. W.F.I.'s beloved patient Paula Brody was cast in the project. Brody is 50 years old and set to deliver twin girls this summer. All the media attention WFI patients have received has been focused on the fact that there is no easy or "normal" road to parenthood. Dr. Kumar's diverse patients who are gay, straight, of varied ages, and from all over the world, have inspired countless hopeful parents. Using top notch egg donors and surrogates featured on www.laeggdonors.com and the best technology Western Fertility Institute serves intended parents from all over the world. The media is invited to join us as we honor our previous, current, and future surrogates at an enormous party this Sunday at 1PM in Arcadia, CA at Peppers Mexican Grill located at 181 Colorado Pl. Arcadia, CA 91007. We will host 50 surrogates and their children at an almost Cinco De Mayo party. Dr. Ashim Kumar, several surrogates, egg donors, and parents can be made available for interview upon request this week. Western Fertility Institute 16260 Ventura Blvd, Suite 210 Encino, CA 91436 www.westernfertility.com Press Inquiries contact: Meredith Allan (C) 803.727.5549 SOURCE Western Fertility Institute Related Links http://www.westernfertility.com WALNUT CREEK, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. (NYSE American: ORM) announced today that it will release its first quarter 2018 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 and will host a conference call to discuss the results on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. To participate in the call, please dial (844) 850-0545 (United States) or (412) 317-5202 (International) and request the Owens Realty Mortgage call. A live webcast of the call will also be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://www.owensmortgage.com. Please allow 10 minutes prior to the call to visit this site to download and install any necessary audio software. An archive of the webcast will be available to those interested approximately one hour after completion of the live event and will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://www.owensmortgage.com until June 10, 2018. To access the replay, dial (877) 344-7529 (United States) or (412) 317-0088 (International) and enter code: 10120044. About Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., a Maryland corporation, is a specialty finance mortgage company organized to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") that focuses on the origination, investment, and management of commercial real estate mortgage loans. We provide customized, short-term acquisition and transition capital to small balance and middle-market investors that require speed and flexibility. Our primary objective is to provide investors with attractive current income and long-term shareholder value. Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and is externally managed and advised by Owens Financial Group, Inc. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.owensmortgage.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements about Owens Realty Mortgage Inc.'s plans, strategies, and prospects are based on current information, estimates, and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "target," "assume," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believe," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this release include, but may not be limited to, expectations around the company's plans to distribute current and accumulated earnings in 2018, tax treatment and characterization of distributions made by the company in 2018, and timing and content of any announcements made with respect thereto. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these, and other risk factors is contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Company or matters attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. SOURCE Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. Related Links http://www.owensmortgage.com "The vibrant new Green Tea Lemonade is a summertime sensation with its delicious taste and refreshing flavor that goes so well with fresh pineapple and mango, we're calling it A Perfect Matcha!" said Melissa Hubbell, director of marketing for Pinkberry. "And as the weather heats up, Pinkberry's got you covered. Our Layered Lemonades are a great way to cool off and quench your thirst this summer." Green Tea Lemonade Available April 27, 2018 - June 21, 2018 - Layered Lemonades Available April 27, 2018 - August 9, 2018 About Pinkberry Pinkberry launched in Los Angeles, CA in 2005 as the original brand that reinvented frozen yogurt. Today, over a decade later, Pinkberry continues to create great tasting treats with fresh ingredients in an experience comprised of distinctive product, outstanding service and inspirational design. At Pinkberry you can taste the difference of an uncompromising commitment to quality and freshness. Most recently, Pinkberry was acquired by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Kahala Brands, one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world with a portfolio of 27 quick-service restaurant brands and approximately 2900 locations in 28 countries. For more information about Pinkberry, visit www.Pinkberry.com. For more information about Kahala Brands, visit www.KahalaBrands.com. SOURCE Pinkberry Related Links http://www.pinkberry.com ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PNM Resources (In millions, except EPS) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 GAAP net earnings attributable to PNM Resources $15.0 $22.9 GAAP diluted EPS $0.19 $0.29 Ongoing net earnings $16.5 $22.1 Ongoing diluted EPS $0.21 $0.28 PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) today released the company's 2018 first quarter results. In addition, management affirmed its consolidated ongoing earnings guidance of $1.82 to $1.92 per diluted share for 2018 and $2.04 to $2.16 per diluted share for 2019. "The first quarter provided the anticipated financial results that incorporate the phase-in of retail rates at PNM," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources' chairman, president and CEO. "We are focused on achieving our plans for 2018, including the filing of a general rate case in Texas." SEGMENT REPORTING OF 2018 FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS PNM a vertically integrated electric utility in New Mexico with distribution, transmission and generation assets. PNM (In millions, except EPS) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 GAAP net earnings attributable to PNM Resources $7.7 $16.5 GAAP diluted EPS $0.10 $0.21 Ongoing net earnings $9.1 $15.6 Ongoing diluted EPS $0.12 $0.20 In the first quarter of 2018, PNM's GAAP and ongoing earnings reflect the retail generation portfolio changes approved in the BART settlement and lower tax expense as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), both of which were incorporated into the revised retail rates phased-in beginning February 2018 . . Earnings were also impacted in the first quarter of 2018 by increased planned outage costs at the Four Corners Power Plant resulting from the installation of SCR equipment, depreciation and property tax expenses from new capital investments and lower decommissioning and reclamation trust gains. These reductions were partially offset by increased usage from temperatures that were closer to normal than during the first quarter of 2017, and new third-party transmission contracts. TNMP an electric transmission and distribution utility in Texas. TNMP (In millions, except EPS) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 GAAP net earnings attributable to PNM Resources $9.4 $7.6 GAAP diluted EPS $0.12 $0.09 Ongoing net earnings $9.4 $7.6 Ongoing diluted EPS $0.12 $0.09 TNMP's GAAP and ongoing earnings were higher in the first quarter of 2018 due to increased transmission rate relief, higher load and colder temperatures. Earnings also increased due to lower income tax expense associated with the TCJA for the first twenty-five days of January prior to the Public Utility Commission of Texas order requiring deferral of these savings. This was partially offset by increased depreciation and property tax expenses resulting from additional capital investments. Corporate and Other a segment that reflects the PNM Resources holding company and other subsidiaries. Corporate and Other (In millions, except EPS) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 GAAP net earnings (loss) attributable to PNM Resources $(2.1) $(1.3) GAAP diluted EPS $(0.03) $(0.01) Ongoing net earnings (loss) $(2.0) $(1.2) Ongoing diluted EPS $(0.03) $(0.01) Corporate and Other's GAAP and ongoing earnings were lower in the first quarter of 2018 due to higher interest rates and the issuance of $300.0 million of senior unsecured notes at 3.25% in March 2018 to reduce variable rate debt exposure. Financial materials are available at http://www.pnmresources.com/investors/results.cfm. FIRST QUARTER CONFERENCE CALL: 11 A.M. EASTERN FRIDAY, APRIL 27 PNM Resources will discuss first quarter earnings results during a live conference call and webcast on Friday, April 27th at 11 a.m. Eastern. Speaking on the call will be Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairman, president and CEO, and Chuck Eldred, PNM Resources executive vice president and CFO. A live webcast of the call will be archived at http://www.pnmresources.com/investors/events.cfm. Listeners are encouraged to visit the website at least 30 minutes before the event to register, download and install any necessary audio software. Investors and analysts can participate in the live conference call by pre-registering using the following link to receive a special dial-in number and PIN: http://dpregister.com/10119153. Telephone participants who are unable to pre-register may participate in the live conference call by dialing (877) 276-8648 or (412) 317-5474 fifteen minutes prior to the event and referencing "the PNM Resources first quarter conference call". Supporting material for PNM Resources' earnings announcements can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.pnmresources.com/investors/results.cfm. Background: PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) is an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M., with 2017 consolidated operating revenues of $1.4 billion. Through its regulated utilities, PNM and TNMP, PNM Resources has approximately 2,580 megawatts of generation capacity and provides electricity to more than 773,000 homes and businesses in New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit the company's website at www.PNMResources.com. CONTACTS: Analysts Media Jimmie Blotter Pahl Shipley (505) 241-2227 (505) 241-2782 Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Statements made in this news release that relate to future events or PNM Resources, Inc.'s ("PNMR"), Public Service Company of New Mexico's ("PNM"), or Texas-New Mexico Power Company's ("TNMP") (collectively, the "Company") expectations, projections, estimates, intentions, goals, targets, and strategies are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that all forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and estimates. PNMR, PNM, and TNMP assume no obligation to update this information. Because actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, PNMR, PNM, and TNMP caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. PNMR's, PNM's, and TNMP's business, financial condition, cash flow, and operating results are influenced by many factors, which are often beyond their control, that can cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of risk factors and other important factors affecting forward-looking statements, please see the Company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which factors are specifically incorporated by reference herein. Non-GAAP Financial Measures GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. Ongoing earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of net unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses on economic hedges, the net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities, pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business, and certain non-recurring, infrequent, and other items that are not indicative of fundamental changes in the earnings capacity of the Company's operations. The Company uses ongoing earnings and ongoing earnings per diluted share (or ongoing diluted earnings per share) to evaluate the operations of the Company and to establish goals, including those used for certain aspects of incentive compensation, for management and employees. While the Company believes these financial measures are appropriate and useful for investors, they are not measures presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company does not intend for these measures, or any piece of these measures, to represent any financial measure as defined by GAAP. Furthermore, the Company's calculations of these measures as presented may or may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company uses ongoing earnings guidance to provide investors with management's expectations of ongoing financial performance over the period presented. While the Company believes ongoing earnings guidance is an appropriate measure, it is not a measure presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company does not intend for ongoing earnings guidance to represent an expectation of net earnings as defined by GAAP. Since the future differences between GAAP and ongoing earnings are frequently outside the control of the Company, management is generally not able to estimate the impact of the reconciling items between forecasted GAAP net earnings and ongoing earnings guidance, nor their probable impact on GAAP net earnings without unreasonable effort, therefore, management is generally not able to provide a corresponding GAAP equivalent for ongoing earnings guidance. Reconciliations between GAAP and ongoing earnings are contained in schedules 1-2. PNM Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Schedule 1 Reconciliation of GAAP to Ongoing Earnings (Preliminary and Unaudited) PNM TNMP Corporate and Other Consolidated (in thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 GAAP Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to PNMR $ 7,705 $ 9,413 $ (2,128) $ 14,990 Adjusting items before income tax effects Mark-to-market impact of economic hedges3a (28) (28) Net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities3b 1,056 1,056 Pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business3c 832 832 Total adjustments before income tax effects 1,860 1,860 Income tax impact of above adjustments1 (472) (472) Impairment of state tax credits 123 123 Total income tax impacts3d (472) 123 (349) Adjusting items, net of income taxes 1,388 123 1,511 Ongoing Earnings (Loss) $ 9,093 $ 9,413 $ (2,005) $ 16,501 Three Months Ended March 31, 2017 GAAP Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to PNMR $ 16,526 $ 7,604 $ (1,268) $ 22,862 Adjusting items before income tax effects Mark-to-market impact of economic hedges3a (1,345) (1,345) Net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities3b (1,101) (1,101) Pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business3c 961 961 Total adjustments before income tax effects (1,485) (1,485) Income tax impact of above adjustments2 576 576 New Mexico corporate income tax rate change 22 83 105 Total income tax impacts3d 598 83 681 Adjusting items, net of income taxes (887) 83 (804) Ongoing Earnings (Loss) $ 15,639 $ 7,604 $ (1,185) $ 22,058 1 2018 income tax effects calculated using a tax rate of 25.40% 2 2017 income tax effects calculated using a tax rate of 38.80% 3 The pre-tax impacts (in thousands) of adjusting items are reflected on the GAAP Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings as follows: aReductions in "Electric Operating Revenues" and "Cost of energy" of $281 and $309 in the three months ended March 31, 2018 and increases in "Electric Operating Revenues" and "Cost of energy" of $1,462 and $117 in the three months ended March 31, 2017 bReductions (increases) in "Gains on investment securities" cIncreases in "Other (deductions)" dIncome tax impacts reflected in "Income Taxes" PNM Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Schedule 2 Reconciliation of GAAP to Ongoing Earnings Per Diluted Share (Preliminary and Unaudited) PNM TNMP Corporate and Other Consolidated (per diluted share) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 GAAP Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to PNMR $ 0.10 $ 0.12 $ (0.03) $ 0.19 Adjusting items, net of income tax effects Mark-to-market impact of economic hedges Net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities 0.01 0.01 Pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business 0.01 0.01 Impairment of state tax credits Total Adjustments 0.02 0.02 Ongoing Earnings (Loss) $ 0.12 $ 0.12 $ (0.03) $ 0.21 Average Diluted Shares Outstanding: 80,013,247 Three Months Ended March 31, 2017 GAAP Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to PNMR: $ 0.21 $ 0.09 $ (0.01) $ 0.29 Adjusting items, net of income tax effects Mark-to-market impact of economic hedges (0.01) (0.01) Net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities (0.01) (0.01) Pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business 0.01 0.01 New Mexico corporate income tax rate change Total Adjustments (0.01) (0.01) Ongoing Earnings (Loss) $ 0.20 $ 0.09 $ (0.01) $ 0.28 Average Diluted Shares Outstanding: 80,111,994 PNM Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Schedule 3 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Preliminary and Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 (In thousands, except per share amounts) Electric Operating Revenues Contracts with customers $ 303,351 $ 297,191 Alternative revenue programs 924 4,579 Other electric operating revenue 13,603 28,408 Total electric operating revenues 317,878 330,178 Operating Expenses: Cost of energy 92,556 102,804 Administrative and general 48,283 45,394 Energy production costs 35,350 31,787 Depreciation and amortization 58,722 56,383 Transmission and distribution costs 16,955 16,477 Taxes other than income taxes 19,880 19,235 Total operating expenses 271,746 272,080 Operating income 46,132 58,098 Other Income and Deductions: Interest income 4,124 4,881 Gains on investment securities 288 6,661 Other income 3,469 4,902 Other (deductions) (1,376) (5,621) Net other income and deductions 6,505 10,823 Interest Charges 33,055 31,700 Earnings before Income Taxes 19,582 37,221 Income Taxes 783 10,775 Net Earnings 18,799 26,446 (Earnings) Attributable to Valencia Non-controlling Interest (3,677) (3,452) Preferred Stock Dividend Requirements of Subsidiary (132) (132) Net Earnings Attributable to PNMR $ 14,990 $ 22,862 Net Earnings Attributable to PNMR per Common Share: Basic $ 0.19 $ 0.29 Diluted $ 0.19 $ 0.29 Dividends Declared per Common Share $ 0.2650 $ 0.2425 SOURCE PNM Resources, Inc. Related Links http://www.pnmresources.com From 12:00 am until 11:59 pm on May 9, supporters can visit https://www.givebigseattle.org/wounded-warrior-project-1 to donate to WWP. Donors may also schedule an early online donation starting April 26. Their generosity will make it possible for wounded warriors to take part in connection opportunities and benefit from program resources at no cost to them. Results from the 2017 WWP Annual Warrior Survey illustrate the importance of connection at WWP outreach events. To learn more, visit https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/survey . Additionally, WWP will open its doors in Seattle for a special luncheon where attendees will be able to see the Seattle office up close, meet staff, and hear from Army veteran Jeramiah Pauley about how WWP empowered him during his recovery. Luncheon Details Where: 2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 130, Seattle, WA When: 11:30 am 1:00 pm Who: RSVP to Nancy Fash at [email protected] or 904.405.1345 "The communities where our warriors live and work have a significant role in their recoveries," said Gary Corless, WWP chief development officer. "Members of the community interact daily with the injured service members we serve, and they see the need is great and growing. That perspective gives them a chance to understand some of the challenges warriors face when returning to civilian life and the hope Wounded Warrior Project's services provide. Events like GiveBIG make a significant difference. We're extremely grateful for the past generosity of the Seattle community and are excited about this year's event." WWP also connects warriors through services focused on mental and physical health and wellness, financial wellness, independence, government relations, and community relations and partnerships. If you are interested in impacting the lives of warriors and joining our team, visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/125657. About Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us. SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project Related Links https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org ALLENTOWN, Pa., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shift4 Payments, the leader in secure payment processing innovation, today announced that it has reached another company milestone, having now processed over eight billion tokenized transactions through their original tokenization technology, a testament to the company's extensive track record of providing the most secure payment processing to merchants. Shift4 is known as the inventor of payment data tokenization technology, having introduced the world's first tokenization solution of its kind to the payments industry in 2005. This innovative step forward was driven by Shift4's commitment to providing best-in-class payment security solutions for merchants in retail, hospitality, food and beverage, e-commerce and more. The company's TrueTokenization solution paved the way for countless similar products that emulate the technology that Shift4 pioneered. Shift4's tokenization solution supports merchants' business objectives by replacing cardholder data, which has a universal value, with a random alphanumeric value (a token) that is only valuable within specific parameters and in a particular environment. This renders any payment data in storage meaningless to hackers and protects merchants from the devastating effects of a data breach. While tokenization is considered an industry standard today, Shift4 has expanded the capabilities of the token to include integration with merchants' loyalty and analytics programs without sacrificing security. The company has also adapted their tokenization technologies to protect merchants in specific industries, such as hospitality, where card data can exist at many touchpoints. "The fact that tokenization is synonymous with payment security today is proof that the industry rewards innovation and originality," said Steve Sommers, Chief Application Architect at Shift4 Payments. "We are immensely proud to have reached eight billion transactions successfully tokenized by our technology." Merchants can take full advantage of Shift4's tokenization solution by using it alongside their EMV and point-to-point encryption solutions for layered security. Combining these technologies provides businesses with the best protection from data theft and reduces PCI scope, saving them considerable time and money. To learn more about Shift4 Payments and their tokenization technology, visit www.shift4.com/tokenization. About Shift4 Payments Shift4 Payments is the leader in secure payment processing solutions, powering the top point-of-sale and software providers across numerous verticals, including Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Lodging, Gaming, Retail, and e-Commerce. This includes the company's Harbortouch, Restaurant Manager, POSitouch, and Future POS brands, as well as over 300 additional software integrations in virtually every industry. With eight offices across the U.S. and Europe, 7,000 sales partners, and three state-of-the-art data centers, the company securely processes over 1 billion transactions annually for nearly 200,000 businesses, representing over $100 billion in payments each year. For additional information, visit www.shift4.com. Media Contacts Nate Hirshberg AVP, Marketing Shift4 Payments (888) 276-2108 x1107 [email protected] SOURCE Shift4 Payments Related Links http://www.shift4.com AUSTIN, Texas, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Silvercar announced plans to bring its premium rental experience to Orange County at John Wayne International Airport on April 30. The sunshine and incredible experiences Orange County has to offer modern travelers are now in closer reach thanks to Silvercar. Silvercar will now be available in 21 locations across the country. Orange County joins several California locations, including Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and recently opened San Diego (SAN) giving even more families, surf-aficionados, scenic-route takers and business travelers the best in customer experience when they travel. Silvercar continues to deliver on its promise of premium mobility solutions and hassle-free access to personal transportation with a seamless mobile-first booking experience. The award-wining Audi Q5 SUV and best-selling Audi A4 sedan are available for bookings starting today. Customers can download the Silvercar app for iPhone or Android, or visit Silvercar.com. "Silvercar is thrilled to welcome Orange County to our rapidly growing roster," said Silvercar COO, Chris Donus. "With its pristine beaches, perfect weather and celebrated theme parks, we could not be more excited to provide our customers with premium vehicle rental to experience all that Orange County has to offer." Acquired by Audi in 2017, Silvercar has doubled down on its plans to expand its footprint. The company has opened multiple new airport locations in recent months, including San Diego, Tampa, Salt Lake City, and Orlando. Silvercar offers new 2017 and 2018 fully loaded Audi A4 sedans and Q5 SUVs with onboard Wi-Fi, navigation, and SiriusXM satellite radioalways included at no additional cost. Audi vehicles also offer excellent driving dynamics with elevated design and advanced technology, including quattro all-wheel drive, Audi virtual cockpit with Google Earth, and Audi smartphone interface. The Audi Q5 is an IIHS Top Safety Pick and received Best Auto Tech award from KBB. All Silvercar customers will continue to benefit from no fuel upcharges, no mileage restrictions, no additional fees for toll charges, and no fees for car seat rentals. Prices start at $59 per day for the Audi A4 and $79 per day for the Audi Q5. Want to keep it longer? For a limited time, Silvercar is offering 40-percent off rentals of five days or more using the code "WEEKLY". Follow Silvercar on Twitter and Instagram for the latest. Silvercar Locations: Austin, TX (AUS) Chicago, IL (ORD) Dallas, TX (DAL) Denver, CO (DEN) Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Miami, FL (MIA) Miami, FL South Beach Newark, NJ (EWR) New York, NY Brooklyn New York, NY Brooklyn Downtown New York, NY - Manhattan Orange County, CA (SNA) Orlando, FL (MCO) Phoenix, AZ (PHX) Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) San Diego, CA (SAN) San Francisco, CA (SFO) Seattle, WA (SEA) Tampa, FL (TPA) About Silvercar Silvercar is a next-generation premium mobility company whose fleet consists entirely of Audi A4s and Q5s. With its sleek mobile app, Silvercar removes the headache of traditional car rental. No lines or counters. No paperwork. No hassles. Just the best in customer service and premium products every time. Silvercar continually earns the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry and with 21 locations at airports and in select urban cores, Silvercar is the largest premium mobility company in North America. The company was acquired by Audi in 2017. For more information, visit www.silvercar.com SOURCE Silvercar Related Links http://www.silvercar.com COMMERCE, Calif., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart & Final Stores, Inc. (NYSE: SFS), the neighborhood warehouse grocery store, announced today that Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice division President Derek Jones will oversee Supply Chain for Smart & Final in addition to his current role as President of Cash&Carry. Jones continues to report to Smart & Final President and CEO Dave Hirz. "We look forward to Derek's expanded role with Smart & Final and his support in delivering great results for both brands," said Hirz. "He has the industry experience and proven track record to continue driving growth in our key markets, and we're confident he's the right person for this important part of our business." Jones joined Cash&Carry in April 2017 from SpartanNash Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a U.S. grocery distributor and retailer, where he was President and Executive Vice President, Wholesale and Distribution Operations. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles at SpartanNash, including EVP of Food Distribution, EVP of Retail Operations and EVP of Wholesale Operations. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his 27 years in the retail industry, spanning several positions in operations, distribution and supply chain at Unisource Worldwide, Office Depot, Walgreens and Wal-Mart Stores. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Jones has served on the Board of Directors for the National Grocers Association and on the Board of Directors for Heart of West Michigan United Way. Headquartered near Portland, Oregon, Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice is a subsidiary of Smart & Final Stores, Inc. and has operated throughout the Northwest for more than 60 years. The division currently has 60 wholesale stores located in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah catering to the foodservice industry. About Smart & Final Smart & Final Stores, Inc. (NYSE: SFS), is a value-oriented food and everyday staples retailer, headquartered in Commerce (near Los Angeles), California. The Company offers quality products in a variety of sizes, saving household, nonprofit and business customers time and money. As of December 31, 2017, the Company operated 323 grocery and foodservice stores under the "Smart & Final," "Smart & Final Extra!" and "Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice" banners in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Utah, with an additional 15 stores in Northwestern Mexico operated through a joint venture. In business for over 146 years, the Company remains committed to giving back to local communities through employee volunteer opportunities and Company donations to local nonprofits. About Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice is a warehouse-format store catering to the foodservice industry based in Portland, Oregon. For over 60 years, the Company has offered a wide-range of larger quantity products in a convenient one-stop shop. As of August 1, 2017, the Company operated 63 warehouse stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Montana and California. Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice is the foodservice division of Smart & Final Stores, LLC (NYSE: SFS), headquartered in Commerce (near Los Angeles), California. For more information, please visit the Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice website at www.smartfoodservice.com. SOURCE Smart & Final Stores, Inc. Related Links http://www.smartandfinal.com LONG BRANCH, N.J., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Team members of the Kiely Family of Companies participated in a volunteer day on April 14, 2018, benefiting the Boy Scouts of America at the Quail Hill Scout Reservation camp grounds in Manalapan, New Jersey. The group effort provided the largest number of Kiely team members volunteering in a single day, adding up to over 216 volunteer hours. Corporate and field team members of the Kiely Family of Companies assisted in clearing and cleaning campgrounds to ready the facility for campers. The work completed during the volunteer day was equivalent to two months of work for the Boy Scouts staff. This volunteer day was one of many that the Kiely Family of Companies will be assisting the Boy Scouts of America with. Throughout the remainder of the year, the team will also be installing a water service for a bathroom, updating propane-fueled buildings to natural gas, creating a stone road to assist in safe travel to the camp's pond, and installing solar lighting along a walking path to their campfire area. "We encourage our team members to be community helpers, so providing opportunities such as volunteer days are always successful," says John M. Kiely, President of the Kiely Family of Companies. "As a leader in the design-build space of utility construction and water resources, partnering with the Boy Scouts on these projects is a natural fit for us. We can provide the expertise needed to enhance their campgrounds and make it a safer, more efficient space for our community. It's great to know we are helping thousands of families create lasting memories in Quail Hill Scout Reservation." In addition to the other Boy Scouts of America projects that are scheduled for completion in 2018, the Kiely Family of Companies will continue to uphold their core values by working on a number of other volunteer opportunities throughout the year. About the Kiely Family of Companies The Kiely Family of Companies established in 1952 specializes in design build. Its three business units Civil, Development and Equipment serve the engineering, construction, real estate and manufacturing industries. As an ENR 600 company, heavily concentrated in the Northeast, the Kiely Family of Companies employs more than 1,000 team members throughout the United States and abroad. For more information about the Kiely Family of Companies, please visit kielybuilds.com or contact James M. Pagano at (732) 222-4400. Contact: James M. Pagano, Sr. Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Kiely Family of Companies [email protected] 732 222 4400 SOURCE Kiely Family of Companies TUCSON, Ariz., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Toron, Inc. (OTC Pink: TRON) provided its stockholders today with a corporate update. "We are pleased to announce that Toron has received and executed a Financing Agreement which will enable us to move forward with vigor and focus to complete our acquisition of the InMed Group," stated Rene Ortiz Morentin, President of Toron. This Agreement will enable Toron to complete its acquisition of InMed and provide the Company with working capital. Our new financial partner, an extremely well capitalized financial institution, with headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut, and has expressed not only are they looking forward to closing Toron's first acquisition but would like to serve as Toron's financial partner moving forward as Toron looks to add additional healthcare facilities in a series of acquisitions. "This has been a long and strenuous journey for our shareholders. There are no shortcuts in building a company with true lasting and meaningful value. We at long last will have a venue to showcase our iMedScan technology which can improve collections and cash flow for healthcare professionals and facilities," further stated Ortiz Morentin. Statements in this press release that are not historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although Toron, Inc. believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, Toron, Inc. is unable to give any assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the company's ability to meet the conditions necessary to, among other matters, obtain a public listing on a major national exchange. SOURCE Toron, Inc. GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TradePMR will gather successful registered investment advisors (RIAs) from across the country to celebrate the firm's 20th anniversary at their annual Synergy conference May 16-18 in San Diego, California. Today, the custodial services provider announced the lineup of keynote speakers and agenda intended to arm growth-minded advisors with tools and resources needed to streamline their businesses and navigate headwinds. This year's conference theme "Get There" will steer conversations during the conference's robust three-day agenda. Synergy 2018 attendees will benefit from a lineup of experts from in and around the financial services industry. TradePMR founder and CEO Robb Baldwin, formerly a practicing advisor, will kick off the conference, focusing his comments on challenges in building a business in the digital world to better serve clients. Other keynote speakers and their topics include: The New Frontier: Bill Coppel, Chief Client Growth Officer at First Clearing, leads First Clearing's organic growth and productivity initiative, as well as thought leadership efforts, brand positioning and market strategy. leads First Clearing's organic growth and productivity initiative, as well as thought leadership efforts, brand positioning and market strategy. Cyber Fraud Prevention: Jeff Lanza , retired FBI agent and author, is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of cybercrime, leadership, crisis communication, ethics, identity theft and body language. retired FBI agent and author, is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of cybercrime, leadership, crisis communication, ethics, identity theft and body language. Common Technology and Practice Management Mistakes and Opportunities: Joel Bruckenstein and Bob Veres , considered by many to be two of the most recognized names in the financial planning consulting profession. Buckenstein is the founder of T3 Technology Tools for Today and host of the T3 Technology conferences. Veres is publisher of Insiders Information, a columnist currently for Financial Planning magazine and host of one of the annual Insiders Forum. , considered by many to be two of the most recognized names in the financial planning consulting profession. Buckenstein is the founder of T3 Technology Tools for Today and host of the T3 Technology conferences. Veres is publisher of Insiders Information, a columnist currently for Financial Planning magazine and host of one of the annual Insiders Forum. Creating a Nation of Millionaires: Dr. Robert Genetski is an accomplished author, professor, registered investment advisor and a proponent of classical, free-market economic principles. "We believe we have gathered some of the top minds in the industry to provide advisors with powerful conversations and a suite of resources as they work to grow their business," said Baldwin. "TradePMR has a history of innovation and our commitment to improving an advisor's business and client experiences will drive the conversation during three intense days together." New in 2018, attendees are invited to a three-hour Branding Reception. During the reception, advisors will receive real-time branding guidance from marketing experts. Advisors will have the opportunity to refresh their professional headshot, receive website analysis and social media consultation, learn about digital marketing and network with sponsors and peers in a more conversational setting. A number of Soap Box Talks will also occur during the Branding Reception. Details about Synergy including the complete list of speakers, full agenda and event registration is available at https://synergy.tradepmr.com. For breaking news and conference updates, follow the official Twitter hashtag #TradePMRSynergy. Sponsoring companies include: FirstClearing^, Ascendant Compliance Management, Black Creek Group, Cion Investments, JVB Financial Group, Nationwide, PPC Loan, Asset Map, CalSurance, Myraid Advisor Solutions, Oranj, PIEtech, Probabilities Fund, Redtail, Resource Real Estate, Riskalyze, Snappy Kraken, Sumridge Partners and YCharts1. Members of the media may request a press pass via email at [email protected]. ABOUT TRADEPMR For nearly two decades, TradePMR has addressed the technology and support demands of financial advisors with solutions that are easy to implement and user-friendly. The privately held introducing brokerage firm (Member FINRA/SIPC), founded and located in Gainesville, Florida, has maintained a singular focus of providing brokerage and custody services and support to independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) and their clients. The firm delivers an integrated cloud-based workstation that enables RIAs to efficiently run their practices and be more effective. More information is available at www.tradepmr.com. Follow TradePMR on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. ^ First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. 1The companies listed are not affiliates of TradePMR. Securities are offered through TradePMR. MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Taylor Shores Impact Communications 913-649-5009 [email protected] SOURCE TradePMR Related Links http://www.tradepmr.com OMAHA, Neb., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Pacific's history with the national parks started with creating iconic western parks like Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon and Death Valley, when the railroad provided access to pristine landscapes that were otherwise virtually impossible to visit. Union Pacific today announced a new commitment to help preserve our nation's most unique and inspiring spaces with its multi-year, $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation for the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement. Explore America's Backyard Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8295051-union-pacific-national-park-foundation-find-your-park/ "Union Pacific transported early park-goers to adventures out west," said Scott Moore, Union Pacific senior vice president of Corporate Relations and chief administrative officer. "Today, we deliver the goods Americans use every day to our nation's busiest cities and quietest towns, passing through rugged, beautiful landscapes. We traverse America's backyard, and we want the next generation to explore it." Through its partnership with the National Park Foundation, Union Pacific will build on its legacy, encouraging young adventurers to explore America's national parks. Union Pacific's partnership supports the National Park Foundation's Open OutDoors for Kids program, which connects kids to parks. The railroad's support will provide national park experiences for thousands of students across the 23 states where Union Pacific operates. National park field trips encourage students to develop a sense of adventure while educating youth about science, history, conservation, and their role in protecting national and local treasures. "If given the choice between reading about Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, or seeing the geyser and taking a breath of fresh, mountain air, there's no comparison," Moore said. "We want this partnership to cultivate lifelong connections between people and parks." "Union Pacific's support enables kids across the country to explore their local national parks," said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation. "These national park experiences are unforgettable and instill a desire to discover more." Union Pacific encourages all generations, especially the younger generation and their families to visit www.findyourpark.com to explore what national parks and activities are in their own backyard. Over the coming months, Union Pacific will highlight these beautiful landscapes, historic sites and cultural resources in a number of ways. Details will be published at www.up.com/ExploreAmericasBackyard and on the company's social media channels using #ExploreAmericasBackyard, #FindYourPark and #EncuentraTuParque. ABOUT UNION PACIFIC Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. In the last 10 years, 2008-2017, Union Pacific invested approximately $34 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure. The railroad's diversified business mix is classified into its Agricultural Products, Energy, and Industrial and Premium business groups. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION Celebrating 50 years, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and ENGAGE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service's 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America's National Parks, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org. www.up.com www.facebook.com/unionpacific www.twitter.com/unionpacific SOURCE Union Pacific Related Links http://www.up.com SAO PAULO, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Azul is announcing that current shareholder United Airlines has just concluded a private preferred share transaction with Hainan Airlines. The transaction increased United's economic stake in Azul from 3.7% to 8.0%. "We continue to look for new ways to provide more connectivity for our customers, and we are excited about today's announcement as Azul has been a great partner," said Andrew Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines. "Following our initial investment in 2015, connecting traffic between our airlines is at an all-time high, significantly benefiting our customers traveling between the US and Brazil. Azul's strong network in Brazil, unique business model and exceptional customer service make this transaction a good long-term investment." "Today is an important step forward in our partnership with United Airlines," said John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul. "Our customers are benefiting from having access to our collective networks that extend throughout North America with United and in Brazil with Azul. This investment reinforces our strategy, our business plan, our opportunities for growth and in our 11,000 crewmembers that take care of our customers every single day." Azul and United today connect via their gateways in Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) and Orlando, Florida (MCO). In Brazil connecting customers have access to the largest domestic network in the country, serving more than 100 cities, while flying Azul's award winning domestic experience. In the United States, customers have access to United's industry leading global network. In addition to unparalleled connectivity, Azul and United customers can earn elite status miles as well as enjoy benefits such as priority boarding, lounge access and priority baggage when flying the two airlines. About United United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 354 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 750 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 545 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 191 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL". About Azul Azul S.A. (B3: AZUL4,NYSE: AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served, offers 739 daily flights to 106 destinations. With an operating fleet of 120 aircraft and more than 10,000 crewmembers, the company has a network of 206 non-stop routes as of March 31, 2018. This year, Azul was awarded best airline in Latin America by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice and in 2017, the Company was elected best low cost carrier in South America for the seventh consecutive time by Skytrax. Azul also ranked as most on-time airline in Brazil and most on-time low-cost carrier in the Americas in 2017 according to OAG's Punctuality League, the industry's most comprehensive annual ranking of on-time performance. For more information visit www.voeazul.com.br/ir. Contacts / Azul Investor Relations Tel: +55 11 4831 2880 [email protected] Media Relations Tel: +55 11 4831 1245 [email protected] SOURCE Azul Linhas Aereas Related Links http://www.voeazul.com.br DUBLIN, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Neuroscience, Ltd., today announced that company co-founder Lou Reese will present at the Fourth International Conference, Unite to Cure: A Global Health Care Initiative, held April 26-28, 2018, at the Aula Nuova del Sinodo in Vatican City. The conference, organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation, brings together journalists, advocates and thought leaders to discuss the impact of scientific innovation in medicine on culture and society. "At United Neuroscience, we believe that new vaccine technology creates opportunities to envision a future that avoids the terrible consequences of neurodegenerative disease on global health," commented Mei Mei Hu, Chief Executive Officer of United Neuroscience. "Just as vaccines like the polio vaccine transformed societies in the past, we hope to demonstrate transformative, preventive and therapeutic therapies that are accessible to all. We value the opportunity provided by the Cura Foundation and the Vatican to participate in meaningful dialogues with all those who support efforts to create a better, healthier world." In his talk, "Democratizing Brain Health," Lou Reese, co-founder of United Neuroscience, will discuss the need to challenge the status quo in clinical research in order to make treatments for neurological diseases accessible on a global scale. Lou's talk will address potential parallels between the future of brain health and the dramatic historical changes in human society brought by vaccines, digital technologies and aerospace engineering. "We live in an exciting and transformative era in health care, wherein many of the world's most deadly diseases and dangerous medical conditions are being addressed by a wide array of treatments," said Dr. Robin Smith, President of the Cura Foundation. "Here in this intimate setting in the Vatican, we've brought together some of the world's greatest thought leaders to collaborate and strategize about creating a world free of disease and suffering. We're pleased to have United Neuroscience join us on this mission and look forward to this important conversation on brain health." About United Neuroscience The mission of United Neuroscience is to develop best-in-class immunotherapeutics for neurodegenerative and neurological diseases and to deliver new treatments to patients worldwide. A clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Dublin, with operations in Taiwan and the United States, United Neuroscience was founded to address the social and economic burden of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. For more information please visit www.unitedneuroscience.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/UNSTechBio and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/unitedneuroscience. About The Cura Foundation The Cura Foundation leads a major global health movement, with the passionate purpose to improve human health. Cura unites public and private sectors, partnering with doctors, patients, business leaders, philanthropists and thought leaders to collaborate and create breakthroughs around the world. The foundation drives change by raising awareness of scientific advancements in genomics, emerging technologies and big data to usher in the future of medicine. Cura helps people live longer, better lives free from suffering. The Cura Foundation is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, public and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, please visit: https://thecurafoundation.org To learn more about Unite To Cure: The Fourth International Vatican Conference, please visit: http://vaticanconference2018.com. Or, you can follow the event on Twitter @CuraFdn and on Facebook at facebook.com/TheCuraFoundation, and join the conversation with #UnitetoCure. Media Contacts David Schull or Rich Allan Russo Partners, LLC + 1 (212) 845-4271 + 1 (646) 942-5588 [email protected] [email protected] The Cura Foundation Todd Aydelotte +1 (646) 428-0644 [email protected] SOURCE United Neuroscience, Ltd. Related Links http://www.unitedneuroscience.com NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The following event roundup from Virtual Press Office is a list of featured exhibitors for XPONENTIAL 2018, the largest, most comprehensive trade show for unmanned systems and robotics, which takes place May 1-3 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. XPONENTIAL 2018 press kits, news releases and photos are available on Virtual Press Office's dedicated news page for the event, managed by Virtual Press Office/Cision PR Newswire: http://xponential.vporoom.com XPONENTIAL 2018 press kits on Virtual Press Office AEE Technology, Inc. Booth #1428 Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/AEETechnology AEE Mach 4 Built to provide a best-in-class experience for professionals in law enforcement, search & rescue, inspection and surveying sectors, AEE's Mach 4 will raise the bar and redefine value in the commercial UAV industry. Measuring a little over two-feet in length, the AEE's Mach 4 is capable of traveling at a cruising speed close to 30 miles per hour with a range of almost two miles (with supplied hand controller) and flight times up to 40 minutes in length. Its sophisticated Y-12 ground station (hand controller) is equipped with 1.4 gigahertz for flight control, offering a steady and sure control experience. The drone package comes with three antennas that are attached to the ground station controller, which supports a 5.8GHz video transmission and a 1.4 GHz digital radio system. Equipped with an YT35, standard 4K camera with a 1 / 2.3-megapixel sensor, the Mach 4 is designed to deliver crisp, clear images. The Mach 4 will also have available optional payloads that include 10:1 Zoom camera system and an advanced optical thermal camera. AEE's Mach 4 will be available to select resellers in June. Packages are expected to start in the $5,000 range, for the base configuration system. AEE will be exhibiting Mach 4 at the premier AUVSI conference, Xponential May 1-May 3, 2018 at the Denver Convention Center AEE booth #1428. Ardenna Booth # #2528 Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/Ardenna Privately held and established in 2017 as a spin-off venture of Bihrle Applied Research Inc. (bihrle.com), Hampton, VA-based Ardenna offers computer vision and machine learning solutions for the automated detection, classification and reporting of anomalies found during the inspection of critical infrastructure. Ardenna's initial solution, RailVision was a groundbreaking success with BNSF Railway in the achievement of truly automated long-range UAS supplemental track inspections. Building upon this success, Ardenna is now introducing these intelligent automation capabilities to the energy sector (wind turbine, electric utility, pipeline and solar). Insitu Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/Insitu Insitu is an industry-leading provider of information for superior decision making. With offices in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, the company creates and supports unmanned systems and software technology that deliver end-to-end solutions for collecting, processing and delivering information. We proudly serve the diverse needs of our global customers in the defense, government and commercial industries. Insitu is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company. LEMO USA, Inc. Booth #1618 Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/LEMO LEMO is a global leader in the design and manufacture of precision custom connection solutions. LEMO's high quality connectors are found in a variety of challenging application environments including medical, industrial control, test and measurement, audio-video, broadcast and telecommunications. LEMO now offers cable & wire as well as cable assembly services. Please visit LEMO at Booth #1618 during the AUVSI XPONENTIAL Show in Denver, April 30-May 3. MilSource Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/MilSource MilSource is the proud official US distributor of Techaya's MILTECH line of military-grade switching, routing and other communications solutions. These IP-based communication solutions are ideal for extreme conditions and unique tactical requirements. Developed for military and harsh mobile applications, Techaya's military-grade communications solutions feature mechanical packaging enhancements designed for MIL-ST D-810F and IP67 airborne, ground and marine environmental compliance and for high reliability. Leading the industry in size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C) Techaya's compact and ultra-compact switches, routers and hubs are gaining fast industry traction for applications such as UAV data acquisition and transmission, battlefield communication C4ISR, mobile communications, combat vehicles, avionic, and shipboard systems. Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems Booth# 615 Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/NIAS-UAS On behalf of the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development, NIAS helps to grow the Autonomous Systems Industry through business teaming, partnerships, research and development, and education awareness in order to bring in business and jobs to the State of Nevada. NIAS plans Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) flight and Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) ground missions, collects Big Data, develops airspace and ground control measures, and recommends lessons learned to the FAA, NASA, and DOT in order to facilitate full and safe UAS and UGV integration into the National Airspace (NAS) and across Nevada highway and road lines of operations. Swift Navigation Booth #3311 Press Kit: xponential.vporoom.com/SwiftNavigation Swift Navigation, Inc. was founded in 2012 to make GPS positioning technology more accurate and affordable. Today Swift Navigation has gained a reputation for defining a new category of GNSS systems as the industry's first low-cost, high accuracy real-time kinematics (RTK) receiver. Its GPS and GNSS positioning products are available at a fraction of the price of the competition and deliver 100 times better accuracy than the GPS in a cell phone. Swift Navigation's technology benefits a multitude of industries and applicationsincluding autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), precision agriculture, robotics, surveying and space. With its innovation and technology honored by Inc.'s and Forbes 30 Under 30 lists, Swift Navigation is enabling a world where fields farm themselves, drones fly safely and autonomous transportation can take you home. Swift Navigation provides an end-to-end GNSS solution with a line of Piksi Multi and Duro receivers and Skylark Cloud Corrections Service. Learn more online at swiftnav.com, follow Swift on Twitter @Swiftnav. The above press kits will continue to be updated throughout the show. Please check back during XPONENTIAL 2018 for the latest news. Virtual Press Office (http://www.vporoom.com/) is a Cision PR Newswire company. Follow us on Twitter @VPOEventZone or subscribe to our RSS feed for more trade show news. If you have questions about Virtual Press Office services, or if you would like to offer feedback on this exhibitor profile roundup, please email [email protected]. SOURCE Virtual Press Office NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert panelists including world winemakers, master sommeliers, lead buyers and media joined forces this week on Tuesday, April 24 for the Global Garnacha Summit. Sponsored by D.O.P. Carinena, the birthplace of Garnacha in Spain, the first Global Garnacha Summit was held at The CIA at Copia in Napa. The one-day exploration was shared with leading sommeliers, buyers, distributors, educators and journalists, encompassing dozens of regions and a full range of styles from around the globe. A full house attended two dynamic seminars and a walk-around tasting featuring close to 100 bottlings from over 50 points-of-origin. The organizers plan to release an industry white paper in the coming months, with results to be shared at www.globalgarnachasummit.com. **View the Photo Gallery from the Global Garnacha Summit** A Stunning Grape, Terroir-Friendly and an Alternative to Pinot Noir The morning seminar Garnacha Unveiled was moderated by Bob Bath, MS and Professor of Wine and Beverage Studies, at The Culinary Institute of America. It featured a deep dive into the varietal characteristics of Garnacha/Grenache; how it performs in different regions and terroir around the globe; and how it's interpreted by renowned producers worldwide. Key insights were shared by a dynamic global panel who spoke to their passion for the variety, as well as their drive to develop the distinctly "terroir-driven" personality of the variety. California panelists Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon revealed his success with Garnacha in California's long ripening season, following a "jilted relationship" with Pinot Noir, while winemaker Chelsea Franchi of Tablas Creek, a well-known producer in Paso Robles with additional ownership in the Rhone, declared it a "stunning grape to work with!" Boutique winemaker Angela Osborne likes Grenache so much that it's the only variety she works with in California, traveling between vineyards some 700 miles apart to develop its potential in signature wines such as "A Tribute to Grace." Spanish Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros stressed the "generosity" of the variety, a "global traveler" which shares commonality in different regions, but also takes on terroir with gusto, a perspective which was reinforced by tasting with winemakers Emmanuel Kemiji, MS of Clos Pissarra in Priorat and California, and Even Bakke from Clos de Trias in the southern Rhone. Business Potential and Opportunities Take Centerstage The afternoon panel Garnacha Rising was led by Peter Granoff, MS and Owner/Partner of Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant. The discussion delved into strategies for promoting Garnacha wines in addition to current consumption trends. Panelists engaged in a lively exchange with the attendees about strategies for making wine drinkers aware of quality and value-driven Garnacha as a comparable option to Pinot Noir and red blends. Panelists agreed that Garnacha ranks high among food-friendly wines and is a bridge for white wine drinkers looking for medium-bodied, expressive reds. Buyer Stevie Stacionis of wine shop Bay Grape in Oakland, CA echoed a common refrain that Garnacha offers a wide spectrum and range, affording the trade many opportunities to find a consumer match from lighter to more full-bodied styles. The often-outstanding price points and food-friendly character of Garnacha from regions as distinct as Carinena, Paso Robles, Chateauneuf du Pape, and Barossa was also cited as a point of discovery for by-the-glass programs, where it was said to consistently "deliver what Pinot Noir promises." Overall, there was a consensus that the business opportunity and consumer appeal of Garnacha/Grenache makes this a grape whose time has come, a view summarized by Gilian Handelman of Kendall Jackson Wines with insights on plantings from Australia to California: "The elasticity of Garnacha is laudable! The key is to lay the groundwork for education now." The walk around food & wine pairing Garnacha: The Perfect Partner took place between sessions and featured dishes created exclusively for the event by the Chefs of COPIA, inspired by the signature flavors of Spain, France, and California. To highlight food-friendly character, attendees were able to pair and taste 100% Garnacha and blends from over 50 points-of-origin. The summit concluded with a blind tasting, hosted by the SOMM Foundation. The cash prize awards were provided by Global Garnacha Summit media sponsor, The SOMM Journal. First place for $1,000 was given to Jay O'Leary of Jays-Wine-Stop, and second place for $500 went to Susan Meyer of St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery. Details on the next edition of the Global Garnacha Summit, as well as highlights from the inaugural event, will continue to be shared on www.globalgarnachasummit.com, so be sure to check back for the most recent information. Images can be downloaded here. For the latest news on D.O.P. Carinena, sign up for the regional newsletter here. SOURCE D.O.P. Carinena Related Links http://www.wineregiontowatch.com ROCKY HILL, Conn., April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wireless Zone, an authorized retailer of Verizon Wireless products and services and the nation's largest wireless retail franchise, celebrated another strong year of growth at the brand's annual convention held in Grapevine, Texas from March 11 to March 13. More than 310 franchisees and their staff, vendors, and the brand's corporate team met to highlight key achievements, discuss strategy for the year ahead, and award the franchisees who drove results for their locations and for the brand throughout 2017. Wireless Zone added more than 30 new stores to the system in 2017, reaching 345 locations nationwide. The brand also celebrated positive store growth backed by a number of new initiatives developed by parent company, TCC. Some of those key initiatives included the creation of a new order website, planograms and a new cloud infrastructure strategy. "Our annual convention is a time when we can get the entire team together and celebrate Wireless Zone's successes and growth from the year before, as well as recognize those that went above and beyond to contribute to those achievements," said Dave Staszewski, Wireless Zone Executive Vice President. "We had a big 2017 and know that with the strategy we have in place for 2018, we'll have even more to celebrate in the year to come." Each year, the convention includes an awards ceremony recognizing Wireless Zone's top-performing franchisees as well as those with extraordinary service to the brand. This year, 14 franchise owners were recognized as top performers who drove performance in a number of categories: new activations per month, upgrades per month, prepaid units, connected device attachment rate, year over year new activations, activations percent increase and year over year upgrade percent increase. Winners were invited to a week-long Mediterranean cruise where they'll have the opportunity to relax, enjoy the sights and collaborate with the brand's other top franchisees. Among those recognized was Connecticut franchisee Neil Ryan, who has been with the brand for more than 25 years. "I'm very proud of my team for once again earning this award. We're celebrating our 25th year in business, and it's a great accomplishment to have won this award the last 23 consecutive years," Ryan noted. "Five of our seven local stores will be joining the top 25 Verizon premium agents in the country for a week of well-deserved fun and relaxation, I'm certainly looking forward to it." Other award winners included Darren Fortner, a franchisee based in Indiana, who took home the esteemed Spirit of Wireless Zone Award. Fortner has a proven track record of outstanding sales performance and demonstrated strong commitment to the community by coordinating a number of charitable events and donations throughout 2017. The brand's highest award, Franchisee of the Year, was awarded to Dave Bogart, franchise owner of three stores across New York, who, like Fortner, was recognized for his consistent performance and community involvement. "These two franchisees are perfect representations of what can be achieved with hard work and dedication," said Staszewski. "Both Darren and Dave have been mentors to both new and existing Wireless Zone franchisees for decades and are models for the operators we hope to welcome into our system in the years to come. We were thrilled to recognize them for contributing to our success and look forward to what they're able to accomplish in the future." ABOUT WIRELESS ZONE Founded in 1988 as ""The Car Phone Store"", the Wireless Zone system has become the nation's largest wireless retail franchisor and was ranked the No. 1 franchise in its category by Entrepreneur magazine. Each store is independently owned and operated, exclusively offering Verizon Wireless products and services. The Wireless Zone system has been honored with Verizon's "Best Customer Service" award for five consecutive years and is franchised and operated by Wireless Zone LLC. For more information, visit www.wirelesszone.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Alison Hoesli No Limit Agency 312.526.3996 [email protected] SOURCE Wireless Zone NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Internationally acclaimed Turetsky Choir and Soprano Art Group are heading to New York to present "Unity Songs". The program, directed by the legendary bandleader Mikhail Turetsky, has become an international sensation combining the songs about peace, love, and heroism. WORLD RENOWNED TURETSKY CHOIR TO ROCK NYC WITH A FREE CONCERT ON MAY 12, 2018! The "Unity Songs" project was originally launched in 2015 and since then it has become a tremendous success! At its core, the program uses music to unite humanity by highlighting men's striving towards peace and love in times of war and strife. In 2018 Turetsky Choir and Soprano Art Group will present "Unity Songs" in 8 countries including the U.S., Israel, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Slovenia, and Belarus! The New York City event is free of charge and is set to take place at Robert F. Wagner Park, 20 Battery Place, New York, NY on May 12, 2018, with a special concert preview at the United Nations on May 11, 2018. Turetsky Choir features a large group of male soloists with magical voices ranging from tenor-contralto to basso-profundo, spanning four-and-a-half octaves that create astounding harmonies, as well as talented musicians playing piano, violin, guitar, drums. Established in 1989, Turetsky Choir has been performing for more than two decades to sold-out venues in the United States (Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, etc), Europe and Asia. Choir's founder and stage conductor, Mikhail Turetsky notes, that the Choir always receives a warm welcome in each American city it has toured, and there is always high synergy with their American fans. After several performances in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and other leading American venues, the legendary band looks forward to revisiting the U.S. and sharing this innovative project. Every concert is unique and tailored to each city. Mikhail Turetsky is committed to creating an "unforgettable and inimitable experience where the atmosphere of goodwill, joy, and mutual understanding among cultures will triumph." It is worth noting that Turetsky Choir never ended any performance in the US without singing their signature song "God Bless America." The choir will be joined by Mikhail Turetsky's Soprano Art Group, a woman's group that features a unique, interactive audience performance. The group combines female singing voices from the highest (soprano) to the lowest (mezzo). Each soloist has her own singing style, from academic to folk and pop-jazz. The artists not only sing but also play different musical instruments (violin, saxophone, keyboards). The group also sings a Capella and with instrumental accompaniment (piano, guitar, drums). According to Mikhail Turetsky, the show's repertoire is "A newly conceptualized, multi-genre performance that blends elements of theater and opera in a brilliant interpretation of melodies performed in a variety of styles, in ten different languages, and sung by incredible voices!" PLACE AND DATE: May 12, 2018, at 4 p.m. Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park 20 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280 Gates open early, but the event is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. The show is appropriate for any age. Free admission! MORE INFORMATION: Main page: http://www.arthor.ru Related Images turetsky-choir-to-rock-nyc.jpg TURETSKY CHOIR TO ROCK NYC WORLD RENOWNED TURETSKY CHOIR TO ROCK NYC WITH A FREE CONCERT ON MAY 12, 2018! turetsky-choir.jpg TURETSKY CHOIR turetsky-choir.jpg TURETSKY CHOIR Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr0WwY5Bulw SOURCE M. Turetsky Choir SHANGHAI, April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- STA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec (WuXi STA), announces that it has signed an investment agreement with the government of Shanghai Jinshan District to build a new R&D center. The new facility will further strengthen WuXi STA's global leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing platform, enabling drug developers to accelerate their projects from preclinical to commercial stage. Over the years, WuXi STA has established an industry leading process development platform with over 1,000 scientists and five sites located in China and the United States. WuXi STA's Jinshan site currently focuses on manufacturing innovative Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates from kilo to metric ton scale. The site has been approved by multiple international regulatory agencies including US FDA. The new R&D center is located next to the existing Jinshan drug substance manufacturing site. It will add more than 30,000 square meters of laboratory space and 500 scientists. Upon completion, the new Jinshan campus will be able to offer integrated one-site solution for partners to push forward innovative APIs and advanced intermediates through preclinical and clinical development to global commercial launch. The new campus will also offer the access to many industry-leading technology platforms such as flow chemistry, biocatalysis, and high potency, from laboratory to commercial scale. Shanghai Jinshan District has enjoyed sustained economic growth in recent years via its strategic focus on "smart manufacturing" and has attracted many biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies including WuXi STA. "This new R&D center in Caojing Town, Jinshan is a result of the long term 'win-win' collaboration between Jinshan government and WuXi STA. The project will further strengthen the life science industry ecosystem in Jinshan District," said Mr. Quanquan Zhang, Vice Governor of Jinshan. "The new R&D center is a reflection of our commitment to better serving our customers worldwide and supporting the growth of local economy as well as the biopharmaceutical ecosystem in Jinshan," said Dr. Minzhang Chen, CEO of WuXi STA. "As we continuously strengthen the capability and capacity of our platform, we will enable more global partners to shorten the time and lower the cost of new drug development, and improve lives of people around the world." The signing ceremony held in Jinshan was attended by Mr. Jian Liu (member of Standing Committee, Vice Governor of Jinshan), Mr. Quanquan Zhang (member of Standing Committee, Vice Governor of Jinshan), Mr. Huapin Luo (Secretary of Caojing Town Committee of the CPC), Ms. Liying Qian(Vice Secretary of Caojing Town Committee of the CPC, Mayor of Caojing Town), Dr. Minzhang Chen (Chief Executive Officer of WuXi STA), Mr. Feng Zhang(Vice President of WuXi STA) as well as other local government officials and STA management team members. About WuXi STA STA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec (WuXi STA), is a leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing capability and technology platform company serving the life science industry, with operations in China and the United States. As a premier Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), WuXi STA offers our worldwide partners efficient, flexible and high-quality solutions for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage forms. For more information, please visit http://www.STApharma.com About WuXi AppTec WuXi AppTec is a leading global pharmaceutical and medical device open-access capability and technology platform company with global operations. As an innovation-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi AppTec provides a broad and integrated portfolio of services to help our worldwide customers and partners shorten the discovery and development time and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D through cost-effective and efficient solutions. With its industry-leading capabilities such as small molecule R&D and manufacturing, cell therapy and gene therapy R&D and manufacturing, and medical device testing, WuXi platform is enabling nearly 3,000 innovative collaborators from more than 30 countries to bring innovative healthcare products to patients, and to fulfill WuXi's dream that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit http://www.wuxiapptec.com SOURCE WuXi AppTec Related Links http://www.wuxiapptec.com BAODING, China, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) ("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"), one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers, today announced that one of its long-term polysilicon suppliers (the "Supplier") filed a request for arbitration of its claim against the Company described below with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) yesterday. As previously reported, the Company has not fully performed some of its long-term polysilicon supply contracts on their original terms, and suppliers have sent the Company invoices or demand letters for failing to perform certain obligations under these contracts. On December 15, 2017, one of the Company's subsidiaries received a notice of termination from the Supplier notifying the Company of its decision to terminate its long-term polysilicon supply contract with the Company with immediate effect and claiming no less than US$897.5 million of payments due and payable by the Company under the contract. After receiving the notice of termination, the Company has been actively communicating with the Supplier to find an amicable solution but no mutual agreement has been reached yet. The Company plans to vigorously defend its rights in the arbitration proceeding while continuing to seek a mutually beneficial solution with the Supplier. About Yingli Green Energy Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), known as "Yingli Solar," is one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the photovoltaic value chain from ingot casting and wafering through solar cell production and PV module assembly. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 20 regional subsidiaries and branch offices and has distributed more than 20GW solar panels to customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.yinglisolar.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Weibo. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Yingli Green Energy's control, which may cause Yingli Green Energy's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Yingli Green Energy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yingli Green Energy does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. For further information, please contact: Eric Pan Investor Relations Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited Tel: +86 312 8929787 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited Related Links http://www.yinglisolar.com "If you understand the Holy Scriptures, then you have to know every word of it is written for our time period. We are given clues, advice, and even warnings all throughout; one would have to be a complete fool to not take heed and prepare for what's coming," Yisrayl points out. Yisrayl says the scientific community has always found a great interest in trying to either prove or disprove the Holy Scriptures, and he has mounting evidence that science completely backs up the Prophecies based on their own research findings. Yisrayl says that a true believer does not need science to back up what the Holy Scriptures say, but some feel it is necessary so he is adding proof to his work. The publication boasts different scientific research findings that back up Prophecies found throughout the Bible. "You will be absolutely amazed at how closely science reveals the same thing as certain details in Bible Prophecy meant for our generation. It's a perfect match, and I'm going to line it up side-by-side so you can see for yourself," Yisrayl says. To read this article, go to www.yahwehsbranch.com About Us: The House of Yahweh, fully recognized in 1983 as a non-profit organization in the United States of America, continues to this present day to fulfill its commissioned work of preaching and publishing the True Message of Salvation. The House of Yahweh has correctly restored the Heavenly Father's Name and the Savior's True Name in the translation named in Scripture as The Book of Yahweh. SOURCE The House of Yahweh Related Links http://www.yahwehsbranch.com Atrium European Real Estate has entered into an agreement to sell Atrium Militari shopping centre in Bucharest, Romania to MAS Real Estate Inc., for 95 million representing a 9% premium to book value on 31 December 2017. The transaction is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, which are [] GUEST OBSERVATION Even though Australia has enjoyed 25 years of economic growth, many regional communities have either struggled to recover or never recovered from factory closures, declining commodity prices, or a drop in tourists. My research, with colleagues from Europe and North America, shows Australian development agencies are reluctant, or do not know how, to reach out and work with other government bodies. They are also less inclined than those in Italy, Germany and Finland to build bridges between government departments or tiers of government. Instead, their solutions are constrained by their own resources. And unlike in the United States, Australia does not have a well-funded economic development agency able to mobilise significant resources in a practised manner. In the United States, local developers often command multi-million-dollar budgets that come from dedicated sales and other taxes, giving them the capacity to bring about change. Australias local development agencies are starved of funding and too often can offer only limited responses to very complex challenges. The Productivity Commission says leadership is key to forging a new economic future for these regional communities. But my research shows local leadership, including from business executives, state government and other government agencies, is relatively weak compared with the other countries. The local leadership gap means Australian regional communities are less able to develop coherent strategies to deal with events like a major plant closure. Even good news, such as the arrival of a new firm, is not guaranteed an appropriate reaction. Part of the challenge lies in the absence of clearly identifiable leaders with the authority to act. Compared with other countries in my study, it is harder to find who in Australia takes ownership of responding to regional economic shocks. In Australia, mayors often play a role, but have few powers to bring about change. State policitians can be reluctant to associate with adverse news. Few politicians, for example, saw photo opportunities in the closure of Australian car makers. In Italy, on the other hand, mayors are pivotal in responding to crises like the closure of a car factory. Our research found Italian mayors reach out to the civil sector in times of crisis the church, non-governmental organisations, unions and even the media. This is done to influence public opinion, build confidence and mobilise private, public and community resources to ensure the well-being of the community. Transition towns The American city of Pittsburgh has transformed from a rapidly declining steel town in the 1970s to a prosperous city with an economy built on medical research and services. Tampere in Finland shifted from being a 19th-century manufacturing base to producing software for Nokia in the 1990s. After 2010 it shifted again to information technology as Nokia itself transformed. The city has also become a hotbed of tech startups. There are a few reasons these two communities successfully rejuvenated themselves while many Australian communities have spiralled downwards. In the United States, local development practitioners are important local leaders because they mobilise the support of political leaders at the state and local level. They also provide the intellectual and financial capital needed to shape a new future. In Finland, local leadership comes from a network of professionals working across departmental lines. In Tampere, for example, they helped to deploy the technical skills of workers. In other places they have moved workers into new technologies and promising new businesses. Within a few years Chinchilla in Queensland cycled between a gas exploration and development boom, which pushed up prices, to an equally sharp bust as construction crews moved away, leaving excess housing. Communities in northern Adelaide have been confronted by the need to map out a new future as the car industry closes. What that looks like and how many workers will be able to transition into the defence sector remains very uncertain. These are not problems limited to a few isolated economies. The southeastern states struggled economically when the nation was in the grip of a mining boom. Communities in Western Australia joined them as real estate prices and labour force growth lagged in the absence of new mine development. There are significant leadership deficits within Australias regions, towns and communities. These contribute to our failure to promote the vibrancy and resilience of all parts of the nation. The decision-makers in Australia largely state and federal politicians as well as the resources they command, are just too far away from regional centres. Their absence creates a significant gap at the local level. But all this doesnt mean that better solutions cant be found for Australian communities experiencing economic change. We can give more responsibility to local governments. We can empower communities through the sharing of information and knowledge. And we should give them the resources needed to bring about the changes they see as the bedrock of their future. Andrew Beer, Dean, Research and Innovation, University of South Australia This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. New data confirms two-thirds of investors who negatively geared property were on taxable incomes of less than $80,000 a year. The latest tax office data suggests Labors policy to amend the widely used property purchasing practice would mostly hit more lower-income earners with only one investment property, according to Treasury analysis of the 2015-16 tax records published in The Australian. The statistics also included figures on the number and occupations of people affected by Labors $20bn plan to scrap negative gearing after the next election on any new purchases of established properties, showing 62 per cent were on taxable incomes of under $80,000 a year. Click here to enlarge. The opposition has argued that the move would target the wealthy with multiple investment properties. However, the data shows that more than 70 per cent of negative gearers did so with only one property. The Tax Stats are an overview of 16 million income tax returns for 13.5 million individuals, 940,000 companies, as well as superannuation funds, partnerships and trusts lodged for 2016. They further reveal that teachers rank behind only company chief executives and senior managers as the largest group of property investors to negatively gear, with 58,000 claiming rental losses on their tax returns. While 72,000 investors were listed as company executives, 99,000 people claiming rental losses on their tax returns were either teachers, nurses or midwives. Labor has long rejected claims that lower income earners would be hit by scrapping negative gearing. It maintains 70 per cent of the value of benefits went to the wealthiest 10 per cent citing analysis by the Grattan Institute. In the ATO data, out of the professions, surgeons had the highest average taxable income of $393,467, followed by anaesthetists on $359,056, internal medicine specialists on $291,140, financial dealers on $263,309 and psychiatrists on $211,024. Other medical practitioners came in sixth on $199,590, followed by judicial and other legal professionals on $198,219, mining engineers on $166,557, chief executives and managing directors on $158,249 and engineering managers on $148,852. According to the ATO, out of nearly 1200 occupations recorded, there were fewer than 100 where women had a higher average taxable income than men they included receptionists, schoolteachers and beauticians. "Reports in The Australian on ATO data showing that almost two thirds of investors are on an average income of less than $80,000... affirmed independent research undertaken for HIA by The CIE," said HIAs principal economist, Tim Reardon. This week, fans show some love for Erin Entrada Kelly; authors and illustrators accept their Ezra Jack Keats book awards; Eloise Greenfield is honored; Melissa de la Cruz gets chummy with Descendants fans; and Kate Beasley enjoys a warm elementary school welcome. A Big Hello! Erin Entrada Kelly, winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe (Greenwillow), is currently on an eight-city book tour for You Go First, with stops in New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. During a school visit at Sacred Heart Academy in New Orleans, arranged by Octavia Books, Kelly received an enthusiastic greeting from a big fan. Honored Guests Winners and honorees for the 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards attended an award presentation in Hattiesburg at the University of Southern Mississippi on April 12. The event was held in conjunction with the Fay B. Kaigler Childrens Book Festival. From left: Gordon C. James (New Illustrator Honor for Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut); E.B. Goodale (New Illustrator Honor for Windows); Bianca Diaz (New Illustrator Honor for The One Day House); Evan Turk (Book Award, New Illustrator for Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters); Derrick Barnes (Book Award, New Writer for Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut); Elaine Magliaro (New Writer Honor for Things to Do); and Jessixa Bagley (New Writer Honor for Laundry Day). Happy Eloise Greenfield Day! Sankofa Bookstore in Washington, D.C., held a celebration for Eloise Greenfield on April 22, which was proclaimed Eloise Greenfield Day by the mayor. Greenfield (pictured here) is the author of 48 childrens books, including Honey, I Love. Greenfield spoke to the crowd of attendees and in conversation with her daughter. The event also featured musical performances and readings of Greenfields work. Fan Favorite Author Melissa de la Cruz recently wrapped up a 12-city tour for Love & War (Putnam), sequel to Alex & Eliza, with packed houses at every stop of the tour. Here, the author meets readers at Barnes & Noble in Frisco, Tex., on April 17. On Instagram, de la Cruz captioned the photo with: Descendants fans are hype yo! They asked me to sign their hands lol. One Leap to Greatness Kate Beasley (l.) recently toured for the paperback publication of Gerties Leap to Greatness. While in Richmond, Va., Beasley visited Bettie Weaver Elementary School, where she was welcomed by Gertie-themed student artwork and by the schools librarian, Lara Ivey. In 1946, the year that the Mystery Writers of America held its inaugural banquet and presented the very first Edgar Awards, Philadelphia junior high school student William Link made a friend over lunch, Richard Levinson, who shared his passion for mysteries, and magic. That encounter led to a remarkable writing collaboration of almost four decades, which brought the world the iconic TV series Columbo and Murder, She Wrote. Link, now 84, was one of three giants of the genre honored as an MWA Grand Master at the 72nd Edgars Banquet, held Thursday night at Manhattans Grand Hyatt Hotel, along with novelists Jane Langton and Peter Lovesey. Lovesey, who was a college teacher when he won a contest for best first mystery novel, amused the audience with his roller-coaster experiences of being approached about having his works optioned for film, including, coincidentally, by Columbo himself, actor Peter Falk, who actually remarked to Lovesey, Theres just one more thing... Link and Levinsons credits also included a ground-breaking, but obscure TV series, Tenafly, among the first with an African-American lead. Despite this fact, its impact on diversifying the genre was minimal. The same cant be said for African-American author Attica Locke, who wasnt sure that the MWA would be welcoming to a very black, very Texan, story. Her Bluebird, Bluebird (Mulholland), featuring a black Texas Ranger as its protagonist, took home the honors as Best Novel. In Lockes remarks, she expressed the hope that mystery novels such as hers could help readers understand how people should navigate shared space. Race relations were also a major part of the life story of Chester Himes (Cotton Comes to Harlem), who actually fled to Europe in 1956 from the US to escape racial persecution; Lawrence P. Jacksons Chester B. Himes: A Biography (Norton), won the Best Critical/Biographical category. And multiple murders motivated by greed and racism were at the center of David Granns Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (Penguin Random House/Doubleday), which won the Edgar for Best Fact Crime. Noah Hawley took home his second Edgar in two years, for his teleplay for the Fargo episode, Somebody to Love (FX Networks/MGM), which enabled him to make the speech I should have given last year, (when he won Best Novel for Before the Fall). Hawley remarked that his works were all about exploring the sometimes tragic consequences of failures to communicate. On the lighter side, MWA president Jeffery Deaver, the evenings MC, honored the late Grand Master Sue Graftons alphabet-themed Kinsey Millhone books with a mystery writers abecedarian poem, which he opened with A is for advance, which we pray to pay back. And James Ponti, whose Vanished! (S&S/Aladdin) won Best Juvenile, actually apologized for his accomplishment to his first editor, who had told him that she was looking for books that kids will read--not ones that win awards. The complete list of winners can be found here. WASHINGTON Direct conflict between Israeli and Iranian forces is increasingly likely in Syria as Tehran pursues a permanent military presence there, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned on Thursday. Addressing a congressional panel before hosting his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Liberman, at the Pentagon, Mattis said it was very likely from his perspective, because Iran continues to do its proxy work there through Hezbollah. In February, U.S. strikes reportedly killed a large number of Russians working for Wagner Group, a private military company owned by a crony of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the Russians crossed the Euphrates River deconfliction line and tried to capture a refinery and nearby oil and gas fields by the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. After the Russians came in contact with U.S. forces at the site, the Americans responded with aircraft and artillery, killing and wounding up to 300 Russians. Why was Wagner Group there? Because the Russians may have drawn the wrong lessons from the U.S. use of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike armed U.S. contractors, most of whom provide mobile and fixed security and are equipped with pistols, assault rifles, and machine guns, the Russian contractors were reportedly operating tanks and other armored vehicles. And they were conducting offensive operations, unlike the defensive posture of American security contractors who are guided by Rules for the Use of Force that strictly prescribe when force can be used. American contractors are prohibited from performing functions that are inherently governmental, such as conducting criminal investigations, commanding military forces, or awarding contracts. They are used to free up soldiers for combat duties and to adjust staffing on short notice. Though their deaths usually garner little media attention compared with military casualties, the Pentagon provides a public accounting of their number, tasks, and locations. After the February strikes the Russians admitted that several dozen Russian citizens were killed or injured and that no Russian servicemen were involved. The Director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, helpfully added that a couple hundred Russians died in Syria. So, the Russians communicated that the red line was attacking active duty servicemen and that they were sensitive to disclosing the actual number of dead and wounded, which gives the U.S. the outline of a path forward. After their success in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014, the Russians may have thought contractors could also be used in an offensive mission in Syria. But in Syria they were not going up against the ineffective Ukrainian military in a place they considered their backyard. They were operating in the open Syrian desert and near U.S. forces without any attempt at deconfliction. Russian sources described Wagners lunge at the Deir Ezzor refinery as a dangerous self-initiative that was not sanctioned by the Russian military command or that the commanders did not want to acknowledge. The move may have been motivated by a deal between Wagners owner, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Syrian state oil company that promised him a 25% share in oil and gas production from fields seized from the rebels. Assuming someone in authority gave Wagner the go-ahead, what are contractors used for? First, to hide the number of casualties. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, declared major combat operations "on the whole accomplished" in March 2016, and most Russian forces redeployed. Though Putin appears to do whatever he wants, he does not ignore public opinion, and no doubt remembers how the flow of bodies from Afghanistan contributed to the collapse of Soviet resolve. Basically, the contractors are part of the Kremlins media strategy. Also, contractors may be used to pursue commercial activities like seizing oil fields - on the battlefield. In Syria, the Russian military has displayed a whatever it takes approach that is oblivious to civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction, but their interests may not include facilitating business opportunities for someone in Moscow so they may ignore the contractor's absent interference with their mission. The U.S. can take advantage of the Wagner overreach by announcing it will expressly target the contractors when they next engage in combat. This may increase pressure on the Kremlin while avoiding escalation to direct conflict between U.S. and Russian troops. As Moscow has barely acknowledged the presence of the volunteers, it wont have much opportunity for public pushback to future U.S. strikes, though it will seek an opportunity for revenge. The U.S. can also tell the Syrian government forces it has a particular interest in the contractors, which may make the Syrians reluctant to operate near the Russians, hampering battlefield coordination. And while were at it, how about some social media outreach to the contractors asking Why die far from home for an oligarch? And just as the U.S. learned expensive lessons about regulating contractors in the battlefield, now the Russians have too: in February the Russian parliament announced an interest in regulating the use of private military companies, though the project ran into resistance from the siloviki in March, so its fate is uncertain. Wagners murky chain of command (and funding) will give the U.S. the opportunity to paint the group as freebooters and mercenaries and so have a free hand in striking at its units with little worry about direct Russian pushback. The use of the company to secure economic assets for its backers instead of providing defensive security services or training local police and military gives the U.S. and EU an opportunity to apply sanctions if Wagners object is plunder and sanctions-busting. In 2008, responsible governments agreed to the Montreux Document which set out common obligations regarding private military and security companies in war zones. Russia should positively examine the international convention and stop turning the blind eye to the battlefield behavior of its surrogates as Americas Defense Department wont ignore the opportunity to put the contractors in the crosshairs. James Durso (@James_Durso) served as a U.S. Navy officer for 20 years specializing in logistics and security assistance. His overseas military postings were in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and he served in Iraq as a civilian transport advisor with the Coalition Provisional Authority. He was a professional staff member at the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is presently managing director of Corsair LLC, a consulting firm specializing in project management and marketing support in the Middle East and Central Asia. The top people in the F.B.I., headed by Comey, were crooked! Donald Trump, apparently yelling into a phone at the White House, said in a call-in interview with Fox & Friends, on Thursday morning. You look at the corruption at the top of the F.B.I.its a disgrace! And our Justice Departmentwhich I try and stay away from, but, at some point, I wontour Justice Department should be looking into that kind of stuff, not the nonsense of collusion with Russia. Former Vice President Joe Biden recently told MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton that the GOP wants voter identification laws for one reason. Racist Republicans so despise blacks and are so determined to oppress them, that they seek to prevent all blacks from voting. Biden said: "It's what these guys are all about, man. These Republicans don't want working-class people voting. They don't want black folks voting." What Republicans "are all about," according to Biden, is the push in some states for voter ID laws, which Democrats call "voter suppression." Then-Attorney General Eric Holder characterized the call for voter ID laws as an example of "pernicious" racism. If it is "pernicious" racism, apparently a lot of people failed to get the memo. Blacks want voter ID laws, too. A 2016 Gallup Poll found: "Though many of the arguments for early voting and against voter ID laws frequently cite minorities' voting access, nonwhites' views of the two policies don't differ markedly from those of whites. Seventy-seven percent of nonwhites favor both policies, while whites favor each at 81 percent." This has not stopped the Democrats from turning the legitimate concern about the integrity of voting into a full-on attack against blacks. Biden, of course, is a skilled veteran at playing the race card. Recall how then-Vice President Biden, in 2012, somehow turned then-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's opposition to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill into a racial issue. "(Romney) is going to let the big banks once again write their own rules, unchain Wall Street," Biden said at a campaign event in Danville, Virginia. "He is going to put y'all back in chains." Without the 90-plus percent black vote, the Democratic Party, at the national level, is in deep trouble. This explains why they race-bait. Constantly. Take then-senate candidate Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who, after Hurricane Katrina, said, "(President) George (W.) Bush let people die on rooftops in New Orleans because they were poor and because they were black." Hillary Clinton, during the 2016 campaign, complained about what she called the "school-to-prison pipeline." Clinton said: "We've seen a significant increase in police involvement in school discipline, especially in schools with majority-black students. We're seeing an overreliance on suspensions and expulsions. I'm sure many of us remember that horrifying video of the girl in South Carolina being thrown out of her desk and dragged across her classroom by a school police officer. A classroom should be a safe place for our children. We shouldn't even have to say that, I don't think. So today I'm announcing my plan to end the school-to-prison pipeline." So the cops lie in wait to arrest innocent young blacks? Not one word about personal responsibility? Actor Denzel Washington, whose last movie was about a criminal defense lawyer, commented on a criminal justice system that many call institutionally racist, resulting in an unfair mass incarceration of blacks. But Washington wasn't buying it. He said: "It starts in the home. You know, if the father is not in the home, the boy will find a father in the streets. I saw it in my generation and in every generation before me, and in every one since. ... If the streets raise you, then the judge becomes your mother, and, you know, prison becomes your home." As a result, Washington said, "So, you know, I can't blame the system." In other words, the breakdown or, more precisely, the nonformation of the nuclear black family is a far, far bigger problem than the allegedly racist criminal justice system. But as long as the Democratic Party continues to market itself as the party of social justice in an ever-racist America, the party thinks it can capture the black vote. Who cares whether it's counterproductive for Dems to tell young blacks that hard work doesn't pay off? It's the votes that matter. Former Washington Post investigative journalist Ron Kessler wrote in his book, "Inside The White House," that President Lyndon Johnson, in touting the Civil Rights Act of 1964, said, "I'll have those (N-words) voting Democratic for the next 200 years." President Donald Trump, through his secretary of education, urges parental choice in schools. Polls show that inner-city parents want the option to remove their kid from underperforming public schools, where many of those who graduate cannot read or do math at grade level. Many graduate without the skills employers want. Many of those pursuing higher education must take remedial courses to compete at the college level. Yet to Biden and the Democrats, Trump, who wants to do something about the quality of education in inner cities, is "racist." And "racist" Trump wants to eliminate the competition for jobs held by illegal aliens. Research by Harvard economist George Borjas shows that illegals, especially unskilled illegals, compete for inner-city jobs and place downward pressure on wages. The Americans losing out are the very black and brown workers the Democratic Party claims they care so deeply about. But that doesn't stop the Democrats from employing their tried-and-true technique. The race card. Don't leave home without it. COPYRIGHT 2018 LAURENCE A. ELDER DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM I explained that he could count on me to always tell him the truth. I said I dont do sneaky things, I dont leak, I dont do weasel moves. So said then-FBI Director James Comey, according to his own memo, to a recently inaugurated President Donald Trump on Jan. 27, 2017, at a private White House dinner. In early May 2017, Trump fired Comey. Contrary to FBI policy, Comey promptly directed Columbia University Law Professor Daniel Richman to leak to The New York Times the substance of one of the seven memos Comey wrote concerning presumptively confidential private conversations he held as FBI director with the president. In short order, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself) appointed Robert Mueller, a former colleague of Comeys with whom he maintains cordial relations, as special counsel. Muellers task was to continue the counterintelligence investigation Comey initiated in July 2016 into possible cooperation between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. Within weeks of Muellers appointment, Comey testified to Congress that he had hoped his leaks would trigger such a result. Apparently, Comey did not tell the president the truth when he assured him that he doesnt do sneaky things, he doesnt leak, and he doesnt do weasel moves. Launched last week with a massive media campaign, Comeys new book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, aims to cement his reputation for impeccable honor and irreproachable integrity. Instead, the book confirms that on matters of great public interest, he doesnt always tell the truth. Any author can make mistakes. Even the most meticulous sometimes get a date wrong, blur a crucial detail, overlook an important aspect of context. And it is distressingly ordinary for a writer, on behalf of a pet point, to exaggerate small matters and minimize large ones. But when an author who has ascended to the highest rungs of law enforcement and who purports to lead by example mangles basic facts, distorts legal issues, and omits essential informationand all tending to burnish his self-image as a righteous manthen one must conclude that his loyalty is not to the truth. Consider Comeys treatment of the Valerie Plame leak investigationthen and now. In December 2003, Deputy Attorney General Comey (Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself) appointed Patrick Fitzgerald, his close friend and godfather to one of his children, to serve as special prosecutor to investigate the leak of Valerie Plames CIA employment. Fitzgerald indicted no one for the leak. Rather, his work culminated in the 2007 conviction of Scooter Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005, for obstruction of justice, making a false statement, and perjury. Last week, Comey reinserted himself into the Plame investigation controversy. On April 13, President Trump announced his pardon of Libby. Leveraging his authority as a former prosecutor, deputy attorney general, and FBI director, Comey informed the American people on April 17the day his book became available to the publicthat the pardon was an attack on the rule of law because the case against Libby was overwhelming. Likewise, Comey stresses in a Higher Loyalty that Libbys conviction was entirely justified. At the same time, Comey feels obliged to explain his decision to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the Plame leak investigation because it is now publicly known that by the time Comey appointed Fitzgerald in December 2003, the case, which did not involve a crime, had been solved. Accusations abounded that the Bush White House orchestrated the leak to punish Plames husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for alleging in a June New York Times op-ed that the president lied about Saddam Husseins efforts to obtain uranium. But by early autumn 2003, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had told the FBI that he had inadvertently disclosed Plames employment to journalist Robert Novak, who reported in a July 14, 2003, Washington Post column that Wilsons wife was an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, though Comey leaves it out, the CIA had quickly determined that national security was unaffected. Comey contends that appointment of a special prosecutor was nevertheless necessary to root out lying in the justice system. But he spins a web of deception to justify his action. For example, Comey asserts that there was evidence that Libby spoke to numerous reporters about the CIA employee. This may have been technically true at the time of Fitzgeralds appointment. But one devoted to the truth would clarify that evidence at the trial indicated that the only reporter to whom Libby disclosed Plame was Judith Miller, then of the New York Times. Developments after the trial undermined even this allegation. Comey claims that NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert had been interviewed by the FBI and said that Libby was lying about having heard about Plame from Russert. Thats false. In 2003, before Comey appointed Fitzgerald, Libby told the FBI that Russert mentioned Plame in a telephone conversation. Also, before Fitzgeralds appointment, Russert told the FBI that Libby might be right. Many months after Fitzgeralds appointment, Russert changed his story and denied that he could have mentioned Plame to Libby. In addition, Comey states that Fitzgerald uncovered evidence that Libby had proactively discussed the CIA employee with reporters, at the vice presidents request, to push back on stories critical of the administrations basis for invading Iraq. Thats false and scurrilous. It reflects an unsupported theory that Fitzgerald floated in closing arguments. In fact, Libby told investigators that Cheney asked him to counter the false claims circulating in the press that the Bush administration concocted stories about Saddam Husseins WMD programs. Libby job was to explainas was the casethat the CIA had confidently conveyed to the Bush administration that Iraq had such programs and sought nuclear weapons. Furthermore, and scandalously, Comey does not so much as mention that in 2015 Fitzgeralds star witness, Judith Miller, recanted her testimony while claiming that Fitzgerald manipulated her memory by withholding crucial facts. Nor does Comey acknowledge that in 2016 the D.C. Court of Appeals, relying on Millers revelations, unanimously restored to Libby (who has never ceased to insist on his innocence) his law license. What should Comey have done in December 2003? A conscientious and competent acting attorney general who knew what Comey knew or should have known would have rejected calls for a special prosecutor. Instead, he would have a held a press conference and told the American people the plain, unvarnished truth: The FBI has identified the leaker. The leak came not from the White House but the State Department. The CIA confirmed Plames employment for Novak. Plame was not covert under the relevant law, and, in any case, there was no evidence that any administration official who spoke to reporters about Plame believed she was classified; therefore, no law was violated. No harm was caused to CIA sources or operations. In mid-March of this year, Comey took to Twittera medium inimical to sobriety, thoughtfulness, and reasoned argumentto mock the president while trumpeting his own virtue: Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not. So we can. The misconceptions and falsehoods that Comey perpetuates about the misbegotten prosecution of Scooter Libby provide further confirmation that, despite his private assurance to the president and public boasts, Comey cant be counted on to tell the truth. Correction: In an earlier version of this article, the number of memos whose substance James Comey asked Daniel Richman to share with the New York Times was misstated, as was Comey's relationship with special counsel Robert Mueller. The core question at the heart of the wrenching case of gravely ill British toddler Alfie Evans is Who decides? Alfies parents wishes for his care have been overruled by the hospital and the British courts, and a very ugly public debate has ensued. Should these most intimate of life and death medical decisions be made by the omnipotent state-run U.K. health system, or by his loving parents? Details of the case have reached Americas shores in recent days. The now 23-month-old boy was admitted to the hospital in December 2016. Alfie has an undiagnosed degenerative brain disease. British doctors have argued that his condition will not improve and that he should be taken off life support. With the approval and support of Pope Francis (and at no cost to the U.K.), Alfies parents wanted to take him for treatment in Rome in hopes of a miracle cure or at least a more humane end for Alfie. Instead the court ordered that the child be taken off life support, which was terminated Monday. One of the judges in the case, Lord Justice McFarlane, in ruling against the boys parents said, The only determining factor is the best interests of Alfie. Of course the childs best interests are paramount -- but with all due respect to the Lord Justice, there is a difference of opinion on just what Alfies best interests are. The question remains: Who ought to make that determination a judge previously unknown to Alfie or the childs Mum and Dad? When the state usurps powers that would be best left to those closest to the situation, we end up with a royal mess. The police are stationed in front of the hospital in military formation out of fear an unhinged person might storm the facility in an attempt to rescue Alfie. Big brother looms as social media users have been notified by the police that their posts are being monitored. Desperate parents resort to a Facebook campaign for their sons life. Twitter wars are replete with accusations and memes comparing the different treatment of the two maternal Kates (as in, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and Kate, Alfies mum). Even doctors are of different minds on the particulars of Alfies diagnosis, and as is often the case, a second opinion yielded a different prognosis from the original. While it is impossible to opine on the medical details of the case, we all know people who have long outlived a dire prognosis, and we are all aware of the limits, fallibility and uncertainty of medical science. Look no further than Britains own famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who was told at age 21 that he would only live for two years. Two decades later, in 1985, he nearly died, but his wife refused to take him off life support and he went on to live another 33 years. At times he needed a ventilator to breathe. Apparently, the British government allowed his incredibly expensive health care, including round-the-clock nursing, to be paid for by an American foundation. He died at a decently ripe age of 76. Alfies case also must be considered in light of the fact that we live in an age of cost-squeezed medical systems and a declining respect for the value and dignity of human life. This combination is potentially perilous, and contributes to the visceral reaction to the denial of freedom in this case. Although the British system has prohibited Alfie from being transferred to Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome, imagine if this transfer had been allowed. The Catholic hospital staff would have accompanied the child and his parents through their tragic experience in a way that respects the humanity of this little boy and the sacred nature of the family unit. There in Rome, far from the forceful utilitarian ethic they encountered in a state-run hospital system, either Alfie would beat the odds or the Evans family would come to the peace needed to say goodbye. Even stipulating goodwill on all sides and granting that other parents in a similar situation might justly decide on a different course of action for their child, these decisions ought to be made by loving parents and not the powerful and paternalistic state. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his inner circle have spent 11 years methodically securing their dominance over all the levers of power in Central America's poorest country. It seemed that the aging former rebel leader, and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, had little cause to doubt their ability to maintain their grip. That's why the events of the past few days came as such a shock. Athens, GA (30605) Today Rain likely, heavy at times in the morning. High 74F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Facebook told British lawmakers on Thursday that it never read the terms and conditions for an app that ultimately allowed Cambridge Analytica to access 87 million users' names, "likes" and other personal information. The admission from Mike Schroepfer, the chief technology officer for the social media giant, concerns a quiz app made by researcher Alexander Kogan, and his firm known as GSR, which collected data on users who authorized it, as well as scores of their friends. It then transferred that data to Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that later had been hired by President Donald Trump, so that the firm could assemble psychographic profiles of voters. Schroepfer is representing Facebook in British parliamentary hearings, one of multiple investigations around the world into the company's privacy practices. On Thursday, Jo Stephens, a member of Parliament, asked Facebook if it had read and evaluated the terms and conditions for Kogan's app, called ThisIsYourDigitalLife, before allowing it on the platform. Facebook's Schroepfer replied: "We did not read all the terms and conditions." Facebook changed its policies in 2014, prohibiting developers from obtaining information about users as well as their friends. Schroepfer said the new oversight included a "move to a proactive review process where if an app developer wanted access to additional data they would have to go to a review with our teams." Yet he could not say if Facebook read the terms of use for all apps allowed on the site prior to changing its policy or banning Kogan's tool in 2015. "I can't say we never read them, I think it wasn't a requirement that we read them," Schroepfer said. For Facebook, the acknowledgment that it didn't closely study the apps on its platform could prove troubling to investigators in Europe as well as the United States. Along with the U.K., which has held hearings to probe the matter, regulators with the European Union are also studying the Cambridge Analytica controversy. The EU's Parliament has asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify at an upcoming hearing, but he has not committed to an appearance. In the United States, Facebook is facing the potential of massive fines from the Federal Trade Commission if the agency determines that the company misled users about its privacy protections. Facebook also revealed recently that malicious actors scraped public profile data from the site's roughly 2.2 billion users. Facebook said 1,040 people in the UK had installed Kogan's app, which allowed it access to around 1 million friends' personal information. They and others have been notified, as Facebook undergoes a review of all apps on its platform and their privacy practices. Schroepfer said Thursday he could not give a precise timeline as to when the review would be completed. Facebook also told U.K. lawmakers on Thursday that it would seek to ensure political ads targeting British lawmakers and voters are more transparent, much as it has pledged to do in the United States. It will vet and label those ads in time for local elections in May 2019, Schroepfer said. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media TORRINGTON A Bethlehem man facing charges of driving while intoxicated and driving an unauthorized motor vehicle had his case continued in Litchfield Superior Court in Torrington. Bryan Mohrmann, 37, of 75 Green Hill Road, was arrested on Feb. 4 by State Police from Troop L in Litchfield. He was also charged with driving a motor vehicle without permission and illegal tampering or avoidance of ignition interlock device. Chinese officials have been ramping up the volume on their denunciations of the Hong Kong University law professor and founder of the Occupy Central movement, Benny Tai. Using tactics typical of mainland Chinese ideological hit-jobs, they have given us a perfect demonstration of why we should fear such Cultural Revolution-style struggle sessions. The Chinese Communist Party's struggle tactics are a vicious, tried-and-tested routine with almost no weaknesses, and impervious to reason or logic. The first rule is to create stigma. Benny Tai suggested we might speculate about the ways in which the different populations of greater China could be connected if there was an end to one-party dictatorship in the mainland. His comments were smeared as being pro-independence. Those who lead these "struggle sessions" are so solemn and righteous in their attempts to expose such terrible conspiracies, but most of their claims are pretty far-fetched, sometimes plucking conjecture from thin air. The conclusions come before anything else, and opinions take the place of facts. Fantasy is used to distort reality, and perverted reasoning masquerades as common sense. It's hard to win the people's trust with cock and bull stories alone. You have to add some respected public figures into the mix to make them really powerful. Without that, the so-called patriotic press's gunning for Benny Tai would only have amounted to empty words, given their tiny readership, and would have passed most people by. So the Hong Kong government made a statement, and then the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Central Liaison Office weighed in as well. The "patriotic" press redoubled its efforts too, of course. By the time the smear campaign by the ruling elite had gotten as far as the standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Benny Tai had become the focus of public debate, and bore the brunt of the campaign. So you see, the voices of powerful people do have the power to change public opinion. Mao Zedong once framed all of China's problems as the work of capitalists within the party, when he launched an era of political infighting in the name of the Cultural Revolution and socialism. , history repeats itself in the form of the Benny Tai incident, with officials from chief executive Carrie Lam, to Central Liaison Office chief Wang Zhimin, to NPC standing committee member Tam Yiu-chung all singing from the same hymn sheet in a chorus of deliberate misrepresentation. It's true that none of these people wield the same sort of clout that Mao Zedong once did. Lam is Beijing's puppet chief executive ... and it's not clear whether her reading from Beijing's script will convince the people of Hong Kong. And Wang, Tam and the rest of them aren't saying these things for the good of Hong Kong: instead, they are trying to scare Hong Kong people. It's hard to say how effective this will be. Tam, for example, is an NPC standing committee member from a trade union background, but he doesn't support collective bargaining. He only cares about commercial interests, and he knows very well that all power stems from central government in Beijing. He stands more for the central government than he does for the people of Hong Kong. But it doesn't matter too much if the general public aren't convinced by these people. All they really need to do is make people afraid. Take Wang Zhimin, head of the Central Liaison Office. He has said that opposing the ruling Chinese Communist Party is a crime against the people of Hong Kong. According to his logic, the Chinese Communist Party is the lord and master of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the creator and protector of the "one country, two systems" framework. To oppose the party is to oppose "one country, two systems," and that makes you the enemy of the people of Hong Kong. By pinning this on Benny Tai, he is accusing him not just of supporting independence for Hong Kong, but of trying to bring down "one country, two systems" too. Put in such an exaggerated manner, it's hard to avoid seeing the flaws in this argument. If Benny Tai opposes dictatorship, does that mean he opposes the Communist Party leadership? Or that he supports independence? And how can the voice of a single individual bring down the "one country, two systems" framework, and turn him into a public enemy? Are they going to put an end to "one country, two systems" just because some people in Hong Kong have violated the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law? Just what is Tam Yiu-chung scared of? Perhaps he shares the worst fears of Wang Zhimin, that Beijing will tar everyone in Hong Kong with the same brush if they hear people talking up Hong Kong independence, and just move to a one country, one system framework instead? If this is the case, who will have committed a crime against Hong Kong? The pro-independence activists that nobody pays attention to, or those with the power to destroy the one country, two systems framework? When frightening people no longer worked, those in power had to work harder to make the masses more "patriotic." They didn't care that they all were all parroting the same words; they needed to create an atmosphere where a baying crowd would pile in and bad-mouth Benny Tai. But it never occurred to them that struggle sessions, even those instigated at national level, are nothing but a crude trick aimed at depriving the people of Hong Kong of their freedom of speech. How do they expect Hong Kong people to pledge allegiance to an attack on their cherished core values? To Yiu-ming is associate professor of journalism at the Hong Kong Baptist University, and a prolific media commentator. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Online activists in China employed "blockchain" technology used to encrypt currencies like Bitcoin to ensure that an open letter asking for answers about a decades-old rape-and-suicide case was undeletable from China's tightly controlled internet. Yue Xin, a final-year student at China's prestigious Peking University, was among eight students who lodged a freedom-of-information request with college authorities on Apr. 9 asking for information on its historical handling of an allegation made 20 years ago against former lecturer Shen Yangthat he raped a student who later committed suicide. Publicly, Peking University issued a statement saying it "attached great importance" to the conduct of its staff, and that the university's ethics committee would review the request. But privately, the university ramped up the pressure on the students, sending Yue home and threatening to prevent her from graduating if she continues to speak out. Tweets, posts and comments were quickly deleted by ruling Chinese Communist Party censors keen to nip what they saw as a nascent student movement in the bud. As Yue was repeatedly called in for "chats" with university staff and forced to delete all mention of her campaign from her personal devices, fellow #MeToo activists turned to blockchain to ensure her message was still visible to China's more than 730 million internet users. But an anonymous user stamped her account of the incident onto the Ethereum blockchain, meaning that it can never be erased or altered. A QR code circulating on Twitter quickly revealed the URL of the letter's location on Friday. The page shows a series of coded data about the user and the transaction, and a text box full of encrypted alphanumeric symbols, which can be converted to normal text by pressing a button marked "Convert To UT8." The button reveals both English and Chinese versions of Yue's Apr. 23 letter detailing her experiences since she raised the 1998 rape allegations made against Shen Yang by former student Gao Yan, and Gao's subsequent suicide. Chinese activists seldom get the opportunity to defeat government censorship in front of the international community, and the use of blockchain offers hope to rights activists and dissidents under the administration of President Xi Jinping that there is still an online space in which their voices may be heard. Social media Back on social media, users have also resorted to distorting or flipping screenshots of her letter to bypass object recognition features on social media sites like WeChat, while some protesters have put ink brush to paper and pinned up "big character posters" in a time-honored Chinese tradition of protest. Social media posts have urged students to "protect themselves" from official retaliation by distancing themselves from the #MeToo movement, and from the outcry over the 1998 suicide of Gao Yan, indicating that the Beida Communist Party committee views the movement as a student movement with parallels to the student outrage of the May Fourth movements of the early 20th century. Sulaiman Gu, a Chinese rights activist currently studying chemistry at the University of Georgia in the United States, said some of his friends have used blockchain to protect their online statements, too. "Whether we are talking about Bitcoin or Ethereum, these are all non-government, unstructured virtual technologies, and a virtual technology world is naturally anti-institutional," Gu told RFA. "It's close to freedom." But because blockchain provides a viable channel for free speech, Gu expects the Chinese government to start blocking such technologies from users inside the complex system of blocks, filters and human censorship known collectively as the Great Firewall. "They can cut off the internet just like that," Gu said. "We have seen this happen when politically sensitive incidents occur and in certain politically sensitive areas, where they often use disconnection as a means [to ensure control]." "[When they do that], you can't get anything, not the internet, not mobile phone networks. Nothing," he said. A WeChat group titled "Blockchain Base Camp" saw a post appear soon after Yue's letter appeared on the Ethereum blockchain, which said: "This morning, our small world of blockchain was shaken by a college student surnamed Yue." The story of Gao Yan came to light as the #MeToo sexual harassment and assault violence began to go viral in China, leading to a number of high-profile allegations, many leveled against university lecturers in positions of power over their students. Reported by Jia Ao for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. An unofficial shrine to late supreme leader Mao Zedong and other heroes of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's mythology has been destroyed in the central Chinese province of Henan, RFA has learned. Photos of the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Chendong village of Henan's Luohe city showed a series of seated statues of the late Chairman and other revolutionary commanders smashed to pieces. Local sources said they were destroyed by "unidentified men," but social media comments suggested that a powerful political figure was likely behind behind the attack. An article on the Maoist WeChat group Red Classics launched into a tirade over the incident, which it said had upset many people. "Who would have the gall to act against our founding leader and our revolutionary heroes?" the article said. "Who dares to violate the people's beliefs?" Mao is an enduringly popular figure in spite of presiding over mass famine and 10 years of political violence known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and the Mao Zedong museum in his hometown of Shaoshan, Hunan, sees more than eight million visitors a year. But former leaders and public figures can also be revered as part of Taoist and Buddhist folk practice, which honors departed ancestors with offerings in shrines and temples. At one such shrine in Hunan, Mao's statue, flanked by figures in People's Liberation Army uniforms, presides over an altar where people leave tightly packed incense sticks to burn, as well as offerings of fresh flowers and paper money usually burned for one's ancestors. In another temple, visitors kneel before a gilded statue of Mao, which stands, one arm raised in salute, in the same room as Taoist protector deity Taisui Laojun. Others who venerate Mao set up impromptu Buddhist or Taoist shrines in private buildings. A form of murder The Luohe memorial hall was in a similar vein, and the Red Classics article referred to the destruction of the images as a form of "murder." "There is no way that the killer is an ordinary citizen," the article said. "The murderer must be a powerful class enemy with a deep hatred for Chairman Mao and the Communist Party." The writer called on the Luohe police to find and arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible, punish them accordingly, and repair all of the statues. Many social media users echoed the article's sense of outrage. "There is no need to investigate the destruction of the privately run Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Luohe, because we know who did it," user @naoshikunren wrote, in an apparent reference to the government. Another user commented that there must be a high-ranking official in the administration of Xi Jinping behind the attack, for it to be allowed to happen. Beijing-based political commentator Zha Jianguo said Chinese people are still very divided about Mao. "A lot of people think that the Mao era was actually better than today, but they wouldn't necessarily want to go back there," Zha said. "Of course, there are also a large number of people who realize that the Mao era was a disaster, so you have this huge divide in public opinion." He said the smashing of the memorial hall was unlikely to have been carried out by people who simply disagreed with a rosier view of the Great Helmsman, however. "A lot of people don't like him, but that doesn't mean that they would do this," Zha said. Confronting the past Veteran Hebei-based journalist Zhu Xinxin said the divisiveness of Mao was largely the result of a failure by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to get to grips with the recent past. "The divide in the general population is there because the Chinese Communist Party hasn't really processed and reflected on the Mao era, including the Cultural Revolution that he started," Zhu said. Zhu said the ideological approach taken by government propagandists to the appraisal of Mao's legacy meant that there is a widespread lack of understanding of that era of Chinese history among its people. "It also shows that people in China lack the habit of independent, critical thought," Zhu said. "They just want a figurehead who will protect their interests, rather than the rule of law." The third plenum of the 11th Communist Party national congress in 1978 made a ruling "on certain historical problems" that criticized the political violence and turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, but which stopped short of serious criticism of Mao. Then supreme leader Deng Xiaoping said at the time that future generations would have to make a final evaluation of Mao's legacy. Some 180 public statues of Mao remain in key locations across China. Statues are strictly vetted, and must comply with state guidelines before being approved. Unapproved statues have been demolished by the authorities as illegal structures. Statues should be 7.1 meters tall, in a reference to the founding of the Communist Party on July 1, while the total height must recall his birth-date, at 12.26 meters, and must depict the Chairman standing, either waving the right hand or with his hands at his back. Official media continue to promote Mao's image, with regular features about pilgrimages to his birthplace, or young couples who choose to get married under his fixed gaze. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Armed fighters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) ethnic group take a cigarette break amid fighting in in northren Myanmar's Kachin state, in file photo. Renewed fighting in the long-running conflict between the national army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has driven about 1,000 villagers to flee to shelter in and around Myitkyina, the capital of northern Myanmars Kachin state, local officials said on Friday. The latest fighting in Injanyang township flared up on April 24 and two days later local residents started fleeing to Tanphaye village on the outskirts of Myitkina, where some 1,000 are now staying in nearby woods. The villagers are receiving assistance from the Kachin Democracy Party and Kachin Baptist Convention in Tanphaye Village, a local leader told RFAs Myanmar Service. There are two internally displaced persons (IDPs) groups in Tanphaye Village. One lower house MP and one state MP are helping IDPs in this village, said Manam Tu Ja, chairman and founder of the Kachin State Democracy Party. I will go there in two days as well, he added. KIA spokesman Col Naw Bu told RFA that the village of Injanyan falls within the operating area of the KIAs Fourth Battalion, and it came under fire on April 25. The government army started airstrikes on April 25 as well ground (attacks) in this area. Some villagers fled to Myitkyina and some are hiding in forest, he said. Small battles are going on every day. As Injanyan Village is only two miles away from KIAs Fourth Battalion, the government armys heavy weapons dropped in the village and villagers got injured, the colonel said, without elaborating on the number of casualties. The latest fighting, which follows battles in Kachins Tanaing and Hpakant townships that stranded 2,000 villagers with little food last week, drew a statement of concern from the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar. The U.S. Embassy is deeply concerned about intensified fighting in Kachin State, which has forced thousands of people to flee their homes, the mission said in a statement, which also covered fighting in Shan and Kayin states. We urge all parties to cease fighting. We call upon the government, including the military, to protect civilian populations and allow humanitarian assistance to be delivered to those affected by the conflicts, it said. The Myanmar military and KIA, an ethnic armed group, have engaged in skirmishes since 2011, when a 17-year bilateral cease-fire agreement between the two sides broke down. Over the years, the hostilities in a region that lies in far northern Myanmar between India and China have displaced more than 90,000 people who have sought safety in Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches, or displaced persons camps in the state. The KIA is one of several militias with which the Myanmar government is trying to end decades of ethnic separatist civil wars and forge peace in the country through a series of peace negotiations launched in August 2016 by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the KIAs political wing, has not signed the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement that eight of the countrys more than 20 ethnic armies inked in October 2015, with two more having joined since then. The Myanmar military has accused the KIA of illegally using the areas natural resources and taking money from mining businesses that should otherwise go to the state, while the ethnic militia believes the government army has stepped up its attacks on rebel-held territory in hopes of gaining control before the next round of peace negotiations. Reported by Kyaw Thu and Nay Rein Kyaw for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Paul Eckert. More than 30 Tibetan villagers opposing Chinese mining operations on a nearby sacred mountain have been taken into custody for questioning by police after news of the project leaked last month to foreign media contacts, according to Tibetan sources. The mountain, called Sebtra Dzagen and located in Driru county in the Nagchu prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is a pilgrimage site and home to many rare wild animals, local sources told RFAs Tibetan Service in earlier reports. When Chinese officials at the end of February forced local villagers to sign their approval for the mining to proceed, a village head named Karma refused to sign and was taken into custody, and Chinese workers began on March 5 to set up red flags to make off areas on the mountain to build camps for miners. Then, after reports of local opposition to the mine appeared in March outside Tibet, Driru police moved quickly to make arrests, a source in the Tibetan capital Lhasa told RFA this week, citing contacts in Driru. The mining project on the sacred Sebtra Dzagen mountain was reported by foreign media, and Chinese police began to detain local Tibetans for allegedly leaking the information, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many of those taken into custody were also beaten in detention, the source said, adding that arresting officers had focused their attention especially on local Tibetans with connections to Tibetans living in India. A strict clampdown on mobile phones and other kinds of communication has now been imposed on villages in the area of Sebtra Dzagen to block the flow of information to the outside world, RFAs source said. The whereabouts of Karma, the village head who had earlier refused to sign his approval for the mine, are still unknown, he said. Tibet has become an important source of minerals needed for Chinas economic growth, and Chinese mining operations in Tibetan areas have led to widespread environmental damage, including the pollution of water sources for livestock and humans and the disruption of sacred sites, experts say. Reported by Dolma for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tseten Namgyal. Written in English by Richard Finney. Nearly 2,000 ethnic Uyghurs living in exile from their homeland in China marched on Friday in Brussels, political seat of the European Union, to call attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs held by Beijing in political re-education camps in northwest Chinas Xinjiang region. Protesters came from across Europe, Australia, Japan, and Turkey, while other protests were held on Friday in Washington D.C., Canada, Australia, and Japan. This is only the beginning, Dolkun Isa, president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, said in a statement after Fridays march. This protest showcases the complete awakening and unity of the Uyghur people, Isa said. We are here to call on the EU, the U.N., the U.S., and the international community to raise the case of the nearly one million Uyghurs extrajudicially detained by the Chinese authorities, he said. We urge the European Union to act on behalf of the Uyghur people, [and] we are here to send a clear message to the Chinese government that no matter how it represses the Uyghur people, it can never break our spirit for freedom, democracy, and human rights. Also speaking after the march, former WUC president and respected leader Rebiya Kadeer said that Fridays protest had been brought together by the tears of our people. We are going to save our people in the camps, Kadeer said. In the 21st century, there has been no other government but China that has locked up a million people in detention. Therefore, we will continue protests like this in the future, she said. Discrimination, repression Since April 2017, members of the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group suspected of separatist views have been detained in camps throughout Xinjiang, where Uyghurs have long complained of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. Central government authorities in China have not publicly acknowledged the existence of re-education camps in Xinjiang, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret. However, officials in many parts of the region have described in RFA telephone interviews sending large numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and have even described overcrowding in some facilities. The United States has meanwhile called on China to end their counterproductive policies in Xinjiang and has urged Beijing to release the estimated hundreds of Uyghurs arbitrarily detained there. Speaking at a press briefing on April 20, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that Washington is increasingly concerned about excessive restrictions on freedom of religion and freedom of beliefs in China, as well as the countrys efforts to pressure other governments into forcibly returning Uyghurs to China or to coerce family members. Since Xinjiang party chief Chen Quanguo was appointed to his post in August 2016, he has initiated unprecedented repressive measures against the Uyghur people and ideological purges against so-called "two-faced" Uyghur officials, a term applied by the government to Uyghurs who do not willingly follow directives and who exhibit signs of "disloyalty." China regularly conducts strike hard campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009. Reported and translated by Alim Seytoff for RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. With the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, many Armenians got what they wanted. Now, as politicians hold talks on how to proceed, those same Armenians are looking to get what they need. The political optics of Sarkisian taking advantage of constitutional changes to move from his position as president to a new, more powerful role as prime minister sparked 11 days of street protests that ended up pushing Sarkisian to resign. But more deep-seated animosity toward the 63-year-old over his handling of the economy and corruption has been building for a decade, with almost one-third of the countrys 3 million people living below the official poverty level, according to the Asian Development Bank. A poor country, Armenia is hobbled by severe trade restrictions from Turkey along its western border, imposed by Ankara in solidarity with Azerbaijan, which sits to the east of Armenia. Its economy is hugely dependent on remissions from its far-flung diaspora in Russia, Western Europe, and the United States, as well as trade with Russia, more broadly. Iran is also an important trading partner. Sarkisian wasn't running Armenia like a country, he was running it like his own personal fiefdom, Varazdat Mkrtchian, the 51-year-old commander of the Eagle 30 Battalion that fought in the four-day war in April 2016 in the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, told RFE/RL in Yerevan. His people were doing fine, while the rest of us were being stretched more and more each year, he added. Sarkisian has held senior government positions since Armenia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, including president from 2008 until earlier this month, when he stepped down after meeting the two-term limit set out in the constitution. During that period, the countrys economy, deeply intertwined with Russia, rode a roller-coaster, including a 14.1 percent contraction in 2009. While there have been signs the economy is strengthening -- GDP jumped an annual 7.5 percent last year following a measly 0.2 percent expansion in 2016 -- few beyond a handful of people considered close to Sarkisian are seeing any real benefits. Unemployment has stubbornly remained high, hovering around 17 to 19 percent. Meanwhile, the average monthly wage is just under $400. Many protesters, already upset with his moves to extend his rule in the revamped and more powerful role of prime minister, accused the pro-Russian Sarkisian of keeping them in poverty while he enriched those around him. I would like to see us living in a better country and feeling that the situation is getting better day by day and not the other way round, not that we continue living in the same situation, said Mikayel Ghukasian, a 23-year-old computer programmer. Take a walk south from the protests on Republic Square in the capital and you enter the industrial area of Gortsaranayn. In Soviet times, its factories were bustling with activity, employing thousands as they hummed with production. Now, the factories mainly lay silent, broken windows pockmarking the facades where managers once mingled with floor workers. Prostitutes walk broken sidewalks at night, avoiding piles of garbage as they ply their trade in the dimly lit streets. When an RFE/RL photographer tried to take pictures of the buildings, a murky character emerged and tried to intimidate the journalist, even though its a public street. Others point to the Pak Shuka market, which was transformed into a modern shopping mall by its owner, Samvel Aleksanian, a businessman and lawmaker with Sarkisians Republic Party of Armenia, despite a public outcry for the officially historic building to remain intact. "Corruption and injustice are suffocating the country. If you want to open a small business, you need to bribe an official. Tax officers want bribes, teachers want presents. It is impossible to tolerate any more," said Mushef Hachatrian, 52, an unemployed protester. "Who is responsible? Serzh Sarkisian, of course," he added. During his time in power, Sarkisian tried to walk the fine line between East and West. Though Armenia spent two decades after the breakup of the Soviet Union on a westward path, Sarkisian secured closer trade and political ties to Moscow. He allowed Russia to extend its military presence in Armenia and joined Russian President Vladimir Putin's Eurasian Economic Union. The deeper Kremlin ties have left Armenias economy vulnerable to Russias economic struggles due to fluctuations in energy prices and Western sanctions on Russia for its 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimea Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The protests reflect accumulated grievances towards government policies of at least the last decade, according to Anahit Shirinian, an expert on politics in Armenia and the South Caucasus with the U.K.s Royal Institute of International Affairs. People are unhappy with the underperforming economy, lack of a sense of justice, emigration, and [they] also feel like past election results have not really been reflective of their vote, she added. For his part, leading opposition activist Nikol Pashinian says that the old system of government must change and any new administration that emerges from the protests should be one that enshrines an equal playing field for everyone so that all citizens benefit from an improving economy. He has also tried to calm fears of reprisals among entrepreneurs that they will face consequences for how business used to be done. I am appealing to the business sector that was concerned with this movement, afraid of vendettas, who were ready to leave and take their wealth with them," said Pashinian after Sarkisian stepped down on April 23. "I am telling you that there will be no revenge, [no] vendettas -- we will build a country of equality, national unity. With reporting by RFE/RLs Armenian Service Newly released e-mails from a Russian lawyer involved in a U.S. money-laundering case showed the lawyer had close contact with officials from the Russian Prosecutor-Generals Office, even as she portrayed herself as a private citizen. The documents shed yet more light on the background of Natalia Veselnitskaya, whose legal work for a company called Prevezon coincided with a meeting with President Donald Trumps son during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Veselnitskaya has repeatedly denied having connections to the Kremlin or to Russias top prosecutor. She said in a letter to a U.S. Senate committee last year that she operate[s] independently of any government bodies. But the e-mails, which were provided to RFE/RL, show her communicating with Sergei Bochkaryov, a top official in the office of Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika, about an official government response to a U.S. legal request. Dear Sergei Aleksandrovich! I am sending you the edits to the response, in accordance with instructions. I am ready to answer any questions that may arise at any time that is convenient for you. Respectfully, NV, one message, dated August 2, 2014, read. They were first reported on by The New York Times. Veseltnitskaya could not immediately be reached for comment, but in remarks to the Interfax news agency, she said that her e-mail accounts had been hacked in February. The documents were obtained by an organization called Dossier, which is funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil baron who was imprisoned for years and his oil company assets sold off. Now living outside of Russia, he is a vocal critic of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin. At the time of the exchange with the prosecutors office, Veseltnitskaya represented Prevezon, a company owned by a Russian businessman. U.S. authorities alleged that Prevezon had been the recipient of laundered funds from a massive tax fraud scheme that stole $250 million from the Russian treasury in the mid-2000s. Prevezon repeatedly denied being the recipient of any of the tax fraud proceeds, and in 2014, the U.S. Justice Department requested documentation related to the fraud from Chaikas office. In May 2017, on the eve of the beginning of a civil asset forfeiture trial in Manhattan, the company and U.S. prosecutors settled the case. Prevezon agreed to pay $6 million and admitted no culpability in the scheme. The original tax fraud was uncovered by a Russian whistle-blower named Sergei Magnitsky who was later detained on allegations of perpetrating the fraud. A Russian court convicted him of the fraud a few years after he died in a Moscow prison in November 2009 after alleged beatings and medical negligence. Magnitskys death led to a 2012 U.S. law that targeted Russian officials allegedly involved in the fraud and his death -- a law that outraged the Kremlin and prompted Putin to ban the adoption of Russian children by Americans. Since then, there has been a shady lobbying campaign in Washington to undermine the narrative of Magnitskys death and the tax fraud, as well as a later law on human rights abusers that also bore Magnitskys name. The lobbying campaign also involved a screening of a Russian directors film that took a semifictionalized look at Magnitskys whistle-blowing actions and his death. The screening, at Washingtons Newseum, happened on June 13, 2016, four days after Veselnitskaya attended a meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, and other officials from Trumps election campaign. In that meeting, Veselnitskaya said she discussed the Russian adoption ban with Donald Trump Jr. E-mails later released by Donald Trump Jr. showed that the meeting was organized by a British music promoter with Russian business ties, Rob Goldstone. Goldstone told Donald Trump Jr. that the crown prosecutor of Russia was offering to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father." Donald Trump Jr. responded by e-mail: "I love it." Meanwhile, in an interview with NBC News set to be aired late on April 27, Veselnitskaya appears to acknowledge that she worked closely with Chaika. Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor-general, Veselnitskaya was quoted as saying. European Council President Donald Tusk has urged Kosovo to work harder on normalizing ties with Serbia, as part of its European Union integration efforts. "Without a comprehensive normalization of relations with Serbia and full implementation of the agreements, I don't see how a breakthrough in relations with the EU could be achieved," Tusk said on April 26 at a joint news conference with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. "I know it is going to be hard but I am still a cautious optimist," Tusk said. Tusk made similar remarks in Belgrade the previous day after talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, emphasizing that normal relations with Kosovo are also a key condition for Serbia to make progress on EU integration. Serbia wants to join the EU while maintaining close ties with traditional ally Russia. Vucic told Tusk that Belgrade wants to reach a compromise on Kosovo, "so our children don't have the same problem as we do today." Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, in a move recognized by 116 countries, including 23 out of 28 EU members. But Belgrade has refused to recognize Kosovo and still regards it as a Serbian province. Moreover, around 120,000 Serbs who live in Kosovo still consider Belgrade their capital, and they are financially supported by Serbia. Tusk is on a weeklong tour of the Western Balkans ahead of a regional summit on May 17. During his visit, a contract for a 45 million-euro ($54.82 million) loan was signed with the European Investment Bank to go toward upgrading Serbia's and Montenegro's air-traffic control systems so they meet EU regulations. With reporting by Reuters Bosnian police have detained 12 people, including a former Bosnian commander, suspected of committing war crimes against hundreds of people during the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict. They have been detained in connection with the deaths of several hundred people including Serbian civilians and military prisoners, as well Bosnian Muslims, the police said in a statement. The Bosnian War was mainly fought between the country's three main ethnic communities -- Serbs, Muslims, and Croats. The 12, including retired General Atif Dudakovic, were all members of a unit operating in western Bosnia, where Bosnian Muslims also clashed with each other. They were all detained in early morning raids in several towns, the Bosnian prosecutor's office said. Dudakovic, 64, became the Bosnian Army commander after the war and remains highly respected and popular. Bosnia's war claimed some 100,000 lives and displaced some 2 million people, almost half the country's prewar population. A peace accord was signed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, but tensions between the three communities still persist. Based on reporting by AFP and AP An attempt by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to defend the hijab rule and downplay human rights violations in the country has not gone down well with some Iranians. Speaking on April 23 at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Zarif suggested that the hijab rule that became compulsory following the 1979 revolution is a cultural norm and compared it to other countries dress codes. Under the hijab rule, many Iranian women have been physically and verbally harassed, detained, and sentenced to fines and jail terms for noncompliance. Over the years, many Iranian women have resisted the hijab rule and pushed the boundaries by showing their hair under small scarves and also by wearing tighter and shorter coats. In past weeks, dozens of women have staged public protests against the compulsory hijab in Tehran and other cities. Zarif was asked by a moderator what he would say to one of the women jailed for not wearing the hijab if she was present at the event. If the lady was sitting here, I would tell her that every society has a dress code," Zarif responded. We may like that dress code or we may dislike that dress code, but the laws of that society require people to respect the dress code that they establish, the Iranian foreign minister said. I know that you cannot even enter McDonalds without a T-shirt on. Thats a -- thats a dress code. I do not want to minimize that, but you should not oversensationalize it. The fact is there is a dress code. Women in Iran participate in social life, participate in political life, participate in educational life, Zarif said. He was challenged on social media by Iranians, including Maryam Shariatmadari, one of the young women who recently challenged the hijab rule by removing her scarf in public and waving it on a stick while standing on a utility box on a busy street in Tehran. Shariatmadari, who was pushed down from the utility box by a police officer, was detained and sentenced to one year in prison, pending appeal. Forced hijab is not a culture, its a law, and we protest against it, Shariatmadari tweeted on April 24 in reaction to Zarif. Unfortunately Iranian officials, like you, are reluctant to hear this objection, she added. The Iranian foreign minister also played down state mistreatment of the Bahais in Iran. Many followers of the Bahai faith have been either expelled or banned from higher education, their businesses shut down, and their cemeteries desecrated. Dozens of them have been harassed and jailed over their religious beliefs. When pressed on the Bahais, Zarif noted that the Islamic republic does not recognize the Bahai faith as a religion. Being a Bahai is not a crime, he added. Somebody can be agnostic, somebody can be an atheist. We dont take them to prison because they are an atheist. So this is the difference that you need to make. But being -- also, being a Bahai does not immunize somebody from being prosecuted for offenses that people may commit." Many questioned his claim by highlighting rights violations against Bahais, including against Iranian playwright and actress Shabnam Tolouei. Dear Mr @JZarif , recently you said that being #Bahai is not a crime in Iran. Pls let me know why I was forbidden to continue my artistic career in Iran as soon as I responded honestly to the security service about my religion -Bahai faith? Tolouei wrote on twitter. Mr, Zarif, now [that you say] being Bahai is not a crime, please tell us why me and thousands of other Bahais are not allowed to study at [Irans] official universities? Why are Bahai businesses being closed all the time in Iran? For what crime was my grandfather, a simple farmer, executed by firing squad in 1979? User Sepehr Atefi asked Zarif on Twitter. Amid the backlash, some Iranians used the hashtag #ProudofZarif to express support for the Iranian foreign minister, who was widely praised in 2015 for negotiating the nuclear deal with world powers. Zarif was also widely criticized in 2015 for claiming that Iran does not jail people for their opinions. BISHKEK -- Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sapar Isakov has been elected as a deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party (KSDP) led by ex-President Almazbek Atambaev. Isakov was elected to the post at a KSDP gathering in Bishkek on April 27, a day after he was questioned by investigators over an incident that left parts of the capital without heating last winter. Isakov's election as Atambaev's deputy is seen by many as a sign of support by the former president for his close ally. Isakov and his government were dismissed by President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on April 19, hours after lawmakers passed a no-confidence motion initiated by opposition lawmakers following criticism of the government's annual report. In an unexpected move, the ruling coalition led by the KSDP abruptly withdrew its backing for Isakov, prompting his cabinet's fall. Isakov's successor, Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev, and his government were sworn in on April 25. Earlier in April, Jeenbekov fired several Atambaev allies, including Prosecutor-General Indira Joldubaeva and security-service chief Abdil Segizbaev, who had been criticized for a crackdown on opposition politicians and independent journalists. Atambaev kept a low profile for several months after leaving office five months ago, but has recently begun publicly criticizing his former protege and anointed successor. Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6 million that hosts a Russian military base, is widely seen as the most democratic but also the most politically volatile of the five Central Asian states that gained independence in the Soviet breakup of 1991. Antigovernment protests toppled presidents in 2005 and 2010. NATO has expressed support for an offer by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to the Taliban to hold peace talks, describing it as an unprecedented opportunity to end fighting in the insurgency-wracked country. In a statement on April 27, NATO foreign ministers said the 29 allies "are united in their support for this proposal," and that they would respect a political settlement that ends violence. Ghani has offered the Taliban unconditional peace talks accompanied by a cease-fire, recognition of them as a political party, and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. NATO is also open to talks between Kabul and the Taliban on the future role of the international community in the country. The Taliban has insisted that international troops must leave. With reporting by AP New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said no decision has been made on whether the United States will pull out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but he said it is unlikely to remain unless major changes are made. "There has been no decision made, Pompeo said during an April 27 press conference on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. [But] absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the flaws of the deal, [President Donald Trump] is unlikely to remain in this deal after May, added Pompeo, who has long opposed the accord signed under the administration of President Barack Obama. The deal signed by Tehran and six world powers provides Iran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program. Other signatories have urged Washington to remain in the accord. Trump has complained that Tehran has violated the spirit of the deal by continuing to test ballistic missiles and by fomenting regional militant violence. He has said he will pull out of the deal if its "terrible flaws" are not fixed by May 12. Iran has said its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes and it denies supporting terrorism. Pompeo also had harsh words for Moscow, as NATO alliance members put on a united front in an effort to counter Russian aggression conducted through military actions, cyberattacks, and other means. We had a lot of discussions on how to push back on Russia, said Pompeo, who was sworn in one day earlier as the top U.S. diplomat. The choice is really up to [President] Vladimir Putin and the Russians. We would love nothing more than to have them rejointhe democratic world and behave in ways they are not doing today, he said. Russia threatens allies and partners, both militarily -- as seen through its invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 -- and through an aggressive campaign to undermine Western institutions. In light of Russias unacceptable actions, NATO is more indispensable than ever, he said. Pompeo also addressed charges by Britain that Russia was behind a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian double agent earlier this year in the city of Salisbury. As NATO allies agree, the use of military grade nerve agent developed by Russia on U.K. territory was a reckless action that put the lives of innocent civilians at risk, he said. He added that Washington does not believe in returning to business as usual until Moscow shows a clear change of its actions and complies with international law. A senior State Department official earlier told reporters in the Belgian capital that there was a consensus among NATO foreign ministers on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression, and this being a problem that requires a response." In other comments, Pompeo reiterated the United States commitment to NATOs Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. But he also restated Trumps demand that European allies must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and meet stated goals of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. When asked if Germany was doing enough, Pompeo said in a one-word response: "No. He later added that they should meet the goals that they agreed to." In response to a question from a Ukrainian reporter, he said there had been some discussion of Ukraines potential entry to be a NATO partner, but that there is much work to do along the way to achieve that. After the NATO meetings, Pompeo is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel over the weekend. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned his Turkish counterpart against purchasing a Russian surface-to-air missile system. Meeting on the sidelines of a NATO gathering on April 27, Pompeo told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that the S-400 system, radars, and missile batteries will not be integrated with those of Ankaras NATO allies, a senior U.S. official said. "The secretary underscored the seriousness of U.S. concerns...if [the Turkish authorities] go ahead," the official said in a briefing with reporters in Brussels. "He asked Cavusoglu to closely consider NATO interoperable systems," the official added. The State Department official said Pompeo reminded his Turkish counterpart that Ankara could face sanctions if it went through with the S-400 purchase. Turkish defense officials say Ankara and Moscow have signed a deal under which Russia will supply up to two S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries to Turkey. Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) said in December that delivery of the initial battery of the air-defense system is planned for the first quarter of 2020. The deal, reportedly worth about $2.5 billion, has caused concern in the West because Turkey is a member of NATO and the antiaircraft systems cannot be integrated into the alliances defenses. Turkey's move to acquire the missiles has been regarded in some Western capitals as a snub to NATO amid tensions with Russia over its role in the wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine. Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters Local lawmakers in the town of Volokolamsk in the Moscow region have set a date for a referendum on the closure of a garbage dump that has been emitting toxic fumes and prompting protests by residents for months. Volokolamsk Mayor Pyotr Lazarev said on April 26 that the town council decided to hold the referendum on the Yadrovo landfill's closure on June 17. Residents have been protesting since January against the Yadrovo dump located on the town's outskirts. The protests intensified after dozens of children were rushed to hospitals with symptoms of gas poisoning on March 21. The largest rally in Volokolamsk took place on April 1, when several thousand people demanded the closure of the dump. The high-profile protests caused similar actions against landfills in eight other towns around Moscow on April 14. The Yadrovo landfill was opened in 2008 and as a dumping site for garbage from Moscow and nearby regions. Volokolamsk, a town of around 20,000 people, is located some 120 kilometers west of Moscow. With reporting by Interfax Editor's Note: To receive Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia each week via e-mail, subscribe by clicking here. Vladimir Putin saw his ratings drop in the wake of a landslide election, and watched as the longtime leader of a country in Russia's close orbit was pushed from power by street protests. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week, and some of the takeaways going forward. What Goes Up... President Vladimir Putin won a fourth term by landslide on March 18, with the official count giving him nearly 76.7 percent of the vote. But just over a month later, less than half of the population is confident he can handle the country's most pressing problems, according to a survey by state pollster VTsIOM. From a 2018 record of 55.3 percent, the proportion of Russians who trust Putin "to resolve important national issues" fell to 47.1 percent by April 22, VTsIOM said -- a drop of more than 8 percent. The ratings of other politicians remained relatively static while Putin's fell. The decline may have been inevitable, given the pumping-up Putin got in state media ahead of the election -- as well as indications that he may have received as many as 10 million fake votes. And it is natural that Putin's rating would fall following the fire that killed 60 people at a Siberian shopping mall one week after the election. But VTsIOM's weekly polls show that the percentage points have continued to fall away since then. It's a dose of reality for Putin -- a sign that he may struggle to recover the magic of times past in a new term that starts on May 7. Where he might find that magic is far from clear. In his annual address to parliament on March 1, Putin said Russia needed a "breakthrough" that would bolster the economy and improve living standards. He was generous with the word "breakthrough," uttering it 11 times in that speech alone, but was miserly on the issue of how to go about it. Recent reports point to one simple tactic: spending. Six-Year Plan According to Bloomberg, Putin is planning to increase spending on health care, education, and infrastructure by about 10 trillion rubles ($160 billion) over the next six years -- conveniently, the length of his upcoming term. It would be the biggest boost in state spending since 2012, the last time he was elected president. But where will the money come from? Aside from military spending cuts, that's not yet clear, but some of the potential sources might not cause many Russians to cheer. According to Bloomberg, the government is considering a 4 percent sales tax -- something unheard of in Russia. There has also been talk of raising Russia's flat income-tax rate from 13 percent to 15 percent, an idea that Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said meant "nothing terrible" because "if the additional 2 percent is spent on health care, for example, then it will definitely be a good thing." But in a country where Putin's first prime minister was known as "Misha 2 percent" -- the size of the customary kickback detractors claimed he had taken on contracts as finance minister -- it may not be not that simple. "The additional 2 percent might be redirected to health care in a taxpayers' democracy," says Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center. "But in authoritarian regimes, that extra income is highly likely to be turned into extra spending on something else, such as buying the electorate's loyalty with social payouts at the right time and place, or new kinds of missiles with truly amazing capabilities." The Kemerovo shopping-mall fire and raw popular anger over fumes from a garbage dump in the Moscow region town of Volokolamsk "stripped any value from the seemingly enormous figures of support for Vladimir Putin recorded at the election," Kolesnikov writes in an article titled Permanent Stagnation: Putin's Invisible Fourth-Term Agenda. Describing what he called "dismally low expectations for his fourth term," Kolesnikov says there's not much behind Putin's calls for a breakthrough but "some mystical logic." "If Putin didn't resolve to undertake structural reforms in better times, he's certainly not going to do so now," Kolesnikov writes. 'Obscene Masquerade' Putin has often looked abroad for a boost to his image at home, particularly in his current term. One piece of the concerted campaign to bolster his fourth-term mandate by getting out the vote was a change in the date of the election to March 18, the day the treaty that Moscow claims made Crimea part of Russia was signed four years earlier. But while the repercussions of the takeover on Russia's relations with the West are still being felt in the form of successive sanctions, the thrill has worn off for some at home and in Crimea. The same goes for Moscow's muscular intervention on President Bashar al-Assad's side in the war in Syria. When it started in September 2015, it was accompanied by dramatic televised footage of air strikes that seemed aimed to herald Russia's return to center stage in the Middle East and beyond. Russia is still in the global spotlight in Syria, but lately the glare has made it look particularly unbecoming to much of the world. In the wake of what Western countries say was a government gas attack that killed dozens of civilians outside Damascus on April 7, Russia has been struggling to absolve its ally Assad of blame. Elaborate efforts to convince Russians and the rest of the world that the attack was faked have included the use by state TV of footage from the set of a Syrian movie filmed in 2016. As Russia prepared to bring Syrian witnesses it claims were filmed in "staged videos" to a meeting at Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on April 26, Britain denounced it as a stunt and France called it an "obscene masquerade." Such things may have little effect on public opinion in Russia, but they will do nothing to dispel the dismay that has been building in the West over Russian actions abroad since the seizure of Crimea in 2014. Closer to home, meanwhile, Russia is closely watching the unfolding drama in Armenia, whose Moscow-friendly leader stepped down as prime minister in the face of street protests on April 23. Serzh Sarkisian had been prime minister for only a few days -- but before that he was president for a decade. His sin in the eyes of his foes was a variant on the one committed by Putin in 2008, when he morphed from president to prime minister to stay in power despite term limits. Trouble In The Near Abroad Along with Belarus and maybe a couple other ex-Soviet states, Armenia is the closest thing Russia has to an ally: The small South Caucasus country hosts a big Russian military base and is a member of Russian-dominated trade and security groupings. After repeating for days that the standoff is an internal matter, Russia waded in deeper this week, hosting Armenia's acting foreign minister and deputy prime minister for talks in Moscow on April 26. The good news for the Kremlin: "Armenia's geopolitical fundamentals [are] unlikely to change," Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus expert and senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, wrote on Twitter. "Armenia needs [its] Russian alliance." Beyond that, though, there may be little for the Kremlin to cheer. For one thing, while the persistent demonstrations are "not a protest against Russia per se," de Waal wrote, they are "certainly [a protest] against Russian economic monopolies" in one of the poorer former Soviet republics. And regardless of who comes out on top in Yerevan in the end, the upheaval has already produced one result that observers say cannot fail to unnerve the Kremlin: the resignation of a national leader under pressure from protesters in the streets. That means there is also a lesson in it for the Kremlin about street protests -- one that may not bode well for the freedom of assembly, or for critics of Putin, over the next six years. "Armenia [is] a classic case of a society so unfree public was alienated and angry, but free enough to let them protest," de Waal wrote on Twitter. "Not Russia." U.S. President Donald Trump insists that Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons, although he declined to speak about what measures he would use to deter Tehran should the landmark 2015 nuclear deal collapse. I don't talk about whether or not I would use military force," Trump said in a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "But I can tell you this -- they will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. OK? They are not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it. " Trumps comments come ahead of a May 12 deadline he has set to fix what he calls flaws in the 2015 nuclear accord signed by Tehran and six world powers or face a U.S. withdrawal. The deal provides Tehran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program, but Trump has long said the terms are not strict enough. Germany, France, Russia, China, and Britain have also signed the accord and have urged Washington to remain a part of the deal, saying it is the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Merkel said the accord is anything but perfect," but she described it as "one building block and a first step that has contributed to slowing down Tehrans nuclear activities. "But we also think from a German perspective that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran's ambitions are curbed and contained," Merkel added. She added that her country will remain in close contact with U.S. authorities as the deadline approaches. Merkel also said she and Trump discussed Russia's "illegitimate actions" regarding its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, saying they were working "very closely" together on the situation. "The principle of territorial integrity of a country such as Ukraine is one that needs to be upheld and needs to be enforced," she said, without providing details of their talks. Trump also said the United States is "not going to be played" by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in upcoming peace talks. Trump is due to meet Kim in the coming weeks. Earlier on April 27, the leaders of North and South Korea pledged at their historic summit to work for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States is "not going to be played" by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in up coming peace talks. Trump is due to meet Kim in the coming weeks. He made the comments while hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on April 27. Trump also insisted that Iran would not acquire nuclear nuclear weapons if the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran collapsed. (AP) A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation to protect U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller from firing even as President Donald Trump again hinted that he might intervene in the counsel's investigation of ties between his campaign and Russia. "They have a witch-hunt against the president of the United States going on," Trump told a Fox News morning show in a telephone interview on April 26. "I am very disappointed in my Justice Department." "I've taken the position -- and I dont have to take this position, and maybe I'll change -- that I will not be involved with the Justice Department. I will wait until this is over. Its a total -- its all lies and its a horrible thing thats going on." But then he added, "I may change my mind at some point, because what's going on is a disgrace." The White House has repeatedly asserted that Trump has the right and authority to fire Mueller. Trump's latest comments were among his strongest hints recently that he might act to constrain or end Muellers wide-ranging investigation into Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. Lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties have warned Trump that firing Mueller would create a constitutional crisis. An increasing number of lawmakers are sponsoring legislation to protect Mueller should Trump move against him. On April 26, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved by 14 to 7 bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting Mueller from being fired without cause. A senior Democrat on the committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, tweeted that Trump's "rant this morning undermines the rule of law," and Trump "already improperly interfered with [the Justice Department] more than any president since [Richard] Nixon." It is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will allow a vote in the full Senate on the legislation. McConnell has asserted that Mueller doesn't need protection because he doesn't believe Trump will fire him. "I believe this bill should be considered by the full Senate," said the Republican chairman of the committee, Chuck Grassley, although he added that he has some "constitutional concerns" with the bill. "The American people must know the truth, and this bill should now be brought before the full Senate for debate and a vote," said the committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who the president has criticized for recusing himself from the Russia probe, said on April 26 that hes sympathetic to Trumps complaints. "The president is concerned," Sessions told the House Appropriations Committee. "He's dealing with France and North Korea and Syria and taxes and regulations and border and crime every day. I wish -- this thing needs to conclude. I understand his frustrations and I understand the American people's frustrations." With reporting by AP and Bloomberg Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev says he will relocate most of the country's cabinet ministers to the provinces so they can experience firsthand the hardships ordinary people face in their everyday lives. Seventy percent of ministers and other high-ranking managers, who are based in Tashkent, will now live in the provinces. I am not going to allow any of them to stay in Tashkent, Mirziyoev said in a government meeting on April 26. We see on television how people live in the provinces: without running water, gas, modern sewage systems, and electricity, the president said. Out of the countrys 32 million population, 2.5 million live in the capital, Tashkent, and the rest of the people live in the provinces, he said. Mirziyoev did not say which ministers would be relocated to the regions or for how long they would have to stay there. He didnt also give a time frame for their moves, but said there will be a presidential decree soon. Since taking office in December 2016, Mirziyoev has on several occasions accused government officials of being arrogant and losing touch with reality. In the April 26 meeting, he singled out Tashkent city district chiefs for criticism. Mirziyoev demanded the heads of the capitals 11 districts take measures to improve peoples lives or face losing their jobs. If the district chiefs of Tashkent are not able to attract a million-dollar foreign investment, I dont need that kind of district head. I will fire them all, Mirziyoev said, giving the officials a six-month deadline to come up with new initiatives. Well wait six months and if there wont be improvements during this period, we would close down the offices of district governments, the president warned. There would only be the mayor of Tashkent and 11 assistants [overseeing each district]. The meeting in Tashkent came on the same day that Jahongir Ortiqkhojaev, a 43-year-old wealthy businessman, was appointed acting mayor of the capital, replacing Rahmonbek Usmonov, who held the position for six years. Mirziyoev said the previous mayors job performance was unsatisfactory, adding that efforts to improve peoples living standards under the old mayor were moving at the speed of a turtle. The president warned Uzbek officials that they should try to keep people content as the only guarantee to keep their posts. Written by Farangis Najibullah with reporting by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service and kun.uz Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov just concluded a highly touted state visit to Uzbekistan, and energy was -- as always -- one of the main topics of discussion. Berdymukhammedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev discussed Uzbekistans participation in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and joint work at the offshore hydrocarbon fields in Turkmenistans sector of the Caspian Sea. Though Mirziyoev expressed Uzbekistans interest in them, it is unlikely either of these projects will move forward in the near future. Surprisingly, in judging from official reports about their meetings, the two leaders did not discuss the so-called Line D of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline network -- which is very strange since Line D is Turkmenistans surest option for boosting its gas exports in the near future. The omission could signal that something is seriously wrong. TAPI is a great idea at the wrong time. Shipping 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually (14 bcm each for Pakistan and India, and 5 bcm for Afghanistan) would benefit all countries involved, but TAPIs route invariably takes it through militant-infested territory in Afghanistan. The Taliban has said it will guarantee the safety of the project, as it would benefit the Afghan people, but its completion would boost support among the population for the government, something the extremist militant group is fiercely opposed to. Then there is the problem of finances. The state company Turkmengaz is managing the project, despite having no experience operating outside Turkmenistan, and is currently about $8 billion short of the estimated $10 billion needed. And of that remaining $2 billion, the four countries involved in the project -- Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan -- are expected to each pitch in $500 million. All of that makes it difficult to imagine TAPI will be completed in the coming years. As for the offshore Caspian fields, there are questions about the necessary expertise and funding for the project from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. But Line D is different. The gas fields are ready, the route is agreed upon, the funding (by the Chinese) is there, it runs through stable territories, part of it is already built, and it would ship a whopping 30 bcm of Turkmen gas per year, bringing in much needed revenue to Turkmen's empty coffers. The only publicized obstacle to construction of Line D is a decision by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Uzbekneftegaz at the start of March 2017 to halt work on Line D in Uzbekistan. The pipelines route also passes through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the only one of the four lines (A, B, and C) of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline network that runs through those countries. Tajik Deputy Energy Minister Jamshed Shoimzoda said at the end of January that construction of the Tajik section of Line D had begun. One month earlier, Kyrgyzstans State Committee for Industry, Energy, and Mining said work would start on Kyrgyzstans section of Line D in 2019. Both countries are working with CNPC subsidiaries. The only thing left was for Berdymukhammedov and Mirziyoev to announce that the project would resume in Uzbekistan and -- by sometime around 2022 -- the first Turkmen gas would be pumped into Line D. But no reports -- official or otherwise -- from their meetings in Tashkent and Urgench mention Line D at all, in what surely is a worrisome development. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL Ruby is seen with her mum Rebecca Stanley, who is Bar Manager at The County pub, with staff and regulars who are organising fundraising events to help get Ruby to Africa. 180605-2 A CHARITY night is being held next week by a student preparing for a mission to Africa. Ruby Stanley (13) is organising the event at the County Borough in the town centre next Thursday (4) for World Challenge. She and her classmates at Winterhill School are hoping to travel to Tanzania to meet children in local schools and climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Rubys mum Rebecca, who works at the pub, said Ruby, of Meadowbank, had decided to raise funds to help cover the cost of the expedition. Next Thursdays event, from 3pm onwards, will feature bingo, a raffle, auction and karaoke. Vishal Bhardwaj Mumbai: Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is taking forward the "Talvar" franchise with a sequel that will revolve around the recent murder of a seven-year-old Gurgaon school student. The director, who is also writing and producing the film, has joined hands with Junglee Pictures for the second time after "Talvar". "'Talvar' was about much more than the heinous crime itself, the film held up a mirror to society and exposed several loopholes in the system. Advertisement Vishal Bhardwaj "Such crimes shake the very moral fabric of society and need to be analysed in a much deeper sense. The world is not just black and white, there's more to a crime than just victim and perpetrator. "That's why we have decided to continue making true crime procedurals like Talvar," Bhardwaj said in a statement. The first film, directed by Meghna Gulzar, was a fictional account of true-life events revolving around Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murder case investigation while the sequel will explore the story behind the murder of the class 2 student, whose body was found in the school bathroom last September. Advertisement Talvar "Our journey on Talvar was more than just a film for us. It is a telling example of how big screen stories, when handled honestly and sensitively, have the power to alter the lives of people associated with the real incident. "We are excited to embark on our vision of compelling storytelling, yet again with Vishal Bharadwaj and taking the Talvar franchise forward," Priti Shahani of Junglee Pictures said. PTI AAP Attacks BJP over candle March The AAP today attacked the BJP over its candle march for demanding the arrest of a madrassa's cleric in connection with the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl by a juvenile in Ghaziabad. Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said that if the ruling party (BJP), which has governments in both the Centre and Uttar Pradesh, is so "shameful" that instead of arresting the culprits, the BJP is doing a candle march which is the "job of opposition". Yesterday, BJP leaders, including east Delhi MP Maheish Girri, carried out a candle march, demanding the arrest of the madrassa's cleric at the India Gate. Addressing a press conference here, Bharadwaj said that Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police come under the BJP-led governments in both the Centre and the state respectively. Candle March By BJP Advertisement If the ruling party will do candle marches then who will take action? If BJP cannot maintain law & order, they should quit," he said. He said that if the madrassa's cleric is not arrested at the earliest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will take to the streets seeking strict action in the case. Yesterday, a Crime Branch of Delhi Police visited the madrassa in Ghaziabad where the 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a juvenile after being taken from her house in east Delhi's Ghazipur. The team visited the madrassa and questioned the residents and visitors in connection with the case that has created tension in Ghazipur. The girl's parents are alleging that the madrassa's cleric also knew about the girl being kept captive there and are demanding his arrest. The accused juvenile's family members are also being questioned whether they were in touch with him while the girl was missing. Road Accident Chatra (Jharkhand): Four members of a marriage party were killed and 16 others injured when the pick up van they were travelling in hit a road-side tree in Chatra district, police said today. The incident occurred last night when the driver of the vehicle who was in an inebriated state lost control over the vehicle on the Itkhori-Chatra national highway near Gandharia village and hit the tree about 12 km from here, the police said. accident Advertisement Four persons were killed on the spot while the 11 others suffered serious injuries, the police said. A police team led by the officer-in-charge of Chatra police station, Inspector Ram Awadh Singh rushed to the spot and shifted all the injured to the district hospital. The doctors of the hospital, referred all the seriously injured to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, where they are undergoing treatment, Singh said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has expressed grief over the incident and expressed condolence to the bereaved families. In a statement, he directed the officials to ensure proper treatment to the injured persons. PTI Meeting Chandigarh: The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project of Amritsar city would be operating "full throttle" by September this year, it was informed in a meeting here today. The trial run will begin by June end. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting held here which was presided over by Local Government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Meeting Advertisement All senior officers of the Local Government, Transport, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, Public Works Department and Amritsar District Administration were also present in the meeting, an official statement said. Sidhu said that approximately 1.25 lakh devotees come to pay obeisance daily at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. Keeping this aspect in mind, the prestigious project of the holy city would be run at all costs, he said in the meeting. He further said that it was decided that this project would be initiated full throttle by September, 2018 and all the buses would be run. To ensure the running of the project on firm footing the buses would be run on a trial basis in June this year. The Public Works Department officials informed the meeting that all the construction works concerning this project would be over by July. BRTS Sidhu told reporters that over Rs 500 crore has already been pumped into the project and nearly 100 buses have been gathering dust. Therefore, it has been decided to give the project another push, he said. Last month, Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal had told the state Assembly that the Congress government in Punjab will try to run the "half-baked" and "ill-conceived" the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Amritsar, as hefty sums of money have already gone into the project. Manpreet Badal had then said that a group of ministers will now suggest ways to take the project get back on track. Amritsar BRTS is jointly funded by the Centre and Punjab on equal sharing basis and the total cost of the project was nearly Rs 495 crore. In December, 2016, partial operations of the BRTS were started and presently only nine buses are plying, the state Assembly was informed. PTI Vijay Mallya London: Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha, today said it was his democratic right to vote in the state assembly polls, but lamanted that he cannot travel to India, where he is wanted to face charges of fraud and money laundering. The 62-year-old former businessman parliamentarian had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Upper House of Parliament between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008. Advertisement Vijay Mallya "It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka, but as you know I am here and cannot travel," he told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court in connection with a hearing in his ongoing extradition trial, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases. He was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from the southern state on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016. When asked about his opinion on the Karnataka polls, he said "I haven't been following the politics so closely, so I have no opinion (on the polls)." Advertisement The elections for the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly is scheduled to be held across the state on May 12. The results will be out on May 15. Arrest Kathmandu: Seven Indian have been arrested with a cache of drugs and a US-made pistol from Biratnagar near Nepal's border with India, police said today. Binod Yadav, 30, a resident of Araria Batanaha in Bihar and his six accomplice from Biratnagar were arrested yesterday, they said, adding the police have also recovered a US made automatic pistol and six live bullets from them. Advertisement arrest Three motorbikes, six mobile phones, Rs 81,000 in cash, 1,775 ampules of avil, 500 ampule of dyzelyab, 1,776 tablets of spasmo proxivan and 725 nitrosane tablets have also been recovered, they added. Further investigation is on, police said. In a separate incident, a Chinese national has been arrested for allegedly smuggling gold into the country. Zezhong, 40, was arrested from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday after he landed in Kathmandu from China. The arrest of Chinese national came after the police nabbed five Nepalese citizens for allegedly being involved in smuggling of gold. Police had arrested 27-year-old Pembar Dorje of Nepal's Sindhupalchowk district and recovered 14-kg gold from him. Advertisement Acting on a tip-off, they arrested four more Nepalese citizens, involved in smuggling of gold, and recovered 7-kg of yellow metal, The Chinese national is said to be the mastermind of the smuggling racket, they said. PTI Donald Trump and Theresa May London: US President Donald Trump will visit the UK on July 13 for bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Downing Street announced today. There had been growing speculations that the visit would take place in July, after a planned visit in February to open the US Embassy in London was reportedly cancelled over fears of protests likely to greet Trump in Britain. Advertisement Trump and May "The President of the United States will visit the UK on 13 July. He will hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister during his visit. Further details will be set out in due course," a Downing Street statement said. An anti-Trump campaign in London has been building up since the US President retweeted a string of unverified anti-Islamic videos posted by far-right group Britain First earlier this year. London mayor Sadiq Khan has repeatedly declared that the American leader is not welcome in the city. "It appears that President Trump got the message from the many Londoners who love and admire America and Americans but find his policies and actions the polar opposite of our city's values of inclusion, diversity and tolerance," Khan had said in a statement after Trump tweeted his decision to abandon a so-called "working visit" to London in February to open the new US embassy building. Advertisement Donald Trump "His visit next month would without doubt have been met by mass peaceful protests," Khan had said. Downing Street was believed to have been caught off-guard by Trump's announcement to abandon his two-day UK visit, planned for February 26 and 27. Trump had said he pulled out because of cost overruns on the new mission. Mass protests that are likely to greet Trump in the July. PTI Introduction First launched back in 2013, the Honda Amaze has been tasked with a rather Herculean effort of bringing the entry-level sedan buyers under Honda Cars Indias umbrella. The first-gen Amaze is basically a Brio with a bigger boot and a diesel engine option. Over its lifetime, it has done pretty well on the sales charts and has been successful in establishing itself as a well-sorted compact sedan that plays the perfect second-fiddle to the highly popular City C2-segmenter. Now, however, Honda is about to launch the second-generation Amaze, which has been developed from the scratch and is no more a sedan that started life as a hatchback. The second-gen Amaze looks modern, has more equipment, and even offers an automatic transmission on both petrol and diesel engines. We recently drove the car to find out all that the new compact sedan has on offer. Heres our New Honda Amaze test drive review Exterior Design The new Honda Amaze looks nothing like the model it is about to replace. The cars design is based on the companys latest design language, which means the aesthetics are somewhat similar to the ones on the latest City and the Civic. The front-end is characterized by a sleek pair of headlamps, a chrome-plated grille, a chunky bumper, and overall a rather boxy appearance. The side profile is all about some crisp lines and neat surfaces. The car is a lot more proportionate than the outgoing version, which is mostly a result of the boot not being an afterthought. The top-end variants get very stylish 15-inch alloys, which make the car look even more premium. The rear-end compliments the front-end in terms of design. Here, again, the bumper is rather chunky and gives a sporty touch to the cars posterior. And in a way, the car does look like the new Civic, or rather a mini Civic. The new Amaze is dimensionally bigger than the outgoing version. At 3,995 mm, its 5 mm longer than the car its about to replace. Also, with an overall width of 1695 mm, the car is also 15 mm wider than its predecessor. The wheelbase, at 2,470 mm, is 65 mm longer than before. However, the height has reduced by 5mm to 1500mm. Interior Design and Features Much like the exterior, even the interior of the new Amaze is all-new and looks nothing like what the first-gen Amaze offers. You get a two-tone cabin that looks very upmarket. The steering wheel is new and gets a sporty three-spoke design. The dashboard looks like it belongs to some pricier car. The larger dimensions have resulted in a more spacious interior. You get 25 mm of additional legroom at the rear. Even the shoulder room for the rear seat occupants has improved by 45 mm, while the headroom has improved by 10 mm. The boot space, at 420-litres, is 20-litres more than what the last-gen car offers. The new Honda Amaze will go on sale in four trims E, S, V and VX. The top-end trim gets many upmarket features like a 7-inch Digipad 2.0 touchscreen infotainment system. This is basically a more sophisticated version of the Digipad infotainment unit found on the WR-V, City, and BR-V. The top end VX variant will also offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, which will be a first for any Honda car in India. The car will also offer WiFi connectivity through its infotainment unit. The steering wheel gets audio control and you also get cruise control on the top-end trim. Other than this, you get features like an automatic climate control, rear parking sensors with camera, and keyless entry with touch sensors. Engine Specs and Performance Powering the new-gen Honda Amaze is the same set of engines that power the first-gen model. However, the new Amaze gets a CVT automatic transmission for all its variants. The petrol variants are powered by a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder, naturally-aspired iVTEC petrol engine that produces 90 PS and 110 Nm. The 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged iDTEC diesel continues to output 100 PS and 200 Nm for the manual transmission variant. Interestingly, the motor has been de-tuned to produce only 80 PS and 160 Nm for the CVT automatic-equipped variant. The new Amaze is built on a lighter chassis, which has helped Honda shave off 17 kgs from the petrol variant and 23 kgs from the diesel version. The lower weight also plays a role in enhancing the fuel mileage. The petrol manual and CVT automatic variants offer 19.5 kmpl and 19 kmpl respectively. The diesel motor-equipped Amaze offers 27.8 kmpl and 23.8 kmpl for the manual and automatic variants respectively. The last-gen Amaze has received a lot of flak for the high NVH on the diesel variant. This time around, the company has worked extensively on reducing the diesel engine clatter by updating the design of the pistons, cylinder blocks, oil pumps and chain systems. Also, theres more sound insulation to make the cabin better insulated from the diesel clatter and vibrations. Ride and Handling Thanks to new chassis, longer wheelbase and retuned engine, driving dynamics of the new Amaze have completely changed. Both engine options are much more responsive than before. CVT option is good enough for daily driving in the city, while it also offers relaxed cruising experience on the highway. CVT option comes with Sport mode as well. CVT does the job well, and is a much needed option in this segment. Diesel CVT variant, though it offers 20 PS and 40 Nm lesser than the manual variant, it is still good enough and feels a lot powerful than many cars in the segment. Manual diesel is the variant you should opt if you are a fan of enthusiastic driving. It accelerates well, shifts easily and is good at handling. The diesel engine can cruise in the range of 90-100 kmph with the rpm mark just around 2000. Petrol engine is a rev happy machine, and is best in the mid and top range. Steering feedback could have been better. New Amaze gets front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. Though the car lacks initial bite, it does offer a good stopping power once you press the brakes hard. Suspension setup is just brilliant. No matter where you are seated in the car, you would be comfortable even while you are going through bad roads. Safety and Maintenance The new Honda Amaze is also much safer than the car it is about to replace. The new model features front dual airbags and ABS with EBD as standard across all its trims. The top-end variant gets a rear parking camera. Lower variants get rear sensors. Another very important factor that is likely to help Amaze further consolidate its position in the entry-level sedan segment is the lower cost of maintenance. The new Amaze will come with a 3-year, unlimited kilometres warranty that can be extended to the fourth or fifth year by paying extra. Also, Honda will offer annual maintenance packages for Rs 3,500 per year for the petrol variant and Rs 4,900 per year for the diesel variant. Also, even the new-gen Amaze will have a service interval of 1 year or 10,000km. All this will surely make the Amaze pretty easy to maintain. Verdict Not only the 2018 Honda Amaze is an improvement over its older version, but is a serious contender for the title of best in segment. The new generation Amaze comes with improved exteriors, spacious interiors, more features on the inside, better safety, fuel efficient engines, CVT gearbox, impressive ride quality and good driving dynamics. Honda is hoping that the new Amaze will help them chart new sales records. We are not sure what is going to stop them from achieving that. Honda Amaze Video Review Tata NEXON AMT with HyprDrive Self-Shift Gears has been launched in India. Only available with the topend variant, Nexon AMT petrol variant is priced from Rs 9.41 lakhs and diesel variant is priced from Rs 10.3 lakhs. Tata NEXON AMT becomes the first AMT model in India to receive multi drive modes of Eco, City and Sport. With the introduction of this model, Tata Motors brands all its 2 pedal transmission cars as Hyprdrive and all AMT variants as Self-Shift Gears (S-SG). According to Mr. Mayank Pareek, President- Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, said, Our focus is to introduce products and services that not only enhance the brand, but simultaneously align well with the rising aspirations of customer segments. AMT as a transmission is ideally suited for Indias traffic conditions, reducing the stress of driving at an affordable price, without compromising on fuel efficiency. With the introduction of the Hyprdrive S-SG in the NEXON, we aim to tap a larger market and increase our market share in not only the Compact SUV segment but also the AMT segment. Additionally, understanding the growing need for personalization among Indian customers, we are introducing the IMAGINATOR our online platform to visualize and customize the NEXON. Nexon Hyprdrive S-SG is offered in both Petrol and Diesel options powered by 1.2 liter turbocharged Revotron and 1.5liter turbocharged Revotorq engines. Fuel efficiency of AMT models will remain the same as that seen on manual variants at around 11 kmpl with petrol and 15 kmpl with diesel in city driving conditions. Nexon Hyprdrive S-SG gets Crawl Function that allows the car to move ahead in slow moving traffic conditions without pressing on the accelerator. Smart Hill Assist allows the Nexon to gain control over up-hill drives and prevents the car from rolling back. Intelligent Transmission Controller will also be seen on the new Nexon Hyprdrive S-SG with features such as anti-stall, kick-down and fast-off. It also receives Manual Tip-Tronic Transmission to allow shifting of gears manually with clutch free drive experience and PEPS Key, an activity key wristband, allowing customers to leave their key fob behind and yet lock, unlock and start the car. Below are the features in detail President Mahdi Al-Mashat sworn in at Parliament [25/April/2018] SANA'A, April 25 (Saba) - President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi Al-Mashat on Wednesday was sworn in at the Parliament. Following the swearing-in ceremony, President Al-Mashat delivered a speech before the parliament's Speaker and members, during which he extended his sincere condolences to all Yemeni people on the loss of the martyr president Al-Sammad. The president affirmed that the enemy committed a very costly mistake. "This enemy has chosen an open war," Al-Mashat said, affirming that martyrdom of Al-Sammad increased the strong will and steadfastness of the Yemeni people. The enemy exacerbates its mistakes, confiscates the decision of war from its hand, and doubles the size of similarities between him and his allies from Al-Qaeda and Daesh in thought, behavior, concept, practice, brutality and ugliness, he added. Al-Mashat held the US administration responsible for the crimes committed by the Saudi regime under its supervision and sponsorship, including the killing of the president Al-Sammad, which according to international law is a political assassination and a violation of the sovereignty of the Yemeni people. He confirmed that the martyred president's project "A hand builds and another protects" would continue in the coming phase, expressing his thanks for the confidence of the parliament's speaker and members. Concluding his speech, the president called on Yemeni people to unite efforts at the official and popular levels to assume the responsibility and overcome challenges in order to build a bright future. BA Saba [JAKARTA] Citizen engagement emerged as an important issue at the third Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit held 2325 April at Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Attended by over 1,200 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region, this year's summit tackled critical issues impacting climate change such as the management of peatlands, mangroves, and ecotourism. Key speakers brought forward the idea of engaging communities to make initiatives work. Specifically, they stressed the importance of helping citizens understand that environmental protection and livelihoods are not mutually exclusive, but intertwined. You dont have to choose between the economy and the environment Josh Frydenberg, Australian minister for environment and energy "Public and private sector, community groups, and others are embracing forests, but that goes against existing economic models. The question is, 'How do we make forests part of economic strategies?' asked Jack Hurd, conservation director of The Nature Conservancy. William McGoldrick, also of The Nature Conservancy, suggested making initiatives economically relevant to citizenry. "How is it going to impact people and how are we going to convince them?" he asked. McGoldrick said that environmental management stakeholders should look at the competing demand for land when discussing their concerns with the landowners, instead of focusing purely on academic or research-based reasons to convince them to use their property in ways beneficial to the environment. "Taking on the integrated approach is not just smart from the academic point-of-view, but also on the business point-of-view," he said. Many individuals, particularly those who live in and work using environmental assets such as lands and trees, often find themselves struggling between livelihood opportunities, conservation, and mitigation initiatives. For instance, farmers may be aware of environmental concerns but they may place priority on supporting their families. Hety Herawati, scientist at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), a co-organiser of the summit in partnership with the governments of Australia and Indonesia, echoed McGoldrick's suggestion on veering away from technical terms when talking with communities. "We have to learn what's in the community. Don't use new concepts. They may not understand technical terms, but they may be planting trees every day, she says in an interview with SciDev.net. The summit highlighted the growing shift to a more active citizenry in environmental mitigation and conservation as well as community-managed forestry.Remarked Josh Frydenberg, Australia's minister for environment and energy: "You dont have to choose between the economy and the environment."This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk. Today's shifting environmental conditions are creating an uncertain future for many top predators in marine ecosystems, but to protect the key habitat of a species, you first have to know where that habitat is and what threats might be affecting it. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications looks at where New Zealand's endangered Westland Petrel forages during its breeding season and shows that its range overlaps more with trawl fishing activity than conservationists realized. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's Susan Waugh and her colleagues outfitted 73 petrels with GPS loggers over the course of four breeding seasons to track where they went during their foraging trips in the Tasman Sea. The results show that the birds' core feeding areas were consistent from year to year, located within 250 kilometers of their breeding colonies and focused on highly productive areas where the seafloor is steeply sloped. These sites often overlap with areas of significant trawl fishing activity, and further data is needed to see whether this co-occurrence translates into bird mortality. The species is the tenth most at-risk species from the impacts of New Zealand commercial fishing, but it appears that its actual ranking may be even higher as a result of the finding that the species is exposed to more fisheries activity than was previously understood. "Our work on Westland petrels started in 2010, with a desire to understand how this species was faring demographically, as well as the key influences on it," says Waugh. "Our work highlights a key factor in the birds' ecology that has strong implications for conservation -- these birds predictably use the same waters year in and year out, regardless of El Nino cycles, and they are therefore a great candidate for a marine protected area to create protection of their trophic relationships. We feel this Westland Petrel foraging data will provide a high-quality information source to help define key areas for marine conservation that will also provide protection for a whole suite of species." "A remarkable and important aspect of this study is that they performed this investigation during a six-year period, encompassing a variety of environmental conditions. Whatever the sex or the breeding stage considered, Westland Petrels consistently foraged in the same core areas from year to year," adds Christophe Barbraud of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, a seabird conservation expert who was not involved in the study. "Since these areas were also consistently and heavily used by trawl fisheries, these results call for the implementation of marine spatial management tools, such as marine reserves or restrictions and monitoring of interactions between individual Westland Petrels and trawl fisheries, to ensure the conservation of this endangered petrel species." Drinking kefir may have a positive effect on blood pressure by promoting communication between the gut and brain. Kefir is a fermented probiotic milk beverage known to help maintain the balance of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system. Researchers will present their findings today at the American Physiological Society (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego. Previous research has shown that an imbalance in the gut's colony of bacteria (microbiota) may cause high blood pressure in some people. Similarly, probiotics -- live bacteria supplements that are beneficial to the digestive system -- have been found to lower blood pressure, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. A research team from Auburn University in Alabama, in collaboration with the University of Vila Velha in Brazil, studied three groups of rats to determine how kefir reduces high blood pressure (hypertension): One group had hypertension and was treated with kefir ("treated"). One group had hypertension and was not treated ("untreated"). One group had normal blood pressure and was not treated ("control"). After nine weeks of kefir supplementation, the treated rats had lower levels of endotoxins (toxic substances associated with disruption in the cells), lower blood pressure and improved intestinal permeability when compared with the untreated group. Healthy intestines allow some substances to pass through, but generally act as a barrier to keep out harmful bacteria and other potentially dangerous substances. In addition, kefir supplementation restored the natural balance of four different bacteria in the gut and of an enzyme in the brain essential for normal nervous system function, suggesting that the nervous and digestive systems work together to reduce hypertension. "Our data suggests that kefir antihypertensive-associated mechanisms involve gut microbiota-brain axis communication during hypertension," the researchers wrote. Mirian Silva-Cutini, of Auburn University, will present "Probiotic kefir antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats involve central and peripheral mechanisms" on Wednesday, April 25, in the Sails Pavilion of the San Diego Convention Center. Pollinators and other beneficial insects play an important role in the agricultural world, especially in terms of economic value for growers. A study conducted by Cornell University showed that crops pollinated by those beneficial insects contributed $29 billion to farm income in 2010. Unfortunately, several of those insects are facing population declines due to a variety of factors. A team of researchers from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources is looking at the role neonicotinoid insecticides play in arthropod performance, specifically non-target terrestrial arthropods. Arthropods are invertebrate animals and include insects, arachnids, myriapods and crustaceans. The team looked at five broad performance measures -- abundance, behavior, condition, reproductive success and survival. They recently published a paper of their findings in the journal Ecological Applications. "This research is a quantitative analysis of existing literature," said Anson Main, a postdoctoral research associate in the School of Natural Resources. "There's all of this existing literature within the realm of pesticides, specifically neonicotinoids, and while there have been various syntheses done, they're more about restating what's been found in the literature." Main worked with Lisa Webb, cooperative associate professor in the School of Natural Resources, and Keith Goyne, professor of environmental soil chemistry and associate director, School of Natural Resources. Webb is also the assistant unit leader for the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, a division of the U.S. Geological Survey. Doreen Mengel, Missouri Department of Conservation, helped with the research efforts, too. Main said the group began with nearly 2,000 papers relating to pesticides and arthropod response. They were able to condense those papers into 44 field and laboratory studies which dealt with neonicotinoid effects on arthropods. advertisement "We spent a lot of time determining whether each paper was a good fit or not," Main said. "We ended up with 89 studies that would have been candidate papers. We then narrowed the list down to 44 documents. Other papers were eliminated because of missing information or because we were unable to contact the author to obtain additional, but necessary, information." The studies come from across the globe. Work from North America, Europe and Asia was included. "We tried to have a global perspective instead of limiting ourselves to North America only," Main said. After combing through the available studies, the group put together a spreadsheet that tracked all of the relevant information. The performance measures were based on what the literature provided. "We had a lot of heterogeneous information, and our goal was to distill it down and find what everything actually represented," Main said. "Some studies recorded the number of species caught in a trap or the number of individuals observed on plant -- that's a measure of abundance. If a study recorded the size of the insect or how much it weighed, that represents a measure of condition. advertisement "We basically made a broad, encompassing umbrella that had a lot of information underneath it. That's what I think is useful from a meta-analysis -- you start to see the patterns that are showing up versus an apples-to-apples comparison." Main said neonicotinoid insecticides are the most widely used insecticide class worldwide. They are known for their versatility in application. "These insecticides were developed to replace some of the older compounds that were found to be a little more detrimental for humans," Main said. "Neonicotinoids are effective because they bind to the post-synaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in insects. This can lead to overstimulation of the central nervous system, or even death. All invertebrates have that receptor, so you're not able to selectively say that the insecticide is only going to target one species. Depending on the sensitivity of some species, it could have a similar effect on many of them." Main said that in spite of some of the 44 papers having mixed conclusions, when taken across all studies, the analyses showed similar negative effects to the performance measures being evaluated. "We thought that there might be one or two measures that showed a stronger impact, but the broad consensus was that neonicotinoid insecticides were showing a pretty strong negative trend," Main said. "The insecticides didn't affect just one functional group, like pollinators, either. Detritivores and predator insects were also affected. "This is useful in the sense that with neonicotinoid insecticides, the majority of the debate has been focused on honey bees. This paper is trying to evaluate patterns of response to neonicotinoids across a range of taxa, not just bees. These insects are providing a lot of benefit to our everyday lives that we don't even realize. It's possible that we need to rethink how we do broad applications of these seed treatments -- because we might not realize the effect it has on the beneficial insects." The research was funded through a cooperative agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Support was also provided by USDA-NIFA through Hatch funding and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. The researchers are also in the process of developing more studies related to neonicotinoid insecticides. "This is the beginning stage of a large-scale experimental project in the field that we're doing," Webb said. "The first step was to review the literature and look for broad trends. We're pairing that with a study, funded by the Missouri Department of Conservation, to evaluate the impact of using these insecticides on public lands. We're looking for neonicotinoid insecticide concentrations in both the field soils, but also see if it's leaching into field margins and what that might mean for pollinators." Goyne said they are going to dive deeper into how the insecticides work in various soils as well. "These insects are providing ecosystem services for free," he said. "We're trying to get a more holistic picture of how everything works together and interacts. It's really important for water quality, too. Understanding how the insecticides move out of the field to these marginal areas is key. There are a number of different aspects that this work is going to help us understand. "Our main goal is working to help producers and natural resource managers modify their management operations to minimize some of the challenges that beneficial insects face. This is a really strong start." Working closely with Wanniyalaeto (Vedda) elders in Sri Lanka during the repatriation of skeletal remains, a team of researchers have demonstrated that while some Indigenous hunter-gatherers in Sri Lanka made use of agricultural resources and trade connections with farmers and colonial power structures, others continued to subsist primarily on tropical forest resources as late as the 19th century. In the 1990s, some anthropologists argued that tropical forests could not support long-term human foraging in the absence of agriculture. Part of this thesis was based on the fact that supposedly isolated 'forest' foragers, such as the Wanniyalaeto (or Vedda) peoples of Sri Lanka, could be demonstrated to be enmeshed within historical trade networks and rely on crops as part of their overall subsistence. In the case of the Wanniyalaeto, while they previously occupied villages across Sri Lanka, including within the Wet Zone rainforests, British colonial policy, and the development of Sri Lankan state education systems and legal orders, led to their decline and focus on more open, dry jungle settings. Furthermore, today, wild game hunting, a traditional subsistence and cultural activity of the Wanniyalaeto is now illegal. During the process of repatriation of Wanniyalaeto skeletal remains from the Anatomy Department, University of Edinburgh and Duckworth Museum, University of Cambridge, researchers at the Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History teamed up with members of the Wanniyalaeto Council of Elders to test the degree of forest reliance in individuals prior to or just after the onset of British colonial influence in Sri Lanka. In an article published in Human Ecology, the combined team of European researchers and Wanniyalaeto elders used stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of minimal amounts of tooth enamel powder, to show that while a number of individuals made use of millet, and perhaps also rice, through trade with local agricultural populations, others subsisted primarily on tropical forest resources. These results are significant in the face of current Wanniyalaeto battles to remain on their traditional hunting grounds. The results will be converted into a multi-lingual poster that will be displayed at the main Wanniyalaeto village museum in Dambana, to become a permanent part of the heritage of this group. The repatriation process is ongoing but will see members of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History bring Wanniyalaeto remains for burial in Sri Lanka, following appropriate tradition. This is the first time that an archaeological science project has been directed by members of an Indigenous group during the process of repatriation in Asia. It should act as a model for future interactions between archaeological scientists and Indigenous populations, working together on projects with meaningful outcomes for local cultural heritage, questions, and interest. To catch prostate cancer at earlier stages, when it's more easily treated, many institutions do community outreach and education sessions to explain why cancer screenings can be life-saving. In order to have the highest impact, however, institutions must select where to focus their efforts. Prostate cancer is most common among African American men and can be more aggressive in African American and men in a low socioeconomic bracket. Therefore, many institutions base their outreach on these two demographic factors. However, work recently published in the journal Preventive Medicine shows that this may not be the best approach and offers another method for identifying areas with the highest prostate cancer burden. "We know that not every man in a high risk demographic will develop prostate cancer," said senior author Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, PhD, MPH, researcher with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) at Jefferson Health, one of only 69 NCI-Designated Centers and only one of eight to have a prostate cancer program of excellence. "We've seen that often the same programs and organizations are targeted for education and outreach efforts. We realized that we're probably leaving out large areas of the city that potentially have higher risk. I wanted to create a more effective tool to find those areas." To do that, Dr. Zeigler-Johnson's team including SKCC Consortium partners crunched data from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry that covered a span of nine years (from 2005 to 2014) and looked specifically at prostate cancer cases in the city of Philadelphia. Using that data as a starting point the researchers then created a prostate cancer composite score that would help identify census tracts with the highest burden of prostate cancer. The score was based on three factors: 1) a standardized incidence ratio (SIR), which measures how much more likely a population is to get cancer compared to national rates 2) mortality ratio, which similarly determines the rate of death from prostate cancer compared to national rates and 3) how advanced the prostate cancer was at diagnosis. "None of these factors alone can be used to categorize burden of the disease. We found they were more predictive when combined," said Dr. Zeigler-Johnson, who is also Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology at Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University. The researchers then used mapping software to geographically identify census tracts with the highest scores. "We were surprised to find clusters of high burden that did not always overlap with the areas with the largest concentrations of African Americans or those with lowest socioeconomic status measures," said first author Russell McIntire, PhD, MPH, an Assistant Professor in the Jefferson College of Population Health. "We are seeing the highest prostate cancer burden cluster in tight geographic areas," said Dr. Zeigler-Johnson, whose earlier work suggested similar trends. "We think it's worth studying why these areas of the city are at higher risk for poor prostate cancer outcomes. Could it be that neighborhoods share similar practices and norms, or lack of awareness about prostate cancer risk? At this point it's too early to tell." Although the tool was developed for prostate cancer, the method could be developed and applied to other cancer types in order to hone educational outreach efforts for the greater impact. Now that Dr. Zeigler-Johnson and colleagues have identified areas of high prostate cancer risk in Philadelphia, they will develop, implement, and test an educational outreach program. "Testing our assumptions in the community will help us determine if this tool can be more effective than outreach targeted using traditional methods," said Dr. Zeigler-Johnson. This research was supported by U.S. Department of Defense Grant #DODW81XWH-15-1-0693, and pilot funding from the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health. The funders had no role in the study design, conduct of the experiments, and interpretation of the data. A "cocktail" of monoclonal antibodies that can prevent Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in primates was not effective for treatment of fetuses, according to a new collaborative study led by a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine research team. "We observed that ZIKV isolated from pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro also causes fetal infection in pregnant macaques. Unfortunately, we were unable to stop the transmission of virus to the fetus with an antibody cocktail therapy," said Diogo Magnani, Ph.D., associate scientist in the Department of Pathology and first author of the study, "Fetal Demise and Failed Antibody Therapy During Zika Virus Infection of Pregnant Macaques," published recently in the journal Nature Communications. "One of the implications of the study is that preventing infection of the mother may be easier than finding a therapy for the fetus," said senior author David Watkins, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for research. "It also indicates that testing for ZIKV in mothers might not show whether or not the fetus was infected." The team of researchers is now working on engineering the antibodies to redirect the therapies to the fetus. Miller School co-authors of the study included Ronald C. Desrosiers, Ph.D., professor of pathology and director of research faculty development; Michael J. Ricciardi, Varian K. Bailey, Lucas Gonzalez-Nieto, Martin J. Gutman, Nuria Pedreno-Lopez, Jaclyn M. Kwal, and Mauricio A. Martins, Ph.D., all in the Department of Pathology; as well as Christine L. Curry, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology; and Pascal J. Goldschmidt-Clermont, M.D., professor of medicine. In the collaborative study, pregnant rhesus macaques were infected with ZIKV from a patient in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where a high rate of fetal development complications was observed. The virus used in the studies was isolated by Dr. Myrna Bonaldo at FIOCRUZ in Rio de Janeiro. The infection resulted in the virus crossing into the amniotic fluid, resulting in fetal deaths. The researchers found there were no mutations of the virus or other factors implicated in those outcomes. "We treated three ZIKV-infected pregnant macaques with a cocktail of ZIKV- neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies," said Magnani. "While the antibody therapy was effective in clearing the virus from the mothers' blood, it was not sufficient to clear ZIKV from the amniotic fluid. Antibodies might not cross the placenta in sufficient concentrations to block the virus. Therefore, specific therapies will have to be developed in order to stop mother-to-fetus transmission and treat infected fetuses." Leading the effort to engineer the antibodies to redirect the therapies to the fetus, Magnani is the principal investigator for a U.S. Department of Defense "Discovery Award" grant on "A Fetus-Targeted Antibody Therapy to Prevent Zika Virus Infection During Pregnancy." The Miller School's laboratory studies are also supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Jacobson Jewish Community Foundation, the Clarence Wolf Jr. & Alma B. Wolf Foundation, and private donors. A small number of scientists stand at the top of their fields, commanding the lion's share of research funding, awards, citations, and prestigious academic appointments. But are they better and smarter than their peers? Or is this a classic example of success breeding success -- a phenomenon known as the "Matthew effect"? Mathijs De Vaan, an assistant professor in the Haas Management of Organizations Group, believes it's clearly the latter. In a paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "The Matthew Effect in Science Funding," De Vaan presents the results of a study of Dutch research grants that shows precisely how much of an advantage early achievement confers, and identifies the reasons behind the boost. De Vaan, who came to Haas in 2015 after earning a PhD in sociology from Columbia University, co-authored the paper with Thijs Bol of the University of Amsterdam and Arnout van de Rijt of Utrecht University. "To those who have, more will be given" The term "Matthew effect" was coined by sociologist Robert Merton in the 1960s to describe how eminent scientists get more recognition for their work than less-well-known researchers -- the reference is to the New Testament parable that, to those who have, more will be given. Previous attempts to study this phenomenon have yielded inconclusive results, in part because it is hard to prove that differences in achievement don't reflect differences in work quality. To get around the quality question, De Vaan and his co-authors took advantage of special features of the main science funding organization in the Netherlands, IRIS, which awards grants based on a point system. Everyone whose application scores above the point threshold gets money, while everyone below is left out. The authors zeroed in on researchers who came in just above and just below the funding threshold, assuming that, for practical purposes, their applications were equal in quality. First off, they found the benefits of winning an early-career grant were enormous. Recent PhDs who scored just above the funding threshold later received more than twice as much research money as their counterparts who scored immediately below the threshold. The winners also had a 47 percent greater chance of eventually landing a full professorship. "Even though the differences between individuals were virtually zero, over time a giant gap in success became evident," De Vaan notes. Status and participation De Vaan says that two main mechanisms may explain the Matthew effect in science funding. First, winners achieve status that can tilt the playing field in their direction when it comes to funding, awards, and job opportunities. The second is participation, meaning that successful applicants continue seeking grant money, while unsuccessful applicants often give up, withdrawing from future competition. De Vaan and his coauthors argue that the Matthew effect erodes the quality of scientific research because projects tend to get funded based on an applicant's status, not merit. Groundbreaking work may not get done because the researchers are unknown or too discouraged to compete for funds. They recommend several reforms to the funding process, including limiting information grant application reviewers have about previous awards. They also suggest that rejected applicants learn their scores, which might encourage those just below the threshold to try again. These findings may apply in many areas beyond science. For example, the Matthew effect may also widen a gulf between winning and losing entrepreneurs in the race for venture capital. Even the Academy Awards may favor big movie industry names over lesser-known talent. "There are a lot of social settings with large amounts of inequality, which could be ripe for the study of the Matthew effect," De Vaan stresses. The day before his retirement, Paul Holes parked a white Ford Taurus outside the Citrus Heights home of James Joseph DeAngelo. At that time, neither he nor DeAngelo knew the latter would be arrested at the same house a month later, his DNA and other evidence allegedly connecting him to 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. It was the end of March, and Holes a longtime cold-case investigator for the Contra Costa County district attorneys office was a central member of a multiagency team that had narrowed down the list of suspects in the case of the East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer, to a handful of men. The team had taken a novel approach, running crime-scene DNA against consumer genealogical websites in a bid to find the killer or his relatives. Holes had been involved in the case for 24 years, and this was the closest investigators had ever been. Or maybe not. Now Playing: East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer Video: San Francisco Chronicle DeAngelo was the only man in the small group of suspects Holes visited. The day before he turned in his department firearm, something brought him to the modest one-story home of the 72-year-old ex-cop and grandfather. DeAngelos age and other traits seemed to fit, and his past locations appeared to correlate with the series of rapes and homicides across California, Holes said. At that point, literally, I was just curious, Holes said by phone Thursday, a day after authorities announced DeAngelo had been arrested and was being charged with murder in multiple counties. Where is this guy living? At that point, he was just one of several. Hes just a maybe. Holes wrestled with whether to knock on the door and ask DeAngelo, Can I get your DNA? But he didnt. He drove away and retired the next day. Now, Holes said, hes glad he sat in his car. Theres no telling what would have happened, and it turned out that knocking on the door wouldnt be necessary. Sacramento County sheriffs deputies began surveilling the home last week and were able to obtain two surreptitious samples from DeAngelo, meaning they waited for him to discard something perhaps a cup or bottle with his DNA on it, officials said. The first sample was too weak, Holes said, so investigators got another and tested it, finding a match to the killers DNA. It was an exhilarating peak for Holes in a chase that began in the 1990s, when he worked on the case in the early years of DNA evidence. Now Playing: Chronicle staff Video: San Francisco Chronicle Its been very frustrating. You have your moments of highs thinking you got the guy, and then you crash when the DNA evidence eliminates him, Holes said. The frustration just builds. To finally get to the point where you find the right guy, it is a very good feeling. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The cold case was not only Holes most difficult it was his first. He began looking for the East Area Rapist in 1996. A year later, DNA evidence definitively linked three Contra Costa County rapes two in Danville and one in San Ramon to a serial killer and rapist who had started out in Sacramento County, though detectives had already made the connection based on the suspects methods, Holes said. He then sought to connect the crime spree in Northern California to similar attacks in Southern California. The use of DNA in forensics was in its infancy, and it took four years before investigators verified in 2001 that the rapes and killings were committed by the same person, Holes said. In 2016, law enforcement officers from around the state formed a task force to hunt for the East Area Rapist. Holes colleagues are now marveling that his dogged work finally paid off. But he declined to describe the critical break in the case how investigators used the genealogical websites to find DeAngelo. Those types of details Im not at liberty to comment on, he said. We were leveraging anything we could. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno Six therapeutic llamas came on Friday to bring therapy to UC Berkeley, a place that can always use it. A therapeutic llama may look like an ordinary llama. It isnt. Its been specially trained to be petted, hugged and even kissed by overwrought, stressed-out college students, who will start finals in a week. Thats exactly what happened at Llama-Palooza, as hundreds of Cal students took time off from the hitting-the-textbook thing to hang out on the lawn by the Campanile and forget such matters as calculus exams. The llama doesnt care what grade you get, said freshman Kat Blesie, 19. They couldnt care less. Petting the llama, said sophomore Camille Rubel, 18, was helping her to remember the molecular orbital diagrams of carbon atoms, which is something shes going to need to know the week after next. This is very therapeutic, she said, and her llama, Amigo, did not disagree. Now Playing: Six therapy llamas visit UC Berkeley to give aid and comfort to 41,000 Cal students as they prepare for final exams. Video: SFChronicle It was the fourth llama confab in campus history. Campus llama impresario Ana Claire Mancia, a business student, persuaded the student government to part with $700 so she could hire llama wrangler George Caldwell to bring the six llamas from his Sonora ranch in Tuolumne County to campus in two minivans. One minivan holds four llamas, which means Caldwell could have brought eight llamas. But two llamas who had been scheduled to make the trip informed Caldwell on Friday morning that they didnt feel like going. Caldwell says a llama is never shy about telling you whats on its mind, and its his job, as a llama wrangler, to pay attention. The llamas that agreed to come Amigo, Quinoa, Yanatine, Putukisi, Tambo and Wykee scrambled out of the vans after their long drive and wasted no time doing to the central campus lawn the same thing that llamas have done for millennia. Caldwell, with a small rake, took care of business, perhaps to guarantee that there would be a fifth Llama-Palooza next year. Meanwhile, Mancia and a handful of llama volunteers set up llama-related games, with Peruvian energy drinks as prizes. A Peruvian club was selling colorful handicrafts. There was Peruvian music and art. Most students said that their share of the $700 llama rental fee about 2 cents per Cal student was a bargain compared with this years tuition and living expenses of $28,510. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The only unhappy Llama-Palooza visitor was a German shepherd named Tucker who, without any final exams to study for, spent a good while barking at the giant creatures. His owner, senior Taylor Harvey, said Tucker was feeling a little intimidated by the llamas and especially by their rear hooves. Not a single student, not even the ones who failed to notice the piles of llama-related obstacles all over the lawn, was opposed to spending 2 cents to bring llamas to campus. Its a good deal, agreed Mancia. The llamas do help put everything in perspective. Sometimes, students think final exams are the whole world. They arent. Weve seen a deep connection between students and llamas. Llamas provide students with many mental health benefits. Senior Bria Lamothe, 22, agreed her mental health had improved after hugging her llama. Its relaxing, she said. Its a help. Its distracting. All those are good things. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com 2 1 of 2 Catherine Ho/Courtesy of Mammoth Biosciences Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Catherine Ho/Courtesy of Mammoth Biosciences Show More Show Less Jennifer Doudna, the UC Berkeley researcher credited with inventing the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, has co-founded a San Francisco startup that aims to use the technology to detect diseases. Mammoth Biosciences, based in the citys Dogpatch neighborhood, is the latest startup Doudna has co-founded in recent years to use CRISPR technology. Others include Caribou Biosciences in Berkeley, and Intellia Therapeutics and Editas Medicine in Cambridge, Mass. In a city of elegant residences, San Franciscos Archbishops Mansion stands out. The building, erected in 1904 on a corner facing Alamo Square, is both stately and opulent. It survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, was home to several archbishops, hosted Pope Pius XII, and served as a convent, orphanage, reform school, rehab center, psychiatric hospital and bed-and-breakfast. In its next incarnation starting May 1, the Archbishops Mansion will be part of a global social experiment called Roam, a co-living/co-working network based in New York that caters to digital nomads, with residential hotels offering community, creature comforts and high-speed Wi-Fi. There is a yearning toward authentic human connection, Roam co-founder Bruno Haid said as he led a tour of the mansions ritzy features, including a mahogany grand staircase topped by a breathtaking stained-glass dome. We want to create spaces to facilitate that. Group living is having a resurgence, spurred by rising housing costs and the urge to forge real-life friendships in the digital age. Co-living startups such as OpenDoor, WeLive, Starcity and Common have created communal houses in urban centers, sometimes derided as dorms for grown-ups, where residents rent rooms long-term and share amenities such as kitchens and living rooms. Roams twist is to cater to globe-trotting location-independent entrepreneurs, offering them far-flung locales to stay for weeks or months. Its prices are less than those of hotels, but more than rooms in traditional shared homes. Roam, with locations in Bali, Miami, London and Tokyo, defies easy categorization. Its like a chain of swank hostels but with longer stays and private bedrooms and bathrooms, or like boutique hotels with added camaraderie. Its a business but also a social movement. You become part of a warm and enveloping community; thats the joy and wonder of it, said Dena Van Derveer, 63, a graphic designer formerly of Mill Valley who embarked on a nomadic lifestyle after getting divorced. She spent February at Roams Miami location, where she felt welcomed with open arms despite being much older than most other residents. Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle An accomplished cook, Van Derveer organized a pretzel baking party and drew plaudits for her challah, sourdough rye, cinnamon bread and hot cross buns. Staying at the Miami property, which has about 38 rooms in a four-house compound, cost $1,800 a month plus parking. Roams fusion of work, travel and tourism is intriguing, said April Rinne, a consultant to on-demand companies who is not involved with Roam. It will never solve the problem of expensive housing markets, but it speaks to something thats always been in our psyche but that weve covered up with ownership, privacy and anonymity, she said. I think theyre drawing people who seek to rediscover that sense of community, tapping a pulse that is starting to beat more strongly around the world. About a third of Roam members rove among its properties as their primary residences, Haid said, while the rest have their own homes but stay at Roam while traveling. Generous shared spaces are part of Roams formula to encourage interactions. Given human nature, it tries to remove friction points, having common areas cleaned daily to avoid squabbles over dirty dishes, and providing huge refrigerators with labeled areas for each resident. Conversely, the bedrooms are fairly spartan, with just beds, tables and lamps no televisions, although in San Francisco most have fireplaces and chandeliers (and many have killer views of the postcard-row Painted Ladies or San Francisco skyline). Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle More than half of the Archbishops Mansion consists of public spaces, including a full basement with event areas and a workshop, an airy co-working room, a home theater, a sprawling chefs kitchen and several dining rooms, bars and lounge areas. The mansion, which Roam is renting for five years at an undisclosed price, adds 19 rooms to Roams worldwide stable of about 200 rooms. Reflecting the propertys upscale nature, they cost more than other Roam locations, renting for $1,200 a week, or $3,800 to $4,500 a month. When there are vacancies, Roam will list them on Airbnb or other sites. Because the property was already a licensed B&B, it complies with city laws, Haid said. Roams Bali location costs $1,800 a month, while Tokyos goes for $2,600. Originally from San Francisco, Phil Saltonstall, 60, spent a month at Roams London location for about $3,200, which he considered a bargain compared with a hotel. There were always people hanging around; youd end up joining conversations, making friends and having great discussions, he said. Theres a lot of fun and spontaneity. Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle A photographer/illustrator, he appreciated the 20-room Chelsea buildings aesthetics. As a solo traveler, its a nice hybrid space, he said. You can get lonely if you only stay in hotels. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Backed by $4.5 million in capital, Roam is a lean operation, Haid said, with a core team of 14 plus the equivalent of three salaried people per property to serve as community managers, cleaners and maintenance workers. The company had a positive cash flow last year and hopes to raise more money in the autumn to expand to 30 to 50 additional locations, including more sites in San Francisco and other popular cities, he said. New York is up next with a 150-unit building near Bryant Park set to open in late summer. So far Roam has rented locations as a quicker way to set up shop, but it plans to start buying properties. Traditional real estate investors are willing to front the capital expenditures of buying and renovating, Haid said. Haid learned about catering to travelers early, growing up on a farm B&B in the Austrian Alps in a village that had 24 people in summer and 5,000 in winter. Living in a cryptocurrency-focused commune in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014 fueled his interest in community. It was interesting to see the social dynamics of 40 people living together, he said. It was a little bit Lord of the Flies very libertarian. Then, on a trip to Bali, he was inspired to create a co-living space for other wayfarers. Although Roam taps into current trends, it also harks back to an earlier age, Haid said. Before the rise of suburbia, it was common for people to live in long-stay hotels or boardinghouses. Roam arranges weekly dinners at each location either Dutch treat at restaurants, or cooked in-house by residents with Roam footing the grocery bill and travelers often host their own ad hoc events: yoga classes, in-house concerts, lectures on their areas of expertise, theater excursions. Its now culturally accepted to live a relatively global life, Haid said. How do you create a home when you dont have a permanent place? Thats what were doing. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks repeatedly lied under oath and exhibited no true remorse for her callous behavior during a trial over whether she assaulted former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown in a restaurant in 2015, an Alameda County Superior Court judge said. But Judge Paul Herbert, in his ruling Thursday, said the jury that had ordered the city to pay Brown some $3.75 million allowed their feelings of anger and disbelief towards Ms. Brooks to unduly influence their determination of the damage amounts. He called the figure excessive. Herberts order was in response to a motion from Brooks and the city requesting a new trial. He denied that motion on the condition that Brown accept a substantially smaller award: $1.2 million. The punitive damages that Brooks herself had been ordered to pay $550,000 would also be lowered to $75,000 if Brown accepts the revised judgment rather than take her chances at a second trial. Im happy that hes reduced the damages, said Brooks attorney, Dan Siegel. I feel that its a step in the right direction. The ball is in Ms. Browns court at this point. Attorneys for Brown did not immediately comment on whether they would agree to the lower award or seek a new trial. The judge gave them until May 8 to decide. Having witnessed Ms. Brooks testimony, the court agrees with the jurys conclusion that Ms. Brooks testified falsely many times under oath about the key events pertinent to determining whether Ms. Brooks had any reasonable basis whatsoever to claim lawful self-defense, Herbert wrote. The jury could properly conclude that by testifying falsely about the events under oath, Ms. Brooks was not truly remorseful for her disgraceful conduct. Herbert said Brooks statements from the witness stand were fundamentally in conflict with the testimony of all other witnesses to the altercation including friends of Brooks, the judge noted who never saw Brown poke or touch Brooks leading up to the attack, as Brooks had claimed. The initial amount in punitive damages was, Herbert wrote, intended to send a message to Defendant Brooks that the jury disbelieved her version of the events, and that her conduct in escalating the altercation from a heated verbal exchange with Ms. Brown to a physical one, and then lying about the events under oath, was reprehensible and should be punished severely. Unfortunately, he continued, the jury allowed their desire to punish Ms. Brooks to overcome their obligation to follow the courts instruction that any award must be based on the evidence of Ms. Brooks financial condition and not exceed Ms. Brooks ability to pay the award. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Despite his contention that the monetary awards should be lowered, Herberts finding that Brooks lied under oath is the latest in a series of troubles for the councilwoman, who is up for re-election this November against at least four challengers. The judge did not say in his 23-page ruling whether Brooks would face perjury charges or other consequences. Siegel said he couldnt comment on the false statements issue because he wasnt in court during Brooks testimony. He had assisted in some of the pre-trial depositions and has represented Brooks since the trial concluded. Mayor Libby Schaaf this month said Brooks had engaged in unethical and abusive behavior, infecting the civility of City Hall and damaging Oaklands reputation. That denunciation came after Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington, a friend and ally of Schaaf, announced she was retiring because of what she called an element of toxicity and corruption on the council, though she did not directly name Brooks as the source. Brooks has yet to publicly respond to the criticism. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov Investigators desperate to solve a notorious cold case played the role of consumers interested in their family tree as they used an open-source genealogy website to identify the suspected Golden State Killer, prompting questions about whether increasingly popular DNA analysis sites should be utilized for more than just digging into ones heritage. Officials at GEDmatch, a DNA analysis firm that is little known outside of genealogy buffs, confirmed Friday that detectives armed with DNA evidence recovered from old crime scenes had used their website in a bid to find a relative of the target and then narrow the pool of suspects. Investigators said that pool included Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, an ex-cop and grandfather living quietly in Citrus Heights. Sacramento County sheriffs deputies then shadowed him and collected an item he had discarded that contained his DNA. After a match was purportedly made to the original crime-scene sample, authorities named DeAngelo as the serial criminal also known as the East Area Rapist, whose reign of terror included 12 slayings and around 50 rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. GEDmatch officials said they had been unaware before this week that police were using their website to help identify the Golden State Killer. While some genealogy advocates applauded the novel use of the DNA tool in the case, other experts raised concerns that it could represent the tip of the iceberg in how such information is used. How frequently does law enforcement use this tactic? asked Jennifer Lynch, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The move, she said, could create tension when law enforcement can use these sites the same way that researchers and you and I can. DNA testing kits have exploded in popularity in recent years, as more people become interested in learning about their family histories. There are a multitude of websites available for this purpose, such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe, but with so many sites available it lessens the chance that relatives will be able to find one another on the same site. GEDmatch, a no-frills, open-source website, fills that gap by allowing users to upload all of their raw data files from various sites. This information is then turned into a standardized data set that can be cross-referenced with other uploads to the site, according to GEDmatch. Uploading is voluntary, and the site says its not affiliated with any other testing companies. GEDmatch founder Curtis Rogers told the Associated Press on Friday he was concerned that law enforcement had used the site without notice. This was done without our knowledge, and its been overwhelming, he said. Investigators had a DNA profile of the suspected killer for decades, but the evidence did not match any of the criminal databases typically used by law enforcement. In this case, authorities would have uploaded DNA found at crime scenes to create an ancestry kit that was compliant with the websites terms. The match or familial connection that led detectives to DeAngelo could have been with anyone who uploaded information to the site, from a sibling or cousin to a distant relative. Using that information, investigators would be able to create a family tree by using other public information, such as social media posts, obituaries or other genealogical websites, said Kitty Cooper, a volunteer with GEDmatch. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. From there, authorities narrowed down the pool of suspects. They were looking for a man of a certain age who lived in certain places and had other specific characteristics. Were excited this guy was caught, but we just think that if the results are going to be used thats fine but we just want to know up front, said Cooper, who compared the use of GEDmatch in this case to how the site would help someone find a biological parent. But, she said, the case of the Golden State Killer has left the genealogy community with mixed feelings. Chronicle staff writer Jenna Lyons contributed to this report. Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani Google Maps A day after the CEO and founder of Emeryville popcorn shop Cornology apologized for directing racial slurs toward group of black customers, the citys mayor John Bauters told the Chronicle he plans to meet privately with witnesses and local business owners regarding the incident. Cornology, a gourmet popcorn shop located at the Bay Street shopping center, has been under fire since Sunday, when the companys CEO Mark Stone was accused of shouted n while chasing a group of juveniles from his store. Just three blocks from City Hall that gorgeous, gold-plated building where politicians are deciding how to spend more than $10 billion next fiscal year sits a shooting gallery in broad daylight. Every day, dozens of injection drug users wearing tattered clothes and dazed expressions slump against the walls of the huge PG&E Mission Substation at Eighth and Mission streets, spreading their garbage, dirty needles and other drug paraphernalia around them. Neighbors call repeatedly to complain. Police clear the sidewalk, Public Works crews clean it, and the drug users return. The cycle of misery persists. Theres a proposal that could help address the deeper issues lingering on that corner. And so, of course, our dithering supervisors declined to support it because they hadnt talked about it enough. Because what San Francisco needs right now is even more talk and even less action. At issue is state Sen. Scott Wieners proposal to give counties more control over conservatorship programs for the mentally ill. Currently, state law says that counties can hospitalize people for 72 hours against their will only if they pose a danger to themselves or somebody else or are gravely disabled, such as not being able to feed themselves. The county can go before a judge to ask for a 14-day extension and repeat the process every 30 days. Wieners proposal is pretty mild. He wants to give counties more control over their own conservatorship rules, wants more supportive housing units attached to the conservatorship slots, and wants severe drug addiction to be a factor in qualifying for conservatorship. A person would have to be chronically homeless, mentally ill and severely drug addicted to be conserved under his proposal. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle That means some of those sad souls at Eighth and Mission could be required to engage in the services they so desperately need but are too out-of-their-minds to accept. Two weeks ago, supervisors took up a resolution from board President London Breed supporting Wieners proposal. Because it was fast-tracked, coming to the board without a committee hearing, it needed eight votes to pass. Breed continued it to Tuesday because her colleagues wanted more time to review it. On Tuesday, those supervisors said they still didnt know enough about it and voted it down. Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Norman Yee, Sandra Lee Fewer, Hillary Ronen and Jane Kim declined to support it. Even though Barbara Garcia, the director of the Department of Public Health, and Jeff Kositsky, the director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, support it. And even though if it passes in Sacramento, these same politicians will get the chance to talk about it a whole lot more before deciding whether to join the optional program and what they want a San Francisco conservatorship program to look like. Surely the moderates coalescing behind Breed and the progressives voting against her had nothing to do with the June 5 mayors race in which Breed and Kim are front-runners, right? Ahem. So basically everybody talked about whether theyd talked enough, voted along political lines and accomplished nothing. Just another day at City Hall. Wieners legislation continues in Sacramento regardless, and he is hopeful it will reach the governors desk by the end of August. He said he is disappointed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, unlike the Los Angeles City Council, failed to support his bill, a curious omission as a senator from San Francisco fights for a law in the state capital without the support of his own citys supervisors. Its always, No, no, no, cant try anything new, cant do anything differently, gnash our teeth about these problems, Wiener said. And just revert back to the same tired, failed approaches. Kim said she voted against it because, It doesnt have as much detail as I would like, and it is a very heavy-handed tool where you are highly restricting a persons civil liberties. ... I felt like it deserved its own conversation. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Her district includes that corner at Eighth and Mission, the notoriously seedy Civic Center BART Station and many other public drug dens. So what would help? More treatment beds, which she thinks drug users will eventually accept with enough contact from the Homeless Outreach Team. She was irked that a 75-bed medical respite center in her district took more than two years to open after she secured the money for it. It was very frustrating to me, she said of the delay. Yeah, we can relate. OK, lets open more treatment beds. And support conservatorship changes. It doesnt have to be one or the other, but it does need to happen quickly. Ronen, to her credit, has been on a fact-finding mission to learn about mental illness and the conservatorship program. She said several experts have told her the real problem is there is not enough transitional housing for those released from the psych ward at S.F. General Hospital, meaning patients are kept at the hospital far too long or wind up back on the streets. She also lamented that more than 700 affordable housing units planned for her district have yet to be built. Why does it take forever? she asked. Because everything at City Hall takes forever. OK, more treatment beds, more transitional housing, quicker building of affordable housing, plus changes to the conservatorship rules. Fewer said she wanted to understand the nuances of Wieners proposal better and that shes not against it. Asked whether shes OK with all the injection drug use, homelessness and mental illness on our streets, Fewer said, How can anyone be? Its heartbreaking. As a native San Franciscan, its worse than Ive ever seen it. Fewer said she and her husband, a retired undercover narcotics officer with the San Francisco Police Department, recently saw a man blatantly selling what looked like 100 rocks of crack cocaine in broad daylight at Golden Gate Avenue and Larkin Street in the Tenderloin. She said they just kept walking and didnt call police. Yes, this city has become so paralyzed that a supervisor and her husband, an expert in narcotics, thought there was nothing they could do. What has happened to our narcotics enforcement? We are not an open pharmacy here. Weve lost our way a little here, Fewer said. I want to really talk about this. Yeah, we know. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. OK, more treatment beds, more transitional housing, quicker building of affordable housing, conservatorship changes and better narcotics enforcement. Also, lets get those planned safe injection sites opened as soon as possible. But lets stop talking about it and actually do it. P.S. If our city leaders need any more of a nudge, look at these sobering facts. Kositsky, who was charged by the late Mayor Ed Lee with getting 1,000 people off the streets over the winter, said that his team has reached 456 people. But that included 307 people served by the expanded winter shelter program, and if they slept in a shelter bed for seven nights, they were counted, even if theyre now back on the streets. Others were placed in Navigation Center beds, medical respite beds or housing. Kositsky said that hed give his team an A in terms of long-range planning and a C-plus for day-to-day work. Things arent getting better, he said. Theyre taking longer than I wish they would. A homeless count is conducted every two years in San Francisco, and the last one was performed in 2017. Kositsky said he expects a significant improvement in homelessness by the 2023 count. I dont know anybody most of all the homeless and mentally ill themselves who can wait that long. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Total Muni 2018 On lighter a topic, remember that, on Monday, Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub and I will attempt to ride every Muni line in one day. Why? Well, why not? This epic adventure was inspired by my 4-year-old sons love of Muni and his memorization of every bus line in order from the 1-California to the 91-Third Street/19th Avenue Owl. Its modeled on a 1980 stunt performed by Larry Baer, now CEO and president of the San Francisco Giants, and his friend Andy Coblentz. Well be starting just after 3 a.m. on the 25-Treasure Island and, we hope, reaching AT&T Park for a Giants game on the N-Judah before beer sales end. Follow us on Twitter @hknightsf and @peterhartlaub via #TotalMuni2018, or on www.sfchronicle.com. And please wish us luck we need it! Heather Knight